《Boss, Your Wife is Asking for A Divorce, Again!》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    December had just begun, and it was colder than ever before. Sonia Reed was lying on the sofa


    nkly, listening to the screams of her mother-inw, Jean White,ing from downstairs. ¡°Sonia


    Reed! It¡¯s one thing if you can¡¯t give birth to a child¡ªnow, you¡¯ve even started to not cook on time? Are


    you trying to starve me and Tyler to death?¡± In the six years that she was married to Toby Fuller, her


    mother-inw had alwaysined that she was a hen that could noty eggs. However, no one had


    stopped to think that her husband had never touched her since the beginning of their marriage.


    ¡°Quicklye down and help me organize my school bag! I still have to go to school, for God¡¯s sake!¡±


    a teenager urged. Tyler was Toby¡¯s younger brother; he was simply the devil¡¯s spawn. Ever since Sonia


    married into this family, he had been finding different ways to torture her each day. In his opinion, this


    sister-inw that his brother married was an easy target. Upon hearing that, Sonia went downstairs,


    entered the kitchen to cook, and then sorted out Tyler¡¯s school bag and lunch boxes like a robot. ¡°Mom,


    food is ready!¡± Jean got angry as soon as she saw Sonia¡¯s emotionless look. Immediately, she


    mmed the ss of water on the table and said, ¡°Gee, Sonia! You¡¯re spending my son¡¯s money and


    living in his house, so how dare you wear this scornful expression! Believe it or not, I will call Toby


    immediately and ask him to divorce you right away!¡± Sonia¡¯s hand which was holding the dinner te


    shook. She then took a deep breath and forced a smile. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m not scornful.¡± Jean didn¡¯t buy it, and


    instead said in a strange manner, ¡°Sonia, don¡¯t think that just because you have the old woman¡¯s


    support, your ce as Mrs. Fuller is guaranteed. After all, you are nothing in front of Tina!¡± Sonia


    turned pale when she heard the woman¡¯s name. Tyler saw how the situation unfolded with his own two


    eyes. Immediately, he grinned and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Tina is about to be discharged from the


    hospital. My brother is going to bring her home to live with us.¡± Sonia¡¯s eyelids twitched, and the hands


    that she¡¯d used to rearrange the tes trembled once more. Jean couldn¡¯t bear to look at Sonia¡¯s fake


    grievances, so she snorted coldly and waved at her dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t stand in front of me! You¡¯re


    ruining my appetite. Get out of here!¡± Sonia, too, didn¡¯t want to stay there any longer, so she walked


    upstairs and sat back onto the sofa. In the evening, a Maybach stopped at the door. Noticing that,


    Sonia immediately got up from the sofa and trotted to the balcony to look down. A slender man in a suit


    got out of the car. He had a handsome face and outstanding temperament¡ªhe looked even better thanN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    some of the celebrities on TV. The man seemed to notice that someone was looking at him, so he


    looked up to see Sonia. His eyes were cold and merciless. However, Sonia had long ustomed to


    this look, and the corners of her mouth twitched without a hint of a smile. After Toby entered the room,


    Sonia ran the water in the bathtub for him to bathe as usual. ¡°Honey, Grandma has been to the temple


    for almost a month. In the afternoon, she called and said she¡¯s praying for your safety¡ª¡± ¡°I have


    something to tell you.¡± Toby stopped Sonia, who was busy preparing his bath. Hearing that, Sonia


    looked back. Toby only stared at her with his dark eyes; there was indifference and alienation in them¡ª


    never any warmth. He moved his thin lips and said in a deep voice, ¡°Tina ising back, so you will


    move out tomorrow.¡± Sonia¡¯s heart turned to ice, inch by inch. Surely enough, Tyler was right. ¡°What if I


    refuse to?¡± Her voice was soft, like a cloud of misty smoke. Toby frowned as soon as he heard what


    she said. This was the first time this obedient woman ever disobeyed him. His voice was cold as he


    uttered, ¡°Don¡¯t forget how you even got married to me six years ago.¡± How could she forget? When


    Tina had a car ident, she was the one that called the ambnce and even periodically transfused


    her rare blood to Tina. With that, Toby was grateful to her and promised her that he would grant her a


    request. At that time, Sonia said that her only request was to marry him. That was a thought that had


    been deeply rooted in her ever since the first time she saw Toby in high school.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2


    It was because the doctors were sure that Tina had no chance of waking up that Toby agreed to


    Sonia¡¯s request. But he had always been indifferent and cold to her. Sonia lifted her chin and looked


    straight at him without flinching. ¡°I am your wife. Why should I move out while she moves in?¡± Toby


    looked over immediately, his expression slowly sinking, and the darkness in his eyes became more and


    more frightening. ¡°Why? Because ording to Tina, you were the one that crashed your car into her


    six years ago!¡± Sonia was startled for a while, and then a bitter smile crept on her face. ¡°What if I said I


    wasn¡¯t? Would you believe me?¡± Toby approached her step by step. Finally forcing her into a corner, he


    growled coldly, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d believe you?¡± He stared at her with his dark eyes, and there was


    nothing but disgust in them. ¡°You¡¯re a woman with a sick mind. I can¡¯t wait to repay Tina¡¯s suffering


    back to you hundreds and thousands fold!¡± Toby¡¯s face was full of coldness. Seeing the ruthlessness in


    his eyes, Sonia was taken aback. It had been six years; she thought she would be able to break


    through his defences, even just a little bit. But his heart was still ice-cold. ¡°I did no such thing!¡± Sonia


    pursed her lips tightly. Toby stared at her condescendingly. His dark eyes were cold, and there wasn¡¯t


    the slightest warmth in them. ¡°You¡¯re a smart woman. You should know what to do.¡± With that, he left,


    leaving the room full of loneliness. Sonia looked at herself in the mirror, pale and worn out. She couldn¡¯t


    recognize the person in the mirror. She was such a proud person in the beginning, and she had


    actually be so withered in this rtionship. How ridiculous. After a long time, she let out a sigh of


    relief slowly. It¡¯s about time I let myself go¡­ ¡­¡­ The next morning, Toby took Tina to the hospital for a


    checkup. Sonia stood in front of the mirror. She took off the apron she had worn for six years, put on a


    white dress, and went downstairs with her suitcase. Tyler was watching TV with his legs crossed when


    she went downstairs. Noticing her, he looked up and called out, ¡°Hey! Where are you going?¡± Hearing


    that, Sonia only nced at him lightly. She then ignored him and walked straight to the door. When


    Tyler saw the situation, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed her luggage with a cold gaze. ¡°Are you


    deaf? Didn¡¯t you hear me talking to you? Have you cleaned the room? What about breakfast? Where


    do you think you¡¯re going?¡± He was only a sixteen-year-old boy, but not only did he have no respect for


    his sister-inw, he even dared to order her to do things andin. Sonia pried his fingers away


    from her luggage one by one, and with a cold face, she said, ¡°Listen up, you little b*stard: From now


    on, I won¡¯t tolerate you anymore.¡± However, even though she didn¡¯t put too much force into it, he


    shouted on purpose, ¡°Mom! Mom! Come here! This b*tch is bullying me!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Tyler?¡± When


    Jean went downstairs to take a look, her face instantly turned red. She scolded and hit Sonia with a


    feather duster. ¡°My God! How dare you bully my son, you b*tch! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± It was not as if this old


    woman hadn¡¯t hit her before. She used to tell herself to bear it for Toby¡¯s sake. But this time round¡­


    Sonia grabbed the feather duster in a sh and threw it to the ground after a hard pull. Her voice was


    cold. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch me again!¡± Jean was immediately stunned by her actions. Aftering


    back to her senses, Jean yelled, ¡°Sonia Reed, are you out of your mind!? I will get my son to divorce


    you!¡± In the past, for the sake of Toby¡¯s grandma, she always tried to avoid conflicts with Jean, and also


    because she did not want Toby to hate her for it. She was scared before, but now, she couldn¡¯t care


    less anymore. Sonia only said lightly, ¡°Do as you wish.¡± Regardless of how the people behind her


    yelled, she left the Fuller residence with a suitcase. Secondster, a red Ferrari pulled up in front of the


    front door, whereupon a handsome man in the car waved to her. ¡°Hey, baby! Hop on!¡± Sonia got in the


    car, and the two left together.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    Charles was her childhood friend, a typical man born with a silver spoon. Looking over at Sonia,


    Charles asked tentatively, ¡°You¡¯ve finally made up your mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been so sure.¡± Sonia had a


    smile on her lips ever since she came out of the house. She was already an exquisite and beautiful


    lady, and this smile seemed to clear away the haze that had been looming over her face for many


    years, causing her face to brighten up in an instant. Charles sighed. ¡°I thought you would never wake


    up for the rest of your life. I¡¯d really been worried sick for you in the past six years. What do you even


    like about that sc*mbag anyway?¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°I know, right. Why was I so dumb?¡± ¡°Fortunately,


    you¡¯ve opened your eyes now. Another six years with him, and you¡¯d be old and wrinkly,¡± Charles


    continued jokingly. ¡°I¡¯ve already thought about it¡ªif you got kicked out when you got old, I¡¯d reluctantly


    marry you, then we¡¯d bepanions. I mean, we grew up together, after all,¡± he added. Sonia rolled


    her eyes at him. ¡°Shut your mouth.¡± ¡°By the way, this is the divorce agreement you told me to prepare.


    Take a look at it.¡± After epting the stack of documents, Sonia casually flipped through them. ¡°I won¡¯t


    take anything from Toby. I never owed him anything in the past, and I don¡¯t want to end up owing him


    anything in the future.¡± With that, she signed her name without hesitation. Seeing that she was so


    happy, Charles couldn¡¯t help but smile and said, ¡°Nice. No hesitation at all, huh?¡± Sonia put away the


    pen and raised her eyebrows slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the People¡¯s Hospital.¡± ¡°Okay, mdy.¡± The top floor


    of the hospital was exclusive to VIP patients only. After locating Room 1203, Sonia knocked on the


    door before she pressed the handrail and pushed the door open. A pretty woman on the hospital bed


    seemed to have been startled by her; she was hiding in the quilt in horror with tears in her eyes,


    seemingly terrified of her. Toby¡¯s face also sank, and his voice was as cold as ice. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Sonia took out the divorce agreement from her bag slowly and handed it to him. ¡°Sign this, and I will


    leave immediately.¡± After Toby took a look, his face darkened a little, and his voice got even colder.


    ¡°You want a divorce?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Sonia tugged her hair behind her ears and smiled softly,


    albeit looking rather estranged. ¡°It must¡¯ve been hard for you these six years. You¡¯ll be relieved from


    your suffering after signing this, won¡¯t you?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows. His expression was extremely


    cold and solemn¡ªhe wasn¡¯t sure what trick she was trying to pull here. At that moment, Tina called out


    to him weakly on the hospital bed, ¡°Toby¡­¡± This sounded like a hint. Toby looked at Tina and then cast


    his gaze on Sonia¡¯s face again as his Adam¡¯s apple moved. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this when you get back.


    Go out first and don¡¯t disturb Tina.¡± Sonia smiled, but it didn¡¯t reach her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m serious. You are


    bringing Tina home anyway. Isn¡¯t it just right to get this over with immediately? I¡¯ll be out of your way.¡±


    ¡°Sonia. Reed.¡± His voice was freezing cold and heavy, as if he had reached his tolerance limit. ¡°Well,


    Tina is watching you. Is it possible that¡­ you¡¯ve grown to love me and don¡¯t want a divorce?¡± Sonia¡¯s


    lips curled up with an elegant and charming smile. Tina looked at Toby pitifully, trying to read the man¡¯s


    mind. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Toby?¡± Sonia only looked at him coldly, waiting for him to make a decision. ¡°Okay.


    I¡¯ll sign it.¡± Toby pursed his lips, his face still extremely cold. Sonia smiled with satisfaction. Holding the


    signed divorce agreement, she left happily¡ªwithout any hesitation nor lingering attachments. However,


    as soon as she got out of the ward, the tears from the corners of her eyes flowed endlessly. Six years


    of marriage and eight years of love¡ªall in vain. Human hearts were all made of flesh; it would be a lie


    to say that she didn¡¯t feel saddened by this. It felt like someone had pierced her heart over and again


    with the tip of a needle, and it hurt like hell.Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    C4 Young Man


    She returned to the car again and became the elegant and confident Sonia Reed.


    Connor smiled lightly. "There are a few new handsome men in Money-Squandering today. Do you want


    to go and take a look?"


    Money-Squandering was a ce for entertainment and spending.


    Sonia Reed said, "I just got back to being single."


    He blinked and pretended to be mysterious, "Actually, there is someone who wants to see you."


    "Who?"


    "You know this person too, you''ll know when you get there "


    Sonia Reed pondered for a moment and nodded. "Alright."


    Connor had a private room in Money-Squandering. After the two of them went in, the person on the


    sofa stood up and looked at them.


    He was about 20 years old and was very tall. When he saw her, a light shed through his eyes.


    "Sister, we meet again."


    The young man in front of her made Sonia Reed feel very familiar, but she could not remember where


    she had seen him before.


    "Did you forget? Six years ago, you and your father helped a poor student in County M!"


    After Connor mentioned it, Sonia Reed finally understood.


    "You are Ryan Dwyer?"


    Ryan Dwyer''s eyes became gentle. He smiled and said, "It is me."


    Ryan Dwyer was a very talkative person. Sonia Reed learned from Connor that Ryan Dwyer was now a


    popr model. He had long left the poor mountainous areas and became a famous person in City A.


    Sonia Reed rarely paid attention to entertainment news. She was very happy when she heard the


    news.


    After chatting for a while, the three of them prepared to leave.


    But just as they passed by the bar, a green bottle flew towards Sonia Reed''s head.


    What was surprising was that Ryan Dwyer''s movements were even faster than hers. He took a step


    forward to protect her in his arms, and with a bang, the bottle smashed heavily onto his back.


    "Are you alright?"


    Sonia Reed was very grateful. She quickly checked his back. Fortunately, he was not injured. With a


    cold face, she turned her gaze towards the direction the bottle flew in.


    It was actually Axel Fuller!


    "You actually cheated on my brother behind his back!"


    Axel Fuller drank with a group of friends. He had long seen Sonia Reed enter the private room with two


    men. Axel Fuller saw them talking andughing. When he got angry, he threw the bottle in his hand


    out.


    Connor rolled up his sleeves and was about to step forward. "Are you asking for a beating?"


    Sonia Reed pulled Connor back. "Let me do it."


    She walked step by step to the front of Axel Fuller.


    Axel Fuller said, "The bottle didn''t hit you!"


    Sonia Reed was expressionless. Her calm gaze made people scared. "I have something I wanted to


    tell you a long time ago."


    "What?"


    "Do you know how annoying you are? I have been married to your brother for five years and you have


    never called me sister-inw. I have to take care of you when you go to school, and I have to take care


    of you after school, but you have never respected me! "


    Axel Fuller heard her scold him and was about to speak.


    "Shut up."


    Sonia Reed sternly interrupted him and continued, "Your brother and I have divorced. I have nothing to


    do with your family. Who I am with is my freedom. You are not qualified to ask. If you continue to


    provoke me, I will call the police. "


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Axel Fuller''s face turned red. He could not say anything.


    Sonia Reed ignored him and turned around to leave.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    After bidding goodbye to Charles and Carl, Sonia returned to her father¡¯s old house. There was dust


    everywhere in the house, which meant it had not been cleaned for a long time. Immediately, Sonia put


    on her apron and began to clean up. From under the sofa, she found a wedding photo with Toby. In the


    photo, she was smiling like a flower; meanwhile, Toby, who was standing next to her, was indifferent,


    with impatience between his eyebrows. There was also her diary ced next to it. The diary recorded


    what Toby liked to eat, use, and a list of his hobbies. Previously, her life revolved around Toby. She


    tried hard to manage this hard-won marriage, but the reality gave her a resounding p. Thinking of


    this, Sonia raised her head and forced herself to hold back her tears. In the next second, a message


    alert rang out, and when she picked it up, she found out Carl had sent it. ¡®Sonia, you helped me six


    years ago, and now, I will help you. Let go of your past and do anything you want. I will be your backer.¡¯


    Warmth enveloped Sonia¡¯s heart as she read it. Although she knew Carl said it out of good-will and


    simply wanted to repay her, she didn¡¯t want to rely on anyone anymore. Since marrying Toby, she had


    put away all her temperament and personality in order to be a good wife; she almost forgot how cool


    and carefree she used to be. Picking up the phone, Sonia dialed a number. ¡°Sonia, what else do you


    want?¡± Toby¡¯s indifferent voice rang out on the other end. Her voice was also cold, as if he were a


    stranger. ¡°Tomorrow is Monday. Remember to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to go through the divorce


    procedures.¡± Toby frowned. ¡°You¡ª¡± Before he could finish talking, she hung up the phone, leaving


    Toby holding his phone tightly with his cold eyes staring nkly into space. ¡°Toby, who called you?¡± On


    the bed in their bedroom, Tina looked over curiously at the balcony where Toby was standing. Hearing


    this, Toby put his phone away and pretended as if nothing had happened. He then walked over


    indifferently and pressed on the quilt covering her. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Take your medicine first.¡± Tina¡¯s pale


    face would make anyone feel sympathetic for her; she held the man¡¯s hand and pouted pitifully. ¡°The


    medicine is too bitter, and the taste is so strong it makes me feel sick.¡± Toby raised his eyebrows. ¡°But


    when we were pen pals, didn¡¯t you say that you were not afraid of the bitterness in medicines? Be


    good. You¡¯ll heal faster after you drink the medicine.¡± He only said it casually, but he didn¡¯t notice


    something shing in Tina¡¯s eyes. Soon, she raised her face again. Her big eyes were watery as she


    said, ¡°Okay. You know I¡¯ll always listen to you.¡± Tina had been in aa for six years. She was thin,


    and her face was pale, but her personality remained the same as when she was still in school. Seeing


    her this way, Toby felt sorry for her. ¡°Next time, I will get Tom to change the liquid medicine to pills.¡±


    Tina smiled sweetly before she put her arms around his and acted like a baby. ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡± After


    leaving the room, Toby went downstairs and saw Jean walking over with a bowl of ginseng soup. ¡°Is


    Tina feeling better?¡± ¡°She just finished her medicine and is talking on the phone with her parents.¡± Jean


    smiled. ¡°Toby, Tina¡¯s father is the chairman of Triforce Enterprise. Since he agreed for us to bring Tina


    over, this means he¡¯s also agreed to the marriage between the both of you. So we have to treat her


    well and never neglect her needs.¡± Seeing his mother taking care of Tina, Toby suddenly remembered


    the time when Sonia caught a coldst year. At the time, Jean got angry and wrecked stuff downstairs,


    wanting Sonia to prepare dinner; thetter could only drag her sick body downstairs to cook. As soon


    as Toby felt a little bitplicated in his heart, the feeling was cut off when he remembered how she


    crashed into Tina with her car and took advantage of the situation to get married to him¡ªshe brought


    everything on herself. While Toby was deep in his thoughts, Jean looked left and right. ¡°Where did Tyler


    go? I haven¡¯t seen him all day.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the door was pushed open with


    a bang, and Tyler emerged with a gloomy face, full of anger. ¡°Tyler! What happened to you?¡± Jean put


    down the bowl quickly and went to check on her younger son. Tyler swung her hand away. ¡°I¡¯m fine,


    Mom.¡± Soon after, he looked at his elder brother with a hesitant expression and said, ¡°Toby, I saw Sonia


    at the bar today. She was very close to a male model, and it seems they have an unusual rtionship.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face turned cold. ¡°Who was it?¡±Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    ¡°I think his name was Carl, and there was that nasty guy, Charles, next to him.¡± ¡°What? How dare she


    cheat on my son!¡± Jean¡¯s face turned ck, and she cursed sharply, ¡°How shameless! Where is she


    now? Let me tear her a new one!¡± ¡°Sonia said that she has divorced Toby!¡± Seeing the gloomy and


    terrifying face of his elder brother, Tyler asked again, ¡°Is what she said true?¡± Toby pursed his lips and


    kept silent while wearing a somber expression; he was obviously tacitly acquiescing. Jean seemed to


    have realized something when she saw that. At first, she was taken aback, and then a smile appeared


    on her face. ¡°It¡¯s good that you have divorced her! I guess she¡¯s finally done something good for once!


    In my heart, I only see Tina as my daughter-inw, and Sonia is nothing to me!¡± Somehow, Jean¡¯s


    cursing to Sonia sounded particrly harsh in Toby¡¯s ears. ¡°Stop it.¡± With that, he picked up his coat at


    the side and left the house. Tyler stared at his older brother¡¯s back in a daze. ¡°Mom, is Sonia really not


    coming back?¡± Jean snorted coldly, ¡°She won¡¯t dare to! Even if she wants a divorce, she¡¯s not getting a


    penny from my son!¡± Tyler didn¡¯t speak. Instead, he only lowered his head and continued to be deep in


    thought. All of a sudden, he noticed a pair of eyes staring over at him, and he subconsciously looked


    up. He saw Tina standing quietly in front of the railing; he wasn¡¯t sure how long she had been there.


    Meeting his surprised gaze, Tina smiled softly, her voice extremely gentle. ¡°Hi, Tyler.¡± He had heard


    from his mother that Tina was the only daughter of a business tycoon, who was very helpful to his


    brother¡¯s career, while Sonia was just a little orphan without parents and who only knew how to spend


    his brother¡¯s money. The difference was clear to everyone. Tyler smiled at Tina in a friendly manner.


    ¡°Hi, Tina.¡± ¡­¡­ The next day, Sonia woke up early in the morning to dress up specially for today. She


    took out a ck tight-fitting dress from her closet and put it on. She remembered she had worn it out


    once with Toby, but he said it was ugly, so she had never worn it since. Now, not only did she put it on,


    she also put on delicate make-up and wore a red lip; her confidence was sky-high. Toby arrived at the


    same time at the Civil Affairs Bureau as she did. Sonia curled her lips, but the smile didn¡¯t reach her


    eyes. ¡°Mr. Fuller, I¡¯m very busy, so let¡¯s make it quick, shall we?¡± Toby nced at her face with a smile,


    his gaze deep. ¡°How impatient. Is this because of the male model?¡± Sonia was stunned for a moment


    before realizing that he had misunderstood the situation. That being so, she didn¡¯t exin; instead, she


    raised her eyebrows with a smile and said, ¡°This is my personal matter. I don¡¯t think you have the right


    to ask.¡± Toby didn¡¯t like her attitude; it was as if he were an insignificant person to her. ¡°Do you love


    him?¡± Seeing him still pursuing the topic, Sonia was a little impatient. ¡°Yes, I do. Satisfied? Can we get


    a divorce now?¡± Toby¡¯s lips were pressed into a straight line, and ayer of frost enveloped his


    handsome face. Since she was so anxious, he figured he should fulfill her wishes. The Civil Affairs


    Bureau only took a few minutes to go through the formalities. As Sonia looked at the divorce certificate


    in her hand, her eyes suddenly turned watery. From now on, the two of them would have no


    rtionship anymore, and she would no longer have topromise anything for him! Taking a deep


    breath, she swallowed all the pain and raised her head with a smile hung at the corners of her mouth.


    At this moment, a shiny ck Maybach stopped beside her. A pair of long legs got out of the car,


    followed by Carl emerging in a jacket. After the handsome man saw her, a charming smile filled the


    corners of his lips. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up.¡± Sonia was taken aback for a moment. ¡°Didn¡¯t Charles say


    he would be the oneing?¡± ¡°He went to Celestial to book a ce to celebrate for you in the evening,


    so he had me pick you up first.¡± Subsequently, he took the initiative to hold her bag. ¡°Sonia, get in the


    car first. I¡¯ll take you somewhere nice.¡±Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    Looking at Carl being all mysterious, Sonia¡¯s curiosity was aroused. ¡°Tell me where we¡¯re going first,


    and I will decide whether to go or not.¡± Carl sighed helplessly. ¡°Sonia, how would it be a surprise if I told


    you?¡± After seeing his bitter expression, Sonia couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud. It was at this exact


    moment when Toby came out from the door, and he happened to see a man lowering his head and


    whispering into Sonia¡¯s ear. He didn¡¯t know what they were talking about. Sonia was smiling so happily,


    her eyes shining brightly. He was about to get in the car, but he stopped and turned around to stare at


    the man and woman coldly, his gaze as cold as ice. After the two of them got married, she had never


    laughed like this. In his ears were her endless nagging, all about trivial matters, and her eyes looked


    wary every time she looked at him. He actually didn¡¯t like seeing her this happy; he felt irritated. Who


    would have thought that after they got divorced, she seemed to have changedpletely; she was


    exuding a dazzling light from the inside out. Is it all because of that man? Toby sneered at the corner of


    his mouth. An unfaithful woman who had no self-love was not worth his time at all! ¡°Sir?¡± Seeing how


    his boss hadn¡¯t gotten into the car, Tom Brown carefully called out to Toby. Hearing that, Toby retracted


    his gaze and got into the car. ¡°Go back to the office.¡± Tom wasn¡¯t sure if it was just his imagination, but


    he felt that his boss was furious, and his expression was so scary¡­ Sonia had just gotten into the


    passenger seat, and she saw Toby leave out of the corner of her eyes. As the car was moving, she


    only kept looking at the trees speeding by outside in a daze. Carl saw the destion in her eyes, and


    he calmly suppressed the emotions in his eyes. ¡°Sonia, what are you thinking about?¡± Sonia regained


    her senses and smiled. ¡°Nothing much.¡± Looking at Carl¡¯s side profile, Sonia thought that his facial


    features were more prominent, with a somewhat mixed-race look to it. Toby was famously good-looking


    back at school, but Carl was not inferior at all. With his wide shoulders, slender waist, and long legs, he


    was evenparable to international supermodels. ¡°Uh¡­ why did you choose the modeling industry


    anyway?¡± Sonia once thought that with his good grades, he would embark on a career in academia.


    ¡°Well, I had a random audition at the beginning, but I didn¡¯t realize that after that, I would enter the


    modeling circle just like that.¡± Looking back at the mirror, he nced at Sonia and pretended to ask


    casually, ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you like the modeling industry?¡± Sonia shook her head, and her gaze was soft.


    ¡°Not really. As long as you have a good life and shine in your own domain, it¡¯s all the same for me.¡±


    Hearing that, the young man smiled and braked steadily. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± In front of them was a rather


    retro two-story small western-style building. There was an old man with white hair sitting in a wicker


    chair sipping on his tea. The old man turned around and smiled at her slightly. ¡°Hello, my girl.¡± Sonia


    was stunned, unable to believe who was standing in front of her. The old man sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about


    everything, Sonia. You poor thing.¡± With teary eyes, she threw herself under the old man¡¯s knee.


    ¡°Grandpa! Where have you been all these years?¡± Six years ago, the funds in Paradigm Co. were


    stolen, and all the evidence pointed to her father. Because of this, not only was he expelled from the


    board of directors, but he was also put behind bars. Subsequently, her stepmother and stepsister fled


    with whatever money they had left. Everything added together caused her father to take his own life.


    The old man exined, ¡°I¡¯ve been investigating the theft ofpany funds back then. I found that it


    was rted to the Triforce Enterprise; your father was made a scapegoat.¡± Triforce Enterprise was the


    largest real estatepany in the city. Its chairman was Titus Gray, who was none other than Tina¡¯s


    father. While Sonia was pondering, the old man took out a document and put it in her hand. ¡°Girl, this is


    51% of Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares. Don¡¯t ask me how I got it, but I know this is what you need right now.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia pursed her lips and looked solemn. ¡°I will find the person who framed my father and


    prove his innocence. Grandpa, I will certainly not let you down.¡±Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    Meanwhile, at the Fuller Residence. Jean was instructing her servant to swipe away all traces of Sonia


    ¡ªthe sheets she had slept in, the slippers she had worn, the aprons she had worn, and even the


    dishes and chopsticks she had used. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Toby frowned slightly when he came back.


    Jean snorted softly. ¡°Why should we even keep that woman¡¯s belongings? Tina is the one you will


    marry in the future.¡± She rolled her eyes as she spoke, and she hurriedly came over. ¡°Toby, didn¡¯t you


    divorce her already? Remember, all the money you have is all your hard-earned money. Don¡¯t you


    even think about giving her a penny!¡± He replied lightly, ¡°She didn¡¯t want anything.¡± Jean obviously


    didn¡¯t believe it. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How could she not want anything? She doesn¡¯t have money, so


    why wouldn¡¯t she try to earn a fortune from you? Otherwise, where will she get the money to provide for


    her kept man?¡± Thinking of Sonia¡¯s rtionship with the male model, Toby¡¯s head throbbed. Not


    wanting to deal with Jean any longer, he instructed Tom to show her the divorce agreement. Arriving


    upstairs, he noticed that Tina was sitting in front of the window while reading a book. She raised her


    head and smiled softly at him. ¡°You are back.¡± Looking at her soothing smile, the irritability in his heart


    was slowly washed away. ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay. I got bored in the room, so I just found a


    book to pass the time.¡± Tina gently put the book on the bedside table, stood up, and hugged Toby¡¯s


    waist from behind. ¡°Toby, do you regret divorcing her?¡± Toby¡¯s voice was low. ¡°I don¡¯t; I don¡¯t love her.


    Besides, she cheated first.¡± The corners of Tina¡¯s mouth curled up slightly. The man turned around and


    hugged her. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about her anymore. The most important thing right now is your health. Uncle


    Gray will hold a banquet for you next month, so you have to get well soon.¡± Tina blinked and smiled as


    she answered, ¡°I know.¡± After Toby left, she dialed the number of the Grays¡¯ housekeeper. ¡°Miss, what¡¯s


    your order?¡± ¡°Tell my dad about Sonia crashing her car into me. You know what to say, right?¡± ¡°Yes,


    miss.¡± After hanging up the phone, Tina turned her head to look at the cactus by the window, and the


    corners of her mouth slowly curled upward. Toby returned to thepany and called Tom to his office.


    ¡°How goes the Ocean¡¯s Heart I told you to prepare?¡± Tom respectfully responded, ¡°Sir, news from Italy


    came; they said that it¡¯ll be delivered by air in about a week.¡± The Ocean¡¯s Heart ne was a


    famous work by an internationally renowned designer, K. There was only one in the country, and it was


    extremely valuable. Tom knew that Toby had spent a ton of resources to buy it and had nned to use


    it to propose to Tina at the Grays¡¯ family banquet. This reminded Tom of Toby¡¯s wife, who had been


    with him for six years. He had never once given his wife a gift, let alone expensive nes, or even


    flowers. One time, she came to thepany to visit him with a lunch box but was driven away by him


    with a cold face. With that, she immediately became theughing stock of the wholepany. All the


    employees knew that the husband did not take his wife seriously. And the few times she came after


    this, she was turned away right at the front desk. Tom sighed. Toby treated his ex-wife with far less than


    a percent of the gentle treatment he had given Tina. Hearing Tom¡¯s reply, Toby only answered


    dismissively without speaking. After that, he lowered his head to continue looking through the files in


    front of him. Right then, a phone call came. Toby nced over and saw that it was from a friend, so he


    quickly connected the call. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± A frivolous young man¡¯s voice spread from the other


    side of the line. ¡°Toby, look at thetest headlines on the Inte.¡± Toby didn¡¯t know what the man was


    up to with this, so he unlocked his phone and nced at it casually. In an instant, his eyes froze on an


    article. It was a rather intimate photo of Sonia with that male model. He had his head down, while she


    was tilting her head upward. The angle of the picture made it seemed like they were kissing. Along with


    the photo was an eye-catching red title¡ª¡®Breaking News! President Fuller Forced to Be Divorced While


    Popr Male Model Sessfully Took His ce!¡¯Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    Toby¡¯s face sank immediately as he remained speechless. Zane Coleman seemed to have expected


    his mood and jokingly said, ¡°Oh, I actually learned about your divorce from a trending chart. Well, how


    does it feel to be cheated on?¡± Toby paused before hissing, ¡°F*ck off.¡± ¡°Haha! I told you Sonia was a


    good woman, but you didn¡¯t know how to cherish her. I think she was the only one who could bear with


    you for six years. If it were someone else, they would have probably dumped you long ago.¡± Toby was


    upset. ¡°I don¡¯t love her anyway.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. You love that Tina girl, right?¡± Zane had met Tina in college


    before. After all, lookers-on would see the most clearly. At a nce, he could see that the youngdy of


    the Gray family was not an easy person. But Toby¡­ On the other hand, Zane had a very good


    impression of Sonia. She was kind enough to Toby, and she kept the Fuller family in order; it was a pity


    that she worked hard but got nothing in return. Toby¡¯s face went dark. ¡°You called just to ridicule me?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m here to tell you that your ex-wife spent a lot of money to book the first floor of Celestial, and I


    was invited by her to go to the party. Alright, I don¡¯t want to talk to you anymore¡ªI want to watch some


    dancing.¡± With that, Zane hung up the call from his end. Toby looked at the phone nkly for a while,


    and then continued to busy himself with the files nonchntly. At the next moment, Tom suddenly


    came in. ¡°Sir, Old Mrs. Fuller is back.¡± ¡­¡­ Meanwhile, in Celestial. Sonia actually invited Zane with a


    purpose. Few people knew that Zane was the second son of the deputy mayor. His main business was


    located overseas, and this time, he came back to sign a contract with Paradigm Co. However, the


    board of directors in Paradigm Co. did not even bat their eyes at this rising star at all and kept turning


    him away. From this, Sonia knew that her chance was here. With that in mind, Sonia held the wine


    ss and walked over to Zane with a smile. ¡°Mr. Coleman, I hadn¡¯t seen you in a year, yet you are still


    so handsome and good-looking.¡± Zane had a pair of almond eyes; he was handsome and always had a


    natural smiley face on. ¡°Miss Reed, you are the one that surprised me. It is hard to imagine that this


    beautiful, sexy, and elegant woman in front of me is the same person I knew two years ago.¡± Sonia


    swirled her wine ss, smiling unabated. ¡°People are always changing, and so we always have to look


    forward. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Zane deliberately closed the distance between them as he lowered his


    voice and said half-jokingly, ¡°I actually don¡¯t understand something. Miss Reed, you know that I am a


    good friend of Toby¡¯s, so why did you invite me? Is it because you are infatuated by my handsome


    appearance?¡± Sonia knew that this man liked to make jokes, and so she wasn¡¯t annoyed; instead, she


    went along with him and whispered in his ears. Zane¡¯s expression became serious in an instant after


    hearing the few words spoken softly by Sonia. Immediately after that, he looked at her with a


    complicated look. ¡°You are such a smart woman. Toby will definitely regret his behavior in the future.¡±


    The smile at the corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth faded. ¡°Well, he is past tense now. What¡¯s the use of


    mentioning him anyway?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. From now on, we two will be number one in the world! So, my


    beautiful Miss Reed, may I have this dance?¡± Zane continued his yful act with a cheeky smile, but as


    he stretched his hand over for a dance, he was soon interrupted by a voice. It was Carl walking over


    with his long legs while holding a ss of juice, and without even looking at Zane, he swapped the


    wine in Sonia¡¯s hand. ¡°Sonia, you¡¯ll get a headache if you drink too much.¡± To Zane¡¯s surprise, Sonia


    didn¡¯t even reject it; she merely took the ss of juice naturally. Immediately, Zane turned his gaze to


    the young man again and froze. From what he saw, this young man had good looks and a great


    charisma; he deserved to be a popr and famous male model. Goddamn¡­ Right now, Zane seemed


    to have foreseen Toby¡¯s future misery.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    Carl nodded at Zane politely. Then, facing Sonia, the corners of his lips were slightly raised. ¡°I heard


    from Charles that you took dance lessons before. Could you teach me?¡± Sonia was in an unexpectedly


    good mood. ¡°Not a problem.¡± Hence, the two went onto the dance floor hand-in-hand. As Zane came


    back to his senses, he shook his head again and sighed. ¡°This male model is something else, huh?¡±


    After all, Carl was a model, so he could learn to dance with ease. He had asked the DJ to change the


    color of the lighting a long time ago, and the two danced in-sync on the star-lit stage. Meanwhile,


    Charles whistled while drinking. It had been years since Soniast danced; her heel was unstable at


    thest move, and she fell all of a sudden. Carl was quick as he ced his big hands on her back to


    support her. With that, he fished her whole body into his arms. Sonia pressed close to him. At this


    moment, she could vaguely hear his heart beating rapidly. And this was what Toby saw when he came


    in. The woman, who was usually gentle and dignified, was now lying in the arms of another man, like a


    charming and sexy minx. Toby¡¯s face froze instantly¡ªit turned all gloomy and terrifying. Carl whispered


    in Sonia¡¯s ear, ¡°Sonia, he is here.¡± Sonia had long spotted the man in therge ss mirror opposite


    her. Nevertheless, she smiled as if she didn¡¯t see him and tugged the messy hair behind her ears.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m a little hungry. Let¡¯s get something to eat first.¡± Hearing that, Carl let go of her and left the


    dance floor with her. When passing by Toby, he paused slightly and raised his eyelids. From Toby¡¯s


    point of view, this was obviously a provocation. ¡°Sonia Reed, stop right there!¡± Sonia halted with her


    back facing him. She turned around, and the corner of her lips raised into a shallow arc. ¡°Why did you


    come, Mr. Fuller? If I remember correctly, you weren¡¯t on the invite list, right?¡± Toby nced at Carl


    first; he squinted at the young man¡¯s slightly hostile gaze. He then said to Sonia, ¡°I think you should be


    a little more careful. You have so many scandals right after the two of us divorced. Though it probably


    doesn¡¯t matter to you, the Fuller family still has to take care of our reputation.¡± Sonia was amused by


    what he said. ¡°Well, even so, it¡¯s not your ce to lecture me. Besides, who I am with does not have


    anything to do with you.¡± ¡°You are wrong. I¡¯m not one to be nosy, but your high-profile gossip has


    already reached my grandmother¡¯s ears.¡± Toby stood there with a calm face while his gaze melted into


    the night. Sonia¡¯s smile froze. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller is back?¡± ¡°Well, not only that¡ªshe wants to see you.¡±


    Toby twitched his lips coldly and nced at Carl behind her. With a sarcastic tone, he said, ¡°Of course,


    if you are too busy dating, you don¡¯t have to go.¡± After saying that, he left without looking back. Sonia¡¯s


    expression wasplicated; after considering for a moment, she decided to follow Toby. ¡°Sonia.¡±


    Seeing that Carl wanted to follow along too, she turned around to reassure him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be


    fine.¡± Looking at Sonia leaving from a distance, the light in Carl¡¯s eyes dimmed. At this moment, he


    noticed the figure in the corner. Zane walked over with an embarrassed look and coughed slightly.


    ¡°Um¡­ I heard their conversation when I was smoking outside.¡± Carl, who was wearing an indifferent


    expression, ignored him. Zane touched his nose, amused at Carl¡¯s hostility toward him. ¡°You are in love


    with Sonia, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t worry, man. I don¡¯t n to steal her from you.¡± Carl only nced at him


    coldly. ¡°It¡¯s windy outside, Mr. Coleman. I think you should go back early.¡± After speaking, he left. Zane


    was taken aback for a moment. After that, he shook his head andughed.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    Sonia only sat in Toby¡¯s car¡ªthey didn¡¯t speak at all along the way. Soon, they arrived at the Fullers¡¯


    old mansion. Rose Fuller lived in the suburbs. She loved the quietness; she was often meditating and


    praying, and only a few women waited on her side. From afar, Sonia could hear the olddy¡¯s coughs.


    Rose¡¯s face was pale, and she didn¡¯t seem to be in good health. At first, she said coldly to Toby, ¡°Go


    and stand by the door.¡± Then, she took Sonia into the house. ¡°Who would have thought that not long


    after I went away, such a big thing would happen. Sonia, you are too impulsive this time round.¡± Sonia


    knew that the olddy was talking about her divorce from Toby. Slowly stepping forward, she held the


    olddy¡¯s usually cold hand and smiled slightly. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, you should be happy for me. I can


    finally be myself, right?¡± The olddy nced at Toby, who was outside, with a slightint in her


    eyes, and turned around while looking a little sad. ¡°Toby, that foolish child. How could he let such a


    good wife like you go? And now, you even addressed me as ¡®Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯!¡± Sonia was startled, and


    she could feel tears filling up her eyes. ¡°Grandma.¡± Rose patted the back of Sonia¡¯s hand. ¡°Sonia, I can


    bear witness to your feelings for Toby these years. Can you really let go?¡± ¡°I have no choice but to let


    go, Grandma.¡± Sonia felt bitterness in her heart. So what if I couldn¡¯t let go? Enough is enough. The old


    lady hugged her and gently patted her back tofort her. ¡°I won¡¯t me you for divorcing Toby. I


    knew this day woulde sooner orter. It¡¯s Toby who does not have the luck to be with you.¡± Sonia


    leaned quietly in Rose¡¯s arms. In the past few years in the Fuller family, Rose was the only one who


    ever showed kindness to her. Jean and Tyler both didn¡¯t dare to mess around with her when Rose was


    around, and they always had to be cautious around her, so Sonia had long regarded Rose as her


    family. Sonia didn¡¯t regret the divorce, but it was a pity that she couldn¡¯t do her filial duty by her side.


    ¡°Sonia, I watched Toby grow up, and I understand his personality. If one day, he wants you back, will


    youe back to him?¡± The olddy was reluctant to let such a good granddaughter-inw go, and


    she naturally hoped that the two would be together in the future. However, Sonia was not a fool¡ªshe


    knew that only Tina could soften Toby up, not her. Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°But, Grandma, he doesn¡¯t love


    me¡ªI should have realized it six years ago.¡± Rose also seemed to have realized something as her


    expression turned sad and dull. ¡°Grandma, no matter if I am still your granddaughter-inw or not, I am


    still the old Sonia, who will respect you forever.¡± She stretched out her hand and stroked Rose¡¯s hair


    with a smile. ¡°Please always be happy and well, okay? Don¡¯t worry about anything else.¡± Toby only


    stood quietly outside. He knew the kind of rtionship Sonia and Rose had. Although he had never


    loved Sonia all these years, he couldn¡¯t deny the fact that Sonia treated the olddy very well¡ªno


    worse than her own children, should they have any. Even if Jean and Tyler were not good to her, she


    had been caring for them as well. After learning that Tina¡¯s car ident was caused by Sonia, Toby


    was disgusted by her in his heart, but he chose to let her go because she really did treat Rose


    sincerely. It could be considered hisst act of kindness to her. After a long time, the two came out from


    the house. ¡°Sonia, feel free toe see me in the future whenever you feel like it. I¡¯m afraid I only have


    a few more years to live.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that! You are someone who could live up to a hundred years old,


    and I promise I wille to see you often.¡± At this time, Toby stepped forward and offered, ¡°Let me


    drive you.¡± Sonia refused directly. ¡°No need for that. Someone will pick me up.¡± Turning around, she


    walked toward the ck Maybach that had already arrived. Seeing that it was Charles and Carl, Toby¡¯s


    eyes turned dull. The warm scene of the three talking andughing was inexplicably hard to watch.


    Rose coughed a few times and was already panting a little. ¡°I¡¯m old now, and I can¡¯t meddle in your


    affairs anymore, but Toby¡­ I hope you don¡¯t regret it one day.¡± Rose, who had always doted on him,


    was already extremely disappointed in him and didn¡¯t want to look at him any more. With that, she went


    back into the house with the help of the servant. Toby stood alone at the door while his expression


    turned cold again. Regret? Never.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    The next day, Toby sat by his desk with the red divorce certificate still sitting on the desk. After looking


    at it for a while, he threw it in the trash can. Right then, Tom stepped forward and respectfully said, ¡°Sir,


    Chairman Gray of Triforce Enterprise is on the phone.¡± Tina¡¯s father? At once, Toby sorted out his


    emotions and took the call. ¡°Uncle Gray.¡± A middle-aged man with a hoarse voice spoke. ¡°Toby, is Tina


    being good in your house these days? I haven¡¯t had time to see her recently. It¡¯s always my wife who¡¯s


    been apanying her to relieve her boredom these days. I¡¯m still afraid that she¡¯ll haveints.¡±


    Toby¡¯s voice was steady. ¡°Uncle, rest assured. Tina is recovering well these days, and my mother has


    been apanying her often as well.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great, then.¡± Titus couldn¡¯t help but pry. ¡°I heard


    some news saying that Tina¡¯s car ident six years ago was rted to your ex-wife. Yesterday, Tina¡¯s


    mother went to visit Tina and asked her a little bit about it, but Tina has been avoiding the topic all


    along. Toby, do you know what happened?¡± Hearing this, Toby was startled. He pressed his lips tightly


    and didn¡¯t speak immediately. ¡°Toby, are you listening?¡± After a while, Toby frowned. ¡°That car


    ident¡­ did have something to do with Sonia Reed.¡± Titus said with a long heart, ¡°You also know


    that Tina is my only baby. The car ident six years ago almost broke me and my wife. After Tina


    woke up, the first person she wanted to see was you. I believe you can see how deep her love for you


    is. I know you can differentiate who is more important here¡ªyour ex-wife or Tina.¡± Toby lowered his


    eyes. ¡°Yes. I know.¡± Titus seemed to be very satisfied by his answer. ¡°Toby, I believe you will be the


    most worthy person for Tina.¡± After he hung up the phone, Toby pondered for a moment. After a long


    time, he called Tom in. ¡°Help me with something.¡± ¡­¡­ Meanwhile, Sonia, Carl, and Charles came out


    of the Paradigm Co.¡¯s office building side-by-side. Charles smiled and hooked Carl¡¯s shoulders while


    giving him a thumbs up. ¡°What happened just now was dope. Gosh, did you see the faces of those old


    men? They all went red from anger! I knew you¡¯d have your way, Carl. Haha!¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help but


    curl her lips as well. ¡°Well, those people have had strong opinions about me ever since the fund theft


    case six years ago, so naturally, they would not easily ept the fact that I have be the new


    major shareholder. However, Carl¡¯s method was indeed very effective, rendering thempletely


    speechless!¡± She never asked Carl how he and her grandpa met, nor had she asked him why he knew


    all the things about Paradigm Co. Although Carl was a model now, everyone had their own secrets. Not


    meddling in others¡¯ affairs was the most basic kind of respect. Grandpa gave up so much to get 51% of


    the shares, so I must use them to strengthen my position in Paradigm Co. and thoroughly investigate


    the truth of what happened six years ago. As for the Gray family¡­ Her eyes flickered. We¡¯re not in a


    hurry. We¡¯ll deal with this one step at a time, she thought. ¡°Oh, baby, you are a person of status now.


    You can¡¯t be dressing sloppily, and you most definitely can¡¯t let others look down on you. Let¡¯s go buy


    you some clothes and jewelry!¡± With that, Charles drove them to a branded store. It was a paradise for


    ladies of the upper ss, where they sold super valuable items such as designer clothing, jewelry, and


    so on. However, the original good mood of the three of them was instantly destroyed by a sharp and


    mean voice. ¡°Stand right there, you little b*tch!¡± It was a familiar swearing with a familiar tone. Upon


    hearing that, the smile on Sonia¡¯s face disappeared almost instantly. After they turned around, they saw


    Jean ring at them with her eyes widened and her hands on her hips. She dashed up to Sonia,


    pointed at her nose, and cursed, ¡°You b*tch. Not only did youmit adultery, you even took my son¡¯s


    money to buy things for your two lovers? Well, aren¡¯t you a disgusting human being, Sonia Reed!¡±


    Carl¡¯s face was cold, and he stood in front of Sonia. ¡°Shut up if you don¡¯t have anything nice to say.¡±


    Jean rolled her eyes. Her voice was loud, attracting arge crowd of people gathering around.


    ¡°Everyone,e and see! This woman is a shameless b*tch. She used my son¡¯s hard-earned money


    to fool around with her lovers! Come gather around and see! One woman and two men. This is the


    real-life Scarlet Letter right here!¡±Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    Sonia was surprised by this. After all, Toby was a talented man, and the Fuller family was a wealthy


    family. So why was Jean always acting like a hick from the country? She twitched the corners of her


    mouth. ¡°Please just understand this one thing¡ªyour son and I are divorced. Also, I never took a cent


    from your family.¡± ¡°Bullsh*t!¡± Jean didn¡¯t buy her nonsense, and she obviously refused to let things go.


    ¡°Where did you get the money toe to this high-end ce if you didn¡¯t get it from my son? Let me


    tell you, Sonia Reed¡ªeven if you kneel down and apologize to me right now, I will not forgive you!¡±


    Kneel down and apologize? Sonia almostughed from anger. What a swell woman she is. She¡¯s just


    never normal, huh? Sonia felt that Jean was definitely not worth her time, so she wanted to turn around


    and leave. But how could Jean¡ªwho was making trouble¡ªlet her go so easily? ¡°Look at you, trying to


    escape!¡± Jean reached out and grabbed the hair on the back of Sonia¡¯s head. Charles, who had been


    prepared for a long time, pushed Jean away and protected Sonia behind him. While doing so, Charles


    used a little force, causing Jean to lose her bnce, and she fell backward onto the floor hard. ¡°Ouch!¡±


    She raised her head to meet Charles¡¯ disgusted gaze. Immediately, she sat on the ground and cried


    out, ¡°Where is the justice? I am an old woman who was beaten by a stinky brat! I don¡¯t want to live


    anymore!¡± More and more people gathered around the scene, and soon, the general manager came


    too. Seeing that, Jean quickly pointed to Charles andined to the manager, ¡°It was this little


    b*stard who hit me. Oh, my waist¡­ It hurts so much¡­¡± After all, she was a VIP customer of the store,


    and she had spent quite a lot of money here, so Manager Zeller naturally wanted to help. He nced


    over at Sonia and the rest with a serious expression, and when his eyes fell on Carl, he was shocked.


    ¡°Bo¡ª¡± Almost instantly, Carl interrupted him. ¡°She is lying. If you don¡¯t believe me, take a look at the


    surveince cameras.¡± After all, Manager Zeller had been through many things, so he could easily get


    the cue. He suddenly seemed to have changed into a different person as he nodded and said with a


    chuckle, ¡°Yes, yes. I will get the tapes right away.¡± Seeing this strange turn of events, Sonia became


    more curious about Carl. Is he really just a poor student from a mountain vige? When Manager Zeller


    came back again, he had already changed sides and was speechless as he faced Jean. ¡°Madam, you


    should take your leave first, or the cops will be here soon.¡± Jean was taken aback by what he said.


    ¡°What cops?¡± Manager Zeller berated her angrily, ¡°In the surveince tape, it was obvious that you


    made the first move. How can you say that someone beat you! If you continue to make trouble like this,


    of course I will have to call the cops to settle this. After they take a look at the tape, you will


    immediately be punished for what you did!¡± As soon as she heard what the manager had said, Jean


    couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. ¡°In what world!¡± Seeing that she was still stubborn, Charlesughed angrily


    and sarcastically said to Jean, ¡°Why are you still so shameless at your age? You deliberately harassed


    Sonia when she was in your house, and even now, when she is divorced from your sc*mbag of a son,


    you are still bothering her? Don¡¯t think that just because you are an old woman, I won¡¯t beat you up.


    Should you ever piss me off again, I will kill you, old hag!¡± Jean was taken aback by Charles¡¯ words.


    Even though it made her grind her teeth, she could only leave without reconciliation. Charles sneered,


    ¡°What an old hag that only bullies the weak. Whates around goes around!¡± Suddenly, Charles¡¯ cell


    phone rang. After answering, he had a vague conversation with the other party, during which he looked


    over to Sonia subconsciously. She raised her eyebrows upon seeing that. ¡°Seeing how you¡¯re looking


    at me that way, is it rted to me?¡± ¡°A friend of mine said that he saw Tom looking into the roadside


    surveince of Tina¡¯s car ident six years ago.¡± After he finished speaking, Sonia¡¯s face turned cold.


    Seeing the change in her expression, Carl turned to look at Charles and asked, ¡°What surveince


    footage?¡± Charles snorted with an unabashed anger. ¡°Well, it must be the femme fatale, Tina Gray,


    again. After waking up, she found out that Sonia got married to Toby, and she immediately became


    jealous and vindictive. Hence, she deliberately distorted the facts and told Toby that it was Sonia who


    hit her with her car out of jealousy. How could a man as smart as Toby not see that this was all a lie?


    Damn. I am speechless.¡± Carl lowered his eyes and pondered. ¡°Let¡¯s not think about if the video file still


    exists after so long; even if Toby were lucky enough to get it, what would be the use of that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re


    right.¡± After a while, as if he had suddenly thought of something, Charles¡¯ expression changed. ¡°Tina,


    that ck-hearted witch, can evene up with such an unscrupulous lie¡ªwhat if she makes a fake


    video to tear you down?¡± Sonia suddenlyughed, but it wasn¡¯t sincere. ¡°Well, I originally nned to


    mind my own business once I divorced Toby. It seems that I am too naive, for a certain someone


    wouldn¡¯t let me go no matter what.¡± Titus had something to do with Sonia¡¯s father being wronged, and


    when Tina woke up, she charged Sonia with assault and attempted murder. Like father, like daughter,N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    huh? Do they take me as an easy target? Sonia hooked the corner of her mouth, smiling like a


    blooming rose. ¡°I won¡¯t mess with Tina if she leaves me alone. But if she ever tries to harm me, I will let


    her understand that I am not someone that she can easily mess around with.¡±

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    In the office, Toby tapped his index finger rhythmically on his desk. He seemed to be waiting for


    something. After another five minutes or so, Tom came back. ¡°Sir, although there were some obstacles,


    I found it in the end.¡± Toby¡¯s eyelids slowly raised upon hearing Tom¡¯s words. ¡°What obstacles?¡± ¡°The


    surveince on Yellow Brick Road has long been taped over, and it wasn¡¯t easy to find a surveince


    video from six years ago. But aputer repair guy came and told me that he had it; he said that the


    car ident six years ago was very serious, so he saved the file and came to give it to me when he


    knew I was looking for the video.¡± After Tom finished speaking, he looked at Toby carefully. ¡°Ms. Gray¡¯s


    car in the video was indeed hit by another blue car. Would you like to watch it?¡± Sonia drove a blue


    Audi back then. ¡°No.¡± Toby was indifferent, and he continued to order Tom, ¡°Give it to me, and then tell


    that person to not go out and talk nonsense.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Tom had been with Toby for many years,


    so he naturally knew what he meant whenever he said something. Obviously, Toby did not intend to


    make this a matter public, nor did he want his former wife to go to jail for this. Toby stared at the pen in


    his hand, lost in thought. After a while, he picked up his coat and returned to the Fuller¡¯s mansion. As


    soon as he arrived in the hall, he heard cheers andughtering from inside. Jean and Tina were


    talking about something funny, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Even Tyler, who was usually


    naughty and mischievous, sat quietly at the side while ying with his mobile phone. Jean noticed


    Toby by the door and quickly got up. ¡°Toby, you are back!¡± Tina also stood up, all gentle and dignified.


    Toby nodded and handed the coat to the servant. ¡°What are youughing so cheerfully about?¡± Tina


    nced at Jean, pursed her lips, and smiled, ¡°Aunt Jean was telling me about the stories when you


    were a kid. They sounded very interesting, so I couldn¡¯t help butugh.¡± Jean pretended to be angry.


    ¡°Tina, what ¡®Aunt Jean¡¯? You are my future daughter-inw, so you should call me ¡®mom¡¯ from now on!¡±


    Tina flushed and looked at Toby shyly. ¡°It¡¯s still too early for that.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all a family, so don¡¯t you be


    shy. Am I right, Toby?¡± Jean deliberately teased the two of them. Even Tyler, who was on the side,


    interjected at the same time, ¡°It seems I can¡¯t be calling her Tina anymore. I have to call her my sister-


    inw instead!¡± Hearing that, Tina¡¯s face turned even redder. Toby sighed. ¡°Mom, stop teasing Tina.


    She¡¯s very thin-skinned.¡± Jean chuckled. ¡°Oh, look at you, already all protective over your future wife


    before she officially joins the family. Okay, fine. I won¡¯t tease the two of you anymore. I will go outside


    and chat with the other olddies.¡± Tyler also smiled knowingly with an ambiguous wink. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t


    stay and be a third-wheel here either.¡± After they left, only the two of them remained. Tina stepped


    forward and held Toby¡¯s hand. She hesitated before she spoke. ¡°Toby, my dad kept asking me about


    the car ident recently. Did you tell him anything?¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°My father


    seems to know that it had something to do with Sonia, but I haven¡¯t told him, though. That¡¯s weird.¡±


    After a pause, she sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve forgiven Miss Reed, and I don¡¯t want to pursue this matter.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you


    hate her?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t. She is also a pitiful person. She must have loved you very much to have done


    such a crazy thing.¡± Tina was so considerate, which was veryforting to Toby. Toby touched her


    hair, his gaze gentle as he nced at her. ¡°Tina, you are always so kind, just like when you were in


    college. I still remember that you mentioned in your letter that you saved a little mouse when you were


    young and put it on your bed. And when your father saw it, he almost passed out because of this.¡±


    Speaking of this, the corners of his mouth also twitched. ¡°How interesting.¡± Tina¡¯s smile froze, but she


    quickly cleared up her expression. ¡°Ah, what are you doing, bringing up the past? Those are all


    embarrassing histories. By the way, I heard from Tyler that Old Mrs. Fuller has not been in good health


    lately. Can I go visit her?¡± Thinking of his grandmother¡¯s indifference to him, Toby pondered for a


    moment. ¡°I will take you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After he went upstairs, Tina took out her mobile phone and


    dialed a number. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Miss, everything has been settled. What should I do next?¡± ¡°The


    day before the banquet, I want to see this on trending topics.¡± ¡°Understood.¡±Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    At about 1.00PM in the afternoon, Jean came back with a sullen face. Tyler was ying a game, and


    upon seeing his mother, he asked casually, ¡°Mom, who made you angry this time?¡± Jean threw her bag


    on the sofa and sat down angrily. ¡°It¡¯s all that damn Sonia¡¯s fault!¡± ¡°Who?¡± Tyler quickly put down the


    game console and came over. ¡°Mom, did you go to see her?¡± ¡°Why would I meet her on purpose? I met


    her at the luxury brand square a while back. She and her two lovers ganged up and bullied me. I don¡¯t


    know what they did, but when I went shopping with my friends today, the security didn¡¯t let me in and


    said that I had been cklisted!¡± Jean almost broke her teeth in anger as she continued angrily, ¡°There


    were five to six otherdies in total, and they let everyone else in except for me! How preposterous!


    You didn¡¯t get to see the way the others looked at me, as if I was some inferior person. Gah! I hate that


    b*tch, Sonia, so much!¡± Perhaps because her voice was too loud, Toby and Tina came down together.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby fastened the buttons on his wrists; he looked very dapper in his blue-gray shirt.


    Tina was also well dressed. She was in a pure white skirt, making her look gentle as a lily. Jean briefly


    told him the matter again. Toby frowned slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve already divorced her, so you shouldn¡¯t provoke


    her for no reason.¡± Sonia was not as simple as people thought. He knew the character of his mother


    very well, and he only reminded her so she would stay away from trouble in the future. Hearing this,


    Jean became more upset and curled her lips. ¡°She was the one who provoked me first, okay?¡± She


    paused. Seeing the two of them about to head out, she quickly looked at Tina and asked with a smile,


    ¡°Tina, where are you going?¡± Tina smiled slightly. ¡°I heard that Old Mrs. Fuller got sick, so I wanted to


    go and pay her a visit.¡± Jean rolled her eyes. ¡°So what if she¡¯s sick? Why even visit her? I mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mom.¡± Toby interrupted her with a deep gaze, obviously displeased. ¡°She is my grandmother.¡± Jean


    knew that her son didn¡¯t like her saying bad things about Rose, so she didn¡¯t dare to continue speaking


    andughed dismissively instead. ¡°Then the both of you shoulde back soon. I¡¯ll get the servant to


    make Tina¡¯s favorite soup to revitalize her body.¡± Tina thanked her and went out with Toby. After all,


    Sonia was the only person who had taken care of Rose, and she had developed a strong rtionship


    with her throughout the years. Although Tina had her grandson¡¯s heart, it couldn¡¯t match Sonia¡¯s


    position in her heart. Evidently, Toby saw the olddy¡¯s estrangement from Tina when they arrived. He


    knew the reason, but he still brought Tina over. It was nothing more than to let Tina get acquainted withUpstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    the olddy. After all, Tina was his future wife. ¡°Grandma, here are some nutritional supplements I


    specially prepared for you. Please ept it.¡± Tina behaved like a well-knowingdy, as if her every


    move was designed to be perfect. The olddy was lying on her side on the chaise longue, her


    expression unreadable. ¡°It¡¯s too early to call me ¡®grandma¡¯, and you shall only call me that after you get


    married. Also, I¡¯m old and weak, so I don¡¯t dare to drink just anything gifted by others. You should take


    it back.¡± Tina was a little embarrassed, and she was biting her lip while looking at the man beside her,


    as if crying for help. Seeing that, Toby helped her out. ¡°Grandma, this is Tina¡¯s kind gesture.¡± After all,


    Rose was someone who had been through a lot in life. She took one nce at Tina, and she


    immediately knew what she was thinking. ¡°Well, she is indeed thoughtful¡ªto the point she forced my


    granddaughter-inw out.¡±

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    Tina could no longer maintain the smile on her face; she lowered her


    head and wept.


    Toby frowned slightly and expressed dissatisfaction with Rose¡¯s behavior. ¡°Grandma, Tina is just being


    thoughtful, and she¡¯s always been concerned about your health. Besides,


    she is the woman I love. Even if you are


    angry with me, just take it out on me.¡±


    The expression on Rose¡¯s face was


    faint as she did not reply.


    Seeing that, Toby took Tina¡¯s hand,


    stood up, and said to Rose,¡±It¡¯s getting


    want to take up too much of your time.¡±


    The two left after being there for less than ten minutes.


    After they were gone, Mary walked up to Rose and sighed, ¡°Madam, why did


    you do that? You didn¡¯t have to be


    angry at Mr. Fuller over some


    bystander.¡±


    The olddy stroked the jade bracelet


    on her wrist. ¡°The girl of the Gray family is not any ordinary bystander.


    Don¡¯t you see? Toby is going against


    me for her sake.¡±


    Mary helped her tuck the quilt as she listened tentatively. ¡°How can it be? Mr. Fuller respects you the


    most.¡±


    Rose only smiled and remained silent,


    Save for several senior figures on the board of directors of Paradigm Co., others did not know that Sonia


    had be thergest shareholder, and the fact that she held the decision making power and had


    decisively


    signed a contract with Zane.


    Zane was a potential business partner.


    Although he was not as sessful as


    Toby was now, he was not any worse,


    and his future was limitless.


    With Carl and Charles around her,


    everything was developing in a good


    direction.


    But what Charles expected had finally


    happened.


    The trending page was full of videos of


    a blue Audi car crashing into Tina, and


    thements below were a series of


    insidious and sinister scoldings.


    Tina became a veritable victim in their


    one who was yed by Sonia, his ex


    wife.


    The topic spread like wildfire, and if it.


    continued, the police woulde knocking at their door in no time.


    The board of directors in Paradigm Co.


    quickly called Sonia, saving that this


    matter had a great impact on the


    as soon as possible, it might affect the


    Charles sneered, ¡°What a group of old


    foxes. The fact that my baby is the shareholder hasn¡¯t been announced at


    all, so how can it hurt thepany¡¯s


    profits? They¡¯re all just scaring her and


    jumping on the chance to crush her.¡±


    Carl had been staring at the picture on the hot search, frowning. ¡°Professionals would know that the


    video was altered. The problem is that there is too much public opinion, and the public¡¯s sight is blinded.¡±


    Thinking that Toby was so shameless as to upload a fake video, Charles mocked, ¡°Baby, were you blind


    to have fallen in love with such a ck-hearted


    guy? I think he and that fake b¡¯ich,


    Tina, are meant to be together. They¡¯re


    both a*sholes anyway.¡±


    Sonia stared at the video without any


    expression and slowly lowered her


    eyes.


    Charles thought that his words had


    irritated her, so he touched his nose


    with guilt. ¡°Ahem, ahem¡­ I didn¡¯t mean


    to taunt you. I¡¯m just d that you


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    opened your eyes early, and we were


    prepared early by having the real video in hand.¡±


    Sonia raised her head and met with


    Carl¡¯s worried expression, whereupon she slightly raised the corners of her lips. ¡°Well, Toby can divorce


    me for Tina; what else can¡¯t he do for her? I¡¯m


    not surprised.¡±


    Charles suddenly became excited.


    ¡°Anyway, now that we have the real


    video, should I send it out for rification right away? So that we can


    p them in the face!¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Sonia had another n for this.


    Raising her eyebrows at Charles, she


    said, ¡°Tomorrow is the 1st. I heard you


    said that the Gray family was going to hold a banquet for Tina to celebrate


    her recovery, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Are you going?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Not only am I going, I¡¯ll also be bearing a big gift.¡±


    Charles and Carl seemed to have realized something and smiled at each


    other.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    Meanwhile, at the Fuller Residence, Toby frowned as he stared at the topic that was currently trending.


    Standing beside him, Tom was trembling. ¡°President Fuller, I didn¡¯t do it. Someone must have leaked it


    on purpose. Do you need me to get someone to stop it from trending?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Toby pursed


    his lips as indescribable emotions


    shed across his eyes. ¡°The Gray


    Family must be behind this.¡±


    Tom understood what he meant.


    The Gray Family must have deliberately


    leaked the video to suppress Sonia. If


    President Fuller helped to stop it from Trending, the Gray Family would be unhappy. He wouldn¡®t want


    to offend his future father¨Cinw because of Sonia.


    ¡°Then, this matter*


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Toby turned off


    his phone, then raised his head and asked, ¡°Has the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    arrived?¡±


    Tom nodded. ¡°It arrived yesterday. As


    per your order, Miss Gray¡¯s name is engraved on it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You can leave now.¡±


    Toby lowered his head and massaged


    his temples, then his eyes skimmed over the red divorce certificate in the


    trash can, and his head began to hurt


    even more.


    Triforce Enterprise had a good


    reputation in Seafield. The Gray Family


    mostly invited upper-ss people to


    the banquet they held for their


    daughter, so it was only natural that


    there were opportunities to curry favor


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    with the rich and powerful as well as


    get to know their daughters.


    Titus and his wife wandered through


    the crowd with smiles on their faces.


    He was a refined middle-aged man with a beard, while his wife exuded a chilly demeanor, much like the


    typical Lady of a rich family


    The sound of a piano being yed slowly rang out.


    The crowd looked over and saw that


    Tina looked fresh and refined in a


    green dress, and she was sitting elegantly and calmly while ying the


    piano. Her body seemed to be glowing,


    attracting everyone¡¯s attention.


    After the song was finished, Toby walked over from the crowd and took


    Tina¡¯s hand. It wouldn¡¯t be an


    exaggeration to say that they looked


    like a golden couple.


    Titus smiled and said, ¡°Thank you all


    for taking time out of your busy


    schedules to attend our banquet. In


    addition to celebrating Tina¡¯s recovery,


    another major announcement will be


    made today.¡±


    He swept his gaze over the crowd


    before it finallynded on Toby. ¡°I¡¯d like to announce that Toby Fuller, the


    president of the Fuller Group, is going


    to be my son-inw.¡±


    As soon as he finished, there was an


    uproar from the crowd.


    Everyone was aware of Toby¡¯s divorce, because the news had spread like


    wildfire. Now that he was revealed to


    be the future son-inw of the Gray


    family, the crowd recalled the video that was yesterday¡¯s trending topic.


    They couldn¡¯t help but exim in awe.


    To be well matched in social status


    was truly important for a couple.


    Toby appeared handsome and brilliant,


    looking like a perfect and beautiful


    match with Tina, who was simrly


    gentle and elegant.


    He took out a golden brocade box,


    opened it, then got down on one knee


    SJELUN TUEE


    in front of Tina


    His actions spoke for itself.


    Surprised, Tina covered her mouth in


    disbelief


    At this moment, the man said, ¡°Tina,


    will you,¡±


    Suddenly, an untimelyugh


    interrupted Toby.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯mte, everyone.¡±


    That voice...


    Asplex emotions shed across


    his eyes, Toby twisted his head to take


    a look.


    All dressed up to look charming and


    enchanting, Sonia appeared, followed by Charles and Carl.


    Everyone was surprised to see her,


    because all of the people present knew


    that she was Toby¡¯s ex-wife.


    The fact that she¡¯s showing up at this


    Very moment.


    Seeing that her son¡¯s happy moment was being interrupted, Jean suddenly stepped forth and pointed at


    Sonia before snapping, ¡°Who let you in? Get


    out!¡±


    Charles folded his arms across his


    Gray¡¯s banquet


    Titus stopped Jean from saying


    anything more, then looked at Sonia,


    He was a wily old bird, so naturally, he


    wouldn¡¯t be impulsive, but his smile


    had considerably faded, ¡°Although I


    didn¡¯t send you an invitation, you¡¯re still,


    a guest, so the Gray Family wees


    you.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the one who caused my


    daughter¡¯s car ident?¡±


    The moment Juliaid eyes on Sonia,


    she experienced a strange feeling, but


    11111 she experienced a strange feeling, but she couldn¡¯t pinpoint what felt strange.


    Then, she remembered that this person almost killed Tina.


    Julia¡¯s face hardened, and she


    disposed of all courtesy. ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯ve not settled the score from six years ago with you, so how dare


    you show up at my house!¡±

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    Everyone in her surroundings was intrigued, but Sonia turned a blind eye


    to it all


    With an enigmatic smile, she nced


    at Toby, who was down on one knee,


    Then, she looked at Julia and said


    listlessly. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m sorry that I


    came here uninvited. Secondly, who can confirm that the video that¡¯s


    trending is real? You want to settle the


    score from six years ago with me? I¡¯ve


    truly been wrongly used.¡±


    As she spoke, her gazended on Tina.


    Tina¡¯s face paled, and she quickly hid behind Toby


    When everyone saw this, they began


    berating Sonia


    ¡°This woman has a lot of guts. She ran


    into her car six years ago, yet she still


    has the audacity toe to the


    banquet!¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Look. Miss Gray is so


    frightened. She¡¯s really overstepping.¡±


    Julia noticed how scared her beloved


    daughter was, but she wasn¡¯t in the


    mood to have nonsensical banter with


    Sonia. ¡°What a sharp-tongued girl.


    Since you said you were wrongly


    used, then go and exin to the


    police.¡±


    Julia was about to make a phone call


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    when Toby stopped her.


    The man, who had been silent for a


    long time, finally spoke. ¡°Sonia, you shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    Is he trying to intimidate me?


    Sonia grinned without caring what


    others thought. Raising her eyebrows,


    she said somewhat sarcastically,


    ¡°Then, where should I go? President


    Fuller, at any rate, we¡¯d been married


    for six years. Although you weren¡¯t very


    good to me, I never did anything to


    betray you, so how could you post a


    fake video on the Inte to nder


    me? Do you so desperately want me to


    die?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyelids twitched, and his grip on the brocade box tightened slightly.


    Tom was about to exin on behalf of


    his boss when Toby cut in.


    Fixing her with a profound gaze, he answered, ¡°Tina won¡¯t look into the


    matter, so you should stop acting like


    this.¡±


    Sonia felt as if she had just heard the


    biggest joke. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±


    She nced at all of them, then took


    her time taking a seat. ¡°Carl, show them the gift I¡¯m giving to Miss Gray.¡±


    As everyone watched in surprise, Carl


    yed the video on the projector on the wall screen.


    The crowd was seeing a different


    scene from the one in the trending


    video.


    At this moment. Titus spoke, and his


    eyes turned a little gloomy. ¡°Miss Reed,


    how can you prove this is real? Now


    that technology is so advanced,


    everything can be faked.¡±


    Sonia already expected him to say that.


    so she shot Carl a nce.


    He made a call, and in no time, a


    person got out of the car at the


    entrance.


    Most of the people know the person


    who just came out. He was a well


    knownputer technologist in


    Seafield.


    His words were more reliable than


    anyone else¡¯s.


    ¡°I can testify that Miss Reed¡¯s video is


    genuine, and that the video circting


    on the Inte has been edited.¡±


    As soon as he made this remark,


    everyone¡¯s expressions changed. Toby,


    in particr, was simply dumbfounded.


    Still gloomy, he asked, ¡°Sonia, are you done making a scene?¡±


    Crossing his arms across his chest, Charles sneered, ¡°T¡¯ll say, Toby, you¡¯re really quite pitiful. Someone


    took you as a fool and deceived you! Let¡¯s not talk about the video. About the car ident that year, you


    just needed to be more dedicated and look for the


    initial case officer to check, then you


    would¡¯ve been able to know the truth.¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression was extremely cold,


    and he fixed his pair of emotionless


    eyes on Tina. Something strange was raging behind his eyes, making him look extremely dangerous.


    Tina panicked.


    She didn¡¯t expect that Sonia would


    She shook her head, fear evident in her eyes. L. I didn¡¯t lie to you, Toby¡­ !


    didn¡¯t¡­ Listen to me¡­¡±


    Her current exnations were too


    weak


    With the truth presented before their


    very eyes, everything she said was


    useless!


    Upon seeing this, Charles could finally


    work out his anger as he sniggered. ¡°Toby, there¡®s one more thing you may


    not understand. During the several


    years when Tina was in aa, my


    baby had been going to the hospital to


    give her blood. If she deliberately knocked into Tina, why would Sonia keep on transfusing blood to her?


    She did it for you. It¡¯s pathetic that you, a man who thinks he¡¯s very smart, are actually bloody blind!¡±

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    count with one hand the number of times we conversed every day. All you see is Miss Gray, and no one


    else.¡±


    She used to go to the hospital daily to take care of Tina, She knew how her


    marriage to Toby came about, and she


    knew who Toby truly wanted, so she wanted to use the excuse of looking after Tina to make him see


    more of


    her.


    Nevertheless, for the past six years, all


    she got from Toby was indifference.


    Hearing this, Toby re-examined the red


    lipped Sonia, who was dressed in a


    ck dress and exuding a slightly cold


    demeanor. He found that this version


    As soon as Charles spoke, the sound of the guests taking in sharp breaths could be heard. Everyone


    was shocked as their gaze fell on Tina, then Sonia.


    The expert has confirmed that the video


    is real, so if Charles is telling the truth.


    Toby was caught by surprise as well.


    He looked at the woman standing in


    front of him, then his eyes darkened,


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    and he asked, ¡°Sonia, why didn¡¯t you


    tell me?¡±


    ¡°Would you have believed me if I told


    you?¡± Sonia retorted in a slightly


    sarcastic tone. ¡°President Fuller, we


    were married for six years, yet I can


    of her and the virtuous woman who


    used to wait for him toe home


    seemed like two different people.


    He then remembered that before the


    two of them got divorced, he and Sonia rarely talked. He never asked about her day or about her friends.


    It seems like I never really got to know


    her.


    The two of them only exchanged a


    couple of remarks, then Toby said


    nothing else. Beside him, Tina was


    keenly aware that the man¡¯s heart had softened, and he seemed to want to defend Sonia.


    Tina quickly swept her gaze across the


    of me for the past few years. This is a gift my father gave mest time. Now, I¡¯m giving it to you as a


    thank-you gift.¡±


    When the jewelry box was opened, a


    crown embedded with diamonds on the ck velvet shimmered under the


    light.


    ¡°H-Isn¡¯t this the crown Princess Lilith


    wore during her wedding?¡±


    ¡°President Gray really spoils his


    daughter!¡±


    Among the guests, those who were fond of jewelry recognized the crown,


    and they all eximed that although it was iparable to the Ocean¡¯s


    quesis, then she fiercely gritted her teeth and took a step forward before


    bowing to Sonia


    ¡°Miss Reed, I didn¡¯t expect that all


    these years, you¡¯d been constantly going to the hospital to donate blood to me. You¡¯ve been so kind to


    me¡­¡±


    Tina choked, her eyes gradually turning


    red as she bowed to Sonia once more.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    When she looked up, she cast a


    meaningful nce at the crowd, then


    continued apologizing to Sonia. ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry about the video. My father loves


    me too much, and a mistake was made


    during the investigation that caused us


    to think that you were the one who


    crashed into me.¡±


    ¡°Miss Gray, you don¡¯t have to be so


    courteous. I¡¯m two months younger than you.¡± Sonia didn¡¯t appreciate her apology, and she even calmly


    shot Toby a look


    It turned out that Tina¡¯s father was the


    one who leaked the video. At first,


    Sonia thought Toby was the one


    brutally attacking her.


    Tina lowered her head and pursed her


    pale red lips.


    In no time, Tina saw the jewelry box


    the servant brought over. After


    retrieving it, she handed it to Sonia.


    ¡°Miss Reed, thank you for taking care


    Heart, it was extremely luxurious, and theymented how much Titus loved his daughter.


    When Titus saw the crown, his


    expression changed,


    But, he knew why his daughter was


    giving this piece of jewelry to Sonia. Stepping forward with a cold expression, he said to Sonia in a


    considerably pleasant tone, ¡°Regarding


    the video, I¡¯d wrongly used you,


    Miss Reed. Thank you for taking care


    of my daughter. Please ept this piece of jewelry!¡±


    Sonia stood with her legs slightly


    parted, and she took one sweeping


    nce at the crown full of diamonds,


    but she showed no intention of taking


    it from Tina¡¯s hands,


    Seeing that she wasn¡¯t epting it,


    Tina stated, ¡°When Princess Lilith got


    married, she asked a designer from Van Cleef & Arpels to design it. Many


    years ago, my father got it at the


    Sotheby¡¯s auction house for 60


    million.¡±


    As she continued, her voice dropped. ¡°This is also my favorite piece of jewelry. I really want to thank you,


    Miss Reed. That¡¯s why I¡¯m giving it to you.¡±


    The guests could hear how bad Tina felt, and they could see that Sonia


    Sonia was the one in the wrong,


    causing Toby to frown when he heard


    them.


    ¡°Toby.¡± Tina looked back at Toby and whispered. ¡°I really didn¡¯t know about Miss Reed donating blood to


    me at the


    hospital. Believe me. Help me persuade Miss Reed and get her to ept my thank-you gift.¡±


    Looking at her frail frame and pale lips,


    Toby felt mildly distressed.


    ¡°Sonia, both Tina and Mr. Gray have


    apologized to you,¡± Toby said in his


    deep voice. ¡°The thank-you gift that


    Tina is giving you is worth a lot, so just


    take it *


    wasn¡¯t epting the jewelry. Her posture was arrogant, as if she was


    Waging a war


    ¡°Sonia, don¡¯t be unreasonable. Miss Gray has already apologized.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Mr. Gray was just eager to


    protect his daughter, which was why he


    made such a careless mistake. And


    hasn¡¯t he apologized to you?¡±


    ¡°Miss Gray is giving you her precious


    jewelry as a thank-you gift, yet you¡¯re


    not epting it. What else do you


    want?¡±


    When the guests spoke, their remarks


    were harsher than the next. It was as if


    take it.¡±


    Sonia knew that no matter how innocent she was, Toby would still stand by Tina¡¯s side.


    But, when she heard him say that, her hand around her arm tightened fiercely. and her heart was in such


    immense pain that it felt like it was being pierced


    by needles.


    It was simply ridiculous that she loved


    a man like him for eight years!


    When Charles, who was watching the


    scene unfold from the sidelines, saw


    that Toby was bullying Sonia, he


    became furious and wanted to rush


    toward him. ¡°Toby, you f*cking¡±


    After passing his gaze over her bright face, he asked in a deep voice, ¡°What else do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want the thing in your hand-the


    Ocean¡¯s Heart.¡± Sonia pointed to the


    jewelry box he was holding in his hand,


    lookingpletely serious.


    ¡°No,¡± Tina interrupted Sonia. In a


    dejected and aggrieved manner, she


    said, ¡°Miss Reed, I know you¡¯re upset


    with me because of the video. You can


    have the jewelry in my collection, but


    not the Ocean¡¯s Heart. This is the


    ne Toby proposed to me with¡­¡±


    The guests were angry and dissatisfied as well. ¡°That¡¯s right! Sonia, you¡¯re


    ¡°Charles.¡± Sonia stretched out her hand


    to stop him.


    After spending the entire night out, she


    was a little tired. Just as she was


    about to tell Charles that they should


    leave, she caught sight of the smug smile on Tina¡¯s face from the corner of


    her eye.


    That¡®s right. I¡®m here today to get


    revenge, not to save them from


    humiliation


    After swallowing her words, Sonia pressed Charles¡¯s hand, and her eyes


    grew slightly cold. ¡°T¡¯ll handle this.¡±


    In her high heels, she turned around to


    face Tina


    Caught off guard by Sonia¡¯s actions, Tina put away the smile on her face in


    a panic, then she handed over the


    jewelry box again.


    ¡°Miss Gray, for the past few years, I¡¯d


    been going to the hospital to donate


    blood to you, so my body is very weak


    now,¡± Sonia said while brushing her


    fingers over the crown full of diamonds. ¡°Thanking me with this crown isn¡¯t really enough, is it?¡±


    Sonia looked toward Toby, then asked with a smile, ¡°President Fuller, what do you think?¡±


    crossing a line, Miss Gray is giving you such an expensive crown, yet you still want the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    ¡°Are you dissatisfied because


    President Fuller divorced you, so you¡¯re deliberately retaliating against him?¡±


    Turning a deaf ear to the insults they were throwing at her, Sonia looked at Toby. ¡°President Fuller, don¡¯t


    you love Miss Gray very much? Miss Gray, you¡®re the one who wants to thank me, so why are you


    refusing to give me the thank-you gift?¡±

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    ¡°Miss Reed, don¡¯t go too far.¡± Tina was frustrated, but she had to endure it. ¡°My father already apologized


    to you about the video. Why are you still reluctant to give up? You even want to Snatch the marriage


    proposal ne


    my boyfriend gave me?¡±


    Sonia raised an eyebrow andughed.


    ¡°You got together with President Fuller


    a few days after I divorced him. I


    wonder if you¡¯d been coveting him


    because you couldn¡¯t wait to be Mrs.


    Fuller!¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?


    You¡¯re obviously the one-¡±


    ¡°And Miss Gray, I have no intentions of


    Toby¡¯s gaze darkened.


    After a moment of silence, he handed


    the jewelry box containing the Ocean¡¯s


    Heart to Sonia.


    Tina panicked when she saw this, and she pulled on his sleeve. ¡°Toby, this is


    the ne you proposed to me with.


    Don¡¯t=¡±


    ¡°Your father specially organized


    today¡¯s banquet to celebrate your


    recovery and discharge. It won¡¯t be good to ruin the atmosphere.¡± Toby calmed her down. ¡°It¡¯s just a


    ne. After this, I¡¯ll ask Tom to find a better


    one and propose to you with that.¡±


    When the guests heard this, they all


    snatching anything from you,¡± Sonia interrupted before Tina could say much. ¡°You¡¯re the one who wants


    to give me a thank-you gift. I only have eyes for the Ocean¡¯s Heart.¡±


    Tina was rendered speechless. Biting her lips, she stood there as her face grew increasingly pale, like a


    white flower about to wither.


    As he watched on, Charles felt


    particrly good, and he almost


    apuded Sonia.


    ¡°President Fuller, you have to say


    something. Don¡¯t be silent,¡± Charles


    called out. ¡°Is it possible that you¡¯re not a man of vour word?¡±


    became envious. ¡°You¡¯re so blessed, Miss Gray. No matter how rare the piece of jewelry is, President


    Fuller would have a way to buy it for you!¡±


    Afterplimenting Tina, they satirized Sonia once more.


    Tina¡¯s expression improved when Toby said this, and she nodded obediently. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you.¡±


    As Sonia listened to their conversation,


    all she felt was the irony of the


    situation.


    She had been married to Tony for six


    years. Forget jewelry; he had never


    even bought her a piece of clothing.


    Even their wedding ring was bought by


    her.


    Now, looking at how he was treating Tina, Sonia felt like her life was a joke.


    Sonia suppressed the sadness in her


    heart and epted the jewelry box with a bright smile on her face. ¡°This is


    such a rare piece of jewelry, yet you¡¯re


    giving it to me just like that. President


    Fuller, it seems like you love Miss Gray


    so much that you can¡¯t bear to let her


    suffer any grievances at all.¡±


    The woman spoke so enigmatically


    that it made Toby ufortable, so


    he replied lightly, ¡°I¡¯ve given you the


    Ocean¡¯s Heart, and President Gray has


    apologized to you, Sonia, don¡¯t pursue the matter of the video anymore.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Sonia readily agreed.


    She picked up a ss of red wine from the table, then tipped it toward Toby. ¡°President Fuller, Miss Gray,


    may you live a long and happy life together, and I hope you have plenty of babies.¡±


    With that, she cocked her head back


    and drank the wine. After setting down


    the ss, she turned and left.


    ¡°President Fuller, I have to thank you


    too.¡± Charles grinned, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for


    your indifference, my baby wouldn¡¯t


    havee to her senses. Thank you


    for being so kind as to let my baby go.


    She deserves the best.¡±


    Charles picked up the butterfly handbag on the table, which Sonia forgot to take, then said warmly, ¡°Let¡¯s


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Charles held Carl¡¯s


    shoulders and they left together, all the


    whileining, ¡°The air here is too


    filthy. I¡¯d feel sick if I stayed here for


    one more second!¡±


    As Toby watched them leave, his


    brows furrowed, and there was an


    indescribable feeling of irritability in his


    heart that wouldn¡¯t go away.


    Sonia was a low-key person; it was a


    surprise that she had such an


    outstanding suitor.


    As soon as Sonia got into the car, she closed her eyes and rested for less than a minute before Charles


    and Carl


    got in.


    ¡°Baby, you did a great job just now. Tsk.


    did you see the look on Tina¡¯s face?


    She looked like she wanted nothing


    more than to eat you up.¡± Charles got


    into the driver¡¯s seat, fastened his seat


    belt, and burst outughing. ¡°It felt so


    good watching you that I wanted to


    apud you!¡±


    Carl entered the back seat and handed the butterfly handbag to Sonia. ¡°You left it on the table and forgot


    to take it.¡±


    ¡°I left in a rush and didn¡¯t notice¡± Sonia spoke as she retrieved her handbag.


    Carl nced at the jewelry box ced


    next to the seat, then asked Sonia,


    ¡°Sonia, do you¡­ still care about Toby?


    Did you want the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    because you didn¡¯t want to see him


    and Tina together?¡±


    Charles was driving as he looked at


    Sonia in the rearview mirror, waiting for


    her answer.


    ¡°We¡¯ve gotten a divorce, so why should


    I still care about him?¡± Sonia smiled. 1 didn¡¯t expect that Tina¡¯s mind would work so fast. She diverted


    everyone¡¯s attention from the video by trying to give me a thank-you gift.¡±


    As she spoke, she opened the jewelry box and showed it to Carl. ¡°Tve


    checked, and the jewelry industry¡¯s


    famous ¡®k¡¯ is the one who designed the


    Ocean¡¯s Heart. The value is estimated


    to exceed 100 million. How can I not want such easy money? Don¡¯t you


    agree?¡±


    Charles snorted. ¡°A ne worth


    100 million? Baby, you¡¯re awesome.


    You took a huge chunk out of Toby!¡±


    ¡°Of course I know that I¡¯m awesome.¡± Sonia hummed, then covered the jewelry box and threw it to him.


    ¡°Find a good channel and sell it for me. 100 million, Keep the extra money as my payment to you for your


    hard work.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    When Carl saw Sonia¡¯s capricious


    expression, his brows eased, because


    it didn¡¯t seem like she was lying.


    ¡°Sonia, seeing you like this, I¡¯m


    relieved.¡±


    ¡°Baby, why don¡¯t I find you another


    boyfriend?¡± Charles smiled, then he


    nced at Sonia in the rearview mirror.


    ¡°Tell me about your requests, or you


    and I can get together too. After all, my mom quite likes you¨C


    ¡°No way!¡± Before he could continue, he


    was interrupted by Carl.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Charles rolled his eyes, then bragged, ¡°Not only am I handsome, I¡¯m also multi-talented. I


    grew up with


    Sonia, so I¡¯m the best candidate to be


    her husband!¡±


    Carl pursed his lips together, and the


    aura he exuded was a little cold. ¡°You


    don¡¯t care about family.¡±


    ¡°Huh? How would you know if I care


    about family? You¡¯ve never lived with


    me!¡± Charles looked at Carl¡¯s


    expression in the rearview mirror, then suddenly smiled. ¡°Hey, do you fancy Sonia too?


    Sonia was taken aback. When she


    recovered, she immediately reached


    out and punched Charles. ¡°Shut up.


    He¡¯s only twenty-two! He¡¯s a child!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a twenty-two-year-old man. He


    has nothing to do with the word ¡®child¡±


    anymore.¡± Charles proceeded with a


    smirk. ¡°Carl, tell me: Are you a virgin?¡±


    No matter how gentle Carl was, he was


    still a little embarrassed by Charles


    question. He coughed. ¡°Yes¡­


    ¡°Do you have any intentions toward N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Tina?¡±


    Seeing as Charles was getting bolder with his questions with no sign of shutting up, Sonia caught sight


    of the


    chocte bar in the middle row¡¯s armrestpartment, then she immediately tore it open and stuffed it


    into his mouth.


    Charles ate therge piece of


    chocte and whimpered, almost


    choking to death


    ¡°That¡¯s how he is. He speaks without a


    filter,¡± Sonia said to Carl. ¡°Don¡¯t mind


    him. Don¡¯t let his questions get to you.¡±


    Carl hummed an answer but kept his


    gaze on Sonia¡¯s face.


    After hesitating for a moment, he was


    about to say something to Sonia when the phone in his pocket suddenly


    Vibrated.


    Carl nced at his phone after taking it


    out, and his expression changed


    slightly. Then, he moved to the other


    side of the car and lowered his voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    After the phone call ended, Carl told Charles, ¡°I have something to deal with. Just drop me at the


    intersection up


    ahead.¡±


    ¡°Was it your agent?¡± Sonia asked, ¡°How


    about you let Charles take you there?¡±


    Carl gave a faint smile, then in a warm


    and soft voice, he said, ¡°That¡¯s okay. My car is on the way. Charles should send you home early so that


    you can have a good rest.¡±


    Upon hearing the young man¡¯s


    statement, Sonia nodded reluctantly.


    Soon, Carl was out of the car.


    When the car drove away, Sonia poked


    her head out slightly and saw Carl


    standing tall and straight by the


    roadside with a well-defined profile¡­


    As she studied him, the person in her


    As she studied him, the person in her


    eyes seemed to turn into Toby from


    eight years ago.

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21


    ¡°Baby, don¡¯t look at him. Look at me, all


    right?¡± Charles tried his best to draw


    Sonia¡¯s gaze back from the window.


    ¡°I¡¯m more handsome than Carl, okay? Or do you like virgins like him more?¡±


    Having had her thoughts interrupted,


    Sonia didn¡¯t know if she should be


    angry orugh, so she rolled her eyes


    at him. ¡°When I was young, I thought


    you were narcissistic. Who knew you¡¯d


    grow up worse.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just aware of how handsome


    am!¡± Charles chuckled. ¡°Really, baby.


    Don¡¯t you want to marry me? The


    Ocean¡¯s Heart is nothing. I will find the


    world¡¯s most unique diamond ring to


    propose to you!¡±


    Sonia and Charles grew up together, and they often dropped by each other¡¯s houses, so they were


    extremely close. Sonia knew that Charles was just trying to cheer her up because he knew that she was


    upset.


    She was indeed rather amused by his


    remarks, and she even remembered


    the things she had neglected.


    Sonia opened her handbag and took


    out a ring from one of the


    of the car, the diamond was still


    dazzling.


    This was her wedding ring.


    Sonia looked at the wedding ring in her hand, and everything that happened tonight shed rapidly


    through her


    mind.


    She recalled the scene of Toby kneeling down and proposing to Tina, almost as if he was spoiling her,


    and the scene where he protected Tina¡­ Her calm heart began to make waves


    again.


    Through the rearview mirror, Charles


    saw the ring, but he didn¡¯t make a joke


    about it. ¡°Baby, you know that some


    people look like humans, but they don¡¯t


    deserve to be humans. If you meet


    again in the future, you have to take a


    detour¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± It was only a few dozen seconds, but Sonia¡¯s heart was already at peace.


    She ced the wedding ring on the


    armrestpartment in the center,


    and her tone was calm when she said,


    ¡°Sell this wedding ring for me too.


    Donate the money to the people in the


    poor mountain areas.¡±


    With that, Sonia leaned back in her


    chair and looked at the scenery


    shing by outside the car window,


    and her whole being calmed down.


    After eight years, her one-sided love


    had finallye to an end, which


    made her feel relieved.


    At the hotel, the banquet was still


    ongoing, and the guests were still


    bustling, as if nothing had happened


    earlier.


    One after another, Toby greeted each


    partners. It took a long time before he


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    had time to breathe, and exhaustion


    was clear in his eyes.


    As soon as he sat down to rest, Tina


    came over.


    ¡°Toby, are you okay?¡± Tina asked thoughtfully as she poured warm water for him before walking around


    to the back to massage his shoulders.


    Her technique was right, but there was


    still a lingering irritation haunting Toby¡¯s heart


    Toby pressed Tina¡¯s hand, then said in


    a deep voice, ¡°You¡¯d been going around


    with your father greeting everyone


    tonight, so you must be quite tired. You


    should sit down and rest.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tina gave a small smile, then


    sat down beside the man.


    She peeled an orange and handed it to


    Toby, but he didn¡¯t take it and simply


    stared at her. ¡°Tina, how did the car ident happen back then? Tell me


    again.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes were deep and sharp.


    It was as if he had an insight into


    people¡¯s hearts. When Tina met his


    gaze, her hands trembled, and she almost dropped the orange onto the


    ground.


    ¡°I was in aa in the hospital for too


    long, so there are many things I don¡¯t


    remember.¡± She forcefully steadied her


    mind and tried to recall it. ¡°I don¡¯t


    remember exactly how the car


    ident happened. I only vaguely


    remember that I was hit.¡±


    She continued, ¡°Tonight, Miss Reed


    brought people over to create trouble.


    Toby, you can¡¯t possibly believe what


    Charles said about me staging the


    ident, right?¡±


    Met with Toby¡¯s silence, Tina grabbed his hand before she said in a flustered


    and aggrieved tone, ¡°Toby, you must


    believe me. I¡¯m not familiar with Miss


    Reed, so why would I frame her? I won¡¯t treat my life as a joke.¡±


    Seeing that her eyes were red, Tony¡¯s


    doubts disappeared, leaving only


    distress


    Tony took her hand and kissed it, then


    said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve recovered, the


    matter with the car ident ends here.


    It has left you traumatized, and I don¡¯t


    want you to feel upset because of it


    anymore.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Feeling relieved, Tina smiled


    faintly.


    Tina peeled an orange again and handed it to the man while looking at


    his stem expression. ¡°Tony, I know that


    Miss Reed had been married to you for


    six years, and she had contributed


    quite a lot to the Fuller Family, so I¡¯m very grateful to her. I¡¯d like to invite


    Miss Reed to dinner some other day


    and prepare another present to thank her.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Thinking


    about what happened half an hour ago,


    Toby¡¯s gaze darkened, and his tone


    was a little cold. ¡°Sonia was the only


    person who could donate blood to you


    at the time. She used this to threaten


    me, which was why I married her. And


    the Ocean¡¯s Heart, which she took


    away tonight, is worth quite a huge


    sum.¡±


    Seeing that the man was so loyal to


    her and always stood by her side, Tina


    felt utterly relieved.


    She leaned over and wrapped her arms


    around the man¡¯s waist, and a soothing


    smile appeared on her face. ¡°Toby.


    thank you for waiting for me. Now that


    I¡¯ve recovered, I will have plenty of time


    to spend with you and Madam White.¡±


    Since they were seated so closely


    together, Toby could smell the faint


    scent of roses on her body. Seemingly ufortable with the smell, he


    frowned.


    He remembered that Sonia also used


    perfume. He had smelled it several


    times, but his nose never felt


    ufortable.


    ¡°Tina, mind your actions.¡± Julia and


    Titus came over. Seeing how Tina was


    hugging Toby, Julia smiled, but she


    reprimanded her. ¡°There are guests all


    around. It¡¯s not good for the guests to


    see this,¡±


    Tina blushed after being told off, so


    she quickly let go of Toby and sat back


    in her seat.


    Unbothered, Titus said, ¡°Toby and Sonia are already dating, so what do they have to be wary of? if it


    wasn¡¯t for


    that Sonia gir


    Halfway through his angry talking.


    Titus seemed to have realized


    something, so he stopped short and


    said to Toby, ¡°I heard that you had


    dinner with the boss of Continental Co.


    ¡°President Drew and I just had dinner


    and a casual chat,¡± Toby said. ¡°Ryan is


    importance to hispany. He would


    never let it be acquired no matter how


    bad things got.¡±


    Titus nodded, ¡°I heard that he was


    looking for people to invest these days, so he has obviously run into a wall.¡±


    When the two of them talked about


    business matters, Titus did the talking,


    while Toby assumed his role as a junior


    and listened while asionally


    agreeing with him.


    Seeing the waiter walking through the


    crowd with a ss of juice and


    sending it to another table, Toby remembered something and called the waiter over. ¡°I want a pot of


    freshly squeezed mango juice.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Please wait a minute.¡±


    When Tina saw Toby asking the waiter for mango juice, her face became stiff, but she figured she


    shouldn¡¯t ask


    anything


    In no time, a jug of freshly squeezed


    mango juice was delivered.


    Toby poured a cup and handed it to


    Tina, a faint smile on his lips. ¡°I


    remember when we correspondedst


    time, you wrote that you loved eating


    mangoes. Once, you went to your


    grandma¡¯s house and ate 30 small


    mangoes in one go, seemingly unafraid


    of overeating.¡±


    ¡°They were just small mangoes. There


    wasn¡¯t much flesh.¡± As Tina snake cha


    ¡°I love to eat mangoes, and I also like to drink mango juice. Back in the days, Mom always made me


    mango juice.¡± Tina interrupted her father. She shot him a look to tell him not to say


    anything more


    Tina looked at the mango juice in her


    hand, then fiercely gritted her teeth and


    quickly finished the whole cup.


    wasn¡¯t much flesh.¡± As Tina spoke, she


    took the ss of mango juice from him and held it tightly, but she didn¡¯t drink it immediately, and her face


    seemed to have turned paler.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Toby asked, ¡°You love to eat mangoes, but you don¡¯t like them as fruit juice?¡±


    Titus didn¡¯t understand what Toby was


    saying to Tina, but he knew that she


    was allergic to mangoes, and it was


    very severe. She couldn¡¯t touch them at


    all.


    Titus hurriedly said, ¡°Toby, Tina can¡¯t-¡±


    I love to eat mangoes, and I also like

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22


    ¡°The mango juice is very sweet.¡± Tina smiled sweetly at Toby, then ced the cup on the table. ¡°Thank


    you for remembering what i like.¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips twitched slightly. ¡°I remember all the things you like.


    There¡¯s a fruit farm with decent fruits. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll ask the boss to send two


    boxes of mangoes to the Gray


    Residence. If there are other fruits


    you¡¯d like to eat, you can just tell me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tina responded forcefully. She


    started to feel ufortable, so she


    pushed her chair aside and stood up


    as her face became paler. ¡°I¡¯m going to


    the restroom. Toby, you can carry on


    chatting with my dad.¡±


    Lifting the hem of her dress, she turned and hurried off. Tina had been allergic


    to mangoes since she was a child, and having just a little bit would be life threatening. Before she got to


    the


    restroom, she felt her breathing


    bing uneven, then she twisted her


    leg and nearly fell down.


    ¡°Tina! Tina!¡± Julia rushed over and


    hurriedly held her daughter.


    When Julia saw the difort on


    Tina¡¯s face, she grew anxious. ¡°Are you


    out of your mind? You¡¯re allergic to mangoes! Why did you drink the mango juice Toby gave you? Do you


    have a death wish?¡±


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m not feeling well¡­¡± Tina was


    breathing hard and panting as she


    tightly clutched Julia¡¯s hand. ¡°Call for a


    doctor. You must never let Toby know.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    If he asks you, you must say that I love


    mangoes.¡±


    ¡°How can you still talk about this at such a time?!¡± Julia rebuked, trying to


    help Tina to the lounge.


    But, after taking a few steps, Tina felt


    so sick that she fainted.


    ¡°Tina!¡± Julia was panicking so much


    that she was almost in tears, and she


    was all over the ce. ¡°Help! Someone


    help!¡±.


    In the banquet hall, Toby and Titus talked for a long time. Toby checked his watch, only to realize that


    twenty minutes had passed, but Tina hadn¡¯t


    retumed yet.


    Tina had just recovered, so Toby was afraid that something else had happened to her body. Pushing his


    chair back, he got up. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m


    going to look for Tina.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Tina is fine¡± Julia


    happened to return, and when she


    heard what Tony said, she chuckled


    and assured him, ¡°She¡¯s just a little


    sleepy after busying herself with us


    today. I¡¯ve brought her to the lounge to


    rest.¡± Then, she added, ¡°Toby, you¡¯ve


    also worked hard today. Go back and


    get some early rest When Tina wakes


    up, her father and I will bring her back.¡±


    The banquet hade to an end, and


    Toby was indeed a little tired.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have to trouble you with that,


    Mrs. Gray,¡± Toby said solemnly. ¡°When


    you¡¯re not so busy withpany


    affairs, i hope you and Mr. Gray can


    honor me with your presence and have


    a meal with my mother.¡±


    Julia smiled. ¡°Sure. Be careful on your


    way back.¡±


    Toby then retrieved his coat and left.


    When he got to the door and turned


    around, he saw Julia tell Titus


    something before they walked to the


    back of the banquet hall in a hurry.


    At the side of the hotel, Tom was


    already waiting. When Tom saw Toby


    back door of the car. The car drove


    smoothly to the Fuller Residence.


    Now that everything had quieted down,


    Toby felt even more irritated as scenes


    of Sonia turning up at the banquet


    crossed his mind. Not to mention,


    there was that gentle and handsome


    young man beside her.


    Toby tugged on his tie. After a while, he


    asked Tom in a deep voice, ¡°Have you


    found out Carl¡¯s family situation?¡±


    Tom reported his findings truthfully,


    ¡°Yes. Carl was born in Jordain County.


    It¡¯s a slum area, and it¡¯s close to the


    mountains, so the transportation system there isn¡¯t developed. There¡®s


    only one school, and it¡¯s ten kilometers


    away. Six years ago, Miss Reed went to


    Jordain County to visit the poor


    children and provided Carl with


    financial aid. After he left, he was


    scouted by Vashine Entertainment on


    his way to work during summer


    vacation, and now, he¡¯s their most


    expensive male model. Carl¡¯s also


    particrly smart. Miss Reed was able


    to be a shareholder of Paradigm


    Co. so quickly because he helped her.¡±


    After hearing all that, Toby said bleakly. ¡°Sonia is controlling Paradigm Co with her shares, but if the


    shareholders disagree with her, Paradigm Co. won¡¯t


    industry before, so she doesn¡¯t know


    anything.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Tom agreed. ¡°President Fuller,


    although you were forced to marry


    Miss Reed, I can see that you treat her well. Knowing that she has just taken


    over Paradigm Co., you must be afraid


    that President Gray would take revenge


    on Miss Reed in the business world for


    his daughter¡¯s sake, so you gave her the Ocean¡¯s Heart to get her to leave.¡±


    Toby closed his eyes to rest for a


    while. A momentter, he said, ¡°She


    often goes to the Fuller Residence to


    apany Grandma. She¡¯s taken care


    of her for so many years, so I¡¯m just


    doing it for Grandma¡¯s sake.¡±


    Tom smiled. ¡°Yes. Old Mrs. Fuller likes


    Miss Reed very much.¡±


    Toby could also tell that Rose liked Sonia very much. Every time he and


    Sonia returned to the Fuller Residence,


    Rose would hold on to Sonia and talk


    to her non-stop. However, when he


    brought Tina to visit her, Rose had her


    dislike toward Tina clearly written on


    her face.


    As Toby thought of the fact that Rose


    didn¡¯t like Tina, he got a headache. As


    such, he said coldly, ¡°Why are you so talkative today?¡±


    Hearing that, Tom immediately kept his mouth shut. At this moment, the phone in Toby¡¯s suit pocket


    vibrated twice.


    When he reached for it, he came into


    contact with a small hard object.


    Toby looked at his phone first and saw that Tina had sent a message asking if


    he had arrived home. After responding


    to her message, the man looked at the


    ring in his hand under the glow of the


    light in the car. Soon, he remembered


    that he and Sonia went to the Civil


    Affairs Bureau to sign the divorce


    papers the other day. After they came


    out, he took off his wedding ring and


    threw it into his suit pocket. The


    servant must have presumed it was a valuable item and dared not remove it, so they ced the ring


    back after cleaning his suit.


    After staring at the ring for a long time, Toby asked, ¡°Did I buy this wedding ring?¡±


    Tom looked at Toby in the rearview


    mirror, then at the ring in his hand before saying carefully, ¡°When you


    married Miss Reed, you said it would


    be hard to exin to Miss Gray if you


    bought Miss Reed a wedding dress


    and the other necessary stuff, so there


    was no wedding dress or grand


    ceremony. The wedding ceremony was


    simple. Also, you asked Miss Reed to pick the ring on her own, but¡­¡± After a pause, Tom continued,


    ¡°You didn¡¯t give Miss Reed any cards, nor did you ask me to handle it, so Miss Reed bought the wedding


    ring herself.¡±


    After hearing what Tom said, Toby


    stared even more intensely at the ring.


    He thought back to how carefree and proud Sonia looked on the day they got


    divorced. During their six years of


    marriage, Sonia never asked anything


    from him, and she left the marriage


    with nothing as well.


    Tom noticed that Toby was silent for a


    long time. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was


    thinking, so he asked after careful


    consideration, ¡°President Fuller, do you want me to deal with the ring for you?¡±


    ¡°After you arrive at the office tomorrow


    moming, sort out Continental Co¡¯s


    information,¡± Toby instructed. ¡°Since


    Zane¡¯spany has a cooperation


    with Paradigm Co., you can send this information to Paradigm Co. under his


    name.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± After working for Toby for


    several years, Tom instantly


    understood the meaning behind his


    words. Then, he said, ¡°Paradigm Co. is


    already dying. If they can sessfully win over Continental Co., they might be


    able to start over, but the only concern


    is that Paradigm Co. might not have


    enough funds.¡±


    Toby replied, ¡°Then, it depends on how Sonia handles the Ocean¡¯s Heart. The


    victory or defeat of Paradigm Co. lies


    in her hands.¡±


    Tom couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°I think Carl


    is quite incredible. He could easily


    make Miss Reed a new shareholder of


    Paradigm Co. If Miss Reed asks him to


    help Paradigm Co., then their future.¡±


    As he spoke, Tom noticed a sudden


    drop in the atmosphere in the car-it was suddenly so cold that it caused him to shudder. He immediately


    shut up and drove quietly.


    Toby¡¯s gaze fell on the ring again. He thought about how when he wore the


    wedding ring while attending various


    receptions over the past few years, he


    managed to stop many women from


    throwing themselves at him. At that


    thought, he figured his wedding ring


    wasn¡¯t just a meaningless essory after all.


    A few secondster, Toby put the


    wedding ring back into his suit pocket, then said to Tom, ¡°If Paradigm Co. can¡¯t acquire Continental Co.,


    bring


    someone in to help.¡±


    Tom responded, ¡°Got it.¡±

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    Ever since Sonia returned homest night, she was in a bad mood, so she drank until midnight. In a


    daze, she didn¡¯t sleep long before she was awakened by a phone ringing.


    Slowlying to her senses, she


    reached for her phone that was on the


    bedside table and answered, ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°President Reed, it¡¯s me-Daphne.¡±


    Upon hearing the other party¡¯s


    spontaneous introduction, Sonia


    sobered up a bit and quickly


    remembered who she was.


    The person on the other end was


    Charles¡¯ secretary. Charles was afraid


    that after she entered Paradigm Co.,


    she would have none of her own


    people around her, so he gave his secretary to her


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sonia asked while


    walking toward the bathroom.


    Daphne informed, ¡°There are a few


    urgent documents that you need to


    settle at thepany. When will you


    being to the office?¡±


    Sonia figured the matter was very


    urgent, so she nced at the time on


    her phone. ¡°Around 8.30AM.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡±


    After hanging up the phone, Sonia washed her face with cold water and lelt much better. But, she drank


    a lot of winest night, so her head still hurt. She looked in the mirror, and her


    expression was a little unpleasant.


    After washing up, Sonia tightly pursed her lips when she left the bedroom and


    saw the state of the living room.


    I must¡®ve been out of my mindst night


    to have drunk so much.


    When Sonia arrived at the office, it was


    8.30AM sharp. She had just set one


    foot down in the office when Daphne


    appeared behind her.


    ¡°President Reed, this is the urgent document that needs to be signed.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± While opening the file, she asked the secretary, ¡°Has the contract with Dwells been signed?¡±


    ¡°Originally, it was supposed to be signed at 9.00AM today, but Dwells


    regretted it,¡± Daphne reported helplessly.


    ¡°They¡¯re not signing it anymore?¡± Sonia


    frowned and took out her phone. Til


    call Charles and ask him to talk to


    them.¡±


    Daphne hurriedly said, ¡°President Reed, don¡¯t call him. He was going to go to


    Dwells to talk business with them thi


    moming, but after answering a call, he


    told me that there¡¯s something at his


    Upon hearing this, Sonia stopped calling him.


    She was so focused on getting Charles


    to help that she almost forgot he had


    his ownpany to run and that he


    had a lot to deal with too.


    Seeing that Sonia was silent, Daphne


    asked, ¡°Then, President Reed, may


    leave?¡±


    ¡°Help me check Dwells¡± boss¡± Itinerary for today.¡± After taking a deep breath, Sonia ordered her


    secretary. ¡°Report to me as soon as you find out. I¡¯ll settle


    these few documents first.¡±


    Daphne was taken aback. ¡°Didn¡¯t


    Charles say to wait for him toe


    back to deal with it?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s very busy as well, so I can¡¯t wait


    for him to handle everything.¡± Sonia


    pursed her lips. ¡°Besides, now that I¡¯m


    in this position, I have to learn


    whatever it is I don¡¯t know yet.


    Otherwise, I¡¯ll be criticized before I


    secure my position.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You do your work, President Reed. I¡¯ll go find out.¡± Daphne quickly


    left the office, leaving Sonia alone to busy herself with work.


    Because Sonia had only recentlye


    into contact with these matters, added


    with the fact that there were many


    jargons in the documents, the speed at


    which she read the documents was


    extremely slow, so by noon, only one third of them had been processed.


    After hastily eating the lunch sent by


    her secretary, she continued to look


    through the rest.


    It was only at 2.30PM that she finished


    processing all the documents.


    Sonia rubbed her sore neck and when


    she saw the phone on the table light up


    to indicate that there was a new


    message, she opened it to check.


    Carl: ¡®Sonia, thepany has arranged


    a job for me. I need to go to Palmont for a business trip for two months. Because of the time difference, I


    can¡¯t


    reply to your messages in time. If you


    encounter an emergency, you can call the number I left for you.¡±


    Sonia: ¡®All right. Take care of yourself


    there.¡±


    As soon as Sonia replied to his


    message, another message popped up at the top of the screen, telling her that


    money had been transferred into one


    of her bank ounts. When she saw the amount, her eyes widened slightly


    90 million Could it be that Charles has


    already sold the Ocean¡®s Heart?


    At this moment, Carl sent another


    message: ¡®l know Paradigm Co.¡¯s


    situation isn¡¯t good now, and you need some liquid funds. You can use this


    money first. Tell me if it isn¡¯t enough.¡±


    Sonia: ¡®I still have money in my


    ount. If I¡¯m really in trouble, I¡¯ll ask


    Charles for help. I can¡¯t take your


    money.¡¯


    Carl¡¯s reply came in an instant. ¡®Six


    years ago, if it weren¡¯t for your help. I


    ¦¡¦°uldn¡¯ be


    ¦¥¦£¦¸ ¦©¦°¦© ¦°¦¡¦¯¦§ ¦¡¦Ã ¦£¦©¦¯¦°¦¯¦´


    belongs to you, Sonia.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s heart felt warm when she saw


    his message, and she stopped


    refusing


    Sonia: ¡®Okay. I¡¯ll treat it as you lending


    money to Paradigm Co. When we rise,


    the money will be given back to you,


    plus interest.¡±


    At this moment, there was a knock on


    the office door.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    Daphne pushed open the door and


    walked in with a box of fruits in her


    arms. ¡°President Reed, the delivery


    man from Four Seasons Orchard sent


    this.¡±


    After that, Daphne took a secret nce


    at Sonia. She saw that Sonia was


    Smiling slightly, seemingly happy. She


    thought to herself. Does President Reed


    know who sent the fruits?


    Sonia opened the box and saw that it


    was full of mangoes.


    After feeling surprised, she soon remembered that Charles often gave her food and knew what she liked


    to


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    eat, so she figured that Charles bought


    it from the Four Seasons Orchard.


    Sonia shifted her gaze away from the box of mangoes and asked, ¡°Did you find out where the boss of


    Dwells is?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Daphne hurriedly replied. ¡°Today happens to be Friday, and Dwells¡¯ boss


    usually goes to Sakura Heights with his


    friends at 2.00PM to y cards. I¡¯ve


    sent you the address on Messenger.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia got up and put on her


    coat. ¡°When Paradigm Co.¡¯s situation


    improves, I¡¯ll give you a raise.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, President Reed.¡± Daphne


    was overjoyed.


    She remembered that there was going


    to be a heavy rainstorm today, so she


    chased after Sonia to remind her to bring an umbre, but sheter found that Sonia had already entered


    the


    elevator, and her gossip-prone


    colleagues had surrounded her.


    Her nosy colleagues were anxiously


    asking, ¡°Did President Reed say


    anything when she saw the box of


    mangoes?¡±


    ¡°She just opened the box and took a


    nce.¡± Daphne spread her hands


    wide and was also quite puzzled. ¡°Even


    thepany¡¯s cleaners know about


    the matter between President Fuller


    and President Reed. Why is it that even


    though the two are divorced, President


    Fuller still sends fruits to Paradigm Co.


    for her?¡±


    ¡°Could it be that President Fuller regrets the divorce?¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that possible! Everyone in the


    industry knows that President Fuller


    loves Miss Tina. He even proposed to


    her with the Ocean¡¯s Heart!¡±


    ¡°Maybe President Fuller feels that after


    the divorce, the two parties can still


    be business partners.¡±


    ¡°Ourpany is about to go bankrupt;


    no one wants to acquire it, let alone


    President Fuller!¡±


    The gossip went on and on.


    When Sonia was on the way to Sakura Heights, it suddenly rained, and it got considerably heavier.


    When she arrived at Sakura Heights,


    there was no more space in the underground parking, so she could only park in the open-air parking lot.


    Then,


    as she got out of the car, she found


    that there was no umbre in the car, so she had to cover her head with her bag and rush in while gritting


    her teeth.


    The path was very close to the hall, but because of the heavy rain, Sonia still


    got wet, and her whole body was


    trembling when the cold wind blew.


    When the waiter saw Sonia, he

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    When Sonia was on the way to Sakura Heights, it suddenly rained, and it got considerably heavier.


    When she arrived at Sakura Heights,


    there was no more space in the underground parking, so she could only park in the open-air parking lot.


    Then,


    as she got out of the car, she found that there was no umbre in the car,


    so she had to cover her head with her


    bag and rush in while gritting her teeth.


    The path was very close to the hall, but


    because of the heavy rain, Sonia still


    got wet, and her whole body was


    trembling when the cold wind blew.


    When the waiter saw Sonia, he


    immediately brought her a towel.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia dried her hair with


    the towel and spoke to the waiter. ¡°It¡¯s Friday, so business should be good,


    right? Are Mr. King and the rest still


    ying poker in the private room?¡±


    When the waiter heard this, he thought


    she was Paul¡¯s friend. ¡°Yes. Private


    room 1103 is always reserved for Mr.


    King.¡±


    After sessfully tricking him, the


    corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth curled up


    slightly


    When the waiter left, Sonia went to the


    front desk and ordered a pot of top


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    2


    Toby retracted his gaze and answered lightly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    3


    Sonia didn¡¯t know that Toby was here


    2


    as well, so she brought the tea into the private room with a smile on her face.


    Sonia scanned the ce and saw a


    vintage style room. Four men were


    sitting at a table ying cards and


    chatting. It felt ufortable,


    because two of the bosses had young


    girls by their sides.


    She had read Dwells¡¯ information


    before, so in no time, she managed to identify Dwells¡¯ boss among the four


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Toby retracted his gaze and answered lightly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t know that Toby was here as well, so she brought the tea into the private room with a smile


    on her face.


    Sonia scanned the ce and saw a


    vintage-style room. Four men were


    sitting at a table ying cards and


    chatting. It felt ufortable,


    because two of the bosses had young


    girls by their sides.


    She had read Dwells¡¯ information


    before, so in no time, she managed to


    identify Dwells¡¯ boss among the four


    men. She walked over and greeted, ¡°Mr. King.¡±


    Paul, who was ying cards, nced sideways at Sonia. ¡°Oh, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Sonia Reed from Paradigm Co.,¡±


    Sonia said with a smile while setting


    the tea and pastries down on the small


    table.


    ¡°I came here this afternoon to meet a


    friend. He yed cards with you before


    and praised your skills. I figured the


    two of us have business dealings, so I


    came over to say hello to you. Am | bothering all of you?¡±


    Paul gave her a vague answer and


    continued ying, while the man sitting on the south side of the table asked, ¡°Is your father Henry


    Reed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with your father. I¡¯ve


    yed with him before. He¡¯s really


    good,¡± the man, Chester Yancey, said. He nced at Sonia from top to bottom, his gaze somewhat


    ambiguous


    Sonia ignored his gaze that was making her ufortable, then


    replied with a smile, ¡°Yes, my father¡¯s


    card skills are indeed good. That¡¯s why he¡¯s able to y with all of you, Mr.


    Yancey.¡±


    While the two chatted, the men just finished ying a round of poker.


    He got up and beckoned Sonia over. ¡°My waist hurts a little bit after ying one round. Come and y


    for me, darling.¡±


    Sonia appeared embarrassed. ¡°Mr. Yancey, I don¡¯t know how to y.¡±


    *Your father¡¯s skills are so good, so


    how bad can you be?¡± The man


    continued to wave her over. ¡°Come


    here. If you really don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll teach


    you.¡±


    Paul spoke up as well. ¡°You can y


    on Mr. Yancey¡¯s behalf. If you really


    don¡¯t want to y, then leave. Don¡¯t


    spoil the fun.¡±


    Sonia could hear the dissatisfaction in


    Paul¡¯s statements.


    Lately, Paradigm Co. was on the verge


    of copse, so capitalists all looked


    down upon them and refused to buy


    their shares. Dwells figured that only


    they could produce Paradigm Co.¡¯s


    foreign goods, so Sonia would


    definitely beg him, which was why he was being so arrogant now.


    She came here today to beg Dwells, so


    she was willing to suffer any


    grievances.


    Sonia suddenly rxed the hand that had been holding tightly onto her bag, then she got up and went to


    sit at Chester¡¯s ce. With a shallow smile, she said, ¡°Mr. Yancey, if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll y one round


    for you, I¡¯ll handle the losses if I lose, but if I win, the


    money will be yours.¡±


    Chester smiled with satisfaction, then


    sat down next to Sonia before patting


    her on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll


    teach you.¡±


    Sonia turned her body to the other side, discreetly avoiding Chester¡¯s hand.


    Soon, another round of the game


    began


    Chester nced at Sonia¡¯s cards,


    which were in a mess. Seeing how


    randomly she was throwing down her


    cards, he figured she really couldn¡¯t


    y, but he didn¡¯t give her any advice.


    Instead, he chatted with Paul and


    instinctively ced his hand on the


    back of Sonia¡¯s chair.


    Even though Sonia was there, the


    several men spoke unscrupulously. They talked about everything, and the topic would asionally be a


    little


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    indecent.


    As they spoke, the topic turned to Sonia¡¯s marriage with Toby.


    Despite knowing the answer, Chester asked, ¡°Darling, why did you and President Fuller get a divorce our


    of nowhere? How many hundreds of millions worth of his property did you


    ¡°We weren¡¯t getting along well, so we got divorced.¡± Sonia pressed her lips


    together, then quickly replied, ¡°The


    Fuller Group is President Fuller¡¯s


    property, so how would I possibly be


    eligible to get anything? After getting


    divorced, I left the marriage with


    nothing.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller really doesn¡¯t know


    how to conduct himself,¡± Chester said


    regretfully, then looked unscrupulously


    mt Sonia. ¡°You¡¯d slept with him for at least six years. Yet now that you¡¯re divorced, he won¡¯t even give


    you anypensation.¡±


    Sonia released an inward sheer.


    Toby doesn¡®t know how to conduct


    himself? In fact, he¡®s too good at it. In


    his heart, there¡®s only Tina. Throughout


    the six years of marriage, he had never


    once touched me.


    If she admitted this out loud, everyone


    would probablyugh at her.


    Sonia suppressed that emotion and


    smiled while answering Chester, ¡°It¡¯s


    not like I don¡¯t have anything. I still


    have Paradigm Co., which my father


    left for me. Mr. Yancey, you and my Father are old friends, so I might need to trouble you to help me


    more in the future.


    Chesterughed. ¡°Okay. Since you¡¯ve


    already mentioned it, what reason


    could I have to not help you?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s card skills were truly poor, and


    she was repeatedly defeated by the


    others.


    Before one round was over, the pile of


    cash she took out from her bag was all


    gone.


    When she arrived, she had gotten


    drenched by a little rain, so the thin


    hali-wet. Not to mention, all the men were smoking, and the windows were wide open, so cold wind was


    gushing in. After the wind blew on her for a while, she felt a little light-headed, but she was forcibly


    enduring it.


    Chester noticed that Sonia¡¯s fingers


    were slender and fair, so he moved his


    chair closer to hers and ced his


    hand on top of hers. ¡°y this card.


    Oh, darling, your hands are so cold.¡±


    While he said that, Chester took the


    opportunity to touch Sonia¡¯s hand a couple more times


    Sonia wanted to withdraw her hand,


    but Chester held on tightly.


    He inched closer to Sonia, then coaxed her, ¡°President Fuller doesn¡¯t know how to dote on people, but I


    do. If you need help with anything, just let me know.


    You must want Dwells to work on your


    talk to Paulter and get him to sign the contract with you!¡±


    Sonia was already ufortable, so


    when she smelled the stench of smoke


    and sweat on his body, her stomach


    churned.


    She had been enduring it since she


    came in, but she couldn¡¯t bear it


    anymore.


    Sonia forcefully pulled her hand out,


    then moved her chair before saying in a cold tone. ¡°Mr. Yancey, I can¡¯t y like this.¡±


    Chester was taken aback, then his face


    sank and he snapped, ¡°Darling, what¡¯s going on? I was going to put in a good


    word with Paul to help yourpany,


    but now you¡¯re shunning me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you want to help me. You


    just want to sleep with me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Sonia unveiled his hypocritical mask.


    ¡°As far as yourpany is concerned, you don¡¯t have any money to save you. It¡¯s only a matter of time


    before you go


    bankrupt,¡± Chester sneered. ¡°I quite pity


    you. After six years of marriage with


    President Fuller, he didn¡¯t even help you


    1


    Save Paradigm Co.¡±


    Chester¡¯s remarks were getting increasingly unbridled. ¡°Tell me. Now, besides using your beauty, where


    else


    can you get connections and money to


    save Paradigm Co.?¡±


    Sonia had already grabbed the teapot


    on the small table and was about to


    smash it to smithereens against


    Chester¡¯s head when suddenly, there


    was a knock on the door of the private


    room before it was pushed open..


    Paul was about to ask Sonia to leave,


    but as soon as he looked up, he saw


    the tall figure at the door and


    immediately stood up from his seat.


    Paul was about to ask Sonia to leave, but as soon as he looked up, he saw the tall figure at the door and


    immediately stood up from his seat.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡±

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25


    President Fuller?


    Sonia looked at the door of the private


    room, just in time to meet Toby¡¯s cold


    gaze. After just one second, she averted her eyes and released the


    teapot in her hand.


    ¡°President Fuller, why are you here?¡± Chester, who was sitting next to Sonia, stood up and asked


    politely.


    The men in the private room were all


    one generation older than Toby-some


    even two-but Toby¡¯s power in the


    industry was obvious to everyone.


    Coupled with the fact that the Fuller


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Group was currently at the peak of


    their power, they wouldn¡¯t dare get into a public dispute with Toby.


    Toby shot Sonia a nce, then walked


    in and said in his deep voice, ¡°I heard


    that you were here ying cards, Mr.


    King, so I came to say hello.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Friday today. It¡¯s fine. Come and


    y some cards.¡± As opposed to the


    arrogance he disyed in front of


    Sonia, at this moment, he was


    speaking to Toby with a smile. ¡°It just


    so happened that President Reed


    came to talk about the order of the


    goods, so she stayed to y a few


    rounds with us.¡±


    Chester smiled and chimed in. ¡°That¡¯s


    right. I¡¯m friends with Sonia¡¯s father, He¡¯s very good at ying cards, but she must be rather unlucky,


    because she keeps losing.¡±


    The other two bosses muttered a few


    words in agreement as well, then they


    took the opportunity to exchange


    business cards with Toby.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was silently fiddling


    with her cards.


    After receiving the business cards


    from the two men, Toby strode toward


    Paul and said nkly, ¡°You guys carry


    on ying. I¡¯ll just watch.¡±


    Paul understood the man¡¯s actions as


    soon as he saw it, so he immediately


    gave up his seat.


    Toby pulled out the chair and sat down.


    It was only at such a close distance did


    he notice that Sonia¡¯s turtleneck was


    wet, and a little bit of hair was sticking


    to her fair neck.


    ¡°Cough, cough!¡± While she was ying,


    Sonia suddenly coughed twice.


    Toby felt the chill, then saw that the


    window was wide open, so he went


    over and closed it before calling the


    waiter over and instructing, ¡°Bring me a


    nket.¡±


    Paul and the rest¡¯s expressions


    changed when they saw the way Taby


    However, Son turned a blind eye and


    ear to Toby and his words. After arranging her cards, she threw one out.


    In no time, the waiter delivered the


    nket.


    ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m not cold.¡± Sonia


    politely epted the nket, then


    stuffed it behind her chair before


    continuing with the game.


    Seeing how stubborn she was being, Toby frowned and felt annoyed.


    This woman had never even been in the


    business circle before, yet she dared toe here and y cards with a bunch of cunning old foxes.


    Isn¡¯t she afraid of being eaten alive?


    Perhaps it was because Toby was


    there-or perhaps because everyone in the private room knew about his rtionship with Sonia-the


    atmosphere in the private room


    suddenly became very harmonious,


    and no one talked about anything


    indecent


    Paul and the others even quietly fed Sonia good cards.


    How could Sonia not know the true


    nature of these people? Letting out


    inward sneers, she pretended not to understand their actions and continued to throw down random


    cards.


    The cards in her hand got worse and


    worse. The men wanted to win, but


    they didn¡¯t dare do so.


    Toby saw Sonia coughing a few more times, and his brows furrowed even more. When she was about to


    y a card, he leaned over, then took another


    card and threw it out.


    When Sonia caught a whiff of the cold


    scent from the man¡¯s body, she grew


    even more lightheaded, so she leaned


    back.


    Afterward, Toby basically picked cards


    for Sonia andid them down,


    Paul nced at Toby, then said to


    Sonia almost apologetically. ¡°A few days ago, an old customer of mine suddenly ced an order, and I


    didn¡¯t inform themerce department


    before signing with him. It¡¯s only today


    that I learned that yourpany


    urgently needs the foreign goods, President Reed. I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯ll call


    themerce departmentter, and I¡¯ll


    sign the contract at 9.00AM tomorrow.


    I¡¯ll definitely ask the factory to produce


    your goods as soon as possible.¡±


    Since Paul was showing such kindness, Sonia epted it. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have to trouble you with it, Mr. King.


    Couah, cough.¡±


    Cough, cough¡­


    Seeing how badly she was coughing, to the point where her cheeks were slightly flushed, Toby felt even


    more agitated. He pulled out the nket


    from behind her chair and was about


    to wrap it around her, but Sonia noticed


    it and suddenly stood up to avoid


    contact with him.


    ¡°President Fuller, Mr. King, I still have things waiting for me to deal with at


    the office. You guys continue ying. Today¡¯s bill is on me.¡±


    With that, Sonia picked up her bag and


    left.


    Her high heels made crisp ttering sounds on the tiles, and her slender figure quickly disappeared


    outside the door of the private room.


    Chester was unbothered as he


    watched Sonia leave. While he yed, he issued Toby with an invitation.


    ¡°President Fuller, there¡¯ll be a cocktail


    party at 7.00PM tomorrow. Do you


    have time to attend and have a taste of


    some good wine?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not free tomorrow night,¡± Toby


    answered simply as he drew a card,


    but he didn¡¯t look at it as he stood up.


    He nced at Paul and the several


    other people at the table. His gaze was


    extremely sharp, and his voice was deep. ¡°No matter how bad my ex-wife¡¯s card skills are, no one can


    bully her. Mr. Yancey, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Chester forced a smile. ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯ve


    misunderstood. We didn¡¯t bully Miss


    Reed.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Yancey, regarding your n to


    build a resort in the Northern District,


    I¡¯ve read the proposal, and I¡¯m not


    interested.¡± Toby threw the cards onto


    the table, then stated with a nk


    expression, ¡°Mr. Yancey, go find a new


    partner.¡±


    The man then picked up his coat and


    strode off.


    Paul uncovered Toby¡¯s cards and was shocked when he saw them. ¡°Sonia¡¯s cards were so bad, but after


    President Fuller took over, he was able to get winning cards¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Chester seemed paralysed


    in his seat, as if his soul had left his


    body. ¡°Aren¡¯t they divorced?¡±


    That¡®s right


    The few of them exchanged confused


    looks with each other.


    Everyone knew that Toby¡¯s marriage


    with Sonia waspletely ruined, but


    anyone would be able to discern that


    Toby was protecting his ex-wife just


    now.


    When Sonia left the private room, she


    saw that it was still raining, so she


    went to the front desk to ask for an


    umbre.


    Not only was it raining heavily outside,


    it was also cold. As the cold wind blew


    on her, her coughing got even more


    severe. When she reached the front of


    the car and was about to open the car


    door, her wrist was tightly grabbed.


    When Toby felt how cold the woman¡¯s


    hands were, his eyes darkened, ¡°You


    can¡¯t drive like this. I¡¯ll send you back.


    ¡°President Fuller, let go,¡± Sonia tried hard to pull her hand out while saying coldly: ¡°Even if I can¡¯t drive, I


    can call for a driver. You don¡¯t need to bother about mel¡±


    In the past, Sonia was docile and


    virtuous, and she never spoke like this.


    Now, when she called him ¡°President


    Fuller¡±, it sounded piercing.


    ¡°Sonia, we¡¯re just divorced. I¡¯m not your


    enemy.¡± Toby summoned his patience


    to talk to her. ¡°You can tell me if you


    need anything. There¡¯s no need to


    suffer bying here to y cards


    with Mr. King and the rest.¡±


    Curling her lips, Sonia sneered.


    ¡°Compared to the grievances I suffered during our marriage, what happened today were trivial matters.¡±


    At this moment, Sonia¡¯s phone rang.


    Ignoring Toby, she took out her phone


    and saw that it was Charles calling, so


    she quickly answered the phone. ¡°Hey,


    are you done settling yourpany¡¯s


    business?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I went to Norfolk for a


    business trip. I won¡¯t be back until next


    Wednesday.¡±


    ¡°Okay. That¡¯s fine. Settle your affairs first,¡± Sonia replied, then lowered her


    head and coughed. ¡°Dwells will sign


    the contract with us tomorrow.¡±


    VE


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that I¡¯d deal with it after i return? Did they bully you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Toby was standing next to her, so even


    though the call wasn¡¯t on speakerphone, he could vaguely hear their conversation.


    He watched as Sonia brazenly behaved


    coquettishly with Charles, and she


    even asked him to go to a branded


    store to bring two new items back.


    Compared to the docile person she


    was before, she was apletely


    different person, which caused an


    insuppressible sense of irritation to


    rise in Toby¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26


    Standing beside the car, Sonia talked on the phone in the cold wind. She felt a little dizzy, and her feet


    swayed.


    Toby¡¯s gaze darkened, then he calmly took the phone from Sonia¡¯s hand and hung up before picking her


    up and walking to the other side of the car.


    Being lifted into the air all of a sudden,


    Sonia was shocked, and the umbre


    nearly flew out of her hand. She panicked


    and grabbed the man¡¯s shirt with one hand


    as her face grew slightly cold.


    ¡°Toby, let me down!¡±


    Ignoring her, Toby opened the passenger


    door and stuffed her into the car.


    *President Fuller, are you done creating trouble?¡± Watching as the man tugged on her seatbelt, Sonia


    snapped coldly, ¡°I can find a driver. You don¡¯t need to care about


    me!¡±


    During their six years of marriage, Toby never cared about her. The two had only had a handful of


    conversations. But, after their divorce, she and Toby had met several times in just a few days.


    When did Seafield be so small?


    Toby noticed the difort and


    stubborness on her face, and annoyance


    filled his heart. ¡°The weather is so bad. Even if you order for a substitute driver, no


    One will take vour order.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my business whether I get one or not.¡±


    ¡°Sonia.¡± Toby leaned closer to her. His cold breath enveloped her, and his eyes were cold and sullen. ¡°Do


    you have to be so stubborn?¡±


    There wasn¡¯t much space in the car, so Sonia had nowhere to hide when he approached her.


    Her face grew chilly. She was about to speak, but she identally nced behind the man¡¯s back and


    found that he couldn¡¯t


    hold the umbre when he carried her into


    the car. It was raining heavily outside, so


    most of his back was wet.


    Sonia¡¯s heart gave a fierce shudder, and


    the words she was about to say died in her


    mouth as she quickly looked awav.


    Toby cast her a nce before continuing to pull the seat belt across her. However,


    because he was too close, his fingers identally rubbed against her heaving


    chest.


    Both of them froze.


    Sonia was the first to react. She pulled the seat belt from his hand and inserted it into


    the buckle.


    Toby¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I know you didn¡¯t mean to do it, President Fuller.¡± Sonia thought about


    what Chester said when they were ying


    cards just now, and she couldn¡¯t help but


    taunt him. ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯re a rare


    ¡®saint¡± that¡¯s only seen once every thousand vears!¡±


    Met with the woman¡¯s cold remarks, Toby frowned, but he quickly got into the driver¡¯s


    seat and started the engine.


    Toby asked, ¡°Where do you live?¡±


    ¡°Bayside Residence,¡± Sonia answered stonily, then looked out the window and


    rested her chin on her hands.


    Neither of them spoke again. Silence filled the car, the only sound was the slight swiping of the wipers.


    Sonia had been exposed to the rain, so she


    was feeling very ufortable.


    Now that the heater was blowing hot wind,


    the cold was reced with heat. After a


    while, she grew groggy and fell asleep in


    the car.


    They soon arrived at Bayside Residence, but Toby didn¡¯t know which building Sonia


    lived in. Seeing how flushed her face was, he figured she had caught a cold, so he looked for a drugstore


    along the road and got down to buy a box of flu medicine.


    ¡°Sonia.¡± Toby patted the woman on the cheek. ¡°Have some flu medicine.¡±


    After calling her several times, Sonia still didn¡¯t respond, but she coughed a few times. Hence, he took


    the medicine, then


    pinched her jaw and forced the medicine


    into her mouth.


    Sonia¡¯s lips were a bit cold, but very soft. It


    felt a little seductive, which made it


    difficult for Toby to control himself as he


    plunged deeper in.


    All of a sudden, the phone on the car¡¯s ammest vibrated.


    Toby returned to his senses. His eyes


    scanned over Sonia¡®s slightly swollen lips,


    whereupon he realized what he had just


    done. His eyebrows twitched, then he


    answered the phone.


    ¡°Toby, have you finished discussing the coboration?¡± Tina¡¯s soft voice sounded from the other end of


    the phone.


    ¡°Yeah¡±


    *Thene to the Outlet Mall to pick me


    and your mom up.¡± Tina said. ¡°Madam


    White and I went shopping, but it suddenly


    started raining heavily. The driver went to


    school to fetch Tyler. He can¡¯t make it, so I


    called you.¡±


    Toby nced at Sonia in the passenger


    seat, then replied in a low volce, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll


    be there in 15 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Be careful on the road.¡±


    There was a faint fragrance in the car, which was the smell of the perfume Sonia


    usually used. The more Toby smelled it, the more troubled he felt.


    Taking an umbre, he got out of the car


    and called Tom to inform him that he was


    at the south entrance of Bayside


    Residence


    About five minutester, Tom arrived.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom came over with some clothes. He was a little surprised to See Toby standing


    beside the car, then he


    took a look at the car behind him.


    Hey, isn¡®t that Miss Reed¡®s car?


    Toby took the clothes and the car keys, then nced at the car behind him with a


    knowing gaze. ¡°Drive her car and bring her to the Sheraton Hotel, then ask the


    attendant to take her temperature.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tom replied without asking any


    questions.


    Toby drove to the Outlet Mall, asionally


    thinking of Sonia¡¯s stubborn appearance


    and her soft lips, which disturbed him,


    He lowered the windows of the car slightly and he felt better after being caressed by the cold wind.


    After arriving at the Outlet Mall, Toby quickly spotted Tina and Jean standing at the entrance, both


    carrying several


    shopping bags.


    He took an umbre and got out of the car, then hurriedly walked over. ¡°It¡¯s so cold. Why didn¡¯t you wait


    inside?¡±


    Upon seeing him approach, a slight smile


    appeared at theers of Tina¡®s lips.


    ¡°Madam White and I just came out, and


    Surprisingly, you arrived at the same time.¡±


    Reside her. Jean Snickered, ¡°Who said we


    just came out? Tina knew that you were


    wait for you! Don¡¯t look at what she bought. All she bought for herself was a coat. The rest are clothes for


    you.¡±


    ¡°Madam White.¡± Tina blushed a little after being exposed. ¡°If you say anything more, Toby will think


    I¡¯m not reserved at all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re all family. Why are you still being so polite and calling me Madam White?¡±


    Hearing this, Tina blushed even more.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold outside. Let¡¯s get into the car


    first,¡± Toby urged while taking the shopping bags from Tina¡¯s hand and covering her head with the


    umbre,


    After Tina got in the car, he went to fetch


    Jean.


    After getting in the car, Jean said, ¡°Tina, look at how well Toby takes care of you. He brought you into the


    car first beforeing to fetch me, his own mother. How biased. I think when you really get married, he


    won¡¯t care about me anymore.¡±


    The grin on Tina¡¯s face grew wider. Afraid


    that Jean would tease her again, she


    changed the subject and asked Toby. ¡°Is


    this Tom¡¯s car?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes moved, then he said in


    a low voice, ¡°Tom sent my car to 4S


    Automation for maintenance.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re picking me and Madam


    White up in his car.¡±


    At this moment, Jean intervened, ¡°I heard Tina say that you were talking to people at Sakura Heights


    about a cooperation, and you even bought some pastries for Tina. How many boxes did you buy? Let me


    try


    some.¡±


    Toby had wanted to determine if the person in Paul¡¯s private room was Sonia, and he left the ce with


    her too


    afterward.


    Hepletely forgot to buy the pastries.


    Toby said, ¡°I was so busy discussing business matters that I forgot about it. I


    have the boss¡® phone number. I¡®ll get them to send a few boxes home tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Look at you. How forgetful,¡± Jena chided. ¡°Tina was thinking about you while she


    was shopping. She bought plenty of stuff for you, but you even forgot to buy pastries for her.¡±


    With that, she took Tina¡¯s hand and said with a smile, Tina, have dinner at my


    house tonight. You¡¯ve just recovered, so I¡¯ll


    cook some soup for you to nourish your


    body.¡±


    Tina gave her a small smile. ¡°Thank you, Madam White.¡±


    At this moment, the phone in her bag


    vibrated a few times.


    After checking and seeing the content and


    picture in the message, the smile on her


    face froze.


    ¡°Tina, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jean asked, as if sensing that there was something off


    about Tina¡¯s expression.


    Tina immediately locked her phone and


    said softly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. My mother sent


    me a message asking when I¡¯m going


    back. I¡¯ll reply to herter.¡±


    Jean didn¡¯t suspect anything and turned to


    talk to Toby.


    After making sure that Jean wasn¡¯t looking


    at her, Tina picked up her phone again and


    read the message her friend had sent her.


    This friend of hers was also ying cards


    at Sakura Heights today. She said that she


    w Toby and wanted to say hello, but she saw himchasing after Sonia. Then, the


    two of them sload by the car and chatted for a long time


    Tima turned off the volume before clicking


    on the video


    She saw Toby saying something to Sonia, then he picked her up and ced her in the driver¡¯s seat of


    her car before driving away


    It was just a short ten-second video, but


    Tina felt chills all over her hands and feet


    as she held her phone in a firm squeeze.


    Aren¡¯t they divorced? Then why did Toby get


    into Sonia¡¯s car? And why did he lie to me?


    Tina remembered that at the banquet that


    night, Toby seemed to be on her side, but


    as soon as Sonia made the request, he gave her the Ocean¡¯s Heart because he didn¡¯t want to humiliate


    Sonia. And today¡¯s


    video¡­


    Tina felt a sense of panic in her heart. She was afraid that even though Toby and Sonia were divorced,


    Toby still wasn¡¯t fully


    hers.


    Could it be that she was destined to be


    unable to keep something she stole?


    When Sonia woke up in the hotel, it was


    already the next morning.


    She remembered being caught in the rain


    she woke up, she felt refreshed.


    Sonia soon remembered that Toby had driven her back to Bayside


    Residence yesterday afternoon. While she was still in a muddled state, she felt someone feeding


    her something¡­


    Was it Toby?


    Sonia banished the images from her mind, then quickly washed up before leaving the


    hotel.


    After arriving at the office, Sonia called


    Daphne. ¡°Dwells¡¯ boss wille to the


    office to sign the contractter, so get the


    contract ready.¡±


    Daphne was surprised. ¡°President Reed,


    you managed to seal the deal with


    Dwells?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Although Sonia didn¡¯t want to admit it, if it hadn¡¯t been for Toby


    coming to the private room yesterday afternoon, Dwells boss wouldn¡¯t have relented and taken on


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s order.


    She owed Toby a favor.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Daphne nodded, then quickly went to prepare the contract.


    After taking off her coat, Sonia hung it on


    the hanger. Just as she was about to sit


    down and settle the documents Daphne


    had sent, the phone on her desk rang.


    She answered, ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°President Reed, a gentleman named Zane


    wants to see you,¡± the receptionist


    reported. ¡°Do you know him?¡±


    Sonia responded, ¡°Send him up.¡±


    Soon, there was a knock on the office door, and the receptionist led a man in.


    The man was dressed infortable and loose casual clothing; his jet-ck hair was thick with the ends


    slightly curling


    upward, and his facial features were so


    perfect that no ws could be found. He


    was handsome and carried himself with


    ease and natural poise.


    His narrow eyes swept nonchntly


    across the office before finallynding on


    Sonia


    ¡°President Reed, you adapt really well.¡± Zane walked toward the desk, then pulled


    out the chair and sat down. He began


    makina conversation with Sonia as if they


    making conversation with Sonia as if they were close friends. ¡°You¡¯ve only been in Paradigm Co, for a


    few days, but you already possess the spirit of a proper leader. I couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯d been a


    housewife for six years.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the romantic and


    suave yboy who couldn¡¯t refuse any


    women would turn out to be the youngest


    son of the mayor.¡± When it came to being


    sharp-tongued, Sonia was never weak.


    Zane raised his eyebrows. ¡°President


    Reed, I wasplimenting you for finally being yourself, yet you¡¯re insulting me?¡±


    ¡°I was praising you for being popr with thedies.¡±


    Zane knew that this woman looked gentle and dignified, but she was extremely good at talking. After


    adjusting his posture, he said, ¡°I know that Paradigm Co. has an overseas order and wants Dwells¡¯


    factory to produce it, but I know a factor that¡¯s even better at producing foreign goods.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you want to introduce resources to me?¡± Sonia looked at him in surprise. ¡°Why?¡±


    Zane shrugged, then spoke in azy and


    casual manner. ¡°We have a business


    rtionship, don¡¯t we? If I have good


    resources, of course I¡¯ll introduce it to you.


    Treat it as a personal favor!¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t believe his nonsense. ¡°Mr.


    Coleman, we¡¯ve only met once before, so we¡®re not even close with each other, and


    another man. If I don¡¯t get my revenge, I¡¯d


    be a sorry excuse of a man¡­


    Sonia looked at the woman in the photo. ¡°Your girlfriend is very beautiful. I didn¡¯t


    expect that there woulde a day where you would get cheated on.¡±


    Zane ignored the sympathetic look she


    was giving him. ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t tolerate


    being cheated on! So, I want to take revenge on Dwells. No friend around me is


    allowed to cooperate with Dwells. You and


    I are partners, so of course, you can¡¯t


    cooperate with them either. This standard of the foreign goods this factory produces


    is higher than Dwells¡¯. Believe me.¡± Zane


    fiddled with his phone. ¡°I¡¯ll send you the


    number of the person in charge at


    Rentoor.¡±


    ¡°Rentoon?¡± Sonia was slightly shocked.


    She knew about Rentoor Inc. They were a


    well-known factory in Norfolk. Because of its high quality, many foreignpanies approached them to


    produce their goods.


    She even heard that their production


    orders were scheduled until next year.


    Initially, Sonia wanted to approach Rentoon


    too, but because she didn¡¯t have any way


    to do it, she went for the second best


    option and chose Dwells.


    ¡°I¡¯m very familiar with their business in


    Norfolk,¡± Zane exined. When he saw the box of mangoes by the table, he picked one up and peeled it


    before eating it. ¡°Call him and talk to him first.¡±


    Sonia immediately copied the number given by Zane before dialing it. The other


    party picked up fairly quickly.


    Sonia knew the overseas order like the


    back of her hand, so her conversation with


    Rentoor¡¯smerce department went smoothly. It didn¡¯t seem like she was a newbie who had just


    entered the industry at all; she spoke in such a clear and organized manner that even Zane was


    looking at her with admiration.


    Finally, Rentoor¡¯s staff told Sonia that after


    signing the contract, they could produce


    her goods within the time limit, but she


    needed to go to the factory on Thursday to


    have a look. The two parties would discuss again before going through with the contract


    After hanging up the phone, the burden in Sonia¡¯s heart was liftedpletely. ¡°Zane, you¡¯ve done me a


    huge favor.¡±


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t cooperate with


    Dwells, we¡¯re friends.¡± Zane had finished


    eating a mango and was wiping his hands with a tissue. ¡°Four Seasons Orchard has good mangoes this


    year. Did Toby send


    them?¡±


    As Sonia thought of what happened


    yesterday afternoon, she frowned. ¡°No.1


    divorced him a long time ago, so I won¡¯t


    ept the things he sends. A childhood


    friend of mine bought these. You can bring


    them back if you like.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Zane raised an eyebrow and gave


    her a knowing look.


    Sonia found the look he was giving her to be strange. After taking a look at the time, she got up and put


    on her coat. ¡°Mr. Coleman, if you don¡¯t have any ns for


    lunch, let me treat you to a meal.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Then I¡¯ll have to pick the restaurant well.¡± Zane followed her out of the office.


    ¡°Sonia, you b*tch. Come here right now! |


    must teach you a proper lesson!¡±


    As soon as Sonia came out, she heard the


    noises outside, and the voice was rather


    familiar. Looking up, she saw Jean


    standing not far away from her. With her hands on her hips, she was screaming at


    Sonia at the top of her lungs.


    There were emnloveee around her who


    There were employees around her who tried to throw her out, but they retreated after being scolded by


    Jean


    Sonia walked over in her high heels, then asked calmly, ¡°Madam White, is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°You b*tch. You¡¯re finally showing


    yourself!¡± When she saw Sonia, Jean


    became even angrier. She stalked toward Sonia in a rage, then raised her hand to


    p Sonia


    Sonia was no longer the daughter-inw of the Fuller Family, so she did not have to


    bear with Jean anymore. She grasped Jean¡¯s wrist forcefully and pushed her away which caught the


    latterpletely off guard. Because of that, Jean lost her bnce and fell onto the ground. Her image


    was ruined as she moaned in pain.


    ¡°Madam White, please mind your


    behavior;¡± Sonia said coldly, ¡°If you¡¯re


    going to start throwing hands, I will not


    hesitate to do the same.¡±


    Jean was boiling in anger. ¡°Sonia, how


    dare you say that to me!¡±


    Previously, when Sonia and Toby were still


    married, Sonia was extremely obedient to Jean and would never dare to talk back. However, she had


    changedpletely after the divorce.


    ¡°I knew you were a b*tch! You have been putting up an act all this while to cotton up


    to me!¡± Jean scowled. Despite wearing an elegant dark blue dress, she looked


    shrewish with her ferocious expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who refused to take a


    single cent from Toby when you guys


    divorced! What is this attitude you¡¯re giving


    me right now? Have you no shame?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t take money from


    Toby.¡± Sonia looked directly into Jean¡¯s


    eyes.


    ¡°Why are you still pestering my son then?!¡± Jean snarled.


    She then took out a stack of pictures from her handbag and distributed them to the staff who were


    watching, ¡°Look at your boss. What a shameless woman. My son has already divorced her and even has


    a girlfriend now, but she still refuses to let


    go of him. She just won¡¯t stop pestering him!¡±


    After distributing the pictures, Jean threw the remaining pictures at Sonia. ¡°Take a


    look for yourself. How could you be so


    shameless to ask Toby to carry you into


    the car?!¡±


    The pictures which Jean threw hit Sonia


    beforending on the ground. Sonia picked


    up a couple of them and saw Toby and her


    in them¨Cshe was talking to Tohv hecide


    in them-she was talking to Toby beside the car while holding an umbre. Because the two of them were


    standing close to each other, it seemed as if she was hugging Toby. On the other hand, the second


    picture was the scene of Toby carrying her into the car.


    Little did Sonia expect that someone had secretly captured pictures of Toby and her when they were at


    the car park yesterday


    afternoon.


    Jean pointed at Sonia and continued to


    reprimand, ¡°Tina¡¯s father has apologized to


    you regarding the video, but you¡¯re such an


    ungrateful brat! You do know that Tina


    likes mangoes, don¡¯t you? And yet you


    dared to ask Toby to send mangoes to


    yourpany!¡±


    Sonia was startled by Jean¡¯s words. She didn¡¯t know Tina liked mangoes and


    thought that the box of mangoes was from Charles. It turned out that it wasn¡¯t the


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, Sonia-you better stay away from my son! The reason Toby


    agreed to marry you six years ago was


    because of Tina. Otherwise, given your


    status, do you think you deserve to be with


    Toby?¡±


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s pale face, Zane quickly


    stood up to mediate. ¡°Madam White, although Miss Reed and Toby have divorced, they are still friends.


    The pictures must be a misunderstanding, Why don¡¯t you go back and ask Toby about it?¡±


    ¡°If she didn¡¯t seduce Toby, why would he carry her into the car?¡± Jean questioned,


    ¡°Maybe Miss Reed was feeling unwell, and


    Toby merely helped her out of kindness. Madam White, this is Miss Reed¡¯s office after all. You¡¯ll put her


    in a difficult situation by causing such a scene,¡± Zane said politely


    However, Jean darted a re at Zane and thereafter looked at Sonia with her eyes filled with contempt.


    Then, she sneered in


    a loud and sharp voice, ¡°Ha! You¡¯re really


    good at seducing men, Sonia. Not only did


    you seduce the model, but you won¡¯t even


    spare Toby¡¯s friend!¡±


    With that, Zane was rendered speechless.


    Meanwhile, seeina how Jean was beina


    increasingly unreasonable, Sonia grabbed a cup of coffee from a staff¡¯s table and sshed it toward


    Jean¡¯s face. The coffee was still warm as it was sshed onto Jean¡¯s face and her dress. Screaming,


    Jean quickly took some napkins to wipe the stains on her dress.


    ¡°You b*tch!¡± Jean almost wanted to tear Sonia into pieces when her favorite dress was stained.


    Nevertheless, before she


    could do anything, the securities had rushed up and held her down.


    Sonia put the coffee cup back on the table


    and stared at Jean coldly. ¡°President Fuller


    is a renowned man in the business circle. I


    hope that you will conduct yourself better,


    Madam White, lest other people think


    President Fuller¡¯s mother is a rude shrew.


    Also, this is Paradigm Co.-mypany.


    Therefore, please make an appointment at the concierge if you would like to see me. If a situation like


    this happens again, FH


    ask mywyer to talk to you, Madam White.¡±


    Before Jean could blow up, Sonia ordered


    the two securities, ¡°Madam White here has


    disrupted everyone¡¯s work. Please send


    her out.¡±


    ¡°Let go of me! I¡¯m going to kill this b*tch!¡±


    Jean was still cursing Sonia as she was


    dragged out by the securities, and she


    looked like a shrew indeed.


    Meanwhile, the staff sensibly dismissed


    themselves and went back to their desks


    to work.


    ¡°My apologies, Mr. Coleman.¡± Sonia smiled faintly while wiping the coffee stain which spattered onto her


    sleeve.


    Thereafter, the two went into the lift. Zane couldn¡¯t stop ncing at Sonia as he rubbed his chin with his


    slender fingers andmented, ¡°I realize you¡¯ve changed


    a lot after divorcing Toby¡±


    Before Toby and Sonia had divorced, Zane


    had gone to the Fullers¡¯ residence a few


    times and had seen the way Jean treated


    Sonia like a servant, ordering her about. On


    the other hand, Sonia would always obey


    hermands in a servile manner. As


    such, Zane was very surprised to see


    Sonia¡¯s domineering stance today when


    she sshed coffee at Jean and taught


    her a lesson.


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks to Toby,¡± Sonia said in


    sarcasm.


    She married Toby six years ago because she loved him. She had been an obedient


    daughter-inw and served the Fullers


    while bearing with Jean¡¯s scolding and unreasonableness, thinking that by doing so, Toby would be


    moved and fall in love


    with her.


    Nheless, it was onlyter on did she


    realize it was just her wishful thinking.


    There was already someone else in Toby¡¯s


    heart, so no matter how she loved him


    humbly and wholeheartedly, she wouldn¡¯t


    be able to capture his heart.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing that you guys


    divorced. I reckon no woman will dare to


    marry into the Fullers aiven Madam


    White¡¯s character.¡± Zane freaked out at the thought of Jean¡¯s fierce look. Toby is amazing for not being


    psychologically distorted having a mother like this.¡± Then, he changed the topic and asked Sonia, ¡°The


    model seems pretty decent. When do you guys n to get married?¡±


    Sonia wasn¡¯t that close with Zane and thought she didn¡¯t have to tell him


    everything, so she answered, ¡°Carl is quite


    busy and has gone on a business trip


    overseas.¡±


    Hearing that, Zane perceived that the two


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    were indeed dating, and he hummed in


    response.


    When the lift arrived on the ground floor, a


    message came into Zane¡¯s phone. He


    nced at it and turned to Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯ll take a rain check on the lunch as I have some matters


    to attend to.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded and sent Zane out of thepany


    After arriving at Majestique, Zane found the private room and entered it. Seeing that Toby was already


    here, Zane said immediately. ¡°Your mother was making a


    scene at Paradigm Co. just now.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°What did she do?¡±


    ¡°Sigh. It¡¯s because of the person who took


    pictures of you carrying Sonia into the car.¡±


    Zane sat down and poured himself a cup


    of tea. ¡°I have no idea how she got those


    pictures. She went to find Sonia in her


    shameless and seducing you even alier you guys are divorced.¡±


    Zane continued asking with interest, What¡¯s going on? Are you the one


    seducing Sonia?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shot Zane a cold nce and exined in a displeased tone, ¡°She wasn¡¯t feeling well after


    being caught in the rain yesterday afternoon. I was worried that she would cause a car ident if she


    drove, so I decided to send her back, but


    she was stubborn and insisted on getting


    a temporary driver.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right. She could have just gotten a


    driver. Question is, why were you, her ex


    husband, worried about her?¡± Zane tutted.


    ¡°Thanks to your ¡®kind act, your mother


    went to Paradigm Co. and called Sonia


    ¡°She¡¯s right. She could have just gotten a driver. Question is, why were you, her ex husband, worried


    about her?¡± Zane tutted, ¡°Thanks to your ¡®kind act, your mother went to Paradigm Co. and called Sonia


    names in front of all her colleagues.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby was rendered speechless.

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27


    ¡°Tina, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jean asked, as if sensing that there was something off


    about Tina¡¯s expression.


    Tina immediately locked her phone and


    said softly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. My mother sent


    me a message asking when I¡¯m going


    back. I¡¯ll reply to herter.¡±


    Jean didn¡¯t suspect anything and turned to


    talk to Toby.


    After making sure that Jean wasn¡¯t looking


    at her, Tina picked up her phone again and


    read the message her friend had sent her.


    This friend of hers was also ying cards


    at Sakura Heights today. She said that she


    w Toby and wanted to say hello, but she saw himchasing after Sonia. Then, the


    two of them sload by the car and chatted for a long time


    Tima turned off the volume before clicking


    on the video


    She saw Toby saying something to Sonia, then he picked her up and ced her in the driver¡¯s seat of


    her car before driving away


    It was just a short ten-second video, but


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Tina felt chills all over her hands and feet


    as she held her phone in a firm squeeze.


    Aren¡¯t they divorced? Then why did Toby get


    into Sonia¡¯s car? And why did he lie to me?


    Tina remembered that at the banquet that


    night, Toby seemed to be on her side, but


    as soon as Sonia made the request, he gave her the Ocean¡¯s Heart because he didn¡¯t want to humiliate


    Sonia. And today¡¯s


    video¡­


    Tina felt a sense of panic in her heart. She was afraid that even though Toby and Sonia were divorced,


    Toby still wasn¡¯t fully


    hers.


    Could it be that she was destined to be


    unable to keep something she stole?


    When Sonia woke up in the hotel, it was


    already the next morning.


    She remembered being caught in the rain


    she woke up, she felt refreshed.


    Sonia soon remembered that Toby had driven her back to Bayside


    Residence yesterday afternoon. While she was still in a muddled state, she felt someone feeding


    her something¡­


    Was it Toby?


    Sonia banished the images from her mind, then quickly washed up before leaving the


    hotel.


    After arriving at the office, Sonia called


    Daphne. ¡°Dwells¡¯ boss wille to the


    office to sign the contractter, so get the


    contract ready.¡±


    Daphne was surprised. ¡°President Reed,


    you managed to seal the deal with


    Dwells?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Although Sonia didn¡¯t want to admit it, if it hadn¡¯t been for Toby


    coming to the private room yesterday afternoon, Dwells boss wouldn¡¯t have relented and taken on


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s order.


    She owed Toby a favor.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Daphne nodded, then quickly went to prepare the contract.


    After taking off her coat, Sonia hung it on


    the hanger. Just as she was about to sit


    down and settle the documents Daphne


    had sent, the phone on her desk rang.


    She answered, ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°President Reed, a gentleman named Zane


    wants to see you,¡± the receptionist


    reported. ¡°Do you know him?¡±


    Sonia responded, ¡°Send him up.¡±


    Soon, there was a knock on the office door, and the receptionist led a man in.


    The man was dressed infortable and loose casual clothing; his jet-ck hair was thick with the ends


    slightly curling


    upward, and his facial features were so


    perfect that no ws could be found. He


    was handsome and carried himself with


    ease and natural poise.


    His narrow eyes swept nonchntly


    across the office before finallynding on


    Sonia


    ¡°President Reed, you adapt really well.¡± Zane walked toward the desk, then pulled


    out the chair and sat down. He began


    makina conversation with Sonia as if they


    making conversation with Sonia as if they were close friends. ¡°You¡¯ve only been in Paradigm Co, for a


    few days, but you already possess the spirit of a proper leader. I couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯d been a


    housewife for six years.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the romantic and


    suave yboy who couldn¡¯t refuse any


    women would turn out to be the youngest


    son of the mayor.¡± When it came to being


    sharp-tongued, Sonia was never weak.


    Zane raised his eyebrows. ¡°President


    Reed, I wasplimenting you for finally being yourself, yet you¡¯re insulting me?¡±


    ¡°I was praising you for being popr with thedies.¡±


    Zane knew that this woman looked gentle and dignified, but she was extremely good at talking. After


    adjusting his posture, he said, ¡°I know that Paradigm Co. has an overseas order and wants Dwells¡¯


    factory to produce it, but I know a factor that¡¯s even better at producing foreign goods.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you want to introduce resources to me?¡± Sonia looked at him in surprise. ¡°Why?¡±


    Zane shrugged, then spoke in azy and


    casual manner. ¡°We have a business


    rtionship, don¡¯t we? If I have good


    resources, of course I¡¯ll introduce it to you.


    Treat it as a personal favor!¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t believe his nonsense. ¡°Mr.


    Coleman, we¡¯ve only met once before, so we¡®re not even close with each other, and


    another man. If I don¡¯t get my revenge, I¡¯d


    be a sorry excuse of a man¡­


    Sonia looked at the woman in the photo. ¡°Your girlfriend is very beautiful. I didn¡¯t


    expect that there woulde a day where you would get cheated on.¡±


    Zane ignored the sympathetic look she


    was giving him. ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t tolerate


    being cheated on! So, I want to take revenge on Dwells. No friend around me is


    allowed to cooperate with Dwells. You and


    I are partners, so of course, you can¡¯t


    cooperate with them either. This standard of the foreign goods this factory produces


    is higher than Dwells¡¯. Believe me.¡± Zane


    fiddled with his phone. ¡°I¡¯ll send you the


    number of the person in charge at


    Rentoor.¡±


    ¡°Rentoon?¡± Sonia was slightly shocked.


    She knew about Rentoor Inc. They were a


    well-known factory in Norfolk. Because of its high quality, many foreignpanies approached them to


    produce their goods.


    She even heard that their production


    orders were scheduled until next year.


    Initially, Sonia wanted to approach Rentoon


    too, but because she didn¡¯t have any way


    to do it, she went for the second best


    option and chose Dwells.


    ¡°I¡¯m very familiar with their business in


    Norfolk,¡± Zane exined. When he saw the box of mangoes by the table, he picked one up and peeled it


    before eating it. ¡°Call him and talk to him first.¡±


    Sonia immediately copied the number given by Zane before dialing it. The other


    party picked up fairly quickly.


    Sonia knew the overseas order like the


    back of her hand, so her conversation with


    Rentoor¡¯smerce department went smoothly. It didn¡¯t seem like she was a newbie who had just


    entered the industry at all; she spoke in such a clear and organized manner that even Zane was


    looking at her with admiration.


    Finally, Rentoor¡¯s staff told Sonia that after


    signing the contract, they could produce


    her goods within the time limit, but she


    needed to go to the factory on Thursday to


    have a look. The two parties would discuss again before going through with the contract


    After hanging up the phone, the burden in Sonia¡¯s heart was liftedpletely. ¡°Zane, you¡¯ve done me a


    huge favor.¡±


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t cooperate with


    Dwells, we¡¯re friends.¡± Zane had finished


    eating a mango and was wiping his hands with a tissue. ¡°Four Seasons Orchard has good mangoes this


    year. Did Toby send


    them?¡±


    As Sonia thought of what happened


    yesterday afternoon, she frowned. ¡°No.1


    divorced him a long time ago, so I won¡¯t


    ept the things he sends. A childhood


    friend of mine bought these. You can bring


    them back if you like.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Zane raised an eyebrow and gave


    her a knowing look.


    Sonia found the look he was giving her to be strange. After taking a look at the time, she got up and put


    on her coat. ¡°Mr. Coleman, if you don¡¯t have any ns for


    lunch, let me treat you to a meal.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Then I¡¯ll have to pick the restaurant well.¡± Zane followed her out of the office.


    ¡°Sonia, you b*tch. Come here right now! |


    must teach you a proper lesson!¡±


    As soon as Sonia came out, she heard the


    noises outside, and the voice was rather


    familiar. Looking up, she saw Jean


    standing not far away from her. With her hands on her hips, she was screaming at


    Sonia at the top of her lungs.


    There were emnloveee around her who


    There were employees around her who tried to throw her out, but they retreated after being scolded by


    Jean


    Sonia walked over in her high heels, then asked calmly, ¡°Madam White, is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°You b*tch. You¡¯re finally showing


    yourself!¡± When she saw Sonia, Jean


    became even angrier. She stalked toward Sonia in a rage, then raised her hand to


    p Sonia

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28


    Sonia was no longer the daughter-inw of the Fuller Family, so she did not have to


    bear with Jean anymore. She grasped Jean¡¯s wrist forcefully and pushed her away which caught the


    latterpletely off guard. Because of that, Jean lost her bnce and fell onto the ground. Her image


    was ruined as she moaned in pain.


    ¡°Madam White, please mind your


    behavior;¡± Sonia said coldly, ¡°If you¡¯re


    going to start throwing hands, I will not


    hesitate to do the same.¡±


    Jean was boiling in anger. ¡°Sonia, how


    dare you say that to me!¡±


    Previously, when Sonia and Toby were still


    married, Sonia was extremely obedient to Jean and would never dare to talk back. However, she had


    changedpletely after the divorce.


    ¡°I knew you were a b*tch! You have been putting up an act all this while to cotton up


    to me!¡± Jean scowled. Despite wearing an elegant dark blue dress, she looked


    shrewish with her ferocious expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who refused to take a


    single cent from Toby when you guys


    divorced! What is this attitude you¡¯re giving


    me right now? Have you no shame?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t take money from


    Toby.¡± Sonia looked directly into Jean¡¯s


    eyes.


    ¡°Why are you still pestering my son then?!¡± Jean snarled.


    She then took out a stack of pictures from her handbag and distributed them to the staff who were


    watching, ¡°Look at your boss. What a shameless woman. My son has already divorced her and even has


    a girlfriend now, but she still refuses to let


    go of him. She just won¡¯t stop pestering him!¡±


    After distributing the pictures, Jean threw the remaining pictures at Sonia. ¡°Take a


    look for yourself. How could you be so


    shameless to ask Toby to carry you into


    the car?!¡±


    The pictures which Jean threw hit Sonia


    beforending on the ground. Sonia picked


    up a couple of them and saw Toby and her


    in them¨Cshe was talking to Tohv hecide


    in them-she was talking to Toby beside the car while holding an umbre. Because the two of them were


    standing close to each other, it seemed as if she was hugging Toby. On the other hand, the second


    picture was the scene of Toby carrying her into the car.


    Little did Sonia expect that someone had secretly captured pictures of Toby and her when they were at


    the car park yesterday


    afternoon.


    Jean pointed at Sonia and continued to


    reprimand, ¡°Tina¡¯s father has apologized to


    you regarding the video, but you¡¯re such an


    ungrateful brat! You do know that Tina


    likes mangoes, don¡¯t you? And yet you


    dared to ask Toby to send mangoes to


    yourpany!¡±


    Sonia was startled by Jean¡¯s words. She didn¡¯t know Tina liked mangoes and


    thought that the box of mangoes was from Charles. It turned out that it wasn¡¯t the


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, Sonia-you better stay away from my son! The reason Toby


    agreed to marry you six years ago was


    because of Tina. Otherwise, given your


    status, do you think you deserve to be with


    Toby?¡±


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s pale face, Zane quickly


    stood up to mediate. ¡°Madam White, although Miss Reed and Toby have divorced, they are still friends.


    The pictures must be a misunderstanding, Why don¡¯t you go back and ask Toby about it?¡±


    ¡°If she didn¡¯t seduce Toby, why would he carry her into the car?¡± Jean questioned,


    ¡°Maybe Miss Reed was feeling unwell, and


    Toby merely helped her out of kindness. Madam White, this is Miss Reed¡¯s office after all. You¡¯ll put her


    in a difficult situation by causing such a scene,¡± Zane said politely


    However, Jean darted a re at Zane and thereafter looked at Sonia with her eyes filled with contempt.


    Then, she sneered in


    a loud and sharp voice, ¡°Ha! You¡¯re really


    good at seducing men, Sonia. Not only did


    you seduce the model, but you won¡¯t even


    spare Toby¡¯s friend!¡±


    With that, Zane was rendered speechless.


    Meanwhile, seeina how Jean was beina


    increasingly unreasonable, Sonia grabbed a cup of coffee from a staff¡¯s table and sshed it toward


    Jean¡¯s face. The coffee was still warm as it was sshed onto Jean¡¯s face and her dress. Screaming,


    Jean quickly took some napkins to wipe the stains on her dress.


    ¡°You b*tch!¡± Jean almost wanted to tear Sonia into pieces when her favorite dress was stained.


    Nevertheless, before she


    could do anything, the securities had rushed up and held her down.


    Sonia put the coffee cup back on the table


    and stared at Jean coldly. ¡°President Fuller


    is a renowned man in the business circle. I


    hope that you will conduct yourself better,


    Madam White, lest other people think


    President Fuller¡¯s mother is a rude shrew.


    Also, this is Paradigm Co.-mypany.


    Therefore, please make an appointment at the concierge if you would like to see me. If a situation like


    this happens again, FH


    ask mywyer to talk to you, Madam White.¡±


    Before Jean could blow up, Sonia ordered


    the two securities, ¡°Madam White here has


    disrupted everyone¡¯s work. Please send


    her out.¡±


    ¡°Let go of me! I¡¯m going to kill this b*tch!¡±


    Jean was still cursing Sonia as she was


    dragged out by the securities, and she


    looked like a shrew indeed.


    Meanwhile, the staff sensibly dismissed


    themselves and went back to their desks


    to work.


    ¡°My apologies, Mr. Coleman.¡± Sonia smiled faintly while wiping the coffee stain which spattered onto her


    sleeve.


    Thereafter, the two went into the lift. Zane couldn¡¯t stop ncing at Sonia as he rubbed his chin with his


    slender fingers andmented, ¡°I realize you¡¯ve changed


    a lot after divorcing Toby¡±


    Before Toby and Sonia had divorced, Zane


    had gone to the Fullers¡¯ residence a few


    times and had seen the way Jean treated


    Sonia like a servant, ordering her about. On


    the other hand, Sonia would always obey


    hermands in a servile manner. As


    such, Zane was very surprised to see


    Sonia¡¯s domineering stance today when


    she sshed coffee at Jean and taught


    her a lesson.


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks to Toby,¡± Sonia said in


    sarcasm.


    She married Toby six years ago because she loved him. She had been an obedient


    daughter-inw and served the Fullers


    while bearing with Jean¡¯s scolding and unreasonableness, thinking that by doing so, Toby would be


    moved and fall in love


    with her.


    Nheless, it was onlyter on did she


    realize it was just her wishful thinking.


    There was already someone else in Toby¡¯s


    heart, so no matter how she loved him


    humbly and wholeheartedly, she wouldn¡¯t


    be able to capture his heart.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing that you guys


    divorced. I reckon no woman will dare to


    marry into the Fullers aiven Madam


    White¡¯s character.¡± Zane freaked out at the thought of Jean¡¯s fierce look. Toby is amazing for not being


    psychologically distorted having a mother like this.¡± Then, he changed the topic and asked Sonia, ¡°The


    model seems pretty decent. When do you guys n to get married?¡±


    Sonia wasn¡¯t that close with Zane and thought she didn¡¯t have to tell him


    everything, so she answered, ¡°Carl is quite


    busy and has gone on a business trip


    overseas.¡±


    Hearing that, Zane perceived that the two


    were indeed dating, and he hummed in


    response.


    When the lift arrived on the ground floor, a


    message came into Zane¡¯s phone. He


    nced at it and turned to Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯ll take a rain check on the lunch as I have some matters


    to attend to.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded and sent Zane out of thepany


    After arriving at Majestique, Zane found the private room and entered it. Seeing that Toby was already


    here, Zane said immediately. ¡°Your mother was making a


    scene at Paradigm Co. just now.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°What did she do?¡±


    ¡°Sigh. It¡¯s because of the person who took


    pictures of you carrying Sonia into the car.¡±


    Zane sat down and poured himself a cup


    of tea. ¡°I have no idea how she got those


    pictures. She went to find Sonia in her


    shameless and seducing you even alier you guys are divorced.¡±


    Zane continued asking with interest, What¡¯s going on? Are you the one


    seducing Sonia?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shot Zane a cold nce and exined in a displeased tone, ¡°She wasn¡¯t feeling well after


    being caught in the rain yesterday afternoon. I was worried that she would cause a car ident if she


    drove, so I decided to send her back, but


    she was stubborn and insisted on getting


    a temporary driver.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right. She could have just gotten a


    driver. Question is, why were you, her ex


    husband, worried about her?¡± Zane tutted.


    ¡°Thanks to your ¡®kind act, your mother


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    went to Paradigm Co. and called Sonia


    ¡°She¡¯s right. She could have just gotten a driver. Question is, why were you, her ex husband, worried


    about her?¡± Zane tutted, ¡°Thanks to your ¡®kind act, your mother went to Paradigm Co. and called Sonia


    names in front of all her colleagues.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby was rendered speechless.

 Chapter 29

    Chapter 29


    Zane ignored the gloomy face Toby was giving and asked again, ¡°Also, why did you ask someone to


    send mangoes to Paradigm Co.7¡±


    Toby furrowed his brows. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face darkened even more after Zane exined how Jean scolded Sonia


    because of the matter about the mangoes.


    Then, he quickly called Four Seasons


    Orchard to look into it.


    After looking into the matter, the person-in


    charge quickly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.


    President Fuller, the delivery man wasn¡¯t


    aware of your divorce and thought Miss


    Reed was still your wife, so he delivered


    the mangoes to Miss Reed¡¯spany instead. My sincere apologies about that.¡±


    Toby had put his phone on speaker, so


    Zane¨Cwho was sitting across from


    him¨Cheard the content too. ¡°Oh, poor Sonia. She was wrongly used by your mother.¡±


    Feeling vexed, Toby rubbed his eyebrows.


    He had never thought that someone would


    have the guts to secretly take pictures of


    him at Sakura Heights. Besides that, he


    had not expected that the mangoes would


    be delivered wrongly, which caused Jean


    to confront Sonia at Paradigm Co.


    After waiting for the waiter to serve the


    dishes and walk out, Toby asked Zane, ¡°Has Sonia talked with the person-in


    charge from Rentoon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, She¡¯s going to visit Rentoor¡¯s factory on Thursday.¡±


    Zane even praised Sonia. ¡°I think even if you didn¡¯t give Rentoor a heads-up, they will still be willing to


    coborate with Sonia given her eloquence. Although she has just entered the business circle, she¡¯s a


    fast learner, and that is really something.¡±


    ¡°You think so? All of a sudden, Toby felt like it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know Sonia well


    enough, but he just had not paid attention


    to her at all.


    After having married Sonia for six years, all


    he could remember was the scene of


    Sonia being busy at home. As a


    responsible wife, she would prepare


    charge from Rentoon?¡±


    Yeah, She¡¯s going to visit Rentoor¡¯s factory on Thursday.¡±


    Zane even praised Sonia. ¡°I think even if you didn¡¯t give Rentoor a heads-up, they will still be willing to


    coborate with Sonia given her eloquence. Although she has just entered the business circle, she¡¯s a


    fast learner, and that is really something.¡±


    ¡°You think so?* All of a sudden, Toby felt


    like it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know Sonia well


    enough, but he just had not paid attention


    to her at all.


    After having married Sonia for six years, all


    he could remember was the scene of


    Sonia being busy at home. As a


    responsible wife, she would prepare


    delicious dinners for him and iron his


    clothes.


    Toby had never expected that besides doing house chores, Sonia was outstanding in other aspects too.


    Zane shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ll understand when you see it for yourself next time. Your ex wife is really


    something. But I don¡¯t understand, Toby. Isn¡¯t Paradigm Co. going to sign a contract with Dwells soon?


    Why


    did you still introduce Rentoor to them?¡±


    Zane asked. ¡°You would owe Rentoor a


    favor by doing so, and Rentoor would


    surely bother you to return this favor in the future.¡±


    ¡°This overseas order is very important for


    Paradigm Co., which is currently very


    unstable,¡± Toby replied indifferently while


    eating. ¡°Dwells is good at dealing with overseas orders, but Rentoor is even better, and they are more


    well-known than Dwells. If Paradigm Co. can establish a long-term coboration with Rentoor, they


    won¡¯t have to go look for orders as the


    business with Rentoor will be profitable


    enough.¡±


    ¡°Did I hear it right? Toby, are you helping


    your ex-wife to build connections?¡± Zane rubbed his chin.


    Toby remained silent for a moment and said nonchntly, ¡°She did not ask for anything when we


    divorced. I¡¯m doing so


    aspensation to her.¡±


    *Thispensation is too stingy. She has


    stayed with your family for six years.


    Having been ordered around by your


    mother every day for six years straight¨Cif I were Sonia, even a billion is too little of apensation.¡±


    Zane chuckled.


    Before Zane could finish teasing Toby, thetter suddenly put down the cutlery and


    grabbed his zer on the back of his chair.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading back to the office.¡±


    Seeing Toby walk out, Zane yelled, ¡°I¡¯m just


    spitting facts. Did that bother you, Toby?¡±


    As a response to him, Toby flung the door


    closed with a loud bang.


    ¡°Go ahead and fling it. I don¡¯t have to pay for any damage caused anyway.¡± Zane shrugged and


    summoned the waiter to order more food


    Some staff of Paradigm Co, had secretly recorded the video of Jean causing a scene in thepany,


    and that particr video had spread across the business


    circle.


    Everyone was surprised that Toby, who


    was resolute and honorable in the


    business circle, actually had such a


    ferocious mother. Meanwhile, some


    thought Sonia was too much for treating


    her ex-mother-inw that way after


    watching the second half of the video


    which had been deliberately edited.


    Some even came up with theories that


    Sonia had already been together with the


    model from Vashine Entertainment long


    ago, and that Toby had divorced her upon


    finding out her betrayal.


    All sorts of conspiracy theories started going around the business circle.


    Nheless, Sonia couldn¡¯t bother less about the rumors. After settling the agendas in thepany,


    she went to Norfolk on Thursday. Rentoor¡¯s factory upied arge area in Norfolk


    After Sonia greeted Rentoor¡¯s boss, she followed him to visit the production line, to


    observe how the overseas goods were


    made and to inspect the final products. Both of them negotiated from lunch at


    noon till 2 in the afternoon. Finally, they


    came to an agreement and the contract


    was signed by both parties.


    Sonia wore a rxed smile the moment she saw Rentoor¡¯s stamp sealed on the contract. She then


    shook hands with


    Rentoor¡¯s boss. ¡°I¡¯ll count on you for the


    orders then. The New Year ising soon


    M¡¯ll ask my secretary to send some gifts to you and the staffter.¡±


    ¡°No problem. You¡¯re too kind, President


    Reed.¡±


    Later, Sonia turned down the boss¡¯ invite for dinner and bought a ne ticket at 3 P.M. It was 4.30 P.M.


    when she arrived back at Seafield.


    While walking along the boarding bridge, a


    passerby who was walking in a rush


    beside Sonia identally bumped into her,


    causing her to almost lose grip of her


    phone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Seeing that the other party had apologized,


    Sonia didn¡¯t think it was necessary to make a fuss. She quickly picked up the scarf from the floor and


    passed it to the person. Just then, the person lifted her head and Sonia realized it was someone


    she knew, so she greeted her politely, ¡°Hi, Mrs. Gray. What a coincidence.¡±


    Julia¡®s originally gentle-looking face darkened when she saw Sonia.


    Without thanking her, Julia quickly grabbed


    her scarf and said coldly, ¡°We¡®re having


    dinner with Toby¡¯s parents tonight to


    decide the date for Toby and Tina¡¯s


    engagement. Miss Reed, since you¡¯ve


    already divorced Toby, please stay away


    from him.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia smirked slightly. ¡°I¡¯m


    so sorry. If it wasn¡¯t that I asked President Fuller for the Ocean¡¯s Heart, he and Miss Gray would have


    been engaged long ago.¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Julia red at Sonia with a sullen


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Mrs. Gray. I¡¯ve never regretted


    any of my decisions and will definitely not


    get back with President Fuller. He and Tina


    are a good match.¡± With that, Sonia


    brushed past Julia and walked away


    resolutely


    Initially, Julia wanted to give Sonia a


    warning, but she was irritated by her in


    return. With a gloomy expression, she


    walked out of the airport with her luggage


    and coincidentally saw Sonia talking to her secretary. Sonia¡¯s side profile caught


    Julia¡¯s attention when the former was getting into the car as she thought it looked rather familiar. Julia


    gazed fixedly at Sonia¡¯s car until it disappeared from her sight.


    ¡°Honey.¡± Titus walked over in a hurry and took the luggage from Julia. ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte. The traffic was


    terrible.¡±


    Seeing as she was ignoring him, Titus


    asked, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°N-Nothing.¡± Julia retracted her gaze and


    walked to the car with Titus while asking


    him, ¡°Where are we going for dinner?¡±


    Titus opened the door to the backseat and


    escorted Julia in. ¡°At Sheraton Hotel under


    Fuller Group. It¡¯s just a dress you could¡¯ve


    asked someone to send it here. Why bother to go all the way to Norfolk to get it? That¡¯s too tiring.¡±


    *This is Tina¡®s favorite dress, and she


    wants to wear it tonight. I was worried that


    the others would be careless and ruin it.


    She has to be at her best appearance tonight when having dinner with Toby¡¯s family,¡± Julia replied.


    ¡°Yes, yes. I know you love Tina. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    After getting into the car, Julia realized there was a bouquet of baby¡¯s breath at


    the other end of the seat. Her smile


    disappeared at once as aplicated


    look spread across her face.


    After Titus got into the car, his eyes turned


    dim when he saw Julia holding the


    look spread across her face.


    After Titus got into the car, his eyes turned dim when he saw Julia holding the


    bouquet of flowers.


    ¡°It¡¯s Rina¡¯s death anniversary today.¡±

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30


    ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s Rina¡¯s death anniversary


    today.


    Julia¡¯s hands¨Cwhich were holding the


    bouquet of baby¡¯s breath¨Ctrembled as she was reminded of her eldest daughter who had passed away


    at a young age. In


    the end, she couldn¡¯t help but start to cry.


    As she was too heartbroken upon losing


    her eldest daughter, Julia ced all of her


    attention on the youngest daughter,


    However, she would still feel her heart


    wrench every year during Rina¡¯s death


    anniversary


    ¡°There, there. Let¡¯s not cry.¡± Titus


    embraced Julia and cooed, ¡°Today¡¯s not


    only Rina¡¯s death anniversary, but it¡¯s also


    Tina¡¯s engagement day. I¡¯m sure Rina would be happy for her sister if she knew Tina is getting engaged.¡±


    Julia was crying so hard that she could even feel her chest hurting. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Henry the b*stard,


    Rina w-wouldn¡®t have...¡±


    Julia sobbed in a choking voice.


    Titus¡¯ eyes darkened. ¡°The Reed Family


    has already been destroyed, and Sonia is


    the only one left.¡±


    Six years ago, Titus had driven Henry to


    death and ruined the Reeds in order to


    avenge his elder daughter¡¯s death.


    However, he couldn¡¯ty a finger on Sonia


    because she had already married Toby at that time. Little did Titus expect that six


    yearster, Sonia would acquire Paradigm


    Los shares and be the biggest


    shareholder of thepany.


    ¡°All Sonia has is Paradigm Co. and nothing else. Dealing with her is going to be a piece of cake.¡± Titus


    was heartbroken at the thought of his deceased daughter, and his hatred toward the Reeds deepened


    even more.


    On the other hand, Julia was hesitant. ¡°Forget about it. She¡¯s Toby¡¯s ex-wife after all. If Toby bes


    aware of this, I¡¯m worried it would cause Tina trouble in the


    future.¡±


    Titus shorted. ¡°Don¡¯t you know why Toby


    married Sonia? He doesn¡¯t love her at all. If


    he did, he wouldn¡¯t just sit back and watch


    the downfall of the Reeds, and he surely


    wouldn¡¯t just watch Paradigm Co, slip


    away from him like that.¡±


    ¡°Stop worrying about this matter and leave it to me. Rina had fallen in love with the crown at first sight


    back then. Ask Tina for itter and keep it well lest Tina should give it away again.¡±


    Julia nodded and stared at the bouquet


    sorrowfully


    On the other hand, Sonia nned to head


    back to the office to settle a few urgent


    documents before going home to rest. The


    moment she arrived at the office, her


    secretary informed her, ¡°President Reed,


    Mr. King from Dwells is here and is now


    chatting with Mr. Lane in his office.¡±


    Sonia smirked coldly. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll go and


    take a look.¡±


    Last Friday when they were ying cards at Sakura Heights, Paul had said that he would send someone


    to bring the contract to Paradigm Co the next day to sign it, but no one came in the end. Sonia wasn¡¯t a


    fool; she knew Paul wanted to string her along and wait for her to call Dwells on her own. Fortunately,


    thanks to Zane, she had


    found a better business partner for


    Paradigm Co.


    Sonia knocked on Charles¡¯ door and


    entered his office. Seeing that Charles was


    making small talk with Paul, she walked up


    to them and smiled as she greeted Paul,


    ¡°Hi Mr. King, it¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡°Hi, President Reed.¡± Paul stood up and


    politely shook Sonia¡¯s hand.


    After sitting down, Sonia sipped her tea


    and did not bring up the matter about their coboration Seeing so, Paul had no choice but to bring it up.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. President Reed. For the past few days, I was so busy I couldn¡¯t make it over to sign


    the contract. I¡¯m here today to make an apology.¡±


    With that, he presented the contract to Sonia and said, ¡°Please take a look at the


    contract and we can sign it if there¡¯s no


    other issue.¡±


    Charles frowned and wanted to say


    something, but Sonia gave him a look and


    gestured to him to refrain from speaking.


    Then, she said to Paul, ¡°Mr. King, my


    secretary told me that she tried contacting


    you via your office number before this but


    couldn¡¯t reach you. Because it¡¯s an urgent


    order and we couldn¡¯t afford to dy. I¡¯ve


    already contacted anotherpany to handle it.¡±


    ¡°President Reed, mypany is the top manufacturer in the country for overseas orders. You imed


    that you value the quality of the product, but how could you


    end up engaging a below-par manufacturer just because you¡¯re rushing to ship the order?¡± Paul thought


    Sonia was merely saying so to bargain with him, so he became a little arrogant.


    Sonia smiled, ¡°Besides yourpany,


    Rentoor Inc. is also well-known in


    manufacturing goods for overseas orders.¡±


    ¡°But I heard Rentoor is fully booked until


    next year. President Reed, did you really


    sign a contract with Rentoon7¡å Paul was


    still in disbelief and pressed on.


    What he said when they were ying cards the other day was merely out of respect toward Toby. In fact,


    he didn¡¯t take Sonia seriously at all, but little did he think


    that she managed to engage Rentoor.


    Sonia has just entered the business circle


    and has no connections. How would she know the boss of Rentoor? Could it be that Toby is helping her?


    Paul was reminded of how Toby cared for


    Sonia that day when they were ying


    cards, so he thought it wasn¡¯t surprising


    that Toby would help her to build


    connections.


    Within a few seconds, Paul understood the


    situation. Gritting his teeth, he said to


    Sonia, ¡°President Reed, to be honest, I was


    merely bluffing when I said that an old


    client requested additional orders. Earlier on, President Gray called me and asked me to not take up


    orders from Paradigm Co.¡±


    Hearing that, Charles snorted. ¡°No wonder! All this while I was wondering why you wouldn¡®t take up such


    a profitable business. I figured that there¡¯s a possibility that someone is picking on ourpany.


    Ha! Turns out I was right!¡±


    ¨C ¡°Ourpany has quite a number of


    coborations with Gray Group, so I was in a quandary.¡± Paul smiled awkwardly and continued


    immediately, ¡°But I still wish to coborate with Paradigm Co. Otherwise, I


    wouldn¡¯t take the risk of offending President Gray ande here today.¡±


    What Sonia needed currently was exactly


    this¨Cconnections. Moreover, there were


    no enemies in businesses and profit was


    the utmost priority.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°I perceive your sincerity, Mr.


    King, but I¡¯ve already signed the contract


    with Rentoor. If I have other overseas


    orders in the future, I¡¯ll definitely go to you


    first.¡±


    Hearing that, Paul heaved a sigh and


    continued chatting with Sonia and Charles


    for a while more before leaving.


    After Paul had left, Charles asked Sonia,


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried contacting Rentoor before this


    too but to no avail. How did you manage to


    contact their boss?¡±


    ¡°Zane referred me to him.¡±


    Then, Sonia told Charles about the event where they yed cards at Sakura Heights, and that Zane


    referred her to


    Rentoor after that


    After hearing that, Charles sighed. ¡°If we


    had known that Zane has such a


    connection, you could have taught Mr.


    King and the others a lesson when you


    guys were ying cards at Sakura


    Heights. Teach them a lesson so that they


    won¡¯t dare to y cards with you


    anymore.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Mr. King and the others are


    pretty good at ying cards.¡±


    She had not yed cards ever since she


    got married to Toby. After some time, besides Charles and a few others, many people thought Sonia


    didn¡¯t know how to y cards. Thest time she yed with Paul and the others was the first time she


    yed cards after six years.


    You¡®re too humble!¡± Charles rolled his


    eyes at Sonia and teased her, ¡°We grew up


    together. Of course I know how good you


    are at ying cards. Even your father


    couldn¡¯t beat you, let alone others.¡±


    Because of Charles¡¯ remark, Sonia was


    reminded of her father whomitted


    suicide, and she felt terrible. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll


    buy you dinner.¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Just as she stood up and wore her coat,


    her phone started ringing.


    her phone started ringing.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Is this Miss Sonia Reed? Your brother is at our police station now. Pleasee over immediately.¡± A


    lady¡¯s solemn voice emerged from the other end of the line.

 Chapter 31

    Chapter 31


    Brother? Frowning, Sonia nced at the caller ID and said, ¡°Sonia Reed speaking, but I don¡¯t have a


    brother. You must be mistaken.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no mistake. He says he¡¯s your brother. His name is Tyler Fuller.¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    The moment she heard the name, Sonia


    was reminded of the terrible things Tyler


    had done before this, and she freaked out.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t know him.¡± With that, she hung up immediately.


    Charles asked in curiosity, ¡°Brother? Is it


    Carl?¡±


    ¡°No. She called the wrong number.


    Ther, Sonia walked out of the office with Charles. They nned to discuss Paradigm Co.¡¯s future ns


    over some Japanese food. However, as soon as she entered the lift, her phone started ringing


    again.


    Sonia kept her shirt on as she answered


    the call. However, instead of the female police, the person at the other end of the line was Tyler


    ¡°Hey Sonia,e pick me up from the


    police station.¡±


    During the six years of marriage between


    her and Toby, his brother¨CTyler, had


    either addressed her by her full name or


    did not address her at all. This was actually the first time he had called her


    Nheless, this fellow sounded very reluctant. It was as if he was forcing


    himself to address Sonia as such.


    Your brother and I have already divorced.¡± Sonia reminded Tyler, and herself at the same time. You


    should call your brother and ask him to bail you out.¡±


    Tyler scowled. ¡°Is it so hard for you to


    ¡°Go ask your brother.¡±


    Seeing how Tyler changed his attitude within a second, Sonia frowned and


    remained silent. Just as she was about to


    hang up. Tyler hung up before her.


    Toby¡¯s brother is looking for you?¡± Charles asked as he caught quite a number of keywords from the


    conversation.


    ¡°I heard Toby has made reservations at the


    Sheraton Hotel. He even invited Tina¡®s


    family to have dinner with his parents to n the day of their engagement again. Shouldn¡¯t his brother be


    together with them at the hotel? Why is he at the police


    station?¡±


    ¡°He probablymitted some crime and


    got detained.¡± With a calm look, Sonia


    pursed her lips. ¡°He wants me to bail him


    out.¡±


    Charles sneered, ¡°Does he think you and


    Toby are still married? How could he still


    order you around like this? His character is


    exactly the same as his mother¡¯s!¡±


    When they arrived at the car park and were about to get into the car, Sonia suddenly asked, ¡°How long


    will one be detained in


    the police station normally?¡±


    ¡°Depends on what crime theymitted. If it¡¯s causing an affray, they will be


    detained for around 15 days if no one bails them out,¡± Charles answered and looked at


    Sonia in resignation. ¡°Are you thinking of


    going to get him?¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t dare to call Toby, which shows


    that he must havemitted something


    serious.¡± Sonia got into the car. Til go take


    a look.¡±


    Charles bent down and knocked on the


    car¡¯s window with a sulky look. ¡°Are you


    abandoning me for the sake of your ex


    husband¡¯s brother?¡±


    However, Sonia ignored him and drove out


    of the basement car park.


    While on the way to the police station, Sonia recalled the conversation with


    Charles at the car park just now, and she


    hated herself for being soft-hearted at that


    moment. She had decided to let things go,


    yet here she was on the way to help when


    his brother was in trouble.


    After arriving at the police station, Sonia


    mentioned Tyler¡¯s name, and the


    policewoman led her in. Soon, she saw a


    row of youngsters in school uniforms


    standing by the wall. Everyone looked


    disheveled with serious injuries on their


    faces.


    ¡°Tyler Fuller.¡± The policewoman called upon Tyler, who was standing among the youngsters. Your sister-


    inw is here to


    pick you up.¡±


    Tyler immediately lifted his head. His eyes


    lit up for a second when he saw Sonia, but he soon pouted and snorted. ¡°You b*tch, I knew you would


    come.¡±


    Sonia looked at him calmly and said,


    ¡°What did you just call me?¡±


    With her hair tied up into a ponytail, she


    looked gentle and elegant in her ck


    coat, but her tranquil gaze actually sent a


    chill down Tyler¡¯s spine.


    The two of them looked into each other¡¯s


    eyes for a moment before Tyler spat


    through gritted teeth, ¡°So-nia.¡±


    Sonia was jutused seeing Tyler¡®s aggrieved look. She didn¡¯t sign the bail bond immediately but asked


    him, ¡°Why did you get into a fight with the others?¡±


    Tyler kept quiet


    Just then, one of them from the row of youngsters who were standing at the


    corner of the wall yelled at Tyler, ¡°Hey Tyler, I heard your sister-inw has already divorced your brother.


    How can you be so shameless to ask her toe bail you out? Ha! You¡¯re just like your mother,


    ordering people about impudently.¡±


    ¡°I think his mother must have mistaken his


    gender when she gave birth to him!¡±


    Tyler¡¯s eyes became bloodshot upon being


    nrovoked by the few vounasters¡¯ mock. He


    provoked by the few youngsters¡¯ mock. He had an impulse to dash toward them and give them a punch


    in their faces.


    Nheless, Sonia quickly grabbed his uniform. ¡°Are you actually thinking of


    causing a ruckus in the police station? Do


    you want me to call your brother?¡±


    Worried that Sonia would really call Toby,


    Tyler pulled his arm away from Sonia with a dark face without allowing thetter to


    touch his uniform.


    After signing the bail bond for Tyler, Sonia


    nced at the other youngsters at the


    corner of the wall and said to the police


    officer, ¡°It¡¯s normal for kids to have fights.


    I¡¯ll bail the others out too, it¡¯s just a small


    matter and it¡¯s not necessary to trouble


    their parents.¡±


    The police office understood that the youngsters were from the same school and they would have one


    less case to


    worry about if the fellows were released


    earlier, so the officer agreed. As such, Sonia signed the bail bonds for the other


    youngsters too.


    On the other hand, Tyler had never thought Sonia would do this. His blood boiling, he scowled at Sonia,


    ¡°Are you crazy? Why are you bailing them out too?!¡±


    Tyler nced at the youngsters in front of


    him and mumbled sulkily, ¡°I could have


    won if there were only three of them, but


    then another two came.¡±


    *That means you didn¡¯t.¡± Sonia darted a


    nce at him. ¡°I thought you were all high


    and mighty!¡±


    Hearing that, Tyler was rendered


    speechless


    Aftering out of the police station,


    Sonia followed behind the few youngsters


    at an unhurried pace, which made Tyler


    confused. Just as he caught up with Sonia


    after hesitating for a while, Sonia suddenly


    hit the back of one of the youngsters with


    her handbag, causing the fellow to wall in


    pain.


    Seeing Sonia daringly hit their friend, the


    other fellows quickly surrounded her.


    Sonia yelled at Tyler, who was


    dumbfounded, ¡°What are you waiting for?


    Come and beat them up! Didn¡¯t you say


    you¡¯re able to defeat three of them?¡±


    Upon regaining hisposure, Tyler quickly rolled up his sleeves and darted


    Over


    Sonia dragged two of the youngsters away. so it was a plece of cake for Tyler to deal with the other


    three. In no time, all the youngsters were beaten to a pulp. At the same time, there were more injuries


    on Tyler too, and he grimaced in pain as he had received a punch in his right cheek.


    Sonia straightened her disheveled hair and


    said to the few youngsters who were


    knocked to the ground. ¡°I¡¯m giving you


    guys mercy by asking him to beat you all


    1. up. If I were the one to deal with you guys,


    I can make you guys stay in the juvenile


    detention center for three months-mark


    my words¡±


    She said the scariest words in a calm tone, which caused the few youngsters who were still students to


    wimp out and didn¡¯t dare to utter a word anymore


    ¡°Get up.¡± Sonia said and pointed at Tyler who was standing next to her. ¡°Apologize to him.¡±


    The few youngsters quickly stood up and apologized to Tyler. After that, they ran away immediately upon


    Sonia¡¯s dismissal,


    Tyler looked at Sonia¡¯s side profile with


    mixed emotions. Back then, when Sonia


    asked Toby to marry her, Tyler had thought


    that she had indirectly broken up Toby and


    Tina. Hence, he had treated her with


    hostility all this while and picked on her


    when she was still in the Fuller Family


    However, he had seen a different Sonia at


    the barst time, and today. It seems like she isn¡®t that bad after all


    ¡°I heard Toby and your sister-inw-to-be are at Sheraton Hotel. It¡¯s up to you whether you want to go


    home or go to the hotel.¡± Sonia took out some cash and


    shoved it to Tyler.


    Then, she walked toward the driver¡¯s seat.


    Just as she was about to get into the car,


    she heard one of the car¡¯s doors being opened and closed shortly after that.


    Looking at Tyler, who was sitting in the


    passenger seat, Sonia tried to keep her


    shirt on. ¡°Tyler Fuller, go hail a cab. I have


    no time to send you back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going back. I¡¯m going to sleep in


    passenger seat, Sonia tried to keep her shirt on. ¡°Tyler Fuller, go hail a cab. I have no time to send you


    back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going back. I¡¯m going to sleep in your car!¡± Tyler was yelling so loud that th wound at the corner


    of his mouth was tori


    and he scrunched his face in pain.


    ¡°Get out. Toby and I have already divorced.¡±


    However, Tyler remained still in the


    passenger seat and snorted, ¡°An ex-sister


    inw is a sister-inw too. I¡¯ve already


    addressed you anyway.¡±

 Chapter 32

    Chapter 32


    Looking at Tyler¡¯s badly beaten face, Sonia sighed deeply and got into the car without further arguing


    with him


    Meanwhile, Tyler had not deemed himself


    an outsider at all as he started touching


    things in Sonia¡¯s car.


    Sonia¡¯s car was a standard sedan, but


    because Tyler was very tall, he could only


    shrink his long legs below the seat.


    However, he still thought it was the car¡¯s


    problem. ¡°What kind of lousy car is this? |


    can¡¯t even move my legs! Hey, why didn¡¯t


    you ask for a car when you and my brother


    were going through the divorce?¡±


    ¡°Just get out if you¡¯re not happy with it.¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t speak kindly to him as she didn¡¯t want to spoil him. ¡°Go and sit in Toby¡¯s fancy car instead.¡±


    With that, Tyler stayed silent.


    Soon, the car arrived at the parking lot in the basement of Bayside Residence. Seeing Sonia get out of


    the car, Tyler quickly jumped out and followed behind


    her. ¡°I heard that the houses here are very


    expensive. Did you sell the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    to buy this property? Did Toby really not


    give you a single cent when you guys


    divorced? Hey, have you lost your mind? Even if you asked Toby for some money,


    no one would say anything about it.¡±


    Sonia ignored him and even deemed him


    absent. After arriving on her floor, she


    entered the house aller scanning her fingerprint


    If not for Tyler¡¯s quick response, he would


    have been left outside the house. He was


    so annoyed that he felt like cursing Sonia


    but he knew he needed a ce to sleep


    tonight, so he snorted and bit his tongue.


    Seeing Sonia walk toward the kitchen, Tyler yelled at her, ¡°I want beef noodles


    two bowls!¡±


    Although he detested Sonia, it was


    undeniable that Sonia had great cooking


    skills and he enjoyed her dishes. Back


    when Sonia was still at Fullers¡¯ Residence,


    she would prepare lunch for Tyler to bring


    to school. After Sonia had left the family,


    Jean had hired a chef who imed to have


    TAFLAN in a fiva marhatal bafara


    worked in a five-star hotel before. However, it turned out that his cooking was nasty and even Sonia¡¯s


    cooking was better than his


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make in noodle soup, take it or leave it,¡± Sonia said coldly without even turning around.


    ¡°The first-aid


    kit is in the second drawer of the


    storeroom. Go get it yourself.¡±


    What the heck! This woman has simply


    divorced Toby, but why does it feel like she


    has be a totally different person?


    Afterining about Sonia inwardly,


    Tyler reluctantly went to get the first-aid kit


    from the storeroom and sprayed the


    disinfectant at the wound on his face.


    Sonia was still preparing dinner, so Tyler


    wandered around the apartment. He noticed that the quest room was empty while there were only


    Sonia¡¯s apparel and cosmetics in the master room-there was


    no trace of another man at all.


    Could it be that the toyboy named Carl Lee


    does not stay here?


    Tyler walked to the table beside the floor to-ceiling window and found aptop, some stationery, and a


    half-opened old


    metal box on the table. He nced at the


    door before secretly opening the metal


    box. Inside the metal box was a pile of


    yellowed letters.


    Out of curiosity, Tyler took one of the


    envelopes and opened it. After reading the


    content, he realized that Sonia was writing


    to a pen pal named ¡°John¡¯. She shared interesting stories in life with him and


    asked him if his grandmother was well.


    When Tyler saw the date at the bottom right corner of the letter, he mocked her with disdain, ¡°Hmph! This


    bitch did not focus on her studies and was dating on the web! How has she not been fooled


    yet?


    All this while, I wondered why Sonia had a


    big change in her personality after the


    divorce from my brother. It turns out that


    this is her true color=¨Cshe has always been


    wild!


    ¡°Tyler Fuller.¡± Sonia¡¯s impatient voice came


    forth from outside the bedroom. Till give you ten seconds. If you don¡¯te over


    and have your hoodles, I¡¯ll throw it away.¡±


    D?rmal How dare this woman threaten me!


    Cheesed off, Tyler simply stuffed the letter


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    into his pocket and thought to himself, have to let Toby see this and tell him that


    Sonia has engaged in web dating since she


    was in school.


    When Tyler went to the kitchen, the beef noodle was still on the table, so he sat


    down and tucked away, thinking that Sonia


    was still sensible.


    Meanwhile, Sonia sat down across from


    Tyler and asked, ¡°Why did you fight with


    the others?¡±


    ¡°Mind your own business.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I shall mind my own business and ask Toby toe over then.¡± Sonia knocked the table with her


    finger and


    smiledintly


    Hearing that, Tyler remained silent for a moment before he spoke up reluctantly. ¡°There¡¯s this girl in our


    ss who always gets bullied by them. They even had the guts to cut her hair! I couldn¡¯t just sit and


    watch anymore so I started throwing


    punches at them¡­¡±


    However, it so happened that a police


    officer, who had just got off from work,


    passed by when they were fighting, so all


    of them ended up being detained in the


    police station


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you actually have a


    sense of iustice.¡± Sonia said.


    Because Tyler was bad-tempered and had always picked on Sonia when she was back in Fullers¡¯


    Residence, Sonia had never meddled with his affairs and would only leave it to Toby to handle.


    Tyler pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯m just frustrated to


    see a few guys bullying a girl.¡±


    While eating, he asked Sonia, ¡°By the way. I¡¯ve wanted to ask this since just now where¡¯s the toyboy?


    Isn¡¯t he staying with


    you?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The one named Carl Lee.¡± Tyler rolled his eyes and gabbled, ¡°I went in your room just


    now but didn¡¯t see any men¡¯s clothes.¡±


    Sonia was annoyed at Tyler, who pried her


    room even though he was just a quest. Lifting her head, she stared at Tyler and smirked. ¡°There¡¯s no one


    here named Carl Lee, but there is a toyboy within a stone¡¯s throw.¡±


    Within a stone¡¯s throw? Startled, Tyler soon realized what Sonia meant upon seeing her staring fixedly at


    him, and he choked


    on the noodles.


    ¡°Shameless woman!¡± Tyler rebuked as his face turned red out of anger. ¡°I¡¯m only


    sixteen, and I¡¯m your ex-husband¡¯s brother!


    H-How dare you have such thoughts?!¡±


    Sonia asked unaffectedly, ¡°Isn¡¯t that what


    you already think of me-a flirtatious


    woman?¡±


    With that, Tyler was at a loss for words.


    Alter dinner, Tyler refused to leave and inhabited the couch as he wanted to stay the night. Perceiving


    that she couldn¡¯t


    chase him away, Sonia went to get her


    phone


    Tyler caught a glimpse of her dialing Toby¡¯s number, so he pounced over to snatch her phone. ¡°Hang up!


    Don¡¯t call


    him.¡±


    ¡°If you refuse to leave, I¡¯m going to ask


    Toby toe over.¡± Sonia dodged so that


    Tyler wouldn¡¯t be able to snatch her phone.


    ¡°Sonia


    ¡°Calling me Sonia a hundred times isn¡¯t going to help you. Leave now or I¡¯ll ask Toby toe.¡±


    Seeing the call had already been


    forwarded on the phone, Tyler pounced toward Sonia, snatched the phone from her, and hung up the


    call.


    As Sonia did not expect that reaction from


    Tyler, she fell to the ground upon the pounce. Although the back of the couch


    was soft, she was in pain as she had


    knocked her head hard.


    Tyler heaved a sigh of relief after hanging up the call. Then, he noticed Sonia, who was frowning after


    falling onto the couch.


    The hem of her sweater folded outward,


    exposing her fair, thin walst and¡­


    ¡°T.F.?¡± Tyler had sharp eyes and noticed


    the alphabets tattooed at the right side of


    Sonia¡¯s waist.


    the apnaders tattooed at the right side of


    Sonia¡¯s waist


    He soon understood the meaning of this short form. Staring at Sonia in shock, he mumbled, ¡°You¡­ have


    Toby¡¯s name tattooed on your waist?¡±


    Just then, the doorbell rang.

 Chapter 33

    Chapter 33


    Sonia quickly pulled down the sleeves of


    her sweater to cover the wordings of her tattoo before she opened the door. She


    was surprised when she saw Toby and


    Tina standing right outside the door


    because she never expected them to


    Toby wore a ck suit while next to him


    was Tina, who wore a champagne-colored


    evening gown that made her look fair and


    beautiful. Both of them lookedpatible


    with each other when they stood together.


    When he saw Sonia¡¯s messy hair and pink


    cheeks, he immediately became colder


    and asked her in a low voice, ¡°Where¡¯s


    Tyler7¡±


    responded in a gentle manner, ¡°We are here to pick Tyler up. Can you ask him toe out quickly?¡±


    Sonia turned around to yell into the house, ¡°Tyler, your brother and your sister¨Cinw are here. I¡¯m not


    the one who told them about your location. Your brother is the


    one who installed location services on your phone and found you from there.¡±


    When Tyler saw his brother, his shoulders


    slumped in a slightlyzy manner as he slowly walked out of the house with his


    bag.


    When the three of them were about to


    leave, she called after them, ¡°President


    Fuller, your brother used my medicine and


    ate two bowls of beef noodles at my


    ce. Aren¡¯t vou nnina to pay for it?¡±


    Tyler replied angrily. ¡°How much does two bowls of beef noodles cosi? Since when have you been so


    stingy?¡±


    ¡°Well, beef is quite expensive now. Apart


    from that, we are not rted to each other


    anymore. So why would I allow you to eat


    for free here?¡±


    He was speechless upon hearing that.


    Meanwhile, Toby took out five pieces of


    cash and passed them to Sonia with an


    indifferent expression on his face. ¡°Is this


    enough?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Thank you, President Fuller. Have a


    nice journey back home.¡± After receiving


    the money, she closed the door


    immediately without a second nce at


    them.


    The three of them then took the elevator down. After they entered the car. Toby finally asked Tyler, ¡°Why


    didn¡¯t you head to the hotel and insteade to Sonia¡¯s ce? What¡¯s going on with the injuries on


    your face?¡±


    Tyler was feeling rather defeated in front of his brother. Upon hearing Toby¡¯s questions, he immediately


    and truthfully


    replied, ¡°I had a fight with my ssmates. I


    know that you were having dinner with Tina¡¯s family and I thought that it¡¯s not a good idea to go to dinner


    while looking like this. So, I asked sis-I mean, Sonia-to bail


    me out and had dinner at her ce


    instead.¡±


    When Tina heard that Tyler still referred to


    Sonia as his sister-inw, her fingers


    clenched.


    Tina took the medical kit in her car to gently deal with the injuries on his arms while speaking in a


    soothing tone, ¡°Tyler, if you get into trouble in the future, just call me or Toby. We are a family now, so


    don¡¯t worry about troubling us. Apart from that, Miss Reed already has a boyfriend. It¡¯s not appropriate


    for you to continue troubling her like this. I¡¯m sure her boyfriend would


    mind.¡±


    At this moment, he remembered how


    Sonia had teased him during dinner earlier


    while feeling slightly ufortable, ¡°She


    seems to be staying alone. She¡¯s not living


    together with that guy.¡±


    Toby shot a nce at him through the


    rearview mirror. He did not know why he


    felt rxed upon hearing Tyler¡¯s words.


    ¡°Maybe they have a different abode.¡± Tina


    gave a gentle smile. ¡°Your wounds have been disinfected. Does it still huri?¡±


    ¡°Not anymore. Thank you, Tina.¡± Tyler


    smiled. Tina is so gentle and she speaks


    softly. She¡¯s much better than Sonia!


    After closing the medical kit, she casually spoke to Toby. ¡°Toby, I heard that you already asked Tom to


    deal with the news in our circle, right? It¡¯s just a small matter, so we didn¡¯t expect the employees from


    Paradigm Co. to record a video and upload


    it online. The video became viral among


    the circle and ruined your mother¡¯s


    reputation, which affected yours as well.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, Tina? Are you


    suspecting that Sonia asked her


    employees to record the video?¡± Tyler


    asked in confusion


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Tina replied


    hastily. ¡°I just thought that Sonia might have known about this long ago and restricted her employees so


    that the video would not spread like wildfire among their


    department.¡±


    ¡°Paradigm Co. has many employees. Even if she had warned them, those who didn¡¯t


    mind getting into trouble would still


    secretly upload the video.¡± Tyler pouted. ¡°On top of that, Mom is in the wrong here.


    Toby and Sonia have already divorced, yet


    Mom still made a scene at Paradigm Co.


    because of such small matters.¡±


    Even though he did not like Sonia a lot, he


    had spent six years living under the same


    roof as her. He knew that she was not the


    person who would resort to some dirty


    tricks as such. Apart from that, it was Jean who went to make a scene at Paradigm Co. It wasn¡¯t


    something that Sonia had


    asked for


    Tina was shocked to see this. Tyler


    obviously hates her. Why is he speaking up for her now?


    *Tina, why are you looking at me like this?¡±


    When Tyler saw her looking at him, he


    raised his hand to touch his face, but he


    identally touched his wounds and


    hissed in pain. ¡°Do I look that bad?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    She immediately returned to her senses and smiled gently. ¡°A little. I was just


    thinking that your ssmates would be


    looking at you when you head to school


    tomorrow


    When Tyler heard that, his expression sank and he thought about skipping school. However, his older


    brother was the driver, so Tyler did not dare to say it out loud, for fear that he might not even be able to


    enter his house the next day. He had always been quite a coward who did not


    dare to speak up.


    They soon arrived at Fuller Residence.


    Upon seeing that Tina was still here, Jean affectionately pulled Tina¡¯s hand. ¡°Oh, Tina,


    it¡¯s been difficult for you to search for Tyler


    with Toby. Thanks for the hard work. Since


    it¡¯s already sote, why don¡¯t you stay the


    night here? Well, you should move in


    earlier anyway.¡±


    Tina also wanted to stay, so she shot a nce at Toby. After seeing that he did not utter a word, she


    pursed her lips before saying, ¡°Alright. Thanks, Madam White.¡±


    ¡°We are a family now, so don¡¯t be too


    courteous!¡± Jean was overjoyed when she


    saw that Tina agreed to stay the night.


    After Toby came out from the shower, he


    did not immediately go to bed and looked through a few documents instead.


    When he opened the drawer to take a pen, he opened the wrong tier and saw a stack


    of yellowish letters that were ced inside


    the drawer. His gaze became much gentler


    when he saw the letters.


    It was a coincidence that he was able to


    know Maple. his den bal. After they


    when he saw the letters.


    It was a coincidence that he was able to


    know Maple, his pen pal. After they exchanged many conversations with each other, they had a great


    time, which was out of his expectations. This was the first time he felt touched when he interacted with


    someone through letters. Yet, he never


    expected the pen pal to be Tina.

 Chapter 34

    Chapter 34


    While Toby was deep in his thoughts as he looked at the letter, someone knocked on


    the door of the room and opened it.


    ¡°I saw that the lights in your room are still


    switched on, so I guessed that you are still busy.¡± Tina entered the room as she wore a dark blue


    bathrobe. The belt was loosely


    tightened around her waist, revealing her


    corbone and some fair skin. She also


    sprayed some perfume on herself and


    looked quite attractive.


    After she ced the ss of fruit tea on


    the table, she leaned toward him with


    intention. ¡°I made some fruit tea so that


    you will feel more energized when you


    work.¡±


    T¡¯m done with work,¡± he answered. Then, he opened the drawers and showed her the letters within,


    ¡°When I was about to


    take a pen, I saw our previous letters. I


    didn¡¯t expect that we would have exchanged many letters with each other.¡±


    Tina panicked for a moment when she saw the letters, but she quickly calmed


    herself down. ¡°It has been six to seven


    years ago. Why are you still keeping


    them?¡±


    *They are extremely memorable for me.¡± Toby caressed the letters and smiled. It¡¯s


    because you are the first woman / fell for.


    Tina turned around to wrap her arms


    around Toby and leaned against him.


    ¡°Toby, since I¡¯m with you now, we don¡¯t


    need these letters anymore. Why don¡¯t you ask the maids to destroy them tomorrow?¡±


    Upon seeing that he had remained silent, she pretended to feel hurt. ¡°You keeping these letters show


    that you are still in the


    past. Ams a living person any lesser


    than the letters? Do you want to continue


    to talk to me through letters and not live together with me?¡±


    When Toby saw the hurt on her face, he felt quite sorry for her. She¡¯s right. She¡¯s here with me now, so


    it¡¯s not important to


    He caressed her hair. ¡°Alright. I will ask


    people to destroy them tomorrow.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Tina slightly smiled. Her heart


    skipped a beat when she smelled the nice


    fragrance from him.


    She quickly summoned her courage to kiss Toby¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple.


    Toby¡¯s body stiffened for a few seconds. When she kissed his jaw, he did not pull her into his embrace.


    Instead, he pushed


    her away inconspicuously.


    At this point, she had already untied the sash on her robe to reveal huge patches of her fair skin.


    Upon being faced with such temptation,


    his expression did not change whatsoever.


    Without even looking at her for another


    second, he adjusted the bathrobe back on


    her.


    Tobv. we are already living together.¡± No


    ¡°Toby, we are already living together.¡± No matter how emboldened she was, Tina still felt awkward when


    she faced such rejection. ¡°We can do anything together. Or are you thinking that I¡¯m not good enough?


    We¡¯ve


    already been living together, so we can do some intimate things. However, he doesn¡®t seem to even hav


    e any desires even


    after such temptation.


    On the other hand, Toby had also felt


    slightly anxious.


    When he saw tears swimming in her eyes,


    he gently consoled, ¡°You have just


    recovered, so your body still needs to


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    regain its strength. Let¡¯s talk about this in


    the future.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tina nodded and leaned in his embrace, but worry still rose within her.


    As soon as she signed the contract with


    Rentoor, things had been going well for


    Sonia.


    While she was busy with work in the office,


    her secretary knocked on the door before


    entering with a document in her hand,


    ¡°President Reed, Mr. Coleman has sent


    this over.¡±


    ¡°What could he have sent?¡± Sonia


    mumbled and took the document out of its


    file.


    After perusing it, she realized that it


    contained details of Continental Co, and gulve off the aura that he created this


    document to stage a takeover of the


    Sonia immediately called Charles to tell


    him about this.


    He immediately remarked, ¡°It¡¯s a good n to buy them as a subsidiary of our group.


    Since mypany has been using quite a


    lot of money recently, I don¡¯t have much


    money for you to spend.¡±


    ¡°90 million should be enough, right?¡± she


    asked.


    She looked at the document that predicted


    the acquisition price to be around 90 to


    140 million


    What the hell? Where did you get so much money from?¡±


    ¡°Carl gave it to me.¡±


    Charles sighed in envy. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that


    a male model would camn this much. If I¡¯m


    ever bankrupt in the future, I¡¯ll be a


    male model too.¡±


    Sonia replied in annoyance, ¡°You? If you really be a male model, I bet you


    can¡¯t even earn a hundred thousand.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I know that you think


    everyone else is better looking than me.¡±


    He clucked his tongue. ¡°I¡¯m actually quite


    curious about something-Zane has


    actually asked other people to acquire


    Continental Co. Why doesn¡¯t he do it


    himself and instead pass the information


    to you?¡±


    Charles added, ¡°Seeing how well he treats you, has he fallen head over heels for


    you?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia was speechless.


    She had enough of his nonsense and


    decisively hung up the phone.


    Not long after, he texted her again. ¡°Baby. today is my birthday. In the past, you said


    that you¡¯d be busy once you¡¯re married, so


    you don¡¯t have time to celebrate it with me.


    Now that you are divorced, you¡¯re still not


    free?


    As Sonia had been quite busy with work


    recently, apart from work-rted matters,


    she did not have the time to care about other thinas


    If Charles had not reminded her, she would have forgotten about his birthday.


    She smiled and replied, ¡®Of course i remember about it. I have already booked a ce to celebrate it with


    you at the Luna Club. I¡¯ll select the most expensive present


    Since he had helped her out quite a lot, she


    also wanted to thank him.


    Charles replied, ¡®Tsk! It seems like I have to


    thank Toby for the divorce. Otherwise, you


    won¡¯t have time to celebrate my birthday


    too.¡±


    Sonia was speechless upon seeing that.


    After she settled the remainder of her


    work, she left the office and prepared to


    buy a watch for him as a present It was a coincidence that the saleswoman who had previously served


    was working today and she enthusiastically greeted Sonia. ¡°Mrs. Fuller, it¡¯s been so long.¡±


    Sonia merely smiled and openly responded, ¡°President Fuller and I are already divorced. You can


    address me as


    Miss Reed¡¯ next time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that, Miss Reed. I was


    previously abroad for studies and only


    returned a few days ago, so I haven¡¯t been


    keeping up with the news,¡± the saleswoman quickly exined.


    ¡°No worries about it. It¡¯s my friend¡¯s


    birthday today and I want to give him a


    watch as a present. Do you have any


    rmendations 7¡±


    When the saleswoman saw that Sonia was not angry about her faux pas, she quietly heaved a sigh of


    relief and picked a few watches to rmend them to Sonia,


    The watches were from the same series and they looked quite decent.


    Even though Sonia was picking a present for Charles, she couldn¡¯t help but think that


    Toby would also look great in those


    watches when she looked at them.


    However, in the course of the many years


    of their marriage, she had bought so many


    watches for him that she became the VVIP


    customer of this store. However, Tyler had


    never worn anything that she bought for


    him.


    While she was lost in her thoughis as she looked at the leather-bound wrist watch, she heard a familiar


    voice just as she was


    about to take it.


    ¡°This looks quite good. Please exin


    more about it to me.¡±


    Sonia turned around and saw Tina standing next to her with her friend. They were holding a few


    shopping bags in their


    hands and it looked like they had just done


    some shopping


    Tina had a slight smile on her face, but


    when she learned that Sonia was looking


    at the watches as well, her smile froze.


    She politely greeted Tina, ¡°Hello, Miss


    Gray. What a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Tina tightly clenched the


    shopping bags with a smile. ¡°Are you here to buy a watch for your boyfriend?¡±


    Sonia hummed in agreement and ignored


    her.


    Just as Sonia wanted to ask the


    saleswoman to wrap the watch as a gift,


    Tina was one step ahead and pointed at


    the watch as she spoke, ¡°I want to buy this watch. Please wrap it up for me.¡±


    With that, she turned around and smiled at


    Sonia. ¡°I just think that Toby would look


    great with this watch. Don¡¯t tell me that you are also nning to buy it?¡±

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35


    Although Tina was speaking in a gentle


    tone, she was openly taunting Sonia


    Sonia merely arched her eyebrows before she graciously smiled. ¡°Since you said it first, it¡¯s alright. You


    can go ahead to


    purchase it.¡±


    Tina never expected that Sonia would not evenpete with her and gave her the watch instead. As a


    result, Tina did not


    return to her senses in that instant.


    *Tina, it seems like Sonia doesn¡¯t dare to offend you.¡± Tina¡¯s friend leaned toward


    her and boasted, ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    support after she divorced Toby. Her


    which is why she won¡¯t dare to take anything from you.¡±


    Indeed. Now: Sonna has nothing apart from


    a brokenpany


    After hearing her friend¡¯s words, Tina felt


    relieved. She took the watch and handed it


    to the saleswoman with her credit card.


    ¡°Till pay by card. Please wrap it for me.¡±


    However, the saleswoman did not ept


    Tina¡¯s card and she instead asked


    tentatively, ¡°Miss, are you one of our VVIP


    customers?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Tina frowned while looking slightly


    displeased at this moment. ¡°You mean to


    say that I can¡®t even pay by card to buy this


    lousy watch?¡±


    ¡°You can buy any other watches in our store using a card, but not for this series.¡± The saleswoman


    looked conflicted. ¡°Only The VVIP customers, who have spent six


    million in our store for the past two years,


    can buy it.¡±


    Tina was speechless upon hearing that.


    ¡°She¡®s just a saleswoman who sells watches. I wonder where her arrogance


    annoyance. ¡°I want to speak to your


    manager! How ludicrous! We can¡¯t even


    buy a watch here?¡±


    The saleswoman exined, ¡°The watches


    in this series have restrictions. It won¡¯t


    change anything even if our manager is


    here.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I understand that we are not able to buy it, but what about this woman?


    ¡°Well, Miss Reed is able to buy it,¡± she replied. ¡°She became our VIP customer three years ago as she


    has spent enough


    money here.¡±


    Once again, upon hearing those words,


    Tina was at a loss of words again.


    When she heard what the saleswoman said, she spent a lot of effort maintaining


    the gentle and calmposure on her


    face.


    Sonia had enough of the drama and took


    the watch from Tina¡¯s hand before she


    passed it to the saleswoman. ¡°Since you


    are not able to buy it, Miss Gray, I¡¯ll take it


    instead.¡±


    In a short moment, she took the receipt and the wrapped watch back with her.


    Sonia said her thanks, but she paused next to Tina just as she was about to leave and apologized, ¡°Miss


    Gray, there are some things that you can¡¯t buy even if I give the opportunity to you.¡±


    When Tina heard Sonia¡¯s words, it felt like a p to her face and she even felt her


    cheeks burning.


    As she nced at Sonia¡¯s leaving figure,


    Tina recalled what Tyler had said when he


    identally called her duringst night.


    Her gaze then slowly darkened. Why is she


    always after what I want?


    Sonia was in a great mood aller witnessing the drama. When she took the elevator to the basement


    parking lot, she Si¡¯w a familiar face.


    ¡°President Reed.¡±


    She quickly recognized the tall and slender woman in front of her. ¡°Reba Harper?¡±


    Reba was Charles¡¯ ex-ssmate. She was initially about to work for his


    did not have any support in Paradigm Co. he asked Reba to help Sonia out.


    Even though Sonia had been recently busy.


    she knew that Reba worked at the


    finance department as an ountant and


    she was rather careful at the job.


    *There are many employees in thepany, so I¡¯m quite surprised that you remember me.¡± Reba


    smiled as she held a cake in her hand. ¡°There¡¯s a dessert store here that serves tasty desserts. I¡¯m


    on my off day today, so I¡¯m here to buy some desserts. What about you, President Reed? Are you here


    to buy some clothes?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Charles¡¯ birthday today, so I¡¯m here to


    buy some presents for him.¡± Sonia shook the bag in her hand. ¡°Do you have any ns tonight?¡±


    ¡°No. I just n to head home and watch a


    few movies on the couch.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you join our celebration? The


    more the merrier. Since you are his ex ssmate, we are all familiar with each


    other,¡± Sonia responded.


    ¡°Since you have invited me, I¡¯ll dly join you, President Reed!¡± Reba did not


    reject Sonia and pressed the button on the


    elevator to head down. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Second floor then. I¡¯m going to buy a lighter for him. After all, I


    can¡¯t attend his


    birthday celebration empty handed.¡±


    Reba had the looks of an innocent girl.


    She was fair, slender and exceptionally


    beautiful, but she was a chatterbox at the same time. Once she started speaking, it was difficult for her to


    stop, so she became loquacious.


    This was the first time that Sonia had met


    Someone even more talkative than


    Charles, so she felt quite exasperated


    about it.


    Just as she was about to bring Reba to


    Luna Club, Charles gave her a ring. ¡°My grandmother has insisted on spending the night with me and


    wants me to return home to have dinner together. Argh!! guess I¡¯ll only arrive at Luna Club by around


    10:00PM.¡±


    ¡°Sure. We¡¯ll have dinner first before we¡¯ll wait for you in the private room there.¡± After she hung up the


    call, she brought


    Reba for dinner.


    Once they found a spot, Reba looked


    around before asking Sonia, ¡°President


    Reed, I heard that you need to inform Luna


    Club your sry range before you could


    enter. Is that true?¡±


    Yeah, so I booked the ce under


    Charles¡¯ name.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use President Fuller¡¯s name? Aren¡¯t you guys marrie? It is probably more convenient to


    just use his card,¡± Reba asked curiously


    Sonia¡¯s expression did not change much, but she asked indifferently, ¡°How did you


    know that we are married to each other?¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows that. It¡¯s not a secret after all.¡± Reba shrugged. ¡°However, I¡¯m


    curious-you are his wife and Paradigm


    Co. has not been doing welltely. Why didn¡¯t President Fuller help you out?¡±


    After many years of marriage, he didn¡®t even


    look at me, let alone help me ¡°He has way


    too many things on his hands, so he¡¯s


    rather busy.¡± Sonia lowered her head to


    look at the cup of tea in her hands. ¡°Tve


    already divorced him a few weeks ago, so


    I¡¯m no longer his wife.¡±


    Upon hearing that a shocked Reba eximed, ¡°Oh! I see.¡±


    She quickly saw that talking about this topic had rendered Sonia in a terrible mood, so she lifted her cup


    of tea and


    toasted Sonia. ¡°Congrattions for bing single again, President Reed! It¡¯s


    great to be single-we don¡¯t have so much to worry about. It¡¯s an amazing thing! If


    you want to remarry, you can consider


    Charles! Since you guys grew up together


    and he takes good care of you, you guys


    are beyondpatible!¡±


    Sonia smiled after she heard Reba¡¯s


    jokes as it helped to lift her mood quite a


    bit.


    When dinner was over, she challed with Reba while they walked around the ce. She nned to


    head to the private room to start the karaoke while waiting for Charles to arrive.


    Just as Sonia and Reba walked out of


    the restaurant, they met a few women.


    Sonia was about to make way for those


    women, but she did not expect that Tina and her friend, whom she saw at the watch


    store in the afternoon, were among them.


    Upon seeing this, she was stunned.


    As Tina did not expect to see Sonia twice


    in a day, she almost failed to maintain her


    ¡°Miss Reed.¡± This time around, she


    forcefully spoke through aritted teeth. ¡°I


    heard that Paradigm Co. isn¡¯t doing quite well recently. You¡¯d need to reveal your sry here.¡±


    Sonia merely gave a slight smile. ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯m using my boyfriend¡¯s card. Do you have anything


    else to say about that, Miss Gray?¡±


    Tina¡¯s pink lips were pressed together in a firm line, but she soon recalled something


    and answered gently, ¡°I¡¯m about to y


    some card games with my friends and we


    are one person short. It¡¯s good that we met


    here. Since we are all acquainted with


    each other, let¡¯s y a few rounds


    together.¡±


    With that, she introduced Sonia to her


    friends. ¡°Meet Sonia Reed, the vice


    president of Paradigm Co.¡±


    As Tina spoke respectfully to the woman


    next to her and even lowered her stance in


    a slightly ingratiating way, it made Sonia


    take a second look at the woman, who


    wore a beautiful ck dress. It made the


    woman stand out and overpower her peers


    with just her looks.


    ¡°Who is this Miss Gray? Why is she so defensive toward you?¡± Reba inched


    closer to Sonia and asked quietly.


    ¡°My ex-husband¡¯s lover.¡±

 Chapter 36

    Chapter 36


    ¡°She is definitely something to be able to hang out with Melody Stryder.¡± Reba


    shot a nce at the woman next to Tina as she quietly exined, ¡°Melody is the granddaughter of one of


    the ministers in Norfolk who has just retired-Mr. Stryder. If you can hang out with her, you don¡¯t have to


    worry about your connections.¡±


    Sonia had seldom mingled in society


    before this, so she did not know many


    people in the business circle, let alone


    folks from another city. No wonder Tina


    has drastically lowered her stance.


    Tina¡¯s background was nothing to a figure


    like Melody


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re President Fuller¡¯s ex-wife?¡±


    Melody shot a disdainful nce at Sonia without a slightest trace of respect at all. ¡°Since we have all met


    each other, let¡¯s have a few rounds of games together. Are you willing to join us?¡±


    Let alone poker, Sonia did not even want to


    talk to Tina


    However, Sonia had learned how to read


    people¡¯s facial expressions after suffering in Jean¡¯s hands over the years. As soon as Melody started


    speaking, she knew that this was not a person whom she could


    cross


    ¡°Of course. The person we are waiting for is only arriving at 10:00 PM.¡±Sonia was


    well aware that she was nothing at this


    moment. Hence, she did not want to be in


    a situation where she was bullied by


    Melody just because she had annoyed Melody. I¡¯m not good at poker, though. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Melody merely shorted before she left in her high heels.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just for passing the time.¡± It was only after Melody left that Tina


    dared to speak. ¡°If you really can¡¯t y,


    we¡¯ll go easy on you.¡±


    Tina had learned from her friends that


    Sonia lost hundreds of thousands when


    she yed poker with Mr. King from


    Dwells.


    ording to the waiter, Sonia was just a


    beginner who could not even y poker.


    I¡¯m definitely taking my revenge for the


    annor felt at the match etara in the


    anger i felt at the watch store in the afternoon!


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Thanks, Miss Gray.¡±


    While walking with Sonia to the private


    room, Reba asked quietly, ¡°President


    Reed, are you really bad at poker? Why


    didn¡¯t you reject them? I think she thinks of


    you as an enemy. What if sheys a trap for you while you are ying with them?¡±


    ¡°She alreadyid the trap when we met


    earlier. Melody is obvious on Tina¡¯s side.


    Even if sheys a trapter, I have to


    knowingly walk into it.¡±


    Reba shot her a nce. ¡°Oh! You are


    too miserable!¡±


    When the lour of them entered the private room, they walked to a table for poker and quickly started the


    game after the distribution of cards.


    Reba did not know how to y poker, but she quickly searched for some tutorials and knew the basic


    rules. When


    she looked at Sonia ying again, she felt


    quite sorry to see the scene that she


    almost wanted to take over Sonia¡¯s ce.


    Upon seeing how Sonia lost to both Tina


    and Reba for two consecutive rounds,


    a striking smile appeared on Tina¡¯s face.


    ¡°Miss Reed, do you have a tattoo around


    your waist with the words ¡®TF?¡± Tina


    suddenly asked. ¡°It¡¯s the abbreviation of


    Toby¡¯s name, isn¡¯t it?*


    Sonia yed a card, but she did not reply


    to Tina


    Even though Tina was also ying, her gaze was fixated on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°I don¡¯t feelfortable that


    you still have a tattoo of his name on your body even after you guys have divorced. Why don¡¯t we bet on


    the game? If you lose, I¡¯ll ask the tattoo guy to immediately remove your tattoo.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Reba could not stop


    herself from responding, ¡°Miss Gray, this is over the top. It¡¯s President Reed¡¯s freedom


    to choose whatever tattoo she likes for her


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    body. Her card skills are quite lousy, yet


    you are using this as the bet. You are


    obviously bullying her.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed hasn¡¯t even started speaking,


    so why are you interjecting7¡± Melody pouted her red lips in annoyance. ¡°How annoying!¡±


    Reba blushed in anger and wanted to


    retaliate, but Sonia stopped her.


    ¡°I ept it.¡± Sonia smiled gently with


    peace and calmness in her eyes.


    ¡°However, what would you do if you lost,


    Miss Gray?¡±


    While looking at the cards that Sonia


    yed, Tina replied firmly, ¡°If I lose, I will


    leave Toby as well as Seafield and I will


    never return again. If you think I¡¯m bullying


    you, I can ask someone else to teach you


    poker. We can start our bet once you have


    learned how to y.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I think I¡¯m pretty good at the


    game. Are you really nning to have this bet with me? It¡¯s not a joke7¡± Sonia asked,


    Tina replied confidently. ¡°I¡®m serious.


    Everyone here is our witness.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Then, the winner will be the one to win two out of three rounds.¡± With that, Sonia yed a card


    that increased Tina¡¯s


    odds of winning


    When Tina looked at the card, her smile


    even looked vindictive. I¡¯m definitely


    winning this round!


    The moment that the first round started


    was when Reba knew Sonia was bound


    to lose after she saw the cards that Sonia


    had.


    Reba could no longer bear to watch the


    game and sighed, ¡°I really don¡¯t want to


    See you lose. I¡¯ll go out and take a walk.¡±


    After leaving the private room, she headed for the public restroom. As soon as she


    entered the toilet cubicle, she took a


    cigarette from her bag and lit it. At this


    moment, her phone rang.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m at a club watching my boss ying poker with someone else,¡± she respondedzily with a puff of


    smoke. ¡°Why? Are you


    ¡°asked you to look for someone in


    Seafield, yet you really think you are an


    employee?¡±


    ¡°Stop prompting me! He deserves it! He


    d¨¦corted his wife and hic children in the


    beginning. Now that he¡¯s about to die, he only remembers his son and wants to make it up to him. Then,


    he asked us to find that son of his! You better advise that old man to die sooner and donate all his money


    to charity so that those few sons of


    his won¡¯t fight to death because of this


    small amount of money. My leg was almost broken by them thest time


    around!¡±


    ¡°Reba, how could you talk about them in this manner? You are the bodyguard of


    the Hayes¡¯ Family. If they let you live, you


    live; if they want you dead, you have to die.


    How could you curse your boss to die


    soon?¡±


    Reba took a puff of smoke before she


    unwillingly responded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for saying


    that. I won¡¯t do that again.¡±


    *The fourth young master¡¯s men have already gone to Seaview. You better be careful.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± she replied, ¡°Send the information about the Stryder Family in Norfolk to me. I¡¯m being bullied by


    one of their people.¡±


    ¡°Rather than wasting your time with small characters like them, you better start


    looking for the young master. I¡¯ll ask my


    people to send the information to your


    emailter. I have received news that he


    had once stayed in Jordain County, When you are free, head over there and have a


    look.¡±


    ¡°Got it, Mr. Bayes.¡±


    Reba¡¯s mood worsened after a few


    minutes of the phone call. She headed out


    of the washroom when she flushed the cigarette away. On her way back to the private room, she saw a


    tall man in the club¡¯s ck uniform with a tter in his hands while he spoke


    to his colleagues.


    When she saw his face, her pupils constricted.


    Reba quickly turned around and ate two peppermint candies to get rid of the cigarette smell in her


    mouth. Then, she


    quickly walked to him and patted his


    shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re the mechanic?¡±


    Zane turned around at the woman who


    suddenly appeared in front of him. After he


    narrowed his eyes, he quickly recalled who


    she was. ¡°And you are the pretty girl from


    4S Automation who fixed the generator?¡±


    Yeah.¡± She smiled. When she saw his attire, she was quite shocked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a mechanic? Why are


    you here as the waiter? Are you that poor?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Zane was speechless. Since when have I looked poor?


    In actual fact, he lost a bet with his friends. Hence, he had to be a waiter for the day and send drinks to


    them.


    He knew that Reba had gotten the wrong impression, but he was toozy to


    exin the situation. Instead, he even


    added, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m really poor. I have to


    work three jobs a day. I¡¯ve just started my


    shift here after I finished teaching


    students.¡±


    ¡°Oh, teachers don¡¯t earn a lot and it¡¯s


    exhaustina!¡± With that. Reba took out a


    piece of paper and whole a phone number on it. ¡°This is my number. Just take it. I¡¯ll rmend you to


    be my boss¡¯ driver. The treatment is quite good.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zane arched his eyebrows. ¡°It seems like yourpany is rather big and your boss is


    wealthy?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re getting by. Have you heard of


    Paradigm Co.?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± At this point, he felt that something


    was wrong. ¡°And your boss is?


    ¡°Sonia Reed.¡±


    Zane looked at Reba with mixed


    expression. ¡°I know her. She¡¯s the new vice


    president of thepany.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯s quite a nice person. If you are her driver, she will not ill-treat you.¡±


    Reba did not notice anything wrong with his expression. Before she left, she even added, ¡°I know you


    guys have amission for the drinks. You can send a


    few more expensive drinks to room 1288.


    I¡¯ll foot the billter.¡±


    When he heard that, Zane was speechless


    As soon as she left, a waiter came to him


    and asked, ¡°Boss, President Reed from


    Paradigm Co. is ying poker in room 1288. Do you want to take a look?¡±


    After thinking about it, Zane asked the


    waiter, ¡°Is there another gorgeous woman


    with a mole on her forehead?¡±


    When he was at the restaurant earlier, he


    When he was at the restaurant earlier, he had seen Tina speaking to Sonia


    ¡°Oh, have you been to that room?¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡± Zane touched his lower lips in excitement. ¡°I wonder what President Fuller¡¯s expression


    would be when he hears that his ex-wife is ying poker with his current girlfriend.¡±

 Chapter 37

    Chapter 37


    Reba soon returned to the room.


    Before she even saw Sonia¡¯s cards,


    Reba could already guess what had transpired just by the ¡®gentle¡¯ smile on Tina¡¯s face. Sonia must


    have suffered a


    harsh defeat when I was away.


    Reba went to sit next to Sonia and shot


    a nce at the cards in Sonia¡¯s hands.


    Again, they were not quite useful. Then,


    she asked in a low voice, ¡°President Reed,


    the woman opposite of you is not any


    other woman. She¡¯s your ex-husband¡¯s


    lover. Are you really going to be defeated


    by her like this?¡±


    ¡°No worries. I just have to win three rounds


    out of five.¡± Sonia smiled. Since she sai down to y poker with them, she looked


    as peaceful as ever.


    While she replied to Reba, she yed


    yet another card.


    ¡°Game.¡± Tina ced her card down with a


    brighter smile on her face,


    Reba was speechless to hear that.


    ¡°President Reed, you have already lost two


    rounds to Tina. I think there¡¯s no need to


    continue,¡± Tina¡¯s friend said pompously.


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    ¡°Tina is not a petty person. As long as you


    apologize to her, we will hire the best


    tattoo artist to remove the tattoo from


    your body.¡±


    Tina raised her head slightly as she looked at Sonia. It looked as though she was waiting for Sonia to


    concede defeat. ¡°Would you like to continue, Miss Reed?¡±


    she asked in a gentle yet peaceful tone.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia shuffled the cards again without a change in her expression. ¡°We said that we could


    y five rounds.¡±


    Tina¡¯s friend rolled her eyes at Sonia and she rudely spoke, ¡°We are giving you an


    opportunity, yet you are not treasuring it


    and pointing the gun at yourself. Tina is so


    good at poker that I think you would never


    win against her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Tina stopped her friend,


    but she looked at Sonia vindictively. ¡°Since


    Miss Reed would like to continue with the


    game, I will follow her wishes then.¡±


    They soon started a new round,


    Since the upants in the room were only women, the spectators did not merely watch the game. While


    they snacked on


    the tidbits, they chatted with each other.


    Tina¡¯s friend was called Cynthia Stone. On Cynthia¡¯s right was Sonia while Melody was seated on


    Cynthia¡¯s left.


    Cynthia was not just watching the game as she even peeled an orange and passed


    it to Melody ingratiatingly. ¡°Melody, how


    long are you going to stay in Seafield this


    time? Are you nning to spend the new


    year here?¡±


    ¡°I will return to Norfolk after the new year


    Melody threw her cards on the table loudly.


    With a frown she added ¡°Peter Southfield


    With a frown, she added, ¡°Peter Southfield wants to have a divorce. He¡¯s back here to look for awyer.¡±


    Cynthia was shocked to hear this piece of news and carefully skirted around the topic. ¡°Back then, didn¡¯t


    the Southfield Family beg your grandfather to betroth you to him? They used your family name to


    aplish many things. How could he even dare to divorce you?


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because¡± Melody suddenly


    remembered something and stopped


    borating halfway through the sentence.


    Then, she merely gave a cold smile. ¡°I¡¯m


    not someone he can easily marry and


    divorce! I want to see whichwyer in


    Seafield is willing to take this case!¡±


    Sonia merely listened to them in the


    silence as she lowered her eyes.


    She did not know much of the Southfield


    Family in Seafield. She was only aware that they were quite influential in this city with almost as much


    authority as the Stryder Family in Norfolk.


    Melody had the guts to be arrogant only because of her powerful background and her grandfather, who


    was a minister,


    supporting her. Even if she was married to


    the Southfield Family that was of equal


    standing to her family, it was the


    Southfield Family that was not good


    enough for them.


    If the Reed Family did not encounter that tragic ident which imed the lives of


    all its members when Sonia married Toby,


    Jean would have had to respect her today,


    Not to mention, Sonia wouldn¡¯t have suffered such a shameful defeat in her marriage.


    She was lost in her thoughts as she


    thought about the past. At this moment,


    she suddenly heard Cynthia saying, ¡°Tina will be engaged to President Fuller on New


    Year¡¯s Eve and she¡¯s nning to invite us to her ce for dinner. Since you will still be in Seafield at that


    time, we will have a celebration together.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Melody was quite shocked to hear


    that. ¡°I heard that she was already


    engaged to him. Why are they doing that


    again?¡±


    ¡°Wall that irae the initial n buit


    ¡°Well, that was the initial n, but someone stole Tina¡¯s engagement Me. What disgusting


    behavior!¡± Cynthia responded pointedly and shot a nce at Sonia as she raised her voice. ¡°That won¡¯t


    happen again. President Fuller said that he has only invited a few friends to the Fuller Residence for


    dinner. Apart from that, the wedding will take ce on


    Valentine¡¯s Day next year!¡±


    ¡°Getting married on Valentine¡¯s Day?¡± Melody asked Tina. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    Tina hummed in agreement before she


    gave a gentle smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been in aa


    for six years. Toby thinks that we have


    already dyed it for quite a long time, so


    he wants to get married soon. The


    designers have started to design the


    wedding dress, but we haven¡¯t selected a


    ¡°He even hired someone to specially design the wedding dress for you? Tina, he loves you so much!¡±


    Cynthia said in an exaggerated manner to suck up to her.


    Upon seeing that Sonia had lowered her head without speaking as though she wanted to pretend


    Cynthia wasn¡¯t there, Cynthia pretended to curiously ask, ¡°Miss Reed, I heard that the wedding dress


    you had when you married President Fuller


    was in and ugly. You even wore an


    evening gown instead of a wedding dress.


    Is it true?¡±


    Sonia remained quiet upon hearing that.


    ¡°How could you just wear an evening gown


    to your weddina? That¡¯s so unlucky! Is it


    because President Fuller refused to buy a wedding dress for you?¡±


    She continued to remain silent.


    Upon seeing Sonia¡¯s silence, Cynthia¡¯s voice became even sharper. She even nudged Sonia as she


    asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°How did you know that President Reed didn¡¯t wear a wedding dress when she got married? Have you


    personally attended her


    wedding?¡± Reba could no longer


    tolerate Sonia being bullied further. ¡°Apart


    from that, there¡¯s something wrong with


    your words.¡±


    Cynthia snorted coldly. ¡°She just didn¡¯t have a wedding dress for her wedding.


    Can¡®t I talk about 117 Apart from that, what¡¯s wrong with what I¡¯ve just said?¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows that President Reed and


    President Fuller used to be husband and wife. You bragging about it is just implicitlyparing Miss


    Gray¡¯s husband to second hand goods,¡± Reba softly answered with fake innocence.


    The moment she said those words, she even shot a nce at Tina. ¡°Don¡¯t you think


    so, Miss Gray?¡±


    Cynthia did not expect Reba to be extremely sharp with her words. When Cynthia saw the smile


    fading from Tina¡¯s face, she panicked. ¡°Tina, that¡¯s not what I meant. I never thought of President Fuller


    as your second hand husband.¡±


    Reba burst out inughter aller she heard that and used her hand to cover her


    red lips. You said that you didn¡¯t mean that, but you keep talking about President


    Fuller as if he¡¯s a second hand product.


    What exactly do you mean?¡±


    Cynthia was so furious that she was at a loss for words.


    Sonia was quite depressed while she


    faced Cynthia¡¯s taunts and just wanted to


    ignore her. It was unexpected that


    Reba would stand up for Sonia.


    Sonia¡¯s red lips twitched upward. Just as


    she was about to speak, she saw the door of the private room being pushed open by a tall figure who


    quickly entered.

 Chapter 38

    Chapter 38


    The man wore a ck coat that entuated his attraction. However, because of his naturally


    cold attitude and his distant gaze, it made people unable to get closer to him.


    When Sonia¡¯s eyes rested on his face, her heart could not help but skip a beat and she naturally lowered


    her head.


    She did not expect that even after being


    divorced from him for such a long time, he


    still had an effect on her.


    ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯ve arrived.¡± Even


    though Cynthia had been annoyed by


    Reba, Cynthia immediately greeted


    Toby with a smile when she saw him. ¡°I


    heard from Tina that you are inundated with work. Are you here to pick her up7¡±


    He hummed politely as a reply. When his gaze flitted past Sonia, he frowned in unhappiness. Has this


    woman forgotten about the lesson she learned at Sakura Heights?


    When Zane called him half an hour ago


    and told him that Sonia and Tina were


    ying poker together in a room in Luna Club, Toby did not believe him. He knew


    that Sonia was quite bad at cards and


    thought that she would not be that silly to


    y with Tina


    Knowing that Toby might not believe him,


    Zane even sent a picture. It was only until Toby received the photographic evidence


    that he drove to the club.


    He immediately walked to Tina and his tone softened when he saw her looking frail. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say in


    the afternoon you were coughing? Why are you here to y poker?¡±


    She gave him a slight smile. ¡°It¡¯s just a


    slight cough. Don¡¯t worry about it. On top


    of that, Melody is in Seafield, so I want to


    show her around.¡±


    Toby knew about the Stryder Family in


    Norfolk and he was acquainted with


    Master Stryder.


    Toby removed his scarf and wrapped it


    around Tina. Even though it was a tiny


    movement, it was enough to make the


    women around them qush,


    Cynthiamented, ¡°My, oh my, President Fuller. We all know that you care about Tina a lot, but the


    heater here is switched on. You¡¯re just trying to show off your love for Tina in front of us.¡±


    Upon hearing Cynthia¡¯s teases, Tina


    blushed and she red. ¡°If you say one


    more word of nonsense, get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I won¡¯t say anymore.¡±


    When Sonia saw Toby carefully wrapping


    the scarf around Tina and him passing a


    warm drink the moment he sat next to


    Tina, their intimate behavior had caused


    Sonia¡¯s eyes to hurt.


    She had deliberately walked into Tina¡¯s trap to punish hier into leaving Toby and never returning to


    Seafield, but he had appeared.


    After seeing how affectionate he had treated Tina, Sonia no longer had the


    desire to continue the battle.


    Toby shot a nce at Tina¡¯s cards and said coolly, ¡°Miss Reed is not good at ying poker. Let¡¯s forget it


    after this round. You guys won¡¯t have much fun


    ying with a beginner like her too. I¡¯ll y


    a few rounds with you instead.¡±


    The smile on Tina¡¯s face froze before she


    gently responded, ¡°Okay.¡±


    On the other hand, Cynthia continued to


    nce at Sonia¡¯s deck of cards and


    realized that Sonia had a good chance of


    winning the round. As Cynthia was slightly worried, she was about to inform Tina when Sonia separated


    her set and ced


    a cand out


    Upon seeing that, Tina was ted and she slowly revealed her cards as well. ¡°Thank you, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Wow! You are amazing, Tina! I can¡¯t


    believe you have a royal flush!¡± Cynthia


    eximed agitatedly after seeing Tina¡¯s


    cards.


    ¡°Sonia, Tina has already won three rounds.


    You have to concede defeat.¡± With a cold


    waiter toe into the room. Then, she


    passed him a stack of money. ¡°Ask a


    tattoo artist toe here as soon as


    possible.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Please wait for a moment.¡±


    When Toby saw all these, he slightly frowned and asked Tina, ¡°What is going


    ¡°I heard from Tyler that Miss Reed has a tattoo bearing the abbreviation of your name¡­¡± Tina exined


    in a low voice after biting her lips. ¡°Apart from that, she even


    insisted on betting with me. She said that


    if she lost the bet, she would remove the


    tattoo.¡±


    Reba rested her chin on her hand while


    looking at Tina. ¡°Miss Gray, you are the


    one who ran into President Reed at the


    restaurant¡¯s entrance and asked whether


    she had a tattoo on her waist bearing the


    initials ¡®TF¡¯. You were also the one who


    asked her to bet with you over a round of


    poker. And now, you¡¯re saying that President Reed wanted to bet with you? Oh, how good you are with


    words!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sarcastic!¡± Since Cynthia had


    support, she roared at Reba. ¡°Tina doesn¡¯t want her boyfriend¡¯s name to be tattooed on another


    woman¡¯s body. What¡¯s


    wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°She merely asked whether Sonia wanted to y poker with her. It¡¯s not like Tina aimed a gun at Sonia¡¯s


    head to force her to agree.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. No one forced Sonia. She


    agreed to the bet on her own.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Reba was


    speechless


    Apart from Reba, the three other


    women in the room were Tina¡¯s friends, so it was natural that they would support her and side with


    Cynthia¡¯s words.


    Just as the group of women argued among themselves, the tattoo artist arrived with a box of tools.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Sonia stopped Reba from arguing further and calmly spoke to Tina. ¡°Since I¡¯ve lost this


    round, I¡¯m willing to concede defeat.¡±


    Sonia leaned on a nearby couch and she


    yanked the edge of her sweater up to


    reveal her fair and skinny waist with the


    words ¡®TF¡¯ on it.


    The tattoo artist quickly carried out the


    procedure to remove the tattoo from her body


    When Toby saw her silently lying on the couch and allowing the tattoo artist to work on her body, he


    frowned when he saw the tattoo and felt annoyed for no


    apparent reason


    He recalled that when he previouslymunicated with Maple via correspondence, she had revealed


    that her favorite actor tattooed histe wife¡¯s name


    and hobbies on his body. By doing so, he


    would be able to see her everyday, as if


    she was physically there with him.


    Maple once said that she would not do it


    because she was afraid of the pain, but


    she also added that she could tolerate


    having a tattoo of her beloved on her body


    so that he would be with her all the time.


    At this moment, Toby suddenly asked Tina,


    ¡°When we were writing to each other, what tattoo did you say you had7¡±


    ¡°We have too many letters to each other


    and since it was such a long time ago, I can¡¯t remember anymore.¡± She shook her head and held his


    arms as she lifted her head to ask, ¡°Toby, have ¡­ done something wrong by asking Miss Reed to


    remove her tattoo?¡±


    Tina¡¯s voice broke as tears swam in her


    eyes, making Toby unable to reprimand


    her. Instead, he stroked her hair with his


    huge palms.


    ¡°You did not make a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She smiled slightly and leaned her


    head against his arms.


    She was ted that after Toby left earlier that morning, she immediately took the letters from the drawer


    and burned them so that his pen pal, Maple, would no longer be on his mind.


    When she saw Sonia frowning due to the pain from the tattoo removal, Tina felt incredibly overjoyed.


    Sonia still lost to me!


    Cynthia stood there with her arms


    crossed. It was not enough for her to


    watch the process as she even insulted,


    *Tina gave you an opportunity to back out


    earlier, yet you didn¡¯t want it and continued ying. Miss Reed, if you don¡¯t know poker, please learn the


    game once you


    have arrived home. Sometimes, if you


    force yourself to do something, you will


    only suffer!¡±


    The other women also chuckled in a low voice as they looked at Sonia gleefully


    Sonia had been controlling herself since it hurt to remove the tattoo. Her forehead was glistening with a


    film of sweat and she no longer had the energy to reply to Cynthia¡¯s remarks.


    The moment that the process was almostpleted, a waiter of the club walked to them and asked


    politely, ¡°May I know who


    Miss Sonia Reed is?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± Sonia looked at him, ¡°What¡¯s the


    matter?¡±


    He handed a small bag to her. ¡°This is


    given to you by a gentleman with thest


    name of Lee.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    In order to divert her attention so that she would not feel much pain, Sonia immediately opened the bag


    and removed a little box that had blue satin wrapped around a small ring.


    It was a diamond-shaped ring. Although it was small and exquisite, it still glimmered under the lights.


    ¡°This is the work of the famous designer,


    K.¡± As soon as Reba saw the ring, she


    immediately recognized it. ¡°I heard that K


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    made it with his own hands and it¡¯s worth


    more than four million when it was


    auctioned in Avalon Isle.¡±


    ¡°It¡®s just like the Ocean¡¯s Heart-the only


    auctioned in Avalon Isle.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just like the Ocean¡¯s Heart-the only jewellery in the world where it¡¯s priceless.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful!¡±


    The women looked at the ring on Sonia¡¯s hand with passion and they longed to wear it to post a picture


    online to show off.


    At this moment, Sonia received two new


    messages from Carl.


    ¡°Charles told me that today is his birthday


    and you are going to celebrate with him tonight. When I sent a present to him, I


    actually sent a gift to you as well. Do you


    like it, Sonia

 Chapter 39

    Chapter 39


    Sonia was already in a bad mood, but she


    had never expected that Carl would send


    her a gift even though he was in Palmont.


    Receiving the present had relieved her of


    her negative emotions.


    After she replied to his message, she wore


    the ring on her ring finger to cover the marks of her previous wedding ring.


    When Toby saw Sonia¡¯s cheerful smile, the


    expression in his eyes immediately sank.


    Cynthia had never expected someone to present Sonia with such an expensive gift, which made her


    annoyed and jealous. She


    suddenly remembered something and


    intentionally asked in a loud volce, ¡°Miss Reed, didn¡¯t you say that your boyfriend is Charles7 You also


    used his name to enter this club. On the other hand, Mr. Lee is the male model who was involved in


    some rumors with you, right? I bet you guys are more than just friends for him to send you such an


    expensive gift.¡± She snorted coldly before she added, ¡°I even heard rumors that you might have another


    man, which is


    why you wanted to divorce President


    Fuller. I didn¡¯t believe it at first, but now it


    seems like the rumors are true!¡±


    Sonia merely gave a coldugh. As for the


    reasons for wanting a divorce from Toby


    even if others don¡®t know it, I bet he knows.


    She looked at Toby with the expectation


    that he would rify things for her, but he


    merely sat there with Tina in his arms and a cold look in his eyes without moving. Well, didn¡¯t see


    everything earlier? What aml expecting?


    When the tattoo on Sonia¡¯s waist waspletely removed, the slight fire within her waspletely


    extinguished.


    ¡°Miss Reed, say something!¡± Cynthia continued to force her. ¡°Does Charles


    know about Mr. Lee¡¯s present? Does he


    know that you are cheating on him?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful room, but why is there a


    sparrow here?¡± At this moment, Charles¡¯ voice rang in the room. Right after he


    asked that question, he walked into the


    room with a ck shirt and a disdainful


    expression on his face. ¡°This sparrow is


    noisy and annoying. I wish I could cut her tongue and make her shut the hell up.¡±


    His vicious words had stunned Cynthia¡¯s tongue into silence as she subconsciously staggered backward


    by a few steps.


    As Charles stood right in front of her and appraised her from head to toe, he clucked his tongue. ¡°Why


    are you retreating? Are you scared? Do you think you¡¯re that


    Sparrow?¡±


    ¡°N-No,¡± she stammered.


    ¡°I think you are. You sound like the


    sparrow I¡¯m talking about.¡± With that, he


    pulled her hair and mmed her head int


    the table where they had yed poker earlier. Then, he asked casually, ¡°Who¡¯s


    free to pass me a knile?¡±


    Reba immediately snatched the knife from the fruit tter and passed it to Charles while she cared to


    comment, ¡°This knife is extremely sharp. Be careful not to hurt yourself.¡±


    Cynthia¡¯s legs trembled and she immediately burst into tears. ¡°T-Tina¡­ Melody¡­¡±


    However, the entire room fell into extreme


    silence as no one actually spoke up for


    her. Tina had grabbed Toby¡¯s sleeves and


    wanted to stand up in anger. However, he


    pressed her down and signaled for her to


    sit down.


    He wanted to see how far Charles was


    willing to go to take revenge for Sonia


    ¡°Why? Have you all be mute?¡± Charles looked around his surroundings and was rather surprised to


    see even Tina and Toby there. With a cold snort, he turned around to look at Reba, who had passed


    him the knife. ¡°Tell me, did they bully my baby just now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just bullying!¡± She immediately


    rushed over and spilled the beans.


    Upon listening to Reba¡¯s exnation,


    Charles shot a nce at Toby and snorted


    coldly for the second time. Then, he


    pushed Cynthia aside before he advised


    Sonia, ¡°Why don¡¯t you head to our room


    first? Once I¡¯ve sorted out the matters


    here, I¡¯ll head over.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± Sonia grabbed Charles¡± arm as she didn¡¯t want him to have a grudge with the


    Stryder Family because of her. ¡°Celebrating your birthday is more


    important.¡±


    However, her movement was reflected in


    Toby¡¯s eyes, which made his gaze even


    deeper.


    ¡°That won¡¯t do. You are being bullied here. As your childhood friend, I can¡¯t simply


    stand aside and watch.¡± Charles waved at


    Reba to ask her to bring Sonia away.


    Til just teach them a lesson. I won¡¯t hurt


    them.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, President Reed, Charles will


    know what to do.¡± With that she yanked


    Sonia out of the room.


    He quickly walked to the poker table and found a ce to sit down. ¡°Let¡¯s y a few more rounds. You


    can choose three people whom you like to y the game with.¡±


    Then, he lowered his head and took a puff from his cigarette before he casually added, ¡°If any of you


    wins, I will give you 10 million. On top of that, I will kneel


    before you and address you as ¡®my lord¡¯. If


    I win against you all, you just have to remove your clothes and leave the room in that manner.¡±


    Compared to Charles¡¯ bet, it was nothing


    for them to remove their clothes. His proposition had caused the rest of the


    women in the room to be slightly moved.


    we win, we would get 10 million!


    After being annoyed by his arrogant attitude, Melody walked over inrge strides after gritting her teeth.


    Then, she pulled the chair to his right and sat down as sheughed coldly. ¡°Charles, I¡¯ll be waiting for you


    to call me your lord!¡±


    Charles yfully leaned against his chair.


    ¡°Sure. Who else is in? Let¡¯s start soon.


    After that, I¡¯m heading over to apany


    my baby.¡±


    After all, she was there. If she did not say


    anything, the rest did not dare to make a move even though they wanted to join.


    Melody chose a few other women who


    were good at poker before she looked at


    Tina.


    Even though Melody had said nothing, Tina understood her implicit words


    *Toby Mr. Lane is going overboard. Why don¡¯t you help us out?¡± Tina asked softly She knew that Toby


    was good at poker and that Charles might not be able to win


    against him.


    However, Toby merely sat there without


    moving. He then responded in a low voice, ¡°I still have some emails to settle. You can go ahead to y


    with him.¡±


    She did not expect that he would reject


    her. Even though her body froze in that


    instant, she quickly smiled. ¡°Alright. Wait


    for me for a while more then.¡±


    Charles did not feel pressured when he


    yed poker with the three other women.


    He had yed the came aggressively and


    ruthlessly


    Hefore they wrapped up thest round, he impatiently knocked on the table. ¡°Are you quys idiots? You


    are so slow at ying the game. Could you be faster?¡±


    His words made their faces blush red in


    anger.


    Tina had made a self promation that her skills in poker were excellent. She thought that with the three


    of them against


    Charles, one of them would at least win.


    Unexpectedly, no matter what she yed,


    he had followed suit and was alming at


    her.


    Before they could even finish the game, Tina had already taken most of her clothes


    with only her strappy white camisole


    remaining


    ¡°I win!¡± He revealed his cards again.


    Tina secretly gritted her teeth. She could


    tell that he was aiming at her to avenge


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    Sonia.


    After Charles flicked away the ashes from his cigarette, he prompted her, ¡°What are you waiting for, Miss


    Gray? Take your clothes off!¡±

 Chapter 40

    Chapter 40


    ¡°You are going way overboard now, Charles!¡± Melodymented coldly. ¡°Do you think Tina and the rest


    of us are blind? Of course we can tell that you are directing your vengeance at her! She only has her


    strappy camisole left. What else do you want?¡±


    Charles merely shrugged with a confused


    expression. ¡°I won. So, she should remove


    her clothes, shouldn¡¯t she? Since when


    have I gone overboard? Well, you can also


    help her out by taking off your clothes!¡±


    Upon hearing that, she was speechless. As


    the heater was causing the room to be


    extremely warm, she had only worn a


    spaghetti strapped long dress.


    Of course, she would not embarrass herself just to help Tina out.


    We should end things here since it¡¯s already quitete.¡± Toby walked over to Tina and wrapped his coat


    around her.


    Before Charles could say anything, Toby added indifferently. Til ask my ountant to transfer 30 million


    to you tomorrow morning. The Fuller Group will withdraw its acquisition of Snoway and I will ask my team


    to assist you in acquiring thepany instead.¡±


    Since Charles had already embarrassed


    Tina and with Toby taking a step back, he


    felt that it was a good opportunity for him


    to stop his taunts. ¡°At the age of ten when


    Sonia yed poker with her father, even he


    lost to her. let alone me.¡± He extinguished


    his cigarette in the ashtray before he slowly stood up, wh§Ön §å§àu guys were ying with her earlier,


    although it seemed like you had won, it was just that she did


    not want to y with you.¡±


    When his shoulders brushed past Toby¡¯s


    body, Charles shot a nce at him and


    Snorted. ¡°It seems like she really doesn¡¯t


    want to be with you anymore. Otherwise,


    even if Tina is ten times better at the game, she will also lose to Sonia.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby recalled Sonia¡¯s


    peaceful expression when she was having


    her tattoo removed. Then, his eyes darkened. So, she actually knows how to


    y poker.


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Heba had just ordered snacks and finished singing a few songs in the private


    room when Charles returned


    Reba quickly walked to him to ask about what had happened. When she


    heard that Tina had stripped to the point of


    being nude, she felt vindictive. ¡°If Toby wasn¡¯t around, she probably would have walked out of the club


    naked tonight!¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± He let out another snort.


    ¡°An eye for an eye! No matter how she


    bullies my baby, I¡¯ll return the favor a few


    more times!¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sonia smiled and gave Charles a


    toast


    He did not ask why she had allowed the


    rest of them to bully her in the poker room earlier. Instead, he stretched out with his hand and yanked her


    into his embrace as he teased, ¡°We have already slept on the same bed for a long time. Why are you still


    thanking me?¡±


    ¡°Whoa!¡± Reba looked at them with . widened eyes. ¡°Is it true?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true,¡±


    ¡°If you destroy my reputation any further, I¡¯m going to p you.¡± Sonia gave Charles a hard kick before


    she exined to


    Reba, ¡°When we were younger, his


    parents were usually not at home, so he


    always came to my ce for food. He


    even slept there withoutpensating us.


    Don¡¯t you think that he¡¯s taken it quite far?¡±


    upon heating thai, Reba immediately looked at him in disdain ¡°Ah, I see. It turns out that he is just


    thick skinned.¡±


    They had joked around without realizing that there was a small voice recorder taped under the table,


    which recorded their entire conversation.


    Charles¡± friends soon arrived one after


    another, which gave the room loads of


    vigor andughter.


    Sonia did not like a huge crowd. On top of


    that, she was in a bad mood and merely


    sat in the corner while drinking some wine.


    After some time, she saw Charles and his


    friends ying games that involved


    drinking and joined them.


    Even though she lost in those games, she still felt jubnt as she poured a mixture of red and white wine


    into her mouth.


    After a few rounds of doing so, she felt


    quite dizzy.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out to take a breather. You guys. should carry on without me.¡± As she felt


    that she could no longer continue with the


    games, Sonia informed Charles before she


    walked out of the room.


    She merely wanted to head to the balcony to enjoy the breeze. However, as she had drank too much in


    the room earlier, she felt even more nauseous when the cold wind


    blew at her face.


    Sonia covered her lips and quickly ran to


    the wachronm


    the washroom


    It was after she threw up that she felt much morefortable. She sshed her face with cold water


    before she looked at herself in the mirror. How pathetic and pitiful. I hope this is thest time I


    allow myself to be drunk


    As she walked out of the washroom, she headed to the balcony again. At this moment, a waiter passed


    her by with a tray in his hands


    When he saw that her cheeks were


    reddened and that she still looked drunk,


    he passed her a bottle of water that was


    on his tray. ¡°Miss, you will feel better after


    drinking some water.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia took the bottle from


    him and immediately opened the cap to


    A huge hand then suddenly pinched her bottom before a breathy whispernded in her ears. ¡°Beautiful


    girl, your figure is alluring. What¡¯s your price?¡±


    ¡°Let me go!¡± she coldly replied with the intention to crush the person¡¯s hands.


    However, as she had just finished throwing


    up, she did not have much energy left. Apart from that, she was also quite dizzy.


    which made it easier for him to hug her


    and yank her toward the elevator.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have lots of money. I can


    pay you any amount of money that you


    want,¡± the man said with a snicker.


    Sonia had no idea why she couldn¡¯t stop


    her body from softening. She bit her tongue in an attempt to wake herself up and she stomped on his


    shoes with her pair of high heels. When he released her in pain, she quickly fled the scene while


    cing her hand on the walls for support.


    However, as soon as she ran outside, the


    man chased after her and pulled her hair in annoyance. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that I¡¯m going to give you


    some money. Don¡¯t take it for granted¡±


    At this moment, another hand suddenly


    pinched his wrist hard.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± He let out a loud scream, feeling


    as though his wrist was about to break.


    ¡°Who the hell are you? How dare you touch


    me!¡±


    Even though the man was cursing, he imunediately fell silent as soon as he met the other person¡¯s cold


    pair of eyes. ¡°P. President Fuller¡­¡±


    ¡°My pleasure.¡± When Toby saw the long strands of hair in the man¡¯s hands, his gaze darkened even


    further. He applied more force and immediately crushed the


    man¡¯s wrist.


    With an indifferent tone, Toby asked, ¡°I


    wonder what business you have with my ex-wife, President Mills.¡±


    President Mills did not dare to even grunt.


    Beads of sweat formed on his head as he


    suppressed his urge to yell aloud and


    instead bowed to apologize to Toby. ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, President Fuller. I didn¡¯t look properly


    as I thought she was one of the employees


    of the club. I didn¡¯t know that she is your


    ex-wife


    Toby released him and called for a waiter. ¡°President Mills is drunk. Arrange for a car to send him back,¡±


    he ordered.


    Upon seeing that Toby decided to let the matter slide, President Mills heaved a sigh of relief. However, at


    this moment, Toby added, ¡°His eyes are not working well. Arrange an optometrist at the hospital to


    do an eye checkup on him.¡±


    President Mills was speechless when he


    heard that.


    After President Mills had followed the


    waiter out, Toby shot a nce at Sonia, who was still holding onto the wall for


    support. Her hair was in a mess and she could not even stand straight. It was obvious that she had drunk


    a lot.


    He still remembered what Charles had told


    him earlier.


    Toby walked to Sonia inrge strides and he pulled her arms to lift her up on her feet. ¡°Sonia, what are


    you implying?¡± He


    was quite strong as he held her weak waist, but his tone was indifferent. ¡°You


    know how to y poker, yet you deliberately lost the game?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± she answered


    sarcastically. She wanted to shove his


    hands away, but she was so dizzy that she


    almostnded in his embrace.


    She managed to force herself to stand


    straight. When she raised her head, she


    almostnded in his emue


    She managed to force herself to stand straight. When she raised her head, she saw a blurred face with a


    pair of deep, profound eyes that looked at her fixedly.


    ¡°None of my business? Is that what you just said, Sonia?¡±

 Chapter 41

    Chapter 41


    Who the hell knows?¡± Sonia mumbled in a


    garbled tone.


    Toby did not expect to hear these four words from her, which was why a look of


    surprise flitled across his eyes.


    However, when he saw her reddened checks and her unfocused gaze, he quickly frowned and removed


    his tie from her


    hands. ¡°You¡¯re drunk, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m very much awakel¡± she mumbled


    and grabbed his tie again. You look like


    my ex-husband. Looks like you are up to


    no good as well!¡±


    He was speechless upon hearing that.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that my ex-husband¡­She paused and wiggled her fingers. ¡°He can¡¯t do it.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face inmedialely darkened as his voice became a lot more calder: ¡°Cannot do what?¡±


    ¡°There,¡± Sonia mumbled as she pointed at


    his crotch. We were married for six years,


    yet he has never kissed me. He never een touched such a pretty girl like me. Doesn¡¯t


    that prove that he can¡¯t do it?¡±


    Toby was so furious that heughed.


    li was her suggestion to get married and


    divorced. Unbeknownst to him, she had


    ¡°It¡¯s meaningless,¡± Sonia suddenly


    murmured. ¡°Meaningless.¡±


    She turned around and walked away while swaying. In the future. I want to look for a


    man who can do it¡­¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Toby¡¯s face


    darkened. He quickly walked toward her


    and swept her off her feet. While holding


    her in his arms, he walked directly into the


    elevator and lowered his face to coldly look at her. ¡°Sonia, you will pay a price for


    your words.¡±


    After Toby had sent Tina home, she


    chatted with Melody and a few of her own


    friends on Messenger to be closer to


    thern


    Seving that it was getting quitete, she assumed that he had finished his work and she sent him three


    consecutive messages.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    but he did not reply to her even after a few


    ?????


    Just as Tina was about to video call him.


    she received another message.


    When she earned that Sonia was also


    celebrating Charles¡¯ birthday in Luna Club,


    Tina was worried that Toby would be in the


    Some area as Sonia. Hence, Tina had


    asked Cynthia to keep an eye on him for


    her.


    Cynthia texted, ¡°OMG Sonia is so shameless! Why doesn¡¯t she just go to


    heli?


    Tina Telt an ominous leeling within her and she quickly asked, ¡°What have YCH Sten? Is Toby with her7


    Cynthia replied, ¡°Tina, you must be strong¡­. I saw Sonia kissing him first. Then, he brought her upstairs.


    After looking around


    the staircase, I quietly followed them and


    realized they entered a room for a long


    time without exiting¡­¡±


    They entered a room for a long time without


    exrting


    When Tina saw this sentence, she had


    bitten her lips so harshly that her lower lip


    started to bleed. The gentle expression on


    her face slowly became distorted as she


    lost control of her emotions. I hate Sonia


    so much that I want to tear her into pieces!


    She was the one who reced Sona 15


    Maple to meet Toby elight years ago. So what if I¡¯ve done that? It¡¯s her fault anyway!


    She only treats him as a pen pnd refuses to widerstand hin even more! So, I¡¯m the one who met Toby


    and fell for him first. He¡¯s rrine!


    Cynthia sent her another message. ¡®l bet


    President Fuller is being seduced by that


    batch Sonia and he lost his rationale at


    that moment. I¡¯ll knock on the door to


    wake him to his senses now.¡±


    However, Tina rejected her approach. ¡®No.


    If you do that, Toby will know that you are following him. I just care about him too


    much, so I don¡¯t want you to be involved in


    this matter. You are innocent.¡¯


    you always have to tolerate her. Oh. Tina, you are so kind that I feel sorry for you!


    Tina replied, ¡®It¡¯s alright. I believe in Toby and fill wait for his exnation once he arrives home. Thanks


    for everything tonight. You can go back and rest now. And also, apart from the both of us, I don¡¯t want


    anyone else to hear about this, okay?¡±


    With that, she transferred 200 thousand to


    Cynthia.


    After Cynthia received the money, she


    quickly acknowledged, ¡®Oh, you don¡¯t have


    to be so polite. We are good friends after


    all. I¡¯ll just pretend that I was drunk tonight


    and hadn¡¯t seen anything.¡±


    When she heard Cynthia¡¯s promise, Tina


    exited the application and called a mimbar


    with a dark expression on her TACE


    Miss Gray¡± the voice on the other Hid


    answered.


    ¡°Have you gotten the thing in the room?¡±


    she immediately asked in a gentle voice,


    but the expression on her face was so


    distorted that she looked terrifying


    ¡°I have it. It¡¯s pretty exciting, but the money


    ¡°Money is not a problem. y some parts


    for me to hear first.¡±


    Tina soon received an audio file. After


    quietly listening to the recording, her distorted expression had calmed down


    quite a lot. She was sending a text


    message as she walked out of the room.


    As soon as she had sent out the message, she stood on the edge of the staircase


    The carpeted staircase was quite pleasant to the eyes, but fear rase within her when


    she saw its height. I¡¯ve just woken up. Is it


    worth it to erifer the hospital again?


    However, as soon as she remembered Cynthia¡¯s message, she recollected that


    Toby was in a room with Sonia at the club.


    While looking at the stairs below her, Tina¡¯s


    determination was reflected in her eyes.


    Tina slowly raised her foot and stumbled


    on the first stair. Then, she rolled down the


    staircase.


    A maid was about to send some desserts


    to Julia, but moments after arriving on the


    second floor, the maid was so shocked to


    find Tina covered in blood that she ihrew


    the tray aside.


    ¡°Miss Gray!¡±


    The location was in a room on the second


    floor of Luna Club


    Half an hourter, Sonia curled up on the


    bed with her fair back exposed, revealing


    many dark hickeys on it.


    Toby forcefully restrained the desire within


    him and tightened his tie as he turned


    around to take a cigarette from the night


    stand and light it up


    He knew that he was usually well in


    control of his emotions, but she could wasily trigger his desire each time. It


    haped on the day of the divorce, and


    It was at this moment when the phone on


    the nightstand lit up.


    Toby took it and he saw that the call was from the Gray Family, so he answered, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Where are you, President Fuller?¡± the maid


    from the Gray Family asked frantically. ¡°M


    Miss Gray identally fell from the


    staircase and she¡¯s being sent to the emergency room now! Mrs. Gray cried so


    much that she almost fainted. Please


    Shock fitted across his eyes before he


    Keep wers Graypany. III arrive at the hospital in 15 minutes.¡±


    After he hung up, he quickly wore his


    clothes


    He stretched out with his hand after he


    shot a nce at Sonia, who was still fast


    asleep. Just as he was about to caress her


    face, he retracted his hand and instead


    turned around to take pen and paper from


    the nightstand and wrote a series of


    numbers on it.


    Sonia had deleted all the ways of


    contacting him after the divorce.


    This was his private number with very few


    friends and he had never even added her


    friends and he had never even added her


    to this number


    As soon as Toby entered the elevator,


    another elevator immediately opened


    before a tall figure emerged.


    The man wore a cap and a face mask that


    looked through all the room numbers in


    front of him.


    His gaze soon fell on the room that Toby had just exited before he swiped the


    ess card on the maic door lock,


    Then, the man opened the door and


    walked into the room.

 Chapter 42

    Chapter 42


    Dur to the aftermath of her binne drinking,


    headache and massaged her temples while leaning against the headboard. As


    she did so, her nket slid off her body


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    and she could feel the cold air on her skin.


    She lowered her head and realized that


    she was merely d in a camisole. What¡¯s going on?


    She was about to fling the nket off her


    to get off from bed when she caught sight


    of a man next to her pillow from the corner


    of her eyes; he was currently topless and sound asleep. The hair on his forehead


    was slightly tousled and he had handsome facial features. At that moment, her eyes


    widened in disbelief to the point where she


    waspletely


    s chliess. She had recalled that she was drinking excessively the previous night to the point where she


    was tipsy, but she somehow remembered


    hearing Toby¡¯s inaudible voice in the background. Did I simply grab a guy off the streets and sleep with


    him after being so triggerest night?


    As soon as she realized that she¡¯d slept


    with a random guy, she couldn¡¯t even bear to cast another look at the guy next to her. Then, she


    collected her clothes from the


    chair and dressed up. She was just about


    to get some money from her purse when


    she realized that her bag was nowhere to


    be found despite her searching high and


    low for it.


    Sonia grabbed hold of a notepad and was


    about to leave her phone number on it


    when she realized that there was already a string of numribers on it. Perhaps that guy nust have left his


    number because he was worried that would flee the scene if I woke up earlier. Subsequently, she tore off


    that particr piece of paper on the notepad and left in a hurry.


    About half an hourter, Sonia caught a


    cab to work after she freshened up with a


    shower at home. However, she still hadn¡¯t


    fully regained herposure as she was


    experiencing the shocking after-effects


    from her flingst night.


    ¡°President Reed¡¯s here!¡±


    Sonia had just alighted from the cab and


    she didn¡¯t even manage to steady herself


    when a bunch of reporters rushed toward


    her from all corners to surround her. There


    Cher 42 when she realized that there was already a string of numbers on it. Perhaps that quy hiust hne


    left his fiumber because he was worried that I would flee the scene if I woke up earlier. Subsequently,


    she tore off that particr plece of paper on the notepad


    and left in a hurry.


    About half an hourter, Sonia caught a


    cab to work after she freshened up with a


    shower at home. However, she still hadn¡¯t fully regained herposure as she was experiencing the


    shocking after-effects


    from her flingst night.


    ¡°President Reed¡¯s here!¡±


    Sonia had just alighted from the cab and she didn¡¯t even manage to steady herself


    when a bunch of reporters rushed toward


    her from all corners to surround her. There


    were multiple shes of light directed at


    her face.


    ¡°President Reed, who¡¯s the man in the


    mudio recording?¡±


    ¡°That voice doesn¡¯t sound like that model, Carl! Could you provide an exnation?!¡±


    ¡°President Reed, are you here to work at


    Paradigm Co. or to exploit your identity as the vice-president to pursue other guys?!¡±


    Sonia was speechless as the stinging


    questions from the reporters were aimed


    at her like repeated explosions.


    Although she was unaware of the audio


    recording that the reporters referred to


    she quickly regained fullposure and


    hid every sign of abnormality from them.


    Through the crowd in an attempt to leave


    ¡°Excuse me, please give way.¡±


    ¡°President Reed, why are you evading our questions? Do you have a guilty conscience7¡± One of the


    reporters interrogated, ¡°It¡¯s been spected that you and President Fuller had a divorce


    because of the indiscretions of your


    private life.¡±


    ¡°GAY


    It was after a moment of silence that


    Charles forced his way through the crowd


    and wrapped his arms around Sonia in a


    protective stance before he rebuked, ¡°You


    mentioned that it¡¯s a spection, so how


    Can that be true?! I¡¯ve heard rumors that


    ¡°Furthermore, my girlfriend and President


    Fuller have amicably ended their marriage. As for infidelity¡­¡± Charlies snorted withughter. ¡°Why don¡¯t


    you guys ask President Fuller what he means by


    showing so much concern to another


    woman at the hospital every single day before he is legally married to her?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all. I¡¯ve said everything I have


    to say, so please leave!¡± He shoved the


    reporters aside and pushed his way out of


    the circle.


    ¡°My girlfriend is quite timid, so don¡¯t


    frighten her! You won¡¯t be able to get any


    Sensational news from her. I heard that


    President Fuller is about to remarry, so


    perhaps you guys should pursue that news


    instead. It should be easier to get your


    mary reward from there.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia remained silent.


    Charles showed and kicked the reporters with his limbs. Soon, he managed to break free from the crowd


    with her in tow before


    they entered Paradigm Co.


    Sonia turned around to nce at the


    reporters still waiting outside and she


    shed a thumbs-up at him. ¡°That was


    such a great job there! You¡¯ve proved your


    worth today and all the meals you have


    had at my house since you were young


    were not in vain after all.¡± After the divorce,


    I would have been in deep trouble if it hadn¡¯t


    been for Charles¡¯ help.


    ¡°We¡®ve been buddies for twenty years,


    Don¡¯t tell me this is the first time you have


    realized my capabilities?!¡± Charles snorted


    as he steered her toward the elevator with


    his arms around her. After hressing the


    his arms around her. After pressing the


    button to the intended floor, he regarded her from top to bottom intently. You didn¡¯te home after


    leavingst night. Where


    did you go without even bringing your


    bag?¡± He interrogated, ¡°Did you go out and have a fling with some random stranger?¡±


    it was only after hearing his words that


    she recalled the shock from this morning¡¯s


    scene and she suddenly had a guilty


    conscience.


    ¡°I was feeling unwellst night, but I


    noticed that you guys were having fun sol left earlier without disrupting you guys.¡±


    Sonia lied without a change in demeanor


    and changed the topic soon after that.


    ¡°What did the reporters mean by an audio recording?¡±


    Charles furrowed his brow as he took out


    his cell phone while scolding under his breath, ¡°Someone installed this in the


    roomst night.¡± Then, he clicked on the


    recording and yed it for her.


    The audio recording was taken in the room


    teasingly provoked Sonia. In the end, she


    had ended up exining the situation to


    Reba, but some parts of the recording had been intentionally edited to include


    explicit noises of men and women. It


    would have elicited a strong response in


    those who heard the recording.


    ¡°That person is rather dedicated to ruining


    my reputation by going through so much


    effort to edit the recording!¡± Sonia


    sneered. ¡°Can you figure out who the


    culorit is hy noinn through the security


    culprit is by going through the security cameras?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t seem to figure that out. It¡¯s arduous.¡± Charles shook his head with a sigh. ¡°There were a


    few waiters who


    entered the roomst night, but I don¡¯t


    know which one of them made the move.


    I¡¯ve interrogated each of them with no conclusive oue from that.¡±


    Sonia was well aware of theplexity of


    the situation and her face subsequently


    turned quite solemn. However, she had a


    clear suspect in mind as to who the


    mastermind of this situation was-Tina.


    Sonia had recently undergone the divorce


    proceedings with Toby. Moreover, she


    didn¡¯t have that many acquaintances in her


    current social circle and she couldn¡¯t recall


    offending anyone al all.


    Tina was the only one who seemed to be


    at odds with her. Besides, Charles had also


    rudely humiliated Tina in the roomst


    night, which gave Tina the motive toke


    revenge against her. However, there was


    no concrete evidence to prove that Tina


    was the one behind all this.


    While Sonia was lost in her thoughts, he


    kept a close eye on her and didn¡¯t miss the


    look on her face. He shrewdly sensed that


    something was wrong. ¡°Be honest: did you


    have a casual flingst night?!¡±


    ¡°I told you I didn¡¯ti¡± She rolled her eyes at


    him and tried hard to keep calm. ¡°I


    wouldn¡¯t be able to find someone as


    handsome as you anyway!¡±


    Charles was michmentarily sunned by her words. Then, he studied her from top to


    bottom while straking his chin and clicking


    his longue. ¡°I¡¯m quite keen to provide youfort with my flesh but ihen again, Sonia, you¡¯re emaciated


    and just not my type. I peter someone more voluptuous with huge breasts and a perky buti.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia waspletely at a loss


    for words.


    She strode out immediately as soon as the


    elevator doors opened, ¡°Go back to your


    office if you have nothing else to do! I don¡¯t


    need your help!¡±


    ¡°Babe, you¡¯re so heartless.¡± He trailed after


    her and wrapped his arms around her


    shoulders


    shoulders


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for me earlier, you would have been thrown off your feet by the questions


    from the reporters! Now that you have no


    use for me, are you just going to discard


    me like that?! You¡¯re my girlfriend! Even if


    there was a crisis at my office, you would still take priority over that!¡±


    Daphne had just ced some documents


    in Sonia¡¯s office and she walked out in


    time to catch Charles¡¯ Words. Upon


    noticing his arms around Sonia, a shocked


    Daphne almost fell into speechlessness


    when she saw his affectionate manner


    toward Sonia. ¡°President Reed, the two of


    you¡­ Are the two of you in a rtionship?¡±

 Chapter 43

    Chapter 43


    ¡°I have announced it in front of the press, so it¡¯s definitely true!¡± Charles raised his Eyebrow. Til bring


    some candy over tomorrow to celebrate the good news while sharing it with you too, Daphne.¡±


    ¡°Umm, sure¡­¡±


    As Charles had always been behaving like


    he was joking, Sonia was used to it. She


    pushed his hands away in response and


    impassively strode into her office.


    ¡°Get us a pot of tea and a cup of coffee


    with no sugar, please.¡± He followed her


    into her office after instructing Daphne.


    ¡°Babe, once you¡¯re done with your work,


    can we talk about the takeover of


    Continental Co.7 i have just conducted an investigation on ihepany this morning


    Meanwhile, Daphne kept her eyes on


    Charles as he walked into the office and


    she saw the door shut behind him shortly


    after he entered. His voice was no longer


    audible due to the closed door. Al that


    moment, she tightened her grip on the documents in her hands while she had a


    forlorn expression on her face.


    Sonia¡¯s mind was still in a state of mess


    fromst night¡¯s fling. She just couldn¡¯t


    focus on her work while his words went


    above her head. In the end, she was so


    annoyed by his chatter that she kicked him


    out of her office.


    It was only at noon that she was able to finally calm down. I¡¯m divorced from Toby which means i¡¯m


    currently sigle. Even if ! have a casual fling with a random stranger, It¡¯s not a big deal! The only thing that


    stumped her was that her tolerance to


    alcohol was quite good but oddly enough, that wasn¡¯t the casest night. I threw up in the bathroomst


    night while being fully


    conscious, so how did I end up in a drunken state Furthermore, she couldn¡¯t even


    recall how she met that man and


    subsequently made her way into his room.


    Sonia suddenly realized that she had torn


    off that piece of paper on the notepad with


    his phone number earlier this morning.


    She subsequently took it out of the pocket of her jacket and searched for his phone


    number on Messenger.


    The other party soon approved her friend request. She immediately flicked a message to him without


    even waiting for him to initiate the conversation.


    Sonia: ¡°We¡¯re both adults, sost night was just a fun thing for us. Let¡¯s forget about it. That would be


    best for the both of us.¡±


    Sonia: ¡°Sessful transfer of 88888.¡±


    Toby was busy taking care of Tina in the


    hospital at that moment. Upon hearing the


    news of her being rushed to the


    emergency roomst night, he was


    engulfed with worry. He arrived at the


    hospital only to be told that she was fine


    and had merely injured her forehead with a


    slight fracture on both of her legs, so she


    had to be hospitalized for a short period of


    time.


    Tira spon required consciousness. At ihal


    mommt, her eyes were rimmed red as she held his hands before she sobbed, ¡°Toby. I¡¯m scared. Can you


    stay with me?¡±


    Toby couldn¡¯t bear to say no to her, so he arranged for Tom to send Julia home while he himself stayed


    with Tina. He noticed that Tina¡¯s face still remained deathly pale in the morning, so he had no choice but


    to


    instruct Tom to bring him aptop. By doing so, he could apany her while dealing with work in the


    ward.


    It was in the middle of the afternoon when


    Toby¡¯s phone had suddenly vibrated to


    indicate a notification on his Messenger.


    He tapped into the app and realized that it


    was a notification for his private number, so he deduced that it was Sonia who¡¯d


    added him as a friend before he switched


    ounts to have a look. He had only just Approved her friend request and was considering how to bring


    upst night¡¯s incident when he received her message followed by a transfer of funds.


    Toby stared at her message and his brows


    gradually furrowed while his expression


    darkened. This woman..


    All of a sudden, there was a piece of news that popped up on the front of his screen. As he noticed that


    the news referred to


    Sonia, he subconsciously clicked on it to see Charles with his arms around her as


    he cleared the air about the rumors of


    Sonia and Carl to the members of the


    press. After that, Charles overtly


    announced his rtionship with her and he


    even managed to throw in a snide remark


    about Toby at the same time.


    This piece of newsbined with Sona¡¯s drunken words fromst night made Toby feel rather frustrated


    and annoyed,


    At this moment, Tina was in good spirits


    as she had finished her video call with


    Julia. She was just about to ask Toby what


    was for lunch when she noticed that he was in a foul mood, his expression was as dark as a


    thundercloud. She instinctively


    clutched at her nket. Could it be


    because of Sonia?


    *Toby.¡± Tina called out to him softly. 1


    noticed that you¡¯ve been staring intently at


    your phone. Are you quite busy? Why don¡¯t


    you head back to work at the office? I¡¯m


    fine by myself.¡±


    Toby peeled his eyes off from his phone


    upon hearing that. I¡¯m not busy. I¡¯ll keep


    WH COMMy here to


    .¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tina smiled. What would you like


    to have for lunch7¡å Then, she look the initiative to order food and unlocked her phone to do that. At that


    moment, she identally click into the news app on


    her phone before she nced at the


    current news. She eximed in shock,


    ¡°Toby, have you seen the news? Miss Reed


    is in a rtionship with Charles!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I just saw that news pop up on my


    feed.¡±


    previously felt sorry toward Miss Reed


    when she insisted on getting a divorce, but


    my heart¡¯s now at peace,¡± she mentioned.


    ¡°She has finally found her own happiness


    and maybe her wedding might be held


    hefore ours.¡±


    belone ou.¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby¡¯s expression darkened


    even further as he was at a loss for words. Suddenly he responded, ¡°Charles isn¡¯t a good match for her.¡±


    Tina was momentarily stunned, but she


    soon smiled and replied, ¡°How is thai so? They grew up together. Besides, his mom


    has always treated Sonia as her daughter inw. Charles had previously mentioned


    to his bunch of friends that he was just


    waiting for Sonia to agree. Even if she


    decided to get married on a whim, he


    would be there waiting to take her as his


    wife.¡±


    ¡°Toby, are you feeling upset that Miss Reed


    has entered into another rtionship?¡± she


    questioned ainderly, her Daleplexion


    making her bok werk and TL


    ¡°No.¡± Toby denied. Whether Charles Suits her or not is none of my concern. Ever since she sent that


    message asking me to forget


    abourst night with no obligation on rtly part to be responsible, then there¡¯s no need for me to care


    about this.


    He made his way to her bedside and


    ruffled Tina¡¯s hair with his hand. Then, he


    Spoke with a low voice. ¡°Charles is known


    to be a flirt. That was just my casual


    so I have no feelings for her. You¡¯re the


    only woman whom I¡¯m concerned about


    and appreciate.¡±


    Toby leaned forward to kiss her on the


    forehead. ¡°Darling, rest well. I¡¯m sure you


    wouldn¡¯t want to attend our engagement


    ceremony in a wheelchair, right?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tina shook her head and muttered, of course not! That would be mortifying. I think I


    should skip lunch, I¡¯m worried that I won¡¯t be able to fit into any gown if I continue to maintain this


    Sedentary lifestyle. What do you want to have for lunch? I¡¯ll order some food for


    you.¡±


    Meanwhile, he tapped on his phone and


    swiftly ordered some lunch. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t


    skip your meals. I¡¯ve ordered all of your


    favorites.¡±


    *Toby, you must be intentionally trying to


    fatten me up so that I¡¯ll be ugly.¡± Tina


    pummeled him lightly with her fists and


    her tone of voice was evidently quite


    coquettish. At this moment, she leaned


    content in his arms.


    Actually, she¡¯d woken up in the middle of the night when he was sound asleep. She had attempted to


    receive the photos from


    the other party and leak them to the press. but the opposite happened. Not only did the other party


    refuse to send the photos,


    the said person even refunded the money


    fa her. Fortunately, the other audio


    recording had caused a stir in Sonia¡¯s life


    and Tina realized that she owed her


    gratitude to Charles as well.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at what you ordered.¡±


    Tina was in good spirits and she took hold


    of Toby¡¯s phone. However, when she saw


    the dishes that he ordered, her smile froze


    on her face. All these aren¡¯t my favorite


    fra


    odd¡­


    ¡°You must be surprised, huh?¡± Toby smiled. You were unconscious for many years, but you mentioned all


    of your favorite items and food in our exchange of letters. That¡¯s why I remembered everything. I know


    you love mangoes, sol ordered a mango pie too.¡±


    Those letters were burnt to a crisp, so why


    is he su obsessed with the contents of


    them and mindful of his penpal?! She tried


    hard to suppress her jealousy as she


    wrapped her arms around him while


    mentioning in a gentle voice, ¡°Toby, it¡¯s quite normal for one¡¯s taste and


    preference to change. From now on, you


    should just take note of the food |


    currently enjoy, alright?¡±


    mentioning in a gentle voice, ¡°Toby, it¡¯s quite normal for one¡¯s taste and Ife¦£¦©¦£¦¬¦§ ¦³¦§ 14¦§¦£¦§¦³¦¥¦² ¦£¦£¦°¦©¦©¦©


    ¦°¦¡¦±¦¡ ¦¥¦°, ¦Ãru should just take note of the food I currently enjoy, alright?¡±


    Without a second thought, Toby grunted his approval. Tina was quite content with


    his response. At the same time, she lifted


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    her head to stare at his lips. Suddenly, she reached out to hug him and pulled him toward her as she


    attempted to kiss him


    on the lips.

 Chapter 44

    Chapter 44


    Toby slightly moved aside on instinci.


    At this moment, the door to the hospital room was pushed open from outside before Jean made her way


    into the room with a Thermos sk in her hands. She


    was caught by surprise by the scene in front of her but soon beamed at the lovebirds ¡°Oh, it looks like


    I¡¯vee in at the wrong time. I¡¯m sorry for interrupting. Should I go and wait outside for a


    moment?¡± She made a gesture to exit and


    retreated a few steps.


    Meanwhile, Tina¡¯s face flushed red in


    response to Jean¡¯s words and she quickly


    released him from her embrace. You


    didn¡¯t interrupt anything, Madam White.


    Come on in!


    ¡°That¡¯s good then I wouldn¡¯t want to intrude.¡± Jean carried the sk into the room. ¡°I spoke to your mom


    on the phone this morning and only found out that you took a fallst night. So, I immediately made you


    some soup beforeing for a


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Visit.¡±


    She then knowingly nced at Toby. ¡°No wonder there was no news from Tobyst night despite him


    staying out all night


    long. It was because he was here taking


    care of you.¡±


    Tina suddenly recalled the text messages


    sent by Cynthiast night and she couldn¡¯t


    help feeling a burst of anger. However,


    Tina managed to hide her emotions well


    hefore she mently renlied ¡°Madam White


    before she gently replied, ¡°Madam White, don¡¯t me Toby for it. I was quite scared, so I asked him to


    stay here and take care of me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. That¡¯s his duty!¡± Meanwhile, Jean


    asked in concern, ¡°Where did you hurt yourself? Does it still hurt?


    ¡°My legs are sore, but the doctor


    mentioned that it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you should be more careful next


    time. Here, try some of this soup. This is


    quite nutritious and it¡¯s also good for your


    from the sk and served it to Tina,


    Tina epted it with a smile. ¡°Thanks, Madam White!¡±


    ¡°If you really want to exp your gratitude, why don¡¯t you try harder and


    possible?¡± Upon saying that Jean winked


    at Tina


    ¡°Madam White¡­¡± Tina lowered her head out while lezing bashful and her face flushed bright red.


    Not only was she attractive with a soft


    gentle wolce, but the main point was that


    her family background was simrly as


    strong as the Fullers. Therefore, the


    unification of their families would bring


    endless benefiis for everyone.


    Jean was rather keen for Tina lo marry


    Toby as soon as possible since she was


    quite pleased with such a soft-spoken and


    wealthy prospective daughter-inw.


    Tve been quite taken with you ever since we first met. You have such an inesistible personality!¡± At the


    same time, Jean sneered as she brought up Sonia You¡¯re Theplete opposite of Sonia! She was


    married to Toby for six years, but no one


    ¡°I read about her messy dalliances on the


    news earlier this moming! Gosh! Her dad¡¯s


    quite a character and now, she¡¯s behaving quite badly. Do you know that she actually


    recorded a video clip to defame me? if it


    wasn¡¯t for us taking her in for all these


    years, perhaps she would be living a life


    worse than a pauper! Charles doesn¡¯t have


    a good character, but he¡¯s intelligent at


    running a business. I really can¡¯tprehend how Sonia had caught his


    eyes. If I was his mom, I wouldn¡¯t ept


    such a rainhter-inw at alli


    such a daughter-inw at all!¡±


    Toby stood in silence by Tina¡¯s bedside


    and listenedas Jean had her say Meanwhile, his brows were furrowed and he felt quite ufortable.


    Indeed, the Reeds had lost theirpany. but ever since their marriage, Sonia had never requested


    anything from him. She had been the perfect, dutiful wife for the


    past six years in the Fuller Family.


    ording to their helper, Sonia had


    always gone along with Jean¡¯s words and


    rever spoke back to Jean.


    it was Jean who went to create a big fuss


    at Paradigm Co., but someone who


    worked there had filmed the scene on video. Although Toby managed to resolve


    the incident by suppressing the incident, Jean had taken offense and med Sonia instead.


    What so of he did she have wine living


    win Mom at home for those suit years?! He


    felt a dull ache in his heart upon realizing


    that.


    ¡°Mom, Sonia and I are divorced. There¡¯s no


    point bringing her up.¡± An annoyed Toby


    interrupted Jean¡¯s incessant challer. He


    grabbed his jacket on the chair and added with a cold look, ¡°Since you have so much


    spare time, why don¡¯t you stay back and


    apany Tina? I¡¯ve to attend to work, so


    ITl head back to handle them at the office.¡±


    ¡°Okay, fine. Go ahead.¡± Upon hearing his words, Jean immediately fell silent and


    didntidare continue her


    t


    .


    Meanwhile, Tinanswered in a gentle manner, ¡°T?by be careful while you¡¯re driving.¡±


    As she watched Toby walking out of the


    room, the smile on her face gradually disappeared bit by bit.


    It was only at around 3.00PM that Sonia


    finally received the other party¡¯s reply of


    ¡°okay¡± after he epted her payment.


    She couldn¡¯t seem to recall how she had


    hooked up with that guy, but it seemed like he wasn¡¯t the type to persistently disturb


    Ottone in fact, he resembled more of an all person Thar¡¯s quat loan However, there was one more thing


    that


    had around her suspicion, wo she found


    Zane¡¯s number on her contact list and dialed it after some deliberation,


    He soon answered with azy tone,


    ¡°President Reed, what can I do for you7¡±


    ¡°I know that you¡¯re one of the bosses of


    Luna Club, so I need a small favor from


    you.¡± Sonia tried to recall the bits and


    pieces that she remembered and


    mentioned, ¡°Last night, I left the room to


    throw up in the bathroom and there was a


    waiter who handed me a bottle of water as


    he walked past me at the walkway.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zane raised his voice. ¡°President


    Recd, what do you mean by thal?¡±


    After I drank that bolile of water, I don¡¯t seem to have much recollection of wat happened next.¡± She


    continued, ¡°I know my own alcohol tolcance. Besides, i threw up in the bathroom before that. How could


    it be possible for me topletely lose consciousness? I suspect that the bottle


    of water was spiked¡±


    ¡°What?l¡±He raised his brows and felt that


    things had taken an interesting twist


    Toby had just messaged Zane five minutes


    ago and it was only then that he was made


    aware of what transpired between Toby and Sonia on the upper floor of the clubst night. Furthermore,


    Zane had used


    that period of time to delete all the security


    footjal. And now, she came to him abu iltain same thing Dan¡¯t tell me Toby went to


    me me SUE ID win back serwille wid ced something m the water? Did he direct this scene to save a


    dansei in


    Meanwhile, Sonia was quite perplexed. Why did you suddenly exim?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t expect you would


    suspect someone of bribing the waiter.¡±


    Zare smile before he continued, ¡°There


    are security cameras all over the ce and


    our wait staff have undergone stringent


    background checks before being offered a


    position.¡±


    ¡°Please just ask that watter and let me


    know if you have any news.¡± Sonia warned


    him to even him from being nr. ¡°Don¡¯t ask too many questions about what you¡¯re not supposed to know!¡±


    She hung up the phone immediately after saying that.


    After work she drove back home to


    Bayside Residence. As soon as she


    stepped out of the elevator, she immediately noticed a youth, who was cl?d in school uniform, sitting


    cross legged in front of her doorsteps before her brows tightened. Why is this brat here


    again?


    Tyler heard the footsteps and he lifted his


    head to nce at her before hurriedly


    getting up from the ground. Then, he


    work?! It¡¯s already sote. I¡¯ve been sitting


    in front of your doorstep for almost half an


    head to nce at her before hurriedly getting up from the ground. Then, heined, ¡°What time do


    you finish work?! It¡¯s already sote. I¡¯ve been sitting in front of your doorstep for almost half an hour!¡±

 Chapter 45

    Chapter 45


    Don¡¯t you have a home to return to?¡± Sona scanned his face and noticed that his right cheek was


    swollen. He must have gotten into a light again. ¡°Are you seeking sce here after getting into a fight?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my sister-inw.¡±


    ¡°Former sister-inw.¡±


    ¡°Well, even if you¡¯re divorced, you¡¯re still


    my sister-inw!¡± Tyler stubbornly insisted, ¡°Hurry up and open the door. Then, make me something to


    eat. I¡¯m hungry!¡±


    ¡°Gosh, why don¡¯t you keep your mouth shut?¡± She opened the door and dragged


    him into the house by keeping a tight grip


    on his cor. Then, she took out the first aid box and applied antiseptic on his reddened and swollen


    cheek. After she¡¯d dressed his wound, she took some ingredients from the fridge to cook dinner on the


    stove for the two of them. In the


    end, she had whipped up two main dishes


    and a soup


    While Tyler ate his dinner, Sonia asked, ¡°Did you get hurt by saving a damsel in distress?


    ¡°No.¡± He took a bite of his food before he


    replied in a muffled voice, ¡°My mom


    pped me.¡±


    Sonia was stunned by his answer.


    Throughout her six years with the Fuller


    Family, she evidently saw how Jean had


    doled on Tyler and amodated each one of his whims. All this while, Jean had alway¡¯s referred to


    him as her baby and rever spoke to him with a harsh tone. Besides, Sonia had never seen Jeany a


    finger on him at all.


    After Sonia ate a slice of apple, she asked again, ¡°I thought your mom dotes on you. Why did she p


    you?¡±


    Tyler frowned in response. ¡°She told me not to go out and have fun all the time. She


    wanted me to learn from Toby and to work


    at the Fuller Group soon, but I¡¯m not


    interested in running thepany. I like


    ying basketball! What¡¯s wrong with that


    anyway?! I ended up having a row with her


    and she pped me in anger.¡±


    As Sonia could imagine the scene where


    couldn¡¯t suppress herughier.


    He red. What¡¯s so funny?!¡±


    ¡°When I was reprimanded by your mom in the past, didn¡¯t you used to gloat by the side?¡± she asked, ¡°I


    can¡¯t believe that there would be a day where your mom would actually p you! Am I not allowed to


    show my sympathy?!¡±


    Meanwhile, Tyler was quite speechless.


    After dinner, he willingly cleared the table


    and did the dishes. Then, he took a set of


    skincare products from his backpack and


    handed it to her. Although he looked like


    he wanted to appease her, his tone


    remained quite brash. ¡°I used three


    months¡¯ worth of pocket money to get this


    for you. ept this gift ande to my school this Saturday!¡±


    Sonia picked up one of the bottles and checked out the brand. It was a well known product and the cost


    of a moisturizer was close to five thousand, which meant that this entire set was worth approximately one


    hundred thousand.


    At first, she had assumed that Toby had popped by because he had nowhere else to go, but it finally


    dawned upon her that


    he had an ulterior motive for his visit


    today. ¡°Go and find Toby if you need help


    settling any mischief.¡±


    ¡°I did not get into any mischief.¡± Tyler shot


    her a look before he continued in a


    lowered voice, ¡°The coach for the national team will be here this Saturdav to select


    yers to join the team for training at the base camp, if I pass the tryouts, Then I¡¯ll be able to join the


    national team. However, they need to discuss this with my guardian¡­¡±


    Sonia finally realized what he was after and she immediately rejected, ¡°No! I no longer have any


    rtionship with your family, so I can¡¯t get involved in this..


    Besides your mom wants you to join Fuller


    Group and assist with the running of the family business in the future. She¡¯s


    definitely going to ughter me if I help


    you enter the national team.¡±


    Tll take full responsibility if anything goes


    wrong. I definitely won¡¯t implicate you!¡± He


    raised his right hand and swore an oath.


    ¡°Sonia, you¡¯re the only one who can help


    me.¡±


    I know I used to


    b e in a nude manner tawid you in the past and was disrespeciful, but that was because ! thought that


    you bullied Tima and was trying to take her spot in Tony¡¯s heart Besides, Mor kept onining about


    you, so I naturally didn¡¯t have a good


    impression of you¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it seems that you¡¯re quite happy to


    Have Tina as your sister-inw. You even


    shared the story about my tattoo with her.¡±


    She was quite annoyed upon recalling that ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and look for Tina then? I¡¯m sure she would


    be more than happy to


    help you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tyler was stunned for a moment. ¡°I


    never told her that you had a tattoo!¡±


    Sonia fixed her eyes on him. ¡°Are you sure


    that you didn¡¯t say anything to her?¡±


    She replied, ¡°If you didn¡¯t say anything, how would she have known about it?¡±


    ¡°I think she might have eavesdropped while I was talking on the phone,¡± Tyler replied with quilt: ¡°I spoke


    on the phone


    and asked my ssmate whether it hurt to


    get a tattoo done. Iined about you


    by saying that you were overly obsessed


    with Toby to the point of getting a tattoo of


    his name on your body. That¡¯s all I said.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a brat!¡± Sonia stared at him


    with a dry smile. ¡°Well, I¡¯m quite sure that


    you¡¯re Madam White¡¯s biological son.


    There are no doubts about that.¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    ¡°What do you mean by thai?¡±


    You¡¯re exacily like her. Both of you have the same mean disposition and you can¡¯t control yourself from


    bad-mouthing


    others.¡± The look of scorn in her eyes was


    quite evident. You¡¯ve somehow inherited


    all of her faults that Toby managed to


    avoid.¡±


    Tyler¡¯s face flushed bright red as he was


    angered beyond speechlessness. He was


    about to rebuke her and share his positive


    traits when the cell phone on the coffee


    table rang. The moment Tyler noticed on


    the caller ID that it was Toby, Tyler felt his


    heart sinking


    Sonia had noticed it as well and she


    immediately tapped to answer the phone


    call before she ced it on loudspeaker before Tyler could respond. ¡°President


    Fuller, did you make this call because you realized that your little brother¡¯s missing?¡±


    There was a short pause on the other end


    before a low male voice rang out¡±Tyler


    meet me at the South Entrance in three


    minutes.¡±


    *Toby, I can¡¯t make it there in three


    minutes!¡± Tyler eximed but he didn¡¯t


    dare to oppose Toby, ¡°She lives near the North Entrance¡±


    ¡°Two minutes.¡± Toby¡¯s voice sounded


    colder than before.

 Chapter 46

    Chapter 46


    While shivering in fear, Tyler quickly hung up the phone and he carried his bag on his shoulder before


    rushing toward the door. He didn¡¯t wait for Sonia to make the


    request.


    However, before leaving, he turned around and warned, ¡°You have received my gifts,


    which means that you muste to


    school and help me this Saturday! If you dare to tell Toby about this, I¡¯ll tell him that you are already


    sleeping with another man right after your divorce!¡±


    Upon listening to him, Sonia was rendered


    speechless.


    Tyler ran to the south gate as fast as he


    could-which was exactly in two minutes.


    The moment he arrived at the side of the road, he could already see Toby casually


    sitting on the driver¡¯s seat of his sports car


    as the smoke from Toby¡¯s cigarette


    lingered around his fingers.


    Tyler immediately sat on the passenger seat as he panted before he fastened his


    seatbelt.


    However, due to Toby¡¯s cold stare and gloomy aura, Tyler didn¡¯t dare to utter a word while he kept his


    head lowered.


    While waiting for the car to move on the


    road, Toby finally opened his mouth.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to look for her? Are my words a joke to you?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have any money on me¡­¡±


    ¡°There are several hotels under the Fuller Group. Did you really think that no one


    would know that you are the Young Master


    of the Fuller Family?¡± he sneered.


    ¡°My stomach has been acting funnytely, so I came to her for help. Don¡¯t you know how good your


    wife¡¯s cooking is?¡± Tyler refused to cave under Toby¡¯s line of questioning. However, the moment Tyler¡¯s


    words came out of his mouth, he seemed to realize that he had said something wrong and quickly


    corrected himself. ¡°1-L mean your ¡®ex-wife¡¯. Toby, I know that you


    two are divorced, but can¡¯t Ie to her ce for a meal? Besides, she is the one who invited me in for


    a meal. It¡¯s not like!


    forced her to do so.¡±


    Again, the man let out a sarcastic chuckle as he clearly didn¡¯t believe a word Tyler said, so Tyler carefully


    continued with his


    words. ¡°Toby, I can see that Sonia is actually a nice person.¡±


    As he hoped that Sonia coulde to school and help him out, he tried to put in


    a few good words for her in front of Toby,


    but he also believed that she was a good


    person in his heart. Sometimes, it takes our


    own eyes to judge whether a person is good or not instead of blindly listening to others.


    Upon witnessing Toby¡¯s silence, Tyler


    summoned the courage to continue


    speaking, ¡°I heard that herpany isn¡¯t doing welltely. Can you please help her? Maybe you could


    teach her on managing a business whenever you are free. After all,


    business whenever you are free. After all, she didn¡¯t ask anything from you as


    alimony when she divorced you, so her life isn¡¯t going


    well-¡°I don¡®t think I should tell him that Sonia has dated someone online before.


    After all, who doesn¡®t have a past?


    However, Toby immediately interrupted


    Tyler. ¡°Does your face still hurt?¡±


    Tyler grazed the inside of his mouth with


    his tongue and answered, ¡°It was, but once


    she applied medicine on the wound, the


    pain subsided.¡±


    ¡°When we return home, I want you to apologize to Mom. Also, you should stop ying basketball and


    focus on your studies instead.¡± Toby ced his hand on


    the car window sill as he wore a grim


    expression. ¡°When I was sixteen, Dad had


    already started assigning me to a handful


    of businesses to deal with. He even asked


    me to join thepany¡¯s management


    team.¡±


    Upon listening to him, Tyler¡¯s eyes darkened as he wanted to say something. However, Toby didn¡¯t give


    him a chance to speak and asked, ¡°Do you prefer to study abroad starting from tomorrow?¡±


    Since Tylercked the courage to go against his brother, he lowered his head


    and remained quiet.


    At the same time, Sonia didn¡¯t think much about Tyler¡¯s words as she was busy with


    meetings and paperwork.


    She asked her team to arrange a meeting


    with him to discuss the acquisition of the


    Continental Co. when Charles had the time toe over to Paradigm Co. After analyzing the means and


    methods of the


    takeover, they finally came to an


    agreement.


    If they were able to consolidate thepany, Continental Co. would be apatible asset alongside


    Paradigm Co.


    Not to mention, Sonia also had the funds


    to make her purchase.


    However, there were far too many people


    who wanted to acquire the Continental Co,


    so the owner was so frustrated that he


    went abroad for a holiday in December and


    never returned since. On top of that, he


    never answered his phone, which made it


    Sonia tried to get in touch with the owner


    of the Continental Co. for the past few


    days through her connections, but to no


    avail.


    She was close to being frustrated with the


    situation when she received numerous


    calls from Tyler in the morning, asking her


    when she woulde to his school.


    Therefore, she immediately blocked his


    number.


    However, Tyler was able to reach Sonia in


    the end after using his school¡¯sndline to


    call, but he didn¡¯t have an arrogant tone.


    There was instead a hint of plea in his


    words.¡±I¡¯ve put in a good word for you when Toby picked me up that night. Can you please help me just


    this once? I beg vou If you don¡¯te my life is


    While she listened to him, Sonia didn¡¯t


    know whether to be angry orugh. As a


    sixteen-year¨Cold brat, he has his whole life in


    front of him, but he has now given up just


    because he can¡®t y basketball anymore?


    She ruthlessly hung up the phone and ignored Tyler. However, once she was done with her work, she


    suddenly felt sorry for him when she remembered his pleas on the


    phone. After knowing him for so long, this is the first time I¡®ve seen him


    pleading to someone other than his brother.


    ¡°President Reed, are you busy?¡± Reba knocked on the open door before she entered. ¡°My granny


    hasn¡¯t been in good healthtely, so I¡¯d like to take a three day


    leave to visit her.¡±


    Upon listening to Reba mentioning her family, Sonia suddenly thought of Rose,


    whom she had stopped contacting after


    the divorce from Toby. I wonder whether she is in good health.


    ¡°Alright. If the situation is critical, I can


    also allow you to leave earlier today,¡± Sonia answered. ¡°You can also stay at home for a few more days if


    you want to. You can


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    hand me the slip afterward.¡±


    Reba¡¯s eyes immediately brightened. ¡°Wow, you really are nice, Sonia. Not only are you beautiful,


    your heart is also lovely!¡±


    However, she was not in a hurry to leave after she received the slip. Instead, she


    asked Sonia, ¡°President Reed, I have a


    poor friend who works three jobs a day. I


    really want to help him, but I¡¯m afraid of hurting his self-esteem. Can you please


    help me?¡±


    ¡°How old is he? What is he good at?¡± Sonia asked. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t know anything, he can also be a


    security guard here at Paradigm Co. I¡¯ll give him a higher sry.¡±


    Since Reba and Charles were alumni of


    the same university, she was willing to


    help Reba to take care of her friend.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already arranged everything. I just need your approval.¡± Reba smiled. ¡°I can ask him to be your


    driver. You can call


    him whenever you need to head


    somewhere and I¡¯ll help to pay for his


    It was true that Sonia needed a driver to


    transport her around from time to time. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can pay for his sry. After all, your ie isn¡¯t that


    high.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. I own a house in the city and it can be sold for quite a lot of money. The selling price


    would be enough to pay him a year¡¯s worth of sry.¡± Reba waved her hands, showing that she was


    alright with paying him.


    Sonia was startled for a moment before


    she asked, ¡°Is that your only house?¡±


    ¡°I have a few houses as well as a couple of


    vis.¡± Reba tried to remember. ¡°My mom bought all of it, but I¡¯ve lost count of how many she


    purchased. Are you looking for a house at the moment? I can sell you


    Meanwhile, Sonia was rendered


    speechless as she rubbed her head.


    Moments ago, she was worried that


    Reba¡¯s sry wasn¡¯t high enough, but it


    so happened that Reba was merely


    gaining experience through her current work. In the end, it was Sonia who was actually the poor one.


    Sonia had nned on visiting Tyler¡¯s schoolter, so she handed over her car keys to Reba. Then,


    Sonia had asked Reba¡¯s friend toe to drive her


    there.


    Fifteen minutester, Reba called.


    ¡°President Reed, he is now waiting for you downstairs. Try to be careful when you¡¯re speaking with him


    to avoid him knowing


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    After packing her stuff, Sonia left thepany and walked straight to her car before opening the door.


    ¡°Are you Reba¡¯s friend?¡± While asking


    him, she turned her head and prepared to tell the driver her destination. However, at


    the same time, the driver had also turned


    to look at her with a hint of joy in his


    narrow eyes.


    As the two of them stared at each other,


    Zane lifted his hand and waved at her.


    ¡°Hello, President Reed.¡±

 Chapter 47

    Chapter 47


    ¡°Did you tell Reba that you needed to


    work three jobs a day because you are


    from a poor family?¡± Sonia chuckled while she looked at Zane with disdain. ¡°It¡¯s such


    a shame that you are not an actor; otherwise, you will always win the Best Actor Award.¡±


    As he shrugged his shoulders, he


    exined, ¡°I went to 4S Automation to


    have my car repaired, but she thought | was an employee there. I tried to tease her, but I never expected


    her to believe me.


    Then, she rang me to give you a lift. I really


    didn¡¯t know that she works for you.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Are you now


    setting your sights on her because she is


    ¡°Please don¡¯t me me for this. She¡¯s always the first one to approach me,¡± he defended himself as if it


    was a curse to be popr with women. ¡°She¡¯s actually the


    one hitting on me.¡±


    As she listened to him, Sonia was speechless. However, when she thought about it, it really seemed that


    Reba was actually the one flirting with him.


    ¡°President Reed, where do you want to go?¡± Zane turned around to fasten his


    seatbelt. ¡°This is my first time driving


    someone, but I never expected to be driving in such a beat-up car. You really are


    lucky.¡± When the car started, he couldn¡¯t help but ridicule Toby again. ¡°The wheel feels so bad. This really


    is a sh*t car. What a d*ck move from Toby! How can he


    himself drive a Maybach without leaving you a sports car after the divorce?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me back after I asked for your help?¡± Sonia calmly changed the topic of


    conversation.


    Zane gave her a strange look. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with the waiters and


    water, so there was no point in me


    returning your call. I¡¯ve seen the


    surveince video that night when you stumbled out of the washroom. It¡¯s obvious that you are drunk.


    You¡¯re thinking too much.¡± Then, he let out a chuckle and


    teased, ¡°Miss Reed, you were quite bravest night. Is that the first time Toby has


    seen you like that?¡±


    There was a moment of silence since she


    There was a moment of silence since she was embarrassed by his words. She was


    afraid that he would talk nonsense, but in the end, he had used his position as the co-owner of the club


    to watch the


    surveince video!


    ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing wrong with the


    water, we¡¯ll leave it as such. I want to head


    to Seafield High School. I¡¯m a bit tired, so


    I¡¯ll take a nap first. Wake me up when we arrive there.¡± After that, Sonia pretended to sleep and ignored


    Zane.


    Concurrently, over at the Gray Group, Titus


    had just received the news that Sonia¡¯s Paradigm Co. was interested in acquiring Continental Co. On top


    of that, she was


    now trying to get in touch with the owner


    through her connections. I didn¡®t expect her


    ¡°However, no matter how capable she is,


    Paradigm Co. will still fall with just a push!¡± He gave a cold smile while spreading the news to


    others. This time, / must destroy Paradigm Co. once and for all!


    Titus couldn¡¯t wait to end Paradigm Co.


    once and for all in memory of histe


    eldest daughter.


    As soon as he gave out his orders, the


    The background of the video had good lighting, so he could clearly see the dying


    person on the floor. The said person was


    wearing a blood-stained uniform of the


    Luna Club.


    While looking at the man, Titus¡¯ pupils


    suddenly dted. He is the person who I was trying to get in touch with. Why is he in the video?


    In the meantime, the waiter lying on the


    floor groaned with hisst breath as he


    was obviously in pain. Soon after, a tall man in a fox mask appeared in the video.


    Then, the masked man looked straight at Titus through the camera with his cold eyes. ¡°Hello, President


    Gray.¡±


    ¡°Who are you? How did you hack into my


    Titus tried to shut down theputer, but


    no matter how hard he pressed the power


    button, it was to no avail.


    The man in the fox mask chuckled in a low


    yet sexy voice. ¡°Not only can I hack into


    yourpany¡¯s server, the phones


    belonging to you and your wife aren¡¯t safe


    either because I can easily hack into


    anything. The reason why I came to you


    today is to warn you.¡±


    After that, he casually yanked the waiter from the floor with his slender fingers before slicing thetter¡¯s


    neck with a knife, which caused Titus to shiver in fear.


    ¡°President Gray, you should never y the same trick twice because it just annoys


    me.¡± The man threw aside the dead body


    in his hand before he came to the front of


    ¡°President Gray, you should never y the same trick twice because it just annoys me.¡± The man threw


    aside the dead body in his hand before he came to the front of the camera and spoke in a chilling voice


    that came straight from hell, ¡°If you dare toy your hands on Paradigm Co. or Sonia again, you will meet


    the same fate as him.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Titus¡¯ voice trembled as he couldn¡¯t


    utter a


    word. For the past few years, my men have always kept their eyes on Sonia, so I know that she rarely so


    cializes. She has very few friends because she has been a full-


    time housewife ever since she married Toby. Charles wouldn¡®t dare to do such a thing to


    me, so who is this man in the video? Why is he so protective of Sonia?


    While looking at Titus¡¯ terrified expression,


    While looking at Titus¡¯ terrified expression, the masked man seemed to be satisfied


    on the other end of the video. ¡°The 300


    million will be given to Sonia aspensation. As for the other gift, I¡¯ll ask someone to send it to the


    Gray Group in the near future. Goodbye, President Gray.¡± The man appeared to be in a good mood


    as he waved at Titus with his blood


    stained hand like a devil.


    The video suddenly disappeared from the


    desktop a secondter.


    Meanwhile, Titus was staring at the stillputer as if that video, which was


    broadcasted a few minutes ago, was


    merely an illusion. However, his body was also shivering in fear at the same time.


    What does he mean by that 300 millionpensation? As he thought about it, he couldn¡¯t help butugh


    in his heart. Why


    would I suddenly decide to give money to


    Sonia? He then received a call from the finance department of the Norfolk branch.


    The treasurer stuttered, ¡°P-President Gray, something bad has happened. The money from our ount


    was stolen¡­¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Titus jumped up from his chair in


    shock. ¡°How much money was taken?¡±


    ¡°3-300 million¡­¡±


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I notified earlier about this?


    What did I hire all of you for?¡± he yelled while trembling with anger and almost passing out.


    So, this is what that man


    meant by the 300 millionpensation!


    Then, Titus began to be frightened by what the man could do since it was difficult to


    catch someone operating in the dark.


    With hisst breath, he immediately called his subordinates to unwillingly give out his orders. ¡°Withdraw


    everything including the news. I don¡¯t want anything happening to


    the Paradigm Co!¡±


    ¡°President Gray, didn¡¯t you tell us to inform you when we are done with everything? What¡¯s going on


    now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you now to withdraw


    everything, so do it immediately! If anything happens to Paradigm Co, you can all kiss your job goodbye!¡±


    he shouted.


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Titus¡¯ heart was starting to ache, but when he finally calmed himself down, he received an urgent call


    from the Fredburg branch.


    ¡°P-President Gray, the ountant ran


    away with 200 million¡­¡± the person on the


    other end stuttered. ¡°He took a ne to


    Adristanst night¡­¡±


    As Titus listened to the news, he fell silent.


    His vision started to fade as he was on the


    brink of spitting blood from his


    mouth. Didn¡®t the man say that he was taking 300 million aspensation? Why did he take


    another 200 million from me? Damn you!


    After losing hundreds of millions all at


    away with 200 million¡­¡± the person on the other end stuttered. ¡°He took a ne to


    Adristanst night¡­¡±


    As Titus listened to the news, he fell silent. His vision started to fade as he was on the


    brink of spitting blood from his mouth.


    Didn¡®t the man say that he was taking 300 million aspensation? Why did he take


    another 200 million from me? Damn you!


    After losing hundreds of millions all at once, his body could no longer cope with the intensity of his anger.


    As his blood


    pressure soared, he copsed on the desk before he could even utter a word.


    ¡°President Gray? Are you listening?¡± the person on the other end asked.

 Chapter 48

    Chapter 48


    Sonia pretended to be asleep to avoid


    talking to Zane.


    When they were about to arrive at Seafield


    High School, she took out her phone to ask


    Tyler where he was, but she saw the


    business-rted news from her news app


    instead.


    As it turned out, two executives from the


    Gray Group¡¯s Norfolk and Fredburg branches had siphoned off 500 million of


    thepany¡¯s money, causing Titus to pass out in anger.


    There was also a photo included below the article of him being sent to the


    hospital. Someone has stolen Titus¡® money? Great!


    As she read the news, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but p her hands and she even wanted to thank the two


    executives who fled with Titus¡¯ money.


    Ever since she discovered that her family¡¯s bankruptcy had something to do with Titus, she had been


    trying to gather evidence to help clear her father¡¯s name, but she couldn¡¯t locate anything in the end.


    Therefore, she was delighted to see Titus being admitted to the hospital.


    When the car arrived at the school gates, Zane parked the car and unfastened his seatbelt while asking


    Sonia, ¡°What are you


    here for? If I remember correctly, you stopped contacting your rtives when your family went bankrupt.¡±


    She nced at him before she answered,


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you care about me so


    much that you even investigated my background.¡±


    ¡°The two of us are business partners, so it¡¯s normal for me to look into you to


    protect my own interest. What¡¯s the problem, President Reed? Do you really think I fancy you that


    much?¡± He chuckled and smirked, but she ignored him. ¡°It¡¯s fine if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. I quite like


    the idea of dating my best friend¡¯s ex-wife just to see how different it feels from dating other women.¡±


    While listening to Zane, Sonia found herself speechless.


    Compared to him, I would much rather be with Charles.


    She ignored his words and went to report


    Tvler¡¯s name to the school¡¯s security guard


    She ignored his words and went to report Tyler¡¯s name to the school¡¯s security guard before writing


    ¡®family member¡¯ in the


    visitor column on the logbook.


    Then, her phone vibrated and she received a new message informing that a sum of money had been


    credited into her bank


    ount.


    The moment Sonia saw the amount of


    money transferred to her, she was


    instantly dumbfounded. 100 million? Could


    it be that somepany has identally transferred their project fund to me?


    While she was in a state of shock, she


    received another message from Carl on


    Messenger.


    Carl: ¡®Sonia, I¡¯ve recently taken a few jobs


    Carl: ¡®Sonia, I¡¯ve recently taken a few jobs and made a lot of money. I can¡¯t find anywhere else to spend


    it, so you can take it in case yourpany needs the fund!


    Sonia: ¡®You have just arrived at Palmont. What kind of job did you get that pays you


    this much?¡¯


    Then, scenes of him subduing the difficult shareholders with his gentle tone when he apanied her to


    Paradigm Co. and the store manager¡¯s respectful attitude toward him when they went to the mall started


    to sh through her mind.


    As she reflected on what Charles had


    previously said to her, she began to


    suspect Carl. Is he really just a model?


    Before Carl even had the chance to reply to


    Sonia, she sent him another message: ¡®Two executives from the Norfolk and


    Fredburg branches of Gray Group have stolen 500 million. Carl, does this have anything to do with you?¡¯


    After a few seconds, he replied: ¡®You mean


    to say that someone has stolen Titus¡¯


    money? Well, that¡¯s too bad for him. Sonia,


    I¡¯m just a model and I don¡¯t even


    understand how the corporate world works. Besides, I don¡¯t know any executives from Gray Group, so


    how could | possibly be able to ask them to steal


    Titus¡¯ money?¡®


    He quickly followed up on his text with a


    picture of his contract.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Carl: ¡®Sonia, this is my contract with the


    Carl: ¡®Sonia, this is my contract with the


    stated there is of the same amount that I


    have transferred to you?¡±


    Sonia read his contract in detail before she


    let out a sigh of relief. However, at the


    same time, she felt that she had gone overboard. Then, she texted, I¡¯m sorry,


    Carl. I shouldn¡¯t have suspected you of


    doing something illegal. After all, you¡¯re only worried about me and thepany¡¯


    Carl: ¡®It¡¯s fine. Sonia, I can¡¯t return to


    Seafield for the New Year, so you must remember to take care of yourself.¡±


    Sonia: ¡®Okay, you should also look after yourself while you are abroad!


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot of money for a model. Looks like he cares a lot about you.¡± Zane¡¯s voice suddenly


    came to her ear. ¡°Not only


    is he young, he also treats you well. He¡¯d


    be the best candidate to be your second husband.¡±


    ¡°He is more like my brother.¡± Sonia exited


    the chat box before she red at him for peeking at her chat. ¡°He ns to buy Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares


    with this amount of


    money.¡±


    She felt that she couldn¡¯t take Carl¡¯s money for nothing, so she decided to give him half of Paradigm


    Co.¡¯s shares.


    ¡°That¡¯s a smart move. He knows that if you


    want to get a girl, you need to get closer to her first,¡± Zane sneered. ¡°President Reed,


    how much does your shares cost? Why don¡¯t I toss my hat in the ring too?¡±


    However, she ignored him and asked the


    guard where the basketball court was


    before she left.


    Over at the basketball court, the basketball


    coach from the national team had already


    scouted a few students and talked to their


    parents since 10:00AM.


    Only Tyler¡¯s family members hadn¡¯t arrived.


    Looking at the time, the coach went over to him and asked, ¡°Tyler, why isn¡¯t your family here yet? I¡¯ve


    already waited another half an hour for you.¡±


    Tyler only looked outside the basketball


    court without saying a word. He had been trying to call Sonia since this morning, but she kept rejecting


    his call. She still isn¡®t here. Looks like she won¡®te to help me.


    ¡°You are a talented boy with loads of


    potential. I really like you, but I still need to talk with your family.¡± The couch patted Tyler¡¯s shoulder


    pitifully. ¡°If your family disagrees with you ying basketball, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± After clenching his


    fists for a while, Tyler murmured, ¡°Can you please wait for a moment? I¡¯ll make another call-¡±


    ¡°Tyler, the couch has already given you another hour. If your family isn¡¯t here yet, it¡¯s obvious that they


    don¡¯t agree with you ying basketball. I think you should stop


    wasting the coach¡¯s time and let him head home to rest!¡± a boy taunted.


    Beside him were a few other boys who


    smiled with satisfaction since all of them


    had signed up for the trials.


    Without saying a word, Tyler stared at the boy who taunted him.


    ¡°Why are you staring at me? Did I just


    reveal your little secret?¡± The boy smiled as he continued to tease Tyler. ¡°Sigh! What¡¯s the point of being


    the Young Master of the Fuller Family if you must obey your family¡¯s orders and can¡¯t even y


    basketball? Such a pity.¡± With that, he shook his head and the boys next to him started tough.


    ¡°I dare you to say that one more time!¡±


    Tyler shouted as he angrily rushed to fight with the boys.


    ¡°Hey, what do you think you are doing? How dare you try to fight with my son.¡± The boy¡¯s mother stood


    between them and stared at Tyler with arms akimbo. ¡°You little brat. Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m afraid of you just


    because you are from the Fuller


    Family. I dare you to hit him right now!¡±


    CO


    The coach quickly went up to stop Tyler from reacting as well as resolve the confrontation. ¡°Alright. Since


    you have all signed the contract, you should tell your parents,¡±


    The cold voice of a woman was suddenly


    heard. ¡°It seems like that little boy is the


    Everyone in the basketball court looked toward the entrance and saw a slender


    woman in a ck coat enter. She had a gentle and refined aura while the young man following her from


    behind was handsome and stylish.


    She finally came. Tyler¡¯s eyes immediately brightened, but when he saw Zane behind the woman, he


    instantly felt nervous. Sh*t! Did she tell Toby


    everything, which is why he sent Zane here to bring me home?


    When the boy¡¯s mother heard Sonia¡¯s


    words, she furrowed her brows and red


    at Sonia. ¡°Who did you say is pitiful?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m referring to you and your


    son.¡± Sonia stood firm in front of the


    woman while her red lips slightly quirked


    woman while her red lips slightly quirked up. ¡°My brother is the Young Master of the


    Fuller Family, so he definitely isn¡¯t pitiful.


    He has millions of fortune at his disposal


    and he doesn¡¯t even need to do everything by himself.¡± Then, she lifted her chin and


    asked the boy, ¡°Little boy, have you ever


    been in a helicopter?¡±


    The boy consciously shook his head. ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s such a pity that you have never been in a helicopter before.¡± Sonia shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a surprise, though. After all, your


    parents are just employees and they don¡¯t


    have a lot of money, so it¡¯s impossible for


    you to understand what pleasure is. You


    will also continue to work for someone


    else in the future.¡±

 Chapter 49

    Chapter 49


    ¡°Basketball is just his hobby. If he decides


    to give up, he can still return home and live


    a luxurious life. As for you, the reason why


    you are ying basketball is to earn a living. Besides, this is just a trial. There¡¯s no guarantee that you¡¯ll


    get picked for the team.¡± While looking at the boy¡¯s sad eyes, Sonia sarcastically added, ¡°Such a pity.¡±


    However, his mother¡¯s face had already darkened in anger. ¡°Y-You!¡±


    After seeing how the usually calm Sonia managed to anger those people without breaking a sweat, Tyler


    felt especially


    delighted in his heart.


    When she came toward him, his body


    When she came toward him, his body trembled as he rushed toward her and yanked the sleeves of her


    coat. He then quietly begged, ¡°I really want to keep on ying basketball. Please don¡¯t let Zane


    bring me home. Let me participate in the


    trial.¡±


    ¡°When did I say that Zane¡¯s here to bring you home?¡± Sonia tilted her head and nced at him. ¡°Or, did


    you really want to


    head back with him?¡±


    For a moment, Tyler was dumbfounded. ¡°Then, why is he here.¡±


    ¡°I asked him to send me over.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Tyler patted his chest. ¡°I thought


    that he came to bring me home, which


    made me scared for a moment.¡±


    However, Sonia ignored him and she went to shake hands with the coach. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Tyler¡¯s sister and I


    apologize for beingte I had something to deal with at mypany, which is why I only managed to


    rush over now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. What¡¯s important is that you are


    here.¡± After he shook her hand, the coach


    handed the contract to her. ¡°Tyler really is


    a talented boy. He¡¯ll definitely pass the trials! Don¡¯t worry about handing him over to me. I¡¯ll take good


    care of him.¡±


    With a smile, she replied, ¡°That¡¯s all the


    assurance I need.¡±


    Just as Sonia was about to sign the contract, the guardians behind her


    Just as Sonia was about to sign the


    contract, the guardians behind her suddenly rose to their full height one by


    one and raised their voices. ¡°He looks so average when I saw him y either. He¡¯s


    not even better than my son, so why does he deserve to join the trials?¡±


    .


    ¡°She¡¯s right. His skills aren¡¯t special at all!¡±


    ill


    CH


    nie


    w


    Now that he observed the situation, the coach had no choice but to calmly exin to the other parents,


    ¡°I¡¯m the coach here, so I¡¯m sure how skillful the students are at the game. Tyler is indeed talented¡±


    illne


    WW


    ¡°Coach, did his brother ask to see you before?¡± a parent asked tentatively, but her intention couldn¡¯t be


    much clearer.


    The coach was rendered speechless for a


    moment after he heard the question.


    ¡°W-What the hell are you talking about?!¡± Tyler almost swore in front of everyone as he gritted his teeth


    in anger. ¡°The truth is that I¡¯m good at ying basketball. What does that have to do with my brother?


    Stop ndering others!¡±


    ¡°Tyler, we also feel that you are actually not that good at basketball.¡± A few of the boys who had just


    signed the contract also made their voices heard.


    ¡°Hey, you guys¡­¡± The coach was afraid that if he said the wrong word, the situation would escte.


    Upon seeing the helplessness on his face, Sonia¡¯s eyes narrowed as she put down


    Upon seeing the helplessness on his face,


    Sonia¡¯s eyes narrowed as she put down her pen and shouted at Tyler, ¡°Tyler, since


    your schoolmates feel that you are not that good at basketball, why don¡¯t you y


    a game with them?¡± Then, she turned


    toward those boys and asked, ¡°How about


    we y a game? The best out of three


    wins.¡±


    ¡°Bring it on!¡± Since all the students were chosen by the coach of the national team, they weren¡¯t far


    behind in terms of ability to y basketball, so they were definitely not afraid to y against Tyler.


    ¡°That settles it.¡± Sonia turned toward the coach and apologized, ¡°Coach, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll have to take up


    a bit of your time.¡±


    However, the coach could see that she


    was trying to resolve the situation, so he


    sighed in relief. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Besides, I want


    to observe the students a little bit more to


    see what position suits them the most.¡±


    Soon after, the coach arranged the yers for each team and their respective


    position.


    In the meantime, Sonia gave Tyler a towel to wipe his hands. ¡°I want you to seriously y this match. If


    you win, I¡¯ll help you to sign the contract for the trials, but if you lose, all of us will be embarrassed and


    you might even earn a p when you return


    home.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint my brother.¡± His eyes were firm and filled with passion. ¡°I will win


    this!¡±


    Even though it was just a friendlypetition between schoolmates, she


    was able to see the passion burning inside


    the young man¡¯s eyes.


    The Toby whom she met was always calm


    and restrained when he dealt with every


    situation, but the young man in front of her now was filled with passion. He looks like a


    As Sonia suppressed the emotions inside her heart, she murmured, ¡°Go on. I hope that I didn¡¯te


    here for nothing.¡±


    Tyler nodded his head and quickly entered


    the court.


    Meanwhile, Zane was quietly listening to


    their conversation on the sidelines as he


    12:37 PIV


    2.4KB/S 9


    their conversation on the sidelines as he


    had entered after her. However, he didn¡¯t expect her to be so bold as to sign Tyler¡¯s basketball contract


    as a family member


    without Toby¡¯s approval.


    While Sonia and Tyler spoke to each other


    earlier, Zane had even secretly recorded its


    contents.


    It took a while before the match began and


    right after Tyler scored, Sonia cheered


    loudly without paying attention to her


    reputation. As she gave her support to him, Zane suddenly asked, ¡°The n is for Tyler to join the Fuller


    Group in the future


    to help the family business. Aren¡¯t you afraid that Toby may me you for signing the contract and


    allowing Tyler to y


    basketball?¡±


    ¡°If he wants to me me, let hime to me.¡± Her eyes were still following Tyler¡¯s movements as she


    took a deep breath. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m already the viin inside his heart and it¡¯s also time for him to reflect


    on himself.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Zane raised his brows. ¡°What does he have to reflect on?¡±


    After Tyler missed a shot, Sophia calmed down before she answered, ¡°He should reflect on how to be a


    brother and see what kind of life that Tyler wants.


    Otherwise, it¡¯ll be something he¡¯ll regret in


    the future.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, President Reed,¡±


    Zane concurred.


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, President Reed,¡±


    Zane concurred.


    The moment he was done with his recording, he opened his Messenger and


    sent the two videos to Toby.


    As he sat in his office, Toby¡¯s eyes slightly darkened the moment he saw Zane¡¯s


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    message.

 Chapter 50

    Chapter 50


    Toby then clicked on the first video.


    He could see Sonia calmly calling out the other parents and when they questioned Tyler¡¯s ability to y


    basketball, she immediately asked the other boys topete in a best of three


    match. Looks like Tyler went to her that day because he wanted to join the trials. He didn¡®t dare to


    her help.


    Toby furrowed his brows slightly as he was dissatisfied with her secretly helping Tyler at school, but he


    was patient enough to finish watching the video first.


    ¡°I want you to seriously y the match.


    You are disappointing your brother if you


    lose the game.¡±


    In the video, Sonia handed a towel to the young man and talked to him for a moment. When she lifted


    her head to look at him, her eyes were locked on his face for a few seconds. However, since Zane had


    recorded them from an angle, Toby couldn¡¯t see her facial expression.


    When he finished watching the video, he clicked on the second one.


    In this second video, she continued to lend her support to Tyler while she spoke in a calming tone, ¡°If he


    wants to me me, let hime to me. It¡¯s time for him to reflect


    on himself. He should reflect on how to be a brother and see what kind of life that


    Tyler wants. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be something he¡¯ll regret in the future.¡±


    This woman... Not only is she secretly helping Tyler, she is now asking me to reflect on myself? As Toby


    thought about it,


    he didn¡¯t know whether tough or to be


    angry.


    Inside the huge office, there was another man in a baseball cap along with Tom other than Toby.


    At this moment, the third man was


    standing with his head down in fear in


    front of the mahogany desk.


    When he felt that Toby¡¯s aura had grown


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    colder, his body couldn¡¯t help but tremble


    as he murmured, ¡°P-President Fuller, it was


    Miss Gray who came to me on her own ord that night and asked me to install the recorder in that


    room¡­ I only took a total of 200,000 and it¡¯s all in this card. I


    haven¡¯t even touched a cent.¡± With that, the man ced a bank card on the desk.


    Toby still remained silent and the man was starting to feel an invisible pressure


    weighing down on him even after he had exined the entire situation.


    ¡°P-President Fuller, I¡¯m sorry. Please have mercy and forgive me.¡± The man¡¯s trembling knees were on


    the brink of touching the floor. ¡°From now on, no


    matter what Miss Gray tells me to do, I¡¯ll


    immediately report to you.¡±


    Then, Toby diverted his eyes from the


    Then, Toby diverted his eyes from the


    phone and he lifted his head to look at the


    man. ¡°How long was the recording?¡±


    When Zane examined the surveince


    video earlier, he saw a man secretly


    took him some investigation before he


    learned that the said person was a junior reporter from a certain newspaper who would usually ept


    shady jobs like this to earn extra. Therefore, they suspected that it was the junior reporter who leaked the


    recording


    An hour ago, Toby asked Tom to bring the


    man over to the office. The moment the


    reporter stepped into the room, he immediately confessed to everything before Toby even had the


    chance to


    question him


    ¡°It¡¯s 40 minutes long,¡± the man immediately answered. ¡°I ced the recorder inside the room when no


    one was


    there. Also, the leaked audio has been edited before.¡± He quickly took out the recorder from his bag and


    ced it on the desk. ¡°This is the recorder and I promise you that I didn¡¯t make any copies.¡±


    Toby picked up the recorder with


    confusion. The car crash 6 years ago and


    the recent incident with the reporter slowly


    fueled the suspicion in his heart. Is this


    gentle yet ruthless woman who caused a


    car crash to marry me really the ¡®Maple who


    exchanged correspondence with me 6 years


    ago?


    As Toby had previously exchanged countless letters with Maple, he was able to learn about all her


    interests.


    The girl in the letters was passionate and


    enthusiastic about life. The two of them would often share the same thoughts, but


    ever since Tina regained consciousness,


    he could never engage in a conversation


    with her as if she was far away even though she was always by his side.


    After thinking for a long while, he broke the recorder and destroyed the tiny chip


    inside. He threw the recorder into the trash can and spoke in a deep tone, ¡°I¡¯m only giving you an hour to


    pack up all your stuff and leave Seafield. Once you have left, ||


    don¡¯t want you back in Seafield ever again.


    If she asks about you, tell her that you


    The girl in the letters was passionate and enthusiastic about life. The two of them would often share the


    same thoughts, but


    ever since Tina regained consciousness,


    he could never engage in a conversation


    with her as if she was far away even


    though she was always by his side.


    After thinking for a long while, he broke the


    recorder and destroyed the tiny chip


    inside. He threw the recorder into the trash


    can and spoke in a deep tone, ¡°I¡¯m only giving you an hour to pack up all your stuff and leave Seafield.


    Once you have left, I


    don¡¯t want you back in Seafield ever again. If she asks about you, tell her that you have epted a job


    outside the city. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes. You can be rest assured. I won¡¯t


    reveal anything to Miss Gray.¡± Upon seeing


    that he had just escaped death, the man


    let out a sigh of relief. However, as he was


    about to leave, he was halted by Toby.


    ¡°Take it.¡± Toby pointed at the card on the


    desk.


    ¡°Thank you, President Fuller. Thank you


    very much!¡± The man continued to thank Toby. After he took the card, he bowed to Tom before quickly


    leaving the office.


    Meanwhile, Tom, who had been stoically


    listening to the entire conversation, couldn¡¯t help but


    sigh. Sigh! You will never truly know someone until you get along with the person. I can¡®t believe that the


    seemingly kind¨Chearted Miss Gray would do something like this. I just feel so sorry for


    Miss Reed!


    The moment that the reporter had left, Tom approached Toby and reported, ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve


    discovered the whereabouts of Continental Co.¡¯s owner. He is currently at Mt. Buller Resort.¡±


    Toby grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you may take your leave.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, when I visited the Gray


    Residence with you earlier, I noticed that


    their staircase was covered with imported Persian carpet that feels extremely soft,¡± Tom exined. ¡°Also,


    the chandeliers above the stairs were dazzling. You can easily see the steps when you¡¯re walking


    down.¡±


    However, what he actually meant to say was that even if Tina was blind, it would still be arduous for her


    to fall from those stairs. That was the reason why it was slightly unbelievable that she had tripped and


    knocked her head against the


    handrail.


    Toby remained silent.


    He had also suspected the circumstances


    surrounding her ident before. However, when he saw her pitiful and pale face when shey on the


    hospital bed, his heart softened and he gave up on his intention to ask her. ¡°I understand.¡± His voice


    grew colder. ¡°You can leave now.¡±


    After that, Tom silently left the office.


    Toby sat in his office alone for what seemed like eternity and he did not move as his cold eyes stared at


    the document revealing the current whereabouts of Continental Co.¡¯s owner.


    It was only a long whileter that he picked up his phone and opened his Messenger to send the


    information to


    Sonia


    Meanwhile, on the basketball court, Tyler had scored just in time to win the match 3-2. Outside the court,


    Sonia nced at the faces of the other parents and she


    sneered, ¡°If you don¡¯t have the talent, please don¡¯t boast about it to others. You¡¯re only making fools out


    of yourself.¡±

 Chapter 51

    Chapter 51


    All of the parents were so angry that they


    were speechless.


    ¡°I won! I won!¡± Tyler ran toward Sonia while he was still panting, but there was an obvious hint of


    excitement in his voice. ¡°I looked so good when I smashed the ball just now! Did you see it? Did you take


    a photo of it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She brushed her hair emotionlessly,


    as if the person who cheered for him just


    now wasn¡¯t her at all.


    ¡°Y¨CYou are lying. I could clearly see you-¡±


    ¡°You were ying for yourself and your


    brother. It has nothing to do with me, so


    why should I look? Alright, now. Stop blocking me. I need to help you sign that contract.¡± She pushed him


    aside and walked toward the coach before switching to a more polite tone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for taking up your


    time.¡±


    Listening to her, Tyler was speechless.


    Meanwhile, Zane took a photo of Tyler¡¯s shocked expression before wrapping his arm across thetter¡¯s


    shoulders and asked, ¡°I heard that you bullied her every day when she was in the Fuller Residence.


    Now, the tables have turned. How does it feel being bullied by her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a man so I won¡¯t argue with her!¡± Tyler


    let out a grunt.


    ¡°What are you standing there for?¡± Suddenly, Sonia turned around and rolled her eyes at him.


    Don¡¯t you want to continue ying basketball? Come over and sign the contract!¡±


    Since it was a big deal in his life, Tyler


    quickly ran over and signed the contract.


    Then, the coach informed the students


    and their parents that a car would be sent


    over to pick them up to the training base


    by then. After a few conversations, the


    coach left with his team and the parents


    also left with their children.


    Sonia and Tyler left the basketball court, and thetter kept on flipping the contract


    in his hands as if this was all a dream.


    Actually, when Sonia declined his call this


    evening, Tyler had called Tina instead, asking for her help.


    However, she tactfully told him that she was still recovering in the hospital, so it was inconvenient for her


    to help. ¡°Tyler, you should listen to your brother and stop making him angry.¡±


    As Tyler was about to give up all hope,


    Sonia arrived in the end.


    Not only did she help him teach those parents a lesson, she stood firmly on his


    side and without making him fear Toby, she said to him, ¡°I want you to y this game seriously.¡±


    As Tyler lifted his head and stared at Sonia


    in front of him, his eyes seemed to be shrouded in golden light even though the sky had darkened and


    the sun was already gone. Yet, he looked at her in awe, as if she


    was his savior.


    After shoving the contract into his bag, he caught up to her and walked alongside her. ¡°Sonia, you look


    so good in this outfit today and it really brings out your figure. No supermodel can outshine you!¡±


    Listening to his words, Sonia was left speechless. The moment she turned


    around and saw the gullible sincerity in his eyes, she could feel the goosebumps all


    over her body


    While rubbing her arm, she said, ¡°I¡¯m not a


    part of the family anymore, so you should


    OOO OOODS.


    So


    call me Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed.¡± He was quick to change


    his words.


    After she helped him out so much, he wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to call her his


    mother at the moment.


    When they arrived in front of the car, he quickly took a step forward to open the back door of the car.


    ¡°Miss Reed, please have a seat. Be careful with your head.¡±


    Sonia, on the other hand, felt awkward


    about the situation, so she quickly got into


    the car.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zane came over and nudged Tyler. ¡°Why are you so attentive


    with her? Do you actually fancy your ex


    sister-inw?¡± he asked with great interest.


    ¡°What are you thinking about? I¡¯m only


    sixteen!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± He flicked the soot of his cigarette and continued teasing Tyler. ¡°You are young,


    energetic and much better than your brother because you are passionate. Maybe she likes you.¡±


    Meanwhile, Tyler¡¯s face was burning red as


    he angrily sat on the passenger seat without uttering a word.


    When they were talking, Sonia just so happened to lower the car window to get some fresh air, so she


    heard every word


    they said and was rendered speechless by


    Zane¡¯s teasing.


    OOO0I.


    It¡¯s hard to believe that an indifferent person like Toby would be


    good friends with a guy like Zane. Nothing makes sense!


    She rubbed her temples to ease the headache before taking her phone out to see if there was any work


    left to deal with, but she realized that she had received a few messages, one of which was from Z


    1. H.


    She wondered who this person was since she didn¡¯t set a name for the number but


    after clicking in, she immediately saw the 88888 transfer above.


    After he replied to me that day, I probably


    had so many things to deal with that I


    forgot to delete his contact.


    Just as she was about to delete the


    person, she saw the message he sent her


    OO


    SOOO OOODS.


    30 minutes ago: ¡®The owner of the Continental Co. is currently at Mt Buller Resort.¡¯


    Z-H also shared the location with her.


    How did he find out about the whereabouts


    of the owner?


    Therefore, she sent a message to him, ¡®Who are you? How did you know that I¡¯m looking for the owner


    of the Continental Co? Are you looking into me?¡¯


    Far away inside the Fuller Group¡¯s office, Toby furrowed his brows slightly when he


    received her message.


    She didn¡®t recognize me that night? To be fair, she was really drunk that night, so she


    probably cked out afterward and forgot


    everything the next day


    everything the next day.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Just as he was about to send the word


    ¡®Toby¡¯ that he just typed, he suddenly remembered that the two of them were


    divorced. If she finds out what happened that night, she¡®ll definitely feel so


    embarrassed that she won¡®t ept my help.


    In the end, he deleted his name and


    retyped the message before sending it to


    her.


    Z-H: I¡¯m Zane¡¯s friend and I know about you through him. He told me that you are his business partner,


    so I want to help you acquire the Continental Co.. A friend of


    mine just so happened to meet the owner


    when he went on a holiday at the Mt Buller


    Resort, so he kept on bragging about it in


    O


    our chat group. Since you gave me quite a lot of money thest time, you can have


    this information for free.¡¯


    After carefully reading the man¡¯s message, Sonia finally put her guard down.


    Looks like he is just Zane¡®s friend.


    After thanking the man, she quickly lifted


    her head and stared at Zane, who was driving, her eyes full of doubt.


    Why would Zane¡®s friend just so happen to appear in front of me that night? Plus, I even


    threw myself into his arms and...


    Meanwhile, Zane seemed to realize that


    she was staring at him, so he stopped his conversation with Tyler and nced at her through the rear-


    view mirror. ¡°President


    Reed, what kind of expression is that? Could it be that you are moved by what I just told you?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Tyler quickly asked him. ¡°What did you tell her? Why would she be


    moved?¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± Zane raised his brows and purposely spoke slowly. ¡°Just a few moments


    ago, I told her that I¡¯m better and more handsome than your brother,¡±


    ¡°Mr. Coleman, if you don¡¯t want to drive the car, you can always get the hell out. I¡¯ll


    drive myself!¡± She could no longer stand


    him.


    After letting out a grunt, he didn¡¯t continue


    with his words. Instead, he turned to Tyler and said, ¡°There is a saying that you¡¯ll be the person you


    are living with Don¡¯t you think that Miss Reed¡¯s


    temperament is simr to your brother¡¯s after she spent six years of her life with


    him?¡±


    As Tyler thought about it, he nodded. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia was rendered


    speechless as she listened to the two of


    them. I really want to grab a roll of tape underneath the seat and seal that mouth of


    his!

 Chapter 52

    Chapter 52


    Tyler spent a huge amount of money to treat Sonia and Zane to dinner, and he was evidently quite proud


    of himself as he swaggered into the house.


    He had already signed the contract for tryouts. Meanwhile, both Zane and Sonia had promised to keep


    this a secret for the time being. By the time he passed tryouts and officially joined the national basketball


    team, Tyler would no longer be fearful of Toby¡¯s wrath because it would be insignificant. And so, Tyler


    hummed a tune as he walked into the foyer to change into his bedroom slippers. However, he entered


    the living room and was caught by surprise upon seeing Toby sitting on the couch.


    Thetter was dressed in loungewear and


    00000


    SOO


    SO


    2/18


    was currently smoking a cigarette quite rxedly


    *T-Toby!¡± Tyler jumped up in fright and stammered slightly, ¡°W-Why are you back so early? I thought


    Tina¡¯s still in the hospital. Why aren¡¯t you there to see her?¡±


    Toby nced at him. ¡°Have you had your dinner?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have.¡±


    ¡°Come over here.¡± Toby flicked the ash off his cigarette by the side of the ashtray using his index finger.


    ¡°Let¡¯s chat.¡±


    Just then, Tyler could feel a cold sensation


    run down his spine. D*mn! Did Tina tell him


    that I¡®m going to join the tryouts? Tyler


    clutched his backpack and walked forward


    with trepidation. Then, he took a seat on the couch next to Toby, but his whole body remained quite


    tense. ¡°Toby, it¡¯s all my fault,¡± he started


    Tyler had nned to admit his mistake and take full responsibility for


    everything. The worst punishment he can inflict on me is to make me face the wall, so that¡®s not


    a big deal. Tyler wanted to prevent Toby from investigating this any further, lest thetter confronted


    Sonia about it.


    ¡°Go ahead and y basketball if that¡¯s what you¡¯re really keen to do.¡± Tyler had


    barely said anything but was interrupted by


    Toby before he even finished his


    sentence.


    Tyler stared at the other man in disbelief


    and he wondered whether he had misheard something. ¡°Toby, did you agree for me to¡­ y


    basketball?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead,¡± Toby replied nonchntly. ¡°Do whatever makes you happy. I won¡¯t stop you from it,


    and that includes ying basketball too. I¡¯ll talk to Mom about it.¡±


    Toby had rewatched the two video clips sent by Zane when he reached home at


    night and he had contemted the


    situation for quite some time because of


    Sonia¡¯s words. Finally, he managed to


    entered the family business when he was in school because of his exceptional talent


    for business. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t


    against it either. However. Tvler disliked


    finance and clearly had no intention to


    work for the Fuller Group.


    Earlier on, Toby had rung up the coach who had gone to Tyler¡¯s school today. The former could sense


    the coach¡¯s strong liking toward Tyler from his words. The coach had praised him throughout


    their conversation and insisted that such great talent should be cultivated well and


    someday, Tyler would definitely shine in the athletic world. Just then, Toby realized that he shouldn¡¯t


    force Tyler to take over the family business if thetter was reluctant to. Otherwise, he might end up


    hating him. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to stifle Tyler¡¯s talent in ying basketball either.


    ¡°Is this for real?¡± Tyler¡¯s eyes sparkled. Feeling shocked, he couldn¡¯t quite believe


    his ears. ¡°Tony, you¡¯re awesome! You¡¯re the most liberal-minded brother in the whole wide world! Don¡¯t


    worry! I won¡¯t let you down. I¡¯ll definitely make it into the national team and win lots of medals!¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby responded, ¡°This is the path you choose for yourself so you have to persevere


    in it. Don¡¯t bring yourself or the family name into disrepute.¡±


    ¡°Noted!¡± Tyler nodded vehemently before serving Toby a ss of water and some fruits. ¡°Toby, did you


    win a tender today? |


    feel like you¡®re way more patient and understanding than normal.¡±


    ¡°So, what were your true thoughts of me previously?¡± Toby revealed a half-smile and nced at him.


    ¡°Fierce?¡±


    Meanwhile, Tyler scratched his head and replied in a low voice, ¡°Not really. In the past, I felt more like


    one of your subordinates working for you. Listening to you speak could be quite nerve-wracking.¡±


    Tobyughed out loud and maintained his silence for a short while before saying, ¡°It¡¯s because a woman


    taught me an important


    lesson today.¡± Throughout all these years,


    I¡®d assumed that I knew everything but after listening to Sonia¡®s words today, I realized


    that I never paid attention to Tyler¡®s actual thoughts.I always maintained an


    authoritative stance in front of Tyler and


    never showed him any concern as a brother,


    so we never really had a close rtionship.


    ¡°Wow! What sort of woman would dare to behave so insolently and tell you off?¡±


    Tyler questioned with a surprised tone of voice. ¡°Was she your discipline teacher from school?¡±


    Toby chose not to answer. Instead, he casually asked, ¡°What did you have for dinner with Sonia tonight?¡±


    ¡°We had hotpot for dinner and it was


    amazing. I ate four tters of meat just by myself¡­¡± Tyler was full of praise for the


    dinner he had eaten that night and he chatted incessantly about it. Suddenly, he realized that something


    was amiss and he immediately stopped mid-sentence.


    ¡°Uh¨CI have some unfinished homework to do¡­ Toby, I¡¯ll head upstairs first!¡± Tyler


    grabbed his backpack and hurriedly left the room. As soon as he reached the top


    of the stairs, he turned back and yelled, ¡°Toby, don¡¯t smoke so much! Sonia mentioned that smoking too


    much


    hastens one¡¯s death!¡±


    Toby shot him a cold look upon hearing that. Frightened, Tyler lowered his head and scurried off.


    As for Toby, he stared intently at the half of


    a cigarette in his hand. He distinctly recalled that night he had with Sonia and


    the kiss filled with cigarette smoke that they shared. Just then, he felt his crotch tighten. Suddenly, he lost


    his urge to smoke and flung the cigarette into the


    ashtray.


    Sonia dialed to ask Charles for the time. Then, they caught a flight early in the morning, five days before


    the spring festival, to head back to Norfolk.


    Mt Buller Resort was located at the northern tip of Norfolk. Being one of thergest ski field resorts in the


    country, every year during wintertime, there were


    plenty of people who flocked to the resort for a ski trip.


    There were many cabs waiting outside the airport to send passengers off to the


    resort. In the cab as they were along the


    way to the resort, Sonia took in the pretty snow scene outside the window. She then asked Charles,


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel cold skiing


    outside in a temperature below freezing


    point?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. We¡¯re d in ski attire!¡± Charles was well aware that Sonia didn¡¯t enjoy being among


    crowds so she didn¡®t have much experience in such extreme sports. He responded by lifting his brows. ¡°I


    was once the national


    champion in skiing. Would you like me to


    be your instructor and give you some tips? What do you say?¡±


    She merely rolled her eyes at him. ¡°We¡¯re here on a business trip. We¡¯re not here for fun!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. Business is much more


    important than me!¡± He heaved a sigh.


    ¡°The schedule of the boss of Continental Co. should be a well-kept secret. How did


    you manage to get hold of this private information?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask. It¡¯s good enough to know that he¡¯s here.¡± She turned her head in the other direction to look


    outside the window and ignored


    him. I can¡®t quite mention that it was my casual fling who gave me the information!


    As soon as they arrived at the resort, Sonia and Charles proceeded to the hotel to check into their


    rooms.


    She was lost in thought on finding a way to strike up a conversation with the boss of Continental Co.


    when she noticed that he had just walked in with his friends after a


    skiing session. Coincidentally, they


    bumped into each other while walking into


    the hotel.


    ¡°President Drew.¡± Sonia moved forward


    and greeted the man standing in front. ¡°My name is Sonia Reed and I¡¯m the vice president of Paradigm


    Co.¡±


    Sonia had looked up the background of the boss of Continental Co.-Ryan Drew-upon receiving the


    information. She found out that his father was also an entrepreneur


    but he had amassed his fortune by


    starting up his own business. He refused to ept any help from his father due to


    their conflict and would rather let


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Continental Co. go into receivership than ept any money from his father.


    This was a good thing though because it


    provided her with the perfect opportunity.


    ¡°I know you. You¡¯re Paradigm Co¡¯s newly appointed female vice-president.¡± Ryan


    extended an arm and shook her hand, a faint smile on his face. ¡°It¡¯s such a coincidence meeting you


    here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a coincidence. Actually, I came here specifically to see you.¡± Sonia realized that he wasn¡¯t


    completely clueless about


    things so there was really no point in


    hiding anything. ¡°I noticed that you just came back in from skiing. Could you spare ten minutes of your


    time for me once you¡¯ve caught your breath? I would like to discuss something with you.¡±


    Ryan responded by saying, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll contact you after I¡¯ve taken my rest. See youter.¡± Then, he left


    immediately upon


    saying that.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t even ask for your phone number. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s going to call you!¡± Charles snorted by


    the side. ¡°Why don¡¯t we


    go after him right now and make him have


    the discussion with us? Hispany will eventually go into receivership anyway so wouldn¡¯t it be easier


    if he just agreed to our merger?¡±


    ¡°Do you think that everyone is as


    shameless as you?¡± Sonia muttered annoyedly. ¡°Perhaps he has ourpany number.¡±


    Charles gave an icy chuckle in response.


    In the end, Sonia did not receive any call from Ryan although one full day had gone


    Meanwhile, Charles didn¡¯t hold back with his snide remarks either. ¡°Baby, look at that. I told you he was


    going to ignore you


    but you didn¡¯t believe my words. Do you


    trust me now?¡±


    Sonia, on the other hand, was seemingly at a loss for words. ¡°Stop rubbing salt into my wound!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked the front desk and he¡¯s gone skiing with his friends again.¡± Charles ced his arms around


    Sonia¡¯s shoulders and steered her toward the ski field outside. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then. Let¡¯s go look for him at the


    ski field!¡±


    ¡°The ski field is huge. Are you sure we¡¯ll be


    able to locate him?¡±


    ¡°If we can¡¯t locate him then we¡¯ll just enjoy


    ourselves skiing.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia was at a loss for


    Upon hearing that, Sonia was at a loss for


    words.


    As they walked out of the hotel, the elevator door opened from behind them


    and out walked a man and a woman.

 Chapter 53

    Chapter 53


    Tina held onto the man¡¯s arms with a smile on her face and said cheerily, ¡°I was in aa for so long


    that I¡¯ve forgotten how to ski. Once we arrive at the skiing fieldter, you¡¯ll have to be my skiing


    instructor!¡±


    Toby nced at her leg and asked with a frown, ¡°Are you sure that your leg is fine?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a minor wound. Besides, I¡¯ve been hospitalized for so long and I¡¯ve recovered ages ago.¡± Tina


    smiled lightly and held onto his arm tightly. ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to apany me for a trip when you have


    the time, so of course I want to share the fun with you.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Toby responded calmly.


    Tina had mentioned that she wanted to have some fun once she was discharged from the hospital.


    Coincidentally, Toby had some spare time so he decided to apany her. However, he didn¡¯t expect


    her to n a trip to Mt. Buller Resort. It¡®s quite likely that Sonia¡®s here to see


    Thomas after getting the information from me.


    Sonia and Charles went to the equipment


    shop to rent their ski attire and equipment


    as soon as they entered the ski field. Then, they changed into their attire in the


    changing room


    The skiing boots and jacket were quite heavy but fortunately for Sonia, she


    became used to them rtively quickly.


    She walked down to find that each chi trail


    She walked down to find that each ski trail was full of people.


    She scanned the ce and realized that everyone looked identical in their ski attire. After searching for


    Thomas at several ski trails, she was exhausted and her eyes felt quite ufortable. ¡°The ski field is


    massive. Charles, have you caught sight of President Drew?¡± There was no response from him for quite


    some time and Sonia turned around, only to find that there was no one behind her.


    ¡°Baby, were you looking for me?¡± Charles zoomed toward her from the slope above


    and he did a perfect turn on his skis before


    stopping right in front of her.


    Angered beyond words, Sonia muttered, ¡°I


    asked you toe along and help me find President Drew. How dare you go skiing?¡±


    ¡°There are so many people here and everyone¡¯s spread out all over the ce. There¡¯s no way I can


    locate anyone here!¡± Charles grabbed his skis and dragged her along. ¡°Let¡¯s go, baby. I¡¯ll teach you how


    to ski. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll turn out to be a formidable skier from my intensive coaching.¡±


    Speechless, Sonia surveyed the massive


    ski field and realized that it was indeed quite crowded. In the end, she couldn¡¯t


    help feeling resigned.


    Just then, Charles dragged Sonia to the


    beginner¡¯s slope. ¡°This is the beginner¡¯s


    slope and it¡¯s not so challenging. It¡¯s


    cuitable for o nowhis lika von Oncovou


    suitable for a newbie like you. Once you get used to your skis, you¡¯ll be able to move around freely. By


    then we can head to the other intermediate slopes with a higher incline.¡±


    It finally dawned upon Sonia and she


    murmured, ¡°No wonder there are not that many people here and most of them have someone


    apanying them. It¡¯s because this is the beginner¡¯s slope.¡± She peered around and all of a sudden,


    she saw a couple enter the ski trail.


    Coincidentally, it was someone she was


    quite familiar with


    Tina saw Sonia too and her expression


    turned cold instantaneously. Soon after that, the former stered a smile on her face and greeted the


    latter, ¡°Miss Reed, it¡¯s


    cunha coincidence to meet vou and your


    such a coincidence to meet you and your boyfriend here.¡±


    ¡°Miss Gray, we¡¯re actually not that close to each other so there¡¯s no need for you to force yourself to


    greet us,¡± Charles respondedzily. ¡°Why don¡¯t you pester your darling President Fuller to spoil you? You


    should get him to take over this whole ski field and prohibit us from entering. Then, there¡¯s no chance of


    using into contact with each other!¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tina pursed her lips.


    ¡°Mr. Lane, I don¡¯t recall doing anything to


    offend you. I have to say that your words are simply too extreme!¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten about the incident at


    the club?¡± Charles suddenly eximed


    with curnrise and continued ¡°Oh-that


    with surprise and continued, ¡°Oh-that makes sense then! You only have President Fuller on your mind


    because you¡¯re overly anxious that your recycled


    husband will be taken by someone else.


    Obviously, you wouldn¡¯t care to remember anything else then.¡±


    Tina¡¯s face turned as pale as a sheet and she looked quite pitiful standing


    there. Charles is so rude! Previously at the club, he deeply embarrassed me in public and I let it


    go then but today, his words are harsher than before! He¡®s so despicable!


    ¡°Gosh! I didn¡¯t scold you so stop looking at


    me with that expression.¡± Charles acted fearfully and turned to say to Toby, ¡°President Fuller, your


    girlfriend is as fragile as a porcin doll, so you¡¯d better take extreme care of her to prevent her


    from shattering into pieces!¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby narrowed his eyes but remained silent and guided Tina to the other side. He then


    adjusted her gear for


    ¡°Come here, baby. Let me help you.¡± Charles kneeled down to help Sonia fasten her skis onto her boots.


    Snorting coldly, he


    muttered, ¡°Tsk! It¡¯s so easy to show affection!¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia couldn¡¯t control her


    amusing


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Charles stood up and ruffled his hair before smirking at her. ¡°Is it because you think


    that I¡¯m handsome? Dah¡­.hu don¡¯t¡­.me and ie


    Baby, why don¡¯t you try and gain some weight? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to bring more happiness to your life.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Sonia poked him with her ski poles. ¡°Don¡¯t force me to p you on the face!¡±


    Charles subsequently behaved himself


    after being poked by Sonia and his expression turned quite solemn. He carefully lent her a helping hand


    and gave her time to gradually get used to the skis.


    Meanwhile, Tina, who was standing quite


    close to them, heard their conversation


    and her face flushed pink. She softly


    remarked, ¡°Although there are not that many people around, how can they¡­ flirt


    so tantly? That¡¯s so shameless!¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby nced toward Sonia and Charles with tightly furrowed


    brows. I thought that she came here to discuss business with the boss of Continental Co.


    but I never expected her to be skiing and flirting with Charles. She seems to be


    enjoying herself a lot.


    ¡°Ignore them,¡± Toby mentioned in a low voice and the surrounding temperature seemed to be lower than


    before.


    All of a sudden, Tina shivered as she lifted her head to look at him. She noticed that he had an impassive


    look on his face; it


    was as if his previous turbulent emotions


    had never existed and it was all in her


    imagination.


    On the other hand, Sonia was a newbie at


    skiing so she waspletely clueless at


    1. it. After Charles had finished giving her


    instructions, he let go of his hands and allowed her to slowly attempt using her ski poles. She tried to ski


    for a short distance but she soon lost her bnce and fell onto the snowy surface.


    This triggered Charles¡¯ mockingughter. ¡°Baby, you¡¯re so clumsy! How can you fall even while using ski


    poles! Can¡¯t you bnce yourself?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Sonia noticed Tina by the side, who was quite adept at using her ski poles as she skied


    around gracefully. The former felt a stronger sense of displeasure and she clenched her teeth, getting up


    from the ground to continue practicing.


    After multiple falls, she finally managed to


    maneuver her ski poles deftly and she


    could also glide around the track quite


    easily. At that moment, she finally experienced the pleasure of skiing and no longer paid attention to the


    people around her but immersed herself into the activity.


    In the afternoon, Sonia and Charles made their way to the ski field once more and this time, they chose


    the intermediate trail. There were more people on this trail and it


    was buzzing with energy.


    Charles no longer needed to instruct Sonia


    and he fixed his skis on before gliding along behind her. Perhaps he was too bored, so he kept chattering


    to her and


    was quite a distraction.


    ¡°Baby,e over to my ce for dinner with Grandpa on New Year¡¯s Eve,¡± Charles


    murmured. ¡°My mom nagged me over the


    phone two days ago because she wanted


    to see you.¡±


    After her marriage, Sonia had always spent the New Year¡¯s with Toby and his family. This year, however,


    she was no longer married to him


    But in the end, she didn¡¯t agree with Charles¡¯ suggestion. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this


    She was aware that he felt sorry for her,


    but the Reed family still existed as there


    was still her and her grandfather left. Besides, she didn¡¯t wish to intrude on


    another family¡¯s gathering on such an asion. She knew that her grandfather wouldn¡¯t want to either.


    Charles heaved a sigh. ¡°Could you just


    agree to it considering my handsome


    looks? Pretty please, my darling


    girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Fake girlfriend!¡± Sonia replied in a huff.


    She no longer wanted to listen to him chattering so she dug her poles into the snow, thereafter brushing


    past him and gliding off. She had merely moved a few meters when she suddenly heard the


    sound of skis moving against the ground


    behind her.


    Before she could react, she felt a sharp pain from behind and the impact knocked


    her ski poles off the ground. She could fee


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    herself zooming down the slope.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Charles shouted, his expression


    darkening as he quickly rushed after her.


    The slope was quite steep and she


    The slope was quite steep and she zoomed downhill without any chance of stopping. Without her ski


    poles, she found she was unable to bnce herself and she wobbled unsteadily.


    Suddenly, a shadow zoomed toward her from the side and a man pulled her as he


    moved closer to her. Then, he quickly


    wrapped her arms around his waist and


    said with a low voice, ¡°Hold on tight. Don¡¯t let go of me.¡±


    Sonia was sick with panic that as soon as she heard the voice ring out inaudibly by her ears, she


    immediately tightened her


    grip on the man¡¯s waist.


    Toby calmly steered his skis downhill and


    he skied on quite effortlessly despite


    having another narcon clinning onto him


    having another person clinging onto him. Soon, they arrived at the end of the slope and they came to a


    firm stop.


    ¡°Miss Reed, we¡¯ve arrived,¡± Toby announced as he looked at the woman who was still clinging to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Do you want to hold on to me for a few more minutes?¡±


    Toby Fuller? Sonia immediately let go of him as soon as she figured out who that male voice belonged


    to. She moved further away, keeping a distance from him.


    Then, she removed her safety helmet and


    revealed aposed look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I


    thought that you were my boyfriend so I


    held on to you tightly earlier. Thank you,


    President Fuller.¡±

 Chapter 54

    Chapter 54


    Toby¡¯s expression darkened when he


    heard that


    Charles glided toward them soon after that and came to Sonia. ¡°Baby, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± Charles muttered and he heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he reverted to an


    impatient tone and yelled at the person on the slope, ¡°Hey! Miss Gray, can you hurry up?¡±


    As soon as Tina arrived by skis, he rudely retorted, ¡°I saw everything that happened,


    so don¡¯t you dare deny it! You shoved


    Sonia!¡±


    ¡°My vision was kind of blurry because of the helmet.¡± Tima bit her lip and apologized to Sonia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry


    for identally shoving you, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Sonia was right in front of you and she wasn¡¯t standing by the side. You would have been blind to not


    see her!¡± Charles held up his arm and waved it in front of Tina¡¯s eyes. ¡°Miss Gray, have you gone blind?


    Do you need me to refer you to a


    doctor for treatment?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Toby said with a displeased tone. ¡°I just saved Miss Reed and Tina has also apologized


    to her.¡±


    However, Charles revealed a cold smile


    and countered, ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯re


    clearly aware of how steep this trail is.


    Meanwhile, my baby is just a beginner in skiing. If no one hade to her rescue after Miss Gray¡¯s


    shove, she would definitely have broken a bone if she had rolled down the hill.¡±


    ¡°Can I assume that your girlfriend attempted to murder Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Charles, stop being so aggressive!¡± There was a tinge of redness in Tina¡¯s eyes due to the anger she


    felt and her voice


    trembled slightly as she mumbled,


    ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t see her earlier. If you¡¯re


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    unable to let go of this then I can ski


    downhill right now and Miss Reed can


    shove me as revenge.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Charles agreed right away, ¡°You


    can head uphill right now and let Sonia


    shove you. I¡¯ll be there to save you then we¡¯ll be even.¡±


    Speechless, Tina leaned against Toby and revealed a weak, pitiful look on her face.


    Sonia noticed Toby¡¯s darkened expression and it seemed that he was angered by Charles¡¯ persistent


    aggressiveness. And so, she tugged on Charles¡¯ arm. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s head back.¡±


    However, Charles was significantly


    displeased as he shouted, ¡°I don¡¯t want to


    go yet! You¡®ve already gotten a freaking divorce with Toby. Besides, his girlfriend is being a bully! Are you


    going to continue being a doormat?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia got close to him


    and mentioned in a low voice, ¡°The details regarding the takeover of Continental Co. were given to me


    by Zane.¡±


    Zane and Toby had a close rtionship. The former would have no qualms about following all of the


    latter¡¯s instructions and


    would choose to disregard their coboration if requested by thetter.


    Sonia didn¡¯t intend to let Tina get away with this either; however, she was much more reluctant for Toby


    to get involved and prevent her from taking over


    Continental Co.


    Charles quickly weighed out the pros and


    cons on his mind as soon as he heard her


    words. In the end, he snorted coldly but he significantly toned down. However, he


    turned around and flipped the two of them off before leaving


    Angered beyond words, Tina thought to


    herself, I¡®ve never met a guy as scathing and as despicable as Charles!


    Just then, she noticed Toby¡¯s expression, which was as cold as ice, and she exined softly, ¡°I was too


    engrossed in skiing so I didn¡¯t notice Miss Reed in front


    of me. I apologized to her but then I didn¡¯t


    expect Charles to be so aggressive.


    Ahem!¡±


    She leaned forward and coughed several


    times, her face turning paler than before.


    Toby couldn¡¯t bear to keep up his cold


    demeanor upon noticing her pallor and he


    took her into his arms. ¡°I¡¯m next to you so he wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to you. The most he could do


    is attack you verbally. It¡¯s too cold here. Let¡¯s head back to the hotel.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tina wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled faintly.


    It was already 5 PM when Sonia and Charles arrived back at the hotel.


    She dropped by the front desk and was


    told that Ryan was currently in the gaming room, so she went to see him by herself, Just then, she


    utilized Charles¡¯ usual shameless behavior and explicitly revealed to Ryan her ns to take over his


    company


    and that the price was negotiable.


    However, despite her efforts, he was quite


    stubborn and refused to agree to her terms. Finally, he muttered in a frustrated tone, ¡°I don¡¯t care how


    much you¡¯re willing to offer but I¡¯m not going to sell thepany! You should leave.¡± Then, he chased


    her out of the gaming room.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was left standing there with a massive headache. She was just


    about to call Charles toe over and


    help her but then she realized that based


    on Ryan¡¯s current attitude, the other man


    would most likely be unable to convince


    Ryan even if he utilized his glib tongue.


    Besides, she wouldn¡¯t be able to gain


    learning experience if she didn¡¯t take the


    initiative to handle discussions personally.


    Just then, Sonia recalled the man and she


    tapped into her Messenger. She found his


    contact number and fired off a message. Have you dealt with Ryan Drew, the boss of Continental Co.,


    before? He¡¯s quite difficult to deal with. He doesn¡¯t seem interested in talking to me no matter how


    much my offer is.¡±


    After sending the text, Sonia suddenly wondered, Why am I asking this guy?


    Wouldn¡®t it be better if I asked Zane?


    Sonia tried to recall her message but time hadpsed and this option was no longer


    avable.


    Just then, the man replied to her message.


    Z-H: ¡®Ryan is an arrogant man and he


    doesn¡¯t like having strangers interfering in


    hispany. He doesn¡¯t want his


    contact number and fired off a message. Have you dealt with Ryan Drew, the boss of Continental Co.,


    before? He¡¯s quite difficult to deal with. He doesn¡¯t seem interested in talking to me no matter how


    much my offer is.¡±


    After sending the text, Sonia suddenly wondered, Why am I asking this guy?


    Wouldn¡®t it be better if I asked Zane?


    Sonia tried to recall her message but time hadpsed and this option was no longer


    avable.


    Just then, the man replied to her message.


    Z-H: ¡®Ryan is an arrogant man and he


    doesn¡¯t like having strangers interfering in


    hispany. He doesn¡¯t want his


    Z-H: ¡®He doesn¡¯t have a great rtionship


    with his dad so you should tackle things from this aspect


    Sonia managed to grasp the meaning


    behind his short sentences.


    Sonia: ¡®In my offer, I should specify that he gets to retain his rights to operate thepany without any


    interference. Then, 1 could request for higher stakes in the shares obtained or perhaps, I can provoke


    him by mentioning his dad.


    Sonia: ¡®I won¡¯t delete your contact. Why don¡¯t you retain my contact too? It¡¯s good to have you as a


    friend. You¡¯re knowledgeable and it¡¯s just nice because


    Sonia: I¡¯llpensate you for your time. In the future, if Ie to you with any questions, you can


    decide on the price for


    each question


    In the hotel room, Toby revealed a frustrated smile upon reading the multiple messages sent by Sonia.


    He had casually decided to provide her with a piece of information because she had helped Tyler but


    now, this woman was taking advantage of the situation and


    making excessive requests.


    After quite some time, he finally replied to her: ¡®Sure. Alright.¡¯ Sonia: ¡®You have such extensive


    knowledge; plus, you¡¯re a kind guy. You¡¯re just as cute as your profile picture.!


    Just then, Toby grimaced. He didn¡¯t even want to look at her message and logged out of their chat. Then,


    he dialed Tom¡¯s


    number


    On the other end, Tom answered the phone quite quickly. ¡°President Fuller, is there anything that you


    need?¡±


    ¡°I had a Messenger profile that you


    managed previously.¡± Toby frowned. ¡°There are so many pictures that you could


    have chosen, but why did you choose one with a goose?¡±


    Tom replied tactfully, ¡°The goose looked quite cute and I thought it would make you seem more


    approachable.¡±


    Toby remained silent upon hearing that.


    ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯ve been using that profile for quite some time now. Why didn¡¯t you change the


    picture if you were ufortable with it?¡± Tom tried to


    indirectly hint that he was not at fault. ¡°I could show you how to change it right now if you don¡¯t know how


    to¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary!¡± With that, Toby directly hung up on Tom.


    During dinner, Sonia made her way to


    Ryan¡¯s table with Charles.


    She took a seat across from Ryan and smiled faintly. ¡°President Drew, there are quite a few empty seats


    here. Would you mind if my friend and I joined you at your table?¡±


    Ryan kept his head lowered while he ate


    and ignored her


    ¡°I know that you¡¯re the founder of Continental Co. and thepany is your baby.¡± Sonia kept both of her


    hands folded on the table and she mentioned smoothly, ¡°After we take over Continental Co.,


    promise you that you¡¯ll be the ultimate


    decision-maker for the running of the


    business. Continental Co. will be a


    separate entity and I won¡¯t assign any


    management team to monitor your work.¡±


    Ryan lifted his head to nce at her upon hearing that. ¡°Who coached you on


    negotiating this way? Was it your ex


    husband?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia was caught by


    surprise.


    Ryan ced down his cutlery and revealed an unhappy expression. ¡°Your ex-husband had his eyes on


    mypany all this while. He assigned multiple staff on his management team to ask me out and


    negotiate terms. I was quite annoyed by all


    his pestering, which is why I came


    overseas for a short ski trip. Then, you


    ended up here!¡±


    overseas for a short ski trip. Then, you ended up here!¡±


    ¡°President Fuller and I have been divorced for quite some time now. I obtained the details regarding the


    takeover of Continental Co. from another friend.¡± Sonia exined to him, but she started to


    suspect something was amiss. He said


    that all of this was also mentioned by people from the Fuller Group, but I was coached on this by Z¨C


    H. If this is true, then could it be possible that the man from that


    night... Could he be Toby?

 Chapter 55

    Chapter 55


    Charles stood up to pour Ryan a ss of red wine. ¡°President Drew, you must be joking. After her


    divorce, she didn¡¯t even receive a single cent from her ex husband. He¡¯s a miser, so how could he


    possibly help my baby?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even receive a single cent?¡±


    Ryan stared at her with a slightly


    shocked look on his face.


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s not all-she didn¡¯t even


    get any property or car, so would you be kind enough to give my baby some leeway and sell your


    business to her?¡±


    Charles ced his arms around


    Sonia¡¯s shoulders as he said that.


    Sonia, however, flung his hand aside. ¡°President Drew, ignore all of his nonsense. I was the one who


    didn¡¯t want anything.¡±


    Ryan took his ss of wine and was just about to say something when he saw a couple walking toward


    them, hand-in-hand.


    ¡°President Drew, it¡¯s a surprise to see


    you here. Miss Reed and Mr. Lane are here too. This is such a coincidence.¡± Tina smiled demurely as


    she greeted


    them.


    stretch. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate for us though. I don¡¯t even want to see the two of


    you.¡±


    Tina¡¯s expression stiffened in response but she quickly regained herposure soon after that. ¡°Mr.


    Lane, your words are as scathing as usual.¡±


    Charles put both hands behind his


    head and rxedly swiveled on his


    chair. ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing I can do


    about it. This is how I am when I¡¯m


    with people I dislike. Unfortunately,


    you¡¯re one of them, Miss Gray.¡±


    ¡°How dare-¡± Tina¡¯s face turned pale


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    upon being angered by his words.


    1721


    However, Toby took her into his arms and he started to exude a menacing


    aura.


    Sonia noticed his darkened expression and quickly tugged on Charles¡¯ arm. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stop it.


    Don¡¯t forget what I mentioned to you earlier.¡±


    However, Charles shrugged in


    response as he murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    The sight of the duo whispering to


    each other was unbearable for Toby.


    Just then, he let go of Tina and


    nced at Ryan. ¡°President Drew, have


    you considered my proposal for the


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    takeover?¡±


    5/21


    ¡°I haven¡¯t made up my mind yet.¡± Ryan pointed at Sonia. ¡°Your ex-wife is interested in mypany too.


    She¡¯s negotiating with me right now and the terms she offered are exactly the same


    as yours. I had assumed that you were


    the one who gave her the idea.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered for a moment, which went by unnoticed. ¡°No. I am


    quite intent on the acquisition of your


    to give this up just like that.¡±


    Sonia grimaced upon hearing that and immediately, the seed of suspicion disappeared from her mind


    completely. That¡®s right. He doesn¡®t have a good impression of me so there¡¯s no way he


    would help me. Besides, ideas are generally concocted by people, so it¡®s not a surprise for Z¨C


    H toe up with


    the same terms as Toby


    Toby nced at Sonia from the corner of his eye and he rxed his brows upon noticing the look of relief


    on her


    face. I knew that she would be


    suspicious of Z¨CH¡®s identity once she


    came to negotiate with Ryan. As such, he had purposelye over and said


    all that, intending to dispel her


    suspicions.


    ¡°Coincidentally, President Drew, I¡¯m


    also quite intent on acquiring


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    Continental Co.¡±


    1721


    Toby¡¯s expression remained impassive and he casually remarked, ¡°Is that so? Then let¡¯s wait and see


    who President Drew chooses.¡±


    ¡°Of course it will be Paradigm Co.!¡±


    Charles ced his hand behind Sonia¡¯s


    chair.


    Meanwhile, Tina gently tucked her hair behind her ears and revealed a slight smile. ¡°From your options,


    the Fuller Group would be the best choice.


    Paradigm Co. is teetering on the edge of hardship so obviously, it wouldn¡¯t be


    a good choice. What do you think,


    President Drew?¡±


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    Sonia ced down her wine ss and


    3:42


    8/21 her expression darkened. ¡°Miss Gray,


    where are your manners? I was here before you and I¡¯m currently negotiating on behalf of Paradigm Co.,


    yet you¡¯ve barged in and thrown shade


    at us in front of President Drew. I don¡¯t


    think this is the polite way to handle


    things, no?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Charles sneered at Toby quite coldly. ¡°President Fuller, your girlfriend seems to be clueless


    about the rules in the corporate world and


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    she¡¯s obviously broken the rules. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re unaware of that too?¡±


    Charles¡¯ words were full of scorn and


    contempt and Toby felt quite ufortable hearing that. Thetter


    then took Tina¡¯s hands in his and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Meanwhile, Tina bit her lower lip. ¡°Toby. did I. did I do something wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a major thing. You just have to be more mindful in the future.¡± And so, the two of them walked off,


    hand-in


    hand.


    Charles pursed his lips in response.


    ¡°That Fuller guy sure is protective of Tina! He doesn¡¯t even have a limit for


    Sonia, on the other hand, felt a


    stabbing pain in her heart and she


    didn¡¯t respond to Charles. Tina is his


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    ¡°precious darling. Who else would he be


    11/21


    protective of if not her?


    Ryan took a sip of his wine. ¡°President Reed, do you harbor and grudge ex husband and his partner?¡±


    She recollected herself and smiled faintly. ¡°Not exactly a grudge, but we¡¯ve had some disagreements.


    Alright then, President Drew. Why don¡¯t we continue our negotiation?¡±


    Meanwhile, Ryan leaned backward.


    ¡°President Reed, do you remember the


    words spoken by your ex-husband¡¯s fianc¨¦e earlier?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°She¡¯s right.


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    W


    The decision is in your hands. Of


    12/21


    course, it¡¯s evident that we¡¯re not the best optionpared to the Fuller Group but we have one


    advantage that they can¡¯tpare against.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Suddenly, Sonia recalled Z-H¡¯s mention


    of Ryan¡¯s arrogance in their exchange


    of messages, and the smile on her


    face widened. ¡°I can offer you the liberty of buying or selling your shares


    whenever you want to. In the future, if


    you have the means and would like to


    buy back the shares of Continental Co.,


    I¡¯ll sell it back to you at thirty percent


    extra of the current purchase price.


    However, if Continental Co. is merged


    into the Fuller Group, do you think you


    would still be able to buy back the shares?¡±


    Although she had been a housewife for the past six years and was no longer


    up-to-date with the happenings in this


    world, Sonia remained well aware of Toby¡¯s reputation in the corporate world as a living Hades. There


    was no way one would be able to win back


    something that had been taken over by


    him.


    Ryan¡¯s expression changed and he


    showed some interest. ¡°It seems, your offer is quite tempting and is indeed


    quite difficult to reject.¡±


    *He then lifted his wine ss to


    propose a toast


    It¡®s a done deal? Sonia mused and was ted beyond herself. Soon after that, she lifted her wine ss


    to toast him upon being nudged in the elbow by Charles as he reminded her.


    After their toast, Ryan stood up. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got to go and meet my friend at the hot springs. I¡¯ll leave the


    two of you to your dinner. Let¡¯s meet up in the next few days. Once I¡¯m back in town, we can sign the


    merger documents.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia tried hard to suppress her


    excited feelings and smilingly agreed


    to his suggestion.


    Meanwhile, Charles cupped her chin and his eyes sparkled with approval. ¡°Baby, you¡¯re awesome!


    Earlier when


    you were negotiating with him, you


    were stunning and your confidence


    shone through. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll be able to handle everything by yourself and soon enough you¡¯ll


    definitely


    be a dominantdy figure in the corporate world.¡±


    In response, Sonia hit his hand out of


    annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s okay to talk to me but stop touching me!¡±


    Charles clutched at his chest


    dramatically with a hurt expression on


    his face. ¡°Baby, this is too much! I can¡¯t believe that you¡¯re actually annoyed


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    5:42


    Chinater 55


    16/21 with me! We¡¯ve known each other since


    we were young. How could you?¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him andpletely ignored his antics.


    Suddenly, Charles¡¯ cell phone rang.


    He stopped joking and took out his phone to nce at the screen. ¡°Baby, I¡¯ll go outside to take this


    phone call.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sonia made a feel-free


    gesture.


    After he had walked off, she suddenly


    recalled something and took out her


    cell phone. She tapped into Messenger


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    and clicked on her chat with the person


    Chantet 58


    17/21


    with a goose as his profile picture.


    Thanks for your tip.¡¯


    Z-H: ¡°Did you close the deal?¡¯


    Sonia smiled and swiftly typed her


    reply. It¡¯s a done deal. You mentioned that Ryan was an arrogant person so I purposely provoked him by


    offering him the chance to buy and sell the shares whenever he wanted to. It was how I managed to win


    him over.¡¯


    Ryan¡¯s personality meant that he would not go to his parents for money at all. At the same time, without


    Continental Co. in his hands, evidently, it would


    take him a long time to earn an extra


    REDMI NOTE 9S AI QUAD CAMERA


    thirty percent of the shares¡¯ worth.


    5:42


    18/21


    By then, perhaps Paradigm Co. would have been restored to its former glory


    and even if he decided to buy back Continental Co., it would not be a loss to the former either


    Z-H: ¡®Congrattions.


    Sonia: ¡®Thank you. I wouldn¡¯t have


    seeded so quickly without all of your tips. Can I treat you to dinner?¡¯


    She regretted her words immediately after sending the text. She could still clearly remember the


    details from that


    night. It¡®s going to be so awkward when


    we meet up!


    On the other end in the hotel room,


    Toby had a ck robe on and he was currently seated cross-legged on the couch. He stared at his


    phone with a dark expression as he mused, Dinner? He then pursed his lips and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not


    necessary.¡¯


    Sonia heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing his reply and she replied, ¡®Alright then. Let¡¯s talk about this


    next time.¡¯


    Z-H: ¡®Sure.


    Sonia then logged out of her ount just as Charles made his way back.


    ¡°Baby, I¡¯ll treat you to some time at the


    hot springs. How does that sound?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes sparkled in response. ¡°Sure! I haven¡¯t been to the hot springs


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    5:43


    21121


    in ages.¡±


    Ever since she married Toby six years ago, she had given up all of her pleasures in life. She had nearly


    forgotten the feeling of soaking herself in a hot spring.


    And so, Charles dragged her along and rushed toward the hot springs. ¡°Let¡¯s


    go!¡±

 Chapter 56

    Chapter 56


    After changing to their yukatas, Sonia and Charles came to a divide leading


    to the men and women section of the


    hot springs.


    Charles¡¯ eyes twinkled and he immediately grabbed hold of Sonia¡®s soft waist. ¡°Baby, why don¡¯t we go to


    the mixed-gender section?¡±


    She smiled at him before hitting him


    with her elbow.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± He held his belly in pain. ¡°Baby,


    why did you hit me?¡±


    She squinted her eyes at him and


    sneered, ¡°Do you not deserve it? How


    REDMI NOTE 9S


    dare you ask me to join you in the mixed-gender section?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? We are a


    couple anyway.¡± He quickly stood up straight and defended himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s just an act.¡± She couldn¡¯t stand him, so she put her bath towel on her


    shoulder and opened the curtains which had the word ¡®women¡¯ before


    walking inside.


    The women section of the hot springs


    was extremely quiet since it was


    empty.


    After taking off her bathrobe, Sonia


    wrapped a white towel around herself


    that reached her thighs before entering


    The water temperature was high, so her whole body instantly turned pink and she let out afortable


    hum.


    Then, someone opened the sliding door of the entrance and came in.


    She lifted her eyes and saw a clear


    face through the mist.


    It was none other than Tina Gray.


    As soon as Sonia saw the other


    .


    woman, she immediately furrowed her


    brows. Everything about this resort is great, except for the fact that it is too


    small. You always bump into someone you don¡®t want to see at every turn.


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    | 345


    Tina also didn¡¯t expect such a coincidence. After a moment of shock, she revealed a gentle smile and


    murmured, ¡°Miss Reed, we meet again.¡±


    However, Sonia couldn¡¯t stand being with her, so she nodded her head and


    prepared to leave.


    Just as she took a step out of the pool, Tina¡¯s voice was heard again. ¡°Miss Reed, how can you leave


    when I just


    got here? Do you really hate to see me?


    After all, we went to the same


    university and even shared the same


    room.¡±


    While holding the towel in front of her


    chest, Sonia stood in the pool and sneered, ¡°Miss Gray, don¡¯t you find your


    words a little funny? You were the one


    who hated to see me in the first ce.


    It has always been the same since we


    were in university.¡±


    As Tina leaned on the edge of the other single-sized pool, she smiled faintly at Sonia. ¡°Do you want to


    know the reason, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°Do enlighten me-I really want to


    know what I have done wrong to make


    you treat me this way!¡± Sonia simply


    sat back in the pool.


    There was a single-sized pool between


    REDMI NOTE IS AI QUAD CAMERA


    the two of them as they stared at each


    ¡°other from afar.


    C


    Chuter 56 ¡°Do you know that ever since you stepped into the dorm, I¡¯ve always had a weird sense of


    threat from you?


    Somehow, I felt that you would snatch something important away from me.¡± Tina sunk her nails into her


    palms hard. ¡°Sure enough, you took Toby


    away from me while I was


    unconscious after the car crash. How could I forgive you after that?¡±


    Listening to the hatred in her voice,


    Sonia remained emotionless as she


    spoke in her usual calm voice.


    ¡°Whether you believe me or not, I didn¡¯t


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    purposely snatch Toby away from you


    while you were unconscious. You said


    to me back then that you only see him


    as your brother.¡±


    This was the reason why Sonia asked Toby to marry her, otherwise, with her pride that she had back


    then, she wouldn¡¯t do such a thing no matter how much she liked him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin to me. No


    matter how much you exin, you


    can¡¯t deny the fact that you¡¯ve had him for yourself for almost six years!¡± Tina


    red at her while gritting her teeth.


    Just as Sonia was about to say


    something, her phone suddenly rang on the edge of the pool. It was a call


    from Charles


    ¡°Baby, are you done?¡±


    She nodded and murmured, ¡°Almost.¡±


    Charles then urged, ¡°You shoulde out quickly. I heard that there will be a fireworks partyter on. I¡¯ll


    wait for you at the observation deck.¡±


    She reached out with one hand and


    grabbed a towel beside her to wipe away the sweat on her face. ¡°Alright. I¡¯lle out after I take a


    shower.¡±


    After hanging up the phone, Sonia


    stepped out of the pool and walked


    away, but she didn¡¯t forget to stop for a second when walking past Tina¡¯s pool.


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S CO AI QUAD CAMERA


    ¡°Miss Gray, I know that you will still


    Ohripter 515


    10/30 continue toe after me even after what I just said, but don¡¯t worry. No matter what tricks you


    have, I¡¯ll always be ready¡±


    Then, she left with her slender legs.


    Meanwhile, Tina lowered her eyes as she thought of something.


    Momentster, the hotness had gradually made her head dizzy, so she got up and walked toward the


    shower


    room as she knew that she couldn¡¯t


    stay in the pool much longer.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was taking a shower


    REDMI NOTE 9S AI QUAD CAMERA


    inside a cubicle in the shower room.


    Tina could already hear her humming


    when she came in with her toiletries in her arms, and she felt that the other


    woman¡¯s singing was beautiful and her


    voice was heavenly


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s voice, Tina couldn¡¯t help but remember Toby asking her two days ago why she had


    stopped singing since the letters once mentioned that she was good at it. Of


    course, she didn¡¯t dare to tell him that


    she didn¡¯t even know how to sing, so she could only use her bad voice as an excuse to close the topic.


    Even so, Tina knew that as long as the


    owner of the letters was still here, all of


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    her lies would be exposed someday


    unless the true owner disappeared


    forever


    As the light in her eyes flickered, she nced at the door of Sonia¡¯s cubicle before turning toward the


    shower gel in the basin. All of a sudden, a terrifying thought surfaced in her mind.


    She squatted and gently ced the


    basin on the floor. Then, she grabbed the shower gel from the basin and


    opened it before pouring the


    transparent liquid on the floor in front of the door of Sonia¡¯s cubicle.


    After she was done, she revealed a faint smile as she quietly left the


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    scene.


    13/20 ¡°This feels so good!¡± When Sonia had taken his hot shower, she came out of her cubicle with a


    basin in her arms. Unexpectedly, she seemed to step on something and slipped, causing her whole body


    to fall to the floor. She knocked the back of her head on the


    steps of the cubicle and passed out immediately.


    At the observation deck, Charles was


    still waiting for her toe. A while


    but Sonia was still nowhere to be seen,


    so he took out his phone and called


    her.


    However, no one answered the call, so


    .


    he couldn¡¯t help but feel worried.


    ¡°Could something have happened to her?¡± He put his phone back in his pocket and quickly left the


    observation deck to find her but after searching


    several ces, she was still nowhere


    to be seen, so he was certain that


    something might have happened to


    her.


    In this resort, the only people that would hurt her are those two.


    Therefore, he came to the front of a


    door and knocked on it frantically.


    ¡°Tina,e out now!¡±


    Soon after, the door was opened and


    Toby¡¯s gloomy face appeared in front of him.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯te here for you. I¡¯m here for


    her!¡± Charles red at Tina who was


    standing beside Toby


    With a smile on her face, she asked, ¡°Mr. Lane, how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°My baby is gone!¡±


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed. Sonia is gone?


    Tina could see the reaction on his face


    as she fiercely clenched her fists. Sure


    enough, I was right to get rid of Sonia.


    As long as she is alive, it will only affect


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    him even more. Even her disappearance


    wac onun to draw cuch huno


    was enough to draw such a huge reaction from him.


    After suppressing her emotions, she blinked confusedly. ¡°Miss Reed isn¡¯t here, Mr. Lane. Why did


    youe looking for me?¡±


    ¡°Why did Ie looking for you?¡± Charles repeated and chuckled sarcastically. ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s


    because you definitely hid her away somewhere. If you were willing to push her off the race track during


    the day,


    what else are you not capable of doing? You¡¯d better hand her back to me this instance or else, not even


    Toby


    REDMI NOTE 9S AI QUAD CAMERA


    SYNOY


    can protect you!¡±


    ¡°Why would I hide her away? I haven¡¯t


    seen her since dinner, so I don¡¯t even


    know where she is. How do you expect me to hand her over to you?¡± Tina¡¯s eyes turned red, making her


    look aggrieved.


    However, Charles was having none of it. ¡°Are you going to f*cking tell me or what?¡±


    ¡°Enough.¡± Toby stepped forward and shielded Tina behind him while he


    spoke in a cold voice. ¡°If you can¡¯t find


    Sonia, why don¡¯t you check the


    surveince video? Interrogating Tina


    won¡¯t help you find her any quicker.¡±


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    The moment Tina heard him mention


    the surveince video, she panicked


    for a moment but soon after, she


    seemed to think of something that


    calmed her down.


    Charles also came back to his senses and he pped himself on the


    forehead. I can¡®t believe that I was so worried about finding her that I forgot to


    check the surveince video.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the surveince room right


    away. I hope that her disappearance


    has nothing to do with you, otherwise,


    won¡¯t let you get away with this.¡±


    He pointed at Tina¡¯s nose before


    leaving


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S CO AI QUAD CAMERA


    He pointed at Tina¡¯s nose before


    leaving


    ¡°We should follow him.¡± Toby then took off his jacket and put it on her before helping her to the


    surveince room.

 Chapter 57

    Chapter 57


    Inside the surveince room, the three


    of them could see that Sonia and Charles entered the hot springs about an hour and a half ago but since


    then, the former never came out.


    From this, it was obvious that she


    should still be in the hot springs.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go check the hot springs!¡± With that, Charles immediately rushed out of the door


    Tina lifted her head and looked at Toby


    next to her before asking in a soft tone,


    ¡°Toby, should we follow?¡±


    ¡°We should!¡± he answered with


    furrowed brows. ¡°Charles suspects


    that her disappearance has something


    to do with you, so we must follow him to help clear your name. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    She smiled faintly and replied, ¡°Alright.


    We¡¯ll do as you say.¡±


    When they got to the entrance of the hot springs, they could hear Charles negotiating with the


    security guard.


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve told you that the hot springs¡¯


    operating hours have passed. There


    isn¡¯t anyone inside.¡± The guard blocked


    Charles¡¯ path to prevent him from


    getting in


    As Charles was about to say REDMI NOTE 9S ALOU Semething while scratching his head, a


    3/19


    loud scream could be hearding from inside the hot springs, drawing everyone¡¯s attention to the


    source


    Then, everyone saw a cleaningdy running out of the hot springs in fear while mumbling something to


    herself.


    The guard grabbed her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°S-Someone¡¯s dead!¡± the cleaningdy


    stuttered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Everyone was shocked by what they


    Then, she pointed inside with her trembling hand. ¡°Someone has died inside the shower room of the


    women¡¯s section!¡±


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Instantly, Charles¡¯ expression changed as he rushed into the hot


    springs.


    Toby and the guards also followed suit.


    On the way, Toby looked really tense


    and the aura that he was exuding at


    that time was enough to suffocate


    anyone.


    Is that woman really dead? Is this a


    joke? Is this all part of her prank?


    As he gritted his teeth tightly, he suddenly felt a strange ache inside his heart that messed up his


    breathing.


    Tina also seemed to notice the sudden change of his emotions. Even though


    she was filled with hatred inside, she


    still managed to get her eyes teary. ¡°Toby, why does Miss Reed have to suffer so much at such a young


    age?¡±


    She spoke as though she felt sorry and sad for Sonia¡¯s death but when


    everyone else wasn¡¯t watching, she


    curled up the corners of her lips.


    This is great news! As long as she is


    dead, I won¡®t have any more worries.


    OO REDMI


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    AI QUAD CAME


    6/19 When they arrived outside the shower


    room, they opened the door and went straight in, ignoring the ¡®men are forbidden to enter¡¯ sign above the


    door. However, the moment they entered,


    they immediately witnessed the


    terrifying scene of Sonia lying on the floor with a pool of blood still flowing from her head.


    It took a while for Charles toe back to his senses before walking stiffly toward her.


    Meanwhile, Toby stood at the door with


    his eyes locked onto Sonia¡¯s pale face


    as he instinctively clenched his fists


    tightly.


    REDMI NOTE 9S O AI QUAD CAMERA


    719


    Etter 57 It really is Sonia! She really is dead!


    At this moment, he felt as though he


    had lost something that was important to him. Not only was his heart aching, it felt empty too


    Suddenly, Charles¡¯ excited voice was heard. ¡°She is alive. Sonia isn¡¯t dead yet. She is still breathing!¡±


    What? Tina¡¯s smile froze all of a


    sudden and her eyes filled with


    disbelief. Sonia isn¡®t dead?


    Toby¡¯s eyes were trembling as he


    stared at Charles. ¡°Is it true?¡±


    im sure of it. Sonia is indeed alive.¡±


    He could clearly feel her weak breath


    after cing his fingers right under her


    nose.


    At the same time, the guard let out a sigh of relief before turning toward the cleaningdy with


    dissatisfaction. ¡°What were you doing? She obviously isn¡¯t dead, so why did you go running around


    saying that she is dead?¡±


    The cleaningdy answered aggrievedly, ¡°I was scared when I saw her lying on the floor in a pool of


    blood, so I assumed that she was dead.¡±


    The guard was left speechless.


    As for Tina, she also red at the


    cleaningdy angrily. It¡®s all because of her that I got all excited for nothing. Also,


    why couldn¡®t Sonia just die after slipping on the shower gel that I poured?


    She was afraid that others might


    notice her true intentions, so she quicklyposed herself and smiled. ¡°This is great. Miss Reed is still


    alive. This is great news, right, Toby?¡±


    However, he didn¡¯t answer her as he


    walked toward Charles and Sonia.


    At the moment, Charles was shaking


    her gently, trying to wake her up.


    Seeing hispleteck of basic medical knowledge, Toby was so infuriated that he grabbed the other


    man¡¯s cor and pulled him away from


    Sonia.


    ¡°Fuller, what are you doing?¡± Charles roared.


    Toby lifted his gaze and nced at him coldly. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that she is in a deepa, so you can¡¯t just


    wake her up by shaking her. Also, her head was injured, so you¡¯ll only make her injuries worse and


    cause her to lose more


    blood. If you don¡¯t want her to die, your


    best choice is to call the doctor


    REDMI Nomediately¡±


    Listening to him, Charles was


    dumbfounded at first before being


    annoyed at himself.


    Dimn it! I always lose my cool when I¡®m


    frustrated. I can¡®t believe I didn¡®t even think of such an important thing like


    calling a doctor.


    Quickly, he took out his phone and


    called the hotel.


    Meanwhile, Toby squatted down and


    gently lifted Sonia¡¯s head so that she


    could lie in his arms.


    Then, he tore off a piece of cloth from


    his shirt as a bandage to wrap around


    on the back of Sonia¡¯s head


    to stop blood from flowing out.


    13/19


    During the process, his eyes were filled


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    with distress and pity, and even he himself did not notice it.


    However, Tina witnessed everything as


    she stood off to one side. She saw red but she couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it.


    She knew clearly that if she stopped


    him at this moment, it would only show


    how petty she was that she couldn¡¯t


    even tolerate an injured person.


    After making a phone call, Charles said


    to them, ¡°The hotel said that they have


    already arranged a doctor to go to Sonia¡¯s room. We just need to bring her


    KF


    5145


    there right away.¡±


    Therefore, Toby knotted the bandage


    and carried her up.


    Seeing the situation, Charles immediately put his phone back in his pocket and stretched out both his


    hands. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of her.¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s clear from your previous


    actions that you are not suitable to


    take care of her,¡± Toby muttered coldly, refusing to hand over the woman to


    him.


    Charles chuckled sarcastically. ¡°If I¡¯m


    not suitable, then what makes you


    suitable to take care of her? President


    *Fuller, don¡¯t forget that you and Sonia REDMI NOTE 9S CO AI QUAD CAMERA


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    3:45 Chimpter 57


    15/19 are divorced. I¡¯m now her boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right, Toby. Mr. Lane is Miss Reed¡¯s boyfriend, so you can just hand her over to him. I believe that


    he will take good care of her.¡± Tina went up and gently urged him to let Sonia go


    while she pulled at his sleeve.


    Toby¡¯s hands slowly tightened around


    Sonia¡¯s armpit and knee but in the end,


    he let go and handed her over to Charles, his expression dark.


    After letting out a grunt, Charles turned around and left with Sonia in his arms.


    Seeing the two of them leaving, Toby


    somehow felt annoyed and frustrated REDMI NOTE 95 AI QUAD CAMERA


    C


    Whapter 5


    16/19 inside his heart and he clenched his fists. However, when he clenched his


    fists, he suddenly noticed a sticky feelinging from his palms. After opening his hand, he realized that


    other than Sonia¡¯s blood, his hands were also stained by an unidentified liquid.


    There was a faint scent from the liquid


    and when he rubbed his hands, the


    liquid started to form bubbles. It must


    be some kind of shampoo or shower gel. I¡®ve just touched Sonia, so I probably got it from her.


    Upon thinking about it, he looked at the


    ce where Sonia passed out and sure


    enough, there really was a pool of the


    same liquid


    Immediately, he let out a sneer. Looks


    like she spilled her toiletries and identally slipped on it. What an idiot!


    ¡°Toby, Mr. Lane and Miss Reed are


    gone. Let¡¯s go back to our room.¡± Tina


    grabbed his arm.


    However, he then lifted his arm and


    withdrew it from her. ¡°I need to wash


    my hands first.¡±


    After that, he went to the front of the


    washstand and washed off the blood


    and shower gel on his hands before


    leaving the hot springs.


    When they got back to their room, Tina


    grabbed a bathrobe and gave it to him.


    ¡°Toby, you just bandaged Miss Reed and your body was stained by her blood, so why don¡¯t you take a


    bath


    first?¡±


    He had the same idea, so he took the


    bathrobe and went into the bathroom but when he smelled a familiar scent in


    the air, he narrowed his eyes.


    CO


    REDMI NOTE 9S AI QUAD CAMERA

 Chapter 58

    Chapter 58


    This smells the same as the shower gel


    I got on my hands in the shower room.


    Why can I smell the scent of Sonia¡®s


    shower gel here, though? Unless, that shower gel is not hers to begin with. Before we


    went out, it was Tina who used this bathroom, which means that the


    owner of the shower gel caused Sonia to slip.


    While grabbing the bathrobe in his hand tightly, Toby fixed his cold eyes on a bottle of shower gel in the


    toilet


    cab. The bottle was transparent, so


    he could clearly see that there was less


    than half of the shower gel left inside.


    As for where the other half had gone,


    the answer was obvious.


    With a terrifying expression, he threw


    aside the bathrobe in his hand and walked out of the bathroom.


    Outside in the living room, Tina was


    sitting on the couch and talking to Jean on the phone. When she heard his footsteps, she lifted her eyes


    and saw the man¡¯s cold face. Immediately, she felt a thump inside her heart, but she still managed to


    force a smile on her face. ¡°Toby, you are done


    showering?¡±


    Why is he staring at me with such terrifying eyes?


    ¡°Tina, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡±


    After calming herself down, Tina smiled and replied, ¡°Madam White, it¡¯s gettingte. You need to get


    some rest, so we¡¯ll just have to stop here for now. See you next time!¡±


    Then, Tina hung up and put the phone back onto the coffee table. As she got


    up and approached Toby, she could feel his eyes getting more and more terrifying the more she got


    closer to him.


    Deep down, she felt worried but she still remained calm on the surface.


    Toby, what¡¯s wrong? Are you in a bad


    mood?¡± She went up to him and tried to lean against his chest.


    With his head down, Toby nced at her before taking a step back.


    Therefore, she stumbled and almost fell to the floor, so she looked at him in


    shock. ¡°Toby,¡±


    ¡°Was it you who caused Sonia to fall in


    the shower room?¡± He cut off her


    words while his expression grew


    colder.


    Immediately, Tina¡¯s eyes narrowed but


    she didn¡¯t have time to wonder how he


    ended up suspecting her, so she kept


    on shaking her head. ¡°Of course not!


    Toby, do you really think I would do such a thing?¡±


    She looked as though she couldn¡¯t ept his misunderstanding and her face was filled with


    dissatisfaction and


    anger.


    Initially, she thought that by doing so, Toby would coax her as usual to


    prevent her from getting angry.


    This time, however, the man did nothing as he stood there and stared at her. Not only were his eyes full


    of disappointment, there was also a surge ofplex emotions that no one could understand.


    ¡°You still won¡¯t admit to it? Do you


    really think I¡¯m suspecting you out of the blue? If I didn¡¯t have any definite evidence, I wouldn¡¯t ask you


    this


    question.¡±


    Definite evidence? Tina¡¯s expression instantly changed since she knew that he wouldn¡¯t lie to


    her. Looks like he


    actually has evidence.


    She panicked and her eyes were filled with fear. ¡°Toby, 1-¡±


    Again, he cut off her words. ¡°The thing


    that caused Sonia to slip was therge


    pool of shower gel on the floor, and


    that shower gel has the same scent as


    yours. All of your shower gels are


    CO AI QUAD CAMERA


    O REDMI NOTE 9S


    718 custom-made, which means there can¡¯t be another one in the world with the


    same scent. Also, when you came


    here, all of the items you bought with


    you were new and unopened but for some reason, half of your shower gel has been used. This evidence


    is


    enough to prove that it was you who did it.¡± After that, he looked at her as if he was looking at a stranger


    and asked the question that he always had inside his heart. ¡°Tina, are you really that kind


    and innocent girl who wrote all those


    letters to me back then?¡±


    The moment she heard his question,


    her body froze while her hands and


    feet became cold. What should I do? He is starting to suspect my identity! This


    won¡®t do. I must quickly dispel his suspicions; otherwise, it¡®ll be all over for


    1. me.


    As the light in her eyes flicked, she suddenly bit her lips and cried. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. I was wrong. I¡¯m


    sorry!¡±


    She then started coughing, so much so that her face turned red and her body trembled slightly, as if she


    was about


    to pass out at any time.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Seeing how feeble she looked, Toby felt his heart go soft, so he patted her


    back to help regte her breathing.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the one you should apologize


    to.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll apologize to Miss Reed tomorrow.¡± She grabbed his arm and shook it like a spoiled child. ¡°Toby,


    can you please forgive me?¡±


    He didn¡¯t say that he forgave her but at the same time, he didn¡¯t withdraw his arm and he pinched the


    space between his eyebrows. ¡°I want to know why you did it. Have you ever thought that you


    might kill someone doing this?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that much.¡± Tina


    murmured with her head lowered. ¡°I did


    it because I was scared that you have


    been with Miss Reed for six years. I


    was afraid that you still have feelings for her and she¡¯ll snatch you away, so I


    ¡®acted impulsively. I regretted it


    afterward but I didn¡¯t dare to say anything because I was scared that you would me me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. I only have you in my heart. It¡¯s impossible for Sonia and I to be together.¡± Toby couldn¡¯t


    help but feel a little guilty because the reason Tina did such a thing was because he didn¡¯t give her any


    sense of security, so he hugged her and kissed her head.


    ¡°Listen to me-from now on, you must


    stop doing this, understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± While leaning on his chest, Tina felt that his attitude had softened, and she heaved a sigh of relief,


    knowing


    that she had dispelled his suspicions.


    AI QUAD CAMERA O REDMI NOTE 9S


    12/18 After that, she seemed to think of


    something, so she lowered her eyes and asked with concern ¡°Toby, do you think Miss Reed will call the


    police to arrest me when I apologize to her


    tomorrow?¡±


    He rubbed her head and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be


    fine. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Toby.¡± Smiling, she stood up on her tiptoes and tried to give him a kiss on the lips.


    However, he furrowed his brows and


    instinctively turned his face away.


    In the end, her kissnded on nothing, causing her expression to freeze, but


    547


    she pretended that nothing had


    happened and kissed his cheek.


    Meanwhile, the doctor was treating


    Sonia


    While clenching his fists, Charles kept on walking around non-stop until the


    doctor finally took off his gloves. ¡°Doctor, how¡¯s baby¡­ How¡¯s Sonia¡¯s condition?¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t in danger at the moment. She only has a mild concussion. I¡¯ve also re-disinfected and


    bandaged her wound, but it¡¯s better if you bring her to the hospital for a more detailed inspection to see if


    there is any blood clot in her head,¡± the doctor exined.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll take her there tomorrow.¡±


    Charles nodded.


    After sending the doctor away, he sat down next to the bed and stared at the


    unconscious woman in relief. ¡°Luckily you are fine; otherwise, Carl will kill me


    a thousand times over. He may even


    turn evil and destroy the world.¡±


    When he thought about Carl¡¯s true looks, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble in fear. In the end, he fell asleep


    on the


    side of the bed.


    When Sonia finally woke up, it was


    already the next morning.


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    ¡°As she looked around to scan her


    surroundings, she already figured out where she was


    After blinking, she wanted to get up but as soon as she moved her body slightly, an intense pain was


    immediately felting from her head. The pain was enough to turn her face pale as she fell back on


    the bed but at the same time, images of her memory shed through her mind.


    She remembered that she fell down and knocked her head when she came out of the shower room


    yesterday.


    No wonder my head feels so dizzy and


    She moaned in pain, waking up


    Charles, who was sleeping on the side of the bed. Then, he sat straight and looked at her with his sleepy


    eyes. ¡°Baby, are you finally awake?¡±


    Her lips twitched and she asked, ¡°Have you been watching over me all night?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He casually tidied up his messy


    hair and smiled. ¡°What do you think,


    Baby? I treat you quite well, right? Are


    you going to consider turning me from


    a fake boyfriend to your real one?¡±


    She rolled her eyes at him. ¡°In your


    The thought of my best friend turning into my lover is really disgusting.


    ¡°As expected, all women are cruel!¡± he muttered as he stared at her gloomily.


    She couldn¡¯t help but kick him and said, ¡°Alright. Be serious!¡±


    Immediately, he stopped messing


    around and he put on a serious


    expression. ¡°Baby, how did you fall down yesterday?¡±


    Sonia pursed her pale lips and said, ¡°I


    did fall down by myself, but I feel like things weren¡¯t as simple as they looked.¡±


    ¡°Do you suspect something, baby?¡± Charles asked as he looked at her.


    She nodded. ¡°I fell because I stepped on something slippery as I came out from the stall. When I was


    on the floor, I smelled something fragrant, like body wash.¡±


    ¡°Why would there be body wash in


    front of your stall?¡± His eyes widened


    in astonishment


    ¡°I have no clue either.¡±

 Chapter 59

    Chapter 59


    Stroking his chin, he mused, ¡°Could it be that someone dropped their body


    wash as they passed by and it spilled


    right on your doorstep, and you were


    unlucky enough to step in it?¡±


    Narrowing her eyes, she answered, ¡°Maybe, but the chances don¡¯t sound too high.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say so?¡±


    Tilting her head slightly at him, Sonia


    answered, ¡°Because I didn¡¯t hear the sound of anything falling while I was taking a bath.¡±


    O REDMI NOTE 9S O AI QUAD CAMERA


    Which was to say someone stealthily


    and deliberately ced the body wash


    5:47


    in front of her door


    Instantly, Charles stood up. ¡°Then it has to be Tina. She and Toby are our only two enemies at this resort


    and since he couldn¡¯t possibly enter thedies¡¯ room, that leaves only her.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s hand that was resting on the nket clenched. ¡°You¡¯re right. When


    you called mest evening, she happened to be nearby. She must have heard me say that I was hitting


    the showers and followed me in.¡±


    As Charles¡¯ chest rose and fell


    dramatically with rage, he pulled his


    O REDMI NOTE 9S


    AI QUAD CAMERA


    cell phone out of his pocket, snarling,


    ¡°What a poisonous snake that woman


    is! We have to make a police report, We must! We can¡¯t let this go just like that!¡±


    However, Sonia stopped him and she


    pointed out, ¡°There¡¯s no use. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s surveince in the shower


    room. We have no way of proving that


    she nted the body wash. Even if tests revealed that the body wash on the floor is the kind she uses,


    she could lie and say she spilled it by ident. She wouldn¡¯t be found guilty


    at all.¡±


    Frowning tightly, he grumbled, ¡°So, if


    this isn¡¯t an option, what should we


    do?¡±


    After a moment of thought, she


    proposed, ¡°Unless we can get a recording of her admitting to deliberately harming me, all of our efforts


    will amount to nothing.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be easy.¡± With a sinister


    smile, he continued, ¡°But I can have someone threaten her while wearing a wire. She¡¯ll fall for it.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes brightened but right as


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    she was about to reply, the doorbell


    rang.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Charles grumbled as he


    went toward the door.


    Upon opening it, he discovered Toby


    and Tina standing outside.


    ¡°Mr. Lane¡± Tina greeted with a slight


    smile.


    Instantly, Charles¡¯ face fell and he asked without ceremony, ¡°What do you


    want?¡±


    Meeting his gaze squarely, Toby exined, ¡®We¡¯re looking for Sonia. Is she here?¡±


    Given the fact that Charles¡¯ outfit was the same as the previous evening, that proved he spent the night


    in Sonia¡¯s


    room.


    At the thought of Charles and Sonia


    *alone in a room together, Toby¡¯s gaze


    darkened and he felt inexplicably irritated


    ¡°Who is it, Charles?¡± Sonia asked a little weakly from inside the room


    Having no intention to lie to her, Charles stared at the couple in front of him and called back in a raised


    voice, ¡°It¡¯s Miss Gray and President Fuller. They say they¡¯re looking for you.¡±


    The room was silent for a few moments before Sonia finally said, ¡°Let


    them in.¡±


    Charles then stepped aside, albeit a


    little reluctantly


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Tina said with a smile and


    a nod before leading Toby in with her


    arm around his


    Rolling his eyes, Charles shut the door and followed behind them.


    Wearing a loose pair of pajamas, Sonia


    was seated against the head of the


    bed and her head was bandaged. Her face was pale and she looked extremely fragile.


    For some reason, Toby felt his heart


    ache faintly at the sight of her. Subconsciously, he gentled his voice and asked, ¡°How are you?¡±


    After giving him a curious look, Sonia


    REDMI NOTE 9S AI QUAD CAMERA


    *smirked in amusement and asked, ¡°Are


    C


    hure


    you concerned about me


    Tina instantly tightened her grip around


    his arm


    As if prompted, he realized that he was acting a little strangely toward Sonia and pursed his lips before


    continuing in a cold and detached voice, ¡°There¡¯s nothing odd about asking how the injured are doing


    while visiting them. It¡¯s only polite.¡±


    His meaning was that he was asking


    out of politeness and not care.


    Satisfied, Tina loosened her grip on his


    arm and gave Sonia a smug look.


    Before thetter could react, Charles


    stepped forward in a broad stride and blocked Tina¡¯s view of her, miming a digging motion with his


    fingers and saying, ¡°I¡¯ll gouge your eyes out if you look at her like that again.¡±


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare!¡±


    With a chuckle, he answered, ¡°Try me!¡± And then, he acted like he was about to chase after her.


    Instantly, she paled and hid behind


    Toby, clinging to the hem of his suit jacket and begging in a quavering voice, ¡°Save me, Toby!¡±


    Putting one arm around her behind his


    back, Toby held up the other in a ¡®stop¡¯


    motion in front of Charles and red coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t go too far,¡± he warned.


    As if he had heard something funny,


    Charles snorted. ¡°Since you¡¯re being so


    kind as to warn me, I¡¯ll give you some advice as well-you¡¯d better watch your double standards. You only


    pay attention to what I¡¯m doing to your fianc¨¦e and not what she is doing to Sonia. Given how blind you


    are, you


    might as well give your eyes away.¡±


    Watching on from the bed, Sonia couldn¡¯t help cackling and giving him a thumbs-up.


    As Toby noted her motion, he frowned uneasily and he thought to himself,


    Does that mean that she, too, thinks!


    am blind?


    After yawning with her hand covering her mouth, Sonia finally said impatiently, ¡°Alright. This is my room


    and I¡¯m still recovering. Whatever you¡¯re here for, say it and leave. I want


    to rest.¡±


    Pursing his lips, he said, ¡°We¡¯re here to


    apologize to you.¡±


    Apologize?


    She exchanged nces with Charles.


    Pulling Tina out from behind his back,


    Toby exined, ¡°You fellst evening


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S


    O AI QUAD CAMERA


    because Tina identally spilled her


    549


    148


    body wash on the floor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Miss Reed.¡± With a guilty expression, Tina gave her an apologetic bow.


    Coldly and quietly, she watched Tina


    ¡°Was it truly an ident?¡±


    Straightening, Tina met Sonia¡¯s piercing gaze abruptly and panicked internally. Instantly, she lowered her


    eyes and pressed through her teeth, ¡°It was.¡±


    Charles sneered. ¡°Bullsh*t! You spilled


    it on purpose!¡±


    DO REDMI NOTE 9S


    AI QUAD CAMERA


    Tearing up, she protested, ¡°I didn¡¯t! You


    have to believe me, Miss Reed. I really didn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Save it. We¡¯ll never believe you.¡± Casting her a disgusted look, Charles


    continued, ¡°What I want to know is why


    you didn¡¯t mention Sonia¡¯s fall was connected to youst night. Why are you only admitting it just now?¡±


    As her eyes shed, she exined with her head still lowered, ¡°Because I didn¡®t


    realizest night that Miss Reed fell


    because of me. It wasn¡¯t until you


    carried her away and I saw body wash


    on the floor where she was that I


    figured out what had happened, which


    is why I¡¯vee here to apologize as


    ¡°soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°You would have to, or things would end badly for you.¡± Sonia remarked


    with a scornful curl of her lip.


    Tina¡¯s expression froze. ¡°What do you mean by that, Miss Reed?¡±


    Simrly, Charles and Toby both stared


    at her.


    After sweeping a careless nce over


    Tina¡¯s increasingly uneasy gaze, Sonia


    answered cynically, ¡°You know what I


    mean by that. You knew you would be


    my first suspect after I woke up and


    were afraid things would get out of


    your control if I threw a fuss about it, which is why you¡¯re hoping to sweep


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S


    O AI QUAD CAMERA


    everything under the rug by calling it an


    Chipter 59


    ident.¡±


    ¡°So, you mean to sweep everything under the rug?¡± Charles roared withughter. ¡°Let me tell you now


    that that¡¯s not going to happen.¡±


    Previously silent, Toby suddenly became aware that things weren¡¯t going to be so easily solved, so he


    stepped forward and asked in a low voice, ¡°What do you intend to do, then?¡±

 Chapter 60

    Chapter 60


    With a faint smile, Sonia answered, ¡°Simple. We¡¯re going to file a police


    report!¡±


    Giving her a surprised look, Charles started, ¡°Baby, didn¡¯t you say,¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She gave him a warning nce.


    Instantly, he mimed zipping his mouth shut and fell silent.


    Only then did she continue, ¡°Since we


    both have different opinions and Miss


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Gray maintains her innocence while we


    believe that she did it on purpose, it¡¯ll


    be difficult to determine the truth for


    now. If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we let


    the police investigate?¡± .


    Noting the intelligent glint in her eyes, Toby knew deep down that she was nning something and that


    her


    motives weren¡¯t pure,


    However, before he could warn Tina, thetter spoke up. ¡°Of course.¡± She was smiling in agreement but


    laughing at Sonia internally while thinking about how foolish the other woman was for


    thinking of making a police report.


    Without video evidence, what good will


    summoning the police do? Tinaughed to herself.


    Meanwhile, Sonia pretended not to see the ridicule in Tina¡¯s eyes and only apuded, a smile on her


    face. ¡°Very


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S


    AI QUAD CAMERA


    3419 good! You¡¯ve made the right call, Miss Gray. Charles, since she has agreed, you should call the


    police and ask them to bring a hypnotist along when


    theye to investigate the case.¡±


    Although Charles pulled out his cell phone, he stared at her, confused. ¡°Why would they need to bring a


    hypnotist along?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes and his gaze locked on Sonia¡¯s bright face.


    As he expected, she wasn¡¯t simply nning on filing a police report.


    Unfortunately, what he failed to foresee


    was that the hypnotist was her true


    Simrly, Tina was finally realizing the trouble she was in and began to pale bit by bit


    When Sonia saw Tina¡¯s expression, the smile on her face became broader. ¡°Of course it¡¯s to find out the


    truth. I¡¯ve


    heard that when dealing with suspects who are reluctant to speak, the police will bring a hypnotist along


    to hypnotize the suspect so that the suspect will unwittingly admit their


    crimes.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Charles pped his thighs jovially. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s not enough. While she¡¯s


    being hypnotized, Charles, remember


    to live stream the entire process to the viewers. If it¡¯s ultimately found that it truly was an ident, then


    we¡¯ll drop the matter and I¡¯ll admit to simply having bad luck. But if it¡¯s found to be


    deliberate, well¡­¡± At this point, Sonia feigned a confused look at Tina. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Miss Gray?


    You¡¯re pale and trembling, and you seem to be


    sweating. Are you ill?¡±


    ¡°I bet it¡¯s not illness but guilt!¡± Charles sneered loudly. ¡°After all, she¡¯ll be forced to admit to her


    wrongdoing in


    just a bit.¡±


    Instead of responding, Tina bit down


    O REDMI NOTE 9S


    AI QUAD CAMERA


    on her lip hard, feeling scared and flustered even as she thought about


    Q


    6/19


    how much she hated Sonia.


    The woman was truly a devil to not


    onlye up with something so


    perverse as hiring a hypnotist but think


    of streaming the entire process online as well! How was Sonia any different from a murderer covering up


    her


    crimes?


    As tears clouded Tina¡¯s eyes, she


    looked beseechingly at the man next to


    her. ¡°Toby¡­¡±


    Tiredly, the man in question pinched


    the bridge of his nose.


    Perhaps he had done wrong from the


    very beginning and shouldn¡¯t have


    caved in this morning when she


    begged him to help her hide the truth


    Perhaps then, things wouldn¡¯t have developed to this point of no return.


    Looking at Sonia, he finally said, ¡°Hypnotists and live streams aren¡¯t necessary, Sonia. There¡¯s no need


    to exacerbate the conflict between the Gray Family and Paradigm Co.¡±


    As if she was suddenly understanding


    something, she clenched her fists and


    met his gaze emotionlessly. ¡°If you


    won¡¯t let me hypnotize Miss Gray or


    REDMI NOTE 9S AI QUAD CAMERA


    live stream it, President Fuller, am |


    correct in my understanding of her


    Q


    guilt?


    Why else would he stop me?This alone is proof of everything!


    ¡°Not only that, baby, but I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s obvious that President Fuller knew the truth from the very


    beginning and yet, he was helping to conceal it!¡± Charles sneered with his arms crossed.


    ¡°Is that the case?¡± Sonia questioned as she stared keenly at Toby.


    After a long moment of silence, he finally admitted, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. How brilliant!¡± She clenched her


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S


    AI QUAD CAMERA


    fists even harder, her nails digging into


    C


    10/19


    her palm painfully.


    It was painful, but not as painful as the


    ache in her heart


    After all, this was a man she had loved


    for so many years. It amazed her how far he could toss aside his morals for


    Tina.


    ¡°I finally see what kind of person you are.¡± Soniaughed scornfully. ¡°It¡¯s funny how I threw away six


    years of my youth for a man like you!¡±


    Nheless, Toby¡¯s face remained


    impassive and unreadable.


    Of course, he knew it was wrong to


    cover for Tina.


    However, he couldn¡¯t bear to watch her rot in prison


    In the end, he said in a low voice, ¡°As


    long as you drop this matter, I¡¯ll take responsibility for what Tina did to you.¡±


    Instantly, Charles became enraged and


    clenched his hand into a fist, aiming for Toby¡¯s face.


    Startled, Tina shrieked, ¡°Watch out, Toby!¡±


    ¡°Charles-no!¡± Sonia also shouted out


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S


    AI QUAD CAMERA


    C


    in time.


    12/19 Charles¡¯ fist screeched to a halt an inch before Toby¡¯s face, and the former put


    his hand down begrudgingly,


    Breathing out a sigh of relief, Sonia regarded Toby attentively. ¡°How are you going to take responsibility,


    then? And if what you propose doesn¡¯t


    satisfy me, I¡¯m not going to agree to it. Charles, please have the following


    conversation recorded just in case


    President Fulleres to regret it


    ¡°Of course!¡± Charles chortled and


    turned on his cell phone¡¯s audio


    recording function.


    OO REDMI NOTE 9S


    AI QUAD CAMERA


    Looking very dissatisfied, Tina


    13/19


    protested, ¡°Toby isn¡¯t the type of person to go back on his word, Miss Reed. You look down on us too


    much.¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia and Charles both treated her like air and ignored her.


    Reddening under the insult, she puffed up. ¡°How dare the both of you,¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Toby lifted a hand to signal her to quiet down. Following that, he looked at Sonia and said, ¡°I¡¯ll


    cover all your medical fees until you¡¯re fully


    recovered. Apart from that, I can give


    you one of the Fuller Group¡¯s trade


    ports.¡±


    Trade ports?


    Stunned, Sonia widened her eyes at him


    This is great fortune! She was still thinking about looking for connections after she was done with the


    Rentoor goods so that she could open a trade


    port


    Never in a million years did she think that he would offer her one just like that.


    Like a fox, she smiled cunningly.


    ¡°That¡¯s very magnanimous of you, President Fuller, but I¡¯m afraid that isn¡¯t


    enough!¡±


    ¡®Biting her lip, Tinained


    indignantly, ¡°It¡¯s more than enough, Miss Reed. How can it not be? Aren¡¯t you being a bit too greedy?¡±


    ¡°Hey-watch your tongue! What do you


    mean ¡®greedy¡¯?¡± Charles pointed at the bandage on Sonia¡¯s head. ¡°You injured her on purpose or to put it


    simply, you tried to kill my baby. What¡¯s wrong with us asking for more?¡±


    At the usation, Tina turned her face


    away guiltily and fell silent.


    Frowning, Toby asked, ¡°What else do


    you want, then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Gray Family wants


    one of vour plots ofnd. President


    Fuller, and they intend to invest in the development of real estate there. I¡¯ve


    also heard that you intend to sell it to


    them at a lower price.¡± Twirling her hair, Sonia continued, ¡°I¡¯ve always sought fairness and since Miss


    Gray is the actual guilty party here, you shouldn¡¯t be the only one to take responsibility. She should share


    some of the burden as well and offer up that plot ofnd.¡±


    Thoroughlytled, Tina snapped, ¡°No


    way!¡±


    That plot ofnd was Toby¡¯s gift to the


    Gray Family for Tina¡¯s betrothal to him.


    How could she give it to Sonia?


    * ¡°No? Alright, then. Charles, call the


    police!¡± Sonia shot Charles a look.


    Instantly, he unlocked his cell phone.


    Caught between a rock and a hard ce, Tina hesitated but Toby spoke up in the end, saying, ¡°Alright.


    Thend is yours.¡±


    ¡°Toby?¡± Tina caught hold of his sleeve.


    Gently, he patted the back of her hand


    and reassured her, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I still have a plot ofnd in Berthull. It¡¯s a little


    smaller, but it should suit your dad just


    fine.¡± Following that, he turned back to


    Sonia and gave her a cold look. ¡°When


    we get back to Seafield, I¡¯ll have


    someone send you thend deed. I


    hope you¡¯ll keep your promise too and not cause any trouble for Tina.¡±

 Chapter 61

    Chapter 61


    ¡°Of course!¡± Sonia nodded with a smile before looking at Tina. ¡°Thank you, Miss Gray. If it weren¡¯t for


    you, I wouldn¡¯t have so many benefits.¡±


    Silently, Tina chewed on her bottom lip.


    Slinging an arm around Tina¡¯s waist,


    Toby said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Safe travels, President Fuller and Miss Gray! I¡¯ll see you in Seafield!¡± Sonia waved them off with a grin.


    Gloomily, they left


    After shutting the door behind them,


    Charles came back quickly. ¡°That was


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    amazing, baby. You cheated him out of


    Ocean¡®s Heart, and now you¡¯ve cheated him out of a whole port and a plot ofnd. They looked so upset


    when they left. I was tickled to death!¡±


    Picking up a ss of water by her bed, Sonia took a sip using a straw before answering, ¡°Well, it¡¯d be a


    waste if I didn¡¯t take the chance when they were offering it to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± After a chuckle, he looked at her seriously. ¡°But are we really


    dropping this matter?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded. ¡°We could send


    Tina to prison but there¡¯s no need for


    that, and Toby¡¯s right-actually doing


    that would exacerbate the situation


    between the Gray Family and Paradigm


    Co. Out of desperation, the Gray Family


    would try to crush Paradigm Co.¡±


    Currently, Paradigm Co. was still too small to be the Gray Family¡¯s opponent.


    Thus, she absolutely could not go head-to-head with them.


    Seeing the logic in that, he fiddled with


    his phone absent-mindedly before


    saying, ¡°What a pity! But it¡¯s a good


    thing that we at least got a lot out of it. Especially that plot ofnd. Titus would no doubt hit the ceiling if


    he found out


    about it.¡±


    At his description, she couldn¡¯t help


    Gleefully, Charles gloated with his arms spread wide open, ¡°Serves him right for having a daughter who


    harms her own father and her own fianc¨¦!¡±


    Harms her own father and her own


    fianc¨¦?


    If Sonia thought about it, it was indeed true. Previously, Tina¡¯s attempt to nder her ended up costing


    Titus his carefully prepared banquet to celebrate her recovery and Toby his carefully


    selected Ocean¡¯s Heart ne.


    Now, Tina caused Sonia to fall and it cost Toby a trade port and Titus a plot ofnd. With all the losses


    they were suffering, how could Tina¡¯s actions be described other than actively harming her father and her


    fianc¨¦?


    At the thought, Sonia tutted, suddenly feeling pity for Titus and Toby.


    ¡°By the way, baby,¡± Charles leaned in


    close as he murmured, ¡°-what do you


    intend to do with that plot ofnd?¡±


    Expressionlessly, she lifted a hand and


    pushed his face away from hers. ¡°Build


    a factory. Paradigm Co. needs its own


    factory as well. We can¡¯t keep working with otherpanies to produce our goods.¡±


    She had yet to forget how impolitely Mr. King and the others had treated her


    at Sakura Heights, as well as how


    difficult they had made things for her.


    It was not an experience she was keen


    to repeat, nor did she want to keep knocking on doors just to find someone to produce her goods.


    ¡°Very smart to think in the long run, baby. Not bad. I support you.¡± He


    patted her shoulder.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she answered with a smile, permitting him the rare opportunity to keep his hand on her


    shoulder.


    The next day, they returned to Seafield.


    The moment Sonia got off the ne, she hurried to Paradigm Co. to meet


    with Ryan


    As he sat down in front of her desk in her office, he gave the bandage on her head a surprised look,


    saying, ¡°What happened, President Reed?¡±


    As she felt the wound on her head, her


    eyes shed coldly. However, a momentter, she ced a cup of


    coffee in front of him and answered


    with a smile, ¡°A rat attacked me.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Ryan dropped the topic with a


    faint smile.


    After receiving the document that Daphne handed her, Sonia began, ¡°Here is Continental Co.¡¯s


    acquisition contract, President Drew. Please go over it and let me know if any revisions are needed.¡±


    She ced the contract on the table,


    thereafter turning it around and pushing it toward him.


    Ryan then flipped through it. Only when


    he reached the end and saw the part


    stating that Paradigm Co. would


    neither interfere with Continental Co.¡¯s internal affairs nor change thepany name did he nod with


    satisfaction. ¡°It looks fine to me.¡±


    Reassured, she smiled before uncapping a fountain pen and handing it to him. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, please


    sign


    here, President Drew. The finance


    department will have the funds put into


    your ount within half an hour.¡±


    Humming his agreement, Ryan took the pen and signed his name on the


    appropriate line.


    From then on, Continental Co. would


    be a subsidiary of Paradigm Co.


    Flipping the contract shut, Sonia handed it back to Daphne and said, ¡°Keep it safe.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Reed.¡± With the contract in hand, Daphne left the office.


    Finally, Sonia stood. ¡± It¡¯s gettingte, President Drew. How about I treat you


    to lunch?¡±


    Waving his hand, Ryan rejected her offer and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take a rain check. I have an appointment


    elsewhere.¡±


    Of course, Sonia didn¡¯t push him and


    only saw him off at the elevator before


    returning to her office.


    Right then, her internal telephone line


    rang.


    Letting go of herputer mouse, she picked up herndline receiver. ¡°Hello?¡±


    At the other end of the line, Daphne spoke up. ¡°Someone from the Fuller Group is here, President Reed.


    He says he¡¯s here to deliver and deed. Do you want to see him?¡±


    Slowly, Sonia smiled. ¡°Of course. Why


    wouldn¡¯t I? Whom did they send?¡±


    She never thought Toby would be so


    proactive as to send someone over


    with the deed the moment she


    returned.


    ¡°President Fuller¡¯s assistant, Tom


    Brown.¡±


    ¡°Send him in.¡±


    After hanging up the phone, she looked


    at the door.


    Very quickly, the door opened and


    Daphne led Tom in.


    ¡°Miss Reed,¡± he greeted politely as he stood in front of her desk.


    With a smile, she pointed at a chair.


    ¡°Please sit, Mr. Brown. Daphne, please


    fetch a cup of coffee for Mr. Brown.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Daphne answered, very quickly going to pour a cup of coffee and returning


    After thanking her, Tom pulled out a chair and sat down before handing two documents to Sonia. ¡°One of


    these is a document transferring a trade port to your name, Miss Reed. The other is a title deed for a plot


    ofnd in the city


    center. Please have a look.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Please wait for a moment.


    I¡¯ll be done soon.¡±


    With that, she opened one of the


    documents and began reading in


    earnest.


    Sitting opposite her, Tom


    surreptitiously took measure of her and was surprised by what he saw.


    Who could have expected that she


    would change so drastically in such a short amount of time? It was as if she


    was a brand new person and was


    much more dazzling than before while Miss Gray, whom he previously thought to be good and kind, was


    bing more and more sinister and diabolical.


    How astonishing!


    Meanwhile, Sonia could feel Ryan¡¯s


    stare but she paid it no mind and only


    quietly finished reading the two


    documents.


    When she was done, she flipped the documents shut. ¡°Mr. Brown.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Caught off-guard, Tom was pulled back to the present and pushed


    his sses up his nose. ¡°Sorry, Miss Reed, but did you say something?¡±


    With a nod and a smile, Sonia told him, ¡°I¡¯ve finished reading the two documents. Thank you for bringing


    them here and please pass on my thanks to President Fuller as well.¡±


    ¡°I will. I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± With that,


    he stood and bid goodbye.


    Looking toward her own assistant,


    Sonia said, ¡°Daphne, see Mr. Brown


    out.¡±


    ¡°Right this way, Mr. Brown.¡± With a


    gesture, Daphne led Mr. Brown out.


    When she returned, she was surrounded by her coworkers.


    ¡°Was that President Fuller¡¯s assistant,


    Daphne? Why did hee here? Was he looking for President Reed?¡±


    ¡°Surely President Fuller can¡¯t be sending President Reed something. It was mangoes previously; what


    could it


    be now?¡±


    ¡°You know, they¡¯re divorced but they¡¯re


    still in contact with each other so


    frequently. You don¡¯t think they could


    be thinking of remarrying, could they?¡±


    At their gossip, Daphne spread her arms and answered helplessly, ¡°How would I know? Alright, that¡¯s


    enough. You should gossip less about your superiors. Go hack to work, or you¡¯ll be screwed when


    President Reedes out to do her rounds.¡±


    The moment they heard that, they


    quickly dispersed and fled the scene.


    As for Daphne, she returned to Sonia¡¯s office. ¡°I¡¯ve seen Mr. Brown off, President Reed.¡±

 Chapter 62

    Chapter 62


    Currently, Sonia was standing in front of the printer and photocopying the deed as well as the transfer


    document. Since she had a moment, she answered Daphne, ¡°Got it. Have thepleted documents on


    the desk sent out and when Charles drops by in the afternoon, let me know.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Daphne went over to the desk and took the stack of documents.


    After Sonia finished her photocopying, she returned to her desk and sat down, thereafter arranging the


    photocopies


    properly so that she could staple them


    together. As for the originals, she was


    prepared to store them in the safe.


    All of a sudden, she thought of something and something shed across her eyes. Pulling out her


    cell phone, she took pictures of the original deed and posted them onto the inte with the caption,


    ¡®Thank you to President Fuller for this excellent piece


    ofnd!


    Following that, she added the social media handles of both Toby and Triforce Enterprise. There was no


    doubt Titus would be apoplectic with


    rage when he saw it.


    At the end of the day, Tina¡¯s attitude was a reflection of his parenting and


    he ought to take a bit of responsibility


    for her actions as well.


    At the thought, Sonia let out a small smile. It was time she gave credit


    where it was due.


    Right then, her cell phone rang.


    When she lowered her head to look at


    the caller ID, she discovered that it was


    a call from Carl. Without hesitation, she put the phone to her ear,


    answering, ¡°Carl.¡±


    ¡°Sonia.¡± From the other end of the line,


    Carl¡¯s low, maic voice passed


    through her eardrums. It was extremely


    pleasant to listen to.


    The sound made her ear itch slightly and she couldn¡¯t help shrinking her neck as she said, ¡°Are you


    finished with work? How is it that you have time to call me?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I just finished posing for a set


    of magazines and I¡¯m on break right now. Since I had nothing better to do, ! went through my activity


    feed. I never


    thought I woulde across what you just posted. What does your post mean, Sonia? Did Toby give


    you a plot ofnd?¡± Carl asked, to which Sonia answered in the affirmative as she leaned back in her


    chair.


    However, he frowned slightly. ¡°Why would he give you a plot ofnd? Are


    you thinking about-¡±


    ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going with this.¡± The moment she heard his tone, she knew he had misunderstood.


    Feeling both amused and exasperated, she exined, ¡°It¡¯s actually rpense on Tina¡¯s behalf.¡±


    ¡°Rpense?¡± At first, he was startled and his expression darkened quite a bit, ¡°Did Tina hurt you,


    Sonia?¡±


    Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she answered with a sigh, ¡°She did. I never thought she could be so


    bold.¡±


    With that, she gave a simple retelling


    of the events at the resort.


    Upon hearing the whole story, Carl tightened his grip around his cell phone and his gaze was murderous.


    ¡°How are you now?¡±


    Though his expression was ice cold,


    his voice was filled with care and


    concern.


    Therefore, she didn¡¯t realize that anything was wrong and only answered with a warmed heart, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I


    have a slight concussion, but I¡¯ll be fully healed within a few days.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± The corners of his lips curved downward. ¡°Alright, I have to get back to work. Talk to youter,


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± She nodded, ¡°Work hard.


    Bye!¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡± After hanging up the phone, Carl


    sent out a text message


    expressionlessly. ¡®There¡¯s something!


    need you to do¡­


    Very quickly, the person on the other end replied, ¡®Roger that!


    As Carl looked down at his wallpaper of Sonia¡¯s smiling visage on his phone, he ran his thumb lightly


    across the image. However, his face was no


    longer as gentle as it previously was. Instead, it seemed slightly hostile.


    He used to live in darkness. It took a


    lot for a ray of light to appear in his life, and whoever harmed that light would


    have to pay the price.


    Meanwhile at Triforce Enterprise, Titus


    was in a meeting with a few


    shareholders and senior managers, discussing the development matters concerning the first vi district.


    Suddenly, his assistant pushed open the meeting room door and eximed,


    ¡°Something bad has happened,


    President Gray!¡±


    Seeing how grave the assistant looked, Titus could only pause the meeting and ask, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Of course, the assistant didn¡¯t


    announce the news to everyone and instead sidled up to Titus¡¯ side to


    whisper into his ear.


    Instantly, Titus¡¯ expression changed


    drastically. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Positive.¡± The assistant nodded


    multiple times.


    At once, Titus¡¯ face turned red and he pped his hand on the table, shouting, ¡°How dare she?¡±


    How dare she not only snatch away the


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    piece ofnd that he was intending to


    develop into the city¡¯s first vi district


    but even include his social media


    handle?


    Clearly, she was trying to provoke and


    humiliate him!


    Seeing the rage on his face, one of the senior managers asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, President


    Gray?¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Titus quelled the rage in his heart and answered with a neutral expression,


    ¡°Nothing, but the


    meeting has to be put on hold for now.


    Dismissed!¡±


    With that, he spun on his heel and left


    the conference room.


    On the way out, he called Toby and as


    soon as the call connected, Titus asked, ¡°Did you give the plot ofnd in the city center to your ex-wife,


    Toby?¡±


    Currently, Toby was at the club under


    Zane¡¯s invitation,


    The room was a little noisy and he couldn¡¯t hear clearly, so he stood up and headed out onto the


    balcony before replying, ¡°Did Tina tell you?¡±


    Titus¡¯ eyes widened when he heard


    that. ¡°What? Tina knows as well?¡±


    Toby hummed and nodded.


    ¡°What happened to the both of you?¡±


    ¡°The more Titus heard, the more


    muddled he became. With dissatisfaction written all over his face, he questioned, ¡°Why would you give


    thend to Sonia? She posted the deed on the inte and tagged me, acting like she¡¯s showing off by


    actuallyughing at me. Do you know about


    this?¡±


    Who in therge city didn¡¯t know he had his eye on that plot ofnd?


    With Sonia¡¯s actions, there was no


    saying whether the people in their circle wereughing at him!


    Meanwhile, Toby narrowed his eyes as


    he mused, Has Sonia really posted the


    ¡°Are you still there, Toby?¡± Titus asked in a louder voice.


    Jolted back to the present, Toby parted his lips to say, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry, Titus. I didn¡¯t know Sonia would do


    that.¡±


    Disgruntled, Titus snorted. ¡°Alright. Why did you give her thatnd, then?


    Are you still in love with her? I warn


    you, Toby-don¡¯t have any thoughts that you shouldn¡¯t be having. You and Tina are the actual couple, and


    you¡¯re formalizing the engagement at the end of the year!¡±


    For some reason, that thought always left Toby feeling inexplicably conflicted.


    Nheless, he didn¡¯t look into it too deeply, only chalking it up to his recent tiredness and pinching the


    bridge of his nose before answering in a low voice, ¡°I know. I don¡¯t have any intentions toward Sonia. In


    fact, I gave


    her thatnd because of Tina. Tina


    was the one who nearly made a grievous error, Titus.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Titus immediately became stern. ¡°Tell me what happened.¡±


    ¡°She poured some body wash outside Sonia¡¯s shower door and it nearly cost Sonia her life. Sonia saw


    right through


    her and threatened to have her sent to prison. I only managed to smooth things over by offering a trade


    port and


    that piece ofnd in exchange.¡± Toby


    answered concisely.


    Meanwhile, Titus listened with his


    mouth agape. For a long time, he couldn¡¯t say anything and only after a long moment did he answer, ¡°I


    see. I¡¯m so sorry for the trouble it caused you, Toby.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but I hope you can have a


    chat with Tina to prevent such things


    from happening in the future. I can clean up after her once but not for a lifetime, understand?¡± Toby


    answered


    coldly with an inscrutable expression


    in his eyes.


    Naturally. Titus could hear the warning


    in the other man¡¯s tone and he understood it too. It dawned on him


    that Toby was expressing


    dissatisfaction in Tina.


    That was to say, Tina was always a


    kind person in his heart, and it was


    both shocking and disappointing to him that she would do such a thing. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be saying


    that.


    It was clear that he would part ways with Tina if she ever did anything like that again in the future. After


    all, what


    man would want a wife with such


    twisted intentions? He might get


    stabbed to death in his sleep one day.


    ¡°Alright. Rest assured, Toby-I¡¯ll be


    having a chat with her,¡± Titus was quick to reassure him.


    Following that, Titus hung up the phone and, with a thunderous expression, informed his assistant, ¡°Get


    the car ready. We¡¯re heading


    home!¡±

 Chapter 63

    Chapter 63


    After half an hour, Titus reached home. The butler came up to greet him and he handed his coat over,


    asking, ¡°Are Miss and Mrs. Gray home?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re in Miss Gray¡¯s room, sir¡± the butler answered after draping the coat


    over his arm.


    After a hum of understanding, Titus


    headed toward the staircase.


    Meanwhile in the room upstairs, Julia


    and Tina were sitting at the foot of the


    bed flipping through a photo album


    together. Pointing at a picture of herself, Tina asked, ¡°Do you remember


    this photo, Mom?¡±


    Fondly stroking her daughter¡¯s long hair, Julia replied, ¡°Of course I do. You were six when we took this


    picture. You liked ying hide-and-seek that year and no matter how hard I looked, couldn¡¯t find you. I


    was so scared that! lost you, but it turned out that you fell asleep hiding in the attic.¡±


    ¡°I remember. When I woke up, I came


    down from the attic by myself to find you crying. You had even lodged a police report,¡± Tina recalled.


    The smile on Julia¡¯s face faded and


    there was a touch of hatred in the


    bottom of her eyes. How could she not


    cry out of panic and file a police report


    when she couldn¡¯t find her child? At the time, she even thought Henry had kidnapped Tina. It was a good


    thing that it turned out to be a false scare in


    the end.


    Presently, Tina flipped a page. All of a sudden, a yellowed photograph fluttered out of the photo album


    andnded on the floor. She bent down to pick it up. There was an infant of a few months old in the


    photograph. The baby was smiling widely and looked


    adorable, and a single nce would


    endear anyone to it.


    However, for some reason, Tina did not


    like this baby at all. In fact, she disliked


    and even hated this baby a


    little. Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t show it and only handed the photograph to her mother, asking with a


    smile, ¡°Is this Rina?¡±


    Stroking her fingers over the little girl in the photograph, Julia nodded with her eyes wet. ¡°Yes. This is


    your sister,


    Rina.¡±


    When Tina saw how much Julia


    missed the infant in the photograph, she couldn¡¯t help feeling jealous. And so, she put the photograph


    back and


    tucked it into the photo album. Following that, she looped her arm


    around her mother¡¯s and leaned her


    head against her shoulder, saying ¡®fondly, ¡°You know, Mom, you get upset


    every time we bring her up, so we shouldn¡¯t bring her up anymore. I don¡¯t think she¡¯d want you to be sad,


    either.¡±


    It was strange how even a dead person


    dared to vie for her mother¡¯s attention. There was no way she was letting that


    happen!


    ¡°Alright, alright. We won¡¯t bring her up.¡±


    Julia answered fondly, unaware of her younger daughter¡¯s motives and wrongly assuming that Tina was


    concerned about her.


    Right then, the room door flew open


    and Titus walked in with a thunderous


    expression. Being the first to discover


    him, Tina let go of her mother to wave.


    ¡°Hi, Dad.¡±


    However, he only gave her an indifferent nce without responding. Instantly, her expression froze and


    she chewed on her lip sadly before asking, ¡°Did I do something wrong, Dad?¡±


    ¡°Yes, honey.¡± Julia gave her husband a dissatisfied nce. ¡°Why are you treating Tina so coldly? She


    didn¡¯t do anything to you.¡±


    ¡°Who says she didn¡¯t? Ask her what


    she¡¯s done now!¡± he used, pointing


    a finger at Tina


    Immediately, Julia looked at her. However, Tina was simrly befuddled.


    Seeing that she truly didn¡¯t understand, Titus didn¡¯t bother dragging the moment out and only continued


    coldly, ¡°I know what you did to Sonia at the resort.¡±


    Instantly, her eyes shed guiltily. ¡°How did you find out about it?¡±


    ¡°How did I find out about it?¡± He


    harrumphed. ¡°She rubbed that piece of


    could I not find out about it? If you were going to get up to something, could you not have been less


    careless


    so she wouldn¡¯t catch you in the act? Now, we¡¯re forced to give up thend. I


    swear¡­¡± He trailed off, too angry to


    continue


    Knowing she had done wrong, Tina lowered her head.


    Heartbroken at the sight, Julia wrapped her arms around her daughter and grumbled at her husband,


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. It¡¯s just a plot ofnd. Why do you need to scold her so fiercely?¡±


    Just a plot ofnd? Titus was so incensed by Julia¡¯s words that he started trembling. ¡°Do you know how


    important that piece ofnd is to us?


    We¡®ve already invested in it and were


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    only waiting for Toby to hand us the


    deed to start work. Now, thend is


    gone and all the projects have to be


    halted. We cannot afford the losses!¡±


    These few years, Triforce Enterprise


    was already on a downhill road. That was why he thought of developing a vi district to restore the


    enterprise to its former glory. But now, it was all for naught.


    Not understanding market conditions, Tina didn¡¯t realize how great the issue


    was and only stood to inform him


    leisurely, ¡°Toby has promised the Berthullnd to you.¡±


    Titus nearly passed out with rage. ¡°And what can the Berthullnd be used for?


    It¡¯s out in the middle of nowhere. Who


    would buy the vis I built there? If I¡¯m


    unable to sell the vis, we¡¯ll still have  to take the losses!¡±


    It¡®s that serious? Finally, Tina started to panic. ¡°Dad¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me ¡®Dad!¡± Titus snapped hurtfully. ¡°You keep going after her and you keep letting her catch


    you in the act and get the upper hand. Now, you¡®ve truly pushed Triforce Enterprise


    to the brink. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re so


    stupid. You¡¯re truly not my real¡ª¡±


    ¡°Honey!¡± Julia interrupted with a pale


    face.


    Only then did he realize that he nearly


    misspoke and closed his mouth in


    ¡°time. After a moment, he reopened it.


    ¡°At any rate, you¡¯d better concentrate on Toby for the time being and leave Sonia to me. You¡¯re not


    allowed to go after her and let her catch you in the act again. Do you understand me?¡±


    Lowering her eyes, Tina answered,


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Without saying anything further, Titus turned and left. After he did, Tina grabbed her mother¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Mom, what did he mean by what he said? Not


    his real what?¡±


    Something inside her was telling her


    that she needed to get things cleared


    1. up. Otherwise, there was no way she


    could bear it.


    However, Julia¡¯s eyes shed and she rearranged her expression and tidied Tina¡¯s hair with a smile.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she murmured. ¡°He didn¡¯t know what he was saying. Don¡¯t mind him. Alright, you¡¯d better get


    some rest. Don¡¯t you have to go out for dinner with Toby tonight? I¡¯ll go and calm your dad down.¡± And


    with that, she left.


    With dark and inscrutable eyes, Tina


    watched the door. If her mother wasn¡¯t


    willing to tell her, she would investigate on her own. She would definitely find


    something. As for Sonia, she might be


    so lucky as to escape death the first


    time, but she wouldn¡¯t be so lucky the


    second time!


    At Paradigm Co., Charles and Sonia had only just finished their meeting and stepped out of the


    conference room when Daphne stepped in front of


    them.


    After sneaking a nce at Charles and concealing the affection in her eyes,


    she reported to Sonia seriously,


    ¡°Triforce Enterprise just called, President Reed. President Gray wants


    to see you.¡±


    ¡°Titus Gray wants to see me?¡± Sonia


    lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s already on his way here.¡±


    With a sneer, Charles remarked, ¡°He¡¯s


    not even giving you a chance to refuse to see him, baby. By the way, Daphne, did he mention why he


    wanted to


    meet?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Daphne answered with a shake of


    her head. Her voice was slightly gentler than when she spoke to Sonia, but neither of the other two


    noticed.


    Instead, Sonia simply nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we might as well see him. Go and make some tea,


    Daphne.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Daphne nodded.


    Following that, Charles and Sonia


    headed back toward Sonia¡¯s office. On


    the way, Charles stroked his chin in


    thought. ¡°You don¡¯t think he could being to you over that piece ofnd, could he?¡±


    ¡°He must be. I can¡¯t think of another


    reason.¡± Sonia opened the door to the


    office.


    Stepping inside, he shut the door after them. ¡°I imagine he wants thend


    back.¡±


    Soniaughed and right as she was


    about to reply, Daphne pushed open the door a crack and poked her head


    1. in. ¡°President Reed and President Lane


    -President Gray is here.¡±

 Chapter 64

    Chapter 64


    ¡°He arrived pretty quickly.¡± Charles spun his chair around with azy look on his face.


    Closing the document in her hand and


    setting it aside, Sonia said, ¡°Let him in.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Daphne answered.


    Very quickly, Titus entered the room, thereupon he gave Sonia a sharp stare.


    As she was already used to such


    workce shes, Sonia was


    unbothered and only offered him a


    faint smile as she gestured at the seat in front of her. ¡°Please have a seat,


    ¡°You sure look calm!¡± he snarled,


    almost in praise, before pulling out the chair and sitting opposite her.


    Meanwhile, Charles sat by her side.


    With that, she pushed the tea that she


    had Daphne make gently over to Titus and said, ¡°Thank you for your praise, President Gray. Please have


    some tea.¡±


    Having no intention of drinking it at all, he merely looked down at the tea before him. Nheless, she


    didn¡¯t


    mind and only set her hands on the table with her fingers intertwined. ¡°I figure you must have a purpose


    foring to Paradigm. Co. today.¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re asking, I might as well say it straight. I¡¯m taking back the piece ofnd in the center of the


    city.¡± Titus stared closely at her.


    After exchanging nces with Charles out of the corner of her eye, she returned her gaze to Titus with a


    smile.


    ¡°Take it back? I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not


    possible. After all, it has been


    transferred and wholly belongs to me now. It¡¯s not yours, so how could you


    take it back?¡±


    Realizing that he had misspoken, he


    amended his sentence. ¡°You


    misunderstood me. When I say ¡®take,¡¯ || don¡¯t mean it literally. I wish to buy it back.¡± Even so, he fumed a


    little. After


    all, he could have gotten thisnd for


    free, but Tina¡¯s actions resulted in him having to spend money on it. This made him very frustrated.


    ¡°Ah, I see. I had, in fact, misunderstood


    you.¡± Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, she continued, ¡°In that case, how much are you


    prepared to spend on it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not one to beat around the bush.


    100 million,¡± he proposed, lifting up one


    finger as he stared at her.


    However, Charles rolled his eyes and couldn¡¯t help but reply, ¡°Do you really think you can buy back a plot


    ofnd in the city center with 100 million? Are you joking or is Triforce Enterprise so


    broke that it can¡¯t afford to spend


    some money?¡±


    Hearing the insults directed at him,


    Titus scowled. ¡°Be careful I don¡¯t sue you for nder, President Lane.¡±


    Of course, Charles wasn¡¯t afraid of idle


    threats and only curled his bottom lip.


    ¡°Am I wrong? Why else would you offer only 100 million? Or do you think we¡¯re simply not worth it?¡±


    Sonia picked up her own cup of tea and gently took a sip before saying with a smile, ¡°I agree with


    Charles, President Gray. 100 million is too little!¡±


    Since Titus knew that the sum he gave


    was indeed not enough, he asked after


    a pause, ¡°How much do you want,


    then?¡±


    ¡°Take it or leave it-2 billion.¡± Sonia put


    down her cup of tea after giving a


    number.


    It wasn¡¯t just Titus, even Charles gaped


    at her right then.


    pping the table, Titusined, ¡°2 billion, President Reed? That¡¯s daylight robbery!¡±


    ¡°I will admit my price is a little on the high side, but it¡¯s not that high. That¡¯s a plot ofnd in the city


    center. Its starting estimate is 1.5 billion or so, and the price is only going to skyrocket


    once its surroundings have been


    developed. When you take that into


    ount, 2 billion isn¡¯t that much,¡± she


    told him with a smile.


    Furious, he let out a bitterugh. ¡°Who


    knows how long it would take for thend to be worth 2 billion? For you to


    offer me that price right now means


    you must have no wish to sell me the


    She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not true. As long as you give me that sum, I will have the deed transferred


    to you at once. You¡¯re only thinking like that because you don¡¯t wish to give me that much. If that¡¯s the


    case, I might as well


    keep it for myself and build a factory


    there.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d love to see how smoothly the


    construction process goes!¡± he


    snorted coldly.


    Narrowing her eyes, she asked, ¡°Are you threatening us, President Gray?¡±


    Without answering, he turned and left.


    As he watched Titus m the door


    shut, Charles asked, ¡°You¡¯re not


    thinking of ying a trick on him, are you, baby?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She continued to drink her tea calmly. ¡°I¡¯m being truthful. As long as he gives me that sum of


    money, I shall


    give him the plot ofnd. He can think what he wants, but I can¡¯t do anything


    about the fact that he can¡¯t afford it.¡±


    Spinning in a circle around her, he


    tutted, ¡°In such a short amount of time,


    you¡¯ve be such a fox in the


    market. 2 billion! Never mind Titus


    even Toby wouldn¡¯t have that much working capital on his hands at a


    moment¡¯s notice.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why I shall have thend to


    myself,¡± she summarized with a grin.


    Abruptly, the cell phone on her desk rang. Putting down her teacup, she


    picked up the phone and looked at the


    caller ID before answering with a


    ¡°Good afternoon.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re very sorry, President Reed, but


    some issues have arisen with our engineering team, and we¡¯re not able to help you build your factory. It¡¯s


    best that you find someone else.¡± With that, the person at the other end of the line


    hung up the phone, not even giving her


    the chance to speak.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, baby?¡± Charles questioned in concern upon seeing the expression on her face.


    She opened her mouth, but before she


    could respond, the phone rang again. This time, it was a call from the machinerypany. ¡°Hello, is this


    Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°Speaking,¡± she answered hoarsely, tightening her grip around the phone. She could already guess what


    the other party was about to say.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, Miss Reed. We


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    recently received arge order from


    overseas at our machinery nt and


    no longer have the means to assemble


    your machinery. We¡®re so sorry and


    sincerely hope you ept our


    apologies.¡± With that, the other person


    hung up so quickly that it was as if


    they were afraid she would tear them


    to shreds like a beast if they took too


    long.


    ¡°What on earth is the matter, baby?¡± Seeing her expression get uglier and


    uglier, he became anxious.


    Slowly, she put down her phone and said with an ice-cold face, ¡°Titus has messed with the engineering


    team and machinerypany that we found to prevent us from building our factory.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Furious, he mmed his fist


    on the table. ¡°That old dog is too shameless! I can¡¯t believe he would


    use such methods. This won¡¯t do-1


    must get into contact with some other


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no use. Considering


    Titus really is determined to stop us, he


    would have gone to the other


    fists.


    After a moment of silence, Charles


    said, ¡°We still have to try no matter


    what.¡± With that, he walked out onto


    the balcony to start making calls.


    Tiredly, she rubbed the bridge of her nose and opened her social media to post about her feelings. The


    moment she published the post and was about


    to put down her cell phone, a


    notification shed across the screen.


    It was a message from the mysterious Z-H reading, What¡¯s wrong?¡¯


    It¡¯s him! For some reason, her heart


    skipped a beat, and an indescribable feeling arose when she saw who the message was from. However,


    she didn¡¯t overthink it, and only typed back after breathing in deeply, ¡®What do you mean, what¡¯s wrong?¡¯


    Z-H: ¡®Your post!


    Only then did she figure out that the


    other party must have sent the


    message after seeing her post. As her heart calmed, she replied with a slight smile, ¡®Are you concerned


    about me?¡¯


    At the other end of the line, Toby pursed his lips after reading the reply. In truth, he didn¡¯t know why he


    went to talk to her after reading her activity. By


    the time he came to his senses and


    realized what he was doing, he had


    already sent the message.


    By then, it would only look more


    suspicious if he deleted the message.


    She would still see that he had sent her


    a deleted message and ask him what it


    was about, so he might as well just go


    with it. If you say so!


    T¡¯ll take that as a yes, then, she replied.


    ¡®Sure.


    ¡®So, you want to know what happened?¡¯


    she asked.


    ¡°His eyes shed. ¡®Not necessarily. You


    can always choose not to tell.¡¯


    ¡°Nah. What¡¯s not to tell?¡¯ Despite not


    knowing why, she began to treat the other party as a listening ear and detailed her previous encounter


    with


    Titus to him in a voice message.

 Chapter 65

    Chapter 65


    After listening to the voice message,


    Toby frowned. It was the first time he


    felt repulsed by Titus¡¯ actions. It was


    somewhat despicable to use such a method to quash her just because he was unable to purchase the


    land.


    All of a sudden, his phone vibrated. Pulling his thoughts back to the present, he lowered his head to look


    at the screen only to discover that it was


    another text message from Sonia. What do you think I should do?¡¯


    There was even the emoji of a little


    person sighing with their face cushioned against their palm at the


    end of the message. It was very cute. As he looked at the emoji, his mind inexplicably reced it with the


    image of her face. Perhaps she was doing the very same thing at this moment.


    Nheless, he quickly realized he was forming thoughts he shouldn¡¯t have and rearranged his


    expression back into a cold one. Whatever she looks like at the moment has nothing to


    do with me! How can I think about such


    things?


    And so, he answered, ¡®I don¡¯t know.


    When she saw the reply, she felt


    somewhat lost.


    Previously, it was his idea that helped


    her acquire Continental Co. For some


    reason, she was subconsciously


    treating him as a sounding board and


    hoped to get some help from him again. Only now did she realize it was


    the wrong mentality to have.


    ¡°I swear you¡¯re regressing, Sonia!¡± she muttered at herself, pping her forehead before picking up her


    phone and typing, ¡®Sorry, I was just asking casually. Don¡¯t take it to heart. My friend and I wille up


    with our own


    ideas.


    Friend?


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡®Boyfriend?¡¯


    ncing at the balcony, she answered,


    ¡®Yes.


    Since Z-H was Zane¡¯s friend, she didn¡¯t find it a big deal for him to know that she had a boyfriend.


    However, what


    they didn¡¯t know was that Charles was her fake boyfriend.


    At her admittance, he felt inexplicably


    vexed. After tugging at his tie, he typed,


    It¡¯s not that hard to build a factory. I


    have a solution!


    ¡°Huh?¡± Astonished, she stood up.


    What¡®s up with him? I thought he said he didn¡®t know what to do. But now¡­


    Throwing aside those questions, she


    quickly asked in a voice message,


    ¡°What¡¯s your solution?¡±


    After hearing the trust and urgency in her voice, he loosened his tightly furrowed brows and the irritability


    in his heart lessened tremendously. With that, he typed, ¡®The government has ns to build a cultural


    museum in


    Seafield to exhibit world-famous


    heritage treasures, but they haven¡¯t been able to find a suitable plot ofnd. You don¡¯t need such arge


    piece ofnd for a factory. You could give half of it to them.


    The mention tingled her senses. All of a sudden, she realized where he was going with this and started


    laughing. ¡°You¡¯re right! If I give them half of the


    gain their favor and be able to apply for


    an engineering team from them. Then,


    I¡¯d be able to build my factory!¡±


    This meant the country was helping


    her build her factory and that Titus


    wouldn¡¯t be able to mess with her


    ns so easily. At the same time, she could ask for a rmendation for a machinery nt from them.


    She could kill two birds with one stone!


    As the smile on her face grew, she chirruped happily, ¡°Thank you! You¡¯ve


    helped me once again!¡±


    You¡¯re wee,¡¯ he replied.


    After a moment of thought, she added, ¡°By the way, we¡¯ve chatted so many


    times, and yet I don¡¯t know your name or how to repay you.¡±


    Unfortunately, even after she sent the voice message, he did not reply. She figured he would no longer


    reply, and so she sighed and exited the chat interface.


    Just then, Charles finished making his calls and came in from the balcony looking incensed. ¡°You were


    right, baby. Titus is a sly old fox. He really went around and told all the


    engineering teams and machinery


    nts in Seafield not to do business


    with us. It didn¡¯t matter what I said;


    nothing worked. I¡¯m so angry!¡±


    Realizing that his voice was hoarse


    from making all those phone calls, she went and poured him a ss of


    honeyed water. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I have a


    n now.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± he asked eagerly,


    taking the ss but being too impatient to drink.


    And so, she detailed the n to him. Instantly, he pped his thigh. ¡°What a


    great idea! How did youe up with


    it, baby?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m actually not the one who came up with it. It was a


    friend.¡±


    ¡°A friend?¡± He looked at her


    suspiciously. ¡°Was it the friend who


    gave you the idea to acquire Continental Co.?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± She nodded.


    Putting down his ss, he confronted


    her. ¡°Tell me honestly-who is that person? What¡¯s your rtionship with him? Why does he keep helping


    you?¡±


    In the face of her good friend¡¯s interrogation, she lowered her eyes, not knowing how to answer. After all,


    even


    if what happened that night was an


    ident, she could not tell him.


    ¡°Alright, stop asking so many


    questions. Drink your water, and when


    you¡¯re done, we can go to the government department,¡± she said,


    changing the topic.


    Since she didn¡¯t want to tell him, he


    didn¡¯t push her and only yed along. ¡°Alright, alright. Stop nagging.¡±


    After squabbling for a while, they finally left Paradigm Co.


    Meanwhile, in a room at the club. As Zane finished singing, he noticed Toby sitting alone in a dark corner


    in the


    distance. Thus, he fetched two sses


    of red wine over to the table.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you? You¡¯ve been on


    your phone ever since you set foot into


    the club. I invited you out to rx, not to work,¡± he said as he handed one of the sses of wine to Toby.


    After receiving the wine and taking a sip, Toby answered, ¡°I¡¯m not working.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing, then?¡± As Zane sat down and peered at Toby¡¯s phone, his jaws dropped in shock.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that your ex-wife? Are you chatting with your ex¨Cwife?¡± He looked incredulously at Toby


    Mildly, Toby answered with an


    unchanging expression, ¡°She doesn¡¯t know it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re hiding your identity to get close to her?¡± Zane¡¯s expression grew


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    stranger.


    Tilting his head, Toby swept Zane a cold nce. ¡°Of course not!¡±


    ¡°Then what-¡±


    ¡°Just drop it!¡± Toby interrupted impatiently, rubbing his temples. ¡°You have an uncle working with the


    government, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    After taking a sip of wine, Toby said, ¡°Sonia might apply for an engineering team from them. Have your


    uncle pave the way for her.¡±


    Zane gave him an odd look. ¡°So, you helped her with Rentoor, and now


    you¡¯re helping her again. What are you up to? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re still hung up on her.¡±


    Frowning, Toby answered coldly, ¡°You¡®re overthinking it. I¡¯m only doing this because Tina hurt her and I¡¯m


    making reparations on Tina¡¯s behalf.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Zane studied him


    inquisitively.


    Unhappily, he pursed his lips. ¡°Really. Why else would I be doing what I¡¯m doing?¡±


    ¡°Thought you still had feelings for her.¡± Zane mumbled. After all, he had


    overheard Toby¡¯s phone call from Titus and knew not only how Tina injured Sonia but the enormous


    compensation Toby had to make as a result.


    Sincepensations had been made, there was no need for Toby to make any more reparations to


    Sonia, and the


    fact that he was insisting on helping


    her meant she still held some kind of


    ce in his heart. With Tina in the mix,


    Zane could foresee things getting worse in the future. Thinking of that, heughed gleefully and put down


    his wine ss. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call my uncle.¡±


    Toby hummed his acknowledgment


    before grabbing his coat and standing


    up from the couch. ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s still early!¡± Zane protested to


    his back.


    Without stopping in his stride, Toby told Zane, ¡°I¡¯m taking Tina out to


    dinner.¡±


    After hearing that, Zane no longer attempted to stop Toby and instead lifted his cell phone to his ear.


    ¡°Hey, Uncle¡­¡±

 Chapter 66

    Chapter 66


    Sonia had never expected things to go so smoothly with the government. It only took an hour for a


    contract to be signed. As thanks to her for a few years of freend use rights, they promised to help her


    build her factory and have a machinery nt set up for


    her.


    By the time she exited the department,


    the sky was already dark. As if on cue,


    her stomach grumbled loudly. Hearing


    it, Charles threw an arm around her


    shoulders. ¡°How about we have steak


    for dinner, baby?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± She nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Still with his arm around her,


    he lengthened his stride in the


    direction of their car.


    Half an hourter, they arrived at one of Seafield¡¯s most famous restaurants. The moment they walked


    inside, Sonia heard a familiar voice behind her.


    ¡°Miss Reed, Mr. Lane, we meet again.¡±


    Instantly, Sonia¡¯s smile faded. Much less politely, Charles rolled his eyes. ¡°Why is it you both again?¡±


    It was none other than Tina and Toby.


    With a gentle smile, Tina asked, ¡°You don¡¯t wish to see us, Mr. Lane?¡±


    * ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask to know that,¡±


    he retorted, spreading his arms.


    Nheless, her smile stayed on her


    face. She didn¡¯t seem angry. On the other hand, Toby was silent. His gaze was fixed on the bandage on


    Sonia¡¯s head with an unreadable look in his


    eyes.


    Feeling his stare, Sonia gave him a curious nce and quirked her lips. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid your fiancee


    will get


    jealous of you staring at me like that,


    President Fuller?¡±


    At her question, the smile on Tina¡¯s face finally slipped. While Tina knew Sonia was purposely trying to


    provoke her and Toby, she had no way of


    denying that Sonia was telling the truth and that Toby had, indeed, been staring


    at her. Even though jealousy shed


    across Tina¡¯s eyes and brewed even more potently in her heart, she made an effort to bring a smile back


    to her


    face.


    ¡°What are you saying, Miss Reed? How could I possibly be jealous? You¡¯re standing in front of me and


    Toby, so it¡¯s


    not so strange that Toby is looking at


    you. Not to mention, he¡¯s seen plenty of


    female employees at Fuller Group every day. If I got jealous of every one of them, I¡¯d be very busy.


    Wouldn¡¯t you say, Toby?¡± She wrapped her hands around Toby¡¯s arm.


    Feeling the force of her grip, Toby frowned slightly but didn¡¯t pull his arm


    away.


    ¡°That¡¯s very magnanimous of you, Miss Gray.¡± Sonia pretended not to see Tina¡¯s forced smile.


    After yawning, Charles said, ¡°Baby, why


    are you still talking to them? I thought you were hungry. Let¡¯s go get ourselves


    a table.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She nodded.


    With that, Charles put his arms around


    her waist and followed the waiter.


    As Toby watched them walk away


    intimately, he lowered his eyes and pursed his lips into a straight line. All of a sudden, he had an urge to


    rush up and separate them. Nheless, he held back. Keeping his head lowered to hide the expression


    in his eyes, he said


    to Tina, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± she answered cheerfully.


    On the way to their private room, Charles couldn¡¯t resist grumbling, ¡°Do you think Tina gets tired of faking


    a smile when she¡¯s clearly jealous of you but pretending she isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Do you get tired of eating and sleeping?¡± Sonia asked without


    answering


    Perplexed, he shook his head. With a smile, she pointed out, ¡°Well, there you


    have it. Some people consider


    pretending as a vital part of their


    survival¨C just like eating or sleeping.


    So, why would she feel tired?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± He curled his lips. After a moment of thought, he grinned yfully. ¡°Baby, what¡¯d you say if


    we tore away her fake mask; wouldn¡¯t


    she¨C¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± She gave him an


    elbow. ¡°She hasn¡¯t done anything to us


    at the moment, so we¡¯re not going to


    do anything to her.¡± Of course, if Tina


    made the first move, it would be a


    different matter altogether.


    Just then, they reached their private room. The couple ordered the


    restaurant¡¯s famous steaks. Halfway


    through the meal, Sonia wiped the corners of her lips and stood up. ¡°I¡¯m


    going to the restroom.¡±


    ¡°Do you need me to apany you?¡±


    he teased yfully, waggling his


    eyebrows.


    She gave him a faint smile. ¡°What do


    you think?¡±


    Seeing the dangerous glint in her smile, he shuddered and chuckled, ¡°Heh, forget it. Come back soon.¡±


    Humming her acknowledgment, she


    picked up her purse and left. After using the toilet, she tidied her clothes and headed to the sinks to


    touch up


    her makeup.


    All of a sudden, the stall behind her


    opened and Tina stepped out. When


    she saw Sonia, her first reaction was to


    pause. Following that, she walked up to the sinks with a smile and pulled some makeup powder out of


    her bag


    to apply to her cheeks.


    ¡°What a coincidence, Miss Reed,¡± she


    greeted as she fixed her makeup.


    Currently, Sonia was reapplying her


    lipstick and only answered mildly, ¡°It is indeed, to run into each other even in


    Toby¡®s taste certainly is unique, she thought to herself. I can¡®t believe he


    could like such a phony


    Of course, given that she was once in love with him, her own taste wasn¡¯t


    necessarily good. Fortunately, she was


    correcting course now.


    Twisting the cap back onto her tube of lipstick, she then tossed it back into her purse. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ve


    already been handsomelypensated. How


    would ljustify continuing to me


    you? However, I am curious why you


    asked that question. Are you saying I¡¯m


    petty?¡±


    ¡°No, no!¡± Tina waved her hands. ¡°It¡¯s


    just that your attitude is so cold that I


    assumed you must still me me.¡±


    Turning her head, Sonia regarded Tina


    with a smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve always treated my friends


    and my enemies very differently. If !


    liked you, I¡¯d be very warm toward you.


    Naturally, if I didn¡®t like you, I¡¯d be cold toward you. What I don¡¯t understand is why, Miss Gray, when you


    already know


    that I don¡¯t like you, you keep offering yourself up as a punching bag?¡±


    At the question, Tina heard someoneughing from within one of the stalls, and she reddened with anger


    and


    indignation


    the restroom.¡±


    Closing the lid of her powder case, Tina looked up at the bandage on Sonia¡¯s head. ¡°Are your injuries


    any


    better?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips without even bothering to look at Tina. ¡°Far from it, thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°Do you still me me?¡± The rims of Tina¡¯s eyes abruptly grew red.


    Nheless, Sonia only found that


    amusing. After all, she hadn¡¯t done


    anything to Tina. Why was Tina crying


    like she had been bullied?


    Nheless, Sonia merely looked away from her. ¡°So, I hope you¡¯ll stay far away from me when you see


    me in the future, Miss Gray. Stop making things hard for yourself. Haven¡¯t you


    realized that you¡¯ve never been able to


    beat me whether in speech or in


    deeds?¡± With that, she zipped up her


    purse and walked past Tina out of the


    restroom


    Left alone in the restroom, Tina bit her


    lower lip and red with a hawk-like gaze in the direction of the door. Internally, she sneered. Yes, right


    now, she was constantly losing. But the


    future was another matter.


    ¡°At that thought, she picked up her


    purse and exited the bathroom. In the


    corridor on the way back to her private room with Toby, an ordinary-looking waiter walked toward her.


    Right as he reached her, he suddenly pulled out a handkerchief and covered her nose


    and her mouth with it.


    Shocked, she let out a muffled cry and stared at him with wide, terrified eyes, but passed out before she


    could


    struggle.


    Meanwhile, after finishing their meal, Charles and Sonia were preparing to pay the bill and leave. Right


    as they stood up from their seats, someone


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    knocked on their door.


    When Charles walked over to open the


    door, he saw Toby standing outside. At


    this moment, Toby looked tense and


    was frowning tightly. There was an almost imperceptible urgency in his


    eyes.


    Since she knew him so well, Sonia instantly started to wonder if


    something was wrong.


    However, Charles blocked his way and


    asked rudely, ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Ignoring Charles, Toby looked straight toward Sonia. ¡°Is Tina here?¡±

 Chapter 67

    Chapter 67


    Sonia raised her eyebrows. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for Miss Gray, why are you here? Isn¡¯t she with you?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Charles agreed, crossing his


    arms.


    In response, Toby lowered his eyes. ¡°She¡¯s not with me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles paused for a moment before smiling gleefully. ¡°Have you lost


    her?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t reply. No longer finding the


    situation as funny as before, Charles


    questioned in surprise as the smile slipped from his face, ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    Looking at Toby, Sonia continued, ¡°Are you looking for her here because you think we hid her?¡±


    Toby met her gaze. ¡°She never returned


    from the restroom, and the only people here that have bad blood with her are


    you two.¡±


    Annoyed, Charles barked augh. ¡°You


    think we hid her because we have


    issues with her? How stupid do you


    think we are? Everyone knows we¡¯d be


    the foremost suspects if something


    happened to her.¡±


    Silently, Toby pursed his lips. In truth, he, too, knew the chances of Tina being there weren¡¯t high. Thus,


    he had gone over only hoping he would find Tina by sheer luck.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Sonia grabbed the split hem of Charles¡¯ suit jacket and pulled him to the side before


    walking up to Toby. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I bumped into her in the restroom, but I left before her


    and have no idea where she went. You


    can check the video surveince of the


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    areas close to the restroom.¡±


    ¡°I did. There¡¯s no trace of her,¡± he said,


    clenching his fists. After Tina failed to


    return to their private room, he called


    her, but she didn¡¯t pick up. Then, he had


    the manager send the restaurant staff


    in search of her. Even after checking the entire ce, they could not find her.


    The strange thing was that the


    restaurant¡¯s video surveince system


    was operating normally but had not captured any trace of her. Something


    seemed amiss.


    Back in the present, Charles curled his


    lips. ¡°If there were no signs of her in


    the video surveince footage, that only proves she avoided being


    captured and is now in hiding. Maybe


    she¡¯s doing it on purpose and making you anxious because she wants to see what position she holds in


    your heart. That sounds like something the drama


    queen would do.¡±


    Instantly, Toby¡¯s face darkened, and the temperature in the room dropped.


    Meanwhile, Sonia gave Charles a warning nce and indicated to him to be silent. Wasn¡¯t he seeking


    death to call the love of Toby¡¯s life a drama


    queen to his face?


    ¡°My apologies, President Fuller. Charles here tends to speak without


    thinking. Please don¡¯t take it to heart,¡±


    she apologized somewhat insincerely


    before looking down at the watch on her wrist. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. It¡¯s time for me and Charles to leave.


    Take your


    time in finding Miss Gray. We hope you


    Chiper


    find her soon. Goodbye!¡± Then, with a courteous smile at Toby, she took


    Charles¡¯ arm and walked away with him.


    As Toby watched them walk away,


    joking and squabbling, his gaze


    darkened, and he felt immensely irritated. For six years, she had acted numb toward him, but now that


    they


    were divorced, she instantly


    surrounded herself with men, offering


    them warm and brilliant smiles. How


    could such a fickle womanpare to


    Tina?


    When he recalled his grandmother¡¯s


    dislike of Tina and her warning him not


    Chat


    to regret divorcing Sonia, he couldn¡¯t help thinking that it was ridiculous.


    Regret? How could that be possible?


    Kicking Sonia out of his mind, he pulled out his cell phone with a cold


    expression on his face and made a call. ¡°Have you found her yet?¡±


    ¡°No. My men and I have searched the


    areas near the restaurant, but we couldn¡¯t find any traces of her.¡± Standing at the door of the restaurant,


    Tom suggested while scratching his head, ¡°Maybe we should file a police report, President Fuller.¡±


    Tightening his grip around his cell phone, Toby responded in a low,


    restrained voice, ¡°It¡¯s pointless. Since


    we don¡¯t know if her disappearance


    was an ident, the police are unlikely to take action immediately. They will


    only take action after 48 hours.¡±


    ¡°So, what should we do now?¡± Tom looked around the ce and shivered in the cold.


    After thinking for a moment, Toby instructed, ¡°Continue asking around to


    see if anyone saw her.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Tom nodded his head.


    After putting his cell phone away, Toby left the restaurant and drove in the direction of Gray Residence.


    Soon, he reached his destination. As


    he followed the butler inside, Julia and Titus both happened to being down the stairs. When Titus


    saw that


    Toby was alone, he asked in confusion,


    ¡°Where¡¯s Tina?¡±


    At the same time, Julia looked behind


    Toby. ¡°Is she still outside?¡±


    After ncing at her, Toby answered in a low voice, ¡°She¡¯s missing!¡±


    Upon hearing that, Julia froze. ¡°Tina¡¯s


    missing?¡±


    In response, he nodded. As his face sank, Titus questioned loudly, ¡°Wasn¡¯t she with you? How could she


    go missing?¡±


    ¡°She went to the restroom while we


    were eating and never returned. I have


    men looking all over the ce for her, but she hasn¡¯t yet been found. I fear that something has happened


    to her.¡± Toby answered apologetically.


    With a roll of her eyes, Julia passed


    out.


    ¡°Julia!¡± Titus shouted, quickly catching hold of her falling body.


    Hurriedly, Toby went forward to help.


    Together, they carried her to the couch.


    After theyid her down, Titus kept patting her cheek. Finally, she coughed twice and woke up,


    hammering her chest as she cried, ¡°My Tina! Honey, our Tina has gone missing.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± He pulled her into his arms, patting her on the back as his heart ached for her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll


    find her and bring her home!¡±


    As soon as he said that, Toby¡¯s phone rang. Toby pulled out his phone and checked the caller ID before


    answering the call. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°We found a lead, President Fuller.¡± Tom said excitedly. ¡°A passerby saw a masked man carrying her into


    a van.¡±


    ¡°A van?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously. ¡°Get the surveince footage of the surrounding roads at


    once. Find the path the van took.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded.


    When Toby hung up the phone, he realized that Julia and Titus both were staring at him. ¡°Is there news


    about Tina?¡± Titus asked.


    Putting down his phone, he answered


    murderously, ¡°Tina has been


    kidnapped.¡±


    When Julia heard that, she began to


    sob louder and almost passed out once more. At the same time, Titus¡¯


    expression was also extremely ghastly. He clenched his jaw so hard that his cheeks bulged. ¡°Who dared


    kidnap my daughter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unclear who it is right now, but


    when the person is apprehended-¡±


    Coldly, Titus interrupted, ¡°When you find the person, please bring him to


    1. me. I¡¯m going to make him wish he


    was dead!¡±


    He would let that person know Titus


    Gray¡¯s daughter wasn¡¯t a good target! Now that the person had kidnapped


    Tina, he would teach them a proper


    lesson! Having no objection to that, Toby


    proposed, ¡°We should file a police report. Since we know someone


    deliberately set out to harm her, the police can take action at once. After all, we¡¯re a limited number of


    people. We will be able to find her more quickly with the police¡¯s help.¡±


    Finding it reasonable, Titus nodded in


    agreement


    Hastily, Julia stopped them, shouting sharply, ¡°No! You can¡¯t go to the police! You can¡¯t tell them about


    the


    disappearance of Tina! I don¡¯t want to lose her!¡±


    As if provoked, she started trembling


    after saying that, terror written all over


    her face. She looked nowhere near as


    refined as she usually was.


    Shocked, Toby stared at her. ¡°Is Julia


    okay, Titus?¡±


    Titus hugged Julia even more tightly and coaxed her like she was a child, saying, ¡°Alright, we won¡¯t go to


    the


    police.¡±


    At that, the trembles in her body lessened, but she still looked terrified.


    Stroking her hair, Titus sighed, ¡°Julia¡¯s


    sick.¡±

 Chapter 68

    Chapter 68


    ¡°Sick?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Titus nodded. ¡°Tina must have told you before that she had a sister, right?¡±


    Toby gave a hum of acknowledgment.


    At this point, Titus¡¯ face twisted with


    strong hatred. ¡°Her sister was called


    Rina; she was our first born daughter.


    When she was still very young, she was kidnapped. We reported it to the police,


    but that angered the kidnapper, and he


    drowned Rina to death. From that point


    forward, Julia¡¯s mental state was unstable, until¡­¡± His eyes shed.


    ¡°Until Tina was born. With that bit of


    twenty years.¡±


    Toby subtly lifted his chin and understood everything. Julia was worried that if they reported Tina¡¯s


    disappearance to the police now, the kidnapper would also be angered and


    kill Tina outright


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let me get in contact


    with a securitypany and hire a


    team to save her.¡±


    As Toby suggested, he lifted his phone to make a call, but someone¡¯s phone


    rang once again. This time, it was


    Titus¡¯.


    Letting go of Julia, Titus picked up his cell phone. A mysterious number was shing onscreen. It didn¡¯t


    even say which city the call was originating from. After hesitating for a few seconds, Titus finally


    answered, ¡°This is Titus Gray.¡±


    ¡°I hear you¡¯re looking for me,¡± the man at the other end of the line said


    breezily, yet, coldly.


    Titus frowned. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten about me so quickly? I told you previously that I still had a


    second present to give to you.¡± The manughed evilly and so maniacally that goosebumps rose on


    Titus¡¯ skin.


    In an instant, Titus remembered who it was. As his expression changed, he bit through his teeth, ¡°It¡¯s


    you!¡± It was Fox Eyes, the cunning man that was still


    fresh in his memory!


    Suspiciously, Toby watched Titus.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Titus?¡±


    However, Titus did not respond as his


    hand holding the phone began to


    quiver.


    At the other end of the line, Fox Eyes


    chuckled. ¡°Yes, it is me. I heard you were looking for me, so I¡¯ve decided to show myself. Are you


    touched?¡±


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m looking for you?¡± Titus was so angry that his face was red and his neck was bulging. He¡¯d


    have to be mad to seek this ill omen out.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re looking for the person


    who kidnapped Tina, aren¡¯t you looking for me?¡± Fox Eyes questioned evilly.


    Leaping to his feet, Titus shouted, ¡°You¡¯re the one who kidnapped Tina?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed and fixed on the cell phone in Titus¡¯ hand. Meanwhile,


    Julia was even more emotional,


    snatching the phone over and


    demanding, ¡°Who are you? Why did you kidnap my daughter? Please, let her go. I¡¯ll give you anything.¡±


    ¡°Anything? Are you sure?¡± Fox Eyes questioned in amusement.


    Rapidly, she nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll give you


    however much money you want!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want money. How about I let your daughter go if you give me


    Triforce Enterprise?¡± the manughed.


    In an instant, the expression on Julia¡¯s


    face stiffened. Snatching the phone back, Titus snapped, ¡°In your dreams.¡±


    He would never give up Triforce


    Enterprise to this man.


    Chat


    In contrast, Fox Eyes was unruffled.


    ¡°Calm down, President Gray. I was only joking. I don¡¯t really intend to use Tina to get the entirety of


    Triforce


    Enterprise. After all, I¡¯m well aware she¡¯s not worth that much.¡±


    As his fists clenched in his pockets,


    Toby asked with barely suppressed coldness, ¡°So why did you kidnap her?¡±


    Caught off-guard, Fox Eyesmented, ¡°So, you¡¯re there as well, President Fuller!¡±


    Ultimately, Toby wasn¡¯t surprised that a man who clearly had it out for Gray


    Family knew him since there was no


    way the kidnapper was unfamiliar with


    Gray Family¡¯s interpersonal


    rtionships.


    ¡°Tell me your motive!¡± Toby repeated.


    As Fox Eyes stoppedughing, his voice became sinister. ¡°My objective is very simple. She harmed


    someone that I care about very much, so I must make her pay a terrible price.¡±


    Harmed? Lowering his eyes, Toby began to think. In terms of harming someone, Tina had actually hurt


    someone recently, which was Sonia.


    ¡°So, the person you care about is Sonia


    Reed?¡± As the air around his body grew colder, he tightened his fists even


    more.


    When they were at the restaurant, he was still wondering how many men she had around her. He hadn¡¯t


    expected another man to appear now. Perhaps he wouldn¡¯t be thest, and there were still other men


    that hadn¡¯t yet shown up. It seemed like she had already formed rtionships with arge group of men


    behind his back before they even divorced. How nice of


    her!


    ¡°It¡¯s Sonia. Sonia hurt our Tina!¡± As Julia¡®s eyes widened, tears started to flow once again. ¡°Why? Why


    could


    neither of our daughters escape the


    poisonous clutches of the Reeds?¡±


    As Toby heard that, his eyes shed. It


    was no wonder the Gray Family felt


    such hatred toward the Reed Family. It seemed Rina¡¯s death had to do with


    them as well


    ¡°Now, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, Mrs. Gray. It¡¯s your daughter who hurt Sonia, so don¡¯t me me for


    taking action toward her. Get yourptop, President Gray. I¡¯ll let you see your daughter. I¡¯ll show you my


    second gift to you.¡± As Fox Eyes said that, he began to chuckle


    once again.


    ¡°Fetch me myptop!¡± Titus ordered


    angrily


    Very quickly, the butler came over with aptop. As soon as Titus turned it on, the screen flickered to life


    with the image of a face in a fox mask.


    shocking him and his wife.


    Keenly, Toby stared at the man in the fox mask, intending to see if he had


    any moles, wrinkles, or other identifying marks on his skin. He would


    be able to locate Fox Eyes using those marks. Unfortunately, Fox Eyes was pristine with no identifying


    marks at all.


    ¡°My daughter!¡± Julia wailed emotionally, clutching both sides of theptop. ¡°You said you were going to


    show me my daughter. Where is she?¡±


    Currently, Fox Eyes was sitting with one leg crossed over the other in an armchair, holding a ss of red


    wine that he was gently swaying. ¡°Now,


    calm down, Mrs. Gray. Here she is!¡±


    Right then, the screen split into two, with the left side being Fox Eyes and the right side being Tina. At


    this moment, Tina was tied to a chair. Her head was lowered, and she was


    unresponsive. With no doubt, she was unconscious. Behind her was arge, burly man with a mask over


    his face.


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    Hence, not all of his face was visible


    the only parts that could be seen were


    his eyes and mouth.


    The scene nearly caused Julia to lose her mind. ¡°Tina!¡±


    Meanwhile, Titus red at Fox Eyes. Coldly, Toby asked, ¡°What did you do to


    her?


    ¡°Rx. She¡¯s fine. Jumbo, ssh some water on her to wake her up.¡± Fox Eyes breezily ordered with his


    chin in one hand.


    The man behind Tina grunted his


    acknowledgment and walked out of


    sight to get a bucket of water. With a


    ssh, he drenched her with the entire


    bucket


    ¡°Ah!¡± She woke up with a shriek.


    ¡°Tina!¡± Julia hastened to scream.


    At first, Tina froze before responding loudly, ¡°Mom? Is that you, Mom?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Tina. It¡¯s me!¡± Julia sobbed,


    covering her mouth.


    By then, Tina had started to cry as well


    as she looked around. ¡°Where are you,


    Mom? I can¡¯t see you. I¡¯m scared.


    Pleasee save me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll save you. Toby and


    your dad will as well.¡± As Julia spoke, she tugged on Titus¡¯ and Toby¡¯s sleeves, indicating for them to


    speak.


    Opening his mouth, Titus reassured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tina. Daddy will save you.¡±


    ¡°I will as well.¡± Looking down at the


    wretched-looking Tina onscreen, Toby


    tried his best to gentle his voice as he


    looking at you.¡±


    Now that her parents and the love of


    her life knew she had been kidnapped


    and were discussing how to rescue her, the terror in Tina¡¯s heart finally receded, and hatred reced it.


    In truth, she had awoken once on the way back to


    wherever they were keeping her and had overheard that she was kidnapped


    because of Sonia


    Naturally, that meant she would only


    retaliate harder on Sonia!

 Chapter 69

    Chapter 69


    ¡°Tell me! What are your terms for releasing my daughter?¡± Titus red at Fox Eyes through the screen.


    Fox Eyes set the wine ss he held down. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. I won¡¯t do


    anything to your daughter. As I said, I


    only need to teach her a lesson. After she has learned it, I will release her.¡±


    After that, he snapped his fingers. The


    masked man beside Tina went to


    stand behind her to start groping her.


    Tina¡¯s face paled as she shrieked, ¡°Let


    me go! Let me go! Don¡¯t touch me! Go


    away! Stay away from me! Oh, Toby,


    save mel¡±


    Outraged, Toby mmed his fist on the


    coffee table as he yelled, ¡°Release


    Tina!¡±


    Even though both Julia and Titus were also begging for Fox Eyes to stop, he was unfazed. ¡°Your hearts


    must be


    aching when you see your daughter and your fianc¨¦e being molested. Have you ever considered my


    feelings when she did the same to Sonia?¡±


    A ferocious glint fleeted across Fox


    Eyes¡¯ gaze. ¡°Carry on, Jumbo!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Upon receiving his orders, the


    masked man got bolder in his actions.


    He reached his hands underneath her


    clothes to grope her.


    ¡°You b*stard!¡± Toby would kill if he


    could, while the Grays were fuming.


    Titus fixed his gaze on Fox Eyes. ¡°If you dare do anything to my daughter, 1 swear by my name that I will


    ruin Sonia even if it would cost me my life! I will drag you down with me!¡±


    Instead ofshing out at Titus, Fox


    Eyes chuckled. ¡°I never nned to do


    anything to your daughter. However,


    won¡¯t go soft on her if she dares pull


    any tricks on Sonia again in the future. Your family¡¯s downfall will be imminent


    before you can even do anything to


    He reached his hands underneath her


    clothes to grope her.


    ¡°You b*stard!¡± Toby would kill if he


    could, while the Grays were fuming.


    Titus fixed his gaze on Fox Eyes. ¡°If you dare do anything to my daughter, 1 swear by my name that I will


    ruin Sonia even if it would cost me my life! I will drag you down with me!¡±


    Instead ofshing out at Titus, Fox


    Eyes chuckled. ¡°I never nned to do


    anything to your daughter. However,


    won¡¯t go soft on her if she dares pull


    any tricks on Sonia again in the future. Your family¡¯s downfall will be imminent


    before you can even do anything to


    har Sonia. Don¡¯t try me. You know ! have the ability to do that.¡±


    After that, Fox Eyes cut the call. Then, he typed a line in a window prompt that popped up on the


    desktop. ¡®Get here within half an hour if you wish to


    rescue Tina. I will leave her on the streets naked if you fail to do that.¡¯


    At the end of the sentence was an


    address, which Toby memorized before wheeling around to leave Gray Mansion. Knowing that he was


    on his way to rescue Tina, Titus left Julia at home as he followed Toby out.


    Half an hourter, they found where


    Tina was locked up at. She was in a


    warehouse in a deserted industrial


    park. When Toby found her, the


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    masked man was gone, and she was


    alone in the warehouse.


    Upon noticing that Tina¡¯s cheeks were flushed while she curled in on herself


    in the chair with her eyes shut as she


    panted, Toby knew she might be


    having a fever. His heart sank as he


    untied her, and then he took off his


    jacket to drape it over her before carrying her in his arms to get her out


    of the warehouse.


    As soon as they arrived at the


    entrance, Titus hurried toward them.


    ¡°How¡¯s Tina?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s running a fever. We need to get her to the hospital right away!¡± With that, Toby no longer bothered


    himself with Titus as he carried Tina into the car. Soon, they arrived at the hospital, and Tina was taken


    into the emergency


    room.


    Meanwhile, after paying the medical


    costs, Charles returned to the Surgical


    Department with a mysterious look on his face. ¡°Darling, guess what I saw just now?¡±


    Sonia was sitting on the sofa when a


    nurse was changing the dressing on


    the wound on her head. Since she


    couldn¡¯t move, she looked at him from


    the corner of her eye. ¡°What did you


    see?¡±


    Charles giggled. ¡°I saw Tina being pushed into the emergency room. How are you feeling? Happy?¡±


    Happy, my arse! Sonia rolled her eyes at him before asking curiously, ¡°What happened to her? Why is


    she being pushed into the emergency room?¡±


    While caressing his chin, Charles surmised, ¡°I have no idea. But judging from Titus and Toby¡¯s


    expressions, bet it¡¯s something severe. Maybe


    something happened to Tina during


    her disappearance. Darling, should we


    go check on the situation?¡±


    ¡°Nah. It¡¯s got nothing to do with us, so let¡¯s stay out of it. We might get into more trouble if we go there.¡±


    Sonia furrowed her delicate brows as she


    spoke.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Charles nodded.


    After Sonia¡¯s injury was tended to, they were ready to leave, but a deep voice detained them as soon as


    they arrived


    at the lobby. ¡°Sonia!¡±


    The person who called out to them was none other than Toby. When Sonia


    stopped in her tracks to turn around, he


    was walking toward her from the


    cashier with a receipt in hand. He


    came to a halt when he was two steps


    away from her.


    ¡°Do you need anything from me at this hour, President Fuller?¡± Sonia studied him smilingly.


    Meanwhile, Charles checked the time


    on his watch impatiently. ¡°Spill


    whatever you have to say. It¡¯s already


    past ten, so we need to go get some


    rest.¡±


    Toby frowned when he heard that, and his expression turned even more


    sullen. ¡°Tell me, how many people have


    you spoken to about what Tina did to


    you, and who are they respectively?¡±


    Since Fox Eyes kidnapped Tina for


    Sonia¡¯s sake, Toby figured he could get some leads to find Fox Eyes by investigating Sonia


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Sonia stared at him


    skeptically.


    Instead of answering her question,


    Toby pressed on, ¡°Answer me!¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡± Charles stepped forth to shield


    Sonia behind him. ¡°President Fuller,


    aren¡¯t you holding double standards by requesting for answers from my darling without even replying to


    her


    question first?¡±


    Yet, Toby ignored him while ring at Sonia. The look in his eyes stung Sonia as soon as she


    understood the meaning behind it. After silently clenching her fists, she replied, ¡°Only one person. I told


    Carl about it.¡±


    Carl? Toby narrowed his eyes before quickly recalling that Carl was the model who had been following


    her around as ofte. ¡°What about you?¡±


    Toby shifted his attention to Charles.


    Infuriated, Charles huffed augh. ¡°Toby, do you think you¡¯re f*cking interrogating criminals? You¡¯re


    hurling


    one question after another. Are you¡±


    ¡°Charles!¡± Upon noticing the


    intimidating aura that Toby emanated,


    Sonia gave Charles a tug, ¡°Just answer him.¡±


    Despite Charles¡¯ chagrin, he obeyed Sonia, his tone reluctant. ¡°None. Happy? Let¡¯s go, darling. He¡¯s


    crazy to be asking these.¡± With that, he pulled Sonia away from Toby and headed toward the entrance.


    All the while, Toby watched as they left without making


    any effort to block them.


    At that moment, Tom came to his side


    with his phone. ¡°I finally found you, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby averted his gaze


    from the lobby entrance.


    ¡°Miss Gray hase out from the


    emergency room, and President Gray has requested your presence,¡± Tom replied.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Toby offered a nonchnt reply before pulling his lips into a thin line. Then, he barked an


    order, ¡°Start an investigation on Carl Lee. I want to know if he¡¯s Fox Eyes!¡±


    Although he had only met Carl a few


    times, one of the most memorable instances he had of Carl was during


    the banquet to celebrate Tina¡¯s recovery, for Carl was gazing at Sonia with a pointed look that expressed


    his romantic interest in her. It coincided with how Fox Eyes cared about Sonia Moreover, Sonia only told


    Carl about


    what Tina did to her, so Toby suspected that Carl and Fox Eyes might be one and the same.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Tom replied solemnly.


    Then, Toby turned to head toward the elevator


    Meanwhile, Charles was still insulting


    Toby nonstop while in the car. Sonia


    pped him on his arm from where she sat on the passenger seat before chiding, ¡°Alright, shut up. My


    head is hurting from all your bbering.¡±


    Charles did as he was told despite


    wearing a pout, while Sonia rubbed her


    temple. ¡°You have beenining

 Chapter 70

    Chapter 70


    ¡°Why would he ask?¡± Oblivious to the underlying implications, Charles¡¯ ignorance showed as soon as he


    opened his mouth.


    After doing a facepalm, Sonia wore a somber expression and exined, ¡°I¡¯m afraid Toby¡¯s questions has


    to do with the fact that Tina is now hospitalized. Perhaps Tina¡¯s disappearance was because she was


    kidnapped, and the kidnapper might be someone we personally know.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles was taken aback by the revtion.


    Sonia pulled her lips into a thin line. ¡°It had been a while since Tina hurt me, but Toby chose to question


    us right after Tina was hospitalized. It¡¯s apparent that he suspects we¡¯re enacting revenge on him by


    having someone kidnap Tina.¡± That was the reason she was having a heartache in the face of Toby¡¯s


    suspicion earlier.


    Upon listening to Sonia¡¯s conjecture, Charles¡¯ gaze flickered for a moment as he


    caught on to the situation. ¡°We¡¯re done for. You told Toby that Carl is the only person who¡¯s aware of


    what happened. He must think that Carl is the one who kidnapped Tina and is the reason she was


    subsequently hospitalized.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also wondering if Carl was behind that incident because he¡¯s the only one who knows the truth


    besides us. This won¡¯t do. I need to ask him.¡± Sonia retrieved her phone from her bag to give Carl a call.


    Meanwhile, Charles stole a nce at her as an almost imperceptible sheepish look fleeted across his


    gaze.


    C


    Soon, the call connected, and Carl¡¯s exhausted voice came through. ¡°Sonia¡­ cough¡­ why are you


    calling sote at night?¡±


    ¡°Are you sick, Carl?¡± Worry was written all over Sonia¡¯s face when she heard Carl¡¯s cough over the


    phone.


    Carl smiled feebly. ¡°It¡¯s cold here, and we¡¯re shooting outdoors, so I caught a cold without


    realizing. Cough, cough¡­¡±.


    ¡°Have you checked with a doctor? What


    about your meds?¡± Sonia inquired out of concern.


    Carl felt warmth coursing through his heart. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve done both. Don¡¯t worry, Sonia. I¡¯ll be alright after


    a few days. Cough, cough...¡±


    ¡°How can I not? What if your condition develops into inmmation?¡± Sonia rubbed her face irritatedly.


    Long ago, Carl was sick when she went to provide aid in Jordain County with her father. His tiny figure


    was curled up on a small, tattered bed as he coughed his lungs out.


    After she and her father rushed Carl to the hospital, they were informed by the doctor that Carl had


    edema and inmmation in his lungs. He would have been a goner if he was hospitalized anyter.


    Therefore, Sonia couldn¡¯t possibly be at ease when she heard him cough.


    ¡°Give me your address after this. I¡¯ll send you some medicine that suits you.¡± Sonia didn¡¯t allow room for


    negotiation.


    Carl nodded smilingly. ¡°Alright, I get it,


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°By the way, I have one more question.¡± Sonia¡¯s expression rxed after hearing what Carl said.Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Carl grunted. ¡°Ask away.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember that I told you how


    Tina hurt me?¡± Sonia frowned. Charles was listening intently as he drove.


    A peculiar look fleeted across Carl¡¯s gaze despite the smile he wore while replying to Sonia. ¡°Yeah, I do.


    What about it?¡±


    ¡°Tina was missing for some time tonight, and she¡¯s now hospitalized. Carl, be honest with me. Are you


    the one behind this?¡± Instead of beating around the bush, Sonia cut to the chase.


    With an unwavering smile on his face, Carl said, ¡°Nope. How could I have done that when I¡¯m currently


    so far away from Seafield? Sonia, why would you suspect I¡¯m the one behind this?¡±


    ¡°Because Toby asked me about it, so I


    wondered if you yed a part in it.¡± Sonia repeated her conversation with Toby at the hospital. After that,


    she smiled sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Carl. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I can understand why you did since President Fuller asked. It only makes sense that I would


    be the primary suspect. However, I really have nothing to do with this.¡±


    ¡°I believe in you.¡± A smile bloomed on Sonia¡¯s face.


    Charles almost felt like praising Carl. That innocent facade of his surees in handy during such


    moments. My darling bought it so easily. However, I won¡¯t be deceived. Considering Carl¡¯s true nature, I


    bet he is the mastermind. But I am inclined to praise him. He did a good job!


    After chatting for some time with Carl, Sonia hung up and tucked her phone back into her bag. ¡°I¡¯m


    relieved that Carl isn¡¯t behind this. Now Toby won¡¯t be able to do anything to him.¡±   Charles smiled


    without saying anything. When Sonia saw a pharmacy by the road, she demanded, ¡°Stop the car.¡±


    ¡°Are you really going to buy him meds?¡± Charles questioned as he pulled the car over.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Of course. Wait here for me. I¡¯ll be back once I get them.¡±


    ¡°Alright, go on.¡± Charles waved his hand.


    .


    Sonia headed toward the pharmacy. With a basket in her hand, she picked out various medicines either


    for the flu or boosting immunity. Since Carl was traveling all over the world while shooting outdoors, he


    could get sick easily due to different weather conditions in different ces.


    Therefore, he could use the medicines to boost his immunity.


    After picking out a basketful of meds, Sonia was satisfied and ready to check out at the cashier. All of a


    sudden, her pupils contracted when she caught a glimpse of some Levonorgestrel on the rack in front of


    her. I didn¡¯t take any measures after that night.


    Could it be... Lacking the courage to dwell on it any longer, she stopped a shopkeeper. ¡°Excuse me,


    miss.¡±


    ¡°Yes? Is there something you need?¡± The shopkeeper asked with a smile on her face.


    Sonia pointed at the birth control pills. ¡°Will these still work if I take them after a few days?¡±


    ¡°How long has it been?¡± the shopkeeper inquired.


    Although Sonia already foresaw the oue, she still held out hope. ¡°It¡¯s been almost half a month.¡±


    The shopkeeper shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s been too long, so the pills won¡¯t work anymore.¡±


    Sonia tightened her grip on the small basket. ¡°Then¡­ I¡¯d like to know if I can get tested for pregnancy


    after half a month.¡±


    ¡°Nope. You¡¯d have to wait at least a month for that.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± Sonia forced a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±


    After the shopkeeper left, Sonia¡¯s gaze lingered on the pills for a moment before she checked out at the


    cashier with her basket.


    When Charles saw Soniae out of the pharmacy, he got out of the car to take the bag in her hand.


    Just when he was about to ask what took her so long, she already brushed past him with her head hung


    low,


    seemingly crestfallen.


    ¡°Darling, what is it?¡± Charles didn¡¯t even check on the meds she bought as he checked in on her while


    walking after her.


    TA


    Sonia shook her head without a word before getting into the car. Charles lingered


    outside the door for a moment, and then climbed into the driver¡¯s seat. After chucking the bag of


    medicine onto the back seat, he buckled up while looking at Sonia. ¡°Darling, did someone bully you?¡±


    ¡°Nah. It¡¯s just that something is bothering


    me.¡± Sonia sounded irritated as she leaned back into her seat while pinching the bridge of her nose. How


    could I forget something as important as taking birth control pills? It¡¯s toote now that I remembered


    about it. What if I got pregnant?


    ¡°What is it that¡¯s bothering you? Why don¡¯t ¨C you tell me? I might be able to offer you some advice,¡±


    Charles offered good naturedly.


    However, Sonia waved her hand listlessly. ¡°Forget about it. You won¡¯t understand. Just give me some


    time. Let¡¯s go; I¡¯m tired.¡±


    Seeing that she was reluctant to open up, Charles shrugged and gave up. He turned the keys to start the


    car. Half an hourter, they arrived at Bayside Residence. Sonia got out of the car with her bag and


    turned to enter the building after bidding Charles goodbye. Upon entering her house, she took a shower


    and fell asleep after drying her hair. The next day, she was roused by someone pummeling on her door


    rudely.

 Chapter 71

    Chapter 71


    The person outside banged on the door as if Sonia was their enemy. She could even hear the doorframe


    shaking from her bedroom, as if whoever on the other side of the door might barge in at any moment.


    Grumpily, Sonia lifted her nkets and tidied her hair nonchntly before slipping into her slippers,


    ready to leave thefort of her room to check on themotion that the person was causing outside


    her house. Before heading to the foyer, she got a sharpened knife from the kitchen. Upon getting there,


    she heard a conversation outside her door.


    ¡°Mom, what are you doing? Stop it!¡± Vexed,


    Tyler grabbed Jean¡¯s arm to stop her from banging the door.


    Jean gazed at him furiously. ¡°Why are you stopping me? Unhand me! I¡¯m going to teach this b*tch a


    lesson!¡±


    ¡°This is between your daughter-in-no, between Sonia and Tina. Why are you meddling in their


    business?¡± Tyler¡¯s


    youthful face was scrunched up.


    65


    Huffing, Jean retorted, ¡°Why can¡¯t I meddle? Tina is my future daughter-inw. Shouldn¡¯t I, as Tina¡¯s


    mother-inw, stand up for my daughter-inw when she was bullied?¡± With that, she cast Tyler¡¯s hand


    away to resume banging on the door. All the while, she continued to yell, ¡°Sonia, you b*tch! Do youck


    the courage to face the consequences after bullying Tina? Open up! I know you¡¯re in there! Open the


    door


    -¡±


    Before Jean could finish her sentence, the door in front of her swung open. Jean¡¯s hand missed its


    intended target, so she toppled forward as she lost her bnce. When Sonia saw the huge lump


    that was Jean¡¯s figure falling her way, she released the doorknob and backed away in disgust.


    Thump! Jean wailed as her overweight body flopped on the floor face down in front of Sonia. The sight


    of it stunned Tyler, who was still standing outside.


    All the while, a smile tugged on Sonia¡¯s lips as she lowered her head to take in Jean¡¯s


    condition. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m surprised that you greeted me with a bow as soon as we saw each other. You¡¯re


    being overly polite, Madam White. Come on, let me help you up.¡±


    ¡°Get away from me! I don¡¯t need your help!¡± Seeing red, Jean swatted Sonia¡¯s hand ¨C away ill-


    temperedly. She never expected herself to make a fool out of herself like that in front of Sonia.


    Unaffected by Jean¡¯s attitude, Sonia smiled as she straightened her body. ¡°Okay, then. You can get up


    on your own.¡±


    Jean snorted as she tried to help herself up with both arms on the floor. However, she had a hard time


    doing so due to her obese


    figure, which prompted Sonia to huff augh. Jean questioned begrudgingly, ¡°What are youughing


    at?¡±.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Sonia waved her hand dismissively. ¡°I just recalled having seen a toad on televisionst


    night. It flipped over after falling from a high ce, but it couldn¡¯t roll itself over because it¡¯s too fat. I


    laughed because it was pretty amusing.¡±


    ¡°H-How dare youpare me to a toad?¡± Jean was trembling while pointing a finger at Sonia


    With a shrug, Sonia exined innocently, ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. I was talking about the toad, not you.


    Please don¡¯tpare yourself to it. Rather, is it because you felt like one?¡± She watched Jean smilingly.


    Even though Jean was fuming, she didn¡¯t have a goodeback for that. I would be admitting that I¡¯m a


    toad if I say anything! Therefore, she turned away, ignoring Sonia. Upon noticing that her son was still


    spacing out instead of helping her, she got all riled up. ¡°Why are you still standing there? Come over and


    help me!¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Tyler snapped back to his senses before stepping into the foyer to help Jean get back on her feet.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got some strength, boy,¡± Sonia praised.


    Delighted, Tyler raised his chin unwittingly. ¡°Hmph! Of course! I¡¯m a man after all!¡± I¡¯ve got to have some


    strength in me!


    At the side, Sonia shook her head after sweeping a nce at him, particrly focusing on his crotch.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look so on the surface.¡±


    ¡°D-Do you have no shame?!¡± When Tyler noticed where Sonia was staring at, his innocent and


    handsome face turned a shade of red before he closed his legs together while pointing at her in


    exasperation.


    On the other hand, Jean was also infuriated, so she raised her hand to give Sonia a p. ¡°B*tch! I¡¯ll turn


    a blind eye to the fact that you seduced other men, but you¡¯re not going to seduce my son! This will


    teach you a lesson!¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    l


    ¡°Hey, watch out!¡± Tyler¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He didn¡¯t expect things to take such a turn, so he dropped


    his embarrassment to warn Sonia to get out of the way.


    Astonished, Sonia nced at Tyler, taken aback by the worry that was evident on his face. Immediately,


    a smile bloomed on her face. I see my efforts to help this brat weren¡¯t in vain. At least he knows to warn


    me. I suppose


    he¡¯s not too bad.


    Instead of ducking like Tyler said, Sonia raised her left hand, allowing the knife that she was hiding in her


    sleeve to slide into her grip. She ced the knif¨¨ next to her left cheek with the de protruding in the air


    with an intimidating gleam.


    Jean¡¯s expression changed drastically as soon as she noticed that. She managed to stop her hand two


    centimeters away from the de, which saved her from shing her hand on the de.


    ¡°Y-You have a knife with you?!¡± Tyler¡¯s jaw dropped in disbelief, while Jean stared at the de in shock.


    Sonia removed the knife before plucking at the tip of the de with her finger. There was a smile on her


    face as she spoke. ¡°You were banging on the door so loudly that I assumed that a robbery was taking


    ce. Considering that, isn¡¯t it normal to bring a knife with me for self-defense?¡±


    Tyler grunted a few times before falling silent. Meanwhile, Sonia turned her


    attention to Jean, who was still terrified. ¡°From what I heard, you came to find me because I bullied


    Tina?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Jean flipped a switch.


    The fearful look on her face melted away to give way to a savage expression. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case


    though? You had that rascal kidnap ¨C Tina, which led to her hospitalization. You


    ¡°Do you have proof?¡± Sonia cut her short impassively. So I was right. They are suspecting that I am the


    mastermind.


    ¡°Why would I need proof when Tina already told me what you did?¡± Jean smirked while crossing her


    arms.


    With a calm gaze, Sonia stared right back at her. ¡°Of course. If you fail to present any evidence, I can


    consider this defamation. I can always call the police to report you.¡±


    66


    ¡°Go on, then.¡± Jean rolled her eyes in disdain.


    After staring at Jean for a few seconds, Sonia took out her phone from her pocket.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Jean¡¯s face paled. I was assuming that it¡¯s a threat, but she is serious about it!


    Meanwhile, Sonia was studying Jean, as if she was looking at an idiot. ¡°Did you think I was kidding?¡± As


    she spoke, the call connected. She put the phone to her ear. ¡°Hello, is this the police? I would like


    to report someone for¡ª¡±


    Before Sonia could finish her sentence, Jean snatched her phone away and then smashed it on the floor.


    It shattered into pieces with a loud thud. There was a smug grin on Jean¡¯s face. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can


    do now.¡±


    Sonia nced at her phone with a solemn look. After a while, she stated aloofly, ¡°Things are far from


    over even if you smashed my phone. You must¡¯ve forgotten where you are right now.¡±


    After all, Sonia lived in Bayside Residence, which was a well-known high-end residence in Seafield. Top-


    notch security measures were put in ce, so rms were


    installed all over the house. Incidentally,


    there was one on the shoe rack, on which Sonia pressed without hesitation. As soon as she did, a siren


    went off, which was audible throughout the entire hallway.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Startled, Jean red at Sonia. ¡°What have you done?¡±

 Chapter 72

    Chapter 72


    ¡°You¡¯ll know what¡¯s going on soon enough.¡± Sonia smirked.


    A whileter, footsteps could be hearding from the elevator. Within a few seconds, four uniformed


    security guards arrived before the three of them. Tyler realized things had gotten out of hand with the


    turn of events. As he scanned his surroundings, he backed out of the space to make a call on his phone.


    Sonia knew who he was calling when she noted his reaction, but she didn¡¯t stop him. Instead, she


    exined the situation to the security guards while pointing at Jean. ¡°She was banging on my door early


    in the morning with a nasty attitude, posing a threat to my personal safety. Other than that, she even


    smashed my phone, which constitutes property damage. I want her detained and sent off to the police


    station.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Jean began hurling insults at Sonia. ¡°How dare you filthy b*tch


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°She even continues insulting me at this moment. I demand that you seize her immediately!¡± Sonia cut


    Jean off.


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed.¡± The security guards took their orders to seize Jean and dragged her toward the


    elevator.


    ¡°Mom!¡± At a loss, Tyler looked at his phone, which had yet to be connected to the recipient, and then to


    his mother, who was being taken away by the security guards.


    At the same time, Jean couldn¡¯t escape the death grip of the security guards, so she could only turn her


    head around to re at Sonia viciously while throwing around various profanities. Sonia could


    hardly imagine that a rich woman was capable of such vulgar words. Ding. The elevator doors closed


    with a chime. Finally, Jean¡¯s yelling vanished from the corridor.


    On the other hand, Tyler hung up the unanswered call as he glowered at Sonia. ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°What have I done?¡± Sonia lulled as she leaned against the door frame.


    Tyler gripped his phone tightly. ¡°You had the security guards take my mother away.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t she bring that upon herself though?¡± Sonia crossed her arms. ¡°As I mentioned, your mother¡¯s


    actions threatened my personal safety. That alone suffices as a reason for me to summon the security


    guards to take her away, even more so when she crossed the line further by smashing my phone and


    insulting me.¡±


    Then, Sonia pointed at Tyler¡¯s ears. ¡°You heard how she insulted me with vile words. Is it wrong that I


    want her arrested? You would¡¯ve done the same if you were in my shoes.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Tyler was rendered speechless by her words, which caused him to lower his head. Yeah. I wouldn¡¯t


    let things slide that easily if I am insulted. In fact, I would beat the crap out of whoever that insults me


    until that person could no longer utter a word.


    Upon noticing Tyler¡¯s crestfallen expression, Sonia smirked. ¡°Tyler, don¡¯t judge when you yourself are


    incapable of turning the other cheek.¡±


    Tyler¡¯s face flushed as he was ovee by emotions. ¡°I wasn¡¯t!¡±


    However, Sonia closed the door, for she couldn¡¯t be bothered to respond.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Just when Tyler was about to call out to Sonia, the phone in his hand rang. Wheri he lowered his


    head to check on it, he saw that it was Toby who was calling, so he picked up immediately. ¡°Toby, why


    did you only pick up now?¡±


    ¡°Have you run out of money?¡± Despite how uneasy Tyler sounded, Toby merely made a dispassionate


    inquiry while leaving his phone on the table with the speaker turned on, still focused on reading through


    the reports on theputer screen in front of him.


    Tyler frowned in dismay. ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Why would you assume I¡¯m calling to ask for money?¡±


    ¡°Are you not?¡±


    Silence befell as Tyler choked on his own words. After checking the door to Sonia¡¯s


    house, he took a deep breath. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s true that I used to call you to ask for money, but it¡¯s different


    this time. Sh*t had hit the fan.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so urgent?¡±


    ¡°Mom got arrested.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes before pressing for answers solemnly, ¡°What exactly happened?¡±


    Tyler dared not keep anything from Toby, so he recounted the incident in full detail. ¡°That¡¯s about it. After


    that, Sonia ordered the security guards to bring Mom away.¡±


    Feeling the pulse in between his brows, Toby soothed it by pressing a finger on it. While suppressing his


    anger, he went on, ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll head to the police station now. By the way, is she alright?¡±


    ¡°She?¡± Tyler was startled. ¡°Who do you mean?¡±


    Toby pulled his lips into a grim line. ¡°Sonia.¡±   ¡°Oh, she¡¯s alright. Why do you ask?¡± Tyler was curious.


    Toby¡¯s gaze flickered for a second. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You told me that Mom had assaulted Sonia. I asked


    because if Sonia is injured, we will need a memorandum of understanding from her to bail Mom.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Shaking his head, Tyler didn¡¯t doubt


    Toby¡¯s words. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, Toby. Sonia¡¯s alright. Mom didn¡¯t hit her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡± Not even Toby was able to name a reason for feeling relieved. After hanging up, he stood


    to retrieve his ck woolen coat on the coat rack beside him before marching out of the office in strides.


    Because Jean didn¡¯t injure anybody, Toby was able to bail her rtively easily, but not without first paying


    a hefty fine. Tyler waited outside, and his eyes lit up as he greeted them when they got out of the police


    station. ¡°Mom, Toby! You¡¯re finally back!¡±


    Jean¡¯s face contorted with anger as sheined, ¡°Hmph! That b*tch had the


    audacity to call the cops on me. It¡¯s frustrating how much shame she brought upon me! I¡¯ll make sure to


    teach her a lesson next time!¡±


    That b*tch? Toby¡¯s face fell while he emitted a suffocating aura. So that¡¯s how she addresses Sonia.


    Moreover, she¡¯s already used to it, so she must have been using that word often. I never knew about this


    Anger simmered within Toby as he looked at Jean in dismay. ¡°Mom, haven¡¯t I told you to not pester


    Sonia? Why wouldn¡¯t you listen? And you!¡± He nced at Tyler morosely. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop Mom?¡±


    Tyler pouted in aggrievedness. ¡°I tried to, Toby, but it didn¡¯t work. After Mom knew Tina¡¯s kidnapping had


    to do with your wife -I mean Sonia, she insisted on going after Sonia. There was nothing I could do.¡±


    ¡°I was merely feeling sorry for Tina.¡± Jean was still feeling indignant over what happened. ¡°Tina told me


    this morning that it was Sonia¡¯s suitor who kidnapped her, so that b*tch must be the one who


    orchestrated the incident.¡±


    The more Jean ndered Sonia, the more somber Toby looked. ¡°It¡¯s true that the one who kidnapped


    Tina was Sonia¡¯s suitor, but Sonia wasn¡¯t the mastermind.¡± He knew instinctively that Sonia had nothing


    to do with it.


    Tyler also agreed with a nod. ¡°I think so too.¡±


    Frustrated, Jean pulled on Tyler¡¯s ears. ¡°Who are you siding with, Tyler Fuller? Why are you standing up


    for that b*tch?¡±


    Even Toby nced at Tyler out of surprise, for he was aware of how Tyler had initially treated Sonia. He


    never expected Tyler¡¯s attitude to have a one-eighty.


    ¡°Ouch, Mom! Let go! Let me go!¡± Tyler was hissing in agony as he nearly hopped around in pain.


    Ultimately, Jean didn¡¯t want to hurt her son, so she released him. ¡°Hmph, this will teach you to not speak


    up for that b*tch! Don¡¯t you forget that Tina is your sister-inw! You¡¯re only allowed to side with her. Got


    it?¡±


    With a pout, Tyler rubbed his ears as he grumbled, ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Mom. I¡¯ll send the both of you back home.¡± Toby pinched the area between his brows before


    opening the car door. After sending Jean and Tyler back to Fuller Residence, he drove away.


    While on his way, he pondered about the situation for some time before finally deciding to give Sonia a


    call, which would be his first ever call to her after their divorce. After the call got quickly picked up, a


    gentle voice came through. ¡°Who is this?¡±

 Chapter 73

    Chapter 73


    Toby furrowed his brows. Did she delete my number?


    When Sonia noticed that the caller wasn¡¯t speaking, she tilted her head in confusion, ready to hang up. It


    wasn¡¯t until then that the caller responded. A man¡¯s deep and


    melodious voice came through. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s pupils contracted, and she stopped writing. When she checked the screen of her phone, and as


    soon as she saw the familiar string of numbers, she pulled her lips into a thin line. It really is him!


    Even after their divorce and having deleted all of Toby¡¯s contact details, she could recognize his phone


    number at first nce. After taking a deep breath, she ignored the sourness within her by putting on a


    poker face as she spoke. ¡°Do you need something from me, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby¡¯s face fell as soon as he noticed the coldness in Sonia¡¯s tone. She was being so gentle when she


    didn¡¯t recognize me, but she flipped when she did. Suppressing the feelings of dismay within him, he


    pulled his lips into a thin line. ¡°I would like to apologize to you.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    Sonia leaned back after tossing her pen away. ¡°Apologize? Did you do something that


    warrants ar


    ¡°It¡¯s my mother. Sorry for giving you trouble.¡± Toby hung his head low, his tone apologetic.


    A derisive smile bloomed on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°I see. You sure have a lot on your te. Not


    only do you need to apologize in ce of your fianc¨¦e, but your mother too. Will you need to apologize


    for your brother next time?¡±


    Toby swore sternly, ¡°This won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that. I know just how capable your family is of wreaking havoc,


    especially your mother.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes as soon as she mentioned Jean.


    ¡°President Fuller, can I ask you a question? It¡¯s been on my mind for a long time.¡±


    Toby pressed on the Bluetooth earphone on his ear, looking skeptical. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Are you really your mother¡¯s son?¡± Sonia rested her cheek on one hand. Despite Jean¡¯svish outfit,


    she was a typical shrew who had a crude and mean attitude. Sonia could hardly imagine someone like


    her raising a son like Toby.


    Toby¡¯s gaze flickered for a moment. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Just curious.¡± Sonia shrugged.


    Toby turned the steering wheel. ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    Seriously? Sonia heaved a disappointed sigh. I bet Toby had undergone a mutation. With that, she


    picked up her pen again. ¡°Alright, President Fuller, I have nothing else to ask. Let¡¯s end the call here. By


    the way, keep watch over your mother. Make sure that she doesn¡¯te barking at my door again


    without reason.¡±


    Barking at her door? A grim look crept onto Toby¡¯s face. ¡°Sonia, can¡¯t you be less harsh?¡±


    ¡°Harsh?¡± Sonia chuckled. ¡°President Fuller, are you expecting me to be nice to you and


    your family? Why don¡¯t you reflect on your treatment of me during the past six years? Why should I be


    nice to you? Who do you think you are anyway?¡±


    With that, she cut the call. Upon hearing the beep in the earphone, Toby knew the call had ended. He


    freed a hand from the steering wheel to rub it in between his brows.


    ¡®Why don¡¯t you reflect on your treatment of me during the past six years?¡¯ Her words reyed in Toby¡¯s


    mind incessantly. His heart felt as if a boulder was pressing on it heavily, because he couldn¡¯t deny the


    fact that the Fullers had indeed mistreated her.


    When Toby was stillmenting about the situation, he arrived at the hospital. After parking his car, he sat


    in it for some time before heading to the ward. In a VIP ward, Tina was watching TV while Julia was


    peeling an apple by her bed.


    Upon hearing a knock on the door, Julia raised her head to trace the source of the sound before a smile


    lit up on her face. ¡°Tina, look who¡¯s here!¡±


    When Tina turned to check on the door, she saw Tobying from outside. Enraptured, her eyes


    reddened. ¡°Toby¡­¡± She lifted her nket tounch herself into his arms.


    Toby had just arrived by her bed, so he was able to catch her. While caressing her hair, he asked, ¡°Why


    are you crying?¡±


    ¡°I missed you.¡± Tina buried her face in his chest.


    Toby held a gentle look in his eyes. ¡°Well, here I am.¡±


    Upon noticing the closeness between them, Julia set the cut apple aside before standing up from the


    chair cheerfully. ¡°Toby, you came just in time. Keep Tinapany


    while I go check on her condition with the doctors.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded. After Julia left, he touched Tina¡¯s forehead to check her temperature. Sensing that


    her fever had broken, he was feeling relieved. ¡°Do you still feel unwell anywhere?¡± he inquired in kind


    after removing his hand.


    Tina pouted in aggrievedness. ¡°Yeah. My head is still dizzy¡±


    ¡°Get some more rest.¡± Toby fluffed up the pillow to let her lie on it.


    However, she shook her head. ¡°I no longer feel like sleeping. I just need yourpany.¡±


    Toby sat down by the bed without protesting. After that, Tinatched herself to his arm and rested her


    head on his shoulder. ¡°Toby, your mother came to visit me this morning. After knowing that my kidnap


    had to do with Miss Reed, she insisted on settling scores with Miss Reed. I couldn¡¯t stop her no matter


    what I did.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± Tina raised her head to look at Toby¡¯s immacte profile. ¡°Did your mother do anything to Miss


    Reed?¡±


    Do anything to Sonia? Toby lowered his gaze. Although Mom assaulted her, she ended up


    having Mom arrested while she came out of it unscathed. The thought of it brought a


    smile to his face, as well as a gentle gaze in his eyes that not even he had noticed.


    Aware of the reason behind Toby¡¯s smile, Tina was rmed when she saw that. While clenching her


    fists, she questioned, ¡°Toby, why are you smiling?¡±


    He didn¡¯t only smile as soon as Sonia was mentioned, but his expression looks so loving.


    No, I need to get rid of Sonia as soon as possible. He will fall for her if things continue like this. Although


    Toby was unaware of his own feelings, Tina was acutely aware that Sonia had made an impression on


    him.


    Smile? Toby¡¯s gaze dimmed as he reverted to his usual aloof expression while turning to look at Tina.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just thought of something interesting.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Tina forced a smile, but deep down, she was still shrouded in darkness.


    At that moment, Julia returned. ¡°Tina, the doctors told me you can be discharged by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! I don¡¯t want to stay here for any longer! I¡¯ve been hospitalized for six years, and I¡¯m already


    bored of it,¡± Tina dered happily.


    Toby rubbed her hair, his gesture intimate. When Julia saw that, she asked abruptly, ¡°Toby, have you


    uncovered the identity of Fox Eyes?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tina¡¯s smile melted away into a terrified look. ¡°Toby-¡±


    Pulling her into his arms, Toby patted her on the back before consoling her gently, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared.¡±


    Julia was regretting that she brought up the question. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, Tina. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. You¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alright, Mom.¡± With tear-filled eyes, Tina shook her head. ¡°I deserve this. If I hadn¡¯t hurt Miss Reed


    due to my own insecurities, she wouldn¡¯t have hired someone to kidnap me. It¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± Julia started crying. ¡°It¡¯s all because Sonia is being vicious. You might have hurt her, but


    we alreadypensated for the incident. She¡¯s abominable for doing this to you even after epting


    our apology!¡±


    Tina hung her head low as she continued to sob, seemingly unable to grasp why Sonia would do that to


    her. Meanwhile, Toby wore a frown. ¡°Mrs. Gray, Tina, Sonia has nothing to do with the kidnapping. Fox


    Eyes kidnapped Tina of his own ord. Sonia didn¡¯t


    order him to do that.¡±


    ¡°Toby, are you standing up for Sonia?¡± Julia watched him in disbelief.

 Chapter 74

    Chapter 74


    Toby shook his head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to stand up for her. I was merely stating the truth.¡±


    ¡°But-¡± Julia sounded unconvinced.


    However, Tina tugged on her sleeve while putting up a tough front. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mom. I suppose Miss Reed


    isn¡¯t a suspect if Toby doesn¡¯t think so.¡±


    Toby frowned at Tina¡¯s statement. Even though he could sense that something was off, he couldn¡¯t put a


    finger on it. At the side, Julia red at him in anger, having caught on to the underlying implications in


    Tina¡¯s


    statement.


    Tina already told us that she heard the kidnapper mention that it was Sonia who ordered Fox Eyes


    to seek revenge


    against Tina. Yet, he had the audacity to hurt Tina by standing up for Sonia. Tina even ended up


    defending him!


    All of a sudden, someone knocked on the door of the ward. It was Tom standing at the doorway.


    ¡°President


    Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby opened his mouth to speak.


    After ncing at Tina, Tom said, ¡°Investigations on Carl Lee have yielded results.¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Wait for me outside.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom left after receiving his instructions.


    After that, Toby removed his arm from Tina¡¯s grasp. ¡°I need to leave for a moment, Tina.¡±


    Tina nodded smilingly. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Toby helped her lie down before tucking her in bed. Then, he left the ward. After the door closed behind


    him, he


    looked at Tom, who handed him a document. ¡°President Fuller, these are documents detailing Carl¡¯s


    biography. He¡¯s an orphan who grew up in Jordain County. He only started going to school in his teenage


    years after Miss


    Reed and her father became his sponsor. Upon reaching adulthood, he was scouted into the fashion


    industry as


    a model because of his outstanding appearance. Considering the above, he¡¯s not Fox Eyes.¡±


    ¡°Is he really not?¡± Toby frowned.


    Tom gave him a nod. ¡°Yeah. I already inquired President Gray, who had met Fox Eyes twice. ording


    to his


    description, Fox Eyes is a top hacker. Carl was never involved in such endeavors. Besides, he¡¯s currently


    attending a photoshoot on a snow mountain, and has caught a cold, whereas Fox Eyes doesn¡¯t have a


    cold.


    Therefore, we¡®re certain that Carl isn¡¯t Fox Eyes. So what should we do now, President Fuller?¡± Tom


    looked at Toby


    After brooding over the situation for a bit, Toby pulled his lips into a thin line before giving instructions.


    ¡°Investigate Sonia¡¯s connections. Fox Eyes must be someone she knows. Find out everything about


    those


    people.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± A reserved voice rang behind them. When Toby turned around, he saw Cynthia and


    Melody walking toward them with flowers in their hands.


    ¡°President Fuller, is Tina in there?¡± Cynthia couldn¡¯t make eye contact with men, so she hung her head


    low while


    exining timidly, ¡°We heard Tina fell ill, so we came to visit her.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in the ward.¡± Toby pointed at the door.


    ¡°Thank you, President Fuller.¡± ted, Cynthia turned her head to face Melody. ¡°Miss Stryder, let¡¯s go


    inside.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Melody raised her chin arrogantly when she appraised Toby while Cynthia stepped forward to


    knock on the door.


    Back when they were in the private room, she didn¡¯t get a good look at him. Now that she could, she


    determined


    that he was an outstanding man. His appearance alone was so gorgeous that not even her husband,


    Peter, could possiblypare to. Thoughts of the man who wanted to divorce her dampened her spirits


    as she averted her


    gaze.


    ¡°Miss Stryder, Tina is inviting us to go in.¡± Having opened the door, Cynthia was waving at Melody.


    ¡°Coming.¡± Melody answered. After nodding at Toby, she joined Cynthia in strides.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby tucked the documents that he was holding into Tom¡¯s arms before marching toward the


    elevator.


    Tom followed closely behind Toby. ¡°President Fuller, are you not going to keep Miss Graypany?¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t. She¡¯ll be fine with her friends,¡± Toby replied nonchntly before sending Tina a text to


    inform her of


    his departure


    When Tina saw the text, she bit her bottom lip, feeling somewhat troubled. She then replied, ¡°Alright!


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Tina?¡± Noting Tina¡¯s displeasure, Cynthia inquired after putting the flowers aside.


    Tina smiled as she tucked her phone away. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thanks for visiting me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We¡¯re friends after all.¡± Cynthia waved her hand to dismiss Tina¡¯s concern.


    Meanwhile, Melody was sitting on the chair by the bed with her legs elegantly crossed. ¡°I heard you were


    kidnapped. What happened?¡±


    Even though the news wasn¡¯t made public, the Grays didn¡¯t keep the fact that Tina was hospitalized a


    secret.


    Therefore, their associates knew about it, and could easily find out about the reason behind that if they


    investigated.


    Upon hearing that, Cynthia¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°You were kidnapped, Tina? Who¡¯s behind it?¡±


    Tina teared up, but she forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s Miss Reed¡¯s suitor. Because I identally injured her, so her


    suitor


    avenged her by kidnapping me.¡±


    ¡°What? This is outrageous! How dare he kidnap you when you didn¡¯t do it on purpose?¡± Cynthia¡¯s face


    flushed


    with anger as she got all self-righteous.


    A wistful smile spread across Tina¡¯s face. ¡°It might be because he thought I must have injured Miss Reed


    .


    deliberately, so¡­¡± She trailed off by that point.


    Cynthia¡¯s chest heaved with rage. ¡°Hmph! I bet Sonia had a hand in this! She might even be the one who


    instigated her suitor to do it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Toby said Miss Reed has nothing to do with this.¡± Tina waved her hand immediately,


    seemingly fearing that her friends might misunderstand Sonia.


    Caressing her chin, Melody muttered, ¡°How could he be so sure?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe he asked Miss Reed¡± Tina replied in dejection after shaking her head.


    With her hands on her waist, Cynthia shot back, ¡°President Fuller must¡¯ve been deceived by Sonia. Tina,


    we can¡¯t let things slide like this.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Tina bit on her lip while pretending to feel conflicted.


    The sight of it made Cynthia feel sorry for her. ¡°You don¡¯t need to hesitate. Not only did Sonia bully you,


    but she


    even had someone kidnap you. She must be capable of even more atrocities. Thus, we need to teach


    her a


    lesson so that she knows we aren¡¯t pushovers.¡±


    ¡°I can do that,¡± Melody volunteered aloofly.


    Tina looked at her, ¡°What are you nning to do, Miss Stryder?¡±


    Melody flicked her red nails. ¡°From what I gather, Paradigm Co. has been trying to get a loan from banks.


    I can


    pull some strings to stop the cash flow from the banks. Without the capital injection from banks,


    Paradigm Co.


    won¡¯t be able to carry on with its operations.¡±


    As she spoke, she took out her phone to call the presidents of multiple banks. While Cynthia watched in


    awe, an


    almost imperceptible smile tugged on Tina¡¯s lips when she witnessed this.


    Meanwhile, Daphne hurried into Sonia¡¯s office in Paradigm Co. ¡°President Reed, I¡¯ve got bad news.


    Something


    just happened.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia raised her head from behind a stack of documents.


    ¡°I got a few calls from the banks. All of them imed that ourpany doesn¡¯t meet the conditions for


    their


    loans, so they refused to lend us any money. A few other banks that already offered us a loan even


    urged us to return the money, citing an error made during the auditing process,¡± Daphne reported.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression changed drastically as she seized the pen in her grip. ¡°How did ite to


    this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Seeing that so many banks are acting up together all of a sudden, I bet someone


    must be


    trying to give us a hard time,¡± Daphne surmised as she stared at Sonia.


    Almost immediately, a name popped up in Sonia¡¯s mind. ¡°Titus Gray!¡±


    ¡°You mean Triforce Enterprise is behind this?¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anybody else other than them.¡± If Titus is behind this, it must


    either be because of that plot ofnd, or because of Tina. It surely has to do with either of these.


    SCUS


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    aus


    ¡°What should we do now, President Reed?¡± Daphne asked.

 Chapter 75

    Chapter 75


    Sonia pondered for a few seconds. ¡°For now, go negotiate with the presidents of these banks and see if


    they¡¯re


    willing to change their minds. Also, use that as an opportunity to get a grasp on whether Titus is the one


    pulling


    the strings.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Daphne answered. Seemingly having thought of something, she asked, ¡°Should I report this to


    President


    Lane?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°Charles will be busy running his ownpany. I don¡¯t want to bother him.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    After Daphne left, Reba from the finance department came. ¡°President Reed, what¡¯s going on? I got a


    few calls from multiple banks. They¡¯re urging us to repay our loans immediately. Haven¡¯t we just gotten


    them? Why are they telling us to pay when it¡¯s not even time yet?¡± Reba questioned as she walked


    up to Sonia¡¯s desk.


    Sonia pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that we¡¯re being targeted?¡±


    ¡°By who?¡± Reba mmed her palm on the desk.


    A chilly glint fleeted across Sonia¡¯s gaze. ¡°I suspect Titus is behind this, but I have no evidence yet.¡±


    ¡°That will have to wait. We need to prioritize solving the crisis regarding our capital. The main funds that


    are


    supporting the operation of Paradigm Co. consist of the loans from those banks. Thepany will fall


    into


    bankruptcy the moment we return the money to the banks.¡± Reba sounded irritated.


    Sonia pulled her lips into a thin line. Of course I¡¯m aware of the graveness of the situation.


    ¡°President Reed.¡± A knock came from the door again.


    When Sonia nced in its direction, she saw Daphne standing there while shaking her head regretfully.


    ¡°I already


    tried negotiating with the banks. Those that have yet to offer a loan refused to do that no matter how I


    tried to


    convince them, whereas those that already loaned us money were adamant about us repaying our loans.


    What should we do, President Reed?¡±


    Sonia clenched her fist before raising yet another question. ¡°Did they tell you if Titus is behind this?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I did ask, but none of them gave a clear response. It was as if they were fearing something,¡±


    Daphne replied.


    ¡°These are national banks. As the presidents of these banks, they have no reason to fear the owner of a


    private


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Unless it¡¯s not Titus, but a government official who ordered them to do so.¡±


    ¡°President Reed, have you somehow offended any government officials?¡± Reba questioned solemnly.


    At a loss, Sonia shook her head. ¡°I have no idea.¡± She had to deal with an official from a relevant


    department


    because of the plot ofnd. However, she didn¡¯t recall ever offending that official.


    ¡°Forget about it. We¡¯ll think about thatter. President Reed, we need to solve the crisis regarding our


    funding right now,¡± Reba reminded.


    Sonia shut her eyes in exhaustion. ¡°Daphne, contact the presidents of the banks that already lent us the


    loans. Tell them I will buy them a meal at Universal Hotel.¡± I¡¯ll have to give up on the banks that have yet


    to offer us a loan. However, I need to convince those that already offered us their loans to change their


    minds, or else Paradigm Co.


    will be done for


    ¡°Sure.¡± Daphne nodded.


    Then, Sonia nced at Reba. ¡°Arrange the documents for the loans ande with me.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Reba answered.


    An hourter, they arrived at Universal Hotel. Belonging to Fuller Group, it was the only seven-star hotel


    in Seafield. The simplest meal there could easily cost a normal family a year¡¯s worth of their ie, not


    to


    mention that Sonia had booked a private room to treat the presidents to avish meal that consisted of


    exquisite


    culinaries.


    Since Sonia had shown her sincerity by providing the presidents with such deluxe treatment, they knew


    they had


    to at least disclose something to her. Therefore, they finally told her that the person who was targeting


    her was a


    Stryder.


    ¡°President Reed, from what I gather, there¡¯s only one prestigious family with that surname, and it¡¯s the


    Stryder


    Family in Norfolk,¡± Reba whispered into Sonia¡¯s ear while leaning close to her.


    Sonia tightened her grip on her wine ss with a morose look on her pretty face. ¡°It¡¯s Melody Stryder.¡±


    Although she didn¡¯t have a feud with the Stryders, she did have a minor disagreement with Melody


    before.


    ¡°I knew it. But why is she doing this? Could it be because of what happened when you were ying


    cardsst


    time?¡± Reba surmised.


    Sonia took a sip out of her wine, her face devoid of expression. ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she being a little too petty if that is the case?¡± Reba smirked. ¡°Besides, Melody is poking her


    nose where


    she is unweed. How dare she, the daughter of a prestigious family in Norfolk, interfere with affairs in


    Seafield? President Reed, I¡¯ll go make a call.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia agreed to it with a nod.


    After getting up and leaving the room, Reba found a quiet spot to make a call.


    ¡°Say whatever you need to say!¡± A gruff voice came through the line.


    Reba rolled her eyes. ¡°Old man, I heard that the higher-ups intend to have the Hayes Family crack


    down on the Stryders because of how cocky they have been as ofte. However, they never got to take


    action because


    they haven¡¯t gotten a suitable excuse to do so. Is this true?¡±


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± The man seemed impatient.


    ¡°So I guess the rumors are true.¡± Reba lit a cigarette that she retrieved from her pocket to puff on it. ¡°I


    called to bring you some good news, of course. Matthew Stryder¡¯s granddaughter, Melody Stryder, is


    currently in Seafield, and had used her family¡¯s influence to interfere with the operations of the banks in


    Seafield in an . attempt to give my boss a hard time. What about you crack down on the Stryders using


    this as an excuse?¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This is good news indeed. Not even Matthew was allowed to interfere with the


    politics in other regions back when he was still the head of the family. His granddaughter sure has some


    guts to break the


    taboo.¡±


    ¡°She sure does. She¡¯s also stupid enough to give us something that could be used as leverage against


    her family¡± Reba mocked after puffing out some smoke.


    Thest time when they were ying cards, Melody had offended her once, so she used the info she


    had of the


    Stryders to give them some trouble. This time around, Melody basically dug her own grave by getting her


    entire


    family into trouble. Reba couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the thought of it.


    Meanwhile, the man frowned. ¡°What are youughing at, you damned brat? How¡¯s progress with the


    search for


    the young master?¡±


    The smile on Reba¡¯s face faded as she roared, ¡°How dare you even mention that? You told me that


    the young master had spent some time in Jordain County, but I found nothing when I got there! How am I


    supposed to


    make any progress?¡±


    The man choked on his words. ¡°Alright, stop yelling at me. Just make sure to find the young master as


    soon as possible. The old master doesn¡¯t have much time left.¡±


    ¡°I get it,¡± Reba replied reluctantly. After ending the call, she snubbed the cigarette and headed back


    to the


    private room.


    While nearing the entrance, she saw the presidents of the banksing out from within the room. Sonia


    saw them off from behind with a smile on her face. However, Reba noticed that her smile seemed


    forced, and


    there was a hint of mncholy to it.


    ¡°President Reed.¡± Reba spoke after the others left. ¡°How did the negotiations go?¡±


    Sonia wheeled around to sit down on the chair in the room. ¡°I failed. They refuse to continue with the


    loan.


    However, I did get a three-day concession, during which Paradigm Co. is supposed to repay all of its


    loans.¡±


    ¡°Three days¡­¡± Reba smiled. ¡°That works!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia gazed at her in confusion.


    Reba answered merrily, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, President Reed. I can guarantee that the banks will stop


    collecting debt from you after three days, and those that have yet to offer thepany a loan will


    approve of it, because the Stryders will soon be in big trouble.¡±


    Upon noticing the cheerful look on Reba¡¯s face, Sonia had a realization. ¡°You pulled some strings,


    didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Reba merely smiled without saying anything.


    Still, Sonia was certain that she had to be someone prominent. The phone call she went out to make


    earlier must


    be the key to everything. Upon reaching that conclusion, Sonia stood to bow at Reba.


    Taken aback by Sonia¡¯s sudden gesture, Reba got up. ¡°What are you doing, President Reed?¡±

 Chapter 76

    Chapter 76


    Sonia smiled as she stood up. ¡°Thank you, Reba. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I wouldn¡¯t know what to


    do.¡±


    Paradigm Co. needed at least a billion in order to operate at any given time. She wouldn¡¯t know where to


    amass


    the necessary funds if the banks insisted that she should repay the loans. Therefore, she was grateful


    that


    Reba had settled the problem for her.


    Upon hearing that, Reba waved her hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me, President Reed. I¡¯m your


    employee, so


    it¡¯s only natural that I should help relieve you of your burdens.¡±


    Sonia let out a chuckle as warmth coursed through her heart. Then, Reba¡¯s lips moved, for she was


    about to


    say something, but her phone rang right at that moment. She picked up the call with a serious


    expression after


    checking her phone. ¡°Hello?¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°Miss Harper, we found another ce that the young master might have spent time at. Would you like to


    visit the


    ce?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll buy an air ticket right away.¡± After hanging up, Reba nced at Sonia. ¡°President Reed, I


    have to


    apply for a leave again. I have an important errand¡­¡±


    ¡°Go on¡± Sonia chuckled before speaking. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting to buy you a meal after youe back.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, President Reed. I will be taking my leave after arranging for a driver to pick you up.¡± With


    that,


    Reba tucked her phone away and left the room.


    Meanwhile, Sonia took her cutlery and continued with her meal. When she figured that the driver that


    Reba


    had arranged for her should have arrived, she paid for the bill to get ready to return to herpany.


    Right when she stepped out of the room, the door across from her room opened to reveal Toby and Tom


    walking out from within. Both of them were startled when they saw Sonia, and the same could be said of


    her, for she


    wasn¡¯t expecting to see them there.


    ¡°President Fuller¡± Sonia was the first to break the silence by greeting Toby a little apathetically, while


    Toby nodded in response to that.


    Tom pushed his sses up before smiling at Sonia.(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar) ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Tom.¡± Sonia returned the gesture.


    All the while, Toby furrowed his brows, ufortable with their exchange. She would smile at Tom, but


    she always greets me with a poker face. He emitted a chilly aura that caused Tom to shiver before


    subconsciously putting distance between them.


    Since Sonia had no intentions to speak to either of them, she left for the elevator after greeting them.


    Toby also


    marched forward. Then, they waited for the elevator in silence. None of them spoke, so the atmosphere


    between


    them was depressing.


    Tom felt pressured when he nced at Toby, who was on his left, and then at Sonia, who was on his


    right. Why must they bump into each other? Tom rubbed his temple to soothe his headache.


    A chime indicated that the elevator had arrived. Sonia entered first, with Toby and Tom following behind.


    Upon


    entering the elevator, Tom made a conscious choice to stand in a corner and diminish his presence.


    After the elevator doors were closed, they started to descend through the floors. Suddenly, the lights on


    the


    ceiling flickered a few times, and noises of electricity zapping could be heard.


    Tom raised his head while he gulped. ¡°Will the elevator be alright?¡± He sounded uncertain.


    As soon as he said that, the elevator shook violently. Sonia let out a shriek as her face paled due to


    fright.


    Because she was wearing heels, she couldn¡¯t keep her bnce when the elevator rocked. Not only did


    her body sway around, but she even sprained her ankle. She could even hear the sounds of her bone


    dislocating.(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    Sonia was getting cold sweat, while her face contorted with pain. Right when she was about to topple


    over, an arm looped itself around her waist from behind her, and that made her freeze in ce. ¡°What


    are you doing?¡± Her


    voice was hoarse from the ordeal.


    Immediately, Toby pulled her into his arms so that her back was against his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t move. Lean


    against me


    .


    and stand still,¡± he ordered in all seriousness. Seeing that Sonia tried to pry his arm away from her waist


    out of


    reluctance, he spoke once again with a voice filled with authority. ¡°Do as I say if you don¡¯t want to twist


    your


    other ankle.¡±


    That made Sonia pause her movements. He knows that I sprained my ankle! She wasn¡¯t sure how she


    felt about


    that, but she stopped trying to wrench herself free from his protective embrace. Instead, she leaned


    against him


    docilely, for she didn¡¯t want to have to go to work in a wheelchair in the case that she did twist both of her


    ankles.


    The shaking went on for around two minutes before everything finally died down, and the elevator was


    able toContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    reach the ground floor smoothly. When the sunlight filtered in the moment the doors opened, Sonia could


    feel


    her hanging heart finally settling down in her ribcage as relief washed over her.(This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)


    Meanwhile, Tom tidied his clothes and marched out of the elevator in the lead to hold the door for them


    so that it wouldn¡¯t close on the other two people. When Sonia lowered her head to check on Toby¡¯s arm


    on her waist with aplicated look, she inquired calmly, ¡°Can you release me now, Mr. Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Toby removed his hand.


    After Sonia regained her footing by supporting herself on the wall of the elevator, she shook her head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize to me. I should be the one to thank you for helping me just now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Toby¡¯s gaze dimmed when he noticed the distressed look on Sonia¡¯s pale face. Then, his


    gaze


    travelled downward to her swollen ankle. His heart tightened at the sight of it. ¡°Your ankle¡­¡±


    Sonia looked downward to check on it before trying to move her ankle a little. As soon as she did so, an


    excruciating pain shot up from her ankle and then spread throughout her entire body. She grunted as


    beads of sweat formed on the surface of her skin. Even though her breathing picked up, she feigned


    nonchnce as she


    smiled. ¡°My ankle¡¯s alright.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    You call that alright? Toby¡¯s lips were pulled into a thin line when he noted the beads of sweat on her


    forehead.


    After that, he bent down to carry her in his arms bridal style before stepping out of the elevator.


    On the other hand, Sonia was dumbfounded. When she snapped back to her senses, she started to


    struggle. ¡°Toby Fuller, what are you doing? Put me down now!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, or you might fall off my arms!¡± Toby reminded her with a frown on his face.


    Either due to anger or shame, Sonia¡¯s face turned a shade of scarlet while her body was all stiff. ¡°Then


    you


    should put me down.¡±


    ¡°Can you walk if I do that?¡± Toby swept a nce at her leg.


    Although Sonia choked on her own words, she quickly regained herposure and let out a huff. ¡°It¡¯s


    none of your business.¡±


    ¡°This hotel is part of Fuller Group. As the boss, I am responsible since you got injured here,¡± Toby


    replied.


    Behind them, Tom could hardly calm down as he gazed at their backs. He already noticed back when


    they were in the elevator that Toby was also having a hard time bncing himself, but he tried his best to


    protect Sonia nheless. When Toby came to know that Sonia had sprained her ankle, he even had a


    worried look on his


    face.


    From what I saw, I think President Fuller has feelings for Miss Reed. Tom was pondering about the


    situation when he heard Toby calling out to him. Putting away his thoughts, he then walked toward the


    lounge area in the lobby. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Get us some ice packs,¡± Toby instructed.


    With a nod, Tom obeyed his instructions, and the ice packs arrived shortly. Toby sat down after taking


    them, and


    then bent down to pick up Sonia¡¯s injured leg to ce it on his ownp. Just when he was about to


    remove her


    heels, she pressed on his hand. ¡°President Fuller, I can do this on my own.¡±


    Sonia wasn¡¯t sure what he was up to for treating her so nicely all of a sudden, nor did she n to find out


    the reason. If he had done that way back, she would probably be moved to tears, but that wouldn¡¯t


    happen now. After


    all, her heart had gone cold with apathy, so she wouldn¡¯t feel anything just because he decided to be


    nice to her.


    Therefore, Sonia removed her leg from Toby¡¯sp before taking off her heels to put the ice packs on her


    ankle to ease the pain. Toby pulled his lips into a thin line when he noticed her actions, slightly irritated


    by her reluctance toply with him. Although he knew he didn¡¯t like it when she deliberately tried to


    distance herself from him, he couldn¡¯t ce a finger on the reason.


    ¡°President Reed, I havee to fetch you!¡± All of a sudden, a familiar voice came through from


    somewhere(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    nearby.

 Chapter 77

    Chapter 77


    When Sonia and Toby looked up, they saw Zane walking toward them while twirling the car keys on his


    fingers.


    Toby narrowed his eyes as he nced at Zane and Sonia with a frown on his face. Why would she get


    Zane to fetch her? Since when has their rtionship progressed this far?


    On the other hand, Zane was surprised to see Toby. ¡°Why are you here with President Reed, Toby? Are


    you two on a date?¡± He pointed at the two of them teasingly.


    After setting the ice pack aside, Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. I came for a


    business


    negotiation and just happened to bump into President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zane caressed his chin in disbelief. Seeing that Toby said nothing to affirm or deny the


    im, Zane


    pouted, bored by the uneventful exchange. Then, he was startled when he saw Sonia¡¯s swollen ankle.


    ¡°President


    Reed, what happened to your leg?¡±


    ¡°I sprained my ankle,¡± Sonia replied casually while putting her heels back on.


    Zane tutted. ¡°The sprain looks quite severe. You must have hurt your bones.¡±


    ¡°So, your next mission will be sending me to the hospital.¡± Sonia raised her head to look at him.


    Zane acted as if he were Sonia¡¯s underling. ¡°Yes, boss!¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    Sonia also got into character when she reached her hand out to him. ¡°What are you waiting for then?


    Come help


    me up.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°Okey-dokey!¡± Zane stepped forth to help Sonia up from the sofa.


    All the while, Toby had a glum look on his face as he watched their interaction. When Zane rested his


    hand on


    Sonia¡¯s waist, the aura Toby emitted was so cold that it could have easily frozen someone over.


    However, neither


    Sonia nor Zane noticed Toby¡¯s abnormal attitude.


    Having sprained her ankle, Sonia could hardly stand. Any slight contact with the ground would cause


    excruciating pain, so she wasn¡¯t in the mood to take in her surroundings. At the side, Zane was


    supporting her


    carefully to prevent her from falling over, so he wasn¡¯t paying attention to anything else either. They didn¡¯t


    even


    bid Toby goodbye as they made their way to the lobby entrance.


    Just like that, Toby saw them off with a grim look in his eyes and hardened expression on his impassive


    face.


    ¡°Investigate if the incident in the elevator was an ident or if it was deliberately targeted at us.¡± Toby


    gave his


    orders in a merciless tone after standing up.


    Following Fuller Group¡¯s development over the past few years, they did seize benefits that used to


    belong to otherpanies. Therefore, it was possible that hispetitors would try to deal with him


    using underhanded


    tactics.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom began the investigation right away after giving a curt reply. Soon, he came back with


    the


    results of his investigation. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve finished investigating the incident. It was an ident. A


    problem was found with the operation of the elevator this morning, but the manager didn¡¯t stop it, nor did


    he inform the technicians to service it, which led to what we experienced in the elevator.¡±


    By that point, Tom was also feeling terrified when he recalled the incident. They were fortunate enough in


    that the elevator ended up reaching the ground floor safely. Otherwise, he dared not imagine what would


    have happened.(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°Bold of him to do that.¡± Toby clenched his fists with a sullen look on his face. ¡°Inform the HR department


    in headquarters to hire another manager. Also, stop the elevator right away for service.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded.


    Something shed across Toby¡¯s eyes before he added, ¡°Other than that, find out what happened


    between Sonia and Zane.¡± Even though Sonia and Zane had known each other prior to that, they were


    never close to each other. In fact, they were almost strangers to each other. However, their rtionship


    had improved drastically over time


    to the point that they could joke around with each other. Toby would never believe that there was


    nothing between them.


    When Tom noticed the look of jealousy that fleeted across Toby¡¯s gaze, he knew Toby must have been


    jealous of


    Sonia and Zane¡¯s rtionship. Despite knowing that, Tom dared not say it out loud, so he could only take


    his.


    orders while pretending that he knew nothing. ¡°Got it.¡±


    Meanwhile, Zane helped Sonia get into the hospital and had her registered. On the other hand, Tina and


    a group


    of people came along while enjoying a conversation among themselves. It wasn¡¯t Tina, but her good


    friend,


    Cynthia, who was the first to notice Sonia.


    Cynthia tugged on Tina¡¯s sleeve before pointing at the registrar. ¡°Look, Tina. Isn¡¯t that Sonia and Mr.


    Coleman?


    Why are they together?¡±


    The smile on Tina¡¯s face faded when she looked in the direction where Cynthia was pointing at. Although


    her


    gaze dimmed, she maintained a gentle tone of voice as she spoke. ¡°Indeed. It is Miss Reed and Mr.


    Coleman. By


    the way, I think Miss Reed is injured¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    Tina¡¯s gaze traveled downward before stopping on Sonia¡¯s leg, where an angry swell was evident. ¡°Miss


    Stryder, did you do this as well?¡± Tina nced at Melody, who was on her other side.


    Melody also swept a nce at Sonia¡¯s ankle before she shook her head arrogantly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s odd.¡± Tina mumbled.


    Cynthia added, ¡°Tina, they¡¯re turning over here.¡±


    When Tina cast a nce in their direction again, she met Sonia¡¯s gaze, which caused thetter to


    chuckle.


    Zane lowered his head to look at Sonia. ¡°Why are youughing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯mughing at how small the world seems to be. I bumped into Toby at the hotel, and now I meet Tina


    in the hospital. What luck¡± Sonia replied.


    When Zane saw Tina and the othersing at them, he seemed to be anticipating a show. ¡°They¡¯re


    coming for


    you.¡±


    Aware that he was gloating, Sonia glowered at him right. Then, Tina and her gang stopped in front of her.


    With a


    smile, Tina greeted Sonia. ¡°What a coincidence, Miss Reed, Mr. Coleman.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Sonia nodded calmly, but her mind was upied; most of her attention was on Melody, who


    was


    beside Tina. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    After Tina checked on Sonia and Zane, an odd glint fleeted across her eyes before disappearing. Then,


    she


    asked with feigned curiosity, ¡°Why are you with Mr. Coleman, Miss Reed? Won¡¯t Mr. Lane be angry at


    you if he


    knows about it?¡±


    Zane arched his brow. She¡¯s setting out to sow discord into Sonia¡¯s rtionship with Charles.


    On the other hand, Soniabed her hair to the back of her ear, seemingly without the panic that she


    was


    expected to show when someone found her with another man. Instead, she replied nonchntly, ¡°Why


    would he


    be angry at me? I have so many suitors, so he will only better himself so nobody will snatch me away


    from him.


    He has no time to be angry.¡±


    Tina¡¯s face froze before she let out a dry chuckle. ¡°You have a good sense of humor, Miss Reed.¡±


    On the contrary, Cynthia rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s not even humor. She¡¯s just being a shameless arse by


    cheating


    on her own boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°What is it? Are you jealous?¡± Sonia watched Cynthia smilingly. ¡°Does the fact that I have a dozen


    suitors, but you


    have none, not sit well with you?¡±


    ¡°T-That¡¯s not it!¡± Cynthia¡¯s face turned a scarlet hue.


    A smile tugged on Sonia¡¯s lips. ¡°Oh, really? You don¡¯t need to be ashamed to admit the truth. After all, it¡¯s


    normal that you would feel jealous toward someone beautiful and popr like me when you¡¯re an ugly


    duckling that no man wants. I won¡¯t mock you.¡±


    ¡°You,¡± Frustrated, Cynthia was on the verge of tears, but she had to admit to herself that she was indeed


    feeling


    jealous.


    At the side, Zane was amused when he saw Sonia silencing Tina and her gang with a few words. I


    wonder if Toby


    is aware that his ex-wife has such a sharp tongue.


    ¡°Miss Reed¡± Tina pulled Cynthia behind her. ¡°Judging from what you said, you¡¯re saying that Mr.


    Coleman is your


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    suitor, no?¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°Tell her. Are you courting me?¡± Sonia elbowed Zane. In a voice that was only audible between them,


    she warned,


    ¡°I will make your life hell if you dare mess this up.¡±


    Zane¡¯s lips twitched. He wanted no part in that, for he preferred to simply enjoy the show from the


    audience seats. Yet, he had to step in despite the headache that the situation gave him since the women


    around him had


    already dragged him into the mess. ¡°Of course I am!¡± Compared to Sonia, he disliked Tina even more, so


    he


    decided he should side with Sonia.

 Chapter 78

    Chapter 78


    Tina¡¯s eyes went wide in disbelief. He admitted to it. Is he really courting Sonia?


    Other than Tina, Melody and Cynthia were also stupefied. In fact, Melody was staring at Zane like she


    was


    staring at an idiot. Both of them hailed from prestigious families, so Melody looked down on him for


    falling for a


    woman who had once divorced. He¡¯s bringing shame upon all of the upper ss society!


    ¡°Mr. Coleman, are you sure you should be doing this? Miss Reed is¡­¡± Tina bit her lip as if there was


    something


    about Sonia that she should refrain frommenting about.


    Sonia let out a snort of incredulity. ¡°Go on, Miss Gray. What is it that you want to say about me? Are you


    trying to


    convey to Zane that I havemitted certain atrocities by trailing off mid-sentence as if you¡¯re trying to


    hide


    something?¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    Tina panicked, as she never thought Sonia would expose her intentions directly, which caught her off


    guard. Therefore, she shook her head while exining herself, ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean.(This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) It¡¯s just that Miss Reed is Toby¡¯s ex-wife, and you¡¯re Toby¡¯s


    friend, so isn¡¯t it a bad idea to go after Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I think it¡¯s a nice idea¡± Zane refuted with a smile. ¡°Although Sonia is Toby¡¯s ex-wife, they¡¯re


    already


    divorced, so it¡¯s just normal that I would pursue her.¡±


    ¡°But-¡± Tina seemed to have something else to say.


    However, Sonia cut her off. ¡°Is my poprity that much of an eyesore?¡±


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s not the case, you have no reason to stop Zane from pursuing me. If you think Zane shouldn¡¯t be


    courting


    his friend¡¯s ex, don¡¯t forget that you and I used to be coursemates in uni. ording to that line of


    thinking, aren¡¯t you in the wrong for going after my ex?¡± Sonia wore a half-smirk while observing Tina.


    Right away, Tina fell silent as the expression on her face changed drastically. What could I tell her


    anyway? No matter how I retort, I will only be humiliating myself.


    ¡°I guess Miss Gray has nothing to add. Let¡¯s go,¡± Sonia told Zane.


    Zane nodded while gazing at Sonia with a smirk on his face. It¡¯s obvious that Tina is trying to y the


    victim. Toby


    is the only one who¡¯s too blind to see that. Heck, he even thinks she is kind and innocent. I don¡¯t


    understand why he


    would see Tina with such rose-colored sses.


    Right before they could leave, Melody detained them. ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Do you need something, Miss Stryder?¡±


    Both Tina and Cynthia also looked at Melody, who had her arms crossed. With an arrogant look on her


    face, she demanded, ¡°Are you not going to apologize to Tina?¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    ¡°Why should I apologize?¡± Sonia met Melody¡¯s gaze.


    Melody snorted. ¡°You had your suitor kidnap Tina, which led to her being hospitalized. Shouldn¡¯t you


    apologize


    considering what you have done?¡±


    ¡°What? Did you have someone kidnap Tina?¡± Zane was practically shrieking.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible?¡±


    ¡°I think you might just do that.¡± Zane nodded in all seriousness.


    Sonia¡¯s lips quivered. ¡°Get lost!¡± With a shrug, Zane fell silent. It wasn¡¯t until then that Sonia returned her


    gaze to


    Tina and Melody. ¡°Why would you use me of having someone kidnap Tina?¡±


    ¡°Tina told us she heard the kidnapper saying that you¡¯re the mastermind,¡± Melody replied.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°So you believed in what Tina said, and in order to restore justice, you had the banks cut


    off


    Paradigm Co¡¯s funds. Am I right?¡±


    Initially, Sonia thought Melody only did that because of what happened when they yed cards


    previously. However, she dismissed the conjecture as soon as she saw Melody walking beside Tina,(This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) and switched to thinking that Melody¡¯s actions might be


    because of Tina¡¯s kidnapping. Now that Melody brought it up, Sonia was


    certain that that was the case.


    A look of surprise fleeted across Melody¡¯s gaze. ¡°You knew?¡± Tina and Cynthia also had a simr


    reaction.


    When Sonia saw their expressions, she smirked. ¡°Anything that we do is bound toe to light


    eventually.¡±


    Soon, Melody regained herposure. ¡°Your knowledge of this makes no difference. Paradigm Co. will


    be done for anyway.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia tilted her head. ¡°Miss Stryder, you stepped in to teach me a lesson for Miss Gray¡¯s


    sake. I¡¯m


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    touched by your friendship. However, I don¡¯t think Paradigm Co. is anywhere near its end, Miss Stryder.


    On the contrary, it is your family that will be facing its doom.¡±


    Melody¡¯s pupils shrunk, but she quickly collected herself. ¡°Are you kidding me, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°She must be kidding. That¡¯s just how a clown like her is. Considering the Stryders¡¯ status, she couldn¡¯t


    possibly


    have predicted their downfall.¡± Cynthia sneered at Sonia¡¯s words.


    Simrly, Tina looked at Sonia disapprovingly. ¡°Miss Reed, you need to check your facts.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s making things up.¡± Zane interjected out of the blue while gazing at Sonia with a


    meaningful


    look. After all, the certainty in her tone made him realize that she might have proof to back her ims.


    Something might actually happen to the Stryders. I just don¡¯t know how Sonia knows about this.


    ¡°Zane, do you believe in what she said?¡± Melody pointed at Sonia while ncing at Zane with a


    discontented


    look.


    Just when Zane was about to exin, Sonia took over the conversation. ¡°You¡¯ll soon get to know if I¡¯m


    telling the


    truth. I pray that you will be able to maintain your friendship with Tina by then.¡± With that, she smiled


    derisively before signalling Zane to take her away. After all the talking, her leg was in so much pain that it


    was almost


    numb.


    Tina and her gang didn¡¯t stop Sonia and Zane from leaving. At the side, Melody was deep in thought with


    her


    head hung low. Meanwhile, Cynthiatched herself onto Tina¡¯s arm while watching the two of them


    leave.(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°Tch.


    Despite how serious she sounded, nobody¡¯s going to believe in her.¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop that. Miss Reed might be too angry after what happened to herpany, so-¡±


    Before Tina could finish her sentence, the ringtone of a phone cut her short. Somehow, Melody was


    feeling


    uneasy the moment she heard her phone ring. She took out her phone, and her heart sank as soon as


    she saw the caller ID. ¡°Mom, why are you calling me?¡±


    ¡°Where are you, Melody? Are you still in Seafield?¡± A woman¡¯s anxious voice came through the line.


    Melody was feeling increasingly uneasy. ¡°Yeah. What is it?¡±


    ¡°How dare you even ask?¡± The woman on the other side of the line burst into tears. Her voice sounded


    usatory as she cried, ¡°You got us into big trouble. We received a report stating that one of the


    Stryders had


    interfered with another city¡¯s political affairs. Your father was taken away by the Central Commission for


    Discipline Inspection, and your uncles are being suspended from their duties.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Melody¡¯s expression changed drastically while her limbs turned ice-cold. As her mind was filled


    with


    what Sonia told her, her body began to tremble. It¡¯s true. Cmity has befallen the Stryders!


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, Melody. If the Stryders end up falling from grace, we won¡¯t be acknowledging you as


    our daughter anymore.¡± With that, the woman cut the call, leaving Melody holding her phone with a nk


    expression while spacing out


    Tina and Cynthia exchanged a nce. With a look of concern, Tina asked gently, ¡°What¡¯s the matter,


    Miss


    Stryder?¡±


    Upon hearing Tina¡¯s voice, Melody snapped back to her senses. When she realized that such cmity


    only befell


    the Stryders because she helped to teach Sonia a lesson, she med everything on Tina. She had a


    malignant


    look on her face as she snapped, ¡°Tina Gray, you¡¯d better hope that the Stryder Family wille out


    unscathed! Otherwise, I will never forgive you!¡±


    After that, Melody shoved Tina out of her way to leave the hospital immediately. She had to hurry back to


    Norfolk


    to apologize to her family, or else she would be done for.


    ¡°Tina, what should we do? It¡¯s just as Sonia said-cmity has befallen the Stryders,¡± Cynthia said,


    sounding


    deeply troubled by the turn of events. Instead of replying to Cynthia, Tina rubbed her aching shoulder


    while biting


    her lip with her head hung low in an attempt to cover up the panic and uneasiness in her eyes.

 Chapter 79

    Chapter 79


    How should I know what to do?If I had known about it, I wouldn¡¯t be so nervous right now.How did


    Sonia know that something would happen to the Stryders? Tina bit her lower lip, her eyes dark as she


    nced in the direction where Sonia left.


    Meanwhile, Sonia arrived at the surgical department with Zane¡¯s help. The doctor in the department


    was


    surprised to see her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you juste to change the dressing on your headst night? Why are


    you here


    again?¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t expect the doctor to recognize her, so she cleared her throat awkwardly. ¡°I came to have


    my leg


    checked this time.¡±


    ¡°Your leg?¡± The doctor bent down and looked around the corner of the table toward her feet. Upon


    seeing her


    swollen ankle, he shook his head sympathetically. ¡°Miss, you are really having a streak of bad luck.


    (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)You sprained


    your ankle when the injury on your head has yet to heal. You¡¯d better go get an exorcism.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Unable to contain himself, Zane burst intoughter.Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia was already blushing because of what the doctor said, and when she heard Zane¡¯sughter, she


    was even more furious. Therefore, she elbowed him squarely in the waist. ¡°Shut up!¡±


    ¡°Ouch!¡± Zane clutched his waist in pain, his face contorting with agony. ¡°Woman, you hit hard!¡±


    ¡°You deserved it forughing at me.¡± Sonia red at him coldly.


    With a pout, Zane muttered, ¡°Fine, fine! I won¡¯tugh at you anymore.¡±


    Sonia only let him off the hook after letting out a huff. While the doctor helped Sonia relocate the joint in


    her ankle and applied some medicine on it, Zane was busy finding out what happened to the Stryders.


    When he learned that the current head of the Stryder Family was taken away by the Central


    Commission for Discipline Inspection, while other members of the Stryder Family were also being


    investigated, he turned his head slightly to check out Sonia in astonishment. It¡¯s odd that she caught


    wind of what would happen to the Stryders when even I didn¡¯t foresee that.


    Having overheard Zane¡¯s phone call, Sonia knew exactly why he was staring at her like that. A smile


    tugged on


    her lips as she spoke. ¡°You¡¯d like to know how I knew something would happen to the Stryders, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zane nodded rapidly. ¡°Tell me about it.¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡± Sonia rejected his request smilingly.


    For a moment, Zane choked on his own words before leaning in with a cheeky smile on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t


    be like


    that when I helped you out during your confrontation with Tina and her gang earlier.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°So tell me. What exactly happened?¡±


    Upon realizing that Zane was indeed curious about what happened, Sonia stopped teasing him and


    gave a


    summary of the incident. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Tina kidnapped? It seems like the kidnapper was one of my suitors.


    Therefore,


    Tina was convinced that I was the one who orchestrated the incident to avenge myself for this.¡± Sonia


    pointed at


    the bandage on her head. ¡°Meanwhile, Melody used her status as the daughter of the Stryders to get


    several


    major banks in Seafield to reject my loan application in order to seek revenge against me in Tina¡¯s


    stead.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. You¡¯re saying that Melody used her status..¡± Zane¡¯s eyes widened in shock.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yup.¡±


    It took some time for Zane to collect himself before letting out a wry chuckle. ¡°I see. Interfering with


    political affairs in other cities is generally a taboo among government officials. Not even her father


    dared to do that, but


    she did it nheless. Her father must be utterly vexed when he knew his daughter dragged him into


    such a huge hole filled with crap.¡± Hisical description elicited from Sonia augh, which made


    Zane stare at her. ¡°Were you the one who reported it?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Nope. One of my employees with a prestigious background did that.¡±


    ¡°An employee with a prestigious background?¡± A look of amazement fleeted across Zane¡¯s gaze. ¡°You


    sure got lucky there.¡±


    Sonia chuckled nonchntly. ¡°Yeah. I do have luck on my side.¡± Even though she encountered many


    problems


    ever since taking over Paradigm Co., she managed to maneuver herself out of situations with the help


    of the


    people around her. Charles, Reba, Zane, and Z-H were all dear to her because of that. She found


    herself fortunate to have met them. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°With the Stryders down, Melody will definitely hold a grudge against Tina. I bet Tina will be having a


    hard time


    from now on. After all, Melody is one hell of a madwoman, Zanemented smilingly without even


    disguising


    the gloating look on his face.


    A smile tugged on Sonia¡¯s lips as she remained silent. Tina, having a hard time? I don¡¯t think so. With


    Toby at her


    side, she will be well protected.


    By that point, the doctor already finished bandaging Sonia up. He even gave her two crutches. Thus,


    she turned


    down Zane¡¯s offer to support her, opting to get out of the hospital alone on the crutches. When she


    reached the


    parking lot, she saw a familiar face. It was none other than Julia, who was talking to the driver.


    Julia stopped talking the moment she noticed someone watching her. When she turned around with a


    thermos


    in her hand, the elegant smile on her face faded away into a look of indifference. Her eyes were full of


    disdain as


    soon as she saw Sonia.


    Already used to being on the receiving end of such looks, Sonia didn¡¯t lose her temper. Instead, she


    continued


    heading toward her car while supporting herself using the crutches. When she brushed past Julia, she


    caught a


    glimpse of the ne that thetter was wearing around her neck.


    The vintage ne had lost its luster, which indicated that it was probably an antique from many


    years ago. It was surprising that the matriarch of the Grays would wear such an unfashionable


    ne.(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) However, what caught Sonia¡¯s


    attention was the familiarity of the ne. She had seen it somewhere, but she couldn¡¯t recall


    the circumstances under which she saw it.


    Without giving it much thought, Sonia got into the car. It was Zane who greeted Julia after that, whom


    Julia


    smiled at before asking, ¡°Do you share a good rtionship with her?¡±


    Zane knew whom Julia was referring to, so he nced at Sonia¡¯s car. ¡°She¡¯s alright. You seem to have


    something to tell me by asking that question.¡±


    ¡°Pardon me for being direct, but you should stay away from her, Mr. Coleman. She¡¯s an evil woman


    who would


    only bring about misfortune to the people around her.¡± Julia could hardly hide her disdain as she spoke.


    A smile tugged on Zane¡¯s lips. ¡°An evil woman? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. What led you to that


    conclusion?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the incident with Tina self-exnatory?¡± Julia frowned.


    Zane spread his hands. ¡°But from what I gathered, Sonia yed no part in that. Even if she did, Tina


    was the one who dealt the first blow, so Sonia merely did that in retaliation to Tina¡¯s actions. I suppose


    Tina is the more evil of


    the two.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°You,¡± Julia was so angered that her face darkened instantaneously. Then, she snorted and said, ¡°I¡¯m


    only


    offering you advice because you¡¯re Toby¡¯s friend. It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re not taking it. I pray that you won¡¯t


    regret it in the


    future.¡±


    With a smile on his face, Zane retorted, ¡°It won¡¯t matter if I regret this. Most importantly, I know Toby


    will.¡± All of a


    sudden, he bent down to whisper into Julia¡¯s ear, ¡°Although Toby is blind to your daughter¡¯s true nature,


    I am not. Besides, Toby won¡¯t be blind forever, so he will eventually find out about it. What will she do


    when the timees?¡±


    Julia fell silent while staring at Zane in terror. From her point of view, he looked like the embodiment of


    the devil


    itself with that smile stered on his face. Her lips quivered as if she had something to say, but she


    ended up


    keeping it to herself. After tightening her grip on the thermos, she left with a pale face.


    Zane touched his chin as he watched Julia flee the scene. Although the smile on his face broadened,


    his gaze


    was as chilly as ever. Since Julia was Toby¡¯s future mother-inw, Zane figured he should have been


    more


    courteous to her for Toby¡¯s sake.


    However, the Grays hadn¡¯t been too nice. Even though the Grays were based in Seafield, they


    bypassed the Colemans and reached out to the Stryders in Norfolk. It was a humiliation to the


    Colemans, so he saw no reason


    to be nice to any of the Grays.


    ¡°What did you tell her to scare her to the point of fleeing?¡± Sonia inquired curiously when Zane got back


    into the


    car.

 Chapter 80

    Chapter 80


    Zane buckled up with a smile as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I simply told her a horror story.¡±


    ¡°Do I look like someone that gullible?¡± Sonia stared at Zane, rendered speechless by his reply.


    After starting the car, Zane wore a defeated expression as he said, ¡°But I¡¯m telling the truth! I can¡¯t do


    anything about it if you don¡¯t believe in me.¡±


    ¡°This is such a pointless conversation.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes before averting her gaze.


    Abruptly, Zane turned to look at her. ¡°President Reed, I just noticed that you bear some semnce to


    Julia.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was slightly dumbfounded. ¡°I look like her?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°How could that be possible?¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°Stop joking!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking. This is serious. The outline of your face and eyes look exactly like her.¡± Zane nodded


    solemnly before adding, ¡°Yeah, they look almost identical. People might believe it even if you im that


    you¡¯re her


    daughter.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t until then that Sonia was certain that Zane wasn¡¯t kidding, which startled her. However, she


    soon


    regained herposure enough to wave her hand. ¡°Our likeness with each other doesn¡¯t mean much.


    There¡¯re a lot of people who look alike, so this isn¡¯t that strange.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡° Zane answered. Neither of them took the discovery to heart, so it was soon


    forgotten.


    After that, Sonia lowered the window to allow some cold air to blow on her face. ¡°By the way, I have a


    question for you.¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡± Zane was listening to music as he drove, his body swaying to the rhythm of the music.


    Rolling her eyes at the irresponsible driver, Sonia asked, ¡°Do you have a friend whose Messenger¡¯s


    username is


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Due to the loud music, Zane didn¡¯t catch the question at first.


    Annoyed, Sonia pinched the space in between her brows before yelling, ¡°Who is Z-H?¡±


    Screech! The car came to a stop after a screeching noise that was produced by tyres sliding across the


    surface


    of the road. Both passengers were thrown forward, nearly crashing into the windshield before mming


    back


    into their seats when their seatbelts pulled them backward.


    Sonia¡¯s face paled. It took her a moment to recover herself before she turned to face Zane. In her rage,


    she


    pped him on the arm. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Knowing that he nearly caused an ident, Zane released the steering wheel to rub his face. ¡°Cough,


    cough! I¡¯m


    sorry. It was my mistake.¡± I wouldn¡¯t have stepped on the brakes in shock if she hadn¡¯t asked about Z-H


    though.


    Sonia rubbed her temple. ¡°Alright, you should reveal your true identity to Reba. I can¡¯t afford to keep


    a driver


    like you.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    ¡°Please don¡¯t repudiate me just because of a single mistake I made.¡± Zane watched her smilingly.


    Sonia let out a dry chuckle. ¡°Drive then!¡±


    With a shrug, Zane continued driving, but he kept on stealing nces at Sonia. ¡°You were asking who Z-


    H is, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Zane scanned his surroundings. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    Sonia lowered her gaze to hide the emotions in her eyes before exining casually, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. He had


    helped


    me twice ever since I added him as a friend on Messenger by chance. He told me he¡¯s your friend, so I


    decided to ask you since I want to know more about him.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Zane dared not even look at Sonia for fear that she might notice how sheepish he seemed.


    ¡°Although he


    is a friend of mine, we aren¡¯t that close. I don¡¯t even know his name, since we only had a few drinks


    together. He


    has gone abroad now.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded. The fact that he had gone abroad meant she wouldn¡¯t be seeing him, which was a


    relief.


    She was actually dreading to meet him, for she knew they would be awkward around each other since


    she was


    quite close to Zane.


    Now that she knew Z-H was abroad, she figured she had nothing to worry about. Yet, she couldn¡¯t shake


    a sense of dejection while she watched the scenery outside the car window in silence. Meanwhile, Zane


    heaved an inaudible sigh while thinking that he should go get Tobyter on to get some reward from him.


    After all, it took him a lot to help cover up Toby¡¯s tracks.(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    Half an hourter, they arrived at Bayside Residence. Sonia got out of the car to enter the building while


    limping on her two crutches. The moment she stepped out of the elevator, the eyes of a young boy who


    had been squatting in front of her apartment unit lit up as he stood up


    ¡°You¡¯re finally back! I¡¯ve been waiting for a long-What happened to your leg?¡± The boy stared at the cast


    on her leg and the crutches underneath her armpits in surprise.


    Instead of answering Tyler¡¯s question, Sonia frowned while examining him. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Tyler hung his head low before muttering, ¡°I fought with Mom. She wanted me to quit the basketball


    team, but I didn¡¯t want to, so I ran away.¡±


    With a smirk, Sonia questioned, ¡°What does my ce mean to you? Why are you alwaysing over to


    my ce


    when you run away from home?¡±


    ¡°I have no other ce to go.¡± Tyler said ufortably. In fact, he had no idea why he came to Sonia¡¯s


    ce. All he knew was that he could calm down whenever he dropped by.


    ¡°The Fullers are a prestigious family with so many estates all over the city. How could you have nowhere


    to go?¡± Sonia took out her keys. ¡°Get out of my way. I need to open the door.¡±


    Tyler stepped aside to make way for her to the entrance. When she unlocked the door, he stood behind


    her as if he would actually follow her inside at any moment. Sonia paused in her movements to turn to


    meet his gaze.


    ¡°Are you really nning to follow me inside?¡±


    ¡°As I said, I have nowhere to go. Let me stay for the night.¡± Tyler lowered his gaze to look at her,


    seemingly intent


    on staying no matter what she did. Although he was a teenager, he had a height of more than 180 cm


    because


    he yed basketball. Therefore, Sonia had to raise her head to see his face.


    ¡°You can stay here if you wish to, but I have no reason to take you in for free. It¡¯ll cost you a hundred


    thousand


    per night.¡± Sonia made a gesture of counting money.


    Tyler was astounded. ¡°A hundred thousand? Why don¡¯t you just go rob a bank?¡±


    ¡°What is it? Can¡¯t you afford it? Don¡¯t stay here if that¡¯s the case.¡± Sonia spread her palms out to indicate


    her


    reluctance topromise..


    Meanwhile, Tyler¡¯s face flushed. ¡°Of course I can afford it! It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t have money with me. Can¡¯t


    I just


    pay you next time?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Get lost if you can¡¯t pay right away. I don¡¯t allow debts. Besides, I don¡¯t have a reason to take in


    my


    enemy¡¯s son.¡± With that, Sonia opened the door to go into the house.(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    Upon hearing Sonia refer to him as the son of her enemy, Tyler¡¯s face paled, but he recovered quickly to


    try to


    follow her inside. Immediately, Sonia closed the door until a crack was all that was left. ¡°As I said, leave if


    you


    don¡¯t have money.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Tyler glowered at her through the crack. ¡°I know my mom did you wrong. I will pay you more


    money


    next time aspensation.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Nope.¡± Money isn¡¯t enough topensate for all the hurt you caused me for the past six


    years.


    ¡°What do you want when you¡¯re not going to make any concessions?¡± Tyler stomped his foot.


    Sonia stared at him. ¡°Easy. I want you gone.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Tyler insisted on staying.


    ¡°Stay there if you don¡¯t want to leave. I¡¯m not good-natured enough to let you in.¡± With that, Sonia shut


    the door.


    Tyler gawked at the door in front of him, seemingly finding the fact that she would shut the door in his


    face


    without hesitation somewhat unbelievable. At the same time, he was also feeling aggrieved as he


    slumped down


    on the ground while mentallyining about Sonia¡¯s cold-heartedness. All the while, there was a


    tinge of


    regret in the mixture of his emotions as he reflected on his treatment toward Sonia for the past six years.


    The


    more he dwelled on it, the more ufortable he felt.


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    On the other hand, Sonia didn¡¯t leave after entering the house, for she kept watch from the surveince


    system


    behind the door. The fact that Tyler was determined to stay was giving her a headache. Are the heavens


    sending him to torment me? Later on, she took out her phone to give Toby a call.


    A peculiar glint crossed Toby¡¯s eyes when he saw the caller ID. Then, he picked up the call. ¡°Hello?¡±

 Chapter 81

    Chapter 81


    That was the first time Sonia called Toby after their divorce, so he wondered what she was up to.


    ¡°Tyler is at my ce. President Fuller, please take him home.¡± The sight of the boy on the doormat was


    giving


    Sonia a headache.


    Toby frowned. ¡°Tyler is at your ce again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and he¡¯s not budging no matter what I do.¡±


    ¡°I get it. I¡¯ll be there in a moment.¡± Toby replied.


    Since Sonia had nothing else to tell him, she hung up directly after that. Toby nced at the screen that


    had


    already reverted to the menu page while pulling his lips into a thin line. (This novel will be daily updtaed


    at .noveljar)


    Then, he stood up to head out of the office. Around an hourter, he arrived in front of Sonia¡¯s apartment


    unit.


    ¡°Toby?¡± Tyler shot up from where he sat, frightened by Toby¡¯s arrival. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I came to bring you home¡± Toby answered solemnly after taking a look at the door behind Tyler.


    With his head hung low, Tyler dared not disobey his brother. ¡°Toby, how did you know I¡¯m here?¡±


    Instead of replying to Tyler¡¯s question, Toby stepped forward to knock on the door, which opened soon


    after. Sonia leaned against the shoe cab while supporting herself with a crutch.


    There was a look of concern in Toby¡¯s eyes when he took in the state that Sonia was in; even his tone


    softened when he spoke. ¡°How¡¯s your leg doing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. At least it¡¯s not broken¡± Sonia answered nonchntly.


    Meanwhile, Tyler nced at Sonia, and then at Toby. ¡°You don¡¯t seem all that surprised by her


    injury, Toby. Did you already know that she¡¯s injured?¡±


    Still ignoring Tyler, Toby watched Sonia in silence. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone send you some nourishing food


    later.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary¡± Sonia declined his offer directly.


    Toby kept a straight face. ¡°Sonia, can¡¯t you be less stubborn?¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡± Sonia huffed an exasperatedugh. ¡°Is not epting your offer a show of obstinacy?(This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    What nonsense is


    that?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, you got injured in my hotel, so I¡¯m responsible for that,¡± Toby exined in all seriousness.


    Sonia waved her hand, ¡°I won¡¯t hold you ountable. All I want is to stay away from you. Besides, isn¡¯t


    Tina


    going to be displeased by the fact that you keeping after me? I don¡¯t want her to plot against me


    again and


    make me end up all bruised and battered.¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t do that.¡± Toby frowned, feeling displeased by her usation. Tina already promised to never


    repeat


    those same mistakes.


    get some rest. You can see yourselves out.¡± She gestured at the exit to indicate that it was time for them


    to


    leave


    After staring at Sonia for a moment, Toby took Tyler with him, ready to leave. All of a sudden, Sonia


    called out to them. ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Toby felt joy for some reason, but he contained it well when he turned around. (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°Is there something else?¡±


    Sonia pointed at Tyler. ¡°President Fuller, please watch over your brother in the future. Make sure that he


    doesn¡¯t


    Discontented, Tyler shot back, ¡°I¡¯m not giving you trouble!¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Sonia tilted her head. ¡°Do you believe that your mother will use me of seducing her


    son if I


    call to tell her that you¡¯re with me?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Tyler choked on his words while a blush crept onto his youthful and handsome face. He didn¡¯t have


    aeback for that, nor could he deny Sonia¡¯s ims, for he knew his mother was definitely capable of


    that.


    ¡°So, stoping to my ce. I¡¯ve done all I could after helping you out twice. All I wish for by this point


    is to cut all ties with your family. Got it?¡± Sonia swept a cold nce at Tyler before fixing her gaze on


    Toby¡¯s face. After a few seconds, she averted her gaze without hesitation before shutting the door.


    While looking at the door in front of him, all Toby could imagine was Sonia¡¯s eyes. (This novel will be


    daily updtaed at .noveljar) They used to contain feelings


    for him, but it was all gone; all that was left was a cold stare. It meant that she already got over him.


    Upon realizing that, Toby¡¯s heart wrenched in pain. Shouldn¡¯t I be d that Sonia finally let go of me? It


    means I will be free from the burden of her feelings, but why don¡¯t I feel happy? Instead, my heart is


    aching and hollow. It¡¯s as if I


    have lost something important.


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    Meanwhile, Tyler gulped when he noticed Toby clenching his fists. ¡°What are you doing, Toby?¡± he


    inquired


    carefully. Is he feeling like punching someone to vent his anger after being treated by Sonia so harshly?


    This won¡¯t


    do! The moment he thought of that, he tried to cate Toby. ¡°Say, Toby,¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Toby cut him short before turning to walk toward the elevator.


    Startled by his reaction, Tyler nced at Sonia¡¯s door before picking up the basketball and running after


    Toby. Behind the door, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief after seeing the two of them leave. Then, she


    covered the screen of the surveince camera before retiring to her room.


    The next day, Sonia was roused by a phone call. After taking the phone from the bedside table, she


    didn¡¯t even


    check the caller ID before sticking the phone to her ear. ¡°Hello, who is this?¡±


    ¡°President, Reed, it¡¯s me!¡± Daphne¡¯s bright voice came through.


    Sonia opened her eyes while sitting up on her bed. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I have good news. The banks called to express their consent on offering us the loans.(This novel will be


    daily updtaed at .noveljar) Those that already offered a loan also agreed to stick to the


    schedule we agreed on for the repayment scheme.¡± Daphne could


    hardly contain her excitement.


    Sonia smiled dly. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The banks even offered to cut the interests by 0.5% after causing us troublest night. The


    representatives are already at thepany. When will you arrive at the office, President Reed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there after getting myself ready for work. In the meantime, show them some hospitality.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Daphne nodded.


    With that, Sonia set her phone aside while heaving a sigh of relief. Since thepany¡®s crisis is averted,


    Melody


    should also have paid for her actions. The thought of it prompted Sonia to search for rted news online.


    Sure enough, articles of what happened to the Stryders popped up immediately. Melody¡¯s father was


    demoted,


    while her uncles were removed from their respective positions. Having lost half of their power, the


    Stryders were no longer the most prestigious family in Norfolk, for they had declined into one of the


    weakest ones.


    Such an oue was only possible because Matthew was still alive. If he were gone, even Melody¡¯s


    father


    would be removed from his position as well. If that was the case, the Stryders would be kicked out of the


    ranks


    of the upper ss society and be a normal family. All of that happened because of Melody, who


    would in


    turn hold a grudge against Tina.


    ¡°Haha.¡± Soniaughed, apparently in a good mood.


    Just as what she had expected, Melody indeed abhorred Tina. She was standing in front of Southfield


    Estate.


    Her face was contorted with rage as she held up her phone to give Tina a call. By that point, she was


    nothing but


    a shell of her former self as an arrogant youngdy. All that was left within her was vicious hatred that


    made her


    pretty face look terrible.


    Soon, Tina picked up her call before asking in a gentle voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Miss Stryder?¡±


    Tina froze for a second before she forced a smile. ¡°What happened, Miss Stryder?¡±


    ¡°How dare you even ask, Tina?¡± Melody yelled at her without a care for her image. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! I


    wouldn¡¯t be


    used as leverage against my family if I didn¡¯t try to teach Sonia a lesson for your sake! Now that my


    family has


    fallen from grace, they¡¯re all pointing fingers at me! Peter is demanding a divorce too! Are you happy now


    that


    I¡¯ve be the target of everybody¡¯s insults and disdain?¡±

 Chapter 82

    Chapter 82


    Lowering her eyes, Tina hid the grim look in them and replied in a panicky tone, ¡°I didn¡¯t do that. You¡¯ve


    misunderstood me, Miss Stryder! |¡ª¡±


    ¡°Say no more!¡± Melody cut her off coldly and sneered at her. ¡°Mark my words, Tina Gray! We¡¯re no longer


    friends


    from now on, and I won¡¯t let you off! Just you wait!¡± With that, she hung up on her.


    As Tina stared at the screen of her cell phone, she pursed her lips, which had turned a little pale.


    In fact, she had already seen the news about what happened to the Stryder Family in the morning, and


    she had


    also prepared herself that Melody would me it on her. However, she wasn¡¯t expecting Melody to have


    such a


    deep hatred for her and even threatened that she wouldn¡¯t let her off.


    Tina¡¯s fist tightened as her heart started to beat anxiously. Although the Stryder Family was in trouble


    now, they were still influential and could easily deal with her and the Grays. Therefore, she had to do


    something about it.


    At the thought of this, she bit her lower lip and gripped her arms tightly. Tears rolled down her cheeks


    suddenly,(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    and she left the room after grabbing her handbag. Then, she instructed the driver to drop her off at Fuller


    Group.


    00


    As the employees all knew her, nobody stood in her way, so she reached the top floor smoothly before


    opening


    the door to Toby¡¯s office.


    ¡°Toby.¡± she muttered in a choked voice, her face tear-streaked.


    Meanwhile, Toby was in the midst of a work discussion with Zane, and just when they had reached the


    most


    important part, she had barged in out of the blue, forcing them to stop.


    ¡°Oh, what happened now, Miss Gray?¡± Zane asked, stroking his chin and looking at Tina with an amused


    glint in


    his eyes.


    Ignoring him, Tina merely stared straight at Toby, tears brimming in her eyes.


    Setting down the document in his hands, Toby then stood up, a frown on his face as he asked, ¡°What


    happened,


    Tina?¡±


    Tina pouted and dashed directly into his arms. For the first couple of seconds, Toby¡¯s arms were raised


    mid-way


    in the air before he ced them on her shoulder and back before patting her gently.


    ¡°Leave the room for now,¡± Toby said to Zane. Zane simply shrugged and cast a thoughtful look at Tina in


    Toby¡¯s


    arms before turning to go, leaving the both of them alone in the office.


    After pulling herself away from Toby¡¯s embrace, Tina lifted her head and said in an aggrieved tone,(This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°Miss


    Stryder¡¯s family is in trouble, Toby. She¡¯s cing all the fault on me, even saying that she won¡¯t let me


    off. The fact is¡­ I wasn¡¯t the one who asked her to get even with Sonia. Why is she shifting all the me


    on me? I don¡¯t


    get it.¡±


    ¡°Get even with Sonia?¡± Toby repeated, his eyes narrowed. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Tina was feeling rather frustrated as she thought, After I¡¯ve said so much, all that he heard was ¡®get even


    with


    Sonia¡¯?!


    Although that was on her mind, she didn¡¯t have the nerve to show it, so she sniffled before exining,


    ¡°Miss


    Stryder came to visit me at the hospital yesterday and asked me how I ended up there. So, I told her that


    I was


    abducted by Miss Reed¡¯s suitor. Miss Stryder said she would avenge me by causing trouble for Miss


    Reed. I tried to stop her, but she refused to listen, and she¡¯s ming me now, saying that I¡¯m the one


    who got her and her family into trouble¡­¡±


    As though she had suffered a great grievance, she broke into tears again as she spoke.


    Seeing how sadly she was crying, Toby felt a stab in his heart.(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar) He lifted her head, drew out a piece of tissue and


    wiped away her tears. ¡°There, there. Stop crying.¡±


    ¡°Toby, what should I do now that Miss Stryder said that she won¡¯t let me off? I¡¯m so scared,¡± she


    whimpered


    while looking at him with reddened eyes.


    Toby¡¯s lips were pulled into a thin line and he told her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let her harm you.¡±


    ¡°Mmh. I trust you, Toby.¡± She sniffled and leaned against his chest, looking like she was dependent on


    him. However, her lips were curled ever so slightly into a smirk when he couldn¡¯t see her face, and a


    triumphant look shed in her eyes.


    With his protection, Melody wouldn¡¯t be a threat to her anymore because the Fuller Family was anything


    but a


    regr family running their own business.


    ¡°So you¡¯re no longer scared anymore?¡± he asked, wiping away thest trace of tears from the corners of


    her eyes


    with his thumb.


    Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid anymore. You¡¯re so good to me, Toby.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my fianc¨¦e, so of course I have to treat you well. Moreover, when we first met six years ago, I


    already said that I¡¯ll protect you all my life. Did you forget about that?¡± he asked, gazing at her with a


    gentle look in his eyes.


    She smiled through her tears and nodded. ¡°Of course I remember it, but I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d still


    remember it


    as well.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t forget it. I remember everything about you in my heart,¡± he said, pointing at his own temple.


    Her eyelids fluttered as the smile on her face turned a little unnatural. ¡°Actually, everything is in the past


    and I¡¯ve changed a lot of my habits since then. You should just forget them, Toby¡±


    ¡°Forget them?¡± he asked, confused.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Circling her arms around his neck, she said, ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t it good to just remember me for who I am now?¡±


    As he stared into her expectant eyes, his lips parted and he said, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar) ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so good to me, Toby!¡± she eximed. Then, she went on tiptoes and kissed him on his cheek.


    Her gaze fell upon his lips and she slowly leaned in.


    Toby didn¡¯t dodge and lowered his head as well, but just a second before her lips were about to touch


    his, Sonia¡¯s


    face shed across his mind and he suddenly pushed her away.


    Shocked, Tina stared at him nkly with reddened eyes. ¡°You¡¯re pushing me away again, Toby?¡±


    Even Toby knew how his actions had hurt her, so he lowered his eyes apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tina, but


    this is the office¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you dislike me?¡± she asked before biting her lip.


    Fixing his eyes on her, he asked in return, ¡°What makes you think this way?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it true?¡± Once again, tears began to well up in her eyes. ¡°Are you pushing me away because you


    dislike the fact that I was touched by other men before?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you push me away? Tell me!¡± she demanded, looking at him sadly.


    Toby rubbed the space between his brows, for he had no idea where to begin to exin himself, but right


    at this moment, Tom came into the room. ¡°President Fuller, all the directors have arrived. Are you going


    over now?¡±


    After letting out a sigh of relief at Tom¡¯s arrival, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m going now.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said and closed the door.


    cing his hands on Tina¡¯s shoulders, Toby said, ¡°Alright now, Tina. I¡¯m going for a meeting first, and


    we¡¯ll speak


    afterward.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she answered while nodding her head reluctantly.


    With that, Toby left the room with peace of mind as Tina stared at the direction he had left, her hands


    tightening


    into fists slowly. This is the third time already, she thought. This is the third time he has rejected me.


    She had no idea why he was turning her down, but she couldn¡¯t leave things as they were now. Even


    though he


    said that he loved her, he wouldn¡¯t touch her, and that made her feel really insecure. I have to find a


    chance to go


    all the way with him, she thought. Only then can I keep him by my sidepletely


    On the way to the conference room, Toby suddenly said to Tom, who was behind him, ¡°Later, head to the


    finance department and im for yourself a month¡¯s bonus.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tom blurted, bewildered. Why is he giving me a bonus out of the blue?


    Without exining himself, Toby added, ¡°Also, buy some supplements which are helpful for a sprained


    injury and


    send them to Sonia.¡±


    Knowing about the ident with the elevator the previous day, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    Tom nodded and answered, ¡°I got it.¡±


    With no other instructions left, Toby then pushed the door open and went into the conference room,


    whereas


    Tom stayed outside and called someone on the phone to buy the supplements.


    Soon, Sonia received a call from her receptionist. ¡°President Reed, someone sent a lot of things to you.


    Should I


    send them upstairs?¡±


    Sonia, who had just sent off the officers from the bank, stepped out of the guest lounge and asked,


    ¡°What did


    they send?¡±

 Chapter 83

    Chapter 83


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, either,¡± the receptionist answered, shaking her head.


    Sonia was silent for a couple of seconds before saying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ming downstairs now.¡±


    After she hung up, she kept her cell phone away and hobbled toward the elevator in crutches while


    Daphne


    followed behind her.


    When they reached the reception desk on the first floor, Sonia asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the package?¡±


    The receptionist took out a big cardboard box. ¡°Here it is.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s gaze fell on the sealed box on the desk, but she couldn¡¯t see what was inside, and there wasn¡¯t


    any


    information on the outside about the sender either.


    Reaching out her hand, Daphne then lifted the box from a corner and said, ¡°It¡¯s quite heavy, President


    Reed.¡±


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Open it up and take a look,¡± Sonia instructed the receptionist.


    With a cutter, the receptionist opened the box and everyone saw that it was filled with exquisitely


    packaged


    bottles.


    Taking out a bottle, Daphne took a look at it and eximed in surprise, ¡°President Reed, this is the most


    famous


    supplement overseas and works amazingly for the healing of bones. Just one bottle easily costs more


    than ten


    thousand. Look how many bottles are in here. The sender is really generous.¡±


    To spend so much just to buy supplements for President Reed, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    the sender must be her loyal suitor, she reckoned.


    Hearing that, Sonia frowned. ¡°Put back the bottle and reseal the box.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Daphne blurted, stunned. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to keep them, President Reed?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not¡± she answered, turning to leave. ¡°Get someone to return everything to the Fuller Group.¡±


    ¡°Fuller Group?¡± Daphne repeated, her jaw hanging in surprise. So all these are a gift from President


    Fuller. No


    wonder President Reed doesn¡¯t want to ept it.


    ¡°Daphne, why do you think President Fuller is sending these supplements to President Reed? This isn¡¯t


    the first


    time that he¡¯s sending her gifts, is it?¡± the receptionist asked in a gossipy manner. ¡°Could it be that there


    are still


    some leftover feelings between them?¡±


    ¡°How should I know?!¡± Daphne snapped and returned the bottle into the box. ¡°That¡¯s it. Don¡¯t spout


    nonsense


    about your superior and arrange for someone to send these back.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the receptionist answered with a nod.


    Daphne chased after Sonia, who had already returned to her office and was calling Toby on the phone.


    ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What are you speaking about?¡± Toby was just finished with his meeting and was also on his way back to


    his


    office


    Taking a deep breath, Sonia had an annoyed look on her face as she said,(This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°You¡¯re the one who sent those


    supplements, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± he admitted, nodding his head.


    Sonia snorted. ¡°President Fuller, didn¡¯t I already tell you that I don¡¯t want it? Why did you still send


    them?¡±


    Is she questioning me? he wondered as his face turned glum. ¡°I also said that I¡¯m partly responsible


    because you had an ident at my ce.¡±


    ¡°Responsible?¡± she repeated, and chuckled sarcastically as though she had just heard the biggest joke.


    ¡°President Fuller, you hadn¡¯t been responsible to me when I was your wife, but you want to be


    responsible now that we¡¯re divorced. Don¡¯t you find it ridiculous?¡±


    Hearing the sarcasm in her tone, Toby lowered his eyes without a word because he had no rebuttals for


    her words. Even he himself didn¡¯t know why he had to be responsible for her.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already asked someone to return the supplements to you. Don¡¯t send me anything else in the future.


    I don¡¯t need it!¡± she said and hung up on him.


    Stopping in his tracks, Toby stared at the screen of his cell phone with an inexplicablyplicated look


    in his


    eyes.


    Seeing that he had stopped walking, Tom stopped as well and asked, ¡°President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Say¡­ What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Toby asked suddenly, lowering his cell phone. Why am I so concerned


    about


    Sonia?


    Confused, Tom asked, ¡°President Fuller, what do you mean by that?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips wavered, and just as he was about to speak, an attractive woman came out of his office and


    hugged


    him by his arm intimately. ¡°Are you finished with the meeting, Toby?¡±


    Looking a little surprised, Toby muttered, ¡°Tina, why are you still here?¡±


    Pouting her lips in dissatisfaction, she answered, ¡°I¡¯ve been staying here the whole time just to wait for


    you. How


    could you ask me something like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he apologized, stroking her hair. ¡°I thought you¡¯d already left.¡±


    After taking a nce at the time on her cell phone, she said, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar) ¡°Toby, what do you think if I go to your ce


    tonight? Your mom just sent me a text saying that she had bought foods which I like.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby agreed, nodding, and Tina beamed.


    Just then, a security officer stepped out of the elevator holding a box in his hands. ¡°President Fuller, this


    is from


    Para-¡±


    ¡°Just put down the package on the floor;¡± Toby interrupted him before he could finish speaking.


    It was the supplements that Sonia returned. If Tina found out about it, he was worried that she would


    overthink


    again.


    After dropping off the box, the security officer left.


    Tina looked at the box on the floor curiously. ¡°What¡¯s in that box, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Supplements,¡± he replied curtly.


    Suddenly, it dawned on Tom why he suddenly broke off the security officer¡¯s words.


    ¡°What supplements?¡± Tina paced over and opened the box. Her eyes gleamed when she saw what was


    in it. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s these supplements! This is really difficult to buy on the market. Even my dad wasn¡¯t able to


    get any thest time when he pre-ordered them, but you bought so much in one shot, Toby.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to send this to your father¡¯s ceter, then,¡± Toby offered.


    Returning to his side, Tina said, ¡°Thank you, Toby.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± he said, giving her a smile.


    So be it, he thought. Sonia¡¯s right. Since we¡¯re already divorced, we shouldn¡¯t be in contact anymore. In


    addition, he had a hunch that the situation would be out of control if they kept in contact.


    Suppressing the emotions in his heart, he held Tina¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to my ce.¡±


    With a smile, Tina nodded her head enthusiastically. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Then, Toby instructed Tom to have the supplements sent to Tina¡¯s ce before leaving with her, and an


    hourter, they arrived at the Fuller Residence.


    As Jean had heard the sound of the car even before they walked in, she rushed out of the house to greet


    them with a handful of sunflower kernels still in her palm. When she saw Tina getting out of the car, she


    went to her, happily and grabbed her hand. ¡°You finally came, Tina.¡°


    ¡°Hi, Mrs. Fuller,¡± Tina greeted in a gentle voice, (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    and lowered her gaze to look at Jean¡¯s hand that was holding her


    own hand.


    There was still a piece of kernel peel covered in saliva stuck on her hand, and the sight of it made her


    nauseous.


    The smile on her face turned stiff, and a look of disgust shed across her eyes, but she drew away her


    hand


    without revealing her emotions.


    Toby, who had just parked the car, came over and saw the both of them standing there. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you


    go in?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re waiting for you.¡± Tina took a step closer to him to distance herself from Jean before she held him


    by his


    arm.


    Chuckling, Jean said, ¡°Toby, Tina is so clingy to you. You have to treat her well.¡±


    ¡°I know, Mom. Let¡¯s go in,¡± he said and led Tina into the house.


    With the presence of the three of them, the huge living room suddenly became lively. Releasing Toby¡¯s


    arm, Tina


    said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the washroom, Toby.¡±


    Toby¡±


    T have to wash off the disgusting bacteria on my hand, she thought, unable to stand it for even a second


    longer.


    ¡°Go ahead¡± Toby said, lifting his chin a little and thinking that she really wanted to use the toilet.


    Then, she quickened her steps and strode toward the washroom.


    After taking off his jacket, Toby asked, ¡°Mom, where¡¯s Tyler?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s upstairs now¡± Jean replied in a huff.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Toby asked, looking at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m angry because of that kid. Instead of listening to my advice to withdraw from the basketball team and


    focus on his exam for the university, he¡¯s now throwing a tantrum at me, going as far as locking himself


    up in the room¡±


    sheined while munching on the sunflower kernels.


    Rubbing the knot between his brows, Toby said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check on him.¡±

 Chapter 84

    Chapter 84


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to check on him. You should just let him stay on his own since that¡¯s what he likes


    best.¡± Although Jean spoke in a harsh and resentful tone, she didn¡¯t physically hold Toby back as he


    headed upstairs.


    Tyler was her biological son, after all; no mother would have the heart to act so cruelly toward their child!


    Toby


    headed for the stairs after finishing his sentence as he knew that Jean didn¡¯t truly mean what she said.


    ¡°Open the door, Tyler.¡± Toby stopped outside Tyler¡¯s door before rapping his knuckles against it. Toby


    was greeted


    with Tyler¡¯s swollen eyes once Tyler opened the door. ¡°Toby,¡± Tyler muttered.


    ¡°Did you cry earlier?¡± Toby raised an eyebrow.


    Tyler hastily raised his arms to rub his eyes furiously. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± he replied in an indignant tone. His


    words put


    a slight smirk on Toby¡¯s face, but Toby decided not to expose his lie. ¡°Can Ie in for a talk?¡± Toby


    asked


    instead.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Tyler nodded and stepped aside for Toby to enter the room, and he followed behind Toby after


    Toby went


    1. ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise me that you¡¯d help me convince Mom to let me focus on my basketball? Mom¡¯s


    nagging


    me to quit the team, and she doesn¡¯t even allow me to join the training now. The U17 Youth Expedition


    fact, Tyler¡¯s coach had called him earlier and told him that he would be removed from the team if he were


    to miss more training. Tyler had put in a lot of effort to get into the basketball team, and he didn¡¯t want to


    get kicked out so soon.


    Meanwhile, Toby twisted his features into an exasperated look. ¡°Mom did promise me that she would


    allow you to y basketball-I don¡¯t know what drove her sudden change of mind. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll talk to


    herter.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of talking? What if she agrees now but changes her mindter?¡± Tyler plopped on the


    edge of


    the bed as he spoke in an annoyed tone.


    desk.


    Tyler¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. ¡°That¡¯s right. We should get Grandma toe. Mom¡¯s terrified of


    Grandma.¡±


    Toby grunted in agreement and was about to say something when he noticed something from the corner


    of his


    eye. There was a letter on the table that looked like it had been around for a while. Its paper was yellow


    and


    worn. However, that didn¡¯t matter much to Toby. What mattered was that the envelope looked really


    familiar to


    him.


    In the past, when Toby and Tina were still pen pals, they would use the exact same envelopes. ¡°Why do


    you have


    one of my letters to Tina with you?¡± Toby held the envelope up and shot Tyler a look of displeasure.


    Tyler jumped in surprise before he snatched the envelope away from Toby.(This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°That¡¯s not one of your letters to Tina.¡± Tyler had gotten the envelope from


    Sonia, so it couldn¡¯t have belonged to Tina.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that one of the letters I wrote to Tina?¡± Toby frowned. He didn¡¯t bother to conceal the disbelief in his


    eyes.


    Tyler simply kept the letter away. ¡°It isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me whose letter it is, then?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes as he red at his brother. His


    gaze made Tyler feel rather self-conscious, and Tyler quickly looked away as he spoke. ¡°All you need to


    know is that it doesn¡¯t belong to you. I¡¯m not going to tell you who the letter is from-that¡¯s a secret,¡± he


    uttered.


    Initially, after Tyler got hold of the letter, his n was to tell Toby that Sonia had been writing love letters


    to


    others ever since she was in high school. However, Tyler changed his mind and decided to help Sonia


    keep her secret after she helped him to get his contract with the basketball team. That was why Tyler


    refused to tell Toby


    that the letter belonged to Sonia.


    Toby looked like he was about to say something else as he red at Tyler¡¯s rather reserved and cautious


    expression. Tyler hastily stuffed the letter into his trouser pocket before he pushed Toby out toward the


    door.


    ¡°Alright, Toby. You can go out now. Please help convince Mom about this.¡±


    Toby pressed his lips together as he headed downstairs.


    ¡°Phew..¡± Tyler pulled the letter out once he shut his bedroom door. ¡°That was close. I nearly got caught. I


    should just return this letter to her.¡± With that said, Tyler pulled his phone out to call Sonia.


    Sonia had just reviewed an entire stack of files, and she was already sprawled across her desk in


    exhaustion. Charles let out a heartyugh as he watched her. ¡°Are you tired after such a minor task?


    Wouldn¡¯t you be lying on


    the bed all the time if Paradigm Co. further develops their business? What if thepany bes as


    renowned


    as they once were in the past?¡±


    ¡°That might just happen.¡± Sonia let out a littleugh, but her voice sounded rtively t. All of a sudden,


    her cell


    phone that she had ced beside her head began to ring. Before Sonia got a chance to see the caller,


    (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) Charles craned his neck to nce at her phone.


    ¡°It¡¯s your ex-husband¡¯s brother.¡±


    ¡°Tyler?¡± Sonia lifted her head instantly.


    Charles let out a light scoff. ¡°Why would he call you?¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to know?¡± Sonia held the phone up and ended the call.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to answer it?¡± Charles looked Sonia in the eye.


    ;


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason for me to do that,¡± Sonia replied calmly as she gradually lowered her phone. Right


    then, a new


    message popped up on her screen. Your letter is with me!


    My letter? Sonia knitted her brows before she returned the call that she had ignored earlier. ¡°What


    letter?¡± ¡­


    Pride was written all over Tyler¡¯s face when Sonia called him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you reject my call earlier?¡±


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia sniggered when she heard the hint of cockiness in Tyler¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m going to end it again if you


    don¡¯t tell


    me what you¡¯re calling for.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait!¡± Tyler hastily stopped her. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯ll tell you what it is. Thest time I was at your


    house,


    saw that you have a lot of letters that John wrote to you. I stole one of them.¡±


    ¡°You searched my room?!¡± Sonia¡¯s face darkened as she felt anger bubbling in her chest. ¡°Is this what


    the Fuller


    Family taught you to do? Do they teach you to trespass and poke around in other people¡¯s rooms?¡±


    Tyler knew that he had made a mistake, so he lowered his head and replied in a meek voice,(This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°I know that I was wrong. That¡¯s why I¡¯m calling you-to admit


    my faults and to apologize to you.¡±


    ¡°Hah.¡± Sonia scoffed once more.


    Tyler scratched the tip of his nose. ¡°I¡¯ll return you the letter in the future,¡± he mumbled.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just throw it out. I don¡¯t need it anyway.¡± Sonia ended the call after finishing her words.


    Charles came forward with a curious look on his face once Sonia got off the phone. ¡°Why is he looking


    for you?¡±


    ¡°That guy stole one of the letters that John used to write to me.¡± Sonia pinched the bridge of her nose as


    she


    spoke.


    Charles seemed rather intrigued by this answer. ¡°Based on what I recall, you and John haven¡¯t been in


    contact in


    a while, huh?¡±


    Sonia nodded as a hint of nostalgia surfaced in her gaze. ¡°It¡¯s been nearly seven years.¡± Sonia would¡¯ve


    forgotten


    about her pen pal if Tyler hadn¡¯t brought it up with her.


    ¡°What¡¯s the reason you guys stopped talking? I thought you and John were pretty close in the past. You


    guys would send two or three letters each week.¡± Charles¡¯s tone seemed a little salty as he spoke.


    Charles and Sonia


    grew up together, so they were extremely close. However, he felt like he had been neglected ever since


    she became pen pals with John.


    ¡°Who knows.¡± Sonia shrugged. She didn¡¯t even know why John stopped writing to her. Six years ago,


    (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    John sent


    her a final letter to exin that he would stopmunicating with her. Since then, she never heard from


    him


    anymore. She even wondered if she had written something to offend him and if that was why he ignored


    her


    after that.


    Charles assumed that Sonia didn¡¯t want to give any further details, so he stopped grilling her for answers


    after that. ¡°It¡¯s time to get off work. I¡¯ll send you back,¡± he offered after taking a look at the time.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she replied with a nod.


    Charles drove off after he dropped Sonia at the Bayside Residence. Sonia used a walking stick to help


    her into the bedroom, where she began to dig out the letters that John had sent her in the past. A wistful


    look surfaced in


    her gaze as she gently ran her fingers across the letters. However, she was quick to suppress her


    emotions before picking the letters up to throw them into the trash. She had been keeping the letters for


    years, anyway-it was about time for her to give up and let go. Yet, for some reason, Sonia felt unable to


    let go of the letters in her


    hand even as she held them up above the trash can. She couldn¡¯t bear to do such a thing.


    After a while, Sonia let out a huge sigh before returning the letters to their initial spot. (This novel will be


    daily updtaed at .noveljar)


    Forget it. I¡¯ll just leave it around since I know I¡¯ll miss them if they¡¯re gone. I¡¯ll just stop reading those


    letters. Sonia massaged the space


    between her brows as she stepped out of the bedroom and headed into the shower.

 Chapter 85

    Chapter 85


    Meanwhile, in the Fuller Residence, Tyler was doing some letter-reading as well. Even after going


    through the


    letter a few times, he still managed to find something new each time. Specifically, he realized that most of


    the


    daily routines and hobbies that John described in the letter sounded simr to Toby¡¯s. The most obvious


    simrity between them was John¡¯s handwriting. However, John¡¯s handwriting looked just a little messier


    than


    Toby¡¯s neat and straight words.


    If Tyler weren¡¯t aware of the fact that Toby¡¯s pen pal was Tina, he would¡¯ve thought that the person Toby


    used to


    write to was actually Sonia. After a while, Tyler folded the letter and put it back into the envelope to keep


    it away.


    Sonia must¡¯ve told me to throw it away only because she was angry that I took the letter without her


    permission. I¡¯m not going to throw it away; I¡¯ll just return it to her in the future. Tyler let out a scoff as he


    ced the letter into his


    drawer.


    Someone knocked on his door right after that. ¡°The food¡¯s ready, Young Master Tyler.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ming!¡± Tyler replied as he stood up from his chair.


    He was greeted with Tina¡¯s gentle smile once he got downstairs. ¡°Tyler.¡±


    ¡®You¡¯re here, Tina.¡± Tyler returned the smile.


    Tina nodded while she spoke. ¡°Madam White invited me over for a meal.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Tyler said as he shot Jean a nce. ¡°Mom,¡± he muttered tly. Jean simply let out an


    uninterested grunt.


    She ignored his greeting and walked off to the dining area. Tyler shot Toby a helpless nce, and Toby


    responded with a slight nod.


    Tyler¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. ¡°Great! Thanks, Toby!¡± He jumped in excitement. Toby¡®s the best indeed-I


    knew


    he¡¯d be able to convince Mom about this.


    ¡°You should thank Tina as well. She spoke up for you too, Toby said as he held onto Tina¡¯s hand.


    Tyler froze for a moment before he turned around to stare at Tina with a look of disbelief. ¡°Did you speak


    up for


    me as well, Tina?¡±


    Tina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she shed Tyler a warm smile. ¡°I simply gave Madam


    White a few


    words of advice.¡± Tina was secretly pleased that Tyler enjoyed ying basketball-that way, he wouldn¡¯t


    fight for


    the family inheritance with his elder brother. She would be Toby¡¯s wife in the future, and she would never


    allow


    the Fuller Family¡¯s wealth to fall into the hands of someone else. Not even if that someone was


    Toby¡¯s younger


    brother!


    Meanwhile, Tyler was still stunned over the fact that Tina had been willing to help him. Although he


    couldn¡¯t


    believe it, he obediently thanked her for the help. For some reason, I still feel like she¡¯s a little


    fake. When Ist


    asked her to help me sign the contract for the basketball team, she rejected me and said that she didn¡¯t


    want to make Mom unhappy. Yet, she voluntarily spoke up for me this time. Isn¡¯t she afraid that my mom


    would feel


    unhappy this time?


    Tina sensed that Tyler wasn¡¯t genuinely thankful toward her because of his rather monotonous ¡®thank


    you. She


    scrunched her face into a sad expression as she felt rather uneasy. ¡°Are you displeased by the fact that I


    spoke up for you, Tyler? Why do I feel like you¡¯re not actually happy about this?¡±


    ¡°What? Tyler was confused. Since when did I say that I¡¯m displeased? Since when did I put on an


    unhappy


    expression?


    Tina bit onto her lower lip when Tyler didn¡¯t respond to her immediately. Then, she turned to look at Toby


    with a helpless expression on her face. ¡°Did I do something wrong, Toby?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not.¡± Toby stroked her hair before he shifted his gaze to his brother. ¡°I think you owe Tina


    an


    apology, Tyler.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ Why should I apologize to her?¡± Tyler was utterly dazed. I didn¡¯t say or do anything wrong.


    She¡®s the one


    who¡¯s overthinking it-what has that got to do with me?


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Toby. Forget about it.¡± Tina tugged on Toby¡¯s sleeve to hint him to drop the matter. Toby patted


    the back


    of her hand before darkening his expression and addressing Tyler in a stern tone. ¡°I told you to


    apologize. Do you


    hear me?¡± he barked.


    At that moment, Tyler felt wholly misunderstood. However, he couldn¡¯t go against Toby¡¯s strong aura, so


    he


    ended up apologizing to Tina. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tina.¡±


    She waved it off. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Is that good enough for you?¡± Tyler hissed as he shot his brother a re. He then stormed off into the


    dining area. Tina clung onto Toby¡¯s arm tightly. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, Toby. I¡¯m the reason both of you ended


    up fighting; I ced you guys in a tough spot.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Come on; let¡¯s have our meal.¡± Toby massaged the space between his brows while


    speaking in a rather tired voice. Tina nodded and smiled at him.


    Tyler was silent at the dining table-he was evidently still mad about what happened earlier. He couldn¡¯t


    understand the situation at all. Tina was the one who misunderstood him, yet she ended up being the


    victim while he somehow turned into the perpetrator. Toby even expected him to apologize to Tina. What


    logic is this?! Tyler couldn¡¯t help but feel rather annoyed at Tina at that point. He even felt rather


    conflicted toward the idea of having her as his sister-inw. He was certain that these odd incidents-like


    the sudden apology he had to make earlier-would be more frequent if she actually became his


    sister-inw.


    Tyler lost his appetite at that thought. He mmed his utensils onto the table with a loud smack.


    Everyone was shocked by this sudden gesture, and all their gazes turned toward him immediately. ¡°What


    is it, Tyler?¡± Tina blinked a few times before questioning him in a concerned voice. ¡°Are you feeling


    unwell? You seem really pale.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business!¡± Tyler spat at her.


    Tina¡¯s face dimmed for a moment before she put on a forced smile. ¡°Okay. I won¡¯t ask about you


    anymore.


    ¡°How could you treat your sister-inw like that, you brat?!¡± Jean smacked Tyler on his shoulder. Right


    after that,


    she turned to beam at Tina. ¡°Don¡¯t get mad, Tina. This boy just needs to be taught a lesson or two.¡±


    Tina shook her head as she smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Madam White. I won¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Despite uttering


    such


    nice words, Tina was secretly sneering in her heart. Tyler is an ungrateful brat indeed. I can¡¯t believe he


    treated me that way when I was just trying to be nice to him. Well, just you wait, Tyler! I¡¯m going to limit


    your allowance once ! get married to Toby.


    ¡°That¡¯s great, then.¡± Jean heaved a sigh of relief. She definitely did not wish to lose a daughter-inw as


    wonderful as Tina. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you apologizing to your sister-inw?¡± Jean urged Tyler to speak up.


    Tyler parted his lips to protest-he wanted to point out that Tina wasn¡¯t his sister-inw. However, his


    words


    remained stuck in his throat when he saw the ice-cold look on Toby¡¯s face.


    Toby looked away once he was sure that his brother had gotten the message. ¡°Have some of this. It¡¯s


    your


    favorite, isn¡¯t it?¡± Toby scooped some mango sd into Tina¡¯s bowl as he spoke: For a split second,


    Tina¡¯s expression hardened at the sight of the mango in her bowl. Even her grip around her chopsticks


    tightened along


    with the change in expression.


    When Toby noticed that she had stopped eating and looked rather ufortable, he narrowed his eyes


    and checked on her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just can¡¯t have mangoes because it¡¯s the time of the month for me,¡± she uttered in a rather


    shy voice. Tina took a sip of water to contain the panic and nervousness she felt within her.


    ¡°I see. If that¡¯s the case, you shouldn¡¯t eat it then.¡± Toby didn¡¯t suspect her words-he simply took the


    mango


    sd out of her bowl. Tina finally heaved a sigh of relief then.


    After the meal, Jean fixed her gaze on the couple in the room. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving tonight, are you, Tina?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve already told my mom that I¡¯ll stay the night here,¡± Tina replied with a smile.


    ¡°Well, what should we do then?¡± Jean twisted her face into a rather troubled look.


    An icy look flickered across Tina¡¯s gaze at that moment. ¡°What do you mean, Madam White?¡± This old


    lady isn¡¯t


    going to chase me out of the house, is she?


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the room that you stayed in in the past, of course! I¡¯ve got someone to renovate and


    refurbish that entire room, and it¡¯s notpletely ready for someone to stay in there.¡± Jean let out a long


    sigh as she spoke about her troubles.


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    Tyler was munching on an apple, but he felt the need to interrupt their conversation. ¡°Mom, when did you


    Ouch!¡± Before Tyler could finish his words, Jean had already sent a flying kick in his direction.


    After shooting Tyler a cautionary re, Jean quickly schooled her expression into a kind and sweet one.


    ¡°How


    about this, Toby? Why don¡¯t you let Tina sleep in your room tonight?¡±

 Chapter 86

    Chapter 86


    Toby was looking at some charts on his tablet when he heard Jean¡¯s words, which made him frown a


    little. Tina


    had been d to see Jean¡¯s attempts to bring Toby and her closer to each other, but her heart sank the


    moment


    she saw Toby¡¯s frown. ¡°Do you not like the idea of me sharing a room with you, Toby?¡± Tina asked before


    she bit her lip


    He was just about to part his lips to speak when Jean gave him a light hit on thep. ¡°Why would Toby


    not like that idea? Alright, it¡¯s all set!¡±


    ¡°Mom!¡± Toby¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°This isn¡¯t good for Tina. We¡¯re not married to each other yet¡± Tina¡¯s face


    turned


    pale upon hearing his words. He¡¯s still rejecting Madam White even after Madam Whitees to a fixed


    decision. Has Toby ever considered how I feel in this situation?!


    Meanwhile, Tyler, who had been calmly munching on an apple the whole time, felt oddly pleased when


    he saw


    the color draining out of Tina¡¯s face. ¡°Why does it matter if you¡¯re married? You guys are engaged, and


    you guys


    are going to stay in the same room eventually. You¡¯d just be doing it a little earlier now,¡± Jean muttered in


    a


    rxed tone.


    Toby turned to look at the woman beside him, who hung her head low. ¡°That would be disrespectful


    toward Tina¡±


    he uttered.


    ¡°What has that got to do with disrespect? Tina is-¡±


    Before Jean could finish her sentence, Tina spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Madam White,¡± she said while forcing a


    smile and


    shaking her head. ¡°We can forget it since Toby doesn¡¯t want to do it. There are tons of other rooms in the


    Fuller


    Residence. I can just stay in another one of them.¡±


    ¡°But.¡± Jean was still rather dissatisfied; she wanted to continue talking about it.


    Then, Tyler threw the core of his apple away before he dusted his hands. ¡°You should just forget it since


    that¡¯s


    what Tina wants, Mom. Toby needs to help me with my homework tonight. He wouldn¡¯t have time for Tina


    anyway.¡±


    Toby shot his brother a nce, and his eyes glinted for a brief moment.


    ¡°Homework?¡± The puzzlement in Jean¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t be concealed. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t believe in


    her own son; it was just that Tyler had never enjoyed studying in the past. It was therefore near-


    impossible for Tyler to


    want to work on his homework.


    ¡°What does that look in your eyes mean, Mom? What¡¯s wrong with me wanting to work on my studies?¡±


    Tyler jumped up to his feet like a cat that just had its tail stepped on.


    Jean pouted a little. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re going to choose basketball over university? What¡¯s the


    purpose of studying now then?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different. I¡¯ll still have to study for my cultural sses even if I don¡¯t go to university. The


    basketball team will ban me from mypetitions if my cultural subject¡¯s marks are too low. Come on,


    Toby¡± Tyler dragged Toby


    upstairs right after that. As Tina watched the brothers heading up the stairs, both of her hands were


    curled into


    tight fists.


    Toby spoke after he shut the door behind them in the room. ¡°You did that on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    In response, Tyler chuckled. ¡°I did it for you. I only did it because you looked like you didn¡¯t want to stay


    in the same room as her.¡± There was another reason Tyler did such a thing-he wanted to get revenge for


    what Tina had done to him at the dining table. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to stay with Tina, Toby?¡± With his


    gaze upon his brother,


    Tyler posed the question that had been on his mind.


    Toby was stunned by the question, and he couldn¡¯t find the right answer to it. He didn¡¯t know why, but he


    could


    tell that he felt resistant to the idea; he and Tina had slept on different beds even while they were on


    holiday.


    ¡°Alright. Stop asking so many questions. Pull your books out, and I¡¯ll help you out.¡± Toby was trying to


    change the subject.


    Tyler widened his eyes. ¡°No way, Toby. That was just an excuse. Are you really going to help me with my


    homework?¡±


    ¡°Hurry!¡± Toby snapped in an unyielding tone as he shot his brother a cold re. Tyler wore a dejected


    look as he


    speechlessly went over to grab his textbooks.


    The next day, Sonia had just arrived at thepany when Daphne stepped forward with an envelope


    addressed


    to Sonia. ¡°Who sent this?¡± Sonia took it over and checked it, but there was no sender¡¯s information on it.


    Daphne shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The front desk said that a teenage boy had sent it over and


    stated that it


    was for you.¡±


    ¡°A teenage boy?¡± Sonia pressed her lips together as Tyler¡¯s face popped up in her mind; he was the only


    young man she knew. It can¡¯t possibly be him, right? ¡°Got it. You can send me the documents that I need


    to review today.


    I¡¯ll be in my office.¡± Sonia ced the envelope under her arm.


    ¡°Noted,¡± Daphne replied. Once Sonia was back in her office, she lowered her bag and pulled her chair


    back to sit


    in it. Then, she opened the envelope to find a ticket and a tiny memo. There was an orange ball printed


    on the


    ticket, with ¡®U17 Youth Expedition Competition¡¯ written on it. Sonia¡¯s suspicions were confirmed


    immediately,


    she was right that Tyler was the one who had sent the letter over.


    After cing the ticket aside, Sonia picked the memo up to see a series of crooked and unruly


    handwriting. She could feel her eyes burning at the unpleasantness of his writing. A disdainful look


    shed across her face before she began to read the content of the memo with curiosity. ¡°Tomorrow will


    mark my firstpetition since joined the national team. You need toe and watch me! It¡¯ll happen at


    4.00 p.m, in the stadium downtown. Sincerely yours, Tyler:


    Sonia stuck her bottom lip out. ¡°Why would I want to watch you y basketball?¡± I¡¯ve already been nice


    enough to


    help him enter the national team. He¡¯s dreaming if he thinks I¡¯ll watch him y! I don¡¯t understand what is


    up with the sons of the Fuller Family. They were all so uninterested in me when I was still in the family,


    yet they¡¯re starting to


    act all nice to me now that I¡¯ve left. They¡¯re crazy!


    With a smirk on her thin lips, Sonia tore the memo apart and threw it into the trash can. ¡°President


    Reed.¡± Someone then knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in Sonia replied as she lifted her head.


    ¡°These are the documents that have just been sent over.¡± Daphne lowered a stack of files onto Sonia¡¯s


    table.


    In response, Sonia nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll take a look at themter. Also, I¡¯d like you to inform Mr. Lane that


    there


    will be a meeting at 10.00 a.m.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Something shed across Daphne¡¯s eyes when she heard Charles¡¯s name, but she only nodded


    before


    leaving the room. Sonia took her fountain pen up and began to go through the pile of documents. When


    it was


    nearly time for the meeting, she stood up and walked over to the meeting room with the help of her


    walking


    stick.


    It was noontime when their meeting ended. Daphne had ordered lunch for Sonia and sent it over to her


    office. However, Sonia had only taken a few bites of it when Reba knocked on the door and entered


    with a dejected look on her face. ¡°I¡¯m back, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Wee back¡± Sonia replied with a smile, but Reba continued to sigh. ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia was


    confused.


    Reba shrugged. ¡°I just went on another wasted trip. I still can¡¯t find the person that I¡¯m looking for.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You just need to take your time.¡± Sonia tried tofort her. ¡°Have a seat¡± she said as she


    pointed toward the empty seat opposite her.


    Thus, Reba pulled the chair back to sit down before she continued to speak. ¡°The loans from the few


    banks have been transferred over, President Reed. There¡¯s a total of six billion, and I¡¯ve already


    distributed it to the various segments of the business that need it. Take a look.¡± .


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia said as she took the file into her hands. After finishing the document, she nodded, ¡°Your


    distribution


    is pretty good. Many sections of Paradigm Co. can gradually open up now that we¡¯re working on them


    one at a time. I¡¯ll talk to Charles and the rest about it, and we¡¯ll proceed with your n if we don¡¯t find any


    issues with it.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I won¡¯t bother your mealtime any longer. I¡¯ll head out now.¡± Reba got up to leave, and Sonia


    picked her chopsticks up to continue her meal.


    After the meal, she had a discussion with Charles and a few of the other senior members of the


    company. They


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    came to a consensus-the funds would be distributed ording to Reba¡¯s n, and they would


    reopen the various projects that they used to have in the past.


    Once things were put into action, Sonia found herself overwhelmed with work. She rushed up and down


    the


    building to deal with different departments, and it was 2.00 p.m. the next day by the time she got to take


    a break.


    She let out a long sigh as she sat by her desk. With her opposite arm, she massaged one of her sore


    shoulders before switching to the other. Her shoulders felt a little less tense after some massaging, and


    she looked into


    her drawer to get herself a teabag. She was about to make herself some tea that would energize her a


    little when


    she saw the basketballpetition¡¯s ticket lying in the drawer.


    ¡°What time is it?¡± Sonia nced at the bottom right corner of herputer. 2.39 p.m! It¡¯s not 4.00 p.m


    yet.


    Should I go? Sonia was rather hesitant. She was more inclined toward not going for thepetition, yet


    she didn¡¯t want the ticket to go to waste.


    In the end, Sonia decided to take a look. She was the reason Tyler had the tickets in the first ce, so


    Tyler was probably showing his gratitude by getting her to enjoy one of hispetitions. With that


    thought, Sonia picked up herndline and got Daphne to arrange for a driver.

 Chapter 87

    Chapter 87


    ¡°Where are you heading to, President Reed?¡± the driver asked once Sonia got into the car. She ced


    her walking


    stick aside as she replied to him. ¡°Bring me to City Stadium, please.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± The driver started the car. The trip from Paradigm Co. to City Stadium was a 1-hour long car


    drive. The


    stadium was known for being one of the most congested areas in Seafield as it was close to the city¡¯s


    airport, so


    Sonia found herself caught in a jam. Time continued to tick, and the clock struck 4.00 p.m. while they


    were still


    on the road.


    Meanwhile, Tyler was dressed in a ck jersey with the number ¡®8¡¯ printed on it. He was warming up


    on the court


    while ncing at the audience seats. A disappointed look formed on his rather pale face when he saw


    that the two spaces that he had pre-booked were empty. What¡¯s up with them? Why did neither of them


    come?!


    ¡°Hey, Fuller, what¡¯s up?¡± One of Tyler¡¯s team members came over and tapped him on the shoulder.


    Tyler shook his head. ¡°Nothing,¡± he muttered in a rather dispirited tone.


    ¡°Well, you should rush over if nothing¡¯s up. The coach is asking us to gather.¡± The teammate pulled his


    hand back


    and strode toward the rest area that was prepared for the yers. After taking a final nce at the


    audience


    seats, Tyler turned and went after his teammate.


    Beep! The yers officially got into their rows after the whistle blew, and the match began after each


    party


    shook their opponents¡¯ hands. Tyler was the small forward and also the star yer of the team. Once


    the person


    in the center passed the ball to Tyler, Tyler would begin to travel with the ball. His actions were swift,


    and it only


    took him a single dodge to avoid the opponents¡¯ attacks. Without much effort, he brought the ball past


    the free throw line and tossed it into the ring. He scored! The audience cheered for them, and Tyler


    gave his teammates celebratory high-fives. ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Fuller. It¡¯s only the start of the game, and


    you¡¯ve already shown them


    who¡¯s king,¡± one of the teammates said.


    ¡ª


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If we go on like this, we¡¯re definitely going to win¡± someone added.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Fuller!¡± His teammates cheered him on and tapped him on the shoulder. Tyler nodded while


    throwing a


    nce at the same spots in the audience seats. The two spots he had saved were still empty. At that


    moment,


    he could feel tears forming in his eyes as he felt sorry for himself. He put in so much effort to get two


    tickets for the best spots in the stadium, in hopes that they woulde and watch him during the


    competition. Yet, neither


    one of them showed up to support him! He had been looking forward to seeing them!


    Tyler raised his arm to rub his eyes before returning to his spot with his head hung low. He was waiting


    to get the ball. Soon enough, his members sent the ball into his hands, and he dribbled it while


    preparing to score. The other team already knew that he was a formidable opponent, so three yers


    stepped forward to y defense while he attacked; they wanted to stop him from scoring. Tyler¡¯s heart


    sank when he realized that three yers were surrounding him, for he had understood that he was


    their main target. The game was going to be a hard


    one for him!


    Sonia finally arrived at the stadium at 4.30 p.m. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you in the car, President Reed¡± the driver


    said after


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    he helped Sonia out of the car.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded before she hobbled toward the entrance of the stadium with her walking stick as


    support.


    She heard a series of sighsing from the crowd the moment she walked into the stadium. When


    she looked over at the audience¡¯s faces and saw the looks of disappointment on them, she couldn¡¯t


    help but wonder what had happened during the match. She soon found her answer when she shifted


    her gaze to the scoreboard-the


    OV


    ces


    scores were at 20-40, with Team Kosovo leading by 20 points ahead of their national basketball team. I


    can¡¯t


    believe our team is a full 20 points behind the opponents! We¡¯re ying from our home court, and most


    of the audience are people from our country, so they must feel disappointed to see their national team


    losing to Team


    Kosovo by so many points.


    ¡°Excuse me. Excuse me!¡± Sonia got the crowd to give her space so that she could make her way to her


    seat. By


    the time she finally arrived at her spot, she caught sight of someone walking toward her. She froze


    when she


    exchanged nces with the other person-it was Toby!


    Toby was just as shocked to see Sonia in the stadium. He gave her a slight nod before he nced at


    the ticket


    she held in her hand. ¡°Did Tyler give you this?¡± When Tyler handed him the ticket the morning before,


    he noticed that Tyler had another ticket in his hand. The seating number was the one next to the


    seating number on Toby¡¯s ticket. Before this, Toby assumed that Tyler would give the ticket to his


    friend, but Toby was surprised that Tyler


    had given it to Sonia.


    Sonia mumbled a response as she sat down in her seat. ¡°Yeah, he gave it to me.¡± If she knew that


    Tyler had given


    another ticket to Toby, she would¡¯ve never agreed toe. However, she had no choice but to stay


    since she had


    already arrived.


    Seeing that Sonia had already settled down in her seat, Toby did the same, for he didn¡¯t want to block


    the audience at the back. ¡°Are you interested in basketball?¡± Toby asked, with his gaze still fixed on the


    court.


    ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± Sonia frowned.


    ¡°Who else would I be talking to?¡± Toby¡¯s handsome face darkened as he spoke. We are the only two


    people we know in the crowd. Who else does she think I¡¯m talking to? Could I be talking to myself?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just didn¡¯t expect you to start a conversation with me.¡± Sonia¡¯s gaze fell upon the court as


    she spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in basketball. I¡¯m only here to watch thepetition because I didn¡¯t


    want the ticket to go to


    waste.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby¡¯s lips twitched a little before he muttered a short reply and went silent. Sonia wasn¡¯t in the


    mood to


    care about him, so she watched the tournament in silence as well. After a while, Toby carefully turned


    his head a little to peek at Sonia¡¯s sharp and well-defined side profile. He gazed at her thoughtfully.


    Right then, the crowd around them began to voice theirints. ¡°Sh*t. What sort of nonsense is


    this? Our


    opening was so good, and I thought our national team would definitely win this round. I can¡¯t believe


    Team Kosovo is getting the upper hand.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! We¡®re only in the second period, and we¡¯re already losing by so much. Team Kosovo is


    probably going to beat us by triple the number of points by the end of the game, huh?¡± someone


    added.


    ¡°Forget it! The more I watch this match, the more furious I get. I thought I¡¯d get my money¡¯s worth when


    I saw the


    opening of the match, but I can¡¯t believe this is what I¡¯m watching right now.¡± The audience was losing


    their passion and hope for the national team, and many of them began to throw their cheering sticks


    away before getting up and leaving the stadium.


    Sonia nced at the departing crowds before turning toward Tyler, who had his hands pressed against


    his knees


    for support while he panted on the court. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re really losing,¡± she uttered. Toby narrowed


    his eyes, but he didn¡¯t reply to her words.


    Beep! The whistle indicated the end of the second quarter, and both teams returned to their own resting


    areas to


    get some rest. The coach began to shout at Tyler the moment he got hold of Tyler. ¡°What¡¯s up with


    you? You


    were doing so well at the start. What happened toward the middle of the game? Do you really think


    you¡¯re ying


    up to your own standards?¡±


    Tyler lowered his head without saying anything. The rest of the teammates dropped their towels and


    voiced out


    when they saw this happening. ¡°Forget it, coach. The other team was attacking Fuller. Three or four of


    their yers would block Fuller, and he couldn¡¯t manage-¡±


    ¡°What do you mean he couldn¡¯t manage?! Didn¡¯t all of you block him during our training? Didn¡¯t he


    always


    manage to find a way to slip past you guys? Why can¡¯t he do that now? It just looks like he¡¯s not putting


    in his full effort!¡± The coach¡¯s chest was heaving with anger.


    Even the teammates who had spoken up for Tyler were afraid to say anything else at that point. The


    coach wasn¡¯t wrong, after all. ¡°I need to use the bathroom.¡± Tyler lowered the towel that had been


    hanging by his neck


    before he strode toward the bathrooms. Toby pressed his lips together and got to his feet when he saw


    his


    brother walking off.


    ¡°Are you going to look for him?¡± Sonia curled her lips upward.


    Toby gave her a faint nod. ¡°Tyler doesn¡¯t seem to be in good condition today, and I want to take a look


    because


    I¡¯m worried about him. Do you want toe along?¡± Toby didn¡¯t understand why he felt the need to ask


    her that


    question.


    Sonia pointed at her own leg. ¡°Do you think I can stroll around easily? On top of that, I don¡¯t want to


    see him because this will be myst time doing anything rted to the Fuller Family. Once this


    Toby fixed his gaze on her for a while before he turned to leave the crowd.

 Chapter 88

    Chapter 88


    In the men¡¯s washroom, Tyler sshed some cold water onto his face before staring at his own reflection


    in the mirror with reddened eyes. He knew he didn¡¯t perform well during thepetition, nor did he


    unleash his full


    potential.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to do that, but he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to do that as soon as he recalled


    the fact


    that none of them came to watch himpete. That drained him of his enthusiasm, so he felt no passion


    toward thepetition.


    ¡°Liars! They broke their promise even though they told me they woulde!¡± Tyler punched the marble


    wall beside the mirror as tears rolled in his eyes. Suddenly, his phone began ringing in his.pocket. After


    taking a deep breath, he suppressed his anger while retrieving his phone. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Fuller, the third section of the match will be starting. Are you ready?¡± his teammate asked.


    Tyler seemed a little down as he spoke. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Come back then.¡± With that, his teammate hung up.


    Tyler tucked his phone away to walk out of the washroom. As soon as he got out of it, someone detained


    him.


    ¡°What¡¯s upying your mind?¡±


    That voice! Tyler¡¯s pupils contracted as he whirled around. When he saw the man who was leaning


    against the wall beside the washroom, he was overjoyed. ¡°Toby! You¡¯re finally here!¡± After Toby grunted


    in response, Tyler sniffled. His voice broke a little when he said, ¡°When did you arrive? I thought you


    weren¡¯t going toe.¡±


    we


    ¡°I wille since I already promised to watch youpete. However, I got dyed because of a traffic


    jam. I¡¯m sorry¡± Toby rubbed Tyler¡¯s hair.


    Taking a step back, Tylerined, ¡°I¡¯m not a kid anymore. Don¡¯t rub my hair.¡±


    A smile tugged on Toby¡¯s lips. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t do that. However, I need you to tell me why you performed


    so


    poorly. I know you can perform way better than that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault.¡± Tyler huffed. ¡°You didn¡¯t watch mepete.¡±


    Toby arched his brow. He thought Tyler underperformed because something was bothering him, but he


    didn¡¯t expect that Sonia and his absence was the reason behind it. ¡°You¡¯re childish for underperforming


    just because Sonia and I are absent¡± Displeased by the answer, Toby had a sullen look on his handsome


    face.


    Upon hearing that, Tyler shot back, ¡°This is my first ever officialpetition, so I was really looking


    forward to your attendance-Hold on, how did you know I also invited Sonia? I don¡¯t recall ever telling you


    that. Could it be-¡± Tyler¡¯s eyes lit up, and joy was evident on his face.


    Toby found his reaction amusing. ¡°It¡¯s just as you thought. She¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Tyler started pping.


    ¡°So, during the uing section of thepetition,¡±


    ¡°I get it! I will do my best and win thepetition!¡± Tyler cut Toby off resolutely.


    Toby nodded in satisfaction before putting on a stoic expression. ¡°Great. Remember what you said.


    Other than that, I hope this will be thest time something like this happens. If you¡¯re going to be so


    crestfallen over our absence again, you should just listen to Mom and quit ying basketball.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t happen again. Tyler made his promise while sticking his chest up. He was so overwhelmed


    by


    dejection because it was his firstpetition. However, that would never happen ever again.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. Thepetition will begin soon.¡± Toby gave Tyler a pat on the shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving then, Toby.¡± Tyler waved his hand before running away. It wasn¡¯t until he disappeared into


    the distance that Toby wheeled around to return to the auditorium with his hands shoved in his pockets.


    When the third section of thepetition began, Tyler was no longer as depressed. Instead, he was so


    full of energy that he managed to miraculously break through the opponents¡¯ defenses to quickly score a


    point for his


    team.


    As soon as he did that, he jumped up to wave at the audience. The audience began cheering when their


    passion


    was lit once again. Sonia smiled at the sight of it. ¡°It seems like he has regained some vitality. What did


    you tell him?¡±


    Taken aback that Sonia would initiate a conversation, a look of surprise crossed Toby¡¯s face, but he


    immediately schooled his expression. ¡°He was like that just now because we weren¡¯t here. Now that he


    knows we havee,


    he¡¯s feeling better.¡±


    Sonia was visibly dumbfounded. ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°Yup.¡± Toby nodded.


    With a pout, Sonia mumbled, ¡°That¡¯s childish of him.¡±


    A smile tugged on Toby¡¯s lips. Indeed.


    After that, they stopped talking to each other as they focused on thepetition. Compared to the other


    audiences, their silence made them seem out of ce, especially when the both of them had


    extraordinarily


    good looks that stood out among the crowd.


    There were a few Inte celebrities that came to stream thepetition that pointed their cameras at


    the two of them from time to time due to their pretty faces. Fans who were watching the livestream


    erupted.


    ¡®Wow, both the man and the woman are good-looking!


    ¡®Are they a couple? They look like a good match!


    ¡®Am I the only one who thinks that they look familiar? Have I seen them somewhere?¡¯


    There were a lot of simrments, but the discussion didn¡¯tst long before the streamer pointed the


    camera


    away, for thepetition was about to end.


    Meanwhile, Tyler was going all out on the court, leading his teammates on an assault to even the scores.


    The atmosphere in the auditorium was tense as they were quickly catching up to their opponent. The


    audiences were clenching their fists while fixing their attention on Tyler, who was aiming for a shot.


    Under the watchful gaze of over ten thousand spectators, Tyler threw the ball, which went through the


    hoop just as expected. The whistle was blown, and the score shown on the board was changed to 70-68.


    The national team managed to surpass Team Kosovo¡¯s score!


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    The audience jumped in tion, and so did the man who was sitting on Sonia¡¯s left. When he leaped


    from his


    seat, he bumped into Sonia¡¯s shoulder, which pushed her into Toby¡¯s arms. He caught her by her


    shoulder to help support her. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Toby then released her.


    Right after Sonia settled down, that man leaped up again. Although he didn¡¯t bump into her this time, he


    knocked


    her crutches away, which flew onto the aisle across from her. Seeing that irked Sonia, and it was giving


    her a headache. How am I supposed to go pick that up?


    Just when she considered getting one of the staff members, Toby stood up abruptly to go pick up the


    crutches before handing it back to her. ¡°Here you go.¡±


    After ncing at him in surprise, she took the crutches from him. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Toby grunted as he swept a nce at her leg that was still in a cast. ¡°Is your leg feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s less painful now.¡± Sonia moved her crutches to the other side so that it wouldn¡¯t be knocked


    away


    again.


    Having read her intentions, Toby suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s swap seats.¡±


    Sonia froze for a second before she shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine sitting here.¡±


    ¡°Thepetition is still going on. Tyler¡¯s getting better at it, so enthusiasm among the audience will


    continue to


    rise. Are you sure you won¡¯t be knocked over sitting over there?¡± Toby questioned while ncing at the


    man


    beside her indifferently.


    Sonia fell silent, because she wasn¡¯t certain about it. ¡°I will impose on your kindness then, President


    Fuller.¡± Sonia


    smiled as she positioned the crutches under her arms while getting ready to change seats.


    However, Toby reached out to carry her bridal style and put her down on his seat before she could even


    stand up. Astonished, Sonia found herself blushing. ¡°You,¡±


    Toby averted his gaze before exining casually, ¡°You¡¯re moving too slow. It¡¯s going to block the


    audience behind you.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia didn¡¯t retaliate. She even had to thank him reluctantly. Toby smiled when he


    noticed her expression which indicated that she was suppressing her anger. After replying to her politely,


    he sat down on where she previously sat. In the meantime, the camera of a streamer had recorded the


    process of them exchanging seats.

 Chapter 89

    Chapter 89


    The streamer said to her fans in her livestream, ¡°Did you see that? The couple looks so sweet together.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I saw them. They looked so loving!


    ¡®Chilli, you should also find yourself a boyfriend who¡¯s as handsome as that man. You won¡¯t need to


    admire other people from afar then!


    ¡®Are you serious? Chilli wouldn¡¯t have stayed single until now if she could find herself a boyfriend!


    Part amused and part annoyed, the streamer, whose username was Chilli, (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)threatened mockingly, ¡°I won¡¯t show


    you the couple anymore if you continue to tease me.¡±


    ¡®Hold it right there! We¡¯ll stop!¡¯ The fans quickly surrendered, after which Chilli snorted proudly while


    keeping her camera pointed at Sonia and Toby.


    Having learned a lot of makeup techniques from Chilli¡¯s livestream sessions, Cynthia was her fan. She


    never expected to see Sonia and Toby in Chilli¡¯s livestream. ¡°No, I have to inform Tina about this!¡± After


    setting her iPad


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    aside, she reached for her phone to give Tina a call.


    Meanwhile, Tina was applying a mask on her face as she sat in front of the dressing table. When she


    saw the caller ID, she picked up the call before inquiring gently, ¡°What is it, Cynthia?¡±


    ¡°Tina, quickly check on the livestream link that I sent you,¡± Cynthia urged.


    While tidying the edges of the face mask that stuck out, Tina asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Sonia! She¡¯s trying to seduce President Fuller again!¡±


    ¡°What did you just say?¡± Tina¡¯s pupils contracted as she tore the face mask off her face.


    Cynthia was puffing in anger. ¡°She¡¯s too shameless! Even though she already divorced President Fuller


    and had


    found herself a boyfriend, she continued to pester President Fuller! She even went after him to the


    stadium!¡±


    By that point, Tina hade to understand what Cynthia was talking about. Sonia and Toby were


    watching


    Tyler¡¯spetition in the stadium together. Although it was normal that Toby would be there, (This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)for Tyler was his brother, Sonia had no reason to be there.


    During the past six years, she was constantly being bullied by Tyler. Logically speaking, she wouldn¡¯t


    have gone to support Tyler. Is it really as Cynthia said, that she¡¯s after Toby? Tina bit her bottom lip as


    that thought crossed


    her mind.


    After that, she stood up to walk over to herputer to click on the link that Cynthia sent her. When she


    saw


    Sonia and Toby sitting together in the livestream, her gaze dimmed immediately.


    ¡°Tina, are you still there?¡± Cynthia asked.


    Tina¡¯s gaze flickered for a moment before she hid the terrifying look in her eyes. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still here,


    Cynthia.¡± Her


    voice was strained.


    When Cynthia noticed the sorrow in Tina¡¯s tone, her anger boiled up. ¡°Tina, it¡¯s obvious that Sonia isn¡¯t


    taking you


    seriously, so we can¡¯t let her off the hook. Let¡¯s go get her at the stadium right now!¡±


    ¡°No, Cynthia. We won¡¯t be able to enter without a ticket.¡± Tina hung her head low, pretending to be


    putting on a


    tough front despite the fact that she was on the verge of tears. ¡°Besides, this might be a


    misunderstanding. Miss


    Reed might actually just be there to watch thepetition.¡±


    ¡°How could this be a misunderstanding? You¡¯re being too kind by assuming the best in people, Tina.¡±


    Cynthia


    stomped her foot, angry that Tina wouldn¡¯t fight for what was rightfully hers. ¡°You didn¡¯t see Sonia


    deliberately


    falling into President Fuller¡¯s arms!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tina¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Did Miss Reed actually do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why we can¡¯t let her off the hook just like that.¡±


    Heartbroken, Tina began sobbing. ¡°But what could I do? I promised Toby I will never hurt Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Are you nning to just let things slide?¡± Cynthia sounded reluctant.


    Upon hearing that, Tina sobbed even louder. ¡°Miss Reed must be seeking revenge against me because


    it was the


    fact that I regained consciousness that forced her to be divorced with Toby. I owe her that much. (This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)Cynthia, just pretend that you haven¡¯t seen that.¡± With


    that, Tina hung up.


    Outraged, Cynthia mmed her fist on the bed. What did Tina mean by saying that she owed Sonia that


    much?


    Sonia was the one who insisted on marrying President Fuller even though he already had Tina. In the


    end, it¡®s Sonia


    who owes Tina!


    ¡°Hmph! Although Tina might let things slide, I won¡¯t. A shameless woman like you who loves interfering


    with


    people¡¯s rtionships should be called out in public,¡± Cynthia muttered with a menacing expression on


    her face


    as she opened her Facebook to post a status using her alternate ount.


    ¡°Six years ago, a woman stepped in between the youngdy of the Gray Family and President Fuller.


    She


    practically forced her way into marriage with President Fuller after the youngdy had an ident. Six


    years


    pestering President Fuller. She has no shame!¡¯


    After typing that, Cynthia added a few screenshots that she took of Sonia and Toby in the livestream.


    One of the


    most eye-catching ones depicted Sonia falling into Toby¡¯s arms, while both of Toby¡¯s arms were on her


    shoulders.


    The angle of the screenshot was just right to give off the impression that it was Sonia who actively


    threw herself


    into Toby¡¯s arms instead of being pushed over by someone. At the same time, Toby didn¡¯t look like he


    was trying to support Sonia. On the contrary, he looked like he was trying to push her away with a frown


    on his face. The


    image itself seemed definitive enough as proof of what happened.


    Delighted with her handiwork, Cynthia smiled in satisfaction before hiring a group of Inte trolls and


    buying


    fake ounts to spread the status that she posted. Soon, her post garnered a lot of attention, (This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)and had quickly made it to the top of the trending list. A


    lot ofizens had recognized Sonia and Toby, which prompted them to


    make variousments.


    ¡®Gosh, I already thought during the livestream that they looked familiar. It turns out that they¡¯re none


    other than the president of Fuller Group and the vice president of Paradigm Co. The vice president was


    famous on the Inte some time ago!


    ¡®I recognized them too. Sonia is also the girlfriend of the president of Lane Corporation¡¯s president. To


    think that she would pester her ex-husband when she already has a boyfriend is disgusting!


    ¡®There¡¯s more to this than that. Didn¡¯t you read the status? That woman already interfered with President


    Fuller


    and Miss Gray¡¯s rtionship six years ago, and married President Fuller when Miss Gray was involved in


    a car crash. Even though they¡¯re now divorced, she hasn¡¯t given up on President Fuller. I sure


    sympathize with both Miss Gray and President Lane!


    Theizens went as far as tagging both Tina and Charles. There were even some who directly asked


    how Charles felt for being cuckolded. When he caught wind of the incident, he stopped the meeting that


    he was holding immediately to storm out of the meeting room sullenly.


    was


    ¡°Start an investigation! I want to know who¡¯s spreading these rumors!¡± Charles ordered angrily while


    tugging his


    tie loose.


    ¡°Understood,¡± his assistant answered from behind him.


    Then, Charles opened the door to his office. ¡°Other than that, try to lower the poprity of the search.¡±


    ¡°President Lane, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be that easy since ourpany isn¡¯t that powerful.¡± The assistant


    sounded


    conflicted.


    Charles rolled his eyes at him. ¡°Of course I know that. Just try your best.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± With a nod, the assistant left.


    After that, Charles took out his phone to give Sonia a call. When she felt the vibration of her phone in her


    bag, she lowered her head to fish for it. She was about to pick up the call when she saw that it was from


    Charles. At


    that moment, she heard panicked exmations as well as Tyler¡¯s yell. ¡°Watch out, Sonia! Get out of the


    way!¡±


    What is it? Still a little confused, Sonia raised her head to check on the situation, only to see an orange


    basketball flying her way, which caused her face to pale. Just when it was about to hit her on her head, a


    figure moved in front of her and shielded her from the ball.


    ¡°Oof¡­¡± Toby grunted in pain while his handsome face scrunched up.


    Sonia, who was hiding in his arms, observed him with aplicated look on her face. ¡°You,¡±


    ¡°Toby, are you alright?¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Tyler cut her off while running up to them.

 Chapter 90

    Chapter 90


    Toby pressed a hand on his own shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tyler was still slightly concerned.


    Toby grunted. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Okay, great.¡± Tyler heaved a sigh of relief before checking on Sonia. ¡°What about you, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine too.¡± Sonia shook her head. Being under Toby¡¯s protection, she was unharmed.


    Seeing red, Tyler turned around to re at the yers of Team Kosovo after making sure that both Toby


    and


    Sonia are alright. ¡°Those b*stards! They pulled such dirty tricks just because they can¡¯t win against me!


    I¡¯ll teach


    them a lesson!¡±


    Tyler clenched his fists while storming back to the court in a bout of savage fury, (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)ready to pick a fight with Team Kosovo. In the end, his teammates


    managed to hold him back, so the fight didn¡¯t break out. After all, both teams would be banned from the


    competition if that happened.


    ¡°Are you really alright?¡± Sonia had heard Toby¡¯s grunt. Unlike Tyler, she didn¡¯t believe that he was alright.


    Knowing that he couldn¡¯t lie to her, Toby simply told her, ¡°The ball hit my shoulder, but I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Is that so..¡± Sonia¡¯sshes trembled as she was at a loss for words. After a few seconds, she managed


    to


    suppress the emotions within her to look at him and ask, ¡°Why did you save me when you could have


    just left me


    alone?¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze to hide the look in his eyes before replying calmly, ¡°That yer threw the ball


    because he


    felt humiliated for being unable to win against Tyler. Tyler had looked in our direction multiple times, so


    the


    yer guessed that we must be who. Tyler cares about. In order to deal a psychological blow to Tyler, he


    threw


    the ball at us.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡± Sonia frowned. To vent their frustrations for losing on the audience, Team


    Kosovo¡¯s


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    yers sure are depraved!


    Then, Toby added, ¡°Since the ball was thrown at you because of Tyler, he would feel guilty if it hurt you.


    As his


    older brother, I am responsible for preventing such an oue.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Sonia replied coolly as a smile tugged on her lips. Inwardly, she was mocking herself. So he only


    saved me for Tyler¡¯s sake. What a shame. Everything was merely wishful thinking on my part.


    Immediately, the faint embers of hope that started glowing again in Sonia¡¯s heart got distinguished into


    nothing.


    At that moment, the manager of the stadium came along with two staff members to apologize to them.


    ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, sir, madam. Are you two alright?¡±


    ¡°His shoulder is injured. Please arrange a doctor for him.¡± Sonia pointed at Toby.


    The manager nodded. ¡°Sure. Pleasee with us to the lounge.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡± Sonia answered. No matter the case, Toby was injured because of her, (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)so she should apany him for


    treatment.


    When Sonia stood up on her crutches, Toby reached out to her. ¡°Let me help you!¡±


    After ncing at his hand, Sonia declined the offer with a nk expression. ¡°No need. I¡¯m fine on my


    own.¡± With


    that, she led the way.


    Toby pulled his lips into a thin line when he noticed how gingerly she walked, yet still rejected his


    assistance. Nheless, he quelled the irritation that was bubbling up within him after putting his hand


    down to follow


    behind her.


    When they arrived at the lounge, Toby removed his jacket and shirt to reveal his sturdy upper body so


    that the doctor could treat him. Sonia sat across from him on the sofa while staring at his shoulder. The


    skin on it was an angry red, which indicated just how hard the ball had hit him.


    If he hadn¡¯t blocked it for me, I might have lost my teeth. Upon realizing that, Sonia felt a little terrified.


    Guilt seized


    her when she looked at his shoulder again. ¡°President Fuller-¡±


    Right when she was about to say something, Toby¡¯s phone rang, which cut her off. He held a gentle gaze


    in his eyes after taking out the phone and checking the caller ID. ¡°Tina.¡±


    ¡°Toby, are you alright?¡± Tina¡¯s worried sobs came through the phone.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°You knew?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I saw the livestream. Toby, are you hurt?¡± Tina asked.


    Warmth coursed through Toby¡¯s heart, and his voice sounded gentle as he spoke. ¡°No. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Overjoyed, Tina nodded before suggesting, ¡°Toby, can I go to you since Tyler¡¯spetition will


    be ending


    soon?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby grunted in agreement. After the call ended, he set his phone aside while turning to face


    Sonia. ¡°What was it that you were saying?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Sonia shook her head. She was thinking of buying him a meal as repayment for saving her,


    (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)but she gave up on the idea when she heard Tina


    wasing. Who knows what Tina might do if she sees us together.


    Upon noticing that Sonia refused to speak, Toby didn¡¯t pry as well, so the lounge descended into silence.


    Suddenly, having recalled something, Sonia took out her phone hastily. I missed a call from Charles just


    now. I wonder what¡®s going on.


    . After calling back, Charles picked up swiftly. ¡°Darling, this is bad!¡±


    Hearing his agitated voice brought a serious look to Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby turned to nce at Sonia while enduring the pain in his shoulder.


    ¡°Someone filmed you and Toby in the stadium during a livestream, and now people are badmouthing you


    on the


    Inte! They used you of bugging your ex after divorcing him. They even framed you as the third


    wheel in


    Toby and Tina¡¯s rtionship six years ago, and then forced Toby to marry you by iming that you had


    helped


    him after Tina was involved in a car crash. Theizens are all verbally assaulting you now!¡± Charles


    quickly


    informed Sonia of everything that had transpired.


    Sonia¡¯s pupils contracted. ¡°How did ite to this?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby tensed up when he noticed that Sonia¡¯s face was drained of color; he didn¡¯t even


    realize the


    way his voice was filled with concern when he spoke.


    Ignoring him, Sonia inquired Charles, ¡°Who¡¯s behind this?¡±


    ¡°No idea. I¡¯m still investigating this. However, I suspect it has to do with Tina¡± Charles exined.


    After all, not a lot of people knew about what happened six years ago, and only someone who held a


    grudge


    against Sonia would defame her by distorting the truth. Considering all of the above, the only one who


    had beef


    with Sonia and knew of the incident was the Grays, so the culprit would either be Tina or the Grays.


    Meanwhile, Sonia also found the key to the problem, and she tightened her grip on her phone.(This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°I get it.¡±


    ¡°Darling, should we-¡±


    Sonia took a deep breath. ¡°Wait till I get back.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Charles nodded, but quickly thought of something else as he reminded, ¡°By the way, the incident


    is already blown out of proportion. Since the press must be waiting for you outside the stadium, make


    sure that you don¡¯t use the front exit when you leave.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia took a mental note of it. After hanging up, she logged into her Facebook. Her body


    trembled with anger when she read through the insultingments.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Toby asked. His heart wrenched when he saw her biting her lip so furiously.


    Finally, Sonia gave him some attention by smirking at him. ¡°What else could it be? Your fianc¨¦e saw us


    sitting


    together while watching the livestream. In a burst of jealousy, she ndered me online.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Toby pulled his lips into a thin line after outright denying her ims.


    ¡°Impossible?¡± Sonia clenched her fists and then showed him the screen of her phone. ¡°Say that after you


    read


    these.¡±


    Toby read the status post on Facebook, as well as the terrifyingments below it with a deep frown on


    his


    face. ¡°We can¡¯t be sure that Tina is behind this.¡± She promised me she would never do anything to target


    Sonia. /


    trust her.


    ¡°Other than her, who else would know about what happened six years ago?¡± Sonia got her phone back.


    ¡°All know is that she¡¯s the one who holds a grudge against me, so she¡¯s the main suspect!¡±

 Chapter 91

    Chapter 91


    At a loss for words, Toby pulled his lips into a thin line. Indeed. Tina is the only one that Sonia has beef


    with, so she will of course suspect Tina. ¡°I will investigate this.¡± Toby moved his shoulders before putting


    on his clothes.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was watching him impassively. ¡°What will happen after that? What will you do if Tina is


    indeed behind this?¡±


    Toby¡¯s gaze dimmed. ¡°It won¡¯t be her.¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± Soniaughed derisively. ¡°You didn¡¯t give me a direct answer because you don¡¯t even have a


    solution for


    that, no?¡±


    Toby¡¯s gaze flickered for a moment. ¡°I will have her apologize to you if she¡¯s behind this.¡±


    ¡°An apology? Again?¡± Sonia did an eye-roll in her mind.


    Toby frowned. ¡°What do you want then?¡±


    ¡°Thements online used me of interfering with your rtionship with Tina. (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)Since that is the case, I suppose I should honor the person who posted


    that status. Therefore, I only have a simple request. If Tina is truly behind this, I want you to stay away


    from her forever!¡± Sonia stared at him with a chilly gaze. ¡°Toby Fuller, do you have the guts to promise


    me?¡±


    Toby¡¯s pupils contracted, but they returned to normal soon. ¡°Must you do this?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t dare to take the bet?¡± Sonia threw the ball back to him.


    Toby pinched the space in between his brows. ¡°Alright, I promise you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better remember what you said. Don¡¯t you dare go back on your word when the timees.¡± With


    that, Sonia left on her crutches. Keeping Charles¡¯ advice in mind, she took the rear exit when she left,


    and had the driver meet her there too. However, she was still surrounded by the press when she got


    there.


    ¡°Miss Reed, can you tell us if what was mentioned in the status is true? Did you really interfere in


    President Fuller


    and Miss Gray¡¯s rtionship six years ago and plotted a scheme so that you could get married to


    President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, are you trying to snatch President Fuller back because you aren¡¯t willing to admit defeat


    after you¡¯ve


    divorced him?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hurting President Lane by doing this?¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed¡­¡±


    In the face of their press¡¯ bombarding questions, Sonia could feel her head buzzing. ¡°Sorry, I won¡¯t be


    answering


    any of your questions for now,¡± she replied frostily.


    ¡°Miss Reed, did you refuse to answer our questions because you¡¯re feeling guilty?¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes while looking at the journalist who asked that question. ¡°Since that¡¯s how you


    assumed me to be, you should have just said that I¡¯m a bitch.¡±


    Herment silenced the journalist. His face flushed in embarrassment, while there was resentment in


    his


    eyes.


    . Although Sonia noticed that, she ignored it while averting her gaze to announce coldly, ¡°Out of my


    way. I¡¯m


    leaving.¡±


    However, it was as if none of the press heard her. Not only did they continue to block her way,(This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) but they even kept on taking photos of her, some were even


    live streaming their encounter. All the while, theizens watching the livestream kept on posting


    comments on it.


    ¡®Wow, she¡¯s being all cocky even though she¡¯s the third wheel, and the one who keeps on pestering her


    ex


    husband!


    ¡®Yeah, she must be getting agitated!


    ¡®She¡¯s such a beauty, but she¡¯s malicious!


    Upon noticing that the press refused to move aside, Sonia was riled up. After clenching her fists, she


    took out


    her phone. ¡°Hello, is this the police station? I would like to file a report. A group of press flocked in on me


    without


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    permission, which caused an injury to my leg. I¡¯m currently at City Stadium. Pleasee here


    immediately.


    Thank you.¡±


    With that, she tucked her phone away, while the press were staring at her in disbelief, dumbfounded by


    her


    actions.


    ¡°Miss Reed, how dare you call the police?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I do that when you¡¯re the ones who flocked in on me?¡± Sonia bit back in exasperation.


    The press choked on their own words, but proceeded to retort in discontentment after a few moments.


    ¡°But why did you frame us for injuring your leg? What do we have to do with your leg injury?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Even theizens who were watching the livestream thought that Sonia had crossed a line by framing


    the press.


    Sonia merely snorted. ¡°It¡¯s true that you aren¡¯t responsible for my leg injury, but there¡¯s no proof even if I


    im


    that one of you injured me when all of you flocked in on me.¡±


    As soon as she said that, the press began to back away out of fear. They came to interview her, but they


    wouldn¡¯t


    be able to exin themselves if the interviewee imed that they injured her. They would be prosecuted


    by thew. Ah, she¡¯s fearsome!


    When Sonia saw the press made way for her as if she were a menace, she snickered internally before


    walking


    toward the car on her crutches.


    On the other hand, Tyler arrived at the lounge in his sports jacket after inquiring about Toby¡¯s


    whereabouts from


    the manager.


    ¡°Toby.¡± When Tyler entered with the basketball in his hand, he saw that Toby was the only one in there.


    ¡°Where¡¯s


    Sonia?¡± he asked hurriedly.


    ¡°She left.¡± Toby didn¡¯t look up while replying to him, for he was still checking his phone.


    ¡°She left?¡± Tyler pouted in dejection. ¡°Why did she just up and leave without waiting for me? I was hoping


    to ask


    her opinion on how I did during thepetition.¡±


    Toby arched his brow, finally sparing Tyler a nce. ¡°Since when are you so close to her?¡±


    Tyler scratched the back of his head. ¡°It just happened recently. I started to notice that Sonia is different


    from


    how I perceived her in the past.¡±


    That¡¯s true. Toby nodded in agreement. At that moment, his phone suddenly rang with a call from Tina.


    ¡°Hello, Toby. Where are you? Come get me. I¡¯m surrounded by the press.¡± Tina¡¯s voice sounded fearful


    through


    the phone.


    Toby stood up while telling Tina solemnly that he would meet her shortly. (This novel will be daily updtaed


    at .noveljar)Then, he left for the entrance with Tyler following behind him. Upon arriving at the


    main entrance, Toby saw Tina being surrounded by the press. She was cowering slightly as she


    observed the circle of people around her timidly, seemingly weak, helpless, and pitiable.


    as


    Seeing that elicited a frown from Toby. ¡°Tina.¡±


    ¡°Toby!¡± Tina¡¯s eyes lit up as she waved at him with a delightful smile on her face. When Toby


    marched forth, the


    press backed away automatically due to his intimidating presence. Thus, he was able to get to Tina


    without a problem.


    Right away, Tinaunched herself into his arms. ¡°Toby, you¡¯re finally here! I¡¯m so scared! They


    surrounded me as


    soon as I got here. I don¡¯t even know how to answer the various questions that they hurled at me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Toby patted her on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with them.¡± Then, he swept a nce at the press.


    ¡°What did


    you all ask her?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ President Fuller, we asked a few questions that theizens are curious about. For example, if


    Miss Reed


    did interfere in your rtionship with Miss Gray back then? And did she force you to marry her?¡±


    Toby lowered her gaze while replying resolutely, ¡°She didn¡¯t!¡±


    Both the press and Tina were startled by his reply, for they could hardly believe that he had denied that


    im. Is


    this to protect Sonia? Tina looked down to hide the jealousy that ran rampant in her eyes.


    One of the journalists noticed her reaction. After scanning his surroundings, he questioned in a loud


    voice,(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) ¡°Miss Gray, is what President Fuller said


    true?¡±


    Even though Toby was ring at the journalist, thetter forced himself to focus his attention on Tina


    under the


    pressure of Toby¡¯s stare. When Tina raised her head, a wistful smile bloomed on her pretty and innocent


    face.


    ¡°Let¡¯s assume that¡¯s the case since Toby said so.¡±


    The press exchanged nces among themselves after hearing her reply. Soon, they were onto the next


    question. Meanwhile, Tyler had a peculiar look on his face while watching Tina, who was in Toby¡¯s arms,


    from where he


    stood at the main entrance.


    Why does Tina¡¯s reply sound so odd? What does that even mean? I can¡®t shake the feeling that she¡¯s


    implying that Toby¡¯s lying. Is she doing this on purpose?

 Chapter 92

    Chapter 92


    At that moment, Tyler recalled when Toby forced him to apologize to Tina two days ago. Even though he


    hadn¡¯t done anything, Toby assumed that he was in the wrong as soon as Tina cried. What happened


    back then was


    eerily simr to what was going on now.


    As he was immersed in his own thoughts, he heard Toby calling out to him. ¡°Why are you still standing


    there?


    Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Snapping back to his senses, Tyler jogged over with his basketball. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡±Where is the press?¡±


    ¡°Toby dismissed them.¡± Tina replied gently.


    All the while, Tyler was staring at her with aplex look, like he was trying to see through her.


    Feeling uneasy under his stare, Tina caressed her face. ¡°Tyler, why are you looking at me like that? Do I


    have something on my face?¡±


    SO


    ¡°Nope.¡± Tyler averted his gaze before shaking his head.


    Tina smiled. ¡°I thought there¡¯s something on my face.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get into the car. There might be more of the pressing, Toby said while holding Tina¡¯s


    shoulder.


    With a nod, Tina grunted in agreement.


    All of a sudden, Tyler blurted, ¡°Toby, I won¡¯t being with you. I¡¯m going somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Toby gazed at him.


    Something shed across Tyler¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s my secret. Just know that I¡¯ll be going backte. I¡¯m leaving


    now!¡±


    With that, he ran to the side of the road to leave in a cab he hailed.


    While Toby was frowning, Tina watched him with a smile on her face. ¡°Could Tyler have a crush? I saw


    him


    reading a letter that day.¡±


    A letter? Toby arched his brow, recalling the letter he saw in Tyler¡¯s room. Could that be a love letter?


    ¡°Toby, what are you thinking about?¡± Tina nudged Toby with her shoulder.


    After regaining his senses, he cleared his throat. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tina agreed to it smilingly.


    After getting into the car, Toby stared at the road ahead of them before suddenly asking, (This novel will


    be daily updtaed at .noveljar)¡±Tina, do you have anything to do with the incident online?¡±


    Tina tensed up a little when she heard that, but she pretended to look a little sad. ¡°Of course not. Toby,


    are you


    suspecting me?¡±


    Toby pulled his lips into a thin line; he didn¡¯t actually admit to her im, but he didn¡¯t deny it either. ¡°I saw


    the


    image posted on the status post. It¡¯s a screenshot of Sonia and me while we were watching the


    basketball


    match. You told me that you were watching the livestream.¡± Sonia was right in the sense that Tina would


    do


    something like that out of jealousy. After all, she had a record of doing that.


    Upon hearing that, Tina teared up. ¡°Toby, how could you think of me like that? Yes. I watched the


    livestream, or else I wouldn¡¯t have known that you¡¯re hurt. However, it doesn¡¯t mean I will do something


    like that. Besides, I


    already promised that I will never target Miss Reed anymore. I wouldn¡¯t dare to disappoint you. What if


    you


    abandon me?¡± With that, she turned away to look out of the window indignantly, seemingly giving no


    more


    attention to Toby.


    When Toby saw from his peripheral vision the look of chagrin on her face, he felt sorry for her, and was


    regretting


    his actions. Perhaps I am being overly suspicious of her. ¡°Sorry, Tina. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you.¡±


    After parking


    the car by the road, Toby unbuckled his seatbelt to reach out and hug her.


    While huddling close to Toby in her aggrievedness, Tina sobbed. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I know people will suspect


    me as


    soon as something happened to Miss Reed because of the bad blood between us. I¡¯m already used to


    that.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby¡¯s heart ached for her as he patted her on the back. ¡°No, I will never doubt you


    ever


    again.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tina looked up with her eyes moist with tears.


    Toby nodded. ¡°I promise!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t until then that a smile bloomed on Tina¡¯s face to rece the sorrowful expression on it. ¡°Okay,


    Toby. Let¡¯s continue driving. Stopping here will obstruct the flow of traffic. We might cause an ident.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± After letting her go, Toby buckled up and started the car. So it really is a misunderstanding.


    Considering


    how kind Tina is, she would never do something like that. What happened at Mt Buller Resort was a one-


    off


    situation in which she went off-track. With that in mind, Toby stopped frowning as he eliminated his


    doubts toward Tina. Upon noticing that, Tina hung her head low as a faint smile tugged on her lips.


    Soon, they arrived at Fuller Group. Toby noticed from afar that the press were already waiting for them at


    the main entrance. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)While narrowing his eyes, he


    turned the car around to drive it to one of the more secluded entrances of the building before leading


    Tina in from there. After that, they took the elevator to the top floor.


    Tom was already waiting for them at the door of the president¡¯s office. As soon as they exited the


    elevator, he nodded at them. ¡°President Fuller, Miss Gray.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Tom.¡± Tina greeted him smilingly.


    Tom returned the gesture before facing Toby and said, ¡°President Fuller, I already gave instructions


    to investigate


    the incident as per your request. I believe the results wille out soon.¡±


    With a grunt, Toby entered the office, and Tina followed behind him. ¡°Toby, what will you do after you


    uncover the


    person who posted that status? How are you going to deal with them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll depend on Sonia.¡± Toby pulled out his chair as he replied, ¡°She¡¯s the biggest victim after all.¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Tina¡¯s face froze. What does he mean with Sonia being the biggest victim? Is the incident from six years


    ago fake?


    At that moment, her phone rang. She collected herself before retrieving her phone. When she saw the


    caller ID


    on the screen, something shed across her eyes before she excused herself with a smile. ¡°Toby, I need


    to take


    a call from my father.¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t doubt her, so he agreed with a nod. After that, Tina walked out to the balcony with her phone,


    and


    made sure to close the door behind her before picking up. ¡°Hello, Cynthia.¡±


    ¡°Tina, did you see the status on social media?¡± Cynthia¡¯s voice was full of excitement.


    Despite the impassive look on her face, Tina asked in mock surprise, ¡°Cynthia, don¡¯t tell me that you did


    that?¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Cynthia seemed so proud of herself.


    While biting on her lip, Tina chastised, ¡°Cynthia, so it really is you. How could you-¡±


    ¡°What is it, Tina? Should I not have done that?¡± Cynthia furrowed her brows in confusion.


    Tina lowered her gaze. ¡°Of course. Now that you have exposed what happened six years ago, Miss


    Reed is currently experiencing cyberbullying.¡±


    CU


    ¡°I know. That has been my aim all along. I want the public to know what kind of person she really is,¡±


    Cynthia


    stated nonchntly.


    Tina heaved a sigh. ¡°You-Geez, you¡¯re in hot water now, Cynthia. Toby is currently investigating the


    person who posted the status.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Cynthia¡¯s heart sank, but she quickly recovered from it. (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)¡±Why is he investigating it? Is he


    thinking of helping Sonia? How could he do that when he¡¯s your fianc¨¦?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case.¡± Tina shook her head. ¡°It might be for the sake of him and myself. After all,


    it¡¯s a


    private affair between us.¡±


    By then, Cynthia¡¯s expression changed, and her limbs became cold. Her voice was also trembling


    because of fear. ¡°W-What should I do then?¡± She already posted the status, and hired trolls to hype


    things up so that the post


    would reach the top of the search list. There was no way in hell she could take all that back.


    Immediately, Cynthia began regretting her rashness. She was only nning to give Sonia some trouble,


    but she


    had no idea she was exposing Toby¡¯s private affair. When she thought of Toby¡¯s methods in his business


    dealings, her face paled with shock.


    Meanwhile, Tina heaved another sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do, Cynthia. You were being too rash.¡±


    Cynthia gripped her phone with both of her hands, now on the verge of tears. ¡°Tina, you have to help me!


    I did everything for you! You have to save me, Tina!¡±

 Chapter 93

    Chapter 93


    ¡°But how am I supposed to save you?¡± Bored, Tina drew circles on the railings using her finger, but her


    voice was full of worry


    Cynthia sniffled. ¡°Tina, please beg for President Fuller¡¯s mercy. With how much he loves you, he will


    certainly agree with you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a go.¡± Tina nodded.


    Cynthia was extremely grateful to her. ¡°Thank you, Tina.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. We¡¯re friends after all.¡± Tina chuckled, but her gaze wasn¡¯t filled with joy; it was filled


    with


    derision instead. After the call ended, she removed the phone from her ear to check on the critical


    comments toward Sonia on Facebook. She was aware from early on that Cynthia was the one behind


    the incident, for she was the one who deliberately told Cynthia of her promise with Toby to never target


    Sonia.


    Was


    She knew that Cynthia couldn¡¯t stand watching her suffer, and that she bore a simr hatred toward


    Sonia, so


    she already knew Cynthia would work up a n to deal with Sonia. That way, Tina wouldn¡¯t break her


    promise with Toby, as her hands were practically clean.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect Cynthia to cause such a huge ruckus as soon as she put her n into action.


    She rubbed her hand between her eyebrows in irritation at the thought. No matter the case, I will have to


    protect Cynthia. Otherwise, I will have no one else who can deal with Sonia in my stead.


    While mulling over the situation, Tina switched off her phone and reentered the office just in time to hear


    Tom¡¯s report. ¡°President Fuller, we already uncovered the person who posted that status. It¡¯s Cynthia


    Stone.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Toby had no memory of who that person was.


    Meanwhile, Tom cast a nce at Tina. ¡°She¡¯s Miss Gray¡¯s friend.¡±


    Toby finally remembered who she was. With a frown, he nced at Tina. ¡°Did you tell her what


    happened six


    years ago?¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina shook her head rapidly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me! I didn¡¯t! My mother told her about it. Cynthia came to visit me


    when I


    just regained consciousness, and she happened to overhear me asking my mother why you married


    Miss Reed.¡±


    So that¡¯s what happened. After averting his gaze, Toby took out his phone to give Sonia a call.


    On the other side, Charles opened the door to Sonia¡¯s office in Paradigm Co. with the results of his


    investigation. ¡°Darling, I know who¡¯s the one ndering you online. It¡¯s Tina¡¯s friend, Cynthia Stone.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia frowned as she set the pen in her hand down. ¡°How did you find out about it?¡±


    Charles handed the report to her with a cocky smile. ¡°It¡¯s a piece of cake. Cynthia is an idiot who didn¡¯t


    think to


    hide her IP address when she posted the status using her alternate ount. Therefore, we were able to


    trace it


    back to her as soon as we began investigating it. Initially, I thought it was Tina who did it. What a pity¡± If


    Tina was


    the one who did that, we would have an excuse to deal with her.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a pity. I lost the bet.¡± A self-deprecating smile appeared on Sonia¡¯s lips. Her bet with Toby was


    that Tina


    was the one behind the incident, but she didn¡¯t expect Cynthia to be the culprit. Although she knew


    intuitively


    that Cynthia¡¯s actions might have something to do with Tina, she had no evidence, so there was nothing


    that she could do about it.


    ¡°What bet?¡± Charles studied Sonia curiously.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Seeing that she refused to talk about it, Charles Shrugged and changed the topic, choosing not to pry


    ¡°Darling, how do you n to solve this? Cynthia is easy to deal with. It¡¯s the rumors online that¡¯s the


    problem, especially


    when the trolls are still spreading falsehoods about you.¡± Such rumors included how my darling stepped


    out on her


    marriage, or how she plotted to murder Tina. Pfft! These are tant lies!


    ¡°Let me think about this.¡± Sonia sounded slightly exhausted. Deep in thought, she lowered her gaze.


    Then suddenly, her phone rang, during which she raised her head. When she noted that the call was


    from Toby, she picked up the call while figuring that it had to do with the incident. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¨C


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s aloof tone, Toby pulled her lips into a thin line. ¡°I already found out who posted that


    status.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Cynthia Stone,¡± Sonia blurted out before he could reveal the answer to her.


    A look of surprise fleeted across Toby¡¯s gaze. ¡°You already knew it?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± Sonia nodded, ¡°Congrattions, President Fuller. Since Tina isn¡¯t the perpetrator, you can


    continue staying with her, Aren¡¯t you d?¡±


    Toby furrowed his brows. d? No, I don¡¯t feel d. On the contrary, I somehow feel


    pressured. However, he didn¡¯t intend to reveal his emotions, so he grunted indifferently.


    Meanwhile, Sonia smiled. ¡°Alright, President Fuller. Now that we have found out the culprit, I hope you


    will not


    interfere with the processes that would follow. Cynthia is Miss Gray¡¯s friend; you¡¯d better not stop me


    from dealing with Cynthia just because Tina begged for your mercy.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t do that,¡± Toby replied with his gaze lowered, feeling slightly ufortable. Am / so


    untrustworthy?


    ¡°Great. You¡¯d better keep your word.¡± With that, Sonia hung up.


    Toby had an unreadable look in his eyes while looking at the screen that had already returned to the


    menu page.


    ¡°Toby, what did Miss Reed tell you?¡± Tina inquired with her gaze fixed on Toby.


    Toby lifted his eyes. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°About how she ns to deal with Cynthia. Didn¡¯t you just tell her Cynthia is behind this? What will Miss


    Reed


    do?¡± Tina bit her lip, a look of concern written all over her face.


    ¨C


    ¨C


    ¨C


    Toby pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°I don¡¯t know. She didn¡¯t tell me about it.¡± However, he figured that


    Cynthia


    wouldn¡¯t have it easy considering Sonia¡¯s harsh tone when she spoke over the phone.


    ¡°I bet Miss Reed won¡¯t let Cynthia off the hook that easily.¡± Tears rolled in Tina¡¯s eyes as she was


    overwhelmed with anxiety. ¡°Miss Reed made me pay dearlyst time when I tripped her. The same


    happened to Miss Stryder,


    and the Stryder Family is now reduced to being a second-rate family. Judging from what happened in the


    past,


    Cynthia..¡± Tina grabbed Toby¡¯s hand. ¡°Toby, will you please help Cynthia?¡±


    Toby retracted his arm. ¡°Sorry, Tina. I already promised Sonia that I won¡¯t meddle in this.¡±


    ¡°But Cynthia is my friend! She did what she did to protect me, so I can¡¯t watch her go down like this,


    Toby.¡±


    ¡°Come on.¡± Toby pulled her into an embrace. ¡°Cynthia did everything of her own volition. Since she made


    a


    mistake, she will have to pay for it. Do you understand?¡± He gazed at Tina.


    While she was staring into the bottomless pit that was Toby¡¯s eyes, Tina¡¯s heart sank as her face


    paled. People reap what they sow. What will he do to me if he ever finds out everything that I have done?


    The thought made Tina shudder, and uneasiness was evident in her eyes. No, he can¡¯t discover


    what I have done.


    That¡¯ll never happen! Sonia has to die! That¡¯s the only way to keep my secret safe!


    On the other hand, Charles questioned as soon as he saw Sonia put her phone aside, ¡°What did Toby


    say?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. He told me who pulled that sh*t behind my back. Then, I warned him to not interfere with


    my


    revenge.¡± Sonia massaged her sore shoulders.


    ¡°Did he agree to your terms?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Charles pouted in disdain. ¡°Cynthia is Tina¡¯s friend, so Tina will definitely beg Toby to get Cynthia out of


    that tight


    spot. With how indulgent he is toward Tina, he might go back on his word if Tina yed the victim.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Sonia clenched her fists with a chilly look before dering, ¡°I will make sure to drag


    him down with me.¡±


    Charles was frightened. ¡°Darling, are you serious?¡± When he noticed the grim determination in her eyes,


    he


    gulped. ¡°So how are you going to drag him down with you, darling?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about what has yet to happen.¡± Sonia stood up with the help of her crutches.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time, so I¡¯ll be taking my leave. Contact the press for me. I would like to hold a press


    conference.¡±


    ¡°A press conference?¡± Her words piqued Charles¡¯ interest. ¡°Is it to solve the crisis at hand?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s about time to rify the truth. I can¡¯t possibly be the scapegoat and allow


    the


    public to criticize me forever, right?¡±

 Chapter 94

    Chapter 94


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll contact the presster on. Let me send you back to Bayside Residence. You


    can¡¯t


    possibly drive with that leg of yours.¡± Charles took out his car keys.


    Instead of turning down his offer, Sonia agreed to it with a grunt. While sitting in the car, she posted a


    new status


    on her Facebook. ¡®I will be holding a press conference at mypany by ten o¡¯clock tomorrow morning.


    My aim


    is to exin what had transpired between myself, President Fuller of Fuller Group, as well as Miss Gray


    of


    Triforce Enterprise. Please stay tuned for more!


    Since the incident already caused an upheaval, manyizens already subscribed to Sonia¡¯s ount.


    Now that


    she updated her status, it was only natural that they flocked in toment underneath her status.


    ¡®Wow, does this mean she¡¯s going to clear her name?¡¯


    ¡®l bet. Holding a press conference is amon method for rich folks to clear their name.


    ¡®All you¡¯re doing is making unnecessary moves to garner attention for yourself, Isn¡¯t it a fact that you¡¯ve


    been


    pestering your ex-husband? Haha!


    Sonia furrowed her pretty brows after reading the maliciousments. Instead of replying to them, she


    logged out of her Facebook ount so that she didn¡¯t have to see any of them. After all, things would be


    settled by the next day, so she didn¡¯t want to waste a minute dealing with people who were trying to


    nder her.


    Soon, they arrived at Bayside Residence. Charles parked the car before turning his head around to


    speak to Sonia, who was in the back seat. ¡°I¡¯lle fetch you tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Safe trip.¡± Sonia got out of the car.


    After giving her a fly-kiss, Charles drove off. Sonia saw him off until his car disappeared into the distance.


    It


    wasn¡¯t until then that she limped into the building on her crutches. Upon exiting the elevator, she saw


    Tyler standing in front of her door.


    Tyler¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw her. ¡°Sonia, you¡¯re finally back.¡±


    ¡°Why have youe again?¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you got into another fight with your mother


    and you ran away from home to my ce?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Tyler shook his head. ¡°I came for you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia hobbled up to him.


    Tyler cast her a nce before lowering his head guiltily. ¡°I already caught wind of what happened online.


    I¡¯m


    sorry. It¡¯s all my fault. If I didn¡¯t give you the tickets, you wouldn¡¯t have been involved in the scandal in the


    first


    ce.¡±


    His initial intention was to invite her to hispetition. He didn¡¯t expect a scandal to break out.


    Therefore, he felt


    guilty about it.


    On the other hand, Sonia stared at him in awe. ¡°F*cking hell! Are you apologizing to me?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Tyler scratched his head in slight confusion.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need my help to recall how you had treated me back when I lived


    with your family. You never apologized to me for what you did.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tyler¡¯s face turned red, while distress and embarrassment were evident in his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s different!¡±


    ¡°What difference is there?¡± Sonia asked casually


    Tyler tightened his grip on the basketball in his hand. ¡°It¡¯s just different.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess we aren¡¯t on the same page then. Leave, and nevere back.¡± Sonia waved her hand to


    dismiss


    Tyler.


    However, Tyler didn¡¯t leave, but he stared at her intently. ¡°Sonia, I will help you settle this.¡±


    ¡°You? Settle this?¡± Sonia scoffed at the idea like it was the most hrious thing she had ever heard in her


    life. ¡°How are you, a highschooler who has yet to graduate, nning on doing that?¡±


    ¡°Enough.¡± Sonia pinched the space between her brows while cutting him short impatiently. ¡°You staying


    away


    from me is enough help. Haven¡¯t you realized that the Fullers are always the source of my troubles?¡±


    Tyler seemed to have a different opinion, so he pouted and said, ¡°That¡¯s not the case at all.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± A cold glint fleeted across Sonia¡¯s gaze. ¡°Tyler Fuller, you¡¯d better ask yourself if the


    Fullers hadn¡¯t


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    abused me with cold violence, verbal assaults, and also framing and finding fault with me.¡±


    Tyler¡¯s face paled at the mention of such atrocities. He was at a loss for words as his face paled and his


    lips


    quivered, Sonia spoke of nothing but the truth, so he had no way of denying it. In fact, he was one of the


    perpetrators.


    Despite having noticed Tyler¡¯s guilt, Sonia wasn¡¯t about to let him off the hook just like that. After taking a


    deep


    breath, she went on to say, ¡°I didn¡¯t intend on digging up old wounds after divorcing Toby. Let the past


    stay in the


    past. I was a fool for insisting on marrying into the Fuller Family, so I don¡¯t intend on seeking revenge


    after my divorce. All I want is to work on developing Paradigm Co., but your family just won¡¯t leave me


    alone.¡±


    At that point, Sonia clenched her fists. ¡°Your mother has been constantly giving me trouble, and your


    future


    sister-inw has repeatedly tried to frame me. Even you keep on pestering me, and the same could be


    said of your brother! I must¡¯vemitted an unforgivable sin in my past life to warrant an encounter with


    your family!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tyler apologized in a small voice after listening to Sonia¡¯s ount, his face turning a shade of


    scarlet. It wasn¡¯t until then that he got a grasp on how much trouble the Fuller¡¯s had given her.


    Meanwhile, Sonia closed her eyes while suppressing the rage within her before she managed to school


    her expression. ¡°Leave, and don¡¯te back. The next time I see you, I will have the security guards


    chase you out of the building.¡± With that, she entered the house.


    Unlike thest time, she didn¡¯t check on Tyler through the surveince camera, nor did she call Toby to


    fetch him. Instead, she retired to her room directly to lie down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling with


    an empty stare, worn out from her encounter with Tyler.


    Suddenly, her phone started vibrating in her pocket. Sonia propped herself up before retrieving it, only to


    find a


    message from an unknown number. ¡®Check your email!


    What the heck? Confused, Sonia pulled her lips into a thin line as she typed a reply. ¡®Who are you?¡®


    The other party texted back immediately. ¡®Your guardian angel!


    A guardian angel? Soniaughed in amusement, for she found the statement rather silly. ¡®I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m


    afraid I have no idea who you are!


    ¡®I know. But we will get to know each other in the future. For now, check your email. There¡¯s a surprise in


    wait!


    A surprise? Sonia bit her lip. After hesitating for a few moments, she got up to move to the front of her


    computer


    to log in to her email. There was a new email on the top of the list, in which she found two documents.


    The first one was proof of Cynthia being the one who posted the status, while the other one was a


    lengthy list of hundreds of names. Listed alongside the names in a bracket behind them respectively


    were usernames of all


    kinds.


    Having realized something, Sonia narrowed her eyes before calling the unknown number. She was


    expecting the


    other party to ignore her call, but much to her surprise, he picked it up. ¡°Hello.¡± His voice was deep and


    hoarse.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t recognize the voice, so she asked, ¡°Is the name list what you called a surprise?¡±


    ¡°Yes. These are the people who were especially hostile toward you online. ording to thew, their


    comments constitute a crime if they have over five hundred likes, shares, or replies,¡± the man exined.


    However, Sonia wasn¡¯t too happy about it. On the contrary, she was rmed. ¡°I know that, but I don¡¯t


    understand why you would help me. What do you want from me?¡±


    The man chuckled, his voice low. ¡°As I said, I¡¯m your guardian angel, so I have no ulterior motives other


    than to keep you safe.¡±


    ¡°Do you expect me to believe you?¡± Sonia bit back while scrolling through the namelist. She wasn¡¯t about


    to


    believe in someone who chose to conceal his own identity.


    Upon hearing that, the man heaved a sigh. ¡°I know you won¡¯t believe in me, but that¡¯s okay. You¡¯ll


    understand


    everything in the future.¡±


    Sonia snorted. Just when she was about to hang up, she noticed a profile picture of a fox at the bottom


    of the list. All of a sudden, she recalled something, which caused her to tighten her grip on the mouse.


    ¡°Are you Fox


    Eyes, Tina¡¯s kidnapper?¡±

 Chapter 95

    Chapter 95


    Toby mentioned that Fox Eyes was the one who kidnapped Tina, and imed that Fox Eyes was one of


    her


    suitors. Therefore, the profile picture of a fox at the end of the name list was sufficient as proof of the


    man¡¯s


    identity.


    ¡°Fox Eyes?¡± The man chuckled. ¡°So that¡¯s how you refer to me. Not bad, I like it.¡±


    Sonia frowned as soon as she heard his admission. ¡°Fox Eyes, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you now, but you can rest assured that I will never hurt you. You¡¯re my light, so I willmit


    my life to


    protecting you,¡± Fox Eyes replied in a gentle tone.


    Realizing that he was being serious, Sonia blushed. Could he actually be my suitor?


    As she pondered on the possibility, Fox Eyes spoke. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s gettingte, so you should get some


    rest. I will contact you again. Goodbye!¡± With that, he cut the call.


    While staring at the screen of her phone, Sonia swallowed the questions on the tip of her tongue. Fine.


    Since he


    told me he would contact me again, I¡¯ll just ask him next time. But who is he anyway? He popped up out


    of nowhere,


    and had been so nice to me that it felt unreal.


    The next day, Sonia was woken up by Charles¡¯ phone call. ¡°Darling, are you awake? I¡¯m already


    downstairs.¡± Charles was leaning against his showy red sports car while raising his head to check out the


    building in front of


    him.


    Sonia yawned. ¡°I¡¯m getting up


    ¡°Alright. Be quick. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the car,¡± Charles said.


    Sonia let out a grunt before hanging up, and then lifted the nket to get out of bed. After washing up,


    she took


    her bag and left for the foyer on her crutches. Right when she opened the door, a letter fell from the


    doorknob


    outside.


    Sonia picked it up in suspicion, only to recognize from the handwriting that it was a letter from her pen


    pal, John.


    Why is this outside the door? She scanned the corridor while holding onto the letter, and subsequently, a


    mental


    image of Tyler popped into her mind.


    Previously, Tyler had taken a letter which he promised to return to her, so it was probably left there by


    him. She had told him to throw the letter away, so she didn¡¯t expect him to hold onto it. After checking out


    the letter, she


    tucked it into her bag before leaving the house. She decided she would return it into the boxter that


    night.


    When she got downstairs, Charles waved at her. ¡°Here I am, my darling!¡±


    Sonia limped forward on her crutches. ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Good morning. Here¡¯s your breakfast.¡± Charles took out a bag from behind him and handed it to her.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your


    croissant and coffee from King¡¯s Confectionery. They¡®re your favorite.¡±


    When Sonia took the bag of food that was still warm from Charles, she could feel a sense of warmth


    coursing


    through her heart as she thanked him smilingly. ¡°You¡¯re so nice to me, Charles.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! It¡¯s because you¡¯re my darling! Get in.¡± Charles opened the door for her.


    caus


    While on their way to the venue, Sonia was munching on her breakfast when she suddenly recalled


    something, prompting her to ask, ¡°Charles, do you know someone our age who¡¯s great at hacking and


    likes foxes?¡±


    Charles¡¯ gaze flickered for a second when he heard that. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I spoke to Fox Eyes over the phonest night, and I mean the guy who kidnapped Tina¡± Sonia exined


    after taking a sip out of her coffee.


    Charles shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know anybody like that. We grew up together. I won¡¯t know someone


    who you


    don¡¯t. Anyway, what did he tell you?¡±


    Sonia was a little disappointed. ¡°Not much, aside from reassuring that he¡¯ll protect me. He even sent me


    a name


    list of theizens who criticized me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. At least it means he¡¯s on our side.¡± Charles shrugged.


    ¡°While that might be true, I¡¯m still feeling a little uneasy about having some stranger watching over me in


    the


    dark.¡± Sonia heaved a sigh.


    Charles smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright as long as he means you no harm. Rather, I¡¯ll feel more secure with someone


    watching over you, so let¡¯s not overthink this. And, here we are.¡± Charles pulled the car over and got out


    of it first to help Sonia out from the back seat. As soon as they got out of the car, the press formed a


    circle around them.


    ¡°Miss Reed, are you holding the press conference to clear your name?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Lane, what is your opinion about Miss Reed associating herself with her ex-husband when she¡¯s


    already your


    girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Will you break up?¡±


    While being bombarded by their questions, Sonia maintained a cool expression. Without giving any sort


    of response, she headed toward the entrance under Charles¡¯ protection. After entering Paradigm Co.,


    Sonia had the security guards detain the press who tried to follow them into the building.


    se


    Inside the elevator, Charles tidied his disheveled clothes that was the result of him squeezing through the


    crowd. ¡°God damn, those reporters sure are nuts.¡±


    Sonia was also doing the same. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about it. They have to fight to get a scoop.¡±.


    ¡°They¡¯re just bullying us because we aren¡¯t powerful enough. They dared not do the same while in Toby¡¯s


    presencest night¡± Charlesined as he pouted.


    Sonia rubbed her brows. ¡°Alright, stop dwelling on that. Let¡¯s go to the meeting room.¡± After that, she got


    out of the elevator to head to the meeting room.


    Daphne was standing at the entrance. Upon seeing the two of them approaching the meeting room, she


    nodded at them. ¡°President Reed, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Have the press that you invited arrived?¡± Sonia checked her watch. Four minutes to ten. Twenty minutes


    left before the conference begins.


    Daphne nodded before replying, ¡°They¡¯re all here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in, then.¡± Sonia pushed on the door to enter the venue with Charles and Daphne behind her.


    As soon as the three of them showed up, the press shifted their attention and shed their cameras at


    them to take photos. Even when Sonia was facing the blinding shlights, she maintained an aloof


    expression without


    batting an eysh.


    She stepped toward the podiumposedly to pick up the mic before announcing with a crisp and bright


    voice, ¡°I hereby wee all of you to the press conference. I believe you¡¯re already aware of the


    purpose of this conference, which is to exin everything about the ruckus that a certain someone


    stirred onlinest night.¡±


    ¡°Here we go. It¡¯s starting.¡± In the president¡¯s office of Fuller Group, Zane was holding onto his phone.


    When he


    saw Sonia showing up, he patted on Toby¡¯s shoulder in excitement. ¡°Your ex-wife sure looks striking.


    Befitting


    her image as a strong woman, she¡¯s calm and organized even in the face of the press. I don¡¯t think


    people will


    ever believe that she used to be a housewife for the past six years.¡±.


    Toby didn¡¯t utter a word as he stared at the woman on the screen with an unfathomable look in his eyes.


    Her hair


    was styled into wavy curls, while her face was adorned with delicate makeup. She was in a red women¡¯s


    suit that not only showcased her curves, but also entuated her valiance.


    He had never seen her like that. Most of the times when he saw her, she was in an apron and in


    clothes, with


    her hair tied into a ponytail. She looked dull and gloomy in that attire, which was totally unlike how


    brilliant she


    looked now. In fact, he could hardly take his eyes off her, and had to admit that she had changed. By that


    point, she had be strong, confident, and beautiful.


    Meanwhile, Sonia scanned the crowd who were seated in the venue of the press conference. ¡°I know


    you¡¯re all


    curious who¡¯s the one who posted that status online. Now, allow me to introduce to you the daughter of


    Stone


    Incorporated¡¯s chairman, Miss Cynthia Stone, who also happens to be Tina Gray¡¯s close associate.¡±


    While watching the livestream of the press conference, Cynthia¡¯s face paled when she heard Sonia not


    only found out about her shady behavior, but made it known to the public. Stone Incorporated had no


    influence at all


    in Seafield, as it couldn¡¯t evenpare to Paradigm Co. It was through Tina that she was able to gain


    ess to


    upper ss society.


    Now that Sonia revealed the truth to the public, she knew for certain that the other rich youngsters would


    keep their distance from her, for they would consider her a despicable woman.


    If that happens, nobody will be willing to forge marital bonds with the Stones, and my father will me it


    on me!


    What should I do? Cynthia was on the verge of tears, already regretting her rash decision.Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 96

    Chapter 96


    Back in the venue of the press conference, Sonia continued to target Cynthia as she went on, ¡°Miss


    Stone posted


    about me pestering my ex-husband after our divorce, being a third wheel in President Fuller and Miss


    Gray¡¯s


    rtionship six years ago, as well as forcing President Fuller to marry me. I would hereby dere that


    except for


    the final point, everything she said is false!¡±


    The crowd was surprised as soon as they heard her statement. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)A journalist stood up and asked, ¡°Miss Reed,


    does this mean you really forced President Fuller to marry you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia looked at the journalist before nodding in admission.


    On the side, Charles was all jittery. ¡°Darling, what are you talking about?¡± Is this something that you


    should be


    announcing in public?


    Meanwhile, Toby, who was in Fuller Group¡¯s office, couldn¡¯t help but frown. Even Zane couldn¡¯t fathom


    Sonia¡¯s


    decision. ¡°Although it is true, isn¡¯t she worried that the onught of public opinion might just lead to


    Paradigm


    Co.¡¯s downfall if she admitted to it just like that? Toby, what the hell do you think she has in mind?¡±


    Zane raised his head to nce in Toby¡¯s direction, only to see thetter wordlessly pulling his lips into a


    thin line.


    Meanwhile, Tina was also watching the live broadcast in Gray Residence. Seeing Sonia admit to


    threatening


    Toby brought a smile to her face, for she assumed that Sonia was digging her own grave.


    Back on the scene, Sonia remained impassive despite the fact that the press were buzzing with


    excitement. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)She was aware of the consequences


    of bringing her past actions to light, but she had no regrets.


    The journalist followed up with another question. ¡°Miss Reed, why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Why, you ask?¡± Sonia lowered her gaze before replying with a cool voice, ¡°Because I love him.¡±


    Toby¡¯s pupils shrunk, and his body straightened subconsciously. He knew he was the person whom she


    loved, for


    he had witnessed it in her gaze during the past six years. However, he didn¡¯t expect her to actually open


    up about


    her feelings for him. While rubbing his fingers together, pleasure filled his heart.


    However, the euphoria didn¡¯tst long, for it was dissipated by what Sonia said next. As Sonia stared at


    the camera, she dered, ¡°But that was a long time ago, and I no longer love him now!¡±


    can


    Toby¡¯s expression changed slightly, panic surging within him as if he had lost something. At the side,


    Zane whistled. ¡°Toby, do you think what she said is true?¡±


    ¡°It has nothing to do with me, be it true or false!¡± Toby clenched his fists, his voice cold and hard.


    Aware of Toby¡¯s dishonesty, Zane smiled cheekily. ¡°Is that so? From what I can see, you don¡¯t look like


    it.¡±


    ¡°Go get your eyes checked.¡± Toby glowered at Zane.


    Zane shrugged. ¡°Okay, I guess I¡¯ll shut up.¡± With that, he hung his head low and continued watching the


    live


    broadcast.


    Meanwhile, the journalist asked again, ¡°Miss Reed, despite your love for President Fuller, isn¡¯t forcing


    him to


    marry you by holding the fact that you saved Miss Gray against him crossing a line? (This novel will be


    daily updtaed at .noveljar)Besides, President Fuller was already with Miss Gray back then, so-¡±


    ¡°As I said earlier, I never stepped in between them. Those are just baseless rumors.¡± Already knowing


    what the


    journalist was about to ask, Sonia cut her off while holding the mic up. ¡°It¡¯s because I had no idea back


    then that


    they were together. When I was in university, I asked Miss Gray about her rtionship with Toby. The


    reply she


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    gave was that she saw Toby as her brother, which was the reason I went after President Fuller. As for my


    request


    for him to marry me¡­¡±


    Sonia took a deep breath. ¡°I admit that it¡¯s not the right thing to do. Back when I saved Miss Gray after


    she got


    involved in an ident, President Fuller asked if I had any requests. When I told him to marry me, he


    agreed to


    that, so that¡¯s what ended up happening. If¡­¡±


    ¡°If?¡± The journalist pressed for answers.


    Sonia raised her voice. ¡°If I¡¯d known back then that they were together, I would¡¯ve never made such a


    request. As


    someone who hails from a prestigious family, I¡¯m not one to stoop as low as interfering with other


    people¡¯s


    rtionships. My pride and honor would never allow me to do that.¡±


    ¡°Does this mean that she never knew about your rtionship with Tina?¡± Zane looked toward Toby in


    surprise.


    Simrly, Toby was in shock, as what Sonia told the public affected him greatly. He knew Sonia was


    Tina¡¯s roommate when they were in uni, so he had assumed that she was aware of Tina¡¯s rtionship


    with him. Therefore, the fact that she insisted on marrying him was the reason he hated her so much.


    However, he never thought of the possibility that Sonia never knew he was Tina¡¯s boyfriend. (This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)By that point, Toby


    pulled his lips into a cold, thin line. Why did Tina not admit that I was her boyfriend, and opted to tell


    Sonia that she


    saw me as a brother?


    At the same time, Tyler was also watching the livestream after training with the national team ended.


    When he


    heard what Sonia said, a look of shock was written all over his young face.


    ¡°What? Sonia didn¡¯t know about Tina and Toby¡¯s rtionship?¡± Tyler yelped in surprise. ¡°If that¡¯s the


    case, it means I misunderstood Sonia!¡± He gripped on his phone tightly while watching Sonia on the


    screen with a look of guilt in his eyes. It was because he assumed that Sonia was a third wheel in Toby


    and Tina¡¯s rtionship that Tyler despised her, but it turned out that everything was a misunderstanding.


    ¡°Besides.¡± Sonia rubbed a finger in between her brows before continuing, ¡°I was merely proposing the


    idea of marriage to President Fuller, and wasn¡¯t expecting an affirmative response from him. After all,


    we were strangers back then. Hypothetically speaking, nobody would agree to marrying a stranger just


    like that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± The journalists present in the venue and the audience watching the livestream nodded


    subconsciously. If


    a stranger were to propose to any of them, they would never agree to it. In fact, they would consider the


    one who proposed a nutjob.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t President Fuller agree to it in the end?¡± the journalist said.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Yes, he did. I was stunned yet ted then. Despite knowing that he didn¡¯t love


    me, I


    married him happily, because I thought he woulde to love me. However, I was dead wrong. I was


    married to


    him for six years, only to fail miserably at touching his heart.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t things bound to turn out like that since President Fuller had always been in love with Miss Gray?¡±


    the journalist questioned.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah, he loves Tina, but my past self had no idea. Therefore, I led a harsh life during the


    past six years.(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) I even wondered why he didn¡¯t turn


    me down directly if he didn¡¯t like me. I would¡¯ve never forced him into a marriage.¡± Sonia wasn¡¯t an


    overbearing person, so she wouldn¡¯t insist on marrying Toby if he¡¯d turned her down


    then.


    Upon hearing that, the crowd finally understood the situation. Yeah, since President Fuller didn¡¯t love


    Miss Reed, he could have turned down her request. Miss Reed wasn¡¯t holding him at gunpoint. Why did


    he not turn her down?


    Zane was curious as well. With his chin resting on his hand, he observed Toby. ¡°She¡¯s right. Why didn¡¯t


    you turn her down?¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze to hide the emotions it contained. Back then, I was indeed going to turn her down,


    but I


    somehow agreed to her proposal when I met her gaze. When I snapped back to my senses, it was


    already toote.


    ¡°By the way, I bet all of you must be interested in learning more about my married life.¡± Sonia swept a


    nce at


    the crowd. Upon noticing the nods in the crowd, Sonia smirked. ¡°Let me tell you all about my blissful


    marriage. I


    had to endure my husband¡¯s silent treatment, my mother-inw¡¯s pedantic nitpicking, and my brother-in-


    law¡¯s incessant fault-finding with me. How does that sound? Wonderful, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    In the ensuing silence, people were seen wearing an awkward expression on their faces. Blissful? That


    sounds


    more like hell.


    There were evenments in the livestream. ¡®So Miss Reed had been enduring the silent treatment.


    (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)It seems that President Fuller isn¡¯t that nice of a


    man either. To treat Miss Reed like that despite the fact that he married her, he sounds like a typical


    scum!

 Chapter 97

    Chapter 97


    ¡®I think so too. As Miss Reed said, President Fuller could easily turn her down, and she would never


    force herself


    on him. Since he didn¡¯t turn her down, it means that he married her willingly. Considering that, his


    treatment of


    her after their marriage is uneptable!


    ¡®There¡¯s more to it! I¡¯m also starting to doubt if President Fuller actually likes Miss Gray! If he does, he


    wouldn¡¯t


    have agreed to marry Miss Reed and would have waited until Miss Gray regained consciousness


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Green with envy, Tina was biting on her lip while reading thements. She knew full well that the


    person who


    Toby had always been in love with was Sonia. The only reason he was misled to believe that he loved


    Tina was


    because she pretended to be the woman who was in correspondence with him. However, he would take


    back all


    his love to her and pour it all onto Sonia if he came to find out that Sonia was actually the one who he


    corresponded with.


    Meanwhile, Zane also read thements, which made him tut. ¡°Toby, I, too, think you¡¯re a bit of a scum.


    Just


    hearing what Sonia said is unbearable enough, and she had to endure it for six years. Judging from that,


    she


    really loves you, but you don¡¯t deserve her.¡±


    Toby clenched his fist in silence as his heart hammered and pounded against his chest. All this time, he


    had


    thought of her as a despicable woman who took Tina¡¯s ce when she was in aa. Therefore, he


    unconsciously ignored that he could turn down her proposal to begin with. Even though he was aware of


    the life


    she led in the Fuller Family, he never thought of helping her out. I was the one who owed her!


    ¡°After telling you the full story, everyone should believe now that I didn¡¯t step in between President Fuller


    and


    Miss Gray.¡± Sonia watched the press below her.


    Upon hearing that, the journalists smiled sheepishly. The fact that she revealed everything in the


    presence of the


    press and the audience of the livestream meant that she had to be telling the truth. After all, she wouldn¡¯t


    be able


    to handle the consequences of the public¡¯s bacsh toward herpany and herself if what she said


    was


    proven to be false.


    ¡°How would you exin the im about you pestering your ex-husband?¡± The journalist from before


    spoke


    again.


    ¡°First of all, I never tried to pester him. Seafield isn¡¯t all that big, and we¡¯re both businessmen, so it¡¯s only


    natural


    that we bump into each other. As for the reason we were at the stadium togetherst night¡­¡± An irritated


    look


    crossed Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s because both of us got a ticket from President Fuller¡¯s brother. If I knew


    President


    Fuller would go, I wouldn¡¯t have gone no matter what.¡±


    Immediately, Zane burst intoughter while pping his thigh. ¡°Toby, she¡¯s dissing you! I think she¡¯s


    serious when


    she says that she doesn¡¯t love you!¡±


    Toby glowered at Zane before turning his gaze back to Sonia¡¯s face on the screen with aplex look in


    his


    eyes. Does she really not love me anymore?


    ¡°I know you might not believe in me, but it¡¯s alright for us to hold contesting viewpoints. However, I would


    like to


    stress that I don¡¯t see the need to associate myself with a man who would chase his wife out of the


    house in favor of his mistress,¡± Sonia stated with a smirk.


    Tina¡¯s heart sank as she had a bad premonition. What does she mean by that?


    Toby was also frowning, confused by what Sonia was nning to do. On the other hand, the journalists


    realized


    that Sonia was about to stir up a ruckus. ¡°Miss Reed, would you mind rifying what you mean?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± A cold glint fleeted across Sonia¡¯s gaze before she opened up, saying, ¡°Everybody should know


    that


    President Fuller decided to divorce me due to rumors of my infidelity. I¡¯ll have you know that I was not the


    one


    who was infidel, but President Fuller himself was.¡±


    All Sonia wanted was to live her own life and continue to develop Paradigm Co. to avenge her father.


    Yet, the


    Fullers and people like Tina insisted on giving her a hard time, so she saw no reason to be courteous to


    them.


    The announcement sent the crowd into an uproar. No way! President Fuller had an affair?


    Meanwhile, Zane was watching Toby yfully. ¡°Toby, I think Cynthia actually pissed Sonia off this time.¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t say a word, but his handsome face looked glum, while the air around him was filled with


    pressure. I had an affair? Wasn¡¯t she the one who had an affair? The thought of the men around Sonia


    made him


    Ufortable


    ¡°Miss Reed, is this true?¡± The journalist¡¯s hands were shaking. President Fuller¡¯s infidelity is a huge


    scoop. I bet it¡¯ll be able to garner the press a lot of attention for the next week!


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Toby always visited Tina at the hospital behind my back even before our


    divorce. He


    even had me move out of the residence just so Tina could move in.¡±


    ¡°Gosh, this is unexpected.¡± The crowd was dumbfounded.


    Even Zane stared at Toby in shock. ¡°Toby, did you really do that?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips quivered. He was unable to deny those ims. With that, Zane started to study Toby


    peculiarly. ¡°Toby,


    what were you thinking? No matter how much you wish to be with Tina, you shouldn¡¯t have had Sonia


    move out


    of the house. Considering howrge your house is, you should at least have a guest room.¡±


    ¡°Tina didn¡¯t want to see Sonia,¡± Toby replied in a hoarse voice as he lowered his gaze.


    Zane was exasperated. ¡°You should let Tina stay outside if she doesn¡¯t want to see Sonia. Why did you


    insist on


    letting Tina in?¡±


    Toby¡¯s throat bobbed as he ignored Zane¡¯sment. Although he was aware that it wasn¡¯t the best


    choice, he


    didn¡¯t want to disappoint Tina when she had just regained consciousness.


    ¡°I know people might say that it was just normal for President Fuller to do that since he loves Miss Gray.


    But the point is, I was still married to him, so it was a matter of principles.¡±


    Nobody had anything to say against that. Indeed, President Fuller and Tina shouldn¡¯t have done that no


    matter how


    much they loved each other.


    Meanwhile, Tina was trembling with rage. How dare she? Sonia¡¯s practically putting Toby and I up in the


    hall of shame by mentioning Toby¡¯s affair! Even though we¡¯ve never had sex, Toby¡¯s actions are


    considered as an affair


    nheless.


    In that light, Tina was portrayed as the third wheel who stepped in between Toby and Sonia¡¯s marriage.


    Even if


    she were to marry Tobyter on, they wouldn¡¯t receive the public¡¯s blessings, but their disdain and


    mockery. That was Sonia¡¯s aim. Even though both Tina and Toby were aware of it, Toby wasn¡¯t


    particrly angry.


    ¡°Alright, everyone. Since I have exined clearly that I¡¯m not a third wheel, and had never pestered


    President


    Fuller, I hope that a simr asion would never ur ever again.¡±


    After that, she narrowed her sharp eyes. ¡°Of course, let¡¯s not forget about the instigator, Miss Cynthia


    Stone. Due


    to the fact that she defamed mypany and me, I have decided to file awsuit against her, the twenty


    troll


    ounts, as well as three hundred of theizens who had criticized me the harshest.¡±


    Twenty troll ounts and three hundredizens? The crowd inhaled sharply when they heard the


    incredible


    number of people whom she nned to press charges against, in awe of her resolution.


    ¡°Miss Reed, are you really going to do that?¡± One of the journalists tried to get confirmation from her.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of a public bacsh?¡±


    Sonia answered impassively, ¡°Since I already decided to press charges against them, I will not fear the


    consequences. Besides, I¡¯m merely defending my own rights by letting these people know that the


    inte isn¡¯t a


    ce where they could do as they pleased. Just you wait for the summons from the court.¡±


    With that, Sonia set the mic down before heading for the exit on her crutches, with Daphne following


    behind her.


    In the meantime, Charles stayed to conclude the press conference.


    The audience who were watching the livestream were stunned by Sonia¡¯s actions. After all, nobody


    foresaw her


    pressing charges against them. Immediately, theizens quickly deleted their critics of Sonia for fear of


    being


    summoned by the court. Cynthia was also panicking as she took out her phone to give Tina a call.

 Chapter 98

    Chapter 98


    Tina didn¡¯t see thating either, so she was getting a headache over it. ¡°Alright, Cynthia, You don¡¯t


    have to


    worry.¡±


    ¡°How can I not?¡± Cynthia stomped her foot in agitation, ¡°As soon as she presses charges against me, I


    will have


    a blemish in my record, How will people in the upper ss society percelve me if that is the case?¡±


    Nobody would ept someone who had a criminal record as their wife. If she couldn¡¯t marry into a rich


    family to


    help Stone Incorporated, her father would hate her and bring his illegitimate daughter back home.


    The more Cynthia thought about it, the more she feared. She gripped onto her phone tightly. ¡°Tina, you


    have to save me. I only did all of this for you.¡±


    Tina bit her lip in dismay. What does she mean she did it for me? I only Implied to her that she should


    help me deal


    with Sonia, but I didn¡¯t mean it for her to do it like that. Despite what Tina thought, she couldn¡¯t say that


    out loud.


    Instead, she forced a smile. ¡°I know. I¡¯ll get you out of this mess.¡±


    ¡°Great! That¡¯s great to hear!¡± Cynthia wept in joy before asking, ¡°By the way, Tina, didn¡¯t you say you


    would beg for


    President Fuller¡¯s mercy? As long as he¡¯s willing to help, Sonia won¡¯t be able to do anything.¡±


    ¡°I know, but he turned me downst time. This time¡­¡±


    ¡°Tina, please talk to him about it again. He will agree to it since he loves you so much.¡± Cynthia couldn¡¯t


    bear


    being rejected, so she cut Tina off.


    A dismal look fleeted across Tina¡¯s gaze before she replied hesitantly, ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Tina, you said you would save me.¡± Cynthia cut her short again.


    Even though Tina was getting impatient, she sounded as if she were about to go all out. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try


    again.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Tina.¡± Cynthia heaved a sigh of relief.


    After hanging up, Tina left her room to drive to Fuller Group.


    ¡°President Fuller, Miss Gray is here.¡± Tom knocked on the door before entering the office.


    Toby was going through some documents then. Upon hearing that, he lifted his head. ¡°Let her in.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Tom answered.


    Soon, Tina came in. When she took in the faint smell of cigarettes, she frowned. ¡°Toby, were you


    smoking?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°I had one.¡±


    ¡°Why would you smoke? I hate the smell of cigarettes.¡± Tina fanned herself using her hand.


    All the while, Toby was examining her. ¡°You hate it? Weren¡¯t you okay with it? I had asked you in the


    letter if you minded that I smoked, to which you replied that you didn¡¯t mind. You even suggested that I


    smoke mint scented


    ones, and this is it.¡±


    Tina panicked for a moment, but she didn¡¯t let it show. She excused herself with a smile. ¡°That was a


    long time


    ago. I wasatose for six years, so I could no longer stand the smell of cigarettes.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby ceased his doubts, thinking that it made sense.


    Tina heaved a sigh of relief when she noticed his gaze reverting to its previous calmness. Thank


    goodness. / nearly outed myself. Instead of burning the letters so soon, I should have read through them


    to avoid making such


    mistakes.


    Despite feelings of regret, Tina managed to collect herself quickly. ¡°By the way, you should quit smoking.


    It¡¯s not


    good for your health.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Toby nodded in agreement.


    Tinatched herself onto his arm. ¡°You¡¯re the best, Toby¡±


    The best? Toby lowered his gaze when he recalled what Sonia told everyone during the press


    conference.


    Because I disliked her, I gave her the silent treatment for six years. Am I still a good person after having


    done that?


    Toby was feeling a little irritated, so he retracted his arm. ¡°Tina, I want to know the reason that you lied to


    Sonia


    about me being your brother six years ago instead of telling her the truth.¡± His tone turned much more


    aloof.


    That time, if she had told Sonia the truth, maybe I wouldn¡¯t have treated Sonia that way. It¡¯s just as Sonia


    said; she


    wouldn¡¯t have married me if she knew I was already with Tina. Yet, he somehow felt dejected when the


    thought of


    Sonia possibly not marrying him crossed his mind.


    Meanwhile, Tina¡¯s gaze flickered for a moment when she heard his query. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. I didn¡¯t mean


    to do


    that. My parents didn¡¯t want me to get into a rtionship when I was that young. I was afraid that my


    roommates would identally blow my cover. I didn¡¯t want word to reach my parents, so..¡± She hung her


    head low while


    tugging on Toby¡¯s sleeve. ¡°It¡¯s my fault, Toby.¡±


    Toby¡¯s heart melted when he saw how pitiable Tina was. After rubbing a finger in between his brows, he


    relented.


    * Forget it. It¡¯s all in the past now.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re not angry at me anymore?¡± Lifting her head, Tina stared at him innocently.


    Toby pulled his lips into a thin line. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Tina hugged him smilingly, but there was a conniving look in her eyes when she made sure he couldn¡¯t


    see her.


    The reason she lied to Sonia had nothing to do with her parents, for they were hoping that she could


    marry Toby.


    She had done so just so she could pull a prank on Sonia.


    Knowing that Sonia was nning to confess to Toby, Tina deliberately told Sonia that she merely saw


    Toby as her brother just so she could drop the bomb on her when Sonia confessed. It was all an attempt


    to shame Sonia, but Tina got into an ident before she could realize her n.


    At that thought, Tina loathed the driver who ran her over. I would¡¯ve already been married to Toby if


    it wasn¡¯t for


    him, and Sonia wouldn¡¯t even be in the picture.


    ¡°By the way, for you toe to me, do you need something?¡± Toby pushed Tina away gently.


    After putting those thoughts aside, Tina bit on her bottom lip. ¡°It¡¯s about Cynthia. Miss Reed is about to


    file a


    Toby knew what Tina was up to, and his face fell. ¡°As I told you, I will not help Cynthia. Even if she did it


    for your sake, it doesn¡¯t excuse her behavior. She only has herself to me for getting to this point.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I can¡¯t bear to see her like that.¡± Tina heaved a sigh..


    Tobybed his fingers through her hair. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Although Cynthia broke thew, her crimes aren¡¯t


    that severe, so she will only be detained for a few days at most.¡±


    Tina nodded. ¡°I guess that¡¯s it then. Cynthia acted rashly, so this will be a lesson for her.¡± Since Toby had


    made up


    his mind to sit things out, Tina had no way to stop the prosecution.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    So it seems that Cynthia will have to go behind bars. I guess there¡®s no getting around this. I¡¯ll have to


    cate her once she is released. Upon reaching that conclusion, Tina pointed at a corner of the office.


    ¡°Toby, do you mind if |


    use your washroom?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded.


    Tina headed to the washroom. Once she got inside, she took out her phone to give Cynthia a call.


    On the other hand, Cynthia had been waiting for good news from Tina, so she picked up immediately as


    soon as


    Tina called. ¡°How did it go, Tina? Did President Fuller agree to help?¡±


    Tina shook her head in regret. ¡°Cynthia, he didn¡¯t agree to it. I¡¯m sorry. I already tried my best.¡±


    ¡°How could this be¡­¡± Dumbstruck, Cynthia¡¯s body swayed as she almost fainted. President Fuller isn¡¯t


    going to


    help me. What should I do?


    ¡°Cynthia, you-¡±


    Before Tina could finish her sentence, someone was heard knocking on Cynthia¡¯s door. After putting


    down her phone, Cynthia questioned, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Delivery,¡± the person outside answered.


    Cynthia didn¡¯t doubt it, so she went over and opened the door, only to realize that the person outside


    wasn¡¯t a delivery man, but two policemen in uniforms. Shoot! Knowing that the police were there to arrest


    her, Cynthia¡¯s first reaction was to close the door, fear evident in her eyes.


    Promptly, the policemen held the door open as one of them showed her his ID. ¡°Good morning, Miss


    Cynthia


    Stone. Miss Sonia Reed reported you for defaming her, so we would like you toe with us.¡±

 Chapter 99

    Chapter 99


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going with you.¡± Cynthia backed away while shaking her head.


    Sternly, the police added, ¡°We will be forced to arrest you if you won¡¯te with us, which will result in


    having


    one more charge pressed against you.¡±


    Frightened by the deration, Cynthia put the phone back to her ear. ¡°Tina, the police havee to


    arrest me.


    Help me! Please help me!¡±


    However, no response came from the other end. Cynthia checked the phone, only to realize that the call


    had


    already ended. At that moment, she fell into utter despair, copsing onto the floor stupefied. The


    policemen


    exchanged nces before reaching out to carry Cynthia away.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed.¡± After getting into the police car, the policeman who showed his ID earlier contacted


    Sonia. ¡°We already arrested the suspect¡±


    ¡°Got it. Thank you.¡± Sonia expressed her gratitude smilingly before cutting the call.


    Charles put a cup of coffee down in front of her. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°The police.¡± Sonia sipped on her coffee.


    Charles was hit with a realization. ¡°Is it about Cynthia¡¯s arrest?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yup.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Charlesughed gloatingly. ¡°From what I gathered, Cynthia¡¯s father has been hoping


    that she could marry into a rich family. I suppose that wish will nevere true with how things are now.


    Her arrest will also affect Stone Incorporated¡¯s image, so Chairman Stone must be abhorring her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡± Sonia chuckled.


    Then, a knock came from the office door before Daphne popped her head inside. ¡°President Reed, a


    lawyer


    named Martin Holmes would like to meet you.¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Awyer?¡± Sonia arched her brow before turning to face Charles. ¡°Did you hire him?¡±


    Charles shook his head. ¡°Why would I hire one when I have no reason to?¡±


    ¡°He ims to be from Fuller Group¡¯s legal department¡± Daphne exined.


    ¡°Fuller Group?¡± Charles narrowed his eyes. ¡°Darling, he¡¯s Toby¡¯s employee. Could it be that what you


    said during the press conference offended him, and he¡¯s now going to sue you?¡±


    Sonia pulled her lips into a thin line. ¡°We¡¯ll find out as soon as we meet him. Let him in.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Daphne nodded.


    A minuteter, thewyer, Martin, came in before greeting both Sonia and Charles with a nod. ¡°Good


    day,


    President Reed, President Lane.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Holmes, please have a seat.¡± Sonia gestured at him.


    Martin thanked her before pulling out the chair across from her to sit down on it, while Charles poured


    him a cup


    of tea. After thanking Charles, he started to exin the reason for his visit. ¡°President Reed, you must be


    aware that President Fuller sent me.¡±


    ¡°Does he want to sue me?¡± Sonia leaned backward with her gaze fixed on him.


    Martin shook his head smilingly. ¡°That¡¯s not it. I came under his orders to redistribute the property


    between you


    after divorce.¡±


    ¡°Property settlement?¡± Charles cried out in surprise.


    Sonia was also startled by what she heard. Meanwhile, Martin took out a document from his briefcase.


    ¡°President Reed, this is the settlement that President Fuller drafted, which includes five vis, two


    apartment


    units, five cars, as well as two hundred million worth of alimony. Please take a look.¡± He passed the


    document


    over to her with both hands.


    But Sonia didn¡¯t take it.


    Even so, Martin put the document down on the table, unaffected by her coldness. When he pushed the


    document across the table to her, Charles was the one who picked it up in her stead.


    As he flipped through the document, Charles Smirked. ¡°How dare Toby even present us with this bit?


    Shouldn¡¯t he


    have given Sonia half of his property? What about hispany shares? Shouldn¡¯t Sonia be entitled to


    half of that


    too?¡±


    When Martin heard that, a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. ¡°You must be kidding, President Lane.


    Both President Reed and President Fuller signed a prenuptial agreement before their marriage, so


    President Reed isn¡¯t


    entitled to the shares.¡±


    Having signed the agreement, the fact that Toby was willing to offer that much was generous enough of


    him.


    Charles was also aware of it, so he pouted before shutting his mouth.


    On the other hand, Sonia took the document while studying Martin. ¡°Tell me something, Mr. Holmes. Why


    did


    President Fuller decide to offer me these all of a sudden?¡± Back when they divorced, she already made it


    clear


    that she wanted nothing from him. Therefore, she wondered what Toby was up to by offering all this to


    her a


    month after their divorce.


    Martin was expecting the question, so he pushed his sses up and answered, ¡°Allow me to exin.


    The reason


    President Fuller gave you the cold shoulder during your marriage was because he assumed that you had


    forced yourself on him despite knowing the fact that he¡¯s Tina¡¯s boyfriend back then. However, after the


    press conference today, he came to understand that he misunderstood you, so he would like to offer you


    somepensation.¡±


    ¡°Hah! Nice try.¡± Charles rolled his eyes. ¡°Compensation? After all the things he did to hurt her and


    trample her heart,pensation isn¡¯t going to do sh*t to heal her broken heart. Besides, from what I can


    see, this isn¡¯t even


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Martin looked at Charles,


    While crossing his arms, Charles added, ¡°My darling already announced to the public the Fullers¡¯


    treatment of her throughout the years, so everybody knows now that he¡¯s a scum. The only reason he


    sent you is to try to salvage what¡¯s left of his public image¡±


    ¡°Um.¡± Martin¡¯s lips quivered. ¡°President Lane, I don¡¯t think President Fuller intended for it to be like that.¡±


    ¡°No matter what his intentions are, you can take everything back with you, Mr. Holmes. I want nothing to


    do with them. Back when I filed for divorce, I already made the decision to not ask for a single coin from


    him. I stand by my decision.¡± Sonia pushed the document back to Martin.


    Martin seemed a little conflicted. ¡°Please give this a bit more consideration, President Reed. President


    Fuller just


    wants topensate you.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I don¡¯t need hispensation.¡± Sonia remained unfazed, so Martin had no


    choice but


    to leave in resignation.


    After he left, Charles sat down on the chair that he was sitting on. ¡°Darling, are you sure you won¡¯t regret


    turning


    this down?¡±


    ¡°Why would I?¡± Sonia retorted calmly before picking up one of thepany documents to read it.


    Charles shrugged. When he was about to say something, his phone rang with a call from his assistant.


    ¡°Darling, I need to leave to tend topany affairs. Call me if you need anything.¡± He made a gesture to


    indicate a phone


    call.


    Sonia nodded at him. ¡°Sure. Safe trips.¡±


    Charles left after grunting in response, while Sonia lowered her head to continue reading through her


    documents. By afternoon, her driver sent her back to Bayside Residence. The doorbell rang when she


    was having


    dinner, so she went to open the door on her crutches.


    When the door swung open, Toby was standing on the other side. Sonia was startled for a moment when


    she saw him. Then, she pulled her lips into a thin line, ready to close the door. Without warning, Toby


    reached out to block the door. ¡°I need to tell you something.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything more to say between us. Please leave, President Fuller. The people will


    come up


    with another story if they see you entering my apartment¡± Sonia mocked.


    With a frown, Toby reassured her, ¡°That won¡¯t happen. I already checked our surroundings. Nobody


    knows I¡¯m


    here.¡±


    ¡°Oh? So you¡¯re proud of your achievements?¡± A mirthless smile tugged on Sonia¡¯s lips, her gaze on him


    chilly.


    Toby felt his heart wrenching painfully. She really doesn¡¯t love me anymore. Or else, she wouldn¡¯t be so


    distant.


    She¡¯s also looking at me the way I used to look at her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want the property?¡± Toby¡¯s lips


    quivered


    when he raised the question.


    Knowing what he meant, Sonia shot back, ¡°Why would I want it?¡±


    ¡°Those arepensation from me to you. I owe you for what I did to you during the past few years.¡±


    Toby


    watched her with an apologetic look.


    Sonia sneered at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t Mr. Holmes tell you that I don¡¯t need yourpensation? Since I want to


    cut ties


    with you, I won¡¯t take anything from you. I was also at fault for being on the receiving end of your poor


    treatment,


    so you don¡¯t have to apologize. Alright, you can leave now, President Fuller.¡±

 Chapter 100

    Chapter 100


    Toby didn¡¯t budge, so Sonia couldn¡¯t close the door. Out of anger, she tried to shove him away, but she


    forgot that


    one of her legscked the strength to stand. Therefore, not only did she fail to shove Toby away, but she


    lost her


    bnce and fell backward.


    Toby¡¯s pupil contracted with fear when he witnessed that. Even though he reached out in an attempt to


    hold her,


    he was a second too slow, so he missed her arm. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)Not only did he fail to hold her, but he ended up falling down alongside her.


    There was a loud thud when Sonia fell down on the carpet in the foyer with both of Toby¡¯s arms propped


    beside


    her shoulders. He was kneeling on one knee as his figure loomed over her body.


    Both of them were stunned when they locked eyes. Sonia didn¡¯t foresee such an oue, so she was


    blushing while her heart raced. Her look of chagrin caused Toby¡¯s eyes to darken as he recalled the night


    when she was drunk.


    caus


    was


    That night, she was as enchanting and alluring as a fairy. The thought made Toby¡¯s body heat up as he


    gulped, while his gaze was fixed on her lips that were slightly parted when he lowered his head to look


    downward.


    At that moment, Sonia spoke indifferently. ¡°Have you had enough? Can you get up now?¡±


    Toby was jolted awake. When he realized what he was about to do, he tensed up, his lips forming a grim


    line. ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry.¡±


    After he got up, he reached out to give her a hand, but she didn¡¯t ept his help. Instead, she propped


    herself up


    with both hands on the floor. Toby¡¯s gaze darkened as he clenched his midair fists and retracted his arm.


    All of a sudden, Sonia let out a hiss, which brought a nervous expression that even Toby himself was


    seemingly


    unaware of to his face. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Sonia red at him furiously. ¡°Toby Fuller, it¡¯s all your fault! Are the Fullers my natural enemies? My


    ankle is


    hurting again after the fall just when it has finally healed enough to not bother me!¡± As she spoke, her


    eyes


    reddened in aggrievedness. When I¡¯m away from Toby, I¡¯ll do great on my own, (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)but sh*t happens whenever I¡¯m in his presence! This is vexing!


    Toby felt his heart scrunching up when he saw Sonia on the verge of tears. However, he made sure to


    not let it show. ¡°I will take responsibility for that.¡± With that, he bent down to carry her in his arms, bridal


    style.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes went wide as she looped her arms around his neck subconsciously, only to release him


    immediately


    when she felt the warmth of his skin on her palms. ¡°Put me down!¡± she demanded ill-temperedly.


    Ignoring her request, Toby brought her to the living room to set her down on the sofa. Then, he made a


    call on his phone. ¡°Arrange for a doctor to drop by at Bayside Residence.¡±.


    Bayside Residence? Isn¡¯t that where Miss Reed lives? For a moment, Tom was stupefied. Despite the


    various


    questions that popped up in his mind, he was smart enough to keep them to himself while taking his


    orders from Toby in deference.


    Soon, the doctor arrived, and Toby pointed at Sonia, who was reclining on the sofa. ¡°Check her leg.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The doctor gave him a nod before walking up to Sonia.


    Not wanting to limp for the rest of her life, Sonia quietly offered up her leg. After the doctor did a


    checkup, he opened his kit.


    Standing beside them, Toby inquired, ¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just that she sprained her ankle again when she almost made a full recovery. It means


    she¡¯ll have to start the process again¡± the doctor answered while fishing for some medicine that would


    help improve blood


    cirction.


    Is it that serious? Toby furrowed his brows.


    Sonia had a sullen look on her face. I could¡¯ve been free from my crutches in two days! But look at me


    now! I¡¯ll need to continue using them for some time. Geez! Sonia bit on her lip in frustration as her chest


    heaved.


    After applying the ointment on Sonia¡¯s injury, the doctor left. Then, Sonia rubbed a finger in between her


    brows,


    exhausted from the interlude. ¡°Alright, you should leave too. You should be able to see now that all your


    presence brings to me is trouble. So, don¡¯t youe to me ever again.¡±


    With a frown, Toby was about to say something, only to be deterred by a phone call from Tina.


    Somehow, he didn¡¯t feel like picking it up, especially when he was in Sonia¡¯s presence, but he ended up


    taking the call nheless. It was because he knew Tina was insecure and would keep on calling until


    he picked up.


    ¡°Hey, Tina.¡± Toby checked on Sonia with his peripheral vision when he called Tina¡¯s name. (This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)He just had the sudden


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    urge to see her reaction.


    All the while, Sonia was checking her nails with her head hung low. Her expression was as tranquil as


    ever, as if


    she didn¡¯t care who he was calling. Upon realizing that, Toby felt a prick in his heart. The fact that Sonia


    didn¡¯t


    care about the presence of another woman around him was indicative that she had finally let him go.


    ¡°Toby? Toby?¡± Tina called out to him through the phone.


    Her calls brought Toby back to his senses. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± His voice was deep.


    ¡°That¡¯s my line. I called out to you so many times, but you didn¡¯t respond to me.¡± Tina pouted indignantly.


    Toby lowered his gaze to apologize coolly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t paying attention. Is there something you


    need?¡±


    ¡°Did you forget that you should be having dinner at my house tonight?¡±


    SA


    Startled by her question, Toby only recalled that by then. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I did forget about it.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. That¡¯s why I called. By the way, where are you?¡± Tina inquired gently.


    After ncing at Sonia, Toby answered, ¡°I¡¯m meeting a client.¡±


    Sonia arched her brow as she lifted her head to appraise him amusedly.


    Feeling slightly uneasy under her stare, Toby cleared his throat before adding, ¡°I¡¯ll go home to you after I


    end the


    meeting.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be waiting¡± Tina replied smilingly.


    With a grunt, Toby hung up, while Sonia crossed her arms with a smirk on her face. ¡°Meeting a client,


    huh? So I¡¯m


    your client now. I never knew President Fuller could lie. How rare.¡±


    A look of embarrassment crossed Toby¡¯s eyes before he reverted to his usual aloofness. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving


    now. I hope you will consider epting thepensation that I offered.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to consider. As I said, I stand by my decision.¡± Sonia was impassive as she spoke.(This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) Upon hearing


    that, Toby pulled his lips into a thin line, seemingly wanting to say something, but he ended up leaving


    without a word when he noticed the distant look on Sonia¡¯s face.


    During the following days, Sonia began a series ofwsuits with Cynthia, the trolls, and theizens. A


    lot of


    otherizens were paying close attention to the entire process, which satisfied their curiosity.


    Eventually, the


    trolls were sentenced to a few days¡¯ detention, while theizens were fined a sum of two hundred each.


    As for Cynthia, she chose to appeal to the court during her first trial even though herwyer had told her


    that her


    chances of winning weren¡¯t high. At most, she could shave a few more days off her sentence, but she


    wouldn¡¯t


    be able to absolve her crime. Yet, Cynthia insisted on appealing, which led them to the day of her second


    trial.


    Sonia arrived at the court alongside Charles. Her leg was almost healed. Even though she couldn¡¯t run


    or jump.


    at least she no longer needed a crutch to assist her. Right when she was about to enter the court,


    someone


    called out to her. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia stopped in her tracks to turn around alongside Charles. The person who detained her was a


    middle-aged


    woman in branded clothing and immacte makeup. Still, neither served to cover up the sorrowful look


    on her


    face.


    Sonia inquired politely, ¡°Hello. Who might you be?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Cynthia¡¯s mother.¡± The middle-aged woman stered a ttering smile on her face.

 Chapter 101

    Chapter 101


    ¡°What else is there? Cynthia has been angling to get acquitted, which is why she¡¯s so insistent on


    lodging an appeal in the first ce. That being said, the appeal wouldn¡¯t make a difference, and the


    sentences would still run anyway. Her mom probably rushed over here to convince you to drop the


    charges,¡± Charles said as he leaned close to Sonia¡¯s ear.


    He spoke softly, but Carmen heard it nheless, and she winced in embarrassment as she interjected,


    ¡°Well, Miss Reed, Mr. Lane is right. I am indeed here to convince you to drop the charges.¡±


    ¡°See? Told you so,¡± Charles mused, shrugging dismissively.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him in mild exasperation before addressing Carmen with a distant smile. ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, Mrs. Stone, but I won¡¯t be dropping the charges.¡±


    Carmen stiffened when she heard her words and grew a little uneasy; she had not expected such an


    outright rejection from the other woman. However, she was quick to regain herposure as she


    pleaded, ¡°Please, Miss Reed. I know Cynthia haspletely crossed the line this time, but she¡¯s been


    repentant ever since. Could you please¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sonia was expressionless as she cut Carmen off mid-sentence. ¡°Mrs. Stone, you said she¡¯s been


    repentant ever since, so why is it that she has yet to apologize to me? More to the point, why didn¡¯t you


    apologize to me on her part? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s the least you could do as a parent after realizing your


    daughter¡¯s in the wrong?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Charles chimed. He put his hands on the back of his head as he added insouciantly, ¡°It


    seems rather insincere on your part to show up-without gifts, might I add-and ask my darling for a favor


    now that the ruling is about to be given and Cynthia is going to be pronounced guilty. It¡¯s almost like a


    bad joke.¡±


    Carmen tightened her grip on her purse, growing flustered after the two persons in front of her had put


    her down without much decorum. The humiliation left her speechless. She thought she might be able to


    persuade Sonia to relent on the charges. I didn¡¯t know how cold-hearted these two could be, she thought


    grimly.


    Not wanting to be pestered by Carmen any longer, Sonia nced at Charles meaningfully and dered,


    ¡°Well then, we should make a move.¡±


    Just as the both of them turned to leave, Carmen stepped forward and grabbed Sonia by the hand


    abruptly. ¡°I¡¯m begging you, Miss Reed. Please go easy on my daughter and give her a second chance.¡±


    Sonia frowned when she heard this and tried to pull away from the older woman¡¯s grasp, but thetter¡¯s


    vise-like grip prevented this from happening. ¡°Won¡¯t you please just drop the charges for my sake, Miss


    Reed? If you do, I¡¯ll personally bring Cynthia over and give you a formal apology. Please, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Stone, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve made myself very clear just now that I will not drop the charges, so begging me


    won¡¯t do you any good at all. Could you please let go of me now?¡± Sonia bit out impatiently.


    However, her words fell upon deaf ears as Carmen gazed at her peevishly. ¡°How could you be so


    heartless, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°Did you just say my darling is heartless? Come on, even you have to admit that Cynthia deserves what


    she got,¡± Charles pointed out in dark amusement as he scoffed, only to be ignored by Carmen.


    Instead, Carmen put her attention on Sonia as she went on to say, ¡°Should I get down on my knees


    before you then, Miss Reed?¡± With that, she promptly let go of Sonia and dropped to her knees in front of


    thetter.


    Sonia and Charles were shocked by her action, and when they finally registered the situation, they


    quickly hauled her to her feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this, Mrs. Stone!¡± Sonia sighed tiredly, rubbing her temples in frustration.


    Charles, too, was displeased by this turn of events. ¡°This is emotional ckmail, Mrs. Stone.¡±


    He could hardly believe that Carmen would resort to begging on her knees after Sonia¡¯s outright


    rejection. This was virtually no different from running away from responsibilities. Besides, this was far


    more than just emotional ckmailing; it was as good as duress.


    Evidently, Carmen¡¯s outlook on things was just as twisted as Cynthia¡¯s. It was no wonder that thetter


    turned out the way she did.


    Carmen ignored Charles. Upon seeing Sonia¡¯s expression soften, she gazed at her


    hopefully and seized the chance to ask, ¡°Does this mean you¡¯ve agreed to drop the charges, Miss


    Reed?¡±


    Sonia started to say, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mrs. Stone, but I¡ª¡±


    Before she could get her words out, Carmen broke away from Charles and attempted to drop to her


    knees once more. This time, however, someone stopped her. It was neither Charles nor Sonia who kept


    her from kneeling, but Tina.


    Presently, Tina pointed an using finger at Sonia as she snapped in aggravation, ¡°How could you let


    someone older get down on their knees before you, Miss Reed?


    You¡¯re taking things a little too far, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched; she clearly exasperated by the usation. Meanwhile, Charles rolled his eyes in


    the most jaded manner he could. ¡°Oh, for God¡¯s sake, are you blind? When did my darling ever ask Mrs.


    Stone to get down on her knees? The woman did that out of her own volition!¡±


    Tina was skeptical. ¡°Right. As if.¡±


    Carmen, on the other hand, merely patted the back of Tina¡¯s hand as she exined, ¡°No, Tina, Mr. Lane


    is right. I got on my knees voluntarily.¡±


    ¡°But why, Mrs. Stone?¡± Tina stared at Carmen in disbelief.


    Carmen looked aggrieved. ¡°I¡¯m doing this for Cynthia. She will be freed as soon as Miss Reed drops the


    charges, so I..¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re begging on your knees for it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Carmen nodded once, then after casting a brief nce at Sonia, she dabbed at her tears.


    ¡°Unfortunately, Miss Reed has yet to agree to this.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Tina pursed her lips, then glowered at Sonia unhappily. ¡°Miss Reed, it¡¯s rather cruel of


    you to reject Mrs. Stone after she has gotten down on her knees in front of you, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one that¡¯s cruel?¡± Sonia raised a hand andzily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking


    graceful as she did so. ¡°Cynthia was pretty ruthless when she spread all those vicious rumors about me,


    but suddenly, I¡¯m the cruel one for holding her ountable.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Stumped, Tina grimaced.


    Meanwhile, Charles scoffed. ¡°You should figure out where you stand before you point fingers at my


    darling, Tina.¡±


    A look of shame shed in Tina¡¯s eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly. She bit down on her lower lip


    as she argued, ¡°Look, even if Cynthia was in the wrong, it can¡¯t be denied that she¡¯s paying the price for


    it now. Isn¡¯t it bad enough that she¡¯s facing intense bacsh on the inte? Besides, Mrs. Stone has


    gotten down on her knees to plead her case, so I don¡¯t see why you can¡¯t forgive Cynthia for this one


    slip-up.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Sonia was fuming as she spat her words out. ¡°Cynthia means nothing to me, after all, so why


    should I forgive her?¡±


    ¡°Precisely! Why should she be allowed to get away with hurting my darling? Why don¡¯t the both of you


    force an apology out of that girl instead of wasting your time asking for my darling¡¯s forgiveness? It¡¯s


    good enough that my darling hasn¡¯t returned that wicked girl¡¯s spite sevenfold,¡± Charles jested darkly as


    he wrapped an arm around Sonia¡¯s shoulders in a show of support.


    ¡°Right, I nearly forgot about this.¡± Sonia regarded Tina indifferently as she said, ¡°Miss Gray, lest you


    forget, Cynthia ended up in her current predicament because of you. I think it¡¯s only appropriate that you


    y the hero now.¡±


    Having said that, she turned her icy gaze toward Carmen. ¡°You know, Mrs. Stone, it would do you better


    to plead your case with Miss Gray over here. Surely she would be kind and generous enough to help you


    out.¡±


    ¡°Bye-bye,¡± Charles sang, offering a mboyant wave as he led Sonia into the courthouse.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina watched the two retreating figures while averting Carmen¡¯s eyes. ¡°I know Cynthia only did this for


    me, Mrs. Stone, but I¡ª¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin yourself,¡± Carmen cut her off gently as she wiped her tears away. ¡°I know


    Cynthia came to you for help, but there isn¡¯t anything you could do for her.¡±


    Tina had only just brightened up at this when she heard Carmen continue, ¡°But I hope that you¡¯d stay


    away from Cynthia in the future. She really isn¡¯t meant to be your friend.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what are you trying to say, Mrs. Stone?¡± Tina nched, and her voice quivered as she urged, ¡°Are


    you ming me for this?¡±


    Carmen heaved a sigh. ¡°Yes, I am. If you hadn¡¯t stopped me earlier, perhaps Sonia would have caved in


    if I just got on my knees a couple more times. It¡¯s precisely because you interfered that everything is


    ruined, and now there¡¯s no way Cynthia could be acquitted. You would do well to remember what you


    have done today.¡±


    With that, she brushed past Tina without so much as a second nce and walked away.


    As a result, Tina¡¯s gentle features were twisted into a menacing grimace. She could scarcely believe that


    Carmen med her for stopping her desperate attempts to plead for Sonia¡¯s favor. How dare a lowly


    housewife such as herself me me for what has happened?

 Chapter 102

    Chapter 102


    Tina chewed on her bottom lip as panic filled her. No longer in the mood to stay for Cynthia¡¯s appeal, she


    turned and left.


    Half an hourter, she found herself at Fuller Group.


    ¡°Toby..¡± Tina couldn¡¯t care less if there were others in the presidential office as she strode over to Toby¡¯s


    desk. With her eyes red and glistening with tears, she sat down on hisp and wrapped her arms around


    his neck, thereafter nuzzling into his chest as she began to sob quietly.


    Toby stiffened at her unanticipated behavior, but when he regained hisposure, he frowned at the


    woman in his arms.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she was crying, he thought he might very well push her away.


    ¡°Leave the documents here, and I¡¯ll get back to the both of you after I¡¯ve reviewed them. Go back to your


    own desks for now,¡± Toby announced to the man and woman standing in front of his desk. He put down


    the documents in his hand and rubbed his temple tiredly.


    The man and woman standing in his office nodded. ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡±


    After that, they left his office.


    It was only after the door closed behind them that the woman whispered disapprovingly, ¡°Isn¡¯t she


    President Fuller¡¯s fianc¨¦e? She ought to know better than to barge into the office without knocking first.


    It¡¯s so rude of her to interrupt while we¡¯re in the midst of a work discussion, not to mention sit down in


    President Fuller¡¯sp at first instance. Thepany is no ce for her to throw her girly tantrums.¡±


    The man next to her simply shrugged. ¡°President Fuller always lets her have her


    way.¡±


    The woman was obviously displeased. ¡°Okay, well, he needs to draw the line somewhere!¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough now. We¡¯re the ones who would get in trouble if we keep talking about this.¡±


    The woman pouted but said nothing more.


    Meanwhile, in the office, Toby carefully pried Tina away as he said, ¡°There, there,


    Tina. Why don¡¯t you get down for a bit?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Tina whined, burrowing back into his arms.


    He sighed and did not try to push her away again. Indulging her whims, he asked, ¡°Go on, then. Tell me


    what happened.¡±


    She lifted her head like a wounded kitten as she stared at him with red-rimmed eyes. ¡°Why are they all


    using me, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± He narrowed his eyes slightly.


    She sniffed. ¡°Miss Read and Mrs. Stone. I was on my way to Cynthia¡¯s appeal when I saw Mrs. Stone on


    her knees, begging Miss Reed to forgive Cynthia. Miss Reed refused to do so, and I spoke up for Mrs.


    Stone,¡±


    He put up a hand and cut her off momentarily. ¡°Wait. You spoke up for Mrs. Stone? As in, you were trying


    to persuade Sonia to forgive Cynthia?¡±


    Tina hummed in response as she nodded. ¡°I mean, Mrs. Stone was already on her knees, and I had to


    ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Tina, you were in the wrong. You shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± Toby interjected as he regarded her with a


    dark gaze.


    Unable to take such a rebuff, Tina grew sullen as she protested, ¡°I don¡¯t think I did anything wrong at all!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you were entirely at fault! Cynthia was the one who caused this mess in the first ce, and Sonia


    was the victim, which means she gets to decide if she wants to forgive the former. You have no right as a


    third party to interfere and plead Cynthia¡¯s case, do you understand?¡± Toby said in a low voice.


    She bit down on her lip and tried to argue, ¡°But,¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. You were probably going to say that it was harsh for Sonia to not forgive Cynthia even


    though Mrs. Stone had gotten down on her knees in front of her, but did you ever stop to think that this


    was less of a begging situation than it was


    coercion?¡±


    ¡°A coercion?¡± she repeated, sounding stunned.


    He nodded gravely. ¡°That¡¯s right. Mrs. Stone could easily plead with Sonia in private, but she decided to


    get down on her knees right there in a public space. She was likely trying to pressure Sonia into forgiving


    Cynthia.¡±,


    ¡°I see,¡± she mumbled, lowering her head as she feigned sadness. ¡°It was no wonder that Mrs. Stone


    would me me for helping her get on her feet. I ruined her n.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing to be done now. Just make sure you think before you help somebody the next


    time.¡± He gently smoothed her hair and added, ¡°Besides, the Stones aren¡¯t particrly known for good


    breeding. You should stay away from them if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She forced out a smile, and as a sudden thought seized her, she quickly nced at him with an


    expectant look. ¡°Toby, should we go have some fun this weekend?¡±


    ¡°This weekend?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He gave her a nd smile. ¡°Why the spontaneity?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m bored,¡± she answered. ¡°And you¡¯ve been so busytely that we barely have meals together


    anymore. I¡¯m always alone, and it¡¯s only a matter of time before I perish in boredom at home. Just humor


    me, Toby.¡± She swayed his arm as she tried to persuade him.


    Toby caved in and nodded. After all, he had nothing going on over the weekend. ¡°Very well, then. We


    shall have some fun this weekend, but we can¡¯t make a long trip over the course of two days, so we¡¯d


    have to traipse around Seafield. Where do you want to go?¡±


    Tina broke into a dazzling smile when she heard that he had eded. ¡°I don¡¯t know where I want to go,


    either. I¡¯ve only just gotten here not too long ago, so I wouldn¡¯t know any fun ces in Seafield. I¡¯ll go


    along with whatever you decide, Toby.¡±


    He did not turn down this suggestion, and he lowered his gaze in thought. Finally, as


    a sudden thought came over him, the smile on his face deepened.


    ¡°I recall from your letters that you like horseback riding and hiking, and you im to be quite the


    equestrian. President Cunningham just so happens to own an equestrian facility in the mountains. We


    could go horseback riding and then hiking after. What do you think?¡± Toby looked at her, awaiting a


    response.


    Tina¡¯s face stiffened when she heard this.


    She couldn¡¯t believe that he had suggested horseback riding and hiking. While she was perfectly fine


    with trekking through the mountains, she waspletely hapless when it came to horseback riding.


    What made matters worse was that she had an innate phobia forrge animals.


    ¡°Do you not want to go horseback riding and hiking?¡± He retracted his warm smile when he saw her


    reluctance.


    Afraid that he might grow doubtful of her, she quickly shook her head and said, ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯ve been


    wanting to do these for a while now. I¡¯m just so happy and surprised that you remember at all.¡±


    ¡°I told you that I remember every single hobby of yours,¡± he offered indulgently.


    She shed him a dry smile and humored him as she quipped, ¡°Right. Of course.¡±


    However, he failed to notice the t tone of her voice. ¡°So that¡¯s settled¡ªI¡¯ll give President Cunningham


    a call in a bit and let him know of our ns.¡±


    She absentmindedly nodded as she hummed in response.


    It looks like I¡¯ll be stuck at the equestrian facility, but I guess I coulde up with a way to get myself out


    of it. The thought of thisforted Tina, and she no longer felt as worried as she had been mere


    moments ago.


    While this was happening, the appeal at the courthouse hade to an end. Cynthia had cracked


    following the incessant line of questioning from both the judge and Sonia¡¯s attorney and lowered her


    head as she admitted to posting the particr status, thereby confessing to intentionally injuring Sonia¡¯s


    reputation.


    While the act was despicable, thew was vague when it came to cyber-bullying, and


    in the end, Cynthia got away with fifteen days of detention and a 30,000 fine.


    ¡°Well, she got away easy,¡± Charles said pointedly, pouting as he sauntered out of the courtroom. He


    would much rather if Cynthia was imprisoned instead of detained.


    Sonia, on the other hand, could only smile ruefully in response. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything we could do about


    it. Thew is thew. Besides, Cynthia has gotten her fair share of punishment, so we should just


    celebrate justice, however uns


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Should we celebrate properly, then? I hear that there¡¯s a new seafood ce at Bay Street


    that we could try out,¡± he suggested with a cheeky grin.


    Sonia thought about thest time she had had seafood, and when she realized that it had been quite a


    while ago, her eyes lit up earnestly as she nodded. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± He fished out his car keys, but just as he was about to unlock the car, his phone rang


    ¡°Give me a second. I have to take this,¡± he said with a bitter chuckle. Of all the times to give me a call, he


    thought grimly. Upon pulling out his phone and ncing at the caller ID, he raised a brow. ¡°It¡¯s my mom.¡±


    ¡°Well then, hurry up and answer the phone!¡± Sonia urged.


    He slid his finger across the screen to answer and pressed the phone to his ear.


    On the other end of the line, a middle-aged woman¡¯s gentle voice spoke up. ¡°Charles, has the appeal


    ended?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it has,¡± Charles answered. Then, he asked, ¡°Is there something I can help you with, Mom?¡±

 Chapter 103

    Chapter 103


    ¡°It¡¯s not you I¡¯m looking for; I want to speak to Sonia. Is she there with you?¡± Grace asked on the other


    line, prompting Charles to nce over at Sonia.


    ¡°She¡¯s here,¡± he answered.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°Pass the phone to her.¡±


    Having made a noise of agreement, Charles handed Sonia his phone while saying, ¡°Here, it¡¯s my mom.¡±


    Sonia took the phone over and greeted pleasantly, ¡°Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Sonia! I¡¯ve missed you so much.¡± Grace beamed as soon as she heard Sonia¡¯s voice on the other end


    of the call.


    Sonia, on the other hand, smiled as well. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you, too, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°You could always drop by to see me, you know.¡± Grace pointed out, feigning dejection.


    ¡°Sorry, Mrs. Lane. I¡¯ve been tied up with tons of stuff recently. I barely have time to breathe,¡± Sonia


    winced and said apologetically.


    few of my best recipes for you,¡± Grace cajoled kindly.


    Sonia was just about to say something when Charles-who had been eavesdropping


    -spoke up instead. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m bringing my darling for seafood.¡±


    Grace, however, was insistent as she countered, ¡°You know how restaurants never run a quality check


    on their seafood supplies, and it¡¯s not as if they could do better than me when ites to cooking.¡±


    Sonia interjected, ¡°Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Lane. We¡¯ll go over to your ce in a bit!¡±


    ¡°Oh, please, no need for the formalities. See you soon!¡± Grace chortled happily, ted that the younger


    girl had agreed to drop by for a meal.


    When the call ended, Charles put his phone away and gave Sonia a resigned look. ¡°Well, it looks like


    we¡¯re going to have to give the seafood restaurant a miss.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine; there¡¯s always next time, anyway. Now, we should probably go and pick out gifts for your


    parents.¡± With that, she linked arms with him and led him toward the car.


    After they made their rounds through the boutiques in the mall, they finally picked out an elegant cloak


    for Grace and a tasteful necktie for Curtis. Then, they made their way to the Lane Residence.


    The Lanes had always had close ties with the Reeds, and their rtionship was more family than


    anything else. In particr, Grace had been best friends with Sonia¡¯s mother. As far as Sonia was


    concerned, Grace was like a second mother to her, having taken care of her ever since her mother¡¯s


    passing.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Charles and Sonia pulled up in front of the Lane residence.


    This was the first time Sonia had dropped by in six years, though she noted that the house looked the


    same as it had before. As such, she did not feel out of ce at all and rather felt a warm sense of


    familiarity.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Grace practically ran out of the house to greet her guest when she heard the sound of the car


    pulling up. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Sonia, and she approached thetter with her arms spread wide


    open.


    ¡°Mrs. Lane,¡± Sonia greeted with a bright smile.


    As both women embraced, Charles stood by the side and drawled sarcastically, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, Mom.


    I¡¯m just your biological son, is all.¡±


    Grace rolled her eyes as she said pointedly, ¡°I see you every day, and believe me when I say I¡¯m getting


    tired of it. My attention is on Sonia now. Come here, Sonia, let me take a good look at you!¡± She sped


    Sonia¡¯s hands in hers and slowly spun her around, then concluded intively, ¡°You¡¯ve lost weight.¡±


    Sonia was somewhat amused by the remark. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°You have,¡± Grace insisted. ¡°Your face is all cheekbones now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve lost all my baby fat, so now I appear a little more slender than


    usual,¡± Sonia cated. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough fretting, Mrs. Lane. Shall we head into the house?¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course. Come along, then.¡± Grace took her by the hand and led her into the family home.


    Upon entering the vi, Sonia noted that there was no one else at home but them, and she couldn¡¯t help


    but ask, ¡°Is Mr. Lane not home?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s still golfing with his buddies. No matter. Sonia, why don¡¯t you tell me how you¡®ve been for the past


    six years.¡± Ever since Grace watched the press conference, she had been wanting to know all that had


    happened to Sonia.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia answered easily with a nod and began to detail the life she had had with the Fullers,


    though she kept it brief to save Grace the heartache.


    However, Grace was still furious when she heard thest of the story. She pped the edge of the coffee


    table in a physical show of frustration and snapped, ¡°I knew those Fullers were rotten! You should have


    told us how badly they were treating you, Sonia. If you had told us, then we would have stood up for you


    and gotten them to back down.¡±


    Charles agreed as he bit into an apple. ¡°That¡¯s what I told her, too.¡±


    The fact that she had kept mum about her abusive marriage wounded him, and the rage he felt never


    went away. That being said, he was less angry with her than he was pitiful of her.


    At the sight of Charles and Grace¡¯s outward concern, Sonia felt warmth course through her. Tears


    pricked her eyes as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to make you worry over me.¡±


    After all, she had lost both her parents, and the closest thing she had to a family was Grace and the rest


    of the Lanes. She might have been able to get them to stand up for her throughout her marriage to Toby,


    but they couldn¡¯te to her defense all the time. Besides, they weren¡¯t actually rted to her, which


    meant her troubles would only grow to be an unnecessary burden for them. She would rather give


    them a peace of mind than have them resent her in the long run.


    ¡°What am I going to do with you?¡± Grace gently prodded the younger girl¡¯s forehead and heaved a sigh.


    Sonia knew that Grace was frustrated, but she smiled good-naturedly as she wrapped thetter¡¯s arm


    like an affectionate child.


    Grace softened at this gesture and smoothed Sonia¡¯s hair with motherly fondness.


    Just then, Charles frowned as he sniffed the air curiously. ¡°Mom, what do you have on the stove? I think


    it¡¯s burning.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Grace snapped out of her thoughts, and her eyes lit up with panic. She rose to her


    feet in a flurry and eximed, ¡°Oh, no! My seafood chowder!¡±


    Without a second longer, she rushed toward the kitchen to salvage the chowder simmering in the pot,


    and thankfully, she made it in time to keep the chowder from burning.


    Now that the chowder was saved, she brought two tall sses of juice over to Sonia and said, ¡°Here you


    go, Sonia. Have some juice while you watch a bit of television; I¡¯ll be in the kitchen whipping up a couple


    more dishes, and we can dig in after!¡±


    ¡°Okay, Mrs. Lane.¡± Sonia nodded with a warm smile.


    Grace shot Charles a look. ¡°Come and help me out in the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Help you out?¡± Charles blinked. He could hardly believe what he had just heard as he pointed at his


    nose. ¡°Are you serious, Mom? What could I possibly help,¡±


    ¡°Are youing or not?¡± Grace¡¯s face was dark as she demanded coldly.


    He bristled at this and did not dare reject her. Resigned, he stood up and mumbled disgruntledly, ¡°Okay,


    I¡¯ming.¡±


    He looked dejected as he slowly shuffled along behind Grace and retreated into the kitchen.


    Sonia giggled, clearly entertained to see him like this.


    In the kitchen, Charles looked around the space and asked reproachfully, ¡°What do you want me to help


    you with, Mom?¡±


    Grace cast him a sideways nce. ¡°Please; I know how useless you are with these things. There¡¯s a


    higher chance of you blowing up the kitchen than you actually


    being of any help at all.¡±


    He quirked his lips resentfully at the harshment. ¡°So, what am I doing here?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re here to tell me your intentions for Sonia. Do you still have feelings for her?¡± She looked at him


    intently.


    Incredulous, he began to say, ¡°Mom, how¡ª¡±


    ¡°How do I know you still have feelings for her?¡± she continued for him, knowing what he wanted to ask.


    He parted his lips as though to say something but fell silent in admission instead.


    His mother was right; he liked Sonia, and he always had since they were kids. However, he never told


    Sonia how he truly felt about her because he knew she did not feel the same way toward him, and she


    saw him as her best friend. He thought his feelings were a well-kept secret, but as it turned out, his


    mother knew better.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know at first, but you were the one who got drunk on the night of Sonia¡¯s wedding and blurted it


    out.¡± Grace sighed heavily, then went on to say, ¡°You know, I was pretty shocked when I heard it, too. If I


    had known that you like her that way, then I would have done everything in my power to set the both of


    you up together. But you decided to keep it a secret, and I just assumed that your affections for her were


    those of a brother¡¯s. By the time I found out about the truth, it was toote.¡±


    Charles rubbed his nose awkwardly and did not offer a reply.


    Grace was still sorting through the vegetables as she said, ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me if you still have


    feelings for her.¡±


    He turned around and peered around the kitchen entry, his eyes dark with longing as he stared in the


    direction of the living room. ¡°My feelings for her have not changed in the slightest.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Sonia is single again, so all you have to do is to boldly pursue her and turn this boyfriend-act of


    yours into reality,¡± Grace quipped encouragingly.


    She really liked Sonia, and she desperately wanted Charles to make the girl his wife.


    However, he shook his head, and his face fell as he said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. She


    doesn¡¯t like me, and if I were to romantically pursue her, she would only shrink away from me out of fear.


    I¡¯d rather we stay like this.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t as if he had not seen the age-old trope where the guy romantically pursued the female best


    friend, but the chances of a happy ending were slim to none, and the girl would end up being so


    terrorized that she would leave the boy for good. After all, the reality of a male best friend-turned-


    boyfriend was often harder for one to ept.


    Charles didn¡¯t want Sonia to grow apart from him, and he did not want to risk it, either. He would rather


    stay her best friend and be by her side than lose her altogether.

 Chapter 104

    Chapter 104


    Grace saw the glimmer in Charles¡¯ eyes, but when it dimmed, she couldn¡¯t help but prod him in the head.


    ¡°Why are you always so caught up with your own thoughts? You¡¯re too cowardly, and that¡¯s why you


    missed Sonia.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault,¡± Charles grumbled intively.


    She rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Oh, so whose fault is it then? If you had just been bold enough to pursue


    Sonia romantically, then the both of you might have ended up together from the get-go.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you think,¡± he countered, lowering his eyes as he let out a bitter chuckle. ¡°Not every


    girl could take their guy best friend as a boyfriend, you know.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so how would you know she won¡¯t be able to take it if you never asked in the first ce?¡± Grace


    pursed her lips in displeasure.


    Charles gulped, unsure if he had the answer to his mother¡¯s question.


    With an impatient and dismissive wave of her hand, Grace barked, ¡°Very well. Get out of the kitchen.


    You¡¯re only going to get in my way if you stay here.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°You were the one who asked me toe in here, remember?¡± he argued


    exasperatedly, only to be ignored and pushed out of the kitchen.


    ¡°That kid¡¯s hopeless, and it doesn¡¯t help that he¡¯s afraid of everything. If only he could just man up a


    little!¡± She shook her head in frustration. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to have to take things into my own hands


    instead. It¡¯s time to set my son up with the girl of his dreams!¡± Having thought of this, she pulled out her


    phone and called a number. ¡°Hi, ric. Didn¡¯t you say you have an equestrian facility?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. What about it?¡± A middle-aged man¡¯s bright and cheery voice spoke up on the other line.


    Grace beamed. ¡°Do you think I could have it for the weekend? I only need it for two days, and it¡¯s crucial


    because I¡¯m trying to set my son up with my future daughter-inw.¡±


    She had ns to trick Sonia and Charles into going horseback riding together, and she would create little


    nerve-wracking moments for them along the way.


    Charles and Sonia¡¯s chemistry might blossom into fireworks by the time they were through with


    horseback riding.


    However, Grace¡¯s bubble burst when ric exined apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible. The


    facility¡¯s been booked for the weekend.¡±


    She frowned when she heard this. Disgruntled, she thought grimly, Which insolent fool has beaten me to


    it? ¡°How many of them are there?¡± she pressed.


    ric chuckled as he replied, ¡°Just two. It seems as if they¡¯re nning for a date.¡±


    ¡°Well, two isn¡¯t a crowd at all.¡± Her eyes lit up with a brilliant idea. ¡°Do you think you could squeeze two


    more in for the weekend? Maybe you could talk to your current guests and tell them that my son and my


    future daughter-inw won¡¯t bother them


    at all!¡±


    ¡°Well..¡± He grew a little uneasy at the suggestion.


    Sensing his reluctance, she put a hand on her hip and said darkly, ¡°Have you forgotten how I¡¯ve helped


    you out in the past, ric?¡±


    It was only upon hearing this that ric broke into a breezy smile. Chuckling good naturedly, he said,


    ¡°Alright, you got me. I suppose I¡¯ll just have to be thick-skinned and put on my persuasive charm. I¡¯ll talk


    to my guests about this, okay?¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s the right attitude to have.¡± Appeased, Grace hung up the phone and beckoned Charles and


    Sonia to join her at the dining table.


    After the meal, Sonia patted her stomach, which bulged slightly under her shirt. She sprawled on the


    couch in a daze as she remarked, ¡°Your culinary skills are as impressive as ever, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    Y


    Grace grinned at thepliment, and her eyes turned into crescents. ¡°If you think my culinary skills are


    great, then you ought to drop by with Charles more often and have meals with us.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia agreed, nodding earnestly. ¡°Your offer is too good to resist, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not asking you to resist it at all! I love cooking, and Charles and Curtis are almost never at


    home. There isn¡¯t a point cooking if there isn¡¯t anyone around to appreciate it,¡± Graceined.


    Charles rolled his eyes when he heard this and paused in peeling the apple. ¡°That¡¯s unfair, Mom. You¡¯re


    the one who always goes out shopping and traveling. You can¡¯t seriously me Dad and me when you


    barely have time to cook for us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt our conversation, you punk. I¡¯d hit you if I could,¡± Grace warned through gritted teeth,


    clenching her fist and making as though she would punch him for real.


    Charles immediately dropped the apple in his hand and leaped away from her, narrowly dodging her


    attack.


    Even as he did so, he sang mischievously, ¡°You can¡¯t hit me.¡±


    Sonia, on the other hand, burst intoughter as she watched the pstickedy that was Charles and


    Grace. At that moment, the living room was warm with happy sentiments.


    d


    .


    It wasn¡¯t long before the sky darkened. Sonia nced at the time, and when she saw that it was nearly


    8.00PM, she excused herself courteously.


    Grace invited her to stay the night, but she turned it down nheless.


    ¡°Charles, go drop her home,¡± Grace urged as she shoved her son forward.


    ¡°I was going to do that anyway,¡± Charles muttered. He grabbed the car keys from the coffee table and


    said, ¡°Come on, darling, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Sonia nodded as she hummed in response, then waved at Grace jovially. ¡°Goodbye, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± Grace waved back.


    Sonia tailed after Charles as they walked out of the vi. Then, they got in the car and drove away.


    When they pulled up outside Bayside Residence an hourter, Sonia unfastened her seatbelt and


    opened the car door. ¡°I¡¯ll get going now.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Charles answered breezily.


    Sonia closed the door and rounded the car, thereafter heading straight for the


    building.


    At the same time, Charles received a message from Grace, which read, Charles, I¡¯ve set up a date for


    you and Sonia at ric¡¯s equestrian facility. ric knows all about it, and the room in the vi has been


    set aside for the both of you, too. I believe that you¡¯ll get the girl of your dreams, Charles. Good luck!


    His lips twitched when he read the text.


    The woman had decided to y matchmaker after all. A date, however... There was a glimmer in his


    eyes as he rolled down the car window, and when he saw that Sonia was about to go into the lobby, he


    tightened his fists and summoned all the courage he had, then called out, ¡°Baby!¡±


    Sonia stopped in her tracks and turned around. ¡°Yes?¡±


    He took a deep breath and tried to school his features into his usual, nonchnt smile so that she


    couldn¡¯t tell how nervous he was. ¡°My mom just texted and said we should head over to ric¡¯s


    equestrian facility this weekend.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She couldn¡¯t quite hear what he had said, given how softly he had spoken.


    He raked his fingers through his hair and decidedly opened the car door, then took long strides toward


    her. When he came to a stop in front of her, he repeated his words from earlier. ¡°My mom booked ric¡¯s


    equestrian facility for horseback riding, but she¡¯s going to Europe for a shopping trip on the same


    weekend, and she asked that we take her slot instead. She doesn¡¯t want the deposit to go to waste.¡±


    He dared not meet Sonia¡¯s eyes as he said this, afraid that she might see through his lies.


    However, she did not pay attention to him and waspletely enamored with the thought of horseback


    riding. Her eyes lit up as she nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t remember thest time she had gone horseback riding. It seemed as if she had given up on


    the hobby after her marriage with Toby.


    Now that she thought about it, she could not believe how stupid she had been to give up on her hobbies


    just to keep a man who did not love her.


    ¡°Great. I¡¯ll pick you up this weekend,¡± Charles replied happily, secretly letting out a


    breath of relief.


    She hummed in response. ¡°Alright, I should get back home now.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Go on, then.¡± However, just as she was about to turn on her heels, a sudden thought


    crossed his mind, and he called out to stop her, ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She nced at him in askance.


    He averted her gaze as he mumbled, ¡°There¡¯s something on your head.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She raised her hand and gently dusted the top of her head. ¡°No, there isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You missed it. Here, stop moving. I¡¯ll get it for you,¡± Charles offered.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said, relenting as she stood unmoving.


    He reached out for the top of her head and stepped closer to her, bridging the gap between them as he


    dipped his head. His lips were close to brushing against her forehead.


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    But just as his lips were about to touch her skin, she asked suddenly, ¡°Did you get it


    yet?¡±


    He stopped ?n time and gave her a tight smile. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡±


    He withdrew his hand and stepped backward, returning to his initial position as he heaved a quiet, bitter


    sigh. He couldn¡¯t help but mourn over what could have happened.


    I was so close to kissing her on the forehead. But this is probably for the best; what if I kissed her, and


    she refused to go horseback riding with me this weekend?


    Meanwhile, in the idling ck sedan across the road, Toby¡¯s face was glum as he stared at the two


    figures standing by the building entrance. His fists clenched on top of his thighs as he felt anger


    thrumming in his veins.


    For some reason, he couldn¡¯t help the murderous rage he felt for Charles when he thought about how


    thetter kissed Sonia.


    Toby pursed his lips, then barked icily, ¡°Go!¡±

 Chapter 105

    Chapter 105


    When Tom heard Toby¡¯smand, he did not dawdle and immediately started the car.


    The moment the car pulled away from the curb, his gaze flickered over to where Sonia and Charles were


    standing at the entrance of the building, and he sighed quietly.


    I wonder whatpelled President Fuller to divorce Miss Reed in order to be with Miss Gray. Now he¡¯s


    paying more attention to Miss Reed than ever, despite having separated. If he had known how unhappy


    he would be to see her getting close with another man, surely he would not have gotten a divorce in the


    first ce.


    Presently, Sonia and Charles did not notice the ck sedan that drove away from the scene. She


    nced down at his hand and asked, ¡°You said there was something on my head. What was it?¡±


    ¡°It was a piece of lint, but I¡¯ve thrown it away. It must havee off your shirt or something,¡± he


    answered dismissively, waving his hand.


    She did not doubt this and nodded. ¡°Okay, then. I¡¯m going in now. Be safe on the way home.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± he said.


    She turned to leave while he stood in the same spot, watching her retreating figure until it disappeared


    into the elevator. Still, he remained where he was and looked up at the window on one of the floors of the


    building. He smiled when it lit up, then lifted his foot to walk away, bracing through the pins and needles


    in his legs.


    The next day, Sonia showed up for work at Paradigm Co., and she was about to settle down in her office


    when Daphne brisk-walked into the office. Thetter was a bundle of nerves as she said, ¡°Something


    bad has happened, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia asked as she slipped the strap of her handbag off her shoulder.


    Daphne had no idea how to start her exnation and passed the tablet to Sonia instead. ¡°See for


    yourself.¡±.


    Sonia raised a brow as she took the tablet, then lowered her head to scan through the


    contents.


    There was a video of a riot pulled up on the tablet, and judging from the way the clip shook every now


    and then, it was clear to see that someone had recorded it on their phone. Nheless, the quality was


    clear enough.


    Sonia saw an olddy sitting on the ground alongside a middle-aged woman. The both of them were


    sobbing as they let out a torrent of abuse, which sounded harsh and unpleasant to the ears.


    Surrounding them were a bunch of construction workers who were pointing at them while discussing


    among themselves.


    The video was a short one, and it didn¡¯t take long for Sonia to get to the end of it. However, her face was


    grim as she asked, ¡°This is our site, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± Daphne confirmed.


    ¡°Why are they causing a scene at the site?¡± Sonia¡¯s brows furrowed as she pointed at the olddy and


    her middle-agedpanion.


    Daphne let out a quick sigh. ¡°The head of the construction team sent the clip over, and he said that the


    excavator on site flung lumps of dried dirt that ended up killing the olddy¡¯s and the woman¡¯s husband


    and son, respectively.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia faltered. ¡°Their husband and son were killed?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what the women are saying. They imed that their husband and son were walking by the


    construction site one night when they were hit byrge lumps of dried dirt; they died on the spot,¡±


    Daphne rified.


    Sonia was incredulous. ¡°The incident happened at night? But no one was working on the site at night, so


    there is no way that the excavator could have been operating then! Besides, the entire site was


    barricaded, and the excavator was operating in the center of thepound. How in the world could their


    husband and son get into the site in the first ce? Are they seriously saying that dried dirt could be


    flung over hundreds of meters?¡±


    This is obviously a false allegation!


    More to the point, the construction workers were dispatched by the government,


    which meant that any fatality on-site would be taken care of discreetly before the two women could even


    get the chance to riot.


    Daphne, too, was equally incredulous. ¡°And now the two women are causing trouble while insisting that


    wepensate for their losses.¡±


    ¡°How much are they asking for?¡± Sonia asked casually as she took a sip of her coffee. She was no


    longer worried now that she knew the incident was fake.


    Daphne raised her hand and stretched her five fingers, then said, ¡°Five million. They¡¯re saying that they


    would obstruct our construction work by causing a stir on the inte if we don¡¯tpensate them.¡±


    ¡°Five million. How bold of them to ask for such a ludicrous amount from the get-go.¡± Sonia scoffed coldly.


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, they aren¡¯t really asking for money; they want to get in the way of the


    construction.¡±


    It would be foolish for anyone to fork out five million to stifle people like them.


    ¡°No way.¡± Daphne¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Why would two women keep us from nt construction,


    anyway?¡±


    ¡°Because someone else is orchestrating this, and these two women are just puppets,¡± Sonia exined


    tly as she narrowed her eyes.


    Daphne¡¯s jaw dropped when she heard this. ¡°President Reed, are you saying that someone paid for


    these two women to cause a scene at the site?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an 80% chance that that is true, otherwise it would take a lot more than two women to gang up


    and defraud us of five million. Someone¡¯s backing them up and giving them instructions, and whoever it


    is knows that we won¡¯t fork out five million, nor could we afford to. The mastermind¡¯s intention is as clear


    as day,¡± Sonia borated icily.


    Her analysis of the situation took Daphne by surprise. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then whoever is orchestrating


    this is an odious person indeed! Did we rub anyone the wrong way?¡±


    Sonia pursed her red lips. ¡°Have you forgotten the person who has been eyeing mynd?¡±


    ¡°Titus! You¡¯re talking about President Gray, aren¡¯t you?¡± Daphne answered hurriedly.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It has to be him. He practically warned me that he woulde after that


    piece ofnd when he failed to buy it from me, not to mention his attempt at barring all the engineering


    teams in Seafield from working on our nt construction. Now that Titus knows the construction is


    underway, he¡¯ll do anything he can to stop it.¡±


    ¡°How shameless could he be?¡± Daphne hissed angrily


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s lips curled up in an ominous smirk. ¡°How shameless, indeed. But I have to admit


    that he¡¯s made a clever move this time. ording to thew, any fatality on-site would warrant the


    construction to halt for three months, but we¡¯d still have to go on paying the wages for all the workers as


    well as other necessary expenses.¡±


    ¡°Not to mention the penalty that we¡¯d have to pay if we don¡¯tplete the construction on time,¡± Daphne


    added.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Precisely. Once the projectes to an abrupt halt, we won¡¯t be able toplete the


    construction within the stipted time. The penalty and all the other payments would be enough to crush


    us. Titus is nning to kill two birds with one stone.¡±


    Even if Titus did not seed in stopping the construction works, he might very well bankrupt her


    company.


    He might even ruin her reputation in the process, considering somebody died on her construction site


    due to alleged negligence. It would be hard for her to make aeback from such an incident, and


    though this was a low blow on his part, she had to admit it was a ruthless and clever move on his part.


    ¡°So what should we do, President Reed?¡± Daphne asked worriedly.


    Regardless of the situation, Sonia was nonchnt as a bubble of mirth escaped her parted lips. ¡°Oh,


    there¡¯s nothing to worry about. We¡¯ll just let him wreak havoc however he wants.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Daphne was bewildered.


    Sonia did not answer but returned the question with a question instead. ¡°How¡¯s the


    government¡¯s museum project going?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯veid down the foundation for it.¡±


    A glimmer shed in Sonia¡¯s eyes as she perked up and said, ¡°Well then, you could try to get the word


    out to Titus and tell him that the museum construction is part of our nt project as well.¡±


    At that moment,prehension dawned upon Daphne, whose eyes lit up as she gave Sonia a thumbs-


    up. ¡°Talk about a brilliant strategy, President Reed!¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Remember-he can¡¯t find out that we¡¯re the ones who leaked the word.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Go back to your desk now. There¡¯s nothing more we can do about this. We¡¯ll just have to let someone


    else teach Titus a lesson.¡± With that, Sonia waved her hand to dismiss her secretary.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Daphne turned on her heels and left.


    Meanwhile, it wasn¡¯t long before Titus heard the news, and his face darkened as he brought his fist down


    on the desk. ¡°What? She¡¯s taken upon construction for two nts?¡±


    ¡°Yes, because it would be a waste to build just one nt on thatrge piece ofnd, so she decided to


    build two instead,¡± his assistant answered respectfully.


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    Titus grew thunderous at this, and his wizened features twisted into a menacing grimace.


    Thend was in a prime location with excellent topography, and itsmercial value was impressive. It


    would be a waste to use it for nts, regardless of how many Sonia nned on building.


    At the thought of how Sonia was going to sully the pricelessnd that was supposed to be his, Titus felt


    as if someone had stabbed him in the heart with a knife.


    ¡°President Gray, should we carry on with the false riot?¡± the assistant asked cautiously when he noticed


    the shift in the atmosphere.


    Titus was sullen as he snapped, ¡°What do you think? Get someone over and deface that nt of hers


    immediately!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The assistant nodded and immediately left to carry out thistest set of instructions.


    Just then, Toby and Tom walked into the office.


    ¡°Titus, did I just hear you say you want to deface Sonia¡¯s nt?¡± Toby frowned as he asked, but there


    was no telling if he was angry about this.


    Titus waved his assistant away before looking over at Toby. ¡°So, you heard everything?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± Toby shrugged slightly.


    Titus narrowed his eyes dangerously. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to be asking so you could stop my ns and


    help your ex-wife, do you?¡±

 Chapter 106

    Chapter 106


    ¡°No,¡± Toby answered curtly as he walked over to the couch and sat down.


    Sonia¡¯s nt construction was being taken care of by the engineering team dispatched by the


    government, who would undoubtedly be in charge of handling all mishaps on-site, so there was no need


    for Toby to intervene or help out at all.


    Having heard Toby¡¯s firm, unaffected answer, Titus perked up slightly and crossed the room to the couch


    as well. ¡°So why do you ask in the first ce?¡±.


    ¡°Have you forgotten all about Fox Eyes, Titus?¡± Toby looked up at the other man inquisitively.


    At that moment, hatred shed in Titus¡¯ eyes as he spat through gritted teeth, ¡°Of course I haven¡¯t, but it


    doesn¡¯t matter, because this time around, I¡¯ve been really discreet; I didn¡¯t even leave any digital


    footprints. There¡¯s no way he could trace anything back to me.¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee that he won¡¯t.¡± Toby reached for a cup and poured tea for himself, then said


    breezily, ¡°He could very well trace everything back to you if he wants to.¡±


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough now,¡± Titus said irritably. ¡°Are you here just so you could lecture me?¡±


    He had always thought of himself as the elder, not to mention Toby¡¯s future father inw. As such, he


    found himself constantly annoyed by thetter¡¯s casual mannerisms during their conversations. He would


    much rather Toby show his respect.


    That being said, he could not speak his mind on this, given Toby¡¯s stature and power far exceeded his


    own.


    Presently, upon seeing that Titus was getting irritated, Toby let the matter drop. He took a sip of his tea


    and put down the cup, then he exined, ¡°I¡¯m here to talk to you about the partnership. I¡¯ve gone


    through the proposal, but there are a couple of amendments that need to be made.¡±


    Tom had been standing behind Toby when he heard this, and he smoothly handed a document over to


    thetter.


    Toby flipped the document open and ced it on the coffee table, thereafter sliding it toward Titus as he


    said, ¡°I¡¯ve highlighted the parts that need amendment. You could take a look if you¡¯d like, Titus.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± Titus dered, taking the document. After scanning through the proposed amendments, he


    nodded and said somberly, ¡°I agree that these terms are much better than the previous ones I¡¯vee


    up with. Alright then, I¡¯ll have these amendments made and send you a final copy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡± Toby rose to his feet. ¡°I shall take my leave then, Titus.¡±


    With that, he turned around and left with Tom in his wake.


    Once the both of them had gotten in the car, Tom nced briefly into the rearview mirror and asked


    warily, ¡°President Fuller, don¡¯t you think President Gray is a little presumptuous to think that he has gone


    off the grid just because he left no digital footprints?¡±


    Toby pinched his nose bridge tiredly as he answered, ¡°He¡¯s growing impatient after his recent ns were


    foiled by Sonia and Fox Eyes. He¡¯s desperate to teach Sonia a lesson, so naturally, we shouldn¡¯t expect


    him to make any carefully-calcted moves.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Tom agreed with a nod of his head. Then, a sudden thought crossed his mind, and he


    asked, ¡°By the way, President Fuller, why didn¡¯t you mention that Miss


    Reed¡¯s nt project will be handled by the government¡¯s engineering team? If President Gray insists on


    wrecking the site, then he¡¯ll be arrested once they find out he orchestrated it.¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze, thereby concealing the dark gleam in his eyes as he answered easily. ¡°I didn¡¯t


    think there was a need for me to do that. Titus has always wanted to go head-to-head with Sonia, and he


    often knows no boundaries. It would do him some good to calm down after this incident teaches him a


    harsh lesson.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Tom cast Toby a sideways nce, clearly skeptical of his exnation.


    When he heard the implication in his assistant¡¯s tone, Toby demanded sullenly, ¡°Why? Do you think I¡¯m


    up to something else?¡±


    I thought you were trying to help Miss Reed get back at President Gray, Tom thought. However, he dared


    not try to be sassy, and instead schooled his features into a


    solemn expression as he quipped, ¡°No, of course not.¡±


    Toby scoffed coldly and decided to let him get away with it.


    When it was 2.00PM, Sonia managed to hear about the news about the museum site being wrecked by


    a bunch of thugs who had vandalized and destroyed the newlyid


    foundation.


    ording to the thug leader, the site on which the museum was being built was their territory. They


    extorted protection rackets from the construction managers, threatening to wreck the site if they did not


    get the money.


    Shortly after, the thugs were arrested.


    ¡°Good riddance!¡± Daphne was mighty pleased as she went on to say, ¡°Did they honestly think that they


    could get away with wrecking the museum¡¯s building site?¡±


    While the engineering team in charge of the museum project was also carrying out Sonia¡¯s nt


    construction, the employers for the respective projects were different. They could not have the two


    women who had caused a ruckus at the nt site arrested without Sonia¡¯s orders, but the same could


    not be said for the fiasco at the museum site earlier; the thugs were arrested without hassle.


    ¡°So, what happened to the thugs?¡± Sonia asked now with a smirk ying on her lips.


    Daphne quickly regainedposure as she answered, ¡°They¡¯re being kept at the detention center. The


    higher-ups are very concerned about this incident and will hold a thorough interrogation. There¡¯s no


    telling if that bunch of thugs could take it.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Have someone keep an eye on the perimeters of the detention center, and let me know if


    anything interesting happens.¡± Sonia instructed coolly as she nodded.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Daphne turned to leave.


    Meanwhile, at the detention center, the thugs were all scared witless.


    They knew that they might very well end up in this ce, but they certainly had not expected to be


    interrogated by SWAT officers instead of the usual policemen.


    All the color drained from the thugs¡¯ faces when they saw the weapons the SWAT officers were carrying


    as well as the stun baton strapped to their waists.


    They were mere thugs, and they had never once encountered such intimidating forces. With the living


    daylights scared out of them, they dared not lie throughout the interrogation and told the whole truth,


    iming that someone had sent them to vandalize the site.


    Following this, the SWAT officers carried out their investigation based on the information they elicited,


    and it didn¡¯t take long before they traced everything back to Titus


    Consequently, Titus was taken away by a couple of police officers during apany meeting


    Sheer disbelief was written all over his face as he was taken into custody, and there was a look of


    bewilderment in his eyes. Try as he might, he could not fathom how he had exposed himself as the


    mastermind,


    Soon, the news of Titus¡¯ arrest began to circte around the inte.


    Theizens were in an uproar as they tried to guess what the chairman of Triforce Enterprise could


    have done to be arrested.


    Almost in an instant, the stocks for Triforce Enterprise plummeted on the market, stirring panic among


    the shareholders.


    Daphne and Sonia were at Paradigm Co. when they saw the mor that was beginning to fan out over


    cyberspace, and they were in better spirits afterward.


    Charles, on the other hand, opened a bottle of red wine to celebrate the asion. ¡°The old fogeys at


    Triforce Enterprise ought to start questioning Titus¡¯ managing capabilities now that he¡¯s been taken into


    police custody.¡±


    Sonia swirled her wine as she mused, ¡°If only I had enough cash to buy the residual shares for Triforce


    Enterprise. After all, it was a shame not to acquire these shares during thepany¡¯s stock market


    crisis.


    Charles grinned as he leaned closer to her. ¡°I could get them for you as a gift.¡±


    ¡°Forget it¡± She shrugged nonchntly. ¡°I won¡¯t have much use for them even if I were to buy them now.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡± He was somewhat dejected as he returned to his seat. ¡°By the way, we


    would have had a much harder time getting back at Titus if that inte buddy of yours didn¡¯t work


    together with the government.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that reminds me,¡± she eximed mildly, then took out her phone.


    Realizing that she did not intend to borate on her sentence, Charles asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I need to thank him,¡± Sonia exined briefly with a smile. She found the name Z-H and clicked into the


    conversation, then typed out, ¡°Thank you!


    Toby was in the middle of a meeting when his phone beeped next to him with a new message.


    While the volume had been turned down, the sound of the notification still rang loud and clear in the


    stifling silence of the conference room. Everyone at the table turned to nce at Toby curiously.


    There was a glimmer in his eyes as he said coolly, ¡°Go on with the report.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± everyone responded in unison, then lowered their heads to get back to the work at hand.


    It was only then that Toby took his phone to click on the message. When he saw Sonia¡¯s message of


    thanks, he immediately understood what she was thanking him for, but he pretended otherwise as he


    replied, ¡®What are you thanking me for?¡¯


    Within seconds, Sonia replied, ¡®Thank you for the idea you gave me the other day. I wouldn¡¯t have been


    able to take down Titus without it!


    Z-H wasted no time in typing, ¡®Oh, is that all? You don¡¯t have to thank me for it, seeing as you¡¯ve already


    thanked mest time?


    Soniaughed lightly as she texted, ¡®Nevertheless, thank you. When are you returning to the country?¡¯


    Returning to the country? Toby frowned slightly. He wasn¡¯t sure why she was under the impression that


    he was abroad, but he did not deny this, but instead opted to go along with it as he answered, ¡°There¡¯s


    no definite n yet.¡¯


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help the surge of disappointment when she read this. ¡®Very well, then.


    Let me know when you¡¯re back so I can buy you a meal. I ought to properly thank you for all the help you


    gave this time..


    The corner of Toby¡¯s lips curled up. ¡®Okay.

 Chapter 107

    Chapter 107


    After that, Sonia stopped texting and ced her phone on herp.


    Charles sounded a little jealous as he smirked at her. ¡°Well, that took quite some time.¡±


    She could sense the acrimony in his voice, to which she responded by rolling her eyes. ¡°Alright now.


    Aren¡¯t you going back to your office? Why are you still hanging around?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you woman! The only thing you like to do is to drive me away!¡± He stood up and left a puzzling


    remark.


    She was both amused and speechless at his reply but did not pay any more attention to him. Instead,


    she turned around and picked up a file to read.


    At the Gray Residence, Julia was stunned and helpless after learning of her husband¡¯s arrest. At that


    moment, she could do nothing but cry.


    Slumped on the sofa, she had a box of tissues on her knees. In front of her, the coffee table was already


    littered with a heap of crumpled tissues.


    ¡°Tina, what can we do?¡± With swollen eyes, she looked at her daughter, who was seated across from


    her.


    Tina did not cry, but she bit hard on her lower lip tensely. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Let me make a call to the


    guys in thepany. I¡¯ll ask if they have any way to bail Dad out.¡±


    ¡°Quick, go make the call.¡±


    Julia urged her to do so. As a full-time stay-at-home-mom, she had been livingfortably on Titus¡¯s


    generous provision. Now that he was arrested, she felt as though her world had copsed.


    Tina pulled out her phone and made a call to a shareholder who was quite close to their family. Soon, the


    call was picked up, but a few minutester, she put the phone down with a sour expression.


    Seeing that, Julia had a bad premonition about their attempt, but she still asked her daughter with hope,


    ¡°How was it?¡±


    Tina shook her head helplessly. ¡°Mr. Renault told me that Dad had destroyed a museum that was built by


    the authorities. Since there is solid evidence of the crime, he can¡¯t post bail.¡±


    The truth came as a shock to Julia, whose face paled immediately. She felt the world spinning around


    her. cing a hand on her chest, she sobbed even louder and wailed, ¡°Why did this happen? Why would


    your dad want to destroy the museum?¡±


    Tina kept quiet and lowered her head to hide the contorted expression on her face.


    She was confused by the situation. Titus had asked that Sonia¡¯s factory be destroyed, but how would he


    end up destroying a national museum instead?


    What exactly went wrong?


    *Tina, you should look for Toby.¡± An idea popped up in Julia¡¯s head, and she desperately clutched her


    daughter¡¯s hand. ¡°Look for Toby?¡± Tina looked at her.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Since your dad can¡¯t post bail, the only way to release him is to ask the authorities for help.


    Isn¡¯t Toby a good friend of Zane Coleman? Have him talk to Zane and get your dad released,¡± Julia


    nodded and exined.


    Tina¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement, and she stood up. ¡°I will find Toby now.¡±


    No matter what, she was determined to save her dad. If not, once Titus was kept under arrest for a long


    time, his position as the chairman would definitely be removed through the joint decision of the Board of


    Directors. Even if he had the majority shares in his hands, he would lose control and influence over


    Triforce Enterprise.


    By then, her status in the socialite circle would plummet.


    A handbag in her hand, she left the Gray Residence for the Fuller Residence.


    When Toby returned from work, he found Tina chatting with Jean at home.


    ¡°Toby!¡± When Tina saw him, she stood up with a wide smile. ¡°You¡¯re home.¡±


    Jean smiled too. ¡°And I was wondering why Tina suddenly went silent. It turns out that she was focused


    on you! Okay then. An olddy like me shall excuse myself.¡±


    ¡°Madam White!¡± Tina promptly blushed in embarrassment. Jean covered her mouth and chuckled as she


    left.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Toby ced his briefcase down and stared at her. She walked up to him and took


    his arm affectionately. ¡°Why? Can¡¯t I pay a visit?¡±


    ¡°No. I mean, if you want to pay a visit, you can tell me ahead of time so that I can pick you up.¡± He led


    her to the sofa, and both took a seat.


    She poured a ss of water for him. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I can drive here. You don¡¯t have to pick me up.¡±


    He grunted, and his eyes gleamed. ¡°Did something happen to make you pay a sudden visit?¡±


    She hesitated for a while before asking, ¡°Toby, have you heard about my dad¡¯s arrest?¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I know.¡± He took a sip of water. ¡°So, are you meeting me to discuss that matter?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tina nodded. ¡°Toby, could you please help my dad out? He did not intentionally destroy the


    museum.¡±


    Titus did not intentionally destroy the museum?


    His eyes flickered with a hint of mockery that disappeared within seconds. Shaking his head gently, he


    confessed sincerely, ¡°I can¡¯t help him this time. In fact, I have asked around about your dad. From what I


    know, there is solid criminal evidence, and the government forbids him from posting bail.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m not asking you to bail him out. I just wanted you to put in a word with Mr. Coleman. I believe


    that if the Coleman Family interferes, Dad could definitely be ¡® released.¡± She stared at him with misty


    eyes that shined with hope.


    He frowned at her. ¡°Indeed, the Colemans could help to save him, but they won¡¯t do so. Once they offer


    help to a suspect, their enemies would grab the opportunity to ruin them. Do you understand, Tina?¡±


    On top of that, it was the time of the year when Seafield underwent its change of city leadership, which


    the Colemans were eyeing. Therefore, they would never allow themselves to take the wrong step at such


    a critical moment.


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Tina¡¯s eyes welled up with tears. ¡°You have not even talked to them! How would you know that


    they won¡¯t help?¡±


    His frown deepened. ¡°Tina, do you think that I¡¯m lying to you?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± Her eyes wavered in guilt as her voice was soft. Still, Toby immediately picked up her


    white lie. He pursed his lips and felt a wave of fatigue washing over him. ¡°Anyway, keep out of this


    matter. Titus¡ª¡±


    ¡°How can I keep out of this matter?¡± Clenching her fists, she cut him off. ¡°He¡¯s my dad! I can¡¯t just watch


    on as he gets sent to prison. If you don¡¯t want to help me, I will think of a way myself!¡±


    With that, she ran out of the residence crying. Toby wanted to call out to her, but for some unknown


    reason, he could not open his mouth.


    On the second floor, Tyler leaned against the balcony railing and watched as the drama unfolded


    beneath him. ¡°Toby, aren¡¯t you going to run after her?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s good to give her some space to calm down.¡± Toby rubbed his swollen and throbbing temples.


    Tyler smirked and added, ¡°Ah, well, Tina is really something. You did not say that you wouldn¡¯t help her,


    but she took it as a rejection. You must be thinking of another way to save Mr. Gray, but she doesn¡¯t get


    it. Not only that, she gets angry at you. How unreasonable!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. You should talk less,¡± Toby reprimanded his sibling impatiently.


    Tyler scoffed and continued, ¡°I am going to say it anyway. Look, I can tell what¡¯s going on perfectly fine.


    After you turned down her request to meet with Zane, she started ming you secretly. Now, I can finally


    see the whole picture. Tina is not as nice as she tried to portray herself as-she¡¯s incredibly petty!¡±


    To that, Toby merely lowered his gaze without a word. When Tyler observed Toby¡¯sck of rebuttal, he


    stared at his brother agape. ¡°No way, Toby! Do you also agree that she¡¯s petty?¡±


    This time, Toby shot him a cold look. Instead of feeling fear, Tyler ran downstairs in excitement. ¡°Toby,


    since when did you know that Tina is petty? Since you know about it, why would you still love her? What


    is it that you see in her?¡±


    What is it that I see in Tina?


    Toby¡¯s eyes gleamed with doubt and suspicion. When he thought about it, he could not recall the


    qualities that made him fall for Tina. He was in love with the girl that he exchanged letters with, an


    angelic being who was kind, lovely, and as vibrant as the sun. She radiated a warm energy that could


    cheer up everyone around her.


    To his disappointment, he rarely observed any of those qualities on Tina, causing him to doubt himself a


    couple of times. Is Tina really the girl I exchanged letters with? But who else could she have been if she


    was not Tina?


    ¡°Toby, what are you thinking?¡± Tyler sensed that he was distracted and waved a hand in front of him.


    He pursed his lips. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ll go upstairs for now.¡±


    ¡°Toby, you haven¡¯t answered my question!¡± Tyler trotted behind him closely.


    Toby couldn¡¯t care less about his gossipy brother and closed the door in Tyler¡¯s face.

 Chapter 108

    Chapter 108


    Tyler almost mmed his face into Toby¡¯s closed door, but thankfully, he stopped in time. After that, he


    sighed and left with a disappointed look.


    The next day, when Sonia and Charles were pouring over the files in her office, Daphne rushed in


    worriedly and eximed, ¡°President Reed, this is bad! Titus Gray is released!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s face fell at the unbelievable news. ¡°He¡¯s released?¡±


    ¡°When was that?¡± Charles questioned.


    Daphne¡¯s eyes quickly swept past him, after which she replied in a respectful tone, (This novel will be


    daily updtaed at .noveljar)¡°It happened this morning. He even posted a status update on the


    official website of Triforce Enterprise, announcing that he was not arrested for breaking thew; he was


    only at the police department to cooperate with an investigation. Now, the stock price of Triforce


    Enterprise has also stabilized.¡±


    ¡°How could that happen?¡± The frown entrenched on Charles¡¯s forehead was so deep that it could


    instantly crush a passing mosquito.


    Sonia bit her lip and mused. ¡°Something must have happened behind this. It¡¯s impossible for Titus Gray


    to be released!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send some men to look into this.¡± As Charles spoke, he took his phone and went to the balcony to


    make calls. Left alone in the office, Sonia cast her nce on the floor with a troubled expression on her


    face. She waspletely in a bad mood.


    At first, she believed that Titus Gray could never escape prison time. With him gone, she could easily


    bring down Triforce Enterprise. After all, a Triforce Enterprise without its shrewd leader at helm was


    nothing more than a defanged tiger, powerless and defenseless. Therefore, she was aghast to learn that


    Titus Gray was released in no time, which had messed up her ns.


    At the thought of it, she rubbed her temples in aggrievement. Right then, someone knocked on the office


    door, so she drew her hand and announced, ¡°Come in.¡±


    The visitor entered, and it turned out to be the secretary of Asher Dafoe of Paradigm


    Co.


    Why is his secretary here?


    ¡°Is there anything?¡± she calmly asked with her eyes fixed on him. He smiled at her and replied, ¡°Vice


    President Reed, President Dafoe has invited you to join a meeting at the meeting room.¡±


    Her pupils shrank after she heard the news. Asher Dafoe is back! When did that happen?


    She immediately looked over at Daphne, who had been standing quietly at the side, but thetter shook


    her head in shock, indicating that she had no idea about President Dafoe¡¯s return as well.


    Sonia tightened her lips with a heavy heart, but she maintained a faint smile on her face. ¡°Got it. Tell


    President Dafoe that I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± the secretary answered and left her office.


    At that time, Charles happened to reenter the room and immediately sensed the change in the


    atmosphere. Seeing the look on Sonia¡¯s face, he could not help but ask Daphne, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my


    baby?¡±


    Although Daphne was used to hearing him calling Sonia his ¡®baby¡¯, she still felt a little bitter every time


    she heard the affectionate nickname. Looking down at her feet, she carefully hid the sorrow in her eyes


    and tried her best to sound natural. ¡°President Dafoe is back.¡±


    ¡°What? When did hee back? Why did we hear nothing before this?¡± He narrowed his eyes doubtfully


    while Sonia pursed her lips tighter. ¡°Looks like he purposely hid the news of his return from us because


    he was worried that we¡¯d stop


    him.¡±


    In the whole of Paradigm Co., the person who disliked her the most must be Asher Dafoe. He was one of


    the earliest followers of her dad. After the death of her dad, thepany fell right into Asher¡¯s hands.


    Last month, had it not been Asher¡¯s business trip, she could not have even received the right to manage


    Paradigm Co. despite being the biggest shareholder. Perhaps he was worried that she would stop him


    from returning because she wanted to manage thepany, which was why he chose to return without


    a sound.


    ¡°Is he delusional?¡± Charles rolled his eyes.


    Sonia let out a suppressed sigh and stood up. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get to the meeting room for now.¡±


    Without a word, he nodded and followed her to the venue. However, just when they were about to reach


    the meeting room, she received a sudden call from Toby.


    She was initially taken aback by the unexpected caller, but she soon rejected the call, for she had no


    intention of talking to him at all. Before this, she had made it clear that she did not want to get involved


    with him in any way. Therefore, she had no good reason to take his call.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Charles questioned.


    Her eyes flickered for a bit, but she hurriedly shook her head. She was about to tell him that it was a


    stranger, but her phone chimed uncooperatively at that moment.


    It was a text from Toby. ¡°Grandma is sick. She wants to see you?


    After reading his text, her eyes were filled with a look of concern. She immediately abandoned her n


    to draw a line between herself and Toby and called him back. ¡°What sickness is it?¡±


    Toby could tell the worry in her voice and gave her a stern reply, ¡°Last night, she fell down when she was


    using the toilet.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Her voice was instantly raised by a few octaves as her heart leaped into her throat. Clutching


    tightly onto her phone, she inquired anxiously, ¡°How¡¯s Grandma¡¯s injury? Is it serious?¡±


    Even a young person could get seriously injured from falling down in the bathroom, not to mention the


    impact on the elderly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She¡¯s pretty lucky to only suffer from a fractured leg. Other than that,¡¯ she¡¯s fine,(This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)¡± Toby replied while pinching the bridge of his nose.


    Sonia let out a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Is she in the hospital now?¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby gave a light nod and grunted.


    ¡°Got it. I will visit her in the afternoon,¡± she promised,


    ¡°I will pick you up.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Her face was expressionless when she rejected him with a cold voice. ¡°Just share the


    location with me.¡±


    Without giving him a chance to speak, she immediately hung up.


    Staring at his home screen, he pursed his lips with an amused look. In the past, he was always the one


    to hang up on her. After the divorce, the tables had turned.


    This is how terrible it feels to be coldly hung up on.


    ¡°Was that a call from Toby?¡± Charles stole a nce at her phone, sounding obviously jealous.


    She was puzzled by his reaction but nodded truthfully. ¡°Grandma fell down and injured herself. I will visit


    her at the hospital in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s Toby¡¯s Grandma, and you have divorced him. Why would you visit her?¡± he sneered


    She tucked her phone away and exined, ¡°Don¡¯t put it that way. Grandma has always been good to


    me. Now that she¡¯s hospitalized, how can I not visit? Alright, let¡¯s go. We¡¯d better not keep President


    Dafoe waiting.¡±


    Charles merely shrugged at her proper response.


    The two pushed the door open to find that the meeting room was packed with people. Countless pairs of


    eyes were staring at theters, and they were all the shareholders or senior management of


    Paradigm Co.


    After scanning the room, she turned her attention to the most important seat at the end of the long table.


    Before today, she had always been sitting there. Right now, the seat was upied by someone else-


    Asher Dafoe, the current president of Paradigm Co.


    ¡°President Dafoe, wee back,¡± she squeezed a smile and greeted him.


    The man fiddled with the fountain pen between his fingers. ¡°Ah, I thought you purposely arrivedte


    because you were unhappy about my return.¡±


    Even though her eyes darkened, she still held the smile on her face. ¡°Why would I be? I was slightly


    dyed by some matters. President Dafoe, you¡¯re an understanding man, I hope you won¡¯t hold this


    minor issue against me.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes and started to scrutinize her cautiously.


    At first, he had wanted to teach her a lesson by giving her a hard time for her tardiness. By doing so, he


    wanted to hint that he was the one with de facto power in thepany, even though she was thergest


    shareholder.


    To his surprise, the quick-witted youngdy responded with a brightment, reminding him of the


    unimportance of this insignificant issue. If he were to press on, he would be painted as a petty man who


    liked to bully others. That¡¯s some fast reflex. Looks like I have underestimated her.


    Smiling robotically, he cooed, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m not the petty type. Why would I get angry over an


    understandable matter?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, President Dafoe.¡± She still had a smile on her face when she replied.


    Charles gave her a thumbs-up underneath the table and whispered, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡°Baby, you¡¯re awesome.¡±


    ¡°Stop joking around.¡± She reacted to thepliment by rolling her eyes at him.


    The subtle interactions between the two were all observed by the sharp-eyed Asher, whose wrinkled face


    showed a somber look. ¡°Okay. Since everyone¡¯s here, the meeting shallmence.¡±

 Chapter 109

    Chapter 109


    The attendees immediately straightened their postures and paid attention to Asher, who started to share


    stories from his business trips abroad.


    When he was done speaking, he instantly shifted the topic to Sonia. ¡°I heard about the problems that


    surfaced during my absence in thepany. Sonia has managed everything well on my behalf. Good


    job!¡±


    On his behalf? She winced at his description but soon broke into a smile. ¡°President Dafoe, please drop


    the formalities. After all, I am thergest shareholder in thispany and as the vice president, I have


    the responsibility to manage thepany. ¨C All the blood, sweat and tears are part and parcel of the


    job.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Asher¡¯s lips twitched as he simmered in anger. This youngdy is a tough nut to crack


    indeed.


    He refused to believe that she was oblivious to the subtext of his words¡ªthat he was back to reim his


    power to manage thepany.


    ¡°Oh, is that so? Sonia, you are quite the sensible and mature youngdy! Anyway, now that I¡¯m back,


    you can take a back seat and rx.¡± Asher stared at Sonia with a fake smile.


    A smiling Sonia looked straight into his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s fine! I am still young and I have no problem taking


    on some challenges. President Dafoe, you have nothing to worry about.¡±


    Asher¡¯s expression immediately fell after he heard her courageous reply.


    At the same time, members of the senior management and other shareholders lowered their heads and


    held their tongues, for they were surprised at Sonia¡¯s guts to publicly wrestle with Asher Dafoe for power.


    Should we describe her as courageous or hopelessly naive?


    Even Charles was stunned by her bold move.


    Although he personally thought that she had recklessly started a power struggle at the wrong time, he


    chose to stand by her side regardless of whether she made the right decision out of his love for her.


    ¡°Baby, all the best!¡± He punched the air with his two fists to cheer her on. After being stupefied by his


    actions, Sonia fired back at him, ¡°Oh, shut up.¡±


    Charles giggled and promptly fell silent.


    When Asher saw Sonia flirting in the middle of the tense situation, his eyes widened in anger at her


    insolence. ¡°Youngdy, are you being serious right now?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Of course I am! As thergest shareholder and the vice president of thepany, it would


    be bad not to have any decision-making powers. That is why I request to share the leadership with you!¡±


    Deep down in her heart, she knew very well that she could not win against Asher. After all, he had been


    managing thepany for years and the majority of the senior management as well as the shareholders


    were on his side.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Still, Sonia could not bring herself to surrender her power to Asher. Therefore, she came to the secret


    decision that even if she could not safeguard all her power, she had to at least keep half of it.


    The intensity of Asher¡¯s anger gradually transformed into hrity and bewilderment as he cackled, ¡°Wow,


    the younger generation nowadays is truly ambitious. Why have I not seen that side of you before?¡±


    Sonia flicked her hair before she answered calmly, ¡°That¡¯s because I was living under my dad¡¯s


    protection. Now that he¡¯s no longer around, I have to stand up and carry the weight on my own. If he


    were alive, he would have been ted for me. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    He tightened his fists and hid the malice in his eyes as he replied through gritted teeth, ¡°You are


    right.¡± This youngdy is really something! She brings up Henry to attack me and remind me that I was


    one of Henry¡¯s mentees, which means I would be an ingrate to mistreat his daughter!


    Too bad Henry was unable to retort, for if he did, Asher would be seen as an ingrate and public opinion


    would swiftly turn against him.


    Plus, it was the cold, hard truth that Asher did not hold as many shares as Sonia. If the share prices were


    affected by public opinion, the shareholders would definitely pin the me on him. He could almost


    foresee the domino effect¡ªthe bunch of them would call for a shareholders¡¯ meeting to reelect the


    company¡¯s president,


    which would send his years of management down the drain.


    At the thought of it, his chest rose violently, but he restrained his explosive rage and stared at her.


    ¡°Sonia, you are indeed Henry¡¯s daughter! Sure, I can share the leadership with you, but.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s gaze wavered at the abrupt turn in his sentence. ¡°Please continue, President Dafoe.¡±


    She knew it. He would not share the power without putting up a fight. Of course he would set a trap for


    her to fall into.


    Asher picked up a document beside him. ¡°This is a proposal for a partnership on an alternative energy


    technology. It took me a lot of effort to gain a seat at the meeting for this proposal. The partner who


    conceived the idea ns to have five partners onboard. As long as you can secure a seat in this


    partnership for Paradigm Co., I will share the leadership with you.¡±


    After a pause, he introduced the grim consequences of failure, ¡°If you can¡¯t secure a ce, you have to


    surrender your leadership and leave Paradigm Co. as just another shareholder. Of course, if you fail in


    your mission but insist on taking the leadership from me, please do not me me for taking things to the


    extreme and ruining thepany. Sonia, what do you think?¡±.


    ¡°You¡¯re threatening her!¡± Charles pointed an usatory finger at Asher, but Sonia pressed Charles¡¯ hand


    down and looked at the old fox. ¡°Okay, I agree to the conditions.¡±


    ¡°Sonia¡ª¡±


    Sonia looked at Charles with a serious expression. ¡°Charles, you should know what Paradigm Co.


    means to me. Even if this is a trap, I will have to jump into it. Do you understand?¡±


    He opened his mouth but could not utter a word. She beamed in satisfaction and reached out to Asher.


    ¡°Give me the document then.¡±


    Asher obliged with a conniving smile. ¡°Two in the afternoon-that¡¯s the time of the meeting. Sonia, don¡¯t


    runte like you did just now!¡±


    He did not believe that she could sessfully secure the partnership, for the leading


    partner had dered that they would only work with the most capablepanies. He knew that


    Paradigm Co. was underqualified to be a business partner; therefore, he was coolly waiting for her


    defeat.


    The meeting ended just like that. Charles answered a call and left the room while Sonia returned to her


    office with the proposal. She took a seat and immediately started to peruse the document.


    Her work continued until 1:00PM, when she finally ced aside the proposal that she had reviewed


    countless times. Then, she drove to the venue of the meeting Universal Hotel


    She arrived at the hotel at 1:50PM, which was ten minutes from the meeting time. She parked her car


    and rushed into the hotel in her high heels. The closing doors of an elevator caught her eyes and she


    hurriedly called out, ¡°Wait for me! I need to enter too.¡±


    That¡¯s a familiar voice... Toby narrowed his eyes and ced a hand between the closing elevator doors.


    When the elevator sensed the obstruction, it came to a quiet stop before it slid open again.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia¡¯s eyes sparkled with hope, for she knew that the person in the elevator was


    waiting for her. She quickened her steps.


    Finally, she rushed into the elevator. While her hands were on her knees, she bent over and panted


    heavily, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Toby lowered his eyes to look at her and his gaze identally fell on her slightly opened cor.


    He could clearly see Sonia¡¯s pale skin that trembled from her huffing and puffing through the low-cut


    cor. It was a dangerously seductive sight to him.


    His eyes darkened as he replied in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡±


    Sonia was in the midst of wiping away her sweat when she came to a sudden halt. Since she thought


    that she must have misheard his words, she straightened her posture and looked up at the man.


    When she realized that he was indeed Toby, she ced a hand over her eyes in defeat. God, are you


    messing with me? How could I run into him on a random elevator of all ces?


    She pursed her rosy lips and took two steps to the side with an icy expression to keep a distance


    between them.


    He observed the huge space between them, which could amodate another three more people, and


    his expression darkened. Am I the gue? Why is she avoiding me?


    Toby looked at his feet, battling the frustrated feelings in his heart.


    Soon, the elevator arrived on her floor. As she was eager to get out of the space she had awkwardly


    shared with him, she impatiently stepped out.


    After taking a few steps out, she heard the sound of footsteps closely following behind her.


    ¡°Wait, that can¡¯t be it.¡± Sonia¡¯s lips twitched in surprise and she slightly turned her face sideways to steal


    a nce from the corner of her eyes. When she confirmed that Toby was indeed walking behind her, she


    could not help bute up with a bold guess. Could he be headed toward the same destination as me?


    Her wild guess gradually turned into silent confirmation as they inched closer to the room.


    When she finally stood outside the room and turned around to look at Toby, she could tell from the shock


    in his eyes as she confirmed that he was here for the same meeting as well.


    With that being said, it did note as a surprise for her because the Fuller Group was a heavyweight in


    Seafield. Since Toby was the head of the Fuller Group, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for him to be absent from


    the discussion of a lucrative business proposal.

 Chapter 110

    Chapter 110


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going in?¡± By now, Toby was also aware that Sonia was here for the meeting, even though he


    had no idea how she managed to secure a ce in the meeting


    She bit her lower lip in hesitation and answered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you head in first? I don¡¯t want to enter at the


    same time as you.¡±


    At that moment, she could tell that the room was bustling with activity from the muffled sounds.


    If she entered the room with him, the attendees might gossip about them due to the awkward nature of


    their rtionship.


    Toby sensed her concern and lowered his gaze. ¡°There are three minutes left. If you¡¯rete, you will lose


    the right to join.¡±


    After that, he pushed the door open and entered the room, leaving her standing alone and gawking at


    him.


    Was that a kind reminder?


    Sonia regardlessly took his words in all seriousness and turned to her wristwatch. A minuteter, she


    took a deep breath and stepped into the room.


    Her appearance had caused widespread shock and exmation.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this President Fuller¡¯s ex-wife?¡±


    ¡°She is also the vice president of Paradigm Co.¡±


    ¡°Paradigm Co.? How were they invited to this meeting if they¡¯re on the brink of bankruptcy?¡±Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Everyone started whispering and murmuring except for Toby and Titus.


    Toby slightly hung his head as though he was sorting the materials in his hands, but he was secretly


    stealing side nces at Sonia.


    She was not nervous at all in the face of such animosity and that observation made


    him smile. A fleeting look of admiration shed across his eyes.


    On the other hand, Titus scrunched his eyes and stared maliciously at her, as if he wanted to tear her


    apart in the next second.


    Upon sensing the hostility, Sonia did not back down. Instead, she smiled at him gracefully. ¡°President


    Gray! It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    Titus was suddenly caught by surprise, for he saw his mother in Sonia¡¯s demeanor, especially the


    provocative smile on Sonia¡¯s face that resembled his mother when his mother was younger.


    Sonia evidently had no idea why he was staring at her intently. As she had no interest to guess, she


    looked away and directed her attention to Toby.


    Since he was sitting at the head of the table, she assumed that he could have been the one to organize


    the meeting.


    Upon realizing that, her heart sank to the pit of her stomach.


    To start with, she was already losing confidence in her ability to clinch the partnership because Paradigm


    Co.¡¯spetitive advantage wasckluster. Still, she harbored a sliver of hope.


    However, now that she had learned that the initiator of the partnership was her ex husband who had no


    feelings¡ªbut probably some hatred¡ªfor her, the situation had changed. He would definitely not choose


    to partner with her, which meant that she was at a loss.


    Sonia hung her head low and she appeared downcast due to the thoughts in her head.


    Upon seeing that, Toby frowned slightly and wondered, What¡¯s the matter?


    ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s time.¡± At the same time, Tom reminded his boss to start the meeting


    Toby instantly shifted his gaze from Sonia and ced the materials for the meeting on the table. Next, he


    scanned the faces in the room and asked, ¡°Has everyone here read the proposal?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone nodded.


    Toby opened his mouth again. ¡°The alternative energy technology mentioned is thetest research of our


    research department. It can be utilized across many industries to greatly increase productivity. Most


    importantly, it is eco-friendly.¡±


    After shifting in his seat, he added, ¡°The government has been notified of the sess of this new


    technology. Due to the concerns about monopoly, Fuller Group was prohibited fromunching it, which is


    why I have gathered everyone here to select five suitable partners who would implement this technology


    alongside Fuller Group.¡±


    Upon hearing his exnation, Sonia mumbled, ¡°Oh, that is the reason.¡±


    When she first received the proposal from Asher, she was puzzled by the concept; if the organizer had


    such cutting edge technology, why didn¡¯t they keep it to themselves? It¡¯s all about issues of trust.


    Indeed, if Fuller Group had monopolized industries with their advanced technology, that could upset the


    bnce of the domestic economy, which warranted the government¡¯s interference.


    ¡°President Fuller, we totally understand what you mean. However, I have a question.¡±


    Titus abruptly raised a hand.


    Toby looked at him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Titus¡¯s eyesnded on Sonia and she immediately understood that he was about to attack her again.


    As expected, he pointed at her. ¡°When you first invited us to the meeting, you clearly said that you were


    going to invite the top twentypanies in Seafield, from which you will select five partners for this


    project. This begs the question: Why is a representative of Paradigm Co. present today?¡±


    The rest of the attendees were now looking at her with amused and pensive looks.


    Now that Sonia was ced on the spot, she tightened her fists as her expression fell.


    It was that moment she realized that Toby had only invited the top twentypanies in the city to the


    meeting. How did Asher manage to secure a seat for us in this meeting?


    Sonia was trembling in anger from being kept in the dark.


    Upon seeing that, Toby felt a little sorry for her even though it was not obvious in his emotions. ¡°It¡¯s


    because of the additional seats. I had Tom help me to set it up. Some of the small and medium


    enterprises couldnd a seat through a lucky draw. I see this as giving them a chance.¡±


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard about the allocation of the additional seats? And what a coincidence! That seat was


    taken by Paradigm Co.! Toby, did you purposely give it to her?¡± Titus observed Toby¡¯s face in doubt and


    suspicion.


    Toby¡¯s face soured after being used. ¡°President Gray, if you don¡¯t believe me, you can look into the


    matter on your own. Alright, let¡¯s continue with the meeting.¡±


    Titus could tell that Toby was unhappy, so he snorted and let the matter rest.


    Although he was Toby¡¯s future father-inw, he understood that Toby and Tina were not married yet. It


    would be wise not to offend Toby for the time being.


    ¡°President Gray, I have given you a clear exnation earlier,¡± Toby added. ¡°I will only pick the most


    suitablepanies to work with. As for the metrics, I prefer to judge your capabilities ording to the


    partnership n that you draft.¡±


    His gaze swept across the attendees and lingered a little longer on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°Each one of you will


    come up with a partnership n, which includes the utilization, value and SWOT analysis of the


    alternative energy technology. Send it to Fuller Group by next Monday, and I will make the final decision


    based on the soundness of your ns.¡±


    Everyone nodded and concurred, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    At this moment, Titus decided to cause trouble again. ¡°President Fuller, you won¡¯t favor Vice President


    Reed just because she¡¯s your ex-wife. Am I right?¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression froze and he wanted to speak up, but Sonia beat him to it. With a smile, she purred,


    ¡°President Gray, I have no rtion whatsoever to President Fuller. How would he unfairly favor me?


    Even if we had something in the past, he won¡¯t do me a favor now. By the way, you are his future father-


    inw, which makes you the most suspicious and usible candidate for favoritism. So¡­¡±


    She directed her attention to the man at the head of the table with a faint smile. ¡°You


    are the future father-inw of President Fuller. As long as you ask for it, he will definitely keep a seat on


    the partnership for you, even if your n is terrible. After all, he still has to get your daughter¡¯s hand in


    marriage. Isn¡¯t that so?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s expression changed after hearing what she insinuated and they shot doubtful looks at Toby


    and Titus, with obvious hostility toward thetter. Ah, yes, Titus Gray is Toby Fuller¡¯s future father-inw.


    Of course President Fuller would keep a seat open for him.


    Technically speaking, the selection waspletely up to Toby¡¯s preference, yet everyone could not help


    but feel aggrieved. They were all present to join a healthypetition and there was no good reason for


    Titus Gray to bag a seat through his connections.


    Titus sensed the anger rising in the room and he was incensed to the point where his wrinkled face was


    contorted. That goddamned youngdy did that on purpose. She intentionally manipted the


    perception of others about me in order to block my escape route.


    Indeed, Titus had nned to ask Toby for a ce in the partnership. The otherpetitors were


    effectively antagonized due to Sonia¡¯s words. If he still went ahead and asked Toby for a favor, it would


    mean facing the wrath of the ten oddpanies.


    At the thought of it, Titus suppressed the rage in him and forced a smile to mollify the crowd. ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry,dies and gentlemen. I would never do that.¡±


    ¡°Even if you won¡¯t, that does not mean Miss Gray won¡¯t do the same.¡± Sonia had no intention to spare


    him. As she rested her cheeks on her palm, she smiled. ¡°If Miss Gray brings up the idea to President


    Fuller, he will definitely agree to grant you the partnership.¡±


    Toby clutched his fists and addressed her coldly, ¡°Am I such a weak and unprincipled man in your eyes?¡±

 Chapter 111

    Chapter 111


    Soniaughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t that true?¡±


    For Tina, he will go to the extreme. Even a cry from Tina would send him crazy as he might even give up


    his life for her sake.


    Toby gazed into the iciness of Sonia¡¯s eyes that was exceptionally jarring to him. Ah, so this is how she


    perceives me.


    With a grim expression, he slipped a hand into his pocket and stood up. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen,


    regarding the concern that Vice President Reed raised, I could confidently promise you that the


    partnership will be a fair assessment without any favoritism. Please do not worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Since President Fuller has given his promise, we are now assured.¡± A chorus ofughter broke out


    among the other attendees, dissipating the confrontational atmosphere.


    Only Titus forced a smile and kept quiet as he wallowed in regret. After a couple of confrontations, he


    should have known better-Sonia was not a weakling. Despite that, he couldn¡¯t help but recklessly go


    head-to-head with her to the point where he shot himself on the foot.


    ¡°I appreciate the trust you have ced in me. With that, I announce that our meeting has ended. Please


    head back and start preparing for the n.¡±


    Upon saying that, Toby rose to his full height and left the room with Tom.


    Once they were both gone, everyone else followed suit and spilled out of the room. Titus was thest


    one to exit. When he passed by Sonia, he halted and hissed at her, ¡°Youngdy, you better not be full of


    yourself.¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I can¡¯t be too gleeful when you are still standing.¡± She turned around and shed a smile


    at him-an act that sent him into a daze again. The resemnce is extremely striking. Why is Sonia¡¯s


    smile a carbon copy of Mom when she was younger?


    TOW


    ¡°President Gray?¡± Sonia noticed that Titus had gone nk and she raised a brow suspiciously. What¡¯s


    wrong with him?


    Her voice pulled him back to reality. An uneasy look shed across his eyes as he


    coughed slightly and warned in a steeled voice, ¡°That is if you have the capability to defeat me! Hmph!¡±


    Once Titus left, Sonia was finally alone in the room. She took her time to gather her stuff and prepare to


    return to the office. Her cell suddenly buzzed at this moment. She ced all her stuff on the table and


    took out the phone to answer, ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Sonia, has the meeting ended?¡± Charles¡¯s flirtatious voice was heard from the other end.


    She nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How was it? Did you get a seat in the partnership?¡± He sounded anxious.


    With a bitter smile, Sonia shook her head. ¡°It is not going to be that simple. There were twenty attendees


    and only five will be chosen as business partners. The organizer gave us a test that requires us toe


    up with a n, which will determine our cement in thepetition for the five coveted seats.¡±


    ¡°That sounds fair.¡± Charles nodded in agreement.


    Sonia rubbed her forehead in exhaustion. ¡°I¡¯m quite frustrated right now because I don¡¯t know how to


    draft the n, though! Look, I have never been involved in the energy sector and I am clueless when it


    comes to professional jargon! Where do I even start?¡±


    At the same time, Toby overheard her confession outside the meeting room and stopped himself from


    pushing open the door. Behind him, Tom spoke, ¡°Pres¡ª¡±


    Before Tom could even utter a word, Toby shushed him. Tom quietlyplied and held his tongue.


    On the phone, Charles chuckled, ¡°What¡¯s the problem? Send the materials to the nning Department.


    Aren¡¯t they hired specifically to deal with this?¡±.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± Soniamented as she shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t even know how many moles Asher has


    nted in thepany. Do you believe that he¡¯d sabotage the n if I request for someone else to draft


    it? He doesn¡¯t want me to win thepetition, which means I have no choice but to draft the n


    myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. How about we draft the n together? Even though I don¡¯t have


    experience in the energy sector, two heads are still better than one.¡± He scratched his head and offered


    help.


    She grunted and answered, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll hang up now. I still need to visit the hospitalter.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He nodded.


    Behind the door, Toby turned around and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, do you still want to collect your stuff from the room?¡± Tom checked with him.


    Toby pursed his lips and finally decided. ¡°No. Just let the hotel staff send the items to my office.¡±


    Since Toby had clearly expressed his wish, Tom had nothing more to add.


    They arrived in front of the elevators where Tom pressed the button to head to the lower floors.


    Suddenly, he heard Toby¡¯s voice. ¡°Find two people to put on an act for


    me.¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tom was confused by the request. ¡°What act?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes twinkled wittily as he exined his n to his assistant.


    After Tom heard the n, he looked exasperated. ¡°President Fuller, if you want to help Miss Reed, why


    don¡¯t you just tell her so? Is there¡ª¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t ept my help, so I have no choice but to do it another way.¡± Toby stared at the elevator


    doors and grunted. Sonia was currently avoiding him like the gue. He could tell that she wanted to


    keep a distance between them. Therefore, he figured that she would not ept his help.


    As Tom was speechless by Toby¡¯s exnation, he paused for a while and finally gave a dry cough. ¡°I will


    make the arrangements.¡±


    Satisfied, Toby nodded.


    On the other hand, Sonia had just left the meeting room with a handful of her stuff. A few stepster, she


    overheard a conversation that included the word ¡°energy


    As that word had caught her attention, she immediately came to a stop and looked over in the direction


    of the discussion. She saw two college students, one male and the other female, chatting merrily over


    there.


    The girl asked herpanion, ¡°Have youpleted your thesis on the topic of energy?¡±


    ¡°No! It is too difficult. Had it not been my cousin telling me about the newly discovered alternative energy


    technology of Fuller Group, I don¡¯t think I could have started on my thesis.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you have a choice. If you don¡¯tplete the thesis, you can¡¯t get a ce in the Research


    Department of Fuller Group. Just hurry up and get it done! I¡¯m almost done with mine. How about I


    rmend some books to you? You should read the books on this list and I¡¯m sure you can easily write


    your thesis after that. These books include a lot of expert knowledge and jargon of the energy industry.¡±


    Next, the girl blurted out a couple of book titles, which the guy repeated after her. Then, they left the


    ce together.


    Sonia stared at the audio recording on her phone with excitement and disbelief. Although she was


    shocked by the coincidence, she did not think much about it and secretly thanked the two college


    students for their indirect pointers.


    That was because she had recorded their conversation. After she visited Rose, she nned to search


    for the books that were mentioned in the conversation. She believed that, armed with the sources, she


    coulde up with a n with much less difficulty.


    At that thought, Sonia kept her phone away with a wide smile on her face as she walked toward the


    elevator. Much to her dismay, she saw her archenemy in the lobby just as she exited the elevator.


    Toby was on the phone with his back facing her. Someone had told him over the phone, ¡°President


    Fuller, Miss Reed has witnessed the ¡®act¡¯ that you wanted to put


    on.¡±


    As she was standing at a distance, Sonia could not hear the phone conversation and she nned to


    take the opportunity to slide away, acting like she had not noticed him. Much to her surprise, Toby


    suddenly stopped talking and abruptly hung up. Then, he turned around to face her. There was no


    surprise on his face when his eyes


    Since he had extended his goodwill, it would be rude for her to ignore him. After all, he was the initiator


    of the partnership. If she wanted to secure a seat on the project, she could not risk ruining their


    professional rtionship. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and forced a polite but aloof smile.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°I have been waiting for you,¡± came his reply.


    Sonia was taken aback, but she finally figured out the reason behind hisposure. He was not


    shocked to see her, precisely because he had been waiting for her.


    ¡°What is the matter? Could it be that you are angry at me because I talked back in the meeting? What?


    Are you thinking of kicking me out of the candidate¡¯s list?¡±


    Toby furrowed his brows and sternly answered, ¡°Sonia, can you stop talking brashly? And please don¡¯t


    take me as an unprincipled man.¡±

 Chapter 112

    Chapter 112


    Sonia could already tell that she had ruffled his feathers. As she looked away, she had a faint smile. ¡°Oh,


    my apologies, President Fuller. This is my real side. I always show my blunt side to my enemies.¡±


    Her enemy? Toby clenched his fists as he was shocked after learning that she saw him as an enemy.


    The only question that bothered him was the reason behind her hostility.(This novel will be daily updtaed


    at .noveljar) Is she unfriendly to me solely because of my behavior, or is she angry because of


    Tina?


    ¡°I will not kick you out of the candidate list. Didn¡¯t I reassure everyone that there shall be no favoritism in


    this partnership?¡± he questioned as he rubbed his forehead.


    She flicked her hair. ¡°Oh, is that so? I feel at ease then, but why are you waiting for me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m bringing you to visit Grandma at the hospital,¡± Toby answered.


    Sonia was slightly taken aback at the reason he offered.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I will not go with you. I came here in my car and I can drive there on my own,¡± she rejected


    him coolly.


    Toby frowned at her and was about to reply when the elevator chimed before the doors slid open. A cart


    full of overflowing cardboard boxes suddenly appeared from within the elevator. Since the boxes were


    stacked high, one could not see the person wheeling it. Simrly, the said person could not see the road


    ahead and almost rammed into Sonia.


    ¡°Look out!¡± Toby¡¯s eyes flickered and he sternly warned her.


    As Sonia was confused by the situation, she only came to the realization when a great force knocked


    into her from behind in the next second, causing her to lurch to the front.


    Toby was standing right in front of her.


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± She yelled at him in terror, but he seemed not to have heard her at all, for he stood


    there like a rock.


    Had it not been the calm expression on his face, she would have suspected that he was stunned by fear.


    ¡°Um...¡± She fell right into his arms before he caught her in a tight embrace.


    Still, due to the sheer impact from her weight, he was thrown off and stumbled backward to steady


    himself; he only came to a stop when his back mmed into the wall.


    Sonia let out a relieved sigh and quickly wriggled out of his embrace.(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar) ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Toby gently nodded his head and replied in a hoarse voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your voice?¡± She furrowed her soft-angled brows and asked with concern, ¡°Are you


    hurt?¡±


    Toby¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple had slightly rolled, but he gave no reply. Instead, he awkwardly shifted his gaze


    away from her and silently calmed his racing heart.


    Every time he looked at her, he would be reminded of the tenderness of her breasts when they were


    pressed against his chest.


    Mistaking his silence as him suffering from an injury, Sonia felt her chest tightening and she could not


    stop stealing nces at his back. ¡°Did you hurt yourself at the old ce? You know, the area where you


    were hit by a basketballst time?¡±


    ¡°No, that has healed.¡± After Toby calmed himself down, he stared at her again. He noticed the nervous


    look that appeared briefly in her eyes, a discovery that brightened his eyes. He answered her concerned


    question with a warm and gentle voice. Is she worrying about me? It seems like she is not as heartless


    as she described herself to be; she might still have some feelings for me.


    That thought had brought joy to him for some unknown reason.


    She gazed at him for a while to make sure that he was not hurt anywhere before she sighed in relief.


    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±


    After that, he had knocked his back into the wall all because he wanted to protect her.


    If Toby was hurt, Sonia would feel guilty.


    At that moment, a staff member wearing a yellow uniform shuffled up to them with an apologetic look. He


    repeatedly bowed to them and apologized, ¡°I am really, really sorry. I did not do that on purpose; I did not


    see anyone in front of me. Are the both of you alright?¡±


    By taking a quick look at their outfits, he knew that the two victims were rich. If they were hurt because of


    him, he could never afford topensate them given his paltry pay.


    Sonia merely waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, we are not hurt. You may leave.¡±


    The employee was a little surprised by her benevolence. ¡°Miss, don¡¯t you me me at all?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°You said you did not run into us on purpose. It¡¯s true that I was blocking the elevators and


    stood in your way. There is no reason why I should me you. So, you are free to go.¡±


    ¡°Yes; thank you, Miss! Thank you, Sir.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) The


    relieved staff gratefully bowed to them again and wheeled the cart away.


    With a slight pout, Sonia growled,¡°It was me who forgave him and allowed him to leave. Why did he


    thank you as well?¡±


    A smile crept up Toby¡¯s face after hearing her envious tone. He thought that she was adorable.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± She suddenly thought of something and looked at him, at which point his smile disappeared.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You shielded me from a flying basketball at the stadiumst time. If we count today¡¯s incident, you have


    saved me twice in total.¡± She gestured the number two with her fingers.


    Toby lifted a brow in amusement. ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°Plus, I forgave you for your cold attitude toward me in the past six years. Now, I won¡¯t treat you in a


    hostile manner. We will see each other as an acquaintance.¡± She looked up at him. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    His eyes narrowed. ¡°Acquaintances?¡±


    ¡°Yes, do you have an issue with that?¡± Sonia tilted her head quizzically.


    Indeed, Toby was rather upset and bummed.


    He would only be her ¡®acquaintance! He wasn¡¯t even good enough to be a friend. For some reason, he


    strongly rejected the idea in his mind.


    Unfortunately, he also understood that her suggestion was the best way forward for their rtionship.


    At that thought, Toby cast his nce downward and replied in a dull tone, ¡°Okay


    then.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, President Fuller, I shall excuse myself now to visit Grandma at the hospital.¡±


    Sonia shed a restrained smile and turned around to leave. Without giving up anything, I have returned


    two favors he has done for me. What a nice feeling! I feel¡­ light and rxed.


    Toby, who was behind her, stared at her with pursed lips. Is she d tobel us as acquaintances?


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom¡¯s presence distracted Toby from his sadness.


    As Toby¡¯s eyes flickered, he suppressed the frustration in him and turned around to address Tom,


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I received a call earlier about an emergency at our subsidiary in the Republic of Mesania. They need


    you to host a meeting back at the office to deal with this matter,¡±


    Tom informed.


    Toby frowned and said, ¡°Got it.¡±


    It looked like he could only visit Rose at the hospital after the emergency meeting.


    The moment Sonia arrived at the hospital, she went straight to the VIP ward and soon found her way to


    the door of Rose¡¯s room.


    While she held a bouquet of flowers and a bag of health products in her left hand, she lifted her right


    hand to knock on the door.


    The door was opened from within. Mary had wanted to ask about the guest, but the moment she saw


    Sonia, she dropped her question and looked pleasantly shocked. ¡°It¡¯s Young Mistress!¡±


    ¡°Mary!¡± Sonia greeted her with a smile and did not forget to correct her,(This novel will be daily updtaed


    at .noveljar) ¡°I am not the Young Mistress anymore.¡±


    ¡°Well, you will always be the Young Mistress in my heart.¡± Mary gave an affectionate gaze.


    Sonia was immensely touched by Mary¡¯s treatment and she felt tears swimming in her eyes. ¡°Mary, thank


    you for treating me well. Anyway, now that I have divorced President Fuller, it might be a little


    disrespectful for you to call me Young Mistress when Miss Gray is his new partner. Why don¡¯t you call me


    by my name?¡±


    Mary sighed. ¡°Sure, I will call you Sonia then.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded and handed her the flowers. ¡°Mary, is Grandma awake?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she is.¡± Mary epted the flowers and they both heard Rose¡¯s voice. ¡°Mary, who is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Sonia,¡± Mary turned to answer.


    Upon hearing that, Rose hurriedly urged, ¡°Let her in right away.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Mary replied and invited Sonia to Rose¡¯s private room.


    While staring at the olddy in the bed, Sonia¡¯s eyes welled up in tears. ¡°Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Rose beamed at Sonia with love and was secretly cheered up by her visit.


    Sonia ced the items on the table before she took a seat by the bed. While taking Rose¡¯s hand, she


    inquired, ¡°Grandma, are you feeling better?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± Rose nodded with a smile before she asked, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡°By the way, how did you know that I am hospitalized?¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 113

    Chapter 113


    ¡°President Fuller called me earlier, so I came to visit,¡± Sonia answered.


    Rose acted as if she was exasperated and grunted, ¡°Hmph! That b*stard! Didn¡¯t I tell him not to inform


    you?!¡±


    ¡°Grandma.¡± Sonia touched Rose¡¯s hand in disappointment and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you want me to know?


    Is it because you don¡¯t like me?¡±


    ¡°No. Of course not.¡± Rose ruffled Sonia¡¯s hair as she added, ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to worry you.¡±


    ¡°However, if you don¡¯t tell me, I would be even more worried when I learn about itter and I would never


    forgive myself for not learning it any sooner.¡± Sonia gently held the olddy¡¯s hand. ¡°Promise me,


    Grandma. You must never keep me in the dark if something like this ever happens again.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Sonia since she has a point.¡± Mary expressed her agreement with Sonia¡¯s words when she


    was done arranging the flowers in the vase.


    Upon hearing what thedies said, Rose grinned from ear to ear. ¡°Alright. Alright, I promise I¡¯ll tell you


    everything.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Sonia responded with a chuckle.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to follow up with the doctor about your condition, Old Mrs. Fuller. So, perhaps I shall leave you


    and Sonia to it,¡± Mary said as she rubbed her hands.


    ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Rose nodded.


    As soon as Mary left, Rose seized Sonia¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Tell me: how have you beentely, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Sonia replied. Then, she proceeded to share with Rose the recent happenings while only


    mentioning the pleasant ones. As she refused to worry Rose, she didn¡¯t bring up a single word about the


    detrimental politics against the Gray Family.


    A few momentster, they heardughter outside the ward, which Sonia quickly recognized to be Tina


    and Jean.


    At the same time, Rose could also tell whose voices those were as the benevolent look on her face was


    instantly reced by a cial expression. Soon, the door was open before Jean and Tina walked in


    while they chuckled in the middle of their conversation.


    After noticing their reaction, Sonia raised her eyebrows in an annoyed manner and wondered why they


    didn¡¯t look sad and worried about Rose¡¯s condition. What¡¯s wrong with these two people? Grandma is


    sick, but theirughter is telling me they¡¯re not concerned about her at all.


    ¡°Miss Reed?¡± Tina appeared to be surprised the moment she noticed Sonia¡¯s presence.


    The moment Jean heard Tina¡¯s words, she turned around and set her eyes on Sonia who was sitting


    beside Rose. As Jean¡¯s expression darkened, she questioned Sonia in a harsh tone, ¡°What are you


    doing here?! Who gave you the permission toe?!¡±


    Before Sonia could answer, Rose tightly held Sonia¡¯s hand and replied, ¡°I told Sonia toe. Do you


    have a problem with that?¡±


    Jean gave an awkward smile and spoke, ¡°Easy, Mom. Of course, I don¡¯t have a problem with that, but


    she is still an outsider after all, which doesn¡¯t seem like a good idea for her to be here.¡±


    Rose coldly grunted and refuted Jean. ¡°Who says Sonia is an outsider? She might have been forced to


    divorce Toby, but she will always continue to be like a granddaughter to me.¡±


    ¡°Grandma¡­¡± Sonia looked at Rose in a touched manner.


    In that instant, Tina looked down as she tried to mask the shame on her face because she knew that


    Rose was referring to her.


    ¡°Alright, you win. She is indeed like your granddaughter.¡± Jean forced a brittle smile despite her strong


    grudge against Sonia. I don¡¯t understand what this olddy likes about her. She¡¯s already left the Fuller


    Family, so why does the olddy still protects her?


    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, Grandma. I should make a move now.¡± Sonia took a look at her watch and realized it


    was time for her to leave. Although she was nning on apanying Rose for a little longer, she had


    changed her mind when Jean and Tina arrived.


    However, Rose refused to release Sonia¡¯s hand. ¡°Stay with me for a few moments. I have something for


    you.¡±


    ¡°Something for me?¡± Sonia was confused but was still smart enough not to ask what it was at that


    moment.


    Upon hearing Rose¡¯s words, Tina bit her lip as her jealousy overwhelmed her. I¡¯ve never stopped visiting


    and pleasing you all this time, Old Mrs. Fuller, but why won¡¯t you even cast an eye on me? Yet, Sonia


    gets to have a gift the moment you see her. What has she done to deserve that?!


    In the meantime, Jean was unhappy about Rose¡¯s decision as she squinted and asked, ¡°Why do you


    have a gift for an outsider but nothing for us? We¡¯re your family.¡±


    ¡°You really are shameless, aren¡¯t you?¡± Rose showed her anger. ¡°A leopard cannot change its spot, but


    you can never stop being greedy throughout thest decade since you married into the Fuller Family.


    Furthermore, I can give whatever I want to anyone and there is nothing you can do about it. Moreover,


    this is something that belongs to Sonia in the first ce.¡±


    Rose¡¯s words had caused Sonia to frown. Isn¡¯t Jean Toby¡¯s mother? Toby is already 30 this year, so how


    is it possible that she only married into the Fuller Family a decade ago?


    After being lectured by Rose, Jean stood up for herself as she pouted, ¡°No one knows for sure whether


    it¡¯s hers to im. In fact, you might be saying that to fool us.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Rose coughed, her face turning red.


    ¡°Grandma!¡± Sonia was extremely worried about Rose that she was unbothered by Jean¡¯s insolence. As


    an anxious look shed across Sonia¡¯s face, she leaned closer and gently rubbed Rose¡¯s chest with her


    hand to help alleviate her difficulty in breathing.


    Meanwhile, Jean was frightened by Rose¡¯s intense coughs as she was too panicky to think about her


    next move. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to work you up.¡± Oh man! I didn¡¯t know this olddy was so weak


    that she could get a heart attack from anyone who pisses her off. Jeez, I hope she is fine! She has to be,


    or it¡¯s going to be over for me.


    Fortunately, Jean¡¯s prayers were answered when Rose finally seemed to feel better.


    It was only then that Sonia and Jean heaved a sigh of relief, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for Tina. Tina


    had secretly hoped that something bad would happen to Rose


    because no one in the Fuller Family would stand in her way to marry Toby if her wish came true.


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    ¡°Try some of my chicken soup, Mom.¡± Jean quickly changed the subject in the hopes of diverting Rose¡¯s


    attention from her provocative attitude earlier. At the same time, Rose, who knew Jean for who she was,


    only responded with a cold grunt without saying a word more.


    Then, Jean ced the thermal sk on the table and opened the lid, whereupon the appetizing aroma of


    the chicken soup wafted through the air. However, Sonia somehow found the smell disgusting as she


    immediately felt nauseous with her face turning as pale as a white sheet.


    Upon noticing Sonia¡¯s reaction, Tina knitted her eyebrows in confusion until something crossed her mind


    as she set her eyes on Sonia¡¯s tummy.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sonia? Are you alright?¡± Rose looked at Sonia and asked in a concerned manner.


    Sonia took a deep breath, trying to suppress her nausea as she nodded her head and endured her


    difort. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Grandma. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be fine to me, though. Are you under the weather or something?¡±


    ¡°I guess I might have caught a cold from the air con on my drive here. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s no big deal,¡± Sonia


    answered.


    Rose frowned in disagreement. ¡°Well, like you said, you might have caught a cold, but I say it¡¯s better to


    let the doctor check on you.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Tina shouted before Sonia could respond, which drew the attention of those around her. At that


    moment, she panicked because she knew her overreaction could have aroused their suspicion. Thus,


    she quickly looked down and exined, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Old Mrs. Fuller. There was a mosquito trying to bite


    me, so I was just chasing it away.¡±


    ¡°A mosquito?¡± Jean looked up and around her. ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t see any here.¡±


    Tina was frustrated as she cursed Jean for her unintelligent response. Idiot! Is she on my side or theirs?


    ¡°Alright, quit looking around. You¡¯re almost spilling the soup.¡± Rose felt revolted when she looked at Jean


    holding the thermal sk.


    Nevertheless, Sonia gazed at Tina with suspicion while pondering in a broody manner, Was Tina really


    just chasing mosquitoes away? Because she really looked like she was trying to stop me from seeing the


    doctor. At the thought of that, Sonia decided to sound her out as she smiled at Rose and replied, ¡°It¡¯s


    okay, Grandma. I have some medicine at home, so maybe I¡¯m fine without seeing a doctor. I¡¯ll be sure to


    grab a pill when I¡¯m back home.¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s reply, Tina let out a sigh of relief, believing that Sonia was really not going to


    consult the doctor. Phew! This is good news! I was even thinking of sneaking out to meet the doctor and


    bribe him first if Sonia was going to see him, but it looks like I don¡¯t have to do it now.


    Sonia secretly peeked at Tina¡¯s reaction from the corner of her eyes. When she noticed the relieved look


    on Tina¡¯s face, Sonia squinted. It seems that I was right. Tina just tried to stop me from seeing the doctor.


    Why did Tina do that? Is she hiding something?

 Chapter 114

    Chapter 114


    Sonia squinted ambiguously as she made a mental note to visit the doctorter. She wanted to know


    what was wrong with her health to the point where it made Tina so concerned.


    ¡°Suit yourself then.¡± Upon noticing Sonia¡¯s insistence, Rose decided to give up trying to persuade Sonia


    even further.


    Jean coldly grunted and said, ¡°Mom, I think she must have forgotten her ce.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Rose berated Jean, who shivered in silence when she heard Rose¡¯s harsh response.


    Despite her old age, Rose was still feared and revered for her status. Therefore, Jean had never dared


    to openly defy Rose, but onlyined and grumbled behind her back.


    ¡°By the way, this is for you, Sonia.¡± Rose suddenly raised her hand and took something out from her


    pillow, which turned out to be a bunch of keys dangling in the air with a red thread.


    ¡°Is this what you said you wanted to give me, Grandma?¡± Sonia curiously held the keys in her hands.


    As both Jean and Tina were expecting something much more valuable, they instantly lost their interest


    when they saw the set of dusty keys.


    Rose nodded as she replied, ¡°Yeah, your father gave me this six years ago and told me to give them to


    you one day. I should have given them to you earlier, but it slipped my mind thest time. So, I guess


    there is no time like now to pass it to you.¡±


    Sonia looked at the keys in her hands with a bewildered look. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Dad give me the keys himself?


    Why did he ask you to hand them over to me instead?¡± It was at


    that moment that she realized her father and Rose had long known each other.


    As she seemingly knew what was on Sonia¡¯s mind, Rose smiled and answered, ¡°Your grandpa and my


    old man used to be military brothers back then. Thus, when he couldn¡¯t locate you six years ago, he


    entrusted me with the keys because I was the only one whom he could trust in Seafield. Shortly after


    that, your father¡­¡± Rose didn¡¯t finish her sentence but trailed off with a sigh.


    Nevertheless, Sonia knew that Rose would mention her father¡¯s suicide. As she was reminded of that


    tragic incident, Sonia regretted her decision to leave her father to chase her stepmother who siphoned


    their fortune. If I hadn¡¯t gone after that woman, I would¡¯ve been by my father¡¯s side and made sure that


    he wouldn¡¯t do anything stupid. At the thought of the heartbreaking memory, Sonia¡¯s tears began to roll


    down her cheeks as she began to sob. ¡°Grandma, did Dad mention what these keys are for?¡±


    ¡°Of course, he did.¡± Rose gave Sonia a piece of tissue paper and said, ¡°Your dad told me the keys are for


    you to ess Reed Residence, where there is something extremely important for you there. He also


    mentioned that it was a ne that you must locate and retrieve because it holds a huge secret, but


    nheless, he didn¡¯t tell me what it was about.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I understand. Thanks, Grandma.¡± Sonia rubbed her nose with a tissue paper and sniffled,


    fighting back her tears as she forced a smile.


    Meanwhile, Rose patted Sonia¡¯s hand and responded, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte now, so you should head home


    now. Visit me again next time.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± Sonia answered. ¡°I¡¯ll make a move first then, Grandma.¡± She then grabbed her purse and walked


    toward the door without even bothering to look at Jean and Tina.


    Jean mocked, ¡°How rude!¡±


    Upon hearing Jean¡¯s words, Sonia paused at the door for a while before she chuckled and left the room


    in an unfazed manner. When she was about to reach the elevator, she suddenly heard someone calling


    out, ¡°Wait up.¡±


    Sonia stopped in her tracks and turned to look at thedy. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Miss Gray?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a word,¡± Tina said with a smile.


    ¡°A word?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows in bewilderment.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°With all due respect, I don¡¯t think there is anything we can talk about between us.¡±


    ¡°No, there is really a lot we can talk about,¡± Tina answered with a soft voice as she


    intentionally nced at Sonia¡¯s stomach.


    It was about more than a month ago when Cynthia managed to stalk and take some photos of Sonia and


    Toby entering the same room for a long time. Since those two were alone, Tina believed that they must


    have likely shared an intimate moment together. Furthermore, Sonia¡¯s nauseous reaction when she


    smelled the chicken soup had convinced Tina even more that she was likely pregnant.


    The longer she is pregnant, the more sensitive her body bes. As for now, Sonia must be thinking


    she is just feeling unwell, but if she finds out she is pregnant in the hospital, she may confront Toby with


    her child and hold him responsible for that. At the thought of that, Tina clenched her fists and swore that


    she mustn¡¯t allow Sonia to do that. Toby is a responsible man. If he discovers Sonia¡¯s pregnancy, there is


    no telling that he¡¯ll remarry her for the sake of their child, which will render my years of effort a waste. No,


    I will not be made a fool out of that! Tina¡¯s face twisted in anger, her eyes filled with malice.


    Sonia squinted as she was able to see through Tina¡¯s evil intention. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s talk.¡± She looked down.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious to find out what you want to talk to me about anyway.¡±


    ¡°Since you are okay with it, you should probablye with me.¡± Tina¡¯s eyes narrowed as she smiled.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to talk here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not convenient as there are many people.¡±


    ¡°Sure, lead the way then.¡± She smiled and gestured for Tina to show the way.


    Tina coldly grunted and cursed Sonia in her heart, Just keep smiling. I want to see whether you will have


    thestughter! Her lips curled upward as she turned around to take a step forward.


    With her eyes glued onto Tina¡¯s back, Sonia appeared to be calm as she pursed her lips and took her


    phone out of her purse to dial Toby¡¯s number. Although she had no idea what was wrong with Tina, Sonia


    knew she was definitely up to no good, judging from her malicious look. Nothing can be good, especially


    now that she is trying to iste me by taking me to some hidden ce. Isn¡¯t it obvious that she is trying


    to do me harm? If that¡¯s the case, I must do something in my defense. That¡¯s right;I¡¯m going to show


    Toby just how wicked thisdy can be.


    Since Sonia believed that Toby would change his mind about Tina once Tina was exposed, she was


    counting on that tactic to make him break up with Tina. If it really has toe to that, Tina will


    have no one but herself to me,


    Soon, the call was connected as Toby spoke with a soothing and deep voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t respond as she stared at her phone screen. Instead, she picked up her pace and


    followed Tina closely to the stairwell,


    Sonia ced her phone behind her back and asked, ¡°Miss Gray, now that we¡¯re in the hospital¡¯s


    stairwell, can you tell me what exactly we¡¯re going to talk about?¡±


    Thinking that Sonia had identally called him by mistake, Toby was about to hang up the phone when


    his eyes suddenly dted in surprise. Wait a minute! Is Sonia now with Tina?


    Tina raised her arms without answering Sonia¡¯s question. Instead, she looked up and scanned her


    surroundings. ¡°There isn¡¯t a security camera here, is there?¡±


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Sonia pursed her lips and warily looked at Tina.


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    At the same time, Toby was also curious about Tina¡¯s intention on Sonia. Soon, he quickly realized that


    Sonia didn¡¯t call him by ident. Instead, she had intentionally rang him so that he could overhear the


    conversation between her and Tina, even tipping him off about the address of her whereabouts.


    Realizing something was awry,


    Toby tightened his fingers around the phone and instructed Tom to make haste. ¡°Speed up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Tom responded with an affirmative hum and he floored the elerator even harder.


    Back on the stairs, Tina covered her mouth and chuckled evilly before she red at Sonia with a


    menacing look on her face. ¡°Do you have any idea how much I hate you, Miss Reed? I¡¯ve hated you


    since the first day we met in university. You and I are like arch nemeses and there is only room for one of


    us to survive. In that case, you must die, Sonia!¡±

 Chapter 115

    Chapter 115


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia was shocked. Although she knew Tina was going to hurt her, she didn¡¯t expect Tina to


    threaten to kill her. ¡°You want to kill me?¡± She tightened her grip around her phone and intentionally


    raised her voice.


    Toby¡¯s face darkened the moment he heard Sonia¡¯s words. As soon as he alighted from the car, he


    immediately scurried toward the building while trying to calm his distraught mind. I can¡¯t believe Tina is


    trying to kill Sonia!


    On the other hand, Tina¡¯s eyes brightened with malicious glee. ¡°Be careful with what you¡¯re saying, Miss


    Reed. You will cause your own death in an ident, which I have nothing to do with.¡±


    She slowly walked toward Sonia. In fact, she had never given up on her thought to eliminate Sonia, but


    ever since the incident in the resort, she never found a chance to execute her evil n until the discovery


    of Sonia¡¯s pregnancy had prompted her to do the worst thing. I must get rid of Sonia before everyone


    else finds out about her pregnancy, or it¡¯s going to be over for me.


    Tina soon mped Sonia¡¯s shoulders with her clutches before she gave a sinister smile and pushed


    Sonia toward the edge of the stairs. As Tina had the upper hand in the battle, Sonia wasn¡¯t fighting back


    because she was in heels and it wasn¡¯t long until she found herself near the edge of the stairs.


    ¡°Meet your demise.¡± Then, Tina pushed Sonia down with all her energy; the impact had sent Sonia


    backward onto the flight of stairs. At the same time, Tina stood on the top and stared at the horrified look


    on Sonia¡¯s face, waving at her and saying, ¡°Farewell!¡±


    Deep in her heart, she believed Sonia would fall to her death, considering the height of the stairs. Even if


    Sonia didn¡¯t immediately die from the fall, she would make sure Sonia was dead.


    When Sonia rolled down the stairs and was about to hit the ground, a silhouette suddenly emerged from


    downstairs to spread his arms to break her fall. However, the huge impact had toppled the man and sent


    him flying toward the wall, which caused him to hit it hard with his back. As his face twisted in pain with a


    layer of cold sweat coating his forehead, she suffered from an excruciating pain in her stomach with her


    limbs going numb, but fortunately, she survived the fall.


    On the other hand, Tina, who was looking forward to witnessing Sonia¡¯s death, stood atop the stairs in


    disbelief when her wish didn¡¯te true. What stunned her even more was that Sonia¡¯s lifesaver turned


    out to be none other than Toby. The shocking realization instantly caused Tina¡¯s face to pale and


    rendered her panicky, making her wonder why Toby would show up at that spot.


    On the other hand, Toby endured the pain in his back and helped Sonia to her feet.


    Then, he painfully asked in a hushed tone, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    In fact, Sonia was able to tell that her lifesaver was Toby from his perfume when he hugged her in his


    embrace to cushion her from the fall. Thus, she didn¡¯t seem to be surprised as she rubbed her belly and


    shook her head while answering in a trembling voice, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear that.¡± Toby heaved a sigh of relief, feeling lucky and grateful for being able to prevent a


    tragedy. That was close. Sonia would have lost her life had I failed to show up in time. Despite his


    sessful rescue, he still shuddered at the thought of how


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    close the tragedy was about to befall her. Thank God I arrived in the nick of time.


    ¡°What about you? Are you okay?¡± Sonia asked while she looked at him in panic. Oh man! He just saved


    me once again.


    Toby slightly avoided her gaze. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Sonia didn¡¯t believe Toby¡¯s answer because she thought she had just heard


    his painful moan. It was just that she wasn¡¯t sure about it since she was in extreme fear earlier.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure,¡± he reassured her, trying to endure the pain in his back.


    While the both of them expressed their concerns for each other, Tina cast aside her jealousy and tried to


    sneak away silently. However, when she was about to reach the door, Toby¡¯s cial voice was heard


    from behind. ¡°Stay where you are!¡±


    She froze as she subconsciously stopped in her tracks.


    ¡°Turn around!¡± he demanded.


    Tina slowly turned with her head down as shecked the courage to look him in the eye. ¡°Toby-¡±


    ¡°Tina, you have disappointed me!¡± Toby slowly helped Sonia to walk up the stairs while he fixed his eyes


    on Tina like a stranger. ¡°I¡¯ve always known you¡¯re not as innocent as you may seem. I thought the most


    you would do is just pull off some mischievous pranks, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d even try to kill someone!¡±


    Tina¡¯s eyes dted in horror as she looked up and tearfully met Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°Toby, I I didn¡¯t want this to


    happen either, but I just can¡¯t help it.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t help it?¡± Her words sounded like a joke to Sonia. ¡°If you can¡¯t control your own actions, you


    were born to be evil then, Miss Gray.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± Tina bit her lips, her tears trickling down her cheeks. She then looked at


    Toby. ¡°Toby, I wasn¡¯t born as a bad person but I¡¯m too insecure.¡±


    Nheless, Toby didn¡¯t seem to be touched by the woman¡¯s words for some reason. In fact, he even


    felt sarcastic when he heard what Tina told him. ¡°You said the same thing to me when you hurt Sonia the


    He gazed at her with an unfathomable gaze. In fact, he felt guilty toward her that time, thinking the


    reason why she would do such a thing was because he hadn¡¯t spent enough time with her. Therefore, he


    sarcasticallyughed at himself for the previous guilt he felt for her.


    Meanwhile, Tina sobbed while an awkward expression shed and disappeared across her face. Then,


    she looked down and tried to talk her way out of the situation. ¡°Toby, I just feel too insecure to lose you.¡±


    ¡°You said you felt insecure when I was too close with Sonia thest time and I trusted you, but what


    about this time? I¡¯ve already kept a distance from her, so what else are you afraid of?¡± Toby looked at her


    with a piercing gaze.


    ¡°I¡­ I..¡± Tina bit her lips and took a step back as she stammered incoherently because she was too afraid


    to speak about her fear.


    In the meantime, Sonia had rested her hand on her painful stomach with a cial look on her face. ¡°Fine,


    President Fuller. It seems that Miss Gray is struggling to prove her point. In that case, I say we should


    involve the police since I have the audio recording to prove that she tried to kill me. I think that should be


    enough to put her behind bars for a good few years.¡±.


    Audio recording? Tina¡¯s expression changed as she looked at Sonia in disbelief. ¡°You


    recorded our conversation?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Sonia shed her phone in front of Tina. ¡°Your eyes gave your evil intention away when you


    came to see me, so did you really think I was going to y along like a dumb ve without a backup


    n?¡± Although her n narrowly saved her life, she failed to see through Tina¡¯s murderous intent to kill


    her.


    ¡°Toby..¡± Tina seemed terrified, gazing at Toby with a pale expression while her sympathetic eyes looked


    as if they were asking him for help. Nheless, he only pursed his lips without saying a single word.


    Since she was his lover, he knew he was obligated to save her from the worst oue, yet he couldn¡¯t


    think of a single word to defend her. Furthermore, his conscience kept him from turning a blind eye to her


    wrongful action, considering the serious mess she had just created.


    When Toby remained silent for a few moments, Tina tearfully shook her head in great dismay and


    disappointment. He doesn¡¯t want to save me. I can¡¯t believe he isn¡¯t going to save me!


    Sonia was also surprised by Toby¡¯s actions as she had always thought he would spoil Tina until the salt


    wouldn¡¯t save her. Well, I guess I was wrong about him.


    At the thought of that, Sonia gazed at him with aplicated look, realizing that there was more about


    the man than meets the eye even though she thought she knew him.


    ¡°President Fuller, since you have no objection, I¡¯ll call the cops now,¡± she said and reached for her


    phone.


    Since she thought Sonia wasn¡¯t bluffing, Tina desperately came up with a clich¨¦ yet effective idea to buy


    herself some time¡ª¡¯fainting¡¯. As her eyes rolled upward, she copsed onto the ground, which shocked


    both Sonia and Toby.


    ¡°Tina.¡± Toby snapped out of his trance and crouched down to check on Tina¡¯s condition with a concerned


    look on his face, whereupon he did all he could to wake her up. Nheless, his effort soon proved to be


    futile when Tina didn¡¯te to her senses after multiple attempts. As he was distracted by her urgent


    condition, he carried her in his arms and told Sonia to put the matter on hold. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about calling the


    cops after shees around.¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia didn¡¯t answer the man¡¯s words. Instead, she squinted and focused all her attention


    in observing thedy in Toby¡¯s arms. Tina soon appeared to raise her eyebrow a little, but Sonia was


    observant enough to notice it as her lips curled upward.

 Chapter 116

    Chapter 116


    I didn¡¯t know that Tina would be so shameless as to pretend to faint.


    ¡°President Fuller, I believe she will wake up soon,¡± Sonia uttered coldly while resting her arms on her


    chest.


    Now that she was still in Toby¡¯s arms, Tina could not help but exert more pressure on her hand that hung


    in the air. What does she mean by that? Could she have noticed that I am faking it?


    Toby seemed to have understood what Sonia was implying, for he lowered his eyes and gazed at Tina


    for a while.


    After failing to detect any oddity, he looked up at Sonia. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°It¡¯s simple-just release her. If she has really fainted, she¡¯d definitely react when shends


    on the ground. Why don¡¯t you try it out on her?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tina¡¯s heart pumped even harder. How could Sonia force me to wake up with that


    horrible suggestion? She¡¯s cruel and malicious!


    Toby frowned at the suggestion and replied, ¡°What kind of idea is that?(This novel will be daily updtaed


    at .noveljar) Have you ever considered that Tina would be injured if I let go of her while she is


    unconscious?¡±


    Tina let out a relieved sigh. Great, looks like he won¡¯t listen to Sonia.


    Sonia¡¯s gaze swept across Tina¡¯s forehead, where Tina¡¯s worried wrinkles were smoothened after being


    ¡®saved¡¯ by Toby. A smirking Sonia added, ¡°If you don¡¯t have the heart to test it out, why don¡¯t we use


    another method?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± he questioned and Tina, who was in his arms, perked up too.


    ¡°You will know soon.¡± Sonia shed a mischievous grin and tapped on her phone screen before


    approaching them.


    The sound of Sonia¡¯s footsteps had caused Tina to panic. Sonia, what are you cooking up this time?


    No matter what would happen next, Tina was determined to endure it to prevent from exposing herself.


    Sonia walked up to Tina and under Toby¡¯s watchful gaze, she ced her phone by Tina¡¯s ear, after which


    she tapped the ¡®y¡¯ button on the screen.


    Bang!


    A loud sound exploded from the speakers, causing Toby to tense up from the shock. He was close to


    releasing his grip on Tina and causing her tond on the ground.


    Thankfully, he was acutely aware of the fact that he was holding someone, which allowed him to avert


    the crisis.


    Much to Sonia¡¯s great surprise, even though he was frightened by the loud sound, Tina didn¡¯t move


    whatsoever in his arms with her eyes closed, as though she had really fainted.


    Herck of reaction caused Sonia to frown. An average person who pretends to faint would definitely


    jump when he or she hears the loud sound.


    Despite what had just happened, Tina had suppressed her natural reaction, which required a lot of effort


    on her part.


    Sonia could only ept her defeat in the face of Tina¡¯s sheer persistence. (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)¡°I apologize, President Fuller. Looks like I have made a wrong guess. Miss


    Gray seems to have fainted for real.¡± She kept her phone away and smiled.


    If Tina would not wake up after being frightened by the obstreperous sound, Sonia figured that it was


    useless to insist on proving Tina wrong. Any attempt to do so would only amplify her own insensibility.


    If she wanted to lodge a police report on Tina, she could do that anytime because she had the recording


    in her hands.


    When Tina heard that Sonia had thrown in the towel, she silently let out a huge sigh of relief. It appears


    that Sonia will not try to expose me anymore.


    Anyway, Tina made note of Sonia¡¯s prank on her, determined to exact revenge by inflicting double the


    torture next time.


    ¡°I will call you when Tina wakes up.¡± Toby gave Sonia a deep look as he said those words. He did not


    me Sonia for dying Tina¡¯s treatment because he subconsciously felt that Tina could be faking her


    situation as well..


    s, he seemed to have misunderstood Tina.


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt guilty toward Tina as he gazed at her.


    ¡°Alright. I shall wait for your call,¡± Sonia answered with a smile.


    After that, Toby carried Tina in his arms and brought her to the ER. Sonia was preparing to leave for her


    doctor¡¯s appointment at the Gastroenterology Department, but for some reason, the pain in her stomach


    worsened.


    At that moment, her phone buzzed from Charles¡¯ call. ¡°Sonia, have you visited Old Mrs. Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡± Sonia walked toward the Gastroenterology Department as she asked.


    His voice took a solemn note. ¡°Well, here¡¯s the thing. I have found out how Titus Gray was released.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Her eyes scrunched up with great interest.


    Charles scoffed at the other end. ¡°Titus Gray had help from the authorities to release him. Yesterday,


    Tina paid a visit to Titus before heading over to the Wace Residence.¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°The Wace Residence?¡± Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Are we talking about the Waces? Isn¡¯t that the


    family of Seafied¡¯s Vice Mayor Wace, just like how the Coleman Family is?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one. Mr. Wace is Titus¡¯s friend from college.¡±


    She replied sarcastically, ¡°Ah, I never expected the two families to be connected in this manner! Or


    should I say that the Gray Family are very connected, especially with the families who are in power?¡±


    ¡°Right? First, it was the Stryders and now, it is the Waces,¡± Charles smirked and replied tartly.


    In a quick turn, he burst outughing in what appeared to be schadenfreude. ¡°Baby, from what has


    happenedtely, don¡¯t you think that those who side with the Gray Family always end up in trouble?


    Think back on Melody Stryder and Cynthia Stone. Following this logic, I am afraid that the Waces


    would meet the same fate.¡±


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°That sounds right, but remember, the Waces are different. They are the elites of


    Seafield, unlike the Stryders. One could say that they have an advantage in their own territory.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any difference. The Waces and the Coleman Family are political enemies.¡± (This novel will


    be daily updtaed at .noveljar)He grinned. ¡°Sonia, you probably don¡¯t know about this yet, but


    the mayor of Seafield will be vacating his seat soon. The two families have their eyes on the position of


    mayor, which is why they are now in the middle of a showoff! Given that the entire city has heard about


    Titus Gray¡¯s arrest, how did the Waces have the guts to free him?¡±


    ¡°Do you mean to say that the Coleman Family will use this incident to their advantage?¡± A witty twinkle


    shed in her eyes.


    Charles snapped his fingers in excitement. ¡°Baby, you¡¯re intelligent indeed! That¡¯s correct! The Coleman


    Family will definitely use this knowledge to their advantage. Once the Waces get themselves in


    trouble, they would start hating Titus Gray like the Stryders did. Had the Stryders not been in crisis, they


    would have already taken revenge on the Gray Family.¡±


    ¡°That would be good news.¡± A smile crept onto Sonia¡¯s face.


    ¡°There¡¯s more,¡± Charles added. ¡°The Waces have offended the Coleman Familytely.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± She was taken aback by the news.


    To that, he reacted with a maniacalugh. ¡°Do you really think that the Waces would take the risk and


    save Titus Gray just because he is an old friend from college? That¡¯s definitely not the case. This time


    around, the Waces and the Coleman Family are in a heated fight for the mayor position. As the two


    families are equally good in politics, it is hard to decide which one of the vice mayors should be


    promoted. As a result, the higher ups have handed the two families a mission.¡±


    ¡°What mission?¡± Sonia¡¯s curiosity was piqued.


    Charles shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know about the details, but the two families are trying their best to attract


    investments to Seafield. Whoever gets the most investments for the city will be considered faster in


    completing the mission. At first, the Gray Family were supporting the Coleman Family, but in the end,


    they withdrew their investment and redirected it to the Waces.¡±


    ¡°I see what¡¯s going on there. The Gray Family has probably used their investments as the bargaining


    chip to free Titus Gray.¡±


    Charles nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! However, Titus Gray¡¯s action has turned the Coleman Family into a joke. If


    the mission ends now, the Coleman Family would have lost the opportunity to evenpete for the


    position. That¡¯s why I said Titus Gray has offended the Coleman Family.¡±


    At that point, Sonia could not help but smile. ¡°The Gray Family is indeed something. How could they


    offend all the families in power at the same time?¡±


    ¡°I know right?¡± He agreed.


    When Sonia saw the elevator was arriving, she nned to end the call. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s end here for now.


    (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)Let¡¯s leave Titus Gray to the Coleman Family¡ª


    they¡¯d definitely take care of him for us. As for you, keep an eye on the factory and tell the engineering


    team to speed up on the construction.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia hung up on the call and entered the elevator.


    Over at the Gastroenterology Department, the doctor held Sonia¡¯s report in hand and sat on his chair


    with a solemn expression.


    Upon seeing that, she clutched her hands anxiously. ¡°Doctor, do I have a serious illness?¡±

 Chapter 117

    Chapter 117


    ¡°No,¡± the doctor answered with a shake of his head, which caused Sonia to sigh in relief.


    That¡¯s good to hear.


    Judging from his serious expression, she almost believed that she had suffered from some terminal


    illness.


    ¡°What is the diagnosis then?¡± She looked at him and asked in concern.


    The doctor ced Sonia¡¯s report on the table. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. How about this? You should get a


    checkup at the OB-GYN. Cases like yours usually fall under the purview of that department.¡±


    ¡°OB-GYN?¡± The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched in shock. Isn¡¯t it just some abdomen pain? Why is he


    asking me to go to the OB-GYN?


    ¡°Yes, my diagnosis is that you¡¯re pregnant. Hence the suggestion,¡± the doctor answered with a nod.


    Her eyes wavered as her mind went nk. It took her quite a while to return to her senses before she


    croaked in a hoarse voice, ¡°A-Am I pregnant?¡±


    ¡°I think so,¡± he replied.


    Sonia stumbled for a little and felt the world spinning wildly around her. I¡¯m pregnant. How could that be?


    She stood up and took the report as she stumbled to the OB-GYN after having decided to go for a


    thorough checkup at the OB-GYN. What if I¡¯m not pregnant? Maybe the doctor from the


    Gastroenterology Department misdiagnosed me.


    The elevator doors slid open after a chime.


    The moment Sonia walked out of the elevator, she looked around to confirm that the OB-GYN was on


    the left and hurried in that direction.


    It so happened that Toby had just ended his call and was returning to the hospital. When he noticed


    Sonia disappearing around the corner, he could not help but


    narrow his eyes in suspicion. Why is she still here in the hospital?


    ¡°Toby.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    While he was deep in thought, he heard someone calling him from behind.


    He spun around to see a doctor wearing his white coat and a sly smile on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Toby tucked his phone away and asked nonchntly.


    Tim pushed his sses further up his nose and answered, ¡°Tina is awake now and she wants to see


    you.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Toby felt much more relieved as he hurried into the ward.


    While staring at his friend disappearing down the corridor, Tim pursed his lips for a second before he


    adopted a smile and followed Toby into the room.


    ¡°Toby.¡± Tina was seated on the sofa and looked at him nkly. ¡°Toby, Tim told me that I fainted. How did


    that happen?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby instantly frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember?¡±


    She shook her head and pressed her temples. ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I can¡¯t recall a thing.¡±


    He looked at his feet with an expression that was hard to read. Soon, he asked her again, ¡°How about


    the memories before you fainted? Do you recall any of them?¡±


    Tina tilted her head to think before she shook her head again. ¡°I can¡¯t recall that as well. The only thing I


    remember is that we made up in the morning. Nothing else. Toby, what happened to me?¡± She nced


    at Toby in panic. ¡°Why did I lose part of my memory? Do I have some terminal illness?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t reply; rather, he stared at her with such a deep look that it almost prated her mind for the


    truth.


    ¡°Toby?¡± A confused Tina called while she was suppressing her panic.


    It was hard to discern the emotions in his voice. ¡°Do you really not recall anything?¡±


    This time around, before she could say anything , Tim interjected, ¡°She really can¡¯t


    recall a thing.¡±


    Upon hearing the news, Toby¡¯s expression changed. Even though he had suspected Tina¡¯s answer, he


    would never doubt the veracity of Tim¡¯s ount, for Tim was not only a friend, but a renowned surgeon.


    There was no way Tim would not lie to him.


    ¡°What happened? Why would she lose her memory?¡± He fixed his gaze on Tim while Tina turned to Tim


    in curiosity.


    Tim unearthed his hands from the coat pockets to scratch the back of his head. ¡°On this topic¡­ I think


    it¡¯s best if we talk outside.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I listen?¡± Tina pouted in anger.


    He merely smiled at her. ¡°You better not know about it. Let¡¯s go, Toby. We¡¯ll talk outside.¡±


    After considering for around two seconds, Toby quickly agreed and exited the room before Tim.


    Tim trotted behind Toby and before he left the room, he suddenly turned around to quickly wink at Tina.


    She smiled and nodded in response.


    Once he had received her tacit agreement, Tim turned around and closed the door to the ward.


    ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby stopped in his tracks and questioned with a serious tone.


    Tim took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and shook it. Then, he handed his friend a ciggy. ¡°Do


    you want one?¡±


    Toby did not even take a look at the cigarette that was offered to him.


    After knowing Toby¡¯s answer, Tim kept his cigarettes away and lit one for himself. He took a drag on it


    with great pleasure. ¡°Tina is schizophrenic.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s pupils shook upon hearing the shocking revtion.


    Tim exined, ¡°To be more specific, she is not only schizophrenic, but she is also suffering from


    dissociative identity disorder. She has a dark identity. To put it simply, she has a personality that drives


    her tomit wrongdoings.¡±


    Toby tightly clenched his fists. ¡°How did that happen?¡±


    Tim puffed a ring of smoke. ¡°Dissociative identity disorder is usually triggered by extremely traumatic


    events. Tina previously did not suffer from the disorder; we only observed that in her after she regained


    consciousness. Do you still recall that she almost went into shock and fell into aa after learning you


    were married the moment she woke up? I assume that she must have developed dissociative identity


    disorder around that time.¡±


    After learning about the truth behind Tina¡¯s condition, Toby felt a gut-wrenching pain. Tina developed a


    dissociative identity disorder because of me and Sonia!


    ¡°I went through some articles earlier.¡± Tim extinguished his cigarette. ¡°This dark identity of hers has a


    strong hatred for your ex-wife, perhaps because your ex-wife took away what had belonged to Tina.¡±


    Toby frowned unhappily. ¡°That has nothing to do with Sonia. It was my fault for not turning Tina down.¡±


    In short, he was the root of the problem.


    A reflection shed across Tim¡¯s sses. ¡°Toby, are you defending your ex-wife


    now?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. We are discussing Tina now. Why would you bring that up?¡± Toby impatiently pursed his


    lips.


    Tim looked at him in the eye before shing a smile. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°About Tina¡¯s dark identity¡­ Does it appear whenever she sees Sonia?¡±


    Tim shrugged. ¡°How would I know? Anyway, the identities usually surface when the owner feels


    threatened. Maybe your ex-wife has done something to Tina, causing her to develop a vindictive identity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Toby blurted out without even thinking.


    Tim narrowed his eyes. ¡°And you said you weren¡¯t protecting your ex-wife.¡±


    ¡°I am not. It¡¯s just because Sonia would never do something like that.¡± Toby gave a cold reply.


    He had a hunch that Sonia was innocent.


    ¡°Alright, if you say so.¡± Tim sped his hands together as his tone took a serious turn. ¡°This identity of


    hers has probably showed up for the first time, which is why she has lost all her recent memories. I¡¯m


    worried that this particr identity would frequently surface if things don¡¯t change.¡±


    ¡°Can it be treated?¡± Toby cast a nce at him.


    Tim then nodded, ¡°In the history of medicine, we have observed a number of cases where the


    dissociated identities have merged with the owner¡¯s main identity. Since Tina¡¯s new identity is a recent


    urrence, there is a high chance that it could be merged with her primary one.¡±


    ¡°What should we do then?¡± Toby asked in seriousness.


    Tim pushed the bridge of his sses once again. ¡°It¡¯s simple. Try to keep herpany, make her happy


    and definitely do your best to avoid her meeting your ex wife or even to seeing you with your ex. As long


    as she is not agitated, her identity won¡¯t resurface. Sooner orter, it will merge with her main.¡±


    Although the exnation sounded crazy, Toby still took note of the suggestions. ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I will get back to work now. I¡¯ve just returned from an international trip. There is lots of


    work waiting for me.¡± Tim patted him on the shoulders before leaving


    Toby stood at the same spot and stared at the door in front of him with pursed lips.


    Never would he have thought that Tina would be driven to the point of developing dissociative identity


    disorder. Her behavior toward Sonia in the past month could also be exined by the formation of her


    new identity. That was why she acted and talked differently from the letters she wrote to me after she


    regained consciousness!

 Chapter 118

    Chapter 118


    A faint sobbing sound was suddenly heard from the room.


    Without much thought, Toby immediately opened the door and found a frightened Tina. It was after a


    short pause that she turned to walk further into the room.


    ¡°Tina,¡± he called out to her.


    She paused and wiped away her tears before turning to face him with a forced smile. ¡°Toby, are you


    done talking to Tim?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby stared at her for a couple of seconds before he asked, ¡°Did you overhear


    us?¡±


    Tina nodded as her eyes turned misty again. ¡°Toby, d-do I really have dissociative personality disorder?¡±


    He opened his mouth to say anything, but he couldn¡¯t form his words and merely ended up grunting.


    She covered her face with her hands and cried her heart out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. I didn¡¯t know about it. I


    really didn¡¯t know. Sobs.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± As Toby felt sorry for her, he yanked her into a tender hug. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. There¡¯s no


    need to apologize.¡±


    ¡°I heard Tim saying that the new identity is evil, though. It is also being hostile toward Miss Reed. Did I


    do something horrible to her before I lost my memory?¡± She held his cor and asked with reddened


    eyes.


    Toby looked at his feet and answered somberly, ¡°That identity of yours¡­ She pushed Sonia off the


    stairs.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tina inhaled sharply and eximed, ¡°How could that be? D-Did I n to kill Miss


    Reed?¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t you. Remember, it was your secondary identity.¡± He touched her hair and corrected her.


    She bit her lip and croaked, ¡°Even so, that identity is still part of me. Now I


    understand why I have been mean toward her in the past few times. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have done that,


    but I couldn¡¯t control myself. It¡¯s all because I have a mental illness!¡±


    Tina started hitting herself on the head with a dejected and disgusted expression.


    ¡°Tina, stop it!¡± Toby hurriedly pulled her hands away. ¡°I told you that it was not your fault.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault! Not only did I frame her for running over me, I even caused her to trip. After that, I even


    pushed her off the stairs. I-I¡­¡± Tina was a crying mess by now.


    He kissed her on the forehead. ¡°You were under the influence of your nascent alternative identity when


    you hurt Sonia twice. That¡¯s the reason why you shoved her off the stairs, but it was the doing of your


    identity. It had nothing to do with you as a person, which is why you have no memory of it. You shouldn¡¯t


    me yourself.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed doesn¡¯t know about my condition, though.¡± Tina sniffled and thought of something as she


    pushed him away. ¡°By the way, Toby, is Miss Reed okay? She¡¯s fine, right?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Toby answered.


    Tina patted her chest and sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s great. Good to hear that she¡¯s okay, but I think she


    won¡¯t let this slide.¡±


    He pursed his lips. ¡°She will file a police report.¡±


    ¡°A police report?¡± Tina eximed before she gave a bitter smile. ¡°That makes sense. After I pushed her


    off the stairs, it¡¯s only fair that she reported me. I should serve prison time for my behavior. The only thing


    is that I heard the female wardens are scary and excellent at torturing the inmates. I wonder if that¡¯s


    true.¡±


    After that, she stole a nce at him, but he did not notice it because he was busy thinking about Tim¡¯s


    suggestion.


    To help Tina¡¯s new identity merge with her main one, Toby couldn¡¯t send her to prison.


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    If she went to jail, she would definitely be traumatized again, given how vulnerable her personality was.


    By then, not only would they be unable to treat her, they might


    even witness more subsequent identities forming.


    At the thought of that, Toby narrowed his eyes and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let you head to


    prison.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡± Tina looked at him with her bright eyes, but the light in them had almost immediately


    dimmed. ¡°Miss Reed won¡¯t agree with your decision, though.¡±


    ¡°I will talk to her,¡± he muttered as he stared at the floor.


    At this time, his phone buzzed from a call-it was from Tom.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Toby answered and asked with a serious tone.


    Tom replied respectfully, ¡°President Fuller, two research teams have arrived from abroad to authorize our


    alternative energy technology.¡±


    ¡°Okay, serve them for the time being. I will be back soon,¡± Toby ordered.


    After the call, he kept his phone aside in his pocket. ¡°Tina, I need to head back to the office. Get some


    rest for now and don¡¯t overthink it. I will take care of everything that happens after this.¡±


    Tina nodded obediently. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Toby pocketed his phone and turned around to leave.


    Not long after that, Tim returned to the room. ¡°Are you sure this is the best solution? If you fake a mental


    illness and your lies are exposed, I¡¯m afraid that your reputation will be in tatters.¡±.


    ¡°So what?¡± She shrugged without a care. ¡°My reputation was already damaged at the banquet when I


    used Sonia of running over me. I don¡¯t care if my reputation is worsened. Plus, why are you so sure


    that I¡¯d be exposed?¡±


    He pushed the bridge of his sses. ¡°Nothing is without risk. I just want you to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know my limits. After all, I don¡¯t have other options apart from lying; or else, Toby won¡¯t


    offer to help me. At that time, I¡¯d really be imprisoned. Most importantly, I have targeted Sonia a couple of


    times. Even if he doesn¡¯t say anything


    about it, he must have felt upset at me.¡±


    Tina lifted the ss of water and elegantly took a sip. ¡°I can tell from how he refused to help me before


    this. If I pretend to suffer from dissociative personality disorder, I can direct all the me to my non-


    existent identity and he will not resent my main personality anymore. Instead, he¡¯d feel sorry for me.¡±


    On top of that, even if she wanted to hurt Sonia in the future, Toby would not think of her as evil. He¡¯d


    only believe that her actions were due to her worsening mental condition.


    While staring at the cocky and confident Tina, Tim shrugged helplessly. ¡°Alright. Since this is your


    decision, I will respect it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡± She shed a sweet smile at him, which caused him to be in a daze.


    A momentter, he softened his voice. ¡°You¡¯re my savior and my angel. It¡¯s only fair that I treat you well!¡±


    Her smile froze for a while and she looked to the floor to hide the guilt in her eyes. After that, she


    seamlessly changed the conversation topic. ¡°By the way, I need you to do me another favor.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± He was oblivious to her change in expression and asked nkly.


    Tina pursed her lips solemnly. ¡°She has the voice recording of me pushing her off the stairs. I know that


    Toby has promised to protect me from being imprisoned, but that recording is a ticking time-bomb that I


    want you to take care of immediately.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± Tim inserted his hands into the coat pockets and assured her with a rxed look.


    She added, ¡°Another thing¡­ She¡¯s pregnant.¡±


    ¡°Whose child is she carrying?¡± He lifted a brow in amusement.


    Her face contorted as she forced the answer through gritted teeth, ¡°It¡¯s Toby¡¯s child, but she doesn¡¯t


    know. If he knows that she¡¯s pregnant, he will immediately know that it¡¯s his child.¡±


    On that fateful night, Tina had drugged Sonia with the n of having Sonia sleep


    with other men. She would then take photos and videos of Sonia to ruin her reputation. Much to her


    dismay, not only did Sonia not return to her room, she even spent the night with Toby in another room. It


    was safe to say that Tina¡¯s n was a colossal failure.


    As she was at the end of her wits, she could onlyunch her n B after Toby left. She ordered the man


    whom she hired to pretend to sleep beside Sonia and suppress the truth that Sonia had spent a night


    with Toby.


    It was just that Tina never expected that their one night stand would lead to Sonia¡¯s pregnancy!

 Chapter 119

    Chapter 119


    As she thought about it, Tina clenched her fists and hissed, ¡°That is why we must hide the news of her


    pregnancy from Toby or at least until Sonia has an abortion or miscarries.¡±


    If not, knowing how responsible Toby was, he would definitely not divorce Sonia, and instead advise her


    to deliver the child.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Tim slightly nodded before he inquired, ¡°What do you want me to do then?¡±


    ¡°Since the Lancaster Family is an influential family in the field of medicine, I believe you have influence


    on all the hospitals in Seafield. I want you to keep an eye on her. No matter which OB-GYN she visits,


    you need to ask the doctors to advise her to abort the child because ofplications. It¡¯s even better if


    they can let her die on the operating table.¡±


    Tina looked at him with a terrifying smile.


    Even Tim, who was well aware that he wasn¡¯t a kind soul, couldn¡¯t help but be shocked by the woman¡¯s


    brutality. Doubt then started to gue him. Is this cruel woman the same girl who saved me from the


    human traffickers when I was a child?


    However, when he saw her almond-shaped eyes that reminded him of that young girl, all his doubts


    dissipated into thin air.


    ¡°Alright. If that¡¯s what you want, I will get it done for you.¡± There was a reflection on


    Tim¡¯s sses.


    At the same time in the OB-GYN, Sonia was sitting anxiously in the OB-GYN while waiting for the results


    of her checkup.


    A nurse called her into the doctor¡¯s office ten minutester.


    ¡°Doctor, what¡¯s the result? Am ¡­ really pregnant?¡± Sonia sped her hands and asked in nervousness.


    The doctor nodded and handed the report to Sonia. ¡°Congrattions, Miss Reed. You are indeed


    pregnant. The baby is now four weeks and ten days old.¡±


    Her mind went nk again.


    Although she had mentally prepared herself for the result, she was still stunned when she received the


    confirmation. I¡¯m pregnant! How am I actually pregnant?


    Sonia¡¯s hands trembled as she held onto the report. Her face was drained of color as she looked frantic


    and lost.


    ¡°Miss Reed? Miss Reed?¡± The doctor had to call Sonia twice to catch her attention before she turned to


    him with a pale face.


    As he sensed that she was upset about the news of her pregnancy, he instantly knew that it was not the


    oue that she wanted. With a sigh, the doctor suggested, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to keep the baby, you can


    schedule a surgery as soon as possible to reduce the risks. By doing so, your body can recuperate faster


    as well.¡±


    ¡°S-Surgery?¡± Sonia was taken aback.


    He nodded. ¡°Yeah, I thought you didn¡¯t want to keep the baby.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I never said that,¡± she replied as she reflexively covered her belly.


    For some unknown reason, the thought of an abortion made Sonia¡¯s heart ache.


    The doctor was stupefied as he asked in confirmation, ¡°So, does that mean you n to keep it?¡±


    Keep it?


    Sonia bit her lip and muttered, ¡°I¡­ I never thought of that either.¡±


    The baby had arrived suddenly, which left her with no time to react.


    How could she possibly agree to keep the baby at that moment?


    The doctor was not surprised at Sonia¡¯s vague stance. After all, he had seen numerous cases like Sonia


    in her years of practice. He suggested with a smile, ¡°Miss Reed, since you need time to think through it,


    why don¡¯t you discuss the matter with your partner and make a joint decision?¡±


    Sonia forced a smile at him and left the hospital soon after.


    She wasn¡¯t in the right frame of mind throughout her journey as her mind was


    preupied with news of the pregnancy. Not to mention, she almost crashed into the car in front of her a


    couple of times.


    After multiple close calls, she finally arrived at Paradigm Co. in one piece.


    Once she had parked her car, she headed straight without even looking out and almost ran into a wall. A


    muscr arm suddenly appeared and pulled her back to safety.


    Sonia fell onto a firm, masculine chest and her nose was instantly flooded with a crisp mint scent. When


    she looked up, her eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    As he dodged her question, Toby bellowed at her with a serious expression. ¡°What are you doing? Watch


    your way when you¡¯re walking. Had I not pulled you aside, you would have knocked into the wall.¡±


    Since she was as guilty as charged, she lowered her head without a word.


    He could not say anything given that she looked pitiful. As he rubbed his forehead, he interrogated her,


    ¡°What was on your mind?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes gleamed as she replied tly.


    Toby suspiciously narrowed his eyes. ¡°Does this look like there¡¯s nothing going on?¡± Her troubled mind is


    fully reflected in her expression. What is it that has caused her to be in a low mood?


    She pursed her rosy lips in determination. ¡°This is my personal matter, so it has nothing to do with you.


    I¡¯ll make a move first.¡±


    With that being said, she turned around and attempted to leave, but he took her arm instead.


    Much to their surprise, the file in her arm had slipped onto the floor. He looked down and saw the name


    of the hospital printed on the document.


    It was the same hospital that Grandma was warded at.


    ¡°Were you injured from the fall but didn¡¯t say anything about it to me?¡± Toby tightened his grip on Sonia¡¯s


    arm.


    She frowned. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Now that his eyes were scrunched up, he clearly did not trust her words.


    Before Tina had regained consciousness, he had clearly witnessed Sonia walking to another department


    the hospital.


    Although he had no idea which department she visited, it was clear that she went there to treat her injury


    after the fall.


    ¡°Is it an internal injury?¡± Toby asked again.


    ¡°President Fuller, why are you being nosy? This is my personal matter. What does it have to do with


    you?¡± Sonia mocked him with a smile. He keeps asking all those questions. Those who didn¡¯t know


    better would think that I am someone important to him and that he¡¯s concerned about me.


    Since she was tight-lipped about her situation, he decided to bend over and pick up the file.


    Upon seeing that, her expression fell and she grabbed the file to hide it behind her since she had no


    ns to reveal the report to him.


    Toby frowned at her frantic move, which confirmed his guess about her health condition.


    Since Sonia was unwilling to tell him, he decided to look into the matter when he visited Grandmater in


    the evening.


    At this moment, a red sedan drove over before it rolled to a stop beside them.


    The moment the door was opened, it revealed Charles, who emerged from the vehicle before he


    mmed it shut. Then, he jogged over to Sonia and cast a wary look at Toby. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Toby¡¯s gaze swept past him andnded on Sonia again. ¡°I am here to have a talk with you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She furrowed her brows with a look of cautione


    She could not figure out anything that was worth discussing between them.


    Knowing that his words would anger her, he chose to pause for a moment before he requested in an


    apologetic tone, ¡°May I ask for you not to file a police report on today¡¯s incident?¡±


    Indeed, Sonia¡¯s expression soured. ¡°What did you say? You want me not to lodge a report against her?¡±


    Toby muttered, ¡°Yes.¡±


    She snickered from the ridiculousness of the situation. ¡°Toby, what are you thinking? When I said I would


    lodge a report, you did not oppose it. And now, you are suddenly against it. What is it that you want?¡±


    ¡°Darling what¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± Charles was confused as his eyes darted between her and


    Toby, but nobody paid attention to him.


    Toby lowered his gaze. ¡°I know that I have ced you in a difficult spot, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°No ¡®buts?¡± She clenched her fist and loudly interrupted, ¡°Toby, Tina wanted to kill me. She had pushed


    me off the stairs because she wanted me dead, but now you are asking me not to report her to the


    police. Are you the crazy one or has the world gone mad?¡±


    ¡°What? Tina Gray pushed you off the stairs?¡± Charles finally had a clue of the incident and trembled in


    rage. He red with red eyes that was full of hate at Toby.


    Charles finally lost control of his temper andnded a punch on Toby¡¯s face. ¡°Toby, you are f*cking mad,


    aren¡¯t you? Are you asking my darling to pardon her assant? How dare you! Who do you think you


    are?¡±


    The punch came as a surprise to Toby, who was punched right on the face. He stumbled backward as


    the corner of his lips was bruised and bloodied.


    Sonia was equally shocked. When she recovered herposure, she quickly went up to him. ¡°Are you


    okay?¡±

 Chapter 120

    Chapter 120


    Upon hearing her concerns, Toby softened his gaze as he rose to wipe the corner of his mouth. He was


    just about to assure her that he was fine when she walked right past him toward Charles.


    Sonia took Charles¡¯ hand and examined it. ¡°Is your hand alright?¡±


    Charles seemed to have put his anger behind him as he grinned. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±She sighed in relief.


    Toby¡¯s gaze darkened and it had a downcast air around him. It was obvious that he was undoubtedly


    unhappy.


    He was mistaken; she had never cared much for him.


    Still, it was understandable, for Charles was her boyfriend. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)


    It was only natural for her to worry about Charles. Despite knowing that, Toby still felt upset.


    Toby¡¯s hands clenched into fists and his expression was as cold as ice.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice him. Instead, she jokingly poked at Charles¡¯ forehead. ¡°You really gave me a fright!


    Why did you suddenly start punching people?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s so shameless that I can¡¯t stand it.¡± Charles threw Toby a cold snort.


    Her expression turned cold as she looked at Toby. ¡°President Fuller, please just leave. I haven¡¯t changed


    my mind and I¡¯ll still file a report.¡±


    Toby¡¯s gaze lowered. ¡°What do you want?¡±.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia was stunned for a bit.


    He looked at her as the words passed through his thin lips. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡°As long as you agree not to call the cops, I will give you anything you want.¡±


    ¡°You b*stard..¡± Charles was close to going berserk again.


    Sonia stopped him before she smiled sarcastically at Toby. ¡°Anything at all?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Toby nodded.


    She narrowed her eyes. ¡°All right, don¡¯t go back on your word now. I want either Fuller Group or Triforce


    Enterprise. Make your choice. Give me one of them and I won¡¯t call the police.¡±


    Charles¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Great move, darling.¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t expect Sonia to have such wild ambitions to ask for either the Fuller Group or Triforce


    Enterprise right off the bat. His eyebrows were locked in a tight frown as he replied, ¡°Sonia, are you


    kidding me? You know very well that I cannot give you either one of them.¡±


    Sonia crossed her arms and sneered. ¡°Yes, I am kidding. Your efforts are futile, so just give up. I will


    never reconsider my decision because I want nothing more than to see Tina being thrown behind bars!¡±


    With that, she pulled Charles along as they walked toward the elevator.


    In truth, she was quite grateful toward Toby for appearing on time and saving her, for she would really be


    dead otherwise. However, after seeing Toby¡¯s actions moments ago, her gratitude was reced with


    pure disgust toward him.


    To her, it was eptable to pamper people whom one loved, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)but if the pampering was limitless and disregarded even thew, then it was


    overboard.


    Toby watched Sonia leave, but he didn¡¯t move to stop her.


    He knew that stopping her wouldn¡¯t help, which meant that he had to think of other ways to save Tina:


    Emotions flitted across Toby¡¯s eyes as he turned to leave.


    Meanwhile, in the elevator, Charles was still ranting. ¡°That was too much! How could he say such


    shameless things with a straight face?¡±


    ¡°All right, calm down. I don¡¯t feel angry anymore, so why are you still hung up about it?¡± Sonia smiled a


    little as she watched Charles¡¯ angry behavior.


    He pouted. ¡°Darling, are you really okay with it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t hold your anger for too long; it¡¯s not worth it, especially when it¡¯s about


    irrelevant people,¡± she answered calmly.


    Charles blinked in excitement. ¡°You¡¯re right, darling, They¡¯re irrelevant people, but


    ¡°But what?¡± Sonia walked out of the elevator.


    He quickly followed up on his words. ¡°Toby couldn¡¯t change your mind this time, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t


    give up. He might just do something.¡±


    Her gaze turned dark. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s see what he can do. It¡¯s just me and myself, so I¡¯m not


    scared of him. Two of us can y the game.¡±


    Charles was shocked. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t say that. What would I do if something bad happens to you?¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Don¡¯t take it so seriously.¡±


    Still, if Toby really managed to threaten her, she would be ready to fight him to the end.


    They had arrived at the office in the midst of their conversation.


    Sonia immediately entered and she took out her phone to call the police.


    At the mention of intentional homicide, the police were instantly on their feet and left to apprehend the


    culprit. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)Soon, Tina was arrested in the hospital.


    When she was caught, she was still in bewilderment as her mind was filled with fear and panic. What¡¯s


    going on? Didn¡¯t Toby say that he would convince Sonia not to call the police? Why did she do it


    regardlessly?


    Her face was pale as she was taken to the police station and into the interrogation room.


    The police then immediately notified Sonia.


    ¡°Understood. Thank you. I¡¯ll be there right away to provide evidence.¡± An expressionless Sonia kept her


    phone away after the call before she rose to her feet.


    ¡°Darling, let me apany you.¡± Charles put down the coffee in his hand and offered.


    She shook her head. ¡°No need. Just stay behind at Paradigm Co.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he responded, albeit a little unwillingly.


    ¡°I¡¯m off then.¡± Sonia grabbed her bag on the desk and walked out.


    She soon drove to the police station and found a spot in a parking lot near the police station. Then, she


    alighted from the car.


    She had taken not more than two steps when she suddenly heard the loud engines of a motorcycle


    roaring behind her.


    Sonia turned around to see a ck motorcycle headed right toward her at an rming speed.


    She was so shocked that she turned pale and her legs were frozen in ce.


    The motorcycle was just about to run into her and she could only subconsciously flinch before squeezing


    her eyes shut.


    After bracing for a full-on impact, Sonia realized that only her shoulder was hurting.


    Then, the bag on her shoulder was immediately snatched by the motorcyclist.


    The strong pull had caused Sonia to fall to the side.


    Her car was right beside her, so it had managed to break her fall. Still, her stomach mmed against the


    sidelights whereupon the subsequent sharp pain caused her to yelp and break out in cold sweat.


    Sonia hissed in pain and rubbed her stomach.


    However, her hand quickly moved away from her stomach to pull open the door as she hastily sat on the


    driver¡¯s seat. She drove after the thief in hot pursuit, enduring the pain in her stomach. I have to get my


    bag back.


    The bag contained not only her credentials, but her phone as well. There was even an audio recording of


    her call with Toby on her phone with evidence of Tina pushing


    her. She couldn¡¯t afford to lose it at any cost.


    Sonia frowned deeply as she gave chase, flooring the gas pedal.


    Tom had just driven over when he saw Sonia¡¯s car disappearing out of sight. He couldn¡¯t help but remark


    in confusion, ¡°President Fuller, I think that was Miss Reed¡¯s car. She¡¯s going so fast, like she¡¯s chasing


    after someone.¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Chasing after someone?


    Toby was in the backseat, tending to the injury on the corner of his mouth. The moment he heard Tom¡¯s


    words, Toby¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Who is she giving chase to?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t see them.¡± Tom shook his head.


    Toby thought for a few seconds before shouting his orders, ¡°Follow them!¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Tom responded before he started the car once again.


    Sonia chased after the motorcycle with all her might.


    As it was a busy road, her car couldn¡¯t match the speed of that motorcycle.


    The motorcycle weaved in and out between the cars, but she was stuck and unable to move.


    In the end, she could only watch as the motorcycle drove away out of sight.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes reddened in anger as she pped the steering wheel in frustration.


    As a result of the sudden movement, her stomach had ached even more.


    She could no longer endure the pain and pulled up to the side of the road. Then, she slumped onto the


    steering wheel in intense pain.


    At that moment, she heard a knock on the car window.


    Despite the pain, Sonia raised her head and turned to look at the source of the knock. She then caught


    sight of Toby¡¯s stern face outside the window.


    The bruise on his face was the only w in his handsome features.


    She rolled down the window and red at him. Her tone was irritated as she spoke, ¡°What?¡±


    Upon seeing her all sweaty and pale, he frowned and asked in a tense voice, ¡°What happened to you?¡±

 Chapter 121

    Chapter 121


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Sonia closed her eyes and answered coolly.


    Upon seeing her reluctance to speak, Toby bit his lip in displeasure and reached in through the window.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She stared at him in surprise.


    He didn¡¯t reply; instead, he simply moved his hand to unlock the door before his other hand opened the


    door from outside.


    ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°Get out,¡± Toby ordered in a low voice.


    Sonia didn¡¯t budge in her seat. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll get out just because you asked me to? Why should I


    listen to you? What on earth are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Get into the backseat. I¡¯ll take you to the hospital,¡± was Toby¡¯s reply.


    She blinked before she looked away. ¡°No need. I can do that myself. Don¡¯t even bother.¡±


    ¡°Do you seriously think you can drive in this condition?¡± he asked coldly, looking at her pale face and


    sweaty forehead. Does this woman even remotely care about her own body?


    Sonia gripped her stomach and forced a smile. ¡°Why should it matter to you whether I can drive or not?


    We¡¯re not even rted to each other.¡±


    Toby was stunned and he couldn¡¯t find any words to retort her statement-for it was true that he wasn¡¯t


    rted to her in any way. If anything, he was her ex-husband. And an ex-husband might as well be a


    stranger.


    At that thought, he looked down and felt a little resigned. ¡°Even if we¡¯re not rted to . each other, seeing


    your condition now, even a stranger wouldn¡¯t just stand by and watch.¡±


    ¡°You must be joking, President Fuller. If it were a total stranger, I wouldn¡¯t even mind if they gave me a


    ride. Since it¡¯s you who offered, I can only decline, though. Just


    focus on little Miss Gray, all right?¡± Sonia pouted and pushed him away before she closed the car door.


    Toby¡¯s dark expression betrayed his displeasure. She would rather have a total stranger take her to the


    hospital. Does she hate me this much?


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± As she was getting ready to drive away, she suddenly remembered something. Her


    expression was sour as she continued, ¡°President Fuller, my bag was snatched by someone on a


    motorcycle earlier.¡±


    ¡°Snatched?¡± He frowned. So, she was chasing after the motorcycle?


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded and examined him. ¡°My phone was in there and it contained the recording which


    proves that Tina had pushed me. However, right when I was about to enter the police station, my bag


    was snatched. Think about it. The recording was snatched before I could even submit it. Isn¡¯t it obvious


    that the person wasn¡¯t after the money but rather, the recording? President Fuller, are you involved in


    this?¡±


    Toby understood what she meant and he bit his lip. ¡°Are you suspecting that I asked someone to snatch


    your bag?¡±


    Sonia withheld her answer. ¡°You didn¡¯t want me to file a report because you didn¡¯t want any harm to


    befall Tina, so that makes you a suspect. Also, only the three of us know about the recording. If it wasn¡¯t


    you, then it¡¯s probably Tina. There couldn¡¯t have been another person.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me,¡± he replied with clenched fists. There wasn¡¯t even a need for him to


    resort to such underhanded methods to protect Tina.


    Sonia raised her chin in realization. ¡°Then, it could only be Miss Gray.¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips moved ever so slightly as he wanted to say that it might not be Tina either, but those


    words stayed on the tip of his tongue, for he couldn¡¯t say them. Sonia had said that only three people in


    this world knew about the audio recording. If it wasn¡¯t him, then it could only be Tina. However, he


    couldn¡¯t be sure which Tina it was.


    ¡°What are you thinking about, President Fuller?¡± Sonia asked as she narrowed her eyes at Toby.


    He dropped his gaze. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯m curious. When I first wanted to file a report, you supported me, but


    why did you change your mind a few hourster? Care to exin?¡±


    Toby massaged his temples with his fingers. ¡°Tina has a personality disorder.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing.


    As a result, he repeated his words.


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    After confirming what Toby was saying, Sonia thought it was the biggest joke in the world. ¡°And you


    believed her just like that?¡± To learn that you have a personality disorder right before getting into jail?


    How can there be such coincidences in this world?


    ¡°It is true.¡± Toby looked at Sonia in all seriousness. ¡°Tina didn¡¯t mean to pick on you; she was just


    affected by her secondary personality, which was also the culprit who pushed you.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid?¡± She gave him a cold re. ¡°Do you think I¡¯d fall for such a


    cheap excuse?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. Tim Lancaster was the one who diagnosed her,¡± Toby responded in a low voice.


    Sonia was slightly startled. ¡°Tim Lancaster-the one whoes from a long line of doctors?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± He nodded in affirmation.


    At that, she fell silent. Although she had never met Tim before, she had obviously heard of him. He was a


    rare prodigy skilled in the ways of medicine, obtaining his doctorate at the age of 18 before moving on to


    intern at the hospital owned by the Lancasters. It took Tim only 2 years before he was able to operate on


    patients alone. He was a real genius and people fought to establish connections with him.


    However, for some reason, Tim took temporary leave from all his duties 6 years ago and went abroad to


    study neurology and psychology. He then rose to international fame, so if he had diagnosed Tina with a


    personality disorder, then it had to be true.


    Sonia gripped the steering wheel. ¡°So what if Tina really had a personality disorder? I still want her in


    jail.¡±


    ¡°She can¡¯t be jailed; it would only worsen her condition.¡± Toby frowned.


    Again, she red at him. ¡°So what? It doesn¡¯t matter to me. I just want her to pay the price for her


    crimes!¡± With that, she rolled up the car window and drove away.


    Toby remained standing where he was, sending a deep gaze toward the direction she went while his lips


    were pursed in silence.


    While on the way back from the police station, Sonia had one hand on the steering wheel and the other


    paw on her stomach with a heart that was full of spite. She understood his intentions to protect Tina, for


    she knew he loved the woman. However, she had troubleing to terms with it. If Toby wanted to


    protect Tina, she would have to be the one suffering and she refused to ept it.


    Soon, Sonia arrived at the police station. She didn¡¯t hurry out of the car. Instead, she sat in the car for a


    while and waited until the pain in her stomach dulled. Then, she got out of the car and walked through


    the doors of the police station before she proceeded to file a report in the hall. The report stated that her


    bag was snatched. She needed the police to send their men out to catch the thief and retrieve the bag in


    one piece.


    Meanwhile, in the interrogation room, Julia held Tina in her arms as she wept, ¡°I know you hate Sonia,


    but you can¡¯t just try to murder her. You¡¯re going overboard.¡±


    Julia almost fainted when she received the call from the police iming that her daughter had pushed


    Sonia down the steps.


    Tina had bowed her head and her eyes were reddened. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t want to do it, but I


    couldn¡¯t control myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Julia sighed. Then, she nced at Titus, who was standing at the side. ¡°Didn¡¯t you two realize


    that Sonia isn¡¯t someone whom you could mess with? She foiled all your ns to harm her and even had


    the both of you in the police station. This clearly means that you two can never beat her at plotting.¡±


    Titus rubbed his temples. ¡°That b*stard Henry really brought up a clever girl then.¡± When he said those


    words, he felt a certain envy and jealousy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn. Please just stay away from Sonia from now on, unless you can find a way to throw


    her to the bottom of the pit and block all the exits. If not, then stay put. I don¡¯t want to ever receive


    another call informing me that you were


    arrested again.¡± Julia buried her face in her hands and she sobbed as she spoke.


    He took her into his embrace. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand.¡±

 Chapter 122

    Chapter 122


    Titus had finally understood that underhanded tricks would not cut it. Sonia wouldn¡¯t be hindered by them


    as she had the mysterious Fox Eyes backing her.


    In order to get to her, he first had to deal with Fox Eyes. However, such matters could not be rushed, so


    he could only take things slowly at this point.


    Tina didn¡¯t say anything as she hung her head low with her thoughts undisclosed.


    At that moment, the door to the interrogation room opened where a policeman then brought Sonia in.


    She threw a cold re at the family of three and spoke with sarcasm, ¡°I see that President Gray and his


    wife are here as well.¡±


    Julia looked away and didn¡¯t respond to her.


    Titus gave a cold ¡®hmph¡¯, but he, too, didn¡¯t speak.


    Only Tina looked at Sonia with teary eyes and responded, ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯m really sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to


    push you; I just¡ª¡±


    ¡°Have a split personality, right?¡± Sonia sneered.


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°So, you already know about it.¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes as she examined Tina. ¡°Is it really true, though?¡±


    ¡°It is true. I only found out about it recently.¡± Tina nodded in fright, as if she were deeply afraid of her


    illness.


    Julia hugged her daughter as her heart ached for Tina¡¯s plight. ¡°Tina, why didn¡¯t you tell us about this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Titus gave Tina a stern look.


    Tina took their hands. ¡°That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t want you guys to worry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you poor thing.¡± Julia sighed.


    Sonia watched the three, a reminiscent thought shing across her mind.


    There was once when she, too, had loved her parents like this.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    However, all of that was ruined and it dissipated into thin air along with the incident that happened 6


    years ago.


    ¡°Okay then.¡± Sonia crossed her arms and said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you really have a personality


    disorder or whether you¡¯re just faking it. If it¡¯s true, just pretend I didn¡¯t say anything. If it¡¯s not, then I wish


    you really have a personality disorder.¡±


    Tina froze before she looked at Sonia in shock. ¡°Miss Reed, you¡ª¡±


    ¡°You wretched woman! How could you curse Tina like that?¡± Julia trembled in anger as she pointed a


    finger at Sonia.


    Titus also threw the woman a dark look.


    Sonia shrugged. ¡°I said, your daughter would really suffer from a personality disorder if she isn¡¯t already


    suffering from one. If she truly has this problem, then my words would mean nothing to you. Why are you


    getting so worked up about it?¡±


    ¡°You¡ª ¡± Julia couldn¡¯t say anything in return.


    Titus patted her hand before he narrowed his eyes at Sonia. ¡°I see that you are as cunning as ever.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡±


    He snorted coldly and didn¡¯t say anything else.


    She then turned her gaze at Tina. ¡°Miss Gray, my audio recording has gone missing. Aren¡¯t you happy


    now?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tina blinked in bewilderment before her mouth gaped in surprise, as if she finally understood


    what Sonia meant. ¡°Miss Reed, are you suspecting that I did it?¡±


    ¡°Only the three of us know that I had recorded the conversation. I have asked Toby about it and he said


    he didn¡¯t do anything. So, you are the only remaining suspect.¡± Sonia studied her.


    Tina hastily shook her head while waving her hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t! It wasn¡¯t me! I already said that I¡¯m okay


    with being imprisoned and paying for my crimes, so why would I snatch the audio recording?¡±


    ¡°Snatch?¡± A corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth lifted. ¡°Miss Gray, did you just fall into the trap? I never said


    anything about my recording being snatched.¡±


    Tina went pale as she realized that she had slipped up.


    ¡°¡­ I¡­¡± She anxiously fiddled with her hands.


    Upon seeing this, Sonia gave a look of disdain. ¡°Weaving lies like an expert, huh? If you didn¡¯t want to go


    into jail, you could have just said it and I might have a higher opinion of you. And what¡¯s the result?


    You¡¯re nothing but a sorry pile of lies!¡±


    Sonia turned and left after shooting a cold re at Tina.


    Tina¡¯s expression was beyond terrible as she lowered her head and didn¡¯t reply.


    ¡°Honey, what are you looking at?¡± Julia noticed that Titus was looking in the direction that Sonia went. As


    a result, she couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    Titus thought for a while. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just thought that Sonia¡¯s side profile looks a bit like Mom.¡±


    When he saw her at the meeting prior to today, he already reckoned that Sonia¡¯s smile was simr to his


    mother.


    But now, he was surprised to find that even her side profile looked simr to his mother.


    The statement seemed to ring a bell in Julia¡¯s memory as her eyes widened. ¡°Honey, you reminded me


    of that one time when I was returning from Norfolk. I happened to meet Sonia at the airport and I thought


    that her side profile was familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before. I didn¡¯t make the connection, but


    now that you have mentioned it, it¡¯s really simr to Mom¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Dad, Mom, are you talking about Grandma?¡± Tina suddenly asked.


    Julia nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Tina bit her lip and looked down. ¡°I don¡¯t like Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Oh, darling¡­ Julia sighed and patted Tina on the head. ¡°All right, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore.


    Grandma has passed on, after all.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why didn¡¯t Grandma like me? Am I not her only granddaughter?¡± Tina looked at Titus


    and Julia with tears in her eyes.


    The two of them gave each other a look, sensing theplex emotions in each other¡¯s eyes.


    Sonia was engaged in a conversation with a policeman outside the interrogation room.


    ¡°Miss Reed, even though you said that Miss Gray had pushed you and is suspected of intentional


    homicide by doing so, there weren¡¯t any CCTV cameras at the scene, so it¡¯s quite difficult to obtain


    evidence. This is why we cannot arrest Miss Gray for the moment.¡±


    She had already expected things to turn out in this manner, so she wasn¡¯t angry. Although she felt


    helpless, she still nodded. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°We will do our best to get your purse back,¡± the policeman added.


    Sonia thanked, ¡°All right. I¡¯m counting on you then.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± He smiled.


    Then, she signed her name and walked out of the police station.


    Toby was leaning against the car outside with a lit cigarette in his hand.


    Sonia was stunned to see that sight. He smokes? I¡¯ve never seen him smoke before.


    Toby caught sight of Sonia as well. He put out the cigarette and stared at her face earnestly. When he


    saw that herplexion wasn¡¯t as bad as it had been, his frown rxed. ¡°Are you okay now?¡± he asked.


    W


    She pretended not to hear him as she headed straight for her own car.


    His frown returned to his face because he could feel that she was annoyed with him,


    and even more than before, Is it because I stopped her from filing the report?


    Sonia then drove her car away,


    Toby stood at the spot for a while before he heard footsteps behind him.


    ¡°Toby!¡± Tina eximed in surprise.


    He turned around to see her running up to him in excitement,


    ¡°Toby, you¡­¡± As soon as she noticed the wound on his face, her smile vanished as she reached out to


    caress it. Then, she asked in concern, ¡°Toby, what happened? Who punched you.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, Toby. What happened?¡± Julia and Titus expressed their concern as well.


    Toby removed Tina¡¯s hand from his face. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just tripped.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! Someone clearly punched you in the face.¡± Tina immediately started to burst into tears.


    He squeezed her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not important anymore. Let¡¯s get in the car.¡±


    Upon seeing his reluctance to share more, she could only give up on asking about it and obediently


    entered the car.


    When they were on the road, Toby nced at her. ¡°Tina, did you ask someone to snatch Sonia¡¯s bag?¡±


    Tina nodded before she shook her head. ¡°I suppose so. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t remember anything about it,


    so it must¡¯ve been the other me. She might not have wanted to see me behind bars. I¡¯m sorry, Toby.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not your fault, so don¡¯t get so upset about it,¡± heforted her in a gentle voice.


    She sniffled. ¡°What about Miss Reed, though?¡±


    ¡°Just return the bag to her. Even if she¡¯s able to retrieve the audio recording, I won¡¯t let you be jailed,¡±


    Toby responded as he turned the steering wheel,


    Tina seemed to be troubled as she lowered her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know who snatched the bag and I don¡¯t


    have the contact information on my phone. How am I going to return the bag if I can¡¯t locate it?¡±

 Chapter 123

    Chapter 123


    Toby fell silent.


    He reached up to massage his temples with his fingers. ¡°Never mind then. Can¡¯t be helped if you can¡¯t


    find it.¡±


    If she didn¡¯t know the identity of the thief, he couldn¡¯t possibly force her to retrieve the bag


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for causing trouble again, Toby.¡± Tina bit her lip and apologized with red eyes.


    Now that he saw her like this, Toby responded in the gentlest voice possible, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Don¡¯t


    take it to heart.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Tina. Listen to Toby,¡± Titus coaxed.


    Julia nodded as well.


    Tina smiled through her tears when she realized that everyone wasforting her. ¡°Okay, I know.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah! Toby, do you have any idea on how to deal with Tina¡¯s case?¡± Titus asked as he looked at


    Toby.


    Toby dropped his gaze. ¡°You¡¯ll find out tomorrow.¡±


    Upon sensing Toby¡¯s reluctance to spill the beans, Titus was a little upset, but he didn¡¯t probe further.


    It was a quiet journey in which they arrived at the Gray Residence half an hourter.


    Then, Titus and his family exited the vehicle.


    Toby rolled down the window and looked at them. ¡°Titus, Julia, please take care of Tina.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Julia replied with a smile as she patted Tina¡¯s head.


    Even though Titus didn¡¯t say anything, he looked like he agreed with Julia¡¯s words.


    Toby looked at Tina again. ¡°Rest well at home and I¡¯ll swing by during the weekend to pick you up.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Toby. Have a safe journey.¡± She nodded.


    He grunted before he turned the car around to drive away.


    It was not too long after that he arrived at Fuller Group.


    Tom entered the office with aplicated expression as he held a document in his hand. ¡°President


    Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby was staring at theputer screen and asked without even looking up.


    Tom stood in front of Toby¡¯s desk and took a deep breath before replying, ¡°You asked me to investigate


    Miss Reed¡¯s physical condition from the hospital and I¡¯ve received word on it.¡±


    Toby paused from his typing on the keyboard and raised his head to look at Tom. ¡°What did you find


    out?¡±


    ¡°S-She¡¯s pregnant,¡± Tom answered with a weird expression.


    Toby¡¯s pupils contracted as he froze in shock. After a few seconds, he managed toe around and ask


    in an undeniably surprised tone, ¡°What did you just say? She¡¯s pregnant?¡±


    ¡°Yes, for more than a month now.¡± Tom nodded. It hasn¡¯t even been two months since Miss Reed and


    President Fuller filed for divorce. So, one can conclude that as soon as Miss Reed left President Fuller,


    she immediately hooked up with President Lane.


    Toby looked down so that he could mask his emotions from prying eyes, but his heart was in turmoil. A


    month or so... It¡¯s been around one month since that night I shared with Sonia, so is there a possibility


    that the child is mine?


    His heartbeat raced as he tightened his grip on the mouse. It was obvious he was nowhere near calm at


    that moment.


    Tom wasn¡¯t surprised by the sight. It¡¯s obvious that President Fuller still cares for Miss Reed. Now that he


    has received news that she is pregnant, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to keep


    his cool.


    While Tom pondered, Toby suddenly stood up. ¡°Is there any way to know who the father is beforehand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, by removing the amniotic fluid, but it carries a high risk of miscarriage. Why do you ask, President


    Fuller?¡± Tom was curious.


    Toby didn¡¯t reply. Instead, his frown deepened.


    Upon seeing his boss¡¯ expression, Tom suddenly had a wild guess as his eyes widened. ¡°President


    Fuller, are you suspecting that the child might be yours?¡±


    Toby nced at him before slightly nodding to confirm the man¡¯s guess.


    Tom was speechless. They even did that the day before their divorce¡­ Color me impressed.


    ¡°Is there any other way besides taking the amniotic fluid?¡± Toby asked while looking at his assistant.


    Since removing the amniotic fluid presents great risks, I won¡¯t let Sonia go through that.


    Tom shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s none. Other methods would require the child to be born first.¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips formed a straight line; he was obviously expressing dissatisfaction at this piece of news.


    While carefully examining Toby¡¯s reaction, Tom asked, ¡°President Fuller, don¡¯t be so anxious. What if the


    child isn¡¯t yours but President Lane¡¯s?¡±


    Upon hearing that question, Toby¡¯s expression darkened as a heavy air hung around him.


    Even though he was well aware that the child might not be his¡­


    He still felt annoyed at the thought of the child being someone else¡¯s.


    Toby pulled at his tie and answered in a low voice, ¡°Send someone to keep an eye on Sonia and try to


    investigate who fathered the child.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded in response before he turned to leave.


    Toby was once again left alone in the office.


    He ced a hand to his forehead and squinted his eyes as thoughts of Sonia¡¯s pregnancy whirled


    around in his head, rendering him unable to focus on the work at hand.


    When it was time to get off work, he finally stood up and grabbed his jacket that was hanging on the back


    of his chair before he walked out of the office.


    Toby didn¡¯t return to the Fuller Residence, but he drove over to Bayside Residence instead.


    In truth, he wasn¡¯t even sure why he came. By the time he finally returned to his senses, he had already


    arrived at the ce.


    After parking his car near Sonia¡¯s apartment, Tyler remained in the car.


    Instead, he rolled down the window to light up a cigarette and take a puff.


    The smoke drifted upward and formed a veil over his face. As a result, the reduced visibility had given


    him a temporarily mysterious aura.


    Boom!


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    A loud thunder rang in apaniment to the lightning shes across the sky before the strong winds


    started to pick up too.


    Soon, huge droplets of rain pattered down and drenched the road in seconds. Some of the droplets even


    managed to get past the car window andnded on Toby¡¯s shoulder.


    Toby frowned and tossed the cigarette butt away before he rolled up the window. He proceeded to open


    the car door to head for the apartment building.


    Sonia had just finished her shower and she was seated on her couch, enjoying the warm air from the


    heater whilefortably reading a book on energy.


    The doorbell suddenly rang.


    ¡°Huh?¡± She turned her head around in curiosity to peek at the door. Who¡¯s here at this hour?


    Sonia closed the book and rose to her full height. Then, she walked toward the door and opened it


    before she raised her eyebrows in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±


    The one standing at the door was none other than Toby.


    He had obviously been in the rain, for his hair was wet and gathered in clumps while his shoulder was


    damp as well.


    His face was also slightly pale, perhaps due to the cold.


    Sonia had never seen him in such a state before. For a moment, she felt nothing but surprise at the


    sight.


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Toby answered in a slightly hoarse voice. Then, he reached up to pat away the droplets of


    water that had settled on his shoulder.


    As Sonia could hear the difference in his tonepared to his usual voice, her eyes sparkled slightly


    before it returned to its normal gaze. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? If you¡¯re still trying to convince me to let Tina off


    the hook, you can leave.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not here for that.¡± Toby bit his lip.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she answered suspiciously. ¡°Why are you here then?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t say anything as he lowered his gaze onto Sonia¡¯s stomach.


    It was still t and tight; it was difficult to imagine that there was a tiny life growing inside her tummy.


    A tiny life that he might have had a hand in nting.


    He was strangely pleased at that thought, which caused his gaze at Sonia to deepen.


    She didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, but she knew he was behaving oddly. So, she took a step


    backward. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips moved, as if about to say something, but he suddenly felt a dizzy spell overwhelm him as


    he staggered.


    In the end, he had to hold on to the door frame for support.


    Sonia also realized that something was wrong with him. His pale face had reddened and even his eyes


    had lost its focus.


    ¡°Hey, are you all right?¡± She reached out with a hand and waved it in front of Toby,


    Toby slightly lowered his head, but he didn¡¯t reply.


    Sonia could hear his breathing quickening and since she thought that he was under the weather, she


    ced a hand on his forehead.


    He froze and raised his eyes to look at her. ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re burning!¡± She interrupted with an exmation.

 Chapter 124

    Chapter 124


    Toby blinked before he grunted.


    When he exited the elevator earlier, he already felt a sense of dizziness and figured that he could be


    running a temperature.


    However, he suddenly wanted to see her, so he didn¡¯t give it much thought.


    Sonia lowered her hand and extended it toward Toby.


    He merely looked at her. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Your phone.¡± She frowned in frustration. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)¡°Give it to


    me. I¡¯ll help you to ring the Fullers so that they can send someone over to bring you home.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± He pouted as he declined the offer.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    She chuckled. ¡°Huh, do you think you can drive home on your own?¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips moved, but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    Sonia could feel the onset of a headache. ¡°You don¡¯t want anyoneing over to fetch you, but you


    can¡¯t drive home on your own. What are you trying to-hey!¡±


    Before she could even finish her sentence, the man lost his grip on the door frame before his towering


    body fell in her direction.


    Toby fell right on top of Sonia and his weight nearly crushed her.


    ¡°Hey, how shameless can you be? Falling on me like that¡­ Come on, get up.¡± Sonia pushed the man on


    top of her.


    However, he didn¡¯t even respond.


    Sonia turned to look and she realized that his eyes were closed. It was obvious that he had passed out.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding me, right? How are you so weak?¡± She couldn¡¯t believe what she saw.


    It was extremely arduous to imagine such a big guy passing out from some fever.


    Sonia sighed as she suppressed her urge to leave the man outside to die. Then, she helped him into the


    house.


    Once they were in the living room, she threw the man onto the couch with all her might.


    The moment his back came into contact with the couch, he suddenly groaned before his eyebrows


    scrunched up tightly, but he didn¡¯t regain consciousness.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was momentarily stunned. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)Did I hurt


    him somehow?


    She didn¡¯t give it much thought as she fished for Toby¡¯s phone in his pocket. Her intention was to contact


    Tom to take Toby home,


    However, Toby hadn¡¯t registered his fingerprint on his phone, so the device was instead locked with a


    passcode.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what his passcode was, so she casually tried a fewbinations. She tried Toby¡¯s


    birth date before using Tina¡¯s anniversary but to no avail.


    In the end, Sonia surrendered and took out her phone instead. Then, she made a call and asked for a


    doctor toe over.


    No matter what, since Toby had passed out at her ce, if she didn¡¯t call a doctor to treat him, she would


    be held responsible should Toby¡¯s fever be so high that it caused brain damage.


    After the call, Sonia kept aside her phone and stared at Toby¡¯s wet hair and shoulder for a while. She


    thought that his fever would worsen if he was in those damp clothes, so she helped him to undress after


    a sigh.


    She sometimes really despised her soft heart, but it couldn¡¯t be helped; she couldn¡¯t just ignore


    something that happened right in front of her eyes.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia had just unbuttoned Toby¡¯s shirt when she looked up and noticed a crimson patch on his


    right shoulder.


    Her eyes narrowed as she started to guess something before she forcefully turned his body over. After


    that, she was dumbfounded as she drew in a sharp breath while covering her mouth with her hand.


    Oh my, the crimson patch has almost entirely covered his back and it¡¯s a ghastly sight to behold.


    That patch was caused by the blood capiries under his skin rupturing as a result of a huge impact.


    No wonder he groaned when I tossed him on the couch. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)I¡¯m afraid his fever might have been caused by this injury andbined with being


    drenched under the rain, he finally copsed.


    Sonia¡¯s hand trembled as she gingerly touched Toby¡¯s back.


    She finally understood how he had sustained the injury-it was when he saved her that day. It wasn¡¯t in


    front of the hotel elevator, but rather when Tina pushed her at the hospital stairwell.


    So, he had suffered a grave injury, but didn¡¯t say anything when she asked him about


    Sonia bit her lip as she didn¡¯t know how to describe her feelings at that moment. On top of being


    exasperated, she was also frustrated amidst herplicated emotions.


    At this time, the doorbell rang again.


    Sonia thought that it was the doctor who had arrived, so she looked up and deeply inhaled before


    walking over to get the door.


    After she invited the doctor inside, she pointed at the man on the couch and said, ¡°Doctor, please take a


    look at him.¡±


    The doctor was just as surprised at the injury on Toby¡¯s back. He quickly opened the medicine kit and


    retrieved some tools to observe Toby¡¯s wounds.


    After being busy for a while, the doctor applied some ointment on Toby¡¯s back and injected Toby with


    medication to help bring down the fever.


    Sonia still couldn¡¯t help but worry.(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) She sped her


    hands together and asked anxiously, ¡°Doctor, is he alright?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious. The fever will be gone tonight and the injury on his back isn¡¯t that bad either. Just


    keep applying the ointment for a few days while waiting for the bruise to lighten and he should be fine,¡±


    the doctor answered as he closed the medicine kit.


    She sighed in relief and managed to squeeze a faint smile on her face. ¡°I understand. Thank you so


    much, doctor.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I¡¯ll leave the medicine here.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Sonia nodded and saw the doctor off at the door.


    After she returned, she looked at the man on the couch and couldn¡¯t help mumbling, ¡°I guess I¡¯ve


    returned your kindness when you saved me. We still stand on opposite sides tomorrow.¡±


    With that, she walked into her room to grab a nket and covered him with it before


    she headed back there to rest.


    However, for unknown reasons, Sonia couldn¡¯t fall asleep as she tossed and turned on the bed. As soon


    as she closed her eyes, the image of Toby¡¯s crimson back intruded her thoughts and she couldn¡¯t chase


    it away.


    Finally, it wasn¡¯t untilte at night that she managed to feel drowsy and drifted off to sleep.


    Toby was awakened by the sound of his ringing phone the next morning.


    ¡°Where are you, President Fuller?¡± Tom asked over the line.


    Toby rubbed his temples and opened his eyes to find himself lying on a couch. The upper half of his body


    was naked and he was stunned for a while upon the realization.


    ¡°President Fuller? Hello?¡± To


    The look in Toby¡¯s eyes wavered as he came to. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±


    Tom heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°President Fuller, President Gray called just now and asked when you would


    be able to solve Miss Gray¡¯s case.¡±


    Toby sat up, causing the nket on his body to fall to the floor.


    When he reached out to pick it up, he was greeted with a faint fragranceing from the nket. It had


    the same smell as Sonia¡¯s fragrance. So, Sonia has used this nket before?


    The look in Toby¡¯s eyes darkened as he turned to nce at the door to Sonia¡¯s room, which was shut


    tight. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)Then, he answered, ¡°I¡¯ll head to the police


    station directlyter. Bring a set of clothes to Bayside Residence.¡±


    ¡°Cough.¡± Tom suddenly raised his voice. ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯re at Miss Reed¡¯s ce? Did you do


    anythingst night,¡±


    ¡°No, I had a fever and she saved me.¡± Toby looked at the fever medicine and ointment on the coffee


    table as his gaze turned gentle.


    His clothes were missing and she could have removed them when she applied the ointment on his back.


    ¡°Okay¡­ I see.¡± A dry smile crept onto Tom¡¯s face. He acted as if he believed what Toby said, but his


    thoughts proved otherwise. Of all ces, why would President Fuller run a temperature at Miss Reed¡¯s


    house? That doesn¡¯t make sense!


    ¡°Oh, and bring some breakfast over while you¡¯re at it,¡± Toby added.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±


    After ending the call, Toby ced his phone aside and went to the bathroom.


    In the bathroom, he caught sight of Sonia¡¯s inner wear and his eyebrows raised ever so slightly.


    He didn¡¯t expect to see such private things here.


    That sight made Toby¡¯srynx tremble, which caused him to avert his gaze from the clothes as he walked


    over to the basin to wash his face.


    During that time, he suddenly realized that be it in the living room or the bathroom, he could only see her


    belongings. There weren¡¯t any items belonging to a man, which meant that Charles had never stayed


    here. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve left some things behind.¡±


    At that thought, Toby¡¯s thin lips curved into a smile, which betrayed his improved mood.

 Chapter 125

    Chapter 125


    About half an hourter, Toby opened the door to allow Tom to enter. ¡°Come in.¡±


    Then, Toby turned around and headed to the living room.


    As he watched his boss¡¯ retreating back, Tom¡¯s lips couldn¡¯t help but twitch a little. If I recall correctly, this


    is Sonia¡¯s ce, so why is Toby the one who opened the door for me? Why is he also acting as if he is


    the owner here?


    Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    Although Tom had many questions, he didn¡¯t dare to ask any of them and entered the house.


    ¡°Where are the clothes?¡± Toby stared at him.


    Immediately, Tom handed a bag to him. ¡°It¡¯s inside here.¡±


    After he took over the bag, Toby started to change in the living room while Tom lifted another bag that he


    was holding. ¡°President Fuller, your breakfast ¨C¡±


    ¡°ce it on the table,¡± Toby replied while buttoning his shirt.


    Upon hearing that, Tom ced the bag on the table.


    Then, Toby pointed at the coffee table again. ¡°Take those pills on the table with you.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom nodded.


    After that, the two of them left.


    However, Toby eyed the entrance of Sonia¡¯s ce before he left with an unreadable dark look.


    Not long after the two of them left, the door to the bedroom opened as Sonia exited her room while


    yawning. Nevertheless, she was stunned when she saw the neatly folded nket on the couch. Where


    did he go?


    Sonia looked around, but she still couldn¡¯t see any signs of Toby. Upon noticing that the medication on


    the coffee table was gone, she figured that he probably took it along with him. Moreover, there was a bag


    on the dining table.


    As she walked over with curiosity, she opened the bag to see a breakfast set from Jade Dynasty. Is this


    for me?


    Sonia frowned.


    Still, she didn¡¯t reject the package as it was a free breakfast after all.


    After she finished her breakfast, she changed into a new outfit and went out with her new purse.


    Upon arriving at thepany, her phone rang at the same time she ran into Charles. It was from the


    police.


    ¡°Is this Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Then, the police continued, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Reed, but we might have to close the case with regards to


    Miss Gray pushing you off the stairs.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia¡¯s expression darkened as she abruptly stood up.


    A startled Charles blinked and looked at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, darling?¡±


    Nheless, Sonia ignored him and pursed her lips before asking, ¡°Why are you guys closing the case


    now when I haven¡¯t even gotten my bag back or handed any evidence? Why is the case being closed?¡±


    ¡°Please calm down, Miss Reed. I understand what you¡¯re feeling, but we have to close the case because


    Miss Gray¡¯s parents and her fianc¨¦ submitted a psychological . evaluation.¡±


    ¡°Psychological evaluation?¡± Her eyes narrowed as the police nodded on the other end of the line. ¡°That¡¯s


    right. Miss Gray currently has serious mental issues and our country still doesn¡¯t have a clear standard


    operation procedure against people with mental disorders, so¡­¡±


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is that the mentally ill are not bound by thew?¡± Sonia¡¯s grip on her phone


    tightened before her pitch went higher.


    The police sighed before he replied, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why we have no choice but to drop


    the case. As for your bag, we are still conducting our investigations, but there¡¯s currently no lead on it, so


    there¡¯s a high chance that you might not be able to get it back. Please be mentally prepared, Miss Reed.¡±


    The call ended at that point.


    While she bit her lips, Sonia reluctantly lowered her phone.


    When Charles looked at her, he asked again in a worried tone, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, darling?¡±


    Then, she finally told him about the content of the call.


    Upon hearing what happened, he mmed his fist on the table in anger. ¡°What the f*ck? That¡¯s so


    shameless of them! How dare they try to get Tina off the hook by taking advantage of thew¡¯s gray


    area!¡±


    ¡°I know, right? I can¡¯t believe they still have tricks up their sleeves.¡± Sonia massaged her temple in


    exhaustion. So, that¡¯s why Toby didn¡¯t force me to not lodge a report. It looks like he always stood a


    chance at protecting Tina whether I lodge a report or not. I miscalcted this time.


    ¡°No. I need to get an exnation from Toby!¡± Charles eximed before trying to leave.


    However, Sonia stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t. It¡¯s useless even if you went. We are not his match


    When he heard her, he paused. Then, he slouched; it was obvious he looked beaten.


    A whileter, he clenched his fists and turned around. ¡°Sonia, do you think that it¡¯s true that Tina has


    dissociative identity disorder?¡±


    Something shed in her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Tim was the one who diagnosed Tina to have dissociative


    identity disorder and you know that he wouldn¡¯t lie. Still, I can¡¯t bring myself to believe it, so I don¡¯t want


    to make any conclusions for now.¡±


    Charles inhaled deeply. ¡°If Tina really does have dissociative identity disorder, I¡¯m sure that she would


    still try to attack you considering her malicious intent toward you. Do you think that wouldn¡¯t be illegal?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia smirked coldly. ¡°That¡¯s right because she¡¯s suffering from a mental illness.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Since she¡¯s mentally ill, she should be in an asylum, not out here,¡± he sneered.


    However, she rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Do you really think Toby and the gang would let Tina stay in ces


    like that?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Charles stopped saying anything while Sonia fell into silence as well.


    A few momentster, he looked up at her with fear evident in his voice. ¡°Sonia, are we really dropping


    this? I mean, I still feel pissed off thinking about it as you almost¡­¡±


    Although he had trailed off, they both knew what he was trying to say.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Of course not. How could I let Tina off hook when she tried to kill me? I¡¯ll


    remember this and return the favor along with the interest. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not the kind of person who


    would keep all the pain and sorrow that I¡¯ve experienced to myself.¡±


    Charles looked satisfied when he heard her answer. ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll always have your back no matter


    what you want to do.¡±


    Sonia felt her heart skip a beat when she noticed how gentle his gaze was as he stared at her.


    This was her first time seeing him being so serious.


    ¡°Alright.¡± She smiled before nodding.


    At this moment, someone knocked at the office door before Sonia turned around. ¡°Come on in.¡±


    When Daphne entered the office, she shot a nce at Charles before reporting to Sonia, ¡°President


    Reed, a few people in charge from the Fuller Group are here and they¡¯re trying to instigate a


    coboration with us.¡±


    ¡°The Fuller Group?¡± Sonia frowned.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Daphne nodded.


    ¡°From which subsidiary of theirs?¡± she asked before Daphne answered all the questions.


    Sonia¡¯s lips then curled upward. ¡°Thosepanies, huh? I understand now; it¡¯s probably Toby trying to


    compensate me. Looks like he knows that protecting Tina is wrong.¡±


    However, Charles¡¯ face flushed red in anger. ¡°Who needs hispensation? I want you to make them


    leave,¡± he instructed Daphne.


    Yet, Sonia stopped him before Daphne could say anything. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Sonia, are you seriously considering this?¡± Charles stared in disbelief.


    Sonia twirled the stainless steel pen in her hand as she answered, ¡°Why not? Thesepanies align


    with the industry that Paradigm Co. is involved in, so it¡¯s obviously for the best if we could coborate.¡±


    ¡°However..¡± He felt ufortable.


    At this moment, she looked at him with a serious gaze. ¡°Charles, I know what you want to say. However,


    you need to consider our situation as well. Paradigm Co. currently won¡¯t be able to revive many of our


    previous properties. That¡¯s mainly because we do not have the money to do so and we don¡¯t have


    anyone to work with. I mean, why shouldn¡¯t we make use of it when we could get both at the same


    time?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Charles¡¯ lips moved slightly, but he stopped trying to argue.


    Then, she added, ¡°I don¡¯t know why Toby decided to do this, but he¡¯s lending help to us. Paradigm Co.


    needs these coborations to be able to develop further. Still, don¡¯t worry because I won¡¯t let go of my


    grudges just because of these partnerships.¡±

 Chapter 126

    Chapter 126


    It was one thing to work with each other and another to take revenge.


    There weren¡¯t any conflicts between these two matters.


    As he finally understood what Sonia meant, Charles gave her a thumbs up. ¡°Sonia, you¡¯re a bright child!¡±


    She replied with a smile, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s meet those people in charge.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± He nodded and rose to his full height as well.


    It was two hourster when they sent those people in charge off.


    Since Toby had obviously wanted to partner with them because he wanted topensate Sonia, most of


    the terms were advantageous toward her.


    Naturally, she and those big guns signed the deal without much hups.


    When Tom heard about it, he quickly informed Toby about the news while Toby¡¯s tightly knitted eyebrows


    finally rxed. ¡°Alright.¡± Looks like Sonia finally has dropped the issue of Tina pushing her off the stairs


    since she epted the deal.


    As he thought about that, Toby finally winded down. ¡°By the way.¡± He looked up at Tom. ¡°Did you find out


    whose child Sonia is pregnant with?¡±


    Tom shook his head. ¡°Nope. It seems like Miss Reed doesn¡¯t even know she¡¯s pregnant as no one had


    ever mentioned it, not even Mr. Lane.¡±


    Hence, there was no way for those men whom he arranged to discover the identity of the father of


    Sonia¡¯s unborn child.


    Tom observed as Toby pursed his lips. ¡°President Fuller, why don¡¯t we reveal this to Mr. Lane so that he


    can confront Miss Reed about it? She might speak about it if that¡¯s the case.¡±


    Then, Toby¡¯s gaze slightly moved as he seemed tempted.


    Nevertheless, he still motioned his hand and somehow rejected Tom. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s just wait and see.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom didn¡¯t say anything else,


    At the same time, news that Sonia struck a deal with the subsidiaries of the Fuller Group had spread like


    wildfire in Paradigm Co, with mixed reactions,


    In the president¡¯s oflice, Asher looked like he was in a bad mood. ¡°How¡¯s your investigation? Did you


    know why Sonia managed to strike a deal with those from the Fuller Group?¡±


    The secretary standing in front of him cautiously answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I still can¡¯t investigate the


    reason behind it, President Dafoe. It seems like this is a private matter between Vice President Reed and


    President Fuller, so it¡¯ll be hard to find out what happened.¡±


    ¡°Private matter?¡± His eyes narrowed.


    One of the directors at the side made a bold assumption. ¡°Could it be that there¡¯s still something between


    them, so¡­¡±


    Asher¡¯s face darkened. ¡°If that is so, it could be possible that¡¯s how Sonia struck the deal with them.¡±


    At that moment, he couldn¡¯t help but feel threatened. If Sonia really manages to secure a deal with them


    for the new energy resources, I might really lose about half of the authority in my hands right now.


    At that thought, Asher¡¯s fists tightened before he instructed his secretary with a tight voice, ¡°I want you to


    secretly investigate the rtionship between Sonia and President Fuller. Report to the Gray Family


    immediately if you find something out of the ordinary.¡±


    ¡°President Dafoe, are you trying to subdue Sonia using the Gray Family?¡± the director asked before a


    glint of cunningness shed past his eyes.


    However, Asher sighed. ¡°With President Fuller helping Sonia out, she might really win the bet. Therefore,


    to stop her from winning, we could only get the Gray Family to help us out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The director nodded. ¡°Since the Young Lady of the Gray Family and President Fuller are


    engaged, the Gray Family would definitely not let Sonia off the hook if there¡¯s anything between her and


    President Fuller. By then, she can only


    dream of securing the partnership for new energy resources with President Fuller¡¯s help.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Asher tapped on his office desk with a maniptive look in his eyes.


    It was at this moment when someone knocked at the office door, which caused him to frown. ¡°Come in.¡±


    The door was pushed open to reveal Daphne. ¡°President Dafoe, President Reed is requesting you to


    head to the meeting room for a meeting.¡±


    ¡°A meeting?¡± He pursed his lips. ¡°What meeting?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s regarding the partnership contract earlier,¡± she replied.


    Asher¡¯s face immediately darkened before he answered coldly, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll head over as soon as


    possible.¡±


    ¡°Well, then, I shall inform President Reed about it.¡± Daphne closed the door and left.


    Ten minutester, he went to the meeting room along with the directors and they ran into Sonia when


    they arrived at the entrance.


    Then, she nodded slightly. ¡°President Dafoe.¡±


    ¡°Congrattions for securing a few more deals, President Reed. You¡¯re a really outstanding person.¡±


    Asher¡¯s lips slightly curled up before he gave a peculiar greeting.


    At the same time, Sonia pushed her hair back. ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating it, President Dafoe.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not exaggerating. I¡¯m just telling the truth since there are not many women who could still take


    from their ex-husband after a divorce in this world,¡± he replied sarcastically.


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    Her face darkened as Charles clenched his fists. ¡°What did you just say, old fart?¡±


    ¡°Charles.¡± She quickly pulled him by his elbow and hinted at him not to do anything irrational.


    When Asher, who was initially worried that Charles would punch him, saw Sonia


    pulling the man back, he felt relieved and continued jeering, ¡°President Lane, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re


    actually generous enough to not do anything when your girlfriend is still having unresolved issues with


    her ex-husband.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°Charles!¡± Sonia could feel herself losing her grasp on Charles before she used her other hand to pull


    him back. Then, she shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t be impulsive.¡±


    ¡°Darling, are you listening to what he said?!¡± He red at Asher.


    ¡°I know. However, whacking him won¡¯t solve anything.¡±


    Then, Sonia released her grip on Charles and took a step forward to shield before she stared at Asher


    with cold eyes. ¡°President Dafoe, are you implying that I received these deals because of Toby?¡±


    ¡°Otherwise? Who¡¯s able to secure not just one but a few deals at one go? How could you have done it if


    it weren¡¯t for President Fuller? I bet you¡¯re thinking of getting the partnership for the alternative energy


    technology through him too,¡± Asher sneered.


    Sonia¡¯s fists clenched tightly in that second before she answered emotionlessly, ¡°Looks like that¡¯s how


    you think about me, huh?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want others to make assumptions about you, you shouldn¡¯t do things like this. I understand


    that you want to get more people in thepany to favor you using these deals, but have you ever


    considered how shameless tactics like this would affect the misunderstanding between Paradigm Co.


    and Triforce Enterprise?¡± Asher stared at Sonia coldly.


    She then harrumphed, ¡°The misunderstanding between us and Triforce Enterprise wouldn¡¯t deepen


    anymore since we are already at the end of each other¡¯s throats. Moreover, these deals were given by


    Toby aspensation for Tina, so don¡¯t you think that the Gray Family would have already known about


    it?¡±


    Upon hearing that, he looked dumbfounded. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    However, Sonia only gave him a cold look before entering the meeting room without any answer.


    When Charles walked past Asher, he snarkily added, ¡°I bet you feel embarrassed after


    using Sonia for using dirty tactics to get those deals when you don¡¯t even know how she scored them


    andter learning that it¡¯s not what you thought it was, huh?¡±


    Then, he ignored Asher and entered the meeting room as well, leaving Asher in the walkway as his face


    contorted from anger.


    As the meeting was about the partnership deals, it was a long one.


    Since these partnerships had involved all of the industries that Paradigm Co. dabbled in, everyone had a


    serious discussion with regards to those fields being revived.


    The n to revive was finally established by night time and they only needed to wait until Fuller Group¡¯s


    subsidiarypanies had sent them the funds to resurrect the stagnant industry for Paradigm Co.


    Meanwhile, thepany could finally be free from the verge of bankruptcy to start a stable development.


    Although Sonia was disgusted by what Toby had done to protect Tina, she had to admit that he had


    provided great assistance to Paradigm Co. this time around.


    Nevertheless, this didn¡¯t mean that she would bury the hatchet.

 Chapter 127

    Chapter 127


    During the weekend, Sonia and Charles went to ric¡¯s racecourse after being coerced by Grace to do


    so.


    The racecourse was about the size of eight to nine football fields, which made it enormous, whereas on


    the other side was a golf course that was surrounded by mansions behind it.


    Behind the mansions was a mountain that was about 700 to 800 meters above sea levels. There was an


    observation deck at the mountain peck and it was rumored to be a great ce for stargazing and


    catching the sunrise.


    On the way there, an excited Charles kept rambling about his ns for these two days while Sonia


    listlessly sat at the front seat with a pale face.


    When he noticed that, he suppressed his excitement to ask in worry, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sonia? You look


    pale; are you feeling unwell?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. My chest feels a bit tight, but I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s car sickness,¡± she answered weakly before she


    leaned against the car window to close her eyes.


    Her response caused Charles to frown in suspicion. ¡°Car sickness? I thought you didn¡¯t suffer from


    those?¡±


    At this moment, Sonia opened her eyes a little before a weird glint shed past her eyes.


    Indeed, she wasn¡¯t suffering from car sickness.


    However, as she was pregnant, she couldn¡¯t stand the scent of many things. Even the stench of gas had


    made her extremely ufortable.


    Still, she couldn¡¯t tell Charles that.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It could be the result of my flu too,¡± Sonia lied as she bit her lips.


    Nevertheless, Charles didn¡¯t doubt her answer as he nodded. ¡°The temperature has been dipping


    recently, so it¡¯s easy to catch a cold. I¡¯ll ask a doctor toe and take a look at you after we arrive at the


    mansion.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She immediately rejected him. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine once I have rested for a bit. I¡¯ve taken my medicine with


    me as well.¡±


    As she was afraid that he might not believe her, she even patted her bag slightly.


    After noticing that Sonia was well-prepared, he stopped saying anything.


    In a blink of an eye, they arrived at the mansion as Charles parked the car outside the chateau and went


    to the trunk to get their luggage while Sonia helped him out as well.


    However, Charles stopped her immediately when she wanted to help him carry the luggages. ¡°I can do it


    myself. Go ahead and rest in one of the rooms since you¡¯re not feeling well. President Cunningham


    mentioned that since another couple had booked the room on the second floor, we¡¯ll be staying on the


    third floor.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Instead of rejecting him, Sonia nodded and started to head toward the mansion.


    She was feeling really unwell, and she wanted toy down for a while as she felt really dizzy.


    After Sonia left, Charles started to move the luggages inside alone.


    Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t much luggage as the both of them had taken one each, so it only took Charles


    one journey to move everything in.


    There were five bedrooms on the third floor and he had selected the room opposite Sonia.


    Once he had brought all of the luggage into their respective rooms, Charles headed to the balcony and


    gave Grace a call.


    At the same time, a ck Maybach drove over from afar and it stopped in front of the mansion.


    After he opened his car door, Toby stepped out of the car before he walked over to yank open the front


    passenger door.


    Then, Tina bent a little to exit the car before she started to look around and eximed in surprise, ¡°Wow!


    The air here is crisp!¡±


    He hummed in response. ¡°It¡¯s not bad.¡±


    ¡°Toby, looks like we made the correct decision toe here.¡± She grabbed onto his arm cheerfully while


    he patted her hand. ¡°Alright. Let go of me, Tina. I still have to grab the luggage.¡±


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    ¡°Okay.¡± Tina obediently released Toby¡¯s arm.


    After that, he started heading toward the trunk at the back while she trailed behind


    him.


    When they arrived at the trunk, Tina suddenly noticed the Benz next to them and pulled on Toby¡¯s


    sleeve. ¡°Toby, does that car belong to the other couple?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± He nced at the car before turning away.


    However, she felt ufortable and pouted. ¡°I was really looking forward to spending some alone time


    with you, but it looks like that¡¯s not possible.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re the younger family members of President Cunningham¡¯s good friend, so you¡¯ll have to be


    patient with them since we can¡¯t be rude. President Cunningham also mentioned that the couple will be


    staying on the third floor, so they won¡¯t disturb us.¡± Toby reached out to ruffle Tina¡¯s hair while she


    grabbed his arm to swing it a little before she whined, ¡°I¡¯m justining a little and I don¡¯t mean


    anything else.¡±


    ¡°I know. What about this¡ªI¡¯ll take you abroad for a vacation once we have our engagement ceremony


    later. How about that? It¡¯ll be just us.¡± Toby gave Tina a gentle look before her eyes immediately started


    to glisten before she nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    At this moment, the sound of the car engine rang out and they looked over simultaneously.


    At this moment, a six-seater multi purpose vehicle came from afar before it stopped next to them.


    Tina frowned. ¡°Toby, didn¡¯t you say that there¡¯ll only be one other couple? Why is there another car now?


    Moreover, look at this car. It seems like there are many people in it.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed as well. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask President Cummingham if he has brought more people with him?¡± she suggested.


    His lips pursed together. Right when he was about to say something, the door to the multi-purpose


    vehicle opened before a figure in sportswear hopped out of the car


    with a basketball in hand.


    When Tina finally saw the person¡¯s face, her eyes widened. ¡°Tyler?¡±


    Toby looked surprised as well. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    After Tyler waved his hand, he ran toward them. ¡°Toby, Tina, I¡¯m here to have fun with you guys!¡±


    ¡°Have fun with us?¡± Her lips twitched a little and her smile looked forced. Since when did we want you to


    come along with us?!


    Upon noticing that Tina was upset, Toby frowned before he looked at Tyler. ¡°How did you know that we¡¯re


    coming here?¡±


    Although Toby did mention that he was bringing her away to wind down, he had never mentioned where


    they were going.


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who told him about it.¡± Another familiar figure then appeared in front of them.


    Zane was giggling as he walked toward them with another figure behind him.


    It was a woman whom Tina recognized-she was one of Sonia¡¯s friends and herst name was Harper.


    ¡°You?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes at Zane while Zane nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I overheard you saying that


    you¡¯re bringing Tina here for a vacation, so I noted it down. Toby, I can¡¯t believe that you only brought


    your fianc¨¦e here without even asking us to tag along!¡±


    Then, he draped his arm around Toby¡¯s shoulder.


    Tyler nodded as well. ¡°I know, right? I can¡¯t believe you prioritize your girlfriend over us.¡±


    At the same time, Reba stood by the side and yed with her phone while her head was lowered.


    She was behaving like she wasn¡¯t involved in this at all.


    Toby emotionlessly pushed Zane¡¯s hand away from his shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I¡¯m taking Tina out


    on a date?¡±


    Nevertheless, Zane¡¯s eyes glistened a little before he acted like he had forgotten about it. ¡°Is that so? I


    guess I forgot about it. I¡¯m so sorry for destroying your private moments, but still. Toby, since we are


    already here, it wouldn¡¯t be nice for you to make us leave, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! I¡¯ve been training so much recently. And now that I finally have the chance to be on a vacation,


    you wouldn¡¯t make mee all the way here for nothing, right, Toby?¡± Tyler gave Toby an expectant


    look.


    However, Toby¡¯s face was as dark as charcoal and he ignored them before he turned toward Tina. ¡°Tina,


    what¡¯s your take on this?¡±


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°I¡ª¡±.


    ¡°Miss Gray, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not that petty, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zane narrowed his eyes and looked at her with a


    ghost of a smile on his face.


    Tina¡¯s facial expression was tense that moment because she knew that he was intentionally taunting her


    and trying to ruin her date with Toby.


    If she refused to let them stay, they would surelybel her as a petty person who wouldn¡¯t allow Toby¡¯s


    friends and younger brother to join them.


    However, if she agreed to let them stay, their date would turn into tonic fun. between a group of


    friends.


    Tina really didn¡¯t know what to do as everyone was staring at her now.


    Finally, she sighed and agreed with a forceful smile. ¡°Of course not. Since everyone is already here, let¡¯s


    just enjoy the weekend together.¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡± Tyler jumped with joy.


    Zane, on the other hand, smirked with knowledge. ¡°I would like to thank you, Miss Gray. You¡¯re more


    open-hearted than I imagined; more¡ª¡±


    ¡°Alright. Stop nagging and grab your luggage.¡± Before he could finish what he wanted to say, Reba


    had rudely interrupted him as she hadn¡¯t been speaking for the entire time.


    He yelled in pain. ¡°Hey! Why are you so short-tempered?!¡±

 Chapter 128

    Chapter 128


    However, Reba chuckled coldly. ¡°Why did you even lie to me in the first ce? Why would the Young


    Master of the Coleman Family trick a vagabond like me?¡±


    Zane coughed awkwardly. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. It wasn¡¯t like you tried to ask me about it.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that it¡¯s my fault?¡± Reba¡¯s eyes widened while Zane quickly motioned with his hands


    to indicate that he surrendered. ¡°No, no, how would I dare to try to me you? It¡¯s my fault. Everything is


    my fault, alright?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Go and get your luggage.¡±(This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) She


    acted as if she wanted to kick him as he pouted and went to the trunk to obediently unload their luggage


    while Tyler tagged along


    The three of them quickly headed to the mansion along with their luggage while Toby gently pinched


    Tina¡¯s hand since she wasn¡¯t in a good mood. Then, he spoke softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go in as well, Tina.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Tina forced a smile as she nodded.


    Then, the group of five started to head toward the mansion with their luggage.


    Right as they entered the living room, the noise of footsteps rang out along the staircase and all of them


    looked up to see Charles in a casual outfit walking downstairs in his pair of flip-flops.


    Upon seeing that group of five, his mouth was agape. ¡°Why are you guys here?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up, President Lane?¡± Zane raised his eyebrow before he smiled and waved at Charles.


    Reba nodded before she greeted as well, ¡°Hey, President Lane.¡±


    Besides these two, the other three people had different reactions.


    Since Tyler had already disliked Charles, Tyler harrumphed and turned in the opposite direction.


    Toby, on the other hand, frowned as he came to a realization that the other couple


    was indeed Charles and Sonia.


    ¡°Tina¡­¡± Toby turned to the woman next to him and gave her a worried look.


    At the same time, Tina¡¯s hands, which were hidden from view, clenched together as her nails dug into


    her palm. Still, she tried her best to maintain a soft smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Toby. I know what you¡¯re thinking


    about and I¡¯ll try my best to control myself so that she won¡¯t emerge.(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡± Damn it, damn it! All I wanted is to go on a date with Toby to strengthen our


    rtionship, but it seems like God is really against me. Not only Zane and the others are here to mess


    things up, Sonia and herpanion are also the other couple.


    ¡°Who is she?¡± Tyler asked curiously as he hugged his basketball while Zane and Reba looked at Tina


    with an entric expression.


    Tina bit her lips. ¡°S-She is¡­


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    As she didn¡¯t know how to answer, she gave the man next to her a pleading look before he lowered his


    gaze and nonchntly answered, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Stop asking things that are none of your business.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. What do you mean by none of their business? I bet you just don¡¯t want to tell them about it.¡±


    Charles crossed his arms disdainfully.


    ¡°President Lane, do you know what he¡¯s talking about?¡± Zane turned toward Charles.


    Charles smirked. ¡°Of course. She¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°Charles Lane!¡± Toby coldly interrupted. Anger was evident in his eyes, which made him look terrifying.


    ¡°You¡¯re in no position to disclose Tina¡¯s private matter.¡±


    Charles pursed his lips. ¡°Sure, I won¡¯t tell them then. However, do you honestly think that you can keep it


    a secret from them?¡±


    After that, he turned around and wanted to head back to his room on the third floor as he didn¡¯t feel like


    going downstairs anymore.


    ¡°Hang on, President Lane.¡± Reba suddenly called out to Charles.


    Her voice had caused him to stop in his tracks. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°President Lane, may I know what floor you are on so that I can stay on the same


    floor as well? I don¡¯t want to be on the same floor as that maniptive woman as I¡¯m scared that it might


    bring me bad luck.¡±


    She took a nce at Tina while Tina bit her lip in pity and asked, (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡°Miss Harper, what are you implying? Since when am I maniptive?¡±


    ¡°Did I ever mention that I was talking about you?¡± Reba retorted nonchntly.


    Tina, who was taken aback, replied, ¡°You and I are the only women here now, so who are you implying if


    it¡¯s not me?¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t say your name.¡± Reba denied the usation.


    Upon hearing Reba¡¯s denial, Tina was so pissed off she wanted to stomp the ground


    At the same time, Charles and Zane looked like they were enjoying the drama while they watched in a


    good mood.


    Even Tyler somehow felt better when he saw Tina being bullied.


    ¡°Toby..¡± Tina¡¯s eyes reddened before she turned to look at Toby.


    His eyes narrowed dangerously before he stared at Zane. ¡°You¡¯re responsible for her since you are the


    one who brought her here. This is her first warning. Don¡¯t me meter if she dares to bully Tina


    again.¡±


    However, Zane shrugged and acted nonchntly before speaking to Reba, ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t be


    so straightforward when you dislike someone else. Look at what has happened. Even I received a


    warning because of you.¡±


    ¡°Somehow, I feel like you¡¯re not afraid of being warned.¡± She rolled her eyes before she carried her


    luggage and walked toward Charles.


    ¡°Am I that obvious?¡± Zane touched his face before he grabbed his luggage and went after her.


    At the same time, Tyler turned toward Toby and Tina before he looked at those three retreating figures.


    Finally, Tyler looked as if he had made a decision and grabbed his luggage. ¡°Well,


    Toby, Tina, I think it¡¯s better if I stay with them so that I won¡¯t disturb you guys.¡±


    Then, he ran after them, leaving Toby and Tina in the living room.


    If it wasn¡¯t for what Reba had said, Tina would have been happy with the arrangement for them to


    stay on the third floor while she and Toby remained on the second floor.


    Yet, she couldn¡¯t help but feel like they were both being excluded on purpose.


    Although Toby had the same suspicion, he couldn¡¯t give a damn as he carried Tina¡¯s luggage. ¡°Alright.


    Let¡¯s head upstairs too.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tina answered with a dull tone.


    On the third floor, Zane and Tyler rushed to the racecourse after they unpacked their bags. Reba


    didn¡¯t tag along; she stayed in the mansion with Charles to wait for Sonia to wake up.


    About half an hourter, Sonia woke up and headed downstairs. When she saw Reba, who was


    sitting on the couch in the living room and watching TV, she couldn¡¯t help but be dumbfounded,


    thinking that she was having an illusion. Nevertheless, even after she had rubbed her eyes, Reba


    was still there. Looks like I¡¯m not imagining this and that is really Reba.


    ¡°Hey, Reba,¡± Sonia greeted.


    Reba turned around at the voice. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake, President Reed.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Zane called me and invited me here,¡± Reba replied as she switched off the television.


    She had already received Zane¡¯s call for help earlier in the morning and before she could even get out of


    bed, she agreed without giving much thought.


    Reba only found out that he wanted to enlist her help to ruin Toby and Tina¡¯s date after she entered


    the car. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) It was also then that she finally


    discovered Zane¡¯s real identity, which made her pissed off.


    ¡°Zane is here as well?¡± Sonia looked stunned.


    Before Reba could reply to her, Charles emerged from the kitchen with a ss of water. ¡°Of course.


    He¡¯s not the only one as even Tyler is here. By the way, I forgot to tell you that the other couple is Toby


    and Tina.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia¡¯s lips twitched and she could feel her heart tightening. It seems like I can never


    avoid those two no matter where I go.


    ¡°Sonia, why don¡¯t we head home?¡± He handed her the ss of water. ¡°It would be bad if Tina tries to


    attack you with the excuse of her dissociative identity disorder being triggered.¡±


    ¡°Dissociative identity disorder?!¡± Reba eximed in shock. ¡°So, the ¡®her¡¯ that Tina was referring to¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Charles nodded before he exined what had happened when Sonia was briefly pushed


    off the stairs.


    Reba took a deep breath as Sonia shook her head and answered, ¡°No, we are not going back. Why


    should we leave when they¡¯re here? Wouldn¡¯t that make it look like we are afraid of her? Moreover, Zane


    and Tyler are here as well, so I believe that Tina won¡¯t try to pull off anything.¡±


    ¡°President Reed is right.¡± Reba agreed. ¡°I bet you guys don¡¯t know this, but Zane asked me and Tyler


    toe to mess around with Toby and Tina so that they won¡¯t be able to enjoy a nice weekend. I bet she


    won¡¯t even have time to target you as she will get a handful from Zane.¡±

 Chapter 129

    Chapter 129


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows. ¡°Zane wants to ruin Toby and Tina¡¯s gateway?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Reba nodded before Sonia and Charles gave each other a look. ¡°Charles, what you


    said on the call previously was right. Since the Gray Family offended the Coleman Family, there¡¯s no way


    that Zane would let Tina off the hook, so that¡¯s why he¡¯s here too.¡±


    Charlesughed before pping his hands together. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? We¡¯ll let Zane help us to


    deal with Tina.¡±


    Sonia raised her head. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Then, Charles changed the topic. ¡°Alright, baby, let¡¯s head over to the racecourse.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded and agreed before the three of them headed toward the racecourse.


    She could already see three horses racing on the track when they got to the entrance of the racecourse.


    Although the men on the horse were wearing protective gear and had their faces covered, Sonia could


    still recognize who they were with just one look.


    It was the Fuller brothers and Zane.


    Tina wasn¡¯t there as she was at the lounge at the side of the racecourse, watching them as they rode


    their horses.


    When she noticed Sonia and the others walking toward her, she smiled and stood up. ¡°Miss Reed, you


    guys are here!¡±


    However, Sonia acted as if she didn¡¯t hear Tina and went to sit down on the other side, to which Charles


    and Reba followed suit. The three of them came together and seeing as Sonia ignored Tina, they,


    too, gave her the cold shoulder.


    After being ignored by those three, the smile on Tina¡¯s face disappeared before a glint of darkness


    shed past her eyes. However, it disappeared in the blink of an eye as a smile reappeared on her face


    as if nothing had happened.


    Then, Tina started walking toward them. ¡°Miss Reed, are you guys not going to race?¡±


    However, Sonia frowned in annoyance. ¡°Miss Gray, has anyone ever told you that you¡¯re very


    annoying?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tina was taken aback before her face flushed red. ¡°A-Am I really that annoying?¡±


    ¡°Are you not? Why would youe all over us when we obviously don¡¯t want to talk to you? Are you


    shameless?¡± Charles harrumphed coldly.


    Reba chimed in as well. ¡°Exactly. Don¡¯t you have self-respect?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Tina¡¯s eyes became red as her body trembled. She looked as if she was about to cry.


    From afar, Toby frowned when he noticed Sonia and the othersing over and Tina going toward


    them. His eyes narrowed when he saw Tina looking as if she was about to cry before he pulled onto the


    horse¡¯s saddle and rode over to her.


    Upon seeing that, Tyler and Zane followed as well.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Toby stopped the horse and got off with a jump, his actions swift and clean.


    ncing at him, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but admit that Toby was a really outstanding man, be it in the


    business field or when he was merely having fun.


    Still, being outstanding doesn¡¯t matter since he is still blinded.


    At the thought of that, Sonia looked away from him.


    ¡°Tina.¡± Toby removed his helmet before cing it by the side.


    Upon hearing his voice, Tina immediately turned around before running into his embrace and started


    bawling. ¡°Toby! Sobs, sobs¡­¡±


    Sonia and the others rolled their eyes.


    What did they even do to her for her to cry like this?


    Those who didn¡¯t know might even think that someone close to her passed away.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zane rode over and asked when he was still sitting high on the horse


    while Tyler didn¡¯t say anything. Since Zane already asked, why should he still ask?


    Instead of asking, Tyler didn¡¯t even spare Tina any second nces but was looking at Sonia with


    glistening eyes. ¡°Hey, Sonia.¡±


    However, Sonia only nced at him and didn¡¯t say anything.


    Immediately, the light in Tyler¡¯s eyes diminished.


    Although it had been a long time since that discussion, Sonia still refused to talk to Tyler.


    ¡°What happened, Tina?¡± Toby patted Tina by her back before asking in a low voice.


    Then, Tina shook her head and wept before she answered in a stuttering voice. ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing. Miss Reed


    and the others didn¡¯t do anything to me. It¡¯s just my problem¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Reba chuckled. ¡°Miss Gray, what do you mean by Miss Reed and the others didn¡¯t do


    anything to me? Do you even speak English? It¡¯s as if you¡¯re trying to imply that you¡¯re crying because


    we did something to you.¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯m not¡­¡± Tina quickly motioned her hands.


    However, Reba rolled her eyes. ¡°No? Are you not? Who would even believe that? Just because


    President Fuller might be a fool doesn¡¯t mean that we are fools too. All of us could understand what


    you¡¯re trying to imply.¡±


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s face darkened.


    Am I a fool?


    ¡°Haha!¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help herself and chuckle.


    The moment sheughed, it seemed like a switch had been turned before Zane, Charles and Tyler


    startedughing as well.


    ¡°Toby, it looks like you¡¯re really a fool.¡± Tyler said beforeughing while Toby looked at him coldly.


    Immediately, Tyler shivered and didn¡¯t dare tough anymore.


    ¡°I was wrong, Toby.¡± His face fell before he shut his mouth.


    Finally, Toby let him off the hook before he lowered his head to look at Tina, who was in his embrace.


    ¡°Tell me honestly, Tina. What happened?¡±


    ¡°Come on, President Fuller, the only thing she¡¯s going to tell you is ¡®I didn¡¯t¡¯ and ¡®it¡¯s not rted to them!


    So, please let me have the honor of retelling the story.¡± Then, Charles stood up and exined everything


    that had happened.


    After hearing everything, Zane caressed his chin. ¡°I feel like President Lane and the others are not


    wrong, though. Tina¡¯s the one who forced herself onto them even when they made it clear that they didn¡¯t


    like her, and she ended up crying when they merely told her the truth. Not trying to be rude, but you¡¯re


    too fragile, Tina.¡±


    While Tyler didn¡¯t say anything, he couldn¡¯t help but agree to it secretly. Even Toby couldn¡¯t use Sonia


    and the others of being in the wrong, since Tina was the one who went to them after all.


    Sighing tiredly, Toby hugged Tina before saying to Sonia and the others, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is indeed Tina¡¯s


    fault, so I¡¯ll apologize to all of you on behalf of her.¡±


    Tina¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Toby¡­¡±


    Nevertheless, Toby squeezed her shoulder and motioned for her to stop talking.


    Right then, Sonia looked up at the couple with a hint of a smile on her face. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re getting


    more used to apologizing to the point that it¡¯s so heartbreaking to see. Fine. Seeing that you¡¯re being


    sincere, I¡¯ll ept your apology.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± There was no way that Toby couldn¡¯t tell that Sonia was sneering at him for constantly


    apologizing on behalf of Tina, but he couldn¡¯t care less. Lowering his gaze, he thanked her.


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina looked at him with reddish eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for getting into trouble again.¡±


    However, Toby reached out to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just stay away


    from them, and go wash your face.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tina nodded before heading toward the washroom.


    ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s get back to horse racing now that the drama has ended.¡± Zane stretched while Tyler nodded


    along. ¡°Zane, why don¡¯t wepete to see who can finish onep faster?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Zane¡¯s eyes brightened, while Charles and Reba looked tempted to join as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m joining, too.¡± Reba raised her hand up.


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    At the same time, Charles turned toward Sonia. ¡°Darling, didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to ride a horse


    previously? Why don¡¯t we join as well?¡±


    However, right when Sonia was about to reply, Toby suddenly interrupted them. ¡°No! She can¡¯t get on a


    horse!¡±


    Since Sonia was pregnant, it was risky for her to be on a horse, since it would be shaky.


    Immediately, everyone quieted down and stared at Toby in confusion.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t Sonia ride a horse?¡± Charles stared at Toby in anger. ¡°Who are you to not let Sonia on a


    horse when you¡¯re not the one who owns this facility?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Reba gave Toby an annoyed look as well. In fact, even Tyler and Zane felt like Toby was


    overstepping his boundaries.


    Nevertheless, only Sonia sensed something wrong before her gaze shifted slightly.


    It seems like Toby didn¡¯t want me to get on the horse, not because he¡¯s being possessive but because of


    other reasons.


    At the thought of that, Sonia turned toward Toby. ¡°President Fuller, please enlighten me on why I


    shouldn¡¯t go horseback riding.¡±


    She wanted to know why he was stopping her.

 Chapter 130

    Chapter 130


    Toby averted his gaze when he met Sonia¡¯s clear and icy one, seemingly terrified that she might see


    through him. He looked elsewhere as he pointed out, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go horseback riding when you¡¯re


    this pale and sick!¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone turned to nce at Sonia¡¯s face.


    Charles was the first to speak up. ¡°He¡¯s right, darling. You really do look a bit pale. Are you still feeling


    the after-effects of carsickness?¡±


    Sonia patted her own face self-consciously. ¡°Am I really that pale?¡±


    ¡°Just a little bit,¡± Reba replied.


    Sonia gave a smallugh. ¡°Well then, I should be fine enough to ride a horse.¡±


    Toby¡¯s brows furrowed when he heard this, and there was a disapproving look etched on his face. As it


    turned out, she had very little regard for her pregnancy. Surely taking care of the baby is more important


    than riding a horse!


    Just as he was about to forcefully keep her from horseback riding, Charles interjected, suggesting,


    ¡°Darling, perhaps you should go back and get some rest. You can always ride a horse the next time. We


    wouldn¡¯t want you to get another dizzy spell, would we?¡±


    Toby nodded imperceptibly at this, pleased that Charles was being sensible this time instead of indulging


    Sonia¡¯s every whim like he usually did.


    However, Sonia was adamant as she grinned and said, ¡°Come on, I¡¯m perfectly fine! Besides, what¡¯s the


    point of going back now that I¡¯m already here? Rx, I won¡¯t get my horse to break into a gallop-I¡¯ll keep


    it on a gentle and steady trot instead.¡±


    ¡°Very well, then,¡± Charles agreed, having assessed that her suggestion was feasible enough. Then, he


    led her toward the stables where they could pick out their horses.


    Meanwhile, Toby stared after them, and his face grew dark and somber.


    For a moment there, he had been convinced that Charles was a sensible person, but thetter proved


    him wrong at the first chance he got. Seething, Toby thought, What does she see in a soft and fickle guy


    like him?


    At the riding track in the distance, Tyler cupped his hands around his mouth as he called out to his


    brother, ¡°Toby,e over here and let¡¯s race!¡±


    Toby gave his foolish brother an indifferent look beforepletely ignoring them, then got on his own


    horse to trot over to the other side of the tracks.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Sonia and Charles to pick out their horses.


    Sonia was dressed in red jodhpurs, which juxtaposed beautifully with the gorgeous white mare she had


    picked out from the stables. It was hard for anyone not to take a picture of the visuals she presented.


    At that moment, Zane came toward her on his horse and let out a low whistle. ¡°Not bad. Who could have


    known that you¡¯d look so beguiling in that outfit?¡±


    Tyler, on the other hand, was not particrly good with words, so heplimentedmely, ¡°You look


    good, Sonia.¡±


    That being said, simplepliments were often the most sincere, so even if Sonia had washed her


    hands off the Fuller Family, she still shed Tyler a warm smile as she quipped, ¡°You have good taste,


    kid.¡±


    Tyler visibly perked up at this. Sonia¡¯s finally speaking to me!


    Not too far away, Toby was seated on his saddle as he watched the three of them engage in friendly


    conversation. He couldn¡¯t help the bitterness that surged through him, and he was seized with an


    impulse to drive both Zane and Tyler away from Sonia.


    Just then, Charles rode out on the horse he had chosen and headed for a race with Zane, Tyler, and


    Reba.


    Meanwhile, not wanting to get in the way of their race, Sonia led her horse toward the other side of the


    tracks.


    She couldn¡¯t remember thest time she had ridden a horse, and she was getting rusty. She couldn¡¯t


    even manage to get up on the saddle the first time, having nearly toppled over by ident.


    At the sight of this, Toby frowned and rode over. ¡°Grab onto the saddle at the same time you mount your


    foot on the stirrup, then as you spring, remember to swing


    your right leg over the cantle.¡±


    Sonia turned to re at him. ¡°Are you actually telling me how to mount my horse?¡±


    He did not deny this. ¡°Try it for yourself.¡±


    She remained silent for a beat or two but did not refuse to follow his instructions.


    Seeing as she was here for horseback riding anyway, it would be great if she could get a free coaching


    session in the process. As such, she did not feel self-conscious at all.


    She recalled what he had just told her and did as she was instructed.


    Unfortunately, she did not mount the horse sessfully. There was a slight mishap when she tried to flip


    her right leg over the cantle-her hamstring was tight, and her right leg hung awkwardly on the saddle.


    Worst of all, she could not retract her leg, either. Before she knew it, she lost her center of gravity and


    began to topple backward.


    Toby¡¯s expression shifted when he saw this, and he dismounted his horse, thereafter reaching out his


    arm to catch the falling woman.


    Sonia had thought that she might fall onto the field below, and she was gearing up for the impact.


    However, the pain she had been expecting did note, and she could even detect the faint scent of


    peppermint around her.


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    She opened her eyes doubtfully, and only then did she realize that Toby was carrying her bridal-style.


    Blood rushed to her face instantly. ¡°L-Let me go right now!¡±


    Toby lowered his head and registered the embarrassed look on her face. Amusement glittered in his


    eyes as he bent over to put her down on the ground, but he did not draw back his hand from where it


    rested in the curve of her waist. ¡°Get a steady footing and I¡¯ll propel you up onto the horse.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She gaped at him with wide eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll propel me up?¡±


    He hummed stoically in response, then said, ¡°Put your left foot on the stirrup.¡±


    She did as she was told.


    ¡°Grab onto the saddle,¡± he continued, and again, she did not defy him.


    He let go of her waist and lowered himself slightly, then cupped her rump with one hand while lifting her


    right leg up with the other, working to propel her onto the saddle.


    She was flustered and embarrassed at his tant gestures.


    She turned her head to address the man behind her in a low voice, ¡°H-Hey, do you mind taking your right


    hand off?¡±


    Toby nced at the right hand in question, which was ced firmly on her butt in his effort to support her


    mounting the horse. Struck by suddenprehension, he raised a brow.


    Truth be told, he had been engrossed with helping her mount the horse, and he paid no attention to how


    the position of his hand might be considered inappropriate.


    But now that he had noticed it, he ought to let go, though admittedly, he did not want to give up on this


    intimacy.


    s, he could not keep his hand on her backside without eliciting harsh admonishment, so he ced it


    on her thigh instead.


    It was only after that that Sonia let out a breath of relief, and with his aid, she mbered over the saddle.


    Behind the tracks, Tina had only juste out of the restroom not too far away and was looking for Toby


    when she caught this scene.


    Her eyes turned red with jealousy when she saw Toby and Sonia getting close to each other on the


    tracks. I knew that he can¡¯t help being drawn to Sonia whenever she shows up around him.


    Then, she nced down at the small vial in her hand, and a menacing smile twisted her features.


    I didn¡¯t manage to kill Sonia and that mongrel she¡¯s carrying when I pushed her down the stairsst time.


    I¡¯ll be sure to kill her this time around!


    With a cold scoff, Tina red at Toby and Sonia once more before turning to head


    for the lounge. Along the way, she opened the vial in her hand and poured out a small and ck cube-


    like object, then lobbed it across the tracks.


    Having done this, she dusted off her hands and smirked, thereafter proceeded forward.


    On the tracks, Sonia and Toby were both oblivious to the fact that Tina had seen them together


    With her efforts and Toby¡¯s guidance, Sonia finally managed to get onto the saddle.


    ¡°Whew! That was tiring work!¡± She gripped the reins and let out a huge breath.


    When Toby heard this, he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Tiring work,


    indeed, he thought dryly.


    ¡°Thanks a lot, President Fuller,¡± Sonia said cheerily as she shed him a smile-one that was not of


    mockery or disdain. This was a sincere smile that showed her utmost gratitude


    For a moment, Toby fell into a daze.


    He hadn¡¯t seen her smile like this for what felt like a long time, not even after their divorce. He didn¡¯t think


    he would get to see it again.


    His heart skipped a beat as he gulped convulsively, then he lowered his gaze and replied hoarsely, ¡°It¡¯s


    nothing.¡±


    She stared ahead at the field and did not notice anything strange about him. ¡°Well then, President Fuller,


    I shall go horseback riding now.¡±


    He hummed in response and nodded once.


    Within seconds, her heels dug into her horse¡¯s sides, and the mare began to pick up into a slow trot.


    Upon seeing that Sonia was riding the horse at a slow pace and that she was not jostling too vigorously


    on the saddle, Toby felt his worries dissipate.


    Nothing would happen at the pace she¡¯s going. With that reassurance in mind, he mounted his horse as


    well and rode back to the lounge.

 Chapter 131

    Chapter 131


    Charles and the others had also returned from their race. The three of them were sweating profusely, but


    their eyes were bright from the exercise, and it was hard not to notice the enthusiasm on their faces. It


    was clear to see that they had a good race.


    ¡°Here¡¯s some water, President Lane,¡± Reba said as she took up two bottles of water and tossed one


    of them to Charles.


    He took it over and quipped, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± Zane regarded Reba unhappily when she did not give him bottled water like she


    did Charles. ¡°I was the one who drove you here. Why is he the only one who gets water?¡±


    Reba rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Okay, here you go!¡± She took another bottle and tossed it to him


    It was only then that Zane broke into a satisfied grin. He twisted open the cap and took a few gulps, then


    doused the remaining water over his head and face. ¡°That¡¯s the stuff!¡±


    ¡°Feels pretty good,¡± Charles agreed heartily as he shook water droplets from the tips of his hair.


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Tina handed a bottle of water to Toby as well. ¡°Here you go,


    Toby. Have a drink of water.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby took the bottle and twisted the cap, but he did not drink and instead gave the bottle back to


    her. ¡°You can take the first sip.¡±


    At the sight of his warm chivalry, Tina broke into a dazzling smile. ¡°Thank you, Toby¡±


    He dismissed this and bent over to take another bottle of water, then drank deeply. He had only just


    taken several gulps when a panicked shriek came from the other side of the field.


    Everyone paused in whatever they were doing. Charles looked into the distance and saw that Sonia¡¯s


    horse was thrashing wildly.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was scared witless as she tried to keep herself steady on the saddle. Her body


    tipped back and forth uncontrobly. She might have a tight grip on the reins now, but if this were to go


    on, the horse would shake her off at any given moment.


    ¡°Baby!¡± Charles yelled and threw his water bottle down, then ran over to his horse so he could go to


    Sonia¡¯s rescue.


    However, he had only just mounted his horse when a figure on another horse dashed past him, beating


    him to the scene.


    It was none other than Toby, and at the sight of this, Charles frowned. Nheless, he wasted no time in


    digging his heels into his horse¡¯s sides, swiftly catching up to the other man as they both rushed to save


    Sonia.


    Right now, only Zane and Tina remained.


    Reba had just left for the restroom, and Tyler had yet toe back from the other track.


    Zane was highly amused when he saw Tina grimace, and he chortled as he asked, ¡°Oh my, it looks like


    Toby is going to rescue Sonia. Does that make you unhappy?¡±


    Tina knew that he was trying to get on her nerves by making a joke out of her. She forced out a tight


    smile, though her hands were clenching the bottle tightly as she said, ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s only natural that


    Toby saves Miss Reed from trouble. Why would I be unhappy?¡±


    ¡°Really? But judging from the way you¡¯re behaving, I think you¡¯re lying,¡± Zane teased, his smile growing


    ever more wicked as his eyes fell on the distorted water bottle in her hand.


    She stiffened when she heard this and quickly loosened her grip on the bottle, then chose to remain


    silent.


    Zane chuckled at her reticence. ¡°You¡¯re as two-faced as usual, Miss Gray. I can¡¯t believe someone like


    you has managed to win Toby over; he must have been blind.


    That being said, it looks like he¡¯s getting better.¡±


    He cupped his own cheek as he watched Toby, who had sessfully saved Sonia from danger. ¡°You


    know, there¡¯s no hiding the panic on Toby¡¯s face earlier, which


    means he still cares about Sonia. It¡¯s just that he has yet to realize this, but when he does, I wonder what


    might happen to you, Miss Gra¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Stop talking!¡± Tina snapped icily, cutting him off. She dug her nails into her palms and


    stood up.


    He quirked a brow at her. ¡°What are you mad?¡±


    She glowered at him mutinously as she warned, ¡°Mr. Coleman, I know that the incident with my father


    has greatly offended your family, but there is no need for you to be so hostile as to try and pick on my


    rtionship with Toby, is there? Aren¡¯t you worried that Toby would be unhappy if he were to know about


    this?¡±


    ¡°Why would I be worried?¡± Zane grinned at her ferociously. ¡°He¡¯s my friend, after all. I have his best


    interests at heart, and if I were to ask him to leave you because I think you aren¡¯t good enough for him,


    then surely he would not me me for it.¡±


    ¡°You,¡± She broke off, her face turning white, then red with fury.


    Zane, on the other hand, looked like the cat that ate the canary.


    He hadn¡¯t wanted to do something as underhanded as picking on Tina¡¯s rtionship with Toby, given that


    they did not get in his way, regardless of how they turned out. However, the Gray Family just had to be


    hical and nearly dragged the Coleman Family¡¯s ns¡ªwhich were carefully curated over many


    years¡ªthrough the mud. Naturally, following such an incident, Zane had no intention of going easy on


    Tina. But such is the philosophy of a vengeful person like me.


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the riding track, Toby was holding a trembling Sonia


    in his arms. She was clearly still traumatized after what had happened earlier.


    He could feel the fear that emanated from her. Patting her back gently, heforted her in a soothing


    voice, ¡°There, there. Everything¡¯s alright now. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±


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    However, Sonia made no reply, but she was shrinking into herself from all the violent trembling


    At that moment, Charles strode over, and his eyes were stormy when he saw Toby holding Sonia in his


    arms. Nheless, he said courteously, ¡°Thank you for saving her, President Fuller.¡±


    He was reluctant to thank Toby, but the truth remained that thetter beat him to Sonia¡¯s rescue; the truth


    remained that he was much slower than Toby.


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal,¡± Toby inly answered as he gave Charles a brief nce.


    Charles got down from his horse with grace. ¡°Well then, could you perhaps let my darling go now? Don¡¯t


    forget that she¡¯s my girlfriend; it¡¯s inappropriate for you to keep holding her like that, considering your


    fianc¨¦e is still watching.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby abruptly stopped patting Sonia on the back, and it was only then that he


    registered that the woman in his arms was his ex-wife, not to mention somebody else¡¯s girlfriend.


    It was inappropriate indeed to hold her the way he did.


    At this realization, Toby turned to look at the lounge area, whereupon he met Tina¡¯s red and watery eyes.


    He pursed his thin lips, then released Sonia unwillingly from his embrace.


    As soon as he did so, Charles reached out to grab Sonia by the wrist and pulled her into his arms, then


    asked anxiously, ¡°Baby, are you okay? Are you hurt?¡±|


    She was still in a stupor as she shook her head and answered in a quivering voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    She had been close to dropping off the horse¡¯s back when Toby showed up in time to save her, so she


    narrowly escaped getting hurt.


    But Charles was still worried as he appraised her from head to toe, and when he was sure that she was


    free from injury, he let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Well, as long as you¡¯re okay. I thought my heart was going to


    stop beating just now. I was that shocked. I mean, the horse waspletely fine, wasn¡¯t it? Why did it go


    crazy all of a sudden?¡±


    The question hung in the air as Toby turned to nce at the now-calm horse that was in the distance. His


    eyes glimmered darkly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Sonia confessed feebly, shaking her head.


    She had been perfectly fine as she rode the horse, but before she knew it, the creature picked up its


    pace and started to thrash around wildly. She had been scared witless, and there was no way she had


    the mental bandwidth to figure out a usible reason


    behind the horse¡¯s mood swing.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine; I¡¯ll look into this matter. Baby, why don¡¯t you go back into the room and take a break. Look at


    how your legs are still shaking.¡± Charles was staring at her legs, which were trembling.


    Sonia merely nodded her head in agreement.


    At the sight of this, he wrapped an arm around her, supporting her weight as he guided her toward the


    vi.


    Toby, on the other hand, only watched with his lips pressed into a thin line as the two of them walked


    away from the tracks.


    It wasn¡¯t until half an hourter that Charles returned from the upstairs, only to see Toby and the others


    sitting in the living room, having returned from the riding tracks.


    Tyler was the first to notice Charles descending the stairs. He rose quickly from his seat as he demanded


    urgently, ¡°Hey, is it true that Sonia got into an ident with the horse? How is she doing now?¡±


    While everyone waited for Charles¡¯ answer, Tina noted the panic and concern on Tyler¡¯s face, and she


    lowered her gaze to hide the sinister gleam in her eyes. She recalled how much Tyler had hated Sonia


    back in the day. Why is it that he seems to have taken a liking to her and shows his concern for her now


    that she and Toby are divorced? What kind of spell has that wretched girl cast on Tyler?


    ¡°Yeah, President Lane,¡± Reba interjected. ¡°Is Sonia alright?¡±


    Reba had been upied in the restroom during Sonia¡¯s ident. It was only after her return that


    Zane told her about the story of the horse going wild, nearly toppling Sonia over to the ground.


    Presently, Charles ignored Tyler as he addressed Reba, saying, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about.


    Sonia¡¯s fine, but she¡¯s still experiencing the after-shock. She¡¯s asleep


    now.¡±


    Reba let out a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    Tyler, on the other hand, was unhappy to have been ignored by Charles, but upon


    hearing that Sonia had escaped danger and was recuperating, he decided to brush off the pointed


    snubbing.

 Chapter 132

    Chapter 132


    Charles¡¯ expression grew abruptly cold, and his icy gaze swept over the other five people in the room


    before it finallynded on Tina. ¡°The mare Sonia picked out was the tamest of the bunch, and I know this


    because I deliberately asked the stable attendant about it. Logically speaking, it¡¯s impossible that the


    horse would go crazy all of a sudden, so I figured something fishy must be going on here.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that someone did something to President Reed¡¯s horse, President Lane?¡± Reba was


    quick to catch on as she asked with wide eyes.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me,¡± Tyler interjected defensively with a shake of his head, waving his hands as though to bat


    away any usation or suspicion that might be thrown his way.


    Zane was calm as he sipped his tea and quipped, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, either.¡±


    ¡°Well, it definitely couldn¡¯t have been me,¡± Reba said, raising her hands.


    As such, Charles¡¯ gaze fixed on the remaining duo, who had yet to voice their denial. ¡°That just leaves


    President Fuller and Miss Gray, but seeing as President Fuller went to Sonia¡¯s rescue, I¡¯m sure that he


    was not the one who pulled the dirty trick. After all, it¡¯s not as if he would purposely start trouble only to


    solve it himself-no one has the time for that, which means¡­¡±


    ¡°Which means you¡¯re suspecting me,¡± Tina continued his sentence for him. She dug her nails into her


    palms and looked so flustered that she might be on the brink of crying


    Charles pped in a mboyant disy of mockery as he sneered, ¡°It looks like you are perceptive after


    all. You¡¯re right-I am suspicious of you because out of everyone here, you¡¯re the only one who would


    most likely go out of her way to hurt Sonia, and you have a track record to prove it.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Tina¡¯s tears streamed down her cheeks. She grabbed Toby¡¯s hand and pleaded,


    ¡°You have to believe me, Toby! I didn¡¯t do it!¡±


    ¡°I believe you,¡± Toby reassured her and squeezed her hand gently, signaling her to calm down.


    Upon hearing that he still believed in her, she nodded and regained herposure.


    Charles, on the other hand, rolled his eyes in exasperation as he used, ¡°Well, of course, you¡¯d


    believe her. She couldmit murder, and you¡¯d let her get away with it as soon as she breaks out the


    waterworks. It¡¯s not as if everyone here is oblivious to how overly-indulgent you are toward her!¡±


    Reba and Zane nodded in silent affirmation to this fact.


    Not even Tyler could deny this, and he nodded along as well. Toby does spoil her every now and then


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    ¡°I believe in Tina not because I indulge in her every whim, but because she has a solid alibi,¡± Toby


    argued, though he did not seem angry even while everyone else refused to stand on his side. He eyed


    Charles darkly as he borated, ¡°She did note into contact with Sonia¡¯s horse at any point of time,


    so why don¡¯t you tell me how she managed to pull off a sabotage?¡±


    In the beginning, Toby wondered if Tina¡¯s other personality had been the one to orchestrate this incident,


    but upon careful analysis, he concluded that the opposite was true; the other personality never dide


    out at any point in time.


    Meanwhile, Charles bristled at Toby¡¯s argument, but as soon as he gave it some thought, he realized that


    thetter was speaking the truth.


    Tina had indeed been nowhere near the stable when Sonia picked out the horse, and it wasn¡¯t as if she


    could pull off the sabotage beforehand, given that there was no telling which horse Sonia would pick out


    of the bunch in the stable; Tina might be devious, but she was no prophet.


    He allowed the possibility of Tina taking it upon herself to sabotage every single horse in the stable, but if


    that were the case, their horses ought to have gone crazy as well. However, they rode around the tracks


    unscathed. Could this really be just an ident, then? Charles thought uneasily.


    Zane was the first one to offer a solution. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get one of the stable attendants toe over


    and ask him about this? We¡¯ll know what happened as soon as he runs a check on the horse.¡±


    Toby shrugged indifferently. ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t long before the attendant came over as asked, and when Charles pressed them on what had


    happened to Sonia¡¯s horse, they simply answered, ¡°Miss Reed¡¯s


    horse was in heat.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Everyone gaped at the attendant in surprise.


    Tina was the only one who lowered her head to conceal the smirk on her lips.


    ¡°Did you just say the horse was in heat?¡± Charles was bewildered. ¡°But it isn¡¯t mating season for the


    animals!¡±


    Zane, Reba, and Tyler were staring at the attendant, waiting eagerly for his exnation.


    However, he only shook his head as he pointed out, ¡°The season might be over, but it doesn¡¯t mean the


    animals would not go into heat. Sometimes, there are other factors that might stimte the animals to go


    into heat.¡±


    Toby queried in a low voice, ¡°So why did Sonia¡¯s horse go into heat in the first ce?¡±


    The attendant pondered on this momentarily, then replied, ¡°We can¡¯t say for sure, but perhaps the horse


    picked up on any particr scent or took in a stimnt or something. There¡¯s no certainty for now, but


    these are the few possibilities I cane up with.¡±


    ¡°Well, the second possibility is not viable, seeing as the horse didn¡¯t eat anything when it was led out of


    the stables,¡± Reba chimed.


    She had been there when Sonia picked out the horse, so she could attest to this fact.


    Charles rubbed his jaw as he suggested, ¡°So the horse probably picked up on a scent?¡±


    Zane chuckled suddenly. ¡°Please tell me the scent wasn¡¯t Sonia¡¯s perfume.¡±


    Everyone made various noises of doubt as their lips twitched, but none could deny the usibility of this.


    Reba turned her palms up as if resigned. ¡°Does this mean that whatever happened to President


    Reed is just an ident?¡±


    As reluctant as Charles was to admit this, he waspelled to. Without another word, he turned to go


    up the stairwell.


    Having dismissed the attendant with a wave of his hand, Toby called out to stop Charles in his tracks,


    ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Charles stopped and asked stoically, ¡°What is it?¡±


    Zane, Reba, and Tyler-and even Tina-turned simultaneously to look at Toby in curiosity.


    Toby took Tina by the hand as he insisted coolly, ¡°Now that the situation has been cleared up, shouldn¡¯t


    you apologize for wrongfully using Tina earlier?¡±


    Charles narrowed his eyes at this andughed incredulously. ¡°Apologize? You want me to apologize to


    her?¡± He jabbed a finger in Tina¡¯s direction.


    Toby eyed him steadily and demanded, ¡°Do you not want to?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not apologizing, and why should I? I admit that I wrongfully used her this time, but I didn¡¯t


    for all the things she did to Sonia in the past. Has she apologized to Sonia for all the other stuff? No. You


    were the one who apologized on her behalf¡±


    There was a disdainful sneer on his face as he glowered at Toby defiantly. ¡°She uses you as a shield


    after all that she did to hurt Sonia, and she never once bothered to make reparations. But you don¡¯t see


    me demanding an apology for Sonia like what you are doing now for Tina. So what right do you have to


    force an apology out of


    me?¡±


    Upon hearing this retort, Toby grew sullen.


    Tina, on the other hand, was embarrassed as she fixed her gaze on the tips of her shoes.


    Meanwhile, Zane had his hands behind his head as he watched the show. He was entertained, and he


    encouraged Reba to sit back and enjoy the drama as he did.


    Tyler was the only fool who blinked and asked, ¡°Toby, what did Tina do to Sonia, and why did you have to


    apologize on her behalf?¡±


    Anger shed in Tina¡¯s eyes when she heard this. Of all the times for Tyler to bring this up, he has to pick


    now? Is he trying to make things worse for me on purpose?


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Toby barked coldly, frowning.


    Tyler fell into resentful silence at this. He only wanted to know the truth of what had happened, and he


    could not understand why he was asked to shut up instead. Why does he get to tell me to shut up?


    Seeing how unhappy Tyler was, Charles seized the opportunity and crossed his arms in front of his chest


    as he offered, ¡°Hey, kid. If you want to know what happened, I can tell you.¡±


    Tyler visibly perked up at this, and his eyes shone as he said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Toby,¡± Tina anxiously tugged on Toby¡¯s arm, as though asking him to stop Charles from speaking


    However, it was toote, for Charles had already started off the narrative. ¡°Listen, kid. Your gorgeous


    soon-to-be sister-inw is as insidious as theye. She used public opinion to use Sonia of running


    her down with a car six years ago, and thankfully, Sonia managed to clear her name by getting her


    hands on the camera footage from back then.¡±


    ¡°And also, there was that time at the resort when she squirted shower gel all over the bathroom floor and


    caused Sonia to slip and fall, thereby hitting her head. Two days ago, she even pushed Sonia down a


    flight of stairs in an attempt to kill her. So now you know all that Tina has done to Sonia in the past. What


    do you think, kid?¡± Charles was clearly satisfied as he stared at Tyler, who appeared to have gone into


    shock.


    Zane and Reba, too, were astonished, given how they had no idea of any of these.


    ¡°Are these all true, Toby? Did Tina really do all those horrible things to Sonia?¡± Tyler clenched his fists as


    he red at his brother with hostility. All this time, he had been so focused on basketball that he did not


    know what Sonia endured.


    Toby was grim, but he said nothing.


    Tina, on the other hand, gripped his arm tightly, and she did not make to defend herself either.


    At the sight of this, Tyler understood immediately that Charles had been speaking the truth.


    In recent times, he had realized that Tina was not as wonderful as he initially thought, but he certainly


    didn¡¯t think that she was more vicious than he imagined. How could she be so despicable as to do all


    those things to Sonia?

 Chapter 133

    Chapter 133


    Tyler lowered his head, looking as crestfallen as he was stunned.


    Meanwhile, Charles scoffed as he nced over at Toby haughtily. ¡°So, do you still want me to apologize,


    President Fuller?¡±


    The subtext of his question was clear: if he were to be forced to apologize, then he would expose even


    more startling crimes on Tina¡¯s track record.


    Toby understood what was at stake, and he was grim as he returned Charles¡¯ sullen gaze.


    Tina, on the other hand, was somewhat terrified as she tugged on Toby¡¯s arm. She forced out a tight


    smile and said, ¡°Let¡¯s forget about this, Toby. Charles is right; I¡¯ve done so many terrible things to Miss


    Reed, so it¡¯s only right that we excuse them from making an apology.¡±


    Charles quirked his lips mockingly. ¡°It looks like you guys have given up on an apology from me, so I¡¯m


    going to take my leave now. The air here reeks of hypocrisy.¡±


    As he said this, he pped his hand in front of his nose as though to fan away some repulsive scent and


    headed up the stairs.


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    Seeing this, Reba let out a full-body yawn and interjected, ¡°I¡¯m worn out from all the horseback riding.


    I think I¡¯ll take a nap in my room.¡±


    Ose


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not staying here if the rest of you are leaving,¡± Zane concluded as he rose from his seat.


    Very soon, Toby and the two others were the only ones remaining in the living room.


    Tyler nced at Toby, then Tina. Atst, he grabbed the former by the arm and proceeded to guide him


    toward the veranda. ¡°Come over here, Toby. I need to talk to you about something.¡±


    When they reached the veranda, Toby drew his arm back and demanded, ¡°What is it?¡±


    Tyler closed the door to the veranda behind him. ¡°Toby, you know all about what


    Tina has done to Sonia, don¡¯t you?¡±


    He found it rather repulsive to call Tina by her given name so affectionately after learning all the terrible


    things she had inflicted upon Sonia. As far as he was concerned, he should adopt a more fitting


    nickname for the wretched woman.


    Toby pursed his lips briefly, then admitted, ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    Tyler was obviously aggrieved by such an affirmation. ¡°So, what are you still doing with her?¡±


    Toby frowned and snapped, ¡°This is my business, and it doesn¡¯t concern you one bit.¡±


    ¡°How so? I¡¯m your biological brother, Toby. Don¡¯t you think I have the right to be concerned?¡± Tyler¡¯s


    eyes widened incredulously as he went on to say, ¡°Listen to me,


    Toby. You have to break up with Tina as soon as possible. She¡¯s a terrible human being, and I am totally


    against the both of you being together!¡±


    A woman like Tina was basically the epitome of evil; there was no telling what other wicked schemes she


    might be up to next. What if she throws Toby under the bus? Or worse¡ªwhat if she drags our family


    name through the mud?


    However, Toby only grew impatient as he said, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. Just watch your own back and stop


    butting into my affairs.¡± With that, he opened the door to the veranda and left.


    Tina happened to be standing behind the door, and her eyes rimmed red as she regarded them


    intively. ¡°Toby..¡± she began, chewing her lip anxiously.


    Toby sighed tiredly. ¡°Did you hear everything?¡±


    She nodded and hummed sadly in response.


    Meanwhile, Tyler was slightly flustered as he averted his gaze, not wanting to look her in the eyes.


    After all, she had heard all of his bad-mouthing, and he would inevitably feel embarrassed regardless of


    how thick-skinned he might be. He let out a dry cough and made to walk away.


    Just then, Tina called out to him, ¡°Tyler.¡±


    He stopped in his tracks and asked icily, ¡°What is it? If you¡¯re looking for an apology, then let¡¯s just say


    you¡¯d be disappointed because there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to say sorry for speaking the truth.¡±


    I¡¯m not in the wrong here. It¡¯s true that she is evil enough to attempt murder, and it¡¯s not my fault for


    wanting to keep her away from Toby!


    ¡°Tyler!¡± Toby was clearly displeased as he eximed his brother¡¯s name, sounding as if he was building


    up to an admonishment.


    Tyler clenched his fists, and he was about to say something in retort when Tina interjected woefully, ¡°No,


    Tyler, it isn¡¯t an apology I¡¯m looking for. I just wanted to say that I have, indeed, done some grievous


    things to Miss Reed. However, I have reasons for it, and it was not my intention to hurt her. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Whatever the reasons might be and regardless of your intentions, you were still behind all those things,


    weren¡¯t you?¡± Tyler cut her off bluntly. Then, he added, ¡°There was a time when I thought you were a


    kind and gentle person, and I waspletely fine with you being together with my brother. But now, I


    realize how blind and ridiculous I was. A wicked and vicious woman like you has no right marrying my


    brother. You¡¯re only going to burden him and drag him down!¡±


    Having said that, he scoffed contemptuously at her and stalked off.


    Tina watched his retreating figure and bit down hard on her lower lip as the storm clouds gathered


    ominously in her dark eyes.


    So, it was Zane at first, and now Tyler is trying to tear Toby away from me, too? This is what Charles and


    Sonia are up to. They want to turn everyone around Toby and me over to their side and gang up against


    us.


    At the thought of this, she shuddered in anger and felt a strong surge of hatred for all these people.


    While she was simmering in spite, Toby thought she might be crying and pulled her into an embrace from


    behind as he cated, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tina. Tyler is still a kid, and he doesn¡¯t think before he speaks. I hope


    you won¡¯t hold it against him.¡±


    Tina regained herposure and schooled her features into an expression of empathy, then shook her


    head. ¡°I don¡¯t me him at all. He wasn¡¯t wrong anyway. I¡¯m just a little scared.¡±


    ¡°What are you scared of?¡± Toby turned her in his arms and gazed down at her.


    She rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, then answered in a


    trembling voice, ¡°I¡¯m scared that Tyler may try to convince you to break up with me. I¡¯m terrified that you


    really will leave me.¡±


    He sighed when he heard this and cupped her face in his hands, then dipped his head to look at her


    solemnly as he promised, ¡°I won¡¯t ever leave you. Don¡¯t you believe me?¡±


    After all, he had relentlessly pursued her several times before she agreed to go out with him and be


    his girlfriend; there was no way he would leave her.


    She blinked and asked, ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡± He nodded in assurance.


    ¡°B-But Tyler is your brother. Surely he would talk to your mother and force you to break up with me.


    Would you still be so adamant when your family pressures you?¡±


    Tina gazed up at him hopefully.


    He smoothed down her hair and murmured, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m the head of the Fuller Family, anyway, so it¡¯s not


    like they have a say in whatever I decide. There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡±


    She hummed in satisfaction and broke into a smile, then nuzzled into his chest once more. ¡°That makes


    me feel safe.¡±


    He hugged her gently and smoothed her hair. His gestures were gentle andpassionate, but there


    was an icy gleam in his eyes, which were dark pools devoid of warmth.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what was happening to him. He was embracing a woman he loved dearly but found that


    he was growing distant from her; there was a newfound sense of calm in him that made him more level-


    headed whenever he assessed her.


    That night, there was a torrential downpour that was apanied by rough winds and rumbling thunder,


    turning the scene outside the vi to one that was almost apocalyptical.


    Tina was so frightened that all the color drained from her face, and she screamed when the thunder


    boomed overhead.


    As of now, she was curled into a ball on the couch. ¡°Miss Harper, could you please draw the curtains?


    The storm is terrifying,¡± she pleaded with Reba, who was standing by the French windows while


    admiring the storm raging outside.


    Reba turned slightly to cast her a baleful look, and contempt rose within her.


    However, she did not want to stir up unnecessary trouble and decidedly drew the curtains as told.


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Harper.¡± Tina breathed a sigh of relief and shed the other girl a grateful, albeit watery


    smile.


    Reba was impassive as she snapped, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. Do you honestly think I¡¯d give a


    damn about you if President Fuller weren¡¯t backing you up?¡±


    Having thrown these words over her shoulders, she stormed into the kitchen.


    Tina lowered her gaze to hide the spite in her eyes, though she put on a resentful front.


    Toby pulled out a woman¡¯s coat from the closet upstairs, and at the sight of Tina looking like a wounded


    kitten, he frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Tina?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Tina lifted her head and gave him a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing to do with Miss Harper.¡±


    He pursed his lips. ¡°Did Reba bully you?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Tina pped her hand dismissively. ¡°I¡¯m scared of thunder, and I asked her to draw the


    curtains earlier, but I seemed to have interrupted her storm-gazing ns, so she¡¯s a little unhappy with


    me at the moment. That being said, she didn¡¯t bully me at all. I¡¯m the one who feels bad about this.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to,¡± Toby argued while draping the coat over her slender frame. ¡°The vi is for


    communal use; it was not your fault that you were afraid of thunder and asked that she draw the curtains.


    Anyway, are you still cold?¡±


    ¡°Not anymore,¡± she answered with a gentle shake of her head.


    He hummed in response. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    Just then, the sound of thudding footsteps sounded from upstairs.


    As it turned out, Zane, Charles, and Sonia were making their way down the staircase.


    Raking his fingers through his hair insouciantly, Zane asked aloud, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s gettingte! What¡¯s the chef


    doing? Where¡¯s our dinner?¡±

 Chapter 134

    Chapter 134


    ¡°Stop howling. The chef is not here.¡± Reba came out of the kitchen. Zane looked at her and asked,


    ¡°Where did the chef go?¡±


    ¡°In the afternoon, the chef went out to make purchases but never came back. Just now, I called them,


    and they said that on the way back, there was andslide, so they were blocked by it and couldn¡¯te


    back.¡± Reba shrugged.


    Blinking, Tyler questioned, ¡°Then what about our dinner tonight?¡±


    ¡°What else can we do? We have to make it ourselves. I went to the kitchen just now and found that there


    are plenty of ingredients there already.¡± Reba pointed in the direction of the kitchen.


    Hearing that, Tyler wailed. ¡°You mean to say that we have to cook by ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Or what?¡± Reba rolled her eyes.


    The corners of Zane¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°Does anyone here know how to


    cook?¡±


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    Once these words came out, everyone fell silent. After a while, except for Sonia, they shook their heads


    one after another, saying that they didn¡¯t. After all, it was a fact that all the people present were from


    wealthy families and had been served with a silver spoon in their mouths since childhood, so they


    certainly didn¡¯t know how to cook.


    ¡°It¡¯s over then. It looks like we won¡¯t have anything to eat tonight.¡± Zane touched his stomach and spoke


    with a bitter smile.


    Reba gave him a sidelong nce, saying, ¡°It¡¯s all because of you. You were the one bringing me here


    and causing me to have no food.¡±


    At that, Zane bristled. ¡°Who knew the chef was so unlucky to have encountered andslide?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡± Reba sighed.


    Then, Tina pulled Toby¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Toby, what should we do? I¡¯m so hungry!¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips moved as he replied, ¡°There should be snacks in the kitchen. Let¡¯s go


    look for them and make do with them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all we can do.¡± Tina nodded. Thus, the two of them went to the kitchen.


    Tyler did not want to be with Tina, so he did not go with them.


    Soon, the two came out again, but their hands were empty, and there was nothing. Seeing that, Charles


    scoffed at them. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go look for snacks? Where are the snacks?¡±


    Toby¡¯s face was cold as he ignored him. As for Tina, she softly replied, ¡°There are no snacks in the


    kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious? We don¡¯t even have snacks? Looks like we¡¯re destined to go hungry tonight,¡± Zane


    said unhappily.


    Next, Charles looked at Sonia beside him. ¡°Darling, are you hungry?¡±


    When Toby heard this, he also looked at Sonia with imperceptible concern in his eyes. Noticing that, Tina


    clenched her fists slightly.


    ¡°A little; how about you?¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles touched his stomach and replied, ¡°I¡¯m hungry too.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go make some food,¡± Sonia said.


    Other than Tyler and Toby, everyone else was shocked.


    ¡°Darling, you know how to cook?¡± Charles looked at Sonia in shock.


    Before Sonia could answer, Tyler was the first to answer with his eyes lighting up, ¡°Sonia knows how to


    cook, and her cooking is delicious.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you have even tasted her cooking?¡± Charles turned his gaze to him with dissatisfaction.


    Tyler proudly raised his chin and answered, ¡°Of course. For six whole years even! Look at you being so


    surprised that she can cook. It seems that you have not tasted what she¡¯s capable of.¡±


    These words stabbed deep into Charles¡¯ heart.


    Charles ignored him with a sullen face, then took Sonia¡¯s hand and said with a heartbroken expression,


    ¡°No wonder your hands were so rough before. So you had to cook for the Fuller Family in addition to


    doing housework? Darling, why are you na?ve?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s all in the past.¡± Soniaughed a little and pulled her hand back.


    Charles coldly snorted. ¡°You think it¡¯s over? I think not. In fact, you grew up being pampered by your


    family, so how did you end up doing all the cooking andundry once you married into the Fuller


    Family?¡±


    After saying so, he turned around and red at Toby. ¡°Your family made her do it, right? As one of the


    wealthiest families in the city, don¡¯t you have maids? How could you let your wife do what the maids do


    and serve your family? I can¡¯t even bear to let her do anything, yet your family actually feels no guilt at all


    in having her do all this.


    It¡¯s really disgusting.¡±


    He had cherished her in his heart for more than ten years, and yet she was treated like a servant in the


    Fuller Family. Thinking of that, he got angrier.


    ¡°Do you know what times we¡¯re living in now? How can there actually be families that still treat their


    womenfolk as subordinates? Mr. Fuller, is your family still living in ancient times?¡± Reba scanned


    Toby with contempt.


    She then looked at Tina. ¡°Miss Gray, you heard it. The Fuller Family is a family that will not treat their


    daughters-inw well. If you decide to be a part of the family, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have difficult times ahead of


    you.¡±


    However, Tina bit her lip and forced a smile. ¡°No, Mrs. Fuller is very nice to me. I believe they will not


    treat me like this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t count your chickens before they¡¯re hatched. Who knows what will happen in the future?¡± Zane


    spoke up.


    As Toby listened to them mocking the Fuller Family, his face fell, but he did not refute because what


    Charles said was indeed true. His family did treat Sonia as a servant for the six years she was there, all


    because his mother did not like her. He also knew that it was wrong for his mother to do so, but he chose


    not to intervene because he did not love her. Thus, he let his mother do this to Sonia. In the end,


    although he did not directly bully Sonia, his inaction was in itself a form of bullying.


    As for Tyler, he also did not say anything, but his face reddened with embarrassment. He had only


    wanted to show off that he had eaten Sonia¡¯s cooking before, but he hadn¡¯t expected that it would lead to


    the revtion of Sonia being bullied by the Fuller Family.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia.¡± Tyler bowed toward Sonia and apologized. Although he had apologized before, it


    didn¡¯t stop him from apologizing again.


    Sonia gave him a look and didn¡¯t take his apology to heart. Rubbing her brow, she said, ¡°Alright, now get


    up and move out of the way. I¡¯m off to the kitchen to cook.¡±


    ¡°Sonia, can I order specific dishes?¡± Tyler came up to her, his eyes shining as he looked at her.


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched. Is he so thick-skinned? When have I said I¡¯m going to cook for


    him?


    ¡°No,¡± she rejected him.


    pping his hands, Charlesughed and said, ¡°Do you hear that? My darling said no!¡±


    Tyler red at him, then looked at Sonia with sadness written all over his face. ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°Because we have nothing to do with each other. Why should I cook for someone who has nothing to do


    with me? Besides, your brother and your sister-inw are here. If you want to eat, look for them.¡± Sonia


    pointed at Toby and Tina and walked toward the kitchen.


    Charles smiled smugly at Tyler, then followed her.


    As for Reba, she suddenly thought of something and raised her hand before saying loudly, ¡°President


    Reed, I¡¯ll help you out. Will you make an extra portion for me?¡±


    ¡°Me too, Sonia. Last time you hurt your foot, and I was the one who took you to the hospital.¡± Zane also


    spoke up.


    Sonia smiled at them. ¡°Okay, then all of youe over and help.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Zane and Rebaughingly followed.


    In the living room, Toby and the others could still hear the sound ofughtering from the kitchen


    from time to time. They had no idea what the people inside said, but Soniaughed very loudly. Pursing


    his lips, Toby sat on the sofa, and when he thought of her smiling at Charles and the others, he felt


    frustrated.


    Am I really that annoying to her?


    Tina did not say anything and only slightly lowered her head with her hands folded together.


    Soon, the rich aroma of food wafted out of the kitchen. When Tyler smelled it, he felt even hungrier, and


    his stomach rumbled. The knot in Toby¡¯s throat couldn¡¯t help but move, and his eyes were slightly dark.


    He knew that Sonia could cook because she had cooked for him before, but he never ate anything she


    made. Yet, it turned out that she was so good at cooking; just the aroma alone made people salivate, so


    one could imagine how delicious it was when they ate it.


    ¡°Toby, why don¡¯t we go cook too?¡± Suddenly, Tina pulled Toby¡¯s sleeve and proposed.

 Chapter 135

    Chapter 135


    Tina was so hungry that she couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. When she smelled the aroma of the food, she felt


    even hungrier. Then, Toby looked at Tina¡¯s hungry appearance and finally agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Tina smiled and nodded. Just after walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped again and looked


    back at Tyler on the sofa. ¡°Tyler, do you want toe along?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m noting with you,¡± Tyler answered with a cold attitude, making Tina lower her head in the gloom.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°If you don¡¯te over to help, then you won¡¯t get to eat tonight.¡±


    After saying that, he pulled Tina and continued to walk toward the kitchen.


    Clutching his hair in exasperation, Tyler really wanted to just ignore them, but his stomach was growling.


    In the end, he went to the kitchen as well.


    The kitchen was veryrge, so all of them could move around in it without any issue. When Toby came


    in, the three of them saw Sonia flinging the pan, and the food in it rose up in the air, flipped over, and fell


    back in neatly.


    Charles, Zane, and Reba stood by the side, all of them looking stunned. ¡°Amazing!¡± Reba


    marveled.


    Zane followed with a nod. ¡°What a great chef!¡±


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Charles¡¯s face contorted as he both felt happy and heartbroken. He was happy that he could


    eat Sonia¡¯s cookingter, but he was heartbroken that the woman he cherished so much had been


    bullied by the Fuller Family so much that she even knew such a difficult technique. After all, she had


    never done this in the past before.


    Thinking of this, he turned and red at the three who had just entered.


    The three of them were also watching Sonia flipping the food, and it was not until they felt Charles¡¯ re


    that they snapped back to their senses. In fact, they were actually fascinated by Sonia¡¯s skills.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go over there.¡± Toby coughed lightly, withdrew his gaze, and pointed to the other side of the stove.


    So, Tina took his arm and went over with him. After that, Tyler looked at Sonia, and then at his brother,


    and then followed him with his head hanging low. The three of them came to the stove and looked at the


    pots and pans in front of them with difficulty because none of them had ever cooked before. Thus, they


    couldn¡¯t even recognize anything, so now they didn¡¯t know where to start.


    ¡°Toby, how do we start?¡± Tina picked up the spat and looked at it, then asked the man beside her with


    difficulty.


    The man was silent for a few seconds before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s wash the vegetables first, and we¡¯ll see what


    you want to eat?¡±


    ¡°But where are the vegetables?¡± Tina was at a loss.


    Tyler snorted. ¡°Even if I can¡¯t cook, I know the vegetables are in the refrigerator.¡±


    After saying that, he turned around and walked toward the refrigerator. Tina bit her lower lip, her eyes


    reddening. ¡°Toby, am I useless? I don¡¯t even know where the vegetables are.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s normal not to know this if you don¡¯t know how to cook.¡± Toby stroked her hair.


    However, Charles couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes at this. ¡°How is that normal? This ismon sense,


    okay? Your fianc¨¦e doesn¡¯t even havemon sense. President Fuller, you even lied to her and


    convinced her that this is normal. How brainless can she be not to understand that it¡¯s just a lie to


    comfort her!¡±


    Hearing this, Reba and Zane couldn¡¯t hold back theirughter, while Sonia also hooked up the


    corners of her mouth. Toby¡¯s face was ugly as he looked at Charles, his eyes icy cold. As for Tina, she


    looked like she was about to cry. ¡°Charles, you are too much!¡±


    How dare he call me brainless?


    ¡°How is that too much? I¡¯m just telling the truth. You can¡¯t ept the truth?¡± Charles stretched his hands,


    smiling recklessly at Tina¡¯s chest that rose and fell violently,


    Charles was about to continue mocking her, but Sonia pulled him back. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Charles. It¡¯ll be a


    hassle if she gets too angry and ends up doing something


    bad.¡±


    ¡°All right. Since you said so, darling, I¡¯ll shut up,¡± Charles said with a smile.


    Tina squeezed her hands and looked at Toby. ¡°Toby, do you also think I¡¯m stupid and don¡¯t even have


    common sense.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tina was obviously a little unconvinced.


    Toby felt a little tired, but he still nodded with patience. ¡°Really.¡±


    Tina could see that he was being serious, so her mood improved.


    At this time, Tyler had already returned with a bunch of food ingredients he wanted to eat. ¡°Toby, let¡¯s


    cook these.¡± He looked at Toby excitedly.


    Toby, however, frowned at the food ingredients he was carrying. ¡°Do you know how to cook them? Why


    did you take so much?¡±


    Tyler¡¯s face froze because he obviously had not thought about this, and scratching his head, he asked,


    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    Toby was silent, while Tina didn¡¯t know what to say as well. Next to them, Sonia was directing the three


    others to get tes and seasonings, and they were all busy with a lot of enthusiasm. The three people


    over on Toby¡¯s side, however, looked at the cold empty pots and stove for a long time without any action.


    With that, the two sides formed a stark contrast.


    After a while, Toby sighed lightly, then took out his phone and searched for cooking instructions. Finally,


    they started cooking. However, the food that was made in the end looked unappetizing.


    ¡°Toby, is this ckened thing an eggnt?¡± Tyler asked very politely, pointing to a dish in front of him that


    could no longer be discerned. Hearing that, Toby pursed his thin lips into a straight line, and he nodded


    stiffly.


    The corners of Tyler¡¯s mouth twitched as Tyler pointed to another te. ¡°Are these potatoes?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes and swept a cold nce at him, which made Tyler shrink back and not dare to


    ask further questions,


    When Tina saw that the atmosphere was a little stiff, she smiled a little and took the initiative to ease the


    situation. ¡°Well Tyler, although these dishes look a little unattractive, the taste should still be good. After


    all, Toby personally made them. Try


    She handed a fork to Tyler, who pretended not to see and picked up another fork instead. Then, he


    simply reached for the eggnt. When Tina saw this, her hand froze in the air. However, ¡®Toby squeezed


    her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Eat it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Tina forced a smile, but in her heart, she secretly held a grudge against Tyler, who had disgraced


    herself.


    After I marry Toby, I will definitely drive Tyler out of the Fuller Residence.


    ¡°Blergh!¡± When Tina and Toby were preparing to eat, Tyler suddenly vomited all the food he had eaten


    with a contorted face.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? It¡¯s terrible! The taste is salty one moment and sweet next. Toby, you¡¯re really a genius at


    cooking.¡± Tyler hurriedly drank water while extending his thumb toward Toby


    Toby¡¯s eyebrows furrowed together. ¡°Is it very bad?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s disgusting, okay?!¡± Tyler yelled loudly.


    Toby lowered his eyes to look at the dish he had made. After hesitating for a moment, he grabbed a


    piece and put it into his mouth, and then his brows wrinkled even more, but he still swallowed the food.


    ¡°Toby, how is it? Is it disgusting?¡± Tyler came close to him and asked with a smile. Toby didn¡¯t say


    anything; his face was expressionless as he sipped his water as a tacit acknowledgment


    After the little episode, Tina silently withdrew her fork that was originally stretched out toward the food,


    Forget it! I¡¯m not gonna eat that.


    Tina¡¯s action was noticed by Sonia, who was enjoying the food at the next table. Sonia decided to ignore


    it and continued enjoying her sumptuous meal.


    As for Zane and Reba, they also did not want to cause trouble. After all, good food was in front of


    them, so they did not have the mood to care about anything else. Honestly speaking, Sonia¡¯s cooking


    was just too delicious, especially the fish, which simply melted in their mouths like butter.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Suddenly, Charles blinked as an idea crossed his mind. Putting down his cutlery, he turned his head to


    look at the next table. ¡°Miss Gray, this is the dinner that President Fuller personally made, so why don¡¯t


    you eat it?¡±

 Chapter 136

    Chapter 136


    Tina didn¡¯t expect that Charles would ask about her, so she politely smiled and said,


    ¡°1.¡±


    ¡°Is the food not up your alley?¡± Charles interrupted her speech.


    Tina shook her head in denial. ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡±


    ¡°Then, why aren¡¯t you eating them?¡± Charles led the conversation back to where it started. In the


    meantime, Sonia and the others knew he was trying to mess around and drive a wedge between Tina


    and Toby. Therefore, they all put down their silverware and waited to enjoy the show.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Gray. Since you¡¯re okay with Toby¡¯s cooking, you should probably start eating.(This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)¡± Zane propped his face with his hand, echoing Charles¡¯


    words in a deadpan manner.


    Jumping on the bandwagon, Reba nodded. ¡°President Fuller prepared these dishes himself, and it


    wouldn¡¯t look nice if you don¡¯t try any of them, Miss Gray. Furthermore, you love him, don¡¯t you? So


    shouldn¡¯t you show him your support?¡±


    Tyler puckered his lips and was about to say something, only to be stopped by Toby with a cold re.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was seen enjoying her soup calmly without saying a single word, her eyes filled with


    mischief as if she had nothing to do with Tina¡¯s humiliation.


    Fixing her angry eyes on each of them, Tina could feel her rage burning inside her.


    These people are obviously trying to make a fool out of me by forcing me to eat these terrible dishes.


    They want to embarrass me. They even used Toby to pressure me just so that they can be sure to reach


    their goal; if I refuse to eat those dishes, my love for Toby will be doubted and called into question. By


    then, Toby will lose his faith in me, even though he may not talk about it. How wicked these people are!


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m going to start eating now!¡± Tina took a deep breath and forced a smile.


    Charles and the others were stunned for a while before they all gloated with a gleefulugh. Then,


    Reba gave Tina a thumbs up and said, ¡°That¡¯s a good one, Miss Gray. Your love for President Fuller


    is true and indisputable.¡±


    Tina smiled in silence while angrily refuting them on the inside. True and indisputable? What does this


    have to do with my love for him? I wouldn¡¯t be forced to eat these terrible dishes if it weren¡¯t for the few of


    you. At the thought of that, she bit her lip and reluctantly picked up her fork and knife.


    Toby held her hand to stop her from eating. ¡°Don¡¯t do it. You don¡¯t actually have to give two hoots about


    what they said.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. They¡¯re right. This is the first time cooking, and I should try it.¡± Tina replied and gently put the


    man¡¯s hand away.


    Despite his disagreement with Tina¡¯s decision to eat those dishes, Toby didn¡¯t do anything else to stop


    her from pressing on. Deep down, a part of him knew how she would react after she put those dishes


    into her mouth.


    While everyone fixed their eyes on Tina without blinking, she picked up the fork and knife before cing


    some potatoes and beans on her te. When she held the food in front of her mouth, she hesitated for a


    few moments, to which Charles urged her to eat it in frustration. ¡°Come on! What¡¯re you waiting for?¡±


    Despite her strong grudge toward them, Tina knew she had no choice but to swallow the food. Thus, she


    closed her eyes and braced herself as she put the potatoes into her mouth.


    In that instant, a weird taste swept through her taste buds just when her face changed. In the end, (This


    novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)she gave in to the terrible taste and covered her mouth


    before running into the restroom. Even when she was inside the restroom, she could hear the others


    laughing out loud at her outside.


    ¡°Toby, it looks like Miss Gray doesn¡¯t really like your cooking so much that she can¡¯t take it and has to


    throw up.¡± Zane drank his fruit juice and pulled Toby¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Well, who knows Miss Gray doesn¡¯t love President Fuller that much, either? Otherwise, how does she


    exin why she¡¯d puke? If I was in her ce, I would finish my darling¡¯s dishes instead of spitting them


    out, no matter how terrible they tasted,¡± Charles chuckled and said.


    Nevertheless, Toby¡¯s face darkened as he pursed his lips in silence. Deep down, he understood why


    Tina would react that way because his dishes tasted terrible. However, it didn¡¯t sit well with him when he


    saw her heading to the restroom to puke. After all, like Charles said, Tina might not have been


    considerate enough to


    think about protecting Toby¡¯s pride.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s dig in and talkter.¡± Sonia broke her silence when she noticed the unhappy look on Toby¡¯s


    face. While she didn¡¯t do that to save Toby from embarrassment, she was trying to prevent Charles and


    the others from running their mouths off before they took it too far.


    At the same time, Charles and the other two seemingly sensed Toby¡¯s anger as they shrugged their


    shoulders and continued to enjoy their meal. Soon, Tina returned from the restroom and pulled out her


    seat before she sat down and carefully peaked at Toby beside her. Knowing that her reaction might have


    embarrassed Toby, she guiltily apologized to him and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. I didn¡¯t want to puke on


    purpose. I just¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I know the dishes taste really bad, so it¡¯s normal that you threw up,¡± Toby cut her short and


    said.


    Sensing the coldness in his voice, Tina knew he was not happy with her reaction. Thus, her heart sank


    as she felt mad at the thought of that. This is all Sonia¡¯s fault. If they hadn¡¯t forced me to eat those


    dishes, I wouldn¡¯t have thrown up, and neither would Toby have been unhappy with me.


    In that instant, the atmosphere around Toby, Tina, and Tyler was shrouded in awkward silence. At the


    same time, neither of them said anything or picked up their silverware once again amidst the oppressive


    vibe. Meanwhile, Sonia and the others were happily enjoying their food at the next table as the aroma of


    the dishes wafted toward Toby, Tyler, and Tina, making them feel even more uneasy.


    ¡°Ah! I can¡¯t take this anymore. I¡¯m starving!¡± Tyler impatiently patted the table. (This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar)¡±Toby, can you arrange for someone to deliver us some decent food in a


    helicopter?¡±


    Tina¡¯s eyes lit up and fell upon Toby when she heard those words. However, the man ced his hand on


    his forehead and shook his head. ¡°No way. There is a thunderstorm outside, and it¡¯s dangerous for a


    helicopter to fly here.¡±


    ¡°So, are we going to starve ourselves like that?¡± Tyler¡¯s eyes widened.


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to starve yourself, you¡¯d better start eating.¡± Toby looked up and met his gaze.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather starve myself than eat these,¡± Tyler pouted and said.


    Radiating a cold and intimidating aura, Toby didn¡¯t force his brother. ¡°Fine then. Get out of my face!¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Tyler stood up and left his seat, but instead of heading upstairs, he made his way to Sonia and


    the rest, who were sitting at the table beside Toby.


    Charles noticed that and raised his eyebrows. ¡°That dude ising over here, darling.¡±


    While Sonia tilted her head, Tyler revealed an innocent smile and greeted her. ¡°Sonia.¡±


    Tsk! His smile makes him look dumb. Sonia brushed it off in an unconcerned manner and pretended as if


    she didn¡¯t hear him as she took his eyes off him. On the other hand, Tyler¡¯s face darkened for a split


    second when he noticed Sonia¡¯s indifferent attitude. Nheless, he continued to stand beside the table


    while sucking his own finger. At the same time, his eyes were glued to the delicious dishes on the table


    with his hungry desire written all over his face. As he continued to stare at the few of them, Sonia and the


    others felt too ufortable to carry on with their meal.


    Charles put down his ss of fruit juice. ¡°What¡¯re you doing, dude?¡±


    Tyler didn¡¯t bother to respond to him but instead gazed at Sonia with a sympathetic look. ¡°Your dishes


    smell delicious, Sonia.¡±


    Sonia curled her lips and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you want to try them?¡±


    Thinking Sonia understood what he meant, Tyler nodded while his eyes lit up with excitement. ¡°Can I?¡±


    ¡°Come back here, Tyler.¡± Before Sonia could answer, Tina called out to Tyler. ¡°You don¡¯t have to beg


    someone for food.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your goddamn business!¡± Tyler replied in frustration.


    Tina bit her lip and tearfully answered, ¡°I was just concerned about you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your concern. You can save that for my brother,¡± Tyler pursed his lips and said.


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina fell into Toby¡¯s arms, hoping to find somefort as she thought he


    would console her like he usually would and even make Tyler apologize to her.(This novel will be daily


    updtaed at .noveljar) However, Toby only hugged her without saying a single word while


    squinting in a preupied manner.


    While Tina was bitterly upset, Charles appeared to be gleeful about that andplimented Tyler. ¡°Good


    job, kid!¡±


    Nevertheless, Tyler ignored him once more as he looked at Sonia with his eyes lighting up. Then, he


    asked once again, ¡°Can I, Sonia?¡±

 Chapter 137

    Chapter 137


    ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have anything to eat. Your brother prepared a table full of dishes for


    you right there, so get back to where you came from and finish your meal.¡± Charles pointed at Toby and


    turned Tyler away.


    Tyler red at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m not talking to you, so who are you to answer me?¡±


    ¡°I am Sonia¡¯s boyfriend, which is all the reason I need to answer your question.¡± Charles wrapped his


    arm around Sonia¡¯s shoulders, to which thetter didn¡¯t show any sign of resistance. When Sonia didn¡¯t


    back away, Charles appeared to be even morecent. ¡°So, how is it going to be? Do you have a


    problem with that now?¡±


    Tyler was piqued as he immediately turned his attention to Sonia and sympathetically begged her to let


    him eat. ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m really hungry now, so can I have some of your cooking? Pretty please.¡± He ced


    his palms together and put on a pitiful look on his face.


    At that moment, Tyler¡¯s reaction reminded Sonia of a poodle she reared many years ago. Back in the


    day, the puppy would behave sympathetically by raising both of its front paws to beg for something to


    eat, just like what Tyler was doing. Therefore, Sonia¡¯s pity eventually got the better of her as she pointed


    at the empty seat and said, ¡°Alright, help yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re the best, Sonia!¡± Tyler happily scampered to the kitchen to grab himself a fork and spoon.


    ¡°Are you really going to let him eat, darling?¡± Charles looked at Sonia in disbelief, while Zane and


    Reba seemed to be as surprised as Toby did. After all, they all knew that she once said she would


    make the Fuller Family pay for what they did to her. Therefore, they didn¡¯t understand why she¡¯d let Tyler


    have her cooking.


    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Sonia answered.


    ¡°Why?¡± Charles knitted his eyebrows and asked. In the meantime, Toby pricked up his ears to listen


    closely because he was also curious to know how Sonia would answer Charles¡¯ question as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing tooplicated. The way he looked just reminded me of Bucky.¡± Sonia smiled while the


    memories of the past filled her with nostalgia.


    At the same time, Charles tried to recall how Bucky looked from a long time ago as he nodded in


    agreement. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right indeed.¡±


    ¡°Did you guys just talk about Bucky?¡± Toby suddenly stood up, asking with a desperate voice while fixing


    his gaze on Sonia with a tense look on his face.


    Wondering whether Toby was referring to the same ¡®Bucky¡¯ they were talking about, Sonia and Charles


    exchanged gazes with each other in confusion because they didn¡¯t understand why Toby was so


    agitated. Before both of them could tell him that Bucky was actually just a poodle, Tina suddenly bent


    over and buried her head under the table while coughing.


    An anxious expression appeared on Toby¡¯s face as he patted her back and asked in a concerned


    manner, ¡°How do you feel, Tina?¡±


    ¡°Toby, I¡¯m feeling a little dizzy now. I guess I must have caught a cold, so would you please walk me to


    my room?¡± Tina gazed at the man with a pale face.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded.


    Tina thanked him with a weak voice as she heaved a sigh of relief on the inside. In fact, she had long


    known that Bucky was a poodle from Toby¡¯s letters that she read earlier. Therefore, she was taken aback


    by his reaction when he heard Sonia suddenly mention Bucky. Because of that, she was grateful that she


    was able to interrupt their conversation and prevent them from going further about Bucky. Otherwise,


    Toby would know that the ¡®Bucky¡¯ he was asking was, in fact, the same poodle Sonia was referring to. If


    that happened, he would know that Sonia was the one who had been corresponding with him, as well as


    the one he truly loved.


    ¡°Where is my brother?¡± Tyler curiously asked when he returned from the kitchen with his silverware and


    saw Toby and Tina gone.


    Charles responded by pointing upstairs. ¡°They¡¯re back to their room, so you should go back to yours too.


    Forget about the meal.¡±


    ¡°Why should I listen to you?!¡± Tyler rolled his eyes upward at Charles and proceeded to sit down,


    whereupon he started enjoying his meal.


    As soon as he put the food into his mouth, he felt so touched that tears almost rolled down his face.


    ¡°Now, this is what I call ¡®food¡¯,¡± Tyler eximed happily.


    Nevertheless, his happiness didn¡¯tst long when Sonia decided to rain on his parade after putting down


    her fork and knife. ¡°Remember to wash the dish and clean the table when you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tyler¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia ambiguously gazed at him and answered his question, saying, ¡°Because each of us


    contributed to making this meal. I cooked the dishes while Reba rinsed the vegetables; Charles took


    care of the seasoning while Zane scraped away the fish scale for cooking. Therefore, you¡¯re going to


    have to pull your weight around in exchange for this meal.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Tyler looked down and said, ¡°Alright, I get it.¡±


    Sonia looked at the few strands of hair on Tyler¡¯s head and rubbed it with her hand. ¡°Good boy.¡±


    Tyler¡¯s face blushed. ¡°Are you treating me as a kid?¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say.¡± Sonia stood up from her seat and headed upstairs to her room.


    At the same time, Charles and the rest began to leave the table when they were done with their meals.


    By the time they were gone, Tyler was left alone at the table as he poured all the dishes


    onto his te and indulged himself in the delicious meal.


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    In the middle of the night, Sonia suddenly felt thirsty, so she got off her bed and headed to the kettle on


    the table to pour herself a ss of water, only to realize it was empty. Helpless, she reluctantly decided


    to step out of the room and head downstairs to quench her thirst. At that moment, there was no longer


    thunder, although it continued to rain. As the howling wind blew, it sent chills down Sonia¡¯s spine and


    made her hair stand on end so much that she kept rubbing her arms with her palms.


    In that instant, the lights above Sonia¡¯s head suddenly went out just when the entire mansion was


    engulfed by darkness. Wondering what was wrong, Sonia subconsciously held onto the railing beside


    her as she didn¡¯t dare to move a muscle. After all, she couldn¡¯t see anything in the dark, which would


    probably expose her to risks of getting hurt as she might fall down from the stairs or bump herself into


    something. ¡°Charles. Charles?¡± Sonia called out with a trembling voice, hoping Charles could hear her


    ande to her aid.


    At that moment, she regretted not bringing her phone along with her when she left her room, otherwise


    she wouldn¡¯t have been stranded in the dark with her phone¡¯s shlight. Soon, the door was open,


    whereupon footsteps were heard and apanied by a ray of light that seemed to being from a


    cell phone.


    At the sight of the light, Sonia felt much more relieved, her body feeling less tense. She then looked at


    the person who was approaching her and asked, ¡°Is that you, Charles?¡± While the person was shining on


    the floor with the shlight, the poor lighting made it even harder for her to make out their appearance.


    Thus, she wasn¡¯t sure whether it was Charles who came for her.


    When Toby heard how Sonia mistook him for Charles, his face darkened. How on earth do I look like


    Charles?


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Toby puckered his lips and said.


    ¡°President Fuller? Why are you here?¡± Sonia sounded surprised.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you disappointed?¡± Toby pursed his lips unhappily.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Sonia shook her head and replied, ¡°Not really. Just a little surprised.¡±


    Amidst the terrifying darkness, Sonia was grateful that someone came to her aid, no matter who it was.


    Nheless, she was surprised that her voice woke Toby instead of Charles up.


    10


    INS


    ¡°I heard your voice, so I came out to check on you.¡± Toby answered. In fact, he wasn¡¯t in a deep sleep


    because of his hunger, so he woke up to her voice with expected ease. Even though she had called out


    to Charles to help, he would alsoe out to investigate what was wrong anyway.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded to show acknowledgement.


    ¡°What are you doing here in the middle of the night?¡± Toby looked at her.


    ¡°I wanted to grab myself a ss of water, but the power went out downstairs before I could do so,¡± Sonia


    bitterly answered.


    Toby responded with an affirmative hum and said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go after you and shine through the


    way ahead.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to shine through the way ahead for me?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows and looked at him, but


    due to the bright light, she could only make out the silhouette of his face.


    ¡°Yeah, do you have a problem with that?¡± Toby jutted his chin and asked.


    ¡°Oh, of course not. Thanks.¡± Sonia slightly nodded at him while expressing her gratitude. Although she


    was stunned by his kindness, she didn¡¯t see a reason to turn down his help. Thus, she held onto the


    railing next to her and slowly descended the stairs while Toby walked behind her and held the shlight


    high up in the air.


    Soon, both of them arrived at the living room, whereupon Sonia stood in front of the desk and shook the


    kettle to hear whether there was water inside. After making sure there was water in the kettle, she smiled


    as Toby stood beside her and looked at her with a darkened gaze.


    ¡°By the way, do you need a ss of water too?¡± Sonia turned around and looked at Toby, nearly


    forgetting about him when she was pouring herself a ss of water.

 Chapter 138

    Chapter 138


    Although Toby wasn¡¯t thirsty, he somehow nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±


    Sonia replied with an affirmative hum and proceeded to pour him a ss of water, to which he took over.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Sonia waved her hand and kept her head down to drink her water. In the meantime,


    Toby didn¡¯t take a single sip of water from his ss, but instead fixed his eyes on her without blinking


    After finishing the water, Sonia put down the ss and was about to tell the man that she would be


    returning to her room just when she heard a growling sound, only to realize it came from Toby¡¯s stomach.


    Meanwhile, Toby didn¡¯t expect his stomach to growl at that moment as an awkward look appeared on his


    cial face.


    §Ö


    Sonia curled her lips slightly upward, trying to keep a straight face as she just witnessed one of Toby¡¯s


    rarest sides.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Toby gulped, seemingly wanting to say something.


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sonia looked at him.


    ¡°Do you mind making a little something for me to eat?¡± Toby kept his head down and asked.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows in disbelief. ¡°Did you just ask me to make you something to eat?¡±


    OW


    1 son


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded, as he was indeed hungry.


    Sonia pursed her lips, finding his plea sarcastic. After all, she had learned to cook because she wanted


    to have his heart in thest six years. However, he never really showed any interest in her, neither did he


    ever cast an eye on her. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t help but find itughable now that


    Toby asked her to cook for him.


    As Sonia didn¡¯t answer his question, Toby felt overwhelmed by a pang of disappointment, his eyes


    darkening. However, he hid his feelings and tried to y it cool. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just forget about


    it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Sonia looked up and met his gaze.


    Toby paused in a trance and met her eyes in surprise. ¡°Do you agree with that?¡±


    unce a


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Just think of it as a return of favor for shining the way for me. Let¡¯s go to the kitchen.¡±


    Toby smiled and responded with an affirmative hum, whereupon both of them entered the kitchen.


    Soon, Sonia opened the refrigerator, only to realize nothing much was left inside besides some


    vegetables. Upon a short contemtion, she turned around before she was quickly surprised by Toby,


    who was standing behind her and looking at the refrigerator with his back bent over. Then, her lips


    inevitably came into contact with his lips.


    After both of them looked at each other in a trance, Toby was the first of the two to snap out of his trance


    and back away. Then, he stood straight and apologized with a deep voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± After all, he didn¡¯t


    think she would turn around so suddenly.


    Sonia¡¯s face blushed as she covered her mouth and awkwardly replied, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. I¡¯m the one


    who should apologize.¡± Deep down, she reckoned it was her fault to turn around and put both of them in


    such an awkward position.


    In that instant, the spacious kitchen was shrouded in a strange silence without a word from either of them


    but only the sound of their breathing. A few momentster, Toby puckered his lips and broke the silence.


    ¡°Were you trying to ask me something?¡±


    Knowing that the man was trying to turn the awkward situation around, Sonia didn¡¯t stay silent any longer


    as she nodded and said, ¡°I was trying to tell you that there¡¯s nothing much left in the refrigerator. So, do


    you mind if I make you some pasta instead?¡¯


    Om


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby agreed.


    Sonia proceeded to take whatever was left in the refrigerator and headed to the sink while Toby followed


    right behind her to shine for her. Not long after that, the pasta was ready, whereupon both of them made


    their way to the dining area.


    Then, Sonia ced the pasta on the table and said, ¡°Enjoy.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Toby politely expressed his gratitude, his eyes fixed on the steaming and aromatic pasta.


    On the other hand, Sonia yawned and wiped the tears that trickled down her cheeks, tiredly urging the


    man to finish his food. ¡°Alright, hurry up. Walk me back to the third floor when you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Toby somehow found Sonia¡¯s impatient look adorable before he pulled out a chair and sat on it


    to enjoy his pasta. Meanwhile, Sonia sat beside him, propping her head with her arms while waiting for


    him to be done.


    A few momentster, Sonia began to yawn more and more frequently as she struggled to keep her eyes


    peeled. At the same time, her head felt heavier and heavier with a sleepy look on her face. When Toby


    noticed her reaction, he unknowingly smiled and picked up his pace in finishing his pasta, but before he


    could finish it, Sonia eventually gave way to her sleepiness and dozed off on the table.


    Toby was stunned by the sight of that before heughed in amusement. Soon, he calmed himself down


    and put down his silverware, whereupon he walked closer to Sonia and gently nudged her. ¡°Wake up,


    Sonia. Let¡¯s get you upstairs.¡±


    At that moment, Sonia was in a dream, in which she found herself caught by a monster. Thus, she


    knitted her eyebrows and mumbled in her sleep. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! Stay away from me!¡±


    Thinking he had woken her up, Toby took his hand off her. A few momentster, he realized Sonia was,


    in fact, still asleep when she continued to remain still. She must be murmuring in her dream. As he


    helplessly rubbed his forehead, he gave up the idea of waking Sonia up. Instead, he decided to carry her


    in his arms and took her upstairs to her room.


    When Toby arrived on the third floor, he immediately spotted the room with the door left open and


    surmised that it must be Sonia¡¯s room. Thus, he walked inside while carrying thedy in his arms, barely


    finding his way with the dim shlight from his phone. When he bent over to put her down on the bed,


    Sonia wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to let go. Unable to stand straight, Toby found


    himself bending over as he said with a deep voice, ¡°Let go, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t go,¡± Sonia suddenly blurted out with a fearful look on her face, which looked like she was


    having a bad dream.


    While that was the first time he saw Sonia behave like that, he softened up and gently replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll


    stay.¡±


    Having seemingly heard his voice, Sonia seemed to be more rxed and slowly curled her lips upward.


    At the same time, Toby fixed his eyes on her lips and recalled the moment they identally kissed each


    other in the kitchen. Although their lips barely touched each other¡¯s, the soft sensation he felt on her lips


    was etched in his mind.


    Therefore, Toby looked down and eyed her lips before nting a kiss on them. This feels just like the


    way I remember. So sofi and sweet! I want more of it! In reality, he did exactly what was on his mind,


    getting on one knee while holding Sonia¡¯s chin. The moment she opened her mouth, he slipped his


    tongue into it, only to hear her seductive and gentle moan. At that moment, his eyes seemed


    unfathomable as he kissed her even deeper.


    Soon, Toby began to crave more and slid his wandering hands along Sonia¡¯s body. In the meantime, he


    shifted his lips downward along her neck when Sonia called out a name. ¡°Charles¡­¡±


    Toby felt as if he had been sshed with a bucket of ice water while snapping out of his fantasy with a


    darkened look on his face. Then, he took his hands off Sonia and stood up, staring at her with a sinister


    re. How could she call someone else¡¯s name in the middle of our intimacy? Nheless, what


    frustrated Toby the most was the touchy-feely behavior that he failed to stop himself from doing to her


    once again, which was already the third time. At the thought of that, he unhappily left with a heavy heart.


    Sonia turned around and hugged her nket, mumbling in an unsatisfactory voice. ¡°Charles, don¡¯t take


    Bucky away from me.¡±


    Later that night, Toby couldn¡¯t fall asleep as he kept dwelling on the inappropriate action he did to Sonia.


    Why does that ruin my mood so much? I don¡¯t feel like myself right now. Because of that, he woke up


    with a tired look the next day, with some faint dark circles around his eyes.


    When Tina saw him, she quickly expressed her concern and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Toby? Did you have


    a rough nightst night?¡±


    Before Toby could answer her, Zane came closer with a ss of beer and said, ¡°Wow, Toby! It looks like


    you had a pretty enjoyable nightst night. You should take a look at your dark circles. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll tell


    the cook to prepare some oysters to boost your libido. After all, Miss Gray mustn¡¯t be stripped of the


    happiness she deserves.¡±


    Tina understood what he was implying as her face blushed in bashfulness. While thedy kept her head


    down in embarrassment, Toby knitted his eyebrows and cially told Zane off. ¡°Get out of my face!¡±

 Chapter 139

    Chapter 139


    Zane wasn¡¯t angry, but he simplyughed as he sipped his beer while walking toward the sofa and


    turned on the TV. Not long after, several people got up and came downstairs, except for Sonia. Tina


    watched as they greeted each other but ignored her and Toby. It was clear that they were deliberately


    sidelining her and Toby!


    ¡°President Lane, isn¡¯t President Reed up yet?¡± At this time, Reba suddenly asked. When Toby heard


    it, his eyes flickered slightly, but they soon returned to normal.


    ¡°No, she was tired from cookingst night, so let her sleep a little longer.¡± Charles opened a bottle of


    beer as he answered. Thus, Reba nodded and didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Soon, the cook came


    over and informed everyone that breakfast was ready. Hence, they left the living room to the dining room


    At this point, Sonia hadn¡¯te down yet. So, Charles looked at his watch and stood up from his chair.


    ¡°You guys eat first; I¡¯ll go upstairs to wake my darling up.¡±


    ¡°Go on, go on.¡± Zane waved his hand, signaling him to go quickly.


    Seeing this, Tyler muttered with a dissatisfied face, ¡°Why should he go and wake her up?¡±


    Zane heard him say this andughed. ¡°He is Sonia¡¯s boyfriend, so why not?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, what makes him worthy of being Sonia¡¯s boyfriend?¡± Tyler said with a darkened face.


    |


    W


    At that, Zane hooked up the corner of his mouth. ¡°If he does not deserve it, do you deserve it? Look at


    you being a child and yet want a woman already.¡±


    Embarrassed, Tyler flushed and stood up, saying loudly, ¡°When have I ever said that?!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t? Then why do you have an opinion about who Sonia is with?¡± Zane propped up his head and


    looked at Tyler with a smirk.


    *1-I just don¡¯t think they are suitable to be together.¡± Tyler¡¯s eyes shifted.


    At the next table, Toby held his coffee cup and lowered his eyes. Well, he¡¯s not wrong. As early as when


    Charles and Sonia just got together, he had thought they were not suitable.


    After Tina saw the man¡¯s movements and guessed what he was thinking, she bit her lip. Despite the fire


    of jealousy surging in her heart, she smiled and said, ¡°Tyler, you¡¯re wrong. They grew up together as


    childhood friends, so they know each other best and are most suitable to be together.¡±


    ¡°But why do I hear that the majority of childhood friends are not suitable to be together because they


    know each other too well?¡± Tyler retorted back impatiently.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Tina frowned for a moment and soon smiled again. ¡°It¡¯s true, but it¡¯s not absolute.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I just don¡¯t think they¡¯re suitable.¡±


    Tyler poked the sandwich on his te with his fork and grunted, ¡°Just like you and my brother don¡¯t suit


    each other.¡±


    Tina froze, obviously not expecting him to suddenly turn the tables on her. At this moment, she hated him


    in her heart. On the other hand, Zane and Rebaughed aloud because Tina¡¯s expression was too


    funny, and they couldn¡¯t help it.


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina aggrievedly looked at the man beside her.


    The man rubbed his eyebrows, then unhappily scolded Tyler. ¡°All right, just eat up. No matter if Sonia


    and Charles are suitable or not, this is their business, so you don¡¯t need to care.¡±


    Hearing that, Tyler pursed his mouth and fell silent.


    On the third floor, Charles came to the door of Sonia¡¯s room, then raised his hand and knocked on the


    door. ¡°Darling, are you up?¡±


    In the room, Sonia¡¯s eyebrows twitched, and the next moment, she opened her eyes. She looked at the


    clean white ceiling and touched the quilt on her body, her mind a little confused. She remembered that


    she had fallen asleep downstairsst night, but how did she wake up in her room? How the hell did I get


    back?


    ¡°Darling?¡± The knocking outside the door continued.


    Interrupted in her thoughts, Sonia patted her cheeks and sat up. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    Hearing her response, Charles stopped opening the door and said aloud, ¡°Breakfast is ready. I came to


    get you for breakfast.¡±


    ¡°I got it. You go down first, and I¡¯lleter,¡± Sonia repliedzily.


    Charles nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine then, but hurry up as breakfast will get coldter.¡±


    ¡°Mm,¡± Sonia answered. Then, Charles turned around and walked away. After Sonia heard the footsteps


    fade away, she lifted the nkets and got out of bed. Next, she went to the floor-to ceiling windows and


    pulled the curtains open. The dazzling white light shone in, so Sonia couldn¡¯t help but raise her hand to


    block it in front of her eyes and squint. It was only after a while that she slowly reopened her eyes. Now,


    it was no longer raining outside, and the sun was shining. She opened the floor-to-ceiling window,


    smelled the air that had a faint scent of grass after the rain, and finally smiled happily. Stretching her


    back, she went to the bathroom to wash up.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± While she was washing herself, she suddenly saw a small red mark on her neck from the mirror.


    The color was quite dark, so it was hard to ignore. Sonia couldn¡¯t help but raise her hand


    to touch it, and when she didn¡¯t feel the bump from a typical mosquito bite, her face sank.


    were


    She was not an untouched girl, and the marks were exactly like the ones he left all over her neck and


    body thest time. So, she was pretty sure that the marks on her neck were hickeys.


    Thinking of this, Sonia instantly thought of someone: Toby Fuller.


    She had fallen asleep on the first floorst night, and he was with her at that time. So, he should have


    sent her back to her room, and thus the marks on her neck were also very likely his doing. Thinking of


    this, Sonia had her red lips pursed up tightly. She felt extremelyplicated; there was anger and also


    other emotions.


    After a while, she patted her cheeks irritably, spit out the content in her mouth, rinsed her mouth


    hurriedly, and went back to her room to change her clothes and put on makeup. She covered the marks


    on her neck with a thickyer of foundation.


    I need to make sure no one sees this! Alright, I guess this should work.


    After the preparatory work, she opened the door to head downstairs.


    ¡°Darling, you¡¯re finally here.¡± When Charles saw Soniaing, he hurriedly pulled out the chair beside


    him.


    Zane, Tyler, and Reba also nodded along. Sonia smiled at them with embarrassment and said, ¡°Sorry


    for making you guys wait.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, sit down and eat.¡± Charles patted the chair beside him.


    Sitting down, Sonia picked up the cutlery and started to eat. During this time, she cast her eyes towards


    Toby several times, as if she wanted to see what was going on with him. But Toby¡¯s expression was as


    cold as ever, so she couldn¡¯t see through anything either.


    After the meal, Zane suddenly stood up and pped his hands. ¡°Everyone, how about we go climb a


    mountainter? I heard that there is a viewing tform on the mountain, and the view from there is


    magnificent.¡±


    ¡°Toby, let¡¯s go.¡± Tina hugged the arm of the man beside her and looked at him expectantly.


    Toby couldn¡¯t bear to see her disappointment and so nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Good, now we have two people who have signed up. Anyone else wants to tag along?¡± Zane looked at


    Sonia and the others.


    ¡°Darling, are you going?¡± Charles asked Sonia with a sideways nce, while Toby also nced at her.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Sonia asked instead of answering.


    Charles said smilingly, ¡°I¡¯ll go if you go, and I¡¯ll stay here with you if you don¡¯t want to go.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go. Anyway, we¡¯vee this far, so it¡¯s a pity not to go,¡± said Sonia after thinking about


    1. it.


    When Toby heard that Sonia would also go, he felt pleased in his heart but did not show it. Then, Tyler


    also hurriedly raised his hand. ¡°Since Sonia is going, then I will also go.¡±


    Finally, Reba scratched her hair and said in azy tone, ¡°If you all go, there¡¯s no point for me.

 Chapter 140

    Chapter 140


    ¡°Since everyone has agreed to go mountain climbing, what are you still waiting for? Why don¡¯t you go


    back and change your clothes?¡± Zane looked at the attire of the others and rolled his eyes.


    Charles looked down at the silk floral shirt he was wearing, and the corners of his mouth twitched. ¡°This


    attire of mine is indeed not very suitable for climbing.¡±


    ¡°Then go and change.¡± Sonia waved her hand, signaling him to go quickly. She would not need to


    change because when she came down, she was already wearing sportswear, which was just right for


    climbing


    ¡°Toby, then I¡¯ll go back to my room to change too.¡± Tina looked at the skirt she was wearing and spoke to


    Toby.


    Toby lifted his chin slightly. ¡°Go ahead.¡± He did not need to change either; although he was not wearing


    sportswear, his current attire would work just fine.


    ¡°Wait for me.¡± With that, Tina turned around and went back upstairs. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)The others also went back to their rooms to get changed, while Zane went outside to


    prepare the car.


    Only Sonia and Toby were left in the dining room. This was perfect for Sonia because she had something


    to ask him. ¡°President Fuller.¡± Sonia suddenly spoke up.


    Toby looked at her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Was it you who sent me back to my roomst night?¡± Sonia looked back at him, her eyes calm.


    Toby nodded. ¡°It was me.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s face fell. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Toby¡¯s thin lips slightly opened. ¡°But you slept too deeply, so you did not wake up.¡±


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s eyes twitched at that. ¡°Is that so?¡±.


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Toby nodded, and she could tell that he was serious and not lying, so she felt a little


    embarrassed. She couldn¡¯t even wake up? Just how sleepy was she?


    Coughing awkwardly twice, Sonia collected herposure and added, ¡°Well, thank you, but¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby took a sip of his coffee while she lowered her eyes, then looked at him with a stern gaze.


    ¡°But did you do anything to me in my sleep?¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows and locked eyes with her. (This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡°Exactly what are you referring


    to?¡±


    ¡°For example, did you wring my neck or something?¡± Sonia asked as she took a deep breath. She


    couldn¡¯t ask him directly if he had kissed her, so she could only ask that. Besides, she deliberately


    mentioned the neck, so he would definitely understand what she was really referring to.


    Toby gripped his cup again and replied lightly, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia frowned slightly; she was obviously not convinced.


    Toby looked at her. ¡°Why would I do that to you?¡±


    Why? How would I know why?


    Just when Sonia was feeling exasperated, Toby sipped his coffee and said again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t do


    anything to you. I put you in the room and left.¡±


    His expression was cool, without the slightest hint of guilt. Sonia looked at him steadily for a while and


    did not see anything wrong with him, so she could not help but believe his words. Maybe the hickey on


    her neck really wasn¡¯t his doing. But if not him, then who else could it be? It was hard to believe that after


    he leftst night, there was another person who entered her room.


    SO


    §´§°§°


    Thinking about this, Sonia clenched her palms, her chest heaving violently in anger. She really did not


    expect¡­


    ¡°Darling, I¡¯m done changing.¡± At this time, Charles¡¯ voice came, interrupting Sonia¡¯s thoughts.


    Sonia looked at the man who came over and asked in a low voice, ¡°Did you go out in the middle of the


    nightst night?¡±


    ¡°Go out?¡± Charles blinked. ¡°No, I slept until morning; why are you asking me this?¡±


    Sonia looked at his bewildered face to make sure he wasn¡¯t lying, then waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    There were only four men here. Besides Toby and Charles, there were Zane and Tyler left.(This novel


    will be daily updtaed at .noveljar) It should not be Tyler as he was only a teenager, so Zane was


    the only possible suspect left.


    Just when she was thinking about Zane, he appeared, jingling the car keys in his hand. ¡°The car has


    been filled with gas, and I also had the chef put a lot of food in the car. At noon, we will eat our lunch at


    the top of the mountain. You¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, he felt a sharp, probing gaze on him, rendering him speechless. ¡°Sonia, why are


    you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?¡± Zane touched his face suspiciously


    Sonia narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Did you go out in the middle of the nightst night?¡±


    ¡°No, why would I go out?¡± Zane had a very strange expression on his face.


    Sonia felt that he was also telling the truth, so her face sank. If it wasn¡¯t Toby nor Charles nor Zane, then


    who could it be? Last night, there were only a few of them in the vi and no outsiders, so could it be that


    she had really misunderstood and the mark on her neck was not a hickey but a mosquito bite?


    For a moment, the expression on Sonia¡¯s face was a bit dazed, and then she left the dining room in a


    trance. After that, Charles and Zane looked at each other. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zane asked.


    Charles shook his head, indicating that he didn¡¯t know either. Then in the next second, he suddenly


    thought of something else, so he narrowed his eyes and looked at the man who was still sitting at the


    table drinking coffee. He questioned in a harsh tone, ¡°Did you bully my darling?¡±


    The words ¡®my darling¡¯ felt excruciatingly grating to Toby¡¯s ears. With a cold face, he stood up, ignored


    everyone, and walked out of the dining room.


    ¡°What¡¯s with his attitude?¡± Charles pointed in the direction Toby left, looking annoyed. However, Zane


    shrugged and did not say anything.


    Soon, the group of people gathered outside the vi. There were two kilometers from the entrance to the


    start of the hike, and it was too slow to walk there, so it was better to drive. Thus, the group of seven


    people in two separate cars headed toward the foot of the mountain.


    Sonia and the other four sat in one, while Toby and Tina sat in the other because no one wanted to sit


    with them, not even Tyler. Thus, it was obvious how much the others disliked them.


    When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they got off and started to hike up the mountain. Tina


    looked up at the top of the mountain, a slight hint of hesitation appearing on her face. ¡°It¡¯s so high up,


    Toby. Are we really going to climb up there and not take the cable car?¡±


    Before Toby could answer, Charles spoke first. ¡°What? You want to take the cable car up the mountain?¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Tina looked at him, herrge eyes filled with innocence.


    Pursing his lips, Charles replied, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible, but we¡¯ve agreed not to take the cable car up


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    in before. We¡¯ll take it down the mountain; otherwise, it won¡¯t be a hiking trip!¡±


    e


    IITOU


    ¡°But it¡¯s too high up.¡± Tina bit her lip, her tone full of resistance.


    ¡°So go back then. Don¡¯t stay around and ruin our mood,(This novel will be daily updtaed at


    .noveljar)¡± Charles impatiently said.


    ¡°You!¡± Tina¡¯s face turned red with anger, and then she looked at Toby.


    Toby asked, ¡°Tina, do you want to go back? If you want to go back, I will send you back.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey, Miss Gray, can¡¯t you even go through a little hard work?¡± Before Tina could answer, Zane


    interrupted her.


    When Tina heard that, she had a sh of bad premonition surged in her heart. Then, Sonia and Reba


    looked at each other and smiled. They knew that Zane was up to something.


    ¡°Mr. Coleman, what do you mean?¡± Tina squeezed her hands tightly, barely maintaining a smile on her


    face as she looked at Zane.


    The corners of Zane¡¯s mouth hooked up into a yful smile. ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything other than you being


    too weak and pretentious.¡±


    ¡°Zane!¡± Toby pursed his lips and looked at him unhappily.


    Zane spread his hands. ¡°Toby, I¡¯m not wrong, am I? If your fianc¨¦e thinks the mountain is too high and


    doesn¡¯t want to hike, then she shouldn¡¯t havee in the beginning. Isn¡¯t it pretentious of her now that


    she¡¯s here but wants to give up even before trying?¡±


    Toby furrowed his eyebrows. (This novel will be daily updtaed at .noveljar)Although he did not


    like Zane¡¯s attitude, it was undeniable that what Zane said was the truth.

 Chapter 141

    Chapter 141


    Chapter 141,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again


    Seeing how Toby agreed to Zane¡¯s words, Tina was filled with resentment because she knew that Zane


    was deliberately setting a trap for her¡ªforcing her to hike a mountain that she didn¡¯t want to. The


    important point was, she had to jump into this trap, or she would really be seen as a hypocrite.


    At the thought of this, she silently cursed Zane a few times in her heart, but put on a smile on her face,


    saying, ¡°You must be kidding, Mr. Coleman. All I said was the mountain is too high, and nothing about


    going home.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯ll still go for the hike?¡± Zane asked with raised eyebrows. Nodding, she answered, ¡°For


    sure.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Zane said with a smirk and didn¡¯t say anything else after that. Looking at Tina, Toby


    said, ¡°Tina, you don¡¯t have to mind the things Zane said.


    If you really don¡¯t want to go hiking, you can¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Toby. I can do this.¡± She broke him off and


    stopped him from speaking by cing a hand over his mouth. Seeing how determined she seemed,


    Toby decided to drop the matter. As Reba watched the both of them, she couldn¡¯t help but shudder


    from disgust.


    ¡°So cheesy.¡± Grinning, Sonia asked, ¡°Why is it cheesy?¡± Pouting her lips, Reba answered, ¡°We¡¯re


    here for a hike, but look how corny they are. She¡¯s even covering his lips as if they¡¯re in a soap opera.


    I¡¯m getting goosebumps from watching them. Isn¡¯t it cheesy?¡± Sonia turned back and stole a nce at


    Toby and Tina before nodding her head andughing.


    ¡°Yes, a little.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, President Reed. Let¡¯s go and stop looking at them. It hurts our eyes,¡±


    Reba said, holding her arm. ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia replied, and they entered the hiking entrance. Behind


    everyone, Toby overheard their conversation, and his eyes turned solemn. Cheesy?


    Is that what we look like in their eyes? ¡°What are you thinking about, Toby?¡± Tina asked, swaying his


    arm. Toby recollected his thoughts, and his eyes shed. ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go.¡± Hence, both of them


    entered the hiking entrance as well. Since everyone else didn¡¯t want to hike together with them, both of


    them ended up trailing behind the group. In the beginning, all seven of them were hiking slowly


    together, but halfway through, Tyler suddenly came up with the suggestion to have apetition to see


    who would reach the top first.


    When he wasing up with the suggestion, he even threw a provocative look at Charles, who


    couldn¡¯t stand his arrogance and agreed to the race. To join in the fun, Zane also decided topete.


    Even though Reba wanted topete as well, she was ordered by Charles to stay by Sonia¡¯s side


    to protect her.


    After all, he was worried if Sonia had to hike together with Toby and Tina. Just like that, the three men


    started off together in a run, leaving behind Sonia, Reba, Toby, and Tina to hike behind slowly. Just


    a little while after, Tina suddenly plopped herself on a rock, panting heavily.


    ¡°Toby, I¡¯m so tired.¡± Toby stopped as well and took out a bottle of water from his backpack. After he


    opened it, he passed it to her and said, ¡°Have a drink.¡± ¡°Thank you, Toby,¡± she said with a smile, taking


    the water from him. Then, he took out another bottle and passed it to Sonia.


    Surprised at his gesture, Sonia turned down his offer, saying calmly, ¡°Thanks, but no thanks, President


    Fuller. I¡¯m afraid that your fianc¨¦e would have a split personality and try to kill me again if I ept your


    offer.¡± Right after saying that, she pulled Reba and walked away. As Toby watched her walk away to


    a distance, he pursed his lips and retracted his extended hand. Meanwhile, Tina could tell that he


    seemed a little upset, and her grip on the water bottle tightened so much that she had squeezed it out


    of shape.


    Is he upset because Sonia turned him down? Lowering her eyes and hiding the menacing look in them,


    she apologized meekly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. It¡¯s all because of me that Miss Reed is¡ª¡± ¡°It has nothing to do


    with you.¡± After he put back the bottle of water into his backpack, he looked at her and asked, ¡°Did you


    rest enough?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied with a nod. ¡°Let¡¯s continue with our hike, then.¡± He extended his hand at her with the


    thought to pull her up. However, she sat there without moving an inch. ¡°Toby, I¡¯m sorry, but my legs hurt


    too much. I don¡¯t think I can walk anymore.¡± ¡°Your legs hurt?¡± Knitting his brows in concern, he looked


    at her feet. ¡°Did you twist your ankle?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answered, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s because I haven¡¯t


    exercised for such a long time that¡­¡±


    Understanding what she meant, Toby rubbed his temples, shifted his backpack to his chest from his


    back, and lowered himself with his back to Tina. ¡°Get on.¡± A look of delight shed across her eyes, but


    it disappeared very quickly. Feigning confusion, she asked, ¡°What are you doing, Toby?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll carry you


    to the top,¡± he answeredposedly, looking at the mountain ahead of him. Waving her hands, she


    said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.


    It¡¯s still a long way before we reach the top.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Get on.¡± He insisted. This time, Tina didn¡¯t turn


    down his offer anymore and climbed on his back. With Tina on his back, Toby started walking ahead.


    And soon, they caught up with Sonia and Reba. Seeing the two figures ahead, Tina scanned


    around a little and deliberately pointed to a rock in front. ¡°Look over there, Toby,¡± she said loudly. ¡°That


    rock has such a weird shape.¡±


    Hearing her voice, Sonia and Reba spun their heads backward in reflex and were stunned when


    they saw Toby walking toward them with Tina on his back. ¡°Damn, he¡¯s actually hiking with Tina on his


    back. Does he think that he¡¯s Superman?¡± Reba whispered. Shrugging, Sonia replied, ¡°What can


    you do about it since he¡¯s doing it willingly?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do anything about it,¡± Reba said, rolling her eyes. ¡°I just can¡¯t stand looking at Tina


    and the smug look on her face. It¡¯s obvious to me that she purposely raised her voice just so we can


    watch President Fuller giving her a piggy-back.¡± Sonia giggled. ¡°Alright, they¡¯re here now. Don¡¯t speak


    about it anymore.¡±


    In reply, Reba merely stuck out her tongue and didn¡¯t say another word. ¡°Hi, Miss Reed, Miss


    Harper,¡± Tina greeted them with a smile and waved at them as they reached their sides. However, they


    simply ignored her and sat next to the hiking track, fanning themselves with their palms. Toby looked at


    Sonia, who seemed tired from the hike as she kneaded her calves softly. Sitting beside her, Reba


    passed her a bottle of water.


    Sonia then shed Reba a brilliant smile after taking it from her hand. When Tobypared how


    aloof she was when he handed her some water earlier, the look in his eyes turned grim, and frustration


    crawled into his heart; even his expression turned gloomy. Then, he continued walking forward, still


    carrying Tina on his back. As she watched their backs, Reba tilted her head and asked in


    confusion, ¡°That¡¯s weird. Why is President Fuller mad?


    Who stepped on his toes?¡± ¡°Beats me,¡± Sonia replied curtly after taking a sip of water and looked


    forward as well. As though feeling their stares on her back, Tina twirled her head around and smiled


    smugly at Sonia. Then, she hugged the man beneath her around his neck tightly to assert her


    dominance.


    Before Sonia could react, Rebaughed. ¡°President Reed, that woman is provoking you. You don¡¯t


    even love President Fuller anymore, but she¡¯s still doing this. Does she think that you¡¯ll be jealous?¡±


    Taking another sip of water, Sonia thenughed softly. ¡°I have no idea where she got this sense of


    superiority, either. She thinks that I¡¯m still in love with Toby and would even be jealous. Alright, that¡¯s


    enough. Let¡¯s stop speaking about irrelevant people and continue our hike.


    Charles and the rest are probably already at the top.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Reba screwed on the bottle cap and


    put on her backpack after that. Sonia did the same. They chatted as they hiked, keeping a distance that


    was neither too close nor too far from Toby and Tina. About an hourter, they reached the top.


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    The second Charles saw Sonia, his eyes lit up, and he cried out, ¡°Darling!¡± He dogtrotted to her and


    took her backpack from her, slighting Reba subconsciously.


    On the other hand, Reba didn¡¯t need him to carry her backpack, and she paced over to the


    campsite after rolling her eyes at him. With her forehead covered in sweat, Sonia looked at Charles


    and asked, ¡°How long have you guys been here?¡±

 Chapter 142

    Chapter 142


    Chapter 142,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°It¡¯s not that long. About half an hour,¡± Charles answered, taking out his handkerchief and wiping away


    her sweat in concern. Blinking in surprise, she asked, ¡°Half an hour? I thought you guys reached way


    earlier than that.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± he uttered and chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Well, we could have reached the top


    very early at first, but it¡¯s all Tyler¡¯s fault. He went on the wrong path. So¡ª¡± ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s my


    fault?¡± Tyler argued in a huff.


    He had just walked over and overheard Charles speaking badly about himself. ¡°You¡¯re the one who


    resorted to dirty tricks and pointed out the wrong way to me because you couldn¡¯t beat me in speed.¡±


    Snorting smugly, Charles said, ¡°Even if I tricked you and pointed out the wrong path to you, you still


    went on it anyway. Just how dumb are you?¡± ¡°You!¡± Tyler hissed, holding his fist angrily. Holding her


    forehead, Sonia interrupted, ¡°That¡¯s enough, both of you. Stop arguing. You¡¯re giving me a headache.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll massage you, darling. You¡¯ll feel better after that.¡± Charles paced behind her and rubbed her


    temples as he spoke. Seeing the situation, Tyler mumbled, ¡°Bootlicker.¡± Hearing him, Charles replied in


    an equally hushed voice, ¡°Some people aren¡¯t even fit to be a bootlicker.¡± The edge of Sonia¡¯s lips


    twitched, and she was speechless at the sight of an adult and a teenager arguing like children.


    ¡°If both of you are going to continue fighting, then get away from me and let me have some silence by


    myself.¡± ¡°No more fighting. We¡¯re not fighting anymore, darling,¡± Charles assured hurriedly. Tyler


    nodded as well, indicating that he wouldn¡¯t argue anymore. Indeed, both of them held on to their words


    and quieted down, and Sonia was finally able to have some peace. Despite that, something suddenly


    hit Tyler a few minutester.


    Looking down the mountain, he asked, ¡°By the way, Sonia, where¡¯s my brother?¡± ¡°He¡¯s behind us,¡± she


    answered casually. Charles sniggered. ¡°A strong man like him can¡¯t even beat twodies in a hike and


    is taking so long to reach the top. He¡¯s really useless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. It¡¯s not my brother that¡¯s the


    problem, but Tina, for sure. She must be the one who¡¯s slowing him down,¡± Tyler exined on behalf of


    Toby indignantly.


    Sonia raised her brows, thinking, I have to admit that, in a sense, this guy really hit the bullseye. The


    reason that Toby still hadn¡¯t made it to the top was really because of Tina dragging him down. Sure


    enough, Tyler¡¯s words were soon confirmed to be true when Toby arrived at the peak with Tina on his


    back.


    After he ced her down, Tyler helped him to take a seat on a rock, and he closed his eyes as he


    adjusted his body to the fatigue. After all, it was a physically demanding task to carry a person weighing


    around a hundred pounds up the mountain. Even if he worked out all year round, he was still deadbeat


    tired and was panting slightly as he sat there. In the meantime, Tyler stood next to him, fanning his


    sweat and passing water to him.


    ¡°Are you alright, Toby?¡± Tina asked in concern as she paced over. Toby¡¯s eyes flew open, and he was


    about to answer when Tyler stood between them and red at Tina angrily. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s alright?¡±


    Frightened by the ferocity in his eyes, she staggered backward and uttered, ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°What do you want to


    say?¡± Tyler barked. ¡°Don¡¯t you have legs on you? Why do you need him to carry you? Can¡¯t you walk


    by yourself?¡±


    Intimidated, Tina¡¯s eyes reddened, and she looked as though she was about to burst into tears. The


    sight of her in this state frustrated Tyler even more, and he wanted to continue when Toby broke him


    off, saying, ¡°That¡¯s enough now. Stop lecturing her. I was the one who wanted to carry her. It has


    nothing to do with Tina.


    Get out of the way.¡± ¡°Toby?¡± Tyler spun his head around, looking at him in disgruntlement. ¡°I¡¯m


    speaking up for you and you want me to get out of the way?¡± ¡°So are you going to do it?¡± Toby asked


    instead with narrowed eyes. Tyler moved his lips, but still moved out of the way after throwing a death


    stare at Tina.


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina cried, finally seeing him. Handing a piece of tissue to her, he cooed, ¡°Don¡¯t cry anymore.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she answered, nodding aggrievedly. Just then, Sonia and three others, who were away


    collecting wood and stones, returned. Seeing Toby and Tina, Zane ced down the small rocks in his


    hands and said in amusement, ¡°Hey Toby, you finally made your way up here. It must have been tough


    on you.¡± Toby merely nced at him nonchntly and ignored him.


    Very quickly, he retracted his gaze, but before that, he pretended to look in Sonia¡¯s direction casually.


    Using the stones Zane had collected to build up a stove, Sonia was preparing to heat up the lunch


    which they had brought to the top. It was gettingte and everyone hadpleted a hike, so they were


    all hungry; it was time to prepare the food. ¡°Alright, does anyone have a lighter?¡± she asked, looking at


    Zane and Charles while brushing her hands off after she was done putting up the stove. Charles shook


    his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have one because I don¡¯t smoke. What about you?¡± he asked Zane. Zane felt his pockets and


    smiled awkwardly. ¡°Sorry, I forgot to bring it.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t bring one, either,¡± Reba and Tyler said.


    Looking up into the skies helplessly, Soniamented, ¡°So nobody has a lighter. What are we going to


    do about lunch?¡±


    Everyone was quiet, and while Sonia was contemting to send someone down the mountain with the


    cable car to bring a lighter, Toby¡¯s cold voice suddenly echoed. ¡°I have one.¡± Whisking out a metal


    lighter which looked very expensive, he got up, walked to Sonia, and passed it to her. However, she


    merely looked at it, hesitant to ept it.


    The look in Charles¡¯ eyes dimmed when he saw that she was tempted, and he stood up, speaking to


    Toby with a stiff smile on his face. ¡°President Fuller, you better keep your lighter away. We don¡¯t dare to


    ept anything from you. If your fianc¨¦e gets jealous again, all of us will be in trouble.¡± Toby knitted his


    brows and turned to look at Tina behind him. With a smile, Tina said, ¡°You think of me as such a


    narrow-minded person, Mr. Lane. It¡¯s just a lighter, and I¡¯m not so petty as to be jealous over something


    like this.¡±


    Turning to Sonia with the same smile, she continued, ¡°Miss Reed, please ept it.¡± Sonia looked at


    her for a few seconds steadily before taking the lighter from Toby¡¯s hand. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m taking it, then.


    Thank you, Miss Gray and President Fuller.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Tina replied. Although Toby didn¡¯t say a


    word, the knot between his brows eased up, and he appeared to be very satisfied with the fact that


    Sonia had epted his lighter. ¡°Darling, you¡¯re really taking it?¡±


    Charles questioned unhappily. Flicking open the lighter, Sonia began to start a fire as she answered,


    ¡°Why not? Everyone is hungry, so the most important thing now is to fill our bellies.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± He wanted


    to say some more, but Sonia instructed him, ¡°Bring the lunchboxes over here.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he uttered and


    went to bring the food obediently.


    Soon, the food was heated up, and Sonia handed out the lunchboxes to everyone. At the end, she


    brought two boxes to Toby and Tina. ¡°Here,¡± she said, handing the food to both of them. Narrowing her


    eyes, Tina then asked her with a smile, ¡°Miss Reed, this is¡­¡± Toby was also looking at Sonia, and so


    were Charles and Zane.


    ¡°Thanks for the lighter,¡± Sonia replied calmly. ¡°I see. Thank you, Miss Reed,¡± Tina said, taking a


    lunchbox from her. ¡°Thanks.¡± Toby took the food as well. When he was receiving the food, the tips of


    his fingers brushed over hers. Sonia flinched as she gazed at him, who happened to look at her at the


    same time, and their eyes locked.


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Beside Toby, Tina saw the scene and almost pierced through her palm with her fingernails. ¡°Toby, why


    are you staring at Miss Reed? You¡¯re making her embarrassed,¡± she said softly, trying her best to


    maintain the smile on her face. Although her voice was soft, it was mixed with aloofness.


    Only then did Toby and Sonia snap back and avert their gazes simultaneously. After pushing the


    lunchbox into his hands, Sonia then turned around and left.


    As Toby stared at the lunchbox in his hands with the thought that it was personally heated by Sonia, an


    inexplicable sense of delight washed over him, and a smile appeared on his face.

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143


    All these were witnessed by Tina, who gritted her teeth silently, so furious that she wanted to throw


    away the lunchbox in her hands. Despite that, she knew that if she really did it, these people would


    start to vilify her again. With that thought in mind, she shut her eyes and took in a deep breath,


    reluctantly forcing down the rage burning within her. After that, everyone started eating, and Toby, too,


    opened the lunchbox.


    Immediately, the delicious aroma drifted out and he took a bite. It¡¯s delicious, he thought. But the


    noodlesst night tasted better. He didn¡¯t understand why he would feel this way when it was obvious


    that a chef¡¯s cooking would be better than Sonia¡¯s. Even so, when he was tasting the food, it tasted a


    littlecking and something seemed to be missing, but he couldn¡¯t exactly tell what it was. ¡°Why aren¡¯t


    you eating, Tina?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask when he lifted his eyes and saw that Tina wasn¡¯t eating next


    to him. Not only that, she didn¡¯t even open the lunchbox. Tina¡¯s eyes shed, and she smiled. ¡°I¡¯m still


    not hungry and don¡¯t feel like eating now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re not hungry, but rather, you don¡¯t dare to


    eat it,¡± Charles said, his voiceced with sarcasm.


    Tina¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Mr. Lane, what are you trying to say?¡± Charles puckered his lips and


    said, ¡°I¡¯m just saying that, you¡¯re probably too ashamed to eat this meal because it was heated by


    Sonia and you¡¯ve tried to harm her so many times. Moreover, you¡¯re also afraid that she poisoned the


    food, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    As though he had read her mind, Tina¡¯s eyes shuddered, and she quickly looked downward. Forcing


    out a chuckle, she said, ¡°You must be joking, Mr. Lane. That¡¯s not true. I¡¯m not eating because I¡¯m


    really not hungry. I¡¯m going over there to get some fresh air.¡± With that, she ced the lunchbox aside


    and walked toward the cliff nearby. Get new chapter update on novelheart


    Toby pursed his lips together, ced the lid over his meal, and followed after her because he was


    worried. As he watched both of them leaving the scene, Charles snorted and remarked, ¡°She¡¯s really


    good at quibbling.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Not even food can keep your mouth shut,¡± Sonia said, rolling her


    eyes at him and stuffing a piece of meat into his mouth.


    The food was so hot that it scalded him, and he jumped. ¡°Darling, are you trying to kill me?¡± Giggling,


    Sonia said, ¡°Well, you¡¯re the one who had your mouth opened so wide.¡± Hearing that, everyone else


    burst intoughter, and Charles sat down again, looking disgruntled. Close to them, Toby watched how


    happily they were getting along together, and his eyes turned gloomy.


    They were all out on the hike together, but for some unknown reason, he and Tina were unable to


    mingle with them. Even Tyler and Zane had drifted away from him and Tina. It wasn¡¯t like this before,


    and things seemed to have turned out this way ever since he started going out with Tina.


    Just then, Tina¡¯s voice echoed into his ears. ¡°What are you thinking about, Toby?¡± Keeping away his


    thoughts, Toby turned to her. ¡°Nothing.¡± She nodded, as though she was taken in by his answer, and


    looked at the mountainous range ahead. ¡°Actually, Mr. Lane is right. I didn¡¯t eat because I¡¯m ashamed.


    Even though it wasn¡¯t my intention to hurt Miss Reed, I still harmed her in the end. So how can I have


    the cheeks to eat the food she heated up?¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Tobyforted and nodded. ¡°Sorry that I¡¯m not considerate enough. I should have brought


    some food up here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± Hugging his arm, she leaned her head on his shoulder and said


    with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll just bear with it a little. It¡¯ll be fine once we return down the mountain and eat.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t


    you hungry?¡±


    Toby asked, tilting his head to look at her. Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I¡¯m alright, not that


    hungry. Are you hungry? If you¡¯re hungry, then you can go back there to eat.¡± As she spoke, she lifted


    her head and released her grip on his arm. However, Toby stood rooted to the spot without moving.


    ¡°Never mind, I¡¯m not hungry.


    I¡¯ll eat with you when we return.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such an amazing person, Toby,¡± Tina eximed, leaning her


    head on his shoulder again. Reba, who happened to overhear the conversation while she went over


    to pick up some water, couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. After she returned to the group, she detailed


    Toby and Tina¡¯s conversation to them.


    ¡°Listen to this, President Fuller said he will apany her to eat when they return, and she really


    stopped telling him to eat. I really doubt if she sincerely loves him. President Fuller is dead beat after


    carrying her all the way up the mountain. There¡¯s no way I would believe that he¡¯s not hungry, but that


    woman believes it without any questions, and is even so happy that he¡¯s staying by her side in hunger,¡±


    Reba said, letting out a chuckle. Get new chapter update on novelheart


    ¡°She¡¯s an extremely selfish person, and it¡¯s true that she won¡¯t consider the well-being of others. Still,


    you can¡¯t say that she doesn¡¯t love him. We can only say that her affection for him is far from the


    affection she has for herself. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t keep doing things to harm others and letting Toby


    take care of the mess she made,¡± Zane said sarcastically as he opened a bottle of water.


    Charles lifted his head. ¡°That¡¯s right. If she really regarded Toby as important as herself, she would only


    think of ways to help him instead of bringing him trouble all the time.¡± ¡°At the end of the day, she just


    doesn¡¯t love President Fuller enough, right?¡± Reba concluded, scratching her chin.


    Zane answered, ¡°Yes. Maybe someday when something terrible happens, like an earthquake or a


    flood, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to leave Toby behind and might even use him to ward off the danger.¡±


    Snorting, Reba added, ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous to be together with such a vicious woman?¡± Sonia, who


    hadn¡¯t said a thing this whole time, grinned. ¡°If something like that really happened, I think President


    Fuller would be willing.


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    After all, he loves her so much.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± They all chuckled, except for Tyler who didn¡¯t make a


    sound, his face sullen. Even though he didn¡¯t like that they were discussing his brother, he had to admit


    that they had a point. Even after Tina had done so many bad things to Sonia, Toby still didn¡¯t break up


    with her despite knowing about it.


    This was enough to show how important Tina was in his heart¡ªso important that he didn¡¯t care


    whether her personality was good or bad. Therefore, it is possible that Toby might disregard his own life


    for Tina willingly, he thought, and turned to look at Tina again, finding her an eyesore more than ever.


    Frustrated, he picked up a small pebble from the ground and threw it at her back. ¡°Ouch!¡± Tina cried


    out loudly when the pebble hit her. She held her shoulder on the spot where itnded and squatted


    down. ¡°What happened, Tina?¡± Toby asked, concerned. Spinning her head to look at Sonia and the


    rest, she bit her lip as her eyes started to turn red.


    ¡°I know that all of you don¡¯t like me, but you don¡¯t have to throw a stone at me just because of that!¡± she


    cried. ¡°Someone threw a stone at you?¡± Toby asked, narrowing his eyes dangerously as he watched


    Sonia and the rest fixedly. ¡°Who did it?¡± With aposed expression on her face, Sonia took a sip of


    water and ignored him.


    Ignoring him as well, Charles was listening to some music with his earphones on. Meanwhile, Reba


    and Zane were ying a game on their cell phone and pretended they didn¡¯t hear a thing.


    Seeing that, Toby pursed his lips into a thin, grim line and finally fixed his eyes on Tyler, who had his


    head lowered and clearly seemed dodgy with just one nce. ¡°Tyler Fuller, stand up!¡± ¡°What do you


    want?¡± A guilty look shed across Tyler¡¯s eyes when his name was called, and he stood up.


    ¡°Apologize,¡± Toby instructed in a growl. ¡°Why should I apologize?¡± Tyler challenged, infuriated.


    ¡°Because you hurt Tina.¡± With widened eyes, Tyler asked, ¡°How did you know that it was me?¡± Charles


    stood up as well and patted Tyler¡¯s shoulder as he chuckled. ¡°Silly boy, your anxiety is written all over


    your face.


    Anyone can tell that it was you.¡± ¡°Is¡­ Is that so?¡± Tyler uttered, blinking innocently. At the sight of his


    reaction, Sonia, Zane, and Reba burst intoughter. Sighing, Charles said, ¡°What a silly boy.¡± With


    his face burning red, Tyler argued, ¡°Who¡¯s a silly boy? I¡¯m just not good at pretense, unlike some


    people¡­¡±


    He left his sentence hanging and turned his gaze to look in disgust at the woman next to Toby. Furious,


    Tina clenched her fists tightly and wished that she could tear Tyler to pieces.


    Originally, she was only nning to chase Tyler and that shrew, Jean, out of the house after getting


    married to Toby. Now, however, she changed her mind. I¡¯ll drive them both out of the Fuller Family


    completely. That¡¯s what you get for offending me.

 Chapter 144

    Chapter 144


    Chapter 144,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Tyler. Apologize to Tina. Now,¡± Toby urged impatiently, his brows knitted. Knowing that


    he was in the wrong, Tyler lowered his head and uttered unwillingly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± A menacing aura could


    be felting from Toby as he said, ¡°Where¡¯s your sincerity, Tyler Fuller?¡±


    Tyler pouted for a second before he raised his voice and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tina. Is this okay now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s


    okay, it¡¯s okay,¡± Tina hurriedly said with a smile while waving her hand, showing that she had forgiven


    him. In return, Tyler merely snorted, spun around, and paced off to a spot, sulking by himself. As Toby


    looked at his back, Toby¡¯s gaze darkened. Then, he turned to Tina next to him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tina. Tyler is


    ignorant. You¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t take it to heart,¡± Tina interjected, smiling. The knot between his brows


    eased and he asked, ¡°By the way, are you hurt anywhere?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answered while shaking her


    head. Nodding, he said, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    Right after he said that, he heard Charles¡¯ loud voice. ¡°Oh darling, where are you going?¡±


    Subconsciously, Toby turned to look in Sonia¡¯s direction and saw that she was walking toward the small


    creek nearby. ¡°I¡¯m going to wash my face,¡± she replied. ¡°Okay, watch out, then. Don¡¯t fall into the river,¡±


    Charles warned.


    That made Sonia stop in her tracks, and she turned around before rolling her eyes at him. ¡°How can I


    fall in when the creek is so shallow? Are you dumb?¡± Chuckling sheepishly, he then answered, ¡°I¡¯m just


    worried about you.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Turning her head back, she then continued to walk


    forward. The entire time, Toby was watching how both of them interacted, and a dark shadow appeared


    over his eyes. Next to him, Tina knew that he was feeling jealous judging from the way he looked, and


    she bit her lower lip unwittingly. Zane, who was observing all of them from nearby, noted with


    amusement, ¡°Interesting. Very interesting indeed.¡± Suddenly, Tina said to Toby, ¡°I¡¯m going to wash my


    hands as well.¡±


    While he watched Sonia crouched by the creek, instead of agreeing to it immediately, he said, ¡°Wait a


    little while until Sonia is done.¡± Now, there was no way he would let Tina and Sonia be alone together;


    he wasn¡¯t worried about Sonia, but rather, he was worried about Tina as nobody knew when her


    second personality woulde out.


    ¡°But my palms are covered in sweat and it¡¯s very ufortable,¡± Tina exined, showing her palms to


    him. After looking at her wet palms, Toby still didn¡¯t allow her to go. ¡°Bear with it for a little longer.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Tina muttered in disappointment, her eyes dimmed as she hung her head.


    If this were to happen in the past, I would have been soft-hearted the moment I saw her being


    ufortable, Toby thought. But right now in his heart, he didn¡¯t feel a thing and even thought that her


    every move didn¡¯t have such a huge impact on him as before. In contrast, everything Sonia did¡­


    His thoughts drifted off as he stared at Sonia¡¯s back with darkened eyes. ¡°Toby,e over for a while,¡±


    Tyler called while waving him over from a distance. ¡°I¡¯m going over to take a look,¡± Toby said to Tina.


    Nodding, she answered, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he muttered before walking toward Tyler. ¡°Why did you


    call me over?¡±


    ¡°I have something to tell you,¡± Tyler answered with a mysterious grin on his face. As Tina watched the


    brothers engaged in a conversation, she wondered if Tyler was bad-mouthing her. Regardless, it didn¡¯t


    bother her because she had countless ways to make Toby believe that the thing he said about her


    wasn¡¯t true.


    Smirking, she looked away from them and turned her attention toward the creek. Already done washing


    her face, Sonia was still crouched by the creek with a pocket mirror in her hand as she touched up on


    her makeup. After walking over, Tina then crouched a few feet away from Sonia.


    ¡°Hi, Miss Reed,¡± she said as she dipped her hands into the cool water and turned to smile at Sonia.


    Quietly, Sonia cast her a look from the corners of her eyes, kept her pocket mirror away and washed


    her hands, preparing to leave the spot. On the other hand, Tina saw that she was leaving but didn¡¯t do


    anything to stop her.


    After all, she was really there to wash her hands and had no ns to do anything to Sonia. First and


    foremost, there was no cover in this spot, and the rest of them would discover it if there was anything


    going on. If she made a move on Sonia here, it would be akin to her seeking her own death; she would


    have nothing to gain.


    When Sonia was done cleaning her hands, she wiped them dry with a handkerchief and was about to


    leave after grabbing her bag. From the corners of her eyes, Tina suddenly caught a glimpse of a ck


    snake on the branch behind Sonia. The snake had already raised its head and was flicking its tongue


    as it fixed its cold-blooded eyes on Sonia, looking as though it was about to attack anytime. Upon


    seeing this, Tina was shocked, and she almost cried out loudly.


    However, she quickly covered her mouth and calmed down in a split second. At the same time, a n


    began to form in her mind. With so many pairs of eyes watching her, it was true that she couldn¡¯ty a


    finger on Sonia, but that didn¡¯t mean that she couldn¡¯t make use of a snake to harm her.


    With this thought in mind, she narrowed her eyes and stood up suddenly while shouting, ¡°Miss Reed!¡±


    When Sonia heard her voice, she stopped in her tracks subconsciously, and the snake behind her was


    also startled from her movement and Tina¡¯s voice. The snake shrunk back a little before leaping up


    from the branch, throwing itself into the air and aiming for Sonia¡¯s neck.


    Seeing that the snake was about tond on Sonia¡¯s neck and give her a bite, Tina smiled brightly, but


    right at this moment, Reba shouted in panic, ¡°President Reed, get down quickly!¡± Although Sonia


    had no idea what was going on, she crouched down immediately without hesitation upon hearing the


    fear in Reba¡¯s voice. Because she suddenly crouched down, the snake flew over the top of her


    head andnded on Tina, who was opposite her.


    Tina turned her head to look at the snake which hadnded on her shoulder. Her face turned pale from


    the fright before she flinched and screamed, ¡°Ah!¡± As she had moved so suddenly, the startled snake


    bit her on the neck and fell into the creek before swimming away swiftly. Everything happened in a split


    second; it was so fast that no one was able to react. By the time everyone else rushed over, all they


    saw was Tina¡¯s eyes rolling backward in their sockets and her passing out on the scene.


    ¡°Tina!¡± Toby cried out, his brows furrowed. With quick steps, he rushed to her side and held her up.


    When Charles reached Sonia¡¯s side, he asked, ¡°What happened, darling?¡± Still shocked from the


    event, Sonia opened her mouth, but she couldn¡¯t make a sound. Finally, it was Reba who answered


    for her, saying, ¡°It was a snake. President Reed was almost bitten by a snake earlier.¡±


    ¡°What? A snake?¡± Charles repeated in shock and hurriedly checked Sonia carefully with a worried look


    on his face. ¡°Darling, were you bitten anywhere?¡± Although Toby was holding Tina in his arms, his gaze


    was on Sonia, who shook her head and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I wasn¡¯t the one who got bitten. It¡¯s Miss


    Gray.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, then,¡± Charles said in relief while patting his own chest. ¡°It¡¯s alright as long as you¡¯re not


    the one bitten. As for her¡­¡± He trailed off and turned to look at Tina with a gloating look in his eyes.


    ¡°She deserved it!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± With her elbow, Sonia nudged him so that he would watch his


    tongue. Toby¡¯s face was sullen. Initially, he wanted to teach Charles a lesson, but when he saw Sonia¡¯s


    gesture, the look in his eyes darkened, and he decided to let the matter rest. ¡°Toby, quickly check to


    see where Tina was bitten,¡± Zane reminded him.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    After lowering his head, Toby checked and found the snake bite marks on Tina¡¯s neck; there were two


    blood-stained punctures that sent chills down everyone¡¯s spine. Gulping, Tyler then asked, ¡°Toby, do


    you think it¡¯s a poisonous bite?¡±

 Chapter 145

    Chapter 145


    Chapter 145,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Toby¡¯s pupils shrank, and his hands on Tina tightened. Stroking his chin, Zane said, ¡°The blood isn¡¯t


    turning ck, so it doesn¡¯t look like it was a poisonous snake, but we can¡¯t be sure about that. Toby,


    you¡¯d better take her down the mountain and get a serum shot from a doctor.¡±


    Without a second word, Toby quickly rushed to where the cable cars were with Tina in his arms. After


    watching the cable car disappear into the cloud and mist, Sonia and the rest found a spot to sit while


    waiting for the cable car to return. ¡°Darling, just how did you guys encounter the snake?¡±


    Charles asked as he handed a bottle of water to her. Taking the bottled water from him, Sonia then held


    it absentmindedly in her hands, but she didn¡¯t open it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± she answered while shaking her head. The appearance of the snake was beyond


    her expectation, and before Tina was bitten, she had no idea what was going on at all. Reba raised


    her hand and said, ¡°Let me exin this.¡± Everyone turned to her, so she began, ¡°It¡¯s like this.


    I wanted to wash my face at the creek as well, then I saw a snake hanging on a tree branch behind


    President Reed. Initially, it seemed like the snake wasn¡¯t nning to attack anyone, but Tina startled


    the snake by suddenly standing up and shouting at President Reed. That¡¯s why it lunged at President


    Reed.¡± ¡°So you mean that the snake wanted to bite Sonia at first?¡± Tyler asked, his mouth hanging


    open in shock. Reba nodded.


    ¡°Yes, and I was the one who shouted at President Reed to get down, which was why the snake ended


    upnding on Tina, who was opposite her, and bit her instead.¡± ¡°This is so dramatic,¡± Zanemented


    with a chuckle. Only then did Sonia understand everything that had happened. Taking Reba¡¯s hand,


    she then said in gratitude, ¡°Thank you so much, Reba.¡± If it weren¡¯t for Reba, who asked her to


    get down suddenly, perhaps the one getting bitten would have been her. ¡°You¡¯re wee, but it¡¯s all


    because of your unwavering trust in me. Or else, it would have been useless even if I shouted at you,¡±


    Reba said, smiling.


    ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect this mountain to have snakes, and I was so lucky to run into one,¡± Sonia said with


    augh. Although she had calmed down now, the thought of the snake still made her shudder in fear.


    Lacing his fingers behind his head, Charles said, ¡°Well, we can only me that woman. If she hadn¡¯t


    stood up so suddenly and startled the snake, it wouldn¡¯t have attacked Sonia. But luckily she was the


    one who got bitten in the end, so I feel much better.¡± ¡°Speaking about that, it seems to me that Tina


    startled the snake on purpose,¡± Reba added suddenly, stroking her chin. Her words shocked


    everyone, and Charles stared at her. ¡°Are you saying that Tina deliberately provoked the snake?¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be true!¡± Tyler said, his mouth hanging open. Zane put a hand on Tyler¡¯s shoulder and said,


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely possible. Don¡¯t forget that Tina had done so many things to Sonia before. What else is


    she not capable of?¡± bbergasted, Tyler turned his head to Sonia, who had her brows knitted and


    seemed to be in deep thoughts.


    Nodding, Reba continued, ¡°That¡¯s right. I suspect that she did it on purpose because I saw a smile


    on her face when the snake was flying toward President Reed, and she didn¡¯t seem surprised at the


    appearance of the snake at all. That¡¯s why I think she already discovered the snake earlier, so she


    deliberately stood up and shouted loudly at President Reed.¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, then she¡¯s only reaping what she sowed by getting bitten,¡± Zane said, smirking


    sarcastically. ¡°That must be true!¡± Charles pped his thigh indignantly as his face turned gloomy. ¡°I


    knew that she hadn¡¯t given up on trying to harm Sonia. She wants to do it again! And sure enough, she


    struck again.¡±


    Reba snorted and said, ¡°She is the most vicious woman I¡¯ve ever met.¡± Even if it upset Tina that


    Toby and Sonia were once married, they were now divorced, and Toby loved Tina wholeheartedly. So,


    Reba couldn¡¯t understand why Tina felt the need to keep targeting Sonia this way.


    Zane turned to Tyler. ¡°Lad, you saw what happened today, so you better watch out after this. Don¡¯t step


    on Tina¡¯s toes without a reason, or she¡¯ll definitelyy her hands on you, judging from her petty


    personality.¡± ¡°I-I got it,¡± Tyler uttered while nodding hurriedly. Even though he knew that Tina was mean,


    he hadn¡¯t witnessed her doing anything bad before. Therefore, he had never taken it seriously and


    wasn¡¯t even afraid of her.


    But now that he had finally seen it with his own eyes, he had to admit that he was shocked. ¡°No, we


    can¡¯t just let this matter rest. We have to teach Tina a lesson,¡± Charles growled angrily, holding his


    palm into a fist. Sonia pursed her lips and asked, ¡°How do you n to teach her a lesson?


    There¡¯s no evidence to show that she did this on purpose. Reba is the only eye-witness and she¡¯s


    one of us, so Tina can totally say that we¡¯re the ones telling Reba to frame her.¡± ¡°Sonia is right.¡±


    Zane agreed with a nod. ¡°Since Tina didn¡¯t attack Sonia directly, we really can¡¯t do anything to her.¡±


    Unsatisfied, Charles asked, ¡°Are we going to let it go just like this?¡± Narrowing her eyes, Sonia said, ¡°Of


    course not. If she could do it so that we have no evidence against her, then we can do the same as


    well.¡± Charles¡¯ eyes sparkled. ¡°Darling, what do you n to do?¡± She hooked her finger at them,


    gesturing for them to lean in closer.


    They did so, and just as she was about to speak, Charles suddenly interrupted her. ¡°Hang on.¡± ¡°What is


    it?¡± she asked, looking at him. After pushing Tyler aside, he exined, ¡°Darling, this kid is Toby¡¯s


    younger brother. He belongs to the other side. We can¡¯t let him listen.¡± ¡°Who said that I belong to the


    other side?


    I¡¯m not!¡± Tyler snapped loudly. Folding his arms across his chest, Charles then said, ¡°You¡¯re Toby¡¯s


    brother, aren¡¯t you? Of course you¡¯re on his side.¡± ¡°Even though I¡¯m his brother, it doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m


    on his side. Unless he breaks up with Tina, I won¡¯t stand on his side,¡± Tyler said in a huff. Raising an


    eyebrow, Charles asked, ¡°Are you telling the truth?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Tyler nodded without hesitation. Charles


    pulled his lips into a thin line before he spat, ¡°I¡¯m not letting you listen even if you¡¯re telling the truth.¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Tyler uttered, so mad that he wanted to smack him. Meanwhile, Sonia only felt her head


    throbbing when she looked at these two who could stir up an argument anytime. ¡°Enough, Charles.


    How old are you now?


    Why are you being so childish with a kid? Stop messing around and let him listen if he wants to.¡± ¡°But


    darling, what happens if he tells Toby and Tina?¡± Charles asked, worried. With a stern look on her face,


    Sonia asked Tyler, ¡°Will you do that?¡± Shaking his head hastily, he answered, ¡°I¡¯ll never do that!¡±


    Pointing three fingers upward, he added, ¡°I swear!¡± After acknowledging it with a nod, she said, ¡°That¡¯s


    good.¡± Seeing that she had already made up her mind, Charles shrugged and decided not to say


    otherwise. Instead, he cast a warning look at Tyler. ¡°Rascal, you¡¯d better don¡¯t breathe a word about it.


    Or else, don¡¯t me me for being mean with you.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t get that chance,¡± Tyler retorted smugly. In response, Charles rolled his eyes at him. ¡°Let¡¯s


    hope so.¡± Soon, Sonia told everyone her n, and all of them grinned mischievously after listening to it.


    ¡°This is a good n,¡± Charlesmented while holding up his thumb. Nodding in agreement, Reba


    said, ¡°Yes, just the thought of it is exciting.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you toe up with something like this as well,¡± Zane said with a lopsided grin at


    Sonia. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Isn¡¯t that normal?¡± Sonia flipped


    her hair back, revealing her long, slender neck. Charles¡¯ eyes paused on the graceful curve of her fair


    neck for a second, but he quickly snapped back to normal.


    ¡°Sonia, just leave it to me to lure her out,¡± Tyler said suddenly, raising his hand. Turning to him, Sonia


    said, ¡°Of course I have to leave it to you. You¡¯re the only one who can do it.


    Because of your rtionship with them, you won¡¯t raise their guards up by going to the second floor.¡±


    Upon hearing that she had agreed to let him do the task, he smiled brightly. ¡°Understood!¡±

 Chapter 146

    Chapter 146


    Chapter 146,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    When the cable car came for them, everyone stopped talking and got into it. After they came back to


    the vi, Sonia saw the cook sending off the doctor. ¡°Seems like Tina¡¯s fine.¡± Reba crossed her


    arms. Charles pouted. ¡°Of course she is. That woman¡¯s not gonna die that easily.¡± ¡°Alright, stop arguing


    and let¡¯s go.¡±


    Sonia looked away and went into the vi, followed by Charles and the others. Toby was making calls


    when they came in. When he saw Sonia and the others, he averted his gaze. ¡°Is Miss Gray okay,


    Toby?¡± Zane knew Tina was fine, but he asked Toby out of courtesy so that he wouldn¡¯t look too


    indifferent. ¡°She¡¯s fine. The snake wasn¡¯t venomous.¡± Toby put his phone down. ¡°What a shame,¡±


    Reba suddenly said


    A frown creased Toby¡¯s forehead, and his anger red. He looked at Reba coldly before turning his


    attention to Zane. ¡°You¡¯d better keep her in check,¡± he said coldly. Before Zane could reply, Charles


    laughed. ¡°Well, I think Miss Harper¡¯s right. It¡¯s a shame the snake was harmless.


    Bet you don¡¯t know this is all her own doing, Mr. Fuller.¡± ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Toby squinted. At


    that moment, he realized this ident might not be a coincidence at all. Charles wrapped his arm


    around Sonia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that Tina knew the snake was there all along.


    She wanted to get the snake to attack Sonia, but Reba managed to get Sonia to duck in time, so


    the snake ended up biting Tina instead.¡± Toby froze for a moment, apparently shocked by the truth of


    the ident. ¡°Is this true?¡± He looked at Sonia. Sonia looked away, refusing to have any eye contact


    with him. Her silence annoyed Toby, but he didn¡¯t let it show.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. We aren¡¯t liars, unlike a certain someone.¡± Charles rolled his eyes. Toby gazed at


    them for a moment. When he realized that they didn¡¯t look like they were lying, he clenched his


    fists. Tina¡­ ¡°So how are you gonna settle this, Mr. Fuller? Don¡¯t leave us hanging.¡±


    Charles sneered at Toby, who was staring at the ground. Toby stood up, pursing his lips. ¡°Give me


    some time. I¡¯ll settle this.¡± ¡°Sure. We can wait, but don¡¯t disappoint us, Mr. Fuller.¡± Charles grinned.


    After that, Toby went upstairs without another word. ¡°Wait for me, Toby.¡± Tyler quickly followed his


    brother. ¡°I need to talk to you.¡±


    I have to get Toby to break up with Tina no matter what. After the Fuller siblings were gone, Charles


    huddled closer to Sonia with a smile. ¡°I wonder what Tyler¡¯s going to tell Toby.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wonder indeed,


    but I¡¯m not interested.¡± Sonia smiled at him and took his hand off her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m going to my room to


    change.¡±


    With that, she went upstairs as well, leaving Zane, Reba, and Charles in the living room. The trio


    looked at each other in silence for a moment. Reba yawned. ¡°I¡¯m going to my room too. Gonna take


    a shower and nap.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going for some horseback riding,¡± Zane said. Thus, Reba went upstairs,


    while Zane went out, leaving Charles alone. He looked at Reba and Zane, then he sighed. ¡°Where


    am I supposed to go then? Nowhere?¡±


    Since he had nothing to do, he plopped down on the couch and watched some TV. Later, Zane went to


    pick a horse in the stable and led it to the track, but it was under cleaning, so he had to wait. Since that


    was the case, Zane tied his horse against a pole and leaned against the fence, holding a ss of juice


    as he watched the staff cleaning the track.


    Suddenly, one of the staff members bent over to pick something up, then he shouted at the staff


    member with a red hat, ¡°Hey captain! You might want to see this.¡± ¡°What is it?¡±


    The captain trotted toward his team member. The staff member handed a ss bottle to his captain. ¡°I


    found this. Took a whiff, and it seems to be musk.¡± ¡°Musk?¡± The captain frowned. ¡°Yep, and there¡¯s two


    of them.¡± The staff member nodded. ¡°But judging from the size of the bottle and the musk, there should


    have been three of them in here. This might be the one we lost.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure this is it, so the question is:


    where did the third one go?¡±


    the captain said. Zane¡¯s curiosity was piqued. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He went up to the staff. The captain


    knew he was a client, so he told Zane honestly, ¡°Our men found a bottle of musk pills on the ground.¡±


    ¡°Musk pills?¡± Zane arched his eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a kind of pill extracted from the fluids of


    stallions. Commonly used to arouse mares. Horses don¡¯t get in heat that easily, so us breeders would


    use this to get the mares in heat.


    Makes them easier to breed,¡± the captain exined. Zane nodded in realization. ¡°I see. But why did


    you find it here out of all ces?¡± ¡°No idea. When we did an inventory check yesterday, three pills were


    missing. Didn¡¯t think we¡¯d find them here.¡± The captain scratched his head in bafflement. Seems like


    someone stole it and used one of the pills,¡± Zane answered. ¡°But it¡¯s useless unless you want to get a


    mare in heat. Why¡¯d they steal this out of all the things here?¡± the staff member asked. ¡°Wait. You said


    it¡¯s lost yesterday?¡± Realization struck Zane, and he got serious. The captain nodded.


    ¡°Yes. We do inventory checks every day, so I¡¯m sure the pills only went missing yesterday. ¡®Tis not an


    important thing, so we didn¡¯t pay it any mind.¡± Zane squinted. These pills can only affect mares, and


    they were stolen yesterday. Sonia¡¯s mare got in heat on the track all of a sudden yesterday. This is no


    coincidence.


    Someone wanted Sonia to fall from her horse. The culprit managed to get Sonia¡¯s mare in heat with


    one pill, so they threw everything else away, including the bottle. The culprit probably threw it onto the


    field because they thought it wouldn¡¯t be found. The field¡¯s really big anyway, so finding a tiny bottle like


    this would be difficult.


    ¡°Do you guys have any surveince cameras in the storeroom?¡± Zane turned to the captain. The


    captain shook his head. ¡°No.¡± Zane thought that was a shame, but he didn¡¯t dwell on it. ¡°Can I have


    that?¡± He pointed at the bottle the captain was holding. The captain wondered why Zane wanted the


    pills, but he gave it to Zane without any questions.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zane went back to his seat with the bottle in hand. It won¡¯t be easy finding the thief


    without any camera footage, but I can still track that person down with his or her fingerprints.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    I hope the thief left some traces here. Actually, Zane could guess who the culprit was. Who else could it


    be but Tina? But he needed evidence to back his guess up, so he decided to keep this a secret until he


    got the results of the fingerprint test. That night, they had dinner in the dining hall, but as usual, they


    were split into two groups.


    Tina was there too, but she was looking pale, perhaps still shocked from morning¡¯s events. She was


    looking weak and needy for love, but nobody spared her that. Everyone usually ignored Tina as much


    as possible, but after what happened that day, they simply pretended she wasn¡¯t there; even Toby was


    looking indifferent. He didn¡¯t care about Tina as he usually did. Tina thought that was unfair, so she


    gripped her cutlery tightly and stared at Toby. ¡°You seem upset, Toby.¡±

 Chapter 147

    Chapter 147


    Chapter 147,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    She was just bitten by a snake that morning, but after she woke up, Toby didn¡¯t even ask her if she was


    fine, nor did he even look at her. That indifference was, of course, unbearable for her. Toby sipped


    some soup. ¡°I do not,¡± he answered coolly. That attitude didn¡¯t sit right with Tina, but she bit her lip and


    forced a smile.


    ¡°Are you sure? I ¡°Alright, enough. Finish your dinner.¡± Toby interrupted her impatiently. Tina started


    tearing up, but everyone on the other side of the table startedughing silently. She knew they were


    laughing at her, and her face contorted with rage. However, she couldn¡¯t re up, and that annoyed her


    greatly¡¯ Toby finished his dinner a short whileter and left the dining room after wiping his mouth


    elegantly. On the other hand, Tina was only halfway through her dinner, but since Toby left without


    waiting for her, she suddenly lost her appetite. Thus, she put her cutlery down and went up to him; she


    couldn¡¯t eat without him.


    ¡°Toby!¡± Tina caught up to him and held his arm, though she was slightly out of breath. ¡°What


    happened? You¡¯re not like yourself.¡± Toby simply pursed his lips and kept his silence. Tina stared at him


    with tearful eyes. ¡°Is it because of something I did? Is that why you¡¯re ignoring me? Please, tell me


    everything.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    I don¡¯t want you ignoring me.¡± Right at that moment, Toby turned around. ¡°Tell me the truth, Tina. You


    noticed the snake before everyone else this morning, didn¡¯t you? And you startled it so it¡¯d bite Sonia,


    right?¡± Tina¡¯s face fell. ¡°Why do you think so, Toby?¡± ¡°Because Reba saw everything.


    You smiled when the snake attacked Sonia, as if you knew that would happen.¡± Toby shot her a


    quizzical re. Tina opened her mouth, but she couldn¡¯t look him in the eye, so she stared downward


    and sobbed. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t know the snake would attack Sonia.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± Toby frowned.


    ¡°Yes. I was talking with Miss Reed beside the creek, then I suddenly cked out. I was surprised when


    you told me I was bitten by a snake, but the funny thing was that I had no recollection of it at all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying your alter ego did this?¡± Toby pursed his lips. Tina shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but since you said Reba saw me smiling when the snake was attacking Miss Reed, I


    think my alter ego had taken over back then.¡± Toby massaged his forehead. ¡°Of all the times she could


    show up, she chose that moment?¡± Tina¡¯s been acting normal when she met Sonia these past couple


    of days.


    Why¡¯d her alter ego suddenly show up? ¡°Maybe my alter ego heard what Miss Reed told me, so¡­¡±


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°What did she say?¡± Toby squinted. A bitter smile curled Tina¡¯s lips. ¡°Miss Reed said


    Tyler took their side because I¡¯m evil. She even said you¡¯ll leave me at this rate.¡± ¡°Sonia wouldn¡¯t say


    something like that.¡±


    Toby defended Sonia instinctively. Tina¡¯s face contorted, but only for a moment. ¡°Toby, you think I¡¯m


    lying?¡± She gazed at him sadly. Toby stared downward. ¡°No, but Sonia wouldn¡¯t say something like


    that. I know she won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So you think she¡¯s more trustworthy than I am?¡± Tina¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. The bickering was


    tiring Toby out, but still he answered patiently, ¡°I¡¯m not saying that.¡± ¡°But you think she didn¡¯t say that to


    me either, don¡¯t you?¡± Tina¡¯s voice broke. Toby sighed. ¡°Sorry for doubting you. Maybe I¡¯ve been too


    biased about Sonia.¡±


    Tina¡¯s alter ego would only show up when she¡¯s under stress. Maybe Sonia did say something to


    trigger her. Tina felt smug that she managed to make Toby cave once again by acting innocent. She


    hugged him and leaned against his chest. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I forgive you.¡± Toby stared down at her, but he


    didn¡¯t hug her back. In fact, he had a sudden urge to shove her away. He didn¡¯t know why he had that


    urge, and he didn¡¯t want to waste his time figuring it out either, so he held his disgust down.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you a psychologist after we go back tomorrow, Tina.¡± ¡°A psychologist?¡± Tina stopped smiling


    and stared at him. Toby nodded. ¡°Your alter ego¡¯s too dangerous. She must be stopped.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Tina.¡±


    Toby held her head and gazed into her eyes. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time your alter ego is trying to kill


    Sonia.


    As long as she¡¯s here, she¡¯ll try to kill Sonia. I can¡¯t clean up her mess forever, do you understand?¡±


    Tina could feel her heart getting squeezed by something. ¡°You¡¯re saying you¡¯ll break up with me if I


    don¡¯t get rid of my alter ego?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Toby answered without hesitation, for he knew he wouldn¡¯t ept


    a cruel woman as his wife, nor would his family. He was only tolerating her out of love, but his love


    would be eroded eventually.


    Toby¡¯s affirmation was a bombshell for Tina. At that moment, she realized she couldn¡¯t rely on her ¡®alter


    ego¡¯ excuse every time she was attacking Sonia, or Toby would end up hating her. Good thing I found


    out about it in time. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll work with you.¡± She nodded hastily. Toby patted her head. ¡°That¡¯s


    good to hear.¡±


    Tina smiled, but when she looked down, the demure look in her eyes was reced by darkness. Looks


    like I have to kill Sonia as soon as possible. As soon as I get rid of her, I won¡¯t have to fake my


    personality disorder anymore. Toby won¡¯t end up hating me, and he won¡¯t fall for her anymore after


    she¡¯s dead.


    When she reached that thought though, her stomach started gurgling. Toby looked at her. ¡°Are you still


    hungry?¡± She nodded. ¡°I couldn¡¯t work up my appetite since you were ignoring me.¡± Toby held her


    hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and get you something to eat.¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to face them.


    They won¡¯t want me there either.¡± Tina shook her head. Toby knew how much Tina was hated by


    everyone, so he didn¡¯t say anything. A momentter, he rubbed his forehead in frustration. ¡°Give me a


    minute. I¡¯ll get you some snacks. It¡¯s not the best, but it should be enough for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tina smiled. Toby let her go before he went back to the dining room, and everyone was


    surprised he came back. ¡°Are you still hungry, Toby?¡± Tyler was curious when he saw Toby filling a


    te with snacks. Toby put his tongs down. ¡°It¡¯s Tina¡¯s. She¡¯s still hungry.¡± Tyler pouted when he heard


    that.


    ¡°That woman again? Why didn¡¯t shee down by herself? She thinks you¡¯re her ve or


    something?¡± Thement was shrugged off, and Toby went to the other side of the table. When he


    noticed there was mango in the fruit tter, he wanted to get some for Tina. However, Charles stopped


    him at once when he saw it. ¡°Hold it. That¡¯s Sonia¡¯s.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s? Toby looked up and stared at Sonia in surprise. ¡°You like mangoes?¡± ¡°Do you have an issue


    with that?¡± Sonia stared back at him calmly. ¡°No,¡± Toby answered. Charles snorted.


    ¡°Sonia has liked mangoes ever since she was a kid. I asked the chef to make this specifically for her.


    Tell the chef to make one for you if you want it so much.¡±

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    Chapter 148,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°No need for that,¡± Toby answered coolly. The te was already filled with snacks, so he put his tongs


    down and was about to leave. However, Charles stopped him, ¡°Hold it, Mr. Fuller.¡± Toby stopped and


    looked at him expressionlessly. ¡°What else do you need?¡± ¡°I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten what you said


    this morning. Now that Miss Gray¡¯s awake, it¡¯s time to settle this, I think.¡± Charles crossed his arms,


    smiling faintly. ¡°We¡¯re not going to ask for much. She just has to bow to Sonia and say she¡¯s sorry. Fair,


    isn¡¯t it?¡±Pfft. An apology won¡¯t even cut it. If I had the evidence, I would have called the cops and send


    that b*tch behind bars. Toby frowned. ¡°You want her to apologize?¡± ¡°That is correct.¡± Charles nodded.


    Toby sneered, then he looked at Sonia. ¡°Is that what you want as well?¡± Sonia put her juice down and


    smiled. ¡°She had it out for me, so I think an apology is just fair.¡± Please.


    An apology won¡¯t cut it. I wouldn¡¯t even bat an eye if this costs her an arm and a leg, literally. That


    woman tried to kill me so many times. Sparing her life is already merciful enough. Even Zane,


    Reba, and Tyler thought that was a reasonable demand. Toby¡¯s face fell. ¡°I can get her to apologize,


    but on one condition. You have to apologize as well, Sonia.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Charles was


    bbergasted. Zane, Reba, and Tyler were incredulous as well. A frown creased Sonia¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Why should I apologize?¡± ¡°Yeah! Why should she apologize? She¡¯s the victim here. Why should she


    apologize to that woman? That¡¯s unreasonable!¡±


    Charles red at him. ¡°How the heck did Fuller Group survive when its boss is a nipoop like


    you?¡± It¡¯s a miracle thepany didn¡¯t go bust with this dumb*ss leading it. Toby ignored Charles and


    only looked at Sonia. ¡°You knew Tina has dissociative identity disorder, but still you triggered her,¡± Toby


    said coldly. That¡¯s why she tried to get the snake to attack you. Part of this is your fault.¡± ¡°I triggered


    her?¡± Sonia pointed at herself,ughing mirthlessly. Well, I didn¡¯t know I triggered her. Does this mean


    I¡¯m sick in the head as well? Heck, I didn¡¯t even say anything to her by the brook. Toby continued, ¡°Yes,


    so you¡¯ll have to apologize as well.¡±


    With that, he left the dining room. Sonia saw him off with a mocking smile. ¡°Sonia.¡± Charles patted her


    shoulder. ¡°Did you really say something to trigger Tina?¡± ¡°Is that a trick question? I don¡¯t even care


    about her, much less talk to her.¡± She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Zane grinned. ¡°That woman lied to


    Toby, obviously.


    She said you triggered her, so that¡¯s why she attacked you.¡± ¡°To make things worse, Toby actually


    believed her. Is he a dumb*ass or what?¡± Charles was bellowing withughter. Sonia stared into the air


    coldly. ¡°Of course he believes her. Tina¡¯s his sweetheart after all. Everyone trusts their lover.¡± ¡°Then


    that just makes Tina a triple b*tch!¡±


    Charles mmed the table. ¡°Why triple? Cause two negatives make a positive, but that b*tch doesn¡¯t


    have an ounce of goodness in her.¡± Reba nodded. Tina was the worst woman she had ever seen,


    and that was saying something since she came across the women of the Hayes Family before.


    Tyler stared downward in silent embarrassment. He used to think Tina was a much better woman than


    Sonia was, so he bullied Sonia for six years because he thought she took Tina¡¯s rightful ce as Toby¡¯s


    girlfriend. Every time he thought of that, he wanted to kill himself. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Charles asked. He noticed Zane was going over to Tina¡¯s seat and sealing the cup she used in a bag.


    Everyone was curious as well. ¡°Zane, do you have a crush on Tina? Is that why you¡¯re taking her cup


    back? So you can jack off to it?¡± Charles shot him a look of disgust. Zane¡¯s veins popped. ¡°Shut up.


    I do not have a crush on that woman.¡± ¡°What are you doing then?¡± ¡°Oh,e on. I have my own


    reasons.¡± Zane winked at Sonia. Sonia arched her eyebrow. This probably has something to do with


    me. But since Zane didn¡¯t want to say anything, she kept quiet about it. I¡¯ll find out eventually.


    A short whileter, Zane¡¯s assistant came to retrieve the items Zane collected. He handed two


    waterproof bags to his assistant, one of which contained the bottle that held the musk pills, the other


    the cup Tina used. ¡°Take these and see if the fingerprints on these items are the same,¡± Zane ordered.


    If the fingerprints on both items were the same, that meant Tina stole the pills to cause that ident.


    If the fingerprints were different, he¡¯d chalk it up as a misunderstanding. ¡°Understood.¡± The assistant


    nodded at him and left, while Zane went back to the vi. While Sonia was lying in bed at midnight, she


    noticed her phone lighting up, so she picked it up to see who was texting her.


    ¡®We¡¯re starting right now, Sonia.¡¯ That was a text from Charles. Sonia looked at it for a moment before


    sitting up. She texted back, ¡®Got it.¡¯ Then, she wore her jacket and tiptoed out of her room. At the same


    time, Zane, Reba, and Charles hade out as well, so they looked at each other. Charles


    whispered, ¡°Tyler¡¯s already gone ahead.¡±


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s move. Everything¡¯s ready.¡± Zane whipped out a brown colored item, and he had an evil


    grin on his face. When they saw what it was, Charles and Reba grinned evilly too. Noticing their


    excitement, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but smile as well. ¡°We should go now.¡± They tiptoed downstairs.


    At the same time, Tyler was dragging Tina to the staircase. However, Tina flung his hand away,


    refusing to leave. ¡°What do you want to say, Tyler? You can tell me right now.¡± She didn¡¯t want to go


    down with him. He hates me, but now he has something urgent to tell me? And why did he drag me out


    of my room?


    Something¡¯s wrong. Tyler was starting to get nervous when he realized Tina was on high alert, but


    since he had a job to do, Tyler didn¡¯t back off. ¡°Tina, it¡¯s¡ª¡± Before he could finish, he saw someone


    appearing behind Tina, holding a towel in his hand. Tyler heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at Tina.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Be careful.¡± Then, he retreated into the shadows, for his work was done. Sh*t. Tina heard


    someone creeping up on her, and she wanted to see who it was. However, before she could do so, the


    man had already covered her lower face with a towel. A strong stench of medicinal fluids assailed her,


    and that was thest thing she smelled before passing out.


    ¡°Got her! Now get her into this sack,¡± Charles urged. Zane opened the sack and covered Tina from


    head to toe. After that, he and Reba stuffed her into the sack before tying it up.


    At the same time, Sonia was grinning at everyone while holding a big bottle of water. As Zane and


    Charles carried Tina downstairs, thetter turned around to tell Tyler, ¡°Hey, kid! Open the door!¡±

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    Chapter 149,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°O-Okay.¡± Tyler quickly opened the front door. Once he did so, the gang took Tina out quietly and went


    to the turf club. They tossed the sack on the ground, then Sonia went up to her, opened the bottle, and


    poured the water on the sack. When she felt the cold water drenching her, Tina shivered and woke up.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    She realized she was in a ustrophobic spot, and she couldn¡¯t see anything. When she rummaged


    around and realized she was covered by something rough, she knew she was in a sack. Her anger


    red, and she tried to struggle free. ¡°You worked with Sonia to kidnap me, Tyler?¡± she growled. Tina


    was no idiot. There weren¡¯t that many residents in the vi, and only Sonia and her gang would do this


    to her. At the same time, Tyler was standing beside Sonia. ¡°How did she find out I¡¯m working with you


    guys?¡± he asked Sonia in a lowered voice. ¡°She¡¯d be an idiot if she didn¡¯t.¡± Charles smacked his head,


    so Tyler tried to kick him back, but he failed


    Charles stuck his tongue out and ran away in case he got kicked again. Tyler was a basketball yer


    after all, so he was taller than Charles even though the boy was a lot younger. If that kick connects, I¡¯d


    be in bed for days. ¡°Alright, cut it out.¡± Sonia stopped them before they could make a ruckus.


    The boys stopped obediently, not unlike students following their teacher¡¯s orders. Tina¡¯s face contorted


    with rage when she heard Sonia¡¯s voice. ¡°So it is you, Sonia. How dare you do this to me?¡± What kind


    of sack is this? I can¡¯t get out of it. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Sonia sneered. ¡°You tried to kill me multiple


    times.This is just a mild counterattack.¡± Tina thought she had a point, but she wouldn¡¯t let that get to


    her. ¡°What if Toby finds out about this? Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± ¡°Why should I? He¡¯s not even my friend.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°Laugh all you can.¡± Tina snorted. ¡°Toby will only hate you more once he finds


    out about this.¡± So what?¡± Sonia asked calmly. Charles pouted. ¡°Hey Gray, you think that¡¯ll rile Sonia


    up. You can¡¯t be thinking that she still likes Toby, can you? I told you she fell out of love with him a long


    time ago. She doesn¡¯t care what he thinks.¡± The news was shocking to Tina. ¡°Impossible!¡±


    She doesn¡¯t like Toby? That¡¯s a joke. Everyone knows how much she has liked him since


    their uni years. That¡¯s why she endured his family¡¯s humiliation for six whole years. She can¡¯t have


    fallen out of love with him. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t care even if you don¡¯t believe it. Let¡¯s do it, guys.¡± Charles was


    getting impatient, so he wanted everyone to start.


    Tina¡¯s heart sank, and her voice trembled. ¡°W-What are you guys trying to do?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know soon


    enough.¡± Zane rubbed his hands while chuckling evilly. He looked just like amon goon, and that


    made Reba roll her eyes. Everyone surrounded Tina and started beating her up. She was a woman


    though, so they didn¡¯t use much strength, though it was enough to cause her pain. The pain was one


    thing for Tina, but the humiliation was unbearable. Since she was in the sack, she had no way of


    knowing where the attacks came from. All she could do was block her face with her arms, and she bit


    her lip, refusing to even cry out in pain.


    I won¡¯t forget this. I¡¯m making all of you pay sooner orter. Sonia told everyone to stop after they had


    beaten Tina up for a few minutes. Charles swung his hands. ¡°That was satisfying.¡± ¡°The feeling is


    mutual.¡± Tyler nodded. Zane rubbed his chin, looking unsatisfied. ¡°She managed to hold it in though.


    That must have hurt, but she didn¡¯t scream. Not satisfying enough for me.¡± ¡°Who cares? As long as we


    get to get back at her,¡± Reba retorted. ¡°True that,¡± Zane answered. ¡°Alright. Untie the rope and let¡¯s


    go home,¡± Sonia said. At that, Charles went over to unravel the rope. ¡°Take a look at her.¡±


    Sonia pointed at Tina. ¡°Sure.¡± Charles opened the sack, and Zane turned his shlight on so everyone


    could see the state Tina was in easily. She was still curled up, but apparently, she passed out, for her


    eyes were tightly shut. Her face and arms were bruised, obviously because she was abused. ¡°It¡¯s


    nothing.


    Just minor injuries. She¡¯ll be okay after a few days.¡± Reba went down to check up on her. Zane


    arched his eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re a doctor?¡± Reba stood up and answered calmly, ¡°No. I used to be a


    bodyguard, so getting hurt was part of my job. I got used to it, so I know some basics.¡±


    On the other hand, Sonia thought Reba¡¯s true identity was more of a mystery now. She first thought


    Reba was a rich family¡¯s youngdy who came to work at Paradigm Co. disguised as a normal girl.


    After all, she did help out when Sonia was getting back at the Stryders, and she had to be powerful to


    pull that off. But after Reba said she used to be a bodyguard, Sonia¡¯s first assumption was


    debunked.


    No matter who she was though, the most important thing was Reba was on her side. ¡°You used to


    be a bodyguard, Miss Harper?¡± Tyler looked at Reba, his eyes gleaming. Reba nced at him.


    ¡°Why? Any problem with that?¡± ¡°Nope. Just wanna ask if you know any martial arts?¡± Tyler asked.


    Reba nodded.


    ¡°Technically, yes.¡± Her answer excited him. ¡°Can you teach me then?¡± Boys loved martial arts, after all.


    ¡°No.¡± Reba refused without any hesitation. Tyler was crestfallen, but only for a moment. He then


    quickly picked himself up. ¡°Can you be my master then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t take disciples.¡±


    ¡°But you can still teach me, right? Tell me how.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t. Just give up.¡± ¡°Aw¡­ Pretty please?¡± They


    slowly left Tina behind on the field. When they were out of sight, Tina suddenly opened her eyes and


    sat up. She red at the air, her gaze filled with venom and hatred. ¡°Sonia¡­ Charles¡­ Zane¡­ Tyler¡­


    Just you wait!¡±


    she mumbled menacingly, then she stood up despite the pain and hobbled back to the vi. When Tina


    came back, Sonia and the others had gone back to their rooms. There wasn¡¯t anyone in the living


    room, so Tina went to the coffee table and poured two sses of water. Once she was done, she took


    a deep breath and sshed herself with the water.


    After she got her face and hair wet, Tina messed her hair up and tore her clothes, making herself look


    more injured. Then, she went upstairs and put on a crying face as she knocked on Toby¡¯s door.


    ¡°Toby¡­ Toby¡­¡± Toby woke up the moment he heard the voice. He sat up and massaged his temples,


    looking confused. A moment earlier, he had a dream about Sonia and her child.


    In that dream, Sonia gave birth to the child sessfully. It was a boy, and it was his son. He was


    delighted, but when he was just about to name the child, he heard Tina¡¯s voice. Is this a dream as well?

 Chapter 150

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    Chapter 150,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Toby was still wondering if he was hearing voices when Tina cried out for him again, ¡°Open up, Toby.


    Please¡­¡± Toby focused once he heard her cries, and he knew it wasn¡¯t a dream. He got out of bed and


    turned on the lights before he went to the door. What greeted him was a woman with disheveled hair


    and torn clothes.


    He froze up for a moment, frowning. ¡°Tina?¡± ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina looked up at him tearfully. When Toby saw


    the state she was in, his face fell. ¡°What happened?¡± Tina puckered her lips sadly, and she cried even


    louder. She was about to hug Toby, but he took a step back reactively. When Tina realized what had


    happened, she stopped crying and stared at him angrily.


    Did you just avoid me, Toby?¡± Toby knew he must have hurt her pride, so he coughed and exined,


    ¡°Sorry, Tina. You know I¡¯m a germaphobe.¡± ¡°Yes, but ¡± ¡°Alright, Tina. Tell me what happened,¡± Toby


    interrupted. Tina bit her lip. ¡°Someone took me away in a sack and beat me up.¡±


    Toby felt likeughing the moment he heard that, and he did. Well, it was just a smile, but Tina caught it


    anyway. ¡°Toby!¡± Tina stomped her foot angrily. ¡°How could youugh after someone did this to me?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Toby coughed again and stopped smiling. ¡°Who did this?¡± he asked calmly.


    Surprisingly, he wasn¡¯t too mad that Tina was beaten up. ¡°It¡¯s Miss Reed. They asked Tyler to lure me


    out, then they knocked me out and put me in a sack. After that, they took me to the turf club and beat


    me up. Just look at me, Toby, I¡¯m injured all over.¡± Tina rolled her sleeves up to reveal the bruises on


    her arms.


    ¡°This is what they did to me. And they even drenched me with water. You have to tell them off, Toby,


    This is too much.¡± Even though Tina was bruised, Toby still wasn¡¯t too angry, though he said coldly, ¡°I


    understand. Why don¡¯t you go take a shower for now? I¡¯ll talk to Tyler.¡± ¡°Okay.¡±


    Tina nodded and shuffled back to her room. Toby looked up at the stairs before going upstairs. ¡°Get


    out, Tyler!¡± He knocked on Tyler¡¯s door, looking inscrutable. When Tyler went to take the door and saw


    Toby standing before him, his heart skipped a beat. He was scared, but he yawned to cover his fear.


    ¡°What is it, Toby?¡± ¡°Tina got beaten up. Did you y a part in it?¡± Toby gazed at his brother. Tyler


    couldn¡¯t lie, so the moment Toby red at him, he started stammering, and that was answer enough for


    Toby. Toby¡¯s face fell. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually did that.¡± ¡°She deserves it. She tried to kill Sonia.¡±


    Tyler harrumphed. A frown creased Toby¡¯s forehead. ¡°So you guys did it to get back at her.¡± ¡°Yeah. So


    what?¡± Tyler muttered under his breath. Toby looked at him coldly. ¡°You¡¯re not getting any allowance for


    three months. Think about what you did.¡± Tyler protested, but Toby ignored it and went to knock on


    Zane¡¯s door.


    A short whileter, everyone on the third floor was gathered in the corridor. They looked at each other,


    and though they said nothing, they knew why Toby was here. Tina must have woken up and snitched


    on them, so Toby was here to interrogate. Zane stretched his arms and leaned against the doorframe.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you wake us up, Toby? It¡¯s the dead of the night, and we need to sleep,¡± he drawled. ¡°Yeah,


    what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Charles pouted. Sonia was also leaning against the door. Her eyes were


    closed, looking like she was asleep. Toby looked at her for a moment. He was reminded of the dream


    he had earlier, but he stared down and looked away quickly.


    ¡°Tina¡¯s beaten up by someone. Care to exin yourselves?¡± ¡°Wait, someone beat that snake up?¡±


    Charles looked shocked for a moment, then he pped his hands andughed.


    ¡°Great job. Any idea who did it? I wanna give them something.¡± Sonia chuckled, but she didn¡¯t open her


    eyes. Toby was looking furious. ¡°ying dumb, are we?¡± ¡°ying dumb? What are you talking about?¡±


    Charles shrugged.


    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t be suspecting us, can you?¡± ¡°Seems like it though, judging from his expression.¡±


    Reba yawned. ¡°That¡¯s nonsense, Toby. We¡¯ve been in our rooms all this time. There¡¯s no way we


    could have done that. And there¡¯s no reason for us to do that either.¡± Zane had on a sleepy look.


    Toby was annoyed that everyone was denying it. ¡°Tyler told me everything, so don¡¯t even try to lie.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s his problem, not ours. Why should we apologize for something we didn¡¯t do?¡± At the same


    time, Charles red at Tyler surreptitiously. Why¡¯d you tell him everything?


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    How useless. Tyler noticed his re, so he stared down in embarrassment. He didn¡¯t want to tell the


    truth, but he couldn¡¯t lie, and he was afraid of Toby. The moment Toby red at him earlier, he broke


    down. Toby knew he wouldn¡¯t get anything from Charles, so he shot Charles a re before turning to


    Sonia.


    ¡°Are you going to deny it as well? You did this because she set that snake on you this morning, didn¡¯t


    you?¡± Sonia opened her eyes and looked at him calmly. ¡°Do you have any evidence for that?¡± she


    asked clearly, apparently not sleepy at all. Toby frowned when he noticed how cold her look was.


    He was frustrated, for he didn¡¯t like her looking at him that way. However, he didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t


    like that. ¡°Yeah. You can¡¯t use us without any evidence.¡± Charles crossed his arms. ¡°You want


    evidence? My injuries are evidence enough.¡± Suddenly, Tina¡¯s voice sounded. Everyone looked in the


    direction of the voice.


    Tina had already taken a bath and changed into new clothes, but it didn¡¯t cover up her bruises, so


    everyone startedughing when they saw her. Tina¡¯s face fell. ¡°What are youughing at?¡± ¡°Nothing.


    We definitely aren¡¯tughing because you look like a pig, Miss Gray, we promise.¡±


    Zane was holding his sides. Hearing that, everyone burst intoughter again. Sonia didn¡¯tugh as


    loudly as they did, but the broad grin on her face was enough to tell everyone she was delighted. ¡°Why


    you¡­¡± Feeling humiliated, Tina buried herself in Toby¡¯s embrace. ¡°They¡¯ve gone too far, Toby!¡±


    Toby looked at everyone coldly. ¡°Enough!¡± he growled. Everyone stoppedughing immediately. ¡°Sorry,


    Toby. We didn¡¯t want tough, but she¡¯s just too¡­ Well, you get the drift.¡± Zane shrugged


    apologetically, but the smile in his eyes betrayed his thoughts.


    Charles asked, ¡°Miss Gray, you¡¯re saying your injuries are evidence, yes?¡± ¡°That is correct.¡± Tina


    stepped back from Toby and nodded. Sonia sneered. ¡°To be honest, that¡¯s no evidence at all, Miss


    Gray. Just because you¡¯re injured doesn¡¯t mean we did it.¡±

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    Chapter 151,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I?¡± Tina frowned. ¡°Miss Gray, you say we¡¯re the culprits, but did anyone see that?¡± Sonia


    smiled. The question caught Tina by surprise, and she gritted her teeth. ¡°No.¡± There were only seven of


    them in the vi. Toby was sleeping then, while the chef and the turf club¡¯s staff didn¡¯t live with them, so


    nobody saw Sonia and the gang beating Tina up. ¡°Good. Then how did we beat you up, and where did


    that happen?¡± Sonia asked again. Tina clenched her fists. ¡°You guys drugged me and took me to the


    turf club in a sack. I was beaten up in the turf club.¡±¡°I see. So where¡¯s the drug now? And where¡¯s the


    sack?¡± Sonia smiled at her. It was a nuisance, but Tina answered, ¡°It must be in one of the rooms here.


    If it¡¯s not, then you guys must have disposed of it.¡± ¡°In other words, you don¡¯t know whether we have


    any substance or sacks.¡± Sonia looked at her. ¡°Since you aren¡¯t sure if we have any of those things,


    and nobody saw us beating you up, that means you¡¯re trying to me us for something we didn¡¯t do.


    That¡¯s nder.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ndering you guys! All these injuries on my body, you guys did this to me!¡±


    She pointed at the bruise on her face. Sonia shrugged. ¡°Are there any fingerprints on your injuries? If


    not, how are you so sure we¡¯re the culprits?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Charles agreed, and the others nodded.


    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly leave any fingerprints on the skin!¡± Tina¡¯s voice trembled with fury. ¡°Then that¡¯s


    settled. You can¡¯t prove that we¡¯re the culprits, so if you keep using us, we¡¯ll sue you for nder.¡±


    Sonia grinned.


    ¡°Why you¡­¡± Tina wanted to retort, but Toby stopped her. ¡°Enough, Tina. Let¡¯s go back.¡± Tina stared at


    him in disbelief. ¡°Go back? Toby! They beat me up! How can we just go back?¡± ¡°What else can you do,


    then? You don¡¯t have any evidence, do you?¡± Toby looked at her. He knew Sonia and the gang did this


    to Tina, but it was a perfect crime. Since Tina didn¡¯t have any evidence, she couldn¡¯t do anything to


    them even though she knew they were the culprits. In the end, Tina quieted down and left with Toby.


    But before they left, Toby turned back to look at Sonia for a while.


    In response, Sonia squinted at him and pursed her lips. Just then, Charles came up to her. ¡°Why¡¯d he


    look at you like that, darling?¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°No idea.¡± We beat Tina up after all. He should


    have been looking at me in disgust, but he didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t look at me that way. In fact, there was


    something else in his eyes, something I couldn¡¯t put my finger on. ¡°What a madman,¡± Charles muttered.


    Sonia covered her mouth and yawned.


    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s still early, so let¡¯s get back to sleep.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, people.¡± Zane and the others nodded, then


    they went back to their rooms. On the other hand, Tina was standing with Toby outside her room. ¡°I


    can¡¯t let this slide, Toby.¡± She flung his hand away. ¡°I know. But what else can we do? They obviously


    nned this beforehand, so they left no evidence,¡± Toby said. Tina teared up. ¡°So we¡¯re just letting this


    slide?¡± ¡°What else can you do? Your alter ego left no evidence when she set that snake on Sonia this


    morning. Obviously, they were getting back at you for that. Just let this slide and forget about it.¡±


    Toby massaged his temples in exhaustion. Tina stared down in silence. Forget about it? I can¡¯t just


    forget about it. Only I get to trip people up, not the other way around. Oh, so you¡¯re getting back at me,


    are you? Fine then, two can y the game, Sonia. She was nning something devious, but she


    followed Toby¡¯s advice on the surface. ¡°I understand.¡± Toby was d that she took his advice, and he


    patted her head. ¡°Alright, we should get some sleep now.


    I¡¯ll take you to the hospital tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Tina nodded with a smile. Toby pulled his hand back and


    went to his room. The moment he was out of her sight, the smile on Tina¡¯s face was reced by a look


    of fury and malice. After everyone had breakfast the next morning, they packed their things and got


    ready to leave. It wasn¡¯t a perfect weekend, but it was still rtively fun for them. Charles took both his


    and Sonia¡¯s luggage to the car, while Sonia was on the sofa, having some juice as she waited for


    Charles toe back for her.


    At the same time, Zane and the others were packing their things in their rooms. ¡°Miss Reed.¡± Tina


    suddenly came over to her. Sonia looked at her calmly. ¡°Anything, Miss Gray?¡± Tina put her hands


    behind her back and smiled at Sonia. ¡°I bet you¡¯re really happy right now, Miss Reed.¡± Sonia arched an


    eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why should I be happy?¡± ¡°Well, you guys beat me upst night, but I


    can¡¯t show anything for it. I bet you¡¯re really happy because I got what I deserved.¡±


    Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina sneered. A smile curled Sonia¡¯s lips. ¡°Weren¡¯t you listeningst night, Miss Gray? I told you we


    didn¡¯t do it, so stop pestering me, or I¡¯ll get angry.¡± She ced her juice down and went to see what


    Charles was doing. What¡¯s taking him so long? But before she could get out, Tina stomped her foot and


    stopped her. ¡°A minute, Miss Reed.¡± ¡°Anything else, Miss Gray?¡± Sonia looked back at her. Tina


    squinted. ¡°There¡¯s just you and me here, so you shouldn¡¯t lie, Miss Reed. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit


    hypocritical?¡± That made Sonia smile. ¡°Is that so?


    Ah, so you think denying something I didn¡¯t do is hypocritical, huh? I see.¡± ¡°But you did do it!¡± Tina


    raised her voice. Sonia¡¯s smile didn¡¯t falter. ¡°Remember what I said yesterday? You¡¯d need evidence to


    back yourself up. use us without evidence again and I will sue you. Good day.¡± As soon as she said


    that, Sonia left, while Tina glowered at her, as if she wanted to tear Sonia apart. Tina took her phone


    out, and she red ahead darkly.


    The phone was recording everything, so obviously she was trying to weasel the truth out of Sonia and


    post it online so that the court of public opinion would swarm Sonia again. Tsk! I can¡¯t believe she didn¡¯t


    take the bait! That sly woman! ¡°Tina.¡± Toby came over with their luggage. Almost instantaneously, Tina


    put on a smile and turned her phone off. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re done, Toby?¡± She turned around. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Toby nodded.


    Tina held his arm and left the vi with him. The moment they came out, they heard Soniaughing.


    Toby looked at her direction to see what was happening. Apparently, Charles got something ck


    squirted on his face, while Sonia was in tears fromughing too much. Charles wiped the smudge off


    his face as he told Sonia off in mild exasperation.


    ¡°Stopughing, darling.¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry. My bad. I¡¯ll stop.¡± Sonia quickly nodded, but when the smudge on


    Charles¡¯ face got bigger the more he tried to wipe it off, sheughed again. The corner of Charles¡¯ lips


    twitched. ¡°Darling¡­¡± But Sonia didn¡¯t hear him. She was clutching her sides fromughing too much.


    Charles sighed. ¡°Forget about it. Laugh all you want.¡±

 Chapter 153

    Chapter 153


    Chapter 153,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Dafoe. But that¡¯s to be expected from us, isn¡¯t it? If we aren¡¯t decisive, it¡¯d be hard to


    manage the team, don¡¯t you think?¡± Sonia smiled politely. Asher wanted to shout, but he couldn¡¯t, so he


    swallowed his pride. ¡°That¡¯s right, Sonia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d we¡¯re on the same page. Seems like I made a great


    decision. After all, if they can betray their boss, they might even sell theirpany out someday. Best


    we cut them off sooner rather thanter, am I right?¡± Sonia continued. Asher forced a smile. He was so


    mad that he could kill, but he had to y along for the moment. ¡°Yes. That is a great decision,


    Sonia.¡± My foot. I spent a lot of money to turn them to my side, but they got fired right after that. I lost


    my supporters and my money. Dammit. ¡°Thanks for the praise. I¡¯ll be going in now.¡± Sonia ignored his


    forced smile and nodded before going into the conference room.


    But Asher suddenly stopped her. ¡°Hold on a second, Sonia.¡± Sonia stopped and looked at him.


    ¡°Anything else you need, Mr. Dafoe?¡± Asher straightened his necktie out. ¡°My sources told me you¡¯re


    handing the proposal about alternative energy technology in today, aren¡¯t you?¡± Sonia looked at him for


    a moment. She wondered why he was asking that, but still she answered with a smile, ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    ¡°Good luck, then.


    Let¡¯s see if you can take this deal.¡± Asher smiled fakely. He wasn¡¯t looking down on her, but he just


    thought Sonia and Paradigm weren¡¯t up to par. It¡¯d be a miracle if she manages to take this deal. Even


    if she¡¯s hooking up with President Fuller, the Grays wouldn¡¯t let her seed. Either way, Asher didn¡¯t


    think she could win, so he was just wishing her well out of spite. Sonia knew that, of course, so anger


    red up within her, but her smile didn¡¯t falter.


    ¡°I hope so too, but nothing¡¯s sure until the dust settles, am I right?¡± ¡°True. I¡¯ll be waiting for the good


    news, then. I just hope it¡¯ll turn out for the best, or it¡¯ll be awkward for at least one of us.¡± Asher


    chuckled and patted her shoulder before going into the conference room. After he left, Sonia stopped


    smiling and brushed her shoulder off, as if she got something dirty stuck on it. But she had to admit she


    felt a lot of pressure after what Asher told her. She was confident in her proposal, and the professors


    praised it, but there was no guarantee if there were any better proposals.


    It might be possible that she would fail. She massaged her forehead and sighed. Don¡¯t think too much


    about it. All that matters is I tried my best. It¡¯d be great if I can get the deal, but if I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll juste


    up with another way to wrest control from Asher. She patted her cheeks,posed herself, and went


    into the conference room. It was already noon after the meeting ended. Sonia quickly stuffed a few


    mouthfuls of the lunch Daphne bought for her before she took the proposal and headed to Fuller


    Group.


    After the receptionist found out what she was here for, she brought Sonia to the elevator. ¡°Please head


    to the waiting room on the thirty-eighth floor, Miss Reed. Mr. Brown is taking the proposals there.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Thank you.¡± Sonia nodded and thanked the receptionist before she went into the elevator. A


    short whileter, she came to the waiting room. Tom stopped sorting the files out when he heard


    someone knocking.


    When he looked up and saw it was Sonia, he quickly stood up. ¡°Come in please, Miss Reed.¡± ¡°Sorry for


    intruding.¡± Sonia smiled at him and walked in with her proposal. ¡°Here¡¯s my proposal.¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡±


    Tom took it with both hands and ced it on the stack of documents. Sonia arched her eyebrow. ¡°Are


    these the proposals from all the otherpanies?¡± ¡°Yes. Everyone¡¯s present and ounted for, aside


    from President Gray.¡± Tom nodded. Sonia nodded in understanding. Tom invited her to take a seat.


    ¡°Have a seat, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll make some coffee for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I have something to do, so I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± She refused his offer politely. Yes, Sonia did


    have work to do, but a big part of it was because she didn¡¯t want to stay any longer. After all, lots of


    people here knew she was Toby¡¯s ex-wife. If she stayed any longer, Tina might find out about it and


    cause a scene. That crazy woman can do anything. Since Sonia insisted, Tom didn¡¯t ask her to stay,


    and he sent her to the elevator, all smiles.


    Sonia said goodbye and went back down. Then she left thepany. But a red car stopped where she


    stopped the moment she left. A momentter, Tina came out of the car, ring at the direction Sonia


    left, and she clenched her fists. She knew it was Sonia¡¯s car because she recognized the number


    te. Sonia came to thepany? Tina squinted, but she put on her usual smile a momentter and


    went into the building.


    When the receptionist saw her, she greeted, ¡°Hello, Miss Gray.¡± Everyone in thepany knew Tina


    was Toby¡¯s fiancee. Besides, she came to thepany all the time to see Toby, so everyone saw her


    before. Naturally, it was easy to recognize her. Tina nodded with a smile. ¡°Is Toby here?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯ll be


    in for the whole day today,¡± the receptionist answered. ¡°I see. Thank you,¡± she thanked the receptionist


    gently. ¡°No problem, Miss Gray,¡± the receptionist replied. Tina¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°Oh right. About thedy


    who left earlier¡­¡± ¡°Are you talking about Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why did shee here?¡± Tina stared down to keep the receptionist from seeing the murderous


    look in her eyes. The receptionist was a newbie, so she didn¡¯t know Sonia was Toby¡¯s ex-wife. She


    thought Sonia and Tina were friends, so she answered, ¡°Miss Reed was here to hand in her proposal


    for the alternative energy technology coboration.¡± Ah, so that¡¯s what it is. Tina pursed her lips. She


    had heard her father talking about Sonia¡¯s participation in the bid.


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be going now. Toby¡¯s waiting for me.¡± Tina smiled at the receptionist before she went to the


    elevator. However, instead of seeing Toby in his office, she went to the waiting room on the thirty-eighth


    floor instead. ¡°Hi, Miss Gray.¡± Tom wasn¡¯t surprised to see Tina, so he invited her in. Tina nodded. ¡°I¡¯m


    here to hand this proposal in on behalf of my father. The traffic was congested, so sorry for making you


    wait, Mr. Brown.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Miss Gray. Have a seat.¡± After Tom took her proposal, he pointed at the sofa. Tina pushed


    her hem down before taking the seat. As she looked at the stack of documents on the table, an idea


    struck her, but she didn¡¯t let it show. Sonia¡¯s proposal should be in there.


    At that thought, she smiled. ¡°Is there any water here, Mr. Brown? I¡¯ve been feeling thirsty for a while


    now.¡± ¡°Yes, Miss Gray. I¡¯ll go get some for you. Please give me a minute.¡± Tom left the waiting room


    after that. Now that she was alone, Tina stood up and looked at the door carefully.


    Once she confirmed the coast was clear, she took a deep breath and took a document from the stack.


    Fortunately for her, the first one she took was Sonia¡¯s proposal.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 154

    Chapter 154


    Tina skimmed through Sonia¡¯s proposal, but the more she read, the worse she looked. She might be


    inept in business, but that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t appraise a proposal. After she took a look, she knew


    Sonia¡¯s proposal was a top-tier one. In fact, it was loads better than the one she handed in. She couldn¡¯t


    believe Sonia coulde up with such a great proposal after taking over Paradigm Co. for a mere two


    months.


    No. She couldn¡¯t havee up with this. She must have hired someone to do this. I bet she did. Tina


    brushed her jealousy aside and insisted that Sonia couldn¡¯t havee up with that brilliant proposal on


    her own. But either way, she couldn¡¯t deny the fact that Toby could very possibly go with Sonia¡¯s


    proposal. The fact that Sonia might get a spot while her family didn¡¯t was uneptable for Tina. ¡°I can¡¯t


    let this happen.¡±


    Tina bit her lip. And all of a sudden, a n struck her. She put both Sonia¡¯s and her proposal on the


    table, then she unclipped them and swapped the proposals. Since the name tag was only there on the


    file, Sonia¡¯s and Titus¡¯ proposals were sessfully swapped. After she did all that, Tina smiled smugly.


    Suddenly, she heard sounds of footstepsing closer. Tina knew it must be Tom, so she panicked. She


    quickly closed the files and put them back in their original positions.


    After that, she went back to the sofa and pretended to scroll through her phone. As expected, Tom came


    in a momentter. ¡°Sorry for the wait, Miss Gray.¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Tina answered politely. Tom didn¡¯t notice


    anything wrong with the room, and he put the cup of coffee in front of Tina. She was just about to take a


    sip, but then her phone rang. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll need to take this.¡± She smiled apologetically while taking her


    phone out.


    ¡°Hello? Cynthia? You¡¯re out?¡± Surprise colored Tina¡¯s face. Tom arched his eyebrow at her. Cynthia¡¯s


    out? ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± After she put her phone down, Tina looked at Tom. ¡°Please tell Toby I


    won¡¯t be seeing him, Mr. Brown.¡± She wanted to see Cynthia. Even though she only thought of Cynthia


    as a disposableckey instead of her friend, she had to keep Cynthia by her side, since Cynthia had


    been loyal to her.


    And I can use her to defend me if something were to happen. Can¡¯t cut our ¡°friendship¡± off just yet. ¡°I¡¯ll


    pass the message to him, Miss Gray. You go ahead and do your thing.¡± Tom nodded, smiling. After Tina


    was gone, Tom went to the top floor with the stack of documents in hand. He then knocked on Toby¡¯s


    office¡¯s door. ¡°Enter.¡± Toby¡¯s cool, maic voice sounded from within. Tom went into the office.


    ¡°President Fuller, these are the proposals everyone handed in.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Toby stopped writing and looked at the stack of documents. ¡°Everyone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. Toby¡¯s eyes


    glinted. ¡°Where¡¯s Sonia¡¯s?¡± He regretted it the moment he asked Tom, since Tom might think he was


    caring about Sonia too much. After all, he only asked for her proposal. He didn¡¯t know why he cared


    about her proposal so much though. But when he noticed that Tom wasn¡¯t surprised about his question,


    he calmed down.


    Maybe Tom doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m caring about Sonia. However, unbeknownst to Toby, Tom wasn¡¯t surprised


    because he knew Toby still liked Sonia. In that case, he wasn¡¯t surprised when Toby asked for Sonia¡¯s


    proposal. ¡°Here.¡± He handed Toby Sonia¡¯s proposal. Toby opened the proposal, curious and excited.


    However, he frowned the moment he saw the proposal, and his excitement was gone with the wind. Bad.


    This is just bad.


    This proposal is too general. There¡¯s nothing exciting here. It¡¯s notpetitive at all. How can she even


    hand in something like this? Toby pursed his lips, and his disappointment showed on his face. Tom


    noticed it too. ¡°Is something wrong with her proposal, President Fuller?¡± He pushed his sses up.


    ¡°Have a look for yourself.¡± Toby tossed the file to Tom. Tom caught it and skimmed through it, but after he


    was done, the corner of his lips twitched.


    ¡°This¡­ Maybe it¡¯s Miss Reed¡¯s first time getting involved in alternative energy technology, and she


    probably doesn¡¯t know much about it, so she ended up with this proposal¡­¡± Tom¡¯s defense made sense


    to Toby, and his frown unraveled. ¡°Leave her proposal here. Filter the rest and bin the bad ones. I¡¯ll look


    through the remaining proposals and pick the best one.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded and left with the


    remaining files, but he nced at Sonia¡¯s proposal before he left. President Fuller told me to bin the bad


    ones. In that case, Miss Reed¡¯s proposal should be binned as well, but he singled her proposal out. Ah,


    so he wants to give her a chance. And here I thought this would be a fairpetition. Tom rolled his


    eyes. So President Fuller does have double standards too. After Tom was gone, Toby flipped through


    Sonia¡¯s file again. He picked up his fountain pen and started writing down suggestions on the parts he


    thought that could be improved.


    But Sonia didn¡¯t know anything about that. While Toby was writing his suggestions down, she had


    already arrived at the Reed Residence. Her parents bought it more than two decades ago right before


    they were married. She grew up in this ce, and it contained a lot of memories. But after her mother


    passed away twenty years ago, everything changed. Her father remarried and had a daughter with his


    second wife.


    The Reed Residence was no longer her ce of refuge. Since then, it was just amon inn for her.


    Nay, an inn had more warmth than this shell of a home. Six years ago, her dad passed away as well.


    After that, her stepmother and stepsister ran away with his money, leaving only this vi behind. Since


    then, Sonia sealed this ce down and never came back. Until this day, it was still the same vi, but


    everything had changed over the years.


    She sighed and was about to unlock the gates, but then she remembered something. A frown creased


    her forehead, and she took out the key Rose gave her. ¡°Odd.¡± She stared down at the keys. One of them


    was given to her by Rose, while the other one was her own. Rose told her it was the key to the Reed


    Residence when she gave it to her. But my key also unlocks the residence as well. Hmm, both of them


    are different though. When she took the key Rose gave her, she didn¡¯t realize she had the Reed


    Residence¡¯s key as well, so she didn¡¯t notice that Rose¡¯s key was different from the one she already had.


    The only reason she brought her own key here was because the ess card was attached to the


    keychain. I guess Grandma¡¯s key is more than meets the eye. Either the vi¡¯s lock has been changed,


    or this key unlocks some other door. Sonia nced at the front door for a moment.


    When she tried to unlock it, she realized it was still the same lock. So Grandma¡¯s key unlocks another


    door, but I have no idea which door it is. ¡°Guess I should take a look,¡± Sonia mumbled as she unlocked


    the front door, then she went inside. There was nothing in the vi. Her stepmother and stepsister sold


    everything valuable in this ce, leaving nothing but a sheet of thick dust behind. Every step Sonia took


    left a footprint on the ground.

 Chapter 155

    Chapter 155


    Sonia sneered before she pulled out the other key that Rose had given her. She tried the key out on


    every door in the house until she finally managed to unlock the door that led her to the storage room.


    She wasn¡¯t entirely surprised¡ªher stepmother and sister had sold off most of the valuable items in the


    house, so the storage room was probably thest and only ce that still had some items in it. Ayer of


    dust found its way to her face the moment she pushed the door open.


    With one hand mped over her nose and her mouth, she used her other hand to wave off the dust in


    front of her face. When most of the dust finally settled, she released her hand from her face before


    turning the lights on and walking into the room. ¡°Oh gosh!¡± Her head hurt when she saw the cobwebs


    and scattered items that filled the room. This room is filled with stuff how am I supposed to find anything


    here?  She was tempted to give up, but she eventually took a deep breath and clenched her fists before


    walking into the room. I¡¯vee all the way here, after all. I¡¯ll still have to hunt for it the next time if I don¡¯t


    find it this time. After some digging around, her entire being was coated with dirt and dust. She looked


    like a stray cat out of the gutter. Fortunately, she also managed to find a box that looked like it might


    carry the ne that Rose had been talking about. The tiny leather suitcase didn¡¯t have a lock on it, so


    she had no trouble opening it up. There were a bunch of lipsticks, foundation bottles, earrings, bracelets,


    and other items in it¡ªthe suitcase was a mess. She finally found a ne after some rummaging. ¡°Is


    this the one?¡± She tilted her head to look at the ne as she held it up to the light. This was the only


    ne she found in the entire storage room, so she assumed that it was the right one.


    Well, it¡¯s just an old, rusty ne. What sort of secret could a thing like this hold? Confused, she


    lowered the ne into her palm and poked around on the red onyx pendant that dangled from it. Her


    eyes narrowed with suspicion as she realized how the ne looked rather familiar to her at that


    moment. I¡¯ve seen this somewhere. Where have I seen it? After some contemtion, her eyes widened


    as she got her answer.


    ¡°Julia!¡± That¡¯s right! I¡¯ve seen it on Julia¡¯s neck. She recalled how Julia wore a ne that looked


    almost identical to the one in her hand. Back when Sonia first saw Julia¡¯s ne, she had assumed


    that Julia kept the ne around as a memento. I remember wondering why Julia didn¡¯t change into a


    different ne¡ªI recall how the ne looked outdated and worn. The stone wasn¡¯t even


    gleaming anymore. Well, it seems like the ne is more than a keepsake to Julia now¡ªshe¡¯s


    probably holding onto it for some other reason. But I don¡¯t get how the ne that Julia owns has


    anything to do with the one I¡¯m holding.


    Sonia concluded that it was impossible for both the nes to simply have simr designs to each


    other. The letters ¡®DT¡¯ were carved onto the backs of both the pendants. DT Jewelry was one of the most


    luxurious brands globally, and most of the essories they produced were limited edition items¡ªthere¡¯d


    only been one of each in the whole world. It was impossible for there to be two pendants of the same


    design.


    One exnation is that one of the nes is a well-made imitation and not actually an original DT


    ne. Otherwise, both of the nes must be somehow rted to one another. With that thought,


    Sonia kept the ne into her bag and left the vi hastily. Half an hourter, she arrived at the mall


    and headed directly to DT Jewelry¡¯s counter. ¡°Hello, miss. How can I help you?¡± the female worker asked


    with a smile.


    Sonia pulled the ne out of her bag. ¡°I¡¯d like to check if this ne was manufactured by DT.¡± The


    lady took the ne into her hands and stared at it for a while before she shed Sonia a rather


    bashful smile. ¡°My apologies. This ne looks like it was made a long while ago, so I can¡¯t be sure if


    it¡¯s manufactured by us. Why don¡¯t you hold on for a while? I¡¯ll get my manager to take a look at it.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Sonia nodded. Thedy poured Sonia some coffee before she went off to look for her manager. For


    approximately ten minutes, Sonia sipped on the cup of coffee in her hand while she waited patiently for


    thedy and her manager to get back to her. ¡°Does this ne belong to you, miss?¡± the manager


    asked once he finally showed up. Sonia nodded. ¡°To be precise, my father was the one who passed it


    down to me.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The manager beamed as he lowered the ne onto a piece of ck velvet


    cloth. ¡°DT Jewelry was indeed the one who manufactured this ne, miss.


    I ran through our files and found out that this ne was made 20 years ago. Someone called Mr.


    Gray had hired one of our designers just to create this piece.¡± ¡°Mr. Gray?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up as she


    thought of Julia. ¡°Is the man¡¯s name Titus Gray?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. ording to our files, Mr. Gray¡¯s wife had


    just given birth to a daughter back then. Mr. Gray ordered our designers toe up with a special


    mother-daughter ne for both his wife and his daughter.


    That design is the one that you¡¯re holding in your hands now. This piece that you have should be the


    daughter¡¯s ne.¡± The manager had other thoughts running in his mind while he responded to


    Sonia. Mr. Gray was the one who customized this ne, and this woman says that her father gave it


    to her. That must mean that Mr. Gray is her father. Yet, she refers to Mr. Gray by his full name, and her


    voice sounds rather cold when she says it.


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Could both of them have a bad rtionship with each other? Sonia furrowed her brows. My guess was


    right. Both of these nes are rted to each other. The one Mrs. Gray has is the mother¡¯s ne,


    while the one with me is the daughter¡¯s ne. If that¡¯s the case, then this ne should be with


    Tina. What is it doing in the Reed Family¡¯s hands? Could something have happened between the Reeds


    and the Grays 20 years ago?


    She bit onto her bottom lip. It seems like I¡¯ll have to understand what happened between the Reeds and


    the Grays 20 years ago to solve the mystery behind this ne. It¡¯d be impossible to get the Gray


    Family to tell me anything¡ªthey¡¯d never open their mouths. I¡¯ll have to do some research on my own. ¡°I


    got it. Thank you. Could you please polish this ne a little?¡± Sonia asked with a smile. ¡°Of course.¡±


    The manager nodded.


    Sonia handed the ne over to one of the staff members, who proceeded to polish and clean the


    ne. It was a quick process¡ªSonia only had to wait for two minutes before it was done. She left


    after purchasing a pair of earrings from the store. Julia arrived at the store a while after Sonia left. The


    manager came forward to greet Julia personally. ¡°The bracelet you previously ordered has arrived, Mrs.


    Gray. I¡¯ll bring it over to you immediately.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Julia nodded with a faint smile. The manager unlocked the safe box and retrieved an emerald


    green bracelet from it. ¡°Please take a look, Mrs. Gray. Is this what you were looking for?¡± Julia took the


    bracelet into her hands and studied it for a while. The smile on her lips widened. ¡°It looks good to me. I¡¯ll


    put it on right now.¡± ¡°Let me help you,¡± the manager offered. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll do it on my own.¡± Julia rejected


    the manager¡¯s offer and wore the bracelet by herself.


    The manager didn¡¯t insist after that¡ªhe simply continued to smile at Julia. Right then, the manager


    noticed the ne Julia was wearing. ¡°I¡¯ve always heard rumors of Miss Gray being a beauty, Mrs.


    Gray. The rumors were true¡ªher eyes look just like yours.¡± Happiness spread across Julia¡¯s face when


    she heard the manager praising her daughter. ¡°Thank you for your sweet words. Did Tina drop by


    earlier?¡± The manager figured that Tina was Miss Gray¡¯s name, so he nodded politely. ¡°That¡¯s right. She


    came over to ask about her ne.


    Well, that¡¯s odd¡ªit seems like Miss Gray had no idea that the ne she owned was a pair that was


    made along with yours, Mrs. Gray.¡± Upon hearing the manager¡¯s words, Julia¡¯s bracelet fell onto the


    countertop before she managed to put it on. The manager winced as a sharp ng sounded. He


    immediately picked the bracelet up to check if it had been scratched after it struck the countertop. ¡°What


    did you just say? Did you say that Tina brought the other ne over to ask you about it?¡±


    Julia red at the manager as she questioned him in a rather impatient tone. The manager couldn¡¯t


    understand what was going on, so he simply nodded with a puzzled expression. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s


    impossible!¡± Julia shook her head furiously. Titus and I bought the ne for Rina, and the ne


    disappeared after Rina passed away. How could Tina have the ne with her? There¡¯s no way Tina


    came over to ask about the ne.


    Does that mean that Rina was the one who visited the store? Is Rina alive? Julia grabbed onto the


    manager¡¯s arm as she considered the possibility that her daughter wasn¡¯t dead. ¡°You said something


    earlier. You said that the girl¡¯s eyes looked like mine, didn¡¯t you?¡± Julia cried.

 Chapter 156

    Chapter 156


    ¡°Yeah. Her eyes are a carbon copy of yours.¡± The manager forced a smile onto his face as he watched


    his arm turning red under Julia¡¯s grip. Tears welled up in Julia¡¯s eyes immediately. ¡°It must be Rina. It has


    to be her! She isn¡¯t dead! She¡¯s still alive! Where¡¯s that girl now, sir?¡± Julia¡¯s cheeks were soaked with


    tears as she questioned the manager in a trembling voice. ¡°She left just a while ago, so she might still be


    in the mall,¡± the manager replied. Right after the manager answered her question, Julia sprinted out of


    the store without even bothering to take her handbag with her. She ran around in search of a girl who


    might be her eldest daughter. After hunting around the entire mall, she couldn¡¯t find anyone who wore the


    ne or shared the same eyes as her. Julia eventually returned to DT Jewelry with a dejected look


    on her face. The manager quickly brought her a ss of warm water.


    ¡°Did you find her, Mrs. Gray?¡± ¡°No,¡± Julia said while shaking her head. ¡°Don¡¯t give up just yet. I¡¯m sure


    you¡¯ll be able to find her since she¡¯s in Seafield.¡± The manager offered her some words offort. He


    wasn¡¯t sure how Julia and the otherdy Julia referred to as ¡®Rina¡¯ were rted, but he assumed they


    were close since Julia seemed to care for Rina a lot.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Julia tugged her lips to give him a smile. She pulled her card out and paid for her bracelet


    before she rushed back to the Gray Residence. ¡°Honey!¡± Julia cried once she stepped foot into the


    house. Titus hurried down from upstairs. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go shopping at the mall? Why are you back so


    soon?¡± ¡°Rina¡¯s alive, honey!¡± Julia cried as she looked up toward Titus, who was descending from the


    stairs. Titus nearly slipped when he heard Julia¡¯s words. What did you say?¡± He grabbed onto the railing


    on the stairway as he met gazes with Julia. She sped her hands together as she repeated her words.


    ¡°Rina¡¯s alive! Our eldest daughter is still alive!¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± Titus frowned as he continued to walk down


    the stairs. ¡°You must have encountered some swindler. In the past, there¡¯s been a number of them who


    attempted to convince us that our daughter¡¯s alive, but they¡¯re just saying all of that to scam our money.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different this time. Rina had the ne. It was this one¡­¡± Julia quickly held her ne up. ¡°Rina


    brought the daughter¡¯s ne and asked about it at DT Jewelry, and the store manager told me that


    Rina has my eyes. I have a feeling the girl that the manager saw is Rina, Titus.¡± Titus was utterly dazed


    by her sudden statement. ¡°How could that be possible? Rina drowned because of Henry¡ªwe all saw it


    with our eyes.¡±


    ¡°We saw it happen, but didn¡¯t the police tell us that they couldn¡¯t find Rina¡¯s dead body in the end?


    Perhaps she didn¡¯t die after she was thrown into the river. Perhaps someone jumped in and helped her


    out. A girl who has my eyes and owns the daughter¡¯s ne showed up¡ªhow else can we exin


    this?¡± Julia clutched on her ne as she spoke. ¡°Give me some time.¡± Titus pressed a palm against


    his forehead.


    ¡°Mom, Dad. What are you guys talking about?¡± Tina came down from upstairs and stumbled upon Julia


    and Titus¡¯s flustered expressions. Tina was too curious to stop herself from asking. Julia held onto Tina¡¯s


    arm immediately. ¡°Your sister isn¡¯t dead, Tina. She¡¯s alive.¡± ¡°What?¡± Tina froze for a moment before she


    widened her eyes. ¡°Did you just say that Rina¡¯s alive, Mom?¡± ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s alive. She¡¯s somewhere in


    Fredburg.¡± Julia nodded excitedly.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina lowered her gaze as a threatening look filled her eyes. I can¡¯t believe it. Rina¡¯s not dead. Judging by


    the look of joy on my mother¡¯s face, it seems like she¡¯s ready to get Rina toe back home. Rina will


    get Mom¡¯s full attention if that happens, and I¡¯ll be practically invisible in this house. No. I can¡¯t allow Rina


    to return. My inheritance, the Gray Family¡¯s wealth, my parents¡¯ love¡­ All of that would be halved if


    Rina¡¯s back. I can¡¯t let that happen.


    Tina bit her lower lip and stered a smile on her face as she looked at her mother. ¡°That¡¯s great.


    Where¡¯s Rina now, Mom?¡± she asked in a careful tone. Tina wanted to know her sister¡¯s whereabouts so


    that she could get to her sister before her parents did. Tina wanted to get rid of Rina first.


    However, Julia¡¯s expression dimmed when she heard Tina¡¯s question. ¡°I only happened to find out about


    this today. I still don¡¯t know where Rina is for now.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Tina nodded slowly as she squeezed her


    brows together. Mom and Dad couldn¡¯t have been scammed, could they? Regardless, I¡¯ll still have to get


    to the bottom of this matter. Of course, everything would be fine if all of this was just fake news.


    However, if it¡¯s true, then I¡¯ll have to chase Rina off.


    I don¡¯t care about this ¡®sister¡¯ of mine, anyway. Tina continued to question her mother. ¡°How did you find


    out that Rina¡¯s still alive, Mom?¡± ¡°This ne.¡± Julia began to exin the incident that urred in DT


    Jewelry. Tina balled her hands into fists as she listened to her mother¡¯s story. It seems like that woman


    might really be Rina. I can¡¯t believe Rina¡¯s so lucky. How did she not die after all of that? ¡°I¡¯m having


    dinner at the Fullers tonight, Mom. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± Tina lowered her gaze as she rxed her


    clenched fists.


    She had to find Rina before they did¡ªit¡¯d be toote if her parents were to find Rina first. Julia nodded.


    ¡°Alright, off you go.¡± Tina nted a kiss on her mother¡¯s cheek before she strode off toward the exit. Julia


    turned back to her husband once Tina left. ¡°Let¡¯s try to find Rina as soon as possible, honey. I don¡¯t know


    how she has been in the past 20 years. My heart aches whenever I think of how she might have suffered


    during that period.¡± Julia pounded a fist against her chest. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I promise to find our daughter,


    and I promise that she¡¯ll be back with us soon.¡±


    Titus felt his heart aching at the sight of his wife¡¯s sorrow, and he quickly pulled her in for a tight hug.


    ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m worried that Rina might not want to return to us. What if she thinks that we didn¡¯t want her?


    What if she hates us because she thinks that we abandoned her?¡± Julia felt both excited and fearful to


    see her daughter. ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen. I¡¯m sure that Rina must be looking for us since she


    brought the ne over to ask about it,¡± Titus replied. Julia shook her head.


    ¡°ording to what the manager said, it seems like Rina already knew that you were the one who hired


    someone to design the ne. In that case, Rina must know that we¡¯re her parents. I¡¯m worried that


    she might not wish to approach us at all.¡± Titus sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s give her a few days. She might approach


    us by then. We can just look for her otherwise. We can use your ne¡ªwe¡¯d just have to upload a


    picture of it online.


    Rina will know that we¡¯re looking for her, and she¡¯ll understand that we didn¡¯t abandon her. She might


    come to us after that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Julia nodded. ¡­ Sonia had no idea that the Gray Family knew about


    her queries in the jewelry store. After she left the mall, Sonia drove to the hospital to meet Rose. She


    wanted to ask Rose for information regarding matters between the Reeds and the Grays 20 years ago.


    However, things didn¡¯t go as nned¡ªSonia¡¯s car broke down on the way to the hospital, and the tow


    truck took a long while to show up. She ended up waiting by the roadside in the cold weather for nearly


    two hours. ¡°That¡¯s Miss Reed, President Fuller!¡± Tom was in the car with Toby, and he eximed when


    he saw Sonia by the roadside. The elegant, ssy man in the back seat opened his eyes to nce out


    the window.


    He knitted his defined brows when he saw the girl waiting by the side of the road. What¡¯s she doing? It¡¯s


    freezing cold out there; why is she squatting by the side of the road?


    ¡°Make a U-turn,¡± Toby ordered. Tom immediately nodded and spun the wheel to turn back to where


    Sonia¡¯s car was stopped. The Maybach came to a halt in front of Sonia, and Tom rolled the window down


    to call her. ¡°Get in the car, Miss Reed.¡±

 Chapter 157

    Chapter 157


    Chapter 157,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia was surprised to see Tom, but she was even more surprised when he told her to get into the car.


    She nced toward the back seat window. It was tinted, so she couldn¡¯t tell if there was anyone sitting


    in the back. ¡°Do I have to do what you say?¡± She was reluctant to go along with Tom¡¯s words.


    ¡°President Fuller is the one who told you to get in,¡± Tom replied. ¡°No thanks.¡± Sonia¡¯s gaze darkened


    when she heard Toby¡¯s name.


    Simrly, Toby¡¯s expression dimmed when he heard her rejection from his seat in the back of the


    Maybach. He immediately lowered his window to stick his stern, cold face out in the cold air. ¡°Get in!¡±


    His voice made it clear that there was no room for negotiation. Sonia shifted her calm gaze toward him.


    ¡°I just said that there¡¯s no need for that, President Fuller. Don¡¯t you understand my words?¡± What¡¯s up


    with this guy?


    Isn¡¯t it normal for me to decline his offer? I¡¯m not rted to him, anyway. Who is he to get mad at me?


    What an odd guy. He frowned when he heard the impatience in her voice. He was tempted to get Tom


    to drive off since she refused to get in. But he held his temper back when he saw her rosy cheeks that


    were flushed from the piercing cold. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he asked in a deep voice. She could


    tell that he was tempted to leave, yet she didn¡¯t know what made him stay.


    She couldn¡¯t be bothered to guess what was going on in his mind. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for the tow truck,¡± she


    uttered tly. ¡°It looks like Miss Reed¡¯s car broke down, President Fuller,¡± Tom added after he took a


    nce at Sonia¡¯s car. Toby raised an eyebrow. I see. That exins why she¡¯s squatting by the side of


    the road. ¡°A major ident urred on the highway just miles away from here, and the roads haven¡¯t


    been cleared.


    I don¡¯t think the tow truck will reach you anytime soon. You can get into the car now, or you can


    continue to wait here until the skies turn dark,¡± Toby uttered. There was an ident. That¡¯s why the towThis content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    truck is taking so long, Sonia thought as she squeezed her brows together. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller.


    I can¡¯t leave my car here; things would get more troublesome for me if I do that.¡± Sonia pressed her lips


    together after she finished her sentence.


    She knew that her license might be revoked if she was caught leaving her car on the road. Toby shot


    his assistant a re after he heard what Sonia said. Tom tugged his lips into a bitter smile when he


    understood what Toby meant. ¡°Hop on, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll deal with your car.¡± ¡°You?¡± Sonia shot Tom a


    side-eye. He nodded. ¡°Yeah. I noticed that you checked your watch a couple of times in the past few


    minutes, Miss Reed. You must have urgent matters to handle.¡±


    Sonia parted her lips to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. She had already phoned Rose to


    tell her that she would drop by for a visit before her car broke down, and Rose had been happy about it.


    She knew that Rose would be disappointed if she didn¡¯t show up in the end. Tom continued to convince


    Sonia when he saw her contemting their offer. ¡°That¡¯s why I think you should get in the car, Miss


    Reed. You don¡¯t want to bete for your appointment.¡±


    Finally, Sonia took a deep breath before she looked into Toby¡¯s dark, bottomless pupils. ¡°Well¡­ Thank


    you, President Fuller.¡± Her red lips moved as she muttered her words of gratitude. Toby let out a grunt


    before he rolled the window up. Sonia watched as Tom got out of the car. ¡°Hold on. I left some things in


    my car,¡± she uttered.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Tom nodded with a smile. Sonia headed over to her car and retrieved the gifts she had bought


    for Rose before handing her car keys over to Tom. After Tom took her keys, Sonia walked back to


    Toby¡¯s Maybach. She went around the front of the car and opened the door to the front passenger¡¯s


    seat. However, she realized that Toby had already shifted to the driver¡¯s seat. She immediately


    changed her mind and shut the passenger¡¯s door with a nk expression on her face.


    Toby frowned as he watched her mming the passenger¡¯s door and opening the back seat door


    instead. Was that a look of disdain I saw on her face? Did she just refuse to sit in the passenger¡¯s seat


    beside me? ¡°Alright, President Fuller. You can start driving,¡± Sonia said bluntly once she ced the gift


    down beside her. Toby felt the urge tough amidst his anger. Does this woman think I¡¯m her


    driver? He looked at the woman through his rear mirror.


    She had turned her head sideways to look out the window. ¡°Where are you headed?¡± His thin lips


    parted as he spoke. ¡°The train station further down the road,¡± she uttered without looking at him. His


    expression faltered as he realized that she would rather get her own transport than let him send her to


    her destination. In the end, he lowered his gaze to conceal the frustration in his eyes before he started


    driving.


    Sonia seemed caught up in her thoughts as she nced at the view outside the window. She only


    turned back and grabbed onto the driver¡¯s seat when she realized that the car had gone past the train


    station. ¡°You¡¯ve passed the station, President Fuller!¡± she cried in a furious voice. ¡°I know.¡± Toby¡¯s gaze


    was fixed on the road as he responded in a cold tone. ¡°Did you do that on purpose?¡± She bit on her lip.


    A smug look unconsciously shed across his gaze as he nodded. ¡°Where are you headed? You can


    tell me your new destination now.¡± ¡°You¡­¡±


    Sonia smacked the backrest of the driver¡¯s seat in anger. He smirked when he saw her doing so. ¡°I¡¯m


    going to continue going straight if you won¡¯t tell me where to go.¡± ¡°I¡¯m headed to the hospital to visit


    Grandma.¡± Sonia shot him a re before she gave him the answer he wanted. Since when did this guy


    ever enjoy driving others to their destination? I¡¯m speechless¡ªhow could he y such games just


    because I didn¡¯t want him to send me directly to the hospital?


    Toby seemed somewhat surprised when he heard that Sonia was headed to visit Rose. He had


    assumed that she was on the way to visit Charles¡¯s parents when he first saw all the health


    supplements that Sonia had prepared as a gift. For some reason, Toby felt his mood lifting after he


    heard Sonia¡¯s ns. Sonia, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t in a good mood at all. Her expression was dark


    and grim on their way to the hospital. When they finally arrived, Sonia got out of the car and thanked


    Toby before she strode directly into the hospital¡¯s main entrance.


    Toby followed behind her, and he chuckled when he saw the way she stormed off into the building. Is


    she still mad? He had never seen her angry when she was with the Fullers¡ªshe always had the same,


    stoic expression on her face. Even her smiles looked forced back then. Her every action used to be


    filled with despair¡ªjust the sight of it used to annoy him. He had never seen this amount of energy in


    her. It was clear that she had never been happy while she was living with the Fullers.


    Toby decided that the divorce was the right decision after all. Although he knew that the divorce felt like


    a relief to Sonia, he couldn¡¯t exin why he didn¡¯t experience the same sense of freedom after that. If


    anything, he felt heavier after their divorce. Furthermore, the sense of heaviness seemed to be


    more evident as time went on. He was afraid to even consider the reason he felt so heavy¡ªhis gut


    feeling told him that it was something he didn¡¯t want to know. He knew that his life would fall apart once


    he truly understood his feelings.


    At that thought, Toby wiped off the smile on his face and returned to his usual cold demeanor. Soon


    enough, they arrived at Rose¡¯s ward. The door was open, and Mary was nowhere to be seen, so Sonia


    knocked on the door before she stepped in. Rose was reading a book on the bed, and she lifted her


    head up when she heard someone knocking. A loving grin spread across Rose¡¯s face once she saw


    who her visitor was. ¡°Sonia! Come in!¡±


    Rose gestured for her guest to enter. ¡°I¡¯m here to visit you, Grandma.¡± Sonia walked in with her gifts.


    Rose was about to nag at Sonia for buying her so many gifts when she noticed another figure that was


    entering the room. ¡°Toby?¡± Rose shot Sonia a look of utter surprise before she turned back to Toby.


    ¡°Did you guyse over together?¡± ¡°No. I just bumped into President Fuller at the elevator. That¡¯s why


    we came up together,¡± Sonia exined with a smile.


    Toby understood why Sonia told such a lie¡ªhe knew that she didn¡¯t want Rose to overthink their


    rtionship. Rose would have gotten her hopes up, and she would have expected them to get married


    again otherwise. Although Toby knew that Sonia had made the right move, he still felt uneasy after


    hearing what she said.


    Am I some sort of disease? Why does she have to try so hard to avoid me? ¡°That¡¯s right, Grandma.¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression was glum as he agreed to Sonia¡¯s story. Rose let out a rather disappointed sigh. ¡°I


    see. I thought you guys came over together.¡± One look at Rose¡¯s face was all it took for Sonia to


    understand the situation.


    Rose has never given up on hoping for Toby and me to remarry to each other, huh? Sonia beamed and


    changed the topic immediately. ¡°How have you been feeling, Grandma?¡±

 Chapter 158

    Chapter 158


    ¡°I feel much better,¡± the old woman replied with a smile. Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± All of a


    sudden, Rose pointed toward the end of her bed as if she had just recalled something. ¡°Mary¡¯s son


    dropped by to visit her yesterday, Sonia. He brought Mary some pineapples from home. You like


    pineapples, don¡¯t you? You should bring some home for yourself.¡± Sonia turned toward the basketful of


    pineapples.


    She felt her mouth watering just at the sight of it. She was just about to nod and thank Rose when Toby


    spoke up. ¡°No!¡± Rose frowned immediately. The smile on Sonia¡¯s face faltered as Rose shot Toby a


    rather disapproving stare. ¡°Why not? I¡¯m the one who¡¯s giving it to Sonia. Do I need to ask for your


    permission?¡± I¡¯ve never realized how stingy of a man my grandson is. Why is he being so selfish over a


    few pineapples! On the other hand, Sonia kept her lips sealed. She didn¡¯t feel angry at all. They were just


    pineapples, after all; she didn¡¯t see the need to lose her temper just because he refused to give her


    some. Toby realized how the two other women must have misunderstood him when he saw the grim


    looks on both their faces. ¡°She¡¯s not supposed to eat pineapples,¡± he muttered as he lowered his gaze.


    For some reason, Toby found himself doing research on things that pregnant women had to watch out for


    after he heard the news of Sonia¡¯s pregnancy.


    He went through the list of foods that pregnant women weren¡¯t supposed to eat, and pineapples were


    one of the items listed there. ¡°Why not?!¡± Rose shifted her cold re toward Toby. It was evident that she


    was going to bicker with him until he provided her with a reasonable exnation for his words.


    Sonia turned to look at Toby as well. She didn¡¯t understand why he would say that she couldn¡¯t eat


    pineapples. Toby pressed his thin lips together as he thought about how he should exin himself. Sonia


    hadn¡¯t told the public about her pregnancy, so he was in no position to reveal such information about her.


    After some thought, Toby¡¯s eyes lit up as he came up with an answer. ¡°Mary was the one who gave this


    to you. How could you offer it to someone else? What would Mary think? You should get Mary to blend it


    into pineapple juice for you or something.¡±


    Rose¡¯s hands were trembling with fury at that point. ¡°Is this the reason you won¡¯t allow Sonia to take


    some pineapples? Great, Toby. Great job! You must have been spending a lot of time with Jean¡ªthat


    would exin why you¡¯re acting as stingy as she is. Look at how much of a miser you are! I should have


    never allowed Jean to take care of you while you were growing up.¡± The corner of Toby¡¯s lips twitched a


    little as he listened to his grandmother criticizing him for being a selfish person.


    His gaze shifted to look at Sonia before he realized what he was doing. He didn¡¯t want her to think of him


    as that sort of person. ¡°You can bring some pineapples home, Sonia. Please just ignore him. These are


    my pineapples; he has no say in my decision.¡± Rose gave Toby another angry stare as she spoke in a


    stern and upromising tone.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± The more Toby didn¡¯t want her to have the pineapples, the more she wanted to


    get some for herself. She felt happy whenever Toby was unhappy. She didn¡¯t even bother to hide the


    mockery in her eyes as she nced toward Toby. Toby felt likeughing when he noticed the way she


    looked at him. Whatever. She can take it if she wants to. I¡¯ll just find a way to get rid of the pineapples


    after that.


    I can¡¯t allow her to eat any of it. ¡°Why are you just standing around? Why aren¡¯t you pouring Sonia some


    water?¡± Rose continued to pick on Toby when she saw him standing as still as a stick by the side of the


    room. After the incident that had just urred, Rose felt displeased by her grandson. He used to be


    such a smart and good kid; what happened to him? Toby simply let out a grunt before he got a paper cup


    and filled it with water from the water dispenser.


    Once the cup was full, he walked over to Sonia and handed it to her. ¡°Thank you,¡± Sonia replied politely


    as she took the cup from him. ¡°Watch out. It¡¯s hot,¡± he mumbled a reminder. Rose shot him a puzzled


    look once she heard what he said. Is he showing care toward Sonia right now? Meanwhile, Sonia didn¡¯t


    recognize anything out of the ordinary. She was used to receiving such reminders, after all. She would


    have given someone else the same reminder if she were ced in his position, so she didn¡¯t sense


    anything odd about the situation.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    After blowing the water to cool it down, Sonia took a sip of it. She let out a confused cry right after that.


    ¡°What is it, Sonia?¡± Rose asked concernedly. Sonia shot Toby a puzzled expression. ¡°Did you put honey


    in here, President Fuller?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Do you not like it?¡± He didn¡¯t realize the hint of


    nervousness that coated his voice as he spoke. Rose, on the other hand, jolted with surprise as she


    sensed something that Sonia didn¡¯t; she was experienced and wise¡ªSonia was no match for her.


    She had suspected that Toby was caring for Sonia ever since their earlier conversations. Once she


    heard that Toby had added honey into Sonia¡¯s drink, and once she heard his voice as he asked Sonia if


    she liked it, things were much clearer to her. I¡¯m sure that Toby still has feelings for Sonia! But that silly


    boy doesn¡¯t know it himself! Rose grew increasingly annoyed at the young man as she thought about his


    cluelessness.


    Meanwhile, Sonia responded to him with a polite smile. ¡°I do. I was just a little surprised. Thanks,


    President Fuller.¡± Toby lifted his chin up as he secretly let out a sigh of relief. ¡°No worries.¡± It seemed like


    she wasn¡¯t angry, although he had made the decision to add honey on his own. Toby curled his lips into a


    lopsided smile as he thought about it happily. ¡°You idiot!¡± Rose nced at Toby through the corner of her


    eye. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.


    ¡°Are you talking about me, Grandma?¡± What did I do? How am I an idiot? Even Sonia looked at Rose


    perplexedly. The old woman let out a scoff. ¡°Who else could I be talking about?¡± What else can you call


    someone who isn¡¯t aware of his own feelings? He¡¯s obviously an idiot! Toby pressed his lips together as


    he felt rather hurt. He was just about to question his grandmother¡¯s words when his phone rang. He


    knitted his brows and pulled his phone out.


    A series ofplicated emotions shed across his eyes when he saw that it was Tina who was calling


    him. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you picking it up?¡± Rose asked. Toby parted his lips to say something, but he remained


    silent in the end. He didn¡¯t want to pick up the call, not in front of his grandmother and his¡­ He then shot


    Sonia a nce. Sonia pulled the corner of her lips downward. Weirdo! Why is he looking at me? She


    turned her head away.


    Finally, Toby decided to pick up the call as he felt displeased by Sonia¡¯s cold and heartless gestures.


    ¡°Hello, Tina.¡± He held the phone against his ear and walked toward the balcony. ¡°It¡¯s that woman again,¡±


    Rose grumbled with an unhappy look on her face. Sonia smiled. ¡°Miss Gray is President Fuller¡¯s fianc¨¦e.


    Isn¡¯t it normal for them to phone each other?¡± ¡°Well, that idiot walks around like a blind man. He can¡¯t


    even tell that the woman has evil intentions.¡±


    Rose pouted as she spoke. She could tell that Toby didn¡¯t genuinely like Tina. However, she didn¡¯t


    understand why he seemed so stubborn about his rtionship with Tina¡ªhe stubbornly believed that


    what they had was love. That was one of the reasons why he couldn¡¯t tell that his true love was Sonia,


    and that was why Rose thought he was such an idiot. ¡°I think President Fuller is aware of that. He knows


    who Miss Gray truly is, but I don¡¯t think he minds it,¡± Sonia said while brushing her hair aside. Rose


    scoffed.


    ¡°Forget about that woman. Let¡¯s talk about you, Sonia.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Sonia pointed a finger toward herself. The


    old woman let out a soft chuckle. ¡°Yeah. I want you to be honest with me, Sonia. Do you still have any


    thoughts about Toby?¡± Rose decided that she would have to step up and do something about the


    situation if Sonia said yes to her question. Rose would do everything she could to chase Tina out and


    bring Sonia and Toby back together. The olddy wanted her grandson to recognize the truth¡ªthat


    Sonia was the one he loved. Sonia shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any feelings for Toby anymore, Grandma.¡± The olddy¡¯s face stiffened. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    She clearly didn¡¯t trust Sonia. ¡°I am sure!¡± Sonia nodded furiously. Rose let out a disappointed sigh when


    she saw how sincere and serious Sonia looked. ¡°Forget it, then.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandma.


    I¡­¡± Sonia started. Rose gave her a warm smile at that point. ¡°You have nothing to be sorry about. I was


    around to witness the way Toby treated you, and I think it¡¯s only normal that you no longer have feelings


    for him.


    I just didn¡¯t expect you to lose feelings so soon.¡± Sonia lowered her gaze. ¡°I didn¡¯t take a long time to lose


    feelings because I was so disappointed by him,¡± she muttered. ¡°I understand.¡± Rose sighed. On the


    balcony outside, Toby lowered his hand that had been about to push the sliding door open. His head was


    hung low so that no one could see the look on his face.

 Chapter 159

    Chapter 159


    This wasn¡¯t the first time Toby heard Sonia saying she didn¡¯t love him. However, he had never taken it to


    heart¡ªhe had always assumed that she only said those words out of anger. He knew how much she


    cared for him in the past few years, after all. But Toby only came to a realization when he saw Sonia


    talking to Rose in a calm and civil manner¡ªhe realized that Sonia hadn¡¯t said those words to infuriate


    him after all. She told Rose that she no longer loved him because that was the truth. At that moment,


    Toby felt a sharp and distinct ache in his heart, followed by a hollow sensation in his chest. He felt as if


    someone had taken something important away from him right then. Rose caught sight of his rather pale


    expression from the corner of her eye, and she shook her head as she let out a sigh. ¡°I thought that I


    could do something to bring you two back together if you still had feelings for Toby, but¡­ Ah, I guess this


    isn¡¯t all bad.¡±


    The married couple¡¯s rtionship used to be distant and cold in the past because Toby didn¡¯t have


    feelings for Sonia back then. Now, Sonia¡¯s the one who doesn¡¯t have feelings for Toby. History would


    repeat itself if they got back together now, Rose thought. ¡°I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Grandma.


    But I know that things between President Fuller and me will never work out,¡± Sonia uttered as she held


    onto the old woman¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disappointing you, Grandma.¡± ¡°What are you talking about, you silly girl? I¡¯d rather see you


    happy than force you to be together with Toby. Look at your petite little face! You look so energetic


    nowadays. You used to look so worn out in the past¡ªyou didn¡¯t even look like a young woman in your


    twenties back then. I think you¡¯re doing a lot better now.¡± Rose cackled at the end of her sentence. Sonia


    laughed along with Rose¡ªthe tension and worry in Sonia¡¯s heart disappeared when she saw that Rose


    didn¡¯t me her for anything. A whileter, she pulled out the ne that had been lying under her


    shirt¡ªshe recalled something that she had wanted to do. ¡°I forgot to mention that I paid a visit to the old


    house recently, Grandma. I found a ne there. Look¡ªis this the ne you were talking


    about?¡± A ne?


    Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed when he overheard their conversation from the balcony. What ne? Rose


    lifted Sonia¡¯s ne and took a look at it. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if this is the right one. Your dad was in a rush


    back then; he didn¡¯t tell me what the ne looked like specifically. I¡¯m not too sure either.¡± ¡°This was


    the only ne I found in the house. There weren¡¯t any other nes,¡± Sonia said as she lowered


    the pendant onto her chest.


    ¡°I guess this is the right one, then,¡± Rose replied with a nod. Sonia bit on her lower lip before she spoke.


    ¡°This ne looks really simr to the one that Julia wears around her neck. I went to the store and


    asked about it¡ªthey said that our nes were made as a pair for both mother and daughter. Julia¡¯s


    ne is the mother¡¯s one, while the one I¡¯m holding onto is the daughter¡¯s ne. I just don¡¯t


    understand why Tina¡¯s ne would show up in my house.¡±


    ¡°Did you say that this ne belongs to the Gray Family?¡± Rose was stunned upon hearing Sonia¡¯s


    words. Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah. Titus was the one who got someone to design the nes a little more


    than 20 years ago. It was made as a gift for Julia and their newborn child, Tina.¡± ¡°I remember now,¡± Rose


    said with a smile. ¡°If the nes are really meant for the Grays, then the one with you isn¡¯t for Tina. It


    was supposed to be for Rina.¡±


    ¡°Rina?¡± Sonia tilted her head puzzledly. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sensation bubbling in


    her chest once she heard that name. However, the feeling didn¡¯tst for long¡ªit disappeared almost


    immediately. ¡°That¡¯s right. The ne belonged to Rina, who¡¯s the Grays¡¯ eldest daughter. The whole


    Seafield was talking about it when Titus bought the nes¡ªeveryone was envious of Julia. However,


    Titus didn¡¯t do anything simr when they had Tina, so this ne must belong to the eldest daughter.¡±


    Upon hearing Rose¡¯s story, Sonia lowered her head to nce at the ne. ¡°So the Gray Family has


    more than one daughter, huh. Why haven¡¯t I ever heard them talking about their eldest daughter?¡± ¡°Their


    eldest daughter died at a very young age,¡± Toby said as he pushed the door to let himself back into the


    room. Sonia widened her eyes in shock. ¡°She died?¡± Rose nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well, what¡¯s this ne


    doing in my house then?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t understand the situation. Toby shot her a nce. ¡°Do you want to know the answer?¡± he


    asked. ¡°Do you know the answer?¡± Sonia met his gaze. He didn¡¯t give her a direct answer to that


    question. ¡°I did some research on Rina when I first heard that Tina had an elder sister.


    Rina¡¯s death is rted to your father.¡± ¡°My father?¡± Sonia leaped to her feet as she was too surprised.


    Rose shook her head slowly. ¡°All of this is due to the grudges held across the generations,¡± she


    muttered. Sonia¡¯s lips trembled when she next spoke. ¡°The incident that happened between the Grays


    and the Reeds all those years ago¡­ Does that have something to do with Rina¡¯s death?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Toby


    looked at her.


    Sonia merely ignored him as she grabbed Rose¡¯s arm and continued to speak. ¡°Apart from paying you a


    visit, I¡¯m also here to ask if something had happened between the Grays and the Reeds in the past.


    That¡¯s the only exnation for how the ne showed up at the Reeds¡¯ ce.¡± Sonia made her guess


    ording to the information she had so far. ¡°Judging by what you said earlier, it seems like you might


    know something about this, Grandma.


    Please tell me about it. What happened between the two families? How is Rina¡¯s death rted to my


    father? My father talked about a secret underlying the nes; was this what he was referring to?¡±


    Sonia eyed Rose with a pleading look in her eyes. Rose reached a hand out to stroke Sonia¡¯s head.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you about it. I know that you¡¯d find other ways to get to the bottom of the story, even if I


    refuse to tell you right now.


    I¡¯d rather be the one to tell you about it. But I have to say, I hadn¡¯t expected the ne that your father


    was talking about to belong to the Grays.¡± ¡°Thank you, Grandma.¡± Tears of joy welled up in Sonia¡¯s eyes.


    She had been worried that the olddy would refuse to tell her about it. Toby felt his insides twisting


    when he saw Sonia¡¯s tears, and he immediately reached into his coat pocket to pull out a handkerchief


    for her.


    ¡°Here, wipe your tears off.¡± Sonia looked dumbfounded for a moment before she shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s


    fine. I have my own.¡± She proceeded to pull out a packet of tissue from her bag without looking at his


    handkerchief at all. Toby shifted his gaze downward as his expression darkened. He tightened his fingers


    around his handkerchief before he kept it away. Serves him right, Rose thought when she saw the look


    on his face.


    ¡°Okay, Grandma. You can start telling me now.¡± Sonia tugged her lips into a smile once she dried her


    tears. After Rose cleared her throat, she began with her story. ¡°More than 20 years ago, Paradigm Co.


    invented a brand-new machine that had the ability to increase the quality of production. Your father was


    ted when he found out about it as he knew that Paradigm Co. finally had a chance tounch this


    product.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    But one day before that happened¡­¡± ¡°What happened one day before that?¡± Sonia sped her palms


    together as she looked at the old woman anxiously. Rose patted Sonia¡¯s hands sympathetically. ¡°Titus


    somehow found out about the existence of this machine, and he ordered someone to steal the data


    away. Needless to say, Paradigm Co. failed tounch the product, and the main researchermitted


    suicide as he was too disappointed.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Did something like that happen?¡± Even Toby furrowed his brows¡ªhe


    clearly hadn¡¯t heard this part of the story. Toby knew that Titus used hical tactics in his business, but


    Toby had never thought much about it. The enterprising field was a harsh ce, after all¡ªit was normal


    for people to employ some immoral tactics. The government wouldn¡¯t interfere as long as these


    entrepreneurs didn¡¯t go out of line with their actions.


    However, no one had expected Titus tomit such an evil deed. He stole anotherpany¡¯s


    confidential information, and he even indirectly murdered someone! ¡°Your father became a public target


    after this incident.


    After the loss of the machine¡¯s data and the suicide of his main researcher, your father didn¡¯t just need to


    comfort the people in Paradigm Co.; he also had to handle the hugepensation amounts. Your father


    lost his temper when he couldn¡¯t fork out the money forpensation, so he decided to kidnap Titus¡¯s


    eldest daughter,¡± Rose uttered before heaving a sigh.

 Chapter 160

    Chapter 160


    I see. So that¡¯s what happened, Toby thought as he pressed his lips together. He knew that Henry


    kidnapped Rina in the past, but he had no idea that Titus was the one who forced Henry into it. It seems


    like I have to be more thorough when I¡¯m investigating a particr matter; all these illusions might blind


    my eyes from the truth otherwise. Titus¡¯s expression had been filled with hatred when hest spoke to


    me about Henry, but I just find that hrious right now. I


    can¡¯t believe Ipletely fell for Titus¡¯s narrative when he told me that Henry had wronged the Gray


    Family. At that thought, Toby shifted his gaze toward Sonia. His eyes were filled with remorse and guilt.


    He felt sorry because he concluded that Sonia¡¯s father was a bad man after listening to one side of the


    story. Meanwhile, Sonia didn¡¯t have the time to look at Toby¡¯s reaction. She simply lowered her head to


    hold onto the ne. That¡¯s why this ne was in the Reed Residence,¡± she muttered. She figured


    that her father must have removed this ne from Rina when he first kidnapped her. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡±


    Rose said with a nod. ¡°How did Rina die in the end?¡± Sonia asked. She had a bold guess in her mind,


    but it was a guess that she didn¡¯t wish to make. Rose studied Sonia¡¯s expression for a while before she


    slowly parted her lips to speak.


    ¡°Your father drowned her in the river, right in front of Titus and Julia¡¯s eyes.¡± Sonia¡¯s guess was right, but


    the revtion was still a bombshell to her. Her vision turned ck as she felt the world around her


    spinning. She felt herself falling as her stance grew unsteady. Upon seeing that, Toby held her by her


    shoulders before he pressed her close to his chest. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Sonia bit her lower lip as


    she replied to him in a weak voice.


    At the same time, Rose eyed the younger woman concernedly. ¡°You should sit down,¡± she suggested.


    Thus, Toby helped Sonia to the couch, where she sat with her limbs trembling. ¡°H-How could Dad¡­ do


    such an idiotic thing?¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t believe that her father had drowned a young child. It exined why


    Titus had been so cruel to her father six years ago, for Titus was also avenging his daughter¡¯s


    death. That¡¯s right. Your father was silly to have done that. However, his actions were understandable¡ª


    Titus had forced him into a corner, and it¡¯s easier for one to do stupid things when they are feeling


    impulsive.¡± Rose stroked Sonia¡¯s hair sympathetically. Sonia squeezed her eyes shut. ¡°He was way too


    impulsive.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think that there¡¯s something odd about this whole story?¡± Toby spoke up all of


    a sudden. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Sonia raised her head. ¡°If your father drowned Rina right in front of Titus and Julia¡¯s eyes, why didn¡¯t he


    end up in jail? Judging by how unforgiving and vindictive Titus is, he¡¯d never let your father and Paradigm


    Co. get off so easily. Yet, that was what he did. Titus didn¡¯t get thew involved after what your father did,


    and he even allowed your father to continue expanding Paradigm Co. Titus onlyunched his attack on


    your father and thepany six years ago,¡± he said.


    Sonia seemed to realize something at that point. ¡°That¡¯s true. Why is that so? Do you know the answer,


    Grandma?¡± Sonia turned to look at the old woman. Rose shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about this


    either. I¡¯m guessing that your father and Titus had some sort of agreement back then. There¡¯s no other


    way to exin it.¡± ¡°I guess so. One way or another, the hatred between the Gray and Reed Families is


    absolutely irreconcble,¡± Sonia muttered as she bit her bottom lip.


    Titus was the one who started the conflict between both families. Although Henry had killed Titus¡¯s


    daughter, Titus was the one who forced Henry to his death. The resentment between both of them might


    be gone since Sonia¡¯s father was dead, but that didn¡¯t mean that things were settled between Paradigm


    Co. and Titus. I¡¯m going to get even with him! Sonia thought. Toby felt the urge to get rid of the hatred


    that he saw in Sonia¡¯s eyes.


    Her beautiful eyes shouldn¡¯t be filled with such anger. However, I know that I no longer have the right to


    help her get rid of this hatred. Her icy voice sounded in his ears as he thought about his rtionship with


    her. ¡°I would like to destroy both Triforce Enterprise and the Gray Family, President Fuller.¡± He wasn¡¯t


    surprised by her words, for he had managed to guess her thoughts through the hostility he observed in


    her eyes. ¡°So?¡±


    Toby asked as he looked at her. ¡°So, are you going to meddle with my affairs?¡± Sonia met his gaze with


    an emotionless expression. He frowned upon hearing her words. What does she mean? Why is she


    looking at me like that? Is she saying that she will go against me if I decide to meddle with her affairs?


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know your answer, President Fuller. Will you step in and support the Gray family?!¡± Sonia


    repeated her question when Toby didn¡¯t respond to her the first time. Rose hastily replied on behalf of


    him. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯d never support it if Toby were to stand on the Gray Family¡¯s side.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to hear


    him say it himself, Grandma,¡± Sonia uttered. If it weren¡¯t for Rose, Sonia wouldn¡¯t care whether Toby


    wished to help the Grays. It¡¯d be great if he didn¡¯t support them, but Sonia knew that she would attack


    them all at once if Toby were to support the Grays.


    She would give everything up just to fight them until the very end. However, she posed Toby the question


    to Toby because she cared for Rose. Toby was Rose¡¯s grandson, and Rose had to be mentally prepared


    just in case Toby were to support the Grays. If Sonia went against Toby in the end, she knew that Rose


    would be disheartened. ¡°I won¡¯t support them,¡± Toby said with his gaze lowered. It was Titus¡¯s fault to


    begin with, so the Grays had to pay for what they had done. Toby knew that he wouldn¡¯t let Tina suffer


    even if she had lost the Gray Family.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I hope you stick to your promise. If you go against your own words the way you did thest


    time, I¡¯ll risk my life just to make sure that you suffer forever,¡± Sonia threatened in a firm tone. Toby¡¯s


    pupils shrank as he clenched his fists tightly. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± She¡¯s serious this time. She¡¯s surely going to


    make me suffer if I go against my words. For example, she might kill Tina, or she might even kill


    herself¡­ he thought.


    ¡°What did you do in the past? Why did you break your promise to Sonia?¡± Rose turned to look at Toby.


    He was distracted by the old woman¡¯s sudden question. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much.¡± Toby¡¯s gaze dimmed as he


    tried to avoid the question. Then, he nced at Sonia in hopes that Sonia would y along with him.


    Rose would definitely be shocked if she found out that Tina had shoved Sonia down the stairs. Sonia


    was well-aware of this, so she dly yed along with Toby.N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    ¡°Alright, Grandma. Everything¡¯s over now, so you don¡¯t have to know about it. I don¡¯t want to talk about it


    either. Right now, I have something that I¡¯m more concerned about. Since I know the secret behind this


    ne, I only have onest question regarding this matter. Why did my father want me to find this


    ne?¡± He wouldn¡¯t need me to find this ne if he just wanted me to get revenge for him.


    He should know that I¡¯d avenge his death as long as I know that Titus was the reason for it. There has to


    be more to this story¡ªthis ne must be useful in some other way. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Your father


    mentioned that it was rted to a huge secret, and this secret should be the incident from 20 years ago


    ¡ªthe one that I just told you. I¡¯m not sure if there¡¯s anything else to this story.¡± Rose shook her head.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia let out a long sigh. Rose smiled as sheforted the younger woman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You should just keep the ne for now. You might find the answer to your question


    someday.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± Sonia beamed in response. ¡°It¡¯ste. I should leave now, Grandma. The skies


    are turning dark.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get Toby to send you back.¡± Rose turned to Toby as she spoke. ¡°Send her


    home,¡± she said to Toby. ¡°Okay.¡± He quicklyplied with Rose¡¯s words, and he retrieved his car keys to


    send Sonia home, but Sonia rejected their offer in a t tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Grandma. I¡¯ll just hail a cab outside the hospital. I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble President Fuller.


    Goodbye.¡± With that, Sonia smiled at Rose and picked her bag up before leaving the room. She didn¡¯t


    even throw as much as a nce in Toby¡¯s direction before she left. Toby pressed his thin lips together.


    His legs instinctively began moving to go after Sonia. ¡°Stand right there!¡± Rose stopped him with a stern


    tone. ¡°Yes, Grandma?¡±


    Toby¡¯s footsteps came to a halt. ¡°What are you doing? Didn¡¯t Sonia just say that she doesn¡¯t need you to


    send her home?¡± Rose red at him. Sheesh. You had a chance to send her home in the past, but you


    didn¡¯t cherish it. Now, you¡¯re insisting on sending her back when she doesn¡¯t want you to do it. You need


    to consider her opinion as well!


    Toby¡¯s thin lips twitched, looking as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth in


    the end. Rose let out a sigh. ¡°Do you regret your actions now?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes glistened, but he still retorted


    indignantly, ¡°What?¡± The old woman gave him a cold scoff. ¡°You can continue faking it if you wish to.


    I was asking if you regret getting a divorce with Sonia.¡± At that moment, Toby felt as if someone had


    grabbed his heart and twisted it around. He could feel a sore ache in his chest. He had to lower his


    eyelids to conceal the emotions he felt. ¡°No,¡± he replied.

 Chapter 161

    Chapter 161


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Rose asked with a faint smile. Toby hardened his tone as he responded for a second


    time. ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve already said that I had no regrets in the past. I didn¡¯t have any regrets back then,


    and I won¡¯t have any regrets in the future.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? I see.¡± The old woman nodded without


    commenting any further. He said that he has no regrets and will not have any regrets in the future. Is he


    sure about that? The olddy chuckled.


    I sure hope he doesn¡¯t feel embarrassed when he looks back at his own words. ¡°By the way, I hope you


    can keep our conversation with Sonia today a secret. You should keep your mouth sealed, especially


    with Tina and the Gray Family, do you hear me?¡± Rose warned Toby with a stern look in her eyes. He


    could tell that he would be in trouble if he ever went against her words. ¡°I got it. I¡¯m not going to tell


    anyone about it.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I¡¯ve already promised Sonia that I won¡¯t help the Grays, so I won¡¯t mention anything to them,¡± Toby


    replied as he lifted his chin. ¡°Alright. Then, you should¡­¡± Before Rose finished her sentence, she caught


    sight of the pineapples lying by the front of the bed. The old woman smacked a hand against her bed.


    ¡°Sonia forgot about her pineapples!¡± Rose eximed. Toby¡¯s eyes glinted; he had been aware of the fact


    that Sonia had forgotten about her pineapples from the very start.


    Yet, he didn¡¯t remind her about it. Consuming pineapples could potentially lead to uterine contractions, so


    Sonia wasn¡¯t supposed to have any of it. ¡°Hurry up and bring some over to Sonia. She¡¯s probably still on


    hospital grounds now.¡± Rose shoved a basketful of pineapples into Toby¡¯s arms before she urged him to


    go after Sonia. Toby agreed to hand it to Sonia, but he simply passed the pineapples to one of the


    hospital staff members once he walked out of the ward.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was still waiting for a cab outside the hospital. All of a sudden, she caught the strong


    smell of meat that came from a barbeque restaurant opposite the hospital. Everyone else had their


    mouths watering when they smelled the scrumptious scent of meat, but Sonia¡¯s expression changed as


    she felt nausea building up within her. She immediately covered her mouth before she rushed over to the


    bushes by the side.


    Then, she lowered her body to vomit, but nothing much came out apart from mouthfuls of stomach acid.


    Sonia knew that it was her body¡¯s natural response to her pregnancy; she would feel a strong urge to


    puke whenever she inhaled any strong or oily scents. ¡°Blergh!¡± She had only felt better for a short while


    before she felt nausea assailing her again. That made her lower herself to vomit once more. Her entire


    face was pale, and cold sweat trickled down her forehead; she was clearly suffering.


    Toby found her in such a state the moment he walked out of the hospital. With a grim expression on his


    face, he headed over to the nearest store to buy her a bottle of warm water. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he said as


    he edged closer to her. He opened the bottle cap and handed the water to her. Sonia didn¡¯t want to


    ept his kindness at first, but she gave in as she couldn¡¯t tolerate the sour taste in her mouth. With the


    water he gave, she gargled her mouth twice and waited for the sour taste to wear off before she began to


    drink some of the water.


    She felt much better after a few gulps of water, and the uneasy feeling in her stomach seemed to have


    disappeared. Thus, she could finally let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you for the water, President


    Fuller. How much is it? I¡¯ll bank transfer the amount to you.¡± She pulled her phone out as she spoke. His


    expression darkened immediately. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. It¡¯s just a bottle of water.¡± ¡°Of course there¡¯s


    a need for me to pay you the money.


    I can¡¯t just ept your kindness without any reason.¡± Sonia opened her purse to pull out some cash


    when she saw that he refused to receive her bank transfer. ¡°This money is for the water and the car ride


    over to the hospital.¡± She pushed one of thergest bills she had into his palm. The air around Toby


    seemed to freeze when he spoke. ¡°Are you really that desperate to cut all ties with me, Sonia?¡± She


    eyed him puzzledly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? We can call ourselves a divorced couple, but in other words, that just means that


    we¡¯re two people who have nothing to do with each other. Since that¡¯s the case, I believe we should cut


    all ties so that neither one of us owes the other person anything. Wouldn¡¯t that be ideal for both of us?¡±


    Toby clenched his fist as he found himself at a loss for words. She¡¯s right. We¡¯re practically strangers


    who aren¡¯t rted to each other in any way. What she¡¯s doing isn¡¯t wrong, but I just feel really displeased


    for some reason. ¡°Alright, President Fuller.


    I¡¯ll make a move now.¡± Sonia wasn¡¯t interested in his thoughts, so she simply tightened the bottle cap


    before she walked past him. Then, she headed back to the spot where she had been trying to hail a cab


    earlier. However, she only took two steps before she was struck by a sudden wave of dizziness. Toby


    rushed forward and held her up the moment he saw her staggering. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He managed to


    stop her from copsing onto the ground. His brows were tightly knit, and his eyes were filled with


    concern for her. Sonia was shocked when she first realized it, and she even wondered if she was


    hallucinating for a moment.


    After blinking her eyes twice, she saw that he was still looking at her with the same, concerned


    expression in his eyes. That¡¯s weird, she thought. Does he actually care about me? Is he losing his mind,


    or is there something wrong with this world? ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Sonia shook her head as she pulled her arm away


    from him. ¡°You nearly fainted moments ago. How could you say you¡¯re fine?¡± Toby asked as he stared at


    her ghastly pale face.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nothing. My blood sugar¡¯s low, that¡¯s all,¡± Sonia replied tly. That was what the doctor told her


    when shest went for a check-up¡ªshe knew she would experience bouts of dizziness whenever her


    blood sugar was low. It was a prettymon side effect of pregnancy, so Sonia didn¡¯t feel too bothered


    by it. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Toby still looked rather worried. ¡°Yeah,¡± she mumbled with a nod. ¡°What should you


    do to make sure that your blood sugar levels don¡¯t fall too much?¡± he continued asking. Sonia sneered in


    response. ¡°I¡¯m not Miss Gray, President Fuller.


    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate for you to be so concerned about me, right?¡± He sucked his lips inward. ¡°I just


    don¡¯t want my grandmother to get upset. She¡¯d be worried if anything happened to you,¡± he muttered.


    Sonia stopped smirking when she heard what he said. ¡°Alright. There isn¡¯t much to be done. I just have


    to eat to make sure my blood sugar stays at a normal level, that¡¯s all,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°What type of


    foods do you need to eat to do that?¡±


    Toby looked at her. When she heard that, she tilted her head sideways. There was a look of slight


    uncertainty on her petite face. ¡°Um, candy, I guess?¡± Toby tugged his lips into a smile. ¡°I thought you¡¯d


    know the answer to that question.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a doctor. Why should I know the answer? Forget it. Why are


    we even having this conversation? I¡¯m leaving now. Goodbye.¡± Sonia waved at him before she turned to


    leave.


    Before she could take her first step, Toby reached his arms forward and lifted her into a bridal-style carry.


    After freezing for a moment, Sonia felt her entire face turning beet red as she tried to wrestle her way out


    of his arms. ¡°What are you doing, Toby? Put me down!¡± Toby tightened his grip around her as he strode


    directly toward his car. ¡°I¡¯m sending you home.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to send me home. I¡¯ll get my own cab.


    Let go of me.¡±


    Sonia kicked her legs up in the air while she pounded against the man¡¯s chest with both her arms. Toby


    frowned when he felt himself losing grip of her. ¡°I¡¯m going to drop you if you keep moving around. You


    wouldn¡¯t want that to happen, would you? Do you know what will happen if you fall now?¡± He lowered his


    gaze to stare at her. Sonia subconsciously fell silent when she looked deep into Toby¡¯s dark pupils. ¡°W-


    What do you mean? Do you know about¡ª¡± she mumbled with a look of surprise on her face.


    ¡°You might hit and injure your head. Tomorrow¡¯s the day of the final decision for partnership. Would you


    want to miss out on that because of an injury?¡± Toby interrupted her words. Sonia stuck her lower lip into


    a pout. What? So, all he meant was that I might get injured? I was surprised because I thought he knew


    about my pregnancy. It¡¯d be suspicious if he actually knew about it; even Charles doesn¡¯t know about it


    yet.


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t fall if you just let me down, right?¡± she grumbled with a hostile expression. Even though


    he heard that, he didn¡¯t respond to her. He opted for such a gesture because he knew that she¡¯d never


    agree to get into his car otherwise. Still, he couldn¡¯t let go of her, for he knew she¡¯d leave the moment he


    ced her down. Soon enough, Toby brought Sonia to his car. He had to lower her down as he needed


    to get his car keys out to unlock the car. Sonia seized this opportunity to turn around and leave.


    However, Toby immediately knitted his brows before grabbing onto her arm and tugging her backward.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Sonia let out a shriek as she felt her back pressing against the car door. Toby pressed both his


    palms to frame her head as he red at her with a serious look in his eyes. ¡°Are you going to do that


    again?¡± Sonia was so annoyed that she couldn¡¯t do much but sneer at him. ¡°What exactly are you trying


    to do, Toby?¡± She red at him with herrge eyes. ¡°I¡¯m trying to send you home!¡± he uttered in a slow


    and clear voice.


    Sonia felt anger boiling within her. ¡°I just said that I¡¯ll get my own cab. I don¡¯t need you to send me home.


    Don¡¯t you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Toby shifted his gaze away. ¡°I¡¯m just following my grandmother¡¯s


    orders to send you home. Get in the car.¡± He then lowered his hands and pressed a button on the car


    keys to unlock the door.

 Chapter 162

    Chapter 162


    Sonia squeezed her brows together. ¡°Did Grandma ask you to send me home?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes


    glinted for a moment as he spoke. ¡°She told you to send me home when we were in the ward earlier, but


    she no longer insisted on it after I rejected the offer. Why would she change her mind and make you


    come after me? You aren¡¯t lying, are you, Toby?¡± Sonia eyed him with a suspicious look. He pulled the


    car door open as he spoke. ¡°no It had turned dark, and Grandma was worried about you walking around


    on your own, so she told me toe after you and send you home. Alright, just get into the car. You


    don¡¯t want Grandma to get worried, do you?¡± Sonia fell silent for a while before she let out a sigh. ¡°Fine.


    Okay.¡± She lowered her body and got into the car. Toby rxed his eyebrows a little when he saw her


    entering the car. It looks like she believes what I said.  He closed Sonia¡¯s door for her before going


    around the front of the car and getting into the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Are you heading back to the Bayside


    Residence?¡± Sonia¡¯s gaze was fixed on the view outside the window as she gave him a soft grunt of


    agreement. Toby pressed his lips together before he started the car. On the way home, Sonia didn¡¯t say


    a single thing; she didn¡¯t wish to talk to him, nor did she have much to say to him. Meanwhile, Toby tried


    to steal a few nces at her through the rearview mirror. However, her expression was barely visible due


    to the dark shadows in the car.He wasn¡¯t used to Sonia being this quiet. They would ride in the same car


    in the past, during the six years they had been together. Back then, Sonia still loved Toby; she would


    always try to start topics of conversation with him while they were in the car. Toby, on the other hand,


    wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to her. Sometimes, he would even tell her to keep quiet when he felt like she


    was talking too much. That¡¯s exactly what she¡¯s doing now¡ªshe¡¯s keeping quiet, and she¡¯s no longer


    trying to initiate topics of conversation with me, Toby thought.


    He felt his chest tightening. With that thought in his mind, Toby¡¯s lips twitched for a moment before he


    spoke up. ¡°Are you and Charles nning to get married?¡± He surprised himself by starting a topic; he


    had no idea what made him do it. ¡°Hmm?¡± Sonia froze for a second. She was clearly puzzled by his


    abrupt question. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said while shaking her head. Toby¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. Before


    he could conceal the slight joy in his eyes, Sonia continued with the rest of her words.


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    ¡°I guess I might get married to him in the future. He¡¯s really good to me; even his parents are really nice


    to me. I¡¯m sure I¡¯d live a really happy life if I get married to him.¡± Toby tightened his grip on the steering


    wheel as a rather displeased look found its way to his face. He could tell that she was mocking him and


    the Fuller Family. However, he couldn¡¯t deny the fact that Charles was indeed good to Sonia. Toby knew


    that Sonia would live a better life if she got married to Charles.


    That was the truth, yet Toby felt uneasy and frustrated whenever he thought about it. He loosened his tie


    before he spoke in a hard and cold tone. ¡°Is that so? I wish you the best then.¡± ¡°Thanks, President Fuller.


    I wish you and Miss Gray a long and loving rtionship as well,¡± Sonia said with a smile. He pressed his


    thin lips together and kept quiet after that. A long and loving rtionship? Oddly enough, Toby disliked


    the good wishes that Sonia had just offered him.


    It wasn¡¯t because there was something wrong with the term itself; it was simply because he didn¡¯t want


    her to be happy for him and Tina. Both of them fell silent on the trip home after that. The atmosphere in


    the car seemed even heavier than before. Sonia could sense that the man was in a bad mood, but she


    couldn¡¯t¡ªnor did she wish to¡ªunderstand why. She simply decided to plug in her earphones and listen


    to music instead.


    Toby could tell that the mood was getting rather gloomy in the car. She was the one who made him


    unhappy, yet she heartlessly listened to her music without showing any concern for him, and that made


    him mad. Soon enough, they arrived at the Bayside Residence. After Toby pulled the car over, Sonia


    opened the door and got out. She stood by the side of the road for a short moment before she let out a


    soft cry.


    Then, she fished her purse out once more before she pulled out a bill and knocked on the car window.


    Toby rolled down the backseat¡¯s window before he turned to look at her from where he sat on the driver¡¯s


    seat. ¡°What is it?¡± There was a hint of anticipation in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just forgot to pay you for the


    car ride.¡± Sonia gave him a perfunctory smile before she threw the money in through the car window.


    She then strode off in the direction of her building. Toby nced at the back of her figure before he


    turned to look at the money lying on his backseat, which made him frown and purse his lips. The next


    day, Daphne came into Sonia¡¯s office after Sonia arrived at work. ¡°Mr. Coleman is here to see you,


    President Reed.¡± ¡°Zane Coleman?¡± Sonia halted her movements just as she was about to put her bag


    down. ¡°Yes,¡± Daphne said with a nod.


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing here?¡± Sonia pulled her chair back to sit down. ¡°Mr. Coleman didn¡¯t tell me much, but


    he said that he has something he¡¯d like to talk to you about,¡± Daphne replied. ¡°Got it. Please send him


    in,¡± Sonia uttered as she turned herptop on. Zane wouldn¡¯t visit me for no reason. It seems like what


    he¡¯s about to tell me must be important, Sonia thought. Momentster, Zane walked in with a file in his


    hands.


    He didn¡¯t look anything like his usualzy and yful self. Sonia couldn¡¯t get used to the stern


    expression on his face. ¡°Please take a seat,¡± she said as she pointed toward the chair before her.


    ¡°Please get Mr. Coleman some coffee,¡± she told Daphne as she turned toward thetter. ¡°Alright,¡±


    Daphne replied before turning to leave the office. Zane and Sonia were the only two people in the room


    after that. ¡°I heard that there¡¯s something you¡¯d like to talk to me about. What is it?¡±


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°Do you remember that time when you nearly fell off a horse?¡± Zane asked as he


    pushed the documents toward Sonia. ¡°Of course,¡± Sonia uttered with a nod. Her soul nearly left her body


    when that happened; how could she forget such an incident? ¡°What you¡¯re about to tell me¡­ Does it


    have anything to do with me falling off the horse?¡± Sonia asked. Zane nodded. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an ident that


    you fell off the horse.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia froze just as she was about to look through the documents. ¡°Did you say that it wasn¡¯t an


    ident?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Someone was behind it,¡± Zane replied with a serious expression. ¡°How could


    that be? Charles told me it was an ident. Furthermore, you were around while we were investigating


    it.¡± Sonia frowned. Zane leaned back in his chair. ¡°That¡¯s right. We did conclude that it was an ident


    when we first investigated the matter.


    However, when I went out the second day to walk the horses¡­¡± Zane told her all about his encounter


    with the musk pills. Sonia sped her palms together after she heard the story. ¡°I see,¡± she


    muttered. Controlling a horse¡¯s behavior from afar, making it lose control and throw me off¡­ Such a


    tactic would indeed make others assume that it was an ident. No one would link this to Tina, and they


    wouldn¡¯t have proof to show that it was Tina even if they managed to connect the dots. Tina never went


    to the stable, and she neverid hands on any of the horses, after all.


    This is exactly like the time when Tina used a poisonous snake to harm me. It looks like the beating she


    got that night wasn¡¯t enough for her! That¡¯s okay. I¡¯llbine all of Tina¡¯s attacks and put them together


    with the Gray Family¡¯s actions. I¡¯ll get revenge all at once! ¡°What¡¯s in here?¡± Sonia took a deep breath to


    contain the anger within her before she asked Zane that question, and he looked at her. ¡°I thought you¡¯d


    lose your temper after finding out about this,¡± he uttered.


    ¡°Well, of course I¡¯m mad, but there¡¯s no point in losing my temper. I¡¯d rather add this to the list of things


    she has done before I get even with her once and for all,¡± Sonia hissed through gritted teeth. Zane


    chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s really smart of you. The documents consist of DNA fingerprintingparisons. The


    fingerprint on the ss bottle belongs to Tina.¡± Sonia hastily pulled the documents out and went through


    them.


    ¡°This is proof of Tina hurting me intentionally. Would you be nice enough to hand them over just like that


    though? Tell me; why did you help me investigate all of this? What are your intentions?¡± Sonia didn¡¯t


    believe that Zane had gone through all this trouble just because he cared about a friend and wanted to


    protect her. They weren¡¯t even good friends, anyway. He pped his hands as he let out augh. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s


    definitely easier conversing with smart people.


    You¡¯re right; I do have other motives. However, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m asking for anything too much.¡± ¡°Tell me


    about it.¡± Sonia lowered the documents and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Zane¡¯s expression


    grew serious once more. ¡°I¡¯d like you to hand this case over for me to handle it. You¡¯re the victim here.


    That¡¯s why I came all the way here to inform you of this and give you a heads up. What do you think? I¡¯ve


    shown you enough respect, right?¡±

 Chapter 163

    Chapter 163


    Zane could have just handled it on his own; he didn¡¯t have to travel all the way to visit Sonia if he didn¡¯t


    respect her. However, Sonia didn¡¯t answer his question about respect. Instead, she knitted her defined


    brows into a slight frown. ¡°You want to deal with this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zane nodded. Sonia chuckled. ¡°This


    is my business, isn¡¯t it? I appreciate that you helped to uncover the truth and find evidence for it,


    President Coleman. But I¡¯m really curious about why you would want to handle this matter? Does this


    have anything to do with you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to rify something. I¡¯m not doing this for you; I¡¯m doing this for


    myself.¡±Zane held a hand up as he spoke; he seemed worried that Sonia might misunderstand him.


    Seeing that made her roll her eyes at him. ¡°Well, tell me about it. I¡¯d like to hear your reason.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really


    no big deal. I¡¯m sure you know that the Coleman and Gray Families are no longer on good terms. You


    probably also know that the Colemans lost to the Waces this time. We didn¡¯t manage to dominate the


    market with our products.¡±


    Zane squinted his eyes to form a threatening re as he spoke. Sonia was surprised to hear what he


    said. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you guys manage to do it? Charles told me that the Coleman Family managed to get


    sufficient funds just in time. The Waces had about the same amount as you guys. How did you end up


    losing to them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all due to the Gray Family.¡± Zane knocked his knuckles against the table. ¡°Both the


    Colemans and the Waces found ourst investor at the same time. This business was willing to invest


    its funds, but it didn¡¯t announce whether it had chosen the Colemans or the Waces


    However, we found out that the business had secretly invested in the Waces, so the Colemans lost in


    the end. We also learned that the Gray Family was a distant rtive of the CEO of that business.¡± ¡°Are


    you saying that the Gray Family was the one who gave them orders?¡± Sonia frowned. Zane held his chin


    up. ¡°That¡¯s right. Our family has been working hard to dominate this field, and we were just about to


    seed when the Gray Family ruined it all. We¡¯re not going to let them off so easily. However, it¡¯s tough


    for us Colemans to do much since we are one of the well-respected families.


    That¡¯s why I decided to use your horse ident as an opportunity for us to attack the Grays.¡± ¡°I see. I


    understand now.¡± Sonia nodded. Zane edged closer to her. ¡°So, do you agree with this? I may have my


    own intentions, but I¡¯m also taking revenge for you in some ways.¡± ¡°I know, but I don¡¯t need you to


    avenge me in any way. I¡¯m nning to go against the Grays myself. I hope you didn¡¯t forget about all the


    grudges between Triforce Enterprise and Paradigm Co., and me and Tina,¡± Sonia reminded him. Zane


    fell silent for two seconds after that. ¡°Why don¡¯t we partner up, then?¡± ¡°Partner up?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up for a moment. ¡°Mm hmm. We can be partners since we¡¯re both going against the Gray


    Family. You need power and skills to do this, but you don¡¯t have any of that now. How do you expect to


    get even with them? Are you going to wait for Paradigm Co.¡¯s business to be further developed? How


    sure are you that Titus isn¡¯t going to attack you midway? By the time you¡¯ve built your business, he would


    have expanded his Triforce Enterprise. You¡¯d never be able to go after him, let alone take revenge on


    him.¡± Zane¡¯s words left Sonia speechless.


    He¡¯s right. I¡¯m growing and improving, but that doesn¡¯t mean that Titus is going to remain stagnant


    throughout this period. It¡¯s going to be a long journey for me; it¡¯s impossible for me to get revenge any


    time soon. Zane knew that his words had hit the spot when he saw the woman falling silent. He


    continued after taking a sip of coffee, ¡°That¡¯s why you should work with others who share the same


    hatred for the Gray Family. Your n to get revenge won¡¯t happen any time soon if you do it on your


    own. I believe I¡¯m your best option as a partner


    I have power and can provide you with all the help you need. You¡¯ll be able to get revenge just by


    partnering with me for a year. How does that sound?¡± Based on the amount of power the Colemans had,


    it was easy for them to deal with the Gray Family. They could manage to turn Triforce Enterprise


    bankrupt within just a month. However, The Colemans weren¡¯t allowed to do that. The Gray Family


    wasn¡¯t just a well-known real estatepany in Seafield; it was famous even on a national scale. It had


    over ten thousand employees. If Triforce Enterprise were to go bankrupt, a huge number of people would


    lose their jobs, and the officials would run investigations on this matter.


    Once it was revealed that the Colemans were the ones behind it, they would get in trouble, so it simply


    wasn¡¯t worth the risk. Therefore, the best way forward was for the Colemans to secretly gain leverage


    over the Grays by gathering evidence of their illegal acts. Such evidence would serve as the Coleman


    Family¡¯s means ofunching an attack and gradually destroying the Gray Family from there. It was a


    much slower process but also a much safer one.


    By the time the Gray Family realized that they were being attacked, Triforce Enterprise would already be


    in the hands of someone else, and the employees wouldn¡¯t lose their jobs as thepany wouldn¡¯t go


    bankrupt. That way, the officials wouldn¡¯t run any investigations, and the Gray Family would still lose


    everything they had. That was the perfect n that Zane had in mind. Naturally, Sonia managed to


    consider all the factors that Zane had considered regarding the situation as well, so in the end, she let


    out a long sigh. ¡°I guess I have no choice but to work with you.¡±


    Zane beamed as he reached his hand to her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I promise that you¡¯ll benefit just as much from


    this. You don¡¯t need to do anything about the horse incident. I¡¯ll handle everything from here. You can


    continue to assume that it was an ident and keep this information to yourself. One yearter, when


    the Gray Family begins encountering issues, I¡¯ll let you know the right time tounch your attack. You will


    send them the final blow.¡± Sonia looked down at Zane¡¯s hand without giving him a handshake. ¡°Aren¡¯t


    you worried that President Fuller might go against you if you carry out this n? The person he loves the


    most is in the Gray Family after all.¡± ¡°The person he loves the most?¡±


    Zane raised an eyebrow before he curled his lips into a thoughtful smile. ¡°Do you really think Toby loves


    Tina?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Sonia looked slightly perplexed. Zane chuckled. ¡°Why don¡¯t we


    make a bet?¡± ¡°A bet?¡± Sonia sucked her lips inward. He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s bet whether Toby is


    really in love with Tina. I¡¯m betting that he isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Did you take your pills today?¡± She shot him a peculiar


    re. ¡°You must be crazy to say that Toby isn¡¯t in love with Tina.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who forgot your pills.


    I¡¯m seriously betting that he doesn¡¯t love Tina.


    We will get our answer to this bet a yearter. We¡¯ll see if Toby ends his friendship with me after all of


    that happens.¡± He wore a confident smile as he spoke. Sonia pouted for a while before she smiled along


    with Zane. ¡°Fine. Since you seem so eager to lose this bet, I¡¯ll y along with you. What are we


    betting?¡± Me, losing? A yful look surfaced in Zane¡¯s eyes. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m not going to lose. ¡°I


    haven¡¯t thought of what to bet. We can talk about it a year from now¡ªwhen the results are about to be


    revealed,¡± Zane replied after giving her question some thought.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said with a nod. Only then did she reach her hand out to shake his hand. Zane hadrge


    palms, and he had extremely tan skin. The back of his hand was tan, while Sonia had pale and fair skin.


    The contrast between the skin tones was more evident when the both of them shook hands with each


    other. An electric current seemed to run through Zane¡¯s heart when he held the woman¡¯s small hand in


    his own. Before he realized what he was doing, he squeezed her hand to feel her soft and warm skin


    against his. It felt good for him to squeeze it; her hand was so soft that it almost seemed like she had no


    bones.


    He gave it another two squeezes before he could stop himself. The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched a little


    when she saw what he was doing. ¡°Do you enjoy squeezing my hand, President Coleman?¡± Zane froze


    the moment he realized what he had just done. His ears turned red as he hastily let go of her hand and


    ced his own hand behind his back. ¡°Uhh, well, that¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I just thought your hands felt really


    nice to squeeze, so¡­¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t decide if she shouldugh or feel annoyed at that moment. My hand felt nice to squeeze,


    so he just continued squeezing it as if I was some soft toy. I never knew he could be such a childish


    guy! she thought. ¡°No worries. You should bring the evidence along with you, President Coleman.¡± Sonia


    waved him off to show him that she didn¡¯t mind. She then picked the documents from the table before


    passing them to him.N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Since she had agreed to let him handle this matter, there was no use for her to hold onto the evidence.


    Thus, he took the documents from her. ¡°Alright. The Coleman Family will gradually infiltrate the Gray


    Family from now on, and I¡¯ll update you whenever we make any progress. You¡¯ll have to lend us a


    helping hand if we ever need you to do so, of course.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Sonia replied. They were partners, after


    all; she wouldn¡¯t reject his request.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll make a move now,¡± Zane muttered. Sonia walked him out of the office, and he headed


    straight for the elevator. While waiting for the elevator, he couldn¡¯t help but revisit the moment when he


    had been holding onto Sonia¡¯s hand. For some reason, he missed the tender and soft feeling he felt


    when he was with her.

 Chapter 164

    Chapter 164


    Zane couldn¡¯t stop himself. He lifted his hand to his nose and took a sniff to inhale the faint, pleasant


    scent that lingered on his palm. Immediately, he knew that it was the smell of Sonia¡¯s perfume that had


    remained after they shook hands. The perfume smelled fresh and elegant, just like the aura that Sonia


    gave off. He couldn¡¯t help but want to inhale the scent for a while longer, and that was precisely what he


    did¡ªhe lowered his head a little to smell the perfume on his hand. While doing so, he pictured Sonia in


    his arms, with his head pressed against the space around her neck.


    He could imagine the whole scene where he¡¯d be able to smell the perfume on her body. Zane felt the


    tips of his ears turning red as his heart rate began to increase. At that very moment, his body jolted in


    response to the sudden ding of the elevator. Charles walked out from inside with a thermos in his hand.


    He nearly bumped into the person before him as he hadn¡¯t expected anyone to be standing outside the


    elevator. Fortunately, Charles managed to stop just in time to avoid knocking into Zane. ¡°Why are you


    here?¡± Charles asked puzzledly when he saw that the person in front of him was Zane


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Zane¡¯s expression darkened as the mesmerizing scene in his head had


    been disrupted. He looked even grimmer when he recalled Charles and Sonia¡¯s rtionship. Therefore,


    Zane only scoffed before he strode into the elevator without replying to Charles¡¯s question. Charles


    cocked his head sideways as a series of question marks popped up in his head. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I


    didn¡¯t insult Zane in any way, did I? Why would that brat, Zane, stare at me like I was his enemy?


    ¡°Is he crazy?!¡± Charles rolled his eyes as he couldn¡¯tprehend the situation. After a little more


    grumbling, he headed directly toward Sonia¡¯s office. ¡°Hey, baby.¡± Charles pushed the door to enter the


    room. Sonia had been going through some documents, but she raised her head when she heard his


    voice. ¡°What are you doing here? Are you done with your work at the office?¡± she asked. It was rare for


    Charles to visit the office ever since Paradigm Co. was able to manage on its own. He had his own


    company to handle, after all. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much going on today.


    I¡¯m here to send you food. My mom made some braised ribs, and she got me to send some over as she


    knows that you like it a lot.¡± Charles held up the thermos in his hands. Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up immediately.


    ¡°Braised ribs! I haven¡¯t had that in a long while. Do help me thank your mom!¡± ¡°Hurry up and try it. It¡¯s


    going to turn cold soon.¡± Charles ced the thermos on her table before twisting the top open. The


    strong scent of meat lingered in the air the moment he opened the top. Just moments after that, the


    smile on Sonia¡¯s face stiffened as her face turned visibly pale after inhaling the smell.


    Then, she hastily mped a hand over her mouth before she pushed her chair back and ran off to the


    toilet. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Charles was utterly stunned by her sudden actions, and he only came to his


    senses when he heard the sound of her vomiting in the toilet. He immediately lowered the bowl and


    cutleries in his hand to help her out in the toilet. By the time he got there, Sonia had her hands pressed


    against the sink for support. She lowered her body to puke, and she looked weak and frail after throwing


    all of her food up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, darling?¡±


    Charles frowned as he stared at her worriedly. Sonia caught her breath and shut her eyes for a while


    before she leaned her body against the wall beside the sink. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she replied weakly. ¡°How could


    you say that you¡¯re fine? You¡¯ve puked so much that you look like you¡¯re about to faint. Look at how pale


    you are! No, I have to call for the doctor toe.¡± Charles took his phone out to make a call as he


    spoke. She immediately opened her eyes and reached forward to push his arm down. ¡°There¡¯s no need


    for that, Charles. I¡¯m not sick.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± He gazed at her confusedly


    ¡°Then¡­¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t hide this from you any longer. You¡¯ll find out about it


    sooner orter anyway. I¡¯m pregnant.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re pregnant. I thought¡­¡± Charles¡¯s voice faded off as he


    realized what was wrong with his sentence. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re pregnant?!¡± The pitch of his voice increased as


    he widened his eyes to stare at her. ¡°Mm hmm.¡± She nodded. He waspletely dumbfounded. After a


    long while, he finally managed a croak. ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Nearly two months,¡± she replied with her gaze fixed


    on the ground. Two months¡­


    Isn¡¯t that about the time when she had a divorce with Toby? Charles swallowed a mouthful of saliva


    before he spoke in a rather bitter tone. ¡°It¡¯s Toby¡¯s, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside.¡± Sonia didn¡¯t answer his


    question. After that, he nodded and helped her out to the couch for her to rest. He poured her a ss of


    water after helping her to getfortable on the couch. ¡°Have some water. You just puked earlier, so


    your stomach must be feeling really terrible. You¡¯ll feel better after drinking some water.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Sonia smiled and took the ss over. She only answered his question after taking a sip of water.


    ¡°The baby isn¡¯t Toby¡¯s.¡± Now that she thought of it, she found it hrious how Toby hadn¡¯tid hands on


    her once in the six years that they were married. He didn¡¯t love her, and he even held himself back to


    maintain chastity for Tina. How can I possibly be pregnant with Toby¡¯s child? ¡°What?¡± The look of


    confusion returned to Charles¡¯s face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally got


    his question out. ¡°If it isn¡¯t Toby¡¯s, then¡­


    whose child is it?¡± He would¡¯ve felt hurt if the baby was Toby¡¯s, but at least he would have been able to


    ept it. Sonia and Toby had been married in the past, so it was no surprise if she was pregnant with his


    child. However, she was now iming that the child wasn¡¯t Toby¡¯s. That made him uneasy; he was


    furious at the man who had made her pregnant. ¡°I don¡¯t know who the father is; I don¡¯t even know his


    name or how he looks.¡± Sonia pressed her hand against her stomach as she gave Charles a bitter smile.


    ¡°I waspletely dazed after the incident, and I was so terrified.


    All I could do was nce at the person once before I left. I didn¡¯t even think of asking for his name.¡± She


    had attempted to ask for the man¡¯s name when she got his contact details, but the man hadn¡¯t shown


    any intention ofplying with her requests. That exined why she had no clue about the person¡¯s real


    identity. Charles clutched onto her hand as he questioned her anxiously, ¡°Did you get assaulted by


    someone else, baby?¡± He couldn¡¯t think of any other probable exnation since she didn¡¯t even know


    the child¡¯s father. However, Sonia simply shook her head in denial.N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t assaulted. I was drunk, and I did it with some guy while I was out of it. This happened on the


    night of your birthday.¡± Charles recalled what had happened back then. ¡°So, the marks that I saw on your


    neck the next day¡­ Those weren¡¯t what you imed them to be¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I lied to you, Charles,¡±


    she uttered apologetically. She thought that whatever happened that night would remain hidden from


    everyone else as long as she never spoke about it, but she hadn¡¯t expected herself to get pregnant.


    Naturally, she would no longer be able to keep the incident a secret.


    Charles clenched his fists before he mmed his hand against the coffee table, and that made Sonia


    jump in surprise. ¡°What is it, Charles?¡± ¡°I¡¯m mad. I¡¯m mad at myself for not being there with you when it


    happened. If I were there, you wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± Charles lowered his head as he med himself. His


    voice broke as tears welled up in his eyes. Sonia quickly took his hand into hers to check if he had


    injured anything. Once she was sure that he wasn¡¯t hurt, she let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Alright. It¡¯s not your


    fault. I simply drank too much that night. That was why this incident urred.¡±


    ¡°Did you try to look for that man after that night, darling? What if that guy¡¯s presence wasn¡¯t just an


    ident?¡± Charles asked. Tina and the rest of them were also in the club during the night of his birthday


    party, so Charles was worried that Tina might have been the one who arranged for the man to show up


    that night. Sonia felt a shudder running down her spine before she shook her head. ¡°I got Zane to look it


    up. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any issues with the guy. In fact, the guy is Zane¡¯s friend. I have his contact.


    Purchasing Mr. Williams¡¯s Rentoor Inc.


    and putting Toby¡¯snd to use¡ªall of that was this guy¡¯s idea.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Charles raised an eyebrow in


    surprise. ¡°So, that¡¯s the guy who did this.¡± ¡°Mm hmm. Everything that happened that night was really just


    an ident,¡± Sonia said. ¡°Hmph. Even though it was an ident, it¡¯s still a fact that he had assaulted


    you. I need to have a talk with Zane to ask him who this man is. I need to hunt this man down and teach


    him a lesson.¡± Charles stormed out of the door before Sonia could stop him from leaving.

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    Chapter 165,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Upon hearing that the sounds of the footsteps were drawing nearer, the person outside the office looked


    around and turned around immediately. With quick steps, he darted toward the emergency staircase.


    After waiting for a couple of minutes, he heard the elevator doors closing, then he sneaked out of the


    emergency staircase. He stole a nce at Sonia¡¯s office, whisked out his cell phone and made a call. At


    Fuller Group, Tom was sorting out the documents on Toby¡¯s desk when his cell phone rang. Stopping the


    work in his hands, he then said to Toby, ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯m going to pick up a call.¡±


    Toby was typing something on hisputer, and when he heard him, he grunted his approval without


    lifting his head. With the permission given, Tom took out his cell phone, and his eyes sparkled when he


    saw the caller ID. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s Cooper.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Toby asked with a frown, not realizing whom he


    meant. ¡°That¡¯s the assistant we bribed in Paradigm thest time,¡± Tom reminded him. ¡°He¡¯s always


    sending documents to Miss Reed¡¯s office. That¡¯s why we decided to bribe him so that he would look out


    for news about the child Miss Reed is pregnant with.


    He hasn¡¯t called us previously, but he must be calling now because he has news about Miss Reed¡¯s


    pregnancy.¡± Upon hearing that, Toby jerked his head up. ¡°Answer it,¡± he ordered without hiding the


    urgency in his voice. ¡°Alright,¡± Tom said and picked up the call. ¡°Hello, Mr. Brown.¡± Cooper greeted Tom


    politely over the phone. While waving his hand, Tom answered, ¡°Alright, tell me quickly. Do you have


    news regarding Miss Reed¡¯s pregnancy?¡±


    ¡°Your guess is right. Earlier when I went over to deliver some documents, I overheard President Reed


    and President Lane speaking about the pregnancy again.¡± Tom pushed his sses up the bridge of his


    nose as he turned to Toby. ¡°Looks like President Lane already found out about Miss Reed¡¯s pregnancy.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips and said, ¡°Ask him if he heard whether the child belongs to Charles.¡± Tom nodded


    and passed the message. On the other end, Cooper answered very quickly, ¡°It¡¯s not President Lane¡¯s


    child. I heard President Reed saying that the child belongs to a man she identally slept with on that


    night of President Lane¡¯s birthday party.¡±


    Immediately, Tom passed the information to Toby, whose pupils shrank at the news. A huge wave


    crashed over his heart. It¡¯s mine! The baby in Sonia¡¯s womb is my child! He tightened his fists. Perhaps


    the news was so shocking to him that his fists were trembling from him holding it so tightly. Upon seeing


    that, Tom understood the situation and he gulped. Suppressing the shock inside him, he said into the


    phone, ¡°I got it. From now on, you don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°No, let him continue.¡± Toby interrupted him in a hoarse voice.


    ¡°Let him keep an eye out. On top of that, have him watch her keenly.


    It will be best if he can find out her checkup appointment timings and the hospital she goes to. I¡¯ll double


    his payout.¡± Tom nodded and answered, ¡°Understood.¡± Then, he told Cooper about Toby¡¯s offer, which


    made Cooper so happy that he tapped his chest and assured them that he wouldn¡¯t let them down. After


    hanging up the call, Tom turned to Toby. ¡°President Fuller, does the child in Miss Reed belong to you?¡±


    Lowering his eyes, Toby uttered, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What do you n to do? Do you want to keep it or¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one who can decide on that, but


    Sonia. If she wants to keep it, I¡¯ll have everything arranged for her in the dark so that she can deliver the


    baby safely. If she doesn¡¯t want to keep it, I¡¯ll respect her decision as well,¡± Toby answered. However,


    when he was saying ¡°if she doesn¡¯t want to keep it¡±, he felt a pain that pierced his chest, and he felt


    somewhat panicky. ¡°It makes sense now why you want Cooper to find out her checkup timings and the


    hospital she goes to. So that¡¯s why.¡± Finally, Tom understood the reason behind Toby¡¯s efforts.


    Toby merely pursed his lips and didn¡¯t say a thing while Tom nced at Tina¡¯s picture next to the


    computer. He looked as though he had something to say, but managed to stop himself in time. Toby


    caught that, so he narrowed his eyes and told Tom, ¡°Just speak your mind.¡± ¡°Actually, I just want to say


    that if Miss Reed decides to keep the baby, then in the case that Miss Gray and her family find out about


    it, will they¡­¡± Tom trailed off, looking worried. Based on his knowledge of Tina and her family¡¯s petty


    personalities, they would definitely not allow the child in Sonia¡¯s womb to live.


    Clearly, Toby knew about this as well, and he rubbed the spot between his eyebrows wearily. ¡°Keep this


    from Tina and her family for now. As for everything else, I¡¯ll decide again after Sonia has made her


    choice. Find out the next time and ce where she will be going for a checkup and send someone there


    before her to give the hospital a notice. Tell the doctor to ask her if she wants to keep the baby or abort


    it.¡± ¡°Got it,¡±


    Tom said with a nod. With a wave of his hand, Toby dismissed him. ¡°Go out now.¡± After he left the room,


    Toby leaned back into his chair, shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. What will be your


    decision, Sonia? Just then, his cell phone on the desk gave a short ring. His eyes flew open and he sat


    up to look at it¡ªit was a text from Sonia. Is she texting me now to tell me about her pregnancy? he


    wondered. Reaching out his hand, he then grabbed his cell phone and opened the text. However, the


    content wasn¡¯t what he imagined it to be; she was merely asking if he was in the country.


    ¡®No.¡¯ That was his reply. At Paradigm Co., Sonia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the reply. That¡¯s


    great. Then, he saw Z-H¡¯s replying in. ¡®What happened?¡¯ After letting out another sigh, Sonia


    replied, ¡®My friend is furious after he found out what happened between us on that night two months ago,


    so he went to ask Zane about your identity and wants to cause you some trouble. Therefore, it¡¯s a good


    thing that you¡¯re not in the country.¡¯ After reading the text, Toby smirked. ¡®I got it, but are you telling me all


    these because you¡¯re worried about me?¡¯


    What a narcissist, Sonia thought while rolling her eyes. She shook her head and typed, ¡®I just thought


    that there¡¯s no need to blow up the matter since it had passed for such a long time. Moreover, even if I¡¯m


    to be worried, it¡¯ll be my friend whom I should be worried about.¡¯ In other words, she meant that he had


    no ce in her heart, so why would she worry about him? Feeling a little upset, Toby pursed his lips and


    his expression turned sullen. ¡®I understand.


    Is there anything else you would like to tell me?¡¯ Sonia replied, ¡®Nothing.¡¯ ¡®Okay.¡¯ Toby kept his eyes fixed


    on the screen of his cell phone after he hit the ¡®send¡¯ button, but there was no reply from Sonia after he


    waited for a couple of minutes. Knowing that she wasn¡¯t going to reply, he couldn¡¯t help but looked even


    more frustrated. Even Charles had marched off to look for Zane to ask about him because of what


    happened that night, and she still didn¡¯t even tell him what she nned to do with her pregnancy. In fact,


    he really wanted her to tell him about it, and even demand that he take responsibility for it.


    However, she didn¡¯t do any of that and just shouldered everything by herself. Perhaps another man


    would have been happy about this, but all he felt was frustration. Will it cost her her life if she just relied


    on me and let me take responsibility for just a little?! he thought in annoyance. He tugged his tie, a


    terrifying aura emanating from him. ¡­¡­ At Zane¡¯s ce, Charles marched up angrily to knock on the


    door after hopping out of the car. The butler who opened the door asked, ¡°Who are you, sir?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for Zane!¡± Charles growled through clenched teeth. Looking at him warily, the butler thought,


    Is this Young Master Zane¡¯s enemy? As though having read his mind, Charles took in a deep breath,


    suppressed the burning rage within him and forced out a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Zane¡¯s friend, but I ran into an


    emergency, so I seemed a little fierce. Please let him know that I¡¯m here because I have something


    important to ask him, please,¡± he said before bowing.


    Seeing that he did seem to be in a hurry and didn¡¯t look like he was lying, the butler nodded after a


    second of hesitation. ¡°Alright, then. Please wait a while.¡± Then, he closed the door and went upstairs to


    look for Zane, who was on the phone. When he heard the butler¡¯s message, he lifted his brows and


    asked, ¡°Someone is here to look for me? Who¡¯s that?¡±

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    Chapter 166,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. But he¡¯s rather tall, and he drives a luxury car. He¡¯s also wearing a Hawaiian shirt¡­¡±


    A Hawaiian shirt? Zane reyed the words in his head as the edge of his lips twitched, and an image


    slowly appeared in his mind. ¡°I know who¡¯s that. Where is he now?¡± he asked. ¡°He¡¯s right outside,¡± the


    butler replied. ¡°Invite him into the house. I¡¯ming down right away,¡± Zane instructed, and the butler left


    after answering. Holding up his cell phone again, he then said a few more things to the person on the


    other end of the line before hanging up and leaving the room.


    He wondered about the reason for Charles¡¯s visit as he closed the door behind himself. ¡°Hey, Charles.¡±


    He greeted his visitor when he saw him seated on the couch downstairs. Scratching his head, he asked,


    ¡°Why are you looking for me? You even came to my house.¡± After cing down the cup of coffee in his


    hands, Charles sprang up, crossed over the coffee table and strode up to Zane angrily. When he was


    right in front of him, he grabbed him by his cor and questioned loudly, ¡°Where¡¯s that guy?¡± Confused,


    Zane asked, ¡°Who?¡± ¡°That jerk who took advantage of Sonia that night!¡±


    Charles bellowed, his eyes ming red. The expression on Zane¡¯s face changed when he heard him.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Someone took advantage of Sonia?¡± ¡°Yes! On the night of my birthday, she


    had some drinks and your friend took advantage of her. Now, she¡¯s even¡­¡± ¡°Even what?¡± Zane asked,


    shoving Charles¡¯ hands away and grabbing his cor instead. ¡°Tell me, what happened to her?¡± he asked


    anxiously. The anxious look on Zane struck Charles as rather odd. Isn¡¯t he a little too concerned about


    what happened to Sonia?


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    However, he didn¡¯t think too much about it and merely pushed him away. ¡°Sonia is now pregnant!¡± he


    yelled. His palms had tightened into fists now. ¡°What?!¡± Zane¡¯s eyes widened in bewilderment. Sonia is¡­


    pregnant? ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to tell me who¡¯s that guy now?¡± Charles bellowed. Zane opened his mouth,


    but no words came out. How could he tell him that the person was Toby? Seeing that Zane didn¡¯t say a


    thing and was lowering his head, deep in his own thoughts, Charles became even more furious and his


    fists trembled. ¡°Zane, are you trying to hide this for that guy?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± he uttered. ¡°Then tell me who he is. Never mind the fact that he didn¡¯t show his face after he took


    advantage of Sonia, but now that she¡¯s already pregnant, does he still n to hide in the dark?¡± Charles


    hissed through gritted teeth. With an odd expression on his face, Zane answered, ¡°It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s


    just that he¡¯s abroad.¡± ¡°He¡¯s actually abroad?¡± Charles was so angry that he punched his fists together.


    ¡°Hmph! Does he think that he can escape all responsibility by staying abroad? He¡¯s not even thinking


    about it! Call that guy now and get him toe back here!¡± A look of guilt shed across Zane¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible. Even though I¡¯m his friend, we¡¯re not especially close, and he¡¯s rather


    mysterious. I can¡¯t even be sure that I can contact him.¡± ¡°What?¡± Charles frowned. Clearing his throat,


    Zane then said, ¡°Well, go home first and I¡¯ll try to contact himter. If I can get in contact with him, I¡¯ll let


    you know, alright?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not going back. Give me his contact number and I¡¯ll call him myself,¡± Charles


    said, extending his hand. Zane felt his head pounding, for he hadn¡¯t expected that Charles would be


    such a nuisance. How can I give him Toby¡¯s number?


    Who knows what will happen if he and Sonia find out that the guy that night was Toby. In addition to that,


    he selfishly didn¡¯t want Sonia to find out that the child she was pregnant with now belonged to Toby. After


    giving it a thought, he narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll give it to you, but leave quickly


    after that.¡± Then, he paced to the coffee table and took out a notepad and pen from the drawer


    underneath. After scribbling a string of numbers on the paper, he passed it to Charles, who took a nce


    at it and asked, ¡°What about the name?¡±


    ¡°Whenever he¡¯s in the country, he always goes around with a made-up, fake name. So, it doesn¡¯t matter


    whether I write it down or not,¡± Zane exined while rolling his eyes. Charles clutched the piece of paper


    in his hand tightly. ¡°D*mn it, he¡¯s even a foreigner. Aren¡¯t they always calling themselves gentlemen?


    How could he drag a drunk woman into a room? Shameless jerk. Once I contact him, I¡¯ll make a trip


    abroad personally and wallop him to a pulp!¡± he said angrily before storming out. After wiping the beads


    of sweat off his forehead, Zane sighed in relief.


    Great, I finally drove this nuisance away. After he returned upstairs, he made a call to Toby. As though


    expecting that he would make this call, the first thing Toby asked was, ¡°Charles went to look for you?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Zane asked, surprised. Lowering his gaze, he answered, ¡°Sonia told me.¡±


    Realization hit Zane, and he pursed his lips. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I forgot that you got her contact by hiding


    your identity, so she would definitely give you a heads-up when Charles wants to create trouble for you


    through me.¡± The sarcasm in his voice was obvious to Toby, and that made him frown as he thought,


    Why is he being so sarcastic?


    ¡°Since you already know that Charles came to look for me, I suppose you also know that Sonia is


    pregnant?¡± Zane asked. Almost two months ago, the morning after Charles¡¯s birthday, Toby had called


    him and asked him to delete the surveince tapes in the club. Back then, as he was curious about why


    it had to be deleted, he watched them once before it was deleted, and was stunned when he saw Toby


    carrying Sonia into a room.


    Therefore, Sonia most probably got pregnant that night. ¡°I know about it,¡± Toby answered while nodding.


    That answer made Zane narrow his eyes. ¡°You sound rather calm. I suppose you¡¯re so unfazed because


    you knew about it a long time ago.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Toby muttered. I actually guessed it right! Zane thought.


    ¡°How long have you known about it?¡± Toby pursed his lips and replied, ¡°For a few days now.¡± All of a


    sudden, Zane recalled that day at the stables and he smirked. ¡°It makes sense now why you stopped


    Sonia when she wanted to ride a horse that day.


    Looks like you already knew at that time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Toby answered calmly. Then, he went on to ask


    in a low voice, ¡°Did you tell Charles that I was the man that night?¡± ¡°No. You asked me to delete the


    surveince videos because you don¡¯t want Sonia to find out who the man was that night, so why would I


    tell him?¡± Zane replied, a dark cloud shrouding over his eyes. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to


    thank me. Now, I just want to know how you n to take care of this matter. Are you going to remarry


    Sonia?¡± Zane asked while tightening his grip on the cell phone.


    The mention of the word ¡®remarry¡¯ swayed Toby¡¯s heart for just a bit, but he quickly regained his


    composure when a thought came into his mind. ¡°No, I won¡¯t,¡± he said. He then pinched the bridge of his


    nose in exhaustion. ¡°I¡¯ve let Tina down once. I can¡¯t do it to her again.¡± ¡°Let her down?¡± Zane repeated,


    rolling his eyes in incredulity. ¡°Fine, just as long as you¡¯vee to a decision.¡± If this happened before,


    he would definitely advise his good friend to remarry Sonia. After all, she was already pregnant and Tina


    was really not good enough for him. However, he knew that he himself might have fallen for Sonia, so he


    wouldn¡¯t offer him any advice.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not going to remarry her, what about the child in her? You have to take responsibility for it,


    right?¡± Zane asked after recollecting his thoughts. With downcast eyes, Toby answered, ¡°Of course I¡¯ll


    take responsibility. If she wants to keep the child, I¡¯ll raise it together with her without her knowing it, but if


    she doesn¡¯t want to keep it, I¡¯ll do my best as well to make it up to her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea, but don¡¯t


    you have to tell her what¡¯s on your mind?¡±


    ¡°I know that. When she has made up her mind about the child, I¡¯ll tell her my ns,¡± he said solemnly.


    After thinking about it for a few seconds, Zane added, ¡°I think you shouldn¡¯t wait until that time. You


    should just let her know about it earlier if you want to tell her. She might not ept it if you wait until then


    to tell her.¡± Toby fell silent, and Zane sighed. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s all I have to say. Think it over carefully.¡±

 Chapter 167

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    Chapter 167,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    After hanging up, Toby ced down his cell phone, his eyes dark and depressed as he thought over


    Zane¡¯s words. Maybe he¡¯s right, he thought. Sometimes, some things may take on a turn beyond my


    control if I let it drag on until the end. With that thought in mind, he picked up his cell phone again and


    opened the chat room with Sonia. ¡®I know about your pregnancy.¡¯ At the same time, Sonia was going


    through a document when her phone suddenly vibrated. She took a nce at it and was a little surprised


    when she saw that it was a text message from Z-H. We just texted a few minutes ago.


    Why is he texting me again now? she wondered. ¡°What did he send me?¡± she asked out loud before


    tapping on the text. When she saw the message, her entire body turned stiff. He knew about it already?


    She clenched her hands into fists, then she frowned as she took her phone over. ¡®How did you find out


    about it?¡¯ Z-H replied, ¡®Your friend went to look for Zane, and he was the one who told me about it.¡¯ After


    reading his text, it all suddenly hit Sonia, and she couldn¡¯t help but p her forehead. So that¡¯s how he


    found out! Initially, she thought that someone was working for him by her side.


    I suppose it¡¯s true that women¡¯s intelligence declines after pregnancy. How could I not think of this? Her


    fingers flew across the screen as she typed, ¡®Since you already found out about it, I won¡¯t hide it from


    you anymore. Yes, I¡¯m pregnant.¡¯ ¡®Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡¯ he asked. Frowning, she asked in return,


    ¡®Why should I tell you?¡¯ Irritated at the fact that she had answered a question with another question, Toby


    asked silently in his head, Why? She¡¯s asking me why? ¡®Because I¡¯m the child¡¯s father.¡¯ That was his


    reply. Sonia pouted as she answered, ¡®It¡¯s true that you¡¯re the child¡¯s father, but it doesn¡¯t mean that I


    have to tell you about it.


    What happened between us started off as an ident, and so is this child. Also, we don¡¯t know each


    other and I don¡¯t even know who you are. I don¡¯t need you to take responsibility, so why should I inform


    you simply because you¡¯re the child¡¯s father?¡¯ All of a sudden, Toby had nothing to say, and he pulled his


    lips into a tight line. Despite knowing that she was right, and so was her consideration, he still felt really


    ufortable in his heart. After giving the bridge of his nose a pinch, he typed, ¡®Even though you don¡¯t


    need me to take responsibility, I still have to do it.


    I would like to know about your thoughts regarding that child. Are you nning to keep it or¡­¡¯ His fingers


    came to a halt, and a few seconds passed before he tightened his fist, typed out thest few words and


    hit ¡®Send¡¯. When Sonia saw that he was asking whether she wanted to keep the child, she felt a tight


    squeeze in her heart. Although the doctor had asked her the same question as well before this, she was


    completely in shock to find out about the pregnancy at that time, so she couldn¡¯t consider this question at


    all. However, she had to start weighing this question carefully now that the father of the child was asking


    her this. Biting her lower lip, she typed the reply with trembling fingers.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯ On the other hand, Toby wasn¡¯t one bit surprised at her reply. The reason she hadn¡¯t been


    to a hospital for a checkup the past few days must have been because she hadn¡¯te to a decision


    yet. ¡®It¡¯s alright, you can think it over slowly. Just keep the baby if you want, and I¡¯ll raise the child


    together with you from afar. If you don¡¯t want to keep it, I¡¯ll do my best to make it up to you.¡¯ That was Z-


    H¡¯s reply. Raise the child from afar¡­ Sonia reyed the words in her mind, and her eyes were


    narrowed. ¡®Okay, I¡¯ll think about it.¡¯ ¡®Let me know when you¡¯ve decided.¡¯


    A lopsided smirk appeared on Sonia¡¯s face and she stopped replying, turning her cell phone off instead.


    Since he had mentioned that he would raise the child from afar, it obviously meant that he didn¡¯t n to


    openly acknowledge the child in her womb. In such a situation, he was either married, already had a


    girlfriend or a fianc¨¦e. Otherwise, it would be his family that wouldn¡¯t allow him to have a child outside.


    That was why he could only raise the child from a distance and not let others find out that he was the


    father of the child. Regardless of the actual situation, to her, it didn¡¯t change the fact that the child in her


    womb was an unwanted child born out of wedlock. Unwanted by the mother as well as the father, this


    child was even more uneptable to the family of its father.


    Therefore, the fate of the child was already very clear. cing a hand over her belly, she thought, A child


    should be conceived with a person I love, and not with a stranger whom I have no feelings for. I can¡¯t


    ept that the baby that I¡¯m going to be giving birth to will be an illegitimate child. So¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry, really.


    I¡¯m not a good mother, and you shouldn¡¯t havee into my womb. I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She apologized to the


    baby inside her while clutching the clothes covering her belly tightly and bearing the pain in her heart.


    Just then, her office door burst open and Charles stormed in like a gust of wind with fury written all over


    his face.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Sonia lifted her head to look at him, stowing away the guilty feelings in her heart.


    Charles strode to her desk, lifted her coffee cup and drank it with his head tilted back before she could


    even stop him. Forget it, it¡¯s just a cup of coffee, she thought. He doesn¡¯t even mind that I¡¯ve drank from


    it before, so there¡¯s no point telling him now. ¡°D*mn that guy, Zane!¡± He cursed loudly while mming the


    empty coffee cup on the desk. Blinking, she asked, ¡°What did he do?¡± ¡°I went looking for him to ask him


    about that guy. In the end, he told me that the guy is abroad.¡± ¡°He¡¯s abroad?¡± Sonia asked. Charles


    snorted. ¡°So I asked him to give me that guy¡¯s number. Guess what happened in the end? That *sshole


    gave me an invalid number! F*ck it!¡± Sonia chuckled. ¡°Maybe Zane didn¡¯t do it on purpose. What if that


    guy changed his number?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Whatever it is, this matter isn¡¯t over yet. I have to find that guy,¡± Charles said, mming his


    palm on the desk this time. Rubbing her temples, Sonia said, ¡°That¡¯s okay. That man already knows that


    I¡¯m pregnant. It was Zane who told him and he just contacted me as well.¡± ¡°Zane was the one who told


    him?¡± Charles frowned and went into a fit of rage. ¡°Great, so it¡¯s Zane who fooled me and gave me an


    invalid number. Otherwise, how could he contact that guy?¡± Even Sonia was stunned. ¡°Well¡­¡± That¡¯s


    right, Z-H¡¯s number that Zane gave Charles was an invalid number, but he was still able to contact him.


    This shows that he didn¡¯t give Charles the correct number, she thought. But why would he do that?


    ¡°D*mn it, that *sshole Zane!¡± Charles cursed, feeling an itch in his fist as the urge to punch someone


    grew. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely give him a beating the next time I see him. How dare he fool me!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Set


    Zane aside for now. Aren¡¯t you curious to find out what that man told me?¡± she asked, fixing her eyes on


    him. Leaning in closer to her, Charles asked, ¡°What did he say? Did he deny it or¡ª¡± ¡°No, he didn¡¯t deny


    that the child in my womb is his, and he¡¯s also willing to take responsibility,¡± Sonia replied.


    The look on Charles¡¯ face eased up a little. ¡°That¡¯s better, and that¡¯s what a man should do. Or else, he


    shouldn¡¯t call himself a man. But how does he n to take responsibility?¡± ¡°Charles, what do you think if I


    abort this baby?¡± Sonia asked instead of answering. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Charles asked with a serious


    face. Nodding, Sonia answered, ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t want to give birth to a baby belonging to a man I have no


    feelings for. Furthermore, I don¡¯t want it to be an illegitimate child. So I want to go for an abortion.¡± A


    smile spread across his face. ¡°That¡¯s the way.


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    Since that night was an ident, you shouldn¡¯t keep this child either. This is good for you, that man and


    the baby. It¡¯s great that you¡¯ve thought it through, darling.¡± After receiving the affirmation from her good


    friend, Sonia felt more determined about her decision to abort the baby. Taking a deep breath, she


    nodded and said, ¡°That man said that he will do his best to make it up to me if I decide to abort the baby,


    but I don¡¯t know how he ns to do that.¡± ¡°It must be money, without a doubt,¡± he uttered. She grinned. ¡°I


    thought so as well.¡± ¡°Darling, when do you n to go for the abortion?


    I¡¯ll apany you when the timees,¡± he said while looking at her. Shaking her head, she answered,


    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡± It was just a little while ago that she decided to go for an abortion, so she hadn¡¯t


    thought so far in such a short time yet. After giving it a thought, she added, ¡°I¡¯ll do it on the day after


    tomorrow. I¡¯ll be free on that day.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Charles agreed with her. Then, she checked the time and stood


    up. ¡°Alright, Charles. I have to go to the hotel now. The results will be announced today for the proposal


    that was sent to Fuller Group.¡±

 Chapter 168

    Chapter 168


    Chapter 168,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°I¡¯ming with you,¡± Charles said, springing up from his seat and looking very worried about her.


    Feeling touched and amused at the same time, Sonia turned him down. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just pregnant, not


    injured. I don¡¯t need you toe with me. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m going now.¡± With that said, she grabbed her bag,


    slung it over her shoulder, and left the office. Then, she drove to the hotel. Coincidentally, when she


    reached the doors of the hotel, she ran into Toby and Tom, who had also just arrived and looked a little


    surprised because they weren¡¯t expecting to run into her at the entrance as well.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed,¡± Tom greeted. In reply, she nodded slightly and turned to Toby to greet him.


    ¡°Greetings, President Fuller.¡± He simply grunted a reply and stopped in his tracks, thinking to let her


    through the door first. However, Sonia was having the same intention to let him in first. After all, Toby


    was the partnership initiator as well as the owner of this hotel. No matter what, he had to be the one to


    walk ahead. As a result, all three of them stood at the hotel entrance awkwardly with none of them taking


    the lead to go in. In the end, it was Tom who snapped back and figured out Sonia¡¯s intentions.


    Clearing his throat, he then whispered to Toby, ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed is letting you in first. I know


    you want to let her go first, but as you¡¯re the initiator of the coboration, she wouldn¡¯t go in unless you


    do.¡± Frowning slightly, Toby wasn¡¯t expecting that she would care about the rules in the business world


    so much. Well, if she didn¡¯t care about it so much, she wouldn¡¯t have been annoyed at Tina thest time


    at the resort area when Tina didn¡¯t understand this rule, he thought, and stepped into the hotel with Tom


    following closely behind.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Staring at their backs, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. It¡¯s great that they¡¯re going. Otherwise, I would have


    broken the rules in the business world, she thought, knowing that people who broke the rules of the


    business world would be ostracized and despised by other businessmen. Fortunately, they were the


    ones who went in first in the end. After readjusting the handbag strap on her shoulder, she took in a deep


    breath and went in as well. At the elevators, she pressed the button for the first elevator, but surprisingly,


    the light went out by itself after lighting for a second. What¡¯s happening?


    she asked herself. Are there any open elevator doors? Her brows furrowed, and she was about to check


    which of the elevator doors were opened when she heard a voice in the front saying, ¡°Over here, Miss


    Reed.¡± Twirling her head to the source of the voice, she saw Tom poking his head out of the third


    elevator, smiling at her. At that moment, she understood the situation. No wonder the light on the button


    went out so quickly after I pressed it.


    Toby and Tom have been waiting for me at the third elevator. ¡°Quick, Miss Reed. We¡¯re waiting for you,¡±


    Tom urged again when he saw that she was hesitating and rooted to the spot in front of the first elevator.


    Her lips moved, and she said, ¡°No thanks, you guys go on ahead first. I¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to bete!¡± Tom


    broke her off hastily after Toby cast him a nce. Hearing that, Sonia lifted her hand and nced at the


    time. Sure enough, they were about to bete as there were only a few minutes left. It seemed like she


    had to join them and go upstairs together.


    Sighing, she then stepped into the elevator. Staring at the man standing in the middle of the elevator who


    was exuding a strong aura, she then lowered her gaze and uttered, ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Toby


    replied, looking at her from the corners of his eyes. After finding a spot in the corner of the elevator,


    Sonia stood straight and stopped speaking, and neither did Toby. As the subordinate, Tom naturally


    couldn¡¯t say a thing when he was caught in a situation where his boss was quiet. Because of that, it was


    so silent in the small elevator that all he could hear were the soft sounds of their breathing.


    The professional smile on Tom¡¯s face gradually became stiff from its initial natural look. Goodness,


    please say or do something, guys, he begged silently. Isn¡¯t it a little depressing when nobody says


    anything? Finally, the elevator reached with a ding, and the doors slid open. Tom was the first to get out,


    and he held the door open, feeling relieved. This is great! he thought. At longst, I don¡¯t have to spend


    more time in this suffocating atmosphere with these two! Not knowing what was going on in Tom¡¯s mind,


    Sonia was thest to get out of the elevator.


    Then, she purposely stood there for a couple of seconds and waited until Toby and Tom had gone ahead


    of her a few steps before she started walking, trailing behind with a short distance in between. Soon,


    they reached the conference room, and it was Tom who pushed the door open, letting Toby in, and then


    Sonia. Upon seeing their arrival, the people in the room hurriedly stopped chatting and turned silent.


    Seated on the first left from the main seat of the conference table, Titus narrowed his aging eyes at the


    sight of Sonia. ¡°Toby, why are youing together with President Reed again?¡±


    ¡°We ran into each other downstairs. Alright, let¡¯s start the meeting,¡± Toby said, pulling out the chair and


    taking his seat. Knowing that he didn¡¯t want to exin any further, Titus could only let the matter go.


    However, his eyes were fixed solemnly at Sonia. He thought it was a deliberate act on her part that she


    came in together with Toby. On the other hand, Sonia secretly rolled her eyes in her heart and couldn¡¯t


    be bothered with him. Instead, she flipped her notebook open and prepared to take down the meeting


    minutes. From the main seat, Toby scanned over the faces of the people in the room, and after stopping


    a couple of seconds extra on Sonia¡¯s face, he withdrew his gaze, saying calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve already gone


    through all the proposals everyone handed in yesterday and picked out the most outstanding five


    proposals from it.


    Thepanies behind these five proposals will be our partners in alternative energy technology.¡± Here it


    comes! everyone thought as they straightened their backs subconsciously and became serious. Sonia as


    well. In addition to being serious, she was also a little nervous. Amongst the two dozen or so people


    present, she and herpany were far behind them and were an existence at the lowest level¡ªwhether


    it was her businesspetency or the strength behind herpany. So, she was really not confident


    that her proposal would be selected. ¡°President Fuller, since you¡¯ve already decided on the partners,


    please announce it already so that we all know who are the lucky ones,¡± someone urged. ¡°That¡¯s right,


    President Fuller.


    Don¡¯t keep us waiting.¡± ¡°Just announce it, Toby,¡± Titus said as well, revealing the anticipation in his voice.


    Yesterday, after Tina returned from submitting the proposal at Fuller Group, she had told him that he was


    already one of the confirmed partners. Hence, he was anxious to find out whether she was telling the


    truth. Ultimately, he knew his proposal, and it would be difficult to get selected with that. But there was a


    possibility that Toby had changed his mind for the sake of Tina and opened up a back door for him¡ªhis


    future father-inw. Nervous, Sonia gawked at Toby.


    Toby felt her eyes on him, and he turned to look at her. Not expecting that he would suddenly look in her


    direction, Sonia was stunned, and she cast her eyes downward before twisting her head the other way to


    stop herself from looking. Seeing how indifferent she was, Toby couldn¡¯t help but press his lips together,


    and his tone turned a few notes more grim. ¡°Announce the results, Tom.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom answered. With a list in his hands, he read it out loud. ¡°Based on the proposals, we¡¯ve


    decided on five partners, and these five partners are Mr. Williams of Dazzle Steel Corporation, Mr.


    Cashmann of Supreme Incorporated, Mr. Ziegler from Linewarp Corporation, Mr. Lanster of Half Log


    Group, and¡­¡± Besides the four whose names were read out, the others had their hearts in their throats.


    With both her hands sped together tightly, Sonia bit hard into her lower lip, wondering, Will it be me?


    Her heart was pounding, and her eyes stared unblinking at the list in Tom¡¯s hands. Tom caught sight of


    her gaze, and he sighed in his heart.


    Pushing up his sses, he raised his voice as he announced thest spot, ¡°Mr. Gray of Triforce


    Enterprise.¡± After the words left his lips, sighs of disappointment echoed from the crowd. Sonia lowered


    her dejected eyes and gradually released her tightly sped palms. It¡¯s not me, she thought. Even


    though she had prepared herself mentally prior to this, she was still really upset when she heard the


    results for real.

 Chapter 169

    Chapter 169


    Chapter 169,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    The whole time, Toby was observing the changes in Sonia¡¯s expressions, and for some unknown reason,


    he couldn¡¯t bear it when he saw her looking disappointed. However, with the quality of her proposal, he


    couldn¡¯t open up the back door for her no matter how much he couldn¡¯t bear it. Knowing that he had


    obtained thest partnership slot, Titusughed happily. As he knew the level of his proposal, it would be


    impossible to obtain a spot in the partnership. However, he still got it in the end. Judging from this, it


    looks like Toby really threw out his principle of not engaging in insider business for Tina¡¯s sake and


    opened up the back door for me, his father-inw, he thought, the satisfaction growing in his eyes as he


    peered at Toby.


    He¡¯s really my amazing son-inw! On the other hand, Toby merely furrowed his brows in confusion,


    wondering, What¡¯s up with the look in Titus¡¯ eyes? Without pondering over it further, he smacked his lips


    and said indifferently, ¡°The five partners have been decided. At this same time tomorrow, you can go to


    Fuller Group to sign the contract. I¡¯m going to disclose these five proposals and let those who didn¡¯t


    make the cut have a look to see why they were not selected and where they lost.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± someone


    agreed with a nod. Sonia was also one of them who was in agreement with this idea, as she wanted to


    know as well how much different her proposal was from theirs.


    Despite that, she was paralyzed with shock when she saw the proposal Tom published on the public


    screen. ¡°How could this happen?!¡± she gasped out loud subconsciously. One after another, everyone


    turned their attention to her. ¡°What happened, President Reed?¡± Mr. Lanster, who was seated next to her,


    asked in puzzlement. Instead of answering him, Sonia was staring fixedly on the screen that was


    disying Titus¡¯ proposal. ¡°President Fuller, can you please tell me why my proposal is stamped with


    President Gray¡¯s name?¡± What? Toby wondered, frowning and swirling around to look at the screen


    behind himself.


    After he peered at Titus¡¯ proposal and couldn¡¯t find anything amiss, he turned back again. ¡°This is


    President Gray¡¯s proposal.¡± This was the same proposal he went through yesterday that belonged to


    Titus. However, a guilty look crept over Titus¡¯ face. In fact, he already saw something amiss when his


    proposal was disyed on the screen¡ªthe proposal with his name written over it wasn¡¯t even his


    proposal. Even though he was shocked, he didn¡¯t voice it out because he could only let the wrong spiral


    down the wrong path.


    Furthermore, it had dawned on him that he obtained the partnership slot because of this proposal, and


    not because Toby had opened up the back door for him for Tina¡¯s sake. Therefore, all the more reason


    he couldn¡¯t admit that this wasn¡¯t his proposal. Despite that, it was beyond his imagination that this was


    actually that wretched girl¡¯s proposal, and she even cried out loudly. ¡°That¡¯s nonsense, Toby Fuller!¡±


    Sonia was so mad with rage when she heard Toby say that the proposal belonged to Titus that she was


    shaking all over from the fury and couldn¡¯t care less to address him as ¡®President Fuller,¡¯ calling him by


    his full name instead. ¡°This is my proposal. How dare you guys stamp Titus Gray¡¯s name over my


    proposal and let him im it as his?¡±


    When everyone heard her using Toby of stamping Titus¡¯ name over the proposal, they were all


    shocked. Narrowing his eyes, Toby asked, ¡°So you¡¯re saying that we are the ones who changed your


    proposal to President Gray¡¯s?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what happened?¡± Sonia snapped, ring at him coldly. ¡°I really


    didn¡¯t think that you guys could be so shameless,¡± she continued agitatedly. ¡°Just to let him have a slot in


    the partnership spot, you guys used such underhand tactics.¡± If her proposal was really terrible and was


    eliminated, she could naturally ept defeat with ease.


    However, the truth wasn¡¯t the case. In contrast, her proposal was excellent. Otherwise, Titus wouldn¡¯t


    have snatched it and obtained the partnership slot. Because of that, she would never let this matter rest


    so easily. Looking at Sonia who was hopping mad with rage, Toby then turned to look at Titus, who was


    obviously looking guilty with his head lowered, and he realized that she was telling the truth¡ªthe


    proposal on the screen was really hers, and not Titus¡¯. How could Titus steal somebody¡¯s proposal and


    pass it off as his own! he thought. His eyes squinted dangerously, and ayer of grim, somber air started


    to build up around him.N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    From this, everyone could tell that he was mad. ¡°I¡¯m not the one who stamped the name,¡± he said in a


    serious tone, looking at Sonia. Seeing how serious he seemed, Sonia felt a little appeased and asked,


    ¡°Is it really not you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason for me to do this,¡± he answered. Sonia bit her lip. She could tell


    that he was telling the truth, and she concluded, So he really didn¡¯t know that the name on the proposal


    had been changed. ¡°President Gray, since President Fuller already said that this has nothing to do with


    him, it looks like the culprit can only be you.


    Please exin to me how my proposal became yours!¡± she questioned in a cold voice, her eyes fixed on


    Titus. For the onlookers, they couldn¡¯t be happier if this issue blew up, and they started speaking out in


    amusement. ¡°That¡¯s right, President Gray. Tell us, is this really your proposal?¡± ¡°Yeah, give us an


    exnation.¡± Listening to these people¡¯s questions, Titus mmed the table and sprang up from his seat


    as the fire of fury ignited within him. ¡°What else can I say? Of course this is my proposal!¡± ¡°But President


    Reed said it belongs to her,¡± someone chirped. Titus turned to Sonia, and his eyes shed. Trying his


    best to feignposure, he said, ¡°Is this really yours just because you said so?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I can¡¯t even recognize my own proposal?¡± Sonia retorted, chuckling from anger. The guilt


    within Titus intensified, but admitting it publicly would be thest thing he did. ¡°Fine, since you think it¡¯s


    yours, then tell me how the signature on the proposal became mine in the end. Don¡¯t use me of


    stealing it because I have been to neither Paradigm Co. nor Fuller Group. So how did I steal it?¡±


    Stumped, Sonia was suddenly out of words to argue. He has a point, she thought. Titus hadn¡¯t been to


    herpany, and she would always either lock the proposal in a drawer or bring it straight home every


    time after she was finished with a part of it.


    There was no way he could have bribed someone in herpany to steal it, either. In addition, Toby had


    said that he didn¡¯t change the name on the proposal, but her proposal was now written under Titus¡¯


    name. Just what the hell is going on? she wondered. Seeing that Sonia was at a loss for words, Titus


    turned gleeful and added, ¡°You can¡¯t answer me, can you? Since you have no answer for that, then you


    ¡ª¡± ¡°Tom,¡± Toby interjected suddenly. Titus¡¯ eyes darted to him, his heart fluttering with panic. Toby


    tapped his finger on the conference desk a couple of times and asked, ¡°Are you the one who personally


    collected Miss Reed¡¯s proposal?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Tom answered, nodding. Lifting his chin, Toby said, ¡°Looks like


    the problem arose after you epted the proposal.¡±


    After hearing that, Sonia eyeballed Tom nervously, her eyes filled with suspicion. Knowing that she was


    suspecting whether he was bribed by Titus, Tom waved his hands hastily and exined, ¡°Miss Reed,


    please believe that I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± As Toby¡¯s special assistant, he was not an easy person to bribe.


    Moreover, Toby already promised him that he would give him 0.5 percent of the original shares once he


    finished working for ten years. Although it was a very small portion of shares, judging from the market


    value of Fuller Group, that 0.5 percent of shares was worth a few billions.


    Hence, why would he give up billions and settle for a few hundred of thousands from epting


    someone¡¯s bribe? ¡°If you didn¡¯t do anything, then please tell me how my proposal became his,¡± Sonia


    demanded, pointing a finger at Titus. She had to get to the bottom of this issue no matter what.


    Chuckling bitterly, Tom answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Reed, but I really don¡¯t know. I personally sent your


    proposal to President Fuller¡¯s office.


    On the way, I didn¡¯t pass by¡­¡± As though something came into his mind at this point, he trailed off, and


    his eyes widened. Seeing his face, Toby squinted his eyes. ¡°Did you find out something?¡± Tom¡¯s mouth


    parted. ¡°I thought of a possibility, but¡­¡± Then, he shifted his eyes, which was filled with aplicated


    look, to Titus.


    Catching his eye, Titus felt his heart drop, and the expression on his face turned sullen. Clearly, he


    understood what had transpired. ¡°Mr. Brown, please say it!¡± Sonia pressed urgently, her eyes glued on


    him. However, Tom turned to Toby instead, seeking his approval. Toby nodded and said, ¡°Just say it.¡±

 Chapter 170

    Chapter 170


    Chapter 170,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Since Toby allowed it, Tom didn¡¯t need to hold back anymore. He nodded and said, ¡°Miss Gray showed


    up not long after I epted Miss Reed¡¯s proposal. She was here to hand in herpany¡¯s proposal as


    well. Halfway through, I had to leave to make some coffee for Miss Gray, so I left all the proposals in the


    room, and there wasn¡¯t anyone besides her back then.¡± There was no need for further exnation from


    Tom, since everyone could see Tina was the one who did the switcheroo. Toby stared down,


    disappointed in Tina¡¯s behavior. ¡°Nonsense!¡±


    Titus shot up and red at Tom. ¡°How dare you nder my daughter! Toby, your assistant is spewing


    lies!¡± Titus knew his daughter was the one who did it, but he couldn¡¯t admit to it no matter what.


    ¡°President Gray, I¡¯m an honest man. I didn¡¯t lie at all. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can show you the


    surveince camera¡¯s footage,¡± Tom rebutted unhappily. He worked to his bone to get to where he was,


    so he wouldn¡¯t nder anyone, or he would have been fired a long time ago. All the color drained from


    Titus¡¯ face when Tom said he had evidence to back him up.


    Sonia mocked, ¡°What a nice daughter you have, President Gray. She went really far to get this deal,


    didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°True. This is an¡­ eye-opening experience, so to speak,¡± someone agreed. Titus was


    fuming, but he couldn¡¯t do anything. All he wanted to do then was find some ce to hide, for there was


    nothing but humiliation for him here. He had never felt so embarrassed before, not even when he was


    arrested. After all, nobody knew what he did to warrant the arrest, but this time, it was different. Everyone


    knew Tina did a switcheroo, and they even thought Titus was behind it.


    He could imagine how everyone in the circle would view him after this. Rage was filling Titus up. He


    hated Sonia for exposing the truth, for not taking the hit like he wanted her to. He hated Toby for


    exposing him publicly, but most of all, he hated Tina for doing this. ¡°President Fuller.¡± Since Titus had lost


    the battle, Sonia lost interest in him. So she turned to Toby. ¡°Now that the truth is clear, what will you do,


    President Fuller? Will you keep working with President Gray, or¡­¡± Toby interrupted, ¡°Now that we know


    the truth, I hereby announce that we shall no longer be working with Titus Gray.


    President Reed shall be our new partner from now on. Any objections?¡± He looked at everyone.


    Everyone shook their heads. ¡°No.¡± Titus¡¯ spot belonged to Sonia in the first ce, and not to mention


    Sonia¡¯s proposal was a decent one. ¡°What about you, President Gray?¡± Toby looked at Titus. Titus forced


    a smile. ¡°No, not at all.¡± Not that I can do anything even if I do. Toby nodded and turned back to Sonia.


    ¡°You heard them. What do you think?¡± ¡°Great.¡± Sonia was delighted, for she finally got the partnership


    after going through so much. Yes! I won the bet. In your face, Asher. She clenched her fists in


    excitement.


    A smile curled Toby¡¯s lips as he shared her happiness, but the smile onlysted a moment. He was about


    to say something, but then Sonia blurted, ¡°But this isn¡¯t enough, President Fuller.¡± Hearing that, everyone


    in the room buzzed with excitement. Oh ho. Seems like she¡¯s a greedy one. She¡¯s not satisfied with just


    the proposal and the deal, huh? Someone¡¯s in trouble. Titus barked, ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck, Sonia!¡± Sonia


    nced at him calmly. ¡°What do you mean ¡®push my luck?¡¯ I¡¯m the victim here, so why shouldn¡¯t I get fair


    compensation? That reminds me, President Gray.


    You¡¯re the perpetrator here, and not only are you not apologizing, but you¡¯re even yelling at me. That¡¯s a


    bit too much, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Why you¡­¡± Titus¡¯ eyes were starting to roll to the back from fury. But


    Sonia ignored him and turned back to Toby. ¡°President Fuller, I handed in my proposal in yourpany,


    but yet someone still managed to switch it out. You¡¯re the boss, so take some responsibility here. You


    don¡¯t want everyone losing their trust in the Fuller Group, do you?¡± ¡°President Reed is right.¡± Someone


    nodded. ¡°You should take some responsibility here, President Fuller.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Toby sat up straight. ¡°We take full responsibility for this fiasco. I sincerely apologize for our staff¡¯s


    mistake, Miss Reed.¡± Then he stood up, put his hand on his belly, and bowed at her. Tom did the same


    thing. ¡°This is all my fault, Miss Reed. I¡¯m really sorry for this.¡± Sonia¡¯s mood took a turn for the better


    after they apologized, then she looked at Titus. ¡°President Fuller has apologized. What about you,


    President Gray?¡± ¡°You want me to apologize too?¡± Titus stared at her in disbelief. Sonia smiled. ¡°Why


    not? Yes, you weren¡¯t the one who did it, but you could potentially be the mastermind.


    Even if you aren¡¯t, you wanted to sweep this under the rug and pretend the proposal¡¯s not mine. If Mr.


    Brown didn¡¯t bring up the fact that he has evidence, you would have insisted that my proposal is yours.


    Shouldn¡¯t you apologize for that?¡± ¡°President Reed is right, President Gray. You insisted that the


    proposal¡¯s yours, not hers. Everyone saw that too. We know what you were nning, so you¡¯d better say


    sorry before things get worse for you.¡± Someoneughed. Titus was shivering with anger, but he couldn¡¯t


    retort, or everyone would think of him as a joke even more.


    He took a deep breath, held his fury down, and red darkly at Sonia. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll apologize. I¡¯m sorry.


    Happy?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound too willing to me, but it¡¯s already good enough that you apologized. I¡¯ll


    reluctantly ept your apology, then.¡± Sonia chuckled. That almost knocked Titus out. What do you


    mean ¡®reluctantly¡¯? I¡¯ll get back at you for this one day! ¡°Tom,¡± Toby said all of a sudden. ¡°Tell everyone


    that Tina will have to make an appointment every time she wants toe to thepany from now on.


    She¡¯s no longer allowed toe and go as she pleases.¡±


    Tom adjusted his sses. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Toby, you can¡¯t¡­¡± Titus gawked at Toby, for he couldn¡¯t believe


    what he just heard. Sonia couldn¡¯t believe it either. Toby looked at her for a moment before turning his


    attention to Titus. ¡°This is the price Tina must pay.¡± Titus wanted to argue, but he couldn¡¯t. From then on,


    Sonia¡¯s opinion about Toby changed a little, since she never thought he¡¯d actually punish Tina when all


    he ever did was spoil her.


    Looks like it¡¯s gonna rain gold today. Titus took a deep breath and said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel so good, Toby. I will


    take my leave now.¡± He¡¯d only get humiliated further if he stayed any longer. Toby knew he was just


    trying to escape the humiliation, so he nodded. ¡°Send President Gray off, Tom.¡± ¡°Yes.¡±


    Tom grunted in obligation, then he invited Titus to go with him. After Titus was gone, Toby pped. ¡°Let¡¯s


    continue the meeting, then.¡± Thus, Sonia sat down and went on with the meeting. On the other hand,


    Titus stormed back home, obviously upset. Julia was in the middle of her skincare routine when he came


    home. She was shocked to see him looking so angry. ¡°You¡¯re early today, dear. Is the meeting done


    already?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no meeting. I would have had a heart attack if I stayed there any longer.¡± Titus mmed his


    briefcase down on the sofa. Julia took her facial mask off. ¡°What happened?¡±

 Chapter 171

    Chapter 171


    Titus didn¡¯t answer that. Instead, he asked darkly, ¡°Where¡¯s Tina?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in her room,¡± Julia answered.


    Titus squinted for a moment, then he went upstairs.


    His inexplicable anger was making Julia¡¯s heart pound with fear. Did Tina do something to get on his


    nerves? Worried about her daughter, Julia quickly followed him upstairs.


    Titus started banging on the door once he was outside Tina¡¯s room.


    The door was opened a momentter, revealing Tina behind it. She was in her pajamas, looking sleepy.


    ¡°What is it, Dad?¡±


    The fact that she was looking sleepy only served to fuel his anger. I was humiliated at an important


    meeting, while you¡¯re just sleeping? The more he thought about it, the angrier he was. In the end, he


    couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore, and he pped Tina as hard as he could.


    p! Tina fell to the ground from the impact of the p, entirely dumbstruck. But more importantly, she


    didn¡¯t know why her father was pping her.


    Julia came over just in time to see that. She screamed in horror and went up to hold


    Tina. ¡°Tina!¡±


    Tina was holding her face with one hand, staring at her furious father in confusion.


    Julia was bbergasted as well, but she was also infuriated. ¡°Are you mad, Titus? Why¡¯d you p your


    daughter?¡±


    ¡°Why did I p her, you ask?Do you have any idea what this girl did?¡± Titus was pointing at Tina with a


    trembling finger.


    Tina finally got up with her mother¡¯s help. ¡°What? What did I do, Dad?¡± She stared at her father tearfully.


    ¡°Yeah, what did she do?¡± Julia touched Tina¡¯s face, and she started to cry. ¡°Does it hurt, Tina?¡± Her face


    was already red, obviously because Titus didn¡¯t hold back.


    ¡°Yes, it does.¡± Tina bit her lip, tears streaming down her cheeks.


    ¡°Good!¡± Titus snorted. ¡°When you told me I¡¯m getting the deal, I thought you slept your way into the


    company. Turns out I got the deal because you switched my


    proposal with someone else¡¯s.¡±


    All at once, Tina averted her gaze guiltily.


    Julia was surprised too, but she shrugged Tina¡¯s actions off quickly. ¡°So what? That¡¯s no big deal. Did


    you have to p her?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been a big deal, except she didn¡¯t do a clean job. Sure, Tom was distracted, but there


    was a surveince camera in the room. You got caught red handed, Tina.¡± Titus looked at her coldly.


    Tina froze up. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know there was a surveince camera in there.¡±


    ¡°Toote for excuses. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was when Sonia pointed out that the


    proposal isn¡¯t mine? There were more than twenty presidents in the room. Do you know how bad this is


    going to be for my rep?¡± Titus growled.


    Tina stared down in fearful silence..


    Julia patted Titus¡¯ back. ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad, can it, honey?¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t it be? Now everyone knows I have a daughter who tried to cheat her way through the


    competition. My reputation¡¯s scarred. The whole town¡¯s gonnaugh at me.¡±


    Then, he pointed at Julia. ¡°You¡¯re gonna get dragged into this as well. The next time you go on an outing


    with your friends, they¡¯re gonna treat you like a joke.¡±


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    That finally made Julia nervous. ¡°T-They won¡¯t, right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get your answer eventually.¡± Titus sneered.


    Julia believed her husband. And secondster, she shot aplicated look at Tina.


    Tina knew Julia was starting to me her for this disaster as well, so she started acting the victim again.


    ¡°But I did it all for you, Dad. I wanted you to get the partnership.¡±


    Tina¡¯s victim act worked again, for Julia stopped ming her. ¡°Yeah, honey.¡± She nodded. ¡°Tina¡¯s out of


    line, but she¡¯s right.¡±


    But Titus mocked, ¡°And that¡¯s why she turned out this way, because you keep defending her. She¡¯s a


    cruel, dumb woman. That¡¯s one sloppy job she did. At this rate, she¡¯ll drag the whole family down with


    her.¡±


    Tina looked at him in disbelief. ¡°Dad?¡± She couldn¡¯t believe that Titus only thought of her as a cruel,


    dumb girl. Thatment fueled the deep, dark hatred within her, and her eyes turned crimson. But she


    couldn¡¯t let Titus see that, so she quickly stared down, pretending to be scared.


    Since his anger was getting the better of him, Titus felt his migraine kicking in. ¡°You¡¯re grounded for two


    days. Think over what you did during this period of time.¡± He massaged his temples and went downstairs


    to get some aspirin.


    After Titus was gone, Julia went to calm Tina down. ¡°Your father was just saying that out of anger. Don¡¯t


    take it to heart.¡±


    Tina nodded. ¡°I want to be alone for a bit, Mom. You should leave.¡± Her voice started to break


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Julia sighed.


    She was about to chastise Titus, but when she saw him taking his aspirin, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself


    to do it. Instead, she sat down beside Titus. ¡°Tina knows she shouldn¡¯t have done that. Just let it slide


    this one time, huh?¡±


    Titus sighed. ¡°I¡¯m just worried this might not be the only time. I knew it. We shouldn¡¯t have adopted¡ª¡±.


    ¡°Titus!¡± Shocked, Julia raised her voice to stop him. ¡°Do not speak of that.¡±


    Titus snorted. ¡°Alright, alright. Honestly though, Tina¡¯s a smart girl, but she¡¯s careless and opportunistic.


    This will be problematic in the long run. I can¡¯t leave thepany to her, but luckily, we still have Rina.¡±


    The mention of Rina made Julia shed some tears, but she wiped it away. ¡°It¡¯s been two days, but she still


    refuses to see us. I think she¡¯s avoiding us on purpose because she thinks we abandoned her. Why don¡¯t


    we search for her? So she knows we didn¡¯t abandon her.¡±


    Titus nodded. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll get my assistant to post the news online. Snap a photo of your ne and


    send it to me.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Julia broke into a smile and agreed to it.


    At the same time, Tina overheard everyone from the staircase, and she gripped the guardrail tightly. I


    knew that b*tch is up to no good. She¡¯s still not back yet, but she¡¯s already taking away their love from


    me. At this rate, she¡¯s gonna take thepany as well. I¡¯m not letting that happen. She turned back into


    her room to make a call. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me. About that person I asked you about, did you find out anything?¡±


    A man¡¯s voice sounded from the other end. ¡°Not yet.¡±


    .


    Useless trash. She stomped her foot. It¡¯s been two days, but there¡¯s still no lead? Useless. ¡°I¡¯ll give you


    another two days. Fail me, and you¡¯re getting it,¡± Tina threatened.


    After ending the call, she put her phone down and hurriedly changed into a new set of clothes before she


    went to the Fuller Group. Now that it¡¯s exposed, I¡¯ll have to exin myself to Toby, or it won¡¯t end well.


    When she came to thepany, Tina went toward the exclusive elevator as usual, but before she could


    reach it, the receptionist stopped her. ¡°Miss Gray, did you make any appointment with us?¡±


    Tina stared at her in disbelief. ¡°Appointment? Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The receptionist nodded with a smile, but she was thinking, Did she break up with the president?


    Is that why she¡¯s not allowed upstairs?

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    Chapter 172


    ¡°Are you new here?¡± Tina red at the receptionist.


    The receptionist shook her head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why are you stopping me, then? Do you know who I am?¡± Tina pointed at herself. I¡¯m Toby¡¯s fianc¨¦e,


    future CEO of the Fuller Group and wife of the president. How dare a mere receptionist stop me?


    The receptionist was feeling a lot of heat from Tina, but she forced herself to keep a smile. ¡°I know who


    you are, Miss Gray,¡± she answered apologetically. ¡°But I can¡¯t let you go upstairs. President¡¯s orders.¡±


    ¡°Toby said that?¡± Tina froze up, but then she clenched her fists. ¡°What did he say?¡± she asked coldly.


    ¡°President Fuller said you must make an appointment if you want to see him from now on. We can¡¯t let


    you in if you don¡¯t have an appointment. You can call him if you don¡¯t believe me, Miss Gray.¡± After that,


    the receptionist bowed to Tina and stood before the exclusive elevator. Obviously, she wouldn¡¯t let Tina


    up.


    Tina¡¯s face was flushed with anger. Just you wait. I¡¯ll get Toby to fire you. She snorted and went to the


    lounge area to call Toby.


    Toby was still in the meeting when Tina called him. He frowned, but still he looked at who was calling.


    However, when he realized it was Tina, his face fell, and he ended the call.


    Tina was shocked that the call was cut off so abruptly. He hung up on me. She was angry, but also


    scared. What is he doing? Why didn¡¯t he pick his phone up? Is he mad at me for the switcheroo? Or¡­


    Tina bit her lip, then she called Toby again without any hesitation. I have to get through to him no matter


    what.


    ¡°There¡¯s that then. Let¡¯s talk about the details and the rules. I¡ª¡± Toby¡¯s phone rang again before he


    could finish his sentence. His face fell when he realized it was from Tina again, and there was a hint of


    impatience in his eyes as he cut the call. But Tina called him again a few momentster.


    The president on his right took a nce out of curiosity, and he smiled when he saw who the caller was.


    ¡°President Fuller, you should take it. It¡¯s from your fianc¨¦e after all. Maybe it¡¯s something urgent.¡±


    Sonia was sitting at the other end of the table, the spot furthest from Toby. When she heard who the


    caller was, she arched her eyebrow. Tina? She looked at Toby in interest.


    I thought he loved her, but now he won¡¯t even take her call? And he¡¯s impatient with her too. Did


    something happen between them?


    Sonia wasn¡¯t the only one who was thinking about that; the other presidents were too. Everyone saw


    what Toby did, so if he truly was going to break up with Tina, they would have to reconsider their


    rtionship with the Grays. Ever since the Grays managed to ally themselves with Toby, during the past


    two months, they had been acting all high and mighty. That attitude got on everyone¡¯s nerves, so it was


    good news if Toby dumped her.


    ¡°My apologies, everyone. I¡¯ll have to stop the meeting for a while. I need to take this call.¡± Toby didn¡¯t


    know what everyone was thinking, of course, but he knew Tina would call him again if he didn¡¯t take her


    call. Even if he turned his phone off, she¡¯d call Tom, so Toby stood up with his phone in hand.


    ¡°Understandable. Work is important, but so is family. Take your time, President Fuller. Don¡¯t let her wait.¡±


    All the presidents smiled at him.


    Toby nodded at everyone before going out of the room, then Tom followed him out.


    Everyone burst into discussion after the two of them left.


    ¡°President Fuller is a business genius, and a young one at that too. Shame he doesn¡¯t have any taste in


    women. Of all the women he could pick, he picked Tina. Did you guys hear how she wouldn¡¯t stop calling


    him? That¡¯s going to be a problem. President Fuller won¡¯t be having it easy with her.¡±


    ¡°You can say that again! She¡¯s just like the mistress I used to have. She wouldn¡¯t stop calling me if I


    missed even one call. What a nuisance that one was.¡±.


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    ¡°President Reed.¡± One of the presidents suddenly looked at Sonia.


    Sonia was having some tea while hearing the presidents spilling tea on Toby and Tina. She was having


    fun, but she never expected anyone to call her.


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Ziegler?¡± She put her teacup down and smiled politely at the president who called her.


    Mr. Ziegler said, ¡°You¡¯re prettier than Tina. More capable as well. It¡¯s a shame President Fuller divorced


    you for Tina.¡±


    Tina stared at him for a few moments, then she realized what he was getting at. He was jealous that a


    young woman like her managed to get the partnership without much effort when he, as a veteran, did


    everything he could to earn the spot, so he was trying to fan the mes between her, Toby, and Tina so


    that they¡¯d be tearing each other apart down the road. Shameless old git.


    Sonia cursed him silently, but she put on a smile nheless. ¡°Oh, you tter me, Mr. Ziegler. It¡¯s not a


    shame at all, no. President Fuller is blessed, in fact. He found his true love after all. Besides, the love


    story between a prince and a naive princess is all the rage now. President Fuller loves clueless, naive


    ladies like Tina, while I¡­¡±


    A grin carved itself on Sonia¡¯s lips. ¡°While I¡¯ll be the queen. After all, you said I¡¯m prettier and more


    capable than she is. In that case, I¡¯m getting myself a cute, naive youngd. They know how to make me


    happy, and they¡¯re young. The divorce is great for both me and President Fuller, so please don¡¯t bring it


    up anymore, Mr. Ziegler.¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re right, President Reed.¡± A vein in Mr. Ziegler¡¯s forehead popped. What a shameless woman.


    She mocked President Fuller and that Tina girl. She¡¯s making President Fuller look like an ipetent


    old fool who has no taste in women. On top of that, she¡¯s saying that President Fuller doesn¡¯t know how


    to make a woman happy, and that Tina is the reason why he has no taste in women. As if that¡¯s not


    enough, she praised herself to high heavens in the end. Gosh.


    Mr. Ziegler wasn¡¯t the only one who thought so, since everyone else shared that sentiment. However,


    they also realized that Sonia was not to be trifled with. She¡¯d retaliate if anyone tried to provoke her.


    Well, Titus wouldn¡¯t have lost out to her if she was easy prey.


    Since everyone had stopped talking, Sonia picked up her teacup once again, concealing the smile she


    had behind.


    At the same time, Toby was outside the conference room, taking Tina¡¯s call. Before he could say


    anything, Tinained, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take my call, Toby?¡±


    A frown creased Toby¡¯s forehead, and he answered calmly, ¡°I was in a meeting.¡±


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°But you used to take my calls even when you were in meetings. Are you mad at me,


    Toby?¡±


    Toby looked down at the ground, his gaze dark. ¡°Then tell me, why am I mad at


    you?¡±


    ¡°Because I switched Miss Reed¡¯s proposal out,¡± Tina whispered.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°So you knew.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Dad told me that after he came back.¡± She nodded. ¡°I came straight away so I could exin myself,


    but I couldn¡¯t go up. Did you tell the receptionist to stop me, Toby?¡±

 Chapter 173

    Chapter 173


    Toby didn¡¯t answer that. Instead, he asked, ¡°Are you at thepany now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tina nodded. ¡°I¡¯m at the lobby.¡±


    Toby massaged his forehead. ¡°I see. We can talk after the meeting¡¯s done, so wait for me there.¡± With


    that, he ended the call.


    Tina stomped her foot angrily. He hung up on me! That¡¯s the first time he did that.


    After Toby came back into the conference room, everyone stopped gossiping. Toby¡¯s face fell, and when


    he realized Sonia was smirking at him, he knew everyone was talking about him in his absence. ¡°Let¡¯s


    resume the meeting,¡± he said darkly.


    The meetingsted for more than an hour, but eventually, it came to an end.


    Everyone started filing out, and Sonia was thest one to go, as usual. Before she could get out, Toby


    stopped her. ¡°A minute, please.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Fuller?¡± Sonia stopped.


    Toby handed a file to her.


    ¡°And this is?¡± She took it from him, though she was curious about the content.


    ¡°Titus¡¯ proposal. The one Tina switched. I thought it was yours, so I added a lot of suggestions. You can


    take a look. It¡¯ll help with the project,¡± he exined calmly.


    Sonia opened the file and saw the suggestions written in red. She looked at them for a few moments and


    closed the file. ¡°Why¡¯d you do this for me, Mr. Fuller?¡± She looked at him curiously.


    Nobody knew the proposal was Titus, so everyone thought it was hers. Why¡¯d he make so many


    suggestions? Won¡¯t it waste his time? There was no need for that. The amount of suggestions alone was


    enough to show how rubbish the proposal was. He could have just tossed it in the bin and called it a day.


    So why did he help me out? Weird.


    Toby was surprised she¡¯d ask that, so he looked downward to hide that look in his eyes. ¡°I helped


    everyone, not just you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded, obviously believing that excuse. He doesn¡¯t like me, so there¡¯s no point in


    specially helping me out. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll take your suggestions into ount. Thank you.¡± She bowed to him.


    ¡°Sure. Don¡¯t bete for the signing tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t. Goodbye now.¡± Sonia gave him a polite smile before leaving the room.


    Toby raised his hand while he watched her back, as if he wanted to stop her from leaving, but in the end,


    he gave up.


    ¡°Mr. Fuller.¡± Tom came in a moment after that.


    Toby put his hand in his pocket. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Dr. Steve is on his way here,¡± Tom answered.


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted with excitement, but only for a moment. ¡°I see. Is his clinic prepared?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Done ording to his demands. He can open up the clinic right after hends,¡±


    Tom answered.


    Toby raised his chin. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to thepany.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom nodded.


    A short whileter, Toby and Tom came back to Fuller Group.


    Tina saw them the moment they came into the lobby, so she shot up and trotted toward Toby. ¡°Toby!¡± She


    went up to him and gave him a tight hug.


    The people around them gave her envious, jealous looks. If it was in the past, Toby wouldn¡¯t care how


    everyone looked at them. However, for some reason, now he didn¡¯t want them to think he was dating


    Tina. ¡°Alright, Tina. Calm down.¡± A frown creased Toby¡¯s forehead, then he pulled Tina away from him.


    After Tina stood up, she looked at him with tearful eyes. ¡°Toby, 1¡ª¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk in the office.¡± Toby went to the elevator after telling her that.


    Tina was angry that Toby didn¡¯t wait for her. She clenched her fists, but she followed him quickly.


    They came to the office a short whileter. Aftering in, Tina continued with what she wanted to say


    earlier. ¡°I know you¡¯re still mad at me, Toby, but I didn¡¯t know I switched Miss Reed¡¯s proposal out. I have


    no recollection of it. I was confused when my dad told me about it.¡±


    Toby turned around. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t. I think my alter ego did it.¡± Tina stared down at the ground.


    Toby gazed at her quizzically. ¡°But she only appears when she¡¯s triggered. You were alone in that room.


    Tell me, Tina. How were you triggered then?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t triggered in the room. I-I saw Miss Reed downstairs when I came here to hand the proposal in.¡±


    Tina looked up.


    That caught Toby by surprise. ¡°You saw Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She was leaving thepany. Her visit triggered me, since you guys are already divorced. Maybe


    that¡¯s when my alter ego took over.¡± Tina started trailing off at the end, and she sobbed.


    Toby sighed. ¡°Forget it. That¡¯s the end of this matter. Your father has apologized, and I told everyone you


    can¡¯te up without permission. It¡¯s enough punishment.¡±


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°Must you do that, Toby? Can¡¯t you change it?¡±


    ¡°No. Now that Sonia¡¯s our partner, she¡¯s going toe to thepany a lot. If I don¡¯t do this, you¡¯re


    bound to bump into her and get triggered a lot. End of discussion.¡± Toby answered adamantly.


    That answer didn¡¯t sit well with her, but she couldn¡¯t do anything, so she nodded. ¡°I see. But did my dad


    really lose the deal?¡±


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    ¡°His proposal leaves a lot to be desired, so yes,¡± Toby answered coolly.


    ¡°B-But he¡¯s my father. Can¡¯t you¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Toby interrupted her.


    Tina¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°Tina, I know what you want to say.¡± He looked at Tina. ¡°You want me to give him a chance for your sake,


    but you have to know that this bid is fair y. I made that announcement myself. There¡¯ll be no inside


    man, no cheating. If I break that rule, my reputation will be scarred.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Sorry, Toby. I won¡¯t do it again.¡± Tina stared down, crestfallen..


    Toby gave her a hug. ¡°Good to hear. I¡¯ll give him some privileges on other projects, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Toby. You¡¯re the best.¡± She stood on tiptoe and kissed him happily.


    The kiss made him frown by reflex. The moment Tina stared down, he quickly wiped his cheek. After


    that, he said, ¡°Tina, do you remember what I told you back at ric¡¯s vi? About the psychologist?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded.


    ¡°Good. Dr. Steve is on the way as we speak. He¡¯ll be here by tomorrow. I¡¯ll take you to him then,¡± Toby


    said.


    The news surprised her, and she started panicking. ¡°You found a psychologist? Already?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered.


    Toby¡¯s reply stoked her me of fury, but she took a deep breath to hold it down. Once she had calmed


    down, she stared at him, slightly upset. ¡°When did you find this psychologist? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    Tina¡¯s growing nervousness didn¡¯t escape Toby, which made him narrow his eyes. ¡°I told Tom the day


    after you said you¡¯d see a psychologist. You seem to be afraid of the psychologist.¡±

 Chapter 174

    Chapter 174


    Tina¡¯s heart sank. She knew her overreaction was making Toby suspicious, so she clenched her fists and


    composed herself. ¡°I¡¯m not scared. Just worried.¡± She shook her head.


    ¡°About what?¡± Toby was still gazing at her.


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Tina put on a worried look. ¡°He might lock me up in an asylum. I¡¯ve seen it on TV. The doctors lock all the


    patients with dissociative identity disorder up in an asylum. He might do the same to me too, Toby.¡± She


    held Toby¡¯s sleeve tightly.


    Toby patted her head, calming her down by telling her, ¡°He won¡¯t. What you saw on TV was just for


    dramatic effect. The psychologist will only guide you. Nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tina stared at him, still looking worried.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes, so rx.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, Toby. I need to use the restroom now.¡± She let him go and pretended to heave a sigh of


    relief.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    Tina turned around and went straight to the restroom, but the moment she closed the door, her face


    darkened. Right after she sat on the toilet seat, she made a call.


    It went through in a second. Tim just went through a surgery, so his voice was weak. ¡°What is it, Tina?¡±


    Tina gripped her phone tightly, whispering, ¡°I need your help, Tim.¡±


    Something shed across his eyes. ¡°What is it? Sonia¡¯s pregnancy?¡±


    ¡°No. We can put that aside. Toby just got a psychologist for me. Said he¡¯s going to get me to consult him.


    But I¡¯m not even mentally ill. What if the psychologist exposes me?¡± Panic and worry were showing up


    on Tina¡¯s face. If Toby had told her that he was finding her a psychologist, she would have had time to


    get the psychologist on her side. But with how sudden it was, Tina had no time to build any connection,


    much to her chagrin.


    Instantly, Tim realized what Tina wanted him to do. ¡°So you want me toe up with an idea to deal with


    the psychologist, and you want him to diagnose you with dissociative identity disorder.¡± He adjusted his


    sses.


    Tina nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Can youe up with something, Tim?¡±


    ¡°Easy.¡± Tim sat down on his chair. ¡°The psychologist will try to pull your ¡®alter ego¡¯ out during the session


    so he can see if you really have dissociative identity disorder. What you need to do then is to put on an


    act.¡±


    ¡°An act?¡± A frown creased Tina¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Yes, an act. Your ¡®alter ego¡¯ is someone who despises Sonia with all her soul. You¡¯ll need to act the part


    then.¡±


    ¡°Will that work?¡± Tina bit her lip. She had her own misgivings about the n. ¡°I can trick Toby, but I¡¯m


    facing a professional this time. You studied psychology, so you know an act is just an act in the end. A


    professional would see through it easily.¡±


    That was why investigating units had psychologists as their consultants, since they could easily see


    through someone¡¯s act easily.


    Tim¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°Just do your part and leave the rest to me. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    At that point, Tina had no choice but to put her trust in Tim. She had no better n otherwise. ¡°Alright, I


    understand.¡± She forced a smile.


    Tim asked again, ¡°Do you know who Toby hired?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Tina frowned.


    ¡°Mmh. I see. It¡¯s fine. Tell me after you ask him.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Tina nodded.


    After the call ended, she heaved a sigh and flushed the toilet bowl, pretending she was using the


    restroom. Then, she went out. ¡°Toby.¡±


    Toby was at his desk, staring seriously at his PC, so he didn¡¯t even respond when Tina called out to him.


    That made Tina pout unhappily, so she wanted to see what made him so engrossed. ¡°What are you


    doing, Toby?¡± She went over to him.


    Toby¡¯s face darkened, then he closed the window. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tina smiled, seemingly believing what Toby told her. She didn¡¯t ask further, but when she stared


    down, her eyes were filled with darkness. Nothing? I saw you stalking Sonia. ¡°Oh, right, Toby.¡±


    Remembering what Tim wanted her to ask, Tina


    held Toby¡¯s hand and fiddled with his fingers. ¡°You said my psychologist is on the way. He¡¯s not a local, is


    he?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby took the cup of iced coffee on his table and had a sip.


    Tina¡¯s eyes glinted, and she kept asking, ¡°Really? Sounds like a pro. You must have spent a lot of money


    to hire him. Who is he?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t think much about the question. Since he thought she was curious, he answered after putting


    his coffee down, ¡°Dr. Steve.¡±


    Tina never heard of him, but she made a mental note of that so she could ask Timter.


    It was then that someone knocked on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Toby pulled his hand away.


    After getting Toby¡¯s permission, Tom came in. ¡°Mr. Fuller, you have a dinner appointment with Mr.


    Coleman at Universal Hotel today. It¡¯s nearly time. Shall we get going now?¡±


    ¡°Get the car.¡± Toby stood up and straightened himself out.


    After Tom was gone, Toby turned to Tina.


    Hastily, Tina put her phone down and smiled at him. ¡°Are you going out, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have an appointment. I¡¯ll take you back home,¡± he said.


    Tina nodded. A short whileter, Toby sent her back home, and after that, Tom turned the car around and


    headed to Universal Hotel.


    When he went past Triforce on the way, he saw a lot of youngdies surrounding the entrance; there was


    even a guard registering them there.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Toby asked curiously.


    Tom took a look through the rear view mirror, and he knew what was going on. ¡°Triforce released a new


    post on their official website in the morning. Said they¡¯re looking for a girl with a special ne. Those


    ¡°They¡¯re looking for a girl with a special ne?¡± Toby squinted, and the first person he thought of was


    Sonia. Sonia has Rina¡¯s ne. Triforce is looking for a girl with a special ne. Are they talking


    about the one Sonia is holding?


    Toby took his phone out and checked out Triforce¡¯s official website for more details. It didn¡¯t take long for


    him to see that post. There was a picture attached with it, and it was a ne simr to the one Sonia


    had.


    I knew it. They¡¯re talking about Sonia¡¯s ne. This one in the post probably belonged to Julia¡¯s


    mother. Odd though. Sonia¡¯s ne should have gone missing along with Rina¡¯s death twenty years


    ago. They don¡¯t know Henry kept it, so why are they looking for it now?

 Chapter 175

    Chapter 175


    And they¡¯re looking for it right after Sonia got it. No, more importantly, the post specifically says they¡¯re


    looking for a girl with the ne. In other words, the Grays are looking for a person, not the ne.


    ¡°Find out why the Grays are looking for this girl.¡± Toby tapped his finger on the edge of the car¡¯s window.


    They¡¯re looking for Sonia, but they don¡¯t know about it.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded.


    Toby stared down at his phone. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually, he made the call.


    Back at Paradigm, Sonia was correcting a tricky document. Just when she had some idea about it, her


    train of thoughts was cut off by a call. Frustrated, she took the call without even looking at the caller.


    ¡°Who is this?¡±


    Toby kept quiet when he realized Sonia was being impatient. Even a phone call annoys her now?


    Sonia pinched her forehead after she received no response. ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips, then he finally said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    Sonia was surprised to hear his voice, so she took a look at the caller¡¯s name on the screen. When she


    confirmed it was him, she continued the call. ¡°Hi, Mr. Fuller. Anything?¡± she asked calmly.


    ¡°Did you see Triforce¡¯stest news?¡± he asked her.


    ¡°News?¡± Sonia was confused. ¡°What news?¡±


    I¡¯ll take that as a no. So that means I¡¯m the first to tell her. Delighted, Toby coughed softly and said, ¡°The


    Grays are looking for someone with a special ne. That¡¯s you.¡±


    ¡°What? They¡¯re looking for me?¡± Sonia gripped her pen tightly.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes, but they don¡¯t know it¡¯s you they¡¯re looking for, because they don¡¯t know you have


    the ne.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. Let me take a look.¡± Sonia put her pen down, cradled her phone on the shoulder, and typed


    away on the keyboard. A short whileter, she saw Triforce¡¯stest post, and she frowned. ¡°Weird. How


    did they know the ne still exists?¡±


    Just like Toby, she didn¡¯t think the Grays knew that the ne still existed. However, theirtest post


    overturned that assumption, and now she knew they were looking for her.


    Toby kept quiet for a while, then he hazarded a guess. ¡°Not sure. But they posted this not long after you


    took the ne, so I think they found out about it by chance.¡±


    Sonia nodded. Apparently, she shared his sentiment. ¡°But if they only found this out by chance, they


    should only be looking for the ne, not the person. And specifically a girl. They can¡¯t be thinking that


    Rina¡¯s still alive, can they?¡±


    Toby was surprised Sonia came to the same conclusion as he did. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. Maybe they do


    think she¡¯s still alive.¡± For some reason, the Grays knew Rina¡¯s ne still exists, but they don¡¯t know


    Sonia possesses it. All they know is that a girl has it. They think the girl is Rina, so they did all this.


    ¡°Impossible.¡± Sonia shot up, shocked. ¡°Grandma told me my dad drowned Rina. She can¡¯t still be alive.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Toby interrupted her. ¡°Your ne is proof.¡±


    My ne? Sonia reflexively touched her ne. She had been wearing it at all times recently in


    case it went missing.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me Rina still lives because this ne exists? What¡¯s the connection?¡± she asked.


    Toby put his elbow against the window and leaned his head against his hand. ¡°If your father did kill Rina,


    why did he take her ne then? He shouldn¡¯t have any use for it if Rina actually died.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. Yeah. Why did he keep this ne? It¡¯s stupid.


    ¡°Before your father passed away, he specifically told you to get the ne. He told you there¡¯s a story


    behind it. Your grandmother should have told you all about the story, but that doesn¡¯t mean the ne


    is useless now,¡± Toby added.


    Sonia bit her lip. ¡°I know. Dad left this for me not just because he wanted me to find out its secrets; he


    had a mission for me as well. If he only wanted me to know about the secrets, he could have asked


    Grandma to tell me the feud between the Reeds and the Grays.¡±


    Toby nodded in approval after hearing her conjecture. She¡¯s smarter than I thought. ¡°Maybe your father


    left you the ne because he wanted you to find Rina,¡± Toby said after some thought.


    Surprisingly, Sonia wasn¡¯t shocked, since she had a simr guess. ¡°Maybe my dad didn¡¯t drown Rina.


    That was probably just a toy or something, but it was enough to fool everyone. He probably relocated the


    real Rina somewhere else. If he did, she must be all grown up now,¡± Sonia mumbled, caressing her


    ne.


    Toby rubbed his fingers. ¡°Do you need my help in the search,¡± he asked with subtle excitement.


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia refused his offer coolly, her lips pursed. ¡°This is my business, so I don¡¯t need your help. I can


    handle this myself. Besides, you should be helping Miss Gray. This is her sister we¡¯re talking about.¡± But


    if Rina is still alive, I have to find out why Dad wanted me to look for her. Did he want me to give her back


    to the Grays? Or did he have something else in mind?


    Even though he knew Sonia would refuse his help, hearing it straight from her still made him sore. ¡°The


    Grays will look for her themselves. They don¡¯t need my help.¡± He stared downward.


    ¡°Well, then why did you want to help me then?¡± Sonia rolled her eyes.


    Toby did not have an answer for that.


    Then, someone knocked on her door. ¡°Mr. Fuller, I don¡¯t know why you told me about this, but thank you.


    I have business to settle now, so see you next time. Bye.¡±


    After she put her phone down, Sonia went back to her seat. ¡°Come in.¡±


    Daphne came in as told. ¡°Mr. Dafoe is back, Miss Reed.¡±


    A smile curled Sonia¡¯s lips. ¡°Good. Tell the top brass I¡¯m calling a meeting.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Daphne knew the meeting was going to be a fun one, so she nodded in excitement.


    On the other hand, Asher scoffed after he received the notification. ¡°Seems like she¡¯s in a hurry to admit


    defeat.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that, Mr. Dafoe? What if she wins?¡± one of the top brass asked, worried.


    Asher looked at him coldly, his voice filled with disdain as he spoke. ¡°She won¡¯t. She¡¯s just an amateur.


    Not even us had the chance to venture into renewable energy sources, much less her. If we can¡¯te


    up with a great proposal, what makes you think she can? She failed. I just know it.¡±


    ¡°But she called for a meeting all of a sudden. I¡¯m worried.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re reading into it too much. She failed, and that¡¯s that. Let¡¯s attend the meeting and see what


    she has to say.¡± With that, Asher went to the conference room without waiting for anyone.


    The top brass knew they couldn¡¯t change his stance, so they sighed and followed him.


    When most of the top brass were already in the room, Sonia looked at the time. ¡°Who¡¯s still not here?¡±


    Her seat was the first one on the left of the main spot.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 176

    Chapter 176


    Behind him, Daphne immediately replied, ¡°There are two more-President Dafoe and Manager Watson.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded, indicating that she got it.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the door of the conference room opened and Asher brought Bet in.


    Sonia met Asher¡¯s gaze. ¡°President Dafoe, you¡¯rete.¡±


    Unconcerned, Asher pulled out a chair and sat down. ¡°Something happened that caused a dy. You¡¯re


    not bothered about it, right, Sonia?¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    Undoubtedly, she knew that Asher was deliberatelyte because he wanted to show his authority during


    their first encounter. She decided to let him becent now, as he was going to be upset soon.


    ¡°All right. Now that everyone is here, today¡¯s meeting will officially begin. Previously,¡±


    Before Sonia was done speaking, Asher interrupted her, ¡°Sonia, today is the release day of the results


    for the cooperation seating of the alternative energy technology. It¡¯s time for you to announce the results,


    isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, President Reed. Tell us¡ªdid you get a seat for the cooperation?¡± Asher¡¯s followers chimed


    in.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia frowned.


    One of the high-level executives who supported her pped the table. ¡°That¡¯s enough. The meeting has


    just begun. Can we talk about thister?¡±


    ¡°Why should we wait tillter to talk about it? We¡¯re concerned about the results right now,¡± Asher¡¯s


    followers continued.


    Asher shot Sonia an even more contemptuous look. ¡°Sonia, since we¡¯re all so curious, you should tell us


    first.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, quickly tell us.¡± His supporters followed suit.


    The executive who supported Sonia flushed red. ¡°All of you had better not go too far!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Manager Lynch. You can sit down first. Since they want to know, I¡¯ll tell them. I was going to


    mention it during today¡¯s meeting anyway.¡± Sonia stared coldly at Asher.


    Since Asher was so eager to give her half of the management rights, why shouldn¡¯t she help aplish


    his aim? As Sonia pondered this, the corners of her lips curled up.


    When Asher saw her smiling, his heart thumped, and he was far from reassured. He could no longer


    hide the contempt on his face. What does the expression on that b*tch¡¯s face mean? She can¡¯t have


    really gotten the cooperation seat, right? No. That¡¯s impossible. She must be pretending to be calm. She


    must¡¯ve started panicking long ago. Yes, that must be it!


    Asher kept denying the fact, but his clenched fists revealed his current state of unrest. Sonia noticed this,


    and it made her sneer inwardly. Then, she slightly opened her red lips and slowly eximed, ¡°I got the


    cooperation seat!¡±.


    As soon as she spoke, everyone was surprised. Regardless of whether they supported her or Asher,


    none of them could believe what they heard. She actually got the cooperation seat?


    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    ¡°President Reed, is that true?¡± Kayden was shaking with excitement.


    Sonia nodded solemnly. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Kayden pumped his fists, joy written all over his face.


    The rest of Sonia¡¯s supporters were beyond excited as well. Everyone knew that alternative energy


    technology represented reformation. Once alternative energy technology was fully developed, the world¡¯s


    power source would be reced by alternative energy in the future. Since Paradigm Co. was able to


    enter the alternative energy industry so early on, its rise in the future was already foreseeable.


    Compared with the excitement of Sonia¡¯s supporters, the people on Asher¡¯s side, especially Asher


    himself, had nasty looks on their faces. It was as if they had just eaten something vile. He pped the


    table and stood up, his expression twisted. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How could you have gotten the


    cooperation seat!¡±


    In an instant, the conference room fell silent. Sonia threw him a nk look, not afraid of his questioning


    in the slightest. ¡°Why is it impossible?¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you¡¯re capable of, and I¡¯m not even sure I can handle it, so do you think someone


    like you, who doesn¡¯t understand alternative energy at all, can take the seat?¡± Asher sneered.


    Soniaughed in response. ¡°But, I, a person who doesn¡¯t understand anything, got the seat. What do you


    think about that, President Dafoe?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Asher choked out furiously.


    Then, having thought of something, he narrowed his eyes and fixed Sonia with an even more disdainful


    stare. ¡°I see. You must¡¯ve seduced President Fuller and asked him to open a back door for you, didn¡¯t


    you?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s expression darkened as she stood up. ¡°President Dafoe, I think you¡¯d better watch what you say.


    I got this cooperation seat based on my ability. What does it have to do with Toby? Do you have any


    evidence of me seducing him? Besides, who doesn¡¯t know that Toby loves the beloved daughter of the


    Gray Family? He even divorced me after six years of marriage for her. Do you think he can be seduced


    by me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, President Dafoe. If you want to make ims, you have to have evidence. Not only is


    making such guesses without evidence beneath you, it also shows that you¡¯re narrow-minded and refuse


    to admit that President Reed is excellent.¡± Kayden shot Asher a mocking nce.


    Asher had long since rubbed him the wrong way, so now that he had the opportunity to trample on Asher,


    he would naturally not let it go.


    ¡°Sure. You win. I can¡¯t outspeak all of you!¡± Asher sat down in a huff.


    Sonia looked at him with indifference. ¡°President Dafoe, it seems like you have nothing more to say. In


    that case, please fulfill your promise.¡±


    ¡°What promise?¡± Asher was dumbfounded.


    Sonia stretched her hand toward the back. Daphne then handed her the document that was in the crook


    of her arm. After she took it, she pushed it toward Asher. ¡°During ourst meeting, President Dafoe, we


    made a bet. You said that if I could win the cooperation seat, you would share half of Paradigm Co.¡¯s


    management rights with me. Now that I¡¯ve gotten it, you should do as you said, right, President Dafoe?¡±


    Sonia beamed at him. Asher¡¯s lips twitched while he tightly clenched his fists. Theodore, who was on his


    right, lowered his head even more. Sure enough, he had guessed correctly. If Sonia was so insistent on


    holding the meeting, it meant she certainly didn¡¯t lose, but was instead eager to retrieve the management


    rights from Asher. Theodore had persuaded Asher, but thetter was too conceited and didn¡¯t think that


    Sonia would win. Now, he ended up getting a p to the face.


    ¡°Sonia¡ª¡± Asher tried to speak while reluctantly forcing a smile.


    With an unchanging smile stered on her face, Sonia interrupted him. ¡°President Dafoe, you¡¯re not


    going to y dumb, are you? But, it¡¯s useless to y dumb now. When the bet was made, everyone


    here heard it, and I voice-recorded it too. President Dafoe, would you like to hear what you said at the


    time?¡± She held up her phone.


    When Asher saw that, his face paled considerably, and his expression turned even nastier. ¡°There¡¯s no


    need for that. I admit that I¡¯ve said it before!¡±


    Since so many people had witnessed the betting, he simply couldn¡¯t afford to y dumb. If he actually


    yed the fool, his followers would doubt whether he was worthy of their support, so he could only


    ept it. At worst, he would just find an opportunity in the future to obtain information that could be used


    against her and get back his power.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve admitted it, President Dafoe, please sign here.¡± Sonia smiled and handed him a pen.


    Asher sneered, then flipped open the file and signed his name.


    When Sonia saw this, her smile grew wider, and at the same time, she feltpletely relieved. After


    Asher signed it, she would get half of the management rights, and she would truly be worthy of the title


    ¡®President Reed¡¯. Next, she had toe up with a n to get the other half of the management rights


    back from Asher. When she got all the management rights back, she


    1


    would be able to kick Asher out of Paradigm Co.


    After the conference ended, Sonia returned to her office, picked up her phone, and called Charles to


    report the good news.


    Meanwhile, at Fuller Group, Tom had just walked into the president¡¯s office. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve gotten


    everything about what you asked me to find out.¡±


    Toby released the mouse and lifted his head. ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°ording to the news from the marketing department, T¨ªtus sent out the message in search of his


    eldest daughter,¡± Tom reported.

 Chapter 177

    Chapter 177


    Toby narrowed his eyes.


    As expected¡­


    ¡°Have you found out how Titus and the others got to know that his eldest daughter might still be alive?¡±


    Toby looked at Tom and asked.


    Tom pushed his sses up. ¡°Yes. Apparently, Mrs. Gray was in DT Jewelry when she heard the


    manager talk about a girl with a daughter¡¯s ne. So, Mrs. Gray guessed that the girl might be her


    eldest daughter.¡±


    So that¡¯s why.


    Back in Rose¡¯s ward, Sonia mentioned that she found the ne and went to DT jewelry to ask for


    more information about it.


    Julia always wore jewelry by DT jewelry, and in addition with her identity, the store manager would


    usually personally serve her, so the manager must have seen the ne on Julia¡¯s neck and decided


    to tell her about Sonia bringing the daughter¡¯s ne to the store.


    It was just that the manager didn¡¯t tell Julia Sonia¡¯s name, so Julia didn¡¯t know that the person with the


    daughter¡¯s ne was Sonia and not her eldest daughter.


    It all made sense now.


    Toby waved to indicate that Tom was dismissed.


    After Tom went out, Toby picked up his phone and sent the findings of their investigation to Sonia.


    Sonia was discussing with Charles where they were going to celebrate in the evening when she heard


    her phone ring, so she quickly put their conversation on hold and brought her phone down to take a look.


    Upon seeing that it was a text message from Toby, she pursed her red lips and opened it. Your guess


    was indeed correct. Titus and the others are looking for Rina!


    Sonia squeezed her palm, then ced the phone back to her ear. ¡°Charles, something came up. I¡¯ll talk


    to youter.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Charles didn¡¯t think much of it and simply nodded in agreement.


    After hanging up the phone, Sonia replied: ¡®How can you be sure?¡¯


    At Fuller Group, Toby leaned against the back of his chair, then crossed his fingers on top of his


    abdomen and stared at the phone on the table.


    It had been several minutes since he sent the message to Sonia.


    Why hasn¡¯t she replied? Is she busy?


    Just as he was mulling it over, his phone notification tone sounded as the screen lit up.


    Toby¡¯s profound eyes lit up in an instant, then he separated his hands before moving forward and picking


    up the phone.


    When he saw that it was indeed Sonia¡¯s reply, his thin lips curled up slightly, and he immediately dialed


    her number.


    Sonia was still earnestly waiting for Toby¡¯s reply when her phone suddenly rang. It surprised her so much


    that she lost her grip, and the phone slipped from her hands.


    Fortunately, there was a table below, so the phone didn¡¯t fall to the ground, which made her breathe a


    sigh of relief.


    Otherwise, she was going to have to get a new phone again even though she had just changed to the


    current one.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Sonia said in a slightly unpleasant tone.


    Hearing the anger in her voice, Toby raised an eyebrow.


    Did I anger her?


    Without thinking much about it, Toby¡¯s thin lips moved. ¡°I asked Tom to look into it.¡±


    He then told her about everything Tom had discovered.


    After she was done listening, Sonia suddenly lifted her chin. ¡°So that was what happened.¡±


    She assumed that someone had told the Gray family that Rina might still be alive.


    She didn¡¯t expect that it was because she left a trace behind when she went to the store to ask about the


    ne.


    ¡°I see. Thank you for telling me this, President Fuller,¡± Sonia said.


    Toby grunted, then asked, ¡°Are you going to look for Rina?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I still need to determine if she¡¯s really alive.¡± Sonia nodded.


    If Rina was still alive, Sonia figured she would know why her father asked her to look for Rina, but how to


    find her was still a problem.


    Thinking about this, Sonia rubbed her temples, and she sounded a little tired when she spoke. ¡°President


    Fuller, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll hang up first.¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips moved; he still wanted to talk to her for a little while more.


    However, he didn¡¯t know what to say, so he eventually nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    After hanging up, Sonia didn¡¯t put down her phone, but sent a message to Zane instead. She asked to


    meet with him, saying that she had something to tell him.


    Naturally, when Zane saw the message, he agreed, then he went into the room to look for something to


    wear.


    But after searching for a long time, he didn¡¯t manage to find a suitable outfit.


    The butler saw the clothes piled on his bed, and the corners of his mouth twitched. ¡°Young Master


    Coleman, what are you going to wear?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Zane sat down on the bed dejectedly.


    He just wanted to wear something special to meet with Sonia, but after rummaging through his entire


    wardrobe, he couldn¡¯t find anything to his liking.


    The butler picked up a few pieces of clothing. ¡°Young Master Coleman, these are your usual favorites.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not good enough.¡± Zane shook his head.


    LCO


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    He wanted to change his style-preferably one that Sonia couldn¡¯t forget after taking just one nce.


    Seeing that Zane was at such a loss, the butler thought for a while before asking, ¡°Young Master


    Coleman, you¡¯re suddenly changing the way you dress. Who are you going to meet?¡±


    ¡°A friend,¡± Zane answered.


    The butler pondered about it, then he continued asking, ¡°Male or female?¡±


    ¡°A female,¡± Zane responded.


    The butler¡¯s eyes widened, and he was immediately gratified.


    This is great. The young master is finally getting himself a girl. Otherwise, why would he worry about


    what to wear? If he were just meeting an ordinary friend, he would¡¯ve just dressed casually. So, the


    young master must be going to see a girl he fancies.


    The butler wiped away tears of excitement. ¡°Young Master Fuller, who¡¯s the youngdy? Do you need


    me to prepare any gifts for her?¡±


    Obviously, Zane understood that the butler noticed that he was in love, so he didn¡¯t deny it. After thinking


    about it, he said, ¡°Prepare a bouquet of flowers.¡±


    Sonia still wasn¡¯t aware of his intentions, so he couldn¡¯t prepare too many gifts at once. He had to


    do it bit by bit so as not to scare her.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go get it ready.¡± The butler left, feeling overjoyed.


    Zane then had to face the pile of clothes alone again.


    But soon, he thought of an idea and contacted the styling team.


    Two hourster, Zane arrived at the ce he was meeting Sonia; it was a quiet cafe.


    After he entered, he looked around and saw Sonia in the corner.


    She had her head down; she was ying with her phone, so she didn¡¯t notice his arrival.


    Feeling nervous, he tightened his grip on the bouquet in his arms. After taking a deep breath, he walked


    toward the corner.


    As he walked over, his heartbeat sped up significantly, and even his footsteps became a little stiff.


    After all, no one would feel calm when meeting someone they loved while holding a bouquet of flowers.


    Not to mention, this scenario seemed like a blind date.


    Finally, Zane stood in front of Sonia. Looking down at her, he said, ¡°Sonia, I-I¡¯m here.¡±


    Sonia lifted her head. When she saw Zane¡¯s current appearance, her mouth widened in surprise. ¡°W-


    Why are you dressed like this?¡±


    He was wearing a loose top, ripped jeans, and sneakers. With highlights in his messy hair, plus the


    flowers he was holding, he looked rather amusing.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°It doesn¡¯t match you at all. What¡¯s gotten into you?¡±


    Zane was not surprised to see herugh, because he had already anticipated it when the stylist finished


    working on him.


    All he told the stylist was that he was going to meet the girl he loved; he didn¡¯t expect the stylist to make


    him look like this. The stylist even said that girls nowadays liked this kind of style.


    No matter how clueless he was, he knew that girls these days liked the style of the overbearing


    president.


    If it weren¡¯t because he was running out of time, he would definitely have argued with the stylist and


    asked him to change him back to his usual look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I don¡¯t know what happened either.¡± Zane sighed, then handed over the flower in his


    arms.


    Sonia pointed to herself in surprise. ¡°Is this for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Do you like it?¡± Zane nodded and nervously clenched his fists.


    Although the flowers were prepared by the butler, he was the one who decided to go with the white


    roses.


    He wanted to give her red roses, but with their current rtionship status, it was obviously not suitable.


    ¡°I like it, but why are you suddenly giving me flowers? I thought you brought flowers because you were


    going to meet a girlter. I didn¡¯t expect them to be for me.¡± Sonia epted the flowers, feeling rather


    ttered.

 Chapter 178

    Chapter 178


    When Zane saw that she had epted the flowers, he was slightly relieved, then heughed arrogantly.


    ¡°How can other girlspare to you? We¡¯re partners now, so in order to maintain the friendly


    rtionship between us, it¡¯s only right for me to give you flowers.¡±


    Sonia chuckled while shaking the white roses in her arms. ¡°You¡¯re quite a sweet talker. Thank you. The


    flowers are beautiful.¡±


    Zane pulled out a chair and sat down. ¡°I¡¯m d you like them.¡±


    ¡°What would you like to drink?¡± After setting the flowers aside, Sonia handed him a menu.


    Zane took a look, then ordered a cup of Blue Mountain coffee.


    Sonia, on the other hand, ordered a ss of milk.


    In no time, the waiter brought over their coffee and milk.


    Zane looked at the milk in Sonia¡¯s hands, then thought about her pregnancy and hesitated for a couple of


    seconds before asking, ¡°How have you been?¡±,


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia looked up at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pregnant. I heard that pregnant women suffer quite a bit during the first few months. Are you


    feeling any difort?¡± Zane asked.


    Sonia heard the concern in his voice and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but smelling certain strong scents make me


    feel ufortable. Everything else is fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Nodding, Zane stirred the coffee in the cup. ¡°What are you going to do with the baby? Did


    my friend tell you his thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡° Sonia replied after taking a sip of milk.


    Zane looked at her. ¡°Then, you¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t n to keep it,¡± Sonia lowered her gaze and admitted quietly.


    Zane was taken aback. ¡°You want to get rid of it?¡±


    2


    W


    ¡°Yeah. I won¡¯t let my child be an illegitimate child, so the only thing I can do is get rid of it,¡± Sonia said


    while holding her ss of milk.


    Zane opened his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡±


    She didn¡¯t know that the child in her belly belonged to Toby; she thought it was fathered by a random


    stranger, so she didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with getting rid of it.


    However, with her personality, even if she knew that the child belonged to Tony, she probably wouldn¡¯t


    keep it anyway. If she did, the grudge between her, Toby, and Tina would worsen, and her child¡¯s


    existence would be criticized by the public.


    So, it was only right to abort it.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve made the decision, then I won¡¯t advise you further. When¡¯s the operation? I¡¯ll apany


    you,¡± Zane offered with a grin.


    In fact, her aborting the baby was a good thing to him.


    He loved her, but that didn¡¯t mean that he would love another man¡¯s child.


    WOU


    ¡°It¡¯ll be on a weekend. But you don¡¯t need to apany me; Charles will go with me,¡± Sonia replied


    while smiling.


    Zane pursed his lips. ¡°He will? Can he handle it?¡±


    ¡°Enough about that. I didn¡¯t call you out to talk about this.¡± Sonia waved her hand, not wanting to


    continue this topic.


    Zane shrugged. ¡°Then, what did you want to talk about?¡±


    Sonia took off the daughter¡¯s ne from around her neck and pushed it toward him.


    Zane stared fixedly at the ne. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the one Mrs. Gray is wearing?¡±


    Ine


    One


    IV1 WO


    Previously, when he apanied Sonia to the hospital to get her feet checked, he bumped into Julia in


    the parking lot.


    At that time, he caught sight of the ne on her neck.


    Sonia¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Take a closer look. Is this really Mrs. Gray¡¯s?¡±


    Raising his eyebrows, Zane did as he was told. After taking a careful look at it, he finally noticed some


    problems. ¡°These few ces are a little different.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This isn¡¯t Mrs. Gray¡¯s ne, but it¡¯srgely rted to hers. They are mother daughter


    nes. Mrs. Gray¡¯s one is for the mother, while mine is for the daughter. More than 20 years ago,


    Titus gave it to his eldest daughter, Rina Gray,¡± Sonia exined while leaning back.


    Having understood the situation, Zane lifted his chin. ¡°Isn¡¯t Rina dead? Why is the ne with you?


    You can¡¯t possibly be Rina, right?¡±


    Ever since the Coleman Family decided to destroy the Gray family, he had looked into the Gray Family¡¯s


    background and naturally knew what happened between the Grays and the Reeds more than 20 years


    ago.


    Hence, he wasn¡¯t surprised to hear Rina¡¯s name.


    ¡°As if. It¡¯d make more sense if you were Rina.¡± Sonia unhappily rolled her eyes at him.


    Her mother had been pregnant with her for ten months, and she almost wasn¡¯t born, so how could she


    possibly be Rina?


    Zane stared at Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°To be honest, your eyes are quite simr to Mrs. Gray¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. There are many people in the world who look simr, and they can¡¯t all be


    rtives, right?¡± Sonia said lightly.


    Zane smiled. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°My dad took this ne from Rina, and the Reed Family has been keeping it all along. Have you seen


    the announcement by Triforce Enterprise saying that they¡¯re looking for a girl with a special ne?¡±


    Sonia asked while looking at him.


    Zane answered, ¡°Yeah, I saw it.¡±


    ¡°After I found this ne, I went to DT Jewelry to get some information about this ne, so Mrs.


    Gray must¡¯ve thought that Rina was still alive, which was why Triforce Enterprise published that news,


    trying to look for Rina.¡±


    ¡°I see. I thought Titus was recruiting talents for himself.¡± Realization dawned on Zane.


    Sonia was amused by his statement.


    When Zane saw her bright smile, his eyes darkened, then he let out a light cough before quickly turning


    his attention away. ¡°But Rina is dead. What can they possibly find?¡±


    ¡°No. Rina may not necessarily be dead. I¡¯m now doubting whether my father actually drowned her back


    then. That¡¯s why I asked to meet with you today. I wanted you to check if Rina is really dead, and if she


    isn¡¯t, where is she?¡± Sonia frowned.


    Suddenly, a surprised female voice rang out. ¡°Miss Reed, Mr. Coleman, you¡¯re here too?¡±


    A trace of disgust shed across Zane¡¯s eyes.


    Pursing her red lips, Sonia looked up and saw Tina walking toward them.


    ¡°Ugh, that nasty person is here.¡± Zane sighed.


    Sonia sipped on her milk, then smiled. ¡°It¡¯s inevitable. Seafield is only this big.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, Mr. Coleman, are you on a date?¡± Tina asked in surprise after approaching both of them and


    seeing the roses Sonia had ced on the table.


    Zane propped up his head and looked at her. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re on a date. So, Miss Gray, can you please


    leave? You¡¯re interrupting us.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that.¡± Tina gave an embarrassed smile.


    At this moment, another set of footsteps was heard. ¡°Tina?¡±


    ¡°Toby, I¡¯m here!¡± Tina waved in the direction of the cafe¡¯s entrance.


    Toby looked over, but he didn¡¯t expect to see Sonia, so he froze for a moment.


    e


    Why is she here too?


    Then, Toby looked across from Sonia and saw that there was another person.


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    The person had his back toward Toby, and although he couldn¡¯t see the person¡¯s face, he could tell that it


    was a man.


    Is it Charles? Are they on a date?


    ON


    At this thought, Toby pursed his lips and walked over.


    When he reached them, he discovered that the man wasn¡¯t Charles, but Zane.


    Noticing the slight surprise in Toby¡¯s eyes, Zane smiled and beckoned him. ¡°Toby, what a coincidence.


    Did you bring Miss Gray here for some coffee?¡±


    Toby grunted, then nced at Sonia, who was drinking milk, before saying with a hint of sourness in his


    tone that he wasn¡¯t aware of, ¡°You guys too?¡±


    ¡°Toby, Mr. Coleman and Sonia are here on a date. Look. There¡¯s even flowers.¡± Taking his arm,


    Tina pointed a finger at the flowers on the table.


    Toby¡¯s pupils constricted all of a sudden. ¡°A date?¡±


    Sonia and Zane?


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tina nodded with a smile, but a scheming look shed across her eyes.


    Sonia caught sight of this, and her eyes turned cold. She was about to say something, but Toby started


    speaking first with a hint of coldness in his voice. ¡°Sonia, does Charles know that you and Zane are out


    on a date?¡±


    Before the divorce, she already had many guy friends, and now that she was with Charles, she was still


    going on dates with other men.


    She really is such a promiscuous woman.

 Chapter 179

    Chapter 179


    Upon hearing Toby¡¯s question, Sonia¡¯s face sank as well, and she fixed him with a cold look. ¡°President


    Fuller, what does this have to do with you? Who are you to meddle in my affairs?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Toby. You¡¯re overstepping here.¡± Zane looked at Toby with a forced smile.


    Toby pursed his thin lips a little stonily. ¡°Zane, don¡¯t you know that she has a boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Zane shrugged.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°You know about it, yet you¡¯re still¡ª¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just sitting together; who said we were on a date?¡± Zane spread his hands out wide, then looked


    frostily at Tina, who was beside him. ¡°Oh, right. It was you who said that.¡±


    ¡°I said it, but you admitted it yourself, Mr Coleman.¡± Tina grabbed tightly onto Toby¡¯s arm.


    Zane sneered. ¡°I admitted to it, but there are many kinds of dates. Whoever stipted that my date with


    Sonia¡¯s is like yours? Can¡¯t we meet to discuss something?¡±


    Tina choked. ¡°What about the flowers? What do you have to say about the flowers? Who brings flowers


    to a discussion?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the flowers? Are they red roses? If Sonia and I were really on a date, then why didn¡¯t


    I bring red roses?¡± Zane retorted.


    Tina opened her mouth, but nothing came out.


    Toby frowned.


    Could it be that we¡¯re thinking too much, and Sonia and Zane aren¡¯t actually on a date?


    As Toby thought about this, a lot of the fury in his heart was suddenly lifted.


    Vas


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Zane.¡± Sonia stood up and nced pointedly at Toby and Tina. ¡°There¡¯s no need to tell them


    so much. They¡¯re just narrow-minded. All they think about is nasty stuff. There¡¯s no point in exining to


    them.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, did you just say we¡¯re narrow-minded?¡± Tina widened her eyes.


    Ignoring her, Sonia looked at Zane. ¡°About what I just told you¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it. I¡¯ll help you find out.¡± Zane nodded.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Thank you. Tell me as soon as you find out. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Zane stood up too.


    Sonia picked up the flowers on the table and left the cafe with him.


    Watching their backs, Tina bit her lower lip. ¡°Toby, they-¡±


    That¡¯s enough,¡± Toby interrupted with a frown. ¡°They¡¯re right. You¡¯ll only see what you¡¯re thinking. Next


    time, don¡¯t jump to conclusions.¡±


    He was also in the wrong, because he shouldn¡¯t just listen to one side and think that whatever Tina said


    was right.


    Toby, are you saying it¡¯s my fault?¡± Tina looked incredulously at him.


    Something shed across Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°No. I just feel that if things haven¡¯t been rified, it¡¯s not good to


    just assume, and it¡¯s unfair to others. Tina, don¡¯t be so impulsive next time.¡±


    Tina lowered her head dejectedly. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to either, but Zane admitted himself that they were on a


    date.¡±


    ¡°He was just messing with you,¡± Toby said while massaging his temples.


    Tina stomped her feet. ¡°He went too far.¡±


    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go. Didn¡¯t you want to drink the coffee here?¡± Toby obviously didn¡¯t want to talk about it


    anymore, so he changed the subject.


    Tina could sense it too. Her eyes darkened, then she nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Outside the cafe, Zane offered to send Sonia back, but she refused because she drove here as well, so


    he had no choice but to give up.


    Watching as Sonia drove off with the flowers he gave her, Zane was in a good mood and began to


    whistle.


    He and Sonia were indeed not on a date, but she had epted his flowers.


    From now onward, he would give her a bouquet of flowers every time they met so that Sonia would get


    used to it. He believed that in the long run, Sonia would be moved, and perhaps their fake dates would


    be real dates.


    As for Charles¡­


    Zane smiled.


    He could tell that besides friendship, there was nothing romantic in her gaze when she looked at


    Charles.


    So, whether she and Charles were really a couple remained to be proven.


    Zane leaned against the car door, then looked at the cafe across from him and leisurely twirled the car


    keys in his hand, as if waiting for someone.


    After waiting for about half an hour, Toby and Tina walked out.


    Upon seeing Zane, Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Standing beside him, Tina looked at Zane. ¡°Mr. Coleman, why are you alone? Where¡¯s Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°She left.¡± Zane returned Tina¡¯s gaze, then gave her a smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°Miss Gray, I have


    something to talk about with President Fuller. Can you please excuse us?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    ¡°I¡¯m Toby¡¯s fianc¨¦e; is there anything I can¡¯t listen to?¡± Tinaughed.


    Zane replied without mercy, ¡°You just can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You,¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Tina. Go wait for me in the car. I¡¯lle over in a while.¡± Toby made a gesture to her.


    Feeling a little reluctant, she cast a gloomy look at Zane before leaving obediently.


    Zane and Toby were then left alone.


    For two tall, handsome men with extraordinary temperaments to appear on the street at the same time


    was a very rare urrence, so passers-by would look at them with admiration from time to time.


    However, the two of them were used to these gazes, so they didn¡¯t feel ufortable at all. They just


    stared at each other,pletely unbothered.


    ¡°What do you want to tell me?¡± Toby spoke first.


    Zane ruffled his hair, which still looked rather clownish. ¡°I just wanted to tell you that I¡¯m in love with


    Sonia.¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression changed in an instant. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said, I¡¯m in love with Sonia,¡± Zane repeated while smiling.


    Toby grabbed his cor. ¡°You¡¯re in love with Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zane fixed Toby with a solemn gaze.


    Toby was in a daze. At first, he thought Zane was joking, but now he understood that he was telling the


    truth.


    Zane has fallen in love with Sonia. How could this be? How could this have happened!


    Toby was furious. In addition to his anger, he also felt a sense of betrayal, which caused his expression


    to turn cold and nasty. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Zane pulled his cor out of Toby¡¯s hand, took a step back, then patted his wrinkled


    cor. ¡°I¡¯m serious. I love Sonia.¡±


    ¡°The Sonia you love is my ex-wife.¡± Toby balled his hands into fists, and his eyes were filled with


    coldness.


    ¡°I know,¡± Zane replied indifferently. ¡°You said it yourself that she¡¯s your ex-wife. Since she¡¯s your ex-wife,


    then she has nothing to do with you anymore, so there¡¯s nothing wrong with me falling in love with her.


    Why are you so mad, then?¡±


    He looked at Toby with an enigmatic grin.


    For a moment, Toby was taken aback.


    Zane was right. Sonia had long been divorced from him, so she no longer had anything to do with him.


    Naturally, there was nothing wrong with Zane falling in love with her, and he wasn¡¯t betraying him either.


    So why am I so angry?


    A frustrated look appeared on Toby¡¯s face.


    The rational part of him was saying that he shouldn¡¯t be so angry. Zane was free to love whoever he


    wanted, but as soon as he thought about Zane loving Sonia, he couldn¡¯t help but want to lose his temper


    and stop him.


    As for the reason behind his fury, he already had a vague answer deep down, but he didn¡¯t want to admit


    it, because there was a voice in his heart telling him that once he admitted it, he might not be able to


    ept it.


    Thinking about this, Toby took a deep breath, then suppressed his anger and looked coldly at Zane.


    ¡°Even if Sonia no longer has anything to do with me, you can¡¯t love her. Don¡¯t forget-she¡¯s Charles¡¯


    girlfriend.¡±


    Zane¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that Sonia and Charles aren¡¯t together at all? Their rtionship is


    fake.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby was startled. ¡°It¡¯s fake?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Zane nodded. ¡°When Sonia looks at Charles, there¡¯s not a single trace of romantic feelings


    in her eyes at all, so how could they be together? It¡¯s just a show for the public.¡±


    Upon hearing his analysis, Toby realized that it was likely that he was right. There was a surge of joy in


    his heart, but his face remained void of emotion.

 Chapter 180

    Chapter 180


    However, the joy in Toby¡¯s heart was soon extinguished by Zane¡¯s following words.


    Zane folded his arms and said, ¡°So, I n to pursue Sonia. Toby, what do you think of it?¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression turned gloomy in an instant.


    What do I think? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good at all, he thought to himself.


    That being so, Toby wouldn¡¯t say out loud what was actually on his mind! He lowered his eyes and said


    coldly, ¡°You can do whatever you want-why are you even asking me?¡±


    Zane only looked at him. He knew Toby was holding himself back despite being very much against the


    idea. Noticing that, a light shed in Zane¡¯s eyes. ¡°Well, of course I have to tell you!¡±


    ¡°You have to tell me?¡± Toby¡¯s thin lips pursed into a straight line.


    Zane nodded. ¡°Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, Sonia is your ex-wife, so I felt the obligation to tell


    you so that you won¡¯t be surprised when I get with her in the future.¡±


    Toby let out a cold snort. ¡°Are you so confident that you will be able to get her?¡±


    ¡°Hard work will pay off. As long as I give it my all, I am sure I will be able to impress her one way or


    another. When that timees, Toby, you will give me your blessing, right?¡± Zane looked at him


    sincerely.


    Toby¡¯s thin lips moved, wanting to say ¡®of course. However, as soon as the words reached his throat, he


    swallowed it back down; he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything.


    Seeing this, Zane was not surprised.


    He knew that deep down, Toby still had Sonia in his heart, and it would be strange of him to say that he


    would give him his blessing.


    With that in mind, Zane put his hand in his trouser pocket and said casually, ¡°Okay, buddy. I have already


    said everything that I wanted to say, and since you aren¡¯t objecting to my pursuit of Sonia, then I hope


    you won¡¯t try to stop me in the future.¡±


    ¡°Nah. That¡¯s between you and Sonia. It has nothing to do with me anyway,¡± Toby said lightly with a cold


    expression.


    Zane smiled. ¡°Well, Toby, you¡¯d better remember what you said today. If you ever try to stop me in the


    future, don¡¯t me me for not treating you as a friend then. Alright, now. Go and join your fianc¨¦e. It¡¯s


    time for me to leave so that I can find a ¡®love guru¡¯ to teach me how to pursue girls. Ciao!¡±


    He waved before he opened his car door and got in.


    The reason why Zane even said this to Toby in the first ce was to nip any chances between Toby and


    Sonia in the bud before he could realize his feelings for Sonia.


    This way, it would be toote for Toby even if he realized that he loved Sonia, and Toby could only watch


    Sonia be with Zane because of what he said today.


    As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Zane smiled meaningfully at Toby, who was outside the car,


    before driving away.


    Still standing where Zane left him, Toby looked at the direction of his departure with cold cyes. His fists


    clenched tightly, and the air surrounding him was frighteningly cold.


    1110


    WS


    Zane actually fell in love with Sonia and even announced his intention to pursue her. Two months ago,


    Zane didn¡¯t have any such affection toward Sonia; he barely even had any sort of contact with lier at all!


    It was me!


    Toby¡¯s pupils trembled.


    He was the one that took the initiative to push Zane to Sonia, deepening the acquaintance between the


    both of them, which made Zane fall in love with Sonia.


    Right then, Toby couldn¡¯t tell what he was feeling. In short, he felt very ufortable.


    Secondster, Tina came to him and asked softly, ¡°Toby, what are you looking at?¡±


    Toby lowered his eyes and answered calmly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Is Mr. Coleman gone?¡± Tina asked again.


    Toby only hummed dismissively.


    Tina hooked her arm around his and said, ¡°Toby, what did you and Mr. Coleman talk about? You don¡¯t


    seem to be in a good mood.¡±


    ¡°I seem to be in a bad mood?¡± Toby looked at her with gleaming eyes.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Tina nodded. ¡°Yeah. You don¡¯t look too good. It almost feels as if someone had snatched something of


    yours away.¡±


    Toby looked slightly startled.


    What was snatched away by someone? he thought.


    He and Zane were only talking about thetter being in love with Sonia. Could it be that I¡¯m in a bad


    mood because of this? Because I thought Zane had snatched Sonia away from me?


    ¡°Toby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing the surprising expression on his face, Tina couldn¡¯t help but stretch out her


    hand and wave it in front of him.


    Toby came back to his senses and lowered his eyelids to cover the trembling in his eyes. ¡°Everything is


    fine, Tina. You should head back first.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to send me back?¡± Tina widened her eyes in surprise.


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered as soon as he heard that. ¡°Not today. I have something else to take care of. Sorry.¡±


    With that, he got into the car and left, leaving Tina in ce as she watched him leave while stomping


    angrily.


    Toby drove all the way back to Bayside Residence.


    He wanted to look for Sonia to figure out why his emotions were so greatly affected by her every time he


    saw her, and why he was always furious whenever Zane got close to her at all.


    Even if the voice in his heart stopped him and told him not to go, he couldn¡¯t care less-he could no longer


    hold back.


    He needed to figure it out right away. Otherwise, she would continue to influence his mood.


    Half an hourter, he arrived at Bayside Residence.


    Toby stayed downstairs for a while, but he still convinced himself to walk up in the end.


    Soon, he approached the elevator.


    As soon as Toby stepped out of the elevator, he saw the door to Sonia¡¯s apartment ajar, and there was a


    voiceing from inside. ¡°Darling, can we go now?¡±


    It was Charles.


    Charles was at her house!


    Toby¡¯s face sank, and he subconsciously stopped going forward. The thought of trying to figure


    everything out was also mostly wiped out in an instant.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± At this moment, Sonia¡¯s voice also rang.


    Soon after, she came out of the apartment.


    As if she felt something, Sonia raised her head to look forward-she frowned as soon as she saw Toby.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you walking, Darling?¡± Charles closed the door and walked out. Seeing Sonia standing still in


    front of him, he got a little curious.


    Sonia replied, ¡°Toby is here.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± As soon as Charles heard the name, his expression immediately darkened.


    He took a step forward and immediately saw the person in front of him. With an interrogating tone, he


    asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Toby ignored him but stared at Sonia intensely, as if he wanted to see something from looking at her.


    Sonia felt a little ufortable from his gaze, so she pursed her red lips and asked, ¡°President Fuller,


    how can I help you?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes shed.


    He came here to find out why he was so easily affected by her every time, and why he would feel


    ufortable every time he saw her with other men.


    But now that Charles was by her side, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask the question.


    Toby closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were clear. ¡°I¡¯m here to apologize to


    you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°Apologize?¡±


    ¡°What for? Did you do something to my darling again?¡± Charles reprimanded Toby angrily.


    Still ignoring Charles, Toby was only looking at Sonia. ¡°Tina misunderstood you and Zane back in the


    coffee shop. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. Your apology is too cheap, and you give it so often. It seems worthless now


    because I know that this will not be thest time, and I am sick of hearing it. Save your apology.¡± With


    that, Sonia tugged on Charles¡¯ arm. ¡°Charles, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Charles smiled happily and walked toward the elevator with her.


    As they passed by Toby, Sonia gave him a side-eye. ¡°Also, please don¡¯t evere here in the future,


    President Fuller. You will only cause me trouble. Am I understood?¡±


    After that, she stayed no longer and continued to march forward with Charles.


    Toby could still hear Charles asking her, ¡°Darling, what did he mean by misunderstanding you and Zane


    in the coffee shop? Why didn¡¯t you bring me along when you and Zane went for coffee?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t meet up just for coffee, specifically-I had something to discuss with him,¡± Sonia replied.


    Soon, their voices disappeared along with the closed elevator door, and the corridor fell quiet again.


    Toby looked at the direction where Sonia and Charles left and immediately felt the emptiness in his heart.

 Chapter 181

    Chapter 181


    Before, it was always Sonia who stood there and watched him leave. He always knew, but he had never


    once looked back at her.


    And now, it was finally his turn to stand in ce and watch her leave.


    As it turned out, it could be so upsetting to watch someone leave without even being spared a backward


    nce or a response.


    Toby lowered his head slightly and stroked his chest, which felt bitter and slightly tingling.


    In the parking lot.


    Sonia and Charles arrived at their car.


    Charles opened the car door and said, ¡°Darling, do you think something is wrong with Toby? Why did he


    come all the way here to apologize to you personally?¡±


    ¡°Only God knows,¡± Sonia replied uninterestedly and ducked her head to get into the car.


    Charles also got into the car at the same time. ¡°I really couldn¡¯t understand what this man was thinking.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°If you could read his mind, your achievements today would be the same as his. Alright,


    let¡¯s drive. Otherwise, Mrs. Lane will call and ask us why we haven¡¯t arrived yet.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Charles nodded and started the car.


    On the way, Sonia¡¯s cell phone rang all of a sudden.


    She opened her eyes, took her phone out, and looked at it with a somewhat surprised look on her face.


    Charles caught her expression and asked hurriedly, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Carl!¡± Sonia answered the call after replying.


    As soon as Charles heard that it was Carl, he pursed his lips and said nothing more.


    ¡°Hey, Carl!¡± Sonia yelled into the phone with joy.


    Dnia


    Carl¡¯s gentle voice spread through the phone. ¡°Sonia, do you have some time to spare in a few


    days?¡±


    ¡°I think so¡­ What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sonia asked.


    Currently, she had taken over half of the management power from Asher, and her right to speak in


    Paradigm Co. had gotten much higher now. She didn¡¯t have to do a lot of things by herself;


    instead, she could order her subordinates to do it in her stead.


    Therefore, she could make time.


    ¡°My work abroad ising to an end. I n on returning home in a few days, and I was thinking of


    having a meal with you,¡± Carl replied with a smile.


    ¡°Sure. Thinking back, you¡¯ve been on a business trip for two months now-it¡¯s about time for you to be


    back already. Alright, call me when you¡¯re back; I¡¯ll pick you up at the airport then.¡± Sonia agreed to his


    invitation.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Carl answered, and then squinted his eyes. Although his voice was still gentle, there was a hint


    of coldness in his tone. ¡°Sonia, how have you been doing in the past two months? Did Tina and the rest


    bully you?¡±


    When he had just started his business trip, he was not that busy with work, so he could pay attention to


    the news to see what was happening in the country.


    However, when he got busierter on, he didn¡¯t have much time to pay attention to the news anymore-so


    he couldn¡¯t tell if Tina and the others had bullied Sonia.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. As for Tina and the others¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s smile faded a lot. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You know I¡¯m someone


    who always bite back, so they had what wasing to them.¡±


    ¡°Based on what you said, it means they really did bully you, right?¡± Carl lowered his eyelids to cover the


    chill in his eyes.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Hey, now. Didn¡¯t I tell you I am not easy to mess around with? So don¡¯t worry, and know


    that I am fine. By the way, isn¡¯t it still nighttime on your side of the globe? Go and rest up!¡±


    Seeing that she didn¡¯t want to say any more, Carl didn¡¯t push it any further. He twitched the corner of his


    mouth and showed an eerie smile. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll hang up first, then. We¡¯ll talk more when I see you in a few


    days.¡±


    ¡°Okie dokes. See you in a few days!¡± Sonia nodded.


    After the call, Charles asked, ¡°Carl ising back?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. In a few days,¡± Sonia put away her phone and replied. Charles coughed and continued, ¡°Carl


    seemed to be asking if Tina and the rest had bullied you. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He is worried about me¡ªthat¡¯s all.¡±


    TON


    ¡°Well, well, well. It seems that Tina and the others should worry about themselves now.¡± Charles smiled


    gloatingly.


    Sonia looked at him suspiciously. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Charles shook his head; he was not going to borate.


    ¡°Really? Because I feel like you¡¯re hiding something from me.¡± Sonia narrowed her beautiful eyes.


    Charles straightened up from his seat. ¡°Nothing! It was really nothing!¡±


    ¡°Nevermind, then. I don¡¯t care anyway.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes and stopped looking at him.


    Charles heaved a breath of relief softly and was snickering in his heart.


    It¡¯s a good thing that Carl decided toe back. That guy is a lunatic, he thought to himself.


    With him here, Sonia would be much safer, while Tina and the others would definitely suffer too.


    Thinking about it, Charles couldn¡¯t manage to hold back a chuckle.


    Sonia nced at him, not knowing what he wasughing about, but she did not ask about it, and instead


    put on her headphones to listen to some music.


    .


    The next day, which was also the weekend, Charles apanied Sonia to the hospital.


    a


    When he arrived at the hospital, Sonia got out of the car and stood at the gate of the hospital. She


    looked up at the big sign of the hospital but did not lift her foot to walk in for a long time.


    Charles parked the car and came to her. Watching her hesitance, he had guessed something, so he said


    softly, ¡°Darling, if you¡¯re scared, let¡¯s not get the abortion and just keep the baby.¡±


    Sonia retracted her gaze and shook her head, her gaze firm. ¡°No. I want to do it. I admit that I am a little


    scared, because I have never had this kind of operation, but it would be unfair to the baby if I kept it


    because I was too afraid. After all, I don¡¯t love it, and I can¡¯t give it maternal love.¡±


    A child should grow up in a loving family, with two loving parents. The baby in her belly was conceived


    because of a night of recklessness. She didn¡¯t love the child¡¯s father-how could she even begin to bring


    herself to love this child?


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    even


    What was more, even if she kept this child, it would not have a father. Even though the father said very


    clearly that he was willing to raise this child, he did not want to recognize it as his own which meant this


    child would still be an illegitimate child.


    Therefore, instead of allowing this child toe into the world to suffer, it was better not to let it. be born


    in the first ce.


    After thinking about it, Sonia took a deep breath, settled her emotions, and raised her foot to walk into


    the hospital.


    Charles also quickly followed.


    After taking their queue number, the two walked toward the Obstetrics and Gynecology


    department.


    Not far away, Tina watched the two disappear into the elevator. She bit her lower lip and went to the


    registration desk. ¡°Hello, missy. May I ask about Miss Reed just now? What department is she heading


    to? I am her friend, and I noticed that she has been in a bad mood recently, so I followed her all the way


    here. I didn¡¯t expect her to actuallye to the hospital. So could you please tell me? I am really worried


    about her.¡±


    The worry on Tina¡¯s face looked sincere, and the nurse was moved by it. She then turned over to take a


    look at Sonia¡¯s registration record and told Tina, ¡°She¡¯s going to the Obstetrics and Gynecology


    department.¡±


    Hearing the name of the department, Tina lifted the corner of her lips slightly, but she quickly cleared up


    her expression and switched back to her worried look just now. ¡°I see. Thank you, missy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± The nurse waved her hand.


    The moment Tina turned and left, the worry on her face disappeared suddenly, and now, her face was


    full of excitement instead.


    She took out her mobile phone and dialed Tim Lancaster¡¯s number. ¡°Hey, Tim. Sonia came to the


    hospital. I thought she would choose another hospital. I didn¡¯t expect that she woulde to yours. I¡¯ll


    leave the rest to you, Tim.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Tim¡¯s sses reflected the light as he pushed the rim.


    As soon as Tina put down the phone, Toby approached her while frowning slightly. ¡°Tina, didn¡¯t I tell you


    to wait for me at the gate of the hospital? Why did youe here?¡±


    Tina¡¯s eyes shed, whereupon she smiled and replied, ¡°Sorry, Toby. I just saw someone familiar, so I


    chased them in a hurry and forgot what you said. Please don¡¯t be mad at me.¡±


    She hugged his arm and shook it, acting like a child.


    After all, she wasn¡¯t lying. When she was waiting for him at the entrance of the hospital, she saw Sonia


    and Charles, so she hurriedly hid and quietly followed them in.


    She came over to see a psychiatrist, yet she happened to meet Sonia and Charles for a birth check-up.


    Well, isn¡¯t this great? I¡¯ll be able to end Sonia once and for all today! she thought gleefully.

 Chapter 182

    Chapter 182


    ¡°Who was it?¡± Toby asked,


    Smiling, Tina replied, ¡°A ssmate from university, but she doesn¡¯t recognize me anymore. All right,


    Toby. Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore, Let¡¯s go to the psychiatric department.¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t think much of it and simply bobbed his chin in agreement.


    Meanwhile, after Tim ended the call with Tina, he contacted the gynecologist again. ¡°The woman I talked


    aboutst time has already gone to your side, so be careful not to reveal anything.¡±


    ¡°Understood, Director Lancaster,¡± the person on the other end replied with a nod.


    Tim grunted, then hung up.


    Apanied by Charles, Sonia reached the outside of the consultation room at the Obstetrics and


    Gynecology department.


    ¡°Charles, you can wait for me outside,¡± Sonia said while turning to face Charles, who was beside her,


    ¡°Till follow you in,¡± He was a little worried about her.


    However, Sonia shook her head in refusal, ¡°No.¡±


    Since she was so stubborn, Charles had no choice but to reluctantly agree. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be waiting for you


    here. Call me if anything happens. I¡¯ll go in immediately.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia gave him a smile, then walked in.


    The doctor in the consultation room set down thendline in his hand when he saw hering in, and


    something shed across his eyes.


    ¡°Miss Reed, we meet again.¡± The doctor smiled and greeted Sonia.


    Sonia sat down opposite him, feeling a little surprised. ¡°Doctor, you remember me?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Thest time you came here, I was the doctor who assessed you. I¡¯ve always had a good


    memory,¡± the doctor answered.


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched, ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, did youe here because there¡¯s a problem with your baby?¡± the doctor asked after taking


    her registration form.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No. This time, I¡¯m here because I want to get an abortion.¡±


    ¡°Abortion?¡± The doctor was visibly stunned.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The look on the doctor¡¯s face was a mix ofplicated emotions. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Sonia replied affirmatively.


    OUT


    All of a sudden, the doctor was silent.


    wa


    Originally, he thought he was going to have to make up an excuse such as fetal malformation or the


    mother¡¯s body being unsuitable for pregnancy to deceive her and get her to agree to getting an abortion.


    To his surprise, she came this time to abort her baby, which saved him a lot of effort.


    ¡°Miss Reed, since you¡¯ve given it careful consideration, then when do you n to abort the child? I can


    ask the hospital to arrange the operation.¡± The doctor looked at her belly.


    Sonia tightened the hand on her stomach, and instead of rushing to answer him, she lowered her gaze,


    seemingly thinking about something.


    The entire time, the doctor observed her expression. Seeing her like this, he was a little afraid that she


    would regret it at thest minute and be reluctant to get rid of the baby in her belly.


    Squinting, the doctor calmly persuaded her. ¡°Miss Reed, things like this cannot be dyed. The more


    you dy it, the older the baby will get, which isn¡¯t good for the mother¡¯s body, so you have to decide


    earlier.¡±


    ¡°Then, get it done as soon as possible,¡± Sonia replied after taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.


    In fact, when the doctor asked her when she nned to abort the child, she did feel a sense of


    reluctance, which was why it took her quite a while to answer the doctor.


    But even though she was reluctant, she must be resolutely ruthless.


    I¡¯m sorry!


    Sonia apologized to the child in her stomach, then signed the abortion consent form.


    As the doctor watched her sign the document, he was relieved, and the smile on his face grew even


    wider.


    ¡°Miss Reed, I just checked the system. Many pregnant women¡¯s surgeries have been scheduled for the


    next two days, so yours will be scheduled in the afternoon two dayster,¡± the doctor said gently as he


    took the abortion consent form Sonia had just signed.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°All right. Then I¡¯lle back in two days.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± the doctor answered with a smile.


    Standing up, Sonia walked out of the doctor¡¯s office.


    ¡°Darling.¡± When Charles saw hering out, he quickly took her hand. ¡°When¡¯s the operation?¡±


    ¡°In two days,¡± Sonia replied.


    Charles rubbed his chin. ¡°Two dayster. Two dayster is good too. At least there is a buffer period for


    you to adjust your mental state. Shall we go back now?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Sonia took a look at the time before the two of them walked toward the elevator.


    Standing at the door, the doctor watched as their figures disappeared down the corner of the corridor. He


    closed the door, then turned back to his desk and picked up thendline on the desk to make a call.


    The person on the other end of the line seemed to have been waiting for the call. As soon as the call was


    made, he answered, ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°Director Lancaster, the task isplete. She¡¯s signed the abortion consent form,¡± replied the doctor.


    Tim adjusted his posture. ¡°Very well. When is the operation scheduled for?¡±


    ¡°In the afternoon two days from now.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± With that, Tim hung up and gave Tina a call..


    At this moment, Tina was sitting on the sofa in the psychiatric consultation room. Although the doctor had


    yet to arrive, she was still flustered and confused.


    Even though Tim told her not to worry, she was still utterly afraid that she would expose herselfter,


    because once Toby found out that she didn¡¯t have dissociative identity disorder at all and was just using


    it as a front to unscrupulously deal with Sonia, Toby would certainly cut off all rtions with her even if he


    still regarded her as the person he loved.


    Therefore, she mustn¡¯t expose herself.


    Sensing how nervous the woman next to him was, Toby turned to look at her. ¡°Tina, are you okay?¡±


    Tina¡¯s face was a little pale, but when she heard his question, she forced a smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that


    it¡¯s my first time seeing a psychologist, so I¡¯m a little nervous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll be with you the whole time.¡± Toby stroked her hair.


    ¡°Toby, you¡¯re the best,¡± Tina replied softly, but deep down, she was rather agitated.


    If possible, she would rather he didn¡¯t apany her.


    It was precisely because he was here that she was even more afraid.


    However, Tina dared not let her internal struggles show.


    At this moment, her phone rang.


    Upon taking a look, Tina saw that Tim was calling. Her gaze darkened, and she stood up all of a sudden.


    ¡°Toby, my mother is calling. I¡¯m going outside to answer the phone.¡±


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    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby didn¡¯t suspect that she was lying and simply gave a slight nod. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Opening the door, Tina left with her phone.


    In order to not be heard, she walked a little farther before answering the call. ¡°Tim, how did it go? Have


    you seeded?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the operation will be in two days,¡± Tim replied while pushing up his sses.


    Tina couldn¡¯t conceal the excitement on her face. ¡°That¡¯s great. If it¡¯s in two days, so be it. I¡¯ve been


    waiting for so long, so what¡¯s another two more days? T¡¯im, for the operation in two days, you must-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll arrange it.¡± Tim cut her off.


    Undoubtedly, Tina wasn¡¯t worried about Tim¡¯s ability. She knew that as long as she wanted something,


    he would make sure it was done, because he firmly believed that she was his savior, despite the fact that


    she didn¡¯t know why he would think she saved him.


    Nevertheless, so what if he did? Since that was what he thought, and he was willing to do things for her,


    why shouldn¡¯t she ept it?


    ¡°All right. Then, I¡¯ll leave this to you, Tim,¡± Tina replied while smiling.


    After that, the two of them exchanged a few more words before ending the call.


    Tina put away her phone and looked around. When she saw that no one was around, she went back into


    the clinic, pretending as if nothing had happened.


    As soon as she entered, she found that there was another person inside-a foreign old man in a white


    coat.


    Tina¡¯s heart tightened. She immediately realized that this old man was the psychiatrist Toby had sought


    for her.

 Chapter 183

    Chapter 183


    Sure enough, when Toby saw her return, he called her over. ¡°Tina,e here. Let me introduce you to


    Dr. Steve, an internationally renowned psychology professor.¡±


    Tina tried her best to continue smiling, then walked over with stiff steps.


    Steve looked at her, then stretched out his hand and said in fluent Espanian, ¡°Hello, Miss Gray. I heard


    Dr. Lancaster talking about you before. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll treat you well and won¡¯t let you down.¡±


    After saying that, he winked at her.


    All of a sudden, realization dawned on Tina.


    Tim had bribed this man, so he was now on her side.


    And he had said it very clearly-he wouldn¡¯t let her down.


    His implication was that even if her acting skills were terrible, he would give her a medical certificate


    stating that she was indeed sick.


    At this thought, Tina immediately stopped worrying. She became more rxed and stretched out her


    hand to shake his. ¡°Okay. Then, I¡¯ll count on you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. Miss Gray, please sit down.¡± Steve withdrew his hand and motioned for her to sit down.


    Toby proceeded to pull out a chair for Tina.


    She smiled at him, then took a seat.


    Steve sat down on the opposite side. ¡°President Fuller, Miss Gray, are you ready? I¡¯m going to start the


    diagnosis now.¡±


    ¡°Tina.¡± Toby looked at her.


    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m ready. Dr. Steve, you can start now.¡°


    ¡°All right.¡± Steve pushed his sses, then took a pocket watch out from the pocket of his whiteb coat.


    ¡°Miss Gray, next, I¡¯ll hypnotize you to try to awaken your alter. Don¡¯t be afraid. Just do everything as I


    say.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tina nodded, but she was clutching the corner of Toby¡¯s clothes with a frightened expression on


    her face. ¡°Toby, will you stay here with me?¡±


    She peered feebly at him.


    Steve was on her side anyway, so she didn¡¯t have to worry about him telling her that she didn¡¯t


    have dissociative identity disorder.


    When Toby saw the frightened look in Tina¡¯s eyes, his heart softened as he squeezed her hand. ¡°Okay. I


    won¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll be here with you.¡±


    Tina smiled.


    Then, Steve began the hypnosis.


    Tina closed her eyes and leaned on the sofa, seemingly asleep.


    Toby watched as Steve put away his pocket watch, then he looked at the motionless Tina, and his brows


    furrowed with worry. ¡°Dr. Steve, will the hypnosis affect Tina?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. She won¡¯t be affected. She¡¯ll wake up soon, but when she wakes up, she¡¯ll


    be another person,¡± Steve answered.


    Toby squinted his eyes.


    Of course, he knew who he was referring to as the other person-he was referring to Tina¡¯s alter.


    All along, he had never seen her before, so was he finally going to meet her now?


    ¡°Miss Gray, you can wake up now.¡± Steve brought his hands to Tina¡¯s ear and pped.


    p!


    As soon as the sound rang out, Tina, who had her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes and sat up


    straight.


    Toby studied her, a little unsure whether she was Tina or her alter.


    After thinking for a while, Toby pursed his thin lips and tentatively called out, ¡°Tina?¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯m Liana. It¡¯s the name I gave myself,¡± Tina said with a wicked smile on her face, her


    voice enchanting.


    Looking at the alter, whose personality waspletely opposite from Tina¡¯s, Toby fell silent.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina stood up and walked toward him. ¡°President Fuller, we finally got to meet.¡±


    Toby frowned while taking a step back, but he still didn¡¯t answer.


    He didn¡¯t like her alter, and one could even say that he was rather disgusted by it.


    Besides the reason being that he found this personality to be too evil, there was another reason that he


    couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on.


    When Tina caught sight of the disgust in the man¡¯s eyes, the evil smile on her face stiffened, and she felt


    even more hateful.


    Just now, when she pretended to be hypnotized, she was thinking about how her alter should act. After


    contemting it for a long time, she eventually decided to act as her true self.


    That was right. Her current behavior was her true colors; the way she normally acted was just a disguise.


    She didn¡¯t expect that Toby would hate the real her!


    Tina lowered her gaze and suppressed the resentment in her heart. The wicked smile returned to her


    face as she looked at Toby once more. ¡°President Fuller, why are you looking at me like that? It¡¯s making


    me sad.¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep on targeting Sonia?¡± Toby asked coldly, pursing his lips and ignoring her fake


    sadness.


    This made Tina even angrier.


    We just started, yet he¡¯s already asking about Sonia. Does he care about her that much?


    ¡°Why, you ask?¡± Tina sneered shamelessly. ¡°Because I hate her.¡±


    Toby¡¯s frown intensified. ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Tina twirled a strand of hair around her finger and began exining. ¡°The main reason is


    because she makes Tina very insecure. Tina¡¯s afraid that she¡¯ll snatch you away. Even if you repeatedly


    say that it won¡¯t happen, Tina always minds Sonia¡¯s presence, and so I was born.¡± She tossed her hair


    back, then said, ¡°My duty is to protect Tina. As long as she¡¯s unhappy or feels that Sonia is getting closer


    to you, Tina will feel threatened, and I will show up to punish Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Punish?¡± The look on Toby¡¯s face was nasty. ¡°But what you¡¯ve done these past few times was try to


    cause her death!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Tina spread out her hands. ¡°As long as Sonia is dead, Tina will never feel


    insecure again. How nice would it be to settle the matter once and for all!¡±


    Toby clenched his fists, and his face darkened considerably. ¡°Dr. Steve, wake Tina up.¡±


    He didn¡¯t want to see this alter anymore. Her viciousness was beyond his imagination.


    Therefore, this alter must go!


    ¡°Okay, President Fuller.¡± Steve stepped forward and shot Tina a look.


    Understanding his message, Tina blinked, then cooperated and fell asleep.


    ¡°Dr. Steve.¡± Toby looked at him. ¡°Is there any way to get rid of Tina¡¯s alter?¡±


    Originally, he wanted to merge Tina¡¯s alter with her own personality.


    However, the viciousness of the alter made him realize that they couldn¡¯t be merged. Once they became


    one, it was unknown whether Tina would turn evil as well.


    So, the best way was topletely eliminate the alter.


    On the sofa, Tina heard Toby¡¯s question, and she couldn¡¯t help but ball her hands into fists.


    Toby actually wanted to get rid of her alter.


    Although the alter didn¡¯t exist, it existed in Toby¡¯s perception.


    And now, Toby actually wanted to destroy it. What made it worse was that the alter¡¯s character was her


    actual personality.


    Obviously, Steve didn¡¯t expect Toby to ask this so suddenly. After sweeping a nce at Tina, who was on


    the sofa, he nodded and said, ¡°It can be done, but judging from the situation just now, Miss Gray¡¯s alter is


    already very mature and powerful. If we want to eliminate it, it would be impossible to get it done in a


    short time. It would at least take a really long time.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, please do your best to cure Tina,¡± Toby said while rubbing his temples.


    Smiling, Steve nodded. ¡°I will. Now, allow me to wake Miss Gray up.¡±


    Toby murmured assent.


    In no time, Tina opened her eyes and woke up.


    She looked around in confusion, then saw Toby and asked suspiciously, ¡°Toby, just now, I¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve just been hypnotized.¡± Toby reached out and pulled her up.


    Tina patted her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s right. I remember now. Dr. Steve hypnotized me to summon my alter.


    Toby, did my alter show up?¡±

 Chapter 184

    Chapter 184


    ¡°Yeah, she showed up.¡± Toby nodded.


    Tina¡¯s gaze flickered. ¡°Then¡­ how is she like?¡±


    Toby frowned but didn¡¯t answer.


    Upon seeing this, Tina pretended to be worried. ¡°Toby, is she horrible and evil?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Tina. Don¡¯t think too much.¡± Toby stroked her hair. ¡°I¡¯ll get Dr. Steve to treat you well and


    eliminate that alter.¡±


    ¡°Eliminate?¡± Seemingly shocked, Tina covered her mouth. ¡°Why do you want to eliminate her? Didn¡¯t we


    agree to merge our personalities?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that. Your alter is too evil. I¡¯m worried that after you merge, your personality will change as


    well,¡± Toby replied in his deep voice.


    Tina nodded, ¡°Oh. All right, then. We¡¯ll do as you say, Toby.¡±


    She lowered her eyelids and sped her hands together.


    It turned out that to him, the real her was an evil presence.


    ¡°Dr. Steve.¡± Not noticing Tina¡¯s small movements, Toby turned to look at Steve, who was opposite from


    him.


    ¡°President Fuller, please proceed,¡± Steve pushed his sses up and said with a smile.


    Toby nodded. ¡°As for Tina¡¯s treatment, please create a n for me. I want to know the progress of Tina¡¯s


    treatment at all times.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Steve responded.


    Afterward, Toby and Tina walked toward the entrance of the room, ready to leave.


    As soon as they walked out of the consultation room, they saw Tim approaching.


    ¡°Is the first consultation over?¡± Tim asked after stopping to look at the two of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s over. What brought you here, Tim?¡± Tina smiled.


    Tim ced both hands in the pockets of his white coat. ¡°I had just finished my surgery for today. I


    remembered that you guys were here, so I came over to take a look. How¡¯s Tina¡¯s situation?¡±


    He looked at Toby, who massaged his temples. ¡°It¡¯s rather serious. Her alter is already very mature, and


    she¡¯s the same age as Tina.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Seems like it¡¯s quite serious.¡± With light reflecting off his sses, Tim asked, ¡°Then, what are


    you guys nning to do next?¡±


    Tina stuck her fingers together. ¡°Toby said to just get rid of her.¡±


    ¡°Is that true, Toby?¡± Tim raised an eyebrow.


    Toby lifted his chin. ¡°Well, that alter can¡¯t stay.¡±


    Tina lowered her head, making it difficult to see the expression on her face.


    When Tim saw her like this, he more or less guessed something. Pushing his sses up with his middle


    finger, he said, ¡°If you want to destroy an alter, it¡¯s not a simple task, and you might not be sessful.


    You¡¯ll have to take your time.¡±


    Toby lifted his wrist to look at his watch, then said in a cold voice, ¡°I know that, which is why I asked Dr.


    Steve to try his best to treat her. All right. We should get going.¡±


    Tim stepped aside to make way for them, and he even made a polite gesture showing the two of them


    out.


    Lifting his feet, Toby walked forward with Tina following closely behind him.


    When passing by Tim, she suddenly turned back to wink at him.


    Tim¡¯s lips curled up into a smile.


    It was just a small gesture, but the two of them obviouslymunicated something.


    However, Toby didn¡¯t notice any of this.


    After Sonia and Charles returned to Paradigm Co., they plunged straight into work.


    Because Sonia was going to undergo surgery in two days, she must stay in the hospital for two days.


    During those two days, she wouldn¡¯t be able to work, so she could only finish the work of those two days


    in advance. Otherwise, it would pile upter, and her workload would increase.


    In the afternoon, Charles received a phone call from his assistant asking him to go back to attend a


    meeting


    Only then did Charles set down the pen in his hand, stretch, and get up from his chair.


    ¡°How much more?¡± Charles asked while pounding his shoulders.


    Sonia shook her slightly aching head, then looked at the table next to her and let out a bitter chuckle. ¡°My


    pile is still this high!¡±


    She made a motion to indicate a very high pile.


    Charles sighed. ¡°There¡¯s still so much, huh. You can¡¯t finish them alone in two days either. I¡¯ll take half of


    them back to my office and deal with them, then I¡¯ll bring them back two days


    ¡°Okay. Thank you, Charles.¡± Sonia took a sip of the scented tea he made for her.


    Charles gave a dismissive wave. ¡°What are you thanking me for? Although Paradigm Co. is stable now,


    and I¡¯m not needed much, I still have the title of director, so it¡¯s something I should do.¡±


    With that, he proceeded to pick up half of the documents.


    Sonia then called Daphne in. ¡°Daphne, Charles is going back. Please see him off.¡±


    When Daphne heard this, a trace of joy shed across her eyes, but it disappeared in an instant, and


    she nodded formically. ¡°Yes, President Reed.¡±


    After that, she made a gesture toward Charles. ¡°President Lane, this way, please.¡±


    Charles looked at Sonia. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll leave first, darling.¡±


    ¡°Go on!¡± Sonia waved at him.


    Then, Charles and Daphne went out.


    Sonia stretched her neck, prepared to continue working hard.


    At this moment, her phone rang.


    She picked it up and saw that Zane was calling.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Sonia brought the phone to her ear.


    When Zane heard her voice, his voice softened subconsciously. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I call you even if nothing¡¯s up?¡± Zane said nonchntly while leaning against his car.


    Rolling her eyes, Sonia answered, ¡°You¡¯re free, but I¡¯m not. Alright. If you have anything to tell me,


    please do. If not, I¡¯ll hang up first. I still have things to do.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t. I¡¯ll talk.¡± Zane was afraid that she would actually hang up, so he quickly straightened up


    and became serious.


    Sonia mped the phone between her ear and her shoulder. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Two days ago, didn¡¯t you say that you were going to the hospital to abort the baby? Have you gotten rid


    of it?¡± Zane asked, sounding concerned.


    Initially, he wanted to ask her in the morning, but he figured that she might be undergoing the operation


    in the morning, so she might not be able to answer even if he called, which was why he held back till


    now.


    ¡°Not yet. Did you call just to ask me this?¡± Sonia was a little amused.


    Zane gave a light cough. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re friends, so I need to care about you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sonia said with a smile.


    Zane chuckled joyfully. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. It¡¯s only right for me to do so. But, if you haven¡¯t had


    your operation yet, does that mean you¡¯re not nning to abort it?¡±


    ¡°No. The hospital has operations nned for these two days, so my operation is scheduled for two days


    later,¡± Sonia answered while handling the documents.


    Zane came to a sudden understanding. ¡°I see. I thought you didn¡¯t want to get an abortion anymore.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m a very resolute person,¡± Sonia said.


    Zane¡¯s lips moved, as if he was hiding something. He hesitated for several seconds before speaking.


    ¡°Does my friend know about your n to get an abortion?¡±


    Her hand holding the pen halted, but Sonia quickly recovered and said quietly, ¡°I didn¡¯t tell him. After all,


    the child is in my belly. ording to our country¡¯sw, I have the right to get rid of it without his


    knowledge.¡±


    ¡°I know, but he must be held responsible, right?¡± Zane frowned.


    Sonia turned a page of the document. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. What happened that night was both of


    our faults; it¡¯s not his alone. So, I don¡¯t need him to be responsible. That¡¯s enough. Is there anything


    else? If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll hang up first. I¡¯m still very busy.¡±


    Sensing that she obviously didn¡¯t want to say anything more, Zane had no choice but to end the call.


    He set down the phone and scratched his head, irritation clear on his face.


    What does she mean, both of their faults? He watched the surveince footage from that night. Only


    Sonia was drunk; Toby waspletely sober.


    The situation was as such, yet that incident still happened between Toby and Sonia. Obviously, Toby was


    the only one in the wrong-Sonia was drunk, so she couldn¡¯t possibly have done anything to Toby. Even if


    she wanted to do something to Toby, he was a big man; couldn¡¯t he push her away?

 Chapter 185

    Chapter 185


    Hence, it was obvious at a nce who was in the wrong.


    Toby must be responsible for Sonia. Why should Sonia bear it alone?!


    At this thought, Zane¡¯s expression was cold as he dialed Toby¡¯s number.


    At this moment, Toby was driving Tina home.


    When he heard the phone ringing, he answered through the bluetooth in his ear. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± Zane replied loudly.


    Toby frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Zane was about to speak when he suddenly heard a soft female voiceing from his end of the line.


    ¡°Toby, who is it?¡±


    ¡°Toby, is Tina next to you?¡± Zane asked, his face turning gloomy.


    Toby nced at Tina, who was in the passenger seat, then gave a faint hum.


    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s talk about itter. When Tina isn¡¯t around, call me.¡±


    With that, Zane hung up.


    Toby narrowed his eyes.


    If Zane called him so suddenly, he obviously had something important to tell him, but he wanted to avoid


    Tina.


    It seemed like what he had to say wasn¡¯t about business, but Sonia.


    ¡°Toby, who called you just now?¡± Tina asked curiously when she saw the man silently looking down.


    Something flickered in the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Zane. He wanted to discuss business matters.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Tina nodded, not at all suspicious. ¡°By the way, Toby, will you go to the charity auction that¡¯s


    happening in a few days?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Mr. Laughlin was a close friend of myte grandfather, and Grandma hasn¡¯t recovered yet,


    so I¡¯ll go on her behalf¡± Toby answered as he turned the steering wheel.


    Tina pped her hands. ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯ll be going with my parents, but I don¡¯t have a dress yet. Toby,


    can you apany me to buy a dress tomorrow?¡±


    She looked expectantly at him.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    There was a slightly apologetic look in Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tina. Tomorrow, there¡¯ll be foreign


    investors present, so I can¡¯t go with you. I¡¯ll arrange for two female secretaries to apany you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Tina lowered her head, a little upset. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Cynthia to go with me.¡±


    Soon, they arrived at the Gray Residence.


    Remembering Zane¡¯s phone call, Toby declined Julia¡¯s invitation to dinner and drove back to the Fuller


    Group.


    After entering the office, he loosened his tie while taking out his cell phone before returning Zane¡¯s call.


    Zane had been waiting for his call, so when he saw the phone ringing, he immediately picked up. ¡°Has


    Tina left?¡±


    Toby murmured assent. ¡°What is it you wanted to tell me?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to talk to you about Sonia¡¯s pregnancy,¡± Zane said.


    Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Sure enough, if he was avoiding Tina, it was either about business or Sonia.


    ¡°What happened to Sonia?¡± Pursing his lips, Toby asked in his deep voice, his tone clearlyced with


    concern.


    Zane heard it, but he didn¡¯t expose him and simply acted as if he didn¡¯t notice.


    After all, Toby still wasn¡¯t aware about his feelings for Sonia.


    If he exposed Toby¡¯s concern for Sonia, then Toby might discover his feelings for her.


    By then, there would be a huge obstacle in his pursuit of Sonia.


    ¡°She¡¯s okay, but she intends to get an abortion,¡± Zane replied, leaning against his car.


    Toby¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Get an abortion?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Toby¡¯s grip on his phone tightened abruptly. Zane shrugged. ¡°She told me


    personally, of course.¡±


    Told him personally¡­


    Toby pressed his thin lips into a straight line, and his expression was extremely unpleasant. There was


    an unspeakable sense of anger and agitation in his heart.


    He was obviously the child¡¯s father, yet in the end, he had to hear about whether or not his child was


    going to be kept from someone else.


    ¡°Toby, are you still there?¡± Zane called out when he didn¡¯t hear any sound from the other end of the


    phone.


    Toby lowered his gaze, then said in a cold voice. ¡°When did Sonia tell you that she intended to¡­ get an


    abortion?¡±


    When he mentioned the words ¡®get an abortion¡¯, he paused¨Csomething he rarely did¡ªand there was a


    sense of urgency in his chest.


    Although he was mentally prepared that Sonia might not want to keep the baby, when he actually heard


    it, he was filled withplicated emotions.


    ¡°It¡¯s been two days.¡± Zanebed his hair back.


    Toby felt the air pressure around him drop instantly. ¡°And you¡¯re just telling me now?¡±


    ¡°I forgot about it.¡± Zane shrugged, then smiled. ¡°Besides, I thought Sonia told you, but I just asked and


    found out that she didn¡¯t.¡±


    From his voice, Toby could hear how pleased and proud he was, and the air pressure around him


    dropped even lower.


    ¡°So, why did you call today?¡± he asked in an unpleasant tone.


    Zane knew that he was jealous and furious, and the corners of his mouth curled up. ¡°I¡¯m just calling to tell


    you that Sonia¡¯s operation is in two days, so you should decide how to be responsible for it.¡±


    When the call ended, Toby¡¯s brows furrowed even deeper.


    Operation in two days¡­


    He could forget about Sonia¡¯s not telling him about her decision to get an abortion, but she didn¡¯t even


    n to tell him the date of the surgery.


    Toby¡¯s handsome face darkened considerably as he clicked on his conversation with Sonia on


    Messenger.


    At Paradigm Co., Sonia was still handling the documents when she heard her phone vibrating.


    Squeezing the bridge of her nose, she retrieved her phone and took a look.


    When she saw that the message was from Z-H, her back stiffened slightly, and she clicked in to check.


    ¡°Are you nning to get an abortion?¡¯


    Sonia pursed her red lips. ¡®How did you know?¡¯


    Z-H: ¡°Zane told me!


    Sonia thought of her phone call with Zane just now, and she rolled her eyes.


    That bbermouth!


    Sighing, Sonia replied: ¡®Yes, I n to get rid of it!


    Z-H: ¡®Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡¯


    Sonia bit her lip. ¡®It¡¯s not necessary, is it?¡¯


    Z-H: ¡®But I¡¯m the child¡¯s father?


    Sonia: ¡®So what? If I told you, you¡¯d agree anyway, so why should I take the trouble to do that? I might as


    well just go ahead with the abortion!


    Upon seeing Sonia¡¯s response, Toby¡¯s face darkened.


    There was no denying that what she said was right.


    She didn¡¯t want the child and wanted to abort it. Naturally, he would agree, so it really didn¡¯t matter if she


    told him, but¡­


    Toby¡¯s slender fingers typed out a reply. ¡°I told you that regardless of whether you want to keep the child


    or not, I¡¯ll be responsible?


    Sonia: ¡®No, you don¡¯t have to. Let¡¯s not talk about this matter anymore.¡±


    After sending it, she quit the app. He might have sent her more messages afterward, but she didn¡¯t


    check.


    When Toby saw that Sonia didn¡¯t reply to hisst message, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little


    exhausted.


    He truly wanted to see her and ask her if she could be less stubborn.


    However, if he did, his identity would be exposed.


    ¡°Tom!¡± Toby yelled, knitting his eyebrows together.


    Tom opened the door and walked in. ¡°President Fuller, how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Go to the bank and ask how much money Paradigm Co. borrowed.¡± Toby said.


    Although Tom was surprised, he didn¡¯t ask further and simply nodded in response. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Meanwhile, not long after Sonia set down her phone, Daphne came back with an invitation card


    in hand. ¡°President Reed, this is an invitation card from the Southfield Family


    ¡°What invitation?¡± Sonia raised her head and took the ck and gold invitation card from Daphne.


    Daphne exined, ¡°It¡¯s an invitation to the charity auction. The Southfield Family is well-known for being


    charitable in Seafield. During recent years, they¡¯ve been keen on protecting wildlife, so all the funds


    collected at the end of this charity auction will be used for wildlife protection.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded to indicate that she understood.


    Daphne looked at her. ¡°President Reed, are you nning to go? If you want to go, I can rearrange the


    itinerary for that day.¡±


    ¡°Of course I have to go. I have to show the Southfield Family some respect. But I remember that


    everyone who¡¯s invited has to donate an item to be auctioned, right?¡± Sonia asked.

 Chapter 186

    Chapter 186


    Daphne nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sonia rubbed her temples in distress. ¡°Then it seems that I have to think of something to donate.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, President Reed-for this kind of charity auction, the invitees would generally donate


    some jewelry or some antiques.¡± Daphne said.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll donate some jewelry, then. Also, do you have some time tomorrow? How about


    choosing a dress with me?¡±


    The next day was Sunday, and since they didn¡¯t have work, Sonia proposed to go shopping.


    However, Daphne shook her head apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Reed. My mother arranged a blind


    date for me tomorrow.¡±


    There was bitterness in her eyes despite her smiling. It was obvious that she didn¡¯t want to go on a blind


    date.


    Sonia noticed her reluctance and thought for a while before saying, ¡°How about you tell your mom that


    you have to work overtime tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not going to work. I have already refused several times with the excuse of working, and


    my mother said that I should just resign if I have to work overtime this time around


    -so I have to go.¡± Daphne sighed.


    After hearing this, even Sonia was clueless on how to help her.


    Daphne bowed slightly. ¡°President Reed, I still have some pending work, so I will take my leave first.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Go ahead.¡± Sonia smiled and nodded. After Daphne left, she closed the invitation card and put it


    in the drawer before continuing to work on the documents on her desk.


    The next day, Sonia asked Reba to choose a dress with her instead. The two of them walked into the


    dress shop named Wanika. The brand¡¯s high quality was extremely popr among young women all


    over the world. As its design was also very exquisite, it made people fall in love with it at first nce.


    Sonia stood in front of the dress stand, carefully looking through the dresses. Next to her, Reba


    seemed to have found a good one. She immediately stretched out her hand to take it and bring it over to


    Sonia. ¡°President Reed, how about this one? I think it suits you well.¡±


    ¡°Really? Let me take a look.¡± Sonia turned around to look, only to see an off-shoulder long white dress in


    Reba¡¯s hand.


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    The dress did not have too many intricate designs, but the fabric of the dress had a sheen to it, which


    was particrly eye-catching. If the light of the venue was dim, then this dress would be


    the most dazzling of all.


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad at all!¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t hide her interest in the dress.


    Reba handed it to her. ¡°Shall we go and give it a try?¡±


    Sonia nodded and agreed, ¡°Okay!¡±


    Just as she was about to ask the retail assistant next to her where the dressing room was, a familiar


    female voice suddenly rang from behind. ¡°Miss Reed, would you mind giving me the dress in your


    hand?¡±


    Sonia frowned upon hearing that voice. Simrly, the smile on Reba¡¯s face suddenly disappeared.


    ¡°President Reed, it¡¯s Tina Gray.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia looked at Tina and Cynthia, who were walking toward her, as she raised her eyebrows


    slightly.


    In fact, Sonia was surprised to see Cynthia. Cynthia is already out?Well, if I were keeping track, she has


    indeed served her time, but she actually still chose to follow Tina again after she came out? It seems that


    she still takes Tina as a friend, but that is such a foolish thought. How could she not realize that Tina


    doesn¡¯t even feel the same at all! she thought to herself.


    ¡°Do you want this dress?¡± Sonia looked at Tina, who was standing in front of her, and raised the dress in


    her hand.


    Tina nodded. ¡°Yes. I like it very much. I wonder if you¡¯re willing to give it up for me, Miss Reed.¡±


    She actually meant it¡ªshe really liked this dress. But of course, the truth was that she simply wanted to


    grab the dress that Sonia liked.


    ¡°Why should she?¡± Reba took a step forward to stand beside Sonia while she looked at Tina coldly.


    ¡°We found this dress first. Don¡¯t you not know the ¡®firste, first served¡¯ rule?¡±


    ¡°Even if you found it first, can you even afford it?¡± Cynthia stood up and confronted Reba, not wanting


    to be outdone.


    ¡°You need not worry if I can or cannot afford it, but all I know is that you can¡¯t afford it.¡± Sonia looked at


    Cynthia calmly.


    Although the Stone Family was considered wealthy, it was obviously impossible for her to buy a dress


    worth millions.


    Needless to say, Cynthia, too, was aware of her own situation. After Sonia publicly shamed her that she


    couldn¡¯t afford it, she felt both angry and embarrassed to the point her face was blushing.


    Reba, too, sneered mercilessly, ¡°Oh, seeing how arrogant you were just now, I thought you were rich-


    so you were pretending after all.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Cynthia¡¯s eyes were red with anger.


    Tina patted Cynthia on the shoulder and looked at Reba with a smile. ¡°Miss Harper, it¡¯s true that


    Cynthia can¡¯t afford it, but I can give it to her. But what about you? Can Miss Reed give it to


    you?¡±


    ¡°Tina¡­¡± Cynthia was very touched to see how Tina helped her out in the situation. Especially when she


    heard that she was going to give her a dress, she was even more moved.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need President Reed to give it to me because I can afford it.¡± Reba took out a diamond card


    and waved it in front of them.


    Tina recognized that it was a diamond card from the local bank, and a trace of surprise shed in her


    eyes before she sunk into contemtion. Although the diamond card was not a rare card, it was not


    something ordinary people could own. The average person who owned it should have a worth of


    hundreds of millions.


    This Reba was just the head of Paradigm Co.¡¯s finance department, but she actually had a diamond


    card. What could be her true identity? However, no matter what her status was, she only had a diamond


    card anyway-surely, her status was not very high.


    Thinking about this, Tina didn¡¯t care anymore, then she turned her gaze back to Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, are


    you really not going to give the dress to me?¡±


    Sonia looked at her coldly. ¡°There are so many dresses here, but you just had to get the one that I¡¯m


    holding in my hands. Anyone with eyes can tell that you are trying to snatch it away from me. How


    audacious.¡±


    When Tina caught the sarcasm in Sonia¡¯s words, her face sank, but she soonughed again. ¡°Since you


    said I was snatching it from you, then so be it. That said, I really like that dress, so please let it


    go.¡±


    ¡°And what if I don¡¯t?¡± Sonia looked at her.


    Reba also said, ¡°Yeah. Even if we don¡¯t give it to you, are you going to kill us over a dress?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, but I won¡¯t let you off that easily as well,¡± Tina replied. She basically implied that she


    would get this dress no matter what.


    Sonia saw the determination in Tina¡¯s eyes and understood that thetter was determined to go against


    her to prevent her from getting the dress. After squinting her eyes slightly, Sonia curled up her lips and


    said, ¡°Okay. If you want it that badly, then I will give it to you.¡±


    ¡°President Reed?¡± Reba looked at Sonia with disbelief.


    On the other hand, Tina and Cynthiaughed.


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Reed.¡± Tina also looked at Sonia.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°You are wee. I took a closer look at the dress, and although it looks really good, I


    doubt it will look good on me-its cutting will show whoever wears it to have short legs andrge hips, so it


    is not suitable for me, but I think it is more suitable for you, Miss Gray.¡±


    When Reba heard this, her eyes lit up as she pped her hands and said, ¡°Oh, yes. Miss Gray,


    please take the dress. You are the best fit!¡± After speaking, she took the dress calmly from Sonia and


    threw it directly on Tina.


    Tina caught the dress, but the expression on her face wasn¡¯t one of ecstatic. Right now, she could


    neither throw it away nor buy it; she could only hold the dress tightly in her hands while watching Sonia


    and Reba head to another row of dress racks.


    ¡°Tina, do you still want this dress?¡± Cynthia asked cautiously.


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°Of course! I finally snatched it from her-if I don¡¯t want it now, wouldn¡¯t I just be pping


    myself in the face?¡±


    Although she had indeed snatched the dress, she didn¡¯t embarrass Sonia but had instead embarrassed


    herself. Right now, she no longer liked the dress in her hand despite her earlier fancy for it, so she


    definitely wouldn¡¯t even wear it. If she wore it, wouldn¡¯t she be the person with short legs and big


    hips, like what Sonia said?


    Taking a deep breath, Tina threw the dress to Cynthia to let her hold it, and then went to choose another


    dress again. While she was choosing, she was paying attention to Sonia¡¯s side, all while her heart was


    brooding. Since she caused me to not be able to wear the dress that I liked, then she¡¯d better not even


    dream about choosing the right one for herself, Tina thought to herself.


    ¡°President Reed, how about this one?¡± Reba chose another one and showed it to Sonia.

 Chapter 187

    Chapter 187


    Before Sonia could ept the dress from Reba, Tina walked over and stretched out her hand to


    snatch it away. ¡°I want this too.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s red lips pressed tightly.


    Reba was even more furious now. She stared at Tina with her arms akimbo. ¡°Are you deliberately


    trying to mess with us? You already took President Reed¡¯s dress away just now, and now you want to do


    it again?¡±


    Tina put the dress over her arm. ¡°Yes, I am doing it purposely. Since you said that the previous dress


    was defective, go ahead andment about this one. I doubt that every one of them here has defects.¡±


    ¡°How dare you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough. Reba, just ignore her.¡± Sonia stopped Reba, who was about to get furious, and gave


    Tina a cold nce before walking forward.


    Reba was a little unwilling. ¡°President Reed, are we just going to let her get away with it?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. You¡¯ll knowter,¡± Sonia replied in a low voice, and then picked the most expensive one


    among the front row of dresses.


    Although Reba didn¡¯t know what she was going to do, she didn¡¯t ask any more questions.


    Sonia stood in front of the mirror with the dress in her hand and ced the dress in front of her body.


    With that, she whispered, ¡°Five, four, three, two¡ª¡±


    Before she could even count to ¡®one, Tina¡¯s voice rang. ¡°I want that too.¡±


    The dress in Sonia¡¯s hand was indeed very beautiful. Although she hadn¡¯t put it on, she could already


    see how beautiful she would look in it just from seeing how it looked in the mirror.


    She knew the reason why Sonia was here-it was to choose a dress to attend the charity auction in a few


    days. She was determined to not let Sonia wear this dress and attract all of Toby¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Well, if you really want it, then I¡¯ll dly give it to you.¡± Seeing Tinaing over, Sonia smiled and


    passed the dress over, whereupon Tina reached out and grabbed it.


    In the next second, Sonia turned around, went to the next shelf, and continued to choose the most


    expensive dress.


    Shortly after, Tina snatched that dress away again.


    Sonia pretended to be angry and stared at her for a while, as if she wanted to get angry, but finally held


    back and went to the other shelves.


    Seeing how angry Sonia was to her, Tina¡¯s frustration just now was finally washed away and reced


    with boastful pride.


    Hmph! Continue choosing, then. No matter what you choose, I will snatch them all! she thought to


    herself.


    Next, several more dresses were snatched by Tina. Reba was so angry that she could no longer bear


    it. However, as she looked over at Sonia and suddenly saw the arc on her lips, she instantly understood


    what was going on.


    ¡°President Reed, did you purposely pick the most expensive ones and let Tina snatch them?¡± Reba


    leaned into Sonia¡¯s ear and whispered.


    Sonia nodded, ¡°Yes. Since she doesn¡¯t want me to buy a dress for myself, she¡¯ll be willing to grab


    whichever I like. If that¡¯s the case, then why don¡¯t I just choose the most expensive ones and let her


    purse bleed for once?¡±


    ¡°Genius! Genius move!¡± Reba gave Sonia a thumbs up.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°What¡¯s more, the reason why Tina is here choosing a dress at this time must be to


    participate in the charity auction. Remember the cause of the charity auction that I told you about? It¡¯s to


    protect wild animals.¡±.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Reba nodded.


    Sonia squinted. ¡°Then what do you think will happen if one were to wear essories that were made out


    of wild animal fur at such a charity auction?¡±


    Reba smiled. ¡°I understand what you want to do now. Leave it all to me.¡±


    She patted her chest, then put away the smile on her face and said angrily, ¡°President Reed, she has


    grabbed so many dresses from you. How can you just tolerate her? Those dresses are so beautiful! It


    will be splendid should you essorize it with a fur cape and a crocodile handbag, but she took them


    all!¡±


    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s just choose another one. We can add essories to the others too.¡± Sonia patted the


    back of Reba¡¯s hand, motioning her to calm down.


    Not far away, Tina heard the conversation between the two, whereupon her eyelids drooped in thought.


    Pair it with a fur cape and a crocodile handbag?


    Immediately, she turned to look at Cynthia behind her, who was holding a few dresses for her, then she


    took a dress from her arms to take a look. In fact, she thought that they would indeed look really good


    together.


    These dresses were very exquisite. If she were to add a fur cape onto it, she would add an elegant


    feminine charm onto the outfit.


    Reba, who was quietly watching Tina¡¯s actions, saw the movement on Tina¡¯s face andughed. ¡°s,


    she has taken the bait.¡±


    ¡°Since she is hooked, then we can stop. Hi, retail assistant!¡± Sonia raised her hand and called out.


    The assistant walked over hurriedly. ¡°Hello, miss.¡±


    ¡°Wrap these up for me please.¡± Sonia pointed to the row of dresses on her right.


    The retail assistant was stunned, and it took a while before she came to her senses. ¡°W-Wrap them all


    up?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Thatdy will pay the bill. She wants to buy them all!¡± Sonia signaled at Tina, who was not


    far away.


    As soon as Tina heard what Sonia said, she looked over at the row of at least a dozen dresses, and her


    face changed at the sight. ¡°Sonia Reed, when did I say that I wanted to buy them all?¡±


    ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t necessarily say it, but these were what President Reed liked. Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d like to


    snatch whatever she fancied? If that¡¯s the case, then these are yours-so you can go ahead and


    checkout.¡± Reba held Sonia¡¯s arm as she smiled sarca:


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Sonia also had a grin hanging on her face.


    Only then did Tina realize what went wrong, and she began to tremble angrily. ¡°Are you kidding me? Did


    you do this on purpose to fool me into buying all these?¡±


    ¡°When did we ever fool you? You were the one that jumped into our trap. If you hadn¡¯t tried to snatch


    them all, we wouldn¡¯t have let you buy them, but since you want to snatch them away so badly, then by


    all means, go ahead and buy them all,¡± Reba spread her hands and said. ¡°So, Miss Money Bags,


    please go ahead and checkout. Don¡¯t you even dare say that you don¡¯t want


    them anymore; otherwise, we will look down on you, and as the future wife of the Fuller Group, you


    probably won¡¯t care about such small amounts of money anyway, right?¡±


    Small amounts? Are these small amounts of money?


    Tina¡¯s body was trembling severely.


    The nearly 20 sets of high-quality custom-made dresses could total up to a few hundred million!


    If she dared to spend this much money to buy dresses, her father would be furious.


    ¡°Now, now, Reba. Miss Gray will definitely buy them, or else it would be like a p on her face. Am I


    right, Miss Gray?¡± Sonia looked over at Tina with a smile.


    Seeing that, Tina was so close to wing at her face right then and there.


    ¡°Yes. Of course I will buy them!¡± Tina clenched her fists tightly and said with a forced smile.


    When she snatched the dress from Sonia just now, all the retail assistants in the store saw it.


    If she didn¡¯t buy it, and should the otherdies from her social circlee here to pick out dresses, these


    retail assistants would definitely tell them what they saw. Should that happen, she would bepletely


    and utterly embarrassed.


    Therefore, she had to buy the dresses even if she didn¡¯t want to.


    Thinking about it, Tina took a deep breath trying to suppress the anger in her heart as she looked at


    Sonia. ¡°I¡¯ll remember this.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Reba, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Reba responded.


    After the two left, Tina looked at the bunch of dresses and wanted to throw them all on the ground, but


    she couldn¡¯t bring herself to¨Cthey were worth a few hundred million, after all.


    ¡°Check out, please!¡± Tina took out the ck card that Toby gave her and gritted her teeth while handing it


    to the retail assistant.


    The retail assistant took it with a set of bright eyes. Resisting the ecstasy and excitement in her heart,


    she grabbed the pile of dresses and went to pack them all up.


    Jackpot! the sales assistant thought. This youngdy sure was a good person, seeing how she helped


    her earn so muchmission, and now, she would have enough money to buy a house.


    After getting off work, she would definitely go to the church to pray for the youngdy.


    Looking at the seething Tina, Cynthia asked in concern, ¡°Tina, are you okay?¡±


    Tina barely twitched the corners of her lips. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    How could she be okay? She was furious to death.


    How could Cynthia not remind me about this? She caused me to be trapped by Sonia.


    Soon, the retail assistant finished swiping the card and returned the ck card to Tina.


    After Tina left her address and asked the retail assistant to send the dresses to the Gray Residence, she


    left angrily.


    Meanwhile, at the Fuller Group, Toby was working on the documents when suddenly, his cell phone next


    to him buzzed.


    He took a look and saw that it was a card deduction message.


    After clicking on it, he frowned when he saw that the secondary card that he had given Tina had been


    charged a few hundred million.

 Chapter 188

    Chapter 188


    Toby was more worried by the thought of Tina getting scammed than feeling distressed about the money.


    ¡°Tom,¡± he called his assistant into the office.


    After making his way in, Tom stood still in front of Toby¡¯s desk and asked, ¡°President Fuller, how may I


    assist you?¡±


    ¡°Check where Tina has been today and her purchases,¡± Toby instructed as he massaged his temples.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom replied before making his way out of the office. Very quickly, he returned with the results of


    his investigation. ¡°Sir, Miss Gray has gone to the mall and bought more than twenty dresses.¡±


    ¡°What? More than twenty dresses?¡± The corners of Toby¡¯s eyes twitched. He knew that she had gone


    shopping for dresses today, but why did she have to buy so many?


    Adjusting his sses, Tom replied, ¡°Yes. More than twenty dresses.¡± In truth, he was also shocked to


    hear this when his subordinates reported it to him.


    Toby bit his lip before asking, ¡°Did you look into the reason why she bought so many?¡±


    Lowering his head, Tom answered, ¡°Miss Reed tricked her.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby squinted. ¡°Tricked by Sonia? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°ording to what I¡¯ve found, Miss Reed was with Miss Gray when she was shopping for dresses. Every


    time Miss Reed chose a dress, Miss Gray would snatch it from her. What Miss Gray didn¡¯t know was that


    Miss Reed had let her do so on purpose, so that was how the dresses came about,¡±


    Tom exined.


    This time, Tina had thoroughly embarrassed herself. Failing to give Sonia a hard time, she got tricked


    instead. That was why Tina should not have messed around if she was not smart enough. However, Tom


    did not dare to say this out loud and could onlyin to himself.


    Right then, Toby had a nasty look stered on his face, and his body gave out a cold and brooding aura.


    He was unsure if it was Tina or her second personality that snatched those dresses. Nevertheless, it did


    not matter who it was because such behavior was tacky and foolish. Moreover, it showed how narrow-


    minded she was.


    ¡°So, did Sonia manage to buy any dresses?¡± he questioned lightly.


    Shaking his head, Tom said, ¡°No. She left Wanika, but I don¡¯t know if she would go to another boutique.¡±


    After acknowledging what Tom had said, Toby instructed, ¡°Ask the manager of the mall to take


    note of this. Tell him not to charge Sonia and send the bill directly to me if she visits another boutique to


    pick out dresses.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom nodded. Then, he turned around and went to do as instructed.


    Just then, Toby stopped him. ¡°Hold on.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any other orders, sir?¡± Tom turned to ask.


    As Toby rubbed between his eyebrows, he stressed, ¡°Don¡¯t let Sonia know that I¡¯m paying for her.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded.


    At the mall, after Sonia and Reba left Wanika, they still could not find a suitable dress even after


    visiting several boutiques. At that moment, both of them stood at the entrance of thest boutique left in


    the mall.


    As Reba bent forward to massage her calves, she asked, ¡°What should we do if we still can¡¯t find a


    nice dress from this boutique?¡±


    To be honest, Sonia was also feeling a little tired already. She took a deep breath and responded, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to find one. Worsees to worst, we¡¯ll just have to make do.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s all we can do.¡± Reba nodded her head in agreement before heading into the boutique


    with Sonia.


    Though this boutique was not as popr as Wanika, it was the oldest haute couture brand. The dresses


    there were mostly vintage-styled. Because of that, the boutique was less popr among the younger


    generation as not many of them could rte to its retro feel.


    However, Sonia felt that the dress fit her very well even after only trying it once. In that instance,


    Reba¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°This one looks good!¡±


    Looking at herself in the mirror, Sonia nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Indeed.¡±


    The shop assistant also nodded in approval. ¡°Miss, would you be fine if I took a few photos of you? No


    one would buy this dress since it arrived at our boutique because nobody was able to bring out its feel


    except for you, so I would like to take a few photos and send it to the designer.¡±


    Seeing the excited look on the shop assistant¡¯s face, Sonia could not bring herself to refuse. So, she


    smiled and agreed, ¡°Sure.¡±


    Upon hearing this, the shop assistant was ecstatic. ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re most wee. Do I have to pose?¡± Sonia inquired.


    The shop assistant concurred. Lifting the dress a little, Sonia put on a nice pose. ¡°Let¡¯s start shooting.¡±


    Quickly, the shop assistant fished out her phone and took a few photos of Sonia. Then, Reba leaned


    over to take a look. ¡°You look so beautiful! President Reed, you should see this.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia made her way over. As she looked at the photo on the phone, she smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right.


    Send them to me as well, will you?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the shop assistant answered.


    With that, Sonia unlocked her phone and handed it to the shop assistant. Right away, the shop assistant


    sent the photos to Sonia. After saving the photos, Sonia kept her phone before saying, ¡°Wrap this up for


    me. I¡¯ll take this dress.¡±


    ¡°Yes, miss,¡± the shop assistant grinned as she responded.


    Right after, Sonia went back into the changing room to take the dress off. Then, the shop assistant took


    the dress and headed to the counter to pack it.


    Later on, Sonia and Reba headed toward the counter. As soon as the dress was packed, Sonia


    handed the shop assistant her credit card. However, the shop assistant returned the card to Sonia.


    ¡°Miss, we¡¯re giving you the dress for free.¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re giving it to us for free?¡± Reba eximed.


    At that moment, Sonia was also surprised. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I sent the photos of you in the dress to the designer, and he said that only you could bring out the


    impression of the dress that he had intended. Hence, he decided to gift it to you,¡± the shop assistant


    exined.


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Right then, Reba¡¯s eyes filled with admiration, ¡°How nice! You just got a dress for free!¡±


    ¡°I know, right? I guess I¡¯m pretty lucky. Well then, thank you very much.¡± The corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth


    lifted. Without thinking much, she reached out to take the dress.


    To be honest, it was not unheard of for things like this to happen. There were indeed many designers


    who were delighted to gift their designs to customers simply because they looked good in them.


    However, she did not expect that such a thing would happen to her.


    ¡°You¡¯re most wee, miss. Pleasee again.¡± The shop assistant escorted Sonia and Reba to


    the entrance of the boutique.


    As soon as the twodies were a distance away, the shop assistant turned to walk back into the


    boutique. Just then, a middle-aged man came out of the lounge. ¡°You didn¡¯t let them know,


    right?¡±


    Handing over the phone, she reassured him, ¡°No, sir.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll transfer the bonus to your ountter,¡± the man said as he took the phone.


    Overjoyed, she bowed and expressed her gratitude, ¡°Thank you, sir!¡±


    ¡°You may go.¡± He waved.


    You ma


    Happily, she walked away. After that, he unlocked the phone to find Sonia¡¯s photos and sent them


    directly to Tom.


    Almost immediately, Tom knocked on Toby¡¯s office door. ¡°President Fuller, the matter regarding Miss


    Reed¡¯s dress has been taken care of. She didn¡¯t suspect a thing.¡±


    With his chin lifted, Toby acknowledged, ¡°Okay.¡±


    As Tom handed over his phone to Toby, he noted, ¡°And here are Miss Reed¡¯s photos.¡±


    ¡°Photos?¡± Toby put down his pen instantaneously and took over the phone. On the screen, the photos


    showed Sonia wearing a vintage halter dress with a gentle smile on her face. Standing under the lights, it


    was as if she was glowing. Anyone who saw this would not be able to take their eyes off her.


    Toby¡¯s heart raced as he saw how beautiful she was for the first time. He couldn¡¯t help but stroke her


    cheek on the screen. Then, his eyes darkened. ¡°Who took these?¡±


    ¡°The shop assistant did,¡± Tom stated.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember asking for photos, did I?¡± Toby bit his lip.


    ¡°Yes, the manager had decided to do so without consulting with us beforehand because he thought that


    you and Miss Reed had a special rtionship since you wanted him to put the purchase of the dress


    under your name. I¡¯ll delete the photos if you don¡¯t like them,¡± Tom rified.


    With his brows furrowed, Toby declined, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Send them to me, and I¡¯ll delete them myself!¡±


    As soon as Tom heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched. He wanted to roll his eyes so badly at that


    moment. Delete them himself?


    Tom reckoned Toby must have wanted to keep it secretly instead.

 Chapter 189

    Chapter 189


    Though Tom thought so, he did not dare to speak his mind. Clearing his throat, he replied, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll send


    them to you right now.¡±


    With that, Toby handed Tom his phone. After receiving the phone, Tom sent the photos to


    Toby¡¯s phone right away. Toby¡¯s eyes rxed as soon as the message tone on his phone sounded.


    ¡°Alright, you may go now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± With that, Tom left, leaving Toby all alone in the office.


    Toby picked up his phone and opened his Messenger to see the photos that Tom had sent him. There


    were two photos, one of which he had not seen. So, he opened the photo.


    In the photo, Sonia¡¯s pose had changed though the background stayed the same. One of her hands held


    onto the skirts of her dress, while her other hand was raised in the air as if she would fly away any


    moment.


    There was no doubt that she looked beautiful, but he did not like it. Hence, he tapped and held his finger


    there to delete the photo. His finger hovered over the delete button, yet he could not bring himself to


    press it. In the end, he gave up.


    At this moment, Tina called out anxiously from outside the office, ¡°Toby!¡±


    Immediately, he furrowed his brows and exited his Messenger before putting his phone back to its


    original ce. ¡°Come in.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Reba had just walked out of a shoe store after buying shoes.


    ¡°President Reed, let¡¯s go have something to eat. I¡¯m feeling a little hungry.¡± Reba rubbed her belly.


    Looking at the time, Sonia saw that it was nearly one in the afternoon. In truth, she was also feeling a bit


    hungry now. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go to the fifth floor. There are many restaurants there. Come, I¡¯ll treat you to


    lunch as thanks foring with me today.¡± She smiled as she lowered her wrist.


    As Reba nodded, she replied, ¡°Thank you, then.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Let¡¯s go!¡± Sonia took Reba¡¯s arm.


    After a few steps, Reba halted and pointed at a shop across. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Tina¡¯s mom?¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia looked in that direction. It was indeed Julia. The woman must have just finished her


    facial appointment because her face was glowing. She did not look like a woman in her fifties at all.


    ¡°What an unlucky day to go shopping. We bumped into Tina just earlier. And now, Mrs. Gray¡¯s here too.


    It¡¯s such a small world,¡± Reba sighed.


    With a smile, Sonia said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. We all live in Seafield after all, so it¡¯s pretty normal to bump into


    each other.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Perhaps they were being too obvious as Julia looked in their direction after sensing that someone was


    watching her. As soon as she saw Sonia, she frowned unhappily.


    At that, Sonia was amused at her reaction. Then, Julia turned away coldly and headed toward another


    store without giving Sonia and Reba any response. Upon seeing this, Reba rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Look, the apple doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree. It¡¯s no wonder Tina¡¯s like that. She must have learned it


    from her mom.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to bother about things like this. Didn¡¯t you say that you were hungry? Let¡¯s go already,¡±


    Sonia said while gazing at Reba.


    Reba conceded and walked toward the esctor with Sonia. However, never had they thought that


    they would bump into Julia again after lunch. Fortunately for them, Julia did not notice them this time.


    She left straight aftering out of Dncey & Tatienne Jewelry. As she was leaving, an unpleasant


    expression was stered on her face as if she was very disappointed.


    Seeing this, Sonia could not help but recall the time when Julia brought R Dncey & Tatienne Jewelry.


    It was then that the shopkeepers told Julia about Rina¡¯s ne. Because of this, Julia started to


    suspect that Rina was still alive and began to look for her.


    Did Juliae out of the shop with a disappointed look on her face because of Rina? As Sonia thought,


    she narrowed her eyes and asked, ¡°Reba, help me with something, will you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Reba looked at Sonia while sipping her milkshake.


    Softly, Sonia told Reba, ¡°Go to Dncey & Tatienne¡¯s, and ask why Mrs. Gray went there.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need to know?¡± Reba stared at Sonia curiously.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°For something very important. Help me, please?¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. Hold this for me. I¡¯ll go ask.¡± Reba passed her milkshake to Sonia. After passing it to


    Sonia, she went to Dncey & Tatienne Jewelry, then came back out a few minutester.


    ¡°So, did you manage to ask them?¡± Sonia handed Reba her milkshake.


    ¡°I did.¡± Reba took the milkshake and nodded. ¡°The shopkeepers said that Mrs. Gray asked them if


    they saw a womaning in with a ne recently.¡±


    ¡°Just as I thought.¡± Sonia bit her lip. It seemed that Julia was still searching for Rina, so she came to the


    shop to try her luck.


    ¡°What are you up to, President Reed?¡± Reba was genuinely curious.


    However, Sonia just smiled. ¡°Oh, nothing. Mrs. Gray¡¯s just looking for her eldest daughter.¡±


    ¡°Eldest daughter?¡± Reba eximed. ¡°You mean she has another daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yup, her eldest daughter is Rina Gray. Tina¡¯s the younger sister,¡± Sonia nodded and exined.


    ¡°Ah, I see¡­ But why do you care?¡± Reba asked suddenly.


    ¡°Because her eldest daughter has some unfinished business with the Reeds.¡± Sonia furrowed her brows.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Reba nodded.


    It was already four in the afternoon by the time they returned to Bayside Residence. Quickly, Sonia put


    the things that she had bought earlier on the couch. Then, she brought her phone into the room to call


    Zane. At that moment, Zane was both happy and surprised that she called him. After all, she seldom


    contacted him.


    ¡°Why are you calling me all of a sudden? Did you miss me?¡± he answered casually.


    Knowing how the man loved to flirt, she did not get angry listening to him say that. Instead, sheughed.


    ¡°Alright, get yourself together. I have something serious to ask you.¡±


    ¡°You could¡¯ve just said that you missed me even if it¡¯s regarding a serious matter.¡± He sighed.


    Upon hearing this, she was dumbfounded. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ve missed you, alright?¡±


    Though he knew that it was not true and that she was just trying to brush him off and make him happy,


    he was delighted nevertheless. ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess so.¡± He pretended to make do.


    Hearing that, she smiled faintly.


    ¡°So tell me. Why are you looking for me?¡± he coughed.


    ¡°I saw Mrs. Gray today, and it seemed that she was asking about Rina¡¯s whereabouts. So, I wanted to


    ask you about the progress of the investigation regarding Rina¡¯s case.¡± She sat at the edge of the bed


    and exined to him seriously.


    The corners of his mouth lifted. ¡°How timely. I just found something.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She sat up. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Firstly, Rina really isn¡¯t dead and is still well alive. To confirm this, I went through the old case file and


    found the officer who was in charge of this case at that time. He told me that your dad had thrown a doll


    into the river. Not Rina,¡± Zane reported.


    Hearing this, she narrowed her eyes. ¡°My guess was right. Before this, I had guessed that my dad threw


    something else into the river.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Zane nodded.


    Clenching onto her phone, she questioned, ¡°What about Rina? Where¡¯s she now?¡±


    ¡°This, I don¡¯t know. Your dad may not have thrown her into the river, but he did kidnap her. No


    one else except your dad knows about her whereabouts¨Cnot even the officer,¡± Zane replied helplessly.


    With a frown, sheined, ¡°How could this be? We lost the trail again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, looking for her is not easy.¡± He pulled at his hair in frustration.


    Biting her lip, she responded, ¡°Wait, you said ¡®firstly¡¯ earlier. Does that mean you found something else?¡±

 Chapter 190

    Chapter 190


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I found out that Tina is also looking for Rina,¡± Zane told Sonia.


    Raising her brow, she questioned, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? Isn¡¯t that normal? Rina¡¯s her sister after all,


    so her looking for Rina isn¡¯t unusual at all.¡±


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± He waved his finger. ¡°She¡¯s not looking for Rina because she cares for her sister; she wants


    to make sure that Rina leaves and never returns to Seafield or appears before the Grays ever again.¡±


    Filled with curiosity, she widened her eyes. ¡°Why?¡±


    Zane curled his lips. ¡°She¡¯s probably jealous. Why else? She¡¯ll be the heir of the Grays and Triforce


    Enterprise if she bes the only child. However, if Rinaes back, she won¡¯t have that kind of


    power anymore.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ So, Rina is a threat to her.¡± She lifted her chin at the sudden realization.


    In response, he snapped his fingers. ¡°Bingo! That¡¯s it. Besides, Titus Gray just disbanded an elite team.


    Guess what¡¯s the team in charge of?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She tilted her head.


    Zane exined, ¡°The elite team was specially prepared for Tina. Mr. Gray intends to hold another


    engagement banquet for her and Toby next year. Then, she¡¯ll finally be able to join the Triforce Enterprise


    with the elite team being her subordinates. Yet, it¡¯s been disbanded. Can you guess why?¡±


    As soon as she heard this, her eyes flickered. ¡°Mr. Gray doesn¡¯t want Tina to take over Triforce


    anymore.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the only usible exnation to why he disbanded the elite team. I¡¯m guessing that Tina is


    anxious to find Rina and get rid of her after finding out that Mr. Gray actually wants to groom Rina to be


    the heir instead,¡± Zane said as he stroked his chin.


    With a sarcastic smile, she noted, ¡°I believe that Tina would do the same even if it had nothing to do with


    inheriting the Grays and Triforce Enterprise. Think about it. Rina was separated from her parents at a


    young age, so they would definitely give her extra care to make it up to her if she¡¯s found to the point that


    they might overlook Tina. How do you think Tina would feel?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± He nodded in agreement. Then, there was a gleam in his eyes. ¡°Sonia, I just thought of a


    good idea.¡±


    This sparked her interest. ¡°What good idea?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin over the phone, so let¡¯s meet and talk.¡± He coughed.


    Looking at her wristwatch, she realized that it was almost six in the evening. She wanted to turn


    him down as the sky was almost dark.


    On the other end of the phone, it seemed that Zane had guessed what she would say, so he spoke


    ahead of her. ¡°I won¡¯t be free tomorrow as I¡¯ll be going abroad, so I can only discuss it with you today.


    Besides, what I¡¯d like to discuss with you is something best not to be dyed. Otherwise, it would be


    meaningless.¡±


    Upon hearing this, she bit her lip before finally agreeing to meet. ¡°Alright. Where should we meet?¡±


    As soon as she agreed, he squeezed his fists excitedly while trying to remain calm as he spoke, ¡°How


    about First World Amusement Park?¡± Going on a date there seems to be a good idea since girls like


    going to ces like that, he thought.


    ¡°The amusement park?¡± Her mouth twitched. ¡°Can¡¯t we just look for a simple caf¨¦ instead? Why do we


    have to meet in a ce like that?¡±


    Guilty, he looked away. ¡°My cousins went on a business trip, so they asked me to take care of their son.


    He¡¯s been pestering me to take him to the amusement park, so¡­ Help me out, please?¡±


    Listening to him pleading pitifully, she rubbed between her brows and said, ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s meet there then.¡±


    At once, a victorious smile appeared on his face. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll pick you up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯ll be quicker if I drive there myself. Let¡¯s meet at the entrance of the amusement park.¡± She


    smiled. After agreeing to what he said, she ended the call.


    Right after, Zane put down the phone and ran down the stairs to the living room to carry his nephew who


    was ying puzzle on the couch, then kissed him. ¡°Come on, Dous. Uncle Zane¡¯s bringing you to the


    amusement park!¡±


    With a disdained look, Dousined, ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go! What¡¯s so fun about amusement parks?


    I¡¯d rather stay home and y puzzles.¡±


    At that moment, Zane hated Dous as much as he was pleased with the little boy¡¯s peace of mind.


    Forcefully, he carried the boy out the door. ¡°No, you have to go. Sacrifice yourself for the sake of your


    uncle¡¯s happiness.¡±


    ¡°Noo!¡± he wailed.


    Meanwhile, Sonia did not know that Zane had an ulterior motive for asking her to meet. After hanging up


    the phone, she drove to the amusement park straight away. By the time she reached, it was almost eight


    at night.


    After parking her car, she heard somebody knock on her window as she was unfastening her safety belt.


    As she wound down the window, a cute little face appeared in front of her. With a sweet voice, the child


    greeted her, ¡°Hi, Auntie!¡±


    Stunned, she caressed his cheek and smiled. ¡°Hey, kiddo. You must have mistaken me for


    someone else. I¡¯m not your aunt.¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. You¡¯re my aunt!¡± The little boy held her hand.


    Sonia blinked but did not pull her hand away. The main reason was that the little boy looked very cute.


    She liked how chubby and fair his skin was. Besides, his hand was soft like a piece of sponge. It was so


    comfortable that she was reluctant to let go.


    I didn¡¯t know little humans could be this cute. Will the child in my belly be as cute as this little guy here?


    she wondered while rubbing her belly. Quickly, she removed her hand from her belly. The worried look in


    her eyes started to fade away. No. I have to stop thinking about this. Otherwise, she might change her


    mind about the abortion.


    She closed her eyes to take a deep breath before looking back at the little boy. ¡°Hey, kiddo. Where¡¯s your


    guardian?¡±


    All of a sudden, a tall figure appeared behind the little boy. ¡°Right here.¡± He knelt and gave her a bright


    smile.


    At that moment, Sonia was slightly surprised. ¡°Zane?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Zane!¡± The little boy let go of her hand and lifted his head to Zane who was just behind.


    As soon as she heard this, she understood immediately. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s your nephew.¡±


    ¡°Yup! Adorable, right?¡± He carried his nephew up. ¡°He¡¯s Dous.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°He¡¯s adorable.¡±


    Hugging Zane¡¯s neck, Dousplimented, ¡°You¡¯re really pretty too, Aunt Sonia.¡±


    She squinted at Zane. ¡°Did you tell him to call me that?¡±


    ¡°No, he decided to do so himself because he thought that you were my girlfriend since I asked you out. I


    tried correcting him, but he¡¯s so stubborn. There¡¯s nothing I can do, so I hope you don¡¯t mind,¡± he


    exined embarrassingly.


    Hearing this, Dousughed on the inside. Liar. It was Uncle Zane who asked me to call you that.


    Dous would not have taken the fall for this if it was not for the limited edition Transformers action


    figure.


    Shaking her head, she replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Then, she opened the door and got out of the car. She smiled


    gently at Dous, ¡°I¡¯m not your uncle¡¯s girlfriend, so you can¡¯t call me Aunt Sonia, okay? You should call


    me Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°No, I want to call you Aunt Sonia! I want a hug!¡± Dous let go of Zane¡¯s neck immediately and


    stretched out his arms for a hug.


    Dumbfounded, she grabbed the little boy by his armpits and carried him. Whatever. Call me Aunt Sonia


    then. After all, she had nothing to lose being addressed that way.


    ¡°Sonia, I think you¡¯d better put him down. You¡¯re pregnant,¡± he advised while ncing at her belly.


    With a kiss on Dous¡¯ cheek, she reassured Zane, ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s not heavy at all. I like him.¡±


    As Toby watched from afar, he bit his lip.

 Chapter 193

    Chapter 193


    Frustrated, Tom pulled at his hair. Miss Reed and Mr. Coleman are separated now, but what¡¯s with that


    little boy? Why¡¯s he still with her? Could it be that Mr. Coleman will being backter?


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    As soon as Toby heard what Tom said, his face turned grim. It¡¯s fine that Sonia hasn¡¯t


    left yet, but why did Zane leave his nephew with her?


    ¡°Where are they now?¡± Toby bit his lip.


    ¡°They¡¯re at the spinning teacup ride. They seem to be having fun,¡± Tom noted.


    Happy? I didn¡¯t know she could be so childish to y things like that. Toby raised his brows.


    ¡°Okay. Watch them. Make sure she doesn¡¯t lose sight of the kid,¡± Toby instructed in a low voice.


    Trying not tough, Tom nodded. ¡°Understood.¡± Lose the child? President Fuller obviously just wanted to


    know what Miss Reed is doing, but he¡¯s too embarrassed to say so, so he¡¯s using the child as an excuse.


    Meanwhile, at the spinning teacup ride, Dous smiled happily. ¡°Aunt Sonia, this is really fun!¡± All this


    while, he had thought that he was much more mature than other children, so he had never likeding


    to ces like this, thinking that only childish children liked it. However, he realized that it was really fun


    aftering here today.


    As he let go of the handrail, Sonia wrapped her arms protectively around him immediately. ¡°Dous, be


    careful! It¡¯s dangerous if you let go of the handrail. Quickly, hold on to it.¡±


    Though the spinning teacup ride was not as dangerous as other rides, it was still better to be careful


    since he was a child.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Dous obeyed and put his hand back onto the handrail.


    After ying one round, he seemed reluctant to leave. Hence, she took him on the ride for another


    round. This time, he seemed almost satisfied. ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± He rubbed his belly.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re hungry, huh.¡± After looking around, she saw a restaurant nearby. She


    smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s go have something to eat, shall we? After that, we¡¯ll go home after ying a little while


    more.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± The boy nodded obediently.


    She really loved this kid. Patting his head, she held his hand and headed to the restaurant.


    At the same time, Toby received news of them going to the restaurant from Tom.


    ¡°Sir, are you going too?¡± Tom queried.


    Toby¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Why should I?¡±


    ¡°To see Ms. Reed, of course! And to make sure that she doesn¡¯t lose the child. What if she needs to go


    to the toilet but can¡¯t take him with her? Then, he¡¯ll be left all alone in the restaurant. How dangerous is


    that? As Mr. Coleman¡¯s friend, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t want his nephew to be in danger, right?¡± Tom adjusted


    his sses and replied with a cheeky smile.


    At that moment, Toby¡¯s eyes flickered. Immediately, he stood up. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll go check on them.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll make a reservation for you,¡± Tom informed Toby.


    Toby acknowledged Tom before hanging up the phone. With a sigh, Tom hung up as well. He sacrificed


    so much just to help Toby realize his feelings for Sonia. Shaking his head, he entered the restaurant.


    Sonia and Dous were seated at the corner of the restaurant. Not knowing what children should eat,


    she ordered some simple food. Halfway through his meal, Dous put down his cutleries. ¡°I want to go


    to the washroom.¡±


    ¡°The washroom?¡± Troubled, Sonia furrowed her brows. Dous was a boy, so there was no way that she


    could bring him into thedies¡¯, but she also could not enter the gents. Yet, she could not trust the waiter


    to go with him. What should I do?


    As she was still pondering upon this question, Dous¡¯ face had already turned red. ¡°I can¡¯t hold it in


    anymore¡­¡±


    Seeing the ufortable look on his face, she rubbed between her brows.


    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll ask the waiter to apany you to the gents. Wait for me here. Don¡¯t go anywhere,


    okay?¡± She would not be able to bear the responsibility if he went missing


    Hearing this, he nodded his head eagerly. Right after, Sonia got up to call the waiter. Because she was


    moving too quickly, she did not pay attention to what was ahead and bumped into the person who was


    walking in the opposite direction.


    After being crashed into, she stumbled a few steps backward. Thereafter, she lost her footing and fell


    backward. Just as she fell, the only thing she could think of was the baby in her belly. Unconsciously, she


    wrapped her arms protectively around her belly, not wanting to hurt the baby when she fell. However, just


    before she fell to the ground, a hand reached out for her arm and pulled her up. At once, her whole body


    was pulled upward, and she fell into the arms of the person who smelled like mint.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± the man asked with a deep voice, sounding slightly nervous.


    Upon hearing his voice, Sonia knew who it was. So, she looked up at him. All of a sudden, she pushed


    him away and stepped back. Trying to suppress how scared she was, she responded as calmly as


    possible, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Why were you walking so fast?¡± Toby stared at her. He never thought that he would bump into just as he


    entered the restaurant.


    As soon as Sonia heard his question, she remembered what she wanted to do. Ignoring him, she looked


    around and raised her hand when she saw a waiter in front.


    ¡°How can I help you, Miss?¡± the waiter asked.


    Sonia exined, ¡°I have a little boy who needs to go to the washroom, but I can¡¯t apany him. Could


    you¡­¡±


    Before she could finish, however, Toby interjected, ¡°I¡¯ll go with him.¡±


    Puzzled, she eyed him. ¡°You?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Dous is Zane¡¯s nephew. Are you sure you want him to go with someone you don¡¯t


    know?¡±


    Upon hearing that, she bit her lip. Indeed, she did not feelfortable with the idea even if it was the


    waiter. What if someone called for the waiter halfway? What would


    happen to Dous? At this juncture, she had no other choice.


    At that moment, Toby¡¯s eyes brightened as he saw how she struggled to answer. ¡°So, I¡¯ll bring him then.


    At least, you know me.¡±


    Pausing for a moment, she closed her eyes before opening them again after making a decision. ¡°Okay,


    then. Thank you for your help.¡± She smiled with gratitude.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the kid?¡± he questioned.


    ¡°At his seat.¡± As she was speaking, she brought him to their table.


    When Dous saw hering back, he jumped off the couch at once.


    ¡°Dous, Mr. Toby will apany you to the washroom. He¡¯s your uncle¡¯s friend.¡± She pointed at Toby.


    Gazing at Toby, Dous seemed to have thought of something. He lifted his chin and said, ¡°So, you¡¯re


    Mr. Toby.¡±


    Toby raised his brow. ¡°You know me? Did Zane tell you about me?¡±


    Dous nodded. ¡°Yes, he did. You¡¯re the blind Mr. Toby that he told me about.¡±


    When Toby heard this, his face darkened. As for Sonia, she could not help butugh. After all, she knew


    what Zane meant when he said that Toby was blind. Whoever that loved someone like Tina was no doubt


    blind.


    ¡°Did Zane teach you that?¡± Toby ground his teeth and questioned in a low voice.


    ¡°Yes, that was what my uncle told me, but you don¡¯t look blind though¡­¡± Dous blinked.


    At that point, Soniaughed even harder. When Toby heard herugh, he turned to look at her. As he


    watched her smile with her eyes closed, the anger in his heart faded away gradually. However, he


    reminded himself that he would give Zane a hard time in the near future.


    ¡°Stop it, Dous. Quickly, follow Mr. Toby to the gents,¡± Sonia said. At that moment, her cheeks were


    getting tired from smiling too much. Besides, she was afraid that Toby might get angry if Dous kept


    talking.


    ¡°Carry me.¡± Dous spread his tiny arms in front of Toby.


    The corners of Toby¡¯s eye twitched. What a rude brat.

 Chapter 194

    Chapter 194


    ¡°Be a good boy and walk on your own, all right, Dous?¡± Sonia bent over before Toby could say


    anything. She knew Toby was a germaphobe, and he disliked children, so he would never hold one in his


    arms.


    Dous blinked at her and put his hands down. ¡°Okay. I can do that.¡±


    ¡°Good boy. Now go with Mr. Toby.¡± Sonia patted his head, then she turned to Toby. ¡°Mr. Fuller, I¡¯ll be


    counting on you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Toby held Dous¡¯ hand and headed for the restroom. Since Dous was too short, Toby


    had to hold the boy up by his armpits, much to his annoyance. ¡°You can take your pants off yourself.


    Make it quick.¡±


    Dous pouted, but he took his pants off anyway and started peeing. The sound of the boy peeing was


    irritating Toby. He never thought the day woulde where he would have to help a kid pee, and to think


    he actually asked for it.


    ¡°I¡¯m done, Mr. Toby.¡± Dous turned around to look at Toby.


    Toby snapped out of it and put the boy back on the ground. ¡°Pull your pants up.¡± It was already kind


    enough of him to help the boy pee. There was no way he¡¯d pull the boy¡¯s pants up for him.


    Dous didn¡¯tin either, for he simply pulled his pants up and zipped it up slowly. After that, he


    stared at the basin. ¡°Mr. Toby, I want to wash my hands.¡± ¨C


    Toby smacked his forehead. God, this brat is annoying. If this is my kid, he would have been a lot better.


    Toby suddenly froze when he reached that thought. My own kid, huh? Sonia¡¯s pregnant with it, but she


    wants to abort it.


    Toby¡¯s prolonged silence annoyed Dous, and he stomped his foot. ¡°Mr. Toby, I want to wash my


    hands.¡± What is wrong with him? Is he blind and deaf?


    Dous¡¯ scorn didn¡¯t escape Toby, and that made him narrow his eyes. This brat is so not adorable.


    Reluctantly, Toby pulled Dous up to the basin so the boy could wash his hands. When Dous was


    done, Toby took him back to the restaurant,


    Sonia had been waiting for them. When they came back, she put her ss down and stood up. ¡°Thank


    you, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Toby nced at Dous. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    After that, Sonia put Dous back in his spot. When she realized Toby was still there, she was confused.


    ¡°Mr. Fuller, you¡¯re here for lunch as well, right? Now that Dous is done, you shouldn¡¯t waste your time


    with us anymore.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips, annoyed, since he knew Sonia was trying to chase him away. So she¡¯s that kind of


    person, huh?


    Just when Toby was immersed in his thoughts, a middle-aged man in the restaurant¡¯s uniform came up


    to them with a mic in his hand. ¡°Sir, madam.¡± He stopped before Sonia and Toby, beaming.


    Sir? Madam? They were surprised that the man thought of them as a couple, but Toby snapped out of it


    quickly. He wasn¡¯t annoyed by that. In fact, he was delighted, and a smile curled his lips. Sonia didn¡¯t


    notice his smile. In contrast to him, she frowned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯re not¡ª¡±


    ¡°Anything you want?¡± Toby interrupted her before she could finish.


    She looked at him in surprise, wondering if he interjected on purpose.


    The man didn¡¯t notice that they weren¡¯t a couple, so he smiled politely. ¡°I¡¯m the manager here. We¡¯re


    holding a family event right now, and we need five families to take part in this. But sadly, the fifth family


    had to leave early, so if it¡¯s fine with you, can you take their ce in this event?¡±


    I see. Sonia nodded in realization and was about to refuse, but the manager continued, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of


    prizes waiting for the winner, including children¡¯s toys like Gundam.¡±


    ¡°Gundam?¡± Dous¡¯ eyes lit up at the mention of Gundam. He loved mobile suits, so that was why Toby


    managed to buy him out with a Transformers figurine.


    Sonia noticed the boy¡¯s expression, and she had a bad feeling about what was to happen.


    Toby noticed Dous¡¯ excitement as well, but contrary to Sonia, he looked forward to what was about to


    happen, though he had no idea why.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The manager thought he could get the ¡®family¡¯ to take part in the event now


    that Dous had shown interest, so he nodded and encouraged the boy further. ¡°If you really like the


    prize, you should ask your parents to join in the fun, little boy.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Dous nodded.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. I knew it.


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    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted, and his smile broadened.


    Dous then got off of the sofa and tugged on Sonia¡¯s and Toby¡¯s hem. ¡°Dad, Mom, let¡¯s join this event.¡±


    He looked up at them and pleaded with them, calling them ¡°Dad¡± and ¡°Mom¡± as if they were his real


    parents, all for the sake of a toy. He must really love Gundam.


    Sonia patted his head, half-amused, half-annoyed. ¡°Do you really want it, Dous?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Dous nodded.


    Sonia flicked her hair. ¡°But we can¡¯t do it. We aren¡¯t your¡ª¡±


    ¡°Just do it.¡± Toby interrupted her again.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted, but he answered calmly, ¡°Since Dous wants it, we¡¯ll join the event.¡±


    ¡°Yay! Thanks, Dad!¡± Dous pped his hands happily. Toby liked it when Dous called him ¡°Dad¡±,


    and he thought better of the boy.


    A frown creased Sonia¡¯s forehead. ¡°We can¡¯t.¡± We¡¯re already divorced, not an actual couple. If Tina hears


    about this, that madwoman is gonna wreak havoc again.


    Toby stared downward. He was just about to say something to her refusal, but Dous let him go and


    held Sonia¡¯s hand with both hands. ¡°Aw, but I really want this, Mommy. Join in, please? Pretty please?¡±


    He swung her hand.


    ¡°Dous¡­¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t bear to say no to him, not when Dous looked like he was about to cry. In


    the end, she finally caved in and nodded.


    ¡°Yay! Thanks, Mom!¡± Dous leaped joyfully,


    Even Toby heaved a sigh of relief. He thought she¡¯d say no again, but in the end, she agreed to it


    anyway.


    Dous was overjoyed, so Sonia forced a smile to fit in with the asion. Then, she took a deep breath


    and looked at the manager. ¡°You won¡¯t upload this to the Inte, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we won¡¯t. This is just an internal event. We know some parents don¡¯t want their children to


    show up all over the Inte, so we won¡¯t record this,¡± the manager answered.


    Sonia could finally feel at ease, and she nodded. ¡°Good to hear.¡± As long as Tina won¡¯te across this


    on the Inte, it should be fine.


    ¡°Thene with me, sir, madam. The registration counter¡¯s right there.¡± The manager pointed at the


    stage that was obviously made for the event.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia answered.


    She held Dous¡¯ hands and followed the manager, while Toby walked beside her. On the way there,


    she bit her lip before asking, ¡°Mr. Fuller, why¡¯d you cut me off earlier? You didn¡¯t want me to tell them that


    we aren¡¯t a family?¡±

 Chapter 195

    Chapter 195


    Toby was staring at the floor, so Sonia couldn¡¯t see his eyes and find out she was right. ¡°No. I just wanted


    to know what the manager had to say,¡± he answered calmly as if he wasn¡¯t lying


    But Sonia was convinced, so she nodded. ¡°I see.¡± So I was just reading too much into it.


    He hates me. There¡¯s no way he¡¯d let the manager think I¡¯m his wife. ¡°But why¡¯d you want to


    join the event, Mr. Fuller?¡± Sonia looked at him.


    Toby lied. ¡°For Dous. He¡¯s Zane¡¯s nephew, and I¡¯m his friend. I¡¯m helping Zane out with Dous.¡± He


    didn¡¯t want her to know that it was just because he wanted to join the event with her, though he didn¡¯t


    know why.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia shrugged. She didn¡¯t suspect anything, for Toby and Zane were friends, so taking care of


    Zane¡¯s nephew was normal.


    Eventually, they came to the registration counter. Since they were gorgeous, the restaurant¡¯s patrons had


    their eyes on the ¡°family¡±.


    After they finished registering, Sonia held Dous¡¯ left hand, while Toby held the boy¡¯s right. They stood


    together with the other families as they waited for the event to start.


    The woman beside them huddled closer and kept staring at the three of them.


    Sonia eventually felt ufortable from the stare, so she asked, ¡°Yes, do you need anything, madam?¡±


    The woman praised her. ¡°You¡¯re such a good match for your husband, miss. A gorgeous couple, I must


    say. Never seen one as beautiful as the two of you. You¡¯re even prettier than celebrities. No wonder your


    son is so adorable.¡± She looked at Toby and Dous, then her husband and son, and she sighed. You


    can¡¯tpare.


    Sonia felt awkward. If they were a great match, they wouldn¡¯t have ended up divorced. ¡°You tter me,


    madam. We¡¯re just an ordinary family. We¡¯re not as great as you make us out to be.¡± Sonia forced a


    smile.


    Since she had agreed to act as Dous¡¯ mom, she couldn¡¯t tell the woman she wasn¡¯t Toby¡¯s wife, nor


    could she tell her Dous wasn¡¯t their son. All she could do was lie through her teeth.


    ¡°You call this ordinary? Are you kidding me? Humblebragging, I see.¡± The madam nced at Sonia.


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched, but she said nothing.


    Toby suddenly looked at her. ¡°What did you say to her?¡±


    Sonia looked away. ¡°Nothing. Just guessing about the games.¡± She wouldn¡¯t tell him the woman said


    they were a great match, not when they were already divorced.


    Toby pursed his lips, disappointed that Sonia didn¡¯t tell him the truth. He heard the whole conversation.


    Even though the woman was practically whispering, it didn¡¯t escape Toby. He only asked Sonia because


    he wanted to hear it from her, but she didn¡¯t want to tell him. Thus, Toby stared down in silence,


    crestfallen.


    The event started a short whileter. There would be three rounds, consisting of three games. The first


    one was suck and blow; the second one was pushups, and the third one was a three-legged race.


    The first round would eliminate two families that got the fewest points, while the second game would


    eliminate one family, leaving the best two to fight for first ce. If they got first ce, they would get the


    Gundam that Dous wanted, as well as a free voucher. The other families would also get some prizes,


    though not as great as the first ce¡¯s prize.


    When Sonia saw what the first game was, she frowned.


    Toby was standing beside her. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice the concern in his voice, as she was engrossed in her own thoughts. She pointed at


    the name of the game and asked, ¡°I get the second and third game, but what¡¯s up with suck and blow?¡±


    She was reluctant to do the first one. If the game needs the couple to kiss, that meant I have to¡­ Sonia


    shook her head and perished that thought.


    Toby put his thumb on his chin and thought about it, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what the game was, so he


    massaged his forehead. ¡°Let¡¯s ask the manager.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Sonia nodded. If the game was what she thought it was, she could ask the manager to


    change the rules as well, so Sonia called the manager over.


    When he knew what her concern was, he answered, ¡°It¡¯s a simple game. First, the child will suck on one


    side of the card, then the mother will take the card from the child, but only with the lips. After that, she¡¯ll


    pass it to the father. The father will then pass it back to the mother, and the mother will pass it back to the


    child. That¡¯s one round. You¡¯ll have to clear one round if you want to clear the game.¡±


    Toby arched his eyebrow.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I see.¡± She heaved a sigh of relief when she found out there would be no kiss, but then


    she realized it would be indirect kissing, and she couldn¡¯t ept it. ¡°Can you change the game,


    manager?¡± Sonia looked at the manager.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. He didn¡¯t even realize that he was looking at her with an irritated and upset look


    in his eyes. She wants to change the game because she doesn¡¯t want to have skin contact with me?


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    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± The manager smiled apologetically. ¡°We¡¯ve decided on this game from the start, and the props


    are already prepared. Not to mention we¡¯ve announced it. If we change it now, it¡¯ll hurt our reputation, so


    I hope you can understand.¡± He left right away, since he was worried Sonia might beg him to change the


    game if he didn¡¯t.


    Sonia watched him leave and massaged her forehead. Looks like I can¡¯t change the game. Dang it.


    ¡°We can just give up if you don¡¯t want to y,¡± Toby suddenly said.


    Sonia paused to consider his suggestion.


    However, that annoyed Toby, and his face darkened. She¡¯s actually considering it? Does she hate being


    with me so much?


    Dous knew Sonia was hesitating, so he held her hand and looked up at her. ¡°Mom, I want that


    Gundam model. It¡¯s a limited edition. They don¡¯t make it that tall out


    there.¡±


    Sonia looked at the fifty-centimeter model on the prize table and sighed, then she squatted and smiled at


    Dous. ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll do our best to get it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mom.¡± Dous kissed her cheek.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in shock from the kiss. She touched her cheek and didn¡¯t get up


    for a while.


    Toby¡¯s face fell further, and his dislike for Dous mounted. Hey, that¡¯s rude. You can¡¯t just kiss anyone


    how you want. I haven¡¯t even kissed her yet. He pursed his lips and pinched Dous¡¯ cheek. In


    response, Dous red at him, but Toby only let him go when he saw the boy¡¯s face getting red from


    the pinch.


    Dous took the chance to snitch on him. ¡°Mom, Dad pinched me.¡±


    Sonia snapped out of it. Dous¡¯ kiss made her feel funny, but after he called her mom, it tugged on her


    heartstrings. If I give birth to the child, will it kiss me and call me ¡°Mommy¡± as Dous does? That


    doesn¡¯t sound bad at all.

 Chapter 196

    Chapter 196


    Sonia touched her belly, a gentle smile curling her lips.


    When Toby saw that, a thought raced through his mind. She doesn¡¯t seem like she hates the baby. So


    why is she¡­


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    ¡°Mommy!¡± Dous broke Toby¡¯s train of thought.


    Dous was swinging her arm again, while snitching on Toby. ¡°Dad bullied me.¡±


    Sonia snapped out of it and looked at Dous. ¡°What did M¡­ Daddy do this time?¡± Whew, I nearly said


    the wrong thing!


    ¡°He pinched my face.¡± Dous pointed at his face, but he looked at Toby smugly.


    Toby¡¯s face darkened. This brat¡­


    ¡°Let me take a look.¡± Sonia didn¡¯t realize Dous and Toby were fighting. Instead, she looked at


    Dous¡¯ face carefully. When she saw the red patch on it, she frowned. ¡°Toby, Dous is just a child.


    How could you do this?¡± She chided Toby while hugging Dous.


    That made Dous grin, and he even shot Toby a provocative look.


    Toby pursed his lips. What an annoying brat. And Sonia actually scolded me for that brat? Who does she


    think she is? His mother?


    Before Toby could say anything, the woman from earlier said again, ¡°You look like a happy family.¡±


    Sonia was surprised. ¡°Happy family?¡± Why does she think we¡¯re a happy family?


    Toby was curious as well.


    The woman chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s how it is. The son and the father hate each other. When the father tries to


    do anything to the son, he¡¯ll tell his mother, then the mother will scold the father. That¡¯s what you guys


    were doing. Sure, it looks like an argument, but you guys are actually on good terms.¡±


    ¡°L¡­ I see.¡± Sonia¡¯s lips twitched again. She never thought thedy would think they


    were a happy family. I just didn¡¯t like it that Toby was picking on a child.


    Sonia¡¯s annoyed look cheered Toby up, and he answered, ¡°You tter us, madam.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just the truth.¡± The madam waved him down.


    A momentter, the host-who was also the manager-came up to them. ¡°The games are starting soon,


    everyone. Please take your seats.¡± He pointed at five numbered sofas not far from them.


    When Sonia looked down at the number on her waist, she realized the manager was asking them to take


    the seats ording to their number.


    There was also a number on Toby¡¯s waist. He knew what he had to do, so he told Sonia and Dous,


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Sonia nodded and was about to hold Dous¡¯ hand, but Toby picked the boy up and nestled Dous on


    his left arm.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Sonia was surprised.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby looked at her.


    ¡°I thought you¡¯re a germaphobe.¡± Sonia was surprised that Toby didn¡¯t react when the dirt on Dous¡¯


    shoes fell on his suit.


    Toby smiled and answered with a question, ¡°You still remember that?¡± He thought she¡¯d forget about it


    after the divorce.


    Sonia pursed her lips and answered calmly, ¡°I didn¡¯t get my head knocked in. Of course I still remember.¡±


    I just fell out of love with you, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯d forget the person you are.


    Of course, Toby didn¡¯t know what she was thinking. The fact that she still remembered it delighted him


    for some reason, and he extended his hand.


    Sonia looked at his hand curiously. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°The other couples are holding hands,¡± Toby reminded her.


    Sonia looked at the other parents. Just like what Toby said, they were holding hands.


    So what? Doesn¡¯t mean we have to follow them. ¡°We don¡¯t have to follow. They¡¯re real couples, but we


    aren¡¯t, so let¡¯s not do it. It¡¯s better this way.¡± She looked away and gave him that answer calmly.


    Toby pursed his lips, held his fist, and put his hand down. ¡°I see,¡± he answered darkly.


    Sonia noticed his annoyance, and she arched her eyebrow. What¡¯s he getting annoyed about? We¡¯re just


    not holding hands. Does he want to hold hands with me? He must be joking.


    Thus, she shook her head and put that behind her before sitting down on sofa number five, while


    Dous and Toby nked her. They didn¡¯t sit like that by choice; it was the rules.


    After the families took their ce, the manager asked the wait staff to give them the poker cards.


    Sonia told Dous to pucker his lips before putting a card on it, only letting go after knowing that the


    card wouldn¡¯t fall. ¡°Good. Just like that. Stay there, Dous. Or the card will fall,¡± she told Dous


    calmly.


    Dous blinked at her, saying that he wouldn¡¯t move.


    Toby watched them as they interacted, and he fell into his thoughts again. She¡¯s so gentle to someone


    else¡¯s child. What about our child? Will she be gentler?


    Halfway through his thoughts, the manager said, ¡°All right. All the children have their cards now, so the


    game starts right now! Parents, get prepared. You have one minute. The three families with the fastest


    time at the end of one minute will


    proceed to the next round. Ready¡­ Start!¡±


    All the families started moving right after that.


    Dous turned around to face Sonia, who leaned forward to pick the card up with her lips, but she didn¡¯t


    pass it to Toby immediately. It was an indirect kiss after all. It wasn¡¯t a real kiss, but still, it was awkward.


    Toby realized why she was hesitating the moment she stopped moving, so he said calmly, ¡°We¡¯re going


    to end up in thest ce if you don¡¯t pass it soon.¡±


    Sonia snapped out of it and turned around to make the pass, but since she turned too quickly, it caused


    the card to loosen up a little. She could feel the card slipping off of


    her lips.


    Panicked, she was about to hold the card and stick it back to her lips, but Toby was already leaning in.


    Just when Toby was about to take the card, it fell. Without the card standing as the buffer, Toby¡¯s lips


    came in contact with Sonia¡¯s.


    Both of them froze, while Dous widened his eyes and covered his mouth. The restaurant¡¯s patrons


    and the manager were surprised by the kiss as well.


    After he snapped out of it, the managerughed. ¡°Looks like family number five is a loving one. What a


    good show of public affection. Give them a round of apuse, everyone.¡± The manager pped first,


    and the patrons followed suit.


    But Sonia¡¯s face turned red, and she pushed Toby away. She didn¡¯t expect the card to fall off right before


    Toby could take it. Thanks to that, they kissed in front of everyone, much to her intense embarrassment.


    Sonia covered her face, trying to hide her shame.


    On the other hand, Toby was as cool as a cucumber. He didn¡¯t expect things to happen the way they did,


    but he didn¡¯t dislike the kiss. ¡°We still have time, so let¡¯s go on. We¡¯re going to get eliminated at this rate.¡±


    He picked up the card on hisp and looked at the side that was facing him. There was a lip print there,


    but he pressed that side to his lips after thinking about it for a second. Coincidentally, or not-so


    coincidentally, his lips ovepped with the lip print.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice that. When she heard they were about to be eliminated, she threw her


    embarrassment out of the window and put her hands down.

 Chapter 197

    Chapter 197


    It wasn¡¯t the first time they had an idental kiss. It happened once back at the turf club as well, so she


    didn¡¯t have to mind it that much. It¡¯s just like stepping in dog poo. That¡¯s all. She took a deep breath and


    turned to Toby, who was already waiting for her to take the card. She clenched her fists and told herself


    to not make any mistakes before leaning over to take the card from him.


    Toby¡¯s eyes lit up a little when he felt the warmthing from her lips, but it was gone after two seconds.


    It wasn¡¯t even enough for him to savor it. He stared at the sofa, feeling crestfallen.


    One minute passed by quickly, and the manager announced the families that would proceed to the next


    round. They were number one, number three, and number five, thest one being Sonia¡¯s team.


    Dous pped his hands happily. ¡°We can go to the next round, Mommy.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded in disbelief. She thought they lost too much time after that mistake, so they would


    be eliminated. Instead, they managed to proceed to the next round.


    Toby thought Sonia looked cute when she was bewildered, and he smiled. ¡°Number one and number


    three did a perfect pass, but the other families made more mistakes than we did, so we made third


    ce.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you know?¡± Sonia looked at him curiously.


    Toby met her stare. ¡°I kept an eye on them, so I know.¡±


    I see. Sonia gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Good job.¡± He managed to keep an eye on thepetition even


    though we only had one minute. That¡¯s superb observation skill. No wonder he managed to lead the


    company to the top in the city.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just a habit.¡± Toby smiled after getting praised.


    However, Sonia thought it was a smug smile, so she pouted and turned away.


    Toby arched his eyebrow. What¡¯s wrong? Did I say something wrong? He kept thinking about it, but he


    couldn¡¯t figure out how he annoyed her.


    Before he could say anything, the manager announced, ¡°Congrattions for proceeding to the second


    round. For this round, we¡¯ll be doing push-ups. Participants, pleasee here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Mom.¡± Dous tossed the poker card away, jumped out of the sofa, and dragged Sonia to the


    clearing. He ignored Toby, since he knew Toby would go anyway.


    Sonia didn¡¯t call him either. She paid all her attention to Dous, telling him to slow down.


    When Toby realized they weren¡¯t calling him, his face fell. That brat did that on purpose. He¡¯s getting


    back at me for the pinch.


    He snorted, but Toby put his hands in his pockets and was about to follow them, but he saw something


    that made him stop in his tracks.


    There was a poker card on Dous¡¯ seat. It was the one they used earlier. Toby narrowed his eyes and


    picked the card up to see if Sonia¡¯s lip print was still there. It was, and clearly as well. For some reason,


    Toby put the card in his suit¡¯s pocket.


    Right after he put it in, Dous called out to him, ¡°Come here, Dad. The game¡¯s starting.¡±


    Toby turned around and snorted happily. So what if he¡¯s trying to get back at me. He still has to call me


    ¡°Daddy¡± if he wants to win the games. Cheered up, Toby strolled over to where the boy was. ¡°Coming.¡±


    The game was called push-ups. The father would do twenty push-ups with the mother sitting on his back


    to act as extra weight, while the child would count the number of push-ups the father did.


    Before the game had even started though, the patrons knew which family would get eliminated. Family


    number three¡¯s mother was a chubby woman, but the father didn¡¯t seem too strong, so there was no way


    he could finish twenty push-ups with his wife on his back. Thus, the results were obvious.


    ¡°This is one heck of a game.¡± Sonia frowned. She thought the whole family would be doing the push-ups,


    so she was surprised to find out that only the father would do it.


    And she just had an idental kiss in the first game too. Now I have to sit on his back.


    Toby¡¯s not gonna y along with this.


    Before she could say anything, Toby blurted, ¡°It is, but still eptable. Right, let¡¯s get on with it.¡± He then


    went down to get into the push-up position.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t believe what she heard, and she looked at him in disbelief. ¡°What did you say? You want


    me to sit on your back?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby said.


    Sonia opened her mouth. I thought he¡¯d say no! But he¡¯s actually okay with it.


    Toby noticed that Sonia was spacing out, so he called her again. ¡°Make it quick. Everyone¡¯s waiting for


    you.¡±


    Sonia looked around her and realized everyone was already in position, so she went up to sit on Toby¡¯s


    back. It was the first time she was sitting on the back of a proud man like Toby, as if he was a horse. This


    feels great. She was excited, but she pretended like it was nothing. As she looked at the man below her,


    she asked, ¡°Am I heavy? If I am-¡±


    Before she could finish, Toby answered, ¡°No.¡± He thought it wasn¡¯t enough, so he added, ¡°You¡¯re really


    light.¡± That wasn¡¯t a lie though, since Sonia felt lighter than Tina was. However, she was significantly


    taller than Tina, so obviously she was underweight. On top of that, she was pregnant. ¡°You should eat


    more. Gain more weight.¡± He looked at her and made that suggestion seriously.


    Sonia knew what he was talking about, so she answered coolly, ¡°Thanks, but you should be caring about


    Miss Gray, not me. I can handle this, so just get on with the game.¡± Funny. You never cared about me in


    the past, but now you¡¯re concerned all of a sudden? So fake.


    Toby frowned, bummed that Sonia refused to take his advice. Nheless, he turned back without


    saying anything.


    The game started immediately. Toby told Sonia to sit tight, and he started doing the push-ups, while


    Dous counted at the side.


    Toby might be busy with work, but he always spent some time working out and swimming every week, so


    he was stronger than the men in teams number one and three.


    The other men obviously never exercised, especially the father in team number one. He looked like he


    was six months pregnant. The father of team number three was in better shape, but his wife obviously


    wasn¡¯t.


    Sonia noticed that the guy¡¯s face was flushed, and his arms were trembling. I wonder if his arms will


    break.


    Compared to them, Toby¡¯s push-ups were perfect and beautiful.


    The women in the restaurants glued their eyes on him.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    However, Toby ignored them. He only had eyes for Sonia, but when he realized she was looking at the


    other teams, his face darkened. ¡°Hey, focus.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was surprised. You¡¯re the one doing the push-ups. I just need to sit on your back. Why


    should I be focusing? That¡¯s your job.

 Chapter 198

    Chapter 198


    Sonia ignored him and kept staring at team number three, wondering how much longer would the guy


    last.


    Toby¡¯s face fell, and his anger rose. That guy is uglier and weaker than I am. Why is she staring at him?


    He knew she wasn¡¯t taking a liking to the guy, but still he felt frustrated. When Dous counted to twenty,


    Toby stopped and said, his voice chilly, ¡°Get down.¡±


    Sonia wondered what got into him again, but she got down from his back anyway.


    Toby stood up. Even though he just did twenty push-ups, he didn¡¯t even break a sweat. Apparently,


    twenty push-ups were nothing to him. The guys in teams number one and three looked at him enviously.


    Look, that guy¡¯s already done, but we still have to go on.


    Sonia noticed their looks, and she chuckled, but suddenly, she felt someone taking her bottle of water


    from her hand. When she looked around and saw Toby gulping the water down, her jaw dropped.


    He noticed her sight, so he put the bottle down. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Sonia looked at the bottle. ¡°That¡¯s my water.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s unopened.¡± Toby put the cap back on the bottle calmly.


    Sonia sneered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean you have to take mine. There¡¯s a ton of water over there. You can just


    pick one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m beat. I don¡¯t want to move.¡± Toby put the bottle aside.


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    Sonia twitched her lips in annoyance. Exhausted? You don¡¯t look exhausted to me. But it¡¯s just a bottle of


    water. I can just get a new one. She snorted and went to get a new bottle of water.


    Seeing her getting annoyed made him smile, and he felt happy again. Yeah, I did it on purpose. That¡¯s


    what you get for looking at another man.


    ¡°Mr. Toby.¡± All of a sudden, Dous called out to him from below.


    When Toby looked down, he saw Dous staring at him like he saw through everything. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Toby asked.


    Dous stood with his arms akimbo. ¡°Are you trying to steal Miss Sonia away?¡±


    Steal Sonia away? Toby arched his eyebrow. ¡°No. Why do you say so?¡±


    ¡°Because you look at her the same way my dad looks at my mom,¡± he answered.


    Toby pursed his lips. What kind of answer is that? Just because I look at her a particr way means I


    want to steal her? Wait, I am not looking at her like I¡¯m in love. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s too much for a kid. She¡¯s


    my ex-wife. We¡¯re divorced, so I¡¯m not in any position to date her.¡± Toby put his hands in his pocket.


    Dous snorted. ¡°So? My aunt and uncle are divorced, but my uncle¡¯s trying to get back with my aunt. I


    bet you¡¯ll do the same thing too. I have to tell Uncle Zane to stay away from you.¡± Dous frowned


    precociously.


    Toby squinted. Just when he was about to say something, Sonia came back and looked at them. ¡°What


    are you two talking about? Seems fun.¡±


    ¡°Aunt Sonia, we¡¯re talking about¡ª¡±Before he could finish, Toby picked him up and covered his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. They¡¯re done here, so let¡¯s go. The third round¡¯s starting.¡± He looked at her before going


    ahead with Dous in his arms.


    With a bottle of water in hand, Sonia was left behind, confused about the situation.


    ¡°Mr. Toby!¡± Dous pried Toby¡¯s hand away and red at him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let me finish?¡±


    Toby looked at him. ¡°You¡¯re still too young for this.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not a normal kid. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t call her Aunt Sonia from now on,¡± Toby interrupted him. He would ept no negotiations.


    Dous was shocked, and he stared at Toby. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s not married to your uncle yet, get it?¡± Toby gazed at him. When he came here, he


    thought Sonia and Zane were going out with each other, but then he realized that couldn¡¯t be the case,


    since Sonia didn¡¯t like Zane. But why did they bring this kid here?


    ¡°Hmph. They¡¯ll still end up together. I like Aunt Sonia, so I¡¯m helping Uncle Zane out.¡± Dous raised his


    chin proudly.


    Toby¡¯s face fell. He was seized by an urge to toss Dous out, but he held it down in the end, though his


    anger was almost palpable for the people around him.


    The third game was going to take ce shortly. It was a three-legged race, though only the parents


    would be racing. They had to take the basketball at the finish line and walk all the way back to give it to


    the child. The child would then throw the ball into the. The one who tossed it in first would take first


    ce. The race would take ce in the backyard. It was big enough, so the staff drew a race track there


    and set up obstacles.


    The manager came up to Sonia and Toby with two red strings in his hand.


    After Toby had taken the strings, he said, ¡°Can you change this into a walk?¡±


    ¡°Any reason for that, sir?¡± The manager smiled.


    Sonia looked at him curiously.


    Toby nced at her belly. ¡°My wife¡¯s pregnant. I don¡¯t want her to trip.¡±


    That surprised Sonia. ¡°You¡ª¡±


    Toby held her arm, telling her to keep quiet. Sonia reacted quickly and held back her shock.


    The manager didn¡¯t notice that. ¡°I see,¡± he answered. ¡°Congrattions, sir, madam.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Toby answered.


    The manager nodded. ¡°Since one of the participants is pregnant, a race would be inappropriate. As such,


    this will be a walk, and every team will have five minutes to finish the game. Is that fine?¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Toby nodded.


    The manager went to family number one. The guy from family number three couldn¡¯t do twenty push-ups


    with his wife on his back, so they lost to number one, which made Sonia¡¯s team and family number one


    the final contestants.


    After the manager was out of sight, Sonia clenched her fists and asked her unanswered question again,


    ¡°How¡¯d you know I¡¯m pregnant?¡± She only told Zane and Charles about that. Not even Carl knew.


    Toby stared at the floor to keep her from seeing the sadness in his eyes. ¡°Zane told me by ident.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She pouted. ¡°That loudmouth. He tells you everything.¡±


    Toby looked away guiltily, but he didn¡¯t answer her.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice him averting his gaze, and she massaged her forehead. ¡°But thanks for speaking up


    for me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Toby answered, then he clenched his fists. ¡°Are you really nning to abort the child?¡±


    A frown creased Sonia¡¯s forehead. ¡°He even told you that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°That guy.¡± Sonia mattered angrily. ¡°Yes, I am,¡± she answered.

 Chapter 199

    Chapter 199


    Toby clenched his fists even more tightly. ¡°Why?¡±


    Sonia looked at him weirdly. ¡°Why? This baby¡¯s an ident. I don¡¯t love it, and its father doesn¡¯t want it


    either. There¡¯s no reason to keep it around.¡± Sonia knew it was cruel, but she had to be responsible. It¡¯d


    be too cruel for the baby to be born into a broken family where its parents didn¡¯t love it.


    Toby asked, ¡°If¡­ If the baby¡¯s father wants it, will you give birth to it then?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia paused.


    Only then did Toby realize he had said too much. She might get suspicious, so he thought up an excuse


    and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just asking.¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t dwell on it and flicked her hair. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    Toby frowned. She won¡¯t do it even if the father wants it?


    Sonia knew what he was thinking, so she answered, ¡°Why should I give birth to the child of a man I don¡¯t


    know and love?¡±


    Toby couldn¡¯t say anything to that. She didn¡¯t know he was the guy who knocked her up, so there was no


    reason for her to give birth to the child. Even if she knew he was the father, she¡¯d probably abort the


    baby as well. After all, she did say she wouldn¡¯t do it for a man she didn¡¯t love, and he was the man she


    didn¡¯t love. The mere thought of that made Toby upset, and he pursed his lips.


    All of a sudden, he wanted to ask her why she fell out of love. They had been dating for six years, but


    she fell out of love in only a couple of months. Ever since then, he would sometimes suspect that she


    was just ying him for a fool, and that she never loved him.


    The urge to ask her grew stronger and stronger, but just when he was about to ask, the manager


    suddenly said, ¡°Parents, please tie the strings. The game shall begin soon.¡±


    Just like that, Toby¡¯s urge to ask was doused, and he red at the manager angrily.


    Sonia noticed him ring at the manager, and she was confused. Why isn¡¯t he tying the


    string? What is he doing? Gosh, he¡¯s so unpredictable. ¡°Give me the string, President Fuller. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    She extended her hand.


    Toby retracted his gaze and looked at her. When he saw what she was wearing, he frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.


    You can¡¯t bend down wearing that.¡±


    He bent down and started tying the string.


    Sonia looked down, wondering why she couldn¡¯t bend down. When she saw how revealing her shirt was,


    she blushed. At the same time, she was surprised that he knew it would be awkward for her to bend over


    with that shirt, since she didn¡¯t think of it in the first ce. Never knew he¡¯s so meticulous. She looked at


    him, not knowing what to feel.


    Toby felt her gaze, so he looked up. When he realized she was spacing out, he squinted. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Sonia averted her gaze.


    Toby was slightly bummed that she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but he didn¡¯t dwell on it. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± He


    stood up. ¡°Try moving around and see how it feels.¡±


    Murmuring a reply, Sonia moved her leg as he told her to. Since her leg was tied with Toby¡¯s, she¡¯d


    inevitably make skin contact with him.


    Toby gulped whenever he felt the touch of her skin. ¡°How does it feel?¡± he asked hoarsely.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice the change in his voice, as she was getting used to the feel on her leg. She nodded.


    ¡°Yep. It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Once she stopped moving, Toby heaved a subtle sigh of relief. ¡°Hold my waist once the race starts, then


    move the legs that are tied together. I need you to take big strides, understand?¡±


    Sonia knew he was telling her all that to keep her from tripping, so she didn¡¯t object to the idea. ¡°Alright. I


    get it.¡±


    Toby said nothing more after she agreed to it. He was worried for a second there that she might say no


    to holding him, but luckily she knew it was just for the game. If she refused, he¡¯d have to find another


    way to keep their bnce so they wouldn¡¯t fall.


    The game started a momentter. After the manager blew the whistle, Sonia and Toby raised their legs


    that were tied together first. They managed to leave the starting line, while family number one made a


    mistake from the very beginning.


    They didn¡¯t hold each other by the waist, and they didn¡¯t discuss which foot they should raise first. In the


    end, they started on the wrong foot and fell down before they could take a step. When she saw that,


    Sonia had to give it to Toby for his nning, or else they might¡¯ve ended up in the same situation.


    ¡°Focus.¡± When he realized she was spacing out again, he pinched her shoulder to snap her out of it.


    Since they were still in thepetition, Sonia turned back and didn¡¯t look at theirpetitor again. After


    that, it was smooth sailing.


    But just when they were nearing the finish line, Toby heard a soft creaking from above. It sounded


    like something loosening up, and it worried him. When he looked up, he noticed that the board holding


    up the finish line was wobbling.


    It was then he realized where the creak wasing from. The screw must be loose. That¡¯s why it¡¯s


    unstable. What are they doing? Didn¡¯t they check their stuff? Toby stopped all of a sudden. His face fell,


    and fury surged within him.


    Sonia felt him stopping all of a sudden. She wanted to ask him why he wasn¡¯t walking, but then his eyes


    widened, and he pounced at her, pulling her into his embrace to roll aside. Crash! Right after they rolled


    out of the way, the board crashed down right on the spot where they stood a few seconds ago.


    Everyone in the restaurant was shocked, especially the manager. He almost had a heart attack, but he


    stayed calm and went up to them. ¡°Are you alright, sir, madam?¡± Oh dear. Please let them be alright, or


    I¡¯m getting fired!


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Dous ran up to Sonia, pale and in tears. Apparently, he was shocked as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mom. It¡¯s all


    my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have asked for the model. I¡¯m sorry, Mom¡­¡± He was sobbing and shedding tears of


    regret; he thought it was his fault. If he didn¡¯t insist on getting the model, Sonia wouldn¡¯t have gotten


    herself in trouble.


    Sonia was still in a daze, but Dous¡¯ cries waved her fears away. She turned around and smiled at him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Dous. M¡­ Daddy saved me in time, so we¡¯re fine.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Dous looked at her with tearful eyes.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yep.¡±


    Dous thought she was lying, but when he saw how serious she was, he broke into a smile.


    The manager heaved a sigh of relief as well. ¡°Good to hear. Good to hear.¡±


    Sonia turned back to Toby, who was on the ground. ¡°Can you stand up, Toby?¡± Toby didn¡¯t move, so she


    called out to him again, ¡°Toby?¡±


    Toby finally stirred. He looked up, pale and sweating buckets. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he apologized painfully. ¡°I don¡¯t


    think I can stand up.¡±


    Sonia was shocked. ¡°What happened? Are you hurt?¡± He was right on top of her, so she couldn¡¯t see his


    injury. Judging from his current state, however, he was obviously wounded.


    He buried his head in her shoulders and grunted weakly. ¡°I can¡¯t move my legs.¡±

 Chapter 200

    Chapter 200


    ¡°Your leg?¡± Sonia craned her neck in an attempt to check his leg, but since he was on top of her, she


    couldn¡¯t even do it. Sonia couldn¡¯t push him away either, since that might worsen his injury. Left with no


    choice, she yelled at the manager, ¡°Quick! Check his leg!¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡± The manager snapped out of it and hurried to check on Toby¡¯s leg. When he saw what


    happened, he gasped. ¡°Madam, your husband¡¯s leg was hit by the pole.¡± After he asked whether they


    were fine, the manager thought he was in the clear when he heard that Sonia was alright, so he forgot to


    check on the steel frame. That was why he was shocked to see Toby¡¯s leg getting hit by it. This is it. I¡¯m


    getting fired.


    ¡°He¡¯s hit?¡± Sonia¡¯s heart skipped a beat, then she shouted furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there! Get


    someone to move it away!¡±


    ¡°I did. They¡¯re on their way.¡± The manager was wiping off his sweat.


    A short whileter, two burly waiters came over to move the board away, freeing Toby¡¯s leg. After that,


    the manager helped Toby up.


    Since the manager held him up, Sonia could finally get up as well. She pushed herself up and held up


    Toby¡¯s right side. After that, they led him to the restaurant¡¯s sofa Sonia noticed Toby was pale and


    frowning in pain, so she asked worriedly, ¡°How do you feel?¡±


    Toby was touched that Sonia was worried about him, and he answered huskily, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Sonia looked at his leg. Suddenly, she crouched down and took his shoes and socks off.


    Her movements were too quick for Toby to stop her, so all he could do was stare at her. ¡°What are you,¡±


    ¡°Stop talking. You call this fine?¡± His feet were swollen, and Sonia¡¯s heart sank. This isn¡¯t the first time he


    got himself hurt to save me. If this keeps up, it¡¯ll be impossible for me to cut ties with him.


    The manager was shocked as well when he saw how swollen Toby¡¯s feet were. ¡°Oh god. That looks


    bad.¡±


    Dous started crying right after he saw that. And he just finally stopped a moment ago.


    He looked at Toby guiltily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Toby. I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± It¡¯s my fault. Mr. Toby¡¯s hurt because I wanted


    that model. I¡¯m a naughty kid.


    ¡°Alright, stop crying. It¡¯s just a minor injury.¡± Toby felt his head buzzing from all the crying, so he


    massaged his forehead.


    Sonia patted the boy¡¯s head. ¡°Dous, Mr. Toby isn¡¯t ming you, so be a good boy and stop crying.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Dous sniffled and looked at her tearfully. ¡°Mr. Toby doesn¡¯t me me?¡±


    Sonia looked at Toby.


    Toby answered, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna me a child.¡± At least he knows I¡¯m hurt because he wanted that model.


    Least he¡¯s not a total brat. But he knew he couldn¡¯t me Dous


    either, since this came too suddenly.


    ¡°Hear that? Mr. Toby said he doesn¡¯t me you, so stop crying, okay?¡± Sonia wiped Dous¡¯ tears away.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Dous nodded.


    The manager wondered why Dous called his father ¡®Mr. Toby, but he didn¡¯t think too much about it.


    ¡°Sir, madam. I just called the doctor. He should be on his way now, so give us a minute. The doctor will


    be here soon,¡± he said in a hurry.


    ¡°Good to hear, but please tell him to hurry. The swelling¡¯s getting worse.¡± She pointed at Toby¡¯s leg.


    The manager nodded. ¡°Certainly. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    Tom came in not long after the manager had left. When he saw Toby, he asked, ¡°Are you alright,


    President Fuller?¡± He was smoking outside the restaurant earlier, but when he heard the patrons saying


    an ident happened to family number five, he threw the cigarette butt away and came in.


    Toby answered calmly, ¡°I¡¯m fine, but look into this. I want to know if this is an ident or a conspiracy.¡±


    As the president and CEO of Fuller Group, countless


    people were eyeing the resources he controlled. They would either butter him up, or kill him to get his


    resources. That was why he couldn¡¯t be sure if every ident was just a coincidence.


    Tom nodded solemnly. ¡°I understand. But will you be fine if I¡¯m gone?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with him. You look into this, Mr. Brown.¡± Sonia smiled at him. After all, she couldn¡¯t leave Toby,


    not after he saved her.


    Toby didn¡¯t expect Sonia to stay for him, but he was delighted that she did. However, his face fell when


    he realized Tom was still hesitating, and he frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there.¡±


    When Tom met Toby¡¯s icy gaze, a shiver ran down his spine, and he realized what his boss was getting


    at. ¡°I¡¯ll be going now.¡± He coughed. ¡°Right away.¡± And he went to the backyard to investigate the board.


    At the same time, the manager came in with the doctor.


    Sonia made way for him. ¡°Doctor, please check on him. His feet are swollen. Are his bones fractured?¡±


    When Toby saw Sonia looking so nervous for him, a gentle smile curled his lips, unbeknownst to him.


    ¡°Calm down, madam. I¡¯ll treat your husband immediately.¡± The doctor smiled at her before hunkering


    down to check Toby¡¯s feet.


    Sonia stood beside the doctor. When she saw Toby frowning from the pain, she put her hand beside him.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Toby asked in surprise.


    Sonia was fidgeting. ¡°You can hold my hand if the pain is too much.¡±


    Toby chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not that weak.¡± I¡¯m not a woman. I don¡¯t need to grab her hand.


    Since Toby refused her, Sonia pulled her hand back without saying anything.


    At the sight of this, Toby immediately regretted what he said, but since she had


    retracted her hand, he couldn¡¯t tell her to let him hold it again.


    ¡°Aunt Sonia.¡± Dous suddenly tugged on Sonia¡¯s sleeve.¡±


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°What is it, Dous?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Toby will be fine, right?¡± Dous looked at Toby¡¯s feet and whispered.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Of course. The doctor will fix him up.¡± She wasn¡¯t sure about that, but she had to lie, or


    Dous might be burdened by guilt for a long time.


    Dous hugged her leg and buried his face in it. ¡°I won¡¯t do it again. No more free toys if I can help it.¡±


    Sonia squatted and hugged him. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Dous. Don¡¯t mind this. It¡¯s not your fault. We didn¡¯t know


    this would happen either.¡±


    Dous said nothing, but he tightened his hug.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia felt sorry for the boy. Toby¡¯s injury apparently shocked him, and it made him feel guilty. She wanted


    to make him feel better, so she kissed him on his forehead.


    When Toby saw that, his face fell, and he grunted.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°What is it, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby stared at the floor. ¡°Nothing. Just my leg. It hurts.¡±


    Sonia turned to the doctor. When she saw him massaging Toby¡¯s feet, she reminded him, ¡°Go soft on


    him, doctor. He just said his feet hurt.¡±

 Chapter 201

    Chapter 201


    The doctor¡¯s hand paused in mid-air as he looked up in mild surprise, his gaze flickering from Sonia to


    the impassive Toby. He didn¡¯t think he was using much force at all, so it was unlikely that Toby felt any


    pain. Besides, judging from the man¡¯sck of erpression, I highly doubt he¡¯s in pain, the doctor


    concluded.


    As the doctor shook his head, he did not dwell further on Sonia¡¯s remark before dismissing it as a wife¡¯s


    show of concern for her husband¡¯s well-being. Well, I guess I¡¯ll just be as gentle as I can. After having


    decided on this, the doctor sighed and carried on with the massage.


    The massage had continued for quite a while before he opened the medical kit and began to rummage


    through its contents, selecting the bandages for Toby¡¯s wound.


    Sonia patted Dous on the back as she stood up. ¡°How¡¯s his foot, doctor? Is there a fracture or


    something?¡±


    While he dabbed antiseptic onto Toby¡¯s foot, the doctor answered dutifully, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, ma¡¯am. Your


    husband¡¯s foot will be alright. There¡¯s no damage to his bones, although he has sprained his ligament


    and tendon. He just needs to take it easy for about two weeks or so before he¡¯ll make a full recovery.¡±


    Upon hearing this, she let out a breath of relief. Then, she nodded with a smile as she answered, ¡°That¡¯s


    good to know.¡±


    The guilt she had felt earlier significantly waned after she heard that Toby would recover just fine.


    She knew he had only tried to save himself, but it didn¡¯t disregard the fact that he saved her all the same,


    even though such a feat was more of a coincidence than anything else. She would have been indebted


    to him had his foot suffered any real and serious injury.


    He, on the other hand, was regarding Sonia with a dark look when he noticed the wide grin on her face.


    She might as well congratte me, he thought sullenly.


    As though she sensed his gaze, Sonia turned to look at him in askance. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Toby answered curtly as a resentful look shed in his eyes.


    She shrugged and looked away.


    A few minutester, the doctor rose from his seat and dered, ¡°Okay, sir. Your foot is all wrapped up


    and you¡¯re ready to go. Make sure to keep the bandaged area dry and after a day, you can rece your


    dressings with a new one from any clinic or hospital.¡±


    Sonia nodded on Toby¡¯s behalf and replied, ¡°Alright. Thank you so much, doctor.¡±


    The manager saw the doctor out and when he returned to the scene, he had arge Gundam action


    figure in his arms along with an intricate box. He gave Sonia and Toby an apologetic look as he


    exined, ¡°Sir, Madam, I¡¯m terribly sorry for the injuries you sustained due to our negligence today. If you


    don¡¯t mind, we offer you these aspensation.¡±


    With that, the man handed the Gundam action figure and the box over to her.


    However, she did not take them and merely nced at Toby as she pointed out, ¡°You¡¯re the injured one,


    so you should take a look at the gifts instead.¡±


    Toby scanned the Gundam toy and the box before he snapped icily, ¡°It¡¯s a little too early to dismiss this


    incident as one of negligence on the restaurant¡¯s part. Any talk ofpensation will have to wait until


    after my assistant has thoroughly looked into this.¡±


    The manager bristled when he heard this and he couldn¡¯t help the panic that seized him. He thought that


    a heftypensation such as his offer would be enough to put an end to this matter, thereby allowing


    him to retain his job.


    However, now that Toby was looking into the incident, the manager realized that it would take more than


    a generouspensation to resolve the matter at hand. And given the previous mention of an assistant,


    it seemed as if the injured man was not an average Joe.


    The manager¡¯s lips twitched into a bitter smile. He knew how hard it was to cate men with such power


    like Toby; it looked like he would be out of work soon.


    Approximately ten minutes had passed when Tom hurried back to the scene.


    Toby looked up at his assistant and demanded, ¡°So, what¡¯s the verdict?¡±


    Sonia was also looking at Tom while even the manager¡¯s posture straightened to listen to the oue of


    the investigation.


    Tom answered solemnly, ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve looked into this and as it turns out, the whole thing was


    an ident. The attendant who installed the beam lost a couple of screws. When the other attendants


    saw that the beam held up just fine, they didn¡¯t bother looking for recement screws. They didn¡¯t report


    this to the restaurant either, hence the ident.¡±


    The divot between Toby¡¯s brows smoothened when he heard that the incident was not part of some


    wicked scheme.


    Sonia, on the other hand, pursed her lips in dismay and snapped, ¡°How irresponsible of the attendant!


    He has caused this huge mess all because he couldn¡¯t be bothered to go the extra mile to properly set


    up the beams. He didn¡¯t even try to exin himself after the whole incident either! We were the only


    ones hurt by some sheer good fortune. Can you imagine how fatal things might turn out if young children


    were crushed by the beam?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like children could duck for safety in time and even if they did, there was no guarantee that the


    beam wouldn¡¯t fall upon them. They simply had no physical means to avoid danger and they could have


    died on the spot.


    At the thought of that, she shuddered with fear.


    It went without saying that Toby shared the same line of thought and his face was stormy as he barked,


    ¡°Where¡¯s the attendant now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve osted him. He¡¯s being held in custody in the kitchen,¡± Tom responded.


    Toby red at the manager mutinously. ¡°You may have no fault in this incident, but you can¡¯t escape the


    repercussions of it as the manager of this restaurant.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, of course. I wholeheartedly agree,¡± the manager stammered nervously, his head jerking stiffly in


    a series of nods.


    Toby continued imperiously, ¡°Fire the attendant immediately and make sure he never works in this


    industry ever again. The Fuller Group will have a bone to pick with anyone who dares to hire the man.¡±


    ¡°Fuller Group?¡± The manager¡¯s blood went cold as he felt like lightning had struck


    the ce where he stood.


    The assistant had earlier addressed this man as President Fuller. Now that the man himself has


    mentioned Fuller Group, could this man be¡­


    Just as he was close to figuring out Toby¡¯s identity, Toby¡¯s piercing gaze fell upon him once more. ¡°As for


    you, three months¡¯ worth of your pay will be docked as punishment for this severe oversight. Make sure


    you keep an eye on your employees from now on because you¡¯d end up like that attendant from earlier if


    any mishaps such as this one were to happen again.¡±


    The manager¡¯s posture stiffened as he answered hastily, ¡°Yes, sir! I understand!¡±


    As it turned out, his guess was right-this was indeed the president of Fuller Group, otherwise known as


    the man at the top of the organization. This is the man to whom my superior answers!


    Who could have thought that the person whom he had invited on a whim was the big man himself? And


    now that he¡¯s injured, I only have my poor luck to me, the managermented with self-deprecating


    humor. I suppose things could be worse. Thankfully, he¡¯s only docked three months of my pay instead of


    demoting or firing me altogether.


    The thoughtforted the manager and as his panic quelled, he raised the Gundam figure and the box


    once more. ¡°President Fuller, about these gifts¡ª¡±


    ¡°Dous.¡± Toby nced at the little boy standing next to Sonia.


    ¡°Mr. Toby is asking for you,¡± she encouraged as she nudged Dous toward the imposing man.


    It was almost instantaneously after that when Toby said to Dous, ¡°Go on, then. You like Gundam,


    don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it anymore,¡± Dous muttered feebly with his head hung low.


    Sonia eyed him with curiosity. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I wanted Gundam that Mr. Toby became hurt in the end. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Now, Dous, you shouldn¡¯t look at things that way. It wasn¡¯t your fault at all and we¡¯ve said as much.


    Be good and take the Gundam home with you. After all, we can¡¯t


    let Mr. Toby get hurt for nothing, right?¡± She affectionately brushed the tip of Dous¡¯ nose.


    The little boy blinked as he considered her words before he decided that it was only sensible for him to


    take Gundam. If I don¡¯t, then Mr. Toby would have been injured for nothing


    With that in mind, Dous stepped forward and took Gundam from the manager¡¯s hold.


    At this moment, Toby¡¯s gaze fell upon the box in the manager¡¯s hand. ¡°What¡¯s inside there?¡±


    The manager opened the box without dy as he exined, ¡°President Fuller, this is a set of his-and-


    hers watches from thetest collection by Clovis.¡±


    The manager had intended to gift the watches to his daughter and son-inw, but he decided to grit his


    teeth and offer the essories aspensation in the hopes of keeping his job. If he had known that he


    would not be terminated, he never would have been so generous and could only sigh in regret now.


    His-and-hers watches¡­ Toby narrowed his eyes as he asked, ¡°And these are for us?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the manager replied with a tight smile.


    Toby turned to look at Sonia. ¡°Do you like them?¡±


    She raised a brow as she was slightly taken aback by the question.


    As if on cue, the manager brought the box into Sonia¡¯s line of sight so that she could take a better look.


    She would be lying if she said that she didn¡¯t like the watches as it was gorgeous, but that didn¡¯t change


    the fact that the item was meant for couples.


    The barest hint of a smile tugged on her lips as she graciously answered, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether I like


    them or not. You should ask Miss Gray, and if I may, I think the watches are perfect for the both of you.¡±


    Sonia thought about how Dous had addressed Toby as ¡®Mr. Toby¡¯ earlier. They had as good as


    confessed to the manager that they were not husband and wife in real


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    life. As such, there was no need for her to carry on with the charade.


    However, Toby¡¯s face darkened as he bit out, ¡°The watches are for us. Why do you have to bring Tina


    into this?¡±

 Chapter 202

    Chapter 202


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re mistaken, President Fuller. These his-and-hers watches could never be meant for us


    because we aren¡¯t a couple at all. You should take them back for Miss Gray and yourself.¡±


    With that, Sonia took the box from the manager and closed it before she shoved it perfunctorily into


    Toby¡¯s arms.


    Toby¡¯s expression stiffened as he was seized with the urge to throw the box out, but he eventually


    resisted the temptation to do so and tossed the box over to Tom instead.


    After having caught the box, Tom briefly nced at it. He noted the unhappy expression on Toby¡¯s face


    while his own lips twitched in a show of helplessness. What am I supposed to do with this?


    The manager, on the other hand, fixed his gaze on his shoes as regret washed over him. Had he known


    that the watches would only cause President Fuller to bicker with the youngdy. he would not have


    taken the box out in the first ce.


    No one said a word as the tension in the room rose to nightmarish proportions. After what felt like a long


    moment, Toby broke the stifling silence and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Tom hurried forward to help Toby get on his feet.


    Sonia reached out as well, making as if to help him, but as a sudden thought crossed her mind, she


    retracted her hand and let it fall to her side.


    Toby did not miss the movement, which caused the air around him to grow cold. She could have helped


    me if she wanted to. Why did she change her mind halfway through?


    The few of them exited the restaurant and arrived at the parking lot.


    She opened the door to her car and ushered Dous inside. Upon seeing this, Toby frowned and asked,


    ¡°Are you going over to Zane¡¯s ce?¡±


    Sonia closed the door to the backseat and answered curtly, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°But Dous


    ¡°Dous will be staying over at my ce,¡± she replied inly as she eyed the man steadily


    Toby was somewhat relieved to hear that she would not be going over to Zane¡¯s, but he did not show it


    and merely nodded to acknowledge her answer.


    Sonia rounded the car and stood at the driver¡¯s side before she courteously announced, ¡°I¡¯ll be making a


    move now, President Fuller.¡±


    He shrugged nonchntly ¡°Drive safely¡±


    Astonishment registered on her face when she heard this. Did he just ask me to drive safely? Is this the


    Toby I know?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby asked gently at the sight of her distracted expression.


    Sonia shook her head and snapped out of her reverie. ¡°Oh, nothing. Drive safely as well, President


    Fuller.¡±


    His eyes glittered briefly with amusement as he hummed in response.


    She gave him onest look before she opened the door to the driver¡¯s side. Then, she slid behind the


    wheel, thereafter pulling out of the parking lot.


    Meanwhile, Toby watched her car depart from where he stood in front of his Maybach.


    Sonia caught the way he stared at her after she ced the gear in reverse to drive away. The anomaly of


    it was enough to make her perplexed.


    This was not the first time she had felt this way and in recent times, she found herself being caught off


    guard by his strange behavior.


    In the past, he would never have spared her a second nce, nor would he bother giving her anything


    more than monosybic answers. Now, she could barely count the times his gaze had lingered on her


    and he had spoken to her on more asions than she cared to remember. He even told her to drive


    safely!


    Her brows furrowed as she thought, What¡¯s going on in that head of his?


    At this moment, Dous wrapped his arms around the driver¡¯s headrest and leaned close to Sonia.


    ¡°Hey, Aunt Sonia, Mr. Toby is still staring at you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes and cast a brief nce at the left side mirror.


    True enough, Toby was still rooted to the same spot with his eyes fixed in her direction. She pursed her


    lips as she was a little irked by his odd demeanor. What in the world is he looking at?


    Dous suddenly said something that nearly made her m on the brake. ¡°Mr. Toby likes you, Aunt


    Sonia,¡± the little boymented as a matter-of-factly.


    She almost choked, and the itch in her throat was soothed after a few dry coughs. Flustered, she was


    torn between crying andughing as she retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little young to be saying stuff like this,


    buddy? Mr. Toby doesn¡¯t like me since he likes someone else.¡±


    ¡°But I can tell he really likes you, Aunt Sonia. I saw the way he was looking at you. It¡¯s the same way my


    dad looks at my mom,¡± he argued, blinking innocently.


    ¡°Wow, Dous! You must be really brilliant if you can tell all that just by one look.¡± Sonia beamed at the


    child and did not take hisment to heart, dismissing it as a childish remark. He was only a little boy,


    after all. He couldn¡¯t possibly decipher the look in anyone¡¯s eyes at his age.


    Besides, the suggestion that Toby had feelings for her was the biggest joke of the century.


    Presently, Dous pouted and huffed irritably when he saw that she didn¡¯t believe a word he said. With


    newfound insistence, he dered, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth, Aunt Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Dous. I know you¡¯re telling the truth. Truer words have never been spoken,¡± Sonia cated,


    humoring the kid as she nodded in affirmation.


    Peeved by her skepticism and her humoring, Dous pouted even harder, which caused him to look like


    a pufferfish.


    However, it didn¡¯t take long for the dejection to settle upon him. Much like a deted balloon, he shook


    his head and sighed ruefully. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s up to you to take my word for it.¡±


    She nced at him in the rearview mirror and kept herself from bursting intoughter at how dejected he


    looked. With his head hung low and a clear resignation in his posture, he looked like a little old man. The


    kid¡¯s an absolute gem.


    The next day, Sonia had only just woken up when her phone rang with an iing call from Zane.


    ¡°Good morning, Sonia,¡± he greeted.


    She let out a yawn. ¡°Good morning.¡±


    va


    Wh


    Upon hearing her soft and sleepy voice, he felt a tingling sensation creep underneath his ribcage, not to


    mention an inexplicable, albeit familiar heat that surged through him.


    He quickly crossed his legs and cleared his throat awkwardly before asking, ¡°Did I wake you up?¡±


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t,¡± she replied, having cleared her mind after a luxurious stretch.


    Zane let out a quiet breath. ¡°Good to know.¡±


    ¡°Did you call me at this hour to pick Dous up?¡± Sonia tossed her covers aside and got out of bed.


    Then, she headed out of the bedroom.


    He leaned against the door of his car as he chortled and answered, ¡°You know me well. I¡¯m already


    downstairs. Where¡¯s Dous?¡±


    Sonia opened the door to the guest bedroom and saw that Dous was still sound asleep on the bed


    with his little limbs spread out. She couldn¡¯t help but sputter at theical sight. Then, with a lowered


    voice, she added, ¡°Apparently, he¡¯s still sleeping.¡±


    Zaneughed on the other end of the phone too. ¡°The kid¡¯s a heavy sleeper.¡±


    She gently closed the door behind her. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe up for a bit?¡±


    He had been waiting for her to say this and now that she finally did, he broke into a dazzling grin as he


    eagerly agreed. ¡°Very well, then. I¡¯ll head up now. Make sure you roll out the red carpet for


    me.¡±


    Sonia hummed good-naturedly in response.


    The doorbell chimed minutester. She sauntered out of her bedroom after wearing a fresh set of clothes


    and proceeded to the threshold to open the door for her guest.


    As soon as she did, she was greeted by the sight of a grinning Zane. ¡°I brought breakfast,¡± he


    announced.


    He raised arge paper bag upon which was embossed the name of the restaurant-The King¡¯s Diner.


    Sonia beamed as she took the bag over. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually brought breakfast over.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know I¡¯m an angel.¡± Zane rubbed his palms together, his eyes sparkling as he expectantly


    gazed at her.


    From Sonia¡¯s viewpoint, he resembled a rather earnest golden retriever seeking praise from its owner. In


    fact, if she looked any harder, she thought she could find a tail wagging behind him. Such an image


    entertained her to no end as she sputtered and answered, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re an angel indeed. Come on in.¡±


    She stepped aside and allowed him to step past the threshold.


    ¡°Thanks for having me,¡± Zane quipped before he brushed past her into the apartment with an obvious


    eagerness. He stood in the living room and appraised his surroundings. ¡°Hey, your apartment is pretty


    nice.¡±


    Sonia had already ced the bag of breakfast on the table. ¡°My dad gave it to me as aing-of age


    gift. So, you can make yourself at home while I wash up and if you want to see Dous, just head


    straight through that door over there. That¡¯s his room.¡± She pointed at the guest bedroom for good


    measure.


    Zane waved his hand flippantly. ¡°Okay, I got it. Go about with your business then. I¡¯ll just take a quick


    peek at Dous.¡±


    As he said this, he walked over to the guest bedroom and opened the door.


    Sonia smiled at his behavior and went into the bathroom.


    When she had washed up and dabbed a little make-up on her face, she came out of the bathroom


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    to see that Zane was already seated at the dining table with Dous on hisp.


    ¡°Good morning, Aunt Sonia,¡± Dous greeted sweetly as he waved his little hand.


    Sonia¡¯s heart practically melted at the sight of this. She crossed over and ced a kiss on the kid¡¯s


    chubby cheek before she said, ¡°Good morning, Dous.¡±


    Zane, on the other hand, stared enviously with wide eyes at the scene before him. I¡¯ve got to hand


    it to the kid¡ªI can¡¯t believe he got a kiss from Sonia before I do!


    As though he sensed Zane¡¯s jealousy, Dous twisted around and looked up at Zane before breaking


    into a triumphant smile.


    Zane bristled at this while his fingers curled and uncurled. Is he actually gloating? Incredulous, he began


    to pinch Dous¡¯ cheeks as he seethed, ¡°You better wipe that smug look off your face, Dous.¡±


    Dous, however, was quick to rm Sonia of such mistreatment. ¡°Aunt Sonia, Uncle Zane is pinching


    me!¡±


    Sonia, who had been setting the table, immediately ced the utensils down when she heard this. At the


    sight of Zane pinching Dous¡¯ cheeks, she ced her hands on her hips and demanded, ¡°What do you


    think you¡¯re doing, Zane?¡±

 Chapter 203

    Chapter 203


    Before Zane could speak up for himself, Dous barreled toward Sonia and wrapped his arms around


    her waist, thereafter whining, ¡°Aunt Sonia, Uncle Zane was pinching me!¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as she surveyed Zane reproachfully.


    Zane was quick to raise his hands, as though the gesture was symbolic of his innocence. ¡°No, I did not!


    Why would I pinch the little guy? I was only teasing him.¡±


    ¡°Teasing him, you say? So, why are his cheeks all red?¡± Her heart twisted as she soothingly caressed


    Dous¡¯ face, which was pink from the pinches. Then, she usingly addressed Zane, ¡°You¡¯re just like


    Toby.¡±


    At the mention of Toby, the yful glimmer in Zane¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°Toby?! What did he do?¡±


    She rolled her eyes in exasperation and exined witheringly, ¡°He practically kneaded Dous¡¯ cheeks


    until they were redst night. It¡¯s always brute force when ites to you men.¡±


    His brows furrowed. ¡°He kneaded Dous¡¯ face? Does that mean the both of you met Toby after I left


    last night?¡±


    Sonia handed a spoon to Dous and pulled up a chair at the table. ¡°That¡¯s right. Dous was hungry,


    so I brought him out for food. We then ran into Toby at the restaurant. When Dous needed to use the


    restroom, I was too embarrassed to bring him into the men¡¯s room, so Toby brought him instead.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Zane nodded in understanding.


    Meanwhile, Dous was taking his oatmeal when he suddenly piped up, ¡°Mr. Toby was hurt too.¡±


    ¡°Hurt?¡± Zane could not hide his shock as he looked over at Sonia. ¡°How did that happen?¡±


    She pinched the space between her brows in exhaustion as she began to narrate what had happened


    the night before.


    After he heard the whole story, he rubbed his face and remarked, ¡°There must have been some kind of


    jinx on you guys. I mean, the chances of stuff like this happening are practically slim-to none otherwise!¡±


    A rueful smile yed on Sonia¡¯s lips. ¡°Believe me, I know.¡± She thought they had been rather unlucky as


    well.


    ¡°You¡¯re fortunate to have escaped unscathed,¡± he pointed out with a lopsided smile, his eyes meeting


    hers.


    The corners of her lips slightly tipped up. ¡°That¡¯s only because Toby shielded me and was hurt instead.


    I¡¯m still thinking about how I should thank him for it.¡± She didn¡¯t want to show up at his ce to deliver


    her thanks in person. If she did, a certain lunatic named Tina might very well


    unleash chaos once more.


    As though he read Sonia¡¯s mind, Zane took a bite of the pancake and casually responded, ¡°That should


    be easy. It¡¯s not as if you were the one who forced him into saving you. Why don¡¯t you rustle up a get-


    well-soon hamper or something and have someone send it over to him?¡±


    ¡°A get-well-soon hamper?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zane nodded emphatically. ¡°The man had injured his foot. I¡¯d say that¡¯s a good excuse to send


    him a hamper.¡±


    Sonia found this suggestion a rather sensible one and after she sipped her milk, she agreed with it. ¡°I


    guess that works. I¡¯ll have someone make the arrangementster.¡±


    When breakfast was over, the three of them left the apartment.


    Upon arriving downstairs, he took Dous by the hand and stood in front of his car. Then, he nced


    over at her meaningfully as he said, ¡°Thanks for taking care of Dousst night.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal.¡± She stepped forward and ruffled Dous¡¯ hair affectionately. With a smallugh, she


    added, ¡°Besides, I like hanging out with Dous.¡±


    ¡°I like hanging out with you too, Aunt Sonia. Can Ie by again soon?¡± Dous lifted his face and


    blinked his pair of sparkling eyes at her.


    ¡°Of course you can,¡± she promised, nodding in affirmation.


    Upon hearing their exchange, Zane felt the wheels in his mind turn. He grinned at Dous as he


    interjected, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. I can drop you off here whenever I have the time.¡±


    Dous resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his own uncle. I know you¡¯re just trying to use me as an


    excuse to see Aunt Sonia, you sly man. However, given how much he wanted Zane to triumph in his


    romantic pursuit, he refrained from calling the older man¡¯s bluff.


    ¡°By the way, are you going to the hospital for the operation today?¡± Zane¡¯s gaze flickered over to Sonia¡¯s


    lower abdomen.


    Her smile faded as she suppressed her heartache. A strained hum then escaped her before she


    answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be going this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be there and I won¡¯t take no for an answer. I know Charles will be present as well, but


    maybe I could lend an extra helping hand or something. Better to be safe than sorry, right?¡± he offered


    compassionately.


    Sonia was mildly amused by his insistence. ¡°Okay, then. You maye.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then.¡± Zane waved his hand at her. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll be taking Dous home now. See youter.¡±


    Dous brought his little hand up and waved goodbye at Sonia too. ¡°Bye, Aunt Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Bye, Dous,¡± she responded with a warm smile.


    Zane and Dous left in their car secondster and she did not stay in ce for long. After having


    checked the time, she drove to Paradigm Co.


    As soon as Sonia arrived at thepany, Daphne trailed after her and said, ¡°President Reed, here is


    today¡¯s schedule.¡± With that, the secretary began to detail the agenda lined up for Sonia.


    Sonia took the schedule over and perused it while she walked.


    Upon browsing the list, she handed it back to Daphne and announced, ¡°I¡¯ll be going to the hospitalter,


    so cancel the afternoon line-up, seeing as there¡¯s nothing important anyway. Also, I¡¯ll have to see the


    schedule for the next couple of days.¡±


    She would be staying in the hospital for a few days following the operation, which meant she would have


    to reorganize her uing schedule and push back a couple of unimportant meetings.


    Daphne nodded. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Sonia had only just opened the door to her office when she turned and asked, ¡°By the way, could you


    rustle up a get-well-soon hamper? Make sure to pack it with goodies, preferably for someone who needs


    a treat after injuring their feet. Have it delivered to President Fuller of Fuller Group and charge it to my


    personal ount.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller?¡± Daphne could not hide her surprise. Is President Reed trying to patch things up with


    President Fuller by sending him a surprise hamper?


    When Sonia noticed Daphne¡¯s expression, she knew instantly that Daphne misread her intentions. Sonia


    lowered her gaze and exined vaguely, ¡°He¡¯s hurt. Given that he¡¯s our biggest coborator, not to


    mention the man in charge of the alternative energy technology project, we should offer him our kindest


    wishes and concern as a matter of courtesy.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Daphne was in a daze as she nodded her head while the wild guesses she made immediately


    dissipated.


    At the sight of this, Sonia found herself heaving a quiet sigh of relief. However, she maintained her


    composure as she waved her hand, dismissing her secretary with a breezy, ¡°You may leave now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. Right away.¡± Daphne nodded once and turned to leave.


    Sonia watched with darkened eyes as Daphne left her office. She had not borated on the cause of


    Toby¡¯s injury precisely because she wanted to prevent Daphne from overthinking.


    After all, it would be hard to exin why Sonia was hanging out with her ex-husband at the amusement


    park-and at night, no less. Even if she were to say that the meeting had been purely coincidental, there


    was no telling whether Daphne would truly believe her. Indeed, the girl might say otherwise, but she


    would be skeptical all the same.


    As she brushed away those thoughts, Sonia pulled out her chair and sat down before she buried herself


    in her work.


    Over at Fuller Group, word of Toby¡¯s injury, which unfortunately could not be kept a secret, spread like


    wildfire throughout the office building.


    He had arrived at work that morning in a wheelchair and discretion was a luxury not afforded to him after


    everyone had witnessed his less-than-mboyant entrance.


    N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    As news of this broke out, otherpanies caught wind of it and were eager to show their concern.


    Countless calls were made and dozens of get-well-soon hampers were sent to him.


    Tom had only just seen the clients out the door when he was stopped in his tracks by the receptionist,


    who called out for him. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked curiously as he walked up to the front desk.


    The receptionist gestured toward the intricately-wrapped hampers in which were expensive goodies, ¡°Mr.


    Brown, a director from yet anotherpany has had this gift delivered.¡±


    He nced at the hamper and its extravagant contents before he grimaced, ¡°Didn¡¯t we just announce on


    our website that all gifts are politely declined? And here we have another hamper to pile onto the others


    that we have yet to sort through.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the sender missed our announcement,¡± the receptionist guessed with a shrug.


    Tom adjusted his sses. ¡°Very well, then. Who¡¯s the sender? Whichpany is he or she from?¡±


    ¡°Paradigm Co.,¡± she replied tly.


    ¡°Paradigm Co.?!¡± he repeated in bewilderment.


    The receptionist nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    He straightened his posture and grew somber before he responded briskly, ¡°Okay, hand me the note and


    I¡¯ll have the hamper sent up.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± The receptionist was new at her job and she had no idea of the importance Paradigm Co.


    connoted. With that being said, she did not question Tom when she saw how serious he was and handed


    him the gift note without further dy.


    He took it from her and scanned the inscription. Then, he shoved it into his pocket before picking up the


    hamper and hurrying toward the elevator.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Tom to arrive at the presidential office, where he entered after knocking on the door.


    Toby looked up at that moment with a frown when he registered the hamper in Tom¡¯s arms. Clearly


    disgruntled by the presence of yet another gift, he snapped, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say to stop bringing


    these gifts up to my office? Bring it over to the finance department and have them figure out the cost so


    that we can return the sender¡¯s favor.¡±


    ¡°This one is different, though,¡± Tom countered as the light reflected off his spectacles.


    Toby suspiciously narrowed his eyes. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°This hamper is from Miss Reed,¡± Tom rified, peering earnestly at Toby¡¯s expression. When he saw


    the displeasure on Toby¡¯s face being reced by mild surprise, he suppressed the urge to grin impishly.

 Chapter 204

    Chapter 204


    See, that¡¯s how different this hamper is from the others. He can¡¯t even be mad now that he knows Miss


    Reed has sent this. Tom thought with glee.


    ¡°Sonia sent this?¡± Toby¡¯s fingers tightened around his pen as a pleased look shed in his eyes.


    Tom noticed it and he quickly carried the hamper across the room to Toby. Then, Tom feigned innocence


    as he asked. ¡°Do you still want this, President Fuller? I could always take it down to the finance


    department if you don¡¯t.¡± I don¡¯t think you¡¯d say no, President Fuller.


    ¡°Just put it aside for now,¡± Toby instructed coolly, jerking his chin in some vague direction.


    As expected, Tom stified augh as he nodded and responded, ¡°Yes, sir.¡± So, I was right when I guessed


    that President Fuller would keep the hamper. More to the point, he could tell how happy Toby was and he


    found the man¡¯s efforts to maintain a straight face rather pointless.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom set the hamper down without another word. He was just about to leave when his phone rang in his


    pocket. As he took it out, he nced at the screen to see that it was the receptionist calling ¡°I need to get


    this, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby hummed distractedly in response as his gentle gaze lingered on the hamper.


    Taken aback by how enamored Toby was with the gift, Tom mused, I bet he¡¯d have torn into the hamper


    if I wasn¡¯t here. Nheless, he looked away from his boss and simply answered the phone.


    Barely two minutes had passed when he drew the phone away and informed inly, ¡°President Fuller,


    Miss Gray has arrived.¡±


    When Toby heard this, he frowned. ¡°What is she doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but she has probably caught the news of your injury.¡± Tom¡¯s eyes fell upon the wheelchair


    in which Toby was sitting.


    Toby massaged the space between his brows. ¡°Let her through.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom ced his phone to his ear once more and ryed instructions to the person on the other


    line.


    It took only moments for Tina toe up to the presidential office and as soon as she entered the room,


    she urged, ¡°Is it true that you were hurt, Toby? How did that happen?¡±


    Toby raised his cup and took a tentative sip of coffee. ¡°It was a minor ident, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She eyed his injured foot as worry was etched on her face. ¡°What kind of an ident was it?¡± .


    He ced his cup down and answered stoically, ¡°It¡¯s nothing-just a sprain. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Well, how can I not? I was practically scared witless when I heard about your injury. This won¡¯t do; I


    need to know how badly injured you are.¡± With that, she lowered herself and made to check his injury as


    she rolled up one side of his pant leg.


    However, Toby frowned at the sight of this and immediately pushed her away.


    The push was so sudden that Tina did not have time to brace herself for the fall. She tipped backward


    andnded on her rump unceremoniously. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared up at him


    from where she had fallen on the floor. He just pushed me!


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Biting on her lip, she regarded him with a wounded look.


    He seemed to have realized that his gesture had been uncalled for. A twinge of guilt worked its way into


    his heart as he pulled her up to her feet. ¡°Sorry, Tina, I didn¡¯t mean to push you. I just don¡¯t like anyone


    touching me, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Standing aside and eavesdropping on the conversation, Tom silently rolled his eyes. Right, President


    Fuller. You don¡¯t like anyone touching you, so why did you allow Miss Reed to lift your pant legst night?


    I don¡¯t see you pushing her away and telling her to keep her hands of you. You just don¡¯t like it when


    Miss Gray touches you, that¡¯s what this is about.


    Naturally, he kept such a remark to himself. He would much rather be on the sidelines quietly watching


    the show unfold.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Tina¡¯s lips twitched into what looked like a forced smile as she added, ¡°I should have known my


    boundaries. I was so anxious to see your injury that I ignored how you might feel about me doing so.


    Please don¡¯t hold this against me, Toby.¡±


    Toby made a subtle noise of acknowledgement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it wasn¡¯t your fault anyway. Besides, it¡¯s


    just a sprain and I¡¯ll be back on my feet in a couple days¡¯ time. There¡¯s no need to fret.¡±


    After having said this, he shot a discreet look at Tom, who immediately understood that the show was


    over. With a dry cough, Tom interjected, ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Gray. The doctor said that President Fuller¡¯s


    injury is a minor one.¡±


    ¡°Well, in that case, my mind is eased.¡± Tina patted her chest in relief.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going now, President Fuller,¡± he informed politely as he adjusted his sses.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Go on, then.¡±


    ¡°I shall leave you and Miss Gray to your conversation.¡± With that, Tom turned and headed out the door,


    leaving those two as the only ones in the office.


    Tina looked around the room. Her gaze suddenly fell upon a box on the desk whereby she noted the


    Clovis logo embossed upon it.


    A look of interest passed over her face as she picked up the box for inspection. ¡°What¡¯s inside here?¡±


    She opened the box before he could stop her.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s thetest his-and-hers watches set by Clovis!¡± She stared at the watches-one slightly bigger


    than the other to denote its masculine outline-and asked in surprise, ¡°When did you get these, Toby? I¡¯ve


    had my eyes on them for a while now and I was hoping that I could get them as a couple¡¯s gift for us, but


    other buyers have beaten me to it. I can¡¯t believe that you actually secretly got them!¡±


    As she said this, she ced the box down and gingerly picked up the women¡¯s watch. However, just as


    she was about to strap it over her wrist, Toby reached out and took it away from her. ¡°This isn¡¯t for you.¡±


    The smile on Tina¡¯s face froze and disappeared as she watched him return the watch to the box. A


    menacing grimace twisted her features, albeit only for a second. ¡°If it isn¡¯t for me, then who is it for?¡± she


    demanded in her most casual tone, digging her nails into her palms as she tried to hide the rage


    thrumming within her.


    It¡¯s for Sonia! The words formed in Toby¡¯s mind like a restless phantom, and even he was shocked by


    this.


    However, just as quickly, he was reminded of the danger Sonia had braved through alongside him, which


    was the sole reason why they even received watches in the first ce. Surely, it would not be strange for


    him to give the watches to her. In fact, he shouldn¡¯t be caught off guard by this idea at all.


    Toby calmed down at that thought. As he lowered his gaze, he exined, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t wear it because


    I bought the watches for a friend. I could get you something simr if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Tina saw how serious he was and took his word for it. She broke into a smile as the anger that


    seized her faded away.


    For a moment there, she thought he had gotten the watches for Sonia.


    Then, she held him by the arm and whined unhappily, ¡°You really ought to have bought a set for us as


    well, Toby. Yet, you went ahead and purchased one for your friend instead.¡±


    Is a


    He tried to pull his arm away with minimal force. ¡°I apologize for not having considered that.¡±


    ¡°Well, what¡¯s done is done. I forgive you,¡± Tina teased with a grin.


    Toby closed the box and gently ced it in the drawer. Even though she saw this, she did not dwell on it.


    After all, it was only normal that he would handle his friend¡¯s gift with care.


    Meanwhile, upon hearing Daphne¡¯s confirmation on the hamper¡¯s delivery, Sonia hummed in


    acknowledgement and did not press any further.


    Now that the hamper had been sent, it would mean that she and Toby were even; she no longer owed


    him a favor for saving her lifest night.


    ¨C


    As for the other asions in which he had saved her, she figured that those were his obligations as


    Tina¡¯s fianc¨¦, seeing how the other woman was the one who had schemed to hurt her in the first ce.


    It was only par for the course that she should not have to return those favors of his.


    At this moment, Charles¡¯ voice sounded from the office doorway, ¡°Hey, baby.¡±


    Sonia looked up and shed him a smile. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to escort you to your operation, of course. Did you forget about that?¡± He dropped his hand


    from the doorknob and strolled through the door.


    She leaned into her chair. ¡°Of course I remembered it. I¡¯m just surprised to see you here when it¡¯s barely


    noon yet.¡±


    ¡°I have nothing on anyway, so I figured I¡¯d drop by earlier.¡± He pulled up a seat for himself and appraised


    Sonia¡¯s desk. ¡°You look busy.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, busy with whatever¡¯s going to happen in two days¡¯ time,¡± she exined as she flipped through a


    folder.


    Charles was just about to offer a helping hand when he noticed the invitation on the desk. As he


    curiously took it to read it, he asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you received an invite for the auction, darling.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Wait, didn¡¯t I tell you about it?¡± Sonia nced up at him again.


    The corner of his lips twitched. ¡°Of course not. I wouldn¡¯t ask if you did.¡±


    She gave a mildly embarrassed smile. ¡°Guess I forgot to. By the way, what are you thinking of donating


    for the auction?¡±


    He returned the invitation to the table. ¡°A modern painting. It¡¯s probably worth like, a couple hundred


    thousand or something. What about you?¡±


    Sonia stretchedzily and mused, ¡°I was going to donate something from my jewelry collection until I


    remembered that most of it was stolen by my stepmother and her family. I didn¡¯t get myself any more in


    the six years I lived with the Fullers either. Whatever I have now is a measly collection and I can¡¯t afford


    to donate one piece, so I figured I could just buy a ne and give it away for the auction.¡±

 Chapter 205

    Chapter 205


    ¡°Things don¡¯t have to be soplicated, you know, I think I have an idea,¡± Charles drawled with a low


    chuckle.


    Sonia eyed him warily. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Did you forget that you gave me your wedding ring and the Ocean¡¯s Heart two months ago? You wanted


    me to sell them off and donate the proceeds to the rural areas, remember? The jewelry pieces are still


    with me and I figured you could donate them for the auction.¡± As he said this, he put his hands out like he


    was holding the solution he came up with.


    She gaped at him with wide eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t sell those off?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He nodded and went on to say, ¡°The Ocean¡¯s Heart fetches a hefty price on the market, so it¡¯s


    not exactly affordable for most. More to the point, everyone knows that it was specifically made under


    Toby¡¯s orders. They¡¯re terrified that they might offend him somehow if they were to buy the Ocean¡¯s


    Heart off the market like that. And as for your wedding ring¡­¡± He trailed off as he gazed at her


    thoughtfully. ¡°I was nning to sell it off but only after the Ocean¡¯s Heart was sold. Seeing as that never


    happened, though, I¡¯ve been keeping the wedding ring as well.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia processed this in a daze and lifted her chin by a fraction as she asked, ¡°So, where¡¯s the


    ring now?¡±


    ¡°At my ce. Are you going to donate it for the auction then?¡± Charles asked.


    She hummed in response. ¡°You have said so yourself that the Ocean¡¯s Heart fetches an extravagant


    price, so even if I were to donate it, there¡¯s no guarantee that anyone attending the auction might bid for


    it. Besides, Toby will be there too. Anyone who bids for the Ocean¡¯s Heart would greatly offend him one


    way or another. Donating the ring would be a wiser choice, and it¡¯ll still fetch a couple hundred thousand


    for the cause.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. In that case, I¡¯ll donate the ring in your name after your operation,¡± he offered as he


    rubbed his chin.


    The both of them headed for the hospital after lunch that afternoon. Upon their arrival, she had only just


    stepped out of the car when Zane approached her, waving his hand in greeting.


    Hostility radiated from Charles as he red at the other man. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    As if paying no mind to Charles¡¯ animosity toward him, Zane grinned and replied, ¡°I¡¯m here for moral


    support, seeing that Sonia¡¯s going for surgery and all.¡±


    m


    Charles tore his gaze away with mild disgust and shot a nce at Sonia. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you told him


    about this, baby.¡±


    ¡°He asked-and I answered without thinking too much of it,¡± Sonia exined good-naturedly.


    ¡°I thought we agreed that I¡¯d be the only one here for you, darling,¡± Charles protested as he


    looked wounded.


    ¡°Huh?¡± A nk look passed over her face. ¡°When did we agree on that?¡±


    Zane guffawed at this exchange. ¡°Dude, did you hear that? She had no idea that you were supposed to


    be the only one here, so just take my presence as it is. Anyway, there¡¯s no harm in having an extra pair


    of hands to help out in case of any emergency, right? I mean, what if Sonia needs someone to head over


    to the dispensary for her after the surgery? At least one of us could stay with her while the other collects


    her medication.¡±


    Charles coulde up with no retort, given how sensible the exnation was. As much as he hated


    having another person present, he knew it was for Sonia¡¯s best interest, and he decidedly refrained from


    arguing any further.


    Zane, on the other hand, let out a small breath of relief and thanked the heavens for his brilliant acting


    skills, without which he would not be able to hide his feelings for Sonia. Charles was a perceptive man


    and he would undoubtedly drag Zane away if he were to find out the truth.


    After all, Charles was secretly in love with her as well. He had kept his feelings hidden and she went on


    to believe that whatever affection he had for her was strictly tonic.


    Ah, what a terrible affliction it is to have so many knights fighting with me over the same fair maiden,


    Zane thought tiredly, but his eyes glimmered with hard determination. But I don¡¯t care how many men I


    have to fight against to win over Sonia¡¯s heart. I won¡¯t back down so easily, not when a love like this


    rarely happens.


    ¡°Okay, we should go in,¡± Sonia announced to the two childish men in front of her after checking the time


    and noting that it was nearly 2:00 PM.


    The two men nodded their heads in unison. ¡°Let¡¯s go in then.¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    With that, the three of them proceeded through the hospital doors.


    Meanwhile, in a sleek ck car idling by the nearby pavement, Toby watched darkly as the three figures


    disappeared through the hospital entrance. There was an icy look on his face that made one look away


    out of fear. I can¡¯t believe you have two men in yourpany when it¡¯s just a surgery, Sonia. Should I


    congratte you?


    His fists, which were resting on hisp, were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.


    Tom presently noted how angry Toby was when he nced into the rearview mirror and shook his head


    in exasperation. I¡¯d say you deserve this, President Fuller. You had plenty of chances to cherish Miss


    Reed back in the day, but you chose to give her the cold shoulder so often that even I couldn¡¯t bear to


    watch it. I hardly think there¡¯s a point in getting jealous now that you¡¯re separated from her. You should


    have loved her while you could, and now some other men are realizing her worth.


    However, Tom did not make such remarks to Toby. Instead, Tom turned around to look at Toby as he


    asked, ¡°President Fuller, should we go in too?¡±


    Toby did not respond but he immediately opened the door. Then, he stepped out of the car with


    his crutch supporting half his weight.


    Tom raised his brow at the man¡¯s sudden gesture. Guess he¡¯s entering then.


    In the hospital, Tim saw Sonia from the very moment she walked in. It was more of a coincidence than


    anything else that he saw the three familiar figures, seeing that he was passing through the lobby after


    he had done his rounds at the ward.


    When he was sure that she and her twopanions were no longer within earshot, he took out his


    phone and dialed Tina¡¯s number.


    ¡°Hey, Tim. What¡¯s going on?¡± Tina asked tly when she answered the call.


    Tim¡¯s gaze flickered over to the direction in which Sonia and the others were headed. Then, as he


    adjusted his sses, he spoke into the line, ¡°Sonia¡¯s at the hospital.¡±


    She had been slicing fruit prior to this news. Upon hearing what he said, she paused and straightened


    her posture. Her face brightened with a sinister glee as she quipped, ¡°That¡¯s right. I just remembered that


    her surgery is today!¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± Tim affirmed with a nod.


    Because she was so excited, she stood up. ¡°How wonderful. I shall await your good news, Tim.¡±


    use


    was so e


    He was just about to answer her when he caught something that made his eyes narrow in surprise.


    Tina, on the other hand, became unhappy when she did not receive an immediate response from him. As


    he had treated her as his savior all this time, he agreed to whatever she asked of him. He would always


    respond to her and this was the first time he fell silent on her.


    What is he doing? Is he trying to get on my nerves? With a frown, she demanded scathingly, ¡°What¡¯s


    wrong, Tim? Why are you ignoring me all of a sudden?¡±


    She was forced to wear a gentle andpassionate front whenever Toby was around, but such


    pretenses were unnecessary when it came to Tim. She didn¡¯t care what Tim thought of her; it wasn¡¯t like


    he would expose her true colors anyway.


    On the other end of the phone, Tim bristled at the snide tone of her voice and pursed his lips.


    Nheless, Tina was his guardian angel and with forced patience, he replied, ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that


    Toby is here too.¡±.


    ¡°Toby?¡± Tina immediately sprang up from the sofa and urged in a shrill voice, ¡°What is he doing at the


    hospital?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but he came in a wheelchair, so I guess he¡¯s here to have his dressings changed,¡± he


    proffered as he stared in Toby¡¯s direction.


    Upon hearing this, Tina heaved a sigh. However, her relief disappeared as quickly as it came when there


    was a sharp difference in Tim¡¯s tone. ¡°No, wait-his assistant has just wheeled him in


    the direction of the OB-GYN.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She faltered. ¡°He¡¯s headed for the OB-GYN? Does that mean he¡¯s found out about Sonia¡¯s


    pregnancy?¡±


    Tim¡¯s eyes narrowed as he pondered on that possibility. ¡°It¡¯s possible. There¡¯s no other exnation as to


    why he¡¯s here at this hour and why he¡¯s headed specifically to the OB-GYN.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, when did he find out about it?¡± Tina¡¯s body trembled as fear and panic seized her. If


    Toby knows that Sonia is pregnant with his child, is he there to try and persuade her to keep the baby?


    When he seeds, will he tell her that the child is his? Would he try to reconcile for the child¡¯s sake?


    Panic rose within her like an icy wave as her thoughts snowballed and the grimace on her face grew


    even more menacing. With every passing second, her trembling increased with force.


    She tightly clutched her phone and her voice was close to a vicious snarl as she snapped, ¡°I want you to


    personally operate on her right now, Tim! I want her dead before Toby can stop her from entering the


    surgical theater, and I want her to die an extremely painful, extremely agonizing death!¡±


    Tim was not pretentious enough to say he wasn¡¯t wicked, but even he couldn¡¯t help being shocked by


    Tina¡¯s words.


    Can someone as cruel as her really be the angel who saved me that fateful year? The doubt surfaced in


    his mind, but it was quelled the next minute when he thought about the distinct red spot which marked


    her wrist-the incontrovertible proof that she was indeed his savior.

 Chapter 206

    Chapter 206


    Regardless of what Tim¡¯s doubts were, Tina was still his savior. Even if she had somehow turned into a


    wicked person, he was bound by his promise that he would fulfill all her wishes.


    At that thought, he regained hisposure and nodded as he replied, ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll make the


    arrangements immediately.¡±


    He hung up the call and kept his phone away. Then, he headed toward the OB-GYN.


    Meanwhile, it wasn¡¯t long before the nurse informed Sonia that the operation theater was ready for her


    surgery. Sonia stood up and eyed the doors to the operation theater. At that moment, she became


    reluctant to take another step forward.


    Dous¡¯ cherubic little face shed in her mind and she thought about how sweetly he had called out for


    her. He made her realize how adorable children could be.


    Besides, she was close to turning 27 and most women of her age were already mothers.


    If she had consummated her marriage to Toby like any other woman, then her child would be of the


    same age and possibly cuter than Dous.


    Perhaps she would have boldly stepped into the operation theater without any hesitation if she never


    spent time with a toddler beforehand. However, now that she had done so, she was now tortured by her


    dilemma.


    She clutched her lower abdomen and bit on her lip, growing more reluctant with every passing minute. At


    the sight of this, Charles walked up to her and asked gently, ¡°Baby, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Sonia. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Not wanting to lose out on showing his concern for Sonia, Zane rose from


    his seat in the waiting area and strode up next to her.


    Sonia drew in a deep breath and did not try to deny her doubts as she confessed her thoughts, ¡°I¡­ I


    don¡¯t really want to lose this child.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Charles and Zane exchanged a meaningful look.


    Charles was the first to speak up. ¡°Why the sudden change of mind?¡±


    Zane was also looking at her as he waited for her answer.


    She looked down and muttered, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m not brave enough to do it.¡±


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I understandpletely,¡± he solemnly responded. ¡°After all, we¡¯re talking about a living thing here. As


    the operation theater has already been set up, Sonia, it¡¯s toote for you to back out of this now. You


    can¡¯t keep the baby.¡±


    He liked Sonia, but that didn¡¯t mean he liked the idea of her carrying someone else¡¯s baby and he would


    much rather if the child disappeared altogether.


    Charles shared the same sentiment, and he nodded as he added, ¡°That¡¯s right, darling. Think about what


    you said about not loving the baby and how you didn¡¯t love the father. You shouldn¡¯t keep the child only


    to let him suffer in this lifetime, given how he would be an illegitimate child who would neither be


    acknowledged nor loved by his parents.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s fingers slowly curled over where the baby bump should be.


    She knew Charles and Zane were speaking sense. It had been decided from the very beginning that she


    would not retain her pregnancy. How can I allow this child to suffer scorn and disdain from the world just


    because of my affection for Dous?


    With that in mind, she managed a feeble smile, which stretched out thinly on her pale face as she said,


    ¡°You guys are right. Thanks for reminding me of why I¡¯m doing this. I¡¯ll head in now.¡±


    When both men heard that she would not be changing her mind on this operation, they let out quiet


    breaths of relief.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll be waiting for you out here,¡± Charles assured warmly as he patted Sonia on the shoulder.


    She forced another tight smile and hummed in response before she pushed open the doors to the


    operation theater.


    Not long after she went in, a doctor and a couple of nurses followed as well.


    The doctor who led the small team of nurses was dressed in green scrubs,plete with a matching cap


    and mask. However, Zane couldn¡¯t help but stare at him in suspicion as he rubbed his chin.


    ped


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± Charles noticed Zane¡¯s demeanor and asked.


    Zane¡¯s gaze lingered on the closing doors of the operation theater as he remarked, ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen that


    doctor somewhere before. He looks kind of familiar.¡±


    Charles did not find anything strange about that. ¡°We probably saw him earlier when we came.¡±


    e


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Zane nodded when he couldn¡¯t quite ce a finger on where he had seen the doctor


    beforehand and gave up trying to remember. Without another word, he sauntered over to the chairs and


    sat down


    At this moment, the sound of a moving wheelchair sounded from down the hallway.


    Charles and Zane looked over at the same time, only to be surprised when they were greeted by the


    sight of Tom wheeling Toby toward them.


    ¡°Hey, Toby,¡± Zane drawled with a tone that was heavy with implication.


    Toby merely nodded in response.


    The strange atmosphere that suddenly settled between the parties was lost on Charles, whose


    brows furrowed as he demanded unhappily, ¡°What are you doing here, Toby?¡±


    Toby cast him a brief and impassive look without answering. Then, he addressed Zane, ¡°Has Sonia gone


    in?¡±


    ¡°Only a few moments ago,¡± Zane replied with a casual shrug.


    As Toby¡¯s hands were ced on the armrests of the wheelchair, he clenched his paws when he heard


    Zane¡¯s answer.


    Charles, on the other hand, was furious to see that Toby had intentionally ignored him but did not show


    Zane the same treatment. ¡°What gives, Toby? I asked what the hell you are doing here.¡±


    The divot between Toby¡¯s brows reappeared, but he did not utter a word to Charles at all.


    He knew better than to rise to the provocation, fully aware that Charles would derive nothing but joy from


    taunting him.


    Sure enough, with his questions unanswered and presence ignored, Charles grew frustrated and left


    Toby alone. The next moment, he turned to seek rification from Zane,instead, ¡°Hey, do you know what


    he¡¯s doing here?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? He¡¯s here because he wants to know how Sonia¡¯s surgery is going.¡± Zane gestured


    matter-of-factly at the operation theater.


    Charles cast Toby a sideways nce and continued to say pointedly, ¡°What does Sonia¡¯s surgery have


    to do with him? He doesn¡¯t need to be here. It¡¯s not as if it¡¯s his baby.¡±


    Toby frowned at the sharp remark.


    Zane, on the other hand, awkwardly cleared his throat. If only Charles knew that the baby really is


    Toby¡¯s. He refrained from saying this and let out a lightheartedugh as he cated, ¡°Come on, Sonia¡¯s


    his ex-wife. It¡¯s only natural that he pays her a visit.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing natural about this,¡± Charles protested warily. ¡°They no longer have a rtionship now


    that their marriage is over, but now he¡¯s suddenly here to see Sonia? He¡¯s probably up to no good.¡±


    Toby went on to ignore Charles as he lowered his gaze, effectively hiding the dark gleam in his eyes.


    He¡¯s right. I have no rtionship with Sonia now that we¡¯ve divorced and afier she terminates her


    pregnancy, we really would have nothing binding us anymore. That¡¯s probably for the best. We¡¯ll be back


    to square one. So, why do I still feel like someone has stabbed me in the heart?


    As such thoughts flooded his headspace, he reached up to ce a hand over his heart and the steady


    look in his eyes wavered.


    On the other side of the doors, Soniay on the surgery table in the operation theater as one of the


    nurses walked up to her and injected the anesthesia into her arm.


    Barely a few minutes had passed when the effects of the anesthesia kicked in-as Sonia began to


    feel drowsy and her eyelids weighed a ton, it didn¡¯t take long for her to close her eyes and lose


    consciousness.


    After having worn his surgical gloves, Tim approached the operation table and appraised her briefly.


    This was his first time looking at her from such a close distance and he could understand why Tina was


    extremely jealous of Sonia. Sonia was beautiful, if not prettier than Tina, with delicately chiseled features.


    He retracted his gaze and picked up the scalpel before he began to carefully sterilize it as he asked icily,


    ¡°How¡¯s the anesthetic?¡±


    The nurse answered hastily, ¡°I did as per your instruction and only gave her enough anesthetic tost for


    20 minutes. She would wake up after that and slowly regain her senses.¡±


    Tim hummed curtly to acknowledge this.


    Tina had told him to allow Sonia to die a slow and agonizing death; the amount of anesthesia given to


    her would ensure that such a feat was possible. By the time she regained her bodily senses in 20


    minutes, she would acutely feel the icy touch of the scalpel painfully slicing through her flesh.


    The nurse who had injected the anesthesia could not understand Tim¡¯s motive and she was


    consternated as she asked, ¡°Director Lancaster, why did you ask that we administer a light dosage of


    anesthesia? What if the patient regains consciousness in the middle of the operation¡ª¡±


    ¡°The patient is allergic to anesthetic and the amount administered is the most she can take without any


    complications. I¡¯ll try to wrap up the surgery before she awakes,¡± Tim interrupted her mid-sentence.


    Upon hearing this, the nurse did not dwell on her doubts any longer. After all, he was the youngest


    surgeon to have made a name for himself both nationally and internationally. With a nod, she eded to


    his exnation and responded, ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s begin the surgery,¡± he announced coldly as he fixed his eyes on Sonia.


    Tim¡¯s icy voice matched the look in his eyes and it was almost like he didn¡¯t see her as a patient, but an


    animal about to be dissected for research purposes. There was not a trace of warmth nor emotion in his


    dark orbs. Even the nurses couldn¡¯t help but shiver at his impassive demeanor.


    As the surgery began, the nurse lifted the green surgical drape away from Sonia¡¯s abdominal region.


    It was at that moment when Tim noticed Sonia¡¯s hand over her abdomen and his brows drew together as


    he demanded, ¡°What were you all doing when you administered the anesthesia? You should have made


    sure her hand wasn¡¯t obstructing the surgical area!¡±

 Chapter 207

    Chapter 207


    The nurse looked down at the person. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Director Lancaster. It was my fault that I didn¡¯t notice


    that.¡±


    ¡°Enough! Take her hand off her stomach.¡± Tim shot a frustrated gaze at her.


    The nurse then responded with an affirmative hum and ced her hand on Sonia, ready to take Sonia¡¯s


    paw off her stomach while he coldly watched aside.


    Suddenly, the man noticed a red mole on Sonia¡¯s wrist around her pulse, whereupon he appeared to be


    stunned. ¡°Wait a second!¡±


    The nurse was startled by his reaction as she froze. ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong, Director Lancaster?¡±


    Tim didn¡¯t say a word as he ced the scalpel in his hand aside before grabbing Sonia¡¯s hand from the


    nurse¡¯s palm to take a closer look at the red mole. Why is there a red mole on her wrist? With furrowed


    eyebrows, the man tried to rub the red mole with his thumb to see whether it was just some red ink stain.


    However, he quickly realized that it was never going to fade away, no matter how hard he tried to rub it.


    Oh gosh! That means her red mole is genuine. In fact, I can even feel her mole bulging on her skin. At


    the thought of that, his heart raced a million times faster as he cast aplicated look on Sonia.


    Suddenly, he was reminded of the girl who saved him many years back and noticed that Sonia¡¯s eyes


    had resembled his savior. Now that he had discovered her red mole, he found himself wondering


    whether she was the little girl who had rescued him.


    Nheless, Tim was soon bewildered by another unanswered question when he thought of the red


    mole that Tina also had. Thus, he found himself in deep confusion as he wondered which one of the two


    was his savior. As he ced his hand on his forehead, he was overwhelmed by his puzzlement. After all,


    he had assumed all along that Tina was the girl who saved him in the past the moment he saw her red


    mole and her eyes. Nevertheless, now that he had made the shocking discovery, he was no longer sure


    of his assumption.


    Upon noticing his reaction as he tightly held the patient¡¯s wrist, the nurse asked in a bewildered manner.


    ¡°Are you alright, Director Lancaster?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Tim closed his eyes and took a moment to pull himself together. ¡°Keep the equipment away.¡±


    ¡°Keep the equipment away?¡± The nurse blinked in confusion. ¡°Are we calling off the surgery


    now?¡±


    ¡°For the time being.¡± Tim kept his eyes on Sonia. Deep in his heart, he told himself that he would never


    do anything to Sonia until he learned the identity of the girl who had saved him back then. After all, if she


    was the girl, there would be no need for him to seek revenge on her anymore whereas if Tina was the


    one, he could always rethink his n and wait for the perfect chance to strike against Sonia.


    Not knowing why Tim would suddenly call off the surgery, the nurse silently kept the equipment away as


    she was extremely timid to further ask her intimidating superior.


    ¡°One more thing.¡± He red at the nurse with a menacing look when something suddenly crossed his


    mind. ¡°You will speak nothing of my reaction to this patient. No one should know about it. Is this clear?¡±


    Knowing that Tina would call to check on Soniater, he was certain that she would learn about Sonia¡¯s


    recovery. By then, Tina would be sure to ask him why he had resisted when he had the chance to strike


    and if he chose not to answer, he knew that she would snoop around by herself. Thus, he instructed the


    nurse to keep the matter a secret in order to avoid arousing Tina¡¯s suspicion.


    Se


    When the nurse met Tim¡¯s cial cold eyes, she felt chills all over her body and repeatedly nodded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Director Lancaster. I will not say a thing; I promise.¡±


    Upon noticing her fearful expression, Tim satisfactorily curled his lips upward and responded, ¡°Okay,


    please proceed with the further arrangements for the patient and take her to the single ward.¡±


    In the meantime, three men were standing outside the operation room at different corners of the walkway


    without minding each other¡¯s business. When they heard the door opening, they quickly rushed to the


    doctor.


    ¡°How is she, Sonia?¡± Charles stood up and seized Tim¡¯s arm while asking Tim in a desperately


    concerned manner.


    Tim knitted his eyebrows and took the man¡¯s arms off him. ¡°She is fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Charles heaved a sigh of relief and smiled happily.


    While Zane had also patted his chest in relief, a silent Toby squinted as he probed, ¡°Why were you in


    charge of Sonia¡¯s surgery?¡±


    While he was in an operation gown that only the main surgeon would wear, Tim wasn¡¯t surprised that


    Toby was able to recognize him. Then, Tim calmly removed his mask to reveal his chiseled face. ¡°Her


    original main surgeon had other important business to attend to and I decided to fill in for him since I


    happened to be free today. What about you? What brings you here? You seemed like you were waiting


    for your ex-wife to be done with her surgery. Does Tina know about it?¡±


    In response to Tim¡¯s bombardment of questions, Toby answered with a frown, ¡°I happened to be nearby,


    but you¡¯re wee to do so if you want to tell Tina about it.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I have something else better to do.¡± Tim gently adjusted his sses with a smile. In fact, he would


    inform Tina about Toby¡¯s presence if he hadn¡¯t discovered Sonia¡¯s red mole. After all, Tim had


    considered himself Tina¡¯s guardian angel, so he felt obligated to protect her. Nheless, the situation


    had just taken an unexpected turn since Tina¡¯s credibility was now called into question. Thus, he would


    naturally maintain his silence on Toby¡¯s presence.


    ¡°Tim? You¡¯re Tim Lancaster, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zane suddenly pped his hands as he recalled his past


    212


    with Tim while maintaining his gaze on the man. ¡°No wonder you look familiar. It¡¯s definitely you.¡±


    Although Zane and Tim had known each other from a young age. Tim¡¯s introverted personality prevented


    him from mingling well with his peers. Thus, he had spent most of his time alone, which exined why


    Tim and Zane were no more than just acquaintances.


    Zane soon seemed to discover somethingical when he recalled what Tim had done for Tina. After


    all, Tim had always treated Sonia so well that he even took the time to study psychology and neurology


    abroad when she fell into aa 6 years ago. If he is now with Tina, does that mean he has done


    something bad to Sonia?


    Zane¡¯s look suddenly darkened as he stared at Tim and asked, ¡°Where is Sonia? You didn¡¯t do anything


    to her, did you?¡±


    ¡°What do you think I could do to Sonia?¡± Tim asked ambiguously.


    Zane clenched his fist and replied, ¡°You¡¯re with Tina and she has a bitter feud with Sonia. So, it wouldn¡¯t


    be surprising if you had harmed Sonia for Tina. After all, you could have just left a bad stitch on her


    wound or left a scalpel in her body to avenge Tina!¡±


    ¡°What?! You¡¯re on Tina¡¯s side?!¡± Charles¡¯ expression changed as soon as he heard those words.


    On the other hand, Toby didn¡¯t think that Tim would have done something so cruel, but even he couldn¡¯t


    deny the widely known fact that Tim had always treated Tina kindly. Therefore, Toby was unable to shake


    off the ominous feeling that Tim could have plotted against Sonia for Tina¡¯s sake.


    In the face of three men¡¯s piercing gaze, Tim ambiguously raised his eyebrows. Well, well! Sonia is quite


    the charmer, isn¡¯t she? Look at how all these men are overreacting for her. Then, he thought about Toby,


    who promised to never love Sonia again, and found himself wondering what was going on between Toby


    and Tina when he noticed the man¡¯s gaze¡­


    ¡°Rx. I didn¡¯t do anything to Sonia.¡± Tim had hidden his hands in his pocket while he replied in a


    sluggish manner, ¡°I didn¡¯t perform the surgery on her.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t perform the surgery?!¡± Charles and Zane both eximed in surprise.


    In the meantime, Toby, whose hand was on the armrest, suddenly tightened his grip around it. Deep in


    his heart, he was filled with joy as he thought that Sonia¡¯s unborn child was still alive.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Yes. Her current health condition doesn¡¯t allow her to undergo the surgery, so we¡¯ll take some time and


    monitor her status before we decide on what to do next.¡± Tim lied as his sses glimmered when the


    lights reflected away from them.


    Meanwhile, Charles and Zane were apparently disappointed to learn that Sonia¡¯s unborn child was still


    with her, but nheless, they were also worried about her poor health.


    ¡°How are you feeling, darling?¡± Charles asked in a concerned manner.


    While Lane gazed at Tim, Toby silently tightened his grip around the armrest with such strength that it


    revealed his restlessness and unease,

 Chapter 208

    Chapter 208


    Meanwhile, Tim noticed Toby¡¯s reaction, which prompted him to darken his gaze, as it appeared that


    Toby cared about Sonia more than he thought. Thus, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Toby felt toward


    Tina.


    His feelings for her are¡­ questionable.


    ¡°She is fine. All she needs is just some rest, and she¡¯ll be up and around again. Alright, I still have work


    to attend to. Sonia will be transferred to the general wardter on, and she¡¯ll be good to go as soon as


    she wakes up.¡± Tim turned around and walked away after he finished his sentence. As soon as he left,


    the nurse emerged behind him, wheeling Sonia out of the operation room.


    Soon, Charles and Zane quickly got closer to Sonia to check on her not long before they noticed her rosy


    cheeks, which indicated that Tim was telling the truth that he didn¡¯t harm her in the surgery. After making


    sure Tim didn¡¯t do anything hurtful to Sonia, the two men felt as if they had taken a huge load off their


    chest. In the meantime, although Toby didn¡¯t approach Sonia, he could clearly see her lying on


    the bed restfully, whereupon he heaved a sigh of relief.


    Not long after that, Sonia was wheeled into the general ward while the nurse tended to her. Desperately,


    Zane and Charles rushed into the ward, but on the other hand, Toby merely watched from afar as he sat


    in his wheelchair. Seeing how Zane and Charles expressed their concerns toward thedy, Toby


    suddenly envied the two of them because they could tend to her without having to hold their feelings


    back.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    As the two men¡¯s loving interaction with Sonia slowly turned Toby¡¯s envy into jealousy, Tom could sense


    the unpleasant aura his boss was radiating. Knowing why that was happening, he rubbed his nose and


    asked, ¡°Let¡¯s get inside, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby looked down a little, thinking he wouldn¡¯t be of help since there were so many other men


    around Sonia to look after her. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby pursed his lips, unknowingly giving away his bitter


    jealousy.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom wheeled Toby away in his wheelchair, turning around before heading toward the elevator.


    Oh,e on, President Fuller! How much more does it have to take before you finally understand who


    you¡¯re really in love with? It¡¯ll be toote if Miss Reed falls for someone else.


    In the ward, Zane noticed Toby leaving from the corner of his eye but did nothing to


    make thetter stay or say goodbye. After all, they were love rivals despite their friendship, and he


    wasn¡¯t going to ruin his day to persuade Toby to stay.


    As he expected, Toby left in a fit of pique after seeing how he and Charles tended to Sonia.


    Ten minutester, the anesthesia in Sonia¡¯s body began to wear off as she slowly woke up. Soon, she


    opened her eyes with her trembling eyshes before the white ceiling came into view. Then, when she


    found herself covered in a white nket, she immediately knew where she was.


    ¡°You¡¯re up, Darling.¡± Charles put down the kettle when he noticed Sonia¡¯s twitching eyelids before


    approaching her with exhration.


    ¡°Since when did I get out of the operation room?¡± Sonia turned around and looked at the man.


    ¡°About ten minutes ago,¡± Charles recalled how long it had been and answered.


    ¡°Ten minutes ago?¡± Sonia appeared to be surprised, finding it hard to believe that she managed toe


    around within such a short period of time.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Darling?¡± Charles had his eyes on Sonia.


    After calming herself down from the surprise, Sonia shook her head and answered, ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m fine. I


    was just surprised that I came to my senses so quickly. By the way, how was my surgery¡­¡± Before she


    could finish her sentence, something crossed her mind just as she ced her hands on her abdomen.


    It doesn¡¯t hurt! No wonder it feels like something is missing to me, and the pain is what¡¯s missing here.


    What was going on? Was I given some local anesthetic Wait a second! Who would ever doze off from a


    local anesthetic?


    Sonia grew more and more confused as she lifted the nket and her shirt to check on her tummy.


    Seeing no wound on it, she was bewildered by one question that shed through her mind. ¡°Did I just


    undergo surgery?¡±


    While Sonia fixed her confused gaze on Charles, thetter couldn¡¯t take his eyes off her fair stomach, as


    if his eyes were about to fall out. When he heard her question, he faked a cough and pulled himself


    together. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°Of course not?¡± Sonia sat up straight with a pair of furrowed eyebrows. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The doctor said your health condition isn¡¯t permissible for you to undergo the surgery for the time being.


    So, the surgery will probably have to wait until you get better,¡± Charles exined.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Sonia puckered her lips and lowered her head, rubbing her tummy with a sorrowful look as


    she didn¡¯t know whether she could bring herself to undergo surgery again now that it had been


    postponed. For some reason, she heaved a sigh of relief when she learned that her unborn child was still


    with her.


    ¡°You¡¯re up, Sonia.¡± Zane¡¯s voice could be hearding from the door at that moment. As Sonia looked


    at him and responded with an affirmative hum, he walked closer to her with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s fast. I was


    just away to take care of your discharge procedure for a moment, and here you are, back to your senses


    already.¡±


    ¡°Thanks! I wouldn¡¯t know what to do without you.¡± Sonia smiled at him.


    ¡°No worries. It probably just took a few steps of walking.¡± Zane waved his hand and added, ¡°Now that


    you¡¯re up, I guess it¡¯s time for us to get you out of the hospital.¡±


    Sonia was about to nod when their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. When the three


    of them turned their attention to the door, they saw Tim in a long white gown. As soon as Tim made his


    presence felt, he put down his arm and inserted his hands into his pockets. ¡°You¡¯re up.¡±


    ¡°What brings you here?¡± Charles furrowed his eyebrows in a hostile manner, clearly expressing his


    unhappiness.


    Nheless, Tim ignored Charles¡¯ angry gesture and set his eyes on Sonia. ¡°I¡¯d like to have a word with


    you.¡±


    Sonia squinted but soon nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°In that case, would you mind telling both of them to give us a little privacy?¡± Tim pointed at Zane and


    Charles.


    Zane pursed his lips and asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t you talk to her in front of us?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Is there something we can¡¯t know?¡± Charles echoed Zane¡¯s words., but Tim didn¡¯t respond to


    them as he continued to keep his eyes on Sonia.


    Knowing that Tim would only start talking after Zane and Charles had left, Sonia had no choice but to


    reluctantly agree. ¡°Please leave us alone, Zane, Charles.¡±


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Charles sounded reluctant to go out.


    Sonia pursed her lips and said, ¡°Get. Out.¡±


    While Charles was seen with his mouth wide agape, Zane interrupted him and said, ¡°Enough. Let¡¯s do as


    she says and give them both some space.¡±


    Charles reluctantly nodded in agreement but reminded Sonia to call for help in a hushed tone before


    walking away. ¡°You need to be careful with him, Darling. He is on Tina¡¯s side after all, and he could do


    anything to harm you for Tina¡¯s sake. So if you see anything wrong, just holler at us. We¡¯ll barge in right


    away to save you.¡±


    Feeling amused yet confused, Sonia was somehow touched by Charles¡¯ heartwarming act. ¡°Alright, I


    heard you.¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s reply, Charles stood up and left the room with Zane. When they both walked past


    Tim, he shot him an intimidating gaze as a sign of warning.


    Tim curled his lips upward and waited until both men left. ¡°It appears that you have two very protective


    bodyguards.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t my bodyguards. They are my best friends.¡± Sonia corrected Tim, but the man only shrugged


    his shoulders without refuting her words as he walked closer to her bed.


    Meanwhile, Sonia gazed at Tim and asked, ¡°What is it you want to talk to me about? As far as I can


    remember, you and I don¡¯t really know each other. In fact, I¡¯d say we¡¯re pretty far from acquaintances, so


    I don¡¯t think there is anything for us to talk about.¡±


    Although she had heard of Tim¡¯s famous name due to his extraordinary talent in the medical world, she


    had only seen him once from afar without ever speaking to him.


    Thus, she couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised when he heard that Tim had something to talk to her about.


    ¡°Indeed, we¡¯re two people from two very different worlds, so I would feel the same way as you do until¡ªI


    discovered something that has just changed my perception.¡±


    Tim grabbed a chair and sat down beside the bed.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Something that has just changed your perception? What exactly is that?¡±


    ¡°Your wrist.¡± Tim shifted his eyes to her left wrist.

 Chapter 209

    Chapter 209


    Sonia stood up and lifted her left wrist. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my wrist?¡±


    ¡°How did you get the red mole on your wrist?¡± Tim stared at her and asked.


    Amused by Tim¡¯s question, Sonia said, ¡°I was born with it. How else could that have ended up on my


    wrist otherwise?¡± I couldn¡¯t have faked that red mole, could I? While red moles were unique and


    umon, many people were usually seen with ck moles instead of red ones.


    Tim¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much after he heard Sonia¡¯s reply. Then, he looked down in a


    preupied manner, leaving Sonia in bewilderment as she rubbed her red mole and asked, ¡°Why are


    you asking me all this?¡±


    Tim adjusted his sses and asked another question instead of answering Sonia¡¯s. ¡°I have another


    question. Did you once save a boy in your youth?¡±


    ¡°Save a boy?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows.


    Appearing as if this matter didn¡¯t concern him, he responded with an affirmative hum.


    Sonia squinted and asked, ¡°How old are we talking about?¡±


    ¡°Around 10 years old.¡± Tim looked at her and replied.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Yeah, I did save a boy¡¯s life back then.¡±


    Tim¡¯s eyes dted in a stupefied manner as his sitting posture became seemingly rigid. Then, he


    desperately asked, ¡°Where was it?¡±


    Despite her confusion with the man¡¯s strange behavior, Sonia went on and answered, ¡°It happened by


    the pond. A boy was bullied and thrown into the water as I happened to walk past that ce. So, I


    grabbed a wooden stick to help him get ashore.¡±


    The next second, the chair that Tim sat on fell onto the ground after he abruptly rose to his feet from his


    seat. Then, he adjusted his sses and looked at Sonia in an agitated manner. ¡°So, it¡¯s you! It¡¯s really


    you!¡± Tina was never my angel! My actual angel is Sonia! At that moment, Tim ridiculed himself in irony


    for his silly mistake in


    repaying his gratitude to the wrong person while nearly killing thedy to whom he owed a favor.


    ¡°W-What are you talking about? What do you mean by ¡®it¡¯s me?¡± Sonia was puzzled by Tim¡¯s agitated


    response.


    However, Tim didn¡¯t answer her question but instead wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as


    tightly as he could. In the meantime, Sonia, frightened by his unexpected dramatic behavior, struggled to


    breathe in his suffocating embrace. Then, she tried to push him away from her, speaking weakly with all


    the energy she had. ¡°Let go of me¡­¡±


    Despite her desperate cry, Tim acted as if he didn¡¯t hear her voice and continued to wrap his arms


    around her. Soon, Charles barged into the ward and showed up by the door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Darling?


    What¡¯s with themotion¡ª¡± Before he could finish his words, he was stunned by the sight of what he


    saw. ¡°Tim, what the heck are you doing?! Get away from my girl!¡± Charles charged at the doctor.


    Upon hearing Charles¡¯ response, Zane came in from the outside. ¡°What happened? W-What¡­ a jerk you


    are, Tim!¡± He then joined Charles and separated Tim from Sonia before Charles clenched his fist and


    swung it across Tim¡¯s face. At the same time, Zane stood in front of Sonia, acting like a shield that


    protected her from any further harm.


    The next moment, Tim copsed onto the ground with a loud thump while his sses flew away from his


    face. Nevertheless, Charles pressed on with his aggression and grabbed Tim by the cor, manhandling


    him in the air in a furious manner. ¡°You¡¯re a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing, aren¡¯t you? How dare you try to take


    advantage of my darling?! Where is your professionalism as a doctor?! How could you do something like


    this to your patient?! I swear you¡¯re done for good this time!¡± He raised his fist once more and was about


    to strike.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Sonia shoved Zane away from her and shouted across the ward.


    When Charles heard Sonia¡¯smanding words, he instantly pulled his punch just inches away from


    Tim¡¯s face and gazed at thedy in disbelief. ¡°Darling, he just tried to take advantage of you. So, are you


    seriously going to let this slide?¡±


    Sonia rubbed her forehead. ¡°I know you¡¯re doing this for me, Charles, but you¡¯re hurting him. After all,


    you don¡¯t want to¡­¡±.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°He deserves it!¡± Zane said, to which Charles agreed.


    Sonia shook her head and asked, ¡°He is a doctor, and he mustn¡¯t be injured. Have you thought about the


    patients who might need him in their surgery?¡±


    Zane and Charles were rendered speechless by Sonia¡¯s question as they knew the patients were


    innocent, even though they reckoned Tim deserved what wasing to him. After all, any patient¡¯s life


    could be in jeopardy should Tim be injured, which would make them indirectly responsible for those


    tragedies.


    At the thought of that, Charles reluctantly let go of Tim despite his strong grudge against thetter, so he


    dropped Tim onto the ground and grunted. ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re lucky this time. If this happens again, you and I


    know where that is going to take us!¡± Although Charles didn¡¯t specifically reveal what would happen next


    time, it appeared that everyone understood what he was implying.


    In the meantime, Tim was lying on the ground, coughing violently before he suddenly let out augh.


    While Sonia and the two men couldn¡¯t feel weirder upon hearing Tim¡¯sughter, Zane frowned and


    asked, ¡°Why are youughing?¡±


    Tim then picked up his sses with the broken frame and put them back on, whereupon he stood up and


    rubbed his swollen left cheek. At the same time, he set his eyes on Sonia and said, ¡°You have a kind


    heart indeed, which is something that has never changed at all. That¡¯s exactly why you¡¯re always the


    angel in my heart.¡± See? What did I say? My angel was already brave when she was ten. Even danger


    couldn¡¯t stop her from rescuing me. Thus, how could ady so kind-hearted like her ever change when


    she grows


    up?


    In the face of Tim¡¯s thrilling response, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy upon witnessing it. Thus, she


    pursed her lips and asked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Meanwhile, Zane and Charles exchanged gazes, seeing through the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes, as it


    was clear that both of them had no idea what Tim was trying to tell them. Soon, Tim¡¯s phone rang when


    he puckered his lips and was about to talk. Therefore, he mped his lips and reached for his cell phone


    in frustration, but the moment he saw the caller¡¯s name, an intimidating look shed across his face. A


    few secondster, he regained control of his emotions and coldly answered the call. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Did you make it, Tim?¡± Tina couldn¡¯t wait to hear some good news.


    Tim squinted, curling his lips upward in response. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Tina¡¯s face changed just when she started screeching, ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter. I still have a patient to tend to right here.¡± The man hung up the call as soon


    as he was done with his sentence.


    Exasperated and piqued, Tina felt like smashing her phone. That guy is such a useless piece of crap! It¡¯s


    been so long, yet he can¡¯t finish one simple job! What a useless piece of crap! Besides, how dare he


    hang up on me?!


    On the other hand, Tim put down his phone and turned his attention to Sonia once more, while Charles


    and Zane warily stared at him, seemingly afraid that he would


    do Sonia any harm.


    As they expected, Tim didn¡¯t do anything silly, only fixing his gaze on Sonia. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll protect you for


    as long as I can. Just wait and see. I will punish those who have hurt you before and make them suffer


    so much that they wish to go to hell!¡± First, I¡¯ll start with Tina.


    Since Tim had always thought Tina was his angel, he didn¡¯t keep any evidence that could prove Tina¡¯s


    evil deeds. In fact, he even covered her tracks by helping her destroy a lot of the evidence. Thus, he was


    sure it wouldn¡¯t be possible to take down Tina byw. Furthermore, Toby¡¯s presence would also make it


    hard for Tim to get to Tina, forcing him to operate in the shadows rather than in the open. At the thought


    of that, Tim shot a gaze at Sonia just when the light reflected off his sses before he left the room.


    As soon as he left, Zane and Charles heaved a sigh of relief together. ¡°Oh gosh! His eyes and thosest


    few words really give me the creeps! Look, my hair is standing on end now!¡± Charles rubbed his arm


    while shuddering at Tim¡¯s eerie behavior.


    Zane nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, man! I feel the same way too. In fact, I heard that people who study


    psychology usually suffer from minor mental problems themselves. So, judging from Tim¡¯s strangely


    scary eyes, I¡¯m sure something is wrong in his head. Anyway, all that doesn¡¯t matter, except one thing-


    why does he want to protect Sonia?¡±

 Chapter 210

    Chapter 210


    Zane turned to look at Sonia, who shook her head cluelessly. ¡°It beats me too.¡± After all, she was also


    curious about how the situation turned out this way.


    Soon, Charles chipped in and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Darling, both of us can tell that Tim was being serious


    just now. Moreover, he said he will make everyone who has ever hurt you suffer so much that they wish


    to go to hell, and Tina is one of them, so is he going to do her any harm as he promised? Because they


    have always been on the same side, haven¡¯t they?¡±


    While Sonia knitted her eyebrows in silence, Zane asked another question. ¡°By the way, why did Tim hug


    you?¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on. Wasn¡¯t it obvious? He must have fallen for my darling¡¯s beauty, of course,¡± Charles angrily


    replied. Soon, something seemingly crossed his mind as he patted hisp and added, ¡°I know what¡¯s


    going on now. The reason he wants to protect Sonia is that he lusts after her.¡±


    When Zane and Sonia heard his words, they both helplessly rolled their eyes upward. ¡°That makes no


    sense.¡± Zane continued to justify his point, stating, ¡°If Tim really had feelings for Sonia, he would have


    done something to her in the operating theater. Why would he wait until she was transferred to the


    general ward?¡±


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. Moreover, I could feel that Tim was hugging me because of his


    agitated emotion, as if he had just found someone who was important to him. It¡¯s just like running into a


    long-lost friend whom you hug in a loving manner because you can¡¯t help it.¡±


    ¡°Well, now that you put it that way, there is something that just springs to my mind.¡± Zane was suddenly


    seen with his eyes wide open.


    Sonia and Charles turned their attention to him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Zane answered, ¡°Do you guys still remember what Tim just told Sonia? He said, ¡®You have a kind heart


    indeed, which is something that has never changed at all? That means he must have known Sonia at


    some point in the past, and their brief reunion merely just reminded him of their old days.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second¡­¡± Sonia stood straight, subconsciously rubbing the red mole on her wrist.


    ¡°Is there something you¡¯re not telling us, Darling?¡± Charles pressed on with his question.


    Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and said, ¡°Right after you all left, Tim asked me how I got the


    red mole and whether I rescued a drowning boy from the pond. It seems that Tim was the poor little boy


    who was being bullied back then.¡±


    In fact, when Sonia was 10 years old, she went through her mother¡¯s pictures on thetter¡¯s death


    anniversary day but unknowingly angered her step-mother, who subsequently got physical with her.


    Heartbroken, she ran away from home and made her way to her mother¡¯s favorite park, where sheter


    heard someone screaming for help.


    When she got closer to investigate what was going on, she saw a drowning boy who was about her age


    in the pond. Without a second thought, she grabbed a wooden stick and stretched it out to the boy,


    saving his life. Needless to say, the rescue wasn¡¯t easy due to her limited physical strength, as she


    nearly fell into the pond as well. While everything fortunately yed out well in the end, she didn¡¯t think


    the boy she rescued was Tim.


    It was only after hearing Sonia¡¯s words that Zane and Charles caught on to the truth behind the whole


    story. ¡°Oh, I see. So, you were indeed Tim¡¯s savior. No wonder he seemed so agitated when he hugged


    you, not to mention his promise to protect you.¡± Zane stroked his chin.


    With a little grunt, Charles said, ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t believe that he will take on Tina for Sonia¡¯s sake even if


    he was telling the truth.¡±


    Zane nodded. ¡°You have a point. He treats Sonia pretty well indeed. In fact, it almost looks like he could


    do everything for Tina.¡±


    Sonia smiled in response. ¡°Why are you guys so worried? Tim and I are not close in the first ce. I


    might have saved him in the past, but I¡¯ve never wanted him to repay me. Never ever. In fact, I don¡¯t


    even n to consort with him any longer, so what he does isn¡¯t going to concern me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡± The two men nodded.


    Not long after that, Sonia left the hospital just when Toby received a call. ¡°Alright, I got you.¡± Toby hung


    up his phone and sent for his assistant, Tom.


    ¨C


    ..-


    ¨C


    ¨C


    ¨C


    ¡°President Fuller, how can I be of service?¡± Tom asked after he showed up.


    Toby rubbed his temples and asked, ¡°Paradigm Co. borrowed some funds from a few banks earlier. So,


    have you taken care of the transaction?¡±


    ¡°Yup, I have. The borrowings from those few banks are approximately 1.2 billion in total, but when


    interests are included, they¡¯ll be 1.5 billion,¡± Tom answered.


    Toby nodded slightly and said, ¡°Pay all the debts for Paradigm Co. and-do it with an offshore ount.¡±


    Well, that should avoid her suspicion.


    While Toby was nning to use that money to make it up to Sonia, he was going to give it to her after


    that day, although he knew she wouldn¡¯t ept it. Furthermore, Toby was aware that Sonia¡¯s unborn


    child was still with her, but he was certain that her abortion would be inevitable when her health


    improved. Therefore, he insisted on going ahead with his n and gave her the money.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Tina is here, isn¡¯t she? Bring her here.¡±


    ¡°Well, about that¡­ Miss Gray is gone.¡± Tom rubbed his nose.


    ¡°Gone?¡± Toby knitted his eyebrows.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Fiddling with his pen, Toby said, ¡°Well, I guess I should have let here here sooner. Otherwise¡­¡±


    ¡°No. She left right after she got a phone call.¡± Tom shook his head.


    ¡°Whose call?¡± Toby asked, but Tom shrugged his shoulders cluelessly. ¡°Um, I¡¯m not too sure about that,


    but Miss Gray didn¡¯t seem so good after she answered the call, so I guess it was probably some bad


    news.¡±


    Toby responded with a grunt for a few seconds as he jutted his chin. ¡°Alright, I heard you. You may


    excuse yourself now.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± With an affirmative hum, Tom turned around and walked away.


    After he left, Toby grabbed his phone and dialed Tina¡¯s number shortly before the call was picked up.


    Then, Tina¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Hi Toby, what¡¯s the matter?¡± She spoke with a gentle voice, as if nothing


    ever happened.


    However, Toby was somehow disgusted by her fake behavior as he pursed his lips and asked, ¡°Tom told


    me you got an urgent call. What happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing serious. Don¡¯t worry about me, Toby.¡± Tina stood in front of a lounge, responding with a


    smile despite her darkened gaze.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay then,¡± Toby replied.


    Rendered speechless by Toby¡¯s straightforward answer, Tina angrily grumbled to herself on the inside


    about his nonchnt attitude. Where is his chivalry? I might not have revealed what it was, but I really


    did answer an urgent phone call. So, is he really not going to ask me about that? Why didn¡¯t I realize he


    was this straightforward at all? Despite her annoyance, Tina restrained herself fromining to Toby.


    Although Tina wanted to ask Toby why he didn¡¯t show his concern about the urgent call, she didn¡¯t do


    that because she didn¡¯t want him to think that she was trying to y on his sympathy. After all, she was


    the one who reassured him that the call was about nothing serious. Therefore, she took a deep breath


    and swallowed her bitterness with a brittle smile. ¡°Alright, Toby. Is there anything else important? If there


    isn¡¯t, I¡¯m going to hang up now. My friend is waiting for me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded and ended the call, pissing Tina off as she wondered why he didn¡¯t bother to ask


    whether she was meeting a guy or ady. Does he really have so much faith in me? Tina stomped the


    ground angrily and pushed the door open before entering the private lounge.


    At that moment, Tim stood up from his seat and greeted her with a fake smile. ¡°Here you are, Tina.¡±


    Nheless, Tina failed to notice the man¡¯s unusual behavior and closed the door behind her before


    approaching him. ¡°Tim Lancaster, do you want to tell me what was going on? How on earth did you fail


    this simple job?¡±


    ¡°Something unexpected came up,¡± Tim avoided eye contact with Tina and replied.


    Upon hearing his words, Tina put down her bag in a cranky manner. ¡°So, Sonia is still alive even though


    her child is gone, right?¡±


    ¡°Nope, her child is still with her. I didn¡¯t perform the surgery on her.¡± Tim adjusted his new sses while


    looking at her. Seeing her eyes widen in disbelief, he only found her expression to be somewhat ironic


    and absurd. After all, he would have tried to appease her right away had he not learned about the truth.


    In fact, he wanted to snap her neck there and then for posing as his angel.


    ¡°What did you just say, Tim? You didn¡¯t perform the surgery on Sonia?¡± Tina clenched her fists and shot


    an eerie look at Tim. ¡°What were you doing, Tim? Why didn¡¯t you do it when you had the chance? Is this


    how you¡¯re going to repay me?¡±

 Chapter 211

    Chapter 211


    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Take a seat.¡± Tim pulled out a chair for Tina.


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    Thud! She flung her bag violently onto the table. ¡°How could I not be? I could have ended Sonia today.


    Once she¡¯s gone, I won¡¯t have any troubles in the future. But you


    ¡°Toby is at the hospital,¡± he cut her off.


    Tina was visibly shocked. ¡°What? He is at the hospital?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Plus, he was right outside the operation theater, and he clearly saw me entering. Think


    about it, if I were the surgeon, and Sonia lost her life in the end, don¡¯t you think he¡¯d get suspicious and


    look into it?¡±


    Learning about the unexpected news, she bit her lip. ¡°You¡¯re right. We can¡¯t kill her right away. Still, you


    could have aborted her baby. Why didn¡¯t you do it?¡±


    She shot the man an angry re, but he calmly poured a ss of water for her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have


    plenty of chances to do that. Do you not trust me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just worried that if this drags on, Toby might acknowledge the baby and remarry her,¡± she replied


    with her fists clenched.


    A smirk crept up to Tim¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking. Toby thinks differently from Sonia. He knew that the


    child was his, and he personally waited outside the operation theatre for her surgery to end. From there,


    you could tell that he¡¯s not particrly fond of the baby. That¡¯s why your worries will note true.¡±


    ¡°Better be sorry than safe! Don¡¯t forget what I have told you before-his true love is Sonia,¡± she answered


    solemnly.


    His eyes sparkled. ¡°By the way, I have never asked you the reason behind your envy and hate for Sonia.


    Since she has divorced Toby and it does not look like she¡¯d rekindle the rtionship, not to mention that


    Toby will not get back together with her even though he still loves her, why, then, are you so worried


    about her?¡±


    Upon hearing that, she dodged his gaze guiltily and remarked impatiently, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have asked that


    question.¡±


    She would never tell anyone about the fact that she¡¯d pretended to be Toby¡¯s pen pal, especially to Toby


    and Tim. If she identally let that slip, God knows if Tim would start to suspect if she was truly the


    person who saved him back then,


    ¡°Is that so? Oh well, whatever.¡± He shrugged in a manner that looked uninterested.


    Just when she was about to sigh in relief, she was struck by his other question. ¡°Oh, right, Tina, do you


    still remember when exactly was our first encounter?¡±


    Panic shed across her eyes. ¡°Why the sudden question?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I was just feeling a little nostalgic.¡± He took a sip of tea and smiled while she was frustrated and


    angered by the ambush. Why would a grown-up feel nostalgic for no reason? Is there something wrong


    with him?


    Regardless, she kept a smile on her face and replied, ¡°Of course, our first encounter was the day I saved


    you.¡±


    Hearing that, Tim gently tapped his fingers on the table and said nothing.


    Tina¡¯s heart immediately tightened, and the smile on her face almost fell apart. Clutching her hands, she


    suppressed the panic in her and replied calmly, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Seven years ago, when they first met, he excitedly told her that he had finally found her.


    At that time, she expressed that she did not know him, but he said it was fine; after all, that was only their


    second encounter. From the clue, she guessed that their first encounter¡¯ must be the time she had


    ¡®saved him. Therefore, it was impossible to give the wrong answer.


    Tim suddenly broke into a smile. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re right-our first encounter was the day you saved me.¡±


    Intentionally, he emphasized the keywords.


    Tina was oblivious to the change in his tone and breathed an enormous sigh of relief Out of nowhere,


    however, he added, ¡°Do you remember the ce where you saved me?¡±


    Her heart that had just calmed down started to beat anxiously again. She could almost kill him for the


    anxiety he stirred. More than that, she was gripped by


    nervousness and fear.


    What is he implying? Why is he suddenly asking me those questions? Could he have found out that I


    was faking my identity as his ¡®savior, and he is now trying to sound me out?


    She paled at the thought of the possibility. Suddenly, she was at a loss because of the panic. This time,


    she had no answer to his question, for she had no idea where his savior had saved him. She was even


    more clueless about the situation in which he was saved, something that he had never told her before as


    well. As such, how could she possibly answer him?


    But she couldn¡¯t just ignore his question because that would be an indirect admission of her pretense.


    After giving it much thought, she finally offered a safe answer, stating, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tim. I can¡¯t really recall


    the details.¡±


    Yes, she merely said that she forgot about their first encounter; she did not admit to not knowing.


    Therefore, he must not be able to tell whether she was lying.


    Just when she was losing whatever¡¯s left of her confidence, he grinned and said, ¡°That¡¯s fine! It¡¯s normal


    to forget the details after ten long years. You were too young at that time, anyway.¡±


    When Tina realized that he did not suspect her ount, she exhaled in relief. Looks like I took the right


    step. Following the startling episode, she wrapped her arms around his and said, ¡°Tim, why don¡¯t you tell


    me again? Where did we first meet? I promise I won¡¯t forget about it again.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± He stared at his feet to hide the chilling look in his eyes. ¡°We first met at a theme park. At that


    time, I fell down and injured myself. When I couldn¡¯t walk, a human trafficker came up to me and wanted


    to kidnap me. It was you who showed up and scared the man away.¡±


    Ah, so that was what happened. Tina narrowed her eyes and pped her thighs in her act. ¡°Tim! After


    you brought it up, I could recall some memories. You¡¯re right. We first met at a theme park. I did not know


    how I got the courage to confront the human traffickers. Now that I think of it, I can still feel the fear.¡±


    ¡°You were courageous,¡± heplimented her with a smile, but his eyes suggested otherwise. They were


    full of darkness and contempt. Did she actually fall for a story that I made up? Guess a fake is a fake


    after all.


    When she confirmed that it was his usual beam, she could finally get some breathing room. It seemed


    that Tim did not suspect that she was pretending. He had asked all the questions out of nostalgia.


    Otherwise, he would have immediately called her out instead of tolerating her lies.


    While thinking, she picked up the ss in front of her and took a huge sip of water.


    Then, she stood up and excused herself. ¡°Tim, um, I need to meet with Tobyter. I¡¯ll leave now.¡±


    She could not afford to stay around any longer. If he suddenly popped any tricky questions, she¡¯d get


    herself into bigger trouble. After all, she could not sessfully make up lies each time.


    ¡°Okay.¡± He stood up at the same time while nodding, so she hurried out of the room. He looked on as


    she left until she disappeared into the corridors. Then, he wiped away the smile on his face and reced


    it with a cold and murderous look.


    ¡°Tina, how dare you pretend to be my guardian angel? I¡¯ll make you pay for it,¡± he mumbled in a


    menacing voice. Indeed, he was partly to be med for taking Tina for someone else, but she should


    have known better. She should have known if she had saved him before.


    Even so, she did not correct him. Instead, she shamelessly pretended to be the guardian angel and


    received his favors without any feelings of guilt. This deception was humiliating enough to make him vow


    to take revenge on her. Staring at Tina¡¯s teacup, Tim shed a wicked smile. Next, he sent a text to


    Sonia.


    The moment Sonia read his text, her brows crinkled up into a furrow.

 Chapter 212

    Chapter 212


    Charles, who was peeling apples at the side, saw Sonia¡¯s expression and came over to express his


    concern. ¡°Baby, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Look at this.¡± She proceeded to pass him her phone. ¡°I will make Tina pay for her actions. Tim.¡± After


    reading the message out loud, he stared at her wildly. ¡°Baby, this is a text from Tim Lancaster. How did


    he get your number?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to get hold of someone¡¯s personal number nowadays. You just need to search around,¡± she


    muttered nonchntly, but her frown deepened. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about the contents of his text. He


    said he wanted to make Tina pay. Could he have been telling the truth in the ward? Is he really going to


    take action on those who hurt me?¡±


    He tightened his lips. ¡°Whatever. If he wants to make her pay, let him be. That might benefit us as well.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Sonia nodded.


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    He returned the phone and said, ¡°Alright now. Don¡¯t reply to him. You shouldn¡¯t forget that we still do not


    know of his intentions-whether or not he truly wants to take revenge on Tina. If he was lying, that text


    could be bait to trick us. So, we should just put this aside.¡±


    After his exnation, she concurred. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I understand.¡±


    Next, she deleted Tim¡¯s text from her phone while Charles munched on his apple. ¡°By the way, I have


    donated that ring on your behalf.¡±


    Her eyes flickered after she heard the remark, followed by a nod of the head. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave now. I¡¯ll pick you up again two dayster for the auction.¡± Charles threw the apple core into the


    bin and dusted his hand, after which Sonia smiled at him. ¡°Got it.


    You should get going now.¡±


    ¡°Bye.¡± He waved at her and headed toward the entrance.


    Now that she was finally alone in the office, she picked up a pen from the penholder and started to bury


    herself in piles of documents. However, it was right then when someone knocked on the door. ¡°President


    Reed!¡± It turned out to be Reba, and


    she did look rather frantic.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia stopped writing and stared at her.


    Reba scanned the area and found a ss of water on the table. She had no time to ask before she


    downed all the contents.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Sonia was about to say that the ss of water was hers, but upon hearing the gulping, she held


    her tongue and shook her head in amusement. ¡°Why are you so thirsty?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started! I ran all my way here.¡± She ced the cup on the table and answered Sonia after


    catching her breath.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes turned round in surprise. ¡°You ran all your way up here? Are you saying that you ran here


    using the Finance Department¡¯s fire exit staircase?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I came here from the fire exit staircase. I have something urgent to ask you, so I didn¡¯t bother to


    wait for the elevator.¡± Reba pulled out a chair across from her and took a seat.


    Noticing that Reba had ayer of perspiration on the forehead, Sonia beamed and handed the


    woman a tissue. ¡°Wipe your sweat.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Reba epted the tissue.


    She stood up and collected a clean nket. Then, she poured Reba a ss of water from the water


    cooler and ced it in front of the guest. ¡°By the way, you said you had an urgent question for me. What


    was that about?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Paradigm Co.¡¯s debts!¡± Reba threw the crumpled tissue into the bin and put on a serious


    expression. ¡°President Reed, who¡¯s that Mr. Johann? He went ahead and settled our loans across all the


    banks. I was so shocked when the banks called to inform me.¡±


    Sonia was confused by the information. ¡°Wait, what are you talking about? Who¡¯s Mr. Johann, and why


    are our loans settled?¡±


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s reaction, Reba blinked. ¡°You don¡¯t know him?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of this Mr. Johann you¡¯re speaking of.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s odd! If you don¡¯t even know him, why would he settle all our debts? The repayment statement


    clearly stated that he is a close acquaintance of yours. Obviously, he settled the debts for you. Why


    wouldn¡¯t you know him then? Could he be your¡­ secret admirer?¡± At this point, Reba looked


    envious. ¡°If he¡¯s really a secret admirer who forks out such a huge amount for you, I think you should just


    ept his love.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Sonia frowned deeply. ¡°Reba, are you saying that Mr.


    Johann has settled all our bank loans? Do I understand it correctly?¡±


    ¡°Yes. From now on, Paradigm Co. is no longer in debt. In the future, our revenue will belong to us instead


    of the banks,¡± Reba confirmed with joy. However, Sonia did not look happy at all. Her ming red lips


    were tightly pursed.


    A stranger came out of nowhere and helped to repay all of Paradigm Co.¡¯s loans. This was not a free


    lunch for Sonia. Instead, she suspected that this was a trap. Who¡¯d be so generous as to give away a


    billion?


    ¡°Is there any information on the repayment?¡± She scrunched up her eyes.


    At the same time, Reba pped her forehead. ¡°Yes! I almost forgot about it. Give me a second. I¡¯ll


    hand it to you.¡±


    As she spoke, she extracted a stack of papers with the repayment information from the file and gave it to


    Sonia.


    Yet Sonia did not immediately read it. ¡°Did you announce the settlement of bank loans publicly?¡±


    ¡°No. I told you the first thing.¡± Reba shook her head, much to Sonia¡¯s relief.


    ¡°Great. You can go back to work now. Keep this a secret for now. Do not announce it loudly. We¡¯ll make a


    decision after I look into the person behind this.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Reba agreed and left.


    Then, Sonia started to flip through the stack of information in the hope of finding some clues about the


    mysterious man who had settled the loans.


    Soon, she got her wish granted when she found the symbols ¡®Z-H¡¯on one of the


    pages. Immediately, she understood who her benefactor was. Without losing even a second, she


    searched for the contact named Z-H in her WhatsApp. This time, she did not message him as usual; she


    made a WhatsApp call to him.


    At the Fuller Group, Toby was in the middle of a meeting when a ringtone interrupted the meeting


    discussion. His eyes narrowed in displeasure. ¡°Whose phone is that?¡±


    No one dared to speak up in the room.


    The silence angered him even more, and his tone became icier. ¡°I remember I told you guys to set your


    phone on silent mode in meetings. Are you ignoring my instruction?¡±


    In the face of his fury, a hand finally shot up in the air. ¡°President Fuller, um, it is not our phones. Your


    phone is the one that¡¯s ringing.¡±


    Toby was taken aback. ¡°Mine?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The brave attendee nodded.


    It was then Toby put away the files in his hands and moved to the meeting table from the screen. There,


    he found his phone ringing.


    It was the ringtone he set for in-app calls. Usually, no one would contact him via WhatsApp. He was


    rather unfamiliar with the ringtone, which was why it took him a while to realize that his phone was


    ringing.


    His expression softened as he picked up the phone to check for the caller. To his shock, he saw that


    Sonia had contacted him.


    Why would she contact me at this time?


    ¡°Let¡¯s take five. I need to take a call.¡± Then, he left the meeting room with the phone in hand, leaving


    behind a room of attendees who were murmuring.


    ¡°Look, that¡¯s how bosses behave. They set the rules for us that they never follow. Didn¡¯t he ask us to set


    our phones to silent mode during meetings? We all did, except for him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! He also told us not to pick up calls during meetings, and he¡¯s the only one who


    breaks the rules. What¡¯s with the double standard?¡±


    ¡°From the looks of it, he must have received a call from Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°It must be. Just look at the tenderness in his eyes.¡±.


    Outside of the meeting room, Toby was oblivious to the gossip behind his back. He strolled to the


    corridor, staring at the ringing phone with hesitation in his eyes, furiously debating if he should take the


    call or not.


    He was worried that he¡¯d expose himself once he picked up the call.


    Yer, in the end, he slid a finger across the screen to pick up the call. ¡°Hello?¡±

 Chapter 213

    Chapter 213


    Sonia fell into silence after hearing the hoarse male voice from the other end of the phone.


    I never expected Z-H¡¯s voice to be this terrible!


    Not only that, judging from his voice, he seemed to be older than her, possibly a man in his forties.


    Generally, men this age either had a beer belly or suffered from hair loss.


    The thought that she had potentially slept with a forty-year-old bald male with a beer belly made her feel


    nauseous. Toby was immediately concerned after hearing her dry heave. ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    In a panic, he almost spoke to her in his real voice. Thankfully, he managed to get a hold of himself and


    switched back to the ¡®forty-year-old¡¯ voice.


    Due to the nauseousness, she missed the change in his voice. She shook her head weakly. ¡°I¡¯m fine.


    Thank you for your concern, Mr. Johann.¡±


    When she called him Mr. Johann, he immediately understood her purpose of calling.


    ¡°Are you calling me about the bank loans?¡± He lowered his gaze.


    Sonia took a deep breath and put on a somber expression. ¡°Yes. I want to understand the reason behind


    you doing that for me.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? Since you¡¯re the mother of my child, I will take responsibility,¡± Toby replied, still


    trying hard to maintain his altered croaky voice.


    She pursed her lips stubbornly. ¡°But I told you before that I don¡¯t need your help.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your problem. I choose to take responsibility at my end,¡± he said to counter her statement.


    She had nothing to reply to his argument. Of course, she could ask him not to take any responsibility, but


    she could not stop him from doing so.


    ¡°Whatever. If you want to, suit yourself. Anyway, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit too much of a responsibility for


    you to repay my loans? It¡¯s like, a few billion.¡± She grimaced at


    the mention of it.


    Not many could offer a few billion to settle the loans of others. To her surprise, he chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s just a


    few billion. It¡¯s not even worthy of mention to me.¡±


    ¡°I-It¡¯s not worthy of mention?¡± Sonia almost choked.


    He grunted coolly. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not much.¡±


    The market valuation of Fuller Group was in the hundreds of billions, and his personal wealth was


    around 80 billion, half of it from Fuller Group, and the other half derived from his other assets. Therefore,


    it was right to say that he was filthy rich.


    Sonia admitted that she was rather envious after hearing him dismiss the few billions as ¡®not much?


    Indeed, one should never seek topare with the others, for that was a source of unhappiness.


    Ah, if only Paradigm Co. was in the position to offer another firm a few billion without batting an eye, she


    would have been so ted.


    ¡°Mr. Johann, even if you think it¡¯s nothing, a few billions is too much for me. Even if you see it as a way to


    so call take responsibility, that amount has crossed a line. So, sir, please get someone to cancel this


    transaction. If you really want to take responsibility for me, maybe it¡¯s better to only give me an apartment


    or a car.¡± She rubbed the middle of her forehead worriedly.


    Anyhow, she could not possibly benefit from his few billions worth of giveaway.


    Both of them were to be med for the one-night-stand, so she could not ept his goodwill without


    feeling burdened.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The money has been transferred, and the banks have erased the records of your loans. I


    guess I can¡¯t take my money back,¡± he informed her calmly of the reality.


    She bit her lip. ¡°How could that happen¡­¡±


    ¡°Since this is a done deal, you don¡¯t have to feel uneasy about it. I willingly paid it off for you. It¡¯s not like


    you asked for it, so don¡¯t feel burdened. Alright now. I have an ongoing meeting. Talkter.¡±


    As if he was afraid that she¡¯d insist, he quickly ended the call.


    On the other end, Sonia let out a sigh when the call screen vanished.


    It seems that I can¡¯t return his money anymore.


    Even so, she would not ept the money. With that in mind, sheposed a message.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see that as your personal loan. Once Paradigm Co. bes profitable, I¡¯ll pay you back.¡±


    Toby had just walked up to the meeting room door and was about to open the door when his phone


    buzzed in his hand.


    He paused and checked his phone to find a message from Sonia.


    When he clicked into it, what awaited him was a message that made him frown again. Indeed, no matter


    how hard he tried to persuade her, she would not ept his help.


    Oh well, if she wants to pay me back, let her do it. It would take years fromunching Paradigm Co. to


    turning it profitable until she could afford to pay a few billion. At that time, it would be a miracle if she


    could even locate 2-H.


    He shed a faint smile and tucked his phone away to rejoin the meeting.


    At Paradigm Co., Sonia called Daphne in and told her, ¡°Get the heads of departments ready for a


    meeting.¡±


    Since she had figured out the identity of her benefactor, knowing that it was not a trap, it was time to


    announce it to everyone.


    Plus, she believed that she could weaponize this knowledge against Asher Dafoe. After all, she was the


    one who managed to settle the loans of thepany, while he did nothing. She could get everyone in


    thepany to side with her.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Daphne nodded and left to make the arrangements. Soon, Sonia stood up and moved to the


    meeting room.


    A few days after the turn of events, it was the auction day.


    At night, Sonia was dressed up in an evening gown and put on full makeup. She departed for the event


    venue with Charles.


    When she arrived at the hotel entrance, she saw Zane running toward her just as she


    got out of the car. ¡°Sonia, you¡¯re really pretty tonight!¡±


    He scanned her from head to toe with astonishment in his eyes.


    She tucked away a curl of hair near her ears and smiled. ¡°Thank you. Oh, right, why are you here? Are


    you not going in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here waiting for you guys,¡± he replied.


    Charles, who had just got out of the car, rolled his eyes at the answer and huffed. ¡°No one asked you to


    wait.¡±


    Zane fired back aggressively, mocking, ¡°Yeah, no one asked; I willing waited here. But I did not wait for


    you, I waited for Sonia. You just happen to be with her.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡±


    Sensing a fighting, Sonia immediately stopped the two. ¡°Alright, alright. Stop it. Look, people are


    coming and going. Don¡¯t you feel embarrassed? Okay, let¡¯s go in now.¡±


    Once Sonia intervened, the two men quickly dropped the confrontation. Charles was adjusting his tie


    when his phone buzzed.


    He checked his phone and lifted a brow. ¡°Baby, it¡¯s a call from Carl. It¡¯s a little noisy here with all the cars,


    so I¡¯ll go elsewhere to pick up the call. Wait for me here.¡±


    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± She nodded.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Before moving aside, Charles did not forget to give Zane a re, to which thetter replied with a smirk.


    ¡°When did I step on his toes? He¡¯s really weird sometimes.¡±


    Sonia snorted. ¡°Well, sorry, Zane. Charles is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright! I¡¯m not mad about it.¡± Zane waved and suddenly thought of something, His face turned


    serious. ¡°Oh, I heard that Paradigm Co.¡¯s loans are all settled. What happened? Where did you get the


    money for that? Could you have negotiated some


    fishy deals?¡±


    She was speechless at his odd guesses. ¡°How is that possible? It¡¯s that guy. He settled the debts for me,


    saying that he wanted to take responsibility for me and our child.¡±


    A realization dawned on Zane. ¡°Ah, so it was him! Everything makes sense now. That dude is rich. His


    personal assets alone are worth tens of billions. A few billion is nothing to him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s that rich?¡± Her jaw almost dropped to the floor.


    Although Mr. Johann once told her that he was rich, she never had expected him to own that many


    assets on top of hispany¡¯s worth.


    She inhaled sharply, and she could not bring herself to imagine the extent of his wealth. Regardless, she


    finally learned that Mr. Johann was as rich as Toby Fuller.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s the wealthiest among us all. Have I not told you before?¡± Zane stared at her, but she


    responded with a sneer.


    ¡°Yeah, you never told me that he¡¯s a forty-year-old man.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Zane almost burst out inughter. ¡°How are you sure that he¡¯s in his forties?¡±


    ¡°I could tell from his voice! Two days ago, I made a WhatsApp call to him. His voice sounded hoarse and


    croaky; it was terrible. I¡¯ve only heard such voices from creepy middle-aged men. That¡¯s why I suspect


    that he is one.¡± As she exined, a look of disgust filled her face.

 Chapter 215

    Chapter 215


    Seeing how angry Tina was, Sonia smiled in happiness. ¡°What? Are you upset, Miss Gray? Just now,


    you treated me like this, but I didn¡¯t get angry. But now you¡¯re angry after being treated in the same


    fashion. You¡¯re too petty, Miss Gray. I don¡¯t think you can be the Fuller Group president¡¯s wife.¡±


    ¡°Who said I¡¯m angry?¡± Tina squeezed her palms, took a deep breath to calm down, and retorted with a


    sharp voice. She knew Sonia was deliberately pissing her off.


    I will not fall for it! I will let Sonia know that I¡¯m more suitable than anyone else to be the president¡¯s


    wife of the Fuller Group!


    ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡± Sonia apuded. ¡°Miss Gray is such a benevolentdy. I really admire you. Since


    you¡¯re no longer angry, then I will take my leave.¡±


    After saying that, Sonia dropped the tissues in her hand, went past Tina, and walked toward the restroom


    door. After two steps, she suddenly stopped again and turned her head toward Tina with a meaningful


    smile. ¡°By the way, Miss Gray, your current look is very nice, especially this dress. It¡¯s very suitable for


    tonight¡¯s banquet.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s gaze fell on Tina¡¯s fur shawl, as well as the small crocodile skin clutch in her hand. At that


    instant, a trace of ridicule shed in her eyes. Previously at the dress store, she and Reba


    deliberately discussed that the outfit matched well with the essories in order to set a trap for


    Tina.


    In the end, Tina took the bait and came wearing the outfit. Clearly, there would be a good showter at


    the banquet. Thus, Sonia smiled and left the bathroom.


    After she left, Tina touched her face and looked at the dress on her body, smiling smugly. ¡°Hmph, I knew


    I would look gorgeous.¡±


    With that, she put down her hands and wanted to wash them again. After all, she had just touched the


    cosmetics on her face. However, just as Tina turned back to the mirror and saw herself in it, she


    grimaced and shouted, ¡°Ah!¡±


    Just now, she didn¡¯t look at the mirror, so she didn¡¯t know how she looked at the moment. Now that she


    looked at it, she realized that when Sonia said she looked good, thetter wasn¡¯t really sincere at all but


    was being sarcastic.


    Other than the dress on her body, she was simply in a terrible state. Her makeup and hair were messy


    and horrible. In fact, shepletely looked like a crazy woman, which must have been


    caused when Sonia hit her just now.


    Tina looked at the mirror and said with resentment, ¡°Sonia, you just wait! I will definitely kill you and that


    child you¡¯re carrying. Otherwise, I might as well not be called Tina Gray!¡±


    At the door, Brenda, who was about toe in to use the restroom, heard these words and quickly took


    a step back. She pursed her slightly thin lips, her imposing face filled with disgust.


    ¡°This Gray woman is the precious descendant of Triforce Enterprise, yet she¡¯s so vicious. How


    ridiculous.¡±


    She coldly nced at the restroom door, then turned around and walked away, not willing to use the


    restroom anymore because she was too disgusted.


    When Sonia returned to the auction venue, Charles asked worriedly, ¡°Baby, why are you back sote?¡±


    Lifting her dress, Sonia sat down and said, ¡°I ran into some trouble.¡±


    ¡°What kind of trouble?¡± Charles suddenly got nervous. ¡°Baby, you are okay, right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already taken care of it.¡± Sonia smiled at him.


    Charles nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. By the way, the next auction item is yours.¡±


    Hearing these words, Sonia had her eyes narrowed for a moment. That was fast.


    Soon, an antique was taken away from the stage, and the next auction item was sent in for disy.


    The big screen behind the auctioneer revealed more detailed information about the ring, but it concealed


    the full identity of the donor. Only the words ¡®Miss Reed¡¯ were written where the donor¡¯s name should be,


    acting as a kind of privacy protection for the donor.


    However, some still guessed the identity of the donor correctly. After all, in therge city of Seafield,


    although there were many with thest name Reed, the only famous one was from Paradigm Co.


    ¡°It¡¯s the wedding ring of Sonia and Toby!¡± Tina looked at the ring spinning around on the big screen and


    her eyes reddened with anger. The previous owner of the ring was Sonia, who had actually donated her


    wedding ring.


    And Toby hasn¡¯t even given me any ring?! This is ridiculous!


    Tina¡¯s heart was frenzied with jealousy. ¡°Dad, I want this ring.¡±


    Titus naturally knew how the ring was donated and frowned disapprovingly. ¡°What do you want it for? It¡¯s


    someone else¡¯s. If you want it, go get a new one from Toby.¡±


    ¡°Toby won¡¯t buy one for me.¡± Tina clenched her hands.


    It was not like she hadn¡¯t hinted at Toby to buy her a set of matching couple rings, but Toby said that one


    ring was enough and that buying more than one didn¡¯t mean anything. He also said that he would buy it


    for her when they got married.


    Still, they were not formally engaged yet, so the wedding would have to wait until next year at least.


    Sadly, she did not want to wait, and she would rather have a ring worn by Sonia since at least that was


    what Toby bought.


    Titus could not go against Tina, so he could only nod and let her bidter.


    The auction for the ring began with a starting price of 200,000 because the main diamond was a rare


    pink one, so the price was naturally higher.


    ¡°300,000!¡± Tina immediately raised her sign.


    Toby, Sonia, Charles, and Zane all heard her voice, and they all had different expressions on their faces.


    Thetter three of them were surprised, and Toby was puzzled.


    Why is Tina bidding for this ring?


    Then, Toby pressed the bell.


    The auctioneer received the message and immediately offered, ¡°The guest in private booth l on the


    second floor has added 100,000. Does anyone else want to increase the price?¡±


    When Tina heard someone bidding against her, she looked up at the private booth on the second floor.


    However, the window of the box was closed, so she couldn¡¯t see inside and didn¡¯t know who was there.


    Therefore, she bit her lip in anger and shouted, ¡°400,000!¡±All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She also immediately added 100,000 without the slightest hesitation; it could be noted that she was


    determined to get this ring.


    Toby frowned and rang the bell again. Later, the auctioneer reported, ¡°The guest in the private booth has


    increased his bid to 500,000.¡±


    Tina shivered with anger and gave the booth a fierce re. ¡°600,000!¡±


    ¡°Baby, Tina and the guest on the second floor seem to be fighting for this,¡± Charles said to Sonia.


    Sonia nodded and also looked at the second floor. ¡°I don¡¯t know who the person on the second floor is


    and why they seem to want the ring as well.¡±


    Although Sonia was surprised that Tina wanted to buy the ring, she could more or less understand her


    logic behind it.


    After all, this ring was bought by Toby, so Tina might want to take it for herself. However, she was not


    sure about the guest on the second floor.


    ¡°Baby, I want to have fun too.¡± Suddenly, Charles spoke up yfully.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows. ¡°What do you want to do?¡±


    The corner of Charles¡¯s mouth curved up as he raised the sign. ¡°1 million!¡±


    On hearing this amount, all the auction participants were instantly shocked.


    Although the ring was worth a lot of money, it was only worth 500,000 at most. The mysterious guest on


    the second floor and Tina had bid for 600,000 to 700,000, which most people already thought was too


    high and not worth it. Therefore, they didn¡¯t expect that another person with a lot of money would appear,


    directly bidding for 1 million.


    ¡°Charles, what are you doing? You¡¯re crazy!¡± Sonia looked at Charles in shock.


    Charles made a shushing motion to her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Baby. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    Seeing how he appeared to be serious instead of pulling her leg, Sonia sighed. ¡°Forget it then. I won¡¯t


    care about what you do, but just don¡¯t go overboard!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Charles waved his hand.

 Chapter 216

    Chapter 216


    Even Tina had figured out that the person who called the bid to a million earlier was Charles, and she


    guessed that he must be nning to buy it for Sonia. Hmph, she snorted silently. Not in your wildest


    dreams! Raising her paddle again, she shouted, ¡°1.2 million!¡±


    Next to her, the edge of Titus¡¯ eyes twitched and he hurriedly tried to stop her, saying, ¡°That¡¯s enough,


    Tina. Stop increasing the bid because this ring isn¡¯t worth that money at all.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± she snapped through gritted teeth, her eyes turning red. ¡°I can¡¯t let Sonia get what she


    wants!¡±


    Frowning, Titus was about to say something when another man shouted, ¡°1.5 million!¡±


    This voice¡­ Sonia thought when she heard the voice, and her face lit up. ¡°That¡¯s Carl, Charles. It¡¯s Carl!¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s that rascal,¡± Charles answered with a nod and raised his paddle. ¡°1.7 million.¡±


    I swear there¡¯s no one I hate more than Charles and that guy who called 1.5 million! Tina thought


    furiously. I must be cursed to run into them today! Gripping her paddle tightly, she made up her mind


    determinedly and added three hundred thousand to the bid. ¡°Two million!¡±


    An uproar broke out in the crowd, and Toby knitted his brows in his private suite on the second floor,


    thinking, What¡¯s up with Tina? Why does she want the ring so badly? ¡°Three million!¡± he said, pressing


    down the button.


    The auctioneer sucked in a deep breath and announced the new bid with a shaky voice, resulting in


    another round of surprised gasps from the crowd.


    Who¡¯s this big shot that¡¯s able to add a million to the bid just like that? They wondered in amazement and


    turned their heads to the first private suite.


    Narrowing his aged eyes, Titus began to suspect that the one in the first private suite might be


    Toby, and he was very unhappy about the fact that Toby didn¡¯t allow them into his private suite. After all,


    I¡¯m his future father-inw, he thought. Isn¡¯t he worried that I¡¯ll be unhappy if he did that?


    ¡°3.5 million!¡± Charles called a bid once more.


    10


    The next second, Carl shouted as well, ¡°Four million!¡±


    ¡°4.5 million!¡± Zane, who wasn¡¯t bidding all this while, joined in suddenly.


    w


    Shaking her head, Sonia uttered, ¡°This is crazy. All of you have lost your minds!¡±


    ¡°No worries, baby,¡± Charles assured. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that we don¡¯t even want to buy the ring, but just want


    to pull a prank on Tina?¡± he asked with a smirk as he swayed the paddle in his hand.


    Rolling her eyes, she replied, ¡°Of course I know what you guys are up to, but don¡¯t forget about


    the person on the second floor. It goes to show that he must be kind of influential if he can afford a


    private suite in an auction. He¡¯s definitely not someone we can offend. If he ends up as the one buying


    the ring instead of Tina, then you guys would have offended him by raising the bid deliberately.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that because we have already offended him a long time ago. The young master of


    this auction is a friend of mine that I met in university, and I already checked with him who¡¯s the person in


    the first suite beforehand. Toby¡¯s in there.¡± Shrugging, he added, ¡°Since Toby is on Tina¡¯s side, getting


    either of them will be a win for us.¡±


    Surprised, Sonia asked, ¡°Toby?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he answered with a nod.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Biting her lip, Sonia was puzzled and feltplicated. So, the one who started the bidding war with Tina


    is Toby, but why does he want to buy this ring? she wondered. What is he going to do with my wedding


    band? Give it to Tina? That¡¯s impossible, she concluded and shook her head as she shot down the


    thought.


    Normally, a guy wouldn¡¯t give his ex-wife¡¯s ring to his current fianc¨¦e, so she reckoned he must have


    other motives. However, she couldn¡¯t figure it out, and neither did she want to ponder over it. It was a


    ring she didn¡¯t want since a long time ago anyway, so she had no reason to think about why someone


    else was buying it.


    ¡°Five million!¡± Toby bid again from the second floor.


    Initially, Tina wanted to raise her paddle again, but Titus held her hand down firmly and looked at her with


    a somber expression. ¡°I¡¯ll break your legs if you dare to raise the bid again.¡± She¡¯s the only one silly


    enough to waste millions on a ring which belonged to someone else, he thought angrily. This is too much


    even if she¡¯s jealous of Sonia and doesn¡¯t wish for Sonia to keep the ring from Toby.


    In the end, the intimidated Tina could only watch as the mysterious person on the second floor won the


    bid for the ring.


    Discussions erupted amidst the people. ¡°The guy upstairs bought a ring for five million! Is he a fool or


    what?¡±


    Soon, the ring was delivered to the second floor, and Toby stared at the ring in the velvet pouch with an


    unreadable look in his eyes. When Sonia left the Fullers, she didn¡¯t take anything with her except for this


    ring, and now it was returned to him in such a manner. From now on, Sonia will have nothing that has


    any connection to me anymore, he thought as he closed his palm around the ring tightly, and a sharp


    pain stung his heart.


    The auction ended very quickly, and everyone left the venue for the banquet hall upstairs. After everyone


    left, Toby got up from the couch and hobbled out of the private suite with the crutch. The moment he


    stepped out, he saw Tina and Titus walking toward him.


    With her eyes widened in disbelief, Tina gasped, ¡°Toby¡­ so it¡¯s true that you won the bid for the ring!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did,¡± he admitted graciously with earnest eyes.


    With a little effort, anyone could easily find out that the person in the first private suite was him, so there


    was no need for him to deny anything.


    ¡°But why?¡± Tina uttered, biting her lip and staring at him with tears in her eyes as though he had betrayed


    her. ¡°Why did you buy that ring? Are you nning to return it to Miss Reed?¡±


    With Titus¡¯ eyes fixed on him as well, Toby furrowed his brows and answered, ¡°Nothing like that. It¡¯s


    because that ring has the Fullers¡¯ emblem engraved on the inside when I bought it back then, and it


    would be bad if someone with ulterior motives got their hands on it.¡±


    This was really one of the reasons he bought the ring. The other reason was, he indeed didn¡¯t want


    someone else to have this ring. The thought that the ring might end up with Charles, Zane or another


    man sent an inexplicable frustration through his heart.


    Tina, however, didn¡¯t know what was on his mind. Her tears stopped flowing down her cheeks the minute


    she heard his exnation. ¡°Really?¡±


    Taking the ring out of his pocket, he then handed it to her and said, ¡°You can take a look at it if you want.¡±


    To his dismay, she really took the ring from him and inspected it. Although he was the one who offered


    the ring for her inspection, he was still indescribably annoyed when she did it because it showed that she


    didn¡¯t believe him. Most importantly, she had mentioned in her letter that she would trust him, but in


    hindsight, Toby didn¡¯t think she had ever trusted him.


    While he pursed his lips, deep in his own thoughts, he heard Tina cry out in surprise, ¡°There really is an


    emblem here!¡±


    Keeping away his emotions, he answered curtly, ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for misunderstanding you, Toby. I thought you bought the ring for Miss Reed,¡± she said and


    returned the ring to him.


    Bursting out in a heartyugh, Titus chirped, ¡°Everything is alright now that you¡¯ve cleared the


    misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Toby answered absentmindedly and took the ring from her hand. Subconsciously, he rubbed all


    around the ring with his thumb and came to a sudden realization that he was doing it because he was


    disgusted that Tina had made the ring dirty.


    ¡°Toby?¡± Tina called out, waving her hand in front of him, and he was pulled back to reality.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I should be the one to ask you that. Why are you suddenly in a daze?¡± she asked, looking at him.


    Lowering his gaze, he answered calmly, ¡°Nothing. Something was just on my mind. By the way, why do


    you want to bid for the ring, Tina?¡± He ced the ring into his pocket again and looked at


    her with interrogative eyes.


    In reply, she hung her head woefully and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s all because you don¡¯t want to give me a ring and


    said that I¡¯ll only get one when we¡¯re married. So, when I saw the ring Miss Reed donated and


    remembered that you have the other one with you, I thought I could make it a pair with yours if I buy it


    and take it as though it¡¯s a gift from you. That¡¯s why I tried to bid for it.¡±

 Chapter 217

    Chapter 217


    I see, Toby thought, nodding. I thought she was picking on Sonia.


    ¡°I have to tell you off about this, Toby,¡± Titus said with a straight face, giving him a displeased look.


    ¡°Although Tina isn¡¯t officially engaged to you, the news that she¡¯s your fianc¨¦e was already announced


    during the party which was ruined by Sonia. Since she¡¯s already your fianc¨¦e, you should at least give


    her a ring. People will make a joke out of her if she¡¯s got nothing from you.¡±


    ¡°Stop it, Dad. Toby has his own ideas, and we shouldn¡¯t force ours on him,¡± Tina said hurriedly, tugging at


    Titus¡¯ sleeve. Then, she cast an apologetic look at Toby as though she was afraid that he would be


    angry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. Don¡¯t take my dad¡¯s words to heart.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, but Mr. Gray is right. I should give you a ring,¡± Toby repliedposedly.


    The reason he hadn¡¯t given her a ring this whole time was because he simply didn¡¯t feel like giving her


    one. That was why he brushed them off with the excuse that he would give it at the wedding. While even


    himself couldn¡¯t exin why he didn¡¯t feel like giving her a ring, Titus had a point-if he still didn¡¯t put a


    ring on Tina even after she was his fianc¨¦e, everyone would belittle her.


    ¡°Toby, are you for real?¡± Tina asked, beaming at him.


    When he saw how happy she was, his heart softened. ¡°Yes.¡± She¡¯s the woman I love, and I promised


    that I would make her happy for the rest of her life. I can¡¯t just deny her a ring simply because of some


    inexplicable emotions that I have.


    ¡°You¡¯re so amazing, Toby!¡± Tina cried, throwing herself into his arms.


    Feigning annoyance, Titus red at her and said, ¡°You left me for a ring. Husbands are more important


    to girls than their father!¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± Tina eximed, spinning her head around at him and pretending to be embarrassed when in fact


    she had exchanged a look with him. That was a look which only the both of them understood what it


    meant.


    In fact, both of them came to look for Toby with a motive. Beforeing upstairs, they already found out


    that he was the one in the first private suite, and they came up with this n to make Toby promise that


    she would give her a ring to cement her title as his fianc¨¦e.


    Unexpectedly, their n worked, and Toby didn¡¯t even object.


    ¡°Should we pick out a ring tomorrow, Toby? I would like a ring from DR. Even though that brand is


    considered a lower-end luxury brand and the prices are generally not expensive, I still want it because


    the brand only allows a man to buy one ring from them in his lifetime.¡± Lifting her head


    to look at him, she asked, ¡°Is that okay, Toby?¡±


    Ise


    ,


    1


    When Toby heard the phrase ¡®a man could only buy one ring, he knitted his brows tightly together and his


    first reaction was to turn down her idea. Despite that, when he saw the


    anticipation in her eyes, he suppressed his urge to reject her in the end and nodded instead. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Toby!¡± she said happily and hugged him tightly.


    On the other hand, Toby merely gave her a lopsided smirk, and instead of feeling equally happy, he felt


    frustrated. A few secondster, he peeled her away from himself gently and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the party.


    Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin are probably waiting for us there.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s hurry there now,¡± Titus agreed with a nod.


    The Laughlins were a more influential family than the Grays, and even though they were notparable


    to the Fullers, the Grays still had to show them some respect and not offend them.


    While everyone was toasting with drinks and socializing in the brightly-lit banquet hall, Sonia was looking


    around the room with a ss of juice in her hand as though she was searching for something.


    With a te of snacks in his hand, Charles came over and passed it to her. ¡°I finally managed to shake


    off that pesky Zane. I wonder what¡¯s wrong with him recently. He¡¯s Toby¡¯s friend to begin with, but he kept


    swarming around us instead of hanging out with him. What¡¯s worse, we couldn¡¯t even chase him away!


    It¡¯s really annoying.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s not mean and has a nice, friendly personality. It¡¯s kind of easy to get along with him,¡±


    Sonia said with a smile as she took the snacks from him.


    Even though she didn¡¯t know why he kepting to them, she knew for sure that he was not their


    enemy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just forget about him. What were you looking for earlier, darling?¡± Charles asked and took a sip of


    his wine.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for Carl. Since the auction began, I¡¯ve not seen him and only heard his voice,¡± she


    answered, rubbing the middle of her forehead.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m really happy to hear that you miss me so much, Sonia.¡± A man¡¯s gentle voice rang from behind her.


    Immediately, a smile spread across her face and she spun around to see the young man who was less


    than six feet away from her. Taking a step closer to him, she eximed, ¡°It¡¯s really you, Carl!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me alright,¡± he said with a smile and nodded. Opening his arms, he took her into a warm and tight


    hug. Carl then rested his head on her shoulder and snuggled her gently. ¡°I missed you so much, Sonia,¡±


    he whispered softly, sounding a little choked up.


    Delighted, Sonia stroked his head and said, ¡°Yeah, I missed you, too. Let go of me now. Everyone¡¯s


    watching.¡±


    ¡°No, let me hug you a little longer,¡± Carl said and held her tighter instead of releasing her.


    Shaking her head helplessly and thinking that he was still a child, Sonia simply let him be.


    Next to them, Charles rolled his eyes, thinking, This brat is always pretending to be a little pup to fool her


    and get intimate with her. Despicable! Despite his despise for Carl, he had to admit that he was rather


    envious of him because he could hug Sonia in such a way. If he was the one who tried this with her, she


    would have pushed him away at once. Snorting bitterly, he threw his head back and finished his wine in a


    gulp.


    At the same time, Toby, Tina and Titus were already in the room, and they saw Carl hugging Sonia tightly


    through the crowd. Toby¡¯s eyes squinted, and his grip on his crutch tightened as his expression turned


    glum and a storm began to brew in his eyes.


    Carl actually came back, he thought. And the first thing Sonia does is hug him so tightly. She really


    enjoys having all these men around her, doesn¡¯t she?


    TIERC70


    Feeling the cold air radiating from the man next to her, Tina stole a look at Toby and saw the jealousy in


    his eyes. A dark cloud appeared in her eyes and she said, ¡°Toby, the one hugging Miss Reed is Carl Lee,


    the same person who destroyed my banquet together with her, isn¡¯t he? I thought he already left


    Seafield, but he showed up again and is even hugging Miss Reed now. As Miss Reed¡¯s boyfriend, Mr.


    Lane is simply watching from the side without stopping them. What do you think is going on between the


    three of them?¡± A malicious smirk appeared on her face, but she rubbed it off very quickly.


    With a stony look on his face, Toby found the scene of them hugging each other to be so ring that he


    had the urge to march up to them and separate them. In addition, he wanted to warn Sonia that she was


    not allowed to be so intimate with another man. However, he knew clearly that he had no right to do so.


    ¡°That¡¯s their business, and whatever is going on between them has nothing to do with us,¡± he uttered


    coldly and looked away as he continued to walk forward with Tina trailing after him hurriedly.


    In the meantime, Charles ced down his empty ss and pulled Carl away. ¡°That¡¯s it, you¡¯ve hugged


    her long enough.¡± After Carl cast him an annoyed look, Charles met his gaze and added, ¡°Don¡¯t forget


    that everyone knows me as Sonia¡¯s boyfriend. What will they think if you hug her for so long?¡±


    OWS m


    Surprised, Carl looked around and sure enough, he saw many people criticizing them and making


    assumptions about the rtionship between the three of them. When they saw him looking their way,


    they quickly acted as though nothing happened and looked away nonchntly.


    But the moment he retracted his gaze, the people continued criticizing them, and there were many mean


    comments about what a wanton woman Sonia was and how she was hooking up with


    different men.

 Chapter 218

    Chapter 218


    Thements reached Sonia¡¯s ears as well, but she just smiled and didn¡¯t take them to heart because


    she had heard such things countless times.


    Confused, Carl looked at her smiling face and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry, Sonia?¡±


    She took a sip of juice and replied, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be angry about.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re speaking so badly about you.¡± Narrowing his eyes, Carl scanned the gossip-mongers as though


    he wanted to memorize their faces.


    Chuckling, she answered, ¡°Just let them say whatever they want. I can¡¯t possibly seal their mouths, can


    I? Furthermore, I can¡¯t be angry at so many people.¡±


    ¡°But I am!¡± A spiteful look shed in his eyes, but it disappeared the next second. These people who


    insulted Sonia¡­ I won¡¯t let any of them off!


    Not knowing what was on his mind, Sonia patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I know you


    feel unjustified for me, but you shouldn¡¯t be bothered since I¡¯m not even angry about it. Just let them be.


    They¡¯re simply a bunch of gossip-mongers, and we don¡¯t have to stoop to their level.¡±


    Grinning, Carl nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get another ss of juice,¡± she said and ced her empty ss on the side before heading


    off to the drinks corner, leaving Carl and Charles alone.


    Resting an arm on Carl¡¯s shoulder, Charles asked in a hushed voice, ¡°Rascal, are you going to do


    something to these people?¡±


    Throwing his arm off his shoulder, Carl replied coldly, ¡°Of course. I have to teach them a lesson since


    they have the nerves to insult Sonia.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m with you on this, but don¡¯t overdo it. If they be suspicious of Sonia¡ª¡±


    ¡°I got it,¡± Carl interrupted while looking at him.


    Charles patted him lightly on his shoulder and said, ¡°Good, Sonia¡¯sing back now. Don¡¯t reveal


    anything.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he muttered as Sonia came over with a ss of mango juice in her hand.


    Smiling, she asked, ¡°What are you guys talking about? I saw from afar that both of you looked very


    serious.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re just discussing your birthday gift,¡± Charles said,ughing loudly.


    Going along with his answer, Carl nodded. ¡°Yes, Sonia. What would you like for your birthday?¡±


    ¡°My birthday is in June next year,¡± she said, not knowing whether tough or cry. ¡°There¡¯s still half a year


    to go and you¡¯re already discussing what to prepare as my gift. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too early for that?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Carl replied gently, shaking his head. ¡°Some gifts have to be custom-made ahead of time.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, darling,¡± Charles agreed.


    ¡°Are you guys discussing what to get for Sonia for her birthday? Count me in as well,¡± Zane interrupted


    suddenly as he joined them.


    Charles rolled his eyes at him and said, ¡°What¡¯s Sonia¡¯s birthday got to do with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course it does since she¡¯s also my friend,¡± Zane answered, sticking out his chest.


    Snorting, Charles snapped, ¡°Let me correct that. Your friend is Toby Fuller.¡±


    ¡°So what if he is? There¡¯s no limit to the number of friends I can have, and I¡¯m also Sonia¡¯s partner in


    work, right?¡± he said and winked at Sonia.


    Charles sulked and had no words to retort all of a sudden, but Carl narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°Sonia,


    what are you working on with Mr. Coleman?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s something important, but I can¡¯t tell you the details just yet,¡± she answered, smiling.


    The feud was between the Reeds, the Grays and the Colemans. Therefore, there was no need to tell


    Carl about it because it would just cause him unnecessary worries. However, his eyes turned gloomy


    and he appeared crestfallen at the fact that she refused to tell him.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Sonia. Let me bring you to meet some important figures of the trade,¡± Zane offered


    suddenly.


    At first, Sonia¡¯s eyes sparkled, but then she scrutinized him dubiously. ¡°Why are you being so kind and


    helping me to extend mywork?¡±


    ¡°Take it as my thanks because you babysat Dous thest time. Alright, let¡¯s go now and don¡¯t keep


    them waiting.¡± Then, he grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her away.


    Even though Charles was unhappy, he didn¡¯t stop him for the sake of Sonia¡¯s career, but Carl stared at


    Zane with a somber expression and asked, ¡°Hey Charles, since when did he be so close with


    Sonia?¡±


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    He knew Zane as Toby¡¯s friend, and there weren¡¯t many exchanges between him and Sonia before, but


    how did he be so close with her in just a little more than two months? In addition, he really didn¡¯t


    like the way Zane looked at her.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because of the partnership,¡± Charles answered, swirling the wine in his ss.


    Turning to him, Carl asked, ¡°And what partnership is this, exactly?¡±


    Spreading his palm, Charles said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t try to find out more about this. Since Sonia doesn¡¯t


    want to tell you, I won¡¯t go against her wishes as well. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll introduce some key figures in the


    entertainment industry to you.¡±


    In the meantime, Sonia was able to meet many bosses and collected a lot of business cards with Zane


    as her introducer. Although many of them gave her their business cards because of Zane, there were


    also some who were impressed with her self-presentation.


    Whilst there weren¡¯t many of them, it still made Sonia very happy. At the very least, she was able to


    present herself well enough for the big bosses, and she believed that it would help her greatly in future


    partnerships.


    ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m going to the washroom. You¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the lounge area. I¡¯ve been standing for a long time and would like to sit down for a while,¡±


    she broke him off with a smile


    Nodding, Zane said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going now.¡± He ced his wine on the tray of a waiter who was passing


    by and turned to leave the room.


    After Sonia put the business cards into her handbag, she headed toward the lounge, but she had barely


    taken a few steps when a sarcastic voice belonging to a woman said, ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t this Sonia Reed? Why


    are you alone by yourself? Where are all your boyfriends?¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia pursed her lips and spun around, facing Cynthia and Tina with an expressionless


    face.


    Tina tugged at Cynthia¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Cynthia.¡± Then, she gave Sonia an apologetic


    smile. ¡°Miss Reed, I apologize on Cynthia¡¯s behalf. I¡¯m sorry, she didn¡¯t do it on purpose. It¡¯s just because


    she¡¯s an outspoken person.¡±


    ¡°Outspoken?¡± Sonia snorted. ¡°Do you know what that means? It simply means that she meant what she


    said and wasn¡¯t just shooting her mouth off. The fact that you called her an outspoken person instead of


    disagreeing with her shows that you actually agree with the things she said. Therefore, why did you even


    apologize? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a little too pretentious of you?¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, how could you say something like that¡­¡± Tina uttered, biting her lower lip and looking as


    though she had been used. ¡°Even if I said something wrong, you shouldn¡¯t have called me


    pretentious.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Cynthia echoed, raising her chin. ¡°She just used the wrong word. Do you have to be such a


    bully? Also, did I say anything wrong? You were acting so intimate with so many men¡ª¡±


    ¡°Are you envious?¡± Sonia interrupted, crossing her arms across her chest as she looked at her with


    ridicule.


    Blood rushed to Cynthia¡¯s face and she shouted angrily, ¡°Who are you calling envious?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not, then why are you trying to stir up an issue with me using Zane and the rest? You don¡¯t


    have to use the men around me as an excuse to start a fight with me,¡± Sonia snapped.


    ¡°1-¡­¡± Cynthia stammered, tongue-tied as her eyes burned with fury.


    Sweeping her disdainful gaze over them both, Sonia added, ¡°I would suggest you girls to think of a better


    excuse beforeing to pick a fight with me next time. Otherwise, you¡¯ll only make a fool out of


    yourselves.¡±


    With that said, she twirled and wanted to leave the scene, but Tina bit her lip and grabbed her arm all of


    a sudden after malice shed in her eyes.


    The moment her hand touched Sonia¡¯s arm, she acted as though she was shoved and staggered


    backward in horror before falling to the floor on her bottom. The ss she was holding shattered to


    pieces and the wine spilled all over her dress. Suddenly, the entire room fell silent and everyone turned


    their heads to look in their direction.


    Seeing that everyone was looking their way, Tina raised her head and looked at Sonia with a tear


    streaked face. ¡°Miss Reed, you¡¯re too much. You didn¡¯t have to push me just because I bumped into


    you.¡±

 Chapter 219

    Chapter 219


    AV


    In the beginning, Sonia was confused about why Tina suddenly fell, but she immediately figured out that


    she had feigned the fall herself and was now trying to frame her for it. thus, she chuckled and gazed at


    Tina with an icy look in her eyes as she asked, ¡°And when did I push you?¡±


    ¡°Could I have fallen by myself if you didn¡¯t push me?¡± Tina lifted her head and met her gaze angrily


    On


    However, Sonia snorted and retorted, ¡°Well, that¡¯s actually possible. Who knows? Maybe you fell by


    yourself and you¡¯re trying to set me up now.¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    The second she finished speaking, Cynthia pointed a finger at her and yelled, ¡°How dare you say


    something like that, Sonia Reed?! You¡¯re the one who pushed Tina, but you turned around and used


    her of falling by herself just to set you up. Who would risk getting hurt to do such a thing?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± The people who were watching nodded in agreement, and the edges of Tina¡¯s lips curled


    up ever so lightly as a smug look appeared in her eyes.


    Let¡¯s see how you wriggle yourself out of this, Sonia, she thought.


    ¡°You heard them,¡± Cynthia said, her hands on her hips. ¡°Nobody thinks that Tina would do something like


    that. Moreover, I saw with my own eyes that you were the one who pushed her. What do you have to say


    now?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    Sonia was about to speak up when a deep, male voice cut her off. ¡°Tina!¡±


    ¡°Toby,¡± Tina whimpered. With tears in her eyes, she gazed at the man rushing toward her and extended


    her hand toward him.


    After he helped her up, he looked at her dirtied dress and frowned. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Tina. Tell me what happened here.¡± Titus, who arrived with Toby, wanted to understand the


    situation as well. He threw a dirty look at Sonia. Clearly, he suspected that she was the one who pushed


    Tina to the floor.


    Sonia merely rolled her eyes and snorted instead of saying anything.


    Tina sobbed while she was in Toby¡¯s embrace. ¡°Earlier, Cynthia and I saw Miss Reed, so we came over


    to say hi to her, but she identally pushed me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean she identally pushed you?¡± Cynthia barked indignantly. ¡°Why are you still trying


    to make things look better for her at a time like this? Just tell President Fuller directly that it was Sonia


    who pushed you down on purpose.¡±


    Toby turned to Sonia and saw that she was veryposed; she didn¡¯t seem to be flustered at all.


    From that, he knew that there was another side to the story in this situation.


    However, to be fair, he still asked, ¡°Sonia, did you push Tina?¡±


    Before she could answer, Titus snorted and interrupted their conversation. ¡°Toby, Cynthia witnessed


    everything. Why are you still asking her that question?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, President Fuller. But I¡¯m not the only one. Everyone else saw it as well,¡± Cynthia said while


    pointing at the people crowding around.


    The people weren¡¯t expecting that she would drag them into the mess, so they were mad at her.


    Nevertheless, with Toby at the scene and the fact that Tina was his fianc¨¦e, they didn¡¯t want to offend


    her. After all, offending Tina was as good as offending Toby himself.


    Compared to getting on the wrong side of Tina, they would rather put Sonia on the spot instead. Thus,


    they quickly bobbed their heads, expressing that they had really witnessed the incident.


    For some unknown reason, the sight of the crowd nodding sparked an inexplicable fire of fury within


    Toby, and it showed on his face. However, the people merely thought that he was really mad at Sonia


    because he believed that she was the one who pushed Tina.


    Even Tina jumped to the same assumption, so she twisted her head around to throw a triumphant smile


    at Sonia when the others weren¡¯t watching.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia grinned wryly and thought, The viin is really happy, huh?


    ¡°What do you have to say, Sonia?¡± Toby asked tly with his eyes fixed on her.


    Titus was obviously disgruntled when he heard that. ¡°Toby, why are you still letting her defend herself


    when the people here saw that she was the one who pushed Tina? Just send her to the police


    immediately!¡±


    Toby frowned slightly, but other than that, he showed no other signs of having heard Titus. He simply


    kept his eyes on Sonia, for he wanted to hear her say that she didn¡¯t do anything like that. Unexpectedly


    though, she yed with her fingernails as she smiled slightly. ¡°What should I say? And who would


    believe my words? Will you?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips moved, and the words ¡®I will¡¯ almost slipped out. Still, his rationality took over him at thest


    second, and he dropped his gaze without saying a thing.


    Just then, three strong voices boomed through the crowd simultaneously. ¡°I believe her!¡±


    The crowd turned to the source of the voices, and they saw three men with different looks and height, but


    all equally dashing, marching toward them. The aura they carried was so intimidating that the crowd


    opened up a path for them automatically.


    The three men were none other than Charles, Zane, and Carl.


    Like guardians angels, they strode up to Sonia and stood in front of her protectively before giving


    everyone a re with their sharp eyes and dered loudly, ¡°We believe that she didn¡¯t


    push anyone!¡±


    Even the onlookers had to admit that they were intimidated by the arrival of these three men, and some


    of them hung their heads out of guilt. Of course, there were also some ignorant daredevils that started


    discussing among themselves in hushed voices, saying that Sonia was so well-practiced in controlling


    men that all three of them could be on such good terms with each other even when she was flirting with


    them all at once.


    But the majority of the people with suchments were women, and they all sounded jealous. It was


    obvious to anyone who saw them that they were envious of Sonia. Undeniably, they wished to be just


    like Sonia-loved and protected by so many outstanding men. Of course, Tina was one of them as well.


    She always knew that Sonia always got along well with men, so she devised a scheme and


    impersonated Sonia to snatch Toby from her after she learned that Sonia was the one writing to Toby.


    Initially, she thought that Sonia would have nothing left after she snatched Toby away from her, but to her


    dismay, the men revolving around her grew in number with Toby out of the picture.


    This is so unfair! She was so angry that her eyes were bloodshot, and she was biting her lip.


    On the other hand, the look on Toby¡¯s face was unpleasant, and an iprehensible feeling of enmity


    rose up in his chest the second Charles, Zane, and Carl showed up.


    Furthermore, this sense of enmity intensified when a delighted smile broke out on Sonia¡¯s face after she


    saw them arriving. He even had the urge to strangle all three of them.


    ¡°So what if you believe her? Everyone here saw that she pushed my daughter. What can the three of you


    prove?¡± Titus yelled, his face livid.


    Tina gripped Toby¡¯s sleeves tightly and sniffled aggrievedly in his arms. Right then, someone else joined


    the scene-the organizer of the banquet, Michael and Brenda.


    Brenda approached the scene while holding her husband¡¯s arm and nced at Tina, who was in Toby¡¯s


    arms. Then, she asked with a stiff smile on her face, ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡±


    ¡°You arrived at the perfect timing, Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin,¡± Titus said. He shot Sonia another dirty look


    before telling everything that happened minutes ago.


    After listening to him, Brenda nodded and said, ¡°So that¡¯s what happened. If I understood it correctly,


    everyone is now debating if Miss Reed really pushed Miss Gray, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Titus answered solemnly while nodding ¡°But I believe that she was the one who pushed my


    daughter. Even Cynthia herself said that everyone had seen it.¡±


    In response, Sonia merely smiled without saying anything. Charles, on the other hand, kept the


    argument going, a displeased look on his face. ¡°So you¡¯re just taking her word for it?¡±


    Carl stood forward as well. He had a stony look on his usually gentle face when he spoke. ¡°I


    believe Sonia isn¡¯t a person like that, and I know her very well. If she was the one who pushed Tina, she


    would have admitted it. Since she didn¡¯t admit to it, it only means that it wasn¡¯t her.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think Sonia didn¡¯t push Tina as well. On the other hand, Tina has past records of staging an act


    before,¡± Zane added. He was ncing at Tina with a half-smirk.


    Upon hearing that, Tina burrowed deeper into Toby¡¯s embrace, appearing to be terrified. Titus pointed his


    finger at Sonia and her friends while shouting, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare nder Tina!¡±

 Chapter 220

    Chapter 220


    ¡°You can¡¯t just simply say that these young men are ndering Miss Gray or not. You need proof. What


    do you think, everyone?¡± Brenda asked with a thoughtful smile. She then released Michael¡¯s arm and


    took a step forward.


    Seeing that she had a point, everyone nodded, and Tina¡¯s heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach


    when she saw the smile on Brenda¡¯s face. Immediately, she had a bad premonition, which made her


    tense up.


    Sensing the abnormality in her, Toby lowered his head and asked in concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°1-I¡¯m alright,¡± she uttered stiffly. ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m hurting a little from the fall earlier. Can you please bring


    me to a doctor, Toby?¡±


    Her instincts told her that she had to leave this ce as soon as possible, or something beyond her


    control would probably happen.


    Subconsciously, Toby wanted to tell her that he could take her to the doctor after this issue was resolved,


    but when he looked into her pleading eyes, he nodded in agreement in the end. Then, he helped Tina up


    and was about to turn to leave when Sonia saw them.


    She narrowed her eyes and stopped them emotionlessly. ¡°Wait a minute, why are you leaving before


    everything is cleared up?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Sonia is the person you guys used of pushing Tina, and she¡¯s still standing here without any


    ns of leaving. So, why are you guys in such a hurry to go instead? Could it be that you¡¯re guilty of


    crying wolf?¡± Charles said.


    As Zane and Carl nodded, a hint of sarcasm appeared in Brenda¡¯s eyes.


    Tina turned around. Her eyes were red and she whimpered, ¡°We¡¯re not leaving. I just want to go to the


    doctor¡¯s because I¡¯m hurting. Toby can vouch for that.¡±


    Nodding in acknowledgement, Toby said, ¡°We¡¯ll be back after a visit to the doctor¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Who knows how long it will take you at the doctor¡¯s.¡± Carl pointed that out, and he folded his arms


    across his chest


    ¡°He¡¯s right. You don¡¯t have to visit the doctor yourself. What will you do if it worsens the injury? It¡¯s better


    to just call a doctor here. Is that all right, Mrs. Laughlin?¡± Zane turned toward Brenda.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s all right,¡± Brenda said as she waved for a server and instructed him to get a doctor here.


    There was no time at all for Tina to stop her, and she could only watch in vain as the server left the room.


    She was burning with rage. I knew it! These people here are picking on me and putting me on the spot


    on purpose!


    ¡°Miss Gray, you don¡¯t look too happy. Are you unhappy that we called a doctor for you? That¡¯s not right.


    It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t thank us for trying to take care of you, but you¡¯re even getting mad at us now. That¡¯s


    too much of you.¡± Charles criticized Tina directly while looking at her as though she was an insensible


    child.


    Even the onlookers chirped in. ¡°Yeah, Miss Gray. You¡¯re in the wrong this time.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Tina muttered. She was hopping mad with anger.


    Beside her, Toby patted her shoulder and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Tina. They¡¯re right, you shouldn¡¯t be


    angry over this.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± She trailed off, her body shaking with anger. Am I angry because of this? The reason I¡¯m so mad is


    because these people stopped me from leaving! Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t say what was on her mind,


    so she shut her mouth as she tried to suppress the anger inside.


    Soon, the doctor arrived. With so many pairs of eyes on her, Tina couldn¡¯t turn the doctor away, so she


    had to let him inspect her.


    After giving her a checkup, the doctor said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing serious with this youngdy. Just a minor


    scratch on her arm. Nothing a band-aid can¡¯t do.¡±


    ¡°I got it. Please send the doctor out,¡± Brenda instructed the server who brought the doctor in.


    After they left, Sonia flipped her hair and said, ¡°All right. The drama is over now. Since there¡¯s nothing


    serious with Miss Gray, let us continue from where we left off earlier and figure out exactly how she fell


    so we can be done with this sooner.¡±


    Cynthia snorted and pointed at Sonia¡¯s nose. ¡°No matter what you say, the truth is that you¡¯re the one


    who pushed Tina.¡±


    Toby threw a frosty nce at Cynthia, thinking that she was a detestable person, but he simply couldn¡¯t


    exin why he disliked all these people who used Sonia.


    ¡°Cynthia is right,¡± Titus added. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to be said about this. Mrs. Laughlin, you must have


    sent her the invitation since she was able to get in here, but I think you should throw out people like this


    who arecking in ethics, lest they ruin this banquet.¡±


    With furrowed brows, Toby said, ¡°Mr. Gray, we still haven¡¯t gotten to the bottom of the matter yet.¡±


    ¡°Of course we already did. Cynthia already said it so clearly, and so many people here had also seen it


    with their own eyes. Are you trying to cover up for your ex-wife, Toby?¡± Titus asked. His eyes were


    widened with disbelief, while Tina sniffled sadly beside Toby.


    Feeling frustrated, Toby loosened his tie and replied in his husky voice, ¡°I¡¯m not covering up for anyone,


    but you need proof for everything. So what if someone had seen it? Where is the evidence?¡±


    When Sonia heard it, she looked at him in surprise. She was shocked that he could actually say


    something that was actually fair. But this is unlike him, she thought. Doesn¡¯t he always trust Tina


    unconditionally?


    Titus snorted. ¡°Toby Fuller, I think you¡¯re just trying to protect your ex-wife.¡± Turning to Sonia, he


    continued sarcastically, ¡°I really didn¡¯t know that you can be that good at your ways with men. You


    already have so many men by your side, but you¡¯re still trying to get your ex-husband¡ª¡±


    ¡°What did you say, old fart? Don¡¯t make me hit you!¡± Charles roared. He was fuming mad as he raised


    his fist and was about to lunge forward.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Charles!¡± Sonia shouted.


    Zane held Charles back as he tried to reason with him. ¡°Don¡¯t act impulsively, Charles. I know you¡¯re


    angry, because I¡¯m angry as well. Still, that¡¯s not reason enough to hit someone else. We didn¡¯t see how


    Tina fell, but everyone will witness it once you hit someone, and that will just mean more trouble after


    that.¡±


    Even though Carl found it a pity that Charles wasn¡¯t able to teach Titus a lesson, he already decided that


    he would do it himself after returning.


    Still oblivious to the fact that he had been targeted, Titus staggered backward fearfully and then pointed


    his finger at Charles furiously. ¡°The nerve of you to raise your hand at me, you b*stard. Mrs. Laughlin,


    didn¡¯t you go through the guest list before sending out the invitations? Why did you invite these sorts of


    people?¡±


    Brenda chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s my fault that you guys are invited because I didn¡¯t go through the


    guest list beforehand.¡± All of a sudden, her smile faded and her face turned stern. ¡°Someone, throw the


    Grays out of here!¡± she ordered loudly.


    Upon hearing that, everyone was shocked, and there was soon an uproar. Why were the Grays being


    thrown out instead of Sonia and her friends?


    Even Sonia and her friends were puzzled. When Brenda first started to speak, they thought that they


    would be the ones to be thrown out, but not even in their wildest imagination did they think that it would


    be Titus and Tina instead.


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    After Toby stole a look at Brenda, he lowered his gaze as though he had understood the situation.


    Rubbing his forehead in exasperation, he then released his hold on Tina. ¡°I¡¯m really disappointed, Tina!¡±


    he said abruptly.


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina muttered. Panic-stricken, she tried to grab his sleeve, but he avoided her grasp, and her


    heart sank. My instincts were right, she thought. There was something off about Mrs. Laughlin¡¯s smile


    earlier, and sure enough, the situation now haspletely spiraled out of my expectations and control.


    With a crestfallen expression, Titus asked, ¡°Are you kidding, Mrs. Laughlin?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± she answered with a smile as she met his eyes.


    The muscles on Titus¡¯ face twitched. ¡°May I ask you for the reason, please? We¡¯re the ones who suffered


    an injustice, yet you want to chase us out instead. If you don¡¯t give us a reason, your


    family will lose its footing in society and our families will be enemies from now on.¡±


    ¡°Is this a threat to me, Mr. Gray?¡± Brenda asked in return, a frosty smile stered to her face.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to,¡± he answered stiffly. ¡°But I just find it unfair.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m always fair in everything I do, so I have my reason for chasing you out, and one of it is


    your daughter,¡± she answered, then she turned to gaze at Tina.

 Chapter 221

    Chapter 221


    Everyone shifted their gazes toward Tina, and she turned into the center of attention. Her first instinct


    was to hide behind Toby, but Toby forcefully pressed his hand against her shoulder in order to stop her


    from shrinking away. ¡°Tina, you need to learn how to own up to the mistakes that you¡¯ve made!¡±


    Tina widened her eyes and red at him with a look of disbelief on her face. She seemed to be ming


    him for forcing her to admit her faults instead of offering help to her. A hateful look shed in her eyes as


    she bit her lower lip. Although the look in her eyes onlysted for a split second, Toby froze as he caught


    her ring at him. Does Tina hate me just because I didn¡¯t stand on her side?


    ¡°It seems like you know about it, President Fuller. I don¡¯t think I have to beat around the bush anymore


    then.¡± Brenda took a sip of red wine before she continued, ¡°I was on the second floor earlier, and I saw


    Miss Gray knocking against Miss Reed¡¯s arm with my very own eyes. Miss Reed didn¡¯t do anything at all


    ¡ª Miss Gray copsed onto the ground on her own.¡±


    ¡°In other words, Tina faked her own fall and went on to frame our baby for it, huh?¡± Charles started


    getting excited as he spoke.


    Brenda nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Both Zane and Carl heaved a sigh of relief once they heard Brenda¡¯s


    words. They were d that she was on their side. Even Toby rxed his firmly knitted eyebrows as he


    watched Sonia giving Brenda a sincere bow. ¡°Thank you for speaking up for me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it entirely for you. I just don¡¯t like watching others pulling such nasty tricks on my turf,¡±


    Brenda said with a smile. Tina¡¯s face turned beet red once she heard Brenda¡¯s words.


    Even Titus¡¯s expression had turned sour, but he continued to grit his teeth and stuck to his guns. ¡°That¡¯s


    not what the girl from the Stone Family saw. She saw Sonia pushing Tina with her own eyes!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you sure you saw it happen?¡± Brenda¡¯s casual smile remained on her face as she turned


    toward Cynthia.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Cynthia appeared rather flustered. She hadn¡¯t expected Brenda to be on the second floor. After


    ncing at Brenda, Cynthia turned back to look at Tina and Titus.


    Tina gave Cynthia an encouraging nod. ¡°Say it, Cynthia. Tell them that you saw it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Cynthia. Say it. You should just be honest since you saw it with your own eyes,¡± Titus added


    to show his support.


    ¡°¡­¡± Cynthia stuttered for a moment. She felt especially pressured as she was surrounded by a bunch of


    individuals who were of greater status than she was. She finally broke into tears when she couldn¡¯t


    handle it any longer, ¡°¡­ I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Titus¡¯s face fell. ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡±


    Once more, a sh of hatred flickered in Tina¡¯s eyes. F*ck! I can¡¯t believe Cynthia betrayed me! Cynthia


    no longer had the guts to look at Titus and Tina, so she hung her head low as she spoke in an anxious


    tone. ¡°I was angry at Sonia, so I wasn¡¯t paying any attention to Tina. I only saw that she fell after I heard


    her screaming, but I didn¡¯t see how she fell at all.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Titus¡¯s hands were trembling with fury. ¡°Why did you say that you saw something, then?¡±


    ¡°Well, Tina¡¯s my friend, so¡­¡± Cynthia muttered.


    ¡°So, you imed that you saw something,¡± Sonia sneered. ¡°It seems like you are Tina¡¯s true friend, but


    I¡¯m afraid Tina has never treated you like one,¡± she continued.


    ¡°What?¡± Cynthia shifted her gaze to Sonia. Even Toby quietly turned to look at Sonia after he heard what


    she had said.


    The moment Tina sensed that something wasn¡¯t right, she hastily concealed all the rage and hatred that


    she felt to put on a dejected expression as she looked at Cynthia. Cynthia instantly forgot everything that


    Zane had said she was overwhelmed by the guilt she felt for betraying her good friend. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tina.


    I¡­¡±


    Tina turned away to avoid Cynthia¡¯s gaze, and Cynthia looked at the floor in disappointment. Brenda


    merely shook her head as she watched this happen.


    Meanwhile, Titus wasn¡¯t prepared to give up on the matter. ¡°Well, Cynthia might not have seen anything,


    but what about everyone else?¡± He nced at the rest of the guests. ¡°They imed that they saw


    something as well.¡±


    ¡°What a stubborn mule,¡± Charles couldn¡¯t stop himself from mumbling under his breath. Titus was close


    to losing his temper the moment he heard Charles¡¯s words, but he controlled his anger the moment he


    thought about the fist earlier.


    One of the guests got to his feet awkwardly. ¡°Well, President Gray, we didn¡¯t actually see anything. We


    just said that we saw something because we didn¡¯t want to offend President Fuller in any way.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Charles and Zane burst into fits ofughter the moment they heard the guest¡¯s words. Sonia and


    the more introverted Carl both tugged their lips upward as scornful looks formed on their faces. Toby was


    the only person whose expression had turned eerily grim. ¡°So, you guys twisted the truth just because


    you all were afraid of offending me?¡±


    ¡°Miss Tina is your fianc¨¦e, after all,¡± the same guest replied meekly. Toby wanted to argue against that,


    but he didn¡¯t know where to start. If Sonia has to be wrongfully med just because Tina is my fianc¨¦e,


    will the rest of these people stand up for the Gray Family whenever the Gray Family uses my name to do


    something in the future? Will the Grays receive support just because they are my inws? Toby realized


    he had been too lenient with the Gray Family at that moment. This isn¡¯t going to work out!


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    ¡°You¡­ you guys¡­¡± Titus hadn¡¯t expected the rest of the guests to lie about what they saw with Tina and


    Sonia just for the sake of pleasing Toby. In his bout of fury, Titus felt his vision turning dark as he nearly


    fainted. His insides were filled with hatred for the guests, Cynthia, and even Tina, who had rebelled


    against him. He had the desire to defend himself, but he didn¡¯t have the


    ability to gain control over the whole crowd. He had huge ns butcked capabilities!


    ¡°What else would you like to say, Mr. Gray? If you wish to go on, I can always pull out the surveince


    tapes.¡± Brenda gave Titus a smile. Titus clenched his fists as he felt his throat turning dry. ¡°There¡¯s no


    need for that, Brenda. It¡¯s entirely our fault-we had misunderstood Miss Reed. Hurry and apologize,


    Tina,¡± he uttered.


    As much as Tina didn¡¯t want to do so, she had already embarrassed herself enough that day. Everyone


    was shooting judgmental gazes toward her-she¡¯d only make herself look worse if she refused to provide


    an apology. She therefore had no choice but to apologize to Sonia, and she did so in a reluctant tone.


    Sonia grinned. ¡°I think you owe Miss Brenda an apology, Miss Gray. You didn¡¯t just disrupt the whole


    event by attempting to frame me; you also showed up in the wrong outfit.¡±


    The wrong outfit? Everyone turned to look at Tina¡¯s dress immediately. Those who were a little smarter


    snickered as they quickly realized what Sonia meant. Some of the other guests wore looks of confusion


    on their faces as they couldn¡¯t understand what was going on-Charles and Zane were among this group.


    Carl, on the other hand, belonged to the smarter group that understood what was going on. Toby was


    part of that group as well, and he pressed his thin lips together before he spoke. ¡°Who was the one who


    arranged for you to wear this, Tina?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my outfit?¡± Tina clearly didn¡¯tprehend the situation.


    SA


    Sonia smiled. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with your dress, though I can¡¯t say the same for the fur shawl on


    your shoulder and the purse in your hands.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Brenda¡¯s expression dimmed. ¡°This is the second reason I¡¯m chasing you out of here. Our


    theme for today¡¯s event is the protection of wildlife-all my other guests are dressed appropriately, but you


    showed up with a fur shawl over your shoulders and a purse made with alligator skin in your hands. Are


    you trying to embarrass us?¡±


    Titus gasped the moment he heard Brenda¡¯s words. ¡°Hurry up and tell me who was the one who


    arranged this outfit for you!¡± he shouted at Tina angrily. Titus hadn¡¯t noticed anything earlier, but now, he


    realized that his rebellious daughter had shown up in an outfit that went against the whole theme of the


    event. He was fuming.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a stylist, so I styled myself¡­ No. It was her! Sonia¡¯s the one who¡¯s trying to make me look


    bad!¡± Tina seemed to recall something at the veryst moment and pointed at Sonia.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Sonia once more. ¡°Stop talking nonsense, Tina.¡± Toby frowned.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense! She was really the one who told me to wear this!¡± Tina stomped her foot in


    anger.


    Titus found a reason to attack Sonia once more. ¡°Hah. So you were the one!¡±


    Charles and the rest were just about to speak up when Sonia stopped them from doing so.

 Chapter 222

    Chapter 222


    ¡°Are you saying that it¡¯s my fault?¡± Sonia sniggered. ¡°Why don¡¯t you exin how I made you dress up in


    this, then? Could I have gone over to your ce just to force you into your dress?¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t at my house. You were at the clothing store!¡± Tina clenched her fists as she spoke.


    The smile on Sonia¡¯s face grew wider. ¡°Oh? Are you talking about the store where you got this outfit? I


    don¡¯t remember making you dress up this way at the store.¡±


    ¡°You and Reba were the ones who said that this dress went well with the fur shawl and this purse.


    That was why I-¡± Before Tina could finish speaking, Sonia clutched her stomach and burst intoughter.


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Charles, Zane, and Carlughed along with her. Even Brenda shook her head with a mocking grin


    on her face.


    Toby, Titus, and Cynthia were the only ones who didn¡¯t have smiles on their faces. Weariness spread


    across Toby¡¯s face as he massaged the space between his brows. Cynthia held her head low the whole


    time, and Titus looked as if he was ready to disappear into a hole in the ground. How could I have a


    daughter as idiotic as her?! he thought.


    ¡°What are you guysughing about?!¡± Tina dug her nails into her palms as she red fiercely and Sonia


    and the rest.


    Charles had to massage his cheeks as they were sore fromughing. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We¡¯re justughing


    because we haven¡¯t met someone as dumb as you. You picked this outfit just because my darling said


    that those pieces went well together. Are you brainless or something?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t get to see her in this outfit if she had a brain, right?¡± Carl¡¯s voice was gentle, but his gaze


    was icy-cold.


    ¡°You guys¡­ You¡­¡± Tina¡¯s entire body was trembling madly. Toby ced a hand over her shoulder and


    tightened his grip around her. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Tina. Stop causing trouble.¡±


    ¡°Toby¡­ They¡¯ve gone overboard with their words, and you still think that I¡¯m the one causing trouble.


    Why aren¡¯t you on my side at all?¡± Tina widened her eyes as she looked at him resentfully. Titus wasn¡¯t


    pleased with Toby¡¯s actions either.


    Toby pressed his lips together and was about to say something when Sonia spoke up. Checking her


    nails, she said, ¡°Look, Miss Gray, I did tell Reba about how the dress, the fur shawl, and the purse


    made from alligator skin looked good together while we were at the store. However, I never suggested


    you wear it. We¡¯re enemies-why would I give you any suggestions? I hadn¡¯t expected you to eavesdrop


    on our conversation, and I hadn¡¯t expected you to wear the same exact outfit to this event.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense. You and Reba were speaking so loudly that day-it¡¯s obvious that you were


    trying to get me to overhear your conversation. What do you mean when you say that I was


    cavesdropping? You guys were clearly setting up a trap for me to walk into it!¡± Tina cried at the top of her


    lungs.


    V


    Zane rolled his eyes. ¡°Do you have any proof? If you don¡¯t, then you should shut up. You¡¯re the one who


    was dumb enough to go along with what others said, and you dug your own grave in the


    end.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡±Tina started.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Brenda frowned as she interrupted Tina. ¡°This is my turf-you can go back to the Gray


    Residence if you want to throw a tantrum. Alright. Please get Miss and Mr. Gray to leave my party now.


    They are not wee here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± A few waiters who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere nodded as they gestured for


    Tina and Titus to head to the exit.


    As much as Titus was fuming on the inside, he decided that he already had enough embarrassment for


    that day. He no longer wanted to stay at the party, so he forced a smile as he bid goodbye. ¡°We¡¯ll stop


    bothering you now, Miss Brenda. Goodbye. Come on, Tina.¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± Tina wasn¡¯t quite done yet, but Titus grabbed her arm and tugged her away from Toby. After


    sending Toby a fierce re, Titus forcefully dragged Tina out of the hall. They¡¯d only embarrass


    themselves even more if they didn¡¯t leave then.


    ¡°Sh*t, they left just like that. They didn¡¯t even apologize to you, baby.¡± Charles pouted.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t need an apology from them. Anyway, they really embarrassed themselves today.


    I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get to see some hrious stuff about them on the Inte tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Charles chuckled as he thought about their misfortune. Toby nced at Charles and


    frowned a little, but he didn¡¯t say anything in the end.


    ¡°You¡¯re the daughter of the Stone Family, aren¡¯t you?¡± Brenda turned her focus toward Cynthia all of a


    sudden.


    Cynthia raised her head bashfully. ¡°Y-Yes. Oliver Stone is my father.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a pretty loyal friend, but you aren¡¯t too smart, are you? Tina was using you as her weapon, and


    you didn¡¯t even realize it,¡± Brendamented tly. Charles and Zane chuckled while blood rushed to


    Cynthia¡¯s cheeks. A well-respected senior just called me dumb. I¡¯d rather she stab me in the chest right


    now, Cynthia thought.


    ¡°Well, you should leave as well. I don¡¯t recall inviting anyone from the Stone Family, so the girl from the


    Gray Family must have brought you over. In that case, you have no reason to stay since the Grays have


    left.¡± Brenda waved her hand as she gave out her orders.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Cynthia nodded hastily and grunted in agreement before she strode toward the exit with her gaze fixed


    on the ground. Everyone will know about Tina after today, and I¡¯ll be involved as well. I¡¯m sure half of the


    town will beughing at me tomorrow.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave since everyone¡¯s heading off.¡± Charles put his palms behind his head and rested on it as he


    spoke. Carl took a nce at Sonia¡¯s dress. ¡°Your dress has some wine stains on it. You should get


    changed.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave just yet. I need to meet someone for a talkter,¡± Zane uttered as he let out a regretful sigh.


    Charles beamed happily when he heard this. ¡°You can take your time. There¡¯s no rush. You can have the


    talk until next year if you wish to.¡±


    Charles patted Zane on the shoulder. I roish Zane would never show up beside my darling ever again. I


    can clearly tell that he¡¯s interested in my darling. She only needs Carl and me by her side-Zane doesn¡¯s


    have to be around. We dont have enough of my darling¡¯s attention to share it toith him,


    Zane chuckled and pushed Charles¡¯s hand away. After bidding goodbye to Brenda, Sonia, Toby. and the


    rest, Zane headed to the lounge where he was supposed to meet someone.


    ¡°It¡¯ste now, Miss Brenda. I guess we should make a move too. I¡¯m sorry that we ruined your party


    tonight.¡± Sonia gave Brenda a sincere apology along with a bow.


    Brenda giggled. ¡°To be honest, I was angry at first. However, after I saw how calm andposed you


    seemed the whole time, I realized how much I admired you. You should head off now. Drive safe.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia, Charles, and Carl left together after Sonia shook Brenda¡¯s hand. As Sonia walked past


    Toby, she didn¡¯t bother to nce at him at all-it was almost like he didn¡¯t exist in her world.


    Toby felt a hollow sensation in his chest, and he subconsciously raised his hand up in an attempt to hold


    onto her and stop her from leaving. However, he didn¡¯t manage to touch her, and she eventually


    disappeared from his sight. Toby lowered his gaze and curled his fist up while lowering his hand.


    Brenda happened to witness this scene, so she questioned him with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you and


    Miss Reed¡¯s divorce in the past. People say that you left Miss Reed because you no longer had feelings


    for her. However, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case, huh?¡±


    Toby stuck his hand into his pocket as he parted his thin lips to reply to Brenda. ¡°Stop kidding, Miss


    Brenda. There¡¯s no such thing. Tina¡¯s the only one I love.¡± Me, having feelings for Sonia? How could that


    be possible? Toby pressed his lips together as he swallowed the hint of emotion that seemed to have


    been caught in his throat. Hepletely denied what Brenda had said about him.


    She raised an eyebrow as she put on an amused smirk. ¡°Is that so? I guess I was wrong, then. My


    apologies.¡±


    ¡°No worries,¡± he replied faintly. She took another sip of her wine, ¡°Come to think of it, how did you and


    Miss Gray fall in love, President Fuller? Miss Gray wasatose for six years, and I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t


    know her before that, did you?¡±


    ¡°I knew Tina a long time ago,¡± Toby said with a shake of his head. ¡°It¡¯s been more than ten years now,


    but we started as penpals. I only officially met her six years ago.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Brenda said as she nodded thoughtfully. She smiled before she continued with her words. ¡°I¡¯m


    still really curious, President Fuller. How did you fall in love with Miss Gray?¡±

 Chapter 223

    Chapter 223


    Toby¡¯s lips twitched a little. He intended to say that he had fallen for Tina because of the lovely traits that


    he had seen through her letters to him. However, he couldn¡¯t seem to bring himself to utter the words


    even though they were at the tip of his tongue. Does Tina really have good traits? Her alter ego doesn¡¯t


    have it, obviously. But it seems like I can¡¯t find any good traits even in her original person. All I can think


    of are the negative things like her pettiness and stinginess. The Tina I know today is nothing like the


    lively, kind, and perfect Tina I met through the letters. I sometimes feel like I can no longer love her.


    However, I swore even before I met Tina in person that I would make sure she would be happy for the


    rest of her life. So, I will not give up on her even if I feel like I can¡¯t love her anymore. Unless. Tina wasn¡¯t


    the one who wrote to me at all. Could that be possible?


    A self-deprecating look shed across Toby¡¯s eyes for a brief moment, and he took a ss of red wine


    from the waiter¡¯s tray before he replied to Brenda, ¡°I love her because I love her. There¡¯s no need for a


    reason.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for being so blunt, but an outstanding man like you shouldn¡¯t fall for someone like Miss Gray.


    Furthermore, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re able to see what sort of person she is, President Fuller.¡± Brenda moved her


    wine ss in circles as she smiled at Toby.


    Toby sucked his lips inward. ¡°I do. But I¡¯ve made a promise to Tina.¡±


    1


    ¡°You sure ce a lot of weight on your promises, President Fuller. However, I still hope that you can


    leave Miss Gray as she¡¯s not a good fit for you. She doesn¡¯t match up to your standards, and she¡¯s


    nothing inparison to your ex-wife. More importantly, she might end up causing even bigger troubles


    someday. I think you should really consider my words, President Fuller.¡± Brenda left after finishing her


    sentence.


    Brenda only bothered to speak up because of her gratitude toward Rose. When Brenda was younger


    and had been bullied by her grandmother, it was Rose who had stepped forth to help her. That was why


    Brenda wanted to return the favor by giving Toby some advice. However, whether or not Toby listened to


    her words waspletely up to him.


    Toby¡¯s gaze darkened as he watched Brenda walking off. He looked as if he was contemting


    something. A whileter, he finished his red wine and pulled his phone out to send Sonia a text. ¡®I¡¯m


    sorry about tonight.¡¯


    Sonia was in the car, and she had been talking to Charles and Carl when her phone rang. She pulled it


    out and took a nce before frowning. Carl, who was driving, noticed the annoyance on her face through


    the rearview mirror. ¡°Who is it, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Toby,¡± she replied.


    Charles, who was sitting in the passenger¡¯s seat, turned around abruptly. ¡°Why is he looking for you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He just sent me a text. Let me read it,¡± Sonia said as she opened Toby¡¯s message. She


    sneered when she saw the short text from Toby. Upon seeing that, Charles snatched her phone over


    curiously, but he merely rolled his eyes after he saw the text. ¡°He¡¯s apologizing on


    behalf of Tina again, isn¡¯t he? He has been apologizing for her so frequently in the past few months. I¡¯m


    sick of it even if he isn¡¯t! Let me reply to this for you, darling.¡± Charles began to type as he spoke. ¡°If you


    truly feel like you¡¯ve wronged me, then why don¡¯t you send Tina to jail? That would prove the sincerity of


    your apologies. Right now, you¡¯re saying sorry without doing anything. I don¡¯t need an insincere apology


    like this. You should keep your useless apologies to yourself! Send!¡± Charles mumbled the text out as he


    typed.


    ¡°How is it, darling? It¡¯s not too bad, right?¡± Charles returned the phone to Sonia.


    ¡°Not bad at all,¡± she replied in an encouraging tone. Charles looked positively happy when he heard that.


    Carl rolled his eyes at Charles before he hastily joined the conversation. ¡°I can do the same thing,


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°I trust that you¡¯d do a good job, but I¡¯d rather you focus on driving now. Stop looking at other ces! It¡¯s


    dangerous for you to do that.¡± Sonia patted the back o


    Carl let out a timid ¡°Okay¡±. Charles shot him a boastful grin, but Carl couldn¡¯t be bothered to respond.


    On the other end, Toby narrowed his eyes once he received Sonia¡¯s reply. He could immediately tell that


    it wasn¡¯t Sonia who had replied to his message. Ever since they had a divorce, Sonia was cold and


    distant toward him, so she¡¯d only reply with a short text if he sent her anything. She would never bother


    typing such a long paragraph. So, was it Carl or Charles who had sent me this message? Where are


    they? How did one of these two guys use Sonia¡¯s phone to reply to me? Are they in own their houses, or


    are they in Sonia¡¯s house? Regardless of what the answers to his questions were, Toby felt an uneasy


    feeling in his chest. He was so frustrated that he felt like crushing his phone into pieces.


    After pinching the bridge of his nose and suppressing the anger within him, he finally sent Sonia another


    text. ¡®Where¡¯s Sonia?¡¯


    Sonia raised a puzzled eyebrow the moment she received his text. I can¡¯t believe he could tell that I


    wasn¡¯t the one who sent that text. Well, so what if he could tell? Do I need to exin myself to him?


    Sonia sneered before she switched her cell phone off. She couldn¡¯t be bothered to read his texts


    anymore.


    Meanwhile, Toby waited for a few minutes without getting any reply. He pressed his lips into a thin line


    when he finally understood that Sonia had no ns of replying to him. What is she doing now? Why isn¡¯t


    she replying? Is she busy with Charles or Carl¡­ Thud! Toby¡¯s expression was livid as mmed the base


    of his wine ss against the table. All of a sudden, the neck of the wine ss shattered, and the ss


    shards sliced his palm open. A mixture of red wine and blood spilled all over the table.


    A waiter who had been standing around hurried over to clean it up immediately. ¡°Are you okay, President


    Fuller? I¡¯ll get you a doctor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Toby got himself a tissue and pressed it against his wound without any expression on his face.


    It was almost as if he couldn¡¯t feel the pain at all. After cleaning his wound, he threw the tissue aside and


    pulled out a handkerchief from his chest pocket. He then wrapped it around his palm and tied a knot; he


    considered his wound treated after that. ¡°I need to leave as I have some


    matters to deal with. Please help me pass the message to the hosts.¡± With that, Toby stuck his hands


    into his pockets and strode out of the hall.


    He couldn¡¯t picture what Sonia would do with Carl or Charles, and he felt the urge to resort to violence


    whenever he tried imagining them together. So, he had to go over to Sonia¡¯s just to take a look and


    check if she was up to something with Charles or Carl there. Toby sped over to Sonia¡¯s ce.


    When he was about to reach Bayside Residence, his phone rang. He knitted his brows in annoyance as


    he reached over to take his phone. ¡°Hello?¡± He picked up the call without checking the caller ID


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Toby.¡± Titus¡¯s voice came from the other end of the line.


    Toby steered the car with one hand while he held the phone with the other. ¡°What is it, Titus?¡±


    ¡°I want you toe to visit Tina,¡± Titus said with a long sigh.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with her?¡± Toby¡¯s tone sounded oddly calm. Even Titus froze when he heard this. What¡¯s


    going on? Shouldn¡¯t Toby be worried about Tina? Titus wondered. Why is he so calm?


    However, Titus quickly decided that he was overthinking the situation. ¡°It¡¯s about what urred at the


    party, of course. Tina felt too embarrassed, so she locked herself in her room and has been crying since


    she got home. She refuses toe out even now. I¡¯m worried that she might wear herself out from


    crying too much, so I had no choice but to give you a call to see if you cane over tofort her a


    little. I was hoping you could apologize to her as well.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°I understand if you want me to go over andfort her, but why should I apologize to


    her? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any reason for me to do that.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?!¡± Titus¡¯s expression turned stern. ¡°Tina was mocked by Sonia and the rest of her


    gang at the party. As her fianc¨¦, you failed to support your own partner. Don¡¯t you think you should


    apologize for that?¡±


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    A cold look formed on Toby¡¯s face once he heard Titus¡¯s words. Is this how all the members of the Gray


    Family think? They aren¡¯t admitting to their faults, and they even expect me to be on their side. How is it


    that I¡¯ve never realized how¡­ shameless these people are?!


    ¡°I think things were pretty clear tonight, Titus. It was obvious that Tina was trying to harm Sonia, and Tina


    was the one who put on the wrong outfit on her own. Since she made a mistake, she should learn to own


    up to it. As her fianc¨¦, I can¡¯t just ignore her mistakes and protect her blindly. That wouldn¡¯t be love


    anymore. I¡¯d just be causing more harm to her!¡± Toby growled.

 Chapter 224

    Chapter 224


    Titus nearly choked. He was aware of how problematic his words sounded, but he was the elder one in


    the conversation, so Toby shouldn¡¯t have tantly called him out even though what he said was wrong.


    Does Toby still want to be with Tina or not? Titus let out a displeased grunt. ¡°Tina has made a ton of


    mistakes in the past, Toby. You¡¯ve always been on her side even when she did other things to Sonia, and


    you were always the one to clean up the mess for Tina. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little toote to say that


    helping Tina is indirectly harming her now? That just means you¡¯ve been harming her all along!¡±


    Toby¡¯s pupils shrunk as he tightened his grip around his phone. He didn¡¯t respond immediately. Titus is


    right. Although everything that urred to Sonia previously was the doing of Tina¡¯s alter ego, I had still


    minimized the alter ego¡¯s harm toward Sonia byforting Tina¡¯s original personality when she cried.


    Now, Tina¡¯s alter ego is getting increasingly nasty, while Sonia is caught in a situation where she is the


    main target. I didn¡¯t just hurt Tina, but I¡¯ve also brought harm upon Sonia.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Titus. Perhaps I should change how soft-hearted I¡¯ve been toward Tina. Otherwise


    ¨C ¡± Before Toby could finish his sentence, a ring horn sounded in front of him. Immediately after that, a


    blinding pair of high beams struck against his windshield. The white light disrupted his vision, and Toby


    couldn¡¯t see anything in front of him. He knitted his brows as his expression turned grim. Then, he hastily


    calmed himself down and threw his phone aside to wind his window down to check the roads through his


    rearview mirror. He wanted to rely on his rearview mirror to find a spot by the side of the road where he


    could stop his car.


    However, before he could turn the steering wheel, the car that had been shining its high beams in Toby¡¯s


    direction crashed directly into his car. Bang! A loud crash sounded as Toby¡¯s car shook wildly. His entire


    figure was thrown forward, and his forehead was split open as he mmed against the wheel. Red liquid


    covered his face instantly, and he lost consciousness soon after that.


    On the other end of the line, Titus threw his phone aside angrily. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Toby ended my call!


    Does he even respect me at all?¡± His face was sour.


    ¡°All right, all right. Is there a need to be so angry?¡± Julia poured him a cup of tea.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Titus took the drink and finished it before mming the cup onto the table. ¡°I¡¯m his future father-inw,


    and he ended my call without even a simple goodbye. How am I supposed to be okay with that? Other


    sons-inw usually stick up to their wives¡¯ fathers, and they¡¯d be terrified to offend their inws in any


    way. But what about him? He always shows that attitude of his when he¡¯s with us; he barely smiles at all!


    Have you ever seen a son-inw like him?!¡±


    Julia stroked Titus¡¯s chest to calm him down. ¡°Toby has a rtively calm and distant personality. I¡¯m sure


    you know that by now.¡±


    ¡°His personality doesn¡¯t give him an excuse to be rude and end my calli¡± Titus brushed Julia¡¯s hand away


    and pulled his pants up as he sat down on the couch. ¡°His attitude toward me makes me wonder if he


    truly loves Tina sometimes.¡±


    Tina was by the railings on the second floor, and she tightened her grip around the railing when she


    heard her father¡¯s words. A rather mysterious expression formed on her face. Meanwhile,


    Julia continued the conversation downstairs. ¡°Pfft! What are you saying? Of course, Toby loves her. He


    said that he fell in love with her a long time ago. If it hadn¡¯t been for the Reeds that had barged in six


    years ago, Toby and Tina¡¯s marriage would¡¯ve already happened a long time ago. Anyway, did Toby say


    that he¡¯sing over?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t say anything. I guess he isn¡¯t.¡± Titus massaged the space between his brows.


    Upstairs, Tina sank her teeth into her bottom lip.


    What she had been the most worried about was finally happening. Toby didn¡¯t even offer toe and


    see me after he heard that I was crying. It¡¯s clear that he¡¯s starting to realize how I don¡¯t matter that much


    to him. If this goes on, he¡¯s going to end things with me before he even realizes that the one that he¡¯s in


    love with is Sonia. No. I have to do something about this.


    Tina balled her fists in determination as she walked away from the railings and headed back to her own


    room.


    At the other side of town, Sonia, Carl, and Charles had just finished their meal and had just arrived at


    Sonia¡¯s house when they heard sirens wailing and saw an ambnce rushing past them. When they


    looked at where the ambnce came from, they saw that there were a few police cars stopped by the


    side of the road. There was yellow tape surrounding the area, and there was a crowd forming around the


    space behind the yellow tape.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Sonia mumbled as she lowered the window to look at the crowd.


    ¡°I think there was an ident,¡± Carl replied. He looked away and handed Sonia¡¯s handbag to her after


    that. ¡°It¡¯ste, Sonia. You should get some rest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, baby. Hurry up and go home,¡± Charles said from the passenger¡¯s seat.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll head up now.¡± She then got out of the car and waved at both the men before she


    headed toward her condominium¡¯s entrance. Both Charles and Carl waited for her to get into the building


    before they drove off.


    The next day, Sonia was awakened by Charles¡¯s call. Without opening her eyes, she stuck her arm out of


    her sheets to reach for her phone on the bedside table. Her muscle memory allowed her to pick the call


    up and ce the phone against her ear. ¡°Hello?¡± she answered in a raspy andzy tone.


    ¡°I have good news, baby!¡± Charles¡¯s shrill voice rang beside her ear. The sharp sound hurt her eardrums,


    which immediately woke her up. She opened her eyes to sit up on her bed. While ruffling her messy hair,


    she responded in a cranky voice. ¡°What good news is it? Why are you shouting?¡±


    ¡°Toby got into an ident,¡± Charles replied in an excited tone.


    She widened her eyes. ¡°What did you just say? He got into an ident?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It was the ident we saw near your cest night.¡± He nodded.


    She crinkled her nose. ¡°Hold on. I¡¯m a little confused. Are you saying that the ident we witnessedst


    night was Toby¡¯s car?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Why would he get into an ident near my area?¡± Sonia was confused. Was Toby about toe over


    and see mest night?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the news of his ident is all over the Inte, and there are tons of reporters waiting


    outside the hospital right now. They¡¯re trying to get more information on his injuries. More importantly, the


    Fuller Group¡¯s stocks are fluctuating like crazy right now. What a joy!¡± Charles was dressed in a fancy


    shirt on the other end of the line, and he was smacking his own thighs excitedly.


    Sonia rubbed her temples. She was about to say something when her doorbell rang. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to you


    later, Charles. Someone¡¯s outside my house,¡± she uttered in ce of her initial reply.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Charles immediately turned alert. It¡¯s so early in the morning. Who could possibly visit Sonia


    apart from Zane or Carl?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I¡¯ll go take a look. All right, goodbye.¡± Sonia ended the call and threw her sheets


    aside to put on her slippers and open the door. I


    The moment she pulled the door open, she felt a firm p across her face. Sonia waspletely dazed


    by the sudden attack, and she pressed a palm against her own face as she stared at the person in front


    of her door. It was Jean, with a hideous expression on her face.


    The single p hadn¡¯t been enough for Jean, and she raised her hand to prepare for a second p.


    Sonia hastily came to her senses and grabbed Jean¡¯s arm before returning an attack by pping the


    other woman.


    Smack! The loud p sent Jean onto the ground. Sonia had clearly used all her strength in her p.


    Jean was stunned as she couldn¡¯t believe that she had been hit. It took her a while to return to her


    senses. Then, she mbered to her feet as she gritted her teeth and shouted, ¡°Sonia, you b*tch! How


    dare you hit me?! I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson!¡±


    With her arms spread out, Jean charged toward Sonia¡¯s face. Sonia was already prepared for an attack,


    so she pulled out a feather duster that was on top of her shoe rack, which she sent directly toward Jean¡¯s


    face.

 Chapter 225

    Chapter 225


    Jean was no match against Sonia, who had a weapon in her hands. The visitor was soon wailing and


    crying as she tried her best to dodge Sonia¡¯s attacks. Sonia didn¡¯t show any sympathy for Jean¡¯s cries.


    Instead, she began to smack Jean even harder than before. It seemed as if Sonia wanted to release all


    of the resentment that she felt from the suffering that Jean had caused her in the past six years.


    Sonia wore a cold smirk on her face as she struck Jean. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about me hitting you? Are


    there any rules that say that I can¡¯t do that? Do you think you¡¯re still my mother-inw? You¡¯re nothing to


    me right now. You¡¯re just a crazy woman that I¡¯d like to beat up.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Jean was shaking with anger. The moment she stayed still, Sonia struck Jean with her


    feather duster again, and Jean jumped behind because of the pain she felt.


    In the end, Jean was too frightened to continue the fight; she simply cried and begged for Sonia to stop.


    Sonia was rather exhausted from the beating too, but she felt rtively satisfied when she saw how


    much of a mess Jean was in. Sonia knew her limits-she knew that she couldn¡¯t hit Jean for much longer.


    Thus, Sonia stopped in the end before she leaned against the shoe rack to catch her breath.


    Jean was shocked. I didn¡¯t know that Sonia is such an aggressive person. She even dares to hit me now!


    Jean was starting to regret her decision to confront Sonia. At that moment, the elevator doors opened


    with a ding¡¯. Tyler walked out, and his eyes lit up when he saw Sonia and Jean standing at the front door.


    ¡°Sonia! Mom!¡± he called excitedly. Sonia nced at him indifferently; she couldn¡¯t even be bothered to


    greet him.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    On the other hand, Jean was extremely displeased by his actions. He¡¯s my son, and he chose to greet


    Sonia before greeting me. I can¡¯t believe he greeted that b*tch first! I¡¯m so annoyed.


    ¡°Mom, didn¡¯t I tell you not toe over? You¡ª¡±Tyler was halfway through his sentence when he finally


    realized that there was something odd about Jean. ¡°What happened to your face, Mom? Why is it


    swollen?¡± he asked in surprise.


    Jean¡¯s expression was twisted with anger as she answered his question. ¡°She hit me, of course. She


    didn¡¯t just hit my face; she even used a feather duster against me. Look at all the injuries on me!¡± She


    rolled her sleeves up to show the marks on her arms. The red streaks were a shocking sight to the eyes.


    A look of disbelief appeared on Tyler¡¯s face as he turned to re at the woman who was resting her body


    against the shoe rack. ¡°Did you really¡­ hit my mother?¡± he asked with his eyes widened.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®really hit¡¯ me? She hit me! That¡¯s the only answer you need!¡± Jean spoke up in a


    displeased tone before Sonia could reply at all.


    Meanwhile, Tyler ignored Jean¡¯s voice as he continued to fix his eyes on Sonia. ¡°Why did you hit my


    mom, Sonia?¡±


    Sonia yed with her nails for a while before she responded in an icy tone. ¡°Why? Is there a rule


    that says that I¡¯m not allowed to fight back when your mother hits me?¡±


    ¡°Fight back?¡± Tyler was stunned for a moment, but he quickly turned to Jean. ¡°Were you the one to start


    the fight, Mom?¡±


    A hint of uneasiness shed across Jean¡¯s eyes before she retorted loudly, ¡°So what if I was the one who


    started hitting her first? She was the one who turned your brother this way. How could I not hit her?


    Furthermore, I only pped her once, but she returned the p and hit me-more than ten times-with the


    feather duster. This isn¡¯t over. I need to make a police report to sue her for assault and battery.¡± She


    pointed straight at Sonia¡¯s nose.


    ISS


    Upon hearing this, Tyler got rather anxious. ¡°Hurry up and apologize to my mother, Sonia.¡± He didn¡¯t


    want Sonia to get into jail.


    Sonia stared at Tyler with question marks floating all over her head. ¡°Have you lost it? Why should I


    apologize to your mother?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just worried that my mother might sue you if you don¡¯t say sorry now. If that happens, then you¡¯d


    have to¡­¡± Tyler¡¯s voice faded off while he stomped his foot against the ground.


    ¡°Oh. So you¡¯re worried about me. Is that it?¡± Sonia raised an eyebrow as she teased the younger boy.


    Blood rushed up into Tyler¡¯s cheeks as he hastily looked away. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not worried about you. Just


    apologize to my mother before she calls the police.¡±


    Sonia crossed her arms in front of her as she let out a scoff. ¡°Do you think your mother would let me go


    so easily if I just give her an apology?¡±


    Jean scoffed haughtily when she heard Sonia¡¯s words. ¡°At least you know me well!¡± Tyler was dazed for


    a while before he realized how innocent his thought process had been. That¡¯s true. Mom despises Sonia;


    she¡¯d never let Sonia go just because Sonia apologized to her. What should we do now? Tyler clenched


    his fists as he couldn¡¯t seem to do anything apart from being anxious.


    Although he was a tall and broad-shouldered boy, he was still a teenager who hadn¡¯t had the chance to


    be exposed to society. He felt himself panicking the moment he encountered a major issue like this; he


    didn¡¯t know what to do in such a situation.


    Sonia found this rather amusing. This young boy is pretty adorable. It¡¯s hard for me to believe that a


    cheap and uncultured woman like Jean could give birth to a child like Tyler. ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going


    to be possible for you to get the police to arrest me right now.¡± Sonia covered her mouth as she let out a


    yawn.


    Tyler¡¯s eyes lit up as he stared at her immediately. Does Sonia have a solution already?


    Meanwhile, Jean stuck her lower lip out in annoyance. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s not possible just because you


    say so? Do you think you¡¯re going to stop me from doing this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to stop you from anything. In fact, you¡¯re free to make a police report any time you wish to.


    However, I¡¯m afraid that the one they might arrest is you,¡± Sonia replied with a smile.


    For some reason, Jean felt uneasy when she saw the smile on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°W-What do you mean by


    that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Firstly, you came over to my ce and made the first move of attacking me. I can totally sue


    you for trespassing private property and assaulting me. In that case, my hits would all fall under the


    name of self-defense. The chances are that I¡¯ll be able to walk out free of any charges against me,


    whereas you will have to be detained.¡± Sonia spread her arms open as she exined the situation.


    Jean felt her heart pounding when she heard Sonia¡¯s words. This time, Jean¡¯s voice was no longer as


    firm as before; she sounded more flustered. ¡°S-Stop trying to fool me. How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try then?¡± Sonia gestured for Jean to go ahead with her n.


    Upon seeing that, Tyler hastily grabbed Jean¡¯s arm. ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Mom. If it¡¯s true, then¡­¡± My mom will be


    the one who gets arrested if what Sonia said is true. I don¡¯t want Sonia arrested, but I don¡¯t want my


    mom to be arrested as well. I think it¡¯s best if this matter is settled right now.


    Deep down, Jean was afraid of the consequences. However, she refused toply so easily as she


    didn¡¯t want to embarrass herself. After thinking for a moment, she let out a cold scoff. ¡°Who do you think


    you are? Why should I give it a try just because you tell me to?¡±


    Sonia understood that Jean was looking for ways to save herself from embarrassment, so she rolled her


    eyes before replying to the older woman. ¡°It¡¯s up to you. However, I¡¯d like to know what actually brought


    you guys here.¡±


    ¡°How dare you ask this question!¡± Fury spread across Jean¡¯s face again when she heard Sonia¡¯s


    question. She red at Sonia as if she were about to eat her up. ¡°You¡¯re the reason Toby got into an


    ident. You¡¯re bad luck to us, you witch!¡± As she spoke, Jean began to raise her arms and aim for


    Sonia¡¯s face.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes as she lifted the feather duster in her hands once more. ¡°Haven¡¯t you had


    enough? Do you feel like getting another round of beating?¡± Her gaze was ice cold.


    Jean shuddered slightly when she exchanged nces with Sonia. The woman could still feel the pain


    from the wounds on her body. She was forced to calm down, and she didn¡¯t dare to make any rash


    actions again.


    At the same time, Tyler had reached an arm out to stop Jean¡¯s attack, but he pulled his hand back and


    nced at Sonia in awe then. Sonia is way too good. My domineering, stubborn mother actually fell for


    Sonia¡¯s words. This is just so shocking.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve calmed down.¡± Sonia lightly smacked the feather duster against her palm as she


    spoke. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then why don¡¯t you exin what you just said? You said that I was the


    reason Toby got into an ident. Where is the proof? I can sue you for defamation if you don¡¯t have the


    evidence.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. What proof do you need? Toby got into an ident here at the Bayside Residence, so you must


    have been the one who asked him out. You must have harmed him on purpose!¡± Jean pointed her finger


    at Sonia¡¯s nose.


    DUISE


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, Mom.¡± Tyler attempted to push his mother¡¯s arm down, but she shoved him


    away and continued to point at Sonia. Sonia, on the other hand, raised her feather duster, and Jean


    instantly lowered her hand to hide it behind her back.


    Sonia raised an eyebrow in amusement once she saw Jean¡¯s actions. It seems like Jean is really


    shocked by how I hit her earlier. She¡¯s practically conditioned to step back whenever she sees a feather


    duster.

 Chapter 226

    Chapter 226


    ¡°Why would I ask Toby toe over to my ce, then?¡± Sonia swung the feather duster around while


    she questioned Jean in a calm voice.


    Jean stuck her hands on her waist. ¡°Why else? You¡¯re obviously still hung up on Toby.¡±


    Her words thoroughly amused Sonia. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, and hees over because I want him to, that


    just shows that he isn¡¯t over me either, right?¡± Sonia asked.


    ¡°What a load of nonsense! Do you think he isn¡¯t over you? Stop dreaming! He never loved you to begin


    with.¡± Jean held her head up arrogantly, her nostrils pointing toward Sonia¡¯s face as she spoke.


    Sonia shifted her gaze away annoyedly. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then do you think I could have convinced him to


    come over?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Jean cleared her throat as she fell silent. Soon enough, she stuck her chest out and replied in a


    firm voice once more. ¡°You used some sneaky tricks to get Toby toe over, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Hah. You¡¯re not even making sense.¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes to form a threatening re. ¡°Listen up,


    Jean. If you continue talking nonsense, I¡¯ll actually shove my toilet plunger against your mouth.¡±


    ¡°H-How dare you!¡± Jean widened her eyes.


    ¡°You think I¡¯d be afraid to do it?¡± Sonia scoffed. She swung her feather duster around, and Jean


    instinctively took a step backward. However, her movements had been too rushed, and her left heel


    identally stepped on her own right toes, so she lost her bnce and fell on her bottom. Her facial


    features were squeezed together in agony as she let out wails and cries on the ground.


    ¡°Mom!¡± Tyler, who had been silent earlier, rushed over to help his mother up. Jean massaged her own


    bottom as she got to her feet.


    ¡°You deserve it!¡± Sonia uttered bluntly.


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Jean started.


    ¡°What? You came here just to use me of causing Toby¡¯s car ident. I¡¯m already being nice to you


    right now.¡± Sonia shot the other woman a cold re. ¡°I want you to leave now, or else I¡¯ll cause even


    more trouble for you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see the sort of troubles you can cause me!¡± Sonia¡¯s words didn¡¯t threaten Jean at all Jean


    even pushed Tyler aside to stand right in the middle of Sonia¡¯s front door. ¡°I won¡¯t leave until you give me


    an exnation for Toby¡¯s ident!¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­.¡± Tyler pressed a palm against his forehead in embarrassment. ¡°Stop this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t meddle with my business.¡± Jean stared at him in a displeased manner.


    Sonia was annoyed, but she couldn¡¯t do much except chuckle. ¡°Fine. You don¡¯t want to leave, right?


    Don¡¯t regret your decision.¡± She turned around and walked into her house after that.


    Tyler had a feeling that something was wrong, so he raised his voice to question the owner of the house.


    ¡°What are you going to do, Sonia?¡±


    Sonia ignored him and headed straight for the bathroom, where she filled up a bucket of water before


    bringing it back to the front door and sshing it all over Jean.


    Jean hadn¡¯t expected Sonia to do such a thing, and her expression darkened the moment she realized


    what was going on. She didn¡¯t have the time to dodge the water, and her entire figure was soaking wet


    within a matter of seconds.


    When she rubbed her hand over her face and saw the random color stains mixed with water, she knew


    that her makeup was totally ruined. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± She let out a cry as she couldn¡¯t stand it any longer.


    Tyler had intended to show her some concern, but he got rid of that idea and held his head low instead.


    Gosh! How embarrassing. I never want to admit that this crazy-looking woman is actually my mother.


    Meanwhile, Sonia tugged her lips into a satisfied smirk when she saw the pathetic-looking Jean before


    her eyes. ¡°I told you that I¡¯d only cause more trouble if you didn¡¯t leave!¡±


    Jean pulled her hand away from her face to reveal her hideous face covered in dark spots. ¡°Just you


    wait! This isn¡¯t over yet! I¡¯m not going to let you go so easily!¡± she hissed as she red at Sonia. Once


    she finished her sentence, she turned around and stormed toward the elevators.


    Tyler gazed at his mother before looking at Sonia. He parted his lips as if he were about to say


    something, but Sonia couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to him anymore. She shut the door in his face. Tyler


    was disappointed-he had no choice but to swallow his words and chase after Jean. He figured that he


    could get back to his basketball team once he was doneforting Jean.


    Once Sonia returned to her own living room, she ced the bucket of water on her coffee table before


    picking her phone up and giving Rose a call. Sonia didn¡¯t care about Toby¡¯s condition Rose was the only


    person she was worried about. Between Toby and Tyler, Rose was more fond of Toby, so she would


    certainly be shocked to hear that Toby had an ident.


    Soon enough, the call went through, and Rose¡¯s weak voice sounded on the line. ¡°Sonia. Do you miss


    me already?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Of course.¡± Sonia¡¯s facial muscles rxed as she spoke to the olddy in a gentle tone. ¡°Are you


    okay, Grandma?¡±


    Rose knew what she meant, and a kind smile spread across her face after she heard Sonia¡¯s question.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°But your voice¡­ You sound really weak¡­¡± Sonia was still a little concerned.


    NUS


    Rose nced at her grandson, who hadn¡¯t woken up since the ident. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sonia. I just


    didn¡¯t get enough rest. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± How could she sleep when Toby got into such a huge ident?


    Rose had spent the entire night by his side-she didn¡¯t get a wink of sleep.


    2


    V


    ¡°I see,¡± Sonia muttered. She finally began to calm down once she decided that the olddy wasn¡¯t lying


    to her. ¡°I understand that President Fuller got into an ident and you¡¯re worried about him, but you still


    need to get some rest. You¡¯re old; you need to take care of your health,¡± Sonia advised.


    Rose chuckled before she replied, ¡°Okay, okay. I got it. I¡¯ll get some rest once Toby wakes up; how does


    that sound?¡±


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t woken up yet?¡± Sonia raised an eyebrow. The ident had happened at about 11.00PM the


    night before, and he hadn¡¯t woken up even after nine hours. It seems like he¡¯s quite badly injured, Sonia


    thought.


    Rose shook her head. ¡°No. The doctor said that he hurt his internal organs and his brain, so he¡¯s not


    going to wake up so soon. By the way, would you like to pay Toby a visit, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Grandma.¡± Sonia lowered her gaze as she rejected Rose¡¯s suggestion with a smile. ¡°We¡¯ve


    gotten a divorce, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate for me to go.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then,¡± Rose said with a dejected sigh.


    After that, they chit-chatted on the phone for a while more before ending the call. By the time she got


    ready and left the house, it was nearly 9.00AM. As Sonia drove out of the parking lot and passed by the


    road where the ident urred, she slowed the car down a little to nce out the window. The spot of


    the car crash had been cleaned up-it was almost as if nothing had happened there. Now that I think


    about it, I still don¡¯t know why Toby ended up getting into an ident here. Well, it¡¯s none of my


    business, is it? Sonia smiled as she put on her shades and continued driving


    Meanwhile, at the hospital, Rose was sitting beside Toby¡¯s bed. She used a ss of water and some


    cotton swabs to dab water onto Toby¡¯s dry lips. All of a sudden, she heard someone knocking on the


    door. ¡°Come in,¡± she answered without looking up.


    The door opened to reveal Tina with a bouquet of lilies. Tina looked shocked to see Rose in the room,


    and her tone grew timid as she spoke. ¡°You¡¯re here too, Old Mrs. Fuller.¡±


    Rose knitted her brows in distaste. She couldn¡¯t stand Tina¡¯s weak and obedient demeanor-it made her


    seem like she was the victim who was bullied all the time. Someone like Tina was nothing inparison


    to Sonia.


    I don¡¯t even understand what Toby likes about Tina. Rose shot Toby a sideways re before she replied


    to Tina, ¡°Where else could I be when my grandson got into such a huge ident?¡±


    ¡°No, no. That¡¯s not what I meant. I¡¯m just surprised that you woulde here to care for Toby instead of


    getting some rest at home. You¡¯re getting old, after all.¡± Tina suppressed the anger within her as she


    exined herself. I would¡¯vee a littleter if I knew that she was here. She never treats me with


    respect at all! Once I be Toby¡¯s wife, I¡¯m going to torture this olddy so much. She¡¯s going to regret


    treating me this way.


    Rose lowered the ss of water onto the table. ¡°Are those flowers for Toby?¡± she asked.


    Tina nodded as she nced at the flowers in her hand. ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t know what flowers Toby likes, so I


    decided to buy lilies after giving it some thought.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. Did you just say that you don¡¯t know what flowers Toby likes?¡± Rose narrowed her eyes


    abruptly.

 Chapter 227

    Chapter 227


    Tina felt her heart sinking-she had no idea why Rose would pose her such a question. ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± She


    forced a smile.


    A thoughtful smile surfaced on Rose¡¯s lips. ¡°That¡¯s odd. Toby told me that the both of you used to be pen-


    pals and that the both of you knew each other¡¯s preferences and interests. Yet, you¡¯re telling me that you


    don¡¯t know what Toby¡¯s favorite flower is. Are you sure you¡¯re his pen-pal?¡±


    All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina¡¯s pupils shrank as she immediately lowered her gaze to conceal the panic and uneasiness in her


    eyes. ¡°Of course. However, the six-year period I spent being in aa really affected many parts of my


    memory-Toby knows about this as well.¡± She tried her best to remain calm and firm as she spoke. In


    some ways, Tina had tied the situation back to Toby, as if to show Rose that Toby wasn¡¯t bothered by her


    memory loss. In that case, Rose wouldn¡¯t be able to hang on to this matter even if she still suspected


    Tina.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Rose raised her head a little. It wasn¡¯t clear if she trusted Tina¡¯s words. At that moment,


    someone threw the door open with great force. Jean stormed in while cursing, and Rose¡¯s expression


    darkened instantly. ¡°What¡¯s with all the fuss? Don¡¯t you know this is a hospital?¡± Rose barked.


    When Jean realized that Rose was in the room, all hints of hatred and anger disappeared from her face


    as she put on a smile. ¡°I just forgot about it for a moment, Mom.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. You¡¯ve been in the Fuller Family for tens of years now, yet you¡¯re still as loud and rough as ever.


    You haven¡¯t improved at all,¡± Rose uttered angrily. Although Jean wasn¡¯t pleased to hear this, she didn¡¯t


    have the guts to go against Rose.


    ¡°Madam White,¡± Tina greeted with a smile.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re here too, Tina.¡± Jean looked more pleased when she saw Tina around.


    ¡°Yeah. Toby got into such a huge ident-of course I have to pay him a visit. I¡¯m his fianc¨¦e, after all. My


    parents would¡¯ve dropped by if they hadn¡¯t been too upied with work,¡± Tina said with a faint smile as


    she ran her fingers through her hair.


    Jean walked over and sat down next to Tina before she patted the younger woman¡¯s hand gently. ¡°You¡¯re


    a good girl. Toby¡¯s lucky to have you around,¡± Jean uttered. She was thoroughly satisfied with Tina.


    ¡°Madam White¡­¡± Tina¡¯s cheeks were flushed as she lowered her head bashfully.


    Rose sniggered when she saw this. ¡°Luck? I don¡¯t think so. I just pray that she doesn¡¯t ruin the whole


    Fuller Family with her presence.¡±


    Upon hearing thisment, Tina¡¯s expression stiffened. She could no longer put on a bashful look-her


    gaze was filled with hatred instead. This old hag just loves to pick on me, huh. Even Jean seemed rather


    displeased. ¡°Tina¡¯s the fianc¨¦e Toby chose for himself, Mom. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s nice of you to say that.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with what I said? It¡¯s the truth, isn¡¯t it? Everyone knows about what happened at the


    Southfield Family¡¯s partyst night; everyone knows that your son¡¯s fianc¨¦e is more than a simple


    woman. She¡¯s going to deal with you once she officially turns into Toby¡¯s wife,¡± Rose uttered in a sharp


    and mocking tone.


    ¡°You¡¯re too much, Mom. How could Tina possibly do that to me? Am I right, Tina?¡± Jean sounded rather


    uncertain as she turned to look at the younger woman beside her.


    Tina nodded hastily. Don¡¯t worry, Madam White. You¡¯re Toby¡¯s mother and someone I respect; I would


    never do such a thing to you.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Any uncertainty that Jean had felt earlier was thrown to the back of her mind as she


    shot Rose a gloating smirk.


    What a dumb b*tch, Rose thought in her head. Rose couldn¡¯t be bothered to interact with the both of


    them anymore.


    ¡°By the way, Madam White, what¡¯s up with your clothes? Why are they so damp and wrinkled?¡±


    Tina ran her fingers across Jean¡¯s sleeve as she spoke.


    Jean¡¯s face turned sour immediately. ¡°It¡¯s all because of Sonia, that b*tch. She sshed water all over


    me! I swear, if,¡±


    ¡°You went to see Sonia?¡± Rose smacked her hand on the bedside table as she interrupted Jean¡¯s words.


    Jean¡¯s eyes roamed the room to avoid Rose¡¯s gaze. ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop mumbling. Tell me¡ªdid you go to Sonia¡¯s ce or not?¡± Rose asked with a grim expression.


    Jean had no choice but to open up about it. ¡°That¡¯s right. I went to look for her! It¡¯s all her fault that Toby


    got into an ident, after all!¡± she uttered with her muscles tensed.


    Tina clenched her fists upon hearing Jean¡¯s words. What? Sonia¡¯s the one who caused Toby¡¯s ident?


    ¡°Who told you that his ident is Sonia¡¯s fault?¡± Rose was fuming as she red in Jean¡¯s direction.


    Jean scoffed. ¡°Toby got into an ident outside Bayside Residence, which is where Sonia lives. I¡¯m


    certain that Sonia isn¡¯t over Toby-she must have called him over at night because she wants to get


    married to him again. That was why he ended up in an ident. Whose fault is it if not Sonia¡¯s?¡±


    Half of Tina¡¯s face was covered by her shadow as she hung her head low to conceal the hatred written


    all over her face. When she woke up that morning, her father told her that Toby had gotten into an


    ident at about 11.00PM the night before, so Tina had rushed over to the hospital after getting the


    news. She hadn¡¯t bothered to ask where the ident had happened. I can¡¯t believe his ident was just


    outside Bayside Residence. That exins why he refused toe and visit me-he was going to meet


    Sonia. Tina¡¯s body trembled at the thought of it.


    ¡°What is it, Tina?¡± Jean was quick to notice Tina¡¯s actions. When Tina lifted her head, her eyes were red


    and watery. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ I just¡­¡± she croaked.


    ¡°You¡¯re just unhappy after hearing that Toby went to Sonia¡¯s, huh?¡± Rose smirked. Tina went speechless


    for a moment.


    Jean smacked her own thigh out of anger. ¡°That nasty b*tch!¡±


    ¡°I think Sonia went easy on you if all she did was ssh water on you.¡± Rose shot Jean a cold re.


    Jean wasn¡¯t pleased by this. ¡°Why are you always siding with an outsider, Mom?¡±


    ¡°Why is Sonia an outsider? Even though she¡¯s no longer my granddaughter-inw, she feels like a


    granddaughter to me. I¡¯m much closer to her than I am to you guys,¡± Rose uttered scornfully.


    Tina got to her feet then. ¡°I¡¯ll leave now, Madam White. I don¡¯t think Old Mrs. Fuller wees my


    presence in this room.¡±


    Rose let out a snigger, but she didn¡¯t bother to say anything else. Jean got to her feet as well. ¡°Aren¡¯t you


    going to wait for Toby to wake up, Tina?¡± Jean asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll juste over when Toby¡¯s awake. I¡¯ll need you to let me know when that happens, Madam White.¡±


    Tina sent a longing gaze in the direction of the man on the bed before she grabbed her bag and left. She


    was afraid that she would identally strangle the old woman to death if she didn¡¯t leave soon.


    Once she left the ward, Tina took a deep breath. All signs of sadness evaporated from her face all that


    was left was a bone-chilling, hateful look in her eyes. She pulled her phone out and tapped on it a few


    times before cing it against her ear. ¡°Hello, Tim. I need to see you!¡±


    In a dim basement somewhere, Tim¡¯s sses reflected the light in the room as he smirked and


    responded to Tina¡¯s words. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll meet you at the same ce west met.¡±


    After ending the call, Tim held the phone in front of his face and made another call.


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Carl were having a chat at Paradigm Co. Sonia poured him a cup of coffee. ¡°Don¡¯t


    you have work today? Aren¡¯t you worried that your manager would be looking for you after youe


    here?¡±


    ¡°I justpleted two months of filming at the ciers, so thepany specially arranged for me to get


    one week off from work. They want me to get some rest and readjust myself to the time zone here,¡± Carl


    exined in a gentle voice after he took a sip of coffee.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°I hope I¡¯m not bothering you. You aren¡¯t trying to shoo me away, are you?¡± He gazed at Sonia with


    puppy eyes.


    She chuckled. ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re like a younger brother to me, I would never see you as an


    inconvenience to me.¡±


    A joyful look returned to Carl¡¯s face for a while, but his smile didn¡¯t seem to reach his eyes. A younger


    brother? But I¡¯m all grown up now.


    ¡°By the way, did you see the news today?¡± Carl asked abruptly.


    Sonia had been ncing through her documents, and she tilted her head puzzledly when she heard


    Carl¡¯s words. ¡°Are you referring to the ident that Toby was involved in?¡±

 Chapter 228

    Chapter 228


    ¡°No, it¡¯s someone else. For some reason, there have been a lot of controversial news articles popping up


    online today,¡± Carl replied.


    Sonia was rather taken aback by this. ¡°What sort of controversies?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Colehart of Hart Beauty Group was found to have a secret lover and child outside of his marriage,


    Mr. Ellen of Nexus Technologies was revealed to have evaded his taxes, Mr. Reinard of Commute


    Company was caught being a perpetrator of violence to his wife and children¡­ The list goes on. There


    were about thirty different CEOs from differentpanies who had their dirty secrets leaked online, and


    the whole inte is a mess right now.¡± Carl¡¯s coffee cup was already by the edge of his lips as he


    spoke.


    Sonia widened her eyes in surprise. ¡°Could they have offended some big shot? Is that why someone is


    making a fool out of them? But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for so many different CEOs to have offended the


    same person.¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Perhaps someone just did it because they were annoyed with all the CEOs¡¯ bad


    behaviors.¡± Carl chuckled.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Fortunately, Asher isn¡¯t involved in any controversies; we¡¯d see his name


    online otherwise. I don¡¯t care if he loses his reputation, but I don¡¯t want it to impact Paradigm Co.¡¯s


    name.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That will never happen to Paradigm Co.,¡± Carl uttered as he toyed with his coffee cup. She


    chuckled at his words. ¡°We can never be too sure about such matters, even if-¡± Her phone rang before


    she could finish her sentence. She shed Carl an apologetic smile before she nced at her phone. It


    was a local number that she hadn¡¯t saved in her contacts.


    ¡°Hello, who¡¯s this?¡± Sonia swiped the green ¡®answer slider on the screen before cing the phone by her


    ear.


    The person on the other line was silent for two seconds before he responded. ¡°Didn¡¯t you save my


    number?¡±


    Sonia blinked a few times. ¡°Is that you, Tim?¡±


    ¡°It is!¡± Tim replied.


    ¡°Who is it, Sonia?¡± Carl tried to look at her phone, but Sonia gave him a look, telling him that they would


    talkter. She then shifted her focus back to the person on the call. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Tina just contacted me. I¡¯m sure it has something to do with you.¡± Tim gripped onto his phone by


    pressing his shoulder toward his ear while he used both his hands to deal with the animal carcasses on


    his surgical table.


    ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Because she would never look for me unless she wants me to do something bad to you,¡± he replied


    tly.


    She pressed her red lips together. ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯ve done something bad to me in the


    Past?¡±


    The scalpel in Tim¡¯s hand froze for a moment as he strung his words into a sentence. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. I


    was the person on the motorbike who snatched your bag.¡±


    ¡°That was you?!¡± Sonia¡¯s expression darkened as she stood up angrily. Carl got to his feet immediately.


    ¡°What is it, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Sonia massaged the space between her brows as she continued to speak to the person on


    the phone. ¡°Where¡¯s my bag now?¡±


    ¡°I threw it into a sewer tank,¡± Tim replied in a sorry tone. Back then, he hadn¡¯t known that she was his


    angel. Therefore, he went ording to Tina¡¯s request to deal with the phone after snatching her bag.


    The phone consisted of footage of Tina pushing Sonia downstairs, after all.


    WS


    ¡°I won¡¯t forget this, Tim!¡± Sonia could feel her lungs burning as a result of her anger, and she had to take


    a few deep breaths before she managed to calm down the burning fire within her. ¡°Tell me; why did you


    call me today?¡±


    ¡°I just told you-Tina¡¯s looking for me again, and I¡¯m sure she wants to do something to you. I thought I¡¯d


    ask you over to hear more about it.¡± Tim was nearly done with his surgery, and he lowered his scalpel


    and removed his gloves to wash his hands at the sink.


    Sonia vigntly clutched onto her phone. ¡°How would I know that you¡¯re not intentionally calling me over


    so that Tina could attack me? I know that you and Tina are close, so why should I trust you?¡±


    ¡°I was close with Tina because I thought you were her. However, I will no longer be nice to her now that I


    know her better. Furthermore, I hate how she always lies to me. If you don¡¯t trust me, you can bring


    some people along with you,¡± Tim replied while he rubbed soap into his hands.


    Sonia went silent for a moment before she came to a decision a few secondster. ¡°Okay. Send me the


    address.¡± Since Tim had offered for her to bring more people over, she would bring a safe number of


    people so that she could escape even if there were a trap.


    More importantly, if what he said was true, then Sonia would be able to predict what Tina¡¯s next move


    was. Soon enough, Sonia got a text message with Tim¡¯s location. ¡°I¡¯ll be there ASAP, she replied.


    Once Tim saw the text, he pushed his sses up and stuck his phone back into his pocket. Then, he


    took a bottle of medication out of his ss cab before he walked out of the room-a creepy basement


    filled with all sorts of animal carcasses and a few human anatomical models.


    ¡°Are you heading somewhere, Sonia?¡± Carl hastily questioned Sonia when he saw her packing up. She


    nodded before telling him about the conversation she just had with Tim. He immediately insisted on


    following after he heard what she said.


    Initially, Sonia intended to reject his offer since it was a grudge between Tina and her-she didn¡¯t want


    anyone else to get involved. However, she finally gave in when she saw the hopeful gaze in his eyes.


    Both of them headed toward the exit together.


    They had just left the office when Reba walked toward them with some documents. ¡°Where are you


    going, President Reed?¡±


    ¡°I have some matters to handle outside. What is it?¡± Sonia looked at Reba.


    Reba waved the documents in her hands. ¡°These arest month¡¯s financial statements. You need to


    go through them and sign them.¡±


    ¡°You can leave them in the office; I¡¯ll take a look at themter,¡± Sonia replied.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Reba nodded. Her expression turned stern when she saw Carl standing beside Sonia.


    ¡°President Reed, is this¡­¡± Reba¡¯s gaze was still fixed on Carl as she spoke. If Sonia hadn¡¯t realized


    the careful look in Reba¡¯s eyes as she stared at Carl, she might have guessed that Reba was in


    love with him.


    ¡°This is my brother, Carl Lee.¡± Sonia turned to Carl once she finished introducing him. ¡°Carl, this is the


    head of the finance department and also a good friend of mine, Reba.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡± Carl pretended as if he hadn¡¯t noticed the weird and judgmental look in Reba¡¯s eyes as he


    grinned and reached his hand out for a handshake.


    ¡°Hello.¡± Something flickered across Reba¡¯s gaze as she held her hand out to shake his. Carl was the


    first to pull away from the handshake two secondster. Reba turned to nce at Sonia after that.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an only child, President Reed? Since when did you get a brother?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not my biological brother,¡± Sonia exined.


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Reba raised her chin thoughtfully before she shifted her gaze back to Carl. ¡°Mr. Lee, is your surname


    actually Lee? Could you possibly be rted to another family, like the Colemans¡­ or the Hayes!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± The warmth was fading in Carl¡¯s face as he spoke. Sonia looked puzzled


    as well. ¡°Yeah, Reba. Why would you ask such a question?¡±


    Reba beamed. ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand me. I just thought that he looks a lot like another


    person.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m rted to someone you know?¡± Carl red at Reba.


    Reba met his eyes without any hesitation. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, but my surname isn¡¯t Hayes or Coleman-it¡¯s Lee. I¡¯m not rted to the


    person you¡¯re talking about.¡± After fixing his sleeves, Carl grabbed onto Sonia¡¯s arm. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not


    waste any time. Shall we?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll make a move now, Reba. We¡¯ll talk once I¡¯m back,¡± Sonia uttered as she looked at


    Reba


    Reba nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± She then watched as Sonia and Carl stepped into the elevator before she


    looked away and made a phone call. ¡°Hey, old man, I found a teenager who looks a lot like the master. I


    suspect that he might be the person we¡¯re looking for. His name is Carl Lee. Can you


    find any information on him?¡±


    Meanwhile, Carl was talking as he drove the car. ¡°Reba is no simple woman, Sonia. She¡¯s


    responsible for someone¡¯s life! You should stay away from her.¡±


    Sonia was shocked to hear this. ¡°Reba killed someone? Stop scaring me, Carl. How could that be


    possible?!¡±

 Chapter 229

    Chapter 229


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious. I have two bodyguards who¡¯re retired mercenaries, and they both took the lives of


    others. The aura I sensed from Reba felt the same as those two men¡¯s aura. More importantly, I felt


    some calluses on her purlicue while I was shaking her hand-only people who spend a lot of time holding


    guns would have such calluses,¡± Carl exined in a stern tone.


    ¡°Gosh, I guess Reba isn¡¯t as simple of a woman as I thought she was!¡± Sonia gasped.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you should stay away from her, Sonia.¡± Carl repeatedly gave her the same reminder.


    However, Sonia shook her head in response to his words. ¡°No, I shouldn¡¯t stay away from Reba when


    she helped me in the past-that would make me an ungrateful person. Furthermore, I trust that she¡¯d


    never hurt me.¡± Not everyone who has killed someone is a bad person, anyway. All the noble soldiers


    who protect ournd have blood on their hands, but we consider them good people anyway.


    Carl gave up when he saw how stubborn Sonia was. ¡°Okay. But I hope you¡¯re a little more alert with


    Reba, Sonia. You shouldn¡¯t put all your trust in her,¡± he muttered with a sigh. Sonia smiled and


    nodded as she understood that Carl was doing it for her own good. ¡°Okay. I got it.¡±


    They arrived at their destination a while after they ended their conversation. Carl parked the car and got


    out with Sonia. The workers then led the two of them to the private cubicle¡ªTim was waiting for them


    there. He was standing in front of the window, toying with a tiny scalpel in his hand. He slowly turned


    around when he heard a noiseing from behind him.


    ¡°Did you only bring one guy?¡± Tim took one nce at Carl before he shifted all of his focus toward Sonia.


    ¡°Of course not. The rest of the men are hiding around near the area,¡± she replied calmly. While they were


    on the way over, she had contacted a securitypany and spent 10,000 just to hire ten security


    guards. All ten of the men should¡¯ve arrived at the hotel-Sonia could sense that she was being watched


    the moment she arrived at the building.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me over to tell me how Tina¡¯s going to attack me next? Where¡¯s Tina now?¡± Sonia


    nced left and right as she questioned Tim.


    He pulled a chair out and gestured for her to sit down. ¡°Tina isn¡¯t here yet, and she will not enter this


    room. This room is where you¡¯ll wait around to listen to her¡ªI¡¯ll have the conversation with her in the


    room next door. I¡¯ve already installed hidden mics in the room next door.¡± He pointed a finger toward the


    electronic devices that were set up on the table.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia muttered as she ced her bag down and sat on the chair. Carl hastily sat down


    beside her.


    All of a sudden, Tim¡¯s phone began to ring. He took a nce at the screen, and the light reflected against


    his sses for a moment before he stuck the phone into his pocket. ¡°She¡¯s here. I¡¯ll go over right now.¡±


    Sonia nodded, and Tim tidied his outfit before he strode out of their room. Soon enough, Sonia


    could hear the sounds of people talking through the audio monitor that was ced on the table. The


    voices belonged to none other than Tina and Tim.


    ¡°Where did you go? The room was empty just now.¡± Tina began toin the moment she saw


    Tim walking in. She wore a look of disdain on her face. Tim would always arrive earlier whenever she


    asked to meet him, and he would sit in the room while waiting for her arrival. That was the first time she


    had walked into an empty room, and it made her displeased as she felt as if Tim wasn¡¯t taking her


    seriously.


    ¡°I went to the washroom. I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Tim uttered as he pulled a chair out to sit down.


    Tina¡¯s voice was firm and clear as she dropped the bomb immediately. ¡°I¡¯m asking to meet you for none


    other than the same reason-Sonia. This time, I want you to kill her immediately!¡±


    Tim narrowed his eyes a little. Meanwhile, Sonia felt chills running down her entire spine. I can¡¯t believe


    Tina is actually asking Tim to kill me! Is she trying to get someone else to do the job since she failed to


    do it on her own?


    ¡°Sonia¡­¡± Carl tightened his fists. His usual, kind expression was reced by a stern, icy look. ¡°That


    woman is just too evil!¡±


    Sonia pressed her red lips together. ¡°I know. I knew it all along.¡± Sonia had a feeling that Tina was a


    malicious, unkind woman ever since they were in university. However, it was only after Tina woke up


    from hera that Sonia had thoroughly understood something. Tina doesn¡¯t even have a conscience-


    she is pure evil.


    ¡°Did she trigger you in any way? What got you furious to a point where you¡¯re asking me to murder her?¡±


    Tim lowered his gaze to conceal the hatred in his eyes as he poured a cup of tea for


    Tina.


    She pushed the teacup aside. ¡°You know about Toby¡¯s ident, right?¡±


    Tim eyed the teacup for a moment before his gaze dimmed a little. ¡°Of course. However, I¡¯m on break


    today, so I didn¡¯t visit him at the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Toby got into an ident near Bayside Residence, and it happened at about 11.00PMst night. My


    father called him and told him toe over to my house then, but he rejected my father and


    nia instead. How am I supposed to keep my cool in this situation?! How can I not hate Sonia?!¡± Tina¡¯s


    facial features were scrunched, and her body was trembling as she spoke.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll agree to your request, then. Why don¡¯t you have some tea to calm yourself down first?


    You only woke up a few months ago, and your body hasn¡¯t fully recovered yet. It¡¯s not good for you to get


    so worked up.¡± Tim ced the teacup in front of her once more before coaxing her to drink the tea in a


    gentle tone. Tina loved the feeling of being ttered and cared for-she held her head up and took a


    nce at Tim before she agreed to his words. ¡°Fine. Since you¡¯re being so thoughtful, I guess I¡¯ll take


    one sip of it.¡±


    Tim smiled without saying anything more. She raised the cup and sipped on the tea. ¡°Why does it taste a


    little sweet?¡±


    ¡°I added some sugar since you mentioned that the tea was a little too bitter thest time.¡± Tim pushed his


    sses up the bridge of his nose. Tina didn¡¯t suspect anything as she continued to sip on the tea. Before


    she realized it, she had finished the entire cup of tea.


    A barely visible smirk formed on Tim¡¯s lips as he looked at the empty teacup before his eyes. At that very


    moment, Tina¡¯s phone began to ring. She grinned in surprise when she saw that it was a call from Jean.


    ¡°Madam White, is Toby awake?¡± she uttered the moment she picked up the call.


    ¡°Yeah. He just woke up,¡± the voice replied.


    ¡°I¡¯lle over immediately.¡± Tina got to her feet. Once she kept her phone away, she turned back to look


    at Tim. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long more I¡¯d have to wait if I were to wait for Sonia to abort her child. I think


    we should give up on the n to kill her during the surgery.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do, then?¡± Tim got to his feet as well.


    Tina balled her fists as she pulled her lips into a cold grin. ¡°A car ident, a kidnapping, poisoning-


    anything that can kill her and her little baby in the quickest way possible. You can do whatever you wish


    to-I just don¡¯t want to hear you fail again. I¡¯ll forgive you for thatst time, but if you fail this time, I won¡¯t


    talk to you for the rest of my life!¡±


    Tim looked as if he was shocked by her words. His naturally fairplexion made his face seem paler


    than usual at that moment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t fail you.¡± His eyes were filled with determination as he


    stared at Tina.


    Tina let out a contented scoff before she turned to leave. Tim is just a dog thates whenever I tell him


    to. I know him well¡ªthe one thing he¡¯s the most afraid of is to be ignored by his angel. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve


    been using his weakness as a threat so that I can get him to do all sorts of things for me.


    Once he saw Tina¡¯s figure walking out and disappearing from his sight, Tim removed his sses and


    began to clean it without any expression on his face. He no longer looked shocked by her words. Did she


    threaten to ignore me for the rest of her life? Does she think she¡¯s going to live for long?


    Right then, the sound of the door came from behind him. Tim put on his sses and turned around to


    meet Sonia¡¯s icy re. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t actually do anything to you. I just pretended to agree to her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t trust him, Sonia.¡± Carl eyed Tim suspiciously. If this man can agree to kill someone so easily, if he


    could utter such words without any hesitation, it just shows that he must have had some history of


    harming others. Furthermore, this person¡¯s actual intentions seem to be very well-guarded¡ªI can¡¯t read


    him at all. Sonia will probably lose her life if she were to interact with such people.


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia nodded. She knew that she couldn¡¯t trust Tim, even though he had saved her in the past.


    ¡°What did it mean when Tina said that you failed to go through with the n thest time?¡± Sonia dug her


    nails into her palms as she looked up and red at Tim.Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.

 Chapter 230

    Chapter 230


    Could this person have done more than just snatching my bag? Could he have attempted to murder me


    while I wasn¡¯t aware of it? Sonia wondered.


    Tim had a degree in psychology, and he was naturally able to guess what was going on in Sonia¡¯s mind


    through observing her expression and her eyes. He had intended to keep some matters a secret, but she


    was too smart-she got it right before he told her anything.


    ¡°Tina got me to kill you in surgery when youst came to the hospital for an abortion. She wanted me to


    make it seem like an ident had urred during surgery. However, I didn¡¯t do anything after I saw the


    red mole on your wrist.¡± Tim appeared rather reluctant to look Sonia in the eye as he spoke.


    ¡°You b*stard!¡± Carl¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he reached forward to grab Tim by the cor of his shirt.


    Tim didn¡¯t try to defend himself as Carl moved closer to strike him-he was willing to do anything to ensure


    that Sonia wouldn¡¯t get angry at him. He couldn¡¯t have his angel hate him.


    ¡°Carl!¡± Sonia held onto Carl¡¯s arm. ¡°Let go of him.¡±


    ¡°He wanted to kill you, Sonia!¡± Carl didn¡¯t listen to her orders.


    ¡°I said, let go of him,¡± she repeated in a firmer voice. Carl took one look at her eyes and knew that she


    wouldn¡¯t change her mind. After a few seconds of silence, Carl finally let go of Tim.


    Sonia turned to nce at Tim, who was frowning as he tried to straighten his cor. ¡°Would you have let


    me die in surgery if you hadn¡¯t seen the red mole on my wrist?¡± She knew that her question was


    pointless, but she wanted to hear his answer anyway.


    Tim¡¯s lips twitched a little, and he couldn¡¯t meet her eyes when he finally spat out a one-worded answer.


    ¡°¡­ Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Hah¡­¡± Sonia let out a sneer before she walked past Tim and headed toward the elevator. Although she


    hadn¡¯t taken a particr liking to Tim, she had saved him in the past. She felt horrible when she found


    out that a life that she had saved actually paid her back by attempting to murder her. Sure, he didn¡¯t


    know that I was the one who saved him back then, but I¡¯m still hurt by this


    incident.


    ¡°Wait for me, Sonia.¡± Carl shot Tim a cold re before he went chasing after Sonia. Tim didn¡¯t attempt to


    stop Sonia from leaving. Being a Doctor of Psychology, he understood that she had just experienced a


    significant shock and would need time to digest it.


    It¡¯s all Tina¡¯s fault. If Tina hadn¡¯t taken my angel¡¯s ce, I would¡¯ve never made my angel sad. Just you


    wait, Tina! I¡¯m going to torture you properly, and I¡¯m going to turn you into the perfect model in my


    basement! Tim¡¯s eyes twinkled with greediness as he thought about it.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Meanwhile, Carl finally caught up with Sonia¡¯s footsteps once he got out of the hospital. ¡°Are you okay,


    Sonia?¡± Carl gazed at her worriedly.


    She lowered her head to stare at the red mole on her wrist. She didn¡¯t answer his question. How could


    she possibly be okay? She just found out about how close she had been


    ing. After Sonia remained silent for a while more, Carl leaned in to give her a big hug. He rested his chin


    against her shoulder as he spoke in a tender and loving voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sonia. I¡¯m here with you,


    and I¡¯ll always protect you.¡±


    A warm, fuzzy sensation filled Sonia¡¯s heart. His words seemed to have rid of the sinister, cold feeling


    she had felt earlier. She patted his back gently. ¡°Alright, I trust you. Why don¡¯t you let go of me now? I¡¯m


    losing my breath because of how tight you¡¯re hugging me.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Carl obediently let her go before looking down at her belly. An ambiguous look surfaced in his


    gaze. ¡°What was the talk about you being pregnant, Sonia?¡± He had intended to ask the same question


    while they were in the room, but he hadn¡¯t wanted to interrupt Sonia while she was listening to Tim and


    Tina¡¯s conversation earlier.


    Sonia rubbed a hand against her belly. ¡°It was a night of rash decisions. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°And the child¡¯s father¡­¡± Carl muttered.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is,¡± Sonia replied as she massaged her temples.


    OW


    1


    mass


    Carl¡¯s gaze seemed to light up a little. ¡°While we were in the room earlier, Tina mentioned something


    about wanting to get rid of the baby in your stomach, and she said it twice. Could the child in your belly


    belong to Toby?¡±


    She was stunned for a moment, but she quickly chuckled and shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.


    Wouldn¡¯t I know if the child belonged to him? Tina probably assumed that the child was a result of Toby


    impregnating me before our divorce. She¡¯s probably afraid that I¡¯ll use the child as my way back into the


    Fuller Family-that¡¯s why she¡¯s trying so hard to get me to lose the child.¡± No one else knew that she and


    Toby hadn¡¯t engaged in any sexual rtionships throughout their marriage, and she was certain that


    Toby wouldn¡¯t bring up such a matter during his rtionship with Tina.


    Furthermore, Sonia wasn¡¯t surprised that Tina found out about her pregnancy. Tina could¡¯ve overheard


    something while Zane was talking to Toby, or Toby could¡¯ve told her about it on his own. I¡¯m guessing


    that was how she found out about me.


    ¡°Are you nning to keep the child, Sonia?¡± Carl tightened his fists as he posed this question.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ll get the abortion done outside the country once I¡¯m done with


    my work here.¡± She was too afraid to get it done locally¡ªshe had no choice but to do it in another


    country. She was certain that Tina wouldn¡¯t have any influence in a different country!


    Carl rxed his tight fists after he heard that Sonia didn¡¯t want to keep the baby, and he put on a smile


    on his face.


    At the same time, Toby was dressed in a hospital gown as he rested his back against the inclined


    hospital bed. Tom was standing beside his bed while reporting all of the urrences that


    followed the ident that had happened the night before. ¡°Are you saying that the ident was all


    nned out?¡± Toby¡¯s face was pale, and he coughed a few times after speaking. His handsome features


    looked especially eerie as he wore a grim expression on his face.


    Tom gave him a solemn nod. ¡°Yeah. ording to the surveince tapes we got from the traffic control


    department, the same car had followed you ever since you left the party. It trailed you until you got close


    to Bayside Residence before it sped up and surpassed your car. Then, the car made a U-turn and came


    from the other direction to hit you from the front. However, that car isn¡¯t as sturdy as yours, so its entire


    front area was destroyed. The driver died on the spot,¡± Tom exined.


    ¡°The driver is dead?¡± Toby froze for a second.


    Tom nodded once more. ¡°Yeah. The doctor¡¯s autopsy determined the driver¡¯s cause of death to be a


    sudden cardiac arrest. Even though the driver suffered severe injuries from the ident, the doctor also


    found high concentrations of stimnts in the driver¡¯s stomach. The driver probably had a cardiac arrest


    because his heart couldn¡¯t handle the excitement. I¡¯m guessing that the driver had taken extra amounts


    of stimnts to boost his courage.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby tugged his lips into a smirk. ¡°Did you check for any reasons the driver might have to


    attack me?¡±


    ¡°I did. The driver is a regr guy who doesn¡¯t have anything against you, so I¡¯m guessing that the driver


    is just a chess piece. Someone must have hired him to hit you, and there must be another murderer


    hiding somewhere. Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t get any information from the driver since he¡¯s already


    dead.¡± Tom let out a long sigh.


    Toby didn¡¯t seem too surprised by Tom¡¯s answer, and he gave out orders with the same nk expression


    on his face. ¡°Continue searching, then. I want you to find the person responsible for this.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± Tom nodded.


    Toby massaged the space between his brows. ¡°Did anything happen to thepany while I was


    out?¡±


    ¡°There were some issues with thepany stocks at first, but I managed to get that under control. Later


    that day, controversies of some random celeb surfaced on the inte, and theizens and traders


    were distracted by it, so thepany¡¯s stocks are back up at their usual value now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Toby shut his eyes and winced as he hit his palm against his own head. Tom grew worried


    as he saw this. ¡°Are you okay, President Fuller? Are you not feeling well? Let me get the doctor.¡±


    Tom was about to press the bell when Toby opened his eyes to stop him. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯m


    fine. My head just hurts because some odd visions popped up in my head.¡±


    ¡°Odd visions?¡± Tom was puzzled.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°It might be a side effect of getting hit in the head. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± Tom let go of the


    matter when he saw that Toby seemed genuinely fine.


    They were both surprised when they heard a knock on the door, and Tom went over to open it. When he


    saw Tina behind the door, he was about to greet her, but she pushed him aside and charged into the


    room. She didn¡¯t seem to care if Toby¡¯s injuries could handle it-she simply flung her arms over him as she


    began to tear up. ¡°You¡¯re awake, Toby! That¡¯s great. You¡¯re finally awake.¡±


    The injuries on Toby¡¯s body were immediately torn open as a result of Tina¡¯s rough actions toward him.


    He let out a painful groan as cold sweat began to form on his forehead. His brows were squeezed


    together as he frowned in agony.

 Chapter 231

    Chapter 231


    ¡°President Fuller!¡± Tom shouted in panic and lunged forward to pull Tina away before pushing down the


    emergency button above the headboard of the bed.


    At first, Tina was angry at Tom, but she realized what he did when she heard the rm ring through


    the room. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Toby?¡± she asked anxiously.


    Before Toby passed out from the pain, Tomid him down on the bed and turned to face her angrily.


    ¡°Miss Gray, aren¡¯t you aware that President Fuller is injured? You just opened up his wounds again by


    throwing yourself so hard at him!¡± he yelled, pointing at Toby¡¯s chest where there was a bloody patch on


    his hospital robes.


    Skeptically, he wondered, Does she really love President Fuller? If she really does, she should be more


    careful knowing that he¡¯s injured lest his injuries get worse. But the way she¡¯s acting so recklessly looks


    like she doesn¡¯t care one bit about his injuries.


    Flustered, Tina uttered, ¡°I-I didn¡¯t do it on purpose¡­¡± On her part, she hugged Toby so tightly because


    she was excited to see that he had awakened, and she hadn¡¯t thought of the consequences of her


    actions at all.


    Just then, Rose came into the room with Jean and Mary by her sides. ¡°What happened?! Why did the


    emergency rm go off?¡± Rose asked anxiously.


    Tom was wiping off the sweat on Toby¡¯s forehead when they entered, and he quickly replied, ¡°President


    Fuller¡¯s wounds opened up.¡±


    ¡°Goodness, he¡¯s bleeding!¡± Jean gasped in shock.


    Worried, Rose said, ¡°Toby was still fine a minute ago, Tom. How did his wounds open up?¡±


    A guilty look shed in Tina¡¯s eyes, and she quickly cast Tom a look, hoping that he wouldn¡¯t rat out on


    her. However, he simply pretended he hadn¡¯t seen it and ced down the towel in his hands. ¡°It was


    Miss Gray who bumped into him so hard that the wounds opened up.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Rose eximed, her face trembling with anger. Throwing an icy re at Tina, she added,


    ¡°Great! I knew it had to be you!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose,¡± Tina whispered. Biting her lower lip, she silently cursed Tom hatefully in her


    heart. He¡¯s just a flunkey Toby is keeping by his side. How dare he disobey me! Just you wait and see!


    You¡¯ll be the first person I dismiss once I¡¯m married to Toby!


    Rose snorted. ¡°You didn¡¯t do it on purpose? I think that¡¯s exactly your n! Ever since Toby started


    dating you, his reputation has been going downhill and our family paid a hefty price for you. Just because


    Toby covered up for you doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t know anything. The way I see it, you¡¯re just a jinx sent here


    to bring cmity to our family!¡± she hollered as she pointed a finger at Tina, blood rushing to her eyes


    and face.


    Right now, she was merely a regr grandmother who was concerned about her grandson, and


    not some elder from a reputable family-she couldn¡¯t give two hoots about the etiquette expected of her


    and was justshing out at Tina as she saw fit.


    Red with embarrassment and anger, Tina was boiling on the inside, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t snap


    back at Rose. Hence, she gave Jean a puppy-look, hoping that she would put in some good words for


    her.


    Jean always had a liking for Tina, whom she regarded as her future daughter-inw. It wasn¡¯t solely


    because of her family background, but also because Tina really knew how to please her frequently


    fawning upon her and giving her expensive gifts. So, she wouldn¡¯t think twice to speak up for her


    ¡°Mom, I think you¡¯ve exaggerated things. What if she really wasn¡¯t intentional?¡± Jean said, smiling at


    Rose.


    Rose gave her an indifferent stare. ¡°So, you would rather speak up for the person who caused your son¡¯s


    wounds to open up instead of ming her? Is Toby iparable to an outsider in your heart? Indeed,


    you don¡¯t love him that much because he¡¯s not your biological son!¡±


    What?! Toby is not Jean¡¯s biological son? Shocked, Tina jerked her head up and looked at Jean with


    eyes the size of golf balls. Then, she shifted her gaze to the man on the bed who had his eyes tightly


    shut; only God knew if he had passed out or not.


    It¡¯s true, she thought, convinced. Toby doesn¡¯t look the least bit like Jean, and she always carries herself


    like a hillbilly. Nothing like ady born of a reputable family at all. It makes more sense to say that they


    aren¡¯t rted by blood.


    In a corner, Tom was equally shocked to find out this secret.


    ¡°What are you speaking about, Mom? Even though I didn¡¯t give birth to Toby, I¡¯ve always regarded him


    as my own,¡± Jean grumbled.


    However, Rose merely red at her from the corner of her eyes without a word.


    Soon, the doctor arrived and injected some analgesic into Toby. After the pain faded away, he gradually


    regained his consciousness, but his face was even more pale than before when he opened his eyes


    again.


    Feeling a sharp pain in her heart, Rose held his hand and asked gently, ¡°Are you alright, Toby?¡±


    Nodding his head weakly, he uttered, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t worry, Grandma.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± Standing by his bed, Tina sobbed as she wiped her tears


    away.


    However, her cries merely made Toby¡¯s head throb, and he wasn¡¯t in the mood to console her at this


    point. Rubbing his temples, he groaned, ¡°Stop crying already!¡±


    Hearing the annoyance in his voice, Tina immediately stopped crying and looked at him with a hurt


    expression. Looks like he already has a certain level of resistance toward my cries. When he hears me


    crying now, he¡¯s not going to prioritize andfort me, even when he¡¯s busy, like he used to anymore. At


    the thought of this, panic washed over her and she couldn¡¯t help but start biting her nails.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve reapplied the antiseptic and dressed the wounds again. The next step is to take good care,


    but he shouldn¡¯t be hit so strongly again. Otherwise, not only will his wound open up again, but his ribs


    which were fixed in ce will also break,¡± the doctor warned sternly as he removed his blood-stained


    gloves.


    Rose bobbed her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll keep a close eye on him and I won¡¯t let some idiot hurt my


    grandson again!¡± she said and nced at Tina intentionally.


    Ashamed, Tina hung her head and didn¡¯t dare to even make a squeak.


    After the doctor left, Rose tapped her walking stick on the floor a couple of times and said, ¡°Alright, all of


    you should go back now. I have some things to say to Toby.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving,¡± Tina said immediately, tugging Toby¡¯s sleeves. ¡°I wanna stay by Toby¡¯s side.¡±


    With a grim look, Rose looked at her with grave eyes. ¡°Miss Gray, can¡¯t you tell that you¡¯re thest


    person I want to have here?¡±


    Embarrassed to be told so bluntly that she was unweed, Tina gazed at Toby and moved her lips to


    say something, but he jerked his sleeve away and muttered, ¡°Go home for now, Tina.¡±


    ¡°But Toby¡­¡± she whined, sounding unwilling.


    Pursing his lips, Toby returned her gaze with a solemn look. ¡°Go home.¡±


    Feeling as though he had seen through her with those eyes, Tina shuddered from his gaze and broke the


    eye contact subconsciously. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll visit you again next time,¡± she replied with a nod and left after


    grabbing her handbag. A few secondster, Jean and Tom left the room as well, leaving Rose and Mary


    together with Toby.


    With Mary¡¯s help, Rose sat down and nced at her own grandchild studiously. ¡°Somehow, I realized


    that your attitude toward Tina has mellowed down a lot after waking up this time. Now, you¡¯re not as


    amodating as you were to her before.¡±


    With one arm over his eyes, Toby muttered, ¡°I figured out some things all of a sudden. Maybe it¡¯s


    because I was too amodating toward her before this that made her more and more spoiled.¡±


    More importantly, he could clearly feel that the shackles that were bounding his heart were all released


    after he woke up this time.


    Previously, whenever he saw Tina crying or looking aggrieved, a voice in his head wouldmand him


    tofort and spoil her. But now, he suddenly realized that that voice had turned much softer now, and


    in turn, he became more relieved.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you realized that.¡± Rose gave him a thankful smile. ¡°Toby, you¡¯re finally back to the way you


    were before.¡±


    ¡°The way I was before?¡± he repeated, looking at her in a daze because he didn¡¯t understand what she


    meant.

 Chapter 232

    Chapter 232


    Nodding, Rose answered, ¡°Yeah. How you used to be was a different person than how you are now. You


    were much more friendly and gentle, even. But ever since what happened to you six years ago¡­ you¡¯ve


    be a changed person. If it wasn¡¯t for the birthmark on you, I would¡¯ve thought that it was someone


    else in your ce.¡±


    Toby¡¯s pupils shrunk. From Grandma¡¯s description, it seems like I have twopletely different


    personalities before and after what happened six years ago. But I don¡¯t remember how I used to be at all.


    Is this normal? he asked himself, holding his palm against his forehead as his head started to throb


    again. Once more, the weird images popped up in his mind, shing past in his head like a merry-go-


    round, and he was unable to make any sense out of it.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Toby?¡± Rose asked in concern when she saw how distressed he seemed.


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Grandma. Tell me more about how I used to be.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± she agreed dly. ¡°Your old self was more chatty and was polite to everyone. However, ever


    since you told me that you started dating Tina, your pen-pal, I realized that she¡¯s the only one in your


    eyes and heart, and you can no longer see anyone else. All you do is revolve around her like a puppet.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible,¡± he muttered, holding his fists tightly. How is it possible that I became a puppet?


    he refuted the idea instinctively. Despite that, when he recalled how he would spoil and protect Tina


    without any bottom line, he suddenly lost all words to say.


    He was aware that she had made many mistakes, but he never thought of lecturing or punishing her.


    Instead, he would help clean up her mess, no questions asked. Because he saw her crying, he became


    softhearted and did what he shouldn¡¯t. What was he if not a puppet?


    Even though this wasn¡¯t how he was supposed to be, the memories in his mind told him that he had


    already turned into such a person.


    Seeing how he was now sinking into a deep sense of self-doubt, Rose sighed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk


    about this. It¡¯s not helpful to you right now. Let¡¯s talk about something else. Why did you have an


    ident close to Sonia¡¯s ce? Were you looking for her?¡± she asked, stroking his forehead.


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered, but he didn¡¯t answer.


    Sulking, she said, ¡°Forget it if you don¡¯t want to tell me. I¡¯m going home now. Sonia had advised me to


    rest well even when I¡¯m worried about you.¡±


    ¡°She knows that I was in an ident?¡± he blurted out immediately, looking a little worked up.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she answered with a nod. ¡°How could she possibly not know when the news of your ident


    made the headlines?¡±


    Lowering his gaze to hide the emotions in his eyes, he uttered, ¡°Then, did she¡­¡±


    Ask about me ore to visit me at the hospital? he finished the sentence in his head.


    ¡°What were you saying?¡± Rose asked, her eyes fixed on him.


    Opening his mouth, Toby then decided against finishing his sentence and said instead, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Sighing, Rose looked at him from the corner of her eye and said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m going now. Rest well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he murmured with dismay in his eyes. It seems like Sonia didn¡¯t ask about me, let alone visit me.


    Otherwise, Grandma would¡¯ve told me about it. Sonia knew that I had an ident at Bayside Residence


    and must have figured out that I was there to look for her. Still, she didn¡¯t evene and visit me. Is she


    really that heartless?


    Crestfallen, Tobyy in bed, full of frustrations and difort in his heart.


    In Paradigm Co., Carl was having afternoon tea in Sonia¡¯s office until he received a call from his


    manager asking him to attend a meeting in his agency. He was barely gone for a minute when Reba


    showed up.


    Upon knowing that he had just left, she sighed in disappointment. ¡°I¡¯m a minute toote.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so concerned about Carl?¡± Sonia asked, gesturing for her to take a seat in a chair opposite


    her.


    After plopping herself into the chair, Reba turned serious and began, ¡°President Reed, I¡¯ll be honest


    with you. I think he¡¯s the person I¡¯m looking for.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia blurted, puzzled.


    Taking a sip of tea, Reba then said, ¡°You know that I¡¯ve been looking for someone, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah, I know that, and you asked for leave two times before because of this as well.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Reba sighed. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m from Westsanshire, and a bodyguard for an influential family


    there. The reason I came to Seafield this time is to look for my master¡¯s youngest son.¡±


    ¡°So you think that Carl is the person you¡¯re looking for?¡± Sonia asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes. Because Mr. Lee looks a lot like Master, and his age fits the description as well. So, I¡¯m pretty sure


    that he¡¯s the young master I¡¯m looking for,¡± she exined.


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°What if you got it wrong? And Carl did have parents. Even though they had passed


    away for a long time, I¡¯ve seen how much he resembles them in pictures.¡±


    ¡°Of course I have proof for the things I said. First of all, it¡¯s the ce where Mr. Lee grew up, Jordain


    County. We found out that the young master lived there before, too. In addition, he


    looked so much like Master that the coincidences are simply too uncanny. So, he has to be Young


    Master.¡±


    ¡°That sounds true,¡± Sonia answered, nodding.


    Grabbing her hand, Reba pleaded, ¡°Please do me a favor, President Reed. Please get me a few


    strands of Mr. Lee¡¯s hair. I would like to have a paternity test done on it.¡±


    ¡°Well.. I¡¯ll need to ask for his permission. There¡¯s nothing I can do if he doesn¡¯t agree to it,¡± she answered


    after giving it a thought.


    Reba gave her hand a squeeze. ¡°Thank you, President Reed. It¡¯s good enough for me that you¡¯re


    willing to help me out. I¡¯ll think of other ways if he¡¯s not agreeable to it. Alright, I¡¯m going back to the


    finance department to finish my work.¡± Then, she released her hand and left while humming a tune.


    ¡°She¡¯s really eager to find him, huh?¡± Sonia shook her head helplessly.


    Suddenly, her cell phone rang, and she put down the pen in her hand. When she saw that it was Zane


    calling her, she picked up the call without hesitation. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Aunt Sonia!¡±


    A child¡¯s voice came from the other end of the line instead of Zane¡¯s. All at once, Sonia¡¯s face lit up.


    ¡°Dous?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. I miss you!¡± Dous said in his baby voice, clutching the cell phone with both hands.


    With an affectionate expression, Sonia said, ¡°Tell your uncle to bring you here to meet me if you miss


    me.¡±


    ¡°Okay, my uncle,¡±


    Before he could finish, Sonia heard Zane¡¯s voice cutting him off. ¡°Give me the phone, kid.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Dous said and hid the phone behind his back.


    Zane watched him and snorted. ¡°Kid, did you think I wouldn¡¯t be able to reach it if you hid it behind your


    back?¡± Bending over, he snatched the cell phone out of Dous¡¯ grip and ced a palm over his head,


    keeping him out of reach no matter how much he struggled.


    Realizing that his limbs were too short, Dous pouted his lips and almost cried, but Zane burst into


    laughter and ced the cell phone to his ear with his other hand. ¡°It¡¯s me, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re bullying Dous again?¡± she interrogated.


    Zane rolled his eyes in guilt, but he replied earnestly, ¡°No, I¡¯m not. He¡¯s my nephew. How could. I bring


    myself to bully him?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± she asked, narrowing her eyes doubtfully. Hurriedly, he nodded and said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s true! I¡¯ll


    let Dous tell it to you himself.¡±


    ours


    Holding the cell phone out to Dous, Zane gestured at the pile of toys on the floor with his lips,


    threatening that he would keep them away if Dous told Sonia the truth.


    Immediately, Dous understood what he meant and tears of anger welled up in his eyes, but he forced


    them back and sumbed to his mean uncle¡¯s threat, suffering the grievance in silence. Forcing out a


    smile, he said into the phone, ¡°Aunt Sonia, it¡¯s true that Uncle Zane didn¡¯t bully me.¡±


    li


    Only then was Sonia convinced, and Zane shed Dous a satisfied look. Then, he went upstairs with


    the cell phone and continued, ¡°Sonia, I found a suitable candidate to be Rina Gray¡¯s double.¡±

 Chapter 233

    Chapter 233


    Sitting upright, Sonia asked, ¡°You found one?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zane nodded.


    Sonia bit her lower lip. ¡°Where did you find her?¡±


    ¡°In a vige from a family where they have little regard for her. She¡¯s been abused since young and didn¡¯t


    receive much education, either,¡± he replied.


    With a frown, she asked, ¡°She doesn¡¯t really meet the requirement, no?¡± How can she be our mole if


    she¡¯s uneducated?


    As though reading her mind, Zane chuckled. ¡°No, no, not at all. On the contrary, she checks all the


    boxes. Her eyes look exactly the same as Mrs. Gray, and more importantly, she¡¯s more likely to gain their


    affection because she was abused since young and hadn¡¯t been educated.¡±


    Instantly, Sonia¡¯s eyes sparkled, and she understood what he meant. ¡°In other words, you¡¯re trying to


    make use of the Grays¡¯ guilt toward their long-lost daughter?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The more horrible Rina Gray used to live, the more likely it is for the Grays to treat her


    better. That way, the Rina Gray we are nting will have easier ess to the interior workings of the


    Grays and will be able to retrieve the information we need,¡± he exined, flopping himselffortably


    into his bed.


    Twirling the pen between her fingers, she answered, ¡°I got it now. So, when are you nning to let her


    meet them?¡±


    ¡°In a few more days, I think. I have to prep this fake Rina in the next few days so that she wouldn¡¯t give


    us away. Also, I¡¯ll need your help to get a DNA sample from the Grays so that I can make the


    arrangements secretly in major hospitals. Then, this fake Rina will turn out to be their daughter no matter


    where the Grays do the paternity test.¡±


    With a smirk on her face, she promised, ¡°I¡¯ll think of a way to get it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Zane stretched and added, ¡°I believe you can do it.¡±


    After hanging up the call, Sonia ced down her cell phone, and her eyes glowed with joy. Looks like I


    have to find a way to meet Tina and get a sample of her hair. As for her parents¡­ Well, I won¡¯t even try.


    First of all, there was no excuse she could use to meet Titus and his wife, and even if she could meet


    them, she had no way to get their hair sample unless she went ahead and pulled it out of their scalps


    directly. But it was different with Tina because she could actually pull her hair out with a reason.


    With that thought in mind, she called Daphne into her office.


    ¡°What can I do for you, President Reed?¡± Daphne asked, standing in front of her desk.


    Leaning back into her chair, she instructed, ¡°Send someone to keep a watch on Tina Gray and let me


    know where she¡¯s going for the next couple of days.¡±


    Although Daphne was unsure why Sonia wanted to do something like this, she didn¡¯t raise her questions


    and merely nodded. ¡°I got it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± Sonia gestured at the door with her chin.


    When Daphne was out of her office, she picked up her pen again and resumed her work.


    ording to the information from the people watching Tina, she almost never left her house for the next


    two days. There were only two times when she left her house, and both times were visits to the hospital.


    Most probably, she was there to visit Toby.


    However, for some unknown reasons, she was barely at the hospital for five minutes before going home


    again, and it was the same for both asions. After that, she would stay home for the entire day.


    This made Sonia a little worried because Zane would be finished with fake Rina¡¯s prep course soon, but


    she still hadn¡¯t caught hold of Tina¡¯s hair.


    ¡°I have to do something,¡± she muttered under her breath, cing her jacket over her shoulders and


    grabbing her handbag before leaving her office. I have to initiate the attack and not sit here waiting like a


    duck.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Her informant had just told her that Tina had driven out from her ce and was going in the direction of


    the hospital. Even though Sonia didn¡¯t know how long she would stay at the hospital this time, she had to


    catch her at the hospital before she left.


    Soon, Sonia arrived at the hospital, and she called Tim while walking through the doors.


    ¡°This is the first time you¡¯re calling me!¡± Tim answered her call within a split second, and she could hear


    the delight in his voice.


    Not knowing if his delight was genuine, Sonia stood in a corner of the lobby and asked, ¡°Is Tina still in the


    hospital?¡±


    ¡°Are you looking for her?¡± he asked, brows knitted.


    ¡°Yeah, is she still around?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s standing outside of Toby¡¯s ward and wants to visit him, but he doesn¡¯t allow her.¡± Standing not far


    off, Tim watched with ridicule at the woman standing outside of Toby¡¯s ward-her hands were clenched


    tightly on her sides and a spiteful look was on her face.


    Blinking, Sonia asked in surprise, ¡°Toby doesn¡¯t want to see her?¡± That can¡¯t be true! she thought.


    That¡¯s his beloved Tina we¡¯re speaking about. How could he bear to leave her outside his door?


    ¡°Yes. Toby has been weird for the past couple of days. He¡¯d meet anyone except for Tina,¡± Tim added,


    pushing his sses up the bridge of his nose.


    Shocked, Sonia thought, So he really didn¡¯t see her for two days? No wonder my informants told me that


    Tina was only here for a few minutes. So, that¡¯s why. But aren¡¯t they supposed to be deeply in love? How


    could their rtionship be on the rocks now? Snorting indifferently, she decided to not overthink it and


    said, ¡°I see. May I ask you for a favor?¡±


    ¡°Ask away! I¡¯ll do anything you ask of me,¡± Tim said confidently, sounding excited all of a sudden. Is my


    sweet angel going to forgive me now that she¡¯s asking me for help?


    Noticing the excitement in his voice, Sonia felt the edges of her lips twitching as she didn¡¯t understand


    why he was so happy that she was asking for his help. ¡°I would like you to lure Tina into the direction of


    the lobby. I want her to see me.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Do you have some business with her?¡±


    ¡°You could put it that way, I guess,¡± she answered vaguely.


    Regardless, Tim didn¡¯t press on with more questions and nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get her there as soon as


    possible.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia hung up after that.


    After keeping away his phone, Tim walked toward Tina and stopped next to her with his hands tucked in


    his white robes. As he stared at the tightly shut door with her, he began, ¡°Since he doesn¡¯t want to see


    you, you should head back first. There¡¯s nothing you can do by waiting around here. You should already


    know this after the past two days.¡±


    Tina tightened her fists. ¡°Tim, do you think Toby has found out about some things I did? Like, I faked my


    identity disorder¡­¡±


    Or maybe¡­ he found out that I impersonated Sonia, she finished in her mind, and the thought of these


    two possibilities made her heart race fearfully. No matter if Toby found out either of it, it would just mean


    the end of her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. If it¡¯s true, he would¡¯ve asked to see you a long time ago and not refuse to see you as


    he¡¯s doing now,¡± Tim answered with a shrug.


    His words made her feel somewhat relieved, but she was still a little worried. ¡°Then, why do you think he


    doesn¡¯t want to see me?¡±


    Even if those two issues weren¡¯t the reason Toby didn¡¯t want to see her, she was still feeling uneasy


    because he became aloof toward her without knowing anything about either issues. In effect, her position


    as his fianc¨¦e was now hanging by a thread.


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe he¡¯s still angry over the fact that you opened up his wounds two days ago,¡± he


    answered with a smirk.


    Gasping in surprise, she said, ¡°Toby isn¡¯t that petty, is he?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just my guess, but you have to find out for yourself whether I was right. Nevertheless, he clearly


    doesn¡¯t want to see you now. You should just go home for now and ask him about it in a couple of days


    when he¡¯s willing to see you again,¡± he suggested, nudging his sses upward.


    Thinking that he had a point, Tina uttered, ¡°Okay. Please let him know that I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tim said, and went into Toby¡¯s ward.


    After watching the door close, Tina twirled around and left for the elevators.


    Meanwhile, Toby was going through a document in his ward. Hearing the approaching footsteps, he


    asked without lifting his head, ¡°What are you doing here? It¡¯s not time for my checkup yet.¡±


    Sa mes.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to pass a message for Tina. She¡¯s gone now,¡± Tim replied, looking at him as he leaned against


    the wall.


    In response, Toby merely mumbled softly.


    When Tim saw howposed he seemed, his brows shot up. ¡°How cold of you. That¡¯s not how you


    usually treat Tina.¡±

 Chapter 234

    Chapter 234


    Toby¡¯s hand, which was about to flip a page, stopped mid-air, and his eyes flickered. ¡°So, tell me. How do


    I usually treat her?¡±


    ¡°Gentle, spoiling, and submissive,¡± Tim uttered slowly as Toby¡¯s brows furrowed together tighter with


    each word.


    Crossing his arms, Tim pointed out, ¡°It seems like you¡¯re not quite happy with my conclusion.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Toby answered curtly and returned his attention to the document in his hand.


    So what if he was unhappy about it? It was undeniable that Tim was right¡ªthat was exactly how he


    treated Tina before this.


    Tim studied his expression. ¡°Then why are you frowning?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± he replied calmly.


    Tim chuckled. ¡°You know, I noticed that you changed a lot after this ident, especially your attitude


    toward Tina. What happened between the both of you? Why are you so aloof toward her all of a


    sudden?¡±


    Picking up a pen, Toby left his signature on the document and said, ¡°Nothing happened between us. I


    just came to the realization that I had used the wrong attitude toward Tina before this and would like to


    correct it now.¡±


    ¡°But how can you do that if you refuse to see her?¡± Tim asked, the light reflecting off his sses.


    Closing the document and cing it aside, Toby then picked up another one and opened it. Right now,


    he had veryplicated feelings toward Tina, and he could clearly feel that he didn¡¯t feel the flutter in his


    heart for her anymore. Vaguely, he began to understand that he might no longer be in love with her, so


    that was why he didn¡¯t want to see her.


    Besides this, there was another important reason that he found to be very odd; despite himself realizing


    that he didn¡¯t feel much toward Tina anymore, his emotions would still be led by her whenever he saw


    her. Just like before, when he saw her looking sad, he would have the urge to give her his everything.


    Although that urge had faded quite a lot now, it was still within him, and it frustrated him a lot.


    The best evidence for this was during the day before when he caught a glimpse of her through the ss


    panel on the door. When he saw her red-rimmed eyes, his heart wrenched and he wanted so much to


    call her into the room so he could wipe away her tears and console her. However, before he could do


    that, Rose arrived and shooed her off.


    The moment Tina left, the heart-wrenching feeling in his chest immediately evaporated together with the


    voice in his head telling him to console her. In a split second, he returned to hisposed state before


    he saw her, as though everything he felt earlier was a mirage.


    Regardless, he knew that it did happen. Every time he saw Tina, his thoughts and emotions would be out


    of his own control, and he felt as if a pair of invisible hands were pushing him toward Tina so that he


    would be good to her and love her.


    At the thought of this, he tightened his grip on the pen, trying to hide the violent storm brewing in his


    eyes. On the other hand, when Tim saw that he was suddenly quiet, he shrugged and left the room.


    In the corridor leading to the lobby on the first floor, Tina stepped out of the elevator and immediately


    spotted Sonia who was walking toward her.


    At the same time, Sonia caught sight of her, and she feigned surprise. ¡°What a coincidence, Miss Gray.¡±


    As Tina didn¡¯t know that she was here to look for her, she clenched her fists and barked, ¡°What are you


    doing here in the hospital?¡± Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s here to visit Toby!


    Reading her mind, Sonia smirked, and her eyes sparkled. ¡°Well, I¡¯m here to visit President Fuller, of


    course. I heard that he got into a car ident. As his ex-wife, I should at least send him my regards, no?


    We were once in love, after all. Did you just visit him, Miss Gray? Great. Could you please tell me what


    his room number is?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡± Tina hissed, her eyes spitting fire.


    Sighing in feigned disappointment, Sonia said, ¡°I see. Never mind, then. I¡¯ll check it with the nurse at the


    reception.¡±


    She was about to walk past Tina when Tina suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. ¡°Oh no, you


    don¡¯t! I¡¯m warning you, Sonia Reed. You¡¯re not allowed to visit Toby. He¡¯s my fiance!¡±


    ¡°So what if he is? You guys are still not married yet, are you?¡± Sonia had on a smug look.


    Her provocation made Tina so furious that she was shaking. ¡°We¡¯ll be married sooner orter!¡±


    ¡°Huh. Nobody can say that for sure. I heard that he has refused to see you for the past couple of days,


    and it seems to me that he wants to break up with you. The timing can¡¯t be better because my chance is


    here,¡± Sonia added with a giggle, flipping her hair.


    Despite her confidence, Sonia was very disgusted with how she was acting right now. It feels so


    sickening to act like a b*tch, she thought. I swear I¡¯ll never do this again!


    Tina¡¯s face fell. ¡°What did you say? Your chance is here? Are you nning to remarry Toby?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m already pregnant, and he¡¯s the father of my child. It¡¯s only natural that I remarry him since


    I can¡¯t let my child grow up in a single-parent household. With your magnanimity, I guess you wouldn¡¯t


    want to see an innocent child be in a broken family, right?¡± Blinking, Sonia kept a steady gaze on Tina as


    she observed her expression


    Just as she expected, Tina¡¯s face cringed into a scowl.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    She found out that Toby is the father of her child! Tina thought in shock. I just knew she¡¯d find ways and


    means to remarry Toby when she found out about it. Hmph! All the things she said before that she


    doesn¡¯t love him anymore were just bullsh*t in the end!


    She couldn¡¯t care less about how Sonia found out the truth, and her eyes were staring at her belly with a


    malicious intent. It¡¯s all this bastard¡¯s fault! Without this bastard, she¡¯ll have no reason to remarry


    Toby! Crackling into an insaneughter, she suddenly lunged toward Sonia.


    Sonia saw thising from miles away. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped aside and dodged Tina easily,


    causing her to push into the air before stumbling to the floor.


    Sonia sneered at her, took a step forward, and grabbed her by the hair as she lifted her upper body. With


    her other hand, she pped her twice across her face.


    p! p!


    The sounds of the ps were crisp and clear, and palm marks appeared on Tina¡¯s cheeks instantly,


    making her look very pitiful and sorry.


    Amidst all these, none of them noticed that the elevator doors behind them had opened up suddenly, and


    a man in a wheelchair was watching as the situation unfolded. His hands that were resting on the


    armrests of the wheelchair balled up tightly as he tried to suppress his emotions.


    ¡°How dare you p me, Sonia Reed!¡± Tina shouted, pinned to the ground helplessly under her. As she


    was weaker than Sonia, she was unable to push her away and could only clutch onto Sonia¡¯s arms as


    tightly as she could, hoping that Sonia would release her from the pain.


    Despite Tina¡¯s struggles, Sonia refused to let go, and the stronger Tina clutched her arms, the stronger


    she would pull her hair. Tina felt as though Sonia would rip out her scalp, and her face twisted into a look


    of pain.


    ¡°Thought I didn¡¯t have the guts to hit you? Who do you think you are? You wanted to push me and kill my


    baby, and I¡¯m only hitting you in self-defense. Even if we bring this to the police, I¡¯m confident that I¡¯m the


    one in the right.¡± Sonia pulled at Tina¡¯s hair as she spoke.


    In fact, she deliberately told Tina that the father of her child was Toby and that she would remarry him, all


    for the sake of provoking Tina into attacking her. Then, she would have a reason to retaliate and pull out


    her hair.


    Even though the n was a little risky and she might get hurt during the process, she had to resort to


    this to avoid suspicion as to why she was pulling out Tina¡¯s hair. Luckily for her, she was able to escape


    unscathed because she was guarded against Tina¡¯s attack.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± Tina screamed, tears of pain brimming in her eyes, and she shot a spiteful look at Sonia. ¡°Let me


    go!¡±


    ¡°Never!¡± Sonia met her eyes with ridicule,

 Chapter 235

    Chapter 235


    Shakily, Tina asked, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    Patting her face gently, Sonia said in a viciously yful tone, ¡°Nothing, really. I just want you to watch as


    I remarry Toby and live happily ever after as a family with him together with our child.¡±


    Inside the elevator, the man¡¯s balled-up fists rxed a little, and an inexplicable feeling of joy washed


    over him.


    Outside, Tina snorted coldly. ¡°You think that¡¯s going to happen? Toby doesn¡¯t even love you! He won¡¯t


    remarry you!¡±


    Since Toby still isn¡¯t aware that it¡¯s Sonia that he¡¯s in love with, it won¡¯t be easy for her to achieve what


    she wants as long as I keep him unaware of it, Tina thought. Moreover, she¡¯s not fit to be his wife again!


    ¡°Oh, just because you said so? Six years ago, he still married me even though he doesn¡¯t love me, didn¡¯t


    he?¡± Smirking, Sonia prodded Tina in the chest.


    Gritting her teeth, Tina growled, ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done with you now. I¡¯m getting tired.¡± Sonia suddenly let go of her hair.


    Finally, Tina¡¯s scalp was released, and she shoved Sonia aside before sitting upright as she held the top


    of her head that was throbbing. With an icy stare, she glowered at Sonia and hissed, ¡°Just you wait!¡±


    Then, she sprang up and scattered away without checking around her, worried that Sonia might pin her


    down again because of what she said and give her another beating if she stayed any longer.


    In a fight, she was not a match for Sonia!


    Watching Tina¡¯s back as she scrambled away in fear, Sonia grinned and looked at the clump of dark hair


    she was holding in her hand. Those were the hairs she had pulled out of Tina¡¯s scalp mercilessly, and


    there were at least a hundred of them.


    This should be enough for Zane, I guess. She smiled and took out a nylon bag from her handbag,


    cing the hairs into the bag and sealing it before tossing it back into her handbag. Then, she stood up


    and brushed her hands together.


    Just as she was about to leave the hospital, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and


    she froze.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Wiping the smile off her face, she turned to face Toby, who was sitting expressionless in the


    elevator. How long has he been sitting there?


    He noticed the way she stopped smiling when she saw him, and his eyes turned sullen. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Wheeling himself out of the elevator, he then stopped in front of her, and she realized that it was the first


    time she had seen him so weak.


    Previously, he got injured several times because of her as well, but never to the extent of donning a


    hospital gown, nor did he get hospitalized for such a long time, unlike now.


    ¡°How long have you been here? The things that happened earlier, you saw it?¡± she asked, staring at the


    floor.


    ¡°I saw everything,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re now going to teach me a lesson on Tina¡¯s behalf?¡± Sonia asked in sarcasm.


    Shaking his head, Toby answered, ¡°No, I have no such ns.¡±


    In fact, he was burning with rage in the elevator when he saw how Sonia pped Tina earlier, and he did


    feel the urge to pull her away to rescue Tina and to stand up for her. However, he knew that that might


    not be his real intentions, so he restrained himself and stayed at bay.


    Sure enough, the minute Tina left, he was calm again, and all those thoughts he had earlier about


    standing up for her were gone. Once again, it was proven that his rationale and emotions would be


    affected by Tina. Still, he couldn¡¯t figure out the reason behind it. Perhaps the problem was in


    Tina.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to avenge Tina?¡± Sonia eximed in shock and disbelief, looking at him with widened


    eyes.


    Seeing that she was unconvinced, he smacked his lips indignantly and snapped, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Steadily, she watched him for a few seconds before putting on a stiff smile. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I thank you


    for letting me off, President Fuller. I¡¯m taking my leave now.¡± She adjusted the shoulder strap of her


    handbag and turned around, ready to leave.


    But Toby stopped her. ¡°Hang on a second.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else, President Fuller?¡± she asked, twisting her head to face him.


    With a thoughtful look in his eyes, he said, ¡°I heard everything you said earlier.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± she blurted in confusion. ¡°What did I say?¡±


    Disgruntled, he thought, Did she already forget what she just said a minute ago? ¡°Earlier, you said that


    you want to remarry me.¡±


    Recalling what happened earlier, Sonia said with a curious glint in her eyes, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you mean.


    Why are you bringing this up suddenly, President Fuller? Perhaps you have some opinions about it?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes glistened. ¡°I¡¯m agreeable to it if that¡¯s what you want.¡±


    All the muscles on Sonia¡¯s face froze, and she only regained herself a few secondster, but she was


    still puzzled. ¡°Wait a minute, are you running a fever, President Fuller? Did you just say that you¡¯ll


    remarry me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, for the baby-¡±


    ¡°Hold up,¡± Sonia interrupted, holding her palm up in a stop sign before feeling his forehead.


    From his forehead, he could feel the softness and warmth of her palm, and it traveled through his body


    until it reached his heart, giving him a jolt. But very quickly, she removed her hand and left him with a


    sense of disappointment.


    ¡°You¡¯re not having a fever,¡± she concluded with arms across her chest. ¡°So, why are you speaking


    nonsense?¡±


    Toby frowned. She thinks I¡¯m joking?


    ¡°Stop kidding with me, President Fuller. What do you mean for the baby? Does my baby have anything to


    do with you? Is it yours? I really didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯re so eager to adopt a child,¡± she said, her voice


    dripping with sarcasm.


    His eyes wavered. What? Why did she say that she wants to live with me together with the child if she


    doesn¡¯t know that it¡¯s my child? I thought she already found out!


    ¡°Also,¡± she added, not knowing what was on his mind, but she couldn¡¯t be bothered to find out, either.


    Indifferently, she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of reconciling with you. I just said those things earlier to


    provoke Tina. Did you take them for real?¡± With a snort, she turned and left.


    She had no idea why he would suddenly agree to remarry her, but she wasn¡¯t the least bit interested in


    his offer. Is he really in love with Tina? she wondered. Why is he saying that he¡¯s willing to remarry me,


    then?


    After she left, Toby looked silently in the direction where she disappeared until the elevator doors opened


    and Tom came out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. There¡¯s something wrong with the elevator. It stopped at


    this level and didn¡¯t go up, so I waited for a long time upstairs.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± he said softly with a dazed look.


    Relieved that Toby wasn¡¯t mad at him, Tom stood behind him and took over his wheelchair. ¡°Are you sure


    you want to return to thepany for the meeting, President Fuller? Let¡¯s skip it this time. What if your


    body can¡¯t take it,¡±


    ¡°Enough talking. Let¡¯s go,¡± he interjected impatiently and knocked on the armrest, signaling that he


    should get moving.


    Seeing how determined he was, Tom had no other choice, and he pushed him to the parking lot with a


    sigh.


    Meanwhile, Sonia left for Zanes¡¯ ce after the hospital. It was her first visit there. His ce was unlike


    the modern vismonly found nowadays. Instead, it was a European-style mansion which made


    Sonia feel nostalgic.


    ¡°You¡¯re here atst. Quick,e in.¡± Zane hade to open the door for her personally, and he was all


    smiles at the sight of her.


    Stepping in, Sonia said, ¡°Sorry to disrupt you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. In the future, this ce will be your¡ª¡± Realizing that he was about to say something


    inappropriate, Zane stopped himself abruptly and cleared his throat before sealing his lips.


    Confused, Sonia looked at him, asking, ¡°What did you want to say earlier?¡±


    Laughing awkwardly, he brushed off the topic, saying, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Here, take a seat.¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    While he was pointing at an armchair in the living room, gesturing for her to take a seat, Sonia thought


    that he was acting really odd, but she didn¡¯t think too much about it and took a seat after thanking him.


    The butler, Lenny, came into the room with freshly brewed tea, and was smiling from ear to ear when he


    saw Sonia. So, this is the woman Young Master Zane likes. Not bad at all. She¡¯s stunning!

 Chapter 236

    Chapter 236


    The way Lenny was smiling at Sonia made her feel ufortable, and it even made her hair stand on


    end. In addition to that, Zane was also acting very weird earlier, and she thought that the people in the


    Coleman household seemed a little abnormal.


    Aware that she was being impolite, she cleared her throat and recollected her thoughts. She attempted


    to keep those thoughts out of her mind.


    ¡°Please have some tea, Miss Reed.¡± Lenny handed her a cup of tea.


    After taking the cup from him, Sonia said, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± he replied while waving his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to chat with Mr. Coleman. Let me


    know if you need anything. Anything at all, literally, and please just treat this ce like your own house.¡±


    The edge of her lips twitched as she forced out a smile and nodded. ¡°Uh, sure.¡± Silently, she thought, His


    butler is a little too friendly. Did he just tell me to take this ce as my own house? It just makes me


    more stressed!


    ¡°Alright, Lenny. Leave us alone,¡± Zane said. Then, he grabbed a cup of tea for himself and signaled for


    Lenny to leave the room quickly. If Lenny stayed around any longer, he was worried that the former might


    tell Sonia about him liking her. He couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen after that.


    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯m going now,¡± Lenny said with a chuckle, thinking that Zane couldn¡¯t wait to spend time


    alone with Sonia. When he was leaving, he even cast an encouraging look at Zane, who was tickled and


    annoyed by it at the same time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. Our butler, Lenny, may be old, but he¡¯s really friendly and acts like a child,¡± Zane


    exined while looking at Sonia.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I kinda like him for his friendliness. By the way, I¡¯ve brought you the


    DNA sample of the Grays as you instructed.¡± cing down her teacup, she then took out the nylon bag


    which had Tina¡¯s hair in it.


    When Zane saw how much hair was in that bag, he almost spat out his tea. ¡°That¡¯s a lot!¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­ I identally yanked out too much. But whatever. Just take all of it,¡± she muttered and tossed


    the bag at him.


    He hurriedly caught the bag and asked, ¡°Did you say you yanked it out of her? Are you saying that you


    pulled this bunch of hair out of Tina¡¯s scalp directly?¡±


    With a grin on her face, she answered, ¡°Well, something like that.¡±


    ¡°Tina wouldn¡¯t have allowed you to do that, so tell me how you managed it! Not only did you pull out her


    hair, but you even pulled out so much!¡± After putting aside the bag, Zane moved his chair


    next to Sonia and sat down with a curious expression on his face.


    Upon seeing how interested he seemed to be, Sonia rubbed her earlobe with her fingers for a moment


    before telling him everything about how she went to look for Tina at the hospital.


    After listening to her story, he burst intoughter while holding his stomach. ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Sonia! You


    made her mad on purpose so that she would strike you first and give you the reason for returning her


    attack. With that, no one will suspect that you have other motives for pulling out her hair.¡±


    ¡°Yes. If I yanked her hair out directly, she would definitely try to find out the reason I did that. So, this was


    the only way for me,¡± she answered with her palms spread out.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll have someone take this sample away,¡± Zane said in the end. Then, he whisked out his cell


    phone from his pocket.


    Meanwhile, Sonia sat on the couch quietly as he made the call. About half an hourter, someone


    arrived and took Tina¡¯s hair away. She wanted to leave as well, but Lenny and Zane made her stay for


    dinner. After dinner, Zane drove her back to her ce at Bayside Residence.


    When Sonia hopped out of the car, he wound down the window, rested an arm on the edge, and told her,


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to meet the fake Rina tomorrow.¡±


    With a sparkle in her eyes, she nodded. ¡°Great! I want to pass her the ne as well.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a date, then. See you tomorrow.¡± He bid her goodbye and waved his hand.


    ¡°Sure. See you tomorrow!¡±


    After he closed the car window and drove away, Sonia stood at the side of the road and watched until his


    car disappeared into the distance before going back to her apartment.


    On the other side of the road, there was a car that was easy to miss if one didn¡¯t look carefully. Toby was


    watching Sonia¡¯s back, his face expressionless. However, Tom knew that he was unhappy and in a foul


    mood now. Is he in a bad mood because Miss Reed came out of another man¡¯s car? he wondered.


    ¡°President Fuller, I think that car earlier belongs to Mr. Coleman.¡± Tom turned around and said that to


    Toby, who was in the backseat.


    Lowering his head, Toby tried to hide the fury in his eyes without saying anything. He could immediately


    recognize that as Zane¡¯s car, but he was just wondering about why Sonia came back in his car sote at


    night, where were they before this, and what did they do. With all those questions swirling around his


    head, the air surrounding him gradually turned cold, and he clenched his fist. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he instructed


    solemnly.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to look for Miss Reed?¡± Tom asked, surprised.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and asked in return, ¡°And why should I look for her?¡±


    Tom shut his mouth, but he was silently judging Toby. Oh, he¡¯s jealous! After seeing Miss Reeding


    home with another man, he¡¯s so mad that he wants to leave now. Whatever. We¡¯ll be back again next


    time anyway. He shrugged and then quietly started the engine.


    Soon, they arrived at Fuller Residence, and the second Tom wheeled Toby through the hallway, they


    heard two loud pops. Colorful paper confetti then showered all over them.


    ¡°Congrattions on your discharge, Toby!¡± Tyler said loudly with a wide grin. He was standing on the


    step which connected the hallway to the living room.


    When Toby saw the party popper that Tyler was shaking in his hands, he knew that he was the one who


    popped it and released the confetti all over him.


    ¡°Wee home, Toby.¡± Rose weed him with a smile.


    Jean wasn¡¯t going to keep silent as well. ¡°Wee home, Toby!¡±


    The knot between Toby¡¯s brows eased up, and he thanked them while brushing off the confetti on


    himself.


    ¡°Let me push you, Toby,¡± Tyler said. He threw aside the party poppers in his hands and walked toward


    Tom.


    Tom automatically stepped aside and uttered, ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby nodded, and Tom turned to leave after saying goodbye to Rose. Upon leaving the Fullers¡¯


    residence, he lifted his head and stared at the sky which was sparkling with stars, and a tear rolled down


    his cheek. This is great! Finally, I¡¯m finished with work. It hasn¡¯t been easy at all!


    In the house, Tyler pushed Toby into the living room while saying, ¡°Aren¡¯t you already discharged in the


    afternoon? Why did you only return now?¡±


    A glint shed across Toby¡¯s eyes as he answered, ¡°I was feeling unwell, so I asked Tom to push me


    around for a walk.¡±


    Upon hearing that he was unwell, Rose jerked her head around to look at him. ¡°I¡¯ve told you not to rush


    your discharge and stay for a couple more days at the hospital, but you refused to listen. Where are you


    feeling unwell? Should I call for a doctor?¡±


    ¡°No need, Grandma. I¡¯m fine now,¡± he replied while rubbing his temples.


    Actually, he was feelingpletely fine, but all of a sudden, the first person he wanted to see upon his


    discharge was Sonia. Hence, he had asked Tom to drive him to her ce. Unexpectedly though, he saw


    hering home in Zane¡¯s car.


    While they were speaking, they reached the living room, and Jean suddenly said in a secretive manner,


    ¡°By the way, Toby. There¡¯s a surprise for you.¡±


    ¡°A surprise?¡± He repeated those words with raised eyebrows.


    Next to him, Rose and Tyler rolled their eyes simultaneously without saying anything, and Jean pointed


    toward a certain direction. ¡°Yes. Right there.¡±


    Following her finger, Toby then saw someone standing up from a couch that had its back facing him.


    Slowly, the person spun around and revealed her pretty face as she fiddled with her fingers while looking


    at him awkwardly. ¡°Hi, Toby.¡±


    The expression on Toby¡¯s face changed slightly; the gentle look he had in his eyes had turned icy cold in


    a split second. His hands, which were resting on the armrests of the wheelchair, were balled up as he


    nced at Jean frostily. So this is the surprise she meant?

 Chapter 237

    Chapter 237


    Chapter 237 He Wants to Break up With Tina,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Oblivious to the look Toby had in his eyes, Jean chirped happily, ¡°Toby, Tina is here especially to look


    for you because you refused to see her for the past couple of days. Even if there¡¯s a misunderstanding


    between you two, it¡¯s about time to make up again. Tina will be staying over tonight, and it will be the


    perfect opportunity for you two to have a chat.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need that.¡± Toby shot down her suggestion


    with a somber look. Tina¡¯s eyes widened as she cried, ¡°Toby, tell me what did I do wrong that you¡¯re


    ignoring me for the past two days. Tell me, and I¡¯ll change, okay?¡±


    cing a hand over the spot where her heart was, she looked at him with pleading, puppy-like eyes


    while Rose and Tyler watched him intently, curious to find out the reason as well. However, he merely


    pursed his lips and muttered, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± The fault lies with me, he added silently. I


    don¡¯t love you anymore and I don¡¯t know how to face you. More importantly, his thoughts and emotions


    would be affected by her when he saw her, and he would do things that he wouldn¡¯t usually do. For


    example, after she woke up and was discharged from the hospital, he actually asked Sonia to move out


    because of one word from her. Back then, Sonia was still his wife, and even though he didn¡¯t love her,


    there was no reason for him to ask her to move out.


    Nevertheless, he still did it. In addition to that, Tina had tried to harm Sonia on more than one asion.


    Although she conducted those acts due to her alter ego, those things she did were still illegal, and he


    never had the thought to report her to the police. What he found to be the weirdest was that he never


    thought that there was anything wrong with what he did, right until the car ident this time. Suddenly,


    it dawned upon him that not only was he an idiot in the past, but he was evencking in the most basic


    moral standards! That wasn¡¯t me, he thought while gritting his teeth. I¡¯m sure that the person before this


    car ident wasn¡¯t the real me! As a person who had received elite education since he was younger, it


    was impossible that he would do such a string of idiotic things.


    There must be something wrong with me. With this thought in his mind, he lowered his head to hide the


    grim look on his face. ¡°Tyler, help me upstairs,¡± he instructed in a low whisper. ¡°Okay,¡± Tyler answered.


    He then pushed his brother toward the elevator which he had asked Tom to hire workers to install the


    previous day for Toby¡¯s convenience to travel between the floors. ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina whined. Seeing that he


    didn¡¯t even look her in the eye and had nothing to say to her, she rushed after them hurriedly and


    wanted to follow them upstairs. The reason she came here on this day was to talk things out with him.


    She wanted to find out what was wrong with him, why he refused to see her, and the reason he was so


    cold toward her.


    However, she didn¡¯t imagine that he wouldn¡¯t even give her this chance. Before she could even reach


    them, Rose stood in her way. With a delighted look in her eyes that was impossible to hide, Rose said,


    ¡°Miss Gray, it¡¯s gettingte. Toby needs to rest. You should go home as well.¡± ¡°But Mrs. Gray says that


    tonight I can¡ª¡± ¡°With me around, nothing she says matters.¡± Rose cut her off while casting Jean an


    indifferent stare. Since Jean had always been terrified of her, the moment she met the olderdy¡¯s


    eyes, she quickly hung her head low. ¡°Somebody, please see Miss Gray to the door!¡± Rose shouted to


    the servant at the door. Immediately, the servant came over and showed Tina the way.


    ¡°Miss Gray, this way, please.¡± Biting her lip, Tina threw a spiteful look at Rose and stomped her feet


    before storming out. Upstairs, Tyler pushed Toby into his room and said, ¡°Have a good rest, Toby. I¡¯m


    going out now.¡± ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Toby called out. Spinning around, he then asked, ¡°Is there anything


    else, Toby?¡± ¡°Why do you hate Tina all of a sudden? I remember that before this, you liked her a lot,


    just like Mom,¡± he asked while gazing at him. Scratching his head, Tyler answered, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve only


    heard of all the good things about her from Mom before this, and you really liked her a lot too. I thought


    that an outstanding person like you must have been in love with an amazing girl as well.


    That was why I had a good impression of her, butter when I saw her for who she really is, it¡¯s only


    natural that I started to dislike her.¡± Silently, Toby thought over his words. He¡¯s right. Anyone would


    choose to steer far away from a vicious and mean person that they initially thought of as amazing, but


    that was never in my consideration. Tyler blinked and watched as Toby was silent, deep in his own


    thoughts. Then, he asked, ¡°Why are you asking this?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Toby answered tly. Tyler looked


    around and asked in a gossipy manner, ¡°So, what exactly happened between you and Tina? Did you


    have a fight?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t buy it.¡± Tyler gave Toby a look that clearly said, ¡®Yeah right. I can see


    through you.¡¯


    He also added, ¡°Judging from your situation, there¡¯s no reason for you to look like you¡¯re breaking up


    with her if there¡¯s no fight going on.¡± Toby pressed his lips into a thin line before he answered, ¡°Well,


    maybe it¡¯s true that I should break up with her.¡± He wanted to be a normal person, not a dummy with


    his thoughts and emotions being yed around by Tina. As for the promises he made to her before, he


    was beginning to doubt if he really made those promises out of his own will. A tiny voice in his heart


    was telling him that it was not! ¡°What did you say earlier, Toby? Y-You want to¡­¡± ¡°Get out. I want to rest


    now,¡± Toby said before Tyler could finish his sentence and chased him out of the room. After trudging


    out of Toby¡¯s room in a daze, Tyler finally regained hisposure after a few minutes. He gulped and


    thought, My god!


    Toby wants to break up with Tina! I have to tell Sonia this good news! He took out his cell phone and


    called Sonia in excitement. In the meantime, Sonia was in the bath, and when she saw the person


    calling her, she rejected the call immediately, because she didn¡¯t feel like picking up. Tyler looked


    displeased when his call was rejected, and he muttered under his breath, ¡°Why did she reject my call?


    The more you don¡¯t want to pick up my call, the more I¡¯ll keep calling. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll pick up in the


    end.¡± With a snort, he called her again. This time, Sonia picked up the call indignantly.


    ¡°Cut the bullsh*t and get straight to the point!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good to be so vulgar, Sonia,¡± Tyler said. He was


    leaning against the wall in the corridorzily as he shook his feet. In his heart, he was feeling smug as


    he thought, Hmph, didn¡¯t you reject my calls before this? You still picked it up in the end! ¡°That¡¯s none


    of your business. A brat like you actually has the nerves to lecture me now, huh?¡± she muttered. ¡°Tell


    me why you called, or I¡¯ll hang up. I¡¯m in the bath right now.¡± The moment Tyler heard that she was in a


    bath, he blushed shyly and stammered, ¡°I-I just want to share a piece of good news with you.


    My brother is going to break up with Tina soon.¡± ¡°What?¡± She gasped in surprise before sitting upright


    in the bathtub. ¡°He¡¯s breaking up with Tina?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what he said. Are you happy, Sonia?¡± Sonia


    frowned. ¡°Why should I be happy over it? It has nothing to do with me whether they¡¯re together or not.


    Do you think I¡¯ll remarry your brother after they break up?¡± she retorted while rolling her eyes. Despite


    that, she wondered if he wanted a breakup with Tina because of the things she said in the hospital


    earlier. ¡°Why can¡¯t you remarry him? I think both of you are quite suited for each other,¡± Tyler mumbled.


    A look of sarcasm appeared in her eyes, and her tone turned indifferent.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you ashamed to say that, Tyler Fuller? Don¡¯t forget that you thought that I wasn¡¯t good enough


    for your brother before this. You even thought that I was the reason why he couldn¡¯t marry Tina. It¡¯s so


    ironic that you¡¯re telling me this now.¡± With that, she hung up on him and tossed her cell phone aside


    before continuing her bath. On the other end of the call, Tyler lowered his head. He knew that he was in


    the wrong after Sonia¡¯s lecture.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What are you doing standing around here?¡± Jean asked in annoyance when she saw him standing


    there looking depressed as she came upstairs with the medication. ¡°Nothing¡­¡± he muttered sadly and


    returned to his own room. ¡°What¡¯s the problem with this kid?¡± Jean shook her head. Soon, she stopped


    pondering over it and knocked on Toby¡¯s door. ¡°Are you in there, Toby?¡±

 Chapter 238

    Chapter 238


    Chapter 238 Tina Is Not a Gray,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Come in.¡± Toby was leaning against the bed, reading a book. Jean came in. ¡°Here¡¯s your medicine,


    Toby. Remember to take it.¡± ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t stay up toote. I¡¯ll be going now.¡±


    She pointed at the door. ¡°Yeah. Good night.¡± After Jean went away, he closed his book, took the


    medicine and ss from the table, and gulped the pills down in one go. He went back to his book once


    he was done, but a wave of sleepiness assailed him. He knew that it was from the medicine he took,


    since Toby would always feel sleepy after taking his medicine when he was in the hospital. In the end,


    he put his book aside andy down. A short whileter, he fell asleep. A long nightmare tortured him


    during his sleep.


    In the nightmare, Toby took Tina back after she woke up, just like how he did in reality. Of course, he


    asked Sonia to move out, but Sonia refused to in that nightmare. In the end, he told his servant to toss


    her stuff out of the house. Sonia didn¡¯t sign the papers either. Instead, he was the one who brought up


    the divorce. Since she refused, Toby kept humiliating her, forcing her to sign the papers. Aside from


    that, he saw Tina hurting Sonia in his dream, just like how she did in real life. However, in that dream,


    he thought Sonia was the one who attacked Tina.


    Thanks to that, he tortured Sonia and sent her to jail. When he woke up from that nightmare, he was


    already drenched in sweat. Toby looked at his hands and around his room before heaving a sigh of


    relief. Good thing it¡¯s just a dream. But a voice in his heart told him that if Sonia hadn¡¯t brought up the


    divorce, she might have really ended up tortured and sent to jail like she was in the dream. Suddenly,


    his phone rang, so Toby put his thoughts aside and took the call. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked hoarsely. ¡°Will


    you being in today, sir?¡± Tom asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Toby answered curtly. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s about Mr. Gray. He


    called me earlier, saying he wants to see you. He sounded irritated, and he brought up his daughter as


    well. He¡¯s probably angry at you for how you¡¯ve been treating Miss Gray and wants to talk about it,¡±


    Tom said. Toby frowned.


    ¡°I see. Tell him he cane over soon.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°And get me an appointment with a


    psychologist.¡± Toby stared at the floor. He wanted to know what was wrong with him since he would be


    affected by Tina every time he saw her. ¡°A psychologist?¡± Tom was curious. ¡°For you or someone else,


    sir?¡± ¡°Me,¡± Toby answered. ¡°I¡¯m bogged down by stresstely.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Tom nodded, not suspecting a


    thing. ¡°I¡¯ll call Dr. Steve then.¡± No,¡± Toby declined immediately. ¡°Get me someone else aside from him


    and Tim.¡± One of them is Tina¡¯s doctor, while the other is her friend. If they know what I¡¯m asking, Tina


    will find out in a second. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get someone else then.¡± He wondered why Toby requested another


    doctor, but he didn¡¯t pry.


    After all, he was just an employee, so he just needed to do as he was told. After he was done talking,


    Toby lifted his nket, got off the bed and onto his wheelchair carefully, and went to the bathroom to


    wash himself up. Bayside Residence. Sonia was done packing her stuff, so she took her handbag and


    went downstairs to meet up with Zane. ¡°Get in, my princess.¡± Zane was standing next to the car. When


    he saw her, he opened the back car door and bowed at her like a gentleman. Soniaughed. ¡°My


    princess? God, I¡¯m getting goosebumps here.¡± Zane snickered. ¡°Alright, funtime is over. Get in.¡± Sonia


    nodded and got in the car, while Zane quickly went to the driver¡¯s seat and drove to the ce where


    the fake Rina was staying. On the way there, he told Sonia about the fake Rina¡¯s training so Sonia


    could know more about her.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    About half an hourter, they came to a secluded suite that belonged to Zane and that the fake Rina


    was staying in. Zane went up to knock on the door, and it swung open a momentter. The woman


    behind the door was about the same age as Sonia. She wasn¡¯t really pretty. In fact, her skin was pasty


    and she was gaunt, apparently from the prolongedck of nutrition. She couldn¡¯t even fit into her


    clothes, and the woman had the look of a coward. She wouldn¡¯t even look Sonia in the eye. When


    Sonia saw her, she knew this woman was the fake Rina they hired. Zane pointed at the woman before


    Sonia. ¡°This is our actress right here.¡± The fake Rina poured two cups of tea and handed one to Sonia.


    ¡°H-Hello, Miss Reed. I¡¯m Taylor. I¡ª¡± Sonia frowned and stopped Taylor. ¡°You¡¯re not Taylor. From this


    moment onward, you¡¯re Rina Gray. Remember that. No matter who¡¯s asking, that¡¯s what you¡¯ll answer,


    got it?¡± ¡°Sonia¡¯s right. This is a big thing, so if you mess up, it won¡¯t end well for you. Do not ruin the


    n.¡± Zane gazed at Taylor, who was now Rina, seriously. Rina nodded. ¡°I-I understand. I won¡¯t let you


    down.¡± This will either make me a million or cost me a million. I¡¯m not gonna get busted. Finally, Sonia


    stopped frowning. Then, she reached into her bag, took out a box and opened it. Sitting inside the box


    was the ne. She then stood up and went over to Rina. ¡°This ne is the key for your return.¡±


    She put the ne around Rina¡¯s neck. ¡°And it¡¯s proof that you¡¯re Rina, so don¡¯t lose it. And


    remember, you¡¯ve had this ne all your life. Before the old man who adopted you died, he told you


    that you might be the heir of a rich family, so you took this ne to a jewelry shop and asked them


    about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Rina held the ne. Sonia patted her shoulder and went back to


    her seat, then someone knocked on the door. The three of them looked toward the door and saw a


    man standing outside. ¡°Sir.¡± The man who came was Zane¡¯s assistant. Zane let him in. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with Tina¡¯s hair,¡± the assistant replied. Tina was sipping her tea. ¡°What¡¯s the matter


    with it?¡±


    Maybe it has no follicle, so that¡¯s why it¡¯s useless. No, that can¡¯t be. I yanked it off of Tina¡¯s head. Hair


    like that usuallyes with follicles. Only those that fall naturally don¡¯t. ¡°I sent the hair to all the


    hospitals in the city, but then I found out First World Hospital has the records of Tina and her family¡¯s


    body checkup.¡± ¡°So? Every hospital keeps a record of everyone who does a body checkup there.¡± Zane


    dismissed it. But his assistant shook his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem. I looked into their records and found something. Tina¡¯s blood type doesn¡¯t match


    her parents¡¯.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Sonia tensed up. ¡°Are you saying Tina isn¡¯t their daughter?¡± Zane quickly


    looked at his assistant. ¡°Is she right?¡± ¡°Yes. Tina isn¡¯t the Grays¡¯ daughter. I thought there was


    something wrong with the record, but after I got the results from the hair analysis, I¡¯m certain that the


    record is correct. She isn¡¯t the Grays¡¯ daughter, so her hair is useless,¡± the assistant answered.

 Chapter 239

    Chapter 239


    Chapter 239 Getting Titus¡¯ Hair,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Damn. After all we did, now you tell me she isn¡¯t their daughter?¡± Zane scratched his head in


    annoyance. Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Forget it. That¡¯s not important. Now that her hair¡¯s useless, we¡¯ll


    have to get Titus or Julia¡¯s hair, or we can¡¯t forge the DNA test results for Rina.¡± She looked at Rina,


    who had her head lowered and was quiet all this while. Zane rubbed his chin. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± Sonia turned back to him. Zane smiled and snapped his fingers. ¡°Easy. I¡¯m taking a


    leaf out of your page and getting my men to surround Titus. Then they¡¯ll bump into him and say he tried


    to bump into us. Then they¡¯ll beat him up.¡± He winked at Sonia. Sonia gave him a thumbs up. Zane


    grinned, happy that he got praised.


    Then, he looked at Rina. ¡°You heard them. The n¡¯s dyed for a couple more days.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll do


    as you say.¡± Rina waved at him, indicating that she was fine with it. Zane nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡±


    She got up and went out of the suite. After they got into the elevator, she asked, ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to


    ask you, why did she agree to this? This is a nice job, but she also risks getting exposed. Titus will kill


    her if he knows she isn¡¯t Rina. Not easy impersonating a rich girl, you know.¡± ¡°Money.¡± Zane put his


    hands behind his head. ¡°Nothing better than that in this world.


    As I said, she¡¯s born to a misogynistic family and grew up in an abusive environment. Didn¡¯t get much


    education either. When I found her, her parents were trying to marry her off to a fifty-year-old widower


    for two hundred grand. They were nning to use that money on their son¡¯s marriage.¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes


    shed with disgust. ¡°Her parents are worse than animals.¡± ¡°Yep. That¡¯s why I spent two hundred grand


    to buy her off from them and promised her a million and a house if she impersonates Rina and


    bes our spy. Once we topple the Grays, I¡¯ll give her what I promised and also a new identity.


    That¡¯s why she agreed. Because I saved her, and she can get a lot out of this,¡± Zane answered.


    ¡°I see. But a million isn¡¯t much. I¡¯ll double it. That should be enough for her, but what about her family?


    What if they expose her?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Zane¡¯s eyes glinted maliciously. ¡°I have my men keeping an


    eye on them. They won¡¯te to this city. Besides, I gave her a clean te before I brought her here.


    Even if someone suspects her, they won¡¯t find anything if they investigate her.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s good to


    hear.¡± Sonia smiled in relief. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to Fuller Group after this. I have a negotiation with Toby, so


    I can¡¯t send you home. So¡­¡± Sonia gave him an understanding smile. ¡°I can get a ride back. You can


    go ahead.¡± After they came to the first floor, they went their separate ways at the junction.


    Sonia got a ride back to Paradigm Co, while Zane went to Fuller Group. At the same time, Tom was


    leading Titus to Toby¡¯s office, where Toby was waiting. After he went in, Titus sat down before Toby. ¡°I


    guess you know why I¡¯m here.¡± Toby sped his hands, looking at Titus. ¡°Tina,¡± he answered curtly.


    Titus nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about Tina. She told me that you¡¯ve been ignoring her. You didn¡¯t even give her


    a chance to exin herself. What did she do? Why are you so angry at her?¡± Toby stared at his desk.


    ¡°Titus, are you here because you want to, or because Tina asked you to?¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Titus coughed. ¡°Both. Tina said you won¡¯t talk to her, so she wants me to talk to you. I am her father, so


    I can¡¯t bear to see her looking so down. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Toby, tell me what she did. If it¡¯s her fault,


    I¡¯ll ask her to apologize, alright?¡± Toby rubbed his fingers, but he said nothing. Titus was nervous since


    he didn¡¯t know what Toby was thinking. A momentter, he leaned forward. ¡°Toby, tell me the truth. Is


    this because of what she did at the banquet? Is that why you¡¯re ignoring her?¡± ¡°No.¡± Toby massaged his


    forehead. ¡°I just think we¡¯re not a good match now.¡± Titus¡¯ face fell, and he looked upset. ¡°What does


    that mean, Toby? Are you saying you want to break up with her?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes glinted, and he looked


    up at Titus.


    ¡°Now that you brought that up, I might as well tell you the truth. I want to¡ª¡± Before he could finish,


    Titus¡¯ phone rang. Titus stopped him and took his phone out. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Bad news, sir! The After


    Sales Service Department told us that our new product¡¯s all gone wrong, and now a bunch of


    customers are standing outside thepany, demandingpensation! They said they¡¯ll take this to


    the Department of Commerce if they don¡¯t get an exnation!¡± the assistant quickly said. ¡°What?¡± Titus


    was shocked, and he stood up. ¡°Are they dumb? That¡¯s just making a mountain out of a molehill! Fine,


    I¡¯ll be right there.¡± He then put his phone away. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this next time, Toby.


    I need to settle a few things at mypany. Remember to patch things up with Tina. She¡¯s been losing


    sleep and appetite because you won¡¯t talk to her, and I¡¯m worried.¡± Then, he left Toby¡¯s office hurriedly.


    Toby frowned, annoyed by how things had turned out. However, he couldn¡¯t call Titus back, so he


    would have to tell Tina about the breakup himself next time. After getting out of the elevator, Titus


    speed-walked to the car park, heading to his car. Before he could get too far, a burly, tattooed man in a


    printed shirt and sunsses walked toward him.


    He was puffing a cigarette and humming casually, but then he suddenly bumped into Titus. Titus was


    getting on in age. Since he led a sedentary lifestyle, he was out of shape and didn¡¯t have much


    strength either. It was just a slight bump, but that was enough to make Titus fall and gasp in pain.


    Before Titus could say anything, the burly man flew into a rage. He spat his cigarette, took his


    sunsses off, and red at Titus.


    Then he pulled Titus up by his hair, roaring, ¡°Are you blind? You bumped into me, you idiot!¡± Titus had


    lived his whole life in luxury so he was angry that someone was yelling at him, but his fury was doused


    when he saw all the muscles the man was packing. I¡¯d better not get on his bad side.

 Chapter 240

    Chapter 240


    Chapter 240 Fell Out of Love,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Titus lost all his arrogance. He wiped the saliva off his face and said in a trembling voice, ¡°I-I didn¡¯t


    bump into you, sir. You bumped into me first.¡± The man red at him. ¡°I bumped into you? You¡¯re


    joking! You bumped into me first, and now you¡¯re trying to lie your way out? You old git! Take this!¡± And


    then, he pped Titus. It was the first time Titus had been pped, so he was shaken to his core.


    When he snapped out of it, the man was already nowhere to be found. Titus trembled with rage,


    humiliation filling him up. He etched the man¡¯s face into his mind.


    After he was done with hispany¡¯s matter, he woulde over to ask Toby for the surveince


    camera footage. I¡¯ll make him regret that he was born. Titus poked his cheek with his tongue before


    going into his car darkly. Not long after he left, the man came out of a corner, but this time, someone


    was standing behind him. ¡°This is the hair you wanted, sir.¡± He handed over a few strands of hair that


    was covered with tissue paper. Contrary to how he acted in front of Titus, the man bowed politely at


    Zane. Zane took it and handed him a piece of check. ¡°Thanks for your hard work.¡± ¡°Not at all. Call me if


    you need any help. I¡¯ll do whatever you want.¡± After he took the check, the man thumped his chest.


    Zane nodded with a smile. ¡°I will. You may leave now.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± After the man went his merry way,


    Zane looked at the ce where Titus was pped, and he snickered before going into the elevator.


    When he came here, he didn¡¯t expect to see Titus¡¯ car in the car park, but he didn¡¯t let the chance go.


    He proceeded to call a thug over to put on an act so he could get Titus¡¯ hair. Man, the look on Titus¡¯


    face just now was priceless. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± Toby¡¯s face darkened when he saw Zane, since that reminded


    him of how Zane sent Sonia to the Bayside Residence the day before. Noticing Toby¡¯s annoyance,


    Zane scratched his head. ¡°What is it, Toby? Why the long face? I didn¡¯t do anything. Why do you look


    like I snatched your stuff away?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°The contract for the new project. I thought I told you earlier.¡±


    Zane sat before Toby. Toby pulled his drawer open, took a document out, and tossed it to Zane. ¡°Sign it


    and leave.¡± Zane arched his eyebrow. ¡°Someone¡¯s in a hurry. Do you have a date with Tina?¡± Toby shot


    daggers at Zane. Zane quickly gave up. ¡°Fine, fine. Forget I said that.¡± He looked at the contract and


    signed it, but he had some questions. Toby seems annoyed when I bring up the fact he¡¯s dating Tina.


    Why? But he didn¡¯t ask Toby that. After he signed the contract, Zane handed it over. ¡°Done.¡±


    Toby signed his name, and that sealed the contract. Now that he had done what he needed to, Zane


    didn¡¯t have any reason to stay. He quickly finished his cup of coffee and left. The moment he came out,


    he saw Tom leading a doctor, who was wearing a white coat, to the office. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see a


    doctor here. After all, Toby was just discharged and starting to heal. It was normal to have a doctor


    standing by 24/7. However, when he walked past the doctor, he saw the pin on the doctor¡¯s chest from


    the corner of his eyes, and it read ¡®PhD of Psychology.¡¯ He whistled silently. Well, this is a surprise. On


    his way down, Zane texted Sonia, ¡®You here?¡¯ Sonia was looking through her files when he texted her.


    When she saw that it was from Zane, she replied, ¡®Yes.¡¯ Zane smiled. ¡®I got news for you. Toby¡¯s seeing


    a psychologist.


    Something might be wrong with his head.¡¯ ¡®A psychologist?¡¯ Sonia squinted. ¡®How are you so sure it¡¯s


    for him and not for Tina? Don¡¯t forget, Tina has ¡®schizophrenia.¡¯¡¯ She put quotation marks around


    ¡®schizophrenia,¡¯ mocking Tina. Zane sent her a voice message. ¡°Because I¡¯ve seen her psychologist


    before. This one¡¯s not him, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s for Toby.¡± ¡°So? You don¡¯t have to tell me that. I¡¯m busy,¡±


    Sonia answered. Why do they keep telling me about him? Not like it¡¯s my business. I¡¯m not the old me


    anymore. I¡¯m not interested in his affairs. Zane smiled.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    ¡°Alright, fine. I¡¯m just worried you still can¡¯t let him go, so¡­¡± ¡°Hold it,¡± Sonia stopped him. ¡°I said I don¡¯t


    love him anymore, so there¡¯s nothing to let go of. I have things to do, so talkter.¡± She closed the app


    and ignored him, but instead of going back to work, she stared at her phone, immersed in her thoughts.


    Lots of people didn¡¯t believe her when she said she didn¡¯t love Toby anymore, such as Charles and


    Carl. She knew they were just ying along with her. In reality, they thought she still loved him, and


    what Zane did proved that. After all, they couldn¡¯t believe she had fallen out of love that quickly after


    being in love with Toby for years. However, it was the truth. She didn¡¯t fall out of love after divorcing


    him.


    That had happened shortly after she married him. To be precise, the Toby she loved wasn¡¯t the cold


    and indifferent Toby after they got married. The one she loved was the gentleman she first met. Before


    they got married, she thought she was marrying the kind Toby, but reality disappointed her. After they


    were married, Toby never cared about her. He was not the man she once knew and loved. At this


    thought, she picked her phone up and opened her gallery. Sonia unlocked an encrypted file and flipped


    to the only photo in it. It was blurry since she had taken it in a hurry all those years ago.


    As she stared at it, she suddenly sighed. A young man in white was standing with his back toward her


    in the photo. However, he had noticed her taking a furtive photo, so he had turned around to look at


    her. He wasn¡¯t mad that Sonia took his photo, but smiled warmly at her instead. It was then that she fell


    in love with him. Back then, she was in her first year of high school, while Toby was already in


    university.


    Because of his outstanding grades, the school invited him to hold a talk for his juniors. At first, she took


    his picture because she thought he was hot. That was all. However, that smile drew her in and made


    her fall for him. Eventually, she found herself to be madly in love with Toby and did her best to know


    everything about him. Because of that love, she married him right after she graduated from university.

 Chapter 241

    Chapter 241


    In fact, she knew he didn¡¯t love her at that time. After all, they never met again after she took that picture


    of him. Or to be exact, he never saw her again, but she saw him a few times after that. Sonia thought


    she could make him fall for her after they were married, but apparently, she thought wrong. Not only did


    she fail to make him fall for her, she also made him hate her. Eventually, she was exhausted, and she


    knew Toby was no longer the gentle young man she loved.


    She stayed with him for six years, enduring all the humiliation just because she didn¡¯t want to let him go


    that easily. After all, she loved him ever since high school. She worked hard to finally marry him, so she


    wouldn¡¯t let him go without a fight. She thought he might turn back into that gentle young man she once


    knew, but three months ago, that hope was shattered. Tina woke up, and Toby chased her out. It was


    then she knew he wouldn¡¯t return to his old self. Toby belonged to Tina, and that was not the man she


    loved. Thanks to that, she finally signed the divorce papers.


    ¡°Miss Reed.¡± Just then, Daphne knocked on the door.


    Sonia exited her gallery, locked her phone, andposed herself. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Dafoe is calling a meeting.¡± She stood in front of the desk.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be right there.¡±


    Meanwhile, at Fuller Group.


    Tom led the psychologist into Toby¡¯s office. ¡°Sir, this is Dr. Kurtis Anderson, one of the most renowned


    psychologists in the country. He has helped the police solve a lot of criminal cases,¡± Tom introduced


    Toby nodded. ¡°Got it. You may leave now.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded.


    After he went out, Toby looked at Kurtis. ¡°Have a seat.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Fuller.¡± He sat down before Toby, smiling at him. ¡°Do you have anything to share, Mr.


    Fuller? I¡¯ll help all I can.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips, but he said nothing. He was trying to find the best way to talk about his situation.


    Kurtis didn¡¯t press him either. He noticed the tea in front of him and took a sip. The refreshing scent


    made him widen his eyes, and he smacked his lips. Ah, to be rich. They can have great tea anytime they


    want.


    Finally knowing how to talk about his situation, Toby said, ¡°Dr. Anderson.¡±


    Kurtis snapped out of it and put the cup down. ¡°Please, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    Toby clenched his fists and said coldly, ¡°I think I¡¯m hypnotized.¡±


    That was the conclusion he came up with. He must have been hypnotized without his knowledge, but


    thanks to the car crash, the effects were starting to wear off, so part of his real mind came back to him.


    Kurtis adjusted his sses. ¡°Are you sure? Most people wouldn¡¯t know they were hypnotized.¡±


    Toby pinched the space between his brows. ¡°I didn¡¯t, but I feel like something¡¯s wrong with me after that


    car crash, and I know the source of that. It¡¯s my fianc¨¦e. Every time she shows up, she will dominate my


    thoughts and feelings.¡±


    ¡°Can you list some examples?¡± Kurtis got slightly serious.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do everything to give her what she wants. For example, if she wants me to get back at someone, I¡¯d


    do it for her, even if I know she¡¯s in the wrong.¡± Toby held his head, looking exhausted.


    Tina was just faking innocence. Every time he remembered how she would start crying, he knew she


    was just faking it. However, he never suspected a thing previously, as if someone had covered his


    senses.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Kurtis rubbed his chin. ¡°Mr. Fuller, to be honest, those examples aren¡¯t enough for me to


    determine whether you¡¯re hypnotized or not.¡±


    ¡°I have more.¡± He stared at his desk. This is the main course. He took a deep breath to hold his


    frustration down, then he said calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t love her, but whenever I see her, there¡¯s a voice telling me


    that I love her deeply and that I should do everything for her. It tells me I should get rid of all her


    enemies. Most importantly¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kurtis looked at him seriously,


    Toby closed his eyes. ¡°The voice would tell me that I can never me her no matter what she does, even


    if she hurts someone. I have to think that she¡¯s innocent. I have to think that it¡¯s everyone else¡¯s fault.


    The voice tells me that she¡¯s perfect, because she¡¯s the person I care about the most. It tells me that


    she¡¯s a timid and helpless woman who¡¯d never do anything to hurt anyone.¡±


    He paused for a moment. ¡°And even if she did hurt someone, I muste up with an excuse to wave it


    away. Not only that, it tells me that I must forget it as soon as possible. Even if I¡¯m reminded of them, it


    tells me what she did was no big deal.¡±


    Kurtis gasped. ¡°Mr. Fuller, if that¡¯s true, then I can tell that your fianc¨¦e does have a great sway on your


    mind and emotions. You know you don¡¯t love her when she isn¡¯t around, but you think you do when she


    does. And you¡¯ll give the whole world to her.¡±


    ¡°Yes, doctor. Am I hypnotized?¡± Toby stared at him.


    Kurtis thought about it for a while before answering. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but I can tell that something¡¯s off


    with you.¡±


    ¡°Can you check if I¡¯m hypnotized then, doctor? And when was I hypnotized?¡± Toby gritted his teeth.


    Kurtis stood up. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll need you to close your eyes so I can perform the checkup.¡±


    ¡°Very well then.¡± Toby nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, one hour had passed.


    I¡¯ve fallen asleep for an hour? And I didn¡¯t know anything about it? ¡°So, what¡¯s the result, doctor?¡± When


    he saw Kurtis, who was sitting across from him, frowning, he knew it couldn¡¯t be


    good.


    Kurtis shook his head solemnly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Fuller. I did the checkup twice, but you don¡¯t seem to be


    hypnotized. Everything¡¯s normal with your mind.¡±


    Toby was surprised. ¡°Impossible. Everything I said is the truth. If I¡¯m not hypnotized, how can you exin


    this?¡±


    Kurtis sighed. ¡°That¡¯s what confuses me as well. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen anyone with your


    condition, so either the hypnotist is far more skillful than I am, or you¡¯re not hypnotized. I¡¯m leaning


    toward the second exnation.¡±


    He was a famous psychology professor, and only a select few were more skillful than he was. But even if


    the hypnotist was one of those guys, he would have been able to tell even if he couldn¡¯t break the


    hypnotism. So it¡¯s possible that he¡¯s not hypnotized. Kurtis suggested, ¡°Mr. Fuller, why don¡¯t you get a


    few more psychologists to check on you? See if the results are the same.¡±

 Chapter 242

    Chapter 242


    Toby gave it some thought, apparently interested in the idea.


    Kurtis added, ¡°And also, since you¡¯re affected by her, that means you can look into your case through


    your fianc¨¦e. Maybe she knows something. She is the only one who gains something from it.¡±


    ¡°Good point. Thanks foring over, doctor.¡± Toby extended his hand


    Kurtis shook it. ¡°No problem. Call if you need anything, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded, then he called Tom toe in. ¡°Send the doctor off.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Tom answered before inviting Kurtis to go with him. After he sent the psychologist to the


    elevator, Tom went back to the office. ¡°Are you alright, sir?¡± he asked with concern.


    Toby nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Call a few more psychologists for me.¡±


    The request shocked Tom. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sir?¡± He wants more? One isn¡¯t enough? Is he that sick


    already?


    Toby looked at him impatiently. ¡°Just do it. I¡¯m not asking for your opinion.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just worried.¡± Tom pouted.


    Toby massaged his temples. ¡°Alright, shut it. And look into Tina. I want to know if she has seen any


    psychologists over thest six years. Especially ones who specialize in hypnosis.¡±


    He suspected that Tina hired someone to hypnotize him, since she stood to gain a lot from this. Even if


    she wasn¡¯t the mastermind, she was definitely involved. At this thought, Toby added, ¡°And look into the


    Grays.¡±


    ¡°Sir, about the first request¡­ Dr. Lancaster has mastered the art of hypnosis, and he¡¯s Miss Gray¡¯s


    friend. If she needs a psychologist, he¡¯d be her first choice,¡± Tom said.


    Toby squinted, his eyes glinting coldly. ¡°Then look into Tim Lancaster.¡±


    ¡°What about the Grays then?¡± Tom asked.


    Toby looked at him, annoyed. ¡°Do I even have to tell you what to do?¡±


    Tom stood up straight. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll look into it.¡±


    It was only then Toby retracted his gaze. Of course he would look into them. If Tina and the Grays were


    behind this, they wouldn¡¯t ask Tim to help out. Everyone knew Tim was their friend, so asking him to help


    out risked exposing them. The Grays weren¡¯t stupid, so they would definitely hire another psychologist.


    However, Toby couldn¡¯t be too sure, so he wanted to look into both of them.


    Over the next couple of days, Toby consulted a lot of famous psychologists, but the results were the


    same. They said he wasn¡¯t hypnotized, much to his disappointment. At the same time, he started


    doubting himself. If a single psychologist said he wasn¡¯t hypnotized, then that guy might have


    misdiagnosed him, but if a group of them said the same thing, then that meant he really wasn¡¯t


    hypnotized.


    Does that mean I¡¯m just hallucinating? No. It¡¯s true. But maybe it¡¯s because of something else and not


    hypnosis.


    ¡°I¡¯ve looked into it, sir. Aside from Dr. Lancaster, Miss Gray and her parents haven¡¯t seen any other


    psychologists. Moreover, Dr. Lancaster knew nothing about psychology six years ago. He only studied it


    after going overseas. He came back three months ago, after Miss Gray regained consciousness. There¡¯s


    no contact between you two over the years. You have met him a few times over thest few months, but


    he did nothing to you.¡± Tom handed his report over.


    Toby skimmed through it, but he said nothing. He stared at his desk, immersed in his thoughts.


    ¡°Oh, right, sir.¡± Tom continued, ¡°Miss Gray called me, since she¡¯s worried you might not take her call. She


    wants me to tell you that she¡¯ll be waiting for you at a restaurant tonight, and that she wants to talk. I


    think she wants to patch things up with you.¡±


    She¡¯s panicking. I mean, the president wouldn¡¯t see her.


    ¡°I see. Tell her I¡¯ll go,¡± Toby replied indifferently while looking down. I didn¡¯t manage to tell Titusst time,


    so she¡¯ll have to hear about the breakup from me first.


    Since Tom didn¡¯t know what Toby was nning, he was surprised that Toby actually agreed. Is the


    president going to patch things up with her? He pouted, feeling worried. But still, he remained calm and


    nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll tell her that.¡±


    Toby went for the dinner appointment right on time, while Sonia and Carl came out for dinner as well.


    Charles wanted toe too but he had to work overtime, so he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    ¡°You go on ahead, Sonia. I¡¯ll find somewhere to park.¡± Carl rolled the window down and looked at Sonia


    through his sses.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Sure. But be quick about it.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Carl smiled gently, rolled the window up, and drove away.


    Sonia pulled her shoulder bag up and was about to go into the restaurant, but she felt someone staring


    at her. Instinctively, she turned around to see who was staring.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    It was a man in white, and he had waist-length hair. However, what surprised her the most was the man¡¯s


    looks. He was beautiful. Weird, but she couldn¡¯t find any other adjective to describe the man.


    It was the first time she came across a man as beautiful as him, and his eyes were a special grey, as if it


    contained the whole universe. However, his gaze was deadly cold, as if he didn¡¯t see her as a


    human. As if¡­ she was already dead to him. That realization made her shudder. This guy¡¯s dangerous.


    Sonia clenched her fists and went on high alert. ¡°Hello, sir. Why are you looking at me like that? Do I


    know you?¡±


    The man answered her, but his voice was as cold and dead as his gaze. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go near him


    anymore. At this rate, I¡¯ll have to break my promise.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Sonia was bbergasted. ¡°What do you mean? Who is this ¡®him¡¯ you¡¯re talking about? And


    what promise?¡± I don¡¯t understand a word.


    The man didn¡¯t answer.


    She wanted to know more, but then Carl called out to her, so she turned around. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re


    back.¡±


    Carl came up to her with a smile. ¡°I thought I told you to go ahead. Why are you still standing alone


    here?¡±


    ¡°Alone?¡± Sonia was surprised to hear that. ¡°I¡¯m not alone. I was talking to a guy. He¡¯s¡­¡± She turned


    around and was about to introduce the man, but he was nowhere to be found, as if he had disappeared


    into thin air. ¡°Huh? Where is he?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, Sonia?¡± Carl looked at her curiously. ¡°There¡¯s nobody here.¡±


    Sonia froze up, then she shook her head and smiled. ¡°He¡¯s gone. That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t see him.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Carl nodded. ¡°Who was the guy?¡±


    Sonia shrugged. ¡°No idea. He¡¯s handsome, but a bit creepy. Told me a lot of stuff, but I didn¡¯t understand


    a word.¡± She thought back to what the man said, her mind racing. The guy knows me, but I¡¯ve never


    seen him before.

 Chapter 243

    Chapter 243


    Chapter 243 Carl¡¯s Insecurity,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Sonia? Sonia?¡± Carl waved his hand before her, trying to snap her out of her trance. Sonia blinked for


    a while and forced a smile. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You were in a trance. What happened?¡± Carl asked. Sonia


    wanted to answer, but she smiled instead. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s go in. I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Carl nodded.


    Sonia was about to go in, but Carl stopped her. ¡°A minute, please.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± She looked at him


    curiously. ¡°Hold my arm.¡± He stood with his left arm akimbo. When Sonia saw that, she chuckled. ¡°Very


    well then, handsome.¡± Carl blushed, but he took her into the restaurant anyway. The waiter then came


    up to them and led them to their reserved spot. The moment she sat down, someone from the next


    table gnashed their teeth.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± the woman growled. Sonia arched her eyebrow and looked at who was calling her. The sight


    that greeted her was none other than Tina, and she was ring at Sonia. What a small world. Carl¡¯s


    face fell. He never thought they¡¯d bump into this madwoman here as well. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Sonia.¡± However,


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just because we run into someone we don¡¯t like doesn¡¯t mean we


    have to leave.¡± Carl sighed. ¡°But you might lose your appetite.¡± In response, Sonia smiled and replied,


    ¡°I won¡¯t, but someone else will.¡± She nced at Tina after making that snidement. Tina was


    holding her cutlery, poking at her te as if it was Sonia. She was already overwhelmed by her anger,


    so of course she lost her appetite.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Oh, so she¡¯s trying to annoy Tina. Carl stopped talking and sat back down. At the same time, Toby


    came back and was surprised to see Carl and Sonia beside them. Sonia¡¯s here too? And with another


    guy? It was Zanest time, now Carl, so who¡¯s next? Charles? She sure has a lot of men around her,


    huh? His face darkened, and he pulled his chair back. ¡°You¡¯re done, Toby?¡± Tina put her cutlery down


    and went to help Toby, but Toby refused her. He put his crutch aside and pushed against the edge of


    the table so he could sit down. Thus, Tina¡¯s hand was left hanging in the air, and she looked awkward.


    But Tina quickly put her hand down and went back to her seat, pretending like nothing had


    happened. He¡¯s still indifferent. I thought he finally wants to patch things up with me. What a


    joke. Sonia wasn¡¯t surprised to see Toby, since Tina was around.


    However, she didn¡¯t say hi to him, and she just kept drinking her water. Carl nced at Toby for a while,


    insecurity and jealousy glinting in his eyes. Indeed, he was jealous and insecure. He might be a famous


    and rich model who didn¡¯t have to be jealous of Toby despite his wealth, but he simply couldn¡¯t help it.


    After all, Toby was the only man Sonia loved, and he was insecure for a reason. Carl fiddled with his


    ss and stared at the table, hiding the darkness within his eyes. Everyone thought he was a gentle


    person, but nobody knew that was just his fa?ade. In reality, he was a dark introvert who didn¡¯t have a


    gentle bone within him.


    He was gentle only because he mimicked Toby. Back when they were teenagers, Sonia kept telling him


    how gentle and nice the boy she liked was. He was jealous of that boy, but also envious. That was why


    he changed his personality to match that boy she liked, all so he could get a part of her attention.


    However, he failed. All she loved was that boy. No matter how much he tried, he couldn¡¯t match up to


    him. That gentle person was none other than Toby. He didn¡¯t know why Toby was no longer the gentle


    soul Sonia talked about, but still, he was insecure around him.


    After all, Carl mimicked Toby¡¯s personality at one point. ¡°Carl.¡± Sonia broke his train of thoughts. Carl


    smiled warmly. ¡°What is it, Sonia?¡± ¡°What¡¯s with you? The food¡¯s served. You didn¡¯t even reply when I


    called out to you. What¡¯s gotten you into a trance?¡± Sonia poured him a ss of juice. Carl took it. ¡°My


    job.¡± ¡°Oh, you told me about it. Your next show¡¯s in Norfolk, right?¡± Sonia spoke while digging into her


    meal. Carl nodded. ¡°Yeah. Wannae? I can give you a ticket.¡± ¡°A bit. Never seen your show before,


    but I have to see if I have the time,¡± Sonia answered.


    Beside their table, their interaction didn¡¯t escape Toby. His face fell, and his anger was palpable. When


    Tina realized why Toby was irritated, she gnashed her teeth. Tina red at Sonia before calling out to


    Toby. ¡°It has been five days, Toby. Are you still mad at me?¡± Toby looked at the table. ¡°I am not mad at


    you.¡± ¡°But Dad said you¡¯re mad at me because of what I did at the banquet.¡± Toby took a sip of the


    water and interrupted her. ¡°That¡¯s only his guess.¡± Tina froze. He isn¡¯t angry because of that? Then


    why? Why did he suddenly treat me so coldly? Did he find out what I did? But if he did, he would have


    raised hell a long time ago. He wouldn¡¯t have pretended that he knew nothing until now.


    She bit her lip, still nervous. ¡°Then tell me, Toby. What did I do to make you angry? Don¡¯t just keep


    quiet. You¡¯re scaring me.¡± She started tearing up. Toby felt something squeezing his heart, and he had


    an uncontroble urge to calm her down. However, he knew it was just the voice. He himself didn¡¯t


    want to do that, for he knew he didn¡¯t love her. And so, he clenched his fists, refusing to do as the voice


    told him to. Much to his shock though, a stab of pain shot up from his heart, and waves of pain crashed


    over him. His breathing turned quicker, and his face paled.


    A momentter, he crashed against the table, toppling the ss. It rolled to the edge before falling to


    the ground and smashing into pieces. The sound of the ss breaking attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    A frown creased Sonia¡¯s forehead, and she looked at him curiously. What¡¯s with him? Tina shot up and


    went to check on Toby. ¡°What happened, Toby?¡± The manager quickly came to them. ¡°What


    happened?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. My fianc¨¦ copsed all of a sudden.¡± She was on the verge of tears. Carl


    leaned his head against his hand. ¡°Say, did he have a heart attack or something?¡±

 Chapter 244

    Chapter 244


    Chapter 244 The Crystal Chandelier Falls,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He doesn¡¯t have any heart condition.¡± Or at least not that I


    know of. She looked at Toby, who was getting paler and paler, then at Tina, who couldn¡¯t do anything


    else but cry. Sonia shook her head, for she couldn¡¯t believe how ipetent Tina was. ¡°Miss Gray, if


    you want your fianc¨¦ to live, you should call an ambnce. Crying helps no one.¡± Tina stopped crying,


    then she felt awkward about the fact Sonia had to remind her what to do before she even thought about


    calling a doctor. However, that didn¡¯t stop her from ring at Sonia. ¡°Of course I will. You think I¡¯m


    stupid?¡± Sonia shrugged. ¡°Very well then. Suit yourself. Dig in, Carl.¡± ¡°Sure, Sonia.¡±


    Carl nodded. They went back to their meal without another word. Tina snorted and was about to call an


    ambnce, but Toby suddenly raised a hand to stop her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°But Toby¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cry!¡±


    Before she could finish, Toby fought through the pain and put his hand on her face, wiping her tears off


    with his thumb. ¡°I¡¯m fine, so don¡¯t worry.¡± He calmed her down gently, but his voice was hoarse. The


    moment he said that, Toby could feel the pain in his heart subsiding. A few momentster, the pain


    disappearedpletely. If it weren¡¯t for the sweat on his forehead, nobody would know he was in pain


    just a moment earlier. He stared downward, hiding his shock and fury.


    Toby just wanted to see if the pain would go away if he did as the voice told him to, and it really did on


    his first try. His heart acted up because he refused to calm Tina down, but the pain stopped once he


    did. Because of that, even an atheist like him felt spooked. He wondered if the same thing would


    happen again if he stopped doing as Tina told him to. In the meantime, Tina didn¡¯t know what he was


    thinking, but when she saw some color returning to his face, she heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°You¡¯re okay,


    Toby. Good to see that.¡± Toby wanted to say something, but he stopped himself, though fury glinted


    within his eyes. Tina didn¡¯t notice that, so she went back to her seat immediately. After the manager


    cleared the ss shards away, he looked at Toby. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re all right, sir? Why don¡¯t I call a


    doctor over?¡±


    He came here with a crutch, and he had a heart attack all of a sudden. Even though Toby seemed all


    better now, the manager was still worried. If that happens again and he dies here, it¡¯ll be trouble for us.


    ¡°I¡¯m really all right now. No need for the doctor. Put the broken ss on my tab.¡± Toby massaged his


    forehead as he spoke. The manager stared at him for a while, but he eventually believed Toby. ¡°Very


    well then. Call us if you need anything. Enjoy the rest of your meal.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Toby nodded. After the


    manager took his leave, Sonia suddenly chuckled, and everyone wondered why. ¡°Why are you


    laughing, Sonia?¡±


    Carl asked. Sonia stirred her sd. ¡°A stranger actually cared more about Mr. Fuller than his own


    fianc¨¦e. She believed him right away when he said he¡¯s fine. Do you even love him, Miss Gray?¡± ¡°What


    are you talking about, Miss Reed? Are you insulting me? Of course I love him!¡± Tina mmed her


    cutlery on the table. Sonia shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just asking. Why are you overreacting? Oh, did I hit the


    bullseye? Too close forfort, huh?¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Tina bit her lip and looked toward Toby for help.


    ¡°Trust me, Toby. I really care about you. I just¡ª¡± ¡°All right. Enough. Just finish your meal.¡±


    Toby interrupted her, slightly impatient. That made Tina stop talking and go back to her meal. Toby


    thought about it for a moment, then he suddenly said, ¡°Tina, I¡¯ve been thinking about it for the past few


    days, and I¡ª¡± Before he could finish, a loud crash interrupted him. The sound came from the next


    table, so Toby¡¯s face fell, and he looked at the direction of the sound. What he saw was a big crystal


    chandelier sitting on top of Sonia¡¯s table. The chandelier fell from the ceiling and smashed all the tes


    on the table, sending porcin shards flying everywhere. One of them cut Sonia¡¯s arm, drawing blood.


    Even Tina was cut, but she got it on her face, and her wound measured around four centimeters.


    But since it flew too quickly, she didn¡¯t feel any pain. It wasn¡¯t until she felt something dripping from her


    face did she realize she was bleeding. All the color drained from her face, and she screamed. At the


    same time, Carl noticed something was up with Sonia as well. When he looked closely, he realized she


    was clutching her arm, while blood was flowing from the cracks between her fingers. It dropped onto


    her clothes, painting it in red. ¡°You¡¯re hurt, Sonia!¡± His face fell, and his voice rose. When Toby heard


    that, he was worried about her, so he went over to Sonia despite his wounds and raised her arm. ¡°Let


    me take a look.¡±


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Sonia¡¯s wound was serious. It was around ten centimeters, and it ran deep, so blood wouldn¡¯t stop


    flowing out. Sonia was surprised Toby came to her, while Tina¡¯s face contorted with rage. After all, she


    was the one closest to him, and she was also his fianc¨¦e. He went straight to Sonia without even


    asking about me! Tina trembled with rage, ring at Sonia murderously. Sonia noticed her re, so


    she pulled her arm out of his hand. ¡°You got the wrong person, Mr. Fuller. Miss Gray is that way,¡± she


    said coldly. ¡°She¡¯s right, Mr. Fuller. Out of the way, please.¡±


    Carl came over with a torn handkerchief and pushed Toby away before he stopped Sonia¡¯s bleeding.


    Toby almost fell, but luckily, the table stopped his fall, and he regained his bnce. He stared at Carl


    and Sonia, his expression dark and his lips pulled into a thin line. Frustration and irritation was rising


    within him as well. Just when he was indulging in his annoyance, Tina suddenly called out to him, her


    voice trembling. ¡°Toby¡­¡± Oh, right. She¡¯s still here. ¡°Toby, my face is injured. Will it ruin my looks?¡± She


    covered her face, her tears almost streaming down her cheeks.


    ¡°No,¡± Toby answered. Your wound isn¡¯t even half as serious as Sonia¡¯s. Of course it won¡¯t. ¡°Really?¡±


    Tina couldn¡¯t believe it. Toby was getting impatient, so he didn¡¯t even feel like answering her. But the


    moment that thought was formed, his heart started aching again, and his face darkened. He clenched


    his fists, gritted his teeth, and answered coldly, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll get the best doctor for you. You¡¯ll be


    fine.¡±

 Chapter 245

    Chapter 245


    Chapter 245 She¡¯s the Antidote,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    The pain subsided the moment he said that. Toby stared at the desk, hiding the murderous look that


    was swelling within his eyes. I knew it. That¡¯s not thest time. That means I¡¯ll have to cheer her up or


    get anything she wants whenever she wants. If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll get punished. Sh*t. That means I¡¯m just a


    puppet! ¡°Thank you, Toby. You¡¯re the best.¡± Tina didn¡¯t notice his fury, so she smiled sheepishly. He¡¯s


    back to how he was before the car crash. I guess we¡¯re all patched up now. Toby kept quiet, but he was


    actually holding back his urge to destroy Tina.


    At this moment, the manager came back again, but now with a doctor. ¡°Dear customers, please let the


    doctor have a look,¡± he quickly told the four of them. At the same time, heined, What the heck


    is this? That guy with the crutch almost died earlier, and now the chandelier right on top of that guy fell.


    Did that guy break a mirror and see a ck cat at the same time? ¡°Doctor, I need you to look at Sonia


    first.¡± Carl quickly dragged the doctor toward Sonia. However, Tina rolled her eyes and piped up, ¡°Miss


    Reed, can you hold on for a minute?¡± Carl¡¯s face fell, and he looked at Tina darkly. ¡°What? You want to


    go first?¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    A frown creased Toby¡¯s forehead, and he felt disgusted as well. Ever since he knew he had to protect


    and spoil Tina despite the fact he didn¡¯t love her, he started disliking Tina. But he couldn¡¯t show it, or


    he¡¯d get punished. ¡°Yes. She only injured her arm, but I got one on my face, so¡ª¡± For the first time in


    his life, Carl couldn¡¯t hold his anger in, and he cursed at her directly. ¡°Shut the f*ck up! So what? That¡¯s


    not even half as serious as Sonia¡¯s wound!¡± He pointed at Sonia¡¯s bleeding arm, and he felt like


    throttling Tina. Tina bit her lip. ¡°I know, but it¡¯ll leave a scar on my face if I drag it on for too long. Even if


    she gets a scar on her arm, she can keep it hidden under her sleeve. Miss Reed¡¯s a kind person, so


    she won¡¯t want to see me having a scar on my face.¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m an evil person. I want to leave a scar on your face. Better yet, the wound festers and rots your


    flesh,¡± Sonia retorted coldly. Tina stared at her in disbelief. ¡°Miss Reed, what are you¡ª¡± Toby couldn¡¯t


    take it anymore, so he snapped, ¡°Enough. Let Sonia go first.¡± ¡°Toby¡­¡± ¡°Let her go first.¡± He gazed at


    Tina and repeated himself. Only God knew how much pain he was in at that moment. His heart felt like


    it would explode any moment, and the voice kept telling him to force the doctor to treat Tina first. It told


    him to leave Sonia alone, since she deserved all the pain and sadness in the world. Why? Just


    because you told me to? Fine, kill me if you dare, voice. Release me from my misery. At that point, he


    knew a mysterious power was controlling him, forcing him to love and spoil Tina.


    Perhaps, he had never loved her to begin with. What he thought was love was just an illusion the


    power created for him. He didn¡¯t think he would fall for Tina either. The one he loved was that bubbly


    pen pal of his¡ªMaple. But Tina¡¯s personality was totally different from his pen pal. He didn¡¯t think she¡¯d


    change so much just because she was in aa for six years. It was a gigantic w, but he never


    noticed that. That¡¯s not normal. It¡¯s that power. It¡¯s controlling me, keeping me from realizing that Tina


    isn¡¯t Maple. He didn¡¯t know why the power was protecting Tina, but it didn¡¯t matter. If it wants to control


    me, then I¡¯ll fight it. Toby flinched. The next moment, he suddenly lost his bnce and knelt on one


    knee, his face contorted with pain.


    Everyone was shocked when they saw this. What happened? Again? Sonia pursed her lips


    curiously. He seems to be in pain. Does he have an illness I don¡¯t know about? ¡°Toby.¡± Tina wanted to


    help him up. However, Toby swatted her hand away. Because of that, he let the table go and fell down


    to where Sonia was. When she saw him falling toward her, she subconsciously extended her good arm


    and helped him out. But much to Toby¡¯s surprise, the intense pain subsided a little when he came in


    contact with her. He looked at Sonia, shocked. Toby was sure the pain lessened when Sonia came in


    contact with him. So she might be the key to my freedom. She might be my antidote, the one who can


    free me from my curse!


    Toby was filled with delight at the thought of that. Thus, he held her hand tightly, as if he wanted to


    merge their hands together. When he did that, the pain subsided even more. It was as if it wasn¡¯t there


    at all. Sonia realized what he was doing. When she noticed the passion in his gaze, she felt odd,


    wondering what happened to him. ¡°Let go!¡± But Toby kept holding on, ignoring what she said. Carl¡¯s


    expression darkened, and Tina¡¯s face contorted, while the manager and doctor were flummoxed. Is this


    a love square? Wow,plex. The air was tense and quiet, as if something was waiting to get


    unleashed. After the doctor put his scissors down, he broke the silence. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done with her


    wound.


    Remember to stay away from water for twenty-four hours. Change the meds in regr intervals, and it


    won¡¯t leave any scars.¡± ¡°Got it, doctor.¡± Sonia smiled at him, saying that she had made a note of it.


    Then, she looked at Toby, annoyed. ¡°Let go. How much longer do you want to hold on to me?¡± ¡°Let her


    go.¡± Carl went up and separated the both of them. Toby thought his heart would throb again once he let


    her go, but to his surprise, nothing happened. Seems like once I touch her, the pain won¡¯t act up even if


    I break contact. ¡°Toby¡­¡± Tina called out to him weakly.


    Toby leaned against the table and got up. ¡°Take a look at her, doctor,¡± he said coolly. ¡°Of course.¡± The


    doctor nodded. Tina added, ¡°Toby, this might be painful for me. Can you hug me?¡± Toby scoffed


    silently. Sonia didn¡¯t even say anything, and her wound is bigger than yours. Weakness disgusts


    me. ¡°Sure.¡±


    He looked downward and obliged, for he knew he would get punished again if he didn¡¯t. Yes, he could


    relieve it, since Sonia was there, but if he did that, Sonia would get irritated at him. She didn¡¯t know he


    needed her to relieve the pain, so she might think he was trying to take advantage of her. Not a good


    strategy. I¡¯lle up with a way to get in touch with her and fight this power.

 Chapter 246

    Chapter 246


    Chapter 246 Tina Is a B*tch,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Toby went over and hugged her. Everyone thought he cared about her, but only he knew this hug was


    only done because he didn¡¯t want to get into trouble. ¡°We need an exnation, manager.¡± Carl took his


    jacket off and covered Sonia with it before asking the manager coldly. I knew it. The manager sighed.


    ¡°We¡¯re very sorry, customers. We never expected this to happen. It¡¯s an overlook on our part, so we¡¯ll


    take full responsibility for this. Your bill will be waived, and we¡¯ll pay for your medical bills. And we¡¯ll


    also give you a member card. Is that fine with you?¡± He looked at Carl and Toby carefully, since they


    looked like the ones calling the shots. But Carl looked at Sonia. ¡°What do you think, Sonia?¡± Sonia


    massaged her forehead. ¡°Sure. It¡¯s notpletely their fault anyway. This is just an ident, and we


    ran straight into it.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Do as she says,¡± Carl replied to the manager. The manager thanked them profusely, ¡°Thank


    you for your understanding. We¡¯re very sorry for ruining the experience.¡± He bowed to Sonia and Carl.


    Carl pulled the manager back up and looked at Toby. ¡°What about you two?¡± Worried Tina might go on


    a rampage again, Toby answered, ¡°Same here.¡± The manager thanked him, since he was worried they


    might not let it slide so easily. It was obvious Tina was a fussy one, but luckily Toby was an


    understanding man, or the injury on Tina¡¯s face alone could cost them a ton. Now that the problem was


    settled, the manager wiped the sweat off of his forehead and heaved a sigh of relief.


    But then, the waiter who was handling the aftermath said, ¡°Sir, something¡¯s off with this chandelier.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± The manager went over. Carl and Sonia looked at them curiously, and even Toby shifted his


    attention to the chandelier. ¡°This one.¡± The waiter pointed at the column. ¡°The column isn¡¯t rusty or


    corroded, so how did it break?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± The manager couldn¡¯te up with the answer. He kept


    staring at the column, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what happened. The column connected the chandelier


    to the ceiling. It was big, sturdy, and made out of alloy. Not even a strong earthquake could break it


    unless it was corroded. However, alloys wouldn¡¯t rust that easily. It¡¯d take at least a decade or two to


    corrode, but the restaurant hadn¡¯t been open for even a year.


    Sonia squinted. ¡°Someone might have sabotaged you guys.¡± Carl nodded. ¡°It¡¯s possible. Since it¡¯s


    almost impossible to break by itself, someone might have done this.¡± ¡°S-Someone did this?¡± Shocked,


    the manager said, ¡°This is not a joke, sir. We won¡¯t do anything to our customers. That¡¯ll be bad for


    business.¡± Sonia smiled. ¡°You got it wrong. He isn¡¯t saying you guys did it.¡± The manager heaved a sigh


    of relief, but he got curious. ¡°Then who did this?¡± Sonia shook her head, having no answer to his


    question. At the same time, Toby was reminded of his car crash. Someone nned that, but he


    couldn¡¯t find the culprit even until now.


    Today, the chandelier fell down on him. Technically, Sonia got the brunt of the impact, but his table was


    less than a meter away from hers, so it might have been targeting him. Maybe the same person did


    this. But he refuted his guess right away. When he and Tina came out, they only said they were out for


    dinner, but they didn¡¯t mention their location. They only came to this restaurant since they came across


    it on their way. In other words, he made the decision on the spot, but sabotages had to be done


    beforehand. Not even the culprit knew he¡¯de here, so they couldn¡¯t have done this. Unless they


    were irvoyant. Another person shared his sentiment¡ªCarl. Ironically, he was the one who proposed


    the sabotage theory.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    He looked up at the ceiling, then the chandelier, and puzzlement painted his face. ¡°Odd.¡± ¡°What is it,


    Carl? Did you notice something?¡± Sonia looked at him. Carl rubbed his chin and nodded. ¡°The ceiling¡¯s


    too high. Probably around ten meters. Mostdders can¡¯t reach that height, so it¡¯s impossible for


    anyone to climb up there. They could have used a forklift, but it¡¯s too big for this ce.¡± The manager


    agreed, ¡°He¡¯s right. Our restaurant is built with the style of Renaissance-era English castles in mind.


    Back then, ceilings stretched really tall, so we installed the chandeliers using lift tforms. The doors


    were installedst, since the tforms were too big for the ce.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not sabotage?¡±


    Sonia frowned. Before Carl could answer, Tina interrupted, ¡°Mr. Lee, first you said it¡¯s sabotage, and


    now you say it isn¡¯t. Don¡¯t you think throwing random guesses is a bit irresponsible?¡± Carl red at her.


    Sonia clutched her arm. ¡°He¡¯s just pointing out his guesses based on the clues he has. It¡¯s not random


    guesses. Besides, interrupting someone is rude, Miss Gray. Oh wait, someone like you doesn¡¯t have an


    ounce of decency in them, so I guess being rude is natural for you.¡± ¡°Why you¡­¡± Tina red at her.


    Sonia sneered. ¡°Look at you, gnashing your teeth. Do you want to bite me?


    Well,e on then.¡± She beckoned Tina, as if Tina was a dog. Tina trembled, her eyes turning red with


    anger. ¡°I am not a dog, Sonia!¡± ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t say anything. But since you think you¡¯re a dog, I don¡¯t mind


    seeing you as one. Stop overreacting, will you?¡± Sonia flicked her hair and shook her head. ¡°Can¡¯t


    believe someone actually wants to be a dog. Very well then. Carl, don¡¯t argue with her. I mean, she


    thinks she¡¯s a dog, and I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t really argue with dogs, right?¡± Carl knew Sonia was insulting


    Tina for his sake, and he was touched.


    He looked at her, his gaze as gentle as the spring breeze. ¡°Sure, Sonia. I don¡¯t argue with dogs, really.¡±


    The manager watched the argument quietly. Hot damn. Catfights are seriously intense. ¡°Why you¡­¡±


    Tina was pointing at them, her finger trembling. However, Carl and Sonia didn¡¯t even look at her,


    obviously seeing her as less than human. She almost fainted from her fury, but she turned around and


    held Toby¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Toby, they insulted me.¡± She gave him a look ofint. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to do


    something?¡±

 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247


    Chapter 247 A Room for Rina,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°No.¡± He stared down, hiding theugh in his eyes. Nicely done. Tina stared at him in disbelief. ¡°What?


    Why?¡± Carl and Sonia looked at him as well. Yeah, he didn¡¯t even help her when we insulted her. I


    thought he loved her and would do anything for her. Why did he let us do what we wanted? Odd. Toby


    could guess what Sonia was thinking from the change in her expression. He wanted to tell her he didn¡¯t


    love Tina, so whatever happened to her wasn¡¯t his business. However, he had a hunch that something


    bad would happen if he said that, and the feeling was too strong for him to ignore. In the end. Toby let


    Tina go and put his hand in his pocket so he could clench it without anyone seeing.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a bit hard to handle,¡± he said coolly. ¡°Why?¡± Tina was curious. Sonia arched her eyebrow.


    She too wanted to know his answer. Toby pursed his lips and lied, ¡°Sonia didn¡¯t call you a dog. You did


    it yourself. If I defend you, that means you¡¯ll be really nothing but a dog.¡± He deliberately emphasized


    the word ¡®dog.¡¯ Sonia thought she was hearing things. Is he emphasizing thest word? What? Why?


    Does he think she¡¯s a b*tch too? Sonia was amused by that thought, and she shook her


    head. Impossible. I must be hearing things. He loves her more than anything. There¡¯s no way he thinks


    she¡¯s a b*tch.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Tina didn¡¯t notice the emphasis, so she bit her lip and nodded. ¡°I see.¡± She thought something was off,


    but she couldn¡¯t put a finger on it, so she put it behind her. Now that she wouldn¡¯t throw a tantrum, Toby


    stopped frowning. I get the gist now. As long as she stays calm, I won¡¯t have to follow her every whim


    and desire, nor will I get punished for disobeying her. Toby rubbed his fingers. ¡°Since we can¡¯t solve the


    mystery, we¡¯ll let the cops handle it. As for you guys¡­¡± He looked at the manager. The manager stood


    up straight. ¡°We¡¯ll cooperate with the cops.¡± Toby nodded, then he looked at Sonia, his gaze mellow.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Sonia didn¡¯t answer, for she was surprised. Carl nudged her on the shoulder.


    ¡°Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else. What is it?¡± She snapped out of it and smiled


    apologetically. However, she was shaken to her core, for she could see the old Toby for an instant


    when he was looking at her earlier. Carl didn¡¯t notice her shock, and he answered gently, ¡°President


    Fuller said to let the cops handle this since we can¡¯t solve the mystery ourselves.¡± ¡°That works. Sure.¡±


    Sonia nodded. The manager went to call the cops. After they came and took Sonia, Carl, Tina, and


    Toby¡¯s testimonials, they let the four of them go. Carl and Sonia left first, while Toby and Tina waited for


    Toby¡¯s driver. Toby was staring at Sonia as she left, and Tina was jealous about it.


    She wanted to turn his head and tell him to only have eyes on her, not anyone else. Not even Sonia.


    Especially not Sonia. However, she didn¡¯t do it. If she did that, he¡¯d give her the silent treatment again.


    She didn¡¯t want it, not after they finally patched things up. When she saw Toby¡¯s car, she took a deep


    breath and held her fury down. She forced a smile and called out to Toby, snatching his attention back


    to her. ¡°The car¡¯s here, Toby.¡± In response, Toby merely nodded and hobbled toward the car. Tina


    stomped her foot, since Toby didn¡¯t even call her to go together with him. ¡°Wait for me, Toby.¡± Toby


    pretended he didn¡¯t hear her. After he handed the crutch over to the driver, he went into the car. Tina


    sat beside him and closed the door.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wait for me, Toby?¡± She looked at him, slightly annoyed. ¡°Quiet. My head hurts.¡± Toby


    closed his eyes and told her to shut up. Tina wanted to argue, but when she remembered how Toby


    almost fell twice in the restaurant, she shut up. An hour of silenceter, they arrived at Tina¡¯s house.


    Before she got out of the car, Tina looked at the man beside her. His eyes were closed, seemingly


    because he was in a deep sleep. Toby showed no signs of getting out even after the car had stopped.


    Tina bit her lip. She wanted to wake him up and tell him they were at her home. But when she realized


    he was frowning, she gave up and got out by herself. Fine. He gets a pass, since he¡¯s unwell. I¡¯ll get


    him to love me more after this. That thought made her feel much better. Thud. The moment she closed


    the door, Toby opened his eyes, his gaze as cold as Helheim.


    ¡°Drive,¡± he ordered. The driver felt a chill running up his spine. He quickly turned away and drove into


    the distance. The exhaust smoke enveloped Tina. She didn¡¯t expect thating, and she almost


    puked, but more than that, she was furious. What the heck? How dare that driver do this to me? I¡¯ll get


    Toby to fire him tomorrow! She wiped her face off angrily before going into the mansion. Julia was


    going through her skincare routine in the living room. When she noticed her daughtering in looking


    furious, she quickly took her mask off. ¡°What happened, Tina?


    I thought you were on a dinner date with Toby. Did you patch things up with him? Are you guys okay


    now?¡± Tina sat down beside Julia. ¡°Yes.¡± She didn¡¯t get an affirmative answer, and Toby didn¡¯t tell her


    either. But since he was acting nice again, she thought they had patched things up. ¡°That¡¯s great, then.


    So why do you look so down?¡± Julia looked at her in confusion. Tina gritted her teeth. ¡°It¡¯s his driver.


    Got the exhaust smoke all over me.¡± Julia gave her a ss of honey water. ¡°That¡¯s nothing to trouble


    yourself over. Just tell Toby to fire him.


    Don¡¯t waste your time getting angry over that. Here, have some water.¡± Tina took it and had a sip


    without even saying thank you. ¡°Where¡¯s Dad?¡± she asked. Julia pointed upstairs. ¡°Working in his


    study.¡± Tina nodded. ¡°I see.¡± Then a servant came downstairs. ¡°Madam, the room¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°Are we


    expecting guests today, Mom?¡± Tina put her ss down and looked at Julia. Julia touched her


    ne, smiling gently.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s for your sister.¡± Tina was shaken, and she asked stiffly, ¡°Rina¡¯sing back?¡± Dammit. They


    couldn¡¯t have found her, right? Why else would they set a room up for her? ¡°No.¡± Julia sighed. ¡°No


    news yet, but I want to set it up so she can live in it right after shees back.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Tina forced a


    smile, ¡°celebrating¡± the asion.

 Chapter 248

    Chapter 248


    Chapter 248 The Missing Letters ,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Oh, good, so Rina hasn¡¯t actually been found yet. But it seems as if Mom can¡¯t wait to see her because


    why else would she bother decorating Rina¡¯s bedroom before the girl is even located? At this rate,


    Mom¡¯s attention will be stolen by her the moment she returns. Tina¡¯s hands curled into fists on top of


    her knees as she dwelled upon these thoughts. She lowered her head by a fraction and hid the dark


    look on her face. After a pause, she looked up once more and feigned concern as she asked Julia,


    ¡°Mom, what if¡ªand this is a big what-if¡ªRina has a weak and cowardly character because she¡¯d


    grown up in a poor family?


    Assuming that is the case, she would only embarrass you in public because she¡¯s too afraid and too


    incapable of doing anything right. Would you still like her and look forward to meeting her?¡± Julia shot


    her daughter an affronted look, her face no longer a picture of gentlepassion as she demanded,


    ¡°Tina, why would you ask such a thing?¡± Tina held her by the arm coquettishly and exined, ¡°I was


    only curious because that¡¯s how most soap operas go¡ªyou know, how the long-lost child from some


    affluent family is finally reunited with their parents. But they end up getting shunned by them because


    their incapability is humiliating. I¡¯m just worried that you and Dad might treat Rina the same way.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that it?¡± Julia batted away her doubts and smoothed Tina¡¯s hair affectionately. ¡°Pay no mind to


    things like that, seeing as they only ever happen in soap operas.¡± ¡°So you won¡¯t end up treating Rina


    like an outcast even if something like that happens?¡± Tina narrowed her eyes slightly as an icy gleam lit


    up her depthless orbs. Julia nodded firmly. ¡°Of course not. I carried her and gave birth to her, not to


    mention she was the child your father looked most forward to. You have no idea how your father¡ª¡±


    She broke off with a quick sigh, then added, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. The bottom line is that you have


    absolutely nothing to worry about. Your father and I won¡¯t mistreat or sideline your sister that way, and


    even if she were to be in such unfortunate circumstances, it would only make us love her harder. We


    wouldn¡¯t shun her or dislike her at all. In fact, we¡¯d try to make it up to her even more!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so happy to hear that!¡± Tina broke into a smile, looking as if she truly was relieved on Rina¡¯s part.


    However, the bad premonition she had had was amplified, and she was the only one who was acutely


    aware of the crisis she would face soon. She had painted a rather tragic backstory for Rina in hopes of


    luring her mother into revealing her true feelings about her lost daughter. That had backfired, though,


    seeing as it did not curb Julia¡¯s excitement for the reunion but prompted her to want to make it up to


    Rina instead. Just as I thought, Rina is turning out to be my biggest hurdle next to Sonia.


    Tina grew mutinous, and a sinister gleam shed in her eyes as she became seized with the urge to


    annihte anyone who got in her way. ¡­ Presently, at the Fullers¡¯ Residence, Toby stepped out of the


    car with the chauffeur¡¯s support. Meanwhile, Rose came out of the house to greet Toby as soon as she


    heard the sound of the car pulling up. She had been so worried about her grandson that she decided to


    remain at the Fuller¡¯s Residence and refused to return to the old manor. ¡°You¡¯re homete, Toby,¡± she


    remarked disapprovingly as she made her way to the car. Toby graciously took the cane the driver had


    handed him, then said, ¡°I was stuck in traffic, Grandma. Shall we go into the house?¡±


    He had no intention of telling the old woman about what happened at the restaurant earlier, fearing that


    she would be mortified by it. ¡°Yes, of course we shall,¡± Rose agreed with a nod. The both of them


    proceeded toward the house with their individual canes, which proved an entertaining sight, given the


    decades between them. Jean was carrying out a tter of fruits from the kitchen when she saw Rose


    and Toby. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re home, Toby!¡± she eximed in greeting. Toby nodded briskly in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°Take a seat,¡± she urged as she hastily put the tter down and made to help him. However, he


    brushed her off and said, ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡± There might not be any strength in his legs, but that didn¡¯t mean


    he couldn¡¯t manage sitting on his own.


    He set his cane aside and held onto the armrest of the couch as he slowly eased into his seat. Jean, on


    the other hand, pushed the fruit tter toward him and asked cheerfully, ¡°Have you patched things up


    with Tina, Toby?¡± Patch things up? Toby lowered his gaze when he heard his mother but made no


    reply. He wondered why his mother would even see this as something even possible. When he recalled


    how his every thought and emotion had been inexplicably swayed and manipted because of her, he


    wanted nothing more than to kill her!


    If Tina truly was Maple, Toby was willing to overlook all that he had done for her before the ident¡ª


    regardless of whether he was being manipted at the time¡ªgiven that he really was in love with


    Maple. However, if Tina had been pretending to be Maple all along, then there was no way he would let


    her get away with such a despicable form of deceit! At the thought of this, Toby grabbed his cane and


    rose from his seat. ¡°Grandma, Mom, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll be going back to my room to rest. I¡¯m a little


    tired.¡± In truth, he wanted to return to his bedroom so that he could find out for sure if Tina was Maple,


    though he already knew the answer to that. Having said what he did, he headed for the elevator.


    Meanwhile, Jean nced at the untouched tter of fruits, then at Toby¡¯s back. Slightly peeved, she


    grumbled, ¡°He didn¡¯t even answer my question.¡± Rose rolled her eyes at the younger woman pointedly,


    then stalked into her own bedroom without another word. She found it pointless and grating on the


    nerves to continue sharing the same space with this daughter-inw of hers, seeing as Toby had


    already left. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that this woman has been good to Toby and Tyler, I would have


    kicked her out of the Fuller Family long ago. In the bedroom, Toby pulled open his drawer, intending to


    take out Maple¡¯s past letters to him and read through them once more.


    However, he froze in shock when he saw that his drawer had been emptied out, and not a single letter


    from Maple remained. At that moment, he felt as if his own heart had been emptied out, but he quickly


    became apoplectic. He stormed downstairs and summoned all the household servants. With a voice


    like thunder, he demanded, ¡°Who took my letters from my drawer?¡± The servants exchanged helpless


    and bewildered looks. They shook their heads slowly and denied opening the drawer in question.


    Seeing this, Toby thought that none of them was willing to confess to the crime, and he grew even


    more furious as he snapped, ¡°I said that no one is allowed to step into my room without my permission,


    let alone touch my things!


    Did none of you pay attention?¡± Unable to stand the nk usations, one of the servants who had


    been working the longest in the Fullers¡¯ Residence finally spoke up. ¡°Young Master Toby, we really did


    not open your drawer.¡± When the other servants heard this, they nodded and said hastily, ¡°That¡¯s right,


    Young Master Toby. We really didn¡¯t.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes as he surveyed them and tried to see if


    they were lying, but having assessed their expressions, he realized that all of them spoke the truth.


    None of them flinched or averted his gaze; the steady and genuine look in their eyes and on their faces


    showed that they weren¡¯t lying to him.


    He fell silent. If they didn¡¯t touch my drawer, then how did my letters go missing in the first ce? Just


    then, Jean let out a small yawn as she rounded the second-floornding. ¡°Toby, what in the world are


    you doing?¡± ¡°Madam, it seems as if Young Master Toby¡¯s letters have gone missing, and he¡¯s extremely


    angry about it,¡± the first servant who had spoken up earlier exined. Jean cast a curious look at her


    son. ¡°Toby, what letters are they referring to?¡± ¡°My letters with Maple,¡± Toby answered swiftly. He didn¡¯t


    have to lie about this. After all, it was no secret among the Fullers that he had been pen pals with


    Maple. ¡°Oh, you mean the letters you exchanged with Tina? I thought she burned them into ashes.¡±


    Jean let out another yawn as she said this, revealing two rows of slightly stained teeth. Toby¡¯s face


    darkened at this, and he looked so dangerous that even his voice came out cold and cutting. ¡°Did you


    just say that Tina burned them?¡± ¡°Yes, and you agreed to it, too. Don¡¯t you remember?¡± Jean threw him


    a confused look. Toby stiffened at this. I agreed to it? Why would I even agree to let Tina burn those


    letters? They meant more to me than anything else I own; I wouldn¡¯t have saved them for over ten


    years otherwise! But the next moment, a certain memory surfaced in his mind: it was a scene from


    nearly three months ago when Tina had only just awakened. She told him that there was no point in


    keeping the letters now that she had regained consciousness and would stay next to him.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    She had said that the letters would be better off burned away into nothing¡ªand he had agreed to it! He


    had actually agreed to it! Mortified and inplete disbelief, Toby clutched his cane even tighter. How


    in the world could I have agreed to do something so awful? I couldn¡¯t possibly have done that! What


    wretched power in the world haspelled me to do something like that? His knuckles turned white,


    and the veins on the back of his hand throbbed as he tightened his hold on the cane. That¡¯s right! I was


    not as lucid after the ident as I am now.


    Tina could have said anything, and I¡¯d agree to it without stopping to think if it was problematic. I didn¡¯t


    even bother saying no to her at the time, and I¡¯ve certainly never experienced heart-wrenching


    pain. Suddenly, it was as if everything made sense. The only reason why he even agreed to let Tina


    burn those letters was because he had been under the influence of some strange persuasive force,


    and he never truly intended to do so in the first ce.

 Chapter 249

    Chapter 249


    Chapter 249 The Cracks in Her Story,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    It was at that precise moment that Toby became sure of the truth: Tina was not Maple. After all, if she


    indeed was Maple, then why would she burn the letters which had brought them together instead of


    keeping them and reminiscing over them? Because she was afraid that keeping those letters would


    one day bring her lies crumbling down. Jean saw that Toby was trembling slightly, like he was


    suppressing insurmountable rage. A chill ran down her spine as she swallowed and asked hesitantly,


    ¡°T-Toby, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Toby ignored her and took out his phone to make a call. Before


    long, Tom¡¯s groggy voice sounded from the other line as he yawned and asked, ¡°President Fuller, is


    there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Come by the Fuller Residence now. I need to ask you something.¡± Having said that brusquely, Toby


    hung up the call without another word. Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, Tom sat up in bed


    with a spaced-out look on his face. Did he just ask me to drop by the Fuller Residence? As his mind


    cleared up, he detached the phone from his ear and stared at the screen. When he saw that it was


    close to midnight, he let out a frustrated groan. For heaven¡¯s sake, it¡¯ste at night, and it¡¯s nearly


    midnight! He must be insane to have asked me to go by the Fullers¡¯ Residence! Whatever this is about,


    why couldn¡¯t he have told me over the phone and insisted that I go over to his ce? Despite Tom¡¯s


    resentment, he got out of bed anyway and begrudgingly began to get ready, then headed over to the


    Fuller Residence as ordered.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    At around 1.00AM, he found himself standing in Toby¡¯s study. ¡°What is it that you needed to ask me,


    President Fuller?¡± he asked with a polite smile, though he was cursing Toby over and over in his heart.


    As though sensing the man¡¯s annoyance, Toby shot him a pointed look and tapped his fingers against


    his ice-cold desk. ¡°Do you think Tina is Maple?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Tom was taken aback by this, but he quickly


    regained hisposure. ¡°President Fuller, are you suspecting that Miss Gray is not your pen pal from


    all those years ago?¡± Toby nodded in affirmation. Tom stared at him intently for a while, and after


    making sure that the man was not joking, he said after a long pause, ¡°To tell you the truth, President


    Fuller, I don¡¯t think Tina and Maple are the same person at all. I¡¯ve been by your side for all these


    years, and I¡¯ve seen you exchange letters with Maple.


    From what I¡¯ve gathered about her, she¡¯s warm and kind, not to mention outgoing and witty, but Miss


    Gray boasts none of these qualities.¡± When he was done speaking, he peered up at Toby


    apprehensively, worried that he might have angered thetter. Much to his surprise, Toby did not


    appear furious at all but looked as if he was immersed in thought. Tom let out a quiet breath of


    relief. Thank goodness President Fuller isn¡¯t mad at me for making those disparagingments about


    Miss Gray, but I wonder why he doubts her identity as Maple. He scratched his head, unable to figure


    out what Toby was thinking. Minutes ticked by, and Toby finally said in a cold voice, ¡°You¡¯re right.


    She has none of these qualities, and she has no right to assume Maple¡¯s identity.¡± Upon hearing this,


    Tom felt something click in his mind. He pushed his sses up his nose bridge and asked, ¡°Have you


    discovered something that made you doubt Miss Gray¡¯s identity as Maple, President Fuller?¡± It¡¯s no


    wonder then that President Fuller¡¯s been cold and distant to Miss Gray for the past two days. That


    makes sense, seeing how he was only kind and loving to her because he believed she was Maple. If


    the opposite were true, then he would naturally grow indifferent toward her. After all, Miss Reed is the


    one he¡¯s truly in love with. Toby narrowed his eyes pensively without answering Tom¡¯s question and


    asked instead, ¡°You were the one who collected Maple¡¯s letters on my behalf when I was too tied up


    with work before, so you would know her postal address, right?¡±


    Tom nodded hastily. ¡°I remember her address. Do you want me to drop by the ce and find out if


    Maple truly isn¡¯t Miss Gray?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Toby replied. ¡°I¡¯ll get right on it, sir,¡± Tom said dutifully. ¡°I¡¯ll head over


    to Marina City right away and¡ªwait!¡± He broke off, and his eyes widened as the sudden realization that


    something was off dawned upon him. Toby frowned at this. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something odd going


    on here. President Fuller, Maple lives all the way in Marina City, but the Gray Residence is in


    Eastbourne. Both these cities are practically sixty kilometers away, and the Gray Family has been in


    Eastbourne for thest twenty years; they never once moved. It¡¯s as clear as day now that Tina really


    isn¡¯t Maple!¡±


    Toby stiffened when he heard Tom¡¯s deduction, and his eyes widened by a fraction as he pondered on


    this new revtion. That¡¯s right. If Tina really was Maple, then the postal address would have been


    Eastbourne and not Marina City. While Toby was deep in thought, Tom spoke up again from across the


    desk, ¡°I remember you mentioned that Maple used to have a pet dog, President Fuller.¡± Toby¡¯s chin


    jerked slightly. ¡°Bucky.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one. However, the Gray Family has never had any pet dogs. You


    also mentioned that Maple has a stepmother and a sister, but Mrs. Gray has always been the first wife.


    All these aside, I caught a glimpse of Tina¡¯s handwritingst month when she got bored in your office


    and scribbled a couple of things.


    While she didn¡¯t often write after she was discharged from the hospital, I noticed that her penmanship


    ispletely different to Maple¡¯s,¡± Tom informed solemnly. Tom had never read any of the letters Maple


    wrote to Toby, but she did pen the address on the envelopes, which was enough to make hime to


    the conclusion that she had understated and refined handwriting. It was distinct and easy on the eyes,


    unlike Tina¡¯s, which was as in as it wasmon. Granted, a person who had beenatose for six


    years would not necessarily have the best handwriting, having not touched pen and paper for so long.


    However, muscle memory would kick in as the body recovered, and the person¡¯s handwriting would


    eventually start to look the way it had before. As such, it made no sense that Tina¡¯s handwriting could


    have changed so drastically even after she had been hospitalized for six years. Tom felt goosebumps


    raised along his skin at the thought of this. ¡°It gets stranger and stranger the more I think about it,


    President Fuller. How could we not have realized that there was something off when these doubts have


    been present all along? Besides, there were cracks in Tina¡¯s behavior and stories that should have


    made us suspicious, so why did it take us this long to look back and discover this despicable charade?¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze and fell silent. When Tom was speaking earlier, it was as though a veil that had


    been obscuring Toby¡¯s sight was finally lifted. It was like the lights had shifted at that moment, and he


    could finally see the world with sharp rity. Indeed, how could I have missed all the cracks and


    inconsistencies in Tina¡¯s stories and behavior? More to the point, how did Tom manage to overlook all


    these, too? All these questions flooded Toby¡¯s mind, and he grew unsettled at how wrong everything


    was. Even as he thought this, he knew well the reason why he never saw through Tina¡¯s pretenses¡ªit


    was all because of that strange and mysterious force. That being said, he didn¡¯t think Tom would be


    influenced by it as well.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that, President Fuller?¡± Tom asked uneasily. Toby pursed his lips and


    said hoarsely, ¡°No reason. Anyway, drop by Marina City tomorrow and find the real Maple.¡± She¡¯s the


    person I¡¯m truly in love with! ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Tom nodded. Then, seemingly remembering something, he


    paused and added, ¡°So, about Tina¡­¡± A dangerous gleam shed in Toby¡¯s eyes as he replied


    ominously, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. I¡¯ll let her know that Maple isn¡¯t just some mask she can put on at her


    own whim and fancy!¡± There was an insidious undertone to his voice that made Tom shudder.


    He knew at that moment that Tina was done for. But she¡¯s definitely getting what¡¯sing for her. She


    should have thought better than to pretend to be Maple and deceive President Fuller for the past six


    years. Dark glee rose within Tom as he adjusted his sses and turned to leave the study. When the


    door closed, Toby rose from his seat and crossed over to where the French windows to the side of the


    room, whereupon he stared out at the night scene with his brows drawn together as all the doubts


    gued him. What is that mysterious force? How did it manipte me into loving Tina?


    And what other secrets is Tina hiding? All these questions seemed to crack the strange rose-colored


    ss that had shielded Toby from reality. He had believed that he was fine, but what he had not


    expected was that he would be unknowingly pulled into the drowsy depths of the mysterious force. As


    soon as he thought of this, a sharp headache attacked him.


    For a moment, he thought he might have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, but that was before the


    dizzying halos came into his vision. Submitting to the inexplicable pain that overcame him, he couldn¡¯t


    help but lower his head in hopes of finding quick relief.

 Chapter 250

    Chapter 250


    Chapter 250 Feigning Comprehension,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    At the same time, the explosive crack of thunder sounded overhead just as a purplish-white streak of


    lightning split the night sky in half, ominously igniting the darkness that fell over thend. Tucked away


    in Bayside Residence, Sonia bolted upright in bed and gasped. Her heart felt constricted with panic, but


    she had no idea why. To switch on the bedsidemp, she had to bring her hand up. After that, she


    massaged her temples and reached for the ss of water on her nightstand, then took a sip as she


    tried to calm herself down.


    She was done drinking and was just about to ce the ss back on the nightstand when her eyes


    widened in horror; the curtains had not been drawn over the French windows at the foot of her bed, and


    on the rain-sttered ss appeared a terrifying figment of what looked like a skull. Am I imagining


    things? Sonia shut her eyes tight and opened them again, then looked up at the French windows once


    more. This time, she was met with darkness, which was weakly illuminated by the neon lights of the


    nightscape that refracted off the ss. There was no skull at all. ¡°Phew.¡± She let out a huge sigh of


    relief and patted her chest to soothe her wildly-beating heart. As it turned out, she had been imagining


    things after all.


    Of course I was. With the way modern society is progressing, I should be jaded enough to ignore all the


    nonsense about paranormal stuff. She shook her head and let out a self-effacingugh at her own rich


    imagination. When Sonia arrived at work the next day, Daphne¡ªwho had been waiting at the former¡¯s


    office doorway¡ªbowed and greeted, ¡°Good morning, President Reed.¡± ¡°Good morning. Why are you


    here waiting for me? Has something happened?¡± Sonia asked as she took out her card key and swiped


    it across the sensor on the door, then made her way into the office. Daphne fell in step behind her. ¡°I


    just got a call from Fuller Group. They want you to go over for a meeting; it¡¯s about alternative energy


    coboration.¡±


    Sonia was pulling up her chair when she heard this and paused. ¡°Is the meeting at Fuller Group?¡±


    Daphne nodded earnestly. ¡°Yes.¡± The divot between Sonia¡¯s brows went as quickly as it came. ¡°Very


    well, then. What time is the meeting?¡± In all honesty, she was reluctant to go over to Fuller Group, but


    Toby was the person in charge of the coboration, and he called the shots when it came to the time


    and ce for any relevant meetings. No one would dare speak up against his decisions unless they


    were prepared to lose out on the project. Sonia had fought tooth and nail to procure the partnership, so


    abandoning the project halfway was not an option, which meant she was left with no choice but to


    attend the meeting. ¡°It¡¯s scheduled for 2.00PM,¡± Daphne answered dutifully. Sonia took off her coat and


    sat down.


    ¡°Got it. Is there anything else?¡± ¡°Yes¡ªMr. Lee has left you a ticket this morning.¡± Daphne opened the


    folder she was carrying and produced a ticket, then handed it over to Sonia. Taking it and reading the


    brief introduction on fashion inscribed upon it, Sonia couldn¡¯t help butugh while musing, ¡°I can¡¯t


    believe he actually gave me this.¡± ¡°He wanted to wait to give it to you personally, but he got a phone


    call and had to leave urgently,¡± Daphne exined. Sonia kept the ticket in the drawer and said, ¡°Maybe


    it was a work call. Speaking of which, you should get back to work now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Daphne nodded


    once and left the office. Presently, Daphne opened up herptop and set herself to work.


    When lunchtime rolled around, she got a call from the police station and was informed that the


    investigation into the restaurant incident had beenpleted. The police concluded that the whole


    thing had been an ident, and having checked through all the security footage, they were sure that


    no one sabotaged the crystal chandelier. As to why the chandelier had fallen in the first ce, the


    investigation showed that it was purely due to a worn-out supporting chain. While Sonia found the


    exnation to bezy and unreliable, in the absence of rust and sabotage, she coulde up with no


    other reason as to how the incident could have urred in the first ce.


    Regardless of her dissatisfaction, she allowed the incident toe to an end and did not press further


    on the matter. She hung up the phone and nced at her bandaged arm, then heaved a sigh before


    carrying on eating her meal. Afterward, she got into her car and drove over to Fuller Group all on her


    own. Meanwhile, in the presidential office at Fuller Group, Toby¡¯s gaze flickered over to the time


    disyed on the bottom right corner of hisptop screen and asked, ¡°Has everyone arrived?¡± Tom, who


    was standing to the side, immediately understood what Toby was asking and nodded. ¡°I saw three of


    the coborators on my way here, so I assume the rest of them ought to have arrived by now.¡±


    Toby hummed curtly in response. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡± He took the cane that was resting against the edge


    of the table and hoisted himself to his feet, then proceeded toward the door. Tom, on the other hand,


    carried the documents as he followed suit. Upon their arrival at the conference room, Toby and Tom


    made their way through the door, and those who were already waiting inside immediately stopped


    chattering as they stood up and greeted, ¡°President Fuller.¡± Naturally, Sonia maintained a courteous


    and formal front along with the rest of her peers.


    Toby¡¯s gaze swept across those who gathered at the conference table before it lingered briefly on


    Sonia, and only then did he look away. ¡°Please take your seats.¡± Sonia and the others did as they were


    told, and Tom began to hand out the information rted to the meeting agenda. However, a look of


    astonishment shed in his eyes when he noticed Sonia¡¯s bandaged arm as she reached for the


    document, but he quickly rposed himself. It was only after he had returned to his usual spot


    behind Toby that he pointed out in a low voice, ¡°President Fuller, it seems as if Miss Reed has been


    injured.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± came Toby¡¯s stoic reply, though there was a meaningful gleam in his eyes. Tom raised a


    brow. Okay, so I¡¯ve unnecessarily voiced out my observation. I thought he had no idea about her


    injury. The meeting officially began, and the agenda for the day was with regards to the essential uses


    for which the alternative energy technology might be used after business discussions were concluded,


    as well as the pros and cons of such uses. Sonia might have read up as much as she could on the


    subject of alternative energy, and she might have sat through several college sses for the same, but


    her knowledge on the matter was superficial at best.


    Seeing as she had never done an extensive study on alternative energy, she couldn¡¯t very well grasp


    whatever content and opinions Toby presented throughout the meeting. She felt like she was listening


    to gibberish. Left helpless, she resorted to writing down every single point of discussion, nning to


    review and read up on them once she got home that evening. s, Toby spoke much too quickly for


    her to jot down anything coherent, and her hand grew tired before her brain could register his words.


    Frowning, she shook her wrist to relieve the onset of a cramp. Meanwhile, from the main seat, Toby¡¯s


    gaze darkened when he noticed her gesture out of the corners of his eyes and decidedly slowed down


    in his speech.


    Now, Sonia could finally catch up with whatever he was saying, and her notes were starting to look


    more put-together than they had moments ago. However, she couldn¡¯t resist peering at him once or


    twice. She did wonder why he had slowed down in his speech all of a sudden, but she was not


    narcissistic enough to think it had anything to do with her. Nearly two hourster, Toby raised his mug


    of coffee to his lips and took a sip. ¡°That¡¯s all for the meeting today. Do any of you need rification on


    anything we¡¯ve discussed today?¡± He might sound as if he was offering everyone the chance to seek


    further exnation, but his stony gaze was fixed on Sonia alone. Sonia, on the other hand, stared at


    her notebook uneasily and bit down on her lip.


    She wanted to say she had plenty of things she needed rification on, but when she saw that no one


    else was asking questions, she figured she would be made theughingstock of the industry if she


    were to say she was clueless about pretty much everything on the agenda. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t


    mind if she was made theughingstock, but she couldn¡¯t live down the possibility of Paradigm Co.


    bing the butt of the joke, too. She refused to even weigh the risk of it. I¡¯m better off going through


    these notes when I get back to the office so that I can try to understand them better. With that in mind,


    she lowered her head and remained silent. At the sight of this, Toby pursed his lips, displeased by her


    stubborn silence.


    Does she take her pride so seriously that she¡¯d rather feignprehension than ask questions? He


    supposed that the few men in her life must have put in their fair share of work in order to keep her


    afloat in the business world. A shadow passed over his handsome face when he thought about


    Charles, Carl, and the other men in Sonia¡¯s life, and the air around him suddenly grew cold. He


    mmed his coffee mug against the table and said darkly, ¡°Seeing as all of you have a firm grasp of


    the subject matter, I want each of you to go back and write out an analytical report on the uses of


    alternative energy.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    I want the report emailed to me by tomorrow. Dismissed!¡± An analytical report? Sonia looked up


    anxiously when she heard this. How am I supposed to write a report when I can¡¯t even make sense of


    the meeting today? More importantly, how am I going to finish the report in less than a day? She looked


    around and noted how everyone was unfazed, unlike herself. Before she could hold herself back, she


    stood up and began slowly, ¡°President Fuller¡­¡± Toby turned to look at her, and his expression softened


    slightly as he said, ¡°Go on.¡±


    She dug her nails into her palms and asked, ¡°May I have a copy of the security footage for the


    conference room?¡± She knew that the security camera would have recorded the audio along with the


    progress of the meeting, and if she could get her hands on the footage, then she could easily fill in the


    gaps in her notes. So I¡¯ll lose out on sleep tonight, but surely I could finish writing up the report if I were


    to burn the midnight oil, right?

 Chapter 251

    Chapter 251


    Sonia chewed on her lower lip as she pondered on the idea of burning the midnight oil.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Toby, on the other hand, was still in the main seat, and he grew sullen once more when he heard her


    request.


    He had thought that she might ask him to rify the points of discussion when she called him, but as it


    turned out, all she wanted was a copy of the security footage. She probably wants to rey the whole


    meeting in front of Carl or Charles!


    Suppressing the frustration that boiled within him, Toby answered coldly, ¡°The camera¡¯s broken.¡±


    ¡°Broken?¡± Sonia froze, then became skeptical of this as she looked up at the security camera.


    However, she was not at Paradigm Co., and she couldn¡¯t just demand that the camera be checked to


    ascertain if it was working fine or not.


    Just as she was seized with helplessness again, Toby added abruptly, ¡°Go into my office.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She gazed at him oddly. ¡°Why do I have to go into your office?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. Unless you have no ns on handing in the analytical report tomorrow,¡± Toby said


    stonily, then grabbed his cane and walked out of the conference room.


    It was only then that Sonia realized he had seen through her pretenses, and he was offering to exin to


    her in detail whatever had been discussed during the meeting. That being said, she was still surprised by


    his kind generosity.


    She nced at the notebook in her hand and was suddenly torn between going into his office and


    declining his offer.


    She didn¡¯t want to be alone with him, but if she didn¡¯t take him up on his offer, she would only be left with


    the miserable notes she had tried to make and her barely-solid understanding of alternative energy


    technology.


    After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and decided to march after Toby. He probably didn¡¯t


    want her to drag down the rest of the team now that they were working together on this project, which


    exined why he wanted to help her.


    Such thoughtsforted her, and as she tried to catch up with Toby, the uneasiness she felt began to


    wane.


    Upon hearing footsteps behind him, Toby turned his head slightly and saw that Sonia was following him.


    The corners of his lips tipped up in the barest hint of a smile. His pace slowed, and he didn¡¯t pick it back


    up until he was sure that she had drawn closer.


    Before long, both of them entered the presidential office.


    Presently, as soon as the office door fell shut behind them, a woman stepped out from the secretarial


    office next door.


    She gazed at the closed door to Toby¡¯s office and fished out her phone, thereafter making a call.


    Tina was getting her hair done when she heard her phone ring in her purse. Taking it out, she nced


    briefly at the screen and answered the call, then pressed the phone to her ear as she asked curtly, ¡°What


    is it?¡±


    ¡°Miss Gray, something¡¯s happened!¡± the secretary cupped her free hand around her phone and


    whispered into the line.


    The insouciant look on Tina¡¯s face was immediately reced by a sinister one as she hissed, ¡°Which


    shameless hussy is it that has dared toy her hands on what¡¯s mine?¡±


    Ever since Toby prohibited her from dropping by Fuller Group without an appointment, Tina had bribed


    one of the secretaries who worked for him to keep an eye on all the female employees in thepany,


    and if she were to see anyone trying to get close to Toby, she was to report to Tina immediately.


    She had not received any calls from the secretary before this, and for a while, she believed that the


    women in Fuller Group were rather proper working-ssdies. She certainly hadn¡¯t expected such a


    presumption to be overturned out of the blue.


    ¡°She¡¯s not one of ours,¡± the secretary said hastily, with a shake of her head.


    Tina was obviously riled up as she snapped unhappily, ¡°Even so, she¡¯s still trying to steal Toby from me,


    isn¡¯t she? Tell me who she is right now!¡±


    I don¡¯t care who she is. As long as she¡¯s trying to take what¡¯s mine, I¡¯ll make her sorry for it!


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who she is, but I did hear President Fuller address her as Miss Reed. He¡¯s kind and gentle


    to her as well, and he even stopped so that she could catch up with him. They went into his office


    together,¡± the secretary reported fearfully.


    It had been barely two months since the secretary started working at Fuller Group, and seeing as she


    was not an official employee just yet, she had no idea of Toby and Sonia¡¯s past marriage.


    However, Tina knew instantly that the ¡®Miss Reed¡¯ in question was none other than Sonia. Growing


    incensed, she stood up from her seat abruptly, a rough gesture that caused a few strands of hair to be


    pulled out by the curling tongs in Tony Goldstein¡¯s hand. The sharp, sudden pain made Tina hiss in


    anger, and she turned to re at Mr. Tony maliciously as she snapped, ¡°How dare you pull out my hair?¡±


    Mr. Tony was affronted by her usation, and he resisted the urge to tell her that it was her fault for


    standing up so abruptly in the first ce; surely he couldn¡¯t be faulted for identally pulling out a


    couple strands of her hair.


    The customer is always right, and she¡¯s an important client to boot. Mr. Tony did not want to offend the


    woman, and he took the usation in stride as he bowed apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry, Miss Gray. I


    didn¡¯t mean to, and I¡¯m really sorry. I¡ª¡±


    However, he was cut off when Tinanded a harsh p across his face, the crisp sound of which


    reverberated around the room. Even the secretary on the other line shuddered when she heard this, and


    one could only imagine how mortified Mr. Tony was.


    As of now, he held his palm to his face as he stared at Tina incredulously, though fear shone in his eyes


    as he gasped, ¡°How could you assault someone like that, Miss Gray?¡±


    ¡°Do you see how many strands of hair you pulled out of my scalp? You should be so lucky that you¡¯re still


    alive after that!¡± Tina barked coldly.


    It was bad enough that Sonia was constantly getting on her nerves. And now, some nobody dares to


    offend me? He must be sick of living!


    ¡°You-¡± Mr. Tony¡¯s eyes grew red with anger when he heard Tina¡¯s harsh remark. ¡°You have crossed the


    line here, Miss Gray! You were the one who¡ª¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, break it up.¡± Just then, the shop owner came walking over and shot Mr. Tony a sharpi, look,


    signaling him to stop talking. Having done so, he turned and smiled at Tina, saying, ¡°Miss Gray, he¡¯s new


    here and has no idea how to conduct himself just yet. I hope you won¡¯t hold it against him and brush this


    incident off. How about if I take over to style your hair instead?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Tina refused to back down. She jabbed a finger in Mr. Tony¡¯s direction as a vicious look came into


    her eyes. ¡°I want you to fire him and make sure he doesn¡¯t find work in any other salon ever again!


    You¡¯re the shop owner, so this is the least you could do.¡±


    The shop owner and Mr. Tony stiffened at such a bold and unreasonable demand. Thetter, in


    particr, was quivering with anger as he thought, What a cruel and despicable woman!


    The shop owner frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a little harsh, isn¡¯t it, Miss Gray?¡±


    Tina crossed her arms imperiously and scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s harsh at all. He deserves what¡¯sing


    for him after he¡¯s offended me. If you don¡¯t do as I ask, then don¡¯t me me if I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I understand, Miss Gray. I shall do as you ask,¡± the shop owner cut her off and promised immediately.


    Mr. Tony looked at him in dismay. ¡°Sir?¡±


    However, when he saw the shop owner tug on his sleeve imperceptibly, he understood and fell silent,


    then turned to look the other way.


    Upon seeing that the owner had agreed to her demands, Tina broke into a satisfied grin and said, ¡°That


    should be the way.¡±


    The owner forced out a smile. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll just take your seat, Miss Gray, I¡¯m going to bring him over to


    the ounts room and sort out his paycheck.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Tina quipped, tipping her chin up arrogantly.


    The owner said nothing more and dragged Mr. Tony along with him to the back of the shop. When they


    were inside the lounge, thetter looked resentful as he asked, ¡°Are you really going to fire me and have


    me kicked out of the industry, sir?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I saw how everything happened, and you are clearly not at fault, so I¡¯m not going to


    punish you. But you shouldy low for a while, and once that woman out there has forgotten about this,


    I¡¯ll have you work in our branch. After all, we can¡¯t afford to have her cklist us; she¡¯s the youngdy of


    the Gray Family, not to mention the future wife to the president of Fuller Group.¡± The shop owner


    concluded his exnation with a long sigh.


    Mr. Tony managed a bitter smile. ¡°I understand.¡±


    Outside, Tina sat down once more and pressed the phone against her ear as she picked up where she


    had left off in the conversation. ¡°So what was Sonia doing at Fuller Group?¡±


    The secretary knew that Sonia was the Miss Reed in question and quickly answered, ¡°It looks like she


    was here for the meeting, but as far as I know, that meeting has already ended.¡±


    Tina¡¯s fingers clenched her phone tightly. She¡¯s still there even though the meeting is already over, and


    she even went into Toby¡¯s office with him! What in the world could they be doing in there?


    Jealousy rose within her as her thoughts piled onto one another. She hung up the call with the secretary


    and dialed Tim¡¯s number. ¡°Tim, it¡¯s been days. Have you or have you note up with a way to get rid of


    Sonia?¡±


    She could no longer wait. She wanted Sonia dead right this minute!


    In the hospital, Tim was seated in the confines of his consultant suite, and he adjusted his sses as he


    replied, ¡°I¡¯vee up with a n, and I¡¯m going to carry it out tomorrow.¡±


    Tina¡¯s face lit up with excitement. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

 Chapter 252

    Chapter 252


    Tim¡¯s eyes were as cold as a viper¡¯s when he heard what Tina had said, but he kept his voice light as he


    countered gently, ¡°There is no need to kill her; sometimes living can be far more torturous than death.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Tina frowned on the other line, obviously displeased to hear that he refused to


    kill Sonia.


    The white light refracted off Tim¡¯s sses as he exined with forced patience, ¡°What I mean is that we


    could rustle up a couple of men to ruin herpletely while recording the process. That way, the child


    she¡¯s carrying will be as good as gone, and she would be so agonized that she¡¯d beg for death.¡±


    Tina lit up at this. ¡°You¡¯re right. Killing her would be doing her a favor, so we might as well let her suffer in


    purgatory for the rest of her life. I must say the n is a very appealing one indeed.¡±


    When all was over and done with, Toby wouldn¡¯t think about loving a tainted and ruined Sonia anymore,


    even if he were to discover that she was Maple.


    Sonia¡¯s life, on the other hand, would bepletely destroyed. She would never be able to keep her


    head high in society anymore, and she would live the rest of her days being ostracized by everyone.


    Even Paradigm Co. would be theughingstock of the industry because of her disgrace.


    Indeed, killing her would be too easy on her, especially when she deserves far worse punishments than


    death. Tina was practically trembling with twisted anticipation as the thought cemented in her mind.


    On the other line, Tim mused with a dark and unreadable expression, ¡°Am I right to presume you¡¯re on


    board with the idea?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tina nodded decisively. She was much more than agreeable to the idea; she could hardly wait to


    see ite to fruition! Seized with newfound excitement, she urged, ¡°When do you n on striking?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow. Would you like toe over and see the n in action?¡± Tim asked slowly as he turned his


    scalpel this way and that.


    Tina looked dazed for a moment, then deviously smiled as she quipped, ¡°Of course. I want to see Sonia


    dragged into prison personally!¡±


    Bored, Tim flicked his thumb against the edge of the de of his scalpel and drawled, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll lure


    Sonia over to Bay Street tomorrow. There¡¯s hardly ever a crowd, and you can wait for me there.¡±


    Tina hung up the call, and she grew giddy with excitement as malice filled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re done for,


    Sonia!¡±


    ¡°Ah-choo!¡± In the presidential office at Fuller Group, Sonia had only just opened her notebook


    when she felt a sharp prickling sensation in her nose, and before she could stop herself, she let out a


    sneeze.


    Toby ced a cup of tea in front of her and asked casually, ¡°Feeling cold?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Sonia replied, sniffing as she drew her fitted zer tighter around herself.


    The thermostat in the office had been turned on. The temperature was fine, but there was a moment


    earlier when Sonia had felt a chill running down her spine and raising goosebumps along her skin.


    Meanwhile, Toby pursed his lips in mild dismay when he saw Sonia¡¯s gesture and cranked up the heating


    by a fraction. ¡°That should keep the room warm,¡± he dered.


    ¡°Thank you, President Fuller.¡± Sonia shed him a courteous smile. She didn¡¯t think that he was doing


    this out of concern for her. Rather, it was a considerate gesture on his part to make sure his business


    partner didn¡¯t catch a cold. She would have done the same thing if she were in his shoes.


    Presently, Toby hummed in response and made no other remark, then set the thermostat remote aside


    before taking up his seat next to her.


    As he did so, Sonia could smell the faint scent of peppermint that lingered on him. She stiffened, and her


    thoughts drifted far away as she was transported back to the day she had first met him, which was well


    over ten years ago.


    Images of a young girl standing underneath arge tree shed in Sonia¡¯s mind. The girl was secretly


    taking photos of the boy she liked, and when the breeze picked up, it carried with it the boy¡¯s crisp


    peppermint scent. Pulled back into reality, Sonia realized how this exact moment in the office mirrored


    her memories, but she no longer felt the butterflies in her stomach as she once had.


    The peppermint scent was still there, but the boy she liked was a whole different person now.


    She drew in a sharp breath and steadied the emotions that stirred within her like a tempest, then gazed


    up at Toby with an unreadable look as she said, ¡°You should think about switching up your cologne,


    President Fuller. The one you¡¯re wearing hardly suits you, and if I may be so bold, I think something


    more ocean-breeze would be perfect for your type.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby felt his heart twist.


    He had been using the peppermint scent for over a decade, and he never stopped because it was


    Maple¡¯s favorite. This was the first time anyone had told him so forthrightly that the scent did not be


    him.


    Also, what¡¯s with that look she gave me? If I saw correctly, it was almost like she was seeing some other


    person through me. I wonder who that person could be. Was it Charles or Carl?


    When Sonia felt the air around them grow cold and heavy, her brows knitted together. Is he mad about


    what I just told him? At the thought of this, she managed an embarrassed smile and said, flippantly, ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, President Fuller. I spoke out of turn earlier. Just pretend as if I never said


    anything in the first ce.¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips were pressed into a thin line. ¡°Does the scent really not suit me at all?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She blinked at him, bewildered that he was asking further on this matter instead of snapping at


    her. She took a sip of her tea and asked carefully, ¡°Do you want the truth, or would you prefer a white


    lie?¡±


    He looked at her, deadpan, as he replied, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    A smallugh escaped her as she said, ¡°Well, then. Since you asked, I¡¯m going to tell you outright that


    the scent doesn¡¯t suit you anymore.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®anymore?¡± He narrowed his eyes at her skeptically, feeling as if there was more to


    her words than they seemed.


    However, she shook her head and refused to borate any further. She put down her cup and pushed


    the notebook toward him. ¡°President Fuller, do you think you could tell me more about these points I¡¯ve


    underlined?¡±


    Toby regarded her darkly. Atst, he set aside his questions and began to exin to her the details of the


    meeting.


    After an hour or so, Sonia closed her notebook and rose from her seat, thereafter bowing at Toby as she


    said gratefully, ¡°Thank you for taking the time to exin these to me, President Fuller. I think I


    understand the points better now.¡± ;


    Even she had to admit that he was a capable teacher. He had managed to put the concept of alternative


    energy into simple terms that even a newbie such as herself couldprehend; if there had been any


    points that confused her before, there were none now, and she could read up on the rest of her notes


    with just an extra bit of research this evening.


    Following this session, she felt confident that she coulde up with the analytical report by tomorrow.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Toby reached out a hand to help Sonia up from her seat, but she got onto her feet first


    and dodged his hand.


    He stared at his hand, which hovered in mid-air, and his face darkened imperceptibly. Then, pretending


    as if nothing happened, he withdrew his hand and said inly, ¡°This project calls for an teamwork, and I


    don¡¯t want anyone to be deadweight, so feel free toe to me should you face any problems.


    There¡¯s no need for you to shoulder through everything on your own.¡±


    When Sonia heard this, she found herself thinking, So I was right after all¡ªhe only helped me because


    he didn¡¯t want me to drag down the rest of the team.


    Now that her guess was proved correct, she broke into a smile. It was a good thing that he offered her


    help for the sake of the team¡¯s best interests. It eased her mind and kept her from second guessing his


    intentions.


    Relieved, she looked him in the eyes and said, ¡°I understand. Thank you in advance, President Fuller.¡±


    He lowered his gaze. ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±


    At that moment, Sonia nced at her watch as she announced, ¡°Well, it¡¯s gettingte, and I should be


    going. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips parted slightly like he was about to say something to make her stay, but in the end, words


    deserted him, and he watched mutely as she left his office.


    When the door fell shut with a decisive click, he was all alone in the spacious office once more.


    His gaze broke away from the door and fell onto the seat in which Sonia had been mere minutes ago, his


    thoughts far away.


    Secondster, he looked toward the coffee table where her cup of tea was resting. He saw that the rim of


    the cup clearly bore the red smudge of her lipstick stain.


    He stared at the stain, and his eyes were dark pools as he reached for the cup, then brought it up. Then,


    he took a sip of the tea, pressing the stain against his own lips.


    The tea had gone cold, and as the liquid trickled down his throat and into his stomach, he realized what


    he was doing. His expression shifted, and quickly, he put the cup down, then clenched his fists in


    frustration.


    What the hell am I doing?


    He glowered at his own hand as storm clouds gathered in his eyes. He could hardly believe that he


    drank Sonia¡¯s leftover tea. Is that strange mysterious force controlling me again?Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

 Chapter 253

    Chapter 253


    Suddenly, the door to the office flew open, and Tom came barging in without even knocking. ¡°President


    Fuller!¡±


    Toby frowned and demanded irritably, ¡°What is it?¡±


    Tom did not answer him immediately but looked around the office like he was searching for something. At


    the sight of this, Toby pursed his lips into a grim line and asked coldly, ¡°Just what are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, where is Miss Reed?¡± Tom asked hastily.


    Toby recalled what he had done earlier with Sonia¡¯s cup of leftover tea and subconsciously grazed his


    thumb over his lips, then said inly, ¡°She left.¡±


    Taken aback by this, Tom raised his voice by an octave as he repeated, ¡°Left?¡±


    Massaging his temples tiredly, Toby sauntered over to his desk. ¡°Why are you looking for her?¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten, President Fuller? I just got back from Marina City,¡± Tom replied urgently as he


    followed the other man from behind.


    Upon hearing this, Toby stopped in his tracks and turned to shoot his assistant a dark look. ¡°What are


    you implying? Are you trying to say that whatever you found out about Maple has something to do with


    Sonia?¡±


    He felt his heartbeat speed up at the possibility of this.


    Tom nodded solemnly. ¡°That¡¯s right. I went to Marina City and tracked down Maple¡¯s old postal address,


    and it turned out to be the Reeds¡¯ residence! That means¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sonia and Maple are the same person!¡± Toby finished Tom¡¯s sentence. His eyes widened at the


    revtion, and he quivered slightly as his fists clenched at his sides.


    Tom continued quickly, ¡°Yes. Miss Reed is definitely Maple; there¡¯s no doubt about it. Maple said that she


    had a stepmother and a sister, not to mention a pet dog named Bucky. Now that her address has turned


    out to be the Reeds¡¯ residence, Miss Reed is the only one who could possibly be Maple.¡±


    The words came rushing out in a flurry, and at the end of his boration, Tom found himself slightly out


    of breath. He inhaled deeply and calmed himself, then went on to say, ¡°More importantly, Maple and Miss


    Reed have simr handwriting. While the former¡¯scks the refinement of thetter¡¯s, one could still tell


    that the penmanship is the same. And yet, neither of us have ever recognized this, even when Miss


    Reed shares the same backstory as Maple. A single thought is all it would have taken for us to connect


    the dots, but we never did! How could we not have figured out that Miss Reed is Maple all along?¡±


    He paused and lowered his head in shame. ¡°I¡¯m starting to wonder if I¡¯m an idiot.¡±


    Toby mmed his fist against the desk, and the veins on the back of his hand were throbbing as he


    seethed, ¡°No, you aren¡¯t an idiot. Someone¡¯s been ying dirty tricks to stop us from ever connecting the


    dots.¡±


    Along with Tom, the rest of the Fuller Family knew about Toby¡¯s history with Maple, so it was strange that


    no one had ever noticed how simr Sonia was to Maple.


    This could only mean that everyone had been under the influence of that strange mysterious force as


    well.


    Clueless as to what Toby was thinking, Tom widened his eyes in shock as he asked hesitantly, ¡°President


    Fuller, are you saying that somebody doesn¡¯t want us to know about Miss Reed¡¯s identity as Maple?


    Could it be Tina? But that doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­¡±


    He trailed off pensively, then shook his head as he reconsidered. ¡°It¡¯s only natural for Tina to keep that a


    secret from us, but there¡¯s no way she could stop us from putting the pieces together. So how could we


    have overlooked all the clues that pointed to the fact that Miss Reed and Maple are the same person?


    It¡¯s all so confusing, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Just then, Toby looked at Tom intently and asked, ¡°Do you believe that there might be some mysterious


    force in this world that could control one¡¯s thoughts and emotions?¡±


    Tom froze at first, but he chuckled dismissively as he quipped, ¡°Well, of course, though I¡¯m quite sure the


    force is called hypnotism.¡±


    As soon as he was done speaking, a sudden realization dawned upon him, and he slightly opened his


    mouth as he pressed, ¡°Is this the reason why you asked to see a therapist thest time, President


    Fuller? I thought you were trying to find an emotional outlet or something but were you suspecting that


    you have been hypnotized?¡±


    And from what President Fuller said earlier, he was implying that I have been hypnotized as well!


    Toby¡¯s eyes were dark with thought, and when he remained silent, Tom took it as a confirmation.


    While Dr. Anderson had reassured Toby that he was not hypnotized, he was still certain that the opposite


    was true, only that the doctor had not been able to diagnose him as such. Perhaps the person who had


    carried out the hypnotism was far more skilled at it than Dr. Anderson and the other therapists.


    Dazed, Tom patted his cheek and muttered, ¡°How did this even happen?¡±


    Toby looked down, the wheels in his mind turning. ¡°From now onward, go and contact the world¡¯s most


    renowned hypnotists¡ªthe more, the better!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Tom promised immediately, his expression stiffening.


    It was only sensible that only the most renowned hypnotists could break them out of this state of mind-


    control that they were in. Just as Tom was about to leave to carry out his new orders, he thought of


    something and asked, ¡°By the way, President Fuller, would you like to reconcile with Miss Reed?¡±


    Reconcile¡­ Toby made no reply as he dipped his head and pondered on the idea of it.


    He had always wanted to meet up with Maple before he found out that she was Sonia.


    But now that he knew the person behind Maple¡¯s pen name, the idea of reconciling with Sonia terrified


    him, for there was far too much that had happened between them.


    As though sensing how conflicted Toby was, Tom sighed and pointed out bluntly, ¡°Look, President Fuller,


    I know you said you loved Tina, but that was because you thought she was Maple. However, all this


    while, everyone can tell that you never loved her at all.¡±


    When Toby heard this, his lips twitched. ¡°When did you realize I was never in love with Tina?¡±


    ¡°From the very beginning,¡± Tom answered easily. ¡°I believe it was six years ago when you first met Tina.


    You might have said you loved her, but I could tell from your eyes that you did not.


    You were only kind to her because you thought she was Maple, and it was only when Maple was brought


    up that love would gleam in your eyes. In other words, you have always treated Tina and Maple as two


    separate entities.¡±


    Toby fell silent at this.


    Having heard what Tom said, he concluded that he indeed had never loved Tina. Tom had gathered as


    much six years ago, while he only became aware of this after the car ident.


    Could all this really have happened because of that mysterious force?


    ¡°There¡¯s something else I¡¯d like to tell you, President Fuller-the person you love is actually Miss Reed,¡±


    Tom added as a matter-of-fact while adjusting his sses.


    A look of surprise shed in Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did you just say that I¡¯m in love with Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and you¡¯ve been in love with her for quite some time now, though you never realized it. I along with


    Old Mrs. Fuller, Mr. Coleman-could tell all along, but we didn¡¯t tell you. I wanted you to realize it on your


    own because there¡¯s a chance that you might not believe me if I were to tell you outright.¡± Tom lifted his


    hands with the palm facing upward, sounding as if he didn¡¯t have much of a choice in the matter.


    San


    Meanwhile, Toby¡¯s throat felt dry, and he could not utter a single sound, but at the same time, he felt as


    though there was a tempest within him.


    How could I possibly be in love with Sonia?


    And yet, try as he might rebuke such a notion, he ultimately could not.


    Toby loved Maple, and now that she turned out to be Sonia, it would naturally mean he was in love with


    thetter. The equation was logical, but that was clearly not what Tom had meant; he was trying to tell


    Toby that at some point, he had begun to fall for Sonia, even before the whole


    truth was revealed.


    ¡°So why are you telling me this now?¡± Toby demanded hoarsely.


    Tom rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s only because we¡¯re sure Miss Reed is Maple now,


    but from the moment I realized you were in love with Miss Reed, I knew you no longer had any affection


    for Maple.¡± He paused in thought. ¡°You were only attached to the idea of her, and that made you think


    you were in love with her, but now that both these women are oneText ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    and the same, I figured I¡¯d have nothing to hide anymore.¡±


    There was a steely glint in Toby¡¯s eyes, and he grew reticent as Tom¡¯s words sunk in.


    I get it now. I thought I was in love with Maple all this time, but that hasn¡¯t been true for a while now, and


    I¡¯m actually in love with Sonia instead!


    Even if Maple was Sonia, the love he had for thetter was entirely different, because it was one that


    happened before he even knew the truth.


    Perhaps that was the reason why he felt he had lost something precious when he first divorced Sonia. In


    fact, this exined why he was always so jealous and angry whenever he saw her getting close to other


    men.


    At that moment, everything fell into ce. He could finally understand why he was always so affected by


    Sonia and why he had sipped her leftover tea and became lost in thought at the sight of her lipstick stain.


    It was because he loved her, and there was no mysterious force at y; he was truly in love with her.


    Tom saw the expression on Toby¡¯s face and knew instantly that the man was processing all this. He


    beamed and prompted encouragingly, ¡°Go and reconcile with Miss Reed, President Fuller. I¡¯m sure she


    would forgive you once you tell her that the both of you were pen pals.¡±


    Would she honestly forgive me? Toby¡¯s lips pressed into a thin line.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if Sonia would forgive him, but he really did want to know why Tina had turned up in her


    ce after they had agreed to meet up all those years ago.


    More importantly, he wanted to find out how Tina even knew they were pen pals in the first ce!

 Chapter 254

    Chapter 254


    With that in mind, Toby fished out his phone and called Sonia¡¯s number only to hear a cold automated


    voice answer in her stead, monotonously informing him that her phone had been switched off.


    Tom heard it as well and cleared his throat. ¡°Well, that shouldn¡¯t stop you, President Fuller. Why don¡¯t


    you look for her and exin things to her in person?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes glimmered at this, and for a brief second, he almost took Tom¡¯s advice.


    But the next moment, he shook his head and said, ¡°No. I want to go over to the Gray Residence and


    personally expose Tina for putting on an act all these years.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll bring the car around immediately,¡± Tom said with renewed fervor as he adjusted his sses


    and left to get the car ready.


    Meanwhile, Toby clicked into his phone gallery and found the two pictures of Sonia that the boutique


    assistant had taken previously. His eyes were dark with a gentle longing as he muttered to himself, ¡°Six


    years we were married. Why didn¡¯t you ever tell me that you were my pen pal?¡±


    If she had only given him some kind of clue that would make him realize she was Maple, then he never


    would have treated her the way he had!


    He was pulled from his thoughts when his phone vibrated with a new message.


    He nced at his screen and saw that Tom had sent him a text, which read, ¡®President Fuller, I¡¯ve


    brought the car around for you. I¡¯ll be waiting at the main entrance of thepany.¡¯


    Toby locked his phone without replying and shoved it into his pocket, then marched out of the office.


    On the way to the Gray Residence, the sky seemed to break with a sudden torrential downpour, which


    was swiftly followed by fog that blurred the road ahead.


    Tom was carefully maneuvering the car as he mumbled, ¡°President Fuller, have you noticed how odd the


    weather has been for the past few days? The forecast said that it would be sunny, but the rain has


    proved relentless nowadays, not to mention the thunderstormst night. Apparently, floods and


    earthquakes have been happening in certain regions as well.¡±


    .


    ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s odd about that. Those things happen every year,¡± Toby remarked inly as he stared


    at Sonia¡¯s photo, his thumb caressing her face over the phone screen.


    Tom chuckled dryly. ¡°I was only making an observation, but you¡¯re right to say that there isn¡¯t anything


    odd about it at all.¡±


    Hearing this, Toby ignored him, and he was about to drown in his own thoughts when he saw a figure


    standing on the road ahead.


    The figure was dressed entirely in white, and he was holding up a ck umbre as he stood in the


    middle of the road, making no effort to dodge Toby¡¯s car whatsoever.


    Tom saw this, too, and though he honked several times to signal the person to move away, it was to no


    avail.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Tom frowned and grumbled sullenly, ¡°Does he have a death wish or


    something? Why the hell is he standing in the middle of the road instead of dodging oing


    cars?¡±


    ¡°Stop the car!¡± Toby barked in a low voice. Judging from the way he refuses to budge, chances are he¡¯s


    waiting for us.


    The car screeched to an abrupt halt. Tom and Toby leaned forward due to the inertia, thereafter falling


    backward into their seats once more.


    Tom turned to nce at Toby and asked hastily, ¡°Are you alright, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine!¡± Toby glowered at the unmoving figure ahead and snapped irritably. Then, pinching


    the space between his brows, he ordered imperiously, ¡°Unlock the door.¡±


    Incredulous, Tom demanded with wide eyes, ¡°Are you getting out of the car?¡±


    Presently, they were on one of the quieter streets of Eastbourne. There were hardly any cars that passed


    by the area, and as of now, the entire stretch of road waspletely empty save for their car and the


    mysterious figure ahead.


    Where the hell did that persone from? More to the point, why is he blocking our way? There¡¯s no


    telling if he¡¯s good or bad, so it¡¯s too dangerous for President Fuller to get out of the car now! With that in


    mind, Tom turned to cast Toby a concerned look before advising solemnly, ¡°President Fuller, I don¡¯t think


    you should be getting out of the car. We don¡¯t even know the guy. What if he turns out to be some wicked


    psychopath or something?¡±


    ¡°Grab the pistol and wait for me in the car. You can fire shots the moment something goes awry,¡±


    Toby instructed ominously with narrowed eyes. He was going to get down from this car no matter what.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    I¡¯m going to see for myself what this man is up to!


    Tom knew that there was no dissuading Toby when he had already made up his mind. Sighing, he


    opened up the storagepartment in the car and carefully drew out a pistol, then assembled its parts


    while nodding as he said, ¡°Roger that, sir. I¡¯ll keep an eye on him.¡±


    Toby hummed curtly in response and opened the car door, then took out an umbre from the side


    before walking toward the middle of the road. He stopped in front of the man, who slowly lifted the edge


    of the ck umbre to reveal an extraordinarily handsome face.


    However, the impact of beholding such a beautifully-chiseled face was lost on Toby, who remained


    expressionless. As far as he was concerned, the man before him did not boast incredible good looks,


    and he demanded icily, ¡°Who are you, and what the hell do you want?¡±


    ¡°You should go back the way you came,¡± the mysterious man said with an equally cold and distant voice.


    Toby narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    The man sighed like he was already growing tired of their exchange. ¡°Do you really have to go and


    expose Tina for pretending to be Maple? Can¡¯t you just keep going on like this? It¡¯s not too bad, right?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby widened his eyes and clenched his fists, turning more hostile by the second.


    ¡°How do you know what I¡¯m about to do?¡±


    The man sighed again. ¡°Just turn the car around and pretend you never found out about Tina¡¯s lies.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell should I?¡± Toby was boiling with rage, and the fire in his eyes leaped wildly as he went on


    to say, ¡°She lied to me for six whole years, and now you want me to just y along with her deception?


    You¡¯re so protective of her. Could you be the one behind that mysterious force that has been


    manipting me all this while?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to protect her; I¡¯m just keeping a promise to someone really important to me.


    That person is irrevocably in love with Tina, which leaves me no choice but to manipte your thoughts,¡±


    the man exined with a somewhat tired shake of his head.


    ¡°So it is you!¡± Toby had only been guessing, but now that the truth had revealed itself, he was seized with


    insurmountable rage. He carelessly threw the umbre aside and reached out to grab the man by his


    shirt cor.


    Meanwhile, the moment Tom saw how things had escted, he understood immediately that the man in


    white was no friendly entity.


    ma


    He quickly poked his head out of the open car door and aimed the gun at the man¡¯s head, ready to fire a


    deadly shot as soon as the man made to hurt Toby.


    Outside, Toby no longer looked like his usual put-together self after the rain soaked him to the bone.


    However, he couldn¡¯t care less about his appearance and merely stared at the man with red rimmed


    eyes as he hissed insidiously, ¡°You¡¯ve been controlling my every thought because of this special person


    of yours.¡± He spat out a bitter, humorless chuckle. ¡°How dare you? How dare you smi manipte me to


    achieve your own purposes? You took away my rights to pour my heart out to my one true love and let


    me be Tina¡¯s puppet! I didn¡¯t get to have a say over my own thoughts and feelings!¡±


    The man paid no mind to the hand that was grabbing his shirt cor, and he appeared unfazed by Toby¡¯s


    harsh gesture and pointed usation. He looked as cold as he had been earlier-almost robotic.


    ¡°I did it because Tina loves you, and the person most important to me is in love with her. He wants her to


    be happy,¡± the man exined monotonously.


    Toby scoffed. ¡°And just because of that, you decided to help him out?¡±


    The man nodded once in affirmation. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The next second, Toby¡¯s fist hurled forward in a brutal attack as he shouted angrily, ¡°So all because


    someone important to you is in love with Tina, you decided to manipte me-a person that has


    absolutely nothing to do with you-into loving Tina? What kind of bullsh*t reason is that?¡±


    The man frowned slightly and stepped to the side, easily dodging the oing punch. Judging from the


    way he avoided Toby¡¯s punches without losing his breath, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that he dabbled


    extensively in martial arts.


    ¡°I admit that what we did was wrong, but everyone has their dark sides, and I don¡¯t mind caving into mine


    by manipting and sacrificing everyone if it could make him happy.¡± The man¡¯s pale gray orbs were


    fixed on Toby as he added steadily, ¡°Besides, what¡¯s so bad about loving Tina? Love is but a chemical


    reaction, after all. Who you love doesn¡¯t matter at all.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter?¡± Toby was disgusted by this, and his lips curled into a spiteful smirk as he countered,


    ¡°So, do you think it¡¯s a chemical reaction that you care so deeply about that special person of yours? If


    that¡¯s the case, he shouldn¡¯t matter to you at all, am I right?¡±


    The question stumped the man, whose eyes widened in surprise.


    Toby, on the other hand, had no interest in what the man might be thinking as he ordered in a thunderous


    voice, ¡°I want you to stop controlling me right now!¡±

 Chapter 255

    Chapter 255


    Chapter 255 Speechless,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I made a promise to him.¡± The man kept himself together and calmed himself down, defying


    Toby while shaking his head. Toby felt his anger surging through him once again as he clenched his fist


    and growled, ¡°You can¡¯t? This has always been a matter between you and Tina, which has absolutely


    nothing to do with me at all. Since the person who matters the most to you loves Tina so much, why


    don¡¯t you hypnotize her and make them love each other? Why must I be the one who gets sacrificed?¡±


    A sad look shed across the man¡¯s emotionless eyes. ¡°It¡¯s toote¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The man didn¡¯t answer Toby¡¯s question. Instead, he stepped forward and raised his hand in the air,


    snapping his fingers in front of Toby and Tom as they warily watched. As soon as they both heard the


    snap, Toby¡¯s mind went nk, his eyes turning soulless and lifeless. At the same time, Tom, who was


    sitting in the car behind him, was also put in a mindless trance at the sight of that. By the time they


    came back to their senses, the man was long gone, and they had no idea when he left. ¡°President


    Fuller!¡± Tom grabbed an umbre and ran toward Toby. ¡°What happened? Who¡¯s that man?¡±


    Nevertheless, Toby didn¡¯t answer his assistant¡¯s question, only walking back to the car with an


    ambiguous look on his face. Meanwhile, Tom grabbed a towel from his storage box and gave it to Toby.


    ¡°Please wipe yourself, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby received the towel and put it on his head, replying with a hoarse voice, ¡°That man was the one


    who hypnotized us.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Tom bumped his head into the ceiling of the car, whereupon he moaned


    in pain. Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t care less about that while holding the steering tightly. ¡°Did you just


    say we got hypnotized, President Fuller?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Toby ced the towel on his face, covering his


    dissatisfied look. In the meantime, Tom only felt a strong cold chill running down his spine. ¡°B-But when


    did we get hypnotized?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes squinted underneath the towel as he wanted to find out the


    answer to that question as well. After all, he was hypnotized by a stranger whom he had never seen


    before, which he found to be rather scary.


    ¡°But why did he want to hypnotize us, President Fuller?¡± Tom desperately asked while nervously trying


    to regte his breath. Toby took the towel away from his face and said, ¡°Enough with the question. I


    want to know everything about this man and everyone who is associated with him.¡± I need to know who


    that man is, and that guy who is in love with Tina! ¡°Sure.¡± Tom nodded in a stern manner. In fact, he


    would initiate an investigation on that mysterious hypnotizer himself even if Toby didn¡¯t give him the


    order to do so. This man hypnotized me and President Fuller! That¡¯s uneptable! ¡°Take me to the


    Gray Residence.¡±


    Toby gave an instruction to his assistant, who responded with an affirmative hum and drove toward the


    destination. Soon, both men arrived at the Gray Residence, whereupon Toby stood outside the door


    and pressed the doorbell. When the maid came to answer the door, she was greeted by the sight of


    Toby, who was drenched from head to toe. Stunned, she eximed, ¡°Mr. Fuller! What just happened to


    you?¡± Nevertheless, Toby ignored her words and circled around before entering the house, leaving


    trails of water behind him. As he made his way to the living room, Julia, who was absorbed in arranging


    flowers, heard footstepsing and looked up in surprise. ¡°Toby, what brings you here?


    And what¡­¡± ¡°Where is Tina?¡± Toby cut her speech short and asked. Sensing his unusual attitude, Julia


    knew he was angry. So, she probingly asked, ¡°Tina is in her room. Did you both quarrel again?¡± ¡°Tell


    her to see me!¡± Toby coldlymanded. Julia knitted her eyebrows in response, but when Toby


    realized she didn¡¯t do as she said, he ced one foot on the table and made his intention known once


    again with an intimidating voice. ¡°I said, tell her to see me!¡± Frightened, Julia immediately stood up from


    the couch with a pale face and nodded. ¡°Okay. Okay, I¡¯ll send for her right now. Rosie, please tell Miss


    Gray toe down.¡± ¡°Right away.¡± Rosie, who was the maid that answered the door, quickly headed


    upstairs to send for Tina.


    Then, Julia timidly looked at Toby and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Toby? Why are you so worked


    up? Did Tina do something wrong that pissed you off? Anyway, please talk to her nicely, or you¡¯ll scare


    her.¡± ¡°Oh,e on. Do you really think she¡¯ll get scared?¡± Toby fixed his piercing gaze on Julia. ¡°She is


    a gutsy one, so what makes you think she¡¯ll get scared so easily?¡± She didn¡¯t just pose as Sonia but


    even tried to kill her as well. I wonder what other terrible things she is capable of. ¡°What do you mean


    by that, Toby? What¡¯s wrong with Tina? You didn¡¯t have to mock her, did you?¡±


    Julia sounded unhappy, pulling a long face, but deep down, she knew Tina must have done something


    wrong that pissed him off. After all, she was certain that he wouldn¡¯t have said those mean things about


    Tina otherwise. Nheless, Toby didn¡¯t respond to Julia because Tina was already on her way down


    the stairs. ¡°Here you are, Toby.¡± Tina showed up, greeting Toby with a smiling face, but when she saw


    his drenched look, her eyes widened out of shock. ¡°Oh my gosh, Toby! How did you get so wet?


    Madam Rosie, please get me some new clothes¡­¡± ¡°No need for that!¡± Toby didn¡¯t see the need for him


    to get changed when there was a more pressing matter at hand. Tina then felt a chill running all over


    her skin and noticed something was wrong when she met her eyes and spotted Toby¡¯s cold facial


    expression changes.


    Upon meeting his eyes, she felt as if he was going to tear her apart, so she subconsciously backed


    away to distance herself from Toby. After that, she curled her lips upward and forced a brittle smile.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that, Toby? What have I done wrong this time?¡± She soon started to


    run through the mind about the things she had done in the past to see which one of them was


    discovered. It¡¯s impossible for him to discover anything. I¡¯ve not left any trails so far¡­ Nevertheless,


    Toby¡¯s words shattered her hope into pieces the next second. ¡°Tina, why did you pose as Sonia?¡± Toby


    asked with a menacing voice. Tina was thunderstruck by the man¡¯s question, her body stiffening as her


    limbs turned cold. It was only a few momentster that she said, ¡°What are you talking about, Toby?


    Me? Posing as Sonia?!


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re trying to say here.¡± He¡¯s already found that out. He really has! ¡°That¡¯s


    right, Toby. What¡¯re you talking about?¡± Julia was confused as well. However, Toby didn¡¯t bother to


    reply to Julia, only staring at Tina with his cial eyes, as if his gaze had just be a sharp de.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you still won¡¯t admit it. You should know that I won¡¯t be standing here if I don¡¯t have


    any evidence. Six years ago, you posed as Sonia to see me and told me you were my pen pal. After


    that, I¡¯ve been in love with you ever since, and it was exactly because of you that I gave Sonia the cold


    shoulder. I put her through so much pain and suffering all because of you, Tina!


    You must have been really happy when you saw me do that to Sonia, right?¡± Toby spoke with a calm


    voice, perfectly masking his rage and anger with his indifference. There was no way she wasn¡¯t happy.


    After all, she managed to take Sonia¡¯s ce and witness her humiliation as if she was the real one. So,


    there was no way she wasn¡¯t happy at the sight of that. In the meantime, Tina¡¯s eyes dted in horror


    while her face turned pale. A few secondster, she began to cry and shake her head wildly. ¡°No, Toby.


    It¡¯s not like what you think it is. I didn¡¯t pose as Sonia.


    I¡¯m indeed Maple.¡± Nevertheless, Toby only watched her fake acting in cold silence, his eyes filled with


    irony. I told her I had evidence to prove that she had been posing as Maple, yet she¡¯s still trying to talk


    her way out. It looks like she is tougher than I thought, but it does make me wonder whether she¡¯ll


    suffer from schizophrenia sooner orter. ¡°Well, since you insist that you¡¯re Maple, have you ever lived


    in Marina City? Have you ever kept a pet dog? Do you have a stepmother and sister?¡± Toby


    approached Tina closer and closer, pressing on with his question with each step he took.

 Chapter 256

    Chapter 256


    Chapter 256 Moment of Truth,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    The sound of Toby¡¯s footsteps sounded as if he was stepping on Tina¡¯s contracting heart, filling it with


    fear and panicking her. At the same time, she subconsciously stepped back, her lips trembling in


    silence. Seeing her reaction, Toby couldn¡¯t help but feel disgusted with it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? The cat got


    your tongue? Let me answer the question for you. That¡¯s because you never lived in Marina City; you


    never kept a pet dog, and neither did you ever have a stepmother and sister. So, tell me now. Do you


    still insist that you are Maple?¡±


    At that moment, a loud thump was heard when Tina copsed onto the ground with a nk gaze on


    her face. In the meantime, Toby only fixed his eyes on her, immediately knowing what her gesture


    meant because she could no longer cover up her wrongdoings. ¡°Tina!¡± Julia quickly came closer to her


    daughter and hugged her, cing her hands on her shoulders. ¡°Are you alright, Tina?¡± Nevertheless,


    Tina only puckered her lips, wanting to say something, only to swallow her own words eventually.


    Feeling helpless and panicked, Julia turned to Toby and asked, ¡°What was it that you were telling Tina,


    Toby? What¡¯s all that about posing as Sonia and Maple? I don¡¯t understand a single thing about that


    matter at all.¡±


    Without looking at the woman, Toby kept his eyes on Tina and replied to Julia, saying,


    ¡°Your beloved daughter posed as the person whom I had always thought to be the woman of my life


    and enjoyed what was not rightfully hers for six years.¡± ¡°What?! So, you¡¯re saying you don¡¯t love Tina


    now?¡± Julia raised her voice. However, Toby responded with a cold grunt and said, ¡°I never loved her,


    in fact. Sonia has always been the one I¡¯ve loved because she is the one who¡¯s truly my pen pal, and


    the only reason Tina got to be with me was that she posed as her. Why else do you think I¡¯d confess


    my love to someone like her, whom I never met six years ago?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Julia was tongue-tied as she


    began to recall what had happened. While she knew the two of them had never seen each other due to


    the inequality between their statuses, she quickly realized it was actually Toby who wasn¡¯t aware at all


    about her existence.


    On the other hand, Tina had truly seen Toby before, judging by how he was an outstanding man any


    woman would dream of marrying. One day, Toby unexpectedly showed up at the Gray Residence and


    confessed his love for Tina, which Julia found to be strange because he had never seen her before,


    especially with his sentimental gaze. Nheless, she quickly dismissed it as a reason that he fell in


    love with Tina at first sight. Furthermore, their young age served to convince Julia even more that both


    of them were just a young couple who desperately sought some unforgettable romance. However, now


    that the truth had been uncovered, she was shocked to discover that it was her daughter who had been


    scheming to take Toby away from Sonia all along.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    At the thought of that, Julia cast a strange gaze on Tina, who guiltily looked away before thetter


    stood up and seized Toby¡¯s arm in a tearful manner. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Toby. This is all my fault. I¡¯m so sorry! I


    shouldn¡¯t have posed as Sonia, but I just couldn¡¯t help it because¡ªI love you!¡± Knowing she could


    never get away with the fact that her scheme was exposed, Tina decisively apologized to Toby and


    begged for forgiveness. After all, she reckoned she still stood a chance to win his favor if she could


    have his forgiveness. ¡°You love me?¡± Toby chuckled in irony while pinching Tina¡¯s chin hard. ¡°You


    posed as Sonia and took what was hers away from her because you loved me. Well, if everyone just


    takes anything they want from others just because they love them, what kind of world would we be


    living in?!¡± Toby pinched Tina¡¯s chin harder this time.


    As Tina was overwhelmed by the painful twinge, tears began to roll down her cheek. Meanwhile, Toby


    felt a stab of pain in his heart when he saw her tears, but it wasn¡¯t because he felt sympathetic toward


    her, but because the same thing that happened at the restaurant thest time was now happening


    again. Therefore, Toby made up his mind to bear with the pain he was going through on the inside


    because he was never going to tolerate Tina ever again. After that, he shook off her chin and took a


    handkerchief from his breast pocket to wipe his fingers with a disgusted look on his face. Upon wiping


    them, he even threw the handkerchief away as a gesture of revulsion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll cancel our engagement as soon as possible, Tina, but be warned that I will not go easy on you for


    the lie you fed us in the past six years, so you¡¯d better pray hard from now on.¡± Toby finished his words


    while fixing his cold gaze on Tina like a sharp de that pierced through her soul. It was only a few


    momentster that he took his eyes off her and left the mansion. The moment Toby disappeared from


    sight, Tina went weak in her limbs and copsed onto the ground like she was exhausted from days of


    starvation. While her face was covered in a cold sweat, she couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Toby¡¯s


    intimidating gaze because he seemed as if he was going to make her suffer in a living hell.


    At the thought of that, she curled up and hugged herself. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Julia sympathetically let


    out a sigh and asked. ¡°Mom.¡± Tina held her mother¡¯s hands and agitatedly asked, ¡°What should I do


    now, Mom? What should I do?¡± As Julia started to feel Tina¡¯s fingers tightening around her palm, she


    began to see red marks, whereupon she tried to free herself from her daughter¡¯s grip. Nevertheless,


    Tina simply wouldn¡¯t let go, as if she was waiting for her mother to suggest something. In the end, Julia


    helplessly endured the pain and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know about this at all.


    After all, you did pose as Sonia, and you can¡¯t really me Toby for being mad about it. Anyway, why


    didn¡¯t you tell your dad and me about this back then? We both had always thought that Toby was truly


    in love with you.¡± In fact, Julia and her husband had always thought it was Sonia who tried to take


    Tina¡¯s ce. ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying those things now?!¡± Tina shook off her mother¡¯s hand and


    screeched, ¡°Toby is going to cancel our engagement now, and I can¡¯t let that happen! I went through a


    lot before I got this far, so I¡¯m never going to let this opportunity slip away. I¡¯d rather die if that


    happened!¡± She then frantically stretched her arms to reach for her own face, leaving red scratch


    marks on the skin.


    Fearing that Tina could disfigure her face, Julia immediately restrained her hands and consoled her.


    ¡°Okay. Okay, we won¡¯t let that happen. I¡¯ll call your dad and talk to him about this.¡± As soon as she


    finished her words, she instantly gave Titus a call. In the meantime, Tom approached Toby with an


    umbre when he saw himing out of the house. ¡°Have you told her everything, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Take me to Bayside Residence now.¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer Tom¡¯s question, only closing his eyes tiredly after getting into the car. Seeing his


    tired look, Tom was left with his mouth wide open as he went ahead to start the engine and leave his


    question behind him. An hourter, they arrived at Bayside Residence, whereupon Toby knocked on


    the door at Sonia¡¯s apartment. At that moment, she happened to be writing when she heard the knock


    on the door. Thus, she put down her pen and went to find out who it was. ¡°Who is it?¡± On the other


    hand, Toby was able to hear her voice but didn¡¯t respond to it. After all, he knew she wouldn¡¯t open the


    door for him if he did. At the same time, Sonia yawned and went ahead to answer the door without


    even looking through the peephole.


    When she saw Toby, she was stunned for a split second before she knitted her eyebrows and closed


    the door. However, Toby was quick enough to stop it by cing his hand on the door, pitifully begging


    her not to turn him away. ¡°Please don¡¯t close the door. I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia


    knitted her eyebrows. Knowing she wouldn¡¯t close the door, Toby put his hand down and set his eyes


    on Sonia in an emotional manner before he wrapped his arms around her.


    Shocked by the man¡¯s sudden behavior, Sonia took a few seconds to process what was going on,


    whereupon she tried to shove him away with a pair of widened, angry eyes. ¡°What¡¯re you doing, Toby?


    Let me go!¡± However, Toby showed no signs of letting up at all but instead hugged her even tighter. I¡¯ll


    never let you go, Sonia! You¡¯re the woman I love!


    Meanwhile, Sonia grew angrier and angrier when Toby¡¯s drenched shirt was beginning to dampen her


    clothes because of his refusal to let go. In the end, she bit her lip and stomped on the man¡¯s toe,


    hurting him as he moaned in pain with a pair of furrowed brows. Nheless, he still didn¡¯t let go of


    Sonia, which angered her even more and prompted her to raise her hand in the air before she gave


    him a p.

 Chapter 257

    Chapter 257


    Chapter 257 Fever Attack,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    After getting a p in the face, Toby found himself facing the other way. Stunned, he subconsciously let


    go of Sonia as he seemingly didn¡¯t believe she would get physical with him. In the meantime, Sonia


    didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by what Toby thought. Instead, she seized the opportunity and took two


    steps back, distancing herself from him while ring at him angrily.


    ¡°Toby, if you want to throw a tantrum at someone, do it in your own house. Furthermore, I want you to


    take a closer look at me now! I¡¯m not Tina!¡± Toby licked the corner of his lips and replied with a hoarse


    voice, ¡°I know you¡¯re not Tina.¡± ¡°Why did you still hug me then? Are you out of your mind?¡± Sonia


    sounded surprised. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    Toby clenched his fists. ¡°Then, why did you¡ª¡± ¡°I love you!¡± Toby interrupted her words. Sonia was


    caught in a trance, her mind going nk for a brief moment before she found her voice. ¡°W-What did


    you just say?¡± Did he just say he loves me? How is that possible? I must have misheard it. Soon, Toby


    fixed his eyes on Sonia and repeated his words. ¡°I love you?¡± This time, Sonia could no longer lie to


    herself that she might have misheard something because Toby had indeed just told her he loved her.


    Then, Sonia puckered her lips and responded after taking a moment to process what was going on.


    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re saying, Toby? If this is all a trick from you and Tina, I¡¯m not going to fall for


    that, so you can save your energy and¡ª¡± Nevertheless, before Sonia could finish her sentence, Toby


    slipped his hand behind her head and pressed his lips against hers. It was only until she felt something


    slipping through her lips that she realized what was going on. At that moment, a vengeful look shed


    across her face as she tried to shove Toby away with her hands, but to no avail because the man


    simply just felt like a concrete wall to her. As Toby took one step into the house through the door, he


    cornered her at the shoe rack and kissed her harder and harder like he was going to suffocate her.


    Exasperated, Sonia raised her hand into the air to give him another p, but Toby was prepared this


    time. Thus, he caught her hand in the air and pinned it on the wall above her head not long before sheExclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    found herself helplessly restrained and vulnerable against him. While Sonia¡¯s rage took over her mind,


    she also felt a strong stab of bitterness surging through her, whereupon her eyes were filled with tears.


    Soon, Toby¡¯s hand that was behind her head felt something wet trickling down her face, putting him in a


    cold trance. When he stopped and let go of her, he looked up, only to realize she was crying.


    ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Stay away from me!¡± Sonia bellowed at Toby while rubbing her lips with the back of her hand,


    her face written with revulsion and abhorrence. Ugh! This is so disgusting! Yucks! Sonia felt like puking


    when she thought about the moments Toby shared a kiss with Tina. Meanwhile, Toby squinted, feeling


    as if his heart was being cut by a sharp de, when he noticed the disgusted look on Sonia¡¯s


    face. Does she really hate me so much? ¡°You¡¯re a b*stard, Toby Fuller!¡± Sonia was shaking from head


    to toe, staring at him with a pair of bloodshot eyes.


    Toby stretched his arm, trying to wipe Sonia¡¯s tears for her, but before he could reach her face, she


    deflected his arm and reminded him of the exact same way he treated Tina back at the Gray


    Residence. Although Toby¡¯s painful hand was turning red because of the impact, he didn¡¯t seem to be


    angry at all. Instead, he put down his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m not toying with your feelings, Sonia. I¡¯m telling


    you the truth!¡± ¡°What truth? Do you seriously think I¡¯m going to fall for that? You¡¯ve been in love with


    Tina for six years, and now you came here to tell me that you love me?!


    Haha! What kind of joke is that?!¡± Sonia sneered at the man mockingly. Toby puckered his lips as he


    began to speak with a bitter voice. ¡°I know you¡¯re probably not going to believe this, but the truth is¡ªI


    just realized you¡¯re the one I¡¯m in love with today.¡± Finding it ridiculous, Sonia mockingly asked, ¡°What


    do you mean you only realize you love me today? Are you saying you¡¯ve been in love with me from the


    very beginning?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Toby set his eyes on Sonia in a sentimental manner. ¡°I¡¯ve loved you long


    ago, and we¡¯ve actually known each other¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly cked


    out and copsed onto the ground. Frightened, Sonia gently kicked the unconscious man. ¡°Hey, are


    you alright?¡±


    When Toby didn¡¯t respond, Sonia realized things might have just taken a turn for the worse. Thus, she


    crouched down with a preupied look on her face to examine his condition. Seeing his eyes closed,


    Sonia deduced he could be having a fever due to his red cheeks and hyperventtion. Her suspicion


    was confirmed when she felt his warm forehead. However, it didn¡¯t take Sonia long to understand why


    Toby had a fever, considering the chilly weather. After all, he was indeed drenched from head to toe,


    not to mention the fact that he was still recovering from his injury since the ident he was caught in.


    ¡°Ugh! Trouble simply just follows you wherever you go!¡± Sonia let out a sigh and rummaged through


    Toby¡¯s pocket for his mobile phone. Then, she used his fingerprint to unlock his phone and gave his


    assistant, Tom, a call.


    When the phone call connected, Tom¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°President Fuller, have you told Miss Reed


    that¡­¡± ¡°What is he supposed to tell me?¡± Sonia asked. Tom was stunned at first, but soon, he curled


    his lips upward and revealed a happy smile. Miss Reed has President Fuller¡¯s phone with her, so that


    means she must have already forgiven President Fuller. That¡¯s right! The two of them have patched


    things up. At the thought of that, Tom chuckled and said, ¡°Congrattions, Miss Reed¡­¡± ¡°Stop it right


    there! Come and pick your boss up and leave my house right away! I don¡¯t want any more trouble from


    him!¡± Sonia looked at Toby and said in an annoyed manner. Tom blinked in surprise.


    ¡°Are you both¡­ not reconciled yet?¡± Sonia felt as if she had just heard a joke, rolling her eyes upward


    in response to Tom¡¯s words. ¡°Reconciled? Why should we be? There must be something wrong with


    me if I did that. Anyway, get here as soon as possible, or he is going to end up in the dumpster!¡± Upon


    finishing her sentence, she hung up the call and returned Toby¡¯s phone into his pocket. Then, she held


    the man¡¯s leg and dragged him outside the door like she was dragging a dead body. Just when Sonia


    dropped Toby¡¯s leg and dusted off her hands, the elevator door not far away was open, whereupon


    Tom was seen stepping out of it. As he saw Sonia standing beside Toby, who was lying on the ground,


    he called out to his boss in a panicky manner.


    ¡°President Fuller!¡± ¡°Stop overreacting. He is still breathing.¡± Sonia did a facepalm. In the meantime,


    Tom crouched down to check on Toby, only to realize he was indeed just having a fever, which put his


    mind to ease. Then, he carried him from the ground, cing his arm on his shoulder. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll


    leave with President Fuller for now, Miss Reed.¡± ¡°Please do so immediately! And don¡¯t evere back


    again!¡± Sonia waved her hand in disgust. Upon hearing thedy¡¯s response, Tom regrettably looked at


    Toby, wondering what his boss had been doing all the time until he came.


    Didn¡¯t you tell Miss Reed everything, President Fuller? Why does she still hate you so


    much? Nheless, he only let out a sigh and took Toby away with him, ready to drive him to the


    hospital. Suddenly, Sonia called out to him. ¡°Wait!¡± Tom stopped in his tracks. ¡°Anything else, Miss


    Reed?¡± Sonia then fixed her cial gaze on Toby and said, ¡°When your boss wakes up, tell him to stop


    harassing me with his fake and disgusting confession. You have no idea how revolting it felt to me!¡±


    ¡°No, Miss Reed. President Fuller sincerely meant it!¡± Tom tried to vouch for Toby.


    Sonia frowned when she heard that, wanting to say something just when the elevator door was open.


    Then, Zane came out of it with a boutique of flowers in his hand. ¡°Did anyone just say something about


    sincerity?¡± ¡°Mr. Coleman?¡± Tom looked at Zane in surprise before turning his attention to Sonia. What¡¯s


    Zane doing sote visiting Miss Reed? Please don¡¯t tell me there is something out of the ordinary


    between both of them.

 Chapter 258

    Chapter 258


    Chapter 258 Mind ying Tricks,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    At the thought of that, Tom fixed his gaze on Toby with a regrettable look while feeling sympathetic


    toward him at the same time. In the meantime, Zane raised his eyebrows as his eyes fell upon the


    unconscious Toby, whom Tom was carrying. ¡°Oh my goodness. What¡¯s wrong with Toby?¡± ¡°He has a


    fever,¡± Tom replied with a bitter smile. Sonia soon pursed her lips and said, ¡°Hurry up and take him to


    the hospital then.¡± She finished her sentence and looked at Zane. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Zane smiled and


    entered the house, whereupon Sonia directly closed the door without even looking at Tom and Toby.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    On the other hand, Tom was left outside as he stared at the door and shook his head helplessly before


    he walked away with Toby. Although he was worried for his boss because Sonia was now alone with


    Zane, he was more concerned about his health, which made taking him to the hospital his priority. After


    all, he reckoned Toby could always live to fight with Zane another day when he recovered. On the other


    hand, Sonia was trimming the flowers that Zane gave her in her apartment, whereupon she arranged


    them nicely in a vase. At the same time, Zane sat on the couch with both of his hands behind his head


    as he probingly asked, ¡°Why did Toby swing by just now?¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia failed to sense his intention, pursing her lips and answering, ¡°That guy was


    probably out of his mind or something. He just suddenly showed up at my door and told me he loves


    me. Funny, right?¡± ¡°What? He told you he loves you?!¡± Zane didn¡¯t find it funny like he usually would but


    was shocked by what he learned. Since Sonia was absorbed in trimming those flowers, she didn¡¯t


    notice his expression. Instead, she nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, but it seemed to me that he was probably


    trying to pull a prank on me, so I didn¡¯t take it seriously anyway.¡± ¡°Haha. I see!¡± Zane curled his lips


    upward and chuckled in an unconcerned manner despite his stern eyes. Deep down, he didn¡¯t think


    Toby was pulling a prank on Sonia because he reckoned that was simply beneath his friend.


    In fact, he was starting to get worried because he knew that Toby had probably discovered the person


    he was truly in love with, which meant he was serious about his confession to Sonia. ¡°By the way, why


    did you swing by so suddenly?¡± Sonia ced the vase that was filled with flowers aside and sat in front


    of Zane, interrupting his thoughts with her question. Zane avoided eye contact with thedy while


    putting his mind at ease. Then, he tried to act natural by grabbing an apple from the te before he


    took a bite. ¡°I came to talk to you about Rina¡¯s imposter.


    Actually, I¡¯m nning to have her show up at the Gray Residence tomorrow when the time is right.¡±


    ¡°Have you made up your mind about that?¡± Sonia appeared to look rather serious. Zane nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, Rina¡¯s imposter has already said yes, in fact.¡± ¡°Alright, what do I have to do then?¡± Sonia asked.


    Zane rubbed his belly with a pitiful look. ¡°Can you cook? I came here with an empty stomach, and you


    mustn¡¯t let your guest go hungry, right?¡± Amused by Zane¡¯s words, Sonia replied, ¡°Okay then, it seems


    that my help is not needed for the n. So, sit here. I¡¯ll make something for you now.¡± She stood up


    and walked toward the kitchen. Meanwhile, the doctor and the nurse were injecting Toby with some


    febrifuge to reduce his fever.


    ¡°How is my boss?¡± Zane stood aside and asked in a concerned manner. ¡°He is fine. It¡¯s just that the


    rain might have probably caused inmmation on his wound. We¡¯ve changed his bandage, so all we


    have to do now is wait until his fever subsides.¡± ¡°That¡¯s some good news.¡± Tom patted his chest in


    relief. Soon, the nurse threw the syringe away and put Toby on a drip before excusing herself. After


    that, Tom reached for his phone as he intended to inform Rose and everyone else at the Fuller


    Residence about Toby¡¯s condition, but before he could make the call, his boss came to his senses.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom put down his phone and helped Toby sit up straight. As Toby leaned on the


    headboard, his feverish red cheeks were reced by a sickly pale face.


    Then, he looked around the ward and found his wrist attached to a drip, whereupon he asked in a


    hoarse voice, ¡°What happened to me?¡± ¡°You had an inmmation on your wound and a fever,¡± Tom


    answered. Toby closed his eyes and asked, ¡°Who took me here to the hospital then?¡± Did Sonia bring


    me here? ¡°It was me,¡± Tom replied, shattering Toby¡¯s hope with his answer. While Toby pursed his lips


    and shot a cold gaze at Tom, he appeared to be confused and lost. Why does it seem like he thinks I¡¯m


    a busybody all the time when I¡¯m just trying to help? Is this all my hallucination?


    Tom faked a cough and added, ¡°Um. Right after you passed out from your fever, Miss Reed gave me a


    call and told me to take you to the hospital.¡± Upon hearing his assistant¡¯s reply, Toby was seen with his


    eyes brightening up in happiness. Well, Sonia might not have taken me here herself, but it was her who


    told Tom to admit me to the hospital. At the thought of that, Toby somehow lightened up a little as he


    seemed to be more approachable. Nevertheless, the vibe took an unexpected turn when Tom suddenly


    asked, ¡°Has Miss Reed forgiven you, President Fuller?¡± As he recalled seeing Toby lying on the


    ground, he reckoned Sonia was probably still mad at him because she wouldn¡¯t have let him lie down


    had she forgiven him.


    However, he thought it was better for him to hear from Toby himself rather than jump to conclusions.


    Toby massaged his temples, apparently looking a little dizzy. ¡°I fainted before I could get it out of my


    mouth.¡± Tom raised the corner of his lips, calling Toby useless on the inside. Needless to say, he didn¡¯t


    dare to speak his mind and lecture his boss, so he faked a cough and said, ¡°Well, your health is more


    important, so let¡¯s wait till you recover from your fever before we decide what to do next.¡± ¡°Have you


    found a hypnotist that I told you to?¡± Toby squinted and asked.


    ¡°I contacted one earlier, but it seemed that he couldn¡¯t find time to make it, so I¡¯m trying to contact


    someone else,¡± Tom replied. Toby clenched his jaw and said, ¡°Get it done as soon as possible. For


    now, get Dr. Anderson to see me.¡± Although Kurtis couldn¡¯t see through his problems, he would still like


    to consult his professional opinion regarding his issues. ¡°Alright,¡± Tom replied with an affirmative hum


    and nodded, reaching for his phone to give Kurtis a call. An hourter, Kurtis showed up at the ward.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± ¡°Please have a seat, Dr. Anderson.¡±


    Toby pointed at the chair next to the bed. Kurtis thanked Toby and grabbed a chair before sitting on it. ¡°I


    believe you have sent for me because you have some questions about our previous meeting, right?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. You suggested that I should seek help from a few other psychiatrists earlier to see whether I


    was really hypnotized. While all their diagnoses showed the same result, it turned out that I was indeed


    hypnotized.¡± Toby fixed his gaze on the doctor. ¡°Are you sure, President Fuller?¡± Kurtis held his sses


    in surprise. ¡°I met the person who hypnotized me.¡± Toby gritted his teeth, his every word filled with rage


    and murderous intent. Kurtis expressed his curiosity. ¡°And who exactly was that?¡±


    Hypnotism was a magical yet dangerous art because of its capability of manipting a person¡¯s mind


    and erasing one¡¯s memory. In fact, some of the greatest hypnotists could even turn anyone into their


    mindless ves, which would make them nothing different from gods. Because of that, hypnosis was


    considered to be a form of ck magic that was prohibited in certain countries. At the same time, Toby


    was beginning to suspect that the person, who hypnotized him earlier, was among the world¡¯s greatest


    hypnotists due to his ability to keep his hypnotic effects undetected by so many psychiatrists.


    While there were only a handful of godlike hypnotists in the world, they were usually aged and old.


    Besides, most of them had even signed a pact to never use their knowledge and talent for the wrong


    course. Therefore, he desperately wanted to know which hypnotist had broken the pact bymitting


    the evil deed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but my men are investigating the matter. All I know is that he is young and¡­. handsome.¡±


    Toby knitted his eyebrows when he described the mysterious man¡¯s good looks. After all, it somehow


    felt weird for him topliment another man for his good looks. ¡°A young man?¡± Kurtis was stunned.


    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

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    Chapter 259


    Chapter 259 Tim¡¯s Senior,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°I¡¯m indeed telling you the truth, but that doesn¡¯t really matter. Anyway, there is something I want to ask


    you. Is a hypnotist capable of causing chest pain to their target?¡± Toby asked, staring at Kurtis. Kurtis


    responded with a low hum. ¡°Would you mind telling me more about it, President Fuller?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Toby


    nodded. ¡°I believe you can still remember how I described my fianc¨¦e to you, as well as the promises I


    made that I would protect and love her, right?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Kurtis nodded. Toby¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Here


    is what happened. In the past two days, I realized I felt intense chest pain when I didn¡¯t do as I


    promised.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, that was indeed a hypnotist¡¯s doing, but I want you to know that the pain you felt wasn¡¯t


    real. In fact, it was more like a psychological pain,¡± Kurtis looked at him and replied. ¡°A psychological


    pain¡­¡± Toby looked down in a preupied manner. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying the pain that I felt was caused


    by my mind and subconsciousness?¡± ¡°Exactly. Hypnotists may be good with what they do, but they are


    no gods, which makes it impossible for them to control anyone¡¯s pain reception. In fact, this is one of


    the ways to hypnotize a person, and it¡¯s called the ideomotor phenomenon, which only works on your


    mental consciousness.


    In your case, whoever did this to you just wants you to love your fianc¨¦e. If you don¡¯t do as instructed,


    you will suffer from intense chest pain.¡± Toby clenched his fists so hard that a popping sound could be


    heard from his finger joints. ¡°I see. Can you undo it?¡± ¡°I doubt I can. After all, I failed to even detect his


    hypnotist¡¯s influence in the first ce, so I don¡¯t think I can rid you of those effects. Therefore, I can


    only say that whoever did this to you was super talented and¡­ young! Wow! I can¡¯t believe that there¡¯s


    someone so good hiding among us!¡± Kurtis eximed. After hearing the doctor¡¯s reply, Toby had his


    face darkened. When Kurtis noticed that, he chuckled in embarrassment.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. I guess I got a little too carried away.¡± Oh man! I just made a fool out of


    myself. I was rubbing salt on his wound byplimenting the hypnotist who brainwashed him, wasn¡¯t


    I? Ugh! It¡¯s no wonder he doesn¡¯t seem so happy about it. Nevertheless, Toby only shot a cold gaze at


    Kurtis and asked, ¡°I have another question. Since you can¡¯t remove the hypnotist¡¯s influence from me,


    why does my chest pain go away whenever I¡¯m close to Sonia?¡± ¡°Who is Sonia?¡± Kurtis asked instead


    of answering Toby¡¯s question. ¡°The love of my life.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes seemed to be slightly friendlier.


    Kurtis raised his eyebrows. ¡°Are you referring to the one that you truly love instead of the one you¡¯re


    hypnotized to love?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded. Kurtis pondered for a short while and replied, ¡°Well, maybe


    it¡¯s a miracle. In fact, hypnotism has its fair share of limits, even though it may be able to do a lot of


    wonders. Sometimes, the power of love is far beyond one can imagine. Thanks to your love for her, you


    managed to subconsciously snap out of your influence when you were around Miss Reed, which is why


    I think your chest pain went away.¡±


    Toby jutted his chin in a preupied manner. ¡°Alright, I understand now. Thank you, Dr. Anderson.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Kurtis waved his hand. ¡°Tom, please see Dr. Anderson out.¡± Toby pinched his own


    nasal bridge. ¡°Sure.¡± Tom nodded and showed Kurtis the way. As both of them arrived at the door, Tom


    saw a familiar silhouette standing outside the ward. ¡°Dr. Lancaster, what brings you here?¡± ¡°I heard


    your boss has been admitted to the hospital, so I figured I should drop by and visit.¡± Tim calmly replied,


    his hands in his medical robe¡¯s pockets while having his eyes glued to Kurtis.


    Meanwhile, Toby, who heard Tim¡¯s voice, squinted and called out to his assistant. ¡°Tom, please let Tim


    come in.¡± Upon hearing his boss, Tom stepped aside and made way for the doctor. ¡°This way please,


    Dr. Lancaster. I¡¯ll have to see Dr. Anderson out now, so please excuse me.¡± While Tim chuckled and


    entered the ward, Toby squinted and fixed his eyes on him. ¡°You heard everything, didn¡¯t you?¡± Tim


    adjusted his sses and replied, ¡°I guess so. I heard that you were hypnotized to fall in love with Tina


    through the influence of the ideomotor phenomenon, whichpels you to care and show your


    affection to her. Honestly speaking, I¡¯m as shocked as everyone else would be upon hearing this.¡±


    ¡°So, are you going to tell that to Tina?¡± Toby¡¯s face darkened. This man has always been on the same


    side as Tina. Before I realized I was hypnotized and found out my true love, he was already not happy


    with me. Thus, I can¡¯t help but feel disgusted to see him show me his fake sympathy now. At the


    thought of that, Toby told himself that he mustn¡¯t let Tim know that someone hypnotized him because


    he feared that Tina could do the same thing and enve him to love her. Therefore, he swore to


    remove the hypnotic influence that remained within him as soon as possible. However, Tim seemed as


    if he could read Toby¡¯s mind while sluggishly leaning against the wall opposite thetter¡¯s bed.


    ¡°Rx, I won¡¯t bite. Besides, I¡¯m not going to tell Tina about everything we talk about here because she


    and I have history too.¡± Toby¡¯s expression remained the same as he sneered, ¡°Why should I believe


    you?¡± Tim shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t believe in me, but do you really think Tina


    isn¡¯t aware that you¡¯ve been hypnotized all this while?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes dted in horror when he heard


    that. At the sight of Toby¡¯s response, Tim smiled and said, ¡°I may be a physician, but I¡¯m also a brain


    and psychology specialist, so do you think I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that Sonia is the one you¡¯re in love


    with instead of Tina? In fact, I¡¯m not the only one who is aware of that. Tina also knows you don¡¯t love


    her at all.


    Anyway, now that I know you¡¯ve been hypnotized, this should exin why I was so bewildered


    previously when you seemed so confused about who you¡¯re in love with. After all, who would be that


    dumb?¡± Upon a brief pause, he added, ¡°When Tina woke up, I asked her whether she was afraid that


    you would find out that you didn¡¯t love her at all. Guess how she answered.¡± While Toby¡¯s face turned


    more and more cial, Tim went on and revealed the answer before he could say anything. ¡°She said


    no because she was confident that you wouldn¡¯t discover anything.


    Upon hearing that answer, I confusedly wondered why she was so confident, but after putting all the


    pieces together now, it all starts to add up that she could be referring to your hypnotic influence. I guess


    I¡¯m surprised to find out that she does know a hypnotist herself!¡± ¡°And you¡¯re aware of that too, aren¡¯t


    you? You¡¯re close with her after all.¡± Toby responded with a cial voice. Tim produced a scalpel from


    his pocket and fiddled with it like he was spinning a pen. ¡°She and I only started growing close to each


    other eight years ago, but how was I supposed to know her story before we met?¡±


    Toby looked down slightly, unsure whether he should believe Tim¡¯s words. A few secondster, he


    looked up and asked, ¡°Can you undo the hypnotic influence within me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to know who


    hypnotized you first because every hypnotist has a unique way of going about his or her hypnosis. If I


    were to remove the effects recklessly, it could cause damage to your mental health,¡± Tim exined.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good-looking man who did this to me,¡± Toby pursed his lips and answered. Tim, who was


    spinning his scalpel, paused and asked, ¡°A good-looking man? Does he have long hair?


    Was he wearing a white robe?¡± Toby¡¯s face changed after he heard Tim¡¯s response. ¡°You know him?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my senior!¡± Tim¡¯s expression eventually changed from an unconcerned look to a serious one. ¡°Your


    senior?¡± Toby clenched his fists. Tim responded with an affirmative hum. ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s likely him. If


    he was the one who hypnotized you, I don¡¯t think there is anything I can do. The most I can do is just


    help you keep the situation under control.¡± ¡°Even you can¡¯t remove the effect?¡± A surprised look shed


    across Toby¡¯s face. Tim nodded in response.


    ¡°My senior was born to be a hypnotist. Since he is gued with Schizoid Personality Disorder, there


    are no emotional feelings or traumas that can hurt or harm him, which makes it a lot easier for him to


    learn and practice hypnotism. By the time I was taken in by my mentor, he was already among the


    world¡¯s best hypnotists. With a snap, a simple eye contact, or anything as subtle as a few mere words,


    he can literally just control his victim¡¯s mind without anyone knowing.¡±

 Chapter 260

    Chapter 260


    Chapter 260 Zane¡¯s Challenge,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Tim then let out a sigh and said, ¡°Now that six years have passed, I think my senior is probably even


    better than my mentor now.¡± ¡°I see, but how did Tinae to know a hypnotist like him?¡± Toby


    probingly looked at the doctor. Tim continued to spin his scalpel. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say I don¡¯t know? But


    anyway, I¡¯m curious to know more about it.¡± As Tim didn¡¯t look like he was lying, Toby only knitted his


    eyebrows in a preupied manner. Hmm. Even Tim doesn¡¯t know anything about the matter. Perhaps


    there is indeed more than meets the eye about Tina.


    Soon, Tom returned, whereupon Toby instructed his assistant to investigate Tim¡¯s senior and told him


    about the mysterious culprit who hypnotized them. Meanwhile, Tim watched everything in silence


    without interfering with the two men throughout their discussion. After all, he and his senior shared a


    rather strained rtionship with each other, which was why he decided to just stand by and allow Toby


    to investigate his senior. When Tom left, Toby looked at Tim and said, ¡°Now, please help me gain


    control over my hypnotic influence.¡± ¡°Of course, but I¡¯m going to charge double.


    After all, this job is off the books, so if I get caught, I¡¯m going to get penalized with a pay-cut,¡± Tim


    yfully replied. Toby shot a cold gaze at him. ¡°You won¡¯t be disappointed.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Tim put


    away his scalpel. An hourter, Toby came to his senses after Tim snapped his fingers. When he


    opened his eyes, he felt so relieved and peaceful in the depths of his mind. At that moment, he knew


    Tim had already seized control of his hypnotic influence. ¡°Thank you.¡± Toby looked at Tim and


    expressed his gratitude. After that, Tim copsed onto the chair in exhaustion, his face covered in


    sweat. ¡°Nothing speaks louder than money, so show me your gratitude by paying me right. Moreover,


    I¡¯d like to remind you that I have only seized control of your hypnotic influence temporarily.


    The effect still remains in your body, so you might want to avoid meeting up with Tina as much as


    possible to make sure you won¡¯t lose control of yourself.¡± Toby replied with an affirmative hum to signify


    his acknowledgment. However, the next thing that came out of Tim¡¯s mouth shocked him like a bolt


    from the blue. ¡°By the way, when I was trying to gain control over your hypnotic influence, I realized aText content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    part of your memory has been locked away.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Anxiety was written all over Toby¡¯s face. Even


    my memory is being locked away! Is that the reason why I¡¯ve been having headaches all the time


    recently?


    Soon, he asked, ¡°Can you undo it?¡± Tim grunted coldly and answered, ¡°I would have unlocked your


    memories and asked to be paid more if I knew how to do it. Only my senior can reverse the effects, so


    capture him and make him do it for you.¡± He then waved his hand and left the ward tiredly. On the other


    hand, Toby only looked down, hiding his expression while radiating a cold aura that made the entire


    atmosphere in the ward feel oppressive. After all, he couldn¡¯t believe that someone actually locked


    away his memories, as if being controlled by some hypnotic influence wasn¡¯t bad enough.


    What a move, Tina! Meanwhile, Zane was about to help put away the dishes after finishing his meal at


    Bayside Residence. At the same time, Sonia stood at the kitchen¡¯s entrance and watched him wash the


    dish. ¡°I thought a rich toff like you had zero idea about doing house chores.¡± ¡°Come on. I¡¯ve been in the


    military, so what makes you think I don¡¯t know how to handle these simple house chores.¡± Zane


    bragged. ¡°You¡¯ve been in the military?¡± Sonia sounded surprised. After washing the dishes, Zane


    proceeded to ce them into the disinfection cab. ¡°Of course. I was in the army for years, in fact. If


    it weren¡¯t for something that came up, I would still probably be serving the army.¡±


    When Sonia heard that, a sad look shed across her face before she decided not to ask further. After


    all, she wasn¡¯t a busybody who loved to pry into someone else¡¯s sad story. Suddenly, her phone rang,


    and she headed to the living room and picked it up from the table to answer the call. When the call


    ended two minutester, Zane curiously asked, ¡°Who was it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s from the embassy. They called to


    inform me about my visa¡¯s approval.¡± Sonia ced her phone on the table. ¡°Are you flying abroad?¡±


    Zane raised his eyebrows. ¡°Yup, for my abortion,¡± Sonia stretched herself while answering the man¡¯s


    question.


    Zane curled his lips upward. ¡°Wow! You¡¯re pretty straightforward.¡± Sonia smiled and asked, ¡°What do


    you expect otherwise? I¡¯m tired of beating around the bush.¡± ¡°Well, you have a point, but why must you


    fly abroad for an abortion?¡± Zane expressed his confusion. Then, the smile on Sonia¡¯s face faded away


    as she proceeded to tell him about the incident that had happened in the hospital earlier. Upon hearing


    her story, Zane mmed the table angrily and cursed those people who tried to hurt her. ¡°These people


    should go to hell! Does human life mean nothing to them?!¡±


    Feeling mad at Tim, Zane reproved him for what he did to Sonia. Shame on you, Tim! You¡¯re a


    dishonorable doctor who has no sense of morality and professionalism at all. ¡°Thank God you¡¯re


    alright!¡± Zane gazed at Sonia with a concerned look. Sonia held the ss of water in her hand and took


    a sip. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m grateful that I survived that, actually.¡± Deep down, she had Tim to thank, or she would


    have been encased in a box and buried underground if he hadn¡¯t discovered the red mole on her wrist


    in time. ¡°Tim mustn¡¯t go unpunished for what he did to you.


    If he could kill someone so easily, his hands must be dirty, so I think we should do some digging on


    him!¡± Zane squinted and said. Sonia handed him a ss of water and said, ¡°I¡¯ll count on you for that,


    then.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Zane patted his chest confidently with a smile. After both of them continued their


    pleasant chat for a few moments, Zane excused himself and left Bayside Residence. However, he


    didn¡¯t head home right away but instead drove to the hospital. Meanwhile, Toby was sitting on the bed


    with the drip attached to his hand and aptop on hisp while typing. Not long after that, Zane arrived


    and knocked on the door.


    ¡°Wow! I have to admit that I really like your fighting spirit! You¡¯re lying in the hospital, yet you¡¯re still


    working so hard. Thus, you definitely have my respect for that.¡± ¡°What brings you here?¡± Toby paused


    what he was doing and looked up, speaking with a cial voice. ¡°I¡¯m here to visit, obviously.¡± Zane


    raised and showed the basket of fruits he was holding before entering the ward. ¡°How did you know I¡¯m


    here?¡± Toby knitted his eyebrows. ¡°I saw you faint outside Sonia¡¯s doorstep with my own eyes. In fact, I


    even helped urge your assistant to take you to the hospital.


    After all, that¡¯s what a true friend does, right?¡± Zane put down the fruits with a smiling face, as if he had


    an ulterior motive. In the meantime, Toby clenched his fists on the keyboard, knowing Zane was


    intentionally telling him that he saw him at Sonia¡¯s ce. Thus, he closed hisptop and asked, ¡°Why


    did you swing by Sonia¡¯s apartment sote at night?¡± Zane grabbed a chair and sat down. ¡°Well, that


    was something between me and her. What about you? Why were you at Sonia¡¯s doorstep at such an


    ungodly hour? Aren¡¯t you afraid that Tina would find out about that?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether she knows about it because we¡¯re going to call off our engagement anyway,¡±


    Toby ced hisptop on the nightstand and coldly said. Zane¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°And then


    what? You¡¯re going to win Sonia¡¯s heart back and remarry her?¡± Toby was able to tell that his friend


    was mad, so he coldly pursed his lips. ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern.¡± ¡°I beg to differ. Don¡¯t forget, Toby.


    You promised me that you would stay out of the way when I¡¯m trying to date Sonia, so what exactly


    were you doing confessing to her at her doorstep?¡± Zane stood up. Toby calmly met his eyes and said,


    ¡°Yes, I love her, which is why I¡¯m going to win her heart once again and remarry her! But you! You knew


    Tina isn¡¯t the one I¡¯m in love with, so you and I are both clearly aware of what you¡¯re actually up to for


    telling me all those things!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Zane gulped and clenched his fists. ¡°Yes, I admit that the reason I said those things is that I¡¯ve


    been nning to stop you should you ever go back on your words to woo Sonia, but I didn¡¯t expect this


    day toe so soon. Moreover, you made a promise to me, so aren¡¯t you ashamed of breaking it


    now?¡±

 Chapter 261

    Chapter 261


    Chapter 261 Let Go,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Toby¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°I did promise you, but I only promised not to stop you, and I didn¡¯t promise you


    that I wouldn¡¯t remarry Sonia.¡± ¡°You!¡± Zane¡¯s face contorted with anger. But soon, he regained his


    composure. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re really good at finding loopholes, but do you think Sonia will agree to remarry


    you?¡± Toby¡¯s thin lips twitched, but he did not answer. When Zane saw this, he gave a mocking smile.


    ¡°Look, you yourself do not have the confidence to answer this question. Then I¡¯ll answer it for you.


    Sonia will not remarry you, so you better put a stop to all your unrealistic ideas before it is toote.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think that Sonia won¡¯t?¡± Toby looked at him with an expressionless face. ¡°Because of


    what you¡¯ve done to her these past six years!¡± Zane crossed his arms and continued in a cold voice,


    ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten the neglect you¡¯ve given Sonia these past six years, have you? So, what


    qualifications do you have to remarry her? Just because you found out that you were in love with her?


    Toby, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s ridiculous?¡± Listening to his words, Toby clenched his fists. Yes, he did not


    deny what he had done to Sonia in the past. But now that he knew he was wrong, he would make it up


    to her twice as much. Zane did not know what Toby was thinking, so he rubbed his temples.


    ¡°Toby, seriously, I think you are very unworthy of her, you know? When you don¡¯t love her, you neglect


    her. Now that you love her, you want her back. What do you take her for? A dog thates and goes


    when instructed?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed in displeasure at him. ¡°This is just your own opinion!¡± ¡°Yes, this


    is my opinion, but isn¡¯t that the truth? If you don¡¯t love Sonia, why did you agree to marry her? She had


    said that as long as you refuse, she won¡¯t force you, but you didn¡¯t refuse, did you?¡± Zane looked at


    him before adding, ¡°Since you did not refuse, you agreed. However, after the marriage, you did not


    care about her and even allowed her to be bullied by your family. In fact, even you yourself were one of


    the bullies.


    At that time, she loved you so much. Do you know how much you hurt her with the way you treated


    her?¡± Toby¡¯s thin lips were tightly pursed as he did not speak. He knew, of course he knew. He still


    remembered that when they first got married, she had looked at him with such bright eyes that shone


    with light. Gradually, the light in her eyes disappeared, and her eyes turned dull. Even her whole being


    was like a walking dead. But what did he do at that time? Instead of being concerned about why and


    how she became like that, he felt annoyed looking at her! It was he who had done wrong by Sonia!


    Thinking of this, Toby felt his heart constrict with pain. Seeing that Toby didn¡¯t say anything, Zane


    sighed.


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s all the damage you¡¯ve done to Sonia?¡± Toby¡¯s eyelids trembled slightly. Zane


    continued, ¡°When Tina woke up, you actually proposed to have Sonia move out of Fuller Residence


    just to make room for Tina. At that time, you two had not yet divorced, and Sonia was still your wife.


    Still, you told your legal wife to make room for a third party. Even those yboys like Peter Southfield


    won¡¯t do something so outrageous, yet you, a person who has received elite education before, actually


    did it.¡± Then, Zane chuckled before adding, ¡°Toby, do you know that when I heard this, I was so


    confused to the point that I thought you were afflicted by some kind of demon. The most important thing


    is that by doing this, you caused great pain to Sonia.¡±


    ¡°That was not my intention!¡± Toby snapped back. However, he knew in his heart that whether


    hypnotized or not, there was no denying that these things, indeed, were done by him. Zane shook his


    head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. What does it matter now? All these months, Tina had repeatedly tried to harm


    Sonia, but you did nothing to help. So, what right do you have to get Sonia back and remarry her?


    Toby, let her go. It took her a long time to move on, so why don¡¯t you respect that?¡± ¡°So, this is your real


    purpose after telling me all this? You just want me to let go of her and not hinder your attempt in


    pursuing her.¡±


    Toby snickered and looked at him. Zane lowered his head andughed. ¡°You¡¯re right, I do have this


    purpose, but other than that, I¡¯m trying to speak up for her. Anyway, Toby, are you sure you can protect


    her after you remarry her? Think about your mother, Tina, and the Gray Family. Unless you remove all


    these people, you can¡¯t protect her. You will only make her suffer again, so think about it.¡± After saying


    that, Zane patted Toby¡¯s shoulder and said goodbye. When he walked to the door, he saw Rose and


    Mary. He was first shocked, and then he was about to open his mouth to say hello when Rose shook


    her head at him.


    Zane smiled understandingly and walked away. Only then did the olddy push open the door and


    enter. ¡°Toby.¡± ¡°Grandma, you¡¯re here.¡± Toby put down his hand that was kneading his brow and spoke


    with a somewhat hoarse voice. The olddy sat down by the hospital bed and said, ¡°Tom said that you


    have a fever, so I came over to check on you. But I didn¡¯t expect to hear your conversation with Zane.


    Toby, did you really fall in love with Sonia?¡± ¡°The person I love has always been her and only her,¡± Toby


    replied with downcast eyes. Whether it was Maple or Sonia, both were the same person. He fell in love


    with Maple first and then with Sonia. He had fallen in love with her twice! The olddy listened to Toby¡¯s


    answer without the slightest surprise on her face, as if she had known it all along.


    At that, Toby¡¯s heart sank. Sure enough, everyone knew that he was in love with Sonia, but no one told


    him. If someone told him, he would be able to understand earlier and find out that he was hypnotized


    before. He tightly pursed his thin lips in deep thought. The olddy sighed. ¡°Previously, I told you that


    you should not regret what you did. You said you would never regret it, but now¡­¡± Toby felt as if he


    had been pped hard and that his face felt hot and painful. Yes, in the beginning, his grandmother


    had advised him not to divorce and to live well with Sonia, but he did not listen.


    His grandmother told him he should not regret what he did, yet he was steadfast at that time that he


    would not regret it. I shouldn¡¯t have done any of those things! How could I?! Toby¡¯s heart hurt


    unbearably. The olddy noticed the change in his emotions and patted the back of his hand. ¡°Toby, it¡¯s


    toote to regret now. Listen to Zane and let her go.¡± ¡°No!¡± Toby refused with a gloomy expression. ¡°I¡¯ve


    loved her for more than ten years; how can I let go?¡± ¡°More than ten years? Didn¡¯t you and Sonia meet


    only six years ago? How can there be more than ten years?¡± The olddy was confused.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Toby clenched his fists and looked at her. ¡°Grandma, Sonia was my pen pal.¡± ¡°What?¡± The olddy was


    stunned. ¡°She is your pen pal, so Tina is a fake?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± At the mention of Tina, a trace of anger and


    hatred shed in Toby¡¯s eyes, and he gritted his teeth hard. ¡°She impersonated Sonia!¡± The olddy


    took a while to calm her feelings and patted her chest. ¡°No wonder Tina doesn¡¯t even know what


    flowers you like.


    It turns out that she¡¯s a fake. And you! You manage such a hugepany and yet couldn¡¯t tell if your


    pen pal is real or fake!¡± The olddy simply rolled her eyes at Toby. That woman, Tina, really did


    something as shameless as this! If Toby had found out earlier that Sonia was the real deal, their child


    would probably be able to walk by now!

 Chapter 262

    Chapter 262


    Chapter 262 A Midnight Scare,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    The more Rose thought about it, the more she was upset. It was true that none from the Gray Family


    was good! Toby lowered his eyelids, hiding the look under his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s my fault that I didn¡¯t find out


    about it.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to tell his grandmother about him being hypnotized. At such an old age,


    anything could happen to her. Upon hearing that, she sighed and solemnly looked at him. ¡°So, are you


    sure you want Sonia to return to your side now?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Toby narrowed his eyes and nodded. ¡°I have


    loved her for more than ten years. How can I willingly let her go?


    She can only be mine!¡± He spoke with the utmost confidence. At the same time, it also illustrated his


    determination to win the battle. The olddy was silent for a moment before she eventually agreed with


    him. After all, it was her own grandson. Of course she also wanted him to have a good life. ¡°Since you


    have made up your mind, then you should show all your sincerity and heart to impress Sonia and


    convince her to forgive you. Of course, you can¡¯t force her to make a decision. Otherwise, I will disown


    you!¡± Rose¡¯s expression was portentous as she looked at Toby. Toby met her gaze with all seriousness.


    ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Then, you should have a good rest while I return home first.¡±


    Rose stood up with the help of her crutches as Mary rushed to support her. Soon, the two left the ward


    under his watchful eye. Outside the ward, Rose asked Mary to release her grip. Then, Rose took out


    her phone to dial Sonia¡¯s number. Seems like I have to help them. Soon, the phone rang before Sonia¡¯s


    yawning voice greeted, ¡°Grandma, it¡¯s sote now. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Sonia, did I disturb your


    sleep?¡± Rose then remembered that it was already the middle of the night and apologized for her


    negligence. Sonia turned on the light and sat up in bed. As she leaned against the headboard, she


    replied, ¡°No, I just went to bed. So, I¡¯m not quite asleep yet.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡±


    The olddy nodded, but she sounded hesitant. As she sensed that Rose was about to say something,


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Grandma, if you have anything to say, just say it. There¡¯s no need to hide anything from


    me.¡± The olddy touched the head of her crutches, her face filled with a bitter smile. ¡± Sonia, Toby¡­¡±


    Sonia understood what Rose meant as her eyelids drooped. ¡°Grandma, are you trying to say that


    President Fuller loves me?¡± ¡°Sonia, how did you know that?¡± Rose stared into the distance in surprise.


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched.


    ¡°It¡¯s because he has already said it to me three hours ago.¡± ¡°Then, what do you think, Sonia?¡± Rose


    asked. Sonia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I just think it¡¯s fake because I¡¯ve been married to him for


    six years, but he¡¯s never loved me, not even after the divorce. Suddenly, out of no blue today, he


    comes and tells me that he loves me? I don¡¯t think anyone would believe it.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Rosemented.


    ¡°Sonia, Toby didn¡¯t lie to you, though. What he said is true. He really loves you.¡± Sonia merely thought


    that Rose had not dismissed the idea of setting her up with Toby, so Sonia ruffled her hair and replied,


    ¡°Well, it¡¯ste. Hurry up and have some rest. Don¡¯t stay upte. Anyway, I¡¯m also a bit tired.


    So, I¡¯lle to see you some other day. Good night.¡± It was after she said those words that she hung


    up. The olddy tore the phone away from her ear with a helpless sigh. Mary asked, ¡°She doesn¡¯t


    believe it?¡± ¡°Who would?¡± Rose gave a bitter smile. ¡°Sonia obviously doesn¡¯t really want to talk about


    such things either. It¡¯s the first time she¡¯s hung up on me in such a hurry.¡± Maryughed. ¡°That¡¯s true.


    Considering how Young Master Toby has treated her before, it¡¯s normal for her not to believe it.¡± ¡°I was


    thinking of helping Toby out by putting in a good word for him with Sonia, but now it seems that I¡¯m


    useless.


    Toby will have to impress her on his own in the future,¡± Rose spoke in a resigned tone as she kept her


    phone away. Mary assisted her while saying, ¡°You should not worry about it. This is a matter between


    them; let them handle it themselves.¡± ¡°You are right; it¡¯s the affairs of the young. I, an old woman, have


    been interfering too much. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll hate me if I were to interfere further. Let¡¯s head back,¡± Rose


    acknowledged with a smile. Meanwhile, over at the Bayside Residence, Sonia also kept her phone


    away as her eyebrows were furrowed.


    Three hours ago, Toby came to her door and confessed his love for her and now, Rose was calling to


    tell her this too. What exactly does Toby want? If he wants to y a prank on me, why did he bring


    Grandma into it? As Sonia was thinking hard, she suddenly saw a light shing from the French


    windows opposite her bed. The light was so strong that it shone through the curtains. What is it? Sonia


    lifted the nket and got out of bed to walk to the window. Finally, she pulled the curtain open at one


    go. At that moment, she was so shocked that she screamed and released the curtain before she


    hurriedly took two steps back.


    A frightening and huge skeleton was reflected against the ss door! However, Sonia soon found out


    that it was fake and merely an image produced by the projection on the ss. Upon realizing this, she


    was greatly relieved and the fear inside her gradually disappeared. Next came her anger. This is the


    second time! She thought she had imagined it thest time around. Sonia closed her eyes and exhaled


    before she opened the door and walked out. She wanted to see who had done it! As she stood on the


    balcony, she lowered her head and looked down.


    The man below saw her and he hastily turned off the projection. Next, he hid the projector in his clothes


    before he wore his cap. Then, he lowered his head and ran away at a fast pace. As he had fled at such


    speed and she was above him, she could not see his face. Only by the shape of the body could she


    discern that it was a man. She did not know whether this was a prank or a deliberate threat, but she


    would not let that person off the hook. Thinking of this, Sonia retreated into her room and called the


    property management to inform them. Soon, the property management hurriedly sent security guards


    to search for that person. However, the result was unfortunate as the person had already run away and


    was not caught.


    Sonia was not too surprised; she had guessed it and directly asked the property management to call


    the police and leave the matter to them. After this mess, she waspletely awake until the second


    half of the night and only barely fell asleep after. However, the next morning, she was woken up by the


    phone again. This time, it was Tim calling. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked in a light voice while she walked


    toward the washroom without putting on her shoes. Instead, she stepped on the carpet with her bare


    feet. He didn¡¯t mind her being cold at all. His voice was gentle as he informed her, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the


    last time at the hotel that Tina asked me to deal with you?


    Today is the day when I will make my move, but don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do it. The person whom I will make


    my move on is Tina. Are you interested ining to watch?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes narrowed for a moment


    before she asked him instead, ¡°How do you n to deal with Tina?¡± Tim didn¡¯t hide the truth from her


    either. ¡°Tina wants to have someone destroy you. She wants to make a video and post it on the


    Inte as well as some profit-making websites so that your reputation will be in tatters.¡± ¡°What?¡± Her


    eyebrows were tightly furrowed.


    Not only did Tina want someone to ruin her, Tina also wanted to make a video and post it on the


    Inte. Such viciousness is simply too much! He listened to Sonia¡¯s slightly ragged breathing and


    knew how angry she was at the moment. He pushed his sses up his nose bridge and soothed,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just said that I won¡¯t do this to you. So, I will only do this to her.¡± She pursed her lips.


    ¡°Really? Then, I¡¯ll wait for your good news.¡± ¡°Noting to watch?¡±


    Tim raised his eyebrows. Sonia faintly responded, ¡°No, it¡¯s better not to watch something as terrible as


    that.¡± She didn¡¯t know whether this was a joint n by Tim and Tina to target her, so it was best for her


    not to head over there. Tim sighed with some regret. ¡°Okay, I originally wanted you to witness Tina¡¯s


    downfall, but you made a good choice too. After all, it will dirty your sight. In that case, I¡¯ll hang up first.


    When things are done, I¡¯ll let you know.¡±N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.

 Chapter 263

    Chapter 263


    Chapter 263 Miles¡¯ Past,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia ignored him and directly hung up on the call. On the other end, Tim looked at the phone interface


    that returned to the main menu and pushed his sses up. He was not surprised because he had


    always known that she didn¡¯t believe him. Thus, it was normal for her to have this attitude. As he kept


    the phone away, he crossed his knees and looked at the person on the opposite couch. ¡°She¡¯s not


    going to watch.¡± ¡°I heard that.¡± Carl sipped his tea and nodded slightly. Tim¡¯s sses reflected the light


    as he asked, ¡°Do you really want to go against Tina with me?¡±


    ¡°She bullied Sonia, so I naturally won¡¯t let her off the hook. Besides, you¡¯re a doctor and I¡¯m a hacker. I


    can help you to clear up any loose ends. Isn¡¯t that good?¡± Carl raised his head to meet Tim¡¯s gaze. Tim


    smiled a little. ¡°That¡¯s true; let¡¯s work together then.¡± Without saying anything, Carl ced his teacup on


    the table and rose to his feet as he prepared to leave. Tim suddenly said to Carl¡¯s back, ¡°Your mental


    illness is very serious. It¡¯s better to seek medical treatment as soon as possible; otherwise, you will ruin


    yourself if this continues!¡± Carl paused in his steps, but he didn¡¯t turn around. He only replied with a


    cold voice, ¡°You don¡¯t need to care about that!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to care about you either.


    I only care about Sonia and if you still don¡¯t treat your condition, you will not only ruin yourself, but also


    hurt Sonia. I hope you understand this.¡± Tim stood up as well. As he clenched his fists on both sides of


    his body, Carl¡¯s lips moved as if he wanted to say something. In the end, however, he said nothing and


    left. Tim spun his scalpel, his eyes obscure and uncertain. As a part-time psychiatrist, he was well


    aware that Carl was sickly. Although Carl had hid it well to avoid people from noticing it, he would


    be a different person altogether once he chose not to suppress it or if he was stimted by


    something. And his obsession was Sonia. In order to have her, he was likely to do things like


    imprisoning her.


    Of course, with Tim around, he wouldn¡¯t allow Carl the chance to do that. He would keep an eye on


    Carl; once Carl dared to make a move on her, he would turn Carl into a living specimen. No matter how


    powerful Carl was, he couldn¡¯t defeat Tim as someone who was born a cold-blooded psychopath! Tim¡¯s


    lips coolly curled upward. Then, he rose to his feet once again, picked up his medical folder and began


    to round the ward. When he arrived at Toby¡¯s ward, he knocked on the door. Toby was in the midst of


    tying his tie. Upon ncing at the door and noticing that it was Tim, he had no interest in greeting the


    man. However, Tim didn¡¯t mind Toby¡¯s reaction. While leaning against the door with his arms folded, he


    asked Toby, ¡°Ready to leave the hospital?¡±


    Toby gave a faint hmph. ¡°Just in time. There¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡± Tim looked at him. While


    pinning his diamond clip on his tie, Toby answered, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Tina¡¯s dissociative identity disorder is


    fake,¡± Tim replied. Toby¡¯s eyes shed, but there was not much expression on his end. A slightly


    surprised Tim narrowed his eyes. ¡°You seem to already know about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve guessed it before.¡± Toby


    turned around to address Tim. It exined why he wasn¡¯t extremely shocked when he heard Tim¡¯s


    words. Then, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants and coldly looked at Tim. ¡°It was you who


    first diagnosed that she has dissociative identity disorder, right?¡± Tim shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°I admit that it was my fault. As I had a good rtionship with her before, I would naturally help her with


    what she wanted, as well as Dr. Steve, whom I also bribed.¡± Even after Toby heard the exnation, he


    still did not react much. He had already guessed the truth when he was sure that Tina was indeed not


    suffering from dissociative identity disorder. ¡°It seems that you have really cut off ties with Tina.¡± His


    voice was clear and cold. A storm danced in Tim¡¯s eyes as he borated, ¡°I treated her well because I


    thought she saved my life, but I didn¡¯t expect my real savior to be someone else. She knew that I was


    wrong, but she didn¡¯t tell me. Instead, she enjoyed my help without feeling any guilt.


    Tell me, how could I not cut off ties with her?¡± Only then did Toby understand that the good rtionship


    Tim and Tina enjoyed was the result of this. Of course, what was even more ironic to Toby was that she


    was actually a repeat offender who assumed the identities of other people! Not only did she


    impersonate Sonia, but she also impersonated Tim¡¯s savior, which was really disgusting. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell


    me Tina¡¯s true nature before and you¡¯re only telling me now. What exactly is your purpose?¡± Toby


    probed Tim. There was no way he believed that Tim acted with good intentions. First of all, they weren¡¯t


    well acquainted with each other and secondly, Tim was aplicated man who never did anything in


    kindness without expecting any benefits in return.


    Tim smiled. ¡°I do have a purpose, but I can¡¯t tell you about it now. When I need a favor, I will ask it from


    you. Well, your assistant is rushing over, so there should be something important for him to tell you.


    You guys take your time to talk. I¡¯ll make my rounds in the other areas first.¡± With that, he released


    Toby¡¯s arm and headed toward the next ward. It was seconds after he left that Tom appeared at the


    door. ¡°President Fuller!¡± Tom shouted in between ragged breaths. Toby wrinkled his brows. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I have discovered Dr. Lancaster¡¯s senior.


    Apart from that, I even found out how Tina and his senior met.¡± Tom took a deep breath. As his pupils


    contracted for a moment, it led to Toby¡¯s expression sinking at the same time. ¡°Speak clearly!¡± ¡°Yes.¡±


    Tom nodded before he slowly continued, ¡°Dr. Lancaster¡¯s senior is a man called Miles Snyder. Since he


    was born with Schizoid Personality Disorder, his parents brought him abroad to receive treatment from


    a psychiatrist when he was young. Then, he was epted as a disciple by the hypnosis master,


    Jason.¡± Toby pursed his thin lips. ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°When Miles Snyder was 10 years old, his parents both died in a car ident, leaving him with only a


    younger brother, Quentin, who was three years younger than him. Quentin was the most important


    person whom Miles mentioned, but more importantly, he was also Tina¡¯s ex-boyfriend.¡± Tom looked at


    him. ¡°Ex-boyfriend?!¡± Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Yes, Quentin returned to the country when he was 18


    years old. As he was blessed with handsome looks, Tina actively pursued him and the two were


    together for 3 years. She then took the initiative to break up with him before she posed as Miss Reed to


    meet up with you,¡± Tom borated. Upon hearing Tom¡¯s report, Toby¡¯s expression was icy cold. ¡°Where


    is Quentin now?¡± ¡°Dead.¡± ¡°Dead?!¡± Toby was slightly stunned. Tom nodded.


    ¡°He also died in a car ident. It is said that while he was trying to win Tina back, he was hit by a car


    when he was crossing the road.¡± Toby lowered his eyelids and did not speak. No wonder when heText content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    asked Miles to hypnotize Tina that night so that she and Quentin could be together, Miles said that it


    was toote. It turned out that Quentin had already died six years ago. ¡°In fact, Quentin did not die on


    the spot. He was in the hospital for three days before he died. Miles had returned to the country before


    Quentin¡¯s death. Since Quentin knew he could not win Tina¡¯s heart, he wanted to give her what she


    wanted. After that, Miles hypnotized you so that you¡¯ll subconsciously think that you love Tina while


    believing that she is Maple.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I can¡¯t find any ws in Tina!¡± Toby clenched his fists. Tom sighed. ¡°Yes, not only you, but


    myself, your mother, grandmother and Young Master Tyler. All of us who knew about Maple all fell


    victim to his ruse. When Miles worked his magic on us, he made us forget that we had seen him as


    well. We didn¡¯t even know that we had been drugged all this while.¡± As he said that, he felt a little


    afraid. Luckily Miles had only charmed them not to suspect Tina¡¯s identity. If the five of them had been


    hypnotized to the point of suicide or leaking important secrets of the Fuller Group, the consequences


    would be unimaginable.

 Chapter 264

    Chapter 264


    Chapter 264 You Owe Me Your Life,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Toby had also obviously thought of this, so his expression darkened as he looked at Tom and asked,


    ¡°How did you find out about all these?¡± ¡°After I discovered Miles¡¯ identity, I found Master Jason. Since


    Miles has great respect for Master Jason, Miles contacted me to personally inform me this after Master


    Jason contacted him. Furthermore, Master Jason mentioned that he will punish Miles, who broke the


    contract behind his back, and will not disappoint you,¡± Tom answered. Toby pursed his lips. ¡°What kind


    of punishment?¡± If it¡¯s too light, don¡¯t me me for personally taking action.


    ¡°It seems to be some type of confinement for three years. I heard that the confinement for hypnotists is


    made up of a small dark room with no windows, no bright light, no one to talk to, and no electronic


    equipment or entertainment facilities. Those who are locked up there will feel like they are entering a


    completely silent world. Even if the hypnotist¡¯s psychological strength is strong, he may not withstand


    the darkness and lose his sanity,¡± Tom exined in fear. Toby¡¯s thin lips hooked upward as he


    answered, ¡°This is good; I am satisfied.¡± He was really looking forward to hearing the news that Miles


    had lost his marbles. ¡°Did Master Jason say when he will have Milese over to break the


    hypnosis?¡±


    he asked again. Tom pushed his sses up and replied, ¡°Of course. Miles is in the country right now,


    so he probably wille over tomorrow. After breaking your hypnosis, he will then return to


    confinement.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of the hospital then.¡± Now that he knew that Miles


    would be able to remove the hypnosis tomorrow, Toby was finally in a better mood. He simply craved


    an opportunity to quickly appear in front of Sonia and confess about them being pen pals in the past.


    With that thought, he walked toward the elevator while taking out his phone and texted her, ¡®Where are


    you now?¡¯


    He didn¡¯t call or send a text message; rather, he posed his question through Messenger because he


    knew that once she saw that it was a text message from him, she would definitely ignore it. However,


    using Z-H¡¯s Messenger was a different experience altogether. As expected, when Sonia saw the


    message sent by Z-H at Paradigm Co., she truthfully answered since the other party was the collector


    of more than a billion of their debt¡ªalthough she was unable to understand why the sender was asking


    where she was. Toby¡¯s eyes shed as he typed, ¡®Nothing.¡¯ She looked at the single word in


    perplexity. What is going on? He¡¯s not bored and trying to make small talk with me, right? With a shake


    of her head, she kept her phone away and continued to work.


    As for him, he did not say anything more and entered the elevator. The purpose of his inquiry was


    merely to find out her current location. Everything else could be saidter when they met. Soon, he got


    out of the elevator and arrived at the parking lot. He was just about to enter the car when a sobbing


    female voice suddenly approached him. ¡°Toby¡­¡± Toby frowned as he turned around and looked at


    Tina, who was standing across the street. His expression did not change in the slightest as he asked,


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Tina squeezed her hands, took two steps forward and looked at him with a


    pair of red and swollen eyes. ¡°Toby, I¡¯m here to apologize to you.¡± ¡°Apologize for what?¡±


    He was still expressionless. She sniffed. ¡°It¡¯s about me impersonating Sonia. Toby, I really know that


    I¡¯m in the wrong. Will you forgive me, for m-my¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already said thisst night,¡± he interrupted


    her in a cold voice. Her mouth twitched for a moment, but she quickly returned to her tearful look from


    earlier. ¡°Toby, can you not be so cold to me? I-I¡¯m really scared.¡± ¡°You¡¯re scared? What does that have


    to do with me?¡± Toby quietly looked at her. When Tina saw this indifferent look of his, irritation surged in


    her heart, but on the surface, she was sad and upset. ¡°I know you are ming me for impersonating


    Miss Reed, but¡ª¡± ¡°Not only did you impersonate her, you also repeatedly tried to get her killed!¡±


    Toby once again interrupted her words with undisguised disgust and killing intent in his eyes. When


    Tina saw that, her heart felt like it was being squeezed by someone and she was pale with fear. In a


    guilty voice, she exined, ¡°That wasn¡¯t me. It¡¯s my other personality that did it. Toby, even though I¡¯ve


    impersonated Sonia and lied to you, we¡¯ve been together for so long and you should know me. How


    could I try to get anyone killed?¡± Toby sneered, ¡°No, I never knew you. I know Maple, but are you


    Maple? And up till now you still pretend that you have dissociative identity disorder. You think I didn¡¯t


    know that you never suffered from it at all?¡± Tina¡¯s pupils shrunk and her expression violently changed


    as if she couldn¡¯t believe that he even knew this. Then, he stretched out with his hand and squeezed


    her face so hard that it was distorted.


    ¡°Tina, I know everything that you did. I hate deception and you not only deceive me, but also


    repeatedly hurt the people I really love. The reason why I am not dealing with you now is not that I want


    to let you off the hook, but there are some things that have not been solved yet. Once I have solved


    them, your days will be over.¡± She stared at him in horror. ¡°Y-You want to take revenge for Sonia?¡± ¡°You


    hurt her; should I not avenge her? All those things you did should be punished, shouldn¡¯t they?¡± He


    flung her away in disgust. Tina covered her sore face and took two steps back. Then, she violently


    shook her head. ¡°No, you can¡¯t do this to me, Toby. You can¡¯t!¡± she screamed in a shrill voice. Toby


    sneered, ¡°Why can¡¯t I?


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Who do you think you are? You¡¯re just a fake!¡± Upon hearing him say this about her, she felt angry and


    hateful as she clenched her fists and answered, ¡°Because I¡¯m your savior!¡± ¡°What?¡± His face changed


    slightly. ¡°You are my savior?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She smiled smugly and pointed at his heart. ¡°6 years ago, when


    you couldn¡¯t find a suitable heart in time and were about to die, it was me who provided you with a


    transnted heart. Do you know whose heart you have in your chest now?¡± Toby¡¯s face turned ugly. 6


    years ago, he had a congenital heart attack where his heartpletely failed, so he could no longer


    continue to work and had to have his heart reced first.


    However, after searching for a long time, he couldn¡¯t find a suitable heart. Yet, just when he was about


    to die, the hospital suddenly informed him that a suitable heart had been found and he survived after


    being on the verge of death. He always thought it was his good luck that had enabled him to


    sessfully obtain the heart at thest moment of his life, but he didn¡¯t expect that the heart actually


    had something to do with Tina. Upon seeing Toby¡¯s shocked look, her smile widened. She ruffled the


    hair around her ears, approached him again, and pointed her finger at the location of his heart.


    ¡°This heart is my ex-boyfriend¡¯s.¡± He looked startled. What? It was Quentin¡¯s? Tina did not know why


    he was surprised and she only thought his reaction was the knowledge that she had an ex-boyfriend.


    As she withdrew her hand, she continued, ¡°6 years ago, my ex-boyfriend died in a car ident, so I


    used his heart to save you. Toby, I am your savior, so you cannot hurt me. You can¡¯t break off the


    engagement with me either because you owe me your life!¡±


    That was the main purpose of hering to see him today¡ªit was to tell him about this. It was only


    through this method that she could maintain their engagement. As long as the marriage contract was


    still in ce, she could still rise from the ashes again so that he would only have her in his heart even if


    he was upset with her for impersonating Sonia!

 Chapter 265

    Chapter 265


    Chapter 265 Toby¡¯s Suspicions,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Do I owe her my life? Toby lowered his eyelids to hide theplicated look in his eyes and asked, ¡°On


    which day 6 years ago did your ex-boyfriend meet with a car ident?¡± Although Tina was confused,


    she did not think much about it and answered honestly, ¡°September 10th.¡± His eyes were cold as he


    replied, ¡°Got it.¡± With those enigmatic words, he turned around and entered the car. ¡°Drive!¡± Tom, who


    had been waiting in the driver¡¯s seat for a long time, hurriedly nodded and started the car. Then, she


    watched the Maybach leave, not understanding what Toby meant.


    Is he not going to cancel the engagement with me? It seems that the possibility is exceptionally


    high. Thus, the weight in Tina¡¯s heart finally lifted. Next, she needed to deal with Miles. She took out


    her phone and found the phone number that she had never dialed in 6 years. After a moment of


    hesitation, she resisted her fear and called the number. The call was soon connected and his voice


    came without a trace of emotion. ¡°What do you want?¡± She took a deep breath to further suppress her


    fear and spoke timidly. ¡°Miles, c-can you help me to hypnotize Toby once more? I want him to


    completely forget about Sonia this time and only have me in his heart!¡± 6 years ago, she had seen this


    man hypnotizing a person to be a soulless walking corpse with her own eyes.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    At that moment, he had left her with a deep fear and she was still frightened of him¡ªeven after that


    period of time. Moreover, she was petrified that he would also hypnotize her into a zombie after he


    knew about that incident. ¡°I can¡¯t help you!¡± He refused outright without any mercy. Tina¡¯s eyes widened


    incredulously as her voice rose. ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°6 years ago, when my brother asked me to assist you in


    charming Toby to fall in love with you so that you will be happy, I have already helped you once. This


    time, I will not help you again and he can no longer be hypnotized again. Otherwise, he will turn into a


    fool,¡± Miles coldly replied. Speechlessness greeted her throat when she heard that. Turn into a fool?


    How can this happen? She bit on her thumbnail and reflected on his words. Initially, she fell in love with


    Toby because he was handsome and he could give her a lifetime of glory and prosperity. If he became


    a fool, his present status as the head of the family and thepany¡¯s chairman would all fall on Tyler¡¯s


    shoulders. Then, what use was there for her to marry Toby? It seemed that they really could not


    hypnotize him again; otherwise, she would gain nothing except a stupid husband. As she thought about


    it, Tina forgot her fear and shouted angrily, ¡°Miles, when you hypnotized Toby the first time, I asked how


    long the hypnosis wouldst. You told me it is for life, but now, he already knows that he loves Sonia


    and not me.


    What does this mean? It means that his hypnosis is removed. Miles, how do you exin this?¡± Miles


    looked at a photo on his desk; it was a picture of a young man with simr features as him and was


    none other than Quentin. As he stroked Quentin¡¯s photo, his voice was still icy and t as he replied, ¡°I


    did tell you that it is for life, but I also told you that hypnosis is not a spell. There are weaknesses as


    well. I hypnotized him to make him firmly believe that you are Maple, but once someone tells him


    otherwise, or he stumbles upon something that reveals the truth, the hypnosis will weaken.


    He will gradually return to his original self.¡± Tina¡¯s mouth opened, but there were no more words that


    came out because he had indeed warned her on this. So, even if Toby had hypnosis conducted on him,


    she had always been afraid that he would find out that she was a fake. ¡°Miles, haven¡¯t you been


    watching Toby in the dark these 6 years? Do you know how he found out that I¡¯m not Maple? Did


    someone tell him?¡± She squeezed her phone tightly and asked through clenched teeth. If it was


    someone who told Toby, she would deal with that person! ¡°No, no one told him.


    It was the car ident that weakened the hypnosis on him, so he realized the truth on his own,¡± Miles


    stoically answered. Tina only felt that this answer was rather absurd. She never thought that the source


    was actually the car ident! If she had known, she would not have followed her father back and


    would instead wait for Toby outside the hotel on the night of the banquet. Maybe Toby wouldn¡¯t have


    been involved in a car ident and they wouldn¡¯t have arrived at this stage either! When silence


    greeted Miles at the other end of the line, he merely cut the call. After Tina came back to her senses


    and wanted to ask something more, she found that the call had been hung up. She was furious, but


    she did not dare to call him again and could only stomp her feet in anger. At this time, the phone in her


    hand rang again. She looked down and saw that it was Tim.


    ¡°Hello,¡± she answered. His voice came through. ¡°Who were you talking to for so long just now?¡± ¡°This is


    my business; it has nothing to do with you,¡± Tina snapped. A trace of darkness shed in Tim¡¯s eyes,


    but it soon disappeared. He pushed his sses up his nose bridge while he replied, ¡°Sonia has left for


    Bay Street. Don¡¯t you want to witness her downfall? Come over at once.¡± Upon hearing these words,


    Tina¡¯s anger suddenly dissipated and it was reced by excitement. So what if Toby realizes that he


    loves Sonia? So what if he wants to win her over? As long as Sonia is defiled and the video is watched


    by billions of people all over the world, I don¡¯t believe that he will be unconcerned about it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right over.¡± With that, she kept her phone away and walked toward her car. ¡­ On the other side,


    in the Maybach, Tom had already nced at the man seated at the back several times through the


    rearview mirror. The man¡¯s face was gloomy andbined with his aura, it made the atmosphere of


    the entire car iparably depressing. Tom pulled his tie as he could not endure it anymore. He


    coughed lightly and asked, ¡°President Fuller, you really don¡¯t intend to call off the engagement with


    Tina?¡± Toby raised his eyes. ¡°When did I say I¡¯m not going to break off the engagement?¡± ¡°You said it


    yourself earlier when you replied that you got it. Is this not what it means?¡± Tom asked. Toby sneered,


    ¡°It¡¯s just to pacify her.


    And you¡¯re taking it seriously?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Tom was surprised. ¡°Is that so? I really thought you agreed, but


    seriously, what she said really stunned me. I didn¡¯t expect that the heart you have now is actually


    Quentin¡¯s.¡± Toby raised his hand to touch his chest, his eyes obscure. Even he himself did not expect it,


    but it was normal to be in the dark because the receiver usually would not know the donor¡¯s identity.


    Tom sighed. ¡°President Fuller, Tina said that you owe her a life because of this heart. She will definitely


    hold on to this afterward and make you¡ª¡± ¡°Who said I owe her a life?¡±


    Toby ced his hand down, his eyes filled with sarcasm. ¡°This heart is Quentin¡¯s, so I owe Quentin and


    Miles my life, not Tina. Even if she provided me with Quentin¡¯s heart, I¡¯m at most owing her a favor for


    the introduction. What I gave her and the Gray Family in these 6 years is enough topensate her.


    Moreover, don¡¯t you think Quentin¡¯s heart had appeared too coincidentally?¡± At that, Tom¡¯s expression


    changed slightly. ¡°President Fuller, are you suspecting that Quentin¡¯s death was not an ident?¡±

 Chapter 266

    Chapter 266


    Chapter 266 Take Charles Away,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡± Toby nodded. ¡°I inherited my heart disease from my mother. Since our blood types and


    physiques are quite special, it is difficult to find the right match. My mother did not find a suitable one,


    so she died. Thus, my grandmother also began to find a suitable heart for me when I was at a young


    age. She had been looking for more than 20 years, yet she did not find one. However, just when I was


    dying, a suitable heart appeared. It¡¯s definitely fishy.¡± At first, he honestly thought that he was lucky to


    have received the heart.


    Now that he heard Tina saying that it was Quentin¡¯s heart, Toby realized that something was wrong,


    which was why he specifically asked for the date of Quentin¡¯s ident¡ªSeptember 10. As he had


    undergone the heart transnt on the 14th, there was a difference of 3 days in which Quentin had not


    died yet. Toby was suspicious as to why Quentin was involved in an ident at the exact time when he


    needed a heart. Not to mention, it was too coincidental that the man¡¯s heart was a suitable match with


    his. There must be something wrong here! When Tom thought of it, he took a cold breath and added,


    ¡°President Fuller, could it be that Tina did something to Quentin?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, so the next task for you


    is to investigate his death and find out whether it was an ident or murder.¡±


    Toby rubbed his temples. ¡°In addition, ask Miles whether he knows that I have received his brother¡¯s


    heart. ¡°Alright!¡± Tom nodded in response. Soon, they arrived at Paradigm Co., afterwhich Toby got out


    of the car and walked into the lobby. On the top floor, Daphne knocked on Sonia¡¯s office door. Sonia


    was in the midst of her discussion with Charles about the next quarter¡¯s shipments when she heard the


    knock. Then, she responded, ¡°Come in!¡± The moment Daphne pushed the door and she saw him there,


    her eyes brightened for a split second before she returned to her usual business-like approach and


    walked to Sonia¡¯s desk. ¡°President Reed, President Fuller wants to see you.¡± ¡°Who?!¡±


    Before Sonia could say anything, Charles exploded in a fit of rage and asked with a furious expression,


    ¡°Who did you just say wants to see my baby?¡± ¡°President Fuller of the Fuller Group,¡± Daphne replied.


    He mmed the table. ¡°Crap, what is he doing here?¡± Sonia also looked at Daphne, but Daphne shook


    her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact reason either. The answer from the receptionist is that President


    Fuller has something to say to President Reed.¡± ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s definitely not anything good. Baby, you


    mustn¡¯t fall for it,¡± Charles hurriedly advised. Sonia smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what to do.¡± Upon


    saying that, she turned her gaze back to Daphne. ¡°Tell him that I won¡¯t see him!¡± ¡°Okay.¡±


    Daphne nodded. As he was ted with Sonia¡¯s response, he gave her a thumbs up. ¡°Baby, well done!


    Come, let me give you a kiss!¡± He puckered his lips and attempted to kiss her on the cheeks.¡± Sonia


    rolled her eyes and pped him. ¡°Behave yourself!¡± However, Charles simply touched his face and


    laughed. Daphne, who was still in the room, saw the interaction between Charles and Sonia, which


    caused her expression to darken. She smiled bitterly as she pushed the door and walked out, not


    wanting to look anymore. Since she could not have what she wanted, she would only feel worse by


    watching them. ¡­ On the first floor, the receptionist returned the handset to the phone and gave Toby


    an embarrassed smile.


    ¡°Sorry, President Fuller, President Reed said she doesn¡¯t want to see you.¡± ¡°President Fuller, I have


    really guessed it,¡± Tom said to Toby with a grin. When Toby coldly nced at him, his grin immediately


    disappeared before he made a zipping motion to his mouth, indicating that he would not say anything.


    It was only then when Toby turned his head around and walked toward the elevator. When the


    receptionist saw this, she froze for a moment before she gave chase. ¡°President Fuller, without an


    appointment, you can¡¯t head up!¡± Toby ignored her and continued to walk forward. When she saw that


    he could not be stopped, she was ready to call security when Tom suddenly stopped her and asked,


    ¡°Miss, even if you dare to call security, would those security guards have the courage to drive President


    Fuller away?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± The receptionist did not know what to say for a moment. Yes, even if she dared to call the security


    guards, they wouldck the courage to drive him out. After all, this was President Fuller from the Fuller


    Group. If anyone had offended him, they would be doomed. Besides, they were simply not confident


    that President Reed would go against President Fuller for their sake. As he seemed to know what the


    receptionist was worried about, Tom pushed his sses up his nose bridge before he smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry, we¡¯re the ones who forced our way up and it¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t try to stop us. Miss Reed will


    not me you.¡± After saying that, he hurried toward Toby and they arrived at Sonia¡¯s office a minute


    later.


    Since the door was ajar, Toby knocked on the door and because she thought that it was Daphne, she


    asked for the person toe in. When Toby heard her voice, his eyebrows eased and he pushed the


    door open. At that moment, Sonia was handing a document to Charles. Then, she raised her head,


    ready to ask Daphne what had happened again. However, she was shocked to see Toby standing


    there. Her eyebrows knitted as she asked, ¡°Why did youe?¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± Charles also lifted his


    head from the file and took a look. When he saw Toby, his expression instantly sank. ¡°Fuller, why are


    you here?¡± He kept the file aside and pointed at Toby. ¡°Didn¡¯t she say that she doesn¡¯t want to see you?


    Why did those people at the front desk still allow you toe up?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Lane, it¡¯s not their fault. We came up on our own and the front desk couldn¡¯t stop us,¡± Tom


    exined with an embarrassed smile. ¡°Tom!¡± Toby stared at Sonia and instructed Tom, ¡°Take Charles


    out.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. Charles was exasperated that heughed. ¡°Toby, who do you think you are?


    You are still asking people to drag me out? Why don¡¯t you just shove it up your¡ª¡± Before he could


    even finish his sentence, Tom had mped his hands from behind. Then, Tom began to drag Charles


    toward the door with a smile as he coaxed, ¡°Stop making a scene, Mr. Lane. Why don¡¯t we head out


    first?¡± ¡°F*ck, who¡¯s making a scene? Let go of me!¡± Charles¡¯s face was red with anger as he roared.


    He had never been treated like this all his life and it not only tarnished his image in front of his


    girlfriend, but also made him lose his manliness. Tom pretended not to hear Charles¡¯ words and


    continued to drag the man toward the door. A furious Charles kicked and stomped. ¡°Brown, you idiot!


    You better hurry up and let go of me, or I¡¯ll deal with you myself!¡± Deal with me? Tom looked down at


    Charles¡¯ skinny figure and disdainfully pursed his mouth. Forget it! Considering how skinny he is, I can


    fight ten of him! He is not a threat, so I¡¯ll just continue to drag him away! ¡°Baby¡­¡± Upon seeing that he


    was almost at the door, Charles finally realized that he could not break free.


    As Tom would not release him, he shot Sonia a pleading look and begged her to save him. Now that


    she had finally returned to her senses, she hurriedly rose to her feet and walked around the desk,


    ready to head out to save him. However, before she could even take more steps, Toby had grabbed


    hold of her. She red angrily at him since he had forced her to stop. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Toby¡¯s


    thin lips slightly opened, and he spat out two words. ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡± However, Sonia didn¡¯t listen at all and


    flung her arms hard as she tried to shake him off. Sadly, his grip was so tight that she couldn¡¯t break


    free, which left her with no choice but to pry his hand again.


    His otherrge hand grabbed her paw with such force around it the moment she touched him. When


    she saw that nothing worked, she was exasperated and it took her a while to take a deep breath to


    calm down. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t leave. Then, you have to tell Tom to let Charles go.¡± Toby looked at her and


    spoke, ¡°No. If he¡¯s here, he will interfere with our conversation.¡±. ¡°You!¡± Sonia bit her lip in anger; she


    had no choice but to simply watch as Charles was taken out by Tom.Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

 Chapter 267

    Chapter 267


    Chapter 267 Toby Is John,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ng! Now that the office door was closed, the room instantly fell silent. Sonia then gazed at her


    hands that Toby had grabbed before she coldly said, ¡°President Fuller, Charles has been taken out.


    Can you let me go now?¡± He released his grip on her with a nod. Since her hands were freed, she


    immediately took two steps back to distance herself from him. ¡°President Fuller, what exactly do you


    want to say to me?¡± As he looked at her in all seriousness, he replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t fooling you when I told


    you about all those things thest time at Bayside Residence. It¡¯s all true; the person whom I love is not


    Tina but you!¡± Sonia was silent for a few seconds before she gave a mockugh. ¡°President Fuller,


    what do I have that is worthy of your heart?


    Not only do you still want to lie to me, but you even joined forces with your grandmother to lie to me? ¡±


    Upon seeing that she was still unwilling to believe his own sincerity, Toby sighed. ¡°Do you still


    remember John?¡± When she heard the name, Sonia¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°How do you know


    John?¡± She really is the real Maple! Then, Toby¡¯s eyebrows softened as he lightly opened his thin lips


    and replied, ¡°John Johann is my other name. Many years ago, I took my mother¡¯sst name Johann


    and she used to call me John!¡± ¡°Y-You¡­¡± Upon hearing his words, she pointed at him as her eyes


    widened in disbelief. She finally came to the realization that he was her long-time pen pal, John!


    As if Toby seemed to know what Sonia wanted to say, he gently put her hand down. ¡°I¡¯m the John


    whom you¡¯re thinking of, Maple!¡± Now that he had called out her pen pal name, Sonia could no longer


    deny that he was not her pen pal. She merely found it difficult to ept the truth. ¡°How could it be


    you?¡± Sonia bit her lip, feeling that everything was so ridiculous. ¡°Why would you be John?¡± That gentle


    boy who wouldfort her with letters whenever she was bullied by her stepmother and when she was


    unhappy was actually Toby! ¡°Why can¡¯t it be me?¡± Toby frowned slightly and asked, ¡°Or, are you


    disappointed that John is actually me?¡± He could tell that she looked disappointed when she confirmed


    that he was John.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She actually did not want him to be John! Now that he saw his reaction, his heart was slightly


    constricted with pain. He initially came to her with the excitement to tell her that they were pen pals; he


    even thought that she would be happy to know that he was John since they were once so close. He


    never expected her to react in this manner! Maybe she wasn¡¯t unhappy to see John; it¡¯s just that she


    did not want to ept that he was John. If another person was John, she would not have reacted like


    this. When Toby thought about that, he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists as the cold aura emanated


    from him. Sonia took a deep breath and looked at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. I am indeed a little disappointed that you are John because you aren¡¯t even


    the slightest simr to the John whom I know.¡± Of course, he did not bear any resemnce to John.


    Instead, the Toby of 6 years ago was at least rather simr to John. When she met John, she was only


    12 years old and had just started middle school. There was once when her stepmother¡¯s daughter


    broke a vase, but she used Sonia of the action. Then, seeing that Sonia¡¯s father was not at home,


    her stepmother pped her across her face. She locked herself in her room as she was upset and


    typed a letter before she sealed it in a virtual bottle on the Inte and sent it off.


    However, not long after that, a message alerted her that someone had replied to her letter and that


    person was John. From that moment on, she and John became pen pals. He would answer all kinds of


    questions for her while also being patient whenever Sonia was frustrated. Moreover, he even


    suggested a number of ways to deal with her evil stepmother, so it could be said that he bore the credit


    for Sonia growing into a fine adult even though with her stepmother around. When Sonia was in high


    school, she fell in love with Toby at first sight and began to find out about him. The more she talked to


    him, the more she realized that Toby and John were simr in character with the same kind of


    gentleness. At that time, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether Toby would treat like John since both


    men were so simr in character and if she was with Toby.


    In fact, she even asked John about this. Of course, she didn¡¯t say who she liked; she merely described


    her crush as a senior who had graduated a long time ago and she wanted John to give her a definite


    answer. If his answer was what she expected, she would gather her courage to confess her love to


    Toby, who had taken over the Fuller Group at that time. That year, after she asked John, John¡¯s reply


    was not as punctual as usual. She would receive his message every Sunday, but his reply only


    reached her half a monthter. Even then, he did not answer that particr question of hers, but


    proposed to meet her and exined that there were important things that he wanted to personally say


    to her.


    He left her a phone number on the letter and told her to save it. After Sonia had saved the number, she


    dialed it, to which John answered the call. However, he seemed to be gravely ill; his voice was weak


    and even breathless. Slightly after he told her the address and time of their meetup, she heard a doctor


    by his side saying it was time to head into the operating room. The phone was then hung up. When the


    time came to meet up a monthter, she went to the ce where he said they were going to meet, but


    much to her dismay, he did not appear despite her waiting from noon until dark. Besides, his phone


    could not be reached, so she returned to her dormitory in disappointment.


    However, he sent a text message the next morning, telling her that she did not need to write to him


    anymore. It was the whole rtionship between her and John from start to finish. As shocked as she


    was, it turned out that John and the man whom she had a crush on at the time were actually the same


    person, Toby Fuller! ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s true that John and I don¡¯t have any simrities with each other


    now.¡± Toby lowered his eyelids. When the hypnosis was broken, he gradually remembered what his


    previous self was like. However, he was well aware that even if he had recovered from the hypnosis, he


    could not return to his old, gentle self after experiencing what the business world was like.


    ¡°Well, what¡¯s the use of talking about this? Even if you are John, so what? What does it have to do with


    you saying that you love me?¡± Sonia took a deep breath to suppress the emotions churning within her


    and spoke in a cold, indifferent voice. ¡°Of course it does!¡± Toby¡¯s thin lips moved. ¡°I fell in love with


    Maple many years ago. Even I myself can¡¯t believe it; I actually fell in love with a girl whom I¡¯ve never


    met and only knew through correspondence. And that girl is you, Sonia!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Sonia hurriedly


    motioned for him to stop. ¡°You said that you fell in love with me when I was still Maple a long time


    ago?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Toby nodded. She sneered in between herughter. ¡°Do you think I would believe that?


    6 years ago, you and Tina got together. That means¡ª¡± ¡°No!¡± Since he knew what she was going to


    say, he immediately interrupted her before exining with a serious expression, ¡°I have never loved


    Tina. The woman whom I love has always been you. I was with her 6 years ago because I took her for


    you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Sonia looked stunned as her mouth was agape. ¡°You took her for me?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°6 years ago, I read in your letter that you wanted to confess your love for someone. I


    couldn¡¯t ept it, so I wrote back to you and asked you to meet with me just to personally tell you that I


    have always loved you and wanted to be with you. However, I didn¡¯t expect that it wasn¡¯t you who


    came; it was Tina!¡±

 Chapter 268

    Chapter 268


    Chapter 268 Can¡¯t Return to the Past,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    When he received her letter and read that she was going to confess to the person whom she was in


    love with, it triggered his heart attack and caused him to be admitted to the hospital where he barely


    recovered half a monthter. He then replied to the letter and asked her to meet him since he wanted


    to tell her his truest thoughts. It was at that moment when the hospital notified Toby that they had found


    a suitable heart donor. He finally made the decision to confess to Sonia after he knew that he would be


    able to continue living. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have done so as he didn¡¯t want to be a burden to her


    since he would be at death¡¯s door anyway.


    By the time she had received his letter and contacted him, it was already the same day as his


    operation. It took him about a month of rest before he could even get out of his bed. However, when he


    asked Tom to bring him to the agreed location where he was to meet Sonia, Tina had shown up


    instead. As Toby had never seen what Maple looked like whereas Tina could provide details of what


    they had written in their correspondences, he came to believe that Tina was Maple. Sonia¡¯s eyes


    widened in shock when she heard what he said. ¡°Are you saying that Tina pretended to be me to meet


    you?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Six years ago, the person who showed up at 10:00AM on the day that we


    agreed upon was Tina.¡± ¡°That ain¡¯t right.


    You were the one who told me to meet you at 2:00PM. Yet, you never arrived even though I waited until


    the night!¡± She frowned as she stared at him while he shared the same expression. Toby then asked,


    ¡°Since when did I tell you to meet me at 2:00PM? I still remember clearly that I agreed to meet you at


    10:00AM on the phone six years ago.¡± ¡°Yes. You said that we are meeting at 10:00AM. However, I


    received a text from you on the morning of that day, iming that you couldn¡¯t make it on time and


    wanted to change our meeting to 2:00PM,¡± Sonia exined before she clenched her fists. ¡°I never


    texted you that day,¡± Toby responded. However, she shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.


    May told me that you sent me a text.¡± ¡°Someone else told you?¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°So, you¡¯re


    saying that you never saw that text message with your own eyes?¡± Sonia trailed off, ¡°Yes¡­¡± Upon


    noticing the man¡¯s dark expression, she suddenly realized that she was tricked back then! Toby had


    never sent her any text messages and May probably made it up to prevent them from meeting each


    other. As for why May did that, Sonia could already figure that it was because she was helping Tina.


    Everyone in the dorm was aware that Sonia was writing letters to John in her sophomore year and


    they¡¯d even make fun of her for using letters tomunicate with another person since there was


    ess to technology to do so.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Tina used to be one of thosementators back then and she¡¯d even secretly read Sonia¡¯s letter


    addressed to him. However, instead of feeling embarrassed after she was caught, she still tried to ask


    Sonia for John¡¯s details. Back then, Sonia never thought much about it. Now that she reflected on it


    again, Tina had probably figured out that John was Toby and schemed to meet him. At the thought of


    that, Sonia¡¯s eyes reddened in anger and hatred. She¡¯d never imagine that a person could stoop so


    low. Upon noticing that she was shaking in anger, Toby tried to reach out tofort her. Nevertheless,


    she coldly swatted his hand away. As he stared at his reddening hand, Toby¡¯s gaze dimmed.


    She still hasn¡¯t forgiven me yet¡­ Then, he retracted his hand. ¡°Do you now understand why I keep


    saying that the person whom I¡¯ve always loved is you instead of Tina?¡± Sonia remained silent as


    something shed past her eyes while Toby anxiously looked at her. He didn¡¯t know whether she


    believed what he said nor could he guess what her reply would be. Would she forgive me if she


    believes what I say? The atmosphere started to be tense. However, she still did not say anything,


    which made him even more anxious. At this moment, she finally reacted as she looked up and calmly


    stared at Toby. ¡°President Fuller, since you have imed that you¡¯ve always been in love with me, why


    can¡¯t I feel it?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Toby was taken aback. Sonia smiled lightly in response.


    ¡°I¡¯m Maple and you im that you love Maple.


    However, you didn¡¯t even find out that I¡¯m Maple during the six years of our marriage, so do you really


    love me? If you do, shouldn¡¯t you have realized earlier that Tina was a fake?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s not


    that I didn¡¯t want to find out, but¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± She raised her hand to interrupt Toby. ¡°I don¡¯t want


    to talk about this with you any longer and I don¡¯t believe that you love me since you would have


    recognized me if you do. Besides, even if you do, I think you¡¯re only in love with the idea of Maple


    instead of the real me.¡± Sonia then looked at him. ¡°If that wasn¡¯t the case, why did youe running to


    me to proim your love the moment you found out that I¡¯m Maple?


    You¡¯ve never shown any signs of interest when you only knew me as Sonia. Instead, you were cold to


    the very end. Toby, do you even know that you¡¯re treating me and Maple as twopletely different


    people?¡± He pursed his lips. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll admit that I treat you and Maple as twopletely different


    people. However, I still fell in love with you without realizing it when I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯re Maple.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s pupil constricted. He fell in love with me without knowing that I¡¯m Maple? How is that even


    possible? Afterposing her emotions, she burst intoughter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. Although


    you can dupe other girls by saying this, you won¡¯t be able to trick me. How can you not know who


    you¡¯re in love with?


    I¡¯m sorry, but I find it hard to believe something like that is possible.¡± Toby lowered his gaze. Looks like


    she still refuses to believe that I love her even when I¡¯ve already exined everything. ¡°Besides that,


    why are you telling me these now, President Fuller? Since it has been six years since Tina


    impersonated me, why don¡¯t you just go along with her? Are you still nning to resolve things with me


    and Tina before remarrying?¡± A disdainful smirk appeared on Sonia¡¯s face while she looked at Toby. At


    the same time, he pursed his lips; his silence acknowledged what she had said before she chuckled. ¡°I


    was right, huh? You couldn¡¯t even look at me when you only knew me as Sonia. Now that you know I¡¯m


    Maple, you¡¯re running back to proim your love with the intention to marry me again?


    Who gave you the audacity to do that? Do you think that you can just discard me and take me back


    anytime you want? I¡¯m not a person who would stoop that low, Toby Fuller, and there¡¯s no way that I¡¯ll


    marry you again. Moreover, I¡¯m not in love with you anymore!¡± If he had found out that Sonia was the


    real Maple before Tina regained consciousness, Sonia might have still epted him even if he only


    loved Maple and rekindled her feelings toward him without caring about his past indifference. After all,


    he was still Toby no matter what he did, and she would still be Maple no matter how much she tried to


    hide it.


    Sonia was confident that she could make him fall in love with her just like how he did with Maple.


    However, everything was toote and it was impossible for them to return to the past. Although Sonia


    had mentioned on many asions that she was no longer in love with him, Toby still felt his heart ache


    each time he heard those words. ¡°Just leave, President Fuller. What¡¯s the point of continuing this when


    we have already arrived at this stage?¡±


    She questioned him before she started to retreat. ¡°Maybe we aren¡¯t destined for each other from the


    very start!¡± Right then, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but his phone suddenly rang.


    He took his phone out with a frown to see that it was a call from Titus. Nevertheless, Toby ced his


    phone down as he wasn¡¯t nning to ept the call. Then, he said, ¡°I know what I said today has


    shocked you, but I¡¯ll never give up!¡± Then, he gazed at Sonia for a few seconds before turning around


    in the direction of the entrance of the office.

 Chapter 269

    Chapter 269


    Chapter 269 University Roommates,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Tom had a death grip on Charles outside the door because he was afraid that Charles would cause a


    ruckus in the room. On the other hand, Charles could only look at the ceiling in helplessness. The door


    opened at that moment. Immediately, Charles¡¯ eyes brightened as he turned toward the door, thinking


    that it was Sonia. However, his face darkened when he saw Tyler and snapped, ¡°Toby, you better ask


    your man to let me go!¡± After Toby nced at him, he turned toward Tom. ¡°Let him go.¡± Tom then


    released his grip on Charles. Once Charles was freed, he walked over and stood in Toby¡¯s way.


    ¡°Why were you inside for so long? What did you say to Sonia?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business,¡± Toby


    replied before he headed to the elevator while Tom ran after him. At the same time, Charles watched


    them entering the elevator before he left with a dark look on his face. Then, he swung his aching arm


    that was forcefully grabbed earlier before pushing the door to enter Sonia¡¯s office. ¡°Darling, Toby didn¡¯t


    do anything to you, did he?¡± He rushed to Sonia¡¯s desk before he asked in a worried tone.


    Nevertheless, Sonia looked disengaged as she sat on her seat. She looked like she was in a daze.


    Charles knelt down before he waved his hand in front of her. ¡°Sonia?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Her eyes wavered before


    she came back to her senses. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I asked whether Toby did anything to you. Why were


    you in a daze?¡± He gave Sonia a suspicious look while she lowered her head to mask her expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about something. Don¡¯t worry, he didn¡¯t do anything to me.¡± ¡°What did he talk to you


    about?¡± Charles asked while rubbing his chin. His intuition was telling him that the reason why she had


    zoned out was because of Toby. Nevertheless, Sonia massaged her temple. ¡°It¡¯s nothing important.¡±


    ¡°But, you look¡ª¡± ¡°Charles, can you please stop asking me questions?


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    I want to be left alone,¡± she solemnly responded as she looked up at Charles. Sonia still hadn¡¯t


    recovered from what Toby had told her and she needed time to rpose her emotions. After staring


    at her for a while, Charles finally shrugged. ¡°Alright. In that case, I¡¯ll head back first. Contact me if


    anything happens.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She nodded. Then, he left. Meanwhile, Sonia supported the weight of her


    head with her hand and she looked depressed. A whileter, she suddenly took her phone out and


    tapped into her university group chat that she hadn¡¯t viewed in a long time.


    Then, she searched for a username called ¡®Mayflower¡¯ and sent a voice message. Her voice message


    was opened and listened to shortly after that. Moments after that, she received a voice message from a


    woman, who sounded shocked. ¡°Sonia, I can¡¯t believe you actually messaged me! This is rare!¡± ¡°I


    know, right? I never expected that I would have to look for you as well, May!¡± Sonia replied before a


    cold smirk appeared on her face. The person was May, Sonia¡¯s university coursemate as well as her


    roommate. Although they weren¡¯t buddies, they were definitely not strangers. Back then, apart from


    Sonia, Tina and another roommate, May also shared the same residence with them as well.


    As Tina was arrogant and would often look down on the other three, they were hostile toward the


    woman too. None of them had ever interacted with Tina while May and the other roommate would often


    talk bad about Tina behind Tina¡¯s back. Sonia had never expected someone who despised Tina to


    actually help Tina with her ruse. May chuckled as she did not suspect anything wrong from Sonia¡¯s


    tone. ¡°Ever since we graduated, you severed ties with us, so I thought something was wrong with my


    vision when I saw your voice message.¡± Soniaughed sarcastically.


    ¡°Indeed. There¡¯s definitely something wrong with your eyes. I mean, your eyes even made up text


    messages that never existed in the first ce!¡± Upon hearing that, the smile on the face of the woman


    on the other end of the call froze as she breastfed her baby. ¡°Sonia, what¡­ What are you talking


    about? I don¡¯t understand.¡± The text messages that she meant aren¡¯t the ones six years ago, right? At


    the thought of that, May felt her heart sinking before her mind went numb. After noticing that the


    woman was intentionally acting like she was confused, Sonia looked up and took a deep breath before


    coldly continuing, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you know what I¡¯m talking about.


    When I first called John in the dorm six years ago, you were the only person there besides me, so you


    definitely overheard us, didn¡¯t you? You definitely heard when we nned to meet each other!¡± May¡¯s


    face immediately paled as her heart raced due to her anxiety. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t lie!¡± Sonia looked at


    her nails before she coldlymented, ¡°I know you well enough to know that you start to stutter every


    time you¡¯re lying!¡± Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s im, May stopped trying to make up excuses. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    Sonia. I¡¯m really sorry¡­¡± She lowered her head and buried her face in her hands before she started


    crying due to her guilt. Nevertheless, Sonia¡¯s face remained calm and unbothered even when she


    heard May in tears.


    ¡°Why are you crying when I, as the victim who missed the chance to meet my penpal, haven¡¯t cried?


    What makes you think that you deserve to cry now?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± May trailed off as she felt embarrassed and


    guilty. That¡¯s true; how can I even cry when the victim isn¡¯t even crying? What right do I have to pitifully


    shed tears in front of the person whom I lied to? Then, she apologized again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia!¡± Sonia


    chuckled at the response. ¡°Tell me, why did you do it?¡± May bit her lips and didn¡¯t immediately answer


    the question. It seemed like she was having an internal battle.


    A few secondster, she took a deep breath before exining, ¡°I did it for money. Sonia, I¡¯m sure you


    know about my family background. Besides having fixed monthly allowances, I never had any extra


    money to purchase anything I liked. Moreover, I had only entered into a rtionship back then and my


    boyfriend already had another pursuer who was way richer than me. Not wanting to lose him to that


    girl, I epted 200,000 from Tina.¡± ¡°What happened next?¡± Sonia questioned. After May finished


    breastfeeding, she ced her baby in the cot before she continued, ¡°Then, I intentionally informed you


    that my phone ran out of battery in the morning on the day that you and John were supposed to meet.


    Then, I borrowed your phone to make a call. When I returned your phone, I told you that he had sent


    you another text to change the meeting time from morning to noon and exined that I had


    identally deleted the message.¡± ¡°Haha! You really did well!¡± Sonia tightened her grip on her phone


    while her voice was filled with anger and a hint of disappointment. ¡°May, do you know that I¡¯ve never


    once doubted you before learning the truth because I choose to believe you since we were close in


    university?


    I can¡¯t believe that you would actually betray me for 200,000!¡± Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s usation, May


    started bawling and profusely apologized for the umpteenth time. At the same time, Sonia wiped the


    corners of her eyes before her face turned cold again. ¡°How did Tina learn that I was going to meet


    John? Did you tell her about it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡± May quickly shook her head. ¡°How could I tell her those things when I hated


    her so much back then? She only overheard it when I told Sally while we had our meal at the cafeteria.


    Sally was another roommate of theirs. Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°So, Tina offered you 200,000 to change


    the supposed meeting time between John and I?¡±

 Chapter 270

    Chapter 270


    Chapter 270 There¡¯s No Way That I Won¡¯t Call Off This Engagement,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A


    Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Yes.¡± May nodded guilty. ¡°I initially didn¡¯t ept her offer as I was conflicted. However, I couldn¡¯t


    manage to fight my greed in the end.¡± ¡°Oh, greed¡­¡± Sonia lowered her gaze. Then, she tightened her


    grip on her phone and roared emotionally, ¡°Did you know that your greed has ruined my rtionship


    and my marriage?!¡± ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know¡­¡± May was stunned. How could I have ruined Sonia¡¯s rtionship


    and marriage when all I did was make her miss her meeting with her penpal?


    On the other hand, Sonia closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, she had already gathered


    her emotions as she pursed her lips. ¡°May, you better watch out!¡± After saying that, she hung up the


    phone and threw her device on her desk. No one could gauge her current expression as her head was


    lowered. However, the depressing aura around her revealed how upset she was. Sonia couldn¡¯t help


    but wonder what would have happened if May never helped Tina back then. Would I have met John if


    nothing went wrong? If that was the case, Sonia would have found out that John was her crush, Toby,


    and he would have known that she was the person whom he had been in love with¡ªMaple.


    Would it have meant that they would be together happily? Still, all of these were just imaginary


    scenarios. A lot had happened since then and there was no way for Sonia and Toby to return to the


    past to change history. At the thought of that, she massaged her cheeks before sheposed herself.


    Then, she reached out for thendline and summoned Daphne to her office. ¡°Do you need anything,


    President Reed?¡± When Daphne noticed that Sonia¡¯s eyes were red, she asked worriedly, ¡°Have you


    been crying, President Reed?¡± ¡°No!¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes faltered a little as she lied before she quickly


    changed the topic. ¡°I want you to head to the investigation firm and investigate someone for me.¡± ¡°Go


    on, President Reed.¡± ¡°I need you to investigate a person named May Snyder, who used to be my


    university coursemate.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    I want to know where she¡¯s working and who¡¯s her current boss!¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes slightly


    before a dark glint shed past her eyes. She couldn¡¯t care why May had betrayed her since a betrayal


    was as such after all and May should be punished for her deeds. Sonia wanted May to understand the


    consequences of betraying her! ¡°Alright.¡± Daphne nodded and immediately went to work. At the same


    time, Tom was driving the Maybach before he nced at Toby seated behind from the rearview mirror.


    Although Tom was conflicted, he couldn¡¯t help but ask curiously, ¡°President Fuller, have you exined


    everything to Miss Reed?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes glistened slightly before he hummed and looked out from the car window. Immediately,


    Tom¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Then, did she forgive you?¡± ¡°No,¡± Toby answered as he pursed his lips while


    Tom almost mmed his foot on the brakes. ¡°No?! How is that even possible? Why won¡¯t she forgive


    you when you have already exined that you were her penpal? Didn¡¯t you tell her that you mistook


    her for Tina?¡± ¡°I did, but she was really offended that I couldn¡¯t even recognize her during those six


    years of marriage,¡± Toby lowered his gaze and exined. ¡°I see.¡± Tom¡¯s lips twitched a little before he


    added quickly, ¡°I guess I would be offended if I was Miss Reed as well.


    I wouldn¡¯t mind if you mistook someone else for me in the first ce, but I would be pissed that you


    couldn¡¯t even recognize me after six years. Still, the only reason why you couldn¡¯t recognize Miss Reed


    was due to the fact that you were hypnotized. If you weren¡¯t, I¡¯m sure you would have realized that Tina


    was a fake.¡± Nevertheless, Toby remained silent and didn¡¯t say anything. Tom suddenly recalled


    something before his eyes widened and he asked, ¡°President Fuller, if Miss Reed knew that you


    couldn¡¯t recognize her because you were hypnotized, why didn¡¯t she¡ª¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t tell her that I was


    hypnotized,¡± Toby answered lightly. At this moment, Tom was taken aback. ¡°Why?¡± Is he dumb?!


    Toby propped his arm against the car door before he replied, ¡°There¡¯s no point of me telling her that. It


    would only sound like I¡¯m making excuses for myself and taking advantage of her kindness to forgive


    me.¡± He had initially wanted to tell Sonia that he was hypnotized. However, he soon came to a


    realization that it was pointless after she interrupted him. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Tom was stunned before he nodded


    a few secondster. ¡°It does sound like you¡¯re taking advantage of her.¡± Toby massaged his temples.


    ¡°Even if I told her that I was hypnotized and she might forgive me, she would never be married to me


    again.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tom was confused. Then, Toby¡¯s gaze darkened before he exined, ¡°She doesn¡¯t love me


    anymore. Even if she forgives me, she would never marry me again.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Tom nodded in realization


    before he asked again, ¡°If Miss Reed doesn¡¯t want to be married to you again, what would you¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll


    never give up!¡± Toby¡¯s eyes were narrowed and filled with determination. How could I give up on a


    woman whom I had loved for more than ten years? I must win her heart! Suddenly, the sound of Toby¡¯s


    phone ringing shattered his thoughts. He took his phone out with a frown to see that it was another call


    from Titus. Toby was unable to ept Titus¡¯ call when he was in Sonia¡¯s office earlier, which resulted in


    Titus calling him again.


    When he hung up on Titus, he didn¡¯t bother to return the call, so he never expected Titus to call again.


    At this moment, Toby¡¯s gaze darkened slightly before he pressed on the green button and epted the


    call. Titus¡¯ anxious voice immediately rang out. ¡°Toby, is Tina with you?¡± ¡°No,¡± Toby replied


    nonchntly. Titus sounded even more agitated as he raised his voice. ¡°If she¡¯s not with you, then


    where did she go?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Toby¡¯s voice remained cold. Upon noticing that Toby wasn¡¯t bothered


    by Tina¡¯s disappearance, Titus was taken aback before his face darkened.


    ¡°Toby, what¡¯s up with this attitude of yours? Tina is your fianc¨¦e! How could you be so calm when your


    fianc¨¦e is missing?! You¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°President Gray!¡± Toby coldly interrupted. A stunned Titus queried, ¡°W-


    What did you just call me?¡± Why did Toby address me as President Gray when he used to address me


    as Titus?! ¡°President Gray, I remember that I have clearly mentioned that I¡¯m calling off my


    engagement to Tina when I wasst at your ce. I¡¯m sure Mrs. Gray would have told you about it


    since she was there as well,¡± Toby reminded the man coldly. Titus felt like his throat was as dry as the


    Sahara desert before he rified a few secondster, ¡°Julia did tell me about it, but wasn¡¯t it a joke?¡±


    A joke? Toby came to a realization that Titus was chuckling and iming that it was a joke to fool Toby


    from calling off the engagement. However, was Toby someone who could be easily fooled? As he


    lightly tapped his fingers against the car door, Toby gave Titus a reality check without any ounce of


    sympathy. ¡°I¡¯m someone who doesn¡¯t joke around. I¡¯ve decided to call off the engagement and I¡¯ll hold


    a press statement at noon tomorrow to release my statement.¡± Titus was once again stunned; he


    couldn¡¯t believe that Toby would proceed to release the statement that he was calling off the


    engagement without even first discussing it with them.


    Toby had even gone as far as setting the date for it, whichpletely disregarded the Gray Family!


    Right at this instance, Titus¡¯ face flushed red as he was filled with anger. However, he had no choice


    but to butter up Toby so that the engagement could be maintained. ¡°Toby, I know that Tina shouldn¡¯t


    have impersonated another person, but she only did so because she was too infatuated with you. Can¡¯t


    you forgive her?


    Are you seriously saying that you never had any feelings toward Tina throughout all these years?¡± ¡°Yes,


    I¡¯ve never loved her. Nothing that I¡¯ve done in the past for her belongs to her as she stole everything,


    so there¡¯s no way that I won¡¯t call off this engagement,¡± Toby answered before hanging up, not allowing


    Titus to have any chance to speak.

 Chapter 271

    Chapter 271


    Chapter 271 Titus¡¯ n,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Titus smashed his phone on the ground in a fit of rage. The screen on his phone smashed into pieces


    with a loud crash, which caused Julia to quicklye over to pat his chest. ¡°What did Toby say to you


    that made you so angry?¡± ¡°He¡¯s calling off the engagement!¡± he roared as he sat down angrily. ¡°It


    seems like he¡¯s really determined to call the engagement off this time and he¡¯s even decided on the


    time to hold the press release.¡± ¡°What?! Does that mean we don¡¯t have a chance to talk things


    through?¡± Julia¡¯s mouth was agape while Titus sighed. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to Tina now?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but be anxious. However, Titus didn¡¯t answer


    her as he wasn¡¯t in a good mood. What are they going to do? How would I know? If I have any idea, I


    wouldn¡¯t be sitting here with all the pent-up anger! The only reason why Triforce Enterprise could be


    one of the top ten enterprises in Seafield was solely due to the Fuller Group. Once Tina¡¯s engagement


    to Toby was called off, Triforce Enterprise would immediately fall from its position and might even be


    pressured by other enterprises without the Fuller Group¡¯s help.


    After all, during these few months after she was engaged to Toby, Triforce Enterprise had been taking


    advantage of their rtionship with Fuller Group to steal the resources of other enterprises, so Titus


    really didn¡¯t want the engagement to be called off. As he massaged his temples, Titus suddenly thought


    of an idea and turned toward Julia. ¡°What if we secure a done deal for Tina and Toby?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She


    looked confused as he exined with a dark expression, ¡°As long as Toby has had a physical


    rtionship with Tina, he would have no choice but to continue with the marriage unless he wants to be


    criticized for the rest of his life!¡± She bit her lips. ¡°Still¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that be illegal?¡± ¡°Of course.


    That¡¯s the only way to maintain Tina and Toby¡¯s engagement.¡± Titus stared at her intently. ¡°Think about


    it. If the engagement is called off, other enterprises would start attacking us and their wives would


    laugh at us behind our backs as well. Do you want to beughed at by others when you hang out with


    them? Don¡¯t you want to spend money on clothes and beauty products as much as you like in the


    future?¡± As soon as he said that, a fearful look shed past Julia¡¯s eyes before she quickly shook her


    head. ¡°Of course I do!¡± As she was someone born with a silver spoon, she never had to worry about


    money or inquire about the price of the things that she wanted to buy.


    So, she couldn¡¯t imagine herself worrying about money whenever she wanted to buy anything in the


    future. Moreover, all the other wives in their circle buttered up to her because of Toby. If he called off


    the engagement, her peers would stop treating her well and could even crack horrible jokes about her.


    She couldn¡¯t help but shiver when she thought about that. Upon hearing Julia¡¯s reply, Titus smiled in


    satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s why we have no choice but to do this!¡± ¡°Honey, how are you nning to do it,


    though?¡± she asked worriedly. He narrowed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s easy.


    I¡¯ll get Tina to ask Toby to meet up at a hotel and ask her to drug him. When it¡¯s about time, I¡¯ll arrange


    for some reporters to head over there. If he still insists on calling the engagement off, he will definitely


    enrage theizens and they will never let him or Fuller Group off the hook.¡± ¡°I get it now. You¡¯re


    nning to use the public opinion to force Toby to marry Tina.¡± Julia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Now, I want


    you to contact Tina and get her to return home. We need to carry out our ns by tonight and we can¡¯t


    dy it any longer,¡± Titus dered seriously.


    She imed with a conflicted tone, ¡°Tina hasn¡¯t been epting any of my calls, though!¡± Still, Titus


    couldn¡¯t care less as he rose to his full height. ¡°Continue calling her until she epts it. After all, we


    don¡¯t have much time.¡± Immediately, Julia stopped talking and followed his instructions by contacting


    Tina. On the other hand, a man was holding the ringing phone in an abandoned garage as he


    approached the other two men at the entrance. ¡°Mr. Lee, Tina¡¯s phone is ringing again.¡± The man held


    her phone out while Carl nced at it. ¡°Ignore it. Just let it be.¡± ¡°Yes!¡±


    Upon hearing Carl¡¯s words, the man kept the phone away again. Meanwhile, Tim nced at his phone.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost time now. You should head in and get them to start the operation. We¡¯ll dump her


    somewhere with a crowd at night.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± The subordinate¡¯s expression became serious before


    he turned around to enter the garage. At this moment, Tim took his pack of cigarettes out from his


    pocket. Then, he took two cigarettes out and passed one to Carl, who didn¡¯t reject the proffered cancer


    stick. A terrified woman¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from the garage behind them.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Who are you guys?!¡± Tina was finally awake. She was forced to regain consciousness after a bucket


    of water was poured on her. When she woke up and realized that she was in an unfamiliar ce with


    all of her limbs tied up, her face immediately paled. She came to the realization that she was kidnapped


    again! ¡°Who are we?¡± The men standing in front of her snickered before all of them rubbed their hands


    in unison and replied, ¡°We are ordered to give you a special treatment!¡± At once, Tina¡¯s pupils


    constricted. What is happening? Aren¡¯t they supposed to look for Sonia?


    Why did I end up here? ¡°That¡¯s enough. Why are you guys still talking to her? Get started. I still need to


    send the footage over to my client.¡± A man was holding a camera and he urged from a distance away.


    Tina turned toward him. Her eyes widened the moment she did so and she recognized him almost


    immediately. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± That was the man who took her to the alley! At this moment, the man¡¯s gaze


    wavered a little before he quickly rposed himself and faced the camera toward her. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m


    ready. Get started!¡± ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s get this started.¡±


    The men rubbed their hands together again before they chuckled as they headed toward Tina. At the


    same time, her heart sank as she instinctively knew what they were up to. As her face paled even


    more, she shrieked in panic, ¡°Stop it! Don¡¯te any closer!¡± Yet, they ignored her and continued to


    move toward her. In no time, those men reached her and pushed her to the ground before securing her


    limbs in ce. Then, one of them took a syringe containing a pale pink substance in it. As he flicked


    the syringe, he smirked at Tina before he teased, ¡°Do you know what¡¯s in this?


    This is enough to make a good girl be a baddy.¡± With that, he injected the substance into her


    arm under her fearful gaze. Tina¡¯s facial expression immediately changed as she started to struggle


    with all her might while she screamed, ¡°Let me go! I¡¯m warning you guys to let me go at this instant, or


    I¡¯ll make you guys regret ever being alive!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll make us regret ever being alive?¡± The men couldn¡¯t


    help but snort while the one holding the syringe gave her a p.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± Tina¡¯s face was pushed to the other side from the force of the p. She could feel her cheek


    burning as her brain buzzed and the corner of her lips started to bleed. She looked like she was in a


    mess. Then, the man threw the syringe aside before he grabbed her by her hair and cured, ¡°How dare


    you try to threaten us instead of begging us for mercy when you¡¯re just our toy?


    Do you think that we are afraid to touch you? If that¡¯s so, we can¡¯t disappoint you now, can we? I can¡¯t


    believe she used to be the Fuller Group president¡¯s ex-wife. I¡¯m getting tingly just at the thought of


    screwing rich women!¡±

 Chapter 272

    Chapter 272


    Chapter 272 Tina¡¯s Downfall,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    The men became excited and they started to shred Tina¡¯s clothes into pieces. As she regained her


    senses, she shrieked with a twisted look on her face. ¡°I¡¯m not the ex-wife of the president of Fuller


    Group! You guys have mistaken me for someone else! I¡¯m not Sonia!¡± Tina finally understood why she


    was kidnapped and why these people imed that they were going to give her a special treatment. It


    was because these bunch of fools had mistaken her for Sonia. As expected, the men stopped after


    hearing her. The man who previously injected her asked as well, ¡°You¡¯re not Sonia?!¡±


    Tina, whose eyes were reddened, quickly nodded. ¡°No, I¡¯m Tina. Your client¡¯s friend!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± All of the


    men turned around to look at the one with the camera. However, the man who was filming replied


    nonchntly, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her; she¡¯s lying. Our client had mentioned that Sonia has a red mole on


    her wrist and this girl clearly has it as well, so she¡¯s definitely Sonia. Moreover, the client also said that


    she¡¯s an intelligent girl, and she might try to fool us by iming that she¡¯s not just so that she can


    escape. You guys can¡¯t be fooled by her!¡± Upon hearing that, the men checked Tina¡¯s wrist to see a red


    mole there.


    Even Tina was dumbfounded. She had always known that she had a red mole on her wrist, but she


    never knew that Sonia had one as well! Could this be a coincidence? It is extremely rare to have a red


    mole, not to mention them being in the same ce. It¡¯s just impossible! Something¡¯s wrong. Still, before


    Tina could figure out what was wrong, the man who injected her earlier pped her on the other cheek


    and roared in anger, ¡°How dare you lie to us?! Guys, let¡¯s do the deed!¡± Then, the other men nodded at


    each other before they all pounced on Tina as if they had been deprived.


    Tim and Carl looked devoid of any emotions as they stood at the entrance of the garage while her


    pitiful shrieks continued ringing out from inside. They both felt that Tina finally paid for her actions. It


    was a shame that she tried to get Sonia killed in the first ce! ¡­¡­ Under the street lights¡¯ illumination


    at night, a few suspicious-looking men carried a sack to the city. Then, they threw the bag onto the


    ground while no one was noticing before they quickly left. Not long after their departure, someone


    stumbled upon the sack and went to investigate out of curiosity to find a naked girl inside before he


    quickly filed a police report.


    The news of the daughter of Triforce Enterprise¡¯s president being found naked and seemingly


    assaulted went viral on every social media tform. In no time, everyone on the Inte was


    discussing it. At the same time, Sonia, who was about to head to bed, received an unexpected call


    from Tim. ¡°Check the Inte!¡± ¡°Why?¡± She was confused. Then, he adjusted his sses. ¡°Remember


    that I told you that I was going to subdue Tina today?


    You can check the Inte for the results.¡± Upon hearing him, the exhaustion in Sonia¡¯s eyes


    immediately disappeared as she got off her bed and walked toward her study room. As soon as she


    opened herptop, all of the rted articles about Tina popped up before she could even search for


    them. Sonia saw a video footage after she tapped into the news article. Although the footagested


    less than a minute, it contained a huge load of information. She could see a naked woman being


    released from the sack by a female police officer. Then, the female police officer covered the naked


    woman with a rug and escorted her to a nearby waiting ambnce.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    The footage ended shortly after the ambnce left. Although the woman¡¯s appearance was masked


    with mosaics, Sonia could still recognize that the woman in question was Tina. ¡°Did you get your men


    to discard her there?¡± Sonia took her phone again to ask Tim. He nodded slightly in response. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of being found out?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows. Nheless, he chuckled. ¡°Are you


    worried about me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Sonia answered lightly. Still, Tim merely shrugged and he wasn¡¯t angry at


    all. After all, how could he be exasperated with his guardian angel?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one will discover me,¡± he replied while he stared at Carl, who was seated in front of the


    computer and tapping away on the keyboard. As Sonia was unaware of his situation, her eyes


    narrowed. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Tim nodded once again. His response had caused Sonia to


    purse her lips. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, good luck to you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He chuckled with a deep voice before


    he asked again, ¡°Do you like the result?¡± Since she knew that he was asking whether she liked seeing


    Tina in this state, she smirked a little before replying, ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I actually do. Still, I¡¯m not one


    to promote using violence to settle issues. Instead, I would prefer for her to be imprisoned.¡±


    After seeing the footage, Sonia finally came to believe that Tim wasn¡¯t on Tina¡¯s side, which was why


    she was willing to speak more with him now. ¡°I know what you mean. However, we don¡¯t have any


    criminal record of Tina or any evidence of hermitting her crimes even when we all knew what she


    did to you. We can only do this to subdue her since there¡¯s no way to send her to prison,¡± Tim


    exined as he massaged his temples. Since he used to mistake Tina for his angel, even when he


    knew that Tina had done something against thew, he would never leave any evidence of her doing


    so and even helped to clear her mess. At this moment, Tim really regretted having done so in the past.


    Sonia sighed.


    ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t have any evidence. The only evidence I previously had on Tina was also snatched by


    you too!¡± If she had the evidence, she would have sent Tina to prison a long time ago. Even if Toby had


    wanted to protect Tina at that time, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to! After all, Tina¡¯s voice in the


    recording was clear and she sounded logical. It was obvious that she wasn¡¯t schizophrenic based on


    the recording. A glimpse of guilt and awkwardness then appeared in Tim¡¯s usual cold eyes as he


    rubbed the tip of his nose. Then, he apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s toote anyway. What¡¯s Tina¡¯s situation right now?¡± Sonia waved her hands before


    changing the topic to what it was. Tim¡¯s sses reflected the light in the room as he answered, ¡°Her


    condition is rather bad. She waspletely battered as her ovaries were badly injured and had to be


    removed. She won¡¯t be able to get pregnant for the rest of her life.¡± This was the result that Tim had


    received after checking on Tina before he asked his men to throw her in the city. Sonia inhaled a cold


    breath. ¡°Seriously?!¡± The removal of ovaries was an extremely cruel thing to do to a woman.


    Still, she figured that it wasn¡¯t as bad as Tina wanting to take her life away. After rposing her


    emotions, Sonia yawned before saying, ¡°Alright. I should sleep now since it¡¯s alreadyte. I¡¯ll see what


    happens tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Tim nodded. ¡°Go to rest.¡± After hanging up, she turned off herptop and


    went back to her room. At the same time, Tina was being wheeled out of the operation room and


    pushed to her ward.


    At the side of the hospital bed sat Julia; she was a sobbing mess as she looked at apletely pale


    Tina, who looked like she was dead. ¡°Tina! My dear Tina¡­ Sob, sob¡­¡± Meanwhile, Titus, who was


    also in the ward, was smoking by the windowsill when he heard Julia¡¯s cries, which further annoyed


    him. After throwing his cigarette butt on the ground and ttening it, he scolded, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stop


    crying, it¡¯s annoying!¡± Julia then stopped crying before giving Titus a furious look. ¡°Titus Gray, how dare


    you be annoyed when I¡¯m crying because of what happened to our daughter?


    Are you insane?!¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Titus was too stunned to speak before his head started to ache. As a result,


    he merely sighed. ¡°Alright, alright. Do whatever you want!¡± Immediately, she started to cry again. ¡°Titus,


    look at what happened! Why did this befall Tina? This is not how it¡¯s supposed to be!¡±

 Chapter 273

    Chapter 273


    Chapter 273 Cursing Julia,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Titus¡¯ face darkened as he stared at an unconscious Tina. ¡°Exactly! How could something like this


    happen to Tina? Our ns are ruined now!¡± Julia red at him. ¡°Is this still the time to worry about your


    n? Aren¡¯t you worried about your daughter?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be here if I¡¯m not worried, alright? I¡¯m just


    stressed out. Now that Tina¡¯s news is all over the Inte, Toby would find out about this and the


    engagement would surely be called off.¡± He pinched his forehead. When she finally realized the degree


    of the situation that they were in, she stopped crying and urged, ¡°What¡­ What can we do now?¡±


    Nevertheless, Titus looked depressed. ¡°What else can we do?¡± Even if Toby really loved Tina, he would


    surely call the engagement off after what had happened to her since no one would want to be cheated


    on. Moreover, everyone else would make fun of him. ¡°Is the engagement really over?¡± Julia was in


    disbelief. How would the others perceive me now that the engagement is over? ¡°Obviously. We have


    no choice but to agree to call off the engagement to Toby. In fact, we should be the ones who call it off.


    Now that everyone in the circle knows about what happened to Tina, they would make fun of us even


    more and look down upon us if we don¡¯t do it. They might even say that we are leeching off the Fuller


    Family,¡± Titus exined with a tired look.


    Meanwhile, Julia started to cry again. ¡°Why did this happen to us?¡± Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t say


    anything as he stared at Tina in displeasure. Why did this happen to us? Who else can we me


    besides Tina? Why must she leave the house when she could have just stayed at home? Great,


    everyone is going to make fun of us now. At this moment, someone outside the hospital ward knocked


    on the door before the door opened to reveal his assistant walking in. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Titus turned


    toward his assistant and asked. Then, the assistant answered, ¡°President Gray, this is bad. Many


    reporters have gathered outside the hospital to get thetest news on Miss Gray.¡± Upon hearing that,


    Titus¡¯ face immediately darkened while Julia¡¯s face flushed red from anger.


    ¡°What?! Make them leave!¡± How dare those media reporters try to use my daughter to be on the


    trending news?! These people are heartless! ¡°Get the security to make them leave! Lodge a police


    report if they refuse to leave. I¡¯ll sue these people for harassment!¡± Titus snapped. Then, his assistant


    nodded. ¡°Alright, President Gray. I¡¯ll immediately handle it.¡± With that, he turned around and left. The


    doctor entered the ward moments after the assistant¡¯s departure. ¡°Mr. Gray, after using Miss Gray¡¯s


    bodily fluid to conduct a test, the results showed that there were six men involved,¡± the doctor reported


    before he shot Tina an odd look.


    In the past, he didn¡¯t believe that the circle of elite people was wild, but he now believed it. ¡°Six men?!¡±


    Julia stood up in shock when she heard the doctor¡¯s words before her body started to tremble. Even


    Titus was horrified that his daughter was assaulted by that many men. ¡°Tina¡­ My poor Tina¡­¡± Julia


    fell on Tina¡¯s body and she started to bawl her eyes out. Titus, on the other hand, gritted his teeth and


    mmed his fist on the wall. ¡°F*ck!¡± ¡°Titus, you must avenge our daughter!¡± She looked up at him. At


    this moment, Titus took a deep breath to suppress his raging anger and he nodded with a grim look.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll immediately lodge a police report and send those six a*sholes to prison!¡±


    Then, he took his phone out and called the police as Julia pondered for a moment before she followed


    suit. Since Tina¡¯s engagement with Toby wasn¡¯t called off yet, Julia figured that she should still inform


    him about what happened to Tina since the two youngsters were still legally engaged. What if Toby


    suddenly feels pity toward Tina after what has happened and doesn¡¯t want to call the engagement off


    anymore? Julia contacted Toby with that in mind. When Toby epted Julia¡¯s call, he asked with a cold


    voice, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Toby, something has happened to Tina. You¡ª¡± ¡°I know,¡± he calmly answered


    as he sat in the living room and stared at the television in front of him.


    At the same time, the television was reporting the news of what happened to Tina. Still, Toby looked


    extremely calm as if she was merely a stranger and not his fianc¨¦e. Unable to ept his attitude, Julia


    snapped, ¡°Toby, since you knew what has happened to Tina, how could you still be so calm?!¡± ¡°Why


    not? What am I supposed to do then?¡± he retorted coldly. His response caused Julia to tighten her grip


    on her phone. ¡°Can¡¯t you visit her at the hospital?¡± Yet, his phone was snatched right when he wanted


    to say something. Jean had Toby¡¯s phone in one hand while she rested her other hand on her waist.


    Her chubby figure and the way she stood made her lookedic. ¡°Why should he visit her? What¡¯s in


    it for us to visit a discarded trash?¡± she yelled into the phone with a disdainful tone. While she used to


    love Tina a lot, her impression toward Tina hadpletely changed after the assault.


    There was no way a tainted woman would be able to marry Toby and enter the Fuller Family! The


    moment she heard Jean¡¯s voice, Julia was so pissed off that she felt like she was about to faint. ¡°H-


    How dare you insult my daughter like that!¡± ¡°Am I wrong? She was yed with and thrown to the


    streetspletely naked! Even the prostitutes here don¡¯t do something as outrageous as she did!¡±


    Jean continued to yell. Julia trembled as she protested, ¡°H-How dare you¡­¡± As she was born in a


    wealthy family, she never stood a chance against Jean, who came from a poor family, in a screaming


    match. After copping a few insults from Jean, Julia hadpletely lost her ability to fight back. Jean


    sneered at this moment. ¡°What makes you think that you can force my son to visit that trash you call


    your daughter? Stop dreaming!¡±


    Then, she hung up and returned Toby his phone; her anger hadpletely dissipated before a smile


    appeared on her face. ¡°Toby, don¡¯t visit Tina, do you hear me?¡± A ghost of a smile shed past his gaze


    before he nodded a little. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wasn¡¯t nning to visit her either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know!¡± The


    smile on Jean¡¯s face deepened while he lowered his gaze. ¡°I¡¯m nning to call off our engagement.¡± A


    stunned Jean quickly nodded. ¡°Of course. The engagement must be called off now that Tina has been


    assaulted. I¡¯ll introduce you to more girls once the engagement is over.¡± However, Toby frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s


    not discuss that now, Mom. You should head to rest now.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m tired anyway.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    I¡¯ll head back to my room now.¡± Jean yawned before she started to head upstairs. Yet, he remained


    seated on the couch as he continued to stare at the television, which was still reporting details about


    Tina¡¯s assault. It was mentioned that she was found naked in a sack in the city, which made something


    obviously wrong with this. Usually, an assant would bring the woman whom they wanted to assault to


    somewhere without any surveince so that they wouldn¡¯t be found out.


    However, it was different for Tina. Those men who assaulted her had stuffed her into a sack and threw


    her into the city as if they wanted people to learn that she was assaulted as soon as possible so that


    news about it would spread. Toby narrowed his eyes. Although it was already obvious that the person


    behind this aimed to destroy Tina¡¯s life, the identity of the person still remained unknown. As he


    pondered about this issue, Toby¡¯s phone rang again. Toby saw it was a call from Tom after ncing at


    his phone. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby asked after he answered the phone.

 Chapter 274

    Chapter 274


    Chapter 274 I Don¡¯t Want Your Things,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Tom¡¯s helpless voice rang out. ¡°President Fuller, I have received many calls from different news outlets


    wanting to have an interview with you. I¡¯m guessing that all of them want to know your thoughts about


    Tina¡¯s current situation.¡± Toby frowned. ¡°Which media outlets?¡± ¡°All of them besides the biggest few.¡±


    He pursed his lips. ¡°Warn them that they should be prepared for theirpany to face bankruptcy if


    they want to interview me!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Tom nodded without any hesitance. To be honest, he thought that


    those media outlets deserved what wasing to them.


    How dare they try to secure an interview with President Fuller at this time just to stay valid! Are they


    serious? ¡°By the way, President Fuller¡­¡± He thought of something and asked, ¡°Remember when you


    wanted me to ask Miles whether he knew that your heart belongs to Quentin? I¡¯ve already asked him


    and it seems like he has always known about it. That¡¯s why he has been secretly observing you for the


    past six years and immediately appeared after the effect of the hypnosis on you weakened.¡± Toby


    nodded a little. ¡°I see!¡± ¡°Besides that, he wille to thepany tomorrow to help to remove the


    hypnosis and the ideomotor effects as well as releasing your blocked memories,¡± Tom continued with


    his words. After Toby hummed as a response, he asked, ¡°Have youpleted your investigation on


    Quentin¡¯s death?¡±


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    ¡°No.¡± Tom shook his head regretfully. ¡°It happened six years ago after all, so it¡¯ll be hard to investigate it


    again. I¡¯ve already contacted the transport department and asked them to look for the footage of


    Quentin¡¯s ident back then. If they can locate it, we will be able to start our investigation based on


    the surveince. However, it will be arduous if they can¡¯t find it.¡± Toby¡¯s gaze darkened. ¡°You can try by


    investigating Tina.¡± ¡°That probably won¡¯t work.¡± Tom sighed. ¡°If Quentin¡¯s death is really rted to her,


    she would never admit it. Even if she did, she could still argue in court that we forced her to admit that


    she was guilty since we can¡¯t produce any decisive evidence. By then, she would still be released


    without any charges!¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby¡¯s frown deepened. Indeed, it was hard to sentence Tina without any concrete


    evidence against her. If it weren¡¯t the case, he would have thrown her behind bars when his hypnosis


    weakened. Still, Toby had no evidence of her trying to harm Sonia. Although Charles and Zane had


    witnessed what Tina did, they were Sonia¡¯s acquaintances. It would make it easier for Tina to argue in


    court that those two were taking Sonia¡¯s side. Of course, Toby could always do things his way if thew


    couldn¡¯t make Tina pay for what she did.


    At the thought of that, his eyes glistened a little before he coldly instructed, ¡°Alright. Continue


    investigating Quentin¡¯s death. Also, generate a report based on all the past projects between us and


    Triforce Entreprise. I want it ready before the press release tomorrow.¡± As he understood that Toby was


    preparing topletely sever ties with Triforce Enterprise, Tom nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll get to it!¡± After that, Toby


    ced his phone down and stopped saying anything else. The next morning, Sonia prepared to head


    to her office after freshening up and wearing her shoes. Nheless, she noticed the man leaning


    against the wall right after she opened the door.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Sonia was stunned as she frowned instinctively before she asked in a displeased tone, ¡°Why


    are you here?¡± After he straightened his back, Toby handed the paper bag that he was holding toward


    her. ¡°Have you eaten breakfast?¡± She eyed the paper bag and asked, ¡°Are you here to bring me


    breakfast?¡± He nodded a little. ¡°I also want to see you as well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny.¡± Sonia chuckled coldly. ¡°I


    don¡¯t want to see you, though!¡± At this moment, Toby¡¯s gaze dimmed a little before he quickly


    rposed himself and gently exined, ¡°I bought you mango porridge and mango sago, which are


    your favorites. Why don¡¯t you try them?¡±


    Nevertheless, she wasn¡¯t surprised when he knew what her favorite foods were since she mentioned


    them in the letters after all. ¡°Did you used to prepare these for Tina as well?¡± She raised her eyebrows


    and asked after she refused to ept the paper bag. Although Toby had realized that Sonia¡¯s question


    would be the death of him, he still opened his mouth and truthfully answered, ¡°Yes!¡± There was no point


    to lie since he really did it before. Still, he didn¡¯t know Tina was impersonating Sonia at that time! On


    the other hand, Sonia was surprised by Toby¡¯s honest answer. However, she couldn¡¯t help but feel


    disgusted by the fact that he had prepared the same breakfast for Tina and her even though he was


    being honest.


    ¡°President Fuller, I think you should bring these for Miss Gray since I don¡¯t want them anyway. I don¡¯t


    like to eat these anymore.¡± Then, Sonia walked past Toby and wanted to leave. Nevertheless, he


    suddenly grabbed her hand with an apologetic look. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry that I wasn¡¯t considerate enough.


    Next time, I¡¯ll¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no next time!¡± Sonia interrupted him before she eximed coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t you


    understand me, President Fuller? I just don¡¯t want to receive things from you, that¡¯s all!¡± Toby pursed


    his lips. It was obvious what she meant, but he refused to acknowledge it. ¡°President Fuller, can you let


    me go now?¡± Sonia¡¯s voice rang out. As he blinked slightly, he came back to his senses and released


    his grip on her.


    Then, Sonia started to smoothen her sleeve as if something had dirtied it. When Toby saw that, his


    hand that was holding the paper bag clenched up a little. Does she really hate me that much? ¡°Alright,


    President Fuller.¡± Sonia nced at Toby nonchntly after she patted her sleeve. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t


    come over to my ce anymore because your action bothers me. Why can¡¯t you apany your


    fianc¨¦e now? I¡¯m sure she really needs yourpany after what happened yesterday night. Won¡¯t you


    feel sorry for her since you keep running back to your ex-wife?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong toward her.¡± His face darkened as he hated whenever she kept trying to


    push him toward another woman. ¡°Besides, she won¡¯t be my fianc¨¦e after today.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Then, she recalled Tyler contacting her a few days ago to inform her


    that Toby was nning to call off the engagement to Tina. So, Tyler was actually being serious? This


    isn¡¯t a joke? As expected, what Toby said in the next second proved that her thought was correct. ¡°I¡¯m


    calling off my engagement to Tina during my press release at 10:00AM. You must watch it!¡± he said.


    However, Sonia frowned. ¡°Why should I watch it? I¡¯m not interested in your issues.¡± Still, Toby wasn¡¯t


    angered by her rejection. Instead, he smiled lightly and continued, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to.


    I¡¯ll call you and tell you everything that happened during the press release after it ends.¡± Then, he


    stared at Sonia for a little longer before he turned to the elevator. As she watched him leaving, she


    responded, ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen to your exnation on what happens afterward. I¡¯m telling you, I won¡¯t


    ept your calls!¡± At this instance, Toby paused before he acted like he didn¡¯t hear her words and


    quickly entered the elevator. When Tom saw Toby returning downstairs with the paper bag still in hand,


    Tom wasn¡¯t surprised. He remarked in an attempt to console Toby, ¡°As expected, Sonia would ept


    anyone¡¯s gifts besides yours.¡±


    Although Toby knew that Tom was correct, his expression still darkened. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t speak, no


    one will say that you are a mute!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Tom scratched his head and chuckled. Toby suddenly threw


    the paper bag at him. ¡°Finish all of them!¡± ¡°A-All of them?!¡± Tom reached out to catch the paper bag


    clumsily as he raised his voice in disbelief.

 Chapter 275

    Chapter 275


    Chapter 275 The Commencement of the Press Release,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Toby nodded emotionlessly. ¡°That¡¯s right. All of them!¡± Tom¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°President Fuller, wouldn¡¯t


    that be too much? I just ate breakfast not long ago¡ª¡± ¡°Eat!¡± Toby interrupted. At this moment, Tom


    looked like he was about to cry as he held the breakfast with a portion enough for two. Revenge. This


    is definitely a revenge for what he said earlier! If only I knew how petty he was, I shouldn¡¯t have said so


    much! I really miscalcted this time! While he stared at the paper bag that he held, he couldn¡¯t help


    but shake his head bitterly. As the time slowly passed by, it was soon 10:00AM. When Sonia finished


    dealing with her documents, she gave them to Daphne before turning to theputer and


    contemted whether she should watch Toby¡¯s press release.


    After hesitating for a moment, she finally decided to take a look. I mean, why not? It would be a waste if


    I miss out on watching the cancetion of Tina¡¯s engagement. With that, Sonia navigated her mouse


    toward Fuller Group¡¯s official website. In the livestream, Toby was standing on the podium of the


    meeting room with a microphone in his hand while he stoically stared at the reporters below him.


    Meanwhile, his gaze had intimidated all of the reporters present, which rendered the initially noisy


    meeting room quiet almost immediately. On the other hand, the entire barrage screen was filled with


    comments thatplimented him for his looks as well as those who were curious about the context of


    the press release.


    Still, many of the viewers had already figured that the press release would be rted to Tina. After all,


    it was obvious as to why Toby held a press release almost immediately after what had happened to her


    yesterday night. ¡°Have you guys finally decided to shut up?¡± Toby finally asked as the reporters below


    him bobbed their heads up and down like elementary kids, causing all of the online viewers tough. It


    was a well known fact that reporters could be really annoying and courageous and they would risk


    everything including their own life for juicy information. Yet, they looked like they were mice that had


    seen a cat when they saw Toby. As expected, nothing was invincible in this world.


    ¡°Since everyone is silent now, I shall now exin why I have decided to hold a press release today,


    which is rted to my engagement with the Gray Family. I hereby announce that my engagement with


    Miss Gray has officially ended from today onward!¡± Toby dered in a calm manner as he stared at the


    camera. As expected, none of the reporters or the livestream viewers were shocked as it was


    something predicted. It was normal for Toby to call off the engagement because of what happened to


    Tina. It was already hard for a man to ept the fact that his significant order was assaulted; it would


    even be exceptionally arduous for elite families due to their reputation. Hence, none of the audience


    members thought that it was wrong for him to revoke the engagement.


    Still, there were a few who thought that he went overboard as he shouldn¡¯t have called off the


    engagement when she was in such a situation. It would¡¯ve been devastating for her to additionally deal


    with the pain of her engagement being called off. Nevertheless, these people were quickly shut down


    by the otherizens who were more level-headed. At the same time, Sonia, who was watching from


    herptop, understood at that moment that Toby was no longer associated with Tina from now on.


    However, she couldn¡¯t help but feel likeughing as Tony and Tina were engaged in a highly prolific


    manner only three months ago. Although she had ruined their engagement ceremony in the end, the


    entire world was still aware that Toby and Tina were officially engaged.


    Now, the same couple that used to unt their rtionship everywhere became everyone¡¯sughing


    stock. The news of Tina being assaulted became everyone¡¯s gossip material and she probably wouldn¡¯t


    want to leave her house anymore. As for him, no one dared to make fun of him because of his status.


    However, they would definitelyugh at him behind closed doors for being cheated on. At this moment,


    Sonia had a gloating look in her eyes as she yed with her pen. On the other hand, Carl, Charles and


    Zane were all watching the livestream at their respective houses as well. Upon hearing Toby¡¯s


    announcement that he was calling off his engagement with Tina, all of them were not ted with the


    news¡ªeven though the three of them had different expressions. They all really wanted Toby to be


    trapped with her forever.


    However, they also knew that it was impossible, so they could only watch as he called off his


    engagement with Tina. At the press release, one of the reporters asked, ¡°President Fuller, are you


    calling off the engagement on your own ord? Or, have you discussed it with the Gray Family?¡± Toby


    nced at the reporter. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between those two? Stop asking questions that are


    wasting everyone¡¯s time. Next!¡± Immediately, the reporter¡¯s face flushed before he sat down. Another


    reporter then stood up as well. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve heard from my sources that you¡¯ve been wanting


    to call off the engagement with Miss Gray for a while now. Is that true?¡± As soon as that question came


    forth, everyone¡¯s eyes brightened. President Fuller already had the intention to call off the engagement


    with Miss Gray previously?


    Looks like there¡¯s more to this than meets the eye. Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Where did you hear that


    from?¡± Instead of hiding the truth, the reporter answered, ¡°I have a friend who works in Triforce


    Enterprise. He overheard it when President Gray was on the phone with someone else.¡± At that, Toby


    raised his head a little. ¡°You¡¯re right; I was already preparing to call off the engagement with Miss Gray


    before yesterday night¡¯s events.¡± What he said immediately shocked all of the reporters as well as the


    livestream viewers. At the same time, they all couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Toby wanted to do so.


    Even Sonia was curious about it.


    Although Tyler had mentioned that Toby was preparing to call off his engagement to Tina, he didn¡¯t


    mention the reason behind it, so Sonia was quite curious to know about it as well. Apart from her,


    Charles, Zane and Carl were just as inquisitive as they intently stared at Toby on the screen. ¡°Could


    you tell us the reason why, President Fuller?¡± the reporter asked without bothering to mask his


    excitement Toby pursed his lips before he answered, ¡°I can¡¯t continue being together with a calctive


    and vicious woman who takes advantage of me.¡± This immediately caused an uproar. Calctive and


    vicious. These two words were enough for everyone to imagine all sorts of things.


    At the same time, Titus, who was still in the hospital ward, was so pissed off that he almost threw the


    remote control toward the television when he heard that. Julia started to tear up. ¡°How could Toby say


    that? Isn¡¯t calling off the engagement already enough? Why would he still say those words to destroy


    Tina¡¯s image? Is he trying to ruin her life?¡± Since Toby had publicly made his im, most would


    definitely assume that his words were true¡ªTina was a vicious woman. After all, no one would believe


    that a president of a huge enterprise would lie in front of the public. Tina, who had beenbeled as a


    vicious woman, would be ced under the spotlight right after. Even if the news of her assault would


    soon be forgotten, people would still remember her as a vicious woman and no one would dare to


    approach her.


    Moreover, her familial education and her parents¡¯ attitude would be brought into question as well.


    People would start to keep their distance from the Gray Family and might even discriminate against


    them. While Julia, the family housewife, was worried about all these, Titus had already pondered the


    possibilities of it happening as he gritted his teeth and red at Toby from the television screen.


    However, Titus didn¡¯t say anything and no one could tell what he was thinking about. At the same time,


    Sonia, who was still at Paradigm Co.,


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    never expected Toby to reveal that Tina was vicious in front of the public. Although he didn¡¯t reveal


    what Tina did, his usation alone was enough to trigger everyone¡¯s imagination to wildly roam. What


    Toby just did had pushed Tina off the cliff, making it hard for her to rise in society again. Sonia


    thought, Why would he do that, though? Is it just because Tina has impersonated me? Even Zane was


    shocked. Still, a knowing smile appeared on his face after he overcame his initial shock. ¡°You desire for


    the ones whom you love to live and the ones you hate to die. Toby Fuller, you¡¯re indeed a terrifying


    man!¡±

 Chapter 276

    Chapter 276


    Chapter 276 Killing Three Birds With One Stone,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    On site, the press conference was still going on. The reporter continued to ask, ¡°President Fuller, why


    did you say that Miss Gray is heartless? Did she do something? Can you exin in more detail?¡±


    Reporters from the other mediapanies and the audience watching the live broadcast were all


    looking expectantly at Toby. For them, apart from the gossip of the entertainment industry, gossip about


    the wealthy was the next thing that interested them most. They were especially curious because such


    experiences were out of their reach. Toby pursed his thin lips.


    ¡°No. All you need to know is that this is the real reason I broke off the engagement. There¡¯s no need to


    know anything more. Alright. This is the end of today¡¯s press conference!¡± With that, he set down the


    microphone, ced his hands in his trouser pockets, and strode out of the conference room. The main


    reason why he didn¡¯t want to reveal Tina¡¯s revolting deeds to the public was because he didn¡¯t want to


    push Sonia into the limelight. Even if Sonia was the victim of Tina¡¯s actions, some people with ulterior


    motives would wonder whether Sonia had done something that made Tina treat her like that.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Toby¡¯s departure made things difficult for the audience watching the live broadcast and the media


    personnel at the press conference. He had aroused their curiosity by dropping a heavy bomb, but


    without showing them what was inside, he walked off instead. It simply wasn¡¯t a reasonable thing to do.


    However, they dared not stop Toby, so they could only turn their hopeful gaze to his assistant, hoping


    that he could give them an answer. When Tom saw the look in their eyes, the corners of his lips kept


    twitching. He could tell from a nce what these people were thinking. If he was being honest, he felt


    that his boss was being a little unreasonable too. He left during the climax of the situation and left Tom


    to handle the mess.


    Nevertheless, Toby was the boss! After silently sighing, Tom picked up the microphone and started to


    deal with the media. Of course, the media wasn¡¯t going to get any information out of him. In the end,


    they were left with no choice but to leave the Fuller Group and head to Triforce Enterprise in hopes of


    interviewing Titus to see if they could dig something up. However, Titus didn¡¯t agree to being


    interviewed; he simply posted a video on his official page. In the video, Titus¡¯ eyes were red, and his


    expression was haggard, painting a proper image of the grief caused by the incident involving his


    daughter. Looking at the camera, he said, ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Titus Gray. In the past two days, the


    matter of my daughter being bullied has been widely discussed on the Inte.


    I¡¯m sorry for upying Inte resources. At the same time, I also hope that all theizens would


    stop paying attention to this matter. My daughter is the victim. She¡¯s still in the ICU ward and has not


    woken up yet. If she wakes up and sees so many people on the Inte talking about her tragedy, she


    would be devastated!¡± At this point, he raised his hand, wiped the corner of his eye, then said, ¡°As for


    what President Fuller said just now at the press conference about my daughter being heartless, that


    waspletely nder. I admit that my daughter has some personality ws, but she¡¯s definitely not


    heartless. Did she harm someone? Isn¡¯t everyone doing just fine? So, I urge everyone not to believe


    President Fuller¡¯s statements and to stop posting those cold-heartedments on the Inte.


    You should know that yourments may turn into a knife that could kill my daughter!¡± Taking a deep


    breath, Titus stared into the camera, as if he was looking at someone through the lens. ¡°President


    Fuller, I don¡¯t know why you would say such things about Tina, but you¡¯ve loved each other before. In


    some way, it¡¯s unfair for you to say that about her. Of course, I know that Tina being bullied has brought


    you humiliation, so you were eager to break off the engagement. I understand and I ept it. From


    now on, the Fullers and the Grays are no longer acquainted. Okay, that¡¯s all I want to say. Thank you


    everyone!¡± With that, he gave a deep bow at the camera, and the video ended.


    Regardless of whether they were originally disgusted with Tina¡¯s behavior or were merely passers-by,


    netizens who watched the video changed their attitude toward the situation. ¡®That¡¯s right. Tina is the


    victim, and it¡¯s not like she wanted to be bullied. Yet, thoseizens are still scolding her for being


    shameless and saying disgusting remarks such as ¡®it takes two to tango¡¯. I really doubt whether they


    have any ethics. Aren¡¯t they worried that the victim wouldmit suicide after seeing thesements


    as soon as she wakes up?¡¯ ¡®These keyboard warriors aren¡¯t scared.


    They just care about themselves. They don¡¯t care about how the victim feels.¡¯ ¡®I think that President


    Gray made sense. President Fuller called Tina heartless, but we didn¡¯t see her do anything evil. So,


    whether this is true or not remains to be proven. Not to mention, he and Tina were in love before, so


    whatever the case, him saying such things about her is considered quitecking in ss too.¡¯


    Suddenly, there was a lot of discussion on the Inte. Some believed in Toby, while some scolded


    him. Nevertheless, all of them now sympathized with Tina.


    In the president¡¯s office at the Fuller Group, Toby read thesements without the slightest expression


    on his face, but his body exuded an air of coldness. Standing behind him, Tom pushed his sses up


    and said, ¡°I have to say: Titus is quite skillful. He ced all the me on you and the people who


    bullied Tina. They¡¯ve be purely victims, not at all at fault.¡± Originally, after Toby revealed Tina¡¯s


    true colors, people on the Inte seemed to believe that she was indeed such a person, so even


    though Tina was bullied, they weren¡¯t sympathetic and apuded Toby for breaking off the


    engagement. However, now that Titus¡¯ video had been published, the situation was reversed.


    Netizens began to wonder whether Toby¡¯s statements were true, but most of them reckoned he wasn¡¯t


    telling the truth. It was mainly because they didn¡¯t see what Tina had done, so she was once again the


    victim of this incident. And people often subconsciously sympathized with the weak and the victims, so


    currently, all the badments about Tina on the Inte had ceased, and Triforce Enterprise¡¯s stock


    market had also risen. In short, Titus killed two birds with one stone! In fact, it was more like killing


    three birds with one stone! Titus had also retaliated against Toby for breaking off the engagement,


    because what Titus said just now clearly meant that Toby had deliberately ndered Tina.


    As a man who defamed his ex-fiancee after breaking off his engagement, he would naturally trigger the


    netizens¡¯ malice. Now, manyizens were starting to scold him. As most people would say¡ªthe older,


    the wiser. Thinking that, Tom ruefully shook his head. Simrly, another person who understood all of


    this was Sonia. She was even more aware than anyone that the old fox, Titus, wasn¡¯t easy to deal with.


    Therefore, she couldn¡¯t lower her guard just because she had defeated Titus several times before, or


    else she would be taken out in a sh.


    At this thought, Sonia slightly narrowed her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, her expression solemn.


    Meanwhile, Carl had turned off theputer and was on the phone with Tim. ¡°When do you n to


    release Tina¡¯s video? Titus haspletely cleared her name.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no hurry,¡± Tim replied, light


    reflecting in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll make a decision after Tina wakes up. She¡¯ll definitely do something, so when


    the video is released then, she¡¯ll be pushed into the abyss again.¡± Carl nodded thoughtfully. ¡°All right.¡±


    Then, Tim asked, ¡°Have you taken care of the surveince footage?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll send it to you in a while,¡± Carl replied. Tim answered, ¡°Okay.¡± At the Fuller Group, after reading


    the summary of all their cooperations with Triforce Enterprise, Toby handed them to Tom. ¡°Release a


    notice stating that, starting today, all cooperations with Triforce Enterprise are canceled!¡±

 Chapter 277

    Chapter 277


    Chapter 277 Coated Memories,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Since Titus raised Triforce Enterprise¡¯s stock price at his expense, Toby would return the favor!


    ¡°Understood, but the liquidated damages¡ª¡± ¡°Just pay the penalty!¡± Toby said with pursed lips. Titus


    must have made those remarks in the video because he figured that Toby wouldn¡¯t cancel their


    cooperation due to the liquidated damages. It was a pity that Triforce Enterprise wasn¡¯t as rich as the


    Fuller Group, and Titus wasn¡¯t as rich as he was; he didn¡¯t care about this penalty at all. ¡°Okay.¡± Tom


    nodded and went to carry out the task. About half an hourter, Titus received a notice about the


    cancetion of their cooperation, and their finance department received payment from the Fuller Group


    for the liquidated damages as well.


    At this moment, Titus waspletely dumbfounded. He knew that what he said in the video would


    offend Toby. But he didn¡¯t expect that Toby would rather pay for the liquidated damages than continue


    his cooperation with Triforce Enterprise! Suddenly, Titus started panicking. It was worth noting that


    Triforce Enterprise¡¯s situation had long started going downhill, and the reason why it was still among


    the top ten enterprises in Seafield was because of their cooperation with the Fuller Group. Now that


    their cooperation was gone, Titus dared not even imagine what Triforce Enterprise¡¯s downfall would be


    like, and thepany¡¯s directors wouldn¡¯t let him off the hook either.


    Speak of the devil¡ªthere was a knock on the office door, and Titus¡¯ assistant came in anxiously.


    ¡°President Gray, I have some bad news. Director Walker and the others have called for a meeting and


    are requesting your presence.¡± Titus¡¯ pupils shrank, and his heart fell. Then, he got up from the chair


    with a wry smile; he seemed to have aged a decade. ¡°I see. Let¡¯s go, then!¡± At the Fuller Group, Tom


    reported Triforce Enterprise¡¯s current situation to Toby. While going through some documents, Toby


    grunted an answer without raising his head to indicate that he had gotten the message. At this moment,


    Tom¡¯s phone rang. ¡°President Fuller, I need to answer this call,¡± Tom said while looking at Toby, who


    gave a slight nod.


    ¡°Go on.¡± After getting permission, Tom took out his phone and raised his eyebrows when he saw the


    caller ID before answering. Two minutester, he hung up the phone and looked at Toby. ¡°President


    Fuller, Mr. Snyder is here!¡± Upon hearing this, Toby stopped moving the pen in his hand, then raised his


    head and narrowed his eyes while urging unabashedly, ¡°Bring him in!¡± ¡°All right. I¡¯ll go get him,¡± Tom


    informed before going out to fetch Miles. In no time, Miles Snyder appeared in Toby¡¯s office,


    expressionless as usual in a white shirt and trousers.


    Toby looked at him in an equally indifferent manner. The two of them stared at each other for a long


    time, and Toby was the one to break the strange silence. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that the heart I have


    now belonged to your brother,¡± Toby stood up and said. Miles¡¯ silver-gray eyesnded on his chest.


    ¡°Quentin gave it to you willingly, so you don¡¯t have to say sorry to me.¡± Willingly? A gleam shed


    across Toby¡¯s eyes. Perhaps Quentin had indeed given it to him willingly, just as Quentin had willingly


    fulfilled Tina¡¯s wishes and got Miles to hypnotize him.


    However, he still reckoned there was something fishy about Quentin¡¯s car ident. And Miles didn¡¯t


    seem to realize that there was a problem. Oblivious to what Toby was thinking, Miles looked at Toby


    and asked, ¡°Can we start now?¡± Toby returned to his senses and nodded slightly. ¡°Yes.¡± Forget it. I


    won¡¯t tell him for now. It wouldn¡¯t be toote even if he waited until the results of his investigation came


    out. Miles motioned for Toby to sit down. After sitting down, Toby suddenly thought of something and


    pursed his thin lips. ¡°Tim said that I have a memory that has been sealed. What kind of memory is it?¡±


    Previously, when he had a headache, the image that shed through his mind was definitely his sealed


    memory.


    But, the image shed past so fast that he couldn¡¯t capture it at all, so he still didn¡¯t know what memory


    it was. There was no change in Miles¡¯ expression and eyes as he replied coldly, ¡°It¡¯s your memory of


    discovering that Tina isn¡¯t Maple.¡± ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s pupils shrank, then he looked gloomily at Miles. ¡°You


    mean I¡¯ve long discovered that Tina isn¡¯t Maple?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Miles replied while putting on his gloves. Toby


    clenched his fists, and his whole body exuded a strong pressure. Miles nced at him. ¡°Sorry.¡± HearingText content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    his apology, Toby narrowed his eyes, then quickly suppressed his anger and calmed down. If he was


    being honest, when he heard that Miles had sealed his memory, he was furious and wanted to kill the


    latter.


    However, when he thought of the fact that the heart he currently had belonged to Miles¡¯ younger


    brother, he could only let the matter go. ¡°Let¡¯s get started. Undo the hypnosis and the spiritual block,


    and unbind the memories,¡± Toby said a little tiredly as he waved his hand. Miles gave a slight nod.


    ¡°Close your eyes.¡± Toby did as he was told. All of a sudden, he heard the sharp sound of fingers


    snapping, and his head grew dizzy. In the next second, hepletely lost consciousness and plunged


    into darkness. He wasn¡¯t aware of how long itsted, but he saw a white light in the darkness, so he


    subconsciously followed it. Then, he woke up. Looking at Miles, who was sitting across the desk while


    drinking tea, Toby rubbed his temples. ¡°It¡¯s done?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Miles put down his teacup. ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten rid of the hypnosis and the spiritual block.


    You won¡¯t be affected in any way in the future. As for your memory, I¡¯ve also unlocked it. If you think


    about it, you¡¯ll be able to recall that memory.¡± When Toby heard this, he rubbed his thumb, then


    lowered his gaze and tried to recall it. After a while, he saw the image in his mind that used to sh


    past rapidly now slowly appear. Toby conformed the images and obtained aplete memory. Six


    years ago, shortly after he met with Tina to confirm their rtionship, he had already discovered that


    she wasn¡¯t Maple. The ws in Tina¡¯s character were so obvious that it was hard not to notice.


    However, just when he was about to ask Tom to find out where the real Maple was, he met Miles. Then,


    Miles hypnotized him, causing him to forget the memory of when he discovered that Tina wasn¡¯t Maple.


    Toby¡¯s eyes turned red; his fists were tightly clenched, and the blue veins on the back of his hands


    were bulging. It turned out that he had already known that Tina wasn¡¯t Maple, but he forgot it because


    of Miles. If Miles hadn¡¯t taken action at the time, he and Sonia would never have gotten to this point!


    Thinking of this, Toby turned his darkened gaze to Miles, and his voice was cold and apprehensive as


    he spoke. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Quentin¡¯s heart, I would never let you off the hook!¡±


    Miles remained calm, seemingly not fearful of Toby¡¯s threat. This was one of the symptoms of Schizoid


    Personality Disorder. They tended to not have much response to any emotions, and they might not


    even flinch. Couldn¡¯t help being a little frustrated, Toby massaged his temples. ¡°As for the hypnosis of


    my family and Tom, when did you do it?¡± ¡°Six years ago, shortly after hypnotizing you, I purposely


    located them and hypnotized them, then made them forget they saw me,¡± Miles replied. Toby pressed


    his thin lips together in a cold manner.


    ¡°Undo it all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not necessary. Their hypnosis is very light, so it just prevents them from discovering


    the ws in Tina. If you tell them that Tina¡¯s isn¡¯t Maple, their hypnosis will naturally be relieved.¡± I


    see. Toby lifted his chin and gave a dismissive wave. ¡°Alright. You can go now.¡± Tom then sent Miles


    off. When Tom returned, Toby ordered, ¡°Contact Miles¡¯ teacher and say that Miles doesn¡¯t need to be


    confined anymore. Treat it as my repayment for Quentin¡¯s heart!¡±

 Chapter 278

    Chapter 278


    Chapter 278 Tyler Made a Mistake,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Not too surprised with Toby¡¯s decision, Tom gave a slight nod. ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Go on, and take these


    documents with you too!¡± Toby pinched the bridge of his nose. Tom looked at the stack of documents,


    then reached out and picked them up. Soon after he left, Toby¡¯s phone rang. It was Tyler calling. ¡°Toby,


    I watched your press conference!¡± On the other end of the line, Tyler was wearing a basketball uniform


    and was sweating profusely on a bench by the court, obviously flushed after exercising. Toby leaned


    back. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Congrattions, of course!¡±


    Tyler wiped off his sweat. ¡°Toby, congrattions on getting out of the depths of misery!¡± Toby¡¯s thin lips


    curled up. ¡°Yeah, I know. You have a good game. I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± Listening to Tyler¡¯s slightly rapid


    breathing, Toby guessed that he must be ying. During this period of time, the under-17 exhibition


    match was at fever pitch, and there were two to three games daily, so Tyler probably made this call


    during the break. Tyler threw his towel aside and hurriedly called out, ¡°Toby, wait! Don¡¯t hang up!¡± Toby


    frowned. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I just wanted to ask you about what they¡¯re saying


    on the Inte¡­ About what happened to Tina, is it true?¡± Tyler asked curiously.


    He had just seen the news on the Inte, but he didn¡¯t read it in detail, so he still didn¡¯t know whether


    or not it was true. Toby answered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true!¡± ¡°Damn¡­¡± Tyler took a deep breath, feeling utterly


    shocked. But, he quickly calmed down, then curled his lips and said, ¡°Sure enough, if you do bad


    things, you¡¯ll get retribution. She¡¯s done so many bad things to Sonia, so this is her retribution.¡±


    Something flickered across Toby¡¯s eyes. Tyler¡¯s statements reminded him that Tina¡¯s greatest enemy


    was Sonia, so perhaps this incident had something to do with her. Of course, he didn¡¯t mean that Sonia


    did it. With her character, even if she retaliated against a person, she would only use legal means


    instead of using such methods.


    However, this wouldn¡¯t necessarily be the case for the people around her. So, is it Charles or Carl? Or


    is it¡­ Zane? As Toby thought of the way the three people looked at Sonia, his face darkened, and he


    felt irritated. These three men had thoughts about Sonia that Toby found annoying, and it was indeed


    possible for them to do such a thing to Tina for her! ¡°Toby? Toby?¡± Tyler raised his voice and shouted


    after not hearing Toby¡¯s voice for a long time. Toby¡¯s eyes shed, and he came back to his senses.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I just asked you something, but you didn¡¯t respond even after I called your name


    several times. What are you doing?¡± Tyler pouted and said unhappily. Toby rubbed his temples.


    ¡°I was thinking about something. What did you just ask?¡± ¡°I said, why did you break off your


    engagement with Tina after you were discharged from the hospital?¡± Tyler repeated his question. He


    didn¡¯t believe that it was because Tina was heartless, as his elder brother had said at the press


    conference. Didn¡¯t Toby already know that Tina is evil? Why didn¡¯t he break off the engagement earlier,


    but waited until after he got discharged? There must be another reason! He didn¡¯t ask Tobyst time,


    so this time, he must get a clear answer. ¡°You should know that I got together with Tina in the first ce


    because I thought she was my pen pal, right?¡± Toby said bleakly while staring at theputer screen.


    Tyler nodded vigorously.


    ¡°I do!¡± Although he was still young at that time¡ªhe was only ten years old¡ªhe knew that his elder


    brother had a pen pal and had fallen in love with her. It was just that he didn¡¯t know Toby¡¯s pen pal¡¯s


    name. He was a kid after all, so he wasn¡¯t interested in such matters. ¡°I know now that Tina is a fake.


    She wasn¡¯t my pen pal. My real pen pal was Sonia.¡± When Toby spoke of Sonia, his voice obviously


    softened. ¡°Damn!¡± Tyler jumped up from the bench in surprise, which startled his coach and


    teammates, who were next to him. ¡°Fuller, what are you doing?¡± His coach warned with a stern


    expression. ¡°Be quiet. Everyone¡¯s resting.¡± Only then did Tyler realize that his reaction was too big, and


    he smiled sheepishly.


    ¡°Sorry, coach. My bad.¡± After that, he walked out of the court with his phone and went to a quiet area


    before continuing, ¡°Toby, did you say that Sonia was your pen pal?¡± Toby gave a nomittal grunt.


    Tyler scratched his head. ¡°So, Tina pretended to be Sonia?¡± Toby grunted in response again. Tyler


    angrily pounded the wall. ¡°Damn, Tina is really shameless. I¡¯ve never seen anyone more disgusting


    than her. She¡¯s truly like a dog in the manger. But, how did she know you and Sonia corresponded?¡±


    ¡°She and Sonia were roommates in university. She read the letter I wrote to Sonia and guessed my


    identity based on the information in the letter, then pretended to be Sonia.¡±


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Toby¡¯s expression was dark as he exined, and his voice was filled with resentment for Tina. ¡°I see.


    So, she peeked at Sonia¡¯s letter¡­ Wait¡ªletter?¡± At this point, Tyler raised his voice, and his eyes


    widened as he suddenly remembered something. Three months ago, he saw a lot of letters at Sonia¡¯s


    ce, and the envelopes were all yellowed, showing that they were obviously timeworn. Were those


    the letters¡­ Gulping, Tyler squeezed the phone with both hands and asked tentatively, ¡°Toby, what


    were both of your pen names?¡± ¡°Why are you asking this?¡± Toby frowned. Tyler stomped his feet. ¡°Hey,


    Toby, answer me first. It¡¯s important!¡± Hearing the urgency in his tone, Toby pursed his lips, then slowly


    uttered two names, ¡°John and Maple!¡± Tyler¡¯s head shot up, and he sucked in another breath. ¡°It¡¯s


    really John!¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Do you know something?¡± Tyler lowered his head and replied in a low voice,


    ¡°Yes. Three months ago, Sonia bailed me out after I got into a fight, so I followed her to her apartment.


    I saw a lot of letters there, and I just took one to take a look. The name of the sender was John. I even


    brought the letter home. You¡¯ve seen it too, Toby.¡± When he said this, Toby remembered that one night


    three months ago, he saw a letter in Tyler¡¯s room. The envelope was the same as the one he used to


    send to Maple in the past. At that time, he vaguely felt something and had picked up the letter, but


    before he could read it carefully, the letter was snatched back by Tyler.


    It turned out that that letter was really one he had written to Maple! At this moment, Tyler knew that he


    had messed up. His brother and Sonia could have recognized each other earlier, but it was dyed


    until now because of him, causing him to feel guilty. ¡°Toby, I¡ª¡± Toby¡¯s grip around the phone tightened


    as he hissed coldly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let me read that letter back then!¡± Tyler¡¯s neck shrank back with


    guilt. ¡°I¡­ I took the letter back from Sonia¡¯s ce because I really wanted to show it to you.


    I wanted to tell you that Sonia actually had a love correspondence with someone, but afterward, I


    realized that she wasn¡¯t as annoying as I initially thought, so I was afraid that after I told you, you¡¯d be


    angry at her, so¡­¡± He trailed off, but Toby understood what he meant. He squeezed the phone, as if


    trying to suppress something. A few secondster, he hung up the phone and ced his hands on his


    eyes, his demeanor overbearing.

 Chapter 279

    Chapter 279


    Chapter 279 Caught the Culprit,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    It turned out that three months ago, he had the opportunity to know that Sonia was the real Maple.


    Three months ago, he had just divorced Sonia. If he had known that Sonia was Maple back then, Tina


    wouldn¡¯t have gotten the chance to attack her, and he might have gotten Sonia back a long time ago.


    However, there were no ifs in life. He had indeed lost his chance to recognize Sonia because of Tyler.


    Nevertheless, he must also admit that he was also part of the reason. If he had stood firm and


    snatched the letter back when Tyler took it away, the situation wouldn¡¯t have gotten to this point. It


    could only be said that God was messing with him! Meanwhile, Tyler was a nervous wreck after Toby


    hung up on him.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Walking around with his phone in hand, he muttered, ¡°This is bad. This is bad. Now, Toby must really


    hate me!¡± He also regretted not letting Toby read the letter back then. If Toby had read it, Tina wouldn¡¯t


    have gotten into the picture, and he and Sonia would¡¯ve already remarried. In the end, he had messed


    everything up! ¡°This won¡¯t do. I have to find a way to fix this.¡± He pondered a little before giving Sonia a


    call. ¡°Sonia, help!¡± Sonia was in the midst of processing documents, so she didn¡¯t look at her phone at


    all before answering the call.


    To her surprise, it was Tyler, and the moment she picked up, he even cried for help. ¡°What¡¯s the


    matter? Have you been arrested again?¡± Sonia asked faintly after mping the phone between her ear


    and shoulder. Tyler eximed, ¡°Bah! Why would I get arrested? Sonia, can¡¯t you expect better of me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t expect better of you, but you seem like you¡¯re prone to getting arrested,¡± Sonia


    answered while signing her name. Tyler¡¯s face flushed. ¡°Sonia, you¡¯re crossing a line!¡± ¡°Okay, I was just


    kidding. What¡¯s the matter? I¡¯m still working.¡± Sonia closed the signed document, ced it aside, then


    took another document to go through it. Scratching his head, Tyler replied dully, ¡°The thing is, Toby


    might hate me now!¡± Immediately afterward, he told her about the letter. After he was done, Sonia¡¯s


    hand stopped moving.


    Only then did she get to know that something like this happened after Tyler took the letter. Seeing as


    Sonia wasn¡¯t speaking, Tyler became anxious. ¡°Sonia, Toby really hates me now. You must help me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is your family¡¯s affair, so I won¡¯t interfere.¡± With that, Sonia continued to read the


    documents. Not expecting Sonia to refuse, Tyler blinked in astonishment. ¡°Why? It¡¯s also about you. If it


    wasn¡¯t because of me¡ª¡± ¡°Okay, stop talking!¡± Sonia interrupted him with a slight frown. ¡°I know what


    you wanted to say. You were going to say that because of you, Toby and I didn¡¯t recognize each other,


    right?¡± Tyler nodded repeatedly. ¡°Yes. If I had let Toby read the letter, maybe both of you would have


    remarried long ago.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡± Sonia turned the document, her face nk. ¡°Even if you showed the letter to Toby at


    that time, he and I wouldn¡¯t have remarried.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Tyler asked in surprise. Sonia¡¯s red lips opened


    slightly, and her voice was cold as she replied, ¡°There¡¯s no actual reason. But, if you really want to


    know why, it¡¯s because I don¡¯t love him. Why should I remarry a man I don¡¯t love?¡± After saying that,


    she hung up the phone. At this moment, there was a knock on the office door. Without lifting her head,


    she spat out, ¡°Come in!¡± Daphne ced her hand down and walked in before stopping at her desk.


    ¡°President Reed, the police station called just now and asked you to go there. They¡¯ve caught the


    person who cast the scary image on your floor-to-ceiling window!¡± Upon hearing this, Sonia suddenly


    raised her head. ¡°They caught the culprit?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Daphne nodded. Hearing that, Sonia smiled. Since


    the police station didn¡¯t respond for so long, she thought it was because they didn¡¯t manage to catch


    the culprit and had secretly closed the case. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be right there!¡± Sonia put down her pen, then


    picked up her bag and walked toward the office door. As soon as she left her office, she saw Carl


    walking toward her.


    ¡°Sonia, are you going out?¡± Carl asked after seeing the bag on Sonia¡¯s shoulder upon stopping


    opposite her. Sonia nodded slightly. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m going to the police station.¡± ¡°The police station?¡± Carl


    narrowed his eyes. ¡°Sonia, did something happen?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. They caught the culprit who


    cast an image of a skeleton on my floor-to-ceiling window in the middle of the night!¡± Sonia replied


    concisely. Carl¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Someone cast a skeleton image on your floor-to-ceiling window in the


    middle of the night?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Sonia, why didn¡¯t you tell me about this?¡±


    Carl took Sonia¡¯s hand, his eyes full of disapproval. ¡°What if that person has malicious intentions?¡±


    When Sonia saw how nervous and concerned he looked, warmth filled her heart. Smiling, she patted


    the back of his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine, aren¡¯t I? And they¡¯ve already caught the culprit.¡± ¡°I know


    you¡¯re fine, but just because you¡¯re fine this time doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be fine next time!¡± Carl was still


    worried. Sonia chuckled. ¡°Okay, okay, I know. If anything happens next time, you¡¯ll be the first to know,


    all right?¡± Only then did Carl nod in satisfaction while grunting his approval.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go to the police station first. If you have something


    to discuss with me, we can talk when Ie back.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing. I just came to see you. Since


    you¡¯re leaving, then I¡¯ll go with you.¡± For fear that she would refuse, Carl directly took her hand and


    walked to the elevator after saying that. Sitting in the passenger seat, Sonia suddenly remembered


    something, so she turned to look at Carl, who was driving. ¡°By the way, Carl, I told youst time that


    Reba needed your hair, right? You said you¡¯d think about it, so have you given it some thought?¡±


    When Carl heard this, something flickered across his eyes, but he quickly recovered his cool and


    replied with a gentle smile, ¡°I think it¡¯s better to forget it. My parents gave birth to me, so how could I be


    someone else¡¯s son? As for what she said about me looking like Gordon, it¡¯s probably fate. After all, not


    many people in the world look alike.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Sonia propped her head on her hand. ¡°I¡¯ve seen


    photos of your parents. You really look a lot like them. Maybe Reba¡¯s mistaken. I¡¯ll talk to herter


    and get her to stop having the idea of getting your hair.¡± ¡°Okay.¡±


    Carl nodded with a smile. When Sonia turned toward the car window to look at the scenery outside, the


    smile on Carl¡¯s face disappeared instantly, and his expression twisted with hatred instead. That old


    man, Gordon Hayes, had abandoned him and his mother back then. Now that he was dying, he had


    Oh, how naive! Carl was even more eager for Gordon to die than his other brothers! Ten minutester,


    they arrived at the police station. Carl parked the car. Just as Sonia opened the door, another car


    suddenly came and honked to signal for her to get out of the way. Frowning, Sonia took a few steps


    forward, and the car followed as well before finally stopping at the empty space where she had just


    stood. Soon, the car door opened, and a person Sonia was familiar with came out of it. It was none


    other than Titus!


    He had already seen Sonia when he was in the car, so he wasn¡¯t surprised at all. They looked at each


    other, then Titus asked with a gloomy face, ¡°What are you doing at the police station?¡± ¡°This is my


    personal matter. It doesn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with you, President Gray,¡± Sonia answered with


    a faint smile.


    Carl was even more direct. After casting Titus a sweeping nce, he said, ¡°Sonia, there¡¯s no need to


    waste time on people who aren¡¯t important. Let¡¯s go in first.¡± Sonia nodded slightly. However, just when


    she was about to turn around, Titus suddenly narrowed his eyes and called out, ¡°Stop!¡±

 Chapter 280

    Chapter 280


    Chapter 280 So It¡¯s Cynthia,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia stopped. ¡°Is there anything else, President Gray?¡± Carl, too, looked back at Titus. Titus then


    walked a few steps in front of the two while staring at Sonia with a pair of dark eyes. ¡°Are you the one


    behind what happened to Tina?¡± At first, he really did think that it was just an ident. However, after


    he had managed to calm himself and analyzed everything carefully, he found that what happened was


    not just a coincidence after all. If what happened was purely idental, then the person who went after


    Tina would have never just left her in the city, because they would be afraid of getting caught.


    However, whoever did it left Tina in the downtown area and deliberately exposed her to the public in


    order to destroy her reputation. Therefore, it only seemed more likely that someone was pulling the


    strings. And it was most likely to be Sonia. Only she had immense hatred for Tina! Hearing Titus¡¯


    interrogation, Sonia was furious, but she also found it amusing. ¡°What, now? You can¡¯t find the real


    culprit, and so you¡¯re just trying to me everything on me instead?¡± Carl, who was next to her, did not


    speak and only lowered his eyes. Titus snorted coldly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not ming it on you, but my instincts tell me that this must all be rted to you!¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes


    shed slightly. He was right¡ªthis matter was indeed rted to her. Although it was Tim who made it


    happen, he only did it for her¡ªso it was only right to say that she had something to do with it after all.


    But so what? She could just not admit it anyway. With this in mind, Sonia curled her lips. ¡°using me


    just based on your instincts, huh? No wonder Triforce Enterprise is going downhill. I heard that


    President Fuller has canceled all cooperation between Fuller Group and yourpany. Should I say


    congrattions to you?¡± ¡°You!¡± Titus red at Sonia for a while before he sneered.


    ¡°What a smart mouth.¡± Thisdy was obviously ridiculing him by insinuating that he was managing


    Triforce Enterprise with mere luck and that he had no real ability! At the same time, she was ridiculing


    him for posting the video and offending Toby, thinking that Toby would not cancel the cooperation just


    because of this, but ended up getting a hard p in the face by the man. Thisdy is indeed a tough


    nut to crack! Titus looked at Sonia gloomily. Sonia wasn¡¯t afraid, but instead looked over to him with a


    smile. ¡°Thank you for thepliment. I honestly don¡¯t think there is anything wrong with having a smart


    mouth. At least I could use it on someone I hate and have my way with them.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Don¡¯t you agree, President Gray?¡± The corners of his mouth twitched¡ªhow could he not see the


    meaning behind her words? But he couldn¡¯t get angry; otherwise, it would be the same as admitting


    that he was weak! Thinking of this, Titus took several deep breaths before he reluctantly suppressed


    the anger in his heart and forced a fake smile. ¡°Whatever you say goes!¡± ¡°Pff!¡± Hearing that, Carl


    laughed aloud without giving him any face. Titus stared at him suddenly, as if trying to burn two holes in


    him. Carl noticed it, so he slowly put away the smile on his face while looking at him calmly. Looking at


    Carl¡¯s dark and cold eyes, Titus felt as if he was looking at a wolf, which made his heart tremble and his


    scalp go numb.


    What¡®s going on? How could a mere model have such terrifying eyes? The look in his eyes is


    exceptionally familiar¡­ It¡¯s as if I have seen them before¡ªbut where? Titus frowned, unable to recall.


    Sonia looked at the time. ¡°Alright, Carl. Let¡¯s go!¡± A smile appeared on Carl¡¯s face again, and he


    answered with a gentle hum. With that, the two walked forward. Titus finally regained his senses. He


    looked with disdain at their backs and yelled, ¡°Sonia Reed, you¡¯d better pray to God that I won¡¯t find out


    about you having a hand in Tina¡¯s downfall. If I ever find out that you are any part of this, I will ruin your


    life even if it¡¯d be the end of me!¡± After all, Tina was nning to marry into the Fuller family, but now


    that this happened, even if he forced Toby to marry Tina, it would not work.


    This meant that his years of hard work had gone down the drain¡ªhow could he not be livid? Sonia


    paused when she heard Titus¡¯ threats, then she replied in a cold voice without looking back, ¡°Oh,


    really? Then I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Carl didn¡¯t speak, but only turned his head around to look at Titus. His eyes


    were the same as before¡ªhe was staring coldly at Titus, as if he wanted to imprint Titus¡¯ figure firmly in


    his brain. He only retracted his gaze upon reaching the stairs. Outside the interrogation room, Sonia


    stood in front of the door. Through the ss door, she saw the suspect inside¡ªan ordinary-looking


    man with a small build.


    The man was sitting on a chair, wrapped in a gray trench coat; with his neck and shoulders curled


    together, he looked extremely terrified and uneasy. Well, he was under arrest in the police station¡ªit


    would only be weird to not be afraid. ¡°Is he the one who cast the image on my window?¡± Sonia looked


    at him for a while, and after retracting her gaze, she asked the male police officer next to her. However,


    Carl continued to stare at the man¡ªno one could tell what he was thinking. Sonia didn¡¯t take that to


    heart, but instead, she looked at the police officer and waited for his answer. The police officer nodded.


    ¡°Yes, we have checked the surveince of several road sections and finally found him. His name is


    Davin Scott; he¡¯s a paparazzi!¡±


    ¡°A paparazzi?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows. No wonder when I spotted this man that night, he


    immediately hid the tools of the crime in his clothes and ran away. She felt that the action was very


    familiar at the time¡ªit was the same way paparazzis ran away when they were found stalking artists.


    ¡°Did he exin why he cast horror images on Sonia¡¯s window?¡± Carl didn¡¯t look at Davin anymore, but


    turned to ask the police officer. Sonia patted her forehead. ¡°Oh, yes. I almost forgot to ask.¡± ¡°Yes, he


    did. After he was arrested, he confessed immediately when we asked him. He said that he was bribed


    by ady named Cynthia Stone, who spent 100,000 for him to do so, and the purpose was to scare Ms.


    Reed.¡± ¡°Cynthia?¡±


    Sonia and Carl eximed at the same time. It was obvious that neither of them thought that Cynthia


    would be the one behind this. On the way here, they were still guessing that maybe Tina was the one


    who asked this man to do it. It turned out to be beyond their expectations¡ªit was Cynthia who was


    behind all these! ¡°If that¡¯s the case, did this Davin tell you why Cynthia wanted to scare me?¡± Sonia


    asked again, pursing her red lips. The police officer shook his head. ¡°This, he didn¡¯t say, and he


    probably didn¡¯t ask. If you want to know, you can only ask Ms. Cynthia in person.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Sonia rubbed


    her temples. ¡°Although this is not a serious criminal case, it has already constituted a crime of


    intimidation.


    In this case, can I file charges under the crime of intimidation and get Cynthia in here?¡± Sonia looked at


    the police officer. The police officer smiled. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll tell them to bring her in¡ªyou can take a


    break in the meantime.¡± Sonia replied, ¡°Okay, thanks a lot.¡± With that, the police officer left. Sonia and


    Carl went over to the row of chairs next to them and sat down while waiting for Cynthia toe over.


    As for the man in the interrogation room, Sonia was not at all interested in going in to meet him.


    Whatever that she wanted to ask had already been asked by the police.


    Moreover, that man was only doing what he was told for money. She knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to get


    any information out of interrogating him, and she would only waste her time. In the hospital, Cynthia


    was going to go home after visiting Tina. As soon as she got out of the elevator, she received a call


    from the police station. ¡°Are you Ms. Cynthia Stone?¡± ¡°Yes, speaking. Who am I speaking to?¡± Cynthia


    asked with a face full of doubt, inexplicably beginning to feel uneasy. ¡°I am calling from the police


    station.¡± ¡°Police station?¡±


    Cynthia raised her voice all of a sudden, attracting the curiosity of nearby patients and medical staff¡ª


    among them was Tom, who was holding a bag of medicine. ¡°Um¡­ is there anything you want to see


    me for?¡± Cynthia gulped and asked in a trembling voice. After being detained for half a monthst time,


    she was now scared whenever she heard from the police station or any word rted to the police


    station¡ªespecially since she had recently done something that she didn¡¯t even know was considered


    an offense.

 Chapter 281

    Chapter 281


    Chapter 281 Carl¡¯s Mental State,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    On the other end of the line, a female police officer exined softly, ¡°Well, Ms. Stone, we¡¯ve received a


    report from Ms. Reed, saying that someone cast a horror image on her floor-to-ceiling window in the


    middle of the night. Now the person who did that has been arrested and confessed that you had


    ordered him to do it. So, can I please have your presence at the station now?¡± However, her voice in


    Cynthia¡¯s ears only sounded like a messenger from hell.


    Her face turned pale as she said in disbelief, ¡°W-What? Sonia called the police?¡± Tom was naturally not


    interested in Cynthia, but when he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Cynthia calling out Sonia¡¯s


    name. Hearing that, he subconsciously stopped. ¡°Yes, Ms. Reed has filed a report, so Ms. Stone,


    pleasee to the police station right away!¡± the policewoman said again. Cynthia shook her head


    vigorously. ¡°No! I won¡¯t!¡± After all, she had been detained before, and she hated it. So, she told herself


    that she wouldn¡¯t go to the police station no matter what.


    However, the policewoman¡¯s face sank, and her voice turned colder. ¡°Ms. Stone, if you refuse toe


    over, that means you are refusing to cooperate in the investigation¡ªdo you know that we can arrest


    you and even detain you for that?¡± Upon hearing about the arrest and detention, Cynthia felt a squeeze


    in her heart. Beads of cold sweat rolled down her forehead, and she held the phone in both hands


    before nodding repeatedly. ¡°No!


    Don¡¯t arrest me. I-I¡¯lle right now.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± The policewoman smiled again. ¡°Then I will be waiting


    for you here at the police station.¡± With that, the policewoman hung up the phone. Cynthia immediately


    sank into panic. Despite that, she walked stiffly toward the hospital gate. Tom, who was standing by the


    side, squinted at her figure, and finally went in another direction. ¡°What took you so long to file a


    prescription?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby, who was reading financial reports on his tablet, frowned slightly when he saw Tom entering the


    car. Tom only handed him the medicine. ¡°President Fuller, I met Cynthia Stone on my way back.¡± ¡°So?¡±


    Toby answered uninterestedly while scrolling his tablet with his finger. After taking a sip of water, Tom


    exined to Toby what he had witnessed a while ago. ¡°Then I heard her mentioning Ms. Reed while on


    the phone, saying that Ms. Reed called the police or something.¡± ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s expression sank, and


    he instantly put the tablet down. Then, he asked with a voice of unabashed concern, ¡°Did something


    happen to Sonia?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything of it.¡± Tom shook his head. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a big deal.


    Cynthia has also gone to the police station. Ms. Reed is probably also there.¡± ¡°Head to the police


    station right now!¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes slightly and ordered in a deep voice. Tom responded and immediately started


    the car. Half an hourter, they arrived at the police station. As soon as Toby got out of the car, he saw


    Cynthia entering the police station nervously. Seeing that, he furrowed his eyebrows and dashed over


    with his long legs. As soon as he entered, he saw Sonia sitting in the lounge area of   the hall with Carl


    beside her. Toby pursed his thin lips, obviously feeling very upset. He found that almost every time he


    saw her, she was apanied by a man¡ªit¡¯d be either Carl or Charles. If it weren¡¯t either of them, it¡¯d


    be Zane. Do these men really have nothing better to do? Why do they have to linger around her all the


    time?


    Toby walked over with an unhappy expression. Just as he was not far behind them, he saw a


    policewoman with a panicked-faced Cynthia approaching Sonia and Carl. Sonia stood up and looked at


    Cynthia, who was pale as a ghost. ¡°Why did you ask someone to cast a skeleton image on my


    window?¡± ¡°A skeleton image on your window?!¡± Toby couldn¡¯t help but exim as soon as he heard it.


    As soon as Sonia heard his voice, she turned her head in surprise. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Carl also


    stood up and calmly moved a step in front of Sonia, as if he wanted to block Sonia to protect her from


    him. At the sight, a cold light shed under Toby¡¯s eyes, and he went straight to Sonia. This way, Carl


    couldn¡¯t stop him even if he wanted to, unless he pushed him away.


    But this was the police station, so he bet Carl wouldn¡¯t dare to do that. Toby cast a sneer at Carl upon


    having that thought. Seeing that, Carl clenched both his fists, his eyes filled with blood-thirsty madness.


    All he could think of was that he wanted to kill this man¡ªhe wanted to kill Toby Fuller! Only in this way


    could he escape from feeling inferior to him every time he saw him, and he could get rid of the feeling


    that he was a mere shadow of this man. Most importantly, this man was still his biggest obstacle in his


    path to get with Sonia! Noticing Carl¡¯s offensive gaze, Toby¡¯s eyes sank, and then he looked at Sonia.


    Does she know that Carl is not that simple? ¡°President Fuller, what are you looking at me for?¡± Seeing


    Toby only staring at her and not speaking, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but furrow her beautiful brows. Toby¡¯s


    eyes flickered, and his thin lips opened. ¡°I heard that you were in the police station, so I came to see


    you. What¡¯s the matter with the skeleton image on your window you mentioned just now?¡± When


    questioning, he shot Cynthia a cold look. Cynthia came into contact with his emotionless gaze and


    couldn¡¯t help but shiver, whereupon the fear on her face became even more obvious. Sonia noticed


    Toby¡¯s deterrence against Cynthia, but she didn¡¯t react too much. Instead, she replied faintly, ¡°This is


    my business, and it has nothing to do with you, so you can just stay out of this.¡±


    Hearing her say this, Carl curled up his thin lips, and his mood improved significantly. Toby, on the


    other hand, was in a terrible mood. After all, he only came over because he cared about her, but was


    instead treated with this nonchnt attitude. No one would be happy to be treated like that! Sonia


    looked at Cynthia and spoke again. ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question just now. Why did you ask


    someone to do something like this?¡± Cynthia didn¡¯t dare to look at her, but her mouth opened with a


    guilty conscience. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Stop stuttering! Just tell the truth!¡±


    Toby frowned impatiently. Sonia rolled her eyes at him. She had told him that this was her business,


    and he should stay out of it. However, it was as if he couldn¡¯t hear a word she said; he even helped her


    interrogate the woman at fault! Carl also nced at Toby coldly while pursing his lips and said nothing.


    Only he himself knew what he was suppressing at the moment. Among these people, the person


    Cynthia feared the most was Toby. Hearing Toby¡¯s words, she shrank even more, not daring to do


    against what he said. She could only answer honestly, ¡°I-I just wanted to scare you.¡± ¡°Scare me?¡±


    Sonia obviously didn¡¯t buy it. ¡°Is that all?¡± Cynthia nodded repeatedly. ¡°Yes!¡± Sonia stared at her for a


    while and finally confirmed that she wasn¡¯t lying, whereupon her face sank. ¡°Why did you do this? I


    haven¡¯t done anything to you recently, have I?¡± ¡°You did!¡± As if her emotions had been triggered,


    Cynthia raised her head suddenly and red angrily at Sonia. ¡°At the banquet, you embarrassed me in


    front of so many people. That¡¯s why I did this¡ªto avenge myself! I wanted to get even with you!¡±


    ¡°Avenge yourself?¡± Toby spat coldly. ¡°You were embarrassed because you were dumb and had to


    stand up for Tina unnecessarily.


    It had nothing to do with Sonia, so what right do you have to avenge yourself!¡± Sonia looked at him


    strangely. How strange it is for him to speak up for me. It was making her a little ufortable!


    Meanwhile, Carl only lowered his head and said nothing, making it difficult to see his expression.


    ¡°President Fuller, are you¡­ standing up for Sonia?¡± Cynthia looked at Toby in disbelief, unable to


    ept the fact that he actually helped Sonia but not Tina. ¡°She is the one I love, so of course I will


    stand up for her!¡± Toby looked back at Sonia with affectionate eyes.


    Thest thing Sonia would have expected was for Toby to confess his love for her like this in public.


    After a moment of stunned silence, she subconsciously avoided his gaze and ignored him. Carl


    clenched his fists tighter, and the hostility in his heart that wanted to raze everything to the ground grew


    stronger.


    Cynthia was dumbfounded. ¡°Y-You¡­ love Sonia?¡± She pointed to Toby and Sonia, and finally managed


    to ask loudly, ¡°What about Tina?¡± ¡°That is my business! It¡¯s not your ce to ask!¡± Toby¡¯s face turned


    gloomy. Cynthia cast a downward gaze, and her voice was no longer as justified and confident.


    Instead, it became erratic. ¡°I¡­ I only asked because I care about Tina.¡±

 Chapter 282

    Chapter 282


    Chapter 282 To Be Detained Again,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Enough!¡± Sonia rubbed her forehead and said with a slightly impatient tone, ¡°Rather than caring about


    others, you should first worry about whether you will be detained again!¡± ¡°Detained again?¡± Cynthia¡¯s


    expression changed. ¡°Why should I be detained? I came to the police station!¡± ¡°Are you clueless or are


    you pretending, huh?¡± Carl crossed his arms and stared at her coldly. ¡°You paid someone to put up that


    kind of image on Sonia¡¯s window. It is considered a criminal offense¡ªit¡¯s a crime of intimidation!¡± ¡°Wait,


    what? No! What do you mean by a crime of intimidation?


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I didn¡¯t try to intimidate her; I only wanted to scare her. How is that a crime? It¡¯s a prank at most!¡±


    Cynthia eximed in panic. Seeing her doing this, Sonia knew in her heart that this woman was indeed


    not pretending, and that she really didn¡¯t know that what she did was a crime. She had seen her fair


    share of people that did not know anything about thew, but she had never met someone who was as


    ignorant as Cynthia. Sonia looked at Cynthia with a helpless expression. ¡°Officer, please tell her if it is a


    crime!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The male police officer who had kept quiet nodded his head and took a step forward.


    ¡°Ms. Stone, you didmit the crime of intimidation. If you¡¯d only had someone cast an image on Ms.


    Reed¡¯s window once or twice, then yes, you could still say it was a prank. But it¡¯s different when you do


    it several times in a row¡ªthat¡¯s considered purposeful intimidation.¡± ¡°Yes, especially in the middle of


    the night. Any normal person would be extremely startled if they saw a skeleton appearing on their


    windows in the middle of the night. They might fall to the ground from being startled, or even get mental


    disorders from this!¡± Carl only stared at Cynthia in disdain. Toby nced at Sonia¡¯s lower abdomen and


    then said, ¡°And let¡¯s not forget that Sonia is pregnant. Your little ¡®prank¡¯ may cause her to miscarry.


    Can you afford the consequences?¡± That was his child. Sonia could choose not to bear it, but other


    people would never have the right to decide his child¡¯s fate. Cynthia should be d that the child was


    okay. Otherwise, he would never let the Stone family off easily. That being said, seeing that Sonia still


    hadn¡¯t aborted the child, he wondered if she was nning on keeping it. Thinking of this, Toby was


    suddenly filled with joy and expectation. He was excited for their child to be born. The baby must be


    very cute. Also, the most important thing now was, maybe for the child¡¯s sake, she would forgive him


    and get back with him again! ¡°I didn¡¯t intimidate her! I did not n to hurt anyone!¡±


    Cynthia suddenly shook her head and backed away, her face full of fright. ¡°I just wanted to scare her. I


    have never thought of causing her to have any mental disorder or have a miscarriage. Besides, isn¡¯t


    she okay now?¡± Saying that, Cynthia pointed at Sonia. ¡°Look, she is fine! So what proof do you have to


    say that I havemitted a crime?¡± Carl furrowed his eyebrows, and just when he was about to speak,


    the corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched sarcastically as she took the lead in speaking instead. ¡°In this


    world, there are always people who think that they didn¡¯t do anything wrong just because the victim


    was fine. It¡¯s such a pity that I don¡¯t buy this at all. Officer, what do you think shall be the punishment for


    her?¡±


    The officer thought for a while and replied, ¡°In fact, what she said was right. Although she didmit


    the crime of intimidation, you did not suffer any injury. So her punishment will not be too serious and


    she will not go to jail. She might get detention; as for the length of detention, we have to wait for further


    notice.¡± As soon as Toby heard this, he squinted his eyes. It was unclear what he was thinking. Sonia


    nodded slightly. ¡°Okay, then lock her up first, and let me know when you get the information.¡± ¡°Of


    course!¡± The officer responded with a smile and was about to go forward to handcuff Cynthia.


    Cynthia did not want to be detained, so she quickly backed away, even attempting to escape. However,


    just as she was about to take a step, Carl stretched out his foot. Just like that, Cynthia tripped to the


    ground and was caught by the police officer. Cynthia knew that she couldn¡¯t escape; her face was pale


    with fright, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She hurriedly looked at Sonia. ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m sorry.


    I now know what I did was wrong. Forgive me, please. I don¡¯t want to be detained again. Please, I¡¯m


    sorry¡­¡± Cynthia burst into tears, looking extremely pitiful.


    However, none of the people present sympathized with her. Sonia looked at her coldly. ¡°Why would you


    do something you¡¯d regret? We¡¯re all adults here, and adults should be responsible for their actions.


    Besides, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re really remorseful. You¡¯re just afraid of being detained, so you had no


    choice but to admit your mistakes. In fact, in your heart, you still don¡¯t think that you did anything


    wrong. Am I right?¡± Sonia lowered her head and brought her face closer to Cynthia. Cynthia met her


    eyes, which seemed to be able to see through people¡¯s minds. Crying profusely, her eyes wandered


    away with a guilty conscience. She choked on her words and couldn¡¯t form a proper sentence. Sonia


    curled her lips mockingly.


    ¡°Look. You can¡¯t answer me. It seems I¡¯m right!¡± Cynthia¡¯s lips moved, as if she wanted to say


    something, but in the end, she didn¡¯t manage to utter a single word and only lowered her head, as if


    she had given up. The officer took her away and brought her to the interrogation room with Davin as he


    had to make a detailed confession about the incident. As the person who submitted the police report,


    Sonia could leave ande back after Cynthia¡¯s trial was over. ¡°Sonia, let¡¯s go,¡± Carl said to Sonia.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    At this moment, Toby also said to Sonia suddenly, ¡°I¡¯ll leaveter. I still have something to do.¡± Carl


    squinted while looking at him with obvious dissatisfaction. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s your business whether


    you leave or not. It has nothing to do with us, so there¡¯s no need for you to inform us at all.¡± Sonia


    nodded, agreeing with Carl¡¯s words. Toby¡¯s eyes darkened. After a cool nce at Carl, he returned his


    gaze to Sonia, and his voice softened. ¡°I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia looked at him


    suspiciously. ¡°It¡¯s not convenient to talk about it here¡ªlet¡¯s go over there.¡± Toby pointed to the corner.


    Sonia frowned slightly, looking somewhat unwilling. Toby noticed it and took her arm directly.


    ¡°Come with me!¡± With that, he was going to pull her over. As soon as Carl saw this, his expression


    became cold, and he stretched out his hand to take Sonia¡¯s other arm. ¡°Sonia, don¡¯t go.¡± Before Sonia


    could reply, Toby¡¯s eyes fell on Carl¡¯s hand, and his voice was cold. ¡°Let her go!¡± ¡°You should be the


    one letting go! You are the one who is the least qualified to touch her here!¡± Carl didn¡¯t let go, but


    instead tightened his grip on her arm while looking directly at Toby. Toby was irritated by these words.


    His face sank, and his whole body exuded coldness. Carl also didn¡¯t n to let go.


    The two men looked at each other in a standoff¡ªtheir gazes were equally as intimidating. After a while,


    Carl¡¯s aura was gradually suppressed by Toby. After all, he was not like Toby, who had weathered


    through battles in the business world and had developed an extremely oppressive and superior aura.


    Therefore, Carl was quickly subdued. After being subdued, Carl¡¯s expression was menacing, and his


    heart was filled with the urge of wanting to destroy everything.


    This caused his grip on Sonia¡¯s arm to tighten more and more, as if he was about to squeeze Sonia¡¯s


    arm off. ¡°Ouch!¡± Sonia suddenly frowned and cried out in pain. She looked down at Carl¡¯s hand and


    said quickly, ¡°Carl, let me go. You¡¯re hurting me!¡± Hearing this, Carl, who was on the fringe of madness,


    suddenly regained his senses and realized what he had done. Immediately, his pupils shrank, and he


    quickly apologized.


    ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m sorry!¡± As soon as he was about to let go, Toby grabbed his hand away from Sonia¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Toby asked with a concerned expression on his face while looking at Sonia. Sonia saw


    the worry in his eyes and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Let me see.¡± Still a little worried, Toby tried to roll her


    sleeve up.

 Chapter 283

    Chapter 283


    Chapter 283 Carl Is A Dangerous Man,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°No! I¡¯m fine!¡± Sonia knitted her eyebrows and immediately hid her hands behind her back, vehemently


    refusing Toby¡¯s care. Toby¡¯s hand remained frozen in the air. Finally, he retracted his arm after a long


    time, feeling disappointed. ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Carl lowered his head and apologized again with a


    remorseful expression on his face. He would never try to hurt her on purpose. However, he just couldn¡¯t


    suppress the hostility in his heart, so he did it without even realizing. Sonia¡¯s heart softened all of a


    sudden as she looked at the always-gentle young man, now looking like a child who had just made a


    mistake.


    She reached out and touched his hair while smiling gently. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t me you anyway.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Carl raised his head, looking at her with his bright eyes. Sonia replied, ¡°Yes!¡± Only then did


    Carl cast aside his inner anxiety and smiled again. Toby, who was on the side, saw this scene and only


    to find it all too much of an eye-sore. Obviously, he had his eyes on Carl. His intuition told him that this


    person was an extremely dangerous man. ¡°Sonia,e with me first. I really do have something very


    important to tell you,¡± Toby said with a serious expression.


    Seeing him being so solemn, Sonia¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but waver when she thought there could really


    be something serious that he wanted to talk about. Hence, she nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Sonia?¡±


    Carl¡¯s mood, which had just lightened up, now turned gloomy again. Seeing that, Sonia patted the back


    of his hand. ¡°I will be back soon.¡± After speaking, she walked straight to the corner Toby pointed to.


    Toby didn¡¯t even look at Carl, but only passed him by with his long legs. Carl stared at the two people in


    the corner¡ªhis eyes were blood-shot, and his fists were tightly clenched. His hands were trembling


    slightly, and his veins popped on the back of his hands from the amount of force he was exerting.


    He really wanted to kill Toby! And after that, he¡¯d kill Zane and Charles as well¡ªeveryone that would


    ever try to take Sonia away from him. After killing these people, he wanted to take Sonia abroad and


    lock her in a cage that he carefully built for her, so that she would not be able to leave him for the rest


    of her life, and she could only have him in his heart! Meanwhile, in the corner, Sonia turned around and


    looked up at Toby. ¡°President Fuller, what are you trying to tell me?¡± ¡°Well, all I wanted to say is for you


    to stay away from Carl!¡± Toby said seriously. ¡°Huh?¡±


    Sonia was stunned as she widened her eyes in disbelief. ¡°So this is the ¡®important matter¡¯ that you told


    me toe over to talk about? For me to keep away from Carl? Are you crazy?¡± With that, she snorted


    angrily and turned to leave. No wonder he insisted on calling me here and kept Carl away from


    listening. This was what he was scheming! Sonia thought to herself. ¡°Wait!¡± Toby stretched out his hand


    and tried to get ahold of her. ¡°Let go of me!¡± Sonia shook his hand off. However, Toby held on tightly.


    ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m serious. Carl is an extremely dangerous man. If you insist on getting close with him, he¡¯s


    bound to hurt you sooner orter.¡±


    Soniaughed from the anger she was suppressing. ¡°Hurt me? Toby Fuller, don¡¯t you think this is funny


    coming from you, of all people? I treat him as my younger brother. I know him¡ªhis personality is gentle


    and kind, and he will not hurt me like you think he will. The one who is really hurting me is you; don¡¯t


    you think so?¡± She sneered and looked at him sarcastically. Facing her gaze, Toby felt like his heart


    had been stabbed, but he couldn¡¯t refute what she said. It was true¡ªhe was the one who was really


    hurting her. Even if it wasn¡¯t his intention before, he still did it, and he couldn¡¯t be excused for all of that.


    Seeing that Toby stopped talking, Sonia tried to shrug his hand off again and warned him, ¡°Don¡¯t ever


    try to tell me anything about Carl or Charles wanting to hurt me. Or else, you will never see the end of


    it.¡± Once she was done with her words, she threw him a cold look and walked toward Carl. Toby raised


    his hand and put it on his heart, only to feel a slight pain there. He could still remember vividly his


    indifference toward her in the past six years¡ªhe remembered every detail very carefully. He didn¡¯t


    think much of it before, but now, he knew how upsetting it was to be treated this coldly. ¡°Sonia.¡± Seeing


    how Sonia came back with a stern face, Carl quickly suppressed the gloomy emotions in his heart and


    asked with concern, ¡°What did he tell you?¡±


    Sonia only looked at him. Her eyes shed, then she shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s go.¡± How


    could she bring herself to tell Carl what Toby said? It would only hurt him. Seeing how Sonia was


    unwilling to tell him, Carl¡¯s eyes darkened, but they soon returned to normal. Following that, he only


    replied, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go, then.¡± Neither of them even batted an eye at Toby; they walked straight toward


    the exit of the police station lobby. When they were almost there, the door of an office suddenly


    opened, and Titus came out from inside with a police officer by his side.


    While they were getting out of the office, Titus was saying to the police officer with a angered face,


    ¡°We have to find those six b*stards!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Gray. This is our duty.¡± The police officer nodded.


    After hearing what the police officer said, Titus¡¯ expression improved a lot. All of a sudden, he had a


    feeling that someone was looking at him, so he turned around to see that it was Sonia. Upon noticing


    that, he snorted gloomily and left the police station without saying anything. Sonia didn¡¯t think much of


    his departure, but was quite interested in the six ¡®b*stards¡¯ that he mentioned. ¡°Officer.¡± Sonia stopped


    the police officer who had just spoken to Titus.


    The police officer stopped. ¡°Hello, Miss Reed. Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Sonia was one of


    the major taxpayers in the country, and so the police officers would naturally recognize her. With a


    smile, Sonia continued, ¡°Can I know who the ¡®six b*stards¡¯ that Mr. Gray mentioned just now referred


    to?¡± When Carl heard her question to the police officer, his eyelids drooped, covering the expression in


    his eyes. Neither Sonia nor the officer noticed that. The police officer replied, ¡°Oh, about that, Mr. Gray


    came over to check the surveince on the night of Miss Gray¡¯s ident to find the six suspects who


    vited her.¡±


    ¡°There were six?¡± Sonia was stunned by the number. She always thought that there was only one


    person who vited Tina. So it turned out that Tim had arranged six¡ªit seemed that he hated Tina


    more than she¡¯d thought! Sonia¡¯s original wariness against Tim rose again, even more than before.


    Well, it was understandable for Tim to hate Tina so much to the point that he wanted to wipe her out


    since she had pretended to be Sonia. After all, he was deceived, and he had all the right to be angry.


    However, Tim¡¯s kindness to Tina before was sincere and real, but now that Tina was no longer his


    savior, he went on to punish her to the point of death.


    This method was indeed terrifying. Sonia couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Tim would punish her this way too


    if she ran out of his grace one day. Thinking of this, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but shudder. The police officer


    naturally didn¡¯t know what she was thinking, so he assumed that she was frightened by the number and


    nodded slightly. ¡°Yes. There were six of them. Please don¡¯t spread any word about it¡ªit will easily


    cause disruption to our investigation.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia gave a light smile and agreed. Soon, the officer


    left. Sonia stayed in ce for a while. It was not until Carl called out to her that she barely managed to


    suppress the uneasiness in her heart and forced a smile before leaving the police station with him.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    That same night, the police station called¡ªit was about Cynthia and Davin¡¯s verdict. It was decided so


    fast to the point that Sonia was surprised. When did the police station be so efficient? Without


    much thought, Sonia quickly asked about their sentence and respective periods, and she quickly got


    the answer. Davin was not the mastermind, so he would only be detained for 10 days. On the other


    hand, Cynthia, who was the mastermind, would be detained for 20 days, and would need to


    compensate Sonia 200,000 for causing her emotional trauma. Sonia was absolutely stunned by this


    number.


    On the way back in the afternoon, she called and consulted awyer about Cynthia¡¯s situation. The


    lawyer told her that although Cynthia hadmitted the crime of intimidation, the circumstances were


    not that serious. ording to the professional, she was estimated to be detained for up to only 10 days


    and be fined 50,000 for emotional trauma. However, Cynthia¡¯s actual sentence was to be detained for


    20 days, and thepensation had also increased by multiple folds. Something obviously wasn¡¯t right


    about this!

 Chapter 284

    Chapter 284


    Chapter 284 Tina Woke Up,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Soon, Sonia recalled that Toby stayed behind in the police station when she and Carl left in the


    afternoon. Could it be that at that time, Toby was doing this behind her back? Did he ask the officers to


    increase Cynthia and Davin¡¯s sentence on purpose? Thinking of this, Sonia pursed her red lips and


    dialed Toby¡¯s number. Back in the Fullers¡¯ Residence, Toby was having a video conference in the study


    when his phone rang all of a sudden, interrupting his speech. He felt a little annoyed.


    However, after seeing the caller ID, the annoyance on his face disappeared without a trace and was


    reced by a hint of joy. Sonia actually took the initiative to call him! Toby grabbed his phone and did


    not immediately answer. Instead, he looked at theputer screen and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a break from


    the meeting¡ªI have to answer this call first.¡± After speaking, disregarding the dumbfounded gaze of the


    group of people on theputer screen, he got up and went to the balcony. ¡°Wait. Didn¡¯t President


    Fuller set the iron rule of not answering calls during any meetings himself?¡± ¡°Yes, but he has broken it


    personally now. That said, he didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the ¡®rule¡¯ he set.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ who do you think was the one that called?¡± ¡°Who knows? But judging from his look, it¡¯s probably


    his sweetheart.¡± Naturally, Toby didn¡¯t know how his employees spoke about him after he left. He only


    stood in front of the balcony railing, swiped his thumb over the green answer button, and answered


    Sonia¡¯s call. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± His voice was low and hoarse with a touch of gentleness, which was


    particrly nice to hear. Hearing his voice, Sonia felt an unknown itch in her ears, so she couldn¡¯t help


    but take her phone away from her face. After rubbing her ears, she brought the phone back to her ears


    and asked, ¡°Did you request for a heavier sentence for Cynthia?¡± So it turned out that she only called


    him for this!


    All of a sudden, the little speck of joy in Toby¡¯s heart disappeared without a trace as he lowered his


    eyes and answered, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Seeing how he had admitted to it so directly, Sonia was stunned for


    a moment. However, she soon recovered her calmness and asked in a cold voice, ¡°Why? Why did you


    do this? This matter had nothing to do with you, right?¡± ¡°I know. I just wanted to do something for you,¡±Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby replied after pursing his thin lips. Sonia¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡°You¡­ wanted to do something


    for me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. Soniaughed ironically from hearing what he said. ¡°President Fuller,


    don¡¯t you think it¡¯s all toote now? I might have been touched if you had said this before the divorce,


    but now, I only find it extremely ridiculous and an utter joke!¡±


    She spoke mockingly. ¡°Did you know how much I had expected of you in the past six years? Did you


    know how much I wanted you to help me say something when your mother and your brother bullied


    me? How much I wanted you to stand up for me and help me out when those people from the circle


    wereughing at me? But what did you do? You stood by and did nothing. Not even once did you do


    anything for me as a husband, and now you tell me that you wanted to do something for me? What is


    the use of it now? It only makes you look hypocritical!¡± Listening to her usations, Toby seemed to


    feel as if a knife had pierced into his heart.


    There was nothing but pain to the point he felt difficult breathing, and his hand holding the phone


    trembled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Toby apologized with a pale face. He admitted that he had never done


    anything for her. He did not do right by her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say sorry to me because I don¡¯t care


    anymore.¡± Sonia took a deep breath, then steered back to the earlier topic and said in a cold voice,


    ¡°Cynthia¡¯s matter is my business. I don¡¯t need you to intervene, and the police should sentence her


    ording to thew, so please cancel your arrangement with them. Thanks!¡±


    After speaking, she hung up the phone. Once the call was ended, Toby then put down the phone and


    ced it in front of him. He slightly lowered his head to look at the phone interface that had jumped


    back to the main menu. His eyes were dull, and the expression on his face was deste.


    After an uncertain amount of time staring at his phone, Toby closed his eyes, and when he opened


    them again, his gaze was unfocused and dim. Finally, he put away the phone and returned to the study.


    At the same time in the hospital, Tina, who had been in aa for two days, finally woke up.


    Julia even cried tears of joy when she witnessed that, and she quickly pushed Tina, who was about to


    get up, back onto the bed. ¡°Tina, don¡¯t move. Lie back down quickly!¡± ¡°Mom¡­¡± Tina looked at Julia


    weakly, her voice hoarse. ¡°Mom, what is going on with me?¡± She was in pain all over, especially in her


    lower body; she could barely move. At this point, she was so afraid that she was paralyzed. Julia


    opened her lips, but deep down, she didn¡¯t want to answer. Upon seeing this, Tina instantly understood


    that her condition was serious. She stretched out her hand and grasped Julia¡¯s arm tightly, feeling very


    anxious. ¡°Mom, tell me. Am I paralyzed? Mom! Tell me!¡±


    Julia immediately felt a shot of pain from her arm where she was being held by Tina, so she quickly


    pulled her arms out and answered, ¡°No, no. You¡¯re not paralyzed.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t I feel anything on


    the lower part of my body?¡± Tina yelled with tearful eyes. Both her eyeballs were bulged and bloodshot,


    and her ghast expression made her look terrifying, like Bloody Mary.


    Julia was frightened and couldn¡¯t help taking a step back. ¡°You don¡¯t feel anything on your lower body


    because the doctor gave you an injection to prevent your wound from rupturing when you wake up.


    When the effect of the medicine is over, you will regain the sensations in your lower body again.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Tina looked at her hopefully. Julia nodded. ¡°Yes, dear. Why would I lie to you?¡± She patted Tina¡¯s head


    slightly. Seeing the seriousness in Julia¡¯s eyes, Tina was relieved, then she smiled with tears in her


    eyes. ¡°That¡¯s great. That¡¯s great!¡± She was not disabled! After all, Tina was such a proud person, so


    how could she ever ept an imperfect, crippled self? ¡°By the way, Mom, why did the doctor have to


    inject me with a numbing drug?¡± Tina stared at Julia and asked again. Julia sighed, then she covered


    her face while crying. ¡°Damn those b*stards! They have caused serious damage to your lower body¡­


    Even your uterus¡­ I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t be able to have children in the future¡­¡± Boom!


    Tina felt a bolt of lightning strike through her head, and her whole world came crashing down. I can¡¯t


    have children anymore¡­? she thought to herself. Then how could I marry Toby and give birth to his


    children? Besides, a woman who couldn¡¯t bear a child was nothing better than a disabled woman. Her


    life had been ruined! ¡°Ahhh!¡± Tina screamed like an insane person, her entire face distorted to the


    extreme, and the hatred in her eyes could almost cut a person.


    ¡°It¡¯s Sonia. Sonia Reed!¡± Tina firmly grasped the bed sheet under her with both hands and shivered


    violently while shouting the name constantly in her mouth¡ªher almost poisonous tone stunned


    everyone in the room. Julia endured the goosebumps on her body and quickly asked, ¡°Tina, why are


    you calling out for Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Mom, it was Sonia who did this to me. It¡¯s her fault I¡¯m like this now!¡± Tina looked at Julia while


    shouting with her hoarse voice. ¡°What?¡± Julia covered her lips in shock. Meanwhile, Titus, who rushed


    over from Triforce immediately after he heard that Tina was awake, heard everything that Tina said


    about Sonia harming her as soon as he approached the door. His expression changed as he quickly


    stepped into the ward and said solemnly, ¡°Tina, is what you said true?


    Is it true that Sonia Reed did this to you?¡± For a split second, Tina¡¯s eyes shed with a guilty


    conscience. However she then nodded firmly. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s her. She tricked me to go to Bay Street, and


    then got me abducted and taken away to a warehouse¡­ Dad, you have to avenge me, and as for


    those six men, I want them dead. I want them to die the most painful death!¡± Titus nodded coldly, his


    eyes full of merciless cruelty. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will avenge you no matter what!¡±

 Chapter 285

    Chapter 285


    Chapter 285 Fake Rina In Action,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Titus had long suspected Sonia to be a part of this. First, Henry Reed killed his elder daughter more


    than 20 years ago, and then his daughter went on to ruin his second daughter, and now the opportunity


    for her to marry into the Fuller family waspletely gone. He would never forgive himself if he didn¡¯t


    ruin and burn the Reed family to the ground. Hearing how Titus had agreed to avenge her, Tina put on


    a slight smile. In the next second, after recalling something else, she turned to Julia and asked, ¡°Oh, by


    the way, Mom. How did you find me?¡±


    Those six men humiliated her so cruelly that she passed out in the middle of it all, so she didn¡¯t know


    what happened next. ¡°Actually¡­ we didn¡¯t find you. A passerby found you in the downtown area,¡± Julia


    shook her head and replied. As soon as she said that, Tina¡¯s pupils contracted, and a great anxiety


    rose in her heart. ¡°Downtown area?¡± Julia nodded with red eyes. ¡°Yes. You were put into a sack naked


    that night and left in the downtown area¡ªit was a passerby who looked in it out of curiosity and found


    you before they called the police.¡± ¡°They called the police!¡± When Tina heard those words, her eyes


    rolled back, and she almost fainted again.


    Her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands in anger, causing her palms to be torn apart by her


    nails, streaming bright red blood. However, she didn¡¯t seem to feel the pain, and instead said fiercely,


    ¡°Do you mean that I was exposed, and now everyone knows that I was r*ped?!¡± Although Julia wanted


    to tell her a white lie, she knew that it would not hold. As long as Tina went online, she would find out


    that she was lying anyway. Therefore, it was better to admit to it directly. ¡°Yes.¡± Julia nodded sadly.


    Titus patted Julia on the shoulder, expressingfort. ¡°How could this happen to me¡­¡± Tina felt


    lightheaded, as if her whole world had copsed. Everyone knew she was r*ped.


    She could even imagine clearly how theizens on the inte would talk about her, the way


    everyone in her social circle wouldugh at her, and how the media would use her to gain exposure!


    ¡°What about Toby? Does he know?¡± Tina then asked again with blood-shot eyes. Julia turned her head


    away as she could no longer bear to face Tina. As she saw her mother behaving this way, her heart


    turned cold. ¡°Toby¡­ knows¡­?¡± At this instant, Titus mmed the table angrily. ¡°Not only does he


    know, he also took the opportunity to terminate the engagement!¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina fell speechless. Right now, she could only manage to stare at the ceiling nkly with both her


    eyes peeled open, as if she had lost her soul¡ªit was a terrifying sight to see. After a few seconds, she


    suddenlyughed frantically. Herughter was filled with grief and anger, and even tears came out.


    Julia could feel nothing but distress seeing her this way. ¡°Tina¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Tina is obviously not


    feeling the best now. Let¡¯s give her some time to vent.¡± Titus grabbed Julia, who wanted to go up to


    comfort Tina. Julia had no choice but to nod her head.


    Right then, someone knocked on the door of the ward¡ªit was Titus¡¯ assistant. ¡°President Gray, we


    found the girl with the special ne you previously posted about,¡± the assistant walked in and said


    hurriedly. Titus and Julia¡¯s expressions froze simultaneously. Even Tina stopped her maniacalughter


    as she nearly choked. Then, she began to cough violently, her face flushed from the coughing. Even


    so, Titus and Julia didn¡¯t bat an eye at her; they were only staring at the assistant. ¡°What do you mean?


    You¡¯re saying you found Rina?¡± Julia was so excited her hands were trembling. Titus reacted the same


    way. Like his wife, he had hoped for nothing else but to find his eldest daughter, Rina.


    Because this eldest daughter was his only biological daughter. The most important thing was that Tina


    was nowpletely ruined and hopeless, so he could only put all of his hopes on Rina. ¡°Yes.¡± The


    assistant nodded. ¡°I was stopped by a girl just now when I entered the hospital, and the girl gave this to


    me,¡± the assistant said while spreading his hand, revealing an old ne in his palm. As soon as she


    saw the ne, Julia burst into tears. She covered her lips with both hands, crying so hard that she


    couldn¡¯t speak. Titus, on the other hand, was a little calmer than she was, but his hand that went to


    take the ne from his assistant trembled unabashedly.


    Once he took the ne over, he opened up the back of the pendant and saw the abbreviation of the


    initials of Rina Gray¡¯s name. All of a sudden, heughed out loud. ¡°It¡¯s Rina¡¯s ne, it¡¯s Rina¡¯s


    ne!¡± Julia also saw it and nodded her head again and again. ¡°She¡¯s Rina. She¡¯s my Rina.


    Where¡¯s my Rina right now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s at the hospital lobby. I told her to wait for me there,¡± the assistant


    replied. Julia took Titus¡¯ hand. ¡°Titus, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s go meet her.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s go!¡± Titus


    carefully put the ne away. The couple hurried out of the ward, and the assistant followed closely


    behind.


    None of the three looked at Tina behind them. For Titus and Julia, how could Tina¡¯s condition now


    compare to Rina¡¯s return? ¡°Arghhh!¡± Tina yelled loudly and kept picking things up from her bedside to


    smash them on the floor and the wall, venting her anger. She couldn¡¯t ept this. She did so much to


    prevent her parents from finding Rina, and she even asked a private investigator to find her, but even


    he failed. Who would have thought that Rina hade to them herself at this time?! God is really


    unfair, huh. Sonia is not enough to snatch all my things away, but now Rina, too?


    Tina thought to herself bitterly. But soon, she calmed down again and continued staring at the ceiling


    with hollow eyes. She knew that once Rina came back, she would definitely hog her parents¡¯ favor and


    inheritance from her. That being so, she didn¡¯t believe that she couldn¡¯t go against someone who had


    lived under someone else¡¯s roof for all those years. Therefore, the top priority now was to deal with the


    matter of being r*ped first, then she could take her time to deal with Rina in the future. Thinking about


    this, Tina took a deep breath before grabbing her phone by the pillow and dialed Tim¡¯s number with an


    extremely cold expression on her face. At the same time, Tim was seeing a patient.


    As soon as he heard the phone ring next to him, he tilted his head and saw the caller ID. His sses


    reflected light as he read the name on the caller ID. He didn¡¯t answer the call immediately. Instead, he


    turned his head back, tore off the prescription sheet, and handed it to the patient opposite of him. ¡°Well,


    you have no major issues, and you will recover soon after taking two courses of medicine.¡± ¡°Okay.


    Thank you, doctor.¡± The patient took the prescription with both hands and stood up gratefully. Tim gave


    a faint hum. ¡°Alright. Go get your medicine.¡± ¡°Sure.¡±


    The patient nodded, turned around, and went out. It was only then that Tim picked up the phone and


    answered the call. Before he could speak, Tina¡¯s hateful voice rang from his phone. ¡°Tim Lancaster,


    didn¡¯t you say that you would lead Sonia to Bay Street? Why is it that I was the one who was r*ped in


    the end?!¡± Tim¡¯s lips twitched slightly, but his tone and words were apologetic. ¡°I did bring Sonia over,


    but I didn¡¯t expect that it was you who got into trouble in the end. I also saw the news about your


    ident that night and found out that Sonia didn¡¯t go.


    Soon after that, I found out after checking that Sonia encountered something on the way there and left


    halfway, and you and Sonia both had red moles on your wrists, so those people ultimately took you for


    Sonia.¡± What he said was well-founded, and Tina obviously couldn¡¯t tell that he was lying.


    Because of this, Tina believed Tim¡¯s liespletely. After all, she was of the impression that she was


    Tim¡¯s angel, and he would definitely not harm her. It could only be said that all of this was an odd


    coincidence, a careless mistake. If Tina was to me this on anyone, then she should me Sonia.


    After all, Sonia, too, had a mole on her wrist, and she was the one that left halfway. Had Sonia not left


    halfway that night, Tina wouldn¡¯t have been r*ped by those men!

 Chapter 286

    Chapter 286


    Chapter 286 The Gray Family¡¯s Past,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Thinking of those men, Tina tightened her grip on the phone and gritted her teeth while speaking. ¡°You


    hired those men who r*ped me. I want you to hand them over to me!¡± She wanted to kill those men


    herself! Leaning back in his chair, Tim said, ¡°I can¡¯t do that. After the men saw the news about you and


    found out that you¡¯re not Sonia, they all ran away. They¡¯re probably afraid that we¡¯d make them pay.¡±


    ¡°What? They ran away?¡± Tina¡¯s voice turned shrill. Timzily yed with his scalpel. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been


    looking for them too, but it¡¯s been two days, yet there¡¯s no news at all.¡±


    ¡°Damn it. They got away!¡± Tina was anxious. How was she supposed to make those men pay if they


    ran away? However, she felt a sense offort from knowing that Sonia was still around. Since those


    men were not here, she would take action against Sonia first! ¡°Tim, I want you to keep looking for those


    men, and let me know as soon as there¡¯s news,¡± Tina ordered, her eyes burning with rage. Tim pushed


    his sses up. ¡°Okay.¡± When the call ended, Tina set down her phone and visited major social


    networking sites to check news about herself on the Inte.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Upon seeing the unkind ridicules and remarks posted on the Inte two days ago that were aimed at


    her, she wanted nothing more than to find all of those people and kill them. However, when she read


    thements from the past two days, her expression improved slightly. That was because these


    comments were basically defending her, and they all believed that she was purely a victim. Since that


    was the case, then she wouldpletely assume the identity of the victim! As she thought about it,


    Tina narrowed her eyes, then made a phone call. ¡°Hi, is this Dreg Media?


    This is Tina Gray¡­¡± Meanwhile, Zane had invited Sonia out. The two of them were at a quiet coffee


    shop. Sonia huffed and looked at the man opposite her with slight dissatisfaction. ¡°Zane, are you


    crazy? You called me out sote at night. I was ready to go to bed.¡± Zane chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my


    fault. But I called you out to talk business!¡± ¡°What business?¡± Sonia stirred the milk and took a sip.


    Zane put away the frivolous look on his face and became serious. ¡°I got fake Rina to appear in front of


    Titus and his wife.¡± Upon hearing this, Sonia paused as she was drinking milk. Nevertheless, she


    quickly recovered and set down the milk while asking, ¡°What¡¯s the situation now?¡± ¡°It went well.


    Titus and his wife were guarding Tina in the hospital, so I asked fake Rina to go directly to the hospital


    to find them. ording to the spy I nted at the hospital, Mrs. Gray firmly believed that fake Rina was


    real, while Titus was still a bit sensible. Although he was excited, he still insisted on doing a paternity


    test,¡± Zane answered after taking a sip of coffee. ¡°It seems like Titus and his wife really love their eldest


    daughter,¡± Sonia said, ying with her straw. Otherwise, why would Julia be so eager to reconcile with


    her daughter? Even Titus was excited. Thinking of this, Sonia had a vague inexplicable feeling, but she


    couldn¡¯t tell what that feeling was. However, she didn¡¯t think too much of it, and the strange feeling was


    quickly suppressed.


    Zane shrugged and replied, ¡°Of course they love her. After all, Rina is their only biological daughter.


    Tina was only adopted tofort Mrs. Gray.¡± ¡°Comfort?¡± Sonia was a little confused. ¡°What do you


    mean?¡± ¡°I only found out a few days ago too. More than 20 years ago, Mrs. Gray had watched Rina


    drown, which led to her having mental problems. When she saw a baby about the same age as Rina,


    she would think that it was Rina and take her away, or she would just carry a pillow all day and coax it


    like it was Rina,¡± Zane said. Sonia widened her eyes in surprise. ¡°Such a thing actually happened?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zane nodded. Soniamented, ¡°But now, it¡¯spletely impossible to tell that Mrs. Gray


    suffered a mental illness.¡±


    ¡°She recovered a long time ago. 20 years ago, tofort Mrs. Gray, Titus went to the orphanage to


    find a substitute for Rina, which was Tina. In order to make her look more like Rina, Titus even made


    some traces on her that only Tina had, such as birthmarks,¡± Zane exined while drinking his coffee.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I see. Titus loves Mrs. Gray quite a bit, it seems.¡± ¡°They¡¯re childhood sweethearts who


    grew up together. Needless to say, they love each other. The most important thing is that apart from


    Mrs. Gray, no other woman would marry Titus.¡±


    Zaneughed smugly. Sonia became interested. ¡°Oh? Is there something wrong with Titus?¡± ¡°Bingo!¡±


    Zane snapped his fingers. ¡°My Sonia is indeed smart.¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes. ¡°Shut up.


    What do you mean ¡®my Sonia¡¯? Be more serious!¡± Zaneughed. ¡°All right, all right. I¡¯ll be more


    serious.¡± As he spoke, he coughed, and after clearing his throat, he said, ¡°Titus has necrospermia. It


    took me a lot of work to find out. So, it was a miracle that they gave birth to Rina, and she¡¯s the only


    child he¡¯ll ever have in his life. When Rina was born, he was so happy that he had the ne


    custom-made.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia suddenly lifted her chin. ¡°No wonder Titus regards Triforce Enterprise with so


    much importance. He knows that Tina has no talent for business, and he doesn¡¯t n on having


    another one. Turns out this is why.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zane chuckled. Sonia answered,


    ¡°Indeed, but that¡¯s not important. What¡¯s important is that you¡¯ve arranged the paternity test, right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I used the privileged arrangement. No matter who runs the test on fake Rina and Titus¡¯


    hair, the result will show that they¡¯re biologically rted.


    Of course, it¡¯s limited to all the testingboratories in Seafield. It doesn¡¯t apply to any ce outside of


    Seafield,¡± Zane replied, spreading his hands. After all, the Coleman Family only had power in Seafield.


    And the Colemans couldn¡¯t intervene in the affairs of other cities. Otherwise, they might end up being


    investigated by the central government like the Stryder Family did. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Seeing how confident


    Zane was, Sonia sighed, feeling relieved. As for going to other cities to get the test done, she felt that


    most people wouldn¡¯t go so far just to do it.


    The two of them stayed in the cafe for almost two hours before leaving. When Zane sent Sonia to


    Bayside Residence, he said, ¡°Dous said he wants toe and y with you. I¡¯ll bring him to see


    you next time.¡± Smiling, Sonia nodded. ¡°Okay. I miss Dous too.¡± A gleam of light shed through


    Zane¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a date!¡± Very good. I have another excuse to find her next time. ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia


    nodded. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Hurry up and go in. I¡¯m leaving too. Goodbye!¡±


    Zane waved, then wound the car window up and left. Standing there, Sonia watched him until his car


    was no longer visible before turning around to enter the building. The moment she turned around, a


    familiar male voice suddenly sounded behind her. ¡°Sonia!¡± Sonia stopped and followed the source of


    the sound.


    She saw the door of an ordinary sedan open about ten meters away. Toby came out of the car and


    strode toward her. Sonia frowned subconsciously. Damn. He actually drove such a humble car. No


    wonder I didn¡¯t notice him just now. Toby stopped in front of Sonia, looked at her, then asked in a low


    voice, ¡°Where did you and Zane go just now?¡±

 Chapter 287

    Chapter 287


    Chapter 287 Didn¡¯t Leave All Night,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia¡¯s frown grew deeper. What was with his tone¡ªlike a husband interrogating his wife? Did he not


    know who he was? ¡°What does it have to do with you where Zane and I went? Why does it matter to


    you? What a joke!¡± Sonia curled her lips and turned to leave. At once, Toby took her arm and said, ¡°I¡¯m


    just worried about you¡ªsince it¡¯s sote¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to worry about me!¡± Sonia pulled her arm


    out of his grasp and looked at him coldly. ¡°You didn¡¯t worry about me in the past, so there¡¯s no need for


    you to do it now. Alright, President Fuller. It¡¯ste already.


    Please go home¡ªI¡¯m heading back too.¡± She left it at that and ignored him. Then, she turned around


    and entered the building. Toby did not hold her back this time but simply watched her disappear into the


    building quietly. Back at the apartment, Sonia took off her shoes and threw aside her bag before


    walking barefooted to the bathroom. After the shower, she went into her bedroom to rest. She was


    supposed to go to bed at 10.00PM but was called out by Zane. Now, she was so sleepy that she could


    no longer keep her eyes open. Sonia yawned and walked to her windows, preparing to close the


    curtains.


    As she nced down, she spotted the roadside under the building, where Toby¡¯s ¡®humble¡¯ car was still


    parked. In other words, Toby had not left yet. Is he trying to y a romantic now? Sonia chuckled, then


    closed the curtains without hesitation in the next second, andy down on the bed. Downstairs, Toby


    was sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, looking up at Sonia¡¯s floor of the building. Seeing that the lights on that


    floor were dimmed, he knew that she had fallen asleep. All of a sudden, Toby¡¯s phone rang. He picked


    it up and took a look at the caller ID¡ªit was Tom who called. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Toby turned on the loudspeaker and plopped the phone on the co-driver¡¯s seat. He then found a box of


    cigarettes and a lighter from the glovepartment. Tom replied, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal¡ªit¡¯s just news from


    the hospital saying that Tina Gray woke up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When Toby heard this, he didn¡¯t react too much;


    he only shuffled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Seeing that he didn¡¯t seem to care much, Tom


    was not surprised. He pushed his sses and said, ¡°In addition, there is one more thing: Rina Gray


    has returned to the Gray Family.¡± ¡°What?¡± Toby paused in the middle of flicking the ash off of his


    cigarette, and his eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Rina Gray?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. Hearing his response, Toby frowned. ¡°It¡¯s really Rina Gray?¡± ¡°It is very


    likely her. Rina brought the custom-made ne to Titus and his wife; they¡¯re currently conducting a


    paternity test with Rina, and she has not left¡ªso it is very likely that she is indeed the real Rina,¡± Tom


    replied seriously. Toby¡¯s expression became solemn. That custom-made ne¡­ Wasn¡¯t the


    ne in Sonia¡¯s hands? Since when did it get into someone else¡¯s hands? Could it be a fake? No, it


    should not be. If it was fake, Titus and his wife would¡¯ve been able to recognize it.


    After all, it was a gift they gave to their daughter¡ªno one was more familiar with what the ne


    looked like than them. Besides, the daughter¡¯s ne was custom-made. There is only one in the


    world, and there are no photos on the Inte¡ªonly the photo of the mother¡¯s ne was released


    by Titus the other day. Although the daughter¡¯s ne was very simr to the mother¡¯s ne,


    there were some differences, so it was impossible for the outside world to replicate it. The only


    exnation was that this so-called ¡®Rina¡¯ may have something to do with Sonia.


    Perhaps Sonia gave the ne to ¡®Rina¡¯ and asked her to find Titus. But why would Sonia do


    that? Toby raised his eyes and nced at the dark floors, his eyebrows tightly knitted. ¡°President


    Fuller? President Fuller?¡± Tom didn¡¯t hear Toby¡¯s response for a long time, so he couldn¡¯t help but call


    out twice. Toby¡¯s eyes shed, then he finally came back to his senses. ¡°Check the identity of that


    ¡®Rina¡¯, especially whether she has had any contact with Sonia.¡± He was worried that Sonia had been


    deceived! If ¡®Rina¡¯ had any other identity, it would be very dangerous for Sonia. ¡°Yes!¡±


    Although Tom was curious about why Toby wanted to link Rina and Sonia together, he didn¡¯t ask too


    much and only answered obediently. Once they hung up, Toby put his hand out of the car window,


    flicked the ashes off his cigarette again, and continued to stare at Sonia¡¯s floor. And that was what he


    did for the rest of the night. The next day, Sonia packed up and was about to go to Paradigm Co. As


    soon as she opened the door, she saw Toby standing right at it. Toby was still in the suit fromst night;


    coupled with the fatigue on his face and the dark circles under his eyes, Sonia knew that he hadn¡¯t left


    last night. ¡°You stayed in your car all night?¡±


    Sonia asked with a frown. A gleam of light shed through Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°Are you stalking me?¡±


    Otherwise, how could she guess correctly that he had been in the car all night long? Sonia curled her


    lips. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. I am not.¡± When Toby heard her denial, his eyes dimmed for a moment,


    but he was not too disappointed. If she indeed noticed that he didn¡¯t leave, it meant that she still paid at


    least a little bit of attention to him. That was enough to make him happy. ¡°Oh. Breakfast!¡± Toby lifted the


    bag in his hand and handed it to Sonia. Fearing that she would refuse likest time, he quickly added,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not like the ones I gotst time. I lined up to buy them at a nearby breakfast shop.¡±


    ¡°You lined up to buy it yourself?¡± Sonia looked at him in surprise. Toby nodded slightly. ¡°Yup.¡± Sonia


    clicked her tongue. She knew about that nearby breakfast shop. It tasted good, and she¡¯d had it before,


    but it wasn¡¯t often because those elderlies would line up before dawn every day to buy it. Unexpectedly,


    this man¡ªwho had always been pampered and whose needs people would usually rush to attend to¡ª


    actually went to line up to buy her breakfast in person. Thinking of the scene where he wore a tailored


    suit to grab breakfast with the elderlies, Sonia couldn¡¯t help covering her lips andughed.


    ¡°What are youughing at?¡± Toby looked at her suspiciously. Sonia waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You


    can take your breakfast back. I¡¯m not hungry.¡± However, as soon as she said that, her stomach growled


    loudly. Toby looked down at her lower abdomen. A gentle expression gleamed in his eyes and quickly


    disappeared again, without a chance of letting her notice. ¡°You are hungry!¡± Toby said. Sonia¡¯s face


    flushed, and her eyes showed a little bit of embarrassment. ¡°I am not!¡± ¡°Your stomach just growled,


    though,¡± Toby said again. Sonia squeezed her palm. ¡°You heard wrongly.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    After speaking, she passed him by to walk toward the elevator. Toby looked at her with a smile in his


    eyes. Then, he tried to catch up with her in two steps with his long legs and soon arrived beside her.


    ¡°Okay, I heard it wrongly, but how about you eat some of it? I haven¡¯t bought breakfast for anyone else


    before.¡± Ding! The elevator had arrived. Sonia lifted her foot to walk in, and there was an elderly couple


    inside already. They were wearing exercise clothes; Sonia figured they must have gone to the


    community garden for morning exercises. Sonia first smiled at them, then put her smile away and said


    to Toby, who came in behind her, ¡°You haven¡¯t bought breakfast for anyone else before?


    I don¡¯t need to know that, nor do I want to¡ªbecause I will not ept all the breakfasts you buy.¡±


    Hearing this, Toby felt a little hurt. His eyelids drooped, and his whole body became dispirited. The


    elderlies on the side couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and asked, ¡°Girl, did you have a quarrel with your


    boyfriend?¡± When Toby heard them say ¡®boyfriend¡¯, his eyes flickered, but he quickly regained his


    composure. He nodded apologetically to the middle-aged couple, expressing embarrassment to have


    disturbed them.


    His move was obviously to admit that he was Sonia¡¯s ¡®boyfriend¡¯, as the couple had mentioned. Sonia,


    on the other hand, was stunned. How could this man be so shameless! Just as Sonia was about to


    exin that Toby was not her boyfriend, thedy suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Girl, I have heard what


    you said just now¡ªthat¡¯s not how you should treat your boyfriend.¡±

 Chapter 288

    Chapter 288


    Chapter 288 A Group of Media Came By,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was surprised to hear what the elderly said. What did I do? Thedy in the elevator


    smiled again. ¡°It¡¯s normal for young couples to quarrel, but you shouldn¡¯t go too far. I think this young


    man is very sincere in admitting his mistake. He bought you breakfast, so you should forgive him. It¡¯s


    hard to find men like him these days. If you don¡¯t cherish him, you will regret it for the rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°Wait. What? I¡ª¡± Ding! The elevator had reached the designated floor. Thedy patted Sonia on the


    shoulder and cut her off. ¡°Girl, think about what I said.¡±


    After finishing speaking, thedy looked at Toby again. ¡°And you, young man, don¡¯t make your girlfriend


    angry anymore. It¡¯s fate that brought you together, and you have to cherish it.¡± ¡°Yes. I will. Thank you so


    much.¡± Toby nodded slightly to express his gratitude. He knew very well that he didn¡¯t cherish Sonia in


    the past, but he would put her first in the future. Seeing that Toby had listened to her words, thedy


    took the arm of the man next to her and walked out of the elevator with a smile. Sonia, on the other


    hand, didn¡¯t walk out as she still hadn¡¯t reached her floor.


    She grabbed her hair and said irritably, ¡°What the hell is wrong with you, Toby Fuller? How thick-


    skinned can you be? When thedy took us as a couple, how dare you admit it!¡± Toby first pressed the


    close button for the elevator doors. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want the old couple to be embarrassed if they found out


    they made a mistake.¡± ¡°Bullsh*t!¡± Sonia red at him. ¡°You obviously have ulterior motives.¡± Toby


    raised his eyebrows and acquiesced. Sonia rubbed her brows and finally calmed down a little. ¡°Okay, I


    will let it go this time, but if there is another time, Toby, I won¡¯t let you off so easily.¡± She looked at him


    coldly. Toby felt a shot of pain in his heart. He lowered his eyelids to cover the sadness in his eyes and


    said, ¡°Okay.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Then this breakfast¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± Sonia faintly spat out these words before waking out of the


    elevator without a backward nce, then she walked to the ce where she had parked. Toby   also


    followed her with the breakfast bag in his hand. Sonia naturally heard the footsteps behind her and


    ignored it while taking out the car key from her bag. Then, she unlocked her car and opened the door


    before she got in and left quickly. Meanwhile, Toby could only stand in ce and watch her leave while


    pursing his thin lips slightly in disappointment. Tom, who came to pick Toby up, was not far away from


    the scene and witnessed everything unfold before him. Feeling bad for his boss, he could only shake


    his head and heave a heavy sigh.


    It seems that President Fuller still has a long way to go in his pursuit of his wife! ¡­¡­ In Paradigm Co.


    Sonia was busy processing the mountain of documents when Daphne knocked on the door and came


    in. ¡°President Reed, someone from Stone Incorporated is here to see you.¡± ¡°Stone Incorporated?¡±


    Sonia frowned as she heard what Daphne said. Daphne nodded in response. ¡°Yes. He is the president


    of Stone Incorporated.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about Cynthia, huh?¡± Sonia hooked her lips. ¡°Yes, he mentioned that he is


    here to apologize to you on behalf of Cynthia Stone,¡± Daphne replied.


    Sonia snorted, ¡°He didn¡¯t even bring any gifts for the apology. I¡¯m sure this apology is not sincere at all,


    just likest time.¡± Thest time, it was Carmen Fletcher who had blocked her at the door of the court,


    saying that she wanted to apologize to her. She begged her to let Cynthia go, but she didn¡¯t bring any


    gifts with her as well. Of course, she was not greedy for the gifts. That being said, if one was here to


    apologize but didn¡¯t even bear a gift, it would only show that they were insincere. And this time, it was


    the same with Oliver Stone. She couldn¡¯t help but be amazed at how simr the Stone couple were¡ª


    they were indeed a couple. Maybe Carmen even knew that Sonia would not let Cynthia off this easily,


    so she specially asked Oliver toe to her in person.


    But did she really think that I would just let Cynthia go just because Chairman Stone dropped by? Oh,


    dream on! I don¡¯t even care about Titus Gray, let alone the Stone family, who can¡¯t evene close to


    comparing with Paradigm! ¡°President Reed, do you want to meet him?¡± Daphne looked at Sonia and


    asked. Sonia lowered her head and continued processing the documents. With a cold voice, she


    answered, ¡°No. Tell them to leave.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Daphne nodded in understanding, turned around, and


    went out. After some time, Sonia finally finished processing the pile of documents in front of her. She


    got up and walked to her window while moving her sore neck and wrist. All of a sudden, she saw


    several vans approaching not far below and parked at the front entrance.


    The car door opened, whereupon a group of men and women carrying microphones and cameras


    rushed toward the entrance frantically. Judging from their actions, it was as if they had gotten some


    shocking news and were beyond excited. Sonia frowned, not understanding what had happened to


    make this group of media so excited toe to Paradigm Co. Thinking of this, she felt uneasy in her


    heart. Immediately, Sonia took a deep breath and suppressed her uneasiness for a while. Once she


    was calm, she turned back to the desk to pick up thendline and called Daphne¡¯s office. ¡°President


    Reed, do you have any orders?¡± Daphne¡¯s respectful voice rang through. Sonia pursed her red lips. ¡°I


    just saw a group of media personnel rushing into thepany, and they are now in the lobby.


    Go and find out¡ª¡± Before she could finish, her phone rang. Seeing that Charles was the one calling,


    Sonia grabbed the phone and said to Daphne, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Daphne nodded. Sonia put


    down thendline, swiped the answer button with her finger, and answered Charles¡¯ call. ¡°Hey,


    Charles.¡± ¡°Baby, are there a lot of media personnel at your office?¡± Charles¡¯ anxious voice reached her


    eardrums. This unearthed her anxiety that she had barely managed to suppress. She clenched on her


    phone and nodded. ¡°Yes. There are about 20 people here.


    Charles, what the hell is going on? Do you know anything about this?¡± Charles said angrily, ¡°It¡¯s all


    because of Tina Gray. About half an hour ago, she actually posted on her social tform, saying that


    she was r*ped, and it was all nned by you. So naturally, all the media came to look for you.¡± ¡°What?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Tina actually said that?¡± ¡°Yes. She did, and it¡¯s pissing me off. I


    really wish I could tear her up to bits. What the f*ck! I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless woman!¡±


    Charles shouted loudly. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.


    ¡°Baby, listen to me. Don¡¯t take a step out of your office, or the media would never let you go.¡± ¡°I know.¡±


    Sonia nodded solemnly.


    Charles hummed in approval. ¡°That¡¯s good. But I am still worried about you being all alone in Paradigm


    Co. I¡¯lle over to apany you.¡± With that, he was about to hang up. However, Sonia hurriedly


    stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯te over. You are still my boyfriend to the outside world. If you show up,


    those media will definitely grab onto you, and perhaps there are people from the media waiting at your


    company right now.¡± ¡°President Lane!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she heard someone calling


    out for Charles on the other end of the phone.


    It was unclear what kind of conversation Charles had with the person, but after more than ten seconds,


    he came back to the phone and said again, ¡°Baby, you were right; there are some of them here too at


    mypany.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Charles, for getting you involved.¡± Sonia twitched the corners of her mouth


    apologetically. Charles smiled indifferently. ¡°Hey. I don¡¯t me you, but I may have to deal with the


    media here for the time being.¡± ¡°Yeah. Go ahead.¡± Sonia nodded. After hanging up the phone, she


    picked up thendline phone she had just put down a while ago.


    ¡°Daphne, go to the lobby on the first floor and have a look. Also, while you¡¯re at it, arrange a few more


    security guards to stop the media and don¡¯t let them break in!¡± ¡°Okay, President Reed.¡± Daphne


    responded. Sonia put the phone back on the holder and rubbed her eyebrows in frustration. Just like


    what Charles had said just now, Tina was indeed a shameless woman, so of course she would make


    trouble as soon as she woke up.

 Chapter 289

    Chapter 289


    Chapter 289 Sending Sonia des,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia originally thought that after Tina woke up and learned what happened to her, she would fall into a


    slump and fall silent. Well, she definitely got ahead of herself and underestimated how thick-skinned


    Tina could be. After all, how could a woman as vicious as Tina go silent just because she suffered a


    little? She would only be crazier! Thinking about it, Sonia pursed her red lips, picked up her


    phone, and clicked on Tina¡¯s social tform, whereupon she saw the news that Charles had


    mentioned. Now that this topic was trending, thements and forwarding had added up to more than


    one million.


    Even major media ounts had begun to use this topic to headline theirtest tabloids. Sonia clicked


    open thement section with a sullen face, and when she saw those who were allforting Tina,


    she felt her stomach churning violently. Titus¡¯ previous video had already cleared Tina¡¯s name for the


    most part. Now, as soon as this post came out, Tina hadpletely be the victim. Except for


    those who knew Tina¡¯s personality or couldn¡¯t bear with her antics, everyone only sympathized with and


    felt sorry for her. It had to be said that Tina was really Titus¡¯ daughter; their methods of clearing their


    names were even the same.


    ¡°Heh¡­¡± Sonia sneered, and without reading thesements, she left Tina¡¯s social tform and


    clicked into her own. As soon as she clicked in, all kinds of ringtone sounded one after another. With


    that, the phone froze, and it took about a minute for it to recover. Sonia¡¯s heart sank when she saw the


    bright red ¡®99+¡¯ wording in the private message andments section. She opened the private chat


    box first and saw all kinds of vicious swearing and aggressive emojis in it. She didn¡¯t feel all that


    surprised despite her tense face. After all, she had already anticipated it.


    Otherwise, why else would she even go onto her social media ount? Because of Tina¡¯s post, which


    directly used her of being the mastermind behind her sexual assault, theseizens naturally


    believed her words and went to her social tform to attack her openly. Thinking about it, Sonia clicked


    the ¡¯new post¡¯ button and also posted an update. What she posted was simple¡ªit was just one


    sentence: ¡®I had nothing to do with Tina Gray¡¯s assault. The truth will prevail @TinaGray.¡¯ Many


    netizens had been keeping an eye on Sonia¡¯s profile, so they soon saw this post of hers.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    When they saw that Sonia said she didn¡¯t do anything to Tina, theizens didn¡¯t believe it. Instead,


    they badgered her more fiercely, including some ghostwriters; in just two to three minutes, her


    comment section already had thousands ofments, which were all against her. Seeing this, Sonia


    couldn¡¯t help but bite her lower lip. In the end, she got really upset, so she quit the social tform to get


    it out of sight. At this moment, her cell phone rang. Sonia nced at it annoyingly. It was an unfamiliar


    local number. After hesitating for a while, she still answered it. ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°Is this Miss Reed?¡± It was


    a woman¡¯s voice. ¡±Speaking,¡± Sonia replied, rubbing her eyebrows. As soon as the woman on the end


    of the line heard Sonia admitting her identity, her voice became extremely excited. ¡°Hello, Miss Reed!


    I¡¯m from Lang Stream Media.


    Regarding Miss Gray¡¯s online statement that you were the one behind her incident, what do you think


    of it?¡± Hearing this, Sonia tightened her hand around her cell phone suddenly, and her face darkened.


    ¡°Where did you get my cell phone number?¡± The woman was stunned for a moment. Ignoring her


    question, she urged impatiently, ¡°Miss Reed, please answer my question first. Did you really get


    someone to assault Miss Gray?¡± With a stiff face, Sonia hung up the phone immediately. She knew


    better than to answer the reporter. If she did, the reporter would only continue to ask endless questions,


    and the questions would be more and more tricky. So there was no need to go on.


    And in order to prevent this reporter from calling again, Sonia immediately added the number just now


    to the cklist. However, as soon as Sonia cklisted the number, the phone rang again, and it was


    still an unfamiliar local number. Sonia guessed that the woman called from a different number, or it was


    another reporter. Therefore, she hung up directly and cklisted it! s, this was not the end. There


    were more phone calls from unknown numbersing in one after another, and even some aggressive


    text messages fromizens, which made Sonia feel extremely exhausted.


    She wanted to turn off her mobile phone many times, but thinking about the partners and customers


    who would asionally call, she had to hold back the urge so that these people could still call and


    send text messages to her. She just had to stop looking at the hostile messages. ¡°President Reed!¡±


    Daphne walked in anxiously. Sonia opened her eyes to look at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Miss Reed, there


    are a lot ofizens downstairs, and they gave you a lot of des and condolences wreaths¡­¡±


    Daphne nced at her secretly and replied in a low voice. Sonia¡¯s face turned cold.


    All of a sudden, there was an indescribable anger and grievance rising in her heart. She obviously did


    nothing to deserve this, but in the end, she still had to endure these scoldings and curses. Looking at


    Sonia¡¯s slightly trembling body, Daphne asked with concern, ¡°Miss Reed, are you all right?¡± Sonia


    shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Go and tell the security guards to seize the people who delivered the wreaths


    and send them directly to the police station!¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Daphne responded immediately. Then, she


    thought of something and added, ¡°There is one more thing. This has gone too viral, and now, our


    company¡¯s stock has plummeted. President Dafoe has just issued a notice saying that you should


    solve these troubles as soon as possible, or you will have to give him half of the management power in


    your hand.¡±


    ¡°Asher Dafoe!¡± Sonia mmed the table angrily. ¡°Now that Paradigm¡¯s stock is turbulent, instead of


    trying to stabilize the stock market, how dare he think of trying to seize power!¡± ¡°I know, right!¡± Daphne


    nodded in anger, but in the next second, she became serious again. ¡°That being said, many high-level


    executives do currently support President Dafoe. After all, this matter is indeed directly rted to you,


    so they think you were the one that caused Paradigm to be like this. They are already discussing


    holding a shareholders¡¯ meeting to re-determine whether you are qualified to hold that half of the


    management power.¡± Sonia opened her mouth to speak but couldn¡¯t bring herself to, because she


    couldn¡¯t deny that she was indeed the one that implicated the plummeting of Paradigm¡¯s stock.


    Although she wasn¡¯t the one that did it directly to Tina, she did throw the me on her, and she


    couldn¡¯t prove her innocence unless Tim admitted that he was the one behind this; after all, he pulled


    the trigger. Thinking of this, Sonia pinched the bridge of her nose and said in a tired voice, ¡°I see. Go


    and tell Asher that I will solve it as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Daphne nced at her worriedly, then


    turned around to exit her office. Sonia picked up the phone and tried to call Tim.


    The call got through, but no one answered, which made Sonia¡¯s heart sink. Is he not answering on


    purpose, or is he really busy? Sonia frowned and drummed her fingers on the desk uneasily. Suddenly,


    her phone rang again. Sonia immediately thought it was Tim who called back after seeing the call she


    made, so she quickly picked up her phone with an excited expression. However, when she saw Zane¡¯s


    name on the caller ID, the joy on her face suddenly froze. In the next second, she sighed in


    disappointment and finally answered. At the same time, at Fuller Group.


    Toby just came out of the conference room after a meeting when Tom walked over with a solemn


    expression. ¡°President Fuller, something happened to Miss Reed.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby stopped and


    asked hastily. Tom pushed his sses and replied, ¡°Tina Gray posted a post on the Inte, saying


    that Miss Reed was the one behind her assault. Theizens believed it fully and went to insult her on


    her social media tform. Some even delivered des and condolences wreaths to curse her.


    Besides, almost all the media went to Paradigm Co. to confront Miss Reed as well.¡±

 Chapter 290

    Chapter 290


    Chapter 290 Suppressing the Heat of the Topic,Boss, Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s expression changed slightly, and he felt a numbing chill surge through his body. After a


    few seconds, he asked again, ¡°How is Sonia now?¡± ¡°Miss Reed has not been out of her office, so those


    media andizens didn¡¯t get to hurt her, but I guess it has greatly affected her spirit,¡± Tom replied.


    Toby squinted coldly. ¡°Immediately expose scandals about some actors to suppress the news about


    Sonia on the Inte, and alsopile a list of all those ounts that are malicious to Sonia as well


    as theizens who scolded her.¡± He would get back to them after all of these were settled.


    ¡°Understood!¡± Tom nodded and immediately did as he was told. Toby took out his mobile phone from


    his trouser pocket and dialed Sonia¡¯s number. ¡°Hello, the number you dialed is currently on another


    call. Please try againter¡­¡± On another call? Toby frowned. Who could she possibly be talking to


    now? The faces of Charles and Carl shed in Toby¡¯s mind, and the more he thought about it, the more


    solemn he looked. Finally, he put his phone away and walked toward the elevator. He was worried


    about her. In the end, he decided he should just go and check on her himself.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    In Paradigm Co., Sonia looked at Toby¡¯s iing call. A strange glint shed in her eyes, but it soon


    disappeared. She could guess why he was calling. He must have seen what happened online. ¡°Sonia,


    are you still there?¡± On the other end of the phone, Zane couldn¡¯t hear her voice, so he called out her


    name. Sonia put the phone back to her ear. ¡°I¡¯m still here. Sorry. A call came in just now.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Zane


    asked curiously. Sonia¡¯s eyes shed upon thinking of that certain person. ¡°Someone irrelevant. Don¡¯t


    mind them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Zane shrugged and did not doubt her words.


    Then, he said with a serious face, ¡°Since what happened to Tina was done by Tim, he shoulde


    forward to prove your innocence. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to solve.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°I just called Tim, but no one answered.¡± ¡°He should be in an operation. A politician abroad had a brain


    tumor, and he learned that if he let Tim perform the operation, it would greatly increase the sess


    rate, so he rushed over from abroad, and the operation is set for today. My dad and the others are in


    the hospital right now, apanying the politician.


    This operation is very long, and it is impossible to end it in any shorter than ten hours,¡± Zane said.


    Sonia suddenly raised her chin in realization. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± She was worried just now that Tim didn¡¯t


    answer the phone on purpose. Since she found out now that it wasn¡¯t intentional, she was relieved.


    ¡°But does that mean I have to wait for over ten hours before I can ask him to help me prove my


    innocence?¡± Sonia frowned. After more than ten hours, she could foresee that things would develop to


    the point where the situation would be unsalvageable.


    But that was not the most important thing at this point. The most important thing was that Asher might


    not even wait for more than ten hours to force her to hand over the management rights. Zane sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You can only wait now, but I can temporarily help you suppress the heat on the Inte so


    that you have time to take a breather and stabilize Paradigm¡¯s stock for the time being¡­ Huh?¡± All of a


    sudden, he saw something surprising, and he even blinked a few times in surprise. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sonia asked curiously. Zane moved his face closer to theputer to make sure he read it correctly,


    then he gulped and said, ¡°Sonia, there is some good news. There has been a lot less news about you


    on the Inte. Did you tell someone to do it?¡± ¡°What? I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Sonia shook her head. Zane¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°That¡¯s weird. I just saw a lot ofmotion on the


    Inte a while ago, but now, it¡¯s almost all gone. It must have been suppressed by someone. You said


    it wasn¡¯t you, so who would it be? Could it be Charles or Carl?¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± Sonia shook her head


    with certainty. ¡°There are many media reporters over at Charles¡¯pany too, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯s busy


    dealing with the media there, and he wouldn¡¯t have the time to block the news for me. As for Carl, he


    has apletely closed filming job today¡ªhe is probably still clueless as to what happened now, so it


    can¡¯t be him.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not Carl or Charles, who could it be? Wait. Could it be¡­¡± Zane then thought of a person, and his


    expression became solemn. Sonia also thought of him. Her red lips moved, and she slowly uttered,


    ¡°Toby Fuller.¡± It must be him. He even called me just now. ¡°I, too, think it¡¯s him, and the possibility of


    that is very high. Sonia, if it is indeed Toby, will you forgive him because of this?¡± Zane asked


    tentatively. Sonia lowered her eyes and said softly, ¡°No. These are twopletely different things.¡±


    Zane immediately felt relieved andughed when he heard this. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± Hearing his


    reaction, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel a little strange. ¡°Aren¡¯t you Toby¡¯s friend? Why don¡¯t you want me


    to forgive him?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Well¡­¡± Zane looked away with a guilty conscience and smiled shyly. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m just trying to


    be fair here. He used to be so cruel to you, so of course I wouldn¡¯t stand by him on this.¡± ¡°Wow. Really?


    Then you must be a pretty just person.¡± Sonia nodded. Zane was relieved when he heard that she took


    his word for it. ¡°Alright, Zane. I¡¯ll talk to youter.¡± Sonia rubbed her temples. Hearing that, Zane


    understood what she meant and answered, ¡°Okay. Call me anytime if you need anything, and I will try


    my best to help you. Also, be careful not to have any direct contact with thoseizens and the media;


    they are all lunatics. They can easily hurt you, so remember to protect yourself and don¡¯t get hurt.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Listening to his advice, Sonia smiled. Once the call ended, she ced her phone down


    and put her hand on the mouse. She then immediately searched the Inte for news about her. It


    turned out that, as Zane said, news articles about her had been suppressed, and only a few pieces


    were found. The original hundreds of thousands ofments and reposts had all disappeared, and


    were reced by the scandals of stars in the entertainment industry. Some cheated, some hired


    prostitutes, some evaded taxes, and so much more. Even theizens could tell that these scandals


    were to block her news out. Needless to mention, she could tell as well. But so what?


    The scandals of these stars had indeed attracted the attention ofizens, and a new round of scolding


    had beenunched on the Inte. However, this time round, the object of insult had be those


    stars. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Sonia got up and walked to her windows to look down. When she saw that the original


    dozens of media reporters had suddenly been reduced by half, she knew that those reporters that had


    left were probably going to interview those celebrities. Seeing that, she heaved a sigh of relief since it


    gave her time to figure out a way to stabilize the stock market.


    In the hospital, Tina was sitting on the hospital bed in a good mood, snacking on some fruits. Thinking


    of what she had just seen on the Inte and thoseizens¡¯ verbal violence toward Sonia, she


    couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud. Thoseizens are really stupid. I only posted a single post, and they


    all believed that Sonia was behind my sexual assault. However, it was precisely because of their


    foolishness that her little n could be so sessful.


    She just wanted to put the me on Sonia, and she wanted her to never be able to get out of it. How


    could Sonia still be clean and pure when I have been assaulted by others! She refused to see this


    happen, so she was determined to drag Sonia to hell with her no matter what! However, Sonia was


    also a fool. She actually posted such useless remarks about how truth would prevail¡ªit only made


    everyone think that she did it.


    Celebrities in the entertainment industry whose bad deeds had been exposed had all posted such


    things, and they were pped in the face by their own words. Hence, no one on the inte would


    believe that people who said that were innocent. At this time, the door of the ward was opened,


    whereupon a thin, malnourished figure came in from the outside and called out, ¡°Tina.¡±

 Chapter 291

    Chapter 291


    The happiness on Tina¡¯s face vanished immediately, and she red fiercely at that person. ¡°What are


    you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I wanted toe visit you and bring you some chicken soup.¡± Rina smiled at her pleasantly before


    stepping into the ward.


    Seeing this, as if something in her had snapped, Tina immediately pped the quilt on her body and


    yelled, ¡°What are you doing here? Get out! Don¡¯t ever step in here! You are full of bacteria and will only


    pollute the air I breathe. Get out right now!¡±


    Hearing this, Rina froze in ce and felt helpless. ¡°I have no bacteria on my body. I¡¯ve even changed my


    clothes, Tina¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Stop calling my name!¡± Tina¡¯s face contorted in disgust as she interrupted Rina loudly. ¡°Rina


    Gray, remember this: I forbid you from calling my name and saying that you are my sister. You are not


    my sister. Understood?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Rina lowered her head and sobbed softly.


    Right then, Julia came in to see her eldest daughter in tears and her youngest daughterpletely livid;


    she couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Rina, tell me what happened,¡± Julia wiped Rina¡¯s tears and asked in distress.


    Rina buried her head in Julia¡¯s arms. ¡°Mom, should I not havee back?¡±


    ¡°Why would you even say that?¡± Julia was surprised at first, and then she quickly added, ¡°This is your


    home¡ªof course you coulde back!¡±


    ¡°B-But why does Tina hate me so much? She doesn¡¯t allow me to call her name, and she also said that


    I¡¯m not her sister¡­¡± Rina continued to sob in Julia¡¯s arms.


    Hearing what Rina said, Julia was taken aback. ¡°Did Tina really say that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Rina nodded.


    Julia narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Tina with conflicted eyes.


    Meeting her mother¡¯s gaze, Tina turned her head away in guilt, all while cursing Rina in her heart.


    How dare this hillbilly tell on me!


    She had originally thought that Rina had always lived in a remote ce, so she had probably developed


    a timid character; never did she expect that Rina was just pretending to be timid and obedient as a


    means to gain sympathy andpete for favor.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Rina. You just came back after all, so Tina may still be a little ufortable. I will talk about


    this with her againter,¡± Julia patted Rina¡¯s back gently andforted her lovingly. ¡°Okay, Rina. Go


    outside and wait for me; I will talk to your sister for a while and take you out shoppingter.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Rina broke into a grin then got out of her arms. Before she left, she handed her the thermos in


    her hand, nodded, and walked out.


    Now, only Julia and Tina were left in the ward.


    Julia put the thermos on the bedside and looked at Tina with displeasure. ¡°Tina, what¡¯s the matter with


    you? How could you treat your sister like this! Before she came back, weren¡¯t you anticipating for her to


    come back too? You said that you wanted a sister to love you and protect you. But what are you doing


    now?¡±


    Who said that I was anticipating for her toe back? It was just a lie that I purposely told in the first


    ce. But who knew that b*tch would actuallye back, Tina thought to herself.


    Even though she thought so in her heart, she couldn¡¯t say it out loud.


    Tina¡¯s hands in the quilt were tightly sped together, but her eyes were red with grievance. ¡°Mom, I


    didn¡¯t mean to do this to her. I just can¡¯t ept that she is my sister. That¡¯s all. She¡¯s so thin and short.


    Plus, she¡¯s not at all good-looking and looks so poor. She doesn¡¯t look like someone who¡¯s fit to be my


    sister. Mom, could it be that you¡¯ve found the wrong girl?¡±


    ¡°How can it be? Do you see that Rina¡¯s eyes are the same as mine?¡± Julia pointed at her own eyes.


    ¡°Besides, your dad has done a paternity test with Rina, and the test results show that he is her real


    father. If she is not Rina, then who is?¡±


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I can¡¯t ept it¡ªshe doesn¡¯t know anything at all! When she came


    back yesterday, she was aplete joke! When I walked with her, I felt ashamed and was afraid that


    others wouldugh at us, saying that the Gray family has such an embarrassing daughter.¡±


    Julia sighed. ¡°I know what you mean now. You¡¯re saying that you feel humiliated and embarrassed that


    she is your sister, right?


    Tina¡¯s eyes shed, but she didn¡¯t answer. Julia took it as the answer to her question.


    This was just one of the reasons.


    The real reason was that she couldn¡¯t ept that such a country bumpkin like Rina could not only


    threaten her position in the Gray family, but also wanted to steal her parents¡¯ favor and the Gray family¡¯s


    property from her.


    She had to find a way to drive Rina away!


    Julia didn¡¯t know what Tina was thinking, so she patted Tina¡¯s head and said lovingly, ¡°Tina, I understand


    you, but you also need to understand your sister¡¯s circumstances. She grew up in the countryside, so


    she didn¡¯t have the opportunities like you did to learn various skills. She doesn¡¯t know how to live as an


    upper ss person, and it ispletely understandable for her to be embarrassing at times. You have to


    bear with it for the time being.¡±


    Speaking of this, Juliaughed. ¡°Your father and I have signed your sister up for a lot of etiquette training


    courses as well as some other courses, such as piano lessons, dance lessons and such. I believe your


    sister will soon change and improve. Then, you won¡¯t feel that your sister is an embarrassment to the


    Gray family or you.¡±


    ¡°R-Really? That¡¯s great!¡± Tina squeezed the corners of her mouth and replied with a forced smile.


    However, her heart was full of twisted hatred.


    As soon as Rina came back, they couldn¡¯t wait to start doting on her.


    What are they trying to do, huh? Do they want her to rece me as soon as possible? Tina thought.


    It seems that I need to drive Rina away as soon as possible. If that¡¯s not possible, then I might have to¡­


    Tina squinted while a trace of killing intent shed through her eyes.


    No matter what it would take, she would never tolerate anyone who challenged and threatened her¡ªnot


    Sonia or even Rina, even if she was her own sister!


    Julia didn¡¯t notice anything unusual about Tina, so she opened the thermos and poured her a bowl of


    chicken soup. ¡°Here. This is cooked for you by Rina. Why don¡¯t you try it?¡±


    Tina smelled the aroma of the chicken soup and was originally interested, but as soon as she heard that


    it was made by Rina, she lost her appetite.


    However, she didn¡¯t show it on her face and still took the chicken soup with a smile. ¡°Rina made the soup


    for me? Mom, thank her for me, please!¡±


    Seeing that her younger daughter no longer rejected her eldest daughter after listening to her advice,


    Julia felt delighted. ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll tell Rinater. She¡¯ll be very happy to hear this from you.¡±


    Tina sneered in her heart as she stirred the chicken soup with a spoon. ¡°Mom, didn¡¯t you say you were


    going to apany Rina for shopping? Go on. Don¡¯t keep her waiting!¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes! I¡¯ll go first, then. Call me if you need anything, okay?¡± Julia said while looking at her watch.


    Tina responded lightly.


    Soon, Julia picked up her bag and left.


    When the door of the ward was closed, Tina¡¯s expression turned colder than ice. In the next second, she


    turned to pour all the chicken soup into the vase by the bed.


    Seeing the chicken soup blending with the soil in the vase, she murmured disdainfully, ¡°Who knows if the


    soup stewed by the hillbilly is even clean!¡±


    Thud!


    As soon as Tina ced the empty bowl forcefully on the bedside, her phone rang.


    When she saw that it was the head of the inte ghostwriters that she had hired, she answered it


    directly.


    Before she could speak, a hurried voice rang. ¡°Miss Gray, bad news. Sonia Reed¡¯s news has suppressed


    our news articlespletely, and now, it¡¯s basically impossible to find on the Inte.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tina¡¯s back straightened suddenly, and her expression was horrendous. ¡°Did she do it herself?¡±

 Chapter 292

    Chapter 292


    ¡°No. It¡¯s¡­¡± The ghostwriter hesitated.


    Tina grew very impatient. ¡°Tell me who did it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your ex-fianc¨¦,¡± he replied loudly with his eyes closed.


    Tina was stunned.


    It was Toby?


    It was really him!


    Tina held her phone tightly¡ªso much so that the phone was close to being crushed.


    After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and calmed down temporarily. ¡°Then how is the situation


    online now?¡±


    ¡°The news about Sonia on the Inte has been cleaned up now. The ones that were forwarded by the


    media ounts for hype have been forcibly deleted. Although your original post is still there, it has been


    forcibly suppressed and is off the trending chart.¡±


    Upon mentioning that, the ghostwriter sighed for a while.


    Surely enough, it was good to have money and power¡ªthat way, one could control the entire Inte.


    Tina¡¯s hand trembled slightly while holding the phone. ¡°How much would it cost if I want to get it back on


    the trending list?¡±


    ¡°More than 30 million.¡± After thinking about it for a while, the man on the other end of the line gave her an


    answer.


    ¡°30 million!¡± Tina¡¯s voice was raised, and her expression was menacing. ¡°Why don¡¯t you rob a bank


    instead?¡±


    Hearing that, he smiled bitterly. ¡°Miss Gray, I am not trying to cheat you. This is really the amount we


    need, because President Fuller spent 30 million to suppress this news too. If you want to make this news


    trending again, your only option is to spend more money¡ªotherwise, it¡¯s going to be useless.¡±


    Tina was so mad that she was speechless.


    How could she afford 30 million?


    Although her family was not short of money, her monthly pocket money was only 1 million, and she had


    already used it all up at the beginning of each month as she had to buy new luxury bags and shoes


    every month. After her pocket money ran out, she would use Toby¡¯s money.


    But now that her engagement with Toby had been terminated, he had frozen all of the cards he gave her


    before she regained consciousness, so she could no longer use his money. The money that she had


    used to hire these ghostwriters were her savings; she had spent millions on them.


    She couldn¡¯t even get 30 million even if she sold herself.


    And right now, she of course wouldn¡¯t dare to ask her father for it. Now that the Triforce Group had lost


    its partnership with the Fullers, thepany¡¯s funds had begun to decline. Titus would never give her so


    much money for her to merely make a topic trend again.


    Thinking about it, Tina bit her lip and finally came up with a solution. With a sinister smirk at the corner of


    her mouth, she said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, immediately spread news of mying live broadcast and say


    that I am going to exin the details about me falling victim to Sonia¡¯s evil n in the broadcast.¡±


    The eyes of the ghostwriter lit up. ¡°This is brilliant. This way, no matter who wants to suppress this news,


    they¡¯d really have to think twice¡ªbecause once they suppress your live broadcast, it would undoubtedly


    prove that Sonia had indeed done such a thing; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be afraid of people viewing your


    broadcast. Miss Gray, I¡¯ll follow through right now.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Tina smirked coldly.


    Right at this moment at Paradigm Co., a Maybach was parked not too far away.


    The back seat window was rolled down, and Toby frowned at the group of reporters who were still


    moring outside thepany gate, asking to be let inside.


    The security guards of Paradigm Co. stood in a row and tried their best to stop the reporters.


    However, those reporters were in a frenzy¡ªthe more the security guards tried to stop them from


    entering, the harder they pushed.


    Seeing that the security guards were slowly losing control of the situation, Toby picked up the phone and


    ordered, ¡°Go over to help and drive all those reporters away.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± A deep voice rang from the other end of the phone.


    Immediately after Toby put down his mobile phone, several heavily modified vehicles drove past his


    Maybach and stopped in front of Paradigm¡¯s gate.


    The doors of the car opened, whereupon more than a dozen men in ck uniforms got off.


    Each of the dozen or so people measured around 1.8 meters tall. The muscr and tough men wore


    expressionless faces; people could tell that they were not to be messed with.


    These people were all professional bodyguards of the securitypany under the Fuller Group. Each of


    them had undergone the most rigorous and painstaking training¡ªwith all of them standing together, the


    sight alone was intimidating enough.


    When the group of reporters, who were still moring and shouting, saw these bodyguards, they quieted


    down at once.


    Who are these people? some of them thought.


    Just when the reporters were puzzled, the bodyguards moved. They took a few steps forward and


    extended their big hands to the group of reporters.


    Then, each bodyguard carried a reporter by the back cor, like holding a kitten, and stuffed all of them


    into the cars before they drove away.


    The whole process only took two minutes in total. When the security guards of Paradigm Co. got to the


    scene, no one was standing in front of them anymore, as if everything that just happened was a mere


    illusion.


    What exactly happened?


    Where did those people, who looked like gangsters,e from?


    Seeing that all the reporters had been cleared, Toby started the car and drove toward the gate.


    In Sonia¡¯s office, Sonia was discussing thepany¡¯s stocks with the trading department when


    suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the office.


    She looked up and saw Toby, whereupon she froze. ¡°I-It¡¯s you?¡±


    Toby walked in with his long legs. He looked at her surprised round eyes while a smile shed in his


    eyes. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    Immediately, Sonia put down the phone and frowned. ¡°How did you even get up here?¡±


    ¡°Your people didn¡¯t dare to stop me,¡± Toby stopped across from her desk and said.


    Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Yes, Paradigm was not as strong as Fuller Group, and the former was still relying on Fuller Group¡¯s


    business deals to develop steadily until now. It could be said that Fuller Group was Paradigm¡¯s master,


    and Toby was the man on top of it all. Hence, it was normal for the employees not to dare to stop him.


    This was what happened thest time as well.


    Sonia rubbed her eyebrows. ¡°Okay, then. But when you came up, weren¡¯t you stopped by those


    reporters outside?¡±


    What she was worried about now was, if he was stopped by those reporters, the news about himing


    to Paradigm would be exposed in no time.


    If that happened, theizens would readily jump at the chance to criticize her again.


    Seemingly understanding what Sonia was worried about, Toby pulled out a chair and sat down. ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry. I¡¯ve already had all those reporters removed.¡±


    On the way here, he had asked the securitypany to send a squadron of bodyguards over to clean


    up all the reporters at Paradigm and thoseizens who were malicious to her.


    However, he didn¡¯t seem to have seen anyizens just now.


    ¡°You¡¯ve had them removed?¡± Sonia was surprised, then she quickly walked toward the window and


    looked down at the entrance to check.


    Seeing that there were indeed no more reporters below, she turned around and returned to the position


    just now. Looking at the man withplicated eyes, she simply said, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Toby was thinking about something, so he couldn¡¯t hear her clearly.


    However, Sonia thought he was ying deaf and wanted her to repeat herself, so she felt a little upset.


    That said, he indeed had a hand in driving these reporters away and suppressing the negative news


    about her on the Inte, so she had no reason to be angry at him.


    Thinking of this, Sonia took a breath to calm down and bowed to Toby. ¡°I said, thank you! Thank you for


    helping me drive away those reporters, and thank you for helping me suppress the news.¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t like to see her being so estranged to him, so he reached out to pull her up.


    However, Sonia avoided his arm and stood up straight.


    Toby¡¯s eyes darkened, and after rubbing his fingers, he put his hand down. Withstanding the pain in his


    heart, he slightly opened his thin lips and replied, ¡°It was something I had to do. You don¡¯t need to thank


    me.¡±


    ¡°No. No one has to do anything for anyone ever, and you are not obliged to do it for me, so I will repay


    you,¡± Sonia looked at him and said seriously.


    Toby frowned slightly. He wanted to say that he didn¡¯t need her repayment, and this was what he was


    willing to do for her.


    But he knew that if he said so, she would not ept it.


    Hence, it was better for him to just let her be. At least there was still this incident that connected them.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded.


    Seeing that he agreed, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, ¡°By the way, President Fuller,


    what are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 293

    Chapter 293


    ¡°Nothing much. I was just worried about you, so I wanted to check up on you,¡± Toby looked at Sonia and


    said affectionately.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes shed, whereupon she quickly turned her face away and said nothing.


    Toby knew that she was avoiding him. Seeing her reaction, he felt a little disappointed, but he pursed his


    thin lips and said, ¡°This is just my personal emotion. You don¡¯t need to feel pressured.¡±


    Sonia bit her lower lip. ¡°I know, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°President Reed, bad news!¡± Before Sonia could finish her words, the door of the office was pushed


    open, and Daphne bursted in.


    When Sonia saw her behaving this way, her expression became serious. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Tina¡­ Tina Gray, she¡­¡± Daphne patted her chest, and after she had calmed down, she continued,


    ¡°Tina Gray wants to start a live broadcast. She said that she wants to tell everyone about the whole


    process of your ¡®evil n¡¯ in detail on the live broadcast.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Toby frowned.


    Daphne nodded again and again. ¡°She posted a notice of the live broadcast on her social tform¡ªit¡¯s


    going to start at 11.10AM.¡±


    ¡°11.10AM¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s expression sank, and she hurriedly looked at the lower right corner of theputer


    screen. It was already 11.00AM. In other words, there were still ten minutes before the live broadcast


    would start.


    ¡°President Reed, what should we do now?¡± Daphne looked at Sonia. ¡°Should we try to block Tina¡¯s live


    broadcast in advance?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sonia and Toby said in unison.


    Hearing that, Daphne blinked from surprise. She looked at Sonia, and then at Toby, wondering since


    when these two had started speaking in sync. In fact, both Sonia and Toby didn¡¯t expect the other to say


    such a thing at the same time.


    For Sonia, she recovered after a moment of surprise. Toby, on the other hand, curled his thin lips, feeling


    quite happy. Does this mean that we think alike? he thought to himself.


    ¡°President Fuller is right. This live broadcast must never be suppressed!¡± Sonia frowned and said


    solemnly. ¡°Tina has already said that she will tell the whole process of me scheming on her in the live


    broadcast, so if I suppress the broadcast now, won¡¯t that just make me seem guilty?¡±


    ¡°But this way, Paradigm¡¯s stock market will drop once again.¡± Daphne looked worried.


    Sonia rubbed her temples. ¡°Let me think of another way.¡± She didn¡¯t expect that even after Toby


    suppressed the news about her on the Inte, Tina would pull this stunt. And this really did catch her off


    guard.


    At this moment, Toby suddenly said, ¡°The best way now is to delist Paradigm Co.¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Delist?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Paradigm has just narrowly escaped bankruptcy, and its development is not too stable, so at


    present, it is not suitable for Paradigm to survive in the stock market. Had the state allowedpanies to


    attack each other in the stock market, Paradigm would have been made bankrupt by the Triforce Group


    long ago,¡± Toby looked at her and said.


    At this, Sonia pursed her red lips. Although what he said was a bit unpleasant, it was the hard truth. If the


    country had not promulgated this rule, Titus would have directly attacked Paradigm¡¯s stock market¡ª


    which right now, was already like scattered sand¡ªand make Paradigmpletely a thing of the past.


    Of course, when apany¡¯s stock market had problems, it was allowed by the state for other


    companies to take the opportunity to acquire the scattered shares.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Seeing that Sonia didn¡¯t speak, Toby softened his tone. ¡°As long as Paradigm is delisted, there will be no


    major changes in the stock market, and there will be no need to worry about someone deliberately taking


    the opportunity to cause problems in Paradigm¡¯s stocks by acquiring its scattered shares. Thus, we


    should take advantage of this situation and delist Paradigm from the stock market now. It won¡¯t be too


    late to re-list when Paradigm is fully developed in the future. Hm?¡±


    Sonia admitted that she was a little persuaded. ¡°But we can¡¯t delist thepany this fast. After all the


    procedures arepleted, Paradigm¡¯s stock market would have long copsed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can make a call and get them to delist yourpany today,¡± Toby raised his chin and said.


    Sonia frowned and immediately wanted to refuse his offer. Of course, Toby had expected it long ago, so


    he spoke before she did. ¡°I know you probably don¡¯t want to trouble me, but you already owe me a favor,


    so it makes no difference for you to owe me another one. Wouldn¡¯t it be alright to repay it altogether in


    the future?¡±


    Sonia opened her mouth but was speechless. Forget it. Does it matter how much I owe him? I would just


    repay him twice as much in the future. In short, she couldn¡¯t bear to watch herpany¡¯s stocks


    continue to plummet this way.


    ¡°Okay, then. President Fuller, I¡¯m counting on you about this, but I have to discuss it with the


    shareholders. Delisting is not something I can decide alone,¡± Sonia rubbed her cheeks and said with a


    tired tone.


    Toby responded, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Subsequently, Sonia looked at Daphne. ¡°Tell the shareholders and senior management about the


    delisting to see what they think, and then report to me about their thoughts and opinions. Get this done


    as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Daphne pushed her sses on the bridge of her nose and turned around to leave.


    After she left, Sonia saw that her ss was empty, so she wanted to get up to refill it at the water


    dispenser. All of a sudden, she felt dizzy, and the cup in her hand loosened and fell to the ground,


    shattering into pieces.


    Meanwhile, her own body also swayed and fell to the ground. When Toby saw this, his expression


    changed. Immediately, he stood up and strode over with his long legs, then he stretched out his arms to


    hook her shoulders and pull her body close.


    Falling into his arms, Sonia closed her eyes and leaned against his chest while panting slightly. She


    seemed to be in major difort, with beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.


    Toby touched her forehead nervously, thinking she had a fever. But when he touched her forehead, he


    found that she was normal and didn¡¯t have a fever. What is going on? He was confused.


    ¡°Help me¡­ back to the chair.¡± Sonia spoke. Her voice trembled as she didn¡¯t have much strength left in


    her.


    Toby picked her up, helped her return to her desk, and sat her in her office chair at once.


    ¡°Drawer. My candy.¡± Sonia raised her hand and pointed to the desk with her trembling finger.


    Toby finally understood what happened and hurriedly opened several drawers of the desk to find the


    candy she had mentioned. He picked up one, quickly peeled it open, and ced it in her mouth.


    Soon, after Sonia ate a piece of candy, herplexion gradually improved, and there was no cold sweat


    breaking out anymore. Finally, she opened her eyes and said in a weak voice, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°How could you have such severe hypoglycemia?¡± Toby frowned, with tant concern in his tone.


    Sonia pinched her eyebrows. ¡°It¡¯s caused by the pregnancy.¡±


    Toby¡¯s pupils shrank, and he was speechless. He was the one who did this to her!


    ¡°Can it be improved or cured?¡± Toby asked, clenching the candy wrapper in his palm.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be okay after I rest for a while,¡± Sonia shook the drowsiness in her head and replied.


    During this period of time, due to the heavy workload, her rest time was not as sufficient as before. Plus,


    the fetus needed a lot of nutrition, so her low blood sugar condition was more serious than before. That


    was why she always had candy in her drawer.


    ¡°Then you should rest,¡± Toby looked at Sonia and said in a deep voice.


    Sonia sneered, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t want to? The point is that I can¡¯t.¡±


    Asher had been eyeing the management rights and shares in her hands; he was scheming to dethrone


    her every moment of every day. If she rested, Asher would immediately have an excuse to force her to


    hand over the management rights. So, she didn¡¯t dare to rest¡ªor more importantly, she just couldn¡¯t.


    Toby also understood where Sonia came from. While feeling distressed, he expressed his disagreement.


    ¡°But your body¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, President Fuller. It¡¯s my business.¡± Sonia didn¡¯t want to discuss her physical problems


    with him, so after interrupting him coldly, she nced at the time in the lower right corner of the


    computer, and her beautiful eyes narrowed. ¡°The live broadcast has started.¡±

 Chapter 294

    Chapter 294


    Toby¡¯s face darkened when he heard this and he walked up to Sonia, ready to watch the broadcast from


    over her shoulder.


    She turned her head slightly to nce at him. As she was unaffected by the close proximity between


    them, she did not try to make him leave. Then, she clicked into the link which had been shared through


    Tina¡¯s social media tform before being instantly redirected to Tina¡¯s livestream.


    At that moment, Sonia was shocked to see that over ten million people were watching the livestream as


    well and their messages were piling onto the bullet screen. The real-timements popped up one after


    another in such rapid session that the words began to blur before her eyes. I bet there are popr


    livestreamers who could only dream of such social media coverage.


    In the livestream, Tina was sitting upright on the hospital bed, looking pale and weak in her patient¡¯s


    scrubs as she cast her bloodshot eyes at the camera. As she addressed her audience, she spoke feebly,


    ¡°Thank you, everyone, for watching my live stream today. I¡¯m sure all of you are aware of what has


    happened to me. As a woman, to have something as tragic as this happen is a devastating and


    traumatizing experience. I know I ought to be recuperating now instead of publicly speaking out and


    making a fool out of myself, but¡­¡±


    She broke off and tipped her head back; she sniffed as she suppressed her tears like she was putting on


    a tough act. Then, she continued, ¡°But I don¡¯t think I can take it anymore. I¡¯m in shreds as I lie here on


    the hospital bed while the person who has done this to me is still living freely out there! So, after


    spending a lot of time thinking about this, I believe that I should speak out and ensure the person who


    has hurt me will pay the price!¡±


    The viewers flooded the bullet screen instantly, voicing out their unconditional support and sympathy for


    Tina.


    ¡®That¡¯s right! Why should the victim suffer like this while the person who did this to her walks free?¡¯


    ¡®Good for you, Miss Gray. You¡¯re doing the right thing by exposing the person¡¯s wicked crimes. That


    person deserves retribution!¡¯


    As the livestream went on, Sonia¡¯s hands that were on the armrest clenched into fists. Rage thrummed in


    her veins while she stared at the screen incredulously.


    I swear, her shamelessness knows no bounds! There was no disputing that Tina was, indeed, the victim,


    but Sonia had nothing to do with any of it.


    Under normal circumstances, Sonia would have felt sorry for Tina, regardless of the bad blood between


    them. However, for Tina to pin the me on Sonia instead of calling out the actual assant was a low


    blow. I might even go so far as to say that she deserves the humiliation!


    Toby was behind her and he clutched the back of the chair so tightly that his nails dug into the soft


    leather. He was just as outraged as Sonia was and his face was as dark as a stormy sky. Even the air


    around him seemed to have dropped to sub-zero temperatures.


    She felt the hostility radiating from him and turned to cast him a mildly curious look. Her eyes glimmered,


    but without uttering a word, she returned to watching Tina¡¯s infuriating livestream.


    On the other side of the screen, Tina¡¯s eyes brightened with glee when she saw thements of those


    who rallied in support of her. However, she quickly became teary-eyed and made as if she was touched


    by everyone¡¯s kind words as she responded, ¡°Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for being so


    encouraging. I¡ªI¡¯m really¡ª¡± She choked on her words and buried her face into her hands before she


    began to sob pathetically.


    At the sight of this, the audience rushed tofort her and tried to get her to stop crying.


    After having offered their words of sce, the audience were relieved to see that she had seemingly


    calmed down. She pulled out a couple of tissues and dabbed her tears dry as she managed a tear-Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    stained smile at the camera as she added, ¡°Thank you for showing your concern, everyone. I¡¯m feeling


    much better now.¡±


    Believing that their efforts had paid off, the audience were ted to hear this and began to send gifts to


    Tina on the tform.


    Tina, on the other hand, was pleased when she saw the amount of money that she was receiving from


    the audience. Looks like live streaming is working out for me better than I thought. I managed to destroy


    Sonia¡¯s reputation and rake in a small fortune in the process.


    ¡°Miss Gray, you haven¡¯t told us what Sonia did to hurt you,¡¯ one of the more generous viewers prompted;


    the person¡¯s message was in bright red as it stood out on the bullet screen.


    Upon reading this, the rest of the audience was suddenly reminded of the purpose of Tina¡¯s livestream


    and followed suit in prompting her for details.


    Tina¡¯s smile faltered as if she had just read the most depressing news and she made it a point to look


    terrified as she curled into herself, wrapping her arms around her knees as she recounted shakily, ¡°On


    the day I was assaulted, Miss Reed contacted me and told me she wanted to speak to me in person.


    She asked that I head over to Bay Street, but when I arrived, she was nowhere in sight. The only ones


    there were the six men who worked under her orders.¡±


    She paused at this and buried her face in her knees before she gave a heartbreaking sob once more.


    The audience were stunned by the information.


    ¡®What the hell? Six men?!¡¯


    ¡®My goodness! I always thought it was just one guy! I didn¡¯t think there¡¯d be six!¡¯


    ¡®How despicable! Sonia literally went and ruined Miss Gray. This would traumatize any woman, and for


    Sonia to have arranged half a dozen men to carry out this dirty act? She was trying topletely destroy


    Miss Gray!¡¯


    Sonia was trembling with unadulterated anger as she saw these messages.


    Toby pped a hand on her shoulder and cated, ¡°Hey, calm down. Getting angry is bad for one¡¯s


    health, you know.¡±


    ¡°How the hell am I supposed to calm down when this woman¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± He was impassive as he stared at Tina through the screen, but there was a terrifying storm


    brewing in his eyes. ¡°She won¡¯t stay happy for long, I swear.¡±


    Sonia questioningly gazed at him. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    Toby shed her a smile, but he did not borate any further.


    His smile had caught her off guard and for a moment, it was like he had be the man he was six


    years ago; she remembered how kind and pleasant he looked whenever he smiled back then.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby asked, puzzled by the dazed look in Sonia¡¯s eyes as she stared at him.


    She blinked out of her reverie and looked away from him, lowering her gaze to hide the nostalgia in her


    eyes. As she grew defensive, she snapped, ¡°Nothing!¡± So what if he just smiled the way he did six years


    ago? It doesn¡¯t change the fact that he¡¯s a different person now.


    Although he felt that Sonia was hiding something, Toby made to ask about it, but ultimately did not do so.


    He knew he would not get an answer out of her even if he were to press her on it. Whatever it was, she


    had obviously made up her mind not to tell him.


    Tina¡¯s livestream was still ongoing and plenty of seasoned viewers were using coloredments to


    demand for details. One of the questions read, ¡®Miss Gray, why did Sonia do such horrible things to you?¡¯


    The other members of the audience were on the edge of their seats as well; they were eager to find out


    the reason.


    Tina chewed on her bottom lip and let out a humorlessugh. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because she hates me. She


    was married to my ex-fianc¨¦ and as all of you may know, I was in aa for six years before I regained


    consciousness. When I finally did, my ex-fianc¨¦ had filed for divorce from Miss Reed and got together


    with me, which led her to think that I stole her husband from her. Her hatred for me has only grown since


    then and she has targeted me countless times before this, attempting to hurt me each time. I¡¯ve


    managed to ovee all those unwarranted attacks in the past, but this time, I didn¡¯t think she would¡ª¡±


    She halted in her sob story and broke down in tears once more, burying her face in her knees like a


    wounded child.


    Needless to say, the audience already knew how the rest of her story ended. Sonia hated Tina for


    stealing her husband, which led to Sonia repeatedly hurting her in the hope that the happy couple would


    separate from each other. However, given how Sonia had failed in her past attempts, she descended into


    a manic rage and orchestrated this horrific n topletely ruin Tina. By doing so, Tina would forever


    be a ruined woman and Toby would inevitably call off their engagement. At the end of the day, Sonia


    would be reconciled with him once more and have her deranged happily-ever-after.


    The audience couldn¡¯t help but shudder at how cold and calcting Sonia was to have thought of such a


    wicked scheme. However, their shock quickly turned to fury as they came to Tina¡¯s defense.


    ¡®I¡¯ve already lodged a police report on your behalf, Miss Gray. The cops will apprehend that wretched


    woman soon and we¡¯ll stand in as your witnesses when the timees. We can¡¯t let someone so cruel


    get away with this!¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s right, Miss Gray. We¡¯re all on your side.¡¯


    ¡®No, I don¡¯t think I can hold myself back anymore. I¡¯m going over to Sonia¡¯s tform to start a riot against


    her. What she has done is worse than all the names I¡¯ve called her, so I¡¯ll take the cursing up a notch. In


    fact, she won¡¯t even know her own name by the time I¡¯m finished with her!¡¯


    ¡®Hey, I¡¯ll go with you. You know what, I might even storm over to herpany and confront her myself!¡¯


    When Tina saw the aggression bubbling up on the bullet screen, the corners of her lips curled up into the


    barest hint of a smile. Nheless, she maintained the waterworks as she gratefully thanked, ¡°Thank


    you, everyone, for being so kind. Thank you so much.¡±


    The viewers more or less echoed the same sentiments as theymented, ¡®Don¡¯t worry about it, Miss


    Gray. It is our duty as citizens to get rid of such scums of the earth!¡¯


    Relief and gratitude might be etched on her face, but Tina was secretlyughing at these viewers. What


    a bunch of idiots!

 Chapter 295

    Chapter 295


    Upon seeing the ridiculousments that popped up in support of Tina¡¯s false sob story as well as the


    wretched girl¡¯s triumphant smirk, Sonia clenched her fist and mmed it on the desk in tant fury. The


    loud bang that followed echoed around the room, sending ripples across the stifling silence.


    Toby instantly reached for her wrist and lifted her hand for inspection.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sonia pulled away and shot him a wary look.


    When he saw how defensive she was of him, he was a little hurt. As he lowered his gaze, he answered


    quietly, ¡°I only wanted to see whether you bruised your hand or something.¡±


    She turned away from him and muttered, ¡°Please, it¡¯s not as if I was jackhammering the desk. There¡¯s no


    bruise at all.¡±


    He hummed in response. ¡°d you¡¯re okay and all, but the next time you¡¯re angry, try not to beat up


    sturdy inanimate objects. You¡¯ll only end up hurting yourself.¡±


    ¡°I know. There¡¯s no need to nag,¡± she grumbled after briefly pursing her lips.


    Toby drew his hand back and he was about to say something when the office door swung open from the


    outside.


    The next second, Asher stormed into the room like an angry bull as he thundered, ¡°What is this news


    about you delisting, Sonia?¡±


    He was staring daggers at Sonia whilepletely ignoring Toby, who stood mutely next to her as he


    watched the exchange.


    Sonia, on the other hand, switched off Tina¡¯s blood-boiling livestream. Since Tina had already told¡ªor


    more urately, lied to¡ªthe viewers about how and why Sonia had caused her such misfortune, there


    was no need to watch the rest of the livestream anymore. It wasn¡¯t like the content would favor Sonia


    anyway.


    Sonia released her mouse and coldly looked up at Asher. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m sure Miss Daphne has


    already given you all the details.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Asher was furious as he struck the desk. ¡°How dare you pull something off like this without any


    permission!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I dare to do so and I have done it!¡± She rose from her seat and glowered at the man while being


    unaffected by his tantrum. ¡°Because lest you forget, I am the biggest shareholder in Paradigm Co.!¡±


    As things escted, Toby stood quietly next to Sonia and admiration shed in his dark orbs when he


    saw how witty and sharp she could be.


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Asher choked on his words, his rage suddenly turning into a lump in his throat. After what


    seemed like a long pause, he regained hisposure and snapped, ¡°Yes, you may be the biggest


    shareholder in Paradigm Co., but don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m the one in charge around here. You are nothing but


    the vice president!¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Sonia crossed her arms, looking high and mighty as she countered, ¡°You know, President


    Dafoe, you should be grateful that you¡¯re a senior in Paradigm Co., which is why half thepany is in


    favor of you. Otherwise, I¡¯d have taken back whatever authority you have right now by calling a


    shareholders¡¯ meeting. I am, after all, the biggest shareholder and it¡¯s well within my rights to do so. In


    other words, I can easily be thepany¡¯s president.¡±


    Logically speaking, her position as the biggest shareholder afforded her a voice in thepany, but she


    could not rally support among the other directors and she dared not speak out against Asher either. She


    feared that he might storm out of Paradigm Co. and take all his supporters with him, which would be


    more than enough to crumble thepany.


    That was because thepany could not get any new blood to rece his supporters. After having


    considered this, she would much rather swallow her pride as the biggest shareholder and take on the


    role of vice president instead.


    It went without saying that Asher knew of her concerns, which was why he had little to no regard for her


    even when she was thepany¡¯s major shareholder.


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re going to hold a shareholders¡¯ meeting, are you? And you¡¯ll just take away my authority with


    such ease, is that right?¡± He guffawed like he had just heard the world¡¯s biggest joke. ¡°Sonia, are you


    sure that¡¯s the wise thing to do? If I walk, who is to say that half of thepany won¡¯t walk with me? You


    know as well as I do that those in favor of me are the backbone of Paradigm Co., and the rest of you are


    done for the moment they leave! Go ahead and call the meeting if you dare to do so!¡±


    Sonia dug her nails into her palms and she was about to retort when a man¡¯s cold voice asked


    intimidatingly, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t she?¡±


    She immediately turned and gaped at Toby in surprise.


    Asher was also displeased as he turned to snap, ¡°This is between me and Vice President Reed. Why


    don¡¯t you keep quiet as an assistant and¡ªPresident Fuller?¡± His voice raised by an octave when he


    finally registered Toby¡¯s presence and disbelief colored his face as he stared at Toby.


    Although Asher had seen a figure next to Sonia when he barged in earlier, he was in such a rush to


    confront her that he didn¡¯t pay any attention to the saidpanion and merely thought of the man as


    some lowly assistant.


    However, he certainly didn¡¯t expect the assistant to actually be Toby¡ªotherwise known as the president


    of Fuller Group!


    A stunned Asher blinked at Toby and stammered, ¡°P-President Fuller, what brings you here?¡± Then, he


    gesturedmely between Toby and Sonia as he added, ¡°A-Are you and Sonia¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here because I have a couple of things to discuss with Sonia. Have you forgotten that we are


    coborating on the project for alternative energy technology?¡± Toby demanded, his eyes shing


    insidiously.


    He couldn¡¯t very well say that he was here because he was worried about Sonia, who would undoubtedly


    be unhappy with him if he did so.


    Meanwhile, she raised a brow and although she was surprised that he lied, she did not expose him. He


    can do whatever he wants.


    ¡°I see,¡± Asher said, clearly convinced.


    After all, there was no reason why he would be here other than for business. Everyone in the business


    world knew that he did not love her, which was why he had divorced her in the first ce.


    Of course he wouldn¡¯te here just to see her on purpose, Asher berated himself. ¡°President Fuller,


    did you hear what Sonia and I were talking¡ª¡±


    ¡°I heard everything!¡± Toby lowered his gaze like he was eyeing an annoying pest and continued coldly, ¡°If


    you want to walk out of Paradigm Co. and take half thepany with you, then why don¡¯t you do so


    immediately?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Asher nched when he heard this, his eyes wide with disbelief. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s not very


    proper of you to interfere with ourpany affairs, is it?¡± I won¡¯t actually leave Paradigm Co.¡ªI was only


    trying to scare Sonia! I didn¡¯t think Toby would take it seriously.


    Toby eyed the other man steadily like a top predator. ¡°I can put my foot in if I want. After all, it was only


    after they had coborated with Fuller Group that half of your enterprises were revived. Besides, Vice


    President Reed happens to be working with me on the alternative energy project, and as thergest


    business partner, surely I have the privilege to partake in yourpany¡¯s internal conflicts, yes?¡±


    Asher opened and closed his mouth like a fish. ¡°I¡ªyou¡¯re not wrong, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Then, we¡¯vee to a consensus, haven¡¯t we?¡± Toby interrupted the stammering man once more. ¡°It


    was Vice President Reed who made all these agreements with me, so I will naturally be on her side,


    seeing as your departure¡ªalong with your subordinates¡¯¡ªwill invariably affect the partnership between


    ourpanies.¡±


    As he said this, he nced over at Sonia with a solemn expression. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, Vice President


    Reed; I¡¯ll send over a professional team to help you fill those vacancies left behind by President Dafoe¡¯s


    subordinates, should he walk out on thepany. Paradigm Co. will be fine at the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Asher was so shocked by Toby¡¯s promise that his mind turned nk.


    Sonia was equally astonished as she stared at Toby. ¡°Are you serious about this?¡±


    Toby gave her a firm nod. ¡°Of course I am and I will keep my word. As for President Dafoe¡­¡± He paused


    pensively and turned his attention back to the stumped man. ¡°If you¡¯re going to have all those talented


    subordinates of yours support you, then it would be a waste for you to join another enterprise. I suggest


    you start your ownpany and with such a strong team under you, I¡¯m sure the new business will


    flourish in no time. I¡¯ll spread the word around the business circle so that no one coborates with you,


    which would then ruin your pathway to entrepreneurship. What do you say, President Dafoe?¡±


    As she was unable to contain herughter anymore, she barely had time to sp her hand over her


    mouth before she sputtered aloud. She was so amused by Toby¡¯s words that she had to turn away, her


    shoulders trembling as she tried to suppress herugh.


    Asher, on the other hand, was quaking with rage, but he did not dare to bellow at Toby. All he could do


    was clench his fists and try to keep the smoke froming out of his ears. What do I say? I say this is a


    load of bullcrap! He¡¯s just telling otherpanies not to take us on, which is just as good as banishing us


    from the industry altogether! Start apany? At my age and with the small fortune I have, I¡¯d end up


    looking like a downright fool! He¡¯s humiliating me and he wants me to suffer!


    He was fuming, but he forced out a tight smile as he responded, ¡°You¡¯reical, President Fuller.


    Entrepreneurship is hardly on my agenda at such an old age.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Does that mean you never had the intention to leave Paradigm Co. with your capable


    subordinates?¡± Toby cast Asher an imperious sideways nce.


    Asher coughed twice, clearly upset by how things had turned out. ¡°Well, of course. I was only joking with


    Vice President Reed since I won¡¯t actually do something as drastic as that.¡±


    Indeed, he wondered whether he could ever summon enough courage to carry out his threat after this.

 Chapter 296

    Chapter 296


    Asher was caught between a rock and a hard ce; if he were to walk out on Paradigm Co., he would


    immediately be reced and with Toby cklisting him in the industry, he wouldn¡¯t be able to join any


    other enterprise. He would have nowhere to turn to and his whole career would be done for.


    More to the point, he never intended to leave in the first ce.


    At this moment, Toby kept his eyes on Sonia as he asked, ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    As much as she disliked the idea of keeping Asher around, she was more apprehensive toward the idea


    of having Toby¡¯s people working in thepany. With that in mind, she nodded and answered flippantly,


    ¡°Well, President Dafoe did say that he was only joking, so I¡¯ll take his word for it and brush this incident


    off.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then.¡± Toby was slightly dejected by this and pressed his lips into a grim line.


    He had hoped that she would agree to his suggestion and allow Asher as well as his subordinates to


    leave Paradigm Co. That way, he could send his team over as promised and use that as an excuse to


    see her as often as he would like.


    Meanwhile, Asher let out a huge sigh of relief after hearing what she had said. Thank heavens she has


    the good sense to say all the right things; otherwise, I¡¯d be doomed!


    Sonia eyed him impassively. ¡°Are you still nning to oppose my decision to delist, President Dafoe?¡±


    He snapped out of his thoughts. He didn¡¯t want to concede, but when his gaze flickered over to Toby, he


    swallowed his retort and was immediately agreeable. ¡°Of course not, Sonia. You can do whatever you


    want.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯m going to put the word out. Now, is there anything else you¡¯d like to discuss, President


    Dafoe?¡± She had as good as told him to get out of her office.


    The corners of Asher¡¯s lips twitched slightly. ¡°Not at all. Carry on with your work, Sonia. I shan¡¯t bother


    you anymore and take my leave now.¡±


    The moment he spun around, the smile on his face was reced by a menacing grimace.


    He had walked into her office with the thought that he could wheedle Sonia into giving up her share of


    authority by threatening to leave thepany if she didn¡¯t.


    What he hadn¡¯t expected was for Toby to put his foot in and ruin his ns. As things were, Toby would


    rise to Sonia¡¯s defense for as long as their coboration was an ongoing concern. It will only make it


    harder for me to deal with that wench, Asher thought, gritting his teeth. I have to find a way to ruin their


    coboration!


    After Asher left in defeat, peace and serenity returned to the office once more. Sonia tucked her hair


    behind her ear as she thanked Toby for speaking up for her.


    Toby gave her a bemused look. ¡°You¡¯ve already thanked me half a dozen times today.¡±


    She took her seat and said, ¡°I know, but it¡¯s only polite for me to do so.¡±


    In truth, she was sure that she could have handled Asher on her own even if he hadn¡¯t interfered. Prior to


    this, she had already made up her mind to go head-to-head with Asher, should he oppose the delisting. If


    he threatened to leave thepany, well, she would not stop him at all.


    The worst that could happen was that she would have to downsize Paradigm Co. and turn it into a small


    or medium enterprise. As long as thepany remained, there was still a chance that it could flourish


    and eventually regain its former glory as a conglomerate.


    Toby rounded her desk and took the seat across from her. ¡°You don¡¯t actually have to thank me out of


    courtesy. I know things have been tense between you and Asher; you could have taken the chance to


    throw him out of Paradigm Co. if you wanted to.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s gaze darkened. ¡°I know that, but I didn¡¯t think there was a need for such desperate measures.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you truly think? Or, do you just hate the idea of having my people under your nose?¡± He


    stared at her intently as he asked.


    She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but ultimately did not and turned her


    head away in defense instead.


    Upon seeing this, Toby knew instantly that he had been right. She didn¡¯t want his people under her nose


    and although he grew frustrated at this, he merely sighed and allowed the matter to slide.


    At this point, Sonia picked up the phone on her desk and called Daphne¡¯s line. ¡°Get all the documents


    ready for the delisting and send them over to the government department in charge.¡±


    ¡°I thought President Dafoe was against the delisting, though,¡± Daphne pointed out.


    Sonia massaged her temple in exhaustion. ¡°He changed his mind.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Really!¡±


    Daphne broke into a wide grin at the turn of events. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. I¡¯ll start to prepare the documents


    immediately.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± With a final hum of agreement, Sonia put the receiver down and ended the call.


    Toby, on the other hand, took his phone out as he said mildly, ¡°I¡¯ll call up the government department and


    have them process the application for delisting as soon as your secretary arrives.¡±


    Sonia managed a small smile; she was a little surprised by how much help he had given today. ¡°Fine.¡±


    He rose from his seat and walked out to the balcony to make the call, only to return a few minutester


    with a sullen look on his face.


    At the sight of this, she felt her skin prickle with a bad premonition. ¡°What is it? Did the department say


    no?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing like that.¡± He kept his phone away and exined, ¡°It¡¯s just that there is a whole crowd of


    reporters waiting by thepany¡¯s entrance. I¡¯d say there are about forty or fifty of them.¡±


    Toby had only brought with him a mid-sized team of bodyguards and while the dozen of them were all


    tough and capable in their own right, they couldn¡¯t possibly hold back a crowd of reporters. As such,


    before he returned to the office, he rang the securitypany and had them dispatch another two mid-


    sized teams to the scene, but they wouldn¡¯t arrive until at least ten minutester.


    Upon hearing that the reporters were here, Sonia felt the beginnings of a migraine. ¡°I bet this has


    something to do with Tina¡¯s livestream. When she uploaded the post on social media earlier, about


    twenty or thirty reporters alongside crazedizens showed up to demand statements andments


    from me. I had Daphne call the police to bring thoseizens away, but the reporters have the freedom


    of press, so we couldn¡¯t do anything about them.¡±


    As long as the press was not gathered in a strictly off-limits area, the police could not exercise jurisdiction


    against them, which was a sore point for many.


    Toby lifted his chin and muttered thoughtfully, ¡°That exins it.¡±


    Tom had told him earlier that there were a couple ofizens who brought wreaths and razor des for


    Sonia as some passive-aggressive form of threat. However, when Toby had arrived, he didn¡¯t see those


    netizens at all. As it turned out, the police had taken them away.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia asked, clueless as to what Toby was referring to.


    He shed her a smile and dismissed, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    She shrugged and did not press him any further, seeing that he had no intention of telling her anyway.


    Tina¡¯s livestream had ended a while ago and the whole inte was raving about it more than they did


    thest one, which had died down at some point. Now, the buzz around Sonia easily surpassed those of


    controversial celebrities.


    Some fans of those celebrities even made it a point to thank Sonia in thements section of her social


    media tform, iming that her evil deeds had made their idols¡¯ crimes pale byparison. That being


    said, most of thements on her page were brutal and vicious.


    She knew that Tina had only pulled such a dirty trick to destroy her and have her burned at the stake.


    She thinks she can pin all these usations on me because I don¡¯t have the means or evidence to clear


    my name, but whether she¡¯ll get away with it depends on Tim and his willingness toe up with an


    exnation.


    As she snapped out of her thoughts, Sonia nced at the time disyed on herputer screen and


    saw that it was nearly 12:30PM.


    Tim wouldn¡¯te out in broad daylight to rify things or confess his role in all this. She would have to


    wait until night time before she could even see a glimmer of hope.


    Suddenly, the piercing sound of her ringtone pulled her out of her reverie. She nced down at the


    phone screen and a shadow passed over her face.


    Toby noticed this and narrowed his eyes as he asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°An officer from the police station,¡± Sonia answered, pursing her lips. ¡°I¡¯m afraid one of Tina¡¯s fans really


    lodged a police report like he said he would.¡±


    As she said that, she swiped her phone screen to answer the call. The person on the other line greeted


    her almost indifferently, ¡°Good day, Miss Reed. This is the Seafield Police Station. We¡¯ve received a


    comint from someone on the Inte iming that you have aided and abetted in the assault against


    another person. We need you toe to the station right now to assist us in the investigation.¡±


    With the phone still pressed to her ear, Sonia gave Toby a look that said, See, I told you so. Then, as she


    focused on the officer on the phone, her face was impassive while she answered curtly, ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be


    there shortly.¡±


    She hung up the call and rose from her seat.


    Toby stood up as well. ¡°Are you going to the police station?¡±


    Sonia picked up her purse and pulled the strap over her shoulder. ¡°Yes, to help with the investigation. I


    suppose it¡¯s a good thing; my name can be cleared when they find that I had nothing to do with any of


    this.¡±


    As he smoothened his sleeves, Toby offered, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    She wanted to say no, but when she saw the stubborn look in his eyes, she had a feeling that he would


    tag along anyway. She heaved a sigh of resignation and made her way to the door. ¡°As you wish.¡±


    A small smirk yed on his lips when he heard this and he fell in step next to her.


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    The security teams that Toby had requested earlier were already in the elevator when he and Sonia


    entered. When the elevator came to a stop, he instructed the bodyguards to head out to the parking lot


    and hold the bustling crowd of reporters back.


    It was only when the captain of the security teams assured the coast was clear that Sonia and Toby


    exited the elevator, but as soon as they were out, they were spotted by the reporters, who were currently


    being held back by the bodyguards.

 Chapter 297

    Chapter 297


    The buzz was reignited almost instantly as the reporters lifted their microphones and cameras, Then,


    they jostled forward with the hopes of breaking through the guards¡¯ barricade.


    However, although there were more reporters than bodyguards at the main entrance, the ratio was


    significantly reversed on this side of thepound.


    Therefore, the thirty guards on site could easily hold back the twenty-odd reporters here, who could not


    break through the barricade even as they struggled and pushed forward.


    Now that they were growing frustrated at the bodyguards, the reporters realized they were left with no


    choice but to shout at Sonia from a distance, ¡°Miss Reed, is it true that you arranged for Miss Gray to be


    assaulted?¡±


    ¡°Do you have anything you¡¯d like to say to that, Miss Reed?¡±


    The ovepping questions caused Sonia to frown. After deciding to ignore them, she continued to walk


    without bothering to acknowledge the reporters.


    Since they were displeased and spurred on by herck of response, the reporters threw several more


    questions her way.


    ¡°Miss Reed, is your silence an admission? Did you actually orchestrate the whole incident?¡±


    ¡°Did you really arrange for six men to carry out the dirty work? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s despicable on your


    part?¡±


    This made Sonia stop in her tracks. There was an icy edge to her voice as she asked aloud,


    ¡°Despicable?!¡±


    The man walking alongside her came to a stop as well and the both of them turned to re at the


    reporter, who had asked the unfortunate question.


    Sonia¡¯s face was impassive as she regarded the reporter with a hard look. ¡°Did you just call me


    despicable?¡±


    The reporter felt a chill run down his spine when he met her pitch-ck gaze. ¡°A-Am I wrong?¡±


    He had no idea that a woman could be so intimidating and while the man next to her was wearing dark


    shades that obscured half his face, the reporter could tell that he was staring daggers in his direction as


    well, making him feel like someone was choking the air out of him.


    More importantly, the reporter found that the man looked somewhat familiar. Where have I seen him?


    Presently, Sonia let out an insidious scoff as she drawled witheringly, ¡°Looks like all of you are convinced


    that Tina was speaking the truth. So, you all think I¡¯m despicable because you believe I¡¯ve done this to


    her, but it only proves that you¡¯re dumber than I thought. Don¡¯t adults usually have better sense than


    this? If I have to spell it out for you, then the only despicable one in this whole incident is Tina herself!¡±


    Upon hearing this, the reporters fell into a stunned silence, but that onlysted for a second before they


    burst into an uproar.


    ¡°Miss Reed, are you saying that Miss Gray has been lying to us and that you¡¯ve never done anything to


    her in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any proof, Miss Reed?¡±


    The only reason why they were convinced by Tina¡¯s side of the story was because she had called Sonia


    out on a livestream in front of millions of people. After all, if Tina was found to be lying, the bacsh


    would be of Armageddon proportions. She wouldn¡¯t risk her own reputation like that without


    incontrovertible proof of Sonia¡¯s crimes.


    Yet, the reporters¡¯ conviction wavered after they heard what Sonia had said.


    A few of the reporters had turned on their live streams when they saw her exiting the building earlier,


    which had amassed hundreds of thousands of viewers.


    The viewers leapt into fervent discussion as soon as they heard Sonia¡¯s statement.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡®Sonia¡¯s right. We¡¯re all adults here, and we need to hear both sides of the story before we deem anyone


    guilty. Tina might have pinned Sonia as the mastermind, but don¡¯t you all realize how she has never once


    shown us concrete proof? She was only broadcasting the news online, so there¡¯s still plenty of room for


    doubt in her story.¡¯


    ¡®Yeah, and more importantly, why didn¡¯t Tina lodge a police report and have Sonia arrested at first


    instance? She¡¯s the victim after all, so she was well within her rights to do so instead of sharing the


    details of Sonia¡¯s crime on the Inte. She was probably just pulling a publicity stunt.¡¯


    While some took on a level-headed approach to this incident, others maintained the belief that Tina had


    been speaking the truth.


    ¡®Tina only resorted to publicizing Sonia¡¯s crimes online because she wanted to tell us the truth behind the


    incident. She wanted us to know just how vicious Sonia is. If it meant the whole world seeing Sonia¡¯s true


    colors, I would do the same thing should I be in Tina¡¯s position.¡¯


    ¡®I agree with the above person. For those asking why Tina didn¡¯t lodge a police report immediately, let¡¯s


    not forget that Sonia didn¡¯t, either. If Sonia really was innocent in all this, then she¡¯d be well within her


    rights to make a report as well, but she didn¡¯t. That alone should be enough proof of her character.¡¯


    As more viewers voiced out their take on the matter, the opinions only grew more divisive.


    Meanwhile, Tina was watching the same livestream from her hospital room. Her eyes were trained on the


    bullet screen and when she saw how some of theizens were taking a neutral stance, which invariably


    was not in her favor, she was so outraged that she nearly threw her tablet out the door.


    However, when she saw that there wereizens who came to her defense, she calmed down with relief.


    Sonia was oblivious that her stand-off with the reporters back at the parking lot was being live-streamed.


    She swept her arctic gaze across the crowd and said curtly, ¡°It¡¯s true that I do not have any evidence now


    to clear my name, but that might change tonight.¡±


    A hush descended upon thepound the moment she said those words, but the reporters and the


    livestream audience burst into yet another uproar after a few seconds.


    Without waiting for the rest of his peers, one of the reporters urged immediately, ¡°Miss Reed, are you


    saying that you are collecting evidence now and you will have everything you need by tonight to prove


    your innocence?¡±


    The reporter¡¯s gesture did not sit well with his peers, who all looked at him resentfully. He could be a little


    more courteous instead of firing his question right off the bat.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Sonia nodded before she turned to look straight into one of the cameras as she announced


    solemnly, ¡°At midnight, I will present all the evidence I have and all of you can decide whether I¡¯ve


    grossly wronged Tina. If I¡¯m proven to be innocent, then I¡¯ll definitely have her thrown into prison!¡±


    Tim should be done with his surgery by tonight. If he doesn¡¯t give up any evidence, then I¡¯ll just have to


    expose him. I have the audio recordings of our past few phone conversations, including the most recent


    one where he told me about how he was going to take his revenge on Tina.


    No matter how Sonia looked at it, her n to expose Tina¡¯s lies was practically foolproof!


    In the hospital room, Tina felt her heart skipping a beat when she heard Sonia¡¯s bold deration. Anxiety


    filled Tina¡¯s thoughts as her hands tightened their grip on the tablet.


    She said she¡¯s been collecting evidence and that she¡¯ll be done by midnight. Is that truly possible? At the


    thought of this, her heart raced at such speed that it could leap out of her throat at any minute, which


    caused all of the color to drain from her face.


    She wasn¡¯t sure if Sonia was telling the truth, but she didn¡¯t want to take the risk. If it turned out to be


    true, then she would be done for.


    After all, Tina had only dragged Sonia under the bus because she was so sure that Sonia couldn¡¯t ever


    clear her name. But now¡­


    Tina bit hard on her bottom lip as a twinge of regret rose within her.


    While this was happening, the reporters in the parking lot were still angling to obtain more answers out of


    Sonia.


    However, as Sonia felt that she had already said all she needed to, she decided to leave the rest for


    tonight. Not wanting to waste any more time on the insatiable crowd of reporters, she turned to Toby and


    said, ¡°We should go.¡±


    Toby was pleased that she had referred to the both of them with a collective ¡®we¡¯. A look of gentle


    compassion shed in his eyes behind his dark shades.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed as he adjusted his shades. He had been using them the moment he stepped into the


    elevator and it was more of a deliberate disguise than anything else; he didn¡¯t want the reporters to


    recognize him and blow things out of proportion for her.


    Indeed, his presence right now would only worsen the dramatics, given how everyone knew about his


    past marriage with Sonia and his previous engagement to Tina. Now that the two women were going


    head-to-head against each other, the reporters would only have a field day once they captured his


    meeting with Sonia shortly after he had canceled his engagement to Tina. That would be adding salt to


    Sonia¡¯s injury.


    As such, Toby wore therge pair of shades to obscure nearly half his face, thereby keeping his identity


    a secret from these wolf-like reporters.


    Before long, they came to a stop in front of Sonia¡¯s car and she took out her keys to unlock the doors.


    However, just as she was reaching out to open the door on the driver¡¯s side, the sound of scattered,


    hurried footsteps approached before it was followed by a menacing growl, ¡°Die, you wretched woman!¡±

 Chapter 298

    Chapter 298


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia frowned and turned to see where the voice wasing from, but before she could get a


    proper look at themotion, her body was suddenly pulled into a rough embrace.


    Toby had his arms wound tightly around her as he spun her toward the other side before a secondter,


    the sound of ss breaking came from the space where Sonia had been standing earlier. It was then


    followed by an intense sizzling that mimicked the low buzz of an electric current.


    At that moment, he let out a low grunt.


    Upon hearing the pain in his voice, she looked up at him. As she was rmed by therge beads of cold


    sweat on his forehead and his pallor, she urged, ¡°What is it? Are you okay?¡±


    He released his grip on her without answering her and mped his left hand over his right wrist by his


    side, which trembled slightly.


    Her gaze fell on his right hand before her breath hitched as she stammered, ¡°Y-Your hand¡ª¡±


    ¡°My hand¡¯s fine. What about you? Are you okay?¡± He looked up at her, his face pale as he appraised her


    anxiously and she could tell that the fear in his eyes were genuine.


    She opened and closed her mouth, unable to describe herplicated emotions into words. Is he an


    idiot? His own hand is injured, but all he cares about is whether I¡¯m okay!


    Toby stiffened at herck of response. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No.¡±


    He held his gaze on her for a few more beats; it was only after he was certain she was telling the truth


    that he let out a small sigh of relief. As he shed her a feeble smile, he assured, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Good? What the hell are you talking about?¡± She bit on her lip as she glowered at him. ¡°Look at your


    hand!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± he insisted.


    Sonia pointed at his hand as an incredulous, humorlessugh escaped her. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing?¡±


    There was an open wound the size of a date on the back of his right hand. The skin looked like it had


    been peeled off from the mess that was blood and flesh; and the edges of the wound were erratic and


    burnt ck¡ªthe result of a harsh corrosion.


    Sonia could easily whittle down the list of potential substances capable of such erosion to one thing¡ª


    acid!


    At the thought of this, Sonia turned her icy gaze to the spot where she had been standing earlier. It didn¡¯t


    take long for her to put two and two together when she saw how the corrosive substance had spilled all


    over the driver¡¯s side of the car. The acid had eaten away at the paint on the car before dripping and


    pooling into a sizzling puddle on the tarmac.


    As it turned out, the man who called her a wretched woman had flung a bottle of acid at her in an attempt


    to kill her on the spot. When Toby saw this, he instantly reacted by pulling her into his arms and shielding


    her from the acid. However, when the ss bottlended on the car and shattered, a speck of acid could


    have sttered onto the back of his hand, hence the horrific burn that marked his skin.


    In other words, had Toby not saved her in time, the bottle of acid would have spilled on her and its


    contents would have burned her alive.


    If that happened, she could be lucky enough to survive, but her skin would have been disfigured beyond


    repair. She would then lock herself away forever to prevent anyone from seeing her in that state.


    A surge of fear seized her as such thoughts shed in her mind, but that was quickly reced by an


    overwhelming rage.


    She clenched her fists and her eyes rimmed red as she red at the person who had hurled acid at her.


    The culprit had been apprehended by the head of security. The perpetrator was an ordinary-looking man,


    and at the moment, there was a pair of gloves stuffed into his mouth to prevent him from speaking. Even


    so, the look on his face was menacing enough to make anyone¡¯s skin prickle in fright.


    Sonia had no idea who he was, much less why he held such a wicked grudge against her. That didn¡¯t


    matter, though, because everything woulde to light as soon as the police took over.


    Meanwhile, the reporters not too far away had witnessed the entire incident as well as the audience


    watching the livestream. They were all mortified by the shocking turn of events.


    They didn¡¯t think that someone would throw acid at Sonia. A dramatic event like this would only ever


    ur in soap operas, and yet here they were, bearing witness to it in reality. Before long, they came to


    the collective consensus that they must spread this groundbreaking news as quickly as they could.


    On the other side of the parking lot, Sonia paid no mind to the crowd of bustling reporters and returned to


    Toby¡¯s side. Her brows were knitted tightly together as she gazed at his hand, and the look in her eyes


    was one that rivaled a growing tempest.


    ¡°Give me your keys,¡± she demanded hastily. ¡°I have to drop you off at the hospital and I can¡¯t drive my


    car.¡±


    Toby met her gaze and answered, ¡°The keys are in my left pocket.¡±


    She grew exasperated at his vague instructions, which were redundant and a waste of precious time,


    given how she was in a rush to get him to the doctor. ¡°Do you mean the pocket of your pants or your


    coat?¡± she snapped.


    He could tell that Sonia was frustrated. Since he did not dare to dawdle a fraction longer, he answered


    forthrightly, ¡°Pants.¡±


    After having gotten the exact location of his keys, Sonia rubbed the divot between her brows and


    reached into the left pocket of his pants.


    Toby stiffened at this. He didn¡¯t think she would actually reach for the keys herself. Seeing that his left


    hand waspletely fine, he had assumed that she would allow him to get the keys out for her.


    Presently, he was acutely aware that her hand was reaching deep into his pocket, and he could feel the


    softness and warmth of her paw through the thin fabric. His skin tickled where her fingers brushed over


    it. As a result, his thigh muscle twitched involuntarily and his gaze darkened.


    Sonia felt this as well, and it was only after she met his dark, piercing gaze that she finally realized what


    she was doing.


    Crap, I just shoved my hand into the pocket of his pants without thinking! She blushed all the way to the


    tips of her ears and she quickly grappled for the keys before withdrawing her hand. She looked the other


    way in embarrassment and averted his gaze. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡±


    She had been in such a hurry to grab the keys that she didn¡¯t know how bold she was until it was too


    late.


    Toby, on the other hand, swallowed convulsively and responded hoarsely, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t dwell on it.¡±


    Her eyshes fluttered slightly at this and she hummed in response after a second.


    That was how Toby knew she was still dwelling on it. He sighed a little and swiftly changed the subject.


    ¡°Did you get the keys?¡±


    ¡°I did!¡± Grateful to move on from the embarrassing incident, Sonia opened up her palm to reveal the car


    keys with the Maybach logo embossed on it.


    He nodded. ¡°I leave the driving in your capable hands.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but as for that man over there¡­¡± A freezing look passed over her delicate face as she nced at


    the culprit, who was kneeling on the tarmac as the head of security held him in ce.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    There was an insidious gleam in Toby¡¯s eyes as he asked slowly, ¡°Seeing as he came for you, what do


    you want to do with him?¡±


    ¡°Send him to the police station,¡± Sonia replied coldly. ¡°I want to know exactly who put him up to this!¡±


    She had a feeling that Tina was the mastermind. The timeline made sense; the man hadunched the


    acid attack soon after Tina¡¯s scathing livestream, which painted Tina as the most likely suspect.


    It was obvious that Toby had the same thought as Sonia. He narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits and


    agreed, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll have my guards send him over to the station in a while.¡±


    Sonia hummed curtly in response. She pressed the key in her hand to unlock the car doors, and after the


    both of them entered the vehicle, she drove out of the parking lot without further dy.


    Along the way, she called up Daphne and asked that Daphne make a copy of the security footage from


    the parking lot and have it delivered to the police station.


    The security camera would have undoubtedly recorded the footage of the man hurling acid at Sonia and


    that was enough evidence to warrant his arrest.


    After she hung up the call with Daphne, she dialed for the police and told them that she would be running


    late.


    Given that she was only considered a person of interest and not an actual suspect in Tina¡¯s assault


    incident, the police were reasonable enough to allow the dy.


    While this was happening, Toby sat in the passenger seat and kept his eyes on Sonia throughout. There


    was a look of admiration in his dark orbs as he watched her speak calmly with the police officers at the


    station and he had to admit that she had changed a lot since the days before their divorce.


    She had grown into a polished and all-around capable woman.


    As she sensed Toby¡¯s gaze on her, Sonia put down her phone and curiously nced at him. ¡°What are


    you looking at?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± he replied with an amused smile.


    She couldn¡¯t help but feel that he was acting in a strange manner, but she did not press further. Since


    she had a car to maneuver, she fixed her eyes on the road once more without sparing her injured


    companion another thought.


    A few minutester, she parked the car at the side of the road and announced, ¡°We¡¯re here. Let¡¯s get out


    of the car.¡±


    Toby unfastened his seatbelt with one hand and peered out the window. ¡°This isn¡¯t the hospital.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a clinic. The hospital is too far away and your hand is already trembling in pain, so I figured this is


    the best option we have,¡± Sonia exined as a matter-of-factly.


    He nodded and pushed the door open before he stepped out of the car.

 Chapter 299

    Chapter 299


    In the clinic, the doctor was treating the burns on the back of Toby¡¯s hand.


    With a stiffened expression on the face, Sonia watched from the side with her hands balled up into fists.


    ¡°Doctor, will this leave any long-term side effects?¡±


    She heard that there are many nerves on the hand, so she feared that if this affected the nerves in his


    hand, he wouldn¡¯t be able to carry out basic tasks in the future.


    If that were the case, she wouldn¡¯t be able topensate him because he had suffered those injuries for


    her sake.


    Toby noticed the frown on Sonia¡¯s face coupled with the anxiety in her eyes, so he said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry, my hand will be fine.¡±


    Sonia knew that he was saying this to make her feel better, so she disregarded him. She simply stared at


    the doctor expectantly, waiting for his answer.


    The doctor discarded the bloodied cotton swab, then replied, ¡°His hand should be fine. The area of


    contact with sulfuric acid wasn¡¯t veryrge, so it only eroded the surface. You just have to wait until the


    skin grows back, and it¡¯ll be fine. Some scars might remain, however.¡±


    Hearing the doctor¡¯s words, Sonia finally rxed. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression grew gentle. ¡°See, didn¡¯t I say so?¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him.


    Just then, her phone rang, so she took it out to see that it was a call from Charles. She didn¡¯t even


    hesitate as she walked out of the clinic with her phone.


    Toby managed to catch a glimpse of the iing call notification on Sonia¡¯s phone, and seeing how she


    excused herself to answer the call, he couldn¡¯t help but feel upset about it. His emotions showed in his


    downcast expression, and he clenched his hand on the table.


    The doctor pushed his sses awkwardly at the sight. ¡°Um, sir, please rx your hand. It¡¯s difficult for


    me to apply ointment when you¡¯re clenching it so tightly like that.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up, but in the end, he did as he was told and released the fist.


    Still, his gaze was indefinitely locked on the door leading to the clinic.


    Outside the clinic, Sonia answered the call and put her phone to her ear. ¡°Charles.¡±


    ¡°Darling, are you all right?¡± On the other end of the line, Charles had just ended a meeting when his


    assistant told him that some extremists had sshed sulfuric acid at Sonia. Charles was so shocked by


    the news that he immediately rang her up.


    ¡°James told me that someone sshed sulfuric acid on you; is it true?¡± Charles gripped his phone tightly,


    his tone anxious and worried.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Then are you hurt? Where are you hurt? Is it serious?¡± Hearing Sonia¡¯s reply, Charles was so frightened


    that his heart almost leaped out of his mouth. He wanted to know if she was hurt. No, he needed to


    know.


    Noticing Charles¡¯ unreserved concern for her, Sonia felt a certain warmth in her heart. She smiled as she


    answered, ¡°Charles, calm down. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m all right. I wasn¡¯t hurt either because someone saved


    me. How else would I be able to talk to you like this?¡±


    Hearing that, Charles immediately let out a relieved sigh. ¡°Thank goodness! I was so scared!¡±


    He patted his chest. ¡°Right, Baby, you just said that someone saved you? Who was it? I have to thank


    them properly, for they saved you and the whole world.¡±


    ¡°The whole world?¡± Sonia shook her head, dumbfounded. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Charles wiped away the sweat that broke out on his forehead. ¡°I mean it. Saving you is the equivalent of


    saving the whole world.¡±


    That Carl guy is out of his mind.


    If I received news that my darling was injured by the acid, I really would do something on a scale that


    would destroy the whole world, so I wasn¡¯t wrong to say that.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Charles was thinking, so she simply thought he was joking to lighten her mood.


    ¡°All right, Charles, be serious.¡± Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear. ¡°You asked me just now who it was


    that saved me, right? It was Toby.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles was stunned, then asked for confirmation two secondster. ¡°That Toby? Toby Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles frowned. ¡°Why was he with you?¡±


    Sonia rubbed her temples. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but it was really him who saved me. If it weren¡¯t for him, I


    would¡¯ve been hospitalized.¡±


    Charles pouted. ¡°Since it was him, then I don¡¯t think we have to thank him. He treated you so badly


    before, so this will be his way of making it up to his wrongdoings.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that; those are two different matters altogether. He also saved me a few times before, so


    we settled the score a long time ago. So, now that he saved me again this time, I have to express my


    gratitude,¡± Sonia replied, but Charles fell silent at the idea of that.


    After a while, he finally spoke up. ¡°So, how do you intend to express your gratitude?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll just ask him when the timees,¡± Sonia replied after thinking for a while.


    Charles frowned. ¡°What if he asked you to remarry him? Are you going to say yes to that too?¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible? If he really did something like that, I can just create the same


    injury he suffered on my own hand so that we¡¯ll be even. No matter what, I won¡¯t remarry him. Never!¡±


    She was especially earnest when she said thest sentence.


    Even Charles was startled, and it took him a few seconds to recover and smile. ¡°You¡¯re the one who said


    all that, Darling. I¡¯ll make sure you keep your word! If you go back on it, I won¡¯t agree to it.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Sonia smiled helplessly.


    It was only then that Charles stopped worrying and rxed himself. ¡°Right, Baby, you just said that you¡¯d


    create the same injury he suffered, so does it mean that he got injured when he saved you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. the acid sshed on the back of his hand, but it wasn¡¯t too serious. I¡¯m at a clinic with him right


    now, and he¡¯s getting treatment. I¡¯m going to the police stationter; someizen who supported Tina


    had helped her file a report to the police.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Charles couldn¡¯t contain hisughter. ¡°Dang, they¡¯re definitely on our side! They even helped her


    file a report! Do they want her in jail as soon as possible?¡±


    A corner of Sonia¡¯s lips turned up as well. ¡°Probably, yes. All right, Charles, I¡¯ll have to hang up now. I¡¯ll


    go check in on Toby and see how he¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°Sure. When I¡¯m done with my work here, I¡¯ll meet you at the police station.¡± Charles nodded.


    As the call ended, Sonia put down her phone and returned to the clinic.


    The doctor had already finished applying the ointment on Toby¡¯s hand, and he was now bandaging it.


    When Toby saw Sonia walking in, his eyes glistened. ¡°What did Charles talk to you about?¡±


    He sounded like a husband carrying out a spot check on his wife, but that didn¡¯t have an effect on Sonia.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. How much would it be?¡± Sonia put her phone back in her bag before asking the doctor.


    The doctor answered her as she took out two notes and ced them on the table.


    The doctor finished up bandaging Toby¡¯s hand, took the notes, and left to get the change.


    Toby gazed at his own hand and tried to make a fist. However, the bandage was wound too tight, so he


    could barely close his hand, and his fingers were also sort of glued stiff.


    Apparently, he would face certain difficulties in his daily life for a foreseeable time.


    Seeing that, Sonia lowered her gaze. ¡°Actually, you didn¡¯t have to save me.¡±


    Toby paused his actions, then narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°What do you mean I didn¡¯t have to save you?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re practically strangers, so you really don¡¯t have to risk so much to save me. You know very well


    how dangerous sulfuric acid is.¡± Sonia met Toby¡¯s gaze.


    Toby bit his thin lip. ¡°Yes, I know.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re different.¡± Toby cut her off. ¡°We might be strangers in your eyes, but to me, you are the love of my


    life. If I don¡¯t save the one I love, who else do I save?¡±


    He gazed at her with deep affection.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t used to Toby¡¯s burning gaze, which made her rather ufortable, so she looked away.


    ¡°No matter what, you saved me, so I will not forget your good deed. As long as you don¡¯t ask me to


    remarry or get back with you, I will give you whatever you ask for.¡±

 Chapter 300

    Chapter 300


    As long as you don¡¯t ask me to remarry or get back with you?


    Toby furrowed his eyebrows. Truth be told, his motivation for saving her was entirely pure and genuine.


    He didn¡¯t have any ulterior motives, not even after she was rescued.


    In other words, it never crossed his mind to take advantage of the situation and ask her to remarry or


    return to him. However, hearing her words that sounded like a warning, he felt a surge of heartache


    apanied by a pinch of anger.


    Huh? Is this what it is? Am I such a person to you?


    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss thatter.¡± Toby lowered his gaze and said calmly.


    Sonia noticed his sudden coldness toward her, and she knew the reason behind it. Still, it wasn¡¯t a matter


    worth dawdling. After getting the change from the doctor, she looked at Toby and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Toby stood up, making his way toward the door, while Sonia slung her bag over her shoulder


    and followed suit.


    In the car, no one bothered to say a word. The atmosphere was so static that all that was left was the


    faint sound of their breathing.


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    It was not until they arrived at the police station when the pressuring silence between them was broken.


    ¡°Just stay in the car; you don¡¯t have to get out.¡± Sonia undid her seatbelt and spoke to the man in the


    passenger seat who was doing the same thing. ¡°There are reporters outside, and your bodyguards aren¡¯t


    even here. If you get out, the reporters will swarm all around you, and they¡¯ll recognize you in an instant.¡±


    Hearing her words, Toby stopped his actions and peered outside.


    As expected, there were reporters outside the doors leading to the police station, but there weren¡¯t many


    of them, just around five or six. After all, it was right outside the police station, so if too many reporters


    gathered there, they would be dispersed immediately.


    Still, Sonia wouldn¡¯t be able to fend off the reporters, even with their small numbers. If the reporters get


    too excited, they might bump into her, and things would get worse.


    Pondering on the chances of that urring, Toby whipped out his phone and sent a message. A few


    secondster, his phone vibrated.


    Toby gave the screen a quick nce, after which he turned toward Sonia, who was still sitting in the


    driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Just wait for a bit. The bodyguard captain who sent the culprit away is in the police station


    right now. I just sent him a message toe get you, so now that you have him protecting you, the


    reporters won¡¯t dare to go near you.¡± And so would I be less worried.


    Sonia¡¯s red lips moved, as if she wanted to say something. However, it was just then that two knocks


    sounded on the car window on Toby¡¯s side.


    Toby rolled down the windows, and the captain leaned in. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Take good care of Vice President Reed, and don¡¯t let her get hurt,¡± Toby said solemnly as he looked at


    the captain.


    Thetter nodded earnestly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. I will make sure that she¡¯s safe and sound.¡±


    Toby gave a slight nod.


    The captain walked around the front of the car and went to the driver¡¯s seat. He opened the car door and


    gave Sonia a courteous gesture. ¡°This way please, Miss Reed¡±


    Seeing his actions, Sonia was about to reject, but somehow, she couldn¡¯t say a word now.


    In the end, she gave a minuscule sigh, said thanks, then got out of the car. Just as expected, Sonia¡¯s


    appearance caused a stir among the reporters, and they were visibly excited.


    However, seeing the tall and muscr man beside her, the reporters didn¡¯t dare move forward.


    This was because they had witnessed how this captain had beaten up the culprit.


    Just like that, under the captain¡¯s protection, Sonia went into the police station without any hups.


    If she were alone, the reporters would definitely cling to her. After Sonia got to the hall, a policeman


    escorted her to get the investigation records done.


    In the process, Sonia showed them evidence like her bank card records and the messages on her


    phone. This was to prove that she had never done anything to Tina.


    After all, if she really wanted to ask someone to harm Tina, she would have to give them money and


    contact the person themselves.


    The police could use these two aspects to verify her innocence.


    After about half an hour, the police had investigated all of Sonia¡¯s bank card records and the messages


    on her phone to all her contacts. In the end, they concluded that there was nothing suspicious.


    Therefore, the police had more or less believed that Sonia was innocent, but even so, they couldn¡¯t make


    the decision right away. They had to send someone to the hospital to ask Tina a few questions to rify


    this potential misunderstanding.


    ¡°We¡¯ll wrap up the questioning here. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Reed.¡± The officer in charge of


    the records stood up and extended a hand toward Sonia.


    Sonia smiled as she shook his hand. ¡°No problem. I¡¯m doing it for myself as well, and I¡¯m just doing


    what¡¯s right. Still, I want to ask about that person who sshed acid at me¡­¡±


    The officer knew what she wanted to ask, and he put on his cap before answering. ¡°We¡¯re interrogating


    him in the interrogation room next door. I¡¯m sure the results will be out soon.¡±


    ¡°All right, understood. Thank you.¡± Sonia nodded and smiled.


    After that, she went to the hall and found a seat, so she sat down and waited for the interrogation to end.


    The bodyguard captain walked over with a stic bag in one hand. ¡°Miss Reed, it¡¯s already noon, and


    President Fuller had asked me to bring you snacks and some milk to fend off the hunger for a while


    longer.¡±


    Sonia stared at the bag in front of her, but she didn¡¯t take it.


    The captain wasn¡¯t in a hurry, either. ¡°President Fuller also said that if you finish these, you would be


    repaying him a favor, like that one time he suppressed the news online for your sake.¡±


    Sonia raised an eyebrow. ¡°He really said that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The captain nodded.


    Well, well, well. She only heard of people giving out benefits just so they get repaid, but as for giving


    others benefits as repayment of kindness, she had never heard before.


    ¡°Miss Reed, just ept it.¡± Seeing that Sonia still hadn¡¯t taken the bag, the captain couldn¡¯t help but try


    to convince her again.


    Sonia rubbed her stomach. She was actually a little hungry, and since she would be doing Toby a favor,


    she decided to just go with it.


    With that in mind, she reached out and took the bag.


    The captain let out a long sigh. ¡°Enjoy your meal, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thank him for me, will you?¡± Sonia said, looking at him.


    The captain replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will.¡±


    With that, he left to carry out his mission.


    In the car, Toby could see right away that the captain was walking out of the police station with empty


    hands. It meant that Sonia had epted the food, so the tension written all over Toby¡¯s face melted


    away.


    She epted it!


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± The captain walked over to the car.


    Toby gave him a wave. ¡°I know what you want to say. I¡¯m just d to know that she epted it.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± The captain swallowed the words he was going to say.


    Toby looked at his watch. ¡°How much longer is she going to be in there?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps for a while longer. The culprit is still being interrogated, so it won¡¯t be too soon,¡± the captain


    replied.


    That person had intentionally thrown such a dangerous item at Sonia, so it would ssify as intentional


    homicide. It was a criminal case.


    Of course, the interrogations wouldn¡¯t proceed like the case with Sonia, who was only asked a few


    questions.


    Toby understood it as well. He rubbed his temples and gave up on prodding. ¡°Return to the police


    station, then. Whatever Sonia needs, you make sure to provide for her.¡±


    ¡°Understood, sir.¡±


    At the police station, Sonia ate a slice of red velvet cake and drank a ss of milk, and it was enough to


    fill her stomach. She wiped her hands and stood up so that she could dispose of the garbage.


    Seeing that, the captain quickly snatched the garbage off her hands. ¡°Miss Reed, just sit down and rest.


    Leave these little things to me.¡±


    Sonia was speechless as she stared incredulously at him.


    All right, I don¡¯t even have to guess to know that it was Toby¡¯s orders! Fine, it was just some garbage. I¡¯ll


    just let him do what he wants.


    Sonia shrugged and sat back in her seat. Suddenly, her phone rang.


    Sonia opened her bag and saw the word ¡®Carl¡¯ dancing on her phone screen. She immediately


    understood that Carl had received news of today¡¯s events.


    ¡°Hello, Carl.¡± Sonia picked up the phone.


    On the other end of the line, Carl was sitting alone in arge dressing room. Exquisite makeup was


    applied on his face, but it could do nothing to hide the cold and gloomy expression on his face. ¡°Are you


    all right, Sonia?¡±

 Chapter 301

    Chapter 301


    Carl had never thought that so much would happen within such a short time. He had simply gone into the


    woods for a magazine photoshoot, and after he left the woods into areas with reception, his phone was


    abuzz with news about Sonia.


    That woman Tina actually used Sonia of causing her harm and even tried to cancel her on the


    Inte.


    Carl decided that he wouldn¡¯t let anyone off the hook that easily, not even the reporters, theizens,


    and the culprit who sshed acid at Sonia.


    Sonia could hear the suppressed anger in Carl¡¯s voice, so she understood that the events which


    happened to her had caused this usually gentle young man to fly into a rage. She hastily replied, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry, Carl. I¡¯m all right.¡±


    ¡°Are you really okay? The acid¡ª¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t touch me. Many reporters saw it at the scene too, and you probably can find a video online. Just


    watch it if you¡¯re not convinced. I¡¯m really okay,¡± Sonia said, shaking her head.


    Carl lowered his gaze. ¡°I know, I watched it, but it¡¯s just that¡­ I¡¯m still worried.¡±


    ¡°Are you still worried now?¡± Sonia smiled slightly.


    Carl gave a hum. ¡°No, I¡¯m okay now. I¡¯m d to know that you¡¯re okay. Leave the rest to me; I¡¯ll get it


    sorted out.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was slightly stunned. ¡°What do you mean by that, Carl? What do you intend to do?¡±


    Carl narrowed his eyes, which were void of any cheer. ¡°You¡¯ll know soon enough, Sonia. I¡¯ll make


    everyone who hurt you pay for their crimes!¡±


    With that, he hung up.


    ¡°Carl? Hello, Carl?¡± Sonia called his name, but there was no response, so she quickly looked at the


    disy on her phone.


    Seeing the home screen on the phone disy, she finally realized that Carl had hung up long ago. ¡°This


    kid¡­¡±


    For some unknown reason, Sonia felt a little uneasy. She had an ominous feeling that Carl¡¯s words were


    hinting at some huge trouble in the near future.


    She hoped she was just thinking too much.


    ¡°What are you thinking about? What¡¯s with the long face?¡± Toby¡¯s deep voice sounded in her ears,ced


    with concern.


    Sonia put her phone face down. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. How did you get in? The reporters¡ª¡±


    ¡°The police had shooed them away.¡± Toby sat down beside her.


    ¡°You had the police do it?¡± Sonia turned to look at him. ¡°The reporters were camped outside for so long,


    but the police never did anything about it, so it¡¯s not very likely that the police chased them away on their


    own volition unless someone interfered.¡±


    Toby gave a smallugh, for Sonia had guessed the correct answer too quickly. ¡°Yes, it was me. You¡¯ve


    been inside for so long, so I got worried. I didn¡¯t want to wait in the car any longer, so I asked the police


    to chase the reporters away. However, that was just one of the reasons.¡±


    ¡°And the others being?¡± She gave him a little frown of dissatisfaction.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Grandma just called.¡±


    ¡°What did she say?¡± Sonia asked in a straightforward manner.


    ¡°She also received news of what happened today, and she was worried about you, so she gave you a


    call. However, your line was busy, so she called me to ask about you instead.¡± Toby elegantly crossed his


    legs.


    Sonia smiled warmly. ¡°Aw, she shouldn¡¯t have. But how did she know that you¡¯re with me?¡±


    ¡°The videos online. She could see that the one who saved you was me,¡± Toby answered.


    Sonia looked up in realization. ¡°No wonder.¡±


    Other people might not be able to recognize Toby, but Old Mrs. Fuller could certainly recognize her own


    grandson without a doubt.


    ¡°Got it. Help me thank her for her concern and tell her that I might drop by the old manor for a visit


    sometime soon.¡± Sonia rubbed between her eyebrows as she spoke.


    Toby responded, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go fetch you when the timees.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not like I forgot where the old manor is. I can get there on my own, so you don¡¯t have to


    come,¡± Sonia said, lowering her gaze.


    Sonia¡¯s reply marked the end of their conversation, as her answer put his words to a halt. Deep down, he


    knew more than anything that the main reason was that she didn¡¯t want to go with him.


    The atmosphere fell silent and somber.


    After a while, a police officer walked over. ¡°Miss Reed, we have the interrogation results concerning the


    culprit who threw acid at you.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia immediately stood up, and to which Toby followed suit. ¡°What¡¯s the result? Was he


    hired to do it? Did he have grudges against Sonia?¡±


    Coincidentally, those were also the two questions that Sonia badly wanted to know the answers to. She


    trained her eyes on the police officer as she awaited his reply.


    The police officer shook his head. ¡°Neither. He wasn¡¯t hired, nor did he have any grudges against Miss


    Reed.¡±


    ¡°Then why did he do that?¡± Sonia¡¯s pretty eyebrows were scrunched up.


    Seeing that, Toby wanted to reach out and smoothen the frown, but he knew that she would avoid him,


    so he eventually gave up. He simply said, ¡°Don¡¯t keep frowning. It doesn¡¯t suit you.¡±


    Sonia gave him a look, and she simply thought that he was being ridiculous.


    I don¡¯t even care how I look when I frown. What is he so conscious about?


    Sonia didn¡¯t respond to Toby¡¯sment as she turned her gaze back on the police officer.


    The police officer adjusted his cap, then answered, ¡°His name is William Baker. He¡¯s Tina¡¯s ssmate in


    high school, and he is also her admirer. His family runs a chemical business, and that was how he got


    his hands on the sulfuric acid.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia bit her lip.


    So that¡¯s why. Now it makes sense. It¡¯s not like sulfuric acid is some substance you can just get over the


    counter. He got it from his family¡¯s business.


    Toby said with a dark expression, ¡°That person, did he go to Sonia for revenge simply because he saw


    Tina¡¯s posts and live stream?¡±


    ¡°Not entirely. The main factor was Tina¡¯s phone call,¡± the police officer said.


    Sonia clenched her fists and asked in an idental synchronization with Toby, ¡°What phone call?¡±


    ¡°ording to William, he said that before Tina went live, she gave him a phone call. In that call, she was


    weeping about the things that had happened to her. She said she was in great suffering and wanted to


    die. William told her not to be rash, and then Tina said that she didn¡¯t want to, either, but she couldn¡¯t


    help it whenever she sees her enemy still alive and well.¡±


    ¡°So William grabbed some sulfuric acid and went to me right after that?¡± Sonia asked, gritting her teeth.


    The police officer nodded. ¡°Correct. It¡¯s more or less like that.¡±


    ¡°So Tina was deliberately inciting crimes now, right?¡± Toby suddenly spoke.


    The police officer nodded again. ¡°That is correct.¡±


    Sonia bit her lip so hard that it felt like she might bleed from her lips anytime, shaking in anger.


    She really asked someone else to do the dirty work for her!


    Tina not only canceled and used Sonia on the Inte, she even used her admirer to cause harm to


    Sonia. She was incredibly clever to employ multiple methods at once.


    ¡°So, based on this evidence, can you arrest Tina right now?¡± Sonia looked at the police officer and asked


    urgently.


    The police officer shook his head. ¡°No, not now. At present, we only know that Tina might have wrongly


    used you, Miss Reed, and she had incited William tomit a crime. However, these do not warrant


    an arrest.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s face fell.


    Since Tina¡¯s actions still couldn¡¯t warrant an arrest, they couldn¡¯t get back at Tina via legal means. They


    could only take revenge on her and let her have a taste of her own medicine!


    However, Sonia was still quite impressed with Tina.


    Tina was literally a mastermind who worked behind the scenes. She would manipte people to take


    action for her, but she would always be clean and meless so that no one could get hold of any


    evidence of her.


    She had such smarts, but she didn¡¯t use them for good.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes, then asked, ¡°Right, can I see that William guy for a bit?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t. We received orders that William will soon be sent to the detention center, so no


    one is allowed to see him except for thewyers. Even the victim is not exempt from this rule. You can


    still see him in court, though,¡± the police officer exined.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Got it, thanks. I¡¯ll take my leave now, then.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± The police officer nodded.


    Sonia gave Toby a look, and then the two left the police station.

 Chapter 302

    Chapter 302


    Meanwhile, at the hospital, Tina was also going through the investigation record process. A policeman


    and a policewoman were sitting by her bed and asking her questions.


    ¡°Miss Gray, just for confirmation, you think that Miss Reed had hired someone to harm you, is that


    correct?¡± The policeman looked at Tina with a meaningful gaze.


    At the side, the policewoman was holding a recording pen as she recorded the conversation.


    Tina nodded, affirmative. ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°If we found out that it wasn¡¯t Miss Reed who did it, then, Miss Gray, you will be falsely using and


    defaming her. You will have to take legal liability andpensate her for the shock incurred. Are you


    very sure about that, Miss Gray?¡± The policeman talked in a more serious tone to make sure he got the


    message across.


    Hearing the words ¡®legal liability¡¯, Tina felt her heart race. Immediately, she remembered what she saw


    during the live stream, where Sonia imed that she would be able to produce evidence at night to prove


    that she didn¡¯t cause any harm to Tina.


    Tina was now worried sick that Sonia actually could show evidence of that. Tina had asked herwyer,


    who said that if Sonia really could prove her own innocence, then Tina would have made a false


    usation, which would get her up to three years in jail.


    In the beginning, Tina thought that Sonia wouldn¡¯t have any evidence or find any, so Tina had plotted


    everything with that in mind. Now, she wasn¡¯t so sure anymore.


    However, judging by how she had alreadye so far, there was no way back. So, she could only grit


    her teeth and keep going. She was willing to bet that Sonia was just saying things.


    Thinking of the possibility, Tina suppressed the worry inside her and smiled while nodding. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m


    sure.¡±


    ¡°All right. Understood.¡± The policeman stood up and got ready to leave.


    Right at that moment, the policewoman¡¯s phone rang.


    She whipped it out and gave it a look, then passed it to the policeman. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s from the bureau.¡±


    The policeman took the phone and answered the call.


    Two minutester, he frowned, then gave Tina a weird look.


    Tina was a little unsettled by that look, but she quickly calmed down and pretended that everything was


    fine.


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll ask her.¡± The policeman finished his call and passed the phone back to the


    policewoman.


    ¡°Miss Gray.¡± The policeman looked at Tina. ¡°Do you know someone by the name of William Baker?¡±


    Tina¡¯s expression changed ever so slightly at the mention of that name.


    Seeing that, the policeman immediately knew the answer.


    He pushed his sses. ¡°Looks like you know him. He threw sulfuric acid at Miss Reed, and we have


    already apprehended him. ording to his confession, he had done this to Miss Reed entirely because


    of your single phone call. And in that call, your reason for inciting him was as clear as day. Do you agree


    with this point of view?¡±


    Tina¡¯s heart thumped wildly, as if it were going to leap out of her throat. Her limbs went icy cold.


    She half-closed her eyes, not daring to meet the policeman¡¯s sharp gaze. ¡°Of course not. I did call him


    before, but I don¡¯t think it was to provoke him to harm Sonia.¡±


    ¡°But ording to our investigations, you hated William, and you never contacted him ever since you


    graduated from high school. You suddenly contacted him today, and you said all those meaningful words


    to him. How do you exin this?¡± As the policeman examined her, his eyes narrowed.


    Tina suddenly put her hands up to her face and wept. ¡°I didn¡¯t want that to happen either. Such scary


    things happened to me, but my fianc¨¦ called off our engagement, my parents reconciled with my sister


    and were busy building their rtionship with her, so I¡¯m all alone now. I just wanted to vent to someone,


    but there¡¯s no one for me to vent to. Right at that moment, William asked how I was doing in the group,


    so I decided to call him and talk to him about it, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡± The policeman kept his gaze on her.


    Tina sobbed silently. ¡°But I didn¡¯t incite him. I just told him my feelings and thoughts. Look, if you were


    me, and such things happened to you, won¡¯t you hate the person who hurt you? Won¡¯t you want them to


    die?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± The policeman thought for a moment before nodding.


    A sly look shed across Tina¡¯s eyes, then she said, ¡°Since you understand my feelings, then why would


    you say that I incited William to harm Sonia? I simply said that I hated her and didn¡¯t want to see her, but


    I didn¡¯t ask William to do anything. He had misunderstood me and did things of his own will. I¡¯m not


    involved in this at all.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. Then, I¡¯ll return to the bureau and discuss it with my superiors. Get some rest now.¡±


    With that, the policeman waved to the policewoman, and the two left Tina¡¯s ward.


    In the elevator, the policewoman passed the recording pen to the policeman. ¡°Sir, this Tina woman was


    clearly inciting other people tomit crimes, but she doesn¡¯t even admit it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she was indeed egging William on. Just now, Officer Chase told me over the phone that after Tina


    got into trouble, William sought her a few times. He wanted her to marry him and said that she had


    already stained her hands, so he was the only one left in the world who would willingly marry her.


    Because of that, Tina grew to hate him,¡± the policeman said.


    The policewoman widened her eyes. ¡°Then, sir, you mean that Tina incited William on purpose so that he


    would harm Sonia, so if everything went ording to n, Sonia would be destroyed, and William had to


    be sent to jail as well. She¡¯s trying to kill two birds with one stone!¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what I mean.¡± The policeman nodded.


    The policewoman gasped. ¡°Gosh, she¡¯s so calcting! That¡¯s terrifying.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and she¡¯s also mentally tough. When I asked her straight away if she had incited William, she only


    panicked for a bit before adjusting herself, then tried to dodge the questioning with tears. Her reasoning


    was also logically solid.¡± The policeman¡¯s expression was grave.


    The policewoman sighed. ¡°This is how good she is. We all know that she was inciting William, but her


    words to William over the phone weren¡¯t exactly incitement, either. An incitement that doesn¡¯t look like


    one¡­ If Miss Reed couldn¡¯t show evidence tonight of her innocence, then she really would be the


    scapegoat!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The policeman nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s hope that Miss Reed can show the evidence. If she can¡¯t, we would


    have to arrest those six men.¡±


    ¡°But all the CCTVs within the 10km radius of Bay Street were all destroyed by viruses. We don¡¯t even


    have the basic information of those six men, so it would be extremely difficult to arrest them. If it weren¡¯t


    for that, we would¡¯ve already apprehended them by now.¡± The policewoman heaved a sigh.


    The policeman adjusted his cap and went silent.


    ¡­¡­


    On the ground floor of Fuller Group, Sonia parked her car and undid her seatbelt, then got out of the car.


    Toby, too, opened the door and got out. Sonia walked over to his side of the car. ¡°Thank you for


    everything today. Here, your car keys.¡±


    ¡°Just drive home in my car. It¡¯d be too much trouble to hail a cab.¡± Toby looked at the car keys, but he


    didn¡¯t take them.


    Sonia thought for a while and agreed with him. So, she simply lowered her hand. ¡°Then I¡¯ll get someone


    to drive it back here tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave now.¡±


    Toby repeated his response.


    Sonia turned around and went back into the driver¡¯s seat. She reversed the car and drove off.


    Toby stood on the same spot and watched as Sonia drove out of sight. After she disappeared, he


    unwillingly averted his gaze and walked toward the main door.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Back in Paradigm, Daphne hastily walked into Sonia¡¯s office. ¡°President Reed, the documents just


    arrived. Paradigm Co. has now officially left the stock market.¡±


    She passed the documents to Sonia.


    Sonia took the documents and gave them a look. ¡°All right. Notify the Public Rtions Department to


    spread the news.¡±


    Paradigm had left the stock market, which signified that from that moment onward, it would cease to be a


    listedpany.


    If it wasn¡¯t a listedpany, then no matter what scandals might arise in the future, Paradigm would


    never have to deal with stock problems again. As for themon folk boycotting Paradigm products¡­


    Sonia smiled. Paradigm mainly dealt withrge machinery, and since those machineries weren¡¯t


    marketed towardmon folk, Sonia had little to worry about in terms of sales.


    ¡°Understood, President Reed.¡± Daphne nodded as she replied.


    Sonia closed the folder and ced it aside. ¡°Also, there¡¯s something else.¡±

 Chapter 303

    Chapter 303


    ¡°Yes, President Reed?¡± Daphne looked at her.


    Sonia rubbed between her eyebrows. ¡°Have you sent the CCTV footage of the car park to the police?¡±


    Daphne nodded. ¡°Even though it was dyed for a bit due to the traffic jam, it was delivered eventually.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. You can leave now.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Daphne smiled, after which she turned and walked toward the door. When she arrived at


    the door, she didn¡¯t even manage to open the door when someone pushed it open from outside, and in


    came Charles. He was in such a hurry that he bumped directly into Daphne.


    ¡°Ah!¡± With her center of gravity disturbed, Daphne staggered backward in her high heels and was about


    to fall.


    Fortunately, Charles moved right in time and grabbed her wrist, saving her from the fall.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t mean it. Are you okay?¡± Charles apologized to Daphne, embarrassed.


    Daphne looked at his hand holding hers, and joy lit up in her eyes before disappearing in an instant. She


    shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m all right, President Lane.¡±


    ¡°Good, then.¡± Charles sighed in relief, then let go of her and walked toward Sonia.


    Daphne gazed at his back, and the look in her eyes dulled for a moment before she lowered her head


    and left the room. When she closed the door, she even heard Charles saying, ¡°Darling, I¡¯m here.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Yes, you are, but what¡¯s the rush? You even ran into Daphne.¡±


    Charles smiled bashfully. ¡°I just wanted to see you as soon as possible.¡± He told her over the phone that


    he would meet her at the police station, but something cropped up, so he couldn¡¯t make it. Hence, he


    drove all the way to her office.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sonia pointed opposite her, gesturing for Charles to take a seat.


    Charles found a chair and sat on it. ¡°Something good happened. Try guessing what¡¯s happening on the


    Inte right now.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia frowned. ¡°Did Tina say something to make things worse?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Charles hastily waved his hands. ¡°I told you it¡¯s something good, so it couldn¡¯t be Tina again.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s interest was piqued as she straightened her back. ¡°Oh? Then what is it?¡±


    Charles raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. ¡°Remember theizens who cursed at you? And some


    business ounts and media that stood on Tina¡¯s side and pinned the me on you? They got what


    they asked for: retribution!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Retribution? What retribution?¡±


    Charles clenched his fists tightly, excitement written all over his face. ¡°Thoseizens were exposed, and


    all their personal information was made public. And, most importantly, everything they did in the shadows


    was brought to light. Now that their horrible acts were made known to everyone in the world, they


    probably can¡¯t even go out in public anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°What about the business ounts and the media?¡±


    ¡°Ah, them.¡± Charles snorted gleefully. ¡°More or less the same. Those business ounts and media were


    chock full of selfish people, so as long as you give them enough cash, they wouldn¡¯t care if the news


    they posted were real or fake or if there was a story behind it. They would do anything to attract traffic. In


    fact, they have a horrible track record and even got some hideous cases stemming from their posts.


    They had indirectly caused the deaths of many innocent people, so now every horrible thing they did was


    exposed on the. The cyber police are looking into it right now.¡±


    Sonia had to admit that Carl had really pulled out all the stops this time. He actually went and pulled


    down the covers all around the Inte so that the darkness behind it was exposed to the sunlight that is


    the public. He really caused a mess on the this time.


    Because of that, the cyber police would definitely put in the effort to capture Carl. Sonia hoped that Carl


    was skilled enough to escape their ws.


    As Sonia listened to Charles¡¯ words, she felt something off about it, and she bit her red lip. ¡°How are you


    so sure that all those ounts that were exposed had actually aimed at me before? Many people in


    entertainment were also ruined today¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the.¡± Charles straightened his posture as he replied, ¡°There were remarks on their exposed


    information, which stated that they had all cursed you before.¡±


    ¡°Really? Let me see.¡± Sonia frowned and turned on herputer.


    Just as Charles had described it, it was a mess on the right now. Manyizens, business ounts,


    and media had their information exposed, including all the horrible things they did throughout their lives.


    Theizens weren¡¯t involved in serious cases, just some sneaky activities like voyeurism, stealing, and


    bullying. Those activities weren¡¯t so bad that they would be punishable byw, but it was embarrassing


    all the same, and theizens wouldn¡¯t be able to hold their heads high in public. Everyone who


    recognized them on the street wouldugh at them, so they had to be extra careful when they left their


    homes in the future. The business ounts and media had it much worse. Tax evasion was just one of


    the minor crimes; the truly horrendous crimes wouldnd them in jail for life!


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t care that much about them. What she really wanted to know was the identity of


    the exposer. She thought back on Toby¡¯s words and also Carl¡¯s. At once, her eyes glistened. Could it be


    them?


    Both of them swore that they wouldn¡¯t let those people off the hook easily, so it was highly probable that


    they were the ones behind all this. However, Sonia wasn¡¯t sure which one of them did it.


    Meanwhile, at Fuller Group, Toby had justpleted his papers when he called Tom in. ¡°I asked you to


    sort out the list ofizens, right? You havepleted your task, I hope?¡±


    ¡°I did, but, President Fuller, I think we don¡¯t have to make our move anymore. Thoseizens, including


    some business ounts and media, were already dealt with by someone else.¡± Tom stood opposite


    Toby¡¯s office desk while thetter¡¯s expression shifted out of shock. ¡°Someone else? Who?¡±


    ¡°I do not know.¡± Tom shook his head, a serious expression on his face. ¡°But that person could dig up


    information on hundreds of thousands of people in such a short time, so they likely have extraordinary


    hacking skills. Also, ording to what we know, there is only one hacker who protects Miss Reed from


    the shadows.¡±


    ¡°Fox Eyes!¡± Toby eximed, his eyes narrowed.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Correct. So I think that Fox Eyes must have been the hacker behind this.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips and didn¡¯t say anything else. His slender fingers tapped on the desk, his thoughts


    concealed from everyone else. He was wondering who Fox Eyes could be and why he insisted on hiding


    in the shadows. He was also curious about the rtionship between Fox Eyes and Sonia.


    He frowned, feeling difort in his heart. However, the thing that irked him the most was the fact that


    Fox Eyes was way ahead of him. This mysterious man had already dealt with thoseizens before Toby


    could do anything.


    ¡°President Fuller,¡± Tom called for Toby¡¯s attention.


    Emotion shed in Toby¡¯s eyes as he pulled himself out of his thoughts and came to his senses. ¡°What¡¯s


    the matter?¡±


    ¡°Your phone is ringing. It¡¯s from Miss Reed.¡± Tom pointed at Toby¡¯s phone.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby looked down to see that it was indeed a call from Sonia. However, he was doing work, so he had


    silenced his phone, which was why he didn¡¯t hear anything.


    Toby¡¯s expression softened as he picked up the phone to answer the call. ¡°Hello, Sonia?¡±


    Hearing Toby calling out her name in such a gentle tone, Tom couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. What¡¯s so


    great about having someone to love! But true, it¡¯s a great feat, because I¡¯ve been alive for 30 years, but I


    never found anyone I like¡­


    Tom could only sigh as he smiled bitterly.


    On the other end of the line, Sonia was looking at theputer screen. ¡°President Fuller, are you the


    one behind this Inte thing?¡±


    Hearing that, Toby immediately understood what she meant. He shook his head slightly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡±


    It looks like Fox Eyes didn¡¯t tell her. Fox Eyes has helped Sonia so much, so it¡¯s obvious that he has


    feelings for her. If so, then he could tell Sonia everything he did so that she would be grateful to him, and


    she would be moved by his actions. However, he did nothing of the sort. Why is that?

 Chapter 304

    Chapter 304


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Toby was thinking, but she stared ahead in disbelief. ¡°What? It¡¯s not you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Sonia gripped her phone tightly. So that means it¡¯s Carl. But how did he manage to find out their true


    identities so quickly? Sonia then remembered what Toby told her about Carl. She scoffed at him then,


    thinking that she didn¡¯t need to be careful around Carl. But now she knew Toby was right. Carl was¡­


    more than met the eye.


    Toby was worried since Sonia didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°What happened, Sonia?¡±


    Sonia snapped out of it and pinched her nose. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Alright, then. Since it¡¯s not you, I¡¯ll hang up


    now.¡± She ended the call and put her phone down.


    Toby frowned. He wanted to talk to her more, but she hung up on him all of a sudden. That annoyed him,


    so he red at Tom. ¡°And what do you want?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ll be going then, President Fuller.¡± Tom adjusted his sses. Toby waved him down, and Tom


    went away. But the moment he turned around, he rolled his eyes. Really? Venting it out on me just


    because Miss Reed hung up on you? How childish can you get? Man, if it isn¡¯t for the shares, I would


    have quit a long time ago.


    Meanwhile, at Paradigm Co., Charles knew something was up the moment Sonia tossed her phone


    away. ¡°It¡¯s not him?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No. It¡¯s Carl.¡±


    Charles shot up. ¡°H-How did you know it was him?¡± Did Toby find out about Carl being a hacker?


    Sonia wondered what got into him, and she gave him a curious look. ¡°Carl told me himself. He said he¡¯d


    teach those guys a lesson, and Toby said the same thing. Since it¡¯s not Toby, that means Carl¡¯s the


    culprit.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Charles heaved a sigh of relief and sat back down. So he told her himself. Guess he isn¡¯t keeping


    any secrets now, huh?


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice Charles¡¯ weird behavior. She sipped some water and asked, ¡°But this is really


    surprising. I didn¡¯t know he did all this. Where did he even learn how to hack?¡± Only hackers could find


    out the real owner of those ounts. On top of that, he found out a whole bunch of them at once. That


    meant he was a skilled hacker.


    ¡°H-How should I know?¡± Charles picked his ss up and pretended to sip the water.


    Sonia massaged her forehead. ¡°I realized something. I don¡¯t really know Carl. To be precise, I know the


    fifteen-year-old Carl, but not the adult Carl. He¡¯s not the same guy I used to know anymore. He¡¯s now


    much more¡­ mysterious.¡±


    ¡°Hey. Everyone has their own secrets. It¡¯s enough to know he won¡¯t hurt you. You don¡¯t have to overthink


    it.¡± Charles shrugged dismissively.


    Thinking he had a point, Sonia put her ss down and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right. As long as he doesn¡¯t do


    anything too crazy, I don¡¯t really care about his secret.¡± Besides, he did it for me. Just then, her phone


    rang. It was from the police, so she quickly picked it up. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed. I trust you know about the information leak that¡¯s been making its rounds online?¡± the


    officer asked.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I do, yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. So you should know the hacker did it for you, right?¡± the officer asked again.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, can you tell me everything you know about him?¡± The officer finally got to the


    meat of the topic.


    Sonia looked at Charles. He immediately knew that she was asking his opinion, so he shook his head,


    telling her to keep it a secret. That coincided with Sonia¡¯s idea, so she took a deep breath to calm herself


    down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know much about the hacker,¡± she answered, trying her best to sound


    natural.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± A frown creased the officer¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know who the hacker is. He helped me out twice, but he never showed his face. All I know is


    that he wears a fox mask.¡± Back when she was cyberbullied, a hacker helped her out. She didn¡¯t see his


    face, but he left the mark of a fox behind.


    A hacker wearing a fox mask was the one who kidnapped Tina. Back then, Titus even tried to argue with


    her, since he thought Sonia hired the hacker to kidnap Tina. Thanks to that, she was sure that Carl was


    Fox Eyes. He was sure nobody could trace it back to him even if they knew he wore a fox mask. In that


    case, Sonia thought it was fine to tell the cops about that. After all, it¡¯d be too suspicious if she didn¡¯t leak


    anything.


    ¡°A fox mask?¡± The officer jotted it down quickly. ¡°Anything else, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t know the hacker. Just check mywork if you think I¡¯m lying,¡± Sonia answered. She wouldn¡¯t


    know Carl was Fox Eyes if he didn¡¯t tell her himself. That alone proved how skillful he was at hiding his


    trace, so Sonia bet there was barely anyone who knew he was a hacker. In other words, the cops


    wouldn¡¯t be able to find him that easily.


    ¡°I see. We¡¯ll look into this. Please contact us immediately if you recall any more clues about the hacker,¡±


    the officer said.


    ¡°I will.¡± And she ended the call. Sonia put her phone down, let out a long sigh, and looked at Charles.


    ¡°So? Was it obvious?¡±


    ¡°Nope, not at all.¡± Charles gave her a thumbs up.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Good to hear.¡± She tried her best to keep Carl¡¯s other identity a secret, and it was great


    everything turned out well.


    ¡°But I have to tell him about this,¡± she mumbled and dialed his number. After all, the government wouldn¡¯t


    allow a skillful hacker like him wandering around out there. They¡¯d recruit him, and by force if necessary.


    Carl loves modeling. He won¡¯t agree to it.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t.¡± Charles quickly held her phone. ¡°It wasn¡¯t obvious that you were lying, but the cops aren¡¯t


    stupid,¡± he said solemnly. ¡°They won¡¯t believe you one hundred percent. They could have asked the telco


    to eavesdrop on your calls.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Sonia gasped, realizing she almost put Carl in deep trouble. ¡°Good thing you reminded me,


    Charles.¡± She looked at him gratefully.


    Charles waved and smiled. ¡°No prob. Let me handle this. I¡¯ll tell him about it myself.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Thanks.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles stayed around for a while longer, but eventually left after he said goodbye.


    Night eventually descended upon the city. In First World Hospital, the light on the ER sign that had been


    on for the most part of the day finally flickered off. A momentter, Tim went back to his office,


    exhausted.


    A nurse came in with his dinner. ¡°Your dinner, Dr. Lancaster.¡±


    Tim had his eyes closed. ¡°Put it right there.¡±


    The nurse put his dinner down and was about to leave, but she remembered something, so she turned


    around. ¡°Oh, right, Dr. Lancaster. When I came to your office to retrieve some documents earlier, your


    phone was ringing nonstop. It¡¯s from someone called Angel.¡±

 Chapter 305

    Chapter 305


    Tim opened his eyes, excitement shing within them. He quickly took his phone out from his drawer and


    checked his notifications. There were missed calls from Tina, Carl, and Sonia. He ignored Tina¡¯s calls


    and called Sonia immediately.


    Sonia was still awake, waiting for the right time to call Tim. She wanted to call him at eleven, since the


    surgery should be done by then. However, Tim was already calling her at half past ten. Sonia was


    delighted to see him calling her, so she picked it up quickly. ¡°Done with the surgery?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Just a moment ago.¡± Tim nodded. His voice was hoarse, and he sounded exhausted. ¡°Anything


    you need?¡±


    Sonia could hear the exhaustion in his voice, and she did feel apologetic for calling him thiste at night.


    But this was about her reputation, so she had to do it. ¡°Yes, but give me a second. I¡¯ll change my phone.¡±


    She hung up and called him using an unregistered phone Daphne bought for her that afternoon. She had


    to be careful, since Charles said the police might be listening in to track Carl down.


    Tim arched his eyebrow. ¡°Why did you change your number?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯splicated, but that¡¯s not the point. Listen up¡­¡± Sonia took a deep breath and told him what


    happened earlier in the day.


    As soon as she finished, Tim clenched his phone. If looks could kill, Tina would have been dead eight


    times now. How dare that b*tch do that? I see she has chosen death. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll post the evidence online


    and prove your innocence. You¡¯ll be fine, trust me.¡± Tim¡¯s sses reflected the light in his office, covering


    the anger in his eyes.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡± Only Tim had the evidence, so she could only count on him to


    finish the job.


    ¡°But don¡¯t post it using your ount, or the cops will think you¡¯re attacking Tina,¡± Sonia reminded him.


    She knew Tim wasn¡¯t a good guy, but she didn¡¯t want him to get arrested. After all, he was getting back


    at Tina for her. Sonia knew she wasn¡¯t a perfectly good person either, so she didn¡¯t want Tim to get into


    trouble.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Tim smiled, happy that Sonia cared for him. ¡°I know. I¡¯ll post it using an alt,¡± he answered gently. I knew


    it. She¡¯s my angel. The only one who actually cares about me.


    Ever since he was a child, he was a cold, indifferent person. Because of that, his parents saw him as a


    monster, and everyone else shunned him. The other kids would even push him into a pond just to bully


    him, and none of the adults who saw it were willing to help him out. Back then, only Sonia would pull him


    up.


    Since then, he swore he¡¯d protect her forever and prove to everyone that he had feelings, even though


    hecked empathy and was a cold-blooded person. Tim knew he didn¡¯t like her as a sister, friend, or


    romantic interest. It was something he couldn¡¯t exin, but he knew he¡¯d find out what it was one day.


    Once Tim gave her that assurance, Sonia was satisfied, and she hung up.


    Tim looked at his phone for a moment before calling Carl.


    The call went through easily. ¡°You finally showed up.¡±


    ¡°I was in the ER.¡± Tim took his sses off and pinched his nose.


    ¡°Duh. I would have gone to the hospital for you otherwise. Guess you know what happened to Sonia


    then?¡± Carl squinted.


    Tim nodded. ¡°Yes. So now you can release the krakens.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Send them to me and I¡¯ll handle it.¡± Carl nodded. I¡¯ve been waiting for this.


    ¡°Right away.¡± Tim hung up and turned his PC on. Then he clicked on an encrypted file and sent the two


    videos in it to Carl. After some thought, he sent another copy to Sonia.


    At the same time, Sonia was surfing the web, waiting for Tim to post the evidence. Instead, she got an


    email from him. Curious, she clicked into it. When she saw the videos within it, she frowned and clicked


    on the first video.


    Tina was in the video, and she was wearing a red one-piece dress. She appeared in a dim, narrow


    alleyway and stopped in the middle. Tina looked around her, seemingly looking for someone or


    something. But apparently what she wanted wasn¡¯t there, so she made a call. ¡°Hey, I thought you said to


    meet in the alleyway. Where¡¯s your guy?¡± she asked angrily.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t hear the reply, but judging from the look on Tina¡¯s face, she was happy with the reply. A


    momentter, she put her phone down, crossed her arms, andughed smugly. ¡°Just you wait, Sonia.


    After today, the whole world will know you got f*cked by six men. You¡¯ll nevere back from this. That¡¯ll


    teach you to never cross me.¡±


    The moment she said that, someone else appeared in the video. The man¡¯s face was censored, but


    Sonia could see he was sturdily built. He was heading toward Tina with his hands behind his back, and


    he was holding a sack. Tina was about to say something the moment the man came up to her, but the


    mannded a chop on her neck and knocked her out before stuffing her into the sack.


    The video ended there.


    Sonia squinted. So this is how she got captured. At the same time, Tina revealed something important in


    the video. Apparently, the one who should have been raped was Sonia, not Tina herself, and Tina knew


    full well about that. Ironic. Sonia smirked and clicked on the second video.


    The video was shot in a different ce. It was in a small, abandoned room, and Tina was surrounded by


    six men. Tina was obviously terrified, and tears were streaming down her face. She screamed at the


    men, telling them to free her. She even told them they got the wrong person and she wasn¡¯t Sonia, and


    that she was their employer.


    However, the men ignored her plea and tore her clothes apart.


    The video ended there. It was shorter than the first video by a long shot, but it contained a lot more


    information, for Tina admitted to masterminding a gang rape in the second video.


    So Tim is going to prove my innocence using these videos. The moment the videos made their way


    online, all the nder would slowly start to target Tina instead of her. On top of that, Tina could be


    sentenced to masterminding a gang rape and defamation just with these videos alone.


    Sonia flicked her hair happily and texted Tim, ¡®Thanks. I saw the videos.¡¯


    Tim replied immediately, ¡®You can make the announcement on your social media. I took a look, and a lot


    of people are waiting for your evidence, including some official ounts.¡¯


    Sonia was smiling from ear to ear. ¡®I know.¡¯ After all, she mentioned during the day that she¡¯d prove her


    innocence at night, so of course they¡¯d wait for her.

 Chapter 306

    Chapter 306


    She put her phone down and logged into her ount on her PC. ¡®Thank you for your support, everyone.


    A tech specialist contacted me earlier and said he¡¯ll upload the evidence at night. It¡¯ll be right here any


    moment now, so wait for it.¡¯


    She double checked and posted that statement after confirming that there weren¡¯t any typos in there.


    She wanted to post the videos herself, but she mooted the idea. After all, it¡¯d be redundant when Tim


    would upload them himself.


    But she could tell everyone she was sure she¡¯d get the evidence by night time because a hacker


    contacted her. That way, everyone would think Tim¡¯s alternate ount was Carl¡¯s, including the police.


    Tim wouldn¡¯t get dragged into it, but even if the police found his IP address, they¡¯d only think it was


    hacked by Carl, so either way, Tim was fine.


    Theizens and media saw the statement the moment Sonia posted it, and they started discussing it.


    ¡®Ohwd, it¡¯sing.¡¯


    ¡®Man, I thought she was tripping, but guess she really got some tea to spill.¡¯


    ¡®Duh. She has a hacker backing her up. Ain¡¯t no way she¡¯s gonna lie. TBH I envy her. I want my personal


    hacker too. Nobody¡¯s gonna bully me anymore.¡¯


    ¡®Hey, do you guys think that hacker has a crush on Sonia? He flushed out a bunch of trolls in a single


    morning and uncovered a lot of freeloaders. The whole inte is warning everyone to never cross


    Sonia, or her hacker friend¡¯s gonna crush you.¡¯


    Sonia was amused by thements. What do they mean to never cross me or my hacker friend¡¯s going


    to crush them? This is even funnier than everyone saying Carl has a crush on me. But it was a good


    thing, since the trolls would have to look out next time they tried to talk about her.


    In Fuller Residence, Toby was in his study, following Sonia¡¯stest update. He frowned for a moment,


    then he called her.


    Sonia was slightly annoyed when she saw that it was from him, but since he helped her earlier during the


    day, she took the call. ¡°Hello, President Fuller.¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯ll work?¡± Toby asked.


    Sonia blinked. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The evidence from Fox Eyes,¡± Toby answered.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve seen it. There are two videos, and Tina confessed to her crimes.¡±


    Toby was relieved to hear that. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    At that moment, Sonia¡¯s phone vibrated. She took a look at who was calling before saying, ¡°Talk to you


    later, President Fuller. I have another call iing.¡± She ended the call without hesitation.


    Toby pursed his lips, and he looked annoyed. Who¡¯s calling her?


    It was Charles. He was also asking her about the evidence. Sonia briefed him about it and ended the


    call, but a momentter, Zane called to ask her about the same matter. Even though she was answering


    the same questions, she felt touched that her friends cared about it. Suddenly, she felt like she could go


    through anything as long as they were there for her. But someone¡¯s not going to get through this. Hope


    you like this, Tina.


    Tina was also following Sonia¡¯s status updates as well, but contrary to everyone else, she was biting her


    lip and drew blood from it. She knew Sonia had the evidence at hand, or she wouldn¡¯t have made that


    post. Even though it wasn¡¯t uploaded yet, she knew it¡¯d be the end of the line for her once Sonia did.


    The Grays knew that as well, so they were arguing outside the ward. Julia was sobbing, asking Titus to


    save Tina, but Titus couldn¡¯te up with a n, so they argued.


    A momentter, Rina came in. Tina¡¯s face fell when she saw her. ¡°Why¡¯d youe in? Get out!¡±


    Rina closed the door. ¡°Mom told me to. She said you must be upset, so she wants me to stay by your


    side.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you here. Out.¡± Tina pointed at the door.


    Rina ignored her and went ahead, stopping before her bed. ¡°You think I want to be here? Mom told me


    to, so I had toe in and pretend I care. But now I think it¡¯s not a bad idea. At least it¡¯s fun seeing you


    looking so panicked and helpless.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Tina couldn¡¯t believe that Rina was acting so sinister. She pointed at her and stammered for a


    while before she found her voice. ¡°So this is the real you. You were just acting weak. You¡¯re not a prey.


    You¡¯re a predator!¡±


    Tina knew Rina was acting weak and innocent so she could get more love from the Grays in the first


    ce. However, she thought Rina¡¯s real personality wouldn¡¯t differ that much, but now she knew she was


    horribly wrong.


    A dark smile curled Rina¡¯s pasty lips. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was acting innocent. Now you¡¯re seeing the real


    me.¡±


    When Zane went to the rural area two weeks ago to search for a fake Rina, Taylor was cutting the weeds


    in the fields. After she heard Zane¡¯s assistant talking about it, she knew her opportunity had arrived.


    Ever since she was a child, her family had been a misogynistic one. She was always starving and only


    had old clothes to wear. On top of that, she had endless chores to do. Her biggest dream was to escape


    that hell of a home, but she couldn¡¯t. Not only was she uneducated, but her evil parents kept a close eye


    on her ID and documents, so she couldn¡¯t go anywhere.


    That was why she acted weak and innocent when Zane came to pick a fake Rina. She acted timid so


    Zane would think he could control her easily. Then she coupled it up with her puppy eyes, and she knew


    her chances of getting picked would skyrocket. In the end, her wish was granted; she got selected and


    was sent to the Grays.


    After starting her life as Rina, she knew she made the right choice. She had parents who loved her,


    infinite wealth, and the chance to learn a lot of skills. In short, she made her wildest dream real.


    However, there was a single stain on her perfect life¡ªTina.


    Tina wanted to chase her out, but Rina had the same idea about Tina as well.


    At this moment, Tina suddenly shoved her, breaking her train of thoughts. ¡°You finally admit that you¡¯re


    faking everything! I¡¯ll tell Mom and Dad about it! Now they¡¯ll see your true colors!¡±


    ¡°You want to tell them?¡± Rina staggered backward, but she found her bearing quickly and scoffed at Tina.


    ¡°Do it. See if they¡¯ll believe you. I know it hasn¡¯t been long since I came back, but I know just the kind of


    woman you are. You¡¯re nothing but a liar. Mom and Dad won¡¯t believe you. They¡¯ll think you¡¯re just trying


    to bully me, and they¡¯ll love me more after that.¡±


    ¡°Why you¡­¡± Tina stared at her angrily, but she couldn¡¯t find any goodeback. Yeah. All they care


    about is her. They love her and would give the world for her. They¡¯d never believe me. Tina wouldn¡¯t look


    away from Rina. ¡°Even if they won¡¯t believe me, someday I¡¯ll make sure they see your true colors.¡± Tina¡¯s


    face contorted with rage.


    Rina shrugged, smirking. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t have that chance.¡±

 Chapter 307

    Chapter 307


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tina¡¯s heart sank a little as a wave of uneasiness filled her insides.


    Rina pulled out the brand new cell phone that Julia had just bought for her. ¡°The hacker who¡¯s helping


    Miss Reed had already posted proof of you framing Miss Reed. I saw it before I came in. There are two


    videos in total, and they sure are interesting. Miss Reed was the one who had actually been assaulted by


    those guys, and you admitted it on your own in the videos.¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    ¡°What?¡± Tina¡¯s expression changed as she felt her limbs turning cold. ¡°Give me the phone!¡± She reached


    out to grab Rina¡¯s cell phone, but Rina didn¡¯t stop her at all. Instead, she spread her lips into a faint smile


    while she watched Tina.


    Tina grabbed the phone firmly in her palms as she began to watch the videos that Rina had been talking


    about. Her mind went nk after she saw the contents of the two videos, and she felt like she had just


    been struck by lightning. She was utterly dazed, and she couldn¡¯t process the situation at all.


    ¡°H-How did this happen?¡± Tina let go of the cell phone, and it fell onto the sheets with a thud. She didn¡¯t


    seem to realize that the phone had fallen, for there was only a single thought going on in her mind as she


    stared at the ground, her face pale and her eyes zed over. I¡¯ve beenpletely exposed! I¡¯m ruined!


    Meanwhile, Rina let out a celebratory chuckle when she saw the look on Tina¡¯s face. ¡°I told you that you


    don¡¯t stand a chance! The whole world now knows that it wasn¡¯t Miss Reed who had schemed against


    you by arranging for those six men to assault you. Instead, it was you who had done it to Miss Reed. On


    top of that, you even attempted to frame Miss Reed today. These two crimes will probably put you in jail


    for a few years.¡± Rina seemed to recall something else as she spoke, and she used her pinky to dig her


    ear as she continued to speak. ¡°By the way, many of theizens are calling for the police to capture


    you, and the officials just announced that they¡¯re on the way right now. In other words, you¡¯re about to


    get officially arrested. ording to my estimation, your end should be arriving shortly.¡±


    The moment Rina finished her sentence, someone shoved the hospital door open. The first two people


    to enter were Titus and Julia. Titus wore a grim look on his face, and Julia was sobbing, looking


    extremely sad. Behind them were a few police officers who had handcuffs in their hands, and they were


    striding toward the hospital bed hastily.


    All the arrogance in Rina¡¯s face disappeared at that very moment, and she pointed at the police before


    pointing to Tina. ¡°Mom? Dad? Is this¡­¡±


    ¡°Come here, Rina.¡± Julia waved at the other girl. Rina threw a nce at Tina before she hurried over to


    Julia. The only people left by the side of the bed were a few male police officers, whose main intentions


    were to interrogate Tina. The men had handcuffs in their hands as they red at Tina with nk


    expressions. ¡°Pleasee with us, Miss Gray.¡±


    Tina seemed to snap out of her daze when she saw all the officers and the shiny, silver handcuffs


    dangling before her eyes. ¡°No! I refuse to go! I¡¯m not going there!¡± she cried as she shook her head


    furiously.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a say in that,¡± one of the male officers uttered as he secured one side of the handcuff


    around Tina¡¯s wrist. Tina felt the icy metal against her skin, and she trembled in response to the sharp


    coldness of the metal. The fear building up in her chest made it hard for her even to breathe. She


    attempted to wrestle her way out of the police¡¯s grip while she stared at Titus and Julia. ¡°Mom! Dad! Save


    me!¡±


    Titus looked away without even acknowledging her plea for help. Did she ask me to save her? There is


    evidence all over the ce now. How am I supposed to save her? I¡¯ll be used of disrupting thew if I


    were to do anything now; they¡¯d arrest me as well. The work at Triforce Enterprise is already draining me


    at this point, and things will only be worse if I get brought in by the police. I still have to consider ways to


    stabilize thepany¡¯s shares after the police arrest her.


    A chilly sensation spread across Tina¡¯s chest when she saw Titus¡¯s attitude toward the situation, so she


    hastily turned toward Julia, who was reluctant to even exchange nces with her. Julia looked away


    almost immediately as she thought, If Titus can¡¯t manage to save Tina, what can I, a full-time housewife,


    do at all?


    Tina felt her heart turning to stone when she realized that both Titus and Julia were unwilling to help her


    out. She felt a strong surge of resentment toward the husband and wife. Despite them iming that Tina


    was their only daughter that they would love and cherish forever, they no longer seemed to stick to their


    words after Rina¡¯s return. It¡¯s almost as if they havepletely forgotten about their promises. They¡¯re


    even trying to give up on me now. How could they?


    Meanwhile, Rina, who had been in Julia¡¯s arms, tugged her lips into a smirk when she saw the hatred


    spreading across Tina¡¯s face. Yes! Hate them! Hate them all! The more Tina hates Mom and Dad, the


    more distant they get, and the more likely they¡¯ll cut ties with each other. That way, Mom and Dad will


    completely belong to me.


    ¡­


    Tina was brought away in her wheelchair as her injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet. A bunch of reporters had


    been waiting outside the hospital, and they happened to capture scenes of Tina being brought away by


    the police. Manyizens celebrated after they saw such images surfacing online.


    Before the two videos were released, many people were on Tina¡¯s side¡ªthey thought that she was pitiful


    and that Sonia was evil. However, everyone finally understood the situation after the videos were out. It


    wasn¡¯t Sonia who had plotted against Tina, but Tina was the one who had attempted to plot against


    Sonia and failed with her n. In the end, the six men had mistaken Tina for Sonia and therefore made a


    move on her. All in all, Tina¡¯s n to harm Sonia backfired on herself, and she even tried to turn things


    around again. Tina simply refused to give up.


    The more theizens had pitied Tina in the past, the more they hated and detested her after the truth


    was out. They didn¡¯t exactly hate Tina¡¯s harmful and evil acts toward Sonia; they were more resentful


    toward the fact that Tina had used them as a means of causing harm to others. The whole Inte was


    filled with people cursing at Tina.


    Most of theizens weren¡¯t worried about being canceled or embarrassed as Tina didn¡¯t have the


    support of a hacker. Thus, they were harsher and more relentless with their criticisms. Many of the


    comments were much worse than those for Sonia.


    On top of that, Triforce Enterprise also saw huge fluctuations in their shares after this incident, and Titus


    had to rush to the office in the middle of the night to host a shareholders¡¯ meeting.


    In the meantime, Sonia was back in Bayside Residence as she scrolled through all the never-ending


    apologies on her social media. A grin found its way to her face when she contrasted this with all the


    angryments that were on her wall. Soon enough, she gave Tim a call. ¡°Tina has already been taken


    in by the police, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll expose you to them soon. You¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to tell me. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Tim replied as he pushed his sses up.


    Sonia nodded after she heard what he said. ¡°Okay. Well, I have to thank you for recording those two


    videos. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to clear my name otherwise.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal,¡± Tim replied with a smile. After exchanging a few more words, they got off the call.


    However, Sonia¡¯s phone began to ring the moment she ended Tim¡¯s call.


    She nced at the screen to see Carl¡¯s number, and she immediately ended his call before phoning him


    with her other number. ¡°Sonia?¡± Carl uttered uncertainly when he first picked up the call.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± she said with a nod.


    ¡°Sonia, why did you¡ª¡±


    ¡°For safety purposes. I¡¯m sure Charles told you about this,¡± she replied.


    He was silent for a few moments before he answered. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so impressive! You secretly honed your skills, huh? I would have never known that you were the


    little fox if you hadn¡¯t said it yourself.¡± Sonia pinched the space between her brows as she spoke.


    Carl let out a warm chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. I kept it a secret because I didn¡¯t want to scare you. You


    aren¡¯t mad at me, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Why would I be mad at you when you helped me? But I need you to be honest with me,


    Carl. Will the police be able to track you down?¡± Sonia knitted her brows as her tone turned stern.


    His expression became serious as well. ¡°No way. My skills are among the top three in the whole world.


    The police will never be able to catch me.¡±


    She heaved a sigh of relief after hearing what he said. ¡°That¡¯s good. I feel less worried then. By the way,


    why are you calling me at this hour?¡±

 Chapter 308

    Chapter 308


    Carl smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just called to congratte you. You¡¯re finally free of all the nasty


    rumors!¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± A smile formed on Sonia¡¯s face as well. Yeah, my name is finally cleared. I feel so much


    more rxed now. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Tim,¡± Sonia continued. ¡°This issue wouldn¡¯t have been resolved so


    quickly if Tim hadn¡¯t left those two videos behind.¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Carl lowered his gaze a little to conceal the disappointment in his eyes. Why


    did she say that it¡¯s all thanks to Tim? I was the one who uploaded those two videos.


    Ding dong! The doorbell rang out of nowhere, and Sonia leaped to her feet. ¡°All right, Carl. I¡¯ll talk to you


    later. Someone¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Carl asked.


    Sonia headed toward the door. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t forget to check who¡¯s outside before opening the door. You need to remember to protect


    yourself,¡± Carl reminded in a gentle and caring tone.


    She nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I got it.¡± Once the call ended, Sonia put her phone aside and went to the


    monitor to check who was her visitor. She only opened the door when she saw that the person outside


    was a guy dressed in a uniform from some deliverypany.


    ¡°Hello, are you Miss Sonia?¡± the deliveryman asked her.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she answered with a nod.


    ¡°These are your flowers. Please sign here.¡± As he spoke, the deliveryman knelt down and picked up a


    large bouquet of roses from the ground. The roses looked freshly cut, and there were still beads of water


    on the petals, which made it look especially gorgeous.


    Sonia didn¡¯t take the bouquet immediately. Instead, she eyed the deliveryman suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    but is this a mistake here? I didn¡¯t order any flowers.¡±


    ¡°Someone else gifted it to you,¡± the deliveryman replied.


    She was more puzzled than ever. ¡°Who was it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. My job is just to deliver the flowers,¡± he replied with a shake of his head.


    However, he seemed to recall something just momentster. ¡°There¡¯s a card in here. The answer you¡¯re


    looking for might be there,¡± he added.


    She immediately took a nce at the bouquet to see a card stuck in the middle of the flowers. Only then


    did she reach her hand out to take the flowers from the deliveryman. ¡°Thank you. Safe trip.¡±


    ¡°No worries.¡± The deliveryman nodded and turned to leave. She shut the door and walked back to the


    living hall while flipping the card open. There were only a few words written on the card. ¡®Congrattions


    on reiming justice for yourself!¡¯


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± Sonia frowned as she whispered to herself. There wasn¡¯t any signature at the bottom of the


    card, but she could clearly recognize the handwriting on the card. It belonged to Toby. Toby is the one


    who gave these! I thought it was Zane at first. Zane practically gives me tiny presents and flowers every


    time he sees me after all. I can¡¯t believe my guess was wrong.


    A rather muddled expression formed on her face as she nced at the flowers in her arms. She was


    genuinely shocked by his act of giving her flowers. More importantly, Sonia didn¡¯t know how to deal with


    the bouquet of flowers. Was she supposed to throw them out, or return them to him?


    She was lost in thought when her phone rang. When she came to her senses and looked at her phone


    screen, she saw a message from Toby. ¡®Did you receive the flowers?¡¯


    Her eyes lit up a little as she lowered the flowers onto the coffee table before typing her response to him.


    ¡®Yeah.¡¯


    In the Fuller Residence, which was only about 12 miles away from Bayside Residence, Toby was


    dressed in a bathrobe as he sat at the edge of his bed. The top of his bathrobe was left open to reveal


    his firm and broad chest. His hair was still wet, and droplets of water were still dripping from the tips of it


    as he hadn¡¯t dried his hair at all. The water droplets trailed his perfect jawline and trickled down his neck


    to his defined corbones. Eventually, the water droplets would run down his chest, making him an


    object of seduction.


    At that moment, he had a towel in his hands and was about to dry his hair. All of a sudden, his phone


    screen lit up at a corner of his bed. His eyes seemed to light up at the very same moment, and he hastily


    threw the towel over his neck before grabbing his phone to unlock it. He no longer cared about drying his


    hair.


    A surge of joy filled his heart when he saw that it was a reply from Sonia. However, his spirits were


    quickly dampened when he saw her reply, for all he got was a one-worded ¡®yeah¡¯. Her text response


    made it hard for him to imagine how she had felt when she first received the flowers.


    After pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a few sighs, he finally texted her again. ¡®So, did you


    like them?¡¯


    Sonia frowned. Is he asking me if I like the flowers, or is he asking me if I like it when he gives me


    flowers? She couldn¡¯t tell, and she couldn¡¯t be bothered to make random guesses either. ¡®It¡¯s nice.


    However, please stop giving me flowers in the future. I¡¯m afraid it might create some misunderstandings.¡¯


    Her reply was rather ambiguous.


    Toby frowned after receiving the message. A misunderstanding? I thought she will be much nicer to me


    after the incident today. Even if she doesn¡¯t ept me yet, I at least expected her not to be so resistant


    toward me. Well, I guess I was overthinking it all along. He sighed. ¡®There won¡¯t be any


    misunderstandings. No one else knows that I bought you flowers.¡¯


    ¡®Is that so? Great. I¡¯ll get someone to send the flowers back to you tomorrow.¡¯ He pressed his eyebrows


    together when he saw her reply. A hint of annoyance filled his chest as he thought about it. She¡¯s


    returning it to me even though it¡¯s just a bouquet of flowers. She really doesn¡¯t want to have anything to


    do with me, huh! He pressed his lips together as he typed out his reply. ¡®It¡¯s fine. You can throw it away if


    you really don¡¯t want it.¡¯ After he sent the text, he threw his phone aside and pulled his towel from his


    neck before stuffing his face into it. No one else could see the expression on his face right then.


    When Sonia saw his reply back in Bayside Residence, she could tell that he was rather displeased. I


    guess I know why he¡¯s angry. He probably doesn¡¯t like it that I want to return the flowers to him. After


    taking a few breaths, she looked at the bouquet of flowers. In the end, she gave up on the idea of


    returning it to him. She decided that she wouldn¡¯t throw it out either. Instead, she would just leave the


    flowers there for them to gradually wilt and die on their own.


    ¡­


    The next day, Sonia found herself surrounded by a group of reporters once she arrived at Paradigm Co.


    ¡°Are you going to sue Tina, Miss Reed?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Can you reveal anything about the hacker, Miss Reed?¡± another person asked. ¡°How are you rted to


    that hacker?¡± All of these reporters were asking about Sonia¡¯s feelings toward Tina. On top of that, they


    were looking for Carl. She was thoroughly annoyed by the reporters¡¯ clingy acts, and she frowned heavily


    as she shouted, ¡°Shush! I¡¯ll reply to the questions one at a time!¡±


    The reporters actually zipped their mouths once they heard what she said. Thus, she loosened up her


    frown a little before she began to give her speech in a calm and t tone. ¡°Yes, I am nning to go to


    court with Tina. Firstly, she attempted to get six men to assault me. After her n failed, she tried to


    crush me with the use of public opinion, and she caused great damage to me and mypany¡¯s


    reputation. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve decided to sue her. I want her to pay for her wrongdoings, and I want her to


    compensate for all that I¡¯ve lost!¡± The reporters had their eyes wide and alert as they hastily jotted down


    everything she said.


    Sonia then held up two fingers as she continued to say, ¡°Regarding the second question, you have my


    apologies. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t reveal anything about the hacker as I don¡¯t know who the person is or why he


    tried to help me. My guess is that he¡¯s just attempting to restore justice. I hope you guys understand that


    I don¡¯t have any information regarding the hacker. Alright, that¡¯s all for now. Why don¡¯t you guys go follow


    Tina instead? I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be the main spotlight from now onward.¡±


    Her words served as a reminder to the reporters. They all exchanged nces for a moment before they


    all rushed over to the police station. Sonia only strode into Paradigm Co. after she saw that all the


    reporters had left in their cars.


    Meanwhile, Tina was kept in an interrogation room in the police station, and a few policemen sat directly


    in front of her. They had asked her a string of questions, but Tina grew especially emotional when they


    brought up her use of the six men to assault Sonia. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me who arranged for those six men to


    harm her! It was Tim! Tim!¡±

 Chapter 309

    Chapter 309


    The few officers were stunned for a moment before they realized that they had missed a clue in the case.


    ¡°Who is Tim?¡± one of the interrogators asked.


    Tina was handcuffed and secured to her seat, so she couldn¡¯t move her limbs at all. On top of that, there


    were a lot of officers staring at her; she felt like she was about to drown in fear. She knew that she


    wouldn¡¯t be able to escape her punishment since the two videos were still circting around on the


    Inte. If she continued to deny her involvement, she knew that it would only worsen her punishment.


    From the moment she was brought into the police car, she had decided that she woulde clean about


    everything. At the same time, she decided that she would drag Tim down with her.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    She and Tim were in it together, after all. The people, the location, and the tools were all prepared by


    Tim, and she was merely the one who gave him the orders. Why should I shoulder all of the charges


    since that was the case? Tim has to go down with me as well! Furthermore, she was Tim¡¯s angel, so she


    figured that Tim wouldn¡¯t be mad at her if she uttered his name during the interrogation.


    With that thought in mind, she continued speaking as she stared at the policemen with her bloodshot


    eyes. ¡°He¡¯s a surgeon in First World Hospital. He was the one who found the six men.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I want you guys to drop by the hospital to bring this person called Tim in.¡± The main


    interrogator gave orders to the officers behind him, and two officers nodded before they left the


    interrogation room. Tina felt much better once she saw that they were actually going to capture Tim.


    Soon enough, the police brought Tim back to the station. He wasn¡¯t ced in the same room as Tina


    was; he was questioned in a separate room instead. His interrogator was the same police officer who


    had brought him in from the hospital. ¡°Mr. Lancaster, Tina ims that you were involved in the n to


    harm Sonia. She stated that you were the one who hired the six men. Do you admit to your crimes?¡±


    Tim hadn¡¯t had a chance to take off his whiteb coat when he first arrived at the station. Like Tina, his


    limbs were secured to the chair. However, he didn¡¯t seem the least bit bothered by his surroundings, and


    he remained calm as he responded in a nonchnt tone. ¡°I don¡¯t. I¡¯m not involved in scheming against


    Sonia, and I¡¯ve never hired any men to do anything. I don¡¯t have anything against Sonia, so why would I


    do such a thing?¡±


    The interrogator fell silent for a while. The officers from the station had looked up Tim¡¯s personal


    connections before they brought Tim in, and they found that he didn¡¯t have any disputes with Sonia in the


    past. It would be a stretch to say that he had any intent to harm Sonia. However, it didn¡¯t make sense for


    Tina to lie. She wouldn¡¯te up with a fake story even if she was just trying to reduce her sentence. If


    that were the case, then the man they had just brought in must have lied.


    After contemting the situation for a while more, the police officer spun his pen in his fingers as he


    continued to question Tim. ¡°ording to what we know, you have a close rtionship with Tina. Tina


    despises Sonia, and she attempted to attack Sonia, so it¡¯s possible that you agreed to be a part of it


    since you were good friends with Tina.¡±


    The surface of Tim¡¯s sses reflected the light in the room for a split second before he lifted his head to


    speak. ¡°You¡¯re right. It is possible for me to help her out since I¡¯m a good friend of hers, but where is the


    evidence of me doing that? You guys are defaming me if you don¡¯t have evidence to suggest that I¡¯m


    guilty. I can actually report you for that.¡±


    The police officer frowned as silence filled the room once more. He¡¯s right. We don¡¯t have any evidence. I


    really don¡¯t know what to do with this guy. As he scratched the back of his head, the police officer waved


    at one of his colleagues beside him. ¡°Can you go next door to ask Officer Chase if he managed to get


    anything out of Tina? I need some evidence to prove that Tim is an aplice in this case.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The officer took one look at Tim before he headed out of the room. However, he came back just


    two minutester to shake his head at the main interrogator. They didn¡¯t have any proof to show that Tim


    was involved. The officer standing in front of Tim had no idea what to do with Tim then.


    When they first captured Tina the night before, they went through the whole case without spotting


    anything that had to do with Tim. They only found out about the existence of such an individual after Tina


    had revealed his name in their session with her. That only showed that the police wouldn¡¯t have found


    out about anyone else¡¯s involvement if Tina hadn¡¯t mentioned his name. In other words, the police


    wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about the aplice even if they knew that he was part of the case.


    They didn¡¯t have any implicating evidence that would allow them to arrest Tim. Even Tina, the main


    conspirator, didn¡¯t have any evidence at all.


    ¡°What should we do now? Should we continue questioning him?¡± the officer who had gone out earlier


    asked the main interrogator in the room. The main interrogator in charge of Tim got to his feet. ¡°What do


    you think? Of course not! Let¡¯s go next door for now,¡± he uttered in a frustrated voice. The both of them


    headed out and left Tim alone in the room. A sly smirk formed on Tim¡¯s lips as he watched the officers


    walking out.


    Freddie Chase narrowed his eyes when he saw the other two officers walking into the room. ¡°How did it


    go?¡±


    The two officers shook their heads. Freddie wasn¡¯t surprised by this, and he turned back to Tina


    immediately. ¡°We¡¯ve tried to question Tim, Miss Gray. He doesn¡¯t admit to being involved in any of your


    crimes against Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tina widened her eyes in disbelief. ¡°Did you say that he didn¡¯t admit to anything?¡±


    Freddie nodded. Tina¡¯s voice became shriller as she continued to shriek. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Why


    wouldn¡¯t he admit to it?¡± I¡¯m his angel! Didn¡¯t he say that he would go along with anything I wanted? If I


    mentioned his name during interrogation, shouldn¡¯t he understand that I want him to be with me while


    we¡¯re in jail? Why didn¡¯t he admit to his crimes? Or did he betray me because he doesn¡¯t want to be


    convicted? Hatred filled Tina¡¯s entire being as she considered that thought. Lies! They were all lies! He


    said he would protect me forever, yet he turned his back against me the moment we got into trouble! I


    can¡¯t believe I trusted him so much!


    ¡°Tim is lying to you guys! Don¡¯t trust him!¡± Tina shouted as she lost control of her emotions.


    The few officers stared at her calmly while Freddie responded to her words. ¡°We¡¯re not going to trust him


    so easily. However, we don¡¯t have any evidence to show that he¡¯s an aplice. You don¡¯t have any


    proof either, do you?¡±


    Tina¡¯s voice seemed to be stuck in her throat. She thoroughly regretted all her actions at that moment. I


    shouldn¡¯t have trusted Tim so easily. Why didn¡¯t I make a voice recording when I got him to do those stuff


    for me? I¡¯d have evidence of him being a part of this if I had done that in the past! Her lips trembled when


    she next spoke. ¡°What will happen to Tim if we don¡¯t have any evidence?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll let him go, of course!¡± Freddie replied.


    Tina¡¯s pupils shrank when she heard what the officer said. ¡°What? You¡¯re just going to let him go?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We have no choice but to let him go if we don¡¯t have any evidence. We won¡¯t be able to convict


    him even if he really is an aplice,¡± Freddie exined as he looked into Tina¡¯s eyes. They had no


    choice; they lived in a country that strongly emphasized the importance of evidence in convicting


    criminals. If they didn¡¯t have any evidence, they would have to let their suspects go, even if the suspect


    was actually a serial killer.


    Tina¡¯s entire body was shaking uncontrobly after she heard what Freddie said. She clearly couldn¡¯t


    ept the truth. Upon seeing that, Freddie contemted the situation for a while more before he


    continued speaking. ¡°Well, if we manage to find the six men who assaulted you, and if the six men are


    able to provide evidence of Tim contacting them, then we¡¯ll be able to press charges against Tim.¡±


    Her eyes lit up immediately. ¡°Hurry up and find those six men then!¡± she cried as she red at Freddie.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been searching for them, but we don¡¯t have a clue where they¡¯re at, so it¡¯s unlikely that we¡¯ll be


    able to find them at all.¡± Freddie fixed his peaked cap as he spoke.


    She felt like she was about to lose her temper at that point. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why did you even bother to


    bring up the six men?!¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to give you some hope,¡± Freddie replied tly. When Tina heard that, she was close to


    raging at him. Then, he stood up and ended the conversation. ¡°You guys can get her to sign her


    confession. I¡¯ll go next door to take a look.¡±


    ¡°Got it, Officer Chase!¡± the other officers replied.


    After that, Freddie went next door to take a look at Tim. He asked him a few questions, but the oue


    was no different from what the previous officers had faced. They had to let Tim go in the end.


    After leaving the station, Tim pulled his phone out and sent Sonia a text. ¡®You were right. Tina ratted me


    out.¡¯

 Chapter 310

    Chapter 310


    Sonia was going through some reports when she heard her phone vibrating. She picked it up and read


    Tim¡¯s message before she sent him a voice note. ¡°Are you okay now?¡±


    Tim reached a hand out to hail a cab. He got into the cab before he typed out a message for Sonia. ¡®I¡¯m


    fine. I didn¡¯t admit to anything, but the police seemed to think that I was an aplice. They don¡¯t have


    the right to arrest me since neither they nor Tina had any evidence. The only way I¡¯d get arrested is if


    they find those six men.¡¯


    Sonia heaved a sigh of relief after reading the text. ¡°Where are those six men now? Is it likely for them to


    be found by the police?¡± she asked through a voice note.


    ¡®No. I¡¯ve changed their names and sent them out of the country. They will never return to this ce,¡¯ Tim


    replied through text. In other words, the police would never find the six men. As long as the six men


    weren¡¯t around to serve as witnesses, Tina would have to bear the weight of all the crimes.


    She nodded once she understood the situation. ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± she uttered through a voice note. They


    texted for a while more before they ended the conversation. Right then, Daphne knocked and stepped


    into Sonia¡¯s office. ¡°Mrs. Gray and Miss Rina Gray from Triforce Enterprise are here to see you,


    President Reed.¡±


    Rina Gray? Her appearance sure caused a great deal of discussion in Seafield recently, Sonia thought.


    The public only found out that the Grays had more than one daughter after she showed up a few days


    ago. The Grays announced that they had an elder daughter who had been kidnapped when she was


    young. Well, Rina might have been in the spotlight for a few days, but the Grays¡¯ youngest daughter is


    the hot topic once more.


    ¡°Mrs. Gray?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°What are they doing here?¡±


    Daphne shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, but I assume that it has something to do with Tina.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Just ignore them, then,¡± Sonia uttered with the wave of a hand.


    ¡°Are you saying that you don¡¯t want to see them?¡± Daphne asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get someone to show them out of the building now.¡± Daphne adjusted her sses before she


    replied. She turned around to leave the office, but she barely got the chance to open the door before


    someone flung the door open from the other side.


    Julia stormed in with Rina beside her. The receptionist followed behind them timidly and gave Daphne an


    apologetic smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t let them in on purpose, Miss Daphne. They insisted oning up, and they


    threatened to kill themselves right here if I called security to bring them out, so¡­¡±


    Daphne felt a headacheing to her as she stared at the two unwee guests. She massaged her


    temples as she turned to Sonia. ¡°President Reed, look¡­¡±


    Sonia heard everything the receptionist said, and she shot Julia a cold re as she pressed her red lips


    together. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this. Both of you can go back to work.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Daphne replied. The receptionist heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that Sonia hadn¡¯t


    faulted her for letting the two intruders in. Once they left, Sonia, Julia, and Rina were the only people in


    the office. Sonia leaned against her chair as she looked up at the mother and daughter duo who were


    walking toward her.


    Although Sonia was young, she held a high position in the field and therefore had a more domineering


    aura than them. Julia felt pressured the moment Sonia¡¯s gazended on her. After all, Julia was used to


    her life as a rich man¡¯s wife¡ªall she ever did was enjoy her life while spending her husband¡¯s money.


    Her aura was nothing inparison to Sonia¡¯s. Furthermore, she seemed even meeker ever since all


    the incidents with Triforce Enterprise and Tina¡¯s arrest.


    Julia could clearly feel herself being overpowered by Sonia even though Sonia was much younger than


    her. As much as she felt displeased by that, Julia had no choice but to contain her dissatisfaction as she


    had visited Sonia with other intentions in mind. After rubbing her slightly red eyes, Julia took a deep


    breath to calm herself down before she forced a smile. ¡°Miss Reed¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sit!¡± Sonia pointed at the chairs in front of her desk. Julia nced in the direction of her finger before


    she pulled a chair out to sit down. Sonia wasn¡¯t looking at Julia at all. Instead, her red lips were curled


    into a smirk as she gazed at Rina. ¡°She¡¯s the eldest daughter you guys have just reunited with, right,


    Mrs. Gray?¡± Sonia feigned curiosity.


    ¡°Yes. This is my eldest daughter, Rina.¡± Julia reached out and held onto Rina¡¯s hand before patting the


    back of her hand gently. Compassion and love spread across the older woman¡¯s face¡ªit was clear that


    she was truly fond of Rina.


    The more Julia was fond of Rina, the better Sonia and Zane¡¯s n would eventually work out for them.


    Yet, for some reason, Sonia felt a faint uneasiness in her chest whenever she saw Julia¡¯s tender and


    loving gaze toward Rina. Sonia even felt rather annoyed by it. I must be losing my mind! she thought.


    She shook her head a little and suppressed her confusing emotions before she put on a small smile.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Rina.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Miss Reed.¡± Rina pretended as if she didn¡¯t know Sonia, and she addressed Sonia


    in a bashful voice before hiding behind Julia and acting as if she were a timid young girl. Sonia


    understood what Rina was doing, and she could find no fault with the way Rina acted then. Sonia simply


    nodded before shifting her gaze back to Julia. ¡°Is there any reason you¡¯re here to see me, Mrs. Gray?¡±


    Julia responded with an embarrassedugh. ¡°Well, I¡¯m here for Tina¡¯s sake.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s gaze flickered when she heard her words. So, my guess was right! She looked at Julia, who had


    completely changed her attitude and demeanor toward Sonia. ¡°Oh? Are you here for the sake of your


    younger daughter?¡± Sonia said with a smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes. That¡¯s right. Ever since the Grays


    announced the existence of their eldest daughter, Tina is just the younger child at home.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Julia let out a sigh as tears began to well up in her eyes. Sonia had long realized how Tina would


    often tear up whenever she was trying to act innocent. Now, I finally know where Tina got that habit from.


    Like mother, like daughter, huh?


    ¡°Miss Reed.¡± Julia sped her hands together as she started at Sonia. ¡°I know that Tina shouldn¡¯t have


    framed you, but¡­ she made a rash decision without thinking. Could you possibly¡ª¡±


    ¡°Are you asking if I can set her free?¡± Sonia wore the same faint smirk as she interrupted Julia.


    Julia felt uneasy when she saw the mocking look on Sonia¡¯s face, but she had no choice but to tolerate it


    for the sake of Tina. ¡°Yes, Miss Reed. That¡¯s why I came here. If you¡¯re willing to set Tina free, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll


    give you five million!¡± she cried while nodding. ¡°What do you think, Miss Reed?¡± Julia held her hand out


    toward Sonia as she spoke.


    The smile remained on Sonia¡¯s face as she kept quiet without answering. On the other hand, Rina, who


    stood behind Julia, bit her lower lip as a rather dissatisfied look formed on her face. Five million! Even


    one million was already a huge sum to Rina¡ªshe couldn¡¯t believe that Julia was willing to pay five million


    just to save Tina. It was evident that Julia wasn¡¯t about to give up on Tina. It looks like I¡¯ll have to work


    harder to weaken Mom¡¯s love for Tina so that I can sessfully chase Tina out of the picture.


    Julia started to get annoyed when Sonia didn¡¯t respond to her offer after some time had passed. Julia


    thought that five million was too little for Sonia. With her teeth gritted, Julia held five fingers up. ¡°I¡¯ll add


    another five million to that. How does ten million sound for you?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°You sure are generous, Mrs. Gray. But can you afford to give me ten million?¡± Sonia held her head up


    as she sniggered at Julia. ¡°I heard that Toby canceled all of his existing partnerships with Triforce


    Enterprise when he called the marriage off. Once the public found out about this, manypanies have


    pulled out from their partnerships with Triforce, and Triforce has fallen 20 ces down from its spot in the


    Top 10 businesses in Seafield ranking. I heard that you guys are struggling with a reduction in capital,


    and I¡¯m sure thepany will be further impacted by the bacsh following Tina¡¯s arrestst night.¡±


    ¡°What exactly are you trying to tell me?¡± Julia¡¯s expression faltered as she felt increasingly troubled by


    the situation.

 Chapter 311

    Chapter 311


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that the Triforce Enterprise is now burdened with debts. The


    company would have faced bankruptcy if it weren¡¯t for the support of its fixed assets. Even if the


    company isn¡¯t bankrupt now, it¡¯s on the verge of bankruptcy¡ªjust like Paradigm Co. was three months


    ago. I¡¯m sure Triforce Enterprise doesn¡¯t have any working capital now, right? President Gray is probably


    acquiring loans just to maintain Triforce Enterprise¡¯s operations. How could he possibly allow you to take


    out ten million just to save Tina?¡±


    Julia was speechless after she heard what Sonia said. She was probably the only person on Earth who


    knew how much Titus had struggled while begging others to loan him some money. However, he had


    been too arrogant and had offended too many people in the past, so many of the people within his circles


    were reluctant to lend him any money. After so much effort, he had only managed to gather about two


    billion. The sum of two billion barely made a dent after he threw it all into the stock market, and it was far


    from enough for Triforce Enterprise to stabilize their business. Every penny they had was crucial at this point, and


    Titus would certainly lose his mind if he found out that Julia had taken out such a huge sum for Tina. He might not divorce Julia, but


    their rtionship would definitely be ruined if Julia had done such a thing. Julia felt a surge of terror just at the thought of that


    oue, and she began to tremble in fear.


    Soniaughed when she saw the look on Julia¡¯s face. ¡°Well, it seems like you aren¡¯t that prepared to


    offer me any money, Mrs. Gray.¡±


    Julia¡¯s face was rather pale. ¡°What do you need me to do for you to show Tina some mercy?¡± Before


    Julia arrived, she had received a call from the police informing her that Tina had signed her confession.


    Julia would no longer be able to bail Tina out, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to see Tina until they went to


    court. The officers had also told Julia that the evidence for Tina¡¯s crimes¡ªharming and framing Sonia¡ª


    were too strong, and that the court would probably alreadye to a decision after their first meeting.


    Tina might not even have a chance for an appeal.


    When Julia asked Tina¡¯swyer if there was a way to save Tina, thewyer¡¯s only idea was for Julia to


    come over and beg Sonia for help. If Sonia agreed not to proceed with the case, Tina would be safe.


    Julia therefore had to find a way to get Sonia to set Tina free.


    However, Sonia¡¯s response felt like a bucket of ice water being poured over Julia¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯ll never let


    Tina go no matter what happens. She had harmed me in the past, but I didn¡¯t have any evidence then.


    Things are different now, so I¡¯ll have to make sure that she goes to jail this time!¡± Sonia uttered in an icy


    tone as she fixed her hair.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Julia widened her eyes as she pointed a shaky finger at Sonia. ¡°You¡¯re just too evil!¡±


    Rina blinked in confusion. Evil? Her head was held low as she gazed at Julia, who was standing in front


    of her. As much as I like my new mother, I have to say that she has some issues with her intellectual


    capacity. Even though I haven¡¯t studied much, I can tell that Tina was the one who harmed and framed


    Sonia. In that case, Tina¡¯s the evil one here, and Sonia is merely getting revenge with the use of thew.


    How does that make Sonia an evil person? Well, my new mother is pretty nice to me, so I won¡¯t voice out


    my opinions.


    Sonia looked as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world, and she let out a mockingugh


    before she spoke. ¡°No, no. Please don¡¯t say that, Mrs. Gray. I will never be as evil as your youngest


    daughter. She¡¯s capable of pushing others down the stairs, she managed toe up with a scheme to


    get someone to fall off a horse, she got a poisonous snake to bite someone, she tried to get someone


    raped, and she even got someone to ssh acid on others! All her crimes are beyond evil! Her acts are


    worse than that of the devil.¡±


    Julia¡¯s face turned beet red after hearing Sonia¡¯s words, and she nced away in a rather uneasy


    manner. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re still well and alive now, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Does that mean that I deserved all of that? Are you saying that I should forgive Tina because I¡¯m fine


    now?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression turned cold. The corner of Julia¡¯s lips trembled a little. Although she didn¡¯t say


    anything, the look on her face made it clear that what Sonia had said was precisely what she meant.


    Sonia shook her head as she knew that there was no point in having their conversation any longer. One


    couldn¡¯t wake a person who was only feigning sleep, after all. Sonia pulled her phone out and dialed


    Titus¡¯s number in front of Julia. ¡°President Gray. It¡¯s me, Sonia.¡±


    Julia¡¯s eyes were bulging wide as she screamed, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Sonia ignored her and continued to speak. ¡°Your wife is here, and she¡¯s offering me ten million for me to


    set Tina free.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What?¡± Titus shot to his feet on the other end of the call. His face was eerily dark. Ten million? Julia sure


    is a generous woman! I just applied for a loan from the bank, and I just got rejected. I¡¯m on the verge of


    bursting out in anger, and that woman¡ªJulia Ramsay¡ªis offering ten million to save my useless


    daughter?! Doesn¡¯t Julia understand how much ten million means to Triforce Enterprise right now?


    Titus was shivering with rage as he spoke. ¡°Where is Julia Ramsay right now, Sonia?¡± He had used


    Julia¡¯s full name. Sonia¡¯s lips curled into a faint smile as she looked at Julia¡¯s terrified expression. ¡°She¡¯s


    right in front of me. Why don¡¯t you speak to her?¡± With that said, Sonia pressed on the loudspeaker


    button before cing her phone in front of Julia.


    ¡°I want you to f*ckinge home right now!¡± Titus shouted in a furious and cold voice.


    ¡°Honey, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear you talk. I¡¯m not going to be as nice if I don¡¯t see you back in half an hour!¡± He


    interrupted her without any hesitation, and he ended the call after finishing his sentence.


    Julia¡¯s entire being was shaking¡ªeven Rina, who had been standing behind her, was shocked by Titus¡¯s


    call.


    ¡°Do you have anything else to say, Mrs. Gray?¡± Sonia took her phone back.


    Julia stood up. Her eyes were emotionless as she stared at Sonia¡ªshe had returned to her usual


    arrogant, icy and hostile self. ¡°Just you wait. We¡¯re definitely going to find a way to save Tina. Let¡¯s go,


    Rina.¡± Julia held onto Rina¡¯s hand and strode toward the exit.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Tom to find out about the news of Julia paying Sonia a visit. Tom knocked on the


    door before entering the president¡¯s office. ¡°ording to our men from Paradigm Co., Mrs. Gray and


    Miss Rina just visited Miss Reed, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby frowned. ¡°Were they there because of Tina?¡±


    ¡°Yes. However, it seems like things didn¡¯t go the way Mrs. Gray wanted them to. She had looked rather


    pale when she left the office,¡± Tom uttered in a scornful tone. A simr smirk appeared on Toby¡¯s face.


    ¡°Nothing will go Mrs. Gray¡¯s way if the person she¡¯s dealing with is Sonia.¡±


    The person who most desperately hoped for Tina to be convicted was probably Sonia, after all. It was an


    idiotic move for Julia to seek help from Sonia. ¡°By the way, do you have any updates on the research


    that I got you to do on Rina?¡± Toby drummed his fingers on the table as he asked.


    Tom pushed his sses up the bridge of his nose. ¡°I did find some stuff.¡±


    ¡°Some?¡± Toby pressed his lips together¡ªhe clearly wasn¡¯t satisfied with the other man¡¯s answer.


    Tom nodded before responding in a rather helpless tone. ¡°Yeah, some. I only found some because a part


    of Rina¡¯s past documents had been removed by someone. It took me a lot of time to recover some of the


    information. Rina used to be known as Taylor Carey, and she lived in a vige. She belonged to a family


    who valued males more than females until Zane brought her over to Seafield.¡±


    ¡°Zane?¡± Toby¡¯s pupils shrank at the mention of Zane. So, Sonia isn¡¯t the only person involved in Rina¡¯s


    return. Zane is part of it as well. What exactly are Sonia and Zane trying to do?


    Tom seemed to have read Toby¡¯s mind, for he continued his speech in a stern tone. ¡°Mr. Coleman and


    Miss Reed seem to be plotting something because I realized something else. This woman, Taylor, isn¡¯t


    actually Rina. Mr. Coleman had ced fake DNA samples in all of the major hospitals and rediting


    bodies. That way, no matter how many times Mr. and Mrs. Gray attempt to run tests on Taylor, results


    would indicate that she is their daughter. I¡¯m sure Miss Reed is aware of this¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t have passed


    the ne to Taylor otherwise.¡±


    Toby kept quiet and knitted his brows as he sank into deep thought. Soon, he realized what Zane and


    Sonia had inmon¡ªthey both saw the Grays as theirrgest enemy. However, they can¡¯t directly


    attack Triforce Enterprise due to the national policies in ce. In order to get Triforce Enterprise


    bankrupt, they would have to think of other ways to attack them. Their best strategy would be to get hold


    of some of Triforce Enterprise¡¯s secret information. However, it¡¯s practically impossible for them to do


    such a thing unless they have someone nted in thepany.


    Could Taylor be a spy that Sonia and Zane had nted in the Gray Family? Toby wondered.

 Chapter 312

    Chapter 312


    Toby stopped drumming his fingers on the table. The more he thought about it, the more possible his


    hypothesis seemed. There¡¯d be no other way to exin why they came up with a fake ¡®Rina¡¯; they


    couldn¡¯t have done it just tofort Titus and Julia, right?


    At that thought, Toby looked up at Tom. ¡°I want you to delete everything that you¡¯ve found. Apart from


    that, I also want you to erase all traces in ces that Taylor has ever been. Most importantly, I want you


    to ensure that all of the DNA samples that Zane has left in the hospitals and rediting bodies are still


    present.¡±


    Although Zane had done his work on covering up Taylor¡¯s identity, there was still a chance that someone


    would suspect that Taylor wasn¡¯t actually Rina. If Tom¡¯s research was able to indicate that Rina wasn¡¯t


    actually who she imed to be, then other people would be able to do the same thing. All Toby could do


    was to ensure that he helped Sonia and Zane conceal Taylor¡¯s identity¡ªat least others wouldn¡¯t be able


    to easily find out about the truth. Tom naturally understood Toby¡¯s intentions, so he nodded and went off


    to get it done without any protests.


    In the next few days, the news of Sonia and Tina began to die down on the Inte¡ªonly a few media


    sites continued to report about it. They weren¡¯t celebrities after all, so the hype surrounding them died


    down after a while. One day, Sonia and Carl were discussing a trip to watch a show in Norfolk when


    Sonia¡¯s phone began to ring. It was a call from the police.


    ¡°Hello.¡± Sonia picked the call up.


    ¡°Miss Reed, the date for Tina¡¯s court hearing has been set. It will be at 2.00PM tomorrow. You¡¯re required


    to be present as the intiff for tomorrow¡¯s case,¡± the officer said.


    Sonia nodded her head solemnly. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be there on time.¡± She lowered her phone after she ended


    the call.


    Carl gazed at her. ¡°What is it, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Tina¡¯s court hearing has been fixed at 2.00PM tomorrow.¡± Sonia chucked her phone onto her desk as


    she spoke.


    A hint of darkness shed in Carl¡¯s gaze before he put on a smile. ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯ll go with you


    tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia said with a nod.


    ¡°President Reed.¡± Daphne knocked on the door before she walked in. Both Sonia and Carl shifted their


    focus onto her. ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia asked.


    Daphne stood outside the door without entering. ¡°I¡¯ve already made an appointment for the overseas


    hospital that you told me to contact. They asked when you¡¯re avable to go there.¡±


    ¡°What hospital is this, Sonia? Are you sick?¡± Carl¡¯s expression changed a little as he hastily scanned


    Sonia with his eyes.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. I got Daphne to make an appointment for me with a gynecologist.¡±


    She turned back to Daphne. ¡°I got it. I¡¯m nning to go there this Saturday night.¡± It was Wednesday


    then, and Sonia was nning to watch Carl¡¯s show at Norfolk on Friday. I¡¯ll leave the country to have the


    surgery on Saturday, and then I¡¯lle back on Sunday. I have just enough time for everything, she


    thought.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get back to them now.¡± Daphne nodded before she shut the door and walked off. Carl lowered


    his gaze to look at Sonia¡¯s belly. ¡°Sonia, are you going overseas to do a checkup, or¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going overseas to abort the child.¡± Sonia rubbed her belly as she responded to Carl with a nk


    expression. ¡°After what Tina tried to make Tim do to me, I¡¯m a little reluctant to have the surgery in the


    country, so I decided to do it overseas. I had already obtained my visa a while ago, but I haven¡¯t had the


    chance to do it as I was too busy. I¡¯m three months pregnant now, and I can¡¯t dy it any longer. It¡¯ll be


    harder to get an abortion if I wait anymore.¡± That was only one of the reasons, of course. Sonia¡¯s other


    reason was that she was afraid she would develop feelings for the baby. She was worried that she


    wouldn¡¯t have the heart to remove the fetus once her motherly instincts kicked in.


    Carl¡¯s pupils shrank a little after he heard what Sonia had to say. A hint of regret shed in his eyes, but


    it quickly disappeared as he lowered his gaze and forced himself to put on a kind smile. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,


    then.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Didn¡¯t you say that you have to attend a recording for some entertainment program the day after


    your show at Norfolk? I¡¯m going on a Saturday, so you wouldn¡¯t have time to go with me. You should


    focus on your work. Charles will be with me.¡± Sonia patted Carl¡¯s shoulder.


    Carl feigned disappointment by letting out a long sigh. ¡°Okay then.¡± Sonia giggled when she saw the look


    on his face¡ªhe looked like a child who couldn¡¯t get his favorite candy. She then pulled her drawer open


    to make him a cup of peppermint tea. ¡°Don¡¯t get all pouty. Drink this. It¡¯s your favorite drink.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    When Carl saw the fresh-smelling peppermint tea in front of him, his gaze dimmed for a second before


    he spread his lips into a smile. ¡°Thanks, Sonia. You know me the best.¡± He devoured the tea with a


    pleasant look on his face. However, he was the only one who knew how unhappy he was at that moment


    ¡ªhe hated drinking peppermint tea. The one who likes peppermint tea is Toby, not me! But I can¡¯t tell


    Sonia any of this. I can¡¯t even imagine how she¡¯d react if she found out that I¡¯m mimicking Toby. It¡¯ll


    probably change her impression of me. I¡¯d lose my mind if she ever perceived me as some freak!


    After finishing the peppermint tea in his cup, Carl excused himself from the office. Sonia intended to send


    him out, but he stopped her from doing so. Once he walked out of her office and shut the door behind


    him, the smile on his face gradually faded and was reced by an icy, heartless expression.


    He walked to the elevator and pressed on the button to go down before he stepped to the side, where


    there was a potted bonsai nt. He bent forward, opened his mouth and stuck a finger down his throat.


    The same nk and emotionless expression remained on his face even as he made himself gag. He


    threw up all of the peppermint tea that he had just ingested.


    After letting all of it out, he finally heaved a sigh as he straightened his back and pulled a handkerchief


    out of his pocket. He was about to wipe his lips when he heard a female voice from behind him. ¡°You just


    came out of President Reed¡¯s office, right? How would President Reed feel if she found out that you just


    vomited all of the drinks you had in her office?¡± the woman uttered in a spiteful tone.


    Carl¡¯s facial muscles twitched a little as he immediately turned around to give the woman a threatening


    re. The woman appeared shocked for a moment, but she quickly calmed herself down before letting


    out a whistle. ¡°Yo, you scared me with that re! This is the real you, isn¡¯t it?¡± she said with augh.


    ¡°I¡¯ll break your neck if you tell Sonia anything.¡± Carl tightened his grip on his handkerchief as he hissed at


    the woman.


    Reba twirled her hair yfully. ¡°I¡¯m terrified,¡± she uttered sarcastically. The corner of Carl¡¯s lips


    twitched in annoyance. Terror? I¡¯ve never seen a hint of terror in this woman¡¯s eyes. Well, she¡¯s someone


    who has ended human lives with her own hands, so she¡¯s probably not afraid of my threats.


    At that moment, Carl felt rather frustrated. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to fool around with her, so he turned to


    walk toward the elevator.


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Reba grabbed his arm. ¡°I can promise not to tell President Reed anything, but I want a few


    strands of your hair.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Carl squinted as he instantly rejected her request.


    Sheughed. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Sonia about it, then.¡±


    ¡°Do what you want.¡± He shot her a scornful re. ¡°Even if you did so, I can just tell her that I vomited


    because I wasn¡¯t feeling well. We¡¯ll see who she trusts more¡ªyou or me.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Reba was speechless for a moment. Of course Sonia would trust him more. He met Sonia


    before I did.


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s just say that I miscalcted my acts this time. But I¡¯ll still make sure to get some of your hair.¡±


    Reba stopped fooling around and spoke in a more serious tone. ¡°You¡¯ve already rejected me twice.


    Even if one didn¡¯t believe that their birth father had another partner, one would generally feel curious and


    would agree to run tests and get evidence. However, judging by how insistent you are, I can¡¯t help but


    feel like you¡¯re avoiding something.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? What would I be avoiding?¡± Carl clenched his fists.


    The corner of Reba¡¯s lips curled upward when she noticed his subtle action. ¡°You¡¯re trying to avoid


    the truth¡ªthat you aren¡¯t actually Ronald¡¯s son. You know that you¡¯re Gordon¡¯s son, don¡¯t you?¡±

 Chapter 313

    Chapter 313


    Carl¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°It seems like my guess was right. You are the young master indeed,¡± Reba said with a smile. Carl¡¯s


    face contorted, and all hints of courteousness were gone from his expression. ¡°Were you trying to trick


    me?¡±


    ¡°Not entirely.¡± Reba wagged a finger in his face. ¡°I¡¯ve always suspected that you¡¯re the master¡¯s son


    and that you know the truth yourself. Since I don¡¯t have any evidence, I had no choice but to talk in such


    a manner to see how you would respond to me. I can¡¯t believe my suspicions were spot on! Furthermore,


    when I mentioned the master¡¯s name, I saw the hatred seeping through your gaze. This tells me that you


    probably have memories of leaving the Hayes Family, am I right?¡± How else could he know that he¡¯s the


    master¡¯s son, and why else would he try so hard to avoid me? There can only be one answer¡ªthat he


    has all the memories of the past. He probably isn¡¯t willing to go back to that ce, Reba thought.


    Carl pressed his lips together without uttering a word.


    ¡°I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re admitting it since you¡¯re not saying anything,¡± Reba continued with a sigh.


    ¡°Regardless, I still need a strand of your hair. I need to send a DNA test back to Westsanshire.¡± Although


    Reba was certain that the man before her was the young master, she still had to get a DNA test done


    just to be sure.


    With that thought, Reba reached her hand toward Carl¡¯s head. Hatred shed in Carl¡¯s eyes as he


    abruptly sent his fist toward Reba¡¯s face. The look in her eyes changed as she hastily defended


    herself. Both of them began to fight along the passageway. Although Carl was a big-sized man trained in


    Taekwondo and grappling, he didn¡¯t stand a chance against Reba.


    Reba had received strict training ever since she was young, and she was extremely familiar with all


    the deadliest techniques in martial arts. It only took her a few moves to lock Carl in her arms. She turned


    him around and shoved him up against the wall. Dissatisfaction and anger were written all over Carl¡¯s


    face as he tried to wrestle his way out of her grip without sess. Reba pped his face yfully.


    ¡°You were still in school while I was out killing people, kiddo. You¡¯ll never beat me in a fight. I¡¯ll take some


    of your hair now.¡±


    She pushed Carl¡¯s face aside and reached up to pluck a few strands of hair from his head. Carl let out a


    hiss of pain before he shot Reba a deadly re. She remained unfazed as she shoved him aside.


    ¡°Alright. I finally got the hair that I need.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you go so easily.¡± Carl clenched his fists as he spoke in an icy, heartless voice.


    Reba merelyughed in response. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be waiting for you. If you return to the Hayes Family and


    get your revenge under the name of the young master, then I promise I won¡¯t do anything to resist your


    attempts. How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll still be able to defeat you without Lucius Hayes¡¯s name.¡± Carl straightened his clothes as he spoke. I


    might not be able to defeat her physically, but I¡¯m sure I can outsmart her.


    Just then, Reba¡¯s expression turned stern. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to fool around with you any longer.


    I¡¯m telling you that you need to return to the Hayes Residence immediately. My father told me that


    Den and his men arrived at Seafield yesterday¡ªDen probably knows your whereabouts. He¡¯s


    going to hunt you down soon, and both you and the people around you will get into trouble then.¡± She


    paused for a moment as she stared directly into Carl¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you have memories of the past, then I¡¯m


    sure you remember the sort of person Den is. He¡¯ll do anything to gain power over the Hayes Family,


    and the first step is to get rid of you, the official heir of the family. If he isn¡¯t able to defeat you, he¡¯ll


    probably target the people that you care about the most so that you¡¯ll suffer for the rest of your life. I can


    tell that you care for President Reed¡ªwould you want her to be Den¡¯s target?¡±


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Carl¡¯s face had never been darker. He didn¡¯t wish for such a thing, of course¡ªhe would never let anyone


    harm Sonia! Reba let out a pleasant chuckle as she seemed to have read Carl¡¯s mind. ¡°I know you


    hate the master, but you should go back for the sake of President Reed and your mother. Your mother is


    the master¡¯s wife, and you are the official son of the Hayes Family¡ªdon¡¯t forget that. Why should the


    Hayes Family¡¯s illegitimate sons be the ones who get the inheritance? Think about it.¡± After picking up


    the documents that she had dropped on the floor, Reba turned and strode toward the president¡¯s


    office.


    Reba had been on the same floor earlier, but she had been discussing some work matters in


    Daphne¡¯s office. She was supposed to get Sonia¡¯s signature for some documents once she was done


    with her meeting with Daphne, but she hadn¡¯t expected to bump into Carl outside Sonia¡¯s office.


    President Reed is probably getting impatient since I spent so much time talking to Carl, Reba


    thought.


    Carl curled his fists as he bore his eyes into Reba¡¯s back. All he could think about then was what she


    had said earlier. For the sake of President Reed and my mother¡­ Is it really time for me to go back to


    the Hayes Family?


    Sonia went to Fuller Group the next morning as she received a message to have a meeting there. The


    meeting was to discuss the uing tests for the alternative energy technology that thepany had


    been working on. They were at the final stage of test runs, and the technology would be avable for


    most of the major factories once the test runs werepleted sessfully. Therefore, it was an


    important meeting that required the attendance of all parties involved.


    Once Sonia parked her car, she strolled toward the elevator in the parking lot. To her luck, the elevator


    was just one floor below her. The doors opened just moments after she pressed the button to head up.


    She stepped into the elevator, and she heard a rather anxious voice behind her right before the elevator


    doors shut. ¡°Wait up!¡±


    Sonia instinctively reached her hand out to stop the elevator doors from closing. As the doors reopened,


    Tom¡¯s face appeared. ¡°Thank you, Miss Reed,¡± he uttered with a smile. Sonia was rather surprised to see


    him, but she quickly calmed herself down. It made sense for her to bump into Toby¡¯s assistant¡ªshe was


    in Toby¡¯s territory, after all.


    ¡°No worries.¡± Sonia nodded in response. However, Tom continued to press down on the elevator¡¯s open


    button while ncing outside, as if he were expecting someone. Sonia bit onto her lower lip as she could


    already guess who the person was. Only one person in the entire Fuller Group could keep Tom waiting¡ª


    his boss, Toby.


    Indeed, Toby¡¯s figure appeared just a few secondster. His eyes seemed to light up a little when he


    noticed Sonia in the elevator. ¡°Good morning!¡± he greeted while parting his long legs to step into the


    elevator.


    ¡°Morning.¡± Sonia took two steps to the side to keep her distance from him.


    Toby couldn¡¯t help but frown when he noticed how much she was trying to avoid him. ¡°Don¡¯t you think


    this is such a coincidence?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia turned to look at the man. Toby, however, fixed his gaze on the elevator doors even as he


    spoke. ¡°We seem to bump into each other every time we¡¯re involved in a meeting rted to alternative


    energy technology.¡±


    Sonia widened her eyes. He¡¯s right! Tom was the only one in the elevator who had to fight the urge to roll


    his eyes. A coincidence? What nonsense! The past few times might have been a coincidence, but


    President Fuller nned it all out this time. He waited in the car simply because he knew that Miss Reed


    would be here for the meeting. He only staged the coincidence by walking to the elevator after Miss


    Reed got out of her car. Hah! It¡¯s all staged!


    ¡°Today¡¯s the day that Tina is going to court, right?¡± Toby asked out of nowhere. He turned to gaze at


    Sonia as she nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± She wasn¡¯t surprised to learn that Toby had found out about the court¡¯s


    dates since it was posted all over the Inte.


    ¡°Congrattions. You¡¯ve finally managed to get her arrested and do justice to yourself.¡± Toby stuck his


    hands into his pockets as he spoke. Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°I would¡¯ve had her arrested a long


    time ago if you hadn¡¯t protected her for so long,¡± she hissed.


    Toby froze for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he muttered as he lowered his head. He hadn¡¯t intended to cause


    any troubles to Sonia in the past, but he was indeed responsible for it.


    ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s all in the past, and you helped me quite a bit as well. I¡¯m not about to hold the past against


    you, so you don¡¯t have to apologize for anything.¡± The elevator let out a loud ding as Sonia finished her


    words. They had arrived at the floor of the meeting room, but Sonia stood still and waited for Toby to step


    out first. He was the host of the meeting, after all.


    Toby quickly understood her intentions. He stepped out of the elevator, and Sonia followed behind him.


    Once she walked out of the elevator, she realized that Toby had stopped to wait for her. ¡°Regardless, I


    hope that you¡¯ll believe me when I say that whatever I did for Tina wasn¡¯t out of my own free will.¡±


    Complicated emotions filled Toby¡¯s eyes as he gazed at Sonia.

 Chapter 314

    Chapter 314


    Sonia froze when she first heard what he said. It took her a while to process it, then felt the urge tough


    right after that. He didn¡¯t do it willingly, huh? Was someone controlling his actions? She didn¡¯t take his


    words seriously, and she simply assumed that he was trying to im innocence. She pointed at her


    watch as she changed the topic. ¡°It¡¯s about time to start the meeting, President Fuller.¡±


    Once Toby heard what she said, he knew that she didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he uttered with a sigh.


    Both of them walked toward the meeting room without speaking to each other anymore. Tom tagged


    along behind them and shook his head as he nced at their backs. Tina¡¯s the real reason the two of


    them are in this state right now!


    The meeting officially began as Toby took the floor and exined the use and abuse of the alternative


    energy technology. He fully captured everyone¡¯s attention. All along, Sonia had been proactive in


    learning about energy technology¡ªshe even sneaked into university sses every now and then.


    Because of her efforts, she no longer found herself lost and confused as she had been during the first


    meeting.


    Two hourster, the meeting came to an end. Toby got to his feet. ¡°I need Sonia to stay for a while. The


    rest of you can leave.¡± Sonia had been packing her stuff when she heard his words, and her actions


    came to a halt as she looked up at Toby. She didn¡¯t understand why he wanted her to stay back.


    Everyone was just as curious, but no one had the guts to question him. They merely gazed at the duo


    thoughtfully before they walked out of the meeting room.


    Sonia could hear some of the people mumbling to each other as they walked out of the room. ¡°Why do


    you think President Fuller got President Reed to stay back? They¡¯re notmitting adultery, are they?¡±


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched a little. Adultery? These guys must have holes in their brains. I can¡¯t


    believe they cane up with such ideas! She massaged her temples as she watched Toby walking


    toward her. ¡°Why did you get me to stay back, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much.¡± Toby stopped in front of her before he nced down at her notebook on the table.


    ¡°Did you understand everything I said?¡±


    Sonia followed his gaze and quickly understood what he meant. She pulled her hand away from her


    notebook. ¡°I understood some parts of it, I guess. I still need to do my research on the other parts.¡±


    Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to understand the operations of the alternative energy technology


    when we have actual field trips to the factories! All the other presidents wouldugh at me then.


    ¡°Which parts did you not understand? I¡¯ll exin it to you now,¡± Toby offered.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia blinked puzzledly.


    A hint of amusement surfaced in Toby¡¯s gaze. ¡°What? Take a seat.¡±


    Sonia finally understood the reason Toby got her to stay behind. He wants to teach me the parts that I


    didn¡¯t understand. She bit her lip. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that. I can go home and¡ª¡±


    ¡°The field trip to the factory is tomorrow. Do you think you¡¯ll have enough time if you go home to do your


    research today? Furthermore, a lot of the data that you have isn¡¯t updated, and it wouldn¡¯t match with the


    research done in myb. There¡¯s no point for you to read those reports!¡± Toby uttered as he looked at


    her.


    Sonia parted her lips to say something, but no words came out of her mouth. He¡¯s right. The field of


    alternative energy technology is still in its infancy stage, and new information appears every day. The


    past data can¡¯t keep up with the development of this field, so I¡¯m sure the data I have is different from the


    recent advancements. I don¡¯t think it¡¯d work if I went home to do research on my own. I guess I¡¯ll have to


    ask him for a favor.


    ¡°I understand now. Thank you so much, President Fuller!¡± Sonia bowed. Toby was about to get her to


    stand up when he saw her bosom under her low-cut cor. His gaze darkened as he gulped and shifted


    his focus away. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s for the sake of our partnership, so you don¡¯t have to thank me. Also, you


    shouldn¡¯t bow when you¡¯re dressed in this type of shirt¡ªmen, especially. You shouldn¡¯t bow to men,¡± he


    uttered in a hoarse voice.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia straightened herself puzzledly before she lowered her head to look at her own shirt. She


    understood what Toby meant immediately.


    She had worn a rather loose-fitting, V-necked knitted sweater to match her trench coat. The knitted


    sweater was pretty, but its cor would hang loosely whenever she leaned forward. Furthermore, anyone


    who was taller than her would be able to see the view under her shirt if they lowered their heads. Sonia


    hastily pressed her hand against her neckline when she realized that Toby had seen what was under it.


    Her face turned so red¡ªeven the tips of her ears were the color of tomatoes. She felt rather angry at that


    moment, but she knew that she was in no position to criticize Toby for anything.


    She was the one who had chosen to wear this sweater, and she was the one who had decided to bow.


    He hadn¡¯t meant to peep on her. Furthermore, he had reminded her not to bow to others if she wore this


    sweater in the future, which was kind of him. Her body might have been exposed to other, more


    perverted people otherwise.


    The air around them turned cold and awkward as the both of them were silent for a while. Eventually,


    Toby cleared his throat and began to speak. ¡°Let¡¯s start now so that we can get this done. You need to go


    to court, don¡¯t you?¡±


    He was clearly trying to ease the tense atmosphere, and Sonia naturally yed along with him. ¡°Yes, of


    course,¡± she uttered with a nod. She buttoned the top of her trench coat as she sat down and opened her


    notebook once more. Toby pulled a chair over and rested an arm on the back of her chair. They were


    seated close to each other, and it looked almost as if Toby had his arm around her shoulder.


    Sonia didn¡¯t have the time or the mental capacity to realize the man¡¯s subtle intentions¡ªshe was too


    focused on the contents of her notebook. Toby was d that she hadn¡¯t noticed anything. Otherwise, I


    might never get the chance to be so close to her. He lowered his gaze to conceal the faint sadness that


    had formed in his eyes upon that thought.


    All of a sudden, Sonia¡¯s phone began to ring, interrupting Toby¡¯s exnation. He frowned as he was a


    little displeased. Who¡¯s the idiot that chose to call at such a time? He looked toward Sonia¡¯s phone to see


    the word ¡®Charles¡¯ on her screen.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    She swiped the green button across the screen to pick the call up. ¡°Hi, Charles.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to Norfolk this weekend, baby?¡± Charles asked once she picked the call up.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sonia uttered with a nod. Toby, who was sitting right beside her, naturally heard the contents of


    her phone call. He knitted his brows. Why is she going to Norfolk? Right then, Charles asked the same


    question.


    Sonia didn¡¯t bother to hide anything. ¡°It¡¯s for Carl¡¯s fashion show. He invited me to watch it. But how did


    you know that I¡¯m going to Norfolk? I¡¯m sure I haven¡¯t told you anything about it.¡±


    ¡°Daphne was the one who told me. I went to Paradigm Co. to collect some documents, and I bumped


    into Daphne while she was making reservations for your hotel in Norfolk,¡± Charles exined.


    Sonia raised her chin a little as she gained rity over the situation. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°When will you be heading over, baby?¡± Charles asked again.


    ¡°This Friday,¡± she replied.


    Friday¡­ Toby¡¯s gaze flickered as he seemed to recall something. On the other end of the line, Charles


    narrowed his eyes for a moment. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll free up some time to go there with you, then! I need to keep


    an eye on Carl. What if he secretly kidnaps you?!¡± He wasn¡¯t kidding when he said those words. In fact,


    he was certain that Carl was capable of doing such a thing.


    Sonia shook her head and chuckled as she had no idea what was going on in Charles¡¯s mind. ¡°What are


    you talking about? I¡¯m not a kid. How could he kidnap me? Alright, I¡¯ll talk to youter. I¡¯m in a meeting


    now. Bye.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Charles called anxiously.


    Sonia put the phone against her ear once more. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner tonight. Tina¡¯s going to court today, and I think this is worth celebrating!¡± Charles


    uttered in a cheerful tone. Sonia nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay. You can decide where to eat. We can ask


    Carl toe along.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a n!¡± Charles cheered.


    After her call ended, Sonia lowered her phone and turned to the man beside her before giving him a


    bashful smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for wasting your time.¡±

 Chapter 315

    Chapter 315


    Toby lowered his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s go on.¡± Sonia ced her phone aside as she nodded. Nearly an


    hour had passed when Toby finished exining the details to Sonia. Sonia gave him a rare smile as she


    shut her notebook. ¡°Thank you, President Fuller. I think I¡¯ve understood most of it. I¡¯ll just need to do


    some reading on my own once I get home tonight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. We¡¯ll be having a tour of the factory at 9.00AM tomorrow. Don¡¯t bete,¡± Toby uttered as he


    got to his feet.


    Right then, Tom opened the doors to the meeting room and pushed a trolley in. There were tons of


    delicious-looking dishes ced on it, and the mouth-watering scent quickly filled the room. Sonia hugged


    her notebook against her chest. ¡°I¡¯ll make a move now since it¡¯s time for your lunch, President Fuller.


    Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Toby held onto her arm. ¡°Let¡¯s have a meal together.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia frowned.


    ¡°You came to Fuller Group for a meeting. As the boss of thepany, it¡¯s only right for me to buy you a


    meal. Furthermore, this is just lunch between business partners¡ªyou wouldn¡¯t reject my treat, would


    you?¡± His eyes glistened as he spoke.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched as she stared at him. If I reject his offer now, he¡¯ll think that I don¡¯t


    value mypany¡¯s partnership with him. Is that what he¡¯s trying to imply here? She rubbed her


    forehead as she sat back down in her seat. ¡°I got it. Thank you for your kind service, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby rxed the muscles between his brows. ¡°It¡¯s nothing grand. I only ordered a few random dishes; I


    hope it suits your preference.¡± He returned to his seat as well.


    Tom served the dishes while fighting the urge to roll his eyes. What does he mean when he says that he


    just ordered a few random dishes? He picked all of Miss Reed¡¯s favorite foods! Well, I feel rather bad for


    President Fuller because he needs to use their partnership to get Miss Reed to share a meal with him.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± Toby handed Sonia some cutleries.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she replied.


    ¡°No worries. Try it out,¡± Toby uttered as he pointed at the dishes on the table and gestured for her to start


    eating. Sonia politely scooped some of the food from one of the dishes in front of her.


    ¡°How is it?¡± he asked.


    She swallowed her food before looking into his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s really good,¡± she said after seeing the


    anticipation in his eyes. Toby secretly let out a sigh of relief before he scooped some for himself. ¡°You


    should eat more, then.¡±


    These dishes weren¡¯t avable in the hotel¡¯s menu, but recipes that originated from Sonia¡¯s mother¡¯s


    hometown. The chef at the hotel had never prepared such dishes, and Toby had to order the chef to


    learn the recipes on the spot. He was worried that Sonia wouldn¡¯t be too pleased with the oue of the


    dishes. However, she seemed to enjoy the food.


    Tom shook his head thoughtfully as he noticed how Toby¡¯s tense shoulders gradually rxed. President


    Fuller might be an incredible and influential person in the eyes of others, but he¡¯s just a careful and


    sensitive man in front of Miss Reed. I bet the rest of the world would be shocked to see this side of him.


    Throughout the meal, Toby barely took any food for himself. He spent most of his time watching Sonia as


    she ate. A sense of satisfaction filled his insides as he watched her munching on her food. There were


    multiple times when he had the urge to scoop more food for her, but he stopped himself from doing so as


    he thought that she would reject his offers.


    After finishing her meal, Sonia took a look at her watch. It was nearly 1.00PM, so she excused herself.


    Toby didn¡¯t stop her as he knew that she had to go to court. ¡°Let me send you downstairs,¡± he offered.


    Sonia didn¡¯t reject him as she wiped her mouth. She knew that he would insist on sending her down


    even if she said no. Once they got to the parking lot, Sonia pulled her car keys out. She was about to


    unlock her car when she heard a quavering voice from behind her. ¡°Toby!¡±


    Toby frowned as he turned around. Sonia turned just in time to see Julia and Rina. She raised her


    eyebrows puzzledly.


    Julia stopped weeping the moment she saw Sonia. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asked while ring


    at Sonia. Sonia crossed her arms and was about to speak when Toby stepped sideways to stand in front


    of her. He gave Julia a cold stare. ¡°This is mypany, and Sonia is my guest. Her presence here is


    none of your business, Mrs. Gray. I think I should be the one asking you this question¡ªwhat are you


    doing here?¡±


    Julia hadn¡¯t expected Toby to speak up for Sonia. ¡°I-I¡¯m here to speak to you,¡± she stuttered.


    ¡°Me?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about Tina.¡± Julia reached her hand out to hold onto his arm. Before she managed to touch him,


    Toby stepped aside to avoid her hand, dragging Sonia along with him as he did so. After missing her


    target, Julia stumbled forward and nearly fell onto the ground. Fortunately, Rina held onto her in time¡ª


    Julia would have embarrassed herself otherwise.


    ¡°Are you okay, Mom?¡± Rina patted Julia on the back while speaking to her in a caring voice.


    Toby shifted his gaze to look at Rina. So, this is Taylor, huh?


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Julia¡¯s voice was trembling as she shook her head¡ªshe was still stunned by the whole


    situation. Once she calmed down a little, she turned to give Toby a critical re. She looked as if she


    was ming him for how he was treating her.


    Sonia had to stifle herugh. Some people are just so oblivious! They don¡¯t know where they stand at all.


    Julia isn¡¯t even Toby¡¯s future mother-inw anymore. Yet, she¡¯s still treating him as if she¡¯s his mother-in-


    law. Does she expect Toby to be as polite to her as he was in the past?


    As these thoughts ran through Sonia¡¯s mind, she heard Toby addressing Julia in an icy tone. ¡°What did


    youe here to tell me, Mrs. Gray?¡±


    Julia shuddered when she caught on to the hatred and annoyance in his voice. Something clicked in her


    brain at that moment, and she realized that things were no longer the same anymore. I can¡¯t use my role


    as his future mother-inw to force him into anything now! Julia clenched her fists as she red at Toby


    with her bloodshot eyes. ¡°I want you to save Tina, Toby!¡±


    A smirk appeared on Sonia¡¯s face. Julia visited me and asked me not to press charges against Tina.


    Now, she¡¯s here to ask for Toby¡¯s help. Perfect! I¡¯d like to see if he¡¯ll agree to this! Sonia tilted her head to


    nce at Toby.


    Toby could feel the woman¡¯s stare from behind him, and it only took him seconds to figure out the reason


    she was staring at him. This time, I can promise Sonia that I won¡¯t disappoint her!


    ¡°You want me to save Tina, huh?¡± Toby looked down to fix his shirt cor. No one could see the


    expression on his face then.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Julia uttered with a nod. ¡°You need to save her, Toby.¡± Julia had been going around and begging


    others for the past few days. She had hoped for someone to agree to save Tina, but none of her targets


    had agreed to her request. She was filled with hatred and anger for these people. All of those people


    were once as loyal to her as a dog was to its owner, but they all hid away from her once they knew that


    she was in need. I can¡¯t believe I used to say good things about those people in front of Titus and Toby!


    They¡¯re all ungrateful brats!


    However, there was no use in Julia being angry. It was the day of Tina¡¯s court hearing, and it was Julia¡¯s


    final chance to save her daughter. Once the court hearing was over, no one would be able to save Tina.


    Julia therefore had no choice but to go against Titus¡¯s orders to stay away from Toby. She came over as


    she felt like he was herst sliver of hope.


    ¡°How am I supposed to save her?¡± Toby lowered his arms as he eyed Julia emotionlessly. Sonia knitted


    her brows from her spot behind him. What¡¯s this? Is he thinking of saving her?


    Rina, who had been quiet the entire time, lifted her head and stared at Toby after she heard what he


    said. Didn¡¯t Daddy say that Mr. Fuller doesn¡¯t love Tina at all? I heard that Mr. Fuller would never save


    Tina because he hates her for pretending to be Miss Reed. Daddy wouldn¡¯t have stopped Mommy from


    coming over to visit Mr. Fuller otherwise. But now, it looks like Daddy was wrong. Mr. Fuller sounds like


    he¡¯s nning to save Tina!


    Rina bit her bottom lip as resentment welled up in her chest. Is Mr. Fuller blind? What¡¯s so great about


    Tina? Why does he want to save her?

 Chapter 316

    Chapter 316


    Julia¡¯s eyes lit up with joy as she assumed that Toby was considering ways to save Tina. She quickly


    stole a nce at Sonia, who was standing behind Toby, before shing her a look of victory. Look, even if


    you refuse to free Tina, someone else is going to save her, Julia said with her eyes. Sonia felt like she


    was about to throw up.


    When Toby noticed what Julia was doing, his gaze turned harder than before. However, Julia didn¡¯t


    realize anything as she turned to address him in an emotional voice. ¡°It¡¯s really easy. You just need to


    talk to the police officers, Toby. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll listen to you because of your status and position in


    society. If that doesn¡¯t work, you can get the Colemans to help out. They¡¯re an extremely powerful family,


    so the police will definitely free Tina if they tell the police to do so.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± Toby let out a sarcastic chuckle. ¡°You think too highly of me. Sure, I might be able to save Tina,


    but why would I do that?¡±


    All the excitement in Julia¡¯s expression faded off once she heard his words. ¡°W-What do you mean?¡±


    Even Sonia eyed the man in front of her in a confused manner. What? Isn¡¯t he going to save Tina? Rina¡¯s


    eyes lit up as she held her hands together excitedly. I thought this man was going to save Tina, but I


    hadn¡¯t expected the tables to turn so suddenly! Did he just change his mind?!


    ¡°It means that I¡¯m not going to save her!¡± Toby said in a scornful tone as he smirked at Julia. Julia


    widened her eyes in response. ¡°Are you not going to save Tina? But you just said¡ª¡±


    ¡°Since when did I say anything?¡± Toby interrupted her impatiently. ¡°I just asked you how I was supposed


    to save her. I never said anything about actually saving her.¡±


    Julia was too stunned to say anything at that point. He¡¯s right. He was just asking a question, but he


    didn¡¯t say that he wanted to save Tina. I was the one who had jumped to a conclusion on my own.


    Sonia¡¯s spirits were lifted when she saw the look of devastation on Julia¡¯s face. Any anger she held


    toward Toby had dissipated after this incident. Earlier, Sonia had decided that she would use all her


    might to go against Toby if he had agreed to save Tina. She figured that she would be able to bring him


    down even if she failed to destroy the Gray Family. I¡¯m d that his brain is actually functioning, and I¡¯m


    pleased that he didn¡¯t agree to save Tina.


    Toby could sense the sharp gaze of the woman behind him gradually softening into a calm one. He knew


    that she was no longer angry at that point, and he turned around to look at her. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you in


    the future,¡± he uttered in a gentle voice.


    Sonia raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not rted to you in any way, President Fuller. You don¡¯t need to promise


    me anything,¡± she uttered calmly.


    He gave her a sincere gaze. ¡°Regardless of whether we are rted to one another or not, I just wanted


    to let you know that I¡¯ll always be on your side from now on. This is my promise.¡±


    Before Sonia could respond to Toby, Julia stepped forward to speak up first. She couldn¡¯t hold it in any


    longer. ¡°Toby, is she the one who¡¯s telling you to do this? Did she tell you not to save Tina?!¡± she asked


    as she pointed at Sonia.


    Sonia let out a frustrated scoff. What has this got to do with me? I¡¯ve never told Toby to do such a thing.


    Toby knitted his brows together as he shot Julia a hateful re. ¡°This has got nothing to do with Sonia.


    It¡¯s all my own intentions. Do you think I¡¯d save someone who tried¡ªmultiple times¡ªto harm my lover?¡±


    When Sonia heard the word ¡®lover¡¯, she subconsciously turned to look away from Toby. Toby noticed her


    actions from the corner of his eyes, and his gaze darkened a little as he let out a sigh in his heart. She


    still doesn¡¯t trust my feelings for her.


    Julia parted and shut her lips a few times before she responded in a rather weak voice. ¡°E-Even if Tina


    did any of that, it was only because she was too in love with you!¡±


    ¡°She pretended to be the woman I love because she loves me, huh? She hurt my lover because she


    loves me! What sort of logic is that?!¡± Toby¡¯s expression hardened as he barked at the woman before


    him.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Julia¡¯s entire being trembled when she saw the fury in his eyes. ¡°Tina might be wrong, but¡­ Sonia is


    fine, isn¡¯t she? Furthermore, you were with Tina for months¡ªdon¡¯t you have any feelings toward her?¡±


    ¡°Let me ask you a question, Mrs. Gray. Let¡¯s assume you fell in love with another man who isn¡¯t Titus.


    Then, Titus finds out about this, and he tries to attack the man you love. Would you suddenly develop


    feelings for Titus?¡± Toby shot her an inquisitive look.


    ¡°Of course not¡ª¡± Julia stopped mid-sentence before she turned to look at Toby with her face flushed.


    She saw the unmistakable sarcasm written all over Toby¡¯s face, and she felt the urge to dig a hole for


    herself because of how embarrassed she felt. Sonia, on the other hand, was close to pping her hands


    and cheering. Toby¡¯s question was a killer! If Julia loved someone else, and Titus attacked Julia¡¯s lover


    the way Tina did, Julia would never have feelings for Titus! The only feeling she¡¯d have is probably


    hatred! Toby¡¯s question managed to tear down Julia¡¯s pretentious mask.


    Toby pressed his lips together as he stared at Julia¡¯s embarrassed and speechless face. ¡°Look. Even


    you know the answer to that question. Why would you think that I¡¯d still have feelings for Tina, then?


    Please leave. I¡¯m not going to save Tina!¡± he hissed in a cold voice, ordering for the woman to leave.


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Julia was starting to get anxious.


    Sonia could tell that Julia was about to say something else, so she quickly gave Rina a secret look. Rina


    nodded dutifully before she reached forward to hold onto Julia¡¯s arm. ¡°It¡¯s fine if Mr. Fuller refuses to help


    us, Mom. Let¡¯s think of other ways. We shouldn¡¯t waste any more time here. Tina¡¯s court case is starting


    soon.¡±


    Although Rina and Sonia had been pretty subtle with their acts ofmunication, Toby caught them


    signaling each other. His gaze flickered as he realized that his guess had been right. Rina is really


    working for Sonia and Zane.


    Once Julia heard Rina saying that they were running out of time, she quickly clutched onto Rina¡¯s arm.


    ¡°What time is it? What time is it now?¡±


    ¡°Calm down. Let me take a look.¡± Rina pulled her phone out. This reminded Sonia of her own


    appointment, and she unlocked her car and got into the vehicle when she realized that she couldn¡¯t stay


    for much longer. Toby stood on his spot and watched as Sonia drove off. He only looked away after the


    car disappeared into the distance. If he didn¡¯t have an extremely important meeting for a coboration,


    he would have offered to go along with her.


    Toby turned and prepared to head toward the elevator. All of a sudden, he heard Julia¡¯s shrill voice


    coming from behind. ¡°Where is your red mole? Rina? Where¡¯s your mole?¡±


    A red mole? Toby¡¯s footsteps came to a halt when he overheard their conversation. He turned to nce


    at the mother and daughter duo curiously.


    Rina felt pain shooting up her arm as Julia¡¯s grip was tight. She tried to pull her hand away while


    speaking in a careful tone. ¡°W-What red mole are you talking about, Mom?¡±


    ¡°The red mole on your wrist. You were born with it. Why did it disappear?¡± Julia attempted to grab onto


    Rina¡¯s hand once more.


    Rina quickly hid her hand behind her back, panic written all over her face. There was a red mole on


    Rina¡¯s hand, huh? Why didn¡¯t Miss Reed and Mr. Coleman tell me anything?


    Toby narrowed his eyes from a distance away. Based on his own recollection, he knew that Tina had the


    same red mole on her wrist. Why would Rina have the exact same mole on hers? Could red moles be


    inherited in the Gray Family?


    ¡°Hold your hand out for me to take a look, Rina. Why isn¡¯t your red mole there?¡± Julia urged anxiously.


    Rina¡¯s eyes looked around frantically before she held her hand out. ¡°Mom¡­ I used to have a red mole,


    but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡± Julia stared at her.


    Rina bit on her lip before she started to cry. ¡°But my adoptive father burned my hand. When I was ten


    years old, he went out gambling and came back angry after he lost his money. He released all his anger


    on me, and he used his cigarette butt to burn off the red mole on my wrist. He said that people usually


    have ck moles and that my red one was a curse to his wealth¡­¡±


    Julia gave Rina a tight hug after hearing Rina¡¯s story. The older woman began to cry as well. ¡°My poor


    Rina! You¡¯ve suffered so much. Those evil b*stards deserve to die a horrible death!¡±


    Both mother and daughter bawled their eyes out. Meanwhile, Toby stared at Rina with a rather zed


    look in his eyes.

 Chapter 317

    Chapter 317


    She¡¯s a pretty quick-witted woman! She appeared flustered just moments ago, yet it only took her a short


    while to calm down. Furthermore, she managed to find a reason for the missing red mole in less than ten


    seconds. Her reason makes sense, and it didn¡¯t evoke any further questions from Julia¡¯s end.


    Can Sonia and Zane have full control over a woman as smart as her? If this woman decides to betray


    them, they might end up in a horrible situation! At that thought, Toby retrieved his phone and dialed


    Tom¡¯s number as he walked toward the elevator.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom¡¯s voice came from the other end of the line. Toby pressed his lips together before


    he spoke in a stern voice. ¡°I want you to get someone to monitor Taylor secretly. I want to be informed


    whenever she does anything out of the ordinary.¡±


    He simply couldn¡¯t allow a woman like Taylor to threaten Sonia. If someone like Taylores up with a


    nasty idea, I¡¯ll have to destroy her before she tries to do anything. Tom didn¡¯t understand Toby¡¯s


    intentions, but he nodded in agreement. ¡°I got it, President Fuller. Do you need anything else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± Toby ended the call.


    Meanwhile, Sonia drove over to the court. Carl and Charles were already waiting for her at the entrance,


    and they walked over together once they saw her getting out of the car. ¡°Sonia,¡± Carl greeted. ¡°Baby!¡±


    Charles cried.


    ¡°How long have you guys been here?¡± Sonia asked as she shut her car door.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been here for a while, but we couldn¡¯t go in since it isn¡¯t time yet. We had no choice but to wait


    outside.¡± Carl handed her a cup of milk tea that he had bought earlier.


    ¡°Thanks, Carl.¡± Sonia took the cup from him.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Carl gave her a warm smile. Charles pointed toward the crowd opposite them. ¡°Those


    reporters are staring at you, darling.¡±


    Sonia sipped on her milk tea as she nced in the direction that he was pointing. There were reporters


    snapping photos of her. If it weren¡¯t for the security officers standing outside the court, these reporters


    would have probably rushed over once I arrived, huh? This trial will determine Tina¡¯s sentence, so the


    reporters are probably curious to hear my thoughts on it.


    ¡°Just ignore them, Sonia. You shouldn¡¯t let them affect your mood.¡± Carl only took a brief nce in the


    direction of the reporters.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let them bother me. But aren¡¯t you worried that they might recognize


    you?¡± Although Carl was wearing a cap and a mask, his height and body shape was distinct enough to


    attract looks from others. If the reporters stared for a while more, they might even recognize him.


    Carl shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if they happen to recognize me.¡±


    ¡°It might affect your work,¡± Sonia replied. Carl¡¯s gaze darkened a little. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m going


    to continue pursuing a career in this field, anyway.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia and Charles exchanged nces before they both looked at him. ¡°You aren¡¯t


    thinking of leaving the industry, are you?¡± Charles ced an arm around Carl¡¯s shoulder. Carl shook


    Charles¡¯ arm off before he gave Sonia a smile. ¡°I do have the thought of leaving the industry, but I¡¯m still


    in the midst of contemting my decision.¡±


    ¡°This is sudden.¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°Isn¡¯t it your dream to be an internationally-known top male


    model? Did something happen, Carl?¡± How else could one exin his sudden wish to give up on his


    dreams? Sonia wondered.


    Carl¡¯s eyes glistened as he spoke. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just feel drained, and I just feel like taking a break.


    That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. She clearly didn¡¯t believe him.


    Carl waved her off with a smile. ¡°Alright, now. Let¡¯s not talk about this. The doors are open so we should


    go in.¡± Sonia turned to look at the doors leading into the court and realized that Carl was right. ¡°Okay.


    Let¡¯s go,¡± she said with a nod. The three of them, along with some other individuals who got seats in the


    court, made their way in.


    Titus and Julia arrived just a whileter. Sonia saw the burning hatred in both their eyes as she looked in


    their direction. She wasn¡¯t afraid of them at all¡ªshe even spread her lips into a smirk. The look on her


    face only made Titus and Julia more furious than ever.


    There was a live stream for the entire trial, so people on the Inte were all able to witness the process.


    Soon enough, Tina was brought up onto the stand. She had been kept in the detention center for the


    past few days, and she hadn¡¯t got much food or sleep. On top of that, she was suffocated by the stress


    she had been facing due to this incident. All of these factors contributed to her significant loss in weight.


    If it weren¡¯t for Tina¡¯s paler skin tone, Sonia might have thought that the person she was looking at was


    Taylor. Right now, Tina looks exactly like how Taylor did when she first came out of the vige. She looks


    malnourished and like she would topple if she was struck by the wind.


    Upon seeing the drastic change in her daughter¡¯s appearance, Julia held her hand over her mouth and


    began to sob. Although Titus had felt a huge sense of resentment toward Tina throughout this period of


    time, he no longer had the energy to hate her then. He merely shook his head helplessly.


    Smack! Once the judge pounded the gavel, the trial officially began. The entire trial was rather pointless


    since everyone had seen proof of Tina attempting to harm Sonia. The trial was, therefore, more of a


    procedure than anything else. Charles recalled something as he watched Tina arguing with Sonia¡¯s


    lawyer. ¡°Baby, I have bad news that I think I should tell you,¡± he turned and whispered to Sonia.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia shifted her gaze toward him. Carl had an idea of what Charles was about to say. ¡°I


    think he wants to tell you what thewyer told us before you arrived,¡± Carl uttered with an icy look in his


    eyes.


    ¡°What did thewyer say?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression turned serious when she saw the stern looks on both their


    faces. Charles pinched the bridge of his nose before he spoke. ¡°Well, before you arrived, I spoke to your


    lawyer for a while. He told us that Tina¡¯s sentence might be less severe than what we expected¡ªshe


    might not even be sent to jail. The chances are that the court might just give her a probation order.¡±


    ¡°All she might get is a probation order?¡± Sonia tightened her fists¡ªshe was clearly displeased by this


    news. What Sonia intended was for Tina to be sentenced to jail, not to receive some probation order.


    Charles understood Sonia¡¯s wishes, which was why he told her that he had bad news.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. A probation order. It¡¯s a fact that Tina attempted to harm you, but thewyer said that you


    didn¡¯t encounter any actual harm throughout the process. Her crime of intentionally harming someone is


    therefore turned into a crime of attempted harm, which reduces the severity of her punishment,¡± Charles


    exined.


    ¡°What nonsense is that?!¡± Sonia¡¯s face was flushed with rage.


    Charles sighed. ¡°I know, right? Furthermore, thewyer said that the oue would be the same even if


    she had tried to frame you. The main reason for this is her health. She would receive a sentence out of


    prison even if she was sentenced, and this naturally trantes into a probation order. That¡¯s why the


    lawyer said that Tina would end up receiving a probation order.¡±


    Sonia bit her lip withoutmenting any further. A probation order? This is so ironic! All along, my


    intentions have been to send Tina to jail. I thought that I finally seeded this time around, yet they are


    telling me that all she is probably going to get is a probation order! What could possibly be more


    disappointing than this? Sonia¡¯s heart felt heavy, and her aura was no longer as strong as before. Carl


    and Charles both understood the reason for this.


    They were both dissatisfied by the oue, but they knew that it was how their nation functioned. Even


    if a mother were to kill her own daughter, she would only be sentenced to jail for up to five years. The


    oue of court trials was, oftentimes, less than ideal.


    Eventually, the trial came to an end. The result of the trial was as thewyer had predicted¡ªfive years of


    probation. Within the five years, Tina wasn¡¯t allowed to leave Seafield, and she would have to wear


    fetters that would keep her under police surveince. If Tina attempted tomit any crime, she would


    be sent to jail.


    However, if Tina yed by the rules, she would be safe. She might even get the chance to reduce her


    sentence if she was a good citizen. In other words, Tina remained free despite being constantly watched


    by the police. She would go on with her life as usual¡ªshe simply wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything illegal.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t ept this oue at all. She wanted to appeal the court¡¯s decision, but herwyer


    stopped her from doing so.

 Chapter 318

    Chapter 318


    Thewyer told Sonia that she could appeal the court¡¯s decision, but there would be no point since the


    judges would still maintain their initial adjudication. ¡°I¡¯m so mad!¡± Charles mmed his fist against the


    seat. Carl didn¡¯t say much and simply lowered his head as if he was thinking about something.


    Sonia watched as Tina was brought out of the courtroom, Titus and Julia following behind her. Titus and


    Julia seemed to notice Sonia¡¯s gaze as they both turned around to sh her looks of victory. Julia, in


    particr, looked as if she wanted to walk right up to Sonia¡¯s face just tough at her.


    In the past few days, Julia had been running around seeking help since she had assumed that her


    daughter would have to go to jail. She had suffered countless rejections and eye-rolls. Just an hour ago,


    Sonia and Toby had looked down upon her as if she were nothing but trash. She was furious whenever


    she thought about it. However, she felt much better after the court case was over. It was Sonia¡¯s turn to


    get angry then. At that thought, Julia gave Tina a fond stroke on the head before she let out a hearty


    laugh while looking in Sonia¡¯s direction.


    Sonia clenched her fists and gave Julia a cold re before she shifted her gaze to Tina. Tina¡¯s head was


    hung low, and Sonia couldn¡¯t see her expression. However, Sonia guessed that Tina was probably


    celebrating silently.


    After the Gray Family left, Sonia stayed back as she still had to attend William¡¯s trial. His charge was


    more serious than Tina¡¯s charge of attempted harm toward Sonia. After all, Sonia never got hurt as a


    result of Tina¡¯s attempts to harm her. William¡¯s case was different since he had directly sshed acid on


    Sonia, and he ended up receiving a three-year sentence. The rest of theizens who had sent wreaths


    and knives received their relevant punishments as well¡ªsome were arrested while others received


    milder punishments.


    On the other hand, the marketing ounts and media outlets were in greater trouble as they had done


    more than just to defame Sonia. The oues of their cases were still unknown as they hadmitted


    other crimes as well. Most of them had to deal with charges that were independent of Sonia¡¯s case.


    Sonia didn¡¯t bother much about these people because it was good enough for her to know that they


    would eventually face the consequences that they deserved.


    As she walked out of the court, she raised her head to look at the sky. It was a cloudy day, and it seemed


    like it was about to rain. Charles looked up as well. ¡°I often hear people saying that the skies look


    especially clear after they win a court case. We won, yet¡­¡± he muttered in a sarcastic tone.


    ¡°Are you okay, Sonia?¡± Carl gazed at Sonia with concern in his eyes. Sonia forced a smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine. The


    oue might not have been what I hoped for, but I¡¯m sure Tina won¡¯t dare to do anything else for now.


    At least she¡¯ll have to live in the shadows for the uing days. I guess the results aren¡¯t that bad.¡±


    Both Charles and Carl exchanged nces. They could tell that Sonia was forcing herself to feel better,


    but they didn¡¯t expose her act. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about the celebration we were supposed to have tonight,¡±


    Charles said after a few seconds of silence. Carl nodded without protesting.


    Sonia was about to insist on proceeding with the celebration, but she couldn¡¯t seem to utter the words in


    the end. I thought that I wouldn¡¯t be too bothered by the results, but it seems like it has impacted me


    quite a bit. If I didn¡¯t care about the trial¡¯s oue, I would have had the mood to go on with our


    celebration, right?


    Three of them walked to the car park in silence. A group of reporters rushed toward them once they


    arrived at their car. ¡°Miss Reed, what are your thoughts on the judge¡¯s decision for Tina¡¯s case?¡± one


    asked.


    ¡°Yeah, Miss Reed. Let us know if you¡¯re satisfied or not!¡± another asked.


    Sonia simply stared at the ground with an icy look on her face andpletely ignored the reporters. Carl


    and Charles were furious, and they shooed the reporters away while shielding Sonia and helping her get


    in the car. It took them a great deal of effort to finally free themselves from the swarm of reporters. Once


    they got in the car, they sped out of the area.


    On the way back, Charles saw reporters chasing after them in the rearview mirror. He smacked his palm


    against the steering wheel angrily. ¡°F*ck! These reporters are like pests! They always touch on the most


    sensitive topics!¡± he grunted.


    ¡°Alright. That¡¯s enough,¡± Carl muttered in a deep voice when he saw the dejected woman sitting with her


    eyes closed in the back seat. Charles noticed how he might have said the wrong words, and he kept his


    mouth sealed after stealing a nce at Sonia. The atmosphere in the car seemed especially gloomy


    after the three of them stopped talking.


    Meanwhile, Toby stepped out of the meeting room and sent his coborating partners off after their


    meeting at Fuller Group. As Toby strode toward his office, he saw Tom waiting for him outside. Tom wore


    a rather confused expression on his face as he spoke. ¡°Tina¡¯s trial is over, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°How many years did she get?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes lit up upon hearing Tom¡¯s words.


    ¡°She got a five-year probation.¡± Tom pushed his sses up his nose as he spoke in a rather


    disappointed tone.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Toby was about to let himself into the office, but he spun around immediately after Tom finished


    speaking. ¡°What did you just say? Five-year probation?!¡±


    ¡°Yes. Tina didn¡¯t cause any direct harm to Miss Reed and her own injuries are rather serious, so the court


    decided to put her on probation. She also has to pay a sum of one million for destroying Miss Reed¡¯s


    reputation, and another 5 million for Paradigm Co.¡¯s losses,¡± Tom replied.


    Toby was so furious, all he could do wasugh. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she got off with a five-year probation and


    6 million!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can be done¡ªit¡¯s just the way our country works. I contacted our legal department


    after watching the live stream, and they told me the same thing.¡± Tom sighed.


    Toby pursed his lips. After a while, he narrowed his eyes dangerously. ¡°I want you to watch Tina closely.


    We can find a chance to set up a trap for Tina.¡± Since Tina didn¡¯t get prosecuted this time, I¡¯ll find a way


    to do something that¡¯ll send her to jail.


    Tom had been working with Toby for years, and he quickly understood what his boss meant. His sses


    glowed as they reflected the light above. ¡°Are you trying to get Tina to do something illegal during her


    probation period?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Toby nodded.


    Tom¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll find a chance toy a trap for her.¡±


    ¡°Okay. You can leave now,¡± Toby uttered as he gestured for Tom to go. After Tom left, Toby pulled his


    phone out and dialed Sonia¡¯s number. He knew that Sonia wanted Tina to be sentenced to jail, and he


    was certain that Sonia would be extremely disappointed with the trial¡¯s oue.


    Sonia picked the call up soon after it began ringing. ¡°Is anything the matter, President Fuller?¡± Her voice


    sounded rather weak. She pressed her phone against her shoulder as she jabbed the password for her


    condominium¡¯s entrance. However, she kept pressing the wrongbination as she wasn¡¯t in the right


    headspace. She got more frustrated after a few wrong tries.


    Toby¡¯s voice softened when he heard her frustration on the other end of the line. ¡°I heard about the


    court¡¯s decision.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Are you calling tough at me?¡± Sonia bent forward and tried to focus on punching the numbers on


    the keypad. She finally got it right. Opening the door, she kicked her shoes off without putting on her


    indoor slippers. She walked barefoot into her living hall, then threw herself onto the couch¡ªshe was too


    tired to do anything else.


    On the other end of the call, Toby knitted his eyebrows together after hearing what she said. ¡°What? Why


    would you think I¡¯m calling tough at you?¡±


    ¡°What else could it be? Are you calling to show your concern?¡± Sonia scoffed.


    ¡°Yes. I know you must be in a bad mood now, so¡ª¡± Toby replied.


    ¡°Stop! You can stop now.¡± Sonia stared at the ceiling listlessly. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to care. I¡¯m way past


    that now.¡± In the past, he had never been around when she needed him the most. Even if he was


    present, he simply pretended not to realize her needs. She no longer needed him at this point.


    Furthermore, she had tons of people that cared for her then. Does it matter if he cares for me?


    Toby felt his chest tightening upon hearing her words. He felt like he was suffocating. His fingers curled


    around his phone as guilt filled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be sorry. It¡¯s all over now. Do you need anything else? If that¡¯s all you wanted to say,


    then I¡¯ll end the call now.¡± Sonia massaged her temples as her head started to hurt. For some reason,


    her head felt extremely heavy. She pressed her palm against her forehead, but she didn¡¯t have a fever.

 Chapter 319

    Chapter 319


    Although Toby had intended to say something else, he stopped when he noticed Sonia¡¯s weak and shaky


    voice. ¡°Are you okay, Sonia?¡± he asked instead.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Sonia shut her eyes as her voice grew fainter. Toby¡¯s expression darkened. Is she trying to tell


    me that she¡¯s okay even when she sounds like that? ¡°Where are you now?¡± he asked again.


    Sonia no longer responded to him this time. Her phone slid out of her hand and fell onto the carpet with a


    loud thud. With her head hanging sideways on the couch, she looked as if she had fallen asleep. Toby


    could hear the phone falling to the ground from his end of the call, and his heart sank immediately. He


    shouted Sonia¡¯s name a few more times, but she didn¡¯t respond at all.


    Toby had a feeling that something had happened to Sonia, so he ended the call and strode out of his


    office with a grim look on his face. He headed straight for the technical maintenance department. ¡°Please


    help me check the location of this signal.¡± Toby handed his phone to one of the programmers while


    speaking in a demanding voice.


    The programmer had never met Toby before, and he was shocked by his boss¡¯s powerful aura. His


    hands were trembling as he took the phone and did what Toby told him to do. A few minutester, the


    programmer tapped on the enter key before he got the answer Toby wanted. ¡°P-President Fuller, this


    signal wasst active at Bayside Residence.¡±


    Bayside Residence! Toby¡¯s expression lit up a little after he obtained Sonia¡¯s whereabouts. He hastily


    took his phone and left the technical maintenance department after thanking them. About 30 minutes


    later, he arrived at Sonia¡¯s condominium unit with a locksmith behind him. Since Sonia went silent before


    she ended the call, it was likely that she had fainted in her apartment. If that was the case, Toby figured


    that she wouldn¡¯t be able to open the door for him.


    ¡°Open it.¡± Toby got the locksmith to hurry. The locksmith nodded and began to pull his tools out to work


    on the lock. Soon enough, the locksmith managed to decode the password to the keypad lock. Toby


    pulled his wallet out and took out a wad of cash before shoving it into the locksmith¡¯s hands. He then


    hurried off into the condominium. The locksmith didn¡¯t even get the chance to tell Toby that Toby had


    overpaid him by a lot. In the end, the locksmith walked off with pockets full of money and a pleased grin


    on his face. Oh, if only I get more clients who are as generous as him!


    Meanwhile, Toby saw Sonia¡¯s unconscious figure lying on the couch once he stepped foot into the unit.


    He ran over and knelt down to shake her gently. ¡°Wake up, Sonia!¡± She didn¡¯t respond at all. Toby felt her


    forehead and noticed that she didn¡¯t have a fever. Judging by her looks, it didn¡¯t look like she was in a


    deep slumber either. If she wasn¡¯t sick or sleeping, then there had to be some other reason.


    Toby didn¡¯t have the time to think of the possible reasons and simply lifted Sonia into his arms before


    bringing her out of the unit.


    When they got to the hospital, Toby bumped into Tim at the elevator. Tim had just finished sending


    another patient off when he saw Toby carrying Sonia in his arms. ¡°What happened?¡± Tim froze before he


    quickly reacted to the situation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. She just fainted.¡± Toby couldn¡¯t conceal the fear and worry in his gaze as he looked at the


    woman in his arms. ¡°Please save her!¡±


    ¡°Get me a bed!¡± Tim shouted to one of the nurses at the front desk. Once the bed arrived, Toby lowered


    Sonia onto it, and a nurse came up to do some basic check-ups on Sonia. The rest of the staff members


    pushed the wheeled bed in the direction of the emergency room. Toby followed closely beside them,


    fixing his gaze on Sonia until the emergency room¡¯s doors were shut in front of him.


    At the same time, Julia walked into one of the VIP wards with a thermos in her hands. She nced at


    Tina, who was seated on the bed with her head hanging low. ¡°Why don¡¯t I tell you some good news,


    Tina?¡± Julia asked the motionless young girl as she put the thermos onto the table.


    Tina still didn¡¯t respond to Julia. It was almost as if she was a rag doll who had lost her soul¡ªher face


    was devoid of all emotions. Julia felt both sorry and angry for her daughter. She was sorry that her


    daughter had ended up in such a state. Tina hadn¡¯t uttered a single word ever since she left the court,


    and all she had done was sit around in silence. It made Julia wonder if her daughter had developed


    depression or social anxiety after the incident.


    One way or another, all of it was Sonia¡¯s fault. Julia¡¯s anger was fully directed at Sonia. She was furious


    because Sonia hadn¡¯t had to suffer while Tina suffered such a great deal!


    However, after seeing what she saw earlier, Julia no longer felt as angry as before. Maybe Tina will feel


    better after I tell her what I saw. Julia took Tina into her arms as she spoke in a light-hearted voice. ¡°Tina,


    while I was on the way back to the ward, I saw Sonia being sent to the emergency room.¡±


    When Tina heard Julia¡¯s words, she finally responded a little. Her body twitched and she shifted in bed.


    Julia was so pleased that she nearly cried. ¡°That¡¯s great, Tina. You¡¯re finally moving. You scared me.¡±


    ¡°W-What happened to Sonia, Mom?¡± Tina looked up at Julia as she parted her lips to speak. Her voice


    was especially hoarse and unpleasant, and she sounded like it was her first time speaking in centuries.


    Julia was more pleased than ever. Since Tina can still talk, then I guess she doesn¡¯t have some sort of


    mental disorder. That¡¯s great.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to her. All I saw was her being pushed into the emergency room. Based on


    what I saw, it seems like her condition is pretty serious. Perhaps she ended up that way because she


    couldn¡¯t ept the court¡¯s decision for you to be on probation. In my opinion, she totally deserves it. It¡¯s


    karma! It¡¯s her fault that she couldn¡¯t be a little more forgiving toward you.¡± Julia stuck her lips out as she


    spoke in a bratty tone. She no longer had the elegance of a rich man¡¯s wife. At that moment, she


    sounded more like Jean.


    Perhaps her elegance had gone down the drain along with Triforce Enterprise¡¯s reputation and business.


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Tina¡¯s expression didn¡¯t seem to change much after she heard Julia. One couldn¡¯t tell if she


    was happy or not. Julia stared at her daughter, feeling like her daughter was apletely different


    person aftering out of the detention center. Tina seemed more enigmatic after this incident.


    ¡­


    Toby waited outside the emergency room for close to an hour before the doors opened. He shot to his


    feet and rushed to Tim. ¡°How¡¯s Sonia?¡±


    Tim pulled his mask down to reveal his rather pale expression. Toby felt his heart sinking as he clenched


    his fists. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°She was poisoned!¡± Tim replied.


    ¡°What? Poisoned?¡± Toby froze for a moment before he reached a hand to grab Tim¡¯s cor. ¡°How could


    she have been poisoned? What sort of poison was it?¡± Toby had assumed that Sonia had a medical


    condition, but he hadn¡¯t expected the truth to be worse. I can¡¯t believe she was poisoned!


    ¡°The poison is in the form of a chemical toxicant. It seems like she consumed it orally. The poison doesn¡¯t


    do much damage to her body, and it only makes her really weak for a period of time. But¡­¡± Tim paused


    for a moment.


    ¡°But what?¡± Toby clenched his jaw. He had heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that the poison didn¡¯t do


    much damage to Sonia, but he hadn¡¯t expected Tim to continue speaking. Is there more to this?! Toby


    could tell that it wasn¡¯t good news because of the grim look on Tim¡¯s face.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Tim pushed his sses up his nose and looked into Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°But¡­ this form of poison is lethal


    toward the child in her belly. If she¡¯s lucky, her baby will survive albeit with some deformities. The worst-


    case scenario would be a stillborn baby!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Toby¡¯s pupils shrank, the news sending shock waves through him. Deformities¡­ Stillborn¡­


    ¡°Are you saying that this poison was used to target her baby?¡± Toby red at Tim with a cold look on his


    face.


    Tim nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It doesn¡¯t do much harm to the mother, but it harms the baby. The answer is


    clear¡ªthe person who administered this poison was trying to kill Sonia¡¯s baby without hurting her.


    Furthermore, I checked on the baby just now, and it has already started showing some deformities. In


    other words, that means that Sonia has been consuming the poison for at least half a month now!¡±


    Rage burned across Toby¡¯s chest as he cracked his knuckles. The air around him felt eerily cold. Who is


    it? Who¡¯s the one who is trying to harm my baby?

 Chapter 320

    Chapter 320


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 320


    Tim removed his sses and wiped his lenses. He could tell what was going on in Toby¡¯s mind because


    he was thinking the same thing. ¡°Someone who only wishes to harm Sonia¡¯s baby without harming


    Sonia¡­ This has to be someone who really idolizes Sonia. This person cannot ept the fact that Sonia


    is bearing the child of another man. Perhaps you can filter through your suspects with this criterion in


    mind.¡±


    After finishing his words, Tim put his sses back on and walked off to arrange for Sonia to be moved to


    the ward. Tim only cared about Sonia¡¯s wellbeing¡ªthe rest was none of his business. He wasn¡¯t too


    concerned with Sonia¡¯s child either. Let Toby worry about it on his own, Tim thought.


    Toby remained nted in his spot even after Tim left. He was waiting for Sonia toe out. His fists


    were balled up, and his expression steely and unreadable. The person who gave her the poison is


    someone who idolizes her. Based on my knowledge, there are only three people who really idolize Sonia


    ¡ªCharles, Carl, and Zane! Could it be one of them?


    Toby kept his head lowered, but there seemed to be an entire hailstorm erupting in his gaze. He mentally


    ran through all the information he had on the three men, but he still couldn¡¯t determine the culprit after


    doing so. I don¡¯t care who it is. All I know is that I¡¯m not going to let the culprit get away with this!


    At that thought, Toby heard the sound of wheels moving closer to him. He suppressed his rage and took


    a step closer to the emergency room¡¯s doors. The medical staff pushed Sonia out, and Toby hurried to


    stand by the side of the bed. ¡°Is she okay?¡±


    The nurse holding the IV drip was the one who spoke. ¡°She¡¯s okay, but her baby isn¡¯t doing as well¡­¡±


    Toby tightened his grip around the bars on the bed. He knew the issue¡ªTim had told him that the fetus


    was already deformed. In other words, he knew that they could no longer keep the child. Upon that


    realization, Toby felt a tight, painful sensation in his chest, as if countless sharp needles were stabbing


    him all at once. It hurt so much that he could barely breathe.


    All along, Toby had intended to find the right time to tell Sonia about the baby. He didn¡¯t expect Sonia to


    forgive him and remarry him, but he had hoped that they would have a child that would serve as the


    common link between them. He had hoped that Sonia would one day forgive him for the sake of their


    child. He had even imagined a day when three of them would stay together as one happy family.


    Unfortunately, all of his bubbles burst after the incident.


    Tim was adjusting Sonia¡¯s IV drip when Toby went in. Toby walked up to Tim with a determined look on


    his face. ¡°The child¡­ Is there any way to save it?¡±


    Tim flicked a finger against the tube of the IV drip. ¡°Are you asking if there¡¯s a chance for the child to


    grow up as usual?¡±


    Toby nodded as that was what he meant, while Tim smirked. ¡°Of course not. It might have been possible


    if you came a week earlier, but the cells in the embryo have already mutated to a point where regr


    medical interventions won¡¯t be able to do much.¡±


    ¡°So, the child¡­¡± Toby muttered.


    ¡°Will have to be aborted!¡± Tim finished his sentence. ¡°Unless you¡¯d like Sonia to give birth to a monster


    without arms or legs, or one without a nose or eyes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a monster!¡± Toby howled as he red at Tim with bloodshot eyes.


    Tim merely shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My bad. I shouldn¡¯t have called your child a monster in front of you.


    However, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m wrong. You¡¯re the child¡¯s father, so of course you wouldn¡¯t think your child was


    a monster. However, what about the rest of society? You don¡¯t have the power to control what others


    think.¡±


    ¡°How did you know that the baby in Sonia¡¯s belly belongs to me?¡± Toby eyed Tim suspiciously.


    Tim pushed his sses up his nose. ¡°It¡¯s not hard to tell. Everything is written on your face. Why would


    you get so emotional if this child wasn¡¯t yours? Anyway, you and Sonia can discuss and decide on a date


    for the surgery. My suggestion is for the surgery to be done within this week. The child is already


    deformed, so there¡¯s no need for it to continue developing. The earlier she gets this over with, the easier


    it¡¯ll be for her to heal from the surgery.¡± With that said, Tim took the patient¡¯s files and walked out of the


    room. The rest of the medical staff tagged along behind him.


    Toby and Sonia were the only people left in the ward. He walked over and sat down by the side of the


    bed before he reached out and held onto Sonia¡¯s hand¡ªthe hand that had an IV drip connected to it. He


    gazed at her pale face for a long while without saying anything.


    Meanwhile, Tim had returned to his own office when someone knocked on his door. ¡°Come in.¡± Tim


    ced Sonia¡¯s report aside as he shouted toward the door.


    Julia walked in from outside. ¡°Are you done with your work, Tim?¡±


    Tim¡¯s eyes glinted for a brief moment before he nodded. ¡°Yeah. Is anything the matter, Mrs. Gray?¡± he


    asked.


    ¡°Well, Tina hasn¡¯t been herself ever since she came out of the detention center. She doesn¡¯t move


    around much and rarely talks orughs. I even suspected that she had developed some mental


    disorders until she uttered a few words to me earlier.¡± Julia sighed.


    Tim smirked in response to this. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it, Mrs. Gray. The cells on Tina¡¯s face are three


    times the amount of the usual person¡¯s cells. Anyone else with her experience might develop social


    anxiety, but I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t struggle with the same issue. It¡¯s her talent, really.¡± In other words, Tim


    was implying that Tina was too thick-faced and shameless to develop social anxiety.


    However, Julia didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind his words. When she heard him talking about cells,


    she assumed he was referring to Tina¡¯s biology and didn¡¯t think too much of it. Instead, she let out a light-


    hearted chuckle. ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s good, then.¡±


    Tim let out a rather sarcasticugh. This time, Julia realized the hint of mockery in hisugh, and she


    was puzzled by it. Is heughing at me? She gazed up to observe Tim¡¯s expression, but Tim had


    returned to his usual, calm look, and Julia couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking at all. She even began to


    wonder if she was the one who misunderstood him. I think I just misinterpreted his actions. Tim is really


    close to Tina and I¡¯m Tina¡¯s mom, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯dugh at me.


    With that thought in mind, Julia felt better about herself. ¡°Tim, although you said that Tina isn¡¯t prone to


    getting social anxiety, I still feel rather worried after seeing the state that she¡¯s in now. I recall how you


    once traveled overseas to study psychology when you were trying to help Tina wake up. Could you visit


    Tina and perhaps counsel her a little?¡±


    ¡°I can pour her ss of water, but I doubt she¡¯d be pleased to see me.¡± Tim crossed his arms in front of


    his chest. Julia had no idea about the fallout between Tim and Tina, so she assumed that Tim was just


    cracking a joke.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Tina only has her father, sister, and me by her side now. She doesn¡¯t have any other


    friends. Even the brat from the Stryder Family had a fight with Tina. Her friend from the Stone Family still


    gets along with her, but the friend is still in the detention center, so you¡¯re Tina¡¯s only friend for now. Tina


    would be so pleased to see you. She¡¯d never say no to seeing you!¡± Julia eximed.


    Tim smiled. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I guess I should go visit her, then. I hope you won¡¯t regret your decision.


    Come on.¡± He stuck his hands into his white coat before taking the lead to step out of his office.


    A few minutester, they arrived at Tina¡¯s ward. The doors to the ward were opened at the exact same


    time that they arrived, and Rina walked out from inside while rubbing her eyes.


    Julia held onto Rina¡¯s arms once she saw her. ¡°What happened, Rina?¡± Julia asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s Tina. I was trying tofort her, but she didn¡¯t want to see me and chased me out of the


    room,¡± Rina uttered between sobs.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Julia frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Tina? She was fine before this, and she agreed to get along with you.


    Why is she doing this now¡­¡± Julia muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mom. It¡¯s not her fault¡ªit¡¯s mine. I¡¯m the one who embarrassed Tina. I guess that¡¯s why she


    hates me. I didn¡¯t wish for any of this to happen. I¡¯m sure I wouldn¡¯t be the same person if I had grown up


    at home with you guys.¡± Tears trickled down Rina¡¯s eyes as she looked at Julia.

 Chapter 321

    Chapter 321


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 321


    Julia felt her heart aching as she pulled Rina into her arms. ¡°It¡¯s all Henry¡¯s fault! You would have never


    ended up in that family if he hadn¡¯t brought you away. Tina¡¯s in the wrong as well. She knows about this,


    yet she still treats you so rudely. She¡¯s so immature!¡± Julia patted Rina on the back while grumbling.


    Tina wouldn¡¯t have been brought to the Grays if they hadn¡¯t lost Rina in the first ce. All along, Julia


    had treated Tina like her biological daughter¡ªher love for Tina remained the same ever after her


    biological daughter came back to her. However, Julia felt rather conflicted when she heard about how


    Tina was treating Rina.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Rina noticed the slight resentment that Julia felt toward Tina at that moment. While Julia wasn¡¯t looking,


    Rina curled her lips into a smug smile. She was theplete opposite of the girl who had been crying


    and sobbing just moments ago. Tim was taller than both the women, and he had a better view of Rina¡¯s


    expression from his spot. He raised his eyebrow when he saw her sudden change of expression. Is this


    the eldest daughter that the Grays have reunited with recently? She doesn¡¯t seem like someone you can


    mess with. It only took her a few sentences to portray herself as a helpless girl, and she managed to gain


    Julia¡¯s pity within such a short period. At the same time, she managed to create a bad impression of Tina


    in Julia¡¯s heart. It seems like things are about to get juicy with her around.


    ¡°You guys can stay out here, Mrs. Gray. I¡¯ll go in to visit Tina.¡± Tim¡¯s sses red as he spoke. Julia


    nodded. ¡°Okay. Thanks for doing this, Tim.¡±


    Tim didn¡¯t know what to say in response, so he merely let out a thoughtful chuckle before he let himself


    into the room. Tina was sitting on the bed with her head hanging low, just like Julia had described. She


    really looks like a rag doll without a soul, Tim thought.


    However, Tim knew that Tina wasn¡¯t someone who¡¯d struggle to pick herself up after a minor stumble


    along the way. He knew that being in a detention center wouldn¡¯t do such a thing to her. Instead, it


    seemed like she had learned how to contain her emotions and expressiveness to make her seem more


    grounded. Tim was certain that she was still the same person deep down. She merely wanted others to


    think that she had changed.


    After shutting the door behind him, he nced at Tina with a slight smirk on his face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to


    take a look at your visitor?¡±


    This voice! Hatred filled Tina¡¯s eyes as her head shot up. Her gaze could almost burn Tim¡¯s skin as she


    red at him. ¡°You! How dare youe here to visit me?!¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare to visit you?¡± Tim pulled a chair closer to the bed before he sat down.


    ¡°You traitor! You betrayed me!¡± Tina hissed through gritted teeth, like a predator threatening to attack its


    prey.


    Tim kicked one leg up to cross his legs as he eyed her amusedly. ¡°A traitor? Why would you say that?¡±


    Tina was infuriated by the yful look on his face. ¡°Am I wrong to say that? You were the one who came


    up with the n to harm Sonia, and you were the one who hired the men and arranged the location. Yet,


    you denied being involved in this at all, and you put all of the me on me. Why would you do this to me,


    Tim?!¡± she cried at the top of her lungs.


    Tim¡¯s gazended on the fetters around her ankles. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.


    I¡¯ve never attempted to harm Sonia, and I would never do such a thing. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s nice of you to


    use me of things I haven¡¯t done, right?¡±


    Tina widened her eyes in disbelief. ¡°Tim, you¡­¡±


    Tim curled his lips into an icy smirk. ¡°It sucks to feel misunderstood, doesn¡¯t it? Sonia felt the same way


    back then.¡±


    ¡°A-Are you on Sonia¡¯s side now?¡± Everything was clear to Tina at that point¡ªshe realized that Tim was


    one of Sonia¡¯s men, and she hit the bed like a madwoman. ¡°You told me that those six men ran off and


    disappeared after they got the wrong person, and that they were afraid we would take revenge on them.


    However, those men never got the wrong person because their target had been me from the start, right?


    You were the one who allowed them to escape! You got those two videos from the six men, and there


    was never any hacker to help Sonia, right? It was you all along, wasn¡¯t it?!¡±


    Tim raised an eyebrow. It seems like this woman grew some brains while she was being locked up in the


    detention center. However, she still got some parts of it wrong. There was an actual hacker involved in


    this matter, after all.


    Tina immediately assumed that she had gotten it all right when Tim kept quiet for a while. She started


    screaming like a crazydy. ¡°You¡¯re the devil¡¯s incarnate, Tim! Did Sonia hypnotize you or something? Is


    that why you¡¯re helping her to go against me?¡±


    Why? Tina wondered. Why is God so unfair? Why do all the people around me eventually end up with


    Sonia?!Toby, Tyler, and now, Tim¡ªall of them picked Sonia over me. Is she that great?


    The more Tina thought about it, the harder it was for her to ept it and the more jealous she felt. Her


    face was twisted into a hideous expression as she dug her nails into the bedsheets and red at Tim


    angrily. Her eyes looked like they were about to bore a hole into Tim¡¯s skull. Her voice sounded like it


    was coated with ayer of venom¡ªone would get chills down their spine upon hearing her. ¡°Is it right for


    you to do this to me, Tim? I¡¯m your savior, and you¡ª¡±


    ¡°My savior?¡± Tim threw his head back tough as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever. Panic grew


    in Tina¡¯s chest when she saw himughing. ¡°W-Why are youughing?¡± she asked with a shaky voice.


    Hisugh gave her goosebumps, and it made her feel extremely uneasy.


    It took nearly 10 seconds for Tim to stopughing. He got to his feet and stepped even closer to Tina¡¯s


    bedside before he lowered his gaze and red at her. He spread his lips to give her a sinister grin. His


    smile looked exactly like the sort of expression a psychopath in a horror movie would have, and Tina


    instinctively shrunk away to avoid Tim¡¯s re.


    However, Tim reached out his hands all of a sudden and wrapped them around her neck to strangle her.


    ¡°You pretended to be my savior, Tina. You enjoyed ten years¡¯ worth of my effort. You must have loved it,


    huh? Judging by the way you speak to me now, you must have really gotten into the character of being


    my savior. It almost seems like you were really the one who saved me, huh?¡± His growl sounded like the


    voice of a demon from hell.


    Tina heard a sharp ringing in her ears after Tim finished speaking, and the temperature in the room


    seemed to have fallen sharply. She could barely breathe because of Tim¡¯s fingers around her neck, and


    her face started to turn red due to theck of oxygen. Her eyes were bulging as she used all her might to


    force her hoarse voice out of her throat. ¡°Y-You¡­ found out?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I found out.¡± Tim applied more strength on her throat. Tina couldn¡¯t even let out a cry at that point¡ª


    all she could do was to pound her fists against his arms in hopes that he would let her go. However,


    Tim¡¯s arms were like iron pliers that wouldn¡¯t seem to budge no matter how hard Tina hit him. Eventually,


    Tina¡¯s hits grew weaker, and her actions became slower. She parted her lips in an attempt to breathe


    through her mouth, but she only managed to get minimal amounts of oxygen. It didn¡¯t help her at all.


    Soon, her tears and mucus began to trickle down her face. When Tim saw this, disgust and hatred


    shed in his eyes before he flung her aside. Tina¡¯s body mmed against the edge of the bed, and she


    clutched onto her sheets as she greedily inhaledrge mouthfuls of oxygen. She looked as if she had


    just returned from the dead.


    Tim pulled out a sanitary wipe from his pocket and wiped his hands with it as he spoke in a cold tone.


    ¡°Do you know who my actual savior is, Tina?¡±


    Tina held her breath for a second. Who is it? When Tina thought of how Tim had suddenly switched


    sides to support Sonia, she stared at him with a look of disbelief.


    Tim shed her a crooked smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s Sonia!¡±

 Chapter 322

    Chapter 322


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 322


    Tina felt like time froze at that moment. The entire world fell silent, and the silence made her insides


    shiver. She felt like there was something stuck in her throat, and the immense hatred she felt made it


    hard for her to breathe. Sonia! It¡¯s Sonia again! Am I going to live under Sonia¡¯s shadow for the rest of


    my life? Toby¡¯s pen-pal is Sonia, and now, Tim¡¯s savior is also Sonia! Furthermore, I ended up pretending


    to be Sonia twice¡ªwhat are the chances of that happening? How could this be? Does God think that my


    life is a joke?!


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Tina let out an agonized howl as she experienced aplete mental breakdown. Tim simply


    stared at her without the slightest emotion in his eyes. ¡°You understand why I changed my attitude


    toward you now, huh?¡±


    Tina felt her insides trembling as she spoke. ¡°W-When did you find out that I wasn¡¯t the one who saved


    you?¡±


    ¡°When you told me to help Sonia with her abortion surgery.¡± Tim gave her an honest answer without


    bothering to conceal the truth.


    Tinaughed and cried at the same time. ¡°I see. That exins why Sonia and that creature inside her


    managed to survive in your hands. You said that you didn¡¯t perform the surgery on Sonia because Toby


    was right outside, but all of those were just excuses you came up with to deal with me!¡±


    Tim gave her a shrug, and she took it as confirmation for her guesses. Sheughed even harder after


    that. I was wrong all along! I should have realized that there was something odd about his narrative back


    then. After all, how could he have been afraid of Toby if he truly wanted to kill someone? He isn¡¯t scared


    of Toby at all! It¡¯s a shame that I didn¡¯t realize this then. I might not have ended up in this situation


    otherwise.


    ¡°You should be d that I took so long to find out the truth about my savior. I didn¡¯t keep any evidence of


    all the bad things you did to Sonia. Otherwise, you¡¯d definitely be in jail by now.¡± His voice was sharp and


    arrogant as he tilted his head up to gaze down at Tina.


    Tina stared at him in a vignt manner. ¡°So? Are you going to get your revenge now?¡±


    Tim smirked. Although he didn¡¯t say anything, his intentions were clear. Tina¡¯s pupils had shrunk to the


    size of needles, and her entire body was curled up into a ball as she began to shout in a fearful tone.


    ¡°No. You can¡¯t do that, Tim. You can¡¯t put all of the me on me. I admit that I did pretend to be Sonia,


    but that wasn¡¯t intentional. You were the one who mistook me for her! You don¡¯t have the right to take


    revenge on me!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I did mistake you for someone else. However, you knew that you weren¡¯t my savior, yet you


    didn¡¯t admit it when I got the wrong person. You didn¡¯t just agree to it; you even prepared yourself to


    enjoy all the benefits you¡¯d get from a man that you hadn¡¯t saved. How do you expect me to not get


    revenge for that?¡±


    Tina was at a loss for words upon hearing Tim¡¯s question. He¡¯s right. He might have mistaken me for


    someone else, but I didn¡¯te clean immediately. If someone had told me the same lie, I would¡¯ve felt


    mad, and I would¡¯ve felt the urge to get revenge too.


    At that thought, Tina felt a hugeyer of fear nketing her, and she immediately hugged her knees


    close to her. If she had to pick the people she feared most, it¡¯d definitely be Miles and Tim. If anything,


    she felt like she was more afraid of Tim right then.


    In the past, she had never been afraid of Tim. She had even used a stern and demanding tone when


    speaking to him. That was because Tim wasn¡¯t aware of the truth about his savior back then. However,


    now that he knew the truth, Tina naturally felt more apprehension toward the man in front of her. This


    man is aplete psycho. I can¡¯t imagine what will happen to me if I fall into his hands!


    It was almost like Tim could read Tina¡¯s mind, for he suddenly smacked her on the shoulder. Her entire


    body trembled and she nearly yelped out loud. Tim narrowed his eyes as he spoke in an icy voice. ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry. You¡¯re under the police¡¯s close surveince now, so I won¡¯t do anything to do. I¡¯ll only do


    something once the police loosen their control over you. So, you should enjoy your calm and peaceful


    days for now, because it¡¯s going toe to an end soon.¡±


    Once he finished speaking, he strolled out of the room with Tina¡¯s terrified gaze trailing him as he walked


    out.


    Julia and Rina were talking andughing over something when Tim stepped out of the ward. Julia hurried


    over when she saw Tim walking out. ¡°How is Tina, Dr. Lancaster?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s fine. She¡¯s just rather depressed because of the current state that she¡¯s in. She¡¯ll recover after


    some time.¡± Tim adjusted his sses as he spoke.


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Julia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you so much, Dr. Lancaster.¡±


    ¡°No worries at all.¡± Something shed in Tim¡¯s eyes as he excused himself.


    ¡­


    As night fell, Sonia remained asleep in another one of the VIP wards. Toby stayed with her the entire


    time. All of a sudden, he heard a knock on the door. ¡°Come in,¡± he uttered in a deep voice. Tom walked


    into the room and said, ¡°Young Master Tyler is back, President Fuller. He couldn¡¯t contact you through


    your phone, so he told me toe over and ask you what time you would be home for a meal.¡±


    ¡°Tell him I¡¯m not going home tonight.¡± Toby nced at Sonia. Tom took a look at the woman on the bed


    before he nodded. ¡°I got it.¡± That¡¯s right. President Fuller can¡¯t leave Sonia alone now, not when she¡¯s in


    this state. Furthermore, President Fuller must feel horrible now since he had been excited for the baby in


    Sonia¡¯s belly. He had been seeking an opportunity to tell Sonia to keep the child, but they¡¯re about to lose


    the child before he gets a chance to tell her about his wishes! Fate is so cruel!


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Also.¡± Toby seemed to recall something as he turned to look at Tom. ¡°I want you to check if Carl,


    Charles, or Zane ever visited any pharmacies or chemistrybs in the past two weeks. Check if anyone


    around them did such a thing as well.¡± Even if the three of them didn¡¯t do anything themselves, they


    could have ordered someone else to do it.


    ¡°Noted!¡± Tom knew what Toby was thinking¡ªToby suspected that it was one of those three people who


    had drugged Sonia. He quickly agreed to investigate the three of them.


    Tom had been suspecting the same things even before Toby said anything. After all, all three of those


    men were practically Miss Reed¡¯s diehard fans¡ªall three of them wouldn¡¯t be able to ept the fact that


    Sonia had another man¡¯s child in her belly.


    Tom hurried off to get his work done while Toby stayed back and massaged his temples. Right then, the


    phone began to ring. It wasn¡¯t Toby¡¯s phone that was ringing. Toby had brought Sonia¡¯s phone along with


    her when he carried her out of the condominium, and her phone was ringing right then.


    Toby reached over and nced at the phone that was ced beside the bed. The name, ¡®Charles¡¯, was


    shing on the screen. Toby narrowed his eyes. Why is Charles calling at this hour? Without thinking too


    much about it, Toby ended the call.


    On the other end of the line, Charles stared at his phone in a stunned manner. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did my


    baby just hang up on me?¡± He quickly realized that Sonia might have ended his call because she was in


    a bad mood. After giving it some thought, he sent her a text instead.


    ¡®Don¡¯t be sad, darling. If we can get Tina sentenced to probation, then we can send her to jail. If nothing


    else works, we can provoke Tina to do something so that she¡¯llmit a crime and get sent to jail. What


    do you think?¡¯


    When Toby saw the text, he finally understood Charles¡¯s intentions for calling. It seems like Charles


    called because he knows that Sonia is unhappy about the court¡¯s decision for Tina¡¯s case. He probably


    just called to check on Sonia. Toby pressed his lips together for a while, but he didn¡¯t reply to the text in


    the end.


    After waiting for a few minutes, Charles sighed as he knew that Sonia wouldn¡¯t reply to his text. ¡®Alright,


    alright. It seems like you¡¯re still in a bad mood now. I won¡¯t bother you anymore, then. You can get some


    rest, and I¡¯lle over to visit you tomorrow. Goodnight.¡¯


    Did anyone ask you toe over and visit? Toby thought.

 Chapter 323

    Chapter 323


    Chapter 323 He¡¯s the Child¡¯s Father


    Toby wore a grumpy expression as he locked the phone and chucked it back toward the side of the bed.


    He felt a mixture of frustration and envy toward Charles. He was envious as Charles could drop by to


    visit Sonia whenever he wished to, without having to ask for Sonia¡¯s approval. Toby, on the other hand,


    would never be able to do such a thing. She was once my woman, and I once had the person I loved the


    most in my arms. Yet, I was the one who pushed her away¡­


    He clutched onto his chest as he felt a dull ache in his heart. Sparks of determination filled his eyes as


    she lowered his gaze to stare at Sonia. I¡¯m not going to give up on her no matter what happens. She has


    to be mine!


    Time continued to trickle away into the night, and Sonia woke up by the next morning. She frowned a


    little before opening her eyes to stare at the white ceiling above her head. She froze. Where is this?


    Wasn¡¯t I in my condominium? How did I end up in this ce? The sudden shock got Sonia to sit upright.


    She had to figure out where she was. However, the moment she sat up, she felt something tugging onto


    her hand. She turned around to see Toby holding onto her hand, his body resting on the edge of the bed


    as he slept.


    She immediately widened her eyes as she was surprised to see Toby beside her. However, she quickly


    realized the odd clothes on her body. She was dressed in a blue-and-white-striped gown, which was


    obviously a hospital gown. Am I in a hospital ward now? She quickly pulled her hand away from Toby


    before she pressed it against her forehead. Confusion was written all over her face. What is going on? I


    was just sleeping. How did I end up in a hospital?


    Her act of pulling her hand away had woken Toby up, and his eyes shot open in alert before he raised his


    head. Once he saw Sonia, his gaze softened a little. ¡°You¡¯re awake, huh?¡± Toby parted his thin lips as he


    spoke. His voice was especially attractive¡ªit was rather hoarse since he had just woken up.


    ¡°How do you feel? Do you feel okay?¡± Toby got o his feet and pressed the bell above her head before he


    continued questioning Sonia. She shook her head while looking at him. ¡°I feel fine, but¡­ What am I


    doing here?¡±


    ¡°While I was on the call with you yesterday, you suddenly stopped talking. I went over to check on you


    and found that you had fainted, so I sent you to the hospital,¡± he replied.


    She nodded in a dazed manner. ¡°I see. Is there something wrong with me? Am I sick?¡± she asked again.


    Toby moved his lips without speaking. He didn¡¯t know how to inform her of her current situation, and he


    didn¡¯t know what sort of response she would give after hearing the news. Will she be sad, or will she¡­


    Sonia¡¯s heart sank when she saw how quiet Toby was. She instinctively tightened her grip on the sheets.


    ¡°Tell me. Is there something wrong with me?¡± She repeated her question with a hint of impatience in her


    voice. Why is he taking so long to tell me? Do I have an incurable disease or something? Sonia was


    starting to panic.


    He looked at her and was about to say something when Tim¡¯s voice came from the door. ¡°You can just


    tell her about it. There¡¯s no need to hide the truth.¡±


    Toby frowned. Sonia shifted her gaze toward the man who was speaking. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You were poisoned!¡± Tim uttered as he walked in.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia was puzzled. ¡°Poisoned?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Tim replied with a nod.


    Sonia gripped the sheets even harder than before. ¡°What¡­ sort of poison?¡± She couldn¡¯t recall ever


    touching or eating anything that could be potentially poisonous. Why would I be poisoned? Sonia looked


    to Toby once more. This time, he no longer bothered to hide anything since Tim had already started the


    conversation.


    ¡°You were poisoned with a form of chemical toxicant that doesn¡¯t do much harm to your body. However,


    it¡¯s detrimental to the child in you¡ªit causes the child to have deformities. If you continue consuming the


    poison, your child might be a stillborn.¡± Toby¡¯s fists were clenched as he stared at Sonia and spoke in a


    rather croaky voice.


    She widened her eyes and subconsciously put her hand on her stomach. ¡°D-Deformities¡­? A stillborn?¡±


    Toby merely nodded without saying anything else. She rubbed her belly as she parted her lips a few


    times before speaking. ¡°How did it turn out like this?¡±


    Tim, who was leaning against the wall of the room, added on to their conversation. ¡°You¡¯ve been


    poisoned for nearly half a month now, so your child is already showing signs of deformities.¡±


    My baby is already deformed?! Sonia¡¯s expression changed as she immediately lowered her head to


    look at her belly. ¡°So¡­ My baby¡­¡±


    ¡°Will have to be aborted!¡± Tim finished his sentence. Sonia¡¯s face turned pale as her entire body tensed


    up. Her aura that was aplex mixture of emotions filled the air as everyone was silent for a while.


    Toby read the look on her face as a mixture of sorrow and grief. His heart ached for her, and he quickly


    attempted tofort her. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Maybe next time¡ª¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s good news.¡± Sonia raised her head to put on a smile all of a sudden. However, even a fool


    would be able to tell that her smile was forced. ¡°What¡¯s so good about it?¡± Toby eyed her uneasily.


    Sonia took a deep breath and calmed herself down before she spoke. ¡°The news about the child, of


    course. I was already nning to abort it, and I had already made an appointment with a hospital


    overseas to do the surgery this Saturday. Since the child is deformed, it solidifies my decision to abort it.


    That¡¯s why I said it was good news.¡±


    Despite saying this, she felt an uneasy ache in her chest. Even her eyes had turned slightly moist. After


    spending days and nights with this baby, it seems like I¡¯ve developed some form of attachment to it.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Tim looked rather shocked. However, he didn¡¯t have any other emotions as


    he only cared about her and not the baby in her. He didn¡¯t care whether she kept the baby or not since it


    was beyond his scope of concern.


    Toby¡¯s reaction, on the other hand, was much more intense. He red at her with a look of utter shock


    and he spoke in a deep growl. ¡°What did you just say? Did you say that you already made an


    appointment with a hospital overseas for this Saturday?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it?¡± Toby¡¯s face darkened as he asked. This was such huge news, yet she


    didn¡¯t inform him about it at all. She would have gone through with the surgery without me being aware of


    it!


    Sonia knitted her brows and nced at him puzzledly. ¡°This is my business. Why would I need to tell you


    anything?¡± They already got a divorce. She didn¡¯t owe her ex-husband an exnation, did she?


    Toby froze for a moment before calming down because he realized something. She doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m


    the child¡¯s father, so she doesn¡¯t see the need to tell me anything. Should I tell her the truth? Toby


    pressed his lips together as he hesitated for a moment.


    Meanwhile, Tim, who was merely an observer of the entire incident, curled his lips into a smirk. ¡°He¡¯s the


    biological father of the child in your belly, so it¡¯s only natural for him to want an exnation from you!¡±


    Toby¡¯s pupils shrank as he turned to re at Tim. I can¡¯t believe he said it before I did! Sonia returned to


    her senses upon hearing Tim¡¯s words. Her eyes were filled with surprise and confusion as she stared at


    Tim. ¡°What did you just say? Toby¡¯s the biological father of my child?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Tim pushed his sses up his nose.


    ¡°What kind of a joke is this? How could he¡­¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she noticed the


    muddled look on Toby¡¯s face from the corner of her eyes. She could no longer continue speaking after


    that. ¡°How could this be? You can¡¯t be the father of this child!¡± All of a sudden, Sonia shook her head


    frantically. Disbelief was written all over her face.


    However, her pale expression also revealed the uneasiness and uncertainty that she felt. Toby felt a


    lump in his throat when he saw her reaction. ¡°He¡¯s right. I¡¯m the father of this child. I was the person who


    slept with you that night.¡±


    At his words, Sonia¡¯s vision turned ck as her body swayed. Toby leaned forward to support her, but


    Sonia managed to steady herself by holding onto her pillow before he did so. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± she


    cried.

 Chapter 324

    Chapter 324


    Chapter 324 Abort the Child Now


    Toby¡¯s actions came to a halt the moment he heard the disgust in Sonia¡¯s voice. She held her head in her


    hands as she tried to calm her unstable emotions. It was Toby! The man that night was Toby! No. How


    could that be? When I woke up the next morning, I saw another guy who wasn¡¯t Toby! She didn¡¯t believe


    Toby entirely yet.


    After looking left and right, she found her phone by the side of her bed, and she grabbed it as if it was


    herst hope in this world. She opened her messenger application and searched for the nickname, ¡®Z-H¡¯.


    She immediately gave the ount a voice call. Soon enough, Toby¡¯s phone began ringing in his pocket.


    It was the ringtone for calls that came specifically from the messenger application.


    At that moment, Sonia felt as if her entire world had copsed. Her phone slid out of her hand and fell


    onto the bed. It¡¯s him. It really is him! Sonia could no longer lie to herself by saying that the man that


    night wasn¡¯t Toby. She clutched the sheets tightly and stared at him with her bloodshot eyes. ¡°Why did


    you lie to me? Was it fun for you?¡± Her voice was filled with anger.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± Toby stared.


    She interrupted him with a loud scream. ¡°Are you going to say that you didn¡¯t mean to do it? Hah!¡± she


    scoffed. ¡°I was drunk that night, but you weren¡¯t drunk, were you? You knew that I was the woman in bed


    that night, but you didn¡¯t tell me anything. Instead, you used some fake ount called ¡®Z-H¡¯ to contact


    me. Whenever I thank you for helping me out, you¡¯re probablyughing at me behind my back. You


    probably think I¡¯m an idiot because I didn¡¯t know that Z-H was you!¡± she cried.


    He knitted his brows. ¡°I indeed contacted you without revealing my identity, but I¡¯ve never lied to you


    about anything else, and I¡¯ve neverughed at you. Z-H is my name too. My nickname used to be Zonny


    Hohann¡ªyou know about this!¡± All along, Toby had been contacting her with his real name. She simply


    hadn¡¯t put the pieces together.


    She let out an exasperatedugh. ¡°It¡¯s just two letters. How was I supposed to guess that it stood for


    Zonny Hohann?¡± Furthermore, Sonia only knew that his other name was John after she found out that he


    was the person she had been writing to.


    So, even if she had made a link between Z-H and John, she wouldn¡¯t have known that John was Toby.


    Toby was silent after letting out a light cough. She¡¯s right. It¡¯s pretty hard to make such a guess. Z-H just


    sounds like two random letters.


    Meanwhile, Tim, who had been observing Toby¡¯s sheepish expression and Sonia¡¯s angry one, pushed


    his sses up a little. Oops. It seems like I caused quite some trouble after revealing that Toby is the


    child¡¯s father.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia pressed her palms together as she curled her lips into a self-deprecating smirk. ¡°That exins why


    Tina was trying so hard to kill the baby in my belly. She knew that it was your child all along.¡±


    ¡°Does she know about it?¡± Toby¡¯s expression darkened. How could that be? Why would Tina know about


    this? I didn¡¯t tell her anything about my night with Sonia, so how could Tina know about this?


    ¡°Sonia¡¯s right. Tina knows about this¡ªI can attest to this since she was the one who told me. I¡¯ve also


    known about this for a while.¡± Tim took one of his scalpels out of his pocket and began to toy with it as he


    spoke.


    ¡°Zane¡­¡± The anger on Sonia¡¯s face seemed to get more and more intense each second. ¡°When you


    contacted me with Z-H¡¯s ount, you mentioned that you were friends with Zane. I asked Zane if he


    knew you, and Zane told me that he wasn¡¯t very close to you. I didn¡¯t think much about it then, but now, it


    seems like I¡¯m the biggest idiot in the world. All of you guys had me fooled, and everyone except me


    knows that the child in my belly belongs to you! What a joke!¡± Tears trickled down Sonia¡¯s cheeks.


    Despite her icy scoff, she was deeply hurt by the matter.


    After the incident that night, she had told Zane to check all of the CCTV cameras in the clubhouse.


    However, Zane had told her that he didn¡¯t find anything. When she revisited their conversation, she


    realized that Zane had nned his story out to help Toby conceal the fact that Toby was the one who


    was with Sonia that night. What an ironic joke! I thought Zane was my friend. I can¡¯t believe he did this to


    me!


    Toby felt just as uneasy when he saw the dejected look on Sonia¡¯s face. He reached his hand out to dry


    her tears, but she heartlessly smacked his hand away. His expression darkened as he stared at the back


    of his hand, which was turning red where Sonia smacked him. ¡°There¡¯s a reason we decided not to tell


    you about this, Sonia. It¡¯s because¡­¡±


    ¡°Because you were afraid that I would use this as an excuse to pester you if I found out, right?¡± Sonia


    eyed him impassively. ¡°Were you afraid that it would impact your rtionship and marriage with Tina?¡±


    He was stunned, unable to find the right words to respond at that moment. Her guess was spot on, after


    all. Back then, he was still under Tina¡¯s hypnosis, and he had been blinded by it. It was indeed his


    intention to avoid ruining his rtionship with Tina in the past.


    Sonia smiled when she saw his face, and more beads of tears rolled down her cheeks. ¡°Did you know


    this, Toby? I never hated Z-H. I didn¡¯t hate him because it wasn¡¯t just Z-H¡¯s fault that night. I made


    mistakes as well. Furthermore, he¡¯s just aplete stranger to me. I figured that I would just treat it as a


    one-night stand¡ªno different from feeding a stray dog just once. However, everything is different now.¡±


    She jabbed Toby¡¯s chest with her finger. ¡°You¡¯re my ex-husband. We¡¯ve been married for six years, and


    you¡¯ve neverid hands on me once. Before our divorce, you were already starting to get close to Tina.


    My pride and reputation, my identity as your wife¡ªall of that didn¡¯t mean a thing to you. Since you guys


    were so in love, I asked for a divorce so that you two could be happy together. But I can¡¯t believe you


    made me the third party in your rtionship even after we divorced. Youpletely disgust me, Toby.¡±


    Although Sonia was drunk during the time of the incident, Toby wasn¡¯t. He recognized me, yet he chose


    to do it with me. This shows that he did it intentionally. I had always thought that the person I slept with


    that night was a stranger. It took a few conversations with Z-H for me to finally get rid of the resentment I


    felt. I was even thankful to Z-H for helping me through these tough times at some point, but I didn¡¯t think


    Z-H and Toby were the same person!


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Toby lowered his gaze as he apologized. He didn¡¯t know what else he could do at that point.


    He was still hypnotized by Tina back then, and he agreed that his actions were definitely immoral and


    disrespectful. So, there was no point in him saying much.


    Sonia didn¡¯t seem to hear Toby¡¯s apology. Instead, she turned to look at Tim. ¡°Please help me arrange


    for surgery. I want to abort the child now.¡±


    Tim raised an eyebrow before nodding. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll arrange it now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia bowed to him.


    ¡°Sonia¡­¡± Toby frowned as he looked at her.


    ¡°What is it? Are you going to stop me?¡± She curled her lips into a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s toote. The child


    has defects now. Even if it didn¡¯t, I never nned to keep it. What would I do with the child? Should he or


    she be a hidden child who never gets fatherly love, or a child who ends up being illegitimate?¡±


    ¡°The baby is not an illegitimate child. I never said that I wouldn¡¯t recognize the child as my own.¡± Toby


    pressed his lips together after correcting Sonia.


    Sonia scoffed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you? When I chatted with you before knowing your identity, I asked you what you


    thought about the child. You told me that you¡¯d provide me with child support if I chose to give birth to it,


    and you said that you¡¯d secretly help me take care of it. The word ¡®secretly¡¯ already made things clear¡ª


    you were never going to recognize this child. You have never thought of bringing the child home to your


    family, did you?¡±


    Toby felt his chest tightening as if there was a giant hand gripping his heart and squeezing all the blood


    out of it. His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed up and down before he responded in a dry voice. ¡°That was my n


    back then. I didn¡¯t understand love, and I didn¡¯t know that you were the person I loved all along. By the


    time I understood my own feelings, I had changed my mind about the child. I¡¯m the child¡¯s father, and I¡¯ll


    take the child into the family and take good care of him or her. I¡¯ve wanted to tell you this, but I just


    haven¡¯t found the chance to do so.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of that now? Your beloved baby is about to be gone!¡± Sonia gave him a mockingugh.

 Chapter 325

    Chapter 325


    Chapter 325 The Surgery Is a Sess


    Toby¡¯s chest hurt so much, he found it hard to breathe. She¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t want the child when I first


    found out about her pregnancy, but I¡¯m about to lose the child now that I¡¯ve epted it. I failed to do my


    part as a father. If only I were quicker to realize my love for Sonia. If I were more alert to the fact that I


    had been hypnotized, then maybe Sonia and I wouldn¡¯t have gotten a divorce. I might have been able to


    protect my baby, but there are no ¡®what ifs¡¯ in this world.


    Someone knocked on the door right then. Both Sonia and Toby turned to see a nurse walking in. The


    nurse beamed at both of them. ¡°This is regarding the surgery, Miss Reed. I have to speak to your family


    for a moment.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have fam¡ª¡± Sonia was about to exin that she didn¡¯t have any family members with her and


    that it¡¯d be sufficient for the nurse to tell her about the surgery. However, Toby interrupted her before she


    could do so. ¡°I¡¯m her family.¡±


    She widened her eyes before giving him a frustrated scoff. How shameless can this man get? How dare


    he call himself my family? ¡°You can talk to me about the surgery.¡± Toby ignored the angry res from the


    woman behind him as he turned and walked toward the nurse. They had a conversation by the doorway


    for a few minutes.


    Sonia chose to ignore them and turned to look out of the window instead. She looked as if she was


    contemting something. She had calmed down at that point, and she was recalling the incident that


    happened that night three months ago. If Toby was the one who had slept with me that night, then why


    did I wake up to find a different man beside me? Also, what about the poison that I¡¯ve been consuming?


    Who was the one who poisoned me? She was lost in confusion when Toby returned to her. ¡°The nurse


    was telling me about the side effects of the poison. She said that you might not be able to get pregnant


    for two years after this abortion.¡± Toby¡¯s gazended on Sonia¡¯s belly. He wasn¡¯t supposed to tell her the


    details regarding the surgery as the nurse was concerned that it would trigger a strong emotional


    response in Sonia.


    However, after giving it some thought, Toby decided to be honest with Sonia. He no longer wanted to


    hide anything from her. Sonia didn¡¯t seem to have much of a reaction after hearing the news. ¡°Oh. Is that


    so?¡± she muttered impassively. It¡¯s just two years¡ªthat¡¯s nothing inparison to a whole lifetime. It¡¯s


    no big deal. Furthermore, I¡¯m not nning to get married in the next two years, so I won¡¯t have a reason


    to be pregnant.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    When Toby saw her calm and disinterested response to the news, he felt an inexplicable feeling in his


    chest. He was d that she didn¡¯t seem too upset by the news, but at the same time, he felt rather


    displeased to see that she didn¡¯t care. If she doesn¡¯t care about getting pregnant in the next two years,


    then it also means that she doesn¡¯t n on forgiving me and getting remarried to me in the next two


    years, he thought.


    ¡°When you came to look for mest night, did you manage to find out who was the one who poisoned


    me?¡± Sonia asked abruptly.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°But I have a few suspects.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. He met her gaze as he uttered the three names in a slow pace. She


    tensed the moment she heard the three names. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± she uttered without thinking. How


    could any one of the three of them be involved in this?


    He pursed his lips a little when he saw that she didn¡¯t trust him. ¡°Think about it. The three of them are the


    most likely to be involved in this.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any proof?¡± She clenched her fists.


    ¡°I don¡¯t, but I¡¯m getting my men to investigate them. They are the only three men who fancy you and who


    would have problems epting that you have another man¡¯s baby. That gives all three of them the


    motive to do this,¡± he uttered in a deep voice.


    Sonia widened her eyes. ¡°Did you say that they fancy me?¡± How could that be?


    Toby raised his eyebrow. ¡°Don¡¯t you know about this?¡±


    She parted her lips without saying anything. When he saw the look on her face, he immediately


    understood that Sonia didn¡¯t know about the three men¡¯s feelings toward her. His spirits were lifted upon


    this realization. Zane and the other two keep saying that they love Sonia, yet Sonia doesn¡¯t even know


    about their feelings toward her. I¡¯m much luckier than them¡ªat least Sonia knows that I love her. A surge


    of pride and achievement spread across his chest, and a wide smile appeared on his face.


    Sonia noticed his sudden change in demeanor, and she frowned as she wondered what was going on in


    his head. She eventually lowered her head as she figured that it had nothing to do with her. She fidgeted


    as she thought about what she had just heard. Carl, Charles, and Zane¡­ All three of them fancy me! I


    don¡¯t know what to do with this information. All along, I¡¯ve always treated Charles as my guy best friend,


    and we¡¯ve always interacted like best friends. I¡¯ve never had any romantic feelings for him, but I didn¡¯t


    expect him to¡­ Carl is the same as well. I¡¯ve always seen him as a younger brother, and I¡¯ve never


    crossed any boundaries with him. Why would he fall for me? And Zane¡­


    Her expression hardened as she thought about how Zane had hidden the truth from her. Any interest she


    once had for Zane disappeared at that moment. From then onward, she decided that she and Zane


    would be nothing but business partners. She didn¡¯t even want to be friends with him.


    Toby quickly checked on Sonia when he realized the stern look on her face. ¡°What is it? Are you not


    feeling well?¡±


    She ignored him heartlessly. Toby felt his heart skipping a beat as he recognized the simrities between


    Sonia and her past self when they had first gotten a divorce. She was distant and cold back then. She


    still hasn¡¯t forgiven me, but her attitude toward me has changed throughout this period. She was no


    longer as cold to me, and she let me get close to her sometimes. Yet, it feels like we¡¯re back at square


    one now. Is it because she found out that the child belongs to me? Or is it because I kept Z-H¡¯s identity a


    secret for so long? Is that why she¡¯s back to her cold and distant self?


    Tim showed up right when Toby was tangled in his thoughts. ¡°The operation theater is ready. We can


    have the surgery now,¡± he said to Sonia.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia held her chin high and kicked the sheets aside to walk toward the door. Toby reached out


    an arm to stop her, but he hesitated at the veryst moment and lowered his hand after some


    contemtion. Who am I to stop her from doing anything? Firstly, the child is already deformed. Even if


    the child was healthy, I don¡¯t have the right to force her to keep the baby, even if I¡¯m the father.


    Eventually, Toby followed Sonia to the operation theater. She took a deep breath before she pushed the


    doors open to walk in. However, just before she entered, she stopped and turned to give Toby a calm


    look. ¡°Once this child is gone, there¡¯ll be nothing between us, Toby. I don¡¯t want to have anything to do


    with you for the rest of my life.¡±


    His pupils shrank after hearing her words. ¡°That¡¯s what you think. I¡¯m not going to give up. Even without


    our child, I¡¯ll still do my best to make youe back to me,¡± he uttered with his fists clenched.


    ¡°Really? Do you want to bet on that?¡± Sonia chuckled.


    ¡°What are you betting on?¡± he asked.


    She rubbed her belly. ¡°Let¡¯s bet on how long it¡¯ll take for me to forgive you and go back to you. I bet it


    won¡¯t happen in this lifetime. What about you?¡±


    His eyes glistened for a moment before he hardened his gaze and spoke at a slow pace. ¡°I¡¯ll ce my


    bet on the span of a whole life too. But I¡¯m not betting that it¡¯ll take a whole lifetime to get you toe


    back to me¡ªI¡¯m betting that I¡¯ll be able to spend the rest of my life asking for your forgiveness.¡± She¡¯ll


    come back to me once she forgives me, right?


    Sonia looked away from him after she saw the sincerity in his eyes. ¡°Is that so? We¡¯ll see how it goes,


    then.¡± She turned and walked into the operating theater without looking back after that.


    He waited outside while the surgery went on. Just then, his phone rang in his pocket. It was Tom. ¡°Aren¡¯t


    we supposed to go for a factory tour to check out the uses and effects of the alternative energy


    technology today, President Fuller? Are youing soon?¡±


    Toby nced at the operating theater in front of him. ¡°No. Please postpone this to another day.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tom nodded without asking for a reason. Once the call was over, Toby massaged his temples


    and leaned against the ice-cold wall. He shut his eyes and rested for a while. He didn¡¯t know how much


    time had passed when the doors to the operating theater finally opened. Tim was the first to walk out.


    Toby immediately opened his eyes and stared at the doctor. Before Toby could say anything, Tim pulled


    his mask down to speak. ¡°The surgery was a sess. She¡¯ll be out in a while.¡±

 Chapter 326

    Chapter 326


    Chapter 326 Stop Making Things Hard for Yourself


    ¡°I got it.¡± Toby nodded slightly. Tim stuck his hands into the pockets of his green scrubs before he walked


    off. A while after Tim left, a nurse helped Sonia out of the operating theater. The abortion was a non-


    surgical procedure, so Sonia didn¡¯t need to be brought out in a stretcher. She could walk on her own, but


    she had to walk extremely slowly as her uterus felt extremely sore and painful. She seemed to wince


    with every step she took. Furthermore, her movements made her uterus hurt even more¡ªher face was


    pale, and sweat dripped from her forehead by the time she walked out.


    Toby¡¯s heart ached at the sight of her in pain. ¡°Let me help you,¡± he offered. He reached an arm out to


    take over the nurse¡¯s support, and the nurse didn¡¯t stop him since she assumed that he was a family


    member. The nurse stepped aside after letting go of Sonia. However, before Toby could hold onto Sonia,


    Sonia quickly avoided his arm. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I can walk on my own!¡± she hissed in a weak voice. She held


    onto the walls and gritted her teeth as she shuffled to her room.


    The sight of the stubborn woman made Toby feel both sorry for and angry at her. His handsome face


    darkened as he spoke. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to see me now, but you just got out of surgery. Even if you


    don¡¯t like me, you shouldn¡¯t risk your own health to fight me!¡± He bent down and carried her in his arms


    after he finished speaking.


    Sonia instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, but she let go of him once she realized what was


    going on. ¡°Let go of me!¡± she cried. Toby continued walking to the ward with a stern expression on his


    face as if he couldn¡¯t hear her screams. She pounded her fists against his chest when she realized that


    he had no ns of letting her go. ¡°I¡¯m telling you to put me down, Toby. Can¡¯t you hear me?¡±


    ¡°Stop moving!¡± Toby tightened his grip on her as he looked down with a grim expression. ¡°You just got


    out of surgery, so you shouldn¡¯t be moving around too much. If you fall now, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s going


    to get injured, not me. Why would you make things hard for yourself?¡±


    She kept quiet after hearing his words. He¡¯s right. Why should I make things hard for myself? I might as


    well treat him as a vehicle since he¡¯s willing to transport me to my room. With that thought, Sonia


    became more obedient and no longer moved around in his arms. However, her body remained tense the


    entire time.


    His gaze darkened when he realized this. People often need support when they are at their weakest. Yet,


    she¡¯s so tense even when she¡¯s in my arms. It¡¯s clear that she doesn¡¯t treat me as someone she can rely


    on. Otherwise, she would¡¯ve rxed, right?


    Silence filled the space between them as Toby brought Sonia back to the room. He lowered her into the


    bed and tucked her in. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± he asked in a gentle voice.


    She was about to shake her head when her tummy responded to his question with a loud rumble. He


    chuckled when he heard this. ¡°You should get some rest. I¡¯ll go buy you some food.¡± He poured a ss


    of water and ced it beside her bed before he turned and left the room.


    The ward was silent after that. Sonia ran her hand across her belly, and she noticed that the slight bump


    in that area was no longer there. Her stomach was t once more¡ªit felt almost like her entire


    pregnancy was nothing but her own imagination. However, she knew that it was real because she could


    still feel a faint ache in her uterus. The pain was proof that she once held a living being inside her.


    But that life is gone now, she thought while biting her bottom lip. She curled her fingers around her shirt


    as she began to sob silently. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was crying happy or sad tears¡­ Right then, her


    phone began to ring.


    She quickly brushed her tears away. After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, she picked


    her phone up and nced at the caller ID before answering the call. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Where are you, darling?¡± Charles was standing outside Sonia¡¯s office on the other end of the line.


    ¡°Daphne said that you didn¡¯te to work today, and I couldn¡¯t find you at your ce. Where did you


    go?¡± He sounded rather anxious.


    ¡°I¡¯m at the hospital.¡± Sonia leaned her head against the headboard as she replied in a tired voice.


    Charles was even more anxious when he heard her weak voice. He held onto his phone with both hands


    as he raised his voice. ¡°The hospital? What are you doing there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just went for my abortion,¡± Sonia uttered as she closed her eyes.


    ¡°What? The abortion?¡± Charles¡¯s body jolted with surprise. ¡°Wait, weren¡¯t you supposed to do that


    overseas? Didn¡¯t you n to do it this weekend? Why did you end up doing it now? Which hospital are


    you in now? I¡¯lle over to visit you.¡±


    ¡°First World Hospital.¡± Sonia massaged her temples. Charles instantly ended the call and charged toward


    the elevator. Meanwhile, Daphne was sipping on her home-brewed coffee as she walked out of her


    office. She was surprised to see Charles at the elevator. ¡°Where are you headed, President Lane? Aren¡¯t


    you going to wait for President Reed?¡±


    All Charles could think of then was Sonia, so he didn¡¯t hear Daphne¡¯s question at all. He ran into the


    elevator once it arrived. The smile on Daphne¡¯s face faded as she watched the elevator doors close.


    Smiling bitterly, she thought,. I haven¡¯t gotten much of a chance to see him ever since he sent me to


    work with President Reed. Every time I see him, he¡¯s either by President Reed¡¯s side or in a rush to


    leave. I barely get the chance to talk to him. I thought that I¡¯d be able to properly serve him since


    President Reed isn¡¯t around today. I wouldn¡¯t mind talking to him, even if it were just about work-rted


    matters. But he left so soon¡­


    Charles ran all the way down to the basement car park of Paradigm Co. He was about to get in the car


    when a shining, ck sports car sped over and stopped in front of him. Carl lowered the window and


    poked his head out of the car. ¡°Why are you in such a rush?¡± he asked.


    Charles¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw Carl. ¡°You¡¯re just in time. We¡¯ll take your car¡ªyour sports car is faster


    than mine.¡± Charles let himself into Carl¡¯s car as he spoke. ¡°Hurry. We need to go to First World


    Hospital.¡±


    Carl shot him an annoyed frown. ¡°Why do you need to go to the hospital?¡±


    ¡°My darling justpleted her abortion surgery. Why else?!¡± Charles put on his seatbelt.


    The look on Carl¡¯s face changed a little as he tightened his grip around the wheel. ¡°Did you say¡­ Sonia


    completed the surgery?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Charles nodded.


    Carl lowered his gaze as waves of thoughts and emotions filled his insides. Why would Soniaplete


    her surgery at a time like this? Didn¡¯t she say that she would do it this weekend when she¡¯s overseas?


    Did she find out about something?


    Charles smacked Carl on the shoulder when he realized that Carl seemed to be zoning out with his head


    lowered. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you moving? Drive. You must be here to meet my darling, right? If that¡¯s the case,


    then we can just go to the hospital together.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± An unidentifiable emotion shed in Carl¡¯s eyes as he lifted his head and suppressed all the


    feelings within him. He immediately stepped on the gas to leave the parking lot.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was sipping on the porridge that Toby had bought for her in the hospital. She had just


    completed her surgery, so all she could eat was nd and simple food. Toby was standing in the corner


    of the room, talking business with Tom on the phone. Once he ended the call, Sonia addressed him with


    a nk look on her face. ¡°You should leave if you have other things to handle in thepany. You don¡¯t


    need to stay here,¡± she uttered with her bowl of porridge still in her hand.


    Toby nced at her for a while. He was worried about her, but he also had matters in thepany that


    required his immediate attention. After hesitating for a short while, he decided to return to the office. He


    kept his phone away before gazing at her with a fond look in his eyes. ¡°Okay. I¡¯lle back tonight. Just


    call me if you need anything.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond to him and merely continued sipping on her porridge. He nced at the floor


    dejectedly and let out a soft sigh before he took his coat and walked out of the ward. She didn¡¯t look me


    in the eye at all.


    When Toby walked out of the hospital, he looked up and stared at one specific window for a while. He


    then turned away and strode off without looking back. Julia saw as all of this happened. At first, she was


    shocked to see him at the hospital. However, she quickly recalled what she had seen the night before.


    Toby looked really anxious when he brought Sonia to the emergency roomst night. She must have


    been admitted into the hospital, and he must have stayed with her. If Sonia was admittedst night, she


    must be pretty sick. I wonder what her illness is.


    With that thought, Julia walked into the hospital and stopped by the nurses¡¯ counter. ¡°Hello, Miss. I¡¯d like


    to ask about the man who just walked out. Who did hee to visit?¡±Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.

 Chapter 327

    Chapter 327


    Chapter 327 Sonia¡¯s Test


    ¡°May I know why you need this information?¡± The nurse stared at Julia.


    Julia responded with a warm smile. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a rtive of the man who just walked out. He has been out


    and about for the past two days, and his family is really worried about him. Since I bumped into him here,


    I figured that I¡¯d ask about him so that I could let his family know about his current situation. I think his


    family would be less worried after hearing about him.¡± Julia had an aura that was stronger than the


    regr person¡¯s, and she didn¡¯t sound like she was lying at all.


    The nurse lowered her guard as she was convinced by Julia. ¡°Well, that man¡¯s wife just had an abortion.


    He was here with her earlier.¡±


    ¡°An abortion?!¡± Julia widened her eyes.


    The nurse frowned at this. ¡°You¡¯re at the hospital wards, Miss. Please keep your volume down.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was just too surprised.¡± Julia forced a smile before turning away from the nurse. A look of


    utter bewilderment filled her face as she walked off. Did Sonia get pregnant with Toby¡¯s child? When did


    that happen? Julia clutched onto her thermos in one hand as she listened to her heart pounding against


    her chest. Judging by the way Sonia looked in the past two days, it doesn¡¯t seem like there have been


    any significant changes to her belly. I¡¯m sure she has only been pregnant for a short while¡ªprobably


    less than three months pregnant. Toby and Sonia¡¯s divorce also happened about three months ago. In


    that case, it¡¯s highly likely that Toby had secretly gotten Sonia pregnant after the divorce!


    If that were actually the case, everything would work out for the Grays as they would be able to go to the


    Fullers and demand an exnation. The Gray Family had been ridiculed and mocked by the public ever


    since Toby announced his decision to cancel the marriage. More importantly, Triforce Enterprise¡¯s rank in


    Seafield had fallen by 20 ces after Fuller Group withdrew all of their partnerships with them. The


    business had continued to go downhill due to the scandals surrounding Tina¡¯s attempt to harm Sonia. At


    this point, Triforce Enterprise was about to go bankrupt.


    However, the cancetion of the marriage was the spark that started this entire issue. If they hadn¡¯t


    ended the marriage, the partnerships between the two businesses would have gone on. If the news of


    Tina harming Sonia came out then, Triforce Enterprise might have still been able to manage the


    situation.


    Julia figured that she would get Titus to use this information to their benefit. We can recover the marriage


    between the Fullers and the Grays. Even if that doesn¡¯t happen, we could at least regain some of the


    partnerships that the Triforce Enterprise had with Fuller Group. Julia¡¯s hands shook with excitement just


    at the thought of that.


    She instantly grabbed onto one of the passing nurses. She offered the nurse 2,000 to check on the


    details surrounding Sonia¡¯s pregnancy. Soon enough, the nurse returned with information¡ªSonia had


    been pregnant for less than three months. If that was the case, it could only mean that Toby had cheated


    and engaged in immoral acts with Sonia after he divorced her.


    Julia excitedly dialed Titus¡¯s number. ¡°I have great news for you, Titus!¡± she cried.


    Titus was kept busy with issues regarding thepany¡¯s capital, and his voice sounded rather dull and


    weak on the other end of the call. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Julia exined everything to him, and his spirits were lifted the moment he understood the situation. ¡°Are


    you sure about this?¡± he asked while getting to his feet.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Julia nodded. Titus began to pace around in his office. ¡°That¡¯s great! I need you to find a way to


    get a report of Sonia¡¯s abortion. Then, we can pay the Fullers a visit,¡± he uttered excitedly.


    ¡°Got it.¡± Julia nodded and ended the call before returning to Tina¡¯s room with a smile on her face.


    At the same time, Sonia had just finished her bowl of porridge in her room. She ced the porridge by


    the bedside table. There, she happened to realize the receipt that Toby had left behind after purchasing


    the food for her. She took a look at the price of the dishes before pulling her phone out and transferring


    the exact amount over to Toby.


    After sending the money over, she turned her phone off. She didn¡¯t bother to check if Toby replied to her.


    Right then, someone knocked on her door. ¡°Come in,¡± she said while looking up.


    The door opened to reveal Charles and Carl, one of them holding a bouquet while the other carrying a


    basket of fruits. ¡°We¡¯re here to visit, darling.¡± Charles gave her his widest grin.


    Carl greeted her in a warm voice. ¡°Hi, Sonia.¡± She was pleased to see the both of them, and sheughed


    upon their arrival. ¡°Thank you foring!¡±


    ¡°Here you go. Do you like it?¡± Charles held the flowers in front of her. Sonia narrowed her eyes when she


    saw the bouquet of lilies. ¡°You guys could¡¯ve juste empty-handed. You shouldn¡¯t have bought all


    these¡ªI¡¯m going to be discharged tomorrow, anyway! I won¡¯t be here for long.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of how long you¡¯re staying in the hospital, we just thought it¡¯d be nice to get you a little


    something.¡± Charles ced the flowers by the side of her bed while Carl found a spot for the fruit basket.


    ¡°Would you like some fruit, Sonia? I¡¯ll go wash them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like some strawberries, please,¡± Sonia said after taking a look at the basket.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Carl opened the stic wrapper around the basket of fruits before he brought some strawberries


    into the kitchen. Sonia was staying in one of the VIP rooms, the size of which was equivalent to a two-


    room suite. She had her own kitchen, toilet, and balcony¡ªthe ce was extremely luxurious.


    After Carl left, Charles pulled his chair close to the edge of Sonia¡¯s bed before he sat down. He had


    appeared yful earlier, but a stern expression took over the moment he sat down. ¡°What¡¯s going on,


    baby? Why did you suddenly change your mind? What made you decide to do the surgery now?¡±


    Charles was certain that something must have happened.


    Although Carl was in the kitchen, he overheard Charles¡¯s questions for Sonia. Carl immediately reduced


    the water flow from the tap. His movements grew slower and quieter as he continued washing the


    strawberries.


    Sonia recalled what Toby had told her earlier. He thought that one of the three guys¡ªCharles, Zane, and


    Carl¡ªwas the one who poisoned me. The smile on Sonia¡¯s face faded a little as she looked down to


    conceal any emotion in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just happened to trip and fall. That¡¯s why I decided


    to have the surgery earlier.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Charles eyed her suspiciously. He clearly didn¡¯t believe her.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Of course. I have already made my appointment with the hospital overseas. Why would I


    change my ns if it weren¡¯t for an ident? I was in a bad mood yesterday and I didn¡¯t pay attention to


    where I was walking, so I tripped while walking to my unit. The fall ended up impacting the child.¡±


    As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes and stole a few nces at Charles to see if there were any


    changes to his expression. The person who poisoned her would most definitely know that the doctors


    had detected the poison in her system. In that case, the culprit would be puzzled to realize that Sonia


    hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about the poison at all. That way, the culprit might identally expose


    himself.


    Sonia was trying to test Charles to check if he was the one who had poisoned her. However, after


    watching Charles for a while, she couldn¡¯t seem to find anything odd about him. She soon concluded that


    Charles was innocent. Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. Honestly, I hope it isn¡¯t Charles or Carl who did this.


    Apart from Grandpa, they are the only two people I trust. So, I don¡¯t care if someone else wants to


    poison me¡ªI just don¡¯t want either one of them to be the one responsible for it. If they did something like


    that, I would feel extremely betrayed.


    Since Sonia managed to eliminate Charles from her list of suspects, she was left with Zane and Carl.


    Don¡¯t let me down, Carl! Sonia shut her eyes as she prayed silently.


    Charles had no idea what Sonia was thinking about, but he simply fixed her sheets while he talked to


    her. ¡°Why were you so careless? Even if you were in a bad mood, you should¡¯ve taken better care of


    yourself. By the way, how did you end up in the hospital after falling down and injuring yourself?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Sonia. Why didn¡¯t you call Charles or me?¡± Carl added once he finished washing the strawberries


    and walked out of the kitchen.


    Sonia stared at him, and her eyes glinted for a second before she returned to her usual expression. She


    gave them a bashful chuckle. ¡°I called the ambnce on my own. I fainted soon after that, so I didn¡¯t get


    a chance to contact you guys. I¡¯m sorry for worrying both of you.¡±


    ¡°You should be sorry! My soul nearly left my body when I heard that you were hospitalized.¡± Charles


    patted his chest in an exaggerated manner.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Carl uttered with a nod.


    Sonia scratched the back of her head. ¡°I won¡¯t do it again,¡± she said.


    ¡°That sounds more like it.¡± Charles chuckled once more. Sonia then pointed at the drawer beside her


    bed. ¡°I want you to open the first drawer, Charles,¡± she uttered.


    ¡°What do you need?¡± Charles opened the drawer as per her instructions.

 Chapter 328

    Chapter 328


    Chapter 328 He Has Psychological Issues


    Sonia¡¯s eyes were slightly dark. ¡°It¡¯s my examination report. I¡¯m not feeling well enough to get it, so you¡¯ll


    have to help to obtain it since the nurse will being overter to view it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay.¡± Charles nodded before he went over to get the report and handed it to her.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± After she took it, she left it on the side of her pillow. When Carl saw the document, his eyes


    dropped as it left him in a pensive mood.


    ¡°Oh yeah, Charles, please head to the hospital¡¯s equipment department to apply for a wheelchair for me.


    Once I¡¯m discharged tomorrow, I can¡¯t have someone to support me all the time, so it¡¯s more convenient


    to have a wheelchair,¡± Sonia continued with a bitter smile.


    As it was her request, Charles naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse her and agreed. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll head off now. Carl,


    please look after the darling.¡±


    Carl smiled and nodded, after which Charles went out. Sonia lifted the nket and extended her hand


    toward Carl while saying, ¡°Carl, help me up. I want to go to the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you.¡± He stretched out with his hands and was about to carry her off the bed. If it had been like


    that before, she wouldn¡¯t have refused his offer. However, now that she thought about Toby saying that


    Carl and the others liked her, there was an indescribably strange feeling in her heart.


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head and refused. ¡°I¡¯m not maimed to the point where I can¡¯t move. I don¡¯t need


    you to carry me; just support me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± A trace of disappointment shed in Carl¡¯s eyes as he took her hand and carefully helped her out


    of bed. Then, they headed toward the bathroom door.


    ¡°Sonia, are you okay on your own? Shall I call the caregiver toe and give you a hand?¡± He looked at


    her and asked uneasily.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    However, Sonia smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t think of me as so fragile. I¡¯ll head in first.¡±


    After saying that, she drew back her arm to hold the wall while she went into the bathroom and closed


    the door behind her. Carl stared at the closed bathroom door for a few seconds before his eyes suddenly


    narrowed. He turned toward the hospital bed and took the examination report that she had ced at the


    side of the pillow earlier. He was curious as to what the report entailed and why she didn¡¯t know that she


    was poisoned. After all, it was impossible for the hospital not to know.


    Just as Carl perused the examination report at lightning speed, the bathroom door not far behind him


    slowly opened. Sonia was standing there as she tightly gripped the door handle with aplicated


    expression. As he seemingly sensed that she was behind him, he froze as he turned his head and met


    her disappointed eyes, all the while still holding the report.


    A pale Carl suddenly panicked and stammered, ¡°S-Sonia¡­¡±


    She closed her eyes, her voiceced with a trace of bitterness as she said, ¡°Carl, did you know that Toby


    told me that there are three suspicious candidates who could have poisoned me¡ªZane, Charles, and


    you? Out of the three of you, I can ept Zane poisoning me because we don¡¯t have a cordial


    rtionship, but I can¡¯t ept you and Charles doing so. Thus, when Toby said it could be you, I thought


    he was talking out of his a*s.¡±


    Then, her gaze fell on the examination report in his hands. ¡°Yet, I never expected him to tell the truth.


    And the one who poisoned me was actually you; the one whom I thought was the most innocent of all.¡±


    It was when Carl followed Sonia¡¯s eyes on his hands that he finally understood. ¡°Sonia, were you


    deliberately testing me?¡±


    When Sonia saw that he had reacted so quickly, she took a deep breath and walked to him while holding


    the wall. ¡°That¡¯s right; I deliberately asked Charles to bring out the examination report in order to test you.


    I also tested Charles before; I deliberately told him that I lost the baby because I fell down. If he was the


    one, he would have wondered why I didn¡¯t know that I was poisoned and would definitely reveal


    something. However, as Charles did not reveal anything, I was sure that he wasn¡¯t the one who poisoned


    me. As a result, I had to test you.¡±


    She looked at Carl. ¡°Simrly, the words I said to Charles were the same one I told you in the kitchen at


    that time, but I couldn¡¯t see your reaction back then. So, I came up with the examination report to test


    you. If you poisoned me, you would certainly find a way to find out whether the hospital has checked my


    situation or not. Therefore, I sent Charles away under the pretext of going to the bathroom myself to


    deliberately create opportunities for you to check the report. If you did so, you¡¯d definitely be the one who


    poisoned me.¡±


    Carl was silent. A few momentster, he put down the examination report in his hand before he broke


    into a slight smile. ¡°I thought I covered up well, but I did not expect that you would still learn the truth in


    the end.¡±


    Although Sonia had determined that he was the one who poisoned her, she was still unhappy after


    hearing his admission in person. She rubbed her palms, her eyesplicated as she asked, ¡°Carl, why


    did you do it? Do you know how disappointed I was when I saw you picking up the report? I really


    couldn¡¯t believe it because you have always been that gentle, kind and simple young man in my heart,


    but¡ª¡±


    ¡°But, it turns out I¡¯m not who you think I am,¡± Carl interrupted as he looked at her.


    Sonia gaped as she admitted the truth.


    Then, he lowered his head and his voice was low as he apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. I¡¯ve let you down.¡±


    As she digested his guilt, she also felt a bit ufortable. ¡°Why? Why did you do that?¡± she asked


    again.


    He lifted his head and stared at her stomach. ¡°I did it for your sake too.¡±


    ¡°For my sake?¡± Sonia was doubtful.


    Carl nodded. ¡°You kept saying that you want to get rid of this child, but for three months, you have not


    acted on your words, so¡ª¡±


    ¡°So, you poisoned me to help me out?¡± She looked at him incredulously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with me doing this.¡± He pursed his lips. ¡°It¡¯s been three months, yet


    you haven¡¯t aborted it. You¡¯ll only be more reluctant to abort it as time goes on, so I can only resort to this


    method.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Sonia felt truly shocked and her expression wasplicated. ¡°Carl, why do you


    think that? Whether I abort this child or not is my business. You shouldn¡¯t have interfered. Do you


    understand?¡±


    In any case, she had never said she wouldn¡¯t abort the child. In fact, she was exceptionally determined


    to do so and it was just that she had been too busytely to act on it.


    Carl clenched his fists. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. I only know that this child can¡¯t stay in this world as his


    existence will only cause you trouble.¡±


    As he thought about it, his emotions were a little stirred and frantic. ¡°Sonia, do you know that a


    pregnancy before marriage has never been a morous thing? If the outside world knows you are


    pregnant, you will definitely suffer from all the ridicule and even the people near you will look down on


    you. Sonia, I am doing it for your own good.¡±


    ¡°Are you doing it for my own good, or for your own sake?¡± Sonia spoke in a cold voice. She looked at


    Carl as if he had turned into another person. Then, she frowned.


    With a strange expression, he asked, ¡°Sonia, what do you mean by this?¡±


    ¡°It means that you are not really worried that I will be looked down upon by the outside world, but rather


    you are unable to ept that I am pregnant with another man¡¯s child. That is because you like me.


    When you saw that I still wasn¡¯t acting on my decision, you urgently poisoned me in order to hasten the


    abortion process. Am I right, Carl?¡± Her body trembled slightly.


    Carl paled again as he asked, ¡°Sonia, you¡­ How did you¡ª¡±


    ¡°How did I know that you like me?¡± Sonia pursed her lips.

 Chapter 329

    Chapter 329


    Chapter 329 Psychological Issues


    Carl¡¯s thin lips moved, but he was unable to form the words even though it was exactly what he meant.


    Sonia held the chair and sat down. ¡°It was Toby who told me. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have known about it.


    I always thought that it was purely tonic between us and I didn¡¯t expect you to actually¡­¡±


    Although she did not finish her sentence, the meaning was obvious. Upon hearing this, he looked


    unhappy. So, it was Toby who told her, but it¡¯s for the best if he¡¯s the one who spilled the beans anyway.


    Now that she was aware of his true intentions, he wouldn¡¯t have to trouble himself and think on how to


    confess to her without scaring her off.


    ¡°Toby is right. It¡¯s true that my feelings for you aren¡¯t tonic but romantic instead. It¡¯s also true that I


    poisoned you because I couldn¡¯t ept you carrying another man¡¯s child. However¡ª¡± Carl looked at her


    and continued, ¡°What I just said about not wanting you to be subjected to the ridicule of the outside world


    is also true, Sonia. I know I shouldn¡¯t have poisoned you, but I also didn¡¯t mean to hurt you. That


    medicine will only cause harm to the child in your belly, and not to you.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think that you didn¡¯t hurt me?¡± Sonia smiled slightly. ¡°No, you have. You actually broke my


    heart.¡±


    Then, she pointed to her heart. ¡°You poisoned me. To me, not only did you snatch the child in my belly, it


    was a form of betrayal. Did you know that apart from Grandpa, the people whom I trust the most are you


    and Charles? Look at what happened¡ªyou poisoned me! If I do something in the future that you can¡¯t


    ept, are you going to do this to me again?¡±


    He froze and he didn¡¯t say anything.


    Upon seeing this, she felt disappointed because it looked like history would indeed repeat itself.


    Carl also understood that his reaction had frightened Sonia, so he hastily said, ¡°Sonia, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Okay. Carl, don¡¯t say anything. Why don¡¯t you head out first? I want to be on my own.¡± She looked away


    and refused to gaze at him.


    When he saw that she was being cold and distant, he panicked with a hint of desperation. However, he


    soon returned to his senses and recovered hisposure. As he lowered his eyes, he responded,


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Then, he turned around and walked toward the door with his head down, which made it impossible for


    anyone to see his facial expression. The door suddenly opened at this moment and he almost collided


    with the person outside. It was a fortunate thing that the person outside had reacted in time and took a


    step back.


    Carl coldly nced at the said person before he walked past the man and out the door.


    When Tim looked at Carl¡¯s back, he raised his eyebrow while the corners of his mouth curled upward as


    he entered the ward. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that the person who poisoned you turned out to be him,¡± Tim


    quoted as he leaned against the wall by the door.


    Sonia¡¯s eyshes trembled. ¡°You heard that?¡±


    ¡°Some of it.¡± He lifted his chin.


    She gave a bitter smile. ¡°Yeah, I really didn¡¯t expect him to poison me.¡±


    Carl poisoning her was the same as him being unable to ept the child in her belly¡ªit was something


    that she couldn¡¯t ept. Even if the poison hadn¡¯t done much harm to her, his ruthlessness still scared


    her. She suddenly realized that she really didn¡¯t understand him as a person at all. It was also true that


    thest time she swung by Jordain County to visit him was ten years ago; at that time, Carl was only 15


    or 16 years old, which would be Tyler¡¯s age.


    After all, people would grow up and mature¡ªand this included Toby, Carl, and herself. It was simply a


    natural thing. On top of that, both she and Carl had been apart for ten years, so she had no idea what he


    endured in that period of time. Therefore, how could she possibly understand Carl at all? She was simply


    too arrogant to have thought that she knew him well.


    While looking at Sonia¡¯s unhappy appearance, Tim pushed his sses up his nose brudge. ¡°Although


    I¡¯m a little surprised that Carl poisoned you, I think it was something expected.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She raised her eyes to look at him.


    Tim shoved his hands in the pockets of his white coat. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that Carl has serious


    psychological issues? He has an almost perverted sense of possession and control of those whom he


    likes, including people. As such, it¡¯s not surprising that he would do such a thing to you. In fact, he has


    already suppressed his tendency to be possessive and controlling when he did this.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    When she heard this, it took several seconds for a totally confused Sonia to find her voice. ¡°What are you


    saying? Carl has psychological issues?¡±


    ¡°It seems like you really didn¡¯t know about it.¡± He shrugged.


    She swallowed and shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t know anything; I couldn¡¯t see that Carl had any


    psychological issues at all¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he hides it well. What you see of him is just a disguise he wears. In fact, the real him is


    dark and morbid,¡± Tim borated.


    Sonia¡¯s heart was racing; she was obviously so stunned by the piece of news that Tim brought to the


    point where she couldn¡¯t calm down. She never knew that the Carl whom she saw wasn¡¯t actually his


    true personality. In fact, she was still proud of the fact that she understood him when she had


    comprehended nothing.


    ¡°By the way, that reminds me!¡± As she suddenly thought of something, she tensed and looked at Tim.


    ¡°You just said that Carl poisoned me after he intentionally suppressed his emotions, right? So, this


    means that if he didn¡¯t suppress his desire to control me, would he have done something more serious


    than just poisoning me?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so. As for how serious it would be, you can search for what these people do to others on the


    Inte. It will certainly broaden your mind,¡± he answered with his sses reflecting light.


    She really went to search more about what Carl would have done on her phone and when she saw all


    the extreme behavior that such folks would do, she couldn¡¯t help but shiver. ¡°I-Is Carl¡¯s psychological


    condition that serious?¡± She sucked a breath of cold air.


    He finally stopped being casual and adopted a solemn tone. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let Carl hurt you. After


    all, folks like him can¡¯t defeat psychopaths.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia tilted her head.


    With a smile, Tim answered, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    He was born without empathy or fear, so he was seen as a psychopath and a monster. Indeed, he knew


    that he was a monster. He had a pathological mania for blood and human life was worthless to him.


    What made it worse was that he could do outrageous things to achieve a certain purpose.


    As for Carl, he could not. Although the mentally ill would do almost the same things as the psychopaths,


    they had a weakness, which was the target of their obsession. Because psychopaths like Tim never had


    such weaknesses, he wouldn¡¯t be defeated by Carl.


    Sonia did not know what was in Tim¡¯s mind. After she bit her lip, she hesitated before asking, ¡°Dr.


    Lancaster, can this aspect of Carl¡¯s psychological state be cured?¡±


    Seeing that Tim was also a psychiatrist, he would have an answer, to which he nodded. ¡°Of course, but


    only if he is willing to ept the treatment himself. If he is forced to do so, it will only be


    counterproductive and worsen his condition.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡± Sonia rubbed her temples.¡± I¡¯ll try to convince him.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°You should go for it then. Okay, let me examine you.¡±


    Sonia grunted and returned to the hospital bed to lie down.


    On the other hand, Toby had emerged from the conference room after taking care of things at the Fuller


    Group and fished out his phone to see whether she had called. After all, he had told her before he left


    that she could give him a buzz if there was anything she needed. As she was now in the hospital, there


    would be something that she needed. Thus, maybe she would contact him.


    With this expectation in mind, he switched on his phone, after which a message from her popped up. His


    eyes brightened slightly for a moment and his unhappy mood caused bypany matters suddenly


    improved. Then, he clicked on her message in a hurry to see what she had sent. It was merely a


    message about the transfer of money for the meal. Upon seeing this, his expression sank and his slightly


    improved mood dipped once again.

 Chapter 330

    Chapter 330


    Chapter 330 Don¡¯t Call the Police


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    He thought that she needed him, but he didn¡¯t expect that she was merely transferring money for the


    meal. Does she really not want to owe me anything at all? It¡¯s just a few bucks, yet she wanted to make


    things so clear with me.


    An exhausted Toby rubbed his temples and kept his phone away. He did not ept the money transfer


    and simply pretended not to see it as he wanted to wait until it would be automatically returned to her 24


    hourster.


    ¡°President Fuller, the uing appointment¡ª¡± Tom¡¯s voice sounded in the back.


    Toby raised his hand and interrupted, ¡°Cancel the unimportant ones and postpone the pertinent ones.¡±


    As Tom knew why Toby did this, he closed the nner and answered, ¡°Understood. Do you want to go to


    the hospital after this?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Prepare the car.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tom pushed his sses.


    By the time they arrived at the hospital, the sky was already dark and drizzling.


    It was after Tom parked the car that Toby opened the car door, pulled an umbre out and stepped out.


    ¡°You can get off work now;e and pick me up tomorrow morning.¡± I¡¯ll be staying in the hospital


    overnight.


    Tom gave a slight nod before he replied, ¡°Okay, President Fuller.¡±


    After that, Toby held his umbre and walked toward the hospital inpatient building. When he arrived


    outside Sonia¡¯s ward, a nurse on night duty emerged from inside and bowed slightly to greet him.


    ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯re here.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Is she asleep?¡±


    As she knew who he was asking about, she shook her head before she replied, ¡°Miss Reed is still


    awake. She has just finished receiving the anti-inmmatory drugs via infusion.¡±


    ¡°Okay, got it. Go on with your work then.¡± Toby waved his hand. Thus, the nurse excused herself and left.


    Next, he stood in front of the door of the ward and knocked.


    Sonia was reading a report inside the ward and answered without raising her head, ¡°Pleasee in.¡±


    Upon hearing her voice, Toby turned the handle and opened the door to enter. ¡°What are you looking at


    so seriously?¡±


    At this, she was stunned and lifted her head to ask in response, ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    When he heard the frosty tone in her reply, he was unhappy for a moment. While he kept the umbre in


    the bucket next to the door, he answered, ¡°I said I woulde over to visit you tonight.¡±


    She frowned at his reply. Although she remembered that he had said those words before he left earlier in


    the day, she had merely ignored it at that time. Then, she lowered her head and looked at the report in


    her hand once again. ¡°Really? Now that you¡¯ve seen me, you can leave.¡±


    It was clear that she was pushing him away.


    The moment Toby heard this, he pursed his thin lips. ¡°Sonia, will you stop being so unfriendly with me?¡±


    At this moment, Sonia had returned to the cold, unfriendly person that she was when they first divorced.


    ¡°Unfriendly?¡± Soniaughed and dropped the report in her hand. The report fell to the floor along the


    edge of the bed, but she didn¡¯t look at it. Instead, she only gave a cold look at Toby. ¡°Then, how do you


    want me to treat you? Be gentle and loving? Or, to be pleasant and cheerful? You made me the target of


    an extra-marital affair scandal during your marriage to Tina, which you have been hiding all along. So,


    why should I be nice to you? If you want someone to treat you well, go and look for someone else. I think


    there are many others who are willing to treat you the way you want them to.¡±


    Now that she thought of that night 3 months ago, she really regretted her decision on getting drunk and


    flirting with men. After all, she was unlucky to have flirted with him and ended up being the homewrecker


    of his marriage. It was because of her sabotage that Toby and Tina¡¯s engagement party wasn¡¯t


    sessfully held; although it was postponed to next year, their marriage contract was still valid and they


    were truly engaged to each other. Yet, Sonia slept with Toby not too long after his engagement, so was


    the homewrecker!


    She hated such people the most in life, but she never thought that due to her being drunk, she


    unknowingly became a homewrecker twice.


    The first time was 6 years ago; Sonia was unaware that Toby and Tina were dating at that time and after


    Tina¡¯s car ident, she even discussed marriage with him.


    The second time happened twice that night 3 months ago. When she first proposed that they marry, he


    didn¡¯t reveal his rtionship with Tina and didn¡¯t refuse her proposal either. He subsequently knew that


    Sonia was drunk and the man whom she intended to flirt with was not actually him, but he didn¡¯t push her


    away and took her to his room instead. Even if she was guilty, Toby¡¯s sin was greater!


    Sonia sneered and nced at Toby. When he saw the disgust in her eyes, he lowered his eyes as he


    knew that he was in the wrong. He felt displeased at that knowledge and was vaguely regretful. He


    began to think that he should¡¯ve been a little more sensible that night. If so, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen


    pregnant or poisoned and their somewhat improved rtionship wouldn¡¯t have been reduced to such a


    state now.


    Soon, therge ward became reticent, save for the sounds of the medical equipment.


    After a few moments, he took a step forward and bent to pick up the report on the floor. He slightly


    narrowed his eyes when he saw the contents of the report. ¡°Toxin analysis report? Is it the analysis


    report of the poison you were poisoned with?¡±


    She did not respond but merely nced at him.


    Then, he gripped the report in his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t read this kind of thing. Reading it will only make you feel


    bad. I¡¯ve already asked people to investigate who administered the poison and I believe there will be


    results soon.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to investigate. I already know who it is.¡± Sonia slid her phone screen and spoke faintly.


    Upon hearing this, Toby was stunned. ¡°You know who? When did you know about it?¡±


    However, Sonia ignored him. He knew that she deliberately kept it a secret from him, so he furrowed his


    brows. ¡°Who did it? Charles? Zane? Or was it Carl?¡±


    Whenever he said a name, he paid attention to the change in her expression. Her expression had


    remained the same when he brought up Charles and Zane. However, the moment he spoke about Carl,


    her eyes flicked for a moment. Although she quickly regained herposure, Toby still caught the subtle


    expression and narrowed his eyes before he added in a deep voice, ¡°It¡¯s Carl, right?¡±


    At this, Sonia froze and her grip on the phone tightened. He had actually made a correct guess!


    Toby clenched his fists and said, ¡°Sonia, he is someone you consider your brother. Yet, he¡¯s the one who


    poisoned you!¡±


    She bit her lip. ¡°Yes, Carl administered the poison, but¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish her words, she saw him taking out his phone and dialed the emergency number.


    So, she quickly shouted, ¡°Toby, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m calling the police!¡± He looked at her with a cold face. ¡°I won¡¯t let the person who poisoned you off the


    hook!¡± What¡¯s more, this person has killed my child!


    When she heard Toby saying that he was going to call the police, Sonia hurriedly rose to a sitting


    position on the bed while ignoring the pain in her belly. ¡°No, you can¡¯t call the police! Toby, I won¡¯t let you


    call the police!¡±


    She grabbed his arm with a firm expression.


    Then, he tightly gripped the phone. ¡°Sonia, do you know what you¡¯re doing? You¡¯re helping a criminal!¡±


    ¡°You speak as if you have not helped a criminal before.¡± She sneered at him. ¡°What Tina did was much


    worse than Carl, yet you have repeatedly helped to protect her. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s extremely hypocritical


    of you to criticize me?¡±


    Toby suddenly found himself speechless when he heard Sonia¡¯s words because what she said was the


    truth. Even though he hadn¡¯t voluntarily done it, it was still executed by him.

 Chapter 331

    Chapter 331


    Chapter 331 Sonia¡¯s Selfishness


    As he took a deep breath, Toby calmed down and looked at Sonia. ¡°I admit that what I did in the past


    was wrong and I will make up for all my mistakes. However, now and the past are two different things,


    Sonia. You can¡¯t mix them up. Carl poisoned you and caused the child to be deformed, so this already


    constitutes the crime of intentional homicide. Therefore, the police must be informed!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a child that I was ready to abort. So what if it was deformed? In any case, I absolutely won¡¯t


    allow you to call the police to take away Carl!¡± She returned his gaze with an extremely stubborn attitude.


    He eximed with an incredulous frown, ¡°So what if it was deformed? What are you saying? Sonia,


    that¡¯s your child!¡±


    As a mother, was it appropriate for her to say that? Of course, she knew it was not, but it didn¡¯t matter;


    she didn¡¯t care what he thought. She released his arm and responded coldly, ¡°So what if it was my child?


    It shouldn¡¯te into this world in the first ce and his existence was a mistake. Furthermore, it was


    still just an embryo and not even a fully formed human yet, so how could it bepared to Carl¡¯s


    position in my heart?¡±


    However, although she had said so, there was a stabbing pain in her heart. At this moment, she realized


    that she in fact cared more about the child than she thought. Since Toby didn¡¯t know what was in her


    heart, he took a step back and looked at her like she was a stranger. ¡°Okay, even if you don¡¯t care about


    that child, I do because it¡¯s also my child. And as a father, I can seek justice for my child, right?¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Sonia snickered, ¡°Justice? Toby, didn¡¯t you know I was pregnant a long time ago? At that time, you didn¡¯t


    behave like this. You couldn¡¯t be bothered as to whether I aborted the baby or not. You were happy for


    me to proceed with the abortion and didn¡¯t care if I didn¡¯t because you wouldn¡¯t admit it was your child


    anyway. At that time, you didn¡¯t seem to care about the baby, yet you came to show your fatherly love at


    this time? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s toote and hypocritical?¡±


    Toby¡¯s throat was dry. ¡°Is this how you view me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m viewing you this way on purpose, but that¡¯s what you originally did.¡± She sneered once


    again as she looked at him.


    There was a dull pain in Toby¡¯s heart. He wanted to say that it was not the case, but he could not seem


    to say the words at all. Maybe the reason why he couldn¡¯t deny it was because he really was exactly how


    Sonia had viewed him.


    After a long silence, he responded, ¡°Are you really going to let Carl off the hook?¡±


    Upon hearing this, she lowered her eyelids. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Even if he poisoned you?¡± he asked again. ¡°You don¡¯t even care?¡±


    Sonia formed her hands into fists. ¡°Yes, I believe Carl¡¯s behavior will change, so I¡¯m willing to give him a


    chance.¡±


    Everyone had their selfish reasons and she wasn¡¯t an exception either. She even cared more about Carl


    than the unexpected child. After all, she harbored tonic feelings for him, so she couldn¡¯t send him to


    prison just like that.


    ¡°A chance? Aren¡¯t you afraid he will do this to you again in the future?¡± Toby stared at her


    Her eyes shed as she pursed her slightly pale lips. ¡°I believe Carl won¡¯t. He did it this time because he


    is ill.¡±


    She was not going to tell Toby about the illness because that was Carl¡¯s private matter. Anyway, Toby


    didn¡¯t want to know either and merely gave a mock smile as he lowered his head. ¡°Ill? If what I did to you


    before was also the result of being sick, would you forgive me as easily as you have forgiven Carl?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re ill?¡± Sonia frowned.


    Toby snorted a little. ¡°Sure enough, you don¡¯t believe my words.¡±


    Apart from not wanting to take advantage of her sympathy, the reason why he hadn¡¯t told her that he was


    hypnotized was because he knew that she wouldn¡¯t believe him. She would only reckon that he had said


    that on purpose as an excuse for what he had previously done.


    Sensing his disappointment, Sonia moved her lips and was about to say something when Toby resumed


    his usual cool look. Then, he gazed at her before asking, ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m asking you one more time: are you


    sure you won¡¯t regret letting Carl go?¡±


    ¡°I am sure!¡± She nodded without any hesitation.


    He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them, the look in his eyes was indifferent. ¡°Okay


    then. Rest well and I¡¯lle back tomorrow.¡±


    Toby had originally nned to spend the night here, but now he needed to calm down.


    Sonia looked at his back and shouted in a hurry, ¡°Toby!¡±


    Although he stopped in his tracks, he didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°A-Are you letting Carl free?¡± Sonia asked while grabbing the quilt.


    The corners of Toby¡¯s lips curved into a self-deprecating arc. Originally, he thought that she had changed


    her mind and called out to him as a result. It turned out that he was a fool all along.


    ¡°Even if I were to pursue the matter, in the end, you would issue a letter to prevent the police from


    prosecuting Carl for his actions, right?¡± He gave her a sideway nce.


    She lowered her eyes and replied, ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, what¡¯s the point of me calling the police?¡± Toby turned his head to face her, his voice


    much colder this time. ¡°However, this is the first andst time I¡¯m letting him go, Sonia. You better pray


    that I don¡¯t catch Carl being involved in other matters or I¡¯ll make him regret it.¡±


    After saying that, he walked out of the ward. Sonia looked at the closed door for a few seconds before


    she sighed. She had a confused gaze as she nced at the toxin analysis report that Toby had thrown


    on the floor. He had wrinkled the report into a paper ball, which demonstrated his anger at that time.


    She rubbed her temples and probed out loud, ¡°I don¡¯t know whether I am right or wrong to defend Carl so


    much.¡±


    Then, she reminded herself that she needed to persuade Carl tomorrow to receive treatment. Maybe


    when his psychological problems were dealt with, she would be able to determine whether her actions


    today were appropriate or not.


    On the other side, after Toby walked out of the inpatient department, he took out his phone and dialed


    Tom¡¯s number. ¡°Come and pick me up from the hospital.¡±


    At the moment, Tom was having a barbeque with his friends and he had just opened a bottle of beer.


    Before he even had the time to take a sip of it, he already received such a call, which dampened his


    originally bright mood.


    Although he cursed in his heart, he asked with a smile on his face, ¡°President Fuller, aren¡¯t you going to


    spend the night in the hospital, though?¡±


    Toby walked to a chair in the garden and sat down. ¡°That¡¯s not the case anymore. Hurry over.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Tom answered as he nodded.


    Once the call ended a secondter, his expression suddenly changed as he stood up with a huff. ¡°Well,


    tonight¡¯s barbeque feast is over.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± his friend asked as he ate hismb skewer.


    Tom picked up his jacket and wore it. ¡°Well, my crazy boss has asked me to go over and pick him up. It


    must be because he was driven out by the one whom he¡¯s interested in. Anyway, I¡¯m leaving. Let¡¯s get


    together next time.¡±


    With a sigh, he walked toward his car by the curb and arrived to pick up Toby half an hourter.


    When Toby entered the car, Tom couldn¡¯t resist his curiosity and turned to ask, ¡°President Fuller, are you


    and Miss Reed¡ª¡±


    Toby¡¯s face darkened as he ordered, ¡°Drive!¡±


    Since Tom knew he was not going to get an answer, he reluctantly shrugged and turned to face the road


    to start the car. Toby then propped his hand on the door, but his expression was obscured as he was


    shrouded in the shadows. He had only let Carl off the hook this time because he didn¡¯t want to make


    Sonia sad and bear more hatred toward him even more.


    However, Toby would remember this incident and would have people keep an eye on Carl. As long as


    they manage to stumble upon something illegal that Carl was involved in, Toby would get even with him.


    He admitted that he was not a qualified father, but only he and Sonia had the rights to decide on matters


    surrounding the child, not an outsider. As he was thinking, the phone rang. He took it out and shot a


    nce at the device before he answered, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Toby, where are you? Come back quickly! Titus came to the house and he demanded to settle ounts


    with you.¡± Tyler¡¯s loud voice came from the phone.

 Chapter 332

    Chapter 332


    Chapter 332 Toby Cheated


    Toby¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Settle ounts with me? What ounts?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. That guy refused to say and insisted on waiting until you came back, so you better hurry


    home,¡± Tyler urged.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Toby grunted. After he hung up the phone, he pressed his temples and ordered, ¡°Drive home.


    I¡¯m not going to the hotel anymore.¡±


    He originally nned to stay at the hotel tonight so that he coulde over to the hospital earlier


    tomorrow morning when Sonia was discharged. However, now that Titus was over at the Fuller


    Residence, Toby had to return there instead.


    ¡°Okay, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded and answered.


    They finally arrived at the Fuller Residence more than an hourter. When the servant heard the sound


    of their car, she immediately came out to open the door. ¡°Young Master Toby, you¡¯re back.¡±


    ¡°Titus hasn¡¯t left yet?¡± Toby handed the jacket he held in his hand to her.


    The maid shook her head. ¡°Nope, Madam White and Young Master Tyler are dealing with him.¡±


    He pursed his lips, but he didn¡¯t say anything else. Instead, he simply changed his footwear before he


    walked toward the living room. Just as he entered the area, he heard Jean¡¯s sharp voice in the air. ¡°Gray,


    when are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t leave! I won¡¯t leave until Tobyes back. Let me tell you right now, if Toby doesn¡¯t give me an


    exnation, I won¡¯t be done with the Fuller Family!¡± Titus¡¯ evilughter came next.


    Toby¡¯s face darkened as he interrupted, ¡°Oh? Then, I would like to see what you are going to do with the


    Fuller Family!¡±


    Upon hearing these words, the three people in the living room instantly fell silent. Almost immediately


    after that, a happy Tyler rose to his full height. ¡°Toby, you¡¯re back.¡±


    ¡°Toby, luckily you¡¯re back! Hurry up and send this person off! He¡¯s annoying!¡± Jean pointed at Titus


    seated on the couch, her plump face not bothering to hide her deep disgust.


    When he saw this, Titus shivered with rage. This fat woman is such a typical snob!


    A few months ago when the Gray Family was still one of the top 20 families in the city, the fat woman had


    enthusiastically buttered up to them every time she met them and addressed them as part of her family.


    Now that the Gray Family had hit rock bottom, she immediately turned tables and looked down on them,


    which pissed the hell out of him! How could that old man, Homer Fuller, have fallen for such a woman


    back then?


    When Toby saw Titus¡¯ twisted expression, his eyes turned cold and he raised his head to appease Jean.


    ¡°I understand, Mom. Leave it to me. Since it¡¯ste, why don¡¯t you and Tyler return to your rooms to rest


    first?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to rest; I want to stay and see what kind of ount he wants to settle with the Fuller


    Family!¡± she answered, sitting down at once.


    Tyler also repeatedly nodded. ¡°I¡¯m staying too.¡±


    Upon realizing that his mother and brother weren¡¯t leaving, Toby didn¡¯t force them either. Instead, he


    walked toward Titus and sat across him. Then, he crossed his legs and coldly stared at Titus. ¡°Spit it out


    then. What ounts do you want to settle with me?¡±


    Titus huffed angrily, ¡°Okay, since you are straight to the point, I won¡¯t beat around the bush either. Toby,


    how could you do this to Tina?!¡±


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°What are you referring to?¡±


    He thought that the reason why Titus was looking for him at such ate hour was because of Titus¡¯


    dissatisfaction with business matters. Unexpectedly, it was actually about Tina.


    At once, Titus stood up and pointed at Toby¡¯s nose. ¡°What about? Of course, it¡¯s about your cheating!¡±


    ¡°Cheating?¡± Tyler was munching an apple and he almost choked when he heard this. As he patted his


    chest, he stared at Toby wide-eyed and asked, ¡°Toby, didn¡¯t you annul the marriage contract with Tina?


    How are you cheating on her then? Don¡¯t tell me you have reconciled with her?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Toby! Don¡¯t scare me, please! Tina Gray is now considered a piece of useless goods. Plus, she¡¯s


    exceptionally evil-hearted. How can she be worthy of you? You must not be rash and dumb!¡± Jean was


    quick to advise as she really didn¡¯t want Tina to marry into the family.


    As she previously didn¡¯t know the young woman well, she thought that Tina was gentle and mild.


    Therefore, if Tina married into the family, she would not overstep her boundaries with Jean. Most


    importantly, she was from the Gray Family. At that time, the Gray Family only had one daughter, so if


    Tina married into the family, both the Gray Family and Triforce Enterprise would be the Fuller


    Family¡¯s assets.


    Thus, after Tinanded in trouble, Jean felt rather sorry to have lost this stroke of good fortune. However,


    when the extent of Tina¡¯s viciousness was subsequently exposed, Jean no longer had any sympathy for


    her. Jean was aware that she herself wasn¡¯t a good person, but she definitely wasn¡¯t a bad one either.


    Otherwise, why would she treat Toby like her own son?


    When it came to Sonia, she admitted that she had bullied Sonia, but that was only to the extent of


    treating Sonia like a servant and loudly scolding the woman. She had never once raised her hand on


    Sonia at all. It was only after the divorce and several incidents where Toby was injured that she became


    so exasperated that she looked for Sonia and pped her.


    Now that Jeanpared Sonia to Tina, Sonia was much kinder. What Tina did was much scarier than


    what Sonia did. So, if Tina married into the family and disliked her mother-inwter, Tina could do the


    same terrible things that she did on Sonia to Jean. Therefore, no matter what, she absolutely couldn¡¯t


    allow Toby and Tina to reconcile.


    Looking at the anxiety and disapproval in both his mother and brother¡¯s eyes, Toby waved his hand


    slightly to signal them to calm down. Then, he looked at the smug Titus with narrowed eyes. ¡°Oh?


    Cheating? When was that?¡± Is Titus referring to that night 3 months ago?


    As expected, Toby¡¯s suspicions were proven when Titus pointed at him and shouted, ¡°It was 3 months


    ago! 3 months ago, you cheated with Sonia just after you confirmed the marriage contract with Tina!¡±


    Toby tightened his fists as his thin lips were pursed in a straight line. It¡¯s really about this, but how did


    Titus know about it? Could it be that Tina told him?


    When he thought about how Tina knew that he was the father of Sonia¡¯s unborn child, he realized that it


    was unsurprising if Tina was aware that he and Sonia had been together that night. However, as to how


    Tina knew about it, he still had to find out!


    ¡°You are talking nonsense,¡± Tyler interrupted after he threw the apple core away. ¡°My brother had just


    divorced Sonia 3 months ago. And at that time, my brother hated her, so how could he have cheated with


    her?¡±


    It was something that Jean concurred with. ¡°Yes, who doesn¡¯t know that Toby waspletely in love with


    Tina 3 months ago? You¡¯re crazy to think that he was cheating with Sonia. I think you are deliberately


    trying to find fault with Toby and ndering him.¡±


    Titus sneered, ¡°I ndered him? Let him speak for himself! He knows well whether he has cheated or


    not!¡±


    Tyler was hell bent on supporting Toby. ¡°My brother definitely did not!¡±


    Jean also did the same; she stood up and pointed at Titus¡¯ nose. ¡°You old son of a b*tch, how dare you


    say that Toby has cheated on someone? If it¡¯s the truth, then you should produce the evidence! If you


    can¡¯t, you are simply defaming Toby and I can call the police to arrest you.¡±


    This was actually something that Sonia taught her. Every time she went to find fault with Sonia, Sonia


    would say simr words to her and now she was using it against others. In fact, she felt it was quite cool.


    ¡°Evidence?¡± Titus huffed. ¡°Okay, since you want it, I¡¯ll give it to you!¡±


    When he heard those words, Toby¡¯s eyes darkened. As for Tyler and Jean, they were even more


    surprised and it was reflected in their wide eyes.


    Tyler opened his mouth and asked, ¡°No way, does he really have the evidence?¡±


    After shaking her head, Jean looked at Toby. ¡°Toby, did you really¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Titus. ¡°Look, this is the evidence that you


    want!¡±


    Then, he threw a document onto the coffee table.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± A curious Tyler picked it up and flipped the document open to read the information. ¡°A


    pregnancy test report. 2 months and 17 days pregnant. And the patient is¡­ Sonia Reed?¡±

 Chapter 333

    Chapter 333


    Chapter 333 Regret


    Tyler was so shocked that his voice turned shrill while the hand that held the document trembled. ¡°S-


    Sonia is pregnant?¡± He swallowed and couldn¡¯t calm down for a long time.


    Jean pursed her lips. ¡°Even if she is, what does this have to do with Toby? It can¡¯t be that Sonia is


    carrying Toby¡¯s child, right?¡±


    What did the 10-week pregnancy mean? It meant that after having just divorced Toby, Sonia had already


    impatiently fallen in love with another random man. How could she still have the nerve to say how much


    she loves Toby? She¡¯s really shameless!


    ¡°Mrs. Fuller, you¡¯re right. The child Sonia is carrying is really Toby¡¯s!¡± Titus looked at Toby with a smile.


    ¡°Toby, am I right?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips and did not answer the question.


    When Jean saw it, she was aware that hisck of denial was indicative of his admission. ¡°Toby, is the


    child in Sonia¡¯s belly really yours?¡± she asked as she looked at him in shock.


    He nodded. ¡°Yes!¡±


    Plop! The document in Tyler¡¯s hand fell to the ground at once and he gave Toby a thumbs up before


    sighing with heartfelt praise. ¡°Toby, you¡¯re astounding!¡±


    ¡°Astounding?!¡± Jean pped Tyler on the back of his head before she looked at Toby. ¡°Toby, didn¡¯t you


    dislike Sonia? How¡ª¡±


    ¡°It was an ident.¡± Toby lowered his eyes and spoke in a light voice. Moreover, he didn¡¯t dislike Sonia.


    Although he didn¡¯t realize then that he had liked her, his heart already knew of his feelings. Otherwise,


    things wouldn¡¯t have happened in the way that it did.


    ¡°Whether it was an ident or not, Sonia is now over 2 months pregnant and carrying your child, so the


    fact that you cheated is naturally an iron-d fact,¡± Titus spoke smugly as he sat down and crossed his


    legs.


    ¡°So what if that¡¯s the case?¡± Toby looked at him indifferently.


    Upon hearing that, Titus frowned. The matter of cheating was now a fact, yet Toby wasn¡¯t panicking.


    Titus¡¯ eyes narrowed while he asked, ¡°So, how do you n topensate Tina and the Gray Family?¡±


    With a sarcasticugh, Toby answered, ¡°This is the real purpose of youing, right? You im to settle


    ounts with me under the pretext of my cheating, yet in truth, you just want to obtain benefits.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how it is, huh! You really are a shameless old dog!¡± Jean red at Titus in anger and frustration.


    However, the man ignored her and looked at Toby. ¡°You¡¯re right to say so, but it¡¯s also a fact that you


    cheated, so I want you topensate for it! It¡¯s only fair!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only fair, I suppose. So, what kind ofpensation do you want?¡± Toby lowered his eyelids to hide


    the coldness in his eyes.


    When Jean heard his words, she immediately cried, ¡°Toby, you can¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mom, please don¡¯t say anything first,¡± he interrupted.


    As she usually listened to what he said, she remained reticent.


    When Titus saw this scene, he smiled. He originally thought that it wouldn¡¯t be this easy and there would


    be more arguments before Toby would agree topensate the Gray Family. However, he never


    expected that Toby would easily agree to his demands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, thepensation I want is not much. I just want you to resume the partnership with Triforce


    Enterprise and restore the marriage contract with Tina.¡± Titus then looked at Toby and added, ¡°How


    about that? It¡¯s not too much for you, right?¡±


    Toby¡¯s face was grim and his eyes looked fierce when he heard that. As for Jean, she flew into a rage


    and mmed the coffee table. ¡°How is this not too much? Titus, how dare you ask for so much? Not only


    do you want us to resume cooperation with Triforce Enterprise, you even want us to restore the marriage


    contract with Tina? Everyone knows that she is a piece of scrap and you still want Toby to marry her?


    Who do you think the Fuller Family is?¡±


    Tyler was just as exasperated, but because he was young, some of the words were obviously


    inappropriate for him to say. He rolled his eyes and took his phone before he quietly left the living room


    to inform his grandmother about the matter. I¡¯ll let Toby resolve the matter with Titus on his own, but


    Grandma has to know about Sonia¡¯s pregnancy. Maybe Grandma would be able toe forward and


    bring Sonia and Toby together again.


    In the living room, after scolding Titus, Jean hurriedly persuaded Toby, ¡°Toby, you must not agree.¡±


    Although Toby was obviously ready to promise topensate the Gray Family, she was petrified that he


    would agree to restore the marriage contract with Tina.


    Since he was aware of Jean¡¯s concern, he waved his hand to indicate to her to have a seat first. Thus,


    she fiercely red at Titus before sitting down with a huff. Next, Toby raised his eyes to gaze at Titus.


    Upon noticing Toby¡¯s cold and emotionless eyes, Titus panicked before he coughed and borated, ¡°Of


    course, if you care about Tina being a piece of scrap, you don¡¯t have to restore the marriage contract


    with her. After all, I still have another daughter.¡±


    He actually never intended on restoring Toby and Tina¡¯s marriage contract. After all, no normal man


    would still want Tina. Titus had merely said those words earlier to test the waters because the one whom


    he really wanted to offer was Rina. If Toby didn¡¯t want to ept Tina, Titus would then push Rina as a


    substitute. No matter what, the interfamilial marriage with the Fuller Family had to be continued.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Jean sneered. ¡°Now that Tina cannot marry into the family, you want your new country bumpkin to


    marry Toby? Do you think the Fuller Family is a charitable family who will ept just about anyone? Do


    you think Toby is a garbage can who will simply marry anyone?¡±


    The corner of Toby¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Mom¡­¡±


    Although he knew she was speaking up for him, her words were inappropriate.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She looked over with a confused face, apparently in the dark about the meaning of her


    words.


    Jean is not a cultured woman anyway, he thought as he pressed his forehead and replied, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    A secondter, he resumed his icy look and his gaze was cold as he looked at Titus. ¡°Okay, now that you


    have said so much, it¡¯s my turn to speak. I can tell you upfront that the partnership with yourpany


    will not continue and the marriage contract with the Gray Family won¡¯t be restored either.¡±


    Jean immediatelyughed.


    On the other hand, Titus looked irritated. ¡°You mean to say, you don¡¯t intend topensate the Gray


    Family?¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    When Toby heard those words, he didn¡¯t deny the truth.


    Titus was so angry that his face contorted. ¡°Toby, aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll spread the word about your


    cheating? If I do, you and your family will be looked down upon by everyone!¡±


    ¡°You can go ahead if you want to publicize it. I don¡¯t give a damn about it.¡± Toby stretchedzily and


    continued faintly, ¡°Compared to Tina cheating on me six times, I have only done so once. It¡¯s not a big


    deal anyway. Besides, with my status, even if you spread the word, will anyone dare to talk about it


    directly to me? They won¡¯t and my family won¡¯t be affected whatsoever. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can


    give it a shot. Moreover, I can tell you now that once you spread the word, I¡¯ll only be more offended.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Titus¡¯ face reddened. He had to admit that Toby was right. Cheating was not an umon thing


    in such a social circle. The reason being that most men in the upper echelons of society cheated on their


    partners, so at most, people would only talk about Toby¡¯s adultery without any negative impact to both


    his reputation and the Fuller Group. Even those outside the social circle wouldn¡¯t be able to condemn


    him much because first of all, being adulterous was not a crime and secondly, Toby¡¯s status was so high


    that no one would be willing to boycott him due to their fear of displeasing him. .


    When Titus initially came, he only thought about threatening Toby with the cheating incident, but he


    forgot about Toby¡¯s status in Seafield. The more he pondered on this, a great regret rose in his heart as


    he now wondered where he had summoned the courage to presume that he could threaten Toby with the


    said matter. As a result, not only was Titus unsessful in his attempt, it even caused Toby to hold a


    grudge against him instead.

 Chapter 334

    Chapter 334


    Chapter 334 The Fuller Family¡¯s Rule


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    As he looked at the panic and confusion on Titus¡¯ face, Toby¡¯s thin lips coolly curled upward. ¡°Mr. Gray,


    do you still need me topensate the Gray Family?¡±


    Titus¡¯ mouth opened, but it was ages before he hoarsely replied, ¡°No, the Gray Family is not worthy of


    yourpensation, President Fuller!¡±


    Even if he had seeded in ckmailing Toby and received everything that he wanted, Toby would only


    hate him more and could even resort to harming the Gray Family when they least expected it. Titus knew


    that he could no longer keep up with the younger generation on the advent of new technology and he


    simply wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the extent of the damage once Toby made his move.


    Most importantly, Titus couldn¡¯t afford to have the Gray Family destroyed in his own hands. Therefore, he


    had no choice but to let this matter slide.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand this. Both of your daughters are unworthy to marry Toby as one is vicious


    and filthy while the other is too in.¡± Jean rolled her eyes while he looked at her ominously.


    Although she was frightened by the look in his eyes, the thought of Toby being here gave her the


    courage to return the re. ¡°What are you looking at? Not happy, huh?¡±


    ¡°Vulgar woman!¡± Titus snapped before he looked at Toby. With a cold and hard voice, he apologized,


    ¡°President Fuller, sorry for disturbing you. I¡¯m leaving!¡±


    What else could he do if he didn¡¯t leave? Things would only be more embarrassing for him!


    ¡°Take care, Mr. Gray.¡± Toby lifted his chin, his voice cold and nd.


    Next, Titus walked toward the foyer, his back hunched as if he had aged a lot. Not only did he not


    achieve his purpose, he also clearly made enemies.


    ¡°I¡¯m so angry! That old son of a b*tch actually called me a vulgar woman!¡± Jean was still shouting at the


    top of her voice with her arms crossed even after Titus had left.


    Toby nced at her and even wanted to agree with Titus. However, Toby bit his tongue when he


    remembered that she was much older than him. Then, he took his phone to dial Tom¡¯s number before


    the call was quickly answered by Tom, ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°There is no need to investigate Sonia¡¯s poisoning. I already know who poisoned her, but find out for me


    how Tina was able to discover that the child in Sonia¡¯s stomach was mine,¡± Toby ordered in a deep voice


    while tightly gripping his phone.


    He had only learned that Sonia was pregnant with his child after he asked Tom to ce a spy in


    Paradigm Co., so how was Tina able to know beforehand? Something¡¯s wrong somewhere.


    ¡°I got it, President Fuller,¡± Tom answered as he nodded.


    Toby then hung up the phone and kept it away. At the current moment, Jean was looking at him with a


    complicated expression. ¡°Toby, Sonia is pregnant. What are we going to do about it?¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do about it? Of course, we will pick up Sonia and properly raise the baby!¡± An


    excited voice rang out before he could reply.


    Both of them turned to look at the same time to see Roseing from the entrance as she was


    supported by Mary and Tyler. As Jean was most afraid of the woman, she immediately rose up. ¡°Mom,


    why are you here?¡±


    Toby gazed at Tyler. Why is she here? It¡¯s definitely you who tipped her off.


    Upon sensing Toby¡¯s chilly gaze, Tyler shifted and borated, ¡°Toby, don¡¯t me me. Since it¡¯s a big


    deal that Sonia is pregnant, we have to let Grandma know, right? And I know you¡¯ve been pursuing


    Soniately, so if Grandma helps you out, you¡¯ll have a better chance of reconciling with her, right?¡±


    A surprised Jean raised her voice. ¡°What? Toby is pursuing Sonia?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mom. Didn¡¯t you know about it?¡± Tyler squinted at her. Even he knew about it when he was always


    spending his time outdoors and rarely at home, yet his own mother was clueless about the matter.


    However, she shook her head because she really was in the dark. Nevertheless, when she thought of


    the several times that Sonia had disrespected her, her expression turned ugly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t agree!¡± Jean looked at Toby with disapproval. ¡°Toby, I don¡¯t agree with you getting back together


    with Sonia.¡±


    Upon hearing that, he frowned.


    Then, Rose pointed her cane at Jean as her cold eyes swept over Jean. ¡°This is Toby¡¯s business, so you


    have no right to say whether you agree or not. Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know why you aren¡¯t in favor of


    their reconciliation. It¡¯s because Toby and Tyler have treated Sonia differently, so you are afraid that


    when Sonia returns, they will side with her and no longer obey you in everything like before.¡±


    As what Rose said was the truth, Jean¡¯s plump face reddened and she was unable to form coherent


    words. Since Jean was his biological mother, Tyler yanked on Rose¡¯s sleeve and pleaded, ¡°Grandma,


    please stop.¡±


    Rose huffed before she withdrew her gaze from Jean and turned to Toby, her face cold. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you


    tell me about Sonia¡¯s pregnancy? If Tyler hadn¡¯t just told me about it, would you have waited until Sonia


    gave birth before you¡¯re ready to tell me?¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips moved for a few seconds before he replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandma.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you really nned on doing that.¡± Rose let out an angry snort. Then, she extended her


    hand toward Mary. ¡°Give that to me.¡±


    A slightly hesitant Mary looked at Toby. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, are you sure?¡±


    Although both Tyler and Jean were curious as to what the two older women were up to, they didn¡¯t dare


    to ask when they saw Rose¡¯s icy expression. On the contrary, Toby¡¯s eyes shed and he tightened his


    fists as he knew what was going on.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Rose looked at Toby, her tone firm. ¡°He did something wrong, so I as the grandmother would


    naturally have to properly educate him. Give that to me!¡± she repeated.


    Mary sighed and took out something from the bag that she carried before cing it in Rose¡¯s hand. Tyler


    fixed his eyes on it and immediately sucked a breath of cold air. ¡°W-Whip?¡±


    He was curious about the item in Mary¡¯s bag, yet he did not expect that it was actually a whip! Next to


    him was Jean, who suddenly paled when she saw the whip.


    With a soft nce, Rose asked, ¡°You should be familiar with this whip, right?¡±


    When Jean heard the question, she seemed to remember something grotesque as her face paled even


    more and made her body tremble with fury.


    After Rose yanked the whip out, she coldly exined, ¡°More than 10 years ago, Homer broke the family


    rule to marry you and was beaten close to death by his father with this whip. Today, my grandson, Toby,


    has also made a mistake, so I will also use this whip to teach him a lesson. Toby, do you ept the


    lecture?¡± She raised her eyes to look at Toby.


    Toby lowered his eyes. ¡°Yes, I ept.¡±


    ¡°Then, kneel down!¡±


    He did not resist and obediently did as instructed.


    What Tyler saw scared him out of his wits because in his eyes, his big brother was always in a high


    position. Thus, he didn¡¯t expect that Toby would actually kneel down at this moment.


    Upon noticing that Toby had obediently kneeled, she looked relieved for a split second before it quickly


    disappeared again. She grabbed the handle of the whip and asked, ¡°Very well. I am satisfied with your


    attitude, but do you know what mistake you have made?¡±


    Confusion emerged in his eyes as he remained silent. When she saw this, her expression fell. ¡°It seems


    that you don¡¯t know. Okay, I will tell you then. You made the mistake of ying with the feelings of


    others!¡±


    As she spoke, Rose raised her whip and brought it down to flog Toby¡¯s back. Toby gritted his teeth in


    pain while his face instantly turned as white as a sheet and beads of cold sweat broke out. From his


    reaction, it was obvious that she didn¡¯t show any mercy in her whip.


    The clothes on his back were ripped open, which exposed the skin that was split open as blood


    immediately seeped out from the wound. Upon seeing this, Jean screamed in fear and her eyes rolled


    before she fainted. This was because when she saw his wound, she remembered the way her husband


    was beaten 17 years ago.

 Chapter 335

    Chapter 335


    Chapter 335 Seeking Help From Sonia


    ¡°Mom!¡± Although Tyler was just as stunned by what happened, he quickly reacted when he saw Jean


    falling toward him. Then, he supported her before patting her face and pinching her. It seemed that she


    had fallen into a deepa and didn¡¯t regain consciousness even after he had shouted at her.


    With an indifferent look, Rose said coolly, ¡°Mary, send her to her room.¡±


    Mary nodded and walked toward him. ¡°Young Master Tyler, please hand Madam White to me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± Tyler nodded and allowed Mary to support his mother. Then, she supported Jean as she


    helped Jean up the stairs and into her room.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    After that, Rose focused her gaze on Toby. ¡°Toby, you fully know that all the men in the Fuller Family are


    loyal and devoted. They have never done anything like ying with other people¡¯s feelings, except for


    your father and you.¡±


    At that, her hand that gripped the whip trembled for a moment as if she was suppressing her emotions.


    After a moment, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she was calm once again. ¡°I will not


    talk about your father as that was a special case. Your parents did not love each other and they married


    to fulfill their family responsibilities. However, you are different; since you promised to marry Sonia, you


    should be good to her and live a happy life with her. However, what happened instead?¡±


    Snap!


    She delivered another whip, which caused him to grunt in pain. A trace of heartache subsequently


    shed in her eyes, but it was quickly suppressed. ¡°After you married Sonia, you threw her aside, didn¡¯t


    care about her well-being and even gave her the cold treatment. In fact, you even allowed Jean and


    Tyler to bully her. Is this what a husband should do?¡±


    Upon hearing these words, Tyler¡¯s face reddened with shame and he couldn¡¯t help but lower his head.


    He knew that he was at fault.


    Nevertheless, Rose didn¡¯t even look at him as she was still staring at Toby. ¡°I wanted to teach you a


    lesson at that time, but Sonia stopped me. I thought since this is a matter between you two, then you


    should resolve it yourselves. Since she is dedicated and has a warm, pure personality, I figured she


    could impress you, but I never expected your heart to be more apathetic than I thought.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Grandma¡ª¡± Before Toby could even finish his words, another whip interrupted his


    response.


    ¡°Shut up, you are not in a position to speak!¡±


    It was already the third whip and for each whip, she didn¡¯t show any mercy. He could still endure the


    severe pain on his back and kneel for the first twoshes, but he could no longer stand straight this time.


    He fell to the ground from the impact and trembled due to the pain.


    As Rose couldn¡¯t bear such a sight, she looked away with a frosty face. ¡°I can forget what you have


    done, but what really makes it difficult for me to stomach is your affair with Tina during the marriage. If


    you hadn¡¯t quickly divorced Sonia, I would¡¯ve beaten you to death instead. I asked you after the divorce


    whether you would regret your decision, to which you replied that you won¡¯t. Look at what happened¡ª


    you made Sonia pregnant!¡±


    She was furious when she said this andshed him with the whip twice. His body curled in intense pain


    as the cold sweat dropped from his forehead and dripped onto his eyshes, rendering him unable to


    open his eyes.


    Tyler was next to him in tears while grabbing their grandmother¡¯s hand and begging, ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t hit


    him anymore. He can¡¯t take it anymore!¡±


    However, she didn¡¯t listen and shook off his hand. ¡°Toby, before the divorce, you and Tina were


    entangled with each other to the point where you disregarded Sonia¡¯s feelings. Yet, after the divorce, you


    had sexual rtions with Sonia again; what exactly do you take her for? You are simply ying with her


    feelings! The Fuller Family didn¡¯t teach you this, did we?¡±


    Rose¡¯s eyes were scarlet and watery as she brandished the whip again. As Tyler looked at Toby


    shivering in pain, he anxiously took out his phone. ¡°Sonia, you must answer my call. Please, only you


    can save Toby now.¡±


    He quickly dialed Sonia¡¯s phone number.


    Meanwhile, over at the hospital, Sonia had just finished reading the report that Daphne sent and was


    about to rest when the phone on her bedside rang. When Sonia saw that it was Tyler calling, she couldn¡¯t


    help but frown. It was sote; what was he doing by calling her? Without thinking much, she was ready


    to hang up, but she had identally slid the answer button the wrong way. As a result, his urgent voice


    soon spilled into her ear. ¡°Oh, thank God! Sonia, you finally answered. Sonia, you have to save my


    brother!¡±


    Upon hearing Tyler¡¯s cries, Sonia raised her eyebrows. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°G-Grandma is whipping my brother and his entire back is now injured. He¡¯s on the verge of copse, so


    please make Grandma stop, Sonia. She likes you a lot, so she¡¯ll definitely listen to your words. Sonia,


    please,¡± Tyler sobbed as he pleaded.


    Even though he was tall and sinewy, he was only a teenager after all and grew up as a pampered child,


    so he had never witnessed such a bloody, violent scene before. He would naturally be scared to death


    upon such a sight. In addition, he was worried about Toby and didn¡¯t know how to save him from his


    grandmother¡¯s beating. Therefore, he naturally cried from anxiety.


    ¡°What? Grandma has used a whip on Toby?¡± She suddenly straightened her posture, her expression


    serious.


    Sonia remembered that flogging was the consequence of breaking any family rule of the Fuller Family.


    Whenever a member of the family made a big mistake, they would ask to beshed by the whip that was


    left behind by their ancestor. However, during the six years that she was with the Fuller Family, she heard


    that the old master had only used the cane to beat his son, who was Toby¡¯s father, more than 10 years


    ago. As for the reason, she didn¡¯t know, which was why she never expected Toby to also be punished


    ording to the family rules.


    ¡°Yes, Sonia,¡± he urged. ¡°Please quicklye and save my brother.¡±


    She pursed her lips. ¡°Can you first tell me what mistake Toby has made and why Grandma has brought


    out the whip?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all because of you.¡± He stomped his foot.


    Sonia froze. ¡°Because of me?¡±


    ¡°Grandma knew about your pregnancy and the child was conceived after you and my brother divorced 3


    months ago. She¡¯s angry as she thought my brother yed with your feelings, so she is punishing him,¡±


    he exined.


    Her eyes narrowed because she had thought that Toby was being punished for something else; she


    never expected it to be because of her. Since the matter was rted to her, she really couldn¡¯t just stand


    by and watch. With a sigh, she pinched her brow and tried to shake off her exhaustion before she


    responded, ¡°Got it. Give the phone to Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Now that Tyler knew that Toby was now being saved, he cried with joy as he hurriedly handed


    the phone to Rose. ¡°Grandma, Sonia is looking for you.¡±


    Rose shot Tyler a meaningful look. This kid is quite smart; he knows the best person to look for to save


    Toby.


    Hence, she cast the whip aside and took the phone. After recing her indifference with kindness and


    benevolence, she greeted, ¡°Sonia, it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Grandma, Tyler said that you are whipping Toby?¡± Sonia asked.


    ¡°Yes, this boy deserves to be whipped.¡± Rose nodded. ¡°He betrayed you before the divorce and caused


    you grief. After that, he cheated after the divorce and impregnated you. I really don¡¯t know what sins the


    ancestors of the Fuller Family havemitted for us to end up with such a sinful descendant like him.¡±


    Before the divorce, Toby had insisted he only loved Tina and didn¡¯t believe that he and Sonia were suited


    for each other, yet this mess urred instead.


    So, what is he taking Sonia as? Rose thought as she nced coldly at the unconscious Toby on the


    floor. Then, she sighed in exhaustion. ¡°Sonia, is the child okay?¡±


    Thinking that the Fuller Family would soon be weing the fourth generation, her mood had slightly


    improved. However, in the next second, Sonia¡¯s answer instantly sent her good mood crashing to rock


    bottom.


    Sonia touched her belly and replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t Toby tell you? The child was aborted.¡±


    The phone in Rose¡¯s hand fell to the ground with a plop as she copsed from the shock of the news.


    Before losing consciousness, there was only one thought in her mind: my great-grandson is gone!

 Chapter 336

    Chapter 336


    Chapter 336 Rina¡¯s Relief


    ¡°Grandma!¡± Tyler yelled when he saw Rose beginning to topple over. Then, he rushed to grab hold of her


    before she copsed to the ground.


    At this moment, Mary happened to be making her way downstairs. Upon seeing Tyler holding onto Rose,


    Mary demanded in shock, ¡°Young Master Tyler, what¡¯s going on? Is Old Mrs. Fuller okay?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, but she fainted,¡± he exined with an ashen face.


    Mary hurried over and helped toy Rose on the floor before performing CPR on the older woman. As


    she did so, she urged, ¡°Call an ambnce, Young Master Tyler.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± He snapped out of his frantic daze and nced around before he spotted the phone that had


    slipped from Rose¡¯s grip andnded on the floor earlier. Then, he bent to pick it up.


    Coincidentally, the call with Sonia was still ongoing and her rmed voice filled the other line as she


    shouted, ¡°Grandma? Grandma!¡± She had heard the phone ttering onto the ground as well as Tyler¡¯s


    anxious cries on the other end and instantly knew that something had happened to Rose. She only grew


    more panicked when Rose didn¡¯t make a single sound over the phone.


    Sonia had no idea what was going on. Since she was not with Rose, it meant that she could only clutch


    her phone with trembling hands and anxiously call out for thetter while hoping desperately for some


    response. s, all that greeted her on the other line was not Rose¡¯s voice, but Tyler¡¯s trepidation as he


    said, ¡°Sonia, Grandma has just fainted.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean she fainted?¡± Sonia bolted upright in bed. She was just about to press for details


    when the call ended with a decisive beep.


    Thinking that Tyler might have identally hung up, she called the number once more only to find that


    the other line was busy.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia let out a groan of frustration and set her phone aside. Worry and panic weighed on her as she


    wondered whether Rose had copsed after learning that she had terminated her pregnancy. If that


    really is the case, then it would be my fault if anything bad happens to Grandma!


    Meanwhile, over at the Fuller Residence, the ambnce Tyler called for arrived as quickly as it could.


    The paramedics eased Rose onto the stretcher before they brought her and Tyler to the hospital.


    That night, it seemed as if the Fuller Family was thrown into predestined chaos; three out of the four


    family members had copsed, leaving a helpless Tyler trying to shoulder the burden alone. If Mary


    hadn¡¯t been next to him throughout the process, he had a feeling that he would ck out too.


    After all, he was only a boy in histe teens whom Rose, Jean, and Toby had sheltered. For the most


    part, he was coddled and free to do whatever he pleased. Never once had he thought all three of his


    pirs would crumble before him.


    Presently, Titus was unsettled as he returned to the Gray Residence. At the sight of him, Julia¡¯s eyes lit


    up and she hastened to greet him at the threshold. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re home.¡±


    ¡°Wee home, Dad,¡± Rina said cheerily while walking up to him.


    Titus nodded sullenly and as Julia helped him over to the armchair, he said, ¡°It¡¯s good to be home.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you a drink, Dad.¡± With that, Rina poured tea into a cup and handed it to him.


    He took the cup, his expression softening as he pointed out, ¡°How very thoughtful of you, Rina.¡±


    The girl smiled unassumingly and lowered her gaze, hiding the dark gleam in her eyes.


    There was something incredibly gratifying about being praised. Rina had spent thest twenty-six years


    of her life being subjected to abuse and she never understood parental love until she arrived at the Gray


    Residence, whereupon she discovered how potent and enthralling it was to be the object of


    parental affection. Why can¡¯t such wonderful parents be my biological family?


    ¡°How did it go, honey? Has Toby agreed to reinstate our partnership and the engagement?¡± Julia asked


    nervously, clutching her hands together like she was in prayer. ¡°If the engagement were to resume,


    would he choose Tina or Rina?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Rina became tense and watched Titus with wary eyes.


    Titus, on the other hand, tightly clenched the cup in his hand as his features twisted into a grimace. If the


    cup wasn¡¯t made out of ss, he would¡¯ve squeezed it into pieces.


    ¡°No, he has not!¡± he finally bit out through gritted teeth, rage and spite coloring his voice.


    Julia froze. ¡°He hasn¡¯t? As in, he doesn¡¯t want to reinstate both the partnership and the engagement?¡±


    He practically threw the cup onto the table as he answered gloomily, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I meant. He hasn¡¯t


    agreed to do anything at all!¡±


    ¡°How is that possible, though?¡± A stunned Julia covered her mouth with a shaky hand.


    While standing at one side, Rina was ted to hear this. She was more than relieved to know that the


    engagement would remain canceled. She had neither wanted to marry into the Fuller Family nor have


    Toby reinstate his engagement with Tina; she didn¡¯t want Tina to marry well, for fear that it would only


    make it harder to throw that infernal girl out of the Gray Family.


    And as for me¡­ The silhouette of a cavalier and lean figure shed in Rina¡¯s mind and she couldn¡¯t help


    the blood that rushed to her face as her heart began to race.


    Since she was afraid that Titus and Julia would catch her looking flustered, she quickly looked down and


    hid her face from their view.


    However, it was clear that neither Titus nor Julia were paying attention to her, so they were unaware of


    how flushed she looked right now.


    Julia dug her nails into her palms, growing antsy as she demanded, ¡°Why in the world would he turn us


    down? We have evidence of his affair and he should know better than to refuse us¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why should he know better?¡± Titus let out a hollow, self-deprecatingugh. ¡°His name alone is enough


    to keep anyone from aggravating him, even if we were to publicize all proof of his affair. The most


    damage he¡¯d get out of it would be a couple of scathing remarks made behind his back, and as for the


    netizens¡­¡±


    He broke off in a contemptuous scoff, then continued, ¡°Toby would probably have liaised with all the


    media powerhouses and social media tforms before we could even air his dirtyundry on the


    inte. And our n to use theizens to tarnish his reputation would be stymied. From how I look at


    it, there¡¯s no way he would be threatened by the mere likes of us.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Julia was rendered speechless by her husband¡¯s sour analysis. She stammered to filter her


    thoughts into words, but in the end, she could only manage hoarsely, ¡°So, we were excited over


    nothing?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Titus agreed with a sigh.


    They had believed that they could finally one-up Toby with evidence of his scandal and needle him into


    giving them what they wanted, but as it turned out, their n was only good on paper.


    As she sobbed into her hands, Julia wailed, ¡°At this rate, what¡¯s going to happen to our enterprise?¡±


    Titus thoughtfully narrowed his eyes. ¡°If pushes to shove, then we¡¯d have to settle for a merger. We


    could let go of some of our shares, but at the great risk of losing control over the enterprise, and that


    would be the end of the Gray Family¡¯s reign over thepany.¡±


    If that happened, then Triforce Enterprise would no longer be the Gray Family¡¯s business; they would be


    reduced to the same standing as any other shareholder.


    Triforce Enterprise was Titus¡¯ brainchild and after having poured his blood, sweat and tears into building


    it up from scratch, he could not sit by and watch it slip through his fingers like fine sand. However, he


    could not obtain a loan anywhere¡ªeven from financial institutes. As things stood, he had to resort to


    desperate measures, even if it meant settling for a merger, which was something he would never have


    considered otherwise.


    Julia stared at her husband, her heart twisting when she noticed how withered he looked. ¡°Honey¡ª¡±


    ¡°Right, it¡¯s gettingte and we should all get some rest. When Tinaes home from the hospital


    tomorrow, keep an eye on her so that she doesn¡¯t cause us any more trouble.¡± He rose from his seat and


    rubbed his temple tiredly. ¡°I finally realized that she is no match for Sonia, not even in the slightest.¡±


    With an obedient nod, she replied, ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡­


    The darkness of the night slowly passed and when the morning arrived, Charles showed up at the


    hospital to escort Sonia.


    She eyed him in askance. ¡°Did youe alone?¡±


    ¡°Who else were you expecting?¡± He cast her a sideways nce.


    Sonia stood next to her bed and ced a hand on her lower abdomen, which was still sore from the


    procedure. ¡°I just thought Carl mighte along with you.¡±


    ¡°I called him to ask if he wanted to, but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t get through his phone. I don¡¯t know


    what he¡¯s up to either, so I figured I¡¯d juste here without him,¡± Charles exined with a casual shrug.


    Then, a sudden thought crossed his mind before he asked, ¡°By the way, did something happen between


    you and Carl yesterday?¡±

 Chapter 337

    Chapter 337


    Chapter 337 The Source of the Shares


    The moment she thought about her exchange with Carl the day before, Sonia lowered her gaze before


    she dismissed, ¡°No, nothing happened at all.¡±


    Clearly seeing through her lie, Charles raised a brow and drawled, ¡°Really? Because from how I look at


    it, something definitely happened. I ran into Carl after I managed to borrow the wheelchair and boy, was I


    shocked by how gloomy he looked. I asked if he was okay, but he ignored me; when I returned to the


    ward, you looked sullen as well. I figured something must have happened between you two, but I only


    kept quiet about it because you looked so upset at that time.¡±


    She chewed on her lip in reticence.


    He pulled up a chair next to her bed. ¡°Come on, let it all out and maybe I¡¯ll guide you like a moral


    compass.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really,¡± she muttered before she sat down on the chair propped up to one side of the room.


    ¡°I just noticed that Carl has a psychological issue and I¡­¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia trailed off, not wanting to talk about how Carl had been involved in the poisoning, at least not to


    Charles. She didn¡¯t want him to worry and she certainly would hate it if the two men started holding


    grudges against each other.


    While Charles hadn¡¯t known Carl for as long as she had, the two men were still friends and she didn¡¯t


    want to jeopardize their friendship by telling the truth.


    Moreover, she had already decided to forgive Carl and look past this incident. Withholding the truth


    seemed the best way to move forward.


    Charles, on the other hand, eximed in surprise, ¡°Y-You noticed Carl¡¯s psychological issue?¡±


    Sonia briefly appraised him with narrowed eyes as she used, ¡°What, did you already know about it?¡±


    He swallowed convulsively at the realization that he had let this secret out of the bag.


    ¡°Out with it, Charles! Have you known about his psychological issue all this while?¡± she asked


    incredulously as she stared at him with wide eyes.


    He struggled to find the words before he finally sighed and confessed, ¡°Okay, fine. I¡¯ve known about this


    for quite some time now.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± In a fit of frustration and disbelief, she kicked him. ¡°If you knew about it, then why didn¡¯t you say


    anything?¡± If he had done so, she would have tried to persuade Carl to seek professional help; he would


    be better at coping with his psychological issue instead of going to lengths to poison her.


    ¡°Carl was the one who asked me to keep my mouth shut about it,¡± Charles admitted as he resentfully


    rubbed the area where Sonia¡¯s kick hadnded moments ago.


    She glowered at him mutinously. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would call yourself my childhood friend when you


    are hiding things from me! When did you find out about Carl¡¯s psychological issue? Tell me the truth!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He averted his gaze and looked to a remote corner of the room, appearing as if he was trying to


    come up with yet another lie.


    Sonia frowned in annoyance and made to kick him again, but he foresaw this and quickly brought his


    legs up, effectively dodging her approaching foot. With a rueful chuckle, he responded, ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll


    tell you everything! There¡¯s no need to get riled up.¡±


    ¡°Well, then, stop dawdling!¡± she urged.


    He shrugged before he solemnly exined, ¡°I¡¯ve known about it for a year now. Carl and I got in touch


    with one another two years ago, courtesy of your grandfather. When your dad passed, your stepmother


    and sister sold off all his shares in Paradigm Co., but your grandfather had been secretly buying up


    these shares alongside Carl. I don¡¯t know how long they both have been working together, but I¡¯m


    guessing it¡¯s been more than three years, given how I¡¯ve only joined them two years ago.¡±


    ¡°So, both of you and Grandpa have been buying up shares in Paradigm Co.?¡± She gaped in disbelief.


    Three months ago, which was right after her divorce from Toby, Carl had brought her to see her


    grandfather, Leonard. Leonard was an archeologist who spent the better part of his years studying and


    wandering through historical sites, so he hardly ever kept in touch with Sonia. In fact, she never saw him


    in the six years that she was married to Toby; it was always radio silence on Leonard¡¯s end, so she was


    shocked that Carl had even managed to locate him at all.


    What was even more surprising was the sum of shares in Paradigm Co. that Leonard had presented


    Sonia with. She was well aware that her stepmother and sister had sold off these shares, and casting her


    own astonishment aside, Sonia¡¯s curiosity was provoked after seeing therge number of shares he had


    in hand. She wanted to know how he managed to acquire these shares, the amount of which far


    surpassed what her father had held during his lifetime.


    Naturally, the presumption that Leonard was the one who purchased these shares had stood valid for a


    while, but she quickly dismissed it. He was merely an archeologist and it wasn¡¯t a well-paid career, at


    least not well enough to provide him with the means of purchasing shares worth twenty percent of the


    entire Paradigm Co.


    Following this, Sonia had suppressed her curiosity and decided that she would save her questions for


    the next meeting with her grandfather. However, when the meeting came around and she had asked for


    answers, Leonard kept mum about the truth. Nevertheless, she would rather have a clear exnation on


    this, just in case he had made some kind of deal with someone else.


    Little did she know that Leonard, Carl and Charles were coborating with each other all these years to


    acquire the fifty-one percent share in Paradigm Co. that she now held.


    As it turned out, she had unknowingly received an overwhelming amount of generosity and kindness


    from those around her. She should have returned their favors by maintaining her pride and dignity, but


    she had instead spent thest six yearspromising with the Fuller Family. Not to mention, she was


    pathetically obsessing over the idea of turning Toby into the man he had once been. She chased after


    him like a desperate puppy in the hopes that they could have the happily-ever-after that she dreamed of.


    In retrospect, she had been a fool and even disappointed her grandfather, Charles and Carl. The guilt


    and shame stirred in her like a sour, bitter cocktail.


    Almost at once, she felt as if she did not deserve the shares she now held in Paradigm Co. It hurt to think


    that she owned them and they weighed on her conscience.


    Besides, how could she have been so thick-skinned as to own them at all? She had never once done


    anything to deserve them.


    Upon seeing how upset Sonia was, Charles leapt up from the hospital bed and asked worriedly, ¡°Baby,


    what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sonia gazed up at him with watery eyes and drew in a deep breath to suppress her tears. ¡°Nothing, I just


    feel really guilty about something I thought about.¡±


    ¡°And what might that be?¡¯ he asked in curiosity.


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Even as she said this, she made a solemn vow to return his and Carl¡¯s favor to her. She suddenly


    realized that she owed so much to a long list of people in this lifetime.


    Charles could tell that there was something on Sonia¡¯s mind. He gazed at her intently and when she still


    didn¡¯t say anything, he frustratedly threw his hands in the air in a show of resignation. Then, he picked up


    from where the initial conversation had left off. ¡°So, where was I?¡±


    ¡°You were telling me about how Carl and my grandfather worked together for at least three years or


    more,¡± she pointed out.


    ¡°Right. So, I took a guess at the timeline when your grandfather found me two years ago and had me join


    his efforts in recouping those shares. It was after I agreed to help him that I met Carl, and ever since


    then, we¡¯ve been buying up those shares listed on the market,¡± he exined.


    Sonia pursed her lips and demanded angrily, ¡°I met Carl two years ago, so why didn¡¯t you say anything


    then? Why didn¡¯t you tell me that the both of you were working together with Grandpa in buying up the


    shares?¡± She wondered whether she would have snapped out of her lovesick daze with Toby if they


    came clean with her from the beginning.


    ¡°I wanted to, but your grandfather told me to keep it from you, and so did Carl. My hands were tied,¡±


    Charles answered with a pout. Then, he added, ¡°I spent a lot of time with Carl in the past two years and I


    noticed that there was something off about him from the start, but I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on it. It


    wasn¡¯t until a year ago that I realized he had a psychological issue. When he found out, he warned me


    not to breathe a word of it, especially to you. So, I¡¯ve kept it a secret from you until now.¡±


    That¡¯s how it is then! Sonia dug her nails into her palms. ¡°Do you know what caused his psychological


    issue?¡±


    ¡°No, but I know it¡¯s pretty serious, so I guess he¡¯s had it for a while.¡±


    For a while¡­ She narrowed her eyes in thought. If that¡¯s the case, then something must have happened


    to Carl in thest ten years that created this psychological issue of his. He couldn¡¯t have been born with


    it because he was gentle and always ready tough ten years ago.


    ¡°By the way, baby, what are you going to do now that you know about Carl¡¯s condition?¡± Charles piped


    up, sounding somber.


    Sonia pinched the space between her brows. ¡°What else is there for me to do other than to convince him


    to seek treatment? It¡¯s the only way he could take a turn for the better.¡±

 Chapter 338

    Chapter 338


    Chapter 338 Running Into Tyler


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be tough,¡± Charles said as he shrugged halfheartedly. When he caught the look on


    Sonia¡¯s face, he chucked bitterly and exined, ¡°Believe me, I tried to get him to seek treatment as well,


    but he refused. It will be a challenge to persuade him otherwise.¡±


    Sonia lowered her gaze. ¡°Regardless, we can¡¯t just let Carl¡¯s condition deteriorate any further, or he¡¯d


    end up hurting himself and others. I¡¯ll try to talk to him about seeking professional help one of these


    days.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you say so, then I¡¯ll leave it up to you. We should go now, though,¡± Charles pointed out as he


    made to take her bag for her.


    She hummed absentmindedly in response. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    With the discharge sheet in hand, both of them walked out of the in-patient ward and headed for the


    elevators.


    They had only juste to a stop in front of an elevator when the doors opened before Charles could


    press the button. The next second, Tyler barreled out of the elevator without watching where he was


    going, nearly knocking Sonia down in his hurry.


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Watch out, baby!¡± Charles eximed. Possessed of lightning reflexes, he grabbed hold of Sonia and


    pulled her aside, saving her from what would have been a rough collision.


    It was only when Tyler heard Charles¡¯ voice that he stopped in his tracks. He turned, and his eyes lit up


    when he saw Sonia. ¡°Sonia!¡± he called out.


    She raised a brow. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Grandma and Toby are being kept under observation here, so I came to take care of them,¡± Tyler


    answered intively.


    Sonia was suddenly reminded that Rose had copsed the night before, but when she was about to ask


    after the old woman¡¯s condition, Charles interjected coolly, ¡°Oh, Toby¡¯s been hospitalized? What


    delightful news! Come on, kid, tell me what happened to him. Is it some terminal illness? How long will


    he have to live? Give me all the details so I can get a wreath for him¡ªyou know, for his voyage into the


    afterlife.¡±


    ¡°You¡ªhow dare you speak of my brother like he¡¯s dying!¡± Tyler fumed at Charles¡¯ sinister taunting, and


    all he could see at that moment was red as he hurled his fist toward the older man.


    Charles, on the other hand, did not expect such rage from the kid in front of him. He¡¯s actually going to


    punch me, he thought with wide eyes. He bridled and dodged as fast as he could.


    However, Tyler was a basketball yer with all the attributes to go with it. With his height and long legs,


    he towered over Charles by at least half a foot.


    As such, even if Charles dodged with astounding agility, he still could not escape Tyler¡¯s vice-like w.


    Meanwhile, upon seeing that Tyler¡¯s punch was about tond on Charles¡¯ face, Sonia frowned and cried


    out peevishly, ¡°Stop it!¡±


    Her voice rang loud and clear, and Tyler¡¯s fist came to an abrupt halt in mid-air. Sonia marched up to


    them and tore them apart. ¡°That¡¯s enough, both of you. We¡¯re in a hospital! Show some decency, why


    don¡¯t you?¡± She red at Tyler, then at Charles before saying, ¡°Apologize right now, Charles.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Charles demanded with wide eyes.


    She pursed her lips. ¡°Why? Maybe it¡¯s because whatever you said earlier was totally uncalled for! I know


    you hate Toby with a passion, but there¡¯s no need for you to say such terrible things about him. Now,


    apologize!¡± she bit out with emphasis this time.


    Charles quirked his lips and muttered begrudgingly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Tyler glowered at him mutinously. ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn about your apology!¡±


    ¡°Then what the hell do you want?¡± Charles barked, his brows knitting together.


    ¡°I want to punch your lights out, that¡¯s what!¡± Tyler spat, clenching his fists angrily.


    ¡°Come on, big guy!¡± Charles rolled up his sleeves. ¡°I admit I was caught off guard when you wanted to


    throw down some punches earlier, which was why I dodged, but that won¡¯t happen again! Let¡¯s take this


    outside, kid, and we¡¯ll see if you¡¯re just all talk!¡±


    ¡°Fine! We¡¯ll take it outside then!¡± A cold smirk yed on Tyler¡¯s lips as he added mockingly, ¡°I¡¯ll show you


    who¡¯s all talk at the end¡ª¡± He broke off deliberately and eyed Charles¡¯ legs with contempt, then scoffed.


    ¡°Though I think between the both of us, you¡¯d run off crying first!¡±


    ¡°You punk¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± When Sonia saw that the boys were building up to another fight, she interrupted again,


    this time with the same frustration as a tired parent. She stood between them like a wall and snapped,


    ¡°Charles, you¡¯re nearly thirty years old. What are you doing picking fights with a minor? Don¡¯t you feel


    ashamed of yourself? And you!¡± She shot a dark look at Tyler. ¡°Keep your temper in check, young man.¡±


    She was using all her might to keep a fight from breaking out between these two. Aside from the in


    fact that fighting in a hospital was downright uneptable, she was also aware that Charles would lose


    out painfully in a fight with Tyler.


    While Charles was oblivious to this, Sonia knew that Tyler was well-versed in kickboxing. Moreover, he


    was taller than Charles. In the aggregate, Charles was no match for the kid.


    That being said, Charles was clueless about how much of a disadvantage he would be at if a brawl broke


    out, but he was a little embarrassed to have been called a petty adult by Sonia for picking fights with a


    minor. A red flush crept over his cheekbones as he clenched his fists and let out a dry, awkward cough.


    ¡°Fine, then. If you¡¯re going to put it that way, baby, then I guess I¡¯ll be the bigger person and let this punk


    off the hook this time.¡±


    ¡°Let me off the hook?¡± Tyler scoffed in derision. ¡°Move, Sonia! I¡¯m going to teach this guy a lesson and


    knock some sense into him!¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡± Sonia could feel the onset of a migraine attack. She rubbed the divot between her brows and


    asked, ¡°Tyler, how¡¯s Grandma doing right now?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Tyler finally calmed down, and his rage was reced with the despair that one might


    associate with an abandoned puppy. ¡°Grandma¡¯s fine; she came to an hour ago. Toby, on the other hand,


    isn¡¯t doing too well. He¡¯s still in the ICU.¡±


    ¡°The ICU?!¡± Sonia¡¯s jaw fell open.


    Charles, too, was equally shocked. ¡°Hold up¡ªdoes he actually have a terminal illness or something?¡±


    After all, things had to be dire in order for a person to end up in the intensive care unit.


    Having regainedposure, Sonia eyed Tyler steadily as she pressed, ¡°How badly did Grandma punish


    him?¡±


    She had thought that Toby, being Rose¡¯s grandson, would be subjected to mercy even if the old woman


    were to break out the cane. However, it was now that she realized how wrong she had been to assume


    this. As it turned out, Rose had given Toby such a harsh beating that he ended up in the ICU. In fact, one


    might even think that somebody had had a score to settle with him if they didn¡¯t know any better.


    ¡°What? Toby ended up in the ICU because Old Mrs. Fuller doled out corporal punishment on him?¡±


    Charles demanded incredulously, his voice rising by an octave.


    Tyler ignored him and kept his attention on Sonia, nodding as he replied with red-rimmed eyes, ¡°He was


    in really bad shape after Grandma was done caning him. I counted ten strokes, and the back of his shirt


    was barely holding together after each one. Things got pretty graphic when his skin tore and blood


    seeped through; when he was loaded into the back of the ambncest night, his back was a whole


    bloody mess. He was practically mutted.¡±


    At the mention of this, the gory image of Toby¡¯s maimed back fromst night shed in Tyler¡¯s mind. He


    shuddered, and all the color drained from his face.


    While he was exining, Sonia could visualize the scene, and she pursed her lips reticently.


    Unexpectedly, Charles inhaled sharply and eximed, ¡°I can¡¯t believe the olddy could be so ruthless.


    Why did she cane Toby anyway?¡±


    Tyler¡¯s lips parted like he was about to answer, but he caught himself. Charles was his enemy, after all,


    and he scoffed as he snapped, ¡°That¡¯s none of your business! You have no right to know!¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Charles choked on whatever insult he had been ready to fire, then quieted down and murmured,


    ¡°Fine, don¡¯t tell me. I don¡¯t give a damn either way. Come on, baby, it¡¯s gettingte. We shouldn¡¯t waste


    time talking to this kid when we have to get going.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Charles, but do you think you could go without me? I¡¯m going to pay Grandma a visit,¡± Sonia said,


    rubbing her temple tiredly.


    Charles frowned. ¡°Visit her? Why would you do that after the Fuller Family¡ª¡±


    ¡°You know she¡¯s been kind to me, Charles; I can¡¯t just sit by and do nothing now that I know she¡¯s


    hospitalized,¡± Sonia argued seriously, meeting his gaze.


    More to the point, she might have caused Rose to copsest night when she broke the news of her


    terminated pregnancy, which gave her all the more reason to visit the matriarch of the Fuller Family.


    Charles opened and closed his mouth, too stumped to protest. After a few seconds, he sighed in


    resignation and eded. ¡°Very well. Go and see the olddy. I¡¯ll be waiting for you at the hospital


    gardens.¡±


    Sonia shed him a smile. ¡°Thanks, Charles.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Go on, then,¡± he prompted, tousling her hair affectionately.


    She froze at this gesture, and when he withdrew his hand, she brought hers up to the spot where his


    fingers had tousled her hair.


    Before this, she might have overlooked his gesture and deemed it as a tonic one, seeing as he rarely


    ever tousled her hair, even while they were kids. But now that she knew of his feelings for her, the


    intimacy of this gesture suddenly weighed differently than it otherwise would have.

 Chapter 339

    Chapter 339


    Chapter 339 Visiting Old Mrs Fuller


    Upon noticing the dazed look on Sonia¡¯s face, Charles leaned forward and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, baby?¡±


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


    own. Quickly taking a step back, she averted his gaze and mumbled, ¡°Nothing.¡±


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


    ¡°Sonia, can we go and see Grandma now?¡± To one side, Tyler was annoyed to see Sonia getting too


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


    Toby¡¯s younger brother, he was obligated to ward off any other man who tried to get chummy with Sonia.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± With that, she turned to address Charles. ¡°So I guess I¡¯ll get going then,


    Charles.¡±


    ¡°Go on,¡± he replied with a nod.


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


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


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


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


    within seconds to reveal Mary, whose eyes glimmered in relief as she eximed, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Young


    Mistress!¡±


    Sonia smiled at her. ¡°Hello, Mary.¡±


    ¡°How good of you to drop by, Young Mistress,¡± Mary said cheerily. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller was just talking about


    you. She¡¯s been calling you, but for some reason, she couldn¡¯t get through your phone.¡±


    ¡°My phone ran out of battery,¡± Sonia exined ruefully. She had forgotten to charge it after her call with


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


    nothing about it.


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


    that Rose would bombard her with calls.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Come on in, Young Mistress.¡± Mary ushered enthusiastically as she opened the door fully to


    allow Sonia¡¯s passage.


    ¡°Okay.¡± With a nod, Sonia stepped through the open door with Tyler and Mary in her wake.


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


    sleep. Lowering her voice to just barely above a whisper, Sonia called out in greeting, ¡°Grandma.¡±


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


    open instantly. A wide smile stered on Rose¡¯s wizened face when she saw her visitor. ¡°Sonia,¡± she


    greeted affectionately.


    ¡°Hello, Grandma.¡± Sonia walked up to the bed and sat down next to it.


    Rose took her hand in hers affably and asked, ¡°What are you doing here, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°I just got discharged today, and I ran into Tyler while waiting for the elevator. When I found out you were


    here, I tagged along with him so I could visit you. How are you doing, Grandma?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes searched


    the old woman¡¯s face with concern.


    Rose beamed. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. The doctor said that panic got the better of me, and with my old age,


    my blood pressure spiked without warning and caused me to copse. I¡¯m all better now, and I¡¯ll be going


    home this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Sonia nodded, feeling reassured.


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


    tearfully, ¡°That¡¯s not true! The doctor said that Grandma only got lucky this time, but if the same thing


    were to happen again¡ª¡±


    ¡°Tyler!¡± Rose cut him off with a warning look on her face, no longer patient and affable as she signaled


    him to keep quiet.


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


    and she pursed her lips before urging, ¡°Tyler, go on.¡±


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


    pressure once more, then she would be at high risk of getting a stroke, and she¡¯d be paralyzed forever.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in rm, and she tightened her grip on Rose¡¯s withered hands.


    ¡°Grandma¡­¡±


    Rose heaved a sigh but resumed her gentle facade as she cated, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about that right


    now, Sonia. With old agees sickness; it¡¯s inevitable. Besides, if I¡¯m not too strung up about it, you


    shouldn¡¯t as well.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    Sonia was about to protest, but Rose interrupted. ¡°By the way, Sonia, I¡¯d like you to be honest with me¡ª


    did Toby ask you to end the pregnancy?¡± She had only copsed the night before thinking that her


    grandson was the reason why Sonia terminated the pregnancy.


    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t,¡± Sonia answered with a firm shake of her head.


    ¡°Really?¡± Rose gazed at her intently.


    ¡°Really,¡± Sonia reassured. ¡°President Fuller didn¡¯t force me to do it; I chose to end the pregnancy.¡± She


    lowered her gaze then, looking guilty. ¡°I got into an ident, and I couldn¡¯t keep the baby.¡±


    ¡°An ident?¡± Rose repeated in astonishment.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes shone with tears. ¡°I slipped and fell, and the miscarriage followed.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Rose said mournfully, patting her chest as though to soothe the heartache. A bitter smile tugged


    on her lips. ¡°I suppose there¡¯s nothing we could do. Maybe it was fate that we never got to meet the


    baby.¡±


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


    seized her as she whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandma.¡±


    Rose patted her arm. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. You have never once hurt our family in any way,


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


    Initially, Rose had nned on doing everything she could¡ªeven if it meant casting her own dignity aside


    ¡ªjust to push Sonia and Toby back together, given how Sonia was already pregnant with his child


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


    This is all Toby¡¯s fault. If only he¡¯d told me sooner about the pregnancy, I¡¯d have done everything in my


    power to fix his rtionship with Sonia! s, her goodwill could not beat out the cards dealt by fate;


    perhaps Toby and Sonia really weren¡¯t meant to be together after all. At the thought of this, Rose shook


    her head in bitter resignation.


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


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


    ¡°Sonia, are you¡ªare you going to see Toby?¡± Rose asked in a slightly hesitant tone, regarding the


    younger woman with an unreadable look in her eyes.


    Biting down on her lip, Sonia finally shook her head curtly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The string that tied


    me to President Fuller snapped the moment I lost the baby. I¡¯m grateful that you took it upon yourself to


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


    each other.¡±


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


    Seeing the somber gleam in Sonia¡¯s eyes, Rose sighed wistfully and said atst, ¡°Very well, then. Tyler,


    could you escort Sonia out, please?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tyler was sulking as he agreed to see Sonia out. He couldn¡¯t understand how she could be so


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


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


    toward the elevators.


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


    Sonia a wounded look. ¡°Toby¡¯s in the ICU ward up ahead, Sonia. Are you really not going to see him?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sonia replied with an air of finality.


    Upon hearing this, Tyler clenched his fists and pleaded, ¡°Sonia, he¡¯s in really bad shape. Can¡¯t you


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


    bent at a sharp angle.


    Sonia was startled by his desperation. Frowning, she argued, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re forcing me more


    than you¡¯re asking me for a favor?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. I didn¡¯t think much of it, but I know that there¡¯s a higher chance of you caving if I did this,¡± Tyler


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


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


    as he ran down the hallway ahead of them.


    It wasn¡¯t until after they had stopped in front of Toby¡¯s room at the ICU ward that Sonia realized where


    she was. The ICU ward was different from the typical hospital ward. The walls were all made of ss,


    and Sonia didn¡¯t have to go in to see what was happening inside.


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


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


    drape a fitted white sheet over it.

 Chapter 340

    Chapter 340


    Chapter 340 Carl¡¯s Disappearance


    Upon closer look, the fitted white sheet was really made out ofyers of bandage that covered nearly the


    entire surface area of Toby¡¯s wounded back. It wasn¡¯t hard to see how badly hurt he was.


    ¡°Come on, Sonia, let¡¯s go in!¡± Tyler urged, cing a hand on the doorknob.


    Sonia shook her head vehemently in refusal. ¡°No, let¡¯s not. I¡¯ve already seen him, haven¡¯t I? It¡¯s time for


    me to go!¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Tyler began to argue.


    However, he was cut off brusquely when Sonia pressed her lips into a grim line and snapped impatiently,


    ¡°Tyler, I never wanted toe here in the first ce, but you didn¡¯t leave me a choice when you dragged


    me down the hallway. Now that I¡¯ve seen Toby, what more are you asking of me?¡±


    Tyler flushed. ¡°I¡¯m not asking for more. I just want you to stay with Toby for a bit.¡±


    ¡°And why should I? What am I to him?¡± she retorted witheringly, meeting Tyler¡¯s flustered gaze.


    He opened his mouth, wanting to say something along the lines of ¡®you¡¯re his wife, of course!¡¯ before


    remembering that she and Toby were already divorced.


    As such, he closed his mouth again, feeling stupid as the words died on his tongue.


    At the sight of this, Sonia shook her head slightly and turned to head for the elevators. This time, Tyler


    did not stop her. Perhaps it was because he knew he had no right or power to hold her back.


    Sonia stopped in front of an elevator and pressed the button. The elevator arrived not long after, and


    when the doors opened, a figure d in a white coat walked out¡ªit was none other than Tim.


    He was a little startled to see Sonia on the other side of the doors, and he adjusted his sses as he


    asked, ¡°I thought you were discharged. What are you still doing here?¡±


    ¡°I got held back,¡± Sonia exined nebulously with a mild smile.


    Tim peered behind her shoulder and instantly understood what was going on. He narrowed his eyes


    slightly and inquired, ¡°Your ward isn¡¯t in this direction, so why would you be leaving through the elevators


    here unless you¡¯ve dropped by to visit Toby?¡±


    While he clearly guessed it right, Sonia did not be flustered but shrugged instead, showing a trace


    of frustration as she replied, ¡°You caught me. I ran into Tyler on my way out of the hospital, and when I


    found out Grandma was hospitalized, I decided to visit her. After that, Tyler dragged me all the way here


    to see Toby.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Tim said inly. ¡°And now you¡¯re leaving?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I should go now that I¡¯ve already seen him.¡±


    Tim broke into a light chuckle. ¡°What do you think of his injuries?¡±


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    ¡°What do I think?¡± She looked at him suspiciously. ¡°Why would you ask this?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m only curious. After all, I heard that his injuries had something to do with you,¡± he exined


    nonchntly, adjusting his sses once more.


    She lowered her gaze and said stoically, ¡°The rumors aren¡¯t technically wrong, but in all honesty, he


    brought the injuries upon himself, so I don¡¯t know what to think of them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± An odd glimmer shed in Tim¡¯s eyes as he became interested. ¡°I take it that you know


    why he was caned in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°Sort of, but seeing as it weighs on my personal affairs with the Fuller Family, I¡¯d rather not talk about it


    with you.¡± Sonia nodded in apology, then added, ¡°Right, I should get going now, Dr. Lancaster. See you.¡±


    With that, she brushed past him and into the waiting elevator.


    Tim, on the other hand, nced over his shoulder at the slowly-closing elevator doors. The fluorescent


    lights above reflected off his sses, and he waited until the doors fully closed before he turned away.


    Pushing his sses up his nose bridge, he let out an amusedugh and said to no one, ¡°How


    interesting!¡±


    Meanwhile, Charles sat on a nearby bench in the gardens outside the inpatient ward, and he was


    speaking on his phone when Sonia found him.


    She walked up to him, and when he spotted her, he beckoned her over. He spoke into the line for a few


    seconds more, then hung up. ¡°Are you done?¡± he asked Sonia, keeping his phone in his pocket.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah, I am.¡±


    ¡°Took you a while,¡± he used jokingly, then tapped his watch in mock exasperation to show that he had


    been waiting for much longer than expected.


    She shed him an embarrassed smile. ¡°I guess I lost track of time while I was talking to Grandma. Sorry


    for waiting, Charles. I¡¯ll buy you dinnerter if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°Nah, there¡¯s no need for that. Besides, it¡¯s not like you could stomach rich food right now, and I¡¯d hate to


    be the only one eating anything with vor. Come on, I¡¯ll drop you home,¡± he offered graciously, rising to


    his feet.


    They sauntered over to the hospital parking lot, and a couple of steps in, Charles suddenly remembered


    something. He turned to look at Sonia and said eagerly, ¡°By the way, baby, guess who I saw earlier.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Sonia asked, shaking her head to show that she was not up for guessing games now; she


    probably would have made all the wrong guesses anyway.


    Charles did not try to bait her either. Instead, he narrowed his eyes as he chuckled insidiously. ¡°I saw


    Tina!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia stopped walking. ¡°Tina¡¯s here at the hospital, too?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s not here as a visitor,¡± he began to exin. ¡°Apparently, she¡¯s been staying in the hospital ever


    since she left the courthouse the other day. I asked the nurses and did some sleuthing; as it turns out,


    the police took Tina into custody while she was still in recovery, so she came back to follow up on her


    treatment after she was released. She didn¡¯t get discharged until today.¡±


    A frosty look passed over Sonia¡¯s face as she mused, ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, there¡¯s something strange about you, Toby, and Tina,¡± Charles pointed out,


    rubbing his chin thoughtfully.


    She gave him an assessing look. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I meant how unlucky the three of you are, of course,¡± he answered jauntily. ¡°Haven¡¯t you realized? The


    three of you have made countless trips to the hospital in these three short months. It was always you, or


    Toby, or Tina. It¡¯s almost like an eenie-meenie-minie-mo thing.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s lips twitched in bemusement, though she couldn¡¯t rebuke what he said because it was


    the truth. ¡°That¡¯s enough now. Let¡¯s not talk about it anymore and get going,¡± she said decisively, opening


    the door on the passenger side of the car.


    Charles saluted her like he was in the army and quipped, ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±


    They drove back to Bayside Residence. Charles did not hover, and he left to attend to somepany


    matters after helping Sonia pick up around the apartment.


    Sonia, on the other hand, called for take-out, and she was digging into her meal when she gave Carl a


    call.


    However, it was just as Charles had told her that morning: none of her calls could get through, and Carl


    had as good as gone off the grid.


    She wondered idly if he was unavable because of work, or if he was hiding from her after his


    confession yesterday. Either way, she was determined to find him and talk him into seeking treatment for


    hisplex.


    With that in mind, she gave up on calling him and clicked into Messenger, then sent him a text which


    read, ¡®Carl, give me a call when you see this. There¡¯s something important I need to talk to you about.


    Please.¡¯


    She set her phone aside when the text had gone through, and while waiting for his call, she let her mind


    wander.


    s, the waitsted all night, and when she saw that he had yet to call her the following morning, she


    couldn¡¯t help but sigh in disappointment.


    I don¡¯t even know if he saw my text. She rubbed her eyes, but that did little to wake her up as she


    groggily made another call to Carl. However, all she got in return was a beep that indicated he had


    switched his phone off.


    Her brows furrowed. ¡°What in the world is going on? What is he up to?¡± It was hard not to suspect that


    something had happened to Carl now that he had disappeared for a whole day and night.


    With her lips pressed into a grim line, she gave Charles a call instead. He picked up almost instantly, and


    he greeted around a yawn, ¡°Good morning, baby.¡±


    ¡°Morning, Charles.¡± Sonia lifted the covers off her and got out of bed, then walked over to the French


    windows to draw open the curtains.


    As the blinding morning light filtered through the ss and warmed her face, she winced and shut her


    eyes. After adjusting to the sudden brightness, her eyes fluttered open slowly.


    ¡°Why did you call me so early in the morning? Did you miss me, baby?¡± Charles asked teasingly,


    chuckling.


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time to be cheeky. Be serious for a change. I need to ask you


    something.¡±


    ¡°Okay, what is it?¡± He cleared his throat and became solemn.


    When she heard his lighthearted tone turn somber, her expression grew serious as well. ¡°It¡¯s about Carl.


    None of my calls have been getting through sincest night; his phone has been switched off, and I¡¯m


    worried that he might be in trouble.¡±


    She was terrified that after the confession yesterday, Carl had been unable to take the hit and had done


    something drastic. After all, there was no telling what he might be capable of doing on impulse, given his


    complex.

 Chapter 341

    Chapter 341


    Chapter 341 Toby¡¯s Finally Awake


    Upon hearing that Sonia was looking for Carl, Charles lowered his gaze in despair, but he kept up a


    jaunty tone as he said, ¡°I thought you were going to ask about something important when you called me,


    baby. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be asking after Carl. I¡¯m hurt.¡±


    ¡°Stop it.¡± Sonia pinched the space between her brows. ¡°Do you think you could get ahold of Carl¡¯s agent,


    Charles? Maybe he¡¯ll know where Carl is and if he is at work or somece else.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll call them up and ask.¡± Charles raked his fingers through his slightly-mussed hair.


    Sonia hummed briefly in response. ¡°Thanks for doing this, Charles.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all.¡± He shook his head, then asked, ¡°By the way, are you going back to Paradigm Co.


    or will you be recuperating at home today?¡±


    ¡°Probably the former. I¡¯m not doing too poorly anyway, so there¡¯s no point staying home when I can go


    back to the office.¡± As she said this, she tried to soothe the dull ache that seemed to thrum beneath the


    skin of her lower abdomen.


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Charles was hoping to persuade her to stay home, but knowing how stubborn she was, he decided


    against it and sighed as he said, ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go over and help out with some paperwork. I can only imagine


    the mountain of documents you¡¯d have to go through after you skipped out on work yesterday.¡±


    Sonia knew that he was only trying to lighten her burden, and her heart warmed at his kind offer. She


    nodded with a grateful smile. ¡°Okay.¡±


    When the call ended, she put her phone down and stretchedzily, then headed into the bathroom to


    wash up.


    An hourter, she arrived at Paradigm Co. She had only just gotten to her office when she saw Daphne


    standing at the doorway, looking expectant. ¡°President Reed!¡± Daphne greeted her with a courteous nod.


    Sonia grinned at her. She opened the door to the office, asking, ¡°Anything interesting happened while I


    was gone?¡±


    Daphne trailed after her, and when they were in the confines of the office, she said, ¡°No, but President


    Dafoe did say a couple of nasty things about you, something about how you¡¯re skipping out on work


    even though you¡¯re the vice president and whatnot. He said you were unfit for the role.¡±


    An icy smirk tugged on Sonia¡¯s lips. ¡°Guess they figured out that there¡¯s no way for them to steal my


    share of the authority in thispany, not while it¡¯s the majority anyway. I suppose they can only resort


    to petty gossip just to give themselves some satisfaction.¡±


    She never did rify the reason for her absence yesterday, since it had to do with her personal affairs. In


    retrospect, she felt lucky that she hadn¡¯t told anyone of the real reason; if Asher and the others could


    pick faults under such vague circumstances, then she could only imagine how merciless they would be if


    they found out she missed work because she had gone to terminate her pregnancy.


    ¡°That¡¯s true enough.¡± Daphne agreed heartily with a firm nod.


    Sonia pulled out her chair from behind her desk and turned on herputer. ¡°Any work lined up for me


    today?¡±


    Daphne swiftly opened up the folder in her arms when she heard this and recited Sonia¡¯s schedule


    efficiently.


    When she was done, Sonia nodded. ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get back to my desk now, President Reed.¡± Daphne closed the folder.


    Sonia eyed her for a moment, then said, ¡°Hold on. Could you help me book an appointment with a


    lawyer? Someone whose expertise is in financialw.¡±


    ¡°Do you need to have something attested, President Reed?¡± Daphne asked curiously, pushing her


    sses up her nose bridge.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°You could say that. I just found out that at least half of the shares I hold now are courtesy


    of Carl and Charles¡¯ purchasing efforts. I can¡¯t just take all of that for nothing, so I think the best way to


    go is to have awyer notarize it; I¡¯d pay Charles and Carl back in the future, with interest.¡±


    It was the only way she could thank the two men for what they had done for her.


    ¡°I see.¡± A small smile curled on Daphne¡¯s lips as she looked at Sonia with newfound admiration. ¡°I


    understand, President Reed. I¡¯ll get right on it and set an appointment with the finestwyer there is.¡±


    Previously, she had only been respectful to Sonia because Charles had asked her to. Now, she truly did


    admire Sonia as a person.


    After all, not just anybody would take extra care to return somebody¡¯s favor instead of taking it for


    granted, particrly when it involved a huge sum of money. On this point alone, Sonia had earned


    herself rightful respect on Daphne¡¯s part.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sonia said presently, giving her secretary a warm smile.


    ¡°All in a day¡¯s work,¡± Daphne replied cidly.


    Sonia clicked her mouse. ¡°Oh, by the way, could you clear up the desk Charles used thest time? He


    said he¡¯s dropping byter to help me out with the documents.¡±


    Daphne¡¯s eyes sparkled at this, and she was so overwhelmed at that moment that she clenched her fists.


    Nheless, she maintained herposure and kept her excitement under wraps, though her voice


    was slightly higher as she replied, ¡°Yes, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Go on, then.¡± Sonia waved her off with yet another smile.


    Daphne turned to clear up the desk Charles had used previously.


    Charles didn¡¯t take long to arrive at the office, either. Daphne had only just finished straightening up the


    desk when he popped in. Seeing him, Sonia put her pen down and asked, ¡°How did it go? Did you


    manage to get a hold of Carl¡¯s manager?¡±


    ¡°Please, as if failure is even a possibility for me,¡± Charles said with a haughty chuckle, patting his own


    chest.


    Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. Charles got a hold of Carl¡¯s agent, and he doesn¡¯t look unsettled either,


    which means Carl has to be fine.


    ¡°So, where is Carl now?¡± Sonia asked just as relief seeped through her.


    Charles took a sip of the coffee Daphne had handed him earlier. ¡°He went back to Jordain County to take


    care of something, and he¡¯s supposed to be back tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good to know.¡± Sonia nodded to show that she understood, though she was still baffled as to


    why Carl would switch off his phone while he was in Jordain County.


    Then again, all her questions would have to wait until Carl¡¯s return tomorrow.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, over at the hospital, Toby was finally waking up after having spent thest two nights


    unconscious. As though witnessing a miracle, Tyler broke out in tears of relief.


    ¡°Toby.¡± When he saw that Toby was fully awake, he quickly pressed down on the call button above the


    bed.


    Dimly, Toby registered all this and came to the instant realization that he was in a hospital. He moved his


    arm and gripped onto the covers, trying to prop himself up in bed.


    However, he had barely moved a muscle before he felt a sharp, searing pain shooting up his back. He


    immediately fell back onto the bed and let out a low grunt, his handsome features scrunched up in


    agony. At that moment, he looked paler than he ever did.


    Upon seeing this, Tyler asked urgently, ¡°Toby, are you okay?¡±


    Toby braced through the hot pain that seemed to be burning his back and replied hoarsely, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I


    just strained my back.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. The wounds on your back haven¡¯t even healed over yet. We wouldn¡¯t want you to tear them


    open,¡± Tyler nagged.


    Toby closed his eyes for a bit. ¡°How long was I out?¡±


    ¡°About forty hours,¡± Tyler answered after doing a quick count with his fingers.


    Toby frowned deeply. That¡¯s too long. Sonia would have been discharged yesterday.


    He grew sullen at this, and the air around him thickened with tension.


    He had wanted to personally pick Sonia up from the hospital, but he had missed it after all, much to his


    own dismay.


    As if sensing Toby¡¯s mood was souring, Tyler blinked and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Toby?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Go over to Room 805 and see if Sonia is still there!¡± He was aware that Sonia


    could have been discharged yesterday under hospital orders as well as on her own will, but he still clung


    to the slightest chance that it never happened. Growing restless at this possibility, he red at Tyler


    incredulously when he saw that the boy did not budge from his seat. The vein near Toby¡¯s temple


    throbbed dangerously as he barked, ¡°Why are you still sitting here? Go!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to; Sonia left yesterday,¡± Tyler replied, his lower lip jutting out peevishly.


    The shock registered on Toby¡¯s expression seemed to freeze in ce as the faint hope he had been


    holding onto dissipated, reced by a hollow feeling that made his skin prickle.


    She really did leave! He shouldn¡¯t be surprised by this; hope was a fickle thing after all, and it often


    bowed to the harshness of reality.


    Tyler¡¯s heart went out to Toby when he noticed thetter¡¯s clenched fists and dismal expression.


    Treading carefully, he asked, ¡°Toby, are you upset because you didn¡¯t get to pick Sonia up after she was


    discharged from the hospital yesterday despite knowing about it beforehand?¡±


    Something shed in Toby¡¯s eyes, though the man himself said nothing.


    When Tyler saw how flustered Toby seemed, he knew he had made the right guess. Therefore, he


    couldn¡¯t help the gratification that followed. Well, what do you know? I actually got it right at the first shot


    without even meaning to! Joke¡¯s on those who call me stupid all the time!


    Feeling incredibly pleased with himself, he was about to tip his chin up when he caught himself and


    regainedposure. His arrogance would be unconscionable at a time like this, when Toby was barely


    recovering from his injuries.


    ¡°Cheer up, Toby. How about I tell you some good news instead?¡± The gears in Tyler¡¯s head turned as he


    tried to assume a brighter tone. ¡°Sonia actually came by to see you yesterday.¡±

 Chapter 342

    Chapter 342


    Chapter 342 I Will Never Give Her Up


    Toby¡¯s eyes clearly lit up after he heard the news, and his head lifted slightly in anticipation. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Tyler looked at his feet, and in his tone of voice was a trace of guilt. It was true that Sonia had visited


    Toby yesterday, but she showed up before Tyler forced her.


    In essence, she didn¡¯t want to go. Still, Tyler e had no ns to let Toby know of the truth to avoid


    disappointing him.


    Thankfully, Toby was still immersed in the joy from the knowledge of Sonia¡¯s visitation, so he was not


    paying close attention to his brother.


    If Toby had taken a closer look, he would have seen through Tyler¡¯s bad acting. Toby¡¯s lips curled up


    when he thought of Sonia visiting him, and all of a sudden, the wound on his back didn¡¯t seem painful


    anymore.


    She came to visit me. Can I assume that she is expressing concern for me?


    While musing, he heard footsteps from the outside. When he turned around, he could see the visitors


    through the transparent ss wall.


    ¡°Toby, Dr. Lancaster and Grandma are here,¡± Tyler reminded. Hiding the excitement in him, Toby looked


    across to the visitors.


    Rose was the first to enter with a grim face. ¡°Toby, do you hate me for beating you up?¡±


    Although he could not sit up, that didn¡¯t mean that his brain wasn¡¯t functioning.


    Shaking his head, he replied in a low and hoarse voice, ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I was at fault, and I deserved the


    punishment.¡±


    After all, it was his fault for divorcing Sonia before discovering his feelings for her. Not only that, he slept


    with her when he had another fiancee¡ªhe had crossed a line.


    In other words, he had indeed sinned!


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    After hearing his reply, she felt less tense, evidenced in her expression that had rxed. ¡°That¡¯s good.


    Tim, show him what you¡¯ve got.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Old Mrs. Fuller.¡± Tim pushed his sses up his nose bridge and took a step forward.


    Ten minutester, Tim removed the blood-stained rubber gloves and stared at Toby, who was sweating


    profusely with a pale face.


    With a smile, he reported, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, I have run a check. President Fuller has a clear sense of


    pain. It shows that the nerves and muscle tissues on his back are working fine. After this, he just needs


    to focus on recuperating. The wounds on his back will leave scars, though.¡±


    ¡°Scars are not a big deal for a grown man. They¡¯re not even on the face,¡± Rose stole a look at Toby¡¯s


    back and replied calmly.


    Tim smiled softly. ¡°You¡¯re right. Alright, I won¡¯t take up your family time any longer. I¡¯ll get going.¡±


    Then, sticking his hands into his coat pockets, he strolled out of the room.


    After he left, there were only Tyler, Rose, and Toby in the ICU. Rose took a seat where Tyler had sat.


    ¡°Sonia came yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Toby replied with tenderness on his face.


    Seeing how his expression had softened, she sighed. ¡°I chatted with her for a while. Toby, I could tell that


    she really has no feelings for you anymore.¡±


    Before this, Rose had asked Sonia about her feelings for Toby and the possibility of mending the


    rtionship.


    At that time, Sonia¡¯s reply was that she had no feelings for Toby, and it was impossible for them to get


    back together.


    Rose once thought that Sonia might have given those answers out of contempt when she secretly still


    had feelings for Toby. After all, Sonia had loved Toby for years. How could one¡¯s feelings change


    overnight?


    However, yesterday¡¯s encounter showed Rose that Sonia had never acted out of contempt¡ªSonia was


    serious.


    Rose¡¯s confession took away the joy from Sonia¡¯s visitation and plunged Toby into an icy hell.


    He curled up his fists. ¡°Grandma, what is it that you want to say to me?¡±


    Rose looked into his eyes. ¡°I wanted to tell you that, perhaps, you are not destined to be with Sonia.


    Toby, you should give up.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face fell. ¡°Grandma, are you asking me to let go of her?¡±


    What! Let go of her?! Tyler was shocked as well. ¡°Grandma, what are you talking about? Why are you


    telling him to let go of Sonia? I thought you were the most supportive of their rtionship. Why would


    you¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course I supported their rtionship. But what¡¯s good with being supportive when no one else was


    doing anything for the rtionship?¡± Rose cut him off. ¡°Had you and Jean treated her better as someone


    who¡¯s a part of the family, she would not have brought up divorce out of disappointment! Maybe Toby


    would have distanced himself from that vixen Tina out of respect for you and Jean. Had that happened,


    Sonia would not have divorced him, and they could have lived happily as a couple.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Tyler¡¯s face was red in embarrassment, and he struggled to utter a word due to guilt.


    He felt sorry for Toby and Sonia, knowing that he was partly the reason for their divorce.


    He acknowledged his fault and hung his head in shame. Seeing that, Rose did not go after him, for he


    was only a naive young man.


    She merely shook her head and directed her gaze back to Toby. ¡°Yes, that is what I meant¡ªgive her up.


    You tortured her so much in the past. If you refuse to let her go now, you¡¯ll only be torturing yourself.


    What¡¯s the point? Give her up and spare yourself from the pain.¡±


    ¡°Give her up?¡± Toby clutched the bedsheet with so much strength that the veins on the back of his hand


    bulged. His hands were trembling slightly.


    He clenched his teeth and hissed, ¡°But Grandma, I have loved her for decades. I fell for her way before I


    learned about her identity. Tell me, how am I ever going to give her up? It¡¯s impossible for me to do so!¡±


    Twice! For twice, I¡¯ve fallen for Sonia. How can I ever love another when she is the love of my life? No, I


    can¡¯t. It must be her. It must be Sonia!


    As he imagined the scenario, he sat up with much difficulty while enduring the excruciating pain in his


    back. Panting, he stared squarely at Rose. ¡°Grandma, I will never let go of her. If she doesn¡¯t have any


    feelings for me now, that¡¯s fine. I will make her fall for me once again. If I could fall for her twice, she


    could do the same as well. No matter what, I am not going to let go of her! I cannot see her with another


    man, and I will not allow that to happen¡ªover my dead body!¡±


    Looking at the madness in his eldest grandson, Rose felt her lips twitching in shock. She wanted to say


    something but ultimately kept it to herself.


    She had wanted to talk him into giving up, but she did not expect him to be so determined.


    All her advice would probably be useless in the face of his stubbornness.


    A long pauseter, she rose up from the seat with a weary sigh. ¡°Toby, I will ask you for thest time: are


    you not going to give up?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± He stared at her with the same earnest look from before.


    He had made it clear that Sonia could only be with another man over his dead body, and that was


    because a dead man couldn¡¯t stop a living person.


    Rose tightened her grip on the walking stick and said, ¡°Oh well, I¡¯m too old to talk you out of it. I¡¯ll watch


    from the side until you learn from your failure. I¡¯m warning you: I will not help you this time.¡±


    She had helped him countless times. Now, she was too ashamed to put in a good word for him in front of


    Sonia.


    ¡°I know. Thank you, Grandma.¡± He looked on as his grandmother turned around to leave. Pausing in her


    steps, she appeared to be hesitant, but in the end, she left without looking back.


    After that, Tyler closed the door and turned to him. ¡°Toby, if Grandma doesn¡¯t want to help, I will! I¡¯m one


    of the reasons for your divorce, so I should at least do something for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Tobyy down once more and refused Tyler¡¯s offer.


    Still, Tyler appeared determined. ¡°I should! If I don¡¯t, I¡¯d feel bad. Anyway, just let me do my thing.¡±


    Worried that Toby might refuse his help again, he quickly changed the topic of conversation. ¡°Okay, since


    you¡¯re awake, I will call Mom and tell her to bring you some bone chicken broth. Now that your back not


    well, you should get some nutritional food.¡±


    Then, Tyler went out to the balcony to make a call, while Toby could only watch this brother of his as his


    lips twitched a little.

 Chapter 343

    Chapter 343


    Chapter 343 The Truth Behind That Night


    Technically, Tyler wasn¡¯t wrong about Toby needing nutritious food because of the back injury. However,


    Toby perhaps needed more care mentally than physically.


    Anyway, Toby decided to overlook Tyler¡¯s logic, given that thetter was concerned about him.


    It was at this moment that some footsteps were heard again. Hence, Toby looked over and found Tom


    standing out there and waving at him.


    He nodded, signaling Tom to enter. Thetter got the hint and opened the door. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    Toby grunted. ¡°How¡¯s thepany doing these few days when I was in aa?¡±


    ¡°Thepany is doing fine. I have informed the board of directors that you¡¯re abroad because of some


    urgent matters. Apart from our small circle, no one else knew about your hospitalization. That¡¯s why the


    stock price is not affected.¡± Tom reported the recent developments by the bedside.


    Toby rubbed the center of his forehead. ¡°That¡¯s good. Bring over the documents marked for my attention


    in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°But are you fit to¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Toby closed his eyes, and in a sluggish tone, he uttered, ¡°I can¡¯t lie around doing nothing in the


    hospital.¡±


    Tom had no choice in the face of Toby¡¯s insistence, so he nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay, I got it. By the


    way, there¡¯s another matter¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby turned to him again.


    Tom¡¯s expression grew solemn. ¡°It¡¯s the investigation into how Tina learned about Miss Reed¡¯s


    pregnancy. I got to the bottom of it and found out that everything was a conspiracy!¡±


    ¡°A conspiracy?¡± Toby scrunched up his eyes in suspicion.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yeah. I was thinking that since Tina knew Miss Reed was carrying your child, perhaps she


    also witnessed that night between you and Miss Reed. I went to the clubhouse and looked into the


    matter starting from the night three months ago. That was when I found out about the conspiracy.¡±


    At this point, Tom¡¯s expression darkened even more. ¡°It was Charles¡¯s birthday that day, and Miss Reed


    was celebrating his birthday with some friends. Tina and her friends happened to be at the clubhouse at


    the same time. From my investigation, I found out that Tina had paid some waiter at the clubhouse to


    spike Miss Reed¡¯s drink.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes wavered in shock.


    Does that mean Sonia was not only drunk but also drugged that night?


    Of course, now that he thought about it, had Sonia been drunk, she wouldn¡¯t be as excited as she had


    been. He secretly chided himself for not noticing her odd behavior.


    ¡°Where¡¯s that waiter now?¡± The air around Toby turned cold.


    Tom answered, ¡°He¡¯s in our hands now. During my investigation, I realized that the waiter looked uneasy.


    I had someone interrogate him, and from there, we found out that Tina had paid him to spike Miss


    Reed¡¯s drink and to arrange for a man to assault Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°A man?¡± Toby gritted his teeth as his temper red.


    He never knew that Tina had once attempted to pay a man to sully Sonia.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tom pushed his sses up his nose bridge. ¡°Tina ordered the waiter to get a man for the deed¡ª


    the man would pretend to run into Miss Reed, bring her to a room, and take a video of her. For some


    reason, the man was runningte and did not show up in front of Miss Reed. When I tracked down the


    original footage, I saw you standing in front of Miss Reed instead.¡±


    After a pause, he added, ¡°By the way, I saw in the footage that Tina¡¯s friend caught you on video when


    you entered the room with Miss Reed. The friendter called Tina about this, and that was how Tina


    came to know that you were with Miss Reed that night instead of the other man. That exins why Tina


    knew that Miss Reed had been carrying your child.¡±


    ¡°So that was what happened!¡± Toby¡¯s lips were tightly pursed, and he repeatedly clenched and uncurled


    his fist in anger. He felt relieved to learn that the man had runte on that day. If not, Sonia would have


    been assaulted.


    He could not bring himself to imagine the worst-case scenario. With a dark expression, he ordered, ¡°Find


    that man!¡±


    ¡°I have sent someone to get a hold of him. I believe that they could get him to Seafield by tomorrow,¡±


    Tom reported. Then, he thought of something else and looked at Toby. ¡°Um, the footage also showed


    that the man sneaked into the room after you left the next morning.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Toby raised his voice with an icy look. ¡°He entered the room?¡±


    What could he have done to Sonia?


    His body was shaking from fury at this point.


    Tom must have read his mind and quickly rified, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The footage showed that the man only


    entered the room for ten minutes before Miss Reed rushed out in panic. He could not have done


    anything to her, but we couldn¡¯t know if he had taken photos or videos of her. We will only find out about


    that by tomorrow.¡±


    Hearing that, Toby let out a huge sigh of relief. Thankfully, he did not do anything to Sonia. He swore that


    he would chop off the hands of that man if he had the guts to take photos and videos of Sonia.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Zane?¡± Toby suddenly narrowed his eyes dangerously. ¡°Those who work at the clubhouse are


    his men, and one of them is in your hands now. He must have received the news by now, I assume.¡±


    In fact, on the next day, Toby had asked Zane to take care of the surveince footage because he was


    worried that Sonia would check the footage after she woke up and found out about his identity.


    ¡°Mr. Coleman is indeed aware of the situation, but he is currently on a work trip in Norfolk and will only be


    back tonight. He said that he¡¯d visit you in person to ask you about the situation by then,¡± Tom shrugged.


    Toby clenched his teeth but did not say anything else. Instead, he reached for his phone on the


    headboard and dialed Sonia¡¯s number.


    At that moment, Sonia was in a work-rted discussion with Charles. She turned her head after hearing


    the phone ringtone, and she blinked in surprise when she saw Toby¡¯s name on the screen.


    Looks like he has regained consciousness.


    However, she had no idea why he would call her right after he woke up, and only after slight hesitation


    did she decide to reject the call.


    Seeing that, Charles whistled merrily. ¡°Darling, good job!¡±


    She smiled without saying a thing. However, just when she was about to go back to their discussion on


    the uses in an agreement, her phone buzzed again, but it was from a WhatsApp message.


    It was a message from none other than Toby Fuller. He even messaged her using his profile Z-H. It


    appeared that he did not bother to conceal his identity as Z-H anymore once he was exposed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll check the message for you.¡± Before she had decided on checking the message, she saw Charles


    grabbing her phone. Anyhow, it was toote to stop him, so she let him be.


    ¡°What does he mean by this?¡± Charles frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the incident that night? He said it was his fault,


    and he mentioned that there was some conspiracy. Why do I not understand a word of it?¡±


    Charles might be confused, but Sonia immediately understood Toby¡¯s words.


    ¡°Give it to me.¡± She reached out to retrieve her phone and stared at the screen with a grave expression.


    She could read his entire message clearly. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. The incident that night was entirely my fault.


    You could hate me and me me as much as you want. I just wanted to tell you that there¡¯s some


    conspiracy behind that night. You were not only drunk. I will send a video with the details to youter.¡¯


    ¡°Darling.¡± Charles noticed that she had lost focus and waved his hand in front of her face.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Her eyes wavered as she snapped back to reality. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m going to ask you. Why did you space out?¡± he asked.


    She pursed her rosy lips. ¡°I was thinking about some stuff.¡±


    What does Toby mean by that? What exactly is the conspiracy? Did something else happen between him


    and her that night? Charles seemed to think something fishy had happened.

 Chapter 344

    Chapter 344


    Chapter 344 Cross the Line


    As Sonia was caught in a deep trance, she felt a vibration from her phone. Thus, she looked down, only


    to see a video sent by Toby. Not knowing what the content was about, she didn¡¯t think it was a good time


    for her to view the video, so she looked up at Charles and said in an apologetic tone, ¡°You¡¯ve been busy


    the whole day, Charles. So, you should probably go back and get some rest now. I¡¯ll treat you to a meal


    next time.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to send me away, Darling?¡± Charles looked askance at her. ¡°Just so you can check out


    the video Toby sent you without me?¡±


    Sonia tightened her fingers around her phone, wondering whether her gesture was so obvious that it


    gave her away. Fine, he¡¯s probably seen through me anyway, so I guess there is perhaps no need for me


    to keep lying to him. Sonia rubbed her forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Charles, but this is a personal


    matter between me and Toby, so¡­¡±


    ¡°So you can¡¯t let me know about it?¡± Charles folded his arms.


    Sonia responded by pursing her lips, seemingly admitting it in silence. After all, she never nned on


    telling Charles what happened between her and Toby on that ungraceful night three months ago, and


    neither was she ever going to let Charles know that she was pregnant with Toby¡¯s child. Otherwise,


    Charles would surely go after Toby to stand up for her, and what was worst was that he might rub the


    Fullers the wrong way and drag the Lanes down. Thus, she decided to keep him in the dark, as she


    didn¡¯t want him to get himself into trouble.


    Noticing Sonia¡¯s silence, Charles sighed and replied, ¡°Fine, I guess you¡¯ve really grown up, Sonia. You


    used to tell me everything, but now¡­ you¡¯re holding out on me. s!¡± He pretended to be sad and wiped


    his ¡®tears¡¯.


    In the face of the man¡¯s lousy acting skills, Sonia curled her lips upward while feeling guilty on the inside.


    After all, she knew how bad it felt to be kept in the dark, although she had no choice but to hold out on


    Charles about the matter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Charles.¡± Sonia looked down and apologized once more.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I don¡¯t me you. Everyone has their own secrets anyway, so I respect your wish to keep


    yours to yourself. Moreover, you could always tell me whenever you feel like doing so, and I¡¯ll be all


    ears.¡± Charles waved his hand with a smile on his face.


    Upon hearing the man¡¯s understanding words, Sonia felt touched and warm deep down. Thus, she


    smiled and expressed her gratitude. ¡°Thank you so much, Charles.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Charles shrugged his shoulders and became serious once more. ¡°Anyway, you must


    listen to me, Darling. I don¡¯t care what happened between you and Toby earlier, but I want you to protect


    yourself before it¡¯s toote.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Sure, I will.¡± Sonia nodded her head.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make a move now.¡± Charles had his hands in his pocket and walked toward the door


    gracefully.


    After that, Sonia fixed her gaze on Charles until he opened the door and disappeared from her sight. It


    was then that she shifted her gaze to her phone and viewed the video with a serious look on her face.


    Upon watching a few seconds of the video, Sonia realized it was the security footage of what happened


    between her and Toby three months ago. When she saw herself drunk and bumping into Toby before


    flirting with him, she was so overwhelmed by her embarrassment that she wished she could bury herself


    in a hole. Knowing herself to be someone reserved, she couldn¡¯t believe she acted like a different person


    and even flirted with Toby when she became drunk. This is so embarrassing! Fortunately, I¡¯m now alone


    in my office, or I¡¯m going to die of shame.


    Soon, Sonia shook her head and tried to keep herself together from her overwhelming awkwardness as


    she continued to watch the rest of the video. Then, when she saw Toby wrapping his arm around her


    waist and entering a room with her, her embarrassed look was instantly reced by a darkened


    expression. So, Toby likes me more when I¡¯m drunk. Before we divorced, Toby had never even bothered


    to touch me, yet Jean kept urging me to have a child. So, it wasn¡¯t my problem for not doing my part to


    spice things up between us, was it? No wonder he acted so differently that day. Sonia tapped the table


    coldly with her fingers with a cial sneer on her face.


    Back then, Toby felt nothing but disgust, just like how she currently felt, as he always looked at her with a


    sarcastic sneer, like she was a clown. Thus, he usually left her in the cold for her to face her own


    humiliation alone. However, Toby sumbed to his temptation when he saw Sonia¡¯s drunken look on the


    video.


    This is my first time seeing someone with such a peculiar liking. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Sonia chuckled and continued


    to watch the video. After seeing Toby enter the room with her, a mysterious silhouette appeared in the


    corridor, and it was none other than¡ªCynthia.


    At that moment, Cynthia appeared to be holding her phone, seemingly taking pictures of the ce they


    werest seen. Then, she put her phone to her ear, probably trying to tip Tina off regarding their


    whereabouts. So that was how Tina found out that I¡¯m pregnant with Toby¡¯s child. Sonia pursed her lips


    and fixed her cial eyes on the phone screen.


    Not long after that, Cynthia walked away before nothing else but the empty corridor was shown on the


    security footage. If it weren¡¯t for the ticking time on the left upper corner, anyone would think that the


    video had already stopped. Nheless, Sonia knew that wasn¡¯t the case. Instead, the video had been


    fast-forwarded since there was nothing out of the ordinary happening outside the room in the corridor.


    Five minutester, it was already the next morning, and seven hours had passed, ording to the time


    disyed on the left upper corner of the video. Eventually, the footage showed something new as Toby


    finally stepped out of the room. Then, he was seen walking away while talking on the phone.


    Without paying attention to the length of the video, Sonia thought this was the end of it until she saw a


    man peeking around ndestinely before entering the room. When the man looked around him, the


    security footage had a clear shot of his face. Therefore, when Sonia managed to spot the man¡¯s face,


    she stood up straight from her seat and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s him!¡±


    That was the man whom I found lying beside me when I woke up the next day. Knowing Toby was the


    one with whom she shared an intimate moment, Sonia couldn¡¯t figure out why the man she saw after she


    woke up was a different person. I can¡¯t believe that man sneaked into my room! Why did he do that?


    Confused by the man¡¯s ulterior motive, Sonia exited the video and rang Toby up, which was answered in


    a matter of seconds like he was waiting for her call. ¡°Have you finished watching the video?¡±


    Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and said, ¡°Yup, that¡­¡±


    ¡°I know what you want to ask.¡± Toby interrupted her words. ¡°You want to ask about that man, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You figured?¡± Sonia squinted.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not hard to guess, plus that man¡¯s presence is the strangest part of the entire security footage.


    So, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised now that you asked.¡± Toby gave an affirmative reply.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Sonia sat down once again. ¡°Indeed, I want to ask you about that man. Since you¡¯re the one who


    sent me this security footage, I reckon you must have learned everything about him. Right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That man is a public rtions officer whom Tina sent to vite you, but because of me, her n


    was thwarted.¡± Toby squinted, speaking with a cial voice.


    ¡°What?! Tina¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s face changed as her heartbeat rose. Having thought that man had entered the


    wrong room all the time, she was taken aback by the shocking discovery. ¡°She is crossing the line!¡±


    Sonia held her phone so angrily that her hand began to shiver. So, Tina has been trying to set me up


    with her dirty tricks from the beginning. In fact, she might have even tried to hurt me with all kinds of


    shenanigans previously, but did I not realize that because¡ªI got away every time?


    ¡°Calm down, Sonia.¡± Toby could sense Sonia¡¯s anger from her tone as he tried tofort her. ¡°Your body


    is still recovering, so it¡¯s important that you calm yourself down. Anyway, I think this is a perfect chance


    for you, on the other hand.¡±

 Chapter 345

    Chapter 345


    Chapter 345 Zane¡¯s Return


    ¡°A perfect chance?¡± Sonia knitted her eyebrows in confusion. ¡°What are you trying to suggest?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you always wanted to send Tina to prison? Well, herees your opportunity. That man is your


    witness, and I¡¯ve already sent someone after him. After capturing him, he is going to tell us everything


    Tina told him to do, and that¡¯ll be our evidence to put her behind bars,¡± Toby answered with a deep


    voice.


    While his goal was always to put Tina in prison, he initially intended to have Tom set Tina up and catch


    her red-handed. However, Tina, who had been staying in the hospital for the past few days, didn¡¯t go


    anywhere else, even after returning home. Thus, Tom couldn¡¯t find an opportunity to execute his n,


    which was the reason Tina still hadn¡¯t been punished. Therefore, now that an opportunity to gather Tina¡¯s


    criminal evidence presented itself, Toby wasn¡¯t about to let it slip away.


    On the other hand, Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up when she heard Toby¡¯s exnation. Well, this is indeed an


    opportunity. Tina may be on her probation for now, but if she evermits a crime, she¡¯ll be sent to


    prison right away. Although she hasn¡¯t done anything against thew at the moment, she can never get


    away with the evidence that can prove she is guilty of the crimes she did earlier. ¡°I get you now,


    President Fuller. Thank you so much.¡± Sonia smiled gratefully.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. I¡¯m not just doing this for you, but for myself as well. In fact, I¡¯m trying to


    atone for the mistakes I made in the past,¡± Toby looked down and answered.


    ¡°President Fuller¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s smile faded.


    ¡°Alright, Sonia, I have something I must attend to, so I¡¯m going to hang up the call right now. When that


    man arrives in Seafield, I¡¯ll let you know. Goodbye.¡± Toby hung up his phone, knowing that Sonia was


    about to push him away with her disheartening words. Thus, he cut her short, refusing to hear what she


    was going to say.


    In the meantime, Sonia was staring at the home screen on her phone while raising her eyebrows. After


    all, that was the first time Toby hung up on her ever since he confessed his love to her. What does he


    have to hide from me?


    Meanwhile, Tom, who was in the ICU, took Toby¡¯s phone and put it on the headboard. ¡°What¡¯s wrong,


    President Fuller?¡± Deep down, he was wondering why his boss would hang up the call so abruptly. Why


    did he hang up in such a hurry? Man, he looked like he was trying to avoid some loan sharks who were


    after him for money.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    ¡°In that case, perhaps I should return to the office.¡± Tom wanted to excuse himself.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yes, please,¡± Toby replied before his assistant turned around and walked away.


    Later that night, Zane returned to Seafield from Norfolk and made his way to the hospital after his


    touchdown as he learned from Tom that Toby had been hospitalized earlier that day. The moment he saw


    Toby lying in bed, he ced his hand on his belly and gloated with a loudugh. ¡°Oh boy! You look so


    charming in this outfit, Toby! Haha!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Toby bellowed as his temples were suddenly covered in veins.


    At that moment, Zane faked a few coughs and forced a smile, waving his hand as he replied, ¡°Alright.


    Alright, I¡¯ll knock it off now, but what happened to you? How did you end up in the hospital?¡± Although he


    had asked Tom what happened to Toby earlier that day, he was only given a perfunctory answer without


    exact details behind Toby¡¯s injury. Thus, he couldn¡¯t help but feel curious about the reason that put Toby


    in the hospital.


    ¡°It was an ident. Alright, let¡¯s talk about business now.¡± Toby looked down and spoke with a cold


    voice.


    Sensing his reluctance to reveal more about his injury, Zane pursed his lips and answered, ¡°What exactly


    are you hiding from me? Fine. Fine, have it your way if you don¡¯t want to tell me. I¡¯m not interested in


    knowing it anyway. By the way, why did you capture one of my men?¡±


    ¡°Your man drugged Sonia, and you¡¯re asking me why?¡± Toby fixed his eyes on his friend in a cold


    manner.


    ¡°Sonia was drugged? How was that possible?!¡± Zane was stunned upon hearing that. After all, Sonia


    hadn¡¯t been to his club for the past few months, so he couldn¡¯t possibly figure out how his employees


    were able to drug her.


    ¡°Not now, but three months ago. It happened on the same day as the incident between me and Sonia


    took ce. Your employee was bribed by Tina to spike Sonia¡¯s drink.¡± Toby knitted his eyebrows while


    suppressing his anger.


    On the other hand, Zane was still caught in his trance until a few momentster. Then, he replied with a


    darkened look on his face. ¡°I swear I waspletely unaware of this incident!¡±


    ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t aware, but if I hadn¡¯t initiated an investigation, I would have been as confused as you


    are. Furthermore, Tina even sent another man to vite Sonia. Here is the security footage from that


    night. Tom went to your club earlier and asked for a copy of it, so take a look for yourself.¡± Toby reached


    for his phone and showed his friend the video.


    When Zane received Toby¡¯s phone, he proceeded to watch the video in a panicky manner. In fact, the


    video was the security footage that Toby sent to Sonia earlier. A few minutester, Zane finished


    watching the video as he wrapped his fingers around the phone tightly without saying a single word.


    Then, Toby fixed his cial eyes on his friend. ¡°I told you to take care of the security footage the next day


    after the incident happened. Why didn¡¯t you spot the man?¡±


    Realizing his huge mistake, Zane guiltily replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know you told me to take care of the


    security footage so that Sonia wouldn¡¯t find out about it when she woke up. Although I did tell the guards


    in the security room to store the footage elsewhere, I didn¡¯t go through the video myself, so I was


    unaware of what happened that night.¡±


    Since he wasn¡¯t interested in Sonia at that time, it didn¡¯t ur to him to help Sonia for her sake. In fact,


    Sonia did approach him the next day to ask for his help to view the security footage, but even so, he


    directly told her that nothing was wrong without watching it at all. Now, he regretted it and beat himself up


    for his indifference and selfishness.


    Upon hearing Zane¡¯s words, Toby knitted his eyebrows, clearly expressing his annoyance and


    dissatisfaction. On the other hand, Zane could tell that he wasn¡¯t happy as a bitter look showed on his


    face. ¡°Are you ming me for not checking out the footage back then, Toby?¡±


    While Toby squinted and showed an ambiguous stance, Zane chuckled and added, ¡°Be reasonable,


    Toby. Even if I did check out the security footage at that time, what else would you have done after doing


    some digging about the man? I doubt you would have stood up for Sonia anyway back then.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face changed, like something just sprang to his mind. Then, Zane grunted coldly and continued to


    say, ¡°You only had eyes for Tina back then. So, even if you did find out who Tina sent after Sonia, you


    would still have been blinded by your obsession with her and protected her like nothing ever happened.


    Thus, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little unfair to hold me responsible for that right now?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby was rendered speechless as he squinted because Zane was merely speaking the truth. Although


    he hadn¡¯t been hypnotized at that point, his obsession with Tina would have prompted him to protect her


    even if he had found out that she sent someone to vite Sonia. Therefore, he was in no position to


    me Zane.


    Looking at Toby¡¯s disheartened look, Zane let out a sigh and said, ¡°Fine, it¡¯s pointless to discuss


    something that happened a long time ago. Instead, we should focus on how we can resolve the issue


    and atone for our mistakes. For that, I guess you can do whatever you want to that waiter.¡± Considering


    Toby¡¯s feelings for Sonia, Zane was sure that it wouldn¡¯t end well for that waiter.


    ¡°As for Sonia¡­¡± He expressed his helplessness, as he didn¡¯t know what to do next. After all, Zane was


    also at fault for lying about the security footage.


    If I apologize to Sonia, she will know that I lied to her that nothing was wrong with the security footage.


    By then, she is going to be so mad at me. Also, she may even find out that I¡¯ve been hiding the truth


    about Toby being her child¡¯s father from her. If it reallyes to that, she is probably even going to cut


    ties with me.


    At the thought of that, Zane scratched his head with annoyance. Man, what the hell is wrong with me?! If


    I hadn¡¯t known I was going to fall for Sonia, I shouldn¡¯t have helped Toby, and I wouldn¡¯t have gotten


    myself into this mess.


    While Zane red at Toby with a gaze burning in grudge, thetter only pursed his lips and calmly


    replied, ¡°There is no need to dwell on the problem. Sonia¡¯s child has been aborted, and she already


    knew that I was Z-H, as well as the child¡¯s father.¡±


    After Toby¡¯s confession, the atmosphere in the ward stiffened in silence for a few moments until Zane


    clenched his fists in terror. ¡°W-What did you just say? Sonia already found out that you were her child¡¯s


    father?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Toby¡¯s eyes were filled with coldness. Just when everything seemed to take a turn for the better


    between him and Sonia, the shocking revtion simply just undid all the positive progress and reversed


    everything back to square one.


    Nevertheless, Toby refused to suffer from the repercussions of the incident alone and was determined to


    drag Zane down with him. We¡¯re likerades, Zane. So if I¡¯m going down, you¡¯re going down with me.

 Chapter 346

    Chapter 346


    Chapter 346 Friends No More


    Unaware of Toby¡¯s sinister intention, Zane impatiently paced back and forth. ¡°Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!


    Now that Sonia knows you¡¯re John Johann and the child¡¯s father, she must have also known I helped you


    hide the truth from her. Man, is this the end for me and her before it even begins?¡±


    Upon hearing Zane¡¯s words, Toby squinted warily. Is this guy still thinking about winning Sonia over? He


    is in over his head because Sonia is mine and only mine!


    ¡°No!¡± Zane stopped in his tracks, seemingly determined to do something about the situation. ¡°I must


    apologize to Sonia, even if that means she¡¯ll be mad at me. After all, I have to show my initiative to admit


    my mistake because who knows she may forgive me for that?¡± As soon as he finished his words, he


    turned around and left the ward right away before Toby could stop him.


    Watching Zane disappear from his sight, Toby was worried that Sonia would eventually forgive the former


    for taking the initiative to apologize. However, he soon put his mind to ease when he recalled Sonia¡¯s


    unforgiving nature, thinking Zane would only be wasting his time to apologize.


    In the meantime, Zane hurriedly made his way to Bayside Residence, where he nervously hesitated for a


    while before ringing the doorbell. At the same time, Sonia was about to take a rest when she heard the


    doorbell, whereupon she went to answer the door. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Sonia.¡± Zane¡¯s voice was heard from the other side of the door.


    The moment Sonia saw her visitor, her hand stiffened on the door handle just as her facial expression


    turned cold. It¡¯s you, Zane! When she recalled how Zane helped Toby by sitting on the truth, her anger


    surged through her body and was going to get the better of her. However, she closed her eyes and


    calmed herself down, responding with a cold voice. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. Please go.¡±


    Upon hearing her cial tone, Zane was seen with a bitter smile on his face. When he was on his way to


    meet her, he had a feeling that she would give him the cold shoulder. Thus, he knew his guess was right


    when he heard her grim voice. Furthermore, she turned him away directly without even bothering to ask


    his purpose of visit. Therefore, he could tell how mad she was at him. ¡°S-Sonia, I have something I¡¯d like


    to tell you. Could you please open the door?¡± Zane probingly asked, fixing his eyes on the door while


    rubbing his hands.


    ¡°We can talk some other time. I¡¯m not in the mood to listen to your exnation right now.¡± Sonia pursed


    her lips.


    ¡°No! It¡¯ll be meaningless if I don¡¯t tell you what I want right now, Sonia. So, please open the door!


    Please!¡± Zane crossed his fingers with his eyes closed, speaking with a voice so sympathetic no one


    could turn him away.


    In response, Sonia blinked in hesitation. A few secondster, she opened the door and said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s


    see what you have to say.¡±


    As soon as Zane heard someone opening the door, he immediately opened his eyes. Exhrated to see


    Sonia, he happily smiled from ear to ear. ¡°Finally, you¡¯re willing to see me.¡±


    ¡°You have something to tell me, don¡¯t you? Go on. I¡¯m all ears now.¡± Sonia was seen with an emotionless


    look on her face without any intention of showing her regard.


    Meanwhile, Zane couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly upset upon hearing her mean words. However, he knew


    he deserved them for what he did to her. Therefore, he bitterly smiled and looked at her, noticing her pale


    face. ¡°Sonia, I heard you aborted your child. How do you feel now? I have some supplements at home,


    so maybe I could¡­¡±


    ¡°Just get straight to the point!¡± Sonia frowned and made her point known as she didn¡¯t want Zane to


    waste time beating around the bush.


    Zane gulped and sighed. ¡°Alright. Alright, I¡¯ll cut the crap and get to the point now. I-uh-I¡­ heard that you


    already knew Toby was your child¡¯s father, so¡­¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Sonia stared at the man with her cold, piercing gaze.


    For the first time, Zane felt Sonia¡¯s indifferent attitude as she had never treated him so coldly, not even


    before they grew closer to each other three months ago. Oh man, it looks like she is really pissed off with


    me! At the thought of that, Zane looked down and apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. I shouldn¡¯t have held out


    on you.¡±


    Sonia sniggered and fixed her gaze on him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have held out on me? Oh, you sure looked


    like you were enjoying those moments while I acted like a fool with no idea what was going on. In fact, I


    asked you a few times who Z-H was, but you brushed me off with some silly and perfunctory answers


    every single time. So, how did that look like you shouldn¡¯t have held out on me? And now that you came


    to me for forgiveness, I can¡¯t help but find your apology insincere and fake. After all, I don¡¯t think you


    apologized because you¡¯ve learned from your mistakes, but because your lie has been exposed. For


    that, you were forced to apologize to me. Aren¡¯t I right?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Zane¡¯s lips stiffened in silence because he couldn¡¯t refute a single word she said. Indeed, he


    wouldn¡¯t have apologized and confessed his mistakes to her if she hadn¡¯t known the truth beforehand.


    Looking at Zane¡¯s guilty look, Sonia rubbed her forehead and asked, ¡°So, is this why you came here? To


    apologize to me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zane rubbed his nose. ¡°It was true that I helped Toby keep you in the dark, and if you hadn¡¯t


    discovered the truth, I would have continued to sit on the secret. In fact, when I first agreed to help Toby,


    I was merely doing it out of kind intentions, but as we got along with each other in the past few months, I


    started to think that hiding the truth from you was for your own good because I didn¡¯t want the revtion


    to break your heart. I¡¯m your friend after all.¡±


    ¡°My friend?¡± Sonia sneered. What a ¡®friend¡¯ you are to me, Zane! For someone who lied to me and


    betrayed my trust, you¡¯re a pretty ¡®good¡¯ friend, but I don¡¯t think I deserve to be your friend.


    Nevertheless, Zane had no idea what Sonia was thinking in her head. He was then seen putting his


    hands down as he went on and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d find out about it so soon, but since you already


    found out about it, I suppose I must do something, which is why I came to apologize. After all, I¡¯m at fault


    for having hidden the truth from you, so I hope you could forgive me, Sonia.¡±


    After finishing his words, Zane bowed down to Sonia in a sincere manner, but thedy took a step back


    and said, ¡°Fine, I understand why you helped Toby hide the truth from me since he is your friend.¡±


    Zane¡¯s eyes lit up as he stood up and agitatedly looked at her. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re going to forgive


    me?¡±


    Well, understanding and forgiveness are two different things. Sonia shook her head emotionlessly and


    replied, ¡°No. I understand you, but that doesn¡¯t mean I forgive you. You might have done what you


    should as Toby¡¯s friend, but to me, what you did was simply uneptable. From now on, you and I are


    no longer friends anymore. Instead, we¡¯re just allies whosemon enemy is the Gray Family.¡±


    ¡°Allies¡­¡± Zane¡¯s facial expression stiffened.


    ¡°Exactly. Nothing more than allies!¡± Sonia pursed her lips and shut the door immediately, leaving the man


    alone outside her doorstep.


    With his eyes glued to the door, Zane was overwhelmed by disappointment. At that moment, he felt like


    crying.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I thought she was going to forgive me, but it turned out that she didn¡¯t want to be friends with me


    anymore.


    It was then that Zane recalled how much he went through just to make a positive impression on Sonia


    and be friends with her while working his way to win her heart over. However, he was quickly


    dismayed and discouraged by the thought that he could no longer be friends with her, let alone woo her.


    Therefore, he scratched his head in annoyance. ¡°No way! I mustn¡¯t let things worsen!¡± I must talk to


    Sonia and save our friendship at the very least, even though she may not forgive me in the end.


    As Zane raised his hand and was about to reach the doorbell, the phone in his pocket rang. With a frown


    on his face, he rummaged for his phone before realizing it was a call from home. Therefore, he quickly


    answered it and said, ¡°Hello.¡± After hearing what the caller told him, his face changed. ¡°Alright, I heard


    you. I¡¯ming back now.¡± Then, he took his phone away from his ear and typed a text message,


    whereupon he sent it to Sonia and made for the elevator hastily.


    On the other hand, Sonia was going to grab herself a ss of water when she heard her phone vibrating


    on the table. Thus, she reached for it, only to realize that it was a message from Zane. She then put


    down the ss of water and viewed the content of the message he sent her. ¡®Sonia, I have something I


    must attend to right now, but when I¡¯m done with that, let¡¯s talk things through. Can we?¡¯

 Chapter 347

    Chapter 347


    Chapter 347 Toby¡¯s Gleeful Gloat


    Talk things through? Sonia pursed her lips, knowing what Zane was nning to talk to her about.


    Nheless, she didn¡¯t think that would be necessary as the reason she wanted to cut ties with him was


    not just because he held out on her but also because of his feelings for her.


    In fact, Toby had told Sonia earlier that Zane had a crush on her. Thus, she had been secretly observing


    him throughout their interaction, although she didn¡¯t seem to notice anything that suggested Zane¡¯s


    admiration for her.


    However, she didn¡¯t think Toby was lying to her either, but in order to avoid any further trouble, she


    decided to distance herself from Zane because she didn¡¯t share the same feelings that he had for her.


    Therefore, she reckoned it was better for her to stay away from him before he confessed his love to her


    so that he could slowly forget about her.


    ¡­


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    The next day, Sonia was woken up by her ring ringtone. She extended her arm out of her nket to


    reach for her mobile phone on the headboard with her eyes closed. As soon as she got her hand on her


    phone, she naturally slid her finger across the screen with her natural reflexes to answer the call and


    ced it against her ear. ¡°Hello, who is speaking?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Toby¡¯s eyebrows rxed when he heard Sonia¡¯s sleepy voice.


    ¡°Toby?¡± Sonia instantly snapped out of her sleepiness and opened her eyes widely, taking a closer look


    at the iing call, only to realize it was Toby indeed.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Did I wake you up?¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia only bit her lip in silence.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I thought you were already up,¡± Toby said with an apologetic voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sonia put the phone back to her ear and asked.


    Seemingly unable to sense thedy¡¯s indifference, Toby only chuckled and said, ¡°I have good news for


    you. The man has been brought here, and he is now in Seafield.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia sat bolt upright in her bed, but her sudden movement identally hurt her abdomen in


    the process as she hissed in pain.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby heard that and asked with a concerned look on his face.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Sonia rubbed her belly. ¡°Where is he now?¡±


    Toby was able to tell that Sonia was unwell from her trembling voice. I know she¡¯s not well, but why is


    she not opening up to me? He sighed and continued to say, ¡°He has just arrived at Seafield¡¯s train


    station, and he will be taken to me shortly after that.¡±


    ¡°That means he will be in hospital soon, right?¡± Sonia asked with a pair of furrowed brows.


    ¡°Yeah. Are youing over?¡± Toby replied with an affirmative hum and proceeded to ask with a hopeful


    tone. Deep down, he believed it wasn¡¯t Sonia¡¯s own initiative to visit him the day before. After all, she met


    up with his grandmother earlier, so he reckoned she must have told her to pay him a visit, or she


    wouldn¡¯t even have bothered to drop by.


    Well, if she isn¡¯t going to visit me, I suppose I have to do something to make that happen.


    In order to see Sonia, Toby had instructed his men to bring that man to him in the hospital so that he


    could meet up with her. While that might not be a trick he would be proud of using himself, he was willing


    to cast his decency aside just to see Sonia in person.


    ¡°Why must he be taken to the hospital? Can¡¯t you have him taken elsewhere?¡± Sonia clenched her fists.


    ¡°No can do. You should know that I can¡¯t leave the hospital, plus I captured the man, and there are a few


    questions I¡¯d like to ask him myself as well. Thus, your only option is to swing by the hospital.¡± Toby


    looked down with an unfathomable aura filling his eyes.


    Needless to say, Sonia knew what Toby was up to for his refusal to take the man elsewhere.


    Nheless, she could only sneer at herself helplessly, as she was in no position to decide where the


    man should be taken since it was Toby who captured him. ¡°Alright, understood. I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± The


    lady responded with a cial voice and darkened look before hanging up the call.


    In the meantime, Toby fixed his eyes on his phone¡¯s home screen while curling his lips upward. On the


    inside, he couldn¡¯t believe he had to resort to some cheap and dishonorable shenanigans just to see


    someone.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom knocked on the door and came in.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Toby kept himself together and recollected his thoughts.


    ¡°I just found out that Titus has been looking for investors to finance his business,¡± Tom answered,


    standing beside Toby¡¯s bed.


    ¡°Investors?¡± Toby squinted curiously.


    ¡°Precisely. There are now threepanies that have already agreed to ept the offer, but Titus wants


    more capital, and they can only afford so much. Therefore, Sonia¡¯s shareholdings only amount to a small


    percentage after her investment,¡± Tom replied.


    ¡°Well, of course, he is seeking investors now to gather some capital. After all, he is having trouble taking


    loans from the bank because I pulled a few strings to make sure that won¡¯t happen. If this goes on,


    Triforce Enterprise will go bankrupt, so there are only two ways for him to save hispany¡ªmarrying


    the daughter from the Gray Family or gathering investors. Since no one, including himself, has the guts


    to marry either of those two women from the Gray Family, he is left with the second, as well as the riskier


    option.¡± Toby chuckled coldly. Then, he looked at Tom and asked, ¡°I remember Passion Heart Property is


    also a subsidiary that belongs to the Fuller Group, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Thepany was boycotted for selling overpriced propertiesst year. After the president was


    caught, you told me to acquire thepany right away, but due to the subsequent events that transpired


    after that, there hasn¡¯t been any official announcement made to the public until now. Therefore, there


    aren¡¯t many people who know that Passion Heart Property belongs to the Fuller Group,¡± Tom pondered


    for a while and said.


    ¡°Very well. For now, I¡¯d like you to approach Titus as a potential investor in the name of Passion Heart


    Property. I want to take Triforce Enterprise¡¯s shares away from him bit by bit.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes lit up in a


    sinister manner, as he knew Titus was going down a dangerous path. After all, nopany would ever


    invite outside investors to buy its shares because it could expose the owner to a high risk of a hostile


    takeover.


    Tom¡¯s eyes brightened up. ¡°Are you going to give Miss Reed those shares right after you im them from


    Titus, President Fuller?¡±


    Ignoring his assistant¡¯s question, Toby simply replied, ¡°Just do as you¡¯re told.¡±


    Despite Toby¡¯s ambiguous answer, Tom was sure he was right about his boss¡¯ intention. ¡°I¡¯ll get it done


    right away.¡± He adjusted his sses and walked away.


    An hourter, Sonia arrived at the hospital, where she looked at Toby and asked, ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re on their way, but because of the traffic congestion, it¡¯ll take them another ten minutes before


    they arrive. Have a seat in the meantime.¡± Toby remained still in bed as he pointed at the chair by the


    window, gesturing to her to grab it and sit down.


    Sonia thought Toby fooled her when she didn¡¯t see any sign of that man the moment she entered the


    ward, but upon hearing Toby¡¯s answer, she put her mind at ease and grabbed a chair to sit down.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Toby set his eyes on her belly.


    ¡°Pretty good.¡± Sonia crossed her legs.


    ¡°d to hear that.¡± Toby could tell that she was slowly recovering after her surgery and was relieved


    about that, although she might not seem healthy at the moment.


    ¡°Zane must have paid you a visitst night. Am I right?¡± Toby seemingly thought of something and asked.


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re the one who told him everything. I know what¡¯s going on now.¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows.


    Who else could Zane have possibly learned that from? Toby pursed his lips and replied, ¡°Yes, I told him


    that, and he went to you to apologize. So, did you¡­¡±


    ¡°Did I what?¡± Sonia stared at the man.


    ¡°Did you forgive him?¡± Toby met Sonia¡¯s cold eyes, eventually asking the question he had wanted to ask.


    ¡°Why should I? You both deserve each other!¡± Sonia pursed her lips in an annoyed manner.


    Upon hearing her words, Toby secretly smiled with glee as his prediction was correct. Just like I


    expected, she didn¡¯t forgive Zane. At the thought of that, he heaved a sigh of relief and appeared to be


    rather rxed. That¡¯s good news, I suppose. Since Sonia won¡¯t forgive me for what I did to her, Zane


    mustn¡¯t be forgiven as well. He should suffer from the same fate as I do.


    ¡°You seem to be happy about that.¡± Sonia squinted while looking at Toby, thinking he was actually


    gloating over Zane¡¯s misery. Am I reading too much into it?


    ¡°You can read my mind, can¡¯t you?¡± Toby didn¡¯t deny nor admit it, but his response got Sonia staring at


    him in a surprised and strange manner.


    Alright, I guess I was right. He is indeed gloating over Zane¡¯s misery. I can¡¯t believe he is so wicked and


    evil!

 Chapter 348

    Chapter 348


    Chapter 348 The Man¡¯s Confession


    While she was thinking, Sonia heard the sound of messy footsteps behind her. She turned and saw the


    scene outside through the ss: two men in ck suits were pushing a man toward her.


    One of the two people in suits was Tom, while the other was a bodyguard. As for the man they were


    holding¡­


    Sonia immediately stood up with anger written all over her face. It¡¯s him!


    Three months ago, when she woke up, he was the one sleeping next to her!


    Toby was well aware of why Sonia had such a huge reaction. As he looked at the man who was being


    restrained, a cold gleam shed across his eyes.


    ¡°President Fuller, this is the man,¡± Tom informed after letting go of the man.


    Toby murmured assent, then looked at Sonia. ¡°Sonia, you can deal with him.¡± After she dealt with him, it


    would be Toby¡¯s turn to settle the score with him!


    Sonia didn¡¯t refuse as she stared coldly at the man.


    The bodyguard gave the back of the man¡¯s knee a hard kick, causing him to kneel down immediately as


    he screamed in pain, his face contorting.


    Sonia took a step forward and stood before the man. ¡°You. Do you remember me?¡±


    This man had entered her room after Toby left, so it was impossible that he didn¡¯t see her face. Having


    suddenly been brought here, the man was already terrified, and he got even more scared when he was


    kicked. Now, he didn¡¯t even have the courage to look at Sonia, let alone talk.


    Upon seeing this, Toby gave Tom a look. Tom nodded, then mimicked the bodyguard and kicked the


    man. ¡°Answer Miss Reed!¡±


    Frightened, the man nodded repeatedly. ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll answer, I¡¯ll answer. Please stop kicking me.


    Sob, sob¡­¡± While he spoke, he actually started to cry.


    Yesterday, while he was picking up girls, he was suddenly dragged into a car and brought to Seafield.


    Along the way, he kept asking the person who kidnapped him why they grabbed him, but he didn¡¯t get


    any answers. He was only told that he was done for, and he was rather terrified at that time because he


    thought it was a woman whom he had taken advantage of taking revenge on him, and he thought he was


    being taken to a certain ce to be killed.


    So, along the way, he was in an anxious state, but because his kidnappers didn¡¯t abuse him, he still


    managed to hold himself together. However, now that these people had begun to attack him, he figured


    they might kill him soon, so he couldn¡¯t hold back the fear inside him anymore and started to sob.


    While crying, the man trembled as he raised his head to look at Sonia, wanting to see if she was a


    woman he had taken advantage of before. Perhaps he could beg for mercy or convince her with his


    words. But once he saw who she was, he was stunned, and his crying stopped. That was because she


    wasn¡¯t a woman he had slept with, and he didn¡¯t even know who she was.


    When Sonia noticed the confused and puzzled look in the man¡¯s eyes, the corners of her mouth twitched


    coldly. ¡°It seems like you don¡¯t remember me. That makes sense. It¡¯s been three months after all. Since


    that¡¯s the case, let me remind you what happened: three months ago, at the club¡ª¡±


    Upon hearing the word ¡®club¡¯, the man finally remembered, and his eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±


    She was the woman he was tasked with to defile. It was just that when he arrived, he found that another


    man had slept with her, so for hygiene purposes, he didn¡¯t do anything and simplyy down beside her.


    After a period of three months, he thought that the incident had long passed, but now that the woman


    had brought him here and was ring furiously at him, it was obvious that she wanted to settle scores


    with him!


    ¡°Do you remember now?¡± Sonia slightly narrowed her eyes. ¡°Since you do, you should know why you


    were brought here, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Feeling guilty, the man dared not look at her.


    Sonia reached out and pinched his face, then asked coldly, ¡°How much did Tina give you to do that to


    me?¡±


    Upon seeing Sonia¡¯s actions, Toby frowned a little. ¡°Sonia, let go of him. He¡¯ll only dirty your hands. Tom,


    you do it!¡±


    Tom inwardly rolled his eyes. Pfft! Dirty Miss Reed¡¯s hands? He clearly doesn¡¯t want Miss Reed to touch


    other men. Does he think we don¡¯t know that?


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Albeit having such thoughts, Tom dared not voice out, but simply walked toward Sonia with a smile on


    his face. ¡°Miss Reed, allow me. You can just interrogate him.¡±


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched. After seeing the pleading look in Tom¡¯s eyes, she released her


    grip.


    Tom mimicked her actions and pinched the man¡¯s face until it looked almost deformed. It could be seen


    just how much strength he was using. ¡°Miss Reed, is this okay?¡± Tom asked.


    Speechless, Sonia held her forehead. ¡°Yes!¡±


    Pinching the man¡¯s face just now was a subconscious action she did because she was too angry. She


    wasn¡¯t intentionally trying to punish the man. Now, Toby and Tom¡¯s involvement painted a really strange


    picture.


    Rubbing her temples, Sonia didn¡¯t bother much about this, and her expression turned indifferent again.


    ¡°Answer me! How much did Tina give you?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Tina?¡± The man¡¯s question came out a little incoherent because Tom was pinching his face.


    For a moment, Sonia was stunned. ¡°You don¡¯t know who Tina is?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes.


    The man endured the severe pain and replied with difficulty, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that possible!¡± Sonia could tell that the man wasn¡¯t lying, so she looked at Toby in surprise. ¡°Didn¡¯t


    you say that he was hired by Tina? But he doesn¡¯t even know her!¡±


    Toby pursed his thin lips. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Let me question him.¡±


    With that, he stared at the man and asked while pointing at Sonia, ¡°Since you don¡¯t know Tina, who sent


    you to her room?¡±


    The man nced timidly at Sonia and opened his mouth, as if not knowing whether or not to answer.


    Seeing this, Tom gave him another kick. ¡°Tell the truth, or I¡¯ll make you!¡±


    When the man heard this, his fear grew, and his body stiffened as he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk. It was a


    man.¡±


    ¡°A man?¡± Sonia frowned.


    How can it be a man? Could it be that I have a male enemy? Is it Titus?


    As if knowing what Sonia was thinking, Toby immediately denied her suspicions. ¡°It¡¯s the waiter at the


    club.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The waiter said that Tina asked him to find this man.¡± Tom nodded and agreed. He had


    investigated the situation, so he was sure of it.


    Hearing that she didn¡¯t have any other enemies, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°At the end of the day,


    the real mastermind is still Tina, but he wasn¡¯t in direct contact with her, so he doesn¡¯t know her.¡±


    She looked at the man. Although he didn¡¯t quite understand what they were talking about, he nodded as


    well.


    ¡°How did the waiter find you, and how much did he promise you?¡± Sonia asked nkly.


    The man lowered his head and replied, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m a male entertainer. Our store cooperates with clubs and


    hotels, so it¡¯s not difficult to find me. As for the money, I was offered 200,000.¡±


    When he worked as a male entertainer, he would only get paid 100,000 a night at most, so it was only


    natural that he didn¡¯t refuse when he received a job worth 200,000.


    ¡°200,000?¡± Sonia snorted coldly. Should I praise Tina for being generous? Originally, she thought it


    would be tens of thousands at most.


    ¡°What did the waiter tell you when he found you?¡± Toby asked.

 Chapter 349

    Chapter 349


    Chapter 349 There¡¯s a Way


    The man answered truthfully, ¡°He sent a message into ourpany¡¯s group chat, saying that the pay


    was 200,000. He hoped one of us could¡­¡±


    He took a peek at Sonia, then hurriedly lowered his head. He dared not say the word, so he could only


    indirectly imply the meaning. ¡°He hoped one of us could bully a girl, film videos, and take pictures. After


    everything was done, we just had to send the videos and pictures to him. At that time, many of us in the


    group were fighting for this job, but I got it in the end.¡±


    Whatever the case, he was as regretful right now as he was happy when he first got the job.


    He wanted nothing more than to p himself a couple of times. Why did I have to be so fast to ept


    the job?


    ¡°There are even photos and videos? Did you take them?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression changed drastically, and


    she tightly clenched her fists.


    The air around Toby grew cold as well, and the man felt the murderous intent emanating off of him.


    The man shuddered and quickly exined, ¡°No, no. I didn¡¯t take any pictures. When I went to the club


    that night, I bumped into a female client whom I slept with before and was beaten up by the people she


    brought with her. Then, I was left in the suburbs, and they even took my cell phone and other belongings.


    I spent a night in the wild, and it was only at dawn the next day that I met a kind person who sent me to


    the city. When I rushed to the club, you had already been¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t continue, but everyone knew what he meant.


    Sonia turned slightly to shoot Toby a cold nce, but he looked away knowingly.


    Despite that, Sonia didn¡¯t hold it against him and quickly turned her attention back to the man. ¡°How do I


    know what you said is true?¡±


    ¡°You can check it out. The ce where I was taken away by my female client had surveince cameras,


    and I also remember the license te of the Samaritan who helped me. I can give it to you. If you find


    the Samaritan, you can check their driving records, then you¡¯ll know if what I said is true,¡± the man


    hurriedly replied, for fear that she wouldn¡¯t believe him.


    In fact, Sonia believed him, and she didn¡¯t look as anxious as before.


    Because the man didn¡¯t take photos and videos of her, naturally, she wasn¡¯t worried that her photos


    would be leaked.


    Speaking of which, she would also like to thank that female client.


    ¡°Then, what did you do to me when you were in my room?¡± Sonia bit her lip, as this was what she was


    most worried about now.


    ¡°Nothing! Nothing!¡± The man repeatedly shook his head. ¡°Absolutely nothing! I swear! I was frozen out in


    the wild all night, and I was so tired from the cold that I fell asleep soon after entering your room, so how


    could I have possibly done anything to you? After I woke up, you were no longer there. I didn¡¯t have a


    phone, so I couldn¡¯t take pictures of you, and since I couldn¡¯tplete the task, I was afraid that I would


    be asked to return the 200,000, so I resigned and left Seafield after waking up.¡±


    He thought that if he left Seafield, he could sit back and rx.


    He didn¡¯t expect that he would still get taken, and the person who kidnapped him wasn¡¯t even the person


    who issued the task, but the person whom he was tasked with taking action upon.


    Looking at the shivering and frightened man, Sonia turned around and said to Toby, ¡°I have nothing else


    to ask. He doesn¡¯t have that big of a role anyway. He only let me know what happened that night, so it


    can¡¯t be used to send Tina to prison. The one who will reallye in handy is the waiter.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°I think so too. Tom.¡±


    Tom came over. ¡°President Fuller, what are your orders?¡±


    ¡°Bring this man to the bank and get proof of the transfer of the 200,000 into his ount, then sort out the


    chat records between him and the waiter as evidence to be used against the waiter,¡± Toby instructed


    while keeping his eyes on the man.


    Indeed, that man couldn¡¯t send Tina to prison, but he could use the waiter.


    In order to protect himself, the waiter would undoubtedly use Tina. Then, Tina would be sent to


    prison. The oue would be the same.


    ¡°Okay, President Fuller.¡± Tom gave a nod.


    Toby continued, ¡°After all that is done, bring him to the waiter. The waiter must still have something that


    he hasn¡¯t exined. Pry it all out of him.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Tom responded, then waved at the bodyguard, signaling for him to bring the man out.


    After Tom and the two men left, Toby looked at Sonia and asked, ¡°What do you want to do with that


    man?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips and didn¡¯t answer.


    She had been contemting this as well.


    Although this man had epted the job to defile her, he did nothing to her, so it was hard to hold this


    man legally responsible.


    But she didn¡¯t want to let him off so easily either.


    Toby noticed Sonia¡¯s dilemma, and his eyes darkened. ¡°If you don¡¯t know what to do, then let me deal


    with it.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia blinked in surprise. ¡°What do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out in two days,¡± Toby answered, his intentions unclear.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t the kind of person to insist and pursue, so since he had said that, she wouldn¡¯t ask


    anything more.


    After all, she truly wanted to teach that man a lesson. Since she didn¡¯t know how to deal with him, it was


    naturally best to leave him to others.


    An hourter, Tom called to tell Toby that the bank slips and chat records had been sorted out, and that


    the waiter did, in fact, provide new information.


    However, the new information made Sonia and Toby¡¯s hearts sink, because whatever the waiter


    confessed wasn¡¯t enough to send Tina to prison.


    Tina didn¡¯t contact the waiter by phone, Messenger, or other messaging softwares, but in person instead,


    so there were no chat or call records.


    Moreover, the waiter was working at that time and didn¡¯t have a phone with him, so he couldn¡¯t possibly


    record any audio. The only thing that was useful was the transfer of 300,000 from Tina to the waiter¡ª


    200,000 of which was transferred to the man.


    Nevertheless, the transfer records couldn¡¯t prove anything. Tina could deny that she had transferred so


    much money to the waiter so that he could hire someone to harm others, and she could even say that


    the waiter was ndering and framing her.


    It had to be said that every time Tinamitted such bad deeds, she would escape unscathed.


    Everyone obviously knew that she did it, but no one coulde up with useful evidence to prove it and


    bring her to justice.


    However, this also proved that Tina could skillfully get herself out of the situation every time. One could


    well imagine that she had performed many illegal things before, but she just hadn¡¯t been exposed yet.


    Upon seeing Sonia deep in thought, Toby murmured, ¡°Since that waiter can¡¯t provide actual evidence,


    then I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I have a way!¡± Sonia suddenly interrupted him.


    Toby raised his eyebrows. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He was going to say that since the waiter wasn¡¯t of much help, he could create some fabricated evidence


    to frame Tina.


    But to his surprise, Sonia had a solution.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Squeezing the palms of her hands, she said, ¡°We can achieve our goal as long as Tina admits that she


    had indeed approached the waiter and asked him to drug me as well as hire the man, right?¡±


    ¡°But how will you get her to admit it?¡± Toby looked at her.


    Sonia ruffled her hair. ¡°That¡¯s for me to worry about. Whatever the case, this¡¯ll work. We have no time to


    waste, so I¡¯ll arrange it now!¡±


    With that, she took out her mobile phone and went out.


    Initially, Toby wanted her to stay a little longer, but he had called her in the first ce because the man


    had been caught.


    Now that Tom had sent the man away to be locked up together with the waiter, it was only natural for her


    to leave.


    Even if he wanted her to stay, she wouldn¡¯t agree.


    Sonia didn¡¯t care about what Toby thought about her leaving as she gave Rina a call.


    Rina¡¯s voice sounded in an instant. ¡°Miss Reed, how can I help you?¡±

 Chapter 350

    Chapter 350


    Chapter 350 Rina¡¯s Revenge


    ¡°Are you free to talk?¡± Sonia asked.


    Rina looked at Julia, who was nearby, and replied in a low voice, ¡°Miss Reed, please wait a moment. I¡¯ll


    move to another ce.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Setting down her phone, Rina walked out of the living room, then went to the garden outside before


    bringing the phone to her ear again. ¡°All right, Miss Reed. Is there anything I can help you with?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised when she heard the natural and elegant manner in which Rina


    spoke.


    It has only been a while, yet Taylor has changed so drastically.


    Taylor used to speak with a country ent, and her tone was more submissive, but now, it was all gone,


    and Sonia could even hear a hint of elegance.


    It seems that since her arrival at the Gray Residence, Taylor has been working hard to improve herself.


    Without thinking much, Sonia said solemnly, ¡°I need your help with something.¡±


    Rina chuckled. ¡°Of course. I work for you and Mr. Coleman, so I¡¯ll do my best to fulfill whatever it is both


    of you want me to do.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Soniaughed as well, then went straight to business. ¡°Three months ago, Tina approached


    a waiter and asked him to drug me. Now, the waiter has been captured, but the evidence he provided is


    insufficient to convict Tina, so I need her to admit that she had, in fact, given the waiter such


    instructions.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you want me to find a way to get Tina to talk?¡± Rina narrowed her eyes.


    Sonia answered, ¡°That¡¯s right, and it¡¯s better if you can get a recording of it. This way, I can send her to


    prison.¡±


    When Rina heard this, her eyes lit up instantly.


    We can send Tina to prison!


    She clenched her phone in a tight grip, the excitement on her face undisguised.


    This was great, because all this while, she had been trying to figure out how to drive Tina out of the Gray


    Family.


    She didn¡¯t expect that the opportunity woulde knocking on her door.


    Taking a deep breath, Rina suppressed her excitement and hurriedly responded, ¡°Got it, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll


    find a way toplete the task.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll have to trouble you with this, then.¡± Sonia smiled and thanked her.


    After the call ended, Rina put away her phone, squeezed the palms of her hands, then turned back to the


    living room.


    When Julia saw hering in, she asked, ¡°Rina, where did you go just now?¡±


    ¡°I took a stroll in the garden. What¡¯s the matter, Mom?¡± Rina walked over and held her arm affectionately.


    Julia lovingly patted her head. ¡°The servant just made some soup, and I was about to ask you to drink


    some, but I couldn¡¯t see you. Since you¡¯re back now, go have a bowl of it. It¡¯s good for your skin. It¡¯ll


    whiten your skin so that you¡¯ll look nicer in the dress you¡¯ll be wearing to the banquet next month.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go right now.¡± Rina let go of Julia¡¯s arm, then turned and rushed into the dining hall.


    He should be attending the banquet too, right?


    Since arriving at the Gray Residence, she hadn¡¯t seen him anymore.


    In the dining room, Rina pulled out a chair and sat down. Carrying over two bowls of soup, the servant


    brought one to her.


    Rina looked at the other bowl on the tray. ¡°Is that for Mom?¡±


    ¡°No, Miss Rina. This is for Miss Tina,¡± the servant answered while shaking her head.


    Rina¡¯s mood instantly took a turn for the worse.


    Tina has already brought so much harm to the family, yet she still has the nerve to eat our food!


    But this wasn¡¯t something she could stop either, since it was definitely Julia who wanted to let Tina have


    it.


    ¡°Okay. Bring it to her, then.¡± Rina suppressed her difort and went back to smiling.


    The servant hummed in reply and brought the tray upstairs.


    Having suddenly thought of something, Rina stretched out her hand. ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°Miss Rina, is there anything else I can help you with?¡± The servant stopped, feeling confused.


    Something flickered across Rina¡¯s eyes, then she said softly, ¡°Give me the soup. I¡¯ll give it to Tina in a


    while. I¡¯m sure you know that my sister holds a grudge against me, so I can use this opportunity to talk to


    her. Maybe it¡¯ll ease the estrangement between us sisters.¡±


    ¡°All right, Miss Rina. I¡¯ll leave the soup here, then.¡± The servant ced the tray on the table.


    Rina nodded. ¡°Okay. You can carry on with your work now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Rina.¡±


    After the servant left, Rina stared at the soup opposite her, and the smile on her face disappeared in an


    instant.


    She was still thinking about how toplete Sonia¡¯s task and get Tina to confess, and she never thought


    that the soup could give her such an opportunity.


    Rina set down her spoon, then walked out of the dining room and went back to her room.


    Two minutester, she left her room and returned to the dining hall with a small bottle in her hand.


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Pulling the cork off the bottle, she poured out a small white tablet before throwing it into the soup on the


    tray. Then, she stirred the soup with a spoon until the white pill dissolved.


    She had brought this white pill from her hometown to the Gray Residence. It could help with sleep, and


    taking one was enough to ce a person in a hazy, semi-conscious state.


    Then, as long as someone questioned the person who took the pill, that person would answer without


    reservation. After waking up, they wouldn¡¯t know what had happened.


    Back in her hometown, she used this method several times to deal with the couple. She asked them


    where they kept their money and had stolen some. Otherwise, that couple would¡¯ve already starved her


    to death.


    Aftering to the Gray Residence, she no longer experienced the hardships of not having enough food


    or clothes, and she didn¡¯t have to suffer beatings anymore, which was why she forgot about the pill. If


    Sonia hadn¡¯t asked her for help, she wouldn¡¯t have remembered it.


    ¡°This should do the trick!¡± Rina exhaled in relief when she saw that there were no traces of the pill in the


    bowl of soup.


    Then, she remembered Rina¡¯s terrible attitude toward her. Letting out a cold snort, she lowered her head


    and spat into the soup before stirring it again.


    ¡°Madam Wilkins!¡± Rina set down the spoon and shouted into the kitchen.


    Sharon Wilkins, who was the servant from earlier, came out. ¡°Miss Rina, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Rina pointed sheepishly. ¡°Well¡­ I think I¡¯ll have to trouble you to bring the soup to my sister. I


    remembered that when I sent her foodst time, she didn¡¯t eat it. So, I think it¡¯s best if I don¡¯t serve it to


    her.¡±


    This wasn¡¯t a lie. Regardless whether they were in the hospital or at home, Tina wouldn¡¯t eat anything


    she touched.


    Titus, Julia, and the servants all saw this happen before their own eyes.


    Therefore, Sharon didn¡¯t suspect Rina, but simply smiled and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Madam Wilkins. Please don¡¯t tell Tina that I was the one who wanted to send her the soup,¡±


    Rina reminded gratefully.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Rina. I understand. I¡¯ll bring this to Miss Tina now.¡± With that, Sharon picked up the


    tray and went upstairs.


    As Rina watched her retreating back, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.


    Ever sinceing to the Gray Residence, Tina had been going against her, giving her cold looks and


    calling her a country bumpkin, a heathen, and a germ.


    Tina might never have imagined that she would end up eating a germ¡¯s saliva!


    Rinaughed out loud, then lowered her head and drank her soup, feeling pleased.


    After she was done, Rina went to the living room, sat on the sofa, and waited for Sharon toe down.


    After waiting for about ten minutes, Sharon came downstairs, as she had hoped.


    Rina looked at the tray in Sharon¡¯s hands. ¡°Madam Wilkins, did she finish the soup?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Tina finished it,¡± Sharon answered.


    The smile on Rina¡¯s face grew wider.


    Wonderful!


    Since Tina finished drinking all the soup, it seemed like she found Rina¡¯s saliva to be delicious.

 Chapter 351

    Chapter 351


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 351


    After waiting for another half an hour, Rina estimated that it was about time, so she put down the TV


    remote control, then got up and went upstairs.


    Upon reaching Tina¡¯s room door, she lifted her hand and knocked. ¡°Tina, can Ie in?¡±


    Although she already guessed that Tina must have already passed out due to the efficacy of the drug, it


    was better to announce her arrival in advance as a precaution.


    Otherwise, if she went in directly, it would be awkward if Tina wasn¡¯t asleep yet, and she would definitely


    suspect Rina¡¯s purpose for entering the room without her permission.


    ¡°Tina?¡± Rina called out again.


    However, there was no sound from inside the room.


    After Rina was certain that Tina was indeed asleep, she twisted the doorknob and entered with


    confidence.


    Tina¡¯s room was the same size as hers, and theyout was simr.


    Rina assessed it for a moment, then stopped and walked straight into the bedroom.


    After walking to the edge of the bed, Rina found that Tina was reallyying on the bed. Her eyes were


    closed and she was motionless, as if she was sleeping soundly.


    Nevertheless, Rina knew that Tina wasn¡¯t in a deep sleep, but was in a half-dazed state.


    She took out her phone, turned on the voice recorder, and asked softly, ¡°Tina, at the club three months


    ago, did you approach a waiter to drug Sonia?¡±


    ¡°I did¡± Tina answered with a frown, her voice somewhat feeble.


    Rina was so excited that her hands were shaking. ¡°Why did you want to drug Sonia?¡±


    Tina¡¯s expression suddenly turned hideous. ¡°Because I wanted to destroy her. I could see that Toby still


    had a ce for her in his heart, but he didn¡¯t realize it. In order to cut off the possibility of Toby and Sonia


    getting together, I had to take action first and destroy Sonia, but¡­


    ¡°But what?¡± Rina brought the phone closer to her.


    Tina gritted her teeth. ¡°But that useless boy couldn¡¯t even get such a simple task right. The man he hired


    was useless as well. It cost me 300,000 for nothing. Instead, it helped bring Toby and Sonia together!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I see. Thank you for your cooperation!¡± Rina smiled and saved the recording, then turned


    and left.


    Since the task wasplete, she could hand the recording in already.


    From now on, the Gray Family would only have one daughter.


    As for Tina?


    After she was released from prison, Rina would get someone to sell her to the countryside to marry one


    of those disgusting men.


    Since Tina looked down on her for being from the countryside, then she would turn her into a


    countrywoman too!


    After leaving Tina¡¯s room, Rina called Sonia.


    Sonia was currently in a taxi. Upon hearing the phone ring, she picked it up and nced at it. When she


    saw that it was Rina, a hint of surprise shed across her eyes.


    If she¡®s calling at this time, does it mean that there¡®s something wrong with the task?


    Without thinking much about it, Sonia hurriedly answered, ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, the task isplete. I have a recording of Tina¡¯s confession.¡± Rina¡¯s excited voice rang out.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°What? So soon?¡±


    Originally, she thought that it would take at least two or three days.


    She didn¡¯t expect it to bepleted in an hour. Rina¡¯s efficiency truly made her speechless.


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    ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t expect it to go so smoothly either.¡± Rina smiled.


    Sonia sat up straighter and was very curious. ¡°How did you do it?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Miss Reed, but that¡¯s a secret. Can I not tell you?¡± Rina lowered her head and said in


    embarrassment.


    This was one of the means by which she survived, so she didn¡¯t want to tell anyone about it.


    Sonia raised an eyebrow.


    A secret?


    If Rina managed to get someone to confess everything so quickly, it seemed that her secret wasn¡¯t


    simple, which made Sonia even more curious.


    However, no matter how curious she was, she couldn¡¯t force Rina to tell her. After all, everyone had the


    right to not speak.


    As long as this secret wouldn¡¯t hurt her, then she wouldn¡¯t ask.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Rina breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll send you the recording, then.¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s no rush. Let¡¯s meet, then you can give it to me in person, and I¡¯ll ask you some


    other questions too,¡± Sonia suggested.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Rina agreed.


    Sonia looked at her watch. ¡°Let¡¯s meet at 1.00PM. I¡¯ll wait for you at the Imperial Kitchen.¡±


    With that, she hung up the phone. ¡°Sir, please go to the Imperial Kitchen instead. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± The driver responded.


    She arrived at the restaurant in no time.


    After going in and finding a ce to sit, Sonia waited for Rina.


    Rina was punctual and arrived at 12.50PM.


    ¡°Miss Reed.¡± Seemingly delighted to see Sonia, Rina waved and walked over.


    Sonia assessed her and found that she had indeed changed drastically.


    When shest saw her not long ago, Rina¡¯s skin was still dark, and her hair was still dry and yellow.


    Now, she had gotten a lot fairer, and her hair was shiny. Not only did she have a new and beautiful


    hairstyle, but she also had on delicate makeup. Needless to say, the clothes and jewelry she was


    wearing were different as well.


    In short, the current Rina was apletely different person from Taylor from the past.


    If it wasn¡¯t because her facial features hadn¡¯t changed, Sonia would¡¯ve thought that she was a different


    person. Not only had she gained confidence, she even had quite a temperament now.


    ¡°You¡¯ve changed so much. It really took me by surprise.¡± Sonia pointed to the chair opposite her and


    motioned for Rina to sit.


    After sitting down and seeing the amazement in Sonia¡¯s eyes, Rina was undoubtedly very happy.


    This showed that her hard work all this while was worth it.


    In the eyes of others, she was no longer the inferior country girl.


    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, Miss Reed.¡± Rina sheepishly stroked her hair.


    Sonia handed her a menu. ¡°I¡¯m not justplimenting you; I¡¯m telling the truth. Take a look and see what


    you¡¯d like to eat. It¡¯s my treat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and order, then.¡± Rina epted the menu, then flipped through it while casually asking, ¡°By


    the way, Miss Reed, did youe alone? Mr. Coleman didn¡¯te along?¡±


    When she mentioned the words ¡®Mr. Coleman¡¯, Rina¡¯s hands holding the menu tightened a little; her


    breathing became uneven, and she even looked nervous and shy.


    Sonia was drinking water, so she didn¡¯t notice Rina¡¯s strange behavior and simply replied lightly, ¡°Yes, I


    came alone. As for Zane, he and I are just business partners. Why would we possibly be together all the


    time?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. I thought you two were a couple.¡± When Rina heard the words ¡®business partner¡¯, a gleam of


    joy shed across her eyes.


    Turns out they¡®re not a couple. That¡¯s great!


    Sonia set down her ss of water. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. You¡¯re overthinking it. All right. Let¡¯s not talk


    about this anymore. Where¡¯s the recording? Let me have a listen to it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Rina hurriedly took out her phone and yed the recording.


    After she was done listening to it, Sonia smiled. ¡°Very good. This is what I need. Send it to me.¡±


    She handed over her phone.


    After Rina retrieved it, she started to send it over.


    The process was fast and was done in ten seconds.


    ¡°Here you go, Miss Reed.¡± Rina handed the phone back to Sonia, who reached out and took it.


    Just as Rina was about to let go, she suddenly caught sight of Sonia¡¯s wrist. She was instantly shocked


    and stood up.


    That¡®s¡­ Miss Reed actually has a red mole on her wrist!


    Rina stared at Sonia in disbelief. This discovery caused a storm to surge in her heart, and she couldn¡¯t


    calm down, so much so that her body was shaking.


    Julia had said before that the real Rina had a red mole on her wrist.


    Unexpectedly, she was now seeing it on Sonia¡¯s wrist.


    During this time, she had learned a lot and knew that most people had moles on their bodies, but they


    were usually ck moles. Very few people had red moles.


    Therefore, it was absolutely impossible that Sonia¡¯s red mole was a coincidence. Just like Rina, she had


    one on her wrist, and Sonia even had Rina¡¯s ne.


    Hence, it was obvious that Sonia was the real Rina!

 Chapter 352

    Chapter 352


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 352


    This discovery sent jitters all over Rina. She had no idea why Sonia would turn out to be the realRina


    Gray, and she had less clue about the feud between thetter and the Grays. Nevertheless, she knew


    that there would be no room for a fake Rina like her to exist once Sonia¡¯s real identity was exposed.


    Sonia only hired me to pose as Rina Gray because she didn¡®t know that she was the real Rina Gray


    herself, but once she finds out about it, she might not let me continue with the pretense anymore, she


    thought. If I were her, I wouldn¡®t allow someone else to pose as myself. Nobody would like someone else


    to be posing as themself.


    Once Sonia found out that she herself was Rina Gray, she would return to the Grays without a doubt,


    and even though she had a feud with them, all of it would disappear in the eyes of blood rtion


    regardless of how deep the feud was before. Then, when the Grays acknowledged Sonia as their


    daughter, Rina would have to return home and go back to her dark, hopeless life.


    No, I¡®m not going back to that life! I finally walked out of that suffocating family and managed to have this


    wealthy life now. There¡®s no way that I¡®m going back! Rina thought, and the more she thought about it,


    the more afraid she became. Her body started trembling like a leaf in the wind, with the blood all drained


    from her face.


    Looking at her curiously, Sonia asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Rina¡¯s eyes kept shing as she stammered, ¡°I¨CI¡®m fine. It¡®s just that I suddenly feel a little unwell.¡±


    ¡°Unwell? Did you fall sick?¡± Sonia asked in concern.


    Beneath the table, Rina¡®s hands balled up tightly, but she forced a smile on her face. ¡°Yeah, I just have a


    stomachache all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡®ll take you to a doctor¡®s, then¡± Sonia offered without a single shred of suspicion for Rina¡®s words


    because she really looked unwell.


    However, Rina appeared terrified and shook her hands frantically. ¡°T¨CThat¡®s not necessary, Miss Reed. I


    can manage it myself. Also, my driver is waiting for me outside, and I can just ask him to send me to a


    doctor¡®s,¡± she said while pointing outside.


    Hearing that, Sonia turned around and saw a luxury car waiting outside through the ss window,


    whereupon she nodded with a smile. ¡°Alright. Go quickly, then.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡®m leaving now, Miss Reed. Let me know if you need anything in the future.¡± After bowing lightly


    to Sonia, Rina then started walking toward the door, but she had just taken a couple of steps when she


    suddenly held her head while her body swayed, as though she was about to pass out.


    Seeing that, Sonia sprang up hurriedly. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I feel a little dizzy¡­¡± Rina answered meekly, and in the next second, she fell toward Sonia without


    any warning.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Sonia cried out in surprise and rushed forward to catch her.


    In the end, Rina leaned against her shoulder, and in a corner where Sonia¡®s eyes couldn¡®t see, a grim


    look shed across her eyes, but it disappeared very quickly. After that, she ced her hand on Sonia¡®s


    shoulder and moved it near her hair a little before stopping abruptly.


    All these were done behind Sonia¡®s back, so she didn¡®t see anything at all.


    On the other hand, Sonia patted Rina¡®s face anxiously. ¡°Rina, don¡®t pass out! Hang in there. I¡®m getting


    your driver here!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, Miss Reed.¡± Lifting her head, Rina forced out a meek smile on her ashened face. ¡°I¡¯m fine


    now. Thanks for catching me, or I would have fallen on the floor.¡±


    ¡°You¡®re fine?¡± With her brows knotted tightly together, Sonia added, ¡°But you don¡®t look fine.¡±


    ¡°I¡®m fine, really. It¡®s my gastric acting up again. Plus, I have low blood sugar; that¡®s why I almost fainted.


    You know how my life used to be, Miss Reed. It¡®s not surprising that I have these issues. I¡®ll be fine after


    resting a while,¡± Rina said.


    However, Sonia was still worried as she asked again, ¡°Are you really fine?¡±


    ¡°It¡®s true. You can let me go, Miss Reed. I can stand by myself¡± she replied while nodding her head firmly.


    Seeing how determined she seemed, Sonia decided not to say anything else and released her grip on


    her arm.


    ¡°Thank you¡± Rina said and straightened her back as she withdrew her hand which was on her shoulder.


    Suddenly, Sonia yelped in pain, and her face cringed.


    ¡°What happened, Miss Reed?¡± Rina asked anxiously.


    ¡°My hair!¡± Sonia said, holding her scalp with one hand and pointing at Rina¡®s hand with her other hand.


    Lowering her head to look at her hand, Rina saw a few strands of long hair tangled on her ring, and her


    eyes grewrge. Then, she hastily bowed and apologized. ¡°I¡®m sorry, Miss Reed! I¡®m really sorry! I didn¡®t


    know that my ring got tangled in your hair. I¡®m terribly sorry.


    She looked so anxious that she was about to burst into tears, with guilt and self¨Cme written all over


    her face. In addition, she even looked a little afraid, as though she was scared that Sonia would


    reprimand her.


    Rubbing her scalp, Sonia waved her hand helplessly. Although she was unhappy that her hair was


    ripped out for nothing, she couldn¡®t do anything against Rina¡®s tear¨Cfilled eyes. ¡°Forget it. You didn¡®t do it


    on purpose, anyway. Nevermind.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡®t me me, Miss Reed?¡± Rina asked while blinking.


    ¡°Yeah, it only happened because you were feeling unwell. I¡®m not so petty that I would argue over


    something like this with a sick person.¡±


    ¡°That¡®s great! Thank you, Miss Reed.¡± Filled with gratitude, Rina¡®s face broke into a smile.


    Grinning, Sonia replied, ¡°Okay. Go to your driver now. Low blood sugar and gastric are not small issues,


    either. You¡®d better have that checked out.¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get it checked right now,¡± Rina said. She bobbed her head before waving her goodbye and


    leaving.


    Upon closing the door after entering the car, the smile on Rina¡®s face disappeared all of a sudden, and a


    vicious expression washed over her face instead.


    Lowering her head, she removed the hair tangled on her ring, grabbed a piece of napkin, and carefully


    wrapped the hair in it.


    She was nning to use these hairs in a maternity test to determine if Sonia was the real Rina Gray.


    It will be great if she¡®s not, but if she is¡­ Rina thought as her eyes gleamed, and her fist tightened.


    Soon, she reached the Grays¡®, and after she got out of the car, she stared at the huge, luxurious


    mansion in front of her with an unmistakable look of ambition and greed in her eyes.


    Never had she imagined that she would move into a house which was like a pce to her, let alone have


    sumptuous food, sleep in a big soft bed, put on branded clothes paired with the most morous jewelry,


    nor attend the most sophisticated sses.


    She thought that she could continue to enjoy all these, but she just realized that she could lose


    everything she had at any time, and she didn¡®t want to lose anything!


    Holding her fists stubbornly, she thought, That¡®s just how humans are; it¡®s fine if I¡®ve never had it, but


    since I¡®ve already had a taste of this life, I don¡®t want to ever lose it.


    Furthermore, she had already gotten used to a life like this. Therefore, she was unwilling to live that poor


    and hard life without any future.


    Sonia, since you¡®ve given me this life, showed me so much of the world, and brought me to this heaven,


    then don¡®t even think about sending me back to hell. ¡°So, hopefully you¡®re not the real Rina Gray, Miss


    Reed. Otherwise¡­¡± she muttered with steely eyes.


    Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the grim thought in her mind and stepped into the mansion.


    ¡°Mom, I¡®m home,¡± she greeted Julia, who was eating fruits in the living room.


    Turning her head around, Julia asked, ¡°Where have you been, Rina?¡±


    ¡°I went out shopping.¡± After she put down her handbag, she paced over to Julia and hugged her


    affectionately, cing her arm on her shoulders in a spoiled manner.


    Turning to her in surprise, Julia asked, ¡°Rina, why are you so intimate with me today? Ever since you


    returned, you¡®d almost never taken the initiative to get close to me. What made you change your mind


    today?¡±


    Although surprised, she was still delighted. These days, she had always been the one who was trying to


    be close with Rina, but thetter had almost never taken the first step to do the same. Even though she


    knew that this daughter of hers wasn¡®t familiar with her, she was a little upset that she didn¡®t receive a


    proportionate return of her affections.

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    But things were looking great now that Rina had taken the initiative to familiarize herself with her, and


    ¡°I didn¡®t change my mind. I¡®ve just thought things through. Since my return, Tina has been very mean to


    me, and so I feel very inferior. Hence, I didn¡®t dare to hug you like this because I was afraid that you¡®d


    loathe me as well and push me away,¡± Rina exined, leaning her head on Julia¡®s shoulder.


    Stroking Rina¡®s hair, Julia said, ¡°That¡®s not true. No mother will loathe their own child. You¡®re just splitting


    hairs.¡± Then, she poked her forehead jokingly and added, ¡°But it¡®s fine now that you¡®ve thought things


    through. Don¡®t let your imaginations run wild in the future.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I won¡®t do that anymore. I¡®ll be the sweet little girl that you love from now,¡± Rina answered. I was


    dumb, she thought. I¡®ve been here for so long but never thought of bing their real daughter until


    found out that Miss Reed was the real Rina Gray.


    Still, it was not toote now. From today onward, she would win over Titus and Juliapletely to the


    point that they would only have eyes for her, and if someone jumped out and questioned her identity in


    the future, the Grays wouldn¡®t be convinced; even if they did doubt her, they still wouldn¡®t send her away.


    No matter what, since she already had them as her parents, then they were her parents. No one could


    take them away from her not even the real Rina Gray!


    Not knowing what was on Rina¡®s mind, a smile spread across Julia¡®s face when she heard her words.


    ¡°Okay, okay, you¡®re my favorite little girl.¡±


    In return, Rina hugged her arm and giggled. A few secondster, she lifted her head and stared at Julia¡®s


    hair. ¡°Mom, your hair is a little messy. Let me do your hair for you.¡±


    Since her daughter had offered to do her hair, Julia was so overjoyed that she couldn¡®t care less whether


    her hair was really messy. So, she hurriedly agreed. ¡°You¡®re such a good girl, Rina. Sure, do my hair.¡±


    ¡°I¡®ll go get ab,¡± Rina said and went upstairs.


    Soon, she returned with ab in her hand and stood behind Julia before she released the pins in her


    hair and startedbing her hair out. She was a little strong whilebing, but Julia didn¡®t stop her


    even though she was hurting a little, thinking that she was only strong because of all the farmwork she


    used to do. In addition, it was the first time Rina did her hair, so she would feel bad to say anything.


    A few minutester, Rina removed a few strands of hair from theb and kept it away in her pocket


    secretly. cing down theb, she announced, ¡°I¡®m done, Mom. Take a look to see if you like it.¡±


    ¡°I like it. Of course I like the hair my daughter did for me,¡± Julia answered while chuckling gently and


    smoothing out her hair.


    Rina smiled as well. ¡°That¡®s great! By the way, I¡®m going out again, Mom. I made a friend when I went out


    today, and we agreed to go out for a movie. It¡®s about time for my date, so I¡®m leaving now.¡±


    With that, she left for the door briskly without waiting for Julia to say another word. Now that she already


    had both Sonia and Julia¡®s hair, it was time for her to make a trip to the DNA testingb!


    At the same time, on the other side of the city, Sonia had just finished lunch. She stepped out of the


    restaurant and called Toby.


    ¡°President Fuller, Tina already spilled everything, and I have the recording of her saying it herself. So, we


    can send the waiter and that man to the police station now, right?¡± Sonia said into the phone while


    waiting for a cab on the side of the street.


    A look of surprise shed in Toby¡®s eyes. ¡°You got a recording from her so soon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I had help from someone, so it was kinda easy,¡± she replied with a nod.


    Narrowing his eyes, Toby thought, That someone is probably that Rina Gray imposter, who¡®s working as


    her and Zane¡®s mole.


    As Tina was only staying at home and not going out, Sonia couldn¡®t go to the Grays to pry the words out


    of her. Therefore, the only one who could help her out was that fake Rina Gray, who was living there.


    ¡°Okay, you can go and make the report at the police station first, and I¡®ll ask someone to send those two


    guys to you,¡± Toby said while nodding slightly.


    ¡°Sure. Thanks a lot,¡± Sonia answered.


    ¡°You don¡®t have to thank¡ª¡±


    Before he finished speaking, he heard something amiss from the phone and took a nce at his phone


    with a frown. What he saw was the main menu page instead of the outgoing call page, and he pursed his


    lips. She¡®s sure quick to hang up!


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Tom, who was seated across the hospital bed, witnessed everything and couldn¡®t stop himself from


    snorting inughter. Nice. President Fuller got snubbed by Miss Reed again.


    Hearing his snort, Toby narrowed his eyes and cast him an icy look. ¡°What are youughing at?¡±


    Immediately, Tom wiped the smirk off his face and pushed his sses higher before replying in a serious


    tone, ¡°You¡®ve heard it wrongly, President Fuller. I didn¡®tugh. As a special assistant, I won¡®t be emotional


    during work. Please trust that I¡®m a professional.¡±


    Unless I can¡®t help it! he added silently.


    ¡°I don¡®t believe you. Forget about your bonus for this month,¡± Toby spat indifferently.


    Tom¡®s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Please don¡®t, President Fuller. I¡®ve made a mistake and I really, really


    regret it. I won¡®tugh at you in the future anymore.¡±


    Not in front of you, at least.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°It¡®s toote!¡± Toby said emotionlessly, cing down his phone.


    Realizing that he was unsessful in changing Toby¡®s mind, Tom appeared forlorn and was filled with


    regret. Really, if I could turn back time, I would have held back myugh¨CI should have onlyughed


    when I left the hospital.


    ¡°That¡®s enough,¡± Toby said, rubbing his slightly throbbing temples. ¡°In the call earlier, Sonia said she


    already has the recording of Tina¡®s testimonial. You can now send that waiter and that guy to the police


    station.¡±


    ¡°She got it so quickly?¡± Tom gasped in surprise.


    Toby answered, ¡°She had help from that fake Rina Gray, who probably went to Tina to sound her out


    while recording their conversation in secret.¡±


    ¡°Stealth recording like this has no legal effects,¡± Tom pointed out with a serious expression.


    ¡°I know that, but Sonia probably doesn¡®t know it. So, make a visit to the Chase Family in my name,¡± Toby


    instructed in a solemn voice as he narrowed his eyes.


    The Chase Family was another influential and prestigious family in Seafield. They were about the same


    as the Coleman Family, but the Colemans were in politics, while the Chase Family was in the police


    force.


    The current head of the Chase Family, Bertie Chase, was also the police chief in Seafield. Just a year


    ago, his son was kidnapped, and Toby, who happened to run into this incident, sent someone to save


    him. Since then, Bertie had owed him a favor, which had yet to be repaid until now, mainly because


    Toby had nothing to ask from him.


    However, he could ask for a return of the favor now. As long as he gave Bertie the heads up, the


    recording Sonia had would be legally effective.


    ¡°Understood. I¡®ll go get it done now,¡± Tom answered, acknowledging it with a nod.


    Then, something came into Toby¡®s mind as his eyes turned as cold as ice. ¡°Wait a minute. Deal with


    those two guys before bringing them to the police station.¡±


    The light reflected off Tom¡®s sses as he asked, ¡°You want to deal with them, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Since that waiter had the nerves to drug Sonia, then break both his arms. As for that man, break his


    leg.¡± His voice was as calm as a devil¡®s whisper; the iciness in his voice was so cold that it sent chills


    down one¡¯s spine, making every strand of hair stand on its edge. Daily Latest update


    ¡°Break his leg? President Fuller, which leg do you mean?¡± Tom askedposedly. Tsk, tsk. Those two


    poor men¨Cone will lose his arms while another will lose his leg. Serves them right, since they made a


    move against Miss Reed, who¡®s President Fuller¡®s soft spot.


    Toby cast him a cold look from the corners of his eyes. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Shrugging his shoulders, Tom answered, ¡°I got it. I¡®ll take care of it.¡± Since he didn¡®t make it clear, then¡­


    he¡®ll lose both his legs, as well as his manhood!


    That was exactly Toby¡®s intention as well.

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    After Tom turned and left the room, Toby picked up his phone and was contemting whether he should


    call or text Sonia. In the end, he decided to go with a text. ¡®Tom is sending those men over now. Just wait


    a little.¡¯


    At the same time, Sonia was seated in a chair in the lobby of the police station. Feeling her phone


    vibrating in her handbag, she whisked it out to check it. Upon seeing the message, she smiled and


    replied hurriedly, ¡®I got it. Thanks!


    Toby¡®s reply came very quickly as well. ¡®You¡®re wee. Also, I¡®ve taken care of those two guys for you!


    He took care of them? she thought in surprise. ¡®How did you take care of them?¡¯


    ¡®You¡®ll find out in a while, he replied.


    Seeing how he wanted to keep it a secret, Sonia pursed her lips and kept her phone away instead of


    asking him again. Since he didn¡®t say it when she asked the first time, then there was no need to ask the


    second time. Just then, she heard a familiar voice from nearby.


    Knitting her brows together slightly, she turned to the source and saw Cynthia speaking to a female


    police officer standing in front of her.


    It appeared as though the officer was lecturing Cynthia, who kept her head low while bobbing it and


    answering, ¡°I understand. I won¡®t do it again.¡±


    Noticing that Cynthia was dressed in her private clothes instead of the orange jumpsuit, Sonia knew that


    her detention had ended. What a coincidence, she thought, not expecting that she would run into the


    scene where Cynthia regained her freedom while she was here to make a police report.


    But her detention was supposed to be twenty days. Why did it end so quickly before the twenty days


    were up? she wondered and stood up to walk over.


    The crisp, clear sound of her heels clicking on the floor drew Cynthia and the officer¡®s attention, and they


    stopped their conversation as they spun their heads simultaneously toward her.


    When Cynthia saw Sonia, her face fell; she quickly hid behind the officer, as though she was avoiding


    Sonia like a que.


    Smirking, Sonia thought, What¡®s going on? Is Cynthia that afraid of me?


    After peering at Cynthia behind herself, the officer smiled and greeted, ¡°Hi, Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia nodded and replied, ¡°Hello, Officer Chase. I would like to ask if Miss Stone¡®s detention period has


    ended.¡±


    Hearing that, Officer Chase immediately understood why she joined them, and she smiled as she


    answered, ¡°Yes. A few days ago, Miss Stone saved an inmate who was having an epilepsy attack and


    made a merit point for herself. So, her detention ended ahead of time.¡±


    ¡°She made a merit?¡± Sonia repeated in surprise. Then, she nced at Cynthia, who was behind Officer


    Chase, and eximed in surprise, ¡°I really can¡®t tell that you¡®re actually capable of doing something


    good.¡±


    With a police officer in front of her, Cynthia poked out her head bravely and red at Sonia as she


    barked, ¡°Is it such a wonder for me to do something good?¡±


    An indifferent smirk appeared on Sonia¡®s face. ¡°How is it not? Am I supposed to believe that a person


    who ended up in a detention center twice because she tried to harm me actually did something out of


    the goodness of her heart?¡± she sneered while peering at Cynthia with a deep look in her eyes.


    Guilt washed over Cynthia from her stare, and she lowered her head subconsciously. This woman is so


    smart!


    It was true that she didn¡¯t save that inmate out of kindness, but simply because she wanted to end her


    detention earlier.


    From herst experience in a detention center, she had heard that she could be released earlier if she


    made a credit, which was not an easy feat in a detention center. At longst, she ran into an inmate who


    had an epilepsy attack. Without a doubt, she wouldn¡®t let this golden opportunity pass by, and she


    managed to save this inmate after driving away another inmate who also wanted to make a merit.


    Unexpectedly, Sonia had seen through her true intentions so easily. But so what if she did? she thought.


    So what if she knew that I didn¡®t save someone out of kindness? It¡®s a fact that I saved someone and


    earned a merit point! At the thought of this, she didn¡®t feel guilty anymore and held her head and chin up


    high as she threw a provocative look at Sonia.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes and was about to say something when a male officer came over. ¡°Hey, Chase.


    Where did you ce the file fromst time?¡®


    pping her forehead, Officer Chase apologized. ¡°I¡®m sorry. I ced it in my drawer and forgot to put it


    back into the archives. I¡®ll get it for you right now.¡± Then, she hurriedly paced to her work station.


    After the police officers left, there was only Sonia and Cynthia left on the spot. Without the protection of


    the police officer, in a split second, Cynthia returned to the terrified state that she was in when she saw


    Sonia earlier.


    Seeing that, Sonia had a faint smile on her face and asked, ¡°What¡®s wrong? Are you afraid of me?¡±


    ¡°W¨CWho¡¯s afraid of you?¡± she retorted, reacting like a cat whose tail had been trampled over.


    Crossing her arms across her chest, Sonia said, ¡°You¡®re not afraid? I¡®ll give it a try, then.¡± Then, she lifted


    her leg and took a step toward Cynthia.


    All of a sudden, Cynthia jumped back and shouted, ¡°Don¡®te near me!¡±


    Sonia stopped and chuckled. ¡°Look how agitated you are when I get closer. And you¡®re telling me you¡®re


    not afraid?¡±


    This time, she had no words to argue; she shrunk her neck as her face flushed bright red with a mix of


    awkwardness and fury.


    Yes, it was true that she was afraid of this woman because she had sent her into a detention center


    twice. In her heart, this woman was no different from the devil himself, and while she hated her, she also


    feared her.


    That was simply because she knew clearly that she couldn¡®t outwit this woman!


    ¡°Just what do you want with me?¡± Biting her lower lip, Cynthia looked as though she was about to burst


    into tears.


    Sonia pouted her lips. ¡°I don¡®t want to do anything with you. I just wanted to confirm if you¡®re really afraid


    of me.¡±


    ring at her furiously, Cynthia answered, ¡°Yes, I¡®m afraid of you. Are you happy now? So, can you let


    me off and let me go now?¡°


    ¡°Of course I can. If the police are letting you go, how could I keep you here? However, before you go,


    have some advice for you. Since you¡®re already released, be a good person and stop doing those nasty,


    despicable acts. If I could send you to the detention center twice, then I can do it again for the third time,¡±


    Sonia said in a cold voice with a teasing smile on her face.


    Paralyzed, Cynthia uttered, ¡°You,¡±


    ¡°Don¡®t try me because I¡®m serious. I¡®m even thinking that it¡®s rather boring to keep sending you to a


    detention center. If it¡®s possible, I would rather send you to jail. I heard that the women there are freaky.


    Because they haven¡®t met a man for years, they do things to women¨C¡±


    ¡°Stop, you devil!¡± Cynthia shouted fearfully as she covered her ears with her hands.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    She knew exactly what Sonia wanted to say; for the past few days when she was in the detention center,


    the inmates here had told her about how horrifying a jail was and how freaky the women there were. This


    was precisely why she didn¡®t want Sonia to continue talking.


    Seeing how terrified Cynthia was, Sonia smiled brightly. ¡°Alright, I won¡®t go on, but from the looks of it,


    you probably know what I was going to say. If you really don¡®t want to end up in jail, you¡®d better behave.


    Otherwise, don¡®t me me for sending you there. Even if the things you do are not so serious that it


    couldnd you in jail, I¡®ll think of ways to put you in there. Trust me,I can definitely do it!¡±


    Hearing that, blood drained from Cynthia¡®s face as she trembled all over. In the end, she bolted out of the


    ce because she just couldn¡®t stand to be in the same room with her, and she was afraid that if she


    didn¡®t leave, this she¨Cdevil woulde up with an idea against her.


    Watching Cynthia¡®s back as she ran away in fear, Sonia threw back her head andughed heartily as she


    was now in a good mood. I think she¡®ll have nightmares tonight.


    Suddenly, a man¡®s voice echoed from behind her. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    Recognizing it as Tom¡®s voice, she gathered her emotions and turned around. ¡°Hello, Mr. Brown.¡±


    ¡°I¡®ve brought the men here, Miss Reed,¡± he reported as he paced over.


    She squinted her eyes. ¡°Where are they?¡±


    ¡°The police have brought them to the interrogation room,¡± he answered.


    ¡°I¡®m going over to take a look!¡± she said, strutting toward the interrogation room in her heels.

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    Tom followed behind her.


    When they arrived at the interrogation room, Sonia knocked on the door, whereupon a police officer


    opened the door and let Sonia in.


    As the person who reported the incident, Sonia was naturally qualified to meet the suspects.


    After all, the suspects had not yet been formally arrested yet, so she could still see them.


    Sonia walked into the room and looked directly at the interrogation seat.


    She was stunned when she saw who was seated.


    She saw the man she met in the morning sitting in a wheelchair with a pale face, and both of his legs


    were wrapped in thick bandages.


    The other man in the waiter uniform was not in any better shape-although his legs were fine, his arms


    were also wrapped in thick bandages while hanging from a sling that hung from his neck.


    Seeing the state these two people were in-one with injured legs and the other with injured arms-it was


    obviously not the result of something as simple as an unfortunate ident.


    The man with the injured legs was fine this morning when she saw him, and now, there was a problem


    with his legs; it was obvious that someone did this intentionally.


    Thinking of this, Sonia looked at Tom, who noticed her gaze and smiled at her.


    His smile said it all.


    When she saw his smile, Sonia pursed her red lips and said, ¡°Pleasee with me.¡±


    With that, she turned and walked out of the interrogation room.


    Tom followed closely behind.


    Sonia took him to a quieter ce. ¡°Tom, their arms and legs-did you do that to them?¡±


    Those two people were sent over by him after all. Aside from him, she couldn¡¯t think of anyone else.


    ¡°Yes. It was President Fuller¡¯s order. He said that there was no need to keep the waiter¡¯s hands since he


    spiked you. As for the man who ran so far to harass you, there was no need to keep his legs-sol broke


    them¡± Tom pushed his sses and replied in a light tone; his tone was as if he was discussing the


    weather, instead of breaking someone¡¯s arms and legs.


    Sonia gasped lightly.


    It turned out that this was what Toby meant by dealing with them.


    In the morning, Toby was asking her what she wanted to do with the man and the waiter.


    She didn¡¯t answer at the time, but since Toby said she should hand the matter over to him, she agreed.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect that Toby¡¯s solution to this was to break their arms and legs!


    Although she knew that these two people deserved what happened to them, this method seemed a little


    too extreme.


    Seemingly noticing what Sonia was thinking, Tom said while pushing his reflective sses, ¡°Miss Reed,


    don¡¯t worry. Some people are born bad. If you only teach them small lessons, it won¡¯t be long before it


    bes a distant memory-but once you really hurt them and terrify them, only then will they know their


    mistake. Besides, these two people can already do such a thing for such little money, which shows that


    they are not good people themselves after all. If they could attack you, Miss Reed, they would most


    definitely attack other girls.¡±


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s just that¡­ Nah, you¡¯re right. Only if you teach them a lesson, then they won¡¯t dare to do it


    again, I didn¡¯t think far ahead enough,¡± Sonia said while rubbing her eyebrows.


    Later, she thought of something and asked again, ¡°But you breaking their arms and legs like this is


    considered assault and battery, which is against thew. However, you still dared to send them over to


    the police station, Aren¡¯t you afraid that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Reed. It¡¯s alright, for President Fuller has already made the proper arrangements.


    Can¡¯t you see that even though the cops knew what we did, they still pretended as if nothing happened?¡±


    Tom looked at her with a smile.


    After listening to Tom, Sonia was stunned for a moment. She then recalled the situation in the


    interrogation room just now and realized that the three police officers interrogating did not have much


    reaction to the injuries of the two people, and they did not seem to be curious about why they were


    injured.


    This showed the problem here.


    Thinking about it, Sonia gave Tom a thumbs up. ¡°You guys are indeed amazing-you can actually


    intervene on the police¡¯s side.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re ttering me, Miss Reed. This is all thanks to President Fuller¡¯s connections. If you were to praise


    anyone, you should be praising him instead¡± Tom pushed his sses again and said.


    He was helping Toby by saying all these good things about him in front of Sonia.


    At this point, President Fuller should be able to return my bonus to me, right? he thought.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Miss Reed.¡± Tom looked at Sonia. ¡°Have you handed in the recording?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Sonia took the phone out of her bag.


    She had long forgotten it before he brought it up.


    ¡°Then let me bring it to them. I have to tell the police something. After all, your recording channel is


    considered illegal, so it is difficult for it to constitute legal effect¡± Tom said.


    Only then did Sonia understand that there was indeed such a statement in thew.


    If the recording was secretly recorded as part of a scheme, it would indeed be difficult to constitute legal


    effect.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    She obviously didn¡¯t think of this at all when she told Taylor to record her confession. Fortunately, Tom


    told her of this now, and it seemed that he could still pull something off secretly to make the recording


    have legal effect; otherwise, it would have been in vain.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± Sonia hurriedly handed over the phone.


    After Tom took it, he went to the interrogation room.


    Sonia didn¡¯t leave, but just waited there.


    After waiting for about ten minutes, Tom came back and returned the phone to Sonia, who put it into the


    bag and asked, ¡°is everything done?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Tom nodded.


    Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯m relieved. Thank you!


    ¡°You¡®re wee.¡± Tom waved his hand.


    After that, Sonia waited for the results of the police interrogation in the station.


    About an hourter, the door of the interrogation room opened, and three police officers came out. The


    leading police officer said to the people at the front desk with a serious expression, ¡°Notify the team to


    set out a squad and arrest Tina Gray from the Gray Residence right away!¡±


    Hearing this, Sonia instantly stood up from her seat excitedly.


    The arrest warrant was issued, which meant that the police had recognized Tina¡¯s crime.


    This time around, Tina would really be going to jail!


    Sonia held both her hands together-they were trembling with joy.


    Tom naturally saw her reaction and was happy for her. ¡°Congrattions, Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Thank you, but I know it¡¯s all thanks to you and Toby.¡±


    If Toby hadn¡¯t investigated further and caught the culprit, and without his rtionship with the police,


    there was no way she could pull this off on her own.


    So, she knew very well that Toby should be the one to thank.


    As for how to thank him, she already had an idea in her mind.


    Sonia took out her mobile phone and dialed Charles¡¯ number. ¡°Hey, Charles.¡±


    At the same time, in a DNA testing agency in Seafield.


    Rina sat on a chair outside the testing room and was anxiously waiting for the result.


    Suddenly, the door of the room opened up, and a man in a white coat came out with a report in his hand.


    Seeing this, Rina immediately stood up and grabbed the identification report from the man¡¯s hand before


    opening it.


    However, she couldn¡¯t fully understand the professional terms on the report.


    Hence, she could only ask eagerly, ¡°What is the result? Are they mother and daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The man nodded. ¡°The blood rtionship is 99%. It¡¯s a mother-daughter rtionship.¡±


    Hearing that, Rina felt a thunderstorm striking through her head, which made her ears ring. Her body


    swayed, and she took two steps back before she could barely stabilize herself.


    ¡°They are mother and daughter¡­ My guess was right¡­¡± Rina murmured with her set of nk eyes and


    slowly tightened her hand around the report, immediately crumpling it into a ball.


    Although she had long been sure that Sonia Reed was the real Rina Gray, when the maternity test result


    came out, she was still shocked and couldn¡¯t ept it.


    Because before the maternity test results came out, she could still make up excuses and lie to herself


    that she was overthinking it-that Sonia was not the real Rina Gray.


    But now that the test results came out, the fact had been established-she could no longer lie to herself


    that Sonia wasn¡¯t Rina.


    ¡°Miss, are you alright?¡± the man in white coat asked in concern while looking at the emotional Rina,


    whose body was trembling.


    Rina stiffened her neck and shook her head. ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. I-I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡±


    At this point, she knew she needed to calm down and think about how to deal with this matter.


    In short, it was impossible for her to tell Julia and Sonia about this. On the contrary, she had to find a way


    to hide it so that Julia and Sonia would not find out about their rtionship!

 Chapter 356

    Chapter 356


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 356


    As for how to hide this¡­


    Rina bit her lip.


    She discovered Sonia¡¯s true identity because she identally saw the red mole on her wrist.


    If I destroy the red mole, that would mean i would be able to hide the fact that she¡¯s the real Rina Gray,


    right?


    While thinking about it, Rina squeezed the palm of her hand-she had already made a decision in her


    heart.


    Right then, her phone rang.


    Rina took a deep breath to suppress the knotted emotions in her heart and calmed herself down before


    taking out her phone to look.


    Seeing that Julia was the one calling, Rina answered quickly, ¡°Hello, Mom?¡±


    ¡°Rina, pleasee back soon.¡± Julia¡¯s anxious voice spread from the phone.


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Rina sat up straight. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mom? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°A few police officers came to the house just now and took Tina away..¡± Julia sobbed. ¡°They were saying


    that Tina broke thew during the probationary period-how is this possible? During this time, Tina has


    always been by our side, and she didn¡¯t do anything! How could she break thew again? Those police


    officers must be framing Tina!¡±


    Hearing this, Rina rolled her eyes.


    Framed?


    Even she, as someone who had not received much education, knew that the police would not simply


    frame citizens.


    How could Julia, who had received a much higher level of education than she did, be so ignorant?


    But that was not important at this point; what was important was that Tina was actually taken away by the


    police.


    It seemed that it was Sonia¡¯s doing-she asked her to record Tina¡¯s confession in order to send Tina to


    prison.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect Sonia to be so efficient, and it took only half a day to get Tina arrested.


    Rina couldn¡¯t hide her excitement, butforting words still managed to spill out of her mouth. ¡°Mom,


    don¡¯t worry. Maybe the police made a mistake and brought her in to get more statements; I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll


    be back in a heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°What statements? They even issued an arrest warrant!¡± Julia cried sadly.


    Though she didn¡¯t understand much about the police system, she knew that issuing an arrest warrant


    meant not just an investigation, but also detention.


    In other words, Tina wouldn¡¯t being back.


    ¡°Well¡­ it seems that the situation is a little serious.¡± Rina pretended to be troubled, but in fact, she was


    more than overjoyed.


    Julia choked up. ¡°Rina, what should we do now?¡±


    Rina lowered her eyelids.


    What else could we do except taking it as it is?


    I can¡¯t possibly be thinking of a way to save Tina, right?


    Although she knew very well that that was exactly what Julia wanted, she didn¡¯t want to save Tina at all.


    However, though she was thinking this way, she couldn¡¯t say that out loud, so Rina closed her eyes and


    said instead, ¡°I don¡¯t know either, Mom-it¡¯s better to let Dad handle this.¡±


    ¡°No. You can¡¯t let your father be a part of this.¡± Triggered, Julia quickly rejected Rina¡¯s suggestion even


    her voice turned shrill.


    Rina¡¯s eyes shed a gleam of brilliance. The corners of her mouth twitched, and she pretended to be


    puzzled while she asked, ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°Because your father saidst time that if Tina broke thew again during the period of probation, he


    would no longer care about her and would cut all ties with her. Last time, Triforce Enterprise almost went


    bankrupt because of Tina. Now that Triforce Enterprise has finally stabilized, if news of Tina¡¯s re


    offending during the probation period surfaces, Triforce Enterprise will experience turbulence again.


    When that happens¡­¡±


    ¡°What happens then?¡± The corners of Rina¡¯s lips curled up more and more.


    Julia sobbed again. ¡°At that time, your father¡¯s prestige in the group will bepletely gone, and the


    shares in his hand will be diluted due to financing. At that time, Triforce Enterprise will no longer belong


    to the Gray¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. Then it seems that I really can¡¯t tell Dad about this after all.¡± Rina nodded, pretending to


    understand.


    In fact, she had long known that Titus would not care about Tina this time. She overheard Titus¡¯


    conversation by chancest time, so she assured Julia to tell Titus instead.


    That was because she knew that Julia would not tell Titus no matter what, and even if she did, Titus


    would not try to save Tina, and the result would be the same in the end.


    The reason why she said what she said was nothing more than trying to pass the buck. If she kicked the


    ball to Titus, Julia would not continue to bug her to find a way to save Tina.


    ¡°Rina-¡± Julia wanted to say something else.


    Immediately, Rina interrupted her, ¡°Mom, take it easy. Let¡¯s discuss this when I get backter. I¡¯m on the


    road now, and I¡¯m feeling a little dizzy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. We¡¯ll talkter, then. Rest in the car for a while.¡± Hearing that Rina wasn¡¯t feeling well, Julia


    swallowed what she was about to say at once.


    After bidding goodbye over the phone, Rina hung up the phone and lowered her eyelids, deep in


    thought


    Meanwhile, in the police station.


    Not long after Sonia hung up the call with Charles, she heard several footsteps behind her.


    When she turned around, she coincidentally witnessed a scene whereby several police officers were


    holding Tina while walking into the station.


    Oh, wow!


    Sonia smiled, her eyes fixed on Tina.


    Tina was sitting in a wheelchair with her head lowered, so Sonia couldn¡¯t see the expression on her face.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know if she was scared or flustered at the moment, and this made Sonia feel a little


    regretful.


    As if feeling Sonia¡¯s gaze, Tina raised her head and met Sonia¡¯s emotionless eyes.


    In the same way, there was neither fear nor panic on Tina¡¯s face-there wasn¡¯t even hatred or anger.


    Instead, she waspletely calm.


    She was so calm that she didn¡¯t look like she knew she was going to jail.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but frown at this abnormality.


    Even Tom, who was beside her, raised his eyebrows upon seeing Tina.


    Soon, Tina was taken away and brought into the interrogation room.


    During this period, Sonia didn¡¯t say a word except for making eye contact with her.


    It was as if they were just two people who didn¡¯t know each other, not enemies.


    ¡°Something¡¯s up with her.¡± All of a sudden, Tom¡¯s voice sounded beside her.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes. Something isn¡¯t right-this isn¡¯t her usual reaction.¡±


    In her opinion, with Tina¡¯s character, she would rush up to tear Sonia apart upon seeing her, instead of


    being so quiet and calm.


    ¡°How about I further investigate why she is behaving like this?¡± Tom looked at Sonia.


    Sonia waved her hand. ¡°No. I¡¯m not interested in why she is like this. I just need to know that she will go


    to jail. Alright, I¡¯ll take my leave first. Mr. Brown, you should go back too.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tom nodded.


    Sonia walked out of the police station.


    What happened next would be handled by the police, and it was useless for her to stay there anyway.


    Hence, it was better for her to go back and wait for the results.


    After walking out of the police station, Sonia stopped the car and returned to Paradigm.


    As soon as she arrived in Paradigm, she met Charles, who also drove over.


    Charles was carrying a bag in his hand. ¡°Hi, baby.¡±


    Sonia smiled at him. ¡°Did you bring the things I told you to?¡±


    ¡°I did. But what are you doing with all of these?¡± Charles handed her the bag.


    Sonia walked toward Paradigm¡¯s gate and replied, ¡°I¡¯m returning them to Toby.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles was stunned and raised his voice. ¡°You want to return the Ocean¡¯s Heart to Toby


    Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles stopped her. ¡°Wait. Why are you returning it to him? Do you remember how difficult it was for us


    to get it in the first ce? And now we¡¯re returning it to him-then why did we even take it from him in the


    first ce?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°I wanted the Ocean¡¯s Heart in the beginning because I wanted to teach Tina a


    lesson. She deliberately ndered me for crashing my car into her six years ago, so I wanted to take


    away the Ocean¡¯s Heart so she not only wouldn¡¯t get the Ocean¡¯s Heart, but the engagement ceremony


    couldn¡¯t go on either. But it¡¯s different now.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s different?¡± Charles frowned.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°Tina is going to jail, and Toby helped out. I just want to return his favor!¡±


    It was just that even if she had returned this favor, she still owed Toby a few more favors.


    That being so, since she could do so this time, she reckoned she should just return the favor while she


    could.

 Chapter 357

    Chapter 357


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 357


    ¡°What? Tina Gray is going to jail?¡± As soon as Charles heard this, he immediately put the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    behind him. In his heart, nothing was more important than the news that Tina was imprisoned-not even


    the Ocean¡¯s Heart, which was worth hundreds of millions.


    ¡°Spill, baby. What did Tina do to break thew this time?¡± Charles looked at Sonia and asked excitedly.


    Sonia¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°It¡¯s not something she did recently; it was in the past. On the night of


    your birthday, she asked the waiter in the clubhouse to spike my drink.¡±


    ¡°The f*ck? Something like this happened that night?¡± Charles¡¯ face sank, and he pped his thigh


    angrily. Then, he immediately thought of something, and his expression became twisted again. ¡°Sonia,


    was it because you were drugged that night that you and a man¡­¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡± Sonia shrugged. However, she felt that even if she weren¡¯t drugged, she would


    have still slept with Toby when she was drunk.


    ¡°That woman really deserves to die a thousand deaths!¡± Charles clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in


    anger.


    Sonia rubbed her brows. ¡°There, there. No matter what, the evidence that night was collected with Toby¡¯s


    help. Now that Tina has been taken to the police station, I believe that it will not be long before Tina will


    be officially arrested. So, are you still stopping me from returning this to Toby Fuller?¡±


    Charles pouted and said nothing.


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s better to give this back to him. That way, I no longer have his belongings


    with me.¡±


    When Charles heard that, his eyes lit up, and thest bit of unwillingness in his heart disappeared


    completely. She was right-returning Toby¡¯s things to him meant that whatever rtionship that remained


    between them would be wiped out once and for all. When Charles thought of this, he was happy.


    Seeing this, Sonia moved her arm. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you let go now?¡±


    ¡°Hehe. I¡¯m letting go of it right now.¡± Charles immediately let go of his hand.


    Sonia continued to walk toward the elevator while Charles followed behind her.


    Meanwhile, at the hospital. Tom returned to Toby¡¯s ward and reported everything that happened at the


    police station to him.


    When Toby heard from Tom that Soniaplimented himself, there was an undisguised joy in his eyes


    although the expression on his face did not change much.


    Tom rolled his eyes. That was enough to make you happy? You¡®re too easy to satisfy! Although he


    thought so, Tom couldn¡¯t say that out loud. He rubbed his hands and smiled at Toby. ¡°President Fuller,


    well, you know¡­ It was me who spoke kindly about you to Miss Reed, and so she praised you. So what


    do you think of my bonus¡­¡±


    Toby wished he didn¡¯t understand Tom¡¯s suggestion, but he did after all. At once, he waved his hand


    impatiently, signaling that the matter had been decided.


    Seeing that, Tom immediately smiled brightly. ¡°Thank you, President Fuller!¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Sure. But there is something I need you to do.¡±


    ¡°What is it, sir? I¡¯ll do whatever you say!¡± Tom straightened his back as he said.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Go to the media and spread the news about Tina being arrested for


    breaking thew again.¡±


    Tom raised his eyebrows. ¡°President Fuller, are you trying to deal with Titus Gray?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tina was already at the police station, so it was impossible for him to deal with her anymore. Titus was


    the only one who he might want to deal with right now.


    Toby raised his chin slightly. ¡°I¡¯m using public opinion to cause turmoil in Triforce Enterprise and


    completely destroy Titus¡¯ prestige in thepany, and at the same time, allow Passion Heart Property to


    come forward and buy his shares.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll contact the media right away.¡± Tom took out his mobile phone.


    Soon, news of Tina breaking thew again during her probation period was published on all major


    tforms and apps; it also went on the hot search list of major search engines. In a sh, the news


    spread like wildfire through the inte. After all, it had not been long since Tina was sentenced to


    probation when she broke thew again. How couldizens not be anguished about this?


    Meanwhile, at Triforce, Titus was in a meeting to start a new project. More than half of the people in the


    meeting originally agreed to proceed with the project. However, a shareholder stood up all of a sudden


    and pointed at Titus angrily. ¡°Titus Gray, please exin to us what this is that I am seeing all over the


    Inte!¡±


    As soon as this statement came out, everyone was full of doubts. Titus, including other shareholders,


    ked at that shareholder who stood up and was using Titus angrily.


    Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, Titus asked, ¡°Director Walker, what is it on the Inte that


    you are referring to?¡±


    Other shareholders were also curious. ¡°Yeah, Director Walker. What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°All of you can see it online now. The youngest daughter of our president has been arrested again for


    breaking thew. President Gray, you really are educating your daughter well, huh?¡± Director Walker


    looked at Titus and sneered angrily.


    ¡°What? Tina has been arrested again?¡± Titus¡¯ expression changed greatly. ¡°This is impossible! Tina is still


    on probation, so how could she-¡±


    ¡°President, what Director Walker said is true. I¡¯m looking at the news now.¡± Before he finished speaking,


    another director pointed to theputer in front of him with an ugly expression. Soon, other


    shareholders also said it was true one after another.


    Seeing that these shareholders all said that Tina was arrested and had been taken to the police station,


    Titus felt chills all over his body. He quickly dropped theser pointer in his hand, returned to his seat


    from the big screen, and checked theputer.


    When he saw the words ¡®Tina Gray arrested again¡¯ on the trending topics., Titus¡¯ eyes darkened, and he


    almost fainted.


    Fortunately, a chair behind him caught him, so he didn¡¯t really fall down. He held the mouse tightly as his


    expression changed immediately-they were ferocious and twisted. His body was shaking with anger, and


    he hissed out through his teeth, ¡°Tina. Gray.¡±


    After all, he had already warned herst time that she should stay at home, behave herself, and not


    break thew again. Little did he expect that she would be arrested again this time. Did she do this


    intentionally? Does she want to bring down the Gray Family and Triforce so badly?


    Bam!


    Titus¡¯ chest rose and fell violently, and he punched the table with a hard punch-he wished he could rush


    to the police station and tear up that troublesome girl into pieces!


    Director Walker looked at Titus coldly. ¡°Titus, your daughter almost bankrupted usst time, then you


    begged us hard and told us not to withdraw our shares; you asked us to believe in your capabilities and


    trust that you¡¯d be able to save Triforce. Since we¡®ve worked together for so many years, we finally chose


    to believe in you and give you a chance.


    We did not hold a shareholders meeting to jointly remove your president position. Fortunately, in the end,


    you did live up to our expectations and saved Triforce from the brink of bankruptcy. I thought that from


    now on, you would lead Triforce well and lead us to more sesses, but look what happened!¡± Director


    Walker kicked the chair. ¡°Is that how you lead?¡±


    ¡°Yes, President. Please give us an exnation.¡± The other directors also looked at Titus angrily.


    Facing the anger of the crowd, Titus was angry as well, but he did not dare to express it. Although he


    was the president of the board and the person who held the most shares in Triforce, his prestige among


    these people was almostpletely lost thest time. Therefore, his status as president could not


    suppress them at all.


    If he really fought back against them, they would definitely join forces to deal with him, and he most


    definitely couldn¡¯t fight them alone. Thinking of this, Titus took a deep breath and said in aforting


    and ingratiating manner, ¡°Everyone, calm down first, okay? Maybe this matter is not as bad as we


    thought.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as we thought?¡± Director Walker sneered. ¡°Titus, are you dreaming? Don¡¯t you see what¡¯s


    going on on the Inte now? They¡¯ve already boycotted Triforce, and now Triforce¡¯s stocks will


    definitely plummet. Can you bear this loss?¡±


    Titus opened his mouth but was speechless. Of course he couldn¡¯t afford to bear the losses! He had run


    out of money trying to cover the losses in the stock marketst time.


    Seeing that Titus couldn¡¯t answer, Director Walker snorted yet again. ¡±Okay, I won¡¯t say much else. I


    propose to hold a general shareholders meeting at 9.00AM tomorrow to re-elect a new leader of the


    company.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Titus¡¯ pupils shrank as he looked at Director Walker,pletely shocked.

 Chapter 358

    Chapter 358


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 358


    This can¡®t happen!


    Titus was the first person the object. ¡°You can¡¯t do that, Director Walker!¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I?¡± Director Walker stared at Titus indifferently without even trying to hide the sarcastic look in


    his eyes.


    Immediately, Titus¡¯ face reddened. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m the president! In fact, I¡¯m thergest shareholder


    of Triforce Enterprise! It would be unreasonable for you to call a board meeting to make me step down!¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t unreasonable at all. Apany¡¯s president doesn¡¯t have to be thergest shareholder, and the


    largest shareholder need not be the president. There¡¯s no conflict,¡± Director Walker reasoned.


    The other directors nodded as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, President Gray. You should step down and let someone capable take over. Wouldn¡¯t it be


    nice to be thergest shareholder without doing anything?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t even manage your own household; how will you manage Triforce Enterprise? You


    caused a hideous mess in the past few months and made us shareholders lose a great amount of profit.


    We forgave you and let you continue to be the president thest time simply because you founded


    Triforce Enterprise. However, we can¡¯t let you off this time no matter what.¡±


    ¡°You hear that, Titus? Everyone disagrees with you being the president, so a Board of Directors¡¯ meeting


    must be held. In short, you have to step down even if you don¡¯t want to. Otherwise, we¡¯ll make this


    company go bankrupt. It¡¯s going to anyway if it continues to be in your hands.¡±


    As soon as Director Walker said this, he packed up the things in front of him and left the meeting room


    without looking at Titus, while the other shareholders followed suit.


    Soon, Titus was left all alone in therge meeting room. Shivering with fear, he sat down on the chair and


    stared nkly at theputer in front of him, failing toprehend how things turned out this way.


    Things were getting under control at Triforce Enterprise, but now, something has happened again What¡®s


    more, I¡®m about to lose my position as president


    Just then, there was a knock on the meeting room¡¯s door. Then, the door opened, and Keiran walked in.


    ¡°President Gray, bad news! There are many reporters downstairs. They¡¯d like to interview you regarding


    your thoughts on Tina¡¯s arrest for breaking thew,¡± Keiran informed anxiously.


    ¡°My thoughts?¡± Titus sneered with bloodshot eyes. ¡°They don¡¯t want my take on it! They¡¯re just trying to


    ride on a wave of poprity!¡±


    Just as he finished, his phone rang. After taking a deep breath to calm himself down for the time being,


    he took out his phone. Realizing that it was his rival who called, he hung up immediately. That was


    because he already knew why his rival had called without even answering. He must be calling to make


    fun of me. It was what happened thest time.


    When Tina got arrested for attempting to assault someone, his rival embarrassed him by calling to mock


    him. Yet, though Titus refused to answer the phone, his rival did not let him off so easily and


    sent him a text message: ¡®Hey! The Grays¡¯ family traditions and genes truly amaze me! You¡¯re a family of


    criminals! Now that your daughter¡¯s in jail, I¡¯d love to know when¡¯s your turn since you killed Henry six


    years ago¡­


    Crash! Before he even finished reading the message, he swept everything from the meeting room table


    to the floor to vent his boiling anger.


    Seeing that, Keiran retreated quickly to avoid getting in trouble. Meanwhile, Titus panted as his eyes


    darkened.


    How does that person know I killed Henry six years ago? It was done so discreetly that even people who


    are close to me don¡®t know about it, let alone outsiders. Everyone thought that Henry hadmitted


    suicide by jumping off a building because he couldn¡®t bear the copsing funds.


    Yet, this person¡®s so adamant that I¡®m the one who killed Henry. He must know something. Even so, he


    has no evidence! Otherwise, he would¡®ve ckmailed me with it. We¡®re rivals in the business world, after


    all.


    Thinking of that, he was no longer worried. Closing his eyes, he said coldly, ¡°Prepare the car. We¡®re


    going to the police station.¡±


    He wanted to find out what Tina had done and if it was possible to save her. If it¡®s possible to save her,


    it means that the problem isn¡®t serious, and Triforce Enterprise would recover. But if it¡®s not possible¡­


    At that moment, a hint of determination shed in his eyes as he clenched his fists. Don¡®t me me for


    being heartless if it¡®s not possible.


    When night had fallen, Sonia turned off herptop and was about to go to bed after reading the news


    that caused an uproar online.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Furrowing her perfect eyebrows, she walked toward the door and turned on


    the inte to see who was outside.


    Just as sheid eyes on the screen, an erged adorable face appeared. ¡°Aunt Sonia!¡±


    It¡®s Dous! Which means Zane must be here too. Then, she turned off the inte and opened the


    door.


    Zane was carrying Dous while standing outside. ¡°Good evening.¡± He smiled.


    Zane knew that she would open the door if he brought Dous along. Otherwise, she would just ignore


    him if it were him alone.


    ¡°Carry me, Aunt Sonia!¡± Dous opened his arms wide open, waiting for her to carry him.


    Seeing how cute he was, she had no reason to refuse, so she extended her arms to carry him. Just then,


    Zane pressed Dous¡¯ hands down. ¡°Don¡¯t be naughty. She¡¯s¡ª¡± Sensing her sharp gaze, Zane cleared


    his throat and quickly changed what he was about to say, ¡°Aunt Sonia¡¯s not feeling well, so she can¡¯t


    carry you.¡±


    ¡°Are you feeling unwell?¡± Dous tilted his head and gazed at her.


    ¡°Just a little. But I¡¯m fine.¡± She chuckled while patting his head. At this time, she was experiencing less


    difort in her stomach aspared to the beginning.


    Obediently, the little boy told her, ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to carry me since you¡¯re not feeling well.¡±


    Instantaneously, her heart melted at how adorable he was. She couldn¡¯t help but tickle him. Hurriedly, he


    put his arms around Zane¡¯s neck and giggled.


    Perhaps it was due to the fact that Dous had made her feel better, her attitude toward Zane was less


    indifferent than two days ago. After that, she retracted her hand and nced at Zane. ¡°It¡¯ste. Why did


    youe here with Dous? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Erm¡­ Nothing¡¯s wrong, actually. Dous has been moring to see you, and I couldn¡¯t stop him, so I


    brought him here. Besides, I¡¯d like to leave him here with you for two days.¡± He gazed at her


    expectantly.


    ¡°Leave him with me?¡± She raised her eyebrow.


    ¡°Yup.¡± His expression turned serious. ¡°Something¡¯s happened within the Coleman Family recently. Mom


    and Dad have gone to Westsanshire for a meeting, while my brother and his wife are stuck in the army.


    As for me, I need to head to Fredburg. So, no one¡¯s left to take care of Dous.¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    ¡°Hold on. How can there be no one left? What about the Colemans¡¯ servants and nannies?¡± She stared


    at him, trying to see if he was lying.


    The way she looked at him made him feel guilty, and he nearly spilled the beans. Fortunately, he was


    strong enough to keep himselfposed as he replied, ¡°Lenny went back to his hometown to visit his


    grandchildren. Indeed, we have servants and nannies, but I don¡¯t feelfortable letting them take care


    of Dous. After all, there¡¯s much news about servants and nannies abusing children.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    She hade across many news like this. She had even experienced it first-hand when she was a child.


    Her mother had passed away when she was three. At four years old, her father remarried. Her


    stepmother was pretty decent before she got pregnant. They weren¡¯t close, but at least there was no


    bullying. However, her stepmother got pregnant when she was four and a half years old. Since then, it


    was as if her stepmother had be a totally different person. She would act gentle and considerate


    in front of Sonia¡¯s father, but as soon as he left, she would mistreat Sonia.


    Even the servants at home would ill-treat her and help her stepmother to bully her. It was not until her


    father witnessed a servant bullying her that her nightmare finally ended.

 Chapter 359

    Chapter 359


    Chapter 359 Severing Our Father-daughter Rtionship


    ¡°Sonia, what are you thinking?¡± Zane waved his hand in front of her when he saw her zoning out.


    Then, her eyes flickered. ¡°Nothing,¡± she replied faintly.


    ¡°Then, Dous¡­¡±


    She bit her lip as she seemed to be still considering.


    Seeing this, Zane signaled Dous. Hey, kid. Hurry up. It¡¯s up to you whether you stay or not. I¡¯ve done


    my best.


    Silly Uncle Zane. You¡¯re the one who brought me here. You said that there was a misunderstanding


    between you and Aunt Sonia and that she was ignoring you.(get daily update on Novelheart ) That¡¯s why


    you brought me over to be the peacemaker so that she would forgive you. So why are you dumping


    everything on me? I¡¯m just a baby. Dous rolled his eyes.


    Zane pouted. Stop this nonsense. Hurry! Be cute so that she would let you stay if you still want her to be


    your aunt. Then, you can put in a good word for me.


    Helplessly, Dous sighed like an adult. Then, he put on a calm expression and tugged Sonia¡¯s sleeve.


    ¡°Can¡¯t I stay with you? I don¡¯t want to stay at home alone. Please?¡± He looked at her pitifully and blinked


    his big eyes, looking as if he was about to cry.


    ¡°Please, Sonia,¡± Zane chimed in.


    Sonia nced at Zane and then at Dous. Finally, her heart softened. She reached out to wipe the


    tears off Dous¡¯ face and nodded. ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ll help you to take care of Dous for two days.¡±


    ¡°Awesome! I can finally live with Aunt Sonia!¡± Dous giggled cheerfully.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zane bowed with a look of gratitude pasted on his face. In truth, he was overwhelmed with


    excitement.


    Good boy! As expected from the cutest baby of the Coleman Family! Good work for seeding on the


    first try!


    Right after, Zane put Dous down. Zane crouched down and held Dous as he reminded, ¡°Be a good


    boy these two days. Listen to Aunt Sonia, and don¡¯t be naughty, okay?¡±


    You¡¯d better remember what your task is: It¡¯s to mediate our rtionship. (get daily update on


    Novelheart ) That¡¯s the actual reason why I brought you here.


    Obediently, Dous nodded. ¡°I know. I¡¯ll be a good boy.¡±


    Don¡¯t worry, Uncle Zane. I¡¯ll see to it that Aunt Sonia forgives you. Just remember to get me my limited-


    edition Transformer.


    ¡°Good. Now, I can rest assured.¡± Zane patted Dous¡¯ head.


    I won¡¯t forget, so stop reminding me about it.


    Then, Zane stood up and looked at Sonia. ¡°I¡¯ll leave him to you, then.¡±


    Unaware of the eye contact between both uncle and nephew, she nodded her head lightly and


    answered, ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave now, ¡± Zane said.


    ¡°Take care,¡± she responded.


    Upon hearing this, he smiled bitterly at how quickly she wanted him to leave. She didn¡¯t even offer him a


    drink.


    However, this was not the most disappointing.


    What was most disheartening was when Dous waved at him. ¡°Goodbye, Uncle Zane!¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    The corner of Zane¡¯s mouth couldn¡¯t help but twitch as he red at Dous.


    That useless little brat. You could¡¯ve faked a cry and said that you couldn¡¯t bear seeing me leave when


    she didn¡¯t ask me to stay for a drink. That way, I might have been able to stay a little longer.


    Seeing through Zane¡¯s thoughts, Dous made a face at Zane. Filled with anger, Zane¡¯s face twisted.


    That rascal! I¡¯ve been wasting my love on him!


    With a sigh, Zane headed toward the elevator.


    As soon as Zane¡¯s figure went out of sight at the elevator entrance, Sonia took Dous into her house.


    The next day, a phone call woke Sonia up.


    It was Charles who called. ¡°Darling, quick, check out what¡¯s online. Titus is holding a press conference.¡±


    ¡°A press conference?¡± She sat up from the bed immediately. ¡°What¡¯s it about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think it has to do with Tina. After all, her being arrested by the police again yesterday


    caused a hugemotion, and Triforce Enterprise was badly affected, so he can¡¯t just keep quiet,¡± he


    noted.


    Nodding her head, she said, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll take a look.¡±


    After that, she put down her phone and lifted her nket before heading to the study.


    However, she went to another room before going to the study. Quietly, she opened the door and peeped


    inside to see if Dous was awake.


    Seeing him sprawled out and sleeping soundly on the bed, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. Later on, she


    closed the door and went to the study to turn on herptop.


    She clicked into Triforce Enterprise¡¯s official website and saw Titus¡¯ press conference live stream.


    It had already started for a while. At that moment, Titus was answering the media¡¯s questions about


    Tina¡¯s rearrest.


    Sonia paid serious attention because she wanted to hear what he had to say.


    However, his answers were very formal. There was nothing explosive about them.


    The media was greatly disappointed as they wanted something juicy. Yet, he gave them such generic


    answers.


    All of a sudden, a reporter stood up and asked, ¡°President Gray, are you going toe up with a n to


    save your daughter?¡±


    It was a prating question to ask.


    A few media outlets had wanted to ask the same question but were afraid of facing criticism by the


    authorities.


    After all, asking a capitalist if he would get an alleged offender out of jail would only cause an outbreak of


    war online.


    Netizens were most sensitive about the capitalists¡¯ doing whatever they pleased and getting away with


    everything. So, the media held back and decided not to ask.


    Unexpectedly, a hotheaded reporter asked this question. While they were surprised and anxious, they


    were also envious of his bravery.


    Meanwhile, in the VIP ward of the hospital, the wounds on Toby¡¯s back had been stabilized. Hence, he


    was moved to the general ward from the intensive care unit.


    At that moment, he was watching the press conference as well.


    Hearing the reporter¡¯s question, he furrowed his brows.


    ¡°He must be a rookie reporter. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have asked such a question,¡± Tom, who was


    beside Toby,mented.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯d like to hear Titus¡¯ answer as well,¡± Toby replied indifferently.


    Though the question was prating, it was not easy to answer.


    If Titus decides not to save Tina, theizens will support him while the people in the business world will


    not. If he could betray a close rtive just like that, there was no guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t betray them.


    As a result, he¡¯ll have a hard time getting around in the business world. However, if he decides to save


    her, not only will he be the target of criticism all over the Inte, but he¡¯ll also be taken away by the


    authorities. So, it would be interesting to know what he would say. To save, or not save?


    In fact, Toby was not the only one who wanted to know Titus¡¯ answer. The media at the press


    conference, the audience watching the press conference, and Sonia also wanted to know.


    This question was like forcing Titus to the edge of a cliff because it wouldn¡¯t end well for him no matter


    what he said.


    He was well aware of his current situation. ncing coldly at the reporter who asked the question, he


    took a deep breath, looked into the camera, and answered, ¡°Regarding this, my answer is no.¡±


    Few people were surprised when he made this statement because everyone already knew that there


    was a high chance of him deciding not to save Tina. Though he might have a hard time getting along


    with others in the business world, the whole Inte would be supportive of him. Hence, it was likely for


    him to choose not to save her.


    Then, he opened his mouth to speak again, ¡°At the same time¡­¡±


    Quickly, everyone nced at him.


    ¡°At the same time?¡± The reporter, who questioned him earlier, asked.


    Staring at the reporter, he announced, ¡°At the same time, I would like to dere that I am cutting ties with


    Tina Gray from this day onward. She is no longer part of the Gray Family!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Everyone was shocked.


    Upon hearing this, Sonia and Toby froze as well.


    They couldn¡¯t believe that Titus actually severed ties with Tina.


    However, Sonia soon figured it out and calmed down.


    Right now, Titus¡¯ decision to do so is the best option. First and foremost, Tina isn¡¯t her biological


    daughter. Now that she¡¯s dragged Triforce Enterprise into such trouble, he has no choice but to cut ties


    with her.

 Chapter 360

    Chapter 360


    Chapter 360 Tina¡¯s Copse


    Secondly, everyone would no longer question him and would praise him for being righteous after he cuts


    ties with Tina and reveals her true identity. After all, he raised an orphan as his own daughter, yet she


    caused such harm toward him and Triforce Enterprise.


    Even people from the corporate world would not ostracize him, for raising an orphan to such an age was


    enough to prove that he¡¯s a faithful and righteous person.(get daily update on novelheart) He has no


    choice but to cut ties with her because she has gone too far. With that, people would pity him and


    approach him to form partnerships.


    Now, let¡¯s see if he¡¯ll reveal her true identity. Sonia narrowed her eyes at Titus in the video.


    At that moment, she realized that she had underestimated him.


    All this while, she thought that this was the end for Titus. Who knew that he had a secret weapon to get


    through such a crisis.


    As expected, she was still young and inexperienced to fight with an old fox who had many tricks up his


    sleeve.


    He had lived a few decades more than her. Thus, it was not unusual that he knew more tricks than her.


    At the hospital, Toby furrowed his brows and stared at Titus without saying a single word.


    Standing in one corner, Tom eximed, ¡°No way! He must have gone mad to cut ties with Tina right now!


    Theizens would praise him for doing a good job at sacrificing his family to uphold justice and


    righteousness. (get daily update on novelheart) However, they would be disgusted if he cuts ties


    with her right now because she¡¯s still his daughter, even if she¡¯s at fault. They would also withdraw their


    support for him as he¡¯s cruel enough to cut ties with her when she¡¯s in jail. As a result, the corporate


    world would never ept him. Is he crazy?¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not crazy. Look at him¡ªhe¡¯s calm and quiet. (get daily update on novelheart) It¡¯s the look


    of a person who¡¯s confident in solving a problem. Besides, that old fart couldn¡¯t have not thought of the


    things that you just mentioned. Yet, he went ahead with it, so this must mean there¡¯s something we don¡¯t


    know. It must be something that can help whitewash his deeds,¡± Toby uttered with pursed lips.


    Hearing this, Tom widened his eyes. ¡°You mean he has a trump card?¡±


    Toby raised his chin nomittally. ¡°We¡¯ll see. The reporters will help answer our doubts.¡±


    Sure enough, the reporters on site bombarded Titus with a series of sharp-edged questions as soon as


    they came back to their senses.


    ¡°President Gray, are you sure that you want to sever your rtionship with your daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± he replied.


    Then, the reporters asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s untimely and cruel for you to cut ties with her now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s your daughter, after all. Even if she has many wrongdoings, it¡¯s cold-blooded of you to cut


    ties with her right now. Are you doing this so that you won¡¯t be not involved?¡±


    As Titus looked at the reporters, he gripped the microphone and answered solemnly, ¡°I admit that I


    shouldn¡¯t have announced my severance with Tina at this point in time. However, I do not think that I¡¯m


    being cruel. On the contrary, I¡¯ve treated her quite fairly by raising her without asking for any repayment,


    so the least she could do was not cause the Grays and Triforce Enterprise such trouble. I¡¯m pretty sure


    everyone is aware of Triforce Enterprise¡¯s situation. To ensure that Triforce Enterprise continues to


    advance, I can only dere my severance with her because she¡¯s not my biological daughter!¡±


    The whole audience was shocked as soon as he made this statement.


    Upon hearing this, Tom gasped. ¡°Tina¡¯s not his biological daughter!¡±


    Meanwhile, a hint of surprise shed in Toby¡¯s eyes, but it soon disappeared.


    That¡¯s right. Before this, he had neglected an important issue¡ªTina and Rina¡¯s age.


    Tina¡¯s 26 years old, and so is Rina. This is impossible if they had the same mother because Mrs. Gray


    never had twins.


    Tina only started showing up at the Grays¡¯ Residence a year after Rina¡¯s ¡®death¡¯. Titus told everyone that


    she was Mrs. Gray¡¯s child because nobody suspected anything since a year had passed. However, her


    age didn¡¯t start when she started showing up at the Grays¡¯ Residence. (get daily update on


    novelheart) This point was missed by many as people paid little attention to her age. That¡¯s why


    many people didn¡¯t realize anything was wrong with Tina¡¯s identity.


    At the Bayside Residence, Sonia didn¡¯t seem surprised when Titus revealed Tina¡¯s identity because she


    had already guessed it.


    That was the only thing he could do to get out of this mess.


    In the Grays¡¯ mansion, Julia and Rina had also heard what Titus had said.


    Upon hearing it, Julia covered her face and cried.


    Meanwhile, Rina trembled with excitement.


    Tina¡¯s not Mom and Dad¡¯s biological daughter. And now, Dad has severed their father-daughter


    rtionship. This means that she can¡¯te back to the Gray Family even after being released from jail


    in the future. The Gray Family is mine alone now.


    Thinking about this, her heart raced. She would¡¯ve shouted with joy if it wasn¡¯t inappropriate to do so


    then.


    Then, she took a deep breath and suppressed the overwhelming joy inside her. Gazing at Julia, Rina


    pretended to be stunned. ¡°Mom, is Tina really not your daughter?¡±


    In response, Julia froze. Right after, she cried as she nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    The corner of Rina¡¯s mouth tugged upward as soon as she got her answer. Then, she hugged Julia. ¡°It¡¯s


    alright. I¡¯ll honor you and Dad as your daughter and in Tina¡¯s ce.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Rina¡­¡± Julia buried her face in Rina¡¯s shoulder and wept even harder.


    Last night, Titus had already told Julia that he would cut ties with Tina. Initially, she had objected to this


    decision, but he warned that they would go bankrupt if he didn¡¯t do so, so she had no choice but to give


    in.


    Hopefully, Tina understands. I¡¯ll take good care of her even when she¡¯s no longer a Gray after being


    released from jail.


    Tina was also watching the press conference from the detention center. The police specially approved it.


    She was dying to rush out of the detention center and kill Titus as she watched him announce cutting ties


    with her.


    He must think that I¡¯m clueless. He¡¯s only cutting ties so that he¡¯s no longer involved with me and won¡¯t


    get dragged down. (get daily update on novelheart) As expected, there¡¯s no long-term rtionship


    in this world, even if it¡¯s familial love, because one can be discarded at any time.


    Still, she was dumbfounded as she watched him announce that she wasn¡¯t his biological daughter.


    Right then, she would¡¯ve stood up immediately if she wasn¡¯t handcuffed in a wheelchair.


    I¡¯m not his biological daughter? How can this be? It¡¯s impossible! How can I not be his biological


    daughter?


    At once, her face turned pale. Shaking her head with hopelessness in her eyes, she couldn¡¯t bring


    herself to believe this.


    At the press conference site, the reporters pressed on even harder.


    ¡°President Gray, is what you just said true? Is Tina really not your and Mrs. Gray¡¯s biological daughter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any proof? Or did you say it just so you could disassociate yourself from her to protect


    yourself and Triforce Enterprise?¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense, and I have proof. Here.¡± Titus picked up a document from the table. ¡°Here are


    our paternity tests and the adoption papers from 25 years ago.¡±


    As he said this, he unfolded the document and showed it to the camera.


    With that, everyone could see the contents of the documents clearly. They were indeed the paternity test


    and adoption papers.


    Yet, someone contested, ¡°The paternity test and adoption procedures could be faked, so they can¡¯t be


    considered as evidence.¡±

 Chapter 361

    Chapter 361


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 361


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but mine is real evidence. Firstly, the adoption letter was issued by the police and


    orphanage, and their official seals are included. It can¡¯t be faked. Otherwise, it would be a vition of the


    law. I can¡¯t be that stupid to break thew, can I?¡± Titus uttered coldly while looking at the reporters.


    The reporters and the live audience were speechless. After all, it was true.


    If they were fake, Titus wouldn¡¯t have dared to tell the public about the police and orphanage¡¯s official


    seals. (Get daily updates on novelheart) He would be digging his own grave if the police and


    orphanage denied it.


    Perhaps it was really true that Tina wasn¡¯t his daughter.


    Right after, he added, ¡°Secondly, I can obtain approval from the police to do a live DNA test with Tina¡¯s


    blood.¡±


    It seemed that she was indeed not his biological daughter since he dared to do a paternity test.


    Quickly, the reporters replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. We trust you.¡±


    Meanwhile, at the detention center, Tina¡¯s mind went nk as she watched Titus present the adoption


    letter and offer to do a DNA test.


    At that moment, she couldn¡¯t deceive herself and say that she was Titus and Julia¡¯s biological daughter


    anymore.


    ¡°Aargh!¡± She broke down and yelled so loudly that it startled the police officer outside. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    they opened the door hurriedly and asked.


    Ignoring their concern, she red at the television in front with her face twisting into an ugly grimace.


    Why? Why am I not their biological daughter? Even so, why did he have to destroy my dignity and


    everything that I had by telling it to the whole world? (Get daily updates on novelheart) I will not


    have this!


    Trembling, she cried andughed like a madwoman.


    As soon as the police officer nced at the television, he knew why she acted that way. After giving her


    a sympathetic look, he closed the door and left.


    At the press conference, the reporters stared at Titus with pity.


    It was such a shame that his adopted daughter put him and Triforce Enterprise in such trouble.


    Those initially dissatisfied with his decision to cut ties with Tina were no longer disgruntled, while some


    were overwhelmed withment.


    If she had been her real daughter, he would¡¯ve been criticized for being heartless and affectionless for


    cutting her off at a time like this.


    However, things were different now that it had been proven that she wasn¡¯t his biological daughter.


    The Grays had done their best to raise their adopted daughter by providing her with a luxurious lifestyle.


    Besides, they never gave up on her when she broke thew the first time. They only gave up on her on


    her second offense.


    Hence, everyone could empathize with Titus¡¯ decision to cut her off this time.


    After all, as an adopted child, she should be grateful that the Grays did not ask her to pay back


    everything she enjoyed and had only cut ties with her after she caused such turmoil to the family that had


    raised her.


    Simrly, the big boys in the corporate world watching this press conference had initially thought that


    Titus was cruel and untrustworthy for cutting ties with Tina.


    Yet, they had changed their minds now as raising an abandoned child from the orphanage was enough


    to prove that he was a noble man. Hence, they decided not to withdraw from their partnerships with the


    Triforce Enterprise.


    In the hospital, Tom looked at Toby. ¡°Turns out Titus¡¯ trump card was to reveal Tina¡¯s identity and throw


    her to the wolves so that the Grays and Triforce Enterprise could get out of this mess. I have to say, this


    old fox sure is good.¡±


    ¡°How remarkable of him to make use of her remaining value. However, the Grays and Tina would be


    complete enemies now. With her twisted mind, I¡¯m pretty sure she won¡¯t let them off after being


    released,¡± Toby sneered.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Tom nodded in agreement. ¡°But Titus is so cunning, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯s thought of it. Maybe he¡¯ll


    see to it that she doesn¡¯t get released. ¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby tapped his fingers on the edge of the bed. ¡°If so, isn¡¯t it a good thing?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Tom smiled.


    As they thought of that, so did Sonia.


    Her thoughts were like Toby¡¯s; she¡¯d love to see how Titus would make sure that Tina would never get


    released if he was afraid that she might seek revenge.


    With that, I¡¯d have one less opponent to deal with. I¡¯d only have to deal with the Grays, she narrowed her


    eyes and thought.


    At the press conference, the reporters continued to bombard Titus with questions.


    ¡°President Gray, may I know why did you and Mrs. Gray adopt Miss Gray?¡±


    ¡°Did you know about my eldest daughter¡¯s return some time ago?¡± Titus questioned.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Hearing this, everyone nodded.


    Of course they knew. It caused quite an uproar then. After all, everyone thought that the Grays only had


    one daughter¡ªTina. Nobody expected the Grays to announce the return of their eldest daughter and


    dere that she was his and Julia¡¯s biological daughter.


    At that time, everybody was curious why he had to hide her, since she was his biological daughter, and


    make it publicly known right now.


    Are we going to get some answers now? Everyone stared at him with burning curiosity in their eyes.


    Then, he opened his mouth and said, ¡°My eldest daughter, Rina, was kidnapped and thrown into a river


    26 years ago. Right then, my wife and I thought that she had died, and it put my wife in a state of agony.


    (Get daily updates on novelheart) Hence, I adopted Tina from the orphanage to console her. It was


    only recently that we found out that Rina didn¡¯t die, so we got back in touch.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡± Everyone came to a sudden realization.


    After that, a reporter quizzed, ¡°Who kidnapped your eldest daughter and threw her into the river?¡±


    It was also a question that other reporters and the audience wanted to know.


    Essentially, they were most interested in the gossip of the wealthy¡ªespecially ones that involved crime.


    At the hospital, Tom furrowed his brows. ¡°He¡¯s talking about Miss Reed¡¯s father, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°Will he disclose it? If so, Miss Reed might face another round of cyberbullying.¡± Tom gazed at Toby


    worriedly.


    After all, her father kidnapped someone else¡¯s daughter and killed her by dumping her into a river. Such


    evil doing would definitely spark anger among theizens.


    All theizens¡¯ anger would be directed to Sonia since Henry had passed away, because to them, it


    was only right for a daughter to pay for her father¡¯s wrongdoings.


    If this happened, she would be cyberbullied far worse than before.


    Toby clenched his fists and stared at the television gloomily at the thought of this. ¡°He won¡¯t tell. He


    doesn¡¯t have the guts.¡±


    Tom was puzzled. ¡°Why would you say so?¡±


    ¡°If he did, the police would definitely investigate what happened then. Things he did to build Triforce


    Enterprise, such as scheming to steal Paradigm Co.¡¯stest research and forcing a researcher to his


    death, would be brought to the surface again. It would put him at a disadvantage. To outsiders, Rina¡¯s


    fine now, but the researcher is already dead.¡± The corner of his mouth curved into a sarcastic smile.


    ¡°I see.¡± Tom nodded.


    As expected, it was just as Toby had said. Other than expressing great hatred for the kidnapper, he had


    no intention of answering the question truthfully.


    ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s been more than 20 years. Let¡¯s not mention it. The person who kidnapped Rina¡¯s dead


    anyway,¡± Titus hinted.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead?!¡± The reporters were shocked.

 Chapter 362

    Chapter 362


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 362


    Titus nodded his head. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s dead, but I¡¯ll never forget this. Though he¡¯s dead, his daughter is still


    alive. It¡¯s only right for her to pay for her father¡¯s wrongdoings. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll receive her karma!¡±


    Hearing this, Sonia clenched her fists and remarked coldly, ¡°Oh? I¡¯d love to see who will receive their


    karma¡ªme or you.¡±


    Indeed, Dad shouldn¡¯t have kidnapped Rina and thrown her into the river. However, it was Titus who


    caused it. Dad wouldn¡¯t have done it if Titus hadn¡¯t stolen our research and development technology and


    forced the researcher to his death. Besides, Dad didn¡¯t kill Rina. The actual Rina¡¯s well alive somewhere


    else. Titus is so shameless to put all the me on Dad right now! (Get daily updates on novelheart)


    However, Sonia sighed in relief as Titus did not mention that Henry was the one who kidnapped Rina.


    Otherwise, she couldn¡¯t imagine what she would have to face next.


    She was afraid that Titus would reveal it when he mentioned that it happened 26 years ago.


    Now, she had nothing to worry about.


    At the press conference, the reporters seemed dissatisfied with Titus¡¯s answer. After all, it was


    maddening that he aroused their curiosity yet refused to clear things up.


    Hence, they continued to ask, ¡°How did the murderer die? Why did he kidnap your eldest daughter 26


    years ago? Was there a specific reason?¡±


    Frowning, he answered coldly, ¡°This matter saddens me greatly, so I¡¯m not going to answer those


    questions. Besides, I¡¯m really tired right now, (Get daily updates on novelheart) and I¡¯ve said what I


    needed to, so let¡¯s end the press conference here. One more thing¡ªnow that we¡¯ve cut ties with Tina,


    she¡¯s no longer part of the Grays, so I hope you won¡¯t vent your disgruntlement toward my family and


    Triforce Enterprise. Thank you.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he put down the microphone and bowed sincerely at the camera.


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Right after, thements starteding on the live stream.


    ¡®Of course. Tina is Tina and the Grays are the Grays. I won¡¯t criticize the Grays and Triforce Enterprise


    anymore. Don¡¯t worry.¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s right. Now, we know that she¡¯s nothing but an ungrateful brat. She¡¯s rotten because of her


    biological parents¡¯ poor gics. I can¡¯t believe she hurt you like this after you raised her so well. I can¡¯t


    express how much I sympathize with you. Why would I ever go against you and Triforce Enterprise?¡¯


    ¡®I agree.¡¯


    ¡®Me too.¡¯¡¯


    Seeing thesements, Tina nearly had a rage ckout. (Get daily updates on novelheart)


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Toby wereughing sarcastically. What a genius way to whitewash himself.


    At the press conference, Titus could already guess what the situation was like though he couldn¡¯t see the


    comments. At that moment, his eyes glinted with victory, and he straightened his back as he let the


    company¡¯s bodyguards escort the reporters out.


    Soon, the conference room became quiet, and only Titus was left.


    After turning off the live stream, he finally rxed as he sat on the chair at the corner of the room.


    When he visited Tina yesterday, he discovered what she had done and found out that she did notmit


    her crime during her probation period but before. Now that it had been exposed with substantial


    supporting evidence, he was sure that she would have to go to jail this time.


    Once her sentence was passed and announced to the media, Triforce Enterprise and the Grays would


    have to face a lethal blow. Hence, he had to discuss with Julia about cutting ties with Tina when things


    weren¡¯t too serious yet.


    Of course, Julia objected to this idea and scolded him for being too cruel.


    How am I cruel? I¡¯ve raised Tina for more than 20 years, so it¡¯s impossible to have no feelings, but I can


    only choose to abandon her for the sake of the Grays and Triforce Enterprise. Too bad she¡¯s not my


    biological daughter; things would¡¯ve been different if she was. Anyway, I¡¯ve treated her quite fairly by


    raising her for more than 20 years. Asking her to pay back now isn¡¯t too much to ask!


    ¡°President Gray.¡± Keiran came in through the door and spoke hesitantly.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Speak!¡± Titus furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Erm¡­ Director Walker wants you to attend the Board of Directors¡¯ meeting,¡± Keiran replied carefully.


    Immediately, Titus¡¯ face changed. ¡°What? He¡¯s holding a Board of Directors¡¯ meeting?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Keiran nodded. ¡°He said you must attend.¡±


    Trembling with anger, he red at Keiran. ¡°I¡¯ve already held a press conference. The world now knows


    Tina¡¯s real identity and what she has done. Hence, they would no longer take out their anger on Triforce


    Enterprise, and thepany will recover very soon. So why do they still want me to attend the Board of


    Directors¡¯ meeting? Are they trying to steal my position?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Keiran lowered his head, afraid to look at Titus. ¡°Director Walker said they no longer trust you


    even so. Even with Young Miss Gray gone, there¡¯s still Elder Miss Gray. Coming from the countryside,


    she¡¯s inherently crude, but if you groom her, she¡¯ll be a second Young Miss Gray and bring trouble


    to Triforce enterprise.¡±


    ¡°What? I can¡¯t believe they said that. They¡­ They¡­¡± Titus was so overwhelmed with anger that he


    couldn¡¯t breathe. All of a sudden, his eyes rolled back, and he fell on the table with a loud thud.


    Startled, Keiran hurriedly asked for help and called an ambnce to send him to the hospital.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was unaware of all of this. She dressed Dous up and brought him downstairs to


    have breakfast at a caf¨¦ nearby. Later, she drove to the hospital to return the Ocean¡¯s Heart to Toby.


    As soon as she reached the hospital, she saw an ambnce approaching and stopping at the entrance.


    Afraid of blocking the way and dying the patient¡¯s rescue time, she quickly pulled Dous to the side.


    Several medical staff carrying a stretcher ran toward the hospital entrance.


    When they passed by her, she nced at the stretcher casually.


    It was then that she realized that it was someone she knew¡ªTitus Gray.


    She frowned. What happened? Why is Titus here for emergency first aid? He seemed fine before the live


    stream ended. What happened?


    ¡°Aunt Sonia?¡± As she was deep in thoughts, a childish voice interrupted her all of a sudden.


    Shaking her hand, he asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t we going in? The people from the ambnce have already gone


    inside.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in now.¡± She smiled and patted his head. With that, she brought him into the hospital.


    Whatever, I can¡¯t be bothered to care what happened to him. It has nothing to do with me anyway.


    However, she was quite happy to see him in such a state. (Get daily updates on novelheart)


    Soon, they reached the intensive care unit.


    Through the ss, she saw that the person inside was not Toby but another patient. She couldn¡¯t help


    but freeze. ¡°Where¡¯s Toby?¡±


    Was he discharged?


    In the intensive care unit, Tim was adjusting the patient¡¯s drip. As soon as he saw Sonia from the corner


    of his eye, he frowned. Quickly, he finished what he was doing and went out.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Tim asked with hands in the pockets of his white coat.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for Toby. Has he been discharged?¡± she replied.


    ¡°No. He was transferred into the general ward. It¡¯s also on this floor. It¡¯s the one that you stayed in


    before.¡± He shrugged.


    Toby had strongly requested it.


    When he woke up, he requested that that general ward be left empty, and he would not allow any other


    patient to use it as he wanted to be transferred to it from the intensive care unit.


    After all, she had stayed in it before. That way, he felt that he was living with her in a way.


    ¡°I see.¡± She nodded, expressing that she understood.


    ¡°Are we visiting Mr. Toby, who yed games with us at the restaurant previously and pretended to be my


    father?¡± Dous looked up at her and asked.


    ¡°Yup,¡± she confirmed.


    It was only then that Tim realized that there was a child behind her. Slightly surprised, he inquired,


    ¡°Who¡¯s this kid?¡±

 Chapter 363

    Chapter 363


    Chapter 363 Jean¡¯s Selfishness


    ¡°He¡¯s Zane¡¯s nephew. Something came up with his family, so Zane asked me to take care of him for two


    days,¡± Sonia squeezed Dous¡¯ chubby hands and exined.


    A child¡¯s hand is so satisfying to hold. It¡¯s so chubby andfortable to squeeze. Thinking that, she


    couldn¡¯t help but squeeze his hand again.


    Coming to a sudden realization, Tim lifted his chin. ¡°Alright. Go and look for Toby. I still have to examine


    this patient. See youter.¡±


    ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± She nodded before leading Dous to the ward she stayed in before.


    As soon as she reached the ward, the door opened.


    When Jean walked out, she saw Sonia and froze. Then, Jean¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°Why is it you?¡±


    Sonia never thought that she would bump into her former evil mother-inw. Raising her eyebrows, she


    asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t it be me?¡±


    ¡°This is Toby¡¯s ward. You¡¯re noting here to get back with him, are you?¡± Jean snorted.


    Hearing this, Soniaughed. ¡°Get back with him? Why would I get back with him? Is he someone


    popr? Even if he is, I¡¯d never get back with him, with you being such a troublesome mother-inw.¡±


    ¡°How dare you criticize me!¡± Jean red at Sonia.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t criticising you. I was only telling the truth. Look at you: You caused your husband to be served


    by the familyw as soon as you became a Fuller. What are you, if not a troublemaker?¡± Sonia smirked.


    When Jean heard this, her face turned grim all of a sudden.


    This no doubt surprised Sonia because she thought that Jean would be angry when she made such a


    remark.


    Yet, Jean kept quiet instead and seemed really upset.


    Was she upset because she was the reason her husband got served, or was she upset because he


    passed away?


    Perhaps both were true, but this was not what Sonia was most curious about. She was more curious


    about why Jean treated Toby so well.


    After all, Jean seemed like an evil stepmother no matter how one looked at it, but she was surprisingly a


    good one. If Rose hadn¡¯t told Sonia, Sonia wouldn¡¯t have even doubted that Toby was Jean¡¯s son


    because Jean treated him no differently than she treated Tyler.


    Not to mention that Jean was simply an ordinary person. Even an educated and wealthy person may not


    necessarily raise a first wife¡¯s children like her own. Yet, Jean treated Toby like her own child. There must


    be a reason for it.


    However, it didn¡¯t matter what the reason was because it was none of Sonia¡¯s business. She couldn¡¯t


    bring herself to ask even if she was curious.


    Then, she rubbed in between her brows. ¡°Alright, Mrs. Fuller. Let¡¯s not waste time. I came here to return


    this to Toby. Please pass the message to him. Thank you.¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Suddenly, Jean came back to her senses and lowered her head to nce at the delicate bag. Soon, she


    returned to her peculiar self and uttered, ¡°Wow! Such nice packaging. It must be a present for him. Why


    did you lie that you¡¯re not trying to get back with him?¡±


    In response, Sonia rolled her eyes. Whatever. It¡¯s a waste of time talking to people like her.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m not going in, so please pass it to him.¡± As Sonia said this, she shoved the bag into Jean¡¯s


    hands and left with Dous.


    As Jean watched the big and small figure disappear into the distance, she pouted. ¡°Ugh! I¡¯m not going to


    give it to Toby! I¡¯ll throw it away once I see what¡¯s inside!¡±


    She¡¯s thinking of bribing him with a gift in order to get back with him. No way am I letting that happen!


    Rudely, she tore open the bag and took out the box from inside.


    The box was delicate, just like the bag. Besides, she could tell that it was a jewelry box at one nce.


    That must mean there¡¯s jewelry inside.


    She found it unusual and couldn¡¯t understand why Sonia gifted Toby jewelry. It was usually the men who


    gifted women jewelry.


    Women would usually give things like watches, ties, and cufflinks, but these things weren¡¯t supposed to


    be kept in jewelry boxes.


    ¡°How mysterious. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s inside,¡± she muttered as she opened the box.


    As soon as she opened the box, the dazzling blue light almost blinded her eyes.


    When she could finally see what was in the box clearly, she took a deep breath and closed the box


    quickly, then she looked around with her heart racing.


    It¡¯s the Ocean¡¯s Heart! She gulped, unable to believe that she was holding such a precious ne.


    At that moment, she felt that her right hand was exceptionally heavy.


    How could it not be heavy? The Ocean¡¯s Heart is worth hundreds of millions!


    The reason why she knew it was the Ocean¡¯s Heart was because she had seen it at Toby¡¯s house


    before. Three months ago, he won it at an auction and used it as an engagement gift for Tina.


    Right then, Jean was particrly upset as Toby had never gifted her such expensive jewelry, but she


    later thought that since Tina would be a Fuller soon, she would bring the Ocean¡¯s Heart back. By


    then, if Jean were to ask Tina to give it to her, Tina would never refuse.


    Yet, Tina never married him, and Sonia got away with the Ocean¡¯s Heart. At that time, Jean was so


    furious that she wanted Sonia to return it, but Toby stopped her. As time passed, Jean soon forgot about


    it.


    However, Jean never thought that Sonia would return it and that it would end up in her hands.


    Can I keep it for myself? He doesn¡¯t know she came by anyway.


    Besides, she was unwilling to hand over the Ocean¡¯s Heart. With his feelings for Sonia, he would


    definitely want her to keep it if he got the ne back. Then, he would find a chance to give it back to


    her.


    Thus, she decided not to give it to Toby¡ªfinders, keepers.


    As she thought of that, she stuffed the box into her pocket happily and went back inside the ward.


    Unlike two days ago when Toby could only lie on the bed, he could already sit up by now.


    Right then, he was leaning against the head of the bed with a tablet in his hands. He was reading a


    financial report when he heard the sound of footsteps, so he turned his head to see. ¡°Mom, haven¡¯t you


    gone back?¡±


    ¡°I forgot my phone.¡± She pointed at the phone by the bed.


    Toby simply acknowledged.


    With that, she walked in that direction and picked up her phone. ¡°Toby, did anyone say that they¡¯ll be


    visiting you today?¡±


    Though he doesn¡¯t know that she dropped by earlier, she wouldn¡¯t havee without telling him


    beforehand. If so, then the Ocean¡¯s Heart¡­


    ¡°Nope. Why do you ask?¡± He narrowed his eyes at her. His deep dark eyes looked as if he could see


    through her.


    Afraid that he might sense that she was hiding something, she lowered her eyelids andughed. ¡°Oh,


    nothing. I was just wondering why none of your friends came by to visit you ever since you got admitted.


    I was only asking out of curiosity. If nobody¡¯sing, then forget it.¡±


    Immediately, a sense of relief filled her.


    It looks like Sonia didn¡¯t tell him that she wasing in advance. The Ocean¡¯s Heart is really mine now.


    She couldn¡¯t help butugh at the thought of this.


    He raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling that she was acting a little strange.


    Without asking further, he lowered his head and continued reading his report.


    She didn¡¯t stay for long and left after taking her phone as she was in a hurry to go home to try on the


    Ocean¡¯s Heart in front of her mirror.


    I¡¯ll definitely look gorgeous wearing the beautiful Ocean¡¯s Heart.


    Meanwhile, Sonia drove to Paradigm Co. and brought Dous along. Surprised, Daphne stared at him


    and asked, ¡°Is he your son, President Reed?¡±

 Chapter 364

    Chapter 364


    Chapter 364 Twelve Years Ago


    The edges of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°You don¡¯t know whether I have a son or not?¡±


    Daphne shed her an awkward smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Reed. I was just stunned for a moment.


    Don¡¯t be mad.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not angry. This is my friend¡¯s nephew, Dous,¡± she said, pushing Dous gently in front of


    Daphne. ¡°Say hi to Miss Daphne, Dous.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Daphne,¡± Dous said, bowing politely.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Daphne answered, and her heart almost melted at the sight of him. This little guy is simply too


    adorable! ¡°I have sweets for you!¡± Suddenly, she remembered that she had stuffed two candies into her


    pocket before leaving the house this morning, so she hurriedly took them out and handed them to him.


    Instead of taking the candies from her, Dous lifted his head and looked at Sonia, who nodded to him


    gently. With her approval, he took the candies from Daphne. ¡°Thank you, Miss Daphne.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Seeing that he had epted her candies, Daphne smiled so brightly that her eyes


    crinkled up.


    Meanwhile, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but raise her brows because this was the first time she had seen her


    smile so brightly. Within thepany, Daphne was nicknamed The Decimator. In other words, she was


    dressed in old-fashioned clothes and wore a pair of rustic ck-rimmed sses. In addition, she was


    usually expressionless, which made her appear very fierce, and so that was how her nickname came


    about.


    Now that she saw how Daphne was smiling, a smile spread across her own face as well. It¡¯s true that


    even a serious person couldn¡¯t resist an adorable kid. ¡°Daphne, pass me today¡¯s itinerary.¡± Then, she


    took Dous¡¯ hand and led him to the couch in her office.


    Trailing behind them, Daphne hurriedly flipped open the folder she was always carrying and passed the


    itinerary to Sonia.


    After taking it from her, Sonia nced through it and said, ¡°Besides the appointment in the afternoon, the


    other appointments will go through as scheduled.¡±


    ¡°I got it,¡± Daphne answered with a nod, then Sonia returned the itinerary to her.


    ¡°Alright, you can leave now and buy Dous some snacks and toys.¡±


    ncing at Dous, Daphne agreed dly. ¡°Sure, President Reed. I¡¯ll be back soon after shopping.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Sonia replied and carried Dous onto the couch after she left. ¡°Dous, stay here and watch


    TV while I work over there, alright?¡±


    ¡°Okay, Aunt Sonia. Go ahead and do your job. I can y by myself,¡± he said obediently, sitting on the


    couch and kicking his legs.


    Stroking his head, Sonia said, ¡°You¡¯re such a good boy. Here¡¯s the remote control. Call me if you need


    anything.¡± With that, she retracted her hand and turned toward her desk.


    She had just reached her desk when her cell phone in her handbag started to ring. Pulling out her chair,


    she then fished out her cell phone and checked it. When she saw that it was a call from the police


    station, she immediately picked it up. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed. I¡¯m calling from the police station.¡±


    ¡°Yes, hello,¡± she answered.


    The person on the other end said, ¡°It¡¯s about Tina Gray¡¯s sentence. It has already been announced.¡±


    ¡°How many years?¡± Hearing that, Sonia quickly straightened her back and asked.


    Even though she didn¡¯t know why Tina was sentenced so quickly, it didn¡¯t matter to her as long as she


    received punishment.


    ¡°Three years,¡± the other person replied. ¡°But¡­¡±


    With a frown, Sonia asked, ¡°But what?¡± She had a bad feeling about this.


    ¡°But due to the fact that Tina Gray has yet to fully recover, she has to serve her sentence in the hospital


    for a month and will be monitored by the police round the clock. A monthter, she¡¯ll be transferred to the


    women¡¯s prison.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Nodding in a daze, she let out a relieved sigh. I thought there was going to be a problem, but


    she¡¯s just serving her sentence outside of the prison. That¡¯s still eptable.


    This scenario was within her expectations. It was a fact that Tina¡¯s injuries were too serious and wouldn¡¯t


    heal within a short period. On the other hand, the police would like to uphold human rights, and they


    definitely wouldn¡¯t send her to prison when she had yet to heal from her injuries.


    ¡°I got it. Thanks,¡± Sonia said with a smile.


    After that, she put down her phone and let out a deep, long breath. This is great. The dust has finally


    settled on Tina¡¯s case. Now, I can focus on getting back at the Grays.


    As for whether Tina would seek revenge three yearster, she would leave it until then because she


    believed that she would have be so influential and strong at that time that Tina wouldn¡¯t even have


    the guts to seek revenge. With that thought in mind, she smirked and opened a folder as she started to


    work.


    At the hospital, Tom informed Toby of Tina¡¯s sentence, but he didn¡¯t react greatly to that. Staring at his


    laptop, he said indifferently, ¡°After she has served her sentence outside prison, bribe a bunch of female


    prisoners to give her a warm greeting once she¡¯s in there.¡±


    ¡°I got it,¡± Tom replied, adjusting his sses on the bridge of his nose. Then, he remembered something,


    and his expression turned serious. ¡°Also, the investigation team finally found some problems with your


    car ident, President Fuller.¡±


    Hearing that, Toby closed hisptop and turned toward Tom. ¡°Who was it?¡± he asked in a bone-chilling


    voice.


    ¡°They¡¯re not sure, but they¡¯re sure that it was the same group of people who murdered Old Master Fuller


    twelve years ago,¡± Tom answered.


    Toby held his fists tightly; he used so much force that his knuckles cracked, and the veins on the back of


    his palm popped. Twelve years ago, his father, Homer Fuller, went on a business trip abroad and was


    found murdered in his hotel room. From then on, he had been investigating the murderer in secret, but to


    no avail.


    The only thing he could be sure was, the murderer was not from a regr background; otherwise, it


    would be impossible for them to remain hidden while he had been investigating for twelve years long. But


    now, he had been set up by the murderer before he could even find him, and this proved that he was


    targeted by the murderer.


    He wasn¡¯t so worried about his own safety. What worried him the most was the safety of his family. After


    all, the murderer was hidden in the dark while they were out in the open. If the murderer really had their


    eyes on his grandmother and others, it would be difficult to guard against their attacks because nobody


    knew when they would make their move!All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    At the thought of this, he narrowed his cold eyes. ¡°Go to the securitypany under our group and


    deploy two squadrons. Spread them out around my grandmother, Tyler, and the rest to protect them in


    secret.¡±


    It was apparent to Tom why he wanted to do this, so he nodded. ¡°Yes, President Fuller!¡±


    ¡°Go now,¡± Toby said, waving his hand, whereupon Tom left the room.


    With his head lowered, the expression on his face was hidden, and so was the thought in his mind. A few


    secondster, he picked up his cell phone suddenly and called Rose¡¯s number. ¡°Grandma, I want to ask


    you about Dad¡¯s death¡­¡±


    When it waste afternoon, Sonia, who was finally finished with her work, stretched before pacing toward


    the couch.


    On the couch, Dous was snuggled under a small nket and sleeping soundly. His lips twitched, and


    the edges still had some chocte stain on them, making him look very adorable and amusing at the


    same time.


    Sonia took a seat next to him and pulled out a piece of wet towel from the coffee table. Then, she wiped


    the corner of his lips gently.


    Feeling her touch, Dous woke up and blinked at her while calling out sweetly, ¡°Aunt Sonia!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± she asked, holding him up.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he replied and saw the stained wet towel in her hands. Embarrassed, he wriggled and said, ¡°I


    can do it myself, Aunt Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Do it yourself, then.¡± Noticing his embarrassment, she handed him the towel with a chuckle.


    While wiping his own face, he asked, ¡°Are you finished with work?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m preparing to leave now,¡± she answered with a nod.


    Dous tossed the dirty towel into the bin. ¡°I¡¯m going to the bathroom. Wait for me, Aunt Sonia. I¡¯ll be


    quick.¡± Then, he jumped off the couch and scurried away to the washroom.

 Chapter 365

    Chapter 365


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 365


    Watching his tiny figure from the back, Sonia smiled even wider, and soon, he returned from the


    washroom. He even showed his hands to her so she could check if he had cleaned it. After she


    complimented him, saying that he had cleaned it well, only then did he drop his hands happily.


    They left Paradigm Co. and she drove home to Bayside Residence together with him. In the midst of


    making dinner, she realized that she had run out of salt in the kitchen and wanted to buy some from the


    convenience store in the neighborhood.


    Taking off her apron, she walked out of the kitchen and spoke to Dous, who was watching TV on the


    couch in the living room. ¡°Dous, I¡¯m going downstairs to buy some salt. Be good and stay at home,


    then open the door for me when I¡¯m backter, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure, Aunt Sonia,¡± he replied, spinning his head around.


    ¡°Good boy.¡± She walked toward the door, and he followed to send her out.


    After putting on shoes, she recalled something and reminded Dous, ¡°Also, regardless if I¡¯m the person


    who presses the doorbellter, you shouldn¡¯t open the door straight away. Use the inte camera to


    check the person outside the door. Do you get it?¡±


    What if someone elsees while I¡¯m out? I am worried, having a child alone at home.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aunt Sonia. I know what to do.¡± Standing on the step at the entrance, he waved goodbye to


    Sonia, who stroked his small head before heading out.


    After she bought the salt, the sky had turned even darkerpared to the time when she left the


    apartment. With the salt in her hand, she walked toward her apartment building on the street, which


    seemed especially quiet without many people around. This was basically dinner time for the people in


    the neighborhood and not the time for evening walks yet.


    Sonia walked for a while, and suddenly, she felt someone following her. Stopping in her tracks, she


    turned around and looked behind, but she didn¡¯t see anyone or anything.


    With a frown, she wondered, Was it just my illusion? Without pondering over it further, she turned her


    head around and continued walking forward. I¡¯ll reach my apartment building after passing by this


    building.


    However, barely a few stepster, she once again felt that someone was stalking her. This time, she was


    sure that it wasn¡¯t her own illusion anymore; somebody was really following her because she heard the


    sounds of footsteps. Although it was light, she had really heard it.


    Her body turned stiff as her hands and feet started to turn cold, but she dared not stop and quickened


    her pace instead. Unexpectedly, the footsteps behind her sped up as well because she could hear the


    sounds of the footsteps bing heavy and hurried.


    She didn¡¯t know who was following her nor what motive this person had; all she knew was that it couldn¡¯t


    be anything good. In addition, the sounds of those footsteps sent panic and fear through her.


    Her scalp was tingling numb, and she had goosebumps all over her body; besides, her hand that was


    holding the salt had turned mmy. Even her legs were shaking and turning into jelly.


    She didn¡¯t want to stay outside anymore; she just wanted to get back to her apartment as quickly as


    possible. Only then could she escape from the person behind her and feel safe.


    At the thought of this, her pace broke into a sprint, and she dashed toward her apartment building.


    Despite that, the person behind gave chase, and she could hear the distance drawing closer between


    them.


    I can¡¯t out-run this person! she realized and panicked. ¡°Help! Somebody¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish, a thick stick raised behind her and hit her hard on her head.


    Wham!


    A crisp sound echoed, and Sonia felt a sharp pain on the back of her head. Then, she rolled her eyes


    and passed out on the spot.


    Staring at Sonia, who was slumped on the ground, the person seemed to be in shock and staggered


    backward. Energy drained from those tightened hands, and the thick stick in those hands fell to the


    ground with a loud ng.


    Hearing this sound, the person felt weak and crumpled to the ground, breathing heavily as their body


    quivered. With a hat, mask, and sunnies on, the person¡¯s hair and face was covered tightly while they


    wore oversized clothes to hide their figure beneath. Even the shoes this person was wearing were sport


    shoes which were clearly heightened.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Under such a disguise, nobody could tell if this was a man or a woman.


    After a while, this person seemed to have awakened from their shock and panic, speaking in a voice


    which was neither feminine nor masculine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I really am¡­¡±


    With that, the person scrambled up, held Sonia under their arms, and dragged her toward the apartment


    building in front of them until they were inside the emergency stairwell of the building. Dropping Sonia,


    they then closed the door and took a deep breath before whisking out a small fruit knife from the pocket


    of their jacket.


    Lowering their body next to her, the person raised their left hand with the palm side up. Then, they pulled


    out the knife from the sheath and drew it closer to her wrist slowly. The whole while, this person¡¯s hand


    was shivering, showing just how nervous they were. Within seconds, the tip of the knife reached the red


    mole on Sonia¡¯s wrist.


    Behind the sunnies, they shut their eyes and took a deep breath. With a surge of determination, they


    pierced the knife into her skin and cut out the red mole with the tip of the knife little by little.


    The whole process took about ten minutes.


    After making sure that the red mole was gone from her wrist and only a patch of bloody mess was in its


    ce, the person let out a sigh of relief, whereupon they picked up the sheath and slid the knife back in


    without even cleaning it. Then, they quickly fled from the scene.


    Barely a few seconds had passed after this person had left when Sonia¡¯s phone started to ring, but she


    had already passed out, so of course she couldn¡¯t pick it up.


    Meanwhile, in her apartment, Dous listened intently on his smartwatch, but nobody picked up his call,


    and his little brows knitted tightly together. When the call reached a dead dial tone, he murmured, ¡°It¡¯s


    been so long. Why isn¡¯t Aunt Sonia back yet?¡±


    He had been to the convenience store before. It was on the ground floor of the third building, and he


    remembered very well that it wasn¡¯t far from here because Sonia had brought him there to buy milk in the


    morning.


    It¡¯s been so long, he thought. Aunt Sonia should be back by now, but she¡¯s still not back yet, and she


    didn¡¯t even pick up her phone. Where exactly did she go? Worried, he decided to wait for her downstairs


    and hopped off the couch. After switching off the TV, he grabbed the ess card on the coffee table and


    left the apartment.


    Two minutester, he reached the ground floor. First, he stood at the entrance of the building and peered


    outside, trying to see if Sonia was around. At this time, there was already a growing number of people


    around the neighborhood. These were the people who were out for an evening walk after they already


    had their dinner.


    When he didn¡¯t see any signs of Sonia after peering around, he called her number again, and exactly at


    the same time, a phone rang. He immediately recognized that as Sonia¡¯s ringtone because he had heard


    it in her office during daytime.


    Delight washed over his face, and he turned toward the source of the ringtone. Even when he saw that it


    wasing from the emergency stairwell, he ran forward happily without any hesitation.


    However, when he reached the emergency stairwell and saw Sonia on the ground, his face froze and he


    broke into tears. ¡°Aunt Sonia¡­¡±


    Outside, Charles had just entered the building holding a huge bag of freshly picked pears, thinking to


    surprise Sonia with it, but he stopped in his tracks upon hearing Dous¡¯ cries.


    What¡¯s happening? Why is a child crying? And he¡¯s crying while calling his aunt¡­ Has there been an


    ident? Charles thought and marched over while asking loudly, ¡°Hey, kid, do you need help?¡±


    In the stairwell, Dous stopped crying when he heard him. Sniffling, he answered anxiously, ¡°Sir,


    please save my aunt!¡±


    Just as I had thought, there has been an ident! Charles thought and quickened his pace. Within a


    couple of steps, he was in the stairwell as well, and just when he was about to ask what happened to


    Dous¡¯ aunt, he saw Sonia lying on the floor. Instantly, his face fell, and the bag of pears in his hand


    scattered across the floor. ¡°Darling!¡±

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    Chapter 366


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 366


    Initially, he thought that one of the residents in the building had an ident, but he didn¡¯t expect that the


    person he would see was Sonia. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to ask who Dous was, and neither was he


    curious as to why he was addressing her as his aunt. He immediately rushed in to check Sonia¡¯s


    condition, and he realized things were bad after taking a look at her.


    Not only was her wrist cut and there was a pool of fresh blood beside her, what was more serious was


    that there was a big bump on the back of her head!


    Knowing that he shouldn¡¯t wait a second longer, Charles picked her up from the floor. ¡°Hey, kid, I¡¯m


    bringing my darling to the hospital, and you¡¯reing with us!¡±


    There were still many questions he had to ask this kid.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Dous replied, bobbing his head.


    Holding Sonia in his arms, Charles dashed out of the stairwell and out of the neighborhood with Dous


    trailing behind with all his might, running with his little legs.


    In the car, Charles found the nearest hospital with the help of the navigation system and sent Sonia


    there. Ten minutester, she was rushed into the emergency room.


    Only then did the both of them breathe a sigh of relief and waited anxiously on the bench.


    While waiting, Charles turned to Dous. ¡°Hey, kid, where¡¯s your family and what¡¯s your parents¡¯


    number? I¡¯ll give them a call lest they worry about you.¡±


    ¡°My parents are in the military, and my uncle sent me to stay with Aunt Sonia,¡± Dous replied.


    Hearing him address Sonia as ¡®Aunt Sonia¡¯, Charles felt very uneasy, so he asked with a frown, ¡°Why are


    you calling my darling your aunt? Who¡¯s your uncle? He¡¯s so thick-skinned!¡±


    Could it be Toby Fuller? But I¡¯ve not heard that he¡¯s an uncle, he thought.


    When Dous heard Charles criticizing his own uncle, he pouted his lips. ¡°My uncle is Zane Coleman!¡±


    Stunned at first, Charles then cried out angrily, ¡°What? Your uncle is that annoying guy, Zane?!¡± Damn,


    that annoying jerk actually sent his nephew to Sonia and even told him to address her as his aunt.


    Hmph, his motives are so obvious that everyone could tell! This is more than thick-skinned; he¡¯s just


    purely shameless! ¡°Give your uncle a call quickly and tell him to bring you home,¡± he said in a huff. ¡°What


    the heck! Why didn¡¯t he take care of his own nephew and let my darling do it instead?¡±


    Swinging his little legs, Dous said in a sorry voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. My uncle is away on a business trip


    and not in Seafield.¡±


    Charles knitted his brows. ¡°What? He ran away?¡±


    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t! He¡¯s just away on a business trip!¡± Dous corrected.


    Waving his hand in frustration, Charles said, ¡°I don¡¯t care why he went away, but from my point of view,


    he just ran away. Since he had run away, then I¡¯ll settle this score with him when he returns. As for


    you¡­¡± He stared at Dous for a few seconds. In the end, he sighed in defeat. ¡°Forget it. What can I


    possibly do to a little guy like you? Alright, Little Doug. Tell me how my darling got hurt,¡± he said with a


    serious expression.


    Like a miniature adult, the expression on Dous¡¯ face turned equally serious. ¡°I don¡¯t know, either. Aunt


    Sophia said that she was going out to buy salt, but she didn¡¯te back after a long while. So, I went


    downstairs to look for her and gave her a call. Then, I discovered that her cell phone was ringing in the


    stairwell. When I went over to take a look, she was already in that state.¡±


    Charles¡¯ fists tightened after he heard it. ¡°Looks like I need to make a trip to Bayside Residence and


    check the surveince tapes.¡±


    Sonia had been attacked on her head, resulting in such a huge bump, and together with her cut wrist, it


    all obviously showed that someone had hurt her with intent. Still, it couldn¡¯t be considered as murder.


    If murder was the objective, Sonia¡¯s wrist wouldn¡¯t have been cut that way. He had seen the cut on her


    wrist: It was circr in size with a very small surface¡ªabout the size of a peanut¡ªand it wasn¡¯t deep,


    either.


    Therefore, if someone wanted to murder her by cutting her wrist, the cut would have been a deep,


    straight line. Only then could the cut reach the artery and cause profuse bleeding. So, the person who


    injured Sonia was definitely not after her life. Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t they cut her artery directly?


    In addition, there was only one hit to her head. If murder was the intent, there would have been more hits


    on the head even without cutting the wrists as it would only be possible to kill someone with a few more


    strikes to the head, but the perpetrator didn¡¯t do that.


    Besides, Sonia¡¯s clothes were neat, and she didn¡¯t look like she had been vited. So, what exactly was


    the motive of the perpetrator?


    Regardless of what the motive was, he had to get to the bottom of it and find out who the person was so


    he could get payback.


    Then, he called a nurse over to watch over Dous. After all, he was going to Bayside Residence, so he


    was worried about leaving Dous alone since it would be a hassle to bring him along. Hence, he just


    asked someone to take care of him.


    ¡°Kid, stay here while I investigate this matter. Once my darlinges out of the ER, give me a call


    immediately,¡± Charles said, looking at the smartwatch on Dous¡¯ wrist as he wrote down his number for


    him.


    Taking over the number from him, Dous gave him a firm nod. ¡°I got it. Go ahead, sir, and be sure to


    catch the bad guy.¡±


    Chuckling, Charles couldn¡¯t help but stroke his head. ¡°Okay, just based on these words you just said,


    you¡¯re already a more likable person than that guy, Zane. Alright, I¡¯m going now.¡± Then, he retracted his


    hand and left the hospital.


    He had just walked out of the hospital doors when Tim caught sight of him, and his eyes narrowed.


    Charles Lane? What¡¯s he doing here? And it looks like he has blood on his clothes. Did an ident


    happen to someone?


    While the questions were running through his head, a middle-aged man wearing a white robe


    approached him. In a respectful and polite tone, the man said, ¡°Dr. Lancaster, wee to our hospital.


    We¡¯ll be relying on your help for the operation this time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just send the medical equipment that I want to my hospital,¡± Tim repliedposedly as he


    pushed his sses up his nose.


    Hurriedly, the middle-aged doctor replied, ¡°Rest assured. I¡¯ll instruct someone to deliver it tomorrow. The


    operation theater is all ready; could you go over now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but there¡¯s one more thing,¡± Tim said, ncing at him.


    The middle-aged doctor nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Find out what that guy who just walked out came here for,¡± he answered, pointing in the direction


    Charles had gone.


    From the way Charles looked, he seemed to be in the pink of health, so the blood definitely didn¡¯t belong


    to him. Furthermore, the person he sent here personally must be someone he cared about. I just wonder


    if it¡¯s his family or¡­


    Recalling how much Charles cared about Sonia, Tim dimmed his eyes. I hope it¡¯s not Sonia.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dr. Lancaster. I¡¯ll tell my subordinates to check it out,¡± the middle-aged doctor answered.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go for the operation first.¡±


    Then, they both paced toward the opposite direction.


    Meanwhile, at the Grays, Rina came home in a rush and grabbed a ss of water from the counter.


    Throwing back her head, she then downed the water in a gulp. The way she drank in huge mouthfuls


    looked as though she was parched, and Julia gawked at her in a daze.


    ¡°What happened to you, Rina? Why are you so thirsty?¡±


    Taking in a deep breath, Rina ced down the ss and chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I made


    a joke out of myself, Mom.¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not a big deal. Would you like some more water?¡± Julia asked.


    Rina shook her head. ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯m fine now.¡±


    Rina then took a seat across Julia, who peered at her and asked, ¡°By the way, Rina, where were you the


    entire afternoon? You didn¡¯t bring the driver with you, and I couldn¡¯t get you through your phone, either. I


    wanted to tell you toe back for dinner, but I couldn¡¯t find you.¡±


    ¡°I went out shopping with a friend, and my phone had shut down because of a t battery,¡± she


    answered, lowering her eyes.


    Julia came to a sudden realization. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened! Then, have you had dinner yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have. Mom, I¡¯m kinda tired and would like to take a shower and rest.¡± Getting up from her seat,


    Rina then walked toward the staircase.


    Watching her from behind, Julia felt that she seemed a little jittery and troubled, but she didn¡¯t ponder


    over it and continued watching the TV.

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    Chapter 367


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 367


    At Bayside Residence, Charles was watching the surveince tapes in the surveince room when the


    cell phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He reckoned that it might be a call from Dous, so he quickly


    fished it out and checked it. Sure enough, it was really a call from him, so he immediately picked it up.


    ¡°Hey, kid. Is my darling out of the ER?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s out,¡± Dous replied with reddened eyes while looking at Sonia, who was lying in bed with a


    venttor.


    Overjoyed, Charles eximed, ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ming over right now!¡± He hung up and turned to the


    staff in the surveince room. ¡°Make a copy of this surveince tape for me. When the police arriveter,


    tell them that I¡¯m at the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Lane,¡± the staff said with a nod.


    After grabbing the USB drive, he left briskly and arrived at the hospital after a while.


    With the ward number Dous told him, he found his way to Sonia¡¯s ward, where Dous and a doctor


    were inside.


    Stepping in, he immediately turned his attention to the bed, and his face fell when he saw Sonia. ¡°Why is


    she on a venttor?¡±


    For a patient to be on a venttor, it meant that they couldn¡¯t even breathe on their own, and usually, this


    happened to people who were on their deathbeds.


    Is my darling going to¡­ In a split second, his eyes turned bloodshot, and tears welled up as a great


    wave of sorrow washed over him.


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Stumbling to the bedside, he extended his trembling hands and held Sonia¡¯s cold hand


    before choking out, ¡°Darling, don¡¯t scare me. You¡¯re still so young. How could you leave me alone,


    Darling? Open your eyes and look at me¡­¡±


    As the doctor listened to him wailing sadly, he cast him a look of confusion. ¡°Sir, did you get the wrong


    idea?¡±


    ¡°What did I get wrong? Tell me: What did I misunderstand?¡± Charles yelled and continued to cry sadly.


    The doctor rolled his eyes. ¡°Thisdy is still alive.¡±


    ¡°I know she¡¯s still alive, but for not much longer. She¡¯s even on a venttor now¡­¡± he trailed off, ncing


    at Sonia with eyes that were filled with grief.


    ¡°Goodness!¡± With a sigh, the doctor shook his head and added, ¡°What I mean is, thisdy is ced on


    the venttor because she received serious trauma to the head, resulting in theck of oxygen, and not


    because she¡¯s dying. Do you get it?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Charles blurted and stopped his cries abruptly, while Dous burst intoughter. Ignoring him, he


    grabbed the doctor¡¯s arm in agitation. ¡°Doctor, are you telling the truth? My darling is fine?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s fine. A small part was cut out from her wrist, but the nerves and arteries were unaffected. Even


    though her head trauma is a little serious, it¡¯s just a head concussion, and she¡¯ll be fine once she¡¯s


    awake,¡± the doctor answered, drawing his arm out of Charles¡¯ grip.


    Breathing out a huge sigh of relief, Charles finally seemed assured. ¡°This is great. I thought that my


    darling¡­¡±


    At the thought of how dumb he had acted minutes ago, his face burned bright red with embarrassment


    as the doctor left the room while shaking his head.


    Standing next to him by Sonia¡¯s bedside, Dous twisted his head to him and asked, ¡°Sir, have you


    caught the bad guy?¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± he answered with a dismayed look.


    Although he had seen the person who knocked out Sonia when he went to check the surveince tapes


    in Bayside Residence, he couldn¡¯t see clearly how the person looked because they had covered


    themself tightly. Obviously, they didn¡¯t want to be recognized.


    Hearing that the bad guy was not caught, Dous pouted his lips in disappointment, and Charles said no


    more as they both kept vigil by Sonia¡¯s bedside quietly.


    The next day, Charles gave Daphne a call, telling her that something happened to Sonia and that she


    wouldn¡¯t be going to thepany. Hence, he asked her to bring all of Sonia¡¯s work to the hospital so that


    he could do it instead.


    Knowing that Sonia was in the hospital, Daphne was a little worried. So after hanging up, she quickly


    went into Sonia¡¯s office to prepare the documents, preparing to visit her at the hospital.


    When she had just rushed into Sonia¡¯s office, someone walked out of the secretary office next door.


    At first, the person peered into Sonia¡¯s office. Then, she took out her cell phone and dialed a number.


    At First World Hospital, Tom was reporting thepany¡¯s affairs to Toby when his cell phone rang.


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, Toby said, ¡°Pick it up.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Tom replied and fished out his phone.


    His brows raised when he saw the caller ID, and he immediately turned to Toby. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s a


    call from the person we nted next to Miss Reed. Maybe something happened to Miss Reed, and that¡¯s


    why she¡¯s calling now.¡± Before Toby could even urge him, he picked up the call. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Brown, I have bad news. I think President Reed is hospitalized,¡± the person on the other end of the


    line whispered.


    ¡°What?¡± Tom gasped in surprise. ¡°Miss Reed is hospitalized?¡±


    Toby¡¯s irises shrank at his words. ¡°What happened to Sonia?¡±


    Tom merely shook his head in reply. ¡°I¡¯ll ask her.¡± Then, he raised the question into the phone and turned


    the call into loudspeaker mode.


    The person who called answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. But I heard from Miss Daphne that President


    Reed isn¡¯t able to deal with the documents, and all of it will be sent to the hospital so Mr. Lane can do it


    in her stead. So, it sounds quite serious.¡±


    The muscles on Toby¡¯s face turned rigid, and he pulled off his nket. Seeing that, Tom hurriedly tried to


    stop him from getting out of the bed. ¡°President Fuller, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to see her,¡± he answered solemnly.


    ¡°No, President Fuller.¡± Tom disagreed. ¡°You¡¯re injured as well and shouldn¡¯t move about freely.¡±


    ¡°I said, I¡¯m going to see her!¡± Sitting on the edge of the bed, Toby raised his gaze and gave him a


    determined, unyielding stare.


    Staring into his sharp, steely eyes, Tom opened his mouth and finally agreed to his request. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll


    make the arrangements now. Please wait a moment, President Fuller.¡±


    He knew that no matter how anybody tried, they couldn¡¯t stop Toby¡¯s determination once he had made


    up his mind. In addition, this was a matter which concerned Sonia¡¯s safety, so it was even tougher to stop


    him.


    As Toby loved Sonia so deeply, it would be impossible for him not to visit her when he found out that she


    was hospitalized. Even if this trip may rip open the wound on his back, he couldn¡¯t care less about that


    either.


    Therefore, how could anyone stop a person who was so stubborn? It would be possible to stop him by


    force, but nobody would know what Toby would do afterward.


    Sighing, Tom spun around and left the room to ask for a written approval to leave the hospital. On the


    way, he asked the person on the phone which hospital Sonia was in.


    Soon, he returned with the approval slip and also a wheelchair. Actually, Toby¡¯s legs were fine and he


    could walk by himself, but while walking, it may cause the wound on his back to rip open. So, to lower


    the chances of that happening, it would be better to push him around rather than let him walk by himself.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Toby was aware of Tom¡¯s kind intentions, and he epted it by slipping into the wheelchair.


    When Tom pushed him out the door, they happened to run into Jean, who had just arrived with a food


    container.


    Staring at them, she asked in a loud voice, ¡°Toby, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Something came up and I need to leave the hospital for a while.¡± After that, he tapped the armrest on


    the wheelchair, signaling for Tom to push him away as quickly as possible.


    Naturally, Tom would do as instructed, but Jean was still asking as she stood rooted behind them,


    ¡°Where are you going? Aren¡¯t you going to have the soup I prepared for you?¡±


    This time, Toby didn¡¯t reply to her anymore because his mind was filled with thoughts of Sonia; he had no


    interest in having soup at all.


    A little more than forty minutester, they reached Sonia¡¯s hospital, and after Tom found out her ward


    number from the reception, he pushed Toby toward the ce.


    The door of the ward was open, and there were voicesing from the room. Listening carefully, they


    recognized the voices as Charles and Tim¡¯s.


    With his brows furrowed tightly together, Toby thought, I can understand why Charles is here, but what¡¯s


    Tim doing here as well? He¡¯s not even a doctor here! Also, how did he find out that Sonia was


    hospitalized earlier than I did? Who told him about this?

 Chapter 368

    Chapter 368


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 368


    Pursing his lips into a thin line, Toby suppressed his annoyance within and gestured to Tom to knock on


    the door with a wave of his hand.


    Tom knocked as instructed, which made Charles and Tim stop their conversation abruptly.


    Simultaneously, they spun their heads to the door and saw Toby.


    Besides being a little surprised, there wasn¡¯t much reaction from Tim. On the other hand, Charles¡¯ face


    turned sour at the sight of him. ¡°Why are you here? Who allowed you toe?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer him and asked Tom to push him in, which angered Charles. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t allow you to


    come in! What are you doing here? Where are your manners?¡±


    ¡°This is Sonia¡¯s ward, and it¡¯s not up to you to give the permission,¡± Toby said indifferently, sweeping his


    gaze over him.


    Although angry, Charles couldn¡¯t find the words to argue, so he simply snorted. ¡°You only have the guts


    to do this because my darling is still unconscious. If she were awake, she definitely wouldn¡¯t let you in.¡±


    Toby frowned and ignored him. To him, the more responsive he was to people like Charles, the more


    aggressive they would be, and they woulde to a stop by themselves if he just ignored them for a


    while.


    However, Charles smirked smugly at his silence. ¡°Your silence means that you think I was right, huh?¡±


    Pretending not to hear him, Toby turned his attention to Sonia, who was lying in bed, and he gripped the


    armrest of the wheelchair tightly. ¡°What happened to Sonia?¡± he asked, twisting his head to look at Tim.


    Meanwhile, Tim had been watching them in amusement, enjoying the argument between these two rivals


    in love; he wasn¡¯t expecting that Toby would end it one-sidedly by asking him a question.


    But since he had a question thrown at him, he had to answer it with all seriousness as well. Pushing his


    sses higher up the bridge of his nose, he said, ¡°The back of her head was maliciously struck, resulting


    in a moderate head concussion. Also, a small part of her skin was cut out on her wrist.¡±


    At the mention of Sonia¡¯s wrist, Tim narrowed his eyes. After he walked out of the operation theater


    yesterday, the hospital director told him that Charles had sent a patient by the name of Sonia here. Just


    as he expected, the blood on Charles was from Sonia. Hence, he quickly went to check out her


    condition, then he immediately retrieved Sonia¡¯s ER video and saw the injuries on the back of her head


    and her wrist.


    At that point, Sonia was already out of the ER, and her injuries had been bandaged, so he couldn¡¯t open


    it up to check it and could only check it through this method. While he could understand that the head


    trauma was inflicted to knock her out, he couldn¡¯t understand the cut on her wrist.


    If the intention of the perpetrator was to rob her or anything else, they could have achieved their motive


    by knocking her out. So, why did they cut her wrist on the spot where her red mole happened to be?


    From the video recording, he saw that the red mole waspletely gone. In other words, the


    perpetrator¡¯s sole motive was to eliminate that red mole.


    ¡°What did you say? She was maliciously struck? By whom?¡± Toby eximed, springing up from the


    wheelchair suddenly and holding his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked loudly.


    Startled, Charles gasped. ¡°Damn. So you¡¯re not disabled!¡±


    Toby cast him an icy look from the corners of his eyes and then turned to Tim, who shook his head. ¡°I


    don¡¯t know. You should ask him because he¡¯s the one investigating it now.¡±


    ¡°And what did you find out?¡± Toby asked, ncing at Charles.


    ¡°Why should I tell you? This is our problem. You don¡¯t have to stick your nose in this!¡± Charles sneered.


    In a split second, Toby¡¯s face turned grim, and the air around him turned chilly. Warily, Charles peered at


    him. ¡°What now? You¡¯re going to throw your temper? It¡¯s useless even if¡ª¡±


    He had yet to finish his sentence when a baby voice interrupted him. ¡°Mr. Fuller, I¡¯ll tell you! Mr. Lane


    hasn¡¯t caught the bad guy who hurt Aunt Sonia!¡±


    ¡°Little Doug¡­¡± Filled with disbelief, Charles gawked at Dous, who was seated on the couch nearby.


    This rascal sold me out!


    An astonished look shed across Toby¡¯s eyes when he saw Dous. What¡¯s this little guy doing here?


    Why didn¡¯t I notice that he was here earlier?


    However, he managed to figure it out very quickly. After he got into the ward, he had kept his gaze on the


    bed and didn¡¯t even look at the couch once. So, it made sense that he didn¡¯t notice that Dous was


    also in the room.


    ¡°Dous, is it true when you said that he hasn¡¯t caught the guy yet?¡± Toby asked in a more gentle voice


    as he looked at Dous.


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    Nodding, Dous answered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. I¡¯ve been by Mr. Lane¡¯s side the whole time, so I¡¯m very sure


    about it.¡±


    ¡°You little rascal, I think you¡¯re asking for a beating!¡± Furious, Charles rubbed his palms together and


    walked toward him.


    Jumping off the couch in a hurry, Dous then ran to Toby and hid behind him before poking out his tiny


    head. ¡°Mr. Lane, please don¡¯t me me. I know Mr. Fuller, and he¡¯s a very influential person. After an


    entire evening of investigations with the police, you still couldn¡¯t find the bad guy. If you let Mr. Fuller try,


    I¡¯m sure it will speed things up.¡±


    Charles fell silent as the edges of his lips twitched. He felt a prick in his chest, but he had to admit that


    Dous was right.


    The Fuller Group, which belonged to Toby, was the leader in Seafield, and he was no match for him


    when it came to influence and ability. Even though he disliked Toby, he decided to bear with it seeing that


    Toby was also doing it for Sonia¡¯s sake. The important thing now was to find out who that jerk was.


    In the meantime, a faint smirk spread over Toby¡¯s face when he saw Charles¡¯ dumbstruck face and


    Dous¡¯ appraisal of himself. Even the chilly air around him subsided a lot, and he was obviously in a


    good mood.


    Returning to his seat on the wheelchair, he turned to Tom. ¡°Investigate this and find me the person who


    did this!¡±


    ¡°Right away!¡± With a nod, Tom left the room to make a call.


    Of course he would assign his subordinate to do this because he was with Toby now and couldn¡¯t just


    dump him here and leave by himself.


    Charles nced at Tom, who was outside the door, and then shifted his gaze to Toby, who was opposite


    him. Pouting his lips, he sneered, ¡°Hmph, I would like to see how long it will take you to get to the bottom


    of this. It¡¯ll be embarrassing if you can¡¯t find out anything at the end of the day.¡±


    As usual, Toby ignored him and looked at Sonia, his eyes filled with worry and distress.


    Back at the Gray¡¯s, Rina came downstairs with a ck stic bag in her hand. Seeing the bag in her


    hand, Titus, who was about to leave the house, asked curiously, ¡°Rina, what are you carrying in there?¡±


    Rina¡¯s eyes flickered and she answered, ¡°Just some old clothes I brought from my old home. I¡¯m going to


    throw them out now.¡±


    With a nod of approval, he said, ¡°You should have thrown it out sooner. It will only bring you bad luck if


    you keep things like that. You¡¯re my daughter, and I¡¯ve already said it when you were born that you¡¯ll live


    the life of a princess your whole life. Not only will you enjoy the best materials, you¡¯ll also live your life


    free of worries. Therefore, you can buy the best things from now on, and I¡¯ll buy you anything you want.¡±


    His words caused her face to light up as she eximed, ¡°Thank you, Dad!¡±


    However, besides happiness in her heart, there was also jealousy. Such an enviable promise was made


    to Miss Reed when she was born? Such a pity that she never enjoyed a single day of it. But even though


    she never enjoyed the affection from her father, she still lived a happy and wealthy life after she ended


    up in the Reed Family.


    Therefore, she couldn¡¯t understand why some people were born with a silver spoon while there were


    some who lived a poor, hard life when they were all born as human.


    But it doesn¡¯t matter, she thought. The important thing is that now, I¡¯m Rina Gray, and I¡¯m Titus¡¯ daughter.


    I¡¯ll hang on tightly to everything I have now so nobody can even think about snatching it away from me!


    A vicious glint shrouded her eyes, but it gradually faded away. Staring at the suit Titus was wearing, she


    asked, ¡°Are you going out, Dad?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to thepany,¡± he answered. He wanted to go to Triforce and have another round of


    debate with Director Walker and the rest of them to fight for his position as the president. After all, he still


    had a chance because the meeting would be held tomorrow.


    ¡°I see. Then I¡¯ll leave the house with you. I¡¯m taking the trash out,¡± she said, gesturing with the bag in her


    hand.

 Chapter 369

    Chapter 369


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 369


    ¡°Let the servants do things like that. You don¡¯t have to do it yourself,¡± Titus said as he straightened his tie


    and called the servant over.


    ¡°Miss Rina, let me take the trash out,¡± the servant said, stretching out her hands toward Rina.


    In front of Titus, Rina couldn¡¯t find any reason to turn her down, so she handed over the bag obediently.


    When she released her hand, she even looked a little unbearable to part with it, which made the servant


    nce at her oddly.


    It¡¯s just a bag of trash. I don¡¯t understand why she looks so unbearable, the servant thought. However,


    she didn¡¯t ponder over it and went out the door with the bag in her hand.


    As Rina stared at the servant¡¯s back, she clenched her hands tightly on her sides, as though she was


    nervous about something. But soon, she rxed her palms, and her entire body eased up.


    Whatever. There¡¯s only one ce where all the trash in this house goes to. It makes no difference who


    throws out that thing. With that thought in mind, a smile suddenly spread across her face, and she


    regained her usualposure. Looking at Titus, she uttered, ¡°By the way, Dad, I¡¯m going to the hospital


    later with Mom to visit Tina. Are youing along?¡±


    Titus¡¯ wrinkled face immediately turned solemn at her question. ¡°That wretched girl is no longer part of


    our family, so there¡¯s no point in visiting her. Tell your mom not to go.¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t listen to me. After all, Tina will be going to prison soon, and she would like to visit her before


    that timees. So¡­¡± Rina trailed off and lowered her head in awkwardness.


    Titus snorted. ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll speak with herter.¡±


    With sparkling eyes, Rina said, ¡°Thanks, Dad.¡± This is great! I don¡¯t want to visit Tina at all, but Mom


    keeps insisting that I should go. Now that Dad has spoken up, she should give up on that idea now.


    ¡­¡­


    At the hospital, Toby peered at the nurse who came in to change Sonia¡¯s drip and asked, ¡°When will she


    wake up?¡±


    The nurse took out Sonia¡¯s medical record and looked over it. ¡°We can¡¯t be sure yet. She had a


    moderate concussion, so maybe she¡¯ll wake up the day after tomorrow.¡±


    The day after tomorrow¡­ That¡¯s not too long, Toby thought, relieved. He was afraid that it would take a


    long time for her to awaken because the longer it took, the more serious the injury was.


    The nurse left after changing the drip, whereupon Toby turned to Tim. ¡°Can Sonia be moved in her


    condition?¡±


    Charles, who was standing at the side, was immediately unhappy when he heard his question. ¡°Hey,


    Fuller, what are you nning to do?¡±


    Tim adjusted his sses. ¡°You would like to transfer her to another hospital?¡±


    Nodding, Toby admitted. ¡°Yes. It will be more convenient for her treatment if she¡¯s transferred to your


    hospital.¡±


    In all sense, First World Hospital, where Tim worked, was the best hospital in the city with the best


    medical equipment and facilities, and he would be more assured if Sonia was transferred over.


    But before Tim could say anything, Charles snorted. ¡°Fuller, you want to transfer my darling in the name


    of convenience. In fact, you just want to make it convenient for yourself to visit her. Am I right?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered, and he looked at Charles as he spoke in an indifferent voice. ¡°You can think


    whatever you want, but you can¡¯t deny that Sonia can receive better treatment by transferring to that


    hospital.¡±


    bbergasted, Charles had no argument for that. While it was true that this hospital had a good


    reputation, it was not as good as Tim¡¯s hospital. Since that¡¯s how it is, then we should just transfer my


    darling for her recovery, Charles thought and gruntled as hepromised.


    However, Tim said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to inform both of you that Sonia isn¡¯t fit for a hospital transfer in her current


    condition.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Toby frowned, and even Charles was peering at him.


    Spreading his palms, he exined, ¡°It¡¯s better not to move her around unnecessarily because she


    received trauma to the head. Otherwise, it will worsen her condition.¡±


    I see, Toby thought while nodding his head without a word. If Sonia can¡¯t be transferred, I¡¯ll transfer over,


    then.


    Not knowing what was on Toby¡¯s mind, Charles breathed a sigh of relief next to him when he heard that


    Sonia wasn¡¯t fit for a hospital transfer. Even though he knew that it would do her good to be transferred


    to First World Hospital, it was still possible to receive treatment here. In order for my darling to stay away


    from Toby, we¡¯ll have to keep her here for a while, he thought.


    Meanwhile, Tim¡¯s head was slightly tilted downward, and the light bouncing off the surface of his sses


    completely hid the look in his almond-shaped eyes, so nobody could guess what he was thinking about.


    Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the door, and Tom peered in with his head. ¡°President


    Fuller, time¡¯s up for your leave from the hospital. It¡¯s time for us to return to First World Hospital now.¡±


    Instantly, Charles¡¯ eyes sparkled brilliantly, and he waved his hand urgently. ¡°Go quickly if your time¡¯s up.


    Go now and don¡¯te again. Just give me a call when you have results from your investigations.¡±


    Watching as Charles urged them to leave, Toby thought to himself while his eyes turned stone-cold,


    Don¡¯te again? Ha, as if that¡¯s possible! I¡¯ming again tonight, and what¡¯s more, I¡¯m even going to


    be staying in the next room! ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said calmly while looking away, whereupon Tom quickly


    rushed to his side to push his wheelchair.


    Shrugging, Tim said, ¡°I¡¯ll go back together with you guys, then. I didn¡¯t drive my car here because the


    director of this hospital personally came to pick me up earlier. So let me catch a ride with you guys.¡±


    Toby cast him a look from the corners of his eyes, but he didn¡¯t turn him down and merely tapped on the


    armrest of his wheelchair. Understanding what he meant, Tom pushed him toward the door while Tim


    followed behind them with his hands stuck in the pockets of his white robe.


    The second all three of them stepped out of the room, Charles shut the door behind them. While Tim and


    Tom didn¡¯t feel much about it, Toby¡¯s face turned really grim as he stared at the tightly shut door, making


    a mental note to get back at Charles for this.


    On the way back to First World Hospital, Toby was watching the surveince video of Sonia¡¯s attack


    which Tom had sent to him.


    He couldn¡¯t tell if the person in the video was a man or a woman, but he felt his heart shudder as he


    watched them raise the thick stick high above Sonia¡¯s head and struck her head.


    With just one strike, they were able to knock her out; this showed just how much force they had used and


    how painful it must have been for Sonia! Toby¡¯s fingers gripped his cell phone tightly, as though he


    wanted to break it apart, and his expression was very somber.


    Sitting on the passenger seat in front, Tim turned around. ¡°May I take a look at it? As a doctor, I¡¯m very


    familiar with the human body. Even if this person is tightly wrapped, I may be able to notice something.¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Of course Toby had no objections to his suggestion and tossed his phone to him. Raising his hands, Tim


    caught the phone mid-air urately and turned forward to watch the video.


    ¡°Is this the only part from the surveince video? Why is there no recording of the part where Sonia¡¯s


    wrist was cut?¡± Toby asked Tom, who was driving.


    ¡°Mr. Lane said that he discovered Miss Reed in the emergency stairwell, and I think that¡¯s where that


    person cut out her skin with a knife. So, after I made the call, I went to the scene myself and saw that


    there are no surveince systems in the emergency stairwell,¡± Tom answered.


    Pursing his lips into an annoyed thin line, Toby asked, ¡°Are they missing in all buildings, or only Sonia¡¯s


    building is missing the surveince system?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re missing in all buildings.¡±


    A knot appeared between Toby¡¯s brows. A high-end residential apartment such as Bayside Residence


    actually has such a sloppy surveince system! Secretly, he decided to teach the developer of Bayside


    Residence a lesson before he said in his cold voice again, ¡°Did the surveince system of the


    neighborhood catch the whole process of how that person showed up at Bayside Residence?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I asked the police, and that was what I was told. They¡¯ve already taken the surveince tapes away


    and will let us know the answerter,¡± Tom replied.


    In response, Toby merely grunted and didn¡¯t say anything else. Just then, Tim suddenly broke the


    silence. ¡°It¡¯s a woman!¡±

 Chapter 370

    Chapter 370


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 370


    ¡°Did you just say that whoever attacked Sonia was a woman?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Tim nodded. ¡°Yes. Although this person was heavily disguised and deliberately wore oversized clothes to


    hide their figure, this person¡¯s gait and their wrists, which were asionally exposed, were enough to


    prove that it was a woman.¡±


    ¡°Could it be Tina Gray?¡± Tom guessed. ¡°Only Tina has this much hatred toward Miss Reed.¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not her¡ªshe has been under police surveince 24/7 these days and hasn¡¯t


    left the hospital at all.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not Tina indeed.¡± Tim pushed his sses and agreed with Toby. ¡°I¡¯ve taken a look at Sonia¡¯s


    wrist injury, and judging from the messiness of the wound, this is the first time the culprit has done


    something like this. Also, she must have been under a lot of pressure at the time, as it was obvious that


    her hands were shaking, which is why the wound looks messy. We all know that Tina is a cruel character.


    I have seen her twist a cat¡¯s neck off, and her movements were clean and neat. So if Tina was the one


    who did it, Sonia¡¯s wrists would probably be broken by now.¡±


    Hearing what Tim said, Tom gasped silently. ¡°That woman really is a psychopath.¡±


    Tim hooked his lips. ¡°Psychopath, huh? I like this description.¡±


    Tom twitched the corners of his mouth. Honestly, he really couldn¡¯t understand what Tim liked about the


    word.


    However, despite what Tim said, Tom still had some doubts. ¡°Even if Tina didn¡¯t do it herself, she could


    always bribe someone into doing this.¡±


    ¡°No, she wouldn¡¯t. First of all, she can¡¯t even contact the outside world, and secondly, with her hatred for


    Sonia, why would she hire someone just to stun her and slice her wrist instead of straight up killing her?¡±


    Tim asked him back.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Tom was speechless for a moment.


    He¡¯s right. Tina Gray hated Miss Reed so much that she has even attempted to kill her several times. If


    she really were to attack Miss Reed, it wouldn¡¯t have ended this lightly! Tom thought to himself.


    ¡°Tom.¡± Just as Tom was deep in his thoughts, he heard Toby calling him.


    Tom looked at the rearview mirror and answered, ¡°President Fuller, what are your orders?¡±


    ¡°Investigate Cynthia Stone.¡± Toby while narrowing his eyes.


    Tom ced his palm on his forehead as soon as he heard of the woman¡¯s name. ¡°Oh, yes! There¡¯s


    Cynthia Stone as well! She also held a huge grudge against Miss Reed. Since Miss Reed sent her to the


    detention center twice, she must also hate Miss Reed very much. How could I forget about her?


    Understood, President Fuller. I¡¯ll send someone to check on her in a while.¡±


    Toby nodded slightly.


    All of a sudden, Tim held his head and said, ¡°By the way, once you find the culprit, can you hand her over


    to me?¡±


    ¡°Hand her over to you?¡± Toby looked at him. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    A cold light shed under Tim¡¯s eyes, and the smile on his face was even more creepy. ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡ªit¡¯s


    just that I am recently researching a new drug, but I couldn¡¯t find a suitableb rat. Since this person tried


    to hurt Sonia, how about letting her be my guinea pig?¡±


    Toby frowned upon hearing that.


    Tom, who was driving, trembled from the thought. ¡°Dr. Lancaster, this new drug of yours wouldn¡¯t happen


    to be some kind of poison that kills people, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s a legitimate medicine to treat a certain disease, and because new medicines will likely


    have some side effects, there is still no one who has signed up for the trial¡ªthat¡¯s why I asked you to


    hand the culprit over to me,¡± Tim smiled and said casually.


    However, his smile terrified Tom even more.


    Toby looked at Tim with deep eyes. ¡°You are doing this to avenge Sonia, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Tim only raised his eyebrows and did not address Toby¡¯s question directly.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°I never had the chance to ask you¡ªwhy are you being so nice to Sonia all of a


    sudden? Do you fancy her?¡±


    He stared at Tim; his dark pupils seemed to burn a hole through thetter.


    However, Timughed unhurriedly. ¡°You are wrong. I don¡¯t fancy her. I am just like my senior¡ªwe don¡¯t


    have any feelings. Kinship? Friendship? Love? We are destined to not feel any of it. That is to say, I am


    destined to not fall in love with anyone, and the reason why I am nice to Sonia is only because she


    helped me before. Other than that, it could juste down to me simply being curious about her.¡±


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Hearing that Tim didn¡¯t love Sonia, Toby breathed a sigh of relief.


    There were enough people fighting over Sonia¡ªhe obviously didn¡¯t want to have another contender.


    However, he really wanted to know what about Sonia that Tim was curious about.


    As soon as he thought about it, Toby asked Tim about it as well.


    Tim took off his sses and wiped them while saying, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t tell you this as it involves some kind


    of research of mine¡ªand it¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°Research?¡± Toby¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me that you¡¯re trying to study Sonia,


    are you?¡±


    After wiping his sses, Tim put it back on his face. ¡°Hm. It¡¯s something like that. But don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s not


    anything like a clinical study, but merely an observation. The bottom line is that it won¡¯t do any harm to


    her. She¡¯s my angel, so how could I bring myself to hurt her?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better keep your word. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off easily,¡± Toby stared at him and uttered coldly.


    Despite that, Tim merely shrugged his shoulders and left it at that.


    Just then, a cell phone rang.


    Tom excused himself, then quickly took his phone out of his pocket and answered immediately after


    taking a look at the caller ID.


    It was unknown what the person on the other end of the line said, but Tom¡¯s expression did not look


    good.


    Toby saw it, and his thin lips parted to ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Director Larry. Before this, he handed in a proposal with a nned capital of 300 million. The


    proposal was terrible, and it was an obvious loss of money, so I turned it down before showing it to you.


    Director Larry just found out and is making a fuss in the office,¡± Tom sighed and answered helplessly.


    Toby snorted coldly. ¡°That old hoot of a man, Finn Larry. His purpose is never the project but only the


    money. You did a good job, Tom. You need not pay attention to him¡ªhe can¡¯t make much of a fuss


    anyway.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°Also,¡± Toby said again.


    Tom responded, ¡°Yes, sir?¡±


    ¡°Go through the transfer procedures for meter¡ªI¡¯m transferring to Trifecta Hospital,¡± Toby said quietly.


    Tim raised his eyebrows when he heard what Toby said.


    Tom, too, almost choked on his own saliva.


    Trifecta Hospital? Isn¡¯t that the hospital where Miss Reed has been admitted? Did President Fuller just


    say that he actually wanted to move there?


    Well, since Miss Reed couldn¡¯t be transferred to another hospital, and since President Fuller wants to


    see her all the time, the only way that could happen was to transfer himself to her hospital.


    This was exactly something that Toby would do.


    However, Tom could foresee that Charles would be enraged once Toby transferred there.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go through the formalities immediately after I arrive at First World Hospital,¡± Tom replied with a


    dry cough.


    Toby lifted his chin. ¡°Also, mention to Trifecta that I want to stay in the ward next to Sonia¡¯s.¡±


    Hearing that, Tom rolled his eyes, but replied, ¡°Noted.¡±


    After all, if Toby could manage to pull off transferring to another hospital for Sonia, it wouldn¡¯t be a


    problem for him to request for the ward beside hers.


    So, in the evening, Toby had sessfully transferred to Trifecta Hospital.


    After Charles told the nurse to take good care of Sonia and Dous, he was ready to go back.


    As soon as he left the ward, he saw Tom pushing Toby over.


    Charles was stunned upon seeing the both of them. ¡°Why on earth are you here again?¡±


    Toby adjusted the wrinkled cuffs on his patient¡¯s robe and said in a cold voice, ¡°Tom, tell him why.¡±


    Tom looked down at the man in the wheelchair, and the corners of his mouth twitched.


    He knew very well that Toby was just trying to use him to trigger Charles.


    However, Toby was his boss¡ªalthough he sympathized with Charles, he could only do as Toby said.


    After all, he was only Toby¡¯s employee.


    ¡°Well, Mr. Lane, from today onward, President Fuller will be receiving follow-up treatments in Trifecta


    Hospital. He has just been transferred to this hospital this afternoon and will be admitted into the ward


    next door,¡± Tom pointed to the next ward and replied with a smile.


    ¡°What?!¡± Charles¡¯ eyes widened in shock.

 Chapter 371

    Chapter 371


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 371


    Once he saw that his words had been properly conveyed, Tom pushed Toby to the next ward and left


    Charles alone to process the situation.


    Charles, on the other hand, digested Tom¡¯s words for two whole minutes before he regained his senses.


    By then, Toby and Tom were no longer in front of him.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Charles stomped his feet.


    Toby Fuller, you son of a b*tch! How shameless could you be! Charles thought to himself. He knew very


    well that Toby tried to transfer Sonia to his hospital but couldn¡¯t, so he transferred himself over instead.


    Cunning fox. This is simply outrageous! Charles was trembling with anger, but there was nothing he


    could do at this point. After all, what happened, happened, so what more could he do now? He couldn¡¯t


    chase Toby away, could he?


    Besides, this was not his hospital, and he really had no ability whatsoever to chase Toby out of here.


    The only thing he could do now was to tell the nurses not to open the door for Toby after he left. Thest


    thing he wanted was to give Toby any chances to meet or contact Sonia.


    Thinking of this, Charles immediately turned around and quickly entered the ward.


    After getting the caretaker¡¯s repeated assurances that no one other than the nurses would be allowed in,


    only was he able to leave in peace.


    Shortly after he left, Toby changed into the patient gown and asked Tom to push him to Sonia¡¯s ward.


    Upon arrival, Tom raised his hand and knocked on the door.


    The caretaker walked behind the door and looked at Tom through the ss on the door. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Hello, I am Tom, and my boss here is Miss Reed¡¯s¡­¡± Mid-sentence, Tom frowned, not knowing how to


    express Toby¡¯s identity.


    Ex-husband? President Fuller would definitely not be happy about it, Tom thought to himself.


    Boyfriend? Nope.


    Friend¡­?


    Does Miss Reed recognize President Fuller as a friend? Probably not!


    Besides, President Fuller definitely doesn¡¯t want to be only ¡®friends¡¯ with Miss Reed, so his identity¡­


    Just when Tom was about to throw the ball back to Toby and let thetter rify his identity himself, the


    caretaker on the other end of the door suddenly looked vignt. ¡°You are Tom? Then is your boss Toby?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes! How do you know?¡± Tom was surprised.


    Hearing that, the caretaker waved her hands dismissively. ¡°Leave at once! I won¡¯t open the door for you.


    Mr. Lane has given me strict orders to keep you out, and no one except the medical staff is allowed to


    come in. So, please leave!¡±


    After saying this, the caretaker turned around and left.


    Seeing that, Tom and Toby looked at each other.


    Never would Toby have thought that Charles would give such an order to the caretaker.


    For a long time, Toby¡¯s expression was gloomy.


    Tom touched the tip of his nose and asked, ¡°President Fuller, why don¡¯t we go back?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby raised his hand.


    He was already here, so why should he leave?


    ¡°Go. Bring a nurse over here,¡± Toby squinted and instructed Tom.


    The caretaker said that she could only open the door if there were medical staff, right?


    Then I¡¯ll bring the medical staff over.


    Tom¡¯s eyes lit up. Upon hearing Toby, he immediately understood what Toby meant. He then released


    the armrest of the wheelchair and went to search for nurses.


    Soon, Tom came back with a nurse.


    As soon as they arrived, Tom knocked on the door again.


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    The caretaker came to the door, but as soon as she saw Tom¡¯s face, her expression sank, and she was


    about to leave again.


    But right then, Tom pulled the nurse over to the door.


    Looking at the nurse, the caretaker was stunned, and she looked a little helpless.


    So should I open the door or not?


    Mr. Lane said I should open the door when there are medical staff.


    However, if I open the door, those two people behind the nurse would definitely barge in as well¡­


    The caretaker scratched her scalp from helplessness¡ªshe was at a loss as for what to do.


    Outside the door, Tom saw that the nurse still hadn¡¯t opened the door. The smile on his face faded, and


    he said solemnly, ¡°Well, the nurse is here, so why aren¡¯t you opening up? She is here to check on Miss


    Reed. If the checkup is dyed because you refuse to open the door, are you going to be responsible if


    anything happens?¡±


    The pressure on the caretaker was piling on and on. Soon, she no longer hesitated and hurriedly opened


    the door.


    If something went wrong, she couldn¡¯t afford to be responsible over this, so it was better to just let them


    in.


    She could always tell Mr. Lane that they never came in should he bring the matter up tomorrow.


    Upon that thought, the caretaker opened up the door and stepped aside.


    Tom wheeled Toby in, and when he passed by the caretaker, he did not forget to praise her, ¡°You¡¯ve


    made the right choice.¡±


    What a joke. The caretaker rolled her eyes. She didn¡¯t make any choices; he obviously threatened her!


    Not daring to say anything, the caretaker shut the door behind them.


    Although the nurse was basically used as an ess card by Tom, she still took a serious look at Sonia¡¯s


    condition before leaving.


    Tom also left together, and when he left, he took the caretaker out with him.


    As for Dous, he was just a child who fell asleep on the sofa, so he didn¡¯t really affect Toby and Sonia¡¯s


    alone time.


    Toby sat down beside Sonia¡¯s hospital bed, and his gaze fell gently on her face.


    This was the first time he had stayed by her side and looked at her so quietly.


    This was also the only time she would neither alienate him nor resist him.


    Toby stretched out his hand to hold Sonia¡¯s, then he lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand


    lightly.


    Her hand was very cold, so Toby didn¡¯t hold it for long before putting it back under the nket.


    After that, Toby only stayed with her silently and looked at her.


    It was not until midnight that Tom finally called him away.


    During the few hours with Sonia, Toby felt more rxed and calmed than ever before.


    At the same time, he also knew that that was when he was the closest to her.


    The night passed slowly.


    Finally, Sonia woke up at noon the next day.


    When she woke up, Charles was leaning on the edge of the hospital bed with his back facing Sonia while


    being on the phone.


    Hearing a muffled voice, Charles was stunned at first, then he quickly put down his phone and turned his


    head in surprise.


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s eyes open, he smiled happily. ¡°Darling! Great! You¡¯re awake!¡±


    Sonia blinked. ¡°Charles?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s me.¡± Charles reached out and grabbed her hand.


    Sonia felt him and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Charles, where am I?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re in the hospital,¡± Charles replied strangely.


    This room was already a ward at a nce. Why couldn¡¯t she even recognize where she was?


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Darling, are you feeling any difort? I¡¯ll call the doctor right away,¡± Charles didn¡¯t


    think much of it and asked again.


    Sonia rubbed her temples. ¡°I feel dizzy and nauseated, and my mind is heavy, as if everything around


    me is spinning.¡±


    Hearing this, Charles was immediately nervous, and he quickly pressed the emergency button on the


    bedside.


    Sonia looked at the dark ceiling and asked in confusion, ¡°Charles, isn¡¯t it night time already? Why didn¡¯t


    you turn on the lights?¡±


    Smash!


    Immediately, the ss in Charles¡¯ hands slipped out and shattered on the ground; the water in the ss


    sshed on the ground, making his trousers wet.


    However, Charles couldn¡¯t care less about his trousers now¡ªhe hurried to her bedside and looked down


    at Sonia, his voice a little panicked. ¡°Darling, what did you just say? You¡¯re saying it¡¯s night time now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia blinked in confusion.


    Charles looked at her still and non-dted pupils while his face gradually turned pale. With his trembling


    hands, he reached out and waved in front of her eyes.


    Sonia didn¡¯t respond.


    Charles took a step back in shock. It took a long while before he found his voice and said dryly, ¡°Sonia¡­


    i-it¡¯s daytime now¡­¡±


    The air around them quieted down all of a sudden.


    The doubts on Sonia¡¯s face also slowly solidified.


    After a long time, she raised her hand and put it in front of her, wanting to check if she was really blind.


    However, after holding it up for a long time, she didn¡¯t see anything¡ªall she saw was pitch-ck


    darkness.


    At this moment, Sonia could no longer deceive herself.


    She really couldn¡¯t see anything!


    The fear of blindness surging into her heart, Sonia¡¯s body trembled, and tears rolled down involuntarily.


    She was now terrified and at a loss of what to do.


    After all, what could a blind person do?


    She couldn¡¯t see anything now, so how could she even develop Paradigm into an empire? How could


    she get her revenge?


    At this point, she probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to tell even if the enemy was just standing in front of


    her!

 Chapter 372

    Chapter 372


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 372


    Looking at Sonia, who was getting more and more worked up, Charles was very distressed.


    Immediately, he took her into his arms. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t be afraid. Maybe it¡¯s just temporary. Maybe the


    situation is not as serious as we think.¡±


    As he said that, he tapped the emergency call at the head of the bed a few times in a row.


    Sonia obviously didn¡¯t listen to a word of Charles¡¯fort as she was now only immersed in the panic of


    being blind, blocking everything else.


    Even if she heard it, could she bring herself to believe him?


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She was already blind¡ªhow could it be only temporary?


    After all, she had never heard of a blind person who was only temporarily blind.


    Sonia closed her eyes and shed tears silently as she fell into absolute silence and blocked everything


    else.


    Charles knew that whenever she was in this state, no matter what outsiders said, it would be useless.


    Now, he could only pray for good news from the doctor.


    Charles clenched his fists and looked at Sonia sadly.


    Why is God doing this to my darling? Why would He toy her like this?


    The amount of pain that she has endured¡ªis it not enough? And on top of all that, for her to be made


    blind? Isn¡¯t God a little bit too cruel?


    Outside the ward, a group of doctors and nurses rushed over.


    In the ward next door, Tom came out to take a look. He happened to see the group of doctors and nurses


    entering Sonia¡¯s ward, and instantly, his face was filled with joy. Immediately abandoning the idea of


    going back to the office, he turned back to the ward and said to Toby, ¡°President Fuller, Good news! Miss


    Reed is awake!¡±


    If Sonia hadn¡¯t woken up, why would so many doctors and nurses rush over to her ward?


    When Toby, who was scanning through the documents on the hospital bed, heard what Tom said, he


    mmed the documents close and got out of bed. Without even bothering to sit in the wheelchair, he


    walked directly to the next door.


    As soon as he entered the door, Toby heard Charles shouting eagerly, ¡°Doctor! Please take a look at her


    eyes. She can¡¯t see anything!¡±


    At this moment, Toby¡¯s expression changed.


    Sonia is blind?


    Toby immediately strode to the hospital bed.


    Tom, who was by the door, was also stunned.


    Miss Reed can¡¯t see? How did things turn out this way? he thought.


    Toby came to the side of the Sonia¡¯s bed and looked at her lying on it while staring at the ceiling nkly.


    He lowered his head and asked in a tense voice, ¡°Sonia, can you see me?¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t respond.


    At that point, she looked like she had even lost her sense of hearing.


    Toby felt defeated. Not wanting to disturb the doctors diagnosing and treating her, he turned to Charles.


    ¡°Charles, what¡¯s going on? Why can¡¯t she see?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?¡± Charles replied with bloodshot eyes.


    He was the first to find out that Sonia couldn¡¯t see, so he wanted to know the reason more than anyone


    else.


    Toby looked at Charles for a while. After confirming that Charles really didn¡¯t know, he withdrew his gaze


    and cast his eyes on Sonia again. The worry in his eyes was unmistakable¡ªhe was visibly restless.


    After a while, the doctor finished the examination.


    Both men approached.


    In the end, it was Toby who asked first, ¡°Doctor, how is she?¡±


    Sonia, who was on the hospital bed, finally reacted as her eyshes trembled.


    Obviously, she also wanted to know the answer.


    The doctor put away the small shlight and replied, ¡°The patient¡¯s blindness should be rted to her


    head injury.¡±


    ¡°Can that be recovered?¡± Toby asked again, narrowing his eyes.


    The doctor shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t answer for the time being. She needs to be examined with


    professional equipment to determine what caused her blindness. Only by rifying this can I know if it


    can be recovered.¡±


    Hearing this, Charles clenched his fists and urged, ¡°Then why are you still standing here? Use whatever


    professional equipment needed to check, then! I¡¯ll go get it arranged right away!¡±


    He quickly ran out of the ward.


    Toby looked at Sonia. He wanted to touch her and tell her not to worry.


    But in the end, when his hand finally reached her, he withdrew it.


    This was because he knew that when she was awake, she would not want him to touch her.


    Hence, he withdrew his looming hand.


    Toby took a breath and looked at Sonia seriously and tenderly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It will all be fine. If you can¡¯t


    be cured here, I¡¯ll take you to another hospital. If it doesn¡¯t work there, we¡¯ll go abroad and find the best


    doctor. We will definitely heal your eyes.¡±


    Although Sonia couldn¡¯t see Toby, she could sense where he was based on the origin of his voice.


    She turned her head slightly in the direction of Toby and ¡®looked¡¯ at him with two empty eyes.


    Her lips parted, as if trying to say something.


    Toby lowered his eyes and cut her off. ¡°Alright, now. If you have anything to say, wait until your eyes are


    healed. Doctor, let¡¯s take her to the examination room first.¡±


    He knew that she was going to say that she didn¡¯t need him nor his help, and he didn¡¯t want to hear any


    of it.


    He just wanted to do something for her, not to ask her forgiveness, but just to make up for all the pain he


    had caused her in the past.


    Faced with Toby¡¯s strong orders, the doctor naturally did not dare to object and hurriedly asked the nurse


    to unload the hospital bed and push it to the examination room.


    Outside the inspection room, Toby and Charles were waiting anxiously along with Dous as well.


    Earlier, Dous was taken by the caretaker to the hospital cafeteria for lunch, so he was not in the ward.


    After returning to the ward, he found out that Sonia had entered the examination room again, so he


    asked the nurse to bring him over.


    Sonia¡¯s examination took very long.


    That being so, neither Toby nor Charles was impatient.


    Even Dous had been sitting quietly in the row of chairs, waiting with them withoutining at all.


    After waiting for almost two hours, Sonia was pushed out.


    Seeing that, Toby and Charles hurried forward, upying each side of the bed.


    Dous, on the other hand, was led by the caretaker and followed close behind.


    On the way back to the ward, Toby asked the nurse, ¡°Have the test resultse out?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. The doctor is analyzing it¡ªit will take a while,¡± the nurse shook her head and replied.


    A trace of disappointment shed in Toby¡¯s eyes¡ªsame as Charles¡¯.


    Even so, they didn¡¯t continue to say anything else but followed them back to the ward quietly.


    About half an hourter, the doctor in charge of examining Sonia¡¯s eyes came along with Tim.


    When Tim dropped by earlier, he happened to meet the doctor, and the two chatted in the elevator for a


    while.


    Upon finding out that Sonia could not see, Tim¡¯s expression became serious.


    However, after learning about the examination result, he was relieved.


    So, at this moment, he didn¡¯t seem to be like Toby and Charles at all¡ªthey were worried like hell.


    ¡°Miss Reed¡¯s examination results are out.¡± The doctor handed the examination report to Toby. ¡°She has a


    blood clot in her head, and the blood clot is applying pressure on the optic nerve, which is why she is


    unable to see now.¡±


    ¡°Can it be recovered?¡± This was what Charles wanted to know the most.


    The same could be said for everyone else present¡ªincluding Sonia herself.


    ¡°Of course. After the blood clot has dissipated, her vision will recover on its own,¡± Tim replied on behalf of


    the doctor.


    Hearing this, everyone was immediately delighted.


    Charles took Sonia¡¯s hand and said excitedly, ¡°Darling, did you hear what the doctor said? It can be


    recovered! Your eyesight is fine and can be recovered!¡±


    ¡°I know. I heard him.¡± Sonia finally spoke, her voice trembling and choking.


    Obviously, she was happy that she didn¡¯t have to live the rest of her life without vision.


    She could continue to develop Paradigm and avenge her father.


    At first, she really thought she was going to be blind. However, there was always light at the end of the


    tunnel, and she was fine now.


    Her eyes, just as Charles said, were only temporarily blind.


    Toby looked at Sonia and Charles¡¯ hands held together. His thin lips pursed, and the joy on his face


    regarding the condition of Sonia¡¯s eyes greatly faded.

 Chapter 373

    Chapter 373


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 373


    Toby wanted to step forward and separate Charles and Sonia.


    However, looking at Sonia, who came out of her sadness and showed a smile, he ended up suppressing


    the idea.


    For now, I¡¯ll let her be happy, but only this time. Next time, I will separate them no matter what. Toby


    tightened his hand holding the inspection report.


    Tim looked at his jealous look, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.


    How fascinating.


    Feelings are like spells¡ªthey could affect people¡¯s emotions anytime and anywhere, changing a person


    from head to toe.


    Fortunately, I have no troubles in this regard.


    All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door.


    Except for Sonia, everyone else looked toward the door. They were two people in police uniforms, and


    they must have visited because of Sonia¡¯s attack.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt. We heard that Miss Reed has woken up, so we came to visit her to find out more


    about the attack,¡± the leading police officer said.


    Sonia said, ¡°Come in.¡±


    Hearing that, the two police officers stepped in.


    Walking to the hospital bed, the two police officers looked at Sonia with a hint of sympathy in their eyes.


    They had never seen anyone unluckier than her. In just a few months, she had dealt with the police so


    many times that they had already grown familiar with each other.


    Naturally, the two police officers would not express their thoughts in front of Sonia, and instead asked


    with a light cough, ¡°Miss Reed, about your attack, do you have any thoughts about it? Also, do you think


    you might have offended anyone recently?¡±


    ¡°My darling won¡¯t offend anyone. It¡¯s those people who are always trying to offend her.¡± Charles,


    obviously disgruntled with the police officer¡¯s words, couldn¡¯t help but interject.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°Charles, don¡¯t make trouble.¡±


    Charles pouted slightly and stopped talking.


    Only then did Sonia begin to speak. ¡°Sorry, my friend is a little impulsive today. Please don¡¯t take


    offense.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We understand.¡± The two police officers waved their hands and expressed their understanding.


    Sonia continued, ¡°Actually, if I were to list who I have offended these days, there are quite a few of them.


    The couple from the Gray family, Tina Gray, and Cynthia Stone. I think we can rule out Tina Gray as it is


    definitely not her. As for the other three, I can¡¯t be sure because I was knocked unconscious at the time


    ¡ªI couldn¡¯t see what the culprit looked like. Honestly, I can¡¯t even tell whether the other party was a man


    or a woman.¡±


    The reason why she excluded Tina was the same as Toby.


    First of all, Tina was already under surveince, so it was impossible for her to take action in that


    condition. Even if she were to take action, she would definitely have killed her right then and there; she


    wouldn¡¯t only hit her head and cut her wrist.


    So this was obviously not Tina¡¯s way of doing things.


    The two police officers had no doubts about Sonia¡¯s answer.


    They saw how she was knocked out, and she did faint on the spot without seeing the other party.


    ¡°The one who attacked you, Miss Reed, was a woman,¡± said one of the police officers.


    Sonia was slightly surprised. ¡°A woman? So it could be Cynthia or Mrs. Gray, right?¡±


    However, in her opinion, the possibility of the culprit being Julia was not high.


    Although she did not have any direct grudge with Julia, she had sent Tina, whom Julia loved dearly, to


    prison. Besides, Sonia also had a grudge against Titus, and because of Henry, Julia must also hate her.


    If Julia were to harm her, it would have been much more severe than this.


    If that was the case, the only suspect left was Cynthia.


    However, Toby suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s not Cynthia Stone.¡±


    The crowd looked at him at once.


    Although Sonia still hadn¡¯t regained her vision, she also looked over.


    Toby looked at the two police officers and said, ¡°I, too, did suspect Cynthia Stone yesterday, so I told my


    subordinate to investigate her. She didn¡¯t leave her house at that time, and her finances were frozen, so


    it was impossible for her to find someone to deal with Sonia. Since Cynthia paid someone to intimidate


    Soniast time, Chairman Stone froze all her property, including her cash flow.¡±


    Hearing this, Sonia frowned tightly.


    It¡¯s not Cynthia Stone¡ªthen who could it be?


    The two police officers seemed to notice what Sonia was thinking, and after looking at each other, they


    took out their mobile phones. ¡°Miss Reed, we have surveince tapes from when you were attacked.


    Though the culprit had her disguise on, if you know that person, you should be able to think of one or two


    people who fit the description.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t see.¡± Sonia smiled wryly and shook her head.


    The two policemen were puzzled.


    Charles exined before they asked, ¡°Sonia lost her vision.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The two police officers were surprised. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll answer that.¡± Tim, who had not spoken for a while, suddenly pushed his sses and exined the


    reason why Sonia couldn¡¯t see.


    After the two police officers listened to him, they sympathized with Sonia even more.


    ¡°Sorry, Miss Reed. We didn¡¯t know.¡± The two police officers apologized.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°No worries. It¡¯s only temporary anyway. However, right now, I really can¡¯t help you by


    watching the surveince. But if you can describe the appearance of this woman to me, maybe I can


    help.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± The two officers nodded and began to describe.


    The more Sonia listened, the deeper her frown became.


    She always thought that the person who attacked her would have gone easy on the disguise, such as


    wearing a mask and hat at most, so she could figure out who the person might be based on her figure or


    height.


    To her dismay, the culprit was actually fully armed; she not only wore loose clothing to hide her figure, but


    she also had on a bigger pair of shoes with thick soles, hiding her height.


    How could she even begin to think of who the culprit could be when they were disguised like that?


    ¡°This person was pretending to be a man on purpose,¡± Tim said while ying with a scalpel.


    ¡°Yes. This person knew that there was surveince in themunity, but she didn¡¯t know where the


    cameras were installed. So, in order not to be recognized, she was dressed like this while pretending to


    be a man, misleading us to thinking that she was a man so as to increase her chances of getting away


    scot free.¡± Toby nodded.


    Charles also continued, ¡°Fortunately, her disguise was not at all perfect. Some small details that showed


    her real identity were still exposed.¡±


    The two police officers said again, ¡°Our identification department has made calctions based on the


    surveince, and we¡¯ve roughly calcted the height and weight of this person.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sonia reacted quickly.


    The two police officers said, ¡°Through technical means, we used the form of human body proportion


    data to calcte that this person is around 1.58 meters tall and weighs 40kg. So, Miss Reed, do you


    have any idea? Is there such a person around you?¡±


    Sonia began to think.


    After thinking for two minutes, she shook her head. ¡°No. The people around me are all quite tall; no one


    is around 1.5 meters.¡±


    Having said that, she had a feeling that she was missing something, but she couldn¡¯t ce a finger on


    what exactly it was.Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Toby and the rest were also helping to think, but they could not think of anyone who matched this


    physical data besides Sonia.


    The two police officers nodded when they heard what Sonia said. ¡°Alright. Then it seems that the person


    who attacked you, Miss Reed, was most likely hired. If this is the case, it will be even more troublesome.


    It¡¯s not enough to catch the person who attacked you; we have to find out whoever was behind this as


    well.¡±


    Sonia nodded in agreement.


    At this time, Toby suddenly looked at the two police officers. ¡°Hold on. Didn¡¯t you transfer the surveince


    footage of that person appearing in the Bayside Residence yesterday? How did that person appear? You


    should already have the results of the investigation.¡±


    Hearing this, Charles also quickly added, ¡°Yes. As long as you find out how that person appeared,


    maybe you can find her.¡±

 Chapter 374

    Chapter 374


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 374


    ¡°About this, we did investigate further; ording to the surveince footage inside and outside of the


    Bayside Residencemunity, we saw that this person came in a taxi, and after arriving at the


    community, she stayed next to the open-air swimming pool in themunity and didn¡¯t leave the


    swimming pool until Miss Reed appeared. She then followed Miss Reed from behind, and when she left


    after attacking Miss Reed, she also took a taxi,¡± the two police officers said one after another.


    Sonia bit her lip. ¡°Coming and going via a taxi¡ªis this person being extra cautious or clumsy?¡±


    She wouldn¡¯t be considered clumsy because she knew to disguise herself heavily to not be exposed.


    But she wasn¡¯t cautious either since she even revealed her whereabouts by taking a taxi. This made it all


    the more impossible to guess what that person was thinking.


    ¡°Since she came and went by taxi, the surveince camera should have captured the taxi¡¯s license te,


    so you should also know where this person got on and where she got off, right?¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    ¡°Yes, indeed. We found the two taxi drivers, and because this person was dressed very strangely, it left a


    deeper impression on these two drivers. This person stopped the taxi at the department store on the


    north side of the city and finally got off at Midbert Vige in the west of the city.¡±


    ¡°Midbert Vige!¡± Charles¡¯ eyes brightened. ¡°Could it be that person actually lives in Midbert Vige?¡±


    ¡°We naturally thought about this possibility as well, so we have already sent inclothes officers to


    investigate around the area, but because there is no surveince in the vige, it may take a long time,¡±


    the two police officers said.


    Tim pushed his sses and said, ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why did this person choose toe from the


    department store? It¡¯s about dozens of kilometers away from Bayside Residence.¡±


    This question happened to be where Sonia was most puzzled.


    Toby looked at the two police officers. ¡°You must have looked into this already, right?¡±


    The two police officers nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. We have obtained the surveince from the department


    store, and it shows that this person appeared in the department store at noon. After she appeared, she


    stayed in the lobby of the first floor of the department store. It wasn¡¯t until 5.00PM in the afternoon that


    this person went to the bathroom, and aftering out, she went straight out of the department store to


    hail a taxi and went to Bayside Residence. However, we couldn¡¯t find out how this person got to the


    department store.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t find out? The surveince near the department store didn¡¯t capture anything about her?¡±


    Charles asked, obviously dissatisfied.


    The two police officers shook their heads apologetically. ¡°Mr. Lane, you¡¯re right. We have watched all the


    surveince near the department store, and there was indeed no footage of this person at all, so this


    person seemed to have suddenly appeared in the department store.¡±


    ¡°She must have changed her disguise!¡± Toby squinted his eyes, and his voice was very certain. ¡°It¡¯s not


    that the surveince cameras near the department store didn¡¯t get any footage of this woman¡ªit¡¯s highly


    likely that the woman hadn¡¯t changed into her disguise, so you couldn¡¯t recognize her. Which means, this


    person changed her clothes after entering the department store, so this can exin why she ¡®appeared


    out of thin air¡¯.¡±


    Hearing that, the two police officers were startled because the both of them really didn¡¯t think about this


    at all.


    They were still wondering how this person appeared out of nowhere, but they didn¡¯t expect that it might


    have been because she had put on a disguise at ater time.


    ¡°I also agree with President Fuller¡¯s statement,¡± Tim said, wrapping his arms.


    Although Charles hated Toby, this time, he didn¡¯t disagree because he agreed with his take on this.


    Sonia lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then suddenly asked, ¡°Since you have that person¡¯s


    body data, can you use the exclusion method to narrow down the suspect?¡±


    Before the two police officers could answer, Toby answered her first. ¡°No. There is too much traffic in the


    department store, and there are definitely a lot of people of the same height and figure, so it is


    impossible to lock her down!¡±


    ¡°President Fuller is right. If we really tried to narrow down the suspects based on the figure, there would


    be at least a few hundred people there that day. These hundreds of people are not necessarily nearby


    residents; it is possible that many of them are from other parts of Seafield or even other cities, so we


    can¡¯t summon people from every household¡ªthe workload would be too much,¡± the two police officers


    also said.


    Sonia was silent after hearing that.


    Charles patted her on the shoulder andforted her, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Darling. Didn¡¯t she get off at


    Midbert Vige? Many people must have seen her in that disguise, then we will be able to catch her.¡±


    Sonia squeezed the corners of her mouth, barely showing a smile, as she responded dismissively.


    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. We don¡¯t want to take more of your time, Miss Reed. You have a good rest¡ªwe will


    head back to the police station first. If there is any progress, we will notify you in time.¡± The two police


    officers stood up.


    Sonia nodded slightly. ¡°Okay. Thanks for the trouble. Take care. Charles will see the two of you out.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Charles responded and sent the two out.


    Right then, there were only three people left in the ward, including Sonia.


    Momentster, Toby looked at her and said, ¡°The police are not staffed enough, so it will take a long time


    to ask the residents of Midbert Vige to get results. I will send a group of people to help the police to


    investigate together; I believe there will be results soon. ¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Toby, can you please not meddle in my affairs anymore? I finally repaid one of


    your favors, and there are still lots to pay, so I don¡¯t want to owe you more and more.¡±


    Return my favor?


    A trace of doubt shed in Toby¡¯s eyes.


    He was not following at all.


    However, without thinking too much, Toby lowered his eyes and said softly, ¡°I did this not to make you


    owe me a favor, so you don¡¯t need to pay it back. I just want to do something for you.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t need it, Toby. I don¡¯t need it. Do you understand?¡± Sonia patted her nket angrily.


    Beside him, Tim leaned against the cold wall, watching the ¡®show¡¯ with great amusement.


    Toby sat down beside the hospital bed and looked at her seriously. ¡°No. You need it. You are not strong


    enough now, and you can¡¯t even protect yourself, so you need someone backing you!¡±


    ¡°I know. That person can be Charles or Carl, but definitely not you.¡± Although Sonia couldn¡¯t see him, her


    eyes were firm.


    Hearing that, Toby felt a little sting in his heart, but it was not obvious on his face. ¡°But neither Charles


    nor Carl have the ability to protect you all the time, nor are they powerful enough as well.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I never nned to rely on them to strengthen myself anyway, so Toby, put away your


    thoughts. I¡¯ll still say it again¡ªI don¡¯t and will never need your intervention. It¡¯s just going to bother me!¡±


    Sonia warned him coldly.


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tobyughed instead of being angry. ¡°You¡¯re speaking as if you wouldn¡¯t be bothered by me if I don¡¯t


    interfere.¡±


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched; she had noebacks for what he said.


    Seeing that she didn¡¯t respond, Toby suppressed the dullness in his heart and chuckled. ¡°Look, since


    you¡¯re bothered by me anyway, I¡¯m not afraid of doing something that annoys you more because it¡¯ll just


    be the same anyway. Okay. Rest well. I¡¯ll go and get someone to have a look at Midbert Vige, and I¡¯ll


    let you know when there¡¯s a result.¡±


    With that, he got up and went out.


    Hearing his footsteps, Sonia felt angry and helpless.


    She was furious with Toby¡¯s thick-skinned attitude, and helpless at his persistence.


    She often found herself at a loss of what to do when facing such a person.


    ¡°Alright. Everyone has left. It¡¯s just me and you now,¡± Tim said suddenly.


    Sonia turned to him. ¡°You¡¯re still here?¡±


    He hadn¡¯t said anything since just now, so she thought he had left.


    Tim pushed his sses and smiled. ¡°It seems that my presence with you is really weak. You don¡¯t even


    know that I am here.¡±


    Sonia was a little embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t see. So¡­¡±

 Chapter 375

    Chapter 375


    Chapter 375 The Culprit Has Been Caught


    ¡°All right. I was just teasing you. Let¡¯s get down to business.¡± cing both hands in the pockets of his


    white coat, Tim fixed Sonia with a serious gaze. ¡°Sonia, do you have any opinions about the red mole on


    your left wrist?¡±


    ¡°What kind of opinion can I have about a red mole?¡± Sonia was confused.


    Light reflected in Tim¡¯s sses as he answered, ¡°Because the real reason the person attacked you this


    time was to destroy the red mole on your wrist.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia was stunned. ¡°Destroy the red mole on my wrist?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You don¡¯t know what the injury on your wrist is like, but I know that the wound on your wrist


    is in the shape of a circle, and it¡¯s only slightly bigger than your mole. So, it¡¯s obvious that that person


    made you unconscious because they wanted to destroy your red mole.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Sonia murmured as she stroked her bandaged left wrist with her right hand.


    Tim walked over. ¡°That¡¯s why I asked you if you have any opinions about your red mole. Or maybe that


    person wanted to destroy it because it represented something.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s dull eyes were filled with confusion as she shook her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was born


    with this mole, so what can it possibly represent?¡±


    As the owner of the red mole, it was impossible for her to not know if it really represented anything.


    Not to mention, it was just a red mole. She didn¡¯t understand why someone would have something


    against it.


    ¡°All right. It seems like the secret behind your red mole is buried so deep that even you as the owner


    aren¡¯t aware of it. But, there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m sure about.¡± Taking one hand out of his pocket, Tim rubbed


    his chin as he continued, ¡°That is, this mole must present a threat, which was why that person wanted to


    destroy it so desperately.¡±


    This was his deduction from a psychological point of view.


    Besides this, he didn¡¯t know how else to exin why someone would be so concerned about this mole.


    ¡°A threat¡­¡± Sonia lowered her head and repeated the word, feeling thoroughly ridiculed.


    How could she not feel ridiculed? She had unknowingly gotten herself another enemy.


    Moreover, she felt like her existence was a threat to everyone. For example, Tina, and now, this person.


    Before this, Tina had felt threatened by her and tried to kill her, all because Tina figured only by doing


    that could she be together with Toby.


    Now, even her mole had be a threat to someone.


    What¡¯s going to be the next threat, then? My hair? The dead skin on my body?


    Noticing Sonia¡¯s exhaustion, Tim adjusted the reclination of her hospital bed. ¡°On the bright side,


    although this person sees you as a threat, she doesn¡¯t want you dead. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it be better


    for her to just kill you? She just wanted to destroy your mole, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯s going to do anything


    to you anymore. After all, the threat you pose to her is gone. As for why she feels threatened, we¡¯ll be


    clear of it after we catch her. Okay, have a good rest. You haven¡¯t fully recovered from your concussion


    yet, so you need more rest. Otherwise, you¡¯ll feel nauseous again.¡±


    Sonia nodded slightly. ¡°I know. Thank you.¡±


    In fact, she already felt nauseous now, and her head was spinning even more than before.


    Closing her eyes, Sonia leaned her head to the side and fell asleep in no time.


    When Tim heard her even breathing, he turned around and left.


    In Midbert Vige, Berthull, a few old people were sitting under a tree and having a whispered discussion


    while they stared at the police officers and several bodyguards dressed in ck.


    ¡°Look, another group is here. What do you guys think they¡¯re doing here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But they¡¯re policemen, so I think someone hasmitted a crime here. They¡¯re probably


    here to catch them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the Coopers, right? I heard that Leon hit his daughter-inw so badlyst night that she was sent


    to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. You don¡¯t need so many people to catch Leon. Just a few policemen would be enough.


    Why would they bring along those bodyguards who look like gangsters? I think that a fugitive has


    escaped to our ce.¡±


    The several old people chattered on, gossiping non-stop.


    Not far away, in a ck Mercedes-Benz, Rina was watching those police officers and bodyguards with a


    strange look in her eyes.


    Puzzled, the driver up front asked, ¡°Miss Rina, aren¡¯t you going to go down?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just going to take a look from here,¡± Rina answered with a smile.


    This further confused the driver. ¡°Then, why did youe here, Miss Rina?¡±


    ¡°One of my old friends stays here, so I came to visit, but she just sent a message telling me that she has


    visitors, so she asked me toe back next time,¡± Rina said softly as she ced both hands on her


    knees before giving them a hard squeeze.


    She was squeezing so hard that her fingers had turned pale, which showed how anxious and uneasy


    she currently felt.


    The driver didn¡¯t notice this and simply nodded. ¡°I see. Then, should we head back?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Rina lowered her gaze.


    Nothing will go wrong.


    She had nned everything thoroughly, so she was certain that nothing would go wrong!


    The car turned back, and they left the ce in an instant.


    A short while after Rina left, the police officers and bodyguards in Midbert Vige escorted a woman out.


    That woman was 5 foot tall, and she was frail, looking to be around 40kg, simr to how the two police


    officers in Sonia¡¯s room had described her to be.


    Meanwhile, in Trifecta Hospital, Toby had just received a phone call. After hearing the news, a bright


    gleam shed across his eyes.


    After he hung up the phone, Tim remarked, ¡°You look so happy. Is it because the culprit has been


    caught?¡±


    Next to him, Charles, who was about to go back after exiting Sonia¡¯s ward, happened to hear this. His


    spirits lifted, and he quickly walked toward Toby and Tim.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    ¡°What did you just say? The person who attacked my darling has been caught?¡± Charles asked eagerly.


    Toby cast him a nce but didn¡¯t answer.


    So, Tim answered him instead. ¡°From President Fuller¡¯s reaction, it would seem so!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Charles pumped his fist. ¡°Where¡¯s that person now?¡±


    Tim looked at Toby, who put away his phone. ¡°She¡¯s been sent to the police station and is ready for


    interrogation.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go too. I want to hear with my own ears why that woman did this!¡±


    With that, Charles quickly walked toward the elevator.


    Tim raised his eyebrows but didn¡¯t stop him. Pushing his sses up, he said, ¡°By the way, tell the police


    to hand her over to me after the interrogation. I want to perform drug tests on her. I believe that with your


    ability, you¡¯ll be able to do it. Otherwise, Tina wouldn¡¯t have been sentenced so quickly without trial.¡±


    Toby threw him a bleak nce. ¡°Okay. After Sonia wakes up and we understand the woman¡¯s situation,


    I¡¯ll talk to the police. But don¡¯t you kill her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Tim¡¯s smile was profound.


    Toby ignored him and walked into Sonia¡¯s ward.


    By the time Sonia woke up, it was already night time.


    When she opened her eyes, it was still dark, so she couldn¡¯t see anything, but she wasn¡¯t as frightened


    as she was during the day.


    Perhaps it was because she knew that her blindness was only temporary, so she had now calmly


    epted the fact that she couldn¡¯t see.


    Moreover, she had also been telling herself that she had to get used to her life as a blind person as soon


    as possible, at least until her eyesight was restored.


    ¡°Charles!¡± Sonia stretched out her hand and shouted.


    Toby was looking down at his phone when he suddenly heard her voice, only to realize that she had


    woken up and was calling out another man¡¯s name.


    Toby¡¯s face sank immediately, and his heart turned sour, but he still stood up and held her hand. ¡°It¡¯s


    me!¡±

 Chapter 376

    Chapter 376


    Chapter 376 Two Pieces of Good News


    For a moment, Sonia was stunned. Then, she realized that the person holding her hand wasn¡¯t Charles,


    but Toby, so she hurriedly tried to pull out her hand.


    Toby, however, tightened his grip.


    Sonia was unable to break free, so her face flushed, and she yelled, ¡°Toby, what are you trying to do!¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I just don¡¯t want you to move around.¡± A gleam flickered across Toby¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll let


    you go if you quiet down. Don¡¯t move around. You¡¯ll get dizzy.¡±


    Sonia let out an angryugh.


    He¡¯s holding my hand because he doesn¡¯t want me to move? What kind of a reason is that?


    Even if he didn¡¯t touch her, she wouldn¡¯t move around either.


    But Sonia also knew that it was useless to argue with this stubborn man.


    Taking a deep breath, she suppressed her displeasure and remained motionless. ¡°Okay. Now it¡¯s time for


    you to keep your word. Let me go.¡±


    Toby pursed his thin lips and let go of her.


    Once Sonia¡¯s hand was freed, she immediately retracted it and ced it under the nkets before


    asking, ¡°Why are you here? Where are Charles and Dous?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s night time. Charles went back, and Dous fell asleep in the room inside. I¡¯m here to keep you


    company,¡± Toby answered after sitting back down.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Who asked for yourpany?¡±


    ¡°Nobody asked for mypany. It¡¯s of my own volition. By the way, there are two pieces of good news.


    Do you want to hear them?¡± Toby changed the subject.


    He knew that if he continued to talk about apanying her, she would definitely end up kicking him out


    of the ward.


    Sure enough, as soon as Toby changed the topic, Sonia¡¯s attention was captured, and she asked, ¡°What


    is it?¡±


    ¡°The first one is that Titus was stripped of his position as president,¡± Toby replied without beating around


    the bush.


    Sonia was surprised. ¡°Dismissed? Why did this happen?¡±


    When Toby saw how excited she was, he smiled. ¡°Because you sent Tina to the detention center,


    Triforce Enterprise almost went bankrupt, and Titus is her father, so it naturally attracted the attention of


    Triforce¡¯s shareholders. Tina has once again implicated thepany, so Triforce¡¯s shareholders jointly


    held a board meeting and removed Titus from his position. In the future, Titus will only be Triforce


    Enterprise¡¯srgest idle shareholder.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Although Triforce Enterprise still belonged to the Gray Family, they no longer had the authority.


    For someone as conceited as Titus, this was a huge torment, because he wouldn¡¯t have a say in


    something that obviously belonged to him. Instead, he could only watch as other people used it. How


    was he supposed to feel good about that?


    ¡°Did this happen today?¡± Sonia asked.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes. This morning.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Serves him right. Tina caused Titus great harm, so I¡¯m sure Titus hates her a lot now,


    right?¡±


    These two used to be a loving father-daughter pair.


    Now, they had be enemies. It was certainly ironic.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, what¡¯s the second good news?¡± Sonia propped her body up.


    After lying down for so long, her lower back was sore and aching, so she urgently needed to sit and


    rx.


    All she did was sit up, but severe dizziness struck her. Sonia groaned from the difort and almost fell


    off the side of the hospital bed.


    Upon seeing this, Toby immediately got up and took a step forward; he used his body as a railing to


    block her, which sessfully prevented her from falling off the hospital bed.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Toby ced his hand on her shoulder and looked down at her with unconcealed


    concern in his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay. Just a little dizzy.¡± As Sonia leaned against Toby¡¯s abs, her breathing was rapid, and her eyes


    were closed slightly as she tried to adjust to the dizziness in her head.


    Noticing how much difort she was in, Toby ced his hands on her temple and gently massaged it.


    Sonia wanted to push him away, but she was so dizzy that she had no strength, so she could only let him


    do it.


    Right now, she regretted sitting up.


    It was clear that she hadn¡¯t recovered from her concussion yet, because making anyrge movements


    would cause her dizziness and nausea. If it got more serious, it may cause brain hypoxia and shock on


    the spot.


    After a certain amount of time, Sonia felt a little better, so she removed herself from Toby¡¯s arms. ¡°Thank


    you, President Fuller.¡±


    She figured that she should thank him.


    If he hadn¡¯t caught her in time, she would¡¯ve fallen off the bed.


    She already had a concussion, so if she fell again, it might even lead to brain death.


    Not to mention, Toby had continuously rubbed her temples to relieve her difort. If he hadn¡¯t, she


    wouldn¡¯t have recovered so quickly.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. How do you feel now?¡± Toby held Sonia¡¯s shoulders and helped her lie back down.


    Sonia didn¡¯t resist either.


    She couldn¡¯t see, so she could only let him take care of her.


    Otherwise, she might hit her head just trying to grab a pillow or lie down.


    ¡°Much better,¡± Sonia replied feebly after resting her head on the pillow.


    Seeing as her face had turned pale, Toby pressed the bell on the bedside. ¡°I called for the doctor. It¡¯s


    better to let them take a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thank you.¡± Sonia didn¡¯t refuse.


    After tucking her under the nket, Toby sat back down. ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the topic earlier. The


    second piece of good news will probably make you even happier. The person who attacked you has


    been arrested!¡±


    ¡°Arrested!¡± Sonia¡¯s round eyes widened, which Toby found to be rather adorable.


    He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he restrained himself and replied after a gulp, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Sonia sped her hands together. ¡°Where was she caught?¡±


    Toby wouldn¡¯t lie to her, and there was no need to lie to her either.


    So, she figured the person must have indeed been caught.


    ¡°In Midbert Vige. My people and the police went to search for her and finally found her,¡± Toby


    exined gently.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°It was that easy?¡±


    She was in Midbert Vige after all!


    That person had taken a taxi to Midbert Vige. She thought that the culprit went there because she¡¯d


    have a better chance at escaping since there was no surveince in that area.


    Unexpectedly, that person had remained in Midbert Vige and didn¡¯t leave, which didn¡¯t quite make


    sense.


    The fact that that person had disguised herself as a man and covered herself up so well so that no one


    would discover her true identity meant that she was very clever. If she was clever, why didn¡¯t she run


    away? Why did she stay in Midbert Vige?


    On the contrary, it felt as if that person had deliberately revealed her whereabouts to attract the police so


    that they could arrest her.


    Sonia¡¯s thoughts were clearly written on her face, and Toby saw it at once, so he said, ¡°That person¡¯s


    home is in Midbert Vige.¡±


    ¡°So, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange? Why would someone stay in their own home and wait to be caught? The


    fact that she knew how to disguise herself so well shows that she doesn¡¯t want to be caught, but she just


    took a taxi back to the vige. That outfit was so mboyant, and it must¡¯ve left people with clues about


    her whereabouts. Isn¡¯t it very contradictory? So, are you sure you¡¯ve really caught the person who


    attacked me?¡± Sonia¡¯s brows were furrowed tightly.


    Toby lifted his chin. ¡°I know what you mean. The police and I also suspected that she was wrongly


    arrested because it was too easy, but it turned out that it was really her. Her height and weight are the


    same as what was calcted by the police. Also, when she was arrested in her home, they found the


    clothes she wore when she attacked you. ording to her, she took a taxi back to Midbert Vige and


    left clues for the police on purpose so that they could arrest her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia was a little confused. ¡°Why would she do that?¡±


    It turned out that getting the police toe catch her was indeed intentional.


    If that was the case, why would that person cover herself up so tightly? She could¡¯ve just shown her true


    identity.


    Sonia truly couldn¡¯t figure out what this person was thinking.


    ¡°She said that her goal had been achieved, so naturally, she had no need to hide anymore. Even if she


    hid, she figured she would be found one day, so she¡¯d rather not hide,¡± Toby exined with a chill in his


    voice.

 Chapter 377

    Chapter 377


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 377


    Sonia was a little angry. ¡°I thought her guilty conscience got to her. Turns out she didn¡¯t want to hide


    because she knew she¡¯d get caught sooner orter.¡±


    Toby looked at her. ¡°What do you want to do with this person?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush it. I want to know why she attacked me.¡± Sonia squeezed her fists, her expression extremely


    cold.


    Toby suddenly narrowed his eyes. ¡°She didn¡¯t give an exnation.¡±


    ¡°No exnation?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    Toby rubbed his fingers together, and his entire demeanor exuded a murderous aura. ¡°Yes. No matter


    how the police interrogated her, she wouldn¡¯t exin.¡±


    Sonia gritted her teeth. ¡°Then, she¡¯s quite stubborn.¡±


    ¡°Charles saw her, and ording to him, she seemed to have someone backing her, so she refused to


    exin.¡± Toby pressed his thin lips into a straight line.


    Although he didn¡¯t go to the police station to see the woman, Tom did.


    Tom said that the police even used a strong light during interrogation, but the woman still didn¡¯t exin.


    She obviously didn¡¯t seem like a strong person¡ªshe was just an ordinary person who was rather soft


    and weak¡ªbut that woman stood firm on not disclosing any information.


    So, if it wasn¡¯t because something was worrying her, her willpower wouldn¡¯t be so strong.


    ¡°What¡¯s that woman¡¯s name?¡± Sonia took a deep breath and managed to calm down.


    Toby looked at her. ¡°Alice Collins.¡±


    It was an extremely rustic andmon name.


    ¡°Alice Collins?¡± Sonia was puzzled. It was obvious that she didn¡¯t know this person, nor had she heard of


    that name before.


    So, why would a person who had no grievances or grudges against her do this to her?


    Was she ordered by someone, or¡­


    For a moment, Sonia¡¯s heart was filled with many doubts.


    ¡°I want to go to the police station tomorrow to see the woman and personally question her,¡± Sonia said


    solemnly.


    She wouldn¡¯t be satisfied if she didn¡¯t question the woman herself!


    Toby was a little reluctant to agree at first, seeing as she had yet to fully recover.


    But when he saw the determination on her face, he decided not to stop her.


    At the Gray Residence in Eastbourne, Rina had just found out that Alice had been captured. Her heart


    was beating rapidly, and she barely took two bites of her dinner before excusing herself to her bedroom,


    iming that she was feeling unwell.


    As she sat on the edge of her bed, her breathing was heavy, and her anxiety was clear from her


    expression.


    Right now, she was afraid that Alice would expose her.


    Rina had made a deal with Alice, in which Alice promised to be investigated by the police on her behalf,


    and she repeatedly promised that she wouldn¡¯t give Rina up. Despite that, in the end, who could


    guarantee that it wouldn¡¯t happen?


    So, she had been on edge since the afternoon, and she was distracted when she went shopping with her


    mother. It wasn¡¯t until dinnertime when she saw from the news that Alice had been arrested that she


    completely panicked. She was worried that the police would suddenly turn up to arrest her, the real


    culprit.


    Indeed¡ªthe person who harmed Sonia was actually her, not Alice.


    The day before she nned to take action against Sonia, she happened to meet Alice. When she found


    out that Alice desperately needed money to treat her son, she took the initiative to speak to Alice and


    had struck a deal with her. She would pay for Alice¡¯s son¡¯s treatment, while Alice would take the me


    for her.


    So, she came up with a n. She bought a set of men¡¯s clothes for Alice and brought them to the


    department store. At 5.00PM, they met in the store¡¯s restroom and swapped clothes. Wearing Alice¡¯s


    clothes, she went to Bayside Residence to destroy Sonia¡¯s red mole, while Alice, posing as Rina, took a


    taxi to Midbert Vige to wait for her. After she destroyed Sonia¡¯s mole, she went to Midbert Vige to


    swap back with Alice. This n only worked out well because she and Alice were the same height and


    weight. Otherwise, the police would surely notice that the person who attacked Sonia and the person


    they arrested were different.


    After changing back into her own clothes, she returned to the Gray Residence and broke the stick that


    she used to attack Sonia, then wrapped it up in some old clothes before cing it into a ck garbage


    bag and throwing it away.


    She brought it back to throw because she was afraid that the police would find it if she discarded it at


    Bayside Residence. After all, there may be some fingerprints on it that she failed to clean. If they foundText ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    out, her n would be useless.


    She didn¡¯t ask Alice to attack Sonia but did it herself instead because Alice was too timid, even more so


    than Rina. When she heard that the task was to harm someone, she wasn¡¯t willing to do it, so Rina had


    no choice but to take matters into her own hands.


    Although she wasn¡¯t exactly a good person and was rather shrewd, it was still her first time hurting


    someone. So, when she attacked Sonia, she was anxious and scared, but she had to go through with it


    for the sake of her future. Surprisingly, she was no longer scared after it was done; she was only fearful


    that she would be caught.


    However, the news had said that Alice was arrested at around 4.00PM. Several hours had passed, but


    the police hadn¡¯te looking for her yet, so it seemed like Alice didn¡¯t expose her after all.


    With this in mind, Rina¡¯s restless and frightened heart calmed down a little.


    Getting up, she walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, then looked out at the night sky and murmured,


    ¡°Miss Reed, please don¡¯t hold this against me. I¡¯m just doing this for my future. Since you and Mr.


    Coleman brought me to this paradise and aroused my greed, then you have to be responsible for it. So,


    the me should be on you for being Rina¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    At 9.00AM the next day, Sonia asked Charles to take the morning off for her, then she prepared to go to


    the police station to take a look at Alice.


    Charles was unable to talk her out of it, so he could only agree and got a wheelchair before


    apanying her there.


    They had just reached the parking lot when Tom pushed Toby over as well.


    Seeing this, Charles ced both hands on his waist. ¡°What, now? You want to go too?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t deny it. ¡°Am I not allowed to? I¡¯m part of the reason she was caught, so it¡¯s only right that I go


    too.¡±


    Charles pursed his lips. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because of that, I¡¯d do anything to stop you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Charles. That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s go.¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t see, so she could only fumble around until she


    found Charles. Then, she patted his hand and urged helplessly, ¡°Don¡¯t forget. We¡¯re only free in the


    morning.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Darling. You know that I want to take jabs at Toby everytime I see him. I¡¯ll help you get into the


    car.¡± As he spoke, he took out his car keys and opened the door.


    Beside them, Tom let out a light cough, then suppressed hisughter and said to Toby, ¡°President Fuller,


    let¡¯s get into the car too.¡±


    Toby murmured assent. Despite agreeing, he didn¡¯t move, but kept staring at Sonia instead.


    It wasn¡¯t until Sonia got into the car with Charles¡¯ help that he signaled for Tom to push him to their car.


    With one in front of the other, the two cars arrived at the police station almost a dozen seconds apart.


    Charles then pushed Sonia in.


    The police station had received Toby¡¯s phone call and knew that they wereing, so they wordlessly


    brought them to see Alice.


    Alice had been locked up in the interrogation room all this while, and the police nned to keep her there


    for twenty-four hours, so they didn¡¯t give her anything to eat, but only gave her water. They didn¡¯t allow


    her to sleep as well, and even kept her under strong light to oppress her so that she would break down


    and confess.


    It had been more than ten hours now, and Alice was obviously in a distressed state, but she still refused


    to say anything, which was truly troubling the police.


    After all, they rarely encountered people who were so perseverant. Usually, only those guilty of the most


    heinous crimes would be so tough because they had toorge of an involvement.


    But Alice was just a regr citizen, and she had only made a small mistake, yet she was so resistant. It


    really made them feel helpless.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Alice?¡± Sonia asked. After Charles pushed her into the interrogation room, he whispered to


    her that Alice was right in front of her.

 Chapter 378

    Chapter 378


    Chapter 378 The Secret Behind the Red Mole


    Hence, even though Sonia couldn¡¯t see, her ¡®gaze¡¯nded urately on Alice¡¯s face.


    Alice was exhausted, and her head was spinning and pounding, so much so that it felt like it was going to


    explode. Slumped over the interrogation table, she struggled to lift her eyelids to look at the four people


    across from her.


    She didn¡¯t recognize the three men, but she knew the woman in the wheelchair who had asked her if she


    was Alice. To be more precise, she had seen her in the picture that that person showed her.


    Alice responded in a breathless voice, ¡°I know what you¡¯re here for, but you should just give up. I won¡¯t


    say anything.¡±


    If she said anything, that person definitely wouldn¡¯t save her son. Her son was the only family she had,


    and she didn¡¯t want to fail at treating him just because she didn¡¯t have enough money. Hence, she had to


    save him, even though he didn¡¯t know about her existence.


    When Sonia heard Alice¡¯s statement, her delicate eyebrows furrowed. She hadn¡¯t even asked anything,


    yet this person already refused to talk. This feeling was truly unpleasant.


    Squeezing the armrest of the wheelchair, Sonia attempted to suppress her anger before speaking again.


    ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t say anything? You have to know that as long as you talk, you¡¯ll get a lighter


    sentence. If you don¡¯t say anything, you¡¯ll get a heavy sentence.¡±


    ¡°I know, but it doesn¡¯t matter. Whatever it is, I won¡¯t say anything.¡± Alice forced a bitter and tired smile.


    The anger that Sonia had just suppressed rose again, and her head began to feel ufortable.


    Toby was the first to realize that something wasn¡¯t right with her, so he ced his hand on her shoulder


    and gave it a light squeeze while saying gently, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t get too emotional. Take a deep


    breath and control your emotions.¡±


    Sonia was well aware of what would happen if she didn¡¯t calm down, so ignoring the fact that he was


    touching her, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths.


    Charles red at Toby¡¯s hand, which was still on Sonia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Hey, Fuller, get your ws away


    from my darling¡¯s shoulder this instant. Are you trying to take advantage of her?¡±


    He was about to move forward and remove Toby¡¯s hand on his own, but Toby didn¡¯t give him the chance


    to do that, because the moment he came near, Toby took his hand away. Charles ended up grabbing


    nothing and nearly fell.


    Fortunately, Tom managed to catch him in time, then asked with a smile, ¡°Mr. Lane, are you all right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Charles grunted, then pushed Tom away before going back to stand by


    Sonia¡¯s side.


    Looking at him, Tom shook his head. Mr. Lane really behaves like a wilful child, attacking whoever¡¯s


    within reach.


    Ignoring what was happening between Tom and Charles, Toby narrowed his eyes at Alice. ¡°Are you sure


    you won¡¯t talk?¡±


    Alice simply buried her head in her hands and stayed silent, her attitude already showing that she wasn¡¯t


    going to speak.


    Toby¡¯s lips curled up coldly. ¡°If you won¡¯t talk, fine. Then your family will¡ª¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± No longer able to remain calm, Alice hurriedly raised her head, panic clearly


    written on her ordinary face.


    Even Sonia and Charles looked at Toby in surprise. They never thought that Toby would use Alice¡¯s


    family to threaten her. Although it was somewhat hical to do so, they had to admit that this method


    was the most effective. And judging from Alice¡¯s appearance, it seemed like she was beginning to be


    afraid.


    ¡°What am I going to do? Don¡¯t you already know the answer? You¡¯d better be obedient and spill


    everything. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll deal with your family.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes, and his voice was as cold as


    an ice cer,pletely emotionless.


    Alice shivered and looked at him as if he was the devil. Extremely satisfied with the look in her eyes,


    Toby lowered his gaze and asked coldly, ¡°Tell me: why did you attack Sonia?¡±


    Alice opened her mouth, and after a long time, she spat out in a hoarse voice, ¡°Because¡­ her existence


    is a threat to someone.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Charles exploded at once and pped the table. ¡°A threat to someone? Who is it?


    Everyone is special. Sonia isn¡¯t a devil, so tell me who can she possibly threaten! ¡°


    Toby and Sonia were disgusted by Alice¡¯s answer as well. Sonia, in particr, felt as if a storm had been


    set off inside her. Sure enough, Tim had guessed correctly. The red mole on her wrist actually posed a


    threat to someone.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say,¡± Alice shook her head and replied.


    Toby¡¯s brows twitched in dissatisfaction, and he was just about to speak when his phone rang. After


    retrieving it, he took a look, and his eyes darkened when he saw the caller ID. He then looked up at


    Sonia and said, ¡°I¡¯m going out to answer a call.¡±


    After Sonia nodded, Tom proceeded to push Toby out of the room.


    Charles closed the door of the interrogation room, and when he came back, he red furiously at Alice.


    ¡°You can¡¯t say? Did you forget what Toby just said? Just confess. If you don¡¯t give an honest exnation,


    you should know what would happen to your family!¡±


    For a moment, Alice shrank back, then she replied in a submissive manner, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I really can¡¯t


    say. I can tell you anything else that you¡¯d like to know, but I really can¡¯t reveal who this person is.


    Please. Don¡¯t ask me this question.¡±


    Tears streamed down her face non-stop. Although Toby had threatened her with her family, she still


    couldn¡¯t expose that person because her son was still waiting to receive his surgery.


    Not to mention, she was also betting that these few people wouldn¡¯t be able to find her son because her


    son had been stolen since he was born. She had only found him some time ago, but she didn¡¯t reconcile


    with him because she didn¡¯t have the guts to. Now, she was alone, and no one knew that she had a son.


    Therefore, there was a 50/50 chance that these people wouldn¡¯t be able to find her son, so naturally, this


    threat had no effect on her.


    But if she told these people who that person was, then she would certainly lose her son, so she couldn¡¯t


    say anything. That was because if she told them, her son wouldn¡¯t be saved. There was still a chance


    that her son could be saved, so anyone would know which was the right decision to make.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask you about this?¡± Charlesughed angrily, then grabbed Alice by her cor and lifted her up.


    ¡°What kind of an answer is that, huh?¡±


    Alice closed her eyes and started to cry.


    Sonia pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a little tired. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Charles. Put her down.¡±


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Charles was a little reluctant.


    Sonia repeated, ¡°Put her down. This is the police station. Do you want to be taken away by the police


    officers?¡±


    Charles stopped talking and threw Alice back onto the chair.


    Sonia turned to Alice, who looked like she was paralyzed, and said coldly, ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t ask you who


    that person is, but I¡¯m going to ask you this: did you attack me because that person ordered you, or was


    it of your own ord?¡±


    ¡°It was me.¡± Alice poked her chest repeatedly. ¡°Attacking you was my own decision. I discovered the red


    mole on your wrist by chance, and knowing that your existence would threaten that person, I decided to


    attack you because that person is the most important person to me.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia pursed her red lips, then waved to Charles.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Charles leaned down. ¡°Darling, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Help me see if she¡¯s lying,¡± Soniamanded in a low voice.


    Charles nodded, then stared at Alice. After studying her for a while, he deduced, ¡°She seems to be


    telling the truth. She doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s lying.¡±


    Sonia clenched her fists. So, all of this was nned by Alice alone? No one else was involved behind the


    scenes?


    ¡°Last question.¡± Sonia took a breath. ¡°What¡¯s the secret behind the red mole on my wrist? Why does it


    threaten the person who¡¯s most important to you? What kind of threat does it pose?¡±

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    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 379


    When Alice looked at Sonia¡¯s bandaged wrist, guilt shed across her eyes. ¡°I¡­I¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stall, and don¡¯t say you don¡¯t know! If you don¡¯t tell me, I swear that even if I have to lose


    everything, I¡¯ll never let your family and the person who¡¯s most important to you off the hook! You¡¯d better


    believe it!¡± Sonia mmed her hand down, and her voice was as cold as an ice cer.


    Charles hurriedly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t think that we¡¯re just joking. With our status, we can


    definitely do it, so you¡¯d better be honest.¡±


    Alice was close to tears.


    Be honest? How am I supposed to be honest?


    She didn¡¯t even know what the red mole represented. The woman just said that Sonia¡¯s red mole would


    pose a threat, but the woman didn¡¯t tell her what kind of threat.


    Alice was shivering, but she still refused to speak.


    Soniapletely lost her patience, and a cold dark gleam shed across her eyes. ¡°Since you still


    refuse to talk, fine. Don¡¯t me me, then. Charles, push me out!¡±


    Originally, when she found out that Toby wanted to hand this woman over to Tim for him to carry out


    medical experiments, she wanted to stop him. After all, medical experiments were a little too insane,


    much less drug-testing.


    Usually, drug tests were carried out on patients¡ªpatients who desperately wanted help, in particr. A


    healthy person wouldn¡¯t be used to test drugs, because no one knew what peculiar changes might


    happen to their bodies.


    Sonia¡¯s kindness prevented her from wanting to see a healthy person end up missing their arms, legs, or


    organs due to the side effects, so she wanted to stop it.


    But now, she suddenly realized that some people weren¡¯t worthy of her kindness at all. Perhaps she


    should be more cruel, and only then would these stubborn people learn topromise!


    Outside the interrogation room, Charles pushed Sonia to a corner. ¡°Darling, this woman is too stubborn.


    She¡¯s not telling us anything at all. Are we just going to let it go?¡±


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Let it go?¡± Sonia sneered. ¡°Of course not. I haven¡¯t found out what I want to know yet, so how can I


    possibly let it go?¡±


    ¡°Then, what do you want to do?¡± Charles looked at her.


    Sonia bit her lower lip. ¡°Isn¡¯t Tim capable of hypnosis? Hand Alice over to him and get him to pry her


    mouth open. I don¡¯t believe that Alice can withstand the mental attack of a hypnotist.¡±


    Charles¡¯ eyes lit up, and he smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s a good idea. Darling, you¡¯re so smart.¡±


    Sonia simply rolled her eyes at him before adding, ¡°Also, find out information about Alice, especially her


    family background and interpersonal rtionships. I think that the person she cares about most is either


    her family or her lover.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll contact the detective agency in a while.¡± Charles nodded.


    At this moment, Toby, who had finished talking on the phone, was pushed over by Tim.


    When he saw Sonia, he raised his eyebrows slightly. ¡°Have you finished questioning her?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see Toby, but she heard the sound of his wheelchair sliding, so she roughly knew where


    he was and shook her head in that direction. ¡°No. She¡¯s too stubborn. She wouldn¡¯t talk at all.¡±


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t talk?¡± Toby¡¯s face turned gloomy. ¡°I¡¯ve even used her family to threaten her, yet she still


    wouldn¡¯t budge?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to believe that we can hurt her family.¡±


    ¡°In that case, it seems like Alice has someone to rely on, so she feels that we can¡¯t hurt her family. I


    wonder where she got that confidence from,¡± Tom interjected disdainfully as he pushed his sses up.


    Sonia looked at Toby, her eyes nk. ¡°President Fuller, tell the police to send her over to Tim.¡±


    Toby was a little surprised. ¡°Didn¡¯t you disagree with Tim¡¯s experiment?¡±


    Sonia lowered her gaze. ¡°I changed my mind. I need Tim¡¯s help now. I need him to hypnotize Alice.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Toby answered with a nod.


    Alice was soon released.


    Because Toby had given the order, and because Sonia, the victim, didn¡¯t pursue it, the police could only


    let her go.


    Under Toby¡¯s instructions, Alice was sent directly to First World Hospital.


    Toby didn¡¯t follow them because he had to go to the office after getting to know from the phone call


    earlier that something had happened.


    Hence, Tom pushed Toby back to Fuller Group.


    Meanwhile, Charles drove Sonia to First World Hospital, ready to witness Tim¡¯s hypnosis process.


    Along the way, Charles was utterly delighted, and he patted the steering wheel in excitement. ¡°This is


    great. That fellow finally didn¡¯t shamelessly tag along.¡±


    Sitting in the back seat, Sonia chuckled when she heard this. ¡°Okay, concentrate on driving. I know


    you¡¯re not paying attention just by listening to your movements.¡±


    Charles chuckled sheepishly. ¡°I can¡¯t help that I¡¯m happy.¡±


    As they talked andughed along the way, they soon arrived at First World Hospital.


    Tim knew that Sonia wasing, so he deliberately waited for her at the hospital entrance.


    When he saw her approaching, he stepped forward with his hands in the pocket of his white coat. ¡°How


    are you feeling? Do you feel any difort?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m okay. My head is still a little dizzy, but it¡¯s much better than yesterday.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. What about your eyes?¡± Tim peered at her dull eyes.


    Sonia raised her hand and touched them. ¡°They¡¯re still the same.¡±


    ¡°Can you feel that it¡¯s daytime now?¡± Tim asked.


    Sonia raised her head slightly, then replied, ¡°Yes, I can feel the sunlight shining.¡±


    ¡°That means your sense of light is still there. That¡¯s good. It seems like you¡¯ll recover soon,¡± Tim said as


    he straightened his body.


    Hearing this put Sonia in a better mood, so she answered with a smile, ¡°Thank you for your blessing. By


    the way, has she arrived yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s in my office. Let¡¯s go.¡± Tim then led the way.


    Pushing Sonia, Charles followed behind.


    When the three of them reached the office, Tim opened the door, only to see Alice slumped on the sofa.


    Her eyes were tightly shut, and she seemed to have passed out.


    Charles pointed at her and asked, ¡°What happened to her?¡±


    ¡°She fell asleep. She didn¡¯t sleep at all at the police station. After she got here, she couldn¡¯t take it


    anymore and fell asleep,¡± Tim replied with a shrug of his shoulders.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see, so she said nothing.


    Charles pushed her to a position not far in front of Alice before stopping. ¡°Tim, we can start now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tim shrugged, then began the hypnosis process.


    Charles saw that with Tim¡¯s hypnosis, Alice¡¯s expression became more and more peaceful and calm.


    When he first saw Alice, her brows were tightly furrowed. Even when she was asleep, her expression


    was filled with unease and fear.


    But now, that had changedpletely.


    Seeing this change, Charles was dumbfounded. ¡°Goodness me. What kind of sorcery is this?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise.¡± Sonia nudged him with her elbow.


    Tim put away his pocket watch and said, ¡°It¡¯s done. If you have any questions, just ask. She won¡¯t be


    able to hide anything.¡± He seemed to have trouble bncing himself.


    Upon seeing that Tim looked a little pale, Charles released the armrest of the wheelchair and gave him a


    hand. ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    ¡°What happened to him?¡± Sonia asked, squinting slightly.


    Pushing Charles away, Tim made his way back to his desk on his own and sat down. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just


    that hypnosis is exhausting.¡±


    Hypnosis and psychological counseling were two different things.


    Psychological counseling wouldn¡¯t consume any energy, but hypnosis was extremely exhausting.


    He had mastered psychological counseling, but his hypnotic skills were only passable. He was still far


    worse than his senior.


    If his senior were to perform the hypnosis, he would definitely not feel dizzy like Tim.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see what Tim looked like at the moment, but his tired voice made her feel guilty.


    She lowered her eyelids and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for troubling you.¡±

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    Chapter 380


    Boss Your Wife¡¯s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 380


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Get on with your business.¡± Tim waved his hand and closed his eyes to rest.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sonia patted Charles. ¡°Get me closer, Charles.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Charles pushed her closer to Alice.


    Sonia touched Alice¡¯s face and leaned closer to her. ¡°Tell me, Alice. Who¡¯s the one you care about the


    most?¡± she whispered like a subus.


    ¡°My son,¡± Alice answered slowly.


    Sonia squinted. ¡°Is that so? Did you attack Sonia for him then?¡±


    ¡°I did not attack Sonia,¡± Alice said.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡±


    Charles and Tim were surprised as well. She said she attacked Sonia back when her testimony was


    taken at the police station, so why the change? There¡¯s no way she can lie under hypnosis, so that


    means she did not tell the truth then.


    ¡°I did not. The one who attacked Sonia was her,¡± Alice answered.


    Sonia clenched her fists. ¡°Who is she? And why did you say you attacked Sonia despite never doing


    so?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. She never told me her name. But I do know what she looks like. She came to me and said


    she must get rid of the red birthmark on Sonia¡¯s wrist, since it¡¯s a threat to her. Then, she gave me some


    money for my son¡¯s operation and asked me to be a scapegoat.¡± Alice revealed something shocking.


    Charles gasped. ¡°She¡¯s just a scapegoat? Unbelievable.¡±


    Sonia was thunderstruck as well. She thought Alice was bought out by someone, but the truth was much


    worse than that. She was shaking with fury, for the culprit was still atrge. After all, she did get a


    scapegoat to do her dirty work. So she¡¯s going to attack me again. ¡°Why did she say that my birthmark


    would threaten her? Is there something about my birthmark?¡± Sonia bit her lips.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. She never told me. All I know is that the birthmark will threaten her,¡± Alice whispered.


    Charles rubbed his chin in realization. ¡°No wonder she didn¡¯t answer me then. She doesn¡¯t know either.¡±


    Sonia took a deep breath. ¡°So why did you say you¡¯re taking the culprit¡¯s ce because he¡¯s the most


    important person to you?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want anyone to find out I have a son. That¡¯s why I said that. That¡¯ll make you guys think


    that I attacked Sonia because of her, and not my son,¡± Alice answered.


    Charles sneered. ¡°Smart.¡±


    ¡°What happened to your son?¡± Sonia asked.


    ¡°He has leukemia and needs a lot of money for his treatment. That¡¯s why she came to me. Promised that


    she¡¯d pay for my son¡¯s treatment if I became her scapegoat.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Charles sighed. ¡°She can¡¯t tell us who the culprit is because her son depends on the money. She


    has to insist that she¡¯s the attacker. If the cops find out she¡¯s innocent, her son is done for even if the


    culprit isn¡¯t arrested.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°A sad story, but that doesn¡¯t excuse her crime.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Charles nodded.


    Sonia looked at Alice again. ¡°You said you saw the woman, so tell us how she looks.¡± If we know what


    the culprit looks like, we can get her in no time t.


    Alice started describing the woman. ¡°She¡¯s about the same height and weight as me. Not really fair, and


    she looks like a girl next door. She was wearing some fancy clothes though.¡±


    ¡°Fancy clothes. Must be someone rich or powerful,¡± Charles said.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Go into detail.¡± A girl next door? That does not narrow it down much.


    ¡°Details¡­¡± Alice frowned as she tried toe up with the best description. A whileter, she said, ¡°Her


    lips are thin, but her nose is quite wide. She has beautiful round eyes.¡±


    ¡°Any special traits then? Like a mole or a beauty mark?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Sonia went silent. No special traits. That¡¯ll make the search a lot harder. We barely have any lead.


    ¡°I wish we could have gotten that description down on paper.¡± Charles pulled his hair.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°Good idea. We can get an artist to draw the suspect. That¡¯s what the cops always


    do. They get an artist to make a portrait based on the victim¡¯s description of the suspect if they have no


    leads.¡±


    Charles pped his hands. ¡°Nice. I have an employee who¡¯s a great artist. Makes great portraits too. I


    can get him to help us out, but this might have to wait until tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll hypnotize her again tomorrow.¡± Tim suddenly opened his eyes.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Sounds like a n. We¡¯ll be counting on you, doctor.¡±


    ¡°Sure. You can leave her with me.¡± Tim looked at Alice coldly.


    ¡°Can do,¡± Sonia said.


    Charles took her back to Trifecta Hospital after that, since they were running out of time. On their way


    back, Sonia kept caressing her bandaged wrist, deep in her thoughts.


    Charles kept ncing at her. Finally, he said, ¡°Alright, babe. Don¡¯t overthink. Once we get the culprit,


    you¡¯ll know everything.¡±


    Sonia forced a smile. ¡°I know. I¡¯m just surprised that there¡¯s more to my birthmark than I thought. I mean,


    I have had it since I was born, and all this time, I thought it was just a regr birthmark.¡±


    ¡°Hm, now that you brought it up, I remember something strange.¡± Charles had a bizarre look on his face.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see it, but she could imagine how he looked. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about that birthmark.¡± Charles made a turn and went down memoryne. ¡°I¡¯m four years older than


    you are, so I¡¯ve seen you when you were a baby, and I remember everything clearly. You were five


    months old when I first saw you. My mom brought me to your ce and I was curious about you, so I


    stayed by the crib.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Sonia blinked.


    ¡°And you held my hand. Your hands were really soft and cute, but I didn¡¯t see any birthmark on either of


    your wrists. You didn¡¯t have it back then.¡± Charles frowned.


    Sonia was surprised. ¡°What? I didn¡¯t have the birthmark?¡±


    Charles nodded. ¡°Yes, and I¡¯m sure about it. I was already four years old, so I can remember things. The


    next time I saw you, you were six months old, and by then, you already got your birthmark. WeirdlyText ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    enough, you looked different too, but since I was a kid, I didn¡¯t think too much about it. Now? Now I


    suspect that there¡¯s more to this than we thought.¡±


    Babies might change as they grow, but not birthmarks. Nobody would suddenly get a birthmark out of


    nowhere, but Sonia did. In other words, the truth was obvious. The baby he saw the second time was not


    the same person he saw the first time.

 Chapter 381

    ?Boss Your Wife'' s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 381


    Sonia knew what he was thinking, since she was thinking the same thing as well. She asked in disbelief, "So you''re saying I''m not the real Sonia? I got switched out with the real deal?"


    Charles held the steering wheel tightly. "I don''t know, but I''m sure you''re not the same baby I saw the first time I went to your ce."


    "Impossible. That''s impossible." Sonia clenched her fists, her body shaking. "If I''m not Sonia, then who am I?" I can''t be a fake, can I?


    Charles stopped his car by the roadside. "Calm down, babe. It might not be as bad as we think."


    "Then what is the truth?" Sonia''s eyes glossed over. "Charles, you know I''m not the same baby you saw, don''t you?"


    "I-" Charles paused, but he couldn''t say anything.


    Sonia bit her lip. "See? You can''t even say no. That''s what you''re thinking, aren''t you? Maybe you''re right. Maybe I''m not Sonia. The culprit said my birthmark is a threat to her. In other words, she might be the real Sonia."


    Charles sighed. "Fine, I''ll say it. I think you were switched out, but that doesn''t mean you aren''t the real Sonia. I mean, your parents should have noticed the


    birthmark. It''s too obvious. The two of you look different as well but your parents said nothing to that, so I was thinking maybe the two of you were switched at birth, and your parents found out, so they switched back."


    "I-" Sonia was petrified. That''s a possibility. Dad and Mom should have realized it if I was a fake, but they loved me all the same. Same goes for grandpa. In other words, I''m their real daughter. Maybe Charles is right. Maybe I was switched at birth and was switched back again.


    "But then why did the culprit say I''m a threat to her?" Sonia frowned. Something still felt off, but she couldn''t put a finger on it. Naturally, she was annoyed.


    Charles scratched his head. "I have no idea, but let''s calm down. We''ll know the truth once we catch her."


    "Yeah, I guess so, but I still want to find out if I''m the real Sonia. I want to know if I''m my parents'' real daughter."All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Do you really have to?" Charles looked at her.


    Sonia stared at the ground. "Yes. It''ll give me peace of mind."


    "How are you nning to look into this then?"


    "I''ll start from the records twenty-six years ago. If the culprit was switched at birth like I did, the hospital must have the records hidden somewhere."


    Charles nodded. "True. But you were born in Norfolk, so are you going to make a trip to Norfolk?"


    "Of course. Besides, I did say I would attend Carl''s show." She touched her eyes. "I can''t see a thing, but I''m not going back on my word."


    "When are you going then?" Charles asked.


    "Tomorrow. Daphne already got me my flight ticket and hotel room two days ago," Sonia said.


    Charles looked troubled. "Tomorrow? I can''t go then. It''s my grandpa''s death anniversary, and the whole family''s going to visit his grave."


    "No problem. I''ll ask Reba to go with me." Sonia smiled.


    Reba was strong enough to protect Sonia, so Charles wasn''t worried. "That''s good. With her there, there''s nothing to worry about."


    "Yep. Call me once your employeees up with the


    portrait tomorrow," Sonia said.


    Charles gave her an OK gesture. "Sure. Now let''s go back to the hospital."


    It was twelve when they came back to the hospital.


    Charles got Sonia her lunch and told the caretaker to take good care of her before he left.


    Sonia and Dous were having their lunch when Sonia''s phone rang.


    The caretaker quickly handed the phone to her. "Miss Reed, it''s from someone called Zane."


    "It''s uncle!" Dous'' eyes glinted, and he looked happy.


    Sonia patted his head. "Take the call then, Dous."


    "You take it, auntie. He''s calling you. He would have called me if he wanted to talk to me." Dous pouted.


    I know Uncle Zane very well. He only cares about you, not


    me.


    Sonia shook her head in amusement after hearing Dous''int. "Zane." She took the call.


    "Where are you, Sonia? I went to yourpany, but the receptionist said you''ve been MIA for two days. Are you at Bayside Residence?" Zane asked.


    Sonia put her spoon down. "No. I''m in the hospital, and Dous is here too. You cane pick him up if you


    want."


    She told him the hospital''s address.


    "The hospital? Are you sick?" Zane was standing at Paradigm Co.''s reception area, his eyes widening nervously.


    Sonia hung up without answering him.


    Dous looked at her. "Is uncleing, auntie?"


    "Yes, he''ll be here in a while. Finish your lunch." Sonia put her phone aside and went back to her lunch.


    Back at Paradigm Co., Zane looked at his phone and


    sighed bitterly. So Dous has been useless. Sonia is still as cold as ever. He kept his phone in his pocket and left for Trifecta Hospital, arriving about an hourter. Dous ran up to him and held his leg. "You''re here,


    uncle."


    "Yep. I''m back." He patted the boy''s head, but his eyes never shifted from Sonia.


    Sonia was leaning against her bed with her eyes closed,


    as if she was asleep.


    He went up to her and called, "Sonia."


    Sonia opened her eyes and turned to him. "You''re here.


    Take Dous home. He''s been missing you."


    "Sure. Thanks for taking care of him," Zane said


    apologetically.


    Sonia shook her head. "It''s the other way around, actually.


    He fills my ss up and calls the doctor whenever I need it. He''s a good boy."


    Dous blushed from the praise, then he hid behind


    Zane''s leg shyly.


    Zane looked at the bandage on Sonia''s head. "Sonia, did you hurt your head? How did this happen?" Sonia touched the bandage. "Just an ident."


    "No it''s not. Some witch knocked her out and blinded


    her," Dous popped his head out from behind Zane and


    grumbled.


    Zane said sharply, "You''re blinded? Sonia, you-"


    "It''s not as serious as you think. Just temporary," Sonia


    answered.


    She seems calm. Not even sad at all, so it must be true. Zane heaved a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 382

    ?Boss Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 382


    "Thank god." Zane patted his chest in relief. "Who did this?"


    "No idea. We''re still looking into it, but we should have the results tomorrow." Sonia answered.


    Zane sighed regrettably. "I see. Here I thought I could help."


    "It''s fine. Just take Dous home. He''s been staying with me at the hospital for a while now. Didn''t even eat or sleep well. It''s not good for a kid, so just take him home and let him rest."


    Zane knew Sonia just wanted him to leave, so he nodded despondently. "I see. I''lle tomorrow then. Dous, say goodbye to a... Miss Sonia."


    "Goodbye, auntie." Dous waved at her.


    Sonia couldn''t see him, but she waved as well.


    Zane took Dous and left, leaving Sonia alone. The sudden silence scared her, especially when she was blind. The more time passed, the worse her fear got, for she never knew who mighte in her ward the next second. It could be someone like Titus, and if he dide, she would be dead in no time.


    "Anyone there?" Sonia asked. She wanted to call the caretaker back.


    The caretaker left after Zane came, but she had been missing since. Where is she? Sonia wouldn''t be so afraid with her around. At least she''d know who her visitor was.


    "Mrs. Taters? Mrs. Taters!" Sonia held her nket, calling out to her caretaker loudly.


    Just then, familiar deep voice sounded. "What is it?"


    Toby! Sonia''s eyes widened, but her fear dissipated. She heaved a sigh of relief and shook her head. "I''m fine. I''m just scared because I''m alone, and I can''t see anything. I wanted to get Mrs. Taters back, but she isn''t here. Good thing you came though."


    She had to say she was reliant on Toby at the moment. At least he was a familiar face, so with him here, she didn''t have to face the darkness alone.


    Toby paused for a moment when Sonia said it was a good thing he was there, then he felt delighted, and his wound didn''t feel as painful anymore. He went up to her and stopped beside her bed. "Don''t worry. I''ll be here with you."


    Sonia wanted to say he could leave after Mrs. Taters came back, but then she realized it''d make her look like a


    jerk, so she kept quiet about it.


    Toby got a chair and sat down. "So? Did you get anything?"


    Sonia knew he was talking about Alice, and she squinted. "Yes, and it''s shocking. Alice''s just scapegoat. The real culprit is still atrge."


    "What?" Toby''s face fell. "She''s just a scapegoat?"


    "Yes. She has a son who has leukemia, so she needs a lot of money for his treatment. That''s why she became a scapegoat. As long as she doesn''t reveal the true culprit


    and insists that she''s the sole attacker, the culprit would pay for her son''s treatment." She shook her head sorrowfully.Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Toby sneered. "Who is the culprit?"


    "No idea. She doesn''t know either. All she knows is what the culprit looks like. Charles will get a sketch artist to draw the portrait tomorrow," Sonia answered.


    Toby''s face hardened. He wanted to say something, but Sonia''s phone rang. When he turned around and saw that the caller was Charles, he got visibly annoyed. But in the end, he handed the phone to her. "It''s Charles."


    "Thanks." Sonia took the call. "What is it, Charles?"


    "Baby, the detective called me just now. They found out


    everything about Alice. She wasn''t lying. Her son is leukemic, but he doesn''t know she''s his mother. She didn''t tell him about it either," Charles said.


    Sonia arched her eyebrow. "Why?"


    "Because she dumped the boy when he was diagnosed with leukemia after he was born. Ten yearster, her whole family got into a car crash during a vacation, and everyone died except for her. However, she didn''t get away unscathed. She became barren, but then she found out her son was still alive, but she never revealed herself to him because she feels guilty about dumping him."


    "I see." Sonia looked at Toby. "No wonder she didn''t tell you who the true culprit was when you were threatening her with her family back at the police station. She was obviously scared, but I guess she never thought we would find out that she has a son."


    "Who are you talking to, babe?" Charles asked dubiously.


    "Toby," Sonia answered honestly.


    "What? You''re talking to Toby?" Charles leaped up. "He went over to your ce again?"


    Soniaughed. "He''s in the ward next door. Stop dwelling over it and tell me if there''s anything else I should know. Is her son''s treatment paid for?"


    "No." Charles shook his head. "The detective asked the


    staff at the hospital, but they said they never received any money for her son''s treatment."


    Sonia raised her chin. "So the culprit didn''t keep her


    promise?"


    "Yes. She might pay after Alice is convicted. Or she might never." Charles shrugged.


    Sonia pinched the area between her brows. "Okay, keep me updated. See youter, Charles." She put her phone


    down.


    Toby extended his hand. "Give it to me. I''ll hang up for you. You can''t see anyway."


    "Thanks." Sonia handed over without insisting.


    After he took the phone, Toby looked at the call and


    smiled coolly before hanging up. Then, he put the phone beside her and looked at her. "So how are you going to deal with Alice?" Since she''s just a scapegoat, it''d be bad to use her as a guinea pig.


    Sonia held her forehead. "Honestly, I have no idea. I''ll tell


    Tim to stop the drug test. We''ll decide again when the real culprit is captured."


    "Sounds like a n." Toby nodded.


    Sonia nodded and yawned.


    Since she was getting tired, Toby said gently, "Sleepy?"


    "Yeah, I am."


    "Go to sleep then. I''ll keep watch," Toby said.


    Sonia wanted to refuse, but Toby said, "You''re scared of


    being alone, don''t you? You wouldn''t have called for the caretaker otherwise."


    "I-" He saw through me. Sonia wanted to defend herself,


    but she couldn''t find the words.


    Toby looked at her gently. "Just get to sleep. I''ll leave after the caretakeres back."


    Sonia stopped refusing him. After all, her head was still


    injured, and after going around that morning, she was already getting drowsy. It was taking everything she had just to stay up, but she was losing it. "Thanks for that, then." She smiled sheepishly.


    Toby helped her lie down on the bed. "No problem. Just go to sleep." He then tucked her in.


    "Okay." Sonia closed her eyes and drifted to sleep a short


    whileter.


    Once she was sound asleep, Toby looked at her quietly, but something glinted in his eyes. A momentter, he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

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    ?Boss Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 383


    Suddenly, someone opened the door, and in came Mrs. Taters. When she saw what was happening, she almost gasped in surprise. "Mr. Fuller, you''re-"


    Toby frowned. Obviously, he was annoyed by her suddenlying in. He reluctantly straightened his back and looked at her, then put his finger against his lips. "Don''t wake her up."


    It was then that Mrs. Taters noticed Sonia was asleep, and she nodded.


    Toby got off the bed and went toward the caretaker, then took out his wallet and gave her some money. "Don''t tell anyone what you saw."


    Mrs. Taters took the money happily, beaming. "Don''t worry, sir. I saw nothing."


    "Good." Toby put his wallet away and nodded. "Ande back sooner after you leave. Stay with her at all times. It scares her when she can''t see anything. Do that and I''ll pay you."Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    "I''ll do that, sir. I will," Mrs. Taters promised immediately, worried that Toby might take his word back if she hesitated for a moment longer.


    Toby grunted and left. He could feel his back searing because of the wound reopening, so he needed the doctor to patch it up quickly.


    Sonia went through the paperwork for discharge the next day and got ready to fly to Norfolk. Mrs. Taters was


    packing her things while she was on the couch calling Carl. When she called him earlier, the line was engaged, and she didn''t know where he was. Because of what happened over thest few days, she didn''t call him, so she wondered if she could reach him now.


    She called him again and put the phone to her ear. This time, the line was no longer engaged, and she smiled in delight. But her happiness didn''tst long, since nobody


    picked up. He might have missed the call. Or he did it on purpose. Sonia leaned toward thetter.


    After all, she did text Carl and told him to call her if he saw the message. Now that the call went through, that meant Carl saw the message, but he didn''t call her. In other words, he didn''t want to contact her.


    Sonia was upset by that, of course. She felt that it was unfair for her, but she was also worried. It was unfair because she was the victim, but now Carl was acting like he was the victim, and he wanted the real victim, aka her, to apologize to him. On the other hand, she was worried because she didn''t know what he had been up to over thest few years. In the end, she sighed.


    It was then someone knocked, and Reba popped in. "I''m here, Miss Reed." She smiled.


    Sonia looked in her direction. She couldn''t see Reba,


    but that didn''t stop her from smiling. "Come in."


    Reba came in. "You look worried, Miss Reed. Is something on your mind?"


    "Carl. He''s not taking my call." Sonia shook her phone and smiled bitterly.


    "I see. I heard what happened. He''s just a man child-a crazy and obsessed one at that. Never date him, Miss Reed. It''ll be an unfair rtionship. You''ll have to take care of his feelings 24/7. One misstep and he''ll disappear


    or do something annoying. It''s tiring to be with someone like that."


    Being a professional bodyguard trained her to see through people. Carl might look like a soft-spoken and polite young man, but under that fa?ade, a monstery in wait.


    Sonia was amused by what Reba said. "What are you talking about? I will never date him. He''s just like a brother to me, and that will never change."


    "That''s good to hear. Just don''t date him, because he doesn''t know how to love someone. His love is sick and suffocating. It''s probably because of what happened when he was a kid." Reba sighed. He used to be a sweet young boy, but his trash parents made him into a twisted man. This is a cruel joke.


    "Something happened when he was a kid?" Sonia squinted. "How do you know what happened when he was


    a kid?"


    "Um..." Oops. Made a slip of the tongue. Reba quickly came up with an excuse and lied, "He told me about it. I thought he''s the guy I was looking for, so I talked about it with him." That was close. If she tells him I looked into his past, he''s going to be mad at me.


    "I see." Sonia nodded. She didn''t want to suspect Reba of lying, so she said nothing more.


    Reba heaved a sigh of relief and switched the subject


    to Sonia''s eyes. "You told me you can''t see for the time being. Is that true?" She leaned closer to take a look at


    Sonia''s eyes.


    Sonia touched her eyes. "Yes. So I''ll be counting on you for the next couple of days."


    "Leave it all to me," Reba promised.


    At that moment, Mrs. Taters closed Sonia''s luggage. "I''ve


    finished packing your things, Miss Reed."


    "Then it''s time to leave." Sonia stood up.


    Reba quickly helped her onto the wheelchair and pushed her out of the room, while Mrs. Taters followed behind with the luggage in tow.


    Reba''s car was in the hospital''s car park. After Sonia got in, they drove toward the airport.


    The moment she left, Toby came to her room. When he


    realized that the bed was made and that Mrs. Tates was cleaning the room, his face fell. "Where is Sonia?"


    She looked up. "Hello, Mr. Fuller."


    "Where is Sonia?" Toby clenched his fists, his voice


    sounding panicked.


    Worried, Mrs. Taters answered, "She was discharged."


    "What?" Toby was shaken. "Discharged? She''s still hurt!


    Why was she discharged?"


    She knew he was angry and worried, so she exined,


    "Miss Reed wants to attend some fashion show in


    Norfolk."


    "Fashion show?" Toby''s veins popped. She can''t even see. How is she supposed to attend a fashion show? Toby knew she had no interest in any fashion show. The only


    reason she was going must be because of Carl. Carl was


    the only model among her circle of friends. If it wasn''t for him, Sonia wouldn''t have gone to that show. Why does she care about Carl so much? She''s still hurt! Toby exited Sonia''s ward, looking absolutely furious. He took his phone out and called Tom.


    "Sir!" Tom picked up the phone almost immediately.


    "Prepare my jet. I''m going to Norfolk," Toby told him.


    "Huh?" Tom was surprised to hear that. "Do you have any


    business there?"


    "No."


    "Then why are you-"


    "Shut up and just do it. Pick me up from the hospital once


    you''re done." Toby frowned impatiently.


    Tom couldn''t go against his orders, so he shrugged. "I understand. Right away, sir."

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    ?Boss Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 384


    Toby grunted and hung up.


    Two hours went by after that. By then, Sonia hadnded in Norfolk. Reba pushed her out and hailed a ride to go to their hotel.


    Daphne had gotten them a business suite with two rooms. The smaller room came with a bed too, and now Reba was staying in it. Sonia couldn''t see the room, but since it was a smaller one, it must be cramped, so she smiled sheepishly at Reba. "Sorry for having you stay in that room, Reba."


    "It''s fine." Reba sat on her bed, swinging her legs. "It''s still fine. I like it, actually. I''m just staying for a night or two, so it''s no big deal. I''ve stayed in smaller rooms. Heck, I''ve slept in the wilds before, so it''s nothing."


    Sonia was relieved to hear that.


    Reba looked at the time. "It''s still early. The show''s starting at night, so do you want to get some rest?"


    "Sure. I''m getting dizzy anyway." Sonia massaged her temples.


    "I''ll help you to your bed." Reba stood up and went toward her.


    After Sonia had fallen asleep, Reba tiptoed out of the room and called Carl.


    Carl picked up a momentter. "What is it?" He sounded hoarse.


    "Miss Reed''s here in Norfolk." Reba stopped before the elevator.


    Carl had just finished his rehearsal and was taking a break in the spectator seat. When he heard that, he stopped wiping his sweat off. "She''s here?"


    "Yes. She''s here for your show. You invited her, didn''t you? She would never go back on her word, so here she is. But why didn''t you take her call?" Reba pressed the elevator''s button.


    Carl stared down at the floor. "No reason."


    Reba snorted. "As if. I know you''re afraid. You don''t know how to face her, do you? You''re a twisted man who wants her all for yourself, but on the other hand, you''re holding that urge down. That''s why you''re acting like a child and running away from her. Isn''t that exhausting?"


    Carl''s face fell, for Reba hit the bullseye. "Enough. What are you getting at?"


    Reba pursed her lips. "Miss Reed doesn''t me you for what happened back then, so stop hiding. She''s worried for you. And she''s the victim here, not you. How


    could you let her worry about you? Grow up, Master Carl."


    Carl was visibly upset at that point. "You''re in no position to lecture me, Reba."


    Reba rolled her eyes. "I am not lecturing you. This is just a reminder. See a therapist, will you? At this rate, you''ll end up going out of control and hurting Miss Reed. And here''s another thing. When you see her tonight, you have to stay calm no matter what, get it?"


    "What? Why? What happened to her?" Carl gripped his phone tightly, noticing that something was wrong.


    Reba sighed. "I can''t tell you yet because I don''t want to ruin your show. You''ll find out after your show''s done. The elevator''s here, so talkter." She hung up without saying another word, as if Carl wasn''t the boss she needed to respect. Well, he wasn''t her boss in public. He was only her boss if they were in the Hayes residence.


    Carl looked at his phone''s home screen and squinted. He was just about to hack into the system and find out what happened to Sonia when his manager came over. "The second rehearsal''s starting, Carl. You need to get into position."


    The manager took his phone and pushed him toward the runway''s entrance.


    When night came, Reba took Sonia to the fashion


    runway.


    The runway was packed with a lot of people, including the leaders of the fashion world, celebrities, renowned fashion critics, and also lots of reporters.


    Reba took Sonia to her seat in the second row. It was a


    nice one, since it was right in front of the runway where one could see the models clearly, but it was a pity Sonia


    couldn''t see at the moment. However, that didn''t discourage Sonia. She handed her phone to Reba. "Reba, take Carl''s photos. I''ll take a look once I can


    see again."


    "Sure." Reba took Sonia''s phone and did as she asked.


    "How much longer until it starts?" Sonia leaned back.


    Reba looked at the time. "Ten more minutes."


    Sonia grunted.


    Toby leaned against the guardrail on the second floor, staring at Sonia. She couldn''t see anything, but even so, Sonia looked excited, and that made him jealous.


    Tom was right behind him, so he noticed his boss getting jealous. "Sir, why don''t you just go down there?" He adjusted his sses.


    "No. Reba''s gonna notice me. She''ll think I followed her here, and that''s going to make her dislike me more." Toby pursed his lips.


    Tom rolled his eyes. But you did follow her here. Of


    course, he didn''t say that out loud, or Toby would kill him. Tom coughed. "Sir, Dr. Lancaster has news. Mr. Lane''s artist hase up with the culprit''s portrait."


    Toby swiveled. "What did you say? They know who''s the


    culprit ?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded. "Dr. Lancaster called me half an hour


    ago."


    "Who is it?" Toby tightened his grip on the guardrail.


    Tom looked weird for a moment. "We all know her. It''s


    the fake Rina."


    "Impossible." Toby was shocked. "I thought you sent someone to keep an eye on her. They should have told me if anything happened. What are they doing?"


    Tom looked down in shame. "This is all our fault. My men


    did follow her 24/7, but she switched out with Alice on the day Miss Reed was hurt, and they didn''t notice it. They thought they still had Alice under watch, so that''s why Miss Reed was hurt."


    The men weren''t to me. Nobody knew Taylor wanted to hurt Sonia, and they never expected a switcheroo. Even if they did, they wouldn''t have known that Taylor had switched out with Alice in the bathroom.


    Toby closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them


    again, there was nothing but murder in them. "I knew it. The moment I saw Taylor, I knew she was evil. She has a


    lot to hide, and I told Sonia to keep an eye out, but she didn''t listen. Now she got hurt because of that." "What should we do now, sir? Should we capture Taylor first?" Tom looked at him.


    Toby squinted. "Not for now. Since I know Taylor''s the


    culprit, Sonia should know it soon enough. Let''s see what she''ll do."Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Taylor was the spy Sonia and Zane hired, but now the spy was nning on killing her employer, so Toby would leave her to Sonia and Zane. But if they refused to finish


    her off, Toby would be more than happy to take the job. He looked at Sonia and saw Reba handing her a phone. Charles probably found out about it too and is calling her to tell her.

 Chapter 385

    ?Boss Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 385


    Chapter 385 The Complexity of Men


    Toby was right.


    Sonia took the call. "What is it, Charles?"


    "The portrait''s done, babe," Charles said solemnly.


    Sonia sat up straighter. "Really? Who''s the culprit?" She couldn''t see, so there was no point in sending her the portrait. Besides, she knew Charles must have looked into the culprit''s identity the moment the portrait was done, so it was easier asking him for the answer.


    "You know her too. It''s Rina, the Grays'' daughter," Charles answered more somberly than ever.


    Sonia''s eyes widened. "Impossible!" she answered reflexively. Taylor? That''s impossible! That''s the spy Zane and I hired!


    "Why? Do you know her, babe?" Charles frowned in suspicion.


    Sonia answered, "Yes. I''m sorry for keeping this a secret, but Rina isn''t the Grays'' daughter. She''s a woman called Taylor. She''s a spy Zane and I hired to keep an eye on the Grays."


    "What?" Charles raised his voice. "You kept this thing a secret from me? That''s huge!"


    "Sorry, Charles." Sonia stared at the ground, embarrassed. She didn''t divulge it to Charles because she didn''t see the need to. After all, this was a grudge between her, the Colemans, and the Grays. It had nothing to do with the Lanes, so she didn''t want to drag them into this. Besides, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. That would keep the chances of exposing Taylor to


    a minimum.


    After Sonia apologized, Charles calmed down and thought about the reasons she kept it a secret. He could understand her stance, but it still made him uneasy, since he felt alienated. In the end, he pursed his lips. "Forget it. I can understand why you kept this a secret, but babe, the culprit really is R... I mean Taylor. I let Alice see the portrait. She didn''t admit it, but her expression told me everything I needed to know. Your spy betrayed you."


    Sonia gripped her phone tightly, apparently still in shock. "Impossible..."


    "Not impossible. Let me guess. Shees from a poor, misogynistic family, doesn''t she?" Charles asked.


    "Yes."


    "Of course she''d betray you." Charles sighed. "You and Zane overlooked something important-human greed. Think about it. You hired someone who grew up poor to act as a rich family''s daughter. Once she has a taste of that kind of wealth, there''s no way she can stay loyal to you."


    "That''s..." Sonia didn''t want to believe it, but Charles was right. Taylor had a taste of unimaginable wealth, and she didn''t want to let it go. However, that wouldn''t be easy, since there were two people who would get in her way. Me and Zane. That reason was enough for Taylor to turn her back on them.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Ah, so that''s why Alice said I''m a threat to the culprit. After all, I can expose her true identity, and that''s a big threat. No wonder she attacked me, but why did she want to get rid of my birthmark? What does this have to do with her? That''s still a mystery. Sonia pursed her lips.


    Charles continued, "I had no idea Taylor was your spy. I thought she was really Rina and she attacked you to avenge Tina, but it turns out she only did it so she can stay as Rina forever. We must get her, babe."


    "I know." Sonia stared at the ground. I''ve been far too kind, and far too naive. She thought Taylor was weak and could be easily controlled, but she never thought Taylor was just putting on an act. To make things worse, she had fooled Sonia and Zane, and now she had be a threat.


    Sonia touched her bandage and blinked, her eyes glinting with murder. We can''t undo our decision, but we can cut our losses. Taylor must go. "Charles, keep an eye on her, and don''t let her know we found out she''s the culprit. I''ll handle it once I get back," Sonia said coldly.


    Charles nodded. "Okay. Don''t worry about it."


    "Good. See youter. The show''s beginning." Sonia put


    her phone down and handed it to Reba.


    Reba looked at her. "What happened, miss ?"


    "It''s nothing." Sonia shook her head. "Let''s watch the show."


    Reba didn''t press her and shifted her attention to the


    runway.


    Toby saw the whole thing, and he fell into his own


    thoughts.


    Tom asked, "Sir, how will Miss Reed handle Taylor?"


    Toby pursed his lips. "Not sure. We should keep an eye on


    it."


    He then went to the waiting room.


    Tom asked, "Aren''t you watching, sir?"


    "It''s just a bunch of guys walking down a runway. Do you


    think those guys are better than me?" Toby nced at


    Tom coldly.


    Tom coughed. "No." Well, the boss is better than those


    models in terms of looks and figure. The models lose out when ites to looks. Even the celebrities can''tpare. Carl''s the only contender, but the boss is more mature than he is. None of them is a match for the boss.


    Toby nodded satisfactorily and entered the waiting room. At the same time, the show was already halfway done. Reba was reading through the list, then her eyes shone. "Carl''s next, miss."


    Sonia perked up. "Good. Finally."


    "I''ll turn the camera on. It''ll take too long otherwise."


    Reba turned her phone''s camera on and aimed it at the runway.


    It was then that a slender man slowly walked down the


    runway.


    Reba held the phone with one hand and shook Sonia''s shoulder with another. "Carl''s here, miss!"


    "Yes, yes. Stop shaking me." Sonia was swaying and feeling dizzy from all the shaking.


    After Reba took her hands off, Sonia sat up straighter


    and faced the runway. She couldn''t see, but it didn''t stop her. At least she had to show some support. Carl was walking down the runway indifferently. He


    looked like he didn''t care, but actually, he was scanning the audience for Sonia. When he saw her waving at her


    with a smile, his eyes shone with delight. She''s really


    here!

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    ?Boss Your Wife'' s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 386


    But his delight was short-lived. When he saw the bandage on Sonia''s head, he realized why Reba told him not to get mad when he saw Sonia. That must be why. He clenched his fists and stared down to hide the murder brewing in his eyes. Luckily, he made sure to do that subtly so no audience noticed it, or he''d make the next


    day''s headlines. After he made a pose at the end of the runway, he walked back up the runway.


    Reba leaned closer to Sonia. "He was upset when he saw your wound, miss. Yes, he tried to hide it, but it didn''t escape me."


    Sonia sighed. "It''s fine. We''ll just tell him the truth." She knew Carl would be unhappy about it, so she was already prepared.


    Carl went to the waiting room after the show.


    His manager handed him a bottle of water. "Have some water, Carl."


    Carl ignored him. After he came in, he shoved all the makeup items on the table away and they fell onto the ground, attracting everyone''s gazes.


    "What happened, Carl?" a model asked.


    Carl ignored the model. He was staring down, trying to control his desire for murder. Who hurt her? If I know who did this, I will kill them. His face was contorted with rage.


    His manager quickly stood in front of him in case someone took his pictures. It will be troublesome if he makes the headlines. "What happened, Carl? Why are you so mad?" the manager tilted his head, whispering.


    Carl took a deep breath and contained his rage. "Nothing," he answered calmly.


    "That didn''t look like nothing to me. You didn''t even bother to hide your true self. Obviously-"


    Before he could finish, a crew member announced, "Alright, models." He pped his hands. "It''s time for the closing ceremony. Get in line and be ready for it."


    The manager had no choice but to swallow his words and told Carl, "Let''s finish this, Carl. And remember to stay calm. Do not let anyone take any photos of your true self, or we''ll get thrown through the wringer tomorrow."


    Carl''s eyes glinted. "I know." He massaged his temples to fully calm down and went onto the stage.


    Back in the audience, Reba held her phone up to photograph Carl during the closing ceremony, while Sonia waited beside her in silence.


    The ceremony ended in a while, and the model went offstage while the audience gave them a standing ovation.


    Reba propped Sonia up.


    After they pped, Reba asked, "Are we going to see Carl, miss?"


    Sonia nodded. "Of course. Let''s go."


    Reba returned Sonia''s phone to her and helped her backstage, but they didn''t go further once they were there. They wanted to wait for Carl, and luckily for them, his manager came out shortly after.


    The manager knew Sonia, for he had seen her before, so he greeted, "Hi, Miss Reed. Here to see Carl''s show?"


    "Yes. He invited me." Sonia smiled.


    The manager thought something was off with Sonia, but he couldn''t put a finger on it. "Are you here to see Carl?"


    "Yes. Can you call him for me?" Sonia asked.


    "Sure," the manager agreed. "Give me a moment."


    "Thank you." Sonia smiled.


    The manager went into the makeup room to call Carl out,


    and he came out after a couple of minutes.


    He had changed out of his show attire, but his makeup


    was still on, making him look like a handsome vampire in the medieval times. "Sonia." Carl came up to her and greeted her quietly.


    "Hi. And here I thought you didn''t want to see me."


    "I would never," Carl denied.


    Sonia snorted. "As if. You didn''t even take my calls. Of course you don''t want to see me."


    "I-" Carl was at a loss for words. It took him a while before answering, "I just didn''t know how I should face you. I can''t face you. You probably hate me and are angry at me after what I did. I know you won''t forgive me, so-"


    "It''s in the past now. I don''t hate you, nor am I angry at you. I forgive you." Sonia sighed.


    Carl''s eyes shone, and he looked ecstatic. "You''re forgiving me, Sonia?"


    "Yes." She nodded.


    Carl held her hands with a trembling one. "Is it true? You


    don''t me me for it?"


    "Yes, but..." Sonia pulled her hand away. "But you''d better not do anything like that again, you hear me?" she


    said solemnly.


    Darkness swirled within Carl''s eyes, but he said, "I won''t


    do it ever again."


    "Good to hear." Sonia smiled. "And I found out about your


    condition."


    Carl''s face froze. "Y-You know about that?"


    "Yes. So listen to me and get a therapist," Sonia advised


    him genuinely.


    Carl squinted at her for a while and looked downward.


    "Of course."


    "Good boy." Sonia patted his arm. He was right beside


    her, so she didn''t need to see to know where his arm was.


    At the same time, Reba smirked and mouthed, You''re just saying that so she won''t nag at you. You won''t see a therapist, right?''


    Carl managed to get what she said so he shot her a warning re, but he retracted it after a moment, worried that Sonia might see it.


    Reba rolled her eyes. She wanted to tell him to rx


    since Sonia couldn''t see. But in the end, she decided to let him find out about it himself.


    "What happened to your head, Sonia?" Carl looked at the bandage coldly, but he was worried for Sonia.


    Sonia touched the bandage. "Some madman got to me,"


    she answered calmly.


    "Who?" Carl asked.


    "Stop asking, Carl. I''ll handle this myself. We should go now. Someone might being through soon."


    Carl was angry that she was keeping it a secret and he


    clenched his fists, but he had promised he wouldn''t do anything outrageous, so he loosened them up. "Let''s go to my room. Every model here has one."


    "Sure." Sonia nodded and extended her hand.


    Carl wondered why she was doing that, but then he gotText content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    his answer. Reba went


    hold Sonia.


    Sonia waved her hand across the air as if to see if there


    was a wall. Once she confirmed there wasn''t a wall there, she put her hand down.


    Carl was shocked and shaken to see that. "Sonia, what happened to your eyes?"


    "I can''t see, but it''s only temporary," Sonia answered


    honestly. She knew she couldn''t hide it for too long from


    Carl.


    Carl held her face. "You can''t see? Why? How? What happened?"

 Chapter 387

    ?Boss Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 387


    Chapter 387 Toby''s Lies


    "Let''s talk about this in your room." Sonia waved him down, telling him to calm down.


    Since there were people staring at them, Carl nodded and calmed down for now. "I''ll lead the way."


    After leading thedies to his room, he closed the door and urged Sonia to tell him what happened.


    Sonia told him everything.


    Carl squinted darkly. Taylor, huh? You''ll be getting it soon. "Are you sure you''ll heal up, Sonia?" He touched her eyes gently.


    Sonia nodded. "Yep, but I don''t know when." I''ll be leaving Paradigm Co. in Charles'' hands for the time being. "Let''s not talk about this, Carl. Charles is keeping an eye on her, and I''ll handle it once I get back. Let''s talk about you. You have another show tomorrow, right?" Sonia asked.


    Carl knew she didn''t want to talk about Taylor, so he went along with it. "Yes, the show is in the morning."


    "I might not be able to attend then." Sonia sighed regrettably.


    Carl got nervous. "Why? Are you going back tomorrow morning?"All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "No. My flight''s the day after tomorrow, but I have things to do tomorrow," Sonia answered cryptically. She wanted to find out if she was really switched at birth and switched back again.


    "What is it?" Carl asked.


    Sonia smiled. "It''s a secret."


    Carl''s face fell, and he was obviously upset that she wouldn''t tell him.


    Sonia noticed his displeasure, so she patted his arm. "Calm down, Carl. This is my family business. I don''t even know what''s going on, so it''s not the time to talk about it. I''ll tell once I find out about the truth."


    "Alright." That cheered Carl up.


    Sonia turned around and told Reba, "Reba, I want to use the restroom. Please take me there."


    "Sure." Reba put her juice down and helped Sonia go to the restroom. A momentter, Reba came back out alone. She stood before Carl and crossed her arms. "So, have you considered it?"


    "Consider what?" Carl looked at her darkly.


    Reba chuckled. "You know what I''m talking about, but since you''re ying dumb, I don''t mind jogging your memory. Are youing back to the Hayeses?"


    Carl pursed his lips. "I refuse."


    "Are you sure?" Reba''s smile faded. "Carl, I told you before. f you don''te back, you''ll lose everything you have in the Hayeses. They''re your birthright, but if you don''te back, those b*stards are going to usurp the family. Do you want that to happen? The Hayeses got this strong all thanks to your grandfather. Do you want to waste his life''s work?"


    Carl looked at her darkly and clenched his fists.


    Reba calmed down after stirring him up. "So you don''t want to. Thene back. And there''s something else I need to tell you. ording to my dad''s intel, Den is already in Seafield. We don''t know where he is, but we know he''s there for you, so look out."


    "Reba," Sonia called out to her just as Reba was done talking.


    "Coming!" Reba went to the bathroom.


    Carl stared at the ground, immersed in his thoughts.


    Thedies said goodbye to Carl at midnight and went back to the hotel.


    Carl didn''t stay in a hotel. The host had a ce for the models to stay and he had a meetingter, so he couldn''t send Sonia back. But he didn''t worry, for Reba was by her side. Every time he remembered how powerful Reba was and how she had managed to pin him against the wall, he felt frustrated.


    After arriving at the hotel, Reba pushed Sonia, who was in a wheelchair, toward the elevator. Just when they were in front of the elevator, Reba saw a couple of mening to them from the left. "Mr. Fuller is here too, miss," she eximed.


    "Toby?" Sonia frowned.


    Reba stammered, "Y-Yeah."


    Right after she said that, Toby came up to them and looked at Sonia. "What a coincidence. You''re here too?" he asked gently.


    Tom was behind him, rolling his eyes. A coincidence? You followed her here. He only thought about that in silence though. Of course he wouldn''t say it, but he could see that Sonia didn''t believe Toby either.


    Sonia arched her eyebrow. "Really? Didn''t hear you wereing to Norfolk."


    Toby came up with an excuse, "It''s ast-minute decision. The branchpany got into some trouble, so I''m here to


    handle it."


    Tom rolled his eyes again. This is the first time I have heard someone cursing their ownpany.


    "Is that so?" Sonia didn''t know if he was lying or not since


    she couldn''t see. All she did was nod and keep her


    silence.


    The four of them stood before the elevator in awkward


    silence.


    A short whileter, Toby broke the ice by asking, "I heard Tim found out who the assant is. It''s Taylor, isn''t it?"


    Sonia grunted.


    "Did you tell Zane about it?" Toby looked at her. They both made the call to hire Taylor. If that woman''s going to get culled, Zane should also y a part in it.


    Sonia shook her head. "Not yet. I''ll do it after I get back."


    "When are you going back?" Toby asked, feigning nonchnce.


    Sonia answered coolly, "I don''t know. I can go back


    whenever I want to."


    Toby knew she was just hiding her schedule from him. That saddened him, and he stopped asking.


    Silence fell upon them again. Even after they got into the


    elevator, none of them said anything, and the atmosphere felt somber.


    After Sonia got out on her floor, she heard Tobying


    out after her. "You stay here too?" she asked curiously.


    This is the business suite area. He should be staying in the presidential suite area.


    Toby knew what she was thinking, but he lied, "Someone reserved the presidential suite."


    Sonia chuckled. As if. You might not own this hotel, but they are your business partners. And hotel bosses always have their own rooms in their own hotels. If they know


    you''re here, they''d give their room to you. That''s a lie. At that moment, she knew Toby had followed her from the


    start. "Let''s go, Reba." Sonia didn''t want to talk to him


    anymore. She patted her wheelchair''s armrest, telling Reba to take her away.


    Reba smiled faintly at Toby before taking Sonia away.


    Toby didn''t follow them. Instead, he saw them off and pursed his lips.


    "Sir, Miss Reed seems to be angry." Tom stroked his chin.


    Toby stared down at the ground. "Because she knows I was lying." Tom snickered. "You are a lousy liar, sir. Everyone could tell you were lying."

 Chapter 388

    ?Boss Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 388


    Toby looked at him coldly, telling him to shut up.All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom shrugged, but he said nothing else.


    After he saw them going into their room, he turned around and walked to the elevator. Now that he knew where they were staying, there was no point being there anymore. Time to go back to my room.


    Reba woke Sonia up the next day, since they had to go to the hospital. Reba prepared the toothbrush and towel for her, so Sonia could wash herself up right after she went to the bathroom. There was no need to


    rummage around. Yep. Bringing Reba along was the right decision.


    It was then someone rang the doorbell. Reba shouted in Sonia''s direction, "Someone''s here, Miss Reed. I''ll take the door."


    "Okay." Sonia spat the toothpaste out.


    Reba looked through the peephole to see who it was. After she realized it was just the hotel staff, she opened the door. "Yes?"


    "Are you Miss Reed?" The staff smiled.


    Reba shook her head. "No, but she''s my boss."


    "One Mr. Fuller ordered room service for her. Can you sign here, please?" The staff member pushed a breakfast cart out.


    There were a few tes on it but they were covered, so the contents were unknown.


    Reba arched her eyebrow. "I see."


    The staff member handed the cart over to her and left.


    When Reba came in, Sonia just came out of the bathroom by feeling the wall.


    When she heard the creak of the cart''s wheel, Sonia stopped. "Who was it?"


    "The hotel''s staff member. He came to deliver our breakfast." Reba pushed the cart to the dining table.


    Sonia was surprised to hear that. "You already ordered breakfast? I was going to order once I was done washing up."


    "This isn''t me. It''s from a certain someone who loves you." Reba pointed at the roof.


    Sonia couldn''t see where she was pointing, but she knew what Reba was talking about. "This is from Toby?" She pursed her lips.


    "Yep." Reba nodded and took the lids away. When she saw the scrumptious breakfast, she gasped. "Not bad. Let''s dig in, miss."


    "No. You can eat it yourself." Sonia shook her head.


    Reba put the lids down and went to Sonia to take her toward the dining table. "Oh, don''t do that. This is a free breakfast. Don''t waste it. The hotel epts no refunds, I can''t finish it alone, and I don''t want to waste food. I know why you don''t want to ept it, but we can pay him backter." Reba stuffed a spoon into her hand.


    Sonia couldn''t throw her offer away just like that, so she gave in and sat down. "Pay him back using my pher."


    "Sure." Reba nodded as she drank the milk.


    After breakfast, they went to the biggest hospital in Norfolk, where Sonia was born twenty-six years ago. Her father said he had gone to Norfolk for business, and her then-pregnant mother had insisted on going with him. In the end, her water broke, and Sonia was born. I have to find out if I was switched at birth.


    Back at the hotel, Toby was upset when he found out that Sonia was gone. He knew Carl had another show that morning, and he thought Sonia was for sure going to see it before going back.


    Tom nced at his frustrated boss and adjusted his sses. "Are we going to the show, sir?"


    "No." Toby frowned. It''s just a bunch of guys on a runway.


    "Send two men over to keep an eye on her. Don''t let anyone bump into her." Toby pinched the area between his brows. Sonia might have Reba with her, but she was just one person. There was a limit to her, especially when it came to crowded ces. Sonia couldn''t see, so she might bump into someone.


    "Yes sir." Tom nodded.


    But when Tom''s men didn''t find Sonia after they went to the runway, Toby realized Sonia didn''t attend the show at


    all.


    That worried him. If she isn''t there, then where is she? Did someone take her away? Or is she attending to her own matters? He had a lot of questions, but he knew what


    he must do. Toby narrowed his eyes and ordered, "I want you to look into this. Find out where she is." He would not rest until he found where she was.


    Tom knew Sonia''s disappearance could mean some serious stuff was going on, so he obliged at once.


    On the other hand, Sonia was standing outside the file room in the hospital, waiting nervously. After all, the case happened more than twenty years ago, so it''d take some time for the admin to dig out the relevant files.


    She sped her hands, looking scared. Reba noticed that, so she calmed Sonia, "Take it easy, Miss Reed. I know you''re the Reeds'' daughter. I''m sure of it." Sonia smiled. "I think so too. There''s no reason why my


    parents loved me so much otherwise, but I just want to verify some things for myself." She wanted to know why Charles saw a different baby on his second visit. She had a hunch that the answer behind that was important. If she couldn''t figure it out, it''d haunt her forever.


    A whileter, the admin came out of the room, holding a


    yellowing file. "Here''s the file you want, miss. It''s the record of your birth twenty-six years ago."


    Sonia stood up. "Thank you." She felt around for the file,


    then took it from the admin.


    Reba said, "I''ll help you, miss."


    "Sure. Thank you." Sonia handed her the file.


    Reba took it and opened it carefully. Of course she did.


    It had been twenty-six years, and the paper could crumble at any given moment. If she exerted too much


    force, it could turn into a fine powder. PCs weren''t that essible back then, so all the records were written on paper. If she ruined the one she was holding, there would be no backup files topensate for it.


    "What does it say, Reba?" Sonia asked urgently.


    Reba was flipping through it carefully. "I''m reading it.


    Calm down, miss. This record says that twenty six years ago, Mrs. Reed-that''s your mother-gave birth to a female baby that weighed 2.3 kilograms on the sixth of


    July." "And? Was the baby switched?" Sonia clenched her fists. That was the most pressing question. If she was switched at birth, her parents would havee back and told the


    staff to contact the other couple, not to mention that this detail would have been recorded as well.


    "Let me take a look." Reba kept flipping, then shook


    her head. "No. Nothing of the likes happened, but there are a lot of checkup reports here. They said the baby wasn''t healthy. Wow, you were a sick child, Miss Reed."


    Sonia pursed her lips. "I have no idea if that''s true. My


    parents never told me that, but that''s not the point. The point is, why isn''t there any record of the babies getting switched?" If that''s true, then I was not switched at birth.


    So who was the baby Charles saw? Who was the baby without the birthmark?

 Chapter 389

    ?Boss Your Wife'' s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 389


    Chapter 389 Clean Background


    That''s not right. Riddled with questions and wanting answers, Sonia handed her phone to Reba. "Call Charles for me."


    "Sure." Reba closed the file and took Sonia''s phone to call Charles.


    It didn''t take long for the call to make it through. "Hi, babe," Charles said.


    Reba suddenly had the idea to prank Charles. "Oh, hi, darling."


    Sonia choked on her water.


    Charles was petrified for a moment, then he growled. "Who the f*ck are you? Who are you calling darling?"


    Reba wanted to tease him some more, but Sonia stopped her while holding back herughter. "Alright, enough. Stop messing around, Reba. Give me the phone."


    Reba handed it over, but she wasughing. "It''s fun seeing him so nervous though."


    Sonia shook her head in amusement and took the call. "It''s me, Charles."


    Charles was relieved to hear her familiar voice. "Who was that woman, babe? She called me darling out of nowhere and gave me a big shock. I thought I got the wrong number, but I''m sure I didn''t."


    "It was Reba. I told her to call you. She was just ying around." Sonia smiled.


    Charles answered angrily, "Damn that wench! Tell her she''s getting a piece of my mind once shees back. How dare she fool around with me?"


    "Sure." Sonia chuckled.


    Charles was disgruntled, but he calmed down after a moment and got to business. "Didn''t expect a call from you at this hour, babe. Did you find anything?"


    Sonia''s smile faded away. "Yes," she said somberly. "I am in the hospital where I was born, and I saw the file. Our guess was wrong. I was not switched at birth."Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "What?" Charles raised his voice then covered his mouth immediately, realizing the people around him were staring. "Are you sure, babe?"


    "Yes." She nodded. "That''s why I''m calling you now. I want to know about the baby you saw back when you came to my ce for the first time when you were a kid."


    "For the record, I wasn''t hallucinating." Charles went to


    a corner.


    Sonia pinched her nose. "I didn''t say you were. I just want you to ask your mother about it. She''s my mother''s best friend after all, so she might know something."


    "Sure. I can do that," Charles said okay and went to ask his mother.


    Grace was talking to the rtives. When she saw her son waving at her, she frowned in annoyance, but still she went over to him. "What is it?"


    "Mom, I want to ask you something. I saw two bab-Sonias back when I was a kid. What was up with


    that?" Charles looked at his mother.


    Grace nced at him. "Two Sonias? Did you knock your head something?"


    Charles stomped his foot. "I''m talking about the baby I saw when I was a kid. Why did she be a different baby the second time I saw her?"


    Grace was slightly shocked to hear that from him and she almost gasped, but she collected herself and calmed down, pretending nothing had happened. "Of course it was a different baby." She smiled.


    Charles held his mother''s arm, excited that he found a lead. "So who was the baby I saw the first time?"


    Grace looked at the floor. "She was the daughter of the Reeds'' rtive. They wanted Sonia''s father to take care of her for a couple of days. That was the baby you saw the first time. Sonia was in her room back then."


    "Is that so?" he asked suspiciously.


    Grace poked his forehead. "What else is there to it?"


    "I thought she got switched at birth and was switched back again," Charles mumbled.


    Grace rolled her eyes. "Are you stupid? The news would have been all over it if that happened."


    "True." Charles nodded.


    Grace breathed a sigh of relief, then squinted at her son. "Why did you ask that all of a sudden, son?"


    Charles averted his gaze. "Just curious. I suddenly had a


    thought about that, and I wanted to know the truth, so here I am. Alright, that''s all I had to ask. I''ll be going now." He then went away.


    Grace saw him off and sighed, her eyes glinting with secrecy.


    "Did you hear that, babe?" Charles went back to where he stood and put his phone to his ear again to ask Sonia.


    Sonia nodded. "Yes. It was my rtive''s child." Grace is nice to me. She wouldn''t lie.


    "Yep," Charles said. "That''s a good thing too. Now you know you''re really your parents'' daughter."


    "Yep." Sonia smiled. She did feel relieved after knowing that the first baby was her rtive''s child.


    "So Taylor meant something else when she said your birthmark is a threat to her," Charles suggested.


    Sonia sneered. "Yes, but we can get the answer from her


    after we go back." What''s important is knowing I''m the Reeds'' daughter.


    "True." Charles nodded.


    Then someone called out to him, "Time to pay your respects, Charles."


    "Coming!" Charles replied.


    Sonia heard that, so she said, "You should finish your


    stuff first, Charles."


    "Okay, I''ll be leaving now. See you at the airport tomorrow." He hung up and went toward the guy who


    called him earlier.


    Sonia put her phone down as well. "We should go back


    now, Reba."


    Reba-who had been quiet all this time-pointed at the file. "Are you done with that?"


    "Yes. I got all the answers I wanted." Sonia smiled.


    Reba was happy for her. "That''s good news. Give me a


    second to return the file."


    "Sure." Sonia gestured.


    Reba went back to the room to put the file back. A


    short whileter, she came back to take Sonia and leave the hospital.


    After they left, someone went to the file room and asked


    why Sonia and Reba were there. Once he got his answer, the guy called someone.


    When Tom found out what happened, he pushed his


    sses up his nose. "I see. You cane back now." He


    put his phone down and went to the study in the presidential suite. Tom knocked on the door, saying, "I found it, sir. Miss Reed went to the hospital to look into


    her birth record."


    Toby frowned. "Now why did she look into that?"


    "ording to the admin, Miss Reed said she suspected


    herself of being switched at birth," Tom answered.


    Switched at birth? Why did she suspect that? Toby squinted. "And? Was she switched at birth?"


    "No. The admin said Miss Reed even made a call to ask


    someone about that, but she confirmed that she was not switched at birth." Tom shook her head.


    Toby nodded. "I see. Since there''s nothing wrong with it,


    then you should drop the case. Go back to work."


    "Yes." Tom went out.


    After the door was closed, Toby crossed his legs, then


    sped his hands and rested them on his stomach. He stared at his desk, deep in his thoughts.

 Chapter 390

    ?Boss Your Wife'' s Asking for A Divorce Again Chapter 390


    Chapter 390 Pay Him Back


    A momentter, he unsped his hand and made a call.


    At the same time, Sonia hade back to her room. Since she finally got rid of her big baggage after the trip, she looked happier than ever.


    Reba noticed that she was humming as well, and she smiled. "You seem happy, miss."


    "Of course." Sonia nodded. She was happy to find out that she was no imposter.


    Reba was infected by Sonia''s cheeriness. When she looked at the time and realized it was noon, she went to call the hotel staff. "Are you hungry, miss? I''ll get us some room service."


    "Sure. But get an extra." Sonia blinked.


    Reba wondered why she wanted to do that. "Why? There''s just the two of us."


    "It''s for Toby." Sonia pursed her lips. "He gave you back the money you gave him this morning, didn''t he? Let''s just buy him lunch. He can''t give that back, can he?"


    Reba smiled. "True. I don''t know what he likes to eat, but you do, right?" She might not love Toby now, but she used to, so she must still know what he likes to eat.


    Sonia didn''t give her a straight answer. All she did was give her the names of the dishes. Reba made a note and called the receptionist to order room service. Half an hourter, the staff member took the cart to the presidential suite.


    Tom opened the door, and he was surprised to see the lunch cart. "We didn''t order this." He and Toby were going to go outter for a meal. The person in charge of the Norfolk branch wanted to treat them, so he didn''t


    make any orders. Why did they send room service?


    The staff member smiled. "Miss Reed ordered this for Mr. Fuller."


    "Miss Reed did?" Tom''s eyes shone.


    "Yes."


    "I see. Give me the cart. I''ll take it inside." Tom quickly took over.


    The staff member gave it to him and left. Tom immediately took inside, and he could already imagine the look on Toby''s face when he saw it. "Sir." Tom came to the study and knocked. "Miss Reed ordered you lunch."


    Toby was in an online meeting with the branchpany''s person in charge. When he heard what Tom said, he was stunned for a moment, then he closed hisptop and strode toward the door. Sonia got me lunch? Toby was beaming when he opened the door.


    After he saw the cart behind Tom, Toby was obviously excited and overjoyed, but he pretended to be calm and collected. "Sonia ordered this for me, you say?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded. "Are you happy, sir?" He chuckled.


    Toby smiled. "Maybe." He knew why Sonia got him lunch. It''s probably because of the breakfast. She doesn''t want to owe me. That made him ufortable, but he was still happy anyway, since he could pretend that Sonia ordered it specifically for him and not because she wanted to pay him back.


    Tom rolled his eyes silently when Toby pretended to be calm despite the fact that his joy was overflowing. "Should I send this to the table for you, sir?" He pointed at the dining table.


    Toby waved him down. "I''ll do it alone." He then pushed the cart and went toward the dining table.


    Tom followed him as Toby pushed the cart around, and he chuckled inwardly. For some reason, he had a feeling he and Toby had switched positions. At that very moment, he was like the boss who had nothing to do, while Toby was the busy assistant. It''s nice being the boss. After they came to the dining table, Tom helped Toby set the table up. When Tom took the lids away and saw the food inside, he was surprised. "It''s your favorite food, sir."


    Toby looked at the food gently. "I know." He noticed that the moment he saw it. So she still remembers.


    "You must be really happy now, sir." Tom gave him a sardonic look.


    Toby looked at him and just sat down without even giving Tom an answer. "Tell Stephen that I won''t be there for lunch." Toby picked up his fork and spoon.


    "Yes." Tom nodded. With Miss Reed ordering his lunch, of


    course everyone else''s lunch is taking a backseat. Tom texted Stephen about it. After the text was sent, he sat down and was about to dig in.


    Toby''s face fell. "What are you doing?" he asked coldly.


    "Digging in," Tom answered matter-of-factly.


    "Who said you could eat this?" Toby''s voice turned even colder.


    Tom blinked at him. "Miss Reed, of course. It''s obvious


    this is a lunch for two. There are even two sets of


    cutleries. She had me in mind as well."


    Toby sneered. "Even if that''s the case, you''re still not eating this."


    "Why?" Tom stared at him in disbelief.


    Toby leaned against the chair. "Because it''s all mine," he


    dered bossily. "If you want to eat, go get your own room service. This table here is exclusive."


    Tom''s lips twitched. He knew his boss was just being


    territorial about the lunch and was selfish about it. "But you can''t finish it alone. It would be a waste if you threw the rest away. That would be an insult to Miss Reed." Tom snickered. He must let me eat now that I''ve said that. I''m starving.


    "Why should I throw it away? I can save it for dinner."


    Toby looked at him calmly.


    "But then you''ll be eating leftovers," Tom said.


    "I don''t care." Toby looked up proudly.


    Tom had nothing to say to that, but he was impressed.


    Toby would never have leftovers for dinner, but he was willing to eat leftovers just because his lover was the one who ordered the food. He had to say he was impressed. He can really go the extra mile just to get her back. All the more impressive when someone like him does it for the


    sake of love. Pity Miss Reed won''t get back with him even


    if he did this. Tom took ast look at the table of food before leaving in annoyance. So you want me to get my room service? Fine. I''ll get the priciest one, and you''ll pay for it.


    Carl came to the hotel to see Sonia after work was done


    for the day. Just when Sonia was chatting happily with him, Reba came in guffawing like a maniac. The both of them stopped talking and looked at her. Sonia


    couldn''t see, but it didn''t stop her from asking, "What happened, Reba? Why are youughing like that?"


    "It''s not me. It''s-" Before she could finish, Reba burst


    intoughter again.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Carl frowned. "Can you stopughing?" he asked


    impatiently.


    "Sorry. It''s not my fault, but this is just too funny. Someone just died from embarrassment." She wiped the tears away from the corner of her eyes. "Just when I came


    back, I saw Tom dragging a doctor in with him." "And ?" Sonia arched her eyebrow.

 Chapter 391

    Chapter 391


    Chapter 391 Embarrassed


    Tom came back with a doctor? Did Toby fall sick?


    ¡°Then I asked Tom what happened, and he said Mr. Fuller is down with mild food poisoning. So I got


    curious how that happened, since Tom should be taking care of him well. I followed them back to their


    suite and heard that he got food poisoning because he ate leftovers for dinner.¡± Reba was still


    laughing from the hrity of the situation.


    A multinational conglomerate¡¯s boss got food poisoning because he had leftovers for dinner. Everyone¡¯s


    going tough if they find out about this. The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. She never expected Toby to


    fall sick because he ate the wrong thing. ¡°Why did he have leftovers though?¡± Sonia was holding her


    forehead, but her eyes were all smiles.


    Carl was the only one not smiling. In fact, he looked dark.


    Reba heaved a sigh and calmed herself down before answering, ¡°It¡¯s actually because of you.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Sonia pointed at herself.


    Reba nodded. ¡°Mr. Fuller took the whole lunch for himself, but he couldn¡¯t finish it, and he didn¡¯t want


    to throw it away. That¡¯s why he left it until dinner and asked the staff to reheat it. But since it¡¯s the first


    time he has had leftovers, it was too much for his body, and he fell sick.¡±


    Sonia arched her eyebrow. Wow, that¡¯s a bizarre reason.


    ¡°Why did you order lunch for him, Sonia?¡± Carl suddenly asked with an upset voice.


    Sonia noticed it, so she exined, ¡°He ordered breakfast for me, so I paid him back.¡±


    ¡°You could have refused him.¡± Carl stared at her, his eyes glinting with a terrifying light. ¡°So why didn¡¯t


    you? I thought you said you didn¡¯t love him anymore. I thought you wanted to get away from him, so why


    did you ept his offer? And why did you care how he got sick? Are you falling for him again?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s smile slowly froze up with every question asked, and she frowned in the end. She couldn¡¯t see


    his face, but she was sure he was mentally and psychologically breaking down right now. ¡°Now calm


    down, C¡ª¡±


    ¡°Answer me, Sonia!¡± Carl interrupted before she could finish, then he pushed himself onto her, trying to


    pin her to the couch.


    But before he could touch her, Reba stood up angrily and yanked Carl¡¯s shirt cor from behind


    before tossing him to the couch across the table. ¡°Calm down, kid.¡± She stood right before Sonia, giving


    Carl a warning look.


    Carl was staring at the floor, so nobody could see his face.


    Sonia grasped the air. When she touched Reba¡¯s hem, she held it tightly. ¡°What is it, Reba? What


    happened?¡±


    Reba turned around. ¡°This kid got mad. He was about to force you to answer.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Carl¡­¡± She could guess why Carl sumbed to his demons. Judging


    from his questions, he thought Sonia fell for Toby again because she asked how Toby fell ill. That


    triggered him and caused a meltdown. Knowing that, Sonia sighed before answering, ¡°I did not fall for


    him again, Carl. I asked those questions because I wanted to know why Reba was so amused. That¡¯s


    all.¡±


    Carl looked at her and opened his mouth. He wanted to say something, but he kept quiet in the end.


    Then, he stood up and said goodbye. Carl seemed a bit nervous and scared, probably because knew he


    almost hurt Sonia again.


    Reba put her hands on her hips. ¡°Hey, he¡¯s the abuser here, and now he just ups and leaves?¡±


    Sonia massaged her temples. She wasn¡¯t surprised about it, since Carl did the same thing after she said


    she found out he poisoned her. He had left and was out of contact for a few days. I wonder if it¡¯ll be the


    same this time.


    ¡°Honestly, he has to see a therapist. He had a meltdown just from a slight trigger. God knows what might


    happen in the future. And he has to fix his temper. That guy has too much of an ego, and he leaves


    every time he gets into trouble. What a child,¡± Reba said seriously as she saw him off.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°True. Give me your phone, Reba. Open Messenger and tap into his chat window.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Reba nodded.


    After Sonia took the phone, she pressed down on the voice message button based on her memory. ¡°I¡¯m


    not ming you for what happened, Carl. Come with me to Seafield tomorrow. We¡¯ll get a therapist for


    you.¡± After hearing the beep that signified her message was sent, Sonia put her phone down and waited


    for the reply. Two minutester, her phone vibrated.


    Sonia asked, ¡°Is it from him? What did he say?¡±


    Reba looked at the phone. ¡°Let me take a look. Yes, it¡¯s him. He said ¡®OK.¡¯ Damn, a one word


    response for all that text? He¡¯s having a hissy fit.¡± In Reba¡¯s eyes, Carl was nothing more than a


    brother. He wasn¡¯t fit to be a boyfriend. He was too dark, violent, and egotistical. Every time he got into a


    fight, he¡¯d never apologize first. In the end, his partner would have to coax him every time. It would be a


    tiring rtionship in the long run. Since Carl liked Sonia, Reba didn¡¯t want Sonia to fall for him.


    Sonia put her phone down and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s better this time. At least he gave me a reply, which makes me


    feel better. I want to sleep now, Reba.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to bed then.¡± Reba held her up.


    Back at the top floor¡¯s presidential suite, the doctor left after giving Toby a prescription.


    Tom came in with a ss of warm water. When he saw his boss on the bed looking pale, he felt a sense


    of schadenfreude. And this is why you never take the whole table of food for yourself. Tom coughed to


    hide his urge tough, then he handed the ss of water to Toby. ¡°Here¡¯s your meds, sir.¡±


    Toby took the ss and medicine, then gulped the medicine down without a word. ¡°Sonia knows, doesn¡¯t


    she?¡± Toby put his ss down.


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    Tom adjusted his sses. ¡°Probably. Reba heard the conversation we had with the doctor, and I bet


    she¡¯ll tell Miss Reed about it.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face fell. What will she think of me now? Will sheugh at me? When he recalled how loudly


    Rebaughed, his heart sank. Now that she hates me so much, I bet she¡¯llugh at me, and happily


    at that too. My image is all ruined. He raised his arm to cover his eyes, since he didn¡¯t want to face


    anyone at the moment. It was the first time he was embarrassed in his life after all.


    Tom didn¡¯t feel likeughing now that Toby looked so embarrassed with himself. He picked the ss up


    and asked, ¡°Shall I leave now, sir?¡±


    Toby grunted.


    Tom turned around and left. I¡¯ll leave him alone. He should have some time to calm down and collect


    himself.


    The next day, Sonia, Reba, and Carl took the flight back to Seafield. Toby didn¡¯t follow since he had


    some business left in Norfolk. He had to audit the branch¡¯s ounts, but he would go back right after


    that.


    Right after Sonia disembarked and came out of the passage, she heard Charles calling out to her happily


    from somewhere in the crowd. ¡°Babe!¡±


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 Chapter 392

    Chapter 392


    Chapter 392 Find a Nanny


    Reba smiled at Sonia. ¡°He¡¯s right in front of us, miss.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I heard him loud and clear. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Carl held the wheelchair.


    Reba shrugged and let him take her ce. Fine. Since he wants to do it, I can catch a break.


    They went toward Charles.


    After they met up, Charles looked at Sonia. ¡°Not bad, babe. You brought this kid back.¡±


    Carl looked away, ignoring him.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Of course I did. I can¡¯t leave him alone. Oh, did you find a therapist for him?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to. Tim can deal with it. He¡¯s a psychologist.¡± Charles shrugged. Sonia frowned slightly, but


    that did not escape him. He asked carefully, ¡°You don¡¯t want Tim to be his therapist?¡±


    ¡°No. He¡¯ll do just fine.¡± She shook her head. Actually, she didn¡¯t want to ask Tim for help. The guy was a


    weird one, so she wasn¡¯t too happy about him being Carl¡¯s therapist, but she had to say that he was a


    great psychologist, so she could let him try.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call him in a second.¡± Charles looked at Carl. ¡°Work with him, Carl. It¡¯s for your own good. At


    this rate, you¡¯ll end up destroying yourself.¡±


    Carl averted his gaze and turned his head away. ¡°I get it.¡±


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s go, the car¡¯s outside.¡± Charles took one of the luggages Reba was holding.


    Reba gave him a grateful look. ¡°You¡¯re such a good guy. Helping me out? Oh gosh.¡±


    Charles snickered. ¡°I can be better if you don¡¯t tease me.¡±


    They went to the car park happily.


    A short whileter, they came to First World Hospital. Charles took Carl inside and sent him to Tim, while


    Sonia waited in the car.


    About ten minutester, Charles came back.


    When Sonia heard himing in, she asked, ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°Tim epted him and will start the treatment right away. He said Carl¡¯s condition is a serious one. He¡¯s


    borderline schizophrenic, so it¡¯ll take a long time to treat him. The treatment is phased, so it might take


    two or three years,¡± Charles massaged his forehead,menting.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°That is indeed a long time, but it¡¯s a small price to pay for a full recovery. He can take his


    time.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Charles nodded, then he revved the car up. ¡°So, are you going back to Trifecta or Bayside,


    babe?¡±


    ¡°Bayside. My head¡¯s healing up fine. That leaves my eyes, and they don¡¯t have to keep checking up on


    me. All I have to do is go back for regr checkups. Charles, I need you to go through the discharge


    paperwork for me, alright?¡± Sonia said.


    Charles turned the steering wheel. ¡°Sure, but what about Taylor? When are you going to get rid of her?¡±


    ¡°Today. The sooner, the better.¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve sent that portrait you gave me to the


    police. Once they get your employee¡¯s testimony, they¡¯re going to summon Taylor to the police station,¡±


    she said coldly.


    ¡°When did you send it to the police?¡± Charles was curious.


    ¡°When you brought Carl into the hospital.¡± She patted the handbag on her leg.


    Reba, who was in the passenger seat, turned around. ¡°I helped.¡±


    ¡°That she did.¡± Sonia smiled.


    They came to Bayside Residence a short whileter, and the two of them helped Sonia into her house.


    Suddenly, Charles remembered something. ¡°Why don¡¯t I get a nanny for you, babe? At least until your


    eyes recover. I can¡¯t leave you alone, so the nanny will take care of you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea,¡± Reba agreed.


    Sonia sat down on the couch. ¡°I know, and I¡¯ve thought about it, but I haven¡¯t contacted any home


    servicepanies yet.¡± She really needed a nanny considering her current condition. After all, she had


    to stay home instead of working because of her eyes. If she had no nanny, she couldn¡¯t even take care


    of herself. She also couldn¡¯t ask her friends to take care of her 24/7.


    ¡°I have some rmendations. The Logans are experts in this field, and Fabian¡¯s my friend. If I reach


    out to him, he¡¯ll get you a decent, honest nanny. You won¡¯t have to worry at all,¡± Charles promised.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia took the ss Rebeca gave her. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you then.¡±


    ¡°No prob. The nanny will be heretest by tonight,¡± Charles said. His phone rang after that, and he took a


    look at it. ¡°I¡¯ll have to go home now, babe.¡± He smiled bitterly. ¡°I have someone to meetter.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I have Reba here with me, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Sonia sipped some water.


    Reba was changing the TV channel. When she heard that, she nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here. And I¡¯ll be


    here until the nanny arrives.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear. See youter, babe.¡± Charles kept his phone and left.


    Sonia turned to Reba. ¡°Call Zane for me.¡±


    Reba took Sonia¡¯s phone and called Zane. ¡°Done.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sonia took the phone back and put it next to her ear.


    Once the call made it through, Sonia heard Zane yawn. ¡°Anything you need, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Are you sleeping?¡± Sonia arched her eyebrow.


    Zane chuckled. ¡°Yeah. I pulled an all-nighter and only went to bed at eleven in the morning.


    Really? But it¡¯s only two now. So he only slept for three hours or so? ¡°Sorry for waking you up,¡± she


    apologized sheepishly.


    Zane sat up. ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m supposed to wake up already because I have something to doter. Do you


    need anything?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I want to stop the whole n about spying on the Grays. Now, I want to get rid of Taylor.¡± Sonia


    pursed her lips solemnly.


    Zane blinked dumbly. ¡°Why? We haven¡¯t even told her to do anything yet. Why are you ending it


    already?¡±


    ¡°Because our spy betrayed us. When we hired her, we overlooked her greed. She got addicted to the


    taste of the Grays¡¯ wealth, and now she¡¯s not content being a fake. She wants to stay with the Grays all


    her life and usurp the real Rina¡¯s ce.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zane was shocked to hear that. ¡°How could she even do that? And how did you know, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°I did not. It wasn¡¯t until I found out she was my assant did I realize she had betrayed us. She¡¯s the one


    behind the wound on my head,¡± Sonia said.


    Zane believed her at that point, since Sonia had no reason to use Taylor of anything she didn¡¯t do,


    nor would she deign to do that. So that means Taylor betrayed us. ¡°Dammit!¡± Zane thumped the edge of


    his bed. He looked upset, as if someone humiliated him.


    And in reality, someone did. After all, he was the one who hired Taylor and came up with the n, but


    now, their spy had betrayed them even before the n was put into action. That was a huge blow to his


    image.


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 Chapter 393

    Chapter 393


    Chapter 393 A Call from the Police


    More importantly, this spy even brought harm upon Sonia. ¡°This should stop. This should stop right now.


    I¡¯ll get her toe out immediately,¡± Zane uttered before he made a move to end the call.


    Sonia stopped him before he could do so. ¡°Wait! Calm down. I made a police report once I was hit, and


    the police recognized that it was Taylor who had harmed me after they conducted their investigation.


    They¡¯ll summon Taylor in for an interrogation, so we can just head directly to the station when that


    happens,¡± Sonia exined.


    ¡°That sounds like a n.¡± Zane nodded. However, he was still furious about the incident. ¡°F*ck. I always


    thought I was good at analyzing others, but I can¡¯t believe I was defeated by a woman like her. I¡¯m so


    pissed!¡± he grumbled with his deep voice.


    Sonia scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s not just you who failed to analyze her. I didn¡¯t realize how maniptive she was


    either. I guess we were a little too conceited¡ªwe thought that we had it all within our control. Yet, reality


    came as a huge punch in our faces. Well, I guess it could also be a good thing. I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t make


    the same mistake twice.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true,¡± Zane uttered with a bitter smile. He continued with an apologetic tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that


    you were injured, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. Well, I guess that¡¯s all for now. I¡¯ll contact you when the policemen order us to head


    over,¡± Sonia said as she pinched the area between her brows.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Zane replied.


    At the same time, Titus, Julia, and Rina were having their dinner in Gray Residence. They had no idea


    what was about to happen, but Rina felt a heavy feeling in her chest during their meal. She had a bad


    feeling about something.


    All of a sudden, her phone began to ring. She lowered her cutlery and pulled her phone out of her pocket


    to nce at the screen. The caller ID indicated that it was a call from the Seafield Police Station. Rina¡¯s


    expression darkened as she instinctively got to her feet.


    Both Titus and Julia were surprised by her sudden change in behavior. ¡°What is it, Rina?¡± Titus asked as


    he lowered his cutlery. Julia, too, nced at her worriedly. ¡°Yeah, Rina. Why do you look so pale? Who is


    the call from?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s the man who used to be my adoptive father.¡± Rina lowered her gaze to conceal the fact that


    she was lying. Titus immediately mmed his palm against the dining table. ¡°Is he calling you to ask for


    money?¡± he asked with a grim look.


    ¡°I¡­ I guess so.¡± Rina lowered her head even more.


    Titus scoffed. ¡°I told you not to contact those people anymore. Why won¡¯t you listen to me? How many


    times have they called to ask for money?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Rina.¡± Julia nodded in agreement. ¡°Just think about the way that family treats you! Why would you


    still think of them? The more you think about them, the more they¡¯ll pester you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mom and Dad. It¡¯s all my fault.¡± Rina pressed her lips tightly together after apologizing to them.


    Deep down, she was boiling with hatred for the Careys. Why would I contact them? I¡¯d do anything to cut


    ties with them forever. It all started when Rina bumped into an olddy who was from the same vige as


    the Careys. The olddy was nice to Rina, so Rina gave the olddy her phone number when the old


    lady asked for it.


    However, Rina hadn¡¯t expected the olddy to give her phone number to that couple. After both husband


    and wife found out about thevish life that Rina was living, they went against Zane¡¯s rules and made


    direct contact with Rina to ask her for money. If Rina hadn¡¯t gotten Zane to keep the couple in control,


    they might have even traveled all the way to Seafield just to ask her for money.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you recognize your faults. You can change to a new phone numberter. That way, you¡¯ll


    cut off all ties with them.¡± Titus lifted his spoon as he gave Rina his orders.


    Rina nodded. ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll clear things up with them.¡± She then left her seat and walked away from the


    dining hall. If it had actually been the Careys, she would have no reason to avoid Titus and Julia.


    However, it wasn¡¯t a call from the Careys, but from the police. Why would the police call me? I think it¡¯s


    best for me to pick up this call outside, just to be safe.


    She picked the call up and ced the phone against her ear only after she reached the living hall. Her


    voice was quiet and shaky. ¡°Hello¡­¡±


    ¡°Is this Miss Rina Gray?¡± The voice on the other end was hard and cold. Rina immediately knew that


    something was wrong once she heard the man¡¯s voice. Her muscles grew tense as she tightened her


    grip on the phone. ¡°Yes, this is Rina speaking.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯d like to request for you toe over to the police station within the next hour. We need


    you here to provide some information for our investigation,¡± the man uttered.


    Rina¡¯s face turned as pale as a sheet. ¡°An investigation? What¡­ What sort of investigation is this?¡±


    The only thing I did that may warrant an investigation is probably my attack against Miss Reed. Could the


    police be referring to this? If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t that mean that Alice snitched on me? Wait, that


    doesn¡¯t sound right. Even though Alice knows how I look, she doesn¡¯t know my name¡ªthe police will


    probably take more time to find me if that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s not as if they can ess Alice¡¯s memories to


    see what I look like, right?


    So, it can¡¯t be rted to this matter! It has to be something else! Rina took a deep breath as she soothed


    herself with this thought. Yet, the police¡¯s next sentence cut off her final glimmer of hope. ¡°This is rted


    to a case of you attacking Miss Reed.¡±


    Smack! The phone slipped out of Rina¡¯s hand and fell onto the ground. The screen turned pitch ck.


    Meanwhile, Rina was too stunned to move¡ªher limbs felt like they had turned to ice as she began to


    shiver. It¡¯s really rted to this incident. I can¡¯t believe they found out about me! How am I supposed to


    keep Miss Reed¡¯s identity a secret after this? Won¡¯t others find out that she¡¯s actually Rina? What¡¯s Mr.


    Coleman going to think of me when he finds out that I have betrayed them? A surge of fear took over


    Rina, and she could barely breathe as she was too flustered. She didn¡¯t want to go to the station


    because she knew that she might not be able to leave after entering that building.


    But if I don¡¯t go¡­ Rina seemed to recall something as she hastily knelt down and picked her phone up.


    Fortunately, her phone wasn¡¯t entirely damaged¡ªthe screen had some cracks and the phone had


    switched off on its own, but it still functioned once she turned it on again. Rina immediately ran a search


    to find out what the consequences would be if she were to go against the police¡¯s orders of summoning


    her to the station. When she saw the responses on the Inte, she felt as if ayer of ice had formed


    around her heart.


    If she didn¡¯tply with the police¡¯s orders, they would send officers to her house and bring her to the


    station with force. In that case, everyone would spread the news about her crime, and both Julia and


    Titus would find out. No. I can¡¯t let Mom and Dad find out about this, Rina thought as she bit her lip. It¡¯s


    just the police station, right? I can just go there and insist that I wasn¡¯t involved, right?


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    With that thought, Rina took a deep breath and returned to the dining table. Julia noticed the pale look on


    Rina¡¯s face¡ªRina was clearly shocked by the call. ¡°What is it, Rina? Did those people from the Carey


    Family scold you? They¡¯re so shameless!¡± Julia uttered as she felt sorry for her daughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just recalled some unhappy memories from the past. Mom, Dad, I¡¯d like to go out for a


    walk.¡± Rina¡¯s gaze flickered before she looked at Titus and Julia. Titus nodded. ¡°Go on. I¡¯ll transfer you


    some money, and you can buy yourself anything that you fancy,¡± he offered.


    ¡°Thanks, Dad,¡± Rina replied. He beamed at her. ¡°You¡¯re my only daughter. What¡¯s there to thank me for?¡±


    Rina had to look down in order to conceal the darkness in her gaze. The more this couple treats me well,


    the more I want to stay in the Gray Family. It¡¯s not just for the money that they have, it¡¯s also for the


    fatherly and motherly love that I¡¯ve been getting from them. No matter what happens, I have to make


    sure that I keep my identity as Rina Gray. I have to find a way to get past this issue. With her fists


    clenched, Rina walked out of Gray Residence and made her way to the station.


    At the same time, both Sonia and Zane made a move to go to the police station. Perhaps it was all fated


    ¡ªall three of their cars arrived at the station at the same time, and all three of them bumped into each


    other at the station¡¯s entrance.


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 Chapter 394

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    Chapter 394 Best Actress


    When Rina saw Sonia and Zane, she naturally felt a pang of guilt and fear. Without realizing what she


    was doing, she took a step back and lowered her head to avoid making eye contact with them. She was


    afraid to look at them, which was typical behavior of someone who was guilty. Zane was positive that


    Rina was the one who had attacked Sonia.


    He eyed her coldly. ¡°Why are you hiding? Shouldn¡¯t you greet your bosses when you see them?¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Rina felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she lowered her head even more. I can¡¯t


    believe I bumped into Sonia and Zane here. I¡¯d be able to handle the situation if I bumped into Sonia


    alone, but Zane¡­ Rina bit her lip as a strong sense of panic filled her insides.


    She had feelings for Zane. She had fallen for him when she met him after she first came to Seafield. It


    was her first time seeing a man who looked so gorgeous and perfect. However, she knew that she was


    no match for him and that he¡¯d never fall for a girl like her. So, she had no choice but to conceal her


    feelings so that he wouldn¡¯t find out about it.


    Although she had never dreamt of being with him, she still hoped that she would leave an impression on


    him. In order to do so, she spent most of her time learning all sorts of skills to improve herself. She


    hoped that she would be able to change his perception of her someday. She wanted him to see her as


    an elegant swan instead of an ugly duckling who came from some vige. Maybe I would match up to his


    standards someday. Maybe I would have the right to be with him someday, right?


    However, after Zane found out that she had harmed Sonia, things were clear from his icy voice and


    attitude. He obviously despised her. Rina couldn¡¯t bring herself to ept his hatred¡ªshe was fine if


    Sonia or anyone else hated her, but she simply couldn¡¯t ept the fact that Zane hated her as well. At


    that thought, tears welled up in Rina¡¯s eyes. She looked up and stared at Zane. ¡°Mr. Coleman, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Alright, Zane. Let¡¯s go in for now. We can talk in the station,¡± Sonia uttered all of a sudden. Sonia had


    interrupted Rina¡¯s words with a harsh tone. Zane nodded and stepped forward to push Sonia¡¯s


    wheelchair. ¡°You can wait for us in the car,¡± he said to Reba.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Reba nodded. She was fine with that arrangement as she had never been fond of police


    stations. She had too much blood on her hands. Even though it was all blood of the dead, she would still


    feel guilty if she entered a police station.


    Zane wheeled Sonia into the station without looking at Rina at all. Rina stood still and bit her lower lip as


    she stared at Zane and Sonia¡¯s backs, then clenched her fists silently.


    Meanwhile, Reba lit up a slim cigarette and took a long, tasty drag in the car. She eyed Rina with a


    slight smirk on her face. I can¡¯t believe this woman fell for Zane, she thought as she curled her lips


    upward. How interesting!


    Rina seemed to have sensed Reba¡¯s eyes on her, for she turned around to nce in Reba¡¯s


    direction. Reba had eyes that seemed to peer into one¡¯s soul, and Rina was flustered when she


    locked eyes with Reba. Rina hastily lowered her head before hurrying into the station.


    When she got to the interrogation room, Rina found Zane, Sonia, and Alice waiting for her. Her


    expression darkened as she realized what had happened. So, Alice was the one who snitched on me. I


    just don¡¯t know how the police managed to find me.


    ¡°Zane!¡± Sonia tugged on Zane¡¯s sleeve, and Zane looked down at her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°How did Taylor respond when she saw Alice?¡± Sonia asked in a hushed tone. The police had sent


    officers to bring Alice over from Tim. Since Alice was just a scapegoat and not the actual person who


    attacked Sonia, Sonia told Tim that he didn¡¯t need to let Alice try the medication. Sonia simply got him to


    have Alice locked up temporarily.


    However, she heard that Tim had locked Alice up in the hospital¡¯s morgue. He had ordered her to keep


    watch on the dead bodies for a few days, and she was thoroughly shocked after spending a few days


    there. She no longer seemed like she was in her right mind after that.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see much of a response from Rina,¡± Zane murmured as he nced at Sonia.


    Sonia pressed her lips together. ¡°It seems like her acting skills are pretty good.¡± The police officer then


    pointed to a seat that was meant for the suspect. ¡°That¡¯s your seat,¡± he said to Rina.


    Rina looked over to see that her seat was right beside Alice¡¯s, and she went over to sit down without


    saying anything else. Meanwhile, Sonia and Zane stayed beside the few officers. The chief officer was


    the first to speak. ¡°Do you know the woman beside you, Rina?¡±


    Rina¡¯s gaze flickered before she turned to look at Alice. Rina feigned a puzzled look as she shook her


    head. ¡°No. I¡¯ve never seen her before.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± Alice widened her eyes in disbelief. After being cooped up in the hospital for the past few


    days, Alice was aware that she had been hypnotized. She came clean about the whole situation after


    that. Initially, she was worried that her son wouldn¡¯t be saved after she exined the situation, but Tim


    told her that the person who got her to be a scapegoat hadn¡¯t paid for her son¡¯s medical bills even after a


    few days had passed. She was furious when she heard about this.


    Fortunately, Tim had offered to help her apply for charity funds that could support her son¡¯s medical bills.


    He did so with the condition that she would point out and use the person who had gotten her to be


    the scapegoat. Alice was willing to agree to Tim¡¯s terms for the sake of her son. But now, this woman


    who got me to take the me is iming that she doesn¡¯t know me!


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    ¡°I¡¯m not lying. I don¡¯t know you at all.¡± Rina blinked a few times as she put on an innocent expression.


    Right after that, Rina¡¯s gaze swept past Zane and Sonia before she looked directly at the police officers.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know her, Sir.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re talking nonsense!¡± Alice couldn¡¯t believe how shameless Rina was. Alice stuck her


    finger out and pointed at Rina while shouting at her. ¡°You were the one who approached me and told me


    to take the me after you attacked Miss Reed! How could you say that you don¡¯t know me now?! I¡¯m


    telling the truth, sir. She was the one who attacked Rina. I¡¯m not lying at all!¡±


    ¡°Did you just say that I attacked Miss Reed?¡± Rina scoffed. ¡°Why would I do such a thing? Do you have


    evidence of me attacking Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Alice froze for a moment before she continued speaking in a weak voice. ¡°I don¡¯t have any


    evidence, but I know that you were the one who attacked Miss Reed. You attacked her because you


    were afraid that she would be a threat to your current identity. That was what you told me in the past.¡±


    Rina¡¯s expression darkened when she heard Alice talk about Sonia threatening her identity. Rina shifted


    her gaze toward Sonia subconsciously. To Rina¡¯s surprise, Sonia had been staring at her all along, and


    Rina locked eyes with Sonia.


    Rina didn¡¯t know that Sonia couldn¡¯t see her, so her pupils still shrank when she looked into Sonia¡¯s icy


    re. Rina quickly turned away before she increased the volume of her voice and continued to argue


    against Alice. That seemed to be the only way she could camouge her suspicious behavior. Yet, as


    much as she tried to hide it, Zane and the rest of the officers had already taken note of Rina¡¯s peculiar


    actions.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes as she seemed to be thinking about something. Meanwhile, Rina and Alice


    continued to argue with one another, and the officers were starting to get a headache from listening to


    them. ¡°Alright, everyone, shut up!¡± The head officer smacked his palm against the table to stop the two


    women from fighting.


    Both Rina and Alice fell silent. ¡°Taylor, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still denying your faults. I¡¯m impressed at


    how calm you can be while lying to everyone,¡± Sonia hissed all of a sudden. A grim expression formed


    on Rina¡¯s face the moment she heard the name ¡®Taylor¡¯. She hadn¡¯t heard that name in a long while.


    That name didn¡¯t just sound old-fashioned to her, but it also reminded her of the horrible ce that she


    came from.


    All along, Rina had been trying her best to forget about her past. Yet, when Sonia uttered her birth name,


    Rina felt as if she were flung into a pool of horrendous memories of her past.


    Trending Novels

 Chapter 395

    Chapter 395


    Chapter 395 Taylor¡¯s Exnation


    Rina took a deep breath to contain the hatred she felt. She faked a look of surprise as she responded to


    Sonia. ¡°What do you mean, Miss Reed? Do you trust her? Do you think that I really attacked you?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t believe what was going on. Rina continued to shake her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it, Miss Reed. I


    work for both you and Mr. Coleman¡ªI¡¯d never attack my own boss. That doesn¡¯t make sense! Trust me,


    Miss Reed and Mr. Coleman. Please trust me when I say that I haven¡¯t done such a thing.¡±


    Zane merely let out a scoff without responding to her. Rina felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach


    when she saw his response, realizing how flustered she was at that point. ¡°Mr. Coleman¡­¡± Rina parted


    her lips to call his name. She could tell that Zane didn¡¯t just hate her¡ªhe practically treated her as if she


    didn¡¯t exist. Rina was terrified as being ignored felt worse than being hated by him.


    If he merely hated me, he would probably still look at me. However, now that he¡¯s ignoring me, it means


    that I¡¯m not even worth a nce. At this point, Rina began to regret all that she had done. I should have


    been more careful. Why didn¡¯t I wear a mask when I went to meet Alice? That way, I wouldn¡¯t have been


    found even if Alice decided to snitch on me. Then, Mr. Coleman wouldn¡¯t hate and ignore me. Rina


    balled her fists as she counted her regrets.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m very sure about this. You were the one who did it. I can¡¯t trust you any longer. Do you know how


    we found out about this? We hired a sketch artist to draw a portrait of you in ordance with Alice¡¯s


    descriptions. Then, we showed the portrait to Alice again. That was how we¡¯re so sure that you¡¯re the


    attacker.¡±


    Rina widened her eyes. So, that¡¯s what happened. I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s an actual way for someone to


    investigate a case! There¡¯s still so much that I need to learn! ¡°I see, Miss Reed. But portraits¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop trying to wriggle your way out of this. I know what you¡¯re going to say.¡± Sonia raised her hand as


    she cut Rina off once more. ¡°You¡¯re going to say that a portrait can¡¯t be legitimate evidence because


    someone could just describe your face on purpose, right? You¡¯re trying to im that Alice is framing you


    as the attacker, right?¡± Sonia continued with a smirk.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Rina was stunned and at a loss for words, proving that Sonia¡¯s guess had been right. ¡°Fine. If a


    portrait isn¡¯t good enough as evidence, then allow me to present you with the most solid piece of


    evidence I have. After you attacked me, you went over to Alice¡¯s house and stayed there for a long time.


    I¡¯m sure your fingerprints are on some of the items in Alice¡¯s house. Although this might be a bit of a


    hassle, I can still pay arge sum to order someone to dust everything in Alice¡¯s house. Do you think


    we¡¯ll be able to find your fingerprints somewhere in there?¡± Sonia scoffed.


    ¡°Sonia¡¯s right. Once we find your fingerprints in Alice¡¯s house, it¡¯ll show that what Alice said was true. You


    were the one who attacked Sonia and ordered Alice to be your scapegoat.¡± Zane spoke while rubbing his


    chin.


    Color drained from Rina¡¯s face as she recalled how she had taken her gloves off once she arrived at


    Alice¡¯s ce. Back then, my gloves were stained with Sonia¡¯s blood, so I took my gloves off and washed


    my hands in the bathroom. I touched many parts of the bathroom back then, so I¡¯m sure that I left my


    fingerprints somewhere in there. Rina¡¯s body began to tremble in fear just at the thought of it. She could


    no longer conceal the fear in her eyes.


    Zane spoke up in a stern tone after he saw Rina¡¯s expression. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve finally admitted to your


    crimes. Well, tell us¡ªwhy did you decide to betray us? Why did you attack Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what Alice said earlier? Alice said that Rina attacked me because she thought that I was


    a threat to her identity, right?¡± Sonia asked.


    Zane knitted his brows. ¡°Identity? What sort of identity does she have? Is she worried that you might


    steal her identity as Taylor? That can¡¯t be it, right?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°She thinks that I¡¯m a threat to her identity as Rina


    because I know that her identity is a lie. She is worried that I might expose the fact that she isn¡¯t actually


    Rina,¡± Sonia exined.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. If she attacked you to stop you from exposing her, she should have killed you


    on the spot. That¡¯s the only way she can stop you from talking. Furthermore, you aren¡¯t the only one who


    knows about this¡ªI know the truth about her identity as well. She should have attacked me too,¡± Zane


    mumbled in a deep voice.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia drummed her fingers on the armrest of her wheelchair. ¡°I think we should just get her to exin


    everything to us.¡± She turned to look at Taylor. ¡°Taylor, did you attack me because you were afraid that I¡¯d


    expose you for faking Rina¡¯s identity? Also, what was the reason you destroyed my red mole? You¡¯d


    better exin yourself clearly. If you do so, I might consider letting you off with a lighter punishment.¡±


    Rina had to lower her gaze to conceal the bitterness and regret in her eyes. After a while, she finally


    looked up with a defeated expression on her face. ¡°Yeah. I attacked you because I was afraid that you¡¯d


    expose me for faking Rina¡¯s identity,¡± she uttered with a cold smirk on her face. Since she was already


    exposed for attacking Sonia, she didn¡¯t mind telling her the reason.


    ¡°Are you mad, Taylor? We were the ones who hired you to be a spy in the Gray Family. We¡¯d only


    expose you if we lost our minds.¡± Zane smacked the table angrily.


    Rina bit on her lip. ¡°You might not expose me now, but what about the future? Once Iplete all the


    tasks you guys gave me, you would still expose me, right? You¡¯d get me to leave the Gray Family.¡±


    Zane widened his eyes. ¡°So, you did this because you don¡¯t want to leave the Grays? You¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since you already gave me this life as Rina, you should just allow me to go on living as her.¡±


    Everything that Rina said was from the bottom of her heart.


    Zane waspletely taken aback. ¡°I-Is that genuinely what you think?¡±


    ¡°Alright, Zane. Didn¡¯t I tell you the same thing before? You don¡¯t need to be too shocked. She genuinely


    thinks that way. We brought her into the upper-ss society, and we awakened the greed in her. She


    wants to be Rina forever so that she can enjoy thevish and luxurious life of a rich daughter. You can¡¯t


    me her for this¡ªwe humans never know when to be content, anyway.¡± Sonia tugged on Zane¡¯s arm


    as she spoke in an icy tone.


    Rina merely clenched her fists without saying much. Although Sonia¡¯s words were true, and although


    Rina agreed with her, Rina still felt rather annoyed after hearing it from Sonia. She felt like Sonia was


    shaming her and talking bad about her in front of Zane on purpose. Zane¡¯s impression of me is probably


    ruined now, huh? Well, that¡¯s okay. I trust that he will change his mind about me as I continue to improve


    myself. The threats that I¡¯m facing now are all temporary!


    ¡°I¡¯d just like to find out about one other thing, Taylor. This is something you¡¯ve never exined. What is it


    about this red mole of mine? What sort of secret does it hold, and why did you have to destroy it?¡± Sonia


    raised her left hand and pointed at the bandage around her left wrist as she asked.


    Rina¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously, but it faded off as she spoke. ¡°There¡¯s no secret behind it. A fortune-


    teller simply told me that I should watch out for people who have red moles. He said that such people


    might potentially curse me and cause me trouble. Tina has a red mole, and she used to bully me all the


    time when I first entered the Gray Family. That day, I noticed your red mole while I was at the restaurant,


    so I thought of destroying it. Because of that red mole, I figured that you might be the person to harm me


    and expose my fake identity as Rina. That¡¯s why I attacked you.¡± She could admit her greedy desires to


    pretend to be Rina for the rest of her life, and she could admit that she was the one who attacked Sonia.


    However, she would never tell anyone about the secret behind the red mole. If that secret were out,


    everything would be over.


    ¡°A fortune-teller? A curse?¡± Zane was so furious that he couldn¡¯t do much else butugh. ¡°Are you saying


    that you believe in these things? I don¡¯t trust you one bit!¡±


    Trending Novels

 Chapter 396

    Chapter 396


    Chapter 396 You¡¯re Not Rina, Are You?


    Rina¡¯s gaze wavered for a second. Everything she had said was aplete lie, but it didn¡¯t matter. All


    she wanted was to conceal the truth about the red mole.


    ¡°I agree with Zane. I don¡¯t believe all your nonsense about curses and fortune-telling either,¡± Sonia


    uttered with a frown.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth.¡± Rina bit her lower lip.


    ¡°If you¡¯re being honest, why don¡¯t you tell me who the fortune-teller is?¡± Sonia continued grilling her.


    Rina looked at the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just happened to bump into him, and he left after he gave me


    my reading.¡±


    ¡°Hah. Your story is full of ws.¡± Zane scoffed angrily. Rina dug her fingers into her palms. ¡°I know you


    guys don¡¯t believe me, but that¡¯s the truth.¡±


    ¡°Fine. If you refuse to tell us the truth, then we¡¯ll look into it ourselves. When we find out about the secret


    behind the red mole, I¡¯ll make sure that you pay for all the lies you¡¯ve told.¡± Sonia smacked her palm


    against the wheelchair¡¯s armrest. ¡°I think we¡¯re done here, Zane. Let¡¯s go. We can leave the rest to the


    police.¡±


    ¡°Okay. We should have our own discussion about exposing her identity as Rina.¡± Zane nodded.


    Rina¡¯s face turned into one of shock. ¡°Are you guys going to expose me?¡±


    ¡°You already betrayed our trust when you attacked Sonia. Did you think that we were going to continue


    letting you y the role of Rina after this? Furthermore, if all you can think of is being Rina, it also means


    that you no longer have any intentions to work for us. Your heart is with the Grays now. You¡¯re supporting


    the Grays because you can¡¯t have their family copsing. Even if you got to be Rina for the rest of your


    life, you wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy being rich if the Grays fell apart, right?¡± Zane sneered as he red at


    her.


    The guilty look on Rina¡¯s face made it clear that Zane had seen through her hidden intentions. What he


    said is true¡ªI want to be Rina for the rest of my life, and I never want to go back to being Taylor. But if I


    continue being Rina, then the Gray Family and Triforce Enterprise have to continue existing. Otherwise,


    there would be no point in me being Rina. The moment she had decided to attack Sonia, she had


    already made her decision to side with the Gray Family.


    When Zane saw the guilty woman standing in silence before his eyes, he couldn¡¯t help butugh at his


    own incapabilities. I always thought that I was good at judging others. My perception of others have


    always been urate ever since I was young, but I can¡¯t believe I failed with a woman like her this time!


    Ugh!


    ¡°Alright, Taylor. You should enjoy yourst days of being in a rich family. Soon enough, you¡¯ll go back to


    being Taylor.¡± Zane pushed Sonia out of the interrogation room after that.


    Rina looked at the floor to hide the dark look in her eyes. Did he say I¡¯m going to go back to being


    Taylor? No way! That¡¯s never going to happen!


    Meanwhile, Zane pushed Sonia out of the police station and toward her car. On the way out, Sonia fixed


    her gaze on the bandage around her wrist as if she were thinking about something.


    Zane couldn¡¯t stop himself from questioning her. ¡°Are you still thinking about the red mole?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t stop thinking about it. Taylor¡¯s act of destroying my red mole was simply too


    peculiar. Furthermore, she refuses to tell the truth. It¡¯s really bothering me.¡±


    ¡°Well, Taylor attacked you because she was afraid that you would expose her. Furthermore, didn¡¯t Alice


    say that the red mole might threaten Taylor¡¯s identity? The identity that Taylor cares about is Rina¡¯s


    identity. Could it be possible that the real Rina also has a red mole on her wrist, and Taylor attacked you


    because she thought you¡¯re the real Rina? Maybe¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Sonia didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry upon hearing his words. She interrupted


    him as she shook her head. ¡°How could I be Rina? I¡¯m my parents¡¯ biological daughter! Have you heard


    my parents talking about adopting others?¡±


    ¡°No, I guess not.¡± Zane shrugged.


    ¡°Exactly my point.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes at him. He chuckled for a while before he fixed his gaze on her


    face¡ªhe had just recalled something important. Although Sonia couldn¡¯t see his eyes, she could sense


    that he was directing his focus toward her. ¡°What is it?¡± She knitted her brows.


    All rights ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Do you remember what I told you a long while ago, Sonia? I said that you had the same eyes as Mrs.


    Gray.¡± Zane looked at Sonia¡¯s eyes.


    Sonia reached her hand up to touch her face. ¡°Yeah. You told me about it when you brought me to the


    hospital after I injured my leg.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I still think that you guys look rather simr. Furthermore, judging by Taylor¡¯s peculiar


    actions toward you, I think it might be a possibility that you are Rina.¡± Zane rubbed his chin as he spoke.


    Sonia felt her heart skipping a beat as she tightened her grip on her wheelchair¡¯s armrest. ¡°That¡¯s


    impossible. It¡¯s just our eyes that look alike¡ªwe don¡¯t look simr in other ways. You can¡¯t judge our


    simrities just by our eyes. If you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m Rina because of that, I think Taylor¡¯s eyes look pretty


    simr to Mrs. Gray¡¯s eyes as well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Zane nodded. ¡°But one way or another, I¡¯m sure that your red mole has got something to


    do with Rina¡¯s identity. Next, I¡¯m nning to run an investigation on the real Rina to see if she has a red


    mole, especially one on her wrist. If that¡¯s true, then you might actually be Rina. If that happens, I hope


    you can agree to a DNA test with Titus and Julia¡¯s samples.¡±


    Sonia bit her lip without responding. She didn¡¯t think it was possible for her to be Rina. How am I


    supposed to make sense of my hatred toward the Gray Family if I¡¯m actually Rina? I can ept the fact


    that I¡¯m not from the Reed Family, but I can¡¯t ept myself as Rina Gray. Zane noticed the resistance


    and fear in Sonia¡¯s eyes, but he quickly understood the reason for it after contemting the situation for


    a short while.


    He sighed before attempting tofort her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Didn¡¯t you say that your parents didn¡¯t adopt


    any children? It¡¯s still likely that you¡¯re a daughter from the Reed Family. Furthermore, didn¡¯t you just


    travel to Norfolk to do some research on your past? So¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia shut her eyes and forced herself to calm down. ¡°Let¡¯s just go for now.¡± It was clear that


    she no longer wanted to speak about this, so Zane shut his mouth and continued pushing her out of the


    station. They had just left the station when the police officers contacted Titus and Julia and requested


    theye to the station.


    Since Rina had admitted to attacking Sonia, the police officers worked ording to the procedures and


    contacted her family. When Titus and Julia heard that Rina had been caught attacking Sonia, they both


    nearly fainted on the spot. They had just sent Tina in¡ªthey couldn¡¯t have Rina convicted as well! More


    importantly, both of their daughters had been used by the same woman¡ªSonia.


    Titus was both furious and puzzled by the situation. Did the Gray Family do something bad to the Reeds


    in our past lives? Why would all of the Grays get defeated at the hands of the Reeds otherwise? ¡°What


    should we do now, honey?¡± Julia was tearing up while panicking. ¡°We just lost Tina¡ªwe can¡¯t lose Rina,


    too! Tina has a grudge against Sonia so I can understand why she would harm Sonia, but why would


    Rina attack Sonia? What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    Titus¡¯s expression was eerily stern. ¡°How am I supposed to know?¡± he barked.


    Julia nearly choked on her own spit as she realized that she had asked the wrong person. Both Julia and


    Titus had been at home together¡ªTitus would be just as clueless as Julia was. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s head to the


    station to understand the situation for now.¡± Titus got out of his seat on the couch after taking a deep


    breath.


    Perhaps he had stood up too quickly, or perhaps he had been too fired up after hearing the news of


    Rina¡¯s arrest, he wobbled and nearly copsed due to his low blood pressure. Julia quickly held onto his


    arm. ¡°What is it, honey? Are you okay?¡± she cried worriedly.


    Titus shut his eyes and allowed himself to regain his bnce before he shook Julia¡¯s hand off. ¡°I¡¯m fine.


    Let¡¯s hurry to the police station now. We have to find a way to get Rina out of there.¡± Titus didn¡¯t care that


    much about Tina. Tina¡¯s crime was more severe and she wasn¡¯t his biological daughter, so he was fine


    with her being arrested.


    However, Rina was different. Rina was his biological child and his only daughter. No matter what


    happened, he had to save her!


    Trending Novels

 Chapter 397

    Chapter 397


    Chapter 397 All These Lies


    Both husband and wife hurried out of the house and rushed to the police station. Soon enough, they


    found Rina there. Julia immediately wrapped her arms around Rina. ¡°You scared me so badly, Rina! Do


    you have any idea how worried I was when I heard that you had been arrested by the police?¡± Julia


    cried. The older woman wailed as she pounded her fists against Rina¡¯s back.


    Rina could sense that Julia was genuinely concerned and worried for her, so she raised her arms and


    pulled Julia into a hug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mommy,¡± she uttered with a guilty tone. Is this what it feels like to have


    a mother¡¯s unconditional love? I¡¯ve finally had a chance to feel it! It feels wonderful and heart-warming¡ªI


    love this feeling! No one can me me for wanting to be Rina so badly.


    Although Titus wasn¡¯t as expressive as his wife, his love for his daughter was written all over his face as


    he looked at Rina. ¡°Are you injured?¡±


    Rina knew what he was wondering. He was wondering if Sonia had also hurt her when she attempted to


    attack Sonia. ¡°No,¡± Rina uttered as she shook her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Titus heaved a sigh of relief, but his expression quickly turned stern once more. ¡°Tell us


    what¡¯s going on. Why did you suddenly attack Sonia? Didn¡¯t you witness how things turned out for your


    sister? Why would you still provoke her?¡± Titus had no immediate ns of going against Sonia himself.


    Since the Gray Family and Triforce Enterprise had only stabilized a while ago, he was afraid to get on


    Sonia¡¯s bad side during such a time. However, what he didn¡¯t expect was for Rina to provoke Sonia. Rina


    clearly wasn¡¯t thinking straight. It¡¯s fine if she wants to attack Sonia, but I can¡¯t believe she lost to Sonia


    and got herself captured!


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad. I didn¡¯t n on doing this. I just thought that Mom seemed really sad over Tina¡¯s recent


    incident. I just wanted to do something for my mother and sister.¡± Rina¡¯s voice grew softer with every


    word she spoke.


    Julia froze. ¡°So, Rina¡­ You did this for me¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Rina said softly. Julia gave her daughter another firm hug as she was too touched. ¡°Rina¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. Stop crying!¡± Titus shouted for Julia to keep quiet as his head was spinning because of


    Julia¡¯s loud wails. Julia sniffed a few times and stopped crying.


    ¡°I know you did it for your mother¡¯s sake, but your actions were too rash,¡± Titus uttered as he shifted his


    focus back to Rina. ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry, Dad.¡± Rina¡¯s eyes glinted as she apologized to him.


    Titus sighed. ¡°Forget it. What¡¯s done is done, so there¡¯s no point talking about all of this now. Just tell me


    how severe Sonia¡¯s injuries are. I¡¯ll find a way to get you out of this.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed wasn¡¯t badly injured. She only hurt her head,¡± Rina replied. She knew that her parents would


    save her, so she didn¡¯t appear flustered even after she admitted to attacking Sonia. She knew that she


    was safe because she was the only child in the Gray Family.


    In the case where Miss Reed and Mr. Coleman decide to expose my identity as the fake Rina¡­ Rina


    smirked as she thought about the secret weapon she had.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound that serious if it¡¯s just a head injury. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough to call it a criminal case.


    Even if there were a punishment, it¡¯d probably be administrative detention for a few days.¡± Titus


    narrowed his eyes as he analyzed the situation.


    Rina¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. ¡°Are you saying that I won¡¯t go to jail, Dad?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Of course. Your father just said that it¡¯s not enough to form a criminal case. That means that you won¡¯t


    go to jail.¡± Julia didn¡¯t want to see her other daughter in jail.


    Rina sped her palms together in excitement. That¡¯s great! I knew that Mom and Dad would get me out


    of here, but I didn¡¯t know that I wouldn¡¯t have to go to jail at all!


    ¡°You two can talk for a while more. I¡¯ll go ask the police officers about the bail,¡± Titus said to Julia.


    ¡°Go on.¡± Julia nodded. Titus turned and left the interrogation room, and he returned about ten minutes


    later. He wore a rather uneasy look on his face as he walked in. The uneasiness spread to both Julia and


    Rina once they saw his face. ¡°What is it, honey? Can we bail her out?¡± Julia asked Titus worriedly. Rina


    stared at him as well.


    He massaged his temples. ¡°Yes, we can. However, we¡¯d have to get Sonia toe in and sign a dispute


    settlement agreement before we bail her out. Otherwise, Rina will have to be detained.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go look for Sonia, then!¡± Julia urged.


    ¡°No!¡± Rina stopped her immediately. Both Julia and Titus turned to stare at Rina. ¡°Why not, Rina?¡±


    Rina lowered her eyes as she was afraid that the emotions in them would be revealed. She couldn¡¯t


    allow Julia and Titus to look for Sonia now. If Sonia asks them about the red mole, it¡¯ll be over for me.


    ¡°Because¡­ Miss Reed will never agree to this. She hates the Gray Family, so she¡¯d never sign a dispute


    settlement with us. She might even insult you guys, and I don¡¯t want her to do that to you. Mom, Dad,


    please don¡¯t look for her. I don¡¯t mind being detained for a while since I¡¯ll be released really soon.¡± Rina


    beamed at both her parents as she put on a thoughtful and caring look.


    Titus and Julia felt a surge of warmth in their hearts. Their biological child was indeed better than Tina,


    who¡¯d never do such a thing for them. Tina would¡¯ve begged them to ask Sonia to sign the dispute


    settlement at once. ¡°Are you really okay with being detained, Rina?¡± Titus looked at Rina as he


    questioned her in a serious tone.


    She nodded firmly. ¡°Of course. You don¡¯t have to look for Miss Reed, Mom and Dad. She is probably


    waiting for you to go to her right now so that she can humiliate you. We can¡¯t fall for her trap¡ªwe can¡¯t


    have things go the way she wants them to.¡±


    ¡°Rina¡¯s right, Titus,¡± Julia uttered after thinking about it for a while. Titus decided that Rina¡¯s words made


    sense, so he finally let out a long sigh. ¡°Fine. Don¡¯t worry, Rina. I¡¯ll make sure that the police only detain


    you for a few days at most.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thanks, Dad.¡± Rina beamed happily. Being detained might not be good news, but Rina was


    willing to endure it for a better future.


    Titus and Julia went out to talk to the police, and Sonia received a call from the police soon after that.


    The police spoke to her about Rina¡¯s case and how it was being dealt with. ¡°Alright. I got it. Thank you for


    informing me.¡± Sonia nodded and ended the call after speaking to the police.


    Zane noticed how Sonia seemed rather glum after the call. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The police have already decided on Taylor¡¯s punishment. She¡¯s going to be detained for 15 days,¡± Sonia


    replied.


    ¡°15 days? That¡¯s pretty little.¡± Reba was chewing on an apple, and she frowned as she spoke. Sonia


    pressed her lips together tightly. She was rather displeased because of the light sentence.


    Sonia had consulted awyer, so she knew that Taylor wouldn¡¯t be jailed for the case as she had only


    suffered light injuries. However, thewyer stated that Taylor might get more than 20 days of detainment


    for harming Sonia. Yet, the police settled with 15 days.


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    ¡°That seems like a rather light sentence. Should I call the police and talk to them about it?¡± Zane asked


    with his eyes narrowed.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Forget it. If you ask the police for a favor, it might end up as political leverage


    against your family some other time. We should just let it be. After all, the worst punishment for Taylor


    isn¡¯t detainment. Things would be worse for her if we were to take everything that she now has away


    from her.¡±


    Zane smirked. ¡°That¡¯s true. But when should we tell the Gray Family about this?¡±


    ¡°We can tell them now, but we can¡¯t tell them personally. If we do that, the Grays will find out that Taylor


    is a spy we nted in their household. If the public gets to know about this, our reputation will be ruined


    ¡ªyou¡¯ll bring the Coleman Family¡¯s reputation down, and mypany will be impacted.¡± Sonia looked


    grim as she spoke in a low voice.


    There were a few behaviors that entrepreneurs considered the most despicable within the field. Apart


    from being a two-faced person, entrepreneurs also hated when someone sent a spy into their


    organization. If people within the field found out about Sonia and Zane¡¯s acts of nting a spy, they


    would definitely start suspecting Sonia and Zane of nting spies in theirpanies, and the both of


    them would be boycotted from the industry. That would be a huge blow to their business.


    Trending Novels

 Chapter 398

    Chapter 398


    Chapter 398 Toby¡¯s Shocked


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Zane responded with a firm nod. They couldn¡¯t personally inform Titus and Julia that ¡®Rina¡¯


    was actually Taylor. ¡°But have you guys ever considered the possibility that Taylor might tell Titus that


    she was a spy nted by you guys? Taylor has already chosen to side with the Gray Family for the sake


    of her identity as Rina, so I think it¡¯s possible for her to rat you guys out.¡± Reba offered her opinion out


    of nowhere.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Well, you¡¯re missing out on something. Taylor would never rat us out.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Reba blinked puzzledly.


    Zane was the one who exined everything. ¡°Once Taylor exposes herself as a spy, both Titus and


    Julia¡¯s love for her would fade off, even if they don¡¯t believe she¡¯s an impostor. Such a situation would be


    a nightmare for Taylor.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, I guess I¡¯m no match for smart people like you guys.¡± Reba sighed.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Zane shifted his gaze toward Sonia. ¡°How are you nning to tell Titus and his family about this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy. Don¡¯t you have a copy of Taylor and Titus¡¯s DNA reports? Just send them a copy of it,¡±


    Sonia uttered tly. Zane raised his eyebrows. ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯ll do itter.¡±


    The doorbell rang as they were talking. ¡°I¡¯ll open the door, President Reed.¡± Reba stood up from the


    couch and walked toward the doorway to open the door.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia replied. Once the door was opened, they saw a middle-aged woman with a warm smile on


    her face. ¡°You are?¡± Reba narrowed her eyes as she scanned the woman before her eyes.


    The middle-aged woman responded with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Miss Reed¡¯s caregiver.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. Hold on for a moment.¡± Reba lowered her guard as she turned and projected her voice


    into the house. ¡°The caregiver President Lane arranged for you is here, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quick.¡± Sonia was shocked. ¡°I got it. Let here in.¡±


    Reba nodded and invited the woman into the house. Once the woman walked in, Zane widened his


    eyes and stared at her in surprise. ¡°You¡­¡±


    The caregiver immediately pressed a finger to her lips as she shook her head. Zane understood what


    she meant, so he quickly shut his mouth. Reba noticed the exchange between both of them, and she


    pointed at Zane, then at the caregiver, before pointing at Zane again. Her question was practically written


    on her face. How are both of you rted?


    Zane chuckled without giving her an exnation, but his thoughts were all jumbled up. Didn¡¯t Reba


    just say that Charles was the one who found this caregiver? What is Wanda doing here, then? Is Charles


    even able to hire Wanda? Hah! That¡¯s impossible. Wanda works for the Fuller Family, and she used to


    care for Toby¡¯s biological mother. After Toby¡¯s mother passed away, Wanda has always been in the


    Fullers¡¯ Residence¡ªMary and her both care for Old Mrs. Fuller. I think it¡¯s pretty obvious that it was


    someone else, not Charles, who hired Wanda.


    Although Sonia couldn¡¯t see what was going on, she noticed the shock in Zane¡¯s voice. ¡°Do you know


    this caregiver, Zane?¡± she asked before pursing her lips.


    Zane cleared his throat before he spoke. ¡°Yeah. This is Wanda, and she¡¯s one of the best caregivers in


    the industry. I happened to have met her once. It¡¯s pretty impressive how Charles managed to hire her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± Reba mouthed in Zane¡¯s direction with amusement. Zane merely rolled his eyes and


    ignored her.


    ¡°This is the person who needs your care, Wanda.¡± Zane pointed at Sonia as he turned to Wanda. Wanda


    beamed as she stepped closer to Sonia. ¡°I know. I¡¯ve seen Miss Reed in pictures. Hello, Miss Reed. My


    name is Wanda. I¡¯ll be taking care of you from now on.¡±


    Since Zane had met Wanda in the past and seemed to be extremely impressed with Wanda¡¯s caregiving


    skills, Sonia felt a lot safer in Wanda¡¯s hands. ¡°Hi, Wanda. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to trouble you from now on,¡±


    Sonia uttered with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all. Miss Reed, is it alright if I take a look and familiarize myself with your condominium?


    It¡¯ll be more convenient for me to care for you then,¡± Wanda exined.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia nodded. Wanda walked off to look around while Sonia turned her head in Zane and


    Reba¡¯s direction. ¡°You guys spent the whole day with me, Zane and Reba. Since Wanda is


    already here, you can head home. I¡¯ll buy you guys a grand meal once we settle all these issues with


    Taylor.¡±


    ¡°Sure. We¡¯ll excuse ourselves now, then.¡± Zane got to his feet. He was eager to leave as there was


    something else that he had to do. Since they were about to expose Taylor¡¯s true identity, Zane figured


    that he couldn¡¯t forget about the Careys. He would have to invite them to enjoy the show as well.


    Both Zane and Reba walked out of Sonia¡¯s unit, and Reba¡¯s footsteps came to a sharp halt as


    they arrived at the elevator. ¡°That woman, Wanda¡­ She works for President Fuller, doesn¡¯t she?¡± she


    asked abruptly.


    ¡°How did you know about that?¡± Zane raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I could tell from the look on your face,¡± Reba mumbled.


    Zane rubbed the space between his brows. ¡°Well, you¡¯re right. Toby was definitely the one who arranged


    for this caregiver, but I¡¯m puzzled. How did Toby manage to send his caregiver over before Charles sent


    his?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask Toby.¡± Reba shrugged.


    Zane¡¯s expression darkened a little. ¡°I have no interest in talking to a guy who doesn¡¯t keep his


    promises.¡± When Zane had first fallen for Sonia, he told Toby that he was going to go for Sonia and


    asked for Toby¡¯s blessing. Back then, Zane specifically reminded Toby not to change his mind and regret


    his decision. Toby had promised Zane, yet he wasn¡¯t keeping his word. Toby didn¡¯t just stop Zane from


    going after Sonia; he was even trying to go against Zane by getting Sonia to return to him. Zane was


    furious!


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Toby had just returned to his hotel in Norfolk after a meeting at his branch office. He sat on a


    chair in the study as he massaged his temples to soothe his headache. Tom walked in with his phone


    right then. ¡°Wanda¡¯s with Miss Reed now, President Fuller!¡± he reported.


    Toby nced up for a brief moment. ¡°I got it. Please tell Wanda to take good care of her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. I¡¯m sure Wanda knows what to do,¡± Tom replied. Wanda was Tom¡¯s distant


    aunt, so Tom heldplete trust in her.


    ¡°By the way, how did Sonia deal with her issue with Taylor?¡± Toby lowered his hand from his temples as


    he spoke gravely.


    Tom¡¯s expression turned serious as well. ¡°I asked around about it. Taylor admitted that she was the one


    who attacked Miss Reed, but she didn¡¯t provide any logical exnation for her act of destroying Miss


    Reed¡¯s red mole. Instead, Taylor provided some excuse about a fortune-teller who said that people with


    red moles were a curse to her. She imed that those people would bring her bad luck. How ridiculous!¡±


    ¡°Wait. What did you just say? A red mole?¡± Toby straightened his back abruptly.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t you know that Miss Reed has a red mole on her wrist?¡±


    Toby shook his head as he had no idea. ¡°I assumed that Taylor didn¡¯t have a specific reason to hurt


    Sonia¡¯s wrist. I wasn¡¯t aware that Sonia had a red mole on her wrist.¡± Toby¡¯s eyebrows were knitted as he


    spoke.


    The corner of Tom¡¯s eyes twitched a little. ¡°You really are something, President Fuller. Miss Reed has


    been injured for so long, yet you didn¡¯t know that the injury on her wrist was because Taylor had


    attempted to cut her red mole off. I can¡¯t believe you thought it was just a random injury!¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°Well, no one said anything about a red mole when I was around. That¡¯s why I was so


    surprised to hear that Sonia has a red mole on her wrist!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so surprising, President Fuller? Could you perhaps be aware of the secret that lies beneath the


    red mole on Miss Reed¡¯s wrist?¡± Tom shot his boss a look of disbelief.


    Toby clenched his fists as he tried his best to keep his opinions to himself.


    Tom gasped. ¡°Do you really know something, President Fuller? What¡¯s the secret?¡±


    Trending Novels

 Chapter 399

    Chapter 399


    Chapter 399 We Can¡¯t Let Her Find Out


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret rted to Sonia¡¯s life history!¡± Toby parted his lips and uttered his words clearly. Tom was


    stunned to hear this. ¡°Her life history? Is there something hidden in her past, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯s not from the Reed Family.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Tom eximed. ¡°How could she not be from the Reed Family? Everyone in the


    industry knows that Mrs. Reed gave birth to Miss Reed in Norfolk Hospital. Miss Reed just went to that


    hospital yesterday, and it was proven that she¡¯s Mrs. Reed¡¯s biological daughter.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. 26 years ago, Mrs. Reed gave birth to Sonia in Norfolk. However, that isn¡¯t the same Sonia


    as the one we know today.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Tom was more puzzled than ever. ¡°Are you saying that the current Sonia took over the real Sonia¡¯s ce,


    President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°I guess you could say that. The real Sonia might have passed away 26 years ago. There was a series of


    reports on a female infant in the file that Sonia was looking at yesterday, right? Most of the reports


    indicated that the female infant wasn¡¯t healthy and wouldn¡¯t live a long life. My guess is that the female


    infant didn¡¯t even live past six months.¡± Toby fiddled with his fingers as he spoke.


    Tom stared at him. ¡°Why would you make such a guess, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Because of Sonia¡¯s red mole!¡± Toby pressed his lips together. ¡°26 years ago, Henry brought Rina away


    when she was only a month old. Then, he threw the infant into theke in front of Titus and Julia¡¯s eyes.


    However, no matter how hard the rescue team tried to search for the infant, no one had ever found


    Rina¡¯s body. Some said that Rina never died, while some said that she had been washed off into the


    ocean. Both sayings exined why they couldn¡¯t find Rina, but most people believed that Rina had died.¡±


    ¡°Well, of course. It¡¯s just a baby¡ªit¡¯d never survive after being thrown into ake.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°But


    what has this got to do with Miss Reed?¡±


    Toby shot him a side re. ¡°Of course it¡¯s rted. ording to Sonia, we can be sure that Rina never


    died. Whatever they threw into theke might have been a doll or a pile of clothes.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, it means that Rina is still well and alive somewhere now,¡± Tom uttered.


    ¡°What if that somewhere is actually in the Reed Family?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°The Reed Family?¡± Tom was dumbfounded for a while before he seemed to realize something, and his


    jaw dropped. ¡°Are you saying that Miss Reed is the real Rina, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Previously, when I was in the car park of the hospital, I overheard Mrs. Gray asking


    Taylor about the red mole on her hand. Taylor imed that the red mole had been burnt off by a cigarette


    butt. That was how I knew that the real Rina would have a red mole on her hand. After you mentioned


    that Sonia has a red mole on her hand, things got much clearer¡ªit¡¯s obvious that Sonia is actually Rina.¡±


    Tom took a long, deep breath to calm himself down before he spoke again. ¡°Gosh. How did things turn


    out this way? Not only did Henry not drown Rina, but he even brought her home and raised her as his


    own.¡±


    Toby shut his eyes for a short while. ¡°That¡¯s why I said that the real Sonia never lived past six months.


    When Henry brought Rina away, the real Sonia was only five months old. However, there had never


    been two female infants in the Reed Family, so my guess is that the real Sonia had already died at that


    point. Rina just happened to be a recement for the real Sonia, and she grew up to be the Sonia


    we know today.¡±


    Tom gasped and took some time to calm himself down. ¡°That exins why Taylor wants to ruin the red


    mole on Miss Reed¡¯s wrist. Taylor probably knows that Miss Reed is the real Rina and is afraid that


    someone from the Gray Family will notice the red mole on Miss Reed¡¯s hand. So¡­¡± There was no need


    for him to continue his sentence. The room was silent for a short while before Tom nced at Toby and


    began to speak once more. ¡°Are we going to tell Miss Reed about this, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby drummed his fingers on the table, but the sounds were aplete mess¡ªthere was no rhythm to it


    at all. He was obviously troubled by the question. After a short while, he furrowed his brows. ¡°We can¡¯t


    tell her the truth.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Tom was curious.


    Toby responded with a grim look on his face. ¡°She will definitely have a breakdown. For her whole life,


    she has seen herself as part of the Reed Family. The Reed Family holds a huge grudge against the


    Grays, and she has a deep hatred toward the Grays. What would happen if you told her that she isn¡¯t


    actually from the Reed Family but from the Grays¡ªthe family she has hated for so long? What would


    she think of herself? What would you do in such a situation?¡±


    Tom lowered his gaze and tried to put himself in her shoes before he responded in a stern tone, ¡°I¡¯d lose


    my mind. If I were Miss Reed and I had been taking revenge on behalf of the Reed Family for my whole


    life, I would never be able to ept it if I found out that my enemy was actually my birth family.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is a problem that has no solution to it. If Sonia knows who she truly is, she will have to


    make a choice¡ªto continue taking revenge on behalf of the Reeds, or to recognize the Grays as her


    family. She¡¯ll suffer no matter what she chooses,¡± Toby muttered.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Tom sighed. ¡°If Miss Reed chooses to continue taking revenge for the Reeds, then she


    wouldn¡¯t just be going against her enemies. She¡¯d be fighting against her birth parents. Morally and


    ethically, Miss Reed would be at fault. Just the public¡¯s opinions of her actions would be enough to crush


    Miss Reed. If she chooses to go with the Grays, then everyone would perceive Miss Reed as an


    ungrateful traitor who didn¡¯t appreciate the Reed Family¡¯s selfless care for her. In other words, Miss Reed


    would look bad no matter what she did in such a situation.¡±


    ¡°Judging by the sort of person Sonia is, she wouldn¡¯t be able to continue taking revenge after she finds


    out that Titus and Julia are her birth parents. At the same time, she wouldn¡¯t want things to end without


    the Reeds getting the justice they deserved. In order to resolve the conflict between both families, Sonia


    might choose to sacrifice herself.¡± Toby clenched his fists tightly after finishing his sentence.


    Tom nodded. ¡°That¡¯s indeed possible. So, we can¡¯t let Miss Reed find out about her true identity. Once


    that happens, things will get a lot moreplicated. If Miss Reed doesn¡¯t know that Titus and Julia are


    her birth parents, she will go ording to her initial n to get revenge. That means that she¡¯ll make


    Titus and Julia pay for the lives of Henry and the technical staff who passed away back then.¡±


    Toby let out another sigh. ¡°That¡¯s the issue here. Since Sonia is their child, we can¡¯t have her bringing


    harm to her own parents. How about this¡ªyou can get someone to keep an eye on Titus and Julia. If


    Sonia tries to do something that threatens their lives, then our men will make a move to save the couple.


    Titus and Julia can die, but they can¡¯t die at Sonia¡¯s hands.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡± Tom nodded sternly.


    ¡°Apart from that, I need you to arrange for a helicopter to bring me back to Seafield immediately. I need


    to see Taylor. Since Taylor betrayed Sonia and Zane, I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t allow her to stay in Seafield


    anymore. They will definitely expose Taylor by telling the Grays about her real identity. Once Taylor gets


    exposed, the Grays will continue their search for Rina. Although there aren¡¯t many people who know


    about the red mole on Sonia¡¯s wrist being sliced off, I don¡¯t think it can be kept a secret for long. Titus


    and Julia might hear about it someday,¡± Toby uttered with his eyes narrowed. ¡°For Sonia¡¯s sake, Taylor


    will have to continue ying Rina for a while.¡± When the right timees, I¡¯ll let Sonia know about her


    true identity. However, now¡¯s not the right time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get that done immediately.¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°Go on.¡± Toby waved him off.


    Trending Novels

 Chapter 400

    Chapter 400


    Chapter 400 Titus¡¯s DNA Test Report


    After Tom left, Toby lowered his gaze, deep in thought. Things have developed in a way that is out of my


    expectations. No one could¡¯ve expected Sonia¡¯s real identity to be Rina Gray. It¡¯s all fated¡ªSonia is


    fated to suffer in the future. She will never assist the Reed Family in a perfect act of revenge, and she will


    never be able to fully recognize Titus and Julia as her parents. Furthermore, she can¡¯t find out about the


    fact that she is Titus and Julia¡¯s daughter now as she would be overwhelmed by the truth¡­


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Titus and Julia returned to their house after leaving the police station. Once they got home,


    the maid rushed over to them with a paper file folder in her hands. ¡°Sir, Madam, someone just left this in


    our mailbox.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Titus wore a look of confusion as he took the file folder from the maid. The maid shook her


    head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t look inside.¡±


    ¡°Alright. You can leave now,¡± Julia uttered in a lethargic voice. The maid nodded and left to continue


    doing chores. On the other hand, Titus and Julia took a seat on the couch, and Julia poured some tea


    while Titus opened the file folder. ¡°What is it?¡± Julia asked out of curiosity.


    Titus shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t read it.¡± He pulled the papers out. Julia was quick to see the


    words written on the paper, and she read it out loud in a surprised tone. ¡°A DNA test report¡­ Who is this


    for?¡±


    Titus didn¡¯t say anything, but he had an uneasy feeling in his chest. He quickly flipped the pages of the


    DNA test report until he got to the veryst page, where it indicated the names of the samples¡ª¡®Titus


    and Rina¡¯!


    ¡°It¡¯s for you and Rina.¡± Julia was shocked. ¡°That¡¯s odd. Why would someone send you the results for you


    and Rina¡¯s DNA test? Who would do such a thing?¡±


    Titus had yet to say anything, but his expression showed an abrupt change as he widened his eyes and


    sprang up to his feet. ¡°How could this be?!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Julia was utterly dumbfounded when she saw her husband acting so emotionally. She


    clearly had no idea what was going on. Titus¡¯s hand was shaking as he tightened his grip on the DNA


    test report. ¡°Rina¡­ Rina¡¯s not our daughter¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Julia froze. She then stared at him as if he were a fool. ¡°What nonsense are you saying, honey?


    How could Rina not be our daughter? You must be kidding.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. It¡¯s written over here.¡± Titus shoved the papers into Julia¡¯s hands with a glum look on his


    face. Julia quickly took the papers and skimmed through it. She was shocked to find the words ¡®alleged


    father is not biologically rted to the sample¡¯ written on the report. ¡°How could this be possible?¡± Julia¡¯s


    face turned pale, and she looked as if her soul had just left her body. She continued to mumble to


    herself. ¡°How could this be? This can¡¯t be it, right? Why isn¡¯t Rina our biological daughter? It¡¯s a lie, isn¡¯t


    it, honey?¡±


    Titus parted his lips and tried to respond to his wife, but no words came out when his gazended on the


    report in Julia¡¯s hands. Julia grew impatient and furious when she saw her husband remaining silent.


    ¡°Why are you acting that way, Titus? Do you think this is real? How could this be real? We don¡¯t even


    know who sent this report over. What if it¡¯s just someone who¡¯s trying to prank us? Furthermore, when


    we first did the DNA test with Rina, we were all present for the results. We saw the results with our own


    eyes¡ªRina is our daughter. This report has to be fake.¡±


    Titus seemed to calm down a little after hearing Julia¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was being too rash.¡± Just


    like his wife mentioned, Rina had visited a hospital with Julia and Titus to get their DNA tests done, and


    the results had confirmed that Rina was their daughter.


    Although the report they just received showed a different result, they didn¡¯t know the sender of the report,


    so it was obvious that the report was fake, thus unreliable. Despite having that thought, Titus still felt a


    rather uneasy sensation in his chest. As a man, it didn¡¯t matter whether he believed the offspring to be


    his or not¡ªas long as someone questioned the validity of their biological rtionship, the man would


    already feel uncertain about himself. A seed of doubt would be nted in him, and this seed would


    continue to sprout and growrger.


    At that thought, Titus clenched his fists before growling, ¡°No way. I have to get to the bottom of this. Who


    would send such a thing to me?! How dare someone make fun of me like this?!¡±


    Julia nodded to show her support. ¡°That¡¯s right. We should investigate this matter. The person who did


    this is so shameless! He or she is just trying to cause trouble in our family.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go out and check the CCTV cameras outside,¡± Titus uttered before he stepped out.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Zane contacted Sonia and told her that he had sent the DNA test report over. At the moment,


    Sonia was munching on a snack that Wanda had prepared. Wanda¡¯s desserts were so tasty that even


    someone like Sonia, who disliked sweet foods, became a fan of it. As she listened to Zane, Sonia


    lowered the half-eaten tiramisu dessert, then replied to him, ¡°I got it. However, it¡¯s not enough to just


    send them a DNA test report. They might not believe that the results are real.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to send a few more items to them. This is just the start. Apart from that, I¡¯m


    also preparing to bring the Careys over. When that happens, we¡¯ll be able to witness some real drama


    unfolding before us.¡± Zane chuckled.


    Sonia raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s pretty impressive. Well, I guess that¡¯s good. Taylor wants to be Titus¡¯s


    daughter so badly, right? It¡¯s about time we remind her who her actual parents are.¡± Sonia had to admit


    her faults¡ªshe shouldn¡¯t have found a recement for Rina, and she shouldn¡¯t have brought Taylor into


    the picture at all. Sonia was the one who had lured Taylor¡¯s greed out of its shell. Even though Sonia and


    Zane were responsible for this matter, Taylor was at fault as well.


    In the past, Taylor had promised to work well with them, and she had willingly agreed to their terms. They


    hadn¡¯t forced her to do anything. So, it was Taylor¡¯s duty to obey their rules without being distracted by


    other desires. Yet, Taylor had failed to keep her end of the deal and attacked them instead. Naturally,


    they couldn¡¯t let Taylor off so easily¡ªthey had to make her suffer in return and teach her a lesson. They


    wanted Taylor to know that they had the power to bring her into their circle, but that they also had the


    power to kick her out of it.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly my n. Okay, I¡¯m about to reach the Careys¡¯ vige. I¡¯ll talk to you once I¡¯m back.¡± Zane


    gazed at the vige in front of him as he spoke into the phone.


    ¡°Okay. Stay safe,¡± Sonia replied. Once their call was over, Wanda came over with a ss of milk. ¡°Have


    some milk, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Wanda.¡± Sonia beamed as she took the milk from Wanda.


    Right then, the doorbell rang. Wanda turned to nce at the door. ¡°I¡¯ll get it, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thanks, Wanda.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Wanda hurried over to open the door, and she found Charles standing outside with a bag of mangoes in


    his hand. There was some confusion on his handsome face when he saw Wanda. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Wanda¡¯s gaze flickered for a moment before she gave him a smile. ¡°Hello, Mr. Lane. I¡¯m Miss Reed¡¯s


    caregiver.¡±


    ¡°Her caregiver?¡± Charles eximed in surprise. He hurried into the house to find Sonia on the couch.


    ¡°Baby, did you find this caregiver on your own? What happened to the caregiver I arranged for you? Why


    didn¡¯t you use her instead?¡±


    Sonia can¡¯t see anything, so she probably can¡¯t tell if she has gotten a good or bad caregiver. If that¡¯s the


    case, why did she find a new caregiver for herself? Was the one that I hired not good enough? Charles


    wondered.


    Sonia was about to take a sip of her milk, but her movements came to a halt when she heard what


    Charles said. She raised her head and stared in his direction puzzledly, then said, ¡°What did you just say,


    Charles? Isn¡¯t Wanda the caregiver you hired for me?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Me?¡± Charles pointed at himself before staring at Wanda. He quickly shook his head. ¡°Of course not.


    The caregiver I hired was someone else.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not her?¡± Sonia froze. So, Charles isn¡¯t the one who hired Wanda. Where did Wandae from,


    then? Sonia knitted her brows.


    Charles, on the other hand, gave Wanda a sharp re. He was about to ask for Wanda¡¯s details when


    Wanda took the initiative to speak with a smile on her face.


    Trending Novels

 Chapter 401

    Chapter 401


    Chapter 401 Charity Funds


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not the caregiver you hired, Mr. Lane. The caregiver you hired is Miss McKenzie,¡±


    Wanda exined.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Miss McKenzie is the one I hired.¡± Charles nodded a few times before he eyed Wanda


    puzzledly. ¡°But how did you find out about that?¡±


    Wanda beamed at him. ¡°Miss McKenzie and I are from the same home care servicespany. She had


    some urgent matters to deal with at home, so she got me to cover her in taking care of Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Charles narrowed his eyes. He clearly still held some suspicion toward the woman in front of


    him. After all, he hadn¡¯t received any call from the home care servicespany regarding a change in


    caregivers.


    Wanda nodded. ¡°Of course. You may give thepany a call if you don¡¯t believe me, Mr. Lane.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯d be scared to do that?¡± Charles scoffed before he pulled his phone out to make a call.


    Two minutester, he ended the call with a sour look on his face.


    Sonia felt for the table in front of her before she ced her ss of milk down. ¡°What did they say? Was


    Wanda telling the truth?¡±


    Charles nodded. ¡°Yeah. That brat, Eric, forgot to tell me about it. I¡¯m so mad! How could he forget


    something so important?!¡±


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°Well, since Wanda was telling the truth, we can just drop the matter. Wanda has been


    doing an excellent job so far.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, Miss Reed. I¡¯m d to hear that you¡¯re satisfied with our services.¡±


    Wanda gave Sonia a kind gaze. Wanda was fully aware of Sonia¡¯s identity as Toby¡¯s ex-wife. However,


    Wanda used to work in the wet kitchen when she was at the Fullers¡¯ old manor, so she rarely showed up


    in the living hall. Furthermore, Sonia rarely went to the old manor, so Wanda never got the chance to


    meet Sonia back then. She had only heard about Sonia through Rose and Mary.


    All along, Rose and Mary insisted that Miss Reed was a perfect match for Toby. Now that I¡¯ve met her


    personally, I agree that she¡¯s a great match. More importantly, Young Master Toby is in love with Miss


    Reed. I don¡¯t understand why he divorced her if he¡¯s so in love with her. Now, he has to work extra hard


    to get her toe back to him. Isn¡¯t he just causing more trouble for himself?


    ¡°By the way, what brings you here, Charles?¡± Sonia asked once they had dealt with the matter of the


    caregiver. Charles ced the mangoes on the table. ¡°I brought you some mangoes, and I wanted to


    pass a message from my mom. She told you to meet her when you¡¯re free.¡±


    ¡°She wants to see me?¡± Sonia tilted her head sideways to show her confusion. ¡°Is there anything that


    she¡¯d like to talk to me about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. However, judging by the look I saw on my mom¡¯s face, she probably has something


    to say to you.¡± Charles nodded.


    Sonia was more confused at this point. ¡°If she has something to tell me, why didn¡¯t she just drop me a


    call?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? Perhaps it¡¯s something that has to be said face-to-face. I guess you¡¯ll find out once you


    meet up with her.¡± Charles shrugged.


    Sonia smiled in return. ¡°I guess that¡¯s the only thing I can do, but I definitely can¡¯t go now. Your mom


    might get worried and cry if she finds out that I lost my vision. I don¡¯t want to make her worried, so I¡¯ll go


    once my eyes are healed.¡±


    ¡°I had a feeling you¡¯d say that, so I already told my mom that we would only visit her after some time. My


    mom was okay with it,¡± Charles replied with a yful smile on his face.


    Sonia smiled in return. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Right then, her phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket


    and held it up to Charles. ¡°Who¡¯s calling, Charles?¡±


    ¡°Tim,¡± Charles replied after ncing at the screen.


    ¡°I got it.¡± Sonia took the phone and swiped her finger across the screen, using her muscle memory to


    pick the call up. ¡°Dr. Lancaster,¡± she greeted.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent an application to the charity fund to get money for Alice to pay for treatment. I¡¯ve put in


    a word and the application will be approved. We¡¯ll get the funds soon,¡± Tim uttered.


    ¡°Thank you so much,¡± Sonia replied.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯d do anything to fulfill your wishes,¡± Tim stated. Sonia chuckled at this before she asked,


    ¡°Hey, how is Carl¡¯s treatment going?¡±


    ¡°He just started receiving treatment, so nothing much has happened yet,¡± Tim answered honestly.


    Sonia pressed her red lips together. ¡°I know. Charles told me that Carl¡¯s condition is rather serious and


    that it might take weeks and weeks of treatment, so I don¡¯t expect there to be any changes on the first


    day. However, I was just wondering if the session went smoothly, and if he is cooperating?¡±


    On the other end of the line, Tim sat down at his table and stared as Carl slept soundly on the couch in


    front of him. Tim¡¯s sses gleamed for a moment before he replied, ¡°He gets along well with me on the


    surface, but deep down, he¡¯s really conflicted.¡±


    ¡°Conflicted?¡± Sonia knitted her brows. Tim nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Deep down, he¡¯s in conflict over the


    idea of receiving therapy for his psychological issues, so he struggles to open up to me. He isn¡¯t willing to


    tell me anything, and he doesn¡¯t answer the questions I have for him. I would say that therapy with him


    hasn¡¯t been smooth-sailing so far.¡±


    ¡°I got it. Thank you so much. I¡¯ll speak to him about this and get him to work well with you,¡± Sonia uttered


    in a bashful tone. ¡°Is Carl still with you now?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah. He didn¡¯t manage to get sleep in the past few days, so I hypnotized him and put him to bed,¡± Tim


    replied as he pushed his sses up his nose.


    ¡°I got it.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll call him after he wakes up.¡± Once the call was over, Charles walked over


    while chewing on mango. ¡°Why did Tim call you?¡±


    ¡°He told me that he sent in an application to the charity fund for Alice.¡± Sonia threw her phone aside.


    Charles pouted upon hearing her words. ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s going on in your mind, baby. Alice was


    the one who helped your attacker take the me, yet you offered to apply for charity funds for her. I


    wouldn¡¯t have done a thing for her if I were in your position.¡±


    While massaging her temples, Sonia beamed at him. ¡°Indeed, Alice is wrong for agreeing to be Taylor¡¯s


    scapegoat, but the child is innocent and it¡¯s obvious that Taylor has no ns of paying Alice the money. If


    the child doesn¡¯t get surgery soon, he might actually die, and I can¡¯t just sit by and watch. I have to do


    what I can. Furthermore, Alice said it herself¡ªshe¡¯ll go over to the orphanage to volunteer as a social


    worker after her son gets the surgery. I guess she¡¯s atoning for her sins in some way.¡±


    Charles sighed. ¡°You¡¯re just too kind. Kindness isn¡¯t always a virtue, you know.¡±


    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Sonia uttered as she patted Charles on the shoulder to


    reassure him.


    ¡°Okay, fine. I can¡¯t do much else since you already made up your mind. The best I can do is to watch


    over you and make sure that I¡¯m always around to protect you.¡± Charles rubbed his belly while changing


    the topic. ¡°I¡¯m starting to feel a little hungry. I think I¡¯ll stay for dinner, baby.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Sonia agreed. Wanda took a look at the clock. ¡°It¡¯s about time for dinner. I¡¯ll head into the kitchen


    now, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Wanda had impressive cooking skills¡ªSonia could tell from the desserts that Wanda had prepared


    during teatime. Charles headed home that evening with a bulging belly and a heart full of joy. Even


    Sonia, who usually ate half a bowl of rice at most, had to lie down on the couch because she was too full


    after dinner.


    Wanda eventually assisted Sonia in showering and helping her get ready for bed. After switching the


    lights off, Wanda quietly exited the room. Once she was out of the room, Wanda pulled her phone out


    and dialed Toby¡¯s number. ¡°Young Master Toby,¡± she uttered into the phone.


    ¡°Hey, Wanda. Is Sonia asleep?¡± Toby asked. Wanda wouldn¡¯t dare to call him if Sonia wasn¡¯t asleep


    because she would only end up exposing herself.


    ¡°Yes. Miss Reed just fell asleep,¡± Wanda replied and proceeded to give Toby a detailed report of the day.


    When Toby heard that Charles had stayed at Bayside Residence for dinner, a dark cloud seemed to


    hover over his handsome face. ¡°I got it. It¡¯s good that she didn¡¯t suspect your identity. Take good care of


    her and let me know if anything happens.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Master Toby. I will,¡± Wanda replied.


    Toby could hear Tom calling for him, so he gave Tom a nod before returning to the call. ¡°I¡¯ll end the call


    now if that¡¯s all.¡± Once Toby put the phone down, he turned to look at Tom. ¡°What is it?¡±

 Chapter 402

    Chapter 402


    Chapter 402 Another Set of Documents


    Tom pointed at the detention center¡¯s doors behind him. ¡°Taylor agreed to our n, but she doesn¡¯t need


    us to do anything for now. She imed that she has her ways to make Mr. and Mrs. Gray believe that


    she¡¯s the real Rina.¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. ¡°She has her ways, huh? What¡¯s her n?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about this. I asked her about it, but she wouldn¡¯t tell me anything.¡± Tom shook his head.


    ¡°Well, forget it. What matters is that she agreed to our n. The oue will be the same, after all.¡±


    Toby pressed his lips together as he spoke in a calm voice. Ultimately, his intention was to ensure that


    Taylor would be firmly recognized as Rina. If Taylor could do it on her own, then he wouldn¡¯t need to


    meddle with anything.


    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go back to Fuller Residence for now.¡± Toby pinched the area between his brows as he


    spoke in a rather strained voice.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going back to the hospital?¡± Tom stared at his boss.


    Toby shot him a disinterested nce. ¡°Why should I go back when Sonia has already been discharged?¡±


    The corner of Tom¡¯s lips twitched when he heard Toby. ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll call the hospital and tell them to


    proceed with your discharge.¡±


    Toby turned around and opened the car door to let himself in. He was being honest when he said that he


    didn¡¯t want to go back to the hospital because Sonia wasn¡¯t there, but that was only one of the reasons.


    Apart from that, he also didn¡¯t have any desire to spend another night in the hospital since scabs had


    formed on the wounds on his back. As long as he didn¡¯t rub against or scratch his wounds, he knew that


    the wounds wouldn¡¯t bleed anymore. If that were the case, Toby saw no need to remain in the hospital.


    Once Tom got into the driver¡¯s seat, he started the car and drove away from the detention center.


    ¡­


    The next day, Titus got ready to leave the house and head to his office. He had just stepped out of the


    vi when he saw another folder file in the mailbox beside the main entrance. Titus slowed his footsteps


    as his expression darkened. There was a copy of Rina¡¯s and my DNA test results in a folder file


    yesterday. What will it be today? Could it be rted to Rina as well?


    Titus walked over and tucked his briefcase under his arm before he pulled the new documents out of the


    mailbox. However, he had used too much strength, so the envelope was torn apart by the sharp edges of


    the mailbox. The papers inside fell onto the ground, and Titus lowered his head to read the words on a


    piece of paper. ¡®Taylor¡¯s Personal Information¡¯, it wrote.


    Who is Taylor? Titus frowned as he thought of how the name sounded rather familiar to him. Soon


    enough, he realized why it sounded so familiar. Taylor is Rina¡¯s old name! This has got something to do


    with Rina again. What is the sender trying to do? Judging by the fake DNA report that was sent over


    yesterday, it¡¯s clear that the sender has bad intentions. This sender has got something against Rina.


    Titus was furious after he checked the CCTV cameras the day before because he couldn¡¯t find footage of


    the person leaving the documents in his mailbox. Titus narrowed his eyes as he bent over to pick up the


    documents from the ground. When he nced through the papers, he realized that all of the papers


    documented Rina¡¯s growth from when she was a child. There were a lot of details in it, and many of the


    details were things that Rina had never told them about.


    Titus came to a point where he wasn¡¯t even sure if the information in the documents were real. Well,


    regardless of the validity of these documents, I¡¯m sure the person who sent them is doing it with bad


    intentions. Rina just entered the Gray Family and she barely steps out of the house or tries to get to


    know people within our circle, so it¡¯s unlikely she has made enemies with anyone. The only enemy she


    has is Sonia since she beat Sonia up. So, Sonia probably sent these documents over.


    ¡°Hmph! What a cunning and maniptive woman!¡± Titus crumpled up the documents in his hands.


    He was certain that this was Sonia¡¯s way of getting revenge. She¡¯s trying to ruin the rtionships in our


    family by making us think that Rina isn¡¯t our biological child. She wants others tough at me for taking in


    a child who isn¡¯t rted to me. Well, it¡¯s a shame that I¡¯m not going to fall for her tricks!


    Titus sneered as he pressed all the documents into arge, crumpled ball to throw it away. However,


    when he moved to crumple up the file folder, he could feel that there was something else inside. He


    knitted his brows in suspicion before he reached his hand in to retrieve whatever it was. It¡¯s a


    photograph!


    Titus nced at the picture of two¡ªit was Rina with another middle-aged man. The background of the


    man¡¯s photo differed from the background of Rina¡¯s photo, so it was clear that the picture was a coge


    of two different images. Well, none of that matters. What matters is how Rina looks so simr to this man


    in the picture. Who is this middle-aged guy?


    Titus couldn¡¯t recognize the man in the picture, but he was extremely concerned about who the man was


    because the man simply looked too simr to Rina! They practically looked like father and daughter!


    Wait¡­ Father and daughter?! Titus¡¯s expression darkened as he seemed to realize something, and he


    tightened his grip on the picture.


    Someone probably put these two pictures together. This person is clearly telling me topare Rina and


    this middle-aged man¡¯s looks. If Sonia was the one who sent these things to me, then her intentions are


    pretty clear¡ªshe¡¯s trying to tell me that this guy is Rina¡¯s father. Titus wouldn¡¯t believe it if someone told


    him that Rina wasn¡¯t rted to the middle-aged man in the photo because both of them simply looked


    too alike. They looked so simr to the point where Titus was starting to question whether his DNA test


    results were fake.


    At that thought, Titus collected the documents and photos before he walked back into the house. Julia


    was putting a face mask on when she saw Tituse in. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go out already, honey? Why did you


    Titus didn¡¯t exin much and simply tossed the crumpled-up papers to her. ¡°Take a look at this.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Julia pulled the papers apart with a confused expression. She wasn¡¯t an idiot¡ªshe quickly


    understood the situation after she read the contents of the paper. She was so shocked that she leapt to


    her feet, and her face mask fell to the ground.


    ¡°Honey, I¡­¡± Julia¡¯s hands were shaking as she held onto the documents. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is true,¡± she


    muttered.


    ¡°My n is to run another DNA test with Rina to check if she¡¯s actually our daughter,¡± Titus uttered in a


    gloomy tone. Julia eyed him timidly. ¡°What if the results show that Rina isn¡¯t our daughter?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Titus clenched his fists tightly. ¡°If she¡¯s not the real Rina, I¡¯ll never let her go! How dare she pretend to be


    my daughter? I will show her the price that she has to pay!¡± Titus was born with necrospermia, and he


    never had hopes of having a child since he was aware of his condition. So, when his daughter arrived, it


    felt like a miracle to him. When he found out that his wife was pregnant, he had been so happy that he


    nearly lost his mind. He had spent days praying in church, asking for God to bless his child with health


    and vitality. Indeed, his child was born healthy and well, but Henry stole his precious baby away from him


    when the baby was only one-month old.


    Titus had spent the past 20 years epting the fact that his only child was gone. However, he had


    recently found out that his child wasn¡¯t dead and had even returned to reunite with him. He was so happy


    that he cried for a long while after that. Yet, someone seemed to be hinting that Rina wasn¡¯t actually his


    daughter, but an impostor. Titus was furious just thinking about it.


    My only daughter is the most important thing to me in the world. If this girl who ims to be Rina isn¡¯t my


    actual daughter, then I¡¯ll make sure to show her what hell looks like! No one can impersonate my one


    and only daughter. No one has the right to do that!


    ¡°Come. Let¡¯s go to the police station. I¡¯d like to talk to the police and get Rina toe out for a while so


    that we can do a DNA test. I¡¯d like to have the test in a few hospitals, just to ensure that she¡¯s not lying to


    us.¡± Titus spoke as he dragged Julia out of the house and away from home.

 Chapter 403

    Chapter 403


    Chapter 403 As Despicable as Henry


    Julia was just as impatient to find out if Rina was her daughter. As someone who had always cared about


    her image, she didn¡¯t even bother to wash off the remnants of her face mask before she rushed to the


    police station along with Titus. Soon enough, they arrived at the police detention center and saw Rina.


    Rina greeted them happily. ¡°Mom, Dad, why did you guyse here?¡±


    Titus didn¡¯t exin himself and simply handed the documents to Rina. ¡°Take a look at this.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± Rina took the documents into her hands with a puzzled look on her face. She flipped them


    open, and her eyes glinted when she saw her own personal information being listed inside. However, she


    didn¡¯t seem to have much of a reaction.


    Her expression only changed when she saw the picture. ¡°Dad!¡± Rina clutched onto the picture as she


    looked at Titus anxiously. ¡°This picture¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d like to know where I got this picture from, right?¡± Titus interrupted her, and Rina¡¯s jaw dropped. It


    was clear that she had intended to ask that exact question.


    Without leaving her hanging, Titus instantly responded in an icy tone. ¡°We found it in our mailbox this


    morning. We¡¯ve received other things too, like a copy of our DNA results yesterday. The odd thing is that


    the report shows that we aren¡¯t rted to each other.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Rina let out a loud cry. ¡°How could you not be my father? That report must have


    been a fake. Someone is trying to cause conflict in the Gray Family, Dad,¡± she replied. She was sure that


    it was Sonia and Zane who had ced the documents in the mailbox. They were trying to show Julia and


    Titus that she wasn¡¯t rted to the Gray Family. They really kept their word. They said they were going to


    expose my identity, and they really started doing it right afterward! They don¡¯t have a hint ofpassion


    in their bones. I don¡¯t mind if Sonia¡¯s the one doing this, but it hurts me to think that Mr. Coleman would


    do such a thing!


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the DNA report is valid. We did the DNA tests together, after all. No one else has strands of


    our hair, so the DNA report that we received yesterday may not be real. However, I¡¯m more troubled by


    this picture¡ªwhat¡¯s your exnation, Rina? Why does this person look so much like you?¡± Titus pointed


    at the picture in Rina¡¯s hand as he growled.


    Rina lowered her gaze to look at the picture. She hated the middle-aged man so much that she wished


    she could poke holes in the picture. Ever since she arrived at Gray Residence in Seafield, she had never


    seen the couple whom she hated the most. I can¡¯t believe Sonia found a way to make me see these


    people again. They must be trying really hard to infuriate me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I swear I don¡¯t know why this person looks simr to me. I have no idea who he is, and I


    haven¡¯t seen him before. Trust me, Dad.¡± Rina ced her palm against her chest to put on a worried and


    anxious look that made her seem more trustworthy.


    Titus¡¯s gaze darkened for a second, but he didn¡¯t say anything, so Rina wasn¡¯t sure if Titus trusted her.


    Since she couldn¡¯t read Titus¡¯s expression, she turned to Julia. ¡°I¡¯m being honest, Mom. I really don¡¯t


    know who that man is. Please trust me! Mom!¡± she cried anxiously.


    Julia had always been one who was easily influenced by others. After seeing the fear in Rina¡¯s eyes,


    Julia parted her lips. Julia was about to tell Rina that she trusted her when Titus suddenly tugged on


    Julia¡¯s arm. Julia immediately understood the situation, and she shed Rina an apologetic look. ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, Rina. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to trust you. It¡¯s just that this guy looks too simr to you, and no one


    would believe it if we said that he¡¯s not rted to you.¡±


    ¡°Your Mom is right. Although it must hurt for us to suspect your identity, I hope you can understand where


    we¡¯reing from. Rina is our only daughter, and I¡¯ve been sad for the past 20 years. I¡¯m sure you can


    imagine how happy I was when I found out that my daughter is alive. So, I will not have someone


    pretending to be Rina. If you are actually Rina, then I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t mind this. I¡¯m sure you


    wouldn¡¯t be afraid even if we were suspicious of you, right?¡± Titus stared at her fixedly.


    Rina lowered her gaze to conceal the grim look in her eyes and forced a smile. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not afraid


    at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. So, I¡¯ve decided to do another DNA test with you. This time, we¡¯ll go to a few hospitals. If


    all of the results indicate that you¡¯re my daughter, then I¡¯ll make sure to punish the person who¡¯s trying to


    mess things up in the Gray Family. However, if I find out that you¡¯re not my daughter, then I will make


    sure that both you and the people who sent the documents pay for this! Do you understand me?¡± Titus


    narrowed his eyes.


    Rina clenched her fists under her long sleeves. ¡°Yes, Dad.¡±


    Rina had already recognized Julia and Titus as her parents, and they were also the only parents she


    wanted. So, no matter what happens, I have to ensure that I secure my identity as Rina! When Rina


    recalled the secret weapon she had and the deal she had formed with Toby, she let out a sigh and


    calmed herself down. ¡°Should we do it now, Dad?¡± she asked with a smile.


    When Titus saw how rxed and unafraid Rina was to get a DNA test, his eyes gleamed for a moment.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve spoken to the police about it. They are allowing you to leave for two hours,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Rina nodded. She followed Julia and Titus out of the detention center, and they went to ab that


    offered DNA tests. On the way there, Titus gave Sonia a call.


    Sonia was having her breakfast, so she shouted for Wanda when she heard her phone ringing. Wanda


    nced at the screen to see that it was a call from Titus. Her expression darkened for a moment before


    she returned to her usual smile as she handed the phone to Sonia. ¡°Someone named Titus is calling you,


    Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Titus?¡± A look of confusion formed on Sonia¡¯s face as she took the phone and picked up the call. ¡°What


    a rare asion, President Gray. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re calling me.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Sonia, you were the one who left those things in my mailbox over the past two days, right?¡± Titus


    asked in a stern tone.


    The things in his mailbox¡­ Sonia narrowed her eyes. I know what Zane left in their mailbox yesterday¡ª


    he had gotten someone to send them a copy of Titus and Taylor¡¯s actual DNA results. I guess Zane must


    have gotten someone to put something else there again, but I don¡¯t know what. With that thought,


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glinted and she spoke in a calm voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Gray. I have no idea what


    you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about, huh?¡± Titus scoffed. ¡°We¡¯ve been enemies for years, Sonia.


    There¡¯s no point in talking in circles when we¡¯re both straightforward people. You sent me the DNA report


    because Rina attacked you. You¡¯re trying to cause conflict in my family to tear us apart, right? Don¡¯t you


    think that¡¯s a little too much?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Too much? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything that crossed the line, President


    Gray. Taylor attacked me¡ªam I supposed to take it all in without getting any revenge? That doesn¡¯t


    make sense.¡±


    ¡°Sure, you can try to get revenge. However, destroying familial rtionships for the sake of your


    revenge¡­ I think that¡¯s too evil of you, Sonia. You¡¯re just as filthy and despicable as Henry was in the


    past.¡± Titus sneered. He had to admit that he had gone overboard 26 years ago. Because of him, one of


    Henry¡¯s technical staff was forced to his death, so it made sense for Henry to want revenge. It¡¯s fine if


    Sonia is attacking me for revenge, but things are different when she tries to cause harm to my daughter


    instead. Isn¡¯t that just too despicable of her?

 Chapter 404

    Chapter 404


    Chapter 404 The DNA Lab


    It was the same for Sonia¡¯s case. Rina hurt Sonia, so Sonia had the right to take revenge against Rina.


    However, if Sonia took revenge by making the Grays question Rina¡¯s actual identity, then what she was


    doing was no different from what Henry did in the past. They weren¡¯t targeting one individual to get their


    revenge, but attacking the whole family! Like father, like daughter! Titus thought.


    On the other end of the line, Sonia was fuming when she heard Titus insulting Henry. ¡°Shut up. You have


    no right to talk about my father like that!¡± she barked. She knew why Titus was calling her father a


    despicable man¡ªhe was referring to how her father had brought Rina away 26 years ago.


    ¡°Did you say that I don¡¯t have the right?¡± Titus scoffed. ¡°Henry kidnapped my daughter and separated my


    wife and me from our daughter for 26 years. How dare you say that I don¡¯t have the right?!¡±


    Sonia bit her lip. ¡°Fine. My father did kidnap your daughter, but don¡¯t you forget, Titus. If you hadn¡¯t stolen


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s technology, forced our technology staff to his death and nearly bankrupted ourpany,


    my father wouldn¡¯t have done such a thing!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of saying that now? Henry¡¯s dead, and so are the grudges we held against each other.


    Right now, it¡¯s between the Gray Family and you, Sonia. You¡¯re iming that Rina isn¡¯t my daughter, so


    I¡¯m bringing her for a DNA test now. We¡¯re going to do a brand-new DNA test, and I want you to be there.


    Let¡¯s see if Rina¡¯s actually my daughter.¡±


    With his eyes narrowed, Titus continued in a sinister tone, ¡°If the results indicate that Rina is my


    daughter, then everything that you sent me is proof of you spreading rumors and defaming my family. I¡¯ll


    definitely bring this matter to court.¡±


    When they were at the detention center, Rina hadn¡¯t shown any sign of hesitancy or fear toward the idea


    of taking a new DNA test. In fact, Rina looked calmer than ever. Based on her actions, Titus could tell


    that Rina was actually his daughter. However, he wasn¡¯t sure why the middle-aged man looked so simr


    to Rina. Perhaps Sonia was the one who edited that man¡¯s picture, he thought.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    ¡°You¡¯d like to bring me to court, huh?¡± Sonia smirked. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll be waiting for yourwyer¡¯s letter!¡± Taylor


    is the Careys¡¯ biological daughter. If Titus insists on doing a new DNA test, he can go ahead and do it.


    I¡¯m dying to see his reaction when he sees the results. By then, everyone will find out that he has been


    caring for someone else¡¯s daughter, and he¡¯ll be the joke of the century.


    Titus told Sonia the address of the DNAb, and Sonia remembered it before she ended the call. ¡°I¡¯d like


    you to help me call Zane, Wanda.¡± Sonia handed the phone to Wanda.


    After taking the phone, Wanda searched for Zane¡¯s number and dialed it. ¡°Here you go, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Wanda.¡± Sonia took the phone into her hand once more. Wanda smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll go hang the


    clothes now, Miss Reed. You can call me if you need anything.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Go ahead,¡± Sonia uttered. Wanda nodded, took her phone and went to the balcony. Although


    Wanda hadn¡¯t heard much from Sonia¡¯s call with Titus, she got the gist of what was going on. She had to


    report this to Toby.


    Sonia had no idea that Wanda was actually calling Toby instead of hanging the clothes to dry. While


    Wanda stepped out, Sonia was on a call with Zane, and she was telling him about what Titus had told


    her earlier. Zane couldn¡¯t help but scoff after hearing what Sonia said. ¡°It sounds like Titus is really sure


    that Taylor is his daughter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably because of the first DNA report they received. Since the first report indicated that they


    were biologically rted, perhaps it gave Titus the confidence that he would get the same results,¡± Sonia


    said calmly.


    Zane pouted. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s good that he thinks that way. The more confident he is now, the more


    disappointed he¡¯ll be when he gets the results.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Sonia said with a faint smile. ¡°So, I¡¯m going to go there to witness it. It¡¯s a shame that I


    won¡¯t be able to see his expression.¡± She ran her fingers across her eyes with an expression of regret


    and worry. It had been days, yet she still couldn¡¯t see anything. It didn¡¯t seem like her vision was about to


    get any better. She was starting to get worried that she might be blind forever.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you record it, and you can watch it once your eyes are healed.¡± Zane patted his own


    chest as he spoke.


    ¡°You¡¯ll help me record it?¡± Sonia raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m already back in Seafield now, and I can reach the DNAb in half an hour. I¡¯ll bring Mr.


    and Mrs. Carey over¡ªit¡¯ll be a great show to watch.¡± Zane chuckled. He didn¡¯t bother to conceal the


    maliciousness in his voice.


    Sonia smirked. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure the oue will satisfy you. Alright. See youter,¡± Zane uttered.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Once Sonia ended the call, she shouted for Wanda. ¡°Wanda!¡±


    Wanda heard Sonia¡¯s calls from the balcony, and she hastily kept her phone away. ¡°I¡¯ming!¡± Soon


    enough, they got ready and prepared to go out. Wanda drove the car while Sonia sat in the back. On the


    way there, Sonia began to remind Wanda about what she had to doter. Sonia told Wanda not to


    expose the fact that Sonia couldn¡¯t see anything. Titus was Sonia¡¯s arch-enemy and someone who


    desperately wanted to destroy Sonia and get rid of her. If Titus found out that Sonia had lost her vision,


    he might find ways to cause problems for her. Sonia only felt reassured after Wanda repeatedly promised


    that she wouldn¡¯t reveal anything about Sonia¡¯s vision.


    About 30 minutester, they arrived at the DNAb that Titus told them about. Wanda parked the car and


    took the wheelchair out of the trunk before she opened the backseat door and helped Sonia out.


    The reason Sonia decided to use a wheelchair was to avoid letting Titus find out about her impaired


    vision. If she were in the wheelchair, Titus would probably assume that she had only injured her leg and


    wouldn¡¯t think she had an issue with her eyes. If she weren¡¯t in a wheelchair, Wanda would have to


    support her and help her around all the time. It would be obvious that she had lost her vision then.


    ¡°Are youfortable, Miss Reed? I¡¯ll push you in now,¡± Wanda informed as she locked the car doors.


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go,¡± Sonia uttered with a nod. Wanda wheeled her toward the entrance of the DNAb.


    However, Wanda slowed down when she saw the staircase leading to the entrance of the building. Sonia


    couldn¡¯t see anything, so she was puzzled when Wanda slowed down. ¡°What is it, Wanda?¡± she asked.


    ¡°There are stairs and no wheelchair ess,¡± Wanda said with a sigh.


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s the issue? I¡¯ll get off, you can carry the wheelchair up the stairs, and then you


    can help me climb it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Miss Reed. In that case, I¡¯ll¡ª¡± Before Wanda could finish speaking, a man¡¯s deep and cold


    voice interrupted her. ¡°Let me do it,¡± the man offered.


    Sonia knitted her eyebrows. ¡°Toby?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Toby said with a nod. He exchanged looks with Wanda, and Wanda let go of the wheelchair


    before stepping aside. Toby moved to the spot Wanda had been standing at, and he held onto the


    wheelchair¡¯s handles. ¡°Sit tight.¡±


    ¡°Wait. I¡ª¡± Before Sonia could finish speaking, she felt the wheelchair moving and leaving the ground.


    She didn¡¯t need to think to know that Toby had lifted her wheelchair up to climb the stairs, and she could


    hear his heavy footsteps. Sonia hastily clutched onto the armrests to steady herself. She was worried


    that she would fall out of the wheelchair.


    A few secondster, Sonia felt the wheelchairnding on firm ground, and it was only then that she


    rxed.

 Chapter 405

    Chapter 405


    Chapter 405 Taylor¡¯s Hair


    However, Sonia¡¯s anger had yet to dissipate. She spun her head around and shouted at the person


    behind her. ¡°That was too dangerous, Toby!¡±


    Toby had been fixing his sleeves, but he raised an eyebrow after hearing what Sonia said. ¡°How was that


    dangerous?¡±


    ¡°How could you carry both me and the wheelchair up the stairs together? Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s


    dangerous to do that?¡± Sonia took a deep breath before she spoke in a harsh tone.


    Toby lowered his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous. I was watching over you the whole time¡ªI wouldn¡¯t have let


    you fall.¡±


    ¡°I was referring to you!¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°What if you lost your strength halfway through? What if the


    wheelchair fell and crushed your leg? What if you dislocated something?¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Toby widened his eyes as a look of joy appeared on his face. ¡°Were you


    worried about me, Sonia?¡± He had to clench his fists to contain the joy and excitement in his heart.


    Sonia was stunned for a moment, but her voice quickly returned to its icy and calm tone as she turned


    back to face the front. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. I wasn¡¯t worried about you. I was just afraid that I would


    have to be responsible if you got injured again.¡±


    A hint of disappointment shed in Toby¡¯s gaze, but it didn¡¯tst for long as he quickly chuckled. ¡°I see.


    Alright, maybe I was overthinking it. Regardless, I¡¯ll just assume that what you said earlier was because


    you care for me.¡±


    Sonia wrinkled her nose. ¡°You can think whatever you wish to. What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a spy in mypany, and someone stole documents from my office. I found the spy¡¯s


    fingerprints on my office table, so I¡¯m bringing it over to have theb test it for me.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes glinted


    for a moment, but his expression remained t as he spoke.


    Wanda rolled her eyes from where she stood beside them. Young Master Toby is really good at lying,


    huh? He didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid! Sonia, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock after hearing


    what Toby said. ¡°What? There¡¯s a spy in Fuller Group, and the spy stole documents from your office?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Toby mumbled. Sonia let out augh. ¡°No way, President Fuller. Yourpany¡¯s security is


    better than this. How could someone go in and out of your office whenever they pleased?¡± Paradigm Co.


    was nothing inparison to the size of Fuller Group, and even then, no one would be able to break into


    Sonia¡¯s office. The fact that someone managed to do that in Toby¡¯s office was hrious to Sonia.


    Toby could tell that Sonia wasughing at him, but he didn¡¯t get mad at all. There was a twinkle of


    amusement in his eyes as he spoke. ¡°I was too confident. I thought that my staff would never dare to


    steal anything from thepany. That was how the spy found a loophole that allowed him or her to


    sneak in. What about you? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Titus wants to do another DNA test with Taylor. I¡¯m here because he wants me to watch them do it,¡±


    Sonia exined tly.


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby lifted his head up.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious why he asked me toe along?¡± Sonia asked quizzically. Toby shook his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll find out in a while.¡±


    ¡°In a while?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Are you going to go in with me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to join the fun. Am I not wee there?¡± Toby looked at the woman in the wheelchair. She


    pressed her lips together. ¡°Would you stay away if I said that you were not weed there?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Exactly my point.¡± Sonia shrugged. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t own this ce, so I can¡¯t stop you from going


    anywhere you wish to.¡±


    Toby let out a soft chuckle. ¡°In that case, let me push you in.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Wanda can do it.¡± Sonia shook her head and rejected his offer. Toby shot a


    nce at Wanda, and Wanda was quick toe up with an appropriate response. ¡°I think you should let


    this man help you, Miss Reed. When he was carrying you up the stairs, I was anxious that you would fall


    so I hurried to you, and I sprained my ankle.¡±


    ¡°What? Is it serious?¡± Sonia immediately stood up from her wheelchair.


    Wanda smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. I didn¡¯t tear anything and it only hurts a little. I¡¯ll just have to apply some


    medication onto it when we get home.¡±


    Sonia parted her lips to say something, but Toby was faster. ¡°Since your caregiver injured her ankle, let


    me take over.¡± He no longer gave Sonia a chance to speak after that and simply pushed her through the


    main entrance of the DNAb.


    Along the way, Sonia had her eyebrows knitted. She felt as if something was odd about the whole


    situation, yet she couldn¡¯t ce a finger on it. Soon enough, she forgot about the matter entirely. She


    wasn¡¯t someone who¡¯d rack her brains over something when she couldn¡¯t get an answer.


    As they headed in the direction of theb that was meant for running DNA tests, Toby spotted Titus,


    Julia, and Rina from afar. He also noticed another person who looked like their assistant.


    When Rina heard the sound of the wheelchair, she turned around to see Sonia and two other people


    walking toward her. Rina first looked at Sonia before turning to Toby, and Rina met Toby¡¯s gaze that


    looked like never-ending pits of darkness.


    Both of them seemed to exchange messages through their gazes before Rina lowered her head and


    looked away. ¡°Mom, Dad. Miss Reed is here,¡± she told Julia and Titus. Titus had been staring at the


    ground and thinking about something, but he immediately lifted his head when he heard Rina. When he


    noticed that Toby hade along with Sonia, his expression turned grim.


    Julia helped Titus up from his seat. ¡°What are you doing here, Toby? Why are you here with Sonia? Did


    you guys get back together?¡± Titus asked.


    Toby parted his thin lips to reply in a t tone, ¡°What has that got to do with you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of my business. I just find you really fickle-minded, President Fuller. You were so deeply in love


    with Tina before this, yet¡­¡± Titus¡¯s voice trailed off.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and snapped, ¡°Did you forget what I told you? I said that I had never been in


    love with Tina, so how could I be fickle-minded?¡±


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    Titus sneered. ¡°You¡¯ve never been in love with Tina, huh? Are you saying that your love for Tina was fake


    after Tina woke up?¡±


    Sonia lifted her head at this point. She was just as curious to find out if Toby had ever been in love with


    Tina. Honestly, I don¡¯t think I would believe it if Toby said he never loved Tina. I agree with Titus on this.


    All those things that Toby did for Tina after Tina woke up¡­ What is that if not love?


    Toby could practically read Sonia¡¯s mind, and he felt the urge to pat her on the shoulder and reassure


    her that he had never been in love with Tina. He wanted to tell her that he was hypnotized into thinking


    that he loved Tina. However, he seemed to recall something at the veryst minute, and he controlled


    the urge to exin himself. Instead, he shot Titus a cold re. ¡°What else could it have been if not a lie?


    I was only nice to Tina because she was pretending to be Sonia. Did you think I would actually fall for


    Tina?¡± In other words, he wouldn¡¯t have even taken a nce at Tina if Tina hadn¡¯t pretended to be Sonia.


    From the very start, the only woman he ever had eyes for was Sonia.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Titus was fuming as he pointed at Toby with a trembling finger. ¡°You¡¯re just so¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, President Gray. Let¡¯s end this topic here. I¡¯m not interested in the rtionship between


    Toby and your daughter.¡± Sonia rapped her knuckles against her wheelchair¡¯s armrest as she spoke in a


    rather exasperated tone. ¡°I¡¯m here to see if you and Taylor are actually father and daughter, so let¡¯s focus


    on that instead. You guys can talk about these issues next time. So, is the test done? When will the


    results be out?¡±


    Titus let out a shortugh. ¡°You¡¯re right. We should focus on the DNA test and set other things aside for


    today. We haven¡¯t done the test because we were waiting for you. Since you¡¯re here, we¡¯ll do it right now.


    I¡¯ll prove to you that Rina is actually my daughter.¡±


    With that said, Titus plucked out a few strands of his hair. ¡°Watch closely, Sonia. I just plucked my own


    hair.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Julia had been silent the whole time, and she had been shooting hateful res at Sonia. She


    pulled out a few strands of her hair as well. Then, Titus retrieved two waterproof bags from his pocket


    before cing their hair samples into separate bags. ¡°You need to give us a few strands of your hair too,


    Rina,¡± Titus uttered as he turned to look at Rina.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Rina nodded. She curled her lips into a smirk as she stared at Sonia. With one hand pressing


    against her clip and another hand tugging on the hair beneath the clip, Rina plucked out a few strands of


    hair before giving it to Titus. ¡°Here you go, Dad.¡±

 Chapter 406

    Chapter 406


    Chapter 406 Sonia¡¯s Hair


    Rina handed a strand of her own hair without any fuss; upon such a sight, Titus and Julia were greatly


    relieved whereas Toby and Sonia frowned.


    As far as Titus and Julia were concerned, the fact that Rina voluntarily passed a strand of her hair for the


    DNA test without any hesitation was as good as proving that she was indeed their biological daughter.


    They were ted by this assurance, and at the same time, they grew excited at the idea of pressing


    charges against Sonia.


    That being said, handing Sonia over to the police wouldn¡¯t mean that she would be imprisoned at once,


    although she would at the very least be admonished and made to pay a fine. When that happened, he


    would call the media over, which wouldpletely ruin her reputation.


    It was a bonus that he could salvage his dignity and pride after what she had done to bring him down all


    this while.


    Sonia sat stiffly in her wheelchair at one side, her fists clenching atop the armrests. Why did Taylor give


    up a strand of her hair so willingly? She¡¯s not Titus¡¯ daughter, so she ought to be more terrified of the


    DNA test than anyone else instead of giving them inculpatory proof!


    With that in mind, she reached behind her and tugged on Toby¡¯s sleeve. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    Toby dipped his head and asked softly, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Did Taylor actually pluck a strand of her hair and hand it over to Titus?¡± She bit on her lip nervously as


    she probed, her voice barely above a whisper.


    He narrowed his eyes as he replied, ¡°She really did so.¡± As he had also witnessed it for himself, he was


    equally in disbelief that Taylor had the audacity to do so.


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia dug her nails into her palms. Taylor has actually plucked her hair out for the test. Could it


    be that she bribed the facility into fabricating the test results? Is that why she isn¡¯t the slightest bit


    worried?


    As though he read her mind, he shook his head. ¡°No, there¡¯s no way she would¡¯ve bribed the facility, not


    while it¡¯s owned by the Lancasters and nationally affiliated. Not even Titus could bribe them, let alone


    Taylor.¡±


    ¡°Then, why did she¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but let¡¯s wait and find out,¡± Toby said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on Rina.


    Upon sensing his gaze, Rina turned to give him a coy smile as she pointed at her hair, then at Sonia¡¯s.


    It was then that he instantly made the connection. No wonder she was bold enough to pull out a strand of


    her hair for the DNA test. It was never her own hair to begin with; it was Sonia¡¯s!


    Somehow through one way or another, Taylor had managed to get her hands on Sonia¡¯s hair and


    imnted them into her scalp. All she had to do was yank a strand of Sonia¡¯s hand when the time came


    for the DNA test. Even if she had to repeat the test, the results would still indicate that she was Titus¡¯


    biological daughter, regardless of the facility.


    So, this was her secret weapon all along. This was probably why she turned me down when I offered to


    keep her true identity a secret. With Sonia¡¯s hair, she really didn¡¯t need to take me up on my offer at all!


    At the thought of this, Toby¡¯s face darkened considerably. As it turned out, he had underestimated Taylor,


    who was a lot smarter than he had imagined. Tina was intelligent enough, but she was nothingpared


    to Taylor. If Taylor was born into the high society and received fine education, he reckoned she would


    turn out to be a formidable character.


    Meanwhile, Titus was oblivious to the discussion between Toby and Sonia as he slipped Rina¡¯s strand of


    hair into a bag before handing the sample to his assistant. ¡°Here, take this and run the DNA test right


    now. I want the results back within half an hour!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the assistant answered as he took the hair sample.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Sonia interjected after pursing her lips.


    Titus clicked his tongue, his wizened face crinkling further with a displeased grimace as he barked,


    ¡°What is it now?¡±


    She pointed out tly, ¡°Who knows what dirty tricks your assistant might pull off if you ask him to send


    the sample over to the facility on his own? Wanda, could you go along with him and keep an eye on the


    sample?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re crossing the line here, Sonia!¡± He thundered, an angry shadow passing over his face as he


    pointed at Sonia threateningly.


    Julia was just as belligerent and hatred colored her gaze as she glowered at Sonia like the girl had


    committed all the seven deadly sins.


    At this moment, Rina stepped forward and broke the tension. ¡°Mom, Dad, if Miss Reed doesn¡¯t trust us,


    then we should let her do what she wants. She can have someone keep an eye on the sample if she


    wants, but once she realizes that we don¡¯t have any dirty tricks up our sleeves, she¡¯de to defeat on


    her own terms.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Titus and Julia felt their rage subside and he even grinned in approval. ¡°You¡¯re right,


    Rina. If she really wants to be paranoid about this, then she can have someone tag along to keep an eye


    on the hair sample.¡± Then, he turned to give his assistant a sharp look and demanded, ¡°Keiran, shouldn¡¯t


    you be in theboratory by now?¡±


    The assistant, who was Keiran, nodded hastily and took the hair sample before he brought it into the


    laboratory.


    Upon seeing this, Sonia signaled for Wanda to trail after him and keep an eye on the sample as well as


    the assistant¡¯s hand.


    Following this ordeal was a painful wait thatsted close to half an hour. The air was thick with tension as


    all parties remained silent and Sonia began to grow anxious as the time ticked by.


    ¡°President Fuller!¡± she called out softly for Toby. She didn¡¯t have much of a choice, seeing that he was


    the only one here after Wanda had followed Keiran to theboratory to keep an eye on the test.


    When Toby heard Sonia¡¯s voice, he knelt next to her wheelchair ready to take orders from a princess,


    much to the surprise of Titus andpany..


    At the sight of Toby¡¯s chivalrous gesture, Titus was left grim and stunned. He could no longer argue now


    that Toby was once in love with Tina, for he had never seen Toby revere her in the way he did with Sonia.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby asked gently, aforting smile tugging on his lips.


    Sonia bit on her lower lip as she asked, ¡°How is Taylor doing? Does she look nervous?¡±


    He didn¡¯t turn to look at Rina, but his eyes shed darkly as he replied, ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t.¡± And why would


    she, especially after giving Sonia¡¯s hair as a test sample instead of her own?


    After having heard this, she clenched her jaw and mmed her fist down on the armrest. Frustration


    overwhelmed her as she hissed, ¡°How is this even possible?¡± Why isn¡¯t Taylor anxious at all?


    She was still troubled by this when approaching footsteps sounded from behind her. It was Zane, and in


    his wake were a couple¡ªa man and a woman.


    Zane drew closer to the wheelchair and his eyes lit up when he spotted Sonia¡¯s familiar profile. He began


    to wave his hand with a wide grin that was stered on his face. ¡°Sonia!¡±


    Zane! She immediately straightened her posture and turned in the direction of his voice, making it as if


    she had seen him and beamed while replying, ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡±


    Next to her was Toby, who took in her enthusiasm before his chiseled face instantly soured. Oh,


    suddenly Zane is the light of the world, is he?


    The air around him seemed to freeze as jealousy swirled within him. Upon noticing the distinct shift in the


    atmosphere, Zane lowered his gaze and was surprised to see Toby squatting next to the wheelchair.


    ¡°Toby? What are you doing here?¡± he asked, bewildered.


    Toby rose to his feet but did not answer, making a point to ignore the other man.


    As Zane was unfazed by Toby¡¯s standoffish demeanor, he shrugged nonchntly and nced over at


    Sonia instead before proudly announcing, ¡°Sonia, I¡¯ve brought them along with me.¡±


    Then, he gestured to the couple behind him.


    Although Sonia couldn¡¯t see them, Toby could. He appraised the middle-aged couple whose faces were


    tanned and lined. Their clothes were nearly threadbare and outdated while they stood with their arms


    linked, their bodies stiff as they tried to appear as respectful as possible.


    However, there was a greedy and cunning look in their eyes as they surveyed the room with interest,


    which told Toby that they were not as honest as they seemed. That aside, perhaps the most important


    thing that he had noticed was how much of a resemnce the older man bore to Taylor. It was at that


    moment when he realized who they were.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    The couple who stood behind Zane were probably Taylor¡¯s biological parents.

 Chapter 407

    Chapter 407


    Chapter 407 Mr and Mrs Carey


    With that presumption in mind, Toby turned to look in Rina¡¯s direction.


    After having seen Hal and Greta, Rina jumped to her feet from the chair in shock. There was


    unmistakable fear in her eyes as she trembled with nerves. How are they even here?


    Realization dawned upon her at that moment and her eyes widened as she stared at Zane in disbelief.


    Mr. Coleman! He¡¯s the one who brought this old couple over. It has to be him since how they came with


    him!


    Her fear turned to hurt and anger as she dug her nails into her palms. When she fixed her gaze on him,


    there was a wounded look on her face.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    She already had a fair idea as to why Zane had brought Hal and Greta here. More likely than not, he


    intended for them to expose her true identity in front of Titus and Julia! I can¡¯t believe this is happening!


    How could he stoop so low? How could he do this to me when I love him the way I do?


    Upon sensing Rina¡¯s gaze, Zane couldn¡¯t help but be amused, albeit bewildered. He didn¡¯t understand


    why she looked at him as if he had broken her heart and toyed with the pieces.


    However, he didn¡¯t dwell much on this. He smirked and asked in a yful drawl, ¡°Oh, Taylor, aren¡¯t you


    going to greet your biological parents now that they¡¯re here? What are you standing there for?¡±


    Biological parents? Titus and Julia¡¯s expressions instantly fell.


    Titus, in particr, was staring at Zane mutinously as he barked, ¡°What are you talking about, kid?


    What¡¯s all this nonsense about her biological parents? My wife and I are Rina¡¯s biological parents, and


    that¡¯s the end of it!¡±


    Although the DNA test results had yet to be produced, he was more than certain that Rina was his own


    flesh and blood.


    There was a sadist edge to Zane¡¯s smirk as he crossed his arms and retorted, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not wrong,


    President Gray. These two folks who came with me happen to be Taylor¡¯s real parents. Why don¡¯t you


    take a look for yourselves?¡±


    He stepped aside to reveal Hal and Greta, who had been standing behind him all along. .


    The moment they saw the middle-aged couple, Titus and Julia bristled. ¡°Titus,¡± she cried in a quivering


    voice as she clutched her husband¡¯s arm. ¡°It¡¯s him. That¡¯s the man from the photograph!¡±


    He gritted his teeth and stared daggers at Hal. He had known all along that Hal was the same person


    from the photograph; the recognition had been almost instant. However, Titus never expected that the


    man from the photograph would actually appear before him.


    Titus was about to march over and interrogate the couple when their eyes brightened before they


    approached Rina enthusiastically.


    When she saw both Hal and Greta drawing closer to her, Rina nched as all the color drained from her


    face. It made her tremble even more, now that she felt like a cornered prey.


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Zane whispered into Sonia¡¯s ear. ¡°As it stands, Taylor is terrified of Hal and Greta, who is


    otherwise known as Mr. and Mrs. Carey.¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes in thought. So, Taylor¡¯s biological father¡¯s name is Hal.


    A light smile touched her lips when she heard this. ¡°Of course she¡¯d be terrified. Don¡¯t forget the life she


    used to live.¡±


    Zane and Sonia had been right to say that Rina was terrified of Hal and Greta. After all, they were the


    reason for Rina¡¯s deep-seated trauma and anxiety. She had been physically and emotionally abused by


    them; seeing them now only caused her fight-or-flight response to kick in, although she¡¯d rather run off in


    fear than to face them head-on.


    ¡°Taylor!¡± Hal was the first one to reach Rina.


    There was nothing else but greed in Hal and Greta¡¯s eyes at the sight of Rina¡¯s polished appearance.


    This brat has been living the high life. Her skin is glowing and she even has some meat on her! And the


    fine clothes she¡¯s wearing must have cost a small fortune, too. As expected, life must be sweet for her


    now that she has a couple of rich parents.


    And yet, she hasn¡¯t even thought to spare us some of her newly-acquired riches. She¡¯s probably set on


    spending it all on herself! What an ingrate. Just wait; we¡¯ll get those fine clothes off her back and sell


    them for a good price before forcing her to surrender all her valuables to us.


    Hal and Greta teetered with excitement at the thought of the riches they could milk out of their daughter,


    but they feigned worry as they fussed over her. ¡°Taylor, my little girl, you have no idea how long your


    mother and I have been looking for you!¡± he cried out in a show of anger and fret.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Taylor. We thought you¡¯d been kidnapped until Mr. Coleman knocked on our door to inform


    us that you¡¯d run off into the city and been adopted by a couple of rich folks. For heaven¡¯s sake, all we


    did was try to lecture some sense into you. Surely, there was no need for you to run away from home!¡±


    Greta began to nag incessantly as she reached out to touch Rina¡¯s arm.


    Rina¡¯s eyes widened before she immediately shouted in protest, ¡°Go away! Don¡¯t touch me!¡± With that,


    she summoned all her force and pushed Greta away.


    Greta stumbled backward, losing her footing and nearly crashing to the ground. She was only lucky that


    Hal had grabbed her in time to keep her from falling.


    ¡°Greta, are you okay?¡± he asked hastily.


    She dabbed at the crocodile tears that streamed down her cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just heartbroken is all.


    Looks like Taylor no longer wants us now that she has these rich folks coddling her. How did our little girl


    turn out this way?¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re telling me,¡± he agreed somberly, a shadow passing over his face as he turned to glower at


    Rina murderously.


    Rina saw his features twist into a grimace and she was immediately reminded of her dark past. Horror


    shed across her features as she darted behind Titus and Julia, cowering in their shadows as she


    muttered fearfully, ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be worried about, Rina. I¡¯m here,¡± Julia consoled as she wrapped an arm around


    Rina while patting the girl¡¯s back soothingly.


    Titus, on the other hand, confronted Hal and Greta angrily. ¡°What the hell do you want with my


    daughter?¡±


    ¡°Your daughter?¡± Hal and his wife faltered at this. Then, he recovered from the initial shock and kept his


    menace under wraps. He smiled coyly as he drawled, ¡°Of course. Taylor called you Mom and Dad, didn¡¯t


    she? That means you¡¯re both her parents! Pleasure to meet you, Gray. My name¡¯s Hal and I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s


    biological father.¡±


    Now that he said those words, he rubbed his hands as if to dust them off before offering Titus a


    handshake.


    Titus stared at Hal¡¯s dirty palm and his muck-lined fingernails before he felt the urge to retch. Since he


    was mortified, he pped Hal¡¯s hand away and thundered, ¡°That¡¯s Mr. Gray to you! Don¡¯t get all buddy


    with me!¡±


    To the side was Zane, who sputtered as he had a hard time keeping hisughter at bay. ¡°Well, to be fair,


    Titus is older than Hal by two years, so some respect is warranted.¡±


    Sonia heaved a wistful sigh. ¡°I can tell you guys are enjoying the show from the sound of it. Too bad I


    can¡¯t see anything right now.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m trying to describe the whole show in real-time here. Besides, I have it on camera,¡± he teased


    lightheartedly while holding up his phone.


    Meanwhile, Toby shot him an icy look, but he quickly redirected his gaze to Titus and the others while


    lowering his eyes in thought.


    On the other side of the room, Hal did not bridle at Titus¡¯ blunt rejection of his handshake and instead


    broke into augh like his dignity didn¡¯t matter at all. ¡°You¡¯re right, that was my bad for calling you Gray


    so forthrightly. Mr. Gray it is, then. If you think about it, we¡¯re practically family, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me? Where did you get the nerve to say that?¡± Titus demanded, quaking with rage. This insolent


    fool just addressed me as Gray and now, he¡¯s calling me his family? I have never met anyone with such


    thick skin!


    ¡°Well, of course we are family!¡± Hal was beside himself with glee. He gestured to Taylor, who was


    shaking in Julia¡¯s arms, and continued, ¡°That brat over there is my daughter, and now that she has you


    as her new father, it would naturally make us family.¡±


    At this moment, he guffawed and turned to look at Rina in approval. ¡°You certainly have some tricks up


    your sleeve, Rina! Who could¡¯ve thought that you¡¯d do so well for yourself after running away from


    home? Why, you even became a rich man¡¯s daughter! I must say, I¡¯m proud of you. You¡¯ve got skills, kid.¡±


    Rina¡¯s face blushed before turning pallor from outrage and fluster. ¡°Shut up! I did not run away from


    home and I¡¯m most certainly not your daughter!¡±


    Hal was obviously displeased by her response. ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re not my daughter? Your looks


    take after me, kid. Only the blind would be fooled by you! More importantly, I was there when your


    mother carried you in the womb for nine months and gave birth to you. Are you going to tell me I have


    the wrong person?¡±

 Chapter 408

    Chapter 408


    Chapter 408 Rina¡¯s Lies


    Hal¡¯s promation left Titus grim and also resulted in Julia loosening her grip around Rina. I can¡¯t say


    he¡¯s wrong; if she really weren¡¯t his daughter, why does she bear such strong resemnce to him?


    As though she had sensed the doubt that crept into their minds, a panicked Rina grabbed Julia¡¯s arm


    and eyed Titus pleadingly as she urged, ¡°Mom, Dad, don¡¯t fall for his lies! I¡¯m not their daughter. I¡¯m really


    not!¡±


    However, Zane had a sadistic smile ying on his lips as he stared at Rina and suggested, ¡°In that case,


    why don¡¯t you tell us why you look so much like Hal?¡±


    Rina then glowered at him, anger and hurt shing in her red-rimmed eyes. You¡¯ve gone too far. Are you


    so desperate to expose my identity?


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    While bristling at the wounded look she was giving him, he felt his lips twitch as he muttered in


    exasperation, ¡°What a lunatic.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia asked.


    ¡°Nothing. She merely hates me,¡± he answered with a casual shrug.


    She let out a good-naturedugh as she said in jest, ¡°Well, that¡¯s expected of her, considering you¡¯ve


    brought Hal and his wife over.¡±


    As both of them fell into a friendly repartee, Toby merely watched them with his lips pressed into a grim


    line. What¡¯s going on? Isn¡¯t Sonia upset with Zane because he was hiding things from her? How is it that


    they¡¯re back on good terms all of a sudden? Has she actually forgiven him? The possibility of this made


    him clench his fists at his sides.


    Across the room, Rina was being scrutinized by Titus and Julia as they waited for her to provide an


    exnation. Knowing that she could not escape the ordeal without losing their trust, she took a deep


    breath and responded tearfully, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know why I look like him, but I¡¯m really not his daughter at all.


    Mom, Dad, please, you have to believe me.¡±


    Greta, however, scoffed in disgust as she seethed, ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. I gave birth to you and I raised you


    for over twenty years, only for you to turn your back on us after finding a pair of rich folks to call Mom and


    Dad. How heartless can you be, Taylor?¡± With that, the older woman reached out and tried to prod Rina¡¯s


    forehead with her finger.


    Rina immediately ducked behind Titus and Julia once more, evading Greta¡¯s dirty and calloused finger.


    An enraged Greta snapped, ¡°Oh, is this how it is now, Taylor? Did your skin grow thicker along with your


    new riches? How dare you duck away from me! Come out and let me teach you a good lesson, you


    ungrateful brat!¡±


    Hal also added, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear your mother? Get out here right now!¡±


    ¡°I will not! Why should I when you are both going to beat me to death? I was your punching bag for over


    twenty years. Do you really think I¡¯d continue to take your abuse like how I did in the past?¡± Rina peeped


    from behind Titus¡¯ frame and shouted at Hal and Greta spitefully.


    ¡°Y-You¡ª¡± Greta pointed a trembling finger at Rina as she hissed, ¡°You little b*tch! You have some nerve


    to speak to us that way. What, do you think you have the world on your side now?¡±


    By the sidelines, Sonia frowned when she heard the roughnguage Greta used. While she didn¡¯t fancy


    Taylor in the slightest, she felt sorry for Taylor for having to put up with a biological mother like Greta.


    After all, it was heartbreaking to hear a mother verbally abuse her own child like this.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Titus yelled, his voice resonating throughout the room and effectively putting a stop to


    Greta and Rina¡¯s squabble.


    Hal and Great might be as bold as they were rude and demanding, but they were lowly peasant folks at


    the end of the day. So, they didn¡¯t dare to ruffle the feathers of a rich man like Titus. As such, they fell


    silent as soon as he told them to.


    ¡°Looks like Titus is taking the reins into his own hands now,¡± Zane remarked quietly while rubbing his


    chin.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see anything, but she heard the furious undertone of Titus¡¯ voice and arrived at the same


    conclusion as Zane.


    On the other hand, an unfazed and patient Toby continued to stare at the scene before him in silence.


    Over at the other side of the room, Titus¡¯ gaze lingered on Hal for a few seconds before he turned to give


    Rina a dark look. ¡°You said you were their punching bag for over twenty years, is that right?¡±


    She nodded numbly. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And these are the Mr. and Mrs. Carey from your past stories, as in the ones who would call you to


    pester you for money, is that right?¡± Titus pressed further.


    Upon hearing his voice grow colder, Rina swallowed convulsively. Even though she was deeply


    panicked, she nodded and replied, ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you exin to me why you said you didn¡¯t recognize him when I showed you his


    photo back at the detention center?!¡± This time, a clearly outraged Titus raised his voice as he jabbed a


    finger in Hal¡¯s direction.


    All the color drained from her face when she realized that she had been caught lying. She had indeed


    said that she didn¡¯t recognize Hal from the photograph on top of feigning cluelessness as to why she


    bore such a strong resemnce to him.


    However, Rina suddenly let the cat out of the bag that Hal and Greta had abused her for over twenty


    years and even admitted that they were her parents when Titus questioned her. I¡¯ve exposed myself! I¡¯ve


    as good as told them I know Hal and they¡¯ll know I¡¯m lying about that photo at the detention center!


    ¡°My, my,¡± Zane drawled, then whistled as amusement glittered in his eyes. ¡°Hey, Sonia, looks like Rina


    dug her own grave at some point and now she¡¯s jumping into it.¡±


    Sonia smiled at this, pleased with how things were turning out.


    Toby, however, narrowed his eyes and kept his gaze on Rina. What is she going to do about this?


    Presently, Rina was trembling as her heart leaped to her throat. She had lied to Titus and Julia when she


    said she didn¡¯t recognize Hal back then, hoping that they would believe she was their long-lost daughter.


    However, she never counted on the probability of Zane bringing Hal and Greta over to expose her lies.


    No. I¡¯ve struggled toe this far and I won¡¯t let Hal and Greta take any of this away from me! With


    renewed determination, Rina closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. When her eyes


    fluttered open a secondter, her heartbeat was as steady as it had ever been. She looked at Titus and


    Julia with tears in her eyes and shakily borated, ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m sorry I lied to you in the past. I told


    you that I didn¡¯t recognize Hal and I did so deliberately not for other reasons, but because I hate them


    and wanted to cut them offpletely.¡±


    After having said that, she quickly rolled up her sleeves to reveal all the scars that marred the skin on her


    arm and proof of the horrors of her past.


    A mortified Julia sped a hand over her mouth as she gaped at the scars in shock. Titus, too, fell into a


    stunned silence.


    Even Zane couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He knew


    how Taylor had brutally suffered under the hands of Hal and Greta; all of the details were recorded in the


    information he dug up about them. However, Zane had never seen Taylor¡¯s scars in real life until now


    and it was only then that he realized how the pictures of her old wounds had severely downyed the


    actual injuries.


    Sonia was quite literally kept in the dark and was oblivious as to this shocking revtion. As for Toby, he


    maintained his indifference. At present, he couldn¡¯t care less as to how others had suffered or been


    treated unfairly as long as it didn¡¯t involve his family or Sonia, so he felt no empathy toward the scars on


    Rina¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯ve never shown you these scars. These two people are the reason why my scars exist;


    there were times when I thought I would die by their hands and I probably would have if some kind soul


    hadn¡¯t saved me. This is the real reason why I hate them with all my being.¡± Rina pointed at Hal and


    Greta with boiling hatred and continued, ¡°It wasn¡¯t until that fateful day when I heard them mentioning I


    was not their daughter that I understood why they treated me like that, so I stole the ne they hid


    from me and left that hellhole. Then, Inded here in Seafield. I only managed to reunite with you both


    because I saw that you were searching for the owner of this ne.¡±

 Chapter 409

    Chapter 409


    Chapter 409 The Results


    Having spun the story out as well as she could, Rina took a deep breath topose herself before she


    added, ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m sorry that I lied about not recognizing them from the photograph, but you have to


    understand that these are the same people who hurt and terrorized me all my life. I never wanted to


    bring them up because doing so would only remind me of those dark days, so¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop, Rina, you don¡¯t have to say anything else,¡± Julia sobbed; she was beside herself with grief as she


    pulled Rina into her arms.


    After he heard the story, Titus¡¯ expression softened and the menacing look with which he regarded Rina


    was reced with a gentle one.


    It was in to see that the narrative she created was persuasive enough to ease the suspicion in his


    heart, but as a result, Hal and Greta werepletely outraged.


    Hal, in particr, shuddered with fury as he snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t bullsh*t your way through this, Taylor! You


    little b*tch, when did I ever say you weren¡¯t my biological daughter? When the hell did I ever hide some


    ne from you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making up dirty lies about us!¡± Greta shouted alongside her husband, her eyes bloodshot. We


    see what¡¯s happening here. Looks like this little brat has every intention of disowning us as parents!


    That¡¯s why she created a non-existent background for herself!


    Neither one of them had ever thought their daughter would be so bold and ambitious as to spin such a


    huge web of lies.


    Casting Hal and Greta¡¯s thoughts aside, Zane was just as surprised by the narrative and his face was


    more somber than it had ever looked. He narrowed his eyes and grimly appraised Rina. This woman is


    sharper than I thought. She actually turned the odds in her favor with just a few lines!


    As it turned out, he and Sonia had underestimated Rina when they thought she might slip up and expose


    herself. Looks like our decision was wrong from the very beginning!


    ¡°Nice going, Taylor.¡± Zane pped his hands slowly, eyeing Rina as he drawled sarcastically, ¡°You really


    do have a way with words, seeing as how you¡¯ve managed to convince President Gray that you¡¯re


    speaking the truth.¡±


    Rina lowered her gaze to hide the spite in her eyes. She knew that he was trying to reignite Titus and


    Julia¡¯s suspicion, but unfortunately for Zane, she wasn¡¯t going to give him the chance.


    With that in mind, she tugged on Titus and Julia¡¯s sleeves. ¡°Mom, Dad, I think Miss Reed and her friends


    are determined to prove me as an impostor. They¡¯ll keep insisting that I am Hal and Greta¡¯s daughter no


    matter what we say. Let¡¯s just wait until the DNA test results are out. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have their answers


    then.¡±


    Titus and Julia exchanged a nce with each other before they nodded. ¡°Very well, then. That¡¯s more


    sensible,¡± he agreed with a hum.


    On the other side of the room, Zane frowned. ¡°Sonia, did they do a DNA test?¡±


    ¡°They did,¡± Sonia answered after pursing her lips.


    An astonished Zane eximed, ¡°That¡¯s bold of Taylor.¡±


    She drummed her fingers lightly against the armrest of the wheelchair and mused gravely, ¡°Yeah, I was


    also shocked.¡±


    Taylor was not Titus and Julia¡¯s biological daughter, so there had to be a reason why she was so


    confident in giving a sample of her hair for the DNA test instead of being evasive about it.


    The only person who knew the real reason behind Rina¡¯s confidence was Toby, who narrowed his eyes


    slightly as he looked at Sonia. He parted his lips to say something, but in the end, he held back.


    At that moment, a hush fell over the room and even Hal and Greta cowered to one side. They dared not


    utter a single word, at least not while the tension thickened as the rich folks stood in silence. Speaking


    now seemed like an all too dangerous move.


    After what felt like ages, the door to theboratory opened and Wanda walked out with Keiran. Falling in


    step next to them was another employee, who carried a folder in his hand. Needless to say, everyone


    knew exactly what was in that folder.


    Titus and Julia rose to their feet and demanded, ¡°Are those the results?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see what was going on, but she picked up Titus¡¯ question just fine. She quickly patted the


    wheelchair armrest and urged, ¡°Zane, those are the DNA test results that could determine whether Taylor


    is Titus and Julia¡¯s daughter. Go and take a look right now!¡±


    Zane was just about to answer when Toby beat him to the results, crossing over to the room with grim


    resolve. He wanted to know for sure whether Sonia was Titus and Julia¡¯s daughter, which would make


    her the true Rina Gray.


    Meanwhile, Titus was reaching out to grab the document from the employee and had only just touched


    the edge of it when an baster, slender hand intercepted it.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    ¡°Who¡ª¡± He spun to look at the person who had the courage to snatch the document, but the anger on


    his face quickly dissipated when he saw that it was Toby. ¡°You?¡±


    Titus could do nothing but swallow his rage and pride. Back in their heyday, the Gray Family had to tread


    carefully around the Fullers, and now that they were crumbling, this was even more true.


    As such, he could only lower himself in Toby¡¯s presence. Adopting a milder tone, he pointed out,


    ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s a little uncalled for on your part to take the document, don¡¯t you think? You¡¯re on


    Sonia¡¯s side, which means there¡¯s no telling what you might do with the results.¡± He shot a dirty look in


    Sonia¡¯s direction, though she was oblivious to this as she sat cidly in the wheelchair.


    Sonia merely raised an eyebrow. Is this his way of using my own words against me? She thought about


    how she had used his assistant earlier. Now he¡¯s doubting Toby, seeing as he came along with me.


    Touch¨¦, Titus.


    While she was reluctant to agree that Toby was on her side, she could do nothing about it, let alone feign


    ignorance. A cold scoff escaped her as she argued, ¡°I think you¡¯re a little paranoid, President Gray.


    Between a document and a thin strand of hair, thetter would be easier to use in a sleight-of-hand, don¡¯t


    you think? A document is certainly muchrger and with all of us here, what could President Fuller


    possibly do?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. What? Do you think President Fuller is a wizard or something who can change the contents of


    the document by casting a spell?¡± Zane mocked.


    Titus nched, the color rushing up and out of his face like he was a moodmp. The sight of it was


    almostical. As he realized that he could never win an argument with them, he decided to preserve


    what remained of his dignity and scoffed coldly, ignoring them at once.


    While this was happening, Toby had already opened the folder and flipped through the document to the


    last page. When he read the words ¡®paternity concluded¡¯, he tightened his grip on the papers. ¡°So, it¡¯s


    true¡­¡±


    So, it¡¯s true that Sonia is Titus and Julia¡¯s long-lost daughter.


    He had been sure about it before, but there was never a DNA test that confirmed the probability of it,


    which left him with a speck of hope that Sonia might not even be rted to Titus and Julia at all.


    As a result, he clung onto the glimmer of hope so fervently, thinking that Sonia could be free from the


    hurt even if she knew about everything Titus had done.


    s, life was as twisted as it was cruel, and she could not escape the fate of her being their child.


    Toby thought about the bad blood that Sonia had with Titus and Julia. If she were to find out that they


    were her biological parents, there was no telling what she could do on impulse, knowing how proud and


    stubborn she was.


    Titus had stolen trade secrets from Paradigm Co. and even sent one of the technicians to his death,


    thereby nearly causing thepany to copse. In fact, he might even have something to do with


    Henry¡¯s death six years ago. All this snowballed into Sonia¡¯s hatred for Titus, and vengeance aside, she


    probably wanted nothing more than to deliver the man to hell¡¯s gates herself.


    However, she would lose her identity as Henry¡¯s daughter the moment she discovered Titus was her


    biological father, rendering her as the enemy¡¯s daughter. She would thus be caught in between the Gray


    Family and the Reed Family while inadvertently being thrown into anguish.


    And because she wouldn¡¯t be able to take revenge against her own biological father, she would be


    forced to abandon the feud she had with the Gray Family. As a result, she would be left with no choice


    but to take her own life as means ofpensating Henry for Titus¡¯ grave sins.


    ¡°What¡¯s true?¡± Sonia and Zane had no idea what Toby was thinking as they asked in unison.


    However, Toby only lowered his head and said nothing. Zane clicked his tongue in irritation and


    approached him to snatch the document. ¡°Give me that. I need to see what the results are.¡±


    Across from them, Titus and Julia eagerly craned their necks, but they dared not take the document


    away from Toby while he was reading them, so they had to wait with forced patience. Little did they know


    that Zane would snatch the document thereafter and given that they were equally wary of him, they didn¡¯t


    move to intercept him either.


    The only person smiling in the room was Rina, who stood in Titus and Julia¡¯s shadow as she waited. She


    wasn¡¯t exceptionally interested in the document, not when she was already well aware of the results.

 Chapter 410

    Chapter 410


    Chapter 410 Biologically Rted


    Across the room, Zane had taken the document away from Toby and flipped to thest page. When Zane


    saw that the test results were theplete opposite of what he had expected, his eyes widened as he


    eximed in disbelief, ¡°How is this even possible?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia¡¯s heart sank as panic overwhelmed her. What¡¯s going on? Why does Zane


    make it sound like something bad has happened? ¡°Wanda,¡± she called out while clutching the armrest


    anxiously.


    Wanda approached Sonia and crouched down next to the wheelchair. ¡°Miss Reed?¡±


    Sonia turned in the direction of Wanda¡¯s voice and insisted, ¡°Wanda, you were in theboratory the entire


    time, so you must know the results, don¡¯t you? Tell me.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Wanda¡¯s gaze flickered over to Zane, but he was shell shocked, judging from the way his hand


    trembled as it held the papers.


    When she sensed the olderdy¡¯s hesitation, Sonia grew antsy. Then, she curled her fist and dug her


    nails into her palm as she frantically urged, ¡°Wanda, tell me!¡±


    Wanda nced at Toby, who caught the look on her face and nodded once. She heaved a sigh and


    replied reluctantly, ¡°The results indicate that the youngdy over there is President Gray¡¯s biological


    daughter.¡±


    Upon hearing Wanda¡¯s words, Sonia¡¯s eyes widened and she tensed up with bewilderment. Taylor is


    Titus¡¯ biological daughter? That¡¯s impossible! That can¡¯t be right. They aren¡¯t supposed to be biologically


    rted at all. The results must be fake; someone must have manipted it!


    Sonia¡¯s thoughts went wild. Taylor had probably figured a foolproof way to bribe the test facility and its


    employees into faking those test results. She might not have the means to do it, but chances of it


    happening were slim as well.


    On the other side of the room, Titus and Julia had overheard what Wanda said and exchanged a gleeful


    look with each other.


    ¡°Did you hear that, honey? Rina is our daughter!¡± Julia gripped Rina¡¯s hand as she proimed excitedly,


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that Rina is unmistakably our daughter? We even did a test right from the get-go to be sure


    of it! How could we have possibly faked something like that?¡±


    He nodded in satisfaction. ¡°You were right all along.¡± Then, he turned to look at Rina, the frosty gleam in


    his eyes reced with a warm one as he apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Rina. I never should have doubted you.¡±


    She shook her head before a slow smile spread on her face as she tearfully responded, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Dad, I


    don¡¯t me you. Miss Reed and the others were the ones who fabricated the test results and brought


    Hal and Greta over to prove their case. They did all they could to make you believe I¡¯m not your


    daughter, so your doubt wasn¡¯t uncalled for. All that matters now is that we have the real results to prove


    that I am indeed your daughter. I don¡¯t me you at all, Mom and Dad. If anything, I me Miss Reed


    and her friends the most; they¡¯d crossed the line and dealt a really low blow.¡±


    Rina had somehow managed to pin all the me on Sonia.


    Sure enough, Titus and Julia grimaced at Sonia like she was a piece of filth and their rage toward her


    was renewed at once. ¡°Sonia, the results are out and it shows that Rina is my daughter,¡± he gravely


    pointed out and scoffed. ¡°Anything else you¡¯d like to add to that?¡±


    Julia, however, was more blunt with her words as she snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your pleasantries on her,


    honey. Let¡¯s call the police on her immediately!¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia¡¯s expression turned sour. She hadn¡¯t expected that things would turn out like this and


    her hand was shaking where it had gripped the armrest tightly. Is this it? Will I actually be personally


    handed over to the police by Titus?


    Titus was already taking out his phone and one could practically feel his triumph from across the room as


    he made to call the cops.


    Upon seeing this, Toby narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits. He was about to say something when


    Zane finally snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Titus. ¡°Hold your horses!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s gazes fell on him when they heard this and Titus was sullen as he used, ¡°Are you going to


    stop me, Young Master Zane?¡±


    ¡°I think the results are fake and I refuse to believe it!¡± Zane said with an air of authority as he threw the


    paperwork onto the floor unceremoniously.


    Rina grimaced spitefully at his interjection and her fists curled at her sides. The results are out, but he¡¯s


    still trying to make me look suspicious. Is he so dead-set on bringing me down?


    ¡°Fake?¡± Titus repeated with a cold sneer. ¡°Young Master Zane, you¡¯ve seen the results with your own


    eyes and you even asked someone to head into theboratory to keep an eye on the procedure. What


    gives you the right to use us of faking the results?¡±


    ¡°What right do I have? In case you forgot, they¡¯re still here!¡± Zane pointed smugly at Hal and Greta, both


    of whom hurried forward and came to a stop next to him.


    He pped a hand on Hal¡¯s shoulder and added, ¡°Look at his face and tell me Taylor doesn¡¯t resemble


    him!¡±


    ¡°Dad,¡± Rina interjected as she grabbed Titus¡¯ arm and swayed it. ¡°Dad, my resemnce to that man is


    more likely due to my having spent thest twenty-over years with him under the same roof. I heard that


    these things could happen even if the cohabitants are not biologically rted, so maybe I look like my


    adoptive father precisely because of it.¡±


    ¡°Rina¡¯s words make sense, Titus. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too far of a stretch. You know how when two people,


    even lovers, start to resemble each other after living together for a while. Look at President Morrison and


    his wife¡ªthey didn¡¯t look like each other at all in the beginning, but that changed after a couple of years


    down the road.¡±


    Titus nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Zane gaped at Titus and Julia. He couldn¡¯t believe that they were so easily convinced by Rina¡¯s


    exnation and found himself thinking, My goodness, I¡¯m dealing with a couple of idiots! Even if


    whatever Rina said were to happen in real life, the resemnce wouldn¡¯t be so freakishly strong! She


    and Hal are clearly biologically rted!


    Even Toby couldn¡¯t resist eyeing Rina with subtle admiration. It seemed that she was able to leave a


    better, albeit more scheming impression of herself every time they met; her intelligence and sharp wit


    was unexpectedly well-honed, given her ability to resolve her own crises in an incredibly short amount of


    time. If she hadn¡¯t betrayed Sonia, Toby thought of recruiting her as a subordinate and nurturing her


    talent.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Hal rubbed his palms together with a little nervousness as he peered at Zane. ¡°Mr. Coleman,


    about the DNA test you mentioned earlier, can it determine whether a child is biologically rted to his or


    her parents like on those television shows?¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zane affirmed with a nod.


    Hal¡¯s eyes began to redden as he became flustered. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that little wench Taylor is the


    biological daughter of those rich folks? And the test has actually proved it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zane nodded once more.


    An angry look shed across Hal¡¯s features as he glowered at Rina and her so-called ¡®biological parents¡¯


    before he spat out in disgust, ¡°How could she be your biological kid? I watched as my wife delivered her,


    so how in the world did she suddenly be your child?¡±


    He might not have had much regard for this daughter of his, but he was keen to safeguard his own pride.


    After all, what would be of him if he actually allowed his own child to be someone else¡¯s in the


    blur of a moment?


    ¡°Dad, I¡¯m scared,¡± Rina whimpered, ducking behind Titus like a skittish kitten.


    Simrly, Titus hadn¡¯t expected Hal to be so frightening all of a sudden and he was about to retort


    when Sonia smacked the armrest of her wheelchair to silence everybody. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Since we all


    have something to say about the results, why don¡¯t we just do another test and be done with it?¡±


    Titus eyed her incredulously. ¡°The report from the test we did earlier is still here! If you don¡¯t want to


    admit the truth of it now, who knows what you will say when the next report is out?¡±


    She bit her lip. ¡°No, if the next test report indicates that Taylor¡¯s your daughter, I¡¯ll let this go once and for


    all. If she¡¯s shown that she¡¯s not biologically rted to you two, then you¡¯ll have to hand her over.¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± Rina began to panic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she won¡¯t get away with this.¡± He patted her arm soothingly before turning to stare at Sonia


    darkly. ¡°How do you propose we carry out the next test?¡±


    ¡°You still have a couple strands of hair on you, right, President Gray? Pluck them and we¡¯ll have the


    samples delivered to several other test facilities. Also, Taylor will have to do a DNA test to see whether


    her sample matches that of Hal and Greta as well. Once the results are out, we¡¯ll do aparison and


    see whose daughter she is,¡± Sonia announced as she narrowed her eyes.


    Zane brightened up considerably and pped his hands in agreement. ¡°I¡¯m all for this idea! How about


    you, Titus? You¡¯ve the guts to continue with this?¡± There was a clear challenge in his eyes as he gazed


    at Titus.


    Titus scoffed indignantly. ¡°Of course I¡¯ve the guts or you won¡¯t stop breathing down my neck about this


    ridiculous matter! If you¡¯re so sure that Rina is this couple¡¯s child, then I¡¯ll just have to prove you wrong!¡±


    He took out the individual sample bags of hair that he had prepared earlier before he nced at Rina.


    ¡°Rina, we¡¯re going to need a couple more strands of your hair.¡±


    This revtion made a chill run down her spine and her face paled as she hesitated to pluck out any


    more strands of her hair. She didn¡¯t dare to, seeing that the one she gave as a sample earlier was


    Sonia¡¯s and not her own!

 Chapter 411

    Chapter 411


    Chapter 411 A Battle of Conscience


    Thest time, Rina had plucked a few strands of Sonia¡¯s hair and used some of it as the DNA test


    sample. She kept the remaining ones in the event that she needed them in the future. More importantly,


    she had used a small barret to keep those strands of hair in ce, carefully arranging it among her own


    hair so that she could use them whenever she needed¡ªjust like how she had done so earlier.


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    That was the reason why she rejected Toby¡¯s offer to help conceal her identity in the first ce; she


    thought that her ns were all foolproof now that she had Sonia¡¯s hair at her own disposal.


    What Rina never expected was Zane to thwart her ns when he brought Hal and Greta over. And now


    that Sonia had asked to conduct a DNA test to see if Rina was biologically rted to the wretched


    couple, she was subsequently backed into a corner.


    She was Hal¡¯s biological daughter after all and one DNA test was all it would take to expose her as a


    fraud. With that in mind, there was no way she would offer her own hair as a test sample now, much less


    allow her blood to be drawn for the same purpose.


    That being said, Titus had the few strands of Sonia¡¯s hair that Rina passed off as her own previously. If


    she were to ask him to use some of those as the sample for the DNA test she was about to do with Hal


    and Greta, surely the test results would illustrate that she was not their biological daughter. However, it


    would only arouse everyone¡¯s confusion as to why she refused to pluck her own hair on the spot and


    possibly cause them to suspect that there was something wrong with the hair sample she had given


    earlier.


    Therefore, Rina was caught between a rock and a hard ce. What should I do?


    She was still biting on her lip as she tried toe up with usible ways to save herself when she


    sensed a pointed gaze on her. When she looked up and met Toby¡¯s dark obs, it felt like she was looking


    at her salvation in that instant, thereby her relief glimmering in her eyes.


    He had said before that he could help her to conceal her identity and she prayed that his offer was still


    good.


    Taking a leap of faith, she inhaled a deep breath and shot a desperate look of plea at him.


    Toby¡¯s eyes shone as he realized what she was asking of him. The courage she had to run a DNA test


    alongside Titus came from Sonia¡¯s hair, but now she won¡¯t even pluck her own hair to see if it matches


    Hal and Greta¡¯s DNA. And now, she¡¯s asking me for help instead. Comprehension dawned upon him as


    he nodded, agreeing to grant her this favor.


    Rina let out a sigh of relief before the fear that threatened to suffocate her began to wane. A smile broke


    out on her face as she quipped, ¡°Got it, Dad. I¡¯ll pluck a few strands now.¡±


    With that, she tugged on her hair with force and plucked a few strands from her scalp before readily


    handing them over to Titus. ¡°Here you go, Dad.¡±


    He took them without saying anything; then, he asked his assistant for a couple of zip-lock bags to store


    the samples. When that was done, Titus nced over at Zane and Sonia smugly, ¡°See? Rina has


    willingly given up strands of her hair as samples and now, it¡¯s your turn to do so.¡±


    ¡°Zane,¡± Sonia called out.


    Zane did not protest and he immediately asked Hal and Greta to pluck a few strands of their own hair,


    thereafter cing their samples into the zip-lock bags Titus had provided.


    ¡°I¡¯ll personally deliver these to a few other facilities and have them run the DNA tests,¡± he dered


    beforebeling the samples ordingly before cing them in arge envelope.


    Titus scoffed. ¡°And I¡¯lle with you to keep an eye on the whole process. Who knows if you lot will pull


    some despicable trick and have the samples mixed up for your own purposes?¡±


    ¡°In that case, let him tag along, Zane,¡± Sonia decided as she chewed on her lip. She needed to do all


    that it took to prove that Taylor wasn¡¯t Titus¡¯ biological daughter and refused to entertain the idea that


    Taylor could sessfully bribe other facilities as well.


    Zane and Titus left shortly after, leaving the rest of them in the tense silence of the room. Toby nced at


    his watch and dipped his head close to Sonia¡¯s ear to say, ¡°There¡¯s no point waiting around here. I¡¯ll have


    someone set up a lounge for us and we¡¯ll wait there instead.¡±


    Sonia did not object to this and nodded. ¡°Fine.¡±


    She didn¡¯t want to sit here either. The longer she did so, the more likely the Gray Family would discover


    her loss of vision.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Toby managed to summon an employee and requested them to open a lounge for


    them, thereafter wheeling Sonia in. As for the others anxiously waiting for the test results, they didn¡¯t


    require the use of a lounge and were perfectly happy without it.


    Now that they were both in the lounge, Toby poured out a ss of water for Sonia and gently said, ¡°Here,


    have a drink. Your lips are looking a little parched.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She reached out to feel for the ss in front of her, but because of her blindness, she had no


    idea where it was. Her fingers quivered as they continuously met thin air and she remained wary as she


    tried to find the ss of water.


    Upon seeing this, he chuckled lightly and took her hand.


    She stiffened and tried to pull away while demanding, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    However, Toby¡¯s grip was tight, and tried as she might to pull away, Sonia frowned when she realized all


    her efforts were wasted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± he warned in a low voice. ¡°If you do, the ss of water in my hand will shake and spill on


    you.¡±


    ¡°Then, let go of me,¡± she snapped, her lips pressing into an irritable line.


    He ced the ss into her hand and didn¡¯t release his grip until he was sure she had a firm hold.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t drop it or let it spill.¡±


    When she felt him releasing her hand, she snorted indignantly and pointed out, ¡°As if. I¡¯m not a kid, you


    know.¡±


    Toby smirked in amusement. ¡°Right, you¡¯re not a kid.¡± However, even as he said this, he thought about


    how she would always remain as that kid who penned everything in her letters to him.


    ¡°Drink slowly. I¡¯ll be outside making a phone call,¡± he added as he rose to his full feet and took his phone


    out.


    Sonia dipped her head to take a sip of water; then, she hummed in response to his words.


    With his phone in hand, he sauntered out of the lounge and closed the door behind him. A dark look


    passed over his face as he dialed Tom¡¯s number.


    ¡°President Fuller,¡± Tom greeted on the other line.


    Toby leaned against the wall. ¡°Track Zane down and see which DNA testing facilities he¡¯s going to. I want


    the contacts of all those in charge of the facilities as soon as possible.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom answered with a firm nod.


    Then, Toby hung up and fished a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket. He slid one out gracefully and lit


    it, thereafter taking an indulgent drag while letting the roll-up dangle between his slender fingers.


    As the smoke unfurled over his face, it blurred his expression as well. He had no idea whether he was


    doing the right thing or making a horrible mistake, but he only knew that he was determined to save


    Sonia from the unnecessary agony of learning the truth of her birth.


    He didn¡¯t want her to suffer anymore, which was why he held onto the hope that he was doing right by


    her for once.


    With a sigh, he flicked the ashes away from the butt of his cigarette and he was about to take another


    drag when Tom delivered the fruits of his investigation to him.


    After having gone through the information, Toby called up all the testing facilities and reached an


    agreement with them. Then, he kept his phone away before returning to the lounge.


    When he saw that Wanda was the only one in the lounge and Sonia was nowhere to be found, he froze.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Sonia?¡± he demanded urgently.


    ¡°She¡¯s in the restroom,¡± Wanda answered dutifully, gesturing toward the adjoining restroom.


    He nced over at the tightly-closed restroom door and let out a quiet breath of relief. For a minute


    there, he thought Sonia had left the lounge without him noticing. He would have kicked himself if that


    were to happen, seeing as he was near the lounge when he made the call to those facilities. Had she


    wheeled herself out of the lounge at that moment, she surely would have caught onto the conversation


    and learned of the deals he made with the facilities.


    Things would only spiral from there onward, and as he thought about the havoc that fortunately didn¡¯t


    happen, the restroom door swung open. Sonia was pressing her palms against the wall as she felt her


    way out of the restroom while carefully treading back into the lounge.


    Wanda was about to go over and lend Sonia a supporting hand when Toby beat her to it, taking two long


    strides toward the restroom door and instantly taking Sonia by the arm.


    Sonia registered the faint smell of peppermint on him and stopped in her tracks. ¡°It¡¯s you? What are you


    doing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me and I¡¯m obviously helping you,¡± Toby answered in a deadpan manner.


    Her brows furrowed. ¡°You¡¯re not my nanny, so you aren¡¯t obligated to help me whatsoever.¡± She pulled


    away from him and called out, ¡°Wanda? Wanda!¡±


    Toby winked at Wanda, who shed a smile as she stayed in the same spot. She neither moved to take


    over helping Sonia nor made a reply.


    It was only then that he retracted his gaze in satisfaction and lied while addressing Sonia, ¡°Wanda¡¯s


    away for now. She said she had something going on.¡±


    ¡°Away?¡± Sonia pursed her lips unhappily. ¡°When did she leave? Why didn¡¯t she tell me beforehand?¡± It


    seemed a little unprofessional, and downright rude, for a caretaker to leave without first notifying their


    employer.

 Chapter 412

    Chapter 412


    Chapter 412 Bon App¨¦tit


    As though he sensed Sonia¡¯s displeasure, Toby cleared his throat and lowered his gaze before lying


    through his teeth, ¡°She mentioned something about an emergency at herpany, and she¡¯s probably


    outside taking their call now.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Sonia lifted her chin in a half-hearted nod. ¡°I see.¡± Fine then, I guess I shouldn¡¯t be too hard on her


    if it really is about an emergency.


    Now that he had sessfully convinced her, he looked up and asked, ¡°So, can I walk you over to the


    couch now?¡±


    She pursed her lips and did not answer¡ªit was her way of eding.


    He took her by the arm once more and helped her over to the sofa, whereupon he sat down and added,


    ¡°By the way, it¡¯s nearly noon and I¡¯ve ordered lunch. Perhaps you¡¯d like to join me for a meal?¡±


    As proud as she was, she was about to refuse his offer when her stomach grumbled before she could


    even get her words out. Her hand fluttered over her stomach as blood rushed to her face. She stuttered


    in embarrassment, ¡°I-I¡­¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t believe how her stomach had betrayed her by exposing her hunger. If I say no to him, he¡¯ll


    take it personally. A tired sigh escaped her as she thought about this and lowered her pride. Then, she


    tucked her hair behind her ear as she repliedmely, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll take you up on your offer, President


    Fuller. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me; it¡¯s only a meal,¡± Toby countered with mild amusement, the corner of his


    lips curling into a triumphant smirk.


    He¡¯d like to think that she was epting of him in the absence of an outward rejection and this thought


    cheered him up to no end.


    To one side, Wanda was secretly cheering him on as well, but her enthusiasm was quickly reced by


    disappointment when she saw that Sonia¡¯s sullen expression did not mirror Toby¡¯s excitement. She could


    tell that Sonia¡¯s previous feelings of affection for the man were still kept under lock and key. Don¡¯t


    despair, Young Master Toby! She¡¯ll turn around in no time if you keep this up!


    Soon, someone knocked on the door to the lounge, but as Wanda made to open it, he shot her a look


    that stopped her in her tracks.


    She withdrew the step that she had taken and remembered that she was supposed to be ¡®taking a call


    outside¡¯. It meant she couldn¡¯t possibly open the door.


    Presently, Toby stood up and headed for the door. ¡°I¡¯ll get it. I think lunch is here.¡±


    True enough, it took him mere moments before he returned to the sofa with carrier bags loaded with


    containers of takeout, which he set up on the coffee table in front of Sonia.


    She could pick out the various aromas and immediately knew what kind of dishes he ordered for lunch,


    though she had to admit she was a little bewildered by it, considering how these dishes were her


    favorites.


    ¡°Did you¡ª¡± She spun to where Toby was next to her, and while her lips twitched, no words came out.


    He was putting food on a disposable te for her when he heard her speak. As he looked at her, he


    rified, ¡°Did you say something?¡±


    ¡°These dishes¡ª¡±


    ¡°Are all your favorites,¡± he finished his sentence for her like he had read her mind. Then, he thought of


    something else and added, ¡°Just to reassure you, I never ordered any of these for Tina.¡±


    A skeptical Sonia raised a brow. ¡°Funnily enough, I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°I know, but it¡¯s the truth. Tina was really careful with her diet after she woke up from hera, so I


    never ordered these for her. That said, I did get her the mango and all other mango dishes that they had


    on the menu. Sorry about that,¡± he borated in a gravelly tone.


    Her eyshes fluttered slightly. ¡°What are you apologizing for? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the only one who loves


    mangos; surely many around the world are fans of the tropical fruit. Besides, I don¡¯t have the exclusive


    privilege to enjoy mangos either, so you can order them for whoever you want.¡±


    ¡°I get what you mean, but as far as I¡¯m concerned, you have the exclusive privilege and that has never


    changed. It¡¯s just that I used to view Tina as you, which was why I ordered the mangos for her only to


    discover that she was allergic to them.¡± He took the utensils and ced them in Sonia¡¯s hands.


    Sonia held the utensils for a while before she slowly asked, ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering for a while now¡ªhow


    did you even confuse Tina for me? I mean, I know that there are people who mistake others for someone


    whom they know, and it¡¯s not umon, but to go six years without even realizing that you¡¯ve made a


    mistake? That¡¯s¡ª¡±


    She let out a mockingugh and did not continue, although Toby knew what she would have said. He


    looked down with a self-effacing smile. ¡°If I told you I was hypnotized, which was why I couldn¡¯t tell Tina


    was putting on an act all along, would you believe me?¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me someone had the audacity to hypnotize a man as powerful as you, President Fuller?¡±


    She countered sarcastically. Hypnotized? This guy¡¯s getting more and more creative!


    Toby could see the cynical look on her face and he suppressed a bitterugh. Of course she wouldn¡¯t


    believe me. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s just leave it at that. We should probably dig in, seeing as you¡¯re hungry.¡± He


    carefully passed her the te of food. ¡°I took a bit of everything. Bon app¨¦tit.¡±


    In truth, he wanted to spoon-feed her, but he knew that she would rather starve than to allow that to


    happen, so he forcefully dismissed the idea. He still harbored hope for their rtionship and when things


    weren¡¯t quite so frosty between them, perhaps he would obtain the green light to spoon-feed her.


    Since she was oblivious to his thoughts, Sonia quietly dug into her meal.


    On the other hand, he had his elbow propped on his knee while resting his chin on his hand as he


    slightly leaned forward to watch her eat. Seeing her enjoy her meal¡ªone which he had painstakingly


    prepared for her¡ªgave him a sense of satisfaction.


    Across from them was Wanda watching the scene with a gratified smile, and she could feel hot tears


    pricking her eyes. It made her feel as if she was being transported to the memories of six years ago


    when he was kind and had a gentle smile at all times. Could it be that Young Master Toby is slowly


    shedding his icy demeanor and returning to his old self?


    The possibility of this made her lift her arm and use her sleeve to dab at the tears, which threatened to


    roll down from the corners of her eyes.


    Sonia was halfway through her meal when she realized that she had yet to hear a single rustle from


    Toby¡¯s end. She put down her utensils and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat?¡±


    Toby straightened his arms and looked away from her. ¡°I will now.¡±


    He took his own te of food and began to eat. If she could tell I wasn¡¯t eating even while she was


    bulldozing through her food, that means she cares about me, right? His question had no answer, but it


    offered him warm sce all the same and his heart melted at the unconfirmed sentiment.


    At this moment, her phone rang. She put her utensils down again and reached slowly for her phone.


    Toby caught a glimpse of the name shing on the screen and a cold look shed in his eyes as he said,


    ¡°It¡¯s Zane.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia grew somber and relied on muscle memory to answer the call. ¡°Zane, do you


    have the results?¡±


    There was no answer on the other line, only the sound of heavy breathing.


    The silence only made Sonia more anxious as she clutched her phone tightly. ¡°Zane, are you there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Zane replied hoarsely.


    She bit on her lip. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything just now?¡±


    On the other end of the phone, he was staring at the test results in his hand with a lump in his throat. He


    tightened his grip on it, nearly crumpling the papers as he took a deep breath and answered calmly,


    ¡°Sonia¡­ The results are out, but they aren¡¯t what we hoped for.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Her eyes widened and her mouth parted in surprise as horror seized her. ¡°Are you


    saying that Taylor¡ª¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not Hal and Greta¡¯s daughter, but Titus and Julia¡¯s. All the facilities showed the same results,¡± he


    interrupted with a frustrated sneer.


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible!¡± Sonia was so shocked that she rose to her feet in a rush. ¡°She has to be Hal and


    Greta¡¯s daughter!¡±


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    Next to her, Toby registered her reaction and his knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on his


    utensils. He lowered his gaze to shield the guilt in his eyes.


    Zane was still on the other line as he heaved a long sigh of resignation. ¡°I also thought so, seeing how


    she and Hal share such a strong resemnce. There¡¯s no way they aren¡¯t biologically rted and Hal


    even said that he saw with his own eyes that his wife delivered Taylor. And yet, the test results say


    differently. What kind of sorcery is this?¡±

 Chapter 413

    Chapter 413


    Chapter 413 Double Standards


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡± Sonia trailed off in a quivering voice as she gripped her phone even tighter while


    she tried to process how things had turned out.


    She had been so eager to prove Taylor was a fraud and went to such great lengths only for reality to p


    her hard on the face; in spite of all that she had done, Taylor turned out to be Titus¡¯ biological daughter!


    ¡°Could something have gone wrong during the test?¡± Sonia chewed on her lower lip as she asked,


    although she knew well that there was a slim-to-none chance that a mistake had been made.


    The argument might sustain if they had only gone to one facility for the DNA test, but to have several


    facilities produce the same results, there was hardly any room for the possibility of a mistake.


    At the other end of the phone was Zane, who shook his head. ¡°No, two out of these facilities are under


    the government. Titus couldn¡¯t even interfere with the tests, much less Taylor.¡± Having said this, he drew


    in a breath and added, ¡°Look, Sonia, maybe Taylor really is Rina. Maybe, by some twisted fate or


    whatever, we have ended up reuniting Titus with his long-lost daughter.¡±


    A speechless Sonia looked down in disappointment as her mind scrambled to understand this shocking


    event.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    After receiving no response from her, he continued to say, ¡°Now that Titus has the results, he¡¯s already


    probably on his way over to confront you. Don¡¯t worry, though, I¡¯ll keep him in check.¡±


    He realized, of course, that Titus would have easily picked a fight with him too had he not been part of


    the Coleman Family. That alone was the reason why Titus had hesitated and decided to back off


    strategically, which left him with no choice but to vent all his anger on her.


    Sonia pursed her lips in thought, looking grim. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll figure something out.¡± Then, she hung up the


    phone.


    Toby took her phone. When he saw that she had ended the call, a curious look glimmered in his eyes as


    he asked, ¡°What did you tell Zane?¡±


    She rubbed her cheek in exhaustion. ¡°He told me that the results were out and that Taylor is, surprisingly,


    not Hal and Greta¡¯s daughter, but Titus and Julia¡¯s. As it turns out, Zane and I have somehow or another


    managed to locate and bring home the real Rina Gray.¡±


    After that, she let out a hollow, self-deprecatingugh¡ªone that made Toby¡¯s heart twist with stabbing


    guilt.


    However, he quickly clenched his fist and buried this sense of guilt before replying gravely, ¡°Well, what


    do you know¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia tipped her head back and sighed wearily. ¡°I thought something as dramatic as this would


    never happen in the real world.¡±


    He parted his lips as though to say something, but at that moment, a furious and demanding knock came


    from the lounge door. Whoever it was seemed to be impatient and irritable like a grizzly bear.


    ¡°Open the door, Sonia! Open the damn door right now!¡± Titus¡¯ voice boomed from the other side of the


    door after a series of frantic knocks and he was clearly in a fit of rage.


    It was just like what Zane had said¡ªTitus was here to confront her. She dug her nails into her palms and


    said through gritted teeth, ¡°Help me onto the wheelchair, President Fuller. I¡¯ll open the door.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. I¡¯ll get the door,¡± Toby offered, pressing her shoulder so that she would remain seated


    on the sofa. After that, he rose and walked toward the door before swinging it open.


    Meanwhile, Titus had thought he would be greeted by Sonia right away. He was ready to p the test


    results on her face when he saw Toby looking at him impassively instead. His rage died down before his


    brows furrowed as he asked begrudgingly, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be getting the door, President Fuller.¡±


    What the hell is this guy still doing here?


    Toby released the doorknob, and as he towered over Titus, he looked down at the man imperiously.


    Then, his gaze flickered over to the stack of documents in the man¡¯s hand. Toby narrowed his eyes as he


    asked, ¡°What do you want with Sonia?¡±


    ¡°What do I want with her?¡± Titus sneered. ¡°What else? I want to give her what she deserves after she


    used Rina of pretending to be my daughter! Now that I have the results in my hand, I¡¯m going to p


    the truth on her face! I hope you won¡¯t interfere, President Fuller, seeing as this concerns the feud my


    family has with Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Is that a threat?¡± Toby rified with a raised brow.


    Titus averted his piercing gaze. ¡°No, of course not. I wouldn¡¯t dream of threatening you, President Fuller!


    I have made it clear that this is my personal feud with Sonia. Since that doesn¡¯t concern you, maybe you


    should¡ª¡±


    ¡°And what if I insist on interfering? What will you do then?¡± Toby challenged impassively, cutting the man


    off mid-sentence.


    Titus¡¯ eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets. ¡°President Fuller, that would be most improper of you! Why


    would you put your foot in somebody else¡¯s business for no good reason? That¡¯s almost tyrannical if I do


    say so myself!¡±


    ¡°You know what, it doesn¡¯t matter what you say because as far as I¡¯m concerned, my foot is already in.¡±


    Toby eyed Titus like he was merely a pest. ¡°Don¡¯t think I am unaware of what you n on doing to Sonia.


    Let me warn you, Titus. Sonia happens to be someone I love, so I won¡¯t just watch while you make her


    suffer. You¡¯ll just have to let me interfere with this entire thing and I¡¯ll make one thing clear¡ªthe Fuller


    Family will be standing behind both Sonia and Paradigm Co., so if you have any intention of striking her


    or thepany with a deadly blow, you better think twice about it or I¡¯ll personally deliver you to hell!¡±


    He couldn¡¯t let Titus and Sonia continue with this ridiculous feud; otherwise, the tension between them


    would only worsen and the hatred as well as vengeance would no doubt multiply. At some point, all hope


    for a fresh start would be as good as gone.


    ¡°You!¡± Titus seethed; he was so astonished by Toby¡¯s warning that he grimaced menacingly while


    shuddering with rage. ¡°Are you really going through with this, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Comedy is not my forte,¡± Toby drawled sadistically.


    A lump was forming in Titus¡¯ throat and he thought his heart had stopped as he hissed, ¡°Sonia used


    my daughter of being a fraud and tried to tear my family apart! That itself ismitting a crime worthy of


    imprisonment, so I¡¯m just doing my duties as a civilian if I were to send her to jail! How dare you stop me!


    More importantly, why didn¡¯t you interfere when she tried to have Rina thrown into jail for assaulting her?¡±


    Toby regarded him with the same look as one might regard an imbecile. ¡°Why would I interfere? It¡¯s not


    as if Taylor is the one I¡¯m in love with.¡±


    A sputtering sound escaped Titus and he looked like he could copse there and then. He could find no


    rebuttal against Toby before taking a long, deep breath to calm down. Then, he spat through gritted teeth


    as he glowered at Toby, ¡°So, that¡¯s it? You¡¯re standing by Sonia?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so much standing by her as I am defending her out of love.¡± Toby pursed his lips before


    borating, ¡°I¡¯m just pouring out all the love that I mistakenly had for Tina bit by bit on the person who


    actually deserves it, so you should think twice before messing with me, Titus. It¡¯s not as if you can


    anyway. Got it?¡±


    He had as good as told Titus that Sonia was fully under his protection and if anyone so much as tried to


    hurt her, he would not hesitate to draw blood.


    Titus, on the other hand, was frigid. Blood rushed to his already stormy face at a time when he was at a


    loss for words.


    He was in no position to challenge Toby, not after that warning and insidious threat. He was helpless,


    and so was the rest of the Gray Family against the Fullers; it wasn¡¯t as if they had ever stood a chance


    even back in their heyday.


    As such, Titus was forced to surrender. He red past Toby¡¯s shoulder at Sonia, who sat stoically in her


    wheelchair, and mocked, ¡°Well yed, Sonia. Looks like you have a thing for taming men. I can¡¯t believe


    you actually made someone like President Fuller yourp dog, so much so that he¡¯s willing to go against


    me and my entire family.¡±


    Sonia understood that Titus was mocking her for hiding behind a powerful man who could stand up for


    her and defend her honor, but she maintained her indifference even as her anger deepened. In response


    to his words, she smirked coldly and countered, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re a little jealous of me, President Gray.


    In that case, maybe you could try to subjugate President Fuller. If you seed by some stroke of luck,


    he might even be your most loyal knight and defend you against the world!¡±


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Toby frowned and snapped at her in unhappiness as he didn¡¯t fancy the way she phrased her


    words.


    Steam wasing out of Titus¡¯ ears and his face turned the color of beetroot as he pointed an using


    finger at Sonia. ¡°Y-You little¡ª¡±


    ¡°What did I do? Did I say something wrong?¡± She tipped her head to one side, looking her most innocent


    as she added in a singsong voice, ¡°I just thought you seemed rather envious of me when you said what


    you did, President Gray. One might even say you¡¯re jealous. There¡¯s nothing wrong if I offer you some


    kind advice, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    A loud thud sounded throughout the room. The man had copsed and his body twitched like he was


    suffering from a seizure as hey on the ground.


    The sound of his fall had slightly shocked Sonia and she quickly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him,


    President Fuller?¡±

 Chapter 414

    Chapter 414


    Chapter 414 Outright ckmail


    The corner of Toby¡¯s lips twitched in amusement as he replied, ¡°He probably got so mad that he fainted.¡±


    Oh, is that it? Sonia pouted. ¡°He must be really weak if he copsed just because I teased him.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a littleme.¡±


    Incidentally, Julia and Rina were walking over to the lounge when they saw a motionless Titus on the


    ground. She stopped in her tracks as shock registered on her face before she hurried over as she


    shrieked, ¡°Titus!¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± Rina rushed down the hallway alongside Julia and they quickly hoisted him into a sitting position.


    He hadn¡¯tpletely cked out and Julia proceeded to give him first-aid, hastily carrying out CPR.


    It took a while before Titus finally caught his breath and as oxygen flowed to his brain once more, the


    seizure-like twitches stopped. That being said, he still looked deathly pale.


    Julia soothingly patted his chest as though to maintain his cirction and she asked worriedly, ¡°Titus, are


    you alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He pped his hand dismissively. ¡°My waist hurts, though.¡± It felt as though there were needles


    stabbing his midsection.


    ¡°Your waist?¡± She appraised the area and suggested frantically, ¡°Did you sprain your waist when you


    fell?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he answered wearily, putting a hand on the dip in his waist.


    A frazzled Julia opined, ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll bring you to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Titus pushed Julia aside and turned to look at Toby and Sonia before spitting maliciously, ¡°I can


    let Sonia get away scot-free this time by not throwing her into prison, President Fuller, but at the very


    least, I think she should apologize to Rina and the rest of us.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Sonia frowned and was about to object to this when Toby beat her to it. ¡°And has your daughter


    apologized to Sonia? I¡¯m not just talking about Taylor here; Tina has never apologized for what she has


    done to Sonia in the past either. As things stand, what right do you have to ask Sonia for an apology?¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Titus angrily broke off. After a moment, he waved his hand like he was batting away a fly and


    scoffed. ¡°Fine! I won¡¯t try to argue with the lot of you, seeing as you¡¯ll onlye up with more excuses!¡±


    A cold sneer tugged on his lips as his gaze lingered menacingly on Sonia. ¡°You better keep President


    Fuller tightly wrapped around your pinky, Sonia. Who knows what might happen to you if he abandons


    you one day? Let¡¯s go!¡±


    With that, he spun on his heels and stormed out of the lounge with Julia and Rina in his wake.


    However, before Rina fully turned to leave with Titus and Julia, she met Toby¡¯s eyes and exchanged a


    meaningful nce with him.


    Presently, the defeated trio had barely left the vicinity of the lounge when their path was obstructed by


    two figures, namely Hal and Greta.


    Hal¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he glowered at Titus mutinously. ¡°Listen here, Gray, I know all about the


    DNA test results after Mr. Coleman told us about them. Now, I don¡¯t know how this brat over here


    suddenly became your biological daughter, but I think it¡¯s only right youpensate us!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! We demandpensation!¡± Greta joined her husband as she nodded firmly.


    Meanwhile, Toby had returned to Sonia¡¯s side and informed her, ¡°Apparently, Zane¡¯s trying to use Hal


    and Greta to get back at Titus.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah, that sounds like something he would do.¡±


    There was no changing the fact that Taylor was Titus and Julia¡¯s child, not while there were several tests


    to prove it. Even as the n she and Zane came up with had failed, it appeared that he was a sore loser


    who wanted to one-up Titus in any way he could. As such, being his pawns, Hal and Greta were


    currently pestering Titus for benefits.


    ¡°Compensation?¡± Titus¡¯ lips curled in disgust. ¡°I still have a bone to pick with you after you helped Zane


    and the others cause so much trouble for us! How dare you demandpensation from me right now!¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we?¡± Hal was riled up as he barked, ¡°My wife and I raised Taylor for over twenty years, so


    you could at least pay us for our deed, no? Besides, she was never even our biological daughter to begin


    with, but she mooched off our family anyway! Our own daughter was probably kidnapped because of her


    and there¡¯s no telling whether she¡¯s dead or alive. You ought to pay for her life!¡±


    ying along with her husband¡¯s ridiculous narrative, Greta began to sob mournfully, ¡°Oh, our dear


    Taylor, who knows how much suffering you¡¯d been through before you died? You were kidnapped


    because of some unknown little mongrel! I miss you so much, Taylor!¡±


    To one side, Rina felt disgust and contempt swirling within her as she listened to this couple airing their


    false grievances. They made it sound as though they cared about their biological daughter, but ironically,


    they never once showed a trace of love when she lived with them. And now, they¡¯re pretending as


    though they love and miss me just because they want money. How pretentious!


    ¡°Did you just call my daughter a mongrel?¡± Julia hissed as her eyes reddened.


    Zane had given Hal and Greta the green light to stir up as much trouble as they liked. Now that they


    were emboldened by this, they weren¡¯t about to back down in front of the rich folks before them. They


    squared their shoulders and looked at Julia dead in the eye.


    ¡°Why? Did I say something wrong?¡± Greta challenged. ¡°She¡¯s not my biological daughter, is she? Yet she


    stayed under my roof for over two decades! If she¡¯s not a mongrel, then what is she?¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Angry tears glistened in Julia¡¯s eyes as she raised her hand, ready to strike.


    Greta stood her ground and further provoked the other woman by patting her own cheek. ¡°Bring it on;


    p me right here on the cheek if you¡¯d like! However, I¡¯m warning you, if you hit me, I¡¯m going to


    bankrupt you with awsuit!¡±


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t stoop to her level,¡± Rina interjected and grabbed Julia¡¯s hand in time. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be


    riled up by the likes of her. If you do, she¡¯ll only try to push your limits even more and make your blood


    boil!¡±


    ¡°You little b*tch! The nerve of you to speak such things about me, I think you¡¯re¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Titus thundered, his fists clenching as he grew annoyed with the ruckus.


    It was as though he carried the same authority with which he once ruled as apany chairman and Hal


    and Greta instantly mped up when they heard the somber undertone in his voice. The air grew thick


    as Titus red at them and said, ¡°Very well, if it¡¯spensation you want, I¡¯ll give you a hundred


    thousand. How about it?¡±


    ¡°A hundred thousand?¡± Hal scoffed and countered scornfully, ¡°Do you take me for a fool? We¡¯re not


    leaving unless we get at least a million!¡±


    If it weren¡¯t for the two hundred thousand Zane had given him from the get-go, Hal would have thought a


    hundred thousand was more than a handsome sum. It was a figure worth three years of his wages!


    However, he now had a grasp of what these rich folks were like. He knew they had money to spare and


    pockets that ran deeper than anyone might imagine; a million to them was but the tip of the iceberg that


    was their fortune and a hundred thousand was insignificant.


    With that logic, Hal thought a million inpensation was hardly too much of a request.


    Titus had a different thought and his features twisted as he snapped, ¡°A million? That¡¯s daylight robbery!


    I¡¯ll only give you a hundred thousand, so you can take it or leave it!¡±


    ¡°No, it has to be a million,¡± Greta insisted haughtily as she stepped forward.


    Hal nodded alongside her. ¡°That¡¯s right; it has to be a million! I know you can fork it out and if you don¡¯t,


    I¡¯ll personallye to yourpany and your house every day to make a scene. I know how you rich


    folks value your pride and if word got out that you reunited with your daughter without paying a single


    cent to her adoptive parents, then you¡¯d have a real scandal on your hands!¡±


    While leaning against the door frame of the lounge to watch the show, Toby overheard everything and


    suddenly said, ¡°I have to admit, Hal¡¯s pretty smart for dealing this card.¡±


    Sonia turned in the direction of his voice. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    He tucked his hands into his pockets, the picture of insouciant grace as he exined with a smile, ¡°Well,


    it¡¯s just as Hal said. Titus is nothing without his pride and he would never let Hal stir up a controversy out


    of something like this, so he would definitely pay the man a million just to keep his mouth shut.¡±


    ¡°The probability is there, but don¡¯t forget that Hal and Greta are only working ss people. Titus might


    promise them the one million now, but whether he¡¯d make good on his word is a different matter entirely.


    No matter how much Titus has fallen from grace, he could still easily wipe out Hal and Greta with a snap


    of his fingers. They might never be able to make a scene outside his home; they might not even live to


    see another day after this.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong there, but that will only happen if we weren¡¯t around to stop him.¡± Amusement shed


    in Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°We¡¯re watching this little show of theirs, so even if Titus has ns on putting a hit out on


    Hal and Greta, he¡¯d never act on it. He¡¯d be done for if anything happens to Hal and Greta, so he¡¯ll have


    to cough up the money no matter what.¡±

 Chapter 415

    Chapter 415


    Chapter 415 One Chance


    Sonia nodded, a little surprised by Toby¡¯s argument. ¡°It makes sense if you put it that way.¡±


    ¡°Just wait and see. Titus will agree to their terms in no time,¡± Toby insisted with a thin smile.


    She did not say anything else and waited quietly. Sure enough, it was just like he had said¡ªTitus


    conceded to Hal¡¯s demand for a million inpensation toward the end of their heated exchange.


    As things were, Titus¡¯ hands were tied. He couldn¡¯t very well risk Hal and Greta humiliating the Gray


    Family by making a scene at Triforce Enterprise and the Gray Residence.


    Hal and Greta¡¯s beady eyes were twinkling with greed. Titus bridled and shot them a baleful look, but he


    whipped out his checkbook and pen from his pocket nevertheless. He scribbled the one million sum on


    the check and tore it before he begrudgingly handed it to Hal and Greta. ¡°Take the money and get out of


    my sight! I don¡¯t ever want to see the both of you in Seafield ever again, much less bother Rina! If you so


    much as show your faces around these parts, I have a thousand and one ways to make you regret it.


    You¡¯re more than wee to try your luck!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Consider us as good as gone!¡± Hal and Greta clutched the check happily as they


    promised this while nodding earnestly.


    They were no fools, after all; they knew how hard it could be to deal with these rich folks, and to


    manipte them into surrendering a small part of their fortune was no easy feat, nor was it one to be


    repeated. Peasants like them could never beat the blue bloods¡ªsomething that Hal and Greta were


    more than aware of.


    That being said, getting a million out of Titus this time proved easier than they had thought and they


    couldn¡¯t help wishing they had asked for double the price instead.


    ¡°What are you still doing here?¡± Titus growled, his face stormy as he glowered at the gleeful couple.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving right now!¡± Hal and Greta kept the check and fled the testing facility, leaving a cloud of


    dust in their wake.


    Rina saw how incensed Titus was and she reached out to tug on his sleeve. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m sorry that you had


    to pay a million because of me. It¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯re worth every penny. Anyway, we should be heading home.¡± He consoled her on the


    shoulder to ease her guilt, thereafter leading her and Julia out of the facility.


    When they were waiting for the elevator, Julia nced at Titus in askance. ¡°Honey, are we just going to


    let Sonia get away with this?¡±


    He gritted his teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice, do I? Toby is set on protecting her, so we can¡¯t eveny a


    finger on her.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t fair. She had Rina thrown into jail without difficulty, but here we are struggling to do the same


    to her!¡± She seethed while she dug her nails into her palms.


    Titus sighed. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything about it now. She certainly has some tricks up her sleeve; she has


    Toby wrapped around her finger, and for as long as she is under his protection, she will be untouchable.


    The only way we can get our revenge is if the Fullers be bankrupt overnight, but that¡¯s never going


    to happen.¡±


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    The Fuller Family came from old money, with Toby¡¯s grandfather being a prominent politician back in the


    day. His grandmother was a force to be reckoned with as well since her ancestors had all been


    landowners.


    In fact, Fuller Corporation was built on the wealth of Toby¡¯s grandmother¡¯s inws. It thrived under Toby¡¯s


    grandfather¡¯s political influence and while the old man had since passed away, the Fuller Family still


    maintained their connections with both the army and the government. Consequently, the family had


    amassed a fortune sorge that they could go bankrupt a hundred times over and still remain standing.


    ¡°Well, desperate times call for desperate measures,¡± Julia said as she narrowed her eyes.


    Titus snapped out of his thoughts as he and Rina turned to look at her. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    Julia shed a smug look as she drawled with feminine mystique, ¡°A woman¡¯s strategy is something men


    could nevere up with. Now, when a man loves a woman, it¡¯s almost always superficial; if we can find


    someone prettier than Sonia to seduce Toby and make him fall in love, then Sonia would be left without


    her precious shield, right?¡±


    In retrospect, she hadn¡¯t been so infuriated when Sonia repeatedly went after Tina. Now that she wants


    to take Rina away from me, I simply won¡¯t let her get away with this! I have missed out on twenty-six


    years with my own daughter; Rina is my baby and I will not lose her again!


    When Titus heard Julia¡¯s n, his eyes lit up before he lowered his voice as he approved, ¡°I must say,


    that sounds like a pretty good idea. We should give it a shot.¡±


    ¡°And so we shall, right after we go back and work on the details.¡±


    The three of them walked into the elevator and their conversation continued behind closed doors.


    Meanwhile, in the lounge, Toby gave Sonia a triumphant look after the ruckus earlier had arrived to an


    end. ¡°See? I was right; Titus coughed up the money.¡±


    ¡°And? Do you want me to praise you?¡± she asked him witheringly.


    He chuckled. ¡°No, but I won¡¯t refuse apliment or two.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re getting nothing,¡± she said as she turned with her nose in the air. However, that didn¡¯tst


    long as she turned to face him once more, and she looked a little pensive as she muttered, ¡°Thank you


    for what you did earlier.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± He didn¡¯t seem to understand what she meant.


    Sonia borated with a resigned sigh, ¡°Thank you for speaking up for me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I can¡¯t just let Titus pick a fight with you.¡± Toby sat down on the sofa and gazed at her with a


    sentimental look in his eyes.


    She couldn¡¯t see him, but she felt his piercing gaze on her all the same and it made her skin prickle. With


    a frown, she pointed out, ¡°You didn¡¯t have to speak up for me, though. I know what Titus was going to do.


    He probably wanted to mock my pride with those DNA test results before sending me to jail for defaming


    him. I could have handled it on my own without your interference and I¡¯d still leave him helpless.¡±


    When she was done speaking, he pressed his lips into a grim line. Is this her way of telling me that I put


    my foot in where it didn¡¯t belong? ¡°And what would you have done?¡± he asked, the challenge clear in his


    tone.


    A stubborn Sonia shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that; it¡¯s a secret.¡± With that, she took her phone and


    passed it to him. ¡°Could you help me to dial Wanda¡¯s number, President Fuller? It¡¯s gettingte and I


    should head home.¡±


    She hade here to expose Taylor as a fraud, but seeing as the girl unexpectedly turned out to be the


    real Rina, there was no point for Sonia to linger around anymore.


    Toby took her phone, but he did not make the call and instead crouched down in front of her. He looked


    up at her and his eyes were dark with emotions as he asked, ¡°I take it that you¡¯ve heard my earlier


    conversation with Titus?¡±


    Sonia hummed in response and nodded, but she was a little flustered as she asked, ¡°Why are you


    asking me this, President Fuller?¡±


    He set her phone aside and reached out to sp her hand in his.


    She jumped at the sudden gesture and demanded, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Although she tried to withdraw her hand, his grip was tight, but it surprisingly didn¡¯t hurt her. That being


    said, his palm was extremely warm and it felt like he might burn a hole through the back of her hand if he


    held on any longer. Now that she was growing ufortable, she snapped with furrowed brows, ¡°Let go


    of me, Toby!¡±


    Toby did not oblige. ¡°Sonia, I meant every word that I said earlier. I¡¯m truly in love with you, so could you


    please give me one chance to make things right with you and let me be in your life once again?¡±


    In the six years that they had been married, she was always the one who chased after him. Now, it was


    only appropriate, and somewhat ironic, that he should do the same.


    A chance? Sonia let out a smallugh and responded, ¡°Sorry, President Fuller, but I don¡¯t think I can give


    you that chance. First of all, we¡¯re divorced and reconciliation has never been on the table in the first


    ce. Secondly, why would I give you a chance to pursue me romantically when I don¡¯t even love you?


    Would you do the same if you were in my shoes?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips twitched, but he found himself at a loss for words.


    She took advantage of his speechlessness and ended the conversation curtly. ¡°That¡¯s enough now,


    President Fuller. Give me back my phone; I¡¯ll call Wanda myself.¡±


    He handed her the phone. ¡°I¡¯ve already texted Wanda and she said she¡¯ll be back in a jiffy.¡±


    Having said that, he nodded at Wanda, who had been standing silently in the corner all this while.


    With light footsteps, she traipsed over to the doorway and gently opened the door, acting as though she


    had only just returned. She bowed at Sonia and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Reed. There was an


    emergency I had to attend to, so I left for a bit. Please understand.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just bring me home.¡± Sonia waved her hand dismissively and she didn¡¯t seem to mind the fact


    that her caretaker had left without notice earlier.


    Wanda repeatedly thanked her before she shot Toby a knowing look before she wheeled Sonia out of the


    lounge.


    Toby walked behind them, but he had only just stepped out of the lounge when he stopped abruptly.

 Chapter 416

    Chapter 416


    Chapter 416 Rina¡¯s Fear


    ¡°Sonia, I have some matters to attend toter, so I won¡¯t be able to see you off,¡± Toby said as he looked


    at Sonia.


    She parted her red lips before calmly replying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s go, Wanda.¡±


    Wanda nodded and followed Sonia as she wheeled herself toward the elevator.


    He stood where he was and watched the two of them. As the two women were about to enter the


    elevator, he suddenly spoke up. ¡°Sonia, have you heard of this saying?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± A puzzled Sonia turned around. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Opportunities are earned since they are not given.¡± Toby wore a faint smile.


    She frowned. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not willing to give me a chance, then I¡¯ll have to fight for it. I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ll touch your heart


    someday.¡± As he spoke, his expression was the most serious it had ever been. He could fall in love with


    her twice, after all. So, he believed that if he tried hard enough, she could also do it.


    Sonia snorted. ¡°Oh, really? All the best to you then. Let¡¯s see whether I¡¯ll be moved in the end. Let¡¯s go,


    Wanda.¡± She lightly patted the armrests of the wheelchair.


    Wanda gestured toward Toby to show her support before entering the elevator with Sonia.


    Toby turned and walked in the opposite direction only after he heard the elevator bell ring to indicate that


    the doors were closing.


    The meeting room was ahead of him. As he approached the door to the meeting room, he saw two


    policemen stationed there. He walked over to them and gave them a slight nod. ¡°Good work.¡±


    ¡°No problem, President Fuller. However, there¡¯s only half an hour left. When the time is up, we¡¯ll have to


    take her back to the detention center. Please wrap this up as soon as possible.¡±


    Toby gave a slight nod. Then, he pushed open the door to the meeting room and walked in.


    Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, the upant in the meeting room immediately rose from


    the chair and looked toward the entrance.


    When she saw him entering, Rina subconsciously tensed up. Her hands were balled into fists as she


    greeted in a nervous voice, ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    Toby stode over with his long legs, his clear footsteps ringing straight into her heart. She couldn¡¯t help


    but be even more tense, which caused her nervousness to increase further. He stopped two steps


    away from her and asked in a cold voice, ¡°Aren¡¯t Titus and his wife here with you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Rina nodded hastily. ¡°My parents wanted to see me off to the detention center, but I managed to


    find an excuse to decline. After all, I can¡¯t let them know about this meeting.¡±


    Toby snorted. ¡°¡®Parents¡¯? Feeling right at home, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She could certainly hear the sarcasm in his voice, which served as a reminder that Titus and Julia


    weren¡¯t her biological parents. Although she felt terrible, she did not dare to retort.


    She had only been in the upper ss society for one month, but she had already known everything there


    was to know. This was especially for the people of high status and power, which Julia had told her and


    everything else that she needed to know on her second day in the Gray Residence. It was so that she


    could be cautious around those people and never ever be on their wrong side.


    Due to the cancetion of their arranged marriage with the Fuller Family, the Gray Family¡¯s status in the


    society had suffered a huge beating. Many people who had previously ttered the Gray Family were


    now the very same people whom the Gray Family must never mess with. The single person whom they


    must absolutely never offend was none other than Toby Fuller.


    It wasn¡¯t solely because of the Fuller Family who were backing Toby; it was also because of his


    capabilities and tactics, which earned him the title ¡®Demon of the Business World¡¯.


    Rina only heard of this man¡¯s tactics, which she had yet to fully witness. She didn¡¯t know how terrible it


    was, but she now had a vague grasp of its horror. It was because the mere sight of this man caused fear


    in her heart. He never intentionally disyed any mighty auras, yet she was already feeling the pressure.


    If he chose to ever emphasize his status and power, she was worried that she would just pass out on the


    spot.


    However, regardless of Toby¡¯s terror, he was actually a man with unmistakable charm and talent. His


    looks and background alone would surpass that of many men in the world. She thought that if she hadn¡¯t


    encountered Zane before, she could have developed feelings for Toby.


    Toby didn¡¯t know what Rina was thinking, of course. He narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°Listen here,


    Taylor Carey. I helped you into Rina¡¯s position, so the least you can do is be obedient and pretend to be


    the good daughter of Titus and his wife. Don¡¯t even think about doing anything, especially to Sonia. She¡¯s


    not someone whom you can mess with or I¡¯ll deal with you personally. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Rina nodded. She wasn¡¯t a fool. She would never dream of going against him, for he was the


    only person who knew that Sonia was the real Rina.


    Before this, she had dared to mess with Sonia and Zane only because she knew that they were in the


    dark about this fact. However, since Toby knew the fact, he would take Rina¡¯s life first the moment she


    tried anything silly.


    ¡°Good.¡± He pursed his lips.


    She took a deep breath and looked at him. ¡°President Fuller, may I know why you decided to help me?


    You love Miss Reed, so logically speaking, you should be helping her, right?¡±


    Upon hearing that, he gave her a dark look. ¡°This isn¡¯t a question for you to ask.¡±


    Now that she was faced with his cold and expressionless eyes, Rina felt like a hand had gripped her


    heart. She could barely breathe and it took her a while to find her voice. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± So, this is the


    Demon my father told me about.


    As expected, once he adopted an imposing attitude, she could barely withstand it. Just a re from him


    was enough to kill her. This man really wasn¡¯t someone whom she could treat lightly.


    Upon seeing the fear in Rina¡¯s eyes, Toby calmly withdrew his re. ¡°All right, time¡¯s almost up. You can


    return to the detention center now.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± she answered in a small voice while lowering her head. Then, she passed by him as she


    walked toward the door. If she was being honest, she didn¡¯t want to return to the detention center at all.


    However, she couldn¡¯t wait to return now to create as much distance as possible between her and this


    terrible man.


    Toby narrowed his eyes as he coldly stared at Rina taking her leave. Why won¡¯t I help Sonia? That¡¯s


    because I have no way to do so!


    If only the hatred between Sonia and the Gray Family were slightly alleviated, he would stand on Sonia¡¯s


    side and reveal her real identity to her. However, now that she and the Gray Family were literally at each


    other¡¯s throats, he could see nothing gooding out from telling her the truth.


    Also, he also thought that if Sonia¡¯s identity had been mistaken from the start, why shouldn¡¯t she


    continue living with this inuracy for the rest of her life? If she didn¡¯t know the truth, she wouldn¡¯t suffer.


    Apart from that, she wouldn¡¯t be forced to make foolish decisions due to her being stuck between the


    Reeds and the Gray Family.


    As for the hatred between Sonia and the Gray Family, as long as she didn¡¯t kill Titus and Julia, it wouldn¡¯t


    be much of an issue even if she destroyed the family. After all, he had indirectly murdered Henry 6 years


    ago, which forced the Reeds to their ruin. The Gray Family would have deserved whatever Sonia did to


    them.


    So, Toby would only act in the shadows to protect Titus and Julia from harm. As for other matters, he


    wouldn¡¯t stop Sonia from doing whatever she wanted. To him, it was the best way to deal with the


    rtionship and resentment that Sonia and the Gray Family had with each other.


    Meanwhile, in the First World Hospital, Sonia was sitting in Tim¡¯s office, where he was checking on her


    eyes. After a while, she heard him switching the torchlight off. Then, she asked eagerly while tightly


    holding her hands together. ¡°How is it? When will I recover my sight?¡±

 Chapter 417

    Chapter 417


    Chapter 417 Kidney Failure


    She didn¡¯t want to be blind any longer since it would lead to moreplications as time went on.


    First and foremost, Sonia had to worry about Paradigm. Asher had always eyed for a chance to snatch


    half of the management rights she held. If she didn¡¯t show up for work at Paradigm Co. for a long while,


    he would definitely seize the chance and persuade those under her before causing all sorts of trouble for


    her.


    Secondly, Titus was another cause of her worries. Even though she tried her hardest to mask the fact


    that she couldn¡¯t see, he would soon discover that she was blind if he used some effort to investigate it.


    Although Toby had done his part by giving his fair share of warning and Titus wouldn¡¯t do anything in


    broad daylight, he probably could pull his little assaults in the dark without Toby being made aware of it.


    So, it was a necessity for her to regain her eyesight as soon as possible for both Paradigm Co. and her


    own sake.


    Since Tim was well-versed with psychology, he could guess what Sonia thought when he saw her


    anxious behavior. He patted her shoulder lightly in assurance. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you haven¡¯t recovered your


    vision because the blood clot in your brain hasn¡¯tpletely disappeared yet. The blood clot wasn¡¯t


    extremelyrge when we checked thest time, so I guess it¡¯ll dissipate soon enough. Judging by the


    time needed, you¡¯ll probably recover in a few days.¡±


    Upon hearing that, she sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Other than your loss of sight, is there anywhere that feels wrong? What about the dizziness you


    mentioned?¡± He leaned against his desk as he asked.


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s gone now.¡±


    ¡°Okay, got it. So, I don¡¯t have to prescribe medicine for that,¡± he spoke while fiddling with his scalpel.


    Sonia stood up from the couch. ¡°Thank you for the session. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±


    Wanda approached Sonia to help her into the wheelchair.


    Tim rose to his full height as well. ¡°I¡¯ll see you off to the elevators.¡±


    The three walked out of the office and headed for the elevators.


    They had just arrived when Wanda suddenly gasped.


    A confused Sonia turned around. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Wanda?¡±


    ¡°I saw Titus and his wife walking out from the nephrology department to the elevator over there. They


    don¡¯t look too good, especially Mrs. Gray. Her eyes are red as if she has been crying,¡± Wanda answered


    as she looked in front.


    In response, Sonia raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nephrology? What are they doing there?¡± There¡¯s even crying


    involved. A single fall couldn¡¯t have such damage to the waist, can it? That¡¯s weird. The bones would


    usually be hurt from that kind of fall and the organs won¡¯t be affected whatsoever.


    ¡°If you¡¯re so curious, I can just ask for information. Don¡¯t forget, this is my hospital,¡± Tim chuckled slightly


    as he pushed his sses. Then, he walked toward the nephrology department.


    Wanda looked at Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, Dr. Lancaster has headed there. Should we follow him or leave?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bad manners to leave just like that. Let¡¯s wait here then,¡± Sonia replied after she thought for a while.


    After Wanda nodded, she didn¡¯t say anything else. Her hands were still on the wheelchair handles while


    she waited with Sonia.


    After about 5 minutes or so, Tim returned to them.


    Upon receiving Wanda¡¯s prompt, Sonia opened her mouth to ask, ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a problem with Titus¡¯ kidneys,¡± Tim replied while pushing his sses once again.


    A surprised Sonia asked, ¡°Kidney problems? It¡¯s not because of the fall, is it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The doctor exined that Titus is suffering from slight kidney failure.¡±


    ¡°Kidney failure?!¡± She eximed, ¡°He¡¯s suffering from kidney failure?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Tim nodded. ¡°I had a brief look at Titus¡¯ medical records and found that he suffers from


    congenital necrospermia, which means that his kidneys were already problematic from the start. Now, it¡¯s


    showing signs of failure as the organs are rapidly deteriorating.¡±


    ¡°So, if this continues, he¡¯ll have to undergo a kidney transnt?¡± Sonia asked.


    He shrugged. ¡°More or less, but it wouldn¡¯t change much even if he did because both kidneys need to be


    reced. Kidneys are hard toe by as it is and you¡¯d be lucky enough to secure just one. It¡¯s highly


    improbable to have two suitable kidneys avable.¡±


    ¡°I heard that people can survive with one kidney, though. Won¡¯t it help to just transnt one?¡± She


    cocked her head and asked again.


    Tim yed with the scalpel in his hand for the second time. ¡°That¡¯s true, at least for a healthy person.


    You can survive with one kidney, but your body will grow weaker. You¡¯ll just be barely surviving by that


    point. Titus, however, is different. He cannot live with just one kidney.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Sonia blinked.


    He exined, ¡°Because of his old age, his body isn¡¯t in good condition. He has various aches and pains


    on top of heart issues. So, one kidney won¡¯t be able to handle all the processes going on in his body.


    Also, even if he receives a new kidney, there¡¯s a high possibility of kidney failure. If he¡¯s lucky to have


    both his kidneys reced, the same thing will happen again.¡±


    It was at that moment when Sonia understood and she moved her red lips. ¡°So, in short, Titus only has


    death waiting for him. A kidney transnt would only dy it a little longer.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Tim nodded.


    She gave a dry smile. ¡°What good news! He deserved it!¡±


    Titus had forced her father to death and now he himself was suffering from kidney failure. If it wasn¡¯t


    retribution, she didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ¡°How long does he have, Tim?¡± Sonia probed as she sped her hands together.


    White light reflected off Tim¡¯s sses as he answered, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t undergo kidney transnt, he


    would have a year or so left, judging by the rate it¡¯s going. Probably not more than 10 years if he


    reces his kidneys.¡±


    ¡°Hah! Great!¡± She smiled. ¡°This is retribution!¡±


    Upon seeing how happy Sonia was to have known about Titus¡¯ kidney failure, Wanda leered as she


    reminded her, ¡°Please don¡¯t put it like that, Miss Reed!¡±


    Wanda also thought that Titus deserved it, but no matter what, he was still Sonia¡¯s biological father. As


    his daughter, even if she hated him to the bone, it was uncalled for to hear her say that her father


    deserved it.


    Of course, if Titus weren¡¯t Sonia¡¯s biological father, Wanda wouldn¡¯t have such thoughts.


    So, Sonia frowned when she heard Wanda¡¯s words. ¡°Wanda, is there anything wrong with me saying


    things like that?¡± Whose side is she on? Why is she standing up for Titus? Or, does she think that I


    shouldn¡¯t say that about him?


    Wanda could see that Sonia was upset and she also realized that she said too much. She quickly


    exined, ¡°It¡¯s nothing; I just thought that you shouldn¡¯t rub salt into people¡¯s wounds when they are


    suffering.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m rubbing salt in his wound, though. Even if I did, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the wrong here. Titus


    is my enemy, so shouldn¡¯t I be d that my enemy is down? I can¡¯t just bepassionate and forget


    about my hatred, can I? I¡¯m not that nice and I¡¯ve never been a kind person from the start,¡± a stoic Sonia


    cooly borated.


    The hatred of the entire Reed Family rested upon her and she could barely catch a breath under the


    weight of it. Revenge became her sole reason to live, but so much time had passed without any


    progress, which started to make her panic. The anxiety was so great that she was close to being driven


    mad.


    Now that she finally learnt that her enemy was critically ill, shouldn¡¯t she be happy then?


    Knowing that Sonia was upset with her, Wanda quickly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry, Miss Reed. I


    shouldn¡¯t have said those words.¡±


    Sonia rubbed the spot between her eyebrows. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just don¡¯t do it again.¡±


    After all, she would recover her eyesight in a few days and Wanda could head back to the housekeeping


    company by then.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take our leave now, Tim.¡± Sonia rested her hand on the armrest and spoke to Tim.


    He nodded. ¡°Take care.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She sounded a reply as Wanda took her into the elevator.


    As he watched the elevator doors close, he took out his phone and made a call. He proceeded to say in


    a dark voice, ¡°Keep an eye on the organ database. If you find any suitable kidneys for Titus Gray,


    immediately block them!¡±

 Chapter 418

    Chapter 418


    Chapter 418 80th Birthday


    The person on the other end of the line probably agreed, for Tim looked satisfied when he kept his phone


    away.


    To him, people like Titus didn¡¯t deserve a single kidney, much less two.


    Meanwhile, Titus and Julia had just arrived at their car after getting the medication for him.


    When they closed their car doors, the atmosphere was so heavy that it was almost impossible to


    breathe.


    Neither one of them said anything.


    Titus had lowered his head, so his expression wasn¡¯t visible. His tightly clenched fists were on his knees;


    through the way those fists were shaking and the way the veins on his hands were clearly showing, one


    could quickly infer how terrible his mood was.


    As for Julia, she covered her mouth as she quietly sobbed. How can this be? Titus has kidney failure!


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Honey¡­¡± Her eyes were red and teary as she looked at her husband.


    He tightened his fists and rxed them thereafter repeating the process a few times before he took a


    deep breath. After that, he managed to calm himself before he said in a stiff voice, ¡°All right, stop crying.


    I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°How could you be fine? This is kidney failure we¡¯re talking about! You¡¯ll die!¡± An anxious and afraid Julia


    reminded Titus.


    Throughout her entire life, she had always depended on other people to survive.


    She depended on her father before she married and relied on her husband after marriage. Hence, she


    barely had any survival skills.


    So, she couldn¡¯t imagine what she would be like if Titus were gone.


    Death!


    Titus¡¯ heart shook at the very thought of it and his face even trembled a little as fear flitted through his


    eyes¡ªit was a fear of death.


    No one wanted to die, nor would anyone be fearless in the face of death. It was especially true for rich


    and powerful men like him; he didn¡¯t want to die, which made him even more frightened of death.


    However, he felt nothing when the one dying wasn¡¯t him, so he didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of shame for


    forcing the technician and Henry to their deaths.


    When the bell of death rang for him instead, he finally realized how scary dying actually was.


    He couldn¡¯t bear the thought of his days being counted.


    Upon noticing Titus¡¯ trembling body and reddened eyes, Julia hastily grabbed his hand. ¡°Titus, let¡¯s leave


    this country, all right? We¡¯ll seek medical help abroad, for surely they would have better ways to treat


    your condition. If we leave for abroad, your illness will definitely be cured.¡±


    He withdrew his hand from her grasp. ¡°They do have better facilities, but they are also powerless in


    treating kidney failure. So, it¡¯s the same whether we stay in the country or not.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ Are we really out of options?¡± a pale Julia asked.


    Titus gritted his teeth. ¡°There is only one option, which is to undergo a kidney transnt.¡±


    However, he clearly remembered the doctor¡¯s words.


    The doctor advised that even if Titus managed to get new kidneys, he would still have a mere 10 years


    left.


    10 years were far from enough for him.


    However, if he didn¡¯t have new kidneys, he would only be able to live for another year.


    It wasn¡¯t arduous to make a choice between one year and ten.


    ¡°Kidney transnt¡­¡± Julia repeated; then, as if she had made an important decision, she clenched her


    fists and added, ¡°Then, we¡¯ll go for it. I¡¯ll contact all the organ banks, be it local or abroad. We¡¯ll definitely


    search suitable kidneys for you!¡±


    With that, she took out her phone and started to contact people.


    Meanwhile, Toby had also received news of Titus¡¯ illness.


    He was surprised for a while when he heard that Titus suffered from kidney failure.


    Titus had previouslyined of pain on his waist at the DNAb, but Toby never expected that kidney


    failure would be the cause.


    ¡°President Fuller, Titus and his wife will definitely start looking for suitable kidneys. Should we give them


    a hand?¡± Tom asked while looking at Toby.


    Toby frowned. ¡°Why should we?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he Miss Reed¡¯s biological father?¡± Tom asked.


    Toby shook his head lightly. ¡°No need. If Sonia does something that would harm Titus¡¯ life, I would


    intervene. However, this is Titus¡¯ own health, so there¡¯s no need to help him. Also, if he died just like that,


    it would perhaps be for the best.¡±


    Then, there would truly be no reason for Sonia to know of her real origins.


    As for her hatred toward the Gray Family, maybe it would dissipate along with Titus¡¯ death. From then on,


    she wouldn¡¯t have to live her life with hatred and suffering.


    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Tom nodded, realizing the logic in Toby¡¯s words.


    Right after that, he thought for a bit and asked, ¡°Then, why don¡¯t we block Titus¡¯ ess to all the suitable


    kidneys? That way, he can die as soon as possible, right?¡±


    Toby looked up at him. ¡°You¡¯re intelligent.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, President Fuller.¡± Tom grinned.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t apliment.¡± Toby¡¯s expression darkened.


    Tom realized that his boss was exasperated, so he stopped smiling and resumed his serious look. ¡°Sorry,


    President Fuller. It was foolish of me.¡±


    Upon hearing his apology, Toby recovered his usual countenance and calmly noted, ¡°It is true that I also


    wish for Titus to die as soon as possible, but I cannot actually make a move and remove his hopes of


    survival. He is Sonia¡¯s father, after all, so if I really did that, then I would be murdering her father.


    Understand?¡±


    ¡°Understood, President Fuller,¡± Tom quickly replied.


    It was true that Toby was still trying to court Sonia and if he was the indirect cause of Titus¡¯ death¡­


    If she knew about it, she would have even less of a reason to forgive Toby.


    Even if Sonia hated Titus, he was still her biological father. Surely, she wouldn¡¯t want to date someone


    who had a role in her father¡¯s death, be it directly or indirectly.


    So, Toby really couldn¡¯t interfere in this matter.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see how it goes.¡± Toby rapped his knuckles on his desk. ¡°If Titus really finds a suitable kidney, he¡¯s


    meant to live. If he can¡¯t, then it¡¯s also fate. No matter what, my ns will not be disrupted. Enough of


    this topic. You can return to your work now.¡±


    ¡°Understood, sir.¡± Tom nodded before he turned to leave the office.


    Toby took out his phone and called Sonia.


    She had just returned to Bayside Residence and was resting on the couch.


    Wanda was slicing fruits for Sonia and when she heard the phone ring, she quickly nced at the


    device. ¡°Miss Reed, it¡¯s from Mr. Fuller.¡±


    Toby? Sonia frowned. Why is he calling me?


    ¡°Do I answer the call, Miss Reed?¡± Wanda asked.


    Sonia hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Toby had supported her when she was going against Titus at the DNAb, so she was obliged to answer


    this call.


    Wanda smiled a little; then, she put down the knife in her hand and picked up the phone. She swiped


    across the screen to answer the call before she passed the phone to Sonia. ¡°Here you go, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia thanked Wanda, after which cing the phone to her own ear. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Have you arrived home?¡± Toby¡¯s expression rxed.


    Sonia responded in the affirmative. ¡°I¡¯m home now. What¡¯s the matter, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that Rina has returned to the detention center.¡± He leaned


    back in his chair.


    She nodded lightly. ¡°Yes, I already know that. The police have contacted me.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He lowered his gaze.


    In truth, he was well aware that she had already known about the fact.


    He mentioned these things just to talk more with her, to hear more of her voice.


    However, Sonia obviously knew nothing about it and said, ¡°Is there anything else, President Fuller? If


    not, I¡¯ll hang up now.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Toby managed to stop her and he straightened his posture. ¡°Grandma will be turning 80 at the


    end of the month, so the Fullers will be holding a grand celebration. Will youe?¡±


    ¡°Her 80th birthday?¡± Sonia was stunned for a while before she remembered that Rose¡¯s birthday was


    really at the end of the month.

 Chapter 419

    Chapter 419


    Chapter 419 A Mysterious Man


    Sonia had been recently busy and there was also the matter with Rina, so she totally forgot about it.


    If Toby hadn¡¯t reminded her, she probably would¡¯vepletely forgotten about Rose¡¯s birthday.


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll attend the party.¡± Sonia nodded to confirm her attendance.


    Seeing that she agreed to his invitation, he couldn¡¯t help but feel happy. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask someone to send


    an invitation overter.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± With that, Sonia returned the phone to Wanda, meaning for Wanda to end


    the call.


    She took the phone and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to talk more with Mr. Fuller?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about.¡± Sonia rubbed her temples.


    Wanda looked at the phone screen in pity, acting as if she could express herpassion to him through


    that interface.


    ¡°I¡¯ll end the call now then.¡± Her words were meant not only for Sonia, but also for Toby on the other end


    of the line.


    Upon noticing Sonia ending the call after just a few verbal exchanges, Toby felt nothing but helplessness.


    Still, he didn¡¯t have any choice, for he had nothing else to talk about.


    Plus, she didn¡¯t seem willing to chat.


    Toby let out the smallest of sighs as he replied to Wanda, ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Upon hearing that, she hung up.


    It was that night itself when Sonia received the invitation he mentioned.


    She couldn¡¯t see the invitation, so Wanda read it aloud for her. The main points of the invitation were the


    time and venue for Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯s birthday celebration.


    Aftermitting these details to memory, Sonia asked Wanda to keep the invitation.


    Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯s 80th birthday celebration would be held after 2 weeks and Sonia was sure that her


    eyesight would be recovered by then.


    Once she regained her eyesight, she would still have time to prepare her attire to the party and her gift


    for Old Mrs. Fuller.


    The next day, with Wanda¡¯s help, Sonia finished washing up and sat at the dining table for breakfast.


    The doorbell rang at this moment.


    Wanda was pouring some milk for Sonia, so when she heard the bell, she ced the milk bottle aside


    and said, ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯ll get the door.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia held a sandwich and took a bite, nodding as she replied.


    After wiping her hands on her apron, Wanda walked toward the door.


    When the door opened, her face was the first thing Carl saw and he soon narrowed his eyes. ¡°Who are


    you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Miss Reed¡¯s caregiver,¡± she replied before asking in return, ¡°And who are you, sir?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Carl Lee,¡± he introduced himself.


    Wanda instantly made the connection. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re Mr. Lee.¡±


    ¡°You know me?¡± He was a little surprised.


    She smiled. ¡°I heard Miss Reed mentioning you before. Come in, Mr. Lee.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Upon hearing that Sonia had mentioned him to Wanda before, Carl seemed to be in a good


    mood as he smiled. Then, he entered the house as an invited guest.


    ¡°Sonia.¡± Upon arriving at the living room, he caught sight of Sonia, who was having breakfast, so he


    called her name.


    When she heard his voice, Sonia perked up. ¡°What brings you here, Carl?¡±


    ¡°I secured a role in a movie as a supporting character who is also a model, so I¡¯m on the way to the


    shoot. We were passing by your ce, so I dropped by to say hi,¡± a smiling Carl replied.


    With a nod, she responded, ¡°I see. That¡¯s great! You¡¯re surpassing your modeling career and entering


    the filming industry. Do you intend to go further in the field?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I just thought it¡¯d be fun to try filming, you know. It¡¯s just a phase.¡± He shook his head.


    Sonia leered. ¡°That¡¯s fine as well. Right, have you had your breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Carl rubbed his stomach.


    Then, Sonia told Wanda, ¡°Wanda, please prepare some breakfast for Carl.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°All right. Please wait a little, Mr. Lee. I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Wanda answered.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± He politely smiled at her.


    She waved her hand to indicate that he was most wee before heading into the kitchen.


    He took a seat that was on Sonia¡¯s right. ¡°Sonia, when did you get a caregiver?¡±


    ¡°Just two days ago. I can¡¯t see, so I need someone to help,¡± she replied as she drank some milk.


    Carl threw a few nces at the kitchen. ¡°Is she reliable?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not bad and quite considerate as well. She¡¯s a bit too kind, however. It doesn¡¯t matter that much


    since I won¡¯t have a need for a caregiver once I have my sight back.¡± Sonia put down her milk.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± He raised his chin.


    ¡°All right, enough of that topic.¡± She couldn¡¯t see him, but she could guess where he was, so she turned


    to face him. ¡°What about you? Tim told me yesterday that you¡¯re a bit uncooperative in your treatment.


    What¡¯s up?¡±


    While Carl lowered his gaze, he denied, ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Tim told me that you wouldn¡¯t answer his questions. How can he


    help you if you¡¯re like this?¡±


    ¡°He asked a lot of questions about my past and I don¡¯t want to talk about that either,¡± he answered


    stoically as he rubbed his finger.


    She sighed. ¡°No matter what, you¡¯ll have to face it sooner orter. If not, you¡¯ll never get better.¡±


    ¡°I know, Sonia. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll figure out a way to ovee it.¡± Carl looked down to hide the darkness in


    his eyes, but his voice remained gentle.


    As Sonia couldn¡¯t see him, she took him for his word and gave aforting smile before she


    commented, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Right, Sonia, I have received an opportunity to endorse a luxury watch, but it¡¯s a couples watch, so I¡¯ll


    need a partner. Why don¡¯t youe with me to themercial shoot? You can be my partner.¡± Carl


    looked at Sonia.


    ¡°Me?¡± She pointed at herself in surprise. ¡°Filming amercial with you?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Quit joking.¡± She hastily waved her hands in denial. ¡°I¡¯m nobody; I can¡¯t filmmercials. Also, luxury


    brands always look for internationally famous models and film stars, so they wouldn¡¯t look for nobodies


    like me. Carl, stop pulling my leg.¡±


    Carl took Sonia¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m not! I mean it, they said that I can look for my own partner. I don¡¯t want to


    shoot with the stars and models in the field, so please help me out, Sonia.¡±


    Sonia retracted her hand. ¡°I can¡¯t. You were allowed to find your own partner, but they were surely


    expecting you to turn up with a model or a star whom you¡¯re on good terms with. They¡¯re definitely not


    asking you to find an amateur! If I go with you and they disagree with your choice, then how awkward


    would that be for me? Also, I don¡¯t know anything about shootingmercials, so don¡¯t trouble me like


    this, Carl, okay? Be good.¡±


    She felt around and managed to pat him on the shoulder.


    Carl pursed his lips, but he didn¡¯t say more.


    With the helpless shake of her head, she knew that he was sulking again.


    Also, ever since Sonia learned that Carl had drugged her, she realized that the real Carl was incredibly


    moody, which was a pain in her neck.


    So, it was during times like these when she actually missed the gentle and polite Carl that he pretended


    to be.


    After breakfast, Carl had to leave Bayside Residence and head toward the venue of his film shoot.


    Sonia saw him off and after he entered the car to leave, she turned around with Wanda and went inside


    the house.


    Somewhere behind them was a low-lying car parked by the road in front of Bayside Residence. Inside


    the car, a feminine man red coldly at Sonia¡¯s figure. As he spoke, his hoarse voice sounded like it was


    filled with lead, which made it unpleasant to hear. ¡°So, that¡¯s the woman Lucius has his eyes on?¡±


    ¡°That is correct, Young Master Den,¡± the burly man in the driver¡¯s seat responded.


    The feminine man snorted in disdain. ¡°Is his eyesight going like hers? Why would he be interested in a


    blind woman?¡±


    ¡°Blind?¡± The burly man was stunned.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The feminine man nced at him.


    The burly man scratched his head. ¡°When I was investigating this woman, she wasn¡¯t blind.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The feminine man had a terrible expression as he stared at the burly man, his eyes resembling


    that of a poisonous snake. ¡°So, we have the wrong woman?¡±

 Chapter 420

    Chapter 420


    Chapter 420 Jewelry Belonging to Toby¡¯s Mother


    ¡°No, no.¡± The burly man shook his head hastily. ¡°It¡¯s the right one. The photo on the documents proves


    that it is her, but I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s blind now.¡±


    After hearing the burly man¡¯s exnation, the feminine man rxed his expression, but the look in his


    eyes remained sharp.


    ¡°All right; now that we have seen her, let¡¯s leave first. We¡¯ll get someone to keep an eye on her and note


    her daily routine. Then, we¡¯ll find an opportunity to kidnap her, and once we have done so, I don¡¯t think


    Lucius will just stand by and watch,¡± he said in a cold voice as his eyes narrowed.


    The burly man¡¯s posture straightened. ¡°Understood, Young Master Den.¡±


    Since there was nothing else to say, the feminine man closed his fear-inducing eyes.


    As a result, the burly man started the car and drove away.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was just about to enter the apartmentplex when she stopped in her tracks and


    turned to ¡®look¡¯ somewhere behind her with her eyebrows knitted tightly.


    A puzzled Wanda looked at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°I have a feeling that someone was watching me just now,¡± an uncertain Sonia replied after she parted


    her red lips.


    Wanda also looked behind them, but she couldn¡¯t see anyone suspicious, so she turned around. ¡°I don¡¯t


    see anything or anyone, though. Maybe you were mistaken, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Sonia nodded thoughtfully.


    Even though she agreed that she might have been mistaken, she still felt a little weird.


    Her ability to sense things was heightened ever since she lost her eyesight, which mader her especially


    sensitive to people¡¯s gazes. Hence, she wanted to confirm whether the feeling she had earlier was just a


    mistake or not.


    Meanwhile, in the Fullers¡¯ residence, Toby had just entered when he saw Jean seated on the couch,


    watching TV andughing.


    She suddenly caught sight of him and shot up from her seat in surprise. ¡°Toby? Why are you back?¡±


    ¡°Just getting something,¡± he replied.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked.


    Toby looked at his watch. ¡°Some of my mother¡¯s belongings. All right, Mom, I have a meeting to attend


    later, so I¡¯ll be on my way now.¡±


    With that, he ascended the stairs.


    Jean stood where she was as she watched Toby head upstairs while she started to wonder, To get his


    biological mother¡¯s belongings? Whatever for?


    Toby¡¯s biological mother was the youngdy of the Johann Family, who had married into the Fuller


    Family 32 years ago. However, not long after the prosperous event, the Johann Family dered


    bankruptcy.


    However, before they went bankrupt, they were arge family that was only slightly weaker than the


    Fullers. When she married, her dowry amounted to almost a third of the family property.


    Although Toby¡¯s mother passed away in the end, her dowry had long since been absorbed into the Fuller


    Group and thus impossible to differentiate whereas her priceless jewelry still remained. The jewelry was


    locked inside the room on the third floor, where she used to live.


    Jean had always dreamed about owning those jewelry one day, but Old Mrs. Fuller had warned her that


    if she even so much as thought about getting them, she would be banished from the Fuller Family. After


    all, Homer was dead, which meant that Jean¡¯s marriage to him had been void a long time ago.


    She didn¡¯t want to be banished from the Fullers, so she suppressed her thoughts of getting hold of those


    jewelry. Also, she felt sorry for Toby¡¯s mother as well, so that was another reason why she left the jewelry


    untouched.


    While she was in her thoughts, she heard movementsing from the stairs.


    Jean looked up to see Tobying down the stairs with a jewelry box in hand.


    She hurried over. ¡°Toby, what¡¯s that in your hand? Can I see?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± He nodded and passed the box to her.


    An excited Jean hastily took it and opened the box. When she beheld the set of imperial jade jewelries,


    she inhaled sharply. ¡°My goodness, imperial jade! This¡­ This must¡¯ve cost fortunes!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the various pieces of jewelry that my grandmother gave to my mother. The whole set costs


    about 150 million,¡± Toby said nonchntly.


    Jean was shocked into speechlessness before she gulped. ¡°150¡­ million?¡±


    She had never worn jewelry that expensive in her whole life before.


    The most expensive one that she wore was only 30 million.


    Of course, the Ocean¡¯s Heart couldn¡¯t be counted since shecked the courage to even wear that


    precious ne.


    ¡°Yup, this set is only the medium grade among my mother¡¯s jewelry,¡± Toby answered.


    When she heard those words, Jean had nothing else to say. Only medium grade. Then, how much more


    extravagant would the high and top grades be? I have really underestimated the jewelry Toby¡¯s mother


    had.


    ¡°Well, Toby, where are you taking this jewelry to?¡± she asked as she touched the main ne.


    He lowered his gaze and smiled ever so faintly. ¡°It¡¯s a gift to someone.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡± She stared at him.


    Upon seeing the emotion in his eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but panic. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s giving it to that


    cunning woman?


    Her guesses were proven correct, for Toby simply parted his thin lips and replied, ¡°Sonia.¡±


    Jean¡¯s expression was terrible at that point. It¡¯s really for that woman! It was the Ocean¡¯s Heart before,


    and now it¡¯s a whole set of imperial jade jewelry! What right does she have?


    Sheined, ¡°Toby, why are you gifting these to her all of a sudden?¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression became more reserved. ¡°I have my own reasons. Come on, Mom, give them back.¡±


    Jean looked at his outstretched hand and back at the jewelry in her hands. She dreaded having to part


    with these precious items.


    It was her first time touching such expensive jewelry, which cost even more than the Ocean¡¯s Heart. She


    really didn¡¯t want to return them after a mere touch.


    However, she didn¡¯t dare to defy Toby¡¯s intentions. She would be done if Old Mrs. Fuller knew about this.


    So, Jean bit her lip and unwillingly closed the lid of the box. Then, she gritted her teeth as she ced the


    box back in Toby¡¯s hands.


    He, of course, could see the longing in Jean¡¯s eyes, so he added, ¡°Mom, if you fancy any jewelry, you


    can buy them at a mall and I¡¯ll cover the expenses for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she answered with a forced smile.


    Finding jewelry at a mall?


    Which shop in the mall would even offer jewelry in the hundred of millions? Even if she went to look for it,


    she wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything close to the Ocean¡¯s Heart or the set of imperial jades in his hand.


    And even if Jean did buy one, Old Mrs. Fuller would definitely throw a fit and chastise her on her


    spending habits.


    She had understood long ago that Toby¡¯s mother could wear the most expensive jewelry and Old Mrs.


    Fuller wouldn¡¯t bat an eye, but when it came to her, Jean wasn¡¯t allowed that sort of luxury. Part of the


    reason was because she came from a nondescript background and she had to depend on the Fullers to


    survive.


    Toby naturally didn¡¯t know Jean¡¯s bitter thoughts. He ced the box in a bag and strode out of the


    Fullers¡¯ residence.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    An hourter, he arrived at Bayside Residence and pressed the doorbell on Sonia¡¯s apartment.


    Sonia was exercising her eyes at this moment.


    ording to Tim, it would greatly assist in the recovery of her eyesight, so she had to repeat the


    exercise a few times on a daily basis


    Upon hearing the doorbell, Sonia removed her hands from her eyes and turned to the kitchen to shout,


    ¡°Wanda, someone¡¯s here. Can you go and see who it is?¡±


    ¡°Sure, Miss Reed. I¡¯m on it.¡± Wanda hastily emerged from the kitchen and wiped her hands on her apron,


    thereafter she went to get the door.


    When she saw the man standing outside, she eximed in surprise, ¡°Young Master Toby!¡±


    ¡°Shh!¡± Toby quickly gestured for her to lower her tone.


    Wanda then realized that she had subconsciously addressed Toby as ¡®young master¡¯, so she quickly


    mped her hands over her mouth. Then, she asked in a low voice, ¡°Why have youe?¡±


    ¡°I need to see Sonia. Where is she?¡± He tried to look over her shoulder.


    She pointed at the living room. ¡°She¡¯s on the couch. Please wait a bit, Young Master Toby. I¡¯ll inform her


    that you¡¯re here.¡±


    After that, she turned around and asked the upant in the living room, ¡°Miss Reed, it¡¯s Mr. Fuller. Shall


    I let him in?¡±

 Chapter 421

    Chapter 421


    Chapter 421 All Over the Face


    Toby? Sonia frowned. What is he doing here?


    ¡°Let him in then,¡± she said calmly.


    While at the door, Wanda didn¡¯t manage to convey the message before Toby entered the apartment in


    large strides to head straight for the living room.


    ¡°Sonia.¡± When he saw Sonia on the couch, he tried to make his voice gentler as he addressed her.


    She turned toward him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°I came to deliver something to you.¡± Toby took a seat right opposite her.


    Sonia was puzzled. ¡°Deliver something? Sorry, I don¡¯t think I left anything at your ce. Even if I did, it¡¯s


    certainly not something so important you¡¯d want toe and deliver it yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not something you left behind; it¡¯s something that Grandma wants me to deliver to you.¡± He lowered


    his gaze and passed the bag to her.


    As Sonia couldn¡¯t see, of course Wanda took the bag in her stead.


    Sonia blinked as she asked, ¡°Grandma wanted you to deliver it? What is it exactly?¡±


    ¡°A set of jewelry,¡± he replied as his eyes brightened. ¡°When Grandma knew that you¡¯re attending her 80th


    birthday celebration, she was so happy that she took out a set of jewelry she wore when she was young.


    She wants you to wear them when you attend the celebrationter.¡±


    ¡°Really, huh?¡± She narrowed her eyes, obviously not buying it.


    Toby nodded with a steadfast expression. ¡°Of course. You can call her to confirm it if you want to.¡±


    Sonia fell silent.


    A few secondster, she sighed. ¡°All right, I got it. Please thank her for me. I¡¯ll wear them when I head


    over.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± His thin lips curved into a smile.


    It was something he knew¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t really give Rose a call because judging from her character, she


    wouldn¡¯t want to bother the old woman unless it was something urgent.


    Even though Sonia was on good terms with Rose, she would try to avoid contacting Rose too often


    because she had already divorced Toby. Hence, he knew from the start that Sonia wouldn¡¯t rify with


    his grandmother for confirmation, something which he had guessed correctly.


    Upon seeing how Sonia epted the jewelry from Toby, Wanda looked at Sonia before mustering


    enough courage to ask, ¡°Miss Reed, shall I open the box to see what sort of jewelry it is?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Wanda replied with a smile. Then, with Toby¡¯s permission, she retrieved the jewelry box from the


    bag and slowly opened it.


    When she saw the entire set of imperial jade jewelry inside, her jaw dropped. This¡­ Doesn¡¯t this belong


    to thete Madam?


    She had been serving Toby¡¯s mother as the housekeeper for many years, so she could immediately


    recognize that Rose didn¡¯t own this particr set of jewelry. Rather, it was thete Madam¡¯s dowry. So,


    Young Master Toby has just lied to Miss Reed.


    Toby seemed to have guessed Wanda¡¯s thoughts, for he nodded ever so slightly to confirm her


    suspicions.


    As a result, she was at a loss for words. My dear Young Master Toby, aren¡¯t you afraid that Miss Reed


    would be angry if she found out what you didter on?


    He caught her drift, but he lowered his eyelids and refused to answer.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t aware of the silent conversation between the two of them. She didn¡¯t hear the sound of the


    box being touched either, so she asked, ¡°Wanda, have you opened it?¡±


    Wanda inhaled as she suppressed the uneasiness in her heart. Then, she smiled and answered, ¡°Yes, I


    did. It¡¯s a set of imperial jade jewelry.¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Sonia was in the midst of drinking some water. As soon as she heard Wanda¡¯s words, she


    choked on the water, which inevitably sputtered out of her mouth.


    Since Toby was sitting right opposite her, he took a direct hit as the water sshed all over his


    handsome face.


    Not only his face, but his hair as well.


    His bangs were clumped together due to the water to the point where one part of it was dripping wet. It


    was something he had never experienced before, so he was dumbfounded and rooted on the spot,


    looking rather funny and embarrassing.


    As a result of what she saw, Wanda couldn¡¯t suppress herughter. ¡°Mr. Fuller, you¡ª¡±


    Upon hearing Wanda¡¯sugh, Sonia realized that she might have done something horrendous, so she


    tightened her grip on the ss in her hands. She straightened her back a little as she asked, ¡°Um¡­


    Wanda, what happened? Did I just¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Toby inhaled as he finally recovered from the shock. Then, he reached up and wiped away


    the water on his face.


    The moment she saw that, Wanda quickly pulled some tissue and passed it to him. ¡°Here, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he replied before he took the tissue and proceeded to wipe his face.


    Sonia was definitely able to confirm that some of the water had definitely sshed on Toby when she


    heard the sound of tissue paper being pulled from the box. Even though it was an ident, she was still


    embarrassed, so she bit her lip and said, ¡°Wanda, get a new towel for President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Wanda was ted to see Sonia asking for a towel for Toby¡¯s sake, so she quickly replied and


    walked toward the bathroom.


    Toby also looked at Sonia in disbelief. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± she asked.


    His throat bobbed up and down. ¡°To think that you¡¯d actually ask someone to get a towel for me¡­¡±


    Usually, based on her usually cold demeanor toward him, she would¡¯ve just ignored his predicament.


    So, he was exceptionally surprised when she offered him a towel.


    Sonia bit her lip and asked calmly, ¡°Are you shocked? I know I did something wrong, which was why I


    gave you a towel. It¡¯s just me making up for my own mistakes. Also, I¡¯m sorry for earlier. I didn¡¯t do it on


    purpose.¡±


    Upon seeing her apologetic expression, Toby smiled a little as his voice turned gentler. ¡°I know. I¡¯m not


    ming you.¡±


    After all, how could he me her?


    Sonia moved her lips, but she didn¡¯t say more.


    It was because she didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    Also, she had already apologized and he said he didn¡¯t mind. If she kept insisting that she didn¡¯t mean to


    do it, then her words would take on another meaning.


    Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.


    At this moment, Wanda carried the towel into the living room and she passed it to Toby. ¡°Here, Mr.


    Fuller.¡±


    He reached out and took it; then, he ced it on his head and started drying his hair.


    Sonia heard the sound of him drying his hair, so she slightly lowered her head and changed the topic.


    ¡°Right, President Fuller, why would Grandma let me wear such expensive jewelry?¡±


    That was the one thing she couldn¡¯t understand.


    As far as she remembered, Grandma had never given her any jewelry before.


    Of course, Old Mrs. Fuller had offered Sonia houses and cars, but she had declined them all.


    As Toby had anticipated the question, he cast the towel aside and answered, ¡°Because it¡¯s her 80th


    birthday, many famous figures in the business field will be invited. Many of them aren¡¯t even from


    Seafield. They are mostly powerful figures from Westsanshire, Sleubury, and even abroad. Most of them


    are people you wouldn¡¯t even have the right to meet normally.¡±


    It sounded harsh, but it was the truth.


    Even Titus in his prime wouldn¡¯t have the right to see those people in authority, much less Sonia.


    It was something that she was well aware of, so she wasn¡¯t exasperated. Rather, she merely asked,


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Some of those powerful people have subsidiaries just like Paradigm Co. If Paradigm Co. were to


    expand its horizons, it would have to try its best to secure a partnership with those subsidiaries. And you,


    as one of the biggest shareholders in Paradigm Co., have to establish rtionships with those people


    and expand your own horizons. You have to make connections to secure your power as a vice president


    whereby people will actually listen to you. Then, you can retrieve the rest of management rights from


    Asher whenever you want,¡± Toby borated as he looked at her.


    Her expression turned serious and she began to clench her fists.


    Sonia had to admit that Toby¡¯s words had hit the bull¡¯s eye.


    It was true that she had recently been troubled by the future development in Paradigm Co. and the next


    course of action.


    Paradigm Co. had achieved its stability by coborating with the few subsidiaries under the Fuller Group,


    but being stable didn¡¯t necessarily mean that Paradigm Co. had improved and developed enough. The


    corporation was only saved from the brink of bankruptcy, but it was far from the development that it


    envisioned.


    So, if Paradigm Co. were to develop and strengthen itself, it would have to do more than partner with the


    subsidiaries under the Fuller Group. It had to establish new partnerships and create new possibilities for


    more promising partnerships.

 Chapter 422

    Chapter 422


    Chapter 422 For Sonia¡¯s Sake


    Needless to say, Sonia had of course thought about it and approached otherpanies in the same


    industry. Nheless, she didn¡¯t think thosepanies could bring much potential in the joint venture


    with Paradigm Co. since they were just small firms. On the other hand, thosepanies had also


    refused to work with Paradigm Co. as they were concerned about its bleak future. Due to that reason,


    herpany soon found itself in a position with little room for improvement and growth.


    Although Paradigm Co. was still operating as usual for the time being, she knew that herpany would


    once again face an inevitable crisis if nothing was done to improve the status quo. After all, the revenues


    that Paradigm Co. made from its cooperation with the Fuller Group¡¯s subsidiaries were not enough to


    keep the business afloat, let alone pay its debt that was worth tens of billions owed to Toby. Thus, having


    a joint venture with a newpany was definitely a pressing matter for her.


    Furthermore, Sonia also agreed with Toby that as the biggest shareholder in thepany, she should


    get to know more people to expand her socialwork. After all, themercial world wasplicated


    and unforgiving. Those who fought alone wouldn¡¯tst long, which resulted in cooperation bing the


    most crucial way of survival.


    It¡¯s only by meeting more great people that I¡¯ll know what I must do to improve myself, which is essential


    for my long-term sess. Otherwise, I could be left out or even ostracized by the people in the


    commercial world. At the thought of that, Sonia suddenly caught on to Rose¡¯s intention of giving her the


    jewelry. She then took a deep breath and stared nkly at the man in front of her. ¡°Grandma wants me


    to meet those big shots during her birthday dinner. Am I right, President Fuller?¡±


    As Sonia quickly understood the gravity of the situation, there was a trace of admiration in Toby¡¯s eyes as


    he nodded. ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s what Grandma wants. If you want to know these people and work with them,


    you need to make yourself look valuable. Those people judge your ability to bring value to them from


    your appearance. So, if your outfit fails to impress them, you may not even get a shot to greet them, let


    alone meet them. Do you get me now?¡±


    Unfortunately, that¡¯s how grim the reality is! Despite his desire to introduce her to those big shots, he


    knew she would definitely turn him down because she didn¡¯t want to depend on him. Thus, he had to


    create an opportunity by using his grandmother¡¯s name to gather those big shots in one ce before


    having Sonia do the rest. While he optimistically believed that she would learn a thing or two from the


    exposure, he would also be secretly observing her and be ready to create another opportunity for her


    should she fail to seize the chance this time. Deep in his heart, he wished for her to be better and


    more sessful in her career.


    ¡°I get it now.¡± Sonia nodded, feeling touched. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take the jewelry. Please thank Grandma for me.


    She should be enjoying her twilight years, yet she is still so concerned about me.¡±


    Soon, Sonia recalled how Rose was the only one who treated her kindly in the six years that she was in


    the Fuller Family. Because she only had eyes for Toby then, she turned down Rose¡¯s invitation to move


    over in an attempt to avoid Jean. Thus, Sonia never really had the opportunity to repay Rose¡¯s kindness


    because of her stubborn decision to stay in the Fuller Residence. I¡¯m no longer the Fuller Family¡¯s


    daughter-inw, but Grandma still cares about me all the time. Oh, I really don¡¯t know how I should repay


    her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± he chuckled in response. ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia frowned doubtfully and opined, ¡°I¡¯m telling you to thank Grandma on my behalf. I wasn¡¯t


    saying that to you, so what do you mean by that?¡±


    A speechless Toby puckered his lips, somehow feeling a little bitter in his heart. Although it was his n


    to begin with in the first ce, he also had every right to say what he just did to Sonia. Nheless, he


    couldn¡¯t speak the truth or she would immediately return the jewelry to him.


    ¡°Fine, you don¡¯t have to be my messenger. I¡¯ll thank Grandma myselfter.¡± Sonia pursed her lips,


    thinking she should also assure Rose that she wouldn¡¯t disappoint the old woman as she would close a


    few deals during the birthday dinner. At the same time, she would guarantee the old woman that she


    would take excellent care of the jewelry until she returned it after the birthday feast.


    ¡°Alright, please go ahead and talk to Grandma then. It¡¯s gettingte, so I should make a move and you


    should get some rest.¡± Toby took a look at his watch and stood up. Man, if it weren¡¯t for this uing


    important meeting, I wouldn¡¯t leave right now.


    Sonia nodded and rose to her full height as well. ¡°Have a safe trip home, President Fuller. Wanda, please


    see President Fuller off.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed,¡± Wanda replied and showed him the way.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head off then.¡± He looked at Sonia, who only responded with a cold grunt.


    Upon fixing his gaze on her face for a few seconds, he eventually turned away and walked toward the


    exit with a heavy heart.


    ¡°Be careful on your way home, Young Master Toby.¡± Wanda followed behind the man and saw him off at


    the door.


    ¡°I will, please take good care of her. By the way, the jewelry she is having now doesn¡¯t belong to my


    grandma. Furthermore, I want you to say nothing about the matter regarding my mother.¡± Toby made his


    instruction heard and understood.


    Deep down in his heart, he was sure that Sonia wouldn¡¯t want to wear the jewelry that he gave her if she


    knew it was from him instead of Rose. In fact, before his mother took her own life many years earlier, she


    mentioned in her suicide note that the jewelries she left behind was for her future daughter-inw.


    Therefore, he swore to himself that he would give Sonia what he should have in the past six years, bit by


    bit.


    To him, it didn¡¯t matter whether they were divorced or not because he had treated her as his own wife


    anyway. She is my wife and no one can have her. Even if she won¡¯t forgive me for the rest of her life, I¡¯m


    going to keep her by my side and do whatever it takes to keep her away from any other man. At the


    thought of her being with some other men, he couldn¡¯t help but grit his teeth in annoyance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Master Toby. I know what I should do,¡± Wanda said with a smile.


    ¡°Alright, you should get back to her now. Don¡¯t leave her alone for too long. She is going to need


    someone to help her since she can¡¯t see.¡± Toby waved his hand.


    She nodded and closed the door while he made sure he heard the door closed before going to the


    elevator. After taking a few steps forward, his phone rang, whereupon he quickly checked it out and


    realized it was a call from Rose. Thus, he answered, ¡°Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Toby, why am I unaware about my own 80th birthday feast? I remember telling you that I prefer a simple


    meal with everyone in the family on my birthday instead of a grand feast. You agreed with that, so what


    made you change your mind? What¡¯s up with all this surprise?¡± Rose chuckled happily and sarcastically


    added, ¡°Furthermore, even my friends knew about it way before I did. You¡¯re such a filial grandson, huh!¡±


    Upon sensing her unhappiness, Toby faked a cough and decided toe clean. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandma. I


    should have informed you earlier. I¡¯m sorry about it.¡±


    ¡°s! It¡¯s fine. Now that you¡¯ve already distributed the invitation cards, there is no turning back now. The


    show must go on, so there is no point for me to me you now. Tell me, what changed your mind all of a


    sudden?¡± she asked impatiently.


    ¡°It¡¯s all for Sonia¡¯s sake.¡± He turned around and set his eyes on Sonia¡¯s apartment.


    ¡°Sonia?¡± Rose appeared to be stunned.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes, the future of Paradigm Co. is bleak and unpromising. If the situation persists, it will


    not end well for her and herpany. Furthermore, she is an ambitious woman who has always wanted


    to expand herpany, but under the given circumstances, she didn¡¯t seem to have much of a choice,


    so¡­¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re nning to use my birthday feast to pave the way for Sonia¡¯s future?¡± she responded with a


    cold grunt.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandma.¡± He squinted as he had always wanted to create an opportunity for Sonia to expand


    Paradigm Co. However, he struggled to find a chance to do so until he realized he could execute his n


    through his grandmother¡¯s 80th birthday feast. After all, this would prevent Sonia from bing


    suspicious since she would probably think that it was all Rose¡¯s idea. Unknown to her, Rose¡¯s birthday


    was in fact held for her.


    In the meantime, Rose could see through her grandson, knowing that he felt guilty for using her birthday


    feast to pave the way for the future of the woman he loved. However, she only shook her head and


    replied, ¡°What a silly boy!¡±

 Chapter 423

    Chapter 423


    Chapter 423 The Truth Behind the Death of Toby¡¯s Mother


    As soon as Toby heard Rose grinning through her voice, his eyes brightened. ¡°Aren¡¯t you mad at me,


    Grandma?¡±


    ¡°Why would I be? You don¡¯t always take things seriously, so why should I stop you when you finally do?¡±


    she asked with a smile.


    ¡°Thank you, Grandma.¡± He appeared to be relieved.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me, but even if you manage to create an opportunity for Sonia to meet more


    people, I¡¯m afraid¡ª¡±


    Knowing what his grandmother was going to say, he interrupted, ¡°I gave Mom¡¯s jewelry to her in your


    name and she epted it. By then, all she needs to do is wear it during your birthday feast and she


    should have no problem talking to those big shots.¡±


    After all, Toby knew that the valuable jewelry would help Sonia to create a decent and well-mannered


    illusion. Even if Paradigm Co. might appear to be unstable, the jewelry could change their impression as


    they would probably think she was from a decent and established family. For that, they would be willing


    to interact with her; otherwise, she would struggle to even greet anyone during Rose¡¯s birthday feast.


    She can never get away with the grim reality.


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Rose nodded. ¡°What a meticulous n you have there! It seems that I have worried too


    much.¡±


    Toby responded with a faint smile just as something crossed his mind. ¡°By the way, Grandma, Sonia now


    thinks that you¡¯re the one who gave her the jewelry. She¡¯ll be calling you to thank youter, so please


    don¡¯t tell her anything I just told you,¡± he reminded his grandmother in a serious manner.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Roseughed helplessly. ¡°Do I look like someone who is too dumb to know what should be done? Don¡¯t


    worry, I know what to do.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°Thank you, Grandma.¡±


    She responded with an affirmative hum shortly before an iing call came in when she was about to


    say something. When she took a look at the caller, she couldn¡¯t help but raise her eyebrows. These 2


    kids can really read each other¡¯s minds, can¡¯t they? Toby was just telling me that Sonia would call a few


    seconds ago and herees the call. ¡°Toby, Sonia is calling now. So, I¡¯m going to hang up first and


    answer her call,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded, staring at his phone screen for two straight minutes after the call ended. Then, he


    kept his phone in his pocket and headed toward the elevator shortly before he found himself at Bayside


    Residence¡¯s main exit.


    Meanwhile, Tom was leaning against the car when he saw his bossing in his direction. He then


    straightened his posture and greeted Toby, ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    When he noticed his assistant¡¯s stern look, Toby knitted his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Do you have


    something you want to tell me?¡±


    Tom nodded. ¡°The investigation team working on your case seems to have found new leads on the


    culprit.¡±


    ¡°New leads?¡± Toby squinted. ¡°I thought the culprit who tried to kill me and Sonia was caught thest


    time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but this time, the investigation team managed to dig deeper and find something that might lead us


    to the mastermind behind everything,¡± Tom replied with a deep voice.


    As Toby radiated a cold aura, his stare became intense and chilly. ¡°So, that culprit has a mastermind?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The mastermind is the actual culprit who has been hiding for twelve years without anyone


    ever discovering a single lead on him until recently.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the lead about?¡± Toby clenched his fists.


    ¡°That person seems to know your mother.¡± Tom looked at Toby, seemingly noticing the need to rify his


    words as he added, ¡°And I¡¯m not talking about Madam White. I¡¯m talking about your biological mother.¡±


    ¡°My¡­ My biological mother!¡± Toby¡¯s expression changed. This mastermind knew my mother and killed


    my father. What on earth is going on? ¡°What evidence do they have to prove that the murderer knew my


    mother?¡± He fixed his gaze on his assistant.


    Soon, Tom nodded. ¡°The evidence is a picture of your mother. Ever since you were caught in that traffic


    ident, the investigation team took a long time before they were able to find and bribe the driver who


    knocked you down. After some time, they managed to get their hands on the security footage of the


    entire Seafield, through which they sessfully identified the target¡¯s residence. However, that person


    was nowhere to be found by the time they sent someone after him.¡±


    ¡°After that?¡±


    ¡°Then, the investigation team proceeded to do some digging about the house and discovered that it was


    owned by someone else. Thus, they approached the owner and found out that the house was rented to


    three people.¡±


    ¡°Three people¡­¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    Tom then continued to say, ¡°ording to the owner, two of the tenants called the other one ¡®Boss¡¯. Thus,


    if I were to venture a guess, the boss was probably the same person who killed your father and


    orchestrated the car ident you were caught in. Meanwhile, the reason why I think this person knew


    your mother was because the investigation team searched the house and found a picture of her.


    Besides¡­¡±


    ¡°What else do you know?¡± Toby demanded with a dark look.


    Tom took a deep breath and responded, ¡°There were a few words found written on the back of the photo


    that read¡ªI will avenge you! Those words were written so hard that it almost tore the picture apart. Thus,


    it was deduced that the actual culprit must have been in a good rtionship with your mother, which was


    why he killed your father to avenge her.¡±


    ¡°Avenge her?¡± Toby was seen with a bitter look. ¡°Are you saying my parents shared a bitter history


    between them?¡±


    ¡°N-No, of course not. That¡¯s not what I meant. After all, it was a mere guess,¡± an embarrassed Tom


    rified with a smile.


    At the same time, Toby clenched his fists, looking down to mask the coldness in his eyes. Deep in his


    heart, he knew there was nothing bitter between his parents since they were not in love with each other


    in the first ce. In fact, they were only together because of the pre-arranged betrothal. Subsequently,


    when Toby¡¯s mother fell pregnant, his parents began sleeping in separate rooms and became spouses in


    name only.


    When Toby turned 12, his father met Jean, but his mother wasn¡¯t mad about that at all. Instead, she even


    supported the man¡¯s decision to be with Jean and even put in a few good words for her in front of Rose,


    attempting to convince Rose to ept Jean. By doing so, Toby¡¯s mother would be able to divorce his


    father and realize her biggest wish because she used to carry Toby in her arms and tell him that she


    wanted to leave the Fuller Family to live her own life.


    Unfortunately, Toby¡¯s mother had an emotional breakdown one night before she could divorce his father.


    She drowned her sorrows with alcohol that night and strangely threw a tantrum in the Fuller Residence


    while murmuringints about a man who stopped waiting for her and betrayed her love.


    At that moment, Toby finally understood his mother¡¯s indifference toward his father and her desire for a


    divorce because she was in love with another man, but he had fallen for someone else. Unable to ept


    the harsh truth, shemitted suicide the next day by slitting her own wrist. Thus, he was sure that his


    mother¡¯s death had nothing to do with his father, which was why he found the killer¡¯s motive to avenge


    his mother absurd andughable. Moreover, the culprit had also tried to kill Toby, which made him


    wonder whether there was something personal between his mother and this mysterious person.


    ¡°Please tell the investigation team to find out more about my mom¡¯s lover before she married into the


    Fuller Family,¡± Toby instructed with a pair of cial eyes.


    Tom adjusted his sses and asked, ¡°President Fuller, are you implying that the murderer could be your


    mother¡¯s former lover?¡±


    In fact, he had already known a thing or two about the matter rted to Toby¡¯s mother. Thus, he could


    tell that Toby ordered him to investigate his mother¡¯s former lover because Toby suspected the murderer


    was this person. Furthermore, Tom also agreed with his boss¡¯ deduction since it was likely that the


    former lover of Toby¡¯s mother was jealous and mad at Toby¡¯s father for separating them. Well, if that


    murderer reckoned President Fuller¡¯s father was the one who caused his mother¡¯s death, that should


    exin his motive to kill Old Master Fuller. Why was he onto President Fuller as well? Perhaps I¡¯ll still


    need to do some digging about that.

 Chapter 424

    Chapter 424


    Chapter 424 Sonia¡¯s Vision Is Back


    Toby nodded in agreement while Tom responded with a stern manner, ¡°Alright, I heard you loud and


    clear. I¡¯ll contact the investigation team right away. Furthermore, your mother¡¯s photo will be sent over as


    soon as they verify whether the murderer¡¯s fingerprints are still on it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, noted,¡± Toby replied with an affirmative hum.


    Soon, Tom reached for his phone and contacted the investigation team, whereupon he hung up the call


    two minutester and turned his attention to Toby. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve just passed your word to them


    and they¡¯ll send someone to initiate an investigation in Fredburg soon.¡±


    In fact, Fredburg was where the Johann Family¡¯s base was initially located and the ce Toby¡¯s mother


    lived in until she got married. Therefore, Tom could understand why Toby wanted the investigation team


    to head over to Fredburg to conduct some digging about his mother¡¯s former lover.


    ¡°During the investigation, please tell the team to keep a low profile to avoid any unnecessary attention.¡±


    Toby rubbed his forehead, worried that his suspicion would be proven true as that would mean the


    person was still in Fredburg. Thus, the investigation team¡¯s arrival could easily rm and scare the man


    off before they could capture him. If that happened, it would lead to an inevitable wild-goose chase that


    would be nothing more than a waste of time. After all, Toby had been waiting for twelve years to avenge


    his father.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. I¡¯ve thought about that as well, so I already told them to do everything they


    can to avoid any unwanted attention,¡± Tom replied as he adjusted his sses.


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Toby raised his chin as he looked up and fixed his eyes on the building. A few moments


    later, he averted his gaze and opened the car door. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡­¡­


    Two dayster, Sonia woke up and saw a glimmer of bright ray of light in front of her the moment she


    opened her eyes. Is that light? Oh my gosh! It¡¯s really a ray of light! Although she still couldn¡¯t make out


    what was in front of her eyes, she quickly understood that she was recovering her eyesight. Therefore,


    she clenched her fists and eximed in exhration.


    In the meantime, Wanda, who was preparing breakfast, heard Sonia¡¯s voice before immediately leaving


    the kitchenware aside to turn off the gas stove. Then, she barged into Sonia¡¯s bedroom without even


    knocking on the door, thinking that Sonia was in trouble as she asked in a concerned manner, ¡°Are you


    alright, Miss Reed?¡±


    Upon hearing Wanda¡¯s response, Sonia knew her excited scream must have caused a


    misunderstanding, so she quickly calmed herself down and looked at the door. As soon as she turned


    her head, she was surprised once more at the sight of a blurry silhouette. However, she was sure that


    the person standing in front of her was Wanda.


    ¡°Wanda,¡± Sonia called out to the figure and saw it moving. Oh my gosh! It¡¯s really Wanda!


    Meanwhile, Wanda only fixed her eyes on Sonia¡¯s trembling body as she nervously approached Sonia.


    ¡°Are you alright, Miss Reed? Please say something. Don¡¯t scare me.¡± If anything happens to Miss Reed,


    Young Master Toby will lose his mind.


    Upon sensing Wanda¡¯s anxiety, Sonia took a deep breath to remain calm before she replied with a smile,


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Wanda. I¡¯m sorry that I scared you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re fine?¡± Wanda didn¡¯t seem to believe Sonia¡¯s words as she proceeded to regard thedy seated


    on the bed. Nheless, she quickly became bewildered when she failed to notice anything strange


    upon taking a closer look at Sonia.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re really fine, Miss Reed?¡± Wanda couldn¡¯t put her mind to ease, so she decided to


    ask again. ¡°I heard you scream and saw your body shaking.¡±


    ¡°I assure you that I¡¯m fine.¡± Sonia smiled once again. ¡°The reason why I screamed is because I¡¯m happy.¡±


    ¡°Happy?¡± Wanda appeared to be confused. ¡°What¡¯s the good news, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°My vision is back.¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t hide the joy in her voice.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s reply, Wanda was caught in a trance for a while. Then, she agitatedly asked, ¡°Is


    that true, Miss Reed? Is your vision really back?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯vepletely regained my sight. After all, I can only see shadows


    now but not the exact details including colors.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not bad either.¡± Wanda felt happy for Sonia. ¡°Now that you can already see the silhouette, it


    means your eyes are recovering. Congrattions, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s head to the hospitalter for a check-up,¡± Wanda suggested.


    Sonia hummed in agreement. In fact, now that she could see shadows, she had also thought the same


    thing because she believed she would need new medication for her eyes. Thus, she understood how


    crucial it was for her to swing by the hospital for a check-up. ¡°Wanda, please take me to the bathroom. I¡¯d


    like to brush my teeth and take a shower now so that I can go to the hospital sooner.¡± After saying those


    words, she crept out from the bed, desperate to have her vision back because she could no longer wait


    to return to Paradigm Co.


    Ever since Sonia was out of action, she had asked Charles to momentarily take over all of her work.


    Asher was unhappy with this arrangement even though Charles was known as the director in Paradigm


    Co. because he reckoned that Charles had gotten in his way, which prevented him from appointing his


    own confidant to assume the position. When Daphne brought that matter up with Sonia, she mentioned


    that was the reason why Asher kept finding fault with Charles. Despite Charles¡¯ hot temper, he had


    tolerated Asher and stayed in Paradigm Co. for Sonia¡¯s sake.


    Because of that, it infuriated Sonia so much that she wanted to stand up for Charles and retaliate, but


    due to her impaired sight, she didn¡¯t dare to rock up to herpany. That in itself left her feeling guilty for


    throwing him in a tight spot. For now, all I want is to have my vision back so that I can return to Paradigm


    Co. and make Asher pay for what he has done.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Not long after that, Sonia was done with her morning ablution and breakfast, whereupon she was


    apanied by Wanda to the First World Hospital. While they were on their way there, Sonia had


    already given Tim a call to secure an appointment. Thus, he was standing at the hospital¡¯s entrance the


    moment they arrived, but nheless, Wanda couldn¡¯t help but be wary at the sight of Tim because she


    was unaware of his rtionship with Sonia. Who is this guy? Does he know Miss Reed? It looks like he


    is here to receive her.


    As she had sensed nothing out of the ordinary from Tim¡¯s look, Wanda didn¡¯t think the doctor harbored


    any feelings for Sonia. Nevertheless, after witnessing his unusually cordial attitude, she couldn¡¯t seem to


    convince herself that everything was normal.


    While a confused Wanda pondered for an answer, he walked closer and set his eyes on Sonia¡¯s face.


    ¡°You mentioned over the phone that you can now see shadows, didn¡¯t you?


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Tim stared at her eyes and asked, ¡°Can you see me now?¡±


    ¡°I can only make out your silhouette, but not your facial features, your outfit and its color,¡± she answered.


    He pushed his sses up his nose bridge while replying, ¡°I think I know what¡¯s going on. Firstly, I¡¯ll have


    to check whether there is still any blood clot left in your brain. Thus, I¡¯ll take you to the neurology


    department to do a CT scan first before we head to the ophthalmology department.¡±


    ¡°Please proceed with the arrangements as you see fit,¡± she answered once again.


    Soon, the three of them walked through the hospital¡¯s main entrance shortly before Tim took Sonia to the


    CT scan room. At the same time, Wanda remained outside and dialed Toby¡¯s number.


    Meanwhile, Toby was in the midst of a meeting when he received her phone call. He then frowned and


    reached for his phone, but as he was about to decline the call, he quickly changed his mind when he saw


    who was calling. He immediately straightened his posture and raised his hand as a gesture to inform the


    department manager to pause in the presentation.


    Now that the entire meeting room was shrouded in silence, Toby slid the green icon across his phone


    screen and greeted, ¡°Yes, speaking.¡±


    On the other hand, Wanda covered her mouth the moment she heard his voice and spoke in a hushed


    tone, ¡°Young Master Toby, Miss Reed¡¯s eyes are recovering.¡±


    ¡°For real?¡± His eyes brightened whereas everyone in the meeting room could clearly sense the positive


    change in his mood. At that moment, they all looked at each other in curiosity, wondering what it was that


    lifted Toby¡¯s spirit so much.


    ¡°It is. Miss Reed can now make out blurry silhouettes, so we¡¯re currently heading to the hospital for a


    check-up. Will you be there, Young Master Toby?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Toby nodded and hung up the call, but as soon as he kept his phone away, the


    bright look on his face was immediately reced by his previous cial and emotionless expression.


    ¡°Please carry on.¡±

 Chapter 425

    Chapter 425


    Chapter 425 Kidnapping Sonia


    ¡°Sure,¡± the departmental manager replied with an affirmative hum and continued his presentation.


    Nheless, everyone else in the meeting room could no longer focus on their work as they secretly


    winked at each other in an ambiguous manner. Now that they had been taken over by their gossipy


    nature, they were all dying to know who Toby was talking so gently to over the phone. After all, he had


    never been so tender to anyone except Tina, but ever since she was sentenced to prison, no one had


    ever seen him being this gentle again. Thus, when they noticed Toby¡¯s expression, they couldn¡¯t help but


    wonder whether he was in a new rtionship. Tsk! Tsk! That¡¯s sooner than expected.


    Now that he was the receipt of everyone¡¯s visual banters, Toby knew what they were thinking.


    Nheless, he wasn¡¯t mad at all but rather happy to see them misunderstanding the situation. ¡°That¡¯s


    enough. Pay attention to the presentation right now.¡±


    He knocked on the table after a brief murmur of gossip. Deep down in his heart, he couldn¡¯t wait to finish


    the meeting sooner so that he could head over to the hospital to visit Sonia as he wanted to be the first


    person she saw when her eyes recovered.


    On the other hand, everyone else straightened their posture when they snapped out of their fantasies as


    soon as they heard his warning.


    In the meantime, at the First World Hospital, Wanda kept her phone away and returned to the hallway


    outside the CT scan room, where she sat on the bench and waited for Sonia to emerge.


    Half an hourter, Wanda immediately stood up from her seat when she saw Tim and Sonia leaving the


    room. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Wanda,¡± Sonia replied.


    Wanda turned her attention to him and asked, ¡°How is she, Dr. Lancaster?¡±


    ¡°The blood clot ispletely gone and she¡¯ll have full vision probably by tomorrow. In fact, she could


    start to see things clearly today,¡± he exined with both of his hands in his pocket.


    She happily eximed, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s definitely music to our ears!¡±


    ¡°Alright, we should take you to ophthalmology now for a check-up,¡± Tim said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia responded with an affirmative hum as Wanda seized her arm and followed them both to


    the ophthalmology department.


    It was already close to the afternoon after the multiple check-ups when Sonia collected her medicine


    from the dispensary and was ready to leave. At the same time, a worried Wanda couldn¡¯t stop looking at


    her phone while wondering what took Toby so long to show up. Where is Young Master Toby? Miss Reed


    is about to make a move soon.


    ¡°Wanda? Wanda?¡± Sonia was waiting for Wanda to seize her arm but received no response as if the


    woman was not there. Failing to feel her caretaker¡¯s presence, Sonia began to panic because she didn¡¯t


    know what to do as a visually impaired person if Wanda wasn¡¯t around.


    Soon, Wanda heard Sonia¡¯s fearful voice and immediately responded by looking over. ¡°I¡¯m here, Miss


    Reed.¡±


    Wanda¡¯s voice was like a soothing luby that calmed Sonia¡¯s restless heart. She then took a deep


    breath and questioned Wanda in a dissatisfied manner, ¡°Where did you go, Wanda?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t go anywhere, Miss Reed. I was just too absorbed in my thoughts and I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±


    Wanda apologized.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s go now.¡± Sonia rubbed her forehead.


    Wanda nodded silently while letting out a sigh. It seems that Young Master Toby is going to have to wait


    for another chance to see Miss Reed. Then, she walked with Sonia all the way from the hospital¡¯s exit to


    the car park where she reached for the car keys and said, ¡°Miss Reed, please stay still while I open the


    car door.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Soon, Wanda pushed the button on her car key to unlock the car door before opening it. However, as


    she was about to help Sonia enter the car, a van suddenly approached them at lightning speed and


    abruptly pulled up beside them.


    As soon as the door was open, two emotionless and muscr men sprang from the van and grabbed


    Sonia while covering her mouth before they dragged her into the vehicle. Wanda, along with the other


    bystanders, were dumbstruck by what they saw in the face of the unexpected turn of events. After all, no


    one thought something that they watched in the movies would happen in reality, let alone expect a


    kidnapping to ur in broad daylight.


    At that moment, every witness froze in their tracks and watched the abduction whereas Sonia had fear


    written all over her pale face. What¡¯s going on? Who is doing this? Who is trying to kidnap me? Needless


    to say, her questions were left unanswered as she didn¡¯t bother to ponder about it because she wasn¡¯t so


    calm as to continue thinking about it now that her safety was in jeopardy.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Sonia tried to shout in a muffled voice but failed to make herself heard. Thus, she could only


    watch with saucer eyes as she futilely struggled to break free from the two muscr men. Nheless,


    her desperate effort to escape only proved to be in vain when the kidnappers continued to show no signs


    of releasing her. Now that she was at her wits¡¯ end, she turned her attention to her surroundings and


    made as much noise as she could, in the hope that she could draw Wanda¡¯s attention to rescue her.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s muffled cry, Wanda snapped out of her trance and shouted, ¡°What are you guys


    doing?! Let Miss Reed go or I¡¯m going to call the cops!¡±


    Wanda! When Sonia heard Wanda¡¯s voice, she saw a glimmer of hope that she was about to be rescued


    and cried even louder in her muffled voice. However, the kidnappers weren¡¯t intimidated by Wanda¡¯s


    warning as they continued to drag Sonia into the van.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    As Sonia was about to be dragged away, Wanda quickly approached the abductors to interfere. ¡°I told


    you to release her! Didn¡¯t you hear me?! What you¡¯re doing is against thew, so let go of¡ª¡± Before she


    could finish her words, a huge palmnded on her shoulder, whereupon she felt herself jolting backward.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Wanda to realize that she had been shoved aside as she painfully fell onto the


    ground. Her face paled a momentter and it was covered by cold sweat as she struggled to get back on


    her feet.


    Although Sonia was unable to see what had happened, she could tell from Wanda¡¯s painful moan that


    she had been violently treated. At the same time, she was able to feel one of the kidnappers releasing


    his right hand, which she reckoned was the same hand that he used to hit Wanda.


    At the thought of that, Sonia became worried because Wanda was in her advanced years and too old to


    put up a fight. Furthermore, she was concerned that in her attempt to stop the kidnappers, Wanda could


    be severely injured.


    As Sonia expected, her worst fear came true when she felt two hands restraining her ankles, although


    one of the abductors had released her right hand earlier. Then, she felt those two hands hoisting her up


    before she felt herself levitating in the air.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± She violently shook her head and struggled by kicking in all directions as her fear suffocated her.


    What are these guys doing?!


    Meanwhile, the two abductors became annoyed with Sonia¡¯s struggle and they became even more


    aggressive. One of them proceeded to tighten his grip around her ankle to hurt her as a gesture of


    warning. Besides, he also cially threatened,, ¡°If you keep squirming, I¡¯m going to crush your ankle and


    leave you crippled!¡±


    When she heard tha man¡¯s words, Sonia froze in terror. Did they just say that they¡¯ll crush my ankle?!


    Although those words might have sounded like a bluff, she had no doubt about what those kidnappers


    were capable of doing. While she reckoned Tina was the worst person she had ever dealt with, she was


    sure that there was someone else worse out there in the world.

 Chapter 426

    Chapter 426


    Chapter 426 It¡¯s Too Late


    After the spine-chilling threat, Sonia didn¡¯t dare to even move a muscle. Noticing her obedience, the


    kidnappers stopped threatening her and eased up on her. The next moment, she felt herself being lifted


    in the air, and she guessed she was being dragged into the van. Just like she expected, she immediately


    dropped to the ground as soon as the hands that were grabbing her ankles released her.


    The vinyl sensation of car seats told her that she was in the backseat of a vehicle. At that moment, even


    her heart reacted to the dire situation by raising her pulse rate. Am I in a van now? Man, I can¡¯t believe


    I¡¯m being taken away by these people. At the thought of that, Sonia immediately shivered in fear


    because she didn¡¯t want to be taken away by some strangers to some ce she didn¡¯t know. After all, it


    could end up terribly for her if she was taken to some remote and deste ce. I must run for my life!


    She sat bolt upright when those words showed up in her mind.


    Nevertheless, Sonia¡¯s n was quickly thwarted by the grim reality when one of the kidnappers twisted


    her arm and restrained it right behind her back before pinning her on the seat. Feeling her skin rubbing


    against the rough cushion, she moaned in pain. ¡°Ouch! Let go of me!¡±


    Needless to say, Sonia¡¯s words were ignored by her abductors, who then sealed her mouth with duct


    tapes. At that moment, Sonia could no longer talk like she did earlier. Soon, one of the kidnappers said,


    ¡°That should do it. Now, let¡¯s tie her up with the rope and get out of here before trouble catches up with


    us. The cops can be here anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± The other abductor responded just when Sonia felt her legs being bound by ropes.


    On the other hand, Wanda endured the intense pain she suffered from the fall and got back on her feet


    to save Sonia from the van. However, she underestimated her own injury, as she was quite badly hurt


    from the fall. As soon as she tried to get up, she staggered backward and fell on her backside, hurting


    her tailbone in the process and aggravating her injury.


    Knowing she was unable to save Sonia by herself in her current condition, she turned her attention to the


    people around her and begged them to do something. ¡°Please save her, everyone! Please save Miss


    Reed! I¡¯ll make sure Young Master Toby repays your kind favor! Don¡¯t let them take her away!¡±


    Since the two kidnappers were greatly outnumbered by the witnesses around them, Wanda believed that


    they could have saved Sonia¡¯s life if they had interfered together. However, she forgot about the timid


    and indifferent nature among people in the modern unforgiving society as she realized they were just


    watching a show.


    After all, they all backed away when they heard Wanda¡¯s plea for them to step in and rescue Sonia.


    Some of them even left the scene, clearly showing their reluctance to help Sonia. Despite their sympathy


    for Sonia¡¯s fate, they didn¡¯t feel obligated to rescue her because they didn¡¯t want to get themselves hurt.


    Deep down, they were all selfish for valuing their own lives more than that of the others.


    In the meantime, Wanda felt an icy chill surging through her body when no one from the crowd was


    willing to lend a helping hand. Filled with disappointment and frustration, she pointed at them with her


    shaking finger. ¡°You¡­ How could you¡­¡±


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    As Wanda pointed at those people, they all turned around and avoided her gaze guiltily because they


    were also aware of their own indifference. In the end, Wanda could only watch the van leave as she sat


    on the floor and cried with a broken heart, ming herself for failing to stop Sonia¡¯s kidnap.


    ¡°President Fuller, it looks like something is going on up ahead. There is a huge crowd of people for some


    reason,¡± Tommented as he set his eyes on the crowd in Toby¡¯s Maybach.


    In the meantime, Toby, who was never a busybody, somehow had a bad feeling at the sight of the crowd.


    Thus, when Tom was about to open the car door for Toby after pulling up not far away from the crowd,


    thetter exited the vehicle by himself. Then, he squinted at those people. ¡°Please check out what¡¯s


    going on.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tom felt surprised with what Toby told him to do because he knew his boss was not a busybody,


    which was why he overreacted upon hearing Toby¡¯s words. However, he didn¡¯t ask Toby why he wanted


    him to find out what was going on with the crowd. Instead, he did as he was instructed and walked


    toward the crowd of people.


    As Tom approached the crowd, he heard murmurs mentioning a van with two kidnappers. Thus, he was


    able to quickly draw a brief conclusion about what was going on based on those words. Someone has


    been kidnapped and taken away in a van. Who would be so gutsy to pull off an abduction outside the


    hospital in broad daylight? Just when Tom was about to return to Toby to tell him what he learned, he


    suddenly heard a familiar cry that would change the look on his face.


    Is that¡­ Wanda¡¯s voice? Wait a second! Without a moment of hesitation, Tom turned around and


    weaved through the crowd to confirm his suspicion. On the other hand, Toby, who saw the sudden


    change in Tom¡¯s facial expression, was quickly overwhelmed by a strong feeling of anxiety. In the end, he


    gave in to his curiosity and walked toward the crowd to find out more for himself.


    At the same time, Tom had sessfully made it to the center of the crowd, where he saw Wanda lying


    on her belly tearfully in a seemingly injured state. In that instant, his blood ran cold while Wanda cried


    helplessly amidst the murmurs of discussion about a kidnap incident.


    Therefore, Tom was sure that Sonia had been kidnapped because Wanda was supposed to apany


    her for her check-up. Hence, now that Sonia was nowhere to be found around Wanda, his suspicion was


    the only logical exnation for her disappearance.


    ¡°Wanda!¡± Tom shouted out to thedy.


    When Wanda heard the man¡¯s voice, she stopped crying for a moment and looked up, turning her


    attention to the direction she was called. At the sight of Tom, she shouted, ¡°Tom, please hurry up and


    save Miss Reed! Someone took her!¡±


    Oh my gosh! My suspicion is correct. Tom took a deep breath and was about to say something but was


    soon interrupted by an angry voice. ¡°What did you just say? Sonia was taken?¡±


    It turned out that Toby had weaved through the crowd and happened to overhear Wanda¡¯s words,


    unbeknownst to both of them. Sonia has been kidnapped. No wonder I had this strange bad feeling when


    I saw the crowd.


    ¡°Young Master Toby¡­¡± Wanda felt ashamed to face Toby because she reckoned she had failed her


    responsibility to look after Sonia as he told her to. Now that Sonia was gone, she knew that she had let


    Toby down and lost his trust.


    Meanwhile, Toby had no idea what Wanda was thinking, but apparently, he had no intention of finding it


    out either. Instead, he walked up to Wanda and asked with a cold voice, ¡°You said Sonia was taken. Who


    took her away?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Wanda shook her head. ¡°I only saw two muscr guys who looked especially intimidating.


    I bet they must be the muscle for someone in the underworld. They came and took Miss Reed away with


    a van.¡±


    ¡°Van?¡± Toby asked with a cold voice as he set his eyes somewhere across the road. ¡°Where did the van


    go? Did you see the license te number?¡±


    ¡°It went that way, but I don¡¯t know about the license te number because the van doesn¡¯t have one,¡±


    Wanda answered.


    ¡°Alright, I heard you,¡± Toby replied and weaved through the crowd, hastily making for the car before he


    hit on the gas pedal and drove off.

 Chapter 427

    Chapter 427


    Chapter 427 Den and His Men


    ¡°President Fuller¡­¡± Tom extended his arm, trying to stop Toby, but it was toote. He could only watch


    him disappear from sight. Feeling discouraged, Tom put down his hands and looked at Wanda. ¡°Wanda, I


    guess President Fuller must have left to pursue that van.¡±


    ¡°Thank God!¡± Wanda heaved a sigh of relief and nodded while wiping her tears. Deep down, she


    reckoned there was nothing that Toby couldn¡¯t solve.


    ¡°By the way, why are you lying on the ground?¡± Tom recalled the confusion that bewildered him when he


    saw Wanda. She was lying on the ground in a strange posture without getting up despite his arrival.


    Wanda rubbed her waist and smiled bitterly. ¡°When Miss Reed was being taken away, I tried to interfere


    and save her but was shoved onto the ground. Now, my back is injured, and I can¡¯t get up.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Tom eximed in a high-pitch voice. Wanda is hurt?! No wonder she keeps lying on the ground


    all the time. This is no joke! ¡°No way! I must take you to the hospital now.¡± Tom got closer to Wanda and


    carried her before rushing to First World Hospital as fast as humanly possible.


    Soon, Wanda was taken into the CT scan room in the orthopedics department. Meanwhile, Tom stood


    outside the room as he reached for his phone to give Toby a call. On the other hand, Toby mped the


    steering with his hands tightly while fixing his cial eyes on the junction ahead of him, radiating a cold


    aura that filled the car¡¯s interior. Ugh! I¡¯m now at the junction, but I have no idea which way to go. Which


    way did Sonia¡¯s kidnapper go? ¡°Damn it!¡± Toby clenched his fists and thumped the steering in frustration.


    At that moment, Toby heard his phone ringing in his pocket. Then, he took a deep breath to calm himself


    as he pulled over and reached for his phone. ¡°Talk!¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve already called the cops and told them about Miss Reed¡¯s kidnap. The case has


    been handed over to the relevant department, and they¡¯re going to check out every security footage


    across the city soon. So, I think we¡¯re going to have news about the van in no time,¡± Tom replied.


    Upon hearing that, Toby appeared to lighten up. ¡°Good! Once you get the location of that van, send it to


    me right away!¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Tom nodded.


    Toby tightened his fingers around his phone. ¡°Also, get me a team of bodyguards. I want them toe


    with me as soon as the van¡¯s location has been pinpointed.¡± After all, he remembered that Wanda


    mentioned the two muscr men who kidnapped Sonia were someone¡¯s muscle. While there was


    nothing much known about the mastermind¡¯s identity, Toby was not sure whether that person had more


    muscles. Thus, he needed more people to back him up in this rescue mission.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tom answered.


    Not long after that, Toby put away his phone and sat in the car, trying to calm himself down while waiting


    for results from thew enforcement units and his bodyguards¡¯ arrival. Since there was nothing he could


    do at the moment, he only prayed for Sonia to be safe.


    At the same time, he looked down while impatiently tapping the steering in a messy rhythm that clearly


    reflected his anxiety and vexation. Deep down, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about who ordered Sonia¡¯s


    kidnap. Is it Titus? Or is it the culprit who orchestrated my ident thest time?


    Toby squinted, deeming Titus his primary suspect between the two because of the personal vendetta


    between him and Sonia. Furthermore, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Titus was really the one who did that,


    considering what had happened recently.


    Nevertheless, the culprit who put him through a car ident was also a possible suspect because he


    was quite close with Sonia. Therefore, Toby reckoned he could be using Sonia to make him suffer.


    Anyway, I don¡¯t care who kidnapped Sonia because I¡¯m going to make that person pay.


    On the other hand, the van with no license te number pulled up by the roadside after traveling a long


    way through the highway out of Seafield City. At the same time, a ck MPV showed up and stopped by


    the roadside as well. Soon, both parties stepped out of their vehicles at the same time, whereupon two


    muscr men, known as Stan and Dan, exited their van and stood before it.


    In the meantime, a feminine-looking man with long hair, along with his muscr bodyguard, stepped out


    of their MPV. Then, the man fixed his eyes on the van for two seconds before he approached it and


    stopped before them.


    Stan and Dan bowed to the man. ¡°Young Master Den.¡±


    ¡°Where is she?¡± Den fiddled with the ring on his finger, asking with a hoarse voice.


    Soon, the two muscr men slid the car door open and answered, ¡°Right in here.¡±


    As Den took a step forward and looked inside, his eyes met with Sonia¡¯s. While Sonia was tied and


    gagged, she was not unconscious but only restrained in the backseat. Therefore, she could hear their


    conversation outside the van.


    For that, she believed the person whom they called ¡®Young Master Den¡¯ was the mastermind who


    ordered her kidnap. Nheless, she was confused because she had no idea who that person was.


    After all, she didn¡¯t know anyone who was called by that, so she couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she was


    wanted by the mysterious person.


    Meanwhile, Sonia set her eyes outside the window. At the same time, her impaired vision seemed to


    improve even more. Earlier that morning, she was only able to see shadows, but now, she could make


    out blurry features, which felt like short-sightedness to her. At that moment, she could see a feminine-


    looking man with smooth long hair outside the van but was still unable to make out his appearance.


    However, she understood that the man must be Young Master Den whom her kidnappers were


    calling. Who is this guy? I¡¯ve never seen him before. ¡°Hmm!¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes widened, her body wriggling


    while she spoke incoherently with her muffled voice.


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    ¡°Remove the tape from her mouth.¡± Den sneered coldly and waved his hand.


    ¡°Alright.¡± One of the kidnappers replied with an affirmative hum and grabbed Sonia by the cor, lifting


    her up before he ripped the tape off her mouth. Then, he shoved her backward, sending her to the


    stiffened backseat. Hurt by the man¡¯s rough treatment, she was in shambles but could do nothing but


    moan in pain.


    Besides, the red marks around her lips only added to her messy look, thanks to the kidnapper, who


    ripped the tape off her mouth in a rough manner. Nevertheless, Sonia couldn¡¯t care less about how she


    looked as she tried hard to sit up straight. Then, she stared at the man and asked with a trembling voice,


    ¡°Who the hell are you? Why are you after me?¡±


    ¡°Who I am doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is that I can finally achieve my goal with you in my hands.¡±


    Den chuckled with a soft voice, sounding almost like a sinister wizard.


    Upon hearing thatughter, Sonia felt her scalp getting numb as her body tensed up from head to toe.


    Oh my gosh! That smile is definitely the scariest and most chilly one I¡¯ve ever seen. ¡°Your goal?¡± Sonia


    took a deep breath to calm herself down. ¡°What goal? If my memory serves me right, we don¡¯t even


    know each other. I¡¯ve never seen you, so I don¡¯t think I can be of any use for you to achieve your goal.¡±


    ¡°Of course you can!¡± The man leaned closer to her and added with a hoarse and deep voice, ¡°You¡¯re the


    woman Lucius cares a lot about.¡±


    ¡°Lucius Hayes?¡± Sonia knitted her eyebrows and wondered who that was.

 Chapter 428

    Chapter 428


    Chapter 428 A Rescue Mission


    Sonia ran through a list of possible names and faces in her mind but failed to recall anyone she knew


    with the name Lucius Hayes. However, the name sounded rather familiar to her, like she had heard it


    somewhere else. That name rings a bell. Where did I hear it?


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Den looked away with coldness in his eyes and fiddled with his ring. ¡°I¡¯ve been


    searching for Lucius for a few years, but he is a hard man to find. In fact, he is so good I couldn¡¯t find a


    way to hurt him, so I turned my attention to you.¡± The man stroked Sonia¡¯s chin with his cold fingers,


    sending chills down her spine and filling her eyes with horror.


    Feeling utterly dismayed, Sonia acknowledged the distress signal her intuition was sending her. This


    man is definitely creeping me out. ¡°Turned your attention to me?¡± She gulped and asked through her


    shivering lips, ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°I just told you. It¡¯s because you¡¯re the woman Lucius cares about, and since he is my target, I can only


    execute my n, starting from you. Once I have you, he is going toe and rescue you, and when he


    gets here, I¡¯m going to kill him.¡± Den revealed his evil n with an eerie smile.


    ¡°A-Are you going to kill him?¡± Sonia asked with a shaking voice.


    ¡°I can only find peace in his death!¡± Den admitted his sinister intention to kill. In fact, he was Robert¡¯s


    fourth son, as well as his fourth illegitimate son. When Robert was younger, he loved to sleep around,


    which was why he had so many illegitimate sons. Although Den was the fourth son, he still had a few


    other younger half-brothers.


    While all of Robert¡¯s illegitimate sons wanted to be the Hayes Family¡¯s heir to inherit the huge fortune,


    they all fought among each other, yet Robert did nothing to stop that. Thus, their infighting grew more


    and more intense, as they all wouldn¡¯t rest until they got rid of each other.


    Although Robert initially had more than 10 illegitimate sons, most of them were either dead, maimed, or


    exiled in other countries, leaving only Den and four other of his half-brothers. Just when the five sons


    thought the ce to be the Hayes Family¡¯s heir would be a fight among them, they were surprised by


    Robert, who had no intention of making any of them his heir. Instead, he had been secretly looking for


    the son that belonged to his wife because that was the legitimate son of the Hayes Family.


    Nevertheless, Robert¡¯s legitimate son, Lucius, was cast away from home with his mother when he was 5


    years old. Therefore, his half-brothers had never viewed him as an enemy, only to be stunned by


    Robert¡¯s sudden change in his inclination. Since Robert was growing old and ill, he began to miss his


    wife and son, so he dispatched his men to search for them, in order to make him his heir.


    Because of that, the illegitimate sons were not happy, as they didn¡¯t think Lucius deserved to be the


    Haye Family¡¯s heir. After all, he was just Robert¡¯s other son who grew up outside of the Hayes Family,


    despite his legitimacy.


    Therefore, the five of them decided to set aside their differences and focus on theirmon goal, which


    was to¡ªget rid of Lucius in order to ensure no one stood in their way of inheriting the Hayes Family¡¯s


    fortune.


    Den managed to discover Lucius¡¯ whereabouts ahead of his half-brothers, even sending hitmen to


    either intimidate or kill him. However, none of his ns proved to work, as Lucius was able to get away in


    one piece every time.


    Thus, Den could no longer wait anymore and decided to take him on by himself. Although he


    continued to fail his goal, he soon discovered what he deemed to be a turning point when he realized


    Lucius was close with a woman. Therefore, he sent someone to do some digging about the woman with


    whom he nned to lure Lucius out to kill him.


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    Sonia had no idea what was on Den¡¯s mind, only looking at him in horror. ¡°You¡¯re scary.¡± Deep down,


    she wondered whether people like Den, Tina, and Titus had a heart, as they seemed to always be


    filled with bloodlust.


    ¡°I¡¯m scary?!¡± Den was not mad at the way Sonia described him. Instead, he let out a burst of gleeful


    and maniacalughter. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. I¡¯m scary, and I like to strike fear in people¡¯s hearts


    because that is how I can show the world how great I am!¡± He spread his arms open and looked up like a


    savior who was going to help the world.


    Sonia curled her lips upward speechlessly, wondering how narcissistic Den was.


    ¡°Young Master Den!¡± one of the muscr kidnappers called out.


    Lucius knitted his eyebrows and turned around. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    The man held the phone. ¡°I¡¯ve just sent Lucius a message and told him that we have Sonia captured.¡±


    ¡°Did he reply?¡± Lucius asked.


    ¡°Yes, he did.¡± The man nodded. ¡°Just two words. ¡®You dare?!¡¯.¡±


    As the man showed Den the phone, he set his eyes on those words and made a nonchnt grunt. ¡°It


    looks like he is pissed off. That¡¯s a good thing. Tell him toe to Misty Mountain if he wants to rescue


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± the man replied and texted back before he waited for another response from Lucius.


    In the meantime, Sonia asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re getting ahead of yourself? Why would this guy


    come over to save me?¡±


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Den turned around and looked at thedy. ¡°Did you just say he won¡¯te and save


    you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I bet he won¡¯t because I don¡¯t even know who the heck Lucius Hayes is. So, I¡¯m sure he


    doesn¡¯t know me either. For that, what you said about me being the woman he cares the most is not true.


    Thus, what makes you think he is going toe for me? If I were you, I¡¯d quit wasting my time on this.


    Just let me go.¡± Sonia nervously gazed at Den, hoping her words could convince the man. After all,


    she had no idea who Lucius was and thought that this was Den¡¯s mistake. Maybe this guy will let me


    go once he finds out Lucius and I don¡¯t know each other.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know him?¡± Den sounded like he had heard a funny joke andughed out loud.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Sonia¡¯s scalp grew numb when she heard hisughter.


    Den folded his arms and replied, ¡°Oh my gosh! I thought Lucius told you about his actual identity, but I


    guess that¡¯s fine. The most important thing is that you know Lucius, who really cares about you. Thus,


    I¡¯m pretty sure he is going toe and save your life. Trust your own charm, won¡¯t you?¡±


    Den then let go of Sonia¡¯s chin and rubbed her face, but Sonia felt as if there was a snake slithering


    around her face. Feeling goosebumps all over her body, she backed away to stay out of his reach.


    On the other hand, Den somehow released her from his hand and said, ¡°Alright, just be a good girl


    and do as you¡¯re told. Then, I might just let you live after I kill Lucius; but if you don¡¯t cooperate, I¡¯m going


    to kill the both of you. After all, he loves you, so I might as well do him a favor and let you both die


    together. In fact, he may even thank me for that.¡± Den retracted his arm and stepped away from the


    van when he was done scaring the poordy.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was shivering uncontrobly with horror filling her eyes. This man is going to kill me!


    Skeptical about Den¡¯s words to spare her life, she didn¡¯t think he would keep his promise because she


    had already seen his face. Furthermore, she believed he wouldn¡¯t let her go in one piece, even if he


    would let her live.


    Oh, man! Is he going to gouge my eyes, cut my tongue or chop my limbs off? He is not going to leave


    any loose ends behind. At the thought of that, Sonia¡¯s eyes were filled with despair as her heart froze in


    terror. Thinking that would likely be her end, she hopelessly doubted Charles and the rest would make it


    there in time to save her.


    By the time they find me, I¡¯ll probably be as good as dead. What do I do now?


    She was only left with the choice to weep and bite her lip in silence.

 Chapter 429

    Chapter 429


    Chapter 429 The Show Must Go On


    At that moment, Sonia was overwhelmed by despair and pessimism. Deep down, she wished there was


    someone who could save her right away, no matter who it was.


    However, she quickly understood that it was just her wishful thinking, but when she closed her eyes


    hopelessly, a person¡¯s silhouette shed across her mind so fast that she wasn¡¯t able to see who it was.


    Nevertheless, she hoped that someone coulde to her rescue and get her out of the sticky situation.


    In the meantime, the kidnapper with the mobile phone came to Den and said, ¡°Young Master Den,


    here is the location of Misty Mountain.¡±


    Den took a quick glimpse at the phone and showed his acknowledgment. Soon, another guy


    approached him with a serious look on his face. ¡°Young Master Den, the road traffic department in


    Fredburg is now searching for our whereabouts through the security cameras on every street.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Den¡¯s face darkened. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is that Lucius¡¯ doing?¡±


    ¡°No, Lucius is not so powerful that the road traffic department has to go through every security footage in


    the city just to help him look for us. In fact, it¡¯s the Fuller Group¡¯s president, Toby Fuller, who is onto us.¡±


    ¡°That guy?¡± Den frowned. Knowing Toby as the Fuller Family¡¯s patriarch and the Fuller Group¡¯s


    president, he deemed him as powerful as his own father, Robert. Thus, he understood why Toby was


    able to get help from the national road traffic department to extract the security footage from every corner


    of the city. However, something seemingly crossed Den¡¯s mind as his eyes darkened. ¡°Are you sure


    Toby is onto us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m absolutely sure because our men in Fredburg have news for us that Toby has been digging around


    for the van in which Sonia was taken.¡± The man nodded affirmatively.


    Den gritted his teeth, radiating a stern aura. ¡°Why is he looking for our van?¡±


    Is Sonia rted to Toby by any chance?


    Den¡¯s suspicion was quickly confirmed when the man added, ¡°Well, Sonia is Toby¡¯s ex-wife, whom he


    cares a lot about. So, now that Sonia has been captured by us, he is definitely on the move to look for


    her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Den¡¯s face changed. ¡°They used to be married? Howe you didn¡¯t know this when you did


    your digging about Sonia?¡±


    If they had known that Sonia was someone important to the Toby Fuller, Den wouldn¡¯t have allowed


    his men to execute the n. After all, Toby was a powerful and influential man whom he could barely


    match. Moreover, he had limited manpower, considering the fact that he was in Seafield City at that


    moment. Thus, he was well aware of the odds between him and Toby if they were to take on each other.


    Toby is known to be vengeful, so if hees after me, I¡¯m going to be as good as dead.


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    ¡°Damn it!¡± Den bellowed in anger.


    The man looked down and apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Young Master Den. It¡¯s our fault for overlooking this


    matter. We did as you said and only focused on learning Lucius¡¯ rtionship with Sonia, so we neglected


    her rtionship with the others. That¡¯s why¡­¡± He swallowed his words, pausing mid-sentence.


    On the other hand, Den red at the man with a pair of bloodshot eyes and clenched his fist before


    swinging it across his face. Beaten, the man looked down and apologized once more. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Young


    Master Den.¡±


    Den clenched his fists so hard that his finger joints began to make popping sounds. Then, he spoke


    with a chilly voice. ¡°You should be grateful because you¡¯re still useful to me, or I¡¯m going to maim you


    right here right away!¡±


    Upon hearing those words, the muscr kidnapper was seen with fear shing across his face. Despite


    his beefy build and strong physique, he was surprisingly scared of Den because he couldn¡¯t forget the


    sight of how this crazy man tortured his victim. Therefore, he knew he would likely be skinned if he was


    going to be punished by him. Now that Den decided to spare his life for the moment, he heaved a sigh


    of relief and calmed himself down. ¡°So, what do we do now, Young Master Den? Do we take her back


    to where she was taken?¡±


    ¡°Take her back?¡± Den squinted. ¡°Do you think Toby is going to let us off if we do that? Impossible.¡±


    Ever since he ordered Sonia¡¯s kidnap, he had just made himself Toby¡¯s enemy, yet he knew sending her


    back was not going to resolve their vendetta. Thus, he squeezed his fists and said with a cial voice,


    ¡°We¡¯ll carry on with the n.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The man sounded surprised. ¡°Are we seriously going to continue the n?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Den shot his underling a cold gaze. ¡°There is no turning back for us now. Toby is


    never going to let us go easily, whether or not we send Sonia back. In that case, we might as well keep


    her until she outlives her usefulness.¡±


    ¡°Wise words, Young Master Den.¡± The man nodded.


    ¡°However, this ce is no longer safe for us, so tell the others that we¡¯re leaving for Misty Mountain.


    Besides, please gag Sonia¡¯s mouth so that she doesn¡¯t shout like crazy on our way to our new


    destination and draw unnecessary attention.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± the man replied and did as he was told.


    Den pulled his long hair that was hanging in front of his chest with a distorted look on his face. After


    all, he thought his meticulous n was so perfect that he would be able to sessfully kill Lucius, only


    to be dismayed when he unknowingly dragged Toby into his mess.


    Now that Toby was involved, Den realized his n had gotten out of control and deviated from his


    expectation. After all, he had no idea what would happen in the end, as he wondered if he would


    seed in killing Lucius or suffer a terrible fate at the hands of either Toby or Lucius.


    Without any option left, Den could only take a leap of faith and y it by ear, no matter what kind of


    ending his n would lead to. It¡¯s toote to turn back now, so my n will have to work out, no matter


    what! He then clenched his fists and returned to his MPV. In order to prevent further exposure, Den


    and his men decided to take the streets and avoid the highways due to the fewer security cameras.


    Meanwhile, Toby, who was still at the junction, received a call from Tom. ¡°President Fuller, the road traffic


    department has some information about the route the van took. Right after they left First World Hospital,


    they made a left turn at Southeast Junction and headed straight out of the city. Then, they passed by the


    toll on their way to the highway, where the toll attendant reported sights of that van.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Toby tightened his fingers around his phone.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yes. Besides, an MPV and a small pickup truck were spotted along with it. So, I think


    they¡¯re probably working together. Anyway, the three vehicles stopped there for slightly more than ten


    minutes before they left the highway through the off-ramp.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I heard you. Send me the route after that off-ramp.¡± Toby ced his hand on the steering while


    instructing his assistant.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom nodded in response.


    As soon as Toby finished the call, he put away his phone and continued to wait. Two minutester, his


    phone vibrated, whereupon he reached for it and viewed the map Tom had sent him. He then


    immediately opened it to take a quick glimpse at the route before he closed the webpage and started the


    engine, making a left turn at the junction. Unknown to him, he was followed by a few ck sedans right


    behind his car.


    In the meantime, Carl was sitting in front of hisptop in a hotel in Seafield City, seemingly typing on the


    keyboard with an intimidating look on his chiseled face. At the same time, his eyes were bloodshot as he


    radiated a cold and murderous aura. ¡°How dare you kidnap her, Den! I swear to God that I will make


    you pay!¡± Carl clenched his jaw, speaking with a menacing voice.

 Chapter 430

    Chapter 430


    Chapter 430 Hot Pursuit


    Carl couldn¡¯t stop cursing Den while actively searching for Sonia¡¯s whereabouts on the inte. In


    fact, he was the one who received Den¡¯s message about Sonia¡¯s kidnap.


    How dare you threaten me to hurt Sonia for the sake of your personal gains, Den!


    While Den had sessfully identified Sonia to be Carl¡¯s Achilles heel, presently Carl had no choice


    but to leave for Misty Mountain to save her. However, he was worried that Misty Mountain was just


    Den¡¯s cover to fool him.


    Sonia might actually be somewhere else.


    Because of that, Carl knew he must pinpoint Sonia¡¯s actual location so that he could rush there to save


    her life. Unaware that Carl was actually the hacker, Den unknowingly exposed his contact number


    when he texted the former. Therefore, he didn¡¯t know that his number had be the key for Carl to


    locate Sonia¡¯s whereabouts because Carl could track down the signal of the number and listen in on their


    n.


    ¡°Come on! Hurry up! Just another 30 seconds more!¡± Carl fixed his eyes upon themand and timer


    that appeared on the monitor screen with a desperate look. Deep down, 30 seconds felt like an hour to


    him as he wished he could view what he wanted directly if only the hacking could be initiated without a


    timer. While time continued to slip by, he quickly realized he was 5 seconds away frompletion. Oh


    man! It felt like a century to me in the past 25 seconds.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Three, two, one! ¡®The protocol is ready to be initiated.¡¯


    Carl stared at those words on the screen in agitation, whereupon he hit the ¡®enter¡¯ key. Soon, he began


    to hear voices from his speaker, one that sounded hoarse, like someone who had something stuck in his


    throat. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Wait a minute! This voice¡­ Carl¡¯s eyes dted in horror. He then stood up straight, clenching his fists so


    hard that his fingers began to turn white. While his shoulders shivered slightly, he radiated a strong,


    vengeful aura that filled the space around him. ¡°Den!¡± He gritted his teeth, but he couldn¡¯t believe he


    was so lucky that he could hear Den¡¯s voice on his first attempt. This is awesome!


    Not long after that, Carl heard another voice. ¡°Young Master Den, it looks like Toby knows the route


    that we¡¯re taking. He is currently heading toward the toll station that we previously stopped at.¡±


    ¡°What?! How did he know that so soon?!¡± Den eximed in surprise.


    At the same time, Carl was stunned to know that Toby was already aware of Sonia¡¯s abduction. At the


    same time, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether Toby knew who Sonia¡¯s kidnappers were, but


    nheless, he was able to tell that Toby had already made his move, which suggested the fact that he


    had learned about Sonia¡¯s kidnap earlier than he did.


    ¡°Yes, Young Master Den. Toby is a powerful man, so it¡¯s not surprising that he knows our whereabouts


    so soon,¡± the man replied.


    Apparently angry, Den said in a cold voice, ¡°Speed up. When we reach the junction, we¡¯ll split up with


    the truck to confuse Toby.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we split up with the van? After all, our goal is just to kill Lucius, so it doesn¡¯t matter whether


    Sonia is with us as long as he thinks she is with us. I¡¯m sure Lucius will head straight to Misty Mountain


    while separating from Sonia can help us keep Toby at bay and buy us some time.¡± Den¡¯s underling


    gave him a suggestion.


    Den squinted warily. ¡°I know splitting up with Sonia is, of course, the best way, but why should we let


    things go in Toby¡¯s favor? He is not going to let us off anyway, so I say we might as well kill Sonia. She¡¯s


    seen us all, so she will be a threat to us so long as she lives.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± the muscr thug said.


    While the two men were discussing their n, they werepletely unaware of the beeping breathing


    light. Despite their meticulous n, they had no idea that Carl had learned everything about their next


    move.


    In that instant, Carl was happy yet irritated at the same time. He was happy because Den didn¡¯t split


    up with Sonia, so all he had to do to know Sonia¡¯s whereabouts was just continue to track down the


    number. After all, he would lose track of Sonia¡¯s position if Den decided to separate from her. At the


    same time, he was mad at Den¡¯s sinister intention to kill Sonia. Therefore, he became restless and


    transferred everything to his mobile phone, whereupon he grabbed his jacket and left the room.


    Soon, Carl¡¯s assistant, Alex Dillion, saw himing out of the room in a hasty manner. ¡°Where are you


    going, Carl?¡± Alex asked in confusion. However, the question was not answered as Carl made for the


    elevator as soon as he could, shortly before he drove away from the hotel.


    On the other hand, Stan, who was riding shotgun in the van, hung up the call after receiving the


    instruction from his aplice in the MPV. He then turned around and looked at Sonia, whose mouth


    was gagged. ¡°Hey bro, don¡¯t you think thisdy is lucky? Besides her admirer, Lucius, the famous


    patriarch from the Fuller Family, Toby Fuller, is alsoing to her rescue and chasing after us right now.


    Little Dee just said that over the phone.¡±


    Upon overhearing those words, Sonia opened her eyes widely. Toby? He is on his way to rescue me?


    How did he know I¡¯ve been kidnapped? Despite her confusion, Sonia was too agitated to dwell on it. At


    the same time, her hopelessness was reced by a glimmer of hope that lifted her spirit because she


    believed Toby¡¯s pursuit was a good sign that she would be safe.


    Dan, who was driving the van, let out a sigh. ¡°Indeed. Man, I wish I could be a woman like her if I got to


    live a second time.¡±


    Finding thement hrious, Stanughed out loud and replied, ¡°That¡¯s not going to be enough. You¡¯d


    need to be pretty so that all men woulde to rescue you.¡±


    Dan was then seen with a long face. ¡°Alright, alright! Quit messing around. Did Little Dee say anything


    else?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he did. He told us to keep heading to Misty Mountain, but when everyone splits up, we should take


    the other way.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Sonia frowned upon overhearing the kidnappers¡¯ conversation. What do they mean? Why are they


    splitting up? Before Sonia could understand what was going on, the vehicle suddenly took a sharp turn,


    jolting Sonia so hard it sent her bumping her forehead into the car door.


    While a painful and dizzy look showed on her face, the kidnapper in the front passenger seat only looked


    back at her for a split second before he took his eyes off her without a single bit of sympathy. Therefore,


    Sonia was left being stuck in the gap between the front and backseat. Unable to move a muscle, she


    couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy as she wished she could die to just get out of that ufortable position.


    Meanwhile, Toby arrived at the toll station and pulled over, at which point he got out of the car and


    stepped forward to a man standing beside a sports car. He then walked closer to the man and said,


    ¡°Give me the keys.¡±


    The man immediately gave Toby the keys he was asking for politely. Upon receiving the keys, he quickly


    got into the car and drove toward the off-ramp. In order to catch up with the van of Sonia¡¯s kidnappers,


    he knew he needed something fast to do the impossible. After all, his Maybach was no sports car, and it


    could only go so fast. Thus, he had to switch to a sports car before continuing his pursuit. For that, he


    had called the most expensive 4S automobile shop to get someone to drive a sports car to the toll station


    the moment he received the route from Tom. Now that he had a sports car, he was confident that he was


    able to catch up with the van.


    Wait for me, Sonia! I will be sure to bring you back without a scratch!

 Chapter 431

    Chapter 431


    Chapter 431 Working With Carl Lee


    A sharp twinkle appeared in Toby¡¯s eyes, and he abruptly turned the steering wheel in the opposite


    direction.


    The sports car dashed out like a cheetah before turning into the ramp. Without wasting a second, the


    vans that were tailing him followed along.


    It was after a half an hour¡¯s drive down the road when he suddenly mmed his feet on the brakes and


    stopped the car. Shockingly, he had reached an intersection. Utterly annoyed by the situation, he could


    only grip the steering wheel with so much force his knuckles turned pale from theck of blood


    cirction.


    Dammit! Why have I reached a fork this soon?


    He had no idea which path did Sonia¡¯s abductors take. Even if he had the full map of the directions of


    each path, that would be of no help.


    Once he took the wrong path and traveled away from her abductors, he would miss the critical chance to


    save her.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    At the thought of it, he took a deep breath and suppressed the fear in him. Upon calming down, he dialed


    Tom¡¯s number.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Knowing that Toby would be in touch frequently, Tom had carried his phone around so


    that he could take Toby¡¯s call on time.


    ¡°Can you figure out which one of the roads at the southside fork did those men take?¡± Toby was under


    stress, with his tone sounding a bit grimmer than usual.


    Tom shook his head out of regret. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. I have thought of that before, so I


    contacted the traffic police division and requested them to look at the surveince footage there. But they


    told me that there are no surveince cameras at the fork.¡±


    ¡°There are no surveince cameras¡­¡± Toby almost crushed the phone with his tight grip.


    Without the help of surveince cameras, they had effectively lost track of the abductors.


    It would be more difficult to save Sonia now.


    Tom was well-aware of the consequences. After a pause, he suggested, ¡°How about this? You can split


    into three teams with the bodyguards and take a path each at the fork. Maybe you wouldn¡¯t choose the


    road that Miss Reed went down, but our men could at least save her while you¡¯re not around.¡±


    Toby closed his eyes for a while. When he opened his eyes again, there was sheer determination in


    them. ¡°That¡¯s the only way for now.¡±


    He ended the call, got down from the car, and headed to the first van carrying the bodyguards.


    When they saw himing over, they went down to greet him. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Make some arrangements and split them into three teams. Two of the teams will take the two roads.


    The remaining pair will follow me; we¡¯ll be taking this one.¡± He pointed at the leftmost path, for that path


    had a speed limit of 60 mph, which was higher than the other two. In a way, it was considered the fast


    lane.


    Based on his trail of thought, if the abductors wanted to bring Sonia out of Seafield as quickly as


    possible, they were likely going to take the fastne.


    Of course, he could not be sure, but he was willing to take the bet.


    After receiving instructions, the leader of the bodyguards nodded. ¡°Got it. I will make the arrangements.¡±


    ¡°Be fast,¡± Toby grunted and urged him.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The leader started making the arrangements. Ten minutester, the seven vans were split into


    three teams. Four vans went into the middle and the right-mostne. The remaining three vans would


    follow Toby. After all, they needed more men to protect the president.


    Just when he hopped onto the sports car and was about to start his journey, he was interrupted by the


    sound of a car horn ring impatiently behind him, urging him to give way.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and looked at the left mirror to find a ck Mercedes G-ss behind him.


    From the car model, he could instantly tell that it was Carl¡¯s vehicle, as he had witnessed Carl enter the


    car at Bayside Residence before. In fact, even the car te number was the same.


    Does he also know that Sonia has been abducted? Is he rushing over for that?


    If Carl managed to reach the fork, it proved that he had some clues about Sonia¡¯s whereabouts.


    With that in mind, Toby pursed his lips and drove a short distance before steering his car to the left. The


    car drifted and stopped horizontally in front of the G-ss.


    An ear-piercing sound was heard as Carl¡¯s car screeched to an emergency stop.


    The car window was rolled down, and Carl¡¯s head poked out with a scary expression on his face. Eyes


    ring, he started yelling in the direction of the other car. ¡°Get lost! If not, I¡¯m going to crash into you!¡±


    He badly wanted to save Sonia, but there was an unknown fellow blocking his way.


    If the guy refuses to give way, I swear to crash into his car! Mark my words! I will not allow anyone to


    dy this rescue mission!


    Toby heard the chilling threat loud and clear, but instead of showing fear, he merely frowned. Then he left


    his car and walked over to the G-ss.


    At that moment, Carl had recognized Toby as well, and the hostility in his eyes was reced by shock.


    He was obviously surprised to learn that Toby was the driver.


    Knock, knock! Toby rapped on the car window, prompting Carl to roll the window down again. ¡°Toby


    Fuller!¡±


    ¡°Are you here to save Sonia?¡± Toby stared at him, but he merely replied by scrunching up his eyes.


    Toby lifted his chin. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take it as a yes. I¡¯m here to save her too. But now, there¡¯s a fork with three


    roads. I don¡¯t know which road the abductors took, so I wanted to check if you have any clue. If you


    managed to get here, I bet you have received information on the movements of those men.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Carl gritted his teeth.


    A glimmer of light shed across Toby¡¯s eyes and vanished almost instantly. With a serious face, he


    exined, ¡°It¡¯d be great if you have the details. We can save her as soon as possible. From the sound of


    it, you seem like you know which road they took. Carl, let¡¯s work together.¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡± Carl lifted his head slightly and stared down his nose at Toby.


    Thetter was not at all provoked by the disrespectful attitude because his only goal was to find Sonia.


    He was willing to overlook any conflicts to get to her.


    ¡°Why so, you ask?¡± Toby pointed at the couple of vans behind him. ¡°That¡¯s because I have a bigger


    team, but you¡¯re going solo. Who knows how many men are involved in the abduction? Do you think you


    could save her on your own?¡±


    Carl¡¯s expression changed after he heard the exnation, and he was momentarily speechless.


    Indeed, no one knew how many men were with Den. If he had a lot of men with him, Carl believed


    that he could not win against them.


    In his hurry to save Sonia, he overlooked the crucial point.


    He looked into the rear-view mirror and scanned the vans behind him. Then, he looked at his feet as


    though he was hesitating.


    Still, Toby did not urge him. He stared coldly at Carl, for he knew that Carl would eventually agree to his


    proposition.


    Just like what he had expected, ten secondster, Carl tightened his grip on the steering wheel and


    loosened his tongue. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll work with you. I do hope that your men will be able to save Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Of course they will.¡± Toby nodded confidently. ¡°Now, can you tell me which road the abductors took?¡±


    ¡°The leftmostne. They were headed to Misty Mountain,¡± Carl pointed at the leftmost path and


    answered with a glum tone.

 Chapter 432

    Chapter 432


    Chapter 432 Stuck in Traffic


    Toby looked in the direction of Carl¡¯s finger. ¡°It¡¯s really the road I picked!¡±


    He guessed that the abductors had taken the fastestne, and he was proved right.


    Anyway, this was not the time for him to ponder on how Carl knew the right direction. He also had no


    time to figure out how Carl knew that they were headed to Misty Mountain.


    Those were not importantpared to running after the guys and saving Sonia. His burning questions


    would soon be cleared up after they found her.


    Without further ado, he rushed back to his car, started the engine, and took the lead.


    When Carl realized that Toby had left, he banged on the steering wheel in anger but soon ignited the car


    and went after him. Simultaneously, the three vans with bodyguards followed the duo into the leftmost


    road.


    Although the road had a speed limit of 60mph, Toby ignored the rule and drove at 90mph as he


    continued to elerate.


    The speedometer of his sports car maxed out at 250 mph. As long as the vehicle wasn¡¯t moving faster


    than his vision, he could keep elerating.


    The hand of the speedometer rose up to 110 mph.


    The other drivers on the road were taken aback by his rash driving and hurriedly gave way in case they


    were run over by the sports car.


    Behind him, Carl understood that Toby was speeding out of the wish to save Sonia, but he could not help


    but turn green with envy.


    Thest thing he wanted was to lose to Toby. His age put him at a disadvantagepared to Toby, and


    he was forced to watch Toby marry Sonia. Not only that, he had to mimic Toby¡¯s past behavior when he


    interacted with Sonia.


    Now that the couple was finally divorced, he saw an opportunity to pursue his dream girl. No matter


    what, he would not allow himself to lose to Toby in any aspect.


    With that in mind, he started elerating as well.


    Still, the G-ss was considered a heavy vehicle. No matter what, it could not reach the speed of the


    sports car. In the end, he wasgging way behind Toby.


    At the same time, Toby had no idea about Carl¡¯s jealousy andpetitiveness, for Sonia¡¯s safety was


    the only thing on his mind.


    When he finally saw the road sign that read ¡®Misty Mountain¡¯ in front of him, he tightened his grip on the


    steering wheel.


    Sonia, I¡¯m here!


    On the other side, in another MPV, Den checked the time and questioned the driver Johnny from the


    back again, ¡°How long more before we reach Misty Mountain?¡±


    ¡°About half an hour more,¡± Johnny replied.


    Den nodded at the answer. ¡°Speed up. Let¡¯s make it in 20 minutes.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Johnny stared at the traffic in front with a troubled expression. ¡°Young Master Den, I can¡¯t. The


    traffic has slowed down in front. I think an ident must have happened. We could only stay at this


    speed. I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s going to be traffic congestion ahead. If that happens, it¡¯s impossible to get


    to Misty Mountain within 30 minutes.¡±


    Den¡¯s expression was twisted after he heard the forecast. ¡°Dammit! Why does it have to happen


    now?¡±


    ¡°What can we do? I guess it¡¯s our bad luck.¡± Johnny sighed.


    Den tightened his fists. Although he was mad with fury, he could not deny the truth. Due to bad luck,


    he got into trouble with Toby; because of the bad luck, he was stuck in traffic on his way to Misty


    Mountain.


    The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Finally, he banged his fists on the seat and


    growled, ¡°Has everything at Misty Mountain been arranged?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything¡¯s ready.¡± The man in the passenger seat turned around and replied loudly,


    ¡°Once Lucius set foot in the area, he won¡¯t leave alive.¡±


    Den was cheered up by the good news. ¡°Great.¡± There was a smile on his lips as he shut his eyes.


    In the van behind Den¡¯s vehicle, Sonia clearly sensed that the van had slowed down. The bulky man


    who was driving would honk at traffic impatiently from time to time.


    She was excited at the change in situation because she knew that traffic must be heavy.


    Traffic congestion is a godsend!


    Now, there was a higher chance that Toby could get to them in time.


    Nevertheless, she had no idea if Toby could sessfully find his way to them. She had no idea if they


    encountered any forks on the road, but since they had traveled this far, the possibility was high.


    I wonder if Toby could sessfully pick the right road at the fork. I¡¯d be saved if he picks correctly. If


    not¡­


    She looked at her feet and bit her lip.


    No, stop overthinking!


    In the past, every time she fell victim to Tina¡¯s various murder attempts, Toby had shown up to save her.


    This time, she chose to trust him just like any other time before this. She closed her eyes andforted


    herself.


    Meanwhile, Den¡¯s worst fears came true¡ªthe traffic congestion had urred.


    With a glum expression, he got out of the car and gazed at the endless queue of cars that did not even


    inch at all. He appeared like Satan as he teetered on the brink of madness.


    To him, getting stuck in traffic at this moment put him and his men in danger. If they couldn¡¯t get to Misty


    Mountain in time, and Carl or Toby managed to reach them, they would be done for.


    ¡°You! Go to the front and check with them! I want to know when the traffic is going to get better.¡± Den


    kept taking deep breaths to calm his urge for destruction. He pointed at Johnny, who also got out of the


    car and gave out the order.


    Johnny agreed and jogged to the front to ask about the traffic.


    Tens of miles away, Carl had already gotten the news of Den¡¯s unfortunate situation through the


    phone.


    When he learned about the traffic congestion, a cold look appeared in his eyes, but he reluctantly made


    a call to Toby.


    Toby put on the Bluetooth earbuds. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Good news. Den is stuck in traffic,¡± Carl reported.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Who the heck is Den?¡±


    Carl was taken aback by the reaction and btedly realized that he had exposed the identity of Sonia¡¯s


    abductor. At the same time, he learned that Toby had no idea about the mastermind behind the


    abduction.


    ¡°He¡¯s the fourth bast*rd son of the Hayes Family of Westsanshire. He¡¯s the one who abducted Sonia.¡±


    Carl decided to let the cat out of the bag.


    No matter what, Toby would get to the bottom of the abduction, so there was no point in hiding anything


    from him.


    ¡°The Hayes Family?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes wavered in shock.


    How does a member of the Hayes Family end up abducting Sonia? Since when is she acquainted with


    that family?


    The Hayes Family of Westsanshire was simr to the Fullers¡ªthe Hayes patriarch and Toby¡¯s


    grandfather were both towering politicians with great contributions to the founding of the country.


    As Edgar Hayes diedter than Toby¡¯s grandfather, the Hayes had managed to keep hold of their


    influence. For a while, they were more powerful and superior to the Fullers.


    Five years ago, everything changed when Edgar Hayes passed on. After the Hayes lost their patriarch,


    the family business was passed to the useless heir, Robert Hayes. Under the new leadership, the Hayes


    saw their fortunes decline and went from an elite family to a less powerful existence.


    Even so, most of the top families dared not offend the Hayes Family because of Edgar Hayes¡¯s


    contribution to the country. Although the Hayes Family were not as influential as before, they still enjoyed


    wealth and prestige.


    How did Sonia get onto the wrong side of a powerful family like the Hayes? Or, in other words, how did


    she even have the chance to offend them in the first ce?


    The Hayes were based in Westsanshire, and the family members wouldn¡¯t leave the city for no good


    reason. Sonia definitely had no opportunity to meet with anyone from the family. Logically, she couldn¡¯t


    have gotten into trouble with them.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    What¡¯s actually going on here?


    He frowned and sank into deep thoughts. Failing to understand the situation, he tucked away his


    questions and replied with his lips tightened, ¡°Got it. Since they¡¯re stuck in traffic, let¡¯s take this


    opportunity to catch up to them!¡±

 Chapter 433

    Chapter 433


    Chapter 433 Taking the Mountain Road by Foot


    Carl nodded. ¡°Yeah, that goes without saying. You¡¯re driving a sports car, so you¡¯ll move faster. Why


    don¡¯t you intercept Den? We¡¯ll hurry over right now.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby elerated and sped forward once again.


    On the congested road, Den¡¯s driver returned to their procession with a frown.


    ¡°Young Master Den, there are some issues,¡± he reported with a grim look. ¡°There¡¯s a pile-up in front. I


    think it¡¯ll take an hour or two before the traffic clears up.¡±


    ¡°An hour or two?¡± The dissatisfactory answer put Den in an extremely horrible mood, so much so that


    even his face contorted. ¡°Why would it take that long?¡±


    ¡°Well, a number of vehicles are involved in the pile-up,¡± Johnny answered in a defeated tone.


    Den looked to his left and right, and everywhere he stared, he could only see endless lines of cars.


    The situation was indeed dire for Den, and the fact that he couldn¡¯t do anything to fix it was


    excruciating.


    Great! Now we¡¯re officially stuck here!


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t get stuck here any longer. If not, Toby and Lucius are going to catch up to us soon,¡± he


    clenched his fists and hissed.


    Johnny agreed with him and asked, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Den lowered his eyes and sank into thoughts. Secondster, he gritted his teeth and dered, ¡°Forget


    about the car!¡±


    ¡°Forget about the car?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Our cars can¡¯t move an inch in this traffic anyway. To avoid Lucius and Toby from catching


    up, we have no choice but to leave it here. Let¡¯s take the mountain road by foot.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re walking to Misty Mountain?¡± Johnny¡¯s chin almost fell onto the floor.


    Den shot him a chilling look. ¡°Do we have a choice?¡±


    ¡°But walking on the mountain trail will take too long. It will take at least a few hours to reach Misty


    Mountain.¡± Johnny tried to talk him out of the idea. It¡¯s ridiculous!


    Den rubbed his temples worriedly. ¡°I know, but this is our best bet for now. The mountain road is


    definitely full of shrubs and trees. Those are perfect camouge. Even if Lucius and Toby knew that we


    had entered the mountains, they won¡¯t be able to find us.¡±


    Johnny took a deep breath and nodded firmly. ¡°Got it. I will make the arrangements and leave soon.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Den twisted the wrench between his thumbs and looked down, while Johnny walked to the


    van and knocked on the window to inform the driver, Dan.


    The window was promptly rolled down, after which the hulky driver poked his head out. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Young Master Den said that we¡¯ll leave the cars here and walk to Misty Mountain,¡± Johnny


    announced.


    ¡°We¡¯re taking the mountain road?¡± Dan couldn¡¯t help but inhale sharply. ¡°That¡¯s far.¡±


    ¡°We have no choice. If we wait this out, those men are going to catch up to us,¡± Johnny said while taking


    a look at the backseat. When he saw that no one was there, his expression fell, and his voice turned


    shrill. ¡°Where¡¯s she?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Dan and the man on the passenger seat, Stan, eximed in unison.


    Johnny pointed at the backseat. ¡°I am talking about the woman in your backseat!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s there. She¡¯s just stuck underneath the seat.¡± Stan, pointedzily to the back.


    Stan prompted Johnny to poke his head into the vehicle. Finally, he saw Sonia there, but he couldn¡¯t help


    but find the situation a bit funny. ¡°Hah! How did she end up there?¡±


    Stan patted the shoulder of the driver. ¡°It¡¯s all because of Dan! He took a sudden turn, and she rolled


    down there!¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that so!¡± The three men guffawed in front, causing Sonia¡¯s face to turn red in anger and


    embarrassment.


    She knew that her current situation was hrious, but she felt furious and irritated at their mockery.


    Still, she couldn¡¯t do anything about it, so she quietly watched as the men treated her as a joke.


    Thankfully, theughter soon subsided as the men calmed down.


    Johnny¡¯s face turned serious, and he reminded the two, saying, ¡°That¡¯s enough. The two of you better


    get her settled. We¡¯ll get going soon.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Got it.¡± Dan and Stan nodded.


    After Johnny left, the two of them got out of the van. Under Sonia¡¯s fearful gaze, they opened the doors


    at the back and reached out to grab her.


    However, she shook her head violently, obviously refusing to be touched by them. She knew very well


    that they were going to drag her off the van and bring her to Misty Mountain by foot.


    No! Do I look like someone who wants to go to Misty Mountain?! Argh!


    Only when their vehicles were stuck in the traffic could Toby catch up to them. If they headed to the


    mountains by foot, Toby couldn¡¯t do anything even if he arrived.


    Come on, Sonia! Think! Think! You can¡¯t just let them do whatever they want!


    s, the n in her mind was no match for reality. She was just a person tied up by her abductors. In no


    universe could she ever win against the two strong men. Even if she were untied, she could not defeat


    them.


    In the end, she was hauled out of the car by the two.


    One of them took off his coat and flung it onto her head. The coat was huge, and it was almost like a


    nket draped over her, covering her from head to toe.


    Now, nobody could see her from the outside; they couldn¡¯t see that she was tied up.


    Her muffled groans were heard underneath the coat as she wriggled furiously in an attempt to shake the


    coat off her body.


    Her only hope at that moment was to shake off the coat so that passersby might notice that she was tied


    up and lend her a hand.


    Although she had once experienced the cruelty of others outside the hospital, she still believed that not


    all humans were heartless; there had to be some kind souls out there.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Sadly, Dan and Stan knew what she was up to. They suddenly reached out to pinch her hard on the


    arms. The pain shot through her body, and she grunted dully, her face turning pale from the torture.


    The two men must have used their full strength on her.


    Not only that, they weren¡¯t quite ready to spare her. They whispered chilling warnings in her ear, ¡°If you


    keep pulling tricks, we might have to hack your arms off. Try us.¡±


    Hearing that, she felt her body suddenly tensing up, and her eyes widened in disbelief.


    How could they threaten to dismember my arms?!


    When she finally stopped moving around in agitation, they loosened their grip on her and brought her


    over to the river bank where Den was at.


    She was not walking with her two feet. To be urate, they were lifting and dragging her along the way.


    That was because her legs were tied up, and she could not walk on her own.


    Their journey to Den managed to attract considerable attention from the passersby. After all, when two


    bulky men were lifting a person wrapped underneath a cloth, any sane person would feel suspicious.


    One courageous driver finally blurted out, ¡°Hey, bros, what are you doing?¡±


    Dan and Stan heard him but continued marching forward, regardless.


    The driver who was ignored felt insulted, and his face turned red. He hopped off his car and yelled at


    them in annoyance, ¡°Yo, I was talking about you two. That¡¯s a human under the coat, right? From the


    size, I guess that the person is a woman! Could you possibly be two human traffickers?¡±


    Dan and Stan stopped in their tracks after being used.


    Their actions emboldened the driver, who thought that he had guessed right. He pointed at the two men


    indignantly. ¡°Oh! Great! Turns out that you¡¯re really human traffickers!¡±


    Just when the driver was about to threaten them to release the woman, or else he¡¯d lodge a police


    report, Dan whipped around and took out an object from his pocket. ¡°Keep spewing nonsense, and today


    shall be yourst day alive.¡±


    The driver was in shock, and his eyes bulged in fear. Staring at Dan and Stan, he was sweating


    profusely from the temples. His mouth was agape, but no words came out. His body was shaking terribly.


    He wasn¡¯t only scared of the threat¡ªhe was also terrified at the object that Dan waved at him.

 Chapter 434

    Chapter 434


    Chapter 434 Catching Up


    Although the object wasn¡¯tpletely revealed, the driver could immediately recognize what it was. It


    was a gun!


    These human traffickers actually had a gun!


    The driver started trembling and stared at them with a pale face. Although he wanted to say something,


    his lips kept shaking. It was as if someone choked him because, at that moment, he couldn¡¯t make a


    sound.


    ¡°Come on, Dan. Stop wasting your time on him. He¡¯s scared out of his wits, so let¡¯s stop wasting time,¡±


    Stan reminded them.


    Right then, Dan nodded. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    After that, he turned around and brought Sonia to reunite with Den.


    Upon seeing that they left, the driver finally sighed in relief and slumped to the ground. He patted his


    chest and felt grateful that he managed to make it out alive.


    On the other hand, Den waved his hand when he saw those Dan and Stan return with Sonia. ¡°Let¡¯s


    go.¡±


    Then, all of them climbed over the guardrail and started heading up the mountain via a small trail.


    A few moments after they left, Toby appeared next to the car they had abandoned. Staring at the empty


    van, he felt his heart drop.


    Where are they? Why is nobody here? The van that didn¡¯t have a number te is definitely this van, but


    no one is inside anymore.


    Toby¡¯s face turned cold as he clenched his fists. After rushing over at full speed, he thought that he could


    finally see Sonia, but all that was left was just an empty car.


    Bang!


    Toby couldn¡¯t suppress his anger any longer and mmed his fist on the van.


    As he was being too forceful, he left a little dent on the car door of the van.


    Immediately, the van¡¯s rm started ringing, causing all the drivers stuck at the traffic jam to look out


    from their windows to see what was happening.


    Right then, a fearful look shed past the eyes of the driver behind the van. When he realized the van¡¯s


    rm was ring, he appeared rather conflicted.


    Still, his kindness won over his hesitation in the end as he waved at Toby. ¡°Hey, man!¡±


    Toby turned around. ¡°Are you calling for me?¡±


    The driver nodded. ¡°Are you here to rescue someone?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby immediately came to a realization that the driver might know something, so he


    quickly walked over to the driver¡¯s car. ¡°How do you know that I¡¯m here to rescue someone?¡±


    ¡°Well, you look really agitated and anxious, so I figure that you¡¯re here to rescue the girl that was taken


    by those human traffickers.¡±


    At this moment, Toby was sure that the girl that the driver referred to was Sonia.


    Clenching his fists, he quickly asked, ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯s my wife, and I¡¯m here to rescue her. Do you


    know where they brought her?¡±


    The car is here, but they¡¯re no longer present. I swear that prick, Den, ditched the car because he¡¯s


    scared that we¡¯ll catch up! After all, no one can tell when the traffic will go back to normal.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where they took her, but I saw them going in that direction.¡± The driver pointed at the


    guardrail that Den and the others climbed over.


    Turning around, Toby had his eyes narrowed when he saw the mountain trail behind the guardrail.


    That trail definitely leads them to the mountain. Looks like they took the mountain trail.


    ¡°Alright. Thank you for your help. I¡¯ll be sure to repay you for this.¡± After saying that, Toby nced at the


    driver¡¯s car te number and noted it down before taking his phone out. While he jumped over the


    guardrail, he started making a call as he ran.


    The call was connected in no time, and Carl¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°I know what you want to say. I¡¯m already


    trying to strengthen the phone number¡¯s line, but the signal in the woods is extremely weak and might


    get cut off easily. Once I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll send you Den¡¯s location.¡±


    Carl knew that Den and the others ditched the van and went into the mountain. After all, he overheard


    their conversation through Den¡¯s man¡¯s phone.


    Hearing Carl, Toby finally stopped worrying and hung up because he could already guess that Carl was a


    hacker and was the person who had always been helping Sonia. He¡¯s probably Fox Eyes.


    Gripping his phone in his hand, he quickly started sprinting toward the mountain.


    After running for a while, Toby felt his phone vibrating for a moment. Immediately, he stopped and


    checked his phone to see a map sent by Carl.


    Upon opening the map, Toby noticed a green dot and a red dot marked on the mark. He knew that the


    green dot was himself, so the red dot was definitely Den and the others.


    ¡°Two miles¡­¡± Toby saw that he was only two miles away from the red dot and pursed his lips. Once


    again, he continued sprinting forward.


    It¡¯s possible if it¡¯s just two miles. I can catch up with them.


    At the same time, Carl and the others had reached the foot of the mountain and were starting to hike the


    mountain. Meanwhile, two miles away, Den wiped the sweat off his face before he looked forward and


    huffed for air. ¡°How much longer before we reach the top?¡±


    ¡°Probably half an hour more,¡± Johnny replied.


    ¡°Water.¡± Den reached out while Johnny unzipped his backpack and took a water bottle for him. ¡°Here,


    Young Master Den.¡±


    Snatching over the water bottle, Den twisted the cap open before taking a few gulps of water to ward


    off feelings of fatigue after hiking the mountain. Then, he narrowed his eyes and instructed, ¡°Inform those


    at Misty Mountain to send a helicopter over to fetch us at the top of the mountain.¡±


    Initially, they had nned to take the mountain trail to Misty Mountain. However, they received a callter


    on informing them that the helicopter that was sent out to deal with other matters was returning to Misty


    Mountain.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Hence, the helicopter could pick them up to go back to Misty Mountain, and that was why they were


    headed toward the top of the mountain instead of the other way round.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll contact them right away.¡± Johnny nodded before he took his phone out and started calling.


    Naturally, Carl heard what happened and quickly inform Toby. A calctive glint shed past Toby¡¯s eyes


    when he heard of the helicopter.


    Haha! Did someone say helicopters?


    Since Den can arrange for a helicopter to go to the top of the mountain, I can arrange for helicopters


    to stop them there as well. They will be arriving at the top of the mountain within half an hour, and that¡¯s


    enough time for my helicopter toe from Seafield.


    At the thought of that, Toby contacted Tom and instructed him to arrange for the helicopter before he


    continued hiking.


    To shorten the distance between himself and Den, Toby took another shorter route by climbing


    mountain boulders instead of running after the route the Den and the others took.


    Thus, he ended up looking like a mess. His hair was scruffy, and his tailor-made suit was scratched in


    many ces and dirtied by soil and algae.


    Besides that, there were slight scratches on his face. It seemed like he had faced some troubles when


    he was climbing the boulders and even fell.


    Nevertheless, the results were great as he managed to get to the top of the mountain a few minutester


    than Den.


    Right then, Toby took his phone out and saw that Den and the others were at the other side that


    wasn¡¯t really far from him, so he quickly took off toward them.


    After running for a few minutes, he saw Den and the others, along with a person that was heavily


    guarded by two buff men. From the person¡¯s height, Toby could immediately recognize that it was Sonia.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± he shouted.


    Was that¡­ Toby?


    Sonia, who couldn¡¯t see anything under the jacket, was taken aback before she was filled with joy.


    Toby really came!


    However, his voice had another kind of effect on Den and his man, confusing them as they were


    about to speak. Then, they all turned around to see Toby, whose clothes were tattered and looked, with


    looks of horror.

 Chapter 435

    Chapter 435


    Chapter 435 Den¡¯s Offer


    ¡°Young Master Den, what¡ª¡±


    Den and the others widened their eyes and stared at Toby in disbelief. They couldn¡¯t believe that Toby


    actually managed to catch up to them, shocking them to the core. Den was so surprised he took a


    while to react, squinting a little after he came back to his senses. ¡°President Fuller!¡± He looked straight at


    Toby with a peculiar gaze.


    ¡°Den.¡± Toby acknowledged Den as well, taking Den back again as his pupils constricted a little.


    ¡°Oh? Do you know me?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t, and I don¡¯t want to, but I have no choice but to get to know someone like you since you


    kidnapped my people,¡± Toby taunted while staring at him sarcastically.


    At the same time, Sonia was stunned when she heard Toby addressing her as his ¡®people¡¯. For once,


    she wasn¡¯t appalled by what Toby did.


    Someone like me? On the other hand, Den waspletely pissed off when he heard what Tony said.


    Due to him being an illegitimate child, he had been on the receiving end of everyone else¡¯s gossip since


    childhood.


    Hence, what Toby said really triggered Den and caused his face to change while he cackled


    maniacally. ¡°It¡¯s too bad that you had to waste your time to get to know me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stop with the verbal fight and let go of Sonia, Den,¡± Toby said before pointing at


    Sonia, who was trapped between the two buff men.


    ¡°Let her go?¡± Den narrowed his eyes. ¡°What if I say no?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t let go of her, don¡¯t even think of leaving Seafield today,¡± Toby answered sharply while


    Den smirked. ¡°President Fuller, why are you speaking as if you¡¯ll let me go if I release her? After all,


    didn¡¯t I offend you the moment I kidnapped her? You¡¯ve been known to be one to hold grudges, so would


    you really let me go?¡±


    Toby clenched his fists. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t harm Sonia and let her go, I¡¯ll consider letting you off the


    hook.¡±


    At this moment, not to mention Sonia, even Den was stunned when they heard Toby.


    Then, Den gave Toby an odd look before he started chuckling. ¡°President Fuller, oh, President Fuller,


    the things you do for a woman are really eye opening. It¡¯s honestly unlike you to let an enemy go just like


    that. Looks like you¡¯re madly in love with this woman. Still, why would you divorce her if you love her that


    much?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby lowered his gaze and masked his expression before saying coldly, ¡°That¡¯s none


    of your business. Let her go, and you guys can leave.¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± Denughed coldly. ¡°President Fuller, do you really think I don¡¯t know that you letting us


    escape is just a means to slow down our n? Since you are alone and can¡¯t rescue Sonia from us, you


    propose to let us leave, but you¡¯ll send your men to capture us immediately after we leave.¡±


    A glint of light shed past Toby¡¯s eyes, after which he couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips.


    I¡¯ve got to say that he¡¯s right. What I need to do now is to buy more time before backup arrives.


    As he was alone and couldn¡¯t rescue Sonia, he decided to reveal himself and find all means to dy


    their n so that Den and the others couldn¡¯t take Sonia away. At this moment, no one knew when or


    whose helicopter would reach first.


    If Den¡¯s helicopter reached first, Den and the others would surely leave as soon as possible. By


    then, it would be harder for him to catch up to Sonia.


    Hence, Toby was trying his best to negotiate with Den now to get him to release Sonia. As long as


    Den was willing to let her go, he would be willing to let them leave and recapture them after that. Yet,


    Toby didn¡¯t expect Den to see through his ns so quickly.


    Well, it¡¯s normal for an illegitimate child to be bright. He had to make it out alive among all the other


    children back then, after all.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Toby stared at Den with a dark look on his face.


    ¡°What do I want?¡± Den let out a burst of sinisterughter. ¡°It¡¯s simple. I kidnapped your wife because I


    want Lucius Hayes dead, so I obviously can¡¯t let her go because I haven¡¯t reached my goal yet.


    However, I respect you, so I won¡¯t hurt Sonia. In fact, I¡¯ll return her to you once I kill Lucius. How about a


    partnership, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Partnership?¡± Toby had a cold expression on his face. ¡°How are you nning to work together? Also,


    who is Lucius Hayes?¡±


    ¡°Lucius Hayes is Carl Lee,¡± Den answered.


    What?


    Under the jacket, Sonia had a huge change of expression.


    Is Lucius actually Carl?


    I see¡­ Reba is from the Hayes Family, and she came to Seafield just to look for their young master.


    She used to mention that Carl really looked like the head of the Hayes Family and wanted to get his hair


    for a DNA test but got rejected by Carl.


    In fact, Carl insisted that he was definitely not the Young Master of the Hayes Family. Still, from the looks


    of it now, it seems like Reba was right. Carl is really the Young Master of the Hayes Family.


    ¡°Carl?¡± Toby looked surprised. It was obvious that he was shocked by the revtion that Lucius was


    Carl.


    He¡¯d initially thought that Sonia¡¯s kidnappers would probably be Titus or the Fuller Family¡¯s enemies, but


    it was actually Carl¡¯s enemy.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    So that was why Carl knew that Den was the one who kidnapped Sonia.


    As Carl belonged to the Hayes Family, he could directly affect Den¡¯s chances to be the inheritor, so


    Den wanted to remove this obstacle.


    From what Den said, he likely kidnapped Sonia because he knew that Carl liked Sonia, so he wanted


    to trick Carl over and take the opportunity to subdue him.


    At the thought of that, Toby got enraged as he cracked his knuckles and wanted to say something.


    However, Den continued, ¡°President Fuller, our partnership will be a simple one. I¡¯ll lend Sonia to


    remove Lucius, and I will return her to you after he¡¯s gone. By then, I¡¯ll give you two treaty ports as


    compensation to settle the grudge between us. This partnership will benefit both of us. What do you think


    about it?¡±


    Den looked at Toby with a confident grin.


    He figured that Toby would surely agree to partner up since he offered great conditions along with it.


    After all, those were Westsanshire treaty ports. Although the Fuller Group had treaty ports in


    Westsanshire, the Hayes Family definitely had much more than them.


    Hence, any rational businessman would definitely not reject two treaty ports.


    ¡°Mm, mm, mm!¡± Suddenly, Sonia started struggling as different thoughts raced past her mind. At this


    moment, she wanted to remind Toby not to get tempted and agree to the ports. After all, Carl¡¯s life was at


    stake.


    That was why she would never let Toby agree to this deal.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯smotion, Toby turned around to look at her, and he naturally knew why she was


    so agitated.


    Although he felt ufortable, he still went along with his inner thoughts. ¡°No, thanks. Do you really


    think that I will take advantage of the people I love to gain more profit? Den, it¡¯s insulting how you see


    me as. Do you really think that I¡¯m you?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t care about Carl¡¯s life, and it was none of his business if Den wanted to kill Carl.


    All he cared about was Sonia.


    Immediately, the smile on Den¡¯s face froze before he gave Toby a disbelieving look a whileter and


    snapped with a shrill voice, ¡°President Fuller, are you seriously rejecting two Westsanshire treaty ports?


    Are you really trying to go against me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to partner up with people like you!¡± Toby looked up before his gaze swept past Den as if


    he was trash.


    At the same time, Sonia, who was trapped under the jacket, shed happy tears.

 Chapter 436

    Chapter 436


    Chapter 436 Kill Him


    Great. This is great! Toby didn¡¯t agree to partner up with Den!


    No one knew how terrified she was that Toby might agree to partner up. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to refuse


    two Westsanshire treaty ports. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t let Sonia down in the end.


    ¡°Sure, sure. How noble of you, President Fuller.¡± Den giggled before he started pping out of the


    blue. ¡°Still, aren¡¯t you afraid that I might capture you along? After all, our discussion just fell through. I¡¯m


    not willing to let her go, and you definitely won¡¯t let me off the hook, so why don¡¯t I just kill all three of you


    to spare me all the troubles?¡±


    Faced with the threat, Sonia had an immediate change in expression. ¡°Mm, mm, mm!¡± She shook her


    head almost violently to get her message across.


    No! You have to leave now! That was what she wanted to tell Toby.


    Although Sonia really wanted Toby to rescue her, she still remembered Den mentioning that Toby was


    alone. Under this circumstance, it was impossible for him to rescue her. Right now, she¡¯d rather Toby


    ditch her and leave when he still could.


    Even though Sonia had no feelings toward Toby, she didn¡¯t want him to die for her. Surely, she would


    suffer from the guilt for the rest of her life, knowing he died because of her.


    Noticing Sonia¡¯s agitated manner, Toby had his eyes softened up as he could guess what she was trying


    to say. However, his gaze reverted back to his usual cold ones as he stared at Den. ¡°You¡¯re afraid of


    killing me!¡±


    He was filled with absolute confidence as he imed, ¡°Not only that! You might even be afraid of


    capturing me.¡±


    Right then, Den¡¯s expression changed, and even Sonia quietened down as well. What does he mean?


    Why did Toby say that Den won¡¯t dare to capture him or kill him?


    While Sonia was pondering about it, Den broke the silence. ¡°What makes you think that I¡¯m afraid,


    President Fuller?¡± His fists flinched a little, and his lips twitched before his cold voice rang out.


    ¡°Because I understand what kind of a person you are,¡± Toby pursed his lips and answered. ¡°Since you¡¯re


    an illegitimate son, you¡¯re more ambiguous than any other people, and that¡¯s why you¡¯re ruthless enough


    to rise from the other illegitimate children. Nevertheless, you¡¯re a coward who¡¯s afraid of death at the


    same time.¡±


    Den¡¯s pupils constricted when he heard the words ¡®afraid of death¡¯.


    However, Toby looked as if he hadn¡¯t noticed it and continued speaking, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ll lose


    everything if you die. You know clearly that the Fuller Family wouldn¡¯t ever forgive you if you try to


    capture or kill me and will do everything they can to destroy you while you can¡¯t do anything to defend


    yourself. If it weren¡¯t so, you would have already gotten your men to capture me when I showed up just


    now.¡±


    At this moment, Den was rendered speechless as his expression changed while he red at Toby


    intently. Right then, Sonia realized that Toby was right. That solved her question of why Den didn¡¯t


    capture Toby when Toby showed up, and why Toby was courageous enough to show up on his own. So


    that¡¯s why.


    ¡°So, can you return Sonia to me now?¡± Toby started walking forward. ¡°I¡¯ll repeat myself. Hand her back to


    me, and I¡¯ll let you guys go for now. Who you guys want to kill are none of my business, and I won¡¯t stop


    you. My revenge on you guys won¡¯t be too harsh, and I won¡¯t take your lives.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯te near me!¡± Den suddenly roared when he saw Toby inching closer to him.


    Pausing for a moment, Tobyposed himself before heading forward again.


    Upon seeing that Toby wasn¡¯t listening, Den gritted his teeth as a twisted look took over his delicate-


    looking face.


    Right then, his man couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Young Master Den, what should we do? Should we return


    her to him? If that¡¯s impossible, why don¡¯t we capture him without injuring him and only let him off when


    our ride is here?¡±


    Den¡¯s eyes wavered a little as he clenched and unclenched his fist. He looked hesitant, as if he was


    contemting what his man had said.


    Nevertheless, Carl¡¯s gentle yet bloodlust-filled voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Den, you¡¯re really easy to


    locate.¡±


    At this moment, Toby¡¯s expression changed before he turned around abruptly to re at Carl. Dang it,


    Carl! Of any time you could havee, why do you have to arrive now?!


    Toby could tell that Den was tempted by what he offered just now and was considering letting Sonia


    go. However, now that Carl showed up with so many men, Den knew that he couldn¡¯t run anymore.


    He would definitely be agitated and would try to use Sonia¡¯s life to threaten them.


    As expected, Den initially decided to return Sonia to Toby and leave the ce. After all, Toby was


    alone and couldn¡¯t hold all of them back, and he could still find ways to remove Lucius anyway.


    After Lucius was gone, even if Toby wanted to get his revenge, Den could still rise up as long as he


    was alive. In fact, he might even exceed Toby and get his revenge on him instead. Yet, with Carl catching


    up to them with twice the amount of men Den had and the helicopter not reaching, Den knew that


    Carl would never let him off the hook even if he let Sonia go. By now, why should I let her go?


    At the thought of that, Den suddenly moved toward the side and pulled Sonia toward him from the two


    buff men. After removing the jacket on Sonia, he grabbed Sonia by her neck forcefully before staggering


    backward along with her.


    Not far away from their back was a dangerously steep slope. The steep slope was a few feet in length,


    and at the end of the slope was a bottomless abyss.


    As Den¡¯s movement was too sudden, everyone else was taken aback before they came back to their


    senses. Upon seeing Den grabbing Sonia by her throat and standing at the edge of the slope, Toby


    tensed up. ¡°Den, let her go!¡±


    He felt like his lungs were about tobust due to his anger. Carl, you fool! If Carl had been slightlyte


    ¡ªif he showed up after Den let Sonia go¡ªthe situation wouldn¡¯t have escted up to this point.


    Still, Carl was oblivious to what Toby was thinking. Nevertheless, his face darkened, as he could guess


    that his appearance caused Den to do what he was doing now. ¡°Did you hear that, Den? Let go of


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Let go of her?¡± Den turned around to look at Sonia with a sinister grin on his face. ¡°Let go of her and


    get captured by you guys? Hmph! Do you think I¡¯m stupid to let her off so easily? If it wasn¡¯t because of


    the unlucky traffic jam, do you think I¡¯ll be cornered by you guys here?¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Toby¡¯s knuckles were turning pale from how hard he was clenching his fists.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    ¡°What I want is simple. I want him dead!¡± Den¡¯s gazended on Carl. ¡°President Fuller, didn¡¯t you


    mention that you don¡¯t mind me killing Lucius? If he¡¯s dead, we will be able to return to how it was before


    he showed up. I¡¯ll let go of your ex-wife, and you¡¯ll let me leave. Of course, I¡¯ll have to deal with your


    revengeter on.¡±


    Everything was fine as long as he wasn¡¯t dead, as there was still a chance for him to rise up again. As


    long as he could be the head of the Hayes Family and prove himself to those thatughed at him


    for being an illegitimate son, he wouldn¡¯t mind being amputated or anything.


    ¡°So, do you want me to kill him?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes before scanning Carl.


    Right then, Carl kept quiet as if the person getting his life or death sentence wasn¡¯t him. His gaze was


    lowered, and his face was devoid of any emotions.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Den nodded, as that was exactly what he wanted.


    At this moment, Toby gave Carl a nonchnt look. ¡°Did you hear that? He wants me to kill you.¡±


    Carl looked up to meet Toby¡¯s gaze. ¡°Do you want to kill me?¡±

 Chapter 437

    Chapter 437


    Chapter 437 The Helicopter Arrives


    Toby withdrew his gaze and said, ¡°If this will make him let Sonia go, it¡¯s not out of the question.¡±


    How could you?!


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened, and she stared at Toby in anger. You genuinely want to kill Carl! If he really did


    that, even if Den let her go, she would definitely not live. How could she want to live? After all, her life


    had been exchanged for Carl¡¯s life. Hence, she absolutely would not allow Toby to harm Carl; she would


    rather have Den take her away than Carl die.


    Naturally, Toby saw Sonia¡¯s anger. His eyes shed with unhappiness while his heart felt dull. She cares


    so much about Carl.


    ¡°Well? Have you guys discussed it yet?¡± Den saw that Toby and Carl were not moving and thus felt a


    little impatient. Therefore, his hand on Sonia¡¯s neck tightened again. With that, Sonia¡¯s face contorted in


    pain, and her eyebrows were tightly furrowed together. When Toby saw how much pain she was in, his


    heart constricted as he roared, ¡°Den, how dare you hurt her?!¡±


    Then, Carl also stared at Den with a deadly gaze, as if he wanted to rip Den into pieces. Den


    coldly grunted, ¡°I don¡¯t want to, but you guys sure are taking your sweet time. President Fuller, are you


    going to do it or not? Of course, Lucius can also kill himself. Anyway, I just want him dead.¡±


    ¡°You are really¡ª¡± Before Carl could finish, the leader of the bodyguards suddenly stepped forward,


    looked at Toby and Carl, and opened his mouth to say, ¡°President Fuller, Mr. Lee, why don¡¯t I rush over


    with my men? We outnumber them, so we can definitely catch them and get Miss Reed back.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Toby and Carl rejected this solution at the same time.


    Toby exined, ¡°Don¡¯t you realize what is behind Den? It¡¯s a steep slope. He knew when Carl and


    you guys appeared that he had lost in terms of manpower, so if they go up directly against us, they will


    ultimately lose. Therefore, he deliberately brought Sonia there in order to warn and threaten us. If we


    rush over, he can push Sonia down the slope at any time.¡±


    Otherwise, he would have long ordered these bodyguards to go up and arrest the other party.


    The bodyguard captain nodded. ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller, my judgment wascking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Most importantly, one of the men under Den has a gun.¡± Toby slightly narrowed his eyes as


    his gaze swept around the waists of several men around Den, trying to find out the person holding the


    gun and the location of the gun as well. He knew Den¡¯s men had a gun because that driver had told


    him during the traffic jam on the way there. So, that was one of the reasons why he didn¡¯t dare to let his


    bodyguards rush up to them.


    ¡°What do I do now?¡± The bodyguard had a serious expression. ¡°We can¡¯t keep stalemating like this,


    right? Besides, Den doesn¡¯t want to just stay like this; he¡¯s waiting for us to make a move on Mr. Lee,


    or Mr. Lee tomit suicide. If this takes too long, he might also get annoyed and do something to Miss


    Reed.¡±


    Upon saying so, he looked at Carl. Carl¡¯s fists clenched, then he slightly turned his face sideways and


    lowered his voice. ¡°Toby, I can kill myself.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. ¡°You really want to kill yourself?¡±


    ¡°I will pretend to kill myself.¡±


    Carl lowered his eyes and said in a faint voice, ¡°I can avoid the vital points of my body, then fake my


    death. After Den releases Sonia, get your men to go over and arrest them. This solution is okay,


    right?¡±


    Toby rubbed his fingers together and did not answer, seemingly considering the feasibility. After thinking


    for about 10 seconds, he nodded slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way; that¡¯s all we can do.¡±


    Carl nodded, then turned his gaze to Den and said in a loud voice, ¡°Den, I will kill myself.¡±


    Den was stunned for a moment, thenughed freely. Sonia, who he was choking, changed her


    expression greatly. Looking at Carl emotionally, she kept shaking her head, wanting Carl to retract his


    words.


    No, Carl! I can¡¯t have you take your own life in exchange for mine! I cannot ept this.


    Knowing what Sonia meant, Carl smiled faintly at her. ¡°Sonia, if you can see me, that means your eyes


    have recovered. That¡¯s good, but don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    After saying that, he once again looked at Den. ¡°If you release her, I will immediately kill myself.¡±


    Den¡¯s wicked smile was reced with a stoic expression. ¡°Release? Who are you kidding? What if I


    let her go, and you don¡¯t kill yourself? So, you must kill yourself first, and after you die, I will release her.¡±


    ¡°Then I can equally suspect that you won¡¯t release her after I die,¡± Carl said in a cold voice.


    Den gave a disdainful chortle. ¡°With President Fuller here, would I dare not release her? Isn¡¯t that


    right, President Fuller?¡±


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    He looked at Toby.


    Toby¡¯s thin lips opened slightly. ¡°To be honest, I find you hard to trust. Therefore, now the best way is to


    compromise. You will put Sonia¡­¡± Just halfway through the words, the sound of a propeller suddenly


    came from above. Toby frowned and looked up, while others also looked up and saw a helicopter flying


    overhead.


    Den¡¯s men immediately recognized the helicopter andughed excitedly. ¡°Young Master Den,


    great! It¡¯s our helicopter.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s finally here.¡± Den also stared at the helicopter, his tense heart finally relieved.


    Although Toby had said that he could let them go for now as long as he released Sonia, even if Toby


    really let them go, they could only run away on foot if the helicopter did note. Once they ran into the


    deep mountains, even if the helicopter came, they could not board it because the helicopter could not


    land in the deep mountains. When the time came, Toby only needed to execute a search in the deep


    mountains, and they would still be caught.


    Luckily, now that the helicopter finally arrived, it finally put Den¡¯s mind at ease. Later, they could leave


    Seafield at once. As Den¡¯s helicopter flew above them, the cabin door opened, and a softdder


    descended. Then, Den looked at Toby and his group. ¡°President Fuller, can I let my men get on first?


    Anyway, you said that as long as I return Sonia to you, you will let us go. After Luciusmits suicide in


    a while, I will return Sonia to you, and we will leave immediately. How about that?¡±


    ¡°Sure, but!¡± Toby pointed at him. ¡°You can¡¯t get on it now. If you get on it and leave a subordinate behind


    to hold Sonia hostage, then the agreement between you and me is immediately null and void, and I will


    immediately contact the air force to intercept your helicopter and shoot you down,¡± Toby said with a


    serious face.


    Den¡¯s face changed, and finally, he revealed a gruesome smile. ¡°Okay, then I will stay here.¡±


    Originally, he had honestly nned to get on the helicopter himself first and leave one of his men down


    there to continue holding Sonia hostage. As a result, the n was destroyed by Toby before it could be


    implemented.


    Soon, several of Den¡¯s men went up the softdder one by one to the helicopter, leaving Den alone


    down there. He turned his head to look back and saw that he was still almost two feet away from the


    steep slope behind him, so he pulled Sonia with him and took another step back to a distance half a foot


    away from the slope. This action of his caused Toby and Carl¡¯s hearts to clench.


    ¡°Den, I dare you to y tricks!¡± Toby warned in a stern voice.


    Den smiled indifferently. ¡°Come on, President Fuller. I¡¯m doing this for my own safety. After all, I¡¯m the


    only one down here now. If I don¡¯t do something, who knows what will happen?¡±

 Chapter 438

    Chapter 438


    Chapter 438 Falling off the Cliff


    ¡°If you insist,¡± Toby sneered back at Den.


    Only when Den looked at Carl did he put away the smile on his face, and his expression became one


    of impatience. ¡°Lucius, what are you still standing there for? Go on!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to rush me. I will naturally do it¡±, Carl said, then he drew out a dagger from the waist belt


    of the bodyguard next to him. The dagger¡¯s de was very sharp, and the tip glinted with a cold silver


    light, making those who saw it shudder.


    At that moment, Sonia was deep in despair yet helpless, and unfortunately, she could only watch on with


    her pupils dted inplete horror.


    Carl, don¡¯t! Stop!


    Carl smiled at her, then slowly aimed the tip of the knife at his left chest. But just as he was about to stab


    down on himself, the sound of propellers came from the sky again. This time, the sound was deafening,


    and there was more than one propeller. The crowd looked up again and saw that not far away in the sky,


    three helicopters flew over, and painted on the leading helicopter was the word ¡®Fuller¡¯, indicating the


    helicopter¡¯s affiliation. It was Toby¡¯s helicopter!


    Den was dumbfounded, so it took several seconds for him toe to his senses and look at Toby


    with eyes wide open. ¡°You also called a helicopter?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t call a helicopter?¡± Toby slightly raised his eyes and faintly replied. Due to too much anger,


    Den¡¯s hand that was pinching Sonia¡¯s neck was shaking. ¡°I got it now. I was lied to. I was lied to from


    the beginning to the end. From the very beginning, you have no intention to let me go. Even if I let Sonia


    go and leave here, your helicopter will also immediately catch me.¡±


    Toby hooked his lips. ¡°You¡¯re pretty clever.¡±


    Even Carl was surprised. Apparently, he also did not expect that Toby had called his helicopter. But this


    was good, as this time Den and his group would not be able to escape. Looking at Toby¡¯s helicopter


    getting closer and closer and soon going to close in on their helicopter, Den¡¯s men became anxious,


    and they shouted, ¡°Young Master Den, quickly! Forget about them first. Release the woman and grab


    thedder! We should go now. If we don¡¯t go, we really won¡¯t be able to escape. If we want to kill Lucius,


    we still have plenty of chancester. Now the most important thing is to get out of here first, Young


    Master Den!¡±


    Den knew this, but he was not willing to just leave because it would be beyond challenging the next


    time he wanted to get Lucius killed. But if he didn¡¯t leave, Toby would get him, and if Toby handed him


    over to Lucius, he was afraid that Lucius would turn around and kill him. So, it was undeniable that his


    best move there and then was to leave. Although he would end up being retaliated against by Toby, Toby


    wouldn¡¯t get him killed if he didn¡¯t get Sonia killed. As long as he didn¡¯t die, he would still have a chance.


    Thinking of this, Den gritted his teeth and finally took a deep breath. Next, he threw Sonia toward the


    side, then jumped upward and grabbed the softdder. What Den didn¡¯t expect was that he threw


    Sonia with a little too much force, and when Sonia fell to the ground, her body rolled backward. With this,


    she fell down the steep slope.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Toby¡¯s face changed dramatically.


    Carl also opened his eyes wide. ¡°Sonia!¡±


    The two dashed toward the edge of the steep slope, and when they reached the edge, their hearts sank


    when they saw that Sonia was tumbling down below.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Carl stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to grab Sonia.


    However, Sonia was below, rolling down the slope more than thirty feet away. Carl stood on top of the


    slope, so he was not able to grab her. Just as Carl didn¡¯t know what to do and could only watch as Sonia


    eventually fell off the cliff, he suddenly felt a strong wind whisking by his ears, and then he saw a shadow


    jumping down. That was Toby! Toby had actually jumped down!


    Carl¡¯s pupils dted as he saw Toby jump down and also roll a distance away. After that, Toby reached


    out and pulled Sonia¡¯s wrist, then pulled Sonia into his arms.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± As Sonia looked at Toby with a shocked gaze, Toby suddenly smiled at her and said


    these words.


    However, the heartwarming scene didn¡¯tst long before both of them fell off the cliff amidst Carl¡¯s horror.


    At that, Carl¡¯s legs suddenly went limp, and he knelt at once on the edge of the steep slope, his eyes


    staring at the empty area and his lips trembling as he could not speak. Sonia had fallen off the cliff! As for


    Toby, he also thought nothing of it and jumped down for the sake of Sonia. However, Carl could only


    stand rooted without the slightest courage to follow them.


    At this moment, Carl could not deny that Toby indeed loved Sonia. Otherwise, it would be impossible for


    him to jump off the cliff without hesitation and go after her. And he himself, who said he loved Sonia,


    could not even take this step.


    How pathetic! I could not even die for her!


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    If he was really willing to kill himself to save Sonia, he wouldn¡¯t have dyed again and again. Instead, in


    the beginning, when Den offered to have him die and would release Sonia as long as he died, he


    would have immediately done it to himself. But he didn¡¯t. Instead, he discussed it with Toby for a long


    time, enough to show that he couldn¡¯t die for Sonia. So, he lost, once again to Toby. When it came to


    one¡¯s feelings for Sonia, he really couldn¡¯tpare to Toby¡¯s deep feelings for her.


    On the softdder, Den also saw this scene, and he waspletely dumbfounded. He never thought


    that with just a push, Sonia would fall down the steep slope and end up falling off the cliff. After all, he


    really didn¡¯t dare to kill Sonia, or Toby would kill him. However, he never thought that things would turn


    out this way. After Sonia fell off the cliff, Toby also followed and jumped with her. The cliff was so high, so


    they definitely would not survive. And here, there were so many witnesses to prove that because of him,


    Sonia fell down along with Toby, so the Fuller Family would definitely me all this on him. The Fuller


    Family would definitely get him killed!


    Run! Hurry up and run! I¡¯ll leave Seafield and even leave the country! I can¡¯t be caught by the Fuller


    Family, otherwise I will be as good as dead.


    ¡°Go, hurry up and go!¡± Thinking of this, Den raised his head and roared at the cabin as loud as


    possible.


    The people in the cabin heard it, and the pilot immediately raised the helicopter, then turned around and


    flew away. However, just as the helicopter flew off, two helicopters chased after it. The third one didn¡¯t go


    after it but slowly descended andnded not far behind Carl on a slightly t area. Then, the cabin


    opened, and Tom jumped down before he walked directly to the bodyguards and asked the leader,


    ¡°Where¡¯s President Fuller and Miss Reed?¡±


    Since there are so many people here, Miss Reed should be saved. Even if she is not, President Fuller


    should still be here. Yet, why is President Fuller not here either?


    The leader lowered his head, somewhat afraid to face Tom, then said in a low voice, ¡°President Fuller¡­


    President Fuller¡­ h-he jumped off the cliff.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Tom first froze, then his face instantly changed.


    Grabbing the other man¡¯s cor, he shouted, ¡°You said President Fuller jumped off the cliff?!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The bodyguard captain nodded.


    ¡°Den threw Miss Reed off the cliff, and President Fuller jumped down with her.¡±


    Tom sucked in a breath of cold air, and in the next second, he questioned angrily, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you


    stop it? Why didn¡¯t you, as President Fuller¡¯s bodyguard, stop him? You allowed him to jump down in


    front of you?¡±


    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t have time.¡± The bodyguard also knew that he had shirked his responsibility by not protecting


    his boss.


    Clenching his fists with his eyes red, he replied, ¡°It really happened too fast, and we did not react in time.


    When we realized it was already toote.¡±

 Chapter 439

    Chapter 439


    Chapter 439 Could Not Save You


    ¡°Good job, you guys!¡± Tom yelled sarcastically while he shook off the bodyguard leader with force and


    spun around in ce in anger. After a while, he saw the bodyguards lowering their heads, just like fools,


    and he yelled again, ¡°What on earth are you still doing here?! Go and find them down the mountain!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡± Hearing Tom¡¯s reminder, the bodyguards hurriedly nodded in response, then all of them


    scattered and began to survey the terrain, looking for a way to get to the bottom of the cliff. Tom also did


    not stay idle. Instead, he took out his phone with red eyes and dialed the phone number of the search


    and rescue team.


    No matter what, he must find President Fuller alive or, at the very least, locate his corpse!


    As for Toby himself, he was at this moment hanging from the cliff with one hand and grabbing on a tree


    trunk that was only wrist-thick, while the other hand was tightly wrapped around Sonia.


    On the way down the cliff with Sonia in his arms, he found a small tree growing on the cliff, and so he


    subconsciously reached out and grabbed the trunk. That was how he and Sonia were able to stop in


    mid-air. But this trunk was not thick, and it was difficult for it to carry both their weights. Currently, this


    trunk was bent almost thirty degrees, and it was continuing to bend down. In fact, in a few minutes, the


    trunk would likely break.


    At that time, he and Sonia would continue to fall. Soon, Toby looked down at the bottomless cliff beneath


    his feet, then looked at the unsteady tree trunk above his head, and finally gazed down on the scared


    woman in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. I came to save you, but I didn¡¯t expect to fail in the end.¡± His voice


    sounded mellow, as if he was ready for whatever awaited him.


    Sonia shook her head repeatedly. In her opinion, he had already saved her. First of all, it was none of his


    business that she was kidnapped, and the fact that he coulde to her rescue already made her


    surprised and touched. Secondly, Den¡¯s n was perfect. By kidnapping her and using her to lure in


    Carl, he was able to then kill Carl.


    The whole n could go on without a hitch, and Toby¡¯s appearance was a surprise. It was also because


    of Toby¡¯s appearance that Den¡¯s n failed, and it was because of that that both of them survived.


    Thus, Toby saved not only her, but also Carl. Therefore, he didn¡¯t have to apologize at all; it was her and


    Carl who should apologize and thank him.


    Of course, what made her heart move the most was the time when Toby jumped off the cliff for her. At


    that moment, she was shocked, and even her fear while rolling down the steep slope dissipated as her


    mind was full of his rming act. She did not understand why he had to do so¡ªwas he not afraid of


    death? Did he not know how dangerous his behavior was?


    But she was sure that he knew what he was doing, as from the beginning to the end, she did not see fear


    and regret in his expression. Instead, there was only righteousness and determination, even until now.


    Many people might have the courage to do something at first because their subconsciousness was


    fueled by adrenaline. However, they would begin to regret itter. However, Toby did not. He really did


    not regret jumping down in an attempt to save her.


    As Sonia thought of that, her nose burned, and her eyes reddened, then she began to sob.


    Toby, you should not do this.


    She wanted to tell him this, but he couldn¡¯t understand and could only look at her and say feebly, ¡°I don¡¯t


    know what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯d love to help you tear the tape off your mouth, but I can¡¯t do it with


    either hand right now.¡±


    Sonia nodded, indicating that she understood, since Toby held her with one hand and gripped the trunk


    with the other. Although nothing could be seen from his face, she knew that it must be very difficult for


    him at the moment, especially the arm that was gripping the tree trunk. It must be excruciating by now.


    After all, that arm was carrying the weight of two people. Moreover, she could see that the wrist of that


    arm was red, while the hand holding the trunk was pale. That was because the wrist was suspended,


    resulting in excessive blood flow to it, while the hand wascking blood flow because the grip on the


    trunk was too firm. Besides, his hands and arms were trembling slightly, showing that he was about to


    reach his limit and he would not be able to grasp the trunk for long.


    Perhaps in the end, before the trunk broke, his grip would loosen first. When the time came, both of them


    would continue to fall off the cliff andnd in two human pulps.


    Thinking of this, Sonia raised her head and looked at the man with an extremely serious expression,


    hoping that he would let go of her. Only by letting her go would he not have to bear the weight of two


    people and could grasp the trunk of the tree with two arms together. The most important thing was that


    without her weight, the bearing capacity of this trunk would increase, and it would not break so soon.


    Maybe it would be able to support him, and a rescue helicopter would reach him in time, in which case


    he would survive.


    In any case, she also wanted him to live. After all, she was the one who was kidnapped by Den, and it


    was her and Carl whom Den wanted to kill, and he only got involved because he wanted to save her.


    So, he didn¡¯t deserve to die!


    As the look in Sonia¡¯s eyes was too obvious, Toby read it clearly, and the tenderness in his eyes was


    reced by displeasure and determination. ¡°I won¡¯t let go of you.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened at that. You¡¯re crazy; if you don¡¯t let go of me, you¡¯ll die too!


    Toby smiled again. ¡°I know. It¡¯s a good thing to die with you.¡±


    He¡¯s insane! He¡¯s really insane! Sonia¡¯s face turned red with anger.


    Just then, a breaking sound came from above her head. Her body stiffened, and she jerked her head up


    to look. She saw that the trunk that Toby was holding on to had broken off from above, leaving only an


    inch or so of thickness still unbroken. The remaining trunk, at most, would only support them for a dozen


    more seconds.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Suddenly, Toby let out a painful grunt. So, Sonia hurriedly looked at him, and as she was looking


    at his pale face full of cold sweat, she instantly panicked and made a muffled sound. What¡¯s wrong with


    you?


    Toby lifted his eyes to look at her and squeezed out a weak smile at her. ¡°I¡ª¡±


    Before he finished his words, the sound of breaking came again from the top of his head. This time, the


    tree trunk waspletely broken. Toby¡¯s grip had also broken loose from the trunk, and then his whole


    arm hung behind him at an abnormal angle. However, Sonia couldn¡¯t see, because at this moment, she


    and Toby had fallen down the cliff again. At the moment of the fall, Toby suddenly held her head down


    hard on his chest and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, and don¡¯t look.¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia did not speak, as she could not speak anyway. She just closed her eyes, obediently leaning on his


    chest and listening to his rapid heartbeat.


    Somehow, even though she was originally really scared inside, she suddenly inexplicably felt tranquility.


    Yes, tranquility.


    Everyone feared death, and she was no exception. Thus, at the moment the trunk broke, she was


    laughing bitterly to herself. This time, she was really dead, and it would be a gruesome death, no less. To


    die this way meant that perhaps her corpse would not even be whole.


    In the process of falling, hearing the sound of the wind whistling past her ears, she was so afraid that her


    heart leaped to her throat.


    But now, she was surprisingly not afraid. Maybe it was because of Toby¡¯s words; maybe it was because


    there was someone with her before she died. Anyway, it was a good thing, but she still felt very sorry for


    Toby.


    He did not have to die, and although this was his own choice, she still felt sorry in her heart for dragging


    him down with her.

 Chapter 440

    Chapter 440


    Chapter 440 Mouth-To-Mouth Resuscitation


    It is just that I have no chance to repay your kindness in this life¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Toby!


    In her heart, Sonia silently spoke to Toby.


    The descent was quick, and in just a few seconds, they had fallen to the bottom of the cliff. However, to


    Sonia, it was like a century had passed. Just as she took a deep breath, ready to meet the moment of


    her bones shattering into a million pieces, she and Toby unexpectedly did not fall on the hard ground but


    into a deep bottomlesske instead.


    There was a loud ssh as the two of them fell heavily into theke, and the water sshed up at least


    a few feet high. Sonia immediately opened her eyes as the coldke water seeped into her eyes, ears,


    and nose, making it an ufortable situation. But more than that, she felt excitement and great joy.


    She tore off the tape on her mouth and smiled with her mouth closed. I didn¡¯t die! I survived!


    Originally, she thought that falling off the cliff meant certain death.


    Thank God! This is such a one-in-a-million miracle! I mean, honestly, who¡¯d have expected ake at the


    bottom of a cliff?


    Sonia was so happy that she was about to cry, but just as she was about to bite the rope off her hand


    with her mouth, she suddenly thought of something, and her heart¡¯s excitement and ecstasy


    disappeared. Where is Toby?


    At that thought, Sonia had a change in expression. Just when she and Toby fell into theke, Toby¡¯s


    hand, which had been holding her, had let go.


    Thus, she concluded that he should be nearby, looking around to find him. However, her brows furrowed


    when she didn¡¯t see him anywhere.


    Strange, there is no one here. Could it be that he had already swum ashore? That¡¯s not impossible.


    Thinking of this, Sonia sighed with relief. It was good if he went ashore first. Besides, she also had to find


    a way to save herself. She lowered her head and bit the rope, trying to release herself from it. This


    process was extraordinarily difficult for Sonia because the time for her to hold her breath in the water was


    limited. For an average person with professional swimming training, it couldst almost two minutes. So,


    she had to untie the rope and swim to the surface to breathe within two minutes, or she would drown


    otherwise.


    It was a good thing that when Den¡¯s people tied her up, they didn¡¯t use tooplicated knots. Sonia


    pulled the knot hard while still being careful not to put too much pressure on her own throat. Yes! Finally,


    she untied the rope on her wrist, so without dy, she tried to reach her feet.


    With her hands, the ropes on her feet were untied within ten seconds. She thought that she had Den¡¯s


    people to thank for not tying her with hemp rope. Otherwise, the rope would have swollen with water and


    be tighter, and it would have been impossible to untie it within two minutes.


    With her arms and legs finally free, Sonia was delighted, and then she immediately paddled her arms


    and swung her feet to swim upward. A few secondster, she emerged from the surface and then


    exhaled loudly. I¡¯ve finallye back to life!


    Shedding tears of joy, Sonia then shouted toward the shore, ¡°Toby, are you there?¡±


    However, there was no response from the shore.


    Sonia¡¯s smile disappeared as she moved in the water and swept her nce around the shore but failed


    to see Toby. At once, a bad feeling rose in her heart. If Toby was not on the shore, could it be that he


    never made it ashore? Then right now, he would be¡­


    Sonia¡¯s pupils constricted. Not daring to continue to think, she immediately dove into the water after


    taking a deep breath and swam downward. When she was in the water before, she just looked around


    and did not look down, so this time she looked down and finally saw Toby. Toby¡¯s eyes were closed at the


    moment, and he was floating near the bottom of theke as if he was already dead.


    Seeing this, Sonia felt her heart tighten, and she subconsciously opened her mouth. ¡°To¡ª¡±


    Gurgle.


    After choking on water, Sonia hurriedly closed her mouth, adjusted her breathing, and then swam quickly


    to Toby. Holding his arm, she took him up to the surface. When Toby let go of her, he had fainted and


    sunk to the bottom of theke. Now that a few minutes had passed, she didn¡¯t dare to think about his


    condition at all. The possibility that he could have drowned scared her to the bones, and thus, her only


    choice was to save him as fast as possible.


    Hurry up, hurry up! You can do it! You can do it!


    Sonia tried to motivate herself in her heart. The difficulty of swimming with a person, especially an


    unconscious person, was hellish. She felt like she was going to lose her strength and couldn¡¯t make it,


    but she still refused to give up on Toby. Even though she felt like her legs were going to cramp, she was


    still gritting her teeth and swimming toward the shore. In any case, she had to bring Toby to shore,


    because on the cliff just now, Toby also did not give up on her.


    ¡°Toby, hold on a little more. The shore is near. I believe you are still alive, and you are not dead. As long


    as you are not dead, I will be able to save you, so hold on!¡± Sonia looked at the shore not far ahead and


    spoke while gasping for breath as she continued to swim forward.


    Finally, they arrived at the shore. Sonia held Toby¡¯s armpits and dragged him to the shore, then hurriedly


    sat down on her knees and checked his condition. The moment she felt that Toby was not breathing and


    had no heartbeat, her heart almost stopped.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby has no vital signs? Is he really dead? No, it can¡¯t be, it can¡¯t be!


    Sonia did not want to believe this fact and hurriedly folded her hands together. Putting her hands on


    Toby¡¯s chest, she began to give him first aid chestpressions. After severalpressions, shey


    down again and put her ear to his heart to hear if he had any heartbeat. After not hearing any, she


    continued to press a few times. Then, she pinched his nose, lifted his jaw, and gave him mouth-to-mouth


    resuscitation. After that, she alternated between that and chestpressions.


    Two minutes passed, but Toby still did not respond. Sonia could not hold back any longer, and biting her


    lower lip, she began crying. Her voice choked as she said, ¡°Toby, hurry up ande back alive. Do you


    hear me? Hurry up ande back alive. I am not dead, so how can you, someone who is randomly


    involved in this matter, die!¡±


    Her tears fell, and one drop fell directly on Toby¡¯s eyelid. With that, Toby¡¯s eyshes trembled, and his


    eyes moved a little. Although it was not obvious, Sonia still caught it. Her eyes instantly opened wide,


    and she began trembling with excitement. He¡¯se back to life!


    ¡°Toby!¡± Sonia stopped her movements and gently removed her hands away from his chest. Then, she


    stared at him with bated breath. Was he about to wake up?


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Toby did not wake up but suddenly spat out a few mouthfuls ofke water and then coughed


    violently. When he coughed, his body shuddered a few times. Sonia hurriedly lifted his upper body up


    and let him lean in her arms and then raised her hand to pat his back with some force so that he would


    vomit some more and spit out all the water.


    ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­¡± Coughing for a while, Toby finally opened his eyes after spitting out more


    water. However, he was frail, and his face was pale and bloodless. His eyes were only half opened as he


    looked at Sonia and tried to speak. ¡°Sonia¡­¡±


    ¡°Great, you¡¯ve finallye back to life.¡±


    Filled with tears of joy, Sonia did not think much before hugging Toby. ¡°Do you know that you had no


    heartbeat and breathing just now? You scared me to death. I thought you had really just died and could


    note back to life¡­¡±a

 Chapter 441

    Chapter 441


    Chapter 441 The Broken Arm


    Sonia couldn¡¯t stop crying. The corner of Toby¡¯s mouth lifted into a very faint smile, and it, along with his


    pale face and dripping wet body, somehow made him look beautiful instead of wretched. He lifted his


    right hand and used his index finger to gently wipe the tears off her lower eyelids. Then, he said in a


    hoarse voice, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. You¡¯re not pretty when you cry.¡±


    When Sonia heard his words, she rolled her eyes at him. ¡°We just came back from the dead, and you still


    care whether I look pretty or not?¡±


    Toby put his hand down. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°You bet I¡¯m right.¡± Sonia lifted his body so that it was slightly straighter. ¡°How did you sink to the bottom


    of theke?¡±


    Toby closed his eyes slightly. ¡°When I fell, I was padding under you. As we were falling from a high ce,


    the pressure of the water surface was very strong, so the moment I fell into the water, my head and back


    were as if they had hit a big rock, so I lost consciousness.¡±


    So that was what happened.


    ¡°Then, are your head and back okay?¡± Sonia hurriedly looked toward the back of Toby¡¯s head.


    Toby shook his head gently. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a little dizzy and a little nauseous.¡±


    On top of that, the back of his back was also burning with pain. The whip wounds on his back were not


    fully healed yet because there were some scabs that had not fallen off, and now those areas had split


    open again. However, this was nothingpared to his left arm. To be precise, he couldn¡¯t seem to feel


    the existence of his left arm.


    Of course, Toby would not tell Sonia all this.


    ¡°Dizziness and nausea?¡± Hearing Toby¡¯s condition at the moment, Sonia suddenly felt worried. Generally,


    someone would appear dizzy and nauseous when there was a serious impact on their head. Just like


    last time, she was hit on the head with a stick by Taylor Carey and got a concussion, and for a while


    afterward, she was dizzy and nauseous. So now, she was pretty sure that he probably had a concussion,


    and he must immediately seek medical attention, or else it would develop into a chronic headache in the


    future.


    Thinking of this, Sonia had Toby sit down, and she herself at once stood up. ¡°No, we cannot stay here


    and wait for people toe down to find us. You must immediately seek medical attention, and our


    clothes are also wet. It¡¯s now so cold, so if we wait, we will get sick out here. We¡¯ll leave here by marking


    our path and see if there are people living outside these woods. If there are, then we will be saved.¡±


    After saying that, she bent down and tried to hold Toby¡¯s arm. However, when she grabbed his left arm,


    she suddenly felt that something was wrong. His left arm was fragile, and the ce where his shoulder


    was connected to his left arm was tilted at an awkward angle, which was obviously not normal at all.


    Realizing this, Sonia had her face changed. She looked at Toby in shock, and her mouth opened, but it


    took her a while to find her voice.


    ¡°Y-Your arm¡­¡±


    ¡°It seems to be broken,¡± Toby smiled slightly and replied as if it was not his arm that was broken.


    Trembling, Sonia staggered backward before stabilizing herself and said in a quivering voice, ¡°B-Broken?


    Was it broken when we were on the cliff?¡±


    She remembered that the moment the tree trunk broke on the cliff, he had looked a little out of ce, and


    a lot of sweat had seeped out of the corners of his forehead at that time. But now that she thought about


    it, it was not because he couldn¡¯t support their weight, but it was because his arm was in trouble.


    When Toby heard Sonia¡¯s question, his eyshes trembled slightly, and his eyes flickered for a moment.


    However, he refused to answer. When Sonia saw him like this, she knew she was right. Biting her lip and


    clenching her hands, she asked, ¡°Why? Why didn¡¯t you tell me, Toby?¡±


    Seeing her so emotional, Toby knew he could no longer be silent. ¡°It¡¯s not that I do not want to tell you,


    but at that time, we had fallen, and I also thought we would die, so naturally, there is no need to tell you


    about this.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but what about now? We survived, and I just asked you about your condition, but you only said


    you feel dizzy. You didn¡¯t tell me you have a broken arm. If I hadn¡¯t found out myself, are you just not


    going to tell me?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes were red as she stared at him in anger.


    Looking like a guilty child who had just broken a vase, Toby moved to the side a little.


    When Sonia saw the situation, she angrily crossed her arms. ¡°Well, you really intend to do so, right?


    Toby, y-you make me mad!¡± She couldn¡¯t help but stamp her foot.


    Suddenly, she remembered that he was wounded because he was trying to save her, so she took a deep


    breath and hurried to suppress her anger before she asked, ¡°Toby, tell me honestly. Are you injured


    anywhere else? Your back? I remember you just said that your head and back hit the water. Your head is


    injured, so your back must have been injured too, right?¡±


    When Toby looked at Sonia¡¯s wrath, he knew he couldn¡¯t hide anything anymore, or when she found out


    later, it would only make her angrier, so he had to nod with his thin lips lightly pursed. ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°Sure enough.¡± Sonia¡¯s chest rose and fell violently. ¡°Where else?¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No more.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia looked at him, obviously not believing him. It was not that she didn¡¯t trust him, but he was


    someone who liked to keep problems to himself and not say anything. So there was no way for her to


    believe it.


    Toby nodded. ¡°There¡¯s really nothing.¡±


    ¡°Good, I hope what you say is true. If afterward the doctors find that you have other injuries, Toby, don¡¯t


    me me for being upset with you.¡± With those words, she let go of his left arm and instead held his right


    arm, pulling him up from the ground.


    ¡°Can you stand ?¡± she asked again.


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Although his head was dizzy, he could still stand steadily.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Wait a moment.¡± She let go of his arm, then took off her short windbreaker jacket. Although


    he didn¡¯t know what she was going to do, he didn¡¯t stop her from taking it off. The clothes were wet


    anyway, so she was cold whether they were taken off or not. Under his suspicious gaze, she took two


    steps forward with the jacket, then picked up a sharp-edged stone and used the pointed part of the stone


    to rip the jacket apart.


    Seeing this, Toby now knew what she was going to do, and the corners of his lips curled up in a happy


    arc. Soon, Sonia came back with a handful of cloth and a few small wooden sticks that she had picked


    up from the ground. ¡°Our conditions are not good, so I can only fix your arm for now, and when we get


    out, we¡¯ll have the doctor put your arm back together.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Toby smiled and nodded.


    Then, Sonia put the extra pieces of cloth on the ground first and only took some of the ones to be used,


    then started to fix Toby¡¯s arm, while Toby just looked down at her all the time, his eyes gentle and loving.


    Naturally, Sonia felt the burning gazeing from above her head but ignored it and concentrated on


    fixing him. After a few minutes, she tied a dead-end knot on his arm, and the fixing was done.


    ¡°How does it feel? Is it too tight?¡± Sonia asked as she took a step back and looked up at the man. Toby


    looked at his arm hanging from his chest, smiled, and shook his head. ¡°No, the tighter, the better, so that


    the bones won¡¯t slip out of ce again.¡±


    ¡°I thought the same thing. That¡¯s why I tied it a little tighter.¡± Sonia also followed suit and smiled a little.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Afterward, she picked up the fabric on the ground and wanted to say something again when she


    suddenly saw Toby¡¯s tall body lurching toward her without warning.

 Chapter 442

    Chapter 442


    Chapter 442 Cave for Shelter From the Rain


    Seeing this scene, Sonia instantly froze and then hurriedly caught Toby, stumbling backward before


    stabilizing herself in the process due to the added weight.


    ¡°Toby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia asked after holding him up. But Toby did not respond, merely leaning on her


    shoulder with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.


    Sonia guessed that he had passed out because his head was badly injured, and he imed to be dizzy,


    so it was only a matter of time before he fainted. Yet, Toby couldn¡¯t walk on his own, so he had to rely on


    her to bring him out.


    Taking a deep breath, Sonia turned around, then half-carried and half-dragged Toby forward. They were


    heading toward the south, where the woods were not as dense, so they should soon be able to get out of


    the woods. As soon as they got out of the woods, they should be able to find some people. While


    walking, Sonia turned her head to look at the man lying on her back. Her eyes were serious as she said,


    ¡°Toby, I will definitely get you out of here.¡±


    After saying that, she turned her head back and continued walking forward. For every few feet, she


    would drop a strip of cloth, leaving a mark for the people who came to find them. Originally, she intended


    to tie these strips of cloth to the branches of trees so that if there was any wind, there was no worry


    about them being blown away. However, she could only do that if Toby himself could walk. Now that Toby


    could not walk, she had to carry him, so naturally, she did not have the capacity to tie the strips of cloth.


    Hence, they could only be thrown on the ground, but she hoped they were not blown away by the wind


    later.


    After a long time of walking, just when Sonia felt tired, lightning shed across the sky suddenly. Sonia


    trembled with fear, then she stopped slightly and looked up at the sky. The sky had darkened as huge


    dark clouds cast shadows on the earth. Coupled with the continuous thunder, it brought a great sense of


    gloom.


    It¡¯s going to rain, and it¡¯s a heavy one!


    Realizing this, Sonia was seen with a troubled expression because if it was raining, they could not


    continue to move forward. When it was raining, it was very easy to fall while walking on a mountain road.


    Toby, at this moment, must definitely not risk a fall again. To make things worse, she could see the sky


    getting darker by the minute.


    Although she didn¡¯t know the exact time now, her phone and the electronic devices on her, such as her


    watch, were all taken off by Den¡¯s people the moment she was kidnapped and thrown away. As for


    Toby¡¯s phone, she also guessed that it was not around as well. Otherwise, at theke just now, Toby


    would have taken it out to contact Tom, and it was impossible for him not to do anything. Thus, it could


    only be either the phone was lost in theke, or the phone had broken down after being in contact with


    water and could not be used. As for Toby¡¯s watch, it was impossible for her to look at it now with him on


    her back, but she could roughly guess that it should be around 6.00 P.M. or 7.00 P.M. at this time.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    It was dark, and it was beginning to drizzle, so it seemed like they really couldn¡¯t go any further. They


    had to find a ce to hide in the rain, or they definitely wouldn¡¯t make it through tonight and would be


    frozen to death. She was cold because of the wet clothes on her, but with Toby lying on her back, she


    could still endure it. But Toby had no one to help him, so she could not imagine how cold Toby was


    feeling now. However, where in the world should they seek shelter from the rain for the night?


    Sonia bit her lip and looked around. Fortunately, not far ahead, there was a cave. ¡°Great!¡±


    Seeing that cave, Sonia was greatly surprised, and her eyes instantly lit up with excitement and hope.


    ¡°Toby, we have a ce to shelter from the rain for the night!¡± Sonia turned her head, eximed to the


    man on her back, and then quickly brought him toward the cave.


    Soon, they arrived at the cave. As soon as the two of them went inside, it began to pour outside. As


    Sonia listened to the sound of rain behind her, she sighed. She realized that they were really lucky


    because it did not rain this hard at the beginning, but only when they entered the cave. Thus, she felt that


    this was also considered God¡¯s favor.


    Piecing the puzzle together, she could not help but smile a little, but soon she realized that the cave had


    more than shelter to offer.


    Oh my!


    There was firewood, clothes, and pots and pans! There was also a pile of dry straw, as well as two


    somewhat old quilts.


    How could there be these things here?


    Could it be that this was a cave where homeless people lived? No, it could not be, for which tramp would


    live in the mountains where there was almost nothing for miles? Besides, in her impression, those who


    were homeless lived in messy and dirty ces, and there would be many cardboard and stic bottles


    as they would collect those to sell for money. However, it was not so here. The cave was very dry, and


    there was no garbage. Although the quilts looked a little old, they were definitely not dirty. So the owner


    of these things should not be a homeless person, but as for who they were exactly, Sonia also did not


    bother to think about it.


    All she wanted to do now was simply to unload Toby and then check how the injury on Toby¡¯s back was.


    Therefore, she dragged Toby to the pile of straw. The straw was very t and evenly spread, so it was


    probably where the people who lived here slept. After cing Toby on the straw and stretching her own


    sore neck and body a little, Sonia went to look for tools to make a fire. Since it was so cold, she had to


    make a fire to keep warm, or the night would be too torturous. Their wet clothes must also be dried, or


    they would be sick if they wore them any longer.


    While looking for tools to start a fire, Sonia found a faintyer of dust on the quilts, as well as on the pots


    and pans in the corner. She reached out and wiped it, then took advantage of thest bit of sky that had


    not yet gonepletely dark and looked at the dust on her fingers. Finally, she smiled. ¡°Great.¡±


    Then, she blew the ash off her fingers. Now, she could be sure that the people who originally lived in this


    cave had note to stay for some time, as the dust was proof. This made her breathe a sigh of relief.


    Phew! It¡¯s good to know that no one lives here currently.


    Initially, she was actually worried that if someone did live here, that person woulde backter and


    kick them out. At the same time, she was afraid that the person living here was some kind of wanted


    fugitive, which would be even more frightening. However, now that no one was there, she was relieved.


    Soon, Sonia found a lighter and then went to carry a pile of firewood to a ce where there were signs of


    a previous fire to light the fire. The firewood was dry and was easily ignited, and in no time, the fire was


    roaring. Sonia had put a lot of firewood into the fire, so it burned very brightly, and the light illuminated


    the entire cave. With that, the cold cave had a little more warmth and felt less intimidating.


    Next, Sonia blew the dust off her hands and stood up, left the fire, and went next to the quilt, then picked


    up the two sets of clothes next to it, ready to change for herself and Toby. After all, they could not always


    wear wet clothes as it would bring them a fever. The two pieces of garments were camouge clothing,


    and they were different sizes. From the sizing, they looked to be a male and a female. So, the original


    upants living in this cave were two people?


    Without thinking much, Sonia picked up therger camouge uniform and unfolded it. Seeing thebel


    sewn on the left breast pocket of the clothes, she became even happier. ¡°It was a forest ranger who lived


    here,¡± Sonia murmured.


    It turned out that the ones living here were not vagrants, let alone fugitives, but two rangers instead.


    Thus, she was more relieved because then, even if the people living here came back, she didn¡¯t have to


    worry about any danger nor being kicked out.


    With that, Sonia returned to Toby with the camouge clothes. She sat down and first reached out to


    touch Toby¡¯s forehead to see if he had a fever. She was relieved to notice that his temperature felt


    normal, and then she began to help him get changed.

 Chapter 443

    Chapter 443


    Chapter 443 Toby Wakes Up


    At this moment, Sonia couldn¡¯t be bothered about helping a man like Toby get changed.


    She simply reached out her hands toward the clothes on Toby¡¯s body and took off the zer on him. But


    when she took off the zer, she was shocked by the sight in front of her and couldn¡¯t help but suck in a


    breath of cold air. She saw that the back of Toby¡¯s white shirt waspletely stained with blood.


    However, after being soaked inke water, the originally bright red blood had now be a pale shade


    of pink.


    ¡°Oh, God!¡± Sonia subconsciously covered her mouth, trembling. How could so much blood be shed?


    She had thought that his back was just battered and bruised. However, she didn¡¯t expect that he had


    actually bled out! Very quickly, she remembered that he had been whipped by Rose not long ago, so the


    whip wounds should not be fully healed yet. Thus, it was possible that the wounds had reopened.


    Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down, then reached out again and carefully took off


    Toby¡¯s shirt. This time, Sonia finally saw the skin on Toby¡¯s back.


    What kind of back is this!


    There was not a scrap of intact skin on his whole back. It was full of twisted, centipede-like scars; some


    scars were fine, while others had split open, and the flesh underneath had revealed itself. There was


    fresh blood constantly oozing out of the flesh, making for a horrifying sight.


    Sonia was trembling as she held Toby¡¯s shirt open, and her eyes were red as she looked at Toby¡¯s pale


    face. Her mouth opened, but she was unable to say anything. Human pain tolerance was limited, and if it


    was she who was this badly injured, she would have screamed out in pain. However, Toby had not


    screamed despite having a concussion, a broken arm, and wounds that had split open again.


    Does he not know pain?


    Sonia reached out and touched a raised scar on Toby¡¯s back, her heart suddenly clogged with some


    indescribable emotions. Sniffling, she took her hand away, then quickly got up and went over to the


    dishes. She remembered that she had just seen a medical kit there. Sure enough, she was right: there


    was really a medical kit there. She smiled a little, thanking God for giving them a cave stocked with all


    kinds of necessities to take shelter from the rain.


    Soon, she took the medical kit back to Toby and opened it. Rummaging through the medicine inside, she


    found that there was not onlymon anti-inmmatory medicine, bandages, and the like, but even


    animal medicine. She guessed that when the forest rangers lived here, they asionally saved some


    small animals and used those medicines. Sonia didn¡¯t care much about animal medicine, and after


    finding the correct medication and bandages that Toby could useter, she gently patted Toby¡¯s face.


    ¡°Toby, can you hear me?¡±


    Toby frowned but quickly fell back into unconsciousness. Seeing that, Sonia sighed. It seems that he


    could not hear me. Forget it, I¡¯ll do it myself.


    She used scissors to cut out a long bandage, then wrapped it into strips. Next, she reached out and


    pinched Toby¡¯s cheek, forcing him to open his mouth. After that, she put the strips of bandage


    horizontally into his mouth. In this way, when disinfecting and medicating himter, there was no worry


    that he would bite his tongue out of pain. After doing this, she began to apply the medicine. She first


    stopped Toby¡¯s bleeding, and only when she didn¡¯t see any more blooding out did she start


    disinfecting.


    During this period, Toby¡¯s body was trembling slightly in pain, and his face was sweating, while his


    eyebrows were fiercely furrowed. His eyes moved under his eyelids, but he just couldn¡¯t wake up. Finally,


    after 10 minutes, Sonia applied the medication and bandaged him up, then began to change him into dry


    camouge clothes.


    When Sonia carefully tucked his two arms into his sleeves and was about to turn him over and button his


    front, she suddenly saw that there was actually a faint scar on his left chest. The scar was almost 10


    centimeters long. If she was not looking carefully, she would have missed it. Moreover, that scar was also


    clearly sewn up before. There was only one type of scar that could be sewn, and that was a surgical


    scar.


    So, Toby had open-heart surgery? When did this happen? Why have I never heard of it?


    During her six years of marriage to him, he had never done any surgery, and it was impossible for him to


    do so in these months because this scar looked some years old. Thus, it was inferred from this that Toby


    should have undergone it six years ago. Just what was his illness for him to undergo open-heart


    surgery?


    Sonia touched the scar on Toby¡¯s chest, her eyes full of doubts. She suddenly found that she actually did


    not know Toby as well as she thought she did. At least she didn¡¯t understand why he had this scar on his


    chest.


    Let¡¯s wait for him to wake up and then ask him about it.


    Thinking about this, Sonia buttoned him up, then turned him back over again, held the quilt aside, and


    unfolded it, covering him up.


    ¡°Get a good night¡¯s sleep. I¡¯ll definitely get you out of here tomorrow.¡± Sonia looked at Toby¡¯s pale,


    handsome face and spoke with guilt in her eyes. She was filled with guilt because, after all, he was hurt


    because of her.


    Touching Toby¡¯s naturally air-dried hair, Sonia felt envious.


    Having short hair is amazing. It dries so quickly.


    Her own hair was still wet and stuck to her scalp, and it felt heavy, cold, and ufortable. She got up,


    walked to the side, then changed into the set ofdies¡¯ camouge uniform. Next, she picked up both


    their wet clothes and took them to the fire. With a wooden stick, she ced the clothes near the fire,


    intending to dry them. In the process of roasting the clothes, Sonia¡¯s stomach suddenly rumbled. Only


    then did she suddenly realize that she hadn¡¯t eaten anything for a day.


    ¡°I¡¯m so hungry!¡± Sonia touched her stomach and couldn¡¯t help but mutter, then looked toward the pile of


    pots and pans. She hadn¡¯t gone through them carefully yet, so she didn¡¯t know if there would be any food


    there. Thinking about this, Sonia put down the small wooden stick in her hand, then got up and walked


    toward the pots.


    After a careful search, she found a few bags of vacuum-packed cookies, as well as a few bottles of


    mineral water. Seeing this, Sonia almost cried from happiness. She hurriedly tore open a bag of cookies,


    unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, and ran back to the fire to eat. This kind of dry cookie would not


    expire for years, so she did not have to worry about eating expired food.


    Just when Sonia was halfway through eating, a coughing sound suddenly came from behind her. When


    Sonia heard it, she quickly frowned and swallowed the dry cookie, and turned her head to look. Seeing


    that Toby had stretched his body a bit, she quickly put down the water and cookies and ran over to him.


    ¡°Toby!¡±


    Hearing her voice, Toby opened his eyes and met her nervous and concerned eyes. His voice was


    hoarse and weak as he called out, ¡°Sonia.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Toby propped up his body, but as he had little strength and he had only one movable arm, he almost fell


    back down. Seeing this, Sonia hurriedly went over to help him. ¡°Don¡¯t move. Do you want to sit up? I¡¯ll


    help you.¡±


    After saying that, she helped him up and then turned to sit down. Toby was about to thank her when he


    suddenly saw the somewhat ill-fitting camouge uniform on him and the somewhat old quilt.


    At that moment, he could not help but freeze.


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 Chapter 444

    Chapter 444


    Chapter 444 Full of Scars


    Subsequently, Toby looked around and noticed the cave and the supplies in it. What is going on?


    ¡°Where did thesee from?¡± Toby asked as he lifted the quilt from his body.


    Sonia sat down and exined, ¡°From the cave itself.¡±


    ¡°From the cave?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised by this answer.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, I carried you out of the forest to see if there¡¯s anyone living outside. As long as there


    is someone living around here, we would be saved, but before we could leave, it began to rain. Then I


    found this cave and brought you in to take shelter from the rain. After I came in, I found these things.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby nodded, then frowned and said, ¡°Could this cave be where wanted fugitives live?¡±


    Some prisoners who were wanted for being on the run liked to hide in the deep mountains and forests.


    Thus, with the presence of daily necessities in a cave, it was hard not to see it in a negative light.


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°At first, I also doubted if it was a fugitive living here, butter I found this.¡±


    She pointed to the left breast pocket of the camouge uniform she was wearing. Toby lowered his eyes


    to look, and when he saw thebel, he immediately felt relieved. ¡°It¡¯s good that it was a ranger.¡±


    He did hear that some rangers would build some grass huts or wooden huts on the mountains so that


    when the patrol waste, there was a ce for them to stay in the mountain. So, it made sense that this


    cave would be used by the rangers.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I¡¯mfortable taking you here for the night.¡± Sonia smiled. ¡°Speaking of which, we


    should thank these two rangers. They left clothes and quilts here, and most importantly, they also left a


    medical kit and food. Otherwise, even if we have a fire tonight, it would be difficult to survive.¡±


    Suddenly, she remembered something and looked at the man¡¯s pale handsome face. ¡°Right, President


    Fuller, how is your head now? Are your arms and back still hurting badly?¡±


    Tobyughed lightly and said, ¡°My head is still a little dizzy, while I don¡¯t really feel much of my arm. My


    back doesn¡¯t hurt as much as it did at first. You gave me medicine, right?¡±


    Recalling that she said there was a medical kit, he concluded that she had likely applied the medication


    on his wounds. As he had anticipated, she nodded. ¡°Yes, the wounds on your back were split open, so


    without medicine, they would be inmed, and you would also get a fever. So, I gave the medicine


    to you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Toby looked at her, but she waved her hand at him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me, as it¡¯s me


    who should thank you. You suffered because of me.¡±


    ¡°I volunteered, so you don¡¯t have to take it to heart.¡± Tobyforted her.


    Sonia took a deep breath and replied, ¡°Okay, President Fuller, let¡¯s not talk about that. Are you hungry?¡±


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°A little.¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± She got up, went to the ce where she had taken the cookies and mineral water just


    now, and brought a bag of cookies and a bottle of mineral water back.


    ¡°There is only an emergency food supply, so you will have to make do,¡± Sonia said while tearing open


    the package for him and unscrewing the screw cap.


    At that moment, Toby couldn¡¯t help but look at her with eyes full of tenderness. ¡°It¡¯s okay. In this situation,


    it¡¯s already good to have food.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia nodded in agreement. ¡°So, we should thank the rangers who left the food here, but I don¡¯t


    have my phone nor wallet on me, and I don¡¯t know how to¡ª¡±


    ¡°The wallet in my pocket should still be there,¡± Toby said, pointing to the pants by the fire.


    Looking in the direction he pointed, she didn¡¯t think twice beforementing, ¡°No wonder I felt


    something when I took off your pants just now. It should be the wallet.¡±


    Toby raised his eyebrows. ¡°Took off my pants?¡±


    Sonia met his deep gaze, and only then did she realize what she had said. Blushing with


    embarrassment, she replied, ¡°W-Well, you fainted, so I needed to help you change into a set of dry


    clothes. But don¡¯t worry! I did not do anything to you, and I did not look more than I should either.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby looked at her with a smirk, and Sonia met his smiling eyes, which caused her face to


    redden even more. Then she guiltily looked away. ¡°O-Of course, it¡¯s true.¡±


    Indeed, she did not do anything to him and could not do anything to him. It was just that she had seen


    what she shouldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°Okay, I believe you.¡±


    Seeing the woman¡¯s face so red, Tobyughed and stopped teasing her. Otherwise, what if she bes


    annoyedter?


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Sonia turned her head back. ¡°What¡¯s with the surgery scar on your chest?¡±


    When Toby, who was drinking water, heard her question, his movements paused for a moment. However,


    soon, he returned to his normal self and put down the water bottle. ¡°Had a heart recement surgery.¡±Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Heart recement?¡± Sonia eximed, her eyes widening in shock. What she could think of was that it


    must be heart-rted, such as a heart bypass or mending a hole in the heart. However, she never


    thought that it would be a heart recement. This meant that the heart that was in Toby¡¯s chest at the


    moment was not his own, but someone else¡¯s.


    ¡°How could it be a heart recement?¡± Sonia looked at the man in surprise.


    The man took a bite of a cookie and chewed slowly and methodically. ¡°I have congenital heart disease;


    there have been holes in my original heart since childhood. They were the kind that cannot be filled, so


    when I was born, the doctor concluded that I would not live to be 20 years old, but because the Fuller


    Family had money and poured everything into my treatment, I lived until I was 24 years old before I had


    a heart recement surgery.¡±


    ¡°24 years old¡­¡± Sonia opened her mouth wide. ¡°Isn¡¯t that six years ago?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Toby nodded, then met her eyes. ¡°Six years ago, I wrote a letter and asked you to meet, just to tell


    you that I¡¯m in love with you. You agreed to meet up and even called me, asking me on which day to


    meet, and then I gave the answer one monthter.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Sonia replied.


    Toby swallowed the cookie in his mouth. ¡°The day you called me was the day of my surgery. The reason


    why I made an appointment to meet a monthter was that I was able to get out of the hospital bed only


    a month after the heart recement surgery.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it was.¡± The tip of Sonia¡¯s nose burned slightly when she understood everything. No


    wonder his voice that she heard that day was so weak and breathless. It turned out that he was sick and


    had to undergo surgery. Otherwise, she would have been able to recognize that he was the one she had


    always loved, the gentle person who loved to smile and wear white shirts. Unfortunately, all that had


    passed.


    Taking a deep breath, Sonia suppressed her sadness inside, then smiled and asked, ¡°I remember that


    congenital heart disease is inherited, so whose disease did you inherit?¡±


    ¡°My mother,¡± Toby replied. Then, he thought of something and added, ¡°Not Jean. Jean is not my


    biological mother. She¡¯s my stepmother. My disease was inherited from my biological mother.¡±


    ¡°I know Jean is your stepmother because Grandma said it before.¡±


    Hearing his words, Sonia was not the least bit surprised.


    ¡°However, I¡¯ve always been curious why Jean would treat you so well. She doesn¡¯t look like someone


    who would be a good stepmother either.¡± Sonia was curious.


    Toby smiled. ¡°Indeed. She is snobbish and vulgar, and she is also a calcting and unforgiving person.


    So, how would she look like a good stepmother? She should be a vicious stepmother, but she is not


    really a bad person. She¡¯s good to me because she feels guilty.¡±


    ¡°Guilt?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrow. ¡°Could it be that she¡¯s the homewrecker between your parents? Is that


    why she feels guilty about destroying your family? However, something¡¯s not right. If that¡¯s the case, with


    your character, you would definitely not be able to spare her. How could you see her as your own


    mother?¡±

 Chapter 445

    Chapter 445


    Chapter 445 A Qualified Listener


    ¡°Jean was indeed the homewrecker of my family,¡± Toby said as he rubbed his brow.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°What? She really is?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Then why do you still treat her so¡ª¡±


    ¡°She was not a homewrecker in the conventional sense and did not destroy my parents¡¯ rtionship. My


    parents did not love each other. Their marriage was a business one, and it was only out of responsibility


    that they gave birth to me. After I was born, my parents separated, and after that, my father met Jean


    and fell in love with her.¡± Toby leaned back and rested on the stone wall.


    Sonia nodded in a dazed manner. ¡°I see.¡± His parents actually did not love each other. This is my first


    time hearing this.


    ¡°What about after that? When your father was with Jean, wasn¡¯t your mother angry?¡± Sonia looked at


    him and asked again. Even if his mother didn¡¯t love his father, that man was still her husband. Especially


    when you¡¯re his legal wife, it¡¯s impossible not to care if your husband has a mistress, right?


    However, Toby shook his head. ¡°She was not angry. My mother was happy to see my father fall in love


    with Jean.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched. Happy to see that? Was his mother that tolerant?


    ¡°Surprised, huh?¡± Toby looked at her and smiled a little.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Indeed. If it were me, I certainly would not be so generous.¡±


    Hearing these words, Toby suddenly remembered that four months ago, he had proposed to have her


    move out and give the ce to Tina. No wonder that during the six years of loveless marriage, she had


    never even mentioned divorce, but she had immediately proposed it when he was about to bring Tina


    home.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±


    Seeing Toby suddenly looking dazed, Sonia reached out and waved her hand in front of his eyes. Toby¡¯s


    eyes flickered vaguely before he came back to his senses. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Seeing that he was not willing to speak, she did not ask more questions and switched back to the topic


    earlier.


    ¡°By the way, why was your mother happy to see that? Although they did not love each other, the fact that


    your father loved Jean meant that your mother¡¯s position as Mrs. Fuller was threatened.¡± Sonia spoke as


    she sat cross-legged.


    Toby took another bite of the cookie. ¡°My mother had always wanted to leave the Fuller Family. As long


    as my father and Jean get married, she could divorce my father. This was her dream, so she was very


    grateful to Jean. In order to get my father and Jean to get married, she even intended to go to my


    grandmother to say some good things about Jean.¡±


    ¡°And then what?¡± Sonia leaned forward, propped her elbows on her thighs and her chin on her hands,


    then just looked at him with the look of a listener. That said, it also seemed like she had never, ever


    spoken to him so calmly.


    ¡°Then, just the night before my mother went to my grandmother, shemitted suicide because of


    something.¡± When Toby said this, his hand holding the cookie tightened up fiercely and caused the


    stic packaging to crumple with an ear-splitting sound.


    Sonia was so shocked that her mouth fell open. ¡°Committed suicide?¡±


    Ever since she learned that Jean was not his birth mother, she guessed that his birth mother was no


    longer around. However, it never urred to her that it was actually a suicide.


    ¡°Mm.¡± Toby lowered his eyes so that no one could see the look in his eyes.


    ¡°Is it rted to Jean?¡± Sonia asked.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°It had nothing to do with her; she didn¡¯t even know that my mother actually


    approved of her being with my father, and that¡¯s why after my mother died, Jean always med herself,


    thinking that it was her presence that disturbed my mother¡¯s life and caused her tomit suicide.


    Therefore, she always felt guilty about my mother, and that¡¯s why she treats me as her own child. Even


    when she was pregnant with Tyler, she intended to abort him, and I was the one who stopped her.¡±


    ¡°I understand. After hearing you say this, I have changed my mind about Jean.¡± Sonia raised her


    eyebrows.


    Tobyughed lightly. ¡°Although she has many problems and is absolutely not a perfect person, she is not


    a bad person either.¡±


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia did not deny this. In fact, in the six years of living with the Fuller Family, Jean was venomous with


    her words, but she did not make any actual move against her either. It was only after the divorce from


    Toby that Jean came to her house a few times and made a move against her.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you eating anymore?¡± Seeing Toby suddenly put down the cookies, Sonia opened her mouth and


    asked.


    Toby nodded. ¡°I¡¯m quite full now. I want to sleep some more as my head is still dizzy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then you go ahead and sleep.¡± Sonia helped him lie down and covered him with the quilt.


    Toby looked at her. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll sleepter. My hair isn¡¯t dry yet.¡± Sonia pointed to her own hair.


    Toby nodded slightly and closed his eyes. Then, Sonia got up, went back to the fire, added some more


    firewood, and then sat down to continue drying her hair. Almost half an hourter, her hair was dry while


    she began to yawn.


    This day had been too frightening.


    She had cheated death and had been in a state of tension since morning. Now that she was rxed, her


    body and mind were exhausted.


    Rubbing her eyes that were half-closed, she again added firewood to ensure that the fire would not go


    out in the middle of the night, then went toward Toby with another quilt. Next, shey down almost two


    feet away from Toby. After all, the part of the ground with the straw was not massive, so she had to sleep


    closer to Toby to avoid the icy stone ground. Even if there was a quilt, the freezing ground would


    definitely be cold enough to make her shiver throughout the night, so she could only lie down next to


    Toby.


    In any case, they had a piece of quilt each, so they were not exactly sleeping together. The quilt had a


    musty smell that was a little unpleasant, so Sonia, who wasn¡¯t used to such a quilt, felt a little


    ufortable. However, this was the only choice at the moment, so she could only get used to it even if


    she felt ufortable.


    Thus, Sonia took a deep breath, tried to make herself ignore the smell, and closed her eyes. As she was


    too tired, even if the smell was unpleasant, she fell asleep in no time, and her breathing became lengthy


    and calm.


    At this time, the man beside her suddenly opened his eyes. There was no trace of sleep in Toby¡¯s eyes


    at all, and obviously, he had not really been asleep before but was pretending to be asleep instead.


    Toby¡¯s gaze fell on Sonia¡¯s face. While looking at her quiet, sleeping face, he propped up his body with


    one hand and then moved toward her. In order not to wake her up, he moved carefully and stealthily.


    While moving, he also stared at her face to see if she was awake. When he finally reached her, she was


    not awake, and only then was he pleased to lie down again. Then, he stretched out his arms and put his


    arms around Sonia through the quilt before he closed his eyes again.


    The next day, when Sonia woke up, it was no longer raining outside. When she opened her eyes, she


    saw that the ceiling above her head was not the familiar bedroom ceiling but a stone ceiling instead. She


    was startled awake by that and eximed, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    How could I be here? She subconsciously sat up, and then the memory of why she was here instantly


    came to her mind. Only then did she suddenly realize what had happened yesterday. She couldn¡¯t help


    but rub her temples to calm herself down. She was so dazed from sleep that she actually forgot how she


    appeared here with Toby yesterday.


    Thinking about Toby, she hurriedly looked toward her right to see how he was doing. As a result, when


    she saw Toby sleeping right beside her, she couldn¡¯t help but freeze. What happened? How could he be


    sleeping so close beside me?

 Chapter 446

    Chapter 446


    Chapter 446 Finally Saved


    Sonia blinked in a daze.


    She remembered she had deliberately stayed 2 feet away from Toby when she went to bedst night.


    Could it be that he woke up in the middle of the night and leaned over?


    At that thought, Sonia quickly scratched that idea out of her head because Toby had slept earlier than


    her. Besides that, his posture had not changed sincest night, so she reckoned Toby had not woken up


    in the middle of the night.


    Since Toby had not woken up, there was only one answer as to why they were leaning so close to each


    other¡ªshe had been restless and rolled over to Toby!


    At once, Sonia was flushed with awkwardness at this thought as she had not expected herself to be this


    restless while sleeping.


    Nheless, she quicklyposed herself.


    No one saw me rolling over anyway. Toby won¡¯t know about it as long as I don¡¯t bring it up!


    With that, Sonia stretched before lifting the nket and walking to the bonfire.


    The fire had gone out as all the firewood had been burnt. However, the remains were still hot, so Sonia


    reckoned the fire had just gone out not too long ago.


    After that, Sonia checked on the clothes hanging beside the fire and realized that they had be dry,


    so she took them down for changingter.


    ¡°I wonder what time it is now,¡± Sonia murmured while ncing toward the sunlight at the cave entrance.


    The next second, she recalled Toby had a watch, so she quickly put down the clothes, walked over to


    Toby and squatted down to check the time. However, before she could reach out to his hand, she


    realized Toby was looking unwell.


    Why is his face so red? His breathing is rapid and heavy too. These are obviously signs of a fever!


    Panic-stricken, Sonia quickly reached out her hand to feel Toby¡¯s forehead. ¡°He¡¯s burning up!¡±


    Frowning, she quickly pulled back her hand and looked at Toby with a serious expression.


    Last night when she was treating his wound, she had specially sterilized the wound properly as she was


    worried that Toby would get an infection, which would lead to a fever.


    Nheless, he still got a fever although the wound had been treated.


    Sonia reckoned the cause of his fever was not due to the wound, but because he was continuously


    wearing drenched clothes for quite some time after falling into the water. In addition, he was exposed to


    the cold wind when Sonia was carrying him on her back.


    ¡°I have to think of a way to make the fever go away.¡± Sonia bit her lip and quickly got up to look for


    medicines to treat the fever from the first-aid kitst night.


    Upon finding a suitable medicine, she went back to Toby and supported him to sit up by leaning against


    her shoulder. She opened his mouth and put a tablet into it. Then, she closed his mouth and lifted his


    chin, hoping to make him swallow the tablet.


    However, Toby had already lost his consciousness, so he couldn¡¯t swallow anything at all.


    As such, the tablet still remained in Toby¡¯s mouth no matter how hard Sonia tried.


    Just as Sonia was at her wits¡¯ end, her eyes lit up all of a sudden as she had an idea.


    It was an awkward solution and she would rather not do so if she had a choice, but in order to make


    Toby¡¯s fever go away, this was herst resort.


    Sonia stared at Toby¡¯s handsome face for a few seconds. Toward the end, she inhaled deeply, opened


    his mouth once again, and lowered her head to kiss him.


    She used her tongue to push the tablet toward Toby¡¯s throat.


    When she felt the tablet had reached Toby¡¯s throat, Sonia lifted her head, opened the water bottle next to


    her and poured some water into her mouth. Then, she pressed her lips against Toby¡¯s once again to


    send the water slowly into his mouth. It was only after seeing the white tablet being washed down by the


    water did Sonia heave a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Thank God it finally went down.¡± Sonia smiled happily and closed the water bottle.


    However, she did not stop worrying because she wasn¡¯t sure if the medicine would work and make


    Toby¡¯s fever go away.


    Because of that, she felt that they shouldn¡¯t continue staying in the cave and wait for Toby¡¯s men to find


    them because it was uncertain how long more it would take before Toby¡¯s men found them. Of course, it


    would be desirable for the team to find them soon, but if they took longer than expected, Toby might get


    brain damage from the fever.


    Thus, she decided that she had to carry Toby and continue to find a way out.


    At this thought, Sonia quickly put down the water bottle and walked to the spot where she left the clothes


    just now. She then took up Toby¡¯s pants, found his wallet from the pocket, and took out all the cash


    inside, which was a huge stack. Thereafter, she put the money into the first aid kit as a token of


    appreciation to the rangers for leaving so many resources in the cave. If it weren¡¯t for them, she and


    Toby could have frozen to deathst night.


    After that, Sonia carried Toby on her back and walked out of the cave without even changing because


    they couldn¡¯t waste any more time. Toby had to receive treatment as soon as possible, so Sonia would


    rather forgo the clothes.


    Since the trail was slippery after the rain, Sonia walked very cautiously as she was afraid she might slip


    and hurt both of them. As such, she had to use even more energy than yesterday.


    After quite some time, Sonia finally walked out of the forest with Toby on her back.


    Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Sonia was about to reach her limit when a two-story hut came into


    her sight, which was like a life-saving straw to them. Seeing the hut, Sonia mustered herst ounce of


    strength as she gritted her teeth and carried Toby toward the hut.


    As soon as they reached the hut¡¯s yard, a middle-aged woman walked out of the house with a bucket in


    her hand. She was startled to see Sonia, who looked no more than a drowned rat. ¡°Y-You guys¡­¡±


    ¡°Please¡­¡± Sonia parted her dry lips but cked out before she could even finish her sentence.


    With a thud, she slumped onto the ground together with Toby.


    Beforepletely losing her consciousness, she indistinctly saw the middle-aged woman drop the


    bucket in a panic and run toward Toby and her. ¡°Hubby,e out quick! Someone copsed outside!¡±


    I guess we¡¯re saved¡­


    With that, Sonia passed out peacefully.


    It was already the next day when she woke up.


    Sonia opened her eyes to see a white ceiling. Detecting a faint odor of disinfectant in the air, she knew


    she was in the hospital.


    In addition, she was even more certain that she was at First World Hospital seeing the familiar setup of


    the ward.


    Wait, why am I at First World Hospital? Did Toby¡¯s men find us?


    Rubbing her heavy head, Sonia supported herself as she wanted to sit up.


    However, her expression changed just as she lifted her body slightly. ¡°Ouch¡­ Ouch¡­¡±


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Sonia quicklyy down again as she felt extremely unwell.


    What¡¯s going on? Why is my back hurting so badly as if it¡¯s breaking?


    ¡°Oh, darling!¡±


    While Sonia was carefully adjusting her posture to prevent hurting her back, someone flung the ward


    door open out of the blue and rushed up to her bed. Concern spread across his handsome face. ¡°You¡¯ve


    finally regained consciousness, darling! Thank God! I was worried sick!¡±


    Saying that, Charles lowered his body suddenly and hugged Sonia. With his eyes red-rimmed, he almost


    cried. ¡°Not only was I worried, but I was also scared to death upon knowing you fell off the cliff. I¡¯ve not


    slept for two days and am extremely haggard. You have to be responsible for that, darling.¡±


    Hearing Charles¡¯ trembling voice which was filled with worry, Sonia knew her ident had indeed


    frightened him, so she lifted her hand and patted his back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you worry, Charles. I


    promise this will never happen again.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it must not happen again.¡± Charles let go of Sonia and red at her with his big eyes.

 Chapter 447

    Chapter 447


    Chapter 447 Tom¡¯s Dissatisfaction


    Sonia quickly shook her head. ¡°This won¡¯t happen again. I promise!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± It was only then that Charles snorted and let go of her.


    Right after, Sonia lifted her hands to rub her temples and asked, ¡°How long have I been in aa,


    Charles?¡±


    ¡°Two days,¡± Charles answered.


    Sonia opened her mouth in shock. ¡°Two days? I was in aa for two days?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Charles nodded. ¡°Tim said you were overfatigued. That¡¯s why you slept for so long.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia lifted her chin with a confused expression and asked, ¡°How did I return to Seafield then?¡±


    All she could recall was that she fainted in a hut¡¯s yard, and she was not aware of the subsequent


    happenings.


    ¡°Both you and Toby were brought back by Tom, Toby¡¯s personal assistant. Tom called me that day to


    inform me about the incident, so I rushed to the hospital and saw you and Toby being sent to the


    emergency room as soon as I reached. Thereafter, I asked Tom what exactly had happened. He told me


    that you were abducted and fell off the cliff while Toby jumped down the cliff together with you in order to


    save you. My heart almost stopped beating when I heard this,¡± Charles patted his chest and replied


    honestly.


    Hearing Toby¡¯s name, Sonia widened her eyes and asked anxiously, ¡°What about Toby? Where is he


    now?¡±


    Charles¡¯ heart turned sour the moment he saw Sonia being so concerned about Toby.


    But he soon thought that Sonia was able to survive thanks to Toby, so he could only suppress his


    difort and replied frankly, ¡°Calm down, darling. Toby¡¯s in this hospital too¡ªhis ward is right next to


    yours.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s his situation now?¡± Sonia grabbed Charles¡¯ arm and asked again.


    Charles¡¯ expression became solemn. ¡°Not too pleasant. His injuries are too serious¡ªnot only are his


    arms broken, but the wound on his back has torn apart too, and his organs are injured to a certain


    extent. He also suffered a concussion besides the fever. To make a long story short, his situation is very


    serious.¡±


    In fact, even Charles was shocked when he became aware of Toby¡¯s situation.


    All he could say was that Toby was indeed fortunate to survive even after suffering all these serious


    injuries.


    However, what made him feelplicated and impressed was that Toby was in this state for the sake of


    rescuing Sonia.


    ¡°That¡¯s very serious¡­¡± Sonia bit her bottom lip and asked, ¡°So is he still in critical condition?¡±


    Charles shook his head. ¡°Not exactly. His condition is stable now, and his arms have been reattached.


    He just hasn¡¯t regained consciousness yet.¡±


    It was only after hearing that Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°d to know that. Thank God his condition


    isn¡¯t critical anymore. Please help me to get up, Charles.¡±


    She reached her hand toward Charles while thetter helped her to get up.


    Sonia lifted the nket and wanted to get out of the bed while enduring the pain, seeing which Charles


    quickly stopped her. ¡°Hey darling, what are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°I want to go check on him,¡± Sonia answered while putting on her shoes.


    Charles wanted to tell Sonia not to be bothered about Toby, but after this incident, he wasn¡¯t able to bring


    himself to say such things anymore. He parted his lips and sighed toward the end. ¡°Okay, be careful and


    don¡¯t rush. He¡¯s not going to run away.¡±


    With that, Charles reached out his hand to help Sonia.


    The two then walked out of the ward and headed to the next door.


    At the ward next door, the ward door was already wide open. Standing at the entrance, Sonia saw Tim


    standing beside the bed while writing notes on the medical report in his hand. At the same time, he was


    saying something to Tom while thetter nodded from time to time.


    On the other hand, Toby was lying on the bed. His face was pale again as the redness had faded, so


    Sonia could tell that his fever had gone away.


    She lifted her hand to knock on the door.


    Hearing the sound, Tim stopped writing notes and turned his head toward the entrance together with


    Tom.


    Tim pushed his sses when he saw her. ¡°Sonia, you¡¯re awake?¡±


    Sonia hummed in response.


    After that, she could feel a ming gazend upon her¡ªit was from Tom.


    Sonia was startled because she had never seen Tom stare at her in such a way. His gaze was filled with


    dissatisfaction, anger and displeasure.


    At first, she didn¡¯t understand why Tom would give her attitude, but she soon realized the reason. It must


    be because of Toby.


    Tom had been Toby¡¯s assistant for more than ten years. Although their rtionship was just superior and


    subordinate, in reality, they were actually friends too.


    She had caused Toby to suffer such serious injuries, so it was natural for Tom to be resentful toward her.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    Sonia smiled ruefully and asked softly, ¡°May Ie in?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tim agreed.


    And so, Charles helped Sonia to walk in.


    Tim looked at Sonia and asked, ¡°Do you still feel any pain?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Nothing much besides the pain in my back.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s normal. You¡¯ve strained your back muscle and it will take at least half a month to recover,¡± Tim


    said while closing the file in his hand.


    Hearing that, Sonia smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. My pain is nothingpared to his.¡±


    ¡°You bet.¡± Tim nodded.


    Sonia looked toward Toby, who was lying on the bed. ¡°He¡­¡±


    Tim seemed to know what Sonia wanted to ask. Securing the file under his arm, he then put both hands


    into the pocket of his white coat and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing serious about him now. It¡¯s just¡ª¡±


    ¡°Dr. Lancaster!¡± Tom interrupted him out of the blue with a solemn look.


    Being reminded of something, Tim shrugged and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. He asked me to keep it from you.¡±


    Seeing Tim¡¯s helplessness, Sonia could only look toward Tom and say, ¡°Tom, please tell me what¡¯s


    wrong with Toby.¡±


    Toby was lying there because of her. If he really suffered any issues, Sonia would not be able to have a


    peace of mind for the rest of her life.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be within your concern whether or not there are any issues with President Fuller.¡± Tom


    looked at Sonia and continued coldly, ¡°Miss Reed, you don¡¯t like President Fuller anyway. Why do you


    have to ask these questions? What can you do for President Fuller even if you know the answer? You


    might as well remain unconcerned for President Fuller just like how you¡¯ve always been. Don¡¯t you think


    it¡¯s very hypocritical to be so concerned for President Fuller at this moment?¡±


    While Sonia was stunned, Charles was enraged. ¡°Tom, what¡¯s that supposed to mean?!¡±


    ¡°Did I say anything wrong?¡± Tom sneered while looking at Charles. ¡°President Fuller has not suffered less


    for the sake of Miss Reed, but what was Miss Reed¡¯s behavior back then? She remained indifferent and


    pretended to not see his sacrifices. So who would care if she¡¯s concerned for President Fuller now?¡±


    At this moment, Tom was very dissatisfied with Sonia.


    Although he knew rationally that it was Toby who jumped down the cliff on his own will and that he


    shouldn¡¯t me Sonia for Toby¡¯s injuries, he just couldn¡¯t ept it emotionally.


    How can Sonia do this to Toby? Even if Toby has done her wrong during the six years of marriage, she


    shouldn¡¯t make him risk his life to make up for it. Besides, how ridiculous it is to finally receive her


    concern only after risking his life!


    Hearing Tom¡¯s words, Charles was so irritated that he startedughing. ¡°Sure. Since you don¡¯t care about


    it, let¡¯s go, darling. Did you hear that? His subordinate said they don¡¯t care, so let¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough, Charles.¡± Sonia grabbed Charles¡¯ arm and lowered her eyes. ¡°Tom is right,¡± she mumbled


    bitterly.


    ¡°How is he right?!¡± Charles widened his eyes.


    Sonia parted her lips and was about to say something, but Tim, who had remained silent all this while,


    spoke up. ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯re in the ward, so please don¡¯t start a dispute here. Also¡­¡±


    He looked toward Tom with a cold re. ¡°Sonia is under my protection, and you have no right to pick on


    her. I¡¯ll let you off this time since Toby has saved her. If this happens again, don¡¯t be surprised if I do


    something to your boss.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Tom widened his eyes in disbelief. Thereafter, he snorted furiously and turned away.

 Chapter 448

    Chapter 448


    Chapter 448 Carl Had Changed


    It was only then that Tim shifted his gaze.


    At this moment, Sonia pursed her pale lips and looked at him, obviously dissatisfied. ¡°Dr. Lancaster, you


    can¡¯t do that.¡±


    Light refracted off his sses as he spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I just wanted to scare him. I¡¯m not really going


    to do that.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± With her eyes squinted, she didn¡¯t hide her suspicion.


    This so-called doctor was a devil in disguise. Back when he thought Tina was her, he had even killed


    someone for her.


    Thus, it made sense that she¡¯d think he was both capable and daring to do something to Toby.


    ¡°That¡¯s for sure. I¡¯d let anyone down but you.¡± Giving a pat on her shoulder, he added, ¡°Alright. You can


    go take a look at him if you want. I¡¯ll head out first.¡±


    After saying that, he retracted his hand and tucked it back into his pocket before leaving the ward.


    Looking at Toby, she said, ¡°Charles, Mr. Brown, you can leave first too. I¡¯d like to stay with him alone for a


    while.¡±


    Though Tom was frowning, he didn¡¯t refuse, and he left.


    However, Charles didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Baby, he¡¯s not awake yet. Why do you want to be alone with him? He


    isn¡¯t able to see or hear you.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I know what I¡¯m doing. Just go along, Charles.¡± She turned to look at him and insisted.


    Left with no choice, Charles could only obey and leave.


    Outside the ward, he was about to find Tom to have a chat about something, but his phone rang.


    After taking out his phone, he saw that it was a call from Carl.


    As Tom was standing right next to Charles, he could easily see what was disyed on his phone¨C¨Ca call


    from Carl. At once, he scoffed. ¡°The culprit has finally decided toe forward. And here I thought that


    he¡¯d be hiding out of fear after learning what he did to President Fuller and Miss Reed.¡±


    Three days ago, it was the day that Toby and Sonia fell off the cliff.


    After that happened, he was busy looking for a rescue team to search the foot of the mountain.


    However, Carl had suddenly gone missing as if he vanished into thin air. Even after he had found Toby


    and Sonia, Carl was nowhere to be seen.


    Hence, Tom figured that he didn¡¯t have to know what Carl had been off to since he assumed that Carl


    had gone into hiding after causing trouble.


    At this moment, Charles red at Tom. Though he didn¡¯t like the way Tom put it, Charles couldn¡¯t bring


    himself to refute that im.


    The reason was simply because Carl had really hadn¡¯t made an appearance after Sonia and Toby¡¯s


    ident.


    Giving his temples a rub, Charles picked up the call.


    ¡°Sonia has woken up, hasn¡¯t she?¡± Carl¡¯s hoarse voice came forth from the phone¡¯s speaker and it had


    an indescribable spookiness to it.


    It made Charles feel uneasy. Though he felt that Carl had changed, he couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint the


    difference. With that, he then nodded as he replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Carl¡¯s voice sounded again.


    Charles then pursed his lips before asking, ¡°Carl, tell me truthfully. After Toby and my baby fell off the


    cliff, where did you go? Why didn¡¯t you help look for them with Tom and the others? Also, why have you


    not shown up these past two days?¡±


    On the other end of the line was Carl sitting in a pitch-ck room. He suddenly raised his head, and a


    blood-red gleam shone in his eyes. ¡°I had something to do.¡±


    ¡°What on earth could be more important than looking for them?¡± At this moment, Charles growled out of


    anger.


    Hearing that, Carl made an odd expression. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. Tell Sonia that I wille and


    visit her at the hospitalter.¡±


    After saying that, he hung up the phone.


    At this point, Charles was so furious that he stomped on his feet. ¡°This jerk!¡±


    ¡°What happened, Charles?¡± Coincidentally, Sonia had juste out of Toby¡¯s ward when she heard


    Charles curse.


    Keeping his phone, he said, ¡°It was that a*shole Carl. I asked why he didn¡¯t appear for the past few days,


    and he refused to tell the truth.¡±


    At the mention of Carl, she seemed to have recalled something. She asked, ¡°Oh, and, how is Carl?¡±


    ¡°Him?¡± Charles¡¯ lips twitched as he answered, ¡°He¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Good to know.¡± She felt relieved at once.


    With his gaze on her, he said, ¡°Darling, this incident must be caused by Carl¡¯s beef with that Delcan


    dude. You were taken away by Delcan because of Carl. Not only are you not ming Carl, but you¡¯re


    also even worried about him now.¡±


    ¡°Charles, I know what you¡¯re getting at. Although Carl ys a part in causing the incident, he didn¡¯t know


    that it¡¯d cause harm to me. If he knew, he would¡¯ve done something to prevent Delcan from getting his


    hands on me. Hence, the situation just got out of hand. So, I can¡¯t put the full me on Carl for that. Go


    back first. My back hurts and I can¡¯t stand much longer,¡± Sonia said as she supported herself holding her


    waist.


    Seeing that, he couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart ache. ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    Humming in acknowledgment, she turned to look at Tom. ¡°I¡¯lle and visit him againter.¡±


    Tom didn¡¯t say a thing as if he didn¡¯t hear her. He simply pushed the door open and went into Toby¡¯s


    ward.


    Witnessing that, Charles gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°What¡¯s with that attitude of his? He used to be an


    easygoing person. Why is he now¡­¡±


    ¡°I know what he¡¯s going through.¡± Her eyes were trained on the ground as she continued, ¡°Not only is


    Toby his boss. He¡¯s also his good friend. Toby got hurt because of me, so it¡¯s only natural for him to hold


    a grudge against me. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    After returning to her own ward, she went to the washroom before Charles helped him onto her bed.


    Then, he got her something to eat before she slept.


    In the afternoon, Carl made his appearance at the hospital. Arriving at the ward, he gave Sonia an


    awkward smile. ¡°Sonia.¡±


    The moment she saw him, she was stunned. Following that, she frowned as she locked eyes with him.


    There was an indescribably odd feeling deep within her.


    Carl had changed!


    At the first sight of him, that was what came to her mind.


    First of all, his style of dressing had changed.


    Previously, Carl would wear white most of the time. However, Carl was now wearing ck from head to


    toe.


    His hairstyle had changed too. Previously, he had bangs covering his forehead, giving people an elegant


    yet clean impression.


    Now, his hair was all slicked back, showing his forehead. Even his hair was cut shorter than it used to be.


    It looked less gentle and more wilder with an edge.


    In a nutshell, the Carl standing before her now waspletely different from the Carl that she knew.


    Besides Sonia, even Charles was shocked to see Carl like this.


    At that moment, he knew why he felt that the phone call earlier sounded odd. It was because the Carl he


    was looking at now wasn¡¯t the Carl that he used to know. It was like looking at aplete stranger.


    That¡¯s right, a stranger!


    ¡°Hey, Carl. What did you go through these past three days? How did you change so much?¡± Charles took


    the initiative to ask as he analyzed Carl from top to bottom.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Nheless, Carl didn¡¯t bother to answer him. He simply walked to the side of the bed before he


    suddenly pulled Sonia, who was leaning against the headboard, into an embrace. He then buried his


    face on her shoulder as if he had reunited with her after a very long time. ¡°Sonia, we finally get to meet.¡±


    ¡°Finally?¡± The frown on her forehead deepened as she heard that.


    The next moment, she pushed him away all of a sudden.


    Carl ended up staggering after getting pushed away, and he took a grip of the hospital bed frame to


    regain his stance. Then, a devilish smile crept up his lips. ¡°Sonia, why did you push me?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Clenching her fists, she stared at him with her guard up.


    Blinking his eyes out of confusion, Charles asked, ¡°Baby, why are you asking him that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sonia.¡± Carl offered a small smile. ¡°I am Carl.¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯re not Carl.¡± She nodded her head firmly. ¡°To be precise, you¡¯re not the Carl that I know. You


    must be his alter ego.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles was shocked to hear that as he looked at Carl in disbelief and continued, ¡°His alter


    ego?¡±


    Carl never expected Sonia to see through his true identity so quickly. With that, the smile on his face


    froze at once.


    However, he adjusted hisposure and acted like nothing had happened as he smiled before saying, ¡°I


    didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯ll be able to see through me just like that. How did you know?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really an alternate personality?¡± Charles questioned again in a louder tone.

 Chapter 449

    Chapter 449


    Chapter 449 Carl¡¯s Departure


    Sonia pursed her lips before answering, ¡°He is.¡±


    ¡°How is this possible?!¡± Charles was obviously shocked. ¡°He has a split personality disorder? I thought


    he was just suffering frommon psychological issues.¡±


    Clenching her fists tight, she said, ¡°You must¡¯ve forgotten. Tim did say that when psychological problems


    deteriorate, it can create a split personality. Moreover, he told me that the possibility of Carl creating


    another personality is high when he treated him. This must be it.¡±


    Her gaze that was trained on Carl wasplex.


    Meanwhile, Carl offered her a smile as if he didn¡¯t know that he was being discussed at the moment.


    Charles gulped before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve seen it on television before. Many people will create an alternate


    personality when they get triggered by something. The trigger may be you falling from the cliff. Do you


    think that¡¯s why he suddenly appeared?¡±


    He was pointing at Carl as he said thest sentence.


    Looking at his finger, Carl squinted with a dissatisfied look. The next moment, he pped Charles¡¯ hand


    away. ¡°What do you mean I appeared? I¡¯ve always been here. It¡¯s just that dumb*ss suppressed me. He


    didn¡¯t let me out until this time. He realized that he had caused you harm, Sonia. That¡¯s why he had a


    breakdown, and I finally was let out.¡±


    After hearing that, Sonia¡¯s face faltered. ¡°You mean that you¡¯ve been created long ago? And Carl knows


    of your existence?¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Charles was stumped beyond words.


    Carl then pulled out a chair to sit down before throwing his legs one over the other¡ªa trait the old him


    would never do. He then said in a casual yet arrogant manner, ¡°Correct. Not only are we aware of each


    other¡¯s existence, but we¡¯ve also even talked before.¡±


    ¡°You can even talk to each other?¡± Once again, Charles was dumbfounded. ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Nothing is impossible. I was born on the dumb*ss¡¯ eighteenth birthday. In the early days, both he and I


    showed up alternately. I¡¯ve evenmunicated with him through writing on a board, and we got to know


    each other. I know that the person he cares for the most is you, Sonia. Perhaps he had influenced me


    and piqued my interest for you gradually.¡±


    At this moment, he seemed to have recalled something as he smiled devilishly. ¡°However, that dumb*ss


    looked for a psychiatrist after he noticed that. He wanted to eliminate me. Unluckily for him, I¡¯ve always


    been strong since I was born. So, I did not perish, but I ended up going into a deep slumber because of


    that. It was only until three days ago that I woke up. Now¡­¡±


    Spreading his arms open, he seemed to be very free. ¡°This body is finally mine! I can do anything I want


    to do. I will take revenge for what he did to me. I will let that dumb*ss perish forever. That way, this body


    will bepletely mine.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± That made Sonia anxious. Her grip on the nket was tight as she stared at him. ¡°This is Carl¡¯s


    body. He¡¯s the owner and the main identity. You cannot do that!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Carl smiled at her. ¡°I think I¡¯m more suitable to use this body. It¡¯s a waste for that dumb*ss.


    He liked you, but he has never dared to say it out loud. In the end, he started mimicking Toby and acted


    all gentle and soft in front of you. He has been covering up his true colors. How dumb is that? But¡­ I¡¯m


    different.¡±


    Leaning closer to her, he purposely spoke in a low voice, making it sound extra alluring. ¡°I like you,


    Sonia. I have the guts to tell that to your face, and I don¡¯t hide my true colors. I¡¯m much more genuine


    than him. Moreover, the dumb*ss refused to take over his family business just because he hates Robert


    Hayes. Now, a bunch of kids born out-of-wedlock are eyeing the family business.¡±


    With a scoff, he continued, ¡°Why does he think so highly of himself for doing that? In my opinion, it¡¯s just


    in stupid. Even if he hates Robert, it¡¯s got nothing to do with the family business. He can always


    inherit the business and kick Robert out of the picture. However, he had never thought of that. He even


    let that illegitimate child fool with him, and ended up causing you to get kidnapped by him. If I was there,


    I would have gotten rid of that illegitimate child already. Hence, I¡¯m stronger and smarter than that


    dumb*ss. Sonia, why don¡¯t you consider me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Before she could say anything, Charles pushed Carl away.


    At that moment, it seemed like Carl¡¯s words had pissed Charles off. Carl nced at his shoulder where


    he was pushed at before shifting his gaze to the perpetrator. Then, he said in an eerie tone, ¡°Charles, I


    am not that dumb*ss. He has evil thoughts, and he¡¯s definitely a bad guy. However, he still puts up with


    people who are close to him. I won¡¯t. If you dare provoke me, I will kill you.¡±


    His words were as cold as ice without any feelings attached.


    At once, Charles froze. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Charles.¡± Pushing the nket away, Sonia held onto his arm before shaking her head toward him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go up against him. We don¡¯t know him well. Don¡¯t get reckless.¡±


    From the moment this Carl appeared, she knew that he was not a good person.


    Even though the previous Carl had been putting on an innocent, soft facade despite his evil, dark


    thoughts, he was still kind at some point. Not only that, he was more mature.


    On the other hand, this Carl waspletely in the dark. His personality wasckadaisical, and he didn¡¯t


    seem like one who¡¯d abide by the rules. Nobody could anticipate what his next move would be, or what


    he¡¯d do the next second. He was like a psychopath.


    Charles wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against him, much less be his enemy.


    Seeing how she had her guard up, Carl sighed as if he was disappointed. ¡°Sonia, you seem like you¡¯re


    scared of me. This makes me sad. You aren¡¯t like this with that dumb*ss. You¡¯re much more gentle and


    understanding when ites to him. So why are you so cold to me? I¡¯m Carl too.¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯re not Carl. Even if you¡¯re an identity of this body, you are not the Carl that I know and approve


    of,¡± she said coldly.


    Nodding his head, Charles chimed in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    After squinting his eyes for a brief moment, Carl let out a lowugh. ¡°Sonia, you sure are cruel. I didn¡¯t


    expect that you¡¯ll disapprove of mepletely. It¡¯s alright, I will change your mind very soon.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding yourself. I will never approve of you. I don¡¯t now, and I won¡¯t ever in the future,¡± she said


    straightforwardly.


    Her Carl was not the one standing before her.


    Hearing that, he didn¡¯t seem mad. He simply shrugged before saying, ¡°Well, I said what I said. I will make


    you approve of me, but not now. I have to return to Westsanshire first. After I¡¯m done dealing with things,


    I wille back. Then, not only will I make you approve of me, I will even pursue you with all my might.


    Trust me, I am the only man for you.¡±


    After saying that, he gave her a smile that seemed to have a meaning behind it before leaving the ward.


    Biting on her lip, Sonia stared at the door of the ward as her mind spiraled.


    Meanwhile, Charles closed the door and went back to her. He seemed to be pretty mad. ¡°This jerk is


    definitely not Carl. Carl would never say such things. This won¡¯t do. The more I think about it, the angrier


    I get. Baby, what do you think Carl was trying to do? How could he let a personality like this take over his


    body?¡±


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Shaking her head, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Now, I¡¯m worried that this identity will look for a


    psychiatrist and eliminate Carl. If that really happens, Carl will never be able toe back. That identity


    will have full control of this body.¡±


    ¡°The thing is, we can¡¯t stop him. He¡¯s going to Westsanshire now, and we can¡¯t possibly follow him there.


    So, we can¡¯t really stop him from finding a psychiatric doctor and removing Carl,¡± Charles said in a low


    voice.


    Shifting her gaze downward, she answered, ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s true that our hands are tied. We can only hope


    that Carl is able to emerge like how his split personality did. I hope he¡¯s able to sink into a deep sleep


    instead of getting eliminated entirely. That way, there¡¯s still hope for us to get him back.¡±

 Chapter 450

    Chapter 450


    Chapter 450 Returning to Paradigm Co


    ¡°All we can do now is just hope.¡± Charles sighed.


    After that, the two no longer exchanged words as the room fell silent.


    At that moment, they were taking their time to register the presence of the new Carl.


    The next morning, a statement regarding Carl¡¯s departure had been posted on his personal Facebook


    ount.


    At once, both the entertainment and fashion world were shocked. It had inevitably caused many debates


    which discussed why he was leaving so suddenly and why he didn¡¯t even attend the announcement


    conference.


    Many of Carl¡¯s fans couldn¡¯t take it, so they had gathered together and waited outside his residential


    area. They were hoping to bump into him to get the truth and reason for his departure.


    Nevertheless, they failed to see him even after camping there for a day. Some of the more aggressive


    fans had even barged into the residential area, and into his house. To their dismay, they found the ce


    he stayed to bepletely deserted.


    Carl was missing.


    This topic had gone up to the trending chart, and moreizens were guessing where Carl went.


    However, no matter how they tried, they still didn¡¯t know where he went, or why he had suddenly decided


    to quit without saying anything.


    After all themotion, his sudden departure and absence had be the entertainment and fashion


    fields¡¯ biggest secret of the year.


    Sitting by Toby¡¯s bed was Sonia, who was looking at the trending news online. Reading them, she


    subconsciously pursed her lips.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    She knew why he had left.


    It was because he was going back to Westsanshire; he was returning to the Hayes Family.


    He had said that himself.


    Though it wasn¡¯t something to be proud of, she was secretly happy that this Carl had gone back to the


    Hayes¡¯ to sort things out. When the old Carles back, he doesn¡¯t have to personally deal with those


    horrible people and their business anymore, Sonia thought.


    That was right. Although she knew that the old Carl wasn¡¯t all innocent and kind, she didn¡¯t want him to


    actually do anything bad. She was hoping that the old Carl could keep his hands clean.


    Hence, these dark and dirty matters could be dealt with by this Carl.


    Though, she had another reason behind wanting him to go back¡ªshe didn¡¯t know how to live with this


    new Carl.


    As she was deep in thought, her phone rang.


    ncing at her phone, she saw that it was a call from Reba.


    When she saw the caller ID, she sighed, knowing the reason why Reba called.


    ¡°Reba, you¡¯re leaving?¡± As soon as the call got connected, Sonia asked before the other end could


    speak.


    Stumped, Reba said with her mouth hung open, ¡°President Reed, you knew about this?¡±


    ¡°I guessed it.¡± Sonia chuckled before she continued, ¡°You came to Seafield to look for Carl. Now that he


    wants to go back to Westsanshire, your task is considered done. So, it¡¯s only logical that you want to go


    back with him.¡±


    Hearing that, Reba calmed down. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you already knew that Carl is our young master.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I found out a few days ago.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Reba then said in an embarrassed tone, ¡°Yes, President Reed. I¡¯m calling to resign as I¡¯ll be heading


    back to Westsanshire.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright. You have my approval,¡± Sonia answered. However, she pursed her lips before adding,


    ¡°However¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Reba asked in confusion.


    With a sigh, Sonia said, ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. There¡¯s something I need your help with. You do know about


    Carl¡¯s psychological issue, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Reba hummed in acknowledgement.


    Sonia then said, ¡°Two days ago, Carl had undergone some triggering incident which led to the birth of his


    second personality¡­ No, it wasn¡¯t the birth. It has existed since long ago, but it has been in hibernation.


    Now, this other personality has awakened and taken over his body¡¯s control. Not only that, this identity


    has a grudge for Carl¡¯s original identity, so he intends to seek for a psychiatrist to help get rid of Carl¡¯s


    original identity.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Hearing what she said, Reba raised her voice in confusion. ¡°President Reed, you¡¯re saying


    that the Carl now is not the old Carl?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s his split personality. He¡¯s a very dark personality that wants to get rid of his initial identity and


    take over his body. Hence, I hope that you can keep an eye on him when he gets back to Westsanshire.


    Don¡¯t let him get to a psychiatrist and get rid of Carl. Please.¡±


    Registering how severe this issue is, Reba nodded with a serious face. ¡°Understood, President Reed.


    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll look out for him.¡±


    Despite the fact that he was also Carl, this identity was said to have a very dark personality ording to


    Sonia. He must be very spontaneous and dangerous.


    Just because of that fact, Reba already wanted to have the old Carl back.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Hearing that she had agreed, Sonia thanked her happily. At this time, she felt a little


    relieved because of that.


    After that, the two of them continued on with some small talk before ending the call.


    Putting down the phone, Sonia shifted her attention to Toby who was still bedridden.


    It had been two days since they returned, and he had yet to regain consciousness.


    She put her palm on his forehead and felt that his fever was already gone. Why is he not waking up yet?


    ¡°Baby.¡± At this moment, a string of knocks on the door of the ward could be heard.


    Retracting her hand from Toby¡¯s forehead, she turned to look in the direction of the door and saw


    Charles standing there. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to Paradigm Co.? It¡¯s almost time.¡± Charles put his hand down from the door as he


    reminded Sonia.


    Sonia was stunned for a moment before she stood up. ¡°Right. I almost forgot about it.¡±


    It had been almost half a month since the attack from Taylor. Since then, she had not gone to Paradigm


    Co. ever since.


    Although Charles had been reporting thepany¡¯s situation to her every day, she didn¡¯t feel reassured


    unless she went to the office to learn about the situation herself.


    After all, Asher and the bunch were all eyeing thepany.


    Now that her eyes were alright, she should go back to Paradigm Co. and hold the fort. That would be


    sufficient enough to let Asher back off as he would think that she was dead otherwise.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Pulling the nket nicely for Toby, she then turned and left for the door.


    Seeing that she hade out, Charles took a nce at the hospital bed before his mouth twitched. ¡°Do


    you really n to continue to take care of him?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded firmly. ¡°He¡¯s in this state because he tried to save me, so I can¡¯t run from the


    responsibility of taking care of him until he recovers. It¡¯s an obligation.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I¡¯m a little worried,¡± Charles said while walking by her side.


    Turning to look at him, she asked, ¡°What are you worried about?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll fall in love with him again. Taking care of him means staying by his side


    all the time. That can easily lead to feelings blossoming, so¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t have to continue for her to get the gist.


    Obviously, he was worried that her taking care of Toby meant spending a lot of time with him which would


    make her let him in again.


    However, that was not possible.


    Looking down at the ground, she said, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t overthink it. It¡¯s not so easy to fall in love with


    someone.¡±


    ¡°Well, you never know.¡± Charles shrugged.


    At this moment, there was a shift in her gaze. They didn¡¯t exchange words after that as she went back


    into her ward to change her clothes.


    An hourter, she arrived at Paradigm Co.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the news of her returning to work was spread from the concierge to the entire


    building via a group message.


    At that moment, Asher was chilling while having a cup of tea. Immediately, he jumped when he heard


    what his assistant said. ¡°What did you say? She¡¯s back already?¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Dafoe. President Reed is back. She¡¯s already in her office now.¡± His assistant nodded.


    At once, Asher¡¯s face turned sour. ¡°Dang it. Why is she back already? Can it be that she knows what I¡¯m


    up to?¡±


    Hearing that, the assistant asked, ¡°In that case, President Dafoe, shall we proceed with our n?¡±

 Chapter 451

    Chapter 451


    Chapter 451 The Lifespan of the Heart


    ¡°And exactly what are we proceeding with here?¡± Asher raked his fingers through his hair, frustration


    bubbling up in him as he snapped, ¡°Spread the memo and have everyone ce this on hold for now. The


    last thing we need is for her to find out about this.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the assistant responded with a nod before he respectfully retreated out of the room.


    Now that he was alone in the office once again, Asher shoved everything off his desk in a fit of rage, his


    face and neck turning crimson as his blood boiled.


    He had initially nned on using Charles as a scapegoat by luring Charles into making a critical mistake


    in Paradigm Co. during Sonia¡¯s absence. That way, he would finally have an excuse to force Sonia into


    surrendering her authority over thepany.


    After all, Charles¡¯ supervisory role in Paradigm Co. was only good on paper; it would be more urate to


    say that he was an outsourced assistant.


    For her to delegate control over thepany to an outsourced assistant like him would definitely get on


    the nerves of the board of directors, who were constantly wary of his presence and so-called


    management.


    With the existing animosity toward Charles, it would only take a slight mistake on his part for the


    company to turn against Sonia for her apparentck of judgment. If that came to pass, Asher could easily


    demand to have her share of control over thepany.


    However, just as Asher was about to set the n into motion, Sonia¡¯s abrupt return stymied it.


    Now that she was back, Charles would no longer have a reason to stay in Paradigm Co. as her


    substitute, thereby rendering Asher¡¯s npletely redundant!


    As things were, Asher would have to wait for the next suitable moment toe around before he could


    n on taking down Sonia.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was back in her office,pletely unaware of his antics and how her return had


    hampered his schemes. She yanked her swivel chair out and took a seat before she ced her purse on


    the desk.


    Daphne, on the other hand, was standing across the room with a folder in her arms as she greeted


    pleasantly, ¡°Wee back, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sonia replied with a quick smile as she opened herptop.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, President Reed, Miss Harper from the finance department has tendered her resignation


    this morning,¡± Daphne informed dutifully while she produced the letter from her folder and handed it over


    to Sonia.


    Sonia took it and said, ¡°I already know about Reba¡¯s resignation; she called me this morning, as a


    matter of fact. For the time being, I¡¯d like you to step in to manage the finance department until further


    notice.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Reed,¡± Daphne answered while closing the folder.


    As she penned Reba¡¯s resignation letter with her signature as a sign of eptance and returned it to


    Daphne, Sonia added, ¡°Also, I need you to drop by human resourcester and have them see whether


    there¡¯s anyone in the industry who is suited for the role of head of finance. If there is, ask human


    resources to forward the candidate¡¯s details to me.¡±


    The head of the finance department was an important position that came with heavy responsibilities.


    Sonia did not want to risk hiring someone inexperienced, but she couldn¡¯t promote anyone within the


    company either, at least not while Asher¡¯s supporters were still roaming around in the departments. She


    couldn¡¯t guarantee that whoever she chose to assume the duties of head of finance wouldn¡¯t be on


    Asher¡¯s side.


    With that in mind, Sonia knew that she could only hunt among those in the industry to take over


    Reba¡¯s ce. She hoped to poach someone qualified, but in the event it was impossible, she would


    rather cultivate one suited for the role, even if it was time-consuming to do so.


    Regardless of how things could turn out, she was determined not to allow any one of Asher¡¯s supporters


    to be the next head of finance. As long as it concerned a position as crucial as this, it was a risky


    gamble.


    ¡°Very well, President Reed,¡± Daphne agreed with a polite nod.


    Sonia took one of the folders from her desk and began to sift through it. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all for now, I


    suppose. You can get back to work.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± After having said that, Daphne turned to leave the office.


    Then, Sonia began to peruse the documents that had piled up on her desk. She wrapped up work earlier


    than usual that afternoon and asked the driver to drop her off at First Hospital.


    Coincidentally, in the VIP ward of First Hospital, Toby let out a dry cough as his eyes finally fluttered


    open.


    He felt like ages ago when hest saw light and now, the blinding lights aggressively greeted him as


    soon as he opened his eyes. It wasn¡¯t until after a while that he finally adjusted and became ustomed


    to it.


    Tom was smoking outside the hospital room, but when he heard sounds from the other side of the door,


    he froze. Then, he snubbed out the remaining half of his cigarette and tossed it away before hurrying into


    the room.


    ¡°President Fuller!¡± He called out in surprise when he saw that the man lying on the bed was awake.


    Toby turned to nce at him in acknowledgement. ¡°Tom.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m right here, President Fuller.¡± Tom rushed over to the bed. There was undeniable relief and


    happiness in his voice as he continued, ¡°This is wonderful, President Fuller! You¡¯re finally awake after


    cking out for three, four days!¡±


    ¡°Three, four days?¡± Toby repeated with a frown, clearly bewildered that he was unconscious for so long.


    All he remembered was that he ran a temperature after spending the night in the cave. He felt his body


    temperature rising at midnight and it seemed to have worsened before he finally passed out. However,


    he hadn¡¯t expected that he would remain unconscious for three or four days.


    When did I be so weak? He gravely pursed his lips, obviously upset by how feeble he was. While


    gripping the sheets beneath him, he started to prop himself up.


    At the sight of this, Tom panicked and quickly stopped the man from rising up. ¡°Don¡¯t move, President


    Fuller, or the wounds on your back will tear open. More importantly, you need to be on bed rest until your


    internal organs heal.¡±


    ¡°My internal organs?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my internal organs?¡±


    Before Tom could answer, Tim¡¯s voice interrupted from the doorway, ¡°Maybe I should be the one


    exining it since I¡¯m a doctor and my words carry professional weight on this point.¡±


    Toby and Tom looked over at him simultaneously.


    Tim had shown up in such a quiet manner that neither Toby nor Tom noticed him. At the current moment,


    Tim was currently toying with his scalpel as he leaned against the doorframe.


    As he met their curious gaze, Tim adjusted his sses and straightened his posture. He kept his scalpel


    in his pocket as he walked into the room and when his gaze fell on the left side of Toby¡¯s chest, he


    exined, ¡°There were signs of blunt force trauma to your body. You sustained wounds on your back,


    but that¡¯s the least of your worries, I¡¯m afraid. We found a slight tear in your liver and spleen, but the


    worst of all these is your heart.¡±


    ¡°My heart?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes widened at this and he almost instinctively ced his hand on top of his chest.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my heart?¡±


    ¡°Your heart¡ª¡±


    Tim was about to answer when Tom suddenly clenched his fists and interrupted hastily, ¡°Don¡¯t say any


    further, Dr. Lancaster.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Toby demanded, his face grim as he shot Tom an unhappy look.


    Tom avoided his gaze and said ruefully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller, but you¡¯re better off not knowing the


    details. I don¡¯t think you can take it.¡±


    ¡°You think I can¡¯t take it?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes became dangerous slits as he barked icily, ¡°What do you take me


    for? Am I some weakling who can¡¯t handle the truth? Besides, this is my heart we¡¯re talking about, so I¡¯m


    well within my rights to know what has happened!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by that, President Fuller. I just¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Keep quiet, Tom!¡± Toby ordered in a thunderous voice. After having done so, he turned


    his attention to Tim. ¡°Come on, tell me what¡¯s wrong with my heart.¡±


    ¡°Just remember that you¡¯re the one who wanted an answer,¡± Tim pointed out with a shrug. A somber look


    passed over his features as he added, ¡°Your heart is weaker than the average person, what with the


    heart transnt you did and all, but the blunt force trauma I mentioned earlier has caused a tear in your


    valve, which significantly shortens the lifespan of the heart.¡±


    When he was done speaking, he looked at Toby and awaited some form of response.


    It was astonishing that Toby remained as impassive as ever. He seemed unaffected and unsurprised by


    the fact that the lifespan of his heart was significantly shorter than it had started out with.


    Even Tim was a little taken aback by Toby¡¯s indifference. He¡¯s so calm that he¡¯s making me feel uneasy.


    How can he be so unfazed by this?


    In truth, Toby wasn¡¯t so much unfazed as he was mentally ready for this. As it turned out, his guess had


    been correct.


    From the very moment Tom had interrupted Tim so brusquely when the subject of Toby¡¯s heart was


    brought up, Toby suspected that there was bad news about his heart.


    Following that, Toby didn¡¯t think Tim¡¯s exnation was all that surprising.


    In fact, whatever Tim said only seemed to solidify what Toby had expected all along. His words merely


    made it feel like the dust had finally settled.


    Toby lowered his gaze, which made his emotions indecipherable. Upon seeing this, Tom thought that the


    man was in shock. ¡°President Fuller¡­¡± he called out in worry. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Something shed in Toby¡¯s eyes as he looked up and answered, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Then, he turned to address


    Tim as he gestured to his own chest while asking, ¡°How long do I have before this heart gives out?¡±All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 452

    Chapter 452


    Chapter 452 Toby¡¯s Decision


    Tim had his hands in the pockets of his white coat as hemented, ¡°ording to the cardiology


    department, the heart willst you another three years, give or take.¡±


    ¡°Three years¡­¡± Toby clenched his fists in aggravation. How did my lifespan shorten by so much in such


    little time? It¡¯s supposed tost as long as the average person¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Yes, three years. So, if you want to keep on living after that, you¡¯re going to have to search for a suitable


    heart within these three years for your transnt,¡± Tim affirmed as he signed with three fingers.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    When he heard this, Tom¡¯s eyes reddened. ¡°How do you suggest we do that? President Fuller¡¯s body


    and blood type are as rare as they are specific. It could take ages before we look for another heart that is


    compatible with the rest of his organs! If it¡¯s such a walk in the park, then it wouldn¡¯t have taken twenty-


    four years for him to locate a heart in the first ce. So, don¡¯t tell me that he can find the perfect donor in


    three years because it¡¯s just nonsense!¡±


    ¡°Then, my hands are as tied as yours. If the right donor doesn¡¯te along in the next three years,


    Toby¡¯s heart will wither out and he can do nothing else but wait for death to knock on his door,¡± Tim


    pointed out nonchntly, putting his hands out like he was leaving all up to fate.


    Upon seeing this, Tom grew incensed and demanded, ¡°What the hell are you even saying? Aren¡¯t you a


    doctor? How can you talk about a patient¡¯s imminent death so casually?¡±


    ¡°And what would you rather hear me say?¡± Tim impassively gazed at the assistant. ¡°I¡¯m a doctor, not a


    walking organ procurement organization. No doctor can perform a miracle on him without first obtaining a


    compatible heart for the transnt, so whatever I said were only matters of fact.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Toby massaged the space between his brows and grimly said, ¡°Back off, Tom. He¡¯s


    right; no one can save me if we don¡¯t get apatible heart donor in the next three years. Death really is


    imminent.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I just don¡¯t like how he put it,¡± Tom snapped as he glowered at Tim angrily.


    Tim slid his sses up his nose bridge as he pointed out tly, ¡°If you don¡¯t like the way I have described


    it or if you find that I was way too brusque with my words, go and help your boss to find the perfect heart


    donor instead of hovering here picking arguments with me. Every day for the next three years is a day he


    spends fighting for his life, and for what it¡¯s worth, that might be all the living he gets to do before his


    heart copses. Maybe you guys would get lucky in the end, and the perfect heart woulde along to


    save your boss from the brink of death. That¡¯s all I have to say. Goodbye for now.¡±


    With that, he turned to leave.


    However, Toby called out to stop him in his tracks, ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller?¡± Tim halted before he could walk out the door and cast Toby a sidelong nce.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°You can¡¯t let anyone know about this. If word gets out that I have a heart problem


    ¡ª¡±


    Tim interrupted, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about word getting out. I¡¯m a doctor, so it¡¯s a given that I¡¯ll


    remain reticent about your condition. Besides, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m dying to spread the news. I didn¡¯t even tell


    Sonia when she asked about you yesterday, right, Mr. Brown?¡±


    Tom scoffed at this. The only reason why you didn¡¯t say anything to Sonia was because I stopped you,


    he thought sourly.


    ¡°Sonia?¡± Toby stiffened at this. He couldn¡¯t hide how flustered he was when he demanded, ¡°How is she


    doing now?¡±


    ¡°Ask him.¡± Tim jerked his chin in Tom¡¯s direction and added pointedly as he walked out of the room, ¡°He


    knows best.¡±


    Now Tim was gone, Toby and Tom were alone again in the hospital room.


    Upon receiving a look of askance from Toby, Tom had no choice but to borate, ¡°Sonia¡¯s fine. She¡¯s


    dandy. I mean, how could she not be after you saved her?¡±


    As he picked up on the snide tones, Toby frowned and asked unhappily, ¡°What, do you have something


    against Sonia?¡±


    Tom had never intended to hide his displeasure toward Sonia and now that Toby had asked, he was


    more than ready to admit it. ¡°Yes, I do have something against her. You¡¯ve been injured way too many


    times because of her. I won¡¯t talk about what happened in the past, but this time, your heart will wither in


    three years¡¯ time because you risked your life to save hers. Am I supposed to congratte her for


    surviving at your expense?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to let this go on ount of the fact that you¡¯ve been loyal to me all these years and that you¡¯re


    speaking up for my own good, but I swear I won¡¯t forgive you the next time you decide to badmouth


    Sonia in front of me.¡± Toby eyed his assistant coldly.


    Tom¡¯s eyes widened to the size of saucers as he gaped at Toby incredulously. ¡°President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Sonia has nothing to do with this incident,¡± Toby exined somberly. ¡°I was the one who voluntarily


    jumped off the cliff to save her, so your rage toward her is obviously unjustified. You usually have more


    sense than to me everything on her like this.¡±


    When he heard this, Tom opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He snapped out of his daze a moment


    later and muttered numbly, ¡°My apologies, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby waved his hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll let the matter drop now and I don¡¯t want you bringing it


    up again or grumbling about Sonia either, am I clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom nodded despite his reluctance, lowering his gaze.


    The vein near Toby¡¯s temple throbbed to signal his weariness and he rubbed it as he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s


    Sonia now?¡±


    ¡°She was discharged this morning. She¡¯s fine and probably at Paradigm Co. right now,¡± Tom answered.


    With a brief hum, Toby noted, ¡°As long as she¡¯s fine. Remember, she can¡¯t learn about my heart issue,


    do you understand?¡±


    He might have jumped off the cliff on his own will, but if Sonia found out about it, she would me herself


    and think that she was the reason for his current predicament. She can¡¯t ever find out about this. It¡¯s for


    her own good.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. I never nned on telling her anyway,¡± Tom solemnly assured. That much


    was true. He had no intention of telling Sonia about Toby¡¯s injuries, not because he was worried that she


    would me herself, but more along the lines of worrying that Toby wouldn¡¯t be able to take the hit if she


    were to confront him about it.


    However, now that Toby was aware of the extent of his injuries and calmly epted his substantially


    shortened lifespan, it longer mattered.


    On the other hand, Toby didn¡¯t know the real reason why Tom was keeping this a secret from her. He


    didn¡¯t actually care, as long as she remained oblivious to news of his injuries.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to keep this from my mom, my grandma and Tyler as well. I don¡¯t want them to worry either,¡±


    Toby reminded him as an afterthought as he leaned against the headboard.


    Tom nodded. ¡°I know, President Fuller. I didn¡¯t tell Old Mrs. Fuller and the others in the household, not


    even about how you jumped off a cliff to save Miss Reed. I didn¡¯t breathe a word to the public either; so,


    as far as they are concerned, you¡¯re on a business trip. If word gets out, thepany and the market


    would take a great hit and the press would have a field day making headlines out of your cliff-jumping


    endeavors.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve done well,¡± Toby praised.


    A little tremor worked its way into Tom¡¯s voice as he promised, ¡°I¡¯ll find the perfect heart for you,


    President Fuller. You¡¯ll keep on living. I swear.¡±


    The perfect heart, huh? The corner of Toby¡¯s lips curled into a half-smile as hemented, ¡°In that case,


    I wish you all the best.¡±


    He sounded optimistic enough, but such words were good for offering empty sces. Deep down, they


    both knew that the chances ofing across apatible heart for a transnt were slim to none.


    ¡°How¡¯s Tyler doing in thepetition?¡± Toby asked after the thought crossed his mind.


    Tom paused for a while before replying, ¡°The U17 Cross-Country Championships that Young Master


    Tyler took part in has ended and he was able to secure our country a ticket for the FIBA Basketball World


    Cup. The first round of preliminaries are underway as we speak.¡±


    Toby hummed in response. With a small nod of acknowledgement, he lowered his gaze in thought and


    said, ¡°When the Basketball World Cup is over, pull Tyler out of the team and have him transferred to an


    elite prep school.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller?¡± Tom looked aghast when he registered this. What does President Fuller mean by


    this? Is he already making arrangements for Young Master Tyler to take over his duties now that he


    knows he won¡¯t have much longer to live?


    Toby knew why his n woulde as a shock to Tom. As he pursed his lips, he changed the subject


    instead of borating further, ¡°Right, why don¡¯t you tell me how Sonia and I returned to Seafield?¡±


    ¡°I brought a rescue team with me and found the both of you in some viger¡¯s home,¡± Tom exined


    sullenly. He knew that Toby was intentionally changing the subject, which only served to confirm his


    suspicions that Toby nned on training Tyler to be his sessor.


    Tom was more than understanding of this, but it didn¡¯t mean he could ept it. Doesn¡¯t President Fuller


    have the slightest bit of faith that he will be able to continue living? It¡¯s no easy feat to search for a heart


    donor, but there¡¯s still hope for a miracle, isn¡¯t there?


    ¡°A viger¡¯s home?¡± Toby repeated, his eyes glimmering with doubt. That doesn¡¯t make sense, he


    thought. We were supposed to be found in the cave.

 Chapter 453

    Chapter 453


    Chapter 453 Den¡¯s Whereabouts


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom confirmed with a nod. ¡°Using the scraps of fabric and footprints you and Miss Reed left


    behind, I led the rescue team on a search. We happened to run into a viger who had a doctor in tow


    and I went up to them, asking whether they¡¯d seen you and Miss Reed after showing them your photos.


    Surprisingly, the viger informed me that the both of you were put up in her home and she was bringing


    the doctor to attend to your injuries.¡±


    Only the heavens knew how overwhelmed with relief Tom was when he saw theke at the bottom of the


    mountain.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    He knew that the trajectory of the fall from the cliff would be a straight line, based on the person¡¯s weight,


    unless there was andslide or a strong gust of wind that manipted physics.


    As such, when he came across theke, he knew for sure that Toby and Sonia were still alive. Following


    that, he asked the rescue team to search the surrounding area for any trails or clues that Toby and Sonia


    could have left behind.


    Sure enough, the team eventually found the fabric from her cloth. At that point, Tom was sure that she


    had intentionally left behind the fabric. From there, he traced their path to the cave where he came upon


    Sonia and Toby¡¯s clothes, but they were gone.


    It was then that he realized he was toote; Sonia and Toby had already left, so he urged the rest of the


    team to search the area surrounding the cave. Atst, they managed to uncover footprints that led them


    to the missing duo.


    After having heard the exnation, Toby slowly nodded inprehension. ¡°I see.¡±


    Tom went on to add, ¡°When we found you, you were running a high fever. If the viger hadn¡¯t asked a


    doctor to attend to you in time, the fever might have¡­¡±


    The fever might have caused some serious damage. Tom had left this unsaid, but Toby more or less


    picked up on it.


    He gave Tom a withering look and drawled icily, ¡°The viger might have found me a doctor, but Sonia


    was the one who saved my life. She carried me down the mountain in time before you and your team


    arrived; heaven knows how long that would have taken.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Tom opened his mouth and closed it again, suddenly at a loss for words. He knew


    Toby had a point. If Sonia hadn¡¯t found the viger in time, Tom and the rescue team would have arrived


    to find Toby delirious from the fever.


    He distinctly remembered the viger telling him that Sonia was carrying Toby on her back when she


    asked for help. Toby had already passed out by then and she was so drained from carrying him that she


    copsed in exhaustion.


    At that moment, Tom finally understood why they had only found a single set of footprints on the


    mountain trails.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for having spoken out of turn, President Fuller,¡± Tom admitted sheepishly and apologetically


    bowed his head.


    Toby waved his hand to brush this incident off. ¡°Have you thanked the viger who helped us?¡±


    ¡°I have,¡± Tom answered.


    After humming in response, Toby added, ¡°There was a driver who helped us as well and I¡¯d like to thank


    him for it.¡± With that, he recited the license te number to Tom.


    The moment that Tom took down the number, he asked, ¡°President Fuller, how exactly did this driver


    help you?¡±


    ¡°He gave us a lead on how Sonia had been taken up the mountains and he bravely stopped Den and


    his henchmen,¡± Toby exined with a small smile.


    ¡°I see,¡± Tom acknowledged with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone look for him after this.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, did Den and his men get caught?¡± Toby pressed, his eyes narrowing into


    dangerous slits.


    A rueful Tom shook his head and reported, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller, but he escaped. The chopper that


    he boarded apparently had aviation clearance to fly out of Seafield, but ours took off from the helipad


    atop thepany building at the veryst minute, so we couldn¡¯t make the arrangements to fly out of


    Seafield. All we could do was watch Den abscond in a ne out of the city.¡±


    One could easily drive around the country as long as it did not involve international border-crossing, but


    the same couldn¡¯t be said for flying. There had to be an aviation clearance for all flights into and out of a


    specific city or a district. If the aircraft wasn¡¯t authorized to fly out of Seafield, then the military could be


    deputized to shoot down the said ne.


    It was something that Toby was naturally well aware of, so he did not me Tom for failing to go after


    Den. He merely pressed his lips into a grim line and asked darkly, ¡°Does that mean we¡¯ve lost track of


    Den?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom replied stiffly. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to look into his whereabouts for the past few days, though; I


    have dispatched our men to Westsanshire and even contacted the military there, but it seems that


    Den¡¯s aircraft didn¡¯t enter the Westsanshire airspace. My guess is that he flew out of Seafield and


    headed somewhere else, but the location is still unknown for now.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you get the Westsanshire military to contact the air force from other districts and cities? Any


    foreign aircrafts that enter their airspace would be automatically under the military¡¯s radar,¡± Toby pointed


    out, his brows knitted together.


    ¡°Of course I did,¡± Tom countered, pushing his sses. ¡°Old Master Fuller was the reason why my


    request for the Westsanshire military to contact other air force bases was approved in the first ce.


    However, the answer that the Westmanshire military received from all the other bases was the same:


    Den¡¯s aircraft was not detected within their respective airspace, which means that he is basically


    missing.¡±


    ¡°Missing?¡± Toby scoffed. A shadow passed over his face as he snapped, ¡°It¡¯s not as if paranormal forces


    are at work here. How does a chopper just go missing like that? I think it¡¯s highly possible that Den


    parachuted off the chopper the moment he flew out of Seafield, which exins why his aircraft was not


    detected at all.¡±


    ¡°If that were to be true, then the manhunt for Den would only be all the more challenging.¡± Tom


    looked grave as he said, ¡°Assuming that he parachuted off the chopper, he might have switched to other


    modes of transportation and sneaked his way abroad.¡±


    The chances of Den staying in the country were slim. He had pushed Sonia off a cliff, the same one in


    which Toby jumped from to save her. Regardless of whether Toby was dead or alive at this rate, Den


    knew that the Fullers would hunt him down and make him pay for his actions. The idea of bing the


    Fuller Family¡¯s subject of torture was more than enough to dissuade him from remaining in the country;


    he would be as good as dead if he didn¡¯t leave.


    ¡°Contact every airline and look into all the inbound as well as outbound flights for all international


    countries,¡± Toby ordered coldly.


    Tom straightened up. ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll get on it right away!¡±


    With that, he turned and walked toward the door, but he had only just opened it when his gaze met


    Sonia¡¯s. Her hand was in mid-air, as if she was ready to knock.


    Sonia hadn¡¯t expected the door to open before she could knock. She hurriedly lowered her hand and


    respectfully nodded at him while greeting, ¡°Mr. Brown.¡±


    He kept his eyes on her as he asked inly, ¡°Are you here to see President Fuller, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied stoically with a nod. She had noted the less than friendly tone in Tom¡¯s voice and didn¡¯t


    think it wise to dish out more pleasantries.


    While stepping aside to let her pass through the doorway, Tom noted, ¡°Come on in. President Fuller is


    already awake.¡±


    ¡°He is?¡± She gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He nodded.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s wonderful!¡± Sonia sped her hands together as she eximed in delight.


    Tom observed her expression before his lips curled in dissatisfaction. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would think


    she was really in love with President Fuller. However, he did know better and as such, he brushed past


    her with an impassive look on his face.


    She waited until he was further down the hallway before she slipped into Toby¡¯s room. While closing the


    door behind her, she called out gently at the man leaning against the headboard with his eyes closed,


    ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    When he heard her voice, Toby¡¯s eyes fluttered open. For a moment, joy flickered over his features, but it


    was quickly reced by his usual indifference as he watched the approaching woman, though his voice


    was soft as he greeted, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here to see you,¡± Sonia quipped,ing to a stop next to his bed.


    He pointed at the chair across the room and said, ¡°Please sit.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She turned to nce at the chair and pulled it over to the bedside. It was only after she sat


    down that she began to appraise him.


    He still looked a little pale, but not quite as ghastly as when she first saw him after she regained


    consciousness. She would like to think that he was recovering well. At the thought of this, she asked


    tentatively, ¡°So, how are you feeling now?¡±

 Chapter 454

    Chapter 454


    Chapter 454 A Call From Leonard


    Toby gazed at her steadily as he answered, ¡°I¡¯m feeling okay.¡±


    Even though he meant to reassure her, Sonia was regardlessly worried. ¡°Are you sure? Do you feel


    lightheaded? And your arm¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, really. Stop worrying,¡± he interrupted as he insisted that he was alright.


    She parted her lips, but she wasn¡¯t sure what else to say.


    At that moment, he asked, ¡°How about you? Tom told me that you copsed after you carried me down


    the mountain. Were you hurt?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alright now.¡± She shook her head.


    As she had only sprained her back, she would recover soon enough, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for


    him. The injuries to his head and back aside, his arm would take at least half a year to be fully recovered.


    All in all, he was in far worse shape than her.


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± he noted after he was sure that she was telling the truth. With a nod, he went on to say,


    ¡°Thank you for carrying me out of the cave and down the mountain. If you hadn¡¯t, then I might have


    turned delirious from the fever.¡±


    Sonia met his gaze solemnly and pointed out, ¡°I should be the one thanking you instead. If you hadn¡¯t


    stepped in, Carl and I might not even be alive right now. I owe you one for this, not the other way round.¡±


    Then, she abruptly changed the subject by asking, ¡°By the way, what are you craving for?¡±


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Craving?¡± Toby raised a brow.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You onlynded in this sorry state because of me, so it¡¯s only right for me to stay and take


    care of you until you¡¯re back in good health. You can let me know everything that you¡¯re craving for and


    I¡¯ll whip them up in the kitchen for you as a token of my gratitude,¡± she dered.


    However, he shook his head in rejection. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to take care of me. I have a caretaker.¡±


    ¡°This is different.¡± Sonia stood up and looked at him gravely. ¡°I can¡¯t just sit by and do nothing after you


    risked your life to save mine, or I¡¯ll end up feeling guilty. Let me stay and take care of you, President


    Fuller. Think of it as easing my conscience.¡± After having said this, she bowed at him out of respect.


    Upon seeing this, Toby frowned and reached out so he could prompt her to straighten up. His left arm


    was the closest to her, but unfortunately it was the same arm that he had injured. He could use his right


    arm, which was the only one at his disposal for the time being, but it required him to flip to his side just to


    reach her.


    As things were, his body could barely move, let alone allow him to flip on his side. More importantly, he


    had seen the stubborn glint in her eyes and he knew that with her will of steel, she would not budge


    unless he agreed to her terms.


    Ah, whatever, I¡¯ll let her have her way, he told himself. As he pinched his brows in frustration, he asked


    glumly, ¡°You really want to take care of me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia straightened up to look at him. ¡°You¡¯re my responsibility now and if I just leave you on your


    own, that would make me a heartless monster, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby broke into a low chuckle. Then, resuming his somber self once more, he said


    patiently, ¡°Listen to me, Sonia. Taking care of me means having to spend an insane amount of time next


    to me for an indefinite period andst I checked, you hate my guts. Are you really serious about this?


    You can back out of it now; I¡¯m giving you the privilege because I don¡¯t want you reneging on this


    decision of yours.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t regret it, much less renege on it,¡± she promised without any hesitation as she shook her head


    slightly to deny the possibility of her going back on her word. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t hate your guts, at least not


    anymore.¡±


    The hatred she felt toward him dissipated the moment he jumped off the cliff after her. His arm had


    already been badly injured, but he held onto her as tightly as he could and refused to let her go. That


    was enough to make her change her mind about him¡ªrespect him, even.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear this from you. The pain is worth it if it meant you¡¯ve stopped hating me,¡± Toby said half-


    jokingly as he gazed at her. Afortable silence was about to set in when he suddenly said, ¡°Sonia.¡±


    Sonia met his obsidian orbs. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Can we start afresh as friends?¡± he asked slowly.


    She frowned at this. Friends? He wants to be friends with his ex-wife? That makes for a rather awkward


    rtionship, doesn¡¯t it? As far as she was concerned, it was impossible for a formerly married couple to


    remain friends after their divorce. However, looking at Toby and his wounds now, she could not bring


    himself to turn him down. A couple of beatster, she finally relented and nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay.¡±


    He shed an appreciative smile. ¡°That¡¯s good enough for me. I won¡¯t ask more of you and I¡¯d like it if


    you could stay with me as a friend for the rest of my life.¡±


    I would probably never be able to find apatible heart for a transnt, which means I¡¯ll only have


    three short years to live. Someone like me can¡¯t possibly give Sonia the happiness she deserves even if I


    seed in romantically pursuing her; I¡¯d only be a burden to her in the end. With that in mind, Toby


    decided that a tonic rtionship with Sonia was the best option he had.


    When Sonia heard this, her eyes widened. What does he mean when he said he wouldn¡¯t ask more of


    me? Is he giving up on the idea of us being together because he¡¯s losing hope?


    She lowered her gaze as she pondered on this. For some reason, she was beginning to feel unsettled,


    but she subconsciously brushed it off. She hardly even noticed the twinge of sadness that suddenly crept


    up on her because it faded the next second as she poured a ss of water for him. ¡°A little early to be so


    sentimental about life, don¡¯t you think? You¡¯re only thirty and there¡¯s still plenty of life in you.¡±


    If she were to overlook the first half of his statement, the second half bore a cryptic undertone that made


    it sound like he was saying hisst words.


    Something glistened in her eyes as he took the ss of water from her. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s just leave the


    conversation at that. I need to use the restroom now. Mind giving me a hand?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She nodded and readily helped him down from the bed.


    As Toby didn¡¯t sustain any injuries to his legs, he could walk to the bathroom without any hassle,


    although Sonia had to help him hold up the bottle of IV fluid. As such, she stood patiently outside the


    door while he used the restroom and when he was done, she walked with him back to the bed


    whereupon she proceeded to hang the bottle on the IV stand.


    She had only just dusted her hands off when her phone rang. ¡°I have to take this,¡± she told Toby as she


    pulled out the ringing device and nced at the phone screen, only to be pleasantly surprised to see


    Leonard¡¯s number shing on it.


    Toby, however, frowned when he saw her visibly brighten up over the phone call. He wondered who


    could be calling her and why she looked so happy about it.


    Not wanting to keep Leonard waiting on the other line, Sonia answered the call immediately. ¡°Grandpa?¡±


    Upon hearing the way she addressed the person on the other line, Toby instantly felt the mild jealousy in


    him go out. Oh, it¡¯s just someone older. All is well, then.


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Leonard greeted affably over the phone.


    Almost immediately, tears sprang to her eyes as she whined childishly, ¡°Have you finally thought of me,


    Grandpa? I haven¡¯t received any calls from you in the past four months and you know I have no way of


    reaching you if you don¡¯t ring me up on your own ord.¡±


    She knew that couldn¡¯t be helped. He was an archaeologist and thatnded him in the oddest corners of


    the world most of the time. He was almost always exploring some abandoned site in the mountains or a


    historical tomb, ces where cellr signal was practically unheard of. It was impossible for her to call


    him on a whim.


    As if sensing her disgruntlement, Leonard chuckled ruefully and cated, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia, but you know


    how I¡¯m tied up with this job of mine.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m not angry with you or anything. By the way, Grandpa, I have excellent news: Paradigm Co. is


    finally back on track!¡±


    Leonard could not hide his surprise. ¡°Oh? Back on track? That¡¯s a really quickeback!¡±


    He was no businessman, but even he understood how dire the situation in Paradigm Co. had been and


    he thought it was impossible for thepany to recover from the setback within four months.


    Sonia nodded earnestly. ¡°It is a little quick, but I guess we had a stroke of luck.¡±


    As she said this, she shot Toby a meaningful look. Indeed, he was the stroke of luck that Paradigm Co.


    needed.


    If it wasn¡¯t for his coboration with Paradigm Co. or his generous act of paying off the billions in


    company debt, thepany would still be in turmoil.


    When he sensed that she was referring to him by the words ¡®stroke of luck¡¯, Toby raised his brow in mild


    surprise and he was a little taken aback.


    Me? Stroke of luck? Did she actually just say I¡¯m the stroke of luck herpany needed? He thought


    that she would bring up Carl, Charles or even Zane, but from the expression on her face, he was clearly


    the one she had been referring to. As a result, he couldn¡¯t keep from smiling and instantly perked up.


    Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, Leonard chuckled in relief at the good news andmented,


    ¡°I see, but you must give yourself some credit, Sonia. A stroke of luck will do little to help if you weren¡¯t


    capable to begin with; you wouldn¡¯t have been able to steer Paradigm Co. back on track within four


    months otherwise. From the looks of it, handing thepany over to you was the best decision on my


    part. With you holding the reins, I have nothing to worry about.¡±

 Chapter 455

    Chapter 455


    Chapter 455 Personal Chef


    Upon hearing Leonard¡¯s affirmation, Sonia felt as if her heart was settled after hearing his words and a


    surge of warmth coursed through her as she said, ¡°Thank you for thepliments, Grandpa. Anyway,


    did you call me out of the blue because your expedition is ending?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s too soon for that. Arge-scale expedition like this would take at least a year and a half before


    we can wrap things up. We¡¯ve only just managed to clear out the passageway that leads to the tomb


    chamber and we won¡¯t be studying the chamber until tomorrow. I called you up because I was wondering


    whether you could swing by the old house and mail me the archaeology journal I have in my study.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course. When do you need it? Should I mail it over as soon as I find it?¡± she asked.


    Leonard¡¯s country house was, as per its namesake, out in the countryside. It would take a three-hour


    drive for her to get there, but if he was desperate for the journal, she could make the journey now and


    arrive at the house by nightfall.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no hurry. Just have it mailed over by this week; I¡¯ll send you the addresster,¡± he replied


    with a chuckle.


    She nodded. ¡°Got it. In that case, I¡¯ll drive to the country house tomorrow.¡±


    Following this, Sonia and Leonard continued to exchange their recent anecdotes before each reluctantly


    hung up the phone. Upon ending the call, she noticed Toby staring at her and she felt inexplicably


    compelled to borate, ¡°That was my grandfather.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Toby said with a nod. ¡°I never heard you mention your grandfather.¡±


    She slid her phone into her bag. ¡°My grandfather¡¯s an archaeologist who spends a better part of the year


    exploring historical sites in remote areas. Plus, he tends to keep a low profile, so there is nothing much I


    can say about him.¡±


    He hummed in response. ¡°What did he ask you to do?¡±


    ¡°Mail him some journal on archaeology,¡± she frankly answered.


    At this moment, a knock came from the door.


    Sonia turned to nce at the doorway, only to see a doctor whom she had never met before standing


    there with a nurse in tow.


    ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s time for your check-up,¡± the nurse reminded Toby with apassionate look thrown


    his way.


    Toby recognized the doctor next to her as someone from the cardiology department and something


    shed in his eyes as he turned to address Sonia, ¡°Why don¡¯t you head out first, Sonia?¡±


    Since she never suspected him, she figured that he only wanted her to leave so that the doctor could


    perform the check-up. She nodded inpliance and replied, ¡°Okay. It¡¯s gettingte and I should return


    to get started on your dinner. What do you feel like having?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Fuller can only have in, simple food for now,¡± the doctor interjected hastily, afraid that Toby might


    seize the chance to order food that would hinder his recovery.


    When the cardiologist interrupted, Toby shot him a dark look.


    The doctor turned to look at the nurse for help as he was baffled by Toby¡¯s sudden hostility. However,


    instead of empathy, the nurse gave an exaggerated eye-roll, as if to say, You should learn to read the


    room. Can¡¯t you see how Mr. Fuller¡¯s eyes lit up when thisdy asked him about dinner? You just had to


    go and ruin it for him by putting your foot in where it¡¯s not needed, huh. Serve you right for getting a


    death re from him.Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia saw the unspoken exchange between the doctor and the nurse and she couldn¡¯t help but sputter


    as she said, ¡°Well, whatever the doctor says goes. I¡¯m sure your stomach will appreciate some hot


    chowder and a slice of mincemeat pie. I¡¯ll go easy on the salt, of course.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. It¡¯s your call,¡± Toby replied as he retracted his icy gaze from the cardiologist and resumed


    his warm demeanor with Sonia.


    Frankly speaking, he was really craving for her beef bourguignon. He recalled her making it once; they


    had only just gotten married and it was her first time in the kitchen. She had attempted the beef


    bourguignon and the aroma that wafted through the kitchen was something heavenly.


    Unfortunately, as he was hypnotized back then and couldn¡¯t recognize her as the one whom he loved, he


    never bothered sampling it, regardless of how aromatic and enticing the dish had been. The scent of it


    lingered in the back of his memory, reminding him of what he had missed out on.


    Presently, he wanted nothing more than to taste that recipe. In fact, he desperately hoped that three


    years was enough time for him to try all the dishes Sonia had made for him back in the day. He could


    leave in peace if that dream were toe true.


    s, that dream was pushed back before Toby could even begin to realize it, for the doctor had decided


    to butt in at the wrong time.


    On a brighter note, Sonia was going to personally make him chowder and mincemeat pie, so Toby found


    sce in that. As of now, he had no choice but to patiently wait for the beef bourguignon.


    ¡°Chowder and mincemeat pie, then.¡± Sonia nodded with an air of finality. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take my leave now.


    I¡¯ll see you tonight.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Have a safe trip home,¡± Toby said, jerking his chin to casually bid goodbye.


    She left and closed the door behind her.


    Meanwhile, in the hospital room, it was only after he heard the door click shut that he shed his friendly


    facade and resumed his usual cold indifference. ¡°You may proceed,¡± he said in clear tones as he gazed


    icily at the doctor.


    He began to unbutton the loose shirt on him to reveal the toned muscles of his chest.


    At the sight of this, the cardiologist pulled out his stethoscope and went on to conduct a regr check-up


    on Toby¡¯s heart.


    The nurse, on the other hand, opened the patient¡¯s record book and noted all the necessary details.


    Once the check-up was done, the doctor kept his equipment away and pulled off his gloves before


    dutifully saying, ¡°Mr. Fuller, your heart is doing well for now, all things considered. As time goes on, it will


    begin to struggle to keep up with the rest of your body, and at that point, you¡¯ll start to feel worn out and


    exhausted. You may also experience shortness of breath and you¡¯ll find yourself having to dial back on


    rigorous forms of exercise. You have to stay away from all things that might stress your body; otherwise,


    you could very well copse.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± a stoic Toby replied as he pulled the front of his shirt to button it up. He sounded calm, so


    unfazed that it was almost like his heart problem was someone else¡¯s.


    After being bewildered by this, the doctor briefly wondered whether blue bloods had a higher threshold


    for panic.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you be blunt with me and tell me the chances of me finding a new heart at this point?¡± Toby


    asked, eyeing the doctor steadily after he had buttoned up his shirt.


    The doctor paused in thought before he responded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Fuller. I don¡¯t want to lie to you, and


    honestly speaking, the chances of finding the perfect heart donor are really low. Things wouldn¡¯t be so


    pessimistic if you had the same body and blood type as the average person, but on ount of your


    rather specific biological profile, it¡¯s almost impossible for you to look for apatible heart donor.


    Unless, of course, we¡¯re talking about your donor being a blood rtive.¡±


    After having said all this, he cast a furtive nce at Toby to see whether he had offended Toby, but just


    one look was all it took to make his heart leap to his throat.


    At the current moment, Toby looked close to murderous. He was grimacing, which meant that he was


    exceptionally exasperated. His gaze was arctic as he glowered apathetically at the doctor and hissed,


    ¡°Whatever you said just now, make sure you never repeat it.¡±


    In terms ofpatibility, the heart from a blood rtive was indeed the ideal choice for a transnt.


    However, the only blood rtives Toby had right now were his grandmother and Tyler and he certainly


    did not want them to give up their hearts for him. That would make him as savage as an animal.


    ¡°Yes, of course, I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Fuller. I promise I¡¯ll never spout such things again,¡± the cardiologist


    urgently apologized, immediately realizing that he had said something wrong.


    Toby waved his hand imperiously. ¡°You may leave.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The doctor exchanged a nervous look with the nurse before both of them respectfully left the


    room.


    They had only just gone out when Tom returned. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve given out the instructions


    ordingly and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll hear back from all the international airports on the matter of Den¡¯s


    aircraft in no time,¡± he reported as he stepped into the room with documents in hand.


    Toby hummed in acknowledgement.


    Tom handed the documents over and added, ¡°These documents require your signature, President Fuller.


    You can browse through them when you have the time.¡±


    ¡°Just leave them there,¡± Toby said tly as he pointed at the top of the headboard.


    After doing what he was told to do, Tom then briefly scanned the room. A grim look came into his eyes


    when he saw that Toby was on his own. ¡°President Fuller, has Miss Reed left?¡±


    ¡°She went home to make me dinner,¡± Toby exined, his features softening at the mention of Sonia.


    ¡°Dinner?¡± Tom repeated in surprise, his eyes wide.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Toby nodded smugly. ¡°What, are you surprised?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am.¡± There was no point in denying his shock, so Tom adjusted his sses and pointed out


    matter-of-factly, ¡°It¡¯s not in Miss Reed¡¯s nature to voluntarily make dinner for you.¡±

 Chapter 456

    Chapter 456


    Chapter 456 A Man of Honor


    Judging by the indifference and cold hostility with which Sonia had usually treated Toby, it was odd to


    think that she would offer to make him dinner now. More to the point, it wasn¡¯t the first time he had


    injured himself while saving her, but she never bothered to thank him with such fervor before, much less


    offer to make dinner for him. The very idea of it would leave one in a state of disbelief.


    Toby noticed the surprised look on Tom¡¯s face and knew what he thought. An amused smirk tipped up on


    the corner of Toby¡¯s lips and he sounded supremely pleased as he gloated, ¡°Of course it¡¯s in her nature


    to do so and she won¡¯t stop at dinner. She¡¯ll personally take care of me for the rest of my recovery


    process.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Tom¡¯s jaw dropped as his eyes bulged to the size of saucers.


    Toby threw him a withering look. ¡°Why would I make this up?¡±


    That question was enough to render Tom speechless. Of course he wouldn¡¯t make this up. He wouldn¡¯t


    get anything from lying to me, which means Miss Reed actually will take care of him! At that thought, he


    hesitantly asked, ¡°President Fuller, did you suggest this proposition, or did she¡ª¡±


    ¡°She offered it on her own ord,¡± Toby brusquely interrupted.


    Tom rubbed his chin while pondering on this. ¡°I guess she¡¯s doing this out of gratitude for you after you


    saved her from certain death. So, what¡¯s the n now, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Toby asked with narrowed eyes.


    Tom stared like the answer was obvious. ¡°I¡¯m talking about your chance at reconciling with Miss Reed, of


    course! Isn¡¯t this the perfect opportunity that you¡¯ve been waiting for? You¡¯ve never risked your life to


    save hers before, but this time, you did so. It¡¯s a heart-rending and moving tale of your bravado! The fact


    that Miss Reed has willingly offered to nurse you back to health just goes to show that she doesn¡¯t hate


    you anymore; she owes you a really huge favor and you could press on that advantage and ask her to


    marry you again. There¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t agree!¡±


    It went without saying that a chance like this was extraordinarily rare and if Toby were to act on it now, he


    would most definitely seed.


    However, he had never once considered this and even as he listened to Tom¡¯s suggestion, he remained


    impassive. Instead, he countered impassively, ¡°I won¡¯t do it.¡±


    A baffled Tom demanded, ¡°Why not?¡± He couldn¡¯t understand why Toby wasn¡¯t taking the chance to


    reconcile with Sonia, even though Toby had risked his life to save hers, which, if anything, was a


    testimony of his love for her.


    Toby slowly reached for a document from the stack of papers and flipped through it. ¡°If I were to do that,


    it would be tantamount to emotional ckmail. I would never resort to such underhanded methods; if I


    wanted her back, I would pursue her boldly and honorably until shees back to me on her own


    ord. Anything else less than that would only make me a scum.¡±


    Then, he paused and shot Tom a deadly look. ¡°Moreover, using her gratitude to my advantage would


    only reignite her hatred for me. Even if she were to agree to marry me again, we¡¯ll end up with nothing


    but grudges between us, which is far from what I want. Do you understand?¡±


    Upon hearing the displeasure in Toby¡¯s voice, Tom bowed his head in apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not having


    considered all these, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Don¡¯t bring this up again,¡± Toby warned tly as he opened the cap of his fountain pen.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom agreed with a solemn nod.


    Then, Toby signed his name on the document with habitual grace and asked, ¡°By the way, any word on


    Carl?¡±


    ¡°That guy?¡± Disgruntlement shed in Tom¡¯s eyes as he answered, ¡°He retired from the fashion industry


    and returned to Westsanshire.¡±


    ¡°Westsanshire?¡± Toby had opened another folder from the stack, but upon hearing his assistant¡¯s


    answer, he paused and looked up at Tom. ¡°When did that happen?¡±


    ¡°Just yesterday morning. I expect we¡¯ll hear about the return of the real Young Master Hayes in the


    business industry soon enough.¡±


    As he twisted his pen, Toby asked, ¡°Does that mean Carl has gone back with the intention of taking his


    ce as the rightful heir to the Hayes Family fortune?¡±


    ¡°Most probably,¡± Tom affirmed. ¡°Whatever Den has done this time in pursuit of the Hayes Family¡¯s


    fortune must have angered Carl to no end. At this rate, Carl wouldn¡¯t stop until he¡¯s brought down Den


    and the other illegitimate children of the Hayes Family.¡±


    ¡°Carl will definitely track down Den first. Keep an eye on him because if we do, then the chances of us


    locating Den will be greater,¡± a somber Toby instructed.


    ¡°Why would you say that, President Fuller?¡± Tom pressed as he gazed at Toby in bewilderment.


    As he looked up, Toby asked, ¡°Remember the top hacker who has been helping Sonia all this while?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. You¡¯re talking about Fox Eyes, aren¡¯t you? The one who kidnapped Tina and led the


    Triforce Enterprise to lose five hundred million?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one, and Fox Eyes is none other than Carl himself,¡± Toby exined.


    Tom gasped audibly. ¡°How is that possible? We suspected he was Fox Eyes and we even looked into it,


    but the investigation showed differently.¡±


    ¡°Hiding one¡¯s identity and personal information is but child¡¯s y for a hacker,¡± Toby drawled sardonically


    as he read the document in hand.


    A stunned Tom was silent for a moment. Then, he drew in a breath and found his voice again. ¡°So, we


    have yed into his hands after all. Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller, I¡¯ll have someone keep an eye on


    Carl.¡± Carl is a hacker, and he¡¯ll likely track down Den before we do. As long as we have eyes on him,


    we¡¯ll have as good a chance at finding Den as he does.


    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re dismissed. You cane back for these documents tonight,¡± Toby ordered.


    Tom straightened his posture and bowed respectfully as he excused himself, ¡°Very well, sir. I¡¯ll be taking


    my leave now.¡± With that, he turned to walk out of the room.


    Meanwhile, at Bayside Residence, Sonia was wearing an apron as she stood at the kitchen stove with a


    porcindle in hand to stir the chicken chowder simmering in the pot.


    A hearty bowl of chicken chowder was a product of attention and she needed to stir it while it cooked or it


    would stick and crust over the bottom of the pot.


    At this moment, the doorbell rang and pulled her out of her chef¡¯s trance. She threw a quick nce at the


    chicken chowder and decided that it was almost done. After turning off the stove, she walked out of the


    kitchen and toward the threshold where she asked into the inte, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Charles¡¯ voice sounded from the device. ¡°It¡¯s me, Sonia.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Charles weighed down by


    carrier bags of supplements. A smile twitched on her lips as she asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Evidently to see you and also to bring you a couple of things,¡± he announced. Then, he handed the


    carrier bags over to her and said, ¡°Here you go. These are all the supplements that are supposed to help


    with muscle recovery. Give them a try.¡±


    Now that she was amused by his gesture, Sonia was torn between epting the bags and refusing


    them, but she knew that choosing thetter would only prompt Charles to shove them into her hands.


    Oh, whatever, I¡¯ll just take them. ¡°Thanks,¡± she responded cheerily as she grabbed the bags of


    supplements.


    Suddenly, Charles sniffed the air in the room. ¡°Something smells good. Are you cooking, baby?¡±


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    ¡°I am,¡± she replied as she took out a pair of flip-flops from the shoe cab for him. ¡°Come on in.¡±


    He bent over to change out of his loafers and into the flip-flops before he followed Sonia into the


    apartment. After that, he rubbed his hands together greedily and mused, ¡°Looks like I came at the right


    time! So, tell me what¡¯s for dinner today, baby.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no menu, at least not while dinner isn¡¯t ready,¡± Sonia answered as she ced the supplements


    on the coffee table.


    He raised a brow. ¡°What, no dinner? Then, what¡¯s with the delightful smelling from the kitchen? It


    smells like chicken chowder and¡­ Is that butter? Are you making mincemeat pie?¡±


    Visibly taken aback by his deduction, Sonia gasped. ¡°You must have the nose of a bloodhound! You can


    tell what I¡¯m cooking just by sniffing the air?¡±


    Charles chuckled, looking proud of himself. ¡°Well, of course! My keen sense of smell is a force to be


    reckoned with, so don¡¯t even think about lying to me.¡± He wagged his index finger. ¡°Now that I think about


    it, I haven¡¯t had chicken chowder for a while. Could you get me a bowl of it, baby?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± she said firmly. ¡°I didn¡¯t make enough to spare you a bowl of it.¡±


    ¡°Aw, why?¡± he whined, feigning dejection.


    ¡°Because the chowder¡¯s for Toby,¡± she answered bluntly.


    ¡°What?¡± The look of mock exasperation on his face instantly disappeared as he regarded Sonia with a


    serious gaze. ¡°Baby, are you actually going to take care of him?¡±


    ¡°Did you think I was joking about it?¡±


    He nodded grimly. ¡°I really did.¡±

 Chapter 457

    Chapter 457


    Chapter 457 The Act of Spoon-Feeding


    Sonia rolled her eyes at Charles. ¡°Look, do whatever you want to, but you¡¯ll have to wait a bit if you insist


    on having dinner here because the chowder is off-limits.¡±


    He pouted like a child. ¡°Fine, I guess I¡¯ll let him have the chowder, seeing as he risked death to save you


    and all that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± she said with a grin. ¡°Now, sit down while I whip up a couple of dishes. It¡¯ll only take


    a moment.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Charles nodded and headed for the couch.


    Sonia, on the other hand, wore her apron once more and returned to the kitchen where she resumed her


    cooking.


    True to her words, it didn¡¯t take long for the dishes to be done. They pulled their own chairs at the dining


    table and got ready to dig in.


    He had only just picked up his utensils when he suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, baby, I saw the suitcase


    next to the coffee table. Are you going on a trip?¡±


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°Not exactly. I¡¯m making a trip to my grandfather¡¯s country house,¡± she answered after swallowing a


    mouthful of food.


    With a curious gaze, he probed, ¡°Well, what are you going there for?¡±


    ¡°To help my grandfather look for his journal.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that it? Then, maybe I should go back with you,¡± he offered after taking a spoonful of one of the


    dishes.


    Sonia eyed him with suspicion. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tag along.¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. I can be your driver. The muscles on your back have yet to heal and driving on your own


    would be torture; you¡¯ll only return feeling worse. I¡¯m offering mypanionship as a matter of


    precaution and it¡¯d also ease my worries,¡± Charles exined cheerily.


    As though she was reminded of her injuries, she reached to feel her back. A gentle prod was all it took to


    make a sharp ache re up on her back. She knew that there was no way she could make a three-hour


    drive down to the countryside and back to the city again; sitting down for hours on end would make her


    back shrivel up in pain. Besides, her driver had taken the next day off in light of his daughter¡¯s birthday.


    Since things were already at this stage, Sonia was left with no choice but to look for a new driver for her


    trip. ¡°In that case, you cane along. We leave at 9:00AM tomorrow,¡± she said as she took a sip of


    soup.


    Charles nodded eagerly. ¡°Great, so that¡¯s settled. I¡¯ll pick you up tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she replied.


    When dinner was done and over with, the both of them left Sonia¡¯s apartment. After having exited the


    gated area of Bayside Residence, she turned down his offer to drop her off at the hospital. The drive


    from her ce to the First Hospital was forty minutes, which seemed manageable to her.


    Upon seeing how stubborn she was, he knew better than to try and dissuade her. However, just as she


    had opened her car door and was about to slide into the driver¡¯s seat, he suddenly said, ¡°Hey, baby?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She held the edge of the door and gave him a look of askance.


    There was a hard edge to his features as he warned, ¡°Take care that Toby doesn¡¯t try to have his way


    with you while you¡¯re looking after him.¡±


    She sputtered at this. ¡°What¡¯s going on in that mind of yours, Charles? I wouldn¡¯t just let him have his


    way with me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious, baby. You have to watch your back. Toby still hasn¡¯t given up on you and now that he¡¯s


    saved you from death, I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to use your gratitude as leverage and ask you for some


    strange favor. You and I both know you wouldn¡¯t turn him down if that were to happen because you owe


    him one.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia frowned, but she regained herposure in the next second and shed a


    quick smile at Charles. ¡°He¡¯s not like that. I know him and he¡¯s not such a low-life that he¡¯d resort to


    something like that.¡±


    This wouldn¡¯t be the first time she owed Toby a favor, after all, given that he had helped her out with the


    bank loan that racked up to billions and the project coborations.


    He could have used those as valid reasons to force her into returning his favor in whatever way he


    pleased and she would have been cornered. However, he never did and she was firm in her stance that


    it wasn¡¯t in his nature to do something as underhanded as that.


    At the sight of her nonchnce, Charles sighed in resignation. ¡°Fine, then. I rest my case. Anyway, just


    keep your guard up around him and remember that I¡¯m just one call away if you run into trouble.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± she said with a reassuring nod before waving goodbye at him as she ducked into the car and


    drove away.


    Forty minutester, she arrived outside Toby¡¯s room. The door was closed, but she picked up on muffled


    speaking voicesing from the other side, which meant Toby was likely engaged in a phone call.


    Sonia raised a hand and knocked on the door. It opened the next moment to reveal a middle-aged


    woman wearing a caretaker¡¯s uniform on the other side. The woman gave Sonia a polite smile and


    asked, ¡°Hello, Miss. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to see President Fuller. I brought him dinner,¡± Sonia informed, showing the woman the thermal


    sk that she was carrying.


    Realization immediately dawned upon the caretaker. ¡°Oh, you must be Miss Reed.¡±


    An astonished Sonia asked, ¡°You know me?¡±


    The caretaker smiled and nodded in earnest. ¡°Yes. When I came in to attend to Mr. Fuller earlier, he told


    me that a youngdy will be dropping by with his dinner and that I was to let her in without any question.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Sonia responded after hearing the exnation. So, he told the caretaker about me in advance.


    ¡°Pleasee in, Miss Reed. Mr. Fuller has been waiting for you for a while now,¡± the caretaker ushered


    as she stepped to the side to make way for Sonia.


    Sonia raised a brow. ¡°A while?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. He sent me out to the balcony ten minutes ago to see if there was any ¡®pretty youngdy


    with a thermal sk¡¯ approaching the ward,¡± the caretaker confessed with good humor.


    ¡°My goodness.¡± Soniaughed. ¡°Thank you for taking the trouble.¡±


    She figured Toby was really ravenous if he had been so desperate for her arrival. Then again, it was


    drawing close to 8:00PM and she was admittedlyte.


    As such, with the thermal sk in hand, she walked into the hospital ward.


    At first nce, he was leaning against the headboard with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep. However,


    she knew for a fact that he was wide awake because it had only been moments ago that she heard him


    speaking on the phone.


    She carefully tread over to his bed before she ced the thermal sk on the beside table as quietly as


    possible. Then, she softly called out his name. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    The sound of her voice appeared to have awakened him whereby he turned to fix his gaze on her as he


    said, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Sonia nodded apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have kept you waiting. I made some chicken


    chowder and mincemeat pie and don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s all low-sodium. Here, see if you like them.¡±


    As she said this, she opened up the sk and proceeded todle the chowder into a bowl.


    Toby took in her gesture and his features softened as he replied, ¡°I¡¯ll like anything you make.¡±


    She froze when she heard this, but just as quickly, she brushed it off and went on to heap chowder into


    the bowl. After having done so, she handed the bowl over to him. ¡°Careful, it¡¯s still hot.¡±


    Then, Toby propped himself up with one arm and having straightened his posture, he graciously took the


    bowl and responded, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    However, it wasn¡¯t until after he had taken the bowl that they both realized his other arm wasn¡¯t


    indisposable. Needless to say, he couldn¡¯t handle his utensils and simultaneously hold his bowl with just


    one hand.


    He exchanged a look with Sonia, which caused the atmosphere to instantly grow awkward.


    A few secondster, a somewhat embarrassed Sonia cleared her throat and offered hesitantly, ¡°I-I guess


    I could just¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get down from bed,¡± Toby interrupted, moving to put his bowl on the bedside table.


    However, Sonia stopped him from doing so and cautioned, ¡°No, it won¡¯t do you any good to move around


    so liberally right now. Why don¡¯t I spoon-feed you instead?¡±


    He stiffened at this as he was surprised by her offer. Turning to darkly gaze at her, he asked in a hoarse


    voice, ¡°Are you hearing yourself? You want to spoon-feed me?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she answered, a little defensive. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    When he saw how unaffected she was, Toby knew that she hadn¡¯t quite caught the problem that could


    arise from the offer. Since he was entertained by the idea, he let out a low chuckle and pointed out, ¡°In


    case you haven¡¯t noticed, Sonia, spoon-feeding someone is a rather intimate gesture. Are you sure you


    want to go through with it?¡±


    Sonia gaped at him. True enough, she hadn¡¯t thought about the underlying intimacy of her offer at all.


    Although she was flustered by this, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to take the offer back or it would just seem


    in cruel.


    Or worse, it would seem like there was some spark between them that she was trying to ignore.


    After considering all these, she finally took a deep breath and looked at Toby¡¯s arm, which was wrapped


    in a sling. ¡°You¡¯re the patient and I¡¯m your caretaker. It¡¯s only normal that I spoon-feed you and there¡¯s no


    intimacy here whatsoever. Now, open your mouth, President Fuller.¡±


    She took up the bowl that he had ced on the bedside table earlier before she brought a spoonful of


    chowder to her lips, blowing on it to cool it before feeding it to him.


    Toby watched her with endearment and he nced at the chowder in front of him, which smelled


    delicious. Atst, he parted his lips like Sonia told him to.

 Chapter 458

    Chapter 458


    Chapter 458 Toby¡¯s n


    After having fed Toby a mouthful of chowder, Sonia ced the spoon aside and asked expectantly,


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious,¡± he said after he swallowed the chowder to give her a reassuring nod.


    She broke into a smile. ¡°Good. I¡¯m d.¡± d that all the stock-brewing, the dicing, the simmering and


    the stirring are all worth this moment of praise, she thought. Then, she brought another spoonful of


    chowder to his lips and prompted, ¡°Here, have some more.¡±


    And just like that, the both of them fell into a rhythm and before they knew it, the bowl was practically


    polished clean.


    Sonia rose from her seat and asked, ¡°Would you like another bowl?¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯m full.¡±


    ¡°Already?¡± She nced at the empty bowl in her hand and frowned slightly. ¡°You barely ate, though!¡±


    More importantly, the bowl she used was a small one and there couldn¡¯t have been much chowder in it to


    fill him up so quickly, not while he was a man with a six-foot-three build.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually full,¡± he insisted calmly as he took the mouthwash the caretaker had given him. ¡°They gave


    me another bottle of IV after you left in the afternoon. Apparently, the fluid contains some substance that


    makes one feel a little bloated.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Sonia nodded at this new information. ¡°Well then, I won¡¯t try to force-feed you. I¡¯ll keep the


    rest of the chowder in the fridge, so maybe you can get the caretaker to heat it up for you for breakfast


    tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Toby replied.


    She brought the sk into the kitchte of the suite and returned to the room after she had kept


    everything in ce.


    Upon seeing that he was the only one in the room, she nced around and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the


    caretaker?¡±


    ¡°I let her off her shift,¡± he exined with a book in his good hand.


    As she walked over to his bed, she pressed, ¡°What are you going to do at night if you let her off early like


    this?¡±


    ¡°My legs arepletely fine and I¡¯m perfectly capable of being on my own for the night,¡± he said matter-


    of-factly as he looked up at her.


    Now that she saw his point, Sonia nodded. After dusting off her hands, she began to make her way to


    where she had left her purse.


    At the sight of this, Toby¡¯s gaze darkened. ¡°Are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°I should be. I mean, it¡¯s already 9:00PM,¡± she pointed out as she took her purse and checked her


    belongings.


    He cast aside the book in his hand and asked, ¡°Would you mind staying here for a while longer?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She cast him a bewildered look.


    ¡°I figured we could talk for a bit. A friendly chat.¡± He steadily met her gaze. ¡°Please?¡±


    She nced at the time and after a moment of hesitation, she relented. Nodding in agreement, she said,


    ¡°Very well, but I must leave at 10:00PM. I need to get some sleep before my trip to the countryside


    tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± A satisfied smile pulled on Toby¡¯s lips.


    Sonia ced her purse down and took her seat once more next to the bed. He had asked that she stay


    for a chat, but in all honesty, it was more of a crash course on business management than a casual


    conversation.


    The whole time, he spared not one second on pleasantries as he divulged business management tips to


    her and taught her the best way to navigate the toughmercial world. He even touched on the ideal


    direction that Paradigm Co. should take in terms of corporate growth and the various industries that the


    company should invest in.


    Initially, he had wanted to coach her on these things over the course of a hopefully developing friendship,


    but following the drastic shortening of his lifespan, he now only had three good years, during which his


    body would slowly wear out just to keep him alive.


    At this point, Toby no longer had enough time to be her mentor and guide her through life in the industry.


    He had to teach her everything he knew before his body started to give out.


    The business world was cruel; it would mercilessly chew and spit Sonia out as every one of its nooks


    and crevices was marked with scheme. She was still green, so there was no way she could understand


    how dark and twisted the industry could be.


    If he could continue living, she would never have to discover how terrifying the industry was. He would


    have shielded her from all of it and kept her rose-colored sses intact even if the industry rained bullets


    on it.


    s, the chances of him staying alive after three years were too slim for there to be room for hope. He


    was destined to wither away and leave her unprotected, but he would do whatever he could to make her


    stronger. Going forward, she would be on her own as she tried to survive the industry.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was admittedly taken aback by Toby¡¯s sudden coaching. She couldn¡¯t shake the


    feeling that he was urgently trying to make her absorb all his pointers, like he was leaving her with them.


    However, she brushed off such thoughts and paid attention, clinging to his every word.


    These were valuable notes that defined his career in the business industry, the very same ones that


    helped him to thrive and survive. Experiences like his were hard toe by, much less be narrated in


    person, and she didn¡¯t want to miss out on any detail.


    Time ticked by, and soon, it was 11:00PM.


    Somewhere during the conversation, Sonia had forgotten that she was supposed to return home at


    10.00PM and as it is, she was already fast asleep with her head resting on her arms.


    Toby nced down at her and called out softly, ¡°Sonia?¡±


    Her lips twitched, but he could tell she was sleeping soundly, for she did not wake up at all.


    She looked so peaceful when she slept that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to stir her awake. ncing around


    the room, he saw the jacket she had hung up on the rack next to the bed. He lifted the covers off and


    reached to grab the jacket, then draped it over Sonia¡¯s back.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that one of his arms was busted, he would have carried her into the adjoining


    room meant for caretakers who stayed over the night and let Sonia rest in a proper bed.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    At the thought of this, his eyes fell on the cast on his arm and a rueful, imperceptible sigh escaped him.


    After having made sure that the jacket wouldn¡¯t fall off her shoulders, Toby reached out to move her hair


    out of her face so that she could breathe better while she slept.


    He had only just done all this when the door to the hospital room opened. Tom came bustling in with


    documents in hand and greeted instantly, ¡°President Fuller, I¡ª¡±


    However, before Tom could finish speaking, Toby shot him a freezing look that made him mp his


    mouth shut. He had no idea what he did wrong at first, but thankfully, he snapped out of his confusion in


    time to notice Sonia¡¯s sleeping frame as she slouched over the bed. At that moment, he finally


    understood the warning look in Toby¡¯s eyes.


    As it turned out, his loud greeting had almost woken Sonia up.


    ¡°Sorry, President Fuller,¡± Tom whispered apologetically as he tread lightly over to the bed. ¡°I didn¡¯t know


    Miss Reed was here.¡±


    Toby retracted his icy gaze and decided to go easy on his assistant. ¡°Carry her into the adjoining room.


    She¡¯ll only strain her back if she keeps sleeping like this.¡±


    ¡°Me? Carry her?¡± Tom pointed at himself in shock, thinking that he must have heard Toby wrong.


    ¡°Well, I obviously can¡¯t do it since I only have one functioning arm at the moment,¡± Toby responded


    sarcastically. He understood Tom¡¯s concern, but it wasn¡¯t as if he liked seeing anyone touch Sonia either.


    Beggars can¡¯t be choosers. If I could, I would have carried her myself.


    Tom¡¯s gaze fell on the cast on Toby¡¯s arm. Suddenly at a loss for words, he set the documents aside and


    gingerly proceeded to carry Sonia.


    ¡°Be gentle, so you don¡¯t wake her,¡± Toby warned again, the timber in his voice more prominent this time.


    Tom mumbled begrudgingly, ¡°I¡¯m already as gentle as can be.¡±


    ¡°Come out as soon as you¡¯ve ced her on the bed. I don¡¯t want you hovering there.¡± With that, Toby


    pped his hand, urging Tom to carry Sonia into the room at once.


    In a show of obedience, Tom agreeably did as he was told and headed for the adjoining room with Sonia


    in his arms.


    On the other hand, Toby turned to stare after his assistant like he would do something bad to Sonia.


    Aware that Toby was staring daggers at him, Tom felt a chill run down his spine. He didn¡¯t dawdle in the


    adjoining room and it only took him a minute to ce Sonia on the bed and pull the covers over her.


    Having done this, he hurried out of the room.


    It was only then did the hostility leave Toby¡¯s gaze. ¡°So, what are you doing here at such ate hour?¡± he


    asked Tom.


    Now that they were about to discuss something serious, Tom picked up the documents that he had


    brought in earlier and reported, ¡°Well, we have just heard from all the international airports and none of


    them saw Den¡¯s aircraftnding on any of their tracks.¡±


    ¡°None?¡± Toby¡¯s expression grew somber.


    Tom nodded. ¡°None at all.¡±


    ¡°Have you looked into the possibility of fake identities?¡± Toby asked, his eyes searching Tom¡¯s face.


    While shaking his head, Tom exined, ¡°I did consider the possibility that Den and his men would be


    using fake identities for boarding, but in the end, I thought it was unlikely. These days, fake identities are


    less foolproof than they once were, and with Carl being a hacker, he must have already perused through


    the passenger records at all the major airports. He would have known and made a move as soon as


    Den and his men used fake identities for boarding. It¡¯s more likely that Den didn¡¯t even board a


    ne at all and that he¡¯s hiding out somewhere.¡±


    Toby lifted his chin. ¡°I seem to recall there being ferry ports in Seafield. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. When he btedly realized what Toby insinuated, he asked incredulously, ¡°President


    Fuller, do you think Den has smuggled his way out of Seafield through a ferry port?¡±


    ¡°If he wants to cross international borders, smuggling out from a ferry port would be his safest bet and he


    wouldn¡¯t be easily caught too. The probability of him using this to his advantage is high,¡± Toby deduced


    with narrowed eyes.

 Chapter 459

    Chapter 459


    Chapter 459 Be Nicer Toward Him


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, then we were a step toote from the beginning. It¡¯s possible that at this moment, Den


    has already escaped abroad,¡± Tom spoke with a heavy voice as his brows knitted.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Once Den has gone abroad, it is almost impossible for us to find him.¡±


    After all, the world was so big, so who knew which country Den went to? Although Toby was just as


    powerful and influential abroad, it was nothing like his home country. There wasn¡¯t much he could do


    once Den had the intention to hide.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tom sighed.


    Toby rubbed his fingers for a moment. ¡°Have our people focus on Carl¡¯s next movements. If Carl sends


    someone out of East Melrose, then it is likely that he has found Den.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded.


    Then, Toby looked at the time. ¡°Okay, you should make a move first. Come back tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Thus, Tom turned to leave.


    Shortly after his assistant left, Toby lifted the covers off the bed, took Sonia¡¯s bag and walked toward the


    adjacent room. When he arrived at the door, he gently opened it. The lights in the room were switched


    off, but he didn¡¯t turn them on either. Instead, he took out his phone and walked in with gentle steps while


    relying on the light from the device¡¯s disy screen.


    Then, he stopped next to Sonia¡¯s bed and ced the bag by the bedside. As he lowered his head, he


    stared at the sleeping woman on the bed, his eyes filled both with passion and regret.


    After what felt like eternity, Toby¡¯s legs went numb, so he bent down to lift the corner of the quiet. Then,


    hey next to Sonia before he stretched out with his arm to gently embrace her. He drifted off to sleep


    moments after he closed his eyes.


    Just after dawn the next morning, he woke up and opened his eyes. He turned to look at the woman


    asleep in his arms with gentle eyes before he raised his hand to ruffle her hair. Finally, he gently removed


    her hand on his waist before he lifted the quilt and got out of bed. With that, he quietly left the room


    without making any sound as if he had never entered the room.


    2 hourster, Sonia woke up or rather, she was thrown awake by her ringing phone. She stretched out


    with a hand from under the covers with a frown and moved toward the headboard. As a result, she did


    not manage to get the phone, but she pushed down the bag left by Toby instead. Thus, the purse fell to


    the floor with a thud.


    Now that she was startled by the sound, she was instantly awake. She opened her eyes and sat up while


    looking at the unfamiliar room, her mind confused for a moment. Where is this?


    She couldn¡¯t think much about it because the phone in her bag that was now on the floor rang


    continuously, reminding her to answer the call. So, she hurriedly lifted the quilt and stepped on the carpet


    with her bare feet before bending down to retrieve her purse. Then, she found her phone within seconds.


    Since it was Charles calling her, she hastily answered, ¡°Hi, Charles.¡±


    ¡°Baby, where are you? Are you not at home?¡± Charles¡¯ anxious loud voice came from the phone.


    Soniabed her hair with her fingers and apologized, ¡°Sorry, Charles. I¡¯m not at home.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not at home?!¡± At this moment, he was standing in front of her apartment door and asked with a


    frown. ¡°Where did you go early in the morning? Don¡¯t forget that we have to drive to the countryside


    today.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t forget, but I don¡¯t know where I am now.¡±


    ¡°What?! You don¡¯t know where you are?!¡± The corners of his mouth twitched.


    She grunted and turned to look around the room. The room was notrge; in fact, it was much smaller


    than her own room, but it came with all the furniture and things she would need. However, all of it was


    expensive, so it was obviously not an ordinary room either, but why was she here?


    Sonia wrinkled her brows to think hard, but her mind had no memory of how shended in this room.


    Instead, she remembered paying attention to Tobyst night as he disclosed his experience of managing


    shopping malls. Then, as she listened¡­


    Her eyes widened as she realized something and she hurriedly walked toward the door. ¡°Charles, wait.


    Let me confirm.¡±


    After saying that, she arrived at the door and opened it. The moment it was opened, the familiar hospital


    bed and patient appeared in her vision and she immediately understood that her guess was right¡ªshe


    was indeed in thepanion room of Toby¡¯s ward.


    Soon, Sonia gradually understood why she was here and why she couldn¡¯t remember what happened


    after listening to Toby talkingst night. It was because she fell asleep and he had someone bring her


    into thispanion room. Now that she thought about it, she suddenly breathed a huge sigh of relief as


    her nervousness about being in an unfamiliar environment gradually dissipated. She ced the phone to


    her ear again. ¡°Charles, I know where I am now. I am at the hospital.¡±


    At the other end of the phone, Charles wrinkled his eyebrows. ¡°Baby, you¡¯re not at Toby¡¯s ward, are


    you?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Sonia nodded and did not deny it.


    He pursed his lips and asked, ¡°You didn¡¯te back after you went therest night, right?¡±


    Upon hearing that, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out.


    Then, he gritted his teeth. ¡°Baby, was it Toby who told you to stay?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I fell asleep and that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t go back.¡±


    She fell asleep? Charles felt guilty about having wronged Toby and softened his attitude. ¡°Okay, did he


    do anything to you then?¡±


    It was enough to make Soniaugh aloud. ¡°What are you thinking? He is a patient at a hospital. What


    can he do to me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case. He just can¡¯t use one arm; the other one is fine,¡± he muttered sullenly.


    A helpless Sonia shook her head. ¡°Okay Charles, I know you have a negative opinion of him, but there is


    no need to think so badly of him. After all, he saved me and Carl, so I hope you will be nicer toward him.¡±


    ¡°I know. My attitude is better toward him now. If it were before, I would have whacked him.¡± Charles


    huffed before he asked, ¡°Baby, when will you be back?¡±


    Thus, she looked at the time. Since it was already 8:00 AM, she opened her mouth to say, ¡°I¡¯ll be right


    back.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    The call ended, so she kept her phone away and walked out of thepanion room. Outside the ward,


    Toby heard footsteps and opened his eyes before he sat up with one hand propped on the bed


    underneath him. ¡°Was it Charles?¡±


    Sonia was still cautiously walking, trying to be as quiet as possible when she suddenly heard his voice.


    Now that she was startled, she subconsciously stopped and patted her chest in shock. ¡°You weren¡¯t


    asleep?¡±


    ¡°I woke up long ago, but I heard you talking on the phone, so I did not disturb you.¡± Toby smiled gently at


    her.


    She lowered her hand. ¡°I see.¡±


    He opened his mouth to apologize, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for scaring you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Sonia gently shook her head.


    Toby looked at her and confessed, ¡°I heard about the call earlier.¡±


    Then, she turned to him. ¡°And?¡±


    As she didn¡¯t say bad things about him during her conversation with Charles, she remained calm without


    any need to be nervous.


    With the slight curve of his lips, Toby responded, ¡°I was happy to hear that you told Charles to treat me


    better.¡± Does this mean that she is now feeling differently about me and is beginning to understand that


    the real me is actually better than the hypnotized me?


    When she saw the faint joy in his eyes, Sonia inexplicably felt better. However, she didn¡¯t show it on her


    face; she merely pursed her mouth and probed, ¡°Why are you so happy about this? I¡¯m just telling the


    truth.¡±

 Chapter 460

    Chapter 460


    Chapter 460 Don¡¯t Want to Say Goodbye


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m happy. This is the first time I¡¯ve heard you defend me in front of Charles and the others.¡±


    Toby spoke as he leaned against the headboard.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes shed for a moment before she lowered her eyelids. ¡°You are my benefactor, so I naturally


    have to defend you; otherwise, I would be inhuman.¡±


    ¡°Just a benefactor?¡± He looked at her.


    Her heart skipped a beat whereby her eyelids drooped even lower. ¡°What else?¡±


    He merely stared at her and didn¡¯t say anything else. It was only a long whileter that he gently opened


    his thin lips and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m okay with being your benefactor too. Let¡¯s have our breakfast first.¡±


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    Then, he pointed to the Thermos sk at the bedside, which was what the caregiver had bought earlier in


    the morning. Sonia turned her head to look before she nodded and walked over to open the container.


    Afterward, she divided the breakfast into two portions¡ªone for Toby and the other for herself. She didn¡¯t


    start digging in, but rather she picked up Toby¡¯s portion and sat by his bedside, ready to feed him like she


    didst night. However, he refused the offer by gently blocking the spoon while saying, ¡°You should eat


    first and feed me after that.¡±


    ¡°Is there any difference?¡± a suspicious Sonia asked.


    His thin lips moved slightly as he exined, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be hungry.¡±


    As she heard these words, something moved in her heart whereby she began to look at him in a


    complicated way. While maintaining her hold on the spoon in her hand, she moved her lips, but took her


    time to respond. ¡°I¡¯m okay; I¡¯m not ravenous. Besides, you¡¯re the patient, so you should eat first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a man,¡± Toby suddenly proimed.


    Sonia tilted her head, not quiteprehending what he meant. It¡¯s just breakfast. What is the relevance


    of that to his gender?


    While staring at the confusion in her eyes, he smiled lightly. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m a patient, but I¡¯m also a man.


    And as a man,dies first is a basic etiquette, which is why you should fill your stomach first.¡±


    ¡°Um¡ª¡±


    She wanted to reply, but he interrupted, ¡°Listen to me.¡±


    Since Toby¡¯s tone carried a hint of dominance, Sonia finally agreed. ¡°Okay then.¡±


    She picked up the spoon to take her share and proceeded to dig in. However, she never meant to finish


    it, which was why after she took a bite, she ced the bowl down and went to take his container again.


    When he saw this, his eyebrows twitched. ¡°You¡¯re¡ª¡±


    Sonia scooped a spoonful of food and brought it to his lips. ¡°I¡¯ll take a bite and feed you a spoonful, so


    that we can eat together and no one will go hungry. Isn¡¯t that good?¡±


    Toby froze for a moment as he obviously was never expecting her to think of this solution. For a moment,


    he couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea, but don¡¯t you find it troublesome?¡±


    ¡°If I thought it was troublesome, I wouldn¡¯t havee to take care of you. Now, open your mouth,¡± she


    ordered after slightly smiling.


    Thus, he did as he was told. The two of them took nearly 20 minutes to finish their breakfast together


    through this method. Since she had to constantly change bowls, it was highly likely the most tiring


    breakfast that she ever had, but instead of feeling exhausted, her heart felt happy. How is it possible to


    feel happy just from eating such light and tasteless food? I¡¯m probably bewitched.


    Upon thinking of this, she shook her head.


    When Toby saw this, he asked with concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you ufortable?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia hurriedly stopped shaking her head.


    He was still worried. ¡°Did you not sleep wellst night?¡±


    When she heard him mentioning aboutst night, she suddenly thought of something and looked at him.


    ¡°President Fuller, you had someone carry me into the roomst night, right? Thank you, though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing; it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Toby waved his hand.


    Sonia packed the Thermos sk and said, ¡°It¡¯ste, President Fuller. I¡¯ll take my leave for today and see


    you tomorrow.¡±


    Then, she took her bag. He knew where she was headed to and merely nodded. ¡°Go, but be careful on


    the way and be safe.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Sonia smiled and waved at him as she walked toward the door while Toby watched her leaving.


    She also felt his gaze on her all the time. If it were before, she wouldn¡¯t have turned back even though


    she knew he was looking at her, but she couldn¡¯t ignore it now.


    He was her benefactor and if she deliberately ignored him, she would feel ungrateful and guilty. So, after


    she went out, she stopped slightly before turning to him with a smile. ¡°Bye!¡±


    Toby was startled as he obviously wasn¡¯t expecting her to turn to bid him adieu. He had subconsciously


    wanted to say goodbye, but he thought better of it and simply nodded as a response.


    Not thinking that there was anything wrong, Sonia turned and left after receiving his response. The


    moment she walked out, Toby stretched out with his hand in a desire to call her back. In the end, he


    resisted from doing so and lowered his hand. Without a suitable heart, he could only live 3 years. During


    this period of time, each passing day meant that the days in which he would be able to see was also


    reduced. Therefore, he didn¡¯t want to say goodbye to her because he was afraid he would never see her


    again¡­


    He had longed to have her by his side, so that he could see all the time during these 3 years, but he


    couldn¡¯t bring himself to do that because it only meant confining her and not loving her.


    Outside the hospital, Sonia suddenly panicked for no reason when she arrived at the car. She wasn¡¯t


    sure why, but she felt uneasy. Then, she suddenly saw someone before her eyes narrowed¡ªit was the


    police officer guarding Tina. As she watched the female police officer carrying her breakfast in front of


    her, Sonia then remembered that Tina was still admitted in the special hospital ward reserved for


    prisoners and yet to be sent to the women¡¯s prison.


    Now that she counted the days, 20 days had passed and there were still 10 days left. In 10 days¡¯ time,


    Tina would be formally imprisoned once the court order allowing her to remain out of prison was over.


    When the time came, Sonia could meet Tina as well.


    As she thought about it, Sonia raised her head to look at the special ward of the hospital before she


    drove away.


    40 minutester, she arrived at Bayside Residence. When Charles saw hering out of the elevator,


    he immediately stood up at the entrance of her apartment. He pursed his lips and grumbled, ¡°Baby,


    you¡¯re finally back. Do you know how long I¡¯ve been waiting for you here? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that


    your apartment is up here, passers-by would probably have seen me sitting here like a silly person and


    my reputation would be ruined.¡±


    Sonia looked at his exaggerated unhappiness before she apologized andughed. ¡°Sorry, Charles, I¡¯m


    late.¡±


    ¡°Forget it. I voluntarily waited for you anyway, so I forgive you.¡± He waved his hand before allowing her to


    pass.


    ¡°Quickly open the door.¡±


    She nodded and opened the door with her fingerprint.


    Soon, he followed her inside. ¡°Right baby, have you eaten breakfast? If not, I¡¯ll head down and buy it


    now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten,¡± Sonia answered while changing her shoes. ¡°Toby¡¯s caregiver bought breakfast.¡±


    An annoyed Charlesmented, ¡°You are bing more approving of him. I mean, you didn¡¯t even


    refuse his breakfast.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, she paused for a moment before quickly recovering. As she hung the bag on


    the shelf, she replied, ¡°It¡¯s just breakfast. Charles, wait for me in the living room. I¡¯ll shower and change


    my clothes. We should be able to leave soon.¡±

 Chapter 461

    Chapter 461


    Chapter 461 Making Her Angry


    ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± Charles waved his hand.


    Sonia returned to her room and gathered her clothes before heading to the bathroom. Then, Charles


    walked to the couch and sat down, thereafter taking the remote control to turn on the TV. He decided that


    he would watch TV while waiting for her to emerge after her shower. After waiting for almost 10 minutes,


    he finally saw hering out. Her hair was still wet from her shower and her cheeks were red. She was


    even in a daze, which caused him to have some thoughts about her.


    His gaze darkened a little and he couldn¡¯t help but whistle. ¡°Baby, are you trying to tempt me bying


    out like this?¡±


    She rolled her eyes at him. ¡°How am I tempting you?¡±


    ¡°Are you not tempting me? You¡¯re fresh out of the shower. Don¡¯t you know that to a man, this is


    considered a fatal temptation? Baby, do you¡ª¡±


    Before Charles finished his words, Sonia had whacked him on the head with a doll, which caused him to


    fall onto the couch a grunt. Then, she pped her hands. ¡°Quit your nonsense! All right, I¡¯ll head to my


    room and blow dry my hair while you continue to watch TV.¡±


    After saying that, she opened the door and went into the room. He rubbed his forehead and sat up with


    gloom as he looked at the closed room door. It seemed that she still didn¡¯t understand his feelings; it


    wasn¡¯t as if he never hinted at her before that he had treated her more as a best friend. He wanted to


    have her as his beloved woman, but she never understood his hints. She always thought that he paid lip


    service and flirted with her only because he was joking around.


    Of course, Charles had himself to me for the cause of this situation because he never directly told


    Sonia that he fancied her. Hecked the courage and was too cowardly to do so. He was always worried


    that if he confessed his true feelings for her, they might not be able to remain as friends anymore. His


    mother noticed his concern and advised him to be brave enough to spill the beans in exchange for being


    together romantically¡ªeven if it meant the possibility of losing Sonia as a friend. Yet, he still couldn¡¯t


    bring himself to do it. Maybe that was why even though he was the first to meet her and spent the most


    time with her, she eventually fell in love with another man. However, if he had been braver and bolder,


    would he have had a different ending with her altogether?


    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Sonia¡¯s voice shattered his deep thoughts.


    Charles¡¯ eyes flickered for a moment before he shook himself to the present. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    He smiled and looked toward her. Her hair was now blown dry and styled into a bun on top of her head


    while she wore light makeup. She was in a casual outfit and didn¡¯t look like a maturedy of twenty-six,


    but she resembled more like a fresh college graduate.


    ¡°You look beautiful in this.¡± He turned off the TV and stood up topliment her.


    Soniaughed. ¡°Do you mean to say that my usual clothes don¡¯t look perfect on me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. I just wanted to say that your attire today makes you look a lot more approachable. Your


    usual style gives off an aura of a strong and capable woman,¡± Charlesmented as he shoved his


    hands in the pockets of his pants.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it.¡± She lifted her purse. ¡°My looks are soft and not intimidating enough, so I can only


    exercise an effort into my clothes to make myself look dominant. Otherwise, I can¡¯t control the people in


    thepany.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± He nodded.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡± With that, she turned around and was about to pull the suitcase when Charles extended


    his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± he offered.


    As a result, Sonia allowed him to take the suitcase. The two of them then drove directly to the toll za


    on the turnpike out of the city after leaving the house. Her phone rang a short whileter and she took it


    out, only to be surprised that the call was from Toby.


    Charles noticed it from the corner of his eye and asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Toby.¡± She didn¡¯t hide the device and allowed him to take a look instead.


    Then, he pursed his lips before replying, ¡°What is he calling for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I won¡¯t know until I answer it.¡± With that, she answered the phone.


    Toby¡¯s low voice soon came. ¡°Have you left yet?¡±


    Sonia grunted. ¡°I¡¯ve just left. President Fuller, is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, but if Carl contacts you afterward and mentions Den¡¯s whereabouts to you, will you


    please tell me about it?¡±


    On the other end of the phone, he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the ward, gazing at the


    leaves falling from a tree and leaving only the bare branches behind.


    She nodded in reply. ¡°Yes, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± When Toby heard the nervousness in her tone, his face tightened with a trace of worry


    in his eyes.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure if Carl will contact me or talk to me about


    Den¡¯s whereabouts now.¡±


    ¡°Why is that so? Did you and Carl have a falling out?¡± He raised his eyebrows.


    Sonia rubbed her brow. ¡°No, it¡¯s Carl. He¡­ He is suffering from dissociative identity disorder.¡±


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°What?¡± Toby looked stunned before he grew solemn. ¡°You mean to say that the current Carl is of


    another personality?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She leaned against her seat and looked out the window with some confusion. ¡°I don¡¯t understand


    the current Carl at all and I don¡¯t even know how to get along with him, so even if I ask, I¡¯m afraid he


    wouldn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    Toby did not speak as his eyebrows furrowed. How could Carl suddenly suffer from dissociative identity


    disorder? Although he knew that Carl had a psychological disorder in which there was a possibility of


    Carl suffering from a split personality disorder, he never expected that it would ur at this crucial time.


    Most importantly, Toby had no idea whether Carl¡¯s other personality bore the memories of his original self


    and whether he still had his hacking skills. If not, even if he had sent people to keep an eye on Carl, they


    would not be able to find Den.


    As he narrowed his eyes, Toby opened his mouth again to ask, ¡°What is his current personality like?¡±


    Sonia recalled the Carl that she saw two days ago and bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I¡¯m certain that the


    current Carl is extremely dark. He¡¯s the kind of person who doesn¡¯t know what he will do next.¡±


    Toby pursed his thin lips and suggested, ¡°It seems to be an extremely dangerous personality. In that


    case, don¡¯t follow what I just said. Don¡¯t ask Carl about Den even if he really contacts you. Stay away


    from him and don¡¯t let him hurt you.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She nodded.


    Then, he replied, ¡°That¡¯s good. I have nothing more to say. Swing by early tomorrow, though, as I want


    to¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± When she heard him trailing off as if he wanted to say something but decided against it, she


    couldn¡¯t help but be slightly puzzled. ¡°President Fuller, were you going to say something?¡±


    ¡°No. That¡¯s it for now. Take care on the road,¡± Toby reminded her before he hung up.


    A frowning Sonia lowered the phone from her ear before she stared at the phone screen that had


    returned to the main menu. Her pink lips couldn¡¯t help but purse a little. What the hell did he want to say?


    This kind of behavior from him is really frustrating.


    As she ced the phone into her bag with difort, she ced her hand on the window lock and


    turned to look out of the window with annoyance.


    Charles nced at her and asked, ¡°Baby, did Toby make you angry?¡±


    Her back stiffened for a moment, but she quickly returned to her natural state and answered indifferently,


    ¡°No, why should I be angry at him?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Now that he took advantage of the red traffic light, he turned to look at her. ¡°You look obviously


    angry after you spoke to him, though. So if it was not Toby who angered you, who else could it be?¡±

 Chapter 462

    Chapter 462


    Chapter 462 I Won¡¯t Fall in Love With Him


    Sonia looked at Charles¡¯ dark eyes that seemed to be able to see through her. Finally, as she couldn¡¯t lie,


    she could only admit the truth. ¡°Okay, I admit that I am a little angry at him. Charles, do all men like to


    speak halfway?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Charles blinked.


    She removed her hand from the window lock. ¡°It means that you guys obviously want to say something,


    but when you say things halfway through, you suddenly stop after arousing other people¡¯s curiosity.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s it? You¡¯re upset over this little thing?¡± The corners of his mouth twitched.


    ¡°I just feel like I was being made fun of.¡± She pursed her lips.


    He looked at her with a serious expression. ¡°Baby, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve been a little off these past two


    days?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia froze. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about Toby.¡± Charles gripped the steering wheel and continued, ¡°Since your divorce, your attitude


    toward Toby has always been indifferent. No matter what he did to catch your attention, you never


    bothered about him. However, for the past two days, haven¡¯t you noticed that your mood swings are


    stronger when it¡¯s about Toby and you¡¯re much more concerned about him?¡±


    When she heard this, her heart skipped a beat as she turned her gaze toward Charles. ¡°How is it


    possible, Charles? You¡¯ve misread the situation.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I¡¯m sure of what I noticed. The evidence has also revealed itself just now.¡± He pointed at her


    phone. ¡°Before, even if Toby spoke halfway and what he said aroused your curiosity, you wouldn¡¯t be


    angry. You would only think he was crazy because you didn¡¯t care about him. That¡¯s why you weren¡¯t


    upset, but you¡¯ve chosen to be angry now. What does this mean? It means that you¡¯re starting to care


    about him.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s pupils contracted for a moment. I care about Toby? No, this can¡¯t be! I no longer harbor any


    feelings for him since a long time ago, so how could I possibly care about him?


    As she thought about this, she took a deep breath to calm her inner turmoil before she said with a cold


    face, ¡°Charles, I don¡¯t care about him. It¡¯s possible that I¡¯ve been paying a tad bit too much attention to


    him for the past two days, but that¡¯s because he saved me, so my attitude toward him has naturally


    changed somewhat. If I still treated him indifferently like before, wouldn¡¯t I be an ungrateful woman?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Toby saved you. As your benefactor, you indeed should not be indifferent to him, but this does not


    mean that you need to care so much about him either. Sonia, are you using your kindness again to cover


    up the fact that you have started to care about Toby?¡± Charles stared at her closely, as if he wanted to


    see through her.


    Sonia¡¯s heart sputtered for a moment before she clenched her fists and retorted, ¡°Of course not.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Really?¡±


    An angry Sonia retorted, ¡°I don¡¯t care whether you believe me or not. Charles, you¡¯re not my father, so


    don¡¯t interrogate me like I¡¯m a suspect!¡±


    Upon hearing the anger in her tone, Charles was also aware that he had overstepped his boundaries, so


    he hastily apologized, ¡°Sorry, baby, I have no malice against you. I am also worried about you falling in


    love with Toby again, so that¡¯s why¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯ll fall in love with him again?¡± she asked with a frown.


    With a sigh, he borated, ¡°It¡¯s because of the change in your attitude toward Toby over the past two


    days as well as him being your savior. He risked his life to save you, and that¡¯s the easiest way to move


    a person¡¯s heart. I don¡¯t believe for once that your heart felt nothing when you saw Toby jumping off the


    cliff at that time.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched, but she couldn¡¯t form the words to reply. Indeed, she was greatly shocked; the fact


    that not everyone would be able to jump off a cliff in spite of risking their own lives just to save someone


    else moved her. Carl, who proimed that he loved her, couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it whereas Toby also


    said that he loved her and proved it through his actions. So, how could she not feel something inside


    her?


    Upon seeing that she did not speak, Charles sighed and added, ¡°Look, even you yourself can¡¯t deny that


    you felt something after seeing Toby jumping off the cliff. Therefore, Sonia, I¡¯m extremely worried that


    you¡¯ll fall in love with him again. It wasn¡¯t easy for you to leave the Fuller Family and your misery, so I


    don¡¯t want history to repeat itself where your old wounds are reopened.¡±


    In reality, he had such a thought. He did not want her to go back to the Fuller Family again and back to


    that 6 years of terrible life where she didn¡¯t live like a human being. She now had a sessful career


    wherein she was driven to seed and to watch her standing in the dazzling spotlight was amazing. Of


    course, he was a little selfish; he didn¡¯t want her to fall in love with Toby again because that would mean


    they would reconcile and he would again lose the possibility of being with her romantically.


    Not knowing what Charles was thinking, Sonia lowered her eyes and said tly, ¡°I will not love Toby


    again. He has hurt me once, so why would I be so silly as to get hurt a second time? Thus, you don¡¯t


    have to worry.¡±


    ¡°Baby, are you telling the truth?¡± he asked with slightly bright eyes.


    Her throat moved. ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± He smiled. ¡°Baby, remember what you said today that you won¡¯t fall in love with Toby, so


    you mustn¡¯t fall in love with him.¡±


    Sonia raised her eyes and looked at him. ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve said so, I¡¯m relieved. Well, sit tight. We¡¯re off again.¡± The red light finally turned green,


    so Charles began to drive again.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    As she lowered her head, she hid the expression on her face while her hands clenched tighter. Even if


    he hadn¡¯t reminded her, she would not fall in love with Toby either. Absolutely not!


    Although she had such a thought, Sonia inexplicably felt that she was in a dilemma. As to why she had


    such a feeling, she couldn¡¯t understand and didn¡¯t want to either. Her intuition hinted that it was best not


    toprehend because she could lose control of everything as a result¡­


    It was at 2:00 PM when they finally arrived at Leonard Hudson¡¯s country house situated in an ancient


    and sprawling estate with multiple courtyards. ording to what Leonard had said, as his grandfather


    was a high-ranking official to the king, this estate was the king¡¯s reward to his grandfather and itter


    became their family¡¯s ancestral home.


    Charles looked at the ancient mansion and marveled, ¡°Baby, your grandfather¡¯s country house is actually


    a historical ce! However, it¡¯s a bit dated and many areas are dpidated, so it needs to be repaired.


    Otherwise, people won¡¯t be able to live here in another 2 years¡¯ time.¡±


    Sonia produced the key that was given to her by her grandfather a few years ago. As she unlocked the


    door, she replied, ¡°Grandpa has been working at the major ancient tombs, so he¡¯s rarely at home. That¡¯s


    why the old manor has decayed so quickly. Anyway, I¡¯ll arrange for someone to repair it. When Grandpa


    retires, he can live peacefully here.¡±


    Strangely enough, if someone had lived in an old manor like this, the house would not decay. However, if


    no one lived there, the house would decay exceptionally fast and might even copse in a short time.


    ¡°This ce is awesome. The environment is excellent, and the air is also wonderful. It makes me want to


    retire here.¡± He stroked his chin and surveyed the surroundings.


    Sheughed. ¡°Then, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to wait a few more decades. The door is open, soe on in.¡±


    After removing the key from its aperture, she pushed the door in. The door had not been opened for a


    long time, so it creaked when it swung open with a creepy sound like those heard in horror films.


    Charles retreated his neck and rubbed his arms while saying, ¡°Baby, it¡¯s cold in here. There is no ghost,


    right?¡±


    Sonia nced at him coolly. ¡°You are the ghost! If you are afraid, don¡¯te in then.¡±


    With that, she took a big step into the house.

 Chapter 463

    Chapter 463


    Chapter 463 The Mysterious Photo Album


    Upon seeing her enter, Charles felt that if he did not go in, he was not manly enough. After taking a deep


    breath, he shivered and followed Sonia into the old manor. As the old manor had not been inhabited for a


    long time, it waspletely covered with cobwebs and dust while looking exactly like a haunted mansion


    in movies. Thus, it was no wonder that he had wondered about ghosts.


    It was after Sonia wiped a handful of dust off the table that she thought of something.


    ¡°Baby.¡± His voice sounded behind her.


    She patted the dust off her hands, then asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Where are your grandfather¡¯s notes?¡± He was holding a broom that he found from somewhere and


    waved it while asking.


    While pointing in the direction of the study, she answered, ¡°It¡¯s over there, but it¡¯s way too dirty here. Let¡¯s


    clean this ce up first before searching for the notester.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we should do some cleaning; otherwise, there¡¯s no way to stay here tonight.¡± Charles nodded in


    agreement.


    Thus, Sonia opened her suitcase and took out from it a few towels that she brought. ¡°Let¡¯s get started


    then.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you wipe the tables and chairs while I¡¯ll remove the cobwebs and sweep the floor,¡± he said as he


    stopped waving the broom.


    ¡°Sounds like a n,¡± she concurred. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the well to get some water.¡±


    Upon saying that, she took the towel and went to the backyard where there was an old well full of water


    all year round.


    Soon, the two began to work for hours on end; it wasn¡¯t until 4:00PM that they were done with cleaning


    therge ce. They were now bone-tired andy on the respective benches to rest.


    Charles gasped, ¡°Baby, t-this is the first time I¡¯ve done so much cleaning in my life. I¡¯m exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Charles. You did well, so I will make some delicious treats for youter.¡± Sonia was also drained


    and couldn¡¯t stop panting.


    He nodded as his eyes brightened. ¡°Okay. I want to eat fish, though. Is there any fish here?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She sat up straight and rubbed her sore back. ¡°There is a vige nearby, and there¡¯s also fish at


    the vige head¡¯s house. A few years ago, I even went to buy some from there, so I¡¯ll just head there


    later to buy it.¡±


    ¡°That would be great.¡± He happily pped his hands.


    Then, Sonia stood up. ¡°Charles, why don¡¯t you make the bed first? I¡¯ll head to Grandpa¡¯s study to look for


    the notes.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Charles looked at the room she pointed at. It seemed that tonight, he would stay in that room.


    ¡°So, baby, which room will you sleep in?¡±


    He turned to look at her and offered, ¡°I¡¯ll make your bed as well.¡±


    As she thought his offer sounded alright, she pointed to the room opposite his. ¡°That¡¯s the one. That¡¯s the


    room I used to sleep in.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.¡± Charles pped his hands before he carried his suitcase over.


    As for her, she also didn¡¯t dy things and went straight to the old man¡¯s study. The study had just been


    cleaned, which was why it was spotless and clean. She came to the desk and began to search for the


    notes. Since the document was not difficult to locate, she managed to find it in the second drawer. After


    flipping through it to confirm that it was the one Leonard had asked her to get, she closed it and was


    ready to shut the drawer before leaving. However, just as she was doing so, she suddenly spotted


    something interesting inside.


    ¡°Is this a photo album?¡± Sonia saw a pink photo album that was underneath the notes and couldn¡¯t help


    but reach out to take it out. The album was small and only palm-sized, but it was voluminous. What really


    aroused her curiosity was that she had never seen this album before.


    Before she married Toby, she would live here for a short period of time each year, so she knew


    everything about the country house. There were several photo albums in the old manor that she had


    seen, but not this one. Just by looking at the condition of the album, she could discern that it was an


    extremely old one. In fact, it was probably more than 10 years old, so it was impossible for it to be a


    recent addition. An album of this condition would require more than 6 years for time to inflict its damage,


    so it didn¡¯t make sense that her grandfather would ce it in the drawer within thest couple of years.


    Rather, the truth was that this photo album had already existed more than 10 years ago and it had


    always been here. It was just that she never knew about it.


    Suddenly, Sonia thought of something and was startled by it. She remembered that every time she came


    to the country house, she could go anywhere and search for anything, but whenever she entered


    Leonard¡¯s study, he would instruct her not to open this particr drawer of his desk, as if there was


    something there that he didn¡¯t want her to see.


    Since the album was in this drawer in addition to the notes, he probably didn¡¯t want her to see it. As for


    how she knew it wasn¡¯t the notes that he refused to let her see, it was because she had seen all of his


    other archaeological notes; he definitely wouldn¡¯t have minded her looking at the notes. Thus, the only


    thing he didn¡¯t want her to look at was the said album. What exactly was inside that he withheld the item


    from her?


    Her gaze fell on the photo album that she held in her right hand as her heart began to race.


    In the end, her innermost curiosity overcame her reasoning. She bit her lower lip, took a deep breath,


    and murmured in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ll just take a peek. It should be okay to look at one or two pages¡­¡±


    While saying that, she set aside the archaeological notes that she had in her left hand and carefully


    flipped open the photo album. The first thing that caught her eye was a picture of a baby. The baby was


    lying down with its eyes closed and it had a wrinkled and red face. Clearly, it was a newborn.


    At the bottom right corner of the photo was a date written on it. When she saw the date, she smiled.


    ¡°This is me!¡±


    The date on it was exactly her birthdate, so there was no need to guess who this baby was¡ªit was


    Sonia.


    ¡°So, when I was first born, I was ugly and tiny. Gosh, I didn¡¯t even look healthy.¡± Sonia stroked the baby¡¯s


    face on the photo with her thumb andughed lightly. Then, she flipped to the next photo where there


    was still a baby in it. The date written at the bottom right corner of the photo indicated that it was the day


    after she was born.


    Could this be a photo album of my birth? With this in mind, she turned to the third page and lo and


    behold, it was still her as a baby with the date of the third day after her birth in the lower right corner.


    This time, Sonia waspletely sure that it was the photo album of her birth whereby every picture on it


    was recorded on a daily basis after she was born. This kind of album was not umon in the past as


    almost every family would have one for each of their children. Some had pictures detailing the baby¡¯s life


    until the 1st week after its birth whereas others were up to 6 months old. There were a few who stored


    pictures up until the baby was 3 months old.


    Judging by the thickness of the album, this album should be a record of at least 6 months long.


    The only thing Sonia couldn¡¯t decipher was her grandfather¡¯s hesitation to allow her to look at it if it was


    her photo album. She narrowed her eyes, her heart full of confusion and iprehension. However, she


    didn¡¯t think much of it and assumed that he merely wanted to keep it as a souvenir, which was why he


    didn¡¯t want to show it to her. Now that the album was in her hands, she could look at it herself just to


    reminisce about her childhood.


    Yet, strangely enough, there had been an abundance of pictures of her as a child, but never of her when


    she was a newborn, so she didn¡¯t really know what she looked like as a baby. She pulled the chair and


    sat down before she began to page through the photos at the back. At first, she looked at it as the corner


    of her mouth curved into a smile, thinking that she was really cute as a newborn. However, for some


    reason, she didn¡¯t feel any familiarity with the baby in the photos.


    As she continued to flip the pages, the smile on her face slowly disappeared before it was reced by


    shock.

 Chapter 464

    Chapter 464


    Chapter 464 Connor Salzburg of Fredburg


    What the hell is going on here? Who is this baby? As Sonia stared at the baby in the photo who had a


    face so pale that it looked like it was no longer alive, her hands could not help but clench. Her eyes were


    full of shock, confusion and iprehension; there was even a trace of indescribable oddness. The


    date at the bottom right corner of the photo was clearly the date of 4 months and 5 days after her birth,


    but the baby in the photo wasn¡¯t her at all.


    Other than photos of her as a 2-month-old, she had seen all the photos of herself before. She didn¡¯t look


    like this when she was 4 months old! So, the baby in the photo was definitely not her. If it was not her,


    why was the date at the bottom right corner consistent with the previous photos, though? Not only was it


    consistent, even the baby¡¯s features looked like hers. All babies would look the same during their first


    month, but their unique features would only begin to take form in the second month onward. Moreover,


    this four-month-old baby looked exceptionally simr to the photo of the two-month-old she had seen just


    a moment ago.


    Therefore, this was not the record album detailing her birth and the baby in the photos had never been


    her from the beginning. She thought it was her, but it was not, which was why there was no sense of


    familiarity. Yes, if it was herself in the photo, how could she not have felt close to the baby? Since it was


    not, it exined why she felt nothing. If that was the case, why was this baby sharing the same birthdate


    as her?


    Sonia bit her lower lip, feeling a ton ofplicated emotions in her heart.


    At that moment, there was a knock on the door of the study. As she raised her head, she saw Charles


    standing outside the door with a smile. ¡°Baby, haven¡¯t you found the notes yet? My bed is all made up.¡±


    ¡°Found it,¡± Sonia answered after she rubbed her temples.Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    He blinked. ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe out when you found it? Also, you don¡¯t look good. What happened?¡±


    Upon saying that, he entered the study while she pursed her lips and admitted, ¡°I found a photo album.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± he asked.


    Her hands formed into fists. ¡°I thought the baby in the album was me, but in the end, I found out that it


    wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Charles didn¡¯t understand what she had tried to insinuate.


    Sonia stood up, closed the photo album, and reopened it. After that, she turned to the first page and


    pointed to the newborn baby before asking, ¡°Charles, do you think this is me?¡±


    He looked down and thereafter nodded. ¡°Yes, isn¡¯t your birthday written on the bottom?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± She nodded. ¡°Because of this date, I thought the baby was me. If you look at the photos at


    the back, though¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with those photos?¡± a curious Charles asked as he started to turn the pages. When he


    saw a picture of the 1-month-old baby, his expression didn¡¯t change much. It was only when he turned to


    the second picture that his brow furrowed whereby he fastened his speed of turning the pages.


    When she saw his action, she knew that he noticed the obvious problem. After taking a deep breath, she


    asked, ¡°Charles, do you still think this baby is me now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not you,¡± he answered with a serious expression. ¡°I am 4 years older than you, so I¡¯ll know


    better than you what you looked like as a child. You might¡¯ve resembled the baby in the 1-month-old


    photos because its features were not distinct yet. However, since the baby¡¯s features are much clearer


    from the second month onward, I could tell at first instance that it¡¯s not you at all. Besides, I know who


    she is.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± Sonia looked at him in surprise.


    Charles nodded and flipped to one of the baby¡¯s photos as a 4-month-old. ¡°In fact, you know this child


    too. She¡¯s the one whom I told you about before. I saw her for the first time at the Reed Family when I


    was 4 years old and actually thought it was you.¡±


    When he mentioned this, she instantly remembered hearing about it and nodded in a daze. ¡°So, this was


    that child you talked about.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. My mother also said that this child was the child of a rtive or friend of the Reed Family.¡± He


    looked at the baby in the photo.


    However, Sonia still did not understand what was going on. ¡°Since it is someone else¡¯s child, why is her


    date of birth the same as mine? And why did Grandpa treasure this baby¡¯s photo album so much?¡±


    Although it was an old album, the photos inside had only yellowed a little and were clearly well


    preserved. If it were not deliberately and lovingly preserved, the photos simply would not have looked


    like this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why don¡¯t you ask him then?¡± Charles responded with the shake of his head.


    She thought about it and thereupon closed the album. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask when the timees. Well, let¡¯s not


    worry about this. Let¡¯s head to the vige headman¡¯s house to buy fish.¡±


    ¡°Yup, let¡¯s go.¡± When it came to buying fish, he was suddenly excited.


    Thus, she returned the photo album to the drawer before she gave a smile and went out with him.


    ¡­


    On the other hand, at First World Hospital, Tom knocked on the door of Toby¡¯s ward. Toby was perusing


    the documents in the ward and didn¡¯t raise his head when he heard the knock. Instead, he replied,


    ¡°Enter.¡±


    After hearing the answer, Tom opened the door and entered. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Toby asked lightly as he raised his eyes and gave a nce before returning his


    gaze to the documents.


    Tom reached the hospital bed. ¡°You¡¯ve previously asked me to check the identity of your mother¡¯s lover


    before her marriage. I¡¯ve news on that.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, Toby stopped writing and he suddenly raised his head. ¡°What did you say?


    You have discovered his identity?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°Connor Salzburg. He is the head of the Salzburg Family in Fredburg.¡±


    ¡°So, he is actually from the Salzburg Family.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes while his expression was a bit


    dark. Although the Salzburg Family was not as powerful as the Fuller Family, it was still rather influential


    since it was also a leading family in Fredburg. It was just that Toby never expected the man whom his


    mother loved to be the Connor Salzburg of the Salzburg Family.


    ¡°I remember that Connor eventually married, right?¡± he asked with a dark face.


    Tom responded, ¡°That¡¯s right. 20 years ago, he married the Young Daughter of the Lund Family in


    Fredburg, which caused thete Madam¡¯s suicide. She and Connor used to be lovers, but there was


    eventually a major upheaval in the Johann Family. Since he wasn¡¯t the heir of the Salzburg Family at that


    time, he couldn¡¯t assist the Johann Family even though he was the Young Master of the Salzburg Family.


    Therefore, it resulted in thete Madam breaking up with Connor to join Old Master Fuller in marriage.¡±


    Then, he looked at Toby before adding, ¡°After the marriage, Madam and Connor had always remained in


    contact. Old Master Fuller was aware of this, but because he never really loved her, he didn¡¯t mind it one


    bit. Thus, there was nothing hidden about their rtionship and I was able to find out a lot of things.


    Furthermore, I discovered that Connor had been waiting for Madam to obtain a divorce all along. After


    waiting for 10 years, he suddenly announced his marriage when the divorce was finally about to


    happen.¡±


    ¡°So, my mothermitted suicide because she was greatly affected by it emotionally.¡± Toby clenched his


    fist and his face was icy.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Can you be sure that Connor is my father¡¯s murderer?¡± Toby looked at him. That was what he wanted to


    know the most.


    However, Tom shook his head in regret. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller, but I can¡¯t. Before this, our


    investigation team had gone to that rental room to collect the fingerprints and while they found many


    people inside, none of them were Connor¡¯s men. Therefore, we still can¡¯t be sure that Connor was the


    one who killed Old Master Fuller and set you up in the car ident.¡±

 Chapter 465

    Chapter 465


    Chapter 465 A Call at Night


    Toby wasn¡¯t too surprised at Tom¡¯s answer because when he asked the question, he already had the


    answer in his heart. After a few seconds, he narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°In that case, then continue to


    have people keep an eye on Connor. Once he shows any irregr movement, immediately report to


    me.¡±


    Whether this person was his father¡¯s murderer, he still wanted someone to keep an eye on him. It was


    better to be safe than sorry.


    ¡°Certainly, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded and answered, then thought of something else and added,


    ¡°Also, there is one more thing.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the Stryder Family in Norfolk and the Southfield Family in Seafield. They seem to be in conflict


    recently.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the reason?¡± Toby asked.


    Tom adjusted his sses. ¡°Melody Stryder caught Peter Southfield cheating, and in a fit of anger, she


    pushed him down the stairs, breaking his leg. Now the Southfield Family ispletely against the


    Stryder Family because of this matter, and Peter is also making a fuss about a divorce.¡±


    ¡°Did they get a divorce?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows.


    Tom shook his head. ¡°No, because Melody is not willing to divorce Peter. He did ask for a divorce before


    but had not seeded, so this matter is projected to be a difficult one.¡±


    Learning about the situation, Toby sneered, ¡°Melody and Tina were friends before, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they seemed to get along. Melody even went against Miss Reed for Tina. Remember that time


    when several banks jointly chased after Miss Reed about the loans? Melody was the one manipting


    all this behind the scenes. Luckily you helped Miss Reed; otherwise, she and Paradigm Co. would be


    finished,¡± Tom said in a deep voice.


    Toby¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°In that case, help Peter.¡±


    Everyone knew how much Melody loved Peter. In order to marry him, she had even yed dirty, so for


    Melody, Peter was her life. Once the divorce was sessful, she would probably go crazy. Previously,


    he was hypnotized, so he did not do anything to Melody except help Sonia find a way to defuse Melody¡¯s


    n. If not for Tom mentioning Melody, he would have forgotten that there was such a person. Now that


    he remembered, he would let Melody pay the price for what she did to Sonia. For Melody, the most


    painful price was for Peter to divorce her.


    ¡°Certainly, President Fuller. I¡¯ll make arrangements,¡± Tom said.


    Toby waved his hand, indicating that he could leave first. Thus, Tom didn¡¯t say anything and turned


    around to excuse himself.


    After he left, the ward was once again quiet. Toby took out his phone, flipped to Sonia¡¯s phone number,


    and was ready to call her. But when his finger hovered over the call button, he halted. Since it was


    alreadyte at night, he didn¡¯t know if she was asleep. If she was, would he disturb her?


    While Toby was hesitating, the door of the ward suddenly rattled, as if something had fallen on the floor.


    Toby was startled for a moment, and at that point, his thumb identally tapped the call button.


    Somewhat speechless, Toby looked at his phone screen. It seems that God wants me to contact her.


    Soon, the call came through, and Sonia¡¯s confused voice came from the other end of the phone. ¡°Who is


    it?¡±


    When Toby heard the sleepiness in her voice, he knew she was really asleep, so he lightly opened his


    thin lips and said, ¡°It¡¯s me. Sorry to disturb you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± At the other end of the phone, Sonia was lying on her side on the bed with her eyes closed and


    one hand putting the phone to her ear. Clearly, she had no intention of waking up at all. So, she also


    didn¡¯t even hear who was on the other end of the phone and what was said.


    Toby thought his voice was too soft and repeated, ¡°It¡¯s me. I¡¯m sorry to disturb you sote. I¡ª¡±


    Before he finished his words, he suddenly heard the sound of slow and regr breathinging from


    the phone. He instantly realized that the woman on the other end of the phone had fallen asleep. Taken


    aback, he then could not help butugh lightly.


    It¡¯s really amazing how quickly she can fall asleep again.


    Of course, it was possible that she was too sleepy, which was why she didn¡¯t recognize his voice. If she


    did, she would usually wake up as soon as she heard him and then question why he was looking for her


    at thiste hour.


    He did not n on waking her but took the phone off his ear and turned on the speakerphone. Putting it


    on the pillow, it was still emitting the sound of Sonia¡¯s breathing.


    To Toby, the steady sound of her breathing was like she was there beside him. For the entire night, he


    was apanied by stable breathing; only when dawn broke and his phone battery died did the sound


    disappear. When the call cut off, Toby closed his eyes and fell asleep with content.


    At 8.00 AM, Sonia was awakened by a knock on the door. She frowned, then opened her eyes and


    looked in the direction of the knocking sound. Outside the door, Charles knocked on the door while


    shouting, ¡°Baby, are you up?¡±


    Sonia rubbed her brow, and after yawning, she woke up a little before replying, ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯ll get up


    soon.¡±


    ¡°Then hurry up. I just went to the vige head¡¯s house to buy breakfast; you hurry to wash up ande


    out to eat.¡± Charles removed his hand from the door.


    Sonia nodded and replied, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be there in a minute.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to the dining room and wait for you.¡± After saying that, Charles turned around and walked


    away.


    Hearing his footsteps go away until they disappeared, Sonia stretched and sat up from the bed. Just as


    she sat up, she felt something wrong with her leg, as if it was pressed by something. Sonia suspiciously


    lifted the quilt and saw her phone lying on her leg, causing her to be taken aback.


    How strange! Why is my phone in the quilt? Before she went to sleep, she had clearly put it on the


    headboard of the bed!


    Full of doubt, Sonia took the phone out and pressed on it, but it was unresponsive. Is it broken?


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Frowning, she remembered she had bought the phone only a few days ago, so it could not be broken.


    Perhaps I identally shut it off when I fell asleep.


    Thinking of this, Sonia pressed the button and prepared to restart the phone. However, after pressing for


    a while, the phone remained unresponsive. Sonia¡¯s eyes widened at that. ¡°No way!¡±


    Is it really broken? But how is this possible? This is a new phone!


    Sonia was a little reluctant to ept this fact, so she hurriedly lifted the quilt and got out of bed, looking


    for a charger to charge the phone. If the phone didn¡¯t respond even when it was connected to the power


    source, then it was really broken.


    Soon, Sonia found her own charger, came to the socket, and charged the phone. Just two seconds after


    charging, the phone lit up, and then the screen showed a red battery symbol. A red battery symbol


    meant the phone was at its lowest power level. So, it was clear why the phone couldn¡¯t turn on just now


    ¡ªit had no power.


    However, Sonia was still a little confused. How could her phone be dead? Before she went to bedst


    night, it was fully charged, so where did the power go?


    It can¡¯t be that I yed with my phone in my dreams, and it ran out of battery, right? Wait, in my dreams?


    Sonia¡¯s body stiffened as she realized something. She did have a dreamst night that she answered a


    phone call. Could it be that it was not a dream but a real one? When she thought of this, Sonia hurriedly


    opened the call log. When she saw the first entry of the log, she was so shocked that her eyes almost fell


    out.

 Chapter 466

    Chapter 466


    Chapter 466 Already Dead


    ¡°367 minutes!¡± Sonia cried out, her hands trembling as she held the phone. No wonder the phone was


    out of battery. Last night, she and Toby actually talked on the phone for over 300 minutes, which was


    simply¡­


    Sonia¡¯s lips moved, but she didn¡¯t even know what to say. She had thought it was a dream, yet now it


    was confirmed that it was reality. Most importantly, she actually didn¡¯t remember having picked up the


    phone at all!


    ¡°Baby.¡± At this time, Charles¡¯ voice came again at the door. ¡°Are you still not ready? Breakfast is getting


    cold.¡±


    Sonia took a deep breath and calmed down for the time being. ¡°I will be ready soon.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up.¡± Charles urged.


    Sonia answered, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Hearing her reply, Charles left again.


    Then, Sonia took her phone and went to the washroom. While walking, she dialed Toby¡¯s number. But


    when the phone call went through, she realized that the other party¡¯s phone was switched off.


    Switched off? His phone is dead too. It was because of the long call that it had run out of power and


    automatically shut down, right?


    It was probably not a coincidence, so Sonia had to think of it this way. Whatever. I¡¯ll wait for his phone to


    be switched on again, and I¡¯ll ask him what we talked aboutst night.


    She had little memory of answering the phonest night, so she was also afraid she had said something


    nonsensical. Putting away the phone, Sonia patted her cheeks, calmed down a little, and started


    washing up. Ten minutester, she finished washing up, changed her clothes, and walked out of the


    room to the dining room.


    Seeing her, Charles put down the fork in his hand and pointed to the chair opposite him. ¡°Baby, sit down.


    Today¡¯s breakfast tastes delicious.¡±


    Sonia looked down at breakfast on the table and thought that it was indeed quite a good spread.


    ¡°The vige chief¡¯s wife used to run a breakfast joint, so her food naturally needs no further introduction.¡±


    Sonia pulled out a chair and sat down.


    Charles handed her a ss of juice. ¡°So, she¡¯s a chef. No wonder this tastes so good.¡±


    ¡°You are quite smart to go to the vige head¡¯s house to buy breakfast.¡± Sonia took the ss and drank


    the juice.


    Hearing that, Charlesughed. ¡°Right. When I bought fish yesterday, I asked in passing where I could


    buy breakfast, and the vige head said he sells some. So, I went there as soon as I got up today. Baby,


    eat up. The food is getting cold.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles took a bite of a bun and said, ¡°Baby, when are we going back today?¡±


    ¡°After breakfast, we¡¯ll pack up and leave,¡± Sonia replied. She couldn¡¯t stay here for too long because the


    notes still had to be mailed, and herpany¡¯s affairs needed to be taken care of. There was also Toby,


    whom she had to take care of, so she had to leave as early as possible.


    After breakfast, the two locked the door, left the ce, and drove back to Seafield. At 1.30 PM, the two


    arrived. Sonia mailed the notes and returned to the car to dial Leonard¡¯s phone number. Since Leonard


    had not been to the tombs during this period of time, Sonia¡¯s phone call got through easily, and the old


    man¡¯s kind voice came. ¡°Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa, I have sent your notes to you. It is estimated that they will arrive in four or five days.¡± Sonia


    spoke as she fastened her seatbelt.


    The old man smiled happily. ¡°That¡¯s great. Thank you, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Grandpa.¡± Sonia also smiled.


    ¡°Baby, the photo.¡± Next to her, Charles, who was driving, suddenly reminded her. Only then did she


    remember the photo she sawst night, and the smile on her face slowly disappeared. Biting her lip for a


    few seconds, she still mustered up the courage to speak.


    ¡°Um¡­ Grandpa, can I ask you about something?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± the old man asked.


    Sonia squeezed her palms. ¡°Yesterday, when I found the notes, I also saw a photo album. The album


    contains a baby¡¯s growth record from one to four or five months. May I know who that baby is?¡±


    At the other end of the phone, the old man sitting in front of theputer did not expect the question,


    and the kindness on his face disappeared, leaving a look full of shock andplexity.


    He was shocked that she had found the photo album, and he feltplicated because that child was¡­


    ¡°Grandpa?¡± As the old man was hesitant to speak, Sonia squeezed the phone tight. ¡°Grandpa, why are


    you quiet? Is the identity of that baby very unusual?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The muscles on the old man¡¯s face twitched, and he regained his kind expression. ¡°That child is


    just a rtive¡¯s child, so there is no need for you to care about her.¡±


    ¡°Is she really a rtive¡¯s child?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes.


    Although Charles had also asked his mother, who had also said that the baby Charles saw for the first


    time in the Reed Family back then was a rtive¡¯s child. Although Sonia believed it, she always felt that


    something was off. The most important thing was that she inexplicably cared about that baby and about


    its identity. She did not believe that the baby was really just a rtive¡¯s child. Why would her grandfather


    treasure the photo album so much if it was a rtive¡¯s child?


    This obviously makes no sense.


    ¡°Of course, who else¡¯s baby could it be?¡± The old man¡¯s eyes behind his sses shed, and he smiled


    back.


    Biting her lip, Sonia asked, ¡°Then will you tell me whose child exactly it is? I want to get to know her


    because we have the same birthday. Maybe we can even get along well.¡±


    Once Leonard heard her words, he knew she did not believe him, so he could not help but sigh. ¡°Sonia,


    it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell you, but this child has already passed away, so¡ª¡±


    ¡°Passed away?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    Charles turned his head and looked at her. ¡°Baby, who passed away?¡±


    Sonia ignored him as she gripped the phone and asked, ¡°Grandpa, that baby passed away?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The old man¡¯s face was full of sadness, but his voice was as natural as possible. ¡°That child was


    not well, and it passed away before it was five months old.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Sonia also sighed. ¡°No wonder the photos in the photo album are only up until the baby¡¯s four


    months or so of age. It¡¯s because she has¡ª¡±


    ¡°That child had a bad fate. Perhaps, it should not havee into the world from the beginning.


    Otherwise, her mother wouldn¡¯t have¡­ Forget it. It¡¯s all in the past.¡± The old man took off his old-


    fashioned sses, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and put them back on, smiling amiably


    again.


    ¡°Sonia, I have to hang up, as I have some things to do here. If there is anything else, you can contact me


    afterward.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded and hung up.


    Charles asked again, ¡°Baby, did you just say that that child died?¡±


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what Grandpa said, and I could hear that his voice was a little choked up, so it should be


    true,¡± Sonia put the phone into her bag and replied emotionally.


    The baby was only four months old or so when it left the world. How regrettable. Besides, Grandpa also


    mentioned the baby¡¯s mother.


    Sonia guessed her grandfather was trying to say that the baby¡¯s death had dismayed its mother so much


    that something bad happened to her as well.


    ¡°Tch, this is really saddening.¡± Charles sighed.

 Chapter 467

    Chapter 467


    Chapter 467 Return


    Sonia nodded. ¡°A little bit.¡±


    ¡°All right, darling. Since the baby is gone, you shouldn¡¯t think too much about that anymore.¡± Charles


    patted her shoulder.


    Once again, Sonia nodded. ¡°I know. Let¡¯s go to the hospital.¡±


    Her intention to head to the hospital was indeed concerning, even putting a frown on his face. ¡°You¡¯re


    going to see Toby right now?¡±


    ¡°Now that I¡¯m back, I have to take care of him. Anything wrong with that?¡± Sonia looked at Charles, but


    he pouted. ¡°Not really. It¡¯s just that you haven¡¯t even taken some rest before going to see him. It¡¯s almost


    like you¡¯re obsessed with him.¡±


    ¡°I already told you that it¡¯s nothing like that; I¡¯m just repaying his kindness. Come on, stop saying


    nonsense and just drive.¡± Sonia closed her eyes and refused to continue the conversation.


    Left with no choice, Charles nced at her from the corner of his eye. The look in his eyes darkened, but


    he said nothing more.


    Upon arriving at First World Hospital, Sonia opened her eyes and got out of the car. She took her


    luggage from the trunk, after which she stood by the road to peer at Charles through the window.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to wait for you? I can take you back to Bayside Residenceter,¡±


    Charles asked as he ced his arm out the window.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be leaving either, so I can¡¯t make you wait. Just go


    ahead.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you say so.¡± Charles shrugged and rolled up the car window.


    Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, prompting him to roll down the car window once


    again. Sonia was already making her way into the hospital when she heard him shouting, ¡°Wait, darling!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia stopped walking and turned around.


    Charles replied, ¡°My mom had asked you to visit her when you¡¯re free. You remember that, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Of course. But my eyes hadn¡¯t recovered then, so I wanted to visit her after the


    recovery.¡±


    ¡°Now that your eyes have fully recovered, when are you going to see her?¡± Charles seemed to want her


    to set an actual date.


    Sonia cocked her head to one side as she thought for a while. ¡°Tomorrow, I think. I¡¯ll go tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Charles gestured an ¡®OK¡¯ sign toward her. ¡°I¡¯ll inform my momter.¡±


    ¡°All right. Thanks so much, Charles.¡± Sonia beamed at him as usual.


    Charles waved his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. I¡¯ll get going now, and you, try not to stay too long in the


    hospital. Just visit Toby for a little while, then go home and rest.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles rolled up the windows, after which he drove away. On the other hand, Sonia stood by the road,


    and only when his car disappeared from sight did she turn around and enter the hospital.


    As soon as she entered the lobby, she saw Tim leading a patient in the opposite direction, and he


    seemed to catch sight of her as well. He said something to the patient, upon which he walked toward


    Sonia. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re back.¡±


    ¡°I sure am.¡± Sonia had a slight grin on her face.


    Tim ced his hands in his coat pockets. ¡°How¡¯s your back?¡±


    ¡°Much better. It doesn¡¯t hurt so often anymore,¡± Sonia touched her own back as she replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Tim nodded in satisfaction before he asked, ¡°Are you visiting Toby?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I wouldn¡¯t be here otherwise.¡± Sonia nodded to confirm his question.


    Habitually, Tim slightly adjusted his sses. ¡°Go ahead, then. He should be done with the examinations


    by now, so he must still be awake.¡±


    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll get going then.¡± Sonia waved goodbye, whereupon she walked toward the elevator with her


    luggage in hand.


    After Tim saw her off, he returned to the patient. The patient was an elderly man over 70 years old. He


    was one of Tim¡¯s regr patients, which exined why they seemed to be familiar with each other.


    When he saw Tim return, he grinned as he asked, ¡°Dr. Lancaster, is that your girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Tim shook his head.


    The older man didn¡¯t give up. ¡°A love interest, then?¡±


    Tim smiled. ¡°No. She¡¯s my benefactor.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t any ordinary Joe, so how would he know anything about rtionships? Even if he did, he


    would never fall in love. To him, rtionships were nothing more than burdens.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Sonia found Toby¡¯s ward, but the door was closed. She reached up and knocked on


    the door.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Toby¡¯s impersonal voice came from within.


    Sonia put down her hand. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Sonia!


    Toby was stunned for a moment, but soon after, joy reced the shocked expression on his face.


    She¡¯s back!


    ¡°Open the door, Tom,¡± he ordered.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    Tom was organizing documents on the small table at the side. When he heard the order, he pushed his


    sses and stood up. ¡°Understood, President Fuller.¡±


    Tom walked toward the door and opened it. When Sonia saw Tom, she greeted him, saying, ¡°Hi, Mr.


    Brown.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed,¡± Tom responded nonchntly, then he moved aside to make space for Sonia.


    ¡°President Fuller permits your entrance.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia nodded slightly, then walked in, still lugging her luggage.


    Tom didn¡¯t go in. Instead, he closed the door on his way out, knowing full well that Toby would want to be


    alone with Sonia. So, he decided not to be the third wheel.


    ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± As Toby looked at Sonia, his gaze softened.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    ¡°Since when?¡±


    ¡°Just now,¡± Sonia patted the handle of her luggage as she replied.


    It was then that Toby finally realized Sonia had her luggage with her. His faint smile grew wider. She had


    just returned, but she came here right away to visit him without stopping by her house or dropping off her


    luggage first.


    Does this mean that I¡¯ve always been on her mind?


    ¡°What are you thinking about, President Fuller?¡± Seeing Toby¡¯s lowered gaze and sudden daydreaming,


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but wave her hands as she asked.


    Toby¡¯s eyes shimmered for a while before he shook his head slightly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Have a seat.¡±


    He pointed at the seat where Tom was sitting just now, and Sonia walked over to sit down, but her


    stomach suddenly growled.


    Immediately, her face flushed red as she covered her tummy. ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten?¡± Toby frowned.


    Sonia opened her mouth to speak, but after thinking for a while, she admitted, ¡°Yeah. I was in a hurry, so


    I didn¡¯t get to eat.¡±


    So embarrassing! Sonia thought.


    She had just arrived here, but her stomach was already growling, so she felt horribly awkward. Hearing


    that Sonia really hadn¡¯t eaten, Toby pursed his lips into a tight line. Displeasure was written all over his


    face.


    It¡¯s almost 2 pm, but she hasn¡¯t had lunch! Is this how Charles takes care of her?


    Toby didn¡¯t say anything. He just took out his phone and dialed Tom¡¯s number. ¡°Tom, buy some lunch


    and bring it up.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia hastily reached out her hand to stop Toby. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this, President


    Fuller. I¡¯ll just eat after this.¡±


    Toby ignored her and spoke into the phone. ¡°And make it quick.¡±


    With that, he put down his phone and looked at Sonia. ¡°Just wait a little longer; you¡¯ll get to eat very


    soon.¡±


    Sonia moved her lips as if she was about to say something, but in the end, she kept quiet as she


    swallowed her words.


    Gosh! Talk about embarrassing!


    She was supposed to take care of him, but he was already getting worried about her before she could do


    so.


    s! I feel like an irresponsible person.


    Toby seemed to have read Sonia¡¯s thoughts. He raised his hand in order to caress her hair, providing


    what littlefort he could offer. However, he retracted his hand before he could touch her. ¡°Don¡¯t mind


    it too much. You¡¯re my temporary caregiver, so it¡¯s natural to keep you fed. If you don¡¯t eat, you won¡¯t


    have enough energy to take care of me, right?¡± he parted his thin lips and said.


    Sonia bit her lip but gave him a smile in the end. ¡°I just realized that you always find a way to convince


    me.¡±


    ¡°Because I understand you. And that¡¯s why I know the ways to move your heart.¡± Toby looked at her with


    a serious expression on his face.

 Chapter 468

    Chapter 468


    Chapter 468 A Huge Misunderstanding


    Sonia averted her gaze, refusing to look into his scary-looking eyes. Her gut told her that she absolutely


    mustn¡¯t meet his gaze, or she might fall into a bottomless abyss.


    Seeing that Sonia looked away, Toby let out a slight sigh before changing the topic. ¡°Right, you called me


    this morning, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Hearing him mention this, Sonia hastily nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, my phone was turned off this morning,¡± Toby replied.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°I know. I just wanted to ask what we talked aboutst night? How did the call go on


    for more than 300 minutes?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. You fell asleep.¡± His rification was rather short and simple.


    However, she didn¡¯t seem to be convinced, frowning at his reply. ¡°What do you mean? Are you saying


    that after I answered the call, I didn¡¯t say anything to you and went straight to sleep?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°When I called you, you answered, murmured something, then stopped responding.¡±


    Only now did Sonia get the picture of the situation. They hadn¡¯t said anything at all over the phonest


    night, and she had merely slept throughout the phone call. ¡°President Fuller, why didn¡¯t you just hang


    up? Why did you just let the call go on like that?¡± Her lips twitched a little as she stated what seemed to


    bemon sense.


    Toby smiled, but he didn¡¯t reply. He couldn¡¯t tell her that he did it just to listen to her breathing and


    imagine that she was sleeping right beside him. Because he knew that if he said such things, she would


    think that he was crazy.


    Seeing how Toby just smiled silently, Sonia was puzzled and couldn¡¯t understand what was on his mind.


    However, seeing how Toby behaved, Sonia knew he didn¡¯t want to share. This was why she gave up


    pursuing the topic. Instead, she simply asked about his reason for calling her.


    ¡°Nothing much. I just wanted to ask when exactly you¡¯d be back today. I never thought that you¡¯d be


    asleep by the time I called.¡± Toby took a ss of water sitting on the bedside table and took a sip from it.


    Sonia¡¯s red lips parted as she was about to say something, but just then, a knock on the door interrupted


    her, and Tom¡¯s voice sounded from outside. ¡°President Fuller, I got the lunch you asked for.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the door.¡± Without waiting for Toby to respond, Sonia stood up almost instantly.


    After all, the food is meant for me. If I don¡¯t take it myself, who would? Certainly not Toby.


    Sonia walked over and opened the door.


    Tom wasn¡¯t surprised to see her. He simply passed the food to Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, President Fuller


    asked me to get this for you.¡±


    Toby just had his lunch, so Tom knew that he wouldn¡¯t want to eat right now. So, this lunch was obviously


    meant for Sonia. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Brown. Sorry for the trouble.¡± Sonia took the bag of food.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was just following orders.¡± With that, Tom closed the door.


    Sonia stared at the door, then shrugged helplessly. Tom¡¯s behavior toward her had changed from a few


    days ago, where he would re at her for no reason, but now he was extra cold when he talked to her.


    Still, this was a consequence she had to shoulder. I caused his superior¡¯s injury, after all.


    Sonia lowered her gaze and smiled, then turned around and went back to the bed. Toby was doing


    something on his tablet. When he saw her return, he looked up. ¡°Eat up. I have a favor to ask from you


    when you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Do you need help with anything?¡± Sonia blinked as she asked.


    Toby smiled faintly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after you¡¯ve eaten.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± Seeing how he refused to tell, Sonia didn¡¯t prod any further and sat down to eat. As Sonia ate,


    no words were exchanged between them as they busied themselves with their respective tasks.


    While Sonia had her lunch, Toby read the reports. The huge ward was silent save for the chewing and


    breathing. After about half an hour, Sonia finished her meal, gathered the trash, then disposed of it


    outside.


    When Sonia came back, she was walking too fast, so she didn¡¯t notice where she was going. She


    stubbed her toe against the bed frame and lost her bnce, after which she fell forward.


    Seeing that, Toby tensed up, tossing his tablet away as he moved to pull her arm.


    However, it was toote. Toby didn¡¯t manage to save Sonia, and thetter fell onto his bed, her upper


    body buried in the nket.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Toby lowered his head and pulled away the nket, asking in a low voice.


    Sonia rubbed her nose. ¡°I¡¯m fine. The nket caught my fall, so I didn¡¯t knock against anything hard.


    What about you?¡±


    His legs were right under the nket, so she had actually fallen onto his legs. She wasn¡¯t sure whether


    this affected his injury. However, Toby shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m all right too.¡±


    With the nket as a shield, his legs were saved from the sudden pressure. He did feel some weight on


    his legs, but there wasn¡¯t any pain.


    Seeing his serious expression, Sonia decided that he wasn¡¯t lying to her. Then, she finally sighed in relief


    and moved to get up.


    However, right at that moment, the door opened, and a care worker walked in holding Toby¡¯s


    examination report. Her eyes instantly went wide when she was about to ry the results but saw Toby


    and Sonia in a weird position on the bed.


    What am I seeing?! Miss Reed is sprawled in between Mr. Fuller¡¯s legs¡­ They¡­ they¡¯re doing such


    things in the ward in broad daylight¡ª


    The care worker couldn¡¯t think any further. She was blushing madly as she covered her eyes and backed


    away. ¡°Um¡­ Pardon the intrusion. I never saw anything, really. I¡¯m leaving now. Please don¡¯t mind me;


    go on!¡±


    With that, the care worker hastily closed the door and left.


    As Sonia and Toby heard the door m shut, they exchanged curious nces.


    What did the care worker mean? She never saw what? What are we supposed to go on with?


    However, the two soon realized what the care worker¡¯s words meant.


    The instant Sonia got up, she found that they were in a bizarre position just now, and it was too easily


    misunderstood.


    Sonia was lying down in between Toby¡¯s legs, so when the care worker looked in from the door, she


    would think that Sonia was¡­


    It was no wonder the care worker thought she came at the wrong time. Anyone would misunderstand


    under these circumstances.


    At that thought, Sonia felt her face immediately grow red, and even her neck was no exception. She


    quickly got up and took two steps backward. Then, she covered her face with her hands, for she was too


    embarrassed to look at anyone, especially Toby.


    However, Toby looked at her with a half-smile on his face. To be honest, he didn¡¯t expect her to fall down


    in such a fashion, and she had coincidentally just fallen on his bed.


    Still, he was quite amused by how embarrassed she got. He had seen so much of her calm and


    nonchnt attitude, and he only asionally witnessed her other expressions. It really was rare for her


    to be bashful, not to mention how flushed her cheeks were.


    At that thought, Toby suddenly took his phone and opened the camera app. Click! He didn¡¯t think twice


    before taking a photo of her. Her expression was such a rare sight it¡¯d be a waste not to have a photo of


    it taken.


    The photo was saved.


    Hearing the click of the shutter, Sonia put down her hands and stared at Toby. She managed to catch


    sight of Toby saving the photo. She widened her eyes. ¡°President Fuller, you were taking photos of me?¡±


    Toby nodded, admitting to his actions. He even raised his phone to show her the photo taken just now.


    ¡°Not bad, right?¡±


    In the photo, even if her face was covered, her red ears and neck were a dead giveaway to what her


    expression must have looked like.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Sonia looked at her own photo and was stunned for a while, plunging into an agitated state the second


    after. ¡°President Fuller, why did you take such a photo? Please delete it!¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby put down his phone and declined.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes grew wider. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It looks good,¡± Toby replied.


    Sonia was speechless.


    Good? Which part of it? You can¡¯t even see my face.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯re really not deleting it?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t do that. You took my photo without my permission, so it¡¯s a vition of my privacy. You have


    to delete it.¡± With that, Sonia moved to snatch his phone.

 Chapter 469

    Chapter 469


    Chapter 469 Looking for a Companion


    Toby raised his phone as high as he could. He was sitting on the bed, so he was naturally in a higher


    positionpared to Sonia. With a raise of his hand, the phone wentpletely out of reach.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t even touch his hand, much less grab the phone. In the end, she was out of options, so


    she could only jump up to snatch the phone.


    However, Toby already knew she would do that. When she jumped up, he straightened his back and


    raised the phone once again.


    This time, Sonia touched the phone, but only barely with her fingertips, losing her bnce again and


    falling into Toby¡¯s arms.


    Toby looked down at the woman sprawled on his chest. The look in his eyes darkened slightly, and his


    voice was a little hoarse as he said, ¡°Sonia, are you giving out free hugs?¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia seemed irked as she hastily raised her head. ¡°Of course not!¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t say anything, merely lowered his gaze as a means of a hint.


    Sonia followed his gaze and looked down to realize that she was snug in his arms, and her hands were


    even resting on his chest.


    Due to her movements, his patient gown was slightly lifted, so a part of his toned abs was exposed


    seductively.


    The dissipated blush on Sonia¡¯s cheeks came back right away. In lightning speed, she withdrew her


    hands from Toby¡¯s chest, then bolted upright and moved away from him.


    Sonia was going too fast and tripped a little.


    Noticing that, Toby quickly said, ¡°Careful.¡±


    Thanks to the reminder, Sonia turned to look behind her and managed to grab hold of the chair she sat


    on. Then, she finally stabilized herself.


    Whew. I almost fell again.


    Seeing that Sonia had steadied herself, Toby rxed, then pursed his lips andined, ¡°How are you


    so clumsy?¡±


    Sonia guiltily averted her gaze.


    I didn¡¯t want to get this clumsy; you¡¯re the one who made me fall.


    If he had passed his phone to her, she wouldn¡¯t fall into his arms after a failed attempt to snatch the


    phone, and she also wouldn¡¯t have had to endure him joking about free hugs.


    When Sonia thought of the scene just moments ago, her face went hot. She reached up and put her cool


    hands to her hot face, trying to reduce the high temperature.


    She never thought that she would fall suggestively on Toby twice in such a short amount of time. And the


    caregiver even misunderstood them the first time.


    Even though no one saw them the second time, the embarrassment she felt wasn¡¯t much different from


    the first time. Also, the first time was an ident. Albeit a little awkward, she could get a hold of herself


    fairly quickly. The current situation, however, was different. This time, she ended up actually falling onto


    him because of her phone.


    So, Sonia felt that she needed to find a ce to calm herself.


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡­ I need to go to the bathroom.¡± With that, Sonia hastily turned around and went into the


    bathroom, closing the door behind her.


    In the closed-off space, Sonia leaned against the door and slowly slid down. Then, she buried her head


    between her knees.


    Ugh! I wanna disappear!


    Also, she was surprised at the fact that she actually did something so unlike her. She wasn¡¯t the sort of


    person who would snatch someone¡¯s phone just because she was denied ess.


    However, she acted differently this time, and her attempt to grab the phone turned into an idental


    hug.


    No, this makes no sense. Why am I even anxious?


    Sonia bit her lip, a perplexed look in her eyes.


    Back in the ward, when Toby heard the bathroom door m shut, his thin lips curved into a smile. Of


    course, he knew Sonia was only using the bathroom as an excuse to avoid him.


    Guess Sonia can get embarrassed, after all.


    Toby chuckled and looked away, not having any intention of calling for her. He knew very well that if he


    did, she would get even more ufortable.


    He decided to leave her alone in the bathroom for a while to cool down. When she had adjusted herself,


    she woulde out eventually.


    Thinking of that, Toby lowered his head and continued his work on his tablet.


    About half an hourter, the bathroom door opened, and Sonia emerged from within. Hearing the


    movement, Toby put down his tablet and looked over at her.


    Her face wasn¡¯t red anymore, but her eyes were still wavering, betraying the fact that she hadn¡¯t


    completely calmed down inside. Other than that, she seemed to have recovered enough.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± After a deep breath, Sonia lowered her gaze and said, ¡°Um¡­ You said something


    about a favor, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, about that. I¡¯d like to ask a favor of you.¡± Toby nodded.


    The two said nothing about what happened moments ago, pretending that it never happened.


    Hence, Sonia managed to rxpletely and gather enough courage to look straight at Toby. ¡°So,


    what can I help you with?¡±


    ¡°Two days from now, a few important people from overseas areing over to Seafield, so when the


    timees, I¡¯m hoping that you could be mypanion when I attend the meeting. Is that all right?¡±


    Toby looked at her.


    Sonia was dumbfounded. ¡°Companion?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Do you really have to get apanion for this meeting?¡±


    ¡°Sometimespanions are necessary for business meetings.¡± Toby parted his thin lips as he spoke.


    Sonia didn¡¯t say anything else. She lowered her gaze and contemted the request. It was true that


    some meetings required one to have apanion.


    However, if she went, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate. After all,panions are usually spouses or lovers.


    Sonia didn¡¯t have anything to do with Toby. If she went with him, the others would get the idea that they


    were in a rtionship. Seeing that Sonia was biting her lip and hesitant to answer, Toby closed his eyes


    for a second. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to. I¡¯ll find someone else.¡±


    ¡°Who are you going to ask?¡± Sonia looked up and asked subconsciously.


    Toby looked at her in surprise.


    Is she sensitive to the fact that I might be looking for anotherpanion? If not, why would she react like


    that?


    Toby was overjoyed at that thought, and his grip on his tablet tightened. With a hoarse voice, he said


    gingerly, ¡°Sonia, you mean¡­¡±


    Sonia also came to her senses and realized that her reaction just now was slightly inappropriate,


    considering their rtionship.


    Also, seeing how excited Toby looked, he obviously had misunderstood. Sonia hastily exined, ¡°Sorry,


    President Fuller. What I meant was, you¡¯re free to ask anyone you like, but if you¡¯re really out of options,


    I can introduce some to you.¡±


    Hearing that, Toby immediately quelled his joy and excitement. Instead, gloom took over as he clenched


    his fists tightly and said, ¡°Introduce? How generous you are, Sonia!¡±


    She wanted to pair him up with other women!


    He thought she had feelings for him, but it all turned out to be just him and his wishful thinking.


    Seeing Toby¡¯s stony expression and pursed lips, Sonia knew then that she had angered him. She also


    slightly regretted her words, so she tucked some hair behind her ear as she said apologetically, ¡°Um¡­ If


    you don¡¯t like it, I won¡¯t introduce anyone. What¡¯s the worst that could happen? I guess I could ept


    your request. ¡±


    Toby stared at her in surprise. ¡°You agreed to it?¡±


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°And also¡­ sorry for just now.¡±


    Toby smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. But I don¡¯t want to see it happen again. You do know that you¡¯re the only one in


    my heart, so I was really saddened by your words just now.¡±


    Sonia lowered her head and turned around. ¡°No, it won¡¯t happen again. I don¡¯t have time to make


    introductions either.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± Toby looked at her. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the venue in two days. They haven¡¯t decided on it


    yet.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia replied.

 Chapter 470

    Chapter 470


    Chapter 470 You Will Regret It


    When the clock struck four, Sonia left. Toby didn¡¯t hold her back either, allowing the care worker to see


    her off.


    Upon exiting the hospital building, Sonia stopped in her tracks and said to the care worker, ¡°You can go


    back now. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°All right, Miss Reed.¡± The care worker nodded and turned around, re-entering the hospital.


    Sonia took her luggage and got ready to hail a cab by the road. When she came to the roadside, a shiny


    ck Benz came along and pulled up in front of her.


    The door of the car opened, and Rina got out of the car. When she saw Sonia, she was stunned for a


    while, and then she put on a smile as she greeted, ¡°What a coincidence, Miss Reed! Did you juste


    out of the hospital?¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes and answered without expression, ¡°That has nothing to do with you.¡± She didn¡¯t


    expect Rina to be out of custody so soon.


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s upset attitude, Rina didn¡¯t get angry in return. The smile remained on her face as she


    said, ¡°Miss Reed, you don¡¯t have to be so wary. We know each other, so there¡¯s no need for such a tense


    rtionship. I still owe you big time.¡±


    ¡°Owe me big time?¡± Sonia smirked.


    Rina nodded. ¡°Yes, if it weren¡¯t for you and Mr. Coleman, I would still be in the Carey Family, suffering the


    wrath of that couple. I wouldn¡¯t have known that I was actually the child of a rich family, so I¡¯m very


    grateful to you and Mr. Coleman for finding me so that I could finally return to the Gray Family.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia had her expression turned sour. If she had known earlier that Rina¡¯s stand-in turned


    out to be the real deal, she wouldn¡¯t have agreed to Zane¡¯s suggestion to ce a spy in the Gray Family.


    Then, she wouldn¡¯t have toe to a situation where she failed to get any information out of the Gray


    Family, and she even had to be plotted against.


    ¡°I see that your way of repaying kindness is to bite the hand that feeds you. If so, then I really have to


    think twice before epting your thanks.¡± Sonia snorted as she looked at Rina.


    Something flitted across Rina¡¯s eyes, but she quickly recovered herself. She tucked her hair behind her


    ear as she replied, ¡°I¡¯m in the wrong in this case. I wasn¡¯t thinking straight. Should I make it up to you


    right here?¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t ept your apology. Also, let me tell you this, Taylor¡ª¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, please call me Rina!¡± Rina corrected her, smiling like a Cheshire Cat.


    Sonia¡¯s frown was followed by an unexpected smirk. ¡°Ever so eager to throw away that name, aren¡¯t


    you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? I wasn¡¯t Taylor Carey in the first ce, was I?¡± Rina narrowed her eyes.


    Sonia jutted out her chin. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re not Taylor Carey, but you cannot deny that you have been Taylor


    for more than 20 years. So there¡¯s nothing wrong with me calling you Taylor, is there?¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Seeing that Sonia refused to change even after Rina¡¯s reminder, Rina couldn¡¯t keep her smile on


    any longer. She was so pissed that her face got distorted by anger, and she red at Sonia as she


    spoke. ¡°You¡¯re doing it on purpose, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re calling me Taylor just to disgust me!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it if that¡¯s what you want to think.¡± Sonia shrugged irresponsibly.


    Rina¡¯s chest puffed in and out in anger. After a while, she finally snorted. ¡°Hah, Miss Reed, you cannot


    do anything to me ever since I was confirmed to be Rina Gray. So now you can only use words to make


    me feel bad.¡±


    ¡°Who said so?¡± Sonia gave Rina an icy cold re. ¡°I can do much more than make you feel bad; I can


    make you cry like a baby. Don¡¯t think that a few days in the detention center would be sufficient to pay for


    what you did to me. I will remember your actions, and I will have my tenfold revenge in the future. Also,


    let me tell you this: the best way to exact revenge isn¡¯t to kill them; it¡¯s to strip them of everything they¡¯ve


    ever loved.¡±


    Sonia paused and examined the branded clothes and bag on Rina. A sarcastic smile crept into her lips


    as she said, ¡°You have been through poverty, so now luxury is the thing you love the most. When I


    destroy the Gray Family, I wonder if you¡¯d break down.¡±


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Rina clenched her fists tightly as she red at Sonia. ¡°Destroy the Gray Family? You and what army?¡±


    Sonia crossed her arms. ¡°What do you think? I have the Colemans and the Lanes backing me, and if I


    ever request it, the Fullers are willing to help me as well. Do you still think that I cannot destroy the


    Grays? If I want to, I can have them act right now, and the Grays won¡¯t be able tost till tomorrow


    morning. The entire family will be history!¡±


    If it weren¡¯t for the restrictions in the country, she really wanted to do it because it would be the easiest


    and most effective way for her to destroy the Gray Family.


    However, if she really did that, the relevant authority would deal with her quickly, and her dear Paradigm


    Co. would be confiscated as well. Also, even the Colemans and the Lanes would not be exempt from the


    authorities.


    That was why she didn¡¯t do it. She had taken the safe route and decided to deal with the Gray Family in


    the slowest way.


    Rina was still new to the upper circle, so there were many things she hadn¡¯t understood yet. However, it


    didn¡¯t mean that she had no inkling of the Colemans and the Lanes¡¯ influence in Seafield.


    The Colemans weren¡¯t in the business field, but they were renowned inw. Even the most vicious


    businessman would think twice before messing with the power of thew. If the Colemans really decided


    to deal with the Grays, thetter wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it.


    As for the Lanes, even though the family wasn¡¯t too great in Seafield, it would have no problems dealing


    with the Grays in their current situation. Besides, there was also the Fullers, who were way stronger than


    the Grays¡­


    At that thought, Rina went pale in the face. Her expression kept changing as it went from bad to worse.


    Dang it! This woman is actually right. If she ever wished to destroy the Grays, we would fall into ruin.


    This is not a good time to mess with her.


    If Rina angered Sonia, thetter might ignore all restrictions set by the country and deal the deadly blow


    on the Grays. By then, it would really spell trouble for her.


    If that happened, she would turn back into Taylor ¡®the miserable woman¡¯ Carey!


    No, I mustn¡¯t return to those days!


    Clenching her fists, Rina bit her lip as she looked at Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, I know you¡¯re set on destroying


    the Gray Family, but you will regret it if you do so.¡±


    ¡°Regret?¡± Sonia raised an eyebrow and snorted. ¡°I¡¯m just sabotaging my enemy, so what¡¯s there to regret


    about? Taylor, enjoy your life as a spoiled brat while you still can, for maybe in the near future, you¡¯ll


    cease being the daughter of the Grays.¡±


    With that, she hailed a cab and left the scene. Rina stood where she was, watching as the cab


    disappeared into the distance. She was clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.


    However, she acted as if she didn¡¯t feel any pain, not rxing her grip even a little. Her eyes were


    trained in the direction the cab went, dark with a malicious and fear-inducing look.


    Meanwhile, in the cab, Sonia received a call from Toby. ¡°You bumped into Taylor in front of the hospital?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    Toby was standing on the balcony of his ward. ¡°I saw.¡±


    He could see the road from his position. Acknowledging his statement, Sonia nodded. ¡°I see. Yeah, I


    bumped into her. She has been released, but I don¡¯t know why she¡¯de here. I didn¡¯t ask, either.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s probably here to get medicine for Titus,¡± Toby ced his hand on the railing as he replied.


    Titus had kidney failure, so he needed to take painkillers regrly. Hence, the Grays woulde to the


    hospital every so often to get his prescribed pills.


    ¡°What a dutiful child,¡± Sonia looked out the car window and said nonchntly.


    Toby chuckled. ¡°A dutiful child indeed. The Grays are fully dependent on Titus, so if he falls, Taylor¡¯s


    happy days wille to an end. So, she¡¯s the one who wants Titus to survive the most.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°Right. What did you talk about with her?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes and asked, ¡°Did she pick on you?¡±


    Even though he could see the situation from the balcony, he was still a distance away from them, so he


    wasn¡¯t too sure what was happening between them.


    I wonder if Taylor got physical or something.

 Chapter 471

    Chapter 471


    Chapter 471 Zane¡¯s Good News


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head lightly. ¡°Do you think I¡¯d get picked on so easily? The only reason Rina got


    me previously was because of luck, as I wasn¡¯t prepared. Now that I¡¯m aware, there¡¯s no way that she


    can pull another dirty trick on me anymore.¡±


    Upon knowing that Rina didn¡¯t get physical with Sonia, Toby felt relieved. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, did you contact me just to ask me about this?¡± Sonia blinked before asking, while Toby


    nodded. ¡°I was worried that you might get taken advantage of.¡±


    Somehow, Sonia felt happy about it as the corner of her red lips lifted unconsciously while her tone


    softened. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Toby replied, after which was followed by silence, as none of them spoke.


    Sonia realized it had been extremely awkward for the two of them ever since they fell from a cliff. She


    didn¡¯t know how to put the present situation in words. Currently, she wasn¡¯t as cold toward Toby as she


    was in the past, which changed the way theymunicated. Perhaps this is why everything seems odd.


    Like, right now, I don¡¯t know how to continue this conversation with him. What should I say? I can¡¯t keep


    quiet like this forever.


    In the past, Sonia would have already hung up without even saying anything, and she wouldn¡¯t hesitate


    when throwing offensivements at him, but it was different now. Sonia couldn¡¯t do so any longer,


    seeing as he saved her and she owed it to him. She at least needed to say goodbye before hanging up.


    At the thought of that, Sonia took a deep breath, tightened her grip on her phone, and said to the man,


    ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯m reaching soon, so I¡¯ll hang up now.¡±


    She didn¡¯t know what to say to Toby, but she knew she couldn¡¯t keep quiet forever, and the best way to


    resolve their awkwardness was to say goodbye and hang up.


    Knowing that, Toby pursed his lips a little before he answered with a hoarse voice, ¡°Alright.¡±


    After the call ended, Sonia put her phone down and started zoning out as she looked outside of the


    window.


    In no time, Sonia reached Bayside Residence. She took her luggage and entered her house after paying


    the cab fare. I should take a shower and rest¡­


    However, the doorbell rang after she ced her luggage down.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Sonia frowned before using the couch¡¯s armrest as leverage to get up and headed toward


    the entrance to get the door.


    In front of the door stood Zane, who had both his hands on his knees, as he gasped for air and looked as


    if he waspletely exhausted.


    Right then, Sonia stared at him in disbelief. ¡°Did¡­ Did you run up using the stairs?¡±


    Zane¡¯s mouth opened a little as he had his hand on his back and shook his head. It seemed like he


    wanted to say something, but nothing came out because he was too tired to speak. He was so anxious


    he even stomped his feet.


    At this moment, Sonia felt likeughing before she patted him a little. ¡°Alright, alright. You need to rest a


    little. Speak when you¡¯ve calmed down.¡±


    Staring at her, Zane nodded before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A whileter, he finally


    calmed down, and his breath became less ragged. Standing up straight, Zane asked anxiously, ¡°Sonia,


    are you alright?!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia tilted her head. ¡°What do you mean? Why are you asking me this?¡±


    ¡°Well, I heard you fell down a cliff with Toby,¡± Zane said while scanning her up and down to see if she


    was injured.


    Finally realizing what Zane was talking about, Sonia shook her head softly. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but how did you find


    out that I fell down a cliff with Toby?¡±


    Charles and Tom had covered the incident about our fall so that gossip won¡¯t spiral on the inte. I


    wonder how Zane found out?


    ¡°I just got back from Westsanshire, and I had nned to meet Toby. I found out about this after


    contacting Toby, so I rushed over to check up on you,¡± Zane exined while wiping his sweat off.


    A look of realization shed across Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°So he¡¯s the one who told you about it.¡±


    Zane nodded. ¡°Sonia, what happened exactly? How did you and Toby fall off a cliff?¡±


    A few days back, Zane had gone to Westsanshire to run some errands and hadn¡¯t returned since, but he


    didn¡¯t expect such a disaster to happen during his absence. Since Toby refused to tell him the details, he


    had no choice but to ask Sonia.


    ¡°Carl¡¯s nemesis kidnapped me, but amidst the chaos, I fell off a cliff. Toby leaped off the cliff to save me,


    so well, both of us ended up falling.¡± Sonia moved to the side to let Zane enter the house while narrating


    the incident. ¡°Carl¡¯s nemesis? Who?¡±


    ¡°Just a small fry. You probably don¡¯t know him anyway.¡± Sonia shook her head, showing reluctance to


    discuss this further.


    Zane shrugged. ¡°Alright. Are you really alright?¡± If Toby was admitted to the hospital because of the


    injuries that he sustained after jumping off the cliff, Sonia must have gotten injured as well.


    However, Sonia nodded in affirmation. ¡°I¡¯m really alright. Toby protected me the entire time, so I¡¯ve only


    gotten light scratches, and I¡¯ve recovered. Toby is the one who sustained all the injuries.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Zane sighed in relief after making sure that Sonia was fine, picking up the ss of


    water she brought before taking a big gulp. ¡°As for Toby, I¡¯ve already asked Tim about it, and he said the


    injuries aren¡¯t severe. The most serious injury that he sustained was on his arm, and he¡¯ll be fine after a


    few months.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia sat in front of him before sighing. ¡°Still, I feel bad that he got injured just because he tried


    to save me.¡±


    Zane stared at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? Just repay him for saving your life. As for how you can


    repay him, just discuss it in the future. After all, it was his choice to save you.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Toby was her lifesaver, and she couldn¡¯t just repay him by taking care of him


    until he waspletely recovered. This won¡¯t be enough.


    Sonia needed to find a way to repay Toby for saving her life. However, she had no idea what to do for


    now and could only wait for an opportunity to repay Toby when he needed her help.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s drop this topic. Why did youe over?¡± Sonia lifted her ss to take a sip, while Zane


    leaned back on the couch. ¡°I just wanted to check up on you and make sure that you¡¯re alright after I


    found out that you fell off a cliff.¡±


    Although Toby told him that Sonia was fine, he was still worried because he hadn¡¯t seen her, so he hung


    up after talking to Toby, who sounded gloomy, and came over to look for Sonia.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded before she smiled softly. ¡°Thanks for checking up on me. I¡¯m doing fine.¡±


    ¡°Why would you even thank me for that?¡± Zane waved her off. Then, he thought of something and leaned


    forward before grinning mysteriously. ¡°By the way, I have good news.¡±


    ¡°What kind of good news?¡± Sonia got interested and raised her eyebrows.


    Narrowing his eyes a little, Zane said, ¡°I¡¯m heading over to Westsanshire for a meeting this time, and I


    heard that they¡¯re preparing to investigate ten randompanies in the nation.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia looked confused.


    Inching forward to reduce the distance between them, Zane exined, ¡°It means that the officials are


    preparing to investigate tenpanies with poor reputations within the country. They want to use this as


    a warning for others and eliminate those shady enterprises.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia had a look of realization on her face as she bit her lip.


    Zane held two fingers up. ¡°Well, there are twopanies in Seafield that are targeted.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia felt her heart skip a beat. ¡°Which twopanies?¡± Paradigm Co. wouldn¡¯t be


    one of them, right?


    In the past months, Paradigm Co. had been under fire online because of the Gray Family feud, so their


    reputation was definitely bad.

 Chapter 472

    Chapter 472


    Chapter 472 Dinner Is on Me


    Sonia was bothered that Paradigm Co. would be ced under investigation. Although Paradigm Co.


    hadn¡¯t been involved in any illegal matters after she took over, thepany had previous involvements


    in shady deals.


    Ever since Sonia¡¯s father passed away, Paradigm Co. had been managed by Asher, and Sonia knew he


    was a greedy man that would do anything to reach his goals.


    Four months ago, when Reba took over the finance department, she found a lot of fake ounts as


    well as cases of tax evasion, all of them Asher¡¯s doing.


    Sonia had canceled the fake ounts and got Reba to turn over all the evaded taxes. Still, there


    might still be some hidden issues with thepany.


    After all, Asher had been managing thepany for six years more than her. He had way more people


    working under him in different departments, so she couldn¡¯t have known if he was involved in any other


    hical transactions.


    Still, based on her understanding of Asher, she knew that there were definitely more things that she


    hadn¡¯t been able to find out. Therefore, Paradigm Co. would surely be ended if it was under


    investigation.


    Noticing that Sonia looked tense and was frowning, Zane immediately knew what she was worried about


    and chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. You look like a grandmother when you¡¯re frowning. Calm down. I¡¯ve


    already said that it is good news. Thepanies in Seafield that will be investigated this time are


    Triforce Enterprise and Darwin Group.¡±


    ¡°Triforce Enterprise and Darwin Group?¡± Sonia sighed in relief upon knowing that Paradigm Co. wouldn¡¯t


    be investigated as her racing heart started to calm down.


    Patting her chest gently to calm herself down, Sonia asked curiously, ¡°I¡¯m not surprised that Triforce


    Enterprise would be chosen since they¡¯ve been involved in many scandals during these few months, but


    why is Darwin Group chosen as well? By right, Paradigm Co. has higher chances of getting picked,


    doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. They¡¯ve initially decided on Paradigm Co. and Triforce Enterprise because of the notorious


    Gray Family feud, but a homicide happened in Darwin Group recently. Because of the unique nature of


    the case, it hadn¡¯t been announced to the public yet. Still, the authorities had already known about it, so


    they decided to pick Darwin Group while leaving a spot for either Paradigm Co. or Triforce Enterprise,¡±


    Zane exined while sipping on his water.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°So, Paradigm Co. got lucky, huh?¡±


    ¡°You can put it that way, but it is also mainly because of what my father did covertly. Since we held


    grudges against the Gray Family, of course, we¡¯d prefer if Triforce Enterprise got investigated. I don¡¯t


    believe that Triforce Enterprise is not involved in anything illegal, so it would be the end for the Gray


    Family and theirpany if the authorities find something wrong with their operations. By then, we will


    make our moves on Titus with no scruples.¡±


    Then, Zane gave Sonia a look. ¡°What do you think, Sonia? Isn¡¯t this good news?¡±


    Clenching her fists together, Sonia nodded with an excited look in her eyes. ¡°Of course! This is great


    news!¡±


    Zane and Sonia had always been trying to get their hands on evidence that Triforce Enterprise was


    involved in illegal transactions, and that was why they arranged for Taylor to infiltrate the Gray Family.


    If they could get evidence of Triforce Enterprise¡¯s crimes and hand them over to the relevant party, no


    one wouldn¡¯t stop them from making a move on Triforce Enterprise and the Gray Family. In fact, they


    might even get support.


    However, Triforce Enterprise had been covering up their tracks really well, so Sonia and Zane couldn¡¯t


    get their hands on any evidence even though they had been investigating for a long time.


    In a twist of events, the authorities actually wanted tounch an investigation on Triforce Enterprise now.


    Instead of doing secret investigations like Sonia and Zane to prevent Titus from getting alerted and


    destroying evidence, the authorities could conduct a broad investigation. The professional search team


    deployed by the authorities didn¡¯t have to worry about alerting anyone, seeing how powerful they were.


    At the thought of that, Sonia got even more excited as she urged, ¡°Zane, when are they starting the


    investigations?¡±


    ¡°It should be within these three months. I can¡¯t tell when for sure since they have tenpanies to


    investigate after all,¡± Zane answered before shrugging.


    Right then, Sonia grinned cheerfully. ¡°Three months is fine. It should be pretty quick. If it was us


    investigating, I bet we will need more than a year for this.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Zane answered in aid-back tone while he ced his hands on the backrest behind him.


    At the same time, Sonia¡¯s body was trembling due to excitement as her beautiful eyes glowed.


    Three months. After the wait, I¡¯ll finally be able to get revenge for Dad. This is fantastic news for me.


    Suddenly, she felt like crying before her eyes turned red.


    Upon seeing that, Zane was taken aback before he asked, ¡°Sonia, why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not crying.¡± Sonia looked up at him before wiping the corner of her eye, showing a wide grin. ¡°I just


    feel really happy.¡±


    When Zane noticed Sonia¡¯s glistening eyes, he believed those were tears of happiness, so he let his


    guard down. ¡°You really scared me. I thought you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Dinner is on me.¡± Sonia suddenly cut him off, leaving him blinking in confusion. ¡°Dinner is on you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I want to thank you for bringing me such good news,¡± Sonia stood up and exined while Zane


    chuckled. ¡°Sure. I won¡¯t reject your offer seeing how genuine you are. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He removed his hands from the backrest of the couch and stood up. Then, the two of them left the house


    and drove to a high-end fine dining restaurant.


    ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± Zane passed the menu to Sonia.


    After looking through the menu, Sonia decided on a sirloin steak and a bowl of fruit sd. ¡°I¡¯ll get these.¡±


    ¡°Is that enough?¡± Zane frowned while Sonia reached out to take a sip of her water. ¡°How is it not? I don¡¯t


    want to overeat since it¡¯s easier to gain weight at night.¡±


    ¡°Why are all women like this?¡± Zanemented helplessly while going through the menu as Sonia


    chuckled lightly. ¡°There¡¯s no choice, since all of us want to take care of our body image.¡±


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to care about it, since your body is perfect.¡± Then, Zane¡¯s eyesnded on Sonia¡¯s


    chest.


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    Noticing his gaze, Sonia lowered her head to see where Zane was looking, and her face darkened


    before she reached out to cover her chest and snapped, ¡°Zane, what are you looking at?!¡±


    Zane came back to his senses upon hearing Sonia¡¯s protests before he realized his impoliteness,


    rubbing his nose sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I zoned out a little just now.¡±


    He would never tell Sonia what he was looking at before he zoned out, but how could Sonia not know?


    She chuckled coldly. ¡°You really¡ª¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Zane signaled for the staff and cut her off immediately. ¡°That¡¯s all for now. Make it quick.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The waiter took the menu back and left with a smile while Sonia red at Zane coldly. ¡°Did you


    do that purposely?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zane acted as if he didn¡¯t understand what Sonia was talking about.


    She pursed her lips. ¡°You interrupted me purposely.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I¡¯m just hungry, and I want my food now,¡± Zane replied with a deliberate smile on his


    face.


    Fine. I¡¯ll admit that I did it on purpose, but that¡¯s because I knew she was going to call me a shameless


    person or a pervert. It¡¯s better for me to change the topic than to admit that I¡¯m a pervert anyway.


    On the other hand, Sonia was annoyed, especially after seeing through Zane¡¯s horrible acting skill. ¡°Fine.


    I¡¯ll let you off this time, but I¡¯ll definitely dig your eyes out if I catch you checking me out again.¡±


    Then, she curled two fingers up and brought them near his eyes before making a digging motion while


    Zane acted as if he was afraid and took a few steps backward. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re truly cold-hearted.¡±


    Sonia harrumphed. ¡°Well, I can do better than that. Would you like to have a go?¡±


    Zane immediately shook his head. ¡°Please, no. Have mercy, Your Highness. I¡¯ve learned my lesson.¡±


    Zane¡¯s cheeky acting eased the situation. Sonia grinned from ear to ear, covering her mouth as her eyes


    looked like crescents.


    At the same time, Toby, who was sitting in one of the private rooms of the restaurant, had a really dark


    expression on his face.

 Chapter 473

    Chapter 473


    Chapter 473 Toby Letting Go


    Right then, Toby tightened his grip on the windowsill so hard that it was as if he wanted to break it.


    Tom could immediately sense that Toby was jealous when he entered the ce, so he couldn¡¯t help


    himself but ask, ¡°President Fuller, what happened?¡±


    However, Toby refused to answer and narrowed his eyes to look downstairs instead.


    When Tom walked over to Toby and stared in the same direction to see Sonia and Zane, he instantly


    understood what was happening.


    So, that¡¯s why President Fuller is jealous, huh? He was still wondering what would make Toby jealous in


    a restaurant.


    Looks like Miss Reed and Mr. Coleman are dining here as well.


    ¡°President Fuller, do you want to go downstairs?¡± Tom stood behind Toby and asked while Toby pursed


    his lips into a thin line. ¡°No.¡±


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    ¡°Huh?¡± Tom stared at him in shock. ¡°You¡¯re not going downstairs?¡±


    Toby nodded, but Tom was still in disbelief. ¡°But Miss Reed is having a meal together with Mr. Coleman,


    and she looks really happy. You¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Check if President Cunningham is here yet since I need to head to the hospital in half an


    hour.¡± Toby cut him off before he turned around and headed to the couch in the private room.


    Giving downstairs a final look, Tom followed after Toby and asked, ¡°I just checked with President


    Cunningham. He told me he is in a traffic jam and will arrive in ten minutes.¡±


    Toby hummed in acknowledgment without saying anything. On the couch he sat, picking up a magazine


    in the meantime. Although he looked like he was absorbed in the magazine, Tom could notice that Toby¡¯s


    gaze was muddled and unfocused.


    It was obvious that Toby was zoning out, and Tom concluded that Sonia and Zane were the reason.


    How could President Fuller bear watching Miss Reed going out with other men when he¡¯s in love with


    her? I bet he¡¯s extremely jealous right now. Still, someone as possessive as him would¡¯ve already gone


    downstairs to spoil Miss Reed and Mr. Coleman¡¯s dinner. He would never allow Miss Reed to hang out


    with a man alone. However, he¡¯s reacting to the situation abnormally this time.


    Tom could sense Toby¡¯s urge to go downstairs to make Zane leave or bring Sonia upstairs. Yet, it


    seemed like he was afraid of something and decided to give up instead. Tom really couldn¡¯t understand


    what was happening.


    At the thought of that, he gave Toby a puzzled look through his sses. This is weird¡­ In the past, he¡¯d


    still be able to guess what Toby was thinking about. However, since the cliff ident, Toby¡¯s behavior


    had been ever so unpredictable that even his long-time trusty assistant had no clue.


    On the first floor of the restaurant, Sonia looked up to stare at one of the windows on the second floor


    before she frowned with a troubled look on her face.


    Meanwhile, Zane cut a small piece of his steak and ced it in his mouth. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What are you


    looking at?¡±


    ¡°I feel like someone was staring at me just now,¡± Sonia pursed her lips before saying in an unsure


    manner, causing Zane to ce his utensils down with a shocked look. ¡°Someone¡¯s looking at you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Zane looked up to look in the direction that she was staring at. ¡°Do you want me to ask the waiter to find


    out who is in the private room?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Sonia waved him off and rejected his offer. ¡°So what if we find out who is in the private room?


    They were just staring at me and didn¡¯t do anything to me. If we offend them by asking, that will cause


    unnecessary trouble, and it would be bad to cause trouble in a restaurant. Let¡¯s just act like we don¡¯t


    know anything.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Zane nodded before he pushed a te of dessert toward Sonia. ¡°Try this. The desserts in


    this ce are really good.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia stared at the colorful cake that obviously looked really tasty before gulping instinctively.


    As a person who was really into desserts, she was unable to control herself, especially with beautifully


    designed ones.


    Finally, Sonia gave in to her desires and dropped the idea of dieting before she took her fork and cut the


    cake. ¡°I¡¯ll dig in now. Thanks.¡±


    Then, she ced the cake into her mouth while Zane leaned closer toward her. ¡°How does it taste?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°This is really good!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it? I told you my rmendations are always good. We can take away more when we¡¯re leaving


    later,¡± Zane chuckled before suggesting as Sonia ced her fork down. ¡°That¡¯s a good suggestion. I


    shall order some desserts to take awayter on.¡±


    Then, she took her ss and wanted to drink some water to cleanse her pte so that she could


    continue eating.


    Right then, Zane cried out, ¡°Hang on.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia was taken aback when she heard his tense voice as her hand that was holding


    onto the ss of water trembled a little, threatening the water to spill.


    Zane quickly grabbed two napkins. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    Then, he reached out to wipe off the cream at the corner of her mouth. Not expecting Zane¡¯s action,


    Sonia was stunned.


    At the same time, Toby, who was still worried, got up and walked toward the window on the second floor


    again. However, what came into Toby¡¯s vision was the intimate scene of Zane wiping the corner of


    Sonia¡¯s mouth when he got to the window.


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s pupils constricted as his face darkened. He was filled with anger, topped with a pinch


    of jealousy. The aura that he gave off right then was chilling, and the magazine that he was holding had


    alreadye apart due to how hard he was gripping it.


    When Tom, who was standing next to Toby, felt his head aching as his gaze switched between


    downstairs and the magazine on the ground.


    President Fuller, why don¡¯t you go down to separate Miss Reed and Mr. Coleman, if the two of them


    together bother you so much? Why are you throwing a tantrum alone without doing anything? What¡¯s the


    point of doing so?


    After pondering for a moment, Tom took a deep breath before he turned to see Toby¡¯s cold side view and


    suggested, ¡°President Fuller, let¡¯s head downstairs.¡±


    Nevertheless, Toby¡¯s lips were pursed into a thin lip as he remained silent. Thinking that Toby probably


    didn¡¯t hear him, Tom called out for him again.


    Unexpectedly, Toby narrowed his eyes and finally replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let them be.¡±


    ¡°Let them be?¡± Tom¡¯s mouth fell open in shock. ¡°Are you going to let Mr. Coleman and Miss Reed


    continue being so intimate with each other?¡±


    Toby looked down. ¡°Sonia can still live for a long time while I probably only have about three years left.


    Zane is obviously more suitable for her than I am in that sense.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tom finally understood why Toby didn¡¯t go downstairs to separate Sonia and Zane,


    despite being bothered by their intimate behavior.


    It was because Toby had finally made up his mind to let Sonia go. He wanted the man beside Sonia to


    be someone who loved her, treasured her, and brought her all the happiness in the world.


    Just like what Toby said just now, Sonia still had a long time to go. If he couldn¡¯t live over three years, he


    would only bring her more harm than good.


    Therefore, Toby would rather do the correct thing and let go of Sonia to let her find her own happiness.


    Despite that, this meant that he would have to push the love of his life into another man¡¯s arms, which


    was no different from stabbing himself in the heart.


    ¡°President Fuller, are you sure you want to do that?¡± Tom nced at Toby. ¡°What if we can find a heart


    donor? What would happen¡ª¡±


    ¡°What are the chances of getting a heart that ispatible?¡± Toby cut him off before he said coldly, ¡°If it¡¯s


    so easy to get a heart donor, I wouldn¡¯t have waited for 24 years.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Tom clenched his fists, as he didn¡¯t know what to say any longer.


    That¡¯s right. If it really was easy to get a heart donor, the Fuller Family would have already taken


    advantage of their influence to find one. The only reason President Fuller decided to let go of Sonia was


    that the probability was almost zero.

 Chapter 474

    Chapter 474


    Chapter 474 Toby Had Started to Matter to Her


    Presently downstairs, Sonia finally snapped back to reality. She stood up and shot an annoyed look at


    Zane. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    He was momentarily taken aback by her reaction. His eyes glimmered, and he drew his hand away. ¡°I


    was helping you to wipe away the cream.¡±


    To prove himself, he showed her the napkin and gestured at her to take a look.


    Indeed, she noticed that there was a little bit of cream on it. Knowing that she had misunderstood him,


    she calmed down and took her seat. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. Sorry. I thought you wanted to¡ª¡±


    ¡°You thought I wanted to take advantage of you?¡± Zane grinned at her.


    Sonia pursed her lips at him without a word. ¡°Anyway, you should stop acting that way. Others might


    misunderstand. You could tell me and let me do it myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a simple gesture to help you. No one¡¯s going to misunderstand our rtionship. But if you


    insist¡­¡± He shrugged nonchntly, and though he seemed to have agreed, the disappointment he felt


    was indescribable.


    He had nned to have her get used to his asional flirtatious behavior, making his way to her heart


    until he could touch her heart one day. Therefore, her wariness was shocking to him¡ªshe did not give


    him even the slightest chance to flirt at all.


    Looks like the journey to her heart is going to be a long one.


    shing a bitter smile, he could only shake his head.


    An hourter, they finished their meals. Sonia paid for the meal, had two pieces of strawberry cake to-go,


    and prepared to go home.


    Stepping out of the restaurant, she was greeted by a st of cold air that swept across her body and


    face. She couldn¡¯t help but sneeze, and her body started trembling.


    Seeing that, he hurriedly asked, ¡°Are you cold?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, a little,¡± she nodded and replied before looking up at the sky.


    The sky was dark, without any trace of a star and the moon. The darkness was rather depressing, and it


    seemed like rain was about to follow not long after. While thinking, she felt a weight on her shoulders,


    like something had been put on them.


    She hurriedly looked down and found that a coat had been draped across her shoulders. It didn¡¯t take


    long before she realized that the familiar coat was Zane¡¯s.


    She spun around to look at him and confirmed that he was not wearing the coat anymore. It surprised


    her to see that he was only dressed in a shirt and a knitted vest. ¡°Why did you give the coat to me?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold? This is what I should do as a man.¡± He chuckled.


    To that, she frowned disapprovingly. ¡°Even so, you will feel the cold as well. I don¡¯t want you to catch a


    cold because of me. Take this back and wear it.¡±


    As she spoke, she attempted to take off the coat and return it to him.


    He forcefully draped the coat onto her again. To stop her from taking it off, he pinned her shoulders.


    ¡°Alright now. Listen to me. Keep the coat on. I¡¯m a grown man. I won¡¯t easily catch a cold.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    She tightened her lips in confusion and was about to reply when a male voice interrupted them. ¡°Hey,


    can you step aside? You¡¯re both in the way.¡±


    This voice¡­


    Her vision trailed to the direction of the voice behind her, and soon enough, she saw both Toby and Tom


    standing not far away. They were looking at her and Zane without any expression.


    It is Toby indeed! But why is he here? Isn¡¯t he still warded?


    It didn¡¯t take long for Zane to ask the same question. With a huge grin, he looked at Toby. ¡°Oh, Toby, how


    are you? What a coincidence! Are you having your dinner here too? I thought you¡¯re still hospitalized, so


    I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±


    Toby did not reply. Instead, his dark gaze fell on Sonia¡¯s shoulders.


    She sensed that as well. With all her might, she shook off Zane¡¯s hands from her shoulders. At the same


    time, she took off the coat and threw it back to Zane. Staring back at Toby, she stammered, ¡°Um, t-the


    coat is¡­¡±


    ¡°Sonia, why do you bother exining when you have nothing to do with him?¡± Zane narrowed his eyes


    and scrutinized her face.


    Truly, she was caught off guard by thatment beforeing back to her senses with a sour


    expression.


    Yeah, it is true that I have nothing to do with Toby anymore. Whatever I do, it is not his business.


    If that¡¯s the case, why did I bother to exin to him about Zane¡¯s coat on me? Have I lost my mind?


    At that thought, she lowered her eyes and fell silent.


    Toby finally spoke with an icy tone. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to continue what you¡¯re doing.¡± Then, he walked over to


    the Maybach parked by the road.


    Tom gave Sonia and Zane a light nod as a goodbye and followed suit.


    Now, it was Zane¡¯s turn to feel confused.


    What¡¯s the matter? Even after seeing me with Sonia, he did not stop me. Not only that, he asked that we


    keep going at it!


    Is this¡­ Is this really Toby Fuller?


    Additionally, Toby did not look envious or angry when he saw him putting the coat on Sonia.


    Okay, what is going on now? Did he experience an epiphany or something?


    Zane stared at the figure that was moving away with utter disbelief in his eyes. As for Sonia, she felt her


    heart tighten when Toby left. Before she knew it, she had started running in his direction. ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    Toby was already in the car. When he heard her voice, he stopped in the middle of closing the car door.


    She jogged to the car door and panted softly. Then, she looked at him and mumbled, ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it that you want to say?¡± he asked her casually.


    She bit her lower lip. To be honest, she had no idea what she wanted to say. The sight of him leaving


    pushed her to chase after him without knowing it.


    Even she had no exnation as to why she had done that. Not only that, she felt a little angry at him for


    not showing any response when she was standing beside Zane.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not talking, I will return to the hospital.¡± He ced his hand on the door handle as he addressed


    her.


    Her eyes flickered before she organized her thoughts and responded, ¡°I mean, I just wanted to ask you


    why you are out here when you¡¯re not officially discharged.¡±


    ¡°A family friend who was close to myte father asked to meet to discuss a coboration. I took a three-


    hour leave from the hospital,¡± he replied breezily while staring at her. Then, he added, ¡°Anything else? If


    there¡¯s nothing else, I will shut the door now.¡±


    ¡°N-Nothing more.¡± She shook her head.


    Indeed, Sonia had nothing to say to him. From the start, she had run to him without a good reason. Her


    short question just now was the only thing she could say after racking her brain.


    Toby grunted and shut the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tom replied and ignited the engine.


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    Sonia watched on as the Maybach drove into the traffic, her hands clenching into fists. Overwhelmed by


    the situation, she was even experiencing an indescribable confusion.


    All the while, Zane had been standing at the same spot. Eventually, he walked up to her with the coat in


    his arms. ¡°Do you still need the coat?¡±


    She shook her head wearily. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Guessed so.¡± Zane shed a smile, yet it wasn¡¯t one out of happiness. From the way things went, he


    could tell that Toby meant something to Sonia.


    If that wasn¡¯t the case, Sonia wouldn¡¯t have thrown the coat back to him at the sight of Toby and kept a


    distance between them. She did not want anything to do with him out of fear that Toby might


    misunderstand their rtionship.


    Toby was once the love of her life; it wouldn¡¯te off as a surprise if she fell for Toby again. No, the


    probability was pretty high. For all one knew, the ne crash was the catalyst that awakened her hidden


    feelings.


    After all, it was hard toe across a man who would risk his life for her. Who else other than Toby


    would deserve her love?


    It looked like Zane would soon win the bet with Sonia. Despite that, he was not happy at the prospect of


    winning.


    Anyway, there was one thing that cheered Zane up tonight, which was Toby¡¯s haughty attitude toward


    Sonia.


    Keeping that in mind, he put on the coat and asked cautiously, ¡°Sonia, is there some conflict between


    you and Toby?¡±a

 Chapter 475

    Chapter 475


    Chapter 475 If You Want to Go After Her, Do It


    ¡°Conflict?¡± Sonia frowned puzzledly. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Zane clearly refused to believe her, but she nodded solemnly. ¡°Of course not. But why


    the question?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of Toby¡¯s attitude just now. It was too out of the norm.¡± Zane stared at the private dining


    room of the restaurant that Toby was dining at, squinted his eyes with a perplexed expression.


    Sonia looked in the same direction. ¡°Yeah, he was acting a little weird.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± Zane caressed his chin, looking like a pensive detective. ¡°Normally, if he sees me walking close


    to you, he¡¯d show up and wreak havoc around us because he wouldn¡¯t allow you to be with any other


    man. He didn¡¯t do that today. By the looks of it, he seemed happy to see us together.¡±


    Sonia remained silent but bit her lower lip anxiously, for she had observed everything Zane told her, and


    it made her uneasy.


    ¡°Is that why you guessed that there was a conflict between me and him?¡± she questioned as she


    clenched her fists.


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. If not, I can¡¯t exin why Toby would act in such a way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he has let go,¡± Sonia looked at the ground as she muttered.


    Zane was taken aback. ¡°Let go?¡±


    ¡°I said Toby has given up on me. He won¡¯t pursue me again.¡± She clenched her fists even tighter.


    At her reply, Zane¡¯s jaw almost dropped to the floor. ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sonia answered curtly.


    By now, Zane¡¯s mouth was wide open in shock. ¡°How is that possible? Toby loves you so much. He¡¯s


    also pretty aggressive. Once he sets his eyes on something, he will never give up on it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely possible. He told me in person.¡± Sonia stared at him.


    Toby had told her the truth on the day he woke up from thea. He said that he would not pursue her


    and ask her to be with him anymore.


    For some reason, Sonia recalled his words vividly. She should have been ted when the man she


    hated decided to stop bugging her, yet she did not feel happy at all. In reality, she even felt a little


    depressed, apanied by some bitterness and a hint of inexplicable emotions.


    Upon seeing the serious look in Sonia¡¯s eyes, Zane finally believed that Toby had given up. However, the


    truth was more unbelievable and shocking for him.


    ¡°Did Toby really¡­ give up? That¡¯s¡­¡± His mouth opened and closed intermittently. Even after a while, he


    could not calm down at all.


    He had a hunch that something must have happened for Toby to do something as impossible as giving


    up on Sonia.


    ¡°Alright, Zane, it¡¯ste now. Gotta go.¡± She lifted her wrist to check the time on the watch.


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    Zane tried to put aside the shock and beamed at her. ¡°I¡¯ll send you home.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll hail a cab. You¡¯re heading in a different direction. If you send me home, it¡¯d be too much


    trouble for you.¡±


    After that, she walked to the side of the road and hailed a cab. She went into the cab and waved at him.


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    Her movement was quick and fluid, giving him no chance to object.


    In the end, Zane could only sigh in defeat. ¡°Goodbye then.¡±


    Sonia rolled up her windows. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The cab driver shifted gears and cruised down the road.


    Standing by the road and staring at the disappearing cab, Zane frowned as he fell into unreadable


    thoughts.


    A momentter, he took out his phone and dialed Toby¡¯s number.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Toby¡¯s deep voice came from the other end.


    Zane went back to his car and asked while he leaned on the car door, ¡°Toby, did anything happen to


    you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Toby had changed into the striped patient robe in navy and white. He was seated


    on the sofa in his room and fired back the question with a frown.


    Zane inhaled deeply. ¡°I mean¡­ Sonia told me you don¡¯t n to pursue her anymore. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded, admitting that he had made the statement before.


    Zane tightened his grip on his phone. ¡°But Toby, this is not you at all. You¡¯re not the type to give up


    easily. That¡¯s why I asked you if anything has happened to you that forced you to give her up?¡±


    ¡°Do these questions even matter?¡± Toby pursed his lips, and a mocking look shed across his eyes. ¡°I


    remember that you¡¯re into her, so you should be happy that I have given her up. Why are you


    interrogating me now? Do you want me to not give her up?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I am d you backed out because that means one less rival. My chances of winning her


    heart would be higher. But, Toby, you¡¯re my friend. You giving Sonia up, and my concern for you are two


    separate events. You can¡¯t put the two together. I understand you very well. You wouldn¡¯t have given up


    unless something had happened. Tell me, what has happened to you?¡± Zane urged him with furrowed


    brows.


    Toby looked at his feet and muttered gently, ¡°Nothing in particr happened. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve had


    enough, so I wanted to let go. Go ahead, and go after her if you love her. I won¡¯t get between you two.¡±


    With that, he hung up on Zane.


    ¡°Hello?! Hello?!¡± Zane yelled at his phone. When he received no reply, he checked his phone again only


    to realize that he was staring at his home screen. He almost jumped in anger. ¡°Why is he always so


    annoying?¡±


    Zane wed at his hair impatiently and put his phone down, after which he got in his car. It took a while


    for him to digest the situation and make sense of things, but his brows remained knitted as he seemed to


    ponder on some matters.


    I have a hunch that things are not as simple as it seems. Something tells me that something bad must


    have happened to Toby. Hmm¡­


    He unlocked his phone to make another call, after which came the voice of a sleepy person yawning.


    ¡°Mr. Coleman, are you looking for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have something that I need you to look into,¡± Zane exined with a straight face.


    The man could sense the gravity of the matter from his voice. He sobered up and replied in a serious


    tone, ¡°Please go ahead.¡±


    ¡°I want you to secretly probe into what¡¯s happening to Tobytely,¡± Zane requested.


    As a sign of agreement, the man nodded. ¡°Sure, Mr. Coleman. I¡¯lle back with the results in two


    days.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Zane ended the call.


    In the hospital, Toby threw his phone aside and leaned into the sofa, after which he covered his eyes


    with his right arm.


    The room was thick with the air of loneliness because no one knew how much it pained him to talk about


    letting go of Sonia to Zane.


    Had it not been for his heart issues, he would not have pushed the woman he loved into the arms of


    another man.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± At that moment, Tom pushed the door open and entered.


    Toby took his hand off his eyes and sat up to look at him. ¡°Has everything been taken care of?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded.


    Toby nodded approvingly as well. Next, he stood up. ¡°Take care of my discharge procedure after this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tom was taken aback and gave him an astonished stare. ¡°President Fuller, are you leaving the


    hospital?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He walked to the patient¡¯s bed, and Tom followed nervously behind him. ¡°But why? Your wound is


    not fully healed yet. It¡¯s not the time to leave.¡±


    ¡°Home recovery makes no difference.¡± He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his forehead. ¡°Most


    importantly, I don¡¯t want Sonia to take care of me anymore.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tom had many questions in mind.


    From the start, President Fuller was happy when Miss Reed had promised to take care of him because


    he could have more time with her.


    Why did he change his mind now?


    Toby pursed his lips and exined coolly, ¡°I have let go of her. Of course, I should stop being too close to


    her.¡±


    Hearing that, Tom immediately understood what was going on as he silentlymented the couple¡¯s fate.

 Chapter 476

    Chapter 476


    Chapter 476 Giving Her the Cold Shoulder


    I bet President Fuller believes that it¡¯s best to let Miss Reed, considering he only has three years left to


    live. He¡¯s even distancing himself from her.


    He¡¯s worried that the proximity between them might affect her adversely. What if she falls for him again


    as time grows? If the president passed awayter, she¡¯d be left in pain.


    Losing a loved one is devastating, let alone a rekindled love.


    Tom believed that was the worry Toby had in mind, which drove him to start distancing himself from


    Sonia.


    ¡°Okay, President Fuller. Got it. I¡¯ll deal with the discharge procedure soon.¡± Tom agreed to his request


    with a sigh.


    Toby waved at him. ¡°Go.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Tom turned around and left the room.


    On the same night, Toby got discharged from the hospital and stayed at an apartment downtown, where


    he would undergo his recovery before returning to the Fuller Residence.


    However, Sonia was kept in the dark about all his ns.


    The next morning, Sonia visited him at the hospital with the soup she had made. Yet she was shocked to


    find another patient instead of Toby in the room. She stood rooted to the spot in disbelief.


    What¡¯s going on? Where is Toby?


    ¡°Miss!¡± Sonia stopped the nurse who was passing by with a cart and asked her, ¡°May I check with you


    the whereabouts of the patient in this room?¡±


    The nurse shot her a puzzled look. ¡°Isn¡¯t he in there right now?¡±


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t referring to him. I mean Toby Fuller,¡± Sonia frowned and replied.


    The nurse had a sudden realization and answered, ¡°Mr. Fuller was dischargedst night.¡±


    ¡°What? He left the hospital?¡± Sonia was shaken to the core.


    The nurse nodded. ¡°Yes, he left the hospital at midnight.¡±


    ¡°At midnight!¡± Sonia bit her lip anxiously.


    That means he got discharged right after we ran into each other at the restaurant.


    ¡°Miss, why did he want to be discharged? He hasn¡¯t fully recovered from his injury, has he?¡± She held on


    to the nurse and interrogated her.


    The nurse shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know the reason behind it. Yes, he has not fully recovered to be


    discharged, but home recovery is an option. That¡¯s why we approved his request.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Knowing that she had run into a dead-end, Sonia forced a smile and let go of the nurse.


    Once the nurse¡¯s arm was freed, she pushed the cart forward and went about her day.


    Sonia looked at the name tag on the door that was no longer disying Toby¡¯s name. She pursed her


    red lips before walking to the elevator.


    At the garden outside the patient ward building, she took a seat on a bench and made a call to Toby.


    He did not pick up instantly like before. It took him a while before he took her call.


    His chilly voice came from the other end. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Sensing the coldness in his tone, she felt rather uneasy.


    What¡¯s wrong with him? Why the sudden cold shoulder?


    They seemed to have traveled back to six years ago when he had treated her coldly. She couldn¡¯t help


    but frown at his attitude. ¡°President Fuller, are you discharged from the hospital?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded.


    She ced the thermal container aside and questioned, ¡°Why? Why didn¡¯t you inform me before you


    left?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my business. Why should I tell you about it?¡± he shot back sternly.


    That almost made her choke, but she carried on, ¡°Yes, that is your business, but I am responsible for you


    too. I am the reason you¡¯re in this condition now. I told you before that I¡¯d take care of you until you


    recover. That¡¯s why you should have informed me when you left the hospital. How else am I going to look


    after you?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She was startled.


    He lowered his eyes, his emotions hidden away as he responded in a hoarse voice, ¡°I said you don¡¯t


    have to look after me in the future. I don¡¯t need your care anymore.¡± With that, he hung up on her.


    Aggrieved, Sonia stared at her phone.


    What did he mean by that? The sudden cold shoulder and the refusal of my care¡­ Did I offend him in


    some way?


    She pressed her fingers against her palm and started to search her memory to find any chances of her


    offending Toby in the past two days. After a round of searching, she confirmed she had not gotten on his


    bad side in any way.


    Instead, Toby started keeping a distance from her sincest night.


    Perhaps, his attitude change was triggered by the sight of me having dinner with Zane. No, that doesn¡¯t


    sound right at all. No matter how petty Toby is, he won¡¯t act out in such a manner.


    After all, Toby had witnessed Sonia¡¯s close friendships with Carl and Charles before, and he was never


    affected. There must be other reasons.


    Nevertheless, her resolution to repay his kindness could not be deterred. He could treat her with


    coldness and impatience, for she wouldn¡¯t be bothered.


    She was only bothered when he tried to stop her from repaying his kindness. She had no intention of


    receiving his help time after time without showing gratitude.


    Looking at the thermal container, Sonia took a deep breath and stood up. She nned to leave the


    hospital for the Fuller Group building. Right when she walked to the garden¡¯s exit with the container, she


    came to a halt after hearing a familiar voice.


    Is that¡­ Mrs. Gray?


    Sonia reflexively slowed down and tiptoed as she turned to the right. Indeed, she found Julia standing


    behind a pot of flowers.


    Julia had her back against Sonia and was talking on the phone.


    ¡°Please, Professor Sanders. Could you help us to ask around? Please help to look for a suitable kidney


    for my husband. He fainted from pain again today. If this keeps happening, I think it wouldn¡¯t be long until


    he has to be permanently warded.¡± Julia sniffed and sobbed with a pleading tone.


    Sonia raised an eyebrow in surprise.


    Ah, I understand now. Mrs. Gray is pleading with a professor to look for a suitable kidney for Titus.


    Soon, Sonia heard Julia¡¯s voice again, but there was some excitement in between her sobs. ¡°That¡¯s


    great! Thank you, Professor Sanders. Sure, sure, I will wait patiently.¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. Oh? Did the professor agree to find him a kidney? Looks like he has a wide


    network. I wonder who Professor Sanders is.


    On the other hand, Julia was visibly relieved after getting Professor Sanders¡¯s promise to contact some


    of the organ banks that she had no ess to. She tucked away her phone, wiped her eyes, and turned


    around with a smile.


    Her smile froze when she noticed Sonia standing opposite her.


    Soon, something urred to Julia, and her expression fell. She red at Sonia and barked, ¡°Were you


    eavesdropping?¡±


    Sonia shrugged. ¡°No, I did not. You were speaking too loudly. It was hard not to overhear your


    conversation.¡±


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Julia¡¯s pupils wavered in agitation. ¡°Did you really hear me talking? What did you overhear?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s gaze flickered as she answered with a polite smile, ¡°What else could I have overheard? I got


    here not long ago. I only heard you thanking some Professor Sanders and saying that you¡¯d wait


    patiently.¡±


    ¡°For real?¡± Julia clutched her phone tightly, shooting a suspicious stare at Sonia. That was her final


    sentence in the conversation. If that snippet was what Sonia had overheard, it should not bring her any


    issue.


    However, Julia was not one to trust Sonia easily. I don¡¯t think Sonia is telling the truth. She might have


    heard more of the conversation.


    ¡°Why would I lie to you? What do I even get from lying?¡± Sonia rolled her eyes at Julia.


    Julia stared at her for a while. After ascertaining that Sonia did not appear lying, she took Sonia¡¯s word


    and felt relieved.


    d she did not overhear the rest of our conversation.


    If Sonia had overheard the rest of the conversation, she would have guessed that Titus had kidney


    issues and needed a transnt.


    At that time, Sonia might pounce on the opportunity to obstruct the kidney donation, and Titus would truly


    be done for.


    ¡°Well, I really hope that you did not lie to me. If I find out that you¡¯ve lied to me, I will not let you off the


    hook,¡± Julia threatened her while pointing at her nose.

 Chapter 477

    Chapter 477


    Chapter 477 Where Are Your Manners?


    Sonia felt an urge to roll her eyes upward at Julia.


    What¡¯s Julia talking about? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to go easy on the Gray Family either.


    ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like to say? Because if there isn¡¯t, I suppose I should get going right now,¡± Sonia


    coldly replied and raised her hand, using it to deflect Julia¡¯s finger that was pointing at her.


    Nheless, Julia reacted as if her hand was stained by some filth, desperately reaching for her


    handkerchief to wipe her hand while angrily berating Sonia. ¡°How dare you touch me with your filthy


    hand!¡±


    ¡°Oh really? I can¡¯t agree more with you, Mrs. Gray. I shouldn¡¯t have made my hand dirty by touching you.


    Oh gosh, what was wrong with me?¡± Sonia asked sarcastically with a cial look on her face.


    ¡°You?! Did you just say I¡¯m dirty?¡± Julia paused, staring at Sonia in disbelief.


    ¡°Yup, you¡¯re dirty, indeed.¡± Sonia nodded, producing a handkerchief from her purse with a disgusted look


    on her face. Her revolted expression intensified as she rubbed her finger harder and harder, like she was


    trying to remove a stubborn stain from her hand. In contrast to Julia¡¯s gentler movement, Sonia¡¯s rapid


    gesture implied that Julia¡¯s hand was dirtier than hers.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    As soon as Julia caught on to Sonia¡¯s hint, she angrily refuted her. ¡°You! You have no manners at all!¡±


    ¡°I have no manners?!¡± Sonia found Julia¡¯s words somewhat amusing. ¡°Well, let¡¯s not talk about me


    because it seems to me that you¡¯re the one who iscking in manners. After all, you were the one who


    insulted me before I returned the favor, yet you¡¯re now pointing your finger at me for my bad manners.


    How is that fair?! You need to understand that people won¡¯t always go easy on you like I do when they


    talk back!¡±


    Julia couldn¡¯t help but feel ashamed of what she did upon hearing Sonia¡¯s usation. It was indeed she


    who started the quarrel first. ¡°Well, even though that might have been true, I¡¯m still older than you, so


    shouldn¡¯t you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Come on, stop kidding me! Age is just a number!¡± Before Julia could finish her sentence, Sonia stepped


    closer and cut her short in an intimidating manner. ¡°Miss Gray, do you know what I hate the most?


    People who are so above themselves that they think everybody should respect them just because


    they¡¯re older. You and I are not rted at all, but you won¡¯t feel ashamed of preaching to me as if you¡¯re


    my mother. More ironically, you failed at parenting your own kids, so who are you to lecture others?


    Honestly speaking, I¡¯m impressed that you were capable of giving birth to two daughters who are


    basically the devil¡¯s incarnation.¡±


    Due to Titus and Julia¡¯s distorted world views, Tina grew up in a toxic upbringing that subsequently


    shaped her wicked and malicious character, which was not surprising because birds of a feather flock


    together.


    On the other hand, Taylor was raised by someone else in a different family throughout her whole life. So,


    even when she revealed her evil nature upon returning to the Gray Family, Sonia reckoned it was


    because the Gray Family had been unrighteous and wicked for generations.


    ¡°Are you saying we have bad genes?!¡± Julia¡¯s eyes turned red when she heard how Sonia described her


    two daughters. She then shivered and said, ¡°How dare you insult my daughters!¡±


    With her eyes on Julia¡¯s hand, Sonia squinted and caught her wrist in the air before squeezing it with her


    grip.


    ¡°Ah! Let me go!¡± Julia let out a scream.


    ¡°And then what?¡± Sonia coldly mocked, ¡°Let you hit me as you like?¡±


    Julia didn¡¯t say a single word while only fixing her eyes on Sonia with a piercing gaze, as if she wanted to


    drill a hole through her with her eyes.


    Meanwhile, Sonia somehow had a bitter feeling deep down when she saw through Julia¡¯s hatred.


    However, that feeling quickly dissipated as she curled her lips upward and replied, ¡°It seems that you¡¯re


    extremely unhappy, Mrs. Gray, but I guess I can feel you because which woman wouldn¡¯t when she fails


    to hit someone she hates?¡±


    ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m warning you to release me now, or I¡¯m going to call the security!¡± Julia futilely struggled to


    break free from Sonia¡¯s restraint, only to see her effort fail due to thetter¡¯s firm grip. In that instant, she


    quickly understood that she was no match for Sonia in a battle of physical. She immediately realized it


    would be unwise for her to take Sonia head-on, or she would lose terribly.


    ¡°Are you sure you want me to let you go? Alright then.¡± Sonia finished her sentence and nudged Julia


    forward before letting go of her hand.


    The next moment, Julia lost her bnce and copsed onto the ground on her backside in a trance.


    Did¡­ Sonia just pushed me to the ground?


    While Julia was still caught in a trance, Sonia crouched down and stared at the woman with her cial


    eyes. ¡°Honestly, I really wish I could give you two ps in the face for what Tina did to me with a stick,


    Mrs. Gray. After all, you¡¯re her mother, which makes it reasonable for you to bear the consequences in


    her ce. Nheless, you¡¯re lucky that I¡¯m someone who respects the elderly, which is why I decided


    to hold in my urge and take the moral high ground. Therefore, I want you to behave yourself and treasure


    all the time you have in thesest three months because they will be your final peaceful moments; but if


    you decide to ignore my advice, I¡¯ll be forced to do my worst and strip you of those peaceful moments.¡±


    Sonia patted Julia¡¯s face when she finished her sentence.


    Julia snapped out of her trance and seized Sonia¡¯s arm as she gritted her teeth and asked, ¡°What are


    you talking about? What do you mean by thest three months? Tell me what you mean.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when three months are up.¡± Sonia squinted with a smile, acting all mysterious to y on


    Julia¡¯s anxiety. Then, she shook off her hand and stood up, walking away without looking back at her.


    In the meantime, the impact sent Julia¡¯s hands toward the floor as she scraped her palms, which caused


    her to hiss in pain. Nheless, she couldn¡¯t care less about that while looking at Sonia¡¯s back,


    shouting, ¡°Come back here! You¡¯d better start exining what thosest three months are about?


    What¡¯re you up to?¡± Julia had a bad feeling that something terrible was about to happen, so she became


    determined to find out what was going on.


    However, Sonia simply just robbed Julia of her chance to ask her more by stepping forward as if she


    didn¡¯t hear anything. As Sonia slowly disappeared from sight, Julia angrily patted the floor but soon


    helplessly suppressed her anger and stood up. After that, she scurried toward the hospital, nning to


    tell Titus what she had just learned because she thought he might know a thing or two about Sonia¡¯s


    words.


    I need to inform Titus so he can make preparations before it is toote.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Sonia drove toward the Fuller Group upon leaving the hospital. Forty minutester, she


    arrived and parked her car, whereupon she got out of the vehicle with her thermal sh and walked


    toward the building.


    ¡°Hello.¡± Sonia approached the front desk.


    The receptionist politely smiled. ¡°Hello, miss.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to see Toby Fuller.¡± Sonia stated her purpose of visit.


    When the receptionist heard Toby¡¯s name, the smile on her face stiffened and faded. At the same time,


    she sized up Sonia, thinking she was just another woman who simply wanted to marry Toby and make


    him her husband. Thus, she told herself that she should just find an excuse to brush her off, but despite


    the thought of that, she politely asked, ¡°Do you have an appointment with him?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°But you can tell him that Sonia Reed is here to see him, and I believe he


    will want to see me as well.¡± Denying that her words sounded narcissistic, Sonia reckoned Toby would


    surely want to see her for the sake of his love for her.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s self-introduction, the receptionist appeared to be surprised. ¡°You¡¯re Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Sonia nodded.


    The receptionist didn¡¯t dare to look down on Sonia ever again as she decided to forget her gossipy


    thoughts about her. After all, she knew Sonia was the woman Toby loved because she could still


    remember her name when she overheard Tom mentioning Sonia in the car park.

 Chapter 478

    Chapter 478


    Chapter 478 Toby¡¯s Refusal to See Her


    In order to save herself the embarrassment of chasing Sonia away like she did to the other women, the


    receptionist tried hard to keep her name in mind. However, she didn¡¯t expect the day she met Sonia in


    person woulde so soon.


    So, this is Miss Reed¡ªthedy whom President Fuller has been crazy about. Oh my gosh! I¡¯m so


    fortunate to run into her now, and I must receive her with hospitality. Who knows, she may give me a


    large tip if I could make her feel happy?


    Getting carried away with her imagination, the receptionist looked at Sonia as if she was gazing at a


    generous tycoon who was about to give away her money. Thus, she poured Sonia a ss of water and


    treated her cordially. ¡°Please have a ss of water, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll pass on the word about your arrival.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia nodded a smile. In fact, she had actually tried to contact Toby when she was on her


    way there but failed to get an answer from Toby, whom she thought was probably busy at that moment.


    Thus, she had no choice but to approach the front desk and request help to contact the man.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± the receptionist replied, and reached for the telephone before dialing a number.


    On the other hand, Tom happened to just exit from the elevator with a stack of files in his hands when he


    heard his phone ringing. Upon shifting the files to his left arm, he rummaged through his pocket for his


    phone and answered the call. ¡°Hello, what¡¯s up?¡±


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    ¡°Tom, Miss Reed is here. She is actually just right beside me now.¡± The receptionist shot a gaze at


    Sonia.


    ¡°What did you say? Sonia is here?¡± Tom froze in his tracks.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The receptionist nodded.


    A surprised look shed across Tom¡¯s face as he wondered to himself. I can¡¯t believe Sonia is here.


    ¡°What did shee here for?¡± Tom asked.


    ¡°She wants to see President Fuller,¡± the receptionist answered.


    Tom was rendered speechless after hearing the receptionist¡¯s answer, thinking he had just asked a silly


    question because there was no one else Sonia woulde a long way to see besides Toby. Soon, he


    curled his lips upward and took a deep breath to keep himself together. Then, he said, ¡°Alright, I heard


    you. I¡¯ll see President Fuller and tell him about it while you receive Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The receptionist responded with an affirmative hum.


    After hanging up the call, Tom put away his phone and knocked on the door to Toby¡¯s office.


    ¡°Come in.¡± Toby¡¯s cial voice could be heard from inside the office.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom opened the door and walked in.


    ¡°Have you found what I need?¡± Toby sat behind his desk, asking without even bothering to look up.


    Tom walked closer to him and put the files down on the desk. ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    Toby, who was writing with a pen, paused and looked up for a split second. ¡°Good. Now, you may excuse


    yourself.¡±


    ¡°I have something else I want to bring to your attention, President Fuller,¡± Tom said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Toby shifted his gaze from the papers to his assistant.


    ¡°Miss Reed is here.¡± Tom adjusted his sses.


    ¡°What did you just say? Sonia is here?¡± Toby squinted with a pair of furrowed brows.


    ¡°Yes, she wants to see you and is currently waiting at the front desk on the first floor. Would you like to


    see her, President Fuller?¡± Tom gazed at Toby and asked him.


    After all, he had never needed to ask Toby for his permission before letting Sonia in because Toby was


    always happy to see her. Because of that, he was never med for taking the liberty of granting Sonia


    ess to Toby¡¯s office, but nheless, things were no longer the same as they used to be when Toby


    made up his mind to stay away from Sonia. Therefore, he had to ask Toby¡¯s permission before allowing


    Sonia to see him.


    In the meantime, Toby responded with silence while squinting in a ponderous manner. In fact, he was


    aware of Sonia¡¯s call about half an hour ago and had no idea why she was calling him. He was just


    sitting in his chair, tempted to answer Sonia¡¯s call, when his phone rang but decided to ignore it until the


    call disconnected.


    After that, he thought Sonia would give up and forget about reaching him, only to be surprised that she


    hade to visit him in hispany. Deep down, he was happy that she came to see him but knew that


    he mustn¡¯t give in to his temptation because all his effort would go down the drain if he decided to do


    that.


    Therefore, he closed his eyes for a moment in a broody manner. When he opened them again, the


    bitterness and his love for Sonia were gone from his eyes, leaving only slight pain on the inside. ¡°No!¡± He


    pursed his lips, uttering a firm negative answer.


    Tom shrugged his shoulders as he didn¡¯t find Toby¡¯s answer surprising. Having expected how Toby would


    react, he reckoned it made sense for Toby to cut ties with Sonia since he was nning to give up on her.


    Well, it¡¯s a good thing for him not to see her, I guess. Because once they both meet, his feelings are


    going to take over him and bring everything back to square one.


    ¡°Alright, President Fuller. I¡¯ll pass on your word.¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°Yes, please,¡± Toby tightened his grip around the pen and replied in a deep voice.


    Seeing Toby¡¯s tight grip, Tom slowly began to notice that his boss¡¯ hand was shivering. However, he only


    let out a sigh and stepped out of the office before making a phone call.


    The receptionist quickly answered the call and asked, ¡°Tom, are you calling to inform me that Miss Reed


    can see President Fuller now?¡±


    Tom shook his head. ¡°No. President Fuller has an important meeting to attend, so he is currently a little


    too busy to see Miss Reed at that moment. Therefore, you¡¯re going to have to tell her to go home for


    now.¡±


    In fact, he had figured out a euphemistic reason to make Sonia leave without meeting Toby because it


    was for her own good. After all, he knew Sonia would be aughingstock if he told the receptionist that


    Toby didn¡¯t want to see her, considering Sonia¡¯srgework in thepany.


    Meanwhile, the receptionist gave Sonia a surprised look as soon as she learned that Toby wasn¡¯t going


    to see her. Fortunately, Tom didn¡¯t directly tell the receptionist about Toby¡¯s refusal to see Sonia, or she


    would no longer treat her as cordially as she did.


    In fact, he knew she might contempt Sonia for having lost her ce in Toby¡¯s heart and think it was


    because she didn¡¯t visit Toby previously. If she thought that way, it would be a natural way for her to


    believe that Sonia hade to bring her rtionship with Toby back to life.


    Nevertheless, since Tom put his words tactfully, it didn¡¯t ur to the receptionist that Sonia was here to


    save her rtionship. Thus, she regrettably looked at Sonia after hanging up the call. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss


    Reed. President Fuller says he has a meeting to attendter, so he won¡¯t be avable to see you.


    Therefore, pleasee another time.¡±


    ¡°A meeting?¡± Sonia knitted her eyebrows.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The receptionist nodded.


    Sonia was silent for a while, whereupon she curled her lips upward. ¡°Alright, I heard you. In that case, I


    guess I should get going first. Before I forget, please deliver this to President Fuller for meter.¡± She


    then gave the receptionist the thermal sk. ¡°I made him some soup that is good for his bone recovery,


    but since it has been quite a while, it may have already gone cold. So, when you give it to him, please tell


    him to heat it up before drinking it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Miss Reed.¡± The receptionist took the thermal sk.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sonia said and turned around to walk out of the building. As soon as she got back to her


    car, she reached for her phone and proceeded to send a text message to Toby on Messenger.


    ¡®I made you some soup, so when you¡¯re done with your meetingter, please get someone to collect it for


    you.¡±


    On the other hand, Toby appeared to be absent-minded ever since Tom exited his office in the Fuller


    Group. With the same document lying in front of him, he was too distracted and distraught to flip it to the


    next page. Suddenly, his phone vibrated beside him as the screen lit up. After the vibration snapped him


    out of his trance, he rubbed his forehead and reached for his phone with a stunned look on his face.


    Oh my gosh! It¡¯s a message from Sonia!


    Toby immediately viewed the message to read what Sonia wanted to tell him.

 Chapter 479

    Chapter 479


    Chapter 479 Let You Go


    After learning that Sonia had made him some soup, Toby was seen with his eyes lighting up. Deep down,


    he felt over the moon but decided to suppress his happiness while tightening his grip around his phone.


    I mustn¡¯t ept her soup! This is nothing different from refusing to see Sonia since I¡¯ve decided to stay


    away from her.


    Toby was certain that Sonia would never know he was trying to distance himself from her if he epted


    her soup. Thus, she would keep delivering him soup again and again, yet he wasn¡¯t sure if he could turn


    her down every single time. In the face of his own question, it didn¡¯t take him long to figure out the


    answer.


    No, I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t be able to make myself turn her away. In fact, which man in this world would ever


    reject something the woman he loves gives him?


    Knowing it would eventually be a joke if he epted Sonia¡¯s advances, Toby told himself that he


    must never ept the soup. After all, he had made up his mind to cut ties with her from the beginning, or


    it would only be harder for him to leave her if he went soft on himself.


    At the thought of that, Toby closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. A few momentster, he opened his


    eyes, in which what was only left was his determination. ¡°Tom.¡± Toby grabbed the telephone and dialed


    the inte to reach Tom in his office.


    At that moment, Tom was busy with his work when he heard the telephone ringing. He then put down his


    pen and answered the call. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Sonia left me some soup at the front desk. Please collect and return it to her. Then, tell her to stop


    wasting her time on all this nonsense because I won¡¯t ept anything she gives me.¡± Toby hung up the


    call as soon as he finished his sentence.


    In the meantime, Tom was left hanging with the telephone in his hand. When his eyes fell upon the stack


    of documents lying in front of him, he curled his lips upward, thinking he would probably need to stay up


    late for work.


    Upon hanging up the phone, he bitterly patted his face with a smile and stood up before walking away


    from the office. An hourter, he arrived at Paradigm Co. with the thermal sk, where Sonia was in the


    middle of a meeting.


    Soon, Daphne opened the door and entered the meeting room. ¡°President Reed.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sonia put her hand up, gesturing to everyone in the meeting to briefly pause as she


    looked at her secretary and asked.


    Meanwhile, Daphne looked around the meeting room and walked closer to Sonia, whereupon she bent


    over and whispered to her ear, ¡°Mr. Brown is here.¡±


    ¡°Tom? What¡¯s he doing here?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows in confusion.


    Daphne shook her head. ¡°It beats me, but ording to the receptionist at the front desk, he seems to be


    holding a thermal sk.¡±


    Sonia curled her lips and smiled, knowing what Tom was here for. I bet he came because Toby told him


    to return the thermal sk to me. She then pointed at her ownptop and said, ¡°Please take him to my


    office. I¡¯ll be done here in a minute.¡±


    As Daphne replied with an affirmative hum and excused herself, Sonia kept herself together and turned


    her attention back to the meeting. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s resume our discussion.¡±


    After Sonia¡¯s words reached every corner in the meeting room, the atmosphere in the space was once


    again filled with a stern aura for over ten minutes until the meeting was over. Then, Sonia shut down her


    laptop and left the meeting room for her office. As soon as she opened the door, Tom immediately stood


    up and greeted her in an estranged manner. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Tom.¡± Sonia nodded and walked toward her desk, but when she got there, she spotted the


    thermal sk and was about to say something.


    Nheless, Tom beat her to it and said, ¡°Miss Reed, I have been told by President Fuller to return you


    the soup you made him.¡±


    When Sonia heard the man¡¯s response, her facial expression stiffened. What does he mean? Did Toby


    just tell Tom to return the soup I made for him to me? Wait a second¡­ She pursed her lips and grabbed


    the handle of the thermal sk before lifting it.


    Oh gosh! This feels as heavy as it was when I first made the soup this morning. That means he didn¡¯t


    even take a single sip at all.


    Sonia held the handle of the thermal sk even tighter and asked uneasily, ¡°Why? Why didn¡¯t he finish


    the soup?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess he probably doesn¡¯t like it.¡± Tom adjusted his sses while giving thedy an answer.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t like it?¡± Sonia looked at Tom in disbelief, recalling the time she first started taking care of


    Toby. She told him that when he got better, she¡¯d make him soup because it helped with recovery. In fact,


    she could still remember how he looked forward to having a sip of that soup, so there was no way she


    would believe Toby didn¡¯t like the chicken soup she made. Like hell I¡¯m going to buy that!


    In the meantime, Tom was, of course, able to see through Sonia¡¯s disbelief, as he didn¡¯t think his


    exnation was convincing enough. After all, Toby was so in love with Sonia that he would be more than


    happy to munch on dog treats as long as it was she who prepared them.


    Thus, Tom didn¡¯t feel surprised that Sonia didn¡¯t buy his story, but nheless, he had no choice but to


    tell her what Toby wanted him to. ¡°Yes, Miss Reed. President Fuller made it clear that he doesn¡¯t like


    your soup. In fact, he even told you not to make any more soup for him because he isn¡¯t going to ept


    it. At the same time, he wants you to stop looking for him.¡± Tom fixed his eyes on Sonia, passing on


    Toby¡¯s message to her.


    Sonia felt as if someone was squeezing her heart when she heard Tom¡¯s reply. She then clenched her


    fist and asked, ¡°What does he mean by that? What does he mean when he says he won¡¯t ept my


    soup? Why does he want me to stop looking for him? I haven¡¯t even repaid his kindness¡­¡±


    ¡°President Fuller says he doesn¡¯t need you to repay him. Since saving you was his own initiative, he


    never really wanted anything in return. In the meantime, he promises to leave you alone forever, as he


    will forget about winning your heart again. So, you can rest assured knowing that you won¡¯t have to


    worry about being stuck with him because he will be out of your hair forever and ever,¡± Tom replied with a


    calm look on his face.


    Sonia bit her lip, feeling a stab of pain in her heart. While it was true that she should be happy about


    being free from Toby¡¯s annoyance and disturbance, she somehow didn¡¯t feelfortable about the


    news.


    Meanwhile, Tom, who noticed Sonia¡¯s broody silence, nodded at her and turned around to walk away.


    It wasn¡¯t until Sonia heard the footsteps that she snapped out of her trance and called to Tom. ¡°Wait a


    second!¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else, Miss Reed?¡± Tom stopped in his tracks and looked back at her.


    Sonia took a deep breath while clenching her fists. ¡°I want to know why Toby is suddenly pushing me


    away from looking after him.¡± Although she didn¡¯t bother to find out more about Toby¡¯s decision to stay


    away from her because she couldn¡¯t care less about it anyway, she wanted to know why he wouldn¡¯t let


    her take care of him.


    On the other hand, Tom didn¡¯t seem surprised to hear her question, as Sonia¡¯s bewilderment was


    anticipated due to Toby¡¯s dramatically unexpected decision.


    Tom adjusted his sses and gave a formal answer. ¡°Actually, the reason is simple. President Fuller


    thinks you¡¯re so tough that he doesn¡¯t see his chances of winning your heart over. Therefore, he came to


    a decision to let you go, and he is starting it by staying away from you, which is why he won¡¯t allow you


    to take care of him. Do you have any other questions, Miss Reed?¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Sonia puckered her lips in silence for a few moments, whereupon she replied with a hard-to-decipher


    tone, ¡°No, that¡¯s all.¡± Although it seemed reasonable for Toby to distance himself from Sonia because he


    wanted to cut ties with her, Sonia had doubts about Toby¡¯s asserted intention because she somehow had


    a feeling that there was more than met the eye.


    After all, Toby¡¯s unexpected change in his attitude happened so suddenly that it got Sonia wondering


    what she had done to make him want to cut ties with her. He seemed to be acting normal yesterday, but


    why has he changed so much right now? If he had really wanted to give up on us, he would have done it


    a long time ago.


    ¡°Well, if there isn¡¯t any other question, I suppose I should get going right now.¡± Tom smiled politely and


    walked away.

 Chapter 480

    Chapter 480


    Chapter 480 Tom¡¯s Lament


    As Sonia looked at the thermos on the table, an indescribable feeling started welling up within her,


    choking her up. After what Toby did, she didn¡¯t know what she should do, nor did she have any idea how


    she could ever repay him. Should I just pretend this never happened? Should I never pay his kindness


    back just like Tom said? But if she didn¡¯t do that, she¡¯d forever owe Toby a favor. She¡¯d never be able to


    take that off her.


    Sonia never liked owing anyone any favors. If she did owe a favor, she¡¯d try her best to pay them back


    as soon as possible, or it would never sit right with her. She¡¯d lose sleep over it as well. I have to repay


    his kindness, or I¡¯ll never live it down. But how should I do it? She sat down and massaged her forehead.


    I¡¯m tired.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on her door, breaking her train of thoughts. ¡°Come in.¡± She looked up.


    Charles opened the door and came in. ¡°Are you busy, babe?¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± She looked at him in surprise.


    Charles went and sat across from her. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you. Once you clock off, I¡¯ll take you home. I


    thought you promised we¡¯d see my mom today.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Almost forgot about that.¡± Sonia smiled sheepishly.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here¡ªto remind you.¡± Charles waved her off, then noticed the thermos. ¡°What is


    this, babe? Did you bring your own dinner?¡±


    ¡°No. This is some chicken soup for Toby.¡± Sonia shook her head.


    The mere mention of Toby made Charles pout. ¡°So it¡¯s for him?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s hurt, and it¡¯s just some soup.¡± Sonia looked at him.


    Charles leaned back and put his hands behind his head. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not judging. Just saying I¡¯m jealous,


    since you never make any soup for me.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s injured, but are you?¡± Sonia shot back. ¡°If you were injured, I would also visit you and even make


    some soup if you wanted it.¡±


    ¡°Forget about it then. I like not being injured.¡± Charles chuckled.


    Sonia poured him a ss of water. ¡°And there you have it.¡±


    Charles put his hands down and drank some water. ¡°Are you going to take this to Toby at the hospital


    later? I can tell the cook to make dinner a bitter if you want.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head, and some thoughts popped up. ¡°I don¡¯t have to. He¡¯s discharged, and he


    said he doesn¡¯t need me to take care of him anymore.¡±


    ¡°Nice.¡± Charles¡¯ eyes lit up, and he pped. ¡°That¡¯ll take some weight off you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the same thing.¡± She frowned. ¡°I can rx if he told me to stop because he¡¯s all better, but he


    isn¡¯t.¡±


    Charles suddenly realized something, and he rubbed his chin. ¡°Odd.¡± He had a weird look on his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s not like him.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia looked at him curiously.


    Charles said, ¡°Think about it, babe. He still loves you, and he wants you back. He would love it if you


    took care of him, so why is he saying no?¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s the truth.¡± Sonia looked at the thermos. He doesn¡¯t need me, and he returned the soup as


    well.


    Charles nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why I said something¡¯s wrong. I bet he has some n because it¡¯s not like him.


    That, or he¡¯s gone cuckoo.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve gone cuckoo. Stop with the conspiracy theory.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes.


    Charles quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m noting up with a conspiracy theory. Toby really looks like he¡¯s gone mad.


    Why else did he refuse your help? He¡¯s either mad, or he¡¯s ying hard to get.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s ying hard to get?¡± Sonia arched her eyebrow.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Charles said. ¡°I mean, he¡¯s been trying to get you back, but you never gave him a chance, so this


    is his next n. If he starts giving you the cold shoulder, you¡¯ll start to feel weird about it, and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough with the guesses.¡± Sonia smacked her forehead. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible? Toby¡¯s not the


    kind of man who would pull this stunt, and besides, do you think I would care if he gave me the cold


    shoulder? I lived with it for six whole years.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± The corner of his lips twitched, and he had no argument left.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°Forget about all this. I¡¯ll ask him tomorrow.¡± She looked at the time. ¡°Come with me. I¡¯ll get


    something for your mother at the mall, then we¡¯ll go to your ce.¡±


    ¡°Coming.¡± Charles stood up.


    Sonia turned her PC off, took her shoulder bag, and left with him.


    Back at Fuller Group, Tom was already in Toby¡¯s office. ¡°I¡¯ve sent her the thermos, sir. And I passed your


    message to her as well.¡±


    Toby tightened his grip on the mouse. ¡°And? What did she say?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s surprised, and also¡­ felt a bit odd.¡± Tom tried to remember her look.


    ¡°Odd?¡± Toby frowned. What kind of odd? ¡°Did she agree to it?¡± Toby asked again.


    Tom thought about it and shook his head. ¡°She didn¡¯t say anything, but she looked like she was fine with


    it.¡± She probably agreed to it tacitly. Miss Reed doesn¡¯t like the boss, so she¡¯d be delighted if the boss


    didn¡¯t want her to take care of him.


    ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s great then.¡± Toby nodded, but his voice was hoarse. He felt relieved after knowing


    Sonia wouldn¡¯te anymore, but he was also hurt, for he was pushing away the woman he loved. ¡°Has


    Mr. Hartman finished his business?¡± Toby pinched his nose.


    Tom adjusted his sses. ¡°Not yet. He has too many ounts to handle, and some are still in the


    process of transitioning.¡±


    Toby grunted. ¡°Tell him to get an interview at Paradigm Co. once he¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom looked at him and thought, He really does love Miss Reed. Even though he¡¯s staying away


    from her, he¡¯s also trying to make her life easier secretly. Whatever she needs, he¡¯ll provide, and Mr.


    Hartman¡¯s one of them.


    Mr. Hartman was one of the registered ountants in Fuller Group as well as one of the big three in the


    financial department. He had worked for thepany for more than a decade, but once Toby found out


    that Sonia was looking for a CFO, he summoned Mr. Hartman to his office and told her to help Sonia.


    He probably wants to help her out as much as he can with the time he has left. After he¡¯s gone, Miss


    Reed¡¯s life will still be a lot easier even without his protection. Sadly, she doesn¡¯t know anything about it.


    Whenever he saw how much Toby was sacrificing for Sonia, Tom was seized by the urge to tell Sonia


    everything. He wanted to beg her to stay with Toby for the final years of his life. After all, he only had


    three years left to live because he saved Sonia. Even if she doesn¡¯t love him, she can pretend that she


    does. At least he won¡¯t die with any regrets. If the boss really dies, she can leave. She won¡¯t lose


    anything. However, he knew Toby would never let him do that. He¡¯d rather suffer loneliness than have


    Sonia waste her life on him.

 Chapter 481

    Chapter 481


    Chapter 481 Not the Real Daughter


    ¡°And have you found any tutors for Tyler?¡± Toby massaged his temples, looking exhausted.


    Tom answered, ¡°Yes, and they¡¯re the cream of the crop in their fields. Once Master Tyler¡¯s tournament is


    done, they can start their work.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Good. You may leave.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded and left the office.


    Toby unlocked his phone and looked at Sonia¡¯s picture, which he had set as his wallpaper. Then, he


    touched her face with his thumb. ¡°This is as far as I can take you,¡± he mumbled.


    At the same time, Sonia had arrived at Charles¡¯ ce after getting a gift for Grace.


    Grace came out to wee her when she heard the hum of the engine outside. ¡°You¡¯re finally here,


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°We meet again, Grace.¡± Sonia looked at her and hugged her happily.


    After a while, Grace let go of Sonia and held her face with both hands. ¡°Let me take a look.¡± She looked


    closely at Sonia. ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been too long since west met. Did you get thinner again? And you look


    exhausted. Did you not sleep well?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but she nodded. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been busy.¡± She wouldn¡¯t tell Grace about


    what she had gone through, or Grace might copse in shock.


    Grace felt sad to hear that Sonia was overworking herself, and she held Sonia¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°I know


    you¡¯re busy, but you still have to rest. Don¡¯t overwork yourself. You¡¯re still young, and you have a long


    road ahead of you.¡±


    ¡°I know. Thanks for your concern, Grace.¡± Sonia was touched that Grace cared so much for her, and she


    smiled.


    Then, Charles went to the trunk and took out the clothes Sonia bought for Grace. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there.


    Get in.¡±


    ¡°Oh my. I almost forgot.¡± Grace smacked her forehead lightly. ¡°I was just too happy to see Sonia and


    didn¡¯t notice that we were still standing outside. Come. Let¡¯s go in.¡±


    She took Sonia and went into the vi, while Charles followed behind, holding the gifts.


    When they came to the living room, Sonia told Charles to cut up some fruits and brew some tea after he


    gave her the gifts.


    Thedies sat on the couch and unwrapped the presents. A pair of simple and elegant earrings slept in


    the box. It was perfect for women around Grace¡¯s age, and Grace loved it the moment she saw it. ¡°It¡¯s so


    beautiful. Thank you, Sonia.¡± Her eyes lit up.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you like it.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Of course I do.¡± She nodded happily. ¡°I love everything you give me. Here, put it on for me.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Sonia agreed. She stood up and took Grace¡¯s earrings off before recing them with the ones


    she bought.


    Once Grace wore the new earrings, she shook her head to feel howfy the new earrings were, then


    she looked at Sonia. ¡°How do I look, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Beautiful. You¡¯re beautiful no matter what you wear, Grace,¡± she praised.


    Delighted, Grace touched the earrings. ¡°You¡¯re so sweet. My husband and the boy never praise me this


    way. They¡¯d be really stupid and say all earrings are the same. So unromantic.¡±


    Sonia was about to say something, but Charles beat her to it. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a lie, mom. I am not that kind


    of guy. You always ask me if you look nice in your jewelry, and I praise you everytime. Dad¡¯s the one who


    said the other thing.¡± He came over and put the fruit tter in front of Sonia. ¡°Have some fruits, babe.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Thank you.¡± Sonia nodded and took a cherry.


    Grace put her original earrings in the earring box Sonia bought, then she rolled her eyes. ¡°I did not. You


    might have praised me, but you say the same thing every time. That¡¯s not so different from what your


    father tells me every time.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Charles¡¯ eyelids twitched, and he had no goodebacks. You can never win against


    experience. She hits me where it hurts the most. Charles never did say that all earrings were the same,


    but since he never changed his praise, it was the same thing anyway. He and his father were just trying


    to avoid the conversation.


    Sonia chuckled with delight after Charles got shut down by his mother.


    Charlesughed as well when Soniaughed.


    Grace noticed the change in him. She shook her head imperceptibly and sighed in silence. He¡¯s still the


    same kid. Still scared of making a confession. Sheesh. Just tell her you like her if you really do. Don¡¯t be


    afraid of rejection, and don¡¯t be scared that you¡¯ll never be friends anymore. Just convey your feelings.


    You might seed, right?


    However, Charles never took her advice to heart. Maybe he did, but he was too much of a scaredy cat to


    act on it. All he could do was love Sonia in silence. Because of that, Sonia never knew Charles loved her.


    He brought this on himself. Just go for it and be brave for love. Don¡¯t just stand there and do nothing. You


    can¡¯t expect thedy to make the first move.


    The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she was at Charles. In the end, Grace shot him a


    re. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there. Tell the cook to prepare dinner right now, and call your father. Tell him to


    come back home on time for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Charles was surprised.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®huh¡¯ me. Go!¡± Grace urged him impatiently.


    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± Charles said. ¡°Right away.¡± He got up and went to the kitchen again. At the same time, he


    thought, Did I do something wrong? Why did she look at me like I was a piece of worthless trash?


    After he left, only Grace and Sonia were left in the living room. Sonia put her ss down and asked,


    ¡°Grace, you told Charles that you wanted to see me when I have time because you have something to


    tell me. What is it?¡±


    After Sonia asked that, Grace¡¯s smile slowly faded away, and it was reced by a somber look.


    When Sonia saw that, her heart skipped a beat. ¡°What is it, Grace?¡±


    Grace shook her head and smiled again. ¡°Nothing. I was just thinking if it¡¯s the right time to tell you this.¡±


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Tell me what?¡± Sonia was curious.


    Grace said nothing, but she bent over to take out a small box from the drawer of the coffee table, then


    handed it to Sonia. ¡°Your mother told me to keep this for her before she passed. She wanted you to have


    it once you found out your real identity.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, Grace? What do you mean by my real identity? What is all that about?¡± She


    suddenly gripped the box tightly and had a nervous look on her face. At the same time, she was getting


    scared.


    Grace didn¡¯t want to tell her, seeing as she was terrified, but in the end, she said, ¡°Actually¡­ you¡¯re not


    the real daughter of your parents.¡±


    The revtion came as nothing less than a colossal shock for Sonia. Everything started spinning around


    her, while the world as she knew it starteding apart. Sonia took a while to calm down, then she


    looked at Grace in a daze. ¡°I¡¯m not my parents¡¯ daughter?¡± she asked hoarsely.

 Chapter 482

    Chapter 482


    Chapter 482 Sonia¡¯s Breakdown


    Grace nodded. ¡°Yes. That is correct.¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Sonia shot up and shook her head violently. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m not my parents¡¯ daughter.¡±


    Her face was as white as a sheet.


    ¡°What? Babe¡¯s not Mr. and Mrs. Reed¡¯s daughter?¡± Charles had juste back from giving his father a


    call when he heard that bombshell of a piece of news. He was stunned for a moment, then he went up to


    his mother. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re talking about, mom? There¡¯s no way babe isn¡¯t her parents¡¯ real


    daughter.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do, and I wasn¡¯t lying. That¡¯s the truth.¡± She sighed.


    Sonia started trembling. Her face was getting paler and paler, while her eyes lost focus. ¡°That¡¯s


    impossible. Impossible.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, mom. There¡¯s no way that¡¯s real.¡± Charles refused to believe it either, and he looked at his mother.


    ¡°When I told you that Sonia wasn¡¯t the baby I saw the first time, she already suspected she wasn¡¯t her


    parents¡¯ daughter. That¡¯s why she went to Norfolk to find out the truth. Then I asked you about it, and you


    told me the baby I saw the first time belonged to the Reeds¡¯ rtive, and Sonia¡¯s their real daughter.


    Why are you saying a different thing now?¡±


    Sonia looked at Grace as well. Her eyes were red, but also filled with hope. ¡°You¡¯re lying, Grace. You¡¯re


    lying, aren¡¯t you? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m not their kid.¡±


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. I did lie to you, but not this time. I lied back then, back when I told you the baby


    belonged to the Reeds¡¯ rtives. I didn¡¯t want to make you sad. The truth is that the baby was your


    parents¡¯ real daughter, but she died when she was five months old, so your father went to adopt you at


    an orphanage. You were a recement for the baby, since your mother would have broken down


    otherwise.¡±


    That was the final blow that snuffed all of Sonia¡¯s hopes out. She started wobbling and finally plopped


    down on the sofa, for she had no strength left to stand. It was as if her heart and soul were shattered at


    the same time.


    I see. No wonder grandpa kept that photo of his rtive¡¯s kid so carefully in his study. That was not his


    rtive¡¯s child, but his real granddaughter.


    He lied to me. I¡¯m not his grandkid, but a fake. I¡¯m just an orphan who has no idea who my real parents


    are. My parents aren¡¯t my parents, and my grandpa isn¡¯t my grandpa either. Now even my name doesn¡¯t


    belong to me. I¡¯m just a b*stard who reced the real Sonia. The mere thought of that made her smile in


    despair.


    Charles was heartbroken seeing Sonia so depressed, so he red at his mother. ¡°Why did you have to


    tell her that, mom? You told her the baby belonged to the Reeds¡¯ rtive. Obviously you were going to


    hide the truth, so why didn¡¯t you hide it forever? Why did you tell her now?¡±


    Grace knew she¡¯d break Sonia¡¯s heart if she told her the truth, but she had to. And so, she sighed.


    ¡°Because it didn¡¯t sit right with me. After I lied to you, I kept thinking whether it was the right thing to do or


    not. When I came back, I looked through Lina¡¯s photos and thought about her dying wish. That¡¯s why I


    told Sonia. Even if I didn¡¯t, she would find out sooner orter.¡±


    ¡°As if. She would never know if you said nothing.¡± Charles clenched his fists.


    Grace looked at him. ¡°Do you really think so? I said nothing about her real identity, but she still found out


    about the baby and had suspicions of her own. Do you really think you can hide something like this for


    life?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Charles couldn¡¯t argue with that.


    Grace continued, ¡°She¡¯ll find out about the truth even if I didn¡¯t say anything today.¡± She then turned to


    Sonia. ¡°Sonia, your parents had nned for your future long before today. They knew thepany


    might notst forever even though it was going strong, nor could they guarantee they¡¯d be with you for


    life. That¡¯s why they set aside a huge sum of money for you when you were little.¡±


    ¡°They did?¡± Sonia looked at her.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Grace said. ¡°Just in case thepany went under or if they got into an ident, you wouldn¡¯t be


    stranded with nothing even if you were alone. That was why they set the money aside in the bank. Once


    you turn thirty, the bank will inform you about this, then you¡¯ll have to present your parents¡¯ details so


    they can handle the paperwork. Once that happens, you¡¯ll also know that your blood type doesn¡¯t match


    with theirs. That¡¯s why you¡¯ll find out eventually even if I said nothing.¡±


    ¡°Holy moly. That¡¯s unbelievable.¡± Charles gasped.


    Sonia bit her lip but said nothing.


    Grace patted her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t me me for telling you this, Grace. I did it for your own good, since


    this secret can¡¯t be kept forever. From the moment they left that money to you, it¡¯s obvious they didn¡¯t


    intend to keep it a secret forever either. You have the right to know who you truly are. That was why she


    left me this box and told me to give it to you once you know who you truly are. But I think it¡¯s better to


    give you the box earlier and tell you the truth.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Charles was curious.


    Grace looked at him as if he was an idiot. ¡°Because she can ept it that much easier. Because she can


    find out how she really came to the Reed family. If she found this out on her own, she¡¯d be worried about


    too many things she shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    Charles couldn¡¯t argue with the truth. Telling Sonia the truth and letting her know she came to the Reeds


    because her foster parents wanted her to was better than her finding it out herself. If she found out about


    the truth on her own, she might think she was just a mere recement andplicate an originally


    simple situation. Worse, she might go ballistic about it.


    ¡°Sonia.¡± Grace bent down to hug her. ¡°I know you¡¯re upset and you can¡¯t ept this, but please don¡¯t


    overthink this matter. You might not be their real daughter, but they truly thought of you as their own.


    They love you, alright?¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± A drop of tear fell onto the back of her hand, and her voice broke. ¡°I know they love me,


    and I know they see me as their own. That¡¯s why they thought about my future that much. I just can¡¯t face


    the truth as calmly as you want me to.¡±


    The truth that Grace had divulged shattered her world into a million pieces. She had grown up under an


    environment filled with love. Her mother passed away when she was five, but her father still loved her.


    She could never imagine that they weren¡¯t her real parents, given how much they loved her. However,


    that was the truth. I just don¡¯t get it. Why must fate be so cruel to me?

 Chapter 483

    Chapter 483


    Chapter 483 Won¡¯t Kill Myself


    Even Charles¡¯ jaw dropped. He was at a loss for words, but a storm was raging within him, and he


    couldn¡¯t calm down. I can¡¯t believe it. Mr. and Mrs. Reed aren¡¯t her real parents! They adopted her?


    That¡¯s straight out of a soap opera. And Sonia even went to Norfolk to find out the truth. When she


    thought she was their real daughter, she was so happy, but now¡­ Charles was worried when he saw


    how crestfallen Sonia looked. ¡°Babe¡­¡±


    ¡°Grace.¡± Sonia suddenly stood up and held the box firmly. ¡°What is inside this box?¡±


    Grace shook her head. ¡°I have no idea. It¡¯s your mother¡¯s gift to you, so I have never opened it. You¡¯ll


    have to find out for yourself after you go home.¡±


    Sonia said nothing.


    Grace held her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it, Sonia. You¡¯lle to ept it. Let¡¯s have dinner.¡±


    She took Sonia and went to the dining room.


    Charles looked at them, then at the box Sonia left on the table. In the end, he clenched his fists and went


    with them.


    It was not an enjoyable dinner for Sonia at all. Her mind was somewhere else, and even Grace and


    Charles were deathly silent. Because of that, the dinner was a silent affair, save for the chewing sounds


    and the nging of cutlery. The whole atmosphere was rather somber.


    Curtis had no idea what happened, but he disliked the atmosphere. He put his bowl down and was about


    to speak, but Grace noticed it, so she squinted dangerously at him, telling him to shut up. Curtis was


    afraid of his wife, so he went back to his dinner silently after receiving that death re.


    The dinnersted for what seemed like a lifetime for Sonia, but it ended eventually.


    She took the box and said goodbye to the Lanes before going to the vi¡¯s entrance.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Grace quickly told Charles, ¡°Send her off. She can¡¯t drive in that state.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡± Charles rushed ahead. When he came out, he saw Sonia almost


    tripping over herself, since she wasn¡¯t watching where she was going. He got tense and ran over to her,


    then pulled her back up before she could fall. ¡°Are you alright, babe?¡± he asked nervously.


    Sonia blinked and looked at him, but her eyes were dead. Finally, she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll be


    going home now,¡± she answered hoarsely as she took her car keys out and poked her door.


    Charles arched his eyebrow, worried about her. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing, babe?¡±


    Sonia kept poking the door, as if she didn¡¯t hear him.


    Charles couldn¡¯t take it anymore, so he took her car keys. ¡°Let me do it, babe. You¡¯re in no condition to


    drive. You even got the keys wrong. I can¡¯t let you drive like that, so I¡¯ll take you home. Get in.¡± He


    pressed a button and unlocked the doors.


    Sonia pursed her lips, but she said nothing and went to the passenger seat, for she knew she wasn¡¯t fit


    enough to drive.


    They left the vi area a short whileter and rejoined the metropolis. They were headed to Bayside


    Residence, and Sonia was silent the whole way through.


    Charles kept ncing at her from the corner of his eye. He tried to say something while they were on the


    way, but he shut his mouth and said nothing in the end.


    When they arrived at Bayside Residence, Sonia got out of the car and went to her apartmentplex


    with the box in hand. Charles suddenly got out of the car and stood beside it. ¡°Wait a minute, Sonia,¡± he


    called out to her.


    Sonia stopped, but she didn¡¯t look back. ¡°Yes?¡± she asked.


    Charles went up to her and stopped two steps away. ¡°Babe, what happened earlier, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    Sonia suddenly turned around and forced a smile. ¡°I know what you want to say. You want me to ept


    my true identity so I won¡¯t go crazy over it and kill myself, right?¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡± He scratched his head sheepishly.


    ¡°Yes, I did,¡± Sonia said. ¡°You weren¡¯t being subtle about it, so it was easy.¡±


    ¡°So, babe, you won¡¯t kill yourself, right?¡±


    She turned around and closed her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t. I just need some time to calm down. After


    all, the news is a bit too much for me to process. Go home, Charles. I need to be alone for some time,¡±


    Sonia said, sounding exhausted.


    Charles could understand her need to be alone and process this piece of news, so he nodded. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll


    be back tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia answered curtly before she went ahead.


    Charles stood right there to see her off. Once she went into the elevator, he went back to his car.


    But the moment he did, someone suddenly stopped him. ¡°Mr. Fuller wants to have a word with you, Mr.


    Lane.¡±


    Charles stopped and frowned at Tom. ¡°You? It¡¯ste. Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your concern, Mr. Lane. Come with me, please,¡± Tom said calmly as he adjusted his sses.


    Charles snorted. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll go with you just because you asked me to? That¡¯s a bit presumptuous,


    don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Tom squinted. ¡°So you¡¯re refusing, I assume?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He puffed out his chest. ¡°If he wants to talk to me, then he shoulde here himself, not the other


    way around. Since he¡¯s noting, I¡¯m not going.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, looks like I¡¯ll have to take you by force.¡± Tom pounded his fists together and inched


    closer to Charles.


    Charles¡¯ face fell, and he tensed up as he retreated. ¡°What are you doing? If you¡¯re even thinking about


    laying a finger on me, I¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish, Tom disappeared like a sh and reappeared behind him. Then, he quickly


    grabbed Charles¡¯ hands and pulled his arms behind him.


    Charles¡¯ face contorted in pain, and he turned around. ¡°F*ck you, Tom. I¡¯m not letting this go easily! Just


    you wait! I¡¯ll kill you the moment I get the chance.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t ever get that chance then.¡± Tom looked down and scoffed at him.


    Charles trembled with rage. ¡°Why you little¡­¡±


    ¡°Stopining ande with me, Mr. Lane,¡± Tom interjected and took him to a street nearby.


    Eventually, they came to a ck Benz.


    The backseat window was rolled down, revealing Toby¡¯s pale but handsome face. He had changed his


    car to a humble Benz just in case Sonia recognized his Maybach.


    Toby turned his head slightly, and Tom released Charles. ¡°He¡¯s here, sir.¡±


    Toby grunted and looked at Charles.


    Charles was swinging his arm around when he realized Toby was looking at him. ¡°Why did you get Tom


    to take me here, Fuller? What do you want?¡± He shot Toby a re.


    ¡°What happened to Sonia?¡± Toby pursed his lips solemnly.

 Chapter 484

    Chapter 484


    Chapter 484 Recement


    Toby noticed that something was off with Sonia after she got out of the car just now. Obviously, she was


    shaken, and he was worried something had happened to her.


    Charles stopped swinging his arm around and sneered at Toby. ¡°Hey, Fuller. I thought you had given up


    on her. You¡¯re staying away, aren¡¯t you? So why are you asking me all these questions? Decided you


    wouldn¡¯t give up after all?¡±


    Toby¡¯s face darkened. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. You just need to answer my question¡ªwhat


    happened to her?¡±


    ¡°Why should I? Since you have given up on her, whatever she does is none of your business. You have


    no right to question.¡± Charles crossed his arms, thinking that Toby couldn¡¯t do anything if he refused to


    answer.


    Toby squinted coldly. ¡°Do you really think I can¡¯t find out for myself just because you refuse to talk,


    Lane?¡±


    Charles was stunned. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I know she went to your ce, so¡­¡± Toby whipped his phone out and made a call.


    It went through a momentter, and a familiar voice said, ¡°Hello, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Mom?¡± Charles was stunned that his own mother was taking the call. He looked at Toby incredulously.


    ¡°How did you get my mom¡¯s number? And why are you guys staying in touch?¡±


    Tom adjusted his sses and smirked. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? Your mother and the madam used to go to


    the same college.¡±


    ¡°My mother was his mother¡¯s college mate?¡± Charles¡¯ pitch rose. ¡°Impossible!¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s the truth.¡± Tom shrugged. ¡°Not only did they go to the same college, they were good friends as


    well. Your mother and the madam worked together to set up that beauty parlor, you know. But after the


    madam¡¯s demise, President Fuller inherited her share, so he¡¯s also your mother¡¯s business partner as


    well. That¡¯s why he has her number.¡±


    The corner of Charles¡¯ lips twitched after hearing that exnation. ¡°Holy cow. I never thought something


    like this would happen.¡± And I had no idea about it.


    Toby was surprised after hearing Grace recounting the incident earlier. ¡°What? You told her about the


    truth?¡±


    When Charles heard that, he went over and grabbed the edge of the window that was rolled down


    halfway. ¡°You know Sonia isn¡¯t the Reeds¡¯ real daughter, Fuller?¡± He stared at Toby.


    Toby ignored him as he continued, ¡°I see. Thank you, then.¡± After that, he put his phone down.


    Charles gritted his teeth and repeated, ¡°Fuller, you knew Sonia isn¡¯t the Reeds¡¯ real daughter, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°None of your business.¡± Toby looked at Tom. ¡°Drive.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom replied and pulled Charles away from the window.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Toby took the chance to roll the window back up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go, Fuller!¡± Charles banged on the window. ¡°Roll down the window and tell me the truth. How did


    you know Sonia is not the Reeds¡¯ real daughter? And when did you find out? Tell me, Fuller!¡±


    Toby heard his questions, of course, but he ignored Charles and closed his eyes as he thought about


    something.


    Tom got into the driver¡¯s seat and drove away despite Charles¡¯ angry protests.


    Charles stomped his foot furiously when he was forced to bite the dust.


    Tom looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Charles iling his arms, and he smirked. However, that


    smirk faded quickly, then he looked at Toby¡¯s reflection in the side mirror. ¡°Who would have thought Mrs.


    Lane knew about this as well. And she even told Miss Reed about it.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°That is indeed a surprise.¡± He thought this secret was only known to Henry and Lina.


    Since they were long gone, nobody else would have found out about it. However, he never expected


    Grace to be one of those who knew about the truth, and she actually told Sonia about it. I wonder why


    she told Sonia.


    Toby was frowning pensively. Tom noticed that, and after thinking about it for a while, he asked,


    ¡°President Fuller, do you think Mrs. Lane told Miss Reed that the Grays are her real parents?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°I sounded her out just now, and she told me the Reeds got Sonia


    from an orphanage, so I guess she doesn¡¯t know that Henry took her from the Grays instead of the


    orphanage. Perhaps not even Lina knew about this.¡±


    ¡°Henry kept the secret well then, since his own wife didn¡¯t know about it.¡± Tom was surprised.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯m wondering why Henry kept Sonia and raised her like she was his own.¡±


    Tom nodded as well. ¡°I have the same question. The Reeds and Grays were already enemies back then.


    Titus stole Paradigm¡¯s tech and almost bankrupted them, and he was behind the death of one of Henry¡¯s


    workers. That was why Henry took Miss Reed away and tried to kill her as an act of vengeance, but he


    stopped at thest possible moment and raised her himself. That¡¯s odd.¡±


    Toby tapped his finger against his knee, but he said nothing.


    Tom suddenly asked, ¡°Oh, right. Now that Miss Reed knows the truth, she must feel awful. Is it really


    okay if we just leave her alone?¡±


    ¡°I know Sonia well. She¡¯s upset and in pain, but she doesn¡¯t need our concern. All she needs is silence.


    This is her fight and hers alone. She must get through it herself, and nobody can help her. Any help we


    give is external and weak. It¡¯ll eventually wear off, so she must ept the truth herself. That¡¯s the only


    way she can recover, but I believe that she will get through this fairly quickly.¡± Toby smiled calmly, but he


    had a confident look in his eyes.


    Since Toby was so confident, Tom shrugged and said nothing.


    On the other hand, Sonia threw herself onto the couch after she came back, then she stared at the


    ceiling for the longest time before blinking. That was the only proof she was a human instead of a doll.


    The things that Grace told her hit her hard. I¡¯m not my parents¡¯ daughter. I¡¯m just her recement. My


    identity, the love I got, and even my name do not belong to me. She was nothing but a recement for


    the dead baby. All she had now belonged to the real Sonia, and she was nothing but a stand in.


    Her eyes turned red, and a drop of tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto the couch, drenching a small


    part of it. But then, from the corner of her eye, she saw the box she tossed onto the coffee table. Since it


    was her mother¡¯s keepsake, she quickly sat up and took the box to open it.


    She wanted to know what was inside it, and why her mother left her this box. The box was opened


    shortly thereafter, but much to her surprise, there were no photos or DNA test results inside. Instead,


    there was a CD.

 Chapter 485

    Chapter 485


    Chapter 485 A Mother¡¯s Healing


    There were no thumbnails orbels on the disc, so Sonia had no idea what the content was. However,


    she didn¡¯t give up. She took the disc with her to the study and inserted it into herptop¡¯s disk drive.


    Once she opened it, there was only a single folder in it. When she clicked into it, what she saw was a


    video file.


    She yed the video, and the first thing she saw on the screen was a young, pale woman.


    Sonia was surprised to see that face, then she covered her mouth in disbelief as tears streamed down


    her cheek. ¡°Mom¡­¡± Her voice was shaking with excitement.


    The woman who appeared on the screen was none other than Henry¡¯s wife¡ªLina Ferguson. She died of


    cancer when Sonia was only five years old. Now that she saw her again, Sonia tried to touch Lina¡¯s face.


    Even though she knew it wasn¡¯t real, she wouldn¡¯t pull her hand back. She kept trying to touch Lina¡¯s


    face, and her gaze never shifted.


    Lina was in a ward. She was wearing a typical blue-and-white striped patient gown, and there was not a


    single strand of hair on her head.


    Sonia knew that was her mother staying in the hospital after she was diagnosed with cancer. As she


    looked at Lina, Sonia burst into tears again. It had been twenty-one long years since shest saw her


    mother. Or, at least, her mother who was still alive and breathing. ¡°I miss you, mom.¡± The cursor on the


    screen was shaking as Sonia¡¯s hand trembled, and her voice broke.


    Lina faced the screen and smiled gently, as if she felt Sonia¡¯s longing. ¡°Sonia, when you see this, I might


    already be long gone, but do not worry. I will always, always watch over you from the heavens above.¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Sonia finally couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore, and she leaned over on the table to cry her heart out.


    The video continued. Lina coughed a few times, and she got even paler, while her voice was little more


    than a whisper. ¡°Sonia, I want to say I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for hiding the truth from you. Your father and I


    never told you about your real identity. Please, find it in your heart to forgive us.¡±


    Sonia looked up tearfully and bit her lip in silence.


    Lina coughed again, but this time, Sonia saw a hand reach out, and the owner of the hand was handing


    Lina a ss of water.


    It was obvious that the hand belonged to a man, and there was a ck mole on the thumb. That¡¯s Dad¡¯s


    hand! Dad¡¯s here too? Sonia was buzzing with excitement. Will I see him too?


    Just when she was thinking about her father, a gentle voice said, ¡°Have some water, honey.¡± It wasn¡¯t


    obvious, but there was pain and agony in that voice.


    It really is dad! Sonia started trembling with delight.


    Lina turned her head to the side and smiled. ¡°Thank you, honey.¡± She took the ss of water and took a


    sip. Thanks to that, her coughing subsided ever so slightly. Then, she put her ss down and faced the


    screen. ¡°Sonia, you must be upset after finding out that you aren¡¯t our daughter. It¡¯ll be uneptable,


    and you might think that you¡¯re just a recement for our own daughter who had passed. Am I right?¡±


    Sonia clenched her fists. Yes, you are. You know me the best, both you and dad.


    Lina smiled weakly. ¡°Please don¡¯t ever think you¡¯re a recement, Sonia. Yes, we did adopt you because


    our child had perished, but you were never her recement. We love you not because we¡¯re trying to fill


    the void our child left us, and you didn¡¯t inherit her name either. Your father and I looked up the dictionary


    and came up with that name. It¡¯s yours and yours alone.¡±


    It¡¯s mine alone? Sonia sat up straighter, and her eyes slowly regained some light. So I¡¯m not a


    recement, am I? Sonia never really cared if the Reeds were her real parents, since they treated her


    like their own. It didn¡¯t matter that she wasn¡¯t their daughter. What mattered was whether the Reeds


    treated her as a recement.


    She thought her parents treated her like their own because they saw her as their dead child. After all,


    she was taken to the Reeds not long after their child had died. Her parents were still grieving back then,


    so they might have showered her with all the love they never had the chance to give to their own child.


    However, her mother was telling her that was not the case. She was no recement, and they loved her


    not because she was filling a void, but because she deserved love herself. Her name wasn¡¯t inherited


    from the child either. They came up with a new one for me.


    As if knowing what Sonia was thinking, Lina said again, ¡°Sonia, our daughter was called Nelly, while you


    are Sonia. You¡¯re our second child. You never were her recement. We didn¡¯t tell you because you


    were young, and you might not understand us. But you should have grown into ady when you see this.


    We trust that you will understand us, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia nodded, her voice breaking.


    Lina continued, ¡°Sonia, please don¡¯t dwell on this matter for too long. We hope you¡¯ll make peace with


    yourself as soon as possible. We might not be rted by blood, but we are bonded by love. You have,


    and always will be, our true daughter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Henry, who hadn¡¯t shown his face, finally popped into the video.


    He was so much younger than he was six years ago, and the sight of him made her tear up again. She


    just stopped crying a moment ago, but now the waterworks wouldn¡¯t stop. ¡°Dad¡­¡±


    ¡°We love you, Sonia, so don¡¯t dwell on something as trivial as bloodline. You and Nelly are both our


    daughters. And I have to say sorry as well. Please forgive me, but I never regretted my decision. Maybe


    the day wille when you realize you would have gone down the wrong path if you had stayed as a


    part of their family,¡± Henry suddenly looked down and said something confusing.


    Sonia squinted suspiciously. What¡¯s dad trying to say? What does he mean I would have gone down the


    wrong path if I had stayed as their family? Who are they anyway?


    Before she could figure that out, Henry and Lina suddenly waved at the screen.


    ¡°Alright, Sonia. It¡¯s time for your mother¡¯s checkup, and I¡¯m taking her there. This is the end of the video.


    Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Sonia. I love you.¡± Lina gave her a flying kiss, and the video ended. Then, she was redirected


    back to the main page.


    Tears wouldn¡¯t stop falling down Sonia¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad.¡± She bade them


    farewell, choking up. ¡°I love you too.¡± She knew that her parents were trying to tell her that they truly


    loved her and that she should ept the truth as it was, but more than that, the video was her mother¡¯s


    final, farewell clip for her.Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.

 Chapter 486

    Chapter 486


    Chapter 486 Got Over It


    She was only five when her mother passed away. Back then, she had no idea what cancer was, nor did


    she have any concept of death. All she knew was her mother was terribly ill and had to stay in the


    hospital for a long time. She had wanted to go to the hospital, but her grandfather suddenly came and


    took her away. He told her that Lina wanted her to spend the summer vacation with him. ¡°Your mother


    will get discharged after summer ends,¡± he said.


    However, after a month, her mother didn¡¯te back. All she saw was a little urn that contained her


    mother.


    When she grew up and knew what death was, Sonia burst into tears. She regretted following her


    grandfather back then instead of staying with her mother at the hospital. If she did, she could have said


    goodbye to her mother.


    That wish was finally fulfilled with this video, and she even got to say goodbye to her father. Six years


    ago, she also couldn¡¯t say goodbye to her father since he hadmitted suicide. Fortunately, they


    managed to say goodbye to each other in the video.


    Sonia ejected the disc and carefully held it, as if it was a priceless treasure. She could no longer hold her


    sorrow back, so she let it out in the form of tears. After a long, long time of crying, she finally got


    exhausted and drifted to sleep on the table.


    Sonia was woken up by the sound of someone ringing the doorbell the next day. When she opened her


    eyes and sat up, she realized her whole back was sore and her neck was stiff. Oh, I don¡¯t think I can


    move my neck. Dang it. After keeping the CD carefully, she got up and massaged her neck while leaving


    her study and heading to the door.


    She opened the door only to be greeted by Charles holding a plush toy. ¡°Morning, babe.¡± He grinned


    toothily.


    Sonia was amused by his stupid grin, so she smiled. ¡°Morning. Come in.¡±


    However, Charles just stood there, as if he was petrified.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°What is it? Why are you just standing there?¡±


    Charles finally snapped out of it and looked at her in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re back to your old self, babe.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Yes,¡± she answered curtly.


    That piqued Charles¡¯ curiosity. ¡°How did you do that, babe? Did you ept your true identity already?¡±


    Sonia grunted. ¡°Yes, I did.¡±


    ¡°That was fast.¡± He held her hand and took her to the couch and sat her down. ¡°Tell me, babe. How did


    you do it?¡±


    He knew she¡¯d ept the truth sooner orter, since the past couldn¡¯t be changed. It¡¯s not like she can


    break ties with the Reeds. However, he never thought she would get over it in a single night. He thought


    it would take her a long while to do so.


    Sonia pulled a wet tissue out from the tissue box and wiped her eyes. Since she cried a few times the


    night before and didn¡¯t remove her makeup before she slept, her eyes felt ufortably dry. As she


    wiped her eyes, she answered, ¡°There¡¯s a CD in the box Grace gave me. It¡¯s a video my parents


    recorded before they died. They knew I¡¯d find out about the truth sooner orter, so they made the video


    in case I overthought the matter. They told me they love me as a daughter even though they aren¡¯t my


    real parents.¡± Then, her lips curled into a smile.


    Charles looked at her and nodded in realization. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°And I got over it.¡± She locked eyes with Charles. ¡°They took me as one of their own. If I deny them just


    because they aren¡¯t my biological parents, then I¡¯m just a piece of trash.¡±


    Charles sat up. ¡°That¡¯s right. Just keep thinking that way. I was worried sick about youst night, and


    Mom couldn¡¯t even sleep. After all, she told you the truth, and she felt guilty about you feeling so down.


    She kept thinking she did the wrong thing.¡±


    Sonia poured a ss of water for herself. ¡°Sorry, Charles. Sorry for worrying you guys. I¡¯ll call Grace


    later,¡± she said sheepishly.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Charles nodded. Just then, he remembered something, and he stuffed the plush toy into her


    hand. ¡°This is for you.¡±


    ¡°Why are you giving me this?¡± Sonia looked at the cute teddy bear, but she was perplexed.


    Charles scratched his head. ¡°I was worried you might still feel sad about the whole thing, so I thought I


    should get you something to cheer you up. I wasn¡¯t sure what would be appropriate, but I picked this little


    guy in the end. I hope you don¡¯t hate it.¡±


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°Of course not. I love it. Thank you, Charles.¡± She didn¡¯t really like plush toys, but she¡¯d


    never trample on someone¡¯s act of kindness.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    The fact that she liked it made Charles smile. ¡°Did you have breakfast already, babe?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get some for you. Give me a minute.¡± Charles stood up.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m going to take a shower and heal my eyes.¡±


    She didn¡¯t need a mirror to know her eyes were red and puffy, since Charles was shocked to see her


    when she opened the door. He just didn¡¯t say it out loud.


    After Charles was gone, Sonia went to the bathroom to shower. When she was done, Charles was back


    with breakfast. They had a quick breakfast before going out and went their own ways. Charles went back


    to his ce, while Sonia went to Paradigm Co.


    After the cars were gone, someone came out from the shadows. The silhouette was holding a phone and


    talking to someone.


    Back at Fuller Group, Tom nodded. ¡°I see. Come back then.¡± He hung up and knocked on Toby¡¯s office¡¯s


    door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Toby said solemnly.


    When Tom went in, he noticed Toby was leaning against his chair with his eyes closed, and he was


    clutching his chest. He was frowning, looking like he was in pain. Tom tensed up when he saw that, and


    he went over to him quickly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sir?¡±


    Toby opened his eyes and put his hand down. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He waved Tom off.


    ¡°Are you sure? You don¡¯t look so good. Is it your heart¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough,¡± Toby interrupted him impatiently. ¡°What is it?¡±


    You¡¯re obviously sick, but you don¡¯t want to talk about it or let anyone ask. Tom sighed, feeling helpless.


    ¡°It¡¯s about Miss Reed. When she came out today, she looked like her usual self again. She probably got


    over the truth already.¡±


    Toby arched his eyebrow. ¡°That was fast.¡± Miraculously, he shared Charles¡¯ sentiment in this aspect.


    They knew Sonia would get through it, but they never thought it¡¯d be that fast.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Toby squinted. ¡°Looks like someone must have told her something, or she couldn¡¯t have got through it


    that quickly. Someone like her would doubt herself and ask a lot of questions first beforeing to terms


    with the truth.¡±


    ¡°Should I look into it then?¡±


    Toby raised his hand. ¡°No, let it be. It¡¯s great that she got through it. Just ignore everything else.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom answered.

 Chapter 487

    Chapter 487


    Chapter 487 Do Not Appear Before Me


    ¡°You may leave now.¡± Toby massaged his forehead.


    Toby was still looking pale, much to Tom¡¯s worry, so Tom stood there and refused to leave. ¡°Are you


    really alright, sir? Should I take you to the hospital? Dr. Lancaster said you can get discharged, but you


    have to rest. You went against his advice and came back to work immediately. That¡¯s going to take a toll


    on your heart, so¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Toby sipped some water and interrupted him. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the hospital if I


    can¡¯t hold on anymore.¡±


    ¡°Very well then. I¡¯ll be going now. Call me if anything happens.¡± Tom sighed and took two steps back


    before turning around to leave.


    After Tom left, Toby put his ss down and took a bottle of pills from his drawer. He uncapped it and


    popped two pills into his mouth before swallowing them dry.


    Once he did so, Toby screwed the cap shut and fiddled with the bottle, looking at it mockingly. The pills


    were specifically made to keep his heart condition under control. He had taken it for more than twenty


    years previously, and just when he thought he was free of them, he was once again forced to take them


    after six years.


    But Toby regretted nothing. He¡¯d still jump down the cliff for Sonia if he had to make the same decision


    again. Toby heaved a sigh and tossed the bottle back into the drawer. He then closed it and went back to


    work on the documents.


    A hospital staff member called Toby that afternoon to get him toe over for a checkup.


    Toby postponed the less important ns in the afternoon and left with Tom.


    They came to thepany¡¯s car park, but before they got to the car, Toby suddenly stopped and stared


    ahead in disbelief.


    Tom had no idea what was going on. When Toby stopped, he stopped as well. ¡°What is it, sir?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Sonia¡¯s here.¡± Toby looked at the woman who was standing beside his car.


    Tom quickly stuck his head out from behind Toby to look at the car, and he saw Sonia there. ¡°It is her. But


    why is she here?¡± Tom was curious.


    Toby squinted, but he walked ahead without saying anything.


    When Sonia heard the sound of footsteps, she looked up from her phone to see who it was. After seeing


    Toby and Toming over, she straightened her back and turned to face Toby. ¡°Hello, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Toby looked at her, his expression inscrutable.


    Sonia frowned. He¡¯s still as cold as he was two days ago. ¡°I¡¯m here for an answer.¡± She looked at him.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°What answer?¡± He looked at her curiously.


    Sonia said, ¡°Why did you stop me from taking care of you? I need to know the reason, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    She didn¡¯t care why he gave up on her, nor did she want to know why. However, she just couldn¡¯t


    understand why he refused to let her take care of him. It made her feel like she did something to annoy


    him, so he didn¡¯t want her near him anymore.


    And his refusal made it impossible for her to repay his kindness. Tom might have said she didn¡¯t have to


    do it, but she didn¡¯t take the advice. That¡¯d go against her creed and turn her into nothing but someone


    who only knew how to take but not give. She¡¯d never allow herself to be that kind of woman.


    She was the kind of person who¡¯d repay anyone who helped her, or it would never sit right with her, not


    to mention she¡¯d lose sleep over it.


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted when he heard the question. He never thought Sonia would want to know the answer


    to that matter, and she even came to see him personally for this. If she had gone to the receptionist


    instead of waiting at his car, she would have missed the chance to see him. ¡°No reason,¡± Toby answered


    calmly and tried to go past her.


    Sonia opened her arms and stopped him. ¡°No reason? Do you think I¡¯d believe that, Mr. Fuller?¡± No


    reason is the biggest reason. He wanted me to take care of him, but then he said no the next day. That


    was too abrupt a change. Nobody would believe he was refusing me for no reason.


    ¡°What do you want then?¡± Toby frowned impatiently.


    Sonia felt uneasy seeing him looking so impatient, and she pursed her lips. ¡°I just want to know the


    reason, then I¡¯ll keep taking care of you until you get better. You know I¡¯m trying to repay your kindness,


    so¡ª¡±


    ¡°Tom should have told you I don¡¯t need that kind of help,¡± Toby interrupted her calmly.


    Tom adjusted his sses and went up. ¡°I did tell her that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I refuse to ept that. You saved me, so I have to repay your kindness. You might not need it,


    but that¡¯s my creed.¡± She looked into his eyes seriously. If she actually didn¡¯t repay anyone¡¯s kindness


    just because they told her so, nobody would help nor befriend her anymore.


    Toby never thought Sonia would be so stubborn, so he sighed quietly. ¡°Fine, since you insist, you may do


    that, but do it in another way. I don¡¯t need your care. It makes me ufortable.¡±


    ¡°Ufortable?¡± Sonia was surprised. ¡°Which part?¡± Is it about more intimate care? But his legs are


    fine, so he doesn¡¯t need my help going to the bathroom or taking a shower. There shouldn¡¯t be any


    problem with that.


    Sonia was still trying to figure the answer out, but Toby put his hands into his pockets and clenched his


    fists. ¡°Every single part,¡± he said coolly. ¡°You¡¯re a lousy caretaker¡ªso unprofessional and careless. I¡¯d


    rather hire a caretaker than have you around. Is that reason good enough?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s jaw dropped, and she was at a loss for words. Her face was beet red, obviously because she


    was embarrassed.


    She knew she didn¡¯t take good care of him since she wasn¡¯t a professional, nor did she have any


    experience in taking care of a patient. Naturally, she¡¯d make a lot of mistakes while she took care of him.


    She just never thought he¡¯d be so straightforward about it.


    Sonia took a deep breath and held her annoyance in as she calmed herself down, then she looked at


    Toby. ¡°I understand, Mr. Fuller. I won¡¯t take care of you anymore. I¡¯m sorry if you suffered under my care.¡±


    She bowed at him.


    Toby held back the urge to pull her up and just looked at her silently.


    Sonia stood up. ¡°You are right. It is normal for you to refuse my care, since I was careless all the time. I¡¯ll


    try to repay your kindness in some other way.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Toby looked at the floor. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to see you, so if you want to repay my kindness,


    do it at a ce where I can¡¯t see you.¡±


    Sonia was stunned, and her heart ached for some reason. She bit her lip and agreed, but she sounded


    sad and angry. ¡°Very well then.¡±


    Since you don¡¯t want to see me, that¡¯s what you¡¯ll get. I don¡¯t want to see you either. She turned around


    as she didn¡¯t even want to look at him anymore.

 Chapter 488

    Chapter 488


    Chapter 488 Wish Granted


    Toby didn¡¯t notice the slight discontent in her voice, so he felt hurt after she agreed not to show up before


    him ever again. It was something he wanted, but it still hurt him. However, he didn¡¯t show it. Instead, he


    smiled coolly. ¡°Good. I hope you can keep that promise.¡±


    Sonia frowned. ¡°Of course I will. You don¡¯t have to tell me twice. After all, I don¡¯t even love you, so why


    would I want to show up in front of you?¡±


    The moment she said she didn¡¯t love him, Toby was heartbroken. He clenched his fists even tighter, and


    he looked at her coldly. ¡°Open the door, Tom,¡± he said darkly.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom replied before taking out the car keys and unlocking the car.


    Toby was about to open the door, but then another car swerved around the corner right behind Sonia.


    Apparently, the driver never expected anyone to be here, and he forgot to step on the brakes because he


    was shocked. That was the recipe for a perfect disaster, and the car came straight at Sonia.


    Sonia was too preupied to realize what was happening, so she didn¡¯t dodge. Toby was shocked that


    she was just standing still, so he held her wrist and pulled her into his embrace.


    Sonia mmed straight into him and knocked her head on his necktie clip, causing her to grunt in pain.


    But before she could rub her forehead, Toby suddenly turned around, and her back crashed against his


    Maybach¡¯s door. Toby was keeping her between him and his car, protecting her, but to those who knew


    nothing about the situation, they¡¯d think they were flirting.


    The owner of the car that almost crashed into Sonia heaved a sigh of relief when he saw her being


    rescued. He quickly stopped his car a few meters away and got out to apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Fuller.


    I¡¯m sorry, miss.¡± He kept bowing. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Toby let Sonia go and turned around to look at the driver coldly. ¡°Which department are you in?¡± His gaze


    was filled with murder.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m in the nning department,¡± the man answered, but his voice was barely a whisper as he was


    terrified. He never thought he¡¯d be so unlucky as to almost crash into someone and get caught by his


    boss. I¡¯m going to lose my job, aren¡¯t I?


    ¡°You handle this guy, Tom.¡± Toby squinted coldly.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yes sir.¡± He looked at the man. ¡°Follow me.¡± Then, he turned around and walked ahead.


    The man hung his head low and went with Tom, but his legs were chattering.


    After they left, only Toby and Sonia were left.


    It was then Sonia realized what had happened. She felt lucky to be saved, but also a bit troubled.


    Naturally, she was lucky she was safe, but that also meant she owed Toby once again. That troubled her,


    of course. Great. When can I finish repaying him now? ¡°Um, thank you.¡± She held the corner of her shirt.


    Toby put his hands back into his pockets. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just didn¡¯t want you to get into trouble here in


    case thepany¡¯s image gets ruined.¡±


    Sonia stared at him in disbelief. So he helped me just because he didn¡¯t want thepany to get into


    trouble? Not because he was worried I might get into an ident? She bit her lip. ¡°I see. But still, you


    saved me, so I¡¯ll still repay your kindness.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Toby answered curtly and turned around to look at Tom and the driver who kept bowing at


    him. ¡°Are you done, Tom?¡± Toby frowned.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yes, sir. Right away.¡± He then told the driver something before he came back.


    ¡°Sir, he¡¯s just a regr employee in the nning department. Since he was speeding and didn¡¯t honk at


    all, I told HR to terminate him. I also called the traffic department, and they¡¯ll suspend his license for


    now.¡± Tom stopped before Toby and told him about the punishment he doled out.


    Toby grunted. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded and opened the backseat door for him.


    Toby got in the car.


    Tom closed the door and turned around. ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving then, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± She forced a smile and took a few steps back so Tom could get in the car.


    Tom nodded at her politely before climbing into the driver¡¯s seat and driving away.


    She saw the car off until it was nothing but a speck in the distance. Then, she stared down and went


    back to her car. Sonia was here in the first ce to find out why Toby didn¡¯t want her to take care of him


    anymore. She found out the answer, but she wasn¡¯t happy in the slightest, especially when he told her to


    never show up before him ever again.


    Sonia clenched her fists andughed at herself. Men. They are all liars. He said he loves me and wants


    me back, but now he doesn¡¯t want to see me anymore because I was a lousy caretaker. Fine. I don¡¯t


    want to see him anyway.


    At the same time, after he got in the car, Toby shed off all his calm demeanor and allowed his rage to boil


    within him.


    Tom looked at him in the rear view mirror and hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Sir, are you sure it¡¯s


    a good idea to talk to Miss Reed like that?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Toby asked coldly.


    Tom turned the steering wheel. ¡°I mean, you said she¡¯s lousier than a regr caretaker. And she looked


    really embarrassed when you said that.¡±


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I know, but that¡¯s the best reason as to why I don¡¯t want her to care for me all of a sudden.¡± Toby closed


    his eyes and massaged his forehead. He couldn¡¯t tell her he refused her care because he was dying.


    After all, he was worried she might fall for him again if she got close, and she would get hurt because of


    his death.


    ¡°True.¡± Tom nodded, then remembered something else. ¡°And what about you telling her to never show


    herself anymore? Don¡¯t you think that¡¯d hurt her feelings?¡±


    Toby opened his eyes and looked outside the window. ¡°She won¡¯t. She doesn¡¯t love me, so she won¡¯t


    feel hurt over that. She¡¯s probably d that she never has to see a guy who hurt her ever again.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Tom looked ahead and said nothing else. He might have bought that story, or perhaps he


    was thinking about something else.


    Toby pulled his hand away from the door and shifted the topic. ¡°Call Lily for me. I want her to be my


    partner for an event tomorrow. Tell her I¡¯ll agree to work with her father if she doesn¡¯t cause any trouble


    for me during the event.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom nodded. He wanted Miss Reed to go with him for this event, but now that things have


    gotten so bad, it¡¯s normal he doesn¡¯t want her to go with him.


    They arrived at the hospital a short whileter.


    Tom stopped the car and turned around to tell Toby who had his eyes closed, ¡°We¡¯re here, sir.¡±


    Toby opened his eyes and got out of the car quietly.


    They came to the cardiology department, and Toby went for the checkup.


    Tim came as well, and he examined Toby. ¡°You don¡¯t look so good. I see you didn¡¯t do as the doctor


    ordered after you were discharged.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Thepany needs me.¡±

 Chapter 489

    Chapter 489


    Chapter 489 A Marriage of Convenience


    ¡°Yes, but if you don¡¯t do as the doctor told you to, you might not even have three years to spare. You


    could drop dead at any moment,¡± Tim adjusted his sses and answered coolly.


    Tim could make something as serious as life and death sound like another regr Tuesday just because


    he was a cold, heartless person.


    When Tom realized that his boss had less than three years to live and might even die a sudden death, he


    panicked. ¡°You heard him, sir.¡± He looked at Toby. ¡°If you don¡¯t take care of yourself, you will¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough.¡± Toby raised his hand to stop Tom. ¡°I know my condition better than anyone.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Tom wanted to say something, but Toby shot him a killer look, and Tom¡¯s words were stuck in his


    throat.


    Tim chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s just concerned about you. You¡¯re so ungrateful.


    Toby looked at him calmly, but he said nothing.


    Since he wasn¡¯t saying anything, Tim wouldn¡¯t argue with him. He shrugged and went to check on the


    other patients.


    ¡°Have a seat, sir.¡± Tom took a chair and gave it to Toby.


    Toby grunted and sat on the chair. He then stared at the floor as he got immersed in his own thoughts.


    A whileter, Tim came over with the results and handed it to Toby. ¡°Here¡¯s your results.¡±


    Toby took it and skimmed through it, while Tom huddled closer as well to take a look. When he saw that


    Toby¡¯s heart was deteriorating at a faster rate, he was shocked. ¡°Why is President Fuller¡¯s heart


    deteriorating so quickly?¡±


    Toby frowned as well.


    Tim put his hands into his coat¡¯s pockets. ¡°Like I said, instead of getting some rest like what I told him to,


    he overworked himself. His heart can¡¯t take it, so it¡¯s deteriorating faster and faster. That¡¯s why I said he


    might not even have three years.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Tom clenched his fists. ¡°So will he get better if he takes care of himself from now on?¡±


    ¡°More or less, yes.¡± Tim shrugged.


    Tom looked at Toby. ¡°Sir, I know you won¡¯t like what I¡¯m about to say, but please take care of yourself.


    For Master Tyler, and for Miss Reed as well. Master Tyler is still young and knows nothing about the


    company. Thepany still needs you, and Master Tyler still needs you. He can¡¯t keep those sly old


    foxes under control without you. You also said you wanted to help Miss Reed so her life won¡¯t be that


    hard, right?¡±


    The more he talked, the more overwhelmed Tom was. ¡°But you haven¡¯t even helped Miss Reed out that


    much yet, so if you don¡¯t take care of yourself, you might die someday. If that happens, what should


    Master Tyler and Miss Reed do?¡±


    Toby wanted to say something, but in the end, he sighed. ¡°I get it. I¡¯ll be more careful from now on.¡±


    He had to say Tom hit him where it mattered the most. Toby took a deep breath and heaved a sigh.


    ¡°Alright, Tom. I¡¯ll be careful,¡± he said seriously.


    Tom finally broke into a smile.


    Tim said again, ¡°Okay, now that you got your results, it¡¯s time to get your meds. Since you went against


    the doctor¡¯s orders and made your condition worse, you need new meds. Ditch the old ones.¡±


    Toby grunted. ¡°Do as he says.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. He then took the prescription from Tim and went to take the meds.


    Both of them left the hospital after Tom took the medicine.


    After they got in the car, Toby suddenly thought of something. ¡°Call Sonia and tell her she won¡¯t have to


    attend the event tomorrow,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom started driving away.


    Toby rested his eyes and said nothing more.


    After they came to his temporary house, Tom called Sonia.


    Sonia was still working on the documents in her office, but for some reason, she was out of the loop and


    couldn¡¯t concentrate no matter what. Because of that, she only managed to handle three files after a


    couple of hours.


    Daphne poured her a cup of coffee. ¡°Are you feeling unwell, Miss Reed?¡± she asked, concerned.


    Sonia put her pen down and massaged her forehead. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t look so good.¡± Daphne looked closer at Sonia¡¯s face.


    Sonia leaned back on her chair. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just exhausted, probably.¡±


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get some rest then? These aren¡¯t urgent,¡± Daphne said.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Good idea. I¡¯ll lie down on the couch.¡±


    She stood up and straightened her clothes before going to the couch, but then her phone rang, stopping


    her. When she looked at her phone and realized it was from Tom, she picked her phone up in a sh for


    some reason. ¡°Hello, Tom.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed,¡± Tom greeted her.


    Sonia sat back down. ¡°Do you need anything?¡±


    He¡¯s probably calling me on Toby¡¯s orders. There¡¯s no reason he¡¯d call me, since we aren¡¯t friends.


    Tom looked at Toby, who was resting after he took his meds. He then tiptoed out of Toby¡¯s room and


    answered, ¡°President Fuller asked me to tell you that you don¡¯t have to go to the event tomorrow, Miss


    Reed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to go?¡± Sonia frowned. He¡¯s going to meet up with some foreign bigshots, and he needs a


    partner. That¡¯s the rule. He asked me to go with him and I said yes, so why did he change his mind now?


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°President Fuller has found another partner, and he doesn¡¯t want to trouble you.¡±


    Sonia tightened her grip on her phone, and she started getting restless. A momentter, she bit her lip.


    ¡°Who¡¯s his new partner?¡±


    Tom didn¡¯t realize she sounded off, so he told her honestly, ¡°Lily from the McRae Family.¡±


    ¡°Lily McRae?¡± Sonia was obviously upset when she heard that name.


    Lily had gained massive poprity among the upper society as ofte, but not because of her own merit.


    Her family just announced that they were going to have a marriage of convenience with the Fullers. Lily


    was their only daughter, and although the Fullers had two sons, Tyler was only seventeen, so he wasn¡¯t


    the McRae¡¯s target. After all, Lily was eight years older than Tyler was. In other words, their target was


    Toby.


    Because of that, Lily rose from a practical nobody to a star among the socialites. Even someone like


    Sonia¡ªwho couldn¡¯t care less about the upper society¡ªheard about it. There was no way Toby wouldn¡¯t


    know that the McRaes were trying to get their hands on him.


    But even though he knew the McRaes were trying to get him onto the same boat to solve their crisis, he


    still chose Lily as his partner. So he¡¯s agreeing to the marriage? The mere thought of that made her feel


    like something was squeezing her heart, and she started to suffocate.

 Chapter 490

    Chapter 490


    Chapter 490 Stepsister Appears


    She held the phone with one hand and clutched her chest. A long whileter, she finally spoke, but her


    voice was hoarse. ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t be going tomorrow, so tell your boss not to worry. I did say I


    would never show up in front of him ever again, and I intend to uphold that promise. And tell your boss


    congrattions. He and Miss McRae will make a wonderful pair.¡± She put her phone down and hung up


    right away.


    Tom frowned curiously. ¡°What is she talking about?¡± Why should I congratte President Fuller? And


    what does she mean he and Miss McRae make a great pair?


    Daphne noticed that Sonia was looking a bit pale after hanging up, so she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Miss


    Reed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She bit her lip, but since she was using too much force, her lip paled.


    She just thought it was ironic. It was eptable that Toby suddenly went back on his word and switched


    his partner out. After all, he did tell her to never show her face around him again, so it was normal that he


    didn¡¯t want her to be his partner. She already had that guess, so Tom¡¯s call just confirmed it.


    She was already prepared because she had a guess that Toby would cancel the invitation, but she still


    felt hurt when she got the news. That wasn¡¯t the most important thing, of course. Her real gripe was that


    Toby only told her about the cancetion after he found another partner.


    Is he ying me for a fool? To make a clearer example, let¡¯s say they were still a couple, but Toby


    actually found another girl before he told her about the breakup. It was like she was dumped after she


    outlived her usefulness. He could have told me to not go before he got a new partner, but he didn¡¯t! And


    he got Lily as his partner out of all people.


    The more she thought about it, the more restless she was. In the end, she leaned back and pinched the


    area between her brows in exhaustion. ¡°Leave me be, Daphne. I want some alone time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed.¡± Daphne looked at her worriedly before leaving the office.


    After she left, Daphne called Charles¡¯ number. She actually didn¡¯t want to call him over Sonia. After all,


    Sonia was her romantic rival even though Sonia didn¡¯t like Charles.


    But she knew Charles had liked Sonia for a long time now. If Sonia was unhappy, Charles wouldn¡¯t be


    happy. She loved Charles and would not want to see him sad, so even though Sonia was her romantic


    rival, she would still call Charles and ask him toe over and take a look. After all, love could be both


    selfish and selfless. Her love was thetter. She knew it was impossible for her to date Charles, so she


    could never be selfish. That was why she wanted her loved one to be happy.


    Once the call went through, Charles asked, ¡°What is it, Daphne?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Lane, I need to tell you something. Miss Reed seems off after taking a particr call. Do you want to


    come over and take a look?¡± Daphne looked at Sonia¡¯s office as she spoke.


    Charles leapt to his feet the moment Daphne said something was off about Sonia. ¡°Who called my


    baby?¡±


    Daphne was hurt hearing the man she loved calling someone else ¡®baby¡¯, but she held it down. She took


    a deep breath and said calmly, ¡°It was Mr. Fuller¡¯s assistant¡ªTom Brown.¡±


    ¡°Tom Brown?¡± The mention of that name soured his mood.


    The fact that Tom worked for Toby was annoying enough, and not to mention nothing good ever


    happened whenever they met. When he recalled how easily Tom pinned him down, he gnashed his teeth


    angrily. ¡°I got it. I¡¯lle over right away.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Daphne hung up and put her phone down. She then adjusted her sses and went back to


    her office.


    Two weekster, Charles came to Paradigm Co., but he looked solemn when he came in. It was as if


    something serious had happened. Sonia wanted to ask why he came over all of a sudden, but when she


    saw the look on his face, she asked, ¡°What happened, Charles?¡±


    Charles stood before her desk somberly. ¡°I think I saw Jessica, babe.¡±


    The mention of that name got Sonia¡¯s attention, and she sat up straighter. ¡°What did you say? You saw


    Jessica?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Charles nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s her. I even have her picture.¡±


    ¡°I want to see it.¡± Sonia stood up.


    Charles took his phone out and scrolled through his gallery for thetest photo. ¡°This one right here. I


    didn¡¯t park my car in the car park, but at the roadside near thepany. When I got out, I looked around


    and saw her in the caf¨¦ across the street. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes, so I took her photo.¡±


    Sonia wasn¡¯t listening. Instead, she was staring at the photo that captured the side profile of a woman.


    Since it was zoomed in, the resolution wasn¡¯t too high, but Sonia recognized the woman all the same. It


    was indeed Jessica, who had made off with her mother with thest of Paradigm Co.¡¯s money after


    Henry killed himself six years ago.


    ¡°It¡¯s been six years. She actually came back.¡± Sonia gripped the phone tightly, her expression dark.


    Charles nodded. ¡°Yeah. We thought they would never return, but it only took her six years toe back.


    I think her mother might be here as well.¡±


    Sonia sneered. ¡°Of course. Paradigm Co. is stable now and not bankrupt, so of course they would find


    out about the news ande back.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying they¡¯re here so they can take Paradigm Co. from you?¡± Charles frowned.


    Sonia handed him his phone. ¡°They have no other reason toe back. They¡¯re both greedy leeches.


    After Dad died, they took all the money and ran away, disappearing without a trace. They didn¡¯t care


    about thepany, and they didn¡¯t evene to Dad¡¯s funeral. They¡¯re heartless b*tches who only care


    about themselves. If it weren¡¯t because of Asher stepping up and asking the bank to give us a loan,


    Paradigm Co. would have gone bankrupt six years ago.¡±


    She had to thank Asher for Paradigm Co.¡¯s continued survival. Even though he did it all so he could take


    full control, his contribution was undeniable. That was why Sonia tolerated him despite all his schemes


    and antics. She never did punish him using her status as main shareholder. However, if he did cross her


    line, she¡¯d stop tolerating him. As the main shareholder, she had more than one way to fire Asher.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Charlesughed mirthlessly. ¡°They ran when Paradigm Co. and the Reeds got into trouble, but now that


    thepany¡¯s back on track, they want to get a slice of the pie? How nasty.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re heartless b*stards. Honor means nothing to them, but profit means everything. The question


    here is when they made their return, and how long have they been here.¡± Sonia frowned and started


    thinking about the questions at hand.


    If they just came back, then they¡¯d probably raise hell soon. But if it has been a while since they returned,


    then where are they staying right now? And why haven¡¯t they shown up yet?

 Chapter 491

    Chapter 491


    Chapter 491 Charles¡¯s Invitation


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get someone to run an investigation?¡± Charles suggested.


    Sonia nodded in response. ¡°Of course. We have to look into this. I won¡¯t be able to sleep well if we don¡¯t


    dig deep to find out all that we can about them.¡± Jessica and her mother were in hiding, while Sonia was


    out in the public¡¯s eye, after all. Sonia wouldn¡¯t even have found out about Jessica¡¯s return to Seafield if


    Charles hadn¡¯t found out about Jessica. If I didn¡¯t know that they were back, I wouldn¡¯t even have the


    chance to react in time if Jessica and her mother were to do something to me. Now that I¡¯m aware of


    their return, I have to investigate their whereabouts, so that I can be prepared if they try to do anything to


    me.


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to do the investigation? Should we hire a detective, or¡­¡± Charles¡¯s voice faded off. ¡°Let¡¯s


    get a detective,¡± Sonia replied after thinking for a moment. ¡°Jessica showed up near Paradigm Co.¡ªI


    believe she was trying to gain information about us. If we send our own people over, she might recognize


    one of them, so I think it¡¯s better if we hire a detective.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. There¡¯s a private detective office that I¡¯ll pass by on the way backter, and I¡¯ve heard good


    things about the ce. I¡¯ll go ahead and arrange things since it¡¯s more convenient for me,¡± Charles


    offered as he poured himself a ss of water.


    ¡°Okay. Sorry for the trouble. By the way, what brings you here?¡± Sonia asked.


    ¡°Daphne,¡± Charles replied as he pulled a chair over to sit down. ¡°She told me that you seemed troubled


    by something and she was a little worried, so she told me toe over and take a look,¡± he exined.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t sure whether tough or cry after hearing him. ¡°I was just feeling rather moody. I didn¡¯t


    expect her to think that something was up with me.¡±


    ¡°She cares about you a lot,¡± Charlesmented.


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m really touched by her actions,¡± Sonia said with a firm nod.


    ¡°Are you really okay, darling?¡± Although Sonia imed that she was just a little moody, Charles still


    checked on her as he was worried.


    This time, Sonia gave him a slight nod. ¡°I¡¯m really okay.¡±


    ¡°Why were you in a bad mood, then?¡± he asked once more.


    She massaged her temples as she spoke. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just felt rather displeased because I felt


    like I was tricked by someone.¡±


    ¡°Who did it?¡± Charles leaned closer as sparks of curiosity lit up in his eyes.


    Upon hearing his question, Toby¡¯s gorgeous face and sharp features surfaced in Sonia¡¯s mind. She


    seemed dazed for a short while. When Charles realized how she was zoning out, he raised his hand to


    wave it in front of her eyes. ¡°What are you thinking about, darling?¡±


    When she came back into reality, she immediately lowered her gaze to conceal the emotions in her eyes.


    With her head low, she forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± That¡¯s weird. Why did I just think of Toby? Sonia


    shook her head lightly as if to fling Toby¡¯s image out of her mind. Then, she took a sip of water from the


    ss on the table in order to calm herself down.


    Charles narrowed his eyes as he observed her entire series of odd facial expressions and actions. A


    cryptic look flickered in his eyes, but he quickly pretended as if nothing had happened. ¡°Oh! By the way, I


    need your help, darling,¡± he uttered with a smile.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia lowered her ss as she looked at him puzzledly.


    He grinned cheekily as he leaned closer to her. ¡°I need you to be my partner for an event.¡±


    Spurt! Sonia couldn¡¯t control herself and spat out the water that she was drinking as she was too


    surprised by his words. Charles squeezed his eyes shut as the water struck his face. His entire face was


    covered in water, and there were even water droplets dripping down his chin.


    Sonia knew that it was her mistake. After sticking her tongue out in embarrassment, she pulled a few


    pieces of tissue out of the tissue box to dry the water on his face. She only apologized once she made


    sure that his face was clean. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. So sorry! I didn¡¯t do that on purpose.¡±


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Charles had a rather helpless expression on his face, and there was a hint of resentment in


    his eyes as he gazed at her.


    Sonia giggled bashfully. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Charles. I really didn¡¯t mean to do it.¡±


    Charles rubbed his face before reaching up to fix his hair. His hair had beenbed backward, and he


    had used wax to make it stay in position. This hairstyle made him look especially cool, like one of the


    gangsters in old movies. But after Sonia spat water in his face, his hair had gotten wet and messy. He no


    longer looked as smart and neat as he did before.


    Yet, Charles couldn¡¯t help butugh when he saw Sonia¡¯s flushed face. Forget it. She¡¯s so cute; what


    else does she expect me to do? I can¡¯t do much apart from forgiving her, right? ¡°It¡¯s fine. It was just some


    water. I¡¯ll tidy myself upter,¡± Charles uttered carelessly while waving his arm.


    Sonia got up and headed to the storeroom to retrieve a clean towel for him. ¡°By the way, you were saying


    something earlier. You wanted me to be your partner, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he replied as she took the towel and began to clean himself. ¡°There will be a few famous figures


    coming from overseas tomorrow, and one of them is pretty close to my dad. He gave my dad an


    invitation but my dad has no ns to go, so he suggested that I go in his ce. He wanted me to get


    some exposure to the scene. I agreed to it, but I then found out that those foreigners are known for being


    yboys that like to enjoy their nights out. They requested each guest to bring a female partner, and


    you¡¯re practically the only female friend I have¡ª¡± Charles gave her a lengthy exnation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do it.¡± Before he could finish, Sonia spoke up to decline his request.


    ¡°I¡¯m d that you agreed¡­ Wait, what?¡± Charles widened his eyes and stared at her in surprise. ¡°What


    did you say, darling? Did you say no?¡± He had assumed that she would agree to his request, and he was


    about to celebrate it. However, he then realized that she had rejected him. The surge of joy within his


    chest immediately turned into ice.


    With a stern expression on her face, Sonia gave him a nod. ¡°Yeah. I said no.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He held onto her arm, but she pulled away from him. ¡°Well, I previously agreed to go to the same


    event with Toby. Now that he says that I don¡¯t have to go with him anymore, things would be really


    awkward if I went to the event. It¡¯d still be weird even if I went as your partner. Do you get where I¡¯m


    coming from?¡± she uttered.


    ¡°What? You agreed to be Toby¡¯s partner previously?¡± Charles¡¯s voice turned louder as he was surprised


    by her words.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied with a nod.


    ¡°When did you agree to that? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it?¡± Charles clutched her shoulders and


    began to shake her.


    She felt her head spinning as he shook her, so she quickly pushed him off as she answered his question.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to tell? Anyway, I won¡¯t be able to apany you for this event. You can find someone


    else.¡±


    ¡°Please, darling. I can¡¯t find anyone else.¡± Charles didn¡¯t want to find anyone else and insisted on having


    Sonia as his partner.


    However, Sonia was just as stubborn. ¡°I would¡¯ve epted your invitation if you had asked me to go to


    some other event, Charles. But I really can¡¯t do it this time. First, I¡¯ll feel extremely awkward to see Toby


    there. Secondly, I promised Toby that I wouldn¡¯t show up in front of him, so I¡¯d be breaking my promise if


    I went there tomorrow. What would he think of me then?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Charles parted his lips to speak, but no words came out of his mouth.


    She patted him on the shoulder. ¡°You should find yourself another partner, Charles.¡±


    He let out a long sigh. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re in such a situation, then I guess I have no choice but to do


    that.¡±


    Sonia gave him a smile, but she no longer said anything after that. After a moment of silence, Charles¡¯s


    phone began to ring. He nced at the screen to see that it was his assistant calling him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He picked the call up immediately.


    ¡°Mr. Lane is here at thepany, President Lane. He wants you toe back,¡± the assistant uttered


    once the line got through.


    Charles frowned. ¡°My dad is at thepany, huh? What¡¯s he doing there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t exin himself. Just hurry back, alright?¡± the assistant replied.


    He massaged his temples as he spoke. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll head back immediately.¡± After ending the call, he


    turned to look at Sonia. ¡°I need to go to the office now, darling. You can contact me if you need anything,


    but I¡¯ll leave for now.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Drive safe.¡± Sonia bid him goodbye and stood up to send him out of the office. She only returned


    to her desk once she made sure that he had entered the elevator.

 Chapter 492

    Chapter 492


    Chapter 492 Lily


    Sonia curled her lips into a bitter smile when she thought about how Charles had invited her to the same


    party. What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m d that I rejected him. Otherwise, Toby might think that I went to the party


    with the intention of appearing in front of him. Hmph! I¡¯m not going to give him the opportunity to look


    down on me!


    Yet, for some reason, Sonia felt her chest tightening whenever she thought about Lily, the girl whom Toby


    had asked to be his partner. Sonia pulled her chair back and sat down before she moved her mouse to


    search for Lily¡¯s social media profile. When Sonia saw Lily¡¯s posts of luxury bags, cars, shoes, and


    makeup products, she couldn¡¯t help but squeeze her delicate brows together. Lily¡¯s personal profile


    literally screams, ¡®I¡¯m proud of being rich¡¯. This is so typical of a nouveau riche. Well, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s a


    good fit for Toby. Her looks, her family background, and her personal values don¡¯t seem to match Toby¡¯s


    at all. They don¡¯t suit each other! If Toby actually gets married to Lily someday, I¡¯m definitely going to


    question his taste in women.


    ¡°President Reed!¡± Someone knocked on the door, disrupting Sonia¡¯s train of thought. She was shocked


    by the sound, and she hastily shut the window of Lily¡¯s profile before she looked at Daphne, who was


    standing by the door of Sonia¡¯s office.


    There was a panicked smile on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°W-What is it?¡± Sonia stuttered. Sh*t. Why am I acting like a


    guilty person? I was just scrolling through someone¡¯s profile¡ªwhat¡¯s wrong with that?


    Daphne had no idea why Sonia was so flustered, but she didn¡¯t think too much about it. ¡°President


    Dafoe¡¯s assistant got me to tell you that you need to go to his office for a meeting.¡±


    ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll go immediately,¡± Sonia answered with a nod. Daphne turned to leave, and Sonia tidied up her


    desk before she hugged herptop in her arms and walked out of the office.


    It took nearly two hours for Sonia to be done with the meeting. When she returned to her office, she


    received a call from Charles. ¡°I really can¡¯t find another female partner, darling. Could I borrow Daphne


    for a day?¡± Charles asked.


    Sonia looked up to nce at Daphne, who was sitting just opposite her office. Daphne was busy


    organizing documents, and Sonia watched her work as she giggled into the call. ¡°I¡¯m fine with that.


    Daphne was your secretary in the past, and you only transferred her over to help me, right? I can pass


    the message to Daphne, and we¡¯ll see if she¡¯s willing to go with you.¡±


    When Daphne heard Sonia mentioning her name, Daphne immediately lowered the documents in her


    hand. ¡°Is that President Lane, President Reed?¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Yeah. He has to go to a party tomorrow, and he¡¯s looking for a female partner. He was


    wondering if you¡¯d be interested in being his female partner.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Daphne pointed at herself as terror shed in her gaze.


    Sonia nodded slowly. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°No, no! I can¡¯t do that!¡± Daphne looked as if she had just received the greatest shock of her life. She got


    to her feet and gestured to show that she wouldn¡¯t be a good fit for Charles. How could I be Charles¡¯s


    female partner? Usually, guys would bring their girlfriends or close friends to a party as their plus one. I¡¯m


    not Charles¡¯s girlfriend and neither am I close to him, so how could I be his female partner?


    ¡°Why not?¡± Sonia nced at Daphne confusedly.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Daphne lowered her head as she clutched onto her old-school, ck A-line skirt. She stumbled


    on her own words without being able to exin herself. Can I say that I¡¯d long for Charles even more if I


    were to be his female partner for that night?


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what was going on in Daphne¡¯s head, so she assumed that Daphne was just nervous


    because she had never been someone¡¯s female partner at a party. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You just have to go


    there to have a meal with him and a few famous figures. You don¡¯t have to be afraid.¡±


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you go, President Reed?¡± Daphne turned to look at Sonia. ¡°I bet Charles initially wanted to


    ask you to go with him, right?¡±


    With a smile, Sonia decided to be open about her situation. ¡°I can¡¯t go there because Toby will be there


    tomorrow.¡± Daphne didn¡¯t have much to say after hearing Sonia. President Fuller is going to be there¡ª


    that exins why President Reed isn¡¯t going. I guess it can get pretty awkward for ex-spouses to meet in


    such a setting.


    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you be Charles¡¯s partner for tomorrow? He¡¯d have to go alone if you¡¯re not joining. He


    doesn¡¯t want to bring women he isn¡¯t familiar with, and you¡¯re the woman he knows best after me.¡± Sonia


    spoke in a sincere tone as she nced at Daphne.


    Daphne felt genuinely impacted by Sonia¡¯sst sentence. Ie in second ce after President Reed.


    Does that mean that I actually mean something to President Lane? This might not be love, but at least


    it¡¯s some form of a rtionship. In the end, Daphne responded with a nod. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go with President


    Lane tomorrow.¡±


    Daphne clutched to the sides of her skirt. Her palms were sweating, and her heart was racing because of


    how nervous she felt. She was finally getting the chance to have some form of close interaction with


    Charles. Even if it was a one-time event, it was enough for her¡ªshe could look back on this memory for


    the rest of her life. At that thought, Daphne lowered her head and let out a happy smile.


    Sonia pressed her phone against her ear and told Charles Daphne¡¯s answer. Charles uttered something


    else through the line before he ended the call. ¡°He¡¯ll bring you for a makeover tomorrow,¡± Sonia told


    Daphne after she put her phone away.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Daphne¡¯s voice was as soft as a mosquito¡¯s buzz, and she immediately looked down to continue


    organizing her files after she replied to Sonia. However, if one were to observe her thoroughly, one would


    see that her hands were trembling. It showed that she hadn¡¯t calmed down yet. It made perfect sense¡ª


    how could anyone feel calm when they were just asked to go to a party as their crush¡¯s partner?


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, at the Fuller Group, Toby narrowed his eyes when he heard Tom¡¯s reply. ¡°Did you just say


    that Charles will be attending the social event tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Tom pushed his sses up the bridge of his nose. ¡°I checked the event name list earlier, and I


    saw Charles¡¯s name there. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll bring Miss Reed over tomorrow.¡±


    Charles fancied Sonia, so it made sense for him to pick Sonia as his female partner. Toby quickly put two


    and two together, and he pressed his lips together tightly at the thought of Charles and Sonia attending


    the event the next day. His expression had turned sour, but his words were incongruent with his face. ¡°He


    can bring Sonia if he wants to.¡± Toby had previously stated that he wouldn¡¯t stop Zane from going after


    Sonia. The same rule applied to Charles as well. I¡¯d like to see who suits Sonia better¡ªZane or Charles?


    For the next three years of my life, at least I¡¯ll still be able to keep an eye on the guys chasing after


    Sonia. But Carl¡­ Toby¡¯s face darkened at the thought of Carl.


    Toby had never once thought that Carl was a good match for Sonia. Carl seemed like someone who had


    a dark side, and he even had a severe mental disorder. He had recently been diagnosed with


    dissociative identity disorder. A man like him was simply too dangerous for Sonia, and Toby couldn¡¯t


    imagine how things would turn out for Sonia if she were to date someone like Carl.


    ¡­


    The next day, Toby brought Lily to the hotel where the social event was hosted. When they got to the


    venue, most of the guests had already arrived. Toby scanned the crowd before his gazended on


    Charles and the woman beside him. Charles hadn¡¯t brought Sonia along, but a woman Toby had never


    seen before.


    What¡¯s going on? Toby knitted his brows. Why isn¡¯t Sonia the one who¡¯s with Charles? When Lily


    realized that Toby was frozen in his spot, she held onto his arm. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes


    were sparkling as she addressed him in a sweet voice. ¡°What is it, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby frowned even more. A hint of annoyance shed in his eyes for a brief second before it


    disappeared. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± he replied in an icy tone. After he finished speaking, he parted his legs to


    continue walking into the room. Lily clung onto his arm as she pressed her full breasts against his skin.


    She pretended that she wasn¡¯t doing it intentionally, but it was clear that she was trying to seduce him.

 Chapter 493

    Chapter 493


    Chapter 493 Put on the Spot


    When Charles caught sight of Toby and Lily, he curled his lips to give Toby a smirk. ¡°President Fuller,


    your taste in women seems rather different nowadays. I have always assumed that you liked people like


    Tina, who look all innocent, weak, and pure. How did you end up with such a hot and feisty girl like her?


    On top of that, it seems like you guys also enjoy flirting with each other in public.¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression darkened the moment he heard Charles¡¯s words. Immediately after that, Toby turned


    to give Lily a re. ¡°Let go of me.¡± He would have pulled his arm away from her, but he was worried that


    her dress would slip off her chest as she was wearing a strapless outfit. If that weren¡¯t the case, Toby


    would have certainly shoved her away instead of speaking to her so nicely.


    Lily didn¡¯t seem to realize how displeased Toby was, so she pouted unhappily when she heard his


    orders. ¡°I¡¯m your partner, President Fuller. Holding hands¡ª¡±


    ¡°I told you to let go!¡± Toby cut her off heartlessly. The air around them seemed to turn cold, and Toby¡¯s


    expression looked grimmer than before. The iciness in his tone of voice was too obvious to be ignored.


    Lily shuddered at the cold aura surrounding them, and she unconsciously let go of Toby¡¯s arm. Her face


    had turned into the color of paper.


    Toby spoke without any expression on his face. ¡°I told you about this before. I just want you to stand still


    and look pretty, okay? Don¡¯t you dare mess things up for me¡ªI¡¯ve already told you that I will immediately


    cancel the partnership with the McRae Family if something like this happens. I can¡¯t believe you


    completely ignored my orders.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. I¡­ I¡¯ll learn from my mistakes.¡± Panic spread across Lily¡¯s face when she


    heard Toby¡¯s threat to cancel the partnership with the McRaes. ¡°I really won¡¯t do this again, President


    Fuller. Please don¡¯t cancel the partnership¡ªmy dad will murder me if that happens.¡± Lily was on the


    verge of tears because of how worried she was. Ipletely regret what I did earlier. In the past, I was


    only able to admire this man from afar ¡ªI never had the chance to be so close to him. Now that the guy


    of my dreams chose me as his female partner and that he¡¯s even considering marrying me, I¡¯m too


    ted to think straight. That¡¯s why I did what I did. Furthermore, even if Toby noticed my actions, I would


    have never expected him to expose me in front of others. There are so many people here. He should¡¯ve


    considered my dignity.


    However, Lily was clearly wrong. Toby didn¡¯t care about her pride and dignity at all as his actions put her


    on the spot. For the past 20 or so years of her life, she had never felt as embarrassed as she did at that


    moment. She instinctively covered her face, but her neck and ears had turned beet red.


    Charles, who had been watching the entire scene, felt rather guilty and sorry when he saw the look on


    Lily¡¯s face. He was the one who had provoked Toby, after all, which meant he was the reason Toby


    targeted Lily and ced Lily in such an awkward situation. Once Charles recognized that he was at fault,


    he no longer lounged around just to enjoy the show. Instead, he straightened his back and cleared his


    throat before speaking. ¡°Well, Toby, she might have made a mistake, but I don¡¯t think you have to cancel


    the partnership with her family, right? Isn¡¯t that a little too heartless?¡±


    Toby shot Charles a cold re. ¡°Mind your own business. You have no right to stick your nose into my


    matters.¡± With that said, Toby pulled a chair out to take a seat. Lily hurried to Toby with her head low, and


    she pulled out the chair beside him to sit down. He¡¯s still insistent on canceling the partnership. I guess


    I¡¯ll have to continue begging him once this event is over.


    Soon enough, the social event came to an official start. Most of the well-known figures at the event were


    there to meet Toby¡ªthey all wanted to work with Toby on their new projects. Charles, on the other hand,


    only got a chance to be exposed to such powerful people because of his father¡¯s connections. However,


    Charles realized that he couldn¡¯t understand the other guests¡¯ discussions about their new projects at all.


    The Lane Family wasn¡¯t involved in the same field of business, so they had never explored such topics.


    At the same time, Charles was also well aware of the fact that the social event had nothing to do with


    him¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t be invited to be a part of such projects even if he could fathom what they were saying.


    The Lane Family couldn¡¯t afford to provide such a huge sum for such projects as they were struggling


    with their own internal affairs. They would have to dere bankruptcy if they were to invest in such


    projects. Therefore, Charles merely listened to their conversations for a long while. He came to a point


    where he felt like sleeping, and he had to take his phone out just to prevent himself from dozing off. With


    his phone on the table, Charles sent a message to Sonia to tell her about what had happened with Toby


    and Lily earlier. He phrased his text in a yful manner.


    Sonia was organizing some documents in her office, and she straightened her back after she read the


    contents of Charles¡¯s message. Lily seduced Toby and got herself embarrassed in public? Sonia¡¯s eyes


    widened before a serious expression formed on her face. It seems like Toby and Lily aren¡¯t getting


    married, then. If they were nning to get married, Toby wouldn¡¯t have embarrassed his wife-to-be in


    public. That¡¯s why I think their marriage is impossible. All of a sudden, Sonia felt a weight being lifted off


    of her chest. She had even curled her lips into a grin without realizing it.


    When one of the assistants entered Sonia¡¯s office, she quickly realized how happy Sonia seemed.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally in a good mood, President Reed,¡± the assistantmented boldly.


    ¡°Finally?¡± Sonia froze for a second before she touched her own face. ¡°Did I look like I was in a bad mood


    before this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The assistant nodded. ¡°When you came to work today, you seemed like you were in a bad mood.


    You were frowning as if you were worried or concerned about something. However, all of those emotions


    have disappeared now, and you look so much more rxed.¡± This assistant usually worked under


    Daphne¡¯s orders, but she hade over to help Sonia with some matters since she was recing


    Daphne¡¯s absence today.


    Out of all the people in the office, the assistant had spent the most time with Sonia today, so she had the


    opportunity to observe Sonia¡¯s mood throughout the day. Sonia was stunned to hear that she had been


    in a bad mood for so long. ording to the assistant¡¯s description, Sonia had been in a bad mood for


    most of the day, and she had only rxed a little after receiving Charles¡¯s text. She believed that she felt


    relieved after concluding that Toby and Lily would never get married to one another. Does that mean I¡¯m


    happy because Toby and Lily won¡¯t get married? At that thought, all sorts of mixed emotions surfaced in


    Sonia¡¯s eyes. Why should I be happy after knowing that they won¡¯t get married? What is there to be


    happy about?


    Sonia grew more frustrated the more she thought about it. Finally, she lowered the pen in her hand and


    massaged her temples to force herself to calm down. ¡°Are you here to collect these documents?¡± she


    finally asked.


    ¡°Yes, President Reed.¡± The assistant nodded.


    ¡°Take whatever you need and you can leave after that. I¡¯d like to have some time on my own,¡± Sonia


    ordered.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The assistant had no idea what was going on, and she didn¡¯t know why Sonia was acting so


    oddly. After shooting Sonia a puzzled nce, the assistant took all the files into her arms before she left


    the office.


    Sonia only opened her eyes when she heard the door closing. ¡°Sonia, oh, Sonia. What are you doing?¡±


    she cried to herself as she grabbed her own hair. She had the sense that something was wrong with her


    ¡ªshe would experience all sorts of random, inexplicable mood swings that she had no control over. I


    don¡¯t know what will be of me if things go on like this!


    After taking a deep breath, Sonia lowered her hands to grab her phone. Just then, she received a call


    from the detective, whose number she had saved after Charles sent it to her shortly after he left


    yesterday. Sonia¡¯s expression stiffened as she hastily picked the call up.


    ¡°Hello, am I speaking to Miss Reed?¡± A middle-aged man¡¯s voice came from the other end of the call.


    Sonia parted her lips to reply. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Greetings, Miss Reed. Yesterday, a man came over and told me to investigate someone. He told me to


    inform you once I find something,¡± the detective exined.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°Yeah. So what did you find?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes as she questioned him in a stern voice.

 Chapter 494

    Chapter 494


    Chapter 494 Jessica¡¯s Intentions


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°We found out that the person of interest, Miss Jessica, arrived in Seafield the day before today. She has


    been staying in Hilton Hotel since then, and she was in her room for the entire time until yesterday


    afternoon, when she headed out to visit Paradigm Co. and Marina City for a while. After that, she went


    back to the hotel, and she hasn¡¯t left since then.¡± The detective reported all of his findings.


    Sonia knitted her brows. ¡°Are you saying that she stayed in the hotel for most of her trip?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The detective nodded. Sonia lowered her gaze as her expression darkened. That¡¯s not right.


    That doesn¡¯t sound like Jessica at all. A nicer description of Jessica would be that she¡¯s a lively and


    outgoing person, while a harsher way to describe her would be that she¡¯s a busybody who can¡¯t seem to


    sit still when she¡¯s at home. Based on Sonia¡¯s understanding of Jessica, Sonia was certain that Jessica


    wouldn¡¯t be able to stay in the hotel for such a long time.


    Furthermore, the ces that Jessica had visited one day ago were Paradigm Co. and the area where the


    Reed Residence used to be located. It was impossible for Jessica to return to Seafield just so that she


    could visit these two spots. Sonia narrowed her eyes as she continued questioning the detective. ¡°Can


    you see what she¡¯s doing in her hotel room?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. Hilton Hotel has pretty strict rules about ensuring their customer¡¯s privacy. If she doesn¡¯t


    step out of her room, I won¡¯t be able to tell what she¡¯s doing,¡± the detective exined as he shook her


    head. Sonia wasn¡¯t disappointed with his answer as she had expected this to be the case. She only


    asked the question to try her luck. Who knows; the detective might have some tricks up his sleeve, right?


    She didn¡¯t feel dejected despite not being able to gather such information on Jessica.


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s doing in the room, but I¡¯m sure you can find her check-in details, right?¡± Sonia


    asked again.


    ¡°Yeah, of course,¡± the detective replied without any hesitation.


    ¡°Great. In that case, I¡¯d like to know if she¡¯s staying alone or if she¡¯s staying with another person,¡± Sonia


    uttered.


    ¡°She¡¯s alone. I checked her booking details¡ªshe booked the room for one person. Also, apart from the


    hotel staff, no one else has entered her room in the past few days,¡± the detective answered.


    Suspicion flickered in Sonia¡¯s gaze. What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t Sandrae back with her? The detective


    continued speaking while Sonia was still puzzled over the situation. ¡°By the way, Miss Reed, I also found


    out that Jessica got the hotel staff to help her purchase a flight ticket from the airport this morning.¡±


    ¡°A flight ticket?¡± Sonia leaned her body forward. ¡°Is she going to leave Seafield?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the detective replied. ¡°I went to ask about it when the hotel staff returned from the airport. Jessica


    told the staff to buy a flight for today at 4.00PM, to the Republic of Mesania.¡±


    ¡°Republic of Mesania¡­¡± Sonia muttered to herself before she raised her head. ¡°I got it. Thank you so


    much. I¡¯ll transfer you your fees in a while.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Miss Reed.¡± Once the call was over, Sonia threw her phone on her office desk before leaning


    against her chair and looking down at the ground. What is Jessica doing all of this for? Shees back


    out of nowhere and stays in the hotel for nearly three days, leaving her ce only once. Even then, she


    only strolled around Paradigm Co.¡¯s area before going to the Reed Residence. She doesn¡¯t have the


    keys, so she couldn¡¯t have gone into the ce. At most, she walked around outside the area, and she


    headed back to the hotel after that. Today, she¡¯s nning to leave Seafield. It may seem like Jessica


    returned to take a look because she misses home, but I know her too well, and I know that she¡¯s not that


    sort of person. There¡¯s definitely some other reason she¡¯s back here. Yet, her actions don¡¯t seem to tell


    me what brings her back, so I can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s going on. But regardless of her intentions, I know


    that I have to be on my toes.


    At that thought, Sonia picked her phone up to give Charles a reply. ¡®Okay, I got it. Stop sending me


    updates about Toby. I¡¯m not interested. That¡¯s all; I¡¯ll go back to work now.¡¯


    Charles curled his lips into a smile when he saw Sonia¡¯s text. ¡®Okay, okay. I¡¯ll stop it. Good luck with


    work!¡¯ He sent his text over before keeping his phone away to look at all of the other guests at the social


    event. Charles pouted as he watched Toby and the other well-known figures chit-chatting in a casual and


    yful manner. As much as Charles hated Toby as a person, he had to admit that Toby was an


    extremely talented and outstanding person he could only dream of bing.


    Although Charles and Toby were from the same generation within the field, Toby was certainly at the tip


    of the pyramid if they were to disregard family backgrounds and makeparisons in terms of pure


    skills. Anyone who belonged to Toby¡¯s generation grew up feeling frustrated and shocked by Toby¡¯s


    outstanding skills and talent. Most of these individuals grew up in families whopared them to Toby,


    and anyone who tried topete against Toby would eventually be faced with total defeat.


    That was also one of the reasons most of these people, apart from Zane and Tim, were seldom friendly


    with Toby. However, they could keep their distance from Toby while acknowledging that Toby was a


    talented man¡ªthat was precisely what Charles was doing all along. When Charles found out about


    Sonia and Toby¡¯s marriage six years ago, he had been sad over it, but it didn¡¯t take long for him to ept


    the truth. He loved Sonia, but what he hoped for the most was her to be happy. Charles believed that


    Toby, who was better than him in all aspects, would be a better match for Sonia.


    Yet, it turned out that Toby was a b*stard who hadpletely let Charles¡¯s down. Furthermore, Toby was


    practically an idiot when it came to love¡ªhe couldn¡¯t tell the difference between good and bad, and he


    ended up bullying Sonia for six whole years. Charles grew increasingly furious as he thought about the


    matter, and he couldn¡¯t stop himself from sending Toby a fierce re.


    Toby immediately sensed something, and he frowned as he turned around to look at Charles. ¡°What are


    you looking at?¡± Charles hissed before rolling his eyes at Toby.


    Toby squeezed his brows tighter together before he tore his re away from Charles. ¡°Please go on,¡± he


    uttered to the foreign guests who were sitting with him. The other person naturally continued with their


    topic after hearing Toby¡¯s instructions.


    The social event ended about an hourter. Toby had managed to n out a few coborative projects


    with a few different big shots from overseas, and they were all satisfied with the arrangements. They had


    drunk a few bottles of wine to celebrate this, and it waste at night by the time they were done drinking.


    Most of the foreign guests were staying in the same hotel, so the only people who had to leave the


    location were Toby, Charles, and their respective partners. Toby didn¡¯t pay any attention to Lily as he


    parted his legs to stride toward the hotel¡¯s exit. Charles walked with Daphne behind them, and he clicked


    his tongue when he saw what Toby was doing. ¡°Toby sure is cold toward his female partner. If he doesn¡¯t


    want Lily as his partner, why did he ask her in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± Daphne replied as she shook her head. Lily could hear both of them talking behind her.


    She bit her lip in anger and shame before she clutched onto her expensive handbag and hastened her


    footsteps to go after Toby, her heels clicking on the floor. ¡°Wait for me, President Fuller!¡±


    Toby walked on as if he couldn¡¯t hear her at all. He only slowed down when he walked out of the


    revolving door at the exit. He pulled his phone out to get Tom to send his car over. When Lily caught up


    with him, she heaved a sigh of relief as she saw that he had stopped at the exit. She stopped a few feet


    behind him to fix her messy hair because she wanted to look her best when she was talking to him. She


    had to get him to change his mind about canceling the partnership.


    However, the revolving door behind Lily spun suddenly, and the door hit her back as she had been


    standing too close to it. She felt her body being pushed forward without any control, and fear spread


    across her face as she realized she was about to fall. However, at the very next moment, she realized


    that Toby was standing just in front of her. The fear disappeared from her expression and was reced


    with excitement and desire.

 Chapter 495

    Chapter 495


    Chapter 495 Lily¡¯s Grand n


    This was clearly an ident¡ªLily didn¡¯t fall toward him on purpose. Any regr gentleman would


    definitely reach out to catch me in his arms, right? Lily had desired to be physically close to Toby even


    before they attended the social event, and she had done some secret preparations in order to achieve


    this. However, she had been too careless when they first arrived at the venue, and she had identally


    infuriated him. That¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t able to have any intimate contact with him throughout the night. Well, I


    guess God¡¯s on my side this time! God just gave me the perfect opportunity to get close to Toby. Does


    that mean that God supports our rtionship? Are we a match made in heaven?


    Lily could finally proceed with the initial preparations that she had made for the night. At that thought, Lily


    erased all the excitement and joy from her expression and returned to the fearful and panicked look she


    had on earlier. She didn¡¯t want Toby to realize anything odd about her expression, or else all her efforts


    would go down the drain.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    ¡°Save me, President Fuller!¡± Lily shouted at Toby with a slight tremble in her voice to seem as if she was


    extremely scared. However, Toby didn¡¯t hear the slightest hint of fear in her tone¡ªit sounded more to


    him like she was eager and impatient for him to save her. She¡¯s excited to have me catch her in my


    arms. Annoyance flickered in Toby¡¯s gaze as he parted his legs to step aside.


    When Lily saw what Toby was doing, she widened her eyes and stared at him with disbelief. She couldn¡¯t


    believe that he was such a heartless man. He didn¡¯t bother to protect her, and he didn¡¯t seem to show


    any desire to save the damsel in distress at all. Is¡­ Is he really a man? Despite this, Lily wasn¡¯t


    prepared to give up on Toby yet. She had to cling to him and fall on top of him. Otherwise, all that would


    greet her was the cold, hard floor in front of her.


    If she were to fall t on her front, the silicone imnts in her nose and the silica gel in her breasts would


    be crushed. Just imagining that scenario made Lily¡¯s face turn pale. The moment Toby tried to avoid her,


    she speedily grabbed onto his right arm before she threw all of her weight into his arms.


    Ka-chick! At that very moment, a man who looked like a paparazzi pressed the shutter to snap a picture


    from his spot behind the bushes. He managed to capture the scene of Lily falling into Toby¡¯s arms. The


    man took a look at the picture he snapped before he grinned to reveal his yellow teeth. His small eyes


    turned into straight lines as he chuckled and kept his camera away. With his body hunched, he sneaked


    away from the site.


    When Lily felt her phone vibrating, she nced at the bushes where the man had been located. Then,


    before Toby could lose his temper and shove her away, she immediately let go of him and stumbled two


    steps back before steadying herself. Her expression was one of utter shock, and tears welled up in her


    eyes as she quickly bowed to Toby. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. I didn¡¯t do that on purpose. I¡¯m so


    sorry¡­¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t respond to her and simply narrowed his eyes to give her a hostile re. She could feel his


    stare burning into the top of her head, and a chill ran down her spine as her chest tightened. He¡¯s¡­ not


    going to hit me, is he? Lily immediately straightened her back before she took another two steps back.


    ¡°President Fuller¡­¡± she muttered as she gazed at him cautiously.


    ¡°You can go home and tell Vincent that we don¡¯t have to proceed with the partnership. He cane to


    Fuller Group tomorrow to break the legal contract.¡± Toby took a disdainful nce at his wrinkled sleeves


    as he spoke in an emotionless voice. If his left arm wasn¡¯t in a sling, he would have taken his jacket off


    and thrown it away. How disgusting, he thought. I tried to avoid her, yet she managed to grab onto me.


    It¡¯s obvious that she had it all nned out. I know that I can¡¯t do much to a woman, but at least I don¡¯t


    have to be kind toward Vincent anymore.


    Lily¡¯s face was drained of color once she heard Toby say that he wanted to terminate the contract. She


    knew that it would bepletely useless for her to continue pleading with him. If he had already made


    ns to break their legal contract, then it was clear that Lily had no chance of changing his mind. She


    had messed things up once more. If she had tried to beg him earlier, she might have been able to


    change his mind.


    However, her act of clinging onto him had ruined all her chances of a partnership forming between the


    Fuller and McRae Families. Dad¡¯s going to kill me when he finds out about this! Lily shuddered at the


    thought of her aggressive and violent father. However, she quickly recalled something else. Her eyes


    glinted for a moment as she calmed herself down instantly.


    ¡°I got it, President Fuller,¡± she replied in a meek voice as she looked at Toby. Toby ignored her and


    simply took another nce at his wrinkled sleeve before he knitted his brows and walked toward the


    Maybach parked by the side of the road. Lily hade to the venue with him, but she no longer dared to


    follow him to the car. He¡¯s probably going to chase me out if I try to go with him.


    She was self-aware enough to stay rooted in her spot, and she merely watched as he got in the car.


    Once the Maybach drove off, she pulled her phone out to make a call. She was greeted with the rough


    voice of a middle-aged man. ¡°How¡¯s the social event with President Fuller, Lily?¡±


    She bit on her bottom lip and suppressed the fear in her chest as she spoke into the phone. ¡°I ruined our


    company¡¯s chances of working with Fuller Group, Dad. President Fuller wants you to go to Fuller Group


    to break the legal contact tomorrow¡ª¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The man¡¯s voice turned harsh and loud upon hearing Lily¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re an idiot, Lily McRae! I


    worked so hard to get this partnership! How dare you ruin it for me?! Do you want me to skin you alive?¡±


    Lily¡¯s face was as white as asheet, and fear was eating up her insides. But for the sake of her uing


    ns, she took a deep breath and pushed her fear aside. ¡°I know I¡¯m at fault, Dad. But I have a n to


    fix this,¡± she uttered in a shaky voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s your grand n this time?¡± The man clearly didn¡¯t have any faith in her.


    She clenched her fists as she exined herself. ¡°I got someone to take a photo of Toby and me being


    intimate with each other. We can upload the pictures onto the Inte and make them go viral. Perhaps


    President Fuller and I will really get together after that.¡±


    Vincent¡¯s eyes lit up upon hearing her words. There was no longer any aggressiveness in his voice after


    that¡ªhe had returned to the role of a kind and loving father. ¡°Okay, great. That sounds like a good n.


    Good job, Lily.¡±


    Lily heaved a sigh once she realized that her father had forgiven her for ruining their partnership. Her


    heart had been about to leap out of her throat earlier, but she finally calmed down after the call. ¡°Thank


    you, Dad.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Where are you now? Hurry home so that we can discuss how to go about with this n,¡± Vincent


    ordered.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lily ended the call and took a few more deep breaths before she walked down the stairs and


    headed to the side of the road.


    The next day, Sonia had just arrived at the office and walked out of the elevator when she saw a few


    people standing outside her secretary¡¯s office. All of them had their phones in their hands, and they


    seemed to be discussing something excitedly. Sonia only managed to hear a few keywords, such as


    ¡®President Fuller¡¯ and ¡®engagement¡¯. These words sent Sonia into a bout of panic, and she hurried over


    to the crowd of people before addressing them in a stern tone. ¡°You guys should be working now. Why


    are you guys gathered here? Shouldn¡¯t you be working at your own desks?¡±


    Most of the people there were her secretaries and her secretaries¡¯ assistants. Their office was right next


    to hers, and it was a huge space with Daphne as the head of the area. Their faces fell when they heard


    Sonia¡¯s voice, and they immediately kept their phones away. The crowd dispersed, and they hastily


    formed a line to greet Sonia nervously. ¡°Good day, President Reed. We¡¯re heading off to work now.¡±


    With that said, the staff members hurried off to their office. Sonia watched as most of them left, and she


    finally held onto the arm of one of the female assistants once the crowd was almost gone. ¡°What were


    you guys talking about earlier?¡±

 Chapter 496

    Chapter 496


    Chapter 496 Toby¡¯s Getting Engaged


    When the female assistant felt Sonia holding onto her, she thought she was about to be brought in for a


    lecture. Fear had just crept into her when she heard Sonia¡¯s question. ¡°What? Weren¡¯t you about to


    reprimand me?¡± She was stunned.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°If I were to scold anyone, it would be your leader. What use is it for


    me to scold any of you assistants?¡±


    The assistant let out a sigh of relief before she smiled. ¡°You¡¯re such a nice person, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Enough with the nonsense. Tell me¡ªwhat were you guys talking about earlier?¡± Sonia repeated her


    question.


    ¡°Oh, yes. We were talking about how President Fuller from the Fuller group might be getting engaged


    again,¡± the assistant replied.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s pupils shrank as her body stiffened. ¡°Toby is¡­ getting engaged?¡± The assistant was


    new to thepany, so she wasn¡¯t aware of Sonia¡¯s past rtionship with Toby. However, the assistant


    could sense a rather peculiar change in Sonia at the mention of Toby. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what the Inte


    says,¡± the assistant replied without thinking much of Sonia¡¯s change in demeanor.


    ¡°The Inte?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. A media website uploaded an article today, and it included pictures of President Fuller hugging


    another woman. The media predicted that President Fuller might have good news to announce soon¡­¡±


    The assistant continued talking, but Sonia no longer heard anything that she said. All Sonia could think


    of was how Toby might be getting engaged again.


    With a dazed look on her face, Sonia turned around and walked to her own office. The assistant hadn¡¯t


    finished speaking, so she tilted her head sideways when Sonia walked off without dismissing her.


    ¡°President Reed is acting really weirdly. Why does she look as if her soul has just left her body?¡± The


    assistant couldn¡¯t make sense of the situation, so she simply shrugged before returning to her desk.


    Once Sonia got into her office and stepped behind her desk, she reached her hands out and felt for her


    chair before sinking into her seat. Once she sat down, she remained paralyzed in her seat for a long


    while, almost as if she hadpletely lost her mind. Her gaze was empty as she stared at herputer.


    There was a tightness in her chest that wouldn¡¯t seem to leave, and her face was burning so much that it


    stung her skin.


    Just the night before, Sonia had assumed that Toby wouldn¡¯t get engaged, yet reality pped her in the


    face the very next morning. He¡¯s still going to get engaged! And he¡¯s getting engaged to¡­


    Sonia clenched her fists before she leaned forward to turn herputer on and search for the news


    article that her assistant had been talking about. Since it was news about Toby, Sonia was certain that it


    would make the headlines. Indeed, once Sonia turned herputer on, the pop-up at the right lower


    corner of her screen indicated the news of Toby¡¯s engagement before she even went to her browser.


    She hastily clicked on the notification, and she was led to a website called ¡®Entertainment First¡¯. She


    nced at the first few lines of the post. ¡®ording to our sources, the Fuller and McRae Groups are


    arranging for a union of their families. Our editors assumed that these were rumors all along, but we just


    received solid evidence that supports these statements! These are no longer rumors¡ªit¡¯s the truth! An


    engagement is about to happen between the Fuller and McRae families. Congrattions, Miss McRae!¡±


    There was a picture attached at the bottom of the post. Sonia¡¯s fingers trembled as she clicked on the


    image, which revealed a shot of Toby and another woman standing in front of a hotel. The woman was


    holding onto Toby¡¯s arm, and she was resting her upper body against his chest. Toby, on the other hand,


    had his head lowered to look at the woman¡ªit was clear that he was gazing at her lovingly.


    There seemed to be a romantic touch to the atmosphere of the picture, and it looked like a shot of a


    loving couple. Miss McRae¡­ Lily McRae¡­ Sonia let go of her mouse and slumped back into her office


    chair as she dug her teeth into her bottom lip. He¡¯s really getting engaged to Lily, huh. Now I know why


    he decided to let go of me, and now I understand why he no longer needs me to care for him. It¡¯s


    because he¡¯s in love with Lily and is getting engaged to her. That¡¯s why he¡¯s letting go of me, and that¡¯s


    why he no longer needs me. He¡¯d be disloyal to Lily if he remained in contact with me, right?


    Although Sonia didn¡¯t think that Toby was at fault in this matter, she still felt an uneasy feeling in her


    chest. There was a dull ache that wouldn¡¯t seem to leave her alone. Her eyes stung at the sight of Toby


    and Lily together in the picture. After a long while, she finally straightened herself and shut the webpage.


    She had assumed that she would be less troubled once she stopped staring at the picture, but she


    realized that her actions were pointless. She only grew more frustrated as she sank deeper into her own


    thoughts.


    All of a sudden, her phone began to ring. She picked the call up without checking the caller ID. ¡°Who is


    it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, darling. Did you see the news? Toby and Lily are getting engaged.¡± Charles¡¯s enthusiastic voice


    came from the other end of the line.


    Sonia tightened her grip on her phone. ¡°I saw it,¡± she replied tly.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you surprised?¡± Charles couldn¡¯t sense the difference in Sonia¡¯s tone, and he stared at his


    computer screen as he continued bbering excitedly. ¡°Darling, did you know how rude Toby was toward


    Lily when we were at the social eventst night? I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re getting engaged now! Tsk. What


    is going on in his mind, darling? Why is he getting engaged with Lily if he doesn¡¯t like her? How does he


    benefit from this engagement? The McRaes are a rtively poor family, so why would he be interested in


    them? Furthermore, the Fuller Family is so powerful, they don¡¯t need to arrange for marriages with any


    other families around here. Getting married to another family would only dy their business¡¯s growth, so


    ¡ª¡±


    ¡°What makes you think that their marriage is solely to benefit their families? What if it¡¯s true love?¡± Sonia


    curled her lips into a mocking smirk.


    Charles chuckled. ¡°True love? Stop kidding, darling. How could Toby and Lily be in love with each other?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Sonia lowered her gaze so that no one could see the look in her eyes. ¡°As you said, the


    McRaes aren¡¯t doing that well, and there¡¯s no reason for the Fuller Family to be interested in them. If they


    get married, the McRaes won¡¯t be of any help to the Fullers, and they would have to depend on the


    Fullers¡¯ support to survive. Toby isn¡¯t someone who¡¯d choose to put himself on the losing end, and he


    isn¡¯t someone who can be forced to do things he doesn¡¯t wish to. I¡¯m sure that no one forced him to get


    married to Lily, and I¡¯m sure that he¡¯s not doing it for the sake of benefiting the Fullers. In that case, it has


    to be true love.¡±


    ¡°True love¡­¡± Charles¡¯ lips twitched, and he turned speechless for a moment before he found his voice


    again. ¡°I think you make a lot of sense, darling. I don¡¯t have an argument against your point.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because what I¡¯m saying is the truth.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I just can¡¯t wrap my head around the fact that Toby¡¯s in love with Lily. When I was at the


    social eventst night, I could see the hatred in his eyes as he red at her. That¡¯s what made me


    suspect if this engagement is even real,¡± Charles uttered as he stroked his chin thoughtfully.


    ¡°It has to be real. Otherwise, he¡¯d step forward to rify things, right? It¡¯s nearly 10.00AM now, yet he


    hasn¡¯t done anything. That has to mean that this is the truth,¡± Sonia uttered with a nk expression.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Charles nodded.


    Sigh. ¡°Alright, Charles. Is there anything else? I¡¯ll end the call otherwise. I¡¯m really tired, and I need some


    rest,¡± Sonia exined. She wasn¡¯t just mentally drained; she was also feeling rather dizzy after all that


    happened. She had to lie down and calm herself down to regte her own emotions. She also wanted to


    understand why she got so emotional after finding out about Toby¡¯s engagement.


    This time, Charles realized that Sonia sounded rather peculiar. He knitted his brows and was about to


    ask her about it when he realized that she had turned silent on the other end of the line. He held the


    phone in front of his face to see that his screen had already been lit up to show the past iing calls


    he received. That was how he knew that Sonia had ended his call.


    Meanwhile, at the Coleman Residence, Zane had been browsing news articles when he saw the one


    about Toby. His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets, and he immediately contacted Toby after that.


    ¡°You must have lost your mind, Toby! Are you seriously getting engaged to Lily?¡±

 Chapter 497

    Chapter 497


    Chapter 497 Rose¡¯s Interrogation


    ¡°Who¡¯s getting engaged?¡± Toby wasn¡¯t at Fuller Group today¡ªhe had decided to stay home and rest in


    the penthouse that he was temporarily staying in. He was dressed in a ck pajama set and was resting


    on the couch by the balcony when he received Zane¡¯s call. He had been flipping through a finance


    magazine, but any calm and peace he felt disappeared once he heard Zane¡¯s words, and he frowned.


    Zane responded to Toby while staring at the huge television in front of him. ¡°You, of course. You¡¯re


    getting engaged to Lily.¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t I aware of my own engagement?¡± Toby¡¯s sulked, and the air around him seemed to turn a


    few degrees colder. What¡¯s up with this guy? He isn¡¯t just starting rumors about my engagement; he¡¯s


    even matching me with that disgusting woman from yesterday. My taste is way better than that!


    When Zane heard what Toby said, he paused for a moment before he calmed himself down to speak.


    ¡°Toby, are you saying that you¡¯re not arranging a marriage with the McRae Family? The engagement is


    just a false rumor, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never said anything about arranging a marriage with the McRaes, so how could I possibly be


    engaged?¡± Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Who told you about this engagement?¡±


    ¡°The Inte,¡± Zane replied. ¡°It¡¯s all over the news. All of the websites are iming that you and Lily are


    getting engaged. I called to ask you right after I saw an article. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s all fake! Sh*t. The


    media site that started this sure has some guts! How dare they report fake news?¡± Zane continued


    rambling about media ethics, and a sh of anger surfaced in Toby¡¯s gaze as he narrowed his eyes.


    People are spreading false rumors about my engagement with the McRae Family on the Inte, huh?


    How did false statements like these get onto the Inte? A steely look formed on Toby¡¯s handsome face


    as he ended Zane¡¯s call and left the couch to walk to his study. He turned hisputer on to search for


    the news articles rted to his engagement.


    A number of articles with simr contents popped up once he ran a search. He scrolled through the titles


    to find more than ten thousandments on each of the articles that reported about his engagement


    with the daughter of the McRae Family. The attention and fame that this piece of news was getting were


    no less than the top celebrity scandals in the country.


    Toby twisted his face into a frown, and he exuded a forbidding aura as he continued scrolling the news.


    He had never been someone who enjoyed publicity, so he was thoroughly annoyed by all of the


    comments he saw online. However, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get the situation under control


    when it was still such a hot topic. All he could do now was wait.


    He shut his eyes to suppress the frustration he felt, and he only opened his eyes when he felt slightly


    calmer. When he clicked on one of the posts, he immediately understood the reason for all the false


    rumors about his engagement with Lily. There was a picture online that seemed to be taken from an odd


    angle which made him look as if he were hugging Lily. The image of him giving Lily a ¡®fond¡¯ gaze had


    been snapped by some paparazzi, and the paparazzi immediately assumed that he was in a rtionship


    with Lily. It seemed like that was how all of the rumors started.


    Once Toby figured that out, he quickly noted a few mediapanies¡¯ names. There were still sparks of


    anger in his eyes as he took his phone over to give Tom a call. However, before he could dial Tom¡¯s


    number, he received an iing call from Rose.


    ¡°I saw some articles about you getting engaged to that girl from the McRae Family, Toby. Is that true?¡±


    Rose asked in a stern voice. Before Toby could say anything, Jean¡¯s worried voice sounded through the


    call. ¡°It¡¯s false news, isn¡¯t it, Toby? You can¡¯t get married to someone from the McRae Family. Their family


    is going downhill, and a union of our families would only¡ª¡±


    Before Jean could finish speaking, she was cut off. Momentster, Rose¡¯s voice sounded through the


    call. ¡°Just ignore your mother, Toby. I want you to be honest to me. What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s false news,¡± Toby uttered as he massaged his temples. Rose¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change on the


    other end of the call¡ªshe looked as stern and strict as she usually did. However, her tight grip on her


    walking cane loosened a little after she heard what Toby said. ¡°So¡­ You aren¡¯t getting engaged to Lily,


    right?¡± Even her tone sounded gentler than it did before.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Rose replied with a smile. I knew it! My precious grandson would never fall for a girl like


    Lily. The McRaes might not be as sly and cheap as the Grays, but they aren¡¯t much better than them. If


    Toby really decided to get engaged with Lily, I would genuinely suspect that he has some sort of mental


    issue.


    Jean had been listening to the call from beside Rose, and she felt herself rxing once she heard that


    Toby had no intentions of getting engaged to the girl from the McRae Family. ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Jean uttered


    as she patted the spot in her chest where her heart had been pounding. ¡°I¡¯m d that it¡¯s a lie. What


    could the McRaes do for us if they were to be inws with us, right?¡±


    Rose gave Jean a disdainful stare. ¡°Benefiting from others is the only thing you have in your mind, huh? I


    want you to get out of my sight!¡± Rose smacked her cane against the ground to make loud nging


    sounds. Jean had always been afraid of her mother-inw, so she shrank back when she saw Rose


    losing her temper. Before Rose could say anything more, Jean scurried away to avoid her.


    Once Jean was gone, Rose shifted her focus back to Toby. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s a fake, then how do you exin


    those pictures? Why were you hugging that girl?¡±


    ¡°The pictures aren¡¯t fake, but they aren¡¯t real either. Those images were taken from a different angle, so


    they managed to make us look intimate with each other. However, the truth is that Lily tripped and fell,


    and she clung to my arm as that happened. I didn¡¯t touch her at all.¡± Toby shot an icy re at the pictures


    as he spoke.


    Rose was rather surprised to hear his exnation, but she quickly nodded. ¡°I see. If it¡¯s all false rumors,


    then you should step forward to rify it soon. Things won¡¯t look good if you take your time to do this.


    People might start thinking that it¡¯s the truth. Furthermore, aren¡¯t you trying to go after Sonia? Your


    chances of sess will be lowered if Sonia sees the news.¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Toby¡¯s facial expression stiffened upon Rose¡¯s mention of Sonia. That¡¯s right. Sonia. I¡¯m sure she has


    seen the articles about my engagement by now, right? How did she react to it? Is she unhappy about it?


    Does she feel ufortable because of it? I doubt so. She¡¯s probably happy to hear that I¡¯m getting


    engaged¡ªshe¡¯s finally able to get rid of me, right?


    ¡°Toby? Toby?¡± Rose shouted into the phone when Toby went silent for a while. ¡°Are you there?¡± she


    asked.


    Toby came back to his senses before he lowered his gaze and spoke in a rather husky voice. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m


    here,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Take my advice and clear your name as soon as possible, okay?¡± Rose repeated herself. ¡°Okay,¡± Toby


    replied with a nod.


    ¡°That¡¯s all, then. You should drop by the house tonight. I heard Jean saying that you haven¡¯t returned to


    the Fuller¡¯s Residence in nearly two weeks. You¡¯ve been out so much. You shoulde over for dinner


    and a reunion tonight,¡± Rose uttered. Toby agreed to visit before he ended the call and lowered his


    phone from his ear. He was about to call Tom when he realized that there was a new text on his phone.


    It was a text from Tyler, and Toby opened it to find a 20-second-long voice note. Toby couldn¡¯t contain his


    curiosity, so he tapped on the voice note to y Tyler¡¯s loud and worried voice. ¡°Sh*t! Sh*t, bro! What¡¯s


    wrong with you? How could you get engaged to Lily just like that? Didn¡¯t you say that you liked Sonia?


    Aren¡¯t you supposed to chase after Sonia? Did you change your mind already?¡±

 Chapter 498

    Chapter 498


    Chapter 498 What¡¯s Up with the Pictures?


    Toby¡¯s face darkened upon hearing his brother¡¯s words. How could I ever lose feelings for Sonia? That¡¯s


    impossible! I¡¯ve loved her for more than ten years, and my feelings have never changed. In fact, my


    feelings for her have only grown stronger over the years. I¡¯ve never imagined myself losing feelings for


    her. Toby lowered his head to send a text. ¡®There¡¯s no such thing. It was all a misunderstanding.¡¯


    Soon enough, Tyler replied with another voice note. ¡°A misunderstanding? What¡¯s going on here, Toby?¡±


    Toby pressed his lips together tightly as he continued typing. ¡®Stop asking so many questions. This has


    nothing to do with you. Just focus on yourpetitions, okay? You need to return to the country once


    you¡¯re done with your basketball tournament. I have some stuff to tell you.¡¯


    ¡°What is it, Toby?¡± Tyler didn¡¯t understand what was going on. This time, Toby no longer replied to his


    text. Instead, he exited his Messenger application and gave Tom a call.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom picked the call up almost immediately.


    With his thin lips pursed, Toby spoke in an icy tone. ¡°You know all about the news online, right?¡±


    ¡°I do. I wanted to call you earlier, but you were on another call,¡± Tom exined.


    ¡°I want you to get the public rtions department to cool things down for now. Also, I want you to use


    Fuller Group¡¯s official social media ount to rify this matter. After that, I need you to hunt down the


    paparazzi who took the photos,¡± Toby ordered.


    ¡°I got it, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded. Toby then ended the call and put his phone aside.


    It only took about 30 minutes for the hype on the Inte to die down. Many of the news articles about


    the Fuller and McRae Families were taken down and reced by other articles. Meanwhile, Fuller Group


    also made an official statement on their official Facebook page.


    ¡®This is an official statement regarding the various articles published on ¡®Entertainment First¡¯, ¡®Scream for


    Entertainment¡¯ and other news websites. The articles im that our president, Mr. Toby Fuller, is getting


    engaged soon, but thepany hereby announces that such articles arepletely false. President


    Toby Fuller currently has no ns of getting engaged to anyone, so all the articles are nothing but


    rumors and spections. We hope that you, as responsibleizens, can stop the spread of these


    rumors. On top of that, the false articles published by ¡®Entertainment First¡¯ and other websites have


    caused huge damage to President Toby Fuller¡¯s reputation, so ourpany has already taken legal


    action against thepanies that were involved in this matter. We hope that you guys take note of this


    announcement.¡¯ The post was made along with two photos attached to it¡ªone was awyer¡¯s letter


    while the other was a court summon.


    Many of theizens were shocked to see these images online. They immediately understood how


    severe the matter was¡ªFuller Group was actually going to court with those media sites. Since the court


    had already issued the relevant summons, the media sites would have no choice but to deal with things


    in court.


    It only took a short while for this entire incident to spread across the Inte. Soon, everyone found out


    that legal action was taken against the media sites that had started false rumors about Fuller Group. The


    media sites that had posted reports about Toby¡¯s engagement but had yet to receive awyer¡¯s letter


    immediately started deleting all their previous articles. Even some of theizens who had made


    comments were deleting their likes andments on the false posts as they were afraid that they would


    somehow get involved in this matter.


    Just like that, most of the news about Toby¡¯s engagement was removed from the¡ªit was almost as if


    a huge broom had swept the entire Inte clean of these rumors. Instead, the various media sites


    began to fill Fuller Group¡¯s official ount with their lengthy messages to express their apology. Most of


    these posts were written in a heartfelt and emotional tone. The media sites had no choice¡ªthey didn¡¯t


    enjoy making apologies, but they would rather do that than start a fight with the undefeated Fuller Group.


    ¡­


    It was lunchtime at Paradigm Co. when Sonia stepped out from a meeting. Daphne closed her folder and


    tagged along with Sonia as she spoke. ¡°What would you like for lunch, President Reed? I¡¯ll order you


    some food.¡±


    Sonia massaged her sore neck. ¡°I want something nd. I don¡¯t feel like eating much.¡±


    ¡°Sure. You can rest in your office, and I¡¯ll send your meal over in a while.¡± Daphne pulled her phone out


    to search for deliveries as she spoke.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia said with a nod. The delivery arrived 30 minutester, and Daphne brought the meal over


    to Sonia¡¯s office. Sonia picked the cutleries up and began to eat while scrolling through her phone. Right


    then, a news article popped up on her screen. She nced at it for a brief moment before her eyes


    widened. Toby¡¯s engagement was a lie? How is that possible?


    In an instant, Sonia sat up straight and ced her cutleries down before she used both her hands to tap


    on the article headline that she saw. Once she went through the article, she read to understand that the


    previous engagement articles had been nothing but rumors posted by unreliable media websites. All the


    posts about the Fullers and McRaes arranging a marriage were nothing but lies, and Toby didn¡¯t have


    ns of getting engaged at all.


    The article that Sonia was reading also included a screenshot of Fuller Group¡¯s official social media


    ount, which showed their official statement made to rify the rumors about Toby¡¯s engagement.


    Does that mean that Toby has no intentions of ever getting engaged to Lily? When Sonia realized this, a


    surge of joy filled her heart. Her heart raced as she quickly left the webpage to visit Fuller Group¡¯s official


    Facebook page. She had to make sure that this was true.


    Sonia finally trusted her own eyes when she saw the actual statement on Fuller Group¡¯s Facebook page.


    It was even pinned on the top of their page. It¡¯s true. Toby and Lily¡¯s engagement was just a false rumor.


    But the pictures¡­ What¡¯s up with those pictures? Sonia bit her lip as she sank into her thoughts for a


    while. Before she knew what she was doing, she opened her conversation with Toby and sent her


    question over to him.


    However, she only realized what she had done after sending the text. What did I just do? Why did I ask


    Toby about his picture with Lily? He can take pictures with anyone, and he can pose however he wishes


    to¡ªdoes that have anything to do with me? Why do I care so much about all of this? At that thought,


    Sonia felt herself shuddering. Her fingers flew across her screen as she deleted the text she had just


    sent to Toby.


    However, she didn¡¯t feel any less anxious after deleting the message. She wasn¡¯t sure if Toby had


    already seen the message when she first sent it over. How am I supposed to exin myself if he has


    already seen the message? I can only hope that he didn¡¯t check his notifications.


    Sonia¡¯s heart made loud thumping sounds against her chest, and she couldn¡¯t seem to slow her pulse


    down no matter how much she tried. She continued to stare at her phone screen as she wondered if


    Toby would text her any time soon. If he replied and responded to her question about the photo, then it


    would mean that he had read all of her texts. If that happened, Sonia would have toe up with an


    exnation for the reason she had posed such a question.


    However, if his response was one that asked her about the deleted text that she had sent, then it would


    mean that he hadn¡¯t read her messages. In that case, she could just say that she had sent a text to the


    wrong number.


    It often felt like time was stretched whenever one was waiting for something to happen. The uncertainty


    of the matter only left Sonia uneasier than ever. For five long minutes, Sonia¡¯s gaze was fixed on her


    phone, but she still didn¡¯t receive any response from Toby. Her pulse started to slow down as she calmed


    herself down a little. If he¡¯s taking so long to reply, it could mean that his phone isn¡¯t with him, right? It


    would be great if that were the case. It would mean that he hasn¡¯t seen my message at all. Even if he


    sees that I¡¯ve deleted a message when he checks his pher, I don¡¯t have to worry about it. I can


    just say that I texted the wrong person by ident.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡­


    On the other side of town, Toby was in his condominium, seated with his long legs crossed on the couch.


    His mobile phone was in his right hand, which was resting on his knee, and he spun his phone around.


    His gaze was deep and thoughtful. What did Sonia¡¯s text mean? he wondered. He had been looking at


    all the apologies made online and was about to leave the study when his phone lit up with a new


    notification. He had immediately opened it when he saw that it was a notification from Sonia.


    She had asked him about the photos of him and Lily, which made Toby freeze. He couldn¡¯t figure out the


    reason Sonia would care about those pictures or why she would send him a text just to ask about it.


    However, adrenaline was pumped into his bloodstream as happiness spread across his chest. My bold


    assumption is that she¡¯s unhappy to see me taking intimate photos with other women. Perhaps she¡¯s


    jealous after seeing those photos, he thought.

 Chapter 499

    Chapter 499


    Chapter 499 The Will to Live


    That¡¯s right, she must be jealous. I can sense her jealousy from the way she worded her text. More


    importantly, she deleted the text almost immediately after sending it to me. It shows that she realized


    how she was in no position to ask me such a question, and it shows that she feels too self-conscious to


    leave the text there for me to read it. Does that mean that she¡¯s starting to care about me? Toby


    wondered.


    When Toby realized that Sonia might be developing feelings for him, he didn¡¯t feel very happy about it.


    Instead, he furrowed his brows and tensed his facial muscles. There seemed to be a dark, gloomy cloud


    above his figure. Logically speaking, I should be happy to find out that Sonia cares about me, but fate is


    a cruel thing¡ªI can¡¯t believe she¡¯s only developing feelings for me when I¡¯m at the end of my life.


    His gaze darkened as he tilted his head downward to look at his chest, where his heart was beating


    weakly. I was starting to lose all hope in life before this, but I have to admit that I¡¯m starting to regain my


    fighting spirit now that Sonia seems to be developing feelings for me. Just the thought of this possibility


    gives me a reason to live¡ªit makes me think about spending the rest of my life with Sonia.


    Previously, Toby had decided to go with the flow as he searched for a heart donor. A part of him knew


    that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find a suitable one, and a part of him knew that he was going to die in the


    end. Since he thought that Sonia had no feelings for him, he had decided to let go of Sonia and ept


    his eventual death. However, now that Sonia seemed to have feelings for him, he no longer wanted to


    die. He wanted to find a donor, and he wanted to live! But it was simply too hard to find a suitable


    match¡­


    Toby¡¯s phone started ringing then. He quickly regained control over his emotions before he picked the


    call up. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°The false articles have been dealt with, President Fuller. Ourpany¡¯s legal department will go to


    court with those mediapanies in three days,¡± Tom reported.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°Also, I found the paparazzi who snapped the photos of you and Lily. He isn¡¯t under any mediapany


    ¡ªhe works alone,¡± Tom uttered as he adjusted his sses.


    Toby narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. ¡°Which mediapany did he sell those photos to, then?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t sell the photos to a mediapany. He sold it to Lily,¡± Tom said in a serious tone.


    ¡°Lily?¡± Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Why did the paparazzi sell it to her?¡±


    ¡°Because Lily was the one who ordered the paparazzi to snap photos of both of you!¡± Tom exined in a


    stern voice. ¡°ording to what the paparazzi said, Lily contacted him before the social event and


    ordered him to wait around outside the hotel. She wanted him to snap photos of both of you interacting


    intimately, and she offered him a payment of 100,000 just for the photos. Last night, he sent the photos


    to Lily, and Lily passed them over to the media. She was the one who told the media that you guys were


    getting engaged.¡±


    Toby gripped his mobile phone so tightly that it looked like he was about to crush his phone into pieces. ¡°I


    see,¡± he hissed. His eyes were burning with rage. Previously, Toby had assumed that it was a


    coincidence to have the photos taken in such a manner. However, he hadn¡¯t expected someone to have


    nned it all out behind his back. That¡¯s great! Good job, McRae Family!


    Tom continued, ¡°I believe that Lily¡¯s just using this opportunity to go viral with you, President Fuller.


    Perhaps she wanted to boost the McRae Group¡¯s stocks. Since you don¡¯t read entertainment news, you


    wouldn¡¯t have found out about the ¡®engagement¡¯ if no one told you about all the gossip online. If that


    were the case, then you wouldn¡¯t make an official statement, and the Inte would continue to believe


    that you guys were getting engaged. That way, the McRae group would leech on Fuller Group¡¯s


    reputation and grow along with us. They probably thought that they would be able to get more


    partnerships once their reputation improved.¡±


    Tom let out a frustratedugh before he continued. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve rified yourself and stated that you


    do not have ns for an engagement, the McRae Group¡¯s stocks might not increase in value, but they


    still wouldn¡¯t drop drastically. You were the one who brought Lily to the social event, and there are photos


    to prove it. You may have rified the rumors about the engagement, butizens will now start to mock


    and ridicule Lily¡¯s actions. Then, Vincent can im that you brought harm to Lily¡¯s reputation, and he can


    ask you topensate for her losses.¡±


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I know,¡± Toby muttered. He lifted his head to reveal the grim look on his face. ¡°Vincent¡¯s n would have


    been a total sess if I hadn¡¯t gotten you to do a full investigation on this matter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Tom nodded. ¡°If we didn¡¯t know that the McRaes were the ones who staged this whole


    thing, you would have given Lily thepensation, and you would have agreed to a partnership when


    Vincent brings it up again. I think the McRaes made a smart move this time¡ªthey found a way that


    would maximize their benefits regardless of the oue. It¡¯s a shame that they¡¯re dealing with someone


    like you, President Fuller.¡±


    Since President Fuller found out about the truth, Vincent¡¯s n is about to go down the drain.


    Conversely, if President Fuller hadn¡¯t found out about this, Vincent might have seeded. However,


    President Fuller is no easy target as he¡¯s always aware of the things going on around him. He always


    digs deep into all the matters and looks beyond the surface of things. So, one way or another, Vincent


    will never win regardless of what he tries to do.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you deal with the McRae Family, okay? Do you think you can handle it on your own?¡± Toby asked


    as he tapped a finger against the tabletop. He was tapping at a slow pace, but the sound was enhanced


    as it bounced off the walls of therge study that he was in. The tapping noises seemed to echo even


    within his heart, and it made his chest tighten.


    Tom fixed his sses once more as he beamed. ¡°Of course. I¡¯lle back to you with a report that you¡¯ll


    be satisfied with.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Also, I want you to go to the hotel I visited yesterday, and I want you to get


    a copy of the CCTV footage of the entrance. With this, you¡¯ll be able to show how the paparazzi used a


    different angle to make it seem as if Lily and I were being intimate.¡± Toby wanted Sonia to know that he


    hadn¡¯t gotten close to Lily at all, and that the photo was nothing but a misunderstanding.


    ¡°I got it, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded. He was about to end the call when Toby seemed to have realized


    something. ¡°Hold on!¡± Toby called.


    ¡°What is it, President Fuller?¡± Tom pressed the phone against his ear once more.


    ¡°Do you have any updates on the heart donor?¡± Toby pinched the bridge of his nose.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. There¡¯s no news about that at all.¡± Tom looked down as he responded in a


    guilty tone. Toby wasn¡¯t disappointed by Tom¡¯s update¡ªhe had expected such a response, after all. ¡°You


    can get someone to expand the search to a few other countries. There are more than a few organ


    donors in this world.¡±


    Tom¡¯s eyes lit up, and he spread his lips into a grin when he heard his boss. ¡°Have you found¡­ the will


    to live, President Fuller?¡± President Fuller told me to look for a donor a while ago, but he has never


    asked me for an update. He doesn¡¯t seem worried about himself at all. Previously, I could tell that he


    didn¡¯t seem too desperate to stay alive¡ªit looked more like he was just going with the flow. I¡¯ve always


    felt troubled by this, and I¡¯ve always wanted to talk to President Fuller about it, but I never knew how. I


    can¡¯t believe he¡¯s initiating a conversation about the heart donor right now! I¡¯m so d this is happening.


    However, Toby didn¡¯t provide a concrete answer to Tom¡¯s question. ¡°Give them the relevant orders,


    alright?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Tom replied excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell them to go to a few other countries. Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller;


    I¡¯ll definitely find you the right donor.¡± As long as President Fuller is willing to stay alive, I can go to more


    than just a few countries¡ªI¡¯d travel the whole world to visit hospitals if he wanted me to do that! I can


    even go to the most rural areas in the world just to find a donor for him.


    After ending the call, Toby put his phone down before he stood up to pour himself a ss of wine. Then,


    he walked over to the balcony in his study as he nced thoughtfully at the night skies. No one could tell


    what was going on in his mind.


    Soon enough, Fuller Group¡¯s official Facebook page made another post. This time, it didn¡¯t consist of any


    words¡ªthe post was just a video without any captions. Theizens were suspicious when they first


    yed the video, but they quickly understood the reason Fuller Group made this post.


    The video was posted to show that Toby and Lily weren¡¯t as close as they had appeared in the picture¡ªit


    was all due to the angle at which the image was captured.


    The angle at which this CCTV was ced provided a clearer view of the situation, and it was obvious


    that Lily had been desperately attempting to grab Toby¡¯s arm. The video even showed Toby¡¯s disdainful


    re at her.

 Chapter 500

    Chapter 500


    Chapter 500 She¡¯s Really in Love


    All of theizens made a joke out of the situation once they found out about the truth. ¡®This is epic! I


    can¡¯t believe this was what actually happened. The picture was a total lie!¡¯ onemented.


    ¡®Who were the ones who said that Toby and Lily are the most romantic and loving couple? Show


    yourselves now!¡¯ another one added.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡®I knew it! Although Lily¡¯s from a wealthy family, her family is on the verge of bankruptcy. She¡¯s always


    showing off on her social media profile, and she acts just like an upstart. She doesn¡¯t have any


    substance at all! The almighty president of Fuller Group and the head of the Fuller Family would have


    better taste than this! He¡¯d never date a woman like her,¡¯ onement read.


    Sonia subconsciously nodded as she read theizen¡¯sments. That¡¯s right. That¡¯s exactly how I feel


    about the situation. If Toby really fell for Lily, then it just shows that he has no taste. Fortunately, he still


    has his standards. Sonia let out a small smile at that thought. All the worry and concern she had for the


    news articles and photos had wholly disappeared after she watched the video that Fuller Group posted


    on their social media ount.


    However, she realized something odd about the situation. I texted Toby to ask about the picture earlier,


    and Fuller Group posted a video to rify the situation just a while after that. It can¡¯t be a coincidence,


    right? Sonia pressed her red lips together and contemted for a moment before she rejected her own


    hypothesis. Perhaps it¡¯s just a coincidence. Toby didn¡¯t see my message, so he couldn¡¯t have done


    anything about it.


    Sonia was still deep in thought when her phone began to ring. She turned her head to nce at her


    phone, and she let go of her mouse to pick the call up when she saw that it was a call from Charles.


    ¡°Charles,¡± she greeted.


    ¡°Darling.¡± Charles¡¯ voice sounded glum on the other end of the line.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia tilted her head in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s Toby!¡± Charles grabbed his hair and tugged on it frustratedly. ¡°I was overjoyed when the news of his


    and Lily¡¯s engagement first surfaced on the Inte. I was all prepared to buy them gifts, and I had


    already nned out my speech for them during their engagement. I was hoping that they would stay in


    love and grow old together. I can¡¯t believe Toby announced that the news was fake before I even


    managed to get them a gift! Ugh! I¡¯m so annoyed!¡±


    Technically speaking, Charles and Toby were love rivals¡ªthat exined why Charles wanted Toby to go


    off with another girl. If Toby gets engaged, then he won¡¯t mess with my darling anymore! Toby might have


    imed to let go of my darling, but how am I supposed to know if he¡¯s lying? The only way for me to be


    sure is for Toby to be with another girl. But look at how things have turned out! Hah! Charles sneered to


    himself.


    Sonia had an uneasy feeling as she listened to Charles, and she frowned slightly. ¡°What¡¯s there to be


    annoyed about? Their rtionship wasn¡¯t even genuine to begin with, so it¡¯s only right for him to clear


    things up, right? Would you prefer the public to spread rumors about you all the time?¡±


    ¡°Well, of course not. But this is different,¡± Charles muttered as he scratched the back of his head.


    Sonia scoffed. ¡°How is it different?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s obviously because¡­ Wait, darling!¡± Charles seemed to realize something halfway through his


    sentence, and his expression turned serious. ¡°Darling, I just realized something. You seem to be really


    happy about the fact that Toby stepped forward to dispel the rumors surrounding his engagement. On top


    of that, you¡¯re also siding him¡ªyou immediately went against my words when I talked about Toby.


    Darling, you¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about Toby!¡± Before Charles could finish his sentence, Sonia interrupted him. Her heart


    skipped a beat when she realized what Charles was trying to say. However, her words only made


    Charles¡¯ expression turn gloomier than before. He let out a long sigh as he felt a heavy feeling weighing


    down on him. ¡°Darling, I didn¡¯t mention anything about your care for Toby, yet you interrupted me to say


    that you don¡¯t care about him. Don¡¯t you think your actions are going against your words here?¡± Charles


    tried his best to make his tone sound neutral.


    Sonia froze for a moment before she realized what had happened. I overreacted earlier. I feel like I¡¯m


    guilty of something. Her pupils shrank when she started to catch on. Even her grip on the phone felt


    rather unsteady as her hands were shaking. A mixture of disbelief and confusion filled her gaze.


    What¡¯s going on? Do I have anything to hide? She bit her bottom lip and remained silent for a few


    moments. Her answer surfaced in her mind after a while, and she parted her red lips to speak, but no


    words came out of her mouth. Moreover, her gut feeling told her that she wasn¡¯t supposed to reveal the


    answer that she had deep within her heart. If she put her answer into words, she knew that her whole life


    would turn upside down.


    When Charles realized how silent Sonia was on the other end of the call, he knew that he couldn¡¯t lie to


    himself for much longer. I can¡¯t tell myself that she doesn¡¯t care about Toby anymore. The truth is that


    she cares for him. Maybe she has fallen in love with him again! Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have started an


    argument once she heard me talking about Toby. A bitter smile spread across Charles¡¯ face as he


    thought about the situation. I can¡¯t believe I lost to Toby again. I can¡¯t do anything but watch as Sonia


    falls for him once more.


    ¡°Hah¡­ How useless.¡± Charles leaned against his chair and raised an arm to cover his eyes. His lips


    were slightly parted as he let out a bitter sigh.


    ¡°Are you talking about me, Charles?¡± Sonia knitted her brows.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m talking about myself.¡± His voice was filled with self-contempt. I am useless, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m the one


    who has known Sonia for the longest, and I¡¯m the one she spends the most time with. I¡¯m also the one


    who fell in love with her first. Logically speaking, I should be the one who gets to be with her. Yet, I¡¯ve


    been so weak and cowardly all along¡ªI¡¯ve never dared to confess to her or show her my true feelings.


    Because of this, I have to watch her fall in love twice, both with the same man. Charles had never felt so


    much hatred for himself.


    Mom¡¯s right, he thought. I am a useless man who doesn¡¯t know how to fight for the things that I want. I¡¯m


    just a worthless guy who hands his lover over to another man! Charles let out a sneer at that thought. His


    bloodshot eyes were glistening with droplets of tears as he removed his arm from his eyes. He forced a


    smile and spoke in a rather bitter tone. ¡°Alright, darling. I have other matters to handle. I¡¯ll end the call


    now.¡±


    He ended the call immediately after finishing his sentence. It was hard for him toe to terms with the


    fact that his lover had just fallen in love with the same man again, so he needed some time to calm


    himself down.


    On the other end of the line, Sonia stared at her mobile phone and squeezed her brows together.


    ¡°Charles¡­¡± she whispered. She had no idea what Charles was going through, but she could sense that


    he wasn¡¯t in a good ce emotionally. He sounded angry, self-critical, and exasperated¡­ He sounded


    really emotional. The Charles that I know is extremely lively¡ªit¡¯s almost like he has never-ending


    amounts of energy. But he sounded so pessimistic earlier¡­ I¡¯m worried for him.


    At that thought, Sonia got to her feet and put her coat on before she walked out of her office. She was


    nning to visit Charles¡¯ office to check if he was alright.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, both Vincent and Lily were scrolling through Fuller Group¡¯s official Facebook page in the


    McRae Residence. Their faces had turned as white as a sheet after they saw the rification post and


    the video that Fuller Group had posted online. ¡°What do we do now, Dad?¡± Lily clenched her fists and


    held onto her skirt as she spoke in a shaky voice. ¡°President Fuller didn¡¯t just clear the rumors about our


    engagement, but he even managed to get rid of the rumors surrounding our pictures. If this goes on, do


    you think he might find out about our¡ª¡±


    ¡°Calm down!¡± Vincent raised his hand to interrupt his daughter. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll never find out about our


    little scheme. He probably just thinks that some paparazzi snapped a picture of you guys, and he


    probably thinks that¡¯s how the rumors surfaced. After all, no normal person would suspect that someone


    is plotting against them behind their back. It¡¯s no surprise that the paparazzi would snap pictures of Toby


    since he¡¯s so famous.¡±

 Chapter 501

    Chapter 501


    Chapter 501 Toby¡¯s Evening Gown


    Despite saying so, Vincent¡¯s tone of voice was filled with uncertainty, and he couldn¡¯t conceal it at all. It


    was evident that Vincent was worried¡ªhe believed that Toby would eventually investigate and find out


    about their n. Vincent was merely trying tofort and fool himself with his reassuring words.


    At that moment, the maid ran over to Vincent and Lily. ¡°President McRae, Fuller Group¡¯s president¡¯s


    assistant, Mr. Brown, is here to see you,¡± she uttered.


    Vincent¡¯s heart sank when he heard the words ¡®Fuller Group¡¯, and the muscles on his rugged face


    trembled as he spoke. ¡°What did you say? Who¡¯s here?¡±


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Lily grabbed onto Vincent¡¯s hand in fear.


    ¡°President Fuller¡¯s assistant, Mr. Brown,¡± the maid repeated. Vincent¡¯s expression turned grim once he


    made sure that he hadn¡¯t heard the wrong name earlier. All of a sudden, he got to his feet and paced


    back and forth beside the couch. ¡°What¡¯s he doing here? Why is he here?¡± Vincent balled his fists as he


    muttered.


    ¡°Mr. Brown said that he¡¯s here to seek justice on behalf of President Fuller.¡± The maid looked up and


    gave Vincent a careful gaze. ¡°He said that you and Lily were plotting against President Fuller¡­¡±


    Bang! Before the maid finished her sentence, Vincent copsed back onto the couch. ¡°He knows about


    it, Dad. He knows!¡± Lily was so terrified that her entire being was shaking. As Vincent parted his lips to


    speak, anger began seeping out of his being. ¡°I heard what the maid said!¡± he growled as he red at


    Lily with his bloodshot eyes.


    ¡°Would you like to see Mr. Brown now, President McRae? He¡¯s just behind the door,¡± the maid uttered.


    Vincent¡¯s fists were still tightly clenched. ¡°Why would I want to see him? Tell him that I¡¯m not interested in


    meeting anyone. I don¡¯t know anything about plotting against President Fuller¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to go along with your orders since I¡¯m already here, President McRae. I guess


    you have no choice but to see me.¡± Tom walked in with a grin on his face, a security guard andwyer


    following behind him. The friendly smile on Tom¡¯s face looked like the devil¡¯s grin to both Vincent and Lily.


    Both of them were too stunned to do anything.


    Vincent hadn¡¯t nned to meet Tom¡ªhe wanted to avoid Tom to keep him and his daughter safe.


    However, he hadn¡¯t expected Tom to invite himself into the room. Gone were his hopes of being able to


    escape! After that, Tom had a conversation with both father and daughter. Both the McRaes looked as if


    their souls had escaped their bodies¡ªthey sat on the couch and stayed still for a long while after Tom


    left.


    Tom, on the other hand, took a nce at the signed papers in his hands as he smiled and pushed his


    sses up the bridge of his nose. He looked like a fox who had just caught his meal of the day. About an


    hourter, Tom arrived at Toby¡¯s condominium.


    ¡°I¡¯ve settled things with the McRaes, President Fuller. Vincent agreed to sign the documents, and


    someone will short sell all of hispany¡¯s stocks soon. Then, the McRaes will disappear from Seafield.¡±


    Tom handed the documents over for Toby to take a look.


    Toby took it over, but he didn¡¯t read it at all. ¡°I got it,¡± he uttered as he tossed the documents onto the


    coffee table. Typically, the McRaes¡¯ tiny act of plotting against Toby wouldn¡¯t have resulted in such a


    huge punishment for them. However, when Tom was doing his research on the rumors, he found out that


    the McRaes traded Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares during thepany¡¯s lowest point.


    Six years ago, Vincent gathered some funds and attempted to short sell thest of Paradigm Co.¡¯s


    stocks when he realized how unsteady thepany was. He figured that he would suck up thest bit of


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s funds. However, Vincent¡¯s capital wasn¡¯t big enough, so Paradigm Co. managed to


    survive, albeit barely. Yet, Henry was still burdened by debt, and he still killed himself in the end. I don¡¯t


    understand why Henry killed himself over unpaid debts, but I¡¯m sure that Vincent yed an indirect role


    in Henry¡¯s death.


    This time, Tom decided to destroy the McRae Group, partially also because he wanted to avenge the


    death of Sonia¡¯s father. Otherwise, Sonia might never know that she had enemies other than the Gray


    Family. ¡°There¡¯s something else, President Fuller.¡± Tom didn¡¯t seem to mind that Toby hadn¡¯t even


    nced at the documents. The papers weren¡¯t going to disappear, so Toby could see them anytime.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby massaged the space between his eyebrows before he turned around to pour himself a


    ss of water. Tom, who was standing beside him, responded in a polite tone, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯s 80th


    birthday party is happening in two days, and the evening gown you bought for Sonia has arrived. It¡¯s at


    the customs now. Should I send it over to Miss Reed?¡±


    Upon hearing Tom¡¯s words, Toby paused halfway while sipping his water. He looked up at his assistant


    and recalled that he had indeed purchased an evening gown for Sonia. With his brows knitted, Toby


    thought, I would have definitely used someone else¡¯s name to send the dress over to Sonia before today.


    But now that I don¡¯t want to die, and now that I want to be with her¡­ I don¡¯t want to send her gifts using


    someone else¡¯s name.


    After thinking for a while more, Toby realized that Sonia might not take the gift if he sent it over with his


    own name. I was too harsh with my words previously. I didn¡¯t just say that she was bad at taking care of


    me; I even told her never to show up in front of me ever again. Toby massaged his temples as he felt a


    surge of regret in his chest. I shouldn¡¯t have given up on looking for a heart donor so soon, and I


    shouldn¡¯t have tried to cut things off with Sonia. If I knew that I would eventually change my mind and


    decide not to ept my fate of death, I wouldn¡¯t have made things so hard for myself.


    Tom¡¯s sses glinted as he looked at Toby, who looked like there was a dark cloud hovering above his


    head. It didn¡¯t take long for Tom to figure out what was going on in Toby¡¯s mind, and Tom cleared his


    throat as he muttered a few words under his breath. ¡°You deserve it!¡± Previously, Tom had already told


    Toby not to give up so easily. Tom¡¯s advice had been to give the situation a little more thought before


    deciding, but Toby didn¡¯t listen to him at all¡ªthat was why Toby was regretting his actions right now! Tom


    let out an exasperated sigh before he spoke. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just send the evening gown over, President


    Fuller?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby turned to look at Tom as he wanted to know Tom¡¯s rationale for saying so.


    Tom shrugged. ¡°Since you¡¯ve decided not to allow fate to dictate your life, and since you¡¯ve decided that


    you want to find a heart donor and continue living, then I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to grow any further apart


    from Miss Reed, right? You should be thinking of ways to get close to her, and to turn your rtionship


    back to how it was like when you were admitted into the hospital. You know what you should be doing,


    but you don¡¯t know how to achieve it, right?¡±


    Toby narrowed his gaze without saying much.


    Tom knew that his guess had been right, so he continued speaking. ¡°Well, your evening gown is the


    perfect way to go about this! Why don¡¯t you send the evening gown over just to test Sonia¡¯s current


    perception of the situation?¡±


    Upon hearing these words, Toby raised his head and nodded a few times. ¡°What you said makes a lot of


    sense. Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get someone to deliver it over from the customs,¡± Tom offered. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Toby uttered with a


    nod. Tom nodded in return before he headed out of the office.


    ¡­


    Sonia parked her car in Lane Corporation before she walked into the lobby. She rarely visited Charles¡¯


    office¡ªit was Charles who often went to Paradigm Co. instead. Therefore, most of the staff members


    didn¡¯t recognize her. While Charles usually headed straight to Sonia¡¯s office when he visited Paradigm


    Co., Sonia had to register herself at the front desk.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m here to see President Lane,¡± Sonia said to the admin at the front desk.


    The admin pulled out a registration name list. ¡°Hello, Miss. Please tell me your name, and I¡¯ll schedule an


    appointment for you.¡±


    ¡°My name¡¯s Sonia.¡± Sonia gave the admin her first name. Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s name, the admin froze


    for a moment before she looked up to stare at Sonia. The admin looked as if she were trying to confirm


    her suspicions. After a few seconds, the admin put the registration name list away before she gave Sonia


    a warm smile. ¡°You¡¯re Miss Reed!¡± she uttered.


    ¡°Do you know me?¡± Sonia was somewhat taken aback.


    The admin nodded. ¡°President Lane ordered us to remember your name and face. We¡¯re supposed to let


    you up to his office without having to inform him if you ever visit. Unfortunately, President Lane isn¡¯t in his


    office now, Miss Reed.¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    ¡°He¡¯s not?¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°Where is he, then?¡±

 Chapter 502

    Chapter 502


    Chapter 502 Our Secret Hideout


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that,¡± the admin said while shaking her head. ¡°Perhaps you can give him a call.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you so much for your help!¡± Sonia beamed at the staff before turning to head out of the


    building. While walking back to her car, she pulled her phone out to dial Charles¡¯ number. However, once


    the call went through, Sonia was greeted by the t, robotic tone of a female instead of Charles¡¯ voice.


    ¡°Hello. The number you¡¯ve dialed is unavable. Please try againter¡­¡±


    Sonia frowned as she pulled the phone away from her ear. That¡¯s odd. Did Charles turn his phone off?


    What¡¯s up with him? Sonia bit her bottom lip as she stuck a finger out to tap on her phone screen. She


    made another call¡ªthis time, she contacted Grace.


    Grace¡¯s phone wasn¡¯t turned off, and she picked up the phone after it rang for a while. ¡°What a surprise,


    Sonia! Why are you calling?¡± Grace¡¯s gentle and warm voice filled Sonia¡¯s ear once the call went


    through.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°I¡¯m calling because I miss you, of course! Apart from that, I also have something to ask


    you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Grace sat down on the couch and elegantly sipped on her coffee.


    Sonia leaned against her car seat as she exined herself. ¡°Well, I was wondering¡­ Do you know if


    Charles is home now?¡±


    ¡°Charles?¡± Grace shook her head. ¡°He¡¯s not home. He should be in the office at this hour.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not here,¡± Sonia uttered as she rubbed her temples. Grace put her coffee cup down when she


    heard this. ¡°He¡¯s not in the office, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Perhaps he¡¯s out to meet a client. Otherwise, he might have gone to supervise one of the


    factories. Why don¡¯t you just call him if you¡¯re looking for him, Sonia?¡± Grace asked.


    ¡°I called him a while ago, but he had his phone turned off.¡± Sonia rested her forehead against her palm


    as she spoke in an exasperated tone.


    Grace shrugged upon hearing this. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t do anything to help, then. He can be really stubborn


    sometimes, and no one ever manages to find him when he decides to hide. I¡¯m surprised that he¡¯s hiding


    from you, Sonia. Did you guys get into an argument?¡±


    ¡°No. We didn¡¯t argue about anything,¡± Sonia uttered with a zed look in her eyes. ¡°He called me earlier,


    and we had a decent chat. However, he sounded rather emotional toward the end of the call, and he


    disappeared after that. I¡¯m not sure what to do with him either.¡±


    ¡°What were you guys talking about? Can you tell me about it? Perhaps I can put the pieces together,¡±


    Grace offered. Sonia nodded as she gave Grace a summary of her conversation with Charles earlier.


    After Grace listened to Sonia¡¯s exnation, she remained silent for a long while.


    Sonia felt her heart sinking when she realized this. ¡°Why are you being so quiet, Mrs. Lane? Did I do


    something to make Charles mad?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Grace replied with a smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t offend him in any way. This has to do with his own issues.¡±


    There was a hint of frustration in Grace¡¯s voice.


    ¡°His own issues¡­? Sonia tilted her head sideways¡ªshe felt more confused than ever. ¡°Have you figured


    out what¡¯s wrong with Charles, Mrs. Lane?¡± she asked directly.


    ¡°I think so, yeah. That brat knows that he missed his chance again,¡± Grace uttered with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve told


    him about this a long time ago. I told him to gather his courage and to stop hiding his emotions, yet he


    never took my advice. Well, look at how things turned out now! He lost all hope again. In my opinion, he


    deserves all of this,¡± Grace grumbled.


    ¡°Mrs. Lane¡­¡± When Sonia heard what Grace said, she had a vague idea of what was going on.


    However, she wasn¡¯t too sure if her guess was right.


    ¡°Alright, Sonia. You should just ignore that guy. Just let him disappear for a while, and he¡¯lle back


    when the time is right. I have to go now. I¡¯m meeting a few otherdies for our facial appointment, and I


    should be heading out soon,¡± Grace said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia said with a nod. Once the call was over, Sonia threw her phone aside and pinched the


    bridge of her nose. Did she just ask me to ignore Charles? How could I do that? We¡¯ve been friends for


    more than 20 years now. We grew up together! Furthermore, it seems like his sudden change in


    demeanor has something to do with me, so I¡¯d feel bad if I just left him alone. Our 20-year-friendship


    means too much for me to do such a thing.


    Sonia decided that she would have to figure out a way to get to Charles. With a finger tapping against


    her right temple, Sonia made a mental list of all the possible ces that Charles might visit. After thinking


    about it for a while, Sonia widened her eyes as she jolted upright in her seat. I got it! I know where he


    might be! Perhaps he went to the park that we used to go to all the time.


    Sonia recalled an incident that urred when she was eight years old. Back then, Sandra pped Sonia


    on the face, and Sonia ran out of her house while bawling her eyes out. Coincidentally, Charles had


    shown up on her front doorstep to ask her to y. When Charles found out that Sonia had been pped,


    he gave Sandra a harsh scolding. Sandra was furious, so she lifted a broom to attack Charles. However,


    Charles didn¡¯t hesitate to grab onto Sonia¡¯s arm, and they sprinted out of the house to a park nearby.


    The park was an abandoned spot, and it was also Charles¡¯ secret hideout. When they were there, Sonia


    couldugh and joke all she wished to¡ªSandra wouldn¡¯t be there toin about how noisy Sonia


    was. When Sonia was there, she didn¡¯t have to deal with Sandra¡¯s hateful res. After spending some


    time there, the abandoned park eventually turned into Sonia¡¯s secret hideout as well.


    Whenever Charles called her out to y, they would meet at their secret hideout. That spot practically


    held all of the happiest memories that Sonia and Charles had shared throughout their childhood and


    adolescent years. When did I stop visiting our secret hideout? I think it has been about six years now. I


    stopped going to that spot after I got married to Toby. If Charles didn¡¯t disappear today, I might not even


    have thought of this spot that we used to go to.


    Sonia felt a pang of guilt in her chest as she took a deep breath. Finally, she started the engine and


    made a move. It took about 40 minutes for her to arrive at an old, abandoned park.


    Sonia stepped out of her car and looked up to see the dangling signboard that had the park¡¯s name on it.


    The metal pieces were coated with rust, but Sonia smiled when she saw the familiar sight of the rundown


    ce. Her gaze softened as she realized how much she had missed the ce. It¡¯s been six years. I¡¯m


    finally back at this ce that¡¯s filled with joy andughter.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    As she tore her eyes away from the signboard, Sonia parted her legs to walk into the park. She observed


    the park¡¯s surroundings to see if anything had changed since shest came here. Soon enough, she


    arrived at one of the old swings in the middle of the park. There, she found the person she had been


    looking for.


    Charles had his back facing her, and his head was hung low as he held the metal chains that the swing


    hung from. He used his feet to tap the floor beneath him so that the swing would sway back and forth.


    Click, click. Sonia walked over in her heels, and Charles immediately heard the sound of someone


    getting closer to him. He stopped swinging himself, and the swing came to a gradual halt. After letting go


    of the metal chains, he sat upright and turned around to look at the person behind him.


    He had assumed that it was some random stranger approaching him out of curiosity. However, he hadn¡¯t


    expected to see Sonia standing in front of him. A mixture of shock and surprise spread across his face


    as he leaped out of the swing and stared at Sonia. ¡°What are you doing here, darling?¡±


    ¡°Are you surprised?¡± Sonia responded to his question with another question.


    Charles nodded. ¡°Of course. You haven¡¯t been here in years. I assumed that you had forgotten about this


    ce. What made you decide toe here?¡± he asked.


    Sonia opened and closed her mouth a few times before she gave him an answer. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find you


    anywhere, so I started thinking about the possible ces that you might visit. I came here because I


    recalled that we used toe here a lot. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re actually here,¡± she uttered.


    ¡°So¡­ Did youe all the way here just to find me?¡± Charles cried excitedly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Your mood changed so abruptly, and you ended the call without telling me what


    was going on. I was worried, so I went over to your office. However, your admin told me that you weren¡¯t


    in and that she had no idea where you went. I called your phone, but it was turned off. I called Mrs. Lane


    to ask if you were home, but she said that you weren¡¯t. After all that, I finally ended up visiting this ce.¡±

 Chapter 503

    Chapter 503


    Chapter 503 Are They Together?


    Guilt crept into Charles¡¯ heart when he realized that Sonia had visited so many ces and made so


    many calls just to get to him. He lowered his head and pouted for a while before he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    darling. I¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, tell me¡ªwhat¡¯s going on?¡± Sonia raised her hand to stop him as she didn¡¯t want to hear an


    apology. Charles¡¯ gaze flickered for a moment before he sat back down on the swing and hooked his


    arms around the metal chains. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much,¡± he uttered in a dejected tone. ¡°I just think that I¡¯m a


    really useless person. I¡¯m a grown man now, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m acting like one. I just wanted to take a


    stroll because I was troubled by these thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Sonia narrowed her gaze. It was evident that she didn¡¯t trust his words. Her suspicions


    madeplete sense¡ªCharles had only told her part of the truth, after all. Sonia wanted to understand


    his abrupt change of emotions, yet he didn¡¯t manage to provide her with a direct answer. He merely


    brushed her question off by saying that he was a useless man.


    But¡­ He¡¯s not telling me why he feels like a useless man, Sonia thought. This is giving me a headache,


    but I know that he¡¯s not doing it on purpose. He probably has his reasons for talking in circles.


    Indeed, Charles avoided her gaze as he let out a casual yawn. ¡°Of course that¡¯s all¡­¡± His voice grew


    softer toward the end of his sentence, and he eventually lowered his head and pressed his lips together.


    Sonia let out a sigh before she sat down on the swing beside him. She had checked to ensure that the


    swings were clean, so she wasn¡¯t worried about dirtying her clothes. Once she sat down, she held the


    metal chains and kicked her feet against the floor to send her swing backward. With her head leaning


    against the metal chain, she said softly, ¡°This ce hasn¡¯t changed at all. It¡¯s just the way it used to be.¡±


    Charles smiled. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve spent thest six years taking care of this spot just to ensure that it stays


    exactly the same. I¡¯m sure some of the facilities here would have been ruined if I hadn¡¯t been taking care


    of it.¡±


    ¡°Why did you take such good care of this spot?¡± Sonia looked at the man beside her.


    ¡°Because¡­ This is our secret hideout, and it¡¯s a special and meaningful ce to us. That¡¯s why I felt the


    need to protect it,¡± Charles let go of the metal chains as he exined himself.


    A guilty smile formed on Sonia¡¯s lips after she heard what Charles said. ¡°You¡¯re right. Well, I don¡¯t think I


    have the right to say that it¡¯s special to me. I nearly forgot about this ce until today.¡±


    Charles looked up at the sky. ¡°I know. You stoppeding here after you got married to Toby, and I¡¯ve


    never heard you talk about this ce after that. Eventually, I assumed that you had forgotten about this


    park entirely. It¡¯spletely fine¡ªthis was our secret hideout when we were kids, but we aren¡¯t kids


    anymore now, are we? We don¡¯t need a secret hideout anymore. Anyway, you managed to recall this


    spot in the end, right?¡± After finishing his words, he shifted his gaze to look at Sonia.


    She giggled. ¡°How often have you beening here in the past six years? Do youe here a lot?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡± Charles nodded. ¡°Ie here when I¡¯m tired or if I miss someone.¡±


    ¡°If you miss someone? Who¡¯s that someone?¡± Sonia asked in an inquisitive tone.


    He simply looked at her without saying anything. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± she asked


    puzzledly.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Charles scoffed at himself before he turned away from her. Charles, Charles¡­ You know


    how slow Sonia can be when ites to romantic rtionships. If you don¡¯t give her a direct


    exnation, she will never know that you¡¯re in love with her¡ªshe would never even consider that


    possibility! If you think that she¡¯ll understand your feelings when you look deep into her eyes, then you


    must be dreaming! he thought to himself.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Charles was well aware of the situation he was in, and he knew that he was supposed to express his


    feelings to Sonia in a straightforward manner. However, the words never seem to be able to leave the tip


    of his tongue. All the fear and anxiety within him stopped him from taking action, and it turned him into a


    loser. He was destined to lose to Toby.


    Both of them lingered around the park for nearly 30 minutes. They had a few brief conversations in


    between periods of silence, but an awkward atmosphere hung in the air the whole time. Their


    interactions differed from their usual manner of interacting, and Sonia felt both exasperated and helpless


    when she realized that she couldn¡¯t do anything to change it.


    Eventually, the skies turned dark. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go home, Charles,¡± Sonia uttered as she stood


    up.


    Charles took a nce at the skies. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± Both of them stepped out of the park to the spot


    where Sonia had parked her car. When she arrived at her car, she realized that Charles¡¯ car was


    nowhere to be seen. ¡°Where¡¯s your ride?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I got my assistant to send me over, and I told him to leave after that, so I don¡¯t have a ride,¡± he uttered


    while shrugging.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched as she shot him a re. ¡°Well, get in, then. I¡¯ll drive home, and then


    you can take my car back to your ce.¡±


    ¡°Let me drive you back.¡± Charles reached out for her keys. Sonia didn¡¯t protest and tossed her keys over


    to him, and he unlocked the car. Beep! Both of them got in, and Charles began to drive toward Bayside


    Residence. There was some traffic on the way back, so it took nearly two hours for them to arrive at


    Sonia¡¯s ce. It was 9.00PM by the time they got there.


    Charles stopped the car by the side of the road, and Sonia walked toward her condominium after she got


    out and waved goodbye. As Charles stared at her figure, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He


    seemed as if he was trying to get his emotions under control. After a few seconds, he loosened his grip


    and took a deep breath before he flung the car door open and ran toward the woman.


    He sprinted over to Sonia, so it only took him a few steps to reach her. Sonia could sense someone


    coming close to her, and she was just about to turn around when she felt someone grabbing her arm.


    Right after that, she felt her wrist being tugged hard. Her body was forced to turn in the direction of the


    tug, and she tripped on her own feet before falling into a soft and warm embrace.


    It¡¯s Charles! Sonia couldn¡¯tprehend the meaning of Charles¡¯ actions, but she stayed still and allowed


    him to wrap his arms tightly around her. He had hugged her a little too tightly, so Sonia¡¯s arms began to


    ache after a while. She finally returned to her senses before pushing him away gently. ¡°Can you let go of


    me now, Charles?¡±


    It seemed as if Charles hadn¡¯t heard her voice at all¡ªhe continued to hug her without loosening his grip.


    Right then, Sonia noticed that his body was shaking. She stopped trying to wriggle out of his arms, and


    she lifted a hand to pat his back instead. ¡°What is it, Charles?¡± Charles remained silent as he buried his


    head into her shoulder.


    Meanwhile, Toby lowered the window of his Mercedes-Benz to fix his cold re on the man and woman


    who were tangled up in a tight hug. A dark shadow loomed over his face as he tightened his grip on the


    delicate gift box that he had prepared. The gift box was made of cardboard, but its original shape was no


    longer visible under Toby¡¯s powerful grip¡ªthe distorted box was a reflection of the uneasiness and rage


    in Toby¡¯s heart.


    Tom was seated in the driver¡¯s seat, and he could see Toby¡¯s sour expression in the rearview mirror. A


    bitter smile spread across Tom¡¯s face when he sensed the threatening aura that surrounded Toby¡¯s


    figure. Gosh. I hadn¡¯t expected President Fuller and me to witness such an awful scene. President Fuller


    spent his whole afternoon trying to make a decision, and he finally decided that he woulde here to


    meet Miss Reed and fix things with her. We¡¯ve waited for nearly four hours just for her toe home. I


    can¡¯t believe she showed up with Charles! It¡¯s fine if Charles just happened to be with her, but I can¡¯t


    believe they¡¯re hugging each other. This looks like more than just a friendly hug. Both of them are


    hugging each other so tightly, and they¡¯ve been hugging for a while now. She¡¯s patting his back, and he¡¯s


    burying his head into her shoulder. This looks like the sort of hug that couples would give each other! Did


    the both of them get together? Tom immediately spun around to look at his boss once that question


    popped into his head.


    Toby lowered his gaze to conceal the blistering storm of rage in his eyes. He rolled the window up and


    threw the gift box on the empty seat beside him before he shut his eyes. ¡°Drive.¡±


    ¡°Where should I go, President Fuller?¡± Tom asked.

 Chapter 504

    Chapter 504


    Chapter 504 It¡¯s Melody Again


    ¡°Home,¡± Toby said icily. Tom raised an eyebrow upon hearing his boss. ¡°Home? Aren¡¯t you going to pass


    Miss Reed the evening gown?¡±


    ¡°Does she look like she needs an evening gown right now?¡± Half of Toby¡¯s face was covered by a


    shadow as he nced out the window. Tom didn¡¯t have anything to say in response. He¡¯s right. Miss


    Reed is busy being intimate with Charles right now¡ªit¡¯d be odd for President Fuller and me to go to her.


    In the end, Tom started driving without saying anything else.


    Toby remained silent throughout the ride. There was a gloomy aura surrounding his figure, and it seemed


    to spread out across the entire vehicle. Tom couldn¡¯t handle the heavy atmosphere in the car, and he


    loosened his necktie as he cleared his throat. ¡°Were you really affected by Miss Reed and Mr. Lane¡¯s


    actions earlier, President Fuller?¡± he asked.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. Of course I¡¯m affected by their actions. Would anyone enjoy seeing their lover in


    another person¡¯s arms? When Tom realized that Toby hadn¡¯t responded to his question, he fixed his


    sses before he continued talking. ¡°Well, then¡­ What are you nning to do if Miss Reed and Mr.


    Lane get together?¡±


    A look of confusion shed across Toby¡¯s face as he thought about Tom¡¯s question. What would I do if


    they got together? I¡¯ve never considered this question. If this had happened before today, I would have


    come to terms with the truth. I would have epted their rtionship even if I knew that I would suffer for


    the rest of my life. All of this would¡¯ve been possible if I didn¡¯t have the desire to continue living. If I¡¯m


    gone, I¡¯d want Sonia to live a happy life¡ªshe¡¯s going to be around a much longer time, after all.


    But now that I¡¯ve found the will to live, I can no longer have Sonia dating another man. Yet, if she does


    end up with another man, I can¡¯t stop them or ruin their rtionship. She¡¯d hate me if I did that to her.


    Tom¡¯s right¡ªI really don¡¯t know what to do now. I can¡¯t allow her to be with someone else, yet I can¡¯t ruin


    her rtionship with another guy. I¡¯m stuck in limbo¡ªI can¡¯t let go of her, but I can¡¯t do anything to


    change her mind. This is so agonizing!


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Tom let out a huge sigh when Toby didn¡¯t respond to him. After working with Toby for 12 years as his


    assistant, Tom was the one person¡ªapart from Rose¡ªwho knew Toby the best. After taking a nce at


    Toby¡¯s expression, Tom quickly figured out what Toby was thinking about. It looks like I should start


    investigating Miss Reed and Charles¡¯ rtionship. If they¡¯re really together, then I¡¯m afraid President


    Fuller might lose his will to live once more. It¡¯d be great news if they weren¡¯t actually dating.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the ground floor of Bayside Residence, Charles continued hugging Sonia for a long while.


    A few passersby stole nces at them, and some passersby naturally assumed that they were a couple.


    ¡°How sweet!¡± someone eximed. ¡°They seem like a really loving couple,¡± another onemented.


    Sonia¡¯s ears were burning with embarrassment when she heard such words.


    She was worried that the misunderstanding would get out of hand, so she eventually pushed Charles


    away. The sudden force took him aback, and he stumbled backward before steadying himself. A mixture


    of emotions filled his gaze as he looked at the woman in front of him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Charles?¡± Sonia tilted her head sideways.


    Charles parted his lips as if he were about to speak, but no words came out of his mouth in the end. He


    merely shook his head before giving her a bitter smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯ste now. You should go home


    and get some rest.¡±


    ¡°Are you really fine?¡± Sonia clearly didn¡¯t believe him. Charles had been acting weird the entire day, and


    Sonia was worried about him.


    He gave her a reassuring nod. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Hurry up and go home.¡± He waved goodbye.


    Sonia let out a helpless sigh¡ªshe knew that Charles wasn¡¯t going to tell her the truth. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go home


    now. You should head home too. Tell me when you¡¯re back, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Charles nodded. Then, Sonia clutched her bag and turned around to walk toward the entrance of


    her condominium. Charles stood in his spot and watched as her figure gradually disappeared in the dark.


    He remained standing even after she was long gone, and he eventually reached into his pocket to pull


    out a box of cigarettes. After lighting a cigarette, he took a long drag before spitting the thick, white


    smoke out into the dark sky. The clumps of smoke covered his face, making it hard for anyone to read


    his expression.


    Initially, Charles nned to confess to her tonight. He wanted toe clean with her before she realized


    that she was in love with Toby again. Perhaps she would agree to date me since we¡¯ve been friends for


    so many years, he had thought. That was what made him run out of the car to hug her.


    However, he was defeated by his own fears in the end. He simply didn¡¯t dare to confess to her. I¡¯m afraid.


    What if she rejects me and tells me that she doesn¡¯t like me? Does that mean that we won¡¯t even be


    friends anymore? The moment I confess to her, our rtionship will never be the same again. We¡¯ll


    never have the pure friendship that we have now¡ªshe¡¯ll feel guilty for rejecting me, and she might even


    avoid me in the future. If that goes on, then our friendship will gradually fade off¡­ I don¡¯t want us to end


    up like that, so I¡¯d rather keep quiet than tell her the truth.


    Charles flicked his cigarette onto the ground as he let out a scoff. I think I¡¯m the most useless man in this


    world. I¡¯m afraid of everything, and I overthink every single scenario. That¡¯s why I¡¯m such a failure! That


    night, all three of them¡ªToby, Charles, and Sonia¡ªcouldn¡¯t seem to sleep well. Each of them had their


    own worries.


    The next morning, Sonia arrived at Paradigm Co. feeling more exhausted than ever. She felt like her soul


    had been sucked out of her body, and she couldn¡¯t stop yawning as she sat in her office. When Daphne


    entered to collect some documents, she quickly realized the eyebags under Sonia¡¯s eyes. ¡°Did you not


    get enough restst night, President Reed?¡± Daphne asked in a concerned tone.


    Sonia lifted her coffee cup as she gave Daphne a faint smile. ¡°I guess,¡± Sonia muttered.


    ¡°Do you want to get some rest in the lounge area? There isn¡¯t much to do in the office today,¡± Daphne


    uttered.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have some errands to run¡ªI need to buy an evening gown at the mall.¡±


    ¡°An evening gown?¡± Daphne raised her eyebrow. ¡°Are you attending a party, President Reed?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s Grandma¡¯s 80th birthday,¡± Sonia replied with a nod. Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Daphne


    recalled that Rose¡¯s birthday wasing up.


    ¡°You can cancel all of my schedules for today afternoon¡ªnone of them are important, anyway. If you


    have any documents that you need me to sign, you can leave them in the office. You can deal with the


    rest of the paperwork.¡± Sonia lowered her coffee cup as she handed out her orders.


    ¡°Okay, President Reed. I¡¯ll excuse myself now,¡± Daphne said as she gave Sonia a polite nod.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Sonia replied. Daphne leaned over to carry all the documents that she had to handle before she


    turned and left the room.


    After Sonia had lunch, she stepped out of Paradigm Co. and headed to the mall nearby. She wanted to


    purchase an evening gown that would go well with the essories that Rose had gifted her. While Sonia


    was browsing through evening gowns in front of a rack, she heard the clicking sound of high heels


    approaching her. She assumed that it was another customer, so she didn¡¯t turn to look at all.


    However, the sound got closer and closer to her, and arge figure eventually stopped right beside her.


    The figure reached an arm out to touch some of the evening gowns that hung on the rack in front of


    Sonia.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Sonia.¡± The figure initiated a conversation with Sonia, and she even knew Sonia¡¯s


    name. This caught Sonia by surprise. What a familiar voice! I feel like I¡¯ve heard this voice somewhere,


    but I can¡¯t recall where. Sonia immediately let go of the evening gown that she had been holding before


    she turned to look at the person beside her.


    Shock shed in Sonia¡¯s gaze when her eyesnded on the familiar face of a person that she had some


    history with. However, Sonia quickly concealed the emotions on her face as she responded with a polite


    greeting. ¡°Hello, Miss Stryder.¡±


    Melody lowered the evening gown she had been holding and turned to face Sonia. ¡°You must be


    surprised to see me here, huh?¡±

 Chapter 505

    Chapter 505


    Chapter 505 Den¡¯s Whereabouts


    ¡°I am a little surprised,¡± Sonia said with a nod. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be in Norfolk, Miss Stryder? What are you


    doing here in Seafield?¡±


    The woman standing before Sonia was none other than Melody, the youngdy of the Stryder Family


    who had a close rtionship with Tina. A few months ago, when Tina had been kidnapped by Carl¡¯s


    men, both Melody and the Gray Family had assumed that Sonia was involved in the matter. Melody had


    used the Stryders¡¯ connections with the government to control the banks, and the banks had forced


    Sonia to clear all her debts within a short period, all so because Melody could avenge Tina. Paradigm


    Co.¡¯s business nearly copsed because of this matter.


    Fortunately, Sonia managed to use Toby¡¯s suggestion to resolve this matter. After that, strict


    investigations had been run on the Stryders because of their involvement in municipal affairs. In the end,


    Melody was identified as the main culprit, and the Stryders dragged her back to Norfolk. No one heard of


    her after that incident.


    Sonia assumed that Melody would never be allowed out of Norfolk after that incident, but her


    assumptions had just been proven wrong. ¡°My husband stays in Seafield. Is there anything wrong with


    me showing up here?¡± Melody uttered with a rather unpleasant look on her face.


    ¡°My apologies, Miss Stryder.¡± Sonia lifted her right brow. ¡°I forgot that you were married to Peter from the


    Southfield Family.¡± Sonia wasn¡¯t the only one who forgot about this¡ªPeter and Melody never had a good


    rtionship, after all. Peter had never fancied Melody, and he would make sure to leave for another city


    whenever Melody was in Seafield. If he had a choice, he would stay away from Melody for the rest of his


    life.


    In fact, he had even sent out orders to stop others from referring to him and Melody as husband and


    wife, and he threatened to punish anyone who did such a thing. Eventually, the public ceased to discuss


    this matter, and the majority of the people forgot about the fact that they were a married couple. Sonia


    was a perfect example!


    When Melody heard what Sonia said, she frowned. Melody wasn¡¯t exactly a feminine-looking woman,


    and she was rtively tall for a girl. She had the typical look of a strong and independent woman when


    she cut her hair short and dressed up in a suit. However, Melody knew that Peter preferred hot and sexy-


    looking girls, so she often dressed herself up to suit his taste. She never appeared in public without


    ming red lipstick smeared all over her huge lips. Her facial features didn¡¯t go well with her makeup, but


    she insisted on dolling herself up in a way that would attract Peter.


    However, her heavy makeup only enhanced her facial expressions, and it made her especially ugly when


    she wore a frown. One could easily imagine how terrifying it was to look at her whenever she scowled.


    ¡°Peter and I have gotten a divorce thanks to you.¡± Melody clenched her fists as she spoke in a sinister


    tone.


    ¡°Thanks to me? I¡¯m not sure I understand what you mean, Miss Stryder. What have you and Mr.


    Southfield¡¯s divorce got to do with me?¡± Sonia eyed her curiously. She wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that they


    had gotten a divorce since Peter was talking about it all the time. They would have gotten a divorce


    eventually anyway. However, Sonia didn¡¯t understand why Melody was ming her for their divorce.


    Does she think that I urged Peter to get a divorce with her? What a joke!


    But that was precisely what Melody thought. Melody fixed her cold re on Sonia as she exined


    herself. ¡°It definitely has something to do with you. Peter and I wouldn¡¯t have gotten a divorce if I


    continued to insist on staying married. However, Toby ended up offering help to Peter, and that was how


    my marriage with Peter came to an end. After Toby and Tina called their engagement off, he has been


    going after you with hopes of getting back with you¡ªeveryone knows about this. Toby only decided to


    help Peter because he wanted to ruin my marriage, and he only did it because he knows that I attacked


    you in the past. He was taking revenge on behalf of you!¡±


    Sonia froze. So¡­ That was how it all happened! I can¡¯t believe Toby is involved in this! But¡­ Sonia took


    a deep breath to calm her racing heart. ¡°Do you have any proof that Toby did all of this for me?¡± she


    uttered in her calmest voice.


    ¡°Do you need proof for something like that?¡± Melody sneered. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe what I say, you can


    just ask Toby about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll certainly do that,¡± Sonia uttered before pursing her lips.


    ¡°Why are you asking me about it, then?¡± Melody red at Sonia with rage-filled eyes. ¡°One way or


    another, both of you ruined my marriage and my love life. I¡¯ll never forgive you guys for this!¡± When the


    time is right, I¡¯ll make sure that you guys suffer the way I did! Melody thought.


    Sonia frowned when she saw the hateful look on Melody¡¯s face. Sonia was about to say something when


    Melody calmed herself down to continue speaking. ¡°But there is one thing that I¡¯d like to thank you for,¡±


    she said.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes.


    The other woman curled her lips into a satisfied smile. ¡°I¡¯m talking about Tina. I hadn¡¯t expected you to


    defeat her.¡± The Stryder Family had to undergo an investigation from the higher-ups because of what


    Melody did to help Tina. After this incident, their family went from being the most well-respected family to


    ranking fifth ce in Norfolk. Everyone at home hated Melody for this, and they all saw her as a curse


    that had ruined the family. The rest of the Stryders treated Melody as if she was invisible, and no one


    showed her any respect back home.


    All of the sorrow and suffering that Melody felt were transformed into anger and hatred for Tina. My life


    wouldn¡¯t be such a disaster if it weren¡¯t for Tina. I used to be the beloved daughter of a wealthy family,


    but now, I¡¯m just an outcast who¡¯s not weed at home! After Melody got divorced, she wasn¡¯t even


    allowed to live in the main building of the Stryder Residence, so she had no choice but to find her own


    ce.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    At first, Melody intended to visit Seafield in order to deal with Tina. After all, sShe had to release her


    anger somewhere! However, she was a little toote to the game as Sonia had already dealt with Tina


    while Melody wasn¡¯t around. I guess it¡¯s a good thing since I don¡¯t have to waste my effort on dealing


    with this. Later, I¡¯ll just visit Tina at the hospital where she¡¯s serving her sentence. Once I¡¯m done


    mocking her, I can ce all of my focus on dealing with Sonia.


    Sonia was surprised to hear Melody¡¯s exnation. I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s d that I defeated Tina. ¡°Aren¡¯t


    you guys friends? Why would you thank me for treating your friend that way?¡± A hint of disdain shed in


    Sonia¡¯s gaze. I thought their friendship was deeper than that. Hah!


    ¡°We aren¡¯t friends!¡± Melody growled with an ugly expression on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t have a friend like her.¡±


    Melody had always thought of herself as a decent friend to Tina¡ªshe had done a lot for Tina. However,


    she hadn¡¯t expected to risk her whole family¡¯s reputation for the sake of a friend. While Melody was


    locked up in her house, she had a lot of time to think about the situation. During that period, she realized


    that Tina had never treated her as a friend, and she was nothing more but a useful tool to Tina.


    Whenever Tina cried or pouted, Melody and Cynthia would stand up for Tina without any hesitation. It


    was almost as if they had fallen under Tina¡¯s spell. I bet Tina¡¯s secretlyughing at Cynthia and I behind


    our backs. I bet she thinks we¡¯re idiots because of all that we¡¯ve done for her. Yet, Melody had never


    seen Tina as such a maniptive and experienced woman in the past. That exined why Melody hated


    Tina so much after the whole incident.


    Sonia merely shrugged when she saw the rage pouring out of Melody¡¯s re. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you and


    Tina are friends. I was just asking a question for the sake of it. Alright, Miss Stryder, I¡¯m done picking my


    outfit. I¡¯ll excuse myself now,¡± she uttered. After taking a ck, one-shoulder mermaid dress off the rack,


    Sonia walked over to the cashier. Jade green essories went the best with ck fabric because they


    contrasted against each other, making it a perfect match.


    Sparks danced in Melody¡¯s eyes as she stared thoughtfully at Sonia¡¯s figure. Melody didn¡¯t stop Sonia as


    Sonia walked off.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Toby was editing some documents in Fuller Group. Tom knocked on the door before he


    walked into the office. ¡°President Fuller, the man who has an eye on Carl gave us an update. It seems


    like Carl has managed to hunt down Den¡¯s whereabouts.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s ball-point pen halted in mid-air as he looked up. ¡°Where¡¯s Den?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s at thergest harbor in Sundale. Carl sent his men over there, so we¡¯re guessing that Den might


    have sneaked in from there,¡± Tom replied.


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted when he heard Tom¡¯s words. ¡°Carl¡¯s hacking skills are impressive. He wouldn¡¯t have


    managed to find Den otherwise.¡± Refugees who entered another country wouldn¡¯t use their own


    documents but fake IDs, and some didn¡¯t even have IDs. Most of them would change their appearances,


    and they would stay away from electronic devices to avoid getting tracked by hackers.


    Toby was certain that Den knew the rules as a refugee, but Carl still managed to get his hands on


    Den. That showed how scary of a man Carl was.

 Chapter 506

    Chapter 506


    Chapter 506 Jean¡¯s a Fool


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Tom eximed in awe while nodding, agreeing that Carl¡¯s hacking skills were top-notch. All


    of Fuller Group¡¯s hackers were considered international masters within the field, but even they didn¡¯t


    manage to find anything after Toby ordered them to track Den¡¯s whereabouts. Carl was the only one


    who managed to track Den down. Thisparison put things in ce¡ªCarl was obviously the more


    skilled hacker among the rest of them.


    ¡°Since Carl is sending his men over, you should arrange for our people to go there too. Carl¡¯s men might


    take Den away if our men don¡¯t get there in time,¡± Toby uttered in a calm tone. Den was the one


    who pushed Sonia off a cliff, so Toby had to be the one to deal with Den. No one¡¯s allowed to get this


    job done except for me! I won¡¯t even have Carl meddling with this! Toby thought.


    ¡°Okay. I got it, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°You can leave now.¡± Toby flicked his wrist to send Tom out of the room.


    ¡°But¡­ There¡¯s actually something else I wanted to tell you,¡± Tom uttered without moving from his spot.


    Toby knitted his brows and stared at his assistant. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ We saw Miss Reed and Mr. Lane hugging yesterday, and we suspected that they were dating,


    right? I sent someone to investigate their rtionship, and the reports currently indicate that they¡¯re not


    together,¡± Tom exined.


    Toby¡¯s eyes lit up in an instant. ¡°What? They¡¯re not dating?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Tom nodded. Toby¡¯s stone-cold heart seemed to melt when he heard this news, and his


    expression softened as he continued speaking. ¡°If they aren¡¯t together, thenst night¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps there was another reason for that. Why don¡¯t you ask Miss Reed about it, President Fuller?¡±


    Tom suggested.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll just pretend that I didn¡¯t see it.¡± He was happy just knowing that Sonia


    and Charles weren¡¯t together.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll excuse myself now.¡± Tom was done with all his updates, so he turned to leave the room. ¡°Okay,¡±


    Toby uttered with a nod.


    ¡­


    Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was finally the day of Rose¡¯s 80th birthday celebration.


    The party was hosted in the Fullers¡¯ Residence. It was 8.00PM by the time Sonia arrived at the venue.


    She got out of her car and handed her keys to the valet before she took out the invitation card from her


    bag and walked toward the entrance. She passed the invitation to the security guards that were standing


    at the entrance, and the guard let her in after checking the invitation.


    Sonia lifted her long dress as she headed up the stairs and walked into the grand hall. With his gaze


    fixed on Sonia¡¯s slim figure, the security guard who had checked her invitation card removed his walkie-


    talkie from his belt. ¡°Miss Reed¡¯s here, Tom,¡± he reported into the device.


    ¡°I got it,¡± Tom replied from his end after hearing the guard¡¯s voice. Then, Tom put the walkie-talkie aside


    before he walked to the lounge and knocked on the door. He was greeted by Mary¡¯s smiling face after


    she opened the door. ¡°Tom!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for President Fuller, Mary,¡± Tom exined.


    ¡°Young Master Toby¡¯s talking to Old Mrs. Fuller now. You cane in,¡± Mary offered.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Tom nodded and walked into the room. When Toby saw Tom walking in, he stopped his


    conversation with Old Mrs. Fuller to sip on his cup of tea. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked as he turned to Tom.


    ¡°Miss Reed is here.¡± Tom¡¯s footsteps came to a halt as he answered Toby¡¯s question. Toby¡¯s movements


    froze for a split second before he returned to his usual self. ¡°I got it.¡± Right after that, Toby got to his feet


    and excused himself. ¡°I¡¯ll head outside now, Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Mary handed Rose¡¯s cane to her, and Rose got up along with Toby. ¡°Let¡¯s go out together. I


    haven¡¯t seen Sonia in a while. Furthermore, I¡¯m the star of the night, and most of our guests should have


    arrived by now. It¡¯s about time I made an appearance.¡±


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Toby gave Rose a warm smile. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s walk out together, then. I¡¯ll help you out.¡±


    Rose shot a re at Toby¡¯s left arm, which was still held in a sling. ¡°You should just take care of


    yourself,¡± she uttered in a disdainful tone. ¡°Seriously! You¡¯re a 30-year-old man; I can¡¯t believe you


    identally injured your arm while you were out.¡±


    Toby¡¯s gaze shifted ufortably, while Tom immediately turned to look away. Fortunately, Rose hadn¡¯t


    been watching their expressions, so she didn¡¯t notice anything odd. Mary helped the olddy out of the


    room while Toby and Tom followed behind them.


    ¡­


    Sonia¡¯s appearance in the grand hall gathered a good amount of attention. Everyone in their circle knew


    that she used to be married to the son of the Fuller Family, after all. Since she was an ex-wife, many


    people began gossiping when they saw that she had shown up at Rose¡¯s party.


    Meanwhile, Jean was wearing a red, tight-fitting dress and had her hair tied up in a bun. She held a ss


    of red wine in one hand while she chit-chatted with a few other wealthy-lookingdies. All of a sudden,


    one of thedies tugged on Jean¡¯s sleeve before she stuck her lips out and nodded in Sonia¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Hey. Isn¡¯t that your ex-daughter-inw?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jean had a cheerful smile on her face until she heard the words ¡®ex-daughter-inw¡¯. Her face


    immediately darkened as she turned to see Sonia standing around in the hall. Jean immediately twisted


    her expression into a sour frown. Thedy who had told Jean about Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel a rush of


    satisfaction when she saw how displeased Jean looked. Even the rest of thedies exchanged nces


    as they quietly sneered amongst themselves. They were d to see the embarrassed and ashamed look


    on Jean¡¯s face.


    Although they appeared to have a close rtionship with Jean, and although they often asked her out for


    facials and shopping dates, they didn¡¯t actually like Jean. In fact, some of them utterly despised her, and


    they were only leeching off of her.


    The rest of the women were all born in wealthy families¡ªthey were more refined and elegant than a


    peasant like Jean, who was born in a regr family. However, many of thesedies were furious


    because a in and cheap woman like Jean had the luck to marry herself into the Fuller Family. Thus,


    Jean, who was nothing inparison to the otherdies, transformed into a wealthy, powerful phoenix


    that soared high above their heads with her new status as Mr. Fuller¡¯s wife. The rest of thedies had no


    choice but to cate her all the time.


    Fortunately for them, Jean was aplete idiot whose opinions easily wavered. Whenever thedies


    sweet-talked Jean a little, Jean wouldn¡¯t hesitate to shower her friends with all the best things in the


    world. She would pay for all of their expenses whenever they went out for food, drinks or trips. Thedies


    wouldn¡¯t have chosen to stay with an idiot like Jean otherwise.


    Jean had no idea what her few rich friends were thinking about. She merely held onto her wine ss as


    she fixed Sonia with a stern re. She looked as if she was trying to use her eyes to burn Sonia.


    Thedy who had been the first to speak up about Sonia continued to provoke Jean. She looked around


    the room as she said, ¡°Jean, why do you think your ex-daughter-inw is here? Do you think she¡¯s trying


    to please Old Mrs. Fuller? Is she doing that so that she can return to the Fuller Family? I heard that Old


    Mrs. Fuller is quite fond of her, so I think she might seed. President Fuller¡¯s a filial child, so he¡¯d


    surely listen to Old Mrs. Fuller¡­¡±


    Thedy¡¯s words seeded in infuriating Jean, who then mmed her wine ss on the table. Her face


    was flushed as she widened her bloodshot eyes. ¡°Does she want to return to the Fuller Family? Hah! In


    her dreams!¡± she hissed.


    The wealthydies exchanged nces once more, but they quickly looked away from each other. The


    representative of their group¡ªthedy who pointed Sonia out¡ªcurled her lips into a smirk. This idiot fell


    for it. All of thedies knew that Jean, the silly woman, hated her ex-daughter-inw, and they had heard


    about all the fights that happened between Jean and Sonia. Once I infuriate this stupid woman, and once


    she falls into our little trap, we¡¯ll have a good show to watch.


    The rest of thedies were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They were people from rich families


    who had married into other rich families, but they were stillcking in wealth when theypared


    themselves to Jean, and they couldn¡¯t ept it at all! However, their differences in social status made it


    hard for them to cause any direct harm to Jean, so all they could do was trick her through such subtle


    methods. They wanted to make a fool out of Jean in order to reduce the burning jealousy they felt


    because of her.

 Chapter 507

    Chapter 507


    Chapter 507 Rose¡¯s Grand Entrance


    With that thought in mind, thedy nced at her bright red nails before curling her lips into a smile.


    ¡°Well, since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you go over to ask her what she¡¯s doing here, Jean? If she¡¯s here


    to please Old Mrs. Fuller, and if she¡¯s trying to get remarried to President Fuller, then you should try to


    chase her out before Old Mrs. Fulleres, right?¡±


    Jean¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. ¡°That¡¯s right, Christine. That¡¯s a great idea.¡± Jean held onto Christine¡¯s


    hand fondly. The smile on Christine¡¯s face stiffened as she nced at Jean¡¯s chubby and oily hand on


    hers. However, she forced herself to take a deep breath and maintain her friendly demeanor so that she


    wouldn¡¯t expose her true intentions. Deep down, she had a strong urge to fling Jean¡¯s hand away.


    Meanwhile, the otherdies sneakily held their thumbs up for Christine tomend her determination


    and patience for Jean. ¡°Alright, Jean. Go on and ask her about it,¡± Christine uttered. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller


    mighte out anytime now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll go over to her right now.¡± Jean let go of Christine¡¯s hand before she strutted off in


    Sonia¡¯s direction with her chin held high. Once Jean was gone, Christine immediately pulled a


    handkerchief out of her bag to wipe her hand. ¡°Disgusting! She¡¯s so filthy!¡± Christine hissed angrily as


    she cleaned herself.


    ¡°Alright. Stop making it so obvious¡ªyou don¡¯t want her to find out about this. If she realizes what we¡¯re


    doing and throws a fit, President Toby will find out about us. If that happens, all of the other times we¡¯ve


    tricked her and used her as our piggy bank may be dug up too,¡± another one of thedies said.


    Upon hearing this, Christine stopped wiping her hand and kept her handkerchief away. ¡°Let me use the


    washroom, then. I¡¯ll wash my hands there,¡± she uttered as she headed out of the hall.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was standing at the other side of the hall, talking to Zane. Coincidentally, he had


    arrived at the party shortly after Sonia walked in, and he approached her to chat once he saw her.


    Furthermore, since Rose, Charles, and Charles¡¯ parents were nowhere to be seen, and since Sonia


    wasn¡¯t in the mood to meet new people, she thought Zane had arrived at the perfect time. She could


    relieve her boredom while not having to meet someone new.


    ¡°Jean¡¯sing over,¡± Zane uttered as he spotted Jean¡¯s figure from the corner of his eye. He frowned as


    he gave Sonia a reminder. ¡°She¡¯s walking over in a really aggressive manner, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯s up to


    any good.¡±


    ¡°I can tell,¡± Sonia muttered as she swirled her wine ss. After taking a brief nce at Jean, Sonia took


    a sip out of her ss. She didn¡¯t look threatened by Jean¡¯s arrival at all. Once Jean arrived in front of


    Sonia, she stood with her legs slightly apart before she put her hands on her waist. With her plump figure


    and herrge stance, she looked like a huge ball¡ªit was an amusing sight to the people around her.


    Sonia even caught a few guests snickering as they stole nces at Jean. However, Jean didn¡¯t seem to


    realize any of this as her angry re was fixed solely on Sonia. ¡°This is the Fuller Family¡¯s party. What


    are you doing here? Did you sneak in?¡±


    Does she think I crashed Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯s party? Sonia knitted her brows. She was about to speak when


    Zane interrupted in a hostile tone. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right of you to say that, Madam White. The security


    outside at the entrance is so strict, so who could possibly sneak into a ce like this? Why don¡¯t you tell


    us how she sneaked in?¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Jean red at him, but she was too afraid to do anything to him. Zane came from a family of


    officials, after all. Even the wealthiest people in their circle were afraid to go against government officials,


    let alone someone like Jean, who was from a regr family. Inparison to the richer people, Jean


    was naturally more fearful of those who were officials. Even though she had lived with the Fuller Family


    and enjoyed the life of a wealthy person for more than ten years, she still couldn¡¯t get rid of her fear for


    people like the Colemans.


    Therefore, Jean had no choice but to hold herself back, although she was displeased by Zane¡¯s attitude


    toward her. She directed all of her anger toward Sonia instead. ¡°Tell me! How did you get in here? If you


    don¡¯t exin yourself now, I¡¯m going to get the guards to send you out!¡± She pointed at Sonia.


    ¡°I was invited, of course.¡± Sonia nced at Jean¡¯s stubby finger as she spoke in an icy tone. ¡°How else


    do you think I managed toe in?¡±


    ¡°Did you say you were invited?¡± Jean scoffed. ¡°You must be lying. Why would the Fuller Family invite


    you? You¡¯re not rted to us in any way.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Zane pushed Jean¡¯s finger away. ¡°Madam White, you may have forgotten about Sonia¡¯s


    close rtionship with Old Mrs. Fuller. Don¡¯t you think Old Mrs. Fuller would invite Sonia to her party?¡±


    Once Jean heard what Zane said, she froze for a while before she realized what was going on. That¡¯s


    right. Old Mrs. Fuller is really nice to Sonia¡ªit¡¯s possible that she may have invited Sonia to the party.


    But¡­ Jean gritted her teeth. ¡°Well, I still don¡¯t ept that as a valid reason. Old Mrs. Fuller must be


    getting old! She used to support your rtionship with Toby, so you must have convinced her to invite


    you over because you haven¡¯t given up on my son! You¡¯re still dreaming of getting back together with


    Toby¡ªthat¡¯s why you made Old Mrs. Fuller invite you over so that you could have a chance to meet


    Toby, right? Someone like you has no right to enter the Fullers¡¯ Residence. Guards! Throw her out!¡±


    The guards showed up uponmand, and Sonia¡¯s expression darkened when she saw them. Zane¡¯s


    expression turned sour too as he stood in front of Sonia and red at Jean. ¡°Madam White, you¡¯re being


    too¡ª¡±


    Before Zane could finish his words, an icy voice emerged amidst the crowd. ¡°Stop right there!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the one starting this mess?¡± Another old but strong voice sounded right after the first one. Both of


    the voices belonged to Toby and Rose.


    When Jean saw both of them, her face immediately turned pale, and she shifted her gaze around


    ufortably. ¡°Mom, Toby, why are you guys out already? I thought you¡¯d show up a littleter, Mom¡­¡±


    ¡°If I were toe out anyter, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t get to see any of my guests! You would¡¯ve chased all


    of them out!¡± Rose shot Jean a fierce re, and Jean shrank away in fear. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t¡­ I would never¡­¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you done that already?¡± Rose smacked her cane against the ground. ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to chase


    Sonia away right now?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different. She¡¯s here with ill intentions.¡± Jean shot Sonia a re as she spoke. However, Sonia


    didn¡¯t pay any attention to Jean as her gaze was fixed on Toby. I haven¡¯t seen him in a few days. He


    looks like he has lost some weight, and he looks rather haggard. Isn¡¯t he taking time off to recuperate?


    Why does he look like his condition is getting worse and worse? Sonia knitted her brows in


    dissatisfaction.


    When Toby felt a pair of eyes looking at him, he shifted his gaze to look in that direction. Sonia hadn¡¯t


    expected him to turn to her, so she froze for a moment before she hastily turned away. She hadn¡¯t


    forgotten what he said¡ªhe had told her not to show up in front of him. However, she couldn¡¯t avoid such


    a thing, not when it was Rose¡¯s birthday. The best she could do was to avoid his gaze. If she didn¡¯t look


    at him, she could pretend that she hadn¡¯t seen him at all.


    When Toby noticed Sonia avoiding his gaze, his expression darkened as he sighed under his breath. He


    understood the reason she was avoiding him, and he knew that it was all his fault. Zane noticed the brief


    exchange between Sonia and Toby, and his eyes glinted as he seemed to sink deep into his thoughts.


    ¡°Why would Sonia have ill intentions?¡± Rose hissed angrily.


    Jean turned to look at Toby. ¡°Well, it¡¯s obvious she¡¯s here because of Toby! She¡¯s still not over him.


    Clearly, she isn¡¯t here to celebrate your birthday¡ªshe¡¯s here for Toby and she¡ª¡±


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Toby growled with a grim look on his face. ¡°Today is Grandma¡¯s birthday, Mom. It¡¯s not a


    chance for you to cause trouble. Are you questioning Grandma¡¯s choice of guests? Are you trying to ruin


    her party and make a joke out of our whole family?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡­ I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Jean hastily shook her head and waved her arms around. She was panicking because


    Toby made her actions sound unforgivable.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing just that? Why don¡¯t you turn around and look at the guests¡¯


    reactions?¡±


    Jean immediately turned to see if the guests were throwing her judgmental or taunting nces. What


    she saw sent a chill down her spine.

 Chapter 508

    Chapter 508


    Chapter 508 Sonia¡¯s Worried


    Only then did Jean realize what was going on. What did I just do? I can¡¯t believe I forgot that we¡¯re at


    Mom¡¯s party now. I caused a scene, and I¡¯m making a fool out of myself right now. These guests must


    think that I¡¯m an idiot who¡¯s embarrassing myself! Jean lowered her head to conceal her flushed face,


    feeling ashamed.


    Before the party started, Jean had reminded herself to be on her best behavior and to stay away from


    any trouble. In the past, when she hadn¡¯t gotten used to the life of the wealthy, she had often


    embarrassed herself in front of others. She knew that she had caused plenty of issues for the Fuller


    Family in the past years. After ruining their reputation for so many years, Jean had hoped that she could


    finally present herself in a better manner that would change the public¡¯s opinion of her. She wanted


    others to recognize her as an elegant woman from a rich family.


    However, the moment she saw Sonia, it was as if all of her elegance and generosity had been flung to


    the back of her mind. Shepletely forgot about the party and confronted Sonia, humiliating the Fuller


    Family once more. Jean felt like pping herself on her face at the thought of what she had done. I hate


    myself so much! I hate that I can¡¯t control my temper. I could have approached Sonia when she was


    alone, or confronted her after the party¡­ Why did I have to act so recklessly?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mom. I know that I made a mistake. I¡ª¡± Before Jean could finish speaking, Rose held her


    hand up to stop her. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be apologizing to me. I think you owe Sonia an apology. Why did you


    pick a fight with her? I want you to apologize to her now!¡± Rose barked in a stern voice.


    ¡°You want me to apologize to her?¡± Jean pointed at Sonia with disbelief written all over her face. Sonia


    didn¡¯t want to look at Jean, so she simply turned away from the woman. Zane adjusted the watch on his


    wrist and said in a rxed tone, ¡°Madam White, Sonia is no longer the daughter-inw you used to bully


    and step on. She¡¯s not rted to the Fuller Family anymore, and she¡¯s a guest invited by your family.


    How could you, a host, shame your guest in such a manner? Shouldn¡¯t you be apologizing to her? Or¡­


    is this how the Fuller Family treats their guests?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Toby uttered before he turned to Sonia. ¡°The Fuller Family doesn¡¯t practice such terrible


    manners and traditions.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that? I want you to apologize!¡± Rose struck her cane against the ground as she gave Jean


    her orders. Jean had always been afraid of Rose, and her entire body trembled when she heard Rose


    shout. In the end, Jean turned to address Sonia in a resentful tone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± she hissed.


    Sonia looked at her fingernails as she spoke in a calm voice. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize if you don¡¯t


    want to, Mrs. Fuller. Your insincere apology sounds like it was forced out of you¡ªit¡¯s almost as if


    someone¡¯s holding a knife to your neck or shoving your head against the wall. I¡¯m genuinely afraid to


    ept an apology like yours. I¡¯m worried that you might hold a grudge against me and pick a fight with


    me again in the future.¡±


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Jean¡¯s expression changed when she realized that Sonia had exposed her actual feelings.


    Jean¡¯s blood boiled and she was about to lose her temper at Sonia when she met Rose¡¯s icy,


    emotionless gaze. Even Toby was frowning and looking at Jean disapprovingly. I wouldn¡¯t be so nice to


    her if she weren¡¯t my mother, who has taken care of me from birth.


    When Jean looked at the identical expressions on both Toby and Rose¡¯s faces, she realized that she had


    been defeated. ¡°Get lost, you embarrassing creature.¡± Rose gave her orders without showing any


    consideration for Jean¡¯s feelings.


    Even Jean knew how much of an embarrassment she was. She was too ashamed to stay at the party


    any longer, and she didn¡¯t need to look up to know that all of the guests were staring at her with


    judgmental gazes. With both her palms covering her face, she lowered her head and ran out of the hall.


    However, Sonia happened to be standing in Jean¡¯s way as she ran out.


    It wasn¡¯t clear if Jean had done it intentionally, but she bumped against Sonia¡¯s shoulder as she ran past


    Sonia. ¡°Ah!¡± Sonia instinctively let out a soft cry as she lost her bnce and stumbled backward in her


    high heels. Sonia¡¯s sudden movements made her lose control of the wine ss in her hand, and all of


    the red liquid sshed out of the ss and onto her dress. The icy sensation made her feel


    ufortable.


    However, that wasn¡¯t Sonia¡¯s main issue at that moment. More importantly, she hadpletely lost her


    bnce, and fear spread across her face as she fell toward the ground. Rose, Toby, and Zane looked


    scared when they realized that Sonia was about to fall. ¡°Sonia!¡± Rose cried.


    Both Zane and Toby were quick to respond¡ªthey held their arms out to catch Sonia. However, Zane was


    slightly slower than Toby, and Toby managed to grab onto Sonia¡¯s arm first. Once he got hold of her, he


    pulled her in his direction so that she wouldn¡¯t fall. His powerful tug sent Sonia falling directly into his


    arms. However, the impact of Sonia¡¯s body against Toby¡¯s chest was too strong, and Toby let out a grunt


    as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His brows were knitted together, and drops of sweat had formed on


    his forehead as he stumbled back. He only regained his bnce after his back hit the table behind him.


    Despite the pain in his chest, Toby held Sonia tightly without letting go of her at all. He was worried that


    she would fall if he loosened his grip. Both Rose and Zane heaved a huge sigh of relief once they made


    sure that Sonia was safe. Although Zane was disappointed that he hadn¡¯t managed to catch Sonia


    before Toby did, he was also d that Sonia was safe. As Zane stuck his hands back into his pockets, a


    smile spread across his face.


    Meanwhile, Toby pulled his arm away to let Sonia go. He lowered his head to nce at her, and he


    seemed as if he was about to say something as he parted his lips. However, before he could speak,


    Sonia grabbed his arms as she began to check on him. ¡°Did you hit something just now, Toby? I heard


    you crying out in pain. Did I hurt you?¡± she cried anxiously.


    Rose was shocked when she saw Sonia worrying about Toby. ¡°Sonia¡­¡± Rose muttered. Her hand that


    had been holding onto her cane was trembling as she spoke. Zane was just as surprised. He had been


    sipping on his wine, but his hand jolted in surprise when he saw how much Sonia cared for Toby, and he


    nearly spilled his drink. Is Sonia¡­ Is she and Toby¡­ Zane¡¯s face darkened as he tightened his grip


    around his wine ss and pressed his lips together.


    Toby, on the other hand, was staring fixedly at Sonia. His eyes had lit up so much that it seemed to fill


    the entire room. Sonia didn¡¯t realize how everyone had reacted to her actions¡ªall she cared about at


    that moment was whether Toby was injured. When she realized that Toby was silently staring at her, she


    pursed his lips in annoyance. ¡°Well, why aren¡¯t you talking? Where does it hurt?¡±


    Toby wasn¡¯t even annoyed that Sonia was shouting at him. Instead, he curled his lips into a smile as he


    responded in his deep and pleasant voice. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I didn¡¯t hit anything.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Sonia frowned as she nced at him worriedly. ¡°I clearly heard you¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine! I swear.¡± Toby¡¯s voice was gentler than ever. Sonia eventually gave up on questioning him


    when she saw the serious look on his face.


    ¡°What about you? Are you okay?¡± he asked.


    Sonia had twisted her ankle, but she shook her head after flexing her foot a few times. ¡°I¡¯m fine as well.¡±


    Her movements had been subtle, yet Toby managed to catch her moving her ankle. ¡°Your leg¡­¡± His


    gaze darkened.


    ¡°Sonia.¡± Before Toby could say anything, Rose interrupted him and walked over to Sonia. ¡°Sonia, are you


    ¡ª¡± Rose started in an excited tone.


    ¡°Grandma!¡± Toby stopped Rose from continuing, his eyes widening in shock as he knew what Rose was


    about to say.

 Chapter 509

    Chapter 509


    Chapter 509 Toby¡¯s Gift


    Rose stared at Toby confusedly. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t respond to her question. ¡°Her dress is stained. I¡¯ll bring her to change into a new evening


    gown,¡± he said instead. Rose then realized the damp stain that was making Sonia¡¯s dress stick to her


    skin. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Rose said while nodding. ¡°Go on and get changed. You don¡¯t want to catch a cold.¡±


    ¡°Come on.¡± Toby gave Sonia a nod. Sonia didn¡¯t reject his offer and simply tagged along behind him. She


    did wish to get changed as the damp dress wasn¡¯t just cold against her skin; it also felt sticky and reeked


    of alcohol, which made her feel ufortable.


    Both of them walked toward the lounge. Zane didn¡¯t go after them, but stood in his spot with his wine


    ss in his hand as he watched the tall man and the petite woman walking next to each other. A rather


    glum expression formed on Zane¡¯s face as he realized how they seemed like a perfect match. I¡¯m sure


    Sonia has caught feelings for Toby again! But it doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s aware of it yet. Well, it looks like I


    won the bet. But why don¡¯t I feel happy at all?


    Once they got to the lounge, Toby opened the door to let Sonia in. ¡°You can go in and take a shower. I¡¯ll


    bring the evening gown over.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thanks,¡± Sonia uttered before giving him a polite smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± he replied before turning and walking off. Sonia watched him disappear from the


    walkway once he turned a corner before she entered the lounge and shut the door behind her. Then, she


    took a shower in the washroom to get rid of the alcohol stench on her body.


    Toby returned while she was still showering. The moment he let himself into the lounge, he heard the


    sound of running watering from the washroom. He could see a blurry shadow of Sonia¡¯s curvy figure


    when he nced at the washroom¡¯s frosted ss door. He could tell that she was showering from the


    way she moved, and his gaze darkened as he gulped. ¡°I brought you your evening gown, Sonia,¡± he


    croaked in a deep voice.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t aware of the fact that Toby could see her figure, and she continued showering while she


    responded to him. ¡°Sure. Just leave it outside the washroom.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go out now.¡± Toby ced the gift box on the couch before he walked out of the lounge. He no


    longer looked in the direction of the washroom as one nce was already enough to make his entire


    body burn with desire. Toby was like any regr man¡ªhis body couldn¡¯t remain calm when he saw his


    lover showering behind a frosted ss door.


    If Toby didn¡¯t walk out, and if he took another look in the direction of the washroom, he wasn¡¯t sure what


    he might end up doing. So, he let himself out of the lounge.


    About ten minutester, Sonia turned the water off and wrapped herself in a towel before she got out of


    the washroom. The lounge was empty, and Sonia didn¡¯t know where Toby had left the dress, so she


    looked around for her new outfit. Finally, she noticed a delicately-wrapped gift box on the couch. She


    was certain that the gift box hadn¡¯t been there when she entered the room earlier. Is this the new outfit


    that Toby brought over for me?


    She walked over to get a better look at the box. There was no logo on the box, so she couldn¡¯t tell the


    outfit¡¯s brand. However, the packaging of the box told her that it had to contain an evening gown within it.


    Sonia bent down to open the box. Inside, she found a ck, spaghetti-strapped evening gown that was


    made of silk. The smooth fabric reflected the light in the room, and the dress itself shone like a


    constetion of stars in the night sky.


    Sonia took the gorgeous dress out only to realize that it was exactly her size. It¡¯s impossible for Toby to


    have gotten someone to buy a dress within such a short period of time. Does that mean he already


    bought this a long time ago? But why did he get me an evening gown? I doubt he knew that Jean was


    going to bump into me. That means that this dress¡­


    ¡°A-choo!¡± Sonia shuddered and let out a sneeze that disrupted her thought process. After that, she


    hastily got changed before walking out. The moment she opened the door to head out of the lounge, she


    was greeted by the heavy smell of cigarette smoke. She frowned and turned to find Toby leaning against


    the wall while smoking a cigarette. The smoke covered his face, making it hard for Sonia to read his


    expression.


    He looked like he was thinking as he stood extremely still with his gaze fixed on the ground. When Sonia


    shut the door behind her, he heard it and looked up immediately. ¡°Are you done?¡± he asked as he turned


    to Sonia.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she mumbled. ¡°You¡¯re not fully recovered yet. Why are you smoking?¡± she uttered in a rather


    critical tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about some stuff,¡± he said as he walked over to her.


    She looked down at the burning cigarette between his fingers before she reached over to snatch it away


    from him. Then, she walked to the side of the corridor and put the cigarette out while grumbling, ¡°You


    don¡¯t need to smoke while thinking about stuff. Don¡¯t you care about your own health?¡±


    Toby let out a soft chuckle when he realized how she was nagging him as a wife would do to her


    husband. Hisughter was pleasant to the ear¡ªit came from deep within his chest.


    Sonia felt her ears burning when she heard his attractiveugh. ¡°Why are youughing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just happy,¡± he uttered while staring at her fondly.


    She froze for a moment before responding in a stiff voice, ¡°What¡¯s there to be happy about?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer her and simply gazed at her in her new outfit. ¡°You look really beautiful in this dress,¡±


    hemented while casting a surprised nce at her. Toby was the one who had picked this evening


    gown.


    The designer had sent tons of designs over to him, but this particr evening gown had caught his eye


    immediately. He could picture Sonia wearing it from the first time he saw it, and his imagination was spot


    on.


    Sonia lowered her head upon hearing Toby¡¯s praise, her ears the color of a tomato. ¡°Well¡­ Thanks, I


    guess. I think it¡¯s the evening gown that¡¯s pretty, not me. By the way, when did you have this gown


    prepared?¡±


    ¡°A long time ago,¡± he replied truthfully.


    ¡°A long time ago? What? Why?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    ¡°Because I want to give you the best,¡± he said.


    Her lips trembled when she heard this. He wanted to give me the best, so he prepared this evening gown


    for me. If that¡¯s the case, then why did he let me go? Why did he tell me not to show up in front of him


    after that? Sonia nced at Toby¡¯s attractive yet thin face. Her eyes turned red as she fought the urge to


    ask him the questions in her mind. In the end, she managed to stop herself from asking anything.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Instead, she hung her head low and clutched her dress. ¡°You can send me the receipt for this dress after


    the party. I¡¯ll pay you back.¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression darkened at once. He was clearly annoyed at the fact that Sonia was being so


    calctive with him. It¡¯s almost like she¡¯s terrified of being indebted to me. In the end, Toby suppressed


    the anger he felt as he knew that he had no right to be angry at her. I¡¯m the reason she¡¯s keeping her


    distance from me. I¡¯m the one who pushed her away.


    ¡°We can talk about that some other day. Let¡¯s go back for now. I¡¯ll introduce you to a few guys who might


    be helpful in Paradigm Co.¡¯s future development,¡± Toby uttered as he held his arm up beside her. She


    took a nce at it before she hooked her arm around his. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t find it in her to reject Toby¡ªshe knew that she needed him in order to build connections


    with other well-known business partners. If she had approached those big shots on her own, they


    wouldn¡¯t have taken a second nce at her.


    Toby brought Sonia back to the grand hall, and he walked over to greet a few well-known people after


    checking on Rose. Rose was sitting on the couch at the side of the hall, happily gazing at Sonia and


    Toby. Right then, Mary brought Rose some food, only to realize that Rose couldn¡¯t seem to stop smiling.


    ¡°Why are you smiling, Old Mrs. Fuller?¡± Mary asked.


    ¡°Because of Sonia and Toby, of course! Did you realize that Sonia has changed her attitude toward


    Toby?¡± Rose pointed in Sonia¡¯s direction as she spoke.

 Chapter 510

    Chapter 510


    Chapter 510 What Else Did He Do for Me?


    Mary smiled and nodded when she understood what Rose meant. ¡°You¡¯re right. I noticed that Young


    Mistress¡¯s attitude toward Young Master Toby has changed. She was so worried about him getting


    injured earlier, which reminded me of how she was like when she first entered the Fuller Family. Wasn¡¯t


    that how she treated him back then? Old Mrs. Fuller, are you saying that¡­ Perhaps Young Mistress¡¯s


    feelings for Young Master Toby are¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s what I meant. I¡¯m not sure if something happened between Sonia and Toby recently,


    but I¡¯m sure that Sonia has caught feelings for Toby once more,¡± Rose uttered.


    ¡°That¡¯s great, right?¡± Mary pped her hands excitedly. ¡°It seems like they¡¯re really going to get back


    together!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is great. In fact, it¡¯s the best birthday present I received tonight. But I wonder why Toby won¡¯t


    allow me to point out that Sonia has fallen for him,¡± Rose muttered puzzledly.


    Mary smiled. ¡°Well, you can just ask him about thatter, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Rose nodded. She kept smiling, but after a while, she seemed to realize something and a


    stern and cold look reced her smile. ¡°Now that things are looking good for Sonia and Toby, I¡¯m not


    going to have anyone ruining their rtionship. Jean has always disliked Sonia. If we don¡¯t put her in her


    ce, she will continue targeting Sonia once Soniaes back.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Mary agreed with a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why Madam White hates Young Mistress so


    much. She has always thought that Young Mistress wasn¡¯t a good match for Young Master Toby.


    However, if she really thinks about it, she¡¯s way below Young Mistress in terms of her family background,


    looks, talent, and personality, and she still got to marry Mr. Fuller. You¡¯ve never caused her any trouble


    even though you didn¡¯t fancy her, yet she¡­ Ah¡­¡±


    Rose scoffed upon hearing this. ¡°I was too kind six years ago. Sonia didn¡¯t want me to do anything to


    Jean, so I held back for the sake of Sonia. Yet, Jean only ended up bullying Sonia even more than


    before, and Sonia got a divorce after that! I already made a mistake once, so I¡¯m not about to make the


    same mistake again. Jean will never be able to bully Sonia again! Come on. Let¡¯s go give Jean a


    reminder.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Mary took Rose¡¯s te and put it aside before she helped Rose to her feet. They walked out of


    the hall.


    Meanwhile, Toby had already introduced Sonia to most of the well-known figures at the party. After


    walking around the whole ce, Sonia had received a stack of name cards, and two of the big shots


    even stated that they wanted to pay Paradigm Co. a visit the next day. If they were interested in


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s production and operation methods, they would agree to partner with thepany.


    Although Sonia had hoped to get more potential partnerships, she was already d that there were two


    companies who made such an offer. ¡°Are you happy?¡± Toby asked in a sweet voice when he saw Sonia


    grinning beside him.


    ¡°Of course!¡± She nodded excitedly as she wrapped her arms around his and leaned closer into him. ¡°I¡¯m


    really d that Paradigm Co.¡¯s finally getting some new partners. I really hope that I¡¯ll be able to bring


    thepany back to its glory days. Perhaps I can turn the business into something bigger than before!


    Dad would be so d to see it if he¡¯s watching from above,¡± she said happily.


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted, but he felt a mixture of emotions when he heard her. ¡°Yeah. Your Dad will be really


    happy.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia slipped her arms out of his as she began to walk off. ¡°I¡¯m going to the washroom.¡±


    ¡°Go on,¡± Toby nodded. Sonia walked over to use the washroom. When Sonia came out of the cubicle to


    wash her hands by the basin, a familiar figure passed by her. Sonia saw the figure in the mirror, and


    Sonia turned around at once when she recognized her. ¡°Wanda?¡±


    Wanda had been walking toward one of the cubicles, so she hadn¡¯t paid any attention to the person


    standing by the basin. When she heard someone calling her name, Wanda stopped and turned to lock


    eyes with Sonia. In an instant, Wanda froze before she covered her face with her hands and turned to


    face her back against Sonia. ¡°You got the wrong person, Miss. I¡¯m not Wanda,¡± she muttered in a shaky


    voice.


    Sonia chuckled to herself. The wrong person? That can¡¯t be the wrong person. I didn¡¯t know how Wanda


    looked when I lost my vision, but I found pictures of Wanda once my eyes were healed. I wanted to see


    what the caregiver who took care of me looked like. This woman¡¯s face looks exactly like the one I saw in


    the pictures, so how could she be the wrong person? Furthermore, she looks like she has something to


    hide right now. Doesn¡¯t that make things even more obvious?


    ¡°Alright, Wanda. Stop faking it. Why don¡¯t we be honest with each other? What are you doing here? It¡¯s


    impossible for the Fuller Family to hire external workers to manage the party tonight since most of the


    guests are really important figures. They can¡¯t ensure the quality of work provided by external workers,


    so all of the staff today are people who have been with the Fuller Family for a long time. Wanda, you¡¯re


    not a caregiver who works for some home services agency, are you? Have you always been working for


    the Fullers?¡± Sonia red at her.


    Wanda parted her lips, ready to defend herself. However, when she saw the sharp look in Sonia¡¯s eyes,


    she gave in and decided to admit the truth. ¡°You¡¯re so smart, Miss Reed,¡± Wanda uttered while nodding


    and smiling. ¡°You¡¯re right that I¡¯m not from a home services agency. I¡¯ve always worked as a maid in the


    Fuller Family. However, I used to work in the backyard of the old manor, so you¡¯ve never seen me around


    while you were there.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded thoughtfully. She straightened her back when she seemed to realize something


    else. ¡°Hold on. You said that you¡¯ve always been working in the old manor. Does that mean that


    Grandma was the one who got you to be my caregiver? No, no; Grandma couldn¡¯t have known about my


    eyes. Otherwise, she would¡¯ve asked me about it. So, it was Toby¡­¡±


    Wanda responded with a soft smile. ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Reed. Young Master Toby was the one who sent


    me over as he didn¡¯t want just any staff from the home services agency to look after you. He was worried


    that the nannies there wouldn¡¯t take good care of you, and he was afraid that Titus and his family might


    pay one of the nannies to bring harm to you. That was why he wanted me to take care of you,¡± she


    exined.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t understand what she felt when she heard Wanda¡¯s words. It was a mixture of bitterness


    and sweetness. It¡¯s Toby again. How much did he do for me? Did he do other things for me too? Are


    there things that I still don¡¯t know about? ¡°Why didn¡¯t he just tell me about it then?¡± Sonia lowered her


    gaze as she spoke in a meek voice.


    Despite her soft tone, Wanda could still hear her. ¡°Young Master Toby was afraid that you would chase


    me out if you knew that he had sent me over,¡± Wanda said with a smile. ¡°That was why he hid it from


    you. Young Master Toby really loves you, Miss Reed.¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Sonia bit her lip. ¡°If he loves me, then why did he let¡­ let¡­¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t finish her words in the end.


    Wanda gazed at the other woman confusedly. ¡°Let what, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Sonia waved her hand, gesturing Wanda to forget about it. ¡°Thank you for sharing all of


    this, Wanda. I¡¯ll return to the hall now. I¡¯ll make sure to thank Toby.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no worries at all. Go on, Miss Reed. The dance is about to start soon,¡± Wanda reminded.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded and picked up her purse from beside the basin before she walked out of the


    washroom. On her way back to the hall, she took her own sweet time to walk as she was trying to calm


    herself down. If I didn¡¯t bump into Wanda, I might have never known that Toby did such a thing for me. I


    have to rify things with him. I want to know if he did other things for me. I don¡¯t even know how much I


    owe him at this point. If this goes on, I¡¯ll be indebted to him forever.

 Chapter 511

    Chapter 511


    Chapter 511 An Invitation to Dance


    At that thought, Sonia hastened her footsteps and hurried back to the hall. She weaved through the


    people in the crowd as she looked left and right to search for Toby. After walking around the whole ce,


    she finally found him in a corner.


    Toby wasn¡¯t standing alone¡ªhe was talking to a woman who stood in front of him. The woman wasn¡¯t


    especially pretty, but she was tall and elegant and looked like the daughter of some rich family. It seemed


    like Toby was close to this woman because they clinked sses while chit-chatting with each other.


    Sonia caught Toby smiling at the woman. That woman¡¯s even fixing the brooch on his suit¡­ All of a


    sudden, Sonia¡¯s footsteps came to a halt. Her palms were pressed down onto her sides as she felt an


    inexplicable surge of rage and bitterness filling her chest. She felt extremely terrible.


    Zane was standing right behind Sonia, and he let out a bitter sigh after taking a look at Toby and shifting


    his gaze to Sonia¡¯s trembling figure. She really fell in love with Toby again. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have


    reacted like this when she saw Toby interacting with another woman. I¡¯m standing a few feet away from


    her, but I can sense her jealousy from where I¡¯m standing. However, I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m not going to give up


    just yet, Zane thought. She doesn¡¯t know that she¡¯s in love with Toby, so I still have a chance. I need to


    turn her into my girlfriend before she realizes her own feelings for Toby. Everything would be toote


    otherwise.


    At that thought, Zane took a deep breath and hid his intentions before he walked over with a smile.


    ¡°What are you looking at, Sonia?¡± He posed her that question although he already knew the answer.


    Sonia bit her lip when she heard his voice. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± she uttered.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Zane pretended to follow her gaze to look in the direction her eyes had been fixed upon. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that


    Emily?¡±


    ¡°Emily?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah, thedy talking to Toby,¡± Zane replied with a nod.


    Sonia lowered her gaze. ¡°Do you think Emily and Toby are¡­¡± When she realized that her response


    seemed inappropriate, she quickly shook her head and waved her arms. ¡°No, what I meant was¡­ I don¡¯t


    think I¡¯ve seen her around. I¡¯ve never heard of her, either. If she¡¯s able to interact with Toby in such a


    natural manner, I¡¯m sure she must be someone of high status, right?¡±


    Zane knew what Sonia was actually curious about¡ªshe wanted to find out about Emily and Toby¡¯s


    rtionship. However, since she didn¡¯t rify her question, he pretended not to understand what she


    meant.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Emily¡¯s from a third-rate family and she doesn¡¯t stay in Seafield, so it makes sense that


    you don¡¯t know who she is. However, her family has a pretty close rtionship with the Fullers, and she¡¯s


    pretty close to Toby as well,¡± Zane said to Sonia.


    ¡°A pretty close rtionship¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s chest tightened when she heard Zane¡¯s words. She stole a nce


    at the two people who were chit-chatting in the corner, and she forced a smile. ¡°I can tell that he treats


    Emily differently from the way he treats other women. He¡¯s patiently listening to her, and he smiles at her


    a lot¡ªthat¡¯s how I know that they have a special rtionship.¡±


    Zane knew that she was overthinking Emily¡¯s rtionship with Toby when he saw the bitter smile on her


    face. A pang of guilt struck him when he realized what he had done. However, that sense of guilt quickly


    disappeared as he raised his head and took a sip of his wine. He realized that he had no duty to rify


    Emily and Toby¡¯s rtionship. Humans were selfish creatures, and he was no different. He had to be a


    little maniptive to gain attention from the woman he liked, and he didn¡¯t see anything wrong with that.


    ¡°By the way, Sonia, the dance is about to start, and I don¡¯t have a partner. May I have this first dance


    with you?¡± Zane looked into Sonia¡¯s eyes as he asked her in a sincere tone.


    Sonia¡¯s instant thought was to reject him, but before he could say anything, she saw Toby and Emily


    moving in for a hug. Her pupils shrank as a surge of fire burned in her chest. She clenched her fists, then


    turned to look at Zane. ¡°Okay!¡± She agreed to dance with him.


    Zane clearly knew that she had only said yes because she was triggered by the sight of Toby and Emily


    hugging each other, but why did that matter? What mattered was that she was now his dance partner.


    Zane grinned as he gave Sonia an elegant bow. ¡°Well, let¡¯s dance, my beautifuldy.¡±


    Sonia took a look at the two people who were still hugging each other, and her gaze dimmed as she took


    a deep breath and lifted her dress. She gave Zane a tiny curtsy to ept his invitation before she ced


    her hand in his. Zane grinned widely when their hands touched. Then, he gently wrapped his hand


    around hers before he led her out to the dance floor.


    Both of them had just started walking when Toby turned his head to see the two of them holding hands


    and walking away from him. His expression changed immediately. Sonia and Zane¡­ They¡¯re holding


    hands with each other and walking toward the dance floor. Are they going to have a dance together?


    When Toby realized what was going on, he tightened his grip around his wine ss. He held onto his


    ss so hard that his hand began to tremble, and the wine inside shook along with his strong grip. The


    dark aura surrounding his figure was terrifying, and Emily quickly realized his change in mood. ¡°What¡¯s


    up with you, my little cousin?¡± she asked as she wiped the smile off her face.


    Toby didn¡¯t answer her question, but fixed his hateful gaze on the two figures who had arrived at the


    dance floor and were waiting for the music to y. Emily followed his gaze to see the couple who was


    already in a dancing stance, and she seemed to understand the situation immediately. ¡°Is that the


    woman you¡¯re in love with?¡± she asked with a gentle smile on her face.


    Toby pressed his lips together without answering her question. Emily swirled her wine ss as she


    looked at him. ¡°Well, why did you get a divorce with her if you have feelings for her?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, Emily.¡± Toby lowered his gaze as he spoke in a t tone.


    Emily shrugged. ¡°Fine. I might not understand the whole situation, but your beloveddy is about to


    dance with Zane. Are you just going to stand around and watch them?¡± Since Emily was Toby¡¯s cousin,


    she was siding with Toby this time. Since Sonia was the woman Toby fancied, she hoped that he would


    do something to get the woman back to his side.


    But Toby merely pursed his lips without saying anything. After a few seconds of silence, he took a sip of


    his red wine before cing the ss down on the waiter¡¯s tray. ¡°Dance with me, Emily.¡± He turned to look


    at Emily.


    ¡°You want me to dance?¡± Emily nced at Toby¡¯s left arm and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Look, it¡¯s not that I


    don¡¯t want to dance with you, but your arm¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Come on,¡± Toby said as he reached his right arm out to her. Emily let out a helpless sigh. ¡°Fine.


    Since you¡¯re asking me in such a nice manner, I guess I¡¯ll have one dance with you.¡± She lowered her


    ss and ced her hand into his as she spoke.


    Toby took her hand before he led her over to the dance floor. By then, there were already a good number


    of couples who had gathered around to dance. They were all in their positions and poses, waiting for the


    music to start.


    Sonia and Zane were standing in the middle of the dance floor. As Sonia looked at all the couples around


    her, she deeply regretted her decision to have a dance with Zane, but it was toote to change her mind.


    She couldn¡¯t go back on her words after agreeing to his request. If she decided not to dance then, the


    other guests mightugh at him, and it would be her fault. She had no choice but to force herself to


    dance an entire song with him.


    As she was contemting her decision, she noticed a figure walking over. There was a fresh, minty


    scent that came along with the person. Sonia¡¯s expression stiffened as she turned to look in the direction


    of the pleasant smell, and she saw Toby and Emily walking over for a dance. They had upied the spot


    right beside Zane and Sonia.


    Sonia bit her lip as she felt an uneasy feeling in her chest. Why? They can dance if they want to, but why


    do they have to stand beside us?

 Chapter 512

    Chapter 512


    Chapter 512 Exchanging Dance Partners


    If we¡¯re standing so close to each other, then she will see us, and¡­ Sonia lowered her head. Her


    expression had obviously turned sour. Zane spotted the change in his partner, and he quickly understood


    the reason for her bad mood when he saw Toby and Emily near them. It made sense¡ªhow could one


    expect Sonia to be happy when she was watching her lower dancing with another woman in front of her?


    Furthermore, she had just realized that she had fallen for Toby again.


    Zane sighed under his breath before he turned to greet Toby and Emily. ¡°Hey, guys. Are you here to


    dance too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m here upon someone else¡¯s request,¡± Emily uttered as she patted Toby¡¯s shoulder. Toby shot


    her a look to tell her not to touch him wherever she pleased. Then, he turned to focus all of his attention


    on Sonia. Sonia sensed someone looking at her, but she couldn¡¯t tell who it was. However, she didn¡¯t lift


    her head to check¡ªshe didn¡¯t want to do such a thing. She knew that her mood would worsen if she


    looked up to see Toby and Emily standing together.


    When Toby noticed that Sonia waspletely ignoring him, he pursed his lips. The atmosphere around


    him seemed to turn heavier than before. Upon realizing this, Emily looked around a few times before she


    curled her lips into a smile. ¡°Who¡¯s this dance partner of yours, Zane?¡± she asked with an ulterior motive.


    ¡°¡­¡± Zane didn¡¯t know how to respond. If I say that she¡¯s from the Reed Family, Emily will immediately


    realize that she¡¯s Toby¡¯s ex-wife. Things will seem weird if she finds out that Toby¡¯s friend is dancing with


    Toby¡¯s ex-wife. Sonia could sense that Zane was ced in a tough spot.


    Well, Emily has already asked about me. It doesn¡¯t matter whether I¡¯m doing it out of courtesy or if I¡¯m


    trying to help Zane out of his tough spot¡ªI¡¯ll have to speak up either way. I can¡¯t pretend that I don¡¯t see


    them anymore. Sonia took a deep breath before she looked up, and her gaze swept past Toby¡¯s figure to


    land on Emily¡¯s face. ¡°Hello, my name is Sonia Reed.¡±


    ¡°Sonia Reed. Doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯re¡­¡± Emily acted surprised as she turned to stare at Toby.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m President Fuller¡¯s ex-wife. However, you don¡¯t need to worry about anything as


    we¡¯re no longer involved in each other¡¯s lives.¡±


    Toby knitted his brows when he heard her words. What does she mean by that? Could she have


    misunderstood something?


    Simrly, Emily froze for a moment, but she chuckled when she realized what was going on. ¡°You¡¯re a


    really interesting person, Miss Reed. Toby and I aren¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Emily.¡± Zane sensed his opportunities being threatened, so he hastily interrupted their conversation.


    ¡°Emily, Toby, the song is about to start. We can talkter, alright? There are a lot of people here. Why


    don¡¯t Sonia and I free up this space for you? We can dance on that side of the floor. We don¡¯t want to


    bump into each other while dancing, right?¡± With that said, he dragged Sonia over to the other side.


    Emily stroked her chin when she watched the other couple walking off. ¡°Zane cut me off intentionally,


    Toby. It seems like he doesn¡¯t want your ex-wife to know about our rtionship.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°He likes Sonia too.¡± Zane probably noticed that I have caught feelings for Sonia


    again, Toby thought. That¡¯s why he wants Sonia to continue misunderstanding my rtionship with


    Emily. That¡¯s the only way she will stay away from me. I can¡¯t believe Zane¡¯s using these maniptive


    tactics now, Toby thought as he red at Zane. Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed as if he were keeping watch on a


    potential threat.


    ¡°What? He likes Sonia too?¡± Emily was too shocked to wrap her head around the situation. ¡°B-But how


    could he like Sonia? He¡¯s your friend; shouldn¡¯t he¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Toby parted his thin lips to speak in an icy tone. ¡°I won¡¯t let them get together even if he likes


    her.¡± Sonia can only belong to me!


    ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± Emily asked him curiously, but Toby didn¡¯t give her a direct answer and


    changed the topic. ¡°The music is ying, Emily.¡±


    Waltz music filled the room, and everyone on the dance floor began to move along to the rhythm of the


    music¡ªone step forward, one step to the side, a spin, and another step backward. The Waltz wasn¡¯t as


    upbeat as some other social dances, but a more elegant and gentle form of dance that was pleasant to


    the eyes.


    Although Sonia was dancing with Zane, all of her attention was on Toby. It felt as if acid was corroding


    the surface of her heart as she watched Toby dancing with Emily. He injured his left arm, yet he insisted


    on dancing with Emily. It shows that Emily means a lot to him.


    Zane¡¯s lips curled downward when he realized that Sonia was focusing on Toby. He instinctively


    tightened his arm around her waist to pull her close to him. Sonia hadn¡¯t expected Zane to do such a


    thing, so she stumbled and fell into his arms. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked as she red at Zane


    with a slight frown, clearly displeased with his actions.


    Zane beamed. ¡°You¡¯re my dance partner, but you¡¯ve been looking at someone else the whole time. You


    should at least show me some respect, right?¡±


    Sonia realized that her actions had been inappropriate after hearing what Zane said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡­¡± She


    looked at the ground.


    ¡°Alright, forget it. Spin.¡± Zane removed his arm from her waist before he raised her right hand up. Like


    the rest of thedies on the dance floor, Sonia went along the direction of the lifted right hand to spin


    around in her spot. After she spun, Zane ced his hand on her waist again. They came face to face


    with each other, and they continued dancing.


    Meanwhile, Toby narrowed his eyes when he saw Zane and Sonia together, and he muttered to Emily, ¡°I


    need your help during thest part of the dance, Emily.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Emily looked at him.


    ¡°During the final spin of the dance, I¡¯m going to try to snatch Sonia over from Zane,¡± he stated before


    pressing his lips together. Emily giggled when she heard what Toby wanted to do. ¡°That sounds pretty


    romantic. Okay, let me help you with that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± After thanking her, Toby took Emily¡¯s hand and led her closer to Zane and Sonia. When


    they got closer, Toby and Emily returned to their dance position and continued waltzing.


    Since Toby and Emily were standing behind Sonia, she didn¡¯t realize that they had sneaked up behind


    her. Zane, on the other hand, was quick to realize that something was wrong. His eyelids twitched when


    he saw Toby. Toby¡¯s doing this on purpose. He¡¯sing over intentionally. Judging by the excited look


    on Emily¡¯s face, they might be nning something.


    Zane had a bad feeling in his heart. He frowned for a moment before he realized that he could bring


    Sonia away from them to dance in another spot as well. However, before Zane could start moving, the


    song¡¯s tempo changed from a gentle pace to a more exciting and upbeat one.


    They were at the climax of the Waltz¡ªthis was also the part where the dance was supposed to get a


    little more exciting. The male and female partners would have to separate at this part¡ªthe male had to


    push the female about ten feet away from him, and the female would take tworge twirls to return into


    the male¡¯s arms. This part was also the most fun part to watch during waltzes.


    Zane had no choice but to forget about changing spots for a while. He decided that he would bring Sonia


    away after theypleted the two huge twirls. However, the moment Zane pushed Sonia out and away


    from him, Emily spun over and stopped in front of Zane. Toby, on the other hand, showed up in front of


    Sonia.


    With one hand holding Sonia¡¯s arm, Toby led her back to the spot he had been dancing with Emily. Sonia


    was too stunned to respond.


    ¡°Sonia¡ª¡± Zane panicked and was about to run over when he saw what was going on. However, Emily


    put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that Toby stole your dance partner today, Zane. But


    it¡¯s fine¡ªI¡¯m thepensation you get for that. We can be dance partners for the rest of the night.¡±


    Zane¡¯s lips twitched. Why would I want to dance with you? ¡°You and Toby did this intentionally, right,


    Emily?¡± Zane shot Emily a disdainful stare.

 Chapter 513

    Chapter 513


    Chapter 513 She¡¯s My Cousin


    Emily twirled in front of Zane before resting her hand on top of his shoulder once more. She acted like


    she didn¡¯t understand his question and asked, ¡°What do you mean, Zane?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to put on a show at this point, Emily. You and Toby came over to dance beside Sonia


    and me because you guys wanted to exchange partners during the climax of the song, right?¡± Zane cast


    an angry re at Emily.


    She spread her red lips into a smile. ¡°Fine, fine; I guess we didn¡¯t manage to trick you after all. I can¡¯t


    help it. Toby¡¯s my cousin, so I have to help him to get the girl he likes, right?¡±


    ¡°That may be true, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little too immoral to help him snatch a girl from another guy¡¯s


    arms?¡± Zane pushed Emily away as he stopped dancing with her.


    She staggered backward before steadying herself. Despite Zane¡¯s harsh treatment, she didn¡¯t seem


    angry at all¡ªshe merely tidied her long hair while speaking with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s immoral at all.


    You¡¯re not dating Sonia, so this is a fairpetition. I guess it might be a little unfair for you since you


    don¡¯t have a helper, but¡­ I¡¯m sure you can tell that Toby and Sonia are in love with each other, Zane. Do


    you think the partner exchange would have gone so smoothly if they didn¡¯t have feelings for each other?¡±


    If Sonia hadn¡¯t been interested in Toby, she wouldn¡¯t have gone along with him even if he dragged her


    over. She might have even pped him on the face.


    However, Sonia did none of that and allowed Toby to lead the way. This showed that deep down, Sonia


    wanted to dance with Toby too. Zane quickly realized what Emily meant, and he clenched his fists after


    he turned to look at Toby and Sonia, who were already dancing. ¡°I know that they¡¯re in love, but¡­¡±


    Zane¡¯s heart was filled with resentment.


    ¡°Since they¡¯re in love, why don¡¯t we just support their rtionship?¡± Emily interrupted him with the wave


    of a hand. ¡°I know you like Sonia, but what¡¯s the use of you being stubborn when she isn¡¯t going to


    reciprocate your feelings for her? You will end up hurting yourself, and you will still end up seeing Toby


    and Sonia together. Letting go would be the wisest thing to do here,¡± Emily advised.


    Zane hung his head low. I understand all of that, of course. But I just can¡¯t bring myself to let go of this.


    Although the public knows me as a yboy, I¡¯ve never truly fallen for anyone. This is the first time I¡¯ve


    properly fallen in love with a girl¡ªhow could I let go when I just caught feelings for someone?


    After a moment of silence, Emily stepped forward and held onto Zane¡¯s arms. ¡°We can talk about this


    later. Let¡¯s continue the dance, Zane; this is thest part of the song.¡±


    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m not in the mood. You can dance on your own,¡± he muttered while brushing her hands off.


    Then, he turned to walk off the dance floor and toward the hall¡¯s exit.


    Emily stuck her tongue out as she watched Zane leave. ¡°Oh, dear. I seemed to have broken a young


    man¡¯s heart. The number of sins I¡¯vemitted just for the sake of you, Toby!¡± she mumbled to herself


    while she watched the rest of the couples dancing.


    On the other side of the dance floor, Sonia had started regaining her senses after the initial shock of


    being pulled away by Toby. She tried to extract her hand from Tony¡¯s hand, but his grip felt like a mp,


    not allowing her to escape at all. He was holding her hand in a skilled manner¡ªhis grip was firm enough


    that she couldn¡¯t leave, yet it wasn¡¯t hard enough to hurt her.


    ¡°Let go of me, Toby!¡± Sonia hissed as she frowned at him.


    He looked at her. ¡°Stop moving around. My body¡¯s still weak, and I only have one functioning arm. If you


    move around too much, you might bump into my other arm and dislocate it again. What are you going to


    do then?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s asking for it! Why did you go onto the dance floor when you¡¯re still not well? How


    do you expect yourself to dance with a sling around your arm?¡± Sonia shot him an exasperated re.


    His gaze darkened upon her words. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. I just felt like dancing all of a sudden.¡± He couldn¡¯t


    bear to see Sonia and Zane dancing together, but he couldn¡¯t charge in to pull them apart as that would


    ruin his grandmother¡¯s party. So, he had no choice but to go onto the dance floor himself beforeing


    up with a scheme to steal Sonia away from Zane¡¯s arms.


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t know any of that. When she heard Toby say he felt a sudden urge to dance, her


    first thought was of him dancing with Emily. Rage burned inside her and she stared at him unhappily. ¡°If


    you want to dance, then why did you bring me over? Why don¡¯t you let go of me and dance with your


    partner, Emily, instead?¡±


    ¡°Are you jealous right now?¡± Toby raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on¡ªher expression was one of utter shock.


    A hint of panic appeared in her gaze as she increased her volume to defend herself. ¡°What nonsense are


    you talking about? Jealous? Why would I be jealous?¡± I don¡¯t love him, so what¡¯s there to be jealous


    about? Yeah! That¡¯s right! There¡¯s nothing to be jealous about. Sonia bit her lip and nodded to herself.


    Toby smirked when he saw the look on her face. ¡°Sure, sure. You¡¯re not jealous. Regardless, there¡¯s no


    need for me to go to her,¡± he uttered.


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia was puzzled.


    Toby remained calm and collected even as he told Sonia a lie. ¡°My beloved cousin wanted to dance with


    Zane,¡± he exined.


    ¡°Wait. What? Your cousin?¡± Sonia looked up at Toby in surprise. Did I hear him wrongly? He called her


    his cousin, right?N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yeah. Emily¡¯s my cousin. Her full name is Emily Johann, and her mother is my mother¡¯s


    cousin. That¡¯s how we¡¯re rted.¡±


    Cousin¡­ They¡¯re cousins! Emily¡¯s his cousin, not his love interest. So, I¡¯ve misunderstood the situation


    all along¡­ Sonia pressed her lips together and lowered her head when she realized what she had done.


    Her face was beet red, and she felt a mixture of embarrassment and joy as she processed the situation.


    She didn¡¯t know what she was happy about, but she could feel her entire body rxing. It felt as if a


    huge rock had been lifted off her chest¡ªshe even felt like she could breathe better.


    Love and care spilled out of Toby¡¯s gaze when he saw Sonia smiling to herself. I know that now¡¯s not the


    right time, but I really wish I could pull her close for a hug. I have to control myself. I just have to wait for


    a while more, he said to himself.


    The song ended after a while, and their dance came to an end. Sonia and Toby came to stand beside


    each other, and they held hands while they bowed to all the guests who had been standing around them


    and watching them dance. The guests let out loud cheers for all the dancers. While the crowd was still


    pping, Sonia straightened herself and pulled her hand out of Toby¡¯s.


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted with sorrow when he first looked at his empty hand, but he quickly readjusted himself.


    Right then, Mary helped Rose back into the hall, and they headed directly for the stage. It seemed as if


    Rose was about to give a speech.


    Toby turned to look at Sonia. ¡°I¡¯ll go over since Grandma¡¯s about to give a speech. You can sit and get


    some rest, or you can get yourself some food,¡± he suggested.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she replied. After that, Toby parted his long legs and strode in Rose¡¯s direction while Sonia


    turned to head to the resting area. She hadn¡¯t danced in a long while, so she felt exhausted after the


    performance. When she got to the couches, she poured herself a ss of juice before she rested on one


    of the seats and took small sips of her drink.


    From her seat, she could see Rose and Toby speaking on the stage. However, her movements froze as


    she suddenly realized something. Where¡¯s Zane? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen him since Toby brought me


    away. She hastily put her juice aside before she got up and looked around in search of Zane. However,


    after looking around the whole ce, she couldn¡¯t find him anywhere. A mixture of guilt and shame


    bubbled up in her chest.

 Chapter 514

    Chapter 514


    Chapter 514 I¡¯m Waiting for Her


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Sonia was supposed to be Zane¡¯s dance partner, after all. She had epted his invitation, but she


    ended up abandoning him and walking off with Toby. At least he has Emily as his partner, Sonia thought.


    At least he didn¡¯t end up in an awkward situation where he was left alone. Regardless, Sonia knew that


    she had broken her promise with Zane the moment she walked off with Toby. She knew that she owed


    Zane an apology.


    At that thought, Sonia massaged her temples before she pulled her handphone out of her bag to give


    Zane a call. Zane picked up after a few seconds, and he didn¡¯t sound the least bit amused as he spoke


    in a glum voice. ¡°Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Where are you, Zane?¡± she asked.


    He was silent for two seconds before he responded. ¡°I¡¯m in the car.¡±


    ¡°The car?¡± Sonia froze for a second. ¡°Mhmm,¡± Zane replied before he honked lightly. Sonia tightened her


    grip on her phone when she heard the sound of the vehicle in the background of the call. ¡°Did you go


    home?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zane said honestly.


    ¡°Why? The party isn¡¯t over yet¡ªwhy did you leave all of a sudden?¡± Sonia bit her lower lip.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there for a while already, so I don¡¯t think it makes a difference if I stay for the second half of


    the party.¡± He steered the car with one hand as he continued talking. ¡°Why are you calling me, anyway?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m calling to apologize,¡± she uttered before letting out a sigh.


    ¡°You¡¯re apologizing to me?¡± He was stunned.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m sorry, Zane. I promised to be your partner, yet I didn¡¯t finish the dance with you. I even¡­¡± Her


    voice faded off. I even forgot about you by the end of the dance. I wouldn¡¯t have thought of you at all if


    your name hadn¡¯t popped up in my mind for a brief moment, Sonia thought.


    He chuckled. ¡°I see. It¡¯s fine. We danced for quite a while, anyway.¡±


    ¡°I still feel a little guilty,¡± she mumbled in a weak tone. Upon hearing her words, Zane¡¯s eyes lit up for a


    moment. ¡°If you truly feel sorry toward me, then why don¡¯t you buy me a meal tomorrow? I have some


    stuff that I need to tell you, anyway.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She was curious.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out tomorrow,¡± he replied in a mysterious tone. Sonia couldn¡¯t say much¡ªshe knew that he


    was being secretive on purpose. ¡°Fine,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°What time shall we meet tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet in the afternoon. I¡¯ll pick you up from your office,¡± Zane replied as he nced at the digital


    clock in his car.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°Alright. You should head home to get some rest. I¡¯ll end the call now; I need to drive,¡± he said in a warm


    and gentle voice. She smiled upon hearing his words. ¡°Okay. Goodbye.¡± After ending the call, Sonia let


    out a sigh of relief. That¡¯s great. At least this matter isn¡¯t weighing down on me anymore. I really hate


    feeling indebted to other people. That¡¯s why I made this call¡ªI wanted to buy Zane lunch because I don¡¯t


    want to feel like I owe him anything. I may have cleared my debts with Zane, but Toby¡­


    Sonia felt overwhelmed whenever she thought about all that Toby had done for her. She returned to her


    seat and lifted her ss of juice as she shifted her gaze to the man on stage. Although Toby¡¯s left arm


    was hanging from a sling, his aura was as strong as ever. Wherever he went, he naturally turned into the


    brightest source of light in the entire room.


    When Toby sensed someone observing him, he paused for a moment before he turned to look at Sonia.


    Sonia hadn¡¯t expected him to look over, and they immediately locked eyes. She froze when Toby raised


    his ss in her direction. What¡¯s he doing? Is he raising his ss at his ex-wife in front of such a huge


    audience? Isn¡¯t he afraid that someone might start a rumor? We might make it onto the headlines


    tomorrow!


    Instead of responding to his actions, she lowered her gaze and stood up before walking to the


    washroom. She had only taken a few steps when she heard one of the guests questioning Toby.


    ¡°President Fuller, there was a huge fuss on the Inte about you canceling your engagement with the


    McRae Family. Although we¡¯re all aware that your rtionship with that woman wasn¡¯t genuine, we¡¯re still


    interested to know about your love life. Do you have any ns for dating?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s footsteps came to an immediate halt. The guest¡¯s question had clearly captured her attention, but


    she stopped herself from turning around to look at the stage. Instead, she stood still with her back still


    turned against the rest of the crowd. What is this guest trying to do? Why would he ask such a question?


    Also, how is Toby going to answer this? Sonia straightened her posture as she bit her bottom lip in


    anticipation.


    From the corner of his eyes, Toby stole a look at Sonia as he spoke into the mic. ¡°I¡¯m not currently seeing


    anyone. However, I do have someone in mind. Although she isn¡¯t with me now, I¡¯ll keep waiting until she


    comes back. Once she¡¯s back, we¡¯ll get married instantly,¡± he replied. His gaze was filled with sincerity as


    he spoke.


    Sonia could tell that he was looking in her direction, and she could tell that he was talking about her. Her


    heart began racing as the same guest continued to question Toby. ¡°Excuse me for being a busybody, but


    can I know who you¡¯re talking about, President Fuller?¡± the guest asked in a rather surprised tone.


    Many of the people who showed up at the party were interested in hearing if Toby had any ns to date


    again because they all had their eyes on him and his impressive background. The Fuller Family was one


    of the top families in Seafield, and theirpany was widely recognized across the globe. All of the


    guests wished to build connections with the Fullers to boost their own businesses.


    Among all the possible connections one could develop with another family, the firmest and most reliable


    connection was a marriage¡ªthat exined why the guest was curious about Toby¡¯s love life. If Toby was


    interested in getting into a rtionship, all of the guests there were prepared to send their daughters


    over. They would convince their daughter to use all possible means to capture Toby¡¯s heart.


    ¡°No,¡± Toby uttered tly. He narrowed his eyes as he realized the guest¡¯s underlying motives for asking


    the question. The guest¡¯s heart sank before he let out a heartyugh. ¡°You sure are secretive about the


    girl you fancy, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby no longer responded to the guest after that and simply handed the mic to Tom before he got off the


    stage. Once Sonia realized that the conversation was over, she took a deep breath before she continued


    making her way to the washroom.


    When she was done, she walked out to find Toby standing outside the washroom. ¡°You¡­¡± she mumbled.


    ¡°I was waiting for you,¡± he replied.


    ¡°You were waiting for me?¡± She was shocked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said with a nod.


    ¡°Do you need anything from me?¡± she asked. She felt rather afraid to look him in the eye after hearing


    what he said on stage earlier. However, Toby didn¡¯t answer her question, but walked over to her and held


    her hand before he started to walk.


    ¡°Where are you taking me, Toby?¡± Sonia was taken aback by his actions, but she didn¡¯t try to escape his


    grip. She was worried that she would injure his arm if she tried to pull away from him. That¡¯s the only


    reason I¡¯m following him. If I shake his hand off, he might stumble and knock into a wall or something¡­


    That was what Sonia told herself.


    Toby continued to lead the way without answering Sonia¡¯s question. They walked down a long corridor


    before they finally ended up in the garden. It was starting to get dark in the garden, but it was a quiet


    spot that was suitable for conversations. Finally, Toby let go of Sonia¡¯s hand before he turned to face her.


    ¡°You heard everything I said, right?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Sonia was still rather dazed.


    He red at her. ¡°I replied to that person¡¯s question on stage earlier.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s pupils shrank as she kept quiet. Then, Toby ced his hand on her shoulder. ¡°You know that I


    was talking about you, right?¡± His feelings for her had always been out in the open¡ªhe had made things


    clear from the start.


    Sonia was well-aware of how he felt toward her. ¡°Why does that matter?¡± All of a sudden, Sonia looked


    up and red at Toby with a sour expression on her face. Fire danced in her eyes as she spoke. ¡°What


    do you mean by all of this, Toby? What are you trying to do? Do you enjoy making a fool out of me?¡± She


    threw him a few questions all at once.


    Toby widened his eyes when he heard her words. ¡°I¡¯m not making a fool out of you. What makes you


    think I¡¯m fooling around?¡±a

 Chapter 515

    Chapter 515


    Chapter 515 We¡¯re Not Suited for Each Other


    ¡°What makes me think so?¡± Soniaughed out of annoyance. ¡°How dare you ask me that question? You


    were the one who told me you¡¯re letting go, and you were the one who told me to stay out of your sight.


    Yet, you said all those words in front of the crowd earlier. You¡¯re contradicting yourself! Aren¡¯t you making


    a fool out of me? What have I ever done to you, Toby? Why do you have to treat me like this?¡± She


    clenched her fist and pounded her chest while howling at him.


    His lips trembled as he spoke, and his voice sounded guiltier and meeker than before. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s true


    that I said those words, but I swear I have a reason.¡±


    ¡°Oh? A reason?¡± Sonia took a sharp inhale to calm herself down. ¡°Okay. Tell me the reason, then.¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze as he didn¡¯t know how to respond to her. If he directly told her that he said all of


    those words because his heart was failing after he attempted to save her¡­ He knew that someone like


    Sonia would be crushed by the guilt she felt. She might even rush off to the hospital to check if she was


    a good match as a donor¡­ How could he tell her the truth?


    A hint of disappointment shed in Sonia¡¯s gaze when she saw that Toby wasn¡¯t willing to exin


    himself. ¡°You¡¯re always like that,¡± she uttered with a scoff. ¡°You get me curious, and then you decide not


    to tell me the truth. You¡¯re disgusting, Toby!¡±


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Disgusting? Toby¡¯s face turned pale as he clenched his fists and red at her. He was trembling slightly.


    ¡°Did you just call me disgusting?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glinted. She regretted her words the moment they slipped out of her mouth, and she


    immediately realized that she had been a little too harsh to him. Ultimately, she shouldn¡¯t have said such


    a thing to him after all that he had done for her. However, she couldn¡¯t contain the anger in her chest¡ª


    she was furious that he had hidden everything from her.


    After massaging her brows, she turned to look at him apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I went overboard with my


    words. However, I¡¯m genuinely disappointed by you. I don¡¯t know what your reason is, but if you¡¯ve


    decided to let go of me, then you should just stick to your resolution. You shouldn¡¯t go against your


    words. What you¡¯re doing now makes me feel like I¡¯m a toy¡ªyou throw me aside when you¡¯re in a bad


    mood, and you pick me up when you¡¯re happy.¡±


    She shifted her gaze to look at him. ¡°Did you know, Toby? From letting go of me to regretting your


    decision anding back to me, you¡¯ve always made these decisions on your own. You¡¯ve never cared


    about my feelings. I dare say that you¡¯ve never respected me!¡± After finishing her words, she turned to


    leave.


    However, Toby parted his long legs and reached his right arm out to stop her. He wrapped an arm


    around her waist and hugged her from the back. Sonia froze. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°I promise I¡¯m not ying with your feelings.¡± Toby lowered his head and buried his face into her neck.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never treated you as a toy. I had been too rash when I decided to let go of you, and it¡¯s my fault for


    going against my words now. I admit that I¡¯ve done all of these without considering your feelings, but I


    can promise you that I¡¯m doing all of this for your own good.¡±


    Sonia scoffed in anger. ¡°For my own good, huh? You don¡¯t need to tell me such things. I¡¯m not touched at


    all¡ªI just feel like you¡¯re emotionally ckmailing me. There are tons of people who will im that


    they¡¯re doing things for your own good, but they end up doing things that hurt you. When you say that


    you¡¯re doing it for my good, do you really think it has been good for me? Do you think that¡¯s what I


    want?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Toby¡¯s pupils shrank as he fell silent for a moment. It was true that he had never considered this


    aspect. All along, he believed that he was being thoughtful by shouldering all the burden and ensuring


    that she lived a stress-free life. However, he had never wondered if that was what she wanted.


    Sonia lifted her chin to look at the clear dark sky that was free of stars and the moon. ¡°You were right to


    let go of me, Toby. We have never been a good match. Our educational background, values, and


    personalities¡­ We have nothing inmon.¡± With that said, Sonia looked down and removed Toby¡¯s


    arm from her waist before she walked off without turning back.


    Toby didn¡¯t go after her. He merely stood in his spot as he watched her disappear down the corridor. His


    lips were pressed into a thin line. Did she say we have nothing inmon? That¡¯s impossible. We


    wouldn¡¯t have been pen-pals for so many years if we didn¡¯t have things inmon.


    ¡°I think Sonia¡¯s right.¡± Suddenly, a pleasant and clear voice came from behind Toby, followed by the


    sound of a lighter¡¯s click. Toby frowned as he turned to look at the woman behind him. She had just


    started smoking a cigarette. ¡°Do you think we aren¡¯t a good match, Emily?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Emily swayed her forefinger as she walked over. ¡°I was referring to what


    she said earlier. She said that you didn¡¯t respect her and that you made decisions on your own without


    asking for her opinion. I agree with that.¡± Emily flicked the ash off her cigarette as she spat a mouthful of


    smoke in Toby¡¯s face.


    Toby turned his head away and waved to disperse the smoke. ¡°I¡¯ll pack your stuff up and send you back


    to Fredburg if you exhale smoke in my direction again,¡± he grumbled.


    In an instant, Emily¡¯s haughty aura was reced by a meek and spineless one. ¡°Please don¡¯t take this to


    heart, Toby. I was wrong. I won¡¯t do that again,¡± she uttered in an attempt to please him. He merely


    scoffed without responding to her.


    Emily knew that he wasn¡¯t actually angry, but she threw the rest of her cigarette onto the ground before


    putting it out with her heels. She returned to her usual strong, independent persona once more. ¡°You¡¯re


    my cousin, and I know you well. You grew up in a well-respected family, and you hold a high status in


    society. That naturally turns you into someone who doesn¡¯t consider the opinions of others when you


    encounter an issue¡ªyou¡¯d often feel like you can solve it on your own.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Toby pressed his lips together. He couldn¡¯t understand what he had done


    wrong or why Sonia had such a huge reaction earlier. She even thought I was emotionally ckmailing


    her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not doing anything wrong,¡± Emily said as she looked at him. ¡°But that only applies to your


    subordinates. It¡¯s true that you can neglect your staff members¡¯ feelings as a boss, and you can make


    your own decisions during such times, but Sonia isn¡¯t your subordinate. She¡¯s your lover and someone


    who¡¯s on the same level as you are. You can¡¯t make decisions for her, and you can¡¯t alwayse to your


    own conclusions. You need to know if she wants the same thing that you do. If she doesn¡¯t want


    something, then all that you¡¯re doing is hurting and disrespecting her. You should give this some


    thought.¡± Emily patted his shoulder before she pulled another cigarette out, then walked off with the


    cigarette between her lips.


    After hearing her words, Toby lowered his gaze thoughtfully. I think I get what she¡¯s saying. She¡¯s telling


    me that I should consider Sonia¡¯s point of view before I try doing something for Sonia. It¡¯s true¡ªall the


    times I¡¯ve done things for Sonia or kept secrets from her, I¡¯ve never once thought about how she might


    feel. That exins why she¡¯s so furious. It seems like I made a mistake this time.


    Toby let out a long sigh before he walked in the direction Sonia had left earlier. He believed he owed her


    an apology. However, when he returned to the hall, he realized that Sonia was nowhere to be seen.


    Where is she? he wondered as he frowned.


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom walked over to him.


    Toby nced up to see his assistant. ¡°Great timing. Have you seen Sonia?¡±


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yeah. Charles just arrived, and the both of them went to the balcony.¡± Tom pointed at a


    spot behind Toby, and Toby turned to see Charles and Sonia standing on the balcony behind him.

 Chapter 516

    Chapter 516


    Chapter 516 Charles¡¯ Selfishness


    Both man and woman were standing in front of the railing, and they had their backs turned against Toby.


    Toby couldn¡¯t see their faces, so he couldn¡¯t tell what they were talking about. However, when he realized


    that both of them had kept a distance of more than ten inches between each other, his expression


    softened a little.


    ¡°When did Charles arrive?¡± Toby asked coldly.


    Tom took a nce at his wristwatch before answering. ¡°About ten minutes ago.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Why are you looking for me?¡±


    ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller wants you to go over,¡± Tom exined.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to her now. I want you to stay here and keep an eye on them. If Charles gets any closer to Sonia, I


    want you to separate them from each other,¡± Toby ordered.


    The corner of Tom¡¯s lips twitched when he heard Toby¡¯s words. Can you stop acting like a kid, President


    Fuller? Of course, Tom didn¡¯t reveal his true opinions and merely pushed his sses up his nose as he


    agreed to Toby¡¯s request. ¡°I got it, President Fuller.¡± Toby took onest nce at Sonia and Charles


    before he walked off to look for Rose.


    Meanwhile, on the balcony, Charles swirled his wine ss as he looked at the dejected woman whose


    gaze was fixed on the floor. ¡°What is it? Are you in a bad mood?¡± he asked worriedly. ¡°I told you so much,


    but you barely responded to what I said.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m in a pretty bad mood.¡± Sonia clinked sses with him before she raised her head to sip her


    drink. Charles turned around to rest both his arms against the balcony¡¯s railing. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Sonia looked at the view from the balcony. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just think that feelings are the least reliable


    thing in this world,¡± she uttered.


    Charles was about to take a sip of his drink, but his actions came to a halt when he heard what she said.


    ¡°Are you talking about romantic feelings?¡±


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    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°I told you that Toby wanted to let go of me before this, right? He changed his


    mind tonight, and he said that he¡¯d wait for me. Don¡¯t you think his feelings for me are a total joke,


    Charles?¡± He gives up on me when he wants to, and he changes his mind when he wants to. What do I


    mean to him?


    The smile on Charles¡¯ face turned stiff as he tightened his grip on his ss. ¡°It does sound like a joke.


    What about you? What do you think about all of this?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Did you agree to date him or something?¡±


    Sonia took another sip of her drink. ¡°Why would I agree to anything? I don¡¯t love him. I¡¯m just angry


    because I feel like he¡¯s ying with my feelings.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Charles heaved a sigh of relief. She hasn¡¯t realized that she¡¯s in love with Toby yet. I¡¯m


    afraid she will eventually realize this about herself. When that happens, I¡¯ll lose my chance again.


    ¡°That¡¯s great?!¡± Sonia turned to face Charles as she red at him puzzledly. ¡°Did you say that it¡¯s great


    for him to y with my feelings?¡±


    Charles hastily shook his head and waved his hand frantically. ¡°No, no! That¡¯s not what I meant. I mean,


    it¡¯s great that you didn¡¯t agree to date him,¡± Charles exined.


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia gave him a side-eye.


    ¡°Yeah. I swear.¡± Charles held up three fingers.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll trust you for now. But I still think there¡¯s a hidden meaning in your words earlier,¡± she uttered


    with a pout.


    ¡°How could that be possible?¡± Charles looked away sheepishly. ¡°What else could my words mean? I


    genuinely think it¡¯s great that you didn¡¯t agree to date him. You should stop overthinking it, darling.¡± He


    gulped a huge mouthful of red wine after that.


    Sonia figured that she was being a little too sensitive, so she shifted her gaze and looked at her own


    wine ss. She remained silent for a few seconds before she parted her red lips to speak. ¡°Charles,


    Toby mentioned that he had a reason for letting go of me previously. What do you think the reason was?¡±


    Charles ced his empty ss at the side. ¡°How should I know? Perhaps he didn¡¯t even mean what he


    said.¡±


    ¡°You think he was just giving me an excuse?¡± Sonia looked at Charles.


    Charles nodded. ¡°Yeah. He decided to let you go previously but he¡¯s going against his own words now,


    so he definitely needs a seemingly valid reason to exin his previous actions. Maybe he just came up


    with an excuse because he couldn¡¯t find any better reason at that moment.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia mumbled. Charles looked at her earnestly. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a man¡ªI understand the


    way other men think. Trust me, darling.¡± He reached over to pat Sonia on the shoulder.


    Tom, who had been watching from afar, widened his eyes when he realized that the time hade for


    him to do his job. He let out an exasperated sigh before he straightened his tie and walked toward the


    balcony. ¡°Mr. Lane,¡± Tom uttered as he walked over to the two people at the balcony.


    The look on Charles¡¯ face darkened when he saw Tom. ¡°What are you doing here? Did Toby send you


    here?¡±


    ¡°No. It was Mrs. Lane who told me to get you.¡± Tom fixed his sses as he responded in a calm tone.


    Charles froze upon hearing this. ¡°My mom?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°Why is my mom asking for me? And why did she tell you toe get me?¡± Charles frowned.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. Why don¡¯t you go over to ask her yourself, Mr. Lane?¡± Tom¡¯s gazended on


    Charles¡¯ arm on Sonia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You should hurry over, Mr. Lane. I think it¡¯s a pretty urgent matter,¡±


    Tom added.


    ¡°You should go ahead, Charles. Perhaps there¡¯s some sort of emergency,¡± Sonia urged.


    Charles nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go over to take a look, then. You¡ª¡±


    Sonia nced at her watch before interrupting him. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, so I should be heading back soon.


    I¡¯ll go give Grandma my wishes.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to send you off. I¡¯m not leaving anytime soon because my dad wants to


    introduce me to a few peopleter.¡± Charles rubbed his eyebrows as he spoke in a frustrated tone.


    Sonia beamed. ¡°It¡¯s good for you to meet new people. Well, you should go now.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, then.¡± Charles lifted his hand to stroke Sonia¡¯s hair. However, Tom immediately spoke up


    when he realized what Charles was trying to do. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry, Mr. Lane.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to remind me, you busybody.¡± Charles shot Tom a fierce re. After that, he lowered


    his hand, which had just been inches away from Sonia¡¯s head. He stuck his hands into his pocket before


    walking back into the hall.


    As Tom watched Charles leave, he let out a soft sigh. President Fuller told me to keep an eye on Miss


    Reed and Charles¡ªit¡¯s my duty to keep them apart once Charles tries to make a move on Sonia. I guess


    my job here is done.


    ¡°Tom.¡± Sonia didn¡¯t know what Tom was thinking about, and she walked over to interrupt his thoughts.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Grandma?¡±


    ¡°I can bring you to Old Mrs. Fuller if you¡¯d like to see her, Miss Reed,¡± Tom offered.


    ¡°I hope that won¡¯t be too much of a hassle.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s go.¡± Tom gestured for Sonia to follow behind him, and they walked in the opposite


    direction of where Charles had gone.


    At the same time, Rose was at the outdoor pavilion having tea with Toby. She took a nce at her


    precious grandson before she spoke. ¡°Did you notice how Sonia seemed really worried about you when


    you saved her after Jean nearly knocked her down?¡±


    Toby lowered his teacup and knitted his brows upon hearing his grandmother. ¡°Yeah, I noticed.¡±


    ¡°I think Sonia has caught feelings for you once more.¡± Rose rubbed the dragon head of her walking stick


    as she continued. ¡°I¡¯ve always assumed that Sonia would never have feelings for you again after she got


    over you. I¡¯m surprised that my assumptions were proven wrong. However, I¡¯m really curious about how


    she started falling for you again. Did something happen recently? Is there something that I¡¯m not aware


    of? When I saw Soniast month, she was still filled with hatred for you, yet she seems to be attracted to


    you now. I¡¯m sure something must have happened in between this period.¡±


    ¡°You sure are observant, Grandma.¡± Toby lifted the teapot to refill Rose¡¯s cup. ¡°There were some things


    that happened between us this month. However, I have no ns of telling you about the incident¡ªI¡¯d just


    like to keep it a secret forever. All you need to know is that Sonia has developed feelings for me once


    more.¡±

 Chapter 517

    Chapter 517


    Chapter 517 Tina¡¯s Suicide


    ¡°You¡¯re being so mysterious.¡± Rose took a sip of her tea before she continued speaking. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t


    probe any further if that¡¯s the case. However, there¡¯s something else I¡¯d like to know. Sonia isn¡¯t aware of


    the fact that she has fallen for you, and I wanted to point it out earlier, but you stopped me before I could


    do it. Why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Because now isn¡¯t the right time.¡± Toby leaned against his seat. ¡°Sonia hasn¡¯t realized her feelings for


    me, so she might not ept it if we were to point it out to her now. I¡¯m afraid she might feel disgusted


    and resistant toward such a statement. My n is for her to realize it on her own so that she can


    naturally ept the fact that she has fallen for me.¡±


    There was no point in getting others to tell Sonia about her feelings¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t ept it, and she


    might avoid or hide from Toby if that happened. The best solution was for Sonia to think things through,


    as this would make it more likely for her to ept Toby.


    Rose gave him a thoughtful nod. ¡°You¡¯re right. Well, since you¡¯ve already decided on this, you should just


    go along with your n. However, I really hope that you can get married to Sonia soon. You don¡¯t have to


    worry about Jean; I¡¯ll keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn¡¯t pull any tricks.¡± Rose¡¯s face darkened


    at the mention of Jean.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Jean had taken care of Toby and was Tyler¡¯s biological mother, Rose would


    have kicked her out of the house a long time ago. Jean didn¡¯t know how to do anything except give the


    family more issues.


    ¡°I got it, Grandma. I hope it¡¯s not too much trouble for you to deal with Mom.¡± Toby stood up to give Rose


    a bow. Rose hastily gestured for him to sit, and she was about to tell him something when she saw Tom


    walking over with Sonia. ¡°Sonia¡¯s here.¡± Rose let out arge grin. Toby immediately turned to see Sonia


    walking toward them.


    Sonia hadn¡¯t expected to bump into Toby there, and a look of suspicion shed across her face before


    she looked away and pretended not to see him. ¡°Grandma!¡± Sonia greeted with a smile.


    ¡°Take a seat, Sonia.¡± Rose patted on the spot beside her.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Grandma. I came to bid you goodbye. It¡¯s gettingte, so I¡¯d like to head


    home now.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s fine.¡± Rose knew that it was gettingte, and she didn¡¯t stop Sonia as she knew that Sonia


    had work the next day. Instead, Rose used her walking stick to support her to her feet. ¡°You had a few


    drinks earlier, so you can¡¯t go home on your own. I¡¯ll get Toby to send you home.¡±


    Does she want Toby to send me home? Sonia immediately rejected the offer. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Grandma. I¡¯ll just


    call for a personal driver to take my car. He drank alcohol too, so he can¡¯t drive me back.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face was grim as he spoke. ¡°Tom didn¡¯t drink. He can send us back.¡±


    ¡°Us?¡± Sonia froze.


    Toby lowered his cup as he got to his feet. ¡°I should be leaving too, Grandma. I¡¯ll get Tom to drive us


    back now so that he can get off work earlier after that.¡±


    ¡°Great. You guys should leave together, then.¡± Rose rolled her eyes at Toby when Sonia wasn¡¯t looking.


    It¡¯s so obvious that he wants to leave together with Sonia. Well, I guess that¡¯s good¡ªthat¡¯s what I


    intended to do when I told him to send Sonia home.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t need to follow you guys. I can¡ª¡± Sonia was about to say something when Rose patted the


    back of her hand. ¡°Alright, Sonia, go along now. I¡¯d feel more at ease knowing that Toby¡¯s the one


    sending you. I¡¯d be more worried if you just hired a stranger as your personal driver.¡±


    Rose turned to Toby just to pretend to give him a stern warning. ¡°You¡¯d better make sure that you send


    her home safely. You¡¯ll be the first person I look for if something happens to Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia let out a bitterugh. Fine. Grandma already has everything nned out for me, so I can¡¯t do


    much, can I? If I reject her now, it¡¯d seem like I¡¯m being disrespectful. Forget it. Let¡¯s just do it. ¡°We¡¯ll


    leave now, Grandma.¡± Sonia tidied her hair before she bid goodbye to Rose.


    When Toby heard Sonia referring to them as ¡®we¡¯, he curled his lips into a slight smirk. Rose merely


    chuckled as she waved. ¡°Okay, okay. Goodbye.¡±


    Sonia nodded before she followed Toby out of the pavilion. They had only taken a few steps when she


    heard Rose talking in a yful tone behind her. ¡°Look at Sonia and Toby, Mary. They look like a perfect


    couple.¡±


    ¡°They do.¡± Mary nodded agreeably. Upon hearing that, Sonia tripped on something and nearly fell. Toby


    instantly held onto her waist. ¡°Watch out,¡± he uttered in a gentle tone.


    ¡°I got it. Thanks.¡± She straightened her back and was about to slip out of Toby¡¯s grip. However, Toby then


    let go of her waist before he reached over to hold her hand. Sonia widened her eyes. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m holding your hand because the path here is covered withrge pebbles. The intention was to


    replicate the theme of an ancient garden but walking around this area with heels can get pretty hard.


    You¡¯d fall really easily,¡± Toby said.


    Sonia parted her red lips to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. She had no rebuttals¡ªit was


    true that the ground made it hard for her to walk. She had already stumbled her way over when she


    arrived at the pavilion with Tom. If Tom hadn¡¯t helped her over, she would have certainly fallen onto the


    ground.


    I guess there¡¯s nothing wrong with Toby holding my hand. I just don¡¯t want to fall down, that¡¯s all, Sonia


    thought to herself as she lowered her head. Toby knew that she had agreed to let him hold her hand


    when he sensed that her grip was no longer as tense as before. He smiled before tightening his grip and


    shoving both their hands into his coat pocket.


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Sonia stared at him, her eyes filled with surprise.


    ¡°My hand¡¯s freezing. I need to warm it up a little,¡± Toby uttered with a poker face.


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched with annoyance. Did he say his hand is cold? What a lie! I can still feel the warmth


    from his palm. If anything, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s cold now. Wait! Sonia widened her eyes. Did he do this


    because he wanted to warm my hand? Sonia stared at Toby as she zoned out for a while.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby asked gently.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing,¡± Sonia mumbled as she looked at her feet. Toby didn¡¯t force her to answer him when he


    saw her response. Instead, he gave her hand a soft squeeze before he shifted his gaze away from her.


    Soon enough, the three of them exited the manor¡¯s main gates and arrived at their car. At that moment,


    Sonia¡¯s phone began to ring. She used one hand to unzip her bag and pulled her phone out. ¡°Huh?¡±


    Sonia mumbled in a puzzled tone.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby asked. She showed him her phone. ¡°How odd. It¡¯s 11.00PM, yet the police are calling


    me.¡±


    ¡°The police?¡± Toby frowned. ¡°Did you make a police report recently?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m so surprised by this call.¡± This number was the number she


    had saved from her previous encounters at the police station. That was why the caller ID indicated that it


    was from the police station.N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°You should just pick it up to find out what¡¯s the matter,¡± Toby suggested. Sonia nodded as she swiped a


    finger across the screen to pick up the call. ¡°Hello?¡± she uttered as she ced the phone against her ear.


    ¡°Something has happened, Miss Reed.¡± A stern, male voice sounded from the other end of the line.


    Sonia¡¯s expression turned serious when she sensed the man¡¯s grave tone. ¡°What is it, Officer Olsen?¡±


    ¡°Tina jumped off a building and killed herself,¡± Teddy replied grimly. A loud ringing sounded in Sonia¡¯s


    ears as her expression turned into one of disbelief. ¡°What did you just say? Tina¡­ jumped off a building?


    She¡¯s dead?¡±


    Toby and Tom were just as shocked upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words. ¡°Tina killed herself?! How is that


    possible?¡± Tom was shocked.


    ¡°Put him on speaker!¡± Toby ordered. Sonia gulped and did as she was told. Teddy could hear all three of


    their voices then. ¡°That¡¯s right. About ten minutes ago, she jumped out of one of the windows in her


    ward. She died on the spot.¡±

 Chapter 518

    Chapter 518


    Chapter 518 Toby the Fashion Critic


    As the intiff in Tina¡¯s case, Sonia had the right to know everything that was happening to Tina. That


    was why the police immediately called to let her know about it after they found out Tina killed herself.


    ¡°Tina is dead?¡± Sonia mumbled in disbelief.


    Tom¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°What? She killed herself? That¡¯s just¡­¡±


    Toby took Sonia¡¯s phone. ¡°Why did she kill herself?¡±


    Teddy recognized Toby¡¯s voice, and he answered, ¡°We¡¯re still looking into it. It happened very suddenly,


    so nobody knows why. The only guess we have now is that she¡¯s trying to avoid prison. Tomorrow¡¯s her


    last day of house arrest, so that¡¯s probably why. However¡­¡±


    ¡°This guess is probably wrong,¡± Toby finished his sentence.


    Teddy nodded. ¡°Yes. If she¡¯s really trying to avoid prison, she wouldn¡¯t have waited until now to kill


    herself. She would have done it as soon as she was ced under house arrest. But that¡¯s what we can


    work with now. We¡¯re still looking into this.¡±


    ¡°I see. We¡¯ll be right there.¡± Toby hung up and handed the phone back to Sonia.


    Sonia took the phone dumbly. ¡°Tina killed herself?¡± Apparently, she was still in shock.


    Toby patted her head. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Her lips trembled, but she said nothing. Her mind was raging and impossible to calm, for she could not


    believe Tina had died just like that. Sonia bit her lip.


    Toby said nothing. To be honest, he never thought Tina wouldmit suicide. It caught everyone by


    surprise, and he had a feeling the suicide wasn¡¯t as simple as it looked. First, the timing wasn¡¯t right, and


    the reason was too oundish. Couple that together, and that would be a recipe for a mystery. But I¡¯ll


    have to take a look for myself to find out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. This is noughing matter. You¡¯re the intiff, so you must know what¡¯s going on as well.¡± Toby


    tipped her chin up gently.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Toby retracted his hand. ¡°Drive,¡± he told Tom.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    They got into the car and went to First World Hospital. Nobody said anything on the way, and the


    atmosphere was depressingly somber. Tina¡¯s suicide was too shocking for them, making it impossible for


    them to calm down.


    Tom drove fast, so they reached the hospital in less than half an hour.


    Before they got out of the car, Sonia realized that there were a few police cars outside the hospital. The


    police officers stood in a line and cordoned off the area, prohibiting all but the patients requiring


    immediate treatment from entering.


    More than half of the people outside the cordoned-off area were reporters from shbang Media. They


    raised their mics and cameras as they tried to breach the area. They tried to push the police officers


    away so they could get exclusive news.


    Sonia squinted. So the news has spread. It¡¯s probably going viral on the Inte as we speak. Just then,


    she felt something covering her head, and she touched it. ¡°A hat?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯ll cover you up a little. If those reporters see youter, they¡¯re going to surround you and bombard


    you with questions.¡± Toby covered her up with a jacket.Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    It wasn¡¯t the one he was wearing. The jacket was already in the car all this time just in case he needed a


    spare, and now it was put to good use.


    Sonia looked at the jacket and fidgeted. ¡°I¡¯m fine with the hat, but not the jacket.¡±


    ¡°Just wear it,¡± Toby interrupted imperiously. He pressed the jacket down on her tightly so she wouldn¡¯t


    shake it off. ¡°It¡¯s freezing out there. You can¡¯t just walk around in a dress.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Sonia finally realized something important¡ªit was nearly zero degrees out there. Earlier, she didn¡¯t


    feel cold just wearing a dress because there were heaters installed in the car and the old manor.


    Naturally, she had forgotten that it was winter. If she actually went out in her dress, she¡¯d freeze to death.


    ¡°You can let go. I¡¯ll wear it,¡± she muttered awkwardly.


    Tobyid his hands off her happily.


    She stuck her arms into the sleeves and wore the jacket. It was oversized and reached the top of her


    knees. Coupled with the long sleeves, it made her look like a child who was wearing her parents¡¯ clothes.


    She looked at herself and felt amused by the sight. ¡°I think I can act in an opera now.¡±


    ¡°It is a little big.¡± Toby rubbed his chin while looking at her. After all, it was his jacket, so it was normal


    that it would look big on her. ¡°Stay put. I¡¯ll handle this.¡± He took off his necktie with one hand.


    Sonia was curious about that. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he wrapped the tie around her waist and pulled it tight. Then, he tied it into a


    bow and shifted it to the side. The necktie turned into her belt, and it cinched her waist.


    It looked fashionable for some reason. His was a blue-striped ne, while her dress and jacket were


    ck. It was as if a blue moon had suddenly appeared in the night sky, dazzling everyone. ¡°Done.¡± He


    finished adjusting the necktie and pulled his hands away.


    Sonia looked at his handiwork. ¡°Not bad. Never thought you knew how to do this.¡±


    Toby chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as apliment. We can go out now.¡±


    He popped a cap over his head as well. Tom had bought those caps in a nearby shop when they stopped


    earlier.


    Toby opened the door and got out first, then he extended his hand to Sonia.


    Sonia put her hand in his without any hesitation, and he held her hand tight. Toby took her out of the car,


    then they went to the cordon point.


    They came up to one of the officers, and Sonia quietly identified herself.


    The officer had been told by his captain about their arrival, so after he verified her identity, he lifted the


    tape up and allowed the three of them to go in.


    It wasn¡¯t until the trio had gone in did the reporters realize who they were. However, they were toote,


    for Sonia, Toby, and Tom had gone into the cordoned-off area.


    Since they didn¡¯t dare to breach the area, the reporters took deep breaths and shouted out their


    questions as Sonia and the others went in. They wanted to know Sonia¡¯s opinion about Tina¡¯s suicide,


    but Sonia and Toby pretended they heard nothing. They kept walking, and eventually, they got out of the


    reporters¡¯ sights.


    When they came to the ward area, Sonia noticed that one of the buildings was crowded with police


    officers and the medical staff. Aside from that, there wasn¡¯t a single civilian. They were probably


    evacuated.


    ¡°They¡¯re just up ahead,¡± Toby said softly.

 Chapter 519

    Chapter 519


    Chapter 519 Sonia Faints


    Sonia hummed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby said.


    Sonia shivered. She didn¡¯t want to go, for somebody died there. She had only seen dead people on TV,


    but not in real life. She had never needed to visit a crime scene either, so she was afraid.


    Toby noticed her fear, and he held her hand tightly. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m here.¡±


    Sonia turned her head. His calm, serious gaze alleviated some of her fear at once.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Noticing her change in mood, Toby took her and walked forward.


    Sonia let him take her away, and she stared at him. Her eyes glinted as her mind raced.


    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Teddy was still taking notes outside the area. When he saw the trioing over, he closed


    his notebook and went up to them.


    Toby nodded. ¡°How¡¯s the situation, Mr. Olsen?¡± He looked ahead of him, where the building was


    surrounded by the officers and the medical staff. He couldn¡¯t see anything at all, so he could only ask


    Teddy.


    Teddy pushed his hat down. ¡°The corpse is still there. The forensic doctor is not here yet, so we asked


    the hospital¡¯s doctor to inspect the body first. However, they aren¡¯t trained like forensic doctors. It¡¯s taking


    them a long time, and they haven¡¯t found anything.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you guys ask Tim?¡± Toby frowned. That guy loves to research the human body. I heard he


    worked part-time as a forensic doctor overseas, since that¡¯s the only branch of science that can


    experiment on the human body anytime they want.


    ¡°We did.¡± Teddy sighed. ¡°Some doctors suggested it, but he¡¯s still operating on a patient, so it¡¯ll take him


    a while before he cane.¡±


    ¡°No. He is already here.¡± Sonia pointed at a person some distance away from them.


    Toby and Teddy looked at where she was pointing, and they saw Timing over in a hurry, still in his


    surgery attire.


    Teddy was delighted to see him. ¡°Great! He¡¯s finally here. Once the autopsy is done, we should know


    what¡¯s the cause of her death. I¡¯ll be going over to him, Mr. Fuller, Miss Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded.


    Teddy went up to Tim.


    Tim saw Teddy too, as well as Toby and Sonia, who were behind Teddy. Tim ignored Toby and nodded at


    Sonia. It was his way of saying hi.


    Sonia said hi, then Teddy started talking to Tim.


    After some time, Teddy told the crowd surrounding the corpse to make way for Tim. Once they did, Tina¡¯s


    corpse became in for Sonia to see.


    Sonia was afraid of corpses to begin with, and seeing Tina¡¯s mangled corpse made her turn as white as


    a sheet. She screamed.


    It was a horrifying sight. Tina was lying on the ground face down, and the patch of grass was drenched


    with blood. Her face was nothing but a mess of flesh and blood, making her barely recognizable. Even


    her head was caved in, and white liquid oozed out from it. Sonia retched at the sight of that, then she


    closed her eyes and cked out.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± As Sonia fell toward him, Toby tensed up and quickly held her in his arms. He slowly hunkered


    down and let her rest in his arms as he shook her gently. ¡°Wake up, Sonia.¡±


    Tim noticed Sonia fainting as well. He had already put on gloves and was ready to inspect the corpse,


    but after he saw what happened, he took his gloves off and went over to her. ¡°What happened to her?¡±


    he asked.


    Toby looked at her, his eyes filled with guilt. ¡°She fainted from the shock.¡± He knew Teddy would tell


    everyone to make way, and he was prepared to close her eyes, but Sonia had been faster than him. She


    saw how mangled the body was before he could close her eyes, and that made her faint. It¡¯s my fault.


    Tim said nothing. He pulled Sonia¡¯s eyelid open and massaged parts of her head.


    A whileter, she furrowed her eyebrows, and her eyshes started trembling. She seemed to be


    regaining consciousness, and a momentter, she opened her eyes, but there was only fear in it. ¡°To¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Toby leaned down and put his forehead against hers. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Calm down.¡±


    ¡°Toby?¡± Sonia blinked at him.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby said. ¡°It¡¯s me. Don¡¯t be scared.¡±


    ¡°But I saw¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know. Keep it out of your mind. Just don¡¯t think about it, and you won¡¯t be scared.¡± He pulled away and


    looked at her gently.


    Sonia huffed. ¡°Impossible. How can I not think about it? It¡¯s gruesome. I can still see it in my mind. I¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish, Toby leaned down and shut her up with a kiss. Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief,


    and the crowd was surprised by what Toby was doing.


    Especially Teddy. The corner of his lips twitched as he thought, What the heck? This is a crime scene.


    It¡¯s bloody and nasty, but you guys are actually kissing? Here? Holy sh*t. He turned around huffily. Ugh,


    I¡¯m leaving. I can¡¯t stand this.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Tom covered his face and turned around in embarrassment as well.


    Tim arched his eyebrow at them, and he stood up. ¡°Okay then. I was going to say I can erase her


    memories if she can¡¯t forget about it, but I don¡¯t think she needs it. Apparently, someone managed to be


    more effective than I am.¡± He adjusted his sses and smiled. Then, he turned around to go back to the


    body.


    A long, long timeter, Toby¡¯s lips finally left Sonia¡¯s. She was already suffocating, and she breathed


    deeply. ¡°You¡­¡± She blushed.


    He let her go so she could stand up. After she did, he stood up and wiped the lipstick off his lips. ¡°Now


    you won¡¯t be afraid anymore, right?¡±


    Well, obviously. Sonia said nothing. All she could think about was how he had kissed her, so she couldn¡¯t


    even remember how Tina¡¯s corpse looked. Of course she wouldn¡¯t be afraid. The idea worked well,


    although it was embarrassing for her. She stared at the ground. ¡°Thank you,¡± Sonia thanked him, but her


    voice was barely a whisper.


    Toby heard it, however, so he grunted. ¡°You should take a seat.¡± He pointed at the bench beside them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go over and take a look.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± She needed time to calm herself, and she didn¡¯t want to see Tina¡¯s mangled


    corpse. It took her a lot to forget about the horror she saw, and she did not want to relive it.


    ¡°Stay with her, Tom.¡± Toby handed her over to Tom.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going over now. Call me if anything happens.¡± He patted her head and went toward Tim.


    She looked at him and touched where he patted her. For the first time, she didn¡¯t hate it. Even when he


    kissed her just now, she didn¡¯t feel repulsed either. What is going on?


    ¡°We should be going now, Miss Reed,¡± Tom told her before she could figure her feelings out.


    Sonia held back her questions for the time being and forced a smile. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Toby came to Tim¡¯s side. ¡°What did you find?¡±

 Chapter 520

    Chapter 520


    Chapter 520 It¡¯s Not Tina


    Tim was squatting beside the body, and he answered without looking up, ¡°She jumped from a great


    height andnded headfirst. Her skull broke, and she died on the spot. And also¡­¡± He held her hand


    and pinched it from her fingertips to her shoulder. The bone doesn¡¯t feel right. Tim had a weird look on


    his face, and he quickly tossed it away and held the other arm up, pinching up from her fingertips to her


    shoulders as well. When he was done, he squinted, his eyes gleaming darkly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby asked, curious about what Tim just did.


    Tim stood up, but he didn¡¯t answer Toby. Instead, he looked at Teddy. ¡°Take the body to the morgue. I¡¯ll


    have to perform an autopsy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask my boss about that though.¡± Teddy frowned.


    Tim took his gloves off. ¡°Then make it quick. This is important to the case.¡±


    Teddy looked at him, then at the body on the ground. In the end, he went aside to call someone.


    Toby gazed at Tim. ¡°What did you find? I know something¡¯s wrong. The look on your face tells me I¡¯m


    right.¡±


    Tim adjusted his sses. ¡°Yes. I suspect that this is not Tina¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Toby was shocked, and his face darkened. ¡°It¡¯s not Tina?¡±


    Tim grunted. ¡°I¡¯m seventy percent sure. You know I worked part time as a forensic doctor overseas, so I


    know a lot about human skeletons. When I checked the arm, I realized that it doesn¡¯t match Tina¡¯s size.


    Sure, it is almost the same height as Tina, but its bones are bigger, so¡­¡±Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Teddy came back before he could finish. ¡°My boss has approved the autopsy, Dr. Lancaster. We¡¯ll be


    counting on you then.¡±


    Tim nodded. ¡°Sure. Just remember to pay me on time.¡±


    The corner of Teddy¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will.¡± He then told the other officers to clean up the


    ce and take the body to the morgue.


    Tim looked at Toby. ¡°I have her DNA sample in the hospital, so I¡¯ll be extracting the body¡¯s DNA and


    comparing it to hers. If it doesn¡¯t match, that means Tina isn¡¯t dead and is on the run.¡±


    Toby clenched his fists. The air around him was filled with murder, and the look on his face was colder


    than ice. ¡°I understand. You may leave now. I¡¯ll handle the rest.¡±


    Tim didn¡¯t say anything more. He put his hands into his coat¡¯s pockets and left.


    Toby stood in the same ce and watched as the officers cleaned the ce up. He pursed his lips, his


    eyes filled with a raging storm. He believed Tim¡¯s spection that the body did not belong to Tina. He


    already knew something was wrong about Tina¡¯s suicide while he was on the way here. The timing and


    her motives didn¡¯t add up, and that made him think something bad might have happened. In the end, his


    worries were not unfounded as Tina wasn¡¯t the one who killed herself; the corpse was just a stand in.


    Tim said the bones didn¡¯t match, and the body¡¯s face was weird as well. Toby looked up at the building.


    He recalled that Tina lived on the tenth floor, so if she did jump down from that height, she would die on


    the spot, but it wouldn¡¯t mangle her face into an unrecognizable mess.


    But the body¡¯s face was just a mess of flesh and bones, making it unrecognizable. He thought something


    was off when he first saw it, but he hadn¡¯t been able to put a finger on it. When Tim said the corpse might


    not be Tina, only then did he realize that the body¡¯s face was off.


    He could almost confirm that the body¡¯s face had dposed before it ¡®jumped.¡¯ That was why it was a


    bloody mess. Nobody could recognize it, or they would know Tina didn¡¯t kill herself.


    A cold, mirthless smile curled Toby¡¯s lips. She managed to slip through maximum security and got herself


    a stand in. It seems I have underestimated her.


    The body was taken away a short whileter, leaving a patch of wet blood on the ground. Toby nced


    at it for a moment, then he went toward Sonia.


    Sonia was drinking the water Tom bought for her. When Toby came over, she quickly screwed it shut and


    uncapped another bottle to hand it to him. ¡°Here. It should help with the difort.¡± He might not be


    scared of the body, but he must feel uneasy seeing it. He should feel better if he has some water.


    Toby looked at the bottle of water, and he stopped frowning. ¡°Thank you.¡± He took it from her.


    ¡°No problem.¡± Sonia shook her head and looked at where the corpse was. ¡°Is the inspection done? I saw


    them taking the body away.¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s just taken to the morgue. Tim found something.¡± Toby sat down beside her.


    Sonia nudged to the side and gave him a lot of space. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That body might not be Tina¡¯s.¡± Toby looked at her.


    Sonia was shocked.


    Tom was petrified as well. ¡°I-It¡¯s not Tina?¡±


    Toby nodded. He told them about the conversation he had with Tim, as well as the guesses he came up


    with.


    It took Sonia a long while to organize her thoughts. When she spoke again, she sounded agitated.


    ¡°Impossible. If it¡¯s not Tina, then who is it? She¡¯s under house arrest, and the police are keeping an eye


    on her 24/7. She couldn¡¯t even leave the ward, so how did she get someone to kill themselves for her?


    And how did she escape? That¡¯s just absurd.¡±


    Tom nodded as well. ¡°Yeah, sir. That sounds imusible.¡±


    Toby stared down at the ground. ¡°Nothing¡¯s impossible. She can¡¯t get out, but someone can get in. As


    long as they did a switcheroo with her, she could escape without the cops knowing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just¡­¡± Sonia and Tom were bbergasted.


    Yeah. She can¡¯t get out, but someone can get in. If the body is confirmed to be someone else¡¯s, then


    Toby¡¯s guess would be right. Someone went into her ward, did a switcheroo, and jumped off the building.


    Tina would escape prison sessfully, and people would believe that she killed herself, throwing all


    suspicion off her.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to look into how Tina managed to get someone to kill themselves for her,¡± Toby took a sip of


    water and continued solemnly.


    Sonia said nothing, but she felt goosebumps appearing all over her body.


    At this moment, Toby¡¯s phone rang. He put the bottle down and took his phone out, but he frowned when


    he saw who the caller was. ¡°I¡¯ll have to take this call.¡± He stood up.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Toby went forward, and Tom followed him as well. He noticed that the caller was someone from the


    company, so Toby might need him to do something.

 Chapter 521

    Chapter 521


    Chapter 521 Mrs Gray¡¯s Curse


    Sonia was sitting on the bench, unmoving. She gripped her bottle tightly and stared at the ground,


    immersed in her thoughts.


    Suddenly, she heard the sound of hurried footstepsing over followed by a woman¡¯s wail. ¡°Tina! My


    precious baby girl!¡±


    Mrs. Gray? Sonia quickly looked up and turned around. The Grays wereing over, but she wasn¡¯t


    surprised. Tina might have cut off all ties with them, but they had been family for a long time, so naturally,


    they¡¯de here after finding out that she killed herself.


    ¡°Tina! My girl!¡± Julia was in the lead, but she was stumbling and beside herself.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Titus was holding her. ¡°Slow down. You¡¯ll fall.¡±


    ¡°How can I? Titus, she jumped off a building! She died!¡± Julia held his sleeve, roaring. Her eyes were red


    with sadness and fury.


    Titus sighed. ¡°I know. I¡¯m upset about this as well, but you can¡¯t get too worked up over this. If you fall


    sick, I¡¯ll have to worry about you as well.¡±


    Julia stopped talking, but she still sobbed sadly. Rina was walking slowly behind them, but she didn¡¯t look


    sad. Instead, she looked impatient. Tina¡¯s suicide had caught her by surprise as well, but that was it.


    They weren¡¯t real siblings, so even though Tina had died, she didn¡¯t feel the least bit sad about it. In fact,


    she felt happy, for it was a good thing for her. At least Dad and Mom won¡¯t keep talking about her now.


    A smile curled her lips, but when she looked around, she noticed Sonia from the corner of her eye, and


    her smile froze. ¡°Miss Reed!¡±


    The Gray couple was stunned to hear that Sonia was there as well, so they looked at where Rina was


    pointing. The sight of Sonia agitated Julia. She broke free of Titus¡¯ grasp and went toward Sonia, her


    face contorted with rage.


    When Sonia saw the look on her face, she knew Julia must be up to something, so she got on guard


    immediately. Before Julia managed to p her, she reacted by grabbing her wrist and gripping it tightly.


    Julia¡¯s face contorted with pain. ¡°Let me go!¡±


    Sonia wouldn¡¯t do that, of course. Instead, she tightened her grip, but even though Julia¡¯s face was


    turning red due to the pain, Sonia didn¡¯t feel an ounce of satisfaction at all. In fact, she felt sad for some


    reason. She didn¡¯t know why she felt that way toward Julia, but she wouldn¡¯t waste her time thinking


    about it.


    She shoved Julia away and stood up. ¡°Were you trying to p me, Mrs. Gray?¡± She looked at her coldly.


    My parents never raised a hand against me. They loved and cared for me like their own. How dare this


    woman try to p me? Weirdly enough, she felt hurt that Julia tried to p her.


    Julia almost fell to the ground, but Titus managed to catch her in time and prevented that from


    happening. Julia held Titus¡¯ arms and red at Sonia with bloodshot eyes. If looks could kill, Sonia would


    be dead by now. ¡°It¡¯s your fault! You killed Tina! Give Tina back to me!¡± she roared at Sonia, her voice


    filled with hatred. If it weren¡¯t for Titus holding her, she would have dashed forward and tore Sonia into


    pieces.


    Sonia was hurt and sad at the same time. She clenched her fists andughed mirthlessly. ¡°Watch what


    you say, Mrs. Gray. What do you mean, I killed her?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your fault!¡± She pointed at Sonia with trembling fingers. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, she wouldn¡¯t have been


    jailed! If it wasn¡¯t for you, she wouldn¡¯t have jumped off a building! My Tina! My poor, poor Tina!¡± Julia


    leaned against her husband and cried her heart out.


    Titus patted her back to ease her up, and he wanted to say something as well.


    But Sonia was faster. ¡°What a joke. Just because I sent her to jail, you want to me me for her suicide?


    She ended up this way because of her own actions. I couldn¡¯t have sent her to jail if it weren¡¯t for what


    she did, nor would she have killed herself. You have no right to me me. If you want to me anyone,


    me yourself. You raised her this way.¡±


    However, the Grays would never ept what she said, for their values were skewed.


    Julia still thought Sonia was the one who killed Tina, so she pointed at her angrily. ¡°You killed Tina and


    took her away from me, Sonia. I hope that one day, you¡¯ll lose the most important person to you and


    suffer like how I am suffering!¡± she cursed.


    Sonia was shocked. Her eyes trembled, and her face paled. Weird. I shouldn¡¯t care about the curse.


    Those are fake. But for some reason, she took it to heart. When she saw how hatefully Julia was ring


    at her, her heart ached, and she teared up.


    She took a deep breath and clenched her fists to hold her feelings down, then forced a sneer. ¡°You might


    have to wait for a long time then, Mrs. Gray. Curses take a long time to work, especially if you want


    someone dead.¡± Her parents were dead, and there was nobody else important to her in this world. In the


    end, Julia¡¯s curse would only be empty talk.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so confident, girl. You might end up regretting it.¡± Titus looked at Sonia darkly.


    Sonia looked at him haughtily. ¡°I might, but you won¡¯t be there to see it.¡±


    Titus looked shocked. ¡°What do you mean? Do you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Do I what?¡± Sonia crossed her arms.


    Titus¡¯ jowls trembled, then he stared at the ground to hide the darkness in his eyes. ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t ask if Sonia knew about his failing kidney. If she knew nothing about it, he¡¯d be giving her


    precious information he couldn¡¯t afford to lose. Maybe she was talking about something else. He took


    Julia and was about to leave, since he might let something slip if he stayed for too long. Also, they


    needed to see Tina¡¯s body and find out why she killed herself. I can¡¯t waste my time here. I¡¯ll leave this to


    another time.


    Titus looked at her coldly and was about to leave, but just when he turned around, a stab of pain shot up


    from his waist. He grunted in pain and let Julia go, then he started falling.


    For some reason, when Titus fell, Sonia reflexively extended her hand and held him. Sonia was shocked


    about it, and the Grays were too, especially Titus. He looked at Sonia¡¯s hand, and his face trembled.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    Titus¡¯ voice made her snap out of it. She realized what she had just done, so she quickly let him go and


    took a step back. ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t have time to y along with your act, Mr. Gray,¡± she said coldly.


    ¡°Are you insulting me?¡± Titus huffed and puffed. He was not a man of virtue, but he would never stoop so


    low as to fake his illness.

 Chapter 522

    Chapter 522


    Chapter 522 Doubts Cleared


    Sonia said nothing and turned away to look at something else. She knew Titus wasn¡¯t acting, since that


    was an excuse she made up herself. She had to convince herself that she didn¡¯t help him because she


    was worried, but because she didn¡¯t want him to scam her by faking his injury and demanding


    compensation. At this point, she wouldn¡¯t put anything past the Grays.


    Since Sonia wasn¡¯t saying anything, and he was in agony, Titus didn¡¯t argue with her. He told Julia to


    take him to a doctor right away to get some painkillers.


    Julia wanted to teach Sonia a lesson and vent her fury, but she had more pressing matters at hand.


    Hence, she only shot Sonia a re before taking Titus away. Titus was the family¡¯s pir, so if he were to


    fall, a weak woman like her would lose all the family¡¯s fortune to thepany¡¯s sly shareholders.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    And so, they left, but since Julia went away in a hurry, she didn¡¯t notice Rina staying behind.


    Rina was standing face to face with Sonia. ¡°I never thought Tina would kill herself, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°It is surprising.¡± Sonia nodded. She looked at Rina¡¯s face, trying to see through Rina. ¡°You seem happy.¡±


    Rina covered her lips and smiled, exactly like how all the richdies in the upper society did. Apparently,


    she must have gotten around during the time she was here, so she had picked up the art of elegance.


    Now, Rina had lost all the bumpkin attitude she had back when she first came to Seafield and turned into


    a confident, well-mannered, and elegant youngdy. Anyone would believe it if she said she had never


    lived in the countryside before.


    ¡°Of course,¡± she crossed her arms and admitted to it. ¡°You saw what my mother was like. Tina might


    have cut all ties with us, but that doesn¡¯t mean they have forgotten about her. As long as she still lives,


    Dad and Mom will still always love her. They might have even taken her back after she was released.


    Now that she¡¯s dead, I don¡¯t have to worry about that anymore, so of course I¡¯m happy.¡±


    Sonia squinted at her and smiled mysteriously. ¡°Is that so? Then I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you.¡± Tina is still


    alive, you know.


    Rina¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia¡¯s smile was unsettling to her.


    Sonia pushed her hair back. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You¡¯ll know in due time.¡±


    ¡°What are you¡­¡± Rina wanted to ask her what she was hiding, but when she saw the peopleing


    from behind Sonia, she frowned and swallowed her words.


    After Toby was done talking on the phone, he and Tom came back.


    Tom was the one who noticed Rina first, and his face turned grim. He then said to Toby who was still


    looking at his phone, ¡°Sir. It¡¯s Taylor.¡±


    The mention of that name made Toby put his phone down and looked in Sonia¡¯s direction. Sonia and


    Rina were standing together and talking about something, but Rina did not look so good. He felt his


    chest tighten. ¡°Sonia!¡± he called out to Sonia and quickened his pace.


    Rina noticed him speeding up, and she knew he was worried Sonia might be hurt, so she retreated a few


    steps. ¡°Since you¡¯re keeping it a secret, I¡¯ll look into it myself. Mr. Fuller is here, so I¡¯ll be leaving now.


    Enjoy your day.¡± She turned around and fled the scene.


    Toby came to Sonia after Rina was gone. He held her shoulder and looked at her from head to toe, his


    eyes filled with worry. ¡°Are you alright? Did she do anything to you?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Nothing. We just talked a little.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± Toby heaved a sigh of relief when he realized she was fine, and he pulled his hands back.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°We talked about Tina. You said Tina is still alive, so I was thinking about the


    culprit who helped her escape and nt a decoy. After all, the cops were keeping an eye on her 24/7,


    and she had no electronic devices. If nobody helped her, she couldn¡¯t have escaped. My first suspects


    were the Grays.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a logical train of thought, Miss Reed.¡± Tom rubbed his chin. ¡°Especially the Gray couple. They


    care about Tina, so it¡¯s possible they nned the whole thing to bust her out.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I suspected them. I talked to Taylor earlier, but she wants Tina dead, so


    she would never help her. And now the Gray couple is out of the suspect list as well.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Toby arched his eyebrow, but he guessed the reason immediately. ¡°You saw them?¡± She met


    Taylor and talked to her, so she knows Taylor isn¡¯t the culprit. By that logic, she must have met the Gray


    couple and talked to them too. That¡¯s why she knows they didn¡¯t do it.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t surprised Toby guessed it. It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out, so she said, ¡°Yes. They came when


    you went to take your call. Mrs. Gray was beside herself. Titus was rtively calmer, but his eyes were


    filled with pain; genuine pain. They thought Tina jumped off the building, so they couldn¡¯t have


    orchestrated this escape.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s pointless to y the guessing game here. We still need to see the police¡¯s


    investigation results. They¡¯ve kept an eye on her 24/7, so they should know who visited her this month,


    and the culprit must be one of the visitors.¡±


    ¡°You have a point.¡± Sonia smiled.


    ¡°We should go in now. Tim should be done with the autopsy,¡± Toby said as he looked at his watch.


    Sonia didn¡¯t object. She turned around to look at where the corpse had been. The patch of blood on the


    ground was still gleaming, and it made her shiver.


    It was then that a hand covered her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡± Then, the person turned her head back. ¡°Aren¡¯t


    you scared?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Sonia took Toby¡¯s hand off her eyes. ¡°The body¡¯s gone, and the blood is all that¡¯s left. It¡¯s still


    unsettling, but I¡¯m not scared now.¡±


    ¡°Still, you shouldn¡¯t look. You¡¯ll get nightmares.¡± Toby put his hands down.


    Sonia said nothing and went with him to see Tim, but then her phone rang. She took it out and saw that


    the caller was Charles. ¡°It¡¯s Charles.¡± Instead of taking the call right away, she looked at Toby and told


    him who was calling for some reason.

 Chapter 523

    Chapter 523


    Chapter 523 Toby¡¯s Delight


    Toby was annoyed when he saw Charles¡¯ name on the screen, but Sonia¡¯s reaction made him happy.


    She¡¯s telling me who it is so I won¡¯t misunderstand her, huh? But she might not even know about this.


    ¡°Take the call.¡± Toby slowed down. ¡°He¡¯s probably calling because he saw the news.¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡± Sonia nodded and took the call. She even turned the speaker on.


    Charles, as usual, said loudly, ¡°Did you see the news, babe? Tina killed herself! Is that true?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Sonia answered. ¡°The police called me and said she jumped off a building. I¡¯m at the crime


    scene right now.¡±


    Charles gasped in shock. ¡°It¡¯s true? And I thought it¡¯s just some fake news the media made up to get


    some clicks. She actually killed herself?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Nobody saw thating.¡± Sonia massaged the area between her brows.


    Charles asked again, ¡°So what¡¯s the situation, babe?¡±


    Toby frowned after hearing him call Sonia babe. Looks like I have to tell Charles to stop calling her that.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice his displeasure, and she answered, ¡°The police are still looking into the reason for her


    suicide. We don¡¯t know anything else.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯lle over then,¡± Charles said.


    Toby pursed his lips, and Sonia saw it, so she shook her head at the phone. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Charles. Toby is


    with me, so you don¡¯t have toe.¡±


    Toby stopped pursing his lips and started to smile.


    Sonia saw that as well, and for some reason, she was amused, and her eyes were filled with delight.


    Charles, on the other hand, was unhappy, and his voice became higher. ¡°What? He¡¯s with you? But it¡¯s


    sote already! How did you end up with him?¡±


    ¡°Grandma asked him to take me home. I couldn¡¯t drive because I drank a little, so I agreed to it. But after


    that, I got the call, so I went to the scene with him.¡± She looked at the elevator and continued, ¡°I¡¯m going


    into the elevator now, Charles. Talk tomorrow.¡± Then, she hung up and went into the elevator.


    After she came in, Toby stopped holding the doors back. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell him that it was just a stand


    in?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Only the three of us know about the truth apart from Tim. Not


    even the police know about this, so I don¡¯t want too many people finding out. And once Tim is done with


    the autopsy, the police will know about the truth too, and they¡¯ll keep it a secret. They won¡¯t allow us to


    tell anyone either, so there¡¯s no point telling Charles about it.¡±


    ¡°You really thought this through,¡± he praised.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Toby said. Then, he remembered something, and he gazed at her. ¡°And I was really


    happy just now.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia paused for a moment. ¡°Why?¡±


    Toby smiled but said nothing. Sonia tilted her head to the side curiously, but since he didn¡¯t want to tell


    her why, she wouldn¡¯t force him.


    They came to the autopsy room a short whileter. Tim was still inside, so Teddy was standing alone


    when Toby and Sonia came. He was pacing back and forth, looking flustered.


    ¡°Mr. Olsen,¡± Sonia called him.


    Teddy stopped pacing around. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you guys.¡±


    ¡°What happened, Mr. Olsen?¡± Sonia asked.


    Teddy hesitated, but he remembered that Sonia was the intiff, so he decided to tell them what was


    bugging him. ¡°So before Dr. Lancaster went in, he told me something shocking. It¡¯s infuriating, actually.¡±


    ¡°Tina is not the one who killed herself,¡± Toby said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Teddy nodded, then he looked at them in shock. ¡°How did you two know?¡±


    ¡°Tim noticed something off about the corpse when he inspected it,¡± Toby exined calmly.


    ¡°I see.¡± Teddy cast his doubts aside after getting the answer, and he sighed seriously. ¡°Dr. Lancaster is


    comparing the DNA samples. If the corpse isn¡¯t Tina¡¯s, then this is going to be serious. It¡¯ll be hard


    capturing Tina again now that she has escaped. She is also holding a grudge against Miss Reed, so she


    might get revenge on her. And it¡¯s also a hit to our rep.¡±


    It was truly a huge blow to the police¡¯s reputation. They didn¡¯t even realize that Tina had slipped away


    and found a stand in even though she was under constant supervision. If the public knew about it, they


    would say the police were ipetent, and nobody would trust them to do their job again. Their


    superiors would make their lives a living hell as well.


    ¡°If the corpse inside there isn¡¯t Tina¡¯s, we have to find her quickly and arrest her again,¡± Teddy said


    darkly, clenching his fists.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± If we don¡¯t capture her soon, it¡¯ll be even harderter. And I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get back


    at me. Now that we don¡¯t know where she is, it¡¯ll be hard to defend against her attacks.


    Toby could see that she was worried, so he reached out his hand and smoothed out her frown. ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry. I¡¯ll protect you,¡± he promised gently, but also firmly. ¡°She¡¯ll never get the chance to attack you.¡±


    Sonia looked at him and blushed, then turned away quickly without saying anything. She clutched her


    heart which was pounding furiously, and she felt confused. Weird. It¡¯s just a simple promise, so why is


    my heart fluttering? And why did I get nervous when I looked at him?


    Toby noticed her ears getting red, and he smiled. He looked at Teddy and shifted the topic, or else Sonia


    would stay in her shell. ¡°You guys have records and surveince footage of Tina¡¯s visitors, right?¡± He


    squinted.


    Teddy nodded. ¡°Of course. When I knew the corpse might be someone else, I knew someone must have


    helped Tina, so I already told my men topile the footage ASAP. It¡¯ll be here soon.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Toby replied, feeling satisfied.


    Sonia looked at Teddy, surprised. So that¡¯s what a veteran is like. He adapts well.


    Tim opened the room¡¯s door and came out with the results. Once he walked out, Toby, Teddy, and Sonia


    went up to him.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Toby asked first.


    Teddy and Sonia were staring at Tim as well.


    Tim handed the file over and adjusted his sses. ¡°Just like I told you. The corpse is not Tina¡¯s,¡± he said


    darkly.


    They knew that was the case and were prepared for it, but it was still uneptable to hear the


    confirmation. That was especially the case for Teddy. The moment he got the confirmation, he gained a


    perpetual frown, since Tina had escaped under the noses of his men. As the captain, he would be held


    against this oversight. If they couldn¡¯t find Tina after a certain timeframe, he would have to resign as an


    officer.

 Chapter 524

    Chapter 524


    Chapter 524 Melody and Cynthia


    ¡°Do you know the identity of the corpse then?¡± Toby asked coldly. That was the most important question


    for the time being.


    Tim adjusted his sses. ¡°Not sure. I¡¯ve taken the corpse¡¯s fingerprint sample and went through the


    database, but I found no match. You¡¯ll have to look into this yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy.¡± Sonia bit her lip. When she took a look at the corpse¡¯s face earlier, it was


    nothing but a mangled mess. Now that Tim couldn¡¯t even confirm the corpse¡¯s identity through the


    fingerprint, it would definitely be an uphill battle for them to investigate the matter.


    Just then, one officer rushed over with a stack of files in his hand. ¡°Sir, we¡¯vepiled the visiting record


    for Tina Gray!¡±


    Everyone looked at the files the officer was holding at once.


    ¡°Give them to me.¡± Toby went over and took the files from the officer.


    Sonia followed him closely and stood beside him. She huddled closer so she could take a look as well.


    The file was only two pages long. The first page detailed Julia¡¯s visits, and asionally Titus¡¯. There was


    nothing there, so Toby flipped over to the second page. Most of the records were simr to the first


    page¡¯s, but when they got to the final few records, Toby and Sonia frowned.


    ¡°Melody? Cynthia?¡± Sonia was surprised. ¡°Why did theye to visit her? And in thest couple of days


    too?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Mr. Olsen, these are your prime suspects. It¡¯s possible they helped Tina to


    escape.¡±


    ¡°I see, Mr. Fuller. I¡¯ll get someone to take them here.¡± Teddy took the files from him.


    Toby grunted and looked at the officer who brought the files over. ¡°Do you have the surveince footage


    of these two visiting Tina?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The officer nodded.


    Tim said, ¡°Let¡¯s watch it in my office. There¡¯s a PC and projector there.¡±


    Everyone agreed, and they went to Tim¡¯s office. The officer inserted the USB drive into the PC and


    projected it onto the big screen.


    Toby sat down on the couch and patted the spot beside him. ¡°Sit right here. It¡¯s a great spot.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. We¡¯re not watching a movie right now. You don¡¯t have to pick a good spot. In the


    end, she still went and sat beside him.


    Toby smiled, happy that she did what he asked her to, and everyone around him could feel that he was


    in a great mood.


    The video started ying. The first one was Melody and Cynthia¡¯s first visit. Sonia noticed that they went


    into Tina¡¯s ward and came out after half an hour, then they left. Nothing else happened during that period


    of time.


    Toby frowned. ¡°Why do you only have surveince footage outside of the room? Don¡¯t you have a CCTV


    camera inside?¡±


    Teddy sighed. ¡°Let me exin. She might be a criminal, but she¡¯s still entitled to privacy. We can only


    record everything outside her room, but not the inside. That¡¯s why we know nothing about what


    happened inside.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips and said nothing more.


    The second video started ying momentster. It was Melody and Cynthia¡¯sst time visiting Tina. This


    time, Sonia noticed something wrong. Melody went into the room, but she didn¡¯t look too happy. Cynthia


    was looking weird as well. She was wearing a cap and a mask, and she wouldn¡¯t even look up for a


    second. More importantly, she looked fearful.


    At that point, Sonia sat up straighter and started looking serious. Toby did the same as well. He stared at


    the video and thought about something.


    Melody and Cynthia didn¡¯t stay in the room for too long this time. Less than ten minutester, they left,


    and they never came to visit Tina again.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious now.¡± Tim looked at the video and sneered. ¡°During the first visit, Tina must have threatened


    Melody and asked for her help. That¡¯s why Melody looked so glum in the second video.¡±


    ¡°So Cynthia¡¯s the one who became Tina¡¯s stand-in?¡± Tom asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Toby answered.


    ¡°She¡¯s not?¡± Tom was surprised.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think so either. Cynthia is an aristocrat after all, so Tina would never ask her to do


    that. Which means that person in the second video was not the real Cynthia. They just used her identity


    as a cover. Notice the cap and mask?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Tina, or probably Melody, must have promised that person something; something big enough to


    buy her life. So the person who came back out with Melody must have been Tina, while the stand-in


    stayed behind,¡± Toby tapped his knees and exined coldly.


    Teddy punched the wall angrily, looking solemn. ¡°What do they think lives are? Toys?¡±


    Tim said, ¡°Now you can tell your men to take Melody and Cynthia over. And hunt Tina down no matter


    what.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°She should still be in Seafield, so you must locate her ASAP.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll tell my boss now.¡± Teddy took his phone out.


    Toby grunted. ¡°It¡¯ste, so we¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±


    The next part was the police¡¯s job, so they didn¡¯t have to stay around.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll call you once I have any news.¡± Teddy nodded.


    Toby stood up and extended his hand to Sonia. ¡°Let¡¯s go home now.¡±


    Sonia looked at his hand, but she didn¡¯t hold it. Instead, she stood up. ¡°Correction. You are taking me


    home. Just have to make that clear.¡± Go home? Do you have any idea how misleading that is? If the


    others didn¡¯t know better, they would think we were going home together.


    Since Sonia wouldn¡¯t hold his hand, Toby smiled drily and put his hand down.


    After saying goodbye to Tim, they walked to the elevator, and it didn¡¯t take long for them toe back


    down to the lobby.


    The Grays were there as well. Titus was sitting on a bench, his head hanging low. There was an air of


    despair and sadness around him, while Julia was sitting beside him with her head buried in her hands as


    she sobbed quietly. Even Rina was gripping her phone tightly, and her eyes were red, as if she was


    holding her sorrow in.


    Sonia arched her eyebrow. ¡°Did Titus¡¯ condition get worse?¡±


    ¡°How are you sure about that? They might be sad because ¡®Tina¡¯s dead.¡¯¡± Toby looked at her.


    Sonia pointed her chin at Rina. ¡°Because she won¡¯t look so sad if it¡¯s because of Tina. The only reason


    for that would be Titus¡¯ condition.¡±


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°You have a point.¡± Toby nodded.


    The Grays looked up when they heard the sound of footstepsing closer, and they were surprised to


    see Sonia with Toby and Tom. They thought Sonia was the only person who came, but they never


    thought Toby was around as well. However, it was obvious in hindsight. After all, Sonia was all Toby


    cared about, so he would follow her wherever she went.

 Chapter 525

    Chapter 525


    Chapter 525 Warm the Feet


    But seeing them together was uneptable for Julia. She shot up and yelled at Toby, her eyes red, ¡°Tina


    is dead, Toby!¡±


    Toby never thought Julia would talk to him, so he stopped, and Sonia and Tom followed suit. Toby looked


    at Julia coldly. ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you even sad?¡± Julia clutched her chest angrily.


    Toby sneered at her. ¡°No,¡± he said coolly. ¡°I want her dead.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Julia couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing, and she lost her bearing.


    Fortunately, Titus stood up and held her in time. ¡°That was uncalled for, Toby. You and Tina used to date.


    How could you say that after she just died? You¡¯re an animal!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the animal?¡± Toby¡¯s face hardened, and the air around him started feeling heavy. ¡°Sonia and I used


    to be pen pals. We would have started dating and eventually gotten happily married if we had met, but


    Tina ruined it. She impersonated Sonia and met up with me. And she even did¡ª¡± He stopped himself


    and thought about it for a second before continuing, ¡°If she hadn¡¯t done what she did to me, do you really


    think I would have dated her? I wouldn¡¯t have even looked at her.¡±


    What¡¯s he talking about? Sonia squinted at Toby suspiciously. He said Tina did something to him, and


    that¡¯s why he ended up with her. Question is, what did Tina do?


    Sonia looked at Tom. Tom knew what she wanted to know, and he turned away in a hurry so he wouldn¡¯t


    make eye contact.


    But that only made her more suspicious. Something¡¯s wrong. What are they hiding from me?


    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± The Grays couldn¡¯t even say anything to Toby, apparently because they were furious.


    Toby looked away and decided to ignore them. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he told Sonia. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t waste our time


    with them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded. She didn¡¯t ask him what he was hiding. She knew he wouldn¡¯t tell her even if she


    asked, since he was deliberately keeping it a secret. In that case, there was no need to ask.


    They came to the car and Tom took out the keys to unlock the doors. He was about to open the backseat


    door for Toby and Sonia, but the moment he extended his hand, Toby was already pulling the door open.


    ¡°Get in.¡±


    Sonia got in without hesitation, since she was already freezing. Her upper body was cold, but it was still


    eptable, but her feet were already protesting. She had to wear an evening gown to attend Rose¡¯s


    birthday banquet, so she had to pair it with beautiful heels. There was no winter edition for heels, so her


    feet were already freezing from the moment she wore the heels up until now. They were already getting


    numb as well.


    ¡°Drive,¡± after Sonia gotin, Toby turned around and ordered Tom.


    Tom shrugged and went into the driver¡¯s seat.


    Toby was thest to get in. After he did, he knocked on the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Turn the heater on.¡± He knew


    Sonia was freezing a long time ago. Her face was red from the cold, and she was curling up. He had also


    seen her stomping her feet to warm them up.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom answered and turned the heater on.


    The temperature went up quickly, and the car became warmer in no time. The chill faded, and Sonia


    slowly eased up.


    At the same time, Toby unbuttoned his suit and blurted, ¡°Take them off.¡±


    Tom almost choked on himself, while Sonia was petrified. She looked at Toby in shock as she thought,


    What did he say? Take them off? Take what off? My clothes or¡­ She then recalled him unbuttoning his


    suit. So he means my clothes? Is he trying to do it in the car?


    Sonia¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment and anger, and she clenched her fists. ¡°Stop the car!¡± she


    shouted. So this guy is just a hypocrite. And here I am, feeling guilty and thankful that he chose to stay


    with me even at this hour. But now¡­ Now he wants to do it in the car? The mere thought of that enraged


    her, and she smacked the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°I said stop the car! Did you hear me?¡±


    Tom noticed the anger in her voice, so he stopped the car quickly. Fortunately, it waste at night, so


    there was barely any traffic. It was rtively safe to stop the car.


    Toby looked at Sonia, who was fuming. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked curiously.


    Soniaughed mirthlessly. What¡¯s wrong? Oh, the nerve of you to ask that! Sonia shot him a cold,


    scornful look before she put her hand on the door¡¯s handle.


    Tom coughed and quickly exined, ¡°Sir, she took it the wrong way.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Toby frowned. Apparently, he didn¡¯t know why she misunderstood him.


    Tom sighed silently. ¡°It¡¯s about what you said. You must be referring to something else when you said


    ¡®take them off,¡¯ but she thought you wanted her to strip, so¡­¡±


    It was then Toby realized what went wrong. He had always preferred simple and directmunication,


    but he never thought that form ofmunication might cause a lot of misunderstanding. He knew he


    was in the wrong, so he massaged his temples and held Sonia¡¯s hand so she wouldn¡¯t get out of the car.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being too forward. I didn¡¯t mean it in any other way. I just wanted you to take your shoes


    off.¡±


    ¡°My shoes?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby answered.


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia stared at him dumbly.


    Toby didn¡¯t exin. Instead, he bent over to hold her ankle and raised her leg.


    Thanks to that, Sonia came face to face with him while leaning against the door. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    She panicked and kicked around, trying to pull her leg away.


    However, Toby held her ankle tightly, then he bent over again to hold her other ankle and put both of her


    legs on hisp.


    ¡°What are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Toby pushed her feet down slightly and told her to not move.


    Sonia stopped moving around. She was worried she might kick somewhere she shouldn¡¯t if she moved


    too much, and the results would be disastrous.


    After Sonia had calmed down, Toby loosened his grip and held her heels. He then took them off and put


    her legs into his suit.


    Sonia was dumbfounded. It wasn¡¯t until her frozen feet were slowly getting warmer did she snap out of it.


    She opened her mouth, but it took her a while before she said, ¡°Toby, what are you¡ª¡±


    Toby looked at her and cut her off gently, ¡°Now your feet won¡¯t be cold anymore.¡±


    A wave of emotions burst forth within Sonia¡¯s heart. She felt sad, mncholic, and warm. She stared at


    him, her eyes red. ¡°Why are you doing this? You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    Toby chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t need a reason to warm my lover up.¡±N?velDrama.Org ? content.

 Chapter 526

    Chapter 526


    Chapter 526 Three Years


    Sonia¡¯s heart started pounding and her face was feeling hot, so she stared down and kept quiet.


    Toby¡¯s smile broadened, and he tightened his hold on her feet.


    Sonia could feel her feet touching his abs, so she squirmed and tried to pull back a little.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Toby held her feet down and stopped her from pulling back.


    Sonia froze up. ¡°Um, you should let me go. I feel a bit weird.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to get used to it then.¡± He looked at her.


    Sonia blinked and instinctively asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    Toby answered, ¡°Because I¡¯m going to do a lot of simr things to you, so you¡¯ll have to get used to this.¡±


    Sonia blushed. ¡°You¡¯re talking like I¡¯ll ept everything you do to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± He smiled. ¡°I bet we will be a loving couple then.¡±


    She bit her lip. ¡°You¡¯re dreaming again. I will never get together with you,¡± she said nasally.


    Toby¡¯s eyes dimmed for a while, but they brightened up again quickly and he smiled. ¡°Nobody knows


    what the future holds, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡± Sonia looked at him.


    He answered, ¡°Remember the bet we had?¡±


    Sonia looked away and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Back then, he said he¡¯d take her back, but she refused, so he


    proposed a bet. He wanted to see if he could make her fall for him again, and at that time, she said, ¡°No.


    Not for my life.¡±


    ¡°Why are you bringing that up now?¡± Sonia was perplexed.


    Toby remembered something, and he stared down to hide the sadness in his eyes. ¡°I want to change the


    terms. But just slightly.¡±


    ¡°You want to change the terms?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes. The bet I proposed had no time limit, so this time I¡¯m going to add one. How does


    three years sound?¡± He raised three fingers.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°Why three? Is there something special about that?¡± All time limits had some special


    meaning behind them, especially when a promise was involved. A bet was a kind of promise, so she


    wouldn¡¯t believe that Toby came up with it randomly. He could have gone with five years instead of three


    otherwise.


    Toby didn¡¯t expect her to be so sharp. He didn¡¯t think she¡¯d know there was a reason for that time limit,


    and he couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Nothing special. I just think it¡¯s the perfect time frame. Not too short, but


    not too long either.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia squinted. She didn¡¯t believe a word of what he said, and her hunch told her the truth


    was something else entirely. He¡¯s lying.


    Toby nodded. ¡°It¡¯s true. So how about it, Sonia? Three years. I¡¯ll do everything I can to make you fall for


    me again, so please don¡¯t reject my efforts. You won¡¯t if you really think you¡¯ll never fall for me, since


    well, whatever I do will be futile, right?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips. For some reason, she felt like Toby was issuing a challenge for her.


    After a while of silence, Toby¡¯s eyes glinted, and he asked, ¡°What shall it be, Sonia?¡±


    Sonia thought about it for a few moments, and she finally nodded. ¡°Fine. I ept the bet.¡± I don¡¯t care if


    he was challenging me, but he got one thing right¡ªI will never fall in love with him, so whatever he does


    is futile. I don¡¯t have to reject his advances, since I will never waver anyway.


    ¡°Alright. Now that you¡¯ve agreed to it, so this bet is¡ª¡±


    Sonia raised her hand and stopped him. ¡°Hold it for a second.¡±


    Toby looked at her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t say what will happen if I still don¡¯t love you after three years have passed,¡± Sonia said.


    Toby said, ¡°If that really happens, then this bet is off. I¡¯ll let you go then, and it¡¯ll be real. I¡¯ll not go against


    my word after a few days like what I did this time. I won¡¯t turn back. But if you really fall for me, let¡¯s get


    married.¡±


    Sonia clenched her fists. She didn¡¯t know how to respond to that, but when she noticed the longing and


    encouragement in his eyes, she got her answer, and she nodded. ¡°Fine. If I really do fall for you in the


    end, I¡¯ll get back together with you, and we¡¯ll get married.¡±


    Toby¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°Looks like I can start making ns for the wedding then.¡± She¡¯s already fallen


    for me, but she doesn¡¯t know it yet. All I have to do now is guide her to realize her true feelings and


    ept them.


    Sonia had no idea what Toby was thinking, but she rolled her eyes when he said he would start nning


    for the wedding. ¡°Someone sounds confident.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Because you¡¯re the source,¡± Toby looked at her and gave her a hint.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Toby smiled and shifted the topic. ¡°Get some sleep. You¡¯re probably tired. I¡¯ll wake you up once we get


    back to Bayside.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not sleepy.¡± Sonia shook her head.


    She ate her words a few momentster. When they stopped in front of a red light, she leaned against the


    door, and a wave of sleepiness washed over her. Her eyelids became heavier and kept trying to shut


    themselves. Finally, they started to weigh too much for her to bear, and she fell asleep.


    Her head was bobbing as the car cruised along the road. Toby looked at her, smiling lovingly. ¡°Honestly,


    why do you have to be so stubborn? Can¡¯t you be honest?¡± Toby caressed her face as he mumbled to


    himself.


    Sonia felt ticklish, and she grunted in protest.


    Toby stopped disturbing her and pulled his hand back. ¡°Sleep.¡±


    Sonia was indeed exhausted. She had worked during the day, gone to a banquet and drank a lot at


    night, and then she was tensed up by the news that Tina killed herself. It had been a long day, and it was


    taxing for her.


    Even Toby was starting to get tired. He massaged his temples and told Tom, ¡°Faster.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom answered and sped up.


    They came to Bayside Residence a short whileter. Tom parked the car under theplex and


    unbuckled himself. He got out of the car and came to the backseat to open the door.


    Toby was bending over to slip Sonia¡¯s shoes over her feet.


    Tom stood outside. ¡°Do we need to wake her up, sir?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head and looked at Sonia who was sleeping soundly. I can¡¯t wake her up. She¡¯s just


    too beautiful. ¡°You take her.¡± He turned around to Tom after helping Sonia wear her shoes.


    Tom pointed at himself in surprise. ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡± Toby raised his injured arm. If his arm was perfectly fine, he would never let any other man


    hold the woman he loved, not even Tom.

 Chapter 527

    Chapter 527


    Chapter 527 Melody¡¯s Dirt


    Tom scratched his nose and smiled sheepishly. ¡°Just worried you might get jealous, sir.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Cut the crap. Are you doing this or not?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am,¡± Tom quickly answered. After Toby got out of the car, Tom quickly bent over to carry


    Sonia in his arms.


    Toby looked at Sonia, who was held by Tom, and he started getting jealous. However, he could do


    nothing about it, since he was in no condition to hold her. He looked at his injured arm and sighed


    silently. ¡°Get me an appointment with an orthopedist tomorrow.¡± He wanted to know when his arm would


    completely heal.


    As Toby¡¯s right-hand man, Tom knew why Toby wanted that appointment. The corner of his lips twitched.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± he answered.


    Toby kept quiet. He then closed the car door and went ahead to theplex.


    Tom followed behind, holding Sonia in his arms. It was a short journey, but a difficult one for Tom, for he


    had to make sure he didn¡¯t touch Sonia in other ces, or Toby would give him the death stare.


    They came to Sonia¡¯s unit a few minutester. Toby knew the password, so he opened the door easily.


    Tom quickly took Sonia to the bedroom. After he put her on the bed, he heaved a sigh of relief and felt


    the weight on his shoulder disappear.


    Toby sat down beside Sonia and took her shoes off, then he told Tom coldly, ¡°You can leave now.¡±


    Tom rolled his eyes in silence, but he replied politely, ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll be going now.¡± You really know how to


    burn bridges, huh? And he sounds so annoyed. He¡¯s angry that I held Miss Reed. Tom felt a little unfair.


    He¡¯s so unfair. He told me to do it, but now he¡¯s angry at me. So capricious.


    Toby gently put Sonia¡¯s legs on the bed. ¡°Fetch me tomorrow morning,¡± Toby said to Tom.


    Tom was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re staying, sir?¡±


    Toby tucked Sonia in and grunted. ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll be here at seven.¡± Tom looked at the time.


    Toby nodded. ¡°And bring breakfast with you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sir.¡± Tom adjusted his sses and left.


    After he was gone, Toby went to the bathroom and came back out with a warm towel to wipe Sonia up.


    After he was done, he went to brush his teeth and wash his face. And then he went to sleep while


    hugging Sonia.


    Toby woke up at seven in the morning the next day, then kissed Sonia¡¯s cheeks and got out of bed. He


    tiptoed out of Sonia¡¯s room, and if it weren¡¯t for the caved-in pillow and the lingering warmth, it would be


    like he never appeared in the room before.


    When Toby opened the front door, Tom was standing outside with breakfast in hand. He greeted Toby


    with a smile, ¡°Good morning, sir.¡±


    Toby said nothing and just took the breakfast over before closing the door.


    Tom stared at the closed door and scratched his nose, then he sighed. Man, being an employee sucks. I


    get up early in the morning to get breakfast, but he just ms the door shut in my face. Damn. I wanna


    be the boss in my next life, and Mr. Fuller can be my assistant.


    Toby put the breakfast on the living room¡¯s table. Then, he tore a piece of paper to write a message on it


    before putting it under the milk. He looked at Sonia¡¯s room onest time before putting his pen down and


    walking to the door.


    Tom was surprised Toby came back out so soon. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat something, sir?¡±


    ¡°I can do it in the office. Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby put on his shoes and went out.


    Tom said nothing and followed Toby into the elevator.


    After they went into the elevator, Toby massaged his temples. ¡°Anything from the cops?¡± he asked darkly.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve asked them when I was on the way here.¡± Tom got serious once business was involved. ¡°After


    we left the hospitalst night, Teddy sent his men to arrest Melody and Cynthia. They interrogated them


    and concluded that Melody¡¯s the aplice.¡±


    ¡°What about Cynthia?¡± Toby frowned.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom shook his head. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know anything about it. Tina and Melody made her leave during the


    first meeting. ording to Melody¡¯s testimonial, Tina ckmailed her after Cynthia left. She wanted


    Melody to help her escape, so Cynthia wasn¡¯t the one who came with Melody the second time, but the


    victim. Cynthia didn¡¯t know that Melody asked someone to impersonate her for the visit.¡±


    Toby nodded in acknowledgement, then he squinted dangerously. ¡°You said Tina ckmailed Melody.


    Does she have any dirt on Melody?¡±


    ¡°Yes. A murder.¡± Tom sighed. ¡°Rumors have it that there are a lot of questions regarding the death of


    Peter¡¯s first girlfriend. It¡¯s possible someone murdered her, and now we know that¡¯s the truth. The


    murderer is Melody. Tina found out about it somehow and used it to ckmail her, so Melody took the


    risk and helped Tina escape house arrest. Melody never thought we¡¯d find out about the truth so quickly,


    and that was the w in her n.¡±


    ¡°Her n failed, but Tina¡¯s didn¡¯t.¡± Toby sneered.


    Melody thought nobody could find out about the corpse¡¯s real identity, since the face was mangled, and


    there were no fingerprint samples in the database either. Everyone would think that Tina had really died,


    and to top it off, the cause would be suicide as well. That way, Melody would never be punished, and her


    secret would never be exposed.


    However, it was a shame Tim was the variable in her n. He knew the corpse wasn¡¯t Tina¡¯s after just


    looking at it. Even so, the n was a sess for Tina. After all, no matter what the oue was, she


    had seeded in escaping.


    ¡°Did you find out the corpse¡¯s identity?¡± Toby walked out of the elevator.


    Tom followed him. ¡°Melody told us about it. It was a terminal patient. Melody paid her a million, so the


    victim decided to help her out. She didn¡¯t have long to live anyway, but she wanted to leave some money


    behind for her family, so¡­¡±


    Tom didn¡¯t finish that sentence, but Toby knew what he was getting at. He grunted and said nothing.


    After Toby got into the car and closed the door, he said, ¡°Take me to the police station. I want to see


    Melody and ask her where Tina has gone.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom nodded and revved the car up.


    Sonia woke up not long after Toby left. Her phone was ringing, and she groggily rummaged through the


    bedside table for it. However, since Toby was the one who sleptst instead of her, he put her phone


    some distance away from her. Because of that, not only did Sonia didn¡¯t find her phone, she managed to


    roll off the bed.


    However, the fall didn¡¯t hurt, thanks to the thick carpet underneath. Even so, the fall jolted her awake.


    Huh? She realized she was sitting on the floor, and a nket was covering her. It was a perplexing


    situation for her, but her phone wouldn¡¯t stop ringing, so she put her questions aside and quickly went to


    pick the call up.

 Chapter 528

    Chapter 528


    Chapter 528 Toby¡¯s Cufflink


    The call was from Teddy. He called to tell her about Melody¡¯s confession. Even though Sonia had already


    guessed that Melody was the aplicest night, hearing the confirmation still stoked the mes of


    fury within her. Melody is a dunce! She¡¯s going to ruin everything for all of us! Her own family¡¯s going to


    be dragged into this if the public finds out she¡¯s Tina¡¯s aplice!


    ¡°Miss Reed? Miss Reed?¡± Teddy was worried that Sonia wasn¡¯t talking, so he asked, ¡°Are you still there,


    Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± She snapped out of it and took a deep breath to hold her rage down. ¡°Mr. Olsen, did Melody tell


    you where Tina went?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Teddy shook his head. ¡°She said they went their own ways after the switcheroo was done. Not


    even she knows where Tina is right now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure she didn¡¯t lie?¡± Sonia frowned.


    Teddy answered, ¡°We¡¯ve used a lie detector on her, and she didn¡¯t lie. She doesn¡¯t know where Tina is.¡±


    Sonia bit her lip. If Melody doesn¡¯t know where Tina is, that means that woman must be hiding


    somewhere right now. Question is, where is she hiding?


    As if knowing what Sonia was thinking, Teddy said again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Reed. My boss has


    approved and issued an arrest warrant for Tina. I believe we¡¯ll recapture her soon.¡±


    ¡°I trust that you will do your job, Mr. Olsen.¡± Sonia forced a smile. Then she asked him a few things about


    Melody before hanging up. Sonia tossed her phone aside and sat on the bed, starting to think about how


    she got back the night before.


    She remembered falling asleep in Toby¡¯s car, but she couldn¡¯t recall how she came back to her home,


    much less ending up on her own bed. Obviously, she didn¡¯te back on her own, since she had no


    habit of sleepwalking. Toby must have taken me back, but his arm is still hurt, so how on earth did he


    manage?


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    She was still trying to figure it out, but the sound of the doorbell ringing broke her train of thoughts. She


    frowned and went out of her bedroom. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, babe,¡± Charles said, his voice slightly muffled by the door in his way.


    Sonia smiled and opened the door. ¡°What brings you here?¡±


    ¡°Tina¡¯s suicide. What else?¡± Charles came in and changed into a pair of slippers.


    Sonia closed the door. ¡°Tina¡¯s case? I thought I told youst night¡ª¡±


    After he changed into the slippers, Charles stood up and looked at her solemnly. ¡°What I¡¯m about to tell


    you is going to be a shock, babe. You have to promise me you will stay calm after hearing it.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I promise. What is it?¡±


    ¡°Right. Here¡¯s the news.¡± Charles looked visibly upset as he told her the news, ¡°Tina¡¯s not dead. She¡¯s


    not the one who jumped off the buildingst night.¡±


    Sonia was surprised he knew that. ¡°How did you know about that?¡± Did the police make this public


    already? Impossible. They wouldn¡¯t do that. Their rep would take a hit if they did, and the public would


    start to worry. They would never tell anyone about it.


    ¡°I heard the guys talking about it,¡± Charles answered.


    ¡°The guys?¡± Sonia frowned.


    Charles grunted. ¡°Yeah. The whole circle knows about Tina¡¯s suicide, then this morning, someone told us


    the one who died was Tina¡¯s stand-in instead of her. It got me worried, so I snooped around and found


    out that the rumor¡¯s real. Melody helped her escape.¡±


    The police might have kept the news under wraps, but it was easy for those in the upper society to find


    out. However, they must never tell anyone about it either. ¡°You seem calm, babe. Isn¡¯t this shocking to


    you?¡± Charles asked curiously. He realized Sonia didn¡¯t look shocked at all. Instead, she was frowning


    pensively.


    Sonia told him the truth. ¡°Because I got the newsst night.¡±


    ¡°You got the newsst night?¡± Charles raised his voice.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell mest night then?¡± Charles felt sad to be left out.


    Sonia massaged her temples. ¡°I wanted to, but I was under a confidentiality use. Besides, I would


    have told you in due time, but then you went and found out about the truth yourself.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I forgive you, but babe, we don¡¯t know where Tina is hiding right now. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get back at


    you, so be careful until she¡¯s arrested, alright?¡± Charles said, sounding worried.


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°I know, don¡¯t worry about it. Have a seat and give me a moment. I¡¯ll wash up and get


    changed.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Charles waved her away.


    Sonia went back to her room to get changed, but she paused for a moment when she saw the


    essories hanging on the table. Then, she realized she had forgotten to give them back to Toby. I¡¯ll just


    take them with me and ask someone to send it back to himter.


    After she changed, she bent over to take the essories, but she saw something from the corner of her


    eye, and it petrified her. That is¡­ Sonia quickly put the essories down and picked up the glinting


    curio lying on the sheets.


    ¡°A cufflink!¡± Sonia held it up and took a look. She could tell that it belonged on a man¡¯s suit, and it was


    made out of an expensive blue diamond. The only person she knew who could afford a blue diamond


    cufflink was none other than Toby. So this is his cufflink. But why is it lying on the bed? And in the middle


    of it too.


    If he dropped this by ident, it would have fallen onto the ground, not the bed. But now it¡¯s in the


    middle of it. Her eyes widened in shock, and she gripped the cufflink tightly as a ludicrous idea hit her.


    Did he actually stay for the night?


    The mere possibility of that happening spurred her to check the bed. When she saw the caved-in pillow,


    her face turned red. That pervert!


    Sonia was sure Toby didn¡¯t leave the night before. He had stayed here and even slept beside her. He¡¯s


    getting ahead of himself. I only said I wouldn¡¯t reject his advances. I know I said I¡¯d give him a chance,


    but that doesn¡¯t mean he can sleep with me anytime he wants.


    Sonia might look angry, but she didn¡¯t feel the least bit furious. In fact, she thought it was amusing. Give


    him an inch, and he¡¯ll take a mile. Toby embodies that adage, huh?


    ¡°Did you get breakfast, babe?¡± Charles asked her, his voice echoing a little.


    Sonia put the essory down and went to the door. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± She opened the door.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t? Then where did thise from?¡± Charles opened the bag.


    Sonia put the essory into a box and went to take a look at the mysterious breakfast. Once she saw it,


    she realized what was going on. Sonia was about to answer, but Charles said, ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a slip of


    paper here too.¡±


    A slip of paper? Sonia was stunned, but only for a moment. She quickly put the box down and went over


    to snatch the paper away from Charles. ¡°You can¡¯t read this.¡± She knew who bought the breakfast for her.


    It¡¯s Toby, alright. He must have left this for me. She didn¡¯t know what he had written. If it¡¯s some mushy


    stuff, it¡¯d be awkward if Charles reads it.

 Chapter 529

    Chapter 529


    Chapter 529 Toby¡¯s Slip


    ¡°Babe, what are you doing?¡± Charles didn¡¯t expect Sonia to react so aggressively over a slip of paper.


    She snatched it away and hid it behind her, as if the slip was some sordid secret she didn¡¯t want anyone


    to find out.


    Sonia knew she was overreacting and could cause some misunderstanding, so she stared down


    apologetically. ¡°Sorry, Charles. You can¡¯t read this.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I?¡± Charles put his hands down and looked at her.


    Sonia started exining, ¡°Because¡ª¡±


    Charles interrupted, ¡°Because it was left by Toby, right?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Sonia was surprised, and her head shot up. ¡°How did you¡ª¡±


    ¡°You want to know how I found out, right?¡± Charles smiled self-deprecatingly.


    Sonia gulped, but she said nothing. Yes.


    He clenched his fists. ¡°It¡¯s a guess, and it¡¯s not hard. Tina¡¯s ¡®suicide¡¯ happened around midnightst


    night. Toby was with you then, so he must have sent you home. I don¡¯t even need to guess who bought


    you the breakfast and wrote a message to you. Toby came over this morning again, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glinted. Well, that¡¯s mostly correct. The only incorrect thing is the time Toby came over. He


    did note over this morning. In fact, he never left. ¡°Charles. Actually¡­¡±


    Sonia wanted to say something, but Charles waved her off and forced a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this.


    You should eat, and I¡¯ll take you to Paradigm Co. after that. I have something to do there today.¡±


    ¡°You want me to eat the breakfast he bought?¡± Sonia looked at him, surprised.


    Charles nodded. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sonia said, ¡°You don¡¯t like Toby, and you never wanted me to take anything from him, so it


    doesn¡¯t feel right hearing you telling me to eat something he bought.¡±


    ¡°You just woke up, and you haven¡¯t eaten anything yet. Plus, you have a free set of breakfast here, so


    take advantage of it. Besides¡­¡± He stared down to hide the sadness within his eyes. He muttered, ¡°You


    wouldn¡¯t throw it away even if I told you to. You can¡¯t do it.¡± Thest part was barely a whisper.


    Sonia heard him mumbling, but she couldn¡¯t hear it clearly, so she tilted her head sideways curiously.


    ¡°What are you mumbling about, Charles?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Dig in. I¡¯m going to use the bathroom.¡± He then made his way there.


    Sonia looked at him. She thought he was acting weirdly, but she didn¡¯t think too much about it. She took


    out the slip from behind her back and read the message on it. ¡®I¡¯m going now. The breakfast is on the


    table. If it¡¯s still hot when you see it, just eat it. But if it¡¯s not, then reheat it.¡¯


    The handwriting belonged to Toby alright. His font had always been strong and unique. Anyone would be


    able to recognize his handwriting at a nce. As Sonia read the message, she pouted. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.


    Of course I know I can¡¯t eat cold food. I don¡¯t need you to tell me that.¡±


    She was grumbling, but a smile had crept onto her face. Sonia folded the slip and put it in her pocket.


    She went to check on the breakfast and was surprised to find out that it was still warm. It¡¯s still warm? So


    it hasn¡¯t been long since he left.


    Sonia sat down and opened the bag of food. It was almost a feast because there was mushroom soup,


    croissant, BLT sandwich, and a box of milk. Sonia smacked her forehead in amusement. ¡°Did he buy


    everything in the shop?¡± She shook her head and stirred the soup before taking a sip. At the same time,


    she texted Toby on Messenger, ¡®Thanks for the breakfast.¡¯


    Sonia locked her phone and was about to put it aside after texting him that. She thought he must be busy


    working at the moment, but much to her surprise, her phone beeped the moment she put it down. Well,


    that was fast. She was stunned for a moment, but she quickly took the phone and opened the


    Messenger app without even thinking.


    Toby texted, ¡®You¡¯re awake.¡¯


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡®I can¡¯t text you otherwise.¡¯


    Toby was in a meeting and sitting in the main seat as usual. When he saw her reply, he chuckled. I can


    imagine the look on her face when she said that. The more he thought about it, the bigger his smile


    became.


    When the top brass heard his chuckle, they looked at him. They were horrified to see their boss smiling,


    as if it was something that should never happen. He¡¯s smiling! Mr. Fuller is smiling at his phone!


    ¡°Hey, does anyone have any idea what happened to Mr. Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? He¡¯s in love.¡±


    ¡°Whoa? Really? With whom?¡±


    The top brass shook their heads as none of them knew the answer to that.


    Toby had no idea his subordinates were gossiping about him, and he texted back quickly, ¡®Do you like it?¡¯


    Sonia looked at the soup before her. ¡®It¡¯s decent.¡¯


    She didn¡¯t refuse his breakfast because she had agreed that he could woo her, and giving a potential


    partner breakfast was a part of that. So, she had no reason to say no.


    Toby looked at his phone gently. ¡®Good. Finish your breakfast. I have a meeting to finish, so talk to you


    later.¡¯


    Sonia texted an OK emoji. ¡®Sure. But are you free this afternoon?¡¯


    Afternoon? Toby sat up straighter. ¡®Do you need anything this afternoon?¡¯ Is she going to ask me out on


    a date? Toby became visibly excited.


    Sonia put her spoon down. ¡®Nothing much. I want to give the essories back to you.¡¯ She was going to


    send one of her employees to do it, but then she thought it would be irresponsible of her. It was an


    expensive item, so if her employee broke or lost it, she wouldn¡¯t have enough money topensate him.


    I¡¯ll do it myself. It¡¯s safer that way.


    Sonia¡¯s reply made Toby frown. He wanted to say there was no need for that, since he never nned on


    taking it back. But then he realized she wasn¡¯t the kind of person to keep it. If he forced her to do that, it


    would get on her nerves and ruin their already precarious rtionship.


    I should let her give it back to me. Actually, I can give it to her again once we get back together. Once he


    made up his mind, he replied, ¡®Sure. Come over this afternoon. I¡¯ll be waiting in the office.¡¯


    Sonia sent him an OK emoji again.


    Toby didn¡¯t reply to that. It was about time to stop texting and focus on his meeting.


    Sonia put her phone down and went back to her breakfast.


    When Charles came back out of the bathroom and noticed the smile on her face, the light in his eyes


    dimmed. ¡°You seem really happy, babe.¡± Is it because of breakfast? I guess so. After all, the guy she


    loves bought it for her.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, so she touched her face. ¡°Do I, really?¡±


    ¡°You do.¡± Charles went over to her.


    Sonia put her hand down. ¡°It¡¯s probably the weather. It¡¯s nice today.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Charles could see that she was lying, but he didn¡¯t expose her. It would only make things


    awkward if he said anything about it.


    They left together after Sonia finished breakfast. Daphne called her to talk about work while Sonia was


    on the way there. While Sonia talked, she looked out the window. Eventually, she realized something


    was off, so she stared in the rear-view mirror for a while before turning around.


    Charles noticed what she was doing, but he was perplexed. ¡°What is it, babe?¡±


    Sonia turned back around and hung up, then squinted into the rear-view mirror. ¡°Charles, I might be


    imagining things, but I think this car behind us is tailing us.¡±

 Chapter 530

    Chapter 530


    Chapter 530 Daphne¡¯s Crush


    ¡°The car behind us?¡± Charles was alerted upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words, looking at the rear mirror on his


    left. As soon as his eyes fell upon the mirror, he saw a ck car of a Japanese brand tailing them.


    Despite its ordinary-looking appearance, it was tailgating them so closely that it was hard not to think it


    was following them.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Charles knitted his eyebrows.


    Sonia sternly said, ¡°This car seems to have been following us ever since we left Bayside Residence.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Charles was seen with a preupied look on his face.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, I noticed it when I looked in the rear mirror. After all, how can I forget a peculiar-


    looking license te like that so easily?¡±


    ¡°A peculiar-looking license te?¡± Charles raised his eyebrows and looked in the rear mirror once more.


    When he saw the two digits that read ¡®13¡¯, he couldn¡¯t help but snigger. ¡°Damn! That¡¯s peculiar indeed!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! That¡¯s why that car stays in my mind the moment I see it, but I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it


    because I thought it was just some random car behind us until I realized this car was still tailing us now.


    Therefore, judging from how closely it is following us, I¡¯m worried that someone could be onto us,¡± Sonia


    pursed her lips and said in a serious voice.


    ¡°Call the cops!¡± Charles held the steering tightly. ¡°Call the cops and tell them about our situation. Then,


    sit tight and grab the handle above your head because I¡¯m about to drive like Mario Andretti and lose that


    stalker.¡±


    Unaware of the mysterious driver¡¯s intention, both Charles and Sonia decided to take extra precautions


    and assumed they were in the worst-case scenario. After all, they were afraid that the driver could do


    something unexpectedly crazy like ramming their car, so the best way to avoid that was to lose their


    stalker first.


    Needless to say, Sonia felt the same way as Charles did, so she nodded and said, ¡°Alright, drive safe.¡±


    She then grabbed the handle above her head and reached for her phone with her other hand to contact


    the police. Nheless, just when she just found Teddy¡¯s number, she suddenly saw the car behind


    them gaining on them in the rear mirror. Secondster, it appeared just right in front of them as Sonia


    tried to stop Charles from overtaking it. ¡°Wait, Charles!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Charles gazed at thedy.


    Sonia squinted, fixing her eyes on the car that was slowly disappearing from her sight. ¡°That car just


    overtook us.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles raised his voice. ¡°The car overtook us?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it following us?¡±


    Sonia responded with silence. A few momentster, their ¡°stalker¡± seemingly drove down a different path


    as it disappeared from sight. Then, she rubbed her forehead in relief and said, ¡°That car might just be


    going the same way as we did. I guess we overreacted.¡±


    ¡°Phew! We were just scaring ourselves all this time.¡± Charles heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the


    lady¡¯s words.


    Nheless, Sonia only knitted her eyebrows in silence because she somehow had a bad feeling about


    what they just went through, but she couldn¡¯t exin why she felt that way. In the meantime, Charles


    noticed her silence and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s on your mind?¡±


    Sonia rubbed her temples and replied, ¡°I was just thinking about the car that was following us. It may be


    gone now, but I somehow have a bad feeling about it.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say so?¡± Charles nced at Sonia from the corner of his eye.


    Sonia bit her lip and answered, ¡°It just seemed strange to me how that car suddenly overtook us. The


    driver could have done that way earlier but decided to continue tailing us until we realized we were being


    followed. Thus, it seemed to me that the driver must have discovered that we were aware of their


    existence before deciding to overtake us to deflect our suspicion.¡±


    ¡°Well, you have a point, but I think it¡¯s probably nothing more than a coincidence.¡± Charles turned his


    steering wheel and added, ¡°After all, the driver behind us couldn¡¯t see what we were doing, so it wouldn¡¯t


    make sense to say that he or she knew we were alerted.¡±


    While Sonia agreed with him, he suggested, ¡°Well, if that still doesn¡¯t ease your mind, you could get


    someone to investigate the car.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll get someone to look into it once we arrive at Paradigm Co.¡± Deep down,


    she couldn¡¯t rest assured until she found out who that driver was.


    Soon, both of them arrived at Paradigm Co. Since Charles had some work to do at the nning


    Department, he parted ways with Sonia in the lobby and made his way to the elevator that would take


    him to the relevant department. On the other hand, Sonia walked toward the elevator and proceeded to


    her office, where Daphne was standing in front of the door. When her secretary saw her, she politely


    greeted her. ¡°Good morning, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Sonia smiled and reached for her ess card to open the door as Daphne followed


    behind her and read her schedule of the day to her.


    When Sonia heard that she had to do a trivial inspection around herpany at one in the afternoon,


    she put down her purse and said, ¡°Cancel the inspection. I will be away at one in the afternoonter.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Daphne didn¡¯t ask her where she would be going and went ahead to strike through that part of


    her schedule. After that, she looked at Sonia and asked, ¡°Is there any amendment that should be made


    to your schedule, President Reed?¡±


    ¡°No. That¡¯s all for now.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°But I do have something I¡¯d like you to help me with.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening, President Reed.¡±


    Sonia then sat down and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper before writing something on it. Then, she


    handed it over to Daphne, who took a look at it and saw a car license te number. Confused with that,


    she asked, ¡°What¡¯s this supposed to mean, President Reed?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I just want you to find out more about this car owner because I want to know everything about


    whoever this is,¡± Sonia replied, flipping herptop open.


    ¡°Sure, President Reed.¡± Daphne closed her file after cing Sonia¡¯s schedule list between the papers.


    ¡°Alright, go do your thing. By the way, Charles is now in the nning Department, so please kindly drop


    by to see what you can do for him.¡± Sonia waved her hand.


    ¡°President Lane is here at Paradigm Co.?¡± Daphne¡¯s eyes lit up behind her sses when she heard


    Charles was in theirpany.


    At the same time, Sonia noticed her reaction and blinked in surprise, ¡°Daphne, don¡¯t tell me you¡­ Well,


    fine. Just do your thing.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Daphne didn¡¯t notice the strange look on Sonia¡¯s face as she nodded and walked away.


    Sonia fixed her eyes on Daphne, clearly noticing how active her secretary had be in her footsteps.


    After all, she knew Daphne wasn¡¯t an outgoing person, and her old-fashioned appearance only served to


    make her seem like a boring person. Therefore, everyone else in thepany secretly called her the


    bore.


    Nevertheless, Daphne was young but hardly ever lively, yet she seemed to act more like her age after


    the mention of Charles¡¯ presence. Thus, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether her secretary had a


    crush on him.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    At the thought of that, Sonia chuckled in amusement. Well, if that turns out to be true, I suppose I could


    act as a matchmaker who brings both of them together. While she reckoned Daphne was a mature and


    reliable woman, Charles seemed like a child who was about to reach his teenage years, although he was


    already in his thirties.


    Thus, Sonia believed Daphne and Charles would make a perfect couple, and they would live a happy life


    together. However, she had no idea what Charles would think about it, so she reckoned she must sound


    him out first before making her next move.

 Chapter 531

    Chapter 531


    Chapter 531 ck Forest Cake


    Sonia then flipped open a document and started burying herself in work. Later that afternoon, she told


    Charles that she was going to meet up with Toby to return him the jewelry, so she got into her car and left


    Paradigm Co. for the Fuller Group.


    It was already 1.00 PM by the time she arrived, and she stepped right through the entrance before she


    saw Tom walking in her direction. ¡°Hello, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Hi, Tom,¡± Sonia replied with a smile.


    ¡°President Fuller sent me to take you to the office.¡± Tom stood aside, extending his arm to show her the


    way.


    ¡°How did he know I¡¯m here?¡± Sonia appeared to be surprised. Although she did mention she was going


    to drop by in the afternoon earlier that morning, she didn¡¯t tell Toby the exact time. Therefore, she had no


    idea how Toby came to know that she had arrived and ordered Tom to collect her.


    Tom adjusted his sses and exined, ¡°Oh, President Fuller mentioned that you¡¯d being in the


    afternoon, so I was told to wait for you here.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded in confusion. ¡°Then, you must have been waiting for a long time.¡± ttered by


    Toby¡¯s decision to have Tom wait for her so early, she reckoned his sincerity deserved her appreciation.


    ¡°Well, not really. I just came down here about ten minutes ago. Anyway, Miss Reed, let¡¯s get going, shall


    we?¡± Tom asked, to which Sonia responded with an affirmative hum. ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    Both of them then made their way to the elevator that was meant for Toby to use. As they passed by the


    lobby, their presence drew the attention of the crowd around them. Some who knew Sonia didn¡¯t seem to


    be surprised about her arrival, considering the partnership between the Fuller Group and Paradigm Co.


    Thus, they believed Sonia was probably there to discuss some business with Toby. However, those who


    didn¡¯t know her were seen with their mouths wide agape as they began to gossip in murmurs.


    After all, since Tom was Toby¡¯s personal assistant, they didn¡¯t think he would send him to receive a


    random visitor unless it was someone important to him. Otherwise, he would have sent his secretary or


    some other assistant to receive the visitor. At that moment, they all couldn¡¯t help but wonder who Sonia


    was and why Toby had to get Tom to personally receive her. Who is she? Why does Mr. Brown have to


    personally receive her?


    In the meantime, Sonia could sense the strange eyes on her from everybody else, but nheless, she


    appeared to be indifferent toward their dramatic reactions, as she didn¡¯t even bother to look at them. To


    her, she couldn¡¯t care less about their judgment and opinions, since they were not going to do her any


    harm anyway.


    I can¡¯t control what people think about me, so they can look at me however they want.


    One minuteter, both of them arrived at Toby¡¯s office, whereupon Tom opened the door and invited her


    in with his arm stretching out. ¡°Pleasee in, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia expressed her gratitude politely and stepped into the office, only to see no signs of


    Toby. She then stopped in her tracks and looked back at Tom. ¡°Where is President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°President Fuller is currently in the middle of a meeting right now, but he¡¯ll be here in a few moments. So,


    please take a seat while waiting for him. Can I get you a little something to drink?¡± Tom showed Sonia


    the way to the couch.


    Sonia sat down on the couch. ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything, so why don¡¯t you make the call? I¡¯m not fussy


    anyway.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make some tea, perhaps. Please bear with me for a moment, Miss Reed,¡± Tom said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded.


    As soon as Tom excused himself, Sonia put her purse down on the table in front of her and reached for


    her cell phone in it. Then, she saw a notification popping up on her phone screen, catching her attention.


    ¡°The Stryder Family is under investigation?¡± Sonia immediately sat up straight and opened up the


    notification to view it, only to realize it was a news report about the Stryder Family¡¯s detention.


    When Sonia learned that the authority hadunched an investigation on the properties the Stryder


    Family owned, she curled her lips and sneered. Deep down, she didn¡¯t feel surprised about the news at


    all, knowing that the Stryder Family would soon have what wasing to them.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Ever since Melody was arrested, it was only a matter of time that the police would publish the news


    across Seafield, especially after her confession about being Tina¡¯s aplice and the murderer


    responsible for the death of Peter¡¯s first love. After all, Melody was from the Stryder Family, which was


    highly respected and revered by society.


    Therefore, when the prestigious family¡¯s ck sheep was found to be a murderer who took an innocent


    life and obstructed justice by assisting a criminal¡¯s escape, the Stryders inevitably became the center of


    the spotlight throughout the entire nation. For that, thew enforcement unit was pressured to run a


    thorough investigation on the Stryder Family.


    After all, Melody¡¯s wrongful actions reflected her upbringing in the Stryder Family, putting her other family


    members in a bad light. Therefore, the authority had no choice but to involve Melody¡¯s family in the


    investigation in order to appease the public¡¯s wrath.


    Thanks to Melody¡¯s previous interference with Seafield¡¯s political affairs, the Stryder Family still struggled


    with the repercussions that followed her selfish act. However, things only took a turn for the worse when


    Melody¡¯s uwful actions doomed the Stryder Family¡¯s future and sealed its fate. Thus, Sonia believed


    that Melody¡¯s parents must have regretted having a daughter like her.


    ¡°Am I seeing a smile on your face? What are you reading?¡± Toby opened the door and walked into his


    office with Tom, who was holding a tray in his hands, just when Sonia was skimming through the


    comment section of the news.


    Sonia put away her phone and looked up. ¡°I was just reading a news report about the Stryder Family.


    They¡¯re currently under a criminal investigation.¡±


    Toby jutted his chin. ¡°Oh, so that was what put a smile on your face, but I guess that¡¯s something that


    calls for a celebration.¡±


    ¡°You knew?¡± Sonia looked at the man.


    ¡°Yeah. For a while now, I guess.¡± Toby walked closer to thedy and sat down opposite her.


    ¡°Miss Reed, here is your ck tea and ck Forest cake. I hope it¡¯s to your liking.¡± Tom moved to the


    coffee table to serve Sonia what was on the tray.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Actually, it was President Fuller who told me to prepare it. So, if you want to thank


    someone, thank him.¡± Tom ced a cup of coffee in front of Toby.


    ¡°Did you prepare all this for me?¡± Sonia gazed at Toby with a surprised look on his face.


    With an affirmative hum, Toby replied, ¡°I know you have a sweet tooth, so I sent someone to buy some.¡±


    In the meantime, Tom let out a sigh on the inside because he previously didn¡¯t know that the cake was


    meant for Sonia. A month ago, Toby suddenly ordered someone to prepare a luxury cake in the


    refrigerator without any specific request about its type. While Tom initially thought that Toby had cravings


    for cakes, he quickly dismissed that thought because he had never seen Toby eating one.


    Therefore, he quietly observed his superior with confusion, unable to understand why he would have


    someone prepare a cake and throw it away before he left work, only to repeat the same process the next


    day.


    As time went on, Tom wondered whether Toby was out of his mind until one day, about a month ago,


    when he overheard his boss talking. It was then that he realized Sonia had a sweet tooth and that the


    cake was meant for her.


    Miss Reed may or may note often, but President Fuller still prepares the cake every day, rain or


    shine, so that he won¡¯t miss his chance to let her taste it when she really visits. Thus, I must say that I¡¯m


    impressed by his tenacity.


    On the other hand, Sonia, who had no idea about the cake¡¯s origin, only fixed her eyes on the cake with


    complicated emotions on the inside.


    At the same time, Toby noticed her silent stare and guessed she didn¡¯t like it, so he asked with a tense


    look on his face, ¡°Don¡¯t you like the cake?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m just a little ttered. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°No big deal. It¡¯s just a piece of cake anyway. In fact, whoever receives you elsewhere would probably do


    the same thing as I do, so there is no need to be so tense,¡± Toby replied despite his fear that Sonia


    wouldn¡¯t want to eat the cake just because he was the one who prepared it.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not tense. Like you said, it¡¯s just a piece of cake, so I¡¯m totally cool.¡± Sonia smiled.


    Initially nervous, Toby soon heaved a sigh of relief and curled his lips upward. ¡°Good to know that. Why


    don¡¯t you take a bite and tell me how it tastes?¡±

 Chapter 532

    Chapter 532


    Chapter 532 A Close Call


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded as she grabbed a fork and sliced the ck Forest cake before putting it into her


    mouth. With the soft texture and sweetness, the cake tasted so delicious that Sonia lost herself in it while


    her eyes curled upward like a smile.


    ¡°It looks like you love it a lot,¡± Tobymented with a smile upon noticing Sonia¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°Well, the taste is indeed not bad.¡± Sonia gave herpliment.


    Toby held his cup of coffee in the air and said, ¡°d to hear that. I have a few more right here, so you


    could take them away if you want.¡±


    ¡°Thanks then,¡± Sonia replied and took a sip of her ck tea. Deep down, she couldn¡¯t deny how much


    she loved the cake, so she reckoned she might as well take a few more slices of it since she had already


    eaten one. After finishing the cake on her te, she put it down and grabbed the bag beside her before


    handing it over to Toby. ¡°This is the jewelry you gave me. Thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°No worries.¡± Toby received the bag and gave it to Tom. ¡°Please take care of it.¡±


    ¡°Sure, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded and took the bag to the lounge, where there was a safe.


    Watching as Tom walked away, Sonia asked, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to examine it? Aren¡¯t you


    afraid that I¡¯d substitute it with a counterfeit?¡±


    ¡°No need for that. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d do that either.¡± Toby added while drinking his coffee, ¡°Furthermore, I


    wouldn¡¯tin either, even if you did that.¡±


    Meeting the man¡¯s sentimental eyes, Sonia felt her heart pounding even faster as she couldn¡¯t help but


    keep her head down.


    On the other hand, Toby let out a sigh, feeling dismayed at Sonia¡¯s slight resistance, although she had


    stopped rejecting his advances to woo her. After all, he couldn¡¯t stop wondering when she would ever


    realize she was already in love with him if she continued to fight her emotions and resist his advances.


    Ugh, man! I wish I could just tell her everything and ignore the fact that it may backfire.


    While Toby was caught up in his thoughts, Sonia¡¯s phone suddenly rang. She then reached for her


    phone in her purse and realized it was a call from her secretary, Daphne. Thus, she chuckled at Toby in


    embarrassment. ¡°Excuse me, President Fuller. I¡¯d like to answer this phone call.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia slid across her phone screen to answer the call, whereupon she put it to her ear. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°President Reed, I found something about the car license te number that you told me to investigate


    earlier,¡± Daphne answered.


    Sonia sat upright and asked, ¡°What did you find? Who is the owner of the car? Is there anything fishy


    about it?¡±


    The owner of the car? Toby pricked up his ears and put down his cup of coffee while staring at her.


    What¡¯s going on? Is she in some kind of trouble?


    ¡°The owner is just a normal civilian who has been using the car for years, so everything seems fine


    here,¡± Daphne replied while skimming through her results.


    ¡°Alright, I heard you.¡± Sonia nodded when she heard her secretary¡¯s reply. She then put her phone away


    and heaved a sigh of relief with her mind put to ease. It looks like the driver who happened to be going


    the same way as we did this morning is just a normal civilian. Well, I guess I can rest assured now


    knowing that he wasn¡¯t actually tailing us.


    Noticing Sonia¡¯s relief, Toby squinted and asked in a concerned manner, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no big deal, but it¡¯s already dealt with anyway.¡± Sonia smiled faintly.


    ¡°Oh, good to know that. If anything serious happens, you can alwayse to me, and I¡¯ll take care of it


    for you.¡± Toby jutted his chin.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded, but Toby could tell how perfunctory her answer sounded.


    ¡°Alright, President Fuller. It¡¯s gettingte, so I should get going now. After all, I¡¯m needed at the


    construction site by 3 PMter.¡± Sonia lifted her arm and looked at the watch on her wrist as she stood


    up. In fact, she hadn¡¯t been to her nt at all, even though it had already been built for months.


    Meanwhile, the construction team gave Daphne a call earlier and told her that they had finished building


    the nt. Thus, they requested someone to examine and inspect the ce uponpletion so that any


    amendments could be brought up and carried out. For that, Sonia decided to pay a visit to the nt.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll see you out, perhaps.¡± Toby rose from his seat. Although he wanted Sonia to stay for a while


    more, he didn¡¯t really have a reason to convince her. Nheless, he was d that she didn¡¯t resist his


    advances, so he could find an excuse to see her any time he wanted, unlike his previous experience.


    On the other hand, Sonia didn¡¯t reject Toby¡¯s offer to see her out as she smiled and nodded in


    agreement.


    Then, Toby looked at his assistant, who had juste back from the lounge after putting away the


    jewelry, and gave him an instruction. ¡°Please pack the cake in the refrigerator.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tom replied with an affirmative hum and went on to do as he was instructed. Soon, he returned


    with a delicate box, which Toby took and handed over to Sonia.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia took the box.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Your love for the cake is the best way of showing your gratitude to me.¡± Toby looked at


    her, speaking with a hoarse voice.


    The next moment, Sonia¡¯s ears blushed as she kept her head down without saying a single word.


    In the meantime, Toby sensed her embarrassment and chuckled before he changed the subject. ¡°Let¡¯s


    go.¡± Then, Sonia followed him out of the office and headed toward the elevator. When they got there,


    Toby pushed the button to open the elevator door. ¡°Where did you park your car, by the way?¡±


    ¡°The junction near yourpany¡¯s entrance,¡± Sonia answered with the cake in her hand. In fact, she


    parked her car there because she spotted a vacant lot there when she arrived.


    While Toby nodded his head to show his acknowledgment, the elevator arrived. Then, he chivalrously


    invited her to step into the elevator before he did, as Tom followed right behind to make sure the elevator


    door was closed.


    As the elevator descended, the confined space was shrouded by silence, with neither of them speaking a


    word to the other. It wasn¡¯t until they stepped out of the elevator that Sonia broke the silence and said,


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, so you should probably get back inside, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°No worries. I¡¯ll leave once you get into your car,¡± Toby said with one hand in his pocket.


    Noticing Toby¡¯s insistence, Sonia silently gave in and reached for the car keys to unlock her car door.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make a move now. See you!¡± She waved her hand at the man.


    ¡°See you.¡± Toby responded with an affirmative hum.


    When Sonia opened the car door and was about to enter the vehicle, a speeding car could be heard


    charging from behind. As Toby looked up, he saw a ck car of a Japanese brand traveling in their


    direction at an unusually high speed. Sensing the driver¡¯s intent to run over them, Toby appeared to be


    shocked as he quickly seized Sonia¡¯s arm and pulled her backward.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Toby shouted with an intense voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia was jerked by the man to the side before she could understand what had


    happened. However, she also didn¡¯t manage to hold her cake tightly as it fell onto the floor. At the same


    time, Sonia copsed into Toby¡¯s arms while both of them turned around in a circle with the man¡¯s arm


    around her waist. Then, both of them fell down onto the ground and rolled out of the way just before the


    car could run over them.


    In the meantime, Tina was frustrated with Toby¡¯s swift reaction because he not only managed to dodge


    her car but also save Sonia¡¯s life at the same time. As she watched her chance slip through her fingers,


    her face twisted in malicious horror. ¡°Goddamn it!¡± Tina thumped the steering wheel and set her eyes on


    the man and thedy outside her car window, gritting her teeth. In fact, she had been tailing Sonia all the


    way there while waiting for an opportunity to hit her and run.


    However, when Toby showed up as well, she was gleeful that luck was on her side. While Tina believed


    she could only find peace in Sonia¡¯s death, her love for Toby had grown into a grudgeful hatred. Thus,


    she could never bring herself to forgive him.

 Chapter 533

    Chapter 533


    Chapter 533 They Deserve Death


    In order to prove her love for Toby, Tina went through the trouble of dating Quentin and orchestrated an


    ident that killed him to get his heart for the man she loved. However, she was now dismayed in


    hindsight, thinking Toby didn¡¯t love her at all because all the love he showed her was none other than an


    illusion from the hypnotism. Although she had no choice but to reluctantly ept her fate, she reckoned


    Toby should have never snapped out of his hypnotic state.


    After all, Toby broke up with her the moment he woke up, rendering her aughingstock. Thus, she


    med him for putting her through so much suffering.


    If you won¡¯t appreciate my love for you, you¡¯ll die together with Sonia. No one can have Toby if I can¡¯t


    have him.


    Initially thinking she could run them over with one attempt, she was surprised that they managed to


    dodge her car at that critical moment. Nheless, she quickly came to a decision to turn around for


    another try. At the thought of that, she smiled creepily at the both of them in her car and stepped on the


    gas pedal, steering the car toward them.


    Meanwhile, the car only managed to run over Sonia¡¯s cake on the floor, ttening the box as its content


    was crushed into smithereens. Setting her eyes upon the cake on the ground, she snapped out of her


    petrified trance and caught on to what had just happened.


    That driver really wanted to kill me and Toby! Sonia shivered at the thought of the driver¡¯s killer intent. If it


    hadn¡¯t been for Toby, I would have been run over like a pancake. Wait a second, Toby!


    ¡°Toby!¡± Sonia quickly turned her attention when she thought about him. While he looked like he was


    seemingly injured, she knitted her eyebrows with a pale face.


    Seeing his miserable state, Sonia immediately panicked. ¡°How do you feel, Toby?¡±


    ¡°I sprained my ankle. Help me up.¡± Toby gasped for breath, enduring the pain while weakly asking for


    help.


    ¡°You sprained your ankle?¡± He is injured indeed. Sonia confirmed her suspicion and got out of the man¡¯s


    arms to check on his leg.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Knowing what Sonia was going to do, Toby stopped her with a stern look on his face. ¡°Help


    me up first. That car maye back.¡±


    ¡°What?! That car maye back?¡± Sonia¡¯s face changed, her eyes dting in horror.


    Toby tried to prop his body with his arm as he fixed his cial eyes on the direction in which the car


    drifted away. ¡°Yeah, whoever was driving was obviously trying to kill us. Now that the driver failed to do


    so, I¡¯m sure he or she will likelye back for us.¡±


    ¡°No way. We need to get out of here then.¡± Sonia quickly helped Toby up without any hesitation.


    Just when Sonia helped Toby get back on his feet, they suddenly heard the sound of an oing car


    from behind them. She then looked back and saw the same car that almost hit them a few moments ago.


    Toby was right. That car wasing back. It looks like whoever is driving won¡¯t stop until we¡¯re both


    dead. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Sonia gritted her teeth, summoning all the strength from her body to carry Toby away


    while both of them made for the parterre and dove into the bushes.


    The moment both of them fell into the bushes, theynded on the flowers in the parterre, which caused


    their clothes to be entangled with countless flower pedals.


    This would be such a romantic scene if it weren¡¯t for some crazy driver who tried to kill us for no good


    reason.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    While Toby and Sonia were forced to take cover in the parterre, their current situation would be a


    romantic encounter if they weren¡¯t trying to escape from someone who was trying to kill them in a car.


    On the other hand, Tina¡¯s face twisted in frustration when she saw Sonia and Toby diving into the


    parterre. Goddamn it! They got away with it again! Why is it so hard for me to just run over them?!


    Blinded by her anger and irritation, she was so engrossed with both of them in the parterre that she


    forgot her car was also charging at the parterre. Shortly after that, her car crashed into the concrete


    before a loud bang was heard. While Tina¡¯s car came to an abrupt stop, the jarring car rm filled the


    silent atmosphere. At the same time, Tina bumped into the steering wheel, feeling unbearable pain in her


    chest as she felt dizzy in her head. Then, she felt something warm and wet dripping down her forehead,


    only to realize it was¡ªblood.


    Damn it! I¡¯m bleeding. Tina gritted her teeth, her hands shaking as she cursed Toby and Sonia on the


    inside. I¡¯m here to kill Sonia, but now she is fine, and I¡¯m hurt! What the heck is going on?! Goddamn it!


    ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± Tina quickly saw Tom and a few other bodyguardsing her way when she was


    silently cursing Sonia and Toby. At the sight of those men, she had her facial expression darkened.


    I need to get out of here! Now! Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote for me to escape!


    Knowing that she was a fugitive who had just attempted murder, Tina was fully aware of how she would


    end up if she was ever caught. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy for her to escape from the police thest time, so


    she didn¡¯t want to be captured again.


    Tina clenched her jaw and shifted the gear to reverse from the concrete, whereupon she stepped on the


    gas pedal and sped away. Before she left, she looked back and set her cial eyes on the parterre,


    swearing to herself that she would be sure to kill them next time.


    I won¡¯t fail again next time! When I return, it¡¯ll be time for both of you to meet your demise!


    At that moment, Sonia sat up straight while feeling dizzy but soon met Tina¡¯s eyes through the car


    window. Shocked by what she saw, Sonia couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. Tina! It¡¯s Tina who tried to run over


    us!


    ¡°President Fuller! Miss Reed!¡± Tom came running to Sonia and Toby, checking on them in a concerned


    manner. ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± In fact, he didn¡¯t tag along with Toby to see Sonia off. Instead, he was


    waiting in the lobby because Toby would like to see Sonia off alone. Thus, he sensibly left them to it,


    thinking it wasn¡¯t necessary for him to be the third wheel. Nheless, when it took Toby longer than it


    should to return, Tom started to get curious until he heard a loud bang from the outside.


    Wondering what happened, he stepped outside with a few security guards to investigate themotion.


    As he discovered what happened, he saw Sonia and Toby lying in the parterre with a car rammed into


    the concrete.


    Seeing that, he instantly understood that Toby and Sonia were nearly hit by that car, but when he sent


    his men to confront the driver, the car started moving and drifted away before they could do what they


    intended to. Therefore, Tom had no choice but to mark down the car¡¯s license te number and went on


    to check on Toby and Sonia.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± Sonia shook her head and pointed at the direction in which Tina drove away, desperately


    saying, ¡°Hurry up! That driver is Tina, so don¡¯t let her get away!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Tom paused shortly before his face turned cold. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that was Tina!¡±


    ¡°Get her!¡± Toby endured his dizziness and gave his order.


    Tom nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get someone to go after the car.¡± He then instructed two of the


    bodyguards, who got into a car and pursued Tina. In the meantime, Sonia emerged from behind the


    bushes while helping Toby walk out of it. However, since Toby sprained his ankle, he wasn¡¯t able to walk


    properly, which made it hard for thedy to help him get out of the parterre. In the end, Tom had to give


    her a hand in helping Toby out of the parterre.


    ¡°President Fuller, are you hurt anywhere else besides your ankle?¡± Tom quickly checked on Toby with


    Sonia while anxiously asking him in a concerned manner,


    ¡°Besides my ankle, I¡¯m fine.¡± Toby waved his hand in response. In fact, he sprained his ankle when he


    cushioned Sonia from the fall a few moments ago, but other than his ankle, he was perfectly fine.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you only just sprained your ankle. You need to see a doctor,¡± Sonia seized Toby¡¯s arm and


    said.


    Tom agreed with Sonia and reached for his phone to send for the doctor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the office,¡± Toby squinted and replied before shifting his gaze to Sonia. ¡°Come along


    with us.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded, thinking she shouldn¡¯t just walk away like nothing ever happened after the


    unexpected incident took ce. Deep down, she told herself that she must at least make sure he wasn¡¯t


    hurt anywhere else.

 Chapter 534

    Chapter 534


    Chapter 534 The Grudges Between Them


    Not long after the three of them had returned to Toby¡¯s office, the doctor Tom summoned earlier arrived.


    Immediately, Sonia cleared away the things on the coffee table to make room for the doctor¡¯s medical kit.


    However, the doctor had only just put down his kit when Toby pointed at Sonia and instructed, ¡°Attend to


    her first.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Tom and Sonia protested simultaneously, making their objections clear. As far as Tom was concerned,


    Sonia was rtively unscathed, whereas Toby¡¯s foot was swollen.


    As such, it made sense for the doctor to tend to Toby¡¯s injuries first instead of checking up on Sonia.


    Sonia, on the other hand, thought the same thing. The abrasions on her arm were not any worse than


    Toby¡¯s swollen ankle, but more importantly, he had been the one who stepped in and saved her in time.


    On that point alone, he rightfully deserved all the medical attention.


    At the sight of Sonia¡¯s stony expression and stubborn refusal, Toby parted his lips to say something but


    thought better of it when he felt her overwhelming authority loom over him.


    It was only after she had seen him give up on his attempt to argue that she looked away and addressed


    the doctor in a white coat with a polite smile. ¡°Please attend to him first, doctor.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± the doctor agreed with a perfunctory nod. ¡°President Fuller, could you please lift your leg for


    me?¡±


    Toby frowned, seemingly reluctant to follow orders.


    Sonia pursed her lips at this and urged like a flustered hen, saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the doctor? Lift your


    leg up so he can examine it! How else do you expect him to go about this?¡± Without warning, she bent


    over to wrap an arm around his injured leg to lift it.


    Toby hadn¡¯t expected her to do this, and he stiffened at the sudden gesture. However, this only made it


    harder for Sonia to lift his leg, and she reached out to tap him on the shoulder, hissing, ¡°Hey, loosen up!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby snapped out of his daze. He couldn¡¯t suppress a smile as he rxed his body.


    When she felt that his leg was not quite as heavy and stiff as before, she sessfully lifted it up and


    propped it on the sofa. ¡°You can examine him now, doctor.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± the doctor replied as he walked over to the sofa and crouched down, thereafter checking the


    swollen area.


    Meanwhile, Tom stood to the side with his hand sped over his mouth to keep fromughing. He was


    highly entertained by how Toby dared not utter a word ofint even though he was anal about


    someone touching his foot, all because Sonia was staring at him like she would not hesitate to put him in


    ce. Maybe fear really is the heart of love after all, Tom thought in amusement.


    Toby seemed to realize what Tom wasughing at, and he narrowed his eyes at thetter as though


    saying icily, I can¡¯t believe you have the nerve tough at me when you don¡¯t even have a lover.


    As if reading Toby¡¯s mind, Tom felt the grin slide off his face. His lips gave a final twitch before he put on


    a straight face again, though his pride was definitely hurt. He¡¯s right. I probably shouldn¡¯t make fun of him


    when I¡¯ve been a bachelor all my thirty years of life. I really ought to work on my game.


    Presently, oblivious to the wordless exchange between Toby and Tom, Sonia kneeled down before


    Toby¡¯s injured foot and asked the doctor worriedly, ¡°How¡¯s his foot looking, doctor?¡±This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    The doctor pressed down on Toby¡¯s ankle, which made Toby frown. Seeing this, the doctor understood


    the extent of Toby¡¯s pain and turned to grab a bottle of cooling spray from his medical kit. Shaking the


    aluminum bottle twice, he aimed the nozzle at Toby¡¯s swollen ankle and sprayed it. ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious.


    He put a strain on his ligament, which is just another way of saying he sprained his ankle. He¡¯ll be fine in


    a couple of days.¡±


    When Sonia heard this, she let out a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Oh, thank goodness.¡± Then, she looked at


    Toby and shed him a bright smile. ¡°Did you hear that? The doctor said you¡¯ll be fine in a couple of


    days!¡±


    Toby nodded, eyeing her with endearment as he answered, ¡°I heard him.¡±


    She stood up. ¡°Thank you for what you did earlier.¡± They had been downstairs, and she was just about to


    get into the car when she heard the sound of an approaching vehicle, but she did not turn to see where


    that vehicle was going.


    Sonia had thought that it would only pass her by, but to her surprise, the car had intended to run her


    down and kill her.


    If Toby hadn¡¯t reacted in time and dragged her back to the pavement, Tina would have knocked her off


    her feet and sent her flying down the street.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. Anyone would have done the same thing in my position, let alone someone


    who loves you as much as I do. I couldn¡¯t just do nothing and watch you get hurt before my very eyes,¡±


    Toby pointed out gravely, keeping his gaze on Sonia.


    If she had gotten hurt while he was there, he might never be able to forgive himself. He would spend the


    rest of his days in self-loathe, haunted by the fact that he had failed to save her. With that in mind, he


    thanked the heavens that he had been there to drag her back onto the safety of the pavement. If she had


    been alone, then she would be¡­


    His fists clenched, and he stopped himself from thinking about what might have happened. He couldn¡¯t


    bring himself to ept how dire the situation could have been had he not been there to save her. Just


    focus on the present, he told himself firmly. This is the best I could ask for.


    Having heard the man¡¯s subtle confession, Sonia felt her heart begin to race, and she parted her lips to


    say, ¡°Even then, you shouldn¡¯t have risked your life like that to save me. You could have¡ª¡±


    ¡°I was more terrified about you getting hurt than anything else,¡± Toby said, cutting her off. At any given


    moment, he would have prioritized her life over his own safety.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened, and she turned around to dab at the tears that had somehow escaped. She


    wasn¡¯t sure why she was crying, but she tried to keep her voice steady as she choked out, ¡°Toby, don¡¯t


    you know how stupid it is for you to risk your life to save mine? Have you ever stopped to wonder if it¡¯s


    worth it?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for others, but I know it¡¯s worth it to me,¡± he answered solemnly.


    She bit down on her lip and muttered in resignation, ¡°You¡¯re a lovesick fool! That¡¯s what you are.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t help it now. I¡¯ve already put the rest of my life in your hands. It¡¯s toote for


    me to y it safe.¡±


    Sonia looked up slightly and drew in a breath, pushing down the exasperation that was welling up in her


    as she turned to meet his gaze. ¡°Please don¡¯t act so impulsively if something like this ever happens


    again. Do you really think I¡¯d sleep at night if you gave up your life to save mine? For your sake, and


    mine, could you please just put yourself first, Toby? I don¡¯t want to see you get hurt because of me ever


    again!¡±


    She paused at this, then added, ¡°Someone should go after Tina before she gets away. If she does, who


    knows when she¡¯ll pop out of nowhere and run some crazy scheme to hurt me? When thates to


    pass, you¡¯re going to risk your own safety again just to help me, so I¡¯m asking you to butt out of this,


    Toby. This is a grudge between Tina and myself, and I don¡¯t want to drag you into it.¡±


    Next to them, Tom nodded earnestly to show that he agreed with her. He was Toby¡¯s assistant and


    friend, and he didn¡¯t want to see Toby get hurt. He¡¯d be better off not taking part in all this drama between


    Miss Reed and Tina.


    However, he also understood that Toby could not keep himself from intervening. Because if he doesn¡¯t,


    then who¡¯s going to take his ce to step in and protect Miss Reed?


    Sure enough, Toby gave a firm shake of his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll put my foot in even where


    it¡¯s not wanted. Haven¡¯t you realized that this grudge ties not just you and Tina together, but all three of


    us?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia gaped at him, a little startled by this revtion.


    The air around Toby grew colder as he thought about what had happened just now. ¡°When we were


    downstairs, Tina didn¡¯t just try to kill you; she was trying to kill me, too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Sonia gasped, her wide eyes filled with disbelief.


    He smirked and borated, ¡°No, it¡¯s entirely possible. If she wasn¡¯t trying to kill me, then she wouldn¡¯t


    have driven her car in our direction again, even after I pulled you to safety. We were on the ground


    together, Sonia. There was no way she could have killed you and spared me in the process.¡±


    This made Sonia fall into a stunned silence. She thought about his analysis and found herself agreeing


    with him. Indeed, if it hadn¡¯t been Tina¡¯s intention to kill Toby, then she would have sped off after failing to


    run Sonia down the first time, but instead, she made a fast turn and hurtled toward her and Toby.


    So she really did want to kill me and Toby by running us over with her car.


    ¡°But why would she do something like that? Doesn¡¯t she love you?¡± Sonia demanded, her nails digging


    into her palms as her gaze searched Toby¡¯s face.


    Disgust shed in Toby¡¯s eyes as he spat, ¡°Her love is worthless. Besides, she never truly loved me.¡±


    ¡°Never?¡± Sonia repeated in surprise.

 Chapter 535

    Chapter 535


    Chapter 535 We Lost Her


    That¡¯s not possible, Sonia thought, still rmed by Toby¡¯s promation. If it¡¯s true that Tina never truly


    loved him, then why was she so possessive of him?


    As though reading her mind, Toby borated grimly, ¡°She never truly loved me for me! After I cked


    out from that particr car ident, I had Tom look into Tina, and we discovered a crucial piece of


    information.¡±


    ¡°What was it?¡± Sonia asked anxiously.


    Tom interjected, ¡°We found out that, at that point, she had known for quite a while that she wasn¡¯t Titus¡¯


    biological daughter.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Tina discovered at the age of eighteen that she was not Titus¡¯ biological daughter, which means


    there was a chance that he wouldn¡¯t pass Triforce Enterprise to her. Even if he would, she knew herck


    of skills in running a business would only jeopardize thepany. There was a real likelihood that


    Triforce Enterprise could go bankrupt or be taken over by the shareholders, so in order for her to keep up


    hervish lifestyle, she began to set eyes on all the sessful men in the industry.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s jaw dropped when she heard Toby¡¯s exnation. ¡°No way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all true, Miss Reed. I looked into the men Tina had set her eyes on and found that they were


    bachelors from and heirs to some of the most elite families in the industry,¡± Tom began borating. ¡°Our


    President Fuller happened to be the cream of the crop, but with the Gray Family¡¯s standing back in the


    day, they were far from being in his league. Tina couldn¡¯t find a way to even get close to President Fuller,


    until she discovered that he was pen pals with you, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Pen pals¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s face fell as she remembered something. So that¡¯s what happened! Tina and I went


    to the same university, and she was even my roommate!


    The scene of Tina catching her writing letters shed in Sonia¡¯s mind. They had been in their first year of


    university then, and she recalled Tina making fun of her for using such archaic methods tomunicate


    with someone. Following this, Tina even rallied the other students from the course to join in the teasing.


    But one day, Tina suddenly showed interest in Sonia¡¯s pen pal and started asking questions about him.


    She had always been reproachful of Sonia¡¯s letter-writing, but out of nowhere, she imed to have ns


    on finding herself a pen pal as well.


    Perhaps that had been the precise moment when Tina, by some way or another, discovered Toby and


    Sonia were pen pals. Then she had the idea to impersonate me so that she could finally get close to


    Toby!


    At the thought of this, Sonia closed her eyes and bit out angrily, ¡°It was my fault for not seeing through


    her schemes at the beginning.¡±


    If she had known that John and Toby were the same person¡ªthat her pen pal and the man she had


    fallen so deeply in love with shared one identity¡ªbefore Tina had, things would have turned out


    differently for her and Toby.


    For one, Tina would never even be part of their narrative.


    Presently, at the sight of Sonia¡¯s trembling hands, Toby reached out and pulled her into his arms. She


    stumbled into his embrace, and as he held her, he caressed her hair gently while murmuring, ¡°None of


    this is your fault; it¡¯s mine. I should have told you my identity all those years ago.¡±


    In actuality, he had considered telling her about his real identity back then, but atst, he decided against


    it after seeing how difficult the search for apatible heart donor had been.


    That moment of hesitation had ended up being the perfect window for Tina toe between him and


    Sonia.


    The fault was not Sonia¡¯s alone, but that didn¡¯t matter. Having missed out on six years with her, Toby was


    determined to have every moment he could with her now.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was surprised by his sudden gentle embrace, but for some reason, she


    couldn¡¯t bring herself to push him away. There was somethingforting about being in his arms like


    this, and she found herself calming down.


    Going along with the flow, she quietly leaned her forehead against his shoulder and asked slowly, ¡°So


    you¡¯re saying that Tina only ever loved you for your money and status, but not for who you are? She


    went to such extreme lengths just so she could have you fund hervish lifestyle?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Toby muttered hoarsely, dipping his head so he could breathe in the pleasant scent of her


    hair.


    She lowered her gaze. ¡°Actually, I thought her feelings for you were true to some extent. I could tell.¡±


    Sonia had seen the jealousy in Tina¡¯s eyes whenever they were in the same room; raw emotions like that


    couldn¡¯t have been an act. Such jealousy and hostility toward me would have been uncalled for had Tina


    never truly loved Toby.


    Toby¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°I don¡¯t care whether her feelings for me were real or not because I don¡¯t want


    her in the slightest. The idea of being loved by her disgusts me!¡±


    Hearing this inexplicably lifted Sonia¡¯s spirits, and the beginnings of a smile began to curl on her lips as


    she said, ¡°You know, maybe Tina tried to kill you because all that love she had for you has turned into


    pure hatred.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. She could try, but it¡¯s not as if she¡¯d seed in murdering me anytime soon,¡± Toby


    pointed out darkly. An insidious look shed in his eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly. He gently


    released Sonia from the cage of his arms and stared into her eyes. ¡°Just remember that going forward,


    the grudges you thought were between you and Tina concern me as well, so don¡¯t tell me not to


    intervene. Tina would stille after me even if I were to back out of this mess. You understand that,


    don¡¯t you?¡±


    Sonia parted her lips to say something in protest, but having been rendered speechless, she finally


    nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±


    Meanwhile, the doctor who had been tending to Toby¡¯s sprained ankle¡ªand who had be an


    involuntary third wheel to Toby and Sonia in the process¡ªstood up and said, ¡°Okay, President Fuller,


    you¡¯re all set and ready to go. I¡¯ve bandaged your ankle, so try to keep the area dry for at least twenty-


    four hours, though you can clean it with a damp towel. In the meantime, take care not to bump into


    anything.¡±


    Toby hummed in response. ¡°Alright. Now, can you please attend to her?¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± the doctor agreed readily, then nced over at Sonia. ¡°Take a seat here, youngdy.¡±


    Sonia made a noise of acknowledgment and walked over to the other side of the couch, then rolled up


    her sleeve to reveal the abrasions on her arm so the doctor could tend to them.


    Just then, Tom¡¯s phone rang. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s a call from the bodyguards I sent to go after Tina


    earlier.¡±


    Toby looked somber as he barked, ¡°Well, answer it!¡±


    Sonia turned to stare at Tom anxiously as well.


    Under their intense scrutiny, Tom picked up the call and put it on speaker. ¡°It¡¯s me. Have you brought the


    target into custody?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Mr. Brown, but we lost her,¡± one of the bodyguards on the other line reported trepidatiously.


    Exasperation and disbelief colored Tom¡¯s features as he snapped, ¡°What? You lost her? You guys are


    two walking blocks of muscle with a shy car, but neither of you managed to catch a girl in a beat-up


    ride?¡±


    Putting it that way, it was hard for anyone to believe that Tina had outrun two security guards.


    Toby, too, looked incensed, and the air around him crackled with angry energy. Sonia¡¯s fists were


    clenched so tight that her nails were digging hard into her palms, and the incredulous expression on her


    face belied her thoughts. How did it end up this way?


    She had initially thought that the bodyguards would take down Tina for sure, but in a shocking twist of


    events, the wretched woman actually managed to escape.


    It was just as Sonia had said earlier: if they failed to bring Tina into custody and let her escape, then it


    would only be harder to catch her the next time. For as long as Tina stayed hidden in the shadows, she


    was a giant, ticking time bomb. There was no telling when she would pop up again and hurt them.


    As things were, the worst-case scenario that Sonia had thought of had finally happened.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    On the other end of the phone, the two bodyguards looked down in shame after getting told off by Tom.


    ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Mr. Brown. We didn¡¯t mean to let her escape; we thought the chase was going well, but just


    as we were about to corner her, two other cars skidded out of nowhere and cut us off.¡±


    ¡°Cut you off?¡± Sonia was astonished as she bit down on her lip. ¡°Could they be Tina¡¯s aplices?¡±


    ¡°Obviously,¡± Toby agreed with a solemn nod.


    ¡°She actually has aplices?¡± Sonia mmed her fist against the cushion and demanded, ¡°Who


    would put their lives on the line to help her? Cynthia? Or maybe Julia and Titus?¡±


    These were the only people Sonia could think of who might lend Tina a hand in all this. There was no


    way Melody could have helped Tina escape, not while she was already struggling in prison already. No,


    she couldn¡¯t have arranged for anyone to help Tina get away from a manhunt.


    That being said, Sonia thought there might be others who were aiding Tina in secret, but the possibility of


    that was low.


    After all, the current Tina had already fallen from grace; she was no longer the same girl who had been


    coddled and supported by courtesies of her rtionship with Toby. Her fans had deserted her, and her


    connections were too thinned out to offer her any real advantage.

 Chapter 536

    Chapter 536


    Chapter 536 The Way He Said It


    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to look into this and weed out her aplices, whoever they are,¡± Toby said darkly,


    narrowing his eyes ominously.


    Sonia nodded in agreement with him. There was little point in guessing who might have helped Tina


    escape when a thorough investigation could give them all the answers.


    ¡°Get the bodyguards toe back for now,¡± Toby instructed, pinching the space between his brows


    wearily as he nced at Tom. Now that Tina had managed to get away, sending bodyguards after her


    would be redundant.


    Adjusting his sses, Tom answered, ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± With that, he returned to the phone


    conversation and ordered the bodyguards toe back.


    Meanwhile, the doctor was done tending to the abrasions on Sonia¡¯s arm. He slipped off his disposable


    gloves with a flourish and announced, ¡°You¡¯re all done, miss. I¡¯ve disinfected and put ointment on the


    wounds. Now, you may be tempted to scratch the wounds while they¡¯re healing, but let the itching


    subside on its own, or the wounds might leave the scar.¡±


    ¡°Got it, doctor. Thank you,¡± Sonia said with a polite smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± The doctor grabbed the medical kit from the coffee table and slipped the strap over his


    shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now, President Fuller.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby jerked his chin at Tom and said, ¡°Tom, see the doctor out and drop by the


    security office along the way. We need to find out the precise time when Tina showed up around the


    area.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Tom nodded respectfully, then politely indicated for the doctor to leave through the door. The


    doctor took the lead, and Tom fell in step behind him.


    When the door clicked shut, Sonia and Toby were the only ones left in therge office.


    Presently, her gaze flickered over to his bandaged ankle as she asked, ¡°Do you need to use the


    restroom or go back to your work desk?¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No. Why do you ask?¡±


    Sonia replied, ¡°What I meant was, if you need to go to the restroom or back to your desk to sort through


    documents, then all you have to do is tell me. Think of me as a human crutch, if you will, since you can¡¯t


    exactly walk on your own at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, then nodded slowly as he considered this option. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll let you know if I need your


    help.¡±


    ¡°Right, so you will,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°And if you don¡¯t because you want to save me the trouble or


    whatever, just know that it¡¯ll add to my guilty conscience. Regardless of how things culminated, the fact


    remains that you busted your ankle because you wanted to save me.¡±


    In all fairness, Tina had wanted to run the both of them down, but if Toby had dodged away without


    pulling Sonia along with him, he would have beenpletely unhurt. At the end of the day, Sonia was


    the reason he would be limping for the next few days.


    At the sight of her guilty expression, Toby sighed. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be too hard on yourself. I brought this


    onto myself when I rushed to keep you from getting run down.¡±


    ¡°You could say that, but¡ª¡± She was cut off abruptly by the sound of her phone ringing. Frowning, she


    fished the phone out of her purse and saw Charles¡¯ name shing on the screen. She turned to Toby and


    muttered, ¡°Sorry, I have to get this.¡±


    Toby hummed in response. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    She slid her thumb across the screen to pick up the call and pressed the phone to her ear. ¡°Hey,


    Charles.¡±


    ¡°Hey, baby. I thought you¡¯d have dropped the jewelry off at Toby¡¯s by now,¡± Charles said on the other line.


    Sonia gave Toby a brief look and replied, ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you back yet? It¡¯s been ages, and we said we¡¯d go over to sign off on the factoryter,


    remember?¡± Charles pointed out.


    She checked the time. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll be runningte. Something came up.¡±


    ¡°Something came up? What is it, baby?¡± Charles grew concerned. ¡°Do you need my help?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said, smiling as she shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Everything has been handled for now.¡±


    Relieved, Charles prompted, ¡°Oh, well, in that case, hurry back. Anyter and the construction team will


    be getting off their shift.¡±


    Sonia nodded and gave a small hum. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get back as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Alright. See youter, then.¡± Having said this, Charles ended the call.


    Sonia set the phone aside, and Toby handed her a ss of water as he asked, ¡°So, what did Charles


    want?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she mumbled as she took the ss. Then, in response to Toby¡¯s question, she exined, ¡°You


    know how you gave me a piece ofnd a couple of months ago because of Tina? I built a factory on it,


    and now the construction is nearly done. They want me to go over and run a final check before signing


    off on it.¡±


    ¡°Congrattions,¡± Toby said cheerily. ¡°Now that you have a factory, you won¡¯t have to outsource


    manufacturers for your inventory.¡±


    He raised his own ss of water and made a toast to her new achievement.


    Seeing this, Sonia broke into a smile and clinked her ss against his. ¡°You¡¯re right. I won¡¯t have to


    stoop down to beg for others¡¯ favors or put my pride on the line now that I have the factory set up.¡±


    She still remembered how she had gone to Autumn Crest Hill for a meeting with Director Sandberg and


    his team. She had only just taken over Paradigm Co. then, and she was supposed to negotiate for


    manufacturing contracts with Director Sandberg, but all she got out of the deal was a round of


    harassment from the old director and his team of leering men. If Toby had not shown up to intervene


    back then, Director Sandberg and his employees might have had their way with her.


    She shuddered at this, disgusted by how vile the experience had been and how she would hate to relive


    it.


    ¡°With the factory close topletion, have you looked into equipment suppliers?¡± Toby asked after


    sipping his water, drawing Sonia out of her thoughts.


    She frowned. ¡°I haven¡¯t actually decided on that, but I¡¯m considering international suppliers, since their


    engineering technology is much more advanced than what I could find in the local market. That being


    said, I¡¯m going to need a buying channel if I set my mind on overseas equipment, and I am without one


    at the moment.¡±


    ¡°I could make arrangements for you,¡± Toby offered, eyeing her steadily.


    She shook her head vehemently when she heard this and pped her hand to turn him down. ¡°Oh, no,


    don¡¯t trouble yourself. I intend to take a look at the equipment myself when I go overseas.¡±


    He cocked a brow at this. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were nning a trip abroad.¡±


    sping her ss of water, Sonia hummed thoughtfully and said, ¡°A friend from my alma mater is


    throwing an engagement party next month on the tenth. She called me up two days ago and invited me


    to the party, and apparently, her fianc¨¦es from a family that owns a miningpany. They¡¯re


    supposedly coborating with a lot of engineeringpanies, so when I go over next month for her


    party, I¡¯ll try my luck and see if I can set up a buying channel.¡±


    Next month on the tenth¡­ Engagement party¡­ The fianc¨¦es from a family that owns a mining


    company¡­


    These strung together in Toby¡¯s mind, and he wondered idly if they were part of a coincidence as he


    nced in the direction of his work desk, the drawer of which contained the invitation to an engagement


    party.


    Much like Sonia¡¯s friend, the soon-to-be groom who had sent Toby the invitation was having the


    engagement party on the tenth of next month, and his family happened to also be in the mining business.


    Connecting the dots, Toby deduced that he and Sonia would be attending the same engagement party in


    the following month.


    Amused by the thought of this, he began to smile, and soon a low chuckle escaped him.


    Next to him, Sonia shot him a baffled look and asked, ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± he sputtered softly, lowering his gaze to hide the lingering amusement in his eyes. He had no


    ns of telling her that they would be attending the same engagement party, because he would very


    much like to see how she would react when she saw him on the day of. Would she be surprised or


    overjoyed? Or both?


    He could almost see her staring at him, wide-eyed with astonishment. The picture alone was enough to


    entertain him, and he resisted the urge tough once more.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was a little flustered by Toby¡¯s sudden mysterious front, but she didn¡¯t want to


    press further if he had no intention of telling her in the first ce. Everyone had their own secrets, after


    all.


    She put her phone into her bag, and she had only just tugged on the zipper when she heard Toby ask,


    ¡°By the way, is Charles still calling you baby?¡±


    At that moment, Sonia wasn¡¯t sure if she was imagining it, but she thought Toby had added emphasis to


    the word ¡®baby¡¯. He had also said it in a hoarse voice, which only added a suggestive edge to the word


    that gave her stomach butterflies and made blood rush to her face.


    Worst of all, he made a point to look deep into her eyes when he said the word ¡®baby¡¯, and she was


    having a hard time deciding if he had done so on purpose.


    For a moment, she thought her face was heating up too much and too quickly for her own good. She


    instinctively reached up and patted her cheeks with both hands. Sure enough, her skin felt hot to the


    touch. It didn¡¯t help that her heart was suddenly thumping wildly in her chest, threatening to fly out of her


    chest even though she was trying to stay calm.

 Chapter 537

    Chapter 537


    Chapter 537 A Little Too Unreasonable


    Sonia had one hand pressing her chest and the other fanning herself to cool down the flush on her face.


    Toby stared at her in mild bewilderment and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m perfectly fine!¡± Sonia stammered, swallowing convulsively as she looked down to avoid his gaze.


    My goodness, what¡¯s wrong with me? Why is my heart beating so fast? Why is my face burning up?


    Calm down! He wasn¡¯t actually calling me ¡®baby¡¯; he was only tonically referring to Charles¡¯ nickname


    for me, so why am I acting so weird about it?


    Charles had more often than not called her ¡®baby¡¯, but never once had she ever felt the way she did now.


    Logically speaking, the way Toby had called her by the same nickname shouldn¡¯t affect her this much.


    Presently, Toby could tell that Sonia was being evasive. With narrowed eyes, he gazed at her intently, as


    though he wanted to see through her.


    After a pause, he appeared to understand what was going on. Dark amusement glittered in his eyes as


    he leaned forward, closing the distance between them. The corner of his lips curled with a devious smirk


    as he said slowly, ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered me, Sonia. Does Charles still call you ¡®baby¡¯? Hmm?¡±


    This time, he added even more emphasis and bass to the word, and the suggestive edge that came with


    his gravelly tone only made Sonia draw in a sharp breath.


    ¡°S-Stay away from me!¡± She abruptly stood up and marched forward, effectively putting some distance


    between them. She had her back turned to him, and she refused to spin around no matter what.


    Catching sight of the red tips of her ears, Toby more or less knew what her face must look like at the


    moment. It¡¯s probably the same shade of red as her ears.


    By the looks of it, he was sure that his words earlier had brought about her sudden rush of


    embarrassment. Realizing this, he rested his cheek against the palm of his hand, and a teasing grin


    yed on his lips as he drawled, ¡°Make him stop calling you that from now on.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia rubbed her face as though to rx her expression, inhaling deeply to calm her nerves


    before she spun to look at Toby.


    He met her gaze and said inly, ¡°Because I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    She pursed her lips. ¡°That¡¯s your problem. Why should Charles give up calling me that just because you


    want him to?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a term of endearment that connotes an intimacy the both of you do not share. You aren¡¯t


    lovers, and more importantly, I¡¯ll get jealous. I¡¯ve tolerated his inappropriate behavior for long enough,


    and I have no ns to continue tolerating it. Sonia, I hope to be the only one who gets to call you by that


    nickname.¡± There was no hesitation or mockery in his eyes as he said this, and his voice was as grave


    as it was steady.


    Something glistened in Sonia¡¯s eyes as she demanded, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re a little too unreasonable


    right now?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m just doing what I think is right,¡± Toby countered gently, his features softening with an


    unspoken sentiment.


    Sonia parted her lips, but just as she was about to say something, the door to the office swung open


    before Tom marched in with aptop.


    As soon as he came in, he registered the strange dynamics in the room and halted in his long strides. He


    saw that Sonia had stood up even though Toby was still seated on the couch, and immediately sensed


    that something was off. ¡°Oh, did I¡ª¡± He broke off and shot Toby a nervous look, his heart beating


    frantically in his chest. ¡°Did Ie in at the wrong time?¡±


    From the looks of it, something had happened between Sonia and Toby, and his sudden entrance


    interrupted them. With that in mind, Tom wished that lightning could strike him on the spot. He slowly


    assessed Toby¡¯s icy expression and instantly knew that he hade in at a bad time. His lips twitched


    anxiously as he tried to telepathically convey his apologies.


    Sorry, President Fuller! It was my fault! I should have known better! This won¡¯t happen again!


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Are you here because you¡¯ve finished going through the security footage?¡± Toby asked


    in a bone-chilling voice, rubbing his temple tiredly.


    Upon hearing the words ¡®security footage¡¯, Sonia hurriedly resumed her seat.


    Tom nodded grimly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve gone through all of them. Tina was seen pulling up outside our building at


    2.00PM, and from there onward, she stayed put in the car. Here¡¯s the footage I¡¯ve edited.¡± Having


    reported that, he ced theptop in front of Sonia and Toby, after which he clicked into the footage in


    question.


    The first thing Sonia saw was her own red Mercedes-Benz appearing in the footage, followed by the


    scene where she got down from the car and walked into the building.


    Right after she walked into the building, a ck sedan pulled up on the street across from her car.


    Tom pointed at the ck sedan and said, ¡°Right there! That¡¯s Tina¡¯s car!¡±


    Astonished, Sonia gasped with her fists clenched, ¡°This was the car she was driving?¡±


    ¡°Why? Does the car seem familiar to you?¡± Toby asked, looking at her intently.


    She shook her head, then nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t actually find the car familiar, but the license te rings a bell.¡±


    ¡°The license te?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes and looked back at the footage, focusing on the license


    te on Tina¡¯s car.


    The footage was clear and in technicolor, and Toby had no trouble reading the license te at all. It


    featured a number thirteen, which seemed appropriate, given how Tina was the very definition of bad


    luck itself.


    ¡°This morning, Charles and I were driving over to Paradigm Co. when we noticed a car tailgating us. It


    was the same car, and I know this because the license te was particr enough to catch my eye. But


    just as Charles and I were about to call the police, the car drove away. We figured it was only a


    coincidence that it was on the same route as us, but to be on the safe side, I had Daphne look into the


    owner of the license te after I arrived at Paradigm Co.¡±


    ¡°So, who was the owner?¡± Toby urged, his face stormy.


    Sonia chewed on her lower lip. ¡°Well, the data showed that the owner of the license te was just a


    normal civilian, so I let my guard down. But I didn¡¯t think that Tina would turn out to be the owner!¡±


    When Tina had tried to run her and Toby down earlier, Sonia had been so caught up with avoiding the


    collision that she didn¡¯t even pay attention to the license te. That would exin why, in the heat of


    things, she hadn¡¯t noticed that Tina¡¯s car was the same one that had tailgated her that morning.


    ¡°No, that can¡¯t be. If Tina was the owner all along, then your secretary couldn¡¯t possibly have said that


    the license te belonged to a civilian,¡± Tom countered doubtfully. ¡°Could it be that your secretary is an


    aplice of hers, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Sonia said defensively. ¡°Daphne could never work for someone like Tina.¡±


    Toby interjected coolly, ¡°The problem likely lies in the license te itself. Tom, look into the license te


    and see if it belongs to Tina or the civilian Sonia mentioned.¡±


    Tom nodded gravely. ¡°Right away, sir!¡±


    While Tom took out his phone to make a call, Sonia and Toby watched the rest of the footage. There was


    nothing particrly exciting after Tina was spotted pulling up by the curb because she never got down


    from the car, and the street saw its usual stream of pedestrians and passing vehicles.


    It wasn¡¯t until two hourster, when Toby and Sonia showed up on the other side of the street, that Tina¡¯s


    car started to move.


    After that, the scene of the almost-ident yed before their very eyes. Tina had attempted to crash


    her car into them, and they tried to dodge her.


    Having finished the footage, Tobyced his fingers together and ced his hands on top of his knees,


    then lowered his gaze in thought.


    Sonia, on the other hand, merely drew in a breath without saying anything.


    Just like that, a tense silence descended upon the office.


    A few minutester, Tom hung up the phone and returned to stand before the two others, after which he


    reported dutifully, ¡°President Fuller, we¡¯ve looked into it, and the data shows that the license te


    belongs to a normal civilian, just as Miss Reed¡¯s secretary had found.¡±


    ¡°Which means Tina was using a forged license te,¡± Toby said with a wintry smile.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Apparently so. She must have had it made at thest minute; otherwise, she would be


    pulled over for driving a vehicle without a license te, and that would hinder her ns of following Miss


    Reed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for now.¡± Toby nodded solemnly. ¡°Now, look into the Gray Family and the Stone Family. I


    want to know if they were helping Tina in the shadows.¡±


    Up until now, the news of Tina being alive had yet to be made public, though the police would have


    already informed the Gray Family about it. They had to, seeing as the Gray Family had previously been


    grieving after Tina reportedly took her own life by jumping off a building.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    It would make sense then if the Gray Family, having stopped mourning over Tina¡¯s non-existent death,


    was secretly helping her plot revenge.

 Chapter 538

    Chapter 538


    Chapter 538 Toby¡¯s Bodyguards


    ¡°Right away,¡± Tom replied solemnly, then left to carry out Toby¡¯s orders.


    Presently, Sonia lifted her arm to nce at her watch and saw that it was drawing close to 4.30PM.


    Letting her arm fall back to her side, she was about to bid goodbye to Toby when he beat her to the


    chase. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re going to sign off on the factory, then you should probably get going now. Go


    straight home as soon as you¡¯re done, or it won¡¯t be safe after nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she agreed, rising to her feet. ¡°Ill be leaving now.¡±


    Just then, he picked up his phone and stopped her. ¡°Hold on. I¡¯ll get someone to escort you back.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that won¡¯t be necessary. I can drive,¡± Sonia said, turning him down with a cursory wave of her hand.


    He looked at her gravely and pointed out, ¡°I think it¡¯s entirely necessary. I don¡¯t like the idea of leaving


    you on your own; who knows if Tina will ambush you along the way?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia fell silent, and she pictured herself driving along the way and running into Tina.


    She¡¯d probably step on the gas and crash into my car, then hope that the impact would be enough to kill


    me.


    Sonia shuddered at the eerie thought of this and decided to take up Toby¡¯s offer. Bowing her head in


    polite gratitude, she said, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He nodded once, then sent out instructions through his phone. After that, he set his phone aside and


    announced, ¡°Done. You can head down to the lobby now; the team I¡¯ve arranged to escort you will be


    waiting for you there.¡±


    She gave a small nod. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get going now, then.¡±


    Toby gave a casual p of his hand to dismiss her. ¡°Go on.¡±


    With onest nce at his bandaged ankle and a gentle reminder that he should keep the area dry,


    Sonia slung her purse over her shoulder and walked out of his office.


    As she stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, she indeed came upon the men whom Toby had


    arranged to escort her. These men were uniformed bodyguards who towered over her and boasted


    strong, bulky physiques, attributes that instantly made her feel a sense of security.


    That being said, what surprised Sonia the most was not the bodyguards¡¯ physiques, but the way they


    intended to escort her. She would be driving back with one of their cars tailing her and the other in front


    of her.


    She had believed that Toby would want the bodyguards to be in her car while escorting her back, but as


    it turned out, he had thought differently.


    Now that she looked at it, an arrangement like this was for the best in terms of security. With two cars


    escorting her, Tina would not be able to reenact her murderous scheme from earlier that afternoon, at


    least not without crashing first into either one of the bodyguards¡¯ cars.


    Warmth coursed through Sonia as she smiled to herself, a little surprised by Toby¡¯s foresight in nning


    all this.


    She suddenly realized how much attention to detail Toby paid to whatever he did or intended to do.


    At the entrance of the newly built factory, Charles flicked his cigarette butt away when he saw Sonia¡¯s


    familiar red car draw near and used, ¡°Took you a while to finally get here, baby,¡±


    Sonia got down from the car and shed him a quick, apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting,


    Charles.¡±


    ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ve only been here for half an hour,¡± he said with a grin. Then, he noticed the


    two cars that had escorted Sonia back and asked curiously, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on here, baby? Who are


    these people?¡±


    She was being frank as she pointed at the other two cars and exined, ¡°Those are Toby¡¯s cars, and the


    ones driving them are Toby¡¯s bodyguards.¡±


    ¡°And why did his bodyguards follow you here?¡± Charles pressed, frowning.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but basically, Toby dispatched them for my own safety, and they¡¯ll leave once they¡¯ve


    escorted me back to Bayside Residenceter,¡± she borated, running her fingers through her hair to


    keep it in ce.


    Charles gave another pointed look at the cars, and he was about to say something when Sonia nced


    at the time and said, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough for now, Charles. It¡¯s gettingte, and we have a factory to


    see.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± he said, snapping out of his thoughts when he heard this. He stored away his questions and


    fell in step behind her as she walked through the factory entrance.


    It was 6.00PM when they signed off on the factory. The sky was gradually darkening, and Sonia was


    ready to leave after she had finalized the amendments and handed them to the construction team.


    Charles, on the other hand, was sitting in Sonia¡¯s car as he eyed the bodyguard¡¯s car up front, then


    poked his head out of the window to peer at the other car following them. Suspicion filled him as he


    prompted unhappily, ¡°I think it¡¯s about time you exin to me why Toby sent two bodyguards to escort


    you, baby.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t wanted to ask back at the factory, not while Sonia had been busy checking through the


    construction work. However, now that they were already making their way home, he figured she had no


    reason to avoid his questions anymore.


    Next to him in the driver¡¯s seat, Sonia was unfazed by Charles¡¯ curiosity. Knowing him, she knew that he


    would not relent until she gave him all the answers he wanted.


    With her hands on the steering wheel, she began unaffectedly, ¡°Well, if you must know, something


    happened this afternoon¡­¡± She told him about the incident where Tina tried to kill her in a car crash.


    Having heard the end of the story, Charles looked aghast as he eximed, ¡°What the hell? I didn¡¯t know


    something as dramatic as that went down!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and out of concern for my safety, Toby dispatched two bodyguards to escort me. He¡¯s just worried


    that Tina might ambush me again,¡± Sonia said, ncing at the car behind her through her side mirrors.


    Charles couldn¡¯t bring himself to be unhappy with Toby after this. After all, Toby was taking all the


    necessary measures to keep Sonia safe. If I start protesting over something like this, then I¡¯d look


    downright petty.


    ¡°By the way, baby, didn¡¯t you say that Toby sent someone after Tina? If he¡¯s having these bodyguards


    escort you home, does that mean Tina got away?¡± Charles asked, his brows knitted tightly together.


    Sonia hummed in response. ¡°They were close to cutting off her escape route, but she had back-up and


    got away. Now, Toby¡¯s looking into her potential connections to see who¡¯s been helping her in the


    shadows, and once he finds out, he¡¯ll let me know.¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡± Charles pped his thigh in a fit of anger. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. How could anyone still back Tina up


    after all the mess she brought onto herself? What kind of connections does she have?¡±


    Sonia lowered her gaze in thought, looking somber as she said, ¡°Who knows? But no matter who her


    connections are, I won¡¯t let her get away that easily!¡±


    He nodded at this. ¡°Obviously.¡±


    Without adding anything more to the conversation, Sonia pursed her lips and grew reticent. At the sight


    of her grim expression, Charles left her alone and began to scroll through his phone in silence.


    They pulled up at Bayside Residence half an hourter, and the bodyguards who had done their job


    bade Sonia goodbye before leaving in their respective cars.


    Watching their cars drive into the distance, Charles rubbed his chin pensively and pointed out, ¡°To be


    honest, baby, I think you should hire a couple of bodyguards to follow you around at all times like those


    two did, seeing as Tina is still lurking in the shadows and probably getting ready to ambush you.¡±


    Sonia did not object to his suggestion and merelyughed good-naturedly. ¡°I¡¯ll consider doing just that.¡±


    Then, she opened her side of the door and got down from the car while Charles followed suit.


    She rounded the front of the car and walked up to the passenger¡¯s side where Charles was standing,


    then said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take the car tonight and pick me up here tomorrow morning? There¡¯s a


    meeting at Paradigm Co. tomorrow that you could sit in for.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he answered readily with a grin, then walked over to the driver¡¯s side of the car jauntily.


    Having done so, he held the door open and waved goodbye at Sonia. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll be leaving then, baby.¡±


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    She hummed in response, but just as Charles was about to duck into the car, she suddenly thought of


    something and spun around to call out to him, ¡°Hey, wait a minute, Charles!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Charles was already halfway behind the steering wheel when he heard her and ducked


    out from the car.


    Toby¡¯s words echoed in Sonia¡¯s mind, and she parted her red lips as she stammered, ¡°Uh¡­ Charles, do


    you think you could maybe stop calling me ¡®baby¡¯ from now on?¡± She found herself agreeing with Toby


    that the term of endearment was far too intimate to be appropriate for a friendship like hers and Charles¡¯.


    The grin on Charles¡¯ face slipped when he heard this, and he demanded in bewilderment, ¡°Did you just


    ask me to stop calling you ¡®baby¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡± she replied with a firm nod.


    ¡°But why?¡± He mmed the car door shut and closed the distance between them with a couple of long


    strides, seeking an exnation from her.


    She looked up at him and said, ¡°Because I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate.¡±


    Confusion dawned upon him. ¡°How is it not appropriate?¡±

 Chapter 539

    Chapter 539


    Chapter 539 Charles¡¯ Feelings


    ¡°It just isn¡¯t, okay?¡± Sonia let out a weary sigh and went on to say, ¡°Look, a term of endearment like this


    should only be used if you and I are lovers, but we aren¡¯t. We¡¯re just friends, and calling me ¡®baby¡¯ is a


    little over-the-top.¡±


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Charlesughed, but it was cold and devoid of his usual humor. ¡°Oh, suddenly it¡¯s ¡®over-the-top? I¡¯ve


    been calling you that for over a decade, and you¡¯ve never said there was anything wrong with it until


    now. Did somebody talk to you about this and make you stop me from calling you that?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened by a fraction, but that was enough to make Charles understand the truth behind


    this unexpected shift. He clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, ¡°So somebody does want me


    to stop calling you that. Let me guess¡ªis it Toby?¡±


    There was no answer from Sonia, but something shed in her eyes that looked a lot like admission.


    ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡± Charles sneered in disgust. ¡°Look at you being an obedient little girl and asking me to


    stop calling you a decade-long nickname just because he told you to.¡±


    Guilt rose within her when she heard this, and she chewed on her lip as she tried to exin, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    Charles. Ill admit that Toby was the one who asked me to do this. He said to tell you that he wants you to


    stop calling me ¡®baby¡¯ because it¡¯s inappropriate, but when I seriously considered it, I found myself


    agreeing with him. A nickname like that really is inappropriate between the both of us.¡±


    Sonia hadn¡¯t given much thought to this matter until Toby brought it up. After he had, it was as if


    something clicked in her. The nickname Charles had given her was far too intimate and flirtatious to be


    considered tonic.


    However, Charles was less than understanding as a contemptuous smirk tugged on his lips. ¡°No, this


    has nothing to do with whether the nickname was inappropriate or not. You¡¯re just worried that if you let


    this continue, you¡¯re going to make a certain someone very unhappy, and you don¡¯t want that.¡±


    Sonia stiffened. ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing!¡± Charles took a step back and returned to the driver¡¯s side of the car. He opened the door, then


    ducked to retrieve the key from the ignition. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you onest time: do you really want me to


    stop calling you by that nickname?¡±


    She parted her lips, hesitation overwhelming her. But at that moment, Toby¡¯s face shed in her mind


    and batted away the doubt that threatened to cloud her judgment, and she finally nodded with a firm


    hum.


    Upon hearing her answer, Charles felt his heart drop to his stomach, and the hope he had been clinging


    to disappeared.


    There was bitterness in his eyes as he drawled, ¡°Got it. I can see that you¡¯ve made up your mind on this,


    and if that¡¯s what you want, then I¡¯m fine with it. From now on, I won¡¯t call you ¡®baby¡¯ anymore, but you


    know what? As soon as I stop calling you that, our rtionship will no longer be the same.¡±


    She frowned. ¡°What do you mean? All we¡¯re dropping is the nickname, but that doesn¡¯t have to change


    anything between us.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a real friendship we¡¯re talking about here, then of course, nothing will change. But we¡¯re different.¡±


    He tightened his grip on the car keys and took in a breath. ¡°You were the only person I¡¯ve ever called


    ¡®baby¡¯, because doing that makes me feel like I have a special ce in your heart, like I¡¯m irreceable.


    Now that you¡¯ve taken away my privilege to do that, it only goes to show that I¡¯m no different than any


    other friend you have; I¡¯m not as important or irreceable as I thought. So I guess this is it.¡±


    With that, he put the keys on the car¡¯s hood and turned to head for the pavement.


    ¡°Charles!!¡± Sonia cried out at the sight of this, suddenly growing frantic.


    However, it was as if Charles hadn¡¯t heard her at all. He didn¡¯t look like he was going to turn around or


    stop in his tracks as he marched toward the pavement, then raised an arm to hail an approaching taxi.


    The next second, he got into the idling car and left.


    Seemingly frozen in ce, Sonia watched the taxi speed away with indecipherable emotions rushing


    through her.


    She had picked up on several things from Charles¡¯ soliloquy earlier, and one of them that she was


    suddenly made aware of was his feelings for her.


    She felt her nails dig into her palms, and she shook her head to clear her thoughts as disbelief colored


    her expression.


    Needless to say, she couldn¡¯t believe that Charles had never treated their friendship as a tonic one all


    along and that he actually had developed romantic feelings for her over the years.


    If he hadn¡¯t said all that, then Sonia would have beenpletely kept in the dark.


    So that was why he wanted to call me ¡®baby¡¯ and why he reacted the way he did when I asked him to


    stop.


    Indeed, had he seen her as just a friend and nothing more, then he wouldn¡¯t have reacted quite so


    dramatically when she asked him to stop calling her ¡®baby¡¯. He might be wounded, but not to the extent


    of wanting to keep a distance from her.


    ¡°Oh, Charles¡­¡± Sonia muttered under her breath ruefully, staring in the direction where Charles had


    gone.


    Although she grew sad at the sour turn their rtionship had taken and how they would no longer be as


    close as they had been, she didn¡¯t regret what she had done.


    Maybe she would regret it if she had never discovered Charles¡¯ hidden romantic feelings for her, but right


    now, she was sure she had done the right thing. If she had allowed the nickname to go on between


    them, then Charles¡¯ feelings for her would only grow deeper and take root, so much so that he wouldn¡¯t


    be able to let them go.


    But she could never love him back, and whatever sentiments he had for her could never be reciprocated.


    She would only hurt him in the end.


    Having him give up his affectionate nickname for her had as good as rified her feelings toward him.


    Her stance in the matter was clear: she saw him as just a friend and nothing more. Perhaps all this had


    happened soon enough to keep him from falling even more for her, and he could save himself from


    inevitable heartbreak.


    At the thought of this, Sonia sighed ruefully and walked up to the car. She picked up the keys Charles


    had left on the hood and turned to head into the apartment building.


    Meanwhile, Toby went back to the Fuller Residence after Sonia had left his office, and he had only just


    gotten down from the car when his phone rang.


    He raised his hand, signaling Tom to stop pushing the wheelchair, and answered the call.


    ¡°President Fuller, we have escorted Miss Reed safely back to Bayside Residence,¡± the man on the other


    line reported.


    Toby hummed. ¡°Well done. Any sightings of strange cars along the way?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡±


    A frown etched upon Toby¡¯s face as he replied stoically, ¡°I see. From now on, I want the both of you to


    watch over Sonia and keep her safe, but stay hidden throughout.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the man on the other line said solemnly, nodding.


    Without another word, Toby hung up the phone.


    Upon seeing Toby put his phone down, Tom proceeded to wheel him through the doors of the Fuller


    Residence.


    As soon as Toby entered the living room, he was greeted by the sight of Jean sitting with her back turned


    to him on the sofa.


    She appeared to be holding a mirror in one hand while the other was ced on her corbone, her


    fingertips brushing against something. She was also muttering something along the lines of, ¡°Absolutely


    gorgeous.¡±


    Toby quirked a brow and asked aloud, ¡°Mom, what are you doing?¡±


    Startled by his voice, Jean faltered, and the mirror she had been holding nearly ttered to the ground. It


    dropped onto herp instead with enough force to bruise her skin, and she hissed at the impact.


    However, she paid no mind to this as she threw the mirror aside and rubbed the sore spot where the


    mirror hadnded. With one hand pressed to her corbone, she hurriedly spun around and shed Toby


    a nervous smile as she said, ¡°Toby, I didn¡¯t know you wereing home today. I thought you¡¯d be


    staying at your own ce.¡±


    Seeing the panic thaty behind her forced smile, Toby narrowed his eyes and exined tly, ¡°I¡¯m just


    here to take a couple of things. What¡¯s wrong with your neck, Mom? Why are you covering it?¡±


    His piercing gaze made her all the more uneasy as cold sweat threatened to roll down her temples. She


    gazed at him with wide, watery eyes as she said, ¡°I-I¡¯m having allergies, so my neck¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish speaking, her phone rang and cut through the brewing tension in the room. Upon


    hearing the ringtone, Jean reached for her phone instinctively, but she realized what she had done the


    moment she lifted her hand away from her corbone. A cry nearly escaped her as she thought, Oh, no!


    He caught me!


    Standing behind Toby, Tom felt his jaw drop in surprise when he saw the ne Jean was wearing and


    demanded incredulously, ¡°Is that the Ocean¡¯s Heart?¡±


    Having seen it too, Toby frowned and asked darkly, ¡°Mom, isn¡¯t the Ocean¡¯s Heart supposed to be in


    Sonia¡¯s possession? Why do you have it on you right now?¡±


    Jean swallowed when she heard his confrontational tone, and her gaze darted from one corner of the


    room to the other as she tried toe up with an excuse. ¡°T-This is a knock-off! A premium knock-off!


    It¡¯s not the real thing!¡±

 Chapter 540

    Chapter 540


    Chapter 540 Jean¡¯s Confession


    ¡°A premium knock-off?¡± Toby repeated grimly, the air around him growing cold.


    Tom¡¯s lips twitched, and he was rendered speechless as he thought, A premium knock-off of the Ocean¡¯s


    Heart? What a ridiculous lie!


    Not knowing that Toby and Tom had already caught her in her lie, Jean thought she had them fooled.


    Nodding frantically, she said, ¡°Yes, a premium knock-off. I specifically went to the mall to get it, and it cost


    me thousands!¡±


    ¡°Mom, do you seriously think the Ocean¡¯s Heart would have a knock-off in the market?¡± Toby demanded


    as he stared at her impassively.


    Upon hearing this, Jean felt the sirens going off in her head, and a wave of uneasiness crashed over her


    as she stammered, ¡°W-What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°What I meant was that the Ocean¡¯s Heart was auctioned off as soon as it was made, and no photos of it


    had ever been made public. The rest of the world only knew the Ocean¡¯s Heart as an extremely valuable


    piece of jewelry, but they never saw what it looked like. As for that shop that you supposedly went to,


    why don¡¯t you tell me where they came across the real Ocean¡¯s Heart and thereafter produce a


    counterfeit like that?¡± he asked icily and pressed his lips into a thin line.


    She nched and began to stammer, ¡°I-I¡­¡± She was at a loss for words, having reached the peak of


    embarrassment now that her bluff had been called.


    Rubbing the space between his brows, he asked, ¡°So, are you ready to tell me how the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    came to be in your possession?¡±


    She held onto the Ocean¡¯s Heart that was nestled upon her corbone and forced herself to meet Toby¡¯s


    piercing gaze. Understanding that she could not lie any further, she finally spoke the truth. ¡°Sonia gave it


    to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Toby countered sternly with a frown.


    Hurrying to her own defense, Jean insisted, ¡°She really did give it to me! You were hospitalized when she


    came over to look for you. I was the one who greeted her at the door, and she handed the ne to


    me so I could pass it to you, but I¡ª¡±


    ¡°But you decided to keep it for yourself instead when you realized that it was the Ocean¡¯s Heart, is that


    it?¡± Toby asked, narrowing his eyes dangerously.


    Jean looked down in shame as though to confess in silence.


    Taking a deep breath to keep his rage at bay, Toby reached a hand toward her and barked coldly, ¡°Give


    me the ne.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she cried in protest when she heard this and tightened her grip on the Ocean¡¯s Heart. She shook


    her head vehemently, her unwillingness showing on her face. ¡°You were the one who bought the Ocean¡¯s


    Heart in the first ce, Toby, and when you first gave it to that bit¡ª¡±


    His expression grew sullen. ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Knowing how he felt toward Sonia at the moment, Jean realized that she had said something wrong. She


    opened and closed her mouth, then tried to cover up her mistake as she argued, ¡°What I meant to say


    was, Sonia was the one at fault when she snatched the Ocean¡¯s Heart away in the beginning, and now


    that she has returned it out of her own good conscience, you could give it to me instead of letting it lie


    around the house.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Toby snapped through gritted teeth, then reached out to her once more. ¡°Give me the ne.¡±


    Jean tried to persuade him once more. ¡°Toby¡ª¡±


    However, he did not budge as he hissed, ¡°Give it to me!¡±


    She heard the impatience and dangerous undertone in his voice and thought better than to push his


    limits. She quickly unsped the ne and handed it over to him reluctantly, all the while clenching


    her jaw.


    Having taken one end of the ne, Toby made to pull it in, only to find that it would not budge in mid-


    air. Frowning, he looked up to see that Jean had not entirely released the other end of the ne even


    as she handed it over, and her face was the perfect picture of reluctance.


    He sighed wearily. ¡°Tom.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom replied swiftly.


    ¡°Have a set of jewelry made for Madam White tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Very well, sir,¡± Tom answered respectfully with a nod.


    Then, Toby turned to look at Jean like he was dealing with a child. ¡°Did you hear that, Mom? Tom is


    going out tomorrow to have an expensive set of jewelry made for you, so could you please let go of the


    Ocean¡¯s Heart and let me have it now?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t pull the Ocean¡¯s Heart out of her hands by force. Otherwise, he might risk breaking it.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Meanwhile, Jean stared longingly at the Ocean¡¯s Heart, not at all interested in or overjoyed at the


    prospect of owning new jewelry. She knew that no jewelry coulde close to being as valuable as the


    Ocean¡¯s Heart, and naturally, she would not settle for less.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this, shall we, Toby?¡± Jean forced out a smile on her plump face as she desperately


    argued, ¡°Sonia has already returned the Ocean¡¯s Heart, which could only mean that she no longer wants


    it. You¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he snapped in brusque rejection. ¡°Even if she returned it because she didn¡¯t want it anymore, I


    would still keep it for her. As far as I¡¯m concerned, she¡¯s the only one who gets to have the Ocean¡¯s


    Heart.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    Toby hadpletely lost his patience now, and through gritted teeth, he hissed, ¡°No buts. Let go of the


    ne.¡±


    Atst, Jean let go of her end of the ne and let him take it. As unwilling as she was, she dared not


    go against him. He might be raised by her, but his demeanor took after his grandmother¡¯s, and hell hath


    no fury like a scorned Toby.


    Presently, after taking back the Ocean¡¯s Heart, Toby felt the anger in him subside as his expression


    softened. He carefully slipped the ne into the pocket of his pants, then shot Jean a somber look.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m sure Grandma has told you about how Sonia and I would eventually remarry and how you


    should stop having such unwarranted hostility against her, right?¡±


    Jean nodded slowly at first, then asked unhappily, ¡°Are you really nning on going through another


    marriage with her, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered firmly.


    Incensed, Jean protested, ¡°What¡¯s so wonderful about her anyway? Why can¡¯t you just let her go?¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should tell me why you have such little regard for her. What did she ever do to make you


    hate her so much?¡± he countered coolly instead of answering her questions.


    Scoffing, Jean began to say, ¡°She¡¯s a terrible person through and through! She¡ª¡± Just as she was about


    toe up with examples of Sonia¡¯s supposed terrible personality, Jean found herself at a total loss of


    words. Surprised and somewhat bewildered by this realization, she wondered why she couldn¡¯t pinpoint


    any of Sonia¡¯s ws.


    As though reading her mind, Toby rubbed his temples wearily. ¡°Do you know why you can¡¯t think of a


    single bad thing about Sonia, Mom? Because you know as well as I do that she has done nothing wrong.


    Six years ago, she showed you respect regardless of how you treated her, and she never retaliated. She


    took care of Tyler even when he bullied her, but she only brushed it off and did what was asked of her.


    It¡¯s precisely because she has done everything right that you can¡¯t nitpick on her, so I don¡¯t understand


    why you hate her so much.¡±


    Why? Jean lowered her gaze and muttered, ¡°Because shees from a terrible family, and she¡¯ll only


    pull your leg if she sticks by you. How do you expect me to tolerate having a daughter-inw like her?¡±


    ¡°A terrible family?¡± He scoffed incredulously. ¡°That¡¯s the most ridiculous reason I¡¯ve ever heard!¡±


    Behind him, Tom nodded in agreement with Toby; he couldn¡¯t quite understand Jean¡¯s argument, either.


    Granted, having daughters-inw who came from questionable or below-average family backgrounds


    was taboo among older women in the upper-crust society, but these women differed from Jean. They


    were born and raised as blue-bloods with impressive wealth at their disposal, so Tom could see why they


    might think lowly of daughters-inw who had poor roots.


    However, Jean¡¯s background was worse off than Sonia¡¯s. At the very least, thetter¡¯s family had been


    affluent, even if for a short while. The former, on the other hand, was born into an average working-ss


    family, so for her to look down on Sonia¡¯s upbringing was confounding.


    ¡°Why is that ridiculous?¡± Jean put her hands on her hips, indignant. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to marry


    someone who can never match up to the Fuller Family¡¯s standards, someone who could never offer you


    the help or support you need. Bringing a woman like her into the family will only make you theughing


    stock of the circle. Can¡¯t you imagine the shame of it all? I¡¯m saying this because I see you as my own


    son, Toby, and I don¡¯t want you to go through what your father did back in the day.¡±

 Chapter 541

    Chapter 541


    Chapter 541 The Real Reason


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes. What did my father go through back in the day? What did


    she mean by that?


    It was as if life drained out of Jean as soon as she brought up Homer. There was sadness in her eyes as


    she held onto the armrest of the sofa and sat down. She looked hollow, no longer as frigid as she always


    had been, and if it weren¡¯t for the trace of guilt that highlighted her expression, one might think she was


    at peace with the world.


    ¡°When your father and I got married over ten years ago, we didn¡¯t receive your run-of-the-mill blessings,


    and what we got instead were merciless teasing and snide remarks, but I won¡¯t go into that. All you need


    to know is that I was not wee in the circle, and your father became the butt of the joke because he


    married me, a woman who was neither of good breeding or culture. I was basically good at nothing.¡±


    As Jean said this, she worried at the band on her ring finger like it would give herfort. The ring was


    made of white gold, but it was dull and unpolished. It looked ancient, and at first nce, one could tell


    that she had not taken it off for years, not even to get it cleaned at the jeweler¡¯s.


    The band also looked a little tight on her ring finger, which swelled up around the band like it was


    constricted instead of decorated.


    Even so, she didn¡¯t appear to have taken the band off over the years, and it was obvious that the band


    meant a lot to her.


    Presently, she gazed down at the wedding band on her ring finger¡ªthe very one Homer had given to her


    when they exchanged their vows¡ªand mused sorrowfully, ¡°Your father was once the greatest man in the


    circle, the very same circle that shunned him and cast him out when he married me. They thought your


    father was a fool for bringing me into the upper-ss society, iming that my lowly status would hurt the


    image of the elite. So they mocked him for it, and they set me up to fail on many asions in order to


    humiliate your father.¡±


    Having said all this, Jean clenched her plump fist, and her smooth expression began to twist into a


    grimace. Her eyes grew red as she went on to say, ¡°But those weren¡¯t the worst of it. The nightmare


    came when those vicious women in the circle took advantage of my being a philistine and decided to


    gang up on me. They sweet-talked me into giving them several important contracts that Fuller Group was


    working on so that they could let their husbands take a look and coborate with thepany afterward.


    They told me it was a way to let Fuller Group expand its horizons.¡±


    ¡°And you did what they asked you to?¡± Toby asked, raising his brows.


    She nodded numbly. ¡°Of course I did. I knew nothing back then, but I only wanted to help your father and


    be one of those corporate wives who helped their husbands with their business. Little did I know


    that I would end up jeopardizing instead of helping your father and Fuller Group; your father lost


    important contracts, and thepany went through unimaginable turmoil that year.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about this,¡± Tom interjected as he adjusted his spectacles. ¡°Fuller Group took a heavy blow


    that year, and if Old Mrs. Fuller hadn¡¯t stepped in and lent her aid, then that could have been the end of


    the business. I heard that Old Mrs. Fuller even fired Mr. Fuller from his position as the president.¡±


    Toby parted his lips and added, ¡°Father lost those important contracts and caused thepany to go


    into turmoil. Grandma had to fire him, or she¡¯d have a hard time dealing with the shareholders.¡±


    Riddled with self-me, Jean said mournfully, ¡°That¡¯s right, so for a long time, your father spiraled into


    depression. He started to get into drinking, and eventually, even your grandmother couldn¡¯t stand it any


    longer and suggested that your father go on a business trip abroad. She said something about


    negotiating for a deal with some international tycoon, which, if the deal was concluded, would make the


    shareholders change their minds about your father. That way, she could reinstate him as the president of


    thepany again. But¡­¡±


    She buried her face in her hands, finally losing herposure as she broke down sobbing.


    At the sight of this, Toby clenched his fists and said hoarsely, ¡°But no one expected Father to die at the


    hotel he was staying at while abroad.¡±


    Unable to form coherent words, Jean could only sob and nod to confirm what Toby had said.


    Signaling Tom to wheel him closer to the coffee table, Toby then took out a few tissues and handed them


    to Jean, saying, ¡°I understand now why you think Sonia isn¡¯t meant to be part of our family. The Reed


    Family has fallen from grace and, by extension, out of rank with the other elite families. You think that


    Sonia would only drag me and Fuller Group down, that she wouldn¡¯t be able to offer any real help; you¡¯re


    afraid that I would end up like Father and be theughingstock of the industry.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Jean mumbled in a wobbling voice as she looked up to meet his gaze. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I


    meant to tell you. I practically walked your father into his death, Toby, and I don¡¯t want you to go down


    the same path he did.¡±


    That was the real reason why she had not treated Tina with the same hostility as she had Sonia. Unlike


    the Reed Family, the Gray Family was still within the elite circle, and with Titus backing Tina up, she


    would make a much better contender than Sonia.


    More importantly, Tina had been the only daughter in the Gray Family, which meant she stood to inherit


    every penny of the family fortune once Titus passed on. When that happened, Toby would have ess


    to the same fortune, and Fuller Group could once again expand its growth. Jean had seen this as the


    only way to ease her own guilt and for her to shake off her past.


    However, Jean hadn¡¯t expected Tina to turn out to be more trouble than she was worth.


    ¡°Mom, thank you for worrying about me and being so considerate of me,¡± Toby said now, his expression


    gentle as he shoved tissues into her hand.


    Regardless of all that had happened, Jean¡¯s enmity toward Sonia and her objections against Toby and


    Sonia¡¯s rtionship had all been for his best interests.


    He could not deny her good intentions, but that didn¡¯t mean he could ept her stance, either. As such,


    he gazed upon her steadily and said with utmost seriousness, ¡°But I will still choose to be together with


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jean¡¯s eyes widened as she demanded, ¡°How could you say that even after all that I¡¯ve told


    you?¡± She had given him insight on all her reasons, and she even brought up the devastating past she


    had kept hidden for so long in hopes that she might change his mind about Sonia. s, she failed in


    persuading him to give up on the idea of remarrying Sonia and only seemed to have spurred him on. Did


    I tell him all that for nothing?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby answered firmly now. ¡°Sonia and I will never go through what you and Father did because


    Sonia is different from you.¡±


    ¡°How is she any different from me?¡± Jean sputtered cynically. Admittedly, Sonia was born into a much


    better family than hers, but the Reed Family was no longer part of the elite circle, even though Paradigm


    Co. still stood as proof of their glory days.


    That being said, even Jean could tell that Paradigm Co. was not profiting, and she didn¡¯t need a


    business degree to know that at the end of the day, Sonia was as good as broke.


    That just means that Sonia is no more different from I was in the past!


    ¡°She¡¯s entirely different.¡± Toby shoved his hand into his pocket and felt for the Ocean¡¯s Heart, then


    borated, ¡°Sonia might not have anything now, but she is ambitious and talented in running a business.


    With her in charge, Paradigm Co. will eventually find sess, so it¡¯ll only be a matter of time before the


    Reed Family rejoins the elite. Also¡ª¡±


    He paused, and a small smile yed on his lips as he thought of something. ¡°If others dare to even say a


    single snide remark to her face or mock her, she would fight back instead of taking the abuse in silence.


    She has always known how to stand up for herself, and on that point alone, she¡¯s much stronger than


    you were, Mom. If you had defended yourself back in the day, then maybe you and Father wouldn¡¯t have


    ended up in such a sorry state. Moreover, I¡¯d like to think I¡¯ve done a superb job in expanding Fuller


    Group, and it¡¯s a much more powerfulpany than when Father ran it. As things stand, our family


    doesn¡¯t need an arranged marriage to strengthen our alliances or our standing in the industry. My


    prowess is the reason why Fuller Group has its sess and glory now.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t need¡­¡± she mumbled in confusion. Why wouldn¡¯t we need an arranged marriage? Throughout


    these years, all she knew was that blue-blood families relied on arranged marriages to strengthen their


    ties and social standing.


    He kept his gaze on her and exined, ¡°Yes, our family doesn¡¯t need an arranged marriage to maintain a


    certain social standing. Something like that is only done by those who aren¡¯t strong enough in the first


    ce. Mom, our family isn¡¯t how it used to be. I want you to think about it, and I hope you¡¯ll really change


    your mind about Sonia. I don¡¯t want to have to choose between you and her, but if I¡¯m forced to, then you


    should know that I definitely won¡¯t give her up.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Jean stiffened. She felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her. If he


    won¡¯t give Sonia up, then that means I¡¯ll be the one he leaves behind in the end!


    At that moment, she froze in her seat, and all the color drained out of her face.

 Chapter 542

    Chapter 542


    Chapter 542 Repaying His Deeds


    Jean had never imagined Toby would favor Sonia over her. She couldn¡¯t believe that if it came down to it,


    she would lose to Sonia.


    The revtion struck her like a bolt of lightning. In a daze, she plopped down on the couch with a hollow


    look in her glistening eyes.


    Toby¡¯s gaze darkened at the sight of this. He waved his hand mutely to have Tom wheel him upstairs,


    and thetter hurried to do as told.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the both of them to arrive in the upstairs hallway. Tom opened Toby¡¯s bedroom door


    and wheeled him in, saying, ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that you might have hurt Madam White¡¯s feelings with


    what you told her?¡±


    Toby parted his lips and pointed out impassively, ¡°Some things just can¡¯t be avoided. It¡¯s for the best if I


    let her know how much Sonia means to me; otherwise, she would never dial back on her unjust hostility


    and continue to mess with Sonia.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Tom agreed, nodding.


    Presently, Toby took out the Ocean¡¯s Heart from his pocket. ¡°I¡¯m going to need some cleansing solution.¡±


    The ne had been worn by Jean, and he hated to give it back to Sonia without first cleaning it


    thoroughly.


    ¡°Right away,¡± Tom said solemnly, instantly catching on to what Toby intended to do. As such, he headed


    out the door to get the cleansing solution ready.


    Owing to Jean¡¯s vast jewelry collection, the staff at the Fuller Residence practically stock-piled bottles of


    jewelry-specific cleansing solutions. Tom needed to only ask one of the servants to get arge cup of it,


    which he immediately brought up to Toby¡¯s room.


    Toby had him ce the cleansing solution on the desk, and when that was done, he dunked the Ocean¡¯s


    Heart into the liquid. It took only seconds for the solution to turn murky, and Toby used a long ss rod to


    gently stir the Ocean¡¯s Heart while it soaked in the solution, giving it a thorough cleansing.


    Tom, on the other hand, stood to one side with a towel in hand as he watched the cleaning process.


    It was only after the solution had turned clear once more that he walked up to Toby with the towel. ¡°Here


    you go, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby took the towel and ced it on the desk; then, using a pair of tongs, he retrieved the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    from the cup of solution andid it on the towel.


    Now that the Ocean¡¯s Heart was clean, it sparkled like it was new. In particr, the diamond that formed


    the centerpiece dazzled under the lights, emitting breathtaking rainbow hues.


    Toby took the towel and gently wiped the remaining solution off the Ocean¡¯s Heart, then patted it


    completely dry. As he did so, he said to Tom, ¡°Go into my wardrobe and bring me a jewelry box.¡±


    Following this, Tom went into the wardrobe and soon returned with an intricate jewelry box.


    Having painstakingly dabbed everyst droplet of the solution off the Ocean¡¯s Heart, Toby carefully


    ced it into the box. ¡°You¡¯re dismissed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom replied, then nodded once respectfully before walking out the door.


    Now that Toby was alone in the room, he picked up his phone and gave Sonia a call. It took only


    seconds for her to answer, and she asked on the other line, ¡°Is there a reason why you¡¯re calling me at


    thiste hour?¡±


    ¡°Did I catch you at a bad time?¡± He pressed the phone to his ear and asked lightly, not answering her


    question.


    Sonia was working away on herptop, but when she heard what he said, she stretched her neck to


    loosen the stiffness that was setting in and gave a shortugh. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. I¡¯m not asleep yet, so I


    don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad time.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Toby said slowly, toying with the jewelry box in his hand. Then, he asked, ¡°You know you didn¡¯t


    have to give the Ocean¡¯s Heart back to me.¡±


    She froze at this, then frowned and pointed out, ¡°Are you bringing this up because you just got to know


    about it?¡±


    He hummed in response. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°No way,¡± she mumbled, her brows drawing closer together. ¡°I passed the Ocean¡¯s Heart to Jean after


    you were hospitalized so that she could return it to you on my behalf. How did you¡ª¡± At the mention of


    this, she broke off and was suddenly reminded of how greedy Jean could be. Looking sullen, she asked,


    ¡°Did Jean take the Ocean¡¯s Heart for herself instead of handing it over to you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he confirmed with a nod, making no effort to deny Jean¡¯s wrong. ¡°I came back to the Fuller


    Residence this evening and saw her wearing the Ocean¡¯s Heart, which was how I found out that you


    returned it.¡±


    ¡°My goodness, so she did take it for herself! The nerve¡ª¡± Sonia pursed her lips, catching herself before


    she called Jean names in front of Toby; he was her son, after all, and such disparaging remarks on


    Sonia¡¯s part would seem rude. With that in mind, she swallowed her words.


    However, even as she stayed silent, Toby could still wager a guess at what Sonia had been about to say.


    He wasn¡¯t angry, given how Jean truly had been in the wrong when she took the Ocean¡¯s Heart for her


    own intentions.


    ¡°If it makes you feel better, I¡¯ve already taken the Ocean¡¯s Heart back from her,¡± he informed softly,


    caressing the top of the jewelry box.


    Sonia let out a breath of relief. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good to know.¡±


    ¡°But what I really want to know is why you gave it back to me in the first ce,¡± he said, narrowing his


    eyes as a grim look passed over his face. He was starting to wonder if she was cutting him off after she


    returned everything he had ever given to her.


    Hearing how unhappy he sounded, Sonia let go of the mouse and exined forthrightly, ¡°I thought about


    it for a really long time, and I only gave the Ocean¡¯s Heart back to you because I owe you too much.


    After you jumped off the cliff to save me, I realized just how much you have risked and given up for me,


    so much so that I can¡¯t ever dream of repaying you. I can¡¯t carry around the umted weight of your


    favors because it will only suffocate me, so returning the Ocean¡¯s Heart just so happened to be my first


    step in repaying you. There¡¯ll be more toe until I¡¯m finally liberated.¡±


    Oh, so that¡¯s why. Having heard her reasons, he felt the frown on his face begin to ease. If anything, he


    empathized with her. There was nothing special tying them together, no sentiments that would justify all


    that he had done for her. Instead, he was burdening her, and eventually, she would crack her mind just


    so she could find a way to repay his efforts.


    He should have known that she would be this way. She had never been the type to take things for


    granted, and she would find ways to return the favor or the guilt would crush her.


    ¡°I understand. In that case, I¡¯ll keep the Ocean¡¯s Heart,¡± he said with an air of finality as he ced the


    box on the desk. If she so desperately wants to repay my deeds, then so be it. I¡¯ll keep the Ocean¡¯s


    Heart if it makes her feel better.


    He figured he could wait until they were back together again before he stopped her from avidly trying to


    repay him for what he had done in the past, because by then, his love would no longer burden her.


    On the other line, Sonia was oblivious to his thoughts and merely broke into a relieved smile at his


    words. ¡°I¡¯m d you could see my point.¡±


    Some of the weight lifted off her shoulders now that he had agreed to take back the Ocean¡¯s Heart.


    That¡¯s one favor down. I¡¯m slow, but at least I¡¯m making progress in returning his favors one by one. Over


    time, the guilt I feel would lessen for sure, and then I¡¯ll be free.


    As for the rest of his deeds, she had every intention of repaying them in time.


    Just then, she thought of something and straightened up. ¡°By the way, I, uh, talked to Charles about the


    whole nickname thing.¡±


    ¡°So soon?¡± Toby raised a brow as a trace of astonishment glimmered in his eyes. He had assumed that


    she would take things slow and work up to the conversation with Charles; in fact, he had been prepared


    to listen to Charles addressing her as ¡®baby¡¯ for a while before she put a stop to it.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Little did he know that she would act on his suggestion so quickly and ask Charles to drop the nickname.


    At the thought of this, Toby smiled, and his spirits were obviously restored. If she acted so quickly, then it


    means she does care about me and my feelings.


    ¡°I mean, it wasn¡¯t that soon,¡± she countered feebly now, her eyes watery as she looked down at herp.


    ¡°I just happened to be with Charles earlier this evening, and I decided to bring it up to him on a whim.¡±


    ¡°And did he agree to drop the nickname?¡± Toby prompted gently.


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah, he did, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± She shook her head, withholding the consequence of her talk with Charles. ncing at the


    time disyed on the bottom right corner of herputer screen, she said, ¡°Right, President Fuller. It¡¯s


    gettingte and I¡¯m going to call it a day.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± While his curiosity was urging him to probe for details, he quelled it when he heard that she was


    going to bed; he didn¡¯t want to wear her out with his questions.


    ¡°Get some rest then. Goodnight,¡± he said now, the wordsing out in a pleasant drawl that put


    emphasis on the bass of his voice.


    Sonia felt her skin prickled at his voice, as if someone was tickling her with a feather. She shuddered and


    bent to rub her ear against her shoulder as she mumbled softly, ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    When the call was ended, Toby put his phone down and took up the box, then maneuvered his


    wheelchair toward his walk-in wardrobe.

 Chapter 543

    Chapter 543


    Chapter 543 The One Who Bought the Rings


    Upon entering his wardrobe, Toby headed straight for the disy case where he kept his watches, ties,


    and other designer essories. Then, he ced the jewelry box into one of the emptypartments.


    Having done so, he withdrew his hand and made to leave but stopped when he thought of something.


    The next second, he opened one of the drawers and took out a ck velvet box.


    The box was small and fit in his palm. He opened it with one hand to reveal the two rings nestled within.


    One of the rings was slightlyrger than the other; they were matching wedding bands¡ªspecifically


    made for him and Sonia all those years ago.


    He stared at the rings, his gaze darkening as he picked up one of them and began to turn it, inspecting


    the Fuller Family crest engraved beneath the band. The barest hint of a smile curled on his lips.


    Sonia had always believed that she paid for their wedding bands, but in actuality, Toby had been the one


    who bought them while she was kept in the dark, hence the Fuller Family crest on the inside of the


    bands.


    Six years ago, following his agreement to their marriage, Sonia dropped by the Fuller Residence to go


    over wedding details and the matter of wedding bands. However, Toby had been hypnotized back then,


    and all he could think about was Tina. He had felt unadulterated spite for Sonia, believing that she was


    holding him hostage through marriage. Consequently, he couldn¡¯t care less about what she wanted for


    wedding decorations, and he had no interest in the wedding band designs; he had told her to make


    arrangements on her own and left home after that.


    He hadn¡¯t wanted to even be in the same room as her. However, he hadn¡¯t expected to run into her at the


    mall that same day.


    She had been standing at the counter of a jewelry store, single-handedly picking out their wedding


    bands, which turned out to be the same ones he was currently holding.


    Back then, she had probably been so overwhelmed by the joy of her uing wedding that she never


    bothered looking into the price of the rings before asking the retail assistant to bag them up.


    The rings had been valued at two million, but given how the Reed Family were on the brink of


    bankruptcy, there was no way Sonia could have forked out the money. Buying the rings would have


    inevitably crippled her and the rest of the family.


    Realizing this, Toby intervened and showed up in the lounge behind the jewelry store. He paid more than


    a million in secret, then ordered that the Fuller Family crest be engraved on the inside of the wedding


    bands.


    At that point in time, he had been bewildered by his own behavior. He had considered the possibility that


    he might be insane because there seemed to be no other exnation as to why he would pay for a


    woman he hated so much.


    It was only after he had snapped out of the hypnotism and fallen in love with Sonia again that he


    understood one thing: she had haunted the back of his mind even while he was hypnotized, but he never


    realized it.


    In the end, Sonia only had to fork out a third of the initial price to buy the rings, and she never found out


    that he had paid for them too.


    Recalling all this, Toby picked up the wedding band that was meant for him and slowly slipped it onto his


    left ring finger. As soon as he did, his gaze fell upon the ring that would have belonged to Sonia had they


    actually stayed married and whispered, ¡°Just wait a little while longer. Before you know it, you¡¯ll be


    reunited with your rightful owner.¡±


    After that, he closed the lid of the box and ced it back onto the disy case, then wheeled himself out


    of the wardrobe.


    ¡­


    The next day, Sonia arrived at Paradigm Co. and came upon Daphne, who was standing at her usual


    spot at Sonia¡¯s office doorway as she greeted, ¡°Good morning, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Is everyone ready for the meeting?¡± Sonia asked as she opened the door.


    Daphne nodded. ¡°Most of them.¡±


    ¡°And what about Charles?¡± Sonia asked, opening the floodgates.


    Hesitantly, Daphne replied, ¡°President Lane is here as well, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡±


    Daphne adjusted her sses, behind which her eyes lit up with worry. ¡°But something seems off about


    him. He looks kind of upset.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia stopped in her tracks.


    Daphne noticed the shift in her demeanor and parted her lips to ask, ¡°President Reed, do you know the


    reason why President Lane is upset?¡±


    Sonia lowered her gaze pensively. ¡°I guess you could say that.¡± She didn¡¯t think Charles would still hold it


    against her after she broke the conversationst night, but she supposed it was only fair that he did.


    After all, sentiments would be worth nothing if they dissipated so quickly, let alone those to do with love.


    ¡°What happened to him, President Reed?¡± Daphne pressed out of concern, clenching her fists as she


    eyed Sonia pleadingly and waited for an answer.


    Sonia knew about Daphne¡¯s feelings for Charles, and she did not keep the girl in suspense as she


    exined, ¡°Charles and I got into a disagreement.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Daphne replied numbly, with an unreadable look in her eyes. That makes sense. Given


    President Lane¡¯s sharp sense of humor and rapier wit, it¡¯s rare to see him upset, and there are less than


    a handful of people who could bring his spirits down, other than President Reed, of course. She¡¯s the


    only one who could affect him in any way at all.


    She should have known that Sonia had something to do with Charles¡¯ sour mood this morning.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Presently, Sonia pped a hand on Daphne¡¯s shoulder and saidfortingly, ¡°Come on, there¡¯s no use


    dwelling on this. Let¡¯s go for the meeting, and as for Charles, I¡¯ll talk to him. If I can¡¯t get through to him,


    then I¡¯ll have to let you take a shot at cheering him up.¡±


    Taken aback, Daphne stammered, ¡°M-Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sonia confirmed with a gentle nod.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t do it.¡± Daphne began to shake her head vehemently, pping her hands to dismiss Sonia¡¯s


    suggestion.


    Sonia burst intoughter. ¡°Give yourself more credit. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make for the perfect shoulder to cry


    on if you believe in yourself. Maybe the romance you¡¯ve always dreamed of will happen if you just take a


    leap of faith.¡±


    When she heard thest part of Sonia¡¯s encouragement, Daphne nched and stared at her with wide


    eyes. ¡°President Reed, do you¡ª¡± Do you know about my feelings for Charles?


    As if reading her mind, Sonia grinned and said good-naturedly, ¡°Give it your best shot!¡±


    So she does know. Daphne gaped at Sonia, and it took a while for her to recover from her shock as she


    asked slowly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry, President Reed?¡±


    ¡°Why would I be?¡± Sonia countered, somewhat confused.


    Wringing the hem of her shirt nervously, Daphne swallowed and borated, ¡°Well, because I¡­ have


    feelings for President Lane.¡±


    A light chuckle escaped Sonia. ¡°Why would I be angry about that? If you like Charles, or anyone else,


    that¡¯s your business. I don¡¯t get a say in who you choose to have feelings for, and in this context, Charles


    and I are just friends, so no, I¡¯m not angry.¡±


    Daphne rxed after hearing this, and the anxiousness that had ovee her started to wane. She was


    grateful that Sonia was open-minded, because she had had experiences with women who hated seeing


    their male best friend¡ªwhom they had no intention of dating¡ªgetting attention from other women.


    As of now, Sonia said seriously, ¡°Bottom line is, you won¡¯t get what you want without trying. Just know


    that if you and Charles ever start dating, you have my full support. You¡¯re prettypatible with him, in


    case you don¡¯t know that.¡±


    She truly wished Daphne and Charles could end up together. Sonia couldn¡¯t reciprocate Charles¡¯ feelings


    for her, and if the sentiments had been allowed to continue, then they would both end up getting hurt in


    the long run.


    All the reasons added up was why she was ted to know that someone was romantically interested in


    Charles. If the right person came along and managed to catch Charles¡¯ attention, then he would no


    longer have anything more than tonic feelings for me.


    If that came to pass, Sonia would be free from such unwanted pursuits, and Charles would find his own


    happiness as well. From how she looked at it, this was a win-win situation.


    She was aware of how selfish she was being, and admittedly, she was taking advantage of Daphne.


    However, seeing as Daphne already had feelings for Charles, all Sonia would be doing was helping the


    girl achieve her dreams.


    That being said, she would make sure topensate Daphne for this.


    Compatible with him. These words reverberated in Daphne¡¯s mind, and she blushed crimson as she said


    weakly, ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m certainly not! I¡¯m telling the truth. Look, you can always sleep on this and make a decision in your


    own time, but right now, we have a meeting to get to,¡± Sonia prompted with a smile as she took up the


    documents on her desk and sauntered out the door.


    Daphne snapped out of her daze and hurried to catch up.


    Having arrived at the conference room, Sonia saw that the attendance was nearly full, but she could not


    escape Asher¡¯s snide attack as she walked over to her seat. ¡°My, my, our dear Vice President Reed has


    finally made her grand entrance. Being so fashionablyte even after the rest of us showed up on time.


    You certainly know how to keep us old men on our toes, don¡¯t you? What, do you think you¡¯re too good


    for us?¡±


    Sonia put down her documents and took her seat at the table, after which she shot Asher a withering


    look as she retorted, ¡°Well, what can I say? I am thergest shareholder of Paradigm Co., and I think that


    gives me the privilege to be fashionablyte, don¡¯t you think? It¡¯s not my fault that none of you have


    enough shares to lord over my head in the first ce.¡±

 Chapter 544

    Chapter 544


    Chapter 544 Breaking the Ice


    ¡°You¡ª¡±


    Asher and his supporters grew so incensed at her words that their faces turned the color of beetroot, but


    they couldn¡¯t retort against her. She was right; she might be the vice president now, but the fact remained


    that she was thergest shareholder of thepany, and that meant she enjoyed privileges they did not.


    As unhappy as they were, they had neither the means nor standing to retaliate against her.


    At the sight of the scowls on their faces, Sonia smirked and refrained from snorting in contempt. I can¡¯t


    believe they¡¯re still trying to pick a bone with me at this point. How petty. Stoically, she withdrew her gaze


    and nced in the direction of Charles¡¯ seat.


    He had his head down, so she couldn¡¯t quite see the look on his face, but she felt how distant he was all


    the same. She sighed quietly as she settled into her chair and announced, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start the


    meeting.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± the whole table chorused as everyone opened up the folder in front of them.


    The meeting went on for two hours before it came to a conclusion. Asher and his supporters were the


    first to leave the room, but Sonia stayed unmoving in her seat. She didn¡¯t keep her things or seem like


    she was about to rise to her feet and walk out of the room any time soon.


    Instead, she leaned into her seat and rested her head against the back of her chair, staring at Charles.


    Presently, Charles was keeping his things, and when he was done, he stood up to leave.


    Seeing this, Sonia quickly called out, ¡°Charles, wait.¡±


    He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, his expression devoid of the warmth and humor she


    was used to seeing. He looked almost impassive as he asked tly, ¡°What is it?¡±


    Sure enough, he was sticking to his promise and had dropped the term of endearment. In the past, he


    would have added ¡®baby¡¯ to that statement.


    Sonia wasposed as she rose from her seat and eyed him steadily. ¡°How about you and I have a


    talk?¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± he asked, his gaze on her indifferent and distant.


    She didn¡¯t answer him immediately. She was watching the others who had yet to file out of the


    conference room; they were all ears, trying to pick up on gossip.


    As though sensing her gaze, they looked down at their shoes guiltily and hurried out the doors. Soon, the


    large conference room was empty, save for Sonia and Charles.


    She kept her eyes on him and said matter-of-factly, ¡°About how you¡¯re still holding a grudge against me


    after our conversationst night.¡±


    Charles parted his lips, but he offered no retort because he really was still holding a grudge against her


    for their disputest night.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    The resentment he felt was not only due to the fact that he knew she would never choose him as a


    romantic partner, but also the way she had gone about things.


    Even if they would never work out as a couple, they still had over twenty years of friendship between


    them, but all it had taken was Toby¡¯s unhappy remark for Sonia toe up to Charles and ask him to


    drop the nickname he had been calling her all this while.


    How am I supposed to just let that go, Sonia?


    Upon seeing the sullen look on Charles¡¯ face, Sonia sighed wearily and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Charles. I know I


    should have been more considerate of your feelings instead of springing the conversation up on you like


    that, but I don¡¯t think I was wrong to do that. You like me, don¡¯t you, Charles?¡±


    His eyes widened in disbelief as he gaped at her. ¡°How¡­ How did you know?¡± He had been in love with


    her for more than a decade, and she was the one thing on his mind ever since he learned the ways of


    the world. He had wanted to confess his feelings for her on countless asions, but hisck of courage


    kept him from doing so.


    s, she found out anyway, much to his surprise.


    She lowered her gaze and exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t know it at first, but after what you saidst night, I figured it


    out. Why else would you have reacted the way you did? This brings me back to why I said I did the right


    thing, because I don¡¯t like you the same way, and I can¡¯t ever reciprocate your feelings for me. What I¡¯ve


    done, at best, was to make you give up hope that we might ever stand a chance; think of it as a wake-up


    call, Charles, because if your feelings for me deepen over the years, then you¡¯d only end up getting hurt,


    and I¡¯d be riddled with guilt.¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, you will!¡± Sonia cut him off, pleading for him to see her point. ¡°I don¡¯t know when you started having


    feelings for me, but I reckon it¡¯s been a long time. That just goes to show that you¡¯re sentimental enough


    to hold on to the idea of us, and if that were to go on, then you¡¯d fall too deep to save yourself from


    inevitable heartbreak. I don¡¯t want to see you end up that way, Charles. You¡¯re my best friend, and the


    last thing I want to do is to hurt you, so please just let go of your feelings for me, even if it means


    changing the way you address me.¡±


    She was setting boundaries when she asked him to stop calling her ¡®baby¡¯, and her stance was clear: the


    both of them would never work out as a couple. She hoped she had put that point out emphatically


    enough to make him understand how important it was for him to let go of a rtionship that never could


    be.


    Naturally, Charles heard the underlying meaning of her words. As his eyes grew red with anger, he


    clenched his fists and used her angrily, ¡°So you¡¯re warning me to drop all those affectionate


    nicknames for you and to stop being all chummy with you, and you want me topletely stop deluding


    myself that we might stand a chance. Is that it?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not warning you. I wouldn¡¯t do that to you. I¡¯m merely trying to make you


    see my point here. I don¡¯t love you more than just a friend, so romance is definitely off the table for us,


    which is why I need to make things clear. I need you to understand that we aren¡¯t going to work out, so


    you won¡¯t keep pining over me.¡±


    Sonia knew she was being harsh, but it was the only way he would snap out of his fantasy and let things


    go. She didn¡¯t have a choice but to be blunt with her words.


    Charles, on the other hand, finally understood how death by a thousand cuts felt like. Her words stabbed


    through his heart mercilessly; they took all the air from his lungs and left him bleeding. He bit out


    woundedly, ¡°So you¡¯re cutting me off?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I just like us better when we¡¯re friends without all these other underlying


    sentiments,¡± Sonia replied.


    He looked down and chuckled bitterly. ¡°I get it now. You just want us to be friends and nothing more, so


    you¡¯re asking me to let go of my feelings for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she confirmed solemnly, nodding once.


    He dug his nails into his palms. ¡°Okay, fine. I¡¯ll just keep these feelings aside, and I won¡¯t ask for anything


    more. As for the whole being-friends thing, I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think I can be just your friend until I¡¯ve


    With that, he turned to leave with a self-deprecating, hollow smile on his face. How pathetic. I¡¯ve loved a


    girl for over ten years, and I got rejected before I could even confess my feelings for her. The love story


    he had hoped for was written off before he even got to the prologue.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was rooted in the same spot as she stared after Charles¡¯ retreating figure. She parted


    her lips to call out for him but caught herself and watched him leave. What¡¯s the point of calling out for


    him? He might just take it the wrong way and start having false hopes again.


    She refused to let that happen. She could never reciprocate his feelings for her, and this hurt that she


    was causing him now would only be temporary. He would get over it eventually ande to see that she


    was doing this with his best interests at heart.


    If she had been afraid of hurting him and decided to string him along, then the damage that mighte


    from this would be insurmountable.


    That being said, she had to agree with him on thest part of his statement. They would never truly be


    friends until he had let go of her entirely. If they were to carry on as though nothing had happened, then


    they would simply be turning a blind eye to the cracks in their friendship; they would no longer be as


    close, and worst of all, they might even be awkward around each other.


    She would be better off waiting until he had let go of her entirely, and once he did, they could start afresh.


    At the thought of this, Sonia closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.


    Just then, Daphne hurried into the conference room, sounding unmistakably anxious as she asked,


    ¡°President Reed, what happened to President Lane? I ran into him just now, and his eyes were red, like


    he¡¯s been crying, and he¡ª¡±


    ¡°Go look for him,¡± Sonia cut her off gently, forcing out a smile.


    Daphne froze. ¡°Look for him?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We had a long talk just now, and he¡¯s probably really upset now. I¡¯m worried about him. Do you


    think you could keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn¡¯t do anything rash? It would also help if you


    could try to cheer him up a bit,¡± Sonia borated, pinching the space between her brows tiredly.


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°No more buts. Just go, or you won¡¯t catch up to him. I wouldn¡¯t want him to drive and get into trouble just


    because he was upset,¡± Sonia urged, interrupting the girl once more and dismissing her secretary with a


    wave of her hand.

 Chapter 545

    Chapter 545


    Chapter 545 Faultless


    At the thought that Charles might get into trouble, Daphne felt her stomach twist, and without another


    word, she rushed out of the conference room to chase after him.


    When she had left, Sonia resumed her seat and patted her cheeks tiredly, then took out her phone to text


    Toby. ¡®Do you think I¡¯m the one at fault here?¡¯


    Meanwhile, Toby had been busy going through documents when he heard his phone buzz with a new


    message. He put down his pen and grabbed his phone to take a look.


    A gentle smile broke out over his impassive face when he saw that it was a message from Sonia. He


    clicked into it, only to be a little confused when he saw that there was no context to her message. Atst,


    he decided to call her instead of making guesses.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was waiting for Toby¡¯s reply, and she jumped when her phone rang instead.


    She scrambled to hold onto her phone, almost dropping it in the process. Having rposed herself,


    she answered the iing call and pressed the phone to her ear, greeting, ¡°Hello?¡±


    Toby sounded concerned as he asked, ¡°Hey, did something happen?¡±


    She bit her lip and said slowly, ¡°Not exactly. It¡¯s just Charles.¡± She told Toby about the conversation she


    had had with Charles earlier, then asked with a hollow look in her eyes, ¡°So, do you think I¡¯m the one at


    fault here?¡±


    Amusement shed across Toby¡¯s features when he heard the whole story, and his warm smile was like


    springtime after all the ice melted. ¡°You did the right thing. If you can¡¯t reciprocate his feelings, then


    putting a stop to this now would be better than letting him fall deeper. He¡¯d only end up getting hurt in the


    end.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Sonia said, relieved to hear that he agreed with her. It was as if his words had led


    her out of her daze.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m really happy,¡± Toby said.


    She tipped her head to one side and asked, ¡°What are you happy about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really happy that you came to me to clear your doubts,¡± he pointed out, chuckling lightly.


    A flustered look shed in her eyes as she retorted, ¡°Hey, I only came to you because I don¡¯t know who


    else to talk to. You¡¯re just a substitute at best.¡±


    ¡°Still, I¡¯m really happy about it,¡± he countered easily. Besides, I can tell whether or not you see me as a


    substitute.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s just talk about something else. How¡¯s your ankle?¡± Sonia asked out of concern, straightening


    up in her seat.


    Toby nced down at his injured ankle and answered, ¡°It¡¯s not as painful as it was yesterday, but I still


    can¡¯t walk.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll be back up on your feet in a couple more days,¡± she cated, sighing quietly in relief


    after hearing that his pain had subsided.


    He let out a good-humoredugh. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to the hospital to get the dressings changed.¡±


    ¡°What time? I¡¯ll go over, too,¡± she offered hurriedly.


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Sonia nodded and hummed in response. ¡°You only got hurt because of me, so it would be almost


    immoral of me to leave you alone while the doctor tends to your injuries. I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    Toby was so moved by this that his eyes glistened with overwhelming sentiments. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll pick you up


    in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I can¡ª¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s settled then. I¡¯ll call you when I reach your building. Right, I have to go; I have a couple of things


    to attend to. See youter.¡± With that, he ended the call and set his phone aside before looking at Tom,


    who had juste into the office with documents in hand.


    Tom ced the documents on the desk in front of Toby and reported grimly, ¡°President Fuller, we¡¯ve


    looked into it and found that neither the Gray nor the Stone Family helped Tina get away, which means


    someone else helped her escape.¡±


    ¡°Someone else?¡± Toby took up the documents, the frown on his face so deep that it seemed imprinted.


    ¡°Did you find out who it was?¡±


    Tom shook his head. ¡°No, but one thing we¡¯re sure of is that her aplices aren¡¯t from Seafield. I


    looked into it, and there¡¯s been no activity in Seafield that might be connected to Tina and her escape.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean there are forces from other cities and countries that are helping her?¡± Toby guessed


    with a grimace.


    Adjusting his sses, Tom answered gravely, ¡°Yes, but if that were to be the case, then we¡¯d have a hard


    time finding the persons who helped her.¡±


    After all, theirs was only one of the many cities in the country, and with all the other countries in the


    world, there was no telling which forces had allied themselves with Tina. If the territory had been within


    Seafield perimeters, investigations would be a lot easier going forward.


    Presently, Toby narrowed his eyes and ordered, ¡°Send someone over to Miles¡¯ location.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, do you think Miles helped Tina escape?¡±


    ¡°He was the one who helped Tina keep me under mind control, so I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to help her


    now.¡±


    Tom nodded. ¡°That makes sense. Very well, then. I¡¯ll send a team over after this.¡±


    With a somber hum, Toby said, ¡°By the way, have you looked into Quentin¡¯s death?¡±


    Tom sighed tiredly as he replied, ¡°We haven¡¯t made much progress, seeing how it¡¯s been years since the


    ident. Moreover, there were no cameras at the location of the car crash, so it¡¯s nearly impossible to


    track down the reckless driver who killed him.¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips were pressed into a grim line. ¡°I see. Continue the investigation.¡±


    Toby had to do all that he could to find out the truth behind Quentin¡¯s death. He hoped that the man really


    did die from an ident, but if he hadn¡¯t, then Toby naturally took it upon himself to uncover the details


    of his death. He wanted to avenge Quentin, or he would have died and given up his heart to Toby in vain.


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± Tom acknowledged his superior¡¯s demand but suddenly thought of something


    and added, ¡°Also, we ran into problems trying to pinpoint Den¡¯s exact whereabouts.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Toby demanded, frowning.


    Looking uneasy, Tom borated, ¡°Initially, we kept a close eye on Carl and his activity and sessfully


    confirmed that Den smuggled abroad, so we sent men over to the location before Carl could beat us


    to catching Den. However, Carl seemed to have caught on to our ns and intervened to cover up


    Den¡¯s tracks, so now we lost him.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want us to find Den?¡± Toby asked, growing sullen.


    Carl had a score to settle with Den, so it was unlikely that he would help thetter cover his tracks. I


    bet this means the only reasonable exnation for his intervention is that he¡¯s trying to stop me!


    Tom nodded. ¡°Most likely so. Carl may have his own ns for Den, and he doesn¡¯t want us to


    intervene.¡±


    A cold smirk yed on Toby¡¯s lips as he drawled, ¡°Well, what a coincidence. I have my own ns for


    Den as well. Go and hire one of the top hackers in the world; I refuse to believe that Carl is the best


    hacker there is.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom said with a firm nod, then turned to leave the office.


    Toby ced his right hand on his desk and tapped his fingers lightly against the surface, his eyes


    gleaming ominously.


    ¡­


    That afternoon, Sonia wrapped up her work and summoned her assistant. ¡°Here, hand out these


    documents ordingly.¡±


    The assistant nodded. ¡°Yes, President Reed.¡± She marched forward and carried the documents in her


    arms, then made to leave.


    Just then, Sonia stopped her. ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    Halting in her tracks, the assistant asked politely, ¡°Is there anything else I can help you with, President


    Reed?¡±


    Sonia flicked her wrist to loosen the strain she had put on it from hours of work. ¡°Is Daphne not back


    yet?¡±


    With a shake of her head, the assistant replied, ¡°No.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s brows furrowed. It¡¯s been hours. She should be back by now. I can¡¯t even get through her


    phone¡­ Snapping out of her thoughts, she shed the assistant a quick smile and dismissed her,


    saying, ¡°Alright, then. You may go back to your desk.¡±


    The assistant excused herself out of courtesy and began to make her way out the door.


    At that moment, Sonia¡¯s phone screen lit up with a new message. She nced down to see that it was a


    text from Toby, which read, ¡®I¡¯m outside yourpany.¡¯


    Outside? She blinked at this. He actually came? She rose from her seat and hurried to the balcony, then


    looked down at the scene below the building.


    True enough, as she looked down from the height of her balcony, she could pick out Toby¡¯s gleaming,


    luxurious Maybach from among the cars idling by the curb. He was currently parked across the street


    from thepany building entrance.


    For some reason, at the sight of his car, Sonia suddenly felt as if she was a wife whose husband was


    waiting to pick her up after work.


    Blushing furiously at this, she hurriedly shook off such nonsensical thoughts and texted Toby, ¡®I¡¯ming


    down now!¡¯

 Chapter 546

    Chapter 546


    Chapter 546 Daphne Is Sick


    Toby¡¯s reply was quick. ¡®Alright. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡¯


    The smile on Sonia¡¯s face deepened when she read his text. cing her phone back in her chest pocket,


    she quickly went back to her office to pack up her stuff before going downstairs.


    In no time, Sonia reached Toby¡¯s car. However, right when she wanted to knock on his car window, it


    rolled down before his handsome face was revealed as he grinned at her. ¡°Get in.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded before she walked to the other side of the car and entered.


    After Sonia settled down in her seat, Tom started the car engine and drove away. In the meantime, she


    was staring at Toby¡¯s leg. I wonder if his leg is better now.


    Still, she couldn¡¯t see anything, as his leg was covered by his pants.


    I guess I¡¯ll only find out when we reach the hospital.


    At the thought of that, Sonia straightened her posture.


    At this moment, Toby started telling her about Tina. Upon knowing that Tina was backed by others, Sonia


    frowned. ¡°Looks like we still don¡¯t know Tina well enough.¡±


    If they understood Tina fairly well, they would have known who was backing her.


    Toby didn¡¯t say anything regarding Sonia¡¯sment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely lure her out.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia nodded, not questioning Toby¡¯s determination to capture Tina, considering how Tina


    wanted him dead as well. Reasonably, he wouldn¡¯t let Tina go unpunished,


    After all, Toby and Tina were nemeses now. Even if he didn¡¯t manage to catch her, he surely wouldn¡¯t let


    him off the hook as well.


    ¡°I heard that you visited a few security firms during these two days?¡± Toby suddenly asked.


    Right then, an odd glint shed past Sonia¡¯s eyes. ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a security firm under Fuller Group, and most of the bodyguards in the firm are retired special


    forces, so most of the security firms in Seafield would often hire bodyguards from us to be their trainers.


    When you visited that security firm yesterday, one of the bodyguards in my firm saw and recognized you,


    so he told me about it,¡± Toby exined while Sonia nodded in realization. ¡°I see. Well, it¡¯s true. I visited a


    few security firms recently.¡±


    ¡°Are you looking to hire bodyguards?¡± Toby stared at Sonia before she made a sound of


    acknowledgment. ¡°Yeah. Since Tina escaped and hid somewhere, I¡¯m worried that she might appear out


    of nowhere while I¡¯m not prepared to give me a fatal blow. I¡¯m thinking of hiring two bodyguards so that I


    can at least feel safer. Still, I can¡¯t find anyone suitable for the role, even though I¡¯ve already gone


    through a few firms.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to me?¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    At the same time, Sonia lowered her head. ¡°I¡¯ve already caused too much trouble for you, so I don¡¯t feel


    comfortable asking for help from you again.¡±


    Besides, she thought that it was impossible for her and Toby to end up being together, so why should


    she ask him for help?


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s expression darkened, and it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t satisfied with Sonia¡¯s


    answer. ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re never a burden to me!¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened a little as a hint of warmth flowed through her body. ¡°You¡ª¡±


    However, she was cut off by her phone¡¯s ringtone before she could say anything.


    Right then, Toby frowned while Sonia gave him an apologetic smile and took her phone out. ¡°Let me get


    this call.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Toby nodded, despite being annoyed by the caller. How distasteful.


    After getting Toby¡¯s approval, Sonia swiped across the green button before cing her phone next to her


    ear. ¡°Hello?¡±


    It was a call from Daphne.


    At this moment, Daphne¡¯s weak voice rang out. ¡°President Reed, I¡¯m sorry, but I haven¡¯t gone to the


    office after noon today.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Sonia smiled. ¡°I was the one who made you leave, so you don¡¯t have to be sorry for it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, President Reed, but can I get a leave for tomorrow?¡± Daphne asked.


    Upon noticing that something sounded wrong from Daphne¡¯s voice, Sonia had a worried look on her


    face. ¡°Of course. However, you¡¯ll have to tell me what¡¯s wrong. You sound tired. Are you sick?¡±


    On the other end of the call, Daphne¡¯s gaze wavered a little before she replied, ¡°A little. I ran under the


    rain during the afternoon just now, and I might have caught the flu.¡±


    ¡°Is it serious?¡± Sonia asked before Daphne coughed a little. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, but I¡¯m feeling a little


    lightheaded, so I would like to take a day off to rest.¡±


    ¡°Alright. If that¡¯s so, you should rest well. If your flu doesn¡¯t get better tomorrow, you can rest for a few


    more days too,¡± she said in a worried tone.


    Daphne forced a smile. ¡°Alright. Thank you, President Reed. I¡¯ll hang up now.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°Who was it?¡± Toby turned around and asked in a slightly jealous manner when he saw Sonia cing her


    phone down.


    Why does she sound so worried for the person on the phone? That¡¯s not Charles, is it?


    Noticing the ufortable look on Toby¡¯s face, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel likeughing. ¡°It¡¯s my


    secretary. She caught the flu, so she contacted me to take a day off tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°The woman in sses?¡± Toby asked unsurely before Sonia hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°That¡¯s her.¡±


    After making sure that Sonia¡¯s secretary was a girl, Toby¡¯s jealousy finally went away as he returned to


    his good mood.


    It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s a girl.


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± Suddenly, Sonia pped her thigh.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby quickly urged.


    Seeing how worried he looked, Sonia opened her mouth a little before answering him, ¡°Uhm¡­ I think I


    should buy Daphne something as her boss since she¡¯s sick.¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips twitched a little. He thought that something bad had happened after seeing how startled she


    was, but that was just it.


    ¡°Just buy her whatever you want to,¡± Toby ced his hand against the car door andmented with a


    disinterested tone.


    At the same time, Sonia had her chin propped on her hand. ¡°Since she¡¯s sick, it¡¯s best for me to get her a


    fruit hamper.¡±


    At the thought of that, she lowered her head and started scrolling through her phone to select expensive


    fruits for Daphne.


    After she was done choosing, she made an online transaction through her phone and typed Daphne¡¯s


    address in to deliver the fruits.


    Finally, she ced her phone down after setting a delivery time with the fruit shop.


    Not long after, they reached the hospital. After Tom parked the car, he got off before knocking at the


    window of the passenger seat.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    In no time, Sonia rolled the car window down. Staring at her, Tom said, ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯ll need your help to


    get President Fuller out of the car. I¡¯ll go get his wheelchair from the car trunk now.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll help you out.¡± Sonia smiled and nodded.


    Upon Sonia¡¯s agreement, Tom was relieved as he went to the car trunk.


    At the same time, Sonia got out of the car, walked to the other end of the passenger seat, and opened


    the car door before offering her hand to Toby. ¡°Let me give you a hand.¡±


    Staring at Sonia¡¯s soft and slender arm, Toby felt a dark glint radiate in his eyes before he ced his


    hand on hers.


    With that, Sonia helped Toby to get down from the car.


    However, the moment Toby got down, he lost his footing as his body started falling backward.


    When Sonia saw that, she quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her.


    Nheless, Toby fell into her arms after she pulled him back and prevented him from falling to the


    ground.


    Sonia was speechless when she turned around and saw Toby¡¯s right hand on her waist.


    If we ended up in this position not because of him falling for real, I¡¯d have thought he faked his fall just to


    hug me.


    ¡°President Fuller, can you let me go now?¡± Sonia reached out to poke the man¡¯s waist.


    Upon feeling a ticklish sensation on his waist, the man loosened his arm and let go of her.


    If Toby didn¡¯t do so, Sonia was probably going to think that he was trying to take advantage of her.

 Chapter 547

    Chapter 547


    Chapter 547 Tim¡¯s Trail


    In reality, Toby might indeed have an interior motive in his fall. Despite almost falling just now, the thought


    of hugging Sonia suddenly shed past his mind when he saw her reaching out to grab him.


    Therefore, he took the opportunity to hug her when she grabbed him, allowing him to be physically closer


    to her.


    If I can get closer and closer to her day by day, maybe she¡¯ll get used to it and ept me being


    physically close to her.


    After Sonia pulled back from Toby¡¯s hug and straightened her clothes, she turned toward Toby and asked


    in a worried tone, ¡°President Fuller, are you alright?¡±


    Toby shook his head lightly. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Aren¡¯t you here with me? I believe you won¡¯t let anything happen to


    me, just like how I would do the same.¡±


    Hearing Toby, Sonia nodded her head without hesitation. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t let anything bad happen to


    you. I¡¯ll do my best to protect you.¡±


    After everything Toby had done for Sonia to save her from troubles, it was only courteous for her to repay


    him. At this moment, the corner of Toby¡¯s lips lifted a little. ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, the wheelchair is here.¡± Right then, Tom walked over with the wheelchair.


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s facial expression darkened.


    Can¡¯t he see that we are in the midst of a conversation? How dare he interrupt us like that! I¡¯m definitely


    deducting his bonuster!


    While contemting to himself, Toby gave Tom a disdainful nce, baffling his poor assistant out of


    nowhere.


    What is happening? Have I done something wrong? Why is President Fuller staring at me like that?


    While observing those two¡¯s interactions, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel likeughing because she knew


    why Toby was ring at Tom.


    He was obviously annoyed that Tom had interrupted their conversation.


    Chuckling, Sonia walked toward them. ¡°Allow me, Tom.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll leave it to you, Miss Reed.¡± Since Sonia volunteered to get closer to Toby, it was only natural


    for Tom to agree along with her.


    Besides, Toby might even get angry at him if he didn¡¯t allow Sonia to help with the wheelchair. Upon


    seeing that Tom scooted away, Toby had his originally upset expression reced with a more pleasant


    one.


    This assistant of mine might have learned his lesson, but I¡¯m definitely not going to return the bonus that


    I¡¯ve deducted just now. After all, we can¡¯t get that magical moment back because of his interruption.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± With Tom¡¯s help, Toby managed to get on the wheelchair smoothly while Sonia grabbed the


    handle of the wheelchair and wheeled him forward.


    With nothing to do, Tom trailed behind Sonia and Toby and acted as if he was their bodyguard.


    Tim was in the hospital¡¯s lobby when the three of them entered the hospital. He was discussing


    something with a doctor in ab coat, but he instantly wrapped up the conversion as soon as he spotted


    the trio¡¯s arrival from the corner of his eyes. While adjusting his sses like usual, he headed toward


    Sonia and the others.


    ¡°Why are you here with him?¡± Tim¡¯s gazended on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°Are you guys together now?¡±


    Toby raised his eyebrows when he noticed Tim pointing at him. In the meantime, Sonia¡¯s face went red


    as her gaze wavered. ¡°Quit joking. Of course not.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s not the case, why have you been going out with him so much recently?¡± Tim crossed his arms


    and stared at Toby while Toby met his gaze with his own cold ones. ¡°Do you have anything against that?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I¡¯m fine with whatever she does, but I¡¯m just curious about your rtionship status.¡± Tim


    shrugged.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia forced a smile on her face. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ve been hanging out with him a lot because


    the injuries that he had sustained because of me have yet to recover, so I¡¯ll have to be responsible for


    him.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± A glint of light reflected from Tim¡¯s spectacle.


    Why do I feel like that¡¯s not the case?


    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Sonia nodded rather energetically as she made her point known. However, her wavering


    gaze revealed what she was really thinking about.


    Raising his eyebrows, Tim gave Sonia a knowing look before he chuckled. ¡°Sure. Whatever you say.


    Let¡¯s get back to the main issue here. Why are you in a wheelchair again?¡±


    He turned toward Toby while Toby lowered his gaze to stare at his leg. ¡°I sprained my ankle.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Upon hearing that, Timughed disdainfully. ¡°How useless can you be to sprain your ankle?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what happened.¡± Sonia felt ufortable almost immediately after hearing Tim¡¯s ridicule.


    She frowned and exined, ¡°He sprained his leg because of me.¡±


    ¡°Because of you?¡± Tim¡¯s expression quickly turned serious. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Right then, Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Tina came back, and she tried to run us over with a car.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Tim¡¯s facial expression changed before a murderous glint shed past his eyes. ¡°Where is she


    now? Did you guys manage to catch her?¡±


    ¡°No. She escaped.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°President Fuller said that she was backed by someone


    else.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you Tina¡¯s protector previously? If so, you should know her well. Can¡¯t you think of who¡¯s


    backing her up?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes at Tim.


    Tim shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I was never her protector. I mistook her as my angel back then, but I only


    meet up with her asionally. I spent most of my time studying during other times, and she went into a


    coma for six years after that. It¡¯s obvious that I don¡¯t know her well.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia and Toby, especially Toby, fell into silence.


    Although he suspected Miles to be Tina¡¯s backing, he knew that the chances of it being Miles weren¡¯t


    high.


    Thest time Miles helped Toby get out of the hypnosis, he had already told Toby that he wouldn¡¯t be


    helping Tina anymore.


    Moreover, the person who Miles really helped was Quentin instead of Tina, so it was impossible for Tina


    to convince Miles to help her. Still, no one could be sure of the entire situation.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t find who¡¯s helping Tina, it would be even harder for us to locate her now.¡± Sonia sighed.


    Suddenly, Tim chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s not impossible, though.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia and Toby turned toward Tim.


    ¡°Do you know anything else?¡± Toby asked with a low voice while Tim pushed his sses up. ¡°I drugged


    Tina previously, using a drug that was highly concentrated with an element that can be derived from sago


    palms. Once an individual overdose on the element, their bodies will start to be rigid, and this


    phenomenon is known as Amyotrophicteral sclerosis, ALS. Even though I only drugged Tina twice, the


    drug was really concentrated, and Tina¡¯s body¡­¡±


    At this moment, the corner of Tim¡¯s mouth curled up into a smirk before he continued, ¡°She¡¯s definitely


    showing early symptoms of ALS, so you guys can try looking for her through all the renowned hospitals,


    since she would surely look for a doctor if something is wrong with her body, won¡¯t she? Even if she


    doesn¡¯t go to the hospital, you guys can check for people who have frequently been hiring doctors that


    do research about ALS. Since there¡¯s only a handful of doctors that are still researching ALS, it¡¯ll


    probably be easy to track Tina.¡±


    After hearing him, Sonia was rendered speechless as her lips twitched a little.


    How trustful of us is Tim to reveal that he had been drugging people illegally with no hesitation? Isn¡¯t he


    afraid of me contacting the police? Still, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll actually make a police report.


    Despite being someone with morals, Sonia would never send a bright doctor like Tim to jail because of


    Tina.


    Moreover, the hospital was working on their side now. Due to this, Sonia had no choice but to cover for


    Tim.


    On the other hand, Toby wasn¡¯t worried about Tim trying to murder another person, as all he cared about


    was the lead that Tim gave them. It was undeniable that Tim¡¯s clue was very useful.


    ¡°Have you heard what he said?¡± Toby turned about before staring at Tom and asked.


    Then, Tom nodded. ¡°Yes, President Fuller. I¡¯ll arrange for some men to start searching ording to the


    pointers given just now.¡±


    Toby nodded lightly.


    In the meantime, Sonia turned toward Tim. ¡°By the way, why did you decide to drug Tina?¡±

 Chapter 548

    Chapter 548


    Chapter 548 Toby¡¯s Terrible Acting


    Toby was staring at Tim as well. Right then, Tim took a sharp scalpel out from hisb coat¡¯s pocket


    before he twirled it between his fingers and said in an icy voice, ¡°She¡¯ll have to pay for lying to me!¡±


    Sonia frowned. Did he really try to get Tina to suffer till death due to an incurable illness just because she


    lied to him? I really didn¡¯t peg him as such a vengeful man.


    Despite thinking like that, she had no ns to share her thoughts. Even though Tim wasn¡¯t a good


    person, Tina wasn¡¯t too much better than him, so they were both the same.


    Moreover, since Tim was against Tina, he was actually helping them out in some sense. As Sonia knew


    Tim wouldn¡¯t hurt them or any other ordinary people, she wouldn¡¯t make anyments about how he


    decided to deal with Tina.


    ¡°Good job!¡± On the other hand, Toby praised Tim for what he had done without any hesitation as he


    shared the same hate for that woman.


    If Tina hadn¡¯t impersonated Sonia, he would have had Sonia as his loving wife, and their child would be


    in kindergarten by now.


    However, Tina ruined everything, so Toby despised her enough to want her dead.


    At this moment, Tim adjusted his spectacles. ¡°It¡¯s a waste. I should have drugged her up more back then


    so that she would get ALS right away. By then, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to cause so much more


    trouble after that.¡±


    When he had the idea to drug Tina to get her to be an ALS patient and die in pain, he had already


    prepared enough drugs to achieve that.


    Unfortunately, he only managed to drug Tina twice as Tina was either in custody or grounded at the Gray


    Residence because of all her wrongdoings, not allowing him to have chances to drug her further. That


    was the reason Tina¡¯s body didn¡¯t stiffen up and could still move away as she liked.


    Still, Tim wasforted by the idea that Tina was facing the consequences of her body hardening.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s stop talking about this. You should go for your body checkup now,¡± Tim stopped twirling his


    scalpel and said to Toby while Toby nodded a little. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    With a hum of acknowledgment, Sonia started wheeling Toby toward the surgical department. By then,


    Tom had stopped following them and went to make a call with his cellphone.


    When Sonia and Toby got to the surgical department, the doctor started checking Toby¡¯s leg before


    giving him another batch of medication.


    At the same time, Tim was standing next to them as he stared at Toby¡¯s arm andmented, ¡°It¡¯s been


    some time since you got your hand cast. I think it¡¯s time for you to remove it.¡±


    ¡°If we remove the cast, would it affect his arm? His bone fracture hadn¡¯tpletely healed after all,¡±


    Sonia asked in a worried tone as she stared at Toby¡¯s arm as well.


    Tim adjusted his spectacles. ¡°It won¡¯t affect anything. In fact, it can also rx his arm and neck. Just be


    careful not to run into anything.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Sonia felt relieved before she gave Toby a look. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Just remove it.¡± Toby¡¯s gazended on the cast on his left arm with a disgusted look on his face.


    ¡°Wearing this thing is a hassle anyway.¡±


    ¡°Remove it, then,¡± Sonia told Tim.


    Then, Tim stopped leaning on the wall and took his hands out of hisb coat pockets before he headed


    toward them.


    When he reached Toby, he paused. ¡°Alright. Let me check if it¡¯s safe to remove your cast. Sonia, please


    go to the counter to get the paperwork done.¡±


    Tim turned toward Sonia, and she nodded. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll go now.¡±


    After that, Sonia went out of the room to help Toby with the necessary procedures.


    In the meantime, Tim took a special hammer to hit Toby¡¯s cast on his left hand. ¡°How is it? Do you feel


    anything?¡±


    Toby nodded a little. ¡°It hurts a little.¡±


    ¡°Bear with the pain.¡± Tim ced the hammer down before he started taking out tools to remove Tim¡¯s


    cast.


    During the entire period, Toby¡¯s arm was in pain, but he remained emotionless without even frowning and


    watched as Tim removed the cast on his arm as if it wasn¡¯t even his.


    Right at this moment, Sonia returned.


    Upon hearing the sound of Sonia¡¯s heels cking, Toby put on a pained expression, losing his


    emotionless facade from before. It was as if he was in great pain.


    When Sonia noticed Toby¡¯s expression, she quickly ced the registration form down and walked over to


    him. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°It hurts!¡± Toby replied hoarsely in a painful manner as he stared at his left arm.


    Sonia panicked when she heard Toby crying out in pain as she bit her lip and asked, ¡°Dr. Lancaster, can


    you be gentler?¡±


    Huh?


    Tim was confused right then.


    Gentler? I¡¯m already doing it at my most gentle. How much softer do I have to be?


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Nheless, Tim, who was a doctor, knew that even though Toby would suffer from pain during the


    process of cast removal, he would only suffer mild pain, and it was impossible for him to be in so much


    pain that his entire expression would change.


    Right then, he really couldn¡¯t help but guess that Toby was just acting.


    At the thought of that, Tim heard Toby¡¯s weak-sounding tone.


    ¡°Can you hug me for a while? I¡¯m afraid that I might not be able to control myself and trash around before


    hurting my arm again.¡±


    Tim was rendered speechless.


    Trash around in pain? Are you sure that you¡¯ll be in that much pain when you¡¯ve endured more painful


    situations? Alright, I¡¯m nowpletely sure that this is just an act to get Sonia¡¯s pity and care.


    Tim lowered his gaze before giving Toby a disdainful look. He never expected the leader of the Fuller


    Family, as well as the director of Fuller Group, to be this shameless.


    Should I expose his act?


    Tim narrowed his eyes and stared at Sonia while she nodded anxiously. ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll hug you


    now!¡±


    Then, she discarded the bag that was on her shoulder at a side before hugging Toby¡¯s shoulders.


    At the same time, Toby took advantage of that and rested his head on Sonia before his lips curled up into


    a smile.


    Upon seeing that, Tim fell into silence before he dropped the idea of exposing Toby.


    Why should I expose him? Anyone can tell that Toby has horrible acting skills, and Sonia would


    obviously know as well. Still, she acted as if she didn¡¯t know anyone and went along with his wish


    anyway. What does this mean? It means that she¡¯s obviously willing to do so. Wouldn¡¯t it be despicable


    for me to expose them?


    While pondering to himself, Tim lowered his head and continued removing Toby¡¯s cast while acting as if


    he didn¡¯t know anything at all.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was still hugging Toby¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Just hang on. It¡¯ll be over in no time.¡±


    ¡°I know. I won¡¯t trash around with you here,¡± Toby replied before he snaked his right arm around Sonia¡¯s


    waist.


    Immediately, Sonia tensed up. Right then, her first reaction was to get Toby to let go of her.


    However, she couldn¡¯t say anything when she saw the deep frown on Toby¡¯s face as her mouth opened


    slightly.


    Whatever, He can do anything he wants since he¡¯s the patient after all. I can deal with this.


    While convincing herself that it was fine, Sonia slowly rxed again. Upon feeling Sonia¡¯s body rxing,


    Toby continued hugging her in relief as he didn¡¯t need to worry about the idea of her moving away from


    him anymore.


    In a blink of an eye, the cast was removed. Staring at his left arm that was a shade lighter than his right


    arm, Toby couldn¡¯t help but frown a little.


    ¡°Can you move your arm?¡± Tim ced his tools down before asking. ¡°You don¡¯t have topletely raise


    your arm up. Just a little will do.¡±


    ¡°Try it,¡± Sonia urged.


    She was the one who wished that Toby¡¯s arm would be fine the most, and she couldn¡¯t wait to hear the


    news that Toby¡¯s arm had healed.


    Under Sonia¡¯s excited gaze, Toby adjusted his left arm before lifting it up a little. However, he stopped


    moving when he felt pain.


    Pinching Toby¡¯s arm a little, Tim nodded. ¡°You being able to raise your arm means your bones are


    healing well. You don¡¯t have to use a cast any longer. However, you¡¯ll still have to wear the cast support.¡±

 Chapter 549

    Chapter 549


    Chapter 549 Daphne Is Acting Weirdly


    When Toby heard that he still needed to wear the cast support, he frowned. Despite being unwilling to do


    so, he didn¡¯tment about it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and get some water for you to clean your arm then.¡± Sonia stared at Toby¡¯s left arm before saying


    those words while Toby, who was unable to stand the cast on his arm, mumbled an acknowledgement.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Then, she let go of him before she went to the bathroom.


    The moment she left, his expression was devoid of emotions as his pained look earlier disappeared.


    At that moment, Tim stared at Toby¡¯s arm before he questioned with a ghost of a smile, ¡°How is it? Are


    you not going to maintain your act?¡±


    However, Toby¡¯s only response was to give Tim a nonchnt look without being bothered.


    Nheless, Tim wasn¡¯t nning to let Toby off the hook as he adjusted his spectacles again. ¡°I¡¯m really


    surprised by your act to fake being in pain.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the only way for me to be closer to her without her pushing me away,¡± Toby exined


    nonchntly as he pursed his lips.


    Despite that, Tim chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s weird to see the leader of the Fuller Family being humble for love.¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t mind doing it to make up for all the things that I did back then.¡±


    Moreover, he would only be humble toward Sonia and he didn¡¯t think making himself humble to the one


    he loved was an embarrassing thing to admit.


    Instead, being able to humble himself also proved that he had really loved her.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your water.¡± Sonia came out of the washroom with a bowl of warm water while Tim moved aside


    to inform her, ¡°You should help him to clean his arm. Do it gently, though.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I understand.¡± She nodded before she ced the bowl aside and twisted the towel in the bowl


    dry. Then, she ced the warm towel on Toby¡¯s arm before gently removing the cast and the remaining


    medicine on his arm.


    At this moment, Sonia waspletely focused on cleaning his arm and Toby stared at her without


    blinking.


    It was as if he was afraid that he would lose the opportunity to see her if he blinked his eyes.


    At the same time, Tim, who was twirling his scalpel while standing aside, suddenly felt that he was


    intruding on their moment.


    Still, he wouldn¡¯t leave no matter what since this was his ce after all.


    On the other hand, Sonia could sense Toby staring at her, so she stopped cleaning his arm and turned


    toward him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    However, he shook his head. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but tilt her head while giving a ridiculous look. Nothing¡¯s wrong? How can it be nothing


    when he keeps staring at me?


    Still, Sonia didn¡¯t force Toby to say anything since he was unwilling to do so and she merely turned


    around to continue with cleaning his arm.


    Once she was done cleaning Toby¡¯s arm, Tim reapplied the medicine on Toby¡¯s arm before bandaging it.


    Despite not having to wear a cast anymore, Toby still needed to wear the cast support on his neck. Even


    though it was inconvenient, he nevertheless wore it since it wasn¡¯t as heavy as before.


    When they returned to the car, Tom reported, ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve already asked the investigators to


    check every doctor and medical team who are involved in the research of ALS and I believe that we will


    be able to collect information from them within these two days.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Get our men to trail the medical personnels who are involved once we are done collecting


    the information.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom replied with a nod whereas Sonia remained silent during the men¡¯s entire exchange as she


    had nothing to say.


    She wasn¡¯t as powerful as Toby, who was able to instruct hundreds of men to carry out hismands


    with just a word, so she really couldn¡¯t assist them in locating Tina and could only rely on Toby to do so.


    Hence, she had never asked or tried to interrupt Toby¡¯s way of searching for Tina.


    About half an hourter, they finally arrived at the Bayside Residence.


    Right as Sonia yanked her bag over her shoulder and wanted to leave the car, Toby suddenly grabbed


    her hand. ¡°Wait. I forgot to tell you something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia, who already had one leg out of the car, returned inside the car and turned to meet


    Toby¡¯s gaze while he released her hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hide bodyguards from other security firms


    anymore. I¡¯ve already arranged two bodyguards to protect you 24/7.¡±


    ¡°You have arranged bodyguards around me?¡± She was shocked when she heard his words and quickly


    looked out the window to try to locate the bodyguards that were hidden from her view.


    Nevertheless, she wasn¡¯t able to figure out where those two bodyguards were after searching as


    everyone around them didn¡¯t resemble her bodyguards at all.


    ¡°When did you arrange bodyguards for me?¡± Sonia shifted her gaze to meet Toby¡¯s eyes before Toby


    answered, ¡°From the day Tina reappeared.¡±


    ¡°That early?!¡± She was stunned because she thought that he had only arranged bodyguards for her after


    asking her about her trips to security firms. Never once had she expected him to have already arranged


    bodyguards for her prior to what happened that time.


    ¡°It¡¯s just what I should have done anyway. If something really happened to you, it would be toote for


    me to regret not doing so.¡± Toby reached out to caress her cheek.


    This time, Sonia didn¡¯t flinch and she allowed his hand to rest on her face.


    She felt the man¡¯s thumb gently grazing and lingering on her cheek and as a result, she couldn¡¯t help but


    turn a little to rub her cheek against his palm.


    Sonia¡¯s action not only stunned Toby, but it also gave herself a shock as her eyes widened in surprise.


    What am I even doing?! Did I just rub my cheek against his hand when I should have pped his hand


    away? Am I going insane?!


    When she came back to her senses, she moved away from his hand and quickly left the car. ¡°President


    Fuller, thanks for the bodyguards, but you should let me pay for their fees since they are technically


    working to protect me.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but let¡¯s settle the fees only after I have caught Tina so that it¡¯ll be much easier to calcte the


    fees.¡± Unexpectedly, Toby actually agreed to Sonia¡¯s suggestion.


    After contemting for a while, she figured that his counter proposal sounded better, so she nodded in


    agreement. ¡°Of course. We can settle the fees by then.¡±


    At this moment, Toby smirked as he knew that he would be able to search for an excuse to refute Sonia¡¯s


    suggestion after that.


    He would never allow Sonia to try to escape from him even if she wanted to.


    Unbeknownst to her, they were both fated to be with each other for the rest of their lives.


    At the thought of that, Toby¡¯s gaze wavered slightly before he rposed himself and waved at her.


    ¡°Rest well when you arrive home.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Goodbye.¡± She nodded while his lips moved slightly to respond, ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    She closed the car door with a soft thud before waving at him from outside the car. Then, Sonia walked


    away and headed for her condominium while Toby watched as she headed off. He waited until she


    entered the lobby before asking Tom to drive.


    The moment that the men drove away, Sonia, who was supposed to be in the elevator, suddenly


    emerged from the lobby and jogged to the side of the road to look at the direction where Toby¡¯s car had


    driven off.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    She stared at the road for a long time while many cars drove past her during that entire time before she


    finally turned around and went back to her condominium.


    ¡­


    Two dayster, while Sonia was busy working in her office, someone suddenly knocked at her office


    door, causing her to look up and nce at the door. ¡°Come in.¡±


    Upon hearing her voice, the person outside the door stopped knocking and pushed the door open.


    Immediately, Daphne, who was holding a stack of documents, came into view. ¡°President Reed, these


    are all the urgent documents from all the departments that need your signature.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Just leave them here. I¡¯ll go through it as soon as I can.¡± Sonia used her ballpen to point at her


    office desk and Daphne quickly walked over to ce the documents down.


    It was at that moment when Sonia nced at her to ask, ¡°Is your flu getting better?¡±


    While lowering her gaze to hide the odd look in her eyes, Daphne nodded. ¡°Thanks for asking, President


    Reed. I¡¯m alright now.¡±


    ¡°Are you really alright? It seems like your flu was really bad as you weren¡¯t in the office for two


    consecutive days.¡± Even though Sonia still looked worried, Daphne smiled and insisted, ¡°I¡¯m really


    alright.¡±


    After ensuring that Daphne was alright, a relieved Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. By the way,


    what¡¯s wrong with your neck? I saw that you left a ster on your neck earlier. Are you injured?¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s question, Daphne immediately panicked as she quickly raised her hand to cover


    the ster on her neck before forcing a smile. Then, she tried her best to act calm before answering, ¡°I


    was scratched by the zip on my jacket when I wanted to wear it in the morning, so I figured that it would


    be better if I cover it since it looks inappropriate.¡±

 Chapter 550

    Chapter 550


    Chapter 550 Taylor¡¯s Cooperation


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded before she smiled. ¡°Alright, then. I won¡¯t take up any more of your time from work.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Daphne quickly replied before she headed out of the door.


    As she stared at Daphne¡¯s retreating figure, Sonia couldn¡¯t tell whether she was hallucinating or if there


    was indeed something odd with Daphne¡¯s walking. Nevertheless, she figured that it was probably


    because Daphne wore a new pair of high heels and wasn¡¯t used to it, so she didn¡¯t ponder much about it


    and continued working.


    On the other hand, Daphne couldn¡¯t calm down at all even though she had just left Sonia¡¯s office. After


    she closed the door to Sonia¡¯s office, she leaned against the door and slowly slid down into a squat


    before cing her head in between her knees. Such a position had rendered Daphne looking really


    helpless then.


    Up until this moment, she still felt that what happened two days ago was like a dream. All Daphne had


    done was follow Sonia¡¯s order to keep an eye on Charles, so how did Daphne end up doing that kind of


    thing with him? She felt her heart being filled with a mixture of emotions when the thought of what had


    happened the other day made her happy and hurt at the same time.


    Daphne was happy that she finally had the man whom she loved and even managed to do the most


    intimate thing that a couple could ever do with him. As a result, it even allowed her to be as physically


    close to him as possible.


    However, she was hurt when he sobered up and coldly warned her to forget about what had ured


    between them and acted as if nothing ever happened. Most importantly, she wasn¡¯t even allowed to


    inform Sonia about it.


    When Daphne recalled Charles¡¯ cold gaze, she was experiencing shortness of breath. She felt like


    someone was slicing her heart and her face paled as if she was in deep pain.


    At this moment, another assistant who was about to enter Sonia¡¯s office noticed Daphne crouching down


    in front of Sonia¡¯s office and asked in a stunned manner, ¡°Miss Daphne, why are you squatting here?¡±


    It was enough to cause Daphne¡¯s gaze to immediately waver before she looked up and forced a smile. ¡°I


    don¡¯t feel well; that¡¯s why I decided to squat for a little while.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not feeling well?¡± The assistant stared at Daphne¡¯s face and noticed that she waspletely


    pale before he offered in a worried tone, ¡°Let me bring you to the infirmary.¡±


    Then, the assistant reached out to help Daphne up.


    However, Daphne rejected the offer as she used the wall as leverage to rise to her feet. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m


    much better now, so I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll need to go to the infirmary. Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to


    see President Reed? Go on, then. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I¡¯ll return to my office now.¡± Then,


    she straightened her clothes before heading back to the secretary department while walking in an odd


    manner.


    While watching Daphne leave, the assistant couldn¡¯t help but feel that Daphne¡¯s behavior was extremely


    peculiar. Still, he didn¡¯t think much about it and shrugged before entering Sonia¡¯s office.


    ¡°President Reed, I¡¯m here to collect the documents from you.¡± He walked toward Sonia and greeted


    while Sonia opened her drawer and produced a document. Then, she said, ¡°Here. Remember to archive


    it once you have finished using it.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Of course, President Reed,¡± the assistant replied with a smile.


    It was right after that when Sonia¡¯s red lips opened a little. However, her phone suddenly rang when she


    wanted to say something. Upon seeing the caller ID, she grinned before dismissing the assistant. ¡°You


    may leave now.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± He nodded before leaving.


    Then, Sonia answered the call and ced the phone next to her ear. ¡°Hey, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Sonny. I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you from your work.¡± Grace¡¯s gentle voice rang out from the other


    end of the call while Sonia grinned and shook her head. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Grace sighed in relief.


    At this moment, a curious Sonia asked, ¡°Mrs. Lane, is there a reason why you¡¯re calling me at this hour?¡±


    It was at that moment when Mrs. Lane, who was on the other end of the call, looked at the room upstairs


    and sighed. ¡°Something has happened. Can youe out for a while, Sonny? I have something to


    discuss with you.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but may I know what you would like to talk about?¡±


    Grace chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ll know when the timees.¡±


    ¡°I see. Sure.¡± Sonia nodded in agreement and wasn¡¯t upset that she didn¡¯t receive an answer from


    Grace.


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet at Prince Cafe in an hour,¡± Grace responded before sending Sonia the address to the cafe.


    Sonia agreed with a smile. ¡°Sure, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    After the call ended, she kept her phone aside as her finger tapped on her desk before her smile was


    reced with a conflicted look. Despite Grace evading her question, Sonia could already guess what the


    woman wanted to talk about. It was probably about Charles.


    Since they had to discuss this sooner orter, Sonia had no choice but to agree to meet up with Grace.


    Then, she massaged her temples before getting up from her seat to grab her purse and leave.


    Half an hourter, Sonia arrived at the cafe that Grace told her about. Since Sonia had arrived half an


    hour earlier than their agreed time, Grace wasn¡¯t here yet. Under the guidance of the waitress, Sonia


    was led to a seat near the window before she ordered two cups of coffee and waited for Grace¡¯s arrival


    while sipping on her own coffee. After waiting for a while, she suddenly heard a familiar voice from her


    back.


    It was Taylor!


    Sonia ced her coffee down before she turned. She saw at a booth about three tables away from her,


    Taylor was seated with her back facing Sonia while speaking to another person on her phone.


    ¡°What are you talking about, Mom? You want to check whether your kidney ispatible with Dad¡¯s?¡±


    Taylor¡¯s volume suddenly increased.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but raise her eyebrows. Julia Ramsay actually wants to check


    whether her kidney ispatible with Titus Gray? What a loving couple, I suppose.


    ¡°Mom, do I have to do it as well?¡± An anxious Taylor bit her lips before asking.


    After hearing Julia¡¯s answer on the other end of the call, relief appeared on her face. ¡°Is that so? Alright,


    I¡¯lle back in a bit¡­ Yes¡­ Goodbye!¡±


    While eavesdropping on Taylor¡¯s conversation, Sonia sipped her coffee before a sneer appeared on her


    face. From the conversation alone, it was clear that Taylor didn¡¯t want to be an organ donor for Titus. If it


    weren¡¯t so, she wouldn¡¯t have asked Julia about it in such an anxious manner.


    After that, Julia probably told Taylor that she didn¡¯t have to do so, which resulted in Taylor sighing in


    relief. From this action of hers, it was obvious that Taylor didn¡¯t want to sacrifice herself and donate her


    kidney to Titus.


    Even though there was nothing wrong with her decision, the Gray couple was probably disappointed by


    it. No child would be patient enough to take care of their sick parents for a long time. However, if Titus


    really reached the point of undergoing a kidney transnt, he might really ask Taylor to go for the


    procedure for his sake. By then, if she was unwilling to do so, chaos would really ur within the Gray


    Family.


    While Sonia pondered to herself, there was suddenly a new figure next to her. Taylor¡¯s gaze met Sonia¡¯s


    lowered head before shock appeared on the former¡¯s face. ¡°Miss Reed?¡±


    Oh no! She has noticed me! Sonia ced her cup of coffee down on the table before she looked up with


    a nonchnt look. ¡°Miss Gray.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence for me to run into you at this cafe as well.¡± Taylor crossed her arms before she took


    the seat in front of Sonia.


    Sonia was displeased upon saying that. ¡°It¡¯s really lovely to be able to meet here, Miss Gray.¡±


    Taylor could sense Sonia¡¯s obvious displeasure. However, instead of being exasperated, Taylor smiled. ¡°I


    just wanted to talk to you for a while before I leave. I hope that I¡¯m not stopping you from enjoying your


    coffee.¡±


    ¡°What is it that you want to talk about?¡± Sonia leaned backward and stared at Taylor before asking coldly.


    Nheless, Taylor pushed her beautifully styled hair before answering, ¡°I just wanted to say that I¡¯m


    sure you are aware that Tina isn¡¯t dead, right, Miss Reed?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡±


    ¡°My parents are also aware of it.¡± Taylor¡¯s expression twisted in an ugly manner. ¡°My father has reacted


    well to it, but my mother really wants Tina back and I¡¯ll never allow Tina to ever return again. So, how


    about this, Miss Reed? Why don¡¯t we work together?¡±


    ¡°Work together with you?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes.


    Then, Taylor nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s work together to locate Tina. I¡¯m sure you hate Tina too, don¡¯t


    you, Miss Reed? After all, she has tried to murder you on so many asions before. Why don¡¯t we look


    for her together and subdue her forever?¡±

 Chapter 551

    Chapter 551


    Chapter 551 A Talk With Grace


    A cold smirk appeared on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll pass!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Taylor¡¯s face froze as Sonia coldly looked at her and exined, ¡°I will never work together with


    you. You should leave.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± A confused Taylor leaned forward. ¡°Tina is your nemesis and she¡¯ll definitely try to get her


    revenge on you. Us working together will definitely make it easier to subdue her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. Still, that doesn¡¯t mean that I have to work together with you.¡± Sonia burst into


    laughter. ¡°Do you really think that you¡¯re powerful? Well, I won¡¯t agree to it even if you are. Don¡¯t forget


    that you had already betrayed me once. Do you really think that I¡¯ll trust you again?¡±


    Now that Taylor was taken aback, her expression darkened.


    She knew that she had lost Sonia¡¯s trust after she had previously betrayed Sonia. However, she really


    wanted to work together with Sonia this time because looking for Tina alone really was an arduous task.


    Sonia is right. I¡¯m not powerful and I¡¯m not stinky rich either, so I can only work with others to find Tina.


    On the other hand, Tina¡¯s target is Sonia, whom she has loathed her entire life.


    Despite that, Sonia refused to work with Taylor.


    ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯m really sorry for what previously happened. Still, that¡¯s an entirely separate matter, which


    we can set aside for a future discussion. It¡¯s imperative that we find Tina as soon as possible. None of us


    will be able to live in peace with Tina atrge, so¡ª¡±


    ¡°You may stop talking now.¡± Sonia raised her hand and impatiently interrupted, ¡°My answer still remains


    the same. I won¡¯t work together with you, but you don¡¯t have to worry because I¡¯ll find Tina myself. The


    person whom I¡¯m waiting for is here and you¡¯re taking up her seat, so you should leave now. Don¡¯t make


    me ask the waitress to send you out if you still refuse to leave!¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Taylor red at Sonia with a dark look.


    Then, an annoyed Sonia snapped, ¡°Leave!¡±


    ¡°Hmph! You¡¯ll regret this!¡± Despite not being able to ept Sonia¡¯s harsh rejection, Taylor suppressed


    her urge to throw a tantrum and rose in a fit of rage before leaving with her purse.


    When she arrived at the cafe¡¯s entrance, she almost ran into Grace as well.


    Grace had fortunately reacted in the nick of time and moved aside, therefore sessfully avoided from


    being knocked to the ground by Taylor.


    When she noticed how Taylor didn¡¯t even notice that she almost ran into another person in her hurry to


    leave, Grace frowned before a disdainful look appeared on her face.


    ¡°Mrs. Lane.¡± Sonia waved at Grace. ¡°Over here.¡±


    When Grace heard Sonia, her disdain disappeared before she turned around with a smile to head to


    where Sonia was. ¡°Sonny, I¡¯m sorry for making you wait for me. I was caught up in a traffic congestion on


    my way here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I just arrived as well.¡± Sonia rose to help Grace pull her chair out, after which she patted


    the back of Sonia¡¯s hand in a friendly manner before sitting down.


    Then, Sonia returned to her seat before pushing a cup of coffee toward Grace. ¡°Mrs. Lane, I¡¯ve ordered


    your favorite iced Blue Mountain coffee for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sonny.¡± Grace happily took a sip of her coffee.


    Sonia took the coffee stirrer and started to stir her own coffee.


    At this moment, Grace asked, ¡°By the way, Sonny, who was the girl that went out earlier? I saw you guys


    talking to each other when I got out of my car. Do you know her?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I guess you can say so. She¡¯s the missing eldest daughter of Mr. Gray and his wife and


    they have finally found her.¡±


    ¡°Eldest daughter?¡± Grace had a look of realization on her face. ¡°As expected from the daughter of Titus


    and his wife, huh? What an impolite person.¡±


    Sonia nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s not talk about her anymore and cut to the chase. Sonny, do you know why I have asked


    you out?¡± Grace ced her cup down and looked at Sonia.


    It was at the same moment when Sonia stopped stirring her coffee as well. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s


    because of Charles?¡±


    It was Grace¡¯s turn to nod. ¡°That¡¯s right. Charles has been acting weird for the past few days and he was


    drunk when he returned home two days ago.¡±


    ¡°He drank?!¡± Sonia¡¯s volume increased in shock.


    At the same time, Grace hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°Yeah, he drank a lot. He was still drunk when


    he returned home. He even tripped on the stairs while he headed upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Is he alright now?¡± an anxious Sonia asked.


    Grace nodded her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Charles is fine. Other than bumping his head into the wall, he¡¯s


    rather okay.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Sonia felt guilty as she pursed her lips in response to what she had heard.


    She never expected Charles to react in such a manner to the discussion that they had the other day and


    he even resorted to making himself drunk.


    ¡°Sonny.¡± Grace nced at Sonia before she continued, ¡°Did you know that Charles is in love with you?¡±


    As Sonia bit on her lip, she quietly mumbled an acknowledgement. ¡°Yes, I could already guess it from


    what Charles said two days ago.¡±


    ¡°Did he scare you?¡± Grace chuckled.


    After Sonia lowered her gaze, she responded, ¡°Indeed, I was shocked by his words. I had been treating


    Charles as a friend all along and we¡¯ve been friends for such a long time, even though the way he


    addresses me is somewhat inappropriate. Still, I never imagined Charles to harbor that kind of feelings


    toward me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve seen how you two have interacted with each other as well. If it weren¡¯t for Charles¡¯ drunk


    confession on the night of your wedding six years ago, even I, as his mother, wouldn¡¯t have noticed that


    he had feelings for you. That kid is extremely excellent at hiding his own feelings,¡± Grace exined


    before she took a sip of her coffee.


    ¡°Six years ago?¡± Sonia was stunned. ¡°Charles has been in love with me for six years?!¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Grace shook her head. ¡°He was already head over heels for you ever since you guys were


    teenagers.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s mouth was agape. Teenagers? That¡¯s when we were still in ourte teens! Doesn¡¯t that mean


    that Charles has been in love with me for more than ten years?!


    At that moment, she couldn¡¯t exin the mixture of emotions that coursed through her body.


    Despite being shocked, touched and guilty at the same time, she wasn¡¯t moved at all because she


    wasn¡¯t able to reciprocate Charles¡¯ love for her.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Although she was touched by the fact that he had been in love with her for more than ten years, it didn¡¯t


    mean that she would fall for him because of this reason.


    In the meantime, Grace was observing Sonia¡¯s reaction.


    She had intentionally informed Sonia about how long Charles had been in love with Sonia to gauge


    whether his efforts would move Sonia.


    Nevertheless, it seemed like Grace¡¯s expectation was futile.


    ¡°Sonny, have you rejected him?¡± she asked.


    Sonia nodded again. ¡°I suppose so. Charles has never confessed to me and I could only sense that he¡¯s


    in love with me from his words, so I didn¡¯t reject him in a straightforward manner. All I could do was use


    other ways to convince him that a romantic rtionship between us is impossible and hope that he¡¯ll let


    me go and search for someone suitable for him instead.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why Charles suddenly went to have a drink.¡± Grace felt her head hurting as she sighed.


    As a result, Sonia quickly ced her cup of coffee on the table and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mrs. Lane. I


    didn¡¯t mean to hurt Charles like this¡­¡±


    However, Grace smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. I don¡¯t me you for not liking Charles. Moreover,


    you told him the truth as well. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, nor did you hurt him. Charles is the only one


    at fault here since he¡¯s unable to handle the rejection and endure it psychologically.¡±


    It was true that she thought Sonia did the right thing.


    It was better to reject someone whom you didn¡¯t love instead of leading them on with vague answers for


    the fear of making the other person sad.


    After all, if things had spiraled out of control in the end, it would only hurt Charles even more.

 Chapter 552

    Chapter 552


    Chapter 552 The ne Ticket Abroad


    Upon hearing Grace¡¯s understanding and emphatic voice, Sonia felt the warmth of her words. ¡°Thank


    you for not ming me, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°What is there to thank me about? You¡¯re not wrong after all.¡± Grace took a sip of her coffee again. ¡°In


    fact, all of this is because of me and my husband.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was taken aback as she didn¡¯t understand what Grace meant.


    Grace massaged her temples. ¡°Charles¡¯ father and I were extremely strict on Charles as a child. We


    never allowed him to make any decisions for himself, which is why Charles has alwayscked the


    courage to actually do something despite it being rted to rtionship or work.¡±


    As she spoke, she took another sip of her coffee before sighing. ¡°I was actually thinking, if Charles¡¯ father


    and I had loosened up a little on him back then and allowed him to make his own decisions, Charles


    would have been able to summon the courage to confess to you after learning that he has feelings


    toward you.¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips and remained quiet while Grace looked at her. ¡°Answer me honestly, Sonny. Would


    you have been with Charles if he had confessed to you back then?¡±


    After being stunned by Grace¡¯s question, it took Sonia a while to return to her senses before she


    responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I can say is that if Charles had confessed to me before I met Toby, maybe I


    would have dated him instead.¡±


    After all, Charles and her weren¡¯t the best of friends in the past, so it was possible for her to have


    developed romantic feelings for him.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s answer, Grace shook her head in regret and pity. ¡°As expected, my little boy has


    really missed his opportunity, huh?¡±


    Just like what Sonia had said, if Charles had confessed to her back then, there was a possibility that they


    would have dated each other.


    However, courage was something hecked during that time.


    ¡°I understand now.¡± Grace gave a bitter smile. ¡°So, there¡¯s really no chance between you and Charles, is


    that so?¡±


    Sonia nodded before she hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°Sorry, Mrs. Lane. I really don¡¯t have that kind


    of feeling toward Charles.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright; I get it.¡± Grace started to stir her coffee again. ¡°Actually, the reason why I invited you out


    today is to ask you whether there¡¯s any chance between you and Charles. All I want is to actually get a


    precise answer from you. If there is a possibility, I will go all out as Charles¡¯ mother and beg for you to


    give him a chance. However, if it¡¯s impossible, then I will persuade Charles to forgo his feelings since I


    know that it¡¯ll be a pressure for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Lane¡­¡± Sonia felt her eyes welling up in tears as she was really moved.


    Nevertheless, Grace gently patted the back of Sonia¡¯s hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me for this. I¡¯m


    doing this mainly for Charles after all. If you don¡¯t like him and I force you two to be together, Charles


    won¡¯t be happy either way, so it¡¯s better if I persuade him to let you go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Then, the two of them ended up talking for about an hour in the cafe before Grace received a call from


    her friend to invite her to go to the spa. It was only at that point when Grace bid Sonia farewell and left


    the caf¨¦.


    Sonia walked Grace out to the sidewalk and only went back to the cafe to pick up the tab after Grace


    entered her car.


    After settling the bills, Sonia prepared to head back as well when she received a call from Toby moments


    after she left the cafe.


    ¡°Hello, President Fuller,¡± she greeted while walking to her car.


    In the meantime, Toby frowned when he heard how Sonia had addressed him. The way she addresses


    me makes us sound like we¡¯re strangers. I need to find an opportunity to change that.


    ¡°I heard from the bodyguards that you met up with Grace Huntington?¡± He stood by the windowsill in his


    office and asked as he stared at the bustling city in front of him.


    When Sonia heard him, she furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°President Fuller, are those two bodyguards of


    yours still monitoring me?¡±


    When he sensed the displeasure in Sonia¡¯s voice, Toby quickly returned to his senses as he realized that


    she had misunderstood him before he opened his mouth to exin, ¡°I didn¡¯t get them to monitor you and


    they won¡¯t report everything unless by not doing so puts your safety at risk.¡±


    ¡°My safety?¡± She opened the door to the driver¡¯s seat to enter the car and thereafter closed it. Then, she


    asked in a displeased manner, ¡°How does me meeting Mrs. Lane risks my safety?¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten about your fallout with Charles? I was just worried that she might do something to


    you because of her son.¡± Toby turned to return to his office desk.


    Looks like he¡¯s really worried for my safety!


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia felt likeughing as her frown disappeared and she reassured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Mrs. Lane isn¡¯t that


    kind of person. She was rational and made it clear that I was the person responsible for the fallout.


    However, she didn¡¯t me me for it, but rather, she consoled me.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes. It was obvious that he was doubtful of the situation.


    On the other hand, she had started the car engine and cradled her phone between her head and


    shoulder to pull the safety belt over her. ¡°Of course. Mrs. Lane even told me not to me myself for what


    had happened.¡±


    ¡°So, she wasn¡¯t there to lecture you?¡±


    ¡°Duh.¡±


    A relieved Toby nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    Sonia left her phone on the phone holder and switched on the loudspeaker function before she started to


    drive. ¡°Did you call me just to ask about that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he answered. ¡°I was worried about you.¡±


    Sonia nced at her phone before the corner of her lips slightly curled up. ¡°Who said that I need you to


    worry about me? Alright, I¡¯ll have to hang up now since I¡¯m behind the wheel.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t forget to drive safely.¡± Toby hummed in acknowledgement before advising, to which Sonia


    chuckled and replied, ¡°I know. Goodbye.¡±


    After hanging up, she changed the gear and floored the elerator.


    About half an hourter, she arrived at Paradigm Co. and went back to her office as Daphne trailed


    behind her.


    The moment Sonia arrived in her office, she yanked the chair back from behind the desk to take a seat


    before instructing, ¡°Please help me to purchase a ne ticket to Kosovo. The departure date is in three


    days¡¯ time.¡±


    ¡°Alright, President Reed,¡± Daphne replied before she thought of something and rified, ¡°Do you want


    me to book a hotel for you as well?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. My friend will arrange the amodation for me,¡± Sonia answered while opening herptop.


    Daphne adjusted her sses. ¡°Alright, President Reed. I¡¯ll purchase the flight tickets right away.¡±


    Then, she started to work on her phone.


    Within half a minute, she had sent the flight ticket details to Sonia. ¡°President Reed, I¡¯ve already


    purchased the flight ticket for a first ss cabin for you. The flight will leave at 2:00PM three dayster.¡±


    A satisfied Sonia then responded, ¡°Thank you. If there¡¯s nothing else, you may¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish her words, someone knocked at her office door, causing her to turn around.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    When the door was pushed open, Charles appeared before them and he entered the office in an anxious


    manner as if something serious had happened.


    When Daphne saw him, her expressionpletely changed as she quickly lowered her head and tried


    to reduce her presence; it was as if she was afraid that he would notice her there.


    However, Charles never noticed Daphne as his sole focus was on Sonia and no one else coulde


    close to her.


    He went all the way toward the front of Sonia¡¯s table and mmed his hands on her desk while gasping


    lightly for air.


    At the same time, delight appeared on her face as she looked at Charles. ¡°Charles, why are you here?¡±


    For the past two days after their supposed fallout, Charles had never once shown up in front of her


    despite all of Sonia¡¯s unanswered calls and messages.


    Because of that, she had been worried that he would do something stupid after suffering from the blow.


    Now that she even heard from Grace that he became drunk as a result of what had happened, Sonia felt


    even worse.


    Therefore, she was ted when Charles showed up.


    ¡°Did my mome to look for you?¡± he asked between his ragged breaths.

 Chapter 553

    Chapter 553


    Chapter 553 Daphne¡¯s Decision


    Sonia nodded as she didn¡¯t want to keep it a secret from him. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Charles¡¯ face immediately darkened. ¡°What did she tell you?¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane didn¡¯t really tell me anything besides our current situation,¡± she answered as she nced at


    him.


    However, he clenched his fists. ¡°Who is she to poke her nose in my issues?¡±


    Upon noticing how displeased Charles was at Grace¡¯s intervention, Sonia frowned. ¡°Charles, Mrs. Lane


    only did that for us.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need her help!¡± Charles looked like he was extremely exasperated as his face reddened.


    ¡°Charles¡ª¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Enough!¡± He took a deep breath and tried to suppress his temper before he asked calmly, ¡°That¡¯s


    enough, bab¡ªno, is it alright if I address you as Sonny instead?¡±


    When she heard Charles¡¯ new nickname for her, Sonia grinned before nodding. ¡°Of course.¡±


    When he received Sonia¡¯s approval, Charles¡¯ expression improved. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know I have probably


    scared you earlier. It¡¯s just that I suddenly received a call from my mom just now and she told me that


    she had a talk with you. She also wanted me to let go of my feelings for you, so I came to look for you


    because I¡¯m worried that she might have said something mean to you.¡±


    She nodded in realization. ¡°I see. However, you¡¯re worrying too much. Mrs. Lane was gentle with me and


    she didn¡¯t say anything mean at all.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness.¡± He sighed in relief.


    For the past two days, he had been in a bad mood and isted himself while drinking in his room. He


    only had himself to me for being down in the dumps, so when he heard that Grace had looked for


    Sonia, he was afraid that she would me Sonia for what had happened to him.


    Fortunately, Grace was a rational person.


    ¡°Charles.¡± Sonia rose from her seat. ¡°Are you annoyed that Mrs. Lane intervened in our matter?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Charles¡¯ expression slightly darkened. ¡°Just a little, but it¡¯s alright.¡±


    He had to admit that he wasn¡¯t the best and had always been a coward when it came to his rtionship


    with Sonia.


    However, he was already past 30 years old and he didn¡¯t need his mother to intervene just to help him


    resolve things. It¡¯s really embarrassing.


    And that was the reason why he had badly reacted to Grace inviting Sonia out.


    ¡°Charles, Mrs. Lane is just worried for you.¡± Sonia tried to reassure Charles while he nced at his


    watch. ¡°Yeah, I get it. Anyway, it¡¯ste, so I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    With that, he started to make his way out of Sonia¡¯s office.


    After taking a few steps forward, Charles suddenly noticed Daphne¡¯s presence and narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Come out with me for a moment.¡±


    Daphne immediately flinched and lowered her head before she mumbled a reply, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Then, they left Sonia¡¯s office one after another while Sonia tilted her head in confusion as she watched


    their retreating figures.


    That¡¯s weird. Why does Daphne look like she¡¯s afraid of Charles? Something is wrong here. Daphne had


    worked alongside Charles as his secretary for a few years before she was transferred to help me out a


    few months ago. While she respects Charles, she definitely isn¡¯t afraid of him, so why is she being fearful


    of him now? What happened between them?


    Now that they were outside, Charles took Daphne to the elevator and turned around before staring at her


    from above to ask coldly, ¡°Did you tell her about what happened the other day?¡±


    She didn¡¯t even have to think who he was referring to as she quickly shook her head. ¡°No. Definitely not.


    Even if you didn¡¯t ask me to, I still won¡¯t tell President Reed about it.¡±


    His expression visibly rxed. ¡°I see. Remember what you have promised me. She definitely can¡¯t know


    about this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember it,¡± she quietly answered.


    As Charles looked at her, a conflicted look shed in his eyes. ¡°Did you take the medicine?¡±


    At this moment, Daphne felt a sharp pain in her heart as she clenched her fists before answering, ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. If there¡¯s nothing else, you may return to your work.¡± Charles sighed in relief before


    he turned to press on the elevator¡¯s button.


    He would admit that his current behavior was terrible, but he didn¡¯t feel like he should be responsible for


    anything.


    Indeed, Charles had mistaken Daphne for Sonia and pulled her into his private room when he was drunk.


    However, Daphne was sober the entire time. She knew what he was going to do to her, but she never


    struggled or pushed him away. Instead, she went along willingly with everything that he did.


    Since she had voluntarily done the deed with him, it wasn¡¯t a case of him forcing her to do it.


    Of course, if Charles had indeed forced Daphne to do it, he was willing to take the responsibility even if


    he didn¡¯t love her.


    However, since he had never forced her and evenpensated her after everything that happened, he


    didn¡¯t owe her anything.


    Naturally, he also bought Daphne the morning after pills to prevent her from falling pregnant.


    Although it would harm her body, it was the only way to prevent the pregnancy.


    With a sigh, Charles started to make his way into the elevator while Daphne bit her lips before she called


    out for him. ¡°President Lane.¡±


    He paused in his footsteps. ¡°Do you need anything else?¡±


    Daphne tightly grabbed the hem of her shirt and took a deep breath to summon the courage before


    saying, ¡°I really like you and I¡¯ve been in love with you for many years now, so¡­ Can you give me a


    chance? I¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Charles interrupted her without any hesitation, which caused her face to pale.


    He has rejected me without even considering it. Looks like he really doesn¡¯t want to give me any


    opportunities at all.


    ¡°I won¡¯t give you a chance because I don¡¯t like you, and that¡¯s for your own good as well. If we really are


    together, don¡¯t you think that it would be unfair for you when I still have someone else on my mind?¡± He


    nced at her from the corners of his eyes.


    Daphne then opened her mouth slightly before she replied wryly, ¡°I know that, but I¡¯m willing to endure it.


    I can wait until you forget about her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I won¡¯t ept it.¡± Charles ended the conversation before he entered the elevator and


    left, leaving Daphne to watch as the elevator door slowly closed while her heart bled.


    From afar, Sonia sighed before she shook her head when she saw what had happened from the


    entrance of her office.


    Despite her being a distance away and she couldn¡¯t really hear their conversation, she could already


    guess what had happened from Daphne¡¯s expression. Charles has probably rejected Daphne after she


    confessed to him.


    After Sonia sighed, she walked toward Daphne. ¡°Daphne.¡±


    The moment she heard Sonia¡¯s voice, Daphne quickly raised her hand in panic before she removed her


    sses to wipe her tears away. After ensuring that her sses were clean from any tear stains, she


    wore it again and finally turned around. ¡°President Reed.¡±


    Right then, Sonia took a packet of tissue paper from her pocket before handing it to Daphne. ¡°It¡¯s better if


    you use this since your hands might be dirty.¡±


    As she stared at the tissue paper, Daphne was silent for a while before she reached out to take it. ¡°Thank


    you, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Sonia smiled before she eyed the elevator. ¡°Did you just confess to Charles?¡±


    Daphne paused from drying her eyes before she hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°I was rejected.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± Sonia patted Daphne¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Just because you¡¯ve been rejected this time doesn¡¯t


    mean that you can¡¯t confess again. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll be able to move Charles¡¯ heart one day.


    Sometimes all we need is a little bit of determination.¡±


    Daphne looked up at Sonia with red eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t President Lane fail to woo you even though he¡¯s been


    in love with you for many years, though? Do you really think that I¡¯ll be able to court him if I hold on?¡±


    Although Sonia was in a state of disbelief, she lowered her gaze and smiled. ¡°How can you tell if you


    never give it a try? Besides, there¡¯s something wrong with your statement. Although Charles has been in


    love with me for many years, he has never once revealed that he¡¯s in love with me, so I never knew that


    he loved me. Moreover, the reason why he failed was because he never confessed to me. However, it¡¯s


    different for you. You¡¯ve already confessed your feelings to him. If you continue to chase him seriously,


    there¡¯s a chance that you might actually seed.¡±


    After she heard what Sonia had said, Daphne started to ponder. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you give it a shot?¡± Sonia retracted her hand from Daphne¡¯s shoulder after


    telling Daphne everything that she wanted to say before she turned around to return to her office.


    Meanwhile, a conflicted Daphne stared at Sonia¡¯s retreating figure and clenched her fists.


    A whileter, she took a deep breath before shouting in Sonia¡¯s direction, ¡°Thank you, President Reed! I


    know what to do now!¡±

 Chapter 554

    Chapter 554


    Chapter 554 Motion Sickness


    President Reed is correct. If I don¡¯t give it a shot, I will never know how it will turn out. Who knows


    whether I¡¯ll seed in the end?


    When Sonia heard Daphne¡¯s words, she turned to look at Daphne. The moment she saw the bright lights


    returning in Daphne¡¯s eyes, she smiled. ¡°Now that you know about it, it¡¯s all good. Alright, go and wash


    your face to calm yourself.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Daphne replied with a nod.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia turned to leave and continued to walk forward until she soon entered her own office.


    Three dayster, she arrived at the airport alone, luggage in hand.


    There was still an hour left before the ne took off.


    She sat in the VIP waiting room and looked at her phone as she waited for the announcement to board


    the ne.


    At this moment, someone knocked on the door of the waiting room.


    Sonia ced her phone aside and looked at the door. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Toby¡¯s sweet voice came from outside the door.


    She was stunned with evident surprise in her eyes. Toby? Why is he here?


    Sonia rose to her feet and headed to open the door. True enough, it was Toby standing right outside.


    He wore a suit that was paired with a ck coat. Now that he had his luggage with him as well, he


    resembled very much like a traveler.


    She looked at Toby¡¯s luggage and asked in surprise, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Kosovo,¡± Toby quietly replied as he entered the waiting room.


    It was enough to make her bewildered. ¡°You¡¯re going to Kosovo too?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes as she looked at Toby with suspicion. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s going there to


    attend a wedding too. If not, it¡¯s too much of a coincidence for him to set out today as well, and we¡¯re


    both headed for Kosovo.


    Naturally, he could sense that Sonia was suspicious. His eyes shimmered as his lips curved into a smile


    while he answered, ¡°I have to attend to some business there.¡±


    He had intentionally omitted the tiny detail about attending the wedding.


    It was because he wanted to see her reaction when they eventually met at the wedding venue.


    When she heard that Toby was going to Kosovo for business matters instead of attending weddings,


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I see¡­ How did you know that I¡¯m in this room, though?¡±


    After all, VIP waiting rooms were individually reserved.


    So, Sonia was exceptionally sure that Toby came to see her. Otherwise, why won¡¯t he find another


    room?


    ¡°I heard my bodyguard mentioning that you¡¯re here, so here I am.¡± Toby ced his luggage aside and sat


    down as he replied.


    He had reserved the first ss cabin to be with her on the same flight.


    If not, he was more than ready to ask someone to prepare a private ne for him.


    Sonia pouted. ¡°And you im that you didn¡¯t ask the bodyguards to keep an eye on me? They even told


    you which room I am in.¡±


    Even though she wasn¡¯t ted, she surprisingly wasn¡¯t exasperated either.


    Toby poured a ss of water for himself. ¡°I was the one who asked about you. What can I do? I keep


    thinking about you and I don¡¯t feel safe without knowing your location.¡±


    Although Sonia was speechless, her cheeks had blushed a deep red and she even rolled her eyes at


    Toby.


    She was about to say something when there was an announcement through the speakers that they


    could now board the ne.


    Then, Sonia rose to her feet. ¡°It¡¯s time to go.¡±


    Toby leisurely ced his ss of water aside. ¡°Indeed it is. Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    He also followed suit and dragged his luggage.


    Sonia suddenly thought of something and she looked at his legs. ¡°Is your leg better now?¡±


    Toby moved his ankle. ¡°It¡¯s not fully recovered, but it doesn¡¯t affect my walking.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± She nodded as she found herself rxing.


    If he still couldn¡¯t walk, she could ask the airport employee for a wheelchair.


    International airports like the one that they were currently at were muchrger and crowded, so they


    always provided services that catered to those who had difficulty moving around.


    So, it wouldn¡¯t be arduous to request for a wheelchair.


    The two left the waiting room and rode on the esctor before they arrived at the ticket gate.


    After some checking and verification, the two of them boarded the shuttle bus and headed straight to the


    tarmac to board the ne.


    Soon, Sonia followed Toby when they made it to the first ss cabin.


    She found her seat and sat down before she retrieved a pill for motion sickness from her bag . Then, she


    prepared to swallow the pill.


    When Toby saw that, he frowned. ¡°You¡¯re suffering from motion sickness?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Just a little. It¡¯s nothing too serious.¡±


    ¡°Why is it that I¡¯ve never heard you mentioning that before? Not even in your letters?¡± Toby asked as he


    took a seat across from her.


    Sonia popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed it. ¡°What is there to talk about? It¡¯s just a minor


    inconvenience; I¡¯ll be fine once I take the pill and sleep.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips.


    She was right, but he had hoped that she would tell him everything without holding back so that he could


    learn more about her.


    However, it now seemed like there were still many things he didn¡¯t know about her.


    Never mind, we¡¯ll take it slow, he thought.


    He had already learned from Tom that there was news about the donor heart, so if it was confirmed that


    it waspatible with him¡­


    Then, he¡¯d really have the entire lifetime to spend on understanding who she was.


    The pill that Sonia popped had worked almost instantaneously and it didn¡¯t take long for her to drowsily


    fall asleep.


    When he saw that she was peacefully asleep, he stretched out to ring the bell above him.


    Soon, an air stewardess came over. ¡°Yes, sir?¡±


    ¡°Please lower your voice.¡± Toby nced at Sonia before cing his index finger on his lips and he quietly


    added, ¡°Don¡¯t wake her up.¡±


    The air stewardess turned around to look behind her when she heard his words.


    When she saw Sonia fast asleep, she felt the slightest bit of envy. This man really loves her! I can


    already see the love in his eyes.


    She had actually intended to obtain the man¡¯s number, but now that she knew he had his heart set on


    someone else, she quickly gave up.


    ¡°Sorry, sir. Is there anything you need?¡± The air stewardess smiled politely as she asked in a quiet voice.


    Toby lowered his finger. ¡°Can I have two nkets?¡±


    ¡°Of course, sir,¡± she replied before heading off to get the nkets.


    The nkets arrived in less than 2 minutes.


    After Toby took the nkets, he waved the air stewardess away.


    When the air stewardess left, Toby undid his seatbelt and rose to his feet to approach Sonia. He sat


    beside her before he spread out the nket, with which he proceeded to cover her.


    Then, he reclined her seat so that ity t. Hence, she could lie on her back and have a more


    comfortable sleep.


    Toby gazed at Sonia and gently caressed her face. Then, he brushed away her hair that had fallen onto


    her face. After that, he took out his phone and snapped a photo of her, after which he reclined his own


    seat and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist.


    A few hourster, Sonia was woken up by someone shaking her. She could also hear someone calling


    her name in her drowsy state.


    She frowned and gradually opened her eyes to see someone¡¯s face in front of her.


    As she was still groggy, she could barely focus as well. It took a while before she finally registered the


    identity of the face she saw.


    Toby!


    ¡°President Fuller?¡± Sonia parted her red lips and called the man¡¯s name.


    Toby propped himself up. ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡±


    After grunting, Sonia reached up to rub her temples. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°The ne justnded,¡± he replied as he reached out toward her.


    She was stunned. ¡°It has alreadynded?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded.


    Sonia patted her cheeks in an attempt to ovee the dizzy side effects of the motion sickness tablet,


    to which her mind finally cleared. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t even notice. The pill must have been effective.¡±


    If Toby hadn¡¯t roused her, she might have continued sleeping.


    Also, she couldn¡¯t gather much strength, so her body felt feeble.


    This was the reason why Sonia didn¡¯t decline Toby¡¯s outstretched hand. Instead, she ced her hand in


    his.


    Toby held her hand and yanked her to her feet with slightly more force.


    After sitting up, she saw the nket that had fallen off her and she was stunned. ¡°This nket¡­ Were


    you the one who put it on me?¡±

 Chapter 555

    Chapter 555


    Chapter 555 stic Surgery


    She remembered that she never asked for a nket before taking the pill and going to sleep.


    So, this nket must be something that he got for her.


    Just as Sonia had expected, Toby nodded. ¡°It was me. I was afraid that you¡¯d catch a cold, so I asked the


    air stewardess for nkets.¡±


    When she heard that, she felt warmth spreading in her heart. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Are you able to walk?¡± Toby asked while he looked at her.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    She looked a little weak when she got up from the chair.


    So, he was worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to walk.


    Sonia moved her feet. ¡°I think so. I¡¯m still a little tired from the pill, but the longer I keep myself awake,


    the lesser the effects will be. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby took Sonia¡¯s bag.


    Sonia thought that he took her purse so that she could carry it on her shoulder with ease.


    However, a momentter, she witnessed Toby slinging the bag over his own shoulder instead.


    Toby was a man of six-feet-three in height; he was even in smart attire, which radiated a proud president


    vibe.


    The powerful-looking president was carrying a woman¡¯s small purse on his shoulder, which didn¡¯t make


    him look cool anymore. Instead, he looked a littleical.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter.


    Toby looked at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Nothing.¡± She hastily waved her hands in denial before she reached for her bag. ¡°President Fuller,


    let me carry the bag.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll hold it for you. Let¡¯s go.¡± He declined her offer.


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°This is my purse, so I can¡¯t trouble you with it. President Fuller, please just


    return it to me.¡±


    ¡°I want to carry it for you.¡± Toby looked at her. ¡°I heard that men always carry their girlfriend¡¯s bag. Even


    though we¡¯re not in that sort of rtionship yet, I can still do what boyfriends do.¡±


    Sonia blushed. ¡°Since you have said that a boyfriend will carry their girlfriend¡¯s bag, are you doing this


    because you think we¡¯ll be together in the future?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± His thin lips curved into a smile. ¡°I have the confidence, and I also have the feeling that we¡¯ll


    be together in the near future.¡±


    With that, he walked toward the door.


    She looked at his back and pouted. ¡°Quit saying nonsense, for that¡¯s impossible!¡±


    However, she didn¡¯t vocalize her thoughts. She didn¡¯t know why she chose to mumble those words


    instead, which made her look like shecked the slightest bit of confidence.


    Outside the airport, Toby was looking at the car which came to pick him up. ¡°Where will you be staying?¡±


    Sonia nced at her phone as she responded, ¡°My friend has arranged a ce for me to stay. You?¡±


    He replied, ¡°Hotel.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I see. We¡¯re going separate ways then.¡±


    Toby was silent. So, she epted the amodation that the bridal couple had arranged.


    Had he known about it, he wouldn¡¯t have declined the offer. He would have merely epted it on the


    basis that he would be staying close to Sonia right now.


    The regret in Toby¡¯s heart was so deep that his expression darkened in an instant.


    At this moment, Sonia saw someone holding a card with her name written on it. She hastily turned to


    bid Toby adieu. ¡°President Fuller, I see the person who¡¯s here to pick me up. I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡±


    With that, she walked toward the person holding the sign, her luggage trailing behind her.


    Toby watched as Sonia approached the said person before exchanging a few words and entering the


    car. He pursed his thin lips before he fished out his phone to make a phone call. ¡°It¡¯s me. Arrange some


    ce for me to stay.¡±


    The person on the other end of the line was stunned. ¡°A ce to stay? Didn¡¯t you already decline the


    offer?¡±


    ¡°Quit nagging and get to work at this instance. I want to stay right across or next to a certain someone.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Toby said Sonia¡¯s name and immediately hung up as he was about to enter his vehicle before the callee


    could even say no.


    A few minutester, Toby received a message with an address and a house number.


    He smiled in satisfaction when he saw the line of numbers.


    Meanwhile, Sonia had arrived at the ce arranged for her¡ªit was a small vi courtesy of her friend¡¯s


    fiance.


    After Sonia settled in, she prepared to head out and purchase some medicine for a hangover in


    anticipation of the heavy drinking that would ensue during the wedding banquet when she received a call


    from her friend.


    Her friend had informed her that the vi would be expecting another visitor who would be staying with


    her and it was a man.


    When Sonia heard that, she frowned.


    Initially, the said friend had assured that the vi was hers alone and there was no arrangement for


    others to stay there.


    Now that she had changed her mind and even arranged for a man toe to the vi, it made Sonia feel


    a little ufortable.


    No matter how ufortable she felt, she could only go along with the new arrangements.


    After all, this vi wasn¡¯t hers, so its owner naturally had the final say as to who was allowed to stay in


    the vi.


    All Sonia could do right now to persevere.


    Fortunately, she was only staying for two nights, so she only had to exercise more caution and protect


    herself for the entire duration.


    With that thought in mind, Sonia rxed a little as she kept her phone away and headed out.


    The sky had darkened considerably by the time she obtained the medicine.


    Now that Sonia had her medicine in hand, she prepared to return to the vi where she would change


    into her evening dress to attend the wedding banquet.


    As soon as she walked out of the pharmacy, she ran into someone walking toward her.


    ¡°Ow¡­¡± Sonia frowned and staggered a few steps backward upon the impact.


    The other person had it worse, for they fell to the ground on their backside.


    When she saw that, Sonia quickly steadied herself. After rubbing her aching shoulder, she strode over


    and reached out with a hand toward the person while apologizing, ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it.


    Are you okay?¡±


    The person was about to fly into rage, but when they heard Sonia¡¯s voice, their eyes widened under their


    hat. As a result of that, they immediately looked up to meet her gaze.


    Upon seeing Sonia, the stranger clenched their hand that was under therge sleeve as their body


    shook ever so slightly. It IS her! Why is she here?


    Now that she saw the stranger on the floor looking at her without saying anything, she was a little


    puzzled. Is there something wrong with my face? Why is this person staring at me?


    As she thought that, Sonia bent down and prepared to ask whether there¡¯s something wrong with her


    face. However, she suddenly saw the person¡¯s face and a look of surprise flitted across her eyes.


    Like a mummy, the person¡¯s face was wrapped in bandages.


    Of course, it was a human because mummies wouldn¡¯t exist in this day and time.


    However, there was only one possibility for someone to have their face wrapped in bandages¡ªthey must


    have undergone stic surgery.


    No wonder the person was dressed like they were on guard¡ªthey wore a scarf and a hat in addition to


    wrapping themselves up to hide their bandaged face.


    Sonia didn¡¯t have much of an opinion on stic surgeries since she believed that everyone had their own


    right to pursue beauty.


    As such, her surprise was quickly reced by her calm expression as she gave an apologetic smile.


    ¡°Sorry, did you get hurt?¡±


    She was afraid that the earlier impact would affect the stranger¡¯s face.


    If anything happened, she wouldn¡¯t be able topensate for the injuries sustained.


    The person lowered their head, as if they never heard Sonia.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia secretly sighed in relief.


    The person¡¯s face must have been fine by the looks of their behavior.


    If not, they wouldn¡¯t have remained so calm.


    ¡°Um¡­ Are you able to get up?¡± Sonia reached out with a hand toward the person again, meaning to help


    them on their feet.


    However, when they saw her hand, they gritted their teeth and reached out to p her hand away.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± There was searing pain on the back of Sonia¡¯s hand as she quickly retracted her hand. When


    she looked at the spot on her hand where the stranger had pped it, she drew in a sharp breath. Gosh,


    it¡¯s reddening.


    The amount of force that the person had packed into the p was obviously deep.


    Apart from that, Sonia even felt some hatreding from the person when they pped her.


    She was puzzled. She didn¡¯t even know who this person was, so why would they hate her with such


    vengeance?


    As Sonia was about to ask, the person suddenly rose from the ground and red at her before turning


    around to flee the scene.

 Chapter 556

    Chapter 556


    Chapter 556 Encounter


    Sonia watched the person leave before she cocked her head to one side in confusion. This person is


    damn peculiar. They not only act weird, but they also have this weird hatred toward me.


    If that person hated her simply because she had identally knocked into them, it only meant that the


    stranger was not a sporting person.


    However, if that wasn¡¯t the case, where did the hatred stem from?


    As Sonia frowned and wondered about this question, her phone suddenly vibrated.


    She momentarily forgot about her thoughts and took out her phone to check what it was¡ªit was a


    message from Daphne about the matters on the workshop¡¯s renovation.


    Sonia typed out her reply, ¡®Let¡¯s discuss when I¡¯m back¡¯. Then, she kept her phone away and hailed a


    cab to return to the vi.


    As the main door of the vi was open, she came to the entrance.


    She was about to change her shoes when she gasped. ¡°This is¡­¡±


    The moment she arrived, she noticed a pair of men¡¯s flip-flops below the steps that led to the entrance.


    She remembered that the pair of flip-flops weren¡¯t there before.


    The front of the said footwear now faced Sonia¡¯s direction, which means that the man whom her friend


    arranged to stay here had already arrived. It was just that he had gone out for the time being.


    With that in mind, Sonia frowned as she felt her heart coil from disgust and difort.


    After all, she had never stayed with an unknown man under the same roof before. So, she didn¡¯t know


    what sort of man this stranger was, whether he had good or bad intentions, or if they were able to get


    along well.


    Sonia rubbed the spot between her eyebrows, feeling a headacheing on. Forget it, why would I think


    so much about it? No matter who this man is, whether he¡¯s good or bad, I¡¯ll just keep a distance from


    him. We won¡¯t meet in the future anyway.


    At that thought, she slowly exhaled before she changed her shoes and entered the living room.


    An hourter, she had already changed into her evening dress andpleted her makeup. She went out


    the door once again, but with an exquisite purse in hand.


    Her friend¡¯s wedding banquet was held at a resort.


    By the time Sonia arrived, it was already 9:00PM.


    Fortunately, the engagement ceremony would only start at 10:00PM, so Sonia hadn¡¯t arrived toote.


    After Sonia entered the resort, she fished out a pill for hangover from her purse to swallow it. Then, she


    went to the long table and took a ss of wine before spotting a quiet corner to observe the guests at the


    banquet from.


    She was searching for the bigshot in the machinery industry that she had her eyes on¡ªthis was her real


    reason why she agreed to attend the engagement ceremony.


    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t even have epted the invitation.


    Even though it was a ssmate, their friendship had long since faded because they hadn¡¯t been in touch


    for years.


    So, it would be reasonable for her to have declined the invitation.


    Sonia sipped some wine as she focused on the main door of the banquet hall.


    As she couldn¡¯t locate that bigshot, it probably meant that they hadn¡¯t arrived yet.


    So, if she continued to stare at the main door, she probably would be able to spot them.


    However, as Sonia continued to wait, she didn¡¯t see the bigshot. Instead, she caught sight of a familiar


    tall figure. Toby!


    Her hand trembled, which almost caused the wine to spill from the ss that she held. Not to mention,


    her red lips parted as she gaped at him in surprise. Why is he here?


    Sonia hastily set the ss down and walked toward Toby.


    Soon, she arrived behind Toby and shouted, ¡°President Fuller!¡±


    The moment he heard her voice, his lips curved into a smile. Then, he turned to see her shock as delight


    danced in his eyes.


    Even though he already knew beforehand that she would react like this when she saw him, he still felt


    ted when he witnessed her surprise with his own eyes.


    ¡°We have met again.¡± As Toby looked at Sonia, he slightly parted his thin lips to speak.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Yes, indeed. Didn¡¯t you say that you were in Kosovo for a business trip? Why are


    you here?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Attending a friend¡¯s engagement ceremony is considered business as well.¡±


    Her expression fell. ¡°So, the business you meant is actually this ceremony?¡±


    ¡°More or less.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia took a deep breath as she felt the anger rising within her. She was exasperated that she had been


    tricked.


    ¡°Come here!¡± She dragged him by the arm and led him to the corner where she stood previously.


    They were near the main door, so there was quite a lot of traffic. If they conversed there, they would


    definitely attract unwanted attention.


    As Toby watched her pulling him to the side in rage, the smile in his eyes merely grew stronger.


    He knew that Sonia would be annoyed the moment she saw him, but her expression only made her look


    kind of cute.


    Once they arrived at the corner, Sonia stopped walking and released Toby¡¯s arm. Then, she turned and


    red at him. ¡°You knew that I¡¯m here to attend my friend¡¯s engagement ceremony, but you didn¡¯t tell me


    that you¡¯re here for the same reason. Toby, are you intentionally tricking me so that you canugh at


    me?¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No, I just wanted to see your reaction when you see me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was at a loss for words and she didn¡¯t know what he was insinuating. ¡°What is there to


    see?¡±


    ¡°Everything.¡± He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s because I wanted to see whether you¡¯ll be pleasantly surprised to see


    me.¡±


    She rolled her eyes at him. ¡°What kind of a sick joke is this? Why would I be happy to see you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really not?¡± Toby looked at her.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes slightly brightened as she nodded in confirmation.


    However, she was well aware that she was lying through her teeth.


    When she saw Toby entering the hall, sure, she was indeed surprised, but there was also joy in the mix.


    However, she didn¡¯t know why she had such feelings.


    Toby knew that she was not telling the truth, but he yed along and chuckled in his low voice. ¡°Alright,


    alright, you¡¯re not pleasantly surprised.¡±


    Sonia frowned. Why is he talking to me in that affectionate tone? This is exactly why I¡­ I can¡¯t stay mad


    at him.


    Then, she tightly gripped her bag before she red at him again. ¡°Suit yourself.¡±


    With that, she walked past him and was about to leave when Toby pulled her arm and asked gently,


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°To find someone whom I¡¯m looking for.¡± Sonia shot a nce at his hand on her arm, but she didn¡¯t push


    him away.


    Of course, she had valid reasons for not pushing him away.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    It was just that she felt that Toby¡¯s other arm hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, so she might hurt that arm if she


    forcefully shoved him aside.


    As he knew who Sonia was looking for, he smiled. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for President Homer from the


    machinery industry he¡¯s probably in the lounge upstairs.¡±


    ¡°The lounge?¡± Sonia was stunned. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    Toby looked at her. ¡°I¡¯ve already gathered some information for you before I came. Come with me; I¡¯ll


    lead the way.¡±


    With that, he released Sonia¡¯s arm and instead took her hand as he led her toward another exit. The


    elevator there would take them to the floor where the lounge was.


    Sonia never thought Toby would take her by the hand. After a moment of shock, she retracted her fingers


    in an attempt to free her hand from his grasp.


    However, Toby seemed to have expected her to do so. As such, he maintained a firm grip on her hand


    so that even her fingers couldn¡¯t move.


    Seeing that she couldn¡¯t free her hand and didn¡¯t dare to apply much pressure either, she only red at


    the back of Toby¡¯s head and demanded, ¡°Let go of me, Toby!¡±


    ¡°We can arrive faster if we hold hands,¡± Toby replied without so much as a look at her.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°I can walk just as fast if you don¡¯t hold my hand.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± A mischievous look came over his eyes as he quickened his pace.


    She had to jog to keep up with him a momentter.


    Toby looked back at her. ¡°How¡¯s it? At this speed, if I don¡¯t hold your hand, you¡¯ll soon be left behind.¡±


    A frustrated Sonia retorted, ¡°Now you¡¯re just being unreasonable, Toby. We¡¯re going to meet someone,


    not to catch a flight. Why are you in such a hurry?¡±

 Chapter 557

    Chapter 557


    Chapter 557 Jessica Again


    Toby smiled and was about to say something when he heard some noises.


    His eyes narrowed, after which he yanked Sonia to another direction where they hid behind a door that


    led to a stairwell.


    Due to the thin fabric of Sonia¡¯s evening dress, he was worried that she would be cold if she leaned


    against the wall.


    Hence, as soon as they made it behind the door, he wrapped his arms around her waist and


    maneuvered so that he had his back against the wall instead.


    As for Sonia, her hands were raised halfway and it rested t against Toby¡¯s chest; she was practically


    buried in his embrace.


    ¡°You¡ª¡± She red at Toby and was about to ask what he was doing.


    Toby suddenly silenced her and lowered his voice as he responded, ¡°Don¡¯t move and don¡¯t make a


    sound either.¡±


    When she saw his serious expression, Sonia nodded subconsciously. Although she had many questions


    on her mind, she decided to shut her mouth.


    The moment she did so, she heard something.


    She heard a man and a womanughing as they flirted with each other.


    Sonia could faintly see through the crack in the door that the couple held each other while walking


    toward her and Toby. The said couple were fondling each other everywhere and Sonia was so disgusted


    at the sight that she shivered.Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Feeling cold?¡± Toby asked in a low voice.


    She shook her head and pointed at the crack in the door.


    He instantly understood what she meant.


    Due to his inconvenient position, he couldn¡¯t steal a peek and didn¡¯t know what she witnessed. However,


    judging by her facial expression and the noises made by the couple outside, he could more or less figure


    out what she saw.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look,¡± he softly advised. ¡°It¡¯s bad for your eyes.¡±


    Sonia concurred by nodding.


    As she was about to turn away from the horrendous sight, the couple suddenly walked closer toward the


    stairwell, allowing Sonia to catch a nce of the man¡¯s face.


    The moment Sonia registered the man¡¯s face, she gaped in shock. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ my friend¡¯s fianc¨¦! I saw his


    photo on the invitation card, but that woman isn¡¯t my friend!¡±


    Even though Sonia couldn¡¯t see the woman¡¯s face as it was buried in the man¡¯s chest, it was certain that


    the woman wasn¡¯t her friend.


    Sonia¡¯s friend was a model whose height was close to 6 feet, which didn¡¯t match the physical features


    that this particr woman had. So, my friend¡¯s fianc¨¦ is actually cheating on her on the night of their


    engagement?


    When Toby heard Sonia¡¯s exmations, he wasn¡¯t too surprised.


    It was because he had already identified the man¡¯s voice when he first heard those sounds.


    After all, he was more or less acquainted with the host of the engagement ceremony.


    As for the woman, Toby had no idea who she was.


    Toby lowered his head to look at Sonia as he asked, ¡°Do you have your phone with you?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Record this and show it to your friendter,¡± he reminded her.


    Toby had purely attended the ceremony to apany her. If he had been given a choice, he wouldn¡¯t


    have flown over.


    Also, even though he was acquaintanced with the host, they weren¡¯t close friends or anything like that,


    so he wasn¡¯t the least bit guilty about the possibility of the ceremony being ruined as a result of his


    suggestion.


    He just wanted Sonia to be happy.


    When Sonia heard Toby¡¯s advice, she finally realized what she should do and nodded while she fished


    out her phone. ¡°You¡¯re right; I need topile the evidence and inform my friend, but I don¡¯t know


    whether she¡¯ll break down once she hears about this.¡±


    ¡°You can reveal a little bit at first and see how she reacts to it. If she looks strong enough, you can spill


    the rest of the beans. However, if she is weak and willing to forgive her fianc¨¦ for cheating on her, then


    you can delete the recording,¡± he answered.


    Sonia nodded for the umpteenth time. ¡°You¡¯re right. Okay then, I¡¯ll follow your advice.¡±


    She had wanted to record the evidence of her friend¡¯s fiance cheating because Sonia cared a lot about


    her friend and didn¡¯t want to see her being bullied by the fianc¨¦.


    However, if her friend thought that Sonia should mind her own business, then she would delete the


    recording and pretend that nothing had ever happened.


    After all, she wasn¡¯t responsible for her friend¡¯s happiness.


    At this moment, the man outside seemed to have squeezed a body part that he shouldn¡¯t have, for the


    woman suddenly yelped and said in her pretentious voice, ¡°Stop it!¡±


    This voice! Sonia¡¯s expression changed as she tightly gripped her phone.


    Toby noticed her stiff body, so he quietly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond, but as she peeked through the crack, her pupils trembled.


    The said couple happened to stand right outside the door, so the two parties were only separated by a


    single door.


    The man hugged the woman¡¯s waist with one hand and used his other hand to raise her chin as he


    grinned deviously. ¡°Did you really mean that? You look like you¡¯re enjoying it, though.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! Who would enjoy that? You¡¯re only excellent at bullying me.¡± The woman¡¯s face was red as


    she feigned anger. In reality, she was just embarrassed as she pped his chest.


    He onlyughed out loud.


    Sonia caught a good look at the woman¡¯s face and bit her lip. It really is her! It¡¯s Jessica!


    When Jessica wasughing earlier, Sonia still couldn¡¯t recognize her voice.


    However, she immediately identified the woman as Jessica the moment Jessica spoke.


    Even though Jessica¡¯s voice didn¡¯t sound the same as it did 6 years ago, her pretentious tone never


    changed at all and it still incurred the same disgust in Sonia¡¯s heart.


    However, Sonia was surprised to know that Jessica would be here, of all ces.


    Thest time Jessica returned to Seafield, she stayed for a mere 2 days before setting out to the


    Republic of Mesania again, after which Sonia lost all contact with her.


    She thought that she wouldn¡¯t meet Jessica again in this life, but never expected that Jessica would


    return to haunt her. Apart from that, the woman was now in Kosovo and had gotten between Sonia¡¯s


    friend and her fianc¨¦ as a homewrecker!


    At that thought, Sonia¡¯s expression darkened as rage was written all over her face.


    She was angry to see Jessica disrespecting herself by bing someone¡¯s mistress.


    Of course, Sonia wasn¡¯t that bothered about Jessica¡¯s wellbeing, but was thinking about their father.


    When their father was still alive, he had equally treated both daughters and never favored one over the


    other in terms of education and material needs.


    Yet, Sonia saw how Jessica had treated their father. As soon as Paradigm Co. showed signs of going


    bankrupt, Jessica immediately snatched all the remaining assets and fled with Sandra. It led to him


    devoid of all money andmitting suicide in his despair. After their father died, Jessica never showed


    up at his funeral either.


    Whereas now, Jessica was someone¡¯s mistress. Sonia couldn¡¯t believe how much worse Jessica


    became and how she had disrespected their father.


    Sonia clenched her fists and trembled in anger.


    If it wasn¡¯t for her fear of causing amotion and attracting the attention of onlookers, she would have


    headed out to give Jessica a few good ps, drag the woman back to their home country before forcing


    her to kneel in front of their father¡¯s grave. Had Sonia done so, it would¡¯ve ruined her friend¡¯s


    engagement ceremony.


    When Toby saw Sonia¡¯s eyes reddening in anger, he moved his hand from its position on her waist to her


    back where he patted her, signaling for her to first calm down.


    Even though he didn¡¯t know why Sonia would be extremely exasperated, he knew for sure that it was


    rted to the woman outside.


    When Sonia saw the man, her emotions were still in check, so it was that woman who must have caused


    to react in such a manner.


    The couple outside started to talk.


    Jessica traced circles on the man¡¯s chest with her finger as she gazed at him. ¡°Congrattions on your


    engagement tonight. We¡¯ll have to meet up in secret in the future, won¡¯t we? It¡¯s thrilling, but I still feel


    like I¡¯ve lost.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s sad that you¡¯re from a background like that. If you came from a richer family, who knows I¡¯ll be


    engaged to you tonight?¡± The man grabbed her sneaky finger.


    She red at him. ¡°You¡¯re being straightforward, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°I am engaged with that woman simply because we¡¯re from the same kind of background. I


    don¡¯t even love her a single bit.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± Jessica gazed at him. ¡°Do you have any feelings for me?¡±


    The man rubbed her lips with his thumb. ¡°I would be lying if I said I don¡¯t. If not, I wouldn¡¯t have given you


    so much money or helped you to get that person out. You know, I¡¯ll be in huge trouble if I¡¯m ever caught.


    After all, I¡¯m not a match for him and I can never win against him in terms of family status and ability.¡±


    Get that person out? Sonia frowned. Who is this person whom he helped to release for Jessica¡¯s sake?

 Chapter 558

    Chapter 558


    Chapter 558 idental Kiss


    While Sonia was deep in her thoughts, Jessica opened her mouth to speak again.


    She rested her head on the man¡¯s shoulder and responded in a sickly sweet voice, ¡°I know you¡¯re good


    to me. Wait for me; once I have the family property in my name, you¡¯ll leave your fianc¨¦e and marry me,


    right?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that when you¡¯ve sessfully snatched the property first.¡± The man then started to y


    with her hair.


    Sonia¡¯s dark expression turned a shade deeper than charcoal. Oh, so she wants to snatch the family


    property now!


    6 years ago, Jessica had already taken everything from the Reed Family and caused their father¡¯s


    suicide. Sonia wasn¡¯t even done with her revenge for those actions, but Jessica was now plotting to


    snatch the recently growing Paradigm Co. In your dreams!


    Toby removed his hand from Sonia¡¯s waist and rubbed her eyebrows instead. Then, he quietly advised,


    ¡°Don¡¯t frown so much. You don¡¯t look pretty when you frown.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn!¡± Sonia retorted.


    Even though she had said something like that, her body waspliant and her frown gradually


    disappeared.


    Toby could only smile.


    He had no idea when she picked up her stubborn habit, but she still looked cute regardless.


    It was especially so whenever she threw tantrums with her flushed face. He had wanted to rub her


    cheeks so badly and imagined that they would be soft and squishy.


    Now that he thought about it, Toby looked at Sonia with an even darker expression and he swallowed a


    little, as if trying to hide something from her.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice his change in behavior as her entire focus was on the couple on the other side of the


    door.


    At that moment, Jessica was replying to the man. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll head home in two months¡¯ time when


    I¡¯ve settled everything and fight with that half-sister of mine. I heard that she¡¯s the biggest shareholder in


    Paradigm Co. and since we share the same father, half of her shares should be mine too.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Sure, I¡¯ll await your good news.¡± Heughed before he raised her chin and nted a kiss on her


    lips.


    Jessica was impatient and didn¡¯t have much shame either, for when the man raised her chin, she


    reached out with her arms and wrapped them around his neck before she passionately returned the kiss.


    Their passion resembled the wildfire whereby they kissed ever so noisily.


    The man pressed Jessica against the door.


    As her back bumped into the door, the force had traveled past and into Sonia¡¯s back.


    Then, the sudden force had caused Sonia to fall forward.


    Sonia was already in Toby¡¯s arms; so, when the door ryed the force from the couple in heat, it had


    completely destroyed the distance between Sonia and Toby.


    She could even feel her breasts being squished by Toby¡¯s chest.


    Sonia¡¯s face immediately blushed in the shade of red, as if she would bleed out at any moment. She


    lowered her head as much as she could andcked the courage to look at Toby.


    He wasn¡¯t dumb either as he could more or less identify the soft substance on his chest, after which he


    lowered his gaze to look at the woman in his arms.


    However, the woman had bowed her head, so he couldn¡¯t see her face. Only her dark hair and bright red


    ears greeted him, but it was enough for him to know what her expression was.


    As he gave it a thought, Toby¡¯s thin lips curved into a smile and the look in his eyes darkened even more.


    At this moment, the couple on the other side of the door seemed to have arrived at a major stage of their


    session when Jessica suddenly let out an ecstatic shout.


    Sonia then felt the door ram against her back; the force was sorge that it violently shook her back to


    the point where her soul almost left her body and she raised her head in terror.


    And this simple movement was enough for her to brush her red lips against Toby¡¯s thin ones.


    Since Toby had lowered his head to gaze at her, their lips touched when Sonia looked up.


    Her eyes widened in bewilderment.


    He was also a little shocked, for he never thought that things would arrive at such a stage, but he was


    d that it did.


    Now that Toby¡¯s eyes shimmered, he came to his senses and snaked his hand behind Sonia¡¯s head.


    Before she could evenprehend the situation, he had already parted her teeth and deepened their


    idental kiss.


    It was a momentter when Sonia finally recovered from her shock. There was a troubled look in her


    eyes as she pushed Toby away.


    When he noticed her movement, he broke the kiss and leaned into her ear to say, ¡°Don¡¯t move, or they¡¯ll


    discover us.¡±


    Sonia immediately calmed down and stopped moving after his reminder.


    Toby didn¡¯t continue the kiss either.


    He could seize the opportunity when she was distracted earlier to kiss those red lips he had always


    dreamed of, but now that she was aware of it, he couldn¡¯t continue.


    Otherwise, she would be annoyed with him.


    He was already grateful enough for an ident like this.


    Toby raised his hand and wiped away the moisture at the corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth with his thumb.


    When Sonia realized what he was doing, she quickly turned her head to the side to stop him from


    continuing. Instead, she reached up to wipe her mouth herself.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    The moment he saw Sonia¡¯s red face and irritated movements, Toby chuckled and lowered his hand.


    On the other side of the door, the couple had already calmed down and the door no longer shook so


    much that it bumped into Sonia.


    She could finally sigh in relief and back away a little to create more distance between her and Toby.


    Even though she was still in his arms, at least their bodies weren¡¯t squeezed together in that awkward


    position anymore.


    ¡°Mr. Lazuli, you¡¯re amazing, but it hurt me so much.¡± Jessica leaned against the man inbored breaths


    after the ordeal. Then, she looked at him with narrowed eyes.


    The man was ted to hear her words and he felt so powerful that heughed aloud.


    When Toby heard the wretched couple¡¯s conversation, he had a look of disdain in his eyes. That¡¯s


    amazing? It was over within a few minutes. He¡¯s obviouslycking in that department.


    Suddenly, a ringtone sounded in the air.


    Sonia had the shock of her life when she thought it was hers and she quickly whipped out her phone to


    check.


    When she saw that the screen on her phone had still disyed the recording interface, she rxed.


    Then, the man¡¯s voice sounded from behind the door as he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    With that, the man kept his phone away and thereafter pinched Jessica¡¯s cheek. ¡°Okat, it¡¯s almost time


    for the session where the couple gives their speech. My parents have just notified me to prepare for it, so


    let¡¯s leave. If someonees to look for me and catches us together, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± A reluctant Jessica nodded.


    Soon, the two left their secret ce of passion and walked in the direction where they came from.


    When Sonia heard the sound of their footsteps bing faint before it eventually disappeared, she


    finally rxed her tense body and sighed in relief.


    Then, she quickly took two steps backward to get away from Toby.


    Upon seeing how she had avoided him like the gue, Toby pursed his thin lips. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my actions


    earlier.¡±


    Sonia froze before she red at him. ¡°Right, as you should! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re so shameless that


    you¡¯d sneak in like that!¡±


    When she thought about that kiss moments ago, her face reddened again.


    When Jessica and Mr. Lazuli had been bearing on them earlier, Toby knew that Sonia was blushing, but


    he didn¡¯t catch a glimpse of her face.


    Now that he did, he realized how beautiful she was.


    Toby lowered his gaze to hide the darkness in his eyes before he said in a hoarse voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on


    purpose. Will Lazuli and that woman were doing such things and it can affect people with such ease.


    Also, since you were in my arms, I couldn¡¯t help it.¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re just making up excuses!¡± Sonia pointed at him with a shaky finger.

 Chapter 559

    Chapter 559


    Chapter 559 Earthquake


    What did he mean by ¡®affect people with such ease¡¯?


    I was also there and heard everything.


    Yet, I wasn¡¯t affected in that kind of way and I even thought that it¡¯s disgusting.


    So, he¡¯s just looking for excuses! Excuses to¡­ to do things to me! Sonia thought.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    When Toby saw that Sonia was so mad to the point of having red eyes, he removed his hand from his


    pocket and gently patted her on the head. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll admit that I wasn¡¯t affected by that scene, but


    what I said in the second half is real. The love of my life was in my arms and took the initiative to kiss


    me, so tell me, how can I resist it?¡±


    Initially, she wanted to push his hand off her head, but the moment she heard his exnation, the hand


    that she had raised lost its energy as it dropped to her side. The blush on her face deepened as she


    looked away and replied in a small voice, ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t kiss you on purpose. Those two were too active in


    their actions and kept mming the door, which bumped into me and resulted in me identally kissing


    you.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Toby nodded before he asked, ¡°Were you hurt anywhere by the door?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head.


    The door didn¡¯t ram into her from a distance away; it had always been behind her.


    So, when the door jostled her, it didn¡¯t have that great force expected of something flying toward its


    victim. Hence, she wasn¡¯t injured or anything.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Toby nodded slightly, his expression rxing.


    Then, he thought of something and asked again, ¡°Right, do you know that woman?¡±


    Upon hearing his question, Sonia suppressed her embarrassment and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡± He looked at her.


    She took a deep breath and solemnly answered, ¡°Jessica.¡±


    ¡°Jessica?¡± Toby frowned as it was a familiar name. Soon, he realized who its namesake was while his


    usual cold face wore a shocked expression. ¡°Your father¡¯s second daughter.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say that it was her sister.


    That was because he knew that there were no sisterly bonds between Sonia and Jessica.


    Moreover, he remembered Sonia sharing in the letter that she had been bullied by her stepmother and


    that woman¡¯s daughter.


    So, he also wouldn¡¯t acknowledge that Jessica was Sonia¡¯s sister and much preferred to refer to Jessica


    as Henry¡¯s second daughter.


    ¡°That¡¯s her.¡± Sonia clenched her fists as fire burned in her eyes. ¡°6 years ago, she and Sandra ran off


    with everyst bit of Paradigm Co.¡¯s assets as well as the money and valuables in the house. I thought


    that they would have afortable life with the amount of wealth they took, but Jessica is living off her


    position as someone¡¯s mistress. If Dad knew about it, he would be so mad that he¡¯ll return from the


    dead.¡±


    At that, she suddenly pped her forehead. ¡°Right, I almost forgot. I need to pass this recording to my


    friend. The speech will be on soon; if I don¡¯t let my friend listen to it beforehand, they¡¯ll really be an


    engaged couple and it will all be toote.¡±


    When that happened, her friend wouldn¡¯t be able to bail out of the marriage so easily.


    ¡°Go on then.¡± Toby tidied Sonia¡¯s hair before he retracted his hands and spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you at


    the elevator. We have to meet President Homer once you are back.¡±


    Sonia looked up at him when she heard his worse. After smiling and nodding at his encouraging gaze,


    she replied, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be off now.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    She gripped her phone before her high heels clicked as she left.


    Toby watched her leave and when Sonia vanished from her sight, his gentleness disappeared from his


    expression. Then, he took out his phone and made a call. ¡°President Lazuli, it¡¯s me. There¡¯s something


    about your son that I want to talk to you about after the engagement ceremony.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia located her friend.


    Even though they hadn¡¯t met in years, Sonia and her friend were still overjoyed to see each other.


    After a short while of reminiscing about the good old days, Sonia took out her phone and stated her


    reason foring, thereafter she yed the audio recording for her friend.


    Surprisingly, after her friend listened to the recording, the woman didn¡¯t express much shock and even


    acted like it was within her expectations.


    Sonia looked at her in surprise. ¡°You already know that your fianc¨¦ is cheating on you?¡±


    Her friend swirled the wine in her ss as she smiled. ¡°Yes, he can¡¯t hide that personality from me.¡±


    ¡°Yet you¡¯re still getting engaged to him?¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t understand what was going on.


    As a sorrowful aura enveloped her friend, she lowered her gaze. ¡°I didn¡¯t decide to get engaged with him


    out of love. It¡¯s just that we¡¯re suitable for each other because of our family statuses. Moreover, the man


    who I really wanted to marry had died long ago.¡±


    Sonia was stunned. ¡°Died?¡±


    The friend nodded. ¡°Yes. Some years ago, I met a man who loved me and pursued me, but he wasn¡¯t my


    type, so I never agreed to date him. After that, he kept bothering me, which annoyed the hell out of me.


    So, I decided to give it a shot with him since I never found anyone else whom I liked. I figured that I


    would at least be happy when I¡¯m with someone who loves me, but then¡­¡± Her eyes turned moist at the


    memory. ¡°Not long after we got together, he met with an ident and died as a result. It was after his


    death that I realized that I have lost the person who loved me the most in the whole wide world, so I


    probably would never be happy again. No one else woulde close to him in terms of tolerance and


    eptance of my bad days, nor would anyone else protect me like he did, Sonia.¡±


    She suddenly held Sonia¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Do you have someone whom you like?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s gaze wavered. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think so¡­¡±


    After hearing the uncertainty in her voice, the friend asked, ¡°Then, is there someone who loves you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia immediately thought of Toby, but soon dismissed that image of him. This is weird. Sure,


    Toby loves me, but there are also other men who love me, like Charles and Carl. I don¡¯t understand why


    Toby was the first person I thought of.


    Then, her friend said earnestly, ¡°Sonia, I¡¯ve been there before, so I want you to know that if there¡¯s


    someone whom you like and he shares the same feelings, you guys have to be together. If you don¡¯t


    have anyone whom you like, then just be with the person who likes you. He would still make you happy


    even though you don¡¯t like him. Don¡¯t be like me; don¡¯t wait until you¡¯ve lost the man to realize this. I can


    only wallow in regret now.¡±


    Being with someone who loves you, huh¡­


    Sonia looked lost as her red lips moved. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°Good. As your friend, I hope that you can be happy. Also, thank you for recording this for my sake.


    Okay, since I have a speech to make now, will youe to the hall with me?¡± Her friend released


    Sonia¡¯s hand and stood up.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay; I have someone to meet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving then.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The friend wiped her tears away before taking a few deep breaths to calm her emotions. Then, she wore


    a polite smile and lifted the hem of her dress as she made her way out of the powder room.


    Sonia didn¡¯t stay there for long either after her friend left. After taking a look at her phone, she almost


    made a move as she prepared to look for Toby.


    The ground suddenly shook the moment Sonia walked out of the powder room.


    Sonia was in high heels, so she lost her bnce and fell to the ground.


    Fortunately, the corridor was carpeted as well, so it was soft enough to catch Sonia¡¯s fall without her


    sustaining any injuries or twisting her ankle. However, she didn¡¯t immediately stand on her feet; she tried


    to support the upper half of her body as she sprawled on the ground, for it was still shaking. If she rose to


    her feet, she would only fall once again. What is going on? An earthquake?


    As Sonia looked at the chandelier above her head swaying, she heard terrified screams nearby as well.


    It was then when she confirmed that it was indeed an earthquake and of a noticeable magnitude as well.


    ¡°Earthquake! Run!¡±


    ¡°Who stepped on my foot?¡±


    ¡°Ouch, you ran into me!¡±


    At this moment, a crowd emerged from the elevators as they fled for their lives.


    When Sonia saw the terror etched on their faces, she suddenly remembered Toby and her face paled.

 Chapter 560

    Chapter 560


    Chapter 560 Two-Way Run


    Toby is still waiting for me at the elevator alone right now. Besides, his legs aren¡¯t fully healed, which


    means that he can¡¯t bnce himself with such a big shake of the ground. Maybe his feet have been


    injured again?


    When she thought about this, Sonia felt worried and tried to get up from the carpeted floor. However, the


    ground was shaking so much that she almost fell again moments after standing up. Luckily, she


    managed to hold onto one side of the wall in time to bnce herself. However, it was absolutely


    impossible for her to approach Toby while she was in these high heels without the risk of falling again.


    After taking a deep breath, she kicked off her shoes without any hesitation and hurriedly rushed toward


    Toby¡¯s direction while holding onto the wall. Even though she was stumbling and staggering, she did not


    slow down in the slightest. She had to reach Toby as soon as possible; otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t feel at


    ease. Toby, you must not be in trouble!


    It was a prayer that she offered from her heart.


    On the other hand, Toby was leaning against the wall by the elevator to have a smoke while waiting for


    Sonia to return. However, what he never expected was for the earthquake to suddenly ur after he


    waited for a short while. If he hadn¡¯t been leaning against the wall, he would¡¯ve been thrown onto the


    ground from the impact at this moment. At once, Toby put out his cigarette and threw it into the trash can,


    his face tense as he walked forward. I am going to look for Sonia. I wonder whether she will be


    frightened now that there¡¯s an earthquake.


    The thought that Sonia might be afraid caused Toby¡¯s expression to harden. Then, he sped up without


    hesitation even if it meant spraining his foot again. He only wanted to hurry to her side to assure her not


    to be afraid and that he would be there for her.


    Soon, Toby was walking around the corner of a corridor and saw Sonia holding onto the wall as she trod


    toward him. When he saw her, his eyes brightened as he shouted, ¡°Sonia!¡±


    Sonia subconsciously stopped in her tracks after she heard the man¡¯s voice. Then, she looked up and


    saw the man around the corner who also held the wall in front of her. Her eyes instantly lit up as well.


    ¡°Toby!¡±


    She didn¡¯t think much as to why he was here. She was only aware that she had stopped panicking and


    was no longer in fear when she saw him. When she thought about this, she removed her hands from the


    wall and ran toward Toby. Even though she stumbled as the ground shook beneath her, she still didn¡¯t


    stop.


    However, when Toby saw this, he began to worry again. He was afraid that she would fall, so he quickly


    strode toward her. When he saw that Sonia was about to arrive, he opened his arms and was ready to


    catch her. By the time Sonianded in his embrace, he stumbled backward and finally held onto her as


    they both fell to the ground. Toby was at the bottom whereas Sonia was on top of him. Luckily for him,


    the floor was carpeted, so he didn¡¯t feel much pain from the fall; otherwise, he would¡¯ve injured his head.


    However, Sonia was still worried that he was hurt, so she hurriedly moved away from his arms and


    propped her hand on the carpet before she urgently asked while looking at him. ¡°Toby, are you all right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded and wanted to get up.


    Then, she immediately held his arm and helped him into a sitting position, after which she sat next to him


    and asked again, ¡°By the way, why did youe?¡±


    Toby straightened his clothes before replying, ¡°I was worried about you, so I came over to look for you.¡±


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    At that, Sonia was taken aback. ¡°You came because you were also worried about me?¡±


    ¡°Also?¡± Toby¡¯s ears had picked up on this word and after he raised an eyebrow, he fixed his gaze on her.


    ¡°So, that means you were worried about me and came looking for me? Is that how you lost your shoes


    halfway?¡± He stared at her bare feet, his eyes dark.


    When she felt the intensity of his gaze, she tried to ufortably shrink her toes before attempting to


    hide her feet under the hem of her skirt as her gaze shifted elsewhere. Then, she said, ¡°No, that¡¯s pure


    nonsense. I was afraid that my high heels would cause me to fall during the earthquake, which was why I


    removed them.¡±


    Heughed lightly. ¡°You only denied that you did not lose the shoes, but not that you came to look for me


    because you were worried. Sonia, does that mean you were indeed worried and so came to search for


    me?¡±


    Sonia lowered her head sheepishly and didn¡¯t speak anymore.


    Next, Toby raised his hand to ruffle her hair. ¡°That¡¯s enough for me, Sonia. I¡¯m very happy.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be happy about? I was just worried about you.¡± Her red lips twitched as she muttered.


    After that, he removed his hand. ¡°Of course I¡¯m happy. It¡¯s because you¡¯re worried about me, which


    means you care about me in your heart.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. Who wants to care about you?¡± Sonia resembled a cat whose tail had been stepped on and


    she red at him with widened eyes and firmly denied that she cared for him. I don¡¯t care about Toby.


    Toby knew she wouldn¡¯t admit it, so he shook his head with a smile andmented, ¡°Okay, okay. You


    don¡¯t care about me, okay?¡±


    Sonia huffed and she didn¡¯t speak¡ªa signal that she was allowing the matter to slide.


    After a long time, the tremors gradually began to lessen until calm finally returned. She looked up at the


    chandelier that was no longer shaking and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°It seems the earthquake has


    passed.¡±


    He nodded slightly. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Then, she stood up, after which she reached for his arm to pull him up from the ground as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing the building¡¯s earthquake protection measures are good. Other than the scary tremors,


    nothing has copsed; otherwise, we might have been¡­¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but shiver at the thought of herself and Toby potentially being buried under the rubble.


    He gently tapped her forehead and said, ¡°Do not think too much. This ce is near the sea and quakes


    often happen on the seabed. Thus, the surroundingnd would suffer from some tremors. Therefore,


    most buildings in this city have the most advanced earthquake prevention measures and they can


    withstand even therge earthquakes without copsing. Don¡¯t scare yourself.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡± Sonia pped his hand away and spoke with annoyance, ¡°Don¡¯t knock my head.¡±


    While heughed, Toby ced his hands in the pocket of his pants. ¡°Now, where did you lose your


    shoes?¡±


    ¡°Outside the dressing room.¡± Sonia pointed to the direction where she came from.


    He removed his hand from his pocket to hold hers. ¡°Come, let¡¯s get your shoes back.¡±


    After saying that, he pulled her forward. A startled Sonia then watched him take her hand. The palm of


    his hand wasrge and warm, making her suddenly feel a little reluctant to shake it off. In fact, she didn¡¯t


    shake his hand away and allowed him to lead her forward.


    Soon, the two arrived outside the dressing room. Toby saw the pair of high heels that were left on the


    carpet from a distance. He released Sonia¡¯s hand and headed for the shoes, which caused her to look at


    her empty paw before her lips pursed slightly.


    ording to reason, she should have been relieved when he released her hand, but she didn¡¯t feel


    relief. All she felt instead was loss.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Toby asked as he returned with her pair of high heels and saw her staring


    at her hands.


    When she heard that, Sonia lowered her hand and returned to her senses. After she calmed the subtle


    emotions in her heart, she smiled a little and said, ¡°Nothing.¡±

 Chapter 561

    Chapter 561


    Chapter 561 Change How You Address Me


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby raised his chin, but he didn¡¯t probe further. Instead, he bent down and ced the high


    heels in front of her feet. ¡°Wear them.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia answered. Then, she held the wall, ready to put on her shoes.


    At this moment, he suddenly rose to his full height and grabbed her hand to ce it on his shoulder. She


    looked at him in confusion and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Hold my shoulder while you wear them,¡± came Toby¡¯s answer.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s the same even if I hold onto the wall,¡± she replied and was about to remove her hand when Toby


    stopped her.


    Toby pressed her hand down on his shoulder and didn¡¯t release it. ¡°The wall is very cold, so your hand


    will freeze. My shoulder is warmer.¡±


    Sonia felt amused upon hearing this. ¡°You¡¯re really¡­ Forget it. Since you are willing to be a wall, then I¡¯ll


    just use you as my support.¡±


    With that, she simply grabbed his shoulder, raised her foot and began to wear her shoes. After putting


    them on, Sonia removed her hand. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wall.¡±


    This nickname made Toby subconsciously raise his eyebrows. ¡°Mr. Wall?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you were behaving like a wall for me, so it is only right to call you Mr. Wall.¡± Sonia looked at him


    with a tease.


    He smiled slightly before he responded, ¡°As long as you like it, but I¡¯m much happier when you call me


    by my name. So, Sonia, don¡¯t address me as President Fuller in the future, okay?¡±


    Although his eyes were dark, there was a hint of hope in them, making Sonia unable to refuse him.


    Sonia turned her head to avoid his gaze before she concurred, ¡°Then, from now on, I¡¯ll call you Toby.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Toby nodded in agreement.


    Although it made him feel a little detached for her to address him by his name, it was considered an


    improvement from ¡®President Fuller¡¯ which was worse. I will have her call me something more intimate


    one day.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll bring you to meet President Homer.¡± Toby looked at the time and since it was already


    11:00PM, the person of interest would leave in a while if they didn¡¯t arrive soon. The main purpose for


    Sonia¡¯s arrival was to meet Ted Homer.


    After hearing what Toby said, Sonia nodded heavily. ¡°Okay.¡±


    The two of them went toward the elevator and arrived at the lounge upstairs. When they came to the


    door of Ted¡¯s lounge, Toby suddenly stopped in his tracks. She noticed this and was rather puzzled. Just


    as when she wanted to ask what was wrong, he exined, ¡°You can enter on your own; I¡¯ll wait for you


    outside. Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to obtain the purchasing rights by yourself? So, I won¡¯t go in.¡±


    If he entered and Ted saw that Toby was with Sonia, it was almost a guarantee that Ted would


    immediately award her with the purchasing rights. It would only mean that she didn¡¯t receive the


    purchasing rights through her own ability, but rather because of Toby¡¯s name. Hence, he wouldn¡¯t enter


    and influence the oue of the situation.


    Sonia quickly understood his reason and solemnly replied, ¡°Alright. Then, I¡¯ll be out soon.¡± He is right. I


    need to rely on my own ability to obtain the purchasing rights, so it¡¯s better for him not to go in.


    As she had forgotten about this, it was a good thing that he reminded her.


    ¡°Go ahead. Good luck.¡± Toby nodded and gave an encouraging smile.


    Sonia returned the smile. ¡°I will; I¡¯m going in now.¡±


    In response, he acknowledged her words with a grunt. Afterward, Sonia took a deep breath, rearranged


    her clothes and hair before she raised her hand to knock on the door. A momentter, she went in. True


    to his words, Toby stood at the door like a guardian.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    After waiting for about half an hour, there was movement behind the door. Thus, he straightened his


    posture and looked at the door opposite him. When the door opened, it was Sonia emerging with an


    excited face. His gaze softened as a smile appeared on his face while he observed her face that flushed


    with happiness. ¡°Were you sessful?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Both of Sonia¡¯s hands clenched into fists in excitement and she said, ¡°During the interview,


    President Homer was originally unwilling to award the purchasing rights because he thought that


    Paradigm Co. was too small. However, I finally moved him with my persistence and he¡¯s agreed to let me


    have the purchasing rights and even asked me to head to hispany tomorrow to sign the contract.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Toby gave her a thumbs up in praise.


    She was considered great¡ªfrom a newbie who knew nothing in the beginning to slowly getting to speed


    with the handling of thepany¡¯s business, she was now also able to discuss with a transnational


    company¡¯s boss alone and sessfully obtain their coboration. All of these improvements happened


    in just a few months and enough to illustrate that in addition to her talent, a lot of hard work went into


    y. As a result, he believed that in the future, she would dazzle more in the industry.


    Sonia had a wide smile as she responded, ¡°Thank you for thepliment. I feel awesome too.¡±


    Aughing Toby lowered his hand. ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to be modest.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. I just think that when I should be proud, I should just ept such a feeling. As long as I


    know that I have to keep working hard, it¡¯s okay to be proud.¡± She ruffled her own hair as she borated.


    Toby¡¯s gaze was gentle when he replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    When Sonia met his kind eyes, she was stunned. She suddenly realized that he was bing gentler,


    which reminded her of the way he used to behave as the forbearing child in white.


    He reached out and waved his hand in front of her when he noticed that she stared at him while lost in


    her train of thoughts. ¡°What are you thinking about again?¡±


    She had yet to fully return to her senses. When she heard his words, she subconsciously said, ¡°I thought


    of the past you.¡±


    ¡°The past me?!¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Her gaze wavered before shepletely regained herposure. While looking at him, she hurriedly


    asked, ¡°Um¡­ What did I just say?¡±


    ¡°You said that you remember the past me.¡± Toby added, ¡°Sonia, to you, what was the past me like?¡±


    What was he like? Sonia lowered her eyes and thought. In the past, Toby was the most hygienic,


    gentlest, most heartwarming teenager she had ever met. When she first met him, he had left her so


    stunned that she wondered how there could be such a wonderful senior in this world.


    However, after she married him, she realized that he had long changed from a gentle teenager to a stoic


    and indifferent jerk who cared about no one. When she thought about this, she looked at Toby again and


    red at him instead. ¡°In any case, he¡¯spletely different from you now.¡±


    At that, Sonia walked toward the banquet hall while a doubtful Toby looked at her back.


    What is going on? Why is she angry? I didn¡¯t seem to have provoked her, right? He couldn¡¯t figure out


    what he had done wrong, so he gave her a chase. By the time they returned to the banquet hall, the


    speech that Sonia¡¯s friend and her fiance gave was over. It should¡¯ve ended a long time ago, but due to


    the earlier earthquake, it was postponed until now. Sonia stood at the corner and followed other guests in


    apuding and congratting the couple for officially being engaged.


    Of course she wasn¡¯t giving her blessings like the others, but rather, she was merely following the tide


    because she knew that her friend didn¡¯t need grace at all. After all, it wasn¡¯t a union out of love.


    ¡°Your friend is not willing to cancel the engagement with Will Lazuli.¡± Toby brought a ss of red wine to


    Sonia and he stared at the couple onstage.


    Sonia looked at the ss of red wine in his hand and frowned. ¡°Your arm and foot aren¡¯t even healed yet,


    so why are you drinking?¡± Then, she snatched the ss from his hand and ced it on the dining table


    at the side before bringing him a ss of juice instead. ¡°Drink this.¡±


    Toby looked at the bright red juice in his hand, the corners of his mouth slightly twitching with


    amusement. He knew it was shariferous without having to drink it and since he disliked anything that


    was too sweet, he never drank juice. However, this was a different matter altogether. She cared about


    him, which was why she handed him the ss of juice. If he didn¡¯t drink it, it would sadden her.

 Chapter 562

    Chapter 562


    Chapter 562 Jessica¡¯s Hatred


    Toby gently swirled the ss of juice in his hand and the bright red liquid looked even more translucent


    and beautiful under the hall lights. He tilted his head before taking a sip¡ªit was sweet; in fact, it was so


    sweet that even his heart was coated in honey.


    At this moment, Sonia took the ss of red wine that she had snatched from his grasp earlier and took a


    sip. Then, she answered his earlier question, ¡°Well, Nancy is not willing to break off the engagement.¡±


    ¡°She loves him?¡± Toby looked at her.


    He was referring to the scum Will Lazuli.


    She shook her head. ¡°Of course not. Nancy said that since the person she wants to marry is no longer


    around, she would marry Will for her family¡¯s sake. Anyway, she feels that it¡¯ll be the same with whoever


    she marries as they would still live separate lives after the marriage.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He nodded before looking away. After he watched the couple leave the stage, he tilted his head


    and finished the remaining juice in his ss with one gulp. Then, he set aside the ss and informed


    Sonia, ¡°I¡¯m going to see Will¡¯s father. Do you want toe with me?¡±


    Sonia waved her hand. ¡°I won¡¯t go; I don¡¯t know him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just wait for me here and eat something. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± He picked up a tter and threw


    two pieces of mango-vored snacks on it before he handed the te to her.


    After she reached out to take it, she replied, ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Toby smiled a little and turned to make a move.


    After he left, Sonia suddenly froze. Strange, why did I promise to wait for him?


    The answer to it vaguely surfaced in her heart, but she quickly suppressed it again. She lowered her


    head and used a delicate silver fork to break the snack into bite-size bits before she ced it into her


    mouth. The moment she bit into it, she could taste that it was exceptionally treacly. Strangely enough,


    although the taste was definitely not as good as that made by a pastry chef in the high-end hotel, for


    some reason, she felt that this particr morsel was much tastier.


    Sonia sat on the couch in the corner and ate the snacks while waiting for Toby to return. After she waited


    for a while, she ced her te aside before heading to the bathroom where she stood in front of the


    sink to wash her hands and fix her makeup. Suddenly, she saw from the mirror that thepartment


    door behind her had opened to reveal Jessicaing out while ruffling her hair.


    Sonia immediately ced the lipstick in her hand aside to turn around and greet, ¡°Jessica!¡±


    Jessica paused in her action of fixing her hair, then she raised her head. ¡°Who¡­ Sonia?¡±


    Her voice was shrill with surprise and the gaze that she fixed at Sonia was full of shock and disbelief.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Jessica loudly questioned as she took two steps forward to stop in front of Sonia.


    Sonia covered her lipstick and kept it in her purse. Then, she gently replied, ¡°I came to attend my friend¡¯s


    engagement party, so why can¡¯t I be here?¡±


    ¡°Friend?¡± Jessica quickly reacted as her face contorted for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re Nancy Sandstone¡¯s


    friend?¡±


    Nancy Sandstone was Will Lazuli¡¯s fianc¨¦e.


    After Sonia crossed her arms, she answered, ¡°Yes, but you seem to have a problem with Nancy. Is it


    because of her fianc¨¦?¡±


    When Jessica heard these words, she stiffened before she clenched her palms. She had a panicked


    gaze as she asked, ¡°What do y-you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of what I mean in your heart.¡± Sonia¡¯s expression sank before she added,


    ¡°Jessica, it¡¯s been 6 years since we met. Yet, I did not expect you to surprise me by bing a


    homewrecker.¡±


    Those words had greatly agitated Jessica as her bloodshot eyes bulged while she stared angrily at


    Sonia. ¡°Did you say that I¡¯m a homewrecker? Nancy is clearly the homewrecker! Will and I are in love


    whereas he doesn¡¯t fancy her. However, she insisted on being engaged to Will, so isn¡¯t she the


    homewrecker between Will and I?¡±


    If Nancy knew what was best for her, she would¡¯ve taken the initiative to break off the engagement with


    Will and surrender her position as his fianc¨¦e.


    Sonia instantlyughed after hearing those words because she felt that Jessica trulycked principles.


    ¡°So, this is what you think a homewrecker is? Just because you and Will have feelings for each other,


    Nancy is the homewrecker in your opinion and preventing you from marrying Will? Huh, you are really


    shameless, Jessica. Do you think Dad will be happy to know that you¡¯re doing all this?¡±


    Dad¡­


    A trace of guilt surfaced on Jessica¡¯s face as her eyes shed, but it soon disappeared. She crossed her


    arms and justified herself by retorting, ¡°Dad died a long time ago, so I no longer give a damn about him.


    Don¡¯t use him to pressure me!¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Sonia¡¯s face reddened with anger. Now that she angrily pointed at Jessica, she continued.


    ¡°Jessica, you are aware that Dad is dead, right? Then, do you know that you are the one who killed


    him?¡±


    Jessica¡¯s gaze shifted around as she denied, ¡°Sonia, stop talking nonsense. How could I have killed


    Dad? It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    She refused to bear this charge even though it was indeed the truth.


    ¡°Impossible?¡± Sonia sneered. ¡°6 years ago, you and your mother felt that Paradigm Co. was going to


    copse, so you guys stole thest of the remaining funds and ran off to leave Dad with an even bigger


    mess. Therefore, Dad was extremely discouraged and jumped to his death as a result.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Jessica clenched her fists. ¡°You just said that Dadmitted suicide, so how could my


    mother and I have killed him? Don¡¯t use us without proof! What does his death have to do with us?¡±


    When Sonia heard those cold words, she shook her head in sarcasm. ¡°Jessica, you are terrible. Are you


    even Dad¡¯s daughter at all?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Jessica craned her neck and answered without any hesitation, ¡°Back when Dad defended you each


    time but was mean andid a hand on me, I stopped regarding him as my father.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re holding a grudge against him because of this? And you don¡¯t


    even want to admit that you¡¯re his eldest daughter?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that enough?¡± Jessica sneered.


    Sonia forcefully closed her eyes to take a deep breath in an attempt to suppress her anger. After that,


    she borated, ¡°Jessica, do you know why he was mean to you and even whacked you? That¡¯s because


    you always bullied me and caused trouble. No matter how he tried to teach you, you wouldn¡¯t listen, so


    heid a hand on you for your own good. He hoped that you would grow up and learn your ways, but I


    never expected you to hold a grudge against him for this. And you don¡¯t even want to acknowledge him!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by him doing it for my own good? I never thought it like that. In his heart, only you


    are his good daughter and I¡¯m just the one who always disgraced him. In fact, I think he regretted having


    me as his daughter, right?¡± Jessica¡¯s face contorted.


    Shock was written on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°Insane; you are really insane!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not insane. I¡¯m totally sane because I heard him saying it with my own ears. He said that he


    should¡¯ve strangled me in the first ce to prevent me from harming the Reed Family. Since he did this


    to me, why can¡¯t my mother and I take the money and flee? I have long hated him and wished for his


    death, so when we heard that he died, we were ted.¡± Jessicaughed out loud with pleasure.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    An expressionless Sonia felt she could no longer suppress the rage in her heart. After she clenched her


    hands, she dropped her purse and grabbed Jessica by the hair to forcefully drag to the sink.


    Jessica never expected that Sonia would treat her in that fashion. Now that she felt her hair being tugged


    hard by Sonia, she began to scream in pain. ¡°Ahhhh! Let go of me!¡±

 Chapter 563

    Chapter 563


    Chapter 563 Toby¡¯s Worries


    Sonia turned a deaf ear to Jessica¡¯s pleas and instead maintained her tight grip on Jessica¡¯s hair. Then,


    she turned on the faucet with her other hand before she clogged the sink.


    The moment that Jessica listened to the sound of water running, a huge unease rose in her heart. ¡°What


    are you doing?¡±


    ¡°What else?¡± Sonia¡¯s red lips curved upward. ¡°You will soon know; you¡¯ll definitely remember it for the


    rest of your life.¡±


    ¡°What the f*ck are you talking about? Sonia, hurry up and let me go!¡± Jessica screamed with rage and


    tried to grapple with Sonia to break free from Sonia¡¯s grip. However, as Jessica had inherited both her


    mother¡¯s Sandra petite height and body shape, she couldn¡¯t shove a stronger Sonia aside. It also didn¡¯t


    help that Sonia¡¯s strength was fueled by her anger. Thus, as Jessica struggled, not only was she unable


    to remove her hair from Sonia¡¯s tight grasp, she was exhausted and drenched in perspiration.


    Jessica reluctantly raised her eyes to stare at Sonia in a deadly manner, her eyes filled with venomous


    intent. ¡°B*tch, let me go or I¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    Her head was pushed into the clogged sink by Sonia before she could even finish threatening Sonia. The


    cold water instantly entered her eyes, nasal cavity as well as her mouth, making her unable to breathe


    and causing her extraordinary pain as well as difort. Her hands continued to il violently in the air


    while Sonia coldly watched.


    ¡°You have such a dirty mouth, which is why you need a good wash. Let¡¯s see whether you dare to


    badmouth Dad and other people in that manner next time.¡±


    Although Jessica¡¯s head was submerged in water and she couldn¡¯t speak, she still could hear. When she


    heard what Sonia had said, she was so angry that she subconsciously opened her mouth to retort. As a


    result, the moment she opened her mouth, arge stream of water flooded her mouth and throat, which


    made her feel even worse.


    Sonia trained her eyes on Jessica while silently calcting to yank her out of the sink. After all, she


    couldn¡¯t bring herself to kill the woman if she was disgusted with Jessica. Feeling that the time was


    almost up, Sonia pulled Jessica¡¯s hair to bring the woman out of the water. As Jessica¡¯s head tilted


    upward from the impact, she began to cough violently while looking at the ceiling and panting heavily.


    She waspletely in a mess; her eyes were bloodshot and her eyshes were wet.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°How does it feel? Your mouth should be a little cleaner, right?¡± Sonia¡¯s gaze was cold as she looked at


    Jessica.


    As Jessica¡¯s chest heaved violently, she furiously red at Sonia. Then, she gritted her teeth and


    growled, ¡°B*tch, you had the f*cking nerve to¡ª¡±


    Then, a frowning Sonia once again shoved Jessica¡¯s head into the water. ¡°It seems that your mouth


    hasn¡¯t been washed clean yet. Why don¡¯t we continue?¡±


    An enraged Jessica forcefully closed her eyes and mouth before she continued to struggle underwater in


    an attempt to shake Sonia¡¯s grip off her. However, Sonia had grabbed her by the hair and held onto it


    and no matter what Jessica did, she couldn¡¯t shake Sonia¡¯s hand off. Knowing that whatever she did


    wouldn¡¯t seed, Jessica felt despair, but of course, there was also deep hatred. Her mind was full of


    the hatred that she couldn¡¯t help but open her mouth to curse.


    However, since she was in the water, only apletely iprehensible gurgling sound was heard


    when she opened her mouth.


    Even though Sonia couldn¡¯t understand what Jessica had said, she guessed that Jessica was cursing


    her through the hatred in the woman¡¯s tone. Then, she said after a snort, ¡°Jessica, you really can¡¯t learn


    to behave, can you?¡±


    Upon saying those words, she tightened her grip on Jessica¡¯s hair and pulled her out of the water again.


    Just as Jessica opened her eyes and was about to take a breath, Sonia shoved her down into the sink


    once again. Then, Sonia continued to yank Jessica¡¯s head up and forced it down again, repeating the


    process a dozen times until Jessica was about to copse.


    Sonia¡¯s current behavior was even more torturous than her earlier action of submerging Jessica¡¯s head


    in the water for a long time; this was because every time Jessica wanted to breathe a little, the water had


    snatched that gulp of air. Besides, as a result of her repeatedly experiencing the suffocating feeling from


    the cold water, she was mentally and psychologically depressed and fearful. Thus, it was obvious from


    the psychological and physical torture that she would copse sooner orter. Moreover, her strength


    had gradually reduced since she had been struggling to resist Sonia.


    Sonia was aware that this process could not continue or Jessica would be rendered unconscious, so she


    pulled Jessica by her hair for the final time and threw the woman against the partition. When Jessica¡¯s


    back mmed into the partition, the impact was so painful that she screamed before her body slid down


    in a manner that her buttnded on the cold floor first as she gasped for breath.


    As shecked strength at this moment, she couldn¡¯t even stand up from the floor. Even at this moment


    when she looked like she had experienced hell, she still didn¡¯t forget to give Sonia a death state. ¡°Just


    you wait, Sonia. I¡¯ll definitely return the favor for today¡¯s humiliation and I¡¯ll let you experience the same


    thing!¡±


    Sonia stood in front of the sink and addressed Jessica through the reflection in the mirror while washing


    her hands. With a smile, she said, ¡°Really? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll wait for you. Let¡¯s see whether you have


    the ability to do that.¡±


    Right after she said those words, she turned after yanking a piece of hand towel from the cardboard box


    next to her. ¡°If you don¡¯t have that ability, you have to kneel in front of Dad¡¯s grave and apologize to him.¡±


    ¡°On what grounds?¡± Jessica gritted her teeth.


    After Sonia threw the hand towel into the trash can, she replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t you being unfilial enough of a


    reason?¡±


    When Jessica heard that, she fiercely gnashed her teeth.


    Sonia was no longer in the mood to talk to her, so she took her purse and elegantly left the bathroom in


    her heels.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Jessica roared through her teeth with such volume that it sounded like she wanted to tear Sonia


    apart. Her eyes were deadly and vicious as she stared at the direction where Sonia left, silently swearing


    in her heart that when she returned to the country, she would definitely snatch everything from Sonia.


    Not only that, she also wanted to ensure that Sonia experienced all the pain and desperation that the


    world could offer. Otherwise, Jessica felt that she couldn¡¯t express her hatred!


    On the other hand, Sonia exited the bathroom and headed for the banquet hall. Just as she was about to


    enter the entrance, she saw a figure dashing out from the hall.


    ¡°Toby?¡± she shouted in a hurry when she saw the man running.


    When Toby heard her voice, he stopped in his tracks.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°What are you running for? Have you forgotten your injury¡ª¡±


    Before she could even finish her words, he threw his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.


    His voice was low and hoarse as he asked, ¡°Where have you been?¡±


    When she heard the worry and anxiety in his tone, she opened her eyes and meekly replied, ¡°I went to


    the restroom.¡±


    ¡°Why were you there for so long?¡± Toby slightly loosened his grip on her before he looked at her. ¡°I went


    to look for you there and waited for almost 20 minutes. Did you really go to the restroom?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Otherwise, where did you think I went?¡±


    ¡°I thought your sudden disappearance was the result of yet another ident,¡± Toby answered with a


    serious and tense expression. ¡°Every time you disappearedst time, you were in trouble whenever I


    found you. So, Sonia, don¡¯t leave without first notifying me next time, alright? You have no idea how


    worried I was when I couldn¡¯t find you; I was worried that something had happened to you!¡±


    He could no longer receive news of her in trouble since his heart could no longer withstand any sudden


    news. So, he was really afraid now that he would die from such stimtion before he could even


    undergo the heart transnt

 Chapter 564

    Chapter 564


    Chapter 564 Jessica¡¯s Intentions


    He would end up leaving her behind once again by that time. So, he absolutely couldn¡¯t allow her to be in


    trouble again. Before going for the heart transnt again, he absolutely mustn¡¯t allow himself to be


    agitated. He needed to survive and live with her for the rest of their lives.


    The moment that Sonia heard his worried tone, her heart felt warm as she smiled. ¡°Sorry to have worried


    you.¡±


    Then, she lifted her hand and ced it on his back to pat him twice in an attempt to soothe him, after


    which he gradually regained hisposure and said, ¡°In the future, be sure to let me know when you¡¯ll


    be away for a long time.¡±


    He gently released her from his embrace and cupped her face with one hand while admonishingly


    looking at her. When she saw his solemn expression, she subconsciously nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    A satisfied Toby¡¯s tightly furrowed brows were finally loosened after she agreed to his request. ¡°Is there


    anything else to do next?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Sonia shook her head. She came to attend Nancy¡¯s engagement ceremony and deal with the


    purchasing rights. Now that both matters were done and dealt with, there was naturally nothing else for


    her to do.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s head back.¡± Toby raised his wrist to take a look at his watch¡ªit was already almost midnight.


    Sonia had long wanted to return home; so, when she heard his suggestion, she naturally nodded and


    responded, ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go back.¡±


    The two of them walked toward the elevator and soon arrived at the hotel¡¯s parking lot. Toby took out his


    car key and pressed the button on it, resulting in the luxurious Bentley beeping as its lights shed. Next,


    he pulled open the passenger door and gestured for Sonia to get in.


    With that, she pulled the jacket draped over her body closer and covered her chest with one hand before


    she bent down to enter. Just as she stepped into the car with one foot, she suddenly thought of


    something and retracted her foot, thereafter standing up straight and turning her head to look in one


    direction.


    When Toby saw this, he gently opened his thin lips to ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t answer but merely pursed her lips. Her face was cold as she stared at a spot some distance


    away.


    Why is her expression so serious? Upon seeing that, he turned his head toward the same direction. It


    was only at that point when he saw a man and a woman not far away. The man was Will and while he did


    not know the woman, she was standing next to Will. Coupled with that and Sonia¡¯s expression, Toby


    immediately guessed that the woman was Sonia¡¯s sister, Jessica.


    Jessica had followed Will to the parking lot as they were ready to leave the hotel and back to the


    apartment to have some fun. The moment she saw Sonia nearby, she thought of how Sonia had


    humiliated her earlier in the restroom, which only gave rise to the anger in Jessica¡¯s heart. Then, she saw


    that the man beside Sonia, whose face she couldn¡¯t clearly see, was the one who actually unlocked the


    Bentley and he now opened the door for Sonia. Jessica felt both hatred and jealousy when she saw that


    scene.


    Paradigm Co. was still unable to financially support Sonia with the purchase of such a good quality car


    although she had already rescued thepany, so it could only mean that the man next to her owned


    the vehicle.


    That man is really blind. He¡¯s so rich, yet he¡¯s interested in a divorcee like Sonia? When Jessica saw the


    man turn around a secondter, she was so stunned that she gaped at the sight of his handsome face.


    He¡¯s damn gorgeous!


    She swore that he was the best looking man she had ever seen. Such a man should be standing on a


    pedestal and unreachable by themon folk, yet he was now standing next to Sonia! Why is this the


    case? What is so good about a divorcee like Sonia? Why should such a good man with looks and money


    favor Sonia?


    The more Jessica thought about it, the more jealous she was. Her eyes turned scarlet as her face


    twisted with rage. Beside her was Will, who noticed her sudden change of expression, and he raised his


    eyebrow before he followed her line of sight to look over, only to notice Toby was there. For a moment, a


    trace of guilt danced in Will¡¯s eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly.


    After he straightened his cor and adjusted his tie, he walked toward Sonia and Toby. Since he had


    already noticed them, he had to say hello, especially when Toby had a much higher status than him.


    When Jessica saw Will heading over, her eyes brightened before she hurried after him. ¡°Will, wait for


    me.¡± Will seems to know this man. Then, in that case, if I follow him, I may also get to know this man.


    With that, I can remind this man that Sonia isn¡¯t a good woman and he should leave her.


    Toby saw Will walking over with Jessica from across the street before he turned to Sonia beside him and


    asked, ¡°Shall we leave?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Since they¡¯reing over, wouldn¡¯t we be impolite to leave


    without greeting them?¡±


    Moreover, Jessica looked provocative and smug, which meant that she was obviously here to cause


    trouble. Sonia actually wanted to see what Jessica was up to.


    When he heard her response, Tobyughed lightly. ¡°You¡¯re right. We mustn¡¯t be impolite.¡±


    With those words, he released his grip on the car door handle and stood beside Sonia. Momentster,


    Will arrived with Jessica and stopped at a distance of almost three feet away. He first pushed Jessica¡¯s


    hand away from him before he offered Toby a handshake with a ttering smile. ¡°President Fuller, we


    meet again.¡±


    If it were usual times wherein Will had shrugged her hand off like this, Jessica would¡¯ve been displeased,


    but she was extremely satisfied with his action at this moment. She didn¡¯t want to portray that she had


    any close contact with Will in front of the other man. While they were at a distance away, she had already


    noticed his good looks and now that she was up close and personal, she found him to be even better


    looking, which caused her heart to race. Furthermore, the man¡¯s stature and temperament were far


    beyond Will.


    Before this, she had always felt that Will was already the best among men, so she was willing to be


    affectionate to him and follow him around to keep him firmly in her life so that she wouldn¡¯t have to worry


    about her life. Then, once she used some tricks in the future, she might also be able to marry into the


    Lazuli Family. However, now that she saw this man, she suddenly realized that Will wasn¡¯t that great


    after all.


    With this thought in mind, Jessica raised her head to look at Will and saw the gratifying smile on his face,


    which resulted in an obvious sh of abhorrence in her eyes. However, it disappeared almost instantly as


    she hurriedly turned to look at Toby, following which her eyes lit up at once.


    Considering Will¡¯s attitude toward Toby, it was an indication that his identity was probably exceptional¡ªat


    least more than Will¡¯s. Sure enough, the man whom she was really in search of should have been


    President Fuller!


    As for Will¡­ He was already part of her history.


    Clearly, both Will and Sonia noticed Jessica¡¯s heated and passionate gaze at Toby. Will¡¯s expression


    stiffened slightly, but he recovered at once and lowered his eyes to hide the coldness within. That woman


    said that she had loved him before, but now that she had her eye on another man, she couldn¡¯t turn


    away. I¡¯m going to punish herter!


    When Will saw that Toby had no intention to shake hands with him, he gave an awkward smile before he


    withdrew his hand and feigned that nothing had happened. Then, he looked at Sonia instead. ¡°And this


    lady is¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello, my name is Sonia Reed.¡± Sonia returned the grin. Her smile was faint and even a little perfunctory


    because she really didn¡¯t want to be well-mannered to a cheater like him.

 Chapter 565

    Chapter 565


    Chapter 565 Sowing Discord


    ¡°Sonia?¡± Will felt this name was somewhat familiar. He pondered on it before he immediately thought of


    something and suddenly pped his hands. ¡°So, you are the friend whom my fianc¨¦e has mentioned to


    me, and also thedy that President Fuller spoke briefly about before. Nice to meet you.¡±


    Then, he extended his hand toward Sonia. She looked at his hand with a frown, somewhat not wanting


    to engage in a handshake. However, she was not Toby who could simply ignore the other party. Thus,


    she had to shake Will¡¯s hand to avoid offending him. Otherwise, he might cause her trouble, especially


    now that they were abroad and in his territory.


    A helpless Sonia forced a smile as she extended her hand to take Will¡¯s proffered hand.


    At this moment, Toby suddenly reached over and gently pressed her hand down, preventing her from


    shaking Will¡¯s hand. When she looked at Toby in surprise, he shook his head at her and looked at Will


    before exining, ¡°It¡¯s not necessary to shake hands.¡±


    Will suddenly reacted byughing when he saw Toby¡¯s dominance. ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t being courteous and


    forgot the rtionship between you and Miss Reed. I hope you don¡¯t mind, President Fuller.¡± After he


    said those words, he hurriedly lowered his hand.


    While listening to Will¡¯s words, Sonia pursed her lips. He must have understood the nature of my


    rtionship with Toby since he thought we were a couple. However, Sonia didn¡¯t clear the air by telling


    the truth. After all, Toby had just helped her avoid shaking hands with Will, so she couldn¡¯t possibly not


    show Toby some respect.


    ¡°Alright, what do you want?¡± Toby removed his hand from Sonia¡¯s wrist and looked at Will before asking


    in an indifferent tone.


    Will waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just that I saw you here, President Fuller, so I came over to say


    hello to you.¡±


    ¡°In that case, we should go now that we have exchanged pleasantries.¡± After saying that, Toby pulled the


    car door open again.


    Now that Jessica noticed Sonia and the others leaving, she hurriedly said after keeping silent with a


    decent smile earlier, ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    As a result of that, Sonia and Toby stopped in their tracks. As for Will, he admonished Jessica with a


    hard face, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Jessica feigned that she hadn¡¯t heard Will¡¯s words and didn¡¯t spare him a nce. After taking a deep


    breath, she took a step forward and put on what she thought was her most beautiful smile before


    addressing Toby with a soft, delicate voice, ¡°How could you guys just leave? I haven¡¯t introduced myself


    yet. My name is Jess¡ª¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to since we¡¯re not interested.¡± Before Jessica could even finish with her introduction,


    Toby had directly interrupted her with an impatient tone.


    The smile on Jessica¡¯s face stiffened as she never expected that he wouldn¡¯t show due respect for her


    feelings. She was embarrassed and exasperated at that moment since she didn¡¯t know how to continue


    with the conversation as she stood there.


    When she saw that Jessica was upset, Sonia felt especially pleased and looked at Toby with approval


    before mouthing, ¡°Well done.¡±


    As Toby never expected Sonia to praise him, he simply chuckled. The moment that Jessica saw their


    interaction, it gave rise to her jealousy. She clenched her fists and spoke again, ¡°Sonia, since you¡¯re my


    dear sister, why won¡¯t you introduce me to this gentleman?¡±


    ¡°Sister?¡± Will froze as his gaze alternated between Jessica and Sonia. ¡°You two are¡­ sisters?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Will. Sonia and I are biological sisters.¡± Jessica looked at the outraged Sonia and gently stroked


    her hair with a smug. Since Toby was unwilling to listen to her self-introduction, surely he wouldn¡¯t refuse


    to listen if she dragged Sonia along, right? No matter what, I must make this man remember my name


    today!


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± a surprised Will added. ¡°Thisdy is Sonia Reed whereas you are Jessica Reed. You


    guys share the samest name, which means that you are really sisters.¡±


    ¡°Of course we are. We¡¯re half-sisters from the same father.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, we are not sisters. I can¡¯t acknowledge someone who doesn¡¯t even recognize her own father as


    my sister,¡± Sonia coldly replied as she furrowed her eyebrows.


    It was only then that Will realized that the pair of sisters never exchanged a single greeting since the


    moment they met earlier. Since they were avoiding speaking to each other, it seemed like they had an


    acrimonious rtionship.


    ¡°How can you say that, Sonia?¡± An aggrieved Jessica stared at Sonia and asked, ¡°Since when have I not


    acknowledged our father? Why do you want to use me of such a thing and wrong me?¡±


    ¡°I have wronged you?¡± Sonia pointed at herself andughed in exasperation.


    Toby rested his hand on her shoulder and gently patted her, indicating to her not to be angry. Then, he


    lowered his head to look at Jessica like an eagle visually marking an ant, ¡°Sonia never lies. If she says


    those words, it must be true.¡±


    ¡°Sir, how can you misunderstand me based on my sister¡¯s words? I am my father¡¯s daughter, so how can


    I not acknowledge him? You must have misunderstood me from my actions. Maybe it¡¯s because our


    father died many years ago and I didn¡¯t return to pay my respects to him, so you¡­¡±


    With that, Jessica lowered her head, tears swimming in her eyes.


    Sonia felt an oing headache and interrupted, ¡°Enough! You don¡¯t need to put on an act here as I


    don¡¯t buy it. You¡¯re simply disgusting. Let¡¯s go.¡± She nced at Toby, who responded with a slight nod


    before he opened the car door once again.


    When Jessica saw this, she secretly gritted her teeth. Are you going to leave? No way!


    She hadn¡¯t even chatted with this handsome man and sowed discord between him and Sonia yet, so


    how could she let them leave?


    ¡°Sonia!¡± She shouted in a hurry, ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other for so long. How about looking for a ce


    to have a good chat?¡±


    She walked toward Sonia and stretched her hand in an attempt to pull Sonia¡¯s arm. When Sonia noticed


    what Jessica was doing, she lifted her arm to avoiding into contact with Jessica. However, at this


    moment, Jessica suddenly screamed and fell to the ground at once, thereafter bruising her arm.


    ¡°Sonia, why did you push me?¡± She held her arm and raised her head to look at Sonia with disbelief and


    hurt, as if Sonia was the most evil person.


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched in response. ¡°Do you believe me when I say I didn¡¯t touch her?¡±


    She looked at the man beside her, who nodded with his slightly curved thin lips. ¡°Of course.¡±


    His unhesitating answer made Sonia feel extremely satisfied. After that, she turned to look at Jessica.


    ¡°You said I pushed you, right?¡±


    Jessica lowered her head and retorted, ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to fall by myself.¡±


    She was clearly implying that it was Sonia who pushed her down. Sonia was furious and narrowed her


    eyes. ¡°Since you have said so, then wouldn¡¯t it be a waste if I didn¡¯t actually push you to prove your


    usation?¡±


    ¡°W-What are you going to do?¡± Jessica¡¯s heart suddenly raced as a sense of foreboding rose in her


    when Sonia¡¯s tone and expression made her recollect what happened back in the restroom.


    ¡°What am I going to do? Of course I¡¯m going to push you!¡± Upon saying that, Sonia bent down to pull


    Jessica up from the ground before forcefully shoving Jessica¡¯s shoulder. Her action had caused Jessica


    to stumble and fall heavily onto the ground, which had shocked Jessica to the point where she forgot to


    yell in pain.


    It was only after a while that she reacted and howled in pain with a contorted face. ¡°Sonia! You¡ª¡±


    She never expected that Sonia would actually dare to push her!


    ¡°What about me?¡± Sonia remained in front of Jessica and looked at her with the same gaze as Toby


    earlier. ¡°Jessica, you are really something. Normal people will keep a distance from those whom they


    know dislike them, but you are different. You are clearly aware that I do not like you, yet you still have the


    nerve to approach us for a chat. Aren¡¯t you a self-imposed wh*re?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Jessica¡¯s face was red with anger. To her side, Will looked at the overbearing Sonia and couldn¡¯t


    help but swallow his saliva. God, this woman looks like a good girl on the outside, but I didn¡¯t expect her


    to be a tough cookie. How could President Fuller fancy such a harsh woman?


    He shot a nce at Toby, but noticed that Toby was looking at Sonia with pride. Will¡¯s mouth instantly


    twitched. Well, President Fuller¡¯s taste is indeed unique. He likes such a woman. Besides, looking at how


    he supports that woman to physically attack others, I¡¯m afraid that he would help to cover the crime if this


    woman really kills someone, right?

 Chapter 566

    Chapter 566


    Chapter 566 Teaching Jessica a Lesson


    As he thought about this, Will took a step back and retreated from these people. He had already


    witnessed that Jessica, who imed to have loved him, was merely a gold digger. Now that she had


    encountered someone better-looking and richer than him, she immediately ignored Will and fixed her


    gaze on Toby, wishing nothing more than to be with Toby. Unfortunately, she was unaware that Toby was


    most disgusted by women like her.


    Thus, Will wanted to see how Toby and Sonia would punish her.


    After shoving Jessica aside, Sonia retreated to Toby¡¯s side. Toby took her hand and held it close to his


    eyes as he carefully checked her paw.


    A puzzled Sonia then asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Let me check whether your hand is injured.¡± Toby turned her hand over.


    Sheughed. ¡°How could it be injured?¡± There isn¡¯t any knife or anything simr that could have hurt me


    either.


    Sonia was ready to withdraw her hand when Toby grabbed her hand and refused to let go of it. ¡°Don¡¯t


    move! Even if you¡¯re not hurt, you still need to clean it. You just touched something dirty, so there will be


    germs.¡±


    With that, he pulled out the decorative handkerchief from his left breast pocket and wiped her hand.


    She was amused by his action, but didn¡¯t pull her hand away and merely allowed him to do it instead.


    As for Jessica, who was still on the ground, she was so angry that her nails dug deep into the flesh of her


    palms. She was so furious because the man had actually said that she was dirty and filled with germs!


    When Will heard that, he almost broke into a loudughter. Sure enough, he knew that she would be


    punished by Toby and Sonia.


    ¡°Excuse me, sir.¡±


    Jessica took a deep breath to suppress the anger in her heart before the corners of her mouth squeezed


    downward to indicate her faux sadness as she looked at Toby. ¡°How can you say that? My sister pushed


    me to the ground. Not only did you not speak up for me, you suggested that I have germs instead.


    You¡¯ve gone overboard¡ª¡±


    ¡°Who are you to me?¡± Toby finished wiping Sonia¡¯s hand and released it while he coldly spoke to


    Jessica.


    With an undisguised disgust in his voice, he continued, ¡°Why should I speak up for you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Jessica choked and was suddenly unable to speak as her face paled before it reddened. Soon after,


    she calmed down. As she covered her bruised arm, she stood up from the ground and bowed her head


    to say, ¡°I know that I have no rtionship with you, sir. However, even a stranger would also step forward


    to speak for the victim in the face of such a situation. Thus, you shouldn¡¯t defend my sister just because


    you are together with her.¡±


    A speechless Toby was stunned. What the hell is this woman talking about? Sonia is my woman, so who


    should I defend if not her? This woman is really mentally afflicted!


    With that thought, Toby pursed his lips and icily replied, ¡°Your sister is my woman. What¡¯s wrong with me


    defending her?¡±


    His words caused Sonia¡¯s head to shoot up as she looked at him. ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He turned to look at her, his expression and voice bing gentle all of a sudden.


    She lowered her eyes to avoid his line of sight and shook her head. ¡°Nothing.¡± If he wants to say that, so


    be it. I can¡¯t go against him in front of Jessica. What¡¯s more, when he said those words, he was also


    helping me out.


    ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t do this.¡± Jessica looked up at Toby with a face of righteousness. ¡°I know that my sister is


    your woman and you should defend her, but her character is too¡­¡±


    She cautiously nced at Sonia as if she was afraid that Sonia would be angered. Then, she hurriedly


    withdrew her gaze to lower her head again and continued, ¡°Her character is too domineering and she


    likes to bully others, so if you defend her like this for no reason, it will only encourage her temper and


    cause her character to worsen. Soon, she will certainly get into big trouble.¡±


    After hearing Jessica¡¯s words of sullying and rumormongering, Sonia was about to explode with anger.


    She squeezed her palms and was about to rush forward to argue with her when Toby suddenly stretched


    out with his arm in front of her and shook his head, indicating for her to calm down first.


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± He looked at Sonia.


    When Sonia saw from his gaze that he meant business, her heart inexplicably calmed down and she


    nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Toby lowered his hand and turned to Jessica, his eyes cold without a trace of emotion. ¡°You said that


    Sonia has a domineering character and likes to bully people. So, do tell me, who did she bully?¡±


    Jessica gripped the corner of her clothes and responded, ¡°S-She liked to bully me since I was young. I


    grew up under her mistreatment, which is why I couldn¡¯t resist escaping from the Reed Family 6 years


    ago. I happened to see my sister in the restroom today and I was even excited to greet her, thinking that


    we haven¡¯t seen each other for 6 years. She should¡¯ve been happy to see me, but I didn¡¯t expect that


    she would still harass me. In fact, she held my head underwater in the sink and tried to drown me.¡±N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Speaking of that, she wiped her teary eyes as she had actually cried.


    A surprised Toby looked at Sonia, as if asking whether she had really done such a thing.


    Sonia¡¯s red lips moved but she did not speak, thereby admitting that she held Jessica¡¯s head underwater.


    It was only then that Toby understood why she had spent such a long time in the restroom¡ªshe was


    taking out the garbage.


    Next, he withdrew his eyes and looked at Jessica again. ¡°Since Sonia had treated you this way, it means


    you must have done something wrong and angered her. Otherwise, why would she have done such a


    thing when she¡¯s a kind person?¡±


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s lips curled upward as she was entertained by his words.


    ¡°Huh?¡± When Jessica heard this, she stopped crying and let out a strange sound instead. She looked at


    Toby incredulously; she was obviously unable to believe that he had actually defended Sonia to such an


    extent. Generally, whenever a man heard that their femalepanion had been so unkind as to hold


    people underwater, they would reckon that the woman was extremely vicious and be displeased by that


    fact. Will was such an example, but how was Toby so different with such an unreal behavior?


    However, it was exactly this behavior of Toby¡¯s that made Jessica even more determined to snatch him


    from Sonia¡¯s grasp and tear their rtionship apart. In short, as long as Sonia had something or


    someone, Jessica wanted a piece of it!


    When she thought about this, Jessica spoke again, ¡°No, sir, I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. I just¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Toby impatiently retorted. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything else to me. I don¡¯t even know


    you, so what makes you think I¡¯ll believe your words rather than my own eyes? Wouldn¡¯t I know what


    kind of person Sonia is? Do I need you to tell me? You said that Sonia bullied you as a child, but why did


    I hear that it was you who bullied her as a child?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Jessica¡¯s expression changed and she hurriedly shook her head to deny the fact.


    However, in her heart, she was wondering how Toby knew the truth. Was it Sonia who told him? No, he


    said that he didn¡¯t know her in the past, so how could Sonia have told him something about her?


    ¡°You¡¯ll know best about that.¡± Toby held Sonia¡¯s hand in afortable manner and repeated, ¡°In the


    past, you bullied her, but I couldn¡¯t help her at that time. Now, before you even dare to harm her again,


    you should think carefully whether you can afford the consequences. Besides, you kept badmouthing


    Sonia and made her out to be someone vicious, but I¡¯m afraid you forgot that you two are sisters by


    blood. Do you really think others can¡¯t tell what kind of a person you are when you spread rumors and


    smear your own sister in front of outsiders like this?¡±

 Chapter 567

    Chapter 567


    Chapter 567 Toby¡¯s Venomous Tongue


    ¡°You¡­ You¡ª¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby interrupted her once again. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know what your purpose is by saying all


    this anding to smear Sonia? You just want to smear Sonia¡¯s image in my mind, so as to lower her


    position in my heart, right? Heh, you¡¯re just a stupid and venomous woman. Those who are interested in


    you are probably all sick in the head.¡±


    When he said that, he nced toward Will at the side. Will gave an awkward cough before he hurriedly


    turned his head away. Jessica had never expected Toby to be so forthright that hepletely exposed


    all her intentions to those around them. For a moment, she was so guilty, embarrassed and angry that


    her body shivered.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Even Sonia didn¡¯t expect that Toby actually had such a venomous tongue to him. However, she felt


    rather good and satisfied, especially when she saw how he defended her and described Jessica as


    worthless.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby looked at Sonia. There was no longer any need to be involved with Jessica as it would


    only be a waste of their time. Jessica was so humiliated by his words that she didn¡¯t dare to stop them


    from doing anything anymore.


    Sonia nodded and replied, ¡°Okay.¡± She turned and didn¡¯t even spare a nce at Jessica, but simply bent


    over and entered the passenger side of the car. Then, Toby closed the passenger door, walked around


    the front of the car to the driver¡¯s side to open the door and thereafter started the car engine to depart.


    As the car drove toward the exit of the parking lot and some distance away, Sonia happened to nce at


    the rearview mirror and saw Will pping Jessica so hard that she fell to the ground. When Sonia saw


    that, she eximed in surprise.


    Toby also saw the same scene, but he simply borated, ¡°Jessica is Will¡¯s lover, but she was hell-bent


    on trying to tter me earlier. Thus, Will, who is a narrow-minded person, begins to loathe her. Will won¡¯t


    dare to strike me, but Jessica is nothing to him. Besides, you don¡¯t care about her either, so once we left,


    he naturally wanted to punish her.¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°Yes, she was bent on trying to tter you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± He raised his eyebrows. ¡°Why do you sound weird?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all.¡± She looked down at her nails and flicked them while saying in a somewhat unhappy tone,


    ¡°You have so many romantic interests. After Tina, there¡¯s now Jessica.¡±


    ¡°Are you jealous?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.


    Sonia straightened her posture and immediately retorted, ¡°How is that possible? Don¡¯t be nonsensical.¡±


    He knew that she wasn¡¯t telling the truth andughed a little. ¡°Yes, yes, you aren¡¯t jealous.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not jealous,¡± she muttered.


    Toby wheeled the steering wheel and although his eyes looked at the road in front of him, his gaze was


    especially passionate. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; no matter who is thinking of me, I won¡¯t pay any attention to them.


    You¡¯re the only one I love.¡±


    After saying these words, he turned to look at Sonia. At once, Sonia¡¯s heartbeat elerated while her


    face gradually reddened. Luckily, it was dark in the car, so he couldn¡¯t see that she blushed; otherwise,


    she would not be able to hide that fact from him. How is this guy so good at saying such things now?


    Somehow, Sonia suddenly remembered what Nancy had said to her in the dressing room before. Nancy


    said that if Sonia met someone who extremely liked her, Sonia should stay with him to avoid any regrets


    in the future. So, should she consider Nancy¡¯s words and be with Toby? After all, he was a really different


    person from before and if she stayed with him, she probably wouldn¡¯t live in the same way that she did 6


    years ago.


    Now that Sonia was deep in her thoughts, she fell into a daze as she looked at him.


    He felt that she was daydreaming and thereafter stopped the car at a traffic intersection. Then, he turned


    to her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Her eyes shed before she lowered her eyelids and smiled a little. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong. I¡¯m just


    wondering whether I should agree or not.¡±


    ¡°Agree to what?¡± a curious Toby probed.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t say for now because I haven¡¯t thought things through.¡±


    Reconciling with Toby wasn¡¯t a small matter; the past 6 years had brought Sonia such deep, painful


    memories. Moreover, she was rather traumatized by her experiences and had some fear toward love and


    marriage. Hence, she needed to fully and carefully consider whether she should get back together with


    him or not. If she was impulsive in her decision, there was a chance of her having a full-blown nervous


    breakdown if she was hurt in the future.


    Seeing that Sonia didn¡¯t want to tell him, Toby nodded and didn¡¯t force her to answer either. Suddenly, he


    thought of something and rified, ¡°By the way, Jessica said that you held her head down underwater in


    the restroom. What really happened?¡±


    When she heard that, she looked furious for a moment before she shared what had happened in the


    restroom at that time.


    ¡°I see. Then, she deserved the treatment.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia rubbed her temples. ¡°I really feel sad for Dad that he has such a daughter.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still you, though.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Although Jessica is a bad daughter, you are your father¡¯s pride, so I believe your father


    will be extremely relieved when he knows what you have done for the Reed Family and Paradigm Co.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I hope so.¡±


    ¡°Although you punished Jessica and she deserved it, still, don¡¯t do such a thing again in the future,¡± he


    added.


    Then, Sonia looked at him and asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll get hurt.¡± Toby slightly opened his thin lips. ¡°Although Jessica can¡¯ty a hand on you,


    it¡¯s hard to guarantee that idents won¡¯t happen. If something happens, what would you do?¡±


    His words had left her silent; it was only after a while that she nodded slightly. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll be more


    careful in the future.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then. You should protect yourself.¡± He gave a slight smile.


    Sonia nodded again. ¡°I will.¡±


    Soon, Toby stopped the car and pulled the handbrake. ¡°Here we are.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia first froze before she turned her head to look out the window. As the vi in front of her


    greeted her sight, she suddenly stared in surprise. ¡°Wait a minute; how do you know I¡¯m staying here?¡±


    She had a vague feeling that she had forgotten something since she entered the car but couldn¡¯t


    remember what it was. Now she finally remembered it¡ªand that was her negligence in telling him her


    address. Yet, even though she didn¡¯t do so, he still drove her here anyway, which was obviously a


    strange urrence.


    Toby opened the car door and got out before he answered Sonia¡¯s question. ¡°I also live here.¡±


    ¡°You also live here?¡± Sonia was so shocked that her mouth gaped. ¡°You¡¯re the man whom Nancy


    arranged toe in?¡±


    She pointed at Toby.


    He raised his chin before replying, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± A startled Sonia then alighted from the car as she continued to ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t you staying in a


    hotel?¡±


    ¡°Something went wrong with the hotel suite, so they allowed Will to arrange a ce for me to stay. All the


    properties that Will and his fianc¨¦e own have been fully upied by other guests and only this vi isn¡¯t.


    Will has told me that you¡¯re the only one staying here, so I moved over this afternoon. I originally wanted


    to surprise you, but you were not in.¡± Although he spoke lightly, she felt extremely unsettled.


    She thought, Something went wrong with the hotel suite? How is that even a valid excuse? There are


    more than one room at the hotel and besides, how can there only be one presidential suite in a seven-


    star hotel? It¡¯s clear that he deliberately contacted Will to inquire where my amodation is and moved


    in thereafter!

 Chapter 568

    Chapter 568


    Chapter 568 Nancy¡¯s Gratitude


    At that thought, Sonia rolled her eyes at Toby and grunted, whereupon she took big strides toward the


    mansion¡¯s tall gate.


    In the meantime, a confused Toby stood at his original position as he watched her walk away. Is she mad


    at me again? What¡¯s going on? What have I done? After a brief contemtion, he was sure he hadn¡¯t


    done anything wrong and caught up with thedy. ¡°Wait up, Sonia.¡±


    Since Sonia feigned that she didn¡¯t hear anything and continued to walk forward, he was forced to


    increase his pace and followed her through the gate. As soon as the gate closed, he seized her wrist


    before pinning her on the wall while keeping his gaze on her. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on. Why are you mad


    at me?¡±


    Deep down in her heart, she rolled her eyes at the man, feeling piqued with his question. Did he just ask


    why I¡¯m mad?! She ced her hands on Toby¡¯s chest and tried to shove him away. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just


    keep a distance from me as I need to get going now.¡±


    Nheless, Toby refused to step aside as he continued to stand in front of her like a wall. ¡°Just answer


    my question, or I¡¯ll never be able to ease my mind.¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± Sonia looked at him after she inhaled deeply.


    ¡°Of course, or I wouldn¡¯t have stopped you to ask about this.¡±


    She pursed her lips and answered, ¡°Toby, did you move here because of me?¡±


    The moment he heard her question, he was rendered speechless, but he was also surprised that she


    had figured out his intentions at the same time. It seems that I must have given myself away with what I


    have just said.


    On the other hand, when Sonia noticed Toby¡¯s silence, she sighed and added, ¡°As I have expected,


    you¡­ really have no sense of shame at all!¡±


    He immediately understood what she meant. ¡°Are you mad because I moved in when you were already


    here?¡±


    It was something that she didn¡¯t deny or admit. ¡°You make me feel like I¡¯m being creepily stalked.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I scared you, but hear me out, Sonia, I want to be with you¡ªforever!¡± Toby answered.


    An embarrassed Sonia kept her head down as she replied, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to. You¡¯re too annoying.


    Get away from me!¡± She then pushed the man away and removed her high heels, whereupon she wore


    her flip-flops and entered through the living room.


    Toby chuckled in response to her reaction and changed to a pair of flip-flops as well before entering the


    house. Soon, Sonia was found slumped on the couch from exhaustion after a long hectic day. Earlier that


    morning, she had taken a flight and spent a few hours on the ne. Even after shended, she didn¡¯t get


    to rest as she had to purchase the medicine she was looking for in the afternoon followed by her


    attending the engagement ceremony at night. Now that she was exhausted from her tight schedule, she


    felt especially sore on her shoulders and rolled them in an attempt to relieve the inmmation.


    Something seemed to cross his mind when he saw her reaction. Thus, he headed to the kitchen and


    made a cup of tea before giving it to her. ¡°You must have had a lot to drink earlier tonight. Drink this and


    it should help you to sober up a little. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have a hangover pretty soon.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sonia paused when she saw the cup of tea that Toby had prepared for her, but she soon


    epted it.


    ¡°You¡¯re no longer mad now?¡± He sat down beside her.


    Upon hearing that, she froze for a short while and grunted a whileter. ¡°Well, considering that you¡¯ve


    brought this cup of tea over, let¡¯s consider things as even.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Toby lowered his head to smile whereas Sonia continued to sip her tea.


    As he continued to sit next to her and watched her every move, it was slowly making her ufortable,


    so she ced the cup aside and excused herself. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I suppose I should probably head


    upstairs and catch some rest.¡±


    ¡°Alright, do rest early.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia grabbed her purse on the couch. ¡°The same goes for you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, but not before I attend a short conference meeting.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I guess I¡¯ll head upstairs first.¡±


    He looked at her. ¡°Good night.¡±


    ¡°Good night.¡± Sonia curled her lips upward and turned to make her way upstairs.


    When she returned to her room, she sat on her bed and waited for two minutes before she grabbed her


    robe and stepped into the bathroom for a nice bath. Now that she was soaking in the bathtub full of


    water, Sonia could feel the effects of the alcohol kicking in as the temperature of her body slowly


    matched that of the water. Soon, she started to feel dizzy as her face flushed in the color of blood.


    She knew that she was on the verge of losing her consciousness and could drown if she continued to


    remain in the bathtub, which was what she reckoned to be an embarrassing death. Therefore, she


    rubbed her temples and held the edges of the bathtub to get out of her bath. After that, she reached for


    the towel and wiped herself dry, whereupon she wore the robe and headed out of the bathroom to


    quickly head to bed.


    Nevertheless, before she even made it to bed, her knees somehow weakened and caused her to


    copse on the ground, but thanks to both the floor mat and the alcohol, she didn¡¯t feel any pain as a


    result of the fall. She only fixed her eyes on the chandelier on the ceiling; she asionally blinked her


    eyes until she finally sumbed to the alcoholic effects and drifted off in the illuminating light.


    On the other hand, Toby had just finished his conference meeting and he was about to head upstairs for


    bed when the doorbell distracted him at that moment. He ced hisptop aside with a frown before


    walking to the entrance. When he answered the door, he was greeted by a tall and slenderdy who


    politely smiled at him. ¡°Mr. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± He looked at thedy and asked, ¡°To what do I owe you this pleasure?¡±


    Then, Nancy scanned the surroundings behind Toby to seemingly search for something, but when she


    didn¡¯t appear to locate the thing that she wanted, she averted her gaze and answered, ¡°I¡¯m here because


    I¡¯d like to have a word with Sonia. Is she asleep?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she is.¡± An unhappy Toby maintained his gaze on her. ¡°Can¡¯t you wait until tomorrow?¡± What¡¯s so


    important that she has toe all the way here to disturb Sonia?


    In the meantime, Nancy was also aware that it wasn¡¯t the right time to visit Sonia, but she merely wanted


    to tell Sonia something that she thought was important. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Fuller. It was my fault for not


    thinking about this earlier, but there¡¯s something pertinent that I need to inform her. In fact, it¡¯s something


    that I just discovered an hour ago about Will¡¯s mistress, who happens to be Sonia¡¯s sister. I was also


    reminded about something else, so I came as quickly as I could.¡± She smiled in embarrassment.


    ¡°Is this about Jessica?¡± He squinted. ¡°What¡¯s the story? You can let me know and I¡¯ll pass on the word to


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She appeared to be a little hesitant. A few secondster, she shook her head and apologized,


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Fuller, but since it¡¯s an important matter, I think it¡¯s probably better for me to personally tell


    her.¡±


    Needless to say, Toby could tell Nancy¡¯s distrust toward him, but decided to brush it off and instead said,


    ¡°Alright, since you want to tell her yourself, you coulde again tomorrow. Furthermore, your reaction


    tells me that it¡¯s not really that urgent, so you can probably wait until tomorrow, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. In that case, I should get going and leave you to it, Mr. Fuller.¡± She nodded and walked


    away, but as soon as she took her first step forward, something seemed to have crossed her mind. So,


    she immediately turned around and spoke, ¡°Hang on, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    As he was in the midst of closing the door, he paused and pursed his lips in an annoyed manner. ¡°Is


    there anything else?¡±


    Nancy suddenly bowed to the man. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from my father that you confronted Will¡¯s dad and told him


    about the affair. Thanks to what you have done, Will¡¯s father lectured him and forced Will to sever ties


    with everyone whom he¡¯s ever known outside of the family. On top of that, he has evenpensated for


    the damages that he¡¯s caused to the Sandstone Family. So, you have no idea how grateful I am to you!¡±


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    An emotionless Toby looked at Nancy before responding, ¡°If you want to thank someone, you should


    thank Sonia. I only did it for her sake. She cares for you as a friend and doesn¡¯t want to see you living


    your future in a mess, which was why I did what I did. However, that¡¯s just a small part of the reason. My


    actual reason was to force Will to leave his mistress, Jessica. After all, she is another daughter of Sonia¡¯s


    father.¡±


    Although Sonia never shared a strong bond with Jessica, she didn¡¯t want her half-sister to be someone¡¯s


    mistress because it would bring shame to Henry¡¯s name. That was why Toby hatched a n to instigate


    Will and Jessica to break up so that she would no longer be known as a homewrecker.

 Chapter 569

    Chapter 569


    Chapter 569 Sonia¡¯s Jealousy


    Nancy smiled in response. ¡°Anyway, for whatever reason it might have been, you surely did me a favor,


    Mr. Fuller, and I¡¯m grateful for what you both have done for me. However, as I came in a hurry, I didn¡¯t


    manage to prepare a gift for both you and Sonia. I¡¯ll be sure to have it ready when Ie again


    tomorrow. See you!¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Toby replied.


    As soon as she bowed again and thereafter left, he immediately closed the door and kept hisptop


    away before heading upstairs. When he passed by Sonia¡¯s bedroom, he slowed down and peeked at her


    door. The moment that he noticed the faint light from the bottom gap of the door, he stopped and


    wondered whether Sonia was still awake. The lights are still on. Is she still up?


    At that thought, he knocked on the door with the n of giving her a heads-up about Nancy¡¯s visit. ¡°Are


    you there, Sonia?¡± he asked while knocking on the door.


    Nheless, even after he knocked for a few more minutes, nobody came to answer the door. Is she


    really asleep?


    Toby knitted his eyebrows, but he quickly dismissed that thought because he knew how Sonia hated to


    leave the lights on when she wanted to sleep. So, it meant that she was still awake, but it still didn¡¯t


    answer his question as to why Sonia didn¡¯t answer the door. Why didn¡¯t she open the door? Don¡¯t tell me


    she¡¯s not in her room now?


    At the thought of that, he immediately became anxious as he paused and immediately shifted his hand to


    the door knob. Then, he gently twisted it to open the door, thereby stepping inside and setting his eyes


    on the bed. When he saw that the bed was empty, his eyes dted in horror. She¡¯s not in her bed! Where


    is she? His heart skipped a beat as he clenched his fists. At the same time, he began to frantically scan


    his surroundings for any indication that would reveal how Sonia had left the room when he never noticed


    her heading downstairs.


    Nevertheless, as Toby looked around the room, he spotted what resembled strands of long hair on the


    floor not far away from the bathroom, but since the couch had blocked his vision, he wasn¡¯t sure what he


    had seen. Even so, he decided to circle around the couch to investigate what was behind it, only to


    discover a motionless Sonia on the ground like she was dead.


    ¡°Sonia!¡± Toby¡¯s expression changed as he quickly stepped forward to check on Sonia. He then carried


    her in his arms and felt her forehead, but it didn¡¯t feel feverish. After that, he proceeded to check on her


    breathing and detected nothing unusual either. She¡¯s not showing any symptoms that will indicate she is


    sick, such as agonal breathing.


    In that instant, he suddenly became amused with what had happened as he slowly calmed down after


    realizing Sonia was merely asleep, and not under the weather. Well, what can I say? She has managed


    to fall asleep on the floor. Wasn¡¯t she afraid of catching a cold? As Toby didn¡¯t intend to wake her up, he


    ced Sonia¡¯s arms around his neck and carried her with one of his hands slightly below her buttocks.


    Then, he headed for the bed and ced her on it, whereupon he fixed her hair and tucked her in. He


    nted a kiss on her forehead and switched off the lights before leaving the room.


    It was already 11:00AM the next day when Sonia woke up. When she opened her eyes, the first thing


    that came into her line of vision was the ceiling. Then, she looked at the bed on which shey and


    paused in a trance. Wait a minute. How did I get here? Didn¡¯t I copse on the ground and drift off


    because I was too drunk after my showerst night? Or, did Toby enter my roomst night? As Sonia


    moved to a sitting posture, she pursed her lips and rubbed her temples.


    As soon as she straightened her posture, she was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong nausea and


    headache that was apanied by dizziness. It was something that left her with a terrible feeling.


    However, she endured her nausea and removed the nket before she proceeded to wear her flip-flops.


    Then, she staggered toward the bathroom, where she rested her knees and vomited into the toilet bowl.


    She felt much more relieved when she was done and her nausea disappeared despite still feeling dizzy.


    Sonia reached out to flush the contents of her vomit away before she stood up to get ready with her


    morning ablutions. By the time she was done with getting herself refreshed, an hour had already passed


    by.


    Then, she proceeded downstairs and heard Toby¡¯s voice from the living room. ¡°The Lazuli Family seems


    to be doing rather well.¡± Right after he finished his sentence, ady¡¯s voice was heard, but instead of


    saying something, she chuckled with a soothing voice that sounded like a ringing bell.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Meanwhile, when Sonia heard that female voice, she stopped in her tracks and held the staircase railing


    while unknowingly tightening her grip on it with a sour look. Toby is quite thedies¡¯ man, isn¡¯t he? After


    running into Jessica yesterday, he is now talking to anotherdy. Is he going to meet with someone else


    tomorrow?


    The more Sonia dwelled on it, the more ufortable she felt and she couldn¡¯t help but express her


    dissatisfaction with a cold grunt.


    Despite her soft grunt, Toby managed to hear her, thanks to his keen hearing. So, he looked up and saw


    Sonia standing on the stairs, whereupon his cial look was reced by an amiable one and


    apanied by a gentle voice. ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡±


    However, as she didn¡¯t want to bother him, she ignored him and coldly looked away. Why do you even


    bother looking at me? Go ahead and talk to thatdy! Laugh all you want! I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to


    leave her in the cold.


    On the other hand, Toby¡¯s head was filled with question marks when he saw Sonia¡¯s unhappiness.


    What¡¯s wrong with her?


    Nancy was seated with her back facing the stairs and hence unable to see what was behind her.


    However, when she saw that Toby was looking at the staircase, she figured that Sonia was awake. She


    stood up in happiness and circled around the couch to approach the stairs. Then, she stopped in her


    tracks and waved at Sonia to greet her. ¡°Hi, Sonia.¡±


    Sonia could tell that it was Nancy¡¯s voice, which left her stunned like she was in a trance. Then, she


    shifted her gaze to Nancy and responded in shock, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± So, it was Nancy whom Toby was talking


    to all along.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Thest time we met was a day ago, so don¡¯t tell me you have forgotten who I am,¡±


    Nancy joked when she noticed Sonia¡¯s bewilderment.


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong; it¡¯s just that I¡¯m surprised to see you here.¡± Sonia shook her head, wondering what it


    was that Nancy was happily discussing with Toby.


    ¡°I came to thank you and Mr. Fuller,¡± Nancy replied. ¡°Since you weren¡¯t up when I arrived, I decided to


    have a little chat with Mr. Fuller while waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Really? So¡­ What were you guys chatting about?¡± Sonia shot a gaze at Toby shortly before turning her


    attention to Nancy and asking in a jealous tone.


    Toby raised his eyebrow and chuckled, now knowing why Sonia was behaving in an unhappy manner.


    She is probably jealous that I¡¯m talking with anotherdy.


    ¡°We were talking about Will.¡± Nancy didn¡¯t seem to sense that Sonia was jealous as she smiled and


    borated, ¡°Mr. Fuller had a word with my dad about Will¡¯s affair yesterday. Thanks to him, Will¡¯s family


    forced him to apologize to me and break up with his mistress.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Sonia nodded upon realizing what was going on. So, that was what Toby meant by saying


    the Lazali Family was doing fine. In that instant, she instantly eased her mind and felt less anxious while


    descending the stairs with her hand still on the railing.


    At the same time, Toby noticed that her legs were trembling and immediately understood what she


    needed. Thus, he ced the finance magazine that he held aside and headed toward the kitchen to grab


    a bowl of hangover soup that he asked someone to deliver earlier that morning. He then handed it over


    to Sonia. ¡°Drink it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Sonia stared at the liquid that resembled some soup, but she scrunched up her nose in


    disgust when she detected a strange scent from the bowl.

 Chapter 570

    Chapter 570


    Chapter 570 Sonia¡¯s Crush


    ¡°Call it the hangover soup,¡± Toby answered.


    Sonia knitted her eyebrows. ¡°The hangover soup? Wait a second. Why is it in such a strange color? And,


    why does it smell funky?¡±


    Toby set his eyes on the bowl of soup in silence. ¡°Well, it surely doesn¡¯t have a mouth-watering


    appearance and a pleasant smell, but what matters is that it works. So, just drink it.¡±


    In fact, he had learned how to prepare the hangover soup the night before through an online tutorial.


    Immediately after he carried her to the bed, he detected the smell of alcohol wafting from her, although it


    wasn¡¯t strong. Thus, he quickly understood why she was able to fall asleep on the floor before he headed


    downstairs to the kitchen to study how to make the hangover soup.


    Nheless, the soup that he had prepared somehow didn¡¯t look simr to the one he watched on the


    tutorial. Even so, he tested the effectiveness of the soup on himself by drinking it after making himself


    drunk. When he woke up the next morning without a terrible hangover, he was certain that the soup he


    made was indeed effective.


    Deep down in his heart, Toby was ready to proudly tell Sonia that he was the one who made the soup


    right after she drank it in an attempt to impress her. Now that he saw the disgusted look on her face, he


    reluctantly decided to change his mind. It was because of that he faked a cough and exined, ¡°I don¡¯t


    know. Maybe it¡¯s a new vor that some guy in the hotel invented.¡±


    ¡°A new vor?¡± Sonia¡¯s lips curled upward. ¡°Which hotel is this guy from? He really has the guts to


    prepare some hangover soup that looks like poison. Ew! I doubt he even managed to make any sale


    from it, except those who are dumb enough to buy one from him.¡±


    I¡¯m dumb?! He fixed his gaze on Sonia with annoyance while she was still unaware of his irritation. On


    the other hand, after remaining silent for the entire time, it was Nancy who managed to see through


    Toby¡¯s unhappiness and pulled on Sonia¡¯s sleeve.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia turned and looked at Nancy.


    Nancy didn¡¯t say a single word, but she merely jutted her chin at Toby.


    Then, Sonia turned and saw his expression as well as the hangover soup shortly before she instantly


    understood the awkward position that she had justnded herself in. Thus, she smiled in embarrassment


    and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t really mean it. I just forgot that you were the one who bought the


    soup.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t lying because she had indeed forgotten that it was Toby who bought the hangover soup for


    her. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have called those who bought the hangover soup dumb and unknowingly


    insulted him.


    A helpless Toby sighed when he saw Sonia¡¯s embarrassment before he affectionately noted, ¡°That¡¯s


    enough. Aren¡¯t you dizzy now? Hurry up and drink it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I will.¡± She smiled, thinking that even though the hangover soup didn¡¯t seem to be mouth-watering


    in appearance, she should appreciate his kind intention. Thus, she told herself that she shouldn¡¯t


    disappoint him when he was merely trying to show his care for her.


    At the thought of that, Sonia took a deep breath and closed her eyes while bringing the bowl closer to her


    mouth as she guzzled the liquid down her throat.


    When Sonia was guzzling the soup, Toby had already inserted his hand into his pocket and rummaged


    for a toffee. Then, he held it in his palm and maintained his gaze on her. The moment she finished the


    soup, she noticed a candy in front of her before she managed to put the bowl down. She was surprised


    and shifted her eyes to the person who gave her the toffee.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    The man¡¯s eyes brightened up at her response. ¡°Well, the hangover soup surely didn¡¯t taste well, so


    chew this toffee. It should help to remove the unpleasant taste.¡±


    Since Toby was the one who prepared the soup, he knew how unpleasant the taste was, which was why


    he had prepared the toffee beforehand.


    In light of his thoughtfulness, Sonia was briefly stunned before she felt warmth in her heart. Soon, she


    gave him a smile as she took the toffee in front of her. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Toby also reacted with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Give me the bowl.¡±


    She didn¡¯t reject his offer as she gave him the bowl, whereupon he headed to the kitchen with it and left


    her alone with Nancy in the living room.


    Not long after that, Nancy stroked her chin and gazed at Sonia peeling off the toffee¡¯s packaging. Then,


    when she turned her attention to Toby, she instantly understood what was going on and gave a yful


    smile.


    ¡°It looks like Mr. Fuller has a crush on you, Sonia,¡± Nancy opined.


    When Sonia heard those words, she puckered her lips with the candy in her mouth. Then, she kept her


    head slightly lowered and spoke with a soft voice, ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s confirmation, Nancy asked, ¡°In that case, have you thought about being with him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Sonia shook her head and circled around the couch before she sat down on another


    single sofa.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Nancy echoed her words. ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯ve actually considered being with


    him but haven¡¯t made up your mind about it?¡±


    While chewing the toffee in her mouth, Sonia replied, ¡°Well, you know that I have been divorced once, so


    I don¡¯t really trust love anymore because I just can¡¯t handle being hurt again. So, before I really make up


    my mind, I won¡¯t start a rtionship with anyone so easily.¡±


    ¡°You have a point.¡± Nancy nodded and angrily added, ¡°This is thanks to your goddamn ex-husband who


    hurt you so much that you no longer have the courage to look for your next love.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips curled upward in silence as she wondered whether she should inform Nancy that Toby was


    her ex-husband before deciding, Fine, I guess she is better off not knowing it.


    Nancy expressed her opinion while looking at Sonia. ¡°Speaking of that, Sonia, I think that both of you


    would be a perfect couple.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think so?¡± Sonia bent over and poured herself a ss of water.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple; it¡¯s because you are both in love with each other,¡± Nancy answered while shrugging her


    shoulders.


    When Sonia heard Nancy¡¯s casual answer, her eyes dted in horror as she nearly dropped the ss in


    her hand. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m in love with Toby! That¡¯s absolutely impossible! I¡¯m sure that I no longer


    have any feelings for him, so how does it look like I¡¯m still in love with him?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Sonia?¡± Nancy was frightened by Sonia¡¯s dramatic reaction.


    Sonia clenched her fists, trying to maintain herposure while forcing a brittle smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just a


    little shocked by your words.¡±


    ¡°Shocked?¡± A confused Nancy knitted her eyebrows, wondering why Sonia would be shocked by what


    she had just said.


    Sonia fiddled with the ss of water. ¡°Yeah, you said I¡¯m in love with Toby, but that¡¯s a joke. Why would I


    fall in love with him?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m being serious because I¡¯m certain that you are in love with him.¡± Nancy crossed her legs and


    added, ¡°I¡¯m a keen observer and I can tell from the way you look at him that you definitely have feelings


    for him. Furthermore, you just said that it has crossed your mind about being together with Mr. Fuller. It¡¯s


    just that you haven¡¯t made up your mind, so that brings me to one question¡ªif you¡¯re not in love with


    him, why would you even think about being together with him? If that¡¯s the case, what you just said


    doesn¡¯t make any sense. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    In that instant, Sonia was rendered speechless as her eyes widened and her mouth was agape. At the


    same time, she was confused by the question of considering rekindling the old mes in the first ce


    and why it never urred to her about epting Charles or Carl.


    After all, both Charles and Carl were in love with her as well, which made her question herself about her


    true feelings for Toby. Do I really have a crush on Toby? Or, have I found the love that I once had for him


    again?


    At that moment, Sonia sat there in a trance, clearly unable to calm down after Nancy saw through her


    and pointed out what was on her mind.

 Chapter 571

    Chapter 571


    Chapter 571 Bizarre Death


    She didn¡¯t even know when she started to have a crush on Toby again; she remembered swearing to


    herself that she would never fall in love with him ever again, yet her feelings got the better of her once


    more.


    Thus, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether she was destined to be with Toby for the rest of her life. At


    that thought, she bit her lips with a mixture ofplicated feelings surging through her.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Then, she suddenly began to understand why she would care about him so much as well as the reason


    behind all the other emotions that she had experienced in rtion to him. I felt happy whenever he


    showed his concern; I felt anxious when I knew he was injured and it makes me jealous whenever I see


    him talking to another woman. Is it all because¡­ I love him?


    Sonia¡¯s hands started to tremble a momentter as she buried her head in her hands. Deep down in her


    heart, she couldn¡¯t stop thinking when her feelings for Toby had returned.


    Soon enough, her mind was flooded with countless bits and pieces of memories that they shared until


    her mind was clear of them and she found herself reflecting on them. I guess I know when I fell in love


    with Toby again.


    It was when Den had kidnapped Sonia that she started to develop a crush on Toby. Toby hadid his


    life on the line to rescue her and even fell off the cliff with her at one point; this was when he earned an


    extremely special ce in her heart. After all, he had disregarded his own life and jumped off the cliff just


    to save her, which slowly turned her gratitude and admiration for him into affection.


    Ever since that incident, Sonia¡¯s attitude toward Toby changed. She didn¡¯t even show any dislike about


    meeting him while treating him with less indifference than ever before. Furthermore, he had also saved


    her in a few other incidents after the kidnapping, which was why she had easily fallen in love with him.


    Well, he was the man I used to love back then, so falling in love with him isn¡¯t hard at all, or maybe¡­ he


    has always been in my heart all this time. As Sonia continued to dwell on her bewilderment, the aura


    around her suddenly became gloomy.


    On the other hand, Nancy, who noticed Sonia¡¯s reaction, was concerned. ¡°Sonia, are you alright¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Tobying out of the kitchen.


    When Toby saw Sonia keeping her head down, he knew that something was wrong and quickly


    approached her, whereupon he ced his hand on her shoulder.


    In that instant, Sonia¡¯s body stiffened as she looked back and saw Toby¡¯s hand on her shoulder. She


    pushed his hand off her in panic and shifted her gaze to Nancy before changing the subject. ¡°By the way,


    Nancy, what brings you here today?¡±


    For some reason, Sonia didn¡¯t know how to face Toby because she couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she had


    fallen in love with him again. Perhaps it¡¯s only after epting the fact that I¡¯m in love with him that I can


    face him without holding back. By then, maybe I¡¯ll be able to decide whether I¡¯m going to be with him, but


    now¡­ I don¡¯t think I can do it.


    In the meantime, his eyes darkened when he saw her sudden change of attitude, as if she was


    withdrawing from him like he was some kind of monster. Then, he pursed his lips and asked, ¡°What¡¯s


    wrong with you, Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing is wrong with me. I¡¯m alright,¡± she answered in a trembling voice while she lowered her


    gaze once more.


    Toby stretched out with his arm and lifted her chin to make her look into his eyes. ¡°Look at me and


    answer my question. What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Why has she turned into a different person? I had merely


    gone off to wash the bowl and deal with the rest of the hangover soup. What exactly have I done to


    deserve this kind of attitude from her?


    When he lifted her chin up for the second time, Sonia¡¯s gaze finally met his. When she saw the concern


    and anxiety in his gaze, she puckered her lips like she wanted to say something.


    However, she closed her mouth in the end and moved his hand away. After that, she looked away and


    reacted with a strangely ambiguous expression. ¡°I¡¯m fine, so stop asking me what¡¯s wrong.¡±


    Meanwhile, in response, Toby furrowed his eyebrows and clearly expressed dissatisfaction with Sonia¡¯s


    answer. As he didn¡¯t want to force her hand into spilling the beans, he turned his attention to Nancy, who


    was standing aside.


    Although his reaction had caught Nancy by surprise, she only waved her hand in Sonia¡¯s direction once


    again. It was as if Nancy implied that she wasn¡¯t in the position to say anything if Sonia was unwilling to


    reveal what the matter was. Therefore, he only squinted while silently pursing his lips in an unfathomable


    manner.


    ¡°Nancy, you haven¡¯t answered me why you¡¯re here.¡± When Sonia sensed the intense atmosphere, she


    took a deep breath and forced a smile as she repeated her earlier question.


    After she noticed Toby¡¯s cial look, Nancy also knew that it was time for her to change the subject and


    the mood of the vibe. Thus, she faked a cough and replied, ¡°Well, like I had mentioned before, I came to


    thank you both, but I also have something important that I want to tell you.¡± Her expression became


    solemn when she mentioned her purpose of visiting Sonia and Toby.


    The moment Sonia witnessed Nancy¡¯s look, she knew what she was about to hear was important and


    even she was bing serious. Toby also decided to sit next to Sonia instead of standing behind her in


    his curiosity to hear what Nancy was about to reveal.


    Soon, Sonia gazed at Nancy and urged, ¡°Please tell us what it is, Nancy.¡±


    Nancy nodded in response. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you guys now. However, before I proceed, I want you to be


    mentally ready with what you¡¯re going to hear.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia responded with an affirmative hum.


    Nancy closed her eyes and took a moment to organize her thoughts. Then, she began, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you


    that I was aware of Will¡¯s affair a long time ago? Although I knew that his mistress¡¯ name was Jessica, I


    had no idea that she was rted to you at all, Sonia. Even so, I never bothered to learn more about her


    because I didn¡¯t want to waste my time and energy on learning about ady whom my husband was


    cheating on me with. Subsequently, Mr. Fuller mentioned Jessica when he spoke to Will¡¯s father. Will¡¯s


    fatherter visited my house and had a conversation with my dad. It was only then when I finally


    discovered that Jessica is your sister, but at the same time, that also reminded me of something I heard


    a few months ago.¡±


    A surprised Sonia turned her head to look at the man sitting beside her. Since when did he talk to


    Nancy¡¯s father-inw about Jessica? Why did it even ur to him to talk about Jessica in the first ce?


    Toby could seemingly guess what Sonia thought as he raised his ss of water and took a sip of it. ¡°I


    thought you said you didn¡¯t want Jessica to be someone¡¯s mistress. Now that the Lazuli Family has


    abandoned her, she won¡¯t be a mistress anymore. That was the reason why I spoke to Will¡¯s father about


    Jessica.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow! Thank you so much!¡± She was amused yet a little annoyed after hearing his exnation.


    Although she didn¡¯t like the fact that he took the liberty to proceed with his n without her consent, she


    couldn¡¯t deny that his straightforward method had been effective.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Toby¡¯s lips curled upward and he looked at Nancy. ¡°Please continue. What else did


    you learn?¡±


    Nancy then gazed at Sonia. ¡°A few months ago, I ran into Jessica at a mall when I was shopping with my


    besties there. At that time, she happened to be on a call and didn¡¯t notice my presence, so I hid in a


    corner and eavesdropped. Then, I heard something that shocked me to my core. She said she had no


    qualms about killing her half-sister just like how she had done so with her father.¡±


    ¡°What did you just say?! You mean¡­¡± Sonia jumped as she trembled uncontrobly from head to toe


    with a pale face while asking in a shaky voice, ¡°Did y-you just say¡­ you heard that it was Jessica who


    orchestrated my father¡¯s death?¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression also changed as his eyes widened in horror. I thought Henrymitted suicide, didn¡¯t


    he? When he took his own life, Jessica ran away with all the money, so what does all this have to do with


    her?


    ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Nancy firmly nodded her head. ¡°I¡¯m sure I heard something like this because my heart


    skipped a beat when she nearly discovered my presence. Jessica said both she and her mother had


    drugged her father. The poison that they used on him had resulted in the deterioration of his physical and


    mental health as time went by. Thus, when her father had a mental breakdown, all they did was gently


    nudge him by coaxing him to take his own life. That was how both of them were able to get away with


    their crime. Therefore, she was actually calling to thank the person who gave her drug that day.¡±

 Chapter 572

    Chapter 572


    Chapter 572 It¡¯s Titus


    Upon hearing Nancy¡¯s words, Sonia felt as if the whole world was spinning underneath her while there


    was buzzing in her head. Then, she facepalmed and staggered on her feet as she nearly copsed onto


    the ground.


    The moment Toby saw Sonia¡¯s reaction, he quickly stood up and pulled her into his arms so that she


    could rest on his chest. ¡°Watch out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Sonia shook her head while answering with a hoarse voice. After all, she didn¡¯t think there was


    more to her father¡¯s suicide because she had always thought it was due to the devastation from


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s impending bankruptcy and the betrayal of Jessica and her mother running away with his


    money. Therefore, when Nancy told Sonia that her father killed himself because Jessica and Sandra had


    drugged him and coaxed him to take his own life, Sonia struggled to ept the harsh truth. No! How is


    this possible?!


    ¡°Nancy, are you telling me the truth? You aren¡¯t lying, are you?¡± Sonia freed herself from Toby¡¯s arms and


    walked closer to Nancy, desperately seizing Nancy¡¯s hands while waiting for an answer. Deep down in


    her heart, she wished Nancy was merely pulling her leg or telling a lie.


    In the meantime, Nancy saw through what was on Sonia¡¯s mind and sympathetically nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    Sonia, but what I just said is the truth. I¡¯m not lying at all. When I first heard this, I was just as shocked as


    you are right now. At that moment, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why anyone as evil as Jessica and her


    mother would ever exist in this world, as if patricide or killing one¡¯s own husband was nothing wrong.


    However, I wasn¡¯t aware of the rtionship between you and Jessica until I learned yesterday that she is


    your half-sister. It was then that I realized she could be the one who drugged your dad and made him


    end his life, so I quickly came over to tell you the truth.¡±


    When Sonia heard Nancy¡¯s exnation, she knew that she could no longer fool herself by believing that


    what she heard was all a lie. Thus, all energy seemed to have been zapped from her and she copsed


    onto the couch with dazed eyes on her pale face, feeling as if her body had just turned cold.


    ¡°Sonia.¡± Toby walked closer to her and called out to her in concern.


    Sonia responded by looking at him for a few moments before she responded, ¡°Jessica¡­ How could she


    do that?! Where did she have the guts to drug our father and make him kill himself?! How could she have


    committed patricide even if Dad had never treated her well?! That was her father!¡±


    Deep down in her heart, she reckoned that their father was never once mean to Jessica. Instead, it was


    Jessica¡¯s rebelliousness that resulted in Henry often giving her a piece of his mind, but even so, Sonia


    believed that he still loved Jessica. That was the reason why she couldn¡¯t ept what her half-sister had


    done.


    Then, there was Sandra. Sonia condemned her in her heart and wondered what Henry had done to


    deserve a horrible death at his own wife and daughter¡¯s hands. Did Dad ever treat both of them unfairly?


    Nope. Did he ever deny them their pocket money? No! He allowed them to spend as much as they


    wanted. Even when Paradigm Co. was in trouble, he never deactivated their bank cards, so why would


    they want to kill him? The more Sonia dwelled on those thoughts, the more she shivered with fear. In the


    end, she couldn¡¯t suppress her emotions and ended up bursting into tears.


    Meanwhile, Toby gently rubbed the back of her head and cuddled her in his arms while he spoke in a


    deep voice, ¡°Cry all you want because after this, you¡¯re going to avenge your father¡¯s death, so you need


    to be strong and tough.¡±


    She cried even louder when she heard that, her body stiffening from head to toe. Then, he gently patted


    her back while gazing at Nancy. ¡°You said Jessica was talking on the phone with the person who


    supplied her the drug, right? Did you hear who it was?¡±


    As soon as Sonia heard Toby¡¯s question, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. After that, she


    freed herself from his arms and looked at Nancy too. Nheless, Nancy apologetically shook her head


    and replied, ¡°Nope, Jessica didn¡¯t address the person on the other side of the phone call, but she only


    mentioned some name that had the word ¡®Gray¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Titus Gray,¡± Sonia replied as she bit her lips.


    ¡°What makes you so sure?¡± Toby looked at Sonia in bewilderment.


    A confident Sonia nodded. ¡°The reason why Paradigm Co.nded into trouble six years ago was


    because Titus had set my father up. Back then, there was a piece ofnd that my father wanted to


    acquire, but Titus somehow found out about it. So, he connected my dad to his own friend, who then


    informed Titus that there was a decent piece ofnd in Easton City.¡±


    ¡°Easton City?¡± Toby squinted. ¡°I remember that was where the catbs were subsequently discovered


    and exhumed from. Am I right?¡±


    She replied with an affirmative hum. ¡°Yes, Titus was aware that the ce had catbs beneath the


    ground, which he used to plot against Paradigm Co. and my father. Relying on his faith in Titus¡¯ friend,


    my father trusted every word that the man said without a question. As a result, he fell into their trap and


    spent all the Paradigm Co. assets to bid for thend. If thatnd had been decent indeed, it would have


    helped to improve the business in Paradigm Co., but sadly, it wasn¡¯t.¡± She clenched her fists and added


    in a high-pitched voice, ¡°A month after the exploitation and development of thend had begun, the


    construction team discovered catbs beneath the ground, which subsequently drew the attention


    from the relevant authorities. After an investigation, the artifacts found were deemed to be extremely


    valuable for archeological studies, so the government decided to seize thend but onlypensated


    Paradigm Co. with ten percent of the initial acquisition price!¡±


    ¡°And since it wasn¡¯t possible to retrieve the rest of the capital, Paradigm Co. was soon doomed into


    bankruptcy.¡± Toby continued the story.


    Sonia then gulped and nodded. ¡°That was exactly what Titus wanted. Right after the catbs were


    discovered, he visited us and gloated at my father while also admitting that it was his n to set my


    father up. Besides that, Titus also said he wouldn¡¯t stop until our family fell apart, which would make


    sense to say that he abetted Jessica and Sandra to drug my father and get him killed!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s highly possible.¡± Toby stroked his chin and continued with his speech in a deep voice.


    ¡°Nevertheless, there is nothing you can do at the moment until you discover evidence that can prove that


    Titus was the mastermind.¡±


    ¡°What about Jessica?¡± She gazed at him. ¡°Since she and her mother were the ones who drugged my


    father, I bet Jessica would know who provided her with the drug, so let¡¯s just capture her.¡±


    ¡°Well, you have a point there, but I¡¯m afraid that Jessica might not even know who she was in touch with.


    What if the person she was in contact with was merely one of Titus¡¯ men? Because if that was the case,


    we still can¡¯t testify against him either.¡± Toby pointed out a theory that didn¡¯t sit right with Sonia.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I have to try.¡± Sonia kept her head down and took a deep breath while looking at Nancy.


    ¡°Nancy, do you know where the Lazuli Family has taken Jessica to?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask Mr. Lazuli first,¡± Nancy answered shortly before something else crossed her mind. ¡°You¡¯ll


    probably have to wait until the afternoon, though, because he will likely be having an important meeting


    with my father at this moment. Thus, I think they won¡¯t be reachable anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Once you are in touch with Mr. Lazuli, please ask him for me.¡± A grateful Sonia nodded.


    Soon, Nancy excused herself and made a move, which left only Toby and Sonia in the living room. Then,


    Sonia sat there with her head lowered as she still tried to ovee the emotional devastation. After all,


    what Nancy had just told her was simply beyond shocking and heartbreaking. Meanwhile, he only sat


    silently beside Sonia like a guardian angel watching over her.


    A few momentster, Sonia wiped her face and said, ¡°Did you know? I actually noticed something wrong


    with my father six years ago, but I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to suggest?¡± Toby asked while passing her a ss of water.


    When she took the ss of water, she let out a long sigh before she answered, ¡°A month before my


    father took his life, he seemed to be so mentally ill that he became forgetful, temperamental and absent-


    minded.¡±

 Chapter 573

    Chapter 573


    Chapter 573 Toby¡¯s Confession


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Sonia trembled a little as her expression implied that she was ming herself. ¡°Then, I asked


    him how he was, but he said he was fine, so I thought he was just bothered by the situation that


    Paradigm Co. was in. Had I insisted on taking him to a doctor, I would¡¯ve known that he was drugged


    and he wouldn¡¯t have taken his own life as a result. It¡¯s all my fault; I could have saved him, but I missed


    my chance to do so because I was negligent. Am I a terrible daughter, Toby?¡±


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°No, you aren¡¯t.¡± Toby held her hand and looked at her in a serious manner. ¡°After all, no one in the world


    can predict what will happen the next minute, and neither did it ur to anyone that your father was


    mentally ill because he was drugged. So, all of this isn¡¯t your fault and you need to stop ming yourself


    for that. Furthermore, I believe your dad wouldn¡¯t want you to beat yourself up either. In fact, what you


    need to do now is to stop dwelling on what you think was your mistake and gather the evidence that can


    prove your father was drugged.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in response as he seemingly managed to talk some sense into her. She then


    pulled herself together and acted like a tough cookie. ¡°You¡¯re right. I need to pull myself together and


    avenge my father!¡±


    ¡°Now, that¡¯s the spirit.¡± Toby gently caressed her hair and asked, ¡°Are you hungry? You haven¡¯t eaten


    anything since this morning, so I bet you¡¯re probably starving, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Sonia was about to say that she wasn¡¯t hungry because she had lost her appetite after learning the


    shocking revtion. However, before she could speak her mind, her stomach started to growl, prompting


    her to cover it with her hands with an embarrassed look.


    Toby chuckled and stood up before he held her hand and led her to the dining area. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s grab


    something to eat first. You need to keep your strength up so that you have the energy to go on with your


    day, and that includes avenging your father.¡±


    She puckered her lips in silence and obediently followed the man. After breakfast, he went out to take


    care of his work, although he had a wedding ceremony to attend. Therefore, he didn¡¯t stick around to


    apany Sonia.


    Meanwhile, Sonia stayed behind in the estate to wait for Nancy¡¯s news. When the clock struck 3:00PM,


    Nancy¡¯s call came through where she informed Sonia about Jessica¡¯s location. Sonia learned that


    Jessica had been deported from Kosovo to the Republic of Mesania where she held citizenship rights.


    Therefore, she was currently on a ne back to the Republic of Mesania.


    Upon learning about Jessica¡¯s whereabouts, Sonia furrowed her eyebrows because she was already one


    step behind. After all, she had nned to make her way to Jessica¡¯s current location and interrogate her,


    but was surprised that the Lazuli Family had beat her to it and sent her on a flight to the Republic of


    Mesania. Ugh! Great! How am I supposed to capture her now?


    Sonia rubbed her temples in frustration, wondering how she could get to Jessica. Well, it appears that


    the only way for me to capture Jessica is to pay a visit to the Republic of Mesania by myself.


    At the thought of that, Sonia quickly reached out for her phone and browsed through the calendar to find


    an empty slot in her schedule for a visit to the Republic of Mesania. Shortly after that, she decided to set


    it at the end of the month because that was when Paradigm Co. would hold their stock taking. Therefore,


    she reckoned she would be less busy by then and would have more time to locate Jessica. Thinking that


    Jessica could lead her to more discoveries about Titus¡¯ wicked n back then, Sonia believed she


    should start her investigation with her half-sister. Meanwhile, Sonia was absorbed in her train of thoughts


    as she stared nkly at the window in an absent-minded manner.


    The next day, Sonia and Toby took a flight and flew back to their country. On their way home, she


    appeared to be spaced out most of the time, even nearly running into a few other people who were


    coming her way. Fortunately for her, he was by her side to prevent that from happening or she would¡¯ve


    hurt herself by falling.


    ¡°Does that matter still bother you? Toby had a magazine in his hand while he gazed at the unhappydy


    beside him in the first ss cabin.


    Sonia responded by rubbing her cheek. ¡°How can I just let it go? It¡¯ll probably take days at the very


    least.¡± Back then, when she first thought that her fathermitted suicide, she struggled to ept the


    truth; now that she realized her father¡¯s death had been orchestrated, there was no way she could easily


    calm herself.


    ¡°Stop overthinking.¡± He gently lifted his arm over her head to ce it on her shoulders.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Her body tensed up.


    ¡°You should get some sleep. Look at your dark circles and swollen eyes. I guess you had a rough night,


    didn¡¯t you?¡± Toby told Sonia about her swollen eyes.


    She felt her swollen eyes and was tongue-tied at that moment. After all, she had a sleepless night as she


    couldn¡¯t stop picturing her fathermitting suicide the moment she closed her eyes. In fact, she had


    been haunted by nightmares for a long time after her father¡¯s suicide, which took her a lot of time before


    she overcame it, only to fall apart once more now.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for you to take a nap. Come on, use my shoulder as your pillow,¡± Toby repeated.


    Sonia met his caring eyes and turned her attention to his shoulder while puckering her lips. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The moment she finished speaking, she closed her eyes and leaned on the man¡¯s shoulder. Strangely


    enough, her exhaustion and insecurities simply dissipated when her head rested on his shoulder. I don¡¯t


    feel sleepy anymore. Is this all because he is by my side?


    ¡°Toby.¡± She cast a serious look on the man¡¯s nk.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± The man shifted his gaze away from the magazine to her face, only to meet her wide gaze with


    a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re still awake, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Sonia blinked and asked, ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    She responded, ¡°Can I trust you?¡±


    ¡°Why would it even ur to you to ask such a question? What kind of trust are you referring to?¡± Toby


    raised his eyebrows.


    Then, Sonia lowered her head before she continued, ¡°You said you love me, but can I trust you that you


    will continue to love me? We both used to correspond with each other through letters, but you fell in love


    with me even before you met me. Yet, why weren¡¯t you able to tell that Tina wasn¡¯t me? Were you ever in


    love with me?¡±


    A pang of guilt greeted him after hearing Sonia¡¯s words as he gently caressed her head and replied


    remorsefully, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Sonia. I didn¡¯t fail to recognize you, but instead, something happened


    whereby I ended up with no memory of you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± A confused Sonia looked up. ¡°Did you have amnesia back then?¡±


    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t amnesia.¡± Toby shook his head.


    Back then, he had already noticed Tina¡¯s disguise when she posed as Sonia to meet him. At the same


    time, he also instructed Tom to investigate who Maple was and why Tina had posed as her, but before


    Tom could even reveal the results, Miles had hypnotized both men and those around him into thinking


    that Tina was indeed Maple. Because of that, Toby¡¯s brain omitted the fact that he was already aware


    that Tina was an imposter and firmly believed her to be Maple.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t amnesia?¡± Sonia asked in puzzlement, ¡°This is confusing. If you didn¡¯t suffer from amnesia,


    why is it that you had no memory of me?¡± She couldn¡¯t understand what he said because she found it


    hardly logical.


    Toby blinked, seemingly having trouble expressing his thoughts. A few secondster, he looked at her


    and rified, ¡°Would you believe me if I said I had been hypnotized?¡±


    ¡°Hypnotized?¡± Sonia bolted into a straight posture. ¡°You were hypnotized?¡±


    He nodded and proceeded to share about the evil n that Tina made with Miles.


    After Sonia heard Toby¡¯s story, there was silence from her for the longest time whereas Toby looked her


    in the eye, aware that she had yet to calm herself from the shock that he had been hypnotized. Thus, he


    kept quiet and patiently waited for her to respond. A few momentster, she snapped out of her trance


    and gulped. ¡°Wow, this is surprising! I can¡¯t believe something like this would actually happen in reality.¡±

 Chapter 574

    Chapter 574


    Chapter 574 I Will Be Waiting for You


    As far as Sonia was concerned, she had always thought that hypnosis did nothing more than make


    people speak the truth without being aware. It wasn¡¯t until Toby had told her what it did to him that she


    realized its full extent. Oh my gosh! I guess my understanding of hypnosis is too shallow. I didn¡¯t know it


    can actually affect our memory! This is rming! She anxiously propped her face with her hands.


    Toby looked at her. ¡°Oh, hypnosis is indeed surprising. After all, it is capable of more than what you and I


    can ever imagine.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± she asked.


    Soon, he reached for his tablet and searched for more information about hypnosis before showing it to


    her. Then, she skimmed through the articles, whereupon she seemed to ponder, It looks like hypnosis is


    not only capable of suppressing someone¡¯s memory but also capable of erasing it. This is¡­


    At that moment, Sonia felt like her perception about the world had just changed as she puckered her lips


    for a while and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I need a moment to digest all this.¡± Deep down in her heart, she


    struggled to deal with the devastation that Toby¡¯s hypnotized experience had brought her.


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t believe that I was hypnotized, do you?¡± Toby raised his chin.


    She puckered her lips once again, seemingly wanting to say something, but she kept her mouth shut


    without uttering a single word in the end.


    Meanwhile, Toby sighed before he replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Hypnosis can do bizarre things, so I wouldn¡¯t be


    surprised if you won¡¯t believe it. However, I can assure you that I¡¯m telling the truth. The reason why I


    didn¡¯t reveal it to you earlier was because I didn¡¯t want you to think that I was justifying my failure to


    recognize you with an excuse.¡±


    ¡°Then, why are you telling me now?¡± Sonia looked at him.


    He chuckled and exined, ¡°Well, what is done has been done, so it no longer matters, but I promise


    that I¡¯ll never fail to recognize you ever again from now on. No matter how you may change, I¡¯m sure I


    will definitely recognize you at first sight.¡±


    She responded with a cold grunt. ¡°Who knows whether you¡¯re telling the truth or not?¡±


    ¡°Well, since you can¡¯t tell whether it¡¯s the truth, you might as well ept me and let me prove it to you


    with time. What do you say?¡± Toby seized her hand with seriousness.


    At the same time, Sonia was tempted to utter her consent before her rational mind stopped her. Then,


    she retracted her arm and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t be with you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Toby frowned. ¡°Sonia, you¡¯ve actually fallen for me, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°How did you know that?¡± Sonia was stunned, but she soon realized that she had just blurted out


    something she shouldn¡¯t have and covered her mouth. Oops! I just gave myself away. Now that Toby is


    sure that I have a crush on him, is he going to insist on rekindling the old mes with me? At the thought


    of that, she looked up and gazed at Toby as her heart raced a million times faster.


    Nevertheless, Toby didn¡¯t seem to be surprised, as if he was unhappy to know that she had fallen for him


    again. In fact, the revtion was merely unsurprising to him because he had seen through Sonia a long


    time ago. When he contacted Nancy the day before in the afternoon, she had told him about Sonia¡¯s


    feelings. After all, he was curious about Sonia¡¯s sudden change of attitude immediately after Sonia


    finished the hangover soup. Therefore, he decided to call Nancy and ask what had happened,


    whereupon she shared the conversation she had with Sonia earlier. Because of that, he was courageous


    and confident enough to go straight to the point, having known that Sonia had realized her feelings for


    him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always known that all along.¡± Toby gently fixed Sonia¡¯s hair around her ears. ¡°It was just you who


    didn¡¯t realize that you had fallen in love with me once more. In fact, those around you could tell that as


    well, including Zane and Charles.¡± While those two men never told Sonia how she felt toward Toby, he


    knew that they didn¡¯t do that because they were frightened she would really fall for him and lose their


    chances as a result. Pathetic! Those guys don¡¯t stand a chance at all even though they have been trying


    to keep Sonia from realizing her feelings for me. They will fail no matter how hard they work because


    they are not the ones whom Sonia is in love with.


    ¡°Was it¡­ that obvious?¡± Sonia was stunned as her mouth was agape, unable to believe that even Zane


    and Chales had long known her feelings for Toby. At the same time, she had no doubt about Toby¡¯s


    words because she didn¡¯t think there was a reason for him to lie to her.


    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Toby gently rubbed Sonia¡¯s head and borated, ¡°You can hardly hide your feelings when


    you truly love someone. Even if you manage to do so, your eyes and expression will give you away.¡±


    Sonia looked down before she asked, ¡°So¡­ When did you realize that I¡­ have feelings for you¡­¡±


    ¡°About half a month ago,¡± Toby answered.


    ¡°I see,¡± shemented after her question was answered.


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s pick up where we left off and love each other again, can¡¯t we?¡± He seized her


    shoulders and made her face him.


    Nevertheless, she looked away once again and rapidly shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t ept you.¡±


    She was making her rejection known once more.


    Toby pursed his lips and spoke with a hoarse voice, ¡°Can you give me a reason? If you aren¡¯t ready, I


    can wait.¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s part of a bigger reason, but the truth is¡­ I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re scared?¡± He seemed bewildered. ¡°What are you scared of?¡±


    She set her eyes on the man. ¡°I¡¯m scared that you¡¯ll fall in love with someone else one fine day after we


    have reconciled and leave me in the cold. I don¡¯t want to relive those dark days six years ago.¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t.¡± Toby wrapped his arms around her. ¡°I have never fallen in love with anyone! Ever! You¡¯re


    the one whom I¡¯m always in love with. I was just hypnotized to think that I was in love with Tina, but that


    was all fake. I know I might have treated Tina well back then, but that was not how I truly felt. Moreover, I


    have never even touched her before.¡±


    ¡°Did you just say you¡¯ve never touched Tina before?¡± a surprised Sonia asked.


    ¡°Exactly! Never!¡± He nodded while assuring Sonia that she was the only woman he had ever shared an


    intimate moment with. In fact, the intimacy they both shared that night a few months ago was her first


    time as well as his. Thus, the thought of that somehow made Toby¡¯s ears flush in embarrassment.


    In the meantime, Sonia, who noticed the seriousness on Toby¡¯s face, chose to believe him as her


    resistance toward him gradually lessened. However, she still hadn¡¯tpletely agreed to ept his


    romantic advances. ¡°You may be telling the truth, but I have no ns of resuming our rtionship. After


    all, I¡¯m no longer the young and bolddy whom I used to be. Back then, I was willing to do anything and


    everything for love, but I can¡¯t do that anymore now, not after the trauma I experienced earlier because


    I¡¯m now more timid and feeble. After all, I¡¯m no longer as brave as I once was in my youth, which is why I


    don¡¯t have the confidence to achieve what I want. Thus, I really can¡¯t bring myself to start a new


    rtionship despite my feelings for you,¡± Sonia bitterly noted while biting her lower lip.


    Toby fixed his gaze on her as he replied, ¡°I get you. You don¡¯t have faith in me and yourself, so you¡¯re not


    sure whether we¡¯ll be together until the very end, which is holding you back from being together with me.¡±


    She looked down, silently admitting that Toby had just seen through her.


    Nevertheless, he only nted a kiss on her forehead and continued, ¡°It¡¯s okay; I can wait for you until


    you find your faith in me and the confidence to ept me.¡± Although he was upset by her repeated


    rejections, he wasn¡¯t going to force her but he would instead respect her choice.


    After Sonia heard his words, she heaved a sigh of relief. She was grateful that he didn¡¯t force her hand,


    but instead gave her time to ovee her insecurities.

 Chapter 575

    Chapter 575


    Chapter 575 Back to Seafield


    After all, Sonia was thankful for Toby¡¯s considerate response, which made her feel respected and


    understood. ¡°Thank you.¡± She bitterly curled her lips to force a brittle smile.


    Then, Toby ced her head on his shoulder once again. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You should probably


    have some sleep now. Look at you¡ªyou can barely keep your eyes open.¡±


    Indeed, she felt extremely sleepy and the moment he said those words, she closed her eyes. As soon as


    she did that, she went out like a light shortly before he heard her steady breathing, after which he turned


    his attention to her face and admired her restful expression in amusement while he covered them both


    with the nket. After that, he leaned on her head and closed his eyes until theynded in Seafield a few


    hourster.


    Upon their arrival, Sonia yawned as she followed Toby out of the airport. Tom was already waiting for


    them outside the airport. When he saw the both of them, he quickly headed over and greeted, ¡°Good


    day, President Fuller. Good day, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Likewise, Tom.¡± Sonia nodded and returned the greeting.


    Soon, Toby passed the luggage to Tom and shifted his gaze to the woman beside him. ¡°Where are you


    goingter? Paradigm Co. or Bayside Residence?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll return to Bayside Residence first,¡± she replied after a brief hesitation.


    Toby bobbed his head. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you a ride there.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Sonia waved her hand. ¡°I drove here two days ago and my car is in the car


    park. What am I going to do with my car if you give me a lift? So, I guess it¡¯s better for me to drive home


    by myself.¡± She turned around to walk away when she finished her sentence.


    ¡°Then, you can give me a ride there,¡± Toby suggested as he seized her hand.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Sonia was stunned. ¡°Did you just say that you want me to give you a ride?¡±


    He nodded again. ¡°I did.¡±


    She seemed surprised by his words. ¡°If I¡¯m going to give you a ride, what are you going to do with your


    car?¡±


    ¡°Tom can follow behind us.¡± Toby shot a gaze at his assistant.


    Tom adjusted his sses as he answered solemnly, ¡°Alright, President Fuller. I¡¯ll get the car now.¡± Then,


    he opened the door and got into the vehicle.


    On the other hand, Sonia¡¯s lips curled upward as she felt amused at the sight of the man¡¯s insistence to


    be her passenger. ¡°Okay then, get into the car.¡± She reached for her car keys and pushed the unlock


    button, whereupon the short rm of a red Benz could be heard from not far away.


    As soon as both of them reached the car, Toby chivalrously opened the car door for her before Sonia


    bent over and sat inside. Then, the man circled around the car and entered the vehicle to sit on the front


    passenger seat. In a matter of minutes, the red car was followed by another ck one as both vehicles


    left the airport and traveled in the direction of Bayside Residence.


    She glimpsed at the man beside her and asked, ¡°Why are you doing this? We live on opposite ends of


    town, so it¡¯ll probably take you more than an hour of driving back to your ce.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Toby looked at her with a smile. ¡°Nothing matters as long as I can be by your side.¡±


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    A helpless Sonia shook her head. ¡°Suit yourself then. You¡¯re only going to tire yourself this way.¡±


    While he replied with an affirmative hum, she shook her head and ignored him to concentrate on the


    road. An hourter, they arrived at Bayside Residence shortly before a ck Maybach pulled up as well.


    Sonia unfastened her seatbelt and gazed at the man who was doing the same thing. ¡°Alright, I have to


    get inside, so you should head home now. Stay safe on the road!¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Toby nodded.


    As soon as both of them stepped out of Sonia¡¯s car, she looked at him and puckered her lips. ¡°See you.¡±


    ¡°See you,¡± he replied.


    Then, she grabbed her purse and headed toward the building while he kept his eyes on her and


    continued to do so without any intention to leave even after she was out of sight.


    At the same time, Tom opened the car door and stood beside Toby. ¡°President Fuller, it seems that


    you¡¯ve made some positive progress with Miss Reed, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows. ¡°Why do you say so?¡±


    Tom faked a cough before answering, ¡°Well, it seems to me that you¡¯ve definitely grown closer with Miss


    Reed while she certainly doesn¡¯t treat you as cold as she used to. Furthermore, she didn¡¯t resist you


    when you touched her, which is why I think you both are back on good terms. Am I right?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips curled upward. ¡°That¡¯s some keen observation, but you¡¯re right. Things between me and


    Sonia seemed to have taken a turn for the better. She knows that we¡¯ve mutual feelings for each other


    and she doesn¡¯t resist me when I get close to her. Speaking of good terms, though, I think we still have a


    long way to go.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tom expressed his bewilderment, wondering why they hadn¡¯t decided to take a step forward


    since it was natural for them both to begin a rtionship now that they were both aware of their feelings


    for each other.


    As if he had seemingly sensed something, Toby looked up and trained his gaze on the building that


    towered over him. Then, when he saw Sonia appearing on the balcony, his smile widened as he raised


    his right arm to wave at her.


    Sonia was initially intending to peek to see whether Toby had left, only to realize that he was still around


    and even noticed her. For the next few seconds, she stood there in a trance before she subconsciously


    raised her right hand and waved at him.


    Meanwhile, Tom felt like rolling his eyes at them when he witnessed their interaction. Oh, man! Both of


    them have really taken things to a whole new level. They¡¯re both in love with each other, so why do they


    still have to act like they¡¯re bidding farewell to each other with a heavy heart? They should probably just


    be together so that they won¡¯t ever have to leave each other. Despite his thoughts, he restrained himself


    from vocalizing his thoughts and acted as if nothing happened.


    At this moment, Toby felt his phone vibrating as he reached for it and saw Sonia¡¯s text. So, he naturally


    looked up before he realized that she was waving at him with her phone in her hand as a gesture to tell


    him to check out his phone.


    Toby nodded and viewed the message that she sent him. ¡®I¡¯m already home, so you should leave as well.


    Don¡¯t continue waiting there; it¡¯ll only make you silly doing that.¡¯Silly? Am I? He stroked his chin and


    replied to her message. ¡®Alright, I¡¯ll make a move now. See you tomorrow.¡¯


    Sonia tilted her head in confusion, wondering why they were meeting again the next day. Is there


    anything necessary for us to meet up tomorrow? Despite her perplexity, she proceeded to give Toby an


    affirmative reply. ¡®Alright.¡¯


    As soon as he saw that reply, he chuckled softly and kept his phone away happily. After that, he looked


    up at Sonia on the balcony, whereupon he decided to return to his car. Meanwhile, Tom quickly followed


    behind and started the car. It wasn¡¯t until they traveled a few miles away from Sonia¡¯s residence that


    Toby began to answer the question that his assistant had asked him. ¡°Sonia still struggles to find her faith


    in me, but when she does, we¡¯ll naturally be together and that day will be soon.¡±


    ¡°Really? In that case, I should congratte you in advance, President Fuller.¡± Tom ingratiated himself


    with Toby.


    ¡°im some extra bonus from the finance departmentter.¡± Toby lifted his chin while his words exposed


    his favor toward Tom¡¯s ttery in the process.


    In the meantime, Tom, who knew that his ttery was working, grinned from ear to ear. ¡°Thank you so


    much, President Fuller.¡±


    On the other hand, Sonia remained at the balcony as she fixed her eyes on Toby¡¯s Maybach as her smile


    was reced with calmness. Deep down, she wasn¡¯t sure whether she was treating Toby the way she


    should be since they were socializing well with each other like lovers despite her reluctance to ept


    him.


    Therefore, she feared that she would cave into the temptation of epting him if the situation persisted,


    which led to ponder on the question of whether she would be happy in a life with him. Are we really going


    to pick up where we left off? Is this going to work?


    The moment she had that thought, Sonia was in a dazed state.

 Chapter 576

    Chapter 576


    Chapter 576 Tim¡¯s Revtion


    The next day, Sonia received a call from Tim, who informed her to collect her medicine from the hospital.


    Ever since Carl¡¯s poison had affected her uterus, she had been taking medication to fully recover from


    the impact. Now that she had already been taking the same type of medicine and undergone the same


    treatment a few times, Tim notified her that it was time to proceed to the next stage of the treatment,


    which would also require a change of medication.


    ¡°Yup, I¡¯m aware of that. I¡¯lle over in the afternoon,¡± Sonia replied to Tim, who was on the other end


    of the call, before she kept her phone away, whereupon she headed for Paradigm Co. from home.


    ¡°President Reed.¡± Daphne stood outside Sonia¡¯s office and when she saw Sonia stepping out of the


    elevator, Daphne bowed at her. ¡°Wee back.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia smiled as Daphne opened the door for her and extended an arm to invite her inside.


    When Sonia was about to enter the office, she suddenly stopped in her tracks as if she had just seen


    something. While fixing her eyes on Daphne¡¯s face, she asked in a concerned manner, ¡°Daphne, didn¡¯t


    you have a good rest in the past two days? You look haggard. Are you okay?¡±


    Daphne rubbed her own face with bitterness that shed across before it disappeared. Then, she curled


    her lips upward and replied, ¡°Thanks for your concern, President Reed. Something came up in the past


    two days, so I didn¡¯t really have a good rest.¡±


    ¡°What was it? Do you need help with it?¡± Sonia asked again.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing big.¡± Daphne shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can handle it myself.¡± President Reed mustn¡¯t


    know what has happened between me and President Lane.


    When she noticed her secretary¡¯s insistence, Sonia decided not to press on and instead nodded. ¡°Alright,


    if you need anything, please let me know.¡±


    ¡°Sure, President Reed.¡± A grateful Daphne smiled.


    Then, Sonia walked into her office with Daphne right behind her as Daphne reported about her schedule


    for the day. When she heard that she had to attend a meeting about alternative energy at the Fuller


    Group, Sonia paused in surprise. ¡°Did you just say that I have a meeting to attend at the Fuller Group?¡±


    She raised an eyebrow as she skeptically tried to confirm what she had just heard.


    ¡°Yes, President Reed.¡± Daphne adjusted her sses.


    ¡°Now I get it. That¡¯s where you¡¯ll wait for me.¡± Sonia curled her lips upward, finally catching up to what


    Toby meant when he said that they would meet again the next day. No wonder Toby said at that time he


    will see me tomorrow. Well, it looks like he arranged this meeting quite a while ago.


    ¡°What do you mean, President Reed?¡± Daphne had no idea what was on Sonia¡¯s mind, so she was


    confused when she heard what Sonia had said.


    Sonia responded by rubbing her temples. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. Did the higher-ups mention the theme that


    will be discussedter in the meeting?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they did.¡± Daphne opened the document in her hand and flipped to a page before giving the file to


    Sonia. ¡°The alternative energy technology has been on trial in the market for quite a while now, so the


    meeting today is for all the investors to discuss the pros and cons that it can bring from their own


    companies to see whether there is any room for improvement. If there aren¡¯t any cons, the technology


    will be fullyunched in the market.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Sonia stroked her chin and took the document as she began to skim through it. After that,


    she returned the file to Daphne and added, ¡°Alright, I guess I¡¯m more or less aware of what¡¯s going on.


    Please gather the feedback from those in ourpany with regards to the trial use of the new


    technology. Once you have that done,pile everything and submit it to me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, President Reed.¡± Daphne turned around to step out of the office with the document.


    When it was almost time for lunch, she organized andpiled everything for Sonia, who then shoved


    everything in her briefcase. After that, she grabbed her purse and drove away from Paradigm Co. to the


    hospital where she first nned to collect her medication before heading to the Fuller Group. Well, I


    have plenty of time anyway since the meeting starts at 2:00PM.


    The moment she arrived at the First World Hospital, Sonia made her way straight to Tim¡¯s office, where


    she saw him being engrossed with the writing of his medical report. Thus, she stood by the door and


    knocked on it.


    When Tim heard the knock, he paused in his writing and looked up to greet Sonia with a smile at the


    sight of her. ¡°Pleasee in.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll make myself at home then.¡± She proceeded to head inside.


    ¡°You¡¯re early.¡± Tim happened to close his pen with a lid. ¡°Have you had lunch yet?¡±


    ¡°I ate a little in the car.¡±


    ¡°Well, I should treat you to a meal then. The food in the canteen is worth a try.¡± He opened his drawer


    and took a white card out of it to sh it at Sonia.


    ¡°haul¡±


    Sonia waved her hand to reject Tim¡¯s kind offer. ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯m not hungry now. Furthermore, I still have


    a meeting to attendter, so I¡¯ll be runningte if I were to have lunch now. Thus, please take me to


    collect my medication now instead.¡±


    Now that she had already said so, Tim could only give in and he inserted the card into his gown. ¡°Alright,


    I¡¯ll take you to the OB-GYN for a check-up first, so that we can determine the extent of your recovery


    before we can determine the necessary treatment for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia replied with an affirmative hum.


    When both of them walked toward their destination, something seemingly crossed Sonia¡¯s mind. Then,


    she bit her lips and asked, ¡°Dr. Lancaster, I have a question for you since your area of expertise includes


    hypnosis. I want to know whether hypnosis can tamper with a person¡¯s memory.¡±


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Tim looked at her.


    Sonia blinked, but she decided to be honest. ¡°Toby told me yesterday that he actually found out that Tina


    was posing as me back then, but before he could expose her, he was hypnotized to forget the part where


    he realized she wasn¡¯t me. For the next six years, the hypnotic effect continued to dominate his


    consciousness and prevented him from seeing the truth that I was the one whom he had been looking


    for.¡±


    Tim adjusted his sses. ¡°I get what you¡¯re trying to say. You want to know whether Toby is being


    honest, right?¡±


    Sonia replied with an affirmative hum. ¡°My intention exactly. After all, his words just sounded like a bolt


    from the blue to me and I¡¯m not sure whether I can trust them. Since you¡¯re an expert in this area, I was


    hoping you could tell me whether Toby was telling me the truth.¡±


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right. I can indeed tell whether what he said was true.¡±


    ¡°So¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Sonia was stunned.


    Tim stopped in his tracks and looked at her. ¡°Toby is telling the truth. He was indeed hypnotized and the


    person who did that to him was my senior, Miles.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s pupils dted in surprise as it was expressed over her face. ¡°Your senior?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tim nodded. ¡°I only came to know about this matter two months ago, though. In fact, I had


    no idea that Toby had been hypnotized by Miles until he was involved in an ident that significantly


    reduced the hypnotic effect within him. When he sensed that there was something wrong with himself, he


    came to me for help and learned that Miles had taken control over his mind with hypnosis.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s true!¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes twitched, which clearly illustrated her unease. Toby was indeed hypnotized.


    Considering the fact that they didn¡¯t share a bitter history between each other, Sonia had no doubt that


    Tim was covering up for Toby. Furthermore, she was sure that Toby wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with Tim as


    she believed he knew Tim¡¯s capability as apetent doctor as he might one day require Tim¡¯s help.


    On the other hand, she was also convinced that Tim had treated Toby in the same way that he was being


    treated because he was outssed by Toby in terms of their social statuses. Therefore, Sonia believed


    Tim had the power to decide whether he wanted to ept Toby¡¯s offer if Toby had ever approached him.


    Moreover, Tim was not someone who could easily be bribed because anyone who ever intended to do so


    would have to be ready to fork out a high price, which was usually in any form other than money since


    the man itself was pretty well off. At the thought of that, Sonia took a deep breath and asked, ¡°Dr.


    Lancaster, what was the rtionship between your senior and Tina? Why would he help Tina to


    hypnotize Toby?¡±

 Chapter 577

    Chapter 577


    Chapter 577 Knowing the Truth


    ¡°Well, that had something to do with Toby¡¯s heart.¡± Tim gazed at Sonia and asked, ¡°Are you aware that


    Toby underwent a heart transnt in the past?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Sonia nodded. In fact, she had noticed the scar on Toby¡¯s chest when she changed his


    clothes in the cave after they fell off the cliff. When he woke up the next day, she asked about the scar


    and was told that he underwent heart transnt surgery due to a congenital heart disease. At that


    moment, she finally understood that the reason why Toby had always looked so weak and pale ever


    since they were married was because he was probably still in his recovery stage.


    While Sonia told Tim that she was aware of Toby¡¯s surgery, he averted his gaze and replied, ¡°Toby¡¯s


    current heart once belonged to Miles¡¯ brother.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Her eyes dted in shock.


    He then added, ¡°His name was Quentin and he used to be Tina¡¯s boyfriend.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. Her boyfriend?!¡± Sonia furrowed her eyebrows.


    As a glimmer of light reflected from Tim¡¯s sses, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look like you just


    thought of something.¡±


    Sonia puckered her lips before she answered, ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m not sure whether it¡¯s true or not. Six years


    ago when Tina and I were still college mates, I heard that she had a boyfriend whom she had been


    dating for close to 3 years. So, I was just wondering whether that boyfriend of hers is the same person


    whom you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°It looks like it.¡± Tim squinted. ¡°Tina was dating Quentin for almost three years before he died in a car


    ident.¡±


    ¡°Well, in that case, they are the same person.¡± Sonia tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ¡°Six


    years ago, we noticed that Tina hadn¡¯t been on a date with her boyfriend for a whole and asked whether


    she had broken up with him, but she told us that he did. We all thought that she had cursed him in a fit of


    pique. To think about it now in hindsight, I can¡¯t believe she was actually telling the truth at that time.¡±


    Right after Quentin died, his heart was given to Toby.


    ¡°After Quentin was in the ident, he wasn¡¯t admitted to the hospital in time, which ultimately caused


    him to miss the prime time in treating his injury. Thus, he passed away after a few days of hospitalization,


    but before he died, he agreed to give his heart to Toby. He even had his brother, Miles, help Tina to make


    Toby fall in love with her.¡± Tim sneered when he mentioned that. In his eyes, Quentin was a mere fool for


    allowing love to blind him and cloud his judgment. That poor fe not only failed to realize the ident


    that killed him was orchestrated, but he also unknowingly helped Tina to seed in her n by


    surrendering his own heart for her while making his brother go against his ethical codes. What a selfish


    and dumb fool!


    ¡°So, your senior, Miles, hypnotized Toby and those around him to make Toby believe that he was in love


    with Tina?¡± Sonia clenched her fists as she asked with a hoarse voice that was apanied by her


    rage.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Tim nodded. ¡°That¡¯s how it was.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s uneptable!¡± Sonia bit her lips, her body trembling due to her overwhelming rage. ¡°What


    Quentin did was unforgivable. Why did he do that? Who did he think he was to help Tina at Toby¡¯s


    expense? Did he think he was selfless by doing that? What he did was nothing different than forcing


    someone¡¯s hand because he didn¡¯t just ruin Toby¡¯s life! He also ruined mine!¡±


    She could barely suppress the anger within her as her bloodshot eyes turned red. This is all Quentin¡¯s


    fault! If Quentin hadn¡¯t involved his brother in hypnotizing Toby, Toby wouldn¡¯t have failed to recognize


    me, let alone fallen in love with Tina. If that didn¡¯t happen, we would be living a happy life together by


    now, but Quentin took everything away from us!


    Tim sensed Sonia¡¯s negative aura and let out a sigh. ¡°Lighten up, would you? It¡¯s been so long since the


    matter happened, so your anger won¡¯t change anything either. After all, Quentin is now a dead man and


    it feels like karma has already punished him.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia looked at the doctor with her red eyes.


    He coldly curled his lips. ¡°Quentin¡¯s death was no mere ident but instead, it was murder.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± She covered her mouth in shock.


    Through his reflective sses, Tim replied, ¡°Toby¡¯s blood type and biological condition has made it hard


    for him to search for apatible heart for a transnt. Ever since he was born, the Fuller Family had


    been searching everywhere for a recement after he was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease.


    However, their efforts remained unfruitful for the next 24 years until a few days before the doctor


    predicted Toby¡¯s death six years ago. Coincidentally, Quentin was involved in a fatal car ident at that


    time, whichter imed his life and it conveniently presented a suitable heart for Toby. Don¡¯t you see


    anything wrong here?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Are you suggesting that Toby or the Fuller Family orchestrated Quentin¡¯s


    ident? No! No way; the Fuller Family and Toby wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t say it¡¯s them. I¡¯m referring to Tina,¡± he interrupted her.


    ¡°Tina?!¡± Sonia¡¯s mouth was agape.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tim tilted his chin. ¡°Although I wasn¡¯t really aware what had happened back then, I


    discovered from the hospital records that Old Mrs. Fuller met up with Quentin on the same day he was


    pronounced dead to convince him to be a heart donor for Toby. The reason she was aware that


    Quentin¡¯s heart waspatible was because Tina had tipped the Fuller Family off about it.¡±


    ¡°What happened after that?¡± a desperate Sonia asked.


    He answered, ¡°ording to Miles, Quentin didn¡¯t initially agree to donate his heart until Tina returned


    from a trip and said that she fell in love at first sight with a man who needed a heart. She even cried to


    Quentin that she still had a long way ahead of her and hoped that he would help her.¡±


    ¡°So, Quentin caved under her alleged cries of sympathy and agreed to donate his heart to Toby. At the


    same time, he also asked for his brother¡¯s help to hypnotize Toby so that he would fall in love with Tina!¡±


    Sonia¡¯s cheeks flushed in anger. ¡°Oh, gosh! This is pathetic indeed!¡±


    She clenched her fists so hard that her fingernails began to pierce her palms. ¡°Tina didn¡¯t fall in love with


    Toby at first sight. Instead, she had been having her eyes on him for a while and somehow learned that


    Quentin¡¯s heart waspatible with Toby¡¯s. Thus, she plotted against her then-boyfriend to have him


    killed in a car ident!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. In fact, I¡¯m not the only one who suspected Tina was behind Quentin¡¯s death because Toby


    feels the same way too. Therefore, as soon as he recovered from the influence of hypnotism, he began


    searching for new evidence to prove his suspicion, but to no avail. After all, the incident had happened


    so many years ago and the remote location where the ident took ce was barely crowded and


    equipped with any surveince cameras, which only added to the difficulty of gathering any useful


    evidence to testify against Tina for her murder.¡± Tim shrugged his shoulders and added, ¡°That¡¯s why I


    think Quentin received what wasing to him for his death at Tina¡¯s hands.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m now clear about what had happened. Thanks for telling me everything.¡± Sonia took a deep


    breath to calm down for a moment.


    Tim waved his hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. It¡¯s not a secret anyway, but now that you know the


    reason why Toby had been mean toward you for the past 6 years was because he had been hypnotized,


    what are you going to do? Are you going to forgive him?¡±


    Sonia slightly lowered her head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll forgive him. He was a victim as much as I was. After all, what


    he did to me wasn¡¯t done out of his own volition. He was merely under the weather instead.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t shocked by her answer. ¡°Then, what¡¯s next? Do you have any intention to rekindle the old


    mes with him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I may have forgiven him, but reconciliation is another


    story. Plus, there is a lot on my te now and I¡¯m still trying to deal with them. Nevertheless, I guess


    there is perhaps a way for us to work things out once I¡¯m mentally ready.¡±

 Chapter 578

    Chapter 578


    Chapter 578 Rina¡¯s ns


    As Tim watched Sonia feeling down and upset, he spread his arms out. ¡°You should be mentally ready.


    After all, reconciliation isn¡¯t child¡¯s y.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I know.¡±


    As soon as they arrived, Tim stopped in his tracks. ¡°Okay, here we are.¡±


    Now that she had stopped together with him, she raised her head and saw a sign with the word


    ¡®Gynecology¡¯ written in bold. Then, she lightly pped her cheeks to calm herself before she headed


    inside the said department.


    He had entered together with her and he was saying something to a doctor after they went in.


    The doctor with whom Tim had chatted with then nodded before he looked toward Sonia. ¡°Right this way,


    Miss Reed. I¡¯ll be performing the check-up on you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Apliant Sonia followed the gynecologist.


    Then, Tim waited patiently in the said doctor¡¯s office.


    After half an hourter, both Sonia and the doctor emerged from the room.


    While maintaining his gaze on the gynecologist, Tim asked, ¡°So, how is her recoverying along?¡±


    ¡°Her recovery¡¯s quite alright. I think we can now move on to the next phase of the treatment,¡± the doctor


    answered as he handed the report over.


    After perusing the report, Tim was satisfied with its content and closed the file. ¡°Then, please prescribe


    the necessary medication for her.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± The doctor nodded. After he yanked a chair over, he started to jot the prescription.


    ¡­


    As she slung her bag over her body, Sonia said, ¡°Thanks for today.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Tim adjusted his sses and continued, ¡°After taking your medicine, you should quickly try


    to recover. Try avoiding being with Toby before your full recovery. Otherwise, you¡¯ll fall pregnant again.¡±


    When she heard this, her face went as red as a tomato. ¡°What nonsense are you suggesting, Dr.


    Lancaster? Who¡¯s going to be pregnant again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about you and Toby.¡± As he yed with his surgical knife, Tim calmly replied, ¡°Although you


    and Toby aren¡¯t back together yet, judging from your situation, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a matter of time before it


    happens. So, don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you and take adequate safety measurements when you two are


    in the mood to do the deed. It would be advisable for you not to be pregnant within these two years.¡±


    As the corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched, she looked up in defeat and chose not to speak.


    After all, she could tell where the conversation was headed for if they were to continue with the subject.


    If that happened, the conversation wouldst an eternity; hence, it would be much better not to respond


    and allow the conversation to naturally end.


    Sure enough, Tim didn¡¯t continue with the conversation after seeing that Sonia was silent. While giving


    her the prescription, he said, ¡°This is the next phase of your treatment; go to the pharmacy to get your


    medicine in a short while.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± After ncing at the slip, Sonia carefully kept it. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading to get my medicine now as I have


    another meeting to attend.¡±


    ¡°Go on then. I won¡¯t be seeing you off since I have a surgery that needs me now,¡± Timmented as he


    nced at his watch.


    She nodded before saying, ¡°Ok then, goodbye.¡±


    After bidding Tim farewell, she left the office.


    At the hospital¡¯s parking lot, Sonia crumpled the report together with the receipts into a ball before she


    threw it into a nearby bin. After that, she opened her car door and drove off momentster.


    Just as she left, Rina appeared from the corner and made a beeline for the bin. With a frown, she


    suppressed her disgust and reached into the bin to fish out the item that Sonia had just thrown away


    before smoothening the ball of paper.


    Upon seeing that it was merely receipts, Rina pouted with disinterest.


    When she arrived earlier, she had seen Sonia standing beside the bin with a frown. She looked as if she


    was troubled that Rina thought she had some sort of sickness.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Unexpectedly, it was just a prescription for Sonia¡¯s womb and whatnot.


    Just as Rina was preparing to throw the ball of paper back into the bin, a well-timed call then interrupted


    her.


    She furrowed her brows and took out her phone. When she saw that it was Julia, she quicklyposed


    herself and answered, ¡°Hello, Mom.¡±


    ¡°Are you at the hospital now, Rina?¡± Julia asked at the other end of the line.


    After nodding her head, Rina then said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve just arrived.¡±


    ¡°Good. Quickly return with your father¡¯s medication. He¡¯s in enormous pain now,¡± a panicked Julia urged.


    Rina then assured after she grunted, ¡°I know, Mom. I¡¯ll be back soon. Just tell Dad to bear with it for a bit


    more.¡±


    After that, they exchanged a few more words and hung up.


    As she pulled her phone away from her ear, Rina had a worried expression.


    Now that Titus¡¯ kidney was desperately failing, they needed the kidney transnt as soon as possible.


    Yet, no suitable match had turned up even after all this time.


    Last time, when her mother went for thepatibility test, she failed as her kidney was totally


    ipatible with that of her husband.


    In an attempt to demonstrate her filiality and to avoid them from thinking that their ¡®own flesh and blood¡¯


    didn¡¯t want to save him, Rina also went for the test.


    She was also rendered ipatible in the end.


    However, she knew from the start that her kidney would be ipatible. After all, she wasn¡¯t their


    biological daughter, so how could she have apatible kidney? Only his biological daughter would


    have apatibility rate of¡­ Wait a minute, a biological daughter?


    Suddenly, Rina thought of something. Her eyes shone as she looked at the ball of papers that she hadn¡¯t


    thrown away yet. She was trembling as she thought of this, but it was out of sheer excitement. How


    could I have forgotten? I may not be their biological daughter, but Sonia is!


    The doctor had already stated that those rted to Titus were likely to have the highestpatibility


    rate.


    As Sonia is Dad¡¯s only blood rtive, maybe her kidney can be transnted to him!


    The more she thought of this, the more excited she became. After throwing away the rest of the papers,


    she only took the one containing the information of Sonia¡¯s blood type and quickly headed for the


    elevator.


    As Sonia just had her check-up at the hospital, the gynecology department definitely still had her results.


    So, Rina proceeded there to verify whether Sonia¡¯s kidney was a match for her father.


    If she could, she would do anything to save her father.


    As the pir of the Gray Family, if her father fell, she would also fall alongside him and lose everything


    that she had.


    So, no matter what, she would do anything to guarantee her father¡¯s survival!


    While she thought about this, there was a cold determination on Rina¡¯s face.


    ¡­


    On the other side, Sonia had already arrived at the Fuller Group.


    After parking her car, she walked to the main door.


    Moments after she entered, she saw Tom standing in front of Toby¡¯s personal elevator.


    As Tom waved at her, he called out, ¡°Miss Reed! This way!¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyebrow then twitched before she increased her walking speed. ¡°Tom, were you waiting for me


    here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was.¡± He nodded and pressed the button pointing upward on the elevator panel.


    When the elevator¡¯s door opened, he gestured at it. ¡°It was President Fuller¡¯s order for me to wait for you


    here.¡±


    ¡°When did he tell you toe down?¡± Sonia asked in surprise, but she wasn¡¯t shocked that Toby would


    send Tom down to wait for her.


    After all, she knew that without Toby¡¯s explicit order, Tom, as his assistant, could not just simply leave his


    side.


    The only thing that surprised her was how long Tom had waited for her.


    ¡°Half an hour ago,¡± he replied. ¡°President Fuller had already estimated your time of arrival, which was


    why he asked me to wait downstairs in advance.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so I see.¡± After she nodded, an embarrassed Soniamented, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for letting you wait that


    long, as I had to take care of something that happened along the way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± As he waved his hand, Tom indicated that he didn¡¯t mind a single bit.


    Soon, the elevator reached their destination.


    When they stepped out, Tom led Sonia to the direction where the meeting was to take ce.


    Upon reaching the meeting room, he opened the door.


    As soon as she walked in, there were already a few people seated there¡ªall of whom were coborators


    on the alternative energy project.


    When those coborators saw Sonia entering with Tom behind her, all their expressions changed. All


    their conversations paused as they looked at her, for reasons that were unknown to her.

 Chapter 579

    Chapter 579


    Chapter 579 Each to His Own Thoughts


    It was only after Tom went out to prepare some tea that those coborators resumed their conversation.


    Among them was someone who asked, ¡°President Reed, you came in earlier with Tom, no? Was it just a


    coincidence, or was he waiting for you?¡±


    Since Sonia was befuddled by his question, she gave an honest answer. ¡°He was waiting for me.¡±


    Silence befell them once again the moment they heard this as their gazes turned into fear while they


    watched her.


    Throughout this period of time, they had heard through the grapevine that Toby was showing obvious


    signs of pursuing his ex-wife once more.


    As it wasn¡¯t the first time that they had heard this rumor, they all treated it as mere gossip and ignored it.


    After all, in the past, they all saw how Toby had neglected his own wife and was instead head over heels


    for the girl from the Gray Family.


    So, how could they believe that he wanted to reconcile with Sonia once again?


    Even if his ex-wife had managed to obtain a share in the renewable energy project, it would most likely


    be due to her own luck, and not because of Toby¡¯s influence in the matter.


    However, they now had no choice but to believe what wasid in front of them.


    After all, Tom was Toby¡¯s personal assistant and in the giant corporation that was Fuller Group, only Toby


    had the power to order Tom around. If not for Toby¡¯s order, why would Tom be so gracious as to wait and


    escort Sonia to the meeting?


    This in itself illustrated how serious Toby was when it came to his ex-wife as he had even sent his own


    personal assistant to her.


    Otherwise, why didn¡¯t Toby just send a random person to bring her up, like how he had done for them?


    From the looks of it, they could no longer underestimate her or herpany, Paradigm Co, from today


    onward.


    If they did so, all of them would be at the risk of offending the Fuller Family.


    Perhaps, proactively supporting Paradigm Co. was something they could try to do. It could bring a smile


    to Toby¡¯s lips and therefore create more opportunities for future coborations.


    The CEOs looked at each other and realized that they all shared the same thought.


    Not knowing and not wanting to be interested in what their thoughts were, Sonia opened her own


    notebook and waited for the meeting to start.


    After a while, instead of Toby, it was Tom who made his way into the room with a tray of tea.


    Tom ced the cups of tea brewed from high quality leaves in front of each and everyone. In the end,


    when he arrived in front of Sonia, he set the remaining cup of ck tea as well as a piece of cake in front


    of her.


    This action by Tom caused everyone in the meeting room to fall speechless once again.


    First, they lowered their heads to look at the green tea in front of them before fixing their gazes on


    Sonia¡¯s ck tea with twitching eyes. Why is this different yet again?


    Yet, they had to ept the fact that maybe Sonia had preferred ck tea since she was a woman. What


    is with the cake, though? Why is she only having it while we get nothing? This is tant favoritism!


    Forget the disgruntled CEOs, even Sonia was made somewhat awkward by the sight.


    Tom¡¯s extra care was throwing her into a tight spot at that moment.


    ¡°Tom, I don¡¯t think I want the cake.¡± Sonia then pushed the te forward, hinting at him to take it back.


    Of course, Tom couldn¡¯t just take the te of cake back. After he adjusted his sses, he nced at


    everybody in the room with a dark expression before he exined, ¡°Miss Reed, this cake was specially


    prepared for you by President Fuller, so please don¡¯t disappoint him. I think our esteemed guests would


    not mind the slight preferential treatment. After all, the rumors that have been circting around have


    clearly illustrated to everyone here why the president cares a lot for you, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course we know.¡±


    When they heard what Tom said, all of the CEOs could only nod in response as they were aware that it


    was secretly a warning from Tom.


    A frowning Sonia then rified, ¡°Rumors? What kind of rumors?¡±


    Tom gave a mysterious smile before replying, ¡°If you want to know, Miss Reed, you can wait until the


    meeting ends and find out for yourself. Alright, everyone, I have to head over and see whether the


    president is now free or not. If he is, then he will being over soon. If not, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to


    implore you all to wait a bit more.¡±


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    After stating his piece, he then made his move.


    Once he left, the meeting room became noisier than a market.


    Some of the CEOs even gossiped and asked, ¡°President Reed, is it true that you have reconciled with


    President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The ck tea in Sonia¡¯s hand nearly spilled out of the cup as her hands trembled.


    She decided not to drink it and ced the cup aside before she observed her curiouspanions. Then,


    she shook her head and waved her hand. ¡°Why would you all ask things that aren¡¯t even true?¡±


    ¡°Everyone in the industry has been talking about this. They are all saying that the president is courting


    you,¡± one of the CEOs replied.


    A shocked Sonia asked, ¡°Has it spread that far?¡±


    ¡°What do you think? We are even aware of it and we are people who don¡¯t gossip much either.¡±


    As she opened her mouth, she wanted to probe further, but she stayed quiet in the end. No way! Is it that


    obvious that I and Toby are considering getting together again? Now, even everybody in the industry


    knows about it!


    She was about to give this a thought when the door to the meeting room opened whereby crisp footsteps


    could be heard.


    As if Sonia was being guided by her sixth sense, she subconsciously raised her head to look at the


    direction the sound wasing from and met Toby¡¯s gaze.


    Now that she was looking at his ck irises, she was instantly reminded of what Tim had said in the


    hospital. Coupled with the questions that the business coborators posed, her face started to redden.


    As she quickly turned her head to the other side, her heart was beating wildly and showed no signs of


    calming down anytime soon. It¡¯s all because of Tim and these people. How can they just ask these sorts


    of questions without any proof?


    As Toby watched Sonia¡¯s red side profile, he grew slightly curious. What is she thinking about now?


    ¡°President Fuller, here¡¯s the briefing for the meeting.¡± Before he could even decipher her thoughts, Tom


    had already handed him a document file.


    Left with no choice, Toby could only take a seat first. ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±


    With his word, the meeting was finally officiated and it was not until 5:00PM that the meeting finally


    ended.


    Toby shot a nce at his watch and closed hisptop before he gently announced, ¡°Let¡¯s conclude


    today¡¯s meeting. It¡¯s getting quitete now, so let us move to the hotel. I¡¯ll be hosting the dinner tonight,


    so I hope you gentlemen could grace me with your presence.¡±


    When they heard that Toby was treating them to dinner, the CEOs were ted.


    ¡°Of course, President Fuller. How could we miss out on a dinner that you¡¯re hosting?¡±


    Only Sonia did not speak, but she did not outrightly reject him either.


    After all, everybody was here for the meeting. She felt that it would be inappropriate if she rejected


    Toby¡¯s offer.


    Toby nced at Sonia as he addressed the crowd, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll see you all there. Tom, please lead them to


    the car.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller,¡± Tom responded and thereby gestured at the CEOs.


    With Tom leading the way, everyone present then left the meeting room.


    Thest to leave was Sonia. When she walked past Toby, he reached out to grab her arm. ¡°You¡¯ll be


    riding with me.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± She tried wiggling her arm to break free from his grip.


    However, Toby¡¯s grip on her was firm. ¡°It¡¯s either you are sitting with me or with that bunch of geezers.


    Which would you rather have?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± The way Toby phrased his words rendered Sonia speechless, but it was obvious that sitting with


    him was much more appealing.


    He responded with a light smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Then, Sonia gathered her belongings in one arm and followed him out.


    As they were heading to the elevator, he suddenly asked, ¡°Why were you blushing earlier?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Now that she had lowered her head, she didn¡¯t want to answer him.


    Toby maintained his gaze and continued to pressure her. ¡°Is it really nothing?¡±


    ¡°It really was nothing, so stop asking. It¡¯s hard for me to say it out loud,¡± Sonia replied while trying to


    cover her face with one hand.


    His repeated questioning made her think about Tim¡¯s words once again.


    An instant of devilish delight shed across Toby¡¯s eyes when he saw Sonia¡¯s ears reddening again.


    ¡°Okay then. Since you don¡¯t want to talk about it, I¡¯ll stop asking. By the way, are you free tomorrow


    afternoon?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Why are you asking?¡±

 Chapter 580

    Chapter 580


    Chapter 580 Toby¡¯s Little Ploy


    ¡°Grandma asked me to notify you to join her for lunch at the old manor,¡± Toby replied.


    ¡°Lunch?¡± Sonia was bewildered. ¡°Is it a special asion?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. Grandma wanted me to invite you, so that¡¯s what I did.¡± As he said this, Toby shook his head


    lightly.


    A smiling Sonia agreed. ¡°Yeah, sure. I¡¯lle tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go together tomorrow then. I will pick you up from yourpany,¡± he suggested while looking at


    her.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    After hesitating for a few seconds, Sonia saw the anticipation in his eyes and agreed in the end. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s agreed then.¡± Toby smiled.


    Half an hourter, they arrived at the hotel. As they entered, Toby helped Sonia to open the door to the


    private room. She epted his gesture and walked inside. After Toby closed the door, he quickly caught


    up to her.


    As the others had already arrived, they were all seated and waiting for them. The moment that they saw


    those two entering together, the CEOs exchanged looks with one another again. Seeing as to how they


    have entered together, they must be rather close now. It¡¯s quite obvious that they have reconciled, no?


    Looks like we¡¯ll have to get close to Paradigm Co. from now on!


    Not knowing or even having the desire to know their thoughts, Toby simply walked to the two empty


    seats in front and pulled one out. As he patted the back of that particr chair, he addressed Sonia, ¡°Sit


    here.¡±


    Sonia never expected Toby to be this affectionate in front of many people, which made her feel a tad bit


    ufortable as she wondered whether she should sit or not. After all, there really wasn¡¯t anything


    going on between them. So, for her to ept his advances like that, it was something she couldn¡¯t bring


    herself to do. However, if she were to reject him in front of the CEOs, it would only serve to embarrass


    him.


    With his kind of status, if she humiliated him, it would definitely not blow over easily. As such, he would


    be treated as aughing stock in the entire industry. In fact, there were many people in their field who


    wanted to see Toby fall from grace. After all, they had been living in Toby¡¯s shadow for way too long. Yet,


    due to Toby often resorting to strong-arm tactics as well as being extremely capable himself, there was


    nothing they could do but watch. However, it went without saying that they would still be delighted to


    make Toby the butt of their jokes. So, she was only left with one choice now.


    Even though she was still thinking about it, Sonia took a deep breath and adjusted the ends of her


    clothes to walk to the chair to take a seat. As she turned around, she smiled at the man behind her.


    ¡°Thank you, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby smiled in response. ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± The moment he finished his sentence, he pulled out the


    chair beside her to sit down.


    The waiter, who had remained quiet in the private room for the whole time, knew that Toby was hosting


    the dinner, so when he saw Toby sitting down, he immediately handed over the menu.


    As Toby took the menu, he didn¡¯t flip it open and instead passed it to Sonia. ¡°What do you want to eat?¡±


    Sonia felt embarrassed as she pushed the menu back to him and whispered, ¡°I think you should order


    the meal. I¡¯m fine with anything anyway.¡± It was already too much when you pulled the chair out for me,


    and now you want me to order the dishes? Are you kidding me?


    Strictly speaking, how could she order ahead of everyone else when her status here was the lowest? It


    might have been fine if she was his wife, but the key point was she wasn¡¯t married to him. So, even if


    Toby was the one who told her to order, she wouldn¡¯t do as told. She knew that if she had really done it,


    although the CEOs never said anything, they would feel ufortable. That was the reason why she felt


    she should stay put and not do anything else.


    When Toby saw how awkward Sonia was, he instantly knew the reason behind her behavior and picked


    up the menu again. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll do it.¡± After saying that, he flipped open the menu before he


    proceeded to order a couple of dishes.


    His choices had only made Sonia raise her eyebrow to the max. Aren¡¯t all these dishes¡­ my favorites?


    She looked at Toby in surprise.


    After Toby gave Sonia a smile, he closed the menu. ¡°Also, I would like a mug of mango juice¡ªfreshly


    juiced, that is. Thank you. That¡¯s it for me.¡± Of course, it went without saying that the drink was also for


    her.


    ¡°Okay, Mr. Fuller.¡± The waiter nodded.


    As he ced the menu on thezy Susan, he rotated it until the menu reached in front of a CEO.


    ¡°Gentlemen, please, if there is anything you would like to eat, then by all means, help yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Haha, if you say so, President Fuller. Well then, we shall help ourselves.¡± The same CEOughed


    before he started to order as well.


    By the time everybody had finished ordering, it was already quite some timeter. Now that the kitchen


    was busy preparing their order, the first item to arrive was the said mango juice. As he poured a ss of


    it, Toby then set it in front of Sonia. ¡°Don¡¯t drink too much, else you won¡¯t have any appetiteter.¡±


    The moment Sonia heard his gentle reminder, it warmed her heart and with a smile, she said, ¡°I know.¡±


    Then, she held the ss of mango juice and slowly sipped on it.


    At this moment, one of the CEOs suddenly looked at both her and Toby. ¡°President Fuller, I heard that


    you were nning to reconcile with President Reed. Does this mean that you two have already gotten


    back together?¡±


    Sonia was still holding onto the ss as she frowned and was about to exin the truth. However, Toby


    ced his hand on top of hers and gently squeezed it before he answered, ¡°Not yet, but that¡¯s just a


    matter of time.¡±


    Sonia stared at him with wide eyes, as if she was silently asking what he meant by that. Toby¡¯s lips


    slowly curled upward and his eyes were full of confidence. It was at that moment when Sonia understood


    what he meant. He was confident that she would agree to reconcile with him.


    As they looked at Sonia and Toby, the CEOs didn¡¯t know what those two were secretly exchanging looks


    about. The CEOs only saw them looking at each other with ¡®affection¡¯, so they quicklymented, ¡°Ah, I


    see. Then, congrattions to you and President Reed in advance. We hope to receive your wedding


    invitation soon!¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Toby raised his own wine ss to toast with them.


    Sonia, who felt embarrassed to exin that they probably won¡¯t reconcile, didn¡¯t want Toby to lose


    respect over this. Now that she was left with no choice, she had to raise her beaker and clink it with their


    sses too.


    This action of hers had signified that she herself would realize Toby¡¯s words sooner orter. After all, they


    had already toasted on this, which in itself constituted her agreement. Now that she was once again


    seated, she grimly sipped the juice while begrudgingly staring at the man beside her.


    Now, she understood why Toby had stopped her from talking. It was because all this had been his ploy


    all along¡ªto forcefully make her admit that they would reconcile. With this method, she had half-


    promised that they would be together again. Not to mention, they were already a couple in the eyes of


    others.


    When he saw Sonia¡¯s expression, Toby was also aware that he was in the wrong when he did that, but


    he did not regret it. Although he had said that he would give her time to fully ept him, judging from her


    personality, she would only drag the matter whereby she would hide in her own shell for a longer period


    of time without agreeing or deciding. So, he could only give her a push with this method. It was only by


    giving her a push that he could force her out of her shell and reconcile with him sooner thanter.


    Soon after, the dishes came one by one. Naturally, as the host, Toby was the first to dig in. He picked up


    a boneless piece of fish, yet he did not eat it. Instead, he ced it in Sonia¡¯s bowl in the full view of


    everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°The fish here is quite delicious. Do have a taste.¡±


    When she noticed everyone¡¯s amused expression, Sonia blushed as she slowly picked up the fish before


    cing it in her mouth. The incredibly fresh and tender fish immediately melted in her mouth¡ªit was so


    delicious that she couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of wanting to swallow their tongue.


    While looking at her shining eyes, Toby gently asked, ¡°How is it?¡±


    After she gave a thumbs up, Sonia replied with a blissful expression, ¡°It¡¯s so lovely!¡±


    Her reaction caused Toby tough as he said, ¡°Then, you should have more.¡±

 Chapter 581

    Chapter 581


    Chapter 581 Let It Snow


    As he talked, he ced two more pieces of fish in her bowl.


    Sonia hurriedly covered her mouth and eximed, ¡°Enough; that¡¯s enough. I can do it myself. You should


    have some to eat and not just watch me.¡±


    ¡°Are you now concerned for me?¡± Toby said as he leaned closer toward her.


    She rolled her eyes as she ced her chopsticks aside and pushed his face away. ¡°Just concentrate on


    your meal, please.¡±


    The unfolding scene in front of them had made the CEOsugh out loud.


    ¡°My, you two are certainly close. You two are so affectionate toward each other even while eating.¡±


    As he straightened his posture, Toby replied, ¡°We¡¯re alright.¡±


    Although Toby spoke in a t tone, he didn¡¯t even try to suppress the smugness within him.


    A speechless Sonia looked at him as her mouth twitched. Pfft, who¡¯s close with him? Who is being


    affectionate with who now? What a thick-skinned man.


    It was already dark outside when the dinner was concluded.


    Since Tom was leading the CEOs out, Toby and Sonia walked at the back.


    When they arrived at the front door of the hotel, she ran outside in joy while clutching her bag when she


    suddenly saw something.


    Upon seeing this, Toby chased after her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    He then stopped next to her.


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    As she stood on the steps of the hotel entrance, she looked up and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s snowing!¡±


    Hearing her say those words made Toby raise his eyebrow.


    Of course he already knew that it was snowing. After all, when they walked out of the elevator, he had


    already noticed the snow.


    Yet, for him, snowing was like raining¡ªit was just a natural weather phenomena and nothing to be


    exhrated about, but he didn¡¯t think that she would have such a reaction to the snow.


    ¡°I thought something happened.¡± He couldn¡¯t help butugh as he facepalmed. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just snow? Why


    are you so happy about it?¡±


    Then, Sonia reached out to catch a snowke. However, it quickly melted as a result of the warmth of


    her hands, leaving behind only a droplet of water.


    As she retracted her hands, she looked at the flurry of snow outside and exined, ¡°Of course I¡¯m


    happy. Just look at how beautiful it is! Plus, Seafield hasn¡¯t snowed in a couple of years, yet, it finally


    snowed this year. With this amount of snow, I¡¯m afraid the ground will be full of it by tomorrow.¡±


    After she said those words, she wanted to catch more snowkes.


    However, Toby stopped her this time.


    He grabbed her hands and coaxed, ¡°Don¡¯t go off. Isn¡¯t it cold for you? Look at you¡ªyour face and hands


    are so cold that it¡¯s red.¡±


    As they spoke, cold mist came out of their mouths.


    ¡°It¡¯s not cold. Being flushed in this weather is normal.¡± Sonia shook her head in response and wanted to


    pull her hand back. ¡°Just let me y for a while. I haven¡¯t seen snow in such a long time.¡±


    ¡°No can do.¡± Toby still refused to agree and insisted with a stern face, ¡°What if you have frostbite by


    ident? If you want to look at the snow, you can look at it when you¡¯re back home. Alright, I¡¯ll send you


    home now.¡±


    While pulling her hand, he led her into the hotel to get an umbre. Then, they exited and boarded the


    car that was parked at the side of the road.


    On the way, Sonia continued to look at the snow outside while propping her face up with her hands.


    Toby couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Is snow really that interesting for you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Sonia nodded with a beautiful smile on her face. ¡°Since my mom was born on a snowy day,


    she especially likes snow and thanks to her influence, I¡¯ve learned to fancy snow too. So, whenever I¡¯m


    able to see snow, I get really happy. Oh, right, speaking of which, it¡¯s almost my mom¡¯s birthday. I haven¡¯t


    paid my respects to her in a long time.¡±


    ¡°When the timees, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Toby suggested as he was driving.


    While turning her head in surprise, she asked, ¡°You what?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll be together by then, who knows? So, me apanying you would only be


    natural.¡±


    As Sonia smirked, she mocked, ¡°Who says that we¡¯ll be back together by then? ¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve faith in this,¡± Toby answered as he nced at her from the corner of his eyes.


    ¡°Hmph, whatever you say.¡± A pouting Sonia turned to face the window once again to continue looking at


    the snow.


    While seeing her watching the snow so intently, Toby had an indecipherable look in his eyes.


    After a short while, they arrived at Bayside Residence.


    He was going to unbuckle his seatbelt after he had finished parking the car; he obviously wanted to see


    her off.


    When Sonia noticed this, she quickly stopped him from reaching for the seat belt buckle.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Toby gave her a peculiar look.


    She opened her mouth and exined, ¡°You don¡¯t have to get down. Just stay in the car. It¡¯s snowing


    outside; the freezing cold will affect the recovery of your arm. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to walk with me


    even for these few steps?¡±


    With that, she unbuckled her own seat belt and continued, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll head up then. You should also have


    an early night. Bye.¡±


    After she waved, she was about to open the door when Toby grabbed her arm.


    A puzzled Sonia asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    With a light sigh, Toby answered, ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to see you off, that¡¯s fine, but at least bring this


    umbre with you. Although it¡¯s a short distance to the building, with the snow being this heavy, it would


    melt quickly on your body. Then, not only will you be freezing, your clothes and hair will be drenched.


    You¡¯ll catch a cold like that.¡±


    He turned his body around to take an umbre from the back seat and handed the item to her.


    As she looked at the umbre, she smiled and epted it. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be heading off.¡±


    Before she headed toward the building, she alighted from the vehicle and opened the umbre before


    skirting around the car.


    After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned around to wave again at the Maybach.


    Toby rolled down the windows and urged, ¡°Quickly go back inside!¡±


    It felt like he was frightened that she would freeze right there and then.


    His action had greatly amused Sonia and she turned around to resume her walk into the building.


    It was only after Toby couldn¡¯t see Sonia anymore that he wound up his window. He patted his left


    shoulder and his head to get rid of the snow before he started his car and left.


    However, merely after one hour, Sonia, who just came out of the bath, heard the doorbell ringing.


    Turning off the hair dryer, she looked curiously at the entrance with a deep frown. Who could it be at this


    ungodly hour?


    After she set her hair dryer aside, she wore a jacket before heading to the entrance.


    When she reached the entrance, she switched on the security camera to see who it was. Maybe it is the


    property manager or someone else.


    The moment she peeked at the camera, the visitor in question stunned her, for the person outside was


    actually Toby! Didn¡¯t he already leave? What¡¯s he doing back here?


    She stopped thinking and hurriedly opened the door. When she saw the man with wet hair in a drenched


    coat that was paired with a face that was frozen stiff, her mouth dropped in shock. ¡°What are you¡ª¡±


    As heughed at the sight of her, Toby answered, ¡°Thank God you haven¡¯t slept yet. I called and


    messaged you earlier, but you didn¡¯t respond to either. So, I thought you had already slept.¡±


    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t hear you calling me. Maybe it¡¯s because I was showering,¡± Sonia suggested.


    Suddenly, as if she thought of something, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the house before


    closing the door.


    The inside of her house was toasty due to the heater being on. Judging from his pale face, if he didn¡¯t


    enter soon enough to warm up, he would most likely fall ill.


    ¡°Toby, did you stand outside in the snow instead of heading home?¡± As Sonia asked with an angry frown,


    she took two tissues to dry his wet hands.


    When she saw that his hair was wet, she knew that his clothes would be in the same state.


    When that cashmere coat of his was dry, it would flow elegantly. However, at this point in time, one could


    tell with a nce that his coat was absolutely soaked since the hem couldn¡¯t be properly folded down.


    As expected, the moment Sonia pulled Toby¡¯s arm, the cold that passed through her hands instantly


    caused her limbs to freeze.


    It was hard to estimate how long he had been standing outside with his wet, cold hair and coat, but safe


    to say, it seemed like it was eternity when Sonia looked at his greenish face and purple lips.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t standing outside the entire time.¡± Toby denied the truth and ced the small bag in his hand


    down before taking off his coat.


    ¡°Then, what were you doing if you weren¡¯t standing outside?¡± Sonia picked up the nket on her sofa


    and threw it at him. ¡°Put that on. Aren¡¯t you cold?¡±

 Chapter 582

    Chapter 582


    Chapter 582 Crystal Ball


    Although Sonia¡¯s expression was a little sour, the concern in her eyes was genuine.


    When Toby saw how worried she was for him, he broke into a smile. Then, he took a nket and


    wrapped it around himself before replying, ¡°I went to buy something for you.¡±


    ¡°You bought something for me?¡± Sonia echoed as she was taken aback. ¡°What is it?¡±


    She turned toward the small bag that he had just ced aside, ¡°Is this the item?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± With an affirming nod, Toby handed the bag to her. ¡°Have a look to see if you like it. I specially


    went out of my way and looked through many shops just to find this.¡±


    She took the bag from him while probing, ¡°What exactly is it that made you head out in the heavy snow


    to buy this for me?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you like snow?¡± He looked at her. ¡°It¡¯s freezing cold outside to look at snow, so I


    bought something that will allow you to look at it all the time without it melting. This way, you can still


    enjoy snow even when it¡¯s summer.¡±


    ¡°Snow¡­¡± Sonia lowered her head as she stared in a daze at the bag in her hands. There¡¯s snow in this


    bag?


    When Toby noticed that her attention was faltering, he hurriedly urged, ¡°Quickly open it.¡±


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    Sonia¡¯s rosy lips twitched as she hummed in reply before she opened the bag to reveal a box inside.


    Then, she set the bag aside and held the box in her hands.


    Although it was only as big as her palm, it was almost ten centimeters tall and a little heavy.


    Under Toby¡¯s encouraging gaze, Sonia took a deep breath and slowly opened the box. Her eyes


    widened as a glistening crystal ball appeared before her, thereafter she removed it from the box.


    Upon a closer look, she could see something floating within the crystal ball; it was the snowkes that


    Toby had spoken of.


    Dozens of snowkes that differed in sizes swirled along with the movement of the crystal ball, as though


    it truly snowed. It was a beautiful sight that was straight out of a fairy tale. In fact, it was even prettier


    than real life.


    No wonder Toby had said with this item, she could look at snow any time she wished,e rain or shine


    ¡ªbecause within the crystal ball was snow that would never melt.


    As Sonia held the crystal ball, it felt oddly heavy in her hands for reasons unknown to her and there was


    an indescribable feeling in her chest.


    She scrunched her nose and resisted from crying as she looked at Toby. ¡°Even though it¡¯s snowing


    heavily outside, you went out and bought this for me. Are you crazy, Toby?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not crazy. I clearly know what I am doing,¡± he replied in a serious tone while staring into Sonia¡¯s


    eyes.


    His words were like a pang of guilt in her heart. She blinked her eyes with such fury, as if she wanted to


    chase her tears away before she chastised, ¡°Since you know what you¡¯re doing, then you should know


    that you haven¡¯t made a full recovery yet. If you run around in the cold like that, what if something


    happens to you? How would I feel? How would those who care about you feel?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t happen. I know my limits, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Toby¡¯s gaze was gentle as he reassured her with a


    small smile.


    Sonia didn¡¯t reply, but the corners of her lips twitched a little. Damn, this guy has never thought about


    how he could get frostbite, she thought.


    After briefly squeezing her eyes shut to calm herself, she asked earnestly, ¡°Toby, was it truly worth it to


    do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded without any hesitation. ¡°I would do anything for you.¡±


    When she heard those words, Sonia was finally unable to control herself as tears swam in her eyes and


    she choked up while clutching the crystal ball in her hands for dear life. ¡°Idiot! You¡¯re really an idiot!¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy, I don¡¯t mind being an idiot.¡± Moments after saying that, Toby threw the nket


    aside and grabbed a tissue from the coffee table to wipe her tears away. ¡°Are you really so easily moved


    to tears by me?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s cheeks immediately turned a bright red as she quickly swatted his hands away. ¡°I¡¯m not crying! A


    strand of eysh merely fell into my eye. Don¡¯t make things up.¡±


    Heughed under his breath. ¡°Okay, okay. A strand of eysh fell into your eye. Have you gotten it out


    yet? Otherwise, I¡¯ll help you to do so.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve already gotten it out.¡± Sonia snatched the tissue from him and dabbed her eyes, before


    looking at him with her red eyes, as if to say, Look, my eyes are alright now.


    Toby smirked. Then, his gaze dropped to the crystal ball in her hands. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Do you like it?¡±


    As she followed his gaze, she lowered her head to look at the item as well.


    As she was no longer shaking the crystal ball, the snowkes had stopped fluttering and it settled at the


    bottom.


    Even so, the luminescent snowkes were still blinding.


    Sonia sped the item as the corners of her mouth slightly curved upward. ¡°Yes, I do. It¡¯s beautiful.¡±


    She had always loved the snow, so it was only natural that she would take a liking to the unmelting,


    bright snow in the crystal ball.


    At her words, Toby¡¯s tense expression rxed. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    When he had decided to make this purchase, he was afraid that Sonia wouldn¡¯t take a fancy to it as it


    wasn¡¯t the real snow. However, now that he saw her smiling, it had dissipated all of his worries.


    ¡°How did you suddenly think of buying me this, though?¡± Sonia asked while pouring him a cup of hot


    water.


    Toby answered as he took the cup from her, ¡°You said that you like snow, but it doesn¡¯t snow every year


    in Seafield, so I could onlye up with a solution myself. After a quick search on the Inte, I found


    out that the best way to see snow as soon as possible is to buy an ornament like this.¡±


    If it weren¡¯t for his physical restrictions, he would even be willing to spend more physical and financial


    resources to gift her with man made snow.


    ¡°I see.¡± She nodded before she looked at him and responded in a sincere voice, ¡°Toby, thank you for


    doing this for me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal,¡± Toby acknowledged as he drank the hot water. ¡°I decided to buy this crystal ball on a


    whim. It wasn¡¯t expensive and it¡¯s not made of real crystals either. Next time, I¡¯ll give you a real one.¡±


    Sonia declined with the shake of her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯m fine with this. I like it a lot.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel hurt?¡± Toby asked, looking at her.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at his question. ¡°Why would I? As long as it¡¯s a heartfelt gift, I wouldn¡¯t feel hurt


    even if it¡¯s just a card. Besides, if it¡¯s not heartfelt, even if it was worth millions, I wouldn¡¯t feel happy


    either. That¡¯s why this crystal ball is perfect. Even though it¡¯s not worth much, it¡¯s priceless to me.¡±


    He swelled with happiness upon seeing how much she had treasured his gift as it showed how much she


    treasured him at that moment. It was because she treasured him that she had treasured his gift as well.


    ¡°All right, it¡¯s gettingte, so I¡¯ll take my leave and you should get some rest.¡± After a nce at his


    wristwatch, Toby set down his cup and prepared to leave.


    However, Sonia suddenly went to stand in front of him and blocked the way. She looked away and


    stammered in a trembling voice, ¡°W-Why? As you said yourself, it¡¯s gettingte and it¡¯s freezing outside.


    Besides, your hair is all wet. You shouldn¡¯t leave tonight. Just rest here.¡±


    At her words, his pupils dted as his voice turned hoarse. ¡°Sonia, do you know what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    She blushed. Not only did she avert her gaze, shepletely turned her head away because she was


    afraid to look at him. ¡°I know. As a thank you for the crystal ball, I¡¯ll take you in for a night. Don¡¯t think


    much of it, though. You¡¯re just sleeping on the couch. Do you think I¡¯d let you sleep on the bed?¡±


    Upon saying that, she turned around to walk toward her room.


    As Toby watched Sonia¡¯s figure retreating anxiously, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    Soon after, Sonia reappeared from her room with a white bathrobe in her hands.

 Chapter 583

    Chapter 583


    Chapter 583 Midnight Intruder


    Sonia tossed the bathrobe onto Toby and said, ¡°This is something that I bought online a while ago, but


    it¡¯s too big for me. So, you can wear it. Even though it might be a little small for you, it¡¯s just for a night,


    so you¡¯ll just have to make do.¡±


    As Toby caught the bathrobe, he answered, ¡°All right.¡±


    ¡°Go and take a shower and quickly dry your hair before you catch a cold.¡± While she said that, she


    pointed in the direction of the bathroom.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be going then.¡± With a nod, he left for the bathroom with the bathrobe in his hands.


    After he left, she didn¡¯t stay in the living room either. Instead, she went to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of


    ginger soup for him.


    No matter what, she could not let him catch a cold after he had given her the crystal ball.


    After slicing the ginger, Sonia turned on the stove and began to make the soup.


    Once she was done, she took the bowl of soup back to the living room.


    When she noticed that Toby still hadn¡¯t emerged from the bathroom, Sonia ced the bowl of ginger


    soup on the coffee table. Then, she sat down and picked up the crystal ball once more.


    As she caressed the crystal ball, she didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°What an idiot. Who in their


    right frame of mind would go out in the heavy snow at night just to buy this thing, except for you?¡±


    After that, Sonia returned the crystal ball into its box and walked to her room where she ced the box


    on her nightstand. Then, she opened the box once again to reveal the crystal ball inside.


    Soon after, she kept away the swan decoration that was originally on the nightstand.


    Without therge swan decoration upying the space, the nightstand looked empty and in with only


    the small crystal ball on top of it.


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t think that it looked ugly. At that moment, to her, there was no other decoration that


    couldpare to the crystal ball.


    At this time, she heard a noiseing from the living room.


    When she realized that Toby had finished showering, Sonia hurriedly walked out of her room. However,


    she couldn¡¯t help but let out augh at the sight of him standing by the couch and drying his hair in her


    bathrobe.


    The bathrobe was way too small for him, so it was stretched tautly around his body and made him look


    somewhatical.


    Even so, the bathrobe had its good points, at least¡ªit entuated Toby¡¯s good figure.


    Toby clearly knew what Sonia wasughing about, but he merely raised an eyebrow and didn¡¯t stop her


    fromughing further.


    After all, he admitted that he looked rather silly at the moment.


    Therefore, she couldugh as much as she wanted to. He wouldn¡¯t mind it as long as she was happy.


    However, Sonia had onlyughed for a short while before sheposed herself.


    She was still aware that everyone had their self-esteem. An asionalugh was fine, but if she had


    continued tough at him, it would be disrespectful.


    Sonia lightly cleared her throat with a cough before she pointed at the bowl of soup on the coffee table. ¡°I


    specially made that soup for you. Drink it.¡±


    It was only at that moment when Toby realized the bowl of soup on the table. For a moment, a look of


    surprise shed past his eyes before tenderness reced that emotion. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll drink it.¡±


    He tossed the towel onto the hand rest of the couch and sat down, thereafter picking up the bowl of


    ginger soup to down it in one go.


    Moments after he had finished drinking the soup, Sonia threw a hairdryer at him this time and said, ¡°Sit


    here and dry your hair. I¡¯ll prepare the bed for you.¡±


    Toby obediently did as he was told; he stood up to walk toward the opposite armchair before taking a


    seat there.


    On the other hand, Sonia went in front of the chaise lounge and started to feel around the bottom. Once


    she had found a rod, she forcibly pulled it outward.


    Then, he watched as she yanked anotheryer from under the sofa. As she lifted the sofa up, the


    exposedyer was in alignment with the original sofa seat.


    And just like that, the sofa was now arge bed.


    Toby slightly raised his brow in surprise. It was his first time learning that the couch had a function like


    this.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and get you a nket.¡± After Sonia finished locking the sofa into position, she turned and returned


    to her room where she fiddled around her closet for two nkets and a pillow before she ced them on


    the sofa.


    ¡°All right, I¡¯m done. I won¡¯t turn off the heater at night, so you won¡¯t be cold when you sleep here.¡± When


    she saw thepleted sofa bed, Sonia pped her hands and turned toward Toby drying his hair.


    As he nced at the sofa bed, his eyes shed briefly before he hummed in reply.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be heading to rest first. Go to bed once you¡¯re done with drying your hair,¡± she reminded him.


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°All right. Goodnight.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight,¡± Sonia replied before she walked toward her room.


    When Sonia returned to her room, she shut the door and threw aside the covers to settle into bed. Then,


    she took the crystal ball by her nightstand and shook it as hard as she could twice and returned it to its


    box before turning off the lights and lying down on her bed.


    Now that she had tucked herself in, she turned to face the crystal ball and discovered that it was brightly


    glowing whereby the floating snowkes within could be seen.


    She had only been wondering a moment ago whether this particr crystal ball could glow in the dark


    like many others.


    After giving it a test, she never expected that the item could really glow in the dark.


    Sonia turned around and stared at the crystal ball, a faint smile on her lips.


    A whileter, when the snowkes had stopped fluttering and settled at the bottom of the crystal ball


    once again, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


    Half an hour after she had fallen asleepter, someone had suddenly pushed open her bedroom door. A


    tall figure then appeared at the doorway and silhouetted by the moonlight.


    The person didn¡¯t remain in ce, but instead directly entered the room. Now that the stranger was in


    the room, the door was gently closed again as the person was careful not to make a single sound the


    entire time.


    Once the door was closed, the stranger immediately turned to head for the bed. Upon reaching the head


    of the bed, the person turned right and walked forward before taking another right turn a few stepster


    to arrive at the other end of the bed. Then, after lifting the covers, the strangery down and stretched


    their arm to wlessly embrace the woman on the bed by her waist.


    The figure was none other than Toby.


    For the entire time that he was outside, he had not fallen asleep on purpose.


    As the woman he loved was just a wall away, he was clearly not nning on sleeping alone.


    Thus, he had waited outside until it felt like the right time toe in.


    Toby pulled Sonia into his arms, making sure that her back was almost fully pressed against his chest.


    He lifted his head to nt a gentle kiss on her face before resting his head on the pillow again.


    ¡°Goodnight,¡± he whispered before closing his eyes in satisfaction and falling asleep.


    Even so, as soon as dawn broke the next morning, Toby opened his eyes and looked at the woman in


    his arms.


    When he noticed that Sonia wasn¡¯t going to wake up anytime soon, he removed his hands that were


    wrapped around her waist. Then, he lifted the nket and quietly got off the bed to leave the room


    without making a single sound. Once he had returned to the living room, hey down on the sofa bed


    once more and returned to sleep as though nothing had happened.


    However, perhaps it was because his beloved was not by his side, Toby was unable to fall asleep. After


    closing his eyes for a moment, he sat upright and grabbed his phone to make a phone call.


    ¡°Who¡¯s calling this early in the morning?¡± From the other end of the phone, Tom¡¯s groggy and impatient


    voice could be heard.


    Toby¡¯s beautiful eyes squinted as he replied in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s me, Toby.¡±


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°Toby?¡± Tom frowned, wondering why the name had sounded so familiar.


    A secondter, when he returned to his senses, his eyes instantly opened as he sat up on his bed. He


    was no longer drowsy and his mind was as clear as it could ever be. After wearing his sses, he let out


    a simperingugh. ¡°Oh, so it is you, President Fuller. Is there anything you need this early in the


    morning?¡±


    Damn, he¡¯s infuriating the life out of me. In the past. Toby used to ring Tom in the middle of the night with


    his orders. It was something that Tom had tried to tolerate, but now, Toby had evolved into torturing him


    even before sunrise. President Fuller is truly a demon.


    ¡°Bring me a set of clothes and breakfast to Bayside Residence at 8:00AM.¡± Toby nced at his


    wristwatch and ordered in a cool tone.


    A stunned Tom echoed, ¡°Bayside Residence?¡±


    Toby hummed in agreement. ¡°Don¡¯t bete.¡±


    After saying that, he hung up.

 Chapter 584

    Chapter 584


    Chapter 584 Going Mad With Shame and Fury


    On the other line of the phone was Tom, who was in a daze as he sat on the bed for a moment before he


    returned to his senses and eximed, No way. Did President Fuller actually spend the night at Miss


    Reed¡¯s housest night? Does that mean they¡¯re back together again?


    If that was the case, it would be a good thing.


    As he threw his covers aside, Tom got out of bed and hurriedly prepared to head to work.


    An hourter, he arrived at Bayside Residence.


    The door was opened by Toby, who was still in his bathrobe.


    At first, Tom was taken aback by Toby¡¯s attire. However, he couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing.


    ¡°President Fuller, you¡­¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression suddenly fell at Tom¡¯s reaction. A deadly aura emanated from him as he red


    daggers at Tom. ¡°Is thisical?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not at all!¡± When he saw Toby¡¯s anger, Tom¡¯sughter quickly stopped as he straightened his


    posture with a solemn shake of his head.


    Toby dangerously narrowed his eyes. ¡°If I hear youugh again, I¡¯ll transfer you to Africa as a


    supervisor.¡±


    After saying that, he snatched the two bags that Tom carried and turned to enter the house.


    He was aware that his attire would make peopleugh, but not everyone could do so.


    If anyone other than Sonia dared tough at him, he wouldn¡¯t hold back.


    Tom, who still stood outside the door, was frightened at the prospect of being transferred to Africa. He


    hurriedly chased after Toby and as he trailed behind, he apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller, I was in


    the wrong. I won¡¯t do it anymore.¡±


    Toby suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to berate Tom, ¡°Lower your voice!¡±


    After he heard Toby¡¯s response, Tom instantly realized something. Shooting a nce at Sonia¡¯s door, he


    nodded profusely before replying in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller, I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut up.¡±


    It was only then that Toby withdrew his gaze and continued to walk forward. When he reached the sofa,


    he ced the bag of breakfast on the coffee table before he carried the other bag containing his clothes


    toward the bathroom.


    Shortly after that, he finished changing his attire and emerged in a luxurious handmade suit. In an


    instant, he was back to his appearance as an elite president.


    As he tossed the bag that contained his clothes from the previous night to Tom, Toby ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, aren¡¯t you going to wait for Miss Reed toe out and have breakfast with you?¡± As


    he said that, Tom pointed toward Sonia¡¯s bedroom.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No, I received a call when I was in the bathroom. There¡¯s an extremely important


    meeting that needs to be held immediately, so I won¡¯t wait for her. Besides, it¡¯s the weekend. I¡¯ll let her


    rest for a little longer.¡±


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    ¡°Yes,.¡± Tom responded and said nothing more.


    After that, Toby walked to the sofa and prepared to fold the nkets.


    Upon seeing this, Tom hurried over. ¡°President Fuller, let me do it instead.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± Toby refused as he swatted his assistant¡¯s hand away while his eyes shed with


    warning. This nket belongs to Sonia. How can I allow it to be contaminated with the hands of other


    men?


    At Toby¡¯s frigid re, Tom passively withdrew his hand and returned to his previous position where he


    acted as though he wasn¡¯t there.


    It was only then did Toby start folding the quilt.


    However, as he had never done anything like this before, his movements were extremely rusty and slow.


    Fortunately, he had managed to do so little by little. He was tugging at the corners in one moment


    whereas he was patting the nket in the next minute, which gave a satisfactory result in the end.


    Looking at his masterpiece, Toby pped his hands in satisfaction and turned to Tom next to him while


    asking, ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡± Upon saying that, Tom gave an affirming thumbs up.


    At Tom¡¯s words, Toby¡¯s thin lips curled upward. ¡°Then, do you think that she¡¯ll have the same thought


    when she wakes up and sees this folded nket?¡±


    Without any hesitation, Tom nodded and replied, ¡°She definitely will.¡±


    To be honest, he didn¡¯t know how Miss Reed would feel.


    He only knew that if he answered no, Toby would definitely shoot daggers at him.


    ¡°That¡¯s it; let¡¯s go.¡± With that, Toby raised his chin and strode toward the entrance with Tom following


    behind in a hurry.


    Soon, the living room fell into silence once more. It was not until half an hourter that a door opened


    followed by movement in the living room again.


    It was Sonia yawning as she came out of her room in her pajamas. Her hair was messy and her eyes


    were barely open as she walked listlessly to the bathroom, as though she was still half asleep.


    When she arrived in front of the vanity mirror, she closed her eyes and felt blindly for her toothpaste and


    toothbrush as usual.


    However, when Sonia came into contact with the ce where she usually kept her toothbrush, she felt


    an extra cup there. In an instant, she snapped awake and quickly opened her eyes to have a look, only


    to see that there was indeed an extra cup. Moreover, it was a ck men¡¯s cup that held a toothbrush and


    a razor for men. It was only at that moment when she remembered that Toby had spent the night with her


    last night.


    Does that mean he saw how she had looked like when she emerged from her room moments ago?


    At that thought, Sonia looked at her reflection in the mirror. When she saw how she looked like after


    waking up and before dressing up, she anxiously gritted her teeth.


    As she had been busy in the past few days, she did not get much rest, which caused her to look


    extremely haggard after removing her makeup. Besides, her skin had already lost its shine.


    Would he think that she was ugly when he saw her like this?


    A perturbed Sonia ced her hand on her chest.


    With this gesture, she remembered another important thing, which was that she didn¡¯t wear any


    underwear to bed!


    When she woke up in the morning, she walked out without changing her clothes. In that case, did Toby


    see her nude?


    Instantly, Sonia¡¯s face flushed and she covered her face with her hands. She was so ashamed and angry


    that she didn¡¯t want to live anymore. Seriously, how could I have forgotten something as important as


    Toby staying overnight? He¡¯s seen everything that he shouldn¡¯t see.


    Sonia looked at her reflection in the mirror and noticed that she had an embarrassed smile.


    However, she soon made peace with the fact after a while.


    Since Toby had already seen everything that he shouldn¡¯t have, there was nothing she could do but


    calmly face reality.


    After all, she couldn¡¯t just end her life over something as petty as this, could she?


    With that in mind, Sonia lowered her hand from her face and turned on the cold water. She filled her


    palm with a little water and sshed it onto her face, trying to lower the temperature on her cheeks.


    Once her face was no longer hot and red, she took a deep breath and started to brush her teeth and


    wash up.


    The moment that she was done, Sonia turned around and walked toward the bathroom door. When she


    came to the door, she grabbed the handle, but did not immediately open the door. Instead, she took a


    deep breath and mentally prepared herself. It was a momentter when she turned the doorknob and


    exited the bathroom while keeping her gaze on the couch in the living room.


    Sonia thought she would be met with Toby¡¯s eyes that faintly smiled, but unexpectedly, what she saw


    wasn¡¯t Toby, but merely the empty sofa.


    The sofa has already been restored to its previous state whereas the nket had also been neatly folded


    into a rectangle and ced in the middle of the couch.


    Upon seeing this, she couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. What¡¯s going on? Where is Toby?


    She quickly craned her neck and looked everywhere for any trace of him.


    However, after looking around her apartment, it was quiet, as though no one else was there except for


    her.


    In other words, Toby could have already left!


    If that was the case, when did he leave?


    Sonia pursed her red lips before she turned to head to her room and took her cell phone. As soon as she


    switched it on, she saw several messages popping up, all of which were sent by Toby.


    She quickly clicked to read the messages.


    One of them read, ¡®Sonia, something urgent came up at thepany, so I¡¯ve made a move first. Tom


    bought breakfast and left it on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Remember to eat. See you in the


    evening!¡¯


    It turned out that Toby had really left, and based on the time the message was sent, it was about half an


    hour ago.


    Meanwhile, she was still asleep at that time.


    After Sonia replied to Toby¡¯s message, she kept her mobile phone away as the corner of her lips twitched


    with slight embarrassment.

 Chapter 585

    Chapter 585


    Chapter 585 Everyone Had Other ns


    However, Sonia probably felt happier more than anything else. After all, Toby didn¡¯t end up seeing her


    haggard and without her underwear.


    ¡°What a relief!¡± When Sonia thought about it, she smiled as she touched her face. She kept her mobile


    phone away and left the room, after which she looked at the coffee table in front of the sofa. Sure


    enough, there was a bag with beautiful packaging ced on top of it and it happened to be from the


    Royal Restaurant.


    Royal Restaurant was the most famous restaurant with the best reputation in the entire Seafield. Rumor


    even had it that their head chef¡¯s dishes were also served at the state banquets as well. Thus, the dishes


    offered by the Royal Restaurant were exquisite. However, because Sonia didn¡¯t have a high status, she


    couldn¡¯t be a member and visit the restaurant; hence, she had never sampled their dishes.


    However, thanks to Toby, she was finally able to have a taste today.


    As she walked over, she took the bag and went to the dining table. The moment she opened the bag, a


    mouth-watering aroma wafted out in an instant. She couldn¡¯t resist gulping at the appetizing smell and


    hurried to open the takeout boxes of food inside.


    The breakfast the Royal Restaurant had prepared was rich and hearty since it consisted of dumplings,


    sausages, seafood chowder and so on. However, the servings were too much for a single person and


    she couldn¡¯t finish all of it on her own.


    Besides, Sonia suspected that this breakfast was not just for her alone and that Toby had included his


    share as well. It was only because he had to suddenly leave to attend to an emergency that all of the


    food became hers. In a way, she felt that she was indirectly taking advantage of Toby.


    While shaking her head with a smile, Sonia picked up her utensils and began to enjoy her meal.


    On the other hand, over at the Fuller Group, Toby walked out of the conference room immediately after


    the meeting ended. Behind him was Tom, who stepped forward with Toby¡¯s mobile phone and reported,


    ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed has woken up and has texted you.¡±


    When Toby heard that, his eyes shed with excitement. ¡°Give it to me,¡± he demanded.


    Once his phone was in his hands, he saw Sonia¡¯s text message on the screen as he had expected. His


    thin lips curled upward as he clicked to check the message and saw three short words¡ª¡®See you


    tonight!¡¯


    However, for Toby, it was more than enough to make him happy, because the contents of Sonia¡¯s


    message illustrated that she was looking forward to meeting himter that night as well.


    As he kept his mobile phone away, he started to walk to the office with Tom trailing behind him.


    ¡°President Fuller, when you had your meeting, there was also news from Young Master Tyler,¡± Tom


    continued.


    ¡°What kind of news?¡± Toby asked without stopping in his tracks and continued to walk forward. Judging


    from Tom¡¯s calm and unhurried tone, it probably wasn¡¯t something important, so naturally, Toby didn¡¯t


    need to worry much either.


    ¡°Young Master Tyler called to inform us that the U17 Basketball Cup will be having their finals soon. He


    wants you and Old Mrs. Fuller to personally watch the game abroad and cheer for him there,¡± Tom


    replied dutifully.


    Toby raised his eyebrow at Tom¡¯s words before echoing, ¡°Cheer for him there? Bold of him to bring that


    up.¡±


    Tomughed. ¡°Well, he¡¯s a teenager, after all. It¡¯s not a surprise that he likes his family¡¯s


    encouragement.¡±


    ¡°When is the final?¡± While Toby asked that, he pushed the door to his office open and entered.


    Tom followed behind while replying, ¡°In a fortnight¡¯s time. It happens to be the first day of the next month


    as well.¡±


    Toby lifted his chin slightly as he instructed, ¡°Tell Tyler that if I¡¯m free that day, I will head over. If I¡¯m not,


    Grandma will go instead.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡± Tom nodded in response.


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    Toby pulled his chair over and sat on it before he continued, ¡°By the way, is there still no news on


    Den?¡±


    ¡°Carl has hidden Den¡¯s whereabouts too well.¡± Tom sighed. ¡°Our hackers couldn¡¯t even find a trace. I


    think Carl may have captured Den and Den could have been locked up in a ce where all


    precision electronics are isted, so none of our hackers can locate him.¡±


    At Tom¡¯s words, Toby¡¯s expression sank. ¡°He is quite good at hiding people.¡±


    ¡°That is true,¡± a troubled Tom agreed.


    Carl was one step ahead of them at finding Den¡¯s whereabouts and had even sent someone over


    before they could even do it. Therefore, it was a definite thing that Carl had caught Den and stowed


    him away; otherwise, they would¡¯ve been able to trace Den.


    ¡°Is Carl still in the capital?¡± Toby asked, tapping his finger on the table.


    Tom pushed his sses down and answered, ¡°Yes. In addition to Den, the Hayes Family has other


    illegitimate children as well. During the time that he¡¯s been back there, Carl has also been dealing with


    those illegitimate children too.¡±


    ¡°After so long, he still can¡¯t even take care of a few illegitimate children, even though that¡¯s his only


    ability,¡± Toby scoffed contemptuously.


    ¡°It¡¯s none other than Carl¡¯s fault that he didn¡¯t go back to gain power earlier. Because of that, he has to


    fight even harder now. However, he has a cruel and ruthless personality as well as being more merciless


    than before. I believe that after time passes, Carl will eventually deal with these illegitimate children.¡±


    ¡°In other words, Carl has no time to leave the capital now to deal with Den, right?¡± Toby suggested, a


    dark glint shing in his eyes.


    ¡°Yes. At the same time, Carl is afraid to bring Den over since we will discover Den as soon as he¡¯s


    transferred. He doesn¡¯t want us to locate Den because he wants to win Miss Reed¡¯s favor by taking


    care of Den himself.¡±


    ¡°Huh, do you think I¡¯ll let him have that opportunity?¡± Toby sneered. ¡°Find a way to lure Den¡¯s people


    who are abroad. As long as I capture one of them, I don¡¯t believe that we can¡¯t locate Den¡¯s


    whereabouts. I¡¯m the only one who can deal with Den!¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Tom nodded in response.


    At that, Toby waved his hand dismissively. ¡°You may leave now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡±


    When Tom left, Toby massaged his brows before he picked up the pen to begin processing the


    documents. After being busy for the entire day, it was soon evening.


    Seeing that it was already five o¡¯clock in the evening, Toby switched off theputer and stood up.


    Then, he draped his jacket over his arm and strode out of the office toward the elevator.


    In the main office next door, the secretaries and assistants were surprised when they saw Toby walking


    in a rush.


    ¡°Oh my God! It¡¯s only five o¡¯clock and President Fuller is already leaving before it¡¯s time to get off work? ¡±


    ¡°I was thinking the same as well. President Fuller is known to be a workaholic who never leaves early


    and is neverte to work either. It¡¯s truly eye-opening to see him leave earlier today.¡±


    ¡°Maybe something urgent came up?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It looks like a happy asion.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The secretary who suggested that it was a happy asion for Toby was stirring a cup of coffee with an


    inscrutable expression as she borated, ¡°Didn¡¯t you pay attention to President Fuller¡¯s expression


    earlier? When people are going to meet their loved ones, they¡¯ll look eager, excited, and happy. That¡¯s


    how my boyfriend looks when hees to visit me anyway, which is why I think that President Fuller is


    definitely going to meet someone he likes.¡±


    Someone curiously piped up. ¡°Someone he likes? Who is it? Didn¡¯t President Fuller like the girl from the


    Gray Family before? Did he quickly move on to someone else?¡±


    ¡°Wow, so he¡¯s a bit of a yboy.¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby had no idea that his early departure would stir such a lively discussion between his


    secretaries and assistants. As he drove to Bayside Residence, he called Sonia.


    At that moment, Sonia was sitting by her dressing table to apply her makeup. When she heard her phone


    ringing, she picked it up to have a look and saw that it was Toby calling her. Then, a smile appeared on


    her face as she answered, ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Are you ready? I¡¯m here to pick you up.¡± Toby¡¯s deep and pleasant voice came from the other end of the


    line.


    Sonia cradled her phone with her shoulder in order to use both her hands to draw her eyeliner. ¡°I¡¯m


    almost ready. You cane now.¡±


    She was almost finished with her makeup and only needed to change her clothes¡ªit would take her ten


    minutes at most.


    He hummed in response. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be there soon and I¡¯ll send you a text message when I arrive.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Sonia replied.


    After she hung up, she ced her phone in front of the mirror and quickly applied her makeup. She was


    done with her makeup a short whileter. Then, she looked at her dolled up reflection in the mirror and


    broke into a smile.


    Good. I can¡¯t see any hint of exhaustion at all.


    With that in mind, a satisfied Sonia stood up and went to look for her clothes. Once she was done


    changing her clothes and left her room, Toby sent a text message at the same time.

 Chapter 586

    Chapter 586


    Chapter 586 Old Mrs Fuller¡¯s Joke


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    Z-H: ¡®I¡¯m downstairs.¡¯


    After seeing this text message, Sonia began walking to the balcony from the living room. She stood on


    the balcony and looked down from the railing, only to see a familiar Maybach parked on the roadside by


    the building, looking all distinguished and conspicuous.


    Toby wasn¡¯t sitting in the car, but he was leaning against the door of the driver¡¯s side and looking down at


    his cell phone. As if he had sensed something, he suddenly lowered his phone and raised his head to


    meet Sonia¡¯s gaze. Toby was so surprised by her sight that he raised an eyebrow before lifting his hand


    to wave at her.


    Sonia was taken aback for a moment as she didn¡¯t expect him to notice her presence, but after she was


    stunned for a while, she raised her hand and waved back at him.


    ¡°Quicklye down!¡± Toby shouted.


    Sonia nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be there right away!¡±


    After saying that, she turned to leave the balcony.


    Five minutester, she walked to Toby in her high heels with her purse on her shoulder. However,


    because she was walking extremely fast and coupled with the fact that the ground was slippery due to


    the fresh snow, Sonia lost her footing and tripped before she stumbled forward. Coincidentally, Toby was


    right in front of her.


    Even though Toby saw that Sonia was about to fall, not only was his expression clear of any nerves or


    worry, he insteadughed and spread his right arm unhurriedly, preparing to catch her. In the end, he


    managed to do so.


    Sonia crashed directly into Toby¡¯s arms. He circled his right arm around her before firmly wrapping her in


    his chest as he looked down at her to softly say, ¡°Walk slower next time.¡±


    She blushed and withdrew from his arms in embarrassment. ¡°I know. Thank you for that.¡±


    ¡°Alright, get in the car.¡± As he said, he opened the car door and motioned for her to enter.


    She didn¡¯t act in a pretentious manner either. After throwing the things in her hand onto the back seat,


    she bent over and entered the passenger¡¯s seat.


    Toby looked at what she had thrown onto the back seat and asked, ¡°What are those?¡±


    ¡°Gifts for Grandma. They are things suitable for the elderly, like massagers and whatnot,¡± Sonia replied


    as she fastened her seatbelt.


    He nodded and closed the car door for her before walking to the driver¡¯s seat.


    While they were on their way, Sonia hesitated several times before she finally couldn¡¯t help but pipe up,


    ¡°Toby.¡±


    ¡°Yup?¡± Toby nced at her and asked gently, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Why did Grandma ask you to call me over for dinner?¡± Sonia queried as she propped her head up.


    He shook his head slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but Grandma sounded serious at that time, so she


    probably has something to tell you. She made sure that I will bring you to her.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± She raised her chin and didn¡¯t probe any further.


    A little over an hourter, they arrived at the Fuller Family¡¯s old manor.


    After Toby parked the car, Sonia unfastened her seat belt and turned to take the bags from the back


    seat. Then, she opened the door to get out of the car.


    He approached her and stretched his hand out while saying, ¡°I¡¯ll carry those for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, they¡¯re not heavy anyway,¡± Sonia rejected his offer with a shake of her head. ¡°Anyway, you


    only have one working arm. If I let you hold my things, wouldn¡¯t that be considered bullying?¡±


    ¡°How does that count as bullying?¡± At this moment, an elderly but kind voice probed behind her.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes brightened and she quickly turned around. ¡°Grandma!¡±


    Rose, who was being supported by Mary, smiled at Sonia. ¡°Sonia, I haven¡¯t seen you in a while and


    you¡¯ve be more beautiful. Your makeup today is pleasant as well. Even though it¡¯s different from


    your usual style, this suits you more. Your makeup before was too dramatic and it made you look


    unapproachable. This style is the best; you look so gentle and lovely.¡±


    Sonia was both shy and a little guilty when she heard Rosepliment her makeup, as she had


    deliberately chosen this style of makeup to appear more desirable to men. In the afternoon, when she


    was in bed watching videos, she happened toe across the makeup tutorial for this look. When she


    saw that it was supposedly a look that was irresistible to men, she impulsively tried to put the makeup on


    herself.


    ¡°You¡¯re right; it¡¯s not bad.¡± Toby nodded in agreement after he nced at Sonia.


    When she came downstairs and walked toward him about an hour ago, he had already noticed that she


    had a different makeup. She is more beautiful today!


    Sonia¡¯s ears reddened as she red at him before saying to Rose, ¡°My makeup is usually more dramatic


    because I want to look more imposing at work and intimidate my staff. However, I don¡¯t have to do that


    today. I¡¯m here to see you today, Grandma, so I opted for a softer look.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s how it is. This makeup is good. If I were younger, I would have asked you to apply this


    makeup style on me as well,¡± Rose kindly responded as she held Sonia¡¯s hand.


    Toby looked at Rose and asked, ¡°Grandma, why did you and Marye out in this freezing weather?¡±


    Sonia also nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, Grandma.¡±


    Mary replied while supporting Rose, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller learned from the guards at the bottom of the


    mountain that you and Young Mis¡­ both you and Miss Reed have arrived, so she specially asked me to


    guide her as she wants toe and greet you. Old Mrs. Fuller wanted to see you as soon as possible, I


    suppose.¡±


    Toby frowned in disapproval. ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, Grandma, you shouldn¡¯te out at all next time.


    What if you fall?¡±


    Now that Rose was in her old age, the consequences would be dire if she fell.


    Sonia hurriedly seconded Toby¡¯s words. ¡°Toby is right; it¡¯s freezing cold and it even snowedst night,


    which is why the road is slippery. You could easily get hurt. Mary, don¡¯t always let Grandma do as she


    wishes.¡± She threw a look at Mary standing beside Rose.


    Mary nodded profusely. ¡°I understand, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll try to persuade Old Mrs. Fuller in the future.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear then.¡± Sonia smiled.


    Although two of Rose¡¯s younger rtives were deterring Rose from leaving the house, not only was


    Rose not angry, she even grinned andmented, ¡°Mary, don¡¯t you think that Toby and Sonia look like a


    married couple when they¡¯re singing the same tune like this?¡±


    When Mary heard this, her lips curled upward as well. ¡°Of course they do. How could they not be? It¡¯s not


    an exaggeration to say that the two of them resemble a young, married couple right now.¡±


    As Toby listened to the cheerful conversation between the two elders, he only raised an eyebrow and


    maintained his silence. If Grandma and Mary are saying that Sonia and I are like a married couple, why


    should I speak up? Am I supposed to speak up and deny the fact? That will never happen!


    On the other hand, Sonia had no idea what he thought as she looked at Rose and Mary in


    embarrassment while saying, ¡°Grandma, Mary, stop teasing me.¡±


    Sonia and Toby were already divorced, so it was embarrassing for her to hear others forcibly addressing


    them as a married couple.


    Rose looked at Sonia¡¯s flushed face and knew that Sonia was rather ufortable. Rose then waved


    her hand while apologizing, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonia. I was pulling your leg. Don¡¯t be angry with me.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not.¡± Sonia shook her head.


    Toby looked at his watch and interrupted, ¡°All right, we should stop standing around. Let¡¯s head in.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, Toby just reminded me about it. Let¡¯s go in. Sonia, you¡¯re hungry too, aren¡¯t you?¡± Rose


    asked.


    Sonia smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m alright. I¡¯m not very hungry.¡±


    ¡°That still means that you¡¯re hungry, so let¡¯s go in and tell the chefs to start cooking. Sonia, why don¡¯t you


    give Toby the things in your hand and let him carry them? He¡¯s a man; even though he only has one


    good arm, it doesn¡¯t mean that he can¡¯t carry anything with that arm. So, you can just rx and pass him


    your things. You can¡¯t treat him like a baby, do you understand?¡± Rose reprimanded with a stern


    expression.


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched as she looked at Toby beside her, not knowing whether she


    shouldugh or cry. ¡°Grandma, you must be joking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious. You¡¯ll know what I mean next time. Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± Rose patted Mary on the back of


    Mary¡¯s hand and motioned to Mary to help her into the house.


    However, Toby and Sonia were still standing in ce and did not follow their lead.


    ¡°Now that you heard what Grandma said earlier, can you pass me the things now?¡± Toby asked as he


    stretched his hand out.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± She gave him the bags in her hand.


    Toby took the bags from her and added, ¡°Let¡¯s go. When we pass by the garden in a while, hold my arm.¡±


    A suspicious Sonia looked at him. ¡°Why?¡±

 Chapter 587

    Chapter 587


    Chapter 587 Repave the Pathway


    ¡°Have you forgotten about the type of pathway paved in the garden?¡± Toby lowered his head to look at


    Sonia¡¯s 4-inch heels.


    Realization hit Sonia after Toby¡¯s question, so she moved her heels and hummed softly, ¡°Fine.¡±


    That part of the garden was a reflexology pathway made out of cobblestone. No doubt, it was tough for


    Sonia to walk on that pathway in her heels, as she could easily trip and fall. Hence, she needed to hold


    on to Toby indeed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wear shoes with such high heels in the future. What if you sprained your ankle?¡± Toby pursed his


    lips and said in disapproval.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia red at him. ¡°Make me.¡±


    ¡°I was just worried about you, that¡¯s all.¡± Toby frowned, but she didn¡¯t look at him and lowered her gaze


    instead. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±


    With that, she made her way toward the door first.


    Looking at Sonia¡¯s back, Toby shook his head resignedly and followed after her. When they arrived at the


    garden, Sonia halted her tracks. Then, she turned around and waited for the man behind her.


    The man came over quickly, and he slung the handles of the bags to the crook of his arm. After that, he


    reached out his hand to her. ¡°Give me your hand.¡±


    Initially, Sonia tried to tell Toby that it was enough for her to hold his arm. But those words did not


    manage to leave her lips when her gaze shifted to look at all the things hanging around his arm. So, she


    ended up holding his hand.


    Toby gripped her hand and took her to walk on the reflexology pathway. He walked rather slowly so that


    Sonia could keep up with his pace.


    Meanwhile, at a waterside pavilion located not far away from where Toby and Sonia were, both Rose and


    Mary stood in front of the window and happened to witness their movements clearly.


    As cheerful as ark, Mary eximed, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, it seems to me that the rtionship between


    Young Master Toby and Young Mistress is slowly reigniting. Young Mistress looks like she has started to


    ept Toby.¡±


    Agreeing with Mary, Rose nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. It looks like Sonia¡¯s heart is once again beating for our


    Toby. And here I thought Toby would lose Sonia forever. Never have I expected that things would end up


    this way. Toby sure is a lucky boy!¡±


    ¡°Well, this shows that Young Master Toby and Young Mistress are meant to be together. Even if they had


    parted ways by choice, yet by fate, they still ended up in love,¡± Mary added as she looked at the couple


    in the distance.


    Sonia staggered, swaying a little as she walked, and Toby immediately held her in his arms. This scene


    right here, where both the woman and man looked at each other, was romantic and mesmerizing.


    Upon witnessing such a romantic scene, Rose smiled. ¡°Yeah, this is fate. Alright, let¡¯s not spy on them


    anymore. They would be embarrassed if they caught us spying on them. It¡¯s a rare opportunity for Toby


    to be this close to Sonia. Seeing as there are more qualms portrayed in Sonia¡¯s current attitude toward


    Toby, I can foretell that she is still not fully epting of Toby. If Sonia ever finds out that we¡¯re spying on


    them, she would feel shy and definitely push Toby away. Things will get ugly if Toby decides to me us


    for that.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, Old Mrs. Fuller,¡± Mary agreed and nodded with a smile. Then, she closed the waterside


    pavilion¡¯s blinds.


    Meanwhile, on the other side, both Toby and Sonia had made their way through the reflexology pathway.


    Sonia breathed a sigh of relief, and she pulled her hand, trying to withdraw her hand from Toby¡¯s grip.


    However, she failed even after a few attempts as Toby was clenching her hand, so she could only look at


    him with a frown on her face. ¡°Why are you still holding my hand?¡±


    Realization hit Toby, and he immediately let go of her hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±


    Obviously not believing a word he said, Sonia looked at him, her eyes squinted.


    Wasn¡¯t paying attention? Such a liar he sure is, huh? Needless to say, he did it out of the pure intention


    of not wanting to let go of my hand.


    Annoyed yet amused, Sonia ignored him and walked straight to the pavilion, which was located in the


    center of theke in front of them. Upon seeing Sonia¡¯s reaction, Toby chuckled. Instead of following her,


    he called out to the servant who stood by thekeside.


    ¡°Yes, Young Master Toby. How may I assist you?¡± the servant came to him and asked respectfully.


    Toby restrained his smile. ¡°Find Mr. Franklin and inform him to look for someone who can shovel off this


    reflexology pathway and repave a new pathway that is smooth and slip-free.¡±


    In time toe, he would bring Sonia over more often. Since she loved wearing high heels, and it was


    impossible for him to stay by her side all the time, he might as well hire someone to change the pathway.


    Even if he could not be by her side, by doing so, he would not worry about her tripping and falling


    whenever she took a walk in the garden.


    The servant was in a quandary. ¡°But Young Master Toby¡­ This reflexology pathway is Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯s


    favorite. Sometimes, she would walk for a few rounds on this pathway, allowing better blood flow


    cirction on the soles of her feet.¡±


    Upon hearing the servant¡¯s reply, Toby frowned. ¡°Just do as I say, and I¡¯ll exin to my grandmater,¡±


    he ordered indifferently.


    The servant nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll find Mr. Franklin and ask him to get it done right away, Young Master Toby,¡± said


    the servant, who walked away soon after.


    Then, Toby carried a few bags and headed toward the pavilion. When Rose saw Toby enter, she stopped


    her friendly chat with Sonia and questioned in a dissatisfying manner, ¡°What were you doing outside?


    What was taking you so long toe over?


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve ordered the servant to help me get something done,¡± Toby replied as he put down the bags.


    After that, he made his way toward the dining table, pulled out the chair beside Sonia, and sat down.


    Seeing Toby had taken his seat, Rose asked again, ¡°What is it that needed to be done at this very hour?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hiring someone over to shovel off that reflexology pathway,¡± Toby replied again while picking up the


    teapot and pouring Sonia a cup of tea.


    ¡°What?!¡± Rose was dumbfounded after she heard Toby¡¯s words. Her finger trembled as she pointed at


    Toby. ¡°You want to shovel off my reflexology pathway?¡±


    At the same time, Sonia also looked at Toby in shock, her heart filled with an inexplicably ominous


    feeling.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Is he doing this for me? After all, he mentioned it would be difficult for me to walk on that pathway in


    heels before we came over to the pavilion. I think it¡¯s possible that he¡¯ll hire someone over to change the


    pathway. Judging by his personality, he certainly would do that! But if that is the case, I would feel really


    sorry for Old Mrs. Fuller.


    ¡°Yes, Grandma. I¡¯ve asked Mr. Franklin to change it to a better pathway that is easier to walk.¡± Toby


    finished pouring the tea for Sonia, took the teapot back, and poured a cup of tea for himself.


    Rose was fuming, irritated enough to probably throw the teapot at him. ¡°You imbecile! Why would you


    suddenly want to shovel off that pathway!?¡±


    She could not figure it out. Did that pathway provoke Toby in any way?


    Nonchntly, Toby took a sip of his tea and replied, ¡°It was difficult to walk on that pathway, and Sonia


    would easily trip when she walks there. So, I¡¯m hiring someone over to change that pathway. As for the


    reflexology pathway, I¡¯ll ask someone to repave it outside of your room. By then, you can decide on the


    length of the pathway ording to your liking.¡±


    As if he was only discussing how nice today¡¯s weather was, he brushed it off lightly. However, when


    Toby¡¯s words rang inside Sonia¡¯s ears, she felt her scalp tingle, and her burden intensified.


    He really did this because of me!


    ¡°What¡ªToby, what are you doing?¡± Sonia grabbed Toby¡¯s arm angrily while anxiously exining to


    Rose, ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t listen to him. It wasn¡¯t my intention. I didn¡¯t ask him to do this. In fact, I didn¡¯t even


    know he had such a thought.¡±


    Sonia was afraid that Rose would mistake Toby¡¯s words as her intention to have Toby shovel off the


    reflexology pathway. After all, Toby mentioned that the reason for him to do so was that she could not


    walk on the pathway properly. Hence, it was natural for others to suspect Sonia as the culprit who


    instigated Toby.


    ¡°Nobody said it was you who made me do this. This was all by my own means.¡± Toby put down the


    teacup and turned to look at Rose. ¡°Grandma, Sonia loves wearing high heels. I can¡¯t ask her not to wear


    them, so I can onlypromise and make the changes on my end, and for that, I seek your


    understanding.¡±


    ¡°Grandma, I¡­ It wasn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Sonia wanted to exin further, but Rose raised her hand, interrupting Sonia. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sonia. You


    don¡¯t need to exin. I don¡¯t me you as this is all Toby¡¯s fault, but I understand his intention.¡±


    Roseughed. ¡°As he said, he can¡¯t ask you not to wear heels, so he could only pave a smooth and


    heel-friendly pathway for the love of his life. For this, I admire my grandson. It is not easy for all men to


    do this after all. So, as his grandma, how could I hold him back and interfere with his intention seeing his


    sincerity?¡±

 Chapter 588

    Chapter 588


    Chapter 588 A Worried Toby


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°So¡­ Grandma, you¡¯re not mad at me anymore?¡± Toby curled his lips.


    Rose rolled her eyes at him. ¡°If you did it out of your own impulsive behavior and not for Sonia, I would


    definitely let you have a taste of my cane.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby smiled a little and said nothing. Sonia, who stood beside him, became extremely


    ufortable.


    She might not be the one who instigated Toby in shoveling off the pathway, and even though Rose did


    not seem angry about it, she was nheless still the cause of this incident. Deep down, she somewhat


    felt guilty and kept ming herself, thinking it was her fault.


    If only she had not worn high heels, Toby would never have had the idea of shoveling off the pathway.


    After all, she was just a guest, so she was overwhelmed with stress after she heard her host had the


    intention of revamping the manor¡¯s facility for her.


    In the hope of stopping this grandmother-grandchild duo¡¯s intention to change the pathway, Sonia took


    Rose¡¯s hand and hurriedly said, ¡°Grandma, please don¡¯t listen to Toby about changing the pathway.


    Seeing as I¡¯m not a regr visitor here, I would be put in a difficult situation if the both of you kept


    insisting on this matter.¡±


    However, Rose just patted her hand, a kind smile painted across her face. ¡°Sonia, you must have


    thought I was put under pressure and was forced to agree with Toby to change the pathway. However,


    that¡¯s not the case, so worry not. This shows that Toby loves you so much that he¡¯s willing to sacrifice for


    you. So, you don¡¯t have to feel burdened.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Before Sonia could say more, Toby turned to look at her. ¡°Who said you won¡¯t being over more


    often? Once we¡¯re together in the future, we¡¯ll live here in the old manor.¡±


    Toby had thought it through. Since he had wished for Sonia and Jean to live separately, he would not live


    in the Fullers¡¯ residence in the future. On the contrary, he and Sonia would frequent the old manor to


    keep Rosepany.


    Now that my grandma has aged, she seems to be a fan of a livelier atmosphere. s! She¡¯s reluctant to


    go to the Fullers¡¯ residence and stays here because she dislikes Jean. Once Sonia and I move in, I bet


    she¡¯d be over the moon.


    Sure enough, Rose¡¯s eyes lit up instantly when she heard Toby¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful suggestion.¡±


    ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, I also think it¡¯s a good idea. Once Young Master Toby and Young Mistress moved in, the


    manor¡¯s atmosphere would surely be lively,¡± Mary chimed in, excited at the idea.


    ¡°You bet.¡± Rose smiled and nodded.


    After hearing that, Sonia felt both embarrassed and awkward, and her face crimsoned. ¡°Grandma, what


    are you talking about? Toby and I¡­ We¡¯re just normal¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get back together sooner orter, won¡¯t we?¡± Toby interrupted her, gazing deep into her eyes.


    Sonia¡¯s rosy lips parted, but no words came out of her mouth.


    Theoretically, she should refute and insist that she and Toby were not together. But when the words were


    about to leave her lips, she stopped. Was it because she loved him, so deep down in her heart, she also


    wished to get back with him?


    Sonia lowered her eyelids, making it difficult for anyone to see her facial expression.


    Upon seeing Sonia¡¯s reaction, Toby knew she had once againpsed into her inner world, opting to


    escape the true feeling buried deep inside her and pretending otherwise. Toby could only sigh and


    change the subject. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s eat first.¡±


    Meanwhile, Rose also detected Sonia¡¯s attempt to avoid the confrontation with feelings. She gave Toby a


    sympathetic look and nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s eat. Sonia, eat up.¡±


    The reason she and Mary said so was to give their rtionship a push in hopes that they would get back


    together. But she did not expect Sonia would be so timid when it came to her feelings. Clearly, she must


    have been badly hurt within these six years.


    Thinking of this, Rose red at Toby. Despite being clueless about the sudden change in Rose¡¯s attitude,


    Toby remained silent, and he put some baked shrimps on Sonia¡¯s te. ¡°Here, try these.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I can do it myself.¡± Sonia picked up her cutlery and slowly put a shrimp into her mouth.


    Toby looked at her, obviously waiting for herment on the dish.


    As she put down her cutlery, Sonia smiled. ¡°It tastes good.¡±


    ¡°d to hear that. Here. Have some more.¡± Toby spoke as he put more food on her te.


    Sonia tried to stop him, but it was toote, and she did not know whether she shouldugh or cry as she


    looked at her half-filled te.


    Is he afraid that I¡¯d starve or something?


    Across the dining table, Mary was also serving Rose.


    After she had put the dishes onto Rose¡¯s te, she whispered, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, Young Master Toby


    seems to be quite good at taking care of people.¡±


    Rose smiled and whispered back, ¡°It sure looks that way. Plus, he looks rather modest when taking care


    of others. It¡¯s probably a good thing, since I won¡¯t have to worry about him and Sonia in the future. Look


    at how attentive he is in attending to her needs. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be happy once they get back together.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Old Mrs. Fuller.¡± Mary nodded.


    After the meal, the servants had taken away all the tableware on the dining table.


    While Sonia was wiping the corner of her lips, she asked Rose, ¡°By the way, Grandma, I¡¯m pretty sure


    the purpose you¡¯d asked Toby to bring me over here is not merely to dine with you. Surely, there must be


    something that you wish to tell me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Sonia. There really is something that I wish to tell you,¡± Rose replied while sipping her tea.


    Sonia looked at her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Instead of replying to Sonia¡¯s question, Rose turned her gaze toward Toby. ¡°Toby, why don¡¯t you ask Mr.


    Franklin to prepare a room for Sonia? Considering it¡¯s ratherte now, Sonia will stay here for a night.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glinted with awe at Rose¡¯s words, and she said with a smile, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, thank you,


    Grandma.¡±


    She knew Rose just wanted to shoo Toby away so she could talk to her in private.


    Of course, it was also true that Rose wanted to let Sonia stay overnight, seeing howte it was. By the


    time Sonia reached home, it would probably be eventer.


    Well, I guess I¡¯ll just spend the night.


    At the same time, Toby, too, had read Rose¡¯s mind.


    Although he did not know what his grandma wanted to tell Sonia, even going as far as to shooing him


    away on purpose, he would still do as she wished since it was her intention.


    With this in mind, Toby stood up. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take my leave first and make the arrangements.¡±


    After that, he put his hand on Sonia¡¯s shoulder and gently patted. ¡°You¡¯ll stay here and have a chat with


    Grandma. I¡¯ll let you know once the room¡¯s ready.¡±


    Sonia turned her head around, eyes ncing at Toby¡¯s hand on her shoulder, and she hummed, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Toby took his hand off and was ready to leave.


    Just as he took a step, he halted his tracks as he suddenly thought of something. Then, he took off his


    trench coat and put it on Sonia. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long you will be chatting with Grandma, so it¡¯s better if


    you wear anotheryer of clothing.¡±


    Stunned, Sonia did not expect that Toby would suddenly drape a trench coat over her.


    Rose looked at Toby, her eyes squinted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You think I will allow Sonia to freeze in this


    weather?¡±


    ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t do that, but it¡¯s not out of the norm for me to show my concern either.


    Besides, please make your conversation with Sonia short and don¡¯t drag it on for too long. Sonia needs


    her rest, Grandma.¡± Toby raised his wrist, hinting at Rose to be mindful of the time.


    Rose just waved her hand and said in a disfavoring manner, ¡°Alright. Alright. I won¡¯t dy Sonia¡¯s rest.


    Hurry and go! You¡¯re the one wasting our time by still being here.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips, retracted his gaze, and he looked down at the woman who was sitting on the chair.


    His voice instantly softened. ¡°I¡¯ll be away first. If Grandma is still not done chatting with you in half an


    hour, give me a phone call.¡±


    ¡°Is that even appropriate?¡± Sonia asked, feeling neitherughing nor crying.


    Toby¡¯s rosy lips moved, and just as he was about to speak, Rose impatiently pestled her walking cane.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. What¡¯s with the rambling? This olddy right here will try to end our conversation within


    half an hour. So, get going now! Chop-chop!¡±


    Seeing how Rose kept urging him to leave, Toby frowned. However, he said nothing. Instead, he turned


    around and left the pavilion.


    After Toby had left, Sonia suddenly felt relieved. Because of his presence there, she felt a headache


    from his constant reminders.


    ¡°The boy finally left. I have never seen him nitpicking on the details so much,¡± Rose said helplessly. It


    was obvious that she, too, felt relieved that Toby had left.

 Chapter 589

    Chapter 589


    Chapter 589 Old Mrs Fuller¡¯s Request


    Being tactful, Sonia looked at Rose without a word; after all, she was the reason Toby nit-picked all the


    details.


    One moment, he was afraid that she would feel cold, and the next moment, he was scared that Rose


    would prolong the chat with her and dy her from resting. But none would happen, and he was just


    worried for nothing.


    There was a heater in the pavilion, so Sonia would not feel cold at all. Besides, even if Rose would chat


    with her for a long time, it would not hold her up from her rest. After all, she was a night owl. However,


    when faced with Toby¡¯s concern and care, she was slightly amused, paired up with a pinch of


    gratefulness.


    I mean, he won¡¯t bother about the details if he doesn¡¯t care.


    ¡°What are you thinking about, Sonia? Why are you giggling?¡± Rose asked with a gleam in her eyes as


    she stared at a smiling Sonia.


    There was a sh in Sonia¡¯s eyes before she came back to her senses. ¡°N-No¡­ It¡¯s nothing, Grandma.


    Now that Toby¡¯s gone, what is it that you wish to talk to me about?¡± She waved her hand.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Rose retracted the gentleness on her face and became serious.


    Registering Rose¡¯s change, Sonia subconsciously sat straight and put on a serious expression too.


    ¡°Grandma, what is it? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not entirely it.¡± Rose shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s just that it will be Toby¡¯s biological mother¡¯s death


    anniversary in a few days.¡±


    ¡°Death anniversary?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my dear.¡± Rose sighed. ¡°This is what I wished to tell you. I asked Toby to bring you over in hopes


    that you could do me a favor.¡±


    ¡°Do tell, Grandma. Please. I¡¯ll definitely help you if it¡¯s within my capability,¡± Sonia said, her tone


    sounding serious.


    Rose smiled in relief. ¡°Then, Sonia, I shall thank you first. You¡¯re definitely capable of helping me. I would


    like you to apany Toby for the whole day on the day of his biological mother¡¯s death anniversary.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ Is there a usible exnation for this?¡± Sonia tilted her head, feeling confused at Rose¡¯s words.


    Rose rubbed the grip of her walking cane, and her face was filled with distress. ¡°I wonder if Toby has


    ever told you anything about his biological mother.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, briefly. I know his biological mother died of suicide,¡± Sonia replied, nodding her head.


    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s right. Toby¡¯s mother died by suicide, and Toby was the first person to discover her body.


    Back then, Toby was just a young boy, aged around ten years old. One can imagine how traumatic it was


    for the poor young boy to have witnessed his mother¡¯s dead body with his own eyes. Hence, he would be


    unlike his usual self every year on the day of his mother¡¯s death anniversary.¡±


    ¡°How out of character will he be?¡± Sonia clenched her fist. She could not help but get anxious.


    Rose picked up her cup of tea and took a sip. ¡°On that day, he would let down his stronghold facade


    before our eyes and be extremely fragile at heart. All he would do on this day is iste himself and


    drown himself in liquor. Then, when he emerges from his istion the next day, he would act as if the


    world was fine again, but it is hard not to notice the visible injuries on his body.¡±


    ¡°Visible injuries?¡± Sonia¡¯s pupils shrank at once as soon as these two words appeared in her mind.


    ¡°Could he be self-harming inside the room?¡±


    Rose nodded bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re right. He¡¯s indeed self-harming. Toby¡¯s mother slit her wrist and passed


    away, and Toby was the first to discover his mother¡¯s body. His former psychiatrist said because it had


    left a traumatic impact on Toby, he would not be in the right state of mind on the day of his mother¡¯s


    death anniversary, and he would subconsciously harm himself.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡± Sonia bit her lower lip. It was not made aware for her that Toby had such a secret.


    However, it was possible since she never truly understood him anyway.


    As Sonia¡¯s pen pal or husband, Toby seldom took the initiative to tell her more about him.


    Back when they were still pen pals, it was Sonia who told him everything about her, and most of the time,


    he merely talked things through with her. He rarely shared stories about himself, and since she seldom


    asked him, she had no idea how old John was, where he lived, and how his family¡¯s situation was.


    After Sonia fell in love with Toby, she only knew that he was a gentle senior, but little did she know that


    this senior was John, a pen pal who had beenmunicating with her for so many years.


    Speaking of which, what she did to Toby was rather unfair. She had beenining that Toby couldn¡¯t


    tell Tina was impersonating her. But, it was the same for her too. She could not recognize that Toby was


    her pen pal, John.


    But now she knew that he did realize Tina wasn¡¯t her. He was merely hypnotized into forgetting about the


    whole issue. As for her case, from the beginning till the end, she did not once recognize him as John.


    So, based on this fact, Sonia was fairly iparable to Toby.


    Furthermore, despite her words of affirmation in iming she had loved Toby within those six years of


    their marriage, she now saw she had only known him on a surface value but never in-depth. During their


    days of marriage, she failed to realize that he was not Jean¡¯s biological son and that he had lived with


    congenital heart disease all along. She did not know he would sumb to his trauma one day once


    every year.


    In short,pared to what Toby knew about her, she really did not know enough about him. As such,


    she began to doubt the love she had for him in the first ce.


    If she really had feelings for him and loved him deeply, why was she not aware of these things?


    Following the heavy topic, the ambiance turned solemn. When Rose saw that Sonia lowered her head,


    she thought Sonia was feeling sorry for Toby. ¡°Sonia, I hope you can stay by Toby¡¯s side on that day and


    help me stop him from self-harming.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Sonia raised her head and pointed at herself.


    Rose hummed, ¡°Yes, you.¡±


    ¡°But Grandma¡­ What if I could not stop this?¡± Sonia bit her lip and asked without confidence. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t


    you and the rest of the family be doing this? Grandma, since you knew Toby would do this on that day


    every year, I¡¯m sure you must have stopped him in the past.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I tried to stop him before, but it was useless. Toby did not even grant us a chance to see him.


    However, you¡¯re different.¡± Rose looked at her.


    Sonia doubted. ¡°Why am I different?¡±


    ¡°Because Toby loves you.¡± Rose chuckled. ¡°So, Sonia, how about you give it a try and see if you can


    stop Toby. This is why I had asked you toe over tonight.¡±


    Me? Really? I can¡¯t believe this is the reason I was summoned. Toby loves me, so can I stop him for


    real? Is this even possible? I doubt I¡¯m able to¡­


    Rose saw through Sonia¡¯s reluctance to believe her reason and said softly, ¡°Sonia, trust in yourself. You


    can definitely do this. As Toby¡¯s grandma, I really don¡¯t wish to see Toby go insane every year during the


    day of his mother¡¯s death anniversary. So, I could only beg you.¡±


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    Rose stood up and wanted to give Sonia a bow.


    Shocked and in a fit of panic, Sonia immediately stood up and grabbed hold of Rose. ¡°Grandma¡­ W-


    What are you doing? This can¡¯t be appropriate!¡±


    Rose also knew what she currently did was inappropriate, but for the sake of Toby, she had no other


    choice but to do this.


    ¡°Forgive me, Sonia. I don¡¯t want to force you either, but I really have no choice. So, Sonia, you¡­¡±


    ¡°I promise you, Grandma,¡± Sonia said while rubbing in between her eyebrows after she had sat Rose


    down.


    Overjoyed, Rose eximed, ¡°You promise? Really?¡±


    ¡°You even begged me, so how can I not agree?¡± Faced with the current situation, Sonia could only reply


    with a bitter smile.


    Slightly ashamed, Rose smiled. ¡°Forgive me, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Grandma. I don¡¯t me you. I just want to tell you that although I had promised to help you to


    stop Toby, it¡¯s still unknown whether it is within my capability to carry it out or not. I hope you won¡¯t be let


    down when the timees,¡± Sonia said in hopes that Rose would be prepared for any possible


    oue.


    Rose nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± After that, Sonia did not utter a word anymore.


    Then, Rose added, ¡°By the way, Sonia, please don¡¯t let Toby know about this.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded as a promise, putting Rose at ease, but just then, the cell phone in Sonia¡¯s bag


    rang.


    Shooting the youngdy a cheeky smirk, Rose made an educated guess, saying, ¡°That should be Toby.¡±

 Chapter 590

    Chapter 590


    Chapter 590 Checking in on You


    ¡°How are you so sure?¡± Sonia asked Rose while looking for her phone.


    Rose sipped her tea leisurely. ¡°That boy¡­ He just wanted us to end our conversation early so you can


    go back to rest. Although he said he would let us talk for half an hour, I know him¡ªhe definitely can¡¯t wait


    for half an hour. Check your phone if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    Rose beckoned Sonia to check her phone. And so, Sonia took out her phone and lowered her head,


    thereupon her beautiful eyebrows twitched after she checked her phone. Then, sheughed. ¡°Grandma,


    you¡¯re right! It¡¯s really Toby.¡±


    ¡°Told you. Alright, pick up his call, or else he woulde over in person in a short while.¡± Rose shook


    her head and smiled helplessly.


    With a hum, Sonia swiped the green button with her delicate fingertip and answered the call. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Have you finished chatting with Grandma?¡± Through the phone, Sonia heard Toby¡¯s deep and pleasant


    voice.


    Sonia nodded slightly. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re almost done.¡±


    ¡°Then, hurry up and ask the servant to bring you over to rest,¡± Toby said.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia rubbed in between her eyebrows. ¡°Don¡¯t rush us. I want to stay with Grandma for a little longer.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not feeling cold there?¡± Toby frowned. ¡°Besides, Grandma needs her rest. She¡¯s old and can¡¯t


    stay upte.¡±


    Meanwhile, Rose was leaning her ear close to Sonia¡¯s phone. When she heard Toby¡¯s words, she rolled


    her eyes.


    What does this boy mean by I can¡¯t stay upte just because I¡¯m old? He¡¯s definitely spewing nonsense!


    He¡¯s clearly aware of my insomnia and that I basically go to bed veryte every night.


    It was none other than a false im when Toby told Sonia that Rose could not stay upte.


    Heh. Toby thinks I can¡¯t see through him when I know what¡¯s up his sleeve most of the time. It¡¯s just an


    excuse to trick Sonia into leaving and resting early. Alright. Fine. What more could I say? It¡¯s all written


    down by the will of fate. Being able to witness how he wholeheartedly pursues Sonia, I guess I¡¯ll help


    them.


    At the thought of this, Rose moved her head away from Sonia¡¯s phone and then held her forehead


    tiredly. ¡°Mary, what time is it now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ten o¡¯clock, Old Mrs. Fuller,¡± Mary said as she nced at the time.


    Pretending to be surprised, Rose stood up. ¡°It¡¯s already ten o¡¯clock? Oh my, it¡¯s already thiste? Mary,


    isn¡¯t it time for me to take my medicine?¡± As she spoke, she winked at Mary.


    Of course, Mary would understand what Rose meant with a small signal, seeing she had served the old


    woman for decades.


    With her head half-lowered, Mary tried to hold back the smile that was slowly painted across her face.


    She stepped forward to help Rose up. ¡°Yes, Old Mrs. Fuller. The doctor said you must take your


    medicine at ten o¡¯clock every night, so why don¡¯t we go back to your room first? And since you will feel


    sleepy after taking your pills, you should rest early as well.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go back first.¡± Rose nodded, then turned to look at Sonia and sighed. ¡°Sonia, I


    have to go back to take my medicine first. Why don¡¯t you listen to Toby and go back and get some shut-


    eye?¡±


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched, and in her heart, she knew Rose was not returning to her room at


    this hour to take her medicine. Instead, Rose took it as an excuse to pardon herself from the


    conversation. The reason for Rose to do this was just to fulfill Toby¡¯s wish to have Sonia go back. Also,


    she could see that Rose had been trying to y cupid for her and Toby the whole night tonight.


    Odd. Wasn¡¯t Rose the one who clearly said she would not match Toby and me together anymore? But


    why would she have such intentions now? Could it be that she saw through my feelings for Toby? As


    expected, everyone had already noticed that I had fallen in love with Toby again. Only I myself was blind


    enough not to notice and needed Nancy to remind me about it.


    Though she let out a rueful smile in her heart, on the outside, she responded with a radiant smile on her


    face. ¡°I understand, Grandma. You rest early too, you hear?¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ I know¡­ Alright, I¡¯ll get going first, and there will be someoneing over to take you to your


    roomter.¡± After that, Rose turned her head and looked at Mary, and she immediately walked Rose out


    of the pavilion.


    Now, only Sonia was left in the pavilion. She looked down and saw that the phone screen was still


    showing that the call was ongoing. Her mouth widened, for she was feeling surprised. The call is still


    ongoing!?


    She thought Toby had hung up while she was talking to Rose. Sonia immediately held the phone close to


    her ear and asked, ¡°Toby, are you still there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Toby replied.


    Seeing as he answered her in a sh, it was obvious that he had been keeping the phone close to his


    ear and had never taken it down all this time. Otherwise, he could not have heard her query and


    responded right away.


    Sonia¡¯s heart softened, and she said, ¡°Sorry, I was just saying a few words to Grandma.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Grandma has allowed you to rest early too.¡±


    ¡°You heard that?¡± Sonia eximed, feeling surprised.


    Head lowered, Toby gave out a softugh. ¡°Well, Grandma¡¯s voice was rather loud. Alright. Just stay


    there and wait for me. I¡¯ll go over to pick you up and take you to your room.¡±


    ¡°No need for that, Toby. Grandma said she¡¯ll let the servant bring me over¡­¡±


    Before Sonia could finish her words, Toby instantly hung up the call. Dumbfounded and confused, Sonia


    could only watch her phone¡¯s interface switch back to the main page.


    Ever since the day Toby decided to express his feelings for her, it was mostly her who would hang up


    first on their conversation. But this time, he hung up the call ahead of her, so it was evident that he did


    not want to hear her saying things like asking him not toe over.


    Then, so be it. Since he¡¯s already on his way here, I might as well ask him to send me to my room. Sonia


    then put her phone back into her bag, picked up the teacup, and sipped her tea while waiting for Toby¡¯s


    arrival.


    After having waited for about ten minutes, she heard footstepsing from outside of the pavilion. She


    put down the teacup, got up, and walked toward the door, preparing to open it. But who knew, before her


    hand could touch the eaves, the door was pulled open from the outside.


    Bewildered, Sonia looked up, and her eyes instantly met with Toby¡¯s. Since Toby did not expect Sonia to


    be standing behind the door, he startled for a moment and smiled. ¡°Could it be that you were opening the


    door for me?¡±


    Sonia shrugged her shoulders nomittally, after which Toby walked into the pavilion and put down


    the bag in his hand.


    ¡°You¡­ What is this?¡± Sonia asked as her head lowered down, looking at the bag Toby had put on the


    table.


    ¡°Shoes,¡± Toby replied. After that, he opened the bag, revealing an exquisite-looking shoebox.


    As she looked at the packaging of the shoebox, she took a rough guess in her heart. The pair of shoes


    inside the box was probably Toby¡¯s gift for her.


    After all, where on earth could one find a pair of men¡¯s shoes being wrapped and packed up in a pink


    shoebox? Moreover, the size of the shoebox was small, so it could not possibly fit in a pair of men¡¯s


    shoes.


    Just as Sonia had expected, a pair of beautiful women¡¯s plush slippers was revealed before her eyes as


    soon as Toby took off the lid of the shoebox.


    Toby pulled out a chair and sat down, and then he patted the chair across from him. ¡°Sit here.¡±


    Sonia hesitated for two seconds but eventually sat down.


    ¡°This pair of slippers¡­ is for you.¡± Toby picked up one of the plush slippers. ¡°You may need to walk on


    that uneven pathway a few more times as it will only be shoveled off starting tomorrow. But once you put


    on this pair of slippers, you don¡¯t have to worry about staggering to your feet again.¡±


    At once, he bent down, and his hands reached out for Sonia¡¯s foot.


    Sonia¡¯s pupils shrank after she realized Toby wanted to help her change her shoes, so she retracted her


    foot. ¡°I can put them on myself.¡±


    Toby¡¯s hand was left afloat, and he looked up at Sonia.


    When he saw the blush on Sonia¡¯s face and the uneasiness in her eyes, he could not help but chuckle a


    little. So, he ced the slipper on the floor in front of her, took out another slipper, and ced it on the


    floor in front of her as well. Then, his thin lips opened slightly. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll let you put them on yourself.¡±


    Well, look at her being shy and all.


    Seeing that Toby had no intention to help her to change her shoes forcibly, Sonia breathed a sigh of


    relief. Then, she bent down, took off her high heels, and put on the plush slippers that Toby brought.

 Chapter 591

    Chapter 591


    Chapter 591 Promise to Give It a Try


    The size of the pair of slippers fit just right, and the woolen material inside was silky and soft,fortable


    when it came in contact with the skin. With happiness written all over her face, Sonia smiled and could


    not help but swing her feet happily. ¡°Thanks, Toby.¡±


    After being in her high heels for several hours, she could only endure the soreness and numbness in her


    feet. Now that she had put on this pair of slippers, it was as though her feet had a taste of freedom from


    its wretched cage, not to mention howfortable this pair of slippers was.


    No doubt, Toby is really attentive. Perhaps, I could try to trust him and ept him again. After all, he was


    hypnotized back then, so he wasn¡¯t himself. I¡¯m so d to have him now, seeing how he has saved me


    several times. Even the little things he does for me matter a lot.


    Thinking of this, Sonia took a breath, shook her palms, and looked as if she had made a decision. At this


    moment, Toby took Sonia¡¯s high heels, put them in the box, and patted her hair lightly. ¡°What¡¯s on your


    mind? You look so serious.¡±


    Sonia raised her eyes and looked at him. Her rosy lips parted, and after contemting for a while, she


    said, ¡°Toby, there¡¯s something I want to ask you. Are you certain that you¡¯ll love me forever and that you


    would not change your mind?¡±


    Toby did not know why Sonia suddenly asked him this, but he simply nodded and answered without


    hesitation, ¡°I am certain.¡±


    Upon hearing his words of affirmation, Sonia calmed down and, atst, shook her head again. ¡°Funnily


    enough, I cannot bring myself to believe those words. To believe a person¡¯s love for another in one¡¯s


    lifetime seems infinite, but for several decades is more than enough. At this very moment, you might


    dere your love to me and im to love me for a lifetime and beyond from the very bottom of your


    heart, but who is to say that your love will not fade in the future? Can you truly pledge your undying love


    to me without any deceit or turn for the rest of our lives?¡±


    More often than not, when lovers were head over heels with each other, the world around them wouldn¡¯t


    seem to matter. They would let themselves be engulfed by the mes of love and pledge to each other


    their vows of unity. Momentarily, their earnest love often seemed tost for an eternity.


    But only time could tell whether one¡¯s love was strong enough, and as time passed by, love would fade


    away, reducing them to nothing but strangers. By then, those vows that they poured their blood and


    souls into would be reduced into no more than just a joke.


    For now, Toby loved her so much he could even take a bullet for her, but she knew better than to trust


    that his love would never change in the future.


    After all, the nature of humankind was truly unpredictable. Who was to say in the hereafter, he would not


    encounter a different woman who could possibly satisfy him in ways she couldn¡¯t?


    Sensing and witnessing the anxiety and void looks in Sonia¡¯s eyes, Toby suddenly spread his right arm


    and embraced her. At once, Sonia¡¯s body froze, and she was about to put up a fight to escape his


    embrace.


    Suddenly, Toby whispered into her ear and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Sensing thefort and security


    from him, Sonia stopped moving.


    Toby tightened up his arms a little bit and then answered, ¡°I am aware of your concerns, so Sonia, I won¡¯t


    lie to you. I cannot promise you whether I am certain I can love you forever. Promising and pledging to


    love you all my life now does seem more like an empty promise. After all, now is not the future. Even if I


    were to im so now, you would not likely believe me; thus, I can only im that only time will tell. What I


    can be sure of is that I want to keep you by my side forever, just like my grandma and grandpa did.¡±


    Toby stared at her with dead seriousness. ¡°My grandparents were deeply in love in their youth, and they


    managed to keep that fire burning until their old age. When my grandpa passed, Grandma could not bear


    to be apart from him and tried to reunite with him. In myte grandpa¡¯s will, he requested that my


    grandma continue to live well without him by her side and remain strong for her family tobat the pain


    and sorrow she felt. Only I know that though my grandfather is not physically beside her, he is always on


    her mind. Thus, Sonia, the chivalric love is still there, proven by my grandparents, so why don¡¯t we give it


    a try? Who knows, we might just end up like them?¡±


    That was the exact answer Toby gave to Sonia to convince her. Instead of paying lip service that he


    would love her for the rest of his life, he was more willing to use a real love story to prove his sincerity.


    Seeing the promise of hope in the man¡¯s eyes, Sonia was touched. His words made sense. Rather than


    settling for his confession of love that he would love her for the rest of his life, she felt that it was far


    better to walk the journey personally and fight to keep the love alive.


    Perhaps, in the end, it could really work.


    But¡­


    Sonia bit her lower lip. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s give it a shot. But Toby, can you promise that after we are


    together, you will not be so easily hypnotized again?¡±


    As she looked at him, she was on the verge of tears. Their tragedy began from the moment he was


    hypnotized.


    Post hypnotized, he forgot that he had discovered that Tina was not Sonia. Deep seeded in his


    consciousness, he believed adamantly that Tina was Maple. Thus, during the span of their six years of


    marriage, not even once did he recognize her.


    Hence, if this tragedy were to happen once more, she would not be able to bear the pain all over again.


    She would rather have him cast her away naturally now than be made to believe his love for her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be able to resist it this time!¡± Toby nodded with full affirmation. ¡°The concept of resisting hypnosis is


    that one must not be weak mentally. Tim¡¯s senior is the world¡¯s leading hypnotist. Now that I have him,


    surely I can¡¯t be hypnotized that easily.¡±


    Due to his experience of being under the influence of hypnotization for six years, when he finally woke up


    from his hypnotized state, he was no longer easily hypnotized like he was before.


    Regarding this matter, Miles had said so himself. When Sonia saw that Toby showed no signs of lying,


    she felt at ease.


    As long as he was no longer being hypnotized, his intention and love toward her werepletely


    controlled by him without the ounts of others.


    That way, there should not be a reason for her to worry about going through the whole nightmare that


    had happened six years ago.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Toby stared at her brightly, his eyes filled with hope. ¡°Sonia, you just proposed that we give it a try. Are


    you willing to get back together with me again?¡±


    Sonia blushed deeply and turned her face to one side. ¡°I said I was only willing to give it a try. I never


    said we would be in a union.¡±


    ¡°H-Huh?¡± Toby frowned slightly at her words. ¡°Then¡­ What do you mean?¡±


    Sonia shut her eyes slightly, and after calming down, she opened her eyes again and turned to face him.


    ¡°Toby, I am not going to lie. I do think of getting back together with you at times.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement.


    Sonia added, ¡°However, I have yet to make up my mind on that matter. I want to be allowed time and


    space for myself to decide on this rationally and not impulsively. When I have made up my mind, I


    promise to give you the answer then. How is that?¡±


    ¡°Alright. I respect that but do not leave me hanging for more than a year, Sonia,¡± Toby dered as he


    held her face in his hands.


    ¡°Certainly not that long. Give me half a month, alright?¡± Sonia chuckled and shook her head.


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    With a heart full of excitement and a rare glimpse of glee on his usually stoic face, Toby said, ¡°Alright


    then, half a month it is.¡±


    Good gracious! For a second, I thought that she¡¯d say at least a year and a half. Who would have


    thought she only said half a month? Half a monthter, she would surely be with me again.


    Toby excitedly hugged Sonia so tight that she felt as though all her air was pushed out of her lungs. Still,


    she was in a happy state. After a moment of thought, she decided against reminding him to let go.


    They were interrupted by a knock on the pavilion door. It was only then that Toby snapped out of his


    happy daze and let go of Sonia before turning to the door. He was clearly unhappy with the intruder.


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    To disturb him in his happy state was like asking for a punch in the face.


    ¡°Young Master Toby, it is me.¡± An old-sounding voice came from behind the door.


    Toby¡¯s irritated brows loosened when he heard the voice. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Mr. Franklin. Doe in.¡±


    Mr. Franklin, unaware of the state inside the pavilion, pushed open the door and was stunned by the


    scene before him. There in the pavilion, Toby and Sonia were in each other¡¯s embrace.


    Good lord! They¡¯re actually hugging one another. Am I disturbing their private time? I must havee at


    a bad time!


    Now, Mr. Franklin felt extremely guilty, as he must have thought of himself as the party pooper for


    disturbing the private time between Toby and Sonia.


    He was one of those few who knew about Toby trying his hardest to win back Sonia¡¯s love.


    Now, onto the real question, did he actually cause any dy in their progress upon his intrusion to their


    intimate moment together?

 Chapter 592

    Chapter 592


    Chapter 592 Old Mrs Fuller¡¯s Fury


    Mr. Franklin¡¯s gaze ufortably shifted between the two. He then hesitated for a moment before


    suddenly bringing one hand up to cover his eyes. ¡°Oh my! My old eyes can¡¯t see anything well. Don¡¯t


    mind me and carry on with whatever you are doing.¡±


    And with each word, he slowly took little backward steps toward the exit of the pavilion.


    His words finally brought Sonia back to reality, and when she realized she was still being held by Toby,


    she quickly pushed herself out of his embrace. Her face was flushed as she stood there in silence.


    It all happened so fast that Toby could only stare at the empty space near his chest where Sonia was just


    seconds ago. His eyes held a hint of regret as he pursed his lips and said, ¡°Alright now, Mr. Franklin.


    Don¡¯te in just to leave like that.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Mr. Franklin stopped shuffling backward before cautiously removing his hand from his


    face. Looking at the now-separated duo, he let out an embarrassedugh. ¡°My apologies, Young Master


    Toby. I didn¡¯t mean to intrude,¡± he bashfully said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Why have youe?¡± Toby asked while nonchntly waving to urge him to get on with what he


    interrupted them for.


    Seeing Toby¡¯s unconcerned attitude, Mr. Franklin could only let out a small cough to ease his nerves


    before he announced his purpose. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller wanted me to let you know that you may go ahead


    and rest in the bedroom that has been prepared.¡±


    ¡°Sure. We¡¯ll be there soon,¡± Toby said and nodded in return.


    Mr. Franklin then gestured behind him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave first then, Young Master Toby.¡±


    The man in question merely hummed in reply.


    Done with the task he was entrusted with, Mr. Franklin then turned to leave the two of them alone to


    themselves at the pavilion.


    After Mr. Franklin had left, Toby picked up the box with Sonia¡¯s high heels in it and said to Sonia, ¡°Let¡¯s


    go. I¡¯ll take you to the room.¡±


    She stroked her face at that and gave a simple ¡°Okay¡±.


    They proceeded to leave the pavilion as they headed for the bedroom. After a few minutes of walking,


    they arrived at the room, whereupon Toby opened the door for her. ¡°This is where you¡¯ll be spending the


    night. Rest well, okay?¡±


    ¡°Got it, and you too. I¡¯ll be heading in then,¡± she replied as she took the shoebox from him.


    Hearing the answer he anticipated, he nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°Go on.¡±


    She gave a small wave to bid him goodnight, and just when she was about to turn around to walk in, he


    suddenly called out to her. ¡°Sonia, wait.¡±


    Confused, she turned to look at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    His thin lips parted. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you agreed to get together with me. You have half a month to


    organize your thoughts.¡±


    The tense look on his face surprisingly made her smile. ¡°I remember what I said,¡± she reassured him.


    It was obvious that Toby was worried Sonia would go back on her words if she were to forget ever


    making such a promise to him. Why else would he mention it even though all Sonia was doing was


    heading to bed?


    ¡°Good,¡± Toby said upon hearing her answer. The strained expression on his face visibly rxed as he


    loosened his grip on her wrist. With his hand in the pocket of his pants now, he said, ¡°Get some sleep. I¡¯ll


    see you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°See you tomorrow, Toby,¡± she smilingly said with a nod before going into her room.


    Toby¡¯s own lips curled into a smile as he looked at the closing door. At that moment, a silhouette


    appeared from behind. ¡°Young Master Toby.¡±


    The familiar voice made Toby¡¯s smile disappear in an instant. He turned around to look at that person


    before questioning, ¡°Mary, what are you doing here instead of keeping Grandmapany?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here on Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯s behalf. She would like for you to pay her a visit,¡± Mary said with a smile.


    Mary¡¯s reply only made Toby raise his eyebrows quizzically. ¡°Does Grandma need me for something?¡± he


    asked.


    Without divulging much, Mary nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Toby answered curtly as he started making his way toward his grandma¡¯s room with Mary in


    tow. It only took a short while for them to reach their destination.


    Toby walked through the bedroom door that was wide open and was promptly greeted by the sight of


    Rose sitting on a couch with a towel in her hand. She seemed to be meticulously wiping at something


    with it.


    Upon closer look, he realized that she was cleaning his grandpa, Norman¡¯s favorite tea set before he had


    passed away.


    After all, Norman and Rose had been a pair of lovebirds the whole time they lived as a married couple.


    Everyone knew that it was an old habit of Rose to touch any of Norman¡¯s used items whenever she


    started to reminisce about him.


    ¡°Grandma,¡± Toby called out to make his presence known. He then walked over to sit down on the couch


    across from his grandma.


    Rose moved her gaze from the tea set, and she could tell something was different about Toby with just


    one look. ¡°You punk, are you this happy because Sonia agreed to be with you?¡± she teased.


    She was sure that something big must have happened for someone like Toby to not hide his joy. It was


    written all over his face.


    He picked up another towel and began wiping down the tea set too. ¡°We are not official yet, but we¡¯re


    getting there,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh? And how are you so sure about that?¡± Rose, who was confused by his confidence, asked.


    The smile hanging on his lips only got deeper as he thought about the whole ordeal. He exined,


    ¡°That¡¯s what she told me. She needs time to prepare herself for a rtionship again, but she agreed to


    reconcile after half a month.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Rose was so surprised that even her hands stopped wiping. ¡°Did Sonia really say


    that?¡± she asked again to make sure.


    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± he sing-songed with a smug expression on his face.


    That made Rose purse her lips discontentedly. ¡°God must have been blind to allow things to go your


    way,¡± she grumbled.


    The dissatisfaction in her voice made him frown as he asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you, my grandma, be on my


    side?¡±


    Her hands then started rubbing and wiping again. ¡°I¡¯m just saying it as it is. With how you treated her six


    years ago, Sonia shouldn¡¯t even have to entertain the thought of forgiving you. You must have one hell of


    luck to not only get her to forgive you, but also agree to a reconciliation. That is why I said that God must


    be blind.¡±


    When Toby heard the statement, his smile seemed to freeze. ¡°From what I¡¯m hearing, it feels like you¡¯re


    against us getting together,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± She shook her head in response and continued, ¡°I¡¯m supportive of her being together with


    the you now. But if you¡¯re going to treat her like how you did six years ago, I want you to stay away from


    her. Don¡¯t hurt her anymore, Toby. Which is why I need to know now that you¡¯re not going to repeat what


    you did to her in the past.¡±


    He immediately nodded, and with a somber look, he announced, ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t! I have not told you


    after all this time, but not only me but our whole family was hypnotized six years ago. I never meant to


    treat her that way!¡±


    Toby would not have known that Sonia was Maple if he was the only one who had fallen for the hypnosis,


    but even Grandma, Tom, and Tyler did not realize the truth. That was when he knew something was


    obviously off.


    Miles also confessed that his encounter with Rose and the rest had been nned from the start, which


    was when he took the chance to hypnotize them. That was how he managed to keep the fact that Sonia


    was, indeed, Maple hidden for six long years.


    ¡°Hypnosis?¡± Rose repeated the word in a grave tone, her eyes staring straight at Toby. ¡°Is this true?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all true. Tina¡¯s hypnosis not only prevented us from recognizing Sonia, she also made me believe


    that she herself was Sonia. She hypnotized me into loving and staying loyal to her only. I wouldn¡¯t have


    woken up from the hypnosis if it weren¡¯t for the car ident I was involved in. I would probably still be


    hung up on that imposter,¡± he finished his sentence coldly. His eyes were cast downward as though he


    was in deep thought.


    Rose could only exim in surprise, saying, ¡°No wonder you did a 180 from being such a gentle person


    to an extremely cold one six years ago! This also exins why I thought you had be your old self


    again after the ident.¡±


    Although it was a hard-to-believe story, Rose naturally trusted the words her grandson was telling her.


    Furthermore, she could have easily known the validity of his im if she were to ask another hypnotist


    regarding this. There was no need to make up a lie like this at all.


    Still, she was undeniably shocked that her grandson had to go through such a terrible thing and that she


    herself had been hypnotized without knowing.


    Her anger red as she heavily thumped her fist on the table. ¡°Who was the one who did it?¡± she


    demanded. The air at the moment was so thick with tension it was almost suffocating.


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    But of course, Rose was a person who had lived more than half her life, and she had even been on the


    frontline during the war in her younger days. It was only natural that she would be intimidating when


    angered.


    However, Toby was not put off by his angry grandma. He only put down the teacup he had wiped clean


    as his mouth coldly spat out a name as though it was venom. ¡°Tina. She hired someone.¡±


    Hearing those words from her grandson made her so angry she could onlyugh. ¡°That woman again!¡±


    Her eyes, filled with bloodlust, turned into slits as she said, ¡°What a fine daughter the Gray Family has


    raised. Do you have any idea how much worse things could have gotten because our whole family was


    hypnotized by Tina?


    We¡¯re lucky she only used hypnosis to do the things she has done so far. Just imagine if she had


    hypnotized you into bing her puppet and had used you to cause havoc within Fuller Group, or even


    worse, the Fuller Family. Not even you would¡¯ve been able to go against her if that¡¯s the case!¡±

 Chapter 593

    Chapter 593


    Chapter 593 Tough Decision


    A wave of fear suddenly washed over Rose after she said that. Toby, on the other hand, kept mum, his


    complicated emotions reflected on his face.


    As ridiculous as it might sound, he indeed should be feeling grateful for the fact that Tina and her family


    had not gone overboard with their scheme. Otherwise, they would have had to rename their empire to


    Triforce a long time ago. Fuller Group would probably have ceased to exist.


    Seeing that her grandson had no intention of answering her, Rose looked at him with a dissatisfied look


    on her face as she continued saying, ¡°Toby, we can¡¯t just forget about this. The Fullers never let an insult


    go unreciprocated. The only reason Tina could afford to hire a hypnotist was because we provided her


    with the finances to do so. And don¡¯t even mention the number of times Tina and her family have


    attempted to try something with Sonia. There¡¯s no more reason for you to still keep them on our side.¡±


    With each country¡¯smon business practices, it would not be easy toy hands on anotherpany


    without breaking aw of some sort. However, Toby Fuller was a man whose influence ran so wide and


    deep within the industry that he would have more than one way to get rid of the Gray Family. His


    contribution to the country would only result in the government turning a blind eye toward his actions.


    Simply put, it wasn¡¯t impossible at all for the Fullers to demolish the Grays. What Rose did not


    understand was why Toby still chose not to do anything even up till this point.


    Rose had never questioned Toby before, as she assumed that he, as the head of the Fullers, must have


    had his own reason for protecting them. But now that the cat was out of the bag, and she finally knew


    about Tina¡¯s hypnosis on the Fullers, she could no longer put up with the Gray Family.


    Toby knew the exact thoughts running through his grandma¡¯s head right at the moment. He massaged


    the tense spot between his brows and glumly said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it before, Grandma. I, too, want to


    get back at them for what they did to Sonia and our family, but now¡¯s not the right time to do that.¡±


    When Rose heard Toby¡¯s justification, a frown appeared on her face. ¡°And why is that?¡± she asked.


    He looked at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s because of Sonia¡¯s identity.¡±


    His brief reply only confused Rose more. ¡°Sonia¡¯s identity? What about her identity?¡±


    ¡°Sonia¡­ is the daughter of the Gray couple.¡±


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    ¡°What?¡± Rose was so surprised she unknowingly stood up.


    Mary, who had been in the room all this time, couldn¡¯t conceal her shock as well. ¡°Young Master Toby,


    you must be joking! Young Mistress can¡¯t possibly be their daughter.¡±


    Obviously still bbergasted, Rose seemed slightly shaken as she quickly reprimanded her grandson.


    ¡°Toby, watch your words!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling the whole truth. Sonia is the Gray couple¡¯s biological daughter that was stolen away by Henry


    Reed 20 years ago.¡± With pursed lips, he continued, ¡°Her real name is Rina Gray.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Mary couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity and asked, ¡°But didn¡¯t Rina Gray already return to


    Gray Residence?¡±


    ¡°That one¡¯s an imposter. She¡¯s not the real Rina Gray¡ªSonia is. The imposter¡¯s name is Taylor Carey.


    She¡¯s someone Sonia and Zane found to impersonate Rina, and she was supposed to create chaos


    within the Gray Family before she, unfortunately, realized how wealthy they are. She¡¯s now nning to


    take Sonia¡¯s real identity because of her greed,¡± Toby said while massaging his forehead.


    Rose finally understood the situation after hearing Toby¡¯s exnation. With Mary¡¯s help, she took a seat


    on the couch again as she asked, ¡°So, this¡­ Taylor Carey. She betrayed Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and not only that, she did all sorts of underhanded things after finding out that Sonia is the real


    daughter to the Gray Family. She has had Sonia knocked unconscious before. She also got rid of the


    birthmark on Sonia¡¯s body that could have proven that she was Rina.¡±


    Toby¡¯s words made Rose silent for a long time before she eventually let out a sigh mixed with a myriad of


    emotions. ¡°Who would have thought that Sonia is their biological daughter? A lot of people from our


    circle were aware of the incident even though the news of Rina¡¯s kidnapping by Henry Reed was never


    publicly announced. Everyone thought he had drowned her after taking her away from her family. I can¡¯t


    believe that he has been raising her this whole time.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Mary mncholically nodded.


    All of a sudden, Mary gave a big p to her thigh as she seemed to recall something important. She then


    said, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, I just thought of something. Henry Reed¡¯s wife, Mrs. Lina Reed, fell really sick


    when their child was a few months old 20 years ago. After that, her mental health seemed to have


    deteriorated when she attended events because she would keep mumbling something about missing her


    child. She used to bring her child everywhere, but she stopped doing that for a while around that time.


    That was when the servants started a rumor that she must have acted that way because her child had


    passed away.¡±


    Rose nodded when she heard Mary¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about this from you before. Henry¡¯s father was


    an oldrade of my father¡¯s during the war, which was why I paid extra attention when you told me


    this. I even had someone go check up on how the Reed family and Lina were doing and whether the


    child was really gone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and the person you sent came back with the news that Mrs. Reed had regained her health,


    and the child too was alive. The reason Mrs. Reed was in bad shape was that her child had fallen sick.


    The rumor only started because it was known that her child has had a weak body ever since birth and


    that it¡¯d be hard to raise and take care of the child. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything odd when news


    came back that Mrs. Reed had gotten better at the same time her child¡¯s health had improved, but now


    that I think about it¡­¡± Mary said before ultimately ending her sentence without finishing her words.


    Toby, who had been quietly listening,pleted Mary¡¯s thoughts instead as he squinted his eyes in


    concentration and said, ¡°The child that Sonia¡¯s mother had could really have passed away. The healthy


    child that you heard about must have been Sonia instead.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts exactly,¡± Mary added.


    Rose let out a sigh again. ¡°I think I get the whole picture now. Henry must have kept Sonia alive because


    his own child had passed away, and Lina was mentally unwell because of that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the case,¡± Mary said.


    Rose then turned to look at Toby and said understandingly, ¡°No wonder you haven¡¯t done anything to the


    Grays despite everything that has happened. You are in love with Sonia, who is one of them. You have


    too much to consider before you can make a move on them.¡±


    He could only stay silent at that.


    She then asked again, ¡°You¡¯ve been hiding the truth of Sonia¡¯s birth for so long. Do you not n on


    letting her know?¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± he said while nodding. ¡°The Reeds and Grays are old rivals. The Gray family has attempted to


    murder Sonia so many times; their rtionship is probably beyond repair. How do you think Sonia would


    feel if we were to tell her that the ones who have been trying to get her killed are, in fact, her biological


    parents?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Rose furrowed her eyebrows, and the look on her face gradually changed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t


    be able to ept it if I were to find out that the one who pushed my father to death and tried to kill me


    was my biological father all along. I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it both mentally and emotionally,¡± Rose


    admitted as she put herself in Sonia¡¯s shoes.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. This is the exact reason I¡¯m still keeping Sonia in the dark about this. She was taken in and


    given the best care by the Reed Family when she was but a young child. Despite what has transpired


    between the families in the past, the fact is, Sonia considers the Reed couple her real parents. She has


    known that Titus Gray is the reason for Henry¡¯s death all this while. Don¡¯t forget that all the hardships she


    was put through were because of the Grays. She definitely holds resentment toward the Gray Family,¡±


    Toby said solemnly as his eyes cast down.


    ¡°If I were to tell Sonia the truth behind her identity now, it wouldpletely destroy her perception of the


    world. It could even lead her to start rejecting and denying herself. If she were to know that the Grays are


    rted to her by blood, she wouldn¡¯t have the heart to do anything to them anymore. But at the same


    time, she can¡¯t just turn her back on the Reeds, who have been there for her throughout the years. I¡¯m


    afraid that she woulde to the conclusion that the only way for her to cut her ties with both the Reed


    and Gray family would be by ending her own life.¡±


    Mary carefully listened to Toby and gave his words a thought before nodding and agreeing. ¡°Young


    Master Toby is right. Young Mistress is someone who would do that.¡±


    Rose could only let out another deep sigh. ¡°This is a tough situation. Sonia still isn¡¯t aware of the truth,


    and she holds grudges against the Gray Family, which she is rted to. And yet, we can¡¯t possibly let her


    harm the Gray couple lest she carries the guilt for the rest of her life. No matter the circumstances, they


    are, indeed, her biological parents.¡±

 Chapter 594

    Chapter 594


    Chapter 594 The Best Way


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Toby said as his hand moved to massage his temple instead. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything to Titus


    and his family too. What if I were to kill him, only for Sonia to find out about her birth one day? How


    would she see me then? She may loath the thought of being the Gray couple¡¯s daughter, but no one can


    choose their parents. The day I kill her parents will be the day I destroy my rtionship with her. She¡¯ll


    choose to leave me.¡±


    So this was the true reason Toby had been putting up with the Grays.


    If it wasn¡¯t for his fear of losing Sonia, he would have brought the Grays to ruin himself a long time ago.


    He would carry out his revenge on behalf of Sonia, and she would be able to get what she wanted


    without dirtying her hands.


    s, Sonia just had to be the Gray couple¡¯s biological daughter.


    Even if she refused to ept them as her parents, he would be a murderer who had killed her


    blood rtives if he really were to have the couple murdered.


    While she might not hate him for his actions, she definitely would start pushing him away.


    Theplexity of the situation made Rose rub her forehead as she felt a headache creeping up the


    back of her head. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, neither you nor Sonia can do anything to the Grays then,¡± she


    deduced.


    ¡°She definitely can¡¯t.¡± In a grave tone, he continued, ¡°Furthermore, Sonia and I found something out on


    our trip to Kosovo.¡±


    Rose knew that her grandson was going to say something serious by the looks of it. ¡°What is it?¡± she


    asked as she stroked the cane she was holding in her hand.


    ¡°Henry Reed did notmit suicide because of what happened to Paradigm Co., nor was it because of


    the disappearance of Jessica Reed and Sandra Brenner after they took the money. He was drugged.


    Titus had the mother-and-daughter duo feed him a drug that weakened him mentally,¡± he said.


    Rose was hit by one surprise after another, and she quickly asked, ¡°Did something like that really


    happen?¡±


    ¡°It did.¡± Fatigue could be heard seeping through his replies. ¡°Sonia¡¯s hatred for the Gray Family only got


    deeper after knowing this. She wants Titus to be sentenced to death as revenge for Henry¡¯s murder. But


    if she does seed at doing so, she¡¯ll never have another day where she¡¯s at peace because she¡¯d be


    her own father¡¯s murderer.¡±


    After hearing that, Rose quietly pondered for a bit. ¡°So what we have to do now is to hide Sonia¡¯s birth


    from her while stopping her from doing anything to Titus?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Toby said with his head raised.


    ¡°But how will Sonia ever repay and avenge the Reeds? As long as she doesn¡¯t end her rtionship with


    the Reed and Gray Families, she¡¯ll live a life of vengeance forever.¡± Rose, at the moment, was


    exasperated.


    With pursed lips, Toby uttered, ¡°There¡¯s only one way, and that is to wait for the day Titus dies.¡±


    ¡°And how long will that take?¡± Rose asked with a frown.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to wait for long,¡± he said as he gently shook his head. ¡°A few more months at most. His


    kidney failure is now at the critical stage, and he hasn¡¯t found apatible donor for a kidney transnt.


    The chances of him dying from this are pretty high. And when the day doese, all Sonia has to do is


    buy the ownership of the Triforce Enterprise that Titus cares about so much, and rename it to Paradigm


    Co. This should be enough revenge on behalf of Henry and the rest of the Reeds.¡±


    ¡°So all we have to do within the next few months is to n out what we intend to do to the Grays,


    correct?¡± Rose needed to make sure that was a workable solution.


    Toby hummed approvingly before saying, ¡°That¡¯s all we can do for now. The day Titus dies will be the


    day the Gray Family falls into shambles. Even if Sonia were to find out about the truth, the most she¡¯ll do


    is shut herself away for a short while. Not the best oue, but still, it¡¯ll be better than getting stuck and


    being immobile between the two families.¡±


    ¡°You have a point,¡± Rose said after contemting. ¡°Go ahead and do it your way, since you have it all


    thought out.¡±


    Toby wiped down thest teacup in his hand and put it back onto the tea tray. He then said, ¡°I will,


    Grandma.¡±


    She let out another grievous sigh as she thought about the absurdity of the whole situation. ¡°Who would


    have imagined that the life Sonia lives would be such a hard one?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true that no one would have expected this.¡± Toby leaned back into the couch.


    The Reeds and the Grays were already each other¡¯s nemesis for 26 years. For Henry to bring up and


    raise his rival¡¯s child like one of his own was definitely as unbelievable as it was absurd.


    Honestly speaking, Toby was thankful for the fact that Henry had taken Sonia away from the Grays. She


    would not have be who she was today if she had been under the care of the Gray couple. She


    probably would be another Tina.


    Once that discussion was over, he poured himself a cup of tea before bringing up the reason he came to


    Rose¡¯s room. ¡°Alright, Grandma. It¡¯s prettyte now. Did you need me here for something?¡±


    She turned to look at him as she said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. I only wanted to talk to you about the


    company shares. Tyler¡¯sing of age is just around the corner. What are your ns for it?¡±


    He gave it a thought and eventually said, ¡°I will return him the five percent that Dad gave him, but only


    after he reaches age. As for the rest of the business, I will discuss it with him further when hees


    back. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t take advantage of my own younger brother.¡±


    ¡°Right, you know what to do,¡± she said after hearing his words. ¡°Well then, you may go back to your


    room. Your olddy here needs some rest too.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby got up from the couch and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be out of your hair then.¡± He then looked


    over at Mary and reminded, ¡°Mary, please take good care of Grandma.¡±


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    Mary only smilingly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Young Master Toby.¡±


    At the end of the conversation, he put down the cup he was using and finally left for his bedroom.


    Coincidentally, his room was right across Sonia¡¯s.


    He stood in front of his door after reaching his room. Instead of making way into the room to rest, he


    threw a few nces over at her door.


    No traces of light could be seen peeking through the gaps between the door and the doorframe. She


    must be asleep, he thought.


    He had no intention of waking Sonia since she was already asleep, and so he opened his bedroom door


    and made his way into his bedroom.


    After a night of rest, Sonia was woken up by the ringing of her phone the next morning. Her delicate


    brows first furrowed at the noise before her hand crawled out from underneath the covers and made its


    way to the head of the bed.


    After she felt the familiar feeling of her phone on her fingertips, she swiped at the screen based on her


    muscle memory. She then moved the phone to her ear, and with sleep still evident in herzy voice, she


    murmured, ¡°Who is this?¡±


    The caller was quiet for a while, but a frivolous voice soon rang out from the speaker. ¡°Sonia, are you still


    in bed?¡±


    Sonia forced one eye open when she heard the voice. ¡°Zane?¡± she asked.


    Teasingly, he said, ¡°Bingo. I thought that you wouldn¡¯t recognize my voice since you¡¯re clearly not awake


    now. I must be somewhat of an important person to you, for you to know it¡¯s me.¡±


    While listening to Zane, Sonia rubbed her forehead andy on her back. She then stared at the ceiling


    after managing to open both her eyes. ¡°Enough. Stop messing around. Why did you call?¡±


    ¡°I bring good news.¡± Calling from his office, Zane, who was dressed in a suit, proudly crossed his pair of


    long legs and said, ¡°The investigators assigned by the government are heading our way. They are


    currently doing their investigation in Norfolk, and they will arrive in Seafield soon.¡±


    Her eyes shone when she heard the words she had been waiting for. ¡°How long will it take for them to


    reach Seafield and start investigating Triforce Enterprise?¡± she excitedly asked.


    Despite it being a voice call, Zane put up one finger as though Sonia could see him. ¡°About a month,¡± he


    announced.


    Sonia could only grab onto her phone tighter and eximed in excitement, ¡°One month! This is great


    news!¡±


    After waiting for such a long time, she was finally only a month away from taking her revenge on Triforce


    Enterprise and the Gray Family!


    ¡°Thanks for letting me know, Zane. This is, indeed, very good news!¡± she eximed.


    Zane casually waved his hand and replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. We both want the same thing.


    The Grays are our enemies, so I, of course, have to let you know anything that could help us achieve our


    goal. I also have some other good news for you.¡±


    At that, she sat against the headboard and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the other news?¡± The sleep in her voice was


    already reced by anticipation.


    His face and voice turned mysterious when he told her the other information he had. ¡°The investigators


    were in Fredburg some time ago. They had thoroughly checked Lindorff Co., and it was so corrupted that


    their chairman was detained, and thepany had to be closed down for further investigation. I¡¯ve heard


    that the government has the intention to put thepany up for auction.¡±

 Chapter 595

    Chapter 595


    Chapter 595 Good News From Zane


    ¡°Auction?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes shone with interest as she repeated the word. ¡°Lindorff Co. is the one in the


    machinery industry, yes?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s simr to what you¡¯re doing at Paradigm Co. If you can win your bid on Lindorff Co.


    during the auction and merge it with yourpany, Paradigm Co. will be a new force to reckon with in


    the industry.¡± Zane then smiled and asked, ¡°How¡¯s the news? Good enough for you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s great news, and I¡¯m tempted by the offer. But in case you forgot, let me remind you that I¡¯m broke,¡±


    Sonia said with a frown.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that but a small matter to worry about?¡± Zane sloppily asked as his legs swung. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor


    that the government allowspanies to usepany shares as credit for the auction. I suggest you


    use some of your shares to get funds in return. Not only will you have the government as one of


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s shareholders, you will also have their backing in the future. That way, you won¡¯t have to


    constantly worry about being on the receiving end of some hanky-panky business.¡±


    Surprised by the favorable conditions of the auction, Sonia sat up straighter than ever. ¡°That¡¯s too good


    to be true!¡±


    Zane nodded in agreement at that. ¡°It indeed is. It¡¯s not something that we cane across often. It¡¯s


    first-hand news to me, but once words get out and far, for sure will be a number of private businesses


    that will want to join in on the bid. I mean, who wouldn¡¯t want to catch this big fish that¡¯s tantly


    swimming in front of their eyes? Which is why, Sonia, you have to grab onto this opportunity. Lindorff Co.


    could easily be taken away by other private businesses if you don¡¯t look out and act fast,¡± he said.


    Upon hearing this, she could only bite her lower lip in resignation. ¡°I know what you mean, but


    unfortunately, I can¡¯t buy Lindorff Co. There are too manypanies that are better than Paradigm Co.


    out there. Paradigm can¡¯t possibly win against the hundreds of thousands ofpetitors we have.¡±


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this. Companies that wish to take part in this auction first have to send in


    their application, and if the officials were to find out anything problematic with thesepanies that


    registered upon inspection, they would be disqualified immediately. I¡¯m predicting a disqualification of at


    least 80 percent of all thepanies in just the first round,¡± he exined.


    It was not a well-kept secret that every business had, in some ways, done something againstmon


    business practices at some point in their existence.


    The authority wasn¡¯t looking for apany that waspletely free of underhanded dealings; they


    wanted someone that had not done anything that had crossed the line of being justifiable.


    The small glimmer of hope Sonia had earlier went away in a poof as she understood Zane¡¯s words. As


    she massaged the tip of her eyebrows, she gloomily said, ¡°Paradigm Co. will definitely be eliminated as


    well then. Asher had done a good deal of suspicious ventures under thepany¡¯s name before. Tax


    evasion was anything but taboo when he was in charge of Paradigm Co.¡±


    Indeed, if it wasn¡¯t for her quick move at getting a loan from the bank to pay off the remaining unpaid


    taxes, Titus would probably have reported her to the authorities.


    By then, Paradigm Co. would have been destroyed before she even had the chance to manage it.


    Getting rid of all the bad eggs within thepany was one of the things she was thankful she did every


    time she recalled the time she had gotten her new position in Paradigm Co.


    ¡°As you said, all that happened was when Asher was in charge. You¡¯re the boss now. Paradigm Co. has


    been free from corruption these past few months, correct? In my honest opinion, I think Paradigm Co.


    stands a pretty good chance against otherpanies. The first thing these investigators inspect is not


    the business itself, but the background of the person in charge. As long as the head of thepany is


    not problematic, the rest of the body should be safe too,¡± he leisurely said as he swung his legs and


    crossed them on his desk.


    His reassurance made her slightly regain her confidence. ¡°Really? You think so?¡±


    ¡°I know so. Why would I lie to you? Anyway, just fill in your application to join the auction. I¡¯ll send it in for


    you, and I¡¯ll let you know the result as soon as I can.¡± His head was busy bobbing up and down as he


    told her that.


    A smile then unconsciously appeared on Sonia¡¯s lips. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble. I will definitely


    repay you if things work out the way we want.¡±


    As Zane listened to her, an assistant of his came into the office. He knowingly brought his legs down


    from the desk and said to her, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for the day then. I have a meeting now. We¡¯ll talk again some


    other time. I¡¯m hanging up.¡±


    She let out a low hum in agreement before bidding her farewell. ¡°Bye, Zane.¡±


    Her excitement didn¡¯t go away even after the call had ended. She tightly held onto her phone with a face


    full of exhrated smiles.


    Sonia had thought that Paradigm Co. would have to go through a long waiting period before it could


    stand amongst the other giants again. Who would have known that an opportunity like this would present


    itself in the most appetizing way right in front of her eyes?


    She just knew it in her guts that this was an opportunity she couldn¡¯t miss, and with that thought in mind,


    her beautiful almond eyes narrowed in determination.


    At that moment, a knock came from the direction of her bedroom door before Toby¡¯s deep, melodious


    voice rang out. ¡°Sonia, are you awake?¡±


    Sonia took a deep breath to calm her still-tingling nerves, and only when she wasposed did she look


    toward the source of the voice. ¡°I¡¯m up.¡±


    ¡°Come out for breakfast then. The food¡¯s ready.¡± Toby had slowly removed his hand from her door as he


    said that.


    Her soft voice then answered from the other side of the door. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll be out soon. You can go ahead


    without me.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything more, and she did not bother continuing the brief conversation. After that, she got


    out of bed and went to freshen up in the bathroom.


    She wasn¡¯t worried about not having anything to change into as one of the servants had passed her a


    fresh set ofundry justst night.


    In just a short time, she had washed herself, changed into clean clothes, and had her makeup done.


    Thereafter, she finally headed toward her bedroom door.


    After opening the door, she walked straight ahead without sparing a single nce at Toby, who had been


    waiting for her all this time. ¡°Sonia,¡± he called with his eyebrows raised ever-so-slightly.


    Hearing a male voice unexpectedly saying her name got her stopping dead in her tracks as she whipped


    her body around to see who it was. Only then did she see Toby leaning against the wall right beside the


    bedroom door. She couldn¡¯t help but ask him strangely, ¡°What are you doing here? Didn¡¯t I tell you to go


    ahead without me?¡±


    ¡°I was waiting for you,¡± he said as he took long strides toward her. ¡°But you were walking straight ahead


    without even looking at me.¡±


    Embarrassed, Sonia tousled a lock of her hair and apologized. ¡°Sorry. I thought you left. I didn¡¯t look


    because I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯ve been waiting for me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not ming you or anything. Let¡¯s go to the dining hall,¡± he said after he was done teasing her. He


    then took his hand out of his pocket and held her hand in his.


    She instinctively wanted to pull away, but his grip on her was strong enough to restrict her from doing so.


    With a serious look on his face, he said, ¡°Sonia, even though we¡¯re not back together, we, technically,


    are a couple. So please, don¡¯t reject my advances.¡±


    Her eyes dropped as she listened to his sincere pleas, and she said, ¡°Sorry. I understand. I¡¯ll try to get


    used to it soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Let¡¯s go.¡± And that was all he said before he smilingly walked with her along the


    corridor.


    Breakfast was already served when they reached the dining hall.


    Toby pulled a chair for Sonia to sit in, and to his pleasure, she did not reject his gesture this time. Seeing


    how the seat for the head of the household was still empty, she asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Grandma?¡±


    He proceeded to take the seat beside her while he poured her a ss of milk. ¡°Grandma doesn¡¯t eat


    here. She takes her breakfast in her room,¡± he replied.


    ¡°I see.¡± She nodded understandingly and stopped asking questions.


    ¡°Go ahead and eat,¡± he urged while pouring himself a cup of coffee.


    Sonia only hummed in response before picking up the cutlery and started cutting her food into bite-size


    pieces. After her first bite, she looked at Toby, who was enjoying his cup of hot coffee. Her mouth then


    opened and closed as though she had something to say regarding what she was seeing.


    He put down his cup and caringly asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± She hesitated for a while before saying, ¡°It¡¯s better to not drink coffee too early in the morning.


    It¡¯s especially bad for your stomach to drink your coffee ck. Also¡­¡±


    Her face suddenly turned red by the end of her sentence. She then chose to keep the remaining words


    to herself.


    ¡°What else?¡± he asked as his sharp eyes narrowed curiously.


    Her face only got redder as time went. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Check online if you want to know. I¡¯m going to eat


    now.¡± He could barely hear her with her head lowered and her voice as soft as a whisper.


    She then started to robotically cut into the omelet on her te. Toby, who had his curiosity piqued as he


    looked at her, eventually took his phone out.


    He wanted to know exactly what it was she was hiding from him. Seeing him holding his phone only


    made her head drop lower. The flush on her cheeks had spread all the way to her ears by then. While


    Sonia was busy turning herself into a tomato, Toby had already found the information she was hiding


    from him.


    Just like Sonia said, coffee in the morning was supposedly bad for the stomach.


    It was a fact that he had known for a very long time. In fact, coffee taken ck was harmful to the


    stomach no matter the time it was consumed. However, it was something he never minded due to his


    coffee-drinking habits.


    Toby¡¯s thumb continued swiping upward as his eyes moved down. When his eyesnded on one of the


    health disadvantages of drinking coffee, his pupils suddenly dted as his eyes became dim.


    Ah, right. So this is what you mean by the cons of drinking ck coffee¡­

 Chapter 596

    Chapter 596


    Chapter 596 Provocation in the Parking Lot


    After all, what was written there was ¡®second con of men consuming coffee in the morning: reduction in


    sperm count and lower stamina¡¯!


    At once, Toby put down his phone before turning to look at the woman next to him.


    Her face was as red as a tomato, and for now, she could only try her best to keep her head low. In fact,


    she was hiding her face so low that her face was almost touching her te.


    With that, Toby had confirmed that what she was about to say earlier was regarding the reduction in


    sperm count and lower stamina.


    Otherwise, her face wouldn¡¯t be so flushed.


    Besides, the other cons listed wouldn¡¯t be the cause of her embarrassment.


    ¡°You¡­¡± His lips trembled for a second as if he was about to say something.


    Suddenly, Sonia put down the fork and knife that she was holding before standing up. ¡°Oh, I just


    remembered something! I need to use the washroom.¡±


    After that, she pulled her chair before getting out of the restaurant like she was escaping from someone.


    Looking at the back of her figure, he let out a low chuckle.


    Hearing hisugh, Sonia covered her face before speeding up her steps.


    Once she reached the washroom, she shut the door before leaning her back against it. At that moment,


    she seemed very disoriented.


    In fact, she had never felt so awkward in her entire life.


    If she knew better, she wouldn¡¯t have told him to look up the cons of drinking coffee in the morning.


    That would have saved her from the embarrassment that led to her escape.


    Removing her hands from her face, she took a long breath in an attempt to regain herposure.


    After some time, her heart which had been pacing wildly had returned to a normal rate.


    Then, she went to the basin before turning the tap water on to ssh some cold water on her face to


    lower the heat on her face before leaving the washroom to return to the restaurant.


    After returning, she believed she would definitely have to endure his suggestive looks.


    Hence, the probability of Sonia feeling awkward again was high.


    Despite this, she could only bear it. After all, she was the one who started the topic. Since they were both


    adults, she should be fine with himughing over that.


    At that thought, she took a deep breath in before pushing the restaurant¡¯s door open.


    Seeing that, he put down the utensils he was holding before pulling her chair for her. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡±


    She hummed in acknowledgement before walking over to take her seat with her slightly lowered.


    Just as she was about to pick up her utensils, he suddenly draped his arm over the chair that she was


    sitting on before leaning close to whisper, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll try to control my coffee intake. I won¡¯t let you


    be at a disadvantage.¡±


    After saying that, he let out a low chuckle before removing his arm and straightening his posture.


    Meanwhile, she was stumped after hearing what he said. The fork and knife that she was holding fell on


    the te, and the blush that had gone down resurfaced on her cheeks.


    ¡°Toby, y-you¡­ What are you talking about?¡± Biting her lower lip, she looked at the man in front of her


    with anger.


    At that moment, she couldn¡¯t believe he would say what he said.


    As she wasn¡¯t stupid, she knew what he meant exactly.


    Because of that, she felt both embarrassed and furious.


    Looking at Sonia, who was flushed with embarrassment, Toby smirked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be shy. When


    we get together in the future, these things will surely ensue.¡±


    ¡°Who said that I want to have things ensued with you?¡± ring at him, she scolded, ¡°If you continue on


    with this nonsense, don¡¯t me me for extending the time!¡±


    The moment Toby heard that, his face fell. At once, he seemed serious as he quickly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry. I won¡¯t tease you anymore.¡±


    Jokes on that. After his long, persistent efforts, he had finally swayed her. She had already agreed that


    she needed half a month¡¯s time to sort things out. After that, she would get back together with him.


    If his unnecessaryments would cause the reconciliation to be dyed, he would be punishing


    himself.


    Seeing that he was finally going to end that topic, Sonia finally felt relieved. She then humphed before


    saying, ¡°Eat up.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± With a nod, he called for a server, ¡°Excuse me, can I get a new cup? I¡¯d like to pour some milk.¡±


    Hearing that, she paused her movements for a moment without saying anything.


    After all, he was just pouring milk without saying anything else.


    After breakfast, it was already 8.30 a.m.


    After going to Rose¡¯s room to bid her goodbye, she left the old manor with Toby.


    He then drove and sent her to Paradigm Co.


    The journey to thepany took an hour.


    When he brought the car to her designated parking lot, he noticed that there was already a car


    upying her lot.


    Looking at the vehicle, she frowned.


    The entirepany knew that this was her designated parking lot. Even if her car wasn¡¯t parked at that


    moment, there¡¯d be a yellow sign showing that it was a private parking.


    However, there was a ck Japanese car tantly parked on her spot at this very moment¨C¨Ceven the


    yellow sign was cast aside. Who was the uncultured person?


    Why didn¡¯t the manager of the parking lot deal with that?


    Looking at her gaze that was fixated on the car, Toby squinted before asking, ¡°That¡¯s not your car, right?¡±


    Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    She hummed in response, ¡°No. I don¡¯t know whose car it is. However, if they can ess the car park, it


    must be someone in Paradigm Co.¡±


    Nheless, the higher-ups and shareholders of Paradigm Co. had their own designated parking lots,


    so they wouldn¡¯t take up someone else¡¯s spot. As for the other employees, there were public parking lots


    that they could use, so they wouldn¡¯t drive to the area of reserved parking.


    Therefore, the owner of this vehicle must be an employee or higher-up of Paradigm Co. who had


    differing opinions on her. That was why they decided to go against the rules and take up her parking


    space.


    Frankly, she thought that it was thetter because a normal employee of thepany wouldn¡¯t dare to


    do so. For that reason, it could only be the higher-ups.


    Thing was, which one of them?!


    ¡°The car owner is provoking you.¡± Toby turned to look at Sonia, who was in the passenger¡¯s seat as he


    said that.


    With a stern expression, she nodded. ¡°I can see that too.¡±


    ¡°Did you offend anyely?¡± he continued to ask.


    Shaking her head in denial, she replied, ¡°I have no idea. I didn¡¯t really have any beef with any higher-ups.


    There had been some difference in opinion with Asher¡¯s group of people, but they wouldn¡¯t do such


    things. They would¡¯ve done it if they wanted to instead of waiting until now only to pull such a childish


    trick to provoke me.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ It¡¯s an unknown enemy.¡± With a steady tone, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll apany you upstairs.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need!¡± Unbuckling her safety belt, she continued, ¡°I know you¡¯re afraid that I won¡¯t be able to


    handle this, but I believe I am capable enough to do so. Not to mention, it¡¯s someone from Paradigm Co.


    As the biggest shareholder of thepany, of course the boss, I, should deal with a subordinate who


    dared to cross the line myself. I will handle this on my own.¡±


    After saying that, she gave him a serious and determined look.


    At once, he let out a softugh. ¡°I knew that you¡¯d say so. Fine, you may go ahead yourself. However, if


    things get out of hand, give me a call.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± After replying with a nod, she opened the door to get out of the car. Then, she waved to him as


    she stood outside. ¡°You can go back now. Drive safe. I¡¯ll see you!¡±


    ¡°See you!¡± He mimicked her nod before reversing the car and leaving.


    Seeing that his car had gone, she lowered her hand that was previously waving at him as the smile on


    her lips faltered. Walking to her parking lot, she pulled out her phone with a cold expression as she made


    a phone call.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the towingpany sent someone over.


    Pointing at the car that was upying her lot, she said coldly, ¡°Please tow this car away. You can just


    leave it by the street outside.¡±


    It was her parking lot.


    As the biggest shareholder of Paradigm Co., people would think that she was an easy target to bully if


    she allowed someone else to provoke her by parking their vehicle at her spot.


    If word got out, how could she be able to manage Paradigm Co.?


    The employees of Paradigm Co. would think that she was a boss who didn¡¯t have any authority and


    couldn¡¯t lead thepany.

 Chapter 597

    Chapter 597


    Chapter 597 Who Would¡¯ve Thought That It Was Her


    ¡°Alright, Miss Reed. We¡¯ll move the car immediately.¡± As soon as the leader of the car towing team heard


    Sonia¡¯s request, he quickly gave out the order.


    Not long after, a small team of people arrived and started working on her request.


    While she stood by the side to observe, she made a phone call to Daphne.


    In no time, Daphne picked up. ¡°President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Miss Daphne, do you know whose car is upying my parking lot?¡± Sonia asked with her eyes still


    fixated on the Japanese car.


    The car looked rather new and it seemed to have been recently purchased.


    Furthermore, she was feeling very ufortable seeing the Japanese car as it refreshed her memories


    of when Tina ran over Toby and herself. At that time, Tina was driving a Japanese car too.


    After such a long time, there still hadn¡¯t been any news on Tina or her whereabouts.


    ¡°Your parking lot?¡± On the phone, Daphne replied with a confused tone, ¡°My apologies, President Reed. I


    didn¡¯t go to the parking lot this morning, so I wasn¡¯t aware that a car was parked in your space.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded, signifying that she understood. She then continued, ¡°Then¡­ Please find the car


    park manager and inquire about this situation.¡±


    ¡°Alright, President Reed,¡± Daphne replied.


    After ending the call, Sonia pocketed her phone before she continued to watch the process of the car


    being towed.


    When the Japanese car had been moved onto the tow truck, she walked over and ced the sign saying


    to not park back at her parking spot.


    After that, she paid the towing team before making her way to the lift.


    It didn¡¯t take long before she had arrived at her office.


    At this moment, Daphne was already waiting at the doorstep of her office. Seeing that Sonia was walking


    over, Daphne started reporting the schedule for the day.


    After that, she started telling Sonia what she had gotten from the car park manager. ¡°President Reed, the


    manager said that the owner of the car is a woman who ims to be your younger sister. That¡¯s why the


    manager didn¡¯t chase the car owner away.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia halted her footsteps before turning over to ask, ¡°What did you say? Younger sister?¡±


    Could it be Jessica?


    ¡°Yes, that was what the manager said.¡± Daphne nodded before she continued, ¡°He even said that the


    woman showed him her passport. The name stated was Jessica Reed. Hence, the manager thought that


    her name was really simr to yours, so he believed that she was your sister and didn¡¯t stop her as he


    was also afraid to offend you.¡±


    In this case, it wasn¡¯t the manager¡¯s fault.


    The person to me was the woman who pretended to be her sister.


    ¡°So it really is Jessica!¡± At once, Sonia clenched her fists tight as her expression turned sour.


    Just as she was wondering if Jessica was the one who imed to be her younger sister, her guess


    turned out to be correct.


    ¡°President Reed, do you know Jessica Reed?¡± Daphne looked at Sonia with curiosity. Seeing that Sonia


    did not have a positive look on her face, Daphne asked, ¡°President Reed, does the woman named


    Jessica have anything against you?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember the fact that my dad had another daughter besides me? A younger daughter?¡± Sonia


    did not give Daphne a direct reply. Instead, she replied with a question.


    Nodding her head, Daphne said, ¡°I do. I heard President Lane bring it up before. So¡­ Does that mean


    Jessica Reed is really your younger sister?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia hummed. ¡°She¡¯s the daughter my father had with his second wife.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Daphne was struck with a realization. ¡°I thought that a liar was pretending to be your sister.


    However¡­¡±


    With a frown, Daphne continued, ¡°I heard from President Lane that your sister and your stepmother had


    taken all of the money from Paradigm Co. and left six years ago. Now that she has made an appearance


    here at Paradigm Co. again, do you think she¡¯s plotting something?¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia pursed her lips without saying anything.


    Frankly, she strongly agreed with what Daphne had said.


    Jessica was sent to the Republic of Mesania by the Lazulis. Therefore, she should be living there right


    now.


    However, she returned to Seafield instead and even came straight to Paradigm Co. Now that Jessica


    had even upied her parking lot to provoke Sonia, Sonia was convinced that something was fishy.


    ¡°Check out where Jessica is. Since her car has been left in the parking lot, she should still be in


    Paradigm Co. After you find her, bring her to me.¡± Sonia¡¯s expression was as cold as ice as she gave out


    the order.


    Initially, she intended to go to the Republic of Mesania and bring Jessica back so that she can properly


    apologize in front of their father¡¯s grave.


    Obviously, it was unexpected that Jessica woulde here herself before she went over.


    In this case, this surprise saved her some time and effort.


    ¡°Noted, President Reed. I¡¯ll work on it right away.¡± After nodding, Daphne left to carry out her task.


    Sonia then continued to walk forward until she arrived at her desk. Just as she sat down, her phone


    vibrated. A notification from Messenger came through¨C¨Cit was from Toby.


    Immediately, her frown was rxed as she tapped open the message to view it. ¡®Have you found out


    who was the provoker?¡¯


    Frankly, she saw thating.


    With a smile, she replied by text, ¡®Yes. It¡¯s Jessica.¡¯


    On the other end of the line, Toby had just gotten out of the lift and was heading to his office. Seeing her


    reply, he paused his steps.


    Jessica?


    Who would¡¯ve thought that it was her?!


    He then started typing away. ¡®She came back?¡¯


    After rubbing her temples, she replied to him, ¡®Yes. There wasn¡¯t any news prior to this though. She


    started picking on me as soon as she came back, so she probably has something in mind for the future.


    It¡¯s not entirely a bad thing anyway. She had never visited my father¡¯s grave. It¡¯s time she pays back.¡¯


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    Seeing that, heughed. ¡®Alright. Make her pay everything back.¡¯


    Seeing how supportive he was, Sonia smiled as well.


    At this moment, the door of her office was knocked on.


    Looking up, she said, ¡°Come in.¡±


    She was expecting it to be Daphne, but it was Asher¡¯s assistant instead.


    ¡°President Reed.¡± The assistant gave Sonia a bow.


    Putting down her phone, she asked coldly, ¡°Does President Dafoe need something from me?¡±


    Sonia figured the assistant wouldn¡¯t be here if Asher did not instruct so.


    Standing by the door, his assistant replied, ¡°President Reed, President Dafoe wants you to join the


    meeting.¡±


    ¡°What meeting is going on at this time?¡± Sonia suspiciously furrowed her brows.


    After all, every meeting had to be scheduled beforehand.


    However, there wasn¡¯t any meeting scheduled for today.


    Now that Asher was asking her to join a meeting, something must be going on.


    ¡°President Dafoe said that Paradigm Co. has yet to hold a shareholder¡¯s meeting after you came back to


    thepany for such a long time. This meeting will be held to choose the new chairperson. He said that


    the position of the chairperson has been empty for a long time since there¡¯s only a president and a vice


    president. President Dafoe believes that this is not in the best interest of Paradigm Co.¡¯s development.


    That¡¯s why he thought it would be great to select the chairperson now.¡±


    Leaning back, Sonia said with a half-smile, ¡°I see. However, President Dafoe is wrong about one point.


    The candidate for the chairperson doesn¡¯t have to be chosen at a shareholder¡¯s meeting. All the while,


    the person with the most shares bes the chairperson, so I¡¯m the most suitable person to hold that


    position.¡±


    It was a fact that the person with the most shares would always be the chairperson. If the person holding


    the most shares didn¡¯t be the chairperson, the position would be left empty instead of letting


    anyone with lesser shares to hold it. It was a rule in the business field.


    She was supposed to be the chairperson and not the vice chairperson. However, Charles mentioned that


    she didn¡¯t know much about business previously, so people below her might not be happy with it if she


    suddenly became the chairperson. In worse cases, they might evene together to overthrow her.


    To avoid that, she humbly became the vice chairperson so that she could learn more and earn


    recognition from the shareholders. That way, they wouldn¡¯t have their guards up against her so badly.


    When she was good enough, they wouldn¡¯t be appalled by the decision to have her as chairperson. By


    that time, they wouldn¡¯t be able to bring her down even if they might not like her. After all, she was no


    longer someone who didn¡¯t know much in the field.

 Chapter 598

    Chapter 598


    Chapter 598 Candidate of the Chairperson


    Sonia had already nned to hold a shareholders¡¯ meeting and be the chairperson after the


    factories were built and the machines were sent over from Kosovo prior to this.


    In that course, she could justifiably take over the other half of the power in management from Asher


    which was unlike the current situation¨C¨Cshe was the biggest shareholder, and yet she had to be enduring


    Asher¡¯spetition.


    However, the factory had not beenpleted, and Asher was already holding a shareholders¡¯ meeting to


    elect a chairperson.


    Nevertheless, this situation might be a good thing. Since Asher wanted her to have the position of the


    chairperson so quickly, she ought to fulfill his wish.


    At the door, Asher¡¯s assistant lowered his head in fear after hearing what Sonia said. ¡°President Reed,


    there¡¯s no use telling me that. It¡¯s better if you talk to him in person.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll speak with him.¡± After saying that, Sonia stood up.


    She knew that it was a futile effort to continue talking to the assistant, so she didn¡¯t want to trouble the


    assistant either. After grabbing the notebook on her table, she spoke up again, ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    ¡°This way, President Reed.¡± Seeing that she agreed to join the meeting, the assistant heaved a sigh of


    relief. Immediately, he made a hand gesture signaling Sonia to go in the correct direction.


    Walking over, she passed her notebook to him.


    The assistant was quick to take it in his hands for her.


    After dusting her jacket that was hanging on her shoulder, she walked outside mightily in her high heels.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    In no time, she had arrived at the meeting room¡¯s door.


    Then, the assistant went ahead and held the door for her.


    As she entered the room, she could see that the shareholders and the higher-ups of Paradigm Co. were


    all present. It seemed like she was thest to arrive.


    When the shareholders and the higher-ups saw hering in, they halted their conversations before


    greeting her. ¡°Vice President Reed.¡±


    No matter what, she held the most shares of Paradigm Co. despite the fact that she was just a vice


    president.


    Hence, they had to be respectful to her.


    Giving them a nod in response, Sonia walked to her own seat before sitting down.


    Meanwhile, Asher¡¯s assistant who had been following her went forward and returned the notebook to her


    by cing it on the table in front of her. Immediately after, he left and stood behind Asher.


    ncing past everyone in the meeting room, Asher had his eyes lingering on Sonia for an extra two


    seconds before looking away.


    Nevertheless, Sonia managed to catch that hint of his scheming eyes.


    Out of instinct, she straightened her body as she squinted her eyes.


    What does his gaze earlier mean?


    What does he have up his sleeve?


    She knew that things couldn¡¯t be so simple since Asher held a shareholders¡¯ meeting at this time of day.


    After all, Asher¡¯s shares didn¡¯t even sum up to the second-highest amongst the shareholders¨C¨Che was at


    least the third or fourth. Therefore, he could only hold the president position. With his sly methods and


    the fact that the second and third highest shareholders didn¡¯t have high capabilities, no one would go


    against Asher.


    To sum it up, the shareholders¡¯ meeting today was just odd and fishy.


    First and foremost, Asher knew that he wouldn¡¯t be the chairperson, so the meeting wasn¡¯t


    beneficial to himself at all as it would only push Sonia to the chairperson¡¯s position instead.


    Not to mention, he wouldn¡¯t be oblivious to the fact that the first thing she would do when she became


    chairperson was to retrieve the management powers from his hands.


    In that case, why would he call for the shareholders¡¯ meeting?


    Moreover, Asher¡¯s gaze just now showed that the meeting was held just for her.


    Just as she was deep in thoughts regarding Asher¡¯s scheme, he suddenly pped. ¡°Alright, since


    everyone is here, let¡¯s start our meeting. Everyone knows that a good business always needs a good


    leader as not having one won¡¯t be beneficial for thepany¡¯s development. Because of that, I¡¯m


    suggesting that we elect a chairperson today.¡±


    People who were on his side naturally nodded to show their support.


    Meanwhile, those who were on her side frowned as they heard that.


    Hearing that, one of the managers of a department raised his hand and said, ¡°President Dafoe, do we


    have to elect the chairperson? Isn¡¯t President Reed the chairperson already? She¡¯s the biggest


    shareholder of thepany. Aside from her, who else is suitable for this position?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This meeting is meaningless,¡± Someone added in support.


    Hearing the higher-ups and shareholders speaking up for her, Sonia showed a faint smile.


    On the other hand, Asher¡¯s face darkened when he saw her smile. ¡°Sonia, my dear niece, do you think


    that you should be the chairperson too?¡±


    Picking up the cup of tea in front of her to take a sip, she replied coldly, ¡°President Dafoe, I don¡¯t think


    that this question should be directed to me. Don¡¯t you have an answer in your heart already? But if you


    really want to hear my opinion, I¡¯ll tell you now. The chairperson position is mine. I own 51 percent of


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares, so shouldn¡¯t I naturally be the person in charge of thepany? What do you


    think?¡±


    Frankly, Asher expected Sonia to answer more tactfully. However, she gave a very straightforward


    answer.


    ¡°After managing Paradigm Co. for the past few months, I see that you¡¯ve be more pompous. I bet


    you don¡¯t even know how to be modest anymore.¡± He put on a pretentious smile as he looked at her.


    With a smile, she replied, ¡°Humble? President Dafoe, I told you earlier that I am the biggest shareholder


    of Paradigm Co. It is a fact that can¡¯t be changed even if I¡¯m humble. Since that¡¯s the case, I shouldn¡¯t be


    humble and just cut straight to the chase. After all, there¡¯s no need to beat around the bush, so I should


    just say what I think. However, from the looks of it, do you not want me to be the chairperson?¡±


    Her words were nothing short of straightforwardness, making everyone turn to look at him.


    Of course, Asher¡¯s people naturally knew that he didn¡¯t want her to be the chairperson.


    On the other hand, those who supported Sonia wanted Asher to exin why he didn¡¯t want her to


    be the chairperson.


    Asher just hadn¡¯t expected that what she said earlier wouldnd him in such a difficult spot.


    At this point, he couldn¡¯t use what he had originally nned to say; he could only reply with


    dissatisfaction, ¡°What are you talking about, my niece? Of course, I do not mean it that way. You¡¯ve


    misunderstood me. You said it too, you are the biggest shareholder. Why would I have the thoughts to


    stop you from bing the chairperson?¡±


    Though the truth was otherwise, he could only lie through his teeth now.


    Such words could only be hidden in his heart as they weren¡¯t suitable to say out loud.


    Otherwise, he would be the one getting the short end of the stick. If he were to anger her, she could


    always be the chairperson by force with the highest shares she held. With that, she could get rid of


    him easily.


    At the moment, with the shares he held, he was no match to her.


    Therefore, he couldn¡¯t do anything to provoke her. If she truly took the position by force, his ns for the


    future would be futile.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Hearing Asher¡¯s pretentious words, Sonia didn¡¯t expose him. She simply said with a scoff, ¡°So, you


    want me to be the chairperson? In that case, you held the meeting today for me?¡±


    At once, a gleam of anger shed in his eyes, but he remained smiling. With an insincere smile, Asher


    said, ¡°Not entirely, dear niece. Even though I hope you can be the chairperson, it is based on your


    true ability whether you will get the position or not in the end. After all, there¡¯s another candidate for the


    position who won¡¯t just sit back and watch you be the chairperson.¡±


    ¡°What did you say? Another candidate for the chairperson?¡± At once, Sonia¡¯s expression changed as her


    brows were furrowed.

 Chapter 599

    Chapter 599


    Chapter 599 Candidate for the Next Chairperson: Jessica Reed


    The other shareholders and executives present, including Asher¡¯s own men, were left shocked by the


    unexpected turn of events.


    ¡°There is another candidate for the chairperson position? President Dafoe, what could you possibly


    mean by that?¡± one of the attendees asked before another continued the questioning.


    ¡°Well put! President Dafoe, who other than President Reed would be qualified for the position?¡±


    As those who held no more than 10 percent of thepany¡¯s shares were normally ineligible for the


    position of the chairperson, even the shareholders who had the second and third most shares would not


    even dream of bing the next chairperson as they knew it was an automatic disqualification on their


    part.


    As of now, the only person in the room who had more than 10 percent of the shares was none other than


    Sonia.


    Just who was this second candidate that Asher mentioned?


    Could this person actually be holding just enough of Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares to make him or her a


    candidate?


    However, what Sonia and the shareholders had should have been all the shares avable. Where on


    earth could this extra 10 percente from?


    Furthermore, Paradigm Co. had not been selling itspany shares. Thus, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone


    who would have an extra 10 percent topete with Sonia.


    Asher looked at the confused attendees for a moment before his eyes suddenly shone.


    Sonia, on the other hand, pursed her lips as an ufortable thought hit her.


    Could Jessica be the other candidate?


    Sonia had been observing the faces of everyone in the meeting room when Asher dropped his


    announcement and judging by how clueless they were as she was, she could onlye up with the


    conclusion that the other candidate was not someone from within the room. It must be an outsider, she


    thought.


    Also, Jessica had made an appearance in Sonia¡¯spany today. Her sudden appearance only further


    convinced Sonia that Jessica was the other candidate Asher had in mind.


    After connecting the dots, Sonia turned to look at Asher with narrowed eyes as she spoke up, ¡°President


    Dafoe, since you are suddenly mentioning there is another candidate for the position, I¡¯m sure everyone


    here is curious to know who it is. Why don¡¯t you bring that person here so that we can get to know that


    person?¡± She then turned toward everyone else and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you all agree with me?¡±


    ¡°She is right. We want to know who¨C¨Cother than President Reed¨C¨Cqualifies for the position!¡± someone


    quickly agreed.


    Despite themotion the crowd was gradually making, Asher stayed calm while he put down the


    teacup in his hand. ¡°I will have that persone in since that is what everyone wants. Oh, President


    Reed, just a heads up, it is your blood-rted sister. I¡¯m sure you know who it is,¡± he casually said.


    Sonia¡¯s pupils dted as her hands unconsciously clenched into fists upon hearing his words.


    It was as she had expected.


    Sonia never expected Jessica to join hands with Asher¨C¨Cit seemed like Sonia had underestimated her


    sister.


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    Confused, the other attendees of the meeting asked, ¡°Sister? Since when did President Reed have a


    sister?¡±


    However, the ones who were puzzled by the situation were the shareholders and executives that had


    only joined Paradigm Co. in thest 6 years. The old-timers, on the other hand, showed only the least bit


    of surprise at the news.


    In fact, they had known that Sonia was not an only child all along. Though they might not have known


    what her name was, they knew that the sister was Henry¡¯s second child.


    Besides that, all they knew about Henry¡¯s second child was that she embezzled thepany¡¯s funds


    with her mother¨C¨Cwhich ultimately led to Henry¡¯s suicide 6 years ago.


    If Asher had not used his personal savings, on top of getting a loan from the bank just in time to save


    Paradigm Co. when it was on the brink of destruction, Paradigm Co. would have ceased to exist right


    there and then.


    Those who knew the story behind Paradigm Co.¡¯s revival could not help but feel uneasy at this moment.


    They then started voicing their dissatisfaction.


    ¡°President Dafoe, could Mr. Reed¡¯s second daughter be the candidate you are talking about? How can


    she even be considered for the position?¡±


    ¡°Exactly my thoughts. Did you forget about what had happened 6 years ago, President Dafoe? That


    woman and her mother were the reason why Paradigm Co. was in such shambles then. Someone like


    that can¡¯t possibly be the face of ourpany. Also, she doesn¡¯t hold any shares of thepany!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    At that moment, both Asher and Sonia¡¯s men joined forces as they opposed Asher¡¯s decision in making


    Jessica a candidate.


    The ones under Asher were especially fervent as they had zero ideas of what had led him to make a


    choice like that.


    They were reacting in a way that it was hard for Asher to not feel the anger they were holding back.


    However, he was unaffected by themotion Sonia¡¯s people were making, as all he did was throw his


    men a nce implying that they should calm down, and he would give a proper exnation at a better


    time.


    After acknowledging Asher¡¯s gaze, his men immediately quieted down. They obediently held back the


    questions they had regarding Jessica being the other candidate for the position.


    Seeing that, Asher nodded in satisfaction where he then waved at his secretary who stood behind him.


    Seeing his cue, his secretary promptly nodded in response before walking toward the door to the


    meeting room and opening it.


    The clear cking of high heels against the floor could soon be heard reverberating throughout the


    space as it gradually loudened.


    With her lips pursed, Sonia coldly stared at the door, and soon enough, Jessica finally appeared by the


    entrance. d in a women¡¯s suit with her hair tied back into a ponytail, she looked every bit like a female


    boss. However, she failed terribly at concealing the excitement and zeal in her eyes, and that had


    immediately ruined everyone¡¯s first impression of her.


    After Jessica entered the room, she casually looked at all the people in the meeting room beforending


    her eyes on Sonia. A smirk appeared on Jessica¡¯s face as soon as she saw Sonia, but it onlysted for a


    while as she quickly looked toward Asher. As soon as she did that, the smirk on her face turned into a


    genuine smile.


    ¡°Uncle Asher,¡± she called out warmly.


    Sonia¡¯s face instantly fell when she heard that.


    Uncle Asher?


    Jessica actually has the nerves to call him that?


    Did she not know how bad Asher¡¯s and Henry¡¯s rtionship was when Henry was still alive?


    But then again, Jessica wasn¡¯t someone who would care about the details. After all, she was someone


    who did not mind poisoning her own father!


    ¡°Jessica, my dear niece, you are finally here! Come. Take a seat beside me,¡± Asherughingly said as he


    moved to pull the chair beside him for Jessica.


    Their interaction would have easily convinced people who did not know better that they had a good


    rtionship.


    Asher was seated directly across Sonia, and now that Jessica sat beside him, she too was face-to-face


    with Sonia.


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Jessica called out with a smile. ¡°Did my return surprise you?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t be bothered by her existence so she chose to not answer her and only frowned in


    response.


    Jessica¨C¨Cwho was easily provoked¨C¨Cwas immediately angered by Sonia¡¯s silence.


    She would rather Sonia retort than give her a cold shoulder like this.


    Sonia¡¯s silence only made Jessica feel like she was unworthy. It was as though she was trash that Sonia


    would not even want to spare a nce at.


    ¡°Hmph! Stay on your high horse all you want. We¡¯ll see how much longer you get to keep your act up,¡±


    Jessica scoffed. Her expression changed the next moment as she turned to Asher and said, ¡°I will be in


    your care then, Uncle Asher.¡±


    Asher¡¯s eyes darted at Sonia as he swiftly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jessica. I will get you the position you


    deserve. And even if I can¡¯t get you in, I will make sure that she can¡¯t have what you don¡¯t.¡±


    Asher¡¯s reassurance got Jessica so excited that she could hardly stop herself from shaking. ¡°Thank you


    in advance for your help, Uncle Asher!¡±


    Surprisingly, Asher¡¯s eyes held a glint of disdain as he briefly looked at Jessica. However, the emotion


    quickly disappeared as he said, ¡°Sonia, as I said earlier, I am not against you being the chairperson. But


    now that your sister is here, you will have to show us what you got if you want the position. It all depends


    on both of your performances from this point on.¡±


    ¡°I have a question for you, President Dafoe.¡± Sonia¡¯s cold voice rang out as her fingers slowly tapped on


    the surface of the table. ¡°What makes you think that Jessica has the right topete with me for the


    position? Does she have what it takes? Does she even have the shares to qualify for the position? Aren¡¯t


    you being a little too impulsive to let someone like herpete with me? You are making me doubt your


    capabilities as thepany¡¯s president, President Dafoe. I might just disregard your contributions to


    Paradigm Co. in the past, remove you as a shareholder, and arbitrarily take over as the chairperson!¡±


    Sonia had always had the power to do so but had constantly restrained herself as Asher was undeniably


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s messiah when times were tough for them.


    She would have gotten rid of him years ago if she had not let her conscience stop her.

 Chapter 600

    Chapter 600


    Chapter 600 Asher Dafoe¡¯s True Colors


    Asher¡¯s expression immediately tensed up when Sonia mentioned bringing in an arbitrator to settle their


    dispute.


    He was visibly starting to feel nervous because he knew that losing his shares meant losing his influence


    and position in thepany. It would be equivalent to getting banished from Paradigm Co.!


    ¡°Sonia, you¡­¡±


    Right when he was about to say something in an attempt to calm Sonia down, Jessica angrily interrupted


    as she loudly banged the table and cried, ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard, Sonia!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s heads whipped in Jessica¡¯s direction at her sudden outburst.


    ¡°Oh? What did I do?¡± Sonia asked with her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Stop ying innocent! Uncle Asher is our rtive¨C¨Cnot to mention, an elder. You should show him some


    respect. Your attitude is an embarrassment to the Reeds!¡± Jessica reprimanded. The way she pointed at


    Sonia made it seem as though Sonia had done something unforgivable.


    Sonia could not help but let out a scoff at her sister¡¯s answer. ¡°Our rtive? Jessica, you even had it in


    you to murder your own father. I doubt you really think of President Dafoe as an elder that you respect.¡±


    She then turned to Asher and reminded him, ¡°President Dafoe, please don¡¯t ever let down your guard


    around her. She did not hesitate to push her father to his death. You know it will be much easier for her to


    n your death if she wanted to.¡±


    As soon as Sonia said that, a guilty look shed across Jessica¡¯s panicked face as she shouted, ¡°You


    better stop spouting nonsense! Who are you using of murder?!¡± Jessica¡¯s heart felt as though it could


    stop at any time at that moment.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Did Sonia know something?


    No, she couldn¡¯t possibly have known about the poisoning. Sonia must be talking about the


    embezzlement incident that made their father take his own life.


    Her eyes had started rolling around nervously at this point. Right. The embezzlement. That must be it.


    Stop panicking, Jessica. You can¡¯t give yourself away now, Jessica convinced herself.


    Unbeknownst to Jessica, Sonia had been observing her the whole time she was having inner turmoil with


    herself. Seeing Jessica¡¯s reaction only made Sonia clench her fist tighter.


    It seemed that what Nancy had said about Jessica being the one who poisoned Henry was true.


    Otherwise, Jessica wouldn¡¯t have reacted so anxiously if she was innocent.


    Sonia remembered how Jessica had reacted fairly calmly when Sonia had talked about the


    embezzlement and suicide back when they were in Kosovo. All Jessica had mocked in reply was how


    their father had ended his life because he didn¡¯t have the mental and emotional capability to endure a


    little bit of setback.


    Her reaction now could only mean one thing¡ªshe did poison their father.


    It was hard to believe that someone could actually do something so cruel to their own parents. Just you


    wait, Jessica Reed, Sonia promised to herself. I¡¯ll make you pay for your actions.


    ¡°I¡¯m spouting nonsense, you say?¡± Sonia let out another scoff. ¡°Jessica, you know what you did. You


    know exactly how big of a part you yed in Dad¡¯s death. I won¡¯t get into it, but mark my words: you


    won¡¯t live another day in peace now that you have me as your enemy.¡±


    Jessica disgruntledly rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°That¡¯s your threat? Okay then. I¡¯ll wait and see what


    tricks you have up your sleeves. But first, we are all here to discuss who will be taking the chairperson


    position!¡±


    ¡°No need for a discussion!¡± Sonia announced. She had her head held high as she coldly looked at


    Jessica. ¡°Anyone but you can have the position. Need I remind you again? You have neither the power


    nor shares to qualify as a candidate. What exactly are you putting on the table to im that you have


    what it takes to go against me?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Jessica smiled as she swayed her arms and said, ¡°Who said I don¡¯t? I¡¯ll admit that I have


    no experience in running apany, but I have Uncle Asher to lead me through the process. As for my


    shares¡­ I am Dad¡¯s biological daughter, aren¡¯t I? That means that I¡¯m entitled to half of what you have!


    Lawfully speaking, I should have 25.5 percent of your 51 percent. Now tell me, am I still unqualified for


    the position?¡±


    Opinions were divided by Jessica¡¯s words, and another discussion broke out among the attendees.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. The previous chairman did not leave a will regarding the distribution of shares due to his


    sudden passing. The second daughter should have half of what President Reed has.¡±


    ¡°I have to agree with that.¡±


    Naturally, the ones who agreed were all Asher¡¯s men.


    The soft mumbles made Asher and Jessica exchange satisfied gazes as things were finally going the


    way they wanted.


    At the same time, the ones who disagreed also started to chatter.


    ¡°Even though Mr. Reed did not mention to leave all the shares to President Reed, he also never said that


    the shares have to be split with the second daughter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±


    Jessica jumped and red at the people who still opposed, and before Sonia could say anything to her


    people, Jessica quickly interjected, ¡°Dad never said anything about giving me his shares, but as his


    daughter, I am a rightful sessor of what he has left behind. Also, I am not wrong for trying to get back


    what originally belongs to me. The only reason I don¡¯t have any of those shares is because I left Seafield


    too soon 6 years ago. You know that thew would naturally assign me half the shares if we were to take


    this to court.¡±


    Asher, too, started to persuade Sonia as he sipped on his cup of tea. ¡°Jessica¡¯s right. Why don¡¯t you just


    concede and let her have what is rightfully hers, hmm? I¡¯m afraid that it will earn you a big smear to your


    reputation if word were to spread that you have imed all of your father¡¯s inheritance for yourself and


    that you refuse to share it with your own sister.¡±


    Despite hearing those words, Sonia still calmly looked at both of them before suddenly letting out a


    laugh.


    When Asher saw her reaction, his eyebrows instinctively knitted together. He was suddenly hit by a


    feeling of foreboding.


    He then slowly set his teacup back onto the table, and as calmly as he could, he asked, ¡°Dear Sonia,


    what are youughing about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just that¡­ You had me wondering about the reason you were so enthusiastic about holding this


    meeting at first. It¡¯s not like it will benefit you in any way if there was a new chairperson in the seat. I think


    I know why now,¡± Sonia said before pausing momentarily.


    She then leaned forward and rested her head in the palm of her hands that were propped on the table. ¡°I


    don¡¯t know how you managed to get in contact with each other, but I¡¯m sure you both havee to an


    agreement of some sort. Let¡¯s see if I can guess it correctly,¡± she said in a mocking voice.


    ¡°You,¡± she said with a finger pointing at Asher. ¡°You will aid her in taking away all my current shares and


    then¨C¨Cmanage Paradigm Co. on Jessica¡¯s behalf. And as for you¡­¡±


    This time, Sonia was pointing at Jessica. ¡°Your role in this is probably to cause trouble for me so that I


    will be too distracted from properly managing thepany, am I right? And when it gets bad¡­¡± Sonia


    nced at Asher. ¡°You willpletely take charge over Paradigm Co., and maybe even rob Jessica of


    her shares if things somehow go your way. Did it get it right?¡±


    Asher stiffened for a while before he could find his tongue again, where he then incredulously looked at


    Sonia and managed to utter a word. ¡°You¡­¡±


    Was she really so observant that she had managed to urately read his mind?


    Seeing him looking like a deer caught in the headlights, she sneered and sarcastically cheered, ¡°Bingo.


    But I have to apud you, President Dafoe. It is a wise move for you to use Jessica in exchange for the


    things you want. Not only is she an idiot, but she is also a fairly useful idiot that you get to bend at your


    will. It is a pity that you are so ambitious that you held no cards back. I could see through you in a


    nce.¡±


    As Asher heard that, his grip on his teacup only further tightened as he thoughtfully stared at Sonia.


    Jessica, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t contain her rage any longer as she suddenly yelled at Sonia. ¡°Did


    you just call me an idiot?!¡± At that moment, she would have loved to carve a piece of flesh off Sonia¡¯s


    body if she could.


    However, that short sentence alone had managed to show all of Jessica¡¯s worst sides.


    Everyone in the room, no matter if they were Sonia or Asher¡¯s men, turned to scornfully look at Jessica.


    Was this woman stupid or something?


    Sonia was just talking about how Asher was using her to ultimately get Jessica¡¯s shares if she had


    managed to im half of it from Sonia.


    And yet, Jessica was so caught up with being called an idiot that she hadpletely missed the point of


    the conversation.


    It was almostughable that someone like this actually had the audacity to say that she wanted to be the


    chairperson.

 Chapter 601

    Chapter 601


    Chapter 601 A Waste of Effort


    If Jessica were to be the chairperson of Paradigm Co., it would mean an untimely demise for


    Paradigm Co. and its workers.


    Naturally, Jessica felt everyone¡¯s piercing gaze directed at her. Being unable to control herself, she yelled


    while her eyes were red with rage, ¡°What? What are you all looking at?¡±


    Predictably, no one in the room bothered to give her a reply.


    Sonia, too, left Jessica to fume on her own as she turned to Asher and said coldly, ¡°Really, it is a pity to


    see your calcted n slowly falling apart just because of a slight miscalction. Indeed, I have to give


    up half of my shares to Jessica if I had gotten any from my father. But surprise, surprise¡­¡± She


    continued, ¡°The shares that I have were not my father¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°What did you just say?¡± Asher was so shocked that he unconsciously stood up and asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t


    get the shares from your father?¡±


    ¡°Well, of course! My father had to give out his shares to the bank and other corporations in exchange for


    funds to get Paradigm Co. through 6 years ago. He exchanged a total of 40 percent of his shares and


    was left with only 11 percent by the end of it. He was fine with not being the chairperson as long as


    Paradigm Co. was safe. But guess what happened to the money he had gotten from the 40 percent he


    had given out? Jessica and her mother stole it!¡±


    After finishing her sentence, Sonia slightly shifted her gaze to look at her sister.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes were so void of emotions that Jessica was stiff from that one look.


    How could anyone¡¯s gaze alone look so frightening? If looks could kill, Jessica would long be dead by


    now.


    Never would Jessica have expected there woulde a day when Sonia, whom she used to bully at any


    given chance, would grow a spine and be so intimidating!


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that you have only inherited 11 percent of Henry¡¯s shares?¡± Asher asked with a twisted


    expression on his face.


    Sonia smiled and answered, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Asher was so enraged that with one angry swipe, he pushed the things in front of him¨C¨Cincluding his


    teacup¨C¨Coff the table. ¡°Impossible!¡± he cried.


    A few droplets of the hot tea in his cup coincidentally fell on Jessica¡¯s face, which in turn made her


    scream and jump in pain.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?!¡± she roared while ring at Asher. At that moment, the sweet tone she


    used when addressing him was long gone.


    Not one to take disrespect, Asher returned her an equally fierce look and yelled, ¡°You. Shut your mouth!¡±


    Hearing that, Jessica immediately stopped talking as her face turned pale.


    It seemed like Jessica had needed that scolding to be reminded of what kind of force of nature she had


    seated beside her. Behind the loving uncle facade he had on with Jessica was an enigma who had been


    in the game for more than half his life. Therefore, he was not someone to be trifled around with¨C¨C


    especially not by a bimbo like Jessica.


    And so, Jessica, who was usually a viiness herself, could only lower herself and submit when in the


    face of such a powerful man.


    After Jessica stopped whining, Asher continued questioning. His eyes held a hint of uncertainty as he


    asked, ¡°Do you have proof that Henry had given out 40 percent of his shares?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I do,¡± Sonia chirped before looking at one of the shareholders in the room. ¡°Uncle King here


    is one of Paradigm Co.¡¯s oldest shareholders. He has been with us from even before Paradigm Co. was


    established. He would know the most about everything that has happened.¡±


    Despite being called ¡®uncle¡¯ in front of the crowd, Samuel still respectfully called Sonia by her title.


    ¡°President Reed is right.¡±


    He had always been one to draw a distinct line between business and personal matters. Therefore, at


    times like these, he knew just what would be appropriate, given that he was an expert at reading the


    room.


    Then, he turned toward Asher and continued saying, ¡°I was the first person Mr. Reed had approached to


    exchange his shares with 6 years ago. I gave him 20 million in exchange for his 5 percent. I still have the


    agreement for exchange with me. And I was not the only one. Mr. Ellen had an agreement with Mr. Reed


    too.¡±


    Upon hearing his name being mentioned, Ellen nodded in reply and said, ¡°That is correct. There were a


    few more shareholders other than us, but most of them have already divested from Paradigm Co.


    However, I¡¯m sure that their shares still count if President Dafoe were to propose a deal with them.¡±


    Asher could barely stop himself from shaking after hearing their words. As of now, there was no reason


    for him to not believe Sonia now.


    He then turned to look at Sonia, and in a cold voice, he asked, ¡°Where is the other 40 percent you hold


    from then, if not from Henry?¡±


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s red lips lifted as she heard that. ¡°Of course, I had to get Grandpa to help me buy


    the remaining 40 percent. Grandpa and President Lane from Lane Corporation were the ones who had


    bought over the shares that my father had exchanged with Uncle King and Mr. Ellen. Oh, they were also


    the ones who had bought the shares that were divested. Do you finally understand what I meant when I


    said you had a minor miscalction in your ns? You thought you could im half of the total shares I


    own, when in fact, all you can take away from me is a meager 5.5 percent!¡±


    Even if she had 5.5 percent of her shares taken away, she would still be Paradigm Co.¡¯s biggest


    shareholder.


    Her biggest regret, however, would be the fact that she did not haveplete power over thepany¡¯s


    shares. It was unfortunate that not even an arbitrator could take Asher¡¯s shares away from him.


    But that did not bother Sonia too much. As long as it had led to the oue she had wanted to see, she


    would not mind being a mere disruptor of their evil n.


    Currently, Asher was holding back his fury by unconsciously clenching his fists. His eyes were aze as


    he stared at Sonia with an unreadable expression on his face.


    5.5 percent?


    What could 5.5 percent of shares even be used for?


    It wasn¡¯t difficult for Jessica to finally understand the sudden turn of events from the grim look on Asher¡¯s


    face and the ring smile on Sonia¡¯s.


    She processed Sonia¡¯s words briefly, and then parted her lips a few times in silence before she


    eventually asked, ¡°Uncle Asher, does this mean that we can¡¯t get Sonia¡¯s shares anymore?¡±


    His eyes were red from holding back his anger when he spat, ¡°Are you actually talking about getting her


    shares still?¡±


    His hatred toward her was at its peak at this exact moment. He could only me it on Jessica for


    approaching him without properly nning it through now. At this moment, he could still clearly


    remember how ambitious she had sounded when she had asked for his help in getting into Paradigm Co.


    and securing the chairperson position for her.


    At first, he had been overjoyed by her sudden appearance as he had thought that she was his key to


    getting a major chunk of Sonia¡¯s shares.


    In the end, however, the oue was theplete opposite of what he had expected. Now that he


    knew that Sonia¡¯s shares were mostly bought, and not inherited, he had no way of forcing her to hand


    over her shares anymore.


    In other words, his n could not even be considered a failure at this point. All it was now was a joke!


    ¡°Are we seriously not getting it?!¡± Jessica howled hysterically as she was still unaware of how badly


    Asher was holding himself back froming for her throat.


    Jessica had returned with high hopes to snatch Paradigm Co. away from Sonia. But it was a tant fact


    that she did not stand a chance against Sonia.


    How was she supposed to ept that fact?!


    Asher soon took in a deep breath as he looked at Jessica. At this point, he had already given up on


    making sense of her behavior.


    He was afraid he wouldn¡¯t be able to control himself from strangling her with his own hands.


    Meanwhile, Sonia let out a smallugh as she looked at how defeated Asher was. She then proudly


    dered, ¡°It seems like President Dafoe will no longer aid Jessica in fighting for the shares, eh? If that is


    the case, I guess the position will naturally go to me!¡±


    rmed, Jessica immediately eximed, ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the right to?¡± Sonia repeated with a scoff. ¡°I have every right to, and it is all because I have


    my wonderful grandfather who has been backing me up. I have what you can¡¯t even dream to have!¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jessica was cut off by Asher¡¯s reprimanding gaze before she could even say a thing.


    After Jessica became quiet, Asher turned to Sonia and briefly reminded her, ¡°Sonia, you are definitely


    still in the running to be the next chairperson. However, you have to hand over 5.5 percent of your shares


    to Jessica.¡±

 Chapter 602

    Chapter 602


    Chapter 602 A Mere Figurehead


    He already knew he was unable to stop Sonia from bing the chairman.


    Moreover, he joined forces with Jessica to threaten Sonia today, so he knew thetter would surely hold


    resentment toward him. If Sonia sessfully became the chairman, she would definitely sanction him


    immediately.


    As such, in order to avoid being sanctioned, all that Asher could do now was to force Sonia to give up


    the shares amounting to 5.5 percent. As long as the percentage of shares Sonia held did not exceed 50


    percent, she would not be the absolute controlling shareholder. Hence, she would not be able to sanction


    him.


    Sonia knew what was on Asher¡¯s mind when she saw his glistening eyes, so she smiled and said, ¡°Sure.


    I¡¯ll give it to her. But it¡¯s up to her capability whether she¡¯s able to take it or not.¡±


    With that, Sonia took out her phone and summoned Daphne.


    ¡°Go and draft a share transfer agreement,¡± Sonia ordered.


    In fact, Sonia knew she would not be able to keep the shares of 5.5 percent from the very beginning, and


    she would¡¯ve given it up even if Asher didn¡¯t threaten her to.


    So, she was not surprised at all to hear his words now. Not only that, she did not even feel the slightest


    bit of panic or reluctance.


    Just as Sonia said just now, Jessica was an idiot, so the former could set a trap for thetter whenever


    there was a chance and take the 5.5 percent shares back.


    Daphne nced at Sonia in shock when she heard her order, but she still nodded in the end. ¡°Alright,


    President Reed. I¡¯ll do that right away.¡±


    With that, Daphne left to draft the document.


    Soon, the document was ready.


    Under the witness of all the executives, shareholders, andwyers of the group¡¯s legal department,


    Sonia and Jessica signed the shares transfer agreement.


    From now on, Jessica owned 5.5 percent of Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares.


    Although this was far less than the 25.5 percent of shares that she desired at first, she knew she would


    not be able to obtain it, so the 5.5 percent was already a windfall for her.


    ¡°Since I¡¯m now a shareholder already, I should be given a position in thepany. Sonia, I want your


    position.¡± Jessica kept away the share transfer agreement and stared at Sonia in a provocative manner.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes and said, ¡°Sure. I just hope you¡¯ll not make a fool of yourself.¡±


    ¡°Ha! You sure are good at despising others. Even you are capable of managing thepany, so I¡¯m sure


    I can too!¡± Jessica lifted her chin with a confident and arrogant look.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    Sonia wore a half-smile and said, ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll look forward to it then. If you dare to cause any trouble


    in thepany or do anything that damages thepany¡¯s reputation, I¡¯ll fire you.¡±


    With that, she stopped paying attention to Jessica and gazed toward Asher who was standing across


    from her. ¡°President Dafoe, since I¡¯m the chairman now, it¡¯s time for you to hand over the other half of the


    management rights.¡±


    Asher gritted his teeth and took some time before inhaling deeply while forcing himself to calm down. ¡°Of


    course. Since you¡¯re the chairman now, I naturally have to return the management rights to you.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Great, you¡¯ll be able to have a good rest after this since you don¡¯t have to work so hard in


    helping me run thepany anymore. After all, you¡¯re rather advanced in age.¡±


    After saying that, Sonia stood up nonchntly under Asher¡¯s threatening re and pped her hands.


    ¡°Alright, everybody, let¡¯s end the shareholder meeting today. Meeting adjourned.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chairman Reed!¡± All the executives and shareholders stood up and responded to Sonia. At the


    same time, they had changed their address toward Sonia from ¡®President Reed¡¯ to ¡®Chairman Reed¡¯.


    Hearing that, Sonia briefly closed her eyes while having an enjoyable expression stered on her face.


    She had to admit that being addressed as the chairman was much more enjoyable than being addressed


    as a vice president, and she loved it!


    Thereafter, Sonia did not spare more nces at Asher and Jessica but directly walked toward the


    entrance of the meeting room after picking up her notebook from the table.


    Now that she was the chairman, she naturally would be the first one to leave as the others could only


    leave following her.


    In the past, Asher was always the one who left first each time, and it was finally her turn today.


    Indeed, it was thrilling to be the first one leaving.


    Sonia walked out of the meeting room with a smile while Daphne, who was following behind,


    congratted her. ¡°Congrattions, President Reed¨C¨Coh, I mean, congrattions, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sonia nodded with a beam, and said thereafter, ¡°Every employee¡¯s allowance will be doubled


    this month as a celebration of my promotion. Pass down my words for me.¡±


    ¡°Will do, Chairman Reed,¡± Daphne responded gleefully.


    Just then, Sonia pressed her red lips as she thought of something. ¡°Also, inform our men to bypass


    Jessica. I want her to be a vice president who is a mere powerless figurehead and has no ess to any


    confidential information in thepany.¡±


    Sonia would never allow Jessica to have a chance to manage Paradigm Co. for the sole reason that she


    had caused her father¡¯s death, let alone the fact that Jessica was on the same boat as Asher.


    All Sonia wanted to do was to put Jessica under her nose so she could keep an eye on her and find an


    opportunity to catch evidence of Jessica poisoning her father.


    It was only then could she send Jessica to prison and avenge her father.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chairman Reed. I¡¯ll make the necessary arrangements,¡± Daphne pushed her sses and


    said.


    After humming in response, Sonia stopped saying anything else and pushed her office door open to walk


    into it.


    The moment she sat down, her phone rang.


    Sonia took up the phone and saw Toby¡¯s name on the caller ID.


    At once, she smiled as the weariness between her brows gradually faded. Then, she swiped the green


    button to pick up the call. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°I heard Paradigm Co. has called for a shareholders meeting. Is it to elect a new chairman?¡± Toby asked


    on the other end of the line after sitting down in front of his office desk.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°How do you know that? Who did you hear it from? Don¡¯t tell me you arranged some


    spies in mypany.¡±


    Toby lifted his brows as he obviously did not expect Sonia to realize it in such a short time. Being


    defenseless at the moment, he covered his mouth and let out a soft cough. ¡°Not at all. He¡¯s just someone


    I¡¯ve sent to help you manage the finance department.¡±


    ¡°The finance department?¡± Sonia moved her eyes and recalled something. ¡°You mean Mr. Karl?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°Mr. Karl is hired by you?¡± Sonia widened her eyes in shock.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°He used to be, but not anymore now. He¡¯s your employee.¡±


    Sonia snorted. ¡°Why would he keep in touch with his old employer if he¡¯s my employee? In my opinion,


    he¡¯s still your employee, and I guess he receives a sry from your side too.¡±


    Toby remained silent.


    Sonia pressed her lips. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m right.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell you the truth.¡± Toby smiled softly and exined, ¡°After Reba left, you¡¯ve been looking for


    a director for the finance department and even thought of headhunting someone. I¡¯m worried that the


    person that you ended up hiring might be bribed by the Gray Family or Asher Dafoe, so I took it upon


    myself to send you a finance director from mypany to help you out in yourpany. As such, you


    don¡¯t have to worry about the director being bribed by the Gray Family or Asher Dafoe.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he won¡¯t be bribed by the Gray Family or Asher Dafoe, but he¡¯s still secretly loyal to you and even


    told you the happenings about mypany,¡± Sonia rolled her eyes andined sulkily.


    In the past, she would surely be pissed off if she knew her employee was arranged by Toby and that the


    employee even secretly informed Toby about her happenings.


    Nevertheless, it was unnecessary to be annoyed anymore now as Toby was already her boyfriend-to-be.


    Moreover, this finance director which Toby had sent was indeed very helpful as he had managed the


    finance department efficiently as soon as he came.


    As such, neither was Sonia willing to chase the employee away just because she was angry.


    Toby heaved a sigh subtly as he perceived no anger from Sonia¡¯s tone.


    It seems like she¡¯s not ming me for secretly sending someone over.

 Chapter 603

    Chapter 603


    Chapter 603 False usation


    ¡°What else has Mr. Karl reported to you?¡± Sonia rubbed her brows and asked.


    Hearing that, Toby lifted his cup to take a sip of coffee. ¡°This is the first time he reported to me about


    happenings in Paradigm Co. and it has never happened before. I asked him to only report the important


    issues to me and save the rest.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Mr. Karl was at the shareholders meeting today too, so I suppose you¡¯re already


    aware of the content of the meeting.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded.


    At that, Sonia snorted. ¡°Why did you still call to ask me then?¡±


    ¡°I want to hear your voice,¡± Toby hummed softly.


    Feeling her face burning, Sonia instinctively sat up straight. ¡°W-What¡¯s so nice about my voice?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just nice.¡± Toby lifted his chin. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve missed you.¡±


    As she heard that, Sonia¡¯s face reddened even more, and she could feel the heat when she raised her


    hand to touch her face.


    Immediately, she quickly fanned her face, hoping to reduce the temperature.


    However, this little amount of wind did not help at all. Not only did she fail to reduce the temperature, but


    her face actually burned even more due to her nervousness and increased heartbeat.


    ¡°S-Stop your nonsense,¡± Sonia lowered her head and murmured in an extremely soft voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense. I¡¯m serious. So¡­ Sonia, would you like to have dinner together today?¡± Toby


    extended his invitation.


    Sonia parted her lips and wanted to turn Toby down initially, but she ended up agreeing, ¡°Sure.¡±


    Upon hearing her positive response, Toby smiled even brighter. ¡°I¡¯lle and find you in the afternoon


    then.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded.


    She had already agreed to have dinner with him, so what else could she say?


    She couldn¡¯t possibly stop him froming over.


    Moreover, when they got together half a monthter, they would be eating together often, so this was just


    happening in advance.


    ¡°By the way, did you call me just to ask about the shareholders¡¯ meeting?¡± Sonia rubbed her cheeks and


    asked after calming down.


    Toby put down the coffee cup. ¡°Yeah, you did a good job today.¡±


    Sonia smiled and shook her head thereafter. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not me who did well. The credit goes to


    Grandpa, Charles and Carl. If they hadn¡¯t been secretly acquiring shares for me in the past six years, I


    wouldn¡¯t possibly be able to take Paradigm Co. back.¡±


    Hearing this, Toby couldn¡¯t help feeling a little jealous as he had not helped Sonia in this matter before


    although he knew what she said was true.


    As if she felt the sulkiness of Toby at the other end of the line, Sonia tucked her hair and continued, ¡°Of


    course, if you didn¡¯t initiate for your branchpanies to coborate with Paradigm Co., ourpany


    would not be stable this quickly. So, I¡¯m really grateful to you guys.¡±


    ¡°No worries. We¡¯re supposed to always help our loved ones.¡± Toby smiled again. Obviously, Sonia¡¯s


    words lightened up his mood.


    Following that, the two continued talking about some other stuff before hanging up.


    After ending the call, Sonia stared at the phone and smiled before putting it on the table. Then, she took


    a pen from the stationery holder and started working.


    In the afternoon, Sonia pushed aside the documents which she had finished checking and nced at the


    time at the bottom right corner of theputer screen. It was already half-past five which meant she


    would be able to knock off in half an hour, so she reckoned Toby was going to reach soon.


    At that thought, Sonia switched off herputer and took up thendline phone to call Daphne.


    In no time, Daphne walked in. ¡°President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Go and distribute these documents,¡± Sonia said while pointing at the pile of documents she had finished


    checking.


    Daphne nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    With that, Daphne walked up to carry the documents and headed out after.


    Meanwhile, Sonia stood up too and started packing her stuff to get ready to knock off.


    Suddenly, Daphne¡¯s scream emerged from the outside. Following that, Sonia heard the sound of heavy


    objects falling on the floor and the rustling sound of things scattered on the floor.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Sonia quickly stopped packing and lifted her head to look toward the door to see


    Daphne sitting on the floor with a shocked look. Beside her were dozens of documents scattered around


    the floor.


    Seeing that, Sonia deduced that the heavy thump just now was produced when Daphne fell to the floor


    while the rustling sound was due to the scattered documents.


    ¡°Miss Daphne, you¡­¡±


    Just as Sonia was going to ask Daphne what happened, a high-pitch voice came forth from outside the


    door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you blind?! How dare you knock into me?!¡±


    Sonia¡¯s face darkened at once when she heard the familiar voice as she already understood what was


    going on.


    Jessica must¡¯ve walked over when Daphne was opening the door with the pile of documents in her hand.


    Then, the two bumped into each other.


    Though Sonia was not sure if Jessica was injured, Daphne was directly knocked onto the floor. From the


    latter¡¯s expression, Sonia could tell that she was hit quite hard.


    Moreover, Jessica still sounded energetic, so Sonia reckoned she was not suffering from any injuries.


    Since that¡¯s the case, how dare Jessica use Daphne of bumping into her? Moreover, this is my office.


    What is Jessica doing here without obtaining my permission first?


    At this thought, Sonia walked over with a sullen face. Following that, she helped Daphne up and asked


    concernedly, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Feeling touched, Daphne shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m okay. Thanks for asking, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Are you really okay? If you¡¯re injured somewhere, you have to tell me. Don¡¯t just keep it to yourself.¡±


    Sonia was still worried.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Reed. I understand. I¡¯m really fine. It¡¯s just a little painful, but it¡¯ll be fine soon,¡±


    Daphne adjusted her sses and replied with a smile.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Alright then.¡±


    On the other hand, Jessica was annoyed perceiving the conversation between Sonia and Daphne and


    how Sonia did not even spare a nce at her. At once, she ced her hands on her hips and retorted


    obstinately, ¡°Sonia, your secretary knocked into me. Shouldn¡¯t you ask if I¡¯m hurt or not?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t knock into her, President Reed,¡± Daphne quickly exined. ¡°She pushed the door open just now


    when I was about to open it. I was hit by the door and did not eveny a finger on her. Please believe


    me, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°I trust you.¡± Sonia patted Daphne¡¯s shoulder with a smile. Then, she turned around with a cold face and


    red at Jessica. ¡°Did you hear what my secretary said? She did not knock into you!¡±


    ¡°Ha! How can we take her words for good? There¡¯s no witness.¡± Jessica sneered in disdain.


    Sonia lifted a finger and pointed upward. ¡°What about the CCTV then?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Immediately, there was a change in Jessica¡¯s expression as her disdainful expression


    disappeared. Instead, she wore a flustered look. ¡°Did you say a CCTV?¡±


    She quickly lifted her head to look in the direction which Sonia was pointing and realized there was


    indeed a small camera installed in the middle of the door frame.


    At this moment, Jessica¡¯s face became even sulkier while Sonia stared at her in ridicule.


    ¡°Now, do you still insist that my secretary knocked into you? If you do, I¡¯ll bring the CCTV footage to the


    police and use you of staging an ident and ndering others. If that happens, you¡¯ll be a shame to


    Paradigm Co. and I can take the chance to evoke your position as the vice president. You¡¯ll be the


    vice president who is promoted and fired in the shortest time. By that time, you¡¯ll surely be well-known


    across the industry.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jessica was so furious that even her face was distorted as she clenched her fists tight.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Seeing Jessica¡¯s reaction, Sonia looked down and said, ¡°What? Are you thinking of beating me up?


    That¡¯s great. If you rough up, you¡¯ll be used of deliberate assault too, and that can put you behind


    bars.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Just you wait!¡± After hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Jessica did not dare to rough up anymore, so she


    merely threatened Sonia and released her fists.


    Seeing that, Sonia looked toward Daphne, who had picked up the scattered documents, and said, ¡°You


    may leave first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep you apanied, President Reed. I¡¯m worried that she¡­¡± Daphne cast a nce at Jessica


    with her eyes filled with unconcealed vignce.


    Sonia knew Daphne was worried that Jessica would bully her, so she smiled heartily and said, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry, I¡¯ll be alright. You can continue on with your work.¡±a

 Chapter 604

    Chapter 604


    Chapter 604 Used Goods


    Seeing Sonia so sure that nothing would happen to her, Daphne could only nod and murmur, ¡°Alright,


    then. I¡¯ll take my leave. Please call me if anything happens, President Reed. I will get help.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Sonia responded with a hum.


    Holding the documents, Daphne then left hurriedly.


    And so, only Sonia and Jessica were left in the office.


    Peering at thetter, Sonia asked, ¡°Why are you here? You can leave now if there¡¯s nothing more. Also,


    it¡¯s forbidden for outsiders to intrude upon the premises without permission, so don¡¯t me me if I call the


    security on you in the future when youe again uninvited.¡±


    Jessica sneered upon hearing her words. ¡°Call the security on me? You jest, dear sister. Don¡¯t forget that


    I¡¯m the vice president of Paradigm Co. now, which means that the vice president¡¯s office rightfully


    belongs to me. Is it wrong of me toe to my own office?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Soniaughed out loud in anger. ¡°Now I see what you¡¯re nning!¡±


    It turned out that Jesa could not wait to chase Sonia out the moment she got promoted to the position


    of vice president.


    ¡°Is there anything wrong with my n? Either way, I don¡¯t see any fault in it. On the contrary, you¡¯ve been


    forcefully upying my office. So, have some tact and quickly move out of my space, Sonia.¡± Jessica


    mocked as she looked at Sonia slyly.


    Pursing her lips, thetter surveyed the office¡¯s surroundings then bluntly stated, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll move out.


    I¡¯ve had enough of this office anyway as it¡¯s a bit too small for me. I should get back to the top floor, to


    the chairman¡¯s office, where thevishness and symbol of the highest power it offers in Paradigm Co. is


    where I truly belong. As for this small and dingy office, I¡¯ll let you have it.¡±


    At that, Sonia went up to Jessica and sneered in her ear, her tone mocking, ¡°You only deserve my hand-


    me-downs anyway, so there you go¡ªhere¡¯s my old office. I don¡¯t even feel anything from losing this!¡±


    ¡°How dare you?¡± Trembling from head to toe with anger, Jessica widened her eyes, her expression


    contorting as she stared at Sonia.


    In truth, her aim bying here was to fight over this office with Sonia.


    Originally, Jessica thought that if she could chase Sonia out of the office, she could then enjoy seeing the


    pathetic side of Sonia as she left.


    Yet, Jessica hadpletely forgotten that Sonia was the chairman now, and that the chairman had their


    own personal office which was much grander than the vice president¡¯s office.


    So, not only did Jessica fail to see Sonia leaving pathetically, the former even chased the other woman


    out to an even better office.


    This frustrated Jessica to no end.


    Looking at Jessica¡¯s sour expression, Sonia instantly knew what she was thinking.


    This was all on Jessica, though, as she thought that she had obtained a rare object.


    However, in the end, not only was this not a rare object, it was something that people had grown tired of.


    How could a person who was as prideful as Jessica ept this oue?


    And yet, she couldn¡¯t just abandon it because if she did, she would be left with nothing.


    This meant that the office was no longer of any value toward Jessica. That being said, as she could not


    just simply give it up, it meant that she would have to tamper down her frustration and make it her


    workspace for the time being.


    At that thought, Sonia took a final look at Jessica mockingly, then turned around to pack her stuff.


    As there was not much to pack, just a few documents and personal effects to be exact, Sonia was soon


    done.


    After she finished packing, she brushed by Jessica and headed toward the door. Suddenly, Jessica


    called out, ¡°Wait a minute!¡±


    ¡°What now?¡± Halting in her step, Soniamented without even turning to face her, ¡°Have I not handed


    over this office to you?¡±


    Clenching her fists, Jessica replied, ¡°That you did, but what about my car? The way you just dumped my


    car on the roadside warrants some kind of settlement, no?¡±


    Finally turning over, Sonia retorted, ¡°It was you who provoked me first by parking in my spot, so don¡¯t


    me me for getting someone to tow your car away. There¡¯s nothing to be settled here; you deserved it.¡±


    Saying her piece, Sonia was about to leave. She had only taken a few steps when Jessica rushed to her


    and jerked on her arm, pulling her forcefully backward. ¡°Who told you you could leave? Come back


    here!¡±


    Sonia, who was caught by surprise, was jerked over forcefully by Jessica, and the box in her hand


    slipped out of her grasp.


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    Right at that moment, a big hand weaved around Sonia¡¯s waist and caught the bottom of the box firmly.


    At the same time, the arm belonging to the big hand stuck to her waist and pulled her to safety.


    Falling backward, Sonia ended up hitting into a hard and strong chest.


    ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± Frowning, Sonia let out a sound of faint confusion.


    Upon smelling the familiar minted scent emanating from her back, she instantly recognized who the


    person behind her was. This made her originally panicked expression ease up in a heartbeat.


    It was none other than Toby.


    On the other hand, Jessica, who was facing them, wanted to pull Sonia back to continue arguing about


    the car.


    Never in a million years did she expect someone to suddenly appear and snatch Sonia away.


    However, when Jessica saw who the stranger was, her anger instantly disappeared, only to be reced


    with shock. Absent-mindedly, she looked at the face of the handsome man before her, her expression


    filling with excitement. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±


    Coldly ncing at Jessica, Toby then returned his gaze back onto Sonia.


    He gently let go of her, instead grabbing onto her shoulders and turning her around as he whispered


    quietly, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Holding the box, Sonia bobbed her head. ¡°I¡¯m alright. Thank you for that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Toby said as he tidied the stray strands of hair on her face.


    Seeing the intimate actions between the two made Jessica go blind with jealousy, her heart filled with


    envy.


    However, she hid it well and she maintained her fa?ade. Breathing deeply, she squeezed out the most


    perfect smile that she could muster and walked over while looking at Toby before saying courteously,


    ¡°Hello, Mr Fuller, we meet again. Turns out that you¡¯re also from Seafield.¡±


    However, Toby only stared at her as he bellowed icily, ¡°You nearly hurt her just now!¡±


    Jessica¡¯s smile froze when she heard that. ¡°Pardon me?¡±


    ¡°I said, you nearly hurt Sonia just now.¡± Toby repeated himself and his voice was so somber that it would


    make people ufortable, as his anger was as clear as day.


    He happened to witness the scene where this woman jerked Sonia¡¯s arm and Sonia, who was wearing


    heels and had a box in her hands, was caught off guard by the sudden force, which caused her to lose


    her bnce.


    If Jessica really did let go, then the end would result in either Sonia hitting a wall, or falling onto the


    ground.


    This was the exact reason which made Toby so livid.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it!¡± Hearing his words made Jessica quickly shake her head as she exined with a


    wronged expression, ¡°I really didn¡¯t mean anything by it, Mr. Fuller. You have to believe me! I only wanted


    to make my sister stay and to let her give me an exnation.¡±


    ¡°Exnation? What did Sonia do to owe you an exnation?¡± Toby frowned.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia rolled her eyes but remained silent.


    Na?vely, Jessica thought that Toby¡¯s words were his meaning of defending her. Feeling ecstatic, she shot


    a smug look toward Sonia, then continued with her sob story. ¡°It was she who abandoned my car on the


    roadside. I recovered it after searching around, but I couldn¡¯t find a suitable parking spot so I parked in


    my sister¡¯s spot. I thought that being my sister, she wouldn¡¯t be so petty as to not let me park there. How


    would I know that she would actually¡­ Say, Mr. Fuller, don¡¯t you think that she went overboard?¡±

 Chapter 605

    Chapter 605


    Chapter 605 Liking Her to the Point of the Unimaginable


    ¡°Is that too much?¡± Lowering his gaze, Toby had a gentle expression as he looked at Sonia. ¡°I don¡¯t think


    what she did was overboard. I even think that she was too lenient. If it were me, I would¡¯ve smashed the


    person¡¯s car who intentionally parked in my spot. Also, I would¡¯ve cklisted that person in the industry,


    so nobody would dare hire them.¡±


    Sonia chuckled at his words.


    Conversely, Jessica was left stunned and wide-eyed with disbelief. ¡°Mr. Fuller, you¡­¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± Toby raised his gaze, his eyes not holding even a shred of emotion as he looked at


    her.


    Seeing his gaze made Jessica cower a bit, and she gulped before continuing, ¡°Didn¡¯t you stand up for


    me just now? Why are you now¡­¡±


    Before she could finish her words, Sonia interrupted her with augh.


    Tilting her head, Sonia looked at Toby. ¡°Were you really standing up for her just now?¡±


    Toby¡¯s mouth twitched before he replied, ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Shaking her head, she murmured, ¡°I¡¯m just curious as to what you did that made her


    imply that you were.¡±


    Pursing his lips, he also wondered out loud, ¡°I¡¯d like to know too.¡±


    With that, Toby faced Jessica again. ¡°You said I was standing up for you? What proof do you have?¡±


    ¡°You asked me what she did to me just now, didn¡¯t you?¡± Jessica replied with eyes full of hope.


    Failing to hold it back in, Sonia burst out intoughter yet again.


    Feeling rather speechless, Toby said, ¡°Wait¡ªyou thought that I was standing up for you just because I


    asked you this?¡±


    Jessica bit her lip as she countered, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that it?¡±


    With a dark expression, Toby replied bluntly, ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into it, and even if I really wanted


    to stand up for someone in this situation, that someone would be Sonia. Who are you to butt in?¡±


    Her face turning pale, Jessica felt as if she just received a heavy blow as she staggered backward,


    mouthing, ¡°Mr. Fuller, y-you¡­¡±


    Jessica stated it in a way that made Toby sound like a yboy who broke her heart. When Sonia and


    Toby looked on, they felt absolutely speechless.


    Holding onto his arm, Sonia said, ¡°Enough of this. Let¡¯s go. Just ignore her¡ªshe¡¯spletely mental. If


    you do, she¡¯ll just sink further into her delusions.¡±


    Looking at the hand ced on his arm, Toby did not bother to hide his inner glee as he chuckled and


    murmured, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Turning around, they were about to leave.


    However, Jessica, who finally saw Toby again, was not going to let them leave that easily.


    Clenching her teeth, she chased after them until finally, she stopped in front of them, halting them from


    advancing. ¡°Wait, Mr. Fuller!¡±


    Annoyed, Toby peered at her. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Fuller, are you in love with my sister?¡± Jessica said this as she looked at Sonia with a sh of


    jealousy in her eyes.


    Catching that sh of envy in the other woman¡¯s eyes, a speechless Sonia felt a tinge of difort


    inside. And so, she proceeded to pinch Toby¡¯s elbow.


    Noticing the pain, Toby raised his eyebrows as he looked at the woman beside him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    After shooting him a knowing look, Sonia turned her head away, ignoring him.


    Instantly, Toby knew what she was trying to say from her obvious gaze and he smiled gently. Just as he


    was going to speak, someone¡¯s phone rang¡ªturned out it was Sonia¡¯s.


    Taking out her phone, Sonia smiled upon noticing who the caller was. ¡°I need to take this. It¡¯s from my


    grandpa. It¡¯s probably regarding the shareholders¡¯ meeting today. Uncle King and him know each other,


    so maybe he called my grandpa beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Go on then.¡± Toby nodded subtly.


    Holding her phone, Sonia walked off to the side.


    After watching her walk away, Toby then finally turned around to face Jessica once again, his expression


    emotionless. ¡°I think I have already stated my position quite clearly, so why ask something that you


    already know the answer to?¡±


    Hearing Toby admit his love for Sonia made the jealousy inside Jessica increase. It even seeped out as it


    showed on her contorted expression. ¡°No, Mr. Fuller! You cannot fall in love with my sister!¡±


    With tightly knitted eyebrows and a dark expression, Toby stared daggers at Jessica as he questioned,


    ¡°Oh? And why can¡¯t I do that?¡±


    The words left him in a t and soft tone.


    Yet, it did nothing to disguise the anger.


    Knowing that he was angry, Jessica was utterly afraid, particrly when she started into the void that


    was his eyes.


    Clenching her fists, she resisted that surge of fear and opened her mouth to mutter ¡°B-Because I don¡¯t


    think she deserves you, Mr. Fuller. My sister was married, you know. However it was not out of love for


    him, rather out of the love for her ex-husband¡¯s family¡¯s wealth and power, which was why she devised a


    n to trick him into marrying her.¡±


    Suddenly, as if finding something hard to say, Jessica hesitated for a few seconds before continuing,


    ¡°And at that time, her ex had a girlfriend, which meant that for money, my sister forcefully ripped the


    couple apart. Mr. Fuller, the reason I¡¯m telling you all this is because she¡¯s not the good woman that you


    think she is. I don¡¯t think she truly loves you either. In her eyes, there is only profit and loss.¡±


    Scoffing, Toby asked with a thunderous expression, ¡°So what you¡¯re implying is that Sonia is actually


    after my money?¡±


    Seeing Toby acting like this made Jessica think that she was starting to convince him with her words.


    Eyes bright, she nodded profusely. ¡°Yes, Mr. Fuller. I know that I¡¯m being mean toward my sister right


    now, but I can¡¯t help it as I don¡¯t want any more victims to fall for her schemes. I can only tell you her past


    as I think she¡¯s a very ruthless person. Mr. Fuller, I would advise that you stay well away from my sister,


    as she really is undeserving of your love. I don¡¯t want to see you turn out like my ex-brother-inw,


    another victim of her schemes.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Coincidentally, I¡¯m your sister¡¯s ex-husband, you know?¡± Toby had a slight smirk as he


    uttered this.


    Meanwhile, Jessica, who was still trying to persuade him, was leftpletely shocked the instant she


    heard his words. ¡°What? You¡¯re Sonia¡¯s ex-husband?¡±


    ¡°Who did you think I was?¡± Toby countered with an almighty look, as if he was looking down upon an ant.


    All color draining from her face, Jessica shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! This can¡¯t be true! If you


    really are her ex, why do you still love her? I clearly heard you say that you loved someone else, and it


    was not Sonia.¡±


    ¡°I do have someone that I love, and it is Sonia. From the beginning to the end, my feelings have not, and


    will never change.¡± Toby said this as he looked at Sonia, who was standing a distance away, with a


    gentle gaze.


    Right after, he switched his gaze toward Jessica. Only this time, it was filled with contempt as he spoke.


    ¡°I know that at the end of the day, you only want to create a divide between me and Sonia, but reassured


    that you have failed. Let¡¯s put aside whether Sonia is with me due to my money and power. Even if she


    is, I¡¯m honored that she chose me because of these reasons.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Jessica shouted, ¡°Y-You¡¯ve lost it! You¡¯re totally insane!¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who was standing at a distance, looked over upon hearing someone scream.


    What¡¯s going on? Why is Jessica screaming like a madwoman? What did Toby say to her?


    With her hands at her side forming into fists, Jessica started to tremble as her emotions went haywire.


    ¡°Do you really love Sonia that much?¡±


    He even epted the fact that she might be eyeing him for his money! Don¡¯t rich people dislike gold


    diggers the most? Sure, they might y around with a gold digger for the hell of it, but they would never


    put their heart into it. Why is it when ites to this man, everything is turned upside down?


    Toby saw Sonia hanging up, and his remaining interest in humoring the woman in front of him


    disappeared.


    Sticking his hands into his pocket, he said coldly as he walked toward Sonia, ¡°My love for her is so deep


    you can¡¯t even start to fathom its depth.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    Turning around with a horrified expression, Jessica had a gaze that contained an inexplicable amount of


    envy and confusion as she looked at the couple who was together again.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    For the life of her, she could not understand the divide that stood between her and Sonia.


    Whatever Jessica wanted, she had to work herself to the bone to obtain it.


    Yet, that was not the case for Sonia. Just by standing there, there would be someone willing to give her


    her heart¡¯s desires.


    They were both sisters, so why was God ying favorites?

 Chapter 606

    Chapter 606


    Chapter 606 Jessica¡¯s Ambition


    Standing there, Jessica clenched her fists tightly while she stared at the couple. At that moment, she had


    a terrifying expression on her face¡ªit was as if she had be the embodiment of jealousy.


    Upon feeling the envy and malicious intent behind her, Sonia frowned and asked the man who was


    walking toward her, ¡°What did you say to her?¡±


    Having no reason to hide anything, Toby told her everything about their conversation.


    Upon hearing what had taken ce, Sonia chuckled coldly. ¡°Ever since she was young, she always had


    the habit of spinning tales to suit herself. I see she still hasn¡¯t changed that side of her.¡±


    ¡°One¡¯s nature is determined upon birth. No matter how much time passes, they will never change,¡± Toby


    commented.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but her aim in the past was to snatch all of Dad¡¯s affection and love for me so that he would


    think that I¡¯m the ck sheep of the family. Now, however, she¡¯s spinning tales because she likes you.¡±


    Raising her head, Sonia looked at Toby with a half-smile.


    Meanwhile, he looked at her, feeling speechless.


    Of course, he already knew about Jessica¡¯s feelings toward him.


    It was precisely because of that that he felt disgusted by all this.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s change the subject. It¡¯s about time we left. Are you hungry?¡± Toby asked as he called for the


    elevator.


    Sonia knew that he did not want to continue the conversation, so she smiled and followed him into the


    elevator.


    On the other hand, after Jessica saw the duo leave, she thought that her rage would burn her from the


    inside out.


    She always knew that her sister was married into the Fuller Family, and she also knew what the Fullers


    represented in the city.


    However, she was always disinterested in the Fullers, because she had heard that Sonia¡¯s husband, who


    was apparently a bald, fat and greasy looking man, did not even like Sonia.


    So when Jessica was at Kosovo, hearing Will call him Mr. Fuller did not make her realize the fact that the


    Mr. Fuller was in fact Sonia¡¯s ex-husband, who was none other than the head of the Fuller Family.


    In reality, the family head of the Fullers was not a fat, bald and greasy man as passed down from the


    grapevine. Far from it, he was instead very handsome and manly.


    A man like him who had the power and money to back up his looks was Jessica¡¯s ideal type. He was


    someone that she should be trying to conquer.


    On top of that, this man had feelings for Sonia too. Just that alone made Jessica swear that she would


    make him hers no matter the cost!


    To Jessica, whatever Sonia had, regardless of it being thepany or the man, meant that she had to


    have it.


    At that thought, Jessica raised her head upward, staring in the direction the couple left, her eyes full of


    determination.


    On the other end, Toby had brought Sonia to a restaurant that served eastern cuisine.


    Upon their arrival, he pulled out a chair for her.


    epting his gesture, Sonia took off her coat before sitting down.


    Toby, who sat opposite her, then handed the menu to her. ¡°Why are you letting Jessica continue to work


    at Paradigm Co.? Even after giving her five percent of thepany¡¯s shares, you still have the power to


    not let her work there, no?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Sonia answered him as she continued flipping through the menu. ¡°However, my aim is to


    keep tabs on her by keeping her close by. If I really did let her loose, it would be just a matter of time


    before she runs to god-knows-where again.¡±


    ¡°Why are you keeping her under surveince?¡± While asking, Toby poured two cups of water, handing


    her one of it.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia replied, ¡°You¡¯ve also heard what Nancy said, right? I aim to achieve two things by


    keeping Jessica by my side¡ªone is to find the evidence of her poisoning my father, and the other is to


    make her bear a child.¡±


    ¡°Bear a child?¡± A curious Toby frowned, as he was confused by what Sonia was nning.


    Closing the menu, Sonia looked at him and announced, ¡°Truth is¡­ I¡¯m not my parents¡¯ biological


    daughter.¡±


    Hearing this made Toby¡¯s pupils contract. His hand trembled and the cup in his hand swayed,


    threatening to spill out the water within.


    ¡°What did you say? You¡¯re not the real daughter of your parents?¡± Tightening his grip on the cup, Toby


    looked at Sonia intently.


    How does she know that she isn¡¯t the biological daughter of the Reed Family? Unless she knows the fact


    that she¡¯s the biological daughter of Titus? But that can¡¯t be it! If she does know, then she wouldn¡¯t have


    been acting so calmly. What exactly is going on here?


    Not aware of the chaotic thoughts that were raging inside Toby¡¯s mind, Sonia sipped from the cup of


    water before continuing, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not their biological daughter. Unfortunately, their real daughter died


    four or five months after she was born. I was adopted by them after their daughter died. Shocking, eh?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± Avoiding her gaze, Toby nodded slightly. ¡°It is quite shocking.¡±


    ¡°Do you really feel that way?¡± Tilting her head, Sonia questioned, ¡°I don¡¯t feel that you are particrly


    shocked by this fact, though.¡±


    A glimmer shed across his eyes, but Toby returned to his normal expression quickly and rxed his


    grip on the cup. Gently, he replied, ¡°No, you misunderstand. I was quite shocked. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t


    portray it on my face.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then.¡± Shrugging her shoulders, Sonia did not bother to think of the possibility that Toby might


    have been lying to her.


    After all, she had never thought that he would lie to her about something like this.


    ¡°Oh¡ªhow did you know that you aren¡¯t their own flesh and blood?¡± Pursing his lips, Toby pressed on,


    wanting to test the waters.


    Did someone who knew about her real identity tell her about this?


    If it is, then who can it be?


    And what would be their goal in telling her all this?


    Narrowing his gaze, Toby started to think about the possible conspiracies.


    At that moment, Sonia put down the cup and answered him, ¡°I didn¡¯t know about that either. It was


    Charles¡¯ mother, Mrs. Lane, who told me about it. I think it was around the end ofst month.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby pursed his lips as he repeated, ¡°Mrs. Lane told you about this?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    So it turned out that she too, knew about the fact that Sonia was not the Reed Family¡¯s biological


    daughter.


    ¡°Besides this, did she mention anything else?¡± Toby continued.


    Puzzled, Sonia countered, ¡°What else is there to know about?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s about the matter of who your real parents are.¡± Toby spoke in a roundabout manner,


    hoping to dig up some more information.


    Shaking her head, Sonia said, ¡°No, Mrs. Lane didn¡¯t seem to know who they were. She only told me that


    I was adopted by Mom and Dad from the orphanage.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby could tell that she was not lying, so he breathed a sigh of relief.


    Apparently, Mrs. Lane did not know that Sonia was the product of the Gray¡¯s.


    Then that¡¯s enough.


    ¡°And why are you asking about all this?¡± Sonia looked suspiciously at the man sitting opposite to her.


    Shaking his head slightly, Toby replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Seeing him keep his silence made Sonia stop her line of questioning.


    Yet, Toby opened his mouth again and he murmured, ¡°Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Raising her head, she continued, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Since¡­ you¡¯re not the biological daughter of the Reed¡¯s, then you must want to know who your real


    parents are, right?¡± Lowering his eyelids, Toby prevented her from seeing his true intentions through his


    gaze. ¡°Or has the thought of finding them perhaps crossed your mind before?¡±


    ¡°Coincidentally, Charles asked me the same questionst time too. My answer then and now hasn¡¯t


    changed¡ªI don¡¯t want to know and I don¡¯t want to seek them out either.¡± Swirling the water in her cup,


    Sonia revealed a brief smile.


    Upon hearing that, Toby stared at her. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because it might be inappropriate.¡± Putting down the cup, Sonia set her hands on her cheeks. ¡°If it were


    the teenage me, then I might¡¯ve wanted to know and might even try to reconcile with them to ask them


    why they didn¡¯t want me and abandoned me. But now, as a grown up, I don¡¯t feel that way anymore. For


    whatever reason that I wound up at the orphanage, it could only mean that I was fated to not be with my


    biological parents, and instead was destined to be the daughter of the Reed¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, if I really found out about my identity and due to that, I insisted on finding my real parents,


    that would be extremely unfair to the foster parents that raised me my whole life.¡±

 Chapter 607

    Chapter 607


    Chapter 607 Can I Kiss You


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Toby nodded subtly. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not wrong in saying that.¡±


    Smiling, Sonia then continued, ¡°Even if I really did manage to find them, how would we get along? It¡¯s not


    suitable to have a parent and child rtionship, after all, as we don¡¯t have much of a history together.


    Being rtives is weird as well as they are my own biological parents, which would make both them and


    me stuck in an awkward situation.¡±


    Up till here, she actually left out a sentence.


    And that was, perhaps they were already dead.


    ¡°To not seek and think about them is the most suitable thing to do.¡± Toby nodded.


    Truth was, hearing from Sonia that she wouldn¡¯t seek out her biological parents made him breathe a sigh


    of relief.


    Even if she did and even if Toby did try to prevent her from doing this, sooner orter, she would still


    know that she was born to the Gray Family. When that time came, what would she do?


    Hence, it would be better for Sonia to not look for her biological parents. This way, she would not feel


    curious about her true identity and she might even be oblivious to the fact that her parents were the


    Grays.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Actually, I was only a bit down when I found out I wasn¡¯t the flesh and blood of Mom and


    Dad. I knew from the instant I stepped into the Reed Family that I was already considered their daughter.


    As for my biological parents, I don¡¯t really care about why they abandoned me anymore. The moment


    that I appeared at the orphanage was the moment that our ties were severed,¡± Soniamented.


    Upon hearing that, Toby nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that you think of it like that.¡±


    Rubbing her temples, she added, ¡°Although I did say all of this, in the end, I still don¡¯t have any blood


    rtions with Mom and Dad.¡±


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°Is that why you wanted Jessica to bear a child? Do you want Jessica to continue the bloodline of your


    family due to you not being the biological daughter of your parents?¡± It was only then that Toby grasped


    her true intentions.


    A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth. ¡°You¡¯re right. That is my true aim. Although


    Jessica did poison Dad, she¡¯s still his only flesh and blood no matter what. I will let her pay her dues but


    at the same time, I want her to also continue the bloodline.¡±


    ¡°In the future, Jessica will definitely go to jail. When that happens, will you be fostering the child in her


    stead?¡± Toby questioned as he looked at her.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, I will, but I¡¯m not fostering the child for her. I¡¯m doing it to groom the next inheritor of


    the Reed Family. I will make sure to raise the child properly and not let them disy any of the bad


    habits their mother possessed. Then, when they finally grow up, I will let them inherit Paradigm Co. This


    is the only way I can think of to repay my parents for raising me until now.¡±


    Naturally, if Sonia was the product of her parents, she of course would not do such a thing.


    Yet, she was not. Jessica was the one who was.


    Hence, she could only continue the bloodline through Jessica.


    ¡°I understand now. If you want to, then do it. I¡¯ll help you raise the child.¡± Toby said gently.


    Sitting up straight, Sonia asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that my actions are uneptable?¡±


    After all, not everyone could ept her way of repaying her parents.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s uneptable.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°As long as you think that this is correct, then just


    do it with gusto. I¡¯ll support you no matter what.¡±


    Besides, it was just a child. It was not something he could not ept.


    Plus, the child was not even a product of Sonia¡¯s and someone else¡¯s.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Hearing the support and encouragement from Toby made Sonia feel all fuzzy and touched


    inside, and her expression turned gentle.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. We¡¯re in this together, so naturally I¡¯m on your side.¡± Reaching out, Toby


    tucked the strands of hair behind her ear. ¡°But you cannot let Jessica just get pregnant just like that.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia hummed in agreement and continued in a serious tone, ¡°I know that Jessica would not


    take it lying just like that. Knowing her, she will definitely try to abort the child somehow. So from the


    start, I never wanted for her to get pregnant; I just needed her genes.¡±


    If Sonia obtained Jessica¡¯s genes, she could then find an organization that specialized in gic


    reproduction abroad and after ten months, vo, a child would be born.


    ¡°That¡¯s a sound n. Do you need my help with it?¡± Toby asked as he gave her a peeled shrimp.


    Shaking her head, Sonia said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I can manage by myself.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just tell me straight if you need help; you don¡¯t have to feel burdened by it. After all, we¡¯re about


    to reconcile, no?¡± Setting down his cutlery, Toby said this as he looked at her intently.


    Sonia could see the hope emanating from his gaze. In the end, she gave in and nodded. ¡°Alright. If there


    are any problems, I¡¯lle to you.¡±


    Toby hummed in response and smiled.


    After dinner, it was already 8 PM.


    Toby then proceeded to drive Sonia back to Bayside Residence.


    After they arrived, he followed her into her apartment.


    ¡°You can sit on the sofa and watch TV for a while. I¡¯ll go get you some tea.¡± Sonia put her bag down as


    she said this.


    With a slight nod, Toby replied, ¡°I don¡¯t need tea. Water will do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll still need to wait though.¡± Stating her piece, Sonia then went to the kitchen.


    Toby sat down on the sofa, but he did not watch TV. Instead, he turned his head in the direction of the


    kitchen.


    After a while, he suddenly stood up and began to walk to the kitchen.


    At the entrance to the kitchen, Toby looked at the busy woman before him.


    At that moment, Sonia had on an apron as she washed the cups.


    Even though Toby had said that tea was not needed, it still looked like she was in the midst of preparing


    a pot of it.


    From her actions in washing the cups alone, he could tell that she did not drink tea often, as she did not


    use those teacups.


    Hence, it was quite obvious that she was washing the cups just for him.


    At that thought, Toby was touched by this small action of hers. Walking toward Sonia, he hugged her


    from behind.


    Surprised by this sudden contact, Sonia froze in ce with her hand also stopping. It was only after quite


    a while had passed that she collected herself and turned to face the man, asking, ¡°Why did youe to


    the kitchen?¡±


    Yet, she did not order him to let go of her.


    epting the fact that in the near future they would be together again, Sonia had already resigned


    herself to having such intimate moments.


    It was just that the situation she thought of was pushed forward a little.


    So, instead of rejecting his actions, Sonia epted it, as she has to get used to this sooner orter.


    ¡°Staying in the living room by myself was quite boring, so I came to apany you.¡± With that, Toby


    spun her around.


    Raising her gaze, Sonia replied, ¡°I don¡¯t need yourpany. I¡¯m just brewing up a quick pot of tea. It¡¯s


    not like I¡¯m doing anything else.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s just that I want to. Also, I miss you, and the taste of your lips.¡± Toby¡¯s gaze then


    landed on her red lips.


    Hearing this made Sonia¡¯s pupils dte. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°May I, Sonia?¡± Lowering his head, Toby rested his forehead against hers and asked in a hoarse and low


    tone.


    Slowly stiffening up, Sonia had turned as red as a tomato.


    She did not know how to respond to him.


    If she said no, it would likely hurt him.


    Yet, she could not bring herself to say yes.


    In the end, she decided to stay silent.


    Seeing Sonia keeping her silence, Toby once again opened his mouth and asked, ¡°Can I, Sonia?¡±


    This time around, his voice grew even hoarser, with the expectation in his eyes practically manifesting


    itself.


    Seeing Toby being so expectant made Sonia unable to bear disappointing him. She didn¡¯t want to see


    his bright gaze fizzle out into nothingness, so after a few seconds of hesitation, she finally nodded and


    hummed in agreement.


    Whatever! We¡¯ll have to do this in the future anyway. What¡¯s a bit of practicing now going to do?


    With that, Sonia let go of such thoughts and rxed her body.


    Her reply made Toby shine with happiness. Finally, he lifted her chin and went in for the kiss.


    This was the first time that the two had properly kissed, and it wasn¡¯t one of those ¡®idental¡¯ kisses they


    had in the past.


    This kiss came from the depths from their hearts, as it also signified Sonia finally epting Toby again.


    Hence, the kiss this time was much sweeter and better than previous experiences.

 Chapter 608

    Chapter 608


    Chapter 608 Are You Really Not Persuading Me to Stay


    By reflex, Sonia shut her eyes and reached her arms out to hold onto Toby¡¯s neck.


    Because she had been washing the cups, she still had bubbles on her hand from the soap.


    As she hugged Toby¡¯s neck, the bubbles became droplets, which dripped down onto his cor.


    The cold made him freeze for an instant, but he quicklyposed himself again.


    Now, however, Toby kissed her a lot harderpared to earlier, as if he was punishing her for dripping


    water down his cor.


    At this point, Sonia was about to run out of breath by his kiss, and her face was flushed due to theck of


    oxygen. Finally, she pinched Toby¡¯s waist, and he let her go after feeling the pain.


    Obtaining her freedom, Sonia immediately broke free from his embrace and walked to the side. With


    both hands on the kitchen countertop, she panted softly.


    Her still-flushed face and slightly zed eyes made her look extremely seductive.


    The look Sonia had made Toby¡¯s gaze darken. Gulping, he murmured in a low and hoarse tone,


    ¡°Sonia¡­¡±


    ¡°The water is boiling!¡± Before Toby could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the sound of the


    boiling water.


    Seeing Sonia hurriedly turn off the kettle made him smile resignedly.


    Originally, he wanted to continue where they left off, but he decided to let it go for now.


    After brewing the tea, Sonia set the pot and cups onto a tray before calling out to the man, ¡°Let¡¯s go to


    the living room.¡±


    Toby hummed in response and walked behind her as they exited the kitchen.


    In the living room, Sonia poured him a cup of tea after setting the tray down on the coffee table. ¡°These


    tea leaves have been sitting here for quite a while. Although they are still fine to drink, don¡¯t expect too


    much as they are not very expensive.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± Holding the cup she poured for him, Toby blew at it lightly as he said in a gentle tone, ¡°I


    like anything that you brew.¡±


    Hearing this made Soniaugh out loud. ¡°Even if it¡¯s poison?¡±


    ¡°If you give it to me personally, I would drink it without a shred of hesitation.¡± Looking at her, Toby said


    seriously, ¡°But are you willing to do that, though?¡±


    Pursing her lips, Sonia retorted, ¡°Why ask something you already know the answer to?¡±


    How could she bear to poison him when she was already in love with him?


    Even if they did not love each other anymore or he had a change of heart, she still would not do that.


    After all, the extreme way was not always the best solution to a problem. On the contrary, an individual


    would only dirty their own hands bymitting such a crime.


    If their rtionship really ran its course in the future, the only thing Sonia would do was to leave and


    never see him again.


    ¡°What are you thinking, furrowing your eyebrows like that?¡± Seeing Sonia so distracted made Toby lightly


    tap her tightly knitted brows.


    Something shed in Sonia¡¯s eyes and she came to her senses. Setting her inner thoughts aside, she


    shook her head slightly and muttered, ¡°Nothing much.¡±


    Seeing her so explicitly trying to hide something, Toby peered at her for a short moment before


    pretending to not notice anything. Putting down the teacup, he said, ¡°It¡¯s getting quitete, so I¡¯d better


    leave. You should also rest up.¡±


    Since she did not want to divulge her thoughts, he did not force her to do so either.


    It was only normal for everyone to have their own secrets.


    As long as she didn¡¯t go back on her promise of them reconciling, he could ept whatever secrets she


    was keeping.


    Not to mention, Toby had secrets of his own that he was hiding from her.


    Hearing that he was about to leave, Sonia stood up from the sofa. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send you off.¡±


    Toby subtly nodded in agreement.


    Then, the duo headed to the entrance of her house.


    Sonia opened her door and after wearing his shoes, Toby stepped outside. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t have to


    apany me any further. It¡¯s cold outside, so stay indoors.¡±


    Nodding, Sonia then said, ¡°Alright, then. Drive safe!¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± With that, Toby proceeded to stand outside the door as he looked at her, looking as if he had no


    intention of leaving.


    Tilting her head in confusion, Sonia asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips moved in response to her question, ¡°You¡­¡±


    Is she really not going to persuade me to stay the night?


    Is she not worried that I will be in danger if I go back at this ungodly hour?


    Looking at her expectantly, Toby hoped with all his heart that she would ask him to stay.


    Yet, Sonia, who waspletely oblivious to what he was hinting at, had a growing look of confusion on


    her face. ¡°What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?¡±


    Reaching out, she touched her face, only to find nothing stuck on it.


    Seeing her acting so adorable yet oblivious at the same time made Toby chuckle. In the end, he patted


    her head lightly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing on your face. It¡¯s clean.¡±


    ¡°Then why were you staring at me just now?¡± Sonia blinked.


    Suddenly, Toby pulled her into his arms as he murmured, ¡°It was because I wanted to look at you again


    before leaving.¡±


    Rolling her eyes, Soniamented, ¡°It¡¯s not as if we won¡¯t see each other anymore.¡±


    ¡°A few hours of not seeing you is like an eternity for me, so I just wanted to take a final look before I went


    away. Alright, I got what I wished and I should be on my way,¡± With that, Toby let go of her.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia hummed in response.


    Stepping back, Toby emphasized yet again, ¡°I¡¯m really going to leave now!¡±


    ¡°Just go, will you?¡± Sonia said as she put a hand on her forehead.


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    Really, why is a man like him acting so hesitantly like ady? Just leave already!


    Seeing her chasing him away relentlessly by waving her hand made Toby secretly sigh.


    Even after such obvious hints, she still did not ask him to stay.


    Looks like I really can¡¯t linger any longer.


    It¡¯s alright. For now, at least. After the reconciliation, I will find some excuse to move in with her or to


    make her move to mine.


    That way, I won¡¯t have to separate myself from her like right now.


    ¡°Aright, I¡¯m leaving. You should quickly get inside.¡± After Toby said that, he turned around and headed to


    the elevator.


    Looking at his silhouette, Sonia was suddenly reminded of something as she shouted, ¡°Wait!¡±


    Stopping in his steps, Toby had a sh of hope in his eyes as he quickly turned around. ¡°Is there


    anything else?¡±


    Is she finally extending an invitation to let me stay the night?


    Toby hoped for those words with all his heart.


    However, Sonia only said, ¡°Remember to text me when you reach home.¡±


    The light in Toby¡¯s eyes died immediately when he heard this.


    In the end, it was all just wishful thinking.


    However, he still epted the fact that him texting her after reaching home was her way of showing


    concern for his safety.


    Thinking that made his mood turn for the better and he smiled. ¡°I will.¡±


    Without any further exchanges, Sonia watched him enter the elevator before closing the door and going


    back in


    After going back in, she did not go into her bedroom. Instead, she walked to the balcony and leaned


    against the railing. Looking down, she saw Toby walking out of the building and heading in the direction


    of his car.


    As if he felt something, Toby stopped in his footsteps and turned his head around. Lifting his head, he


    happened to find the woman standing on the balcony.


    Surprise filled Toby the moment he saw Sonia, and he knew that she was silently sending him off.


    This made a warm smile appear on his face. Raising his hand, he waved toward her gently.


    Seeing him discover and even waving at herself, Sonia waved back.


    After that, Toby let his hand down and took out his phone.


    Then, Sonia felt her phone vibrate.


    She knew right away that Toby must have sent her something.


    Retracting her hands, she took out the phone from her pocket to find a message he sent.


    Opening her Messenger, she discovered a short sentence stating, ¡®Go back inside. It¡¯s cold out.¡¯


    It was only six short words, yet it managed to make Sonia feel all fuzzy inside. Looking at the man below,


    she replied, ¡®Alright, I will. You should also quickly get into the car. It¡¯s cold outside.¡¯


    Looking at her message, Toby grinned from ear to ear and he texted back, ¡®I will.¡¯


    After replying, he put this phone away and entered his car.


    Looking at his car¡¯s lights turning on, Sonia then heard the sound of his car¡¯s horn.


    She knew that was his way of saying goodbye.

 Chapter 609

    Chapter 609


    Chapter 609 Kick Her Out


    Sure enough, after the honk, Toby¡¯s car moved and joined the traffic.


    It was only when Sonia couldn¡¯t distinguish his car from the other cars that she retracted her hands from


    the railing and returned to the living room.


    However, the moment she stepped inside, the phone in her hand rang.


    Sonia thought that it was Toby who was calling her, so she immediately raised the phone to check it out,


    only to find that it wasn¡¯t him. Instead, it was a call from the management office of Marina City.


    She furrowed her brows in puzzlement. That¡¯s weird! Why is the management calling me at this time?


    She pursed her lips but in the end, she picked up the call. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed. I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you sote at night,¡± the person on the other end of the line


    said.


    Sonia walked over to the couch and sat down. ¡°It¡¯s fine. How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, your younger sister came over tonight and asked us to give her the key to your house, so


    I¡¯m calling you to inform you about this,¡± he replied.


    Sonia¡¯s expression sank when she heard that. ¡°Are you saying that Jessica went to Marina City?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± the person replied with a nod.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Where is she now? Did you give her the keys?¡±


    Marina City was a housing area that consisted of vis, which was also where the Reed Family¡¯s vi


    had been located in the past.


    When Sonia¡¯s father passed away six years ago, she had sealed that vi and had passed one of the


    keys to the management office so that they could arrange for periodic cleaning and maintenance of the


    facilities.


    Although she had no ns to continue to stay there, she didn¡¯t want to see the vi being abandoned, so


    she continued to pay monthly maintenance fees to the management body of the property.


    Never in a million years did Sonia expect Jessica to return to that ce when she herself hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed. I¡¯ve given her the keys since she¡¯s your younger sister.¡± The manager answered, then


    carefully asked, ¡°Miss Reed, did I do something wrong? Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have given her the keys?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips, thinking that he had indeed done something inappropriate. However, she was


    well-aware that the manager had done so because he wasn¡¯t clear about her real rtionship with


    Jessica.


    It was only natural for him to make such a decision since Jessica was indeed her sister and under


    normal circumstances, there shouldn¡¯t be deep grudges between siblings.


    Hence, she was in no position to pin the me on him, since she had never revealed her true


    rtionship with Jessica to them.


    At that thought, Sonia rubbed the spot between her brows and replied, ¡°The both of us are not on


    speaking terms.¡±


    Upon hearing that, the manager instantly understood that he had made a mistake, so he quickly


    apologized, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Miss Reed. I was not aware of that.¡±


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    ¡°Forget it. I will let it slide this time, but please don¡¯t repeat this again.¡± She put down her hand.


    Upon hearing that, the man immediately thanked her. ¡°I understand, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Now that you have given the key to Jessica, please bring a few men with you and kick her out of the


    vi. Don¡¯t forget to retrieve the key as well,¡± Sonia instructed indifferently.


    That vi had been acquired when Sonia¡¯s parents got married, so Jessica and Sandra had no right to


    live there since it had nothing to do with both of them. Now that Sonia¡¯s father had passed away, coupled


    with the fact that Jessica and her mother had poisoned him, they didn¡¯t even have the right to step foot


    into the vi!


    When the manager heard her adamant tone, he immediately agreed. ¡°I understand, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll take a


    few people with me and go over right now. Rest assured, I¡¯ll definitely set this right.¡±


    Although he inwardly eximed about Sonia¡¯s cruelty toward her sister, he dared not utter a single word


    about it because he knew very clearly that Sonia was the person who paid his sry, after all.


    ¡°Very well, then.¡± Sonia nodded before she added, ¡°From now on, don¡¯t allow anyone to get near the vi


    except me.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± He agreed.


    Her expression icy, Sonia hung up the call.


    She never expected that Jessica would think of staying in that vi. How shameless can she be?!


    On the other hand, at the Marina City, after the manager had received Sonia¡¯s instruction, he


    immediately brought a few men with him and went straight to the Reed Family¡¯s vi.


    Meanwhile, Jessica was instructing a domestic helper to clean up the vi.


    When she was about to instruct the helper to prepare the bed in the master bedroom, she saw a group of


    people barging into the house.


    She was startled at first but when she found that they were from the management office, she was utterly


    pissed. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡±


    The manager, who had taken the lead, darted a nonchnt look at her; the politeness that he had had


    when he gave the keys to her hadpletely vanished.


    With a wave of his hand, he ordered two of his staff behind him, ¡°Grab her and throw her out.¡±


    ¡°Roger that, sir,¡± the two men responded before they stepped forward in an attempt to catch her.


    When Jessica saw the men charging at her and making a move to grab her, she became livid and even


    started shouting at the top of her lungs, ¡°What are you guys doing?! Who gave you the permission to


    grab me? Let go of me, do you hear me? Otherwise, I¡¯ll lodge aint!¡±


    The manager noticed her luggage that she had ced in the living room and went over to take it before


    coldly replying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Jessica. There¡¯s no use lodging aint on us. We are here to ask


    you to leave under the instructions of the vi¡¯s owner. After all, you are not the owner of the vi, so


    your presence here at this moment is no different from trespassing on a private property.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! Who said that I¡¯m not the owner of the vi? I¡¯m the second daughter of this family!¡± Jessica


    bellowed with a scowl, to which the manager calmly refuted, ¡°You are indeed the second daughter of the


    family, but that¡¯s a thing of the past. The vi now belongs to Miss Reed and it has nothing to do with


    you. Since she doesn¡¯t allow you to enter her property, you will have to leave. Take her out.¡±


    When the two men who had grabbed Jessica by the arms were about to drag her out of the house, she


    suddenly struggled violently. ¡°So it was Sonia that asked you all toe, eh? Since when has this vi


    belonged to her? Both she and I share the same father, so I own half of this property. She has no right to


    ask me to leave!¡±


    ¡°Of course Miss Reed has the right to do so. Before we came, I checked the vi¡¯s ownership details.


    The vi was acquired by Mr. Henry Reed and Mrs. Lina Ferguson thirty years ago, and not by Mr. Henry


    and your mother. Not long after Mrs. Lina passed away, the ownership of the vi was entirely transferred


    to Miss Reed, and that took ce more than twenty years ago. Therefore, I¡¯m positive that Miss Reed is


    the owner of this vi.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s impossible!¡± When Jessica heard that, she immediately widened her eyes, a shocked and


    incredulous look on her face.


    She had always known that the vi had been purchased when Sonia¡¯s mother got married to their


    father.


    However, what Jessica didn¡¯t know was that their father had actually transferred the vi to Sonia after


    thetter¡¯s mother had passed away.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t something that¡¯s impossible.¡± The manager then coldly added, ¡°You can only me yourself


    for not getting the facts straight, else you wouldn¡¯t be kicked out today.¡±


    With that, he waved his hand, gesturing to his two staff to quickly escort her out.


    As such, no matter how reluctant Jessica was and how hard she struggled and screamed, she was


    forcefully dragged out of the house by the two men.


    Upon noticing the domestic helper, who had been stunned by the turn of events, the manager said,


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing much you can do here. Please leave as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± She immediately agreed and tossed the rag in her hands aside before dashing toward


    the foyer.


    In the end, the manager dragged Jessica¡¯s luggage out of the ce.


    Meanwhile, Jessica, who was thrown out of the gates of the housingpound by the two men,


    slumped onto the ground.


    Then, something flew in her direction andnded by her side. It turned out to be her luggage.


    Her eyes flicked from her luggage that had a chipped corner to the three men from the management


    office. Eyes full of resentment, she growled, ¡°Just you wait! I won¡¯t let this slide!¡± And Sonia as well. I¡¯ll


    definitely make sure to pay her back for humiliating me today!


    However, Jessica¡¯s threat failed to put even a single shred of fear on the faces of the three men, as their


    actions had been carried out under Sonia¡¯s instruction. Sonia would be the one to settle it if anything


    were to happen.


    Therefore, the three of them werepletely unfazed by the threats hurled their way. In the end, they let


    out a chuckle in disdain before turning back into thepound, leaving Jessica shouting hysterically all


    alone outside.

 Chapter 610

    Chapter 610


    Chapter 610 A Call From Charles


    After screeching for some time, not only did the people from the management office not return, Jessica


    even attracted the attention and condemnation of passersby.


    Feeling mortified, she quickly picked herself up from the ground and grabbed her luggage before dashing


    toward the car park with her head bowed.


    As soon as she entered her car, she took out her phone with a scowl and dialed Sonia¡¯s number.


    Meanwhile at Bayside Residence, Sonia had exited the bathroom after taking a shower and was about to


    dry her hair.


    When she had walked up to where the hair dryer was, she heard her phone ring.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    She initially thought that it was a call from Toby to inform her that he had arrived at his destination safely,


    so she immediately put down the hair dryer in her hand and made her way toward the head of the bed to


    pick up her phone over there. However, Sonia then realized that it wasn¡¯t Toby who was calling her.


    Instead, it was a call from an unknown number. The realization caused her initially bright eyes to


    inadvertently dim a little.


    It¡¯s not Toby, after all. She pursed her lips but in the end, she still picked up the call. ¡°Hello, who is on the


    line?¡±


    ¡°Sonia, how could you ask those people to kick me out of the vi?!¡± A high-pitched female voice was


    heard from the other end of the line. The woman shrieked in a tone full of rage and resentment, which


    would chills down the spine of anyone who heard that.


    It instantly put a frown on Sonia¡¯s face as she muttered icily, ¡°And here I was wondering who was on the


    line, only to find out that it¡¯s you. What¡¯s wrong, Jessica? Are you calling me to find fault with me? I can


    tell you very clearly here and now that you have gotten the wrong person. That vi belongs to me, so of


    course I have the right to drive you out of it. In fact, I could even report to the police and sue you for


    trespassing.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Jessica was rendered speechless; her face first reddened then paled and it resembled an artist¡¯s


    palette, making her look utterly ridiculous.


    After a brief moment of silence, Jessica took a deep breath and was barely able to suppress the raging


    anger inside her as she growled sinisterly, ¡°Very well, Sonia. Listen here¡ªI won¡¯t let this slide and I¡¯ll


    make sure you pay for this one day!¡± After stating her threats, Jessica instantly killed the call because


    she knew very well that she was not as clever with words as Sonia was, not to mention that she wasn¡¯t


    exactly in the right. Continuing with the conversation would only end up in Jessica being bullied, which


    was why hanging up the call at this moment would be a wiser choice.


    Upon seeing that her phone had returned to disying the homescreen, Sonia let out a sneer. Make


    sure that I¡¯ll pay back for this? Sure, I¡¯ll just wait and see who will have thestugh!


    Right after Sonia had turned off her phone screen and returned it to the bedside table, the screen


    suddenly lit up on its own.


    This time, a message popped up on the screen. The sender was Toby.


    When Sonia saw that, a hint of excitement shed across her eyes. She immediately picked up the


    phone and unlocked her screen to read the text. ¡®Have you gone to bed?¡±


    Tapping on the keyboard, she replied, ¡®Not yet. Have you reached home?¡¯


    Meanwhile, Toby was tugging on his necktie as he sat on the couch. Just as he had managed to loosen it


    a bit, he felt a vibration from the phone on hisp.


    He rushed to undo the tie and lowered his head as he read Sonia¡¯s reply.


    He curled up his thin lips as he typed on the keyboard with one hand. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve arrived.¡±


    Sonia took a seat at the edge of the bed. ¡°That¡¯s good. It¡¯ste. You should wash up and rest. Don¡¯t stay


    up toote.¡±


    The woman¡¯s caring words put a gentle expression on his face, so he texted, ¡®Sure, you too. Goodnight.¡¯


    Sonia smiled as she replied, ¡®Goodnight.¡¯


    Toby ced his phone down before rising up and pacing to the study.


    At the study, he took a pen from the penholder on his desk, then crossed out today¡¯s date on the


    calendar on his desk.


    After that, he tossed his pen back into the penholder and picked up the calendar, his slender finger


    pointing at the date on it.


    Looking at the rows of numbers, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Almost there; thirteen days to go and after


    that, we will be together.


    He stared at the calendar for a while before cing it back on the desk and exiting the study. Thereafter,


    he headed to the bathroom to wash up and prepare to go to bed.


    Any other time, Toby wouldn¡¯t be resting at this moment, as he would most probably stay in the study to


    continue with his work.


    After all, as the person in charge of managing the enormous Fuller Group, he had mountainous work to


    deal with every day. The few work hours during the day werepletely insufficient for him to handle all


    the work, so it was rathermon for him to continue his work at home.


    Nheless, at that moment, Toby had no intentions to do anything of that sort.


    Sonia had asked him to rest early, so he willingly did as he was told. ording to what he had read on


    the Inte, a good man listened to his woman. He didn¡¯t find it humiliating to be a man who listened to


    his woman, because only men who loved their woman would do so.


    On the other hand, Sonia had no idea that Toby had convinced himself to be an obedient man who


    took what she said seriously. After drying her hair with the hair dryer, she switched off the lights and went


    to bed. She slept throughout the night until she was woken up by a call the next morning.


    It turned out to be a call from Charles. As soon as Sonia picked up the call, before she could even


    manage to utter a word, Charles¡¯ voice rang out. He spoke rapidly, much like a lit firecracker that


    exploded in a series of loud bangs. ¡°Sonny, what happened?! Why did Jessica suddenly be the


    Vice President of Paradigm Co.?¡±


    Upon hearing his question, Sonia rubbed her eyes and sat up on the bed, yawning as she replied, ¡°She


    acquired 5 percent of the shares from me, so I gave her the position.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, why did you give her 5 percent of the shares?¡± Charles asked in puzzlement.


    And so, Sonia took the ss of water that she had ced at the bedside table to moisten her throat


    before she replied, ¡°The shares that I gave her were from the 11 percent that I inherited from my father,


    not those that you have acquired together with Grandpa. Dad didn¡¯t leave a will to split his assets before


    he passed away, so Jessica and I should each get half of the shares he owned. If I don¡¯t give the shares


    to her, she could file awsuit and the court will eventually order me to do so. Besides, the reason she


    came back this time is to get the shares from me and for Paradigm Co. If it wasn¡¯t because of the fact


    that most of the shares that I currently own were acquired by you guys on my behalf, Jessica would have


    taken half of them yesterday.¡±


    After listening to her exnation, Charles was able to calm down, but he resignedlymented, ¡°Lucky


    her.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia chuckled helplessly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it, since she¡¯s indeed my father¡¯s


    daughter.¡±


    ¡°How about the position?¡± He frowned as he muttered, ¡°The vice president is an especially important


    position. How could you give it to her? Not only is she an idiot, she is really ambitious. It would be


    disastrous if something were to happen because she was given such an important position.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Charles. I¡¯ve taken all that into consideration. You mentioned as well that Jessica is an


    ambitious person, so she wouldn¡¯t ept if I were to give her a lower position, and she would have


    definitely made a scene and ended up affecting the reputation of Paradigm Co.. I might as well give her a


    high position that won¡¯t give her any ess to real authority and confidential information since putting


    her under my nose would be the most ideal solution. By doing so, I¡¯ll immediately find out if she is going


    to try anything funny,¡± she exined.


    Charles nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, Charles, how did you know that Jessica has be the Vice President of Paradigm


    Co.?¡± Sonia asked curiously.


    She didn¡¯t reveal this matter to the public, nor did she tell anyone else except Toby.


    Hence, she found it rather strange that Charles knew about it.


    On the other end of the line, Charles was looking at theputer screen before him in his office when


    he replied, ¡°I saw it on the Inte.¡±


    ¡°On the Inte?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression fell when she heard that.


    He hummed in response. ¡°Yes. This morning, when I turned on myputer, the news about the new


    Vice President of Paradigm Co. popped up on my screen. When I clicked into it, it was Jessica¡¯s


    personal interview, so I not only found out that she has returned, I even learnt that she is now the vice


    president. This is why I called you to get confirmation from you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded, finally understanding the situation.


    He then added, ¡°I reckon that it was Jessica who approached the media to do the interview, probably


    because she wants to announce this to the public so that the position belongs to herpletely. Also,


    she wants everyone to know that Paradigm Co. not only belongs to you but to her as well.¡±

 Chapter 611

    Chapter 611


    Chapter 611 Returned to Usual


    ¡°Knowing her, this is something that she would do.¡± Sonia scoffed.


    Charles gave her a word of advice out of concern. ¡°Sonny, the main reason Jessica returned is for


    Paradigm Co.. Since she failed to get her hands on the firm, she won¡¯t give up. You have to be careful so


    that you don¡¯t fall for her schemes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Charles. I know what to do.¡± Sonia epted his heartfelt concern with a smile.


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s great. Give me a call if you need any help.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± The smile on her face widened.


    ¡°I¡¯m hanging up, then,¡± he said.


    ¡°Hold on!¡± Sonia interrupted.


    Upon hearing that, Charles brought the phone back to his ear. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    She bit her lip as she mumbled, ¡°Charles, do you still hold a grudge against me?¡±


    ¡°Hold a grudge against you?¡± he asked in puzzlement. ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Because I rejected your feelings previously.¡± Sonia lowered her eyes, a guilty look on her face.


    Although rejecting someone¡¯s feelings was something normal, she still felt guilty for doing so since they


    were friends. She felt that she had somehow wronged or hurt him, especially when they hadn¡¯t met nor


    contacted each other for a while. This had caused the feeling of guilt to fester as the days passed.


    After all, before that incident, Charles would seek her out almost every day. Even if they hadn¡¯t met, they


    would still chat via Messenger.


    However, after that incident, he had never once sought her out, so she was worried that he might ignore


    her from then on and they would gradually drift apart.


    Fortunately, after worrying about it for so long, Charles actually made the first move by giving her a call.


    Although all they talked about were work-rted matters, it still made Sonia happy.


    He was still willing to talk to her, which showed that they wouldn¡¯t eventually be strangers.


    On the other end of the line, when Charles heard what she said, he fell into a silence before he


    exined, ¡°I¡¯ve never med you for that. Instead, the person that I me is actually myself. I regretted


    having been a coward and not being aggressive enough, but no matter how much I me myself, I know


    that all the feelings are pointless because you will never feel the same way as I do.¡±


    If Sonia would have fallen in love with him, she would have done so a long time ago. She wouldn¡¯t have


    fallen in love with Toby over and over again.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Charles,¡± Sonia murmured as she bowed her head in guilt.


    Upon hearing that, he waved his hand and chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize to me. You didn¡¯t do


    anything wrong. Feelings are something that has to be mutual and it can¡¯t be forced. It¡¯s your right to


    choose not to love me and reject me, but if I hold a grudge against you because of your rejection, that


    would make me unworthy of your love and even less of a man.¡±


    She bit her lip. ¡°Do you really think so, Charles?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do!¡± He nodded but the gleam in his eyes dimmed a little. ¡°Truth was, I found it uneptable


    during the first two days. I couldn¡¯t understand why you didn¡¯t love me when I¡¯ve loved you for so many


    years. I was confused and hurt, and even locked myself up for two whole days. It was only after my mum


    talked to me that I finally understood and managed to move on from the pain.¡±


    ¡°What did your mother tell you?¡± Sonia asked, feeling puzzled.


    He smiled as he recalled, ¡°She told me to take it easy and asked me to let go of the feelings. She had a


    point, though. She said that it¡¯s not a bad thing to fall in love with someone, but if the other person


    doesn¡¯t feel the same, the feelings one has will be a burden to the other because they won¡¯t be


    able to return it. Even if they do, it may not be out of love; it may be because they don¡¯t want to hurt their


    admirer. At that time, both parties will suffer in the end. Sonny, I have been giving you a hard time,


    haven¡¯t I?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s red lips parted as she wanted to deny what he said, but the words couldn¡¯t escape her lips.


    He rubbed the tip of his nose. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sonny.¡±


    After listening to his mother¡¯s words only did Charles know that love could be a burden to other people.


    His mother had also said that to truly love someone would be to wish for the happiness of the other


    person. The most important thing was that the other party could be happy even if he couldn¡¯t be together


    with her.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Forcing the other person to be with him wasn¡¯t a sign of love, but instead one of possessiveness.


    The other person certainly wouldn¡¯t be happy and would even lose their liveliness.


    Instead of having Sonia lose her vibrance, Charles wanted her to be happy. And so, he chose to listen to


    his mother¡¯s words and let go of Sonia.


    ¡°Charles, you don¡¯t need to apologize to me,¡± she muttered.


    He shook his head. ¡°No, I have to apologize because I have been troubling you in the past and caused


    you to be worried for me. Rest assured, I won¡¯t do anything reckless again. Also, I won¡¯t hold on to the


    feelings of wanting you to be with me anymore since a rtionship isn¡¯t something that can be forced.


    You won¡¯t be happy if you are with me, and I will end up straining myself due to the unrequited love.


    Therefore, let¡¯s remain friends and go back to how we used to be, alright?¡±


    Eyes red, Sonia nodded and her throat tightened as she replied, ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough.¡± Charles let out a chuckle, but it was a bitter one.


    After all, Sonia was still the woman he had loved for many years. It would only be natural for him to grief


    over a rtionship that ended without having the chance to even begin.


    However, there was nothing he could do about it. Perhaps they were destined to be friends but not


    lovers.


    ¡°Speaking of which, Sonny,¡± he said when something seemed to cross his mind.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia wiped the moisture at the corner of her eyes. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°What I want to say is although I¡¯ve given up on you as well as the hope to be in a rtionship with you,


    that¡¯s not the case for Carl. That guy has some personality issues and I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t give up as easily


    as I did. By then, he will surely go berserk, so you have to be mentally prepared,¡± Charles advised, his


    tone serious.


    Meanwhile, Sonia hummed in response. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    She probably still had a way to interact with Carl if it was his first personality that she faced. However, if it


    was his second personality, which she knew nothing about at all, she really had no idea how she should


    face him when they met. To make matters worse, Carl¡¯s second personality was way nastier than his


    first.


    Nheless, this would be something that she would deal with when the time came. After all, Carl was


    currently in Westsanshire, so there was no telling when they would meet. Besides, she didn¡¯t know


    whether it was Carl¡¯s first personality that had managed to regain the right to control the body. Also, she


    wasn¡¯t sure whether his second personality felt that way toward her.


    Hence, it was still too early to think about that.


    Thereafter, Sonia and Charles chatted for a little more before they ended the call.


    Looking at her phone, she revealed a sincere smile. These days, her greatest worry was Charles.


    However, everything turned out well. Charles had let go of his feelings and moved on, and he was willing


    to go back to how they used to be in the past.


    All in all, knowing about that made Sonia¡¯s day.


    At that thought, she lifted her nket and mbered out of the bed. Even her steps toward the bathroom


    were light and happy.


    Thirty minutester, she exited the bathroom. Just as she was done changing into her clothes, she heard


    the doorbell ring.


    Feeling puzzled, she headed toward the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± A man¡¯s pleasant, deep voice came from outside the door.


    She opened the door and looked at the man outside with a baffled look on her face. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Toby lifted the bag that contained breakfast, a slight smile by the corner of his lips. ¡°I wanted to see you


    and have breakfast together.¡±


    Sonia blushed at that. ¡°We just metst night, no? But doe in.¡±


    She opened the door wide and stepped to the side, making way for him and gesturing at him toe in.

 Chapter 612

    Chapter 612


    Chapter 612 Charles¡¯ Warning


    Toby stepped into the house before making his way familiarly toward the dining table. Then, he ced


    the bag on the table and took out their breakfast.


    After that, he turned to look at Sonia and waved at her. ¡°Come and eat.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead; don¡¯t wait for me. I¡¯ll go and do my hair first,¡± she said as she pointed at her hair.


    When Sonia changed into her clothes earlier, she messed up her hair and didn¡¯t manage to tidy it. She


    had to at least make sure that her hair was in ce in order to look presentable before she met anyone.


    Upon hearing that, Toby inclined his head. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    She hummed in response before heading back to her room.


    A few minutester, Sonia returned with her hair neat.


    Toby was seen sitting at the table waiting for her. As soon as he caught sight of her, he moved the chair


    next to him and gestured for her to sit there.


    And so, Sonia epted it and went over to take a seat.


    ¡°Try the shrimp congee that Wanda made.¡± He handed her a spoon, only to have Sonia look at him in


    surprise.


    ¡°Wanda made this?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°You came from the old manor?¡± she asked.


    Meanwhile, Toby poured her a ss of juice. ¡°I went over to get something this morning so I brought


    breakfast from there.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± His exnation had enlightened her. ¡°I thought that you specifically went to the old manor to


    have Wanda make breakfast,¡± Sonia muttered as she lifted her chin.


    ¡°You can say that, since Wanda made the breakfast we are having now after I specifically instructed her


    to do so. After all, Grandma isn¡¯t a fan of seafood.¡± He smiled and added, ¡°Let¡¯s dig in. The weather is


    cold today, so the food will get cold fast.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± she replied, and the two of them began to have breakfast quietly.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    It was almost 9.00 AM when they were done with their meal. Together, the two of them left the house,


    thereafter getting into the car and leaving Bayside Residence.


    However, the moment Toby¡¯s Maybach drove off, a figure appeared at the entrance of Bayside


    Residence from around the corner.


    It turned out to be Charles.


    That morning, after talking to Sonia over the phone, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to


    return her something that she had left with him a long time ago. Therefore, he drove over with the


    intention to pass that thing to her.


    Nheless, when he arrived there, he saw something he had least expected¡ªToby and Sonia leaving


    the house together.


    He was able to tell from their actions that Sonia was no longer wary of Toby; she even had smiles in her


    eyes when she talked to him.


    It was apparent that she had realized and even epted the fact that she had fallen in love all over


    again with Toby. They might have gotten back together as well.


    Otherwise, how could one exin why they would exit the building together?


    Charles felt heartbroken at that thought, and he couldn¡¯t help but clench both his fists by his sides.


    Although he had dered to Sonia over the call that morning that he was willing to let go of her, moving


    on from a rtionship was never an easy task. Instead, it was usually a process that would take a long


    time.


    Hence, seeing her walking together with Toby still saddened him.


    After some consideration, Charles took a deep breath, barely suppressing the bitterness in his heart as


    he took out his phone to send a message.


    At the same time, Toby¡¯s phone beeped in his pocket.


    He stopped conversing with Sonia and took out his phone to nce at it. A hint of surprise shed


    across his eyes when he saw who the sender of the message was. Charles Lane? Why is he suddenly


    texting me?


    Toby¡¯s expression fell. He then tapped on the message that contained only a sentence. ¡®Are you in a


    rtionship with Sonia?¡¯


    He raised his eyebrows, puzzled by the man¡¯s sudden question. Yet, Toby replied, ¡®More or less.¡¯


    On the other hand, those three words confused Charles. What does he mean by more or less? Is it a yes


    or no?


    With his lips pursed, Charles continued to respond, his fingers trembling with every letter that he typed.


    Since the both of you are now together, please treat her well from now on. Don¡¯t break her heart, else I


    won¡¯t let you off the hook!


    Nobody knew how devastated Charles felt at that very moment.


    The feeling of pushing the person he loved into another man¡¯s embrace was even more agonizing than


    being pricked by a thousand needles.


    Yet, Charles had no choice but to do so because the man she loved wasn¡¯t him but another person.


    In order for his favorite person to be happy, the only thing he could do was to give them his blessings.


    On the other side, Toby was surprised when he saw Charles¡¯ message. What does he mean by asking


    me to treat Sonia well? Does this mean that he has given up on her?


    Toby curled up his lips at that realization.


    Although he had no idea how Charles arrived at the decision of giving up on pursuing Sonia, this


    undeniably was still wonderful news to Toby. After all, he now had one less opponent who had eyes on


    his lover, which was music to his ears.


    The curvature at the corner of Toby¡¯s lips widened and even his typing speed was much faster. ¡®I will do


    so even without having you say that.¡¯


    Upon seeing the response, Charles chuckled coldly. ¡®Let¡¯s hope so. If I ever find out that you mistreat her,


    I¡¯ll take her away from your side so that you can never find her.¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡®You will never have such a chance to do so.¡¯


    After he sent that, he turned off his phone screen.


    Sonia peered at him and asked curiously, ¡°Who are you chatting with?¡±


    ¡°A person who has moved on from something he couldn¡¯t have,¡± Toby murmured, keeping his phone


    away.


    ¡°Moved on?¡± She cocked her head to one side in puzzlement. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    He chuckled without exining, so she shrugged and let it go. After all, if he wasn¡¯t willing to tell her, she


    couldn¡¯t very well force an answer out of him, could she? Perhaps he was talking about work-rted


    matters, she thought.


    Soon, they arrived at Paradigm Co..


    After Tom had stopped the car, Sonia adjusted her handbag strap on her shoulder and looked at the man


    beside her. ¡°I¡¯ll make a move now.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby inclined his head slightly. ¡°Let me see you upstairs.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± She shook her head and rejected his offer. ¡°You have to go to work as well, no? You


    don¡¯t need to see me up. Just get to the Fuller Group. I¡¯ll see youter!¡±


    She then waved to him and opened the car door to alight from the car.


    Toby rolled down the car window. When Sonia walked around the front of the car and reached his side,


    he called out to her. ¡°Sonia.¡±


    She paused in her tracks and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Remember to think about me,¡± he stated in a serious manner as he looked at her.


    Sonia¡¯s face flushed crimson. She immediately looked around to check if there was anybody around


    them, but there was not, so she waved at him and gestured to him to quickly leave. ¡°I-I will try my best.¡±


    With that, she turned on her heel and jogged into the building.


    His gaze gentle, Toby watched as she disappeared from his sight before he rolled up the car window and


    instructed Tom to drive the car.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom nodded in agreement and started the engine.


    Meanwhile in the elevator, as Sonia stared at the elevator doors that were slowly sliding close, she


    exhaled in relief before raising her hand to touch her face.


    She could feel her face burning at the moment. Without having to look in the mirror, she already knew


    that her face must be crimson. It¡¯s all Toby¡¯s fault! Why did he have to suddenly say such romantic things


    to me? It¡¯s so overwhelming and I don¡¯t even know how to respond to him, but I have to say that it¡¯s quite


    exciting.


    When Sonia had fallen in love with him six years ago, he hadn¡¯t shared the same feelings as her, so she


    naturally had had no chance to experience all these exciting moments.


    After six years had passed, they finally shared mutual feelings for each other. Only now did she know


    what it felt like when two people were in love with each other. It felt sweet and it made her blood pulse,


    not to mention utterly addictive.


    When she was deep in her thoughts, the elevator doors suddenly slid open with a ding and a shrill


    female voice came from outside. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±


    Sonia put down her hand from her face and quickly collected her thoughts. She then raised her head and


    coldly peered at Jessica, who was standing outside. ¡°This is an elevator exclusively for higher


    management. Is there a problem?¡±

 Chapter 613

    Chapter 613


    Chapter 613 Get Jessica to Apologize


    Jessica was rendered speechless and her expression became thunderous.


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who wasn¡¯t bothered to entertain her anymore, reached out her hand to press on the


    elevator button to close the doors. She had yet to arrive at her floor.


    However, before Sonia managed to do so, Jessica suddenly shouted and pressed on the button outside


    the elevator. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?!¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia frowned. ¡°I¡¯m going up to the highest floor. What do you think I¡¯m doing? Since


    you are noting in, I have to close the doors. I can¡¯t be wasting my time because of you, can I?¡±


    ¡°Who says that I¡¯m not going in?¡± Jessica red at her, releasing the button and stepping into the lift on


    her high heels.


    And so, Sonia stepped aside to distance herself from Jessica because she refused to stand too close to


    her.


    Jessica was livid when she saw how Sonia avoided her, as though she was a piece of thrash. Just as


    she was about to say something about it, Sonia suddenly turned to her. ¡°Jessica, don¡¯t go anywhere after


    work. Stay in the office; I¡¯ll take you somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going to take me to?¡± Jessica stared at her with a wary look.


    Sonia avoided her gaze and didn¡¯t reply.


    At that moment, they arrived at the highest floor, so Sonia lifted her foot and exited the lift.


    Upon seeing that, Jessica stomped her foot and went after her. ¡°Stay right there, Sonia! You haven¡¯t


    answered me. Where are you taking me?¡±


    ¡°You will know when you are there,¡± Sonia replied without looking back at her.


    Standing in the lift lobby, Jessica let out a snicker. ¡°So you are not going to tell me, huh? Fine, since


    you¡¯re not willing to tell me, why should I listen to you and stay in the office? Listen here¡ªI won¡¯t let you


    take me anywhere!¡±


    Sonia paused in her tracks and turned to look at her. ¡°Is that so? Let¡¯s see if you can leave Paradigm


    Co., then.¡±


    With that, Sonia continued to move forward without hesitation.


    Scowling, Jessica bellowed at her, ¡°What do you mean? Are you locking me in?¡±


    An unfazed Sonia soon pushed open the door to her chairman¡¯s office and entered the room, leaving


    Jessica standing on the spot angrily roaring at the air.


    Her shouting was so loud that even Sonia, who had entered her office, could hear her voice.


    Sonia rubbed her temples, then picked up the handset to make a call.


    ¡°President¡ªI mean, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne¡¯s voice was heard from the other end of the line.


    Sonia pulled out her chair and took a seat. ¡°Get two security guards up here and escort Jessica away.


    She¡¯s making too much noise.¡±


    Feeling puzzled, Daphne asked, ¡°Chairman Reed, what¡¯s wrong with Jessica?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s shouting outside my office,¡± Sonia replied after casting a look at her office door.


    Daphne nodded understandingly. ¡°Noted. I¡¯ll get it done right away.¡±


    Humming in response, Sonia raised her chin and hung up the call.


    Soon, she heard footsteps outside her office, which was followed by Jessica¡¯s frantic yelling. ¡°What are


    you guys doing?! Let go of me! I¡¯m your vice president. How dare you grab me?!¡±


    Nheless, no matter how much Jessica resisted and shouted, she was forcefully taken into the


    elevator and away from the scene by the security guards that Daphne sent over.


    In the short span of a day, Jessica had been forcefully taken away twice in the same manner, and that


    made her despise Sonia to the bone.


    However, no matter how much Jessica resented her sister, there was nothing she could do to Sonia


    since thetter was the chairman. Even so, the series of events had made Jessica more determined to


    kick Sonia out of thepany so that she could be the chairman instead.


    When it finally became peaceful outside the door, Sonia switched on herputer and began to work.


    It was only when Toby called her in the afternoon that she took a break from her busy schedule.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Leaning back against the chair with her head slightly raised, she lifted a hand before cing it


    on her forehead to massage her head and ease her pulsing temple.


    Toby¡¯s initially cold expression became concerned when he noticed the exhaustion in her voice. ¡°What¡¯s


    wrong? Are you feeling unwell?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine; just tired from working too long.¡± Sonia chuckled, removing her hand from her forehead.


    With his lips pursed, Toby asked in displeasure, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take a break?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time. There¡¯s too much work,¡± she shrugged and replied.


    Due to the fact that Paradigm Co. had gradually be well developed, not to mention her promotion,


    Sonia¡¯s current workload was at least twice of what it used to be.


    Although she was exhausted, she felt incredibly satisfied as all that gave her a strong sense of


    achievement.


    ¡°Speaking of which, why are you calling me? Is something wrong?¡± She switched the topic and asked his


    purpose of calling her.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Toby looked down at the two tickets in his hands. ¡°Nothing important. It¡¯s just that I heard that most


    couples would go for movie dates, so I had Tom purchase two movie tickets. Sonia, can I invite you to


    watch a film with me?¡±


    Sonia naturally heard the eagerness in his tone. She was tempted at first but she then thought of


    something, which caused her to shake her head and reject his invitation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Not today.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Toby frowned slightly when he heard that.


    ¡°Because of Jessica,¡± Sonia muttered coldly. ¡°When she was in Kosovo, I said that I¡¯ll get her to kneel


    before our father¡¯s grave and repent her wrongdoings. Now that she has returned, I have to fulfill the


    promise that I made that time.¡±


    Although Toby felt a little disappointed to hear that, he understood Sonia¡¯s intentions. ¡°Let¡¯s do this next


    time, then.¡± He looked at the movie tickets in his hands, his eyes filled with regret.


    Sonia hummed in response. After that, Toby continued, ¡°Are you going to take Jessica to the cemetery


    later?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I can¡¯t put this off any longer. I have to get her to repent her mistakes in front of father¡¯s grave the


    first moment I have the chance to do so,¡± Sonia replied after ncing at the time at the bottom right


    corner of the screen.


    Upon hearing that, Toby raised his chin and said, ¡°Let me go with you.¡±


    ¡°You want toe with me?¡± A surprise look shed across her eyes.


    He nodded. ¡°When we got married in the past, I didn¡¯t apany you to your parents¡¯ grave. I¡¯d like to


    make up for that.¡±


    Sonia bit her lip but agreed in the end. ¡°Since you want to go, let¡¯s do that.¡±


    After all, they were going to get back together and they would soon be married again if nothing went


    wrong with their rtionship.


    By then, Toby would be her parents¡¯ son-inw again, so there was nothing wrong for him to visit their


    graves at this point in time.


    ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ll see youter.¡± Toby smiled happily when he heard that she agreed for him toe


    along.


    With that, their call ended.


    Sonia kept her phone in her handbag, then took it along before leaving the office.


    Meanwhile, Daphne, who knew what Sonia was going to do next, stepped forward to greet her upon


    seeing hering out from her office. ¡°Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°Jessica is still in her office, right?¡± Sonia asked as she headed toward the elevator.


    Daphne followed behind her and answered, ¡°Of course. The security guards are keeping an eye on her,


    so she can¡¯te out. However, she has been making a lot of noise in her office and she even scolded


    you with harsh words.¡±


    Sonia scoffed as she muttered, ¡°I¡¯d guessed that.¡± She wasn¡¯t surprised at all upon learning that. If


    Jessica hadn¡¯t done so, she would be surprised instead.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get in the car. You go and get the security guards to escort her to the carpark,¡± Sonia


    instructed as she entered the lift.


    Daphne responded, ¡°Noted, Chairman Reed.¡±


    Then, she took out her phone and sent a message.


    Soon, she received a reply and reported to Sonia. ¡°Chairman Reed, everything is in ce. They will take


    her down soon.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good.¡± Sonia nodded to show that she had heard that, then she stared at the elevator


    screen in silence.


    Daphne kept quiet as well. The atmosphere in the lift felt heavy at that instant.

 Chapter 614

    Chapter 614


    Chapter 614 Daphne¡¯s Shock


    Daphne could understand why Sonia had hated Jessica so much.


    From what Charles shared, Daphne heard that when Paradigm Co. was on the brink of bankruptcy 6


    years ago, not only did Jessica and her mother not help out with the struggle, they also left with the


    money Henry received from selling his shares of thepany, which finally led to the downhearted


    Henrymitting suicide by jumping off a building.


    One could say that Henry was indirectly killed by Jessica and her mother. Now that Paradigm Co. had


    finally started to flourish again, they instead came back to snatch the shares from Sonia. Therefore, it


    was impossible for Sonia not to hate them.


    As time passed, the elevator finally arrived at the intended floor, so Sonia took a step forward to exit.


    After heading out, she could see a man leaning on a Maybach not far away. The man seemed to be


    pressing something on the phone in his hand with his head down.


    Soon, Sonia felt a vibration from her phone. She knew that he was definitely sending her a message.


    Next to her was Daphne, who had also noticed Toby as she said to Sonia in surprise, ¡°Chairman Reed,


    why is President Fuller here?¡±


    Without answering Daphne, Sonia walked toward him with a faint smile on her lips. Daphne quickly


    caught up to her after reading the situation.


    When Toby heard their footsteps, he lifted his head and saw Sonia while lowering his brows. ¡°You¡¯re


    here.¡±


    ¡°Yup, I¡¯m here.¡± She nodded.


    Looking at them, Daphne blinked in surprise. What¡¯s going on? Did the two of them n to meet each


    other?! Also, why do I feel an ambiguous atmosphere between them?


    ¡°Where¡¯s Jessica?¡± Toby asked while looking around.


    Sonia pointed at a van not far away. ¡°She is in that van.¡±


    After ncing at the pointed direction, he nodded slightly. ¡°Get in the car. We¡¯ll use mine.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She nodded in agreement.


    Toby reached out and opened the car door, allowing Sonia to bend down to sit inside. Then, he looked


    behind her and threw the car keys to Daphne.


    She was quick enough to catch the keys but was left confused as she stared at them. ¡°President Fuller,


    you are¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll drive the car,¡± he uttered faintly before entering the car and sitting beside Sonia.


    Meanwhile, Daphne was left standing there, not knowing what to do. Should I listen to his orders or not?


    Although I¡¯m Chairman Reed¡¯s employee, President Fuller¡¯s position is much higher than hers, so I can¡¯t


    disobey him either. Therefore, she found herself not knowing what to do.


    Inside the car, Sonia understood the difficult position that Daphne was in, so she lowered the car window


    and stretched out her head in front of Toby. ¡°Listen to him. He ising with us too.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Daphne was no longer at a loss with Sonia¡¯s assurance, so she quickly nodded and went


    around the front of the car to the driver seat. The car was finally on the move.


    On the way, Toby suddenly opened the car locker and took out a bottle of drink from inside. After he


    opened the lid, he handed the bottle over to Sonia. ¡°Drink this.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± She received the bottle with confusion.


    He chuckled and answered, ¡°It is a nutritional drink, and it¡¯s extremely useful whenever you are tired. I


    specially asked Tom to buy it beforeing to pick you up.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Let me try it.¡± Sonia looked at the drink in her hand for a while before lifting her head to give it


    a taste.


    After a few sips, she ced the bottle down and put the lid back on. Then, Toby took out a decorative


    handkerchief from the pocket on his right chest and wiped the corner of her mouth. ¡°How¡¯s the taste?¡± he


    gently asked.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    She left the drink aside and answered, ¡°It¡¯s okay. The sweet and sour taste is quite refreshing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± He folded the handkerchief and kept it in his pocket.


    Meanwhile, Daphne, who was driving the car in front, saw everything through the rearview mirror, which


    surprised her.


    What did President Fuller just do? Did he just wipe Miss Reed¡¯s mouth?! Also, why did she ept his


    help so naturally without any resistance? T-This¡­ She took a gulp of saliva while her heart was filled


    with anxiety. Could it be that the two of them are now back together? I heard rumors in the industry that


    the two of them are nning to reconcile again, but I always thought that it was impossible. Looking at


    them now, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a rumor anymore because it is real. If this is genuine, I actually think that it is a


    good thing. At least this way, President Lane won¡¯t have any hopes on Miss Reed. She lowered her eyes


    as she had the bitter thought.


    Soon, they arrived at the cemetery while Daphne found a spot to park the car.


    Toby first opened the door and alighted from the car before standing outside to stretch his right hand


    inside. While in the car, Sonia looked a bit embarrassed when she saw his action, but she still ced her


    hand in his. Then, he held her hand tightly as he helped her out of the car.


    Seeing the two of them, Daphne became more certain that they were now back together. I just don¡¯t


    know when this happened. The other day, Chairman Reed was still indifferent toward President Fuller


    without any intention of reconciling with him, but now, the two of them have be intimate with each


    other. Something that I don¡¯t know must have happened in between. I wonder whether President Lane


    has found out that they are back together. If he does, is he going to get himself drunk again?


    As she thought about it, Daphne suddenly heard Sonia shouting at her. With a sh of light in her eyes,


    she quickly came back to her senses and pushed her sses. ¡°I¡¯m here, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°What were you thinking about just now? I called you a few times, but you didn¡¯t answer me.¡± A


    concerned Sonia looked at her. ¡°Are you feeling ufortable? I can see that you don¡¯t look good.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Daphne kept on shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Chairman Reed. It¡¯s just that I suddenly had


    something in my mind. It¡¯s all good now. Chairman Reed, is there anything I can do for you?¡±


    ¡°Where did you put the flowers that I asked you to buy?¡± Sonia asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s in that vehicle. I¡¯ll go and take it now. Please wait for a minute.¡± Daphne pointed at the van in front.


    ¡°Okay, go.¡± Sonia nodded as Daphne quickly walked toward the van.


    While standing in front of the Maybach, Sonia¡¯s expression gradually became gloomy as she looked at


    the cemetery gate in front of her, which also caused her surrounding atmosphere to be depressing too.


    Toby knew that she was affected by the scenery. After all, this was where her closest people were buried,


    so it was natural that her mood would begin to take on a negative aura. This was something that he had


    experienced before, and in two days¡­


    He pressed his lips and refused to think about it much longer. After that, he ced his hands on her


    shoulders and gave her a gentle pat. ¡°The flowers are here.¡±


    She lifted her head and saw Daphne returning with two bouquets of flowers. One of them was a bouquet


    of lilies and the other a bouquet ofvenders. Lilies were always her father¡¯s favorite while her mother


    lovedvenders.


    As Sonia reached out to receive the flowers, Toby was a step ahead of her. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    She gave him a simple reply without rejecting his offer, so Daphne handed the flowers to him. ¡°I¡¯ll go and


    visit my mom first. As for Jessica, you can ask the security guards to bring her to Dad for now.


    Remember this. I want her to kneel in front of his tombstone.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chairman Reed!¡± Daphne straightened her body and replied to her.


    Then, Sonia turned toward Toby. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± He lifted his chin slightly and followed beside her as they entered the gates of the cemetery.


    It had been 21 years since Sonia¡¯s mother passed away, so her tombstone had be worn out. The


    picture on the tombstone had also mottled due to the frost and storm, making it hard to see.


    Looking at her tombstone, Sonia felt her heart sink as tears began to swim in her eyes. She opened her


    bag and wanted to find something to wipe the tombstone. However, after a while, she couldn¡¯t find


    anything suitable.


    Just as she furrowed her brows and was about to use her sleeves instead, a big hand reached out to her


    with a handkerchief.

 Chapter 615

    Chapter 615


    Chapter 615 I Won¡¯t Leave You Alone


    ¡°Use this.¡± Toby saw that she was in a difficult position, so he quickly took out the handkerchief that he


    had just kept in his pocket and handed it to her.


    Sonia received it and smiled reluctantly at him. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll buy you a new one afterward.¡±


    He wanted to refuse her offer at first, but after thinking about it, he realized that it would be a gift from


    her. As a result, he nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright.¡±


    If she knows how to make one herself, I hope that she can make one for me.


    Without knowing what the man thought, she unfolded the handkerchief and squatted before slowly


    wiping the tombstone. She exercised extreme care especially on the photo and with a gentle action


    because she was afraid of damaging what was left of the photo if she used too much force.


    Looking at her situation, Toby asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have other photos of her in your house? If there isn¡¯t


    any, I can ask someone to fix this and reprint it for you.¡±


    ¡°There is. I can make a copy of the photo that my mother left before she died and change it with this by


    then,¡± Sonia replied while wiping the photo.


    He gave her a simple reply and remained silent afterward.


    Then, a drop of water suddenly fell from the sky and dripped on his forehead.


    When he lifted his head, he saw the cloudy sky above them. It¡¯ll probably rain soon.


    Seeing that Sonia was focused on wiping the tombstone, Toby didn¡¯t bother her as he turned around to


    leave.


    His steps were light and since her full focus was on the tombstone, she didn¡¯t notice that he was gone.


    When the rain suddenly grew heavier, she quickly stood up and turned around. ¡°Toby, it¡¯s raining. You


    can go back to the car¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish with her words, Sonia realized that Toby wasn¡¯t here and she was the only one


    here, which meant that what she said earlier was directed to no one.


    As her eyes darkened, she felt a strong sense of grievance and disappointment surging inside her heart.


    Didn¡¯t he promise that he is going to apany me? He also said that he wants to visit my parents with


    me to make up for his mistakes for the past 6 years, but now, he is gone, and I don¡¯t even know when he


    left. Did he leave because he was getting impatient waiting for me? Sonia bit her lower lip while a hint of


    mockery shed across her eyes. I can¡¯t me him. Since we are not back together yet, why should he


    wait for me here? Even if we are, he doesn¡¯t have toe here. I don¡¯t need to feel so disappointed that


    he has left.


    After lowering her head, she turned back around and continued wiping since there were a few bits


    remaining. She nned to visit her fatherter on when she was done.


    As she thought about it, Sonia squatted again.


    A secondter, she suddenly felt something appearing above her head and blocking the dense


    raindrops.


    She lifted her head and saw an umbre.


    She seemed to notice something, so she quickly turned her head and saw Toby bending his waist behind


    her while holding an umbre for her.


    Most of the umbre was covering her, so apart from his head and neck, the rest of his body was left


    exposed in the rain and soaked by the downpour.


    However, he looked as though he felt nothing while he remained motionless and focused on holding the


    umbre for her.


    Looking at Toby, Sonia felt a huge thump inside her heart. After gaping for a while, she finally spoke. ¡°D-


    Didn¡¯t you leave already?¡±


    A hint of joy shed through his eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t leave. I saw that it was about to rain, so I went to grab an


    umbre. What¡¯s the problem? Are you afraid that I was going to leave you?¡±


    Her eyes flickered sheepishly as she wanted to refute his words, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to utter


    those words because she found it impossible to lie.


    Reading her situation, Toby chuckled and squatted down to ce the umbre on his shoulder. Then, he


    stretched out with his right hand and pulled her into his arms before murmuring, ¡°Silly girl. I¡¯ve promised


    that I¡¯ll apany you, so why would I walk away? Also, I finally got you to open your heart to ept


    me once more, so why would I leave you?¡±


    Sonia ced her chin on his shoulder and felt that his words were sincere. Finally, the emptiness inside


    her heart dissipated. Looks like I¡¯m not as open-minded as I thought, thinking that him leaving won¡¯t do


    anything to me.


    In fact, she was very mindful of him leaving as she didn¡¯t want him to go; otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t feel so


    delighted after listening to his words.


    ¡°You¡¯re the silly one. Why didn¡¯t you tell me before you walked away?¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help but reach out


    and hammer his back.


    Since his back waspletely wet, she could feel her hand freezing when she struck the blow.


    Listening to her, Toby couldn¡¯t help but chuckle again. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m the silly one.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia grunted before picking up the umbre on his shoulder. Now that their arms were linked,


    the two of them stood up together.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s raining heavily, so we should leave it here for today. Your body ispletely wet,¡± she


    commented while patting the water on his shoulder.


    Tobu knew that she had intended to end their visit early because she was afraid that he would fall ill after


    being in the rain for too long, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel a warmth inside his heart.


    ¡°No need. Let¡¯s continue,¡± he replied while shaking his head slightly. ¡°We¡¯ve already brought Jessica


    here and it won¡¯t be easy for us to do it again if we end this now. Let¡¯s end this right here right now.¡±


    Besides, he could see that she wanted to continue with it too.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Looking at him, Sonia seemed a little hesitant as she bit her lower lip.


    Then, Toby reached out and tidied the hair at the corner of her forehead. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not waste any


    time. A little rain won¡¯t hurt. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    After that, she held her hand as they prepared to walk over to Henry¡¯s tombstone.


    While holding the umbre and looking at Toby¡¯s back, Sonia opened her red lips and finally spoke.


    ¡°Toby, thank you. Once all of this is over, I¡¯ll treat you to a meal.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I want you to personally cook for me.¡± He turned around and nced at her.


    This way, maybe she will stay.


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t know about the man¡¯s intention, so she nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±


    A meal in exchange for him apanying me in the rain. I shouldn¡¯t be so stingy.


    ¡°Then, we have a deal.¡± A sharp light shed through Toby¡¯s eyes and quickly disappeared.


    Two minutester, the two of them arrived at the area where Henry was buried.


    Since Sonia¡¯s mother had already passed away more than twenty years ago, the burial grounds around


    her were sold out long ago.


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    That was why her parents were buried so far apart.


    Now that they were not far away from her father¡¯s tombstone, Sonia watched as Jessica was being held


    down on her shoulders by two security guards and forced to kneel in front of her father¡¯s tombstone.


    Jessica seemed to be very defiant as she kept on struggling while cursing Sonia.


    Her words were extremely vulgar and unpleasant to the ears to the point where it would cause anyone to


    frown.


    While fiercely furrowing his brows, Toby red at her with a gloomy face that was enough to send chills


    down anyone¡¯s spine.


    Sonia felt that the man next to her was annoyed and she understood why, so she gently patted his arm.


    ¡°Just ignore her. The angrier you are, the happier she is because she feels that she is attacking me.


    Instead, we should ignore her and make her feel as though her efforts are futile. She will be the one


    feeling bad.¡±


    With that, she gave him the umbre. ¡°Wait for me here. I¡¯ll deal with it. Daphne.¡±


    She called out for Daphne.


    After hearing Sonia¡¯s voice, Daphne quickly went over with an umbre. ¡°Chairman Reed.¡±


    Then, she handed the umbre forward.


    Sonia bent down and went from under Toby¡¯s umbre to Daphne¡¯s before saying to him, ¡°I¡¯ll head over


    there first.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded.

 Chapter 616

    Chapter 616


    Chapter 616 Kowtow


    Knowing that this was the personal matters involving the Reeds Family, Sonia did not hope for Toby to


    be a part of it as she wanted to resolve it herself.


    Hence, he respected her wishes and was willing to wait for her here.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    She smiled at him before turning around to walk with Daphne to her father¡¯s grave.


    Jessica was kneeling in front of the grave. Since she did not have an umbre, her body waspletely


    drenched from the rain, which made her look like a mess as her hair and clothes stuck to her skin.


    Of course, the cruel, savage expression on her face made her look worse.


    ¡°So-nia!¡± she said through gritted teeth when she saw Sonia walking toward her. Then, she exerted some


    force on the ground to try to stand up.


    However, as soon as her knees left the ground, the two bodyguards immediately pressed on her


    shoulders to force her down.


    With a loud thud, Jessica¡¯s knees mmed into the ground once again, making her yelp in agony. ¡°Let


    me go! I¡¯m the vice president of Paradigm Co.. If you dare to treat me this way, I¡¯ll fire you! You better


    believe me!¡±


    With that, she turned around and fiercely red at the bodyguards behind her.


    Both of them shot fearful nces at Sonia, who waved and looked at them calmly.


    Then, she turned her gaze to Jessica before speaking in a cold voice, ¡°You can¡¯t even fire them. First of


    all, you only have the title of being a vice president. Even though you have the right to fire them, as long


    as I, the chairman, defend them, you won¡¯t stand a chance at all.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jessica red at Sonia before she smiled sarcastically. ¡°Fine, Sonia. I admit that you are a step


    ahead of me and that I¡¯ve lost. How ruthless you are!¡±


    Sonia merely looked at her icily, but she had no intention to continue with the topic. In the same tone,


    she asked, ¡°Do you know why I brought you here?¡±


    Jessica chuckled coldly. ¡°Who the hell knows what has gotten into you?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I thought by asking them to detain you here, you would at least look at the grave


    in front of you. Unexpectedly, you didn¡¯t even nce at it even though you¡¯ve been kneeling for so long!¡±


    She felt truly for her father.


    Jessica rolled her eyes upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words. ¡°Are you out of your mind? The reason for you


    bringing me here to this creepy ce is just to ask me to look at the grave in front of me? Hah! How


    ludicrous! Why would I want to see something like this?¡±


    ¡°Something like this?!¡± Sonia was now truly triggered. Clenching her fists tightly, she red at Jessica


    with reddened eyes she howled angrily, ¡°Is Dad¡¯s grave just an insignificant thing to you?¡±


    ¡°Dad¡¯s grave?¡± Jessica¡¯s eyes narrowed before she suddenly jerked her head toward the grave in front of


    her. When she saw the inscription¡ªRest in Peace, Henry Reed¡ªon the tombstone, her expression


    suddenly became more conflicted. She looked guilty, flustered, and fearful, but contrary to what Sonia


    hoped, there was not a tinge of remorse or sadness on her face.


    ¡°Jessica, you are really heartless. Your biological father is buried right in front of you, yet you aren¡¯t sad


    at all. In fact, your apathy and callousness is rather terrifying.¡± Sonia looked at Jessica as though she


    was a monster.


    Of course Jessica understood what was being implied. Her gaze wavered slightly before she retaliated


    loudly, ¡°Callous? Me? That¡¯s because he deserves it!¡±


    Staring fixedly at the grave in front of her, she continued, ¡°We are both his daughters, but he has treated


    me so harshly and you so lovingly. What did I do to deserve that? I just feel that it¡¯s incredibly unfair!


    Since he, as a father, was biased toward his kids, he had no right to me me for not treating him as a


    father!¡±


    ¡°Sure enough, your thoughts have remained unchanged.¡± Sonia looked at her in pain. ¡°I have already


    told you before that he had treated us both the same. However, since you were rebellious and took the


    wrong path in life, he treated you more harshly in the hopes of making you a better person. However, you


    have really misunderstood his intentions. I really feel sorry for him.¡±


    ¡°What do you know?¡± Jessica¡¯s voice became shriller. ¡°Of course you would speak up for him since he


    loved you so much.¡±


    Sonia gave up on speaking some sense into Jessica after seeing how stubborn Jessica was.


    After all, Sonia knew that no matter how many words were spoken on this topic, the woman would still


    think that their father had disappointed her. No matter what others had told her, she would not change


    her mind.


    To be more precise, people like Jessica were incredibly selfish. Even though she knew that her father


    was doing this for her own good, as long as his attitude did not match her anticipated attitude, she would


    think that he had let her down and hate him at the slightest mistreatment.


    ¡°Very well, Jessica. Since you keep saying that I¡¯m speaking up for Dad, I¡¯ll do just that.¡± Sonia¡¯s face


    hadpletely darkened at this point.


    As she crouched, Daphne also followed suit so that the umbre stayed above her head.


    Sonia raised her hand and grabbed Jessica¡¯s chin to immobilize Jessica¡¯s head so that she could only


    look at the grave in front of her. ¡°Even though you are an unfilial child who is not fit to be Dad¡¯s daughter,


    his blood still flows inside you. Since you are undoubtedly his biological daughter, you have to pay him


    your respects no matter what.¡±


    ¡°What? You want me to pay him some respect?¡± Jessica asked incredulously with shock.


    Sonia lessened the force in her hands as she replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Not only do I want you to pay him


    some respect, I also want you to give him a kowtow. This is something you should have already done six


    years ago. Now that you are six yearste, you have topensate for the lost time!¡±


    ¡°Why should I do that?¡± Jessica red at Sonia with fury in her eyes, but Sonia merely looked indifferent.


    ¡°Because you have hisst name, and because you are his daughter.¡±


    With that, she looked at the two bodyguards behind Jessica.


    ¡°Both of you, lower her head firmly and make her kowtow several times in front of my dad.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chairman Reed.¡± With that, they immediately carried out her instruction, leaving Jessica no time to


    object.


    Her head was being pressed down to the ground in the next second.


    With a thud, her foreheadnded on the stone surface of the grave, making her dizzy.


    However, it was not yet over. Without even giving Jessica some time to rx, the bodyguards lifted her


    by the hair and forced her forehead to the ground once again.


    After repeating this several times, Jessica was close to losing her sanity. Her forehead was red and


    swollen while her skin was almost torn off.


    If the two bodyguards hadn¡¯t been supporting her, she would not have been able to stand still and might


    have justid on the ground.


    Trying her best to cope with the dizziness, she lifted her eye and stared at Sonia with her blurred gaze.


    Once again, her cruel voice was full of venom. ¡°How dare you treat me this way, Sonia! Just you wait! If


    you are that capable, just try to kill me off! Otherwise, I will definitely report this to the police and sue you


    for kidnapping and causing harm!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Police, you say?¡± Sonia arched her eyebrow sarcastically. ¡°Jessica, do you really dare to do so? I


    don¡¯t think so because you will be digging your own grave.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jessica¡¯s heart sank upon hearing that. A sudden sense of uneasiness and fear


    overcame her for no good reason.


    Sonia leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s all because you drugged Dad and caused him to


    lose his mind to the point where he jumped off from the building. This case might not stay a secret for


    long now.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Jessica immediately jerked her head upward to look at Sonia. Blood drained from her face as a


    shiver passed down her spine, sending tingles to her entire body. How did she know that it¡¯s not


    completely because of me and Mom¡¯s act of taking away all the money that Dad jumped from the


    building? How did she know that we drugged him?

 Chapter 617

    Chapter 617


    Chapter 617 She Will Pay the Price


    Upon seeing Jessica¡¯s panic and flustered look, Sonia¡¯s eyes narrowed coldly. ¡°You are probably thinking


    how do I know this, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Jessica gulped before she opened her mouth in silence.


    Sonia let out a snort. ¡°Since you have something to hide, it shows that you are guilty. Others will


    eventually discover what you have done and inform me about it. I even know the person who gave you


    the drug. It¡¯s Titus, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    It was enough to cause Jessica¡¯s expression to immediately change.


    Sonia clenched her fists tightly as her heart sank when she saw Jessica¡¯s reaction. Sure enough, it¡¯s


    Titus.


    Although Sonia had been suspecting that Titus was involved, she did not have any concrete evidence


    that would point to him, so she did not find out anything about him.


    In fact, she was merely trying her luck by mentioning him earlier. However, when she saw Jessica¡¯s


    reaction, she confirmed that Titus was indeed the one who provided the drug.


    ¡°Very well, Jessica, very well. You clearly know that the Gray Family is the our family¡¯s enemy, yet you


    hooked up with them to murder your biological father. You are not even fit to be a human. In fact, you are


    even worse than a dog since it still has some conscience. You, however, have nothing within you except


    a wicked heart.¡± Sonia released Jessica¡¯s chin harshly and immediately took out the handkerchief Toby


    gave her to wipe her hands in disgust.


    Meanwhile, Daphne was also greatly shocked when she heard Sonia¡¯s words before looking at Jessica


    on the floor in disbelief.


    Initially, when she heard from Charles that Jessica was partly responsible for Henry¡¯s suicide, she was


    already aghast.


    At that time, she even thought, How is it possible that a daughter would do this to her father?


    Now that she heard the full story from Sonia herself only did she know that the previous rhetoric was


    insignificant. The current story was the most shocking of all.


    The previous chairman didn¡¯tmit suicide because he was exasperated at Jessica, but rather


    because he had been drugged by her. We all thought that Jessica unintentionally caused her father¡¯s


    death from the previous misunderstanding; now that the truth is out, she¡¯s actually her own father¡¯s


    murderer. Although she had already repulsed many people, she does not deserve a death sentence for


    that. However, the actual truth revealed her to be a psychopath who hadmitted all the wrongdoings


    in the world. We can¡¯t even let this go if she is not sentenced to death.


    However, even after Sonia had pointed out Jessica¡¯s offenses, Jessica did not show a tinge of remorse


    at all and instead gave a cruelugh. ¡°You have imed that I lost all conscience and drugged my own


    father, killing him in the process. Sonia, you don¡¯t have any evidence to prove that I¡¯ve in fact done


    something like this. I don¡¯t ept your usations at all.¡±


    That¡¯s right. As long as Sonia doesn¡¯t have the evidence, even if I¡¯ve reallymitted the crime, she


    can¡¯t hurt me. No matter what, I¡¯ll just deny it.


    While looking at the vindictive Jessica, whose expression was clearly telling Sonia to summon the


    courage to challenge her, Sonia¡¯s demeanor remained the same¡ªcalm and peaceful.


    She had already expected that Jessica would y dirty and deny all of the wrongdoings. Otherwise, she


    would have already started recording their conversation with her phone.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t admit it now and it¡¯s true that I don¡¯t have any evidence, but I will definitely find it. As


    long as you have done something in this world, you will definitely leave some traces behind. Be it you, or


    the Gray Family, I will never let either one of you off the hook. One day, I will make you pay the price for


    your actions,¡± Sonia said coolly. With that, she folded the handkerchief and ced it in her bag.


    If she was not worried about tainting her reputation and disappointing the Reed Family and Paradigm


    Co. down, she was even thinking about secretly killing off Titus and Jessica. After all, this was the


    quickest and hassle-free way to take revenge.


    However, she knew that she could not do so as her father would not like it. Apart from that, it would cast


    a bad name for the Reed Family and Paradigm Co.. Hence, she could only use thew to take revenge


    on them.


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll wait and see whether you can really find any evidence.¡± Jessica did not even regard Sonia¡¯s


    words seriously and started tough disdainfully.


    Sonia merely replied in a calm voice, ¡°That day will arrive, but before that, you should continue to pay


    your respects to Dad. Guys, make her give a kowtow until she faints!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chairman Reed,¡± the bodyguards both responded.


    Jessica¡¯s eyes widened with incredulity as she looked at Sonia. I can¡¯t believe that she is mad enough to


    make me kowtow until I faint!


    ¡°Sonia, you are nuts!¡± Jessica let out an ear-splitting howl.


    Meanwhile, Sonia merely turned around and walked toward Toby without even shooting her another


    nce.


    Just as she started walking, she heard the thuds of Jessica¡¯s forehead on the ground behind her.


    The sound of the thuds were crisp and clear, illustrating that both the bodyguards did not take any mercy.


    In addition to that, Jessica¡¯s loud screams pierced through everyone¡¯s ears and it was without a doubt


    that the pain was immense.


    Nevertheless, to Sonia, this was far from enough.


    No pain could bepared to the pain her father¡¯s body suffered uponnding after he leaped from the


    building.


    The current pain that Jessica now felt was merely the tip of an iceberg. In the future, Sonia vowed to


    make Jessica endure more pain.


    ¡°Are you done?¡± Toby asked after shooting a nce at Jessica being forced to kowtow.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon, so let¡¯s head back first.¡± With that, he opened the umbre in her direction.


    Sonia knew that he wanted to shield her with his umbre and she replied with a smile, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Then, she waved to signal to Daphne to tilt the umbre to Toby so that she could walk over to him.


    Of course Daphne carried out the instructions.


    As soon as Sonia reached Toby, one of the bodyguards walked toward her.


    ¡°Chairman Reed, she has just passed out.¡±


    ¡°So soon?¡± Sonia arched her eyebrow and noticed Jessica lying on the ground with the other bodyguard


    next to her looking slightly lost.


    ¡°Is it true, or is she faking it?¡± Sonia retracted her gaze before she asked the bodyguard in front of her.


    He replied seriously, ¡°It¡¯s true. We¡¯ve checked¡ªshe has indeed lost consciousness.¡±


    After all, no one can continuously give a kowtow. Her head is not made of metal and even if it is, there


    would be dents in the metal, let alone a human skull.


    Sonia slightly lifted her chin. ¡°I thought she wouldst longer than this. Since she has fainted, send her to


    the car and drive to the First World Hospital. After that, hand her over to a doctor named Tim Lancaster.


    Once that is done, your work is done for today. You may go to the finance department to take your one-


    month bonus topensate for getting wet in the rain today.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Chairman Reed.¡± The bodyguard happily received her orders before he turned around.


    After the bodyguards brought Jessica away, Toby finally spoke to Sonia. ¡°Are you nning to ask Tim to


    extract Jessica¡¯s genes?¡±


    Sonia hummed in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. We should take this opportunity to get this task done. It¡¯s


    better to fertilize the child abroad.¡±


    ¡°Have you told Tim about this, though?¡± Toby asked as he held the umbre while they walked out of the


    graveyard.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ll let him know in the carter.¡±


    After he nodded, he did not ask any more questions.


    On the way back, he sat in the backseat with Sonia while Daphne drove the car.


    As the heater was switched on, both of them did not feel cold even after removing their jackets.


    Then, Toby brought two towels from the trunk and passed one of them to Sonia. ¡°Dry your hair.¡±


    When she was under the rain earlier, some of it hadnded on her head. Even though her hair wasn¡¯t


    drenched, it was still quite damp. She could easily fall ill if she didn¡¯t dry it.


    However, she ced the towel on herp without any intention of drying her hair. Instead, she took


    Toby¡¯s towel from him, making him look at her in confusion.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sonia nudged his hand. ¡°Lower your head, please.¡±

 Chapter 618

    Chapter 618


    Chapter 618 Toby¡¯s Excuse


    Toby seemed to realize what Sonia had nned to do. A flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes before


    he lowered his head.


    Then, she ced the towel on his head and gently dried his hair.


    Sure enough, I was right. She was going to dry my hair.


    A surge of joy warmed up his heart.


    However, he quickly raised his head and grabbed her hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You should dry your own hair first.


    It¡¯s not good to keep it damp for a long time.¡±


    Sonia felt touched that he was worried about her getting a cold if she did not dry her hair soon enough.


    She retracted her hand from his grip and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. My hair is not that wet¡ªit can wait.


    Your hair is much wetter than mine, so you should dry yours first.¡±


    When Toby had been shielding her from the rain earlier, the umbre was mostly tilted to her side. As a


    result, his body and hair were damp from the rain.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was only in the rain for a short moment. Since she had an umbre above her most of


    the time, she wasn¡¯t affected much by the rain.


    Hence,pared to her, it was more important for Toby to dry himself first.


    Seeing that Sonia had insisted on drying him first, he chuckled in a low voice. ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll dry


    myself, but I can do it on my own.¡±


    ¡°Let me do it for you.¡± Sonia seriously looked at him. ¡°You have done a lot for me all this time, so I¡¯d like


    to do something for you in return. After all, I can¡¯t let you do all the work while I sit around and do


    nothing. This is not fair to you.¡±


    In a rtionship, we should be understanding and learn how to give and take.


    C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    If there¡¯s only one person giving all the time, the rtionship won¡¯tst long.


    Since she had already decided to reconcile with him, she naturally wanted to be in this long-term


    rtionship with him.


    Hence, she knew that she should learn how to maintain their rtionship.


    After hearing her words, Toby¡¯s eyes slightly widened as he looked dazed.


    When Sonia saw this, she waved in front of him. ¡°What are you thinking?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered as he returned to his senses. With a brighter smile, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Sonia, I¡¯m


    very happy to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Since you are happy about it, lower your head, please.¡± She rolled her eyes at him.


    Toby hummed in agreement as he obediently lowered his head.


    Sonia ced her hands on his head and continued to dry his hair.


    Her movements were so gentle that he did not feel any difort at all and enjoyed the experience


    instead.


    As he was unable to stop himself, he stretched out with his hand to hug her waist. Then, he leaned


    against her shoulders so that it would be easier for her to dry his head since she didn¡¯t have to constantly


    lift her arms that might tire her out.


    It was obvious that Sonia did not expect Toby to hug her. She paused her movements before shoving his


    shoulders. ¡°Let me go. Don¡¯t take advantage of this.¡±


    I only offered to dry his hair, not for him to hug me. He better not think that I don¡¯t know that he¡¯s doing


    this on purpose.


    Toby did not take her instructions and instead tightened his hug around her. As her fragrance entered his


    sense of smell, he spoke in a hoarse voice, ¡°No, let me hug you for a while more. I¡¯m getting light-


    headed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re light-headed?¡± Sonia¡¯s facial features immediately froze when she heard his excuse.


    She stopped her movements and lifted his head so that she could touch his forehead to check whether


    he was having a fever.


    However, Toby did not have a fever; it was simply an excuse for him toy in her embrace.


    Hence, he would not let her touch his forehead; otherwise, his lie would be exposed.


    As he thought about this, Toby released his grip around her waist to grab her hands mid-air. He


    exined after a slight couch, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m feeling better now. I was feeling a little light-headed earlier, but


    it¡¯s much better after a short while.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes narrowed as she appraised her handsome face. Seeing the twinkle in his eyes, she


    understood that he was merely putting on a pretense earlier. This fellow!


    She gritted her teeth.


    Fine. He even dares to lie to take advantage of me now!


    Feeling her tension, Toby knew that his lie was exposed and lowered his head on her shoulders with guilt


    as he did not dare to look at her.


    Sonia had never seen him behave in such a way, so she felt amused and annoyed at the same time.


    Forget it. It¡¯s rare to see him in this way. I¡¯ll let it slide this time, she thought after softening her stance.


    However, in the next moment, she roughly dried his head.


    Toby let out a groan of pain as he felt that his hair was almost uprooted by her.


    He knew that she was taking revenge on his lie just now and deliberately torturing him.


    However, he was not mad at her at all.


    Instead, he was even happy about it because it showed that she was willing to tease him now. Based on


    this pace, it¡¯s not going to take long for her to be intimate with me.


    Thinking about this, Toby could not resist smiling.


    Sonia¡¯s slight annoyance did notst long. After messing around with his hair, she regained her calm self


    and continued to dry his hair in a normal manner.


    Toby leaned against her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her waist as he enjoyed her service.


    Perhaps it was toofortable that he actually and gradually fell asleep on her shoulders.


    When Sonia heard him snoring, she stopped and lowered her head to look at him.


    Her facial features softened when she saw his closed eyes and heard his even breathing. He actually fell


    asleep.


    ¡°Daphne,¡± Sonia softly called to Daphne, who was driving, after cing the towel aside.


    As Daphne was constantly monitoring the situation behind her, she understood the reason for Sonia¡¯s


    soft voice.


    Hence, she also replied in a voice slightly above a whisper, ¡°Chairman Reed, what can I help with?¡±


    ¡°Turn up the heater.¡± Sonia eyed the navigation screen of the Maybach.


    Toby had fallen asleep, but there was nothing in the car that could cover him. Hence, the heater had to


    be turned up; otherwise, he could easily catch a cold.


    ¡°Got it, Chairman.¡± Knowing that Sonia¡¯s request was purely because of Toby, Daphne smiled and turned


    up the heater.


    Soon, the temperature in the car increased.


    To be honest, the high temperature was rather ufortable for people who were awake in the car.


    Nevertheless, Sonia was willing to endure it for Toby¡¯s sake.


    At the same time, in order not to wake Toby up, she also didn¡¯t call Tim and instead texted him to inform


    him about Jessica.


    At this moment, Daphne suddenly remembered something important and nced at the rearview mirror.


    ¡°By the way, where are we going, Chairman Reed? Are we sending President Fuller back?¡±


    Sonia shot a nce at Toby and shook her head. ¡°No. We are going back to the Bayside Residence.¡±


    I¡¯ve promised to make a meal for him, so it¡¯s better to go back to my ce.


    After hearing Sonia¡¯s reply, Daphne smiled meaningfully as she nodded. ¡°Got it.¡±


    Sonia could tell that she had misunderstood them, but she did not exin herself, for there was no need


    to do so.


    After all, Daphne must have guessed what her rtionship with Toby was.


    Since that was the case, there was no need for any further exnation as Daphne would have already


    seen Toby often visiting her and vice versa.


    None of them spoke in the car until they arrived an hourter.


    After Daphne parked the car and unbuckled her seat belt, she turned around to speak to Sonia.


    ¡°Chairman Reed, do you need my help to carry President Fuller upstairs?¡±

 Chapter 619

    Chapter 619


    Chapter 619 You Bought it for Me?


    Sonia looked at Toby hesitantly.


    When she saw the dark circles under his eyes, she shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just wait for him to


    wake up in the car.¡±


    Judging from his dark circles, he must have been quite exhausted recently. It¡¯s better not to wake him up


    now. If we carry him upstairs, he will definitely wake up. It¡¯s better to let him sleep for a while more.


    Since Sonia had already said so, Daphne did not convince her otherwise.


    Sonia looked at her watch before saying, ¡°Since it¡¯s not early anymore, you can head home first in my


    car.¡±


    With that, she passed her bag over to Daphne.


    Toby had been using his car to pick Sonia up for the past few days and because of that, her car had


    been immobile in the garage.


    It came in handy now that Daphne needed a car to drive home.


    She did not reject Sonia¡¯s offer and looked for the car keys as soon as she received Sonia¡¯s bag.


    After she found them, she returned the bag back to Sonia. ¡°Chairman Reed, I¡¯ll take my leave first then.¡±


    Sonia hummed in agreement. Suddenly, she remembered something and said, ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Daphne retracted her hand that was already on the car door.


    Sonia pursed her red lips before saying, ¡°Send someone to keep an eye on Jessica in the hospital and


    don¡¯t let her step out of the hospital.¡±


    Once they have extracted her ovum, she would definitely have to stay in the hospital for a few more


    days. I can¡¯t afford her to simply go anywhere she wants. If she loses her sanity when she is outside, it


    would be very troublesome.


    Daphne understood what Sonia was worried about and she nodded solemnly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chairman


    Reed. I¡¯ll make the necessary arrangements.¡±


    ¡°Good. Off you go, then. Don¡¯t speed on your way home.¡± Sonia smiled.


    Daphne nudged her sses to the bridge of her nose. ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll leave now, Chairman Reed.¡±


    Sonia nodded.


    Upon seeing that, Daphne got out of the car and left while Sonia sat in the car to wait for Toby to wake


    up.


    The waitsted around two hours until the sky had turnedpletely dark. It was almost 9:00PM when


    Toby finally opened his eyes.


    In an instant, he realized that he was still in the car.


    Sonia felt the change in his rhythm of breathing that was not as even as before and turned to look at him.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Seeing that he was still leaning on her shoulder, he immediately lifted his head and straightened


    his body.


    Once his head left her shoulder, she immediately felt lighter. She could finally move her body without


    remaining in the same position.


    However, her shoulders were quite sore.


    ¡°What is the time now?¡± Toby asked as he rubbed his temples.


    A small light was switched on in the car, but it was pitch ck outside.


    Night must have fallen outside, he thought.


    ¡°8:40PM,¡± Sonia responded, pointing to her watch.


    Shock flitted across Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s thatte?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Toby pursed his lips.


    Even though he did not remember what the time was when he fell asleep, he remembered that the sky


    was notpletely dark at that time, which was to say it was around 6:00PM when he dozed off.


    I¡¯ve slept for at least two hours!


    ¡°And I was on your shoulder the entire time?¡± He looked at Sonia, who rubbed her sore shoulders.


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    He asked again, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t be bothered to do that.¡± With that, Sonia moved her hand from her shoulders.


    Toby looked at her, knowing fully well that it was not the case. I bet it¡¯s not that she wasn¡¯t bothered to


    wake me up. It must be that she doesn¡¯t want to wake me up so that I could sleep a bit longer.


    Toby heaved a gentle sigh and massaged her elbows. ¡°Don¡¯t do that next time. Aren¡¯t you tired?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Sonia lowered her gaze and smiled as she moved his hand from her shoulders. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s


    get off now. The car is almost out of gas.¡±


    As the heater had been switched on for quite a long time, it had consumed a lot of the remaining gas.


    Toby shot a nce at the speedometer in front of him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We can refill itter.¡±


    I have all the money in the world.


    Sonia could not help rolling her eyes as she rified, ¡°I mean¡ªI don¡¯t want to stay in the car anymore.


    Apart from that, aren¡¯t you hungry?¡±


    Toby frowned when he heard that. Alright. I admit that I¡¯m getting quite hungry.


    After both of them left the car, he realized that the car was parked in Bayside Residence. Since it¡¯s


    getting quitete and the car is running out of gas, I think I can stay the night.


    His lips twitched into a smile with that thought in mind since he couldn¡¯t hide his joy for such an oue.


    Sonia merely looked at him in confusion as she did not know the reason for his joy. However, she did not


    get to the bottom of it as she brought him to the elevator.


    Once they entered her apartment, she ced her bag aside and went into her room to change.


    When she walked out, there was a bag in her hand which she tossed to Toby.


    ¡°You should shower and change.¡±


    He was wearing a rather thin shirt and his coat was already drenched from the rain.


    Even though the coat had dried in the car, it could not be worn anymore since the size of the coat had


    already changed.


    Toby caught the bag thrown by Sonia. As soon as he opened it, he was shocked by the contents and


    quickly turned around to look at her.


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    ¡°Did you buy these specifically for me?¡±


    There was a set of formal clothes and a set of pajamas in the bag that were exactly in his size.


    She had obviously prepared it for him.


    Sonia averted her nce and waved as she shooed him away. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether these were


    bought for you or not. You should take a shower now and quickly change your clothes.


    However, Toby could tell that she was blushing at that moment.


    It was obvious that she had just admitted purchasing the clothes specifically for him and even washed


    them before this.


    He held the bag as if it contained an invaluable treasure. While looking at Sonia, he said gently, ¡°Thanks,


    Sonia. I like it very much.


    She merely cleared her throat before saying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to the kitchen to make dinner.¡±


    With that, she lowered her head and quickly walked over to the kitchen.


    Those two sets of clothes had been bought when she was out shopping two days ago.


    After Toby gave her the crystal ball that day, there weren¡¯t any suitable clothes for him when he stayed


    over. Hence, the next day, she went to the mall on a whim and chose these two sets of clothes. What


    was I thinking at that time? I guess it¡¯s something about the utility of the clothes one day. I never


    expected that they woulde in handy so soon.


    Toby chuckled in a low voice while he looked at her shy figure, after which he went to the bathroom with


    the bag.


    A dozen minutester, he walked out while wearing a pair of pajamas, rather than the items contained in


    the bag.


    Since she did not give him the set of formal clothes, he thought it was eptable for him to merely wear


    pajamas.


    On top of that, he even had a bold thought that she wanted him to stay the night. Otherwise, why doesn¡¯t


    she just give me a set of formal clothes?


    After drying his hair, Toby went to the couch to take a seat.


    At the same time, Sonia walked out of the kitchen with a bowl in her hand.


    Her gaze flickered when she saw the pajamas he was wearing, but she did notment on it and


    walked directly to him to give him the bowl.


    ¡°Drink this.¡±


    After cing the towel on his neck, Toby looked at the dark-colored water. The familiar smell of the drink


    instantly made him understand what it was. Ginger soup!


    ¡°Thanks.¡± He took a sip of the soup before asking, ¡°Have you taken a sip of this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    After getting confirmation from her, he nodded in assurance before he raised his head to finish the drink


    at one go.


    After that, Sonia took the bowl from him and asked, ¡°What would you like for dinner?¡±


    What do I like? This is quite difficult to answer. I want to eat lots of different food, but I¡¯m not sure


    whether she has enough ingredients.


    After giving it a thought, Toby responded with his thin lips, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll fancy anything that you make.¡±

 Chapter 620

    Chapter 620


    Chapter 620 Helping in the Kitchen


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll just make some home cooked dishes then.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll help you.¡± Toby stood up.


    As she stared suspiciously at him, she rified, ¡°You want to help me?¡±


    ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± he countered.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never been in the kitchen,¡± Sonia pointed out while feeling the bowl in her hands. ¡°Are you sure


    you¡¯d be able to help?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that she looked down on him.


    It was because he had led afortable life since birth and never had to engage in menialbor of any


    sort.


    His hands had all along been made for fountain pens, not kitchen knives.


    That was the reason why she truly didn¡¯t believe he could help.


    Moreover, even Sonia had never done any housework when she was a young child. The only reason


    why she knew how to cook was because Jean had forced her to learn that skill during the six year


    marriage to Toby.


    Before she married, she hadn¡¯t known how to cook either.


    As Toby heard the skepticism in Sonia¡¯s tone, he stiffened. ¡°I can help.¡±


    As a man, he absolutely couldn¡¯t admit to not being able to do something.


    Besides, while in Kosovo, he had learned how to make the hangover soup through the inte. That in


    itself could be counted as learning to cook.


    Thus, he shouldn¡¯t have a problem helping out now¡­ Right?


    At any rate, that was what Toby thought.


    Seeing how earnest he seemed, Sonia didn¡¯t second-guess him any longer.


    After all, for him to boldly say such a thing meant he had to have some ability.


    Not to mention, considering how much he knew and how well he did in other things, it ought to be no


    problem for him to help in the kitchen.


    With that in mind, Sonia pointed in the direction of the kitchen and said, ¡°Since you want to help,e


    along then.¡±


    After saying that, she headed toward the kitchen.


    An eager Toby followed after her.


    When they arrived at the kitchen, she pulled the ingredients for the dishes that they would make from the


    refrigerator.


    First, she ced the squash onto the sink and thereafter, she left a bundle of sweet potato leaves on a


    te and handed the te to him.


    Toby nkly stared at it. ¡°Um¡ª¡±


    ¡°Pluck the leaves.¡± Sonia pointed at the te. ¡°Once you have done so, put them back onto the te.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± After he took the te, he stared at the bundle of sweet potato leaves again, feeling utterly at a


    loss.


    How on earth was he supposed to pluck these greens?


    Weren¡¯t they already plucked?


    How else was he supposed to pluck them?


    Holding onto the te, he stood there with his ssy eyes, not knowing what to do.


    Seeing that he wasn¡¯t moving, a suspicious Sonia asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ll go and pluck them outside,¡± Toby answered with his eyes lowered.


    There was no way he could admit to not knowing how to pluck these greens.


    He had bragged about his ability to help moments ago and here he was, stymied by the first task that


    she gave him. Not only was it embarrassing for him, but she might even be disappointed in him.


    Thus, it would be better if he left the kitchen and secretly searched the inte for how to prepare these


    vegetables.


    Toby was lucky in the sense that Sonia didn¡¯t suspect him of searching for an excuse to leave the kitchen


    because he didn¡¯t want her to know of his obliviousness.


    Instead, she considered that the kitchen was quite small and indeed quite crowded with both of them


    inside. Hence, she nodded in agreement. ¡°Go on. There¡¯s a trash bin outside; you can toss whatever is


    unwanted inside there.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he answered before leaving with the te.


    Once he was back in the living area, he walked up to the dinner table and ced the te on it before


    he produced his cell phone from the pocket of his pajama pants. After unlocking the phone, he took a


    picture of the leafy green on the te and used the picture to search the web.


    Soon enough, all the information he needed about this vegetable leaped out at him.


    After reading through the introduction, Toby finally understood what Sonia meant about ¡®plucking¡¯ it.


    He ced his phone aside as he grinned and began to pinch the leaves off the stalk.


    A little more than 10 minutester, he nced down at his handiwork and smiled. It looks rather good.


    I¡¯m sure Sonia would be satisfied?


    After he stood up, Toby carried the te back into the kitchen.


    Sonia was prepping the squash inside the kitchen. Her movements were fluid and attractive; in a few


    short seconds, she had the entire squash sliced into neat, even cubes.


    When she heard the sound of footsteps, she put down the knife in her hand and turned to see him


    entering with the te. With a smile, she asked, ¡°Are you finished?¡±


    He nodded and grunted.


    ¡°Not bad. You were faster than I expected.¡±


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°How do you think I did?¡± he asked in an almost imperceptibly nervous and expectant tone as he


    returned the te to her.


    Although he thought he had done quite well, she might not have necessarily agreed with him.


    Thus, his nervousness was inevitable.


    At the same time, Toby also hoped that Sonia would be impressed with his work as she might praise him


    as well.


    ¡°Let me see.¡± As she took the te from him, she sifted through the leaves with her free hand before


    delivering her verdict with a raised eyebrow, ¡°Not bad. You did well.¡±


    She was looking at him in pleasant surprise.


    Toby had indeed done quite well. There were virtually no old stems and each leaf was quite evenly


    pinched off.


    Clearly, he had put some heart into the work.


    Now that he was relieved to receive Sonia¡¯s approval, he smiled even more broadly and looked subtly


    proud. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m only doing as I usually do.¡±


    Her mouth twitched. ¡°Not hesitating to ept thepliment, I see.¡±


    A chuckling Toby continued, ¡°Is there anything else you need help with?¡±


    Tipping the leaves into the sink, Sonia turned on the tap and began to rinse them. As she rinsed, she


    jerked her chin at the nearby cab. ¡°Get the tes, cutlery, and soup bowls out of there and ce


    them in the disinfection cab to be disinfected.¡±


    ¡°Disinfection. Got it.¡± He nodded and walked over to open the cab.


    There were many finely crafted sets of dinnerware inside, and for a moment, he was at a loss for which


    ones to remove.


    After thinking for a while, he decided to select a random set.


    So, he reached out for the set closest to him.


    s, the moment he picked up a soup bowl, it slipped out of his grasp and fell to the floor under his


    stunned gaze.


    Crash!


    As itnded on the ground heavily, it shattered into multiple pieces with a crisp sound.


    Moments after she heard the sound and figured out what had happened, Sonia quickly turned to nce


    at the shattered pieces of the broken bowl on the ground. In astonishment, she asked, ¡°How did it


    break?¡±


    Pursing his lips, Toby apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was extremely slippery and I couldn¡¯t hold it well with one


    hand, so it dropped.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t thought that he would drop a bowl just by picking it up either.


    By now, he was starting to suspect that he was truly ipetent.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded to indicate her understanding before regarding him with concern. ¡°Are you injured


    then?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head before ncing at her and asking carefully, ¡°You¡¯re not mad, are you?¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°Why would I be mad?¡±


    ¡°Because I dropped your bowl.¡± He pointed at the shattered pieces.


    Sonia tittered. ¡°It¡¯s just a bowl¡ªnothing precious. I don¡¯t mind that you dropped it. Besides, it¡¯s my own


    fault for not considering that it would be difficult for you to carry out this task with an arm. So, even if I


    wanted to me anyone, I can only me myself. Alright, stand back. I¡¯ll sweep the pieces away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Toby moved to take over the job.


    In his eyes, it was only reasonable for him to clear the mess since he was the one to break the bowl in


    the first ce.


    However, Sonia only waved him away. ¡°It¡¯s better for me to do it since it won¡¯t be easy for you to do so


    with one arm. I¡¯ll be done soon.¡±


    With that, she pulled the broom and dustpan out from behind the door, after which she began to sweep


    the pieces into the dustpan.


    As Toby stood aside, he lowered his head to regard his left arm with a sigh.


    Who knew when it would make a full recovery?


    Right now, he wished for nothing more than an immediate recovery. At least he would be able to help


    with some things rather than feelingpletely useless.

 Chapter 621

    Chapter 621


    Chapter 621 Toby Caused Even More Trouble


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    tter! tter!


    At this moment, the pot on the stove suddenly began to rattle. Its contents had begun to boil and caused


    the lid to rise with the steam.


    Sonia heard the noise and quickly paused in her actions as she nced at the stove. ¡°The soup is done.¡±


    ¡°What do I do?¡± Toby asked.


    Pointing at the knob on the stove, she told him, ¡°Turn off the fire, stir the soup with thedle, and set the


    pot aside forter.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it.¡± With that, he walked to the stove.


    As if she suddenly thought of something, she blurted out, ¡°You only need to stir it. I¡¯ll move the potter.¡±


    Ultimately, it was the same reasoning as before¡ªwith only one working arm, there was no way he would


    be able to move the pot to another ce.


    Knowing that Sonia was right, Toby didn¡¯t repudiate her and only responded with an ¡®okay¡¯ before he


    turned off the stove.


    After that, he picked up thedle next to the stove and went to remove the lid off the pot.


    Unfortunately, because he didn¡¯t have much culinary experience, he wasn¡¯t careful in avoiding the steam


    as he lifted the lid. As a result, the vapor from the boiling water scalded his wrist.


    At once, Toby let out a muffled grunt as his brow furrowed in pain.


    Hearing the noise he made, Sonia hurried forward to check on him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    He calmly set the pot aside. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She squinted in skepticism, clearly not believing his words.


    After all, she had definitely heard him grunting in pain.


    However, Toby only averted his gaze as something shed through his eyes. As hecked the courage


    to look at her, he insisted, ¡°Yes, really.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± There was no way Sonia wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that he felt guilty. Pursing her lips,


    she demanded, ¡°Tell me what happened or I¡¯ll examine you myself.¡±


    Her stern expression and serious tone of voice meant he had no choice but to surrender. So, he lifted his


    right hand and exposed his wrist to her.


    Sonia instantly could tell what had happened from the red patch on his originally pale skin. ¡°You burned


    yourself?¡± she asked in dismay.


    With a lowered head, Toby awkwardly coughed once to admit the fact.


    A mystified Sonia questioned, ¡°How did you burn yourself?¡±


    ¡°From the steam,¡± he answered, ncing back at the stove.


    At that point, she was both amused and exasperated as she said, ¡°Alright, I see you don¡¯t know how to


    do anything apart from plucking vegetables. I think it¡¯s best that you leave the kitchen then. I¡¯m afraid the


    more you help me, the busier I will be and the more you¡¯ll be injured.¡±


    Toby lowered his head in shame. ¡°My apologies¡­¡±


    He never thought he would be so useless that he would be unable to help even with the menial chores in


    the kitchen.


    Upon reading his expression, she could understand that he felt downcast.


    After all, he had leaped at the chance to help her, only to cause more trouble for her than lightening her


    load. It was natural that he would feel upset, as if he had disappointed her.


    However, in truth, Sonia didn¡¯t feel disappointed.


    It was excusable for Toby not to know these things.


    Moreover, she was alreadyforted by the thought that he had taken the initiative to help out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it. I believe that you won¡¯t be like this once your arm has fully healed,¡± Sonia assured as


    she patted his arm infort.


    As Toby nced down at his arm, his heart filled with hope once again.


    Yes, it wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t do anything well; it was just that his arm hadn¡¯t fully healed yet.


    Moreover, he could learn to do the things that he didn¡¯t know how to do.


    There was no doubt that he would be able to help her with some things in the future.


    At the same time, he discovered that working with her in the kitchen or elsewhere made him ted. It


    was something he loved doing and he found it extremely satisfying.


    ¡°Come with me to treat your burn,¡± Sonia spoke again.


    Since she had suffered quite a few burns herself when she first started learning how to cook, she was


    well aware of what it felt like.


    There was no doubt that Toby¡¯s wrist prickled with pain at the moment.


    He sheepishly followed her out of the kitchen.


    After asking him on the couch, Sonia went back to her room and pulled out a family first-aid kit.


    As she carried it back into the living room, she ced it on the coffee table before bending down to open


    the kit and searching through it for the medications she needed.


    ¡°Show me your wrist,¡± she instructed him as she opened the pack of cotton swabs.


    Toby obediently did as instructed and extended his forearm to expose his wrist.


    First, Sonia dabbed the cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and applied it on his burn wound to disinfect it.


    Then, she pulled out a bottle of cold spray and squirted some on his injury.


    The moment the cold spray touched Toby¡¯s skin, the pain on his wrist dissipated and it was reced with


    afortable, icy feeling. Then, his furrowed brows rxed in relief.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia chuckled before tearing a burn dressing from its packaging and applying it on


    the wound. ¡°Don¡¯t get it wet and you¡¯ll have to leave the dressing on for a few hours. Your burn wound


    will be gone by tomorrow morning.¡±


    While withdrawing his hand to look at the treated injury with a tender expression, Toby nodded. ¡°I


    understand.¡±


    ¡°You can sit here and watch some TV then. I¡¯ll go and finish making dinner. We¡¯ll be able to eat soon.¡±


    She closed the first-aid kit and stood up.


    By now, it was past 9:00PM and she couldn¡¯t afford to dy any more.


    If she did, it would be extremelyte by the time they were to eat.


    Knowing that it was best that he did not help in the kitchen for the fear of causing her even more trouble,


    Toby remained on the couch after she spoke and responded, ¡°Go on, then. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±


    After acknowledging his reply, Sonia went back into the kitchen.


    Soon, the sound of vegetables being sauteed could be hearding from the kitchen.


    Making use of this opportunity, he pulled out his cell phone and called Tom.


    Tom hadn¡¯t rested for the night at the moment and he was instead workingte in his own study.


    He was extremely busy because the Fuller Group was delving into new territoriestely.


    Technically speaking, as both thepany president and the chairman of the board, Toby should have


    been the busiest one. After all, many things required his approval as the decision maker during the


    course of breaking into a new field.


    Yet, theplete opposite was true¡ªToby was now the least busy person in the entire Fuller Group.


    In his attempt to apany Sonia, he had pushed many of his responsibilities onto his subordinates,


    with Tom being the most hapless one.


    That was why Tom was still busy at work at this moment.


    When Tom heard his cell phone ringing, hebed his hair with his fingers before putting down his pen


    to grab his phone to look at the caller ID. Ah, it is my exploitative boss!


    It meant bad news for Toby to call at this time!


    After swearing internally at Toby, Tom finally answered the phone with a polite smile. ¡°Good evening,


    President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Find me a chef tomorrow,¡± Toby instructed.


    A confused Tom asked, ¡°A chef? Are you intending to rece the chef at the Fuller Residence?¡±


    ¡°No, I need you to find me a personal chef so that I can learn from him,¡± Toby rified.


    After nearly choking to death on his own saliva, Tom spluttered, ¡°T-To what? Cook?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    As the corners of his mouth twitched, Tom continued, ¡°Why would you think of learning that out of the


    blue?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be asking. Just do as I say. Once you have found the chef, ask him to


    go to my office at noon every day to teach me,¡± Toby instructed sternly.


    That was the only free time he would have to learn such a thing.


    Every other hour of his day had to be spent working or keeping Soniapany.


    However, he was good at learning and two hours around noon each day was enough for him. He truly


    believed that it wouldn¡¯t take too long before he became a talented man who was not just skilled at work


    but in the kitchen as well.


    By that time, Sonia would surely be pleasantly surprised to have him prepare a full meal for her.


    The thought filled Toby¡¯s heart with anticipation.


    Of course, when he heard Toby bidding him to stay out of it, Tom could only roll his eyes in


    speechlessness.


    Did Toby think that Tom still didn¡¯t understand who he was by now?


    There was only one person for whom Toby would suddenly wish to learn to cook for.


    Nobody apart from Sonia had the ability to make him learn something so unimportant.

 Chapter 622

    Chapter 622


    Chapter 622 Acting Pitiful


    Although he understood the crux of the matter, Tom didn¡¯t y his hand. He instead pushed his sses


    up his nose as he replied, ¡°Understood, President Fuller. I¡¯ll have it arranged.¡±


    With a grunt of acknowledgement, Toby hung up.


    Sonia had dinner ready soon enough. Therefore, he stood up and walked into the kitchen to help her


    carry the dishes. Although he wasn¡¯t good at anything else, he still managed to set the food on the table.


    At least the tes weren¡¯t as slippery as the bowl.


    Due to theck of ingredients, Sonia only made three different types of vegetable dishes and a soup.


    Although the meal seemed simple, Toby had no intention of disliking it. If anything, he liked it more than


    the exquisite dishes he usually ate that were made by Michelin-starred chefs. That was because he


    could feel her affection for him through the home cooked food in front of him.


    On the opposite side of the table was Sonia, who saw him staring at the dishes and making no move to


    take his cutlery. Suspecting that he thought that her dishes were too in, she said with some


    embarrassment, ¡°Um, tonight¡¯s food is quite simple, but you¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡¯ Toby shook his head slightly. ¡°The food tonight looks delicious.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯s too vegetarian?¡± she asked while regarding him.


    Toby gave a small smile as he answered, ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s better to eat lightte in the evening,


    anyway. Besides, as I have said before, I like whatever you make. Now, dig in.¡± With that, he began to


    ladle some food for himself.


    Upon seeing him moving, Sonia finally rxed. At first, when she thought that he had disliked the dishes


    that she prepared, she was about to ask him to make do. Now that he seemed fine with them, she felt


    better.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you something better next time.¡± Sonia picked up her utensils and prepared to start eating.


    When Toby heard her words, his eyes brightened. ¡°When will the next time be? Can it be tomorrow


    evening?¡± He would have a reason to stay through this method.


    Not knowing what Toby was thinking and only seeing how hopeful he was, Sonia opened her mouth and


    found that she couldn¡¯t say no to him. Thus, she finally nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    As Toby was satisfied with her reply, the corners of his lips curled upward into a faint smile.


    After dinner, Sonia took the tableware and tossed them into the dishwasher for the machine to wash


    them. Then, she got ready to take a shower.


    When she was about to leave the kitchen after loading the dishwasher, he stopped her. ¡°Where should I


    sleep, Sonia?¡±


    As she eyed the pajamas on him and noting thete hour, she dismissed the idea of chasing him out of


    the apartment and only pinched the bridge of her nose before saying, ¡°The couch, as usual.¡±


    Instantly, the light in Toby¡¯s eyes dimmed. When Sonia saw that, her mouth twitched. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking


    of sleeping in my room, are you?¡±


    Her ce was a small two-room apartment. One of the rooms was her bedroom and the other was a


    guest room that she had converted into a study and thus could not house any humans. For him to be


    disappointed about sleeping on the couch meant that he no doubt wanted to sleep with her in the master


    bedroom.


    Seeing as Sonia had already guessed his objective, Toby only lifted his gaze to meet her eyes before


    asking in a low voice, ¡°May I?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± She red at him. She was already being gracious enough by allowing him to stay. Yet,


    he was still trying to finagle his way into her bedroom.


    A dejected Toby looked at the floor without saying anything. His demeanor made Sonia squint at him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be softhearted just because you¡¯re acting like this.¡±


    Did he think she couldn¡¯t tell he was pretending to feel bad so he could gain her sympathy and get her to


    rx her stance? Never did she think he would stoop so low as to act pitiful. After all, it was an


    impossibility in the past. She wouldn¡¯t even have dared to consider that he had this side to him. Yet, it


    was truly happening in front of her right now.


    Yet, Sonia was very aware at the same time that Toby was only acting like this because she was the one


    he was currently facing. For her, he would change how he used to behave tomit some truly


    astonishing actions. The particr way that he acted around her was only for her. Thus, she was moved


    in a certain sense.


    Of course, being moved was one thing. They hadn¡¯t officially reconciled yet and she had to stick to her


    principles by not letting him sleep with her.


    Seeing that Sonia saw through him, Toby became genuinely dejected this time. However, she only


    returned to her room, pulled a pillow and a nket, and carried them to the couch. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to


    take a shower. You can make your own bed, right?¡±


    He hummed in agreement.


    After Sonia nodded, she continued, ¡°In that case, please go ahead. I¡¯m going to shower now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby inclined his head.


    As she carried her pajamas, she headed into the bathroom. Meanwhile, he unfolded the couch into a bed


    and began to spread the sheets. As he did so, he eyed Sonia¡¯s bedroom with a strange light glinting in


    his eyes.


    It didn¡¯t matter that she refused to let him inside. He could do just what he had done previously and


    sneak in after she had fallen asleep. A single shut door wouldn¡¯t stop him. At that thought, he became


    much quicker at setting up the bed.


    Just as he finished making the bed, a cell phone suddenly started ringing behind him. When Toby turned


    to look, he discovered that Sonia¡¯s phone was vibrating on top of the coffee table. At this point, he


    couldn¡¯t help frowning. Who was calling her sote at night?


    An irate Toby then reached down to grab her phone. His furrowed brow rxed upon reading the caller


    ID. It was him!


    Toby had nothing to fear from this person. This person was an emotionless freak and Toby didn¡¯t find it


    worrisome for Sonia to be friends with him. At any rate, it was a good thing that it wasn¡¯t a love rival.


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    ¡°Tim¡¯s calling,¡± Toby shouted toward the bathroom.


    When Sonia heard that, she answered, ¡°Help me to answer the call. It must be about Jessica.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he replied joyfully. For her to allow him to answer the call on her behalf meant not only that she


    trusted him but that she was announcing his identity to the outside world. It made him ted indeed.


    And so, he put the phone to his ear and answered, ¡°Yes?¡±


    At the other end of the line, Tim paused for a moment when he heard a man¡¯s voice instead of Sonia¡¯s.


    Then, he moved his phone to the front to ensure that he hadn¡¯t dialed the wrong number. Yet, upon doing


    so, he found that he had indeed called the right number. As he returned the phone back to his ear, he


    asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Toby pursed his lips unhappily.


    Tim recognized Toby¡¯s voice this time and made such an astonished expression that his sses nearly


    slipped off his nose. ¡°Toby? What are you doing there?¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here?¡± Toby countered with a smirk, not bothering to hide the smugness in his voice.


    While raising his eyebrow, Tim pointed out, ¡°It¡¯s sote now. You must be at Sonia¡¯s ce if you¡¯re


    answering my call on her phone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The smugness in Toby¡¯s voice became even more evident.


    As he pushed his sses back up his nose, Tim guessed boldly, ¡°Have you gotten back together with


    Sonia?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, but it¡¯ll happen soon,¡± Toby answered bluntly without lying. After all, he and Sonia were indeed


    reuniting soon and he naturally saw no need to lie about such a thing.


    With a huff, Tim asked, ¡°Should I congratte you for her forgiveness then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. You can tell me that now,¡± Toby answeredzily, crossing his legs.


    Rolling his eyes, Tim answered, ¡°I¡¯m joking. Do you think I¡¯d really do that? Now, where¡¯s Sonia? Give


    the phone to her. I have something to discuss with her.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s busy right now and asked me to answer the phone on her behalf. You can just tell me whatever


    you need to talk to her about. I¡¯ll pass the message along to her,¡± Toby told him lightly, picking up the


    mug of tea on the coffee table to take a sip.

 Chapter 623

    Chapter 623


    Chapter 623 Sonia¡¯s Choice


    ¡°Really?¡± Tim asked with narrowed eyes, clearly a bit suspicious.


    An unhappy Toby lifted his chin. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can cross-check with herter.¡±


    ¡°Well, since you¡¯re saying that, I¡¯ll exin it to you then.¡± At this point, Tim sobered and twirled his


    scalpel in between his fingers. ¡°I assume you know about Sonia sending the woman named Jessica


    Reed to me for egg retrieval.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby inclined his head.


    As Tim twirled the scalpel even faster, he continued, ¡°I won¡¯t beat around the bush then. I had the


    gynecology department conduct a detailed inspection of her body. Her reproductive system is a bit


    special wherein we cannot retrieve any eggs from it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Toby frowned.


    ¡°It means she¡¯s a premature baby,¡± Tim answered. ¡°Her reproductive system isn¡¯t fully developed and her


    eggs are too weak to be viable once they¡¯re taken out of her uterus. So, there¡¯s no way to send them


    abroad for in-vitro fertilization.¡±


    At that point, Toby pursed his lips as he never knew Jessica had such an illness. ¡°Are there any


    solutions?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    Leaning back in his chair, Tim replied, ¡°While I don¡¯t know why Sonia is insistent on having a child with


    Jessica¡¯s genes, there is a solution if she¡¯s hellbent on doing so. The solution is to have Jessica carry the


    pregnancy herself so that the eggs won¡¯t have to be retrieved for in-vitro fertilization. Only then will her


    eggs be useful.¡±


    While running a finger along the rim of his mug, Toby processed Tim¡¯s words. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll let Sonia know


    and see where she ns to go from there.¡±


    ¡°Alright. You go ahead then.¡± Tim nodded. ¡°But I have to warn you both that it won¡¯t be easy for this


    woman to get pregnant either. As I said, her reproductive system isn¡¯t fully developed and she¡¯s going to


    need a long period of recuperation and a secondplete puberty before her body can sessfully


    carry a child.¡±


    ¡°How long would that take?¡± Toby cut to the chase.


    After a moment of thought, Tim answered, ¡°At least half a year, based on the report from the gynecology


    department. Furthermore, even if she manages to get pregnant, she¡¯ll have to remain bedridden or risk


    miscarrying.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby then coolly asked, ¡°She doesn¡¯t know about your examination, does she?¡±


    ¡°She passed out like a pig. How would she have found out?¡± Tim ced the scalpel away. ¡°Rx. Sonia


    had me carry out everything on that woman in secret.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Toby rxed.


    After a few more words to each other, both men hung up.


    Right at this moment, Sonia exited the bathroom while drying her hair.


    As he watched her emerge fragrant and pink-cheeked like a lotus flower, his eyes darkened and his


    Adam¡¯s apple bobbed before he asked hoarsely, ¡°Done?¡±


    Not noticing his strange behavior, she walked over to sit in the armchair opposite him. ¡°What did Tim


    say?¡±


    Toby lowered his lids and averted his gaze.


    What he was afraid of was that if he stared at her for too long, he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist her.


    After all, he was a virile man with the woman he loved seated temptingly opposite him. It was impossible


    for him not to have any impulse to ravage her.


    However, he knew she would not agree to have sex with him.


    Therefore, he was willing to respect her wishes and wait for her.


    Before Sonia was ready, he wouldn¡¯t do anything but show her some light affection.


    Toby finally picked up his already-cold tea and took a sip to suppress the heat in his body before


    answering with a slight cough, ¡°Jessica¡¯s test results are out.¡±


    Following that, he rted the contents of the phone conversation in detail to her, leaving nothing out.


    After Sonia listened to the contents, her hair-drying motions abruptly stopped. ¡°I didn¡¯t know she had


    such a condition.¡±


    ¡°Tim says she does, at any rate.¡± He spun his mug.


    As she pursed her lips, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s my fault for oversimplifying the situation. At first, I thought she


    was extremely healthy and never knew her reproductive system wasn¡¯t fully developed.¡±


    Toby asked while cing his mug down. ¡°Is Jessica really a premature baby?¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, ande to think of it, her mother, Sandra, did it to her.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± He raised his eyebrow. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    At that, her expression darkened slightly. ¡°When I was five, my father gave me a vi. Sandra found out


    about it and was extremely upset. She believed that everything he owned was to be their joint property


    once they were married, so she took issue with him buying me a vi.¡±


    ¡°Hence, she caused a premature birth so that he would take the vi back from you and transfer it to her


    name,¡± Toby guessed with his brows furrowed.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No, the vi wasn¡¯t the only issue here. What she wanted was to banish me from


    the household so that she could have everything my family owned.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s face sank.


    With a sneer, she continued, ¡°The truth was that the vi incident made her feel like I was the biggest


    threat to her and the child in her stomach. She believed that as long as I was there, she and the child


    would have one less portion of the inheritance, and so, taking the opportunity while my father wasn¡¯t


    home, she purposely fell in front of me and med me for pushing her over and causing her to go into


    earlybor. She wanted my father to believe that I had been so vicious since young that I couldn¡¯t even


    tolerate my own stepmother and step siblings. She wanted him to abhor me so much that he would send


    me away.¡±


    The more Toby listened, the uglier his expression became and an intimidating aura soon started to


    emanate from his body.


    Seeing that he was angry on her behalf, Sonia chuckled and refilled his mug with hot water. ¡°All of that is


    in the past now. I¡¯m no longer angry, so you needn¡¯t be angry either.¡±


    ¡°I feel bad for you.¡± Giving Sonia a sympathetic look, he asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you write to me about this?¡±


    While pouring herself a mug of tea, she told him, ¡°They picked on me so much when I was young that I


    couldn¡¯t have told you everything. So, I picked a few random incidents to write to you about.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± As Toby held his mug, he pressed, ¡°What happened after that? How was this matter resolved?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips in disdain. ¡°At first, Sandra thought she could sessfully get my father to send


    me away by doing what she did. What she didn¡¯t know was that there was video surveince at home


    exposing her plot. Not only did she fail to achieve her goal, she was locked up by my father and had all


    her bank cards frozen. Her life became even worse than what it was before she married into the Reed


    Family. It was what made her utterly loathe me and brainwash Jessica into thinking that I had pushed her


    and caused Jessica to be born ailing and two months early. In truth, when Jessica was young, she was


    indeed very sickly due to being a premature baby. However, as Sandra¡¯s daughter, she never questioned


    Sandra¡¯s lie, and that¡¯s one of the reasons why she doesn¡¯t want to see me.¡±


    It was only that she hadn¡¯t foreseen Jessica¡¯s premature birth resulting in an underdeveloped


    reproductive system.


    ¡°Shameless tricks from a shameless duo,¡± he muttered with disgust.


    Soniaughed after being amused by hisments.


    ¡°By the way, where do you n to go from here?¡± Toby asked, looking at her. ¡°Are you not intending to


    have children, or are you going to do what Tim has suggested and have Jessica pregnant?¡±


    As she chewed on her bottom lip, she answered, ¡°I have to have children.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going for the second option?¡±


    Sonia hummed in agreement. ¡°For the time being, that¡¯s the only solution.¡±


    To continue the heritage of the Reed Family, she had to have Jessica bear a child no matter the cost.


    That was the only thing she could do for the Reed Family now.


    ¡°Discuss things with Tim tomorrow then so that he can arrange for someone to treat Jessica¡¯s body.¡±


    Toby pulled the blow dryer out from under the coffee table and handed it to Sonia.N?velDrama.Org holds this content.

 Chapter 624

    Chapter 624


    Chapter 624 Let Me Hug You for a While


    As she reached out to take the blow-dryer, Sonia concurred, ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright, dry your hair before you get some rest then. Don¡¯t catch a cold,¡± Toby exhorted.


    After acknowledging his words with a hum, she stood up and stepped aside to dry her hair.


    As she did so, he rested his head on his hand and watched her, never looking away for a second.


    Now that she was unnerved by his stare, Sonia paused in her movements and asked, ¡°Why are you


    staring at me?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re good-looking,¡± Toby answered earnestly as he sat up straight.


    His unexpectedpliment made her blush. ¡°What a strange one you are.¡±


    With that, she turned away to ignore him before he could say anything lewder.


    All of a sudden, he stood up and walked to her.


    As he stood behind her, he raised a hand and caught hold of the blow-dryer in her hand.


    Once again, Sonia froze. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Let me help you dry your hair.¡± With that, Toby pulled the blow-dryer from her grip.


    She immediately turned around with an outstretched arm as she intended to snatch the blow-dryer back.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I can do something like this by myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You helped me to dry my hair earlier in the afternoon, so it¡¯s only fair for me to help you blow


    dry your hair.¡±


    After saying that, he pressed on the button for hot air, which caused the blow-dryer to whir again and


    leaving her with no opportunity to refuse.


    Noting Toby¡¯s insistence and not knowing what else to do, Sonia turned around and allowed him to do as


    he pleased.


    Now that he stood behind her, he was a head taller than her. Thus, it was extremely easy for him to dry


    her hair. Even if he currently had only one functional arm, he couldplete the task in a breeze.


    Both of them remained silent as he helped her, and for a period of time, the noise of the blow-dryer was


    the only sound in the spacious living room.


    It wasn¡¯t until Toby was satisfied that Sonia¡¯s hair waspletely dry some ten minutester that he


    turned off the blow-dryer and set it aside, saying gently, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    She lifted a hand in response and ran her fingers through her hair. Sure enough, her head was dry. As


    she was about to turn around and thank him, she suddenly felt something warm pressing against her


    back.


    It was his chest.


    Following that, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and tightened his grip on her waist to rest


    his chin on her shoulder. Then, he sniffed her neck and murmured hoarsely, ¡°You smell lovely.¡±


    All of sudden, Sonia felt incredibly tense, especially after hearing what he said.


    That was because she suddenly once recalled watching a show on television where the leading


    characters stood in the same position as them now¡ªthe man held the woman from behind and told her


    that she smelled lovely¡ªbefore they slept together.


    Therefore, she was petrified that Toby¡¯s actions would resemble what the man from the show did.


    Thinking of that, she took a deep breath and said with a grave face and in a stern tone, ¡°You best behave


    yourself, Toby. I¡¯m not going to have sex with you.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby instantly knew that she had misunderstood his intentions. With a slight raise of


    his eyebrow, he chuckled. ¡°Rx, I¡¯ll behave myself. Our rtionship isn¡¯t at that point yet, so I won¡¯t do


    anything that troubles you. I simply wish to hold you.¡±


    Sonia immediately let out a sigh of relief at his response.


    It was a good thing he had no intention of having sex with her.


    After all, if he truly wanted to get to it, she was no opponent of his and would have no way of resisting


    him.


    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t such a man. Given the case, she wasn¡¯t opposed to letting him hold her for a


    while.


    And so, Sonia turned her head slightly to nce at him from the corner of her eye. ¡°Alright. Just for a


    while.¡±


    Toby lowered his head and brushed his lips across her hair while agreeing, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Not saying anything more, she turned back and saw how well they matched each other from the


    reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows. She had to admit that their silhouette looked rather attractive


    indeed.


    As she realized what she was thinking, she blushed once again and lowered her head to reveal the fair


    skin of her nape.


    Meanwhile, Toby nearly went cross-eyed from staring at her nape but could not bear to look away. He


    even thought about biting on her skin so that he could leave his own imprint on her.


    However, he knew that she would be maddened if he had done such a thing.


    Thus, he decided to resist the urge because he would be able to openly leave his mark wherever he


    wanted on her body in the future.


    After being hugged for a few minutes, Sonia decided that she had enough and she bent her arm to


    nudge his waist with her elbow. ¡°Are you done? Can you let go of me now?¡±


    Although Toby was still somewhat reluctant, he respected her wishes and released her.


    As she pulled away from him, she walked forward for a bit before turning to look at him. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte.


    You should get some rest. I¡¯m tired as well. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.¡±


    At that point, she waved awkwardly.


    He nodded. ¡°Goodnight. Rest well.¡±


    After giving him a smile, she headed toward her own room.


    Of course his eyes followed her movement all the way until she opened the door, went inside, and closed


    the door. It was only then did he sit down and produce his cell phone to surf the web while he silently


    kept one eye on the time and calcted when she would fall asleep.


    Toby decided that it was enough time and he pulled back the covers to sit up. When he looked at his


    wristwatch, he discovered that it was already 1:00AM. Surely she would be asleep by this time?


    As he stared at Sonia¡¯s room door, his eyes shed unreadably.


    After that, he stood up, padded over to her room, and quietly opened the door.


    The interior of the room was dark and silent. There was only a sliver of light from the nearby streemp


    spilling in from the floor-to-ceiling window to give him a vague idea of what the room looked like.


    From his position, Toby could see a lump on the bed that was undoubtedly Sonia.


    As he had anticipated, she was indeed asleep.


    Toby finally rxed and went toward the foot of the bed before circling to the other side to lift back the


    covers to lie down. Just like before, he pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes.


    By now, he was already tired, and with the woman of his dreams in his arms, he fell asleep almost


    immediately.


    Not long after he fell asleep, Sonia moved.


    Since it wasn¡¯tfortable for her to be in the same position for too long, she prepared to turn over.


    Yet, she discovered that she was unable to turn over¡ªas if there was something holding her down and


    trapping her in a small space, preventing her from moving.


    What on earth was it?


    Sonia immediately jerked back to consciousness and opened her eyes.


    The interior of the room was currently still dark and she couldn¡¯t see anything. However, that didn¡¯t stop


    her from reaching down to see what on earth had trapped her.


    The moment she did so, she found a hand that didn¡¯t belong to her on her waist.


    The hand was well-defined and muchrger than hers¡ªclearly, it was a man¡¯s hand.


    Since there was only one man in her apartment, it was as in as day to her whose hand it was.


    After figuring out that it was Toby who had her trapped, Sonia scowled bitterly.


    How could he have the courage to sneak into her room after she fell asleep and climb into her bed?


    For him to be unresponsive when she was now touching him obviously meant he had fallen asleep.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Based on that fact alone, she could tell Toby had been in her room for quite a while.


    And yet, Sonia hadn¡¯t felt anything!


    If he¡¯d been a criminal, she wouldn¡¯t even have known how she died.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia considered kicking him out of bed to teach him a lesson. Perhaps, in the future,


    he wouldn¡¯t be so bold.


    Yet, right as she prepared to do so, she found herself unable tond the kick.


    It was because her heart was already softening at the memory of his slightly tired face earlier in that


    afternoon.


    She smiled sadly in resignation over her own softheartedness.


    This man was destined to be the biggest bane of her life.


    Ever since she had met him, she no longer had any rationality to speak of.

 Chapter 625

    Chapter 625


    Chapter 625 Toby¡¯s unting


    Forget it, Sonia thought at this point. I¡¯ll allow him to stay since he¡¯s so tired, but I¡¯ll deal with him once he


    wakes up tomorrow.


    Yes, that¡¯s how kind she was!


    After she removed her hand from Toby¡¯s back, she rested it behind her head and closed her eyes once


    more.


    Now that she knew she was being held down by a familiar person rather than a strange object, she


    rxed enough to soon fall asleep again.


    Moreover, after she fell asleep, she even subconsciously shrank back into his embrace, nuzzling the


    back of her head against his chest until she found afortable position before finally settling.


    The night passed gradually.


    The next morning, as dawn broke, Toby woke up and opened his eyes.


    Although the room was still dim, he could more or less see now.


    At this point, he lowered his head to look tenderly at the woman sound asleep in his arms.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had to get up and leave the room now, he wouldn¡¯t go. Oh, how he wished


    he could stay there until she woke up in his arms and they could wash up and have breakfast together.


    Even thinking about it now made him understand that those days would be glorious.


    Yet, they couldn¡¯t happen. At least, it wouldn¡¯t happen right now.


    He still had to resist!


    After peering down at Sonia¡¯s quietly sleeping visage, Toby lowered his head and pressed a kiss on her


    cheek before pulling back the covers to get out of bed and leave the room.


    He left so silently that it was as if he never entered.


    Yet, what he didn¡¯t know was that he had already been discovered the previous night.


    Right after leaving her room, he returned to the living room andy on the couch as he had done so


    previously before making a call to Tom to have Tom deliver some clothes and breakfast.


    Ever since Tom had figured outst night that Toby was staying at Sonia¡¯s, he was already aware that


    Toby would contact him in the morning.


    Thus, in order to wait for Toby¡¯s phone call, he had taken the initiative to arise much earlier in the


    morning instead of sleeping in until his usual time for waking up.


    Sure enough, not long after he woke up, the phone rang right on cue.


    After making the call, Toby went to the bathroom to wash up.


    When he emerged after finishing up, he found Sonia sitting on the couch and staring gravely at him.


    Her heavy gaze made him feel inexplicably guilty.


    While walking to the armchair opposite her, he slowed down before pouring her a cup of water and


    asked, ¡°Why are you up so early?¡±


    Instead of taking the proffered cup, Sonia crossed her arms and continued to re at him with an air of


    wanting to get even.


    And just like that, the sense of foreboding in Toby¡¯s heart increased.


    As his eyes shed, he asked tentatively, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    She surely couldn¡¯t have found out that he sneaked into her roomst night, could she?


    That was impossible! She was already asleep by the time he went in and by the time he exited her room,


    she was not yet awake. When he left, he even made sure to remove all traces of himself. As such, she


    couldn¡¯t have known about his presence.


    Hence, she had to be ring at him for another reason!


    The thought soothed Toby¡¯s unease.


    Yet, in the next second, Sonia¡¯s words were enough to send the heart that he had calmed moments ago


    into his throat again.


    Crossing her legs, Sonia gave the intentionally casual man in front of her a cold smile before asking


    slowly, ¡°Did you go into my roomst night?¡±


    As his pupils shrank and his spine stiffened, his heart began to race.


    So, she knew after all!


    How could she have found out?


    Lowering his gaze, Toby racked his brain for a way to gloss over the situation.


    However, since Sonia could inly read his intentions on his face, she couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes and


    saying, ¡°Enough. Don¡¯t try and search for a way to deny the usation. I already found you in my bed


    last night when I woke up in the middle of the night.¡±


    The words instantly made his expression change.


    So, that was how she found out¡ªshe had woken up in the middle of the night.


    It looked like he had no way of evading the truth any longer.


    Even Toby had the decency to blush when his action of sneaking into her bed had been discovered. After


    ncing at her, he coughed lightly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Sonia uncrossed her legs. ¡°Tell me why you sneaked into my roomst night then.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to sleep on the couch,¡± Toby replied after sitting opposite her.


    She raised her eyebrow. ¡°So, because you didn¡¯t want to sleep on the couch, you thought you could


    enter my room and take my bed from me?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t go and snatch your bed,¡± he answered earnestly, looking at her.


    Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, ¡°Why else would you sneak into my room and sleep in my bed?¡±


    ¡°I. Wanted. To. Sleep. With. You,¡± he emphasized confidently, straightening up.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡­¡±


    She clearly hadn¡¯t expected that his true aim was not to sleep in the bed but with her!


    Instantly, she reddened with amusement and exasperation.


    Then, Toby continued, ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t agree to it, so I¡ª¡±


    ¡°So, you sneaked in.¡± Sonia looked at him in astonishment.


    Pursing his lips, he mumbled, ¡°That was the only way I could stay.¡±


    A speechless Sonia stared at him as the corners of her mouth twitched.


    Very well, he was changing her perception of him once again.


    At first, she thought he was already showing some truly astonishing changes by bing bolder in his


    speech.


    However, it was only now that she knew it was nothing inparison to sneaking into her room and


    climbing into her bed.


    Who knew what even more shocking things he could do in the future?


    Perhaps she wouldn¡¯t even be surprised any longer by then.


    ¡°Are you mad at me, Sonia?¡± Toby asked, peeking at her with his head lowered.


    In response, Sonia rubbed her temples and rolled her eyes at him. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re mad,¡± he answered with a sparkle in his eyes.


    She probed in doubt, ¡°Why don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    With that, Toby¡¯s lips curled into a smug smile. ¡°If you were mad, why didn¡¯t you kick me out of the room


    when you discovered mest night? You allowed me to stay instead, so you can¡¯t be mad at me since


    you acquiesced to letting me stay.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s expression changed just like that. She never thought he would have guessed the truth.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t somewhat annoyed to have her thoughts read by him.


    As she stood up, she pointed at the door and shouted with a red face, ¡°Who acquiesced? I was only too


    lazy to move because I was exhausted! Stop making up stories for yourself and get lost!¡±


    Then, she stalked back to her room and mmed the door after her.


    Her behavior only made Toby chuckle.


    After all, she told him to leave only for her to leave first.


    Ding dong!


    Right then, the doorbell in the entranceway rang.


    Guessing that it was likely Tom, he smoothed his wrinkled pajamas and walked to the entranceway to


    open the door.


    Sure enough, it was Tom standing outside.


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    There were two bags in his hands, but before he could pass them over, he couldn¡¯t help exim in


    astonishment at Toby¡¯s pajamas, ¡°Did you buy a set of pajamas just to stay at Miss Reed¡¯s ce,


    President Fuller?¡±


    Snorting at his assistant, Toby boasted without concealing the pride in his voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t buy them. Sonia


    bought them for me.¡±


    Upon saying that, he gave Tom a side-eye.


    The corners of Tom¡¯s mouth twitched because for some reason, he felt that Toby was judging him for


    being single. Maybe I¡¯m mistaken? President Fuller wouldn¡¯t make fun of me like that.


    Seeing Tom at the entranceway spacing out, Toby couldn¡¯t help frowning as he asked, ¡°Why are you


    dumbly standing there? Where are the things I asked for?¡±


    Now that Tom returned to his senses, he passed the two bags over. ¡°Here.¡±


    Grunting in reply, Toby epted the bags before mming the door shut.

 Chapter 626

    Chapter 626


    Chapter 626 Tim¡¯s Support


    After the door mmed shut in his face, Tom couldn¡¯t help lifting a hand to check on his nose.


    Well, Toby clearly had no intention of allowing him in.


    Nevertheless, Tom was fine with that because he didn¡¯t need to enter the unit as he had no wish to


    be the third wheel.


    Shrugging his shoulders, he headed toward the elevator.


    Inside the apartment, Toby toted the two bags into the living area.


    As he ced the bags down, Sonia emerged from her room.


    She was already done with washing up and changing her clothes by now. Looking down at the things he


    ced on the dinner table, she asked curiously, ¡°What are those?¡±


    ¡°Breakfast,¡± he answered while pointing at one of the bags. ¡°I had Tom deliver it.¡±


    She quietly nodded to indicate her understanding.


    As Toby watched her, he asked, ¡°May I borrow your room for a while?¡±


    ¡°What for?¡± Sonia blinked in confusion.


    He lifted the other bag. ¡°To change.¡±


    After flicking her gaze to the bag, she retorted with a pout, ¡°Don¡¯t you already know how to sneak into my


    room, anyway? You might as well just enter since you want to use it now. Why are you asking for my


    permission?¡±


    Hearing the sarcasm in her voice, he coughed lightly through pursed lips. ¡°What if I don¡¯t sneak in next


    time?¡±


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    He could boldly go in!


    ¡°Do you still think there¡¯ll be a next time?¡± Sonia red at him.


    A grimacing Toby refrained from answering.


    That was because he knew he couldn¡¯t fan the mes any further. He had no idea how to cate her if


    he had truly ticked her off.


    Once he shut up, she sighed. ¡°Alright, forget it. Quickly go.¡±


    With that, she waved a hand to indicate for him to hurry up and get changed.


    Only then did Toby hum in reply and carry the clothes into her room.


    Soon, he was dressed and by the time he emerged, Sonia had already dished out the breakfast on the


    table.


    As Toby walked over, he pulled out a chair and sat down to have breakfast with her.


    It was halfway through the meal when Sonia¡¯s cell phone rang.


    Putting down the fork in her hand, she picked up her cell phone to look at the caller ID.


    With his eyes fixed on the phone, he asked, ¡°Who¡¯s calling?¡±


    ¡°Tim,¡± she answered honestly after swallowing.


    Only then did Toby¡¯s expression rx.


    There wouldn¡¯t be an issue if Tim was the one calling.


    At any rate, Toby didn¡¯t care as long as it wasn¡¯t a call from a love rival.


    As such, he lowered his head and continued to eat.


    On the other hand, Sonia ced her phone to her ear and answered the call. ¡°Dr. Lancaster.¡±


    At the other end of the line, when Tim heard her voice, he deliberately teased, ¡°Why isn¡¯t Toby the one


    answering?¡±


    ncing at Toby, she answered, ¡°He¡¯s eating breakfast.¡±


    In astonishment, Tim raised his eyebrow. ¡°Whoa, he¡¯s still there?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sonia answered.


    Setting his phone on speaker mode, Tim set his phone down before removing his sses from his nose


    to pull out a microfiber cloth. As he cleaned his sses, he said, ¡°Looks like he was telling me the truth


    last night. You two really are about to get back together.¡±


    Pursing her lips, she answered, ¡°More or less. He¡¯s done a lot for me and is being true to me now, so¡­


    I¡¯m willing to take the step to trust him one more time and try things out with him.¡±


    Opposite her was Toby, who after hearing her words, ced his fork down. Then, he deeply stared at her


    while tenderly saying, ¡°Thank you, Sonia.¡±


    Thank you for still being willing to trust me.


    As she understood his meaning, she moved the phone away from her ear to say, ¡°You should be grateful


    that you were hypnotized, or I wouldn¡¯t have forgiven you so easily.¡±


    He agreed with a chuckle. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m d for that as well.¡±


    After looking away, Sonia ced the phone back to her ear.


    At the other end of the line was Tim, who continued with his earlier words. ¡°Well, I wish you both


    happiness since you¡¯re willing to try things out with him once again. Of course, if he mistreats you again


    in the future, you can always let me know. I have plenty of methods to deal with him in a way that leaves


    no trace, ensuring that hepletely disappears from this world.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help shuddering at his words, but still, her heart warmed.


    After all, he was doing this for her sake.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, thank you, Dr. Lancaster,¡± Sonia responded with a softugh.


    No matter how Toby would treat her in the future, she wouldn¡¯t hand him over to Tim¡ªafter all, murder


    was illegal.


    Nevertheless, she was still grateful for Tim¡¯s sentiment.


    When he saw Sonia thanking Tim, Toby couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°What is he saying?¡±


    In reply, she smiled meaningfully at Toby. ¡°You won¡¯t want to know.¡±


    After all, it was a threat to make him disappear.


    It would be a miracle if he wasn¡¯t irritated by those words.


    Sonia¡¯s refusal to tell him made Tony squint unreadably at her.


    Nheless, she ignored him and returned to business with Tim. ¡°By the way, Dr. Lancaster, are you


    calling me at this time because Jessica is awake?¡±


    She couldn¡¯t think of any other reason why he would call her.


    That was because he never contacted her out of the blue. He would usually only reach out to her if they


    had business to talk about.


    Wearing his newly cleaned sses again, Tim replied, ¡°Yep, she woke up and loudly cursed you in the


    hospital room. Since I found it hard to listen to, I gave her another sedative. She¡¯s now unconscious once


    again.¡±


    Sonia grimaced in speechlessness.


    Sure enough, that was his style.


    However, she still had tomend him for a job well done!


    ¡°I apologize for the trouble,¡± she apologized with some embarrassment.


    After all, she had troubled him.


    Sending the witless Jessica to him was equivalent to causing him trouble.


    However, he answered as his sses shed, ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. If anything, I should be the one to thank


    you.¡±


    A surprised Sonia raised her eyebrow. ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡±


    ¡°As I told you, I gave her a sedative.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Right.¡±


    Timughed sinisterly. ¡°That sedative was newly developed by my hospital¡¯s clinical research center. At


    present, it has only been tested on animals. Due to the recentck of volunteers, clinical trials involving


    humans have been dyed. Since the sedative¡¯s side effects are unknown, the hospital patients aren¡¯t


    willing to take the plunge, so I tested it out on Jessica. For now, it seems to be working well. I don¡¯t know


    what side effects it¡¯ll have on her yet, but at any rate, she won¡¯t die.¡±


    Once again, Sonia grimaced.


    It seemed he had turned Jessica into a guinea pig.


    However, as he said, it didn¡¯t matter as long as she didn¡¯t die. Side effects were nothing more than a


    minor inconvenience.


    At the end of the day, Jessica was an evil woman who hadmitted patricide. She was at least making


    some contributions to society and the medical industry this way.


    Pulling out a scalpel and ying with it again, Tim continued, ¡°By the way, did Toby pass along what I


    told him yesterday evening?¡±


    Inclining her head and ncing at Toby, Sonia answered, ¡°Yes.¡±


    For his part, Toby only added sausages to her te.


    While he didn¡¯t know what she and Tim were talking about, he could guess from her nce that they


    were talking about him.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you already know that we have no way of retrieving Jessica¡¯s eggs. Are you still


    intending to have her deliver a child?¡± Tim was spinning the scalpel so quickly that it was leaving an


    afterimage.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia answered seriously, ¡°Of course. I want her to produce an heir to the Reed


    Family.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you produce one yourself?¡± Tim couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t give birth. In a few


    years, your children with Toby will be heirs to the Reed Family as well. Why do you want to take the long


    road and force Jessica to give birth?¡±


    The phrase ¡®your children with Toby¡¯ caused a wave of sadness to surge in her heart.


    It made her remember the child she had miscarried a while ago.


    In the past, before she fell in love with Toby again and the child had even formed into a fetus, she never


    really felt attached to it. Although she had indeed mourned for a couple of days when she first


    miscarried, she had quickly recovered to her normal state.

 Chapter 627

    Chapter 627


    Chapter 627 Sonia¡¯s Regret


    However, now that Sonia was once again in love with Toby, the ce where the miscarried child held in


    her heart naturally grew as well.


    Thus, when she thought about the child, she felt somewhat upset.


    There was even a measure of regret¡ªthe regret that she hadn¡¯t protected the child well enough.


    If she had, would her stomach have grown by now?


    As Sonia lowered her head and felt her t stomach, her mood dropped all of a sudden.


    Toby immediately set his fork aside. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Her eyes shed and she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    In response, he narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing her.


    After all, her mood had suddenly changed from one of calmness to a depressive one.


    It was obvious Tim had said something that affected her mood.


    Nheless, not knowing what Toby was thinking, Sonia only took a deep breath to steady herself


    before saying into the phone, ¡°I haven¡¯t told you, Dr. Lancaster, but I¡¯m actually not biologically rted to


    the Reed Family. Thus, my descendants technically won¡¯t count as blood heirs to the Reed Family. Only


    Jessica¡¯s heritage will.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Tim eximed. ¡°So, that¡¯s why you want Jessica to give birth.¡±


    At first, he had assumed she wanted to adopt her own sister¡¯s children because she considered her


    infertility.


    He was even about to rify with Sonia that it wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t give birth; it was just that she


    wouldn¡¯t find it easy to fall pregnant during these two years.


    Now, it looked like such an exnation wouldn¡¯t be necessary.


    ¡°Does that mean you intend to use the method I mentioned where Jessica would fall pregnant on her


    own?¡± Tim asked leisurely, leaning back in his chair.


    Sonia hummed in agreement. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I intend to do. I was about to call you to inform you about


    my decision in a bit, but you ended up calling me first.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Since this is the method you¡¯ve chosen, I¡¯ll contact the OB-GYN and have them figure out a way


    to treat Jessica¡¯s body as soon as possible so that she can be pregnant as early as possible. Do you


    have a candidate for the father¡¯s genes?¡± Tim asked.


    Shaking her head, Sonia answered, ¡°Not for now. My original n was to look for an excellent candidate


    at a sperm bank abroad once I sent her genes over, but now that we can¡¯t retrieve her eggs, I might as


    well get things arranged when she can get pregnant.¡±


    There was no need to rush.


    Lifting his chin, he answered, ¡°That will do as well.¡±


    They only ended the call after settling on Jessica¡¯s future arrangements.


    At that point, Toby poured Sonia a ss of warm milk while exining, ¡°Drink this. Your first ss has


    gone cold.¡±


    Sonia epted the ss after she put down her phone.


    The milk gradually warmed her somewhat cold palms and she smiled at him. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and eat then. You were on the phone for so long that you¡¯ve barely eaten anything,¡± he chided


    gently and with jealousy.


    Although the call came not from a love rival but Tim, he felt like Tim had spent too long on the phone with


    her.


    It was to the point where he originally didn¡¯t have a problem with Tim, but he now did.


    Upon hearing the odd tone in his voice and naturally being able to discern that he was jealous of Tim,


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help shaking her head in amusement.


    Following that, she looked at the breakfast spread before her and reached out to take a croissant before


    dropping it on his te.


    After Toby lowered his head, he nced at the pastry before looking back at Sonia with happiness in his


    eyes.


    She was getting food for him.


    ¡°Are you still jealous?¡± she asked with her head propped against her hand.


    He shook his head before taking a bite out of the croissant. ¡°Nope.¡±


    He admitted that he was jealous earlier.


    When Sonia noticed that he was now cated, she smiled slightly before lowering her head to continue


    with her meal.


    After breakfast, she tidied the table.


    While waiting for her, Toby went to sit on the couch and pulled out his phone to send Tim a message.


    ¡®What did you say to Sonia earlier tond her in such a strange mood?¡¯


    At the other end of the line, Tim was ying a horror game on his phone. The sudden notification had


    caused him to marginally narrow his eyes before replying, ¡®She¡¯s in a strange mood? What happened?¡¯


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby¡¯s face darkened. ¡®Shouldn¡¯t you be asking yourself that? It was while you were talking to her that


    her mood suddenly became depressive. That¡¯s why I wanted to know what you said to her. If you truly


    aren¡¯t certain, you should tell me everything that you told her.¡¯


    With a snort, Tim wrote back, ¡®I said quite a bit.¡¯


    A scowling Toby then replied, ¡®That¡¯s fine. I have time and can wait. Now, hurry up and tell me!¡¯


    Pushing the sses up his nose, Tim decided to rte the information via voice message rather than


    text.


    Moments after that, Toby had received multiple voice messages, all reaching tens of seconds in length.


    When he saw that the conversation had exceeded a minute in total, the vein in his temple pulsed. Having


    no interest in listening to Tim talk, he converted the voice messages to text once again.


    After that, he began to peruse what Tim told Sonia in earnest to investigate what on earth had affected


    her.


    In the end, Toby found that 90 percent of the conversation was about Jessica and that only a small


    portion was about something else¡ªnamely, Tim asking Sonia why she wouldn¡¯t give birth herself.


    As Toby associated that part with Sonia¡¯s action of feeling her stomach, he could guess what had set her


    off.


    It was more than likely she remembered about the child she miscarried.


    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have suddenly be sad and upset.


    It seemed¡­ that she cared about the child, after all.


    ¡°Toby,¡± Sonia suddenly spoke up behind him at this moment.


    Toby quickly flipped his phone to the opposite side and turned to look at her. ¡°Yes?¡±


    As she hadn¡¯t noticed his actions, she grabbed her purse from the shelf and slung it over her shoulder.


    ¡°We can go now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He stood up and followed her to the entranceway.


    Once they arrived, she bent down to change her shoes.


    As Toby stood next to her and watched her swapping footwear, he murmured, ¡°Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sonia lifted her head to nce at him.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Toby spoke before abruptly stopping.


    A confused Sonia probed, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    Looking away, he said, ¡°Nothing. I only wanted to ask if you aren¡¯t cold from wearing so little.¡±


    What Toby actually wanted to do wasfort her and reassure her that they would have other children


    in the future.


    The lost child was the result of their failure as parents.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean Toby never hated Carl.


    Yet, at the same time, he knew that even if Carl hadn¡¯t poisoned Sonia, the child would still have been


    aborted.


    As Toby had still been hypnotized at that time, he wasn¡¯t aware that he loved her and thus didn¡¯t care


    whether she aborted the child.


    Moreover, she didn¡¯t love him back then and thus wouldn¡¯t have kept a child biologically rted to him.


    That meant that, ultimately, the fault stilly with them as parents.


    Now that he was back to normal and whole-heartedly focused on loving her without the influence of


    hypnosis, his affection for the child was increasing.


    It was likely that Sonia, after having fallen in love with him again, was experiencing the same process of


    truly caring about the child now, which was why she was upset about losing the child.


    It was just a pity that everything was toote.


    Once Toby returned home, he would personally head to a church and offer a prayer for the child¡¯s soul to


    amend for his past mistakes.


    Yes, he would do that even if he wasn¡¯t religious.


    Meanwhile, Sonia squinted at Toby after hearing his question.


    That was because she knew it wasn¡¯t what he intended to say.


    Nevertheless, since he had changed his mind and wasn¡¯t willing to share his thoughts with her, she


    wouldn¡¯t push him. And so, she opened the door and stepped out. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 628

    Chapter 628


    Chapter 628 Tom¡¯s Pain


    ¡°Alright.¡± Toby nodded before following Sonia out.


    More than 40 minutester, they arrived at Paradigm Co..


    After getting out of the car, she went around the head of the car to the other side and knocked on Toby¡¯s


    car window. He then wound down the ss window.


    She straightened her posture and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave now. You and Tom should hurry to the Fuller Group.


    Remember to drive slowly on the road and be careful.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Reed. I won¡¯t let anything happen to President Fuller.¡± Tom, who was seated in front,


    turned around to answer Sonia.


    Then, Toby coldly red at him. ¡°Did I ask you to speak?¡±


    It was Sonia¡¯s reminder for him, but before he could even answer, he had been interrupted by Tom and


    was naturally upset as a result.


    When he saw Toby¡¯s warning gaze, Tom understood that he had spoken too much, so he retracted his


    neck as he hurriedly turned his head to the front in his quest to be invisible. Fine, I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut


    and say nothing.


    Seeing how nervous Tom was and how upset Toby looked while seated at the back seat, Sonia couldn¡¯t


    help but be amused. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You two should hurry up and leave. It¡¯ll be rush hour in a


    little while, so you should beat the traffic while you still can.¡±


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°Okay. Tom, start the car.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom replied from the front before starting the car engine.


    Sonia suddenly thought of something, so she quickly ced her hand on Toby¡¯s window to prevent him


    from closing it. ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby asked as he removed his hand from the window buckle and looked at her.


    She bit her lips and murmured, ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­ switch off your phone for the next two days.¡±


    She had promised Rose that she would apany him on the anniversary of his mother¡¯s death


    because Rose told her before that he would behave in a strange manner on that day.


    Coincidentally, the anniversary happened to be in theing two days. That was the reason why Sonia


    reminded him not to turn off his phone so that she could contact or locate him at any time.


    However, Toby was confused by Sonia¡¯s request. ¡°Why?¡±


    She lowered her eyes. ¡°Please don¡¯t ask me why. In short, just do as I say.¡±


    It was impossible for her to tell him that the anniversary of his mother¡¯s death was around the corner


    because she wasn¡¯t sure how he would react to it emotionally.


    After staring at Sonia for a while, Toby finally nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright.¡±


    She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. ¡°You better keep your promise.¡±


    ¡°I never switch off my phone as it is always turned on 24 hours.¡± He took out his phone and brandished


    it.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s great. Also, remember to keep your phone by your side at all times. Do you


    understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby replied.


    ¡°Alright. Since there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m heading off. Bye!¡± She waved at the man before walking toward


    the entrance of Paradigm Co..


    In the meantime, Toby stared at her back for a while until she entered the building. Then, he withdrew his


    gaze and wound up the car window before opening his thin lips. ¡°Start the car.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom replied and started the engine.


    On the road, Tom hesitated several times and he finally couldn¡¯t help but look into the rearview mirror to


    ask, ¡°President Fuller, why do you think Miss Reed said that to you just now? Why does she want you to


    always turn on your phone for the next two days and not let it leave your side?¡±


    Toby lowered his eyes without answering him. Why? It¡¯s probably because it¡¯s my mother¡¯s death


    anniversary. Otherwise, why would she ask me to do so only for the next two days and not any other


    day? Except this, I can¡¯t think of any other reasons. As to how she found out about the anniversary of my


    mother¡¯s death, I¡¯m afraid that someone told her and I think I know who it was. Two nights ago, Grandma


    specially brought Sonia away to speak to her alone in the gazebo. It seems like that was what she told


    Sonia.


    Tom, who was driving the car, saw that Toby had remained silent with a lowered head as if thinking about


    something, so he didn¡¯t disturb Toby and retracted his gaze to focus on driving.


    Meanwhile, in Paradigm Co., Sonia arrived outside her office and Daphne was waiting for her there as


    usual. When she saw Sonia arriving, Daphne quickly approached and followed behind her to report the


    day¡¯s schedule.


    Ever since Sonia became thepany¡¯s chairman, the events that she needed to attend had more than


    doubled, which made her schedule extremely tight.


    After listening to the entire schedule, she asked Daphne to cancel some of the unimportant ones, but the


    remaining meetings had still taken up her entire day.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know whether it was pain or happiness.


    The painful part was that she had no time to rx, but she was ted that the more she had to do in her


    schedule, the more familiar she would be in managing Paradigm Co..


    After sitting down, she ced her bag on the desk and received her schedule from Daphne to have a


    look. Then, Sonia cast it aside and said, ¡°I want you to inform the human resource department that


    Jessica will be taking a week¡¯s leave. Tell them to issue her a leave permit.¡±


    Of course Daphne understood why Sonia wanted to apply for leave on Jessica¡¯s behalf.


    Considering how badly Jessica had kowtowed yesterday, it was no wonder that she needed to be


    hospitalized for a few days.


    ¡°I understand, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne pushed her sses and smiled.


    Sonia understood what Daphne meant with her smile and beamed with her. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all for now.


    You can return to your work.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Daphne nodded before leaving.


    After she left, Sonia furrowed her brows and started working.


    The phone beside her suddenly vibrated more than 10 minutester.


    She ced the pen in her hand down and picked up her device to realize that it was a text from Toby.


    She clicked on it and saw a sentence: ¡®I¡¯ve safely arrived at thepany.¡¯


    With a faint smile, Sonia replied, ¡®As long as you are safe.¡¯


    Soon, Toby sent another text: ¡®Do you want to watch a movie tonight?¡¯


    Looking at his text, she raised her brow. It seems like he is still determined to watch a movie with me


    after I rejected his request yesterday. Fine. Since he is that determined, I¡¯ll just say yes.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    As Sonia thought about it, she smiled before responding, ¡®Okay.¡¯


    On the other end, Toby¡¯s eyes were suddenly filled with joy when he read what she had replied. She has


    agreed toe with me.


    Then, he put his phone down to take thendline. ¡°Tom.¡±


    Tom, who was in the office next to Toby, had only just switched on hisputer when he received Toby¡¯s


    call. ¡°President Fuller, is there anything I can help with?¡±


    ¡°I want you to buy another two movie tickets like the ones yesterday,¡± Toby ordered.


    It was Tom¡¯s turn to raise his brows. ¡°President Fuller, has Miss Reed agreed to watch a movie with


    you?¡±


    Toby grunted. ¡°She rejected me yesterday because she wasn¡¯t free. Now that she¡¯s free today, of course


    she will agree toe along. What are you talking about?¡±


    For some reason, Tom felt that Toby sounded as if there was an intention to call him a singleton.


    He realized that when he included the word ¡®singleton¡¯ into what Toby had said to him just now, it didn¡¯t


    look out of ce at all.


    Maybe he wanted to call me a singleton, but since he is a well-refined man, he didn¡¯t say it explicitly.


    Tom¡¯s lips began to twitch. Fine, it¡¯s great that you are about to stop being a singleton! Sigh¡­ It¡¯s great


    not to be a single person.


    For 30 years since his birth, he had never found a girlfriend up until this point. Therefore, it was


    heartbreaking for him to see Toby, who was of the same age as him, about to remarry.


    He felt all sorts of pain in his heart, but he still maintained a professional smile on the surface as he


    replied, ¡°Alright, President Fuller. I know what to do. I¡¯ll help you reserve the tickets once I have finished


    my work in hand.¡±

 Chapter 629

    Chapter 629


    Chapter 629 The Creepy Carl


    A satisfied Toby replied, ¡°I want you to change the time slightly to 8:00PM.¡±


    I can look for Sonia at 6:00PM and bring her out for dinner. Then, we¡¯ll watch the movie at 8:00PM,


    which means that we¡¯ll be done at about 10:00PM. After that, I¡¯ll send her back to Bayside Residence


    and it¡¯ll almost be midnight when we arrive there. She should allow me to stay there for the night given


    howte it would be, right? His eyes flickered as he came up with a n in his heart.


    However, Tom didn¡¯t know about the n and didn¡¯t feel anything suspicious about changing the time, so


    he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll get it done, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby returned the receiver to hisndline before picking up his phone again to send a text to Sonia: ¡®I¡¯ll


    come and pick you up at 6:00PM before we have dinner together. I heard that there is a new French


    restaurant in Berthull and it sounds quite delicious.¡¯


    Sonia giggled and replied: ¡®Alright.¡¯


    After typing the text, she clicked on the send button.


    However, the moment she sent the text, she received a phone call.


    When Sonia saw who the caller was, shock immediately filled her face. It¡¯s from Carl.


    Ever since Carl¡¯s second personality upied his body and he left Seafield for Westsanshire, he had


    never contacted her and neither did she.


    She didn¡¯t know how to interact with him afterward since she had no understanding of his second


    personality at all. The only thing she knew was that he wasn¡¯t a good person.


    She resented interacting with such a person, so she always tried not to think about him.


    However, he unexpectedly called her one monthter.


    Should I answer his call or not?


    Looking at the name vibrating on the screen, Sonia bit her lower lip while her heart was full of doubts.


    After all, she didn¡¯t know how to interact with the other personality, so she wouldn¡¯t know what to say


    later.


    Even so, after a moment of hesitation, Sonia finally decided to answer the call. What if the person calling


    me isn¡¯t his second personality? Instead, it¡¯s actually Carl who finally regained control of his body?


    While holding onto that hope, she took a deep breath and clicked on the green button to answer, ¡°Carl.¡±


    She tentatively uttered his name with a hint of caution in her voice.


    After two seconds of silence on the other end, a man¡¯s creepy voice was heard instead. ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m


    Lucius Hayes. Compared to Carl, I like this name even more.¡±


    In short, he didn¡¯t wish to inherit the name that the idiot used for more than 20 years.


    As for the name ¡®Lucius¡¯, it perfectly differentiated him from that idiotic Carl.


    Listening to the tone of his voice, Sonia felt a surge of disappointment from her darkened heart as her


    expression slightly changed. Looks like my hopes are for nothing. Carl hasn¡¯t woken up to regain control


    of his body. The person calling me now is his second personality.


    This made her really upset, so she pursed her red lips and asked indifferently, ¡°What can I help you with,


    Mr. Hayes?¡±


    On the other end, Carl¡ªor to be precise, Lucius was now standing in front of the French windows.


    Hearing how Sonia had addressed him, he squinted his eyes as his expressions became a little gloomy.


    ¡°Sonia, you were always so intimate when you called Carl. Why are you addressing me like I¡¯m a


    stranger?¡±


    She answered tly, ¡°It¡¯s simple because you are not Carl.¡±


    That was why she couldn¡¯t bring herself to treat Lucius with the same kind of attitude she used to treat


    Carl with before.


    Lucius grunted. ¡°That¡¯s really saddening, Sonia. Although I¡¯m indeed not Carl, I¡¯m also born in his body,


    so you can also treat me the same way, though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t.¡± Sonia immediately rejected him.


    The gloominess on his face spread, but he quicklyposed himself and smiled bitterly as if nothing


    had happened. ¡°You are so cruel, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Mr. Hayes. What is it that you want? If there¡¯s nothing else you want to say, I¡¯m going to cut the


    call. I¡¯m very busy at the moment and I don¡¯t have any time to waste on you,¡± she uttered ndly while


    furrowing her beautiful brows.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    She had nothing to say to his other personality.


    Also, Lucius¡¯ personality was much shadier than Carl¡¯s, so Sonia didn¡¯t know what would happen if she


    continued to speak to Lucius.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Lucius pretended to sigh in disappointment. ¡°Forget about it. Since you don¡¯t want to catch up


    with me, so be it. I originally wanted to tell you how much I¡¯ve missed you in thest month, Sonia. I also


    wanted to ask whether you miss me or not, but by the looks of it, you don¡¯t miss me at all, but it¡¯s fine as


    long as I do. Because of that, Sonia, I¡¯ve prepared a gift for you. It¡¯s in your mailbox, so please take a


    look at it.¡±


    Sonia was utterly disgusted by what she heard.


    Hearing him calling her by her name, she felt an ufortable turmoil inside her stomach.


    She was fine with Carl addressing her before, but she wasn¡¯tfortable with Lucius. Is he intentionally


    trying to rece Carl? Also, I remember that when he first possessed Carl¡¯s body, he didn¡¯t call me by


    my name, so it is really weird that he¡¯s now addressing me as such.


    While ridiculing him inside her heart, Sonia asked coldly, ¡°What did you send me?¡±


    ¡°Sonia, you¡¯ll know it when you see it. I promise that you¡¯ll definitely like it very much.¡± Lucius looked at


    the ne that had just flown past through the French windows while a sinister light shed across his


    eyes.


    She furrowed her brows and clicked into her mailbox while holding the mouse.


    Sure enough, there was an additional email from an unsaved contact, which should be Lucius.


    As for how Lucius had discovered her email address, Sonia wasn¡¯t surprised at all. After all, Carl¡¯s


    memories were still embedded in his mind along with his hacking skills.


    Therefore, it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to find out about her address.


    Sonia clicked on the email and found that the attachment had arge size as it showed several pictures.


    Looking at the file, she was confused. What photos did he send me?


    She clicked on the photos in suspicion and was instantly shocked by what she had seen. After letting out


    a scream, she rose from her chair and threw the mouse in her hand away.


    With a pale face, she stood there and stared at theputer screen in fear. As her body, limbs and scalp


    began to tremble, she felt her heart skipping a beat. What is this?!


    In the photo was a man who had his head shaved and his face shed into a bloody mess by a knife to


    the point where it disfigured his looks. He was blindfolded and tied to the couch, making it difficult to


    establish whether he was dead or alive.


    In the end, Sonia was so shocked by the photo that she couldn¡¯t help but vomit all over the desk.


    She never expected the content of the photo to be this horrible and bloody. If she had known about it


    from the start, she wouldn¡¯t have clicked on it.


    Sadly, it was impossible for anyone to turn back time, but she could still choose not to look at the


    subsequent few photos because its content was definitely the same as this one.


    When Lucius heard her vomiting on the other end, he revealed an evil smile before speaking, ¡°Sonia,


    what¡¯s the problem? Don¡¯t you like my gift? Are you satisfied with it?¡±


    Her expression immediately changed as she roared at the phone with red eyes, ¡°Am I satisfied with it?


    Are you crazy? Did you send me this to scare me on purpose?


    He blinked with innocence. ¡°How could you say that, Sonia? I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. I sent you this


    because I wanted to tell you that I¡¯ve avenged you.¡±


    ¡°Avenge me? What do you mean?¡± Sonia could feel the vein on her forehead throbbing as she had a bad


    feeling.


    On the other end, Lucius chuckled with intention. ¡°Sonia, can¡¯t you recognize the person in the photo?¡±


    The person in the photo? She pursed her lips. Is he saying that I know the person in the photo?

 Chapter 630

    Chapter 630


    Chapter 630 Unbridled


    As she thought about it, Sonia took a deep breath and mentally braced herself to endure the disgust


    when she carefully gazed at theputer screen to observe who the person was.


    Although it was difficult to recognize the person¡¯s face, she could still tell that he was a man from the


    outline of his face.


    However, the more she looked at his outline, the more familiar the person was. Where have I seen him


    before? Where?


    She bit her nails and had a pensive look.


    Suddenly, a feminie and beautiful face shed through her mind.


    As Sonia¡¯s face was filled with shock, she couldn¡¯t help but scream, ¡°Den!¡±


    ¡°Bingo!¡± On the other end, the smile on Lucius¡¯ face grew more malicious when he heard the name.


    ¡°Sonia, you are so brilliant. I can¡¯t believe you recognize him that quickly.¡±


    She felt her heart numbing. ¡°It really is Den. Why did you¡­ ruin his face like this?!¡±


    ¡°No! No! No!¡± Lucius wagged his index finger. ¡°I didn¡¯t just ruin his face. I also broke all four of his limbs.¡±


    His voice was extremely gentle as if he was saying something normal, sending chills down Sonia¡¯s spine.


    Usually, the calmer a person was aftermitting such a crime, the more terrifying that person was.


    Carl¡¯s other personality is a monster. Not only did he ruin Den¡¯s face, he also amputated all the man¡¯s


    limbs. She didn¡¯t want to look at the next few photos, but they were probably images of Den¡¯s


    amputated limbs.


    Thinking about it, Sonia could feel her stomach churning again, so she quickly closed her mailbox and


    leaned against the corner of the table before retching again.


    This time, it felt more intense because her entire face was red due to his difort. Even her eyes and


    neck had already turned the color of crimson.


    As Lucius listened to her retching, he knew that she must have felt ufortable at that moment, but he


    didn¡¯t feel any remorse. Instead, he had a soothing smile because he intentionally sent those photos to


    her. Serves her right for treating me differently from that idiotic Carl. This shall serve as a small lesson to


    her.


    Looking at the bustling city through the French window, he feigned concern as he asked, ¡°Sonia, are you


    alright?¡±


    Sonia gasped for air and roared, ¡°You monster!¡±


    He squinted his eyes with dangerous intent. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a monster? Why am I a monster? Why are you


    saying that, Sonia? Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m avenging you?¡±


    As expected, she is a biased woman. If Carl had done the same, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised that she


    wouldn¡¯t say the same thing to him.


    ¡°Are you not a monster?¡± An angry Sonia bit her lips. ¡°What were you thinking when you did this to him?¡±


    ¡°I just told you, Sonia, that I am taking revenge for you.¡± Lucius innocently blinked. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what


    Den did to you, Sonia. He pushed you down a cliff.¡±


    ¡°Even if he did push me down a cliff, that is my problem. I can avenge myself and I don¡¯t need you to


    interfere.¡± She tightly clenched her phone with both hands and yelled, ¡°Also, if you wanted to avenge me,


    you could have just handed him over to the police and use thew to punish him. Why did you have to


    do it yourself?¡±


    Doesn¡¯t he know that he has broken thew? Of course I¡¯m not concerned about him, but his body


    belongs to Carl. If he broke thew, it also means that it is Carl who broke thew. After all, in legal


    terms, there is no such thing as dual personality.


    ¡°Why should I hand him to the police?¡± He revealed a disdainful smile. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be letting him off


    lightly?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Sonia was infuriated by his words that her lips trembled. ¡°You really are stubborn. Get lost.


    Leave and return the body to Carl!¡±


    ¡°Return it to Carl?¡± Lucius waspletely enraged by her words and he no longer maintained that usual


    malicious smile on his face. Instead, it became morbidly cold. ¡°Sonia, do you know what you are saying?


    What do you mean by returning this body to Carl? Carl and I were born out of this body, but he was born


    earlier than me and used it earlier than me. Does that mean this body is his alone? Let me tell you this. It


    wasn¡¯t easy for me to upy this body, so I¡¯ll never return it to him because I¡¯m also the owner of this


    body.¡±


    She was rendered speechless. He¡¯s right. Carl and him were both born out of this body, which means


    that they are both the co-owners. However, Lucius is way too evil and personalities like him shouldn¡¯t


    exist.


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    As she thought about it, Sonia gritted her teeth and uttered coldly, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to return his


    body. I¡¯ll definitely wake Carl up one day. I can promise you that!¡±


    ¡°Sonia, you really are biased. All you care about is that idiot. Why can¡¯t you just treat me better?¡± Lucius


    chuckled.


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t deserve it!¡± she yelled coldly. ¡°At least Carl would never do something as cruel as


    you did.¡±


    Listening to her, he suddenlyughed aloud as if he had just heard a joke. ¡°I can tell that you don¡¯t know


    Carl that well. Indeed, that idiot¡¯s personality is not the same as mine, but we have something in


    common, which is that we are both cruel. Even if the person controlling the body was him and not me, he


    would still torture Den in the same way that I did. Sonia, have you forgotten that he has even


    poisoned you before?¡±


    A pale Sonia was left speechless. That¡¯s correct. Since Carl has dared to poison me before, it¡¯s not out of


    the question that he wouldn¡¯t torture Den. Does that mean I actually don¡¯t know Carl that well?


    ¡°Sonia, what¡¯s wrong? Cat got your tongue?¡± Lucius knew that he had rendered her speechless, so he


    mocked on purpose.


    While biting her lower lip, she replied, ¡°I have nothing to say to you. In short, I want you to send Den


    to the hospital immediately and call the police. Stop torturing him yourself; otherwise¡ª¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, what? Are you going to report me to the police?¡± He smirked.


    Sonia squinted her eyes and answered, ¡°If you don¡¯t do what I say, I¡¯ll definitely report you.¡±


    Instead of feeling scared, heughed happily. ¡°I don¡¯t think you will do that. After all, this body also


    belongs to Carl. If you report me, this body will be sent to prison, which means that Carl will also be


    imprisoned. Can you bring yourself to do such a thing?¡±


    Her pupils dted as she remained silent.


    Can I? She lowered her eyes and thought about it for a long while before finally realizing that she


    couldn¡¯t bring herself to send Carl into prison. He suffered too much when he was a child, which caused


    his personality to be a bit extreme. I can always report Lucius and send him to prison, but what if


    Carl suddenly regains control of his body? If he finds out that I was the one who sent him to prison, he¡¯ll


    definitely be triggered emotionally, thinking that he was betrayed by someone whom he trusted. By then,


    I can¡¯t imagine what he will do.


    As those thoughts came to mind, Sonia smiled bitterly and hung up the phone. After that, she sat down


    on the chair in exhaustion and rubbed her temple while remaining silent for a long while.


    He now has me in his grasp. He knows that Carl is my weakness, so he has recklessly told me about


    torturing Den and even dared me to report his actions to the police. He knows that I can¡¯t bring myself


    to report him, which is why he is so unbridled in front of me. All of this has urred because he shares


    the same body as Carl. What can I do to bring Carl back?


    After she lowered her eyes and thought about it, she suddenly remembered a person, so she picked up


    her phone again to call a number.

 Chapter 631

    Chapter 631


    Chapter 631 Sonia¡¯s Worries


    Soon, the call was answered and a woman¡¯s exhausted voice was heard. ¡°President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Reba, long time no see.¡± Sonia rubbed her cheeks to rx her facial muscles to reveal a smile.


    On the other end, Reba also smiled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been so long since west contacted each other.


    President Reed, how have you been recently?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing well,¡± Sonia answered with a smile as she thought about Toby. ¡°There has been a huge


    change too.¡±


    It had been a month since Reba¡¯s departure. A month ago, Sonia had sworn that she would never fall


    in love with Toby again, let alone get together with him, but she was forced to swallow her words four


    weekster.


    Therefore, it was true that there was a huge change.


    ¡°What about you, Reba?¡± Sonia retracted her thoughts and asked, ¡°How have you been? I can hear


    from your voice that you are tired. What are you doing at the moment?¡±


    On the other end, Reba slightly lowered her head and remained silent for a few seconds before


    answering, ¡°I¡¯m boxing at the gym. I have nothing else to do, so I came over to pass the time.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded, not feeling that there was something amiss with the answer.


    Then, Reba cradled her phone on her shoulder and walked out of the ring while removing her boxing


    gloves. ¡°By the way, President Reed, why did you call me?¡±


    Sonia gave a simple reply as her face grew solemn. ¡°I received a call from Lucius earlier. Do you know


    what he has done¡­ to Den?¡±


    She didn¡¯t dare to describe Den¡¯s horrible situation because it was too graphic for her to repeat the


    imagery.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about it.¡± Reba threw the gloves on the couch in the resting area before sitting down to


    reply to Sonia.


    As Sonia listened to the reply, she tilted her head in confusion. ¡°You¡¯ve heard about it? Aren¡¯t you the


    one specifically responsible for his safety? Why is it that you have only heard about it?¡±


    When Reba discovered that Lucius was actually Carl, she had stayed by his side as a personal


    bodyguard and never left him.


    Therefore, it was logical to think that she should have known firsthand about Lucius torturing Den


    instead of learning about it through rumors.


    It seemed as though something was wrong.


    Sensing Sonia¡¯s confusion, Reba breathed a sigh while her eyes darkened on the other end of the


    line. ¡°President Reed, I¡¯m no longer his bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re no longer his bodyguard?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Reba nodded.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Reba took the can of energy drink on the coffee table in front of her and took a sip. ¡°It¡¯s because he


    doesn¡¯t trust me. He feels that the person I¡¯m loyal to is Carl instead of him, so he has transferred me to


    another ce. Now, I have lots of time on my hands. My daily job is to patrol the estate and nothing


    else.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± It was Sonia¡¯s turn to nod. ¡°He really is distrustful.¡±


    ¡°Actually, he¡¯s right. The person I¡¯m loyal to is indeed Carl and not him. I reckon he saw through me and


    transferred me out after his return to the Hayes Family so that I won¡¯t interfere with his ns.¡± Reba


    shrugged her shoulders as if she didn¡¯t care.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°Does that mean you won¡¯t know what he is doing from now on?¡±


    ¡°Not quite. I¡¯m still the top dog among the Hayes Family¡¯s team of bodyguards. My subordinates will still


    send news to me from time to time. It was them who told me about Den. I heard that he badly tortured


    Den.¡± Reba ced her drink down on the table.


    Sonia replied, ¡°It¡¯s grotesque. He has just sent photos of it over and it really scared the hell out of me. At


    the same time, it made me realize that he is an upromising devil. We can¡¯t let a devil like him


    continue existing in this world, so I want to ask you whether there¡¯s a way of waking Carl up and allowing


    him to take control of his body again. However, by the looks of it, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any way for it to


    happen.¡±


    When Reba left Seafield, Sonia had reminded her to always keep an eye on Lucius so that she could


    wake Carl up at any given chance.


    However, now that Reba was no longer beside Lucius, there was naturally no way for Carl to regain


    consciousness.


    Reba seemed to understand what Sonia thought, so shey down on the couch and repliedzily,


    ¡°President Reed, don¡¯t worry because there is indeed a way. Even though I haven¡¯t been by his side, I


    have been looking into some information about ways to bring someone back to their bodies.¡±


    As she listened to Reba, Sonia¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Have you found anything?¡±


    ¡°At the moment, I have found some clues, but there are way too many methods that I don¡¯t know which


    ones are useful, so I¡¯m still clueless for the time being. I n to ask some professionals to determine


    which method is the most effective before using it. Just like you, I also want to bring Carl back as soon as


    possible. After all, his other personality is indeed extremely evil. Although Carl isn¡¯t that better of a


    person, this Lucius fellow is far worse than him. It isn¡¯t ideal to keep him for a long time.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Sonia rubbed her temple as she had the same thought.


    Then, Reba heard footstepsing toward her, so she lifted her head and saw her father


    approaching her. ¡°Alright, Sonia. I¡¯ve something to do here, so that¡¯ll be all for now. I¡¯ll inform you once I


    have found a method.¡±


    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s all on you now.¡± Sonia nodded.


    After the call, she put down her phone and breathed a long sigh.


    She had never expected Lucius to locate Den and torture him that badly.


    Thinking about that photo she saw earlier, she furrowed her brows and stood up before walking toward


    the washroom.


    After a while, Sonia emerged with water all over her ears and her fringe. It was obvious that she had


    washed her face with cold water.


    Given how terrifying and bloody that photo was, there was no other way. If she didn¡¯t calm herself down,


    she would probably suffer from nightmarester that night.


    Thest time I saw Tina¡¯s fake corpse, I had several nightmares that night. However, the moment she


    thought about Tina, she couldn¡¯t help but purse her red lips. Where the hell did Tina go, though?


    Just as Sonia thought about it, someone knocked on her office door.


    She turned around and saw Daphne standing by the door while lowering her hand. ¡°President Reed, it¡¯s


    time for your meeting.¡±


    Oh, I still have a meeting. It says that I have a short meeting at 10:30AM on my schedule and I almost


    forgot about it.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be there immediately,¡± Sonia replied with a smile.


    After that, she lowered her head and prepared all the things that she needed for the meeting before


    heading out of her office.


    At 6:00PM, Toby arrived at Paradigm Co. as per their agreed n.


    When Sonia received his text, she went to her office balcony to have a look at the roads below.


    Her current office was fortunately in the same direction as her previous vice president office, which was


    why she could look down from there.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    If it wasn¡¯t facing the same direction, she would never have been able to see Toby¡¯s car below.


    After making sure that he was indeed waiting for her downstairs, she returned to her office and grabbed


    her bag before heading downstairs.


    Sonia arrived next to Toby¡¯s car 2 minutester.


    Before she could even approach him, the back seat door was opened and he came out of the car. ¡°Get


    in.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She nodded and bent over to sit inside.


    Then, he entered the vehicle again and closed the door before ordering Tom to start the engine.


    As the car drove away, two suspicious people wearing casual clothes sneaked out from behind a nearby


    flower bed. Judging from their kind of attire, it was obvious that they were the paparazzi.


    ¡°Did you get the shot?¡±


    ¡°I got it. I got it. This is going to be huge news.¡± One of the men held his camera in excitement.


    The other man also nodded with exhration. ¡°You¡¯re right. At first, we only wanted to get photos of Sonia


    at work so that we can spin a story of her working without any guilt after admitting her own sister to


    hospital. I didn¡¯t expect us to be this lucky. I can¡¯t believe we just took photos of her on a date with the


    president of the Fuller Group. Seeing how intimate they are with each other, I¡¯m afraid that their


    rtionship isn¡¯t that simple. Maybe they have reconciled.¡±

 Chapter 632

    Chapter 632


    Chapter 632 Watching a Movie


    ¡°Go. Let¡¯s not stay here any longer. We should hurry up and go back to write the news so that we can be


    the first to send this out. Then, we don¡¯t need to worry about finding another hot topic this month.¡±


    The influence of the Fuller Group was enormous. As the president of thepany, Toby himself was a


    big shot that drew everyone¡¯s attention, so every news about him would end up trending on the Inte.


    After the two reporters carefully hid their cameras away, they stealthily ran toward a dpidated van on


    the side of the road before driving away.


    Without knowing that they were photographed, Sonia and Toby left the city center and came to the


    outskirts of the city.


    Looking at the scene outside the car window, Sonia asked with her eyes twitching, ¡°Toby, are we going to


    a cinema in Berthull?¡±


    He replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She turned toward him. ¡°There are so many cinemas in the city center. Why don¡¯t we watch the


    movie there? Why do we have to go all the way outside the city?¡±


    He lowered his eyelids slightly to cover the flickering light in his eyes as he answered her calmly, ¡°Tom


    said that the cinema in Berthull is left over from thest century, so the architecture still maintains the


    style of the past. Also, the movie that we are watching today is a patriotic film, so the atmosphere in this


    cinema should be good.¡±


    Tom, who was currently driving, couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes when he heard Toby¡¯s exnation.


    Nonsense! I didn¡¯t say any of those words. It was him who decided where to watch the movie. When I


    was buying the tickets, I also wondered why President Fuller chose such a remote cinema in Berthull. At


    that time, he only gave me a simple answer, which is that it will take a long time for them to get back


    home. But in the end¡­ he¡¯s pushing all the me on me and as a pitiful subordinate, I have no choice


    but to take that me!


    Tom grumbled deep down but outwardly, he tugged at his tie and maintained a smile. ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss


    Reed. We should pay attention to every aspect when watching a movie. Not only must the plot be


    exciting, the environment is another important aspect too. If the environment matches the subject of the


    movie, the audience will be more immersed in the plot and moved by it.


    Listening to his exnation, Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s quite reasonable.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your praise, Miss Reed.¡± Tom smiled and pushed his sses before quickly ncing at


    Toby through the rearview mirror.


    At the same time, Toby looked at him and their gazes met.


    Quickly, Tom silently asked him with a ttering gaze, President Fuller, how did I do?


    Upon noticing that, Toby lifted his chin elegantly. Not bad.


    After breathing a sigh of relief, Tom retracted his gaze and continued driving the car.


    Then, Sonia suddenly asked again, ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the name of the movie?¡±


    Lately, history had be a popr topic in the entertainment industry, so most of the films and TV


    shows shot recently were rted to patriotism or the war times.


    This month alone, Sonia heard that there were three patriotic movies being released, so she didn¡¯t know


    which one Toby was bringing her to watch.


    Therefore, Toby took out two movie tickets from his suit pocket and handed them to her. ¡°The film¡¯s name


    is on it.¡±


    ¡°Let me see.¡± She took the tickets and lowered her head. Then, she slowly uttered the name shown,


    ¡°¡®The International Spy¡¯. So this is what we are going to watch.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen it before?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes were full of surprise.


    She shook her head and replied, ¡°Nope, but I heard that this movie is really popr. Many employees in


    Paradigm Co. chatted about this movie. I heard that the plot is nice and the romance between the hero


    and heroine is really moving. That is why I¡¯m a bit interested in it. However, I was too busytely, so I


    didn¡¯t have the time to check it out. Thanks to you, I can now see how good this movie really is.¡±


    With that, she returned the tickets to him and smiled.


    Toby felt a weight lifted from his heart slightly.


    Thank god she hasn¡¯t watched the movie yet! If I brought her here to watch a movie that she saw before,


    there won¡¯t be any surprises.


    Seated in the driver¡¯s seat, Tom also breathed a sigh of relief.


    It¡¯s great that Miss Reed hasn¡¯t seen the movie before. If she saw it before, President Fuller is going to


    torture me all over again by asking me to look into which movie is better and telling me to buy everything


    once more.


    ¡°Maybe we should leave them to you.¡± Toby shoved the tickets right back into Sonia¡¯s hands. ¡°You can


    keep them.¡±


    She looked at the tickets and her bag before nodding her head. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll keep them. When we arrive


    at the cinemater, I¡¯ll give you yours.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He nodded.


    Soon, they arrived at the cinema.


    After Tom parked the car, Toby was the first to exit the car so that he could reach out to the woman sitting


    inside.


    Sonia ced her hand on his and allowed him to help her out.


    Then, Tom poked his head out of the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed, I¡¯ll go find a ce to


    park the car. You can contact me after the movie so that I can drive over to pick up you two.¡±


    ¡°Go on,¡± Toby replied impatiently while pursing his lips.


    Listening to him, Tom couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes deep down.


    Gosh, looks like I¡¯m being a hindrance again, but I¡¯ve only said a few words this time. How long is that


    going to distract them? Can¡¯t he stand me for another few seconds? I¡¯ll just leave then!


    While pursing his lips, Tom withdrew his head and drove away.


    Now that the hindrance was gone, Toby regained his peaceful look that he had when he first got out of


    the car. The speed of how he changed his expression had left Sonia speechless.


    When she got out of the car just now, he wanted to say something to her but before he could utter the


    words, Tom had interrupted him, which was why Toby was so annoyed.


    Now that Tom was gone, he looked much happier as he regained his peaceful expression. In all honesty,


    such a quick change in expressions had left her surprised.


    Thinking about it, she couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    I didn¡¯t know that he has two faces and for some reason, it makes him look a bit adorable.


    Meanwhile, Toby didn¡¯t know why Sonia suddenlyughed, so he asked, ¡°What are youughing at?¡±


    She waved her hands. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s go in. It¡¯s almost time.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He nodded and entered the cinema while holding her hand.


    This cinema had nearly a hundred years of architectural history, but most of the facilities still maintained


    the style of thest century. The moment they stepped into the ce, they felt as though they had


    traveled back in time.


    Tom was right. It is indeed suitable to watch a patriotic movie here.


    When they came to the ticket gate, Toby suddenly tugged Sonia, who was about to take out the tickets


    and check in, to a stop.


    She lifted her eyes and looked at him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He pointed at the vending area in front. ¡°Do you want to eat something?¡±


    He saw a lot of people lined up there buying popcorn and drinks.


    The women look so happy when the men buy some popcorn for them. Some of them are even giving the


    men a kiss on the cheek. If I also buy some popcorn, will Sonia happily give me a kiss?


    Just as Toby thought about how high the possibility was, Sonia suddenly shook her head and said,


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. If the plot is good enough for me to get fully invested, I will forget that I have


    something to eat, so I practically won¡¯t eat anything during the whole movie. It¡¯ll just be a waste. Let¡¯s


    go.¡±


    ¡°I want to buy it.¡± He stood there motionless while gesturing at the other girls. ¡°If they all are having


    popcorn, I want you to have it too. Please wait for me.¡±


    After that, he let go of her hand and walked toward the vending area.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Looking at his back, she smiled gently while her red lips twitched.


    He is being obscene all of a sudden again, but I must say that I¡¯m quite moved by his words because this


    shows how important I am to him that he doesn¡¯t want me to lose to other girls.

 Chapter 633

    Chapter 633


    Chapter 633 Handsome


    Alright, then. Seeing how much he cares for me and how he went there just to buy snacks for me, I¡¯ll just


    wait for him.


    Sonia looked around and saw a lounge, so she walked over there to sit down. While dangling her legs,


    she looked in the direction of the vending area.


    In the meantime, Toby reached the vending area and due to his overwhelming presence, the people in


    line immediately made a path for him.


    He was somewhat shocked by what just happened.


    Since he had never been to public ces like these before, he never knew that he would receive such a


    treatment.


    If it was any other day, he might just ask them to continue to queue up without moving aside for him.


    However, Sonia was waiting for him, so he decided to ept the favor.


    After nodding his head to the people in line with gratitude, he came to the front of the line.


    Looking at the tall and handsome man with an imposing aura, thedy at the cashier could immediately


    tell that he must be rich and powerful, so her breathing suddenly stopped as she blushed and stuttered,


    ¡°S-Sir, what can I get you?¡±


    He is so handsome! I¡¯ve never seen such a handsome man in my entire life. I thought that a rare


    specimen like him only exists in another dimension. I can¡¯t believe that he is actually real!


    Ignoring thedy¡¯s love struck reaction, Toby skimmed through the menu and his thin lips parted as he


    said, ¡°One mango juice and one popcorn.¡±


    Thedy instantly took a deep breath. Gosh, his voice is as attractive as his looks! He is definitely the


    perfect man. Even the dashing celebrities in the entertainment industry are no match for him.


    Seeing that thedy was standing there in a daze, Toby frowned in frustration. ¡°So?¡±


    When she sensed the frustration from his tone, she quickly came back to her senses and apologized to


    him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. I was distracted just now. You ordered one mango and one popcorn, right? I¡¯ll go grab


    it right away.¡±


    He gave a simple reply before thinking about something. ¡°How much do you have left? I want to buy


    them all.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Thedy froze. ¡°Y-You want to buy everything?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m paying for everything. As long as the customer is here to watch a movie,


    they can have anything here for free.¡± Then, he turned around and looked at the line behind him. ¡°This is


    my thanks to all of you for letting me cut the line.¡± With that, he turned back around and took out a gold


    card from his wallet before handing it to thedy. ¡°Use my card.¡±


    ¡°A-Alright.¡± She epted his card in a daze.


    Everyone in the line behind Toby was left dumbfounded. Why does it seem like we are being treated by


    a¡­ big shot?


    No one expected such a good thing to happen whening out for a movie tonight.


    ¡°Sir, here is your card.¡± Thedy returned his card with two hands.


    After receiving the card, Toby stuffed it in the pocket of his suit and left with his purchase.


    At that, everyone in the line, including the cashier, turned their heads to watch as he left.


    The women were all moved by him while the men were all envious of him.


    There was no man in this world who wouldn¡¯t want to be as rich and powerful as Toby while also being


    that handsome.


    ¡°Hello, handsome.¡± Suddenly, two girls appeared in front of him, holding their milkshake.


    Looking at the dashing man in front of them, they couldn¡¯t help but blush while their heartbeat


    elerated nervously.


    After all, it was their first time striking up a conversation with such a handsome man, which was why they


    were so stressed.


    ¡°Are you referring to me?¡± Toby asked while raising his eyebrows.


    The two girls nodded. ¡°Yes, handsome.¡±


    He furrowed his brows tightly. Handsome? That¡¯s such a weird way of addressing someone!


    ¡°I¡¯m not your boyfriend, so please move away,¡± he said with annoyance.


    Seeing that he was getting a little impatient, the two girls became more nervous and stressed. They were


    also embarrassed about blocking his path.


    However, they had never seen someone as handsome as him before. If they didn¡¯t stop him now, they


    would never have the chance of meeting him again.


    Therefore, they refused to let him leave even though he might hate them for it. The only thing they had in


    mind was to inquire about his contact number so that they might get together with him in the future.


    Thinking about it, the two girls took a deep breath to calm themselves down before taking out their


    phones with a smile. ¡°Handsome, can you give us your phone number?¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression immediately turned thunderous when they refused to leave and even asked for his


    phone number.


    If they weren¡¯t girls, I would have asked the security guards to escort them away.


    Therefore, he ignored the two girls by walking past them and went straight toward Sonia.


    One of the two girls originally wanted to chase after him, but she was stopped by the other girl.


    The other girl shook her head and pointed in Sonia¡¯s direction.


    Suddenly, the girl understood the situation and she sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The woman sitting in the lounge was much prettier and elegant than them. Also, her expensive outfit


    clearly showed that she was from a rich family, which made her the perfect match for the handsome


    man.


    We should stop being delusional since we are indeed unworthy. We are already lucky enough to witness


    such a dashing man.


    In the end, the two girls left dispiritedly with their heads down.


    Meanwhile, Toby went over to Sonia and handed over the popcorn and mango juice to her.


    When receiving the snacks, she didn¡¯t forget to put on a faint smile. ¡°Handsome, can I have your phone


    number?¡±


    The moment she called him ¡®handsome¡¯, Toby felt his body soften and his pupils even dted.


    It seems like I don¡¯t find this name weird or disgusting. I think that when the person using it isn¡¯t Sonia, I


    find it weird and distasteful. Now that she calls me that, I suddenly realize that it is quite a nice name.Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    The person who invented it must be a genius.


    Toby coughed slightly before saying in a hoarse voice, ¡°Those two were just messing around. I didn¡¯t


    entertain them or give them my phone number. Please don¡¯t be mad.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad, because I know that you didn¡¯t give them your phone number.¡± Sonia stood up.


    While sitting here, she saw everything that happened and knew how disgusted Toby was by the two girls.


    Hence, she only wanted to tease him when he came back and wasn¡¯t angry at him.


    Not only that, she was also satisfied with how he treated everyone for letting him cut the line.


    After all, not everyone would do the same since they wouldn¡¯t consider other people and just took it for


    granted.


    Seeing that Sonia was telling him the truth, Toby breathed a sigh of relief deep down. ¡°Let¡¯s go. The


    movie is starting.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She stood up and linked her arm with his on her own ord.


    Looking down at her arm, he was startled for a moment and didn¡¯t know what to say.


    She looked at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Can¡¯t I hold your arm?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡± he replied immediately as his lips curved up. ¡°This arm is only reserved for you.¡±


    Upon hearing that, she scoffed. ¡°Of course it is. Otherwise, what do I need you for?¡±


    And so, he nodded in approval as he murmured, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    If I can¡¯t do such a simple thing, she can just leave me and I won¡¯t deserve to even love her.


    Then, the two of them passed through the ticket gate and entered the cinema, so they began to look for


    their seats.


    When they found their seats, Sonia could feel the corner of her lips twitching. ¡°Why did you choose these


    two?¡±

 Chapter 634

    Chapter 634


    Chapter 634 A Boring Movie


    Aren¡¯t these the seats that are trending on the Inte for being in the darkest and most remote corners


    of the cinema? However, couples love to buy such seats because they can do anything here without


    anyone noticing. That being said, Sonia never expected that Toby would allow Tom to pick these seats.


    What was Toby thinking? He isn¡¯t actually trying to follow the example of those couples and take


    advantage of me while the movie is ying, right?


    Since the movie hadn¡¯t started yet and the lights in the cinema were still on, Toby was able to see from


    what Sonia was thinking from her gaze alone. Therefore, he quickly shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t do this. Tom


    bought the tickets himself.¡±


    This time, he was telling the truth. The two seats were in fact picked by Tom himself. Toby had never


    watched a movie in a cinema before, so he wouldn¡¯t know how the seats in a cinema were arranged.


    Hence, it was impossible for him to ask Tom to buy these seats specifically.


    Even though this was Tom¡¯s idea, Toby was quite satisfied with the seats the former chose.


    Other than us, there won¡¯t be anyone sitting in this row. I don¡¯t like sitting with strangers and it¡¯s peaceful


    with just the two of us. Most importantly, if I really want to do something with her, no one will notice.


    A faint light shed across his eyes and quickly disappeared when he thought of that.


    ¡°Did Tom really buy these tickets himself?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes at the man.


    Why is she not believing me? Toby nodded slightly with a serious expression. ¡°Yes. You can ask him


    after the movie.¡±


    She rolled her eyes at him and sat down. ¡°Forget it. Even if I ask him, he will still lie to me. After all, he is


    your subordinate, so he¡¯ll definitely help you.¡±


    ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me.¡± Toby sat down while his eyes held a tinge of grievance.


    Sonia just ced her juice in the holder and handed him the popcorn. ¡°Alright, alright. Do you want some


    popcorn?¡±


    He lowered his head to look at the golden popcorn in front of him. Smelling the cheap creamy scent of


    the popcorn, he couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows. Truth was, he had lost his appetite after smelling the


    scent.


    However, he still grabbed some to eat just since it was Sonia who offered him. He was a man who loved


    his wife unconditionally, even though technically speaking, she had not remarried him yet. Therefore,


    Toby reached out and picked up a popcorn before putting it in his mouth. As soon as he tasted the vor


    of manufactured sugar in his mouth, he immediately pursed his thin lips. He then swallowed the popcorn


    with difficulty and saw Sonia grabbing one to put into her mouth too.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much.¡± He reminded her as he opened a bottle and drank some water to flush away the


    sweetness in his mouth.


    She looked at him and asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of preservatives in this popcorn that aren¡¯t good for your body if you eat too much. If you


    like to eat popcorn, I can ask my chef to make some healthy ones for you.¡± He closed his water bottle


    and put it aside.


    Listening to him, she chuckled. ¡°I know, but let¡¯s not worry too much when we¡¯re going out for fun. I know


    how much my body can handle, so I won¡¯t finish it all. Besides, I personally don¡¯t like to eat these snacks


    but since you bought them for me, it would be such a waste if I don¡¯t eat some of it.¡±


    ¡°I bought this for you just because I saw everyone else with it and I didn¡¯t want you to miss out, but I


    didn¡¯t think it would taste that bad.¡± Toby frowned in disgust.


    ¡°This is what the food tastes like outside. Besides, you can¡¯t expect it to be delicious given how cheap its


    price is. It¡¯s okay to have a few handfuls.¡± With that, Sonia picked up another one and put it in her mouth.


    Initially, Toby wanted to stop her but after seeing how happy she looked, he decided to let it go. I think I


    should keep an eye on her and make sure that she eats less. It¡¯s fine as long as she doesn¡¯t finish the


    whole box.


    All of a sudden, the lights in the cinema dimmed and the screen lit up. Quickly, Sonia put down her


    popcorn and reminded the man beside her, ¡°Put on your sses. The movie is about to start.¡±


    Lowering his head to look at the sses in his hand, Toby was disgusted by its poor quality. How are


    these sses going to bring out a high quality 4D effect? I¡¯m afraid that it will only be able to showcase


    just a little.


    As he thought about it, he put on the sses and looked at the screen in front. Sure enough, the 4D


    effects disyed were terrible. He was only able to see the characters in the movie not far in front of him,


    instead of having the immersive experience of being in the movie. If I knew how bad this is, I would just


    bring her to my own theater.


    In the end, Toby threw his sses to the side, not having the interest to watch the movie. Truth be told,


    he had no interest in such a film at all, and he came here just to experience what it was like to date as a


    normal couple with Sonia.


    After all, like Tom said, couples would go on dates at ces such as cinemas and theme parks.


    Therefore, Toby wanted to give Sonia the same romantic experience like how other boyfriends would


    give to their girlfriends.


    Although he was copying other people¡¯s ideas, at least she wouldn¡¯t be left with no memories at all.


    Since Toby was not interested in the movie, he supported his head with his hand and looked at the


    woman beside him. She was wearing the 4D sses, so he couldn¡¯t see her eyes. However, from her


    straightened back and motionless body, it was clear that she was enjoying the movie.


    It seems like I¡¯ve made the right choice by buying tickets for this movie. Just from thinking about it, he


    revealed a light smile.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    Although they were in the dark, Toby was looking at her with a gaze so bright that it was impossible for


    Sonia to not notice him. Therefore, she turned toward him and took off her sses, thereafter facing the


    man¡¯s gentle gaze. ¡°Why are you looking at me instead of the movie? Am I more interesting than the


    movie?¡±


    He nodded with a serious face. ¡°Yes. You¡¯re far more interesting than the movie.¡±


    Toby had no interest in the movie since it was just a bitter drama. Throughout the movie, the characters


    were always sobbing and moaning, which annoyed him to no end. What¡¯s so great about this movie? It


    feels very cheesy.


    However, Sonia was different. No matter how long he stared at her, he would never get bored of her.


    There it is. He¡¯s being flirty again. How did hee up with such an absurdparison?


    However, she was quite happy to hear what he said. It was normal for women to have a little vanity


    inside their hearts. After all, who didn¡¯t like being praised, especially by someone you liked?


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Sonia blushed a little, but it wasn¡¯t noticeable in the dark. Then, she coughed slightly and


    whispered, ¡°Okay. You can stop looking at me and watch the movie now. I can¡¯t watch the movie if you


    keep on staring at me.¡±


    His gaze was so intense that it would make her feel ufortable, knowing that he was staring at her.


    Then, her attention would slowly shift from the movie to him.


    Upon hearing that, Toby nodded and promised, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll stop looking at you. You can watch the movie.¡±


    To gain her trust, he put back the sses and turned back around.


    Seeing him turning around, Sonia also put her sses back on and continued watching the movie.


    Toby forced himself to watch the movie for a little while but in the end, he couldn¡¯t stand it, so he took off


    the sses. At that point, his expression was emotionless. I still think this movie is terrible. I can¡¯t believe


    she is still watching it! Not only that, she also seems touched by the movie, given that she has a tissue in


    her hand. Come on! It¡¯s not even real! Toby felt resigned at that moment, but his gaze was still filled with


    love.


    Not knowing that she was being ridiculed by him, Sonia wiped the tears from under her sses using the


    tissue. As soon as she removed the tissue after wiping her tears, she suddenly felt something heavy on


    her shoulder.

 Chapter 635

    Chapter 635


    Chapter 635 Pretending to Be Asleep


    Sonia hastily removed her sses and turned around to look at him. It was only then that she noticed his


    head was leaning against her shoulder.


    Moving her shoulder, she called out softly, ¡°Toby?¡±


    However, he didn¡¯t respond.


    Just then, Sonia moved her head forward to take a look at him. From the flickering lights of the screen,


    she saw that his eyes were shut tightly and there was a peaceful look on his face.


    Has he fallen asleep? Slightly surprised, Sonia was quite speechless too.


    I can¡¯t imagine how horrible he finds this movie to be to actually fall asleep while watching it!


    It made sense, though. This movie was advertised as a historical war film about spies, but the main


    storyline was actually a love story.


    For an ordinary male, this was not the type of movie they would enjoy, much less something Toby would


    watch.


    ¡°Since you don¡¯t like this type of movie, why did you buy tickets for this?¡± Sonia looked at the man¡¯s


    sleeping face as she softly murmured with a perplexed expression.


    She didn¡¯t intend to wake him up. After all, the movie had only started for half an hour and there was


    another one and a half an hour left to it. If she woke him up now but he ended up not enjoying it, he


    would fall asleep yet again. Therefore, it would make more sense to let him continue sleeping.


    Sonia reached out and pulled thepels of Toby¡¯s jacket closer together.


    The heater was on in the screening room and the temperature was just nice when one was awake, but


    someone asleep would definitely feel the coldness.


    Sonia didn¡¯t have an extra jacket to cover him with, so the only thing she could do was to pull hispels


    closer so that he was wrapped more tightly to retain some warmth.


    After Sonia had done all that, she then put her sses back on and continued to enjoy the movie.


    The moment she turned her head in the direction of the screen, the man who was fast asleep on her


    shoulder suddenly opened his eyes.


    He didn¡¯t move his head, but his eyes roved about and he lowered his eyelids to look down.


    Just then, he noticed that the jacket he was wearing had been buttoned up and the smile on his face


    deepened.


    Earlier, Toby had been about to fall asleep but he was woken up when she called his name.


    However, he didn¡¯t open his eyes because he wanted to find out whether she would directly force him to


    get up.


    Unexpectedly, Sonia didn¡¯t do so. On the contrary, she allowed him to continue sleeping and she even


    buttoned up his jacket for him because she didn¡¯t want him to feel cold. After that, she had also gently


    readjusted the position of his head to allow him to lean on her morefortably.


    Her heart-warming actions made Toby want to open his eyes immediately and pull her into his arms.


    However, he couldn¡¯t do so because she was under the impression that he was sound asleep. If he


    opened his eyes, Sonia would instantly realize that he had been pretending to be asleep and had


    intentionally wanted to check her reaction. She might even be upset with him because of that.


    As such, Toby decided that it was a wiser decision to keep his eyes shut. Nheless, that didn¡¯t mean


    that he couldn¡¯t hug her.


    As he thought of that, he suddenly lifted his right hand, which had been hanging loosely by his side, and


    he wrapped it around her soft waist.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was stunned in ce and her body instinctively stiffened.


    After all, one would definitely get a fright if they were suddenly held by the waist by someone.


    At that point, they were in a corner and there was only her and Toby around, so it was quite obvious who


    the person who hugged her was.


    She grimaced and lowered her head to take a look. Indeed, his hand was ced around her waist and


    several of his fingers were bent and hooked around her waist snugly.


    He wasn¡¯t even asleep? His hand shouldn¡¯t be in such a position. Someone who¡¯s sound asleep with a


    hand on another person¡¯s waist wouldn¡¯t have their hand in such a position. Their hands should be


    hanging loosely by the side. Gosh! I nearly got fooled by him!


    ¡°Wake up.¡± Sonia lifted her hand to shove him. ¡°Hurry up and wake up. Stop pretending.¡±


    However, Toby didn¡¯t move a finger and he didn¡¯t have any intention of waking up at all.


    Just then, Sonia frowned. ¡°Toby, are you sure that you want to continue pretending? I¡¯ll throw you out if


    you keep this up.¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby maintained his original position without moving an inch.


    Sonia noticed this and she observed him for a moment, but his expression was as calm as before and


    his eyshes didn¡¯t even flutter at all. His breathing was slow and regr and overall, he looked exactly


    like a person fast asleep.


    That was why at that point, Sonia wasn¡¯t too sure whether he was asleep or not.


    If he was asleep, then her current actions would surely wake him up. However, if he was not and he was


    just pretending¡­ Gosh! Whatever! It doesn¡¯t matter. Who cares whether he¡¯s asleep or not? It¡¯s fine so


    long as he behaves himself.


    Besides, this wasn¡¯t the first time that he had fallen asleep while leaning on her shoulder.


    Just then, Sonia heaved a sigh and ignored Toby. Subsequently, she put on her sses and continued to


    watch the movie.


    After an hour, the movie finally ended and the lights in the screening room lit up.


    She took off her sses and a pair of reddened, teary eyes was revealed. Her eyshes were wet and


    there were tears in the corners of her eyes.


    Though the movie was the usual exaggerated love story, the rtionship scenes were quite touching and


    Sonia even cried from time to time throughout the movie.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    She wasn¡¯t the only one either. There were many people in the screening room who had cried too and


    even after the movie had ended, everyone was engrossed in discussing the scenes they found most


    touching and could easily evoke tears in them.


    Meanwhile, Sonia took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes as she got ready to wake Toby up.


    However, before she could do so, she suddenly felt a load lighten on her shoulders as Toby had gotten


    up just then.


    He opened his eyes to look at her. ¡°Has the movie ended?¡±


    Just then, Sonia grunted. ¡°It has, and you woke up just in the nick of time.¡±


    She was definitely implying something.


    Naturally, Toby was well aware that she was probing to check if she had actually been pretending to be


    asleep. His eyes flickered for a moment but he pretended that he didn¡¯tprehend her words and he


    merely grunted. ¡°The lights were too bright and the re from it woke me from my sleep. Were you


    crying?¡±


    After Sonia heard his excuse, she couldn¡¯t be bothered to pursue the truth of his words, so she patted


    her cheeks and replied, ¡°I was. The movie was really good.¡±


    Really good? Toby had a differing opinion as he found that it was a rubbish movie that lowered one¡¯s


    intelligence.


    Of course, since Sonia liked it, he would definitely keep his opinion to himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s great that you enjoyed it. Let¡¯s go. Everyone¡¯s gone now and we¡¯re the only two left.¡± Just then, Toby


    stood up and reached for Sonia¡¯s hand.


    Meanwhile, Sonia ced her hand into his palm and he lightly squeezed it before walking out of the


    room, her hand in his.


    As soon as they got to the ticketing area outside, he nced toward the confectionery stand before


    suddenly saying, ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait for me at the reception area? I want to go and get something.¡±


    ¡°What are you getting again?¡± Sonia took a sip of the mango juice that she hadn¡¯t finished before. ¡°Don¡¯t


    tell me that you¡¯re getting some snacks?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby shook his head slightly. ¡°No. You¡¯ll see soon enough.¡±


    Gosh, he¡¯s keeping me in suspense! You know what? He can get whatever he wants. I¡¯ll just wait and


    see what he getster on.


    Sonia withdrew her hand and made her way to the reception and she sat there to wait for him.


    Meanwhile, Toby made his way to the concession stand.


    The cashier girl at the concession stand blushed yet again upon seeing him. ¡°Sir, what else would you


    like to get?¡±


    Toby parted his lips slightly as he murmured, ¡°I need some ice. Please wrap it with a towel. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°What?! Ice?¡± The girl was slightly stunned. Evidently, she didn¡¯t expect that that was what he wanted.


    She had worked here for quite some time now, but she had never encountered anyone intentionally


    requesting to buy ice. Furthermore, he had even requested for her to wrap it up with a towel. What does


    he need it for?


    Upon noticing that the girl was in shock, Toby frowned and urged, ¡°Just get it ready for me. It shouldn¡¯t


    be a problem for you to get all these ready, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± The girl came back to her senses and she quickly responded while preparing the items


    for him.


    Since this was a concession stand that sold snacks and drinks, it was quite natural that ice was plentiful


    there. It was also normal to have towels on standby because of the tendency for customers to spill their


    drinks on themselves. As such, they quite often needed towels here, so there were towels on sale.


    Shortly after that, the girl wrapped some ice into a towel and handed it to Toby. ¡°Sir, this is what you


    requested.¡±


    Just then, Toby nced at it and he was quite satisfied with it. Subsequently, he reached out and took it


    from her. ¡°How much is it?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to pay for it, sir.¡± The girl waved him off. ¡°You¡¯ve bought all of our stock on hand from


    earlier and the sales revenue we aplished today is equivalent to a whole week¡¯s worth. As such, we


    won¡¯t take any payment for this. Besides, this isn¡¯t worth much, so just take it as a gift from us.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± In the end, Toby didn¡¯t reject her gift and he turned around to head toward Sonia.

 Chapter 636

    Chapter 636


    Chapter 636 Soothe Your Eyes


    ¡°You¡¯re back? That was quick.¡± Sonia put down her cell phone and stood up as soon as she saw him


    approaching.


    Toby hummed before he softly replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back.¡±


    He enjoyed hearing her saying the words ¡®you¡¯re back¡¯. It made him feel as if she was weing him


    back home.


    ¡°What did you get?¡± Sonia nced at his right hand and noticed that he was holding onto a blue towel.


    The towel was bulging and there seemed to be something wrapped within it.


    Confused, she nced at him. ¡°Why did you buy a towel?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t buy this.¡± Toby walked over toward her and sat down. ¡°They gave it to me for free.¡±


    Just then, he nced toward the concession stand.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Meanwhile, Sonia dragged on the word as she stared at him with a meaningful look. ¡°It¡¯s free?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± Toby nodded in response.


    At that moment, Sonia pursed up her lips. ¡°If my eyes don¡¯t fail me, that cashier is a female, right? You


    just epted something random given to you by a female. Is that because you don¡¯t want to hurt her


    feelings?¡±


    Just then, Toby lifted his eyebrows quizzically as soon as he heard the slightly sour note in Sonia¡¯s voice.


    He lowered his head and nced at the towel in his hand before turning to look at Sonia, who was


    evidently quite upset, and he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    Meanwhile, she turned to him with widened eyes. ¡°How dare youugh right now? What¡¯s so funny about


    this?!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll stop.¡± Toby coughed slightly and he stoppedughing instantly upon finishing his


    words.


    However, the smile in his eyes was unmistakable.


    ¡°Are you jealous?¡± He nced at her and asked.


    At that moment, Sonia¡¯s expression turned slightly and she shifted her head to the other direction as she


    replied without even meaning her words, ¡°I¡¯m not jealous at all! Why would I be?¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby clearly saw through her tough act and he patted the spot next to him. ¡°You¡¯ve


    misunderstood. This was because I cut the queue before the movie started and then I bought everything


    they had in their store to give back to the crowd as a thank-you gift. The staff gave this to me for free


    upon realizing that I needed it, because I helped them hit their sales target in advance.¡±


    So that¡¯s why! It wasn¡¯t because of his good looks that the cashier gave it to him for free. Well, that


    makes sense. After all, who would give someone a towel as a gift to express their feelings?


    Just then, Sonia suddenly realized that she was mistakenly jealous and she couldn¡¯t contain the flush on


    her face. Slightly abashed, she murmured softly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for ming you wrongly.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby ced the towel in his hand down and ruffled her hair. ¡°It¡¯s fine. There¡¯s no need


    for you to apologize. On the contrary, I¡¯m quite happy that you med me wrongly.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia lifted her head to look at him. ¡°Why do you say so?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t your jealousy an indication that you care about me?¡± Toby lowered his eyes and he met her gaze.


    Meanwhile, Sonia lowered her head slightly and she didn¡¯t say another word.


    Toby noticed her reddened ears and he chuckled lightly once again before steering her to a seat.


    Subsequently, he took the towel, which he had ced aside earlier, and stretched out his hand toward


    her.


    Sonia was startled by his actions. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°This is for you to ce over your eyes to soothe it,¡± Toby said while cing the towel over her eyes.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    Just then, she felt a cool sensation over her eyes and she couldn¡¯t help shutting her eyes.


    Oh¡ªit¡¯s ice wrapped inside the towel!


    ¡°So, the item that you wanted to get was ice?¡± Sonia asked.


    Toby hummed in affirmation. ¡°You cried too much in the screening room and your eyes looked slightly


    swollen. If you don¡¯t ce a coolpress on it, you¡¯ll surely wake up with swollen eyes tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who will end up with swollen eyes!¡± Sonia retorted.


    Toby just replied in a serious tone, ¡°I won¡¯t, because I didn¡¯t cry.¡±


    ¡°Are you very proud of that fact right now?¡± Sonia grimaced slightly.


    He chuckled in response. ¡°Alright, stop moving around. The towel¡¯s about to slide down your face.¡±


    Sonia grunted and sat there without moving an inch.


    Half an hourter, Toby felt that the ice wrapped inside the towel had started to melt, and it was no longer


    bulging like before.


    He didn¡¯t n to continue keeping thepress on because once the ice melted into water, the water


    would drip downward and would wet Sonia¡¯s outfit.


    ¡°Let me take a look.¡± Toby removed the towel from her eyes and took a look at her condition.


    And so, Sonia opened her eyes, but it took her quite some time to adjust her vision. Subsequently, she


    turned to look at him and asked, ¡°How do I look?¡±


    ¡°The swelling¡¯s subsided.¡± He took out a little handkerchief from his front pocket and he wiped off the icy


    water from her eyes.


    Sonia blinked as he did that. ¡°It¡¯s great that it has subsided. By the way, what¡¯s the time?¡±


    She recalled that they had left Paradigm Co. at around 6 PM.


    In between, they had also gone for dinner beforeing to the cinema, and they had arrived here at


    around 8 PM.


    The movie had a runtime of two hours so right now, it was likely to be about 10 PM.


    As soon as Toby heard her question, he lifted his wrist to nce at his watch. ¡°It¡¯s 10.30 PM.¡±


    Indeed, I was right in my guess.


    ¡°It¡¯s quitete now. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Sonia said as she nced at their surroundings.


    At that moment, the cinema was quite empty and the crowd had dissipated. It appeared to look quite


    deserted.


    Meanwhile, Toby nodded as well. ¡°Let¡¯s go back, then.¡±


    He took the towel in his hand and stood up.


    Sonia followed suit and got up too. Shortly after that, the two of them walked out of the cinema.


    As they got out, it was raining outside and the temperature had dropped significantly too.


    As soon as she walked out of the door, a cold breeze hit them and Sonia shivered. Subsequently, she


    sneezed and her whole body seemed to tense up.


    She blew some warm air on her palms and then she rubbed them together as her teeth chattered from


    the cold. ¡°Why is it suddenly raining so heavily? Besides, it¡¯s so cold too! It¡¯s way colder than the rain in


    the central business district.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded in agreement.


    It was indeed quite cold and though he wasn¡¯t usually afraid of the cold, even he felt rather chilly too.


    As such, it was quite evident that the temperature here was indeed worse than the temperature in the


    central business district.


    He noticed that Sonia¡¯s face had turned pale as she shivered uncontrobly due to the coldness.


    Pursing his lips, he slightly regretted getting Tom to book tickets for this cinema.


    ¡±Hold on to this.¡± Toby handed over the towel in his hand to Sonia.


    Meanwhile, Sonia reached out to take it from him, and she subsequently noticed him removing his left


    arm from the sling.


    Her expression turned and she quickly stopped him by pressing on his left shoulder. ¡°Toby, what are you


    trying to do? Your left hand hasn¡¯t fully recovered yet, so why are you removing all this?¡±


    Looking at her, he replied, ¡°I want to remove my jacket.¡±


    Instantly, Sonia understood why he wanted to take off his jacket. It was because of her.


    Toby had seen her shivering from the cold, so he wanted to remove his jacket for her to put on.


    Though she felt a warm feeling rise up within her due to his actions, she couldn¡¯t condone it.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t take off your jacket!¡± Sonia looked at him sternly. ¡°I know that you want to give me your jacket


    to put on, but today¡¯s weather is too cold. If you give it to me, then what will you do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m not cold.¡± Toby ced his right hand on the button of his jacket.


    Just then, Sonia saw that he was about to reach out to unbutton his jacket and she panicked. She


    quickly grabbed him by his necktie and tugged at it, pulling him toward her.


    At that instance, Toby¡¯s entire self was dragged toward her and his whole upper torso was bent forward.


    A shocked expression appeared on his face. Clearly, he didn¡¯t expect the woman to make such a move.


    ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying about not being cold, aren¡¯t you?¡± Sonia directly voiced out and interrupted his words. With


    a thunderous expression, she admonished, ¡°Look at you! Your lips have turned purple, so it¡¯s quite


    obvious that you¡¯re cold!¡±


    At that, her expression suddenly softened and her tone of voice was no longer as domineering as before.


    She then spoke gently. ¡°I know that you don¡¯t want me to fall sick because of the cold weather, so you


    want to give me your jacket. Simrly, I don¡¯t want you to fall sick either. Furthermore, you¡¯re not even


    dressed as warmly as me! Just keep your jacket on properly and don¡¯t remove it. Otherwise, I¡¯ll keep


    hounding you, understand?¡±


    As soon as Sonia said her piece, she subsequently let go of his necktie.


    Meanwhile, Toby straightened his body and responded affirmatively, ¡°I heard you.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you removing your jacket if you¡¯ve heard me?¡± Sonia noticed that he had ced his hand


    on his button again. Besides, he had even unbuttoned the top button. And so, her slightly mellowed


    expression darkened once again.

 Chapter 637

    Chapter 637


    Chapter 637 The Best Way to Warm Up


    Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    ¡°I won¡¯t take it off. I just thought of another way to ce the jacket over you without me taking it off,¡± Toby


    smiled as he said that.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was utterly confused. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t respond to her. Instead, he lowered his head and continued to unbutton his jacket.


    Soon, he had unbuttoned itpletely. Then, he grabbed thepels of his jacket and held it wide open


    before turning to Sonia. ¡°Come over here and I¡¯ll hold you in my arms.¡±


    At that point, Sonia instantly understood what he meant by the other solution he had figured out.


    He wanted her to get into his arms, then he would wrap his jacket around her. Undeniably, this was a


    great solution and it was a win-win situation for both of them. I can¡¯t believe he actually came up with this


    solution!


    She chuckled as she shook her head, but she didn¡¯t hesitate nor did she show any shyness. She then


    took a deep breath and then went forward to hug him. After all, she was already feeling so cold, so being


    shy was thest thing on her mind.


    Toby saw her grab hold of his waist and he tightened the jacket around the both of them.


    His jacket was quite big, so he could even do up the buttons after he had secured it over the two of them.


    Just then, Sonia was totally covered from head to toe by the jacket, and even her head was covered up


    too. Furthermore, she had the warmth from Toby¡¯s body surrounding her, so she didn¡¯t feel the cold


    anymore. Her originally shivering body also slowly returned to normal.


    Meanwhile, Toby sensed the change in the woman in his arms and he lowered his head to nuzzle her


    hair with his chin. ¡°Do you feel better now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± Sonia¡¯s muffled voice rang out from within his jacket.


    Toby heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±


    On the other hand, Sonia leaned her forehead against his chest as she asked, ¡°Is Tom not here yet?¡±


    Toby nced toward the roadside, and there was an evident frown on his face. ¡°No, he¡¯s not. He said he


    woulde right away when we walked out of the cinema, but he¡¯s nowhere to be seen.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia heaved a sigh. ¡°Perhaps he has been dyed by something urgent. Let¡¯s wait


    a little longer.¡±


    Toby merely responded with a grunt and he hugged her tighter.


    Just then, the two of them stood beneath the eaves of the entrance of the cinema and they waited for


    quite some time before the familiar Maybach pulled up.


    Shortly after that, the car door was opened from the inside, and Tom quickly ran toward them as he held


    an umbre, with another unopened one in his hand.


    He hastily bowed and apologized to Toby as soon as he arrived. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte, President


    Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Toby looked at him and asked sternly.


    Meanwhile, Tom readjusted his sses before replying, ¡°As I drove the car over here from the public car


    park, there was an ident on that route. That¡¯s why I was held up slightly.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t meant to bete.


    As soon as Toby heard Tom¡¯s exnation, the former no longer med thetter. Meanwhile, Toby said,


    ¡°Hand me the umbre.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Tom then handed over the umbre he was holding on to.


    Just then, he suddenly realized something and he asked with a surprised look. ¡°President Fuller, why are


    you by yourself? Where¡¯s Miss Reed? Did she leave?¡±


    However, Toby didn¡¯t answer Tom¡¯s question. He merely reached out to take the umbre.


    This action resulted in him letting go of one side of the jacket that he had been clutching, and the jacket


    was flung wide open. Consequently, the woman in his arms was revealed.


    At that point, Tom¡¯s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and he was extremely shocked to see Sonia


    in Toby¡¯s arms. ¡°There you are, Miss Reed!¡±


    Truth was, Tom had assumed that she had left by herself and abandoned Toby here. Never in a million


    years did Tom think that she was actually wrapped inside Toby¡¯s jacket. Turned out she hadn¡¯t left at all.


    That was because Toby was tall and his clothes were quite big too. Furthermore, it was quite dim here so


    initially, Tom didn¡¯t even realize that there was someone wrapped in Toby¡¯s arms.


    Tom had merely felt that Toby¡¯s action of clutching tightly onto his jacket seemed quite perplexing and it


    didn¡¯t seem to fare well with his image.


    However, Tom didn¡¯t think too much about the situation as he had merely assumed that Toby had done


    that because of the cold.


    So this is what actually happened! Indeed, the truth always seems to be beyond one¡¯s expectations.


    However, I must say, they really know how to have fun! Just then, Tom gave Toby and Sonia a thumbs up


    virtually in his mind.


    Meanwhile, Sonia realized that Tom had discovered her presence too, so she no longer feltfortable


    staying in Toby¡¯s arms.


    She relinquished her hold on Toby¡¯s waist before turning around. With a flushed face, she smiled at Tom,


    her expression abashed. ¡°Hi, Tom.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed,¡± Tom responded with a slight smile too.


    Just then, Toby opened up the umbre and subsequently, he lowered his head to speak gently to Sonia,


    ¡°Keep holding onto me. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Sonia nodded her head and grabbed hold of his arm.


    Shortly after that, Toby steered her out and they moved forward to walk into the rain.


    The rain was quite heavy and therge raindrops plopped onto the umbre. It felt like the raindrops


    were about to prate the umbre and the water constantly flowed off the sides of the umbre.


    Just then, Sonia felt that her shoes and the cuff of her trousers were soaked. Her feet were also stiff from


    the cold.


    However, that wasn¡¯t her concern at the moment, as she knew that they had to get to the car as soon as


    possible to avoid the situation from worsening.


    And so, they ran the whole way and finally got into the car.


    Toby closed the umbre and discarded it by his feet before hastily reaching into thepartment for a


    dry towel.


    Their heads and their upper bodies were dry, but their feet were totally soaked.


    As such, the two of them quickly tidied themselves up as they didn¡¯t want their feet to be soaked for


    much longer. Otherwise, they would surely get sick.


    ¡°Crank up the heater,¡± Toby instructed Tom.


    And so, Tom followed Toby¡¯s instructions and turned up the heater to a suitable temperature.


    Before long, the whole car was warm and toasty, so Sonia took her time to tidy herself up.


    After half an hour, the car finally arrived at Bayside Residence.


    Tom drove the car into the parking lot. After he had parked the car, Sonia attempted to open the door.


    However, as soon as she ced a hand on the handle, she suddenly realized something, so she turned


    around to look at the man by her side. ¡°It¡¯s after midnight now and the rain seems to be heavier than


    ever. It¡¯s much heavier than when we came out of the cinema, and it¡¯s even be a thunderstorm.


    There¡¯s quite a strong wind too. How about you stay the night? It¡¯s too dangerous being on the road.¡±


    Originally, they would be able to arrive back from the outskirts of town in one hour. However, due to the


    increasingly heavy rain, mist, and the strong, howling wind, Tom reduced the speed of the car quite


    significantly and drove carefully.


    Even so, there were quite a few instances where Tom was not able to see the way clearly, and he nearly


    ran into the other cars.


    As such, Sonia didn¡¯t feel at ease letting him leave right now. What if there¡¯s an ident along the way?


    Meanwhile, Toby¡¯s lips curved into a smile upon hearing Sonia¡¯s suggestion for him to stay the night.


    Without thinking twice, he agreed, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll stay.¡±


    His reply was so swift that Sonia started to suspect that perhaps he had been waiting for her to suggest


    that.


    However, she didn¡¯t bother to delve deeper. She turned to speak to Tom, who had driven them back.


    ¡°Tom, you should stay too. It¡¯s too dangerous. I¡¯m quite close to the elderly woman who lives downstairs,


    so I can ask her to let you stay the night at her ce.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Are you sure that¡¯s fine?¡± Tom nced at Toby hesitantly.


    Frankly, Tom was reluctant to leave too because of the dangerous conditions outside. He had driven


    back very carefully and he had been very mindful to drive safely. Throughout the journey, he paid utmost


    attention as he drove but even so, he had nearly gotten into an ident because of the poor visibility.


    Therefore, if he left now, it was highly probable that he would get into an ident. However, the exact


    decision on whether he was allowed to stay back or not depended on his boss.


    Fortunately for Tom, Toby wasn¡¯t a mean boss and thetter also realized that it was too dangerous out


    there, so he agreed for the former to stay back.


    In all honesty, Toby didn¡¯t care about anything else other than the fact that Tom wasn¡¯t allowed to stay


    the night at Sonia¡¯s apartment.


    ¡°Thank you, President Fuller.¡± Tom was full of gratitude as soon as he heard Toby agree for him to stay


    the night.


    Shortly after that, Tom turned to look at Sonia. ¡°Thank you so much, Miss Reed. I¡¯m sorry to bother you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. The most important thing is your safety.¡± Sonia waved him off and got out of the car.


    The elderly woman who lived below usually stayed by herself and she had some spare rooms. Her


    house was usually devoid of human warmth so naturally, she was very happy to have someone to talk to.


    As such, she agreed happily.


    And so, Tom finally had a shelter for the night sorted. Meanwhile, Sonia was also at ease as she led


    Toby back to her apartment upstairs.


    As soon as they walked in, Toby opened the shoe cupboard to take out a pair of bedroom slippers, his


    actions natural. He didn¡¯t behave likest time and he didn¡¯t even bother to wait for Sonia, who was the


    owner of the house, to serve him. From his behavior, it was quite evident that he no longer regarded


    himself as an outsider.

 Chapter 638

    Chapter 638


    Chapter 638 Can¡¯t Stretch My Legs


    She looked at him ce a pair of slippers in front of her, and she was quite dumbfounded. ¡°Are you


    actually treating this as your own home?¡±


    Toby knew what she was talking about, but he merely stood up and smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a matter of time?¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you!¡±


    She changed into the bedroom slippers and walked past him to head to the living room. Subsequently,


    she took the remote control on the coffee table and turned on the heater.


    Just then, Toby trailed after her. As soon as he got close to her, he saw her suddenly grab something


    and fling it at him.


    Instinctively, he reached out to catch it and it felt like a soft material in his hands. He looked down and


    saw that it was his pajamas.


    It was the one that she had bought for him.


    ¡°Go and take a shower.¡± Sonia pointed toward the bathroom by the living room as she mused, If he


    doesn¡¯t go and take a shower and get warmer, he¡¯s definitely going to be down with a fever tomorrow.


    However, Toby held the pajamas possessively and looked at her. ¡°You should go first.¡±


    He was quite aware that it would be better for the body if one took a shower as soon as possible, so he


    wanted her to go first.


    Sonia was also quite satisfied with Toby¡¯s concern and kind gesture. And so, she pointed to her own


    bedroom with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll take a shower in my room. In that case, there¡¯s no need to argue about who


    goes first.¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby nodded slightly as soon as he heard her words and he no longer insisted on letting her


    go first. He took the pajamas in his arms and walked toward the bathroom by the living room.


    Truth was, he was slightly disappointed that Sonia wasn¡¯t going to take a shower in the bathroom by the


    living room.


    If she did, then he would be able to catch a whiff of the lingering fragrance of her shower gel when it was


    his turn to take a shower. That way, they could be considered to have taken a shower together indirectly.


    At that point, Sonia squinted her eyes slightly as she stared at Toby¡¯s back.


    She wasn¡¯t sure whether she was thinking too much, but she had a gut feeling that there seemed to be


    something ridiculous going on in his mind. With a shake of her head, she ignored the niggling feeling and


    made her way into her bedroom to take a bath.


    Her feet were as cold as ice and she reckoned that if she didn¡¯t hurry up and take a bath, she would


    surely catch a cold.


    Sonia took about half an hour to get out of the bath. If it wasn¡¯t because of her feeling slightly dizzy due


    to theck of oxygen from being in the bath for too long, she wouldn¡¯t have gotten out of it.


    Just then, she walked out of the bedroom with a mask over her face.


    At that point, Toby had already finished showering and he had been sitting on the sofa for quite some


    time now. He had a magazine in his hand, which he flipped from time to time.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    As soon as he saw her walk out, he lifted his head. ¡°Are you done?¡±


    Sonia hummed and nced behind him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get your bed ready?¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby¡¯s eyes flickered as he shut the magazine in his hands. He looked at her intently as he


    murmured, ¡°Sonia, I don¡¯t want to sleep on the sofa.¡±


    Upon hearing that, she lifted her brows. ¡°Where do you want to sleep if you don¡¯t want to sleep on the


    sofa? My other room¡¯s been turned into a study room and I¡¯ve also sold the bed in that room. There¡¯s


    only the sofa avable.¡±


    However, he lowered his eyelids and didn¡¯t say a word.


    As soon as she saw his current behavior, Sonia recalled the incidentst night and her eyes widened


    instantly. ¡°Do you mean that you want to sleep in my room instead of the sofa?¡±


    Instantly, Toby lifted his head. ¡°Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Sonia instantly rejected him. ¡°Last night you sneaked into my room, yet I didn¡¯t kick you


    out because I couldn¡¯t bear to. Now, however, you want to sleep in my room and on my bed?! No way!


    You¡¯d better behave yourself and sleep on the sofa. Otherwise, you can go downstairs and stay with


    Tom.¡±


    Stay with Tom?! Suddenly, there was a sh of disgust across Toby¡¯s eyes that disappeared almost


    instantaneously. He sat up straight and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go downstairs.¡±


    ¡°Then sleep on the sofa.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to sleep on the sofa.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite intent on sleeping in my room, aren¡¯t you?¡± Sonia red at him. Gosh! After going round


    and round in circles, we¡¯re back to the same start. It feels like I¡¯m talking to a toddler!


    Just then, Sonia peeled off the mask from her face, and her skin was exceptionally supple after being


    invigorated by the face mask. Her skin was in its best condition and there was a slightly rosy tinge to her


    porcin skin, tempting one to take a bite out of it.


    Toby looked at her with a dark gaze and he voiced out hoarsely, ¡°Another reason why I want to sleep


    with you is that the sofa is very ufortable and I can¡¯t stretch out my legs.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t stretch out your legs?¡± Sonia instantly studied the sofa intently.


    After the sofa had been expanded, there was a simple foldaway bed that measured about five feet wide


    and six feet long. Meanwhile, Toby was more than six feet tall. So, it indeed didn¡¯t look like he could


    stretch out his legs.


    At that thought, Sonia covered her face with her hands.


    She hadn¡¯t even realized that Toby had felt so ufortable on the sofa and it was exactly as if an adult


    was sleeping in a baby¡¯s crib. It seemed that it had been quite hard on him as he slept here for the past


    few nights. With a sigh, she spun on her heel and headed into her room.


    As soon as she got to the doorway, she suddenly turned around to nce at the man, who was staring


    expectantly at her as he sat on the sofa. Coughing slightly, she shifted her eyes in the other direction, her


    face flushed. ¡°Why are you still sitting there? I thought you wanted to sleep in my room?¡±


    ¡°Do you agree?¡± Toby instantly stood up, his face full of surprise.


    Meanwhile, Sonia¡¯s eyes flickered from left to right. ¡°I¡¯m about to shut the door so if you don¡¯te in,


    you¡¯ll be staying on the sofa tonight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯lle in right now!¡± He strode over to her side in less than two steps and followed her into the room.


    Toby was well aware that she would definitely shut the door on him if he didn¡¯t hurry up. After all, she


    was such a shy person. By then, he would be the one who regretted it.


    And so, Toby had his wish granted and he managed to stay in Sonia¡¯s room without sneaking in, coupled


    with her permission too.


    He was very pleased about it. If only he knew that she would relent and agree to let him stay in her room


    just with the excuse of being ufortable on the sofa, he would have definitely mentioned it earlier.


    Perhaps then, he would be able to stay in her room from the start rather than waiting till now. I¡¯ve wasted


    so many opportunities! At that thought, Toby pursed his lips and regretted his thoughtlessness from


    before.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was unaware of his train of thoughts and she took out another nket from the


    cupboard and threw it onto the bed. ¡°This is for you. There is one for each of us.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes widened significantly and he was clearly in shock. ¡°One each?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t tell me that you were nning on sharing mine?¡± Sonia turned to him with narrowed


    eyes.


    Toby stopped speaking because clearly, he had that exact intention.


    At that point, Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°I¡¯ve been kind enough to let you sleep in my room, so don¡¯t


    you dare ask for more. Besides, you¡¯re not allowed to share my nket so don¡¯t sneak under my nket


    halfway through the night, or else I¡¯ll kick you out to the sofa, understand?¡± She pointed at him as she


    warned.


    Toby responded with a nod and he unwillingly replied with a single word, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Finally, Sonia headed to her vanity table with a satisfied look and she got ready to start her skincare


    regime.


    Toby nced at the huge bed in front of him and the two separate nkets. Suddenly, he realized


    something and there was a shrewd look that shed across his eyes, but it disappeared soon enough.


    He pretended as if nothing had happened and he unraveled the nket provided by Sonia. With a


    satisfied expression, he got into bed and leaned against the headboard as he looked at her putting on


    her skincare.


    He then thought, The two of us look like an actual couple right now. It was quite a joke though, because


    they were in fact husband and wife before this but he had never apanied her this way. Now that


    they had gotten a divorce and were about to reconcile, he finally had the chance to experience a married


    couple¡¯s lifestyle with her.


    All of this was because of Tina¡¯s misdeeds. Toby¡¯s expression darkened as soon as he thought of Tina,


    and he suddenly grabbed his phone to fire off a text.


    Soon enough, he received a reply.


    His expression took a turn for the worse as soon as he saw the reply, and his entire aura darkened even


    further.


    Meanwhile, Sonia noticed his look from her vanity mirror, and she turned to look at him with a confused


    expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t keep it from her and he responded, ¡°I asked the investigation team that I assigned to track


    information on Tina about her whereabouts. ording to them, they don¡¯t have any information at the


    moment.¡±

 Chapter 639

    Chapter 639


    Chapter 639 Snuggle Into Her nket


    As soon as Sonia heard Toby¡¯s words, she paused in her actions of putting on hand cream, and she


    remained silent for quite some time before asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t Tim mention that we should focus our


    investigation on doctors that treat ALS and those hospitals that provide medical treatment for those


    patients? How did that go? Is there no news either?¡±


    Toby nodded in response. ¡°They didn¡¯t find any organization or any doctors within these organizations


    that took in any new ALS patient. There were also no records of any out-patient treatment for ALS. As


    such, the investigation team concluded that Tina has no intention of seeking treatment for the


    abnormality she experienced.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia frowned. ¡°She has no intention of treating her condition? Is she crazy?¡±


    ALS was one of the worst terminal illnesses in this world and up till now, there was no cure for this


    disease. The only treatment n avable was simply to keep the symptoms under control.


    Once one was diagnosed with ALS, if they didn¡¯t seek treatment as soon as possible, they would swiftly


    develop stiffness in their body, followed by muscle atrophy and then finally, their whole body would


    be paralyzed. These patients ended up dying of torment.


    Tina had resorted to switching her identity to run away in order to avoid going to jail so evidently, she


    wasn¡¯t one who didn¡¯t treasure her life.


    On the contrary, she should be someone who treasured her life very much. Furthermore, she was intent


    on causing Sonia¡¯s death.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was still alive and well, so Tina obviously wouldn¡¯t allow herself to die before the


    former. As such, Sonia couldn¡¯tprehend Tina¡¯s behavior of not seeking medical treatment.


    Despite Sonia¡¯s confusion, she didn¡¯t intend to let that trouble her as that was too taxing on her.


    She continued to apply her hand cream and gently responded, ¡°Let¡¯s not think about all this. Wherever


    she is, as long as she has ALS, she will eventually slip up and appear. It¡¯s quitete now, so why don¡¯t


    you go to bed first?¡±


    In all honesty, Sonia nned to get in bed once Toby had fallen asleep because she was not used to


    getting into bed with him there.


    However, he didn¡¯t heed her words and went to sleep first. Instead, he flung open her nket and patted


    her side of the bed. ¡°It is quitete now. Come on.¡±


    His expectant look of waiting for her to get into bed made her grimace slightly upon seeing that.


    In the end, Sonia shook her head. ¡°No. You should go to sleep. I¡¯ll go to bed once you¡¯re asleep.¡±


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    Instantly, Toby understood the meaning behind her words. She¡¯s shy!


    Furthermore, they were neither in a rtionship nor were they married to each other. Coupled with her


    shy personality, she couldn¡¯t quite behave as naturally as him and get into bed so nonchntly. As such,


    Sonia wanted to wait until he had fallen asleep before getting into the same bed as him to avoid further


    awkward moments between them.


    However, Toby refused to listen to her this time.


    Although the heater was on in the room, it was quite cold to remain sitting out there.


    He didn¡¯t know when he would be able to fall asleep too, so he couldn¡¯t bear to let her sit out there in the


    cold.


    ¡°Be a good girl. Come on. If you don¡¯t get into bed, then I won¡¯t go to sleep either. Let¡¯s see whose


    patience will run out first.¡± As soon as Toby finished his sentence, he took out his phone and started


    scrolling through it.


    Meanwhile, Sonia didn¡¯t expect him to actually be so stubborn and forceful like that. At that moment, she


    was angered to the brink of exploding.


    She knew that he had done that intentionally to force her to get into bed while he was awake.


    Hmph! I won¡¯t let him have his way! Sonia sat at her vanity table and crossed her arms as she stared at


    Toby while waiting for him to fall asleep.


    Evidently, Toby knew that she was staring at him, but he pretended not to see it and he scrolled through


    his cell phonezily with his thumb.


    The two of them seemed to bepeting with each other at the moment. Sonia was waiting to see when


    he would fall asleep, while Toby was waiting to see how long she would continue waiting there.


    He was fine to keep it up as long as she did. After all, he was quite keen to know who would be the


    winner.


    At that point, both of them stopped speaking and the huge room was so eerily quiet that one could even


    hear the sound of a pin dropping to the ground.


    The whole time, Sonia silently willed in her heart for Toby to quickly fall asleep.


    However, Toby refused to go to sleep. On the contrary, he seemed to be very energized.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia was quite frustrated as she grumbled to herself, How long will I have to wait if


    he keeps this up?


    She then lowered her eyes to hide the forced look in her eyes.


    Nheless, she was determined not to lose to him, so she took a deep breath and continued to wait.


    Ten minutes went by and Sonia¡¯s originally warm feet started to feel cold. She could even feel the


    coldness on her back.


    Despite the heater being on in the room, it was still time for her to go to bed because if she didn¡¯t, she


    would continue to feel the cold. Moreover, she was only wearing a very thin nightie.


    As she thought of that, she couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    Sitting in bed, Toby noticed her actions and he knew that she must be cold. Deep down, he heaved a


    sigh as he mused. I give up. I shouldn¡¯t continue this tiff. What if she falls sick because of the cold? I


    would end up feeling pained.


    Although he wasn¡¯t sure whether he could fall asleep as soon as possible, he could still pretend to have


    fallen asleep.


    Just as he was about to switch off his phone and lie down to pretend to be asleep, the woman on the


    vanity chair stood up abruptly.


    Toby quickly turned to look at her, but she suddenly headed over to the bed, her face flushed. Her


    footsteps were quite stiff and she moved forward in small footsteps.


    Evidently, she was quite anxious as she walked, and she even looked quite mortified.


    Meanwhile, Toby smirked. ¡°So you¡¯re no longer going to wait for me to fall asleep?¡±


    Wait for him to fall asleep?! If I continue waiting, I might die out here freezing! Besides, this is my room!


    He should be the one who waits for me to fall asleep!


    Sonia avoided his gaze and her eyes flitted slightly as she seemed to be quite sheepish about it. She


    pretended not to hear his words and flung open her nket to lie down. Wrapping herself up tightly, she


    curled in on herself and scrunched herself up like a ball. At that moment, she looked quiteical and


    cute.


    Meanwhile, Toby couldn¡¯t help himself and the smile on his face deepened.


    If it wasn¡¯t because he knew that she would refuse him, he was quite tempted to lean over and take the


    little ball into his arms.


    It would definitely feel amazing to do that.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you onest warning,¡± Sonia suddenly turned her head and stared intently at him. ¡°You¡¯re not


    allowed to snuggle into my nket. If I find that you¡¯ve done that, I¡¯ll kick you out. I definitely won¡¯t let you


    stay likest night!¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Toby nodded and replied.


    He responded too quickly so evidently, Sonia didn¡¯t trust his words that easily. She blinked and replied, ¡°I


    want you to make an oath.¡±


    ¡°I swear it.¡± Toby lifted his right hand and with a serious look on his face, he recited, ¡°I promise not to


    sneak into your nket; otherwise, the date of our reconciliation will be postponed.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia gasped in her heart. That¡¯s such a vicious oath!


    He had been so anxious to reconcile with her. Now, however, he had even sworn upon the date of their


    reconciliation in order to make her believe that he would stay under his own nket.


    It turned out Sonia could really trust him.


    And so, she nodded. ¡°Okay. You said that yourself so if you fail to do what you said, it will be one month


    before we even discuss the reconciliation.¡±


    After she had said that, she turned to the other side and shut her eyes to go to sleep.


    Meanwhile, Toby lowered his eyes to look at her and he chuckled lightly.


    He did promise not to get snuggle into her nket and he meant to keep his oath.


    However, this didn¡¯t mean that his n to sleep under the same nket was foiled.


    After all, she said that he was not allowed to snuggle into her nket, but she didn¡¯t specify that she was


    not allowed to share his nket.


    As soon as he thought of this, he switched off his phone and turned off the lights before lying down on


    the bed. Subsequently, he shut his eyes.


    He waited until Sonia, who was lying next to him, let out a few steady breaths and he knew that she had


    fallen asleep.


    Shortly after that, he opened his eyes and he made use of the lighting from the heater¡¯s temperature


    disy to gently remove the nket that was covering Sonia¡¯s body. Then, he flung it to the ground in a


    single, dashing move.


    Right after that, he shared half of his nket with her and covered her with it.


    As such, he achieved his motive of sharing the same nket as Sonia.


    Toby inched closer toward her until his chest was pressed against her back before he stopped moving.


    Then, he reached out to ce a hand around her waist and shut his eyes contentedly.


    The next morning, Sonia woke up first.


    As soon as she opened her eyes, she instantly realized that something was amiss.


    There was a familiar feeling of suffocation and a familiar scent too. She found the sensation too familiar


    and it was exactly like the feeling she had when she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night that


    day.


    That shameless guy has his arms wrapped around me again! Instantly, Sonia turned around.


    Indeed, Toby¡¯s handsome, wless face was right behind her and he was less than ten centimeters


    away. Each breath he took in was clearly felt on her skin.


    Sonia was so angry that she bit hard on her lower lip. I shouldn¡¯t have trusted this guy!

 Chapter 640

    Chapter 640


    Chapter 640 Trending News


    Last night, he had even given his promise that he wouldn¡¯t get under her nket. Looking at the current


    oue, Sonia grumbled to herself, Look at this! A man¡¯s words really can¡¯t be trusted.


    She squinted her eyes slightly before lifting her feet and directed a kick toward the man next to her.


    Toby was originally sleeping quite close to the edge of the bed and following her kick, his entire being fell


    to the ground with a thud, along with the nket.


    At that point, Toby woke up right away. He sat on the ground and there was a slightly lost look in his eyes


    as he wondered, What¡¯s going on? Why am I on the ground?


    He rubbed his temples, only for him to suddenly sense an angry pair of eyes on him.


    He lifted his head to check it out and his eyes met Sonia¡¯s angry expression. At that moment, his eyes


    alsonded on her feet up in the air and it instantly dawned upon him. She had kicked him out of the


    bed!


    As for the reason, it was definitely because she thought that he hadn¡¯t kept his promise and went under


    her nket.


    Toby chuckled lightly and took his hand off his temples. Then, he got up from the ground and took a seat


    by the edge of the bed. He shifted his body sideways and kept his eyes on her as he intentionally asked,


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you so angry so early in the morning?¡±


    ¡°How dare you have the nerve to ask me what¡¯s wrong?!¡± Sonia red at him. ¡°Toby Fuller, you didn¡¯t


    keep your promise!¡± She pointed a finger at him.


    However, he pressed down on her finger as he questioned, ¡°Why did you say that? I did keep my


    promise.¡±


    ¡°You came under my nket, which means you didn¡¯t keep your promise! How dare you say that you


    kept your word? You¡¯re such a¡­ such a¡­¡±


    Sonia was angered beyond words.


    However, he merely revealed a smile as he purred, ¡°Oh? Did I get under your nket? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°How can I not be sure about that? I woke up this morning to see you sharing my nket.¡± Sonia patted


    the bed as she spoke.


    Meanwhile, Toby shook his index finger. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. To be more urate, when you woke up this


    morning, the nket that you saw was mine and not yours. That¡¯s why, Sonia, I need to correct your


    words¡ªI didn¡¯t get under your nket; rather, you snuggled into mine.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help raising her tone upon hearing his words. ¡°I snuggled into your nket? Stop


    joking around, Toby. How can I possibly¡­¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t get to finish her sentence. Suddenly, she recalled something and with her bright-red lips


    agape, she could no longere up with the remaining words.


    That was because she had realized that Toby was right. Indeed, it seemed that she had actually gone


    under his nket.


    When Sonia had woken up earlier, she had noticed that the nket covering her was blue and it was the


    one she had handed over to Toby the night before. It wasn¡¯t her usual pink nket.


    As soon as she thought of this, she hurriedly nced from left to right to search for her own nket.


    At that moment, there was no nket to be found on the bed. Other than her sitting on it, there were just


    the bed sheets that could be seen.


    Instantly, she nced at the ground and she finally found her pink nket on the floor by the side of her


    bed.


    And so, she was very certain that it wasn¡¯t him who had snuggled into her nket, but she who had


    snuggled into his. Her entire face flushed bright red and she was extremely mortified.


    As soon as Toby saw that, he chuckled lightly. ¡°Have you realized now that I didn¡¯t snuggle into your


    nket?¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia lowered her head and remained silent, but he continued, ¡°So I guess this doesn¡¯t


    count as me breaking my promise then?¡±


    ¡°Stop asking questions that you already have the answer to!¡± Sonia red at him.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll stop asking.¡± Toby then chuckled again before he bent down to pick up the nket on


    the ground. Subsequently, he made his way over to her side by walking past the foot of the bed and


    picking up her nket too. ¡°I¡¯ll go out to call Tom to get us some breakfast. You should freshen up.¡±


    Sonia grunted and nodded in response.


    Subsequently, Toby opened the door and walked out of the room.


    After he had walked out, Sonia grabbed the nket and covered her head with it. She wrapped herself


    up with the nket and groaned frustratedly.


    This is so embarrassing! Howe I went under his nket?! She couldn¡¯t quiteprehend the


    situation. Do I toss and turn so much in my sleep?


    As she tried to figure out what was going on, there was a knock on the door and Toby¡¯s voice rang out,


    ¡°Sonia, what do you want for breakfast?¡±


    Sonia poked her head out from the nket resignedly and looked toward the doorway. Then, she replied


    quite weakly, ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything. You can decide.¡±


    ¡°How about seafood chowder?¡± Toby stood by the entrance and asked while holding onto his phone.


    Upon hearing that, she nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then.¡± With that, Toby walked off once again.


    After she had heard him leave, she finally flung the nket aside and went to freshen up in the


    bathroom.


    Once she had freshened up and finished tidying the bedroom, breakfast had arrived too.


    Toby pulled out a chair. ¡°Come and take a seat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ming.¡± Sonia walked toward him and sat down on the chair that he had pulled out for her.


    Meanwhile, Toby walked to the spot across from her and sat down.


    They enjoyed their breakfast together but halfway through, Toby¡¯s phone rang.


    He put down his cutlery and took out his phone to have a look, only to find that it was Tom.


    Tom had just departed not long ago so he should be aware that Toby was still having his breakfast.


    Generally, the former wouldn¡¯t call and interrupt thetter¡¯s meal, so it was quite likely that something


    urgent had happened for Tom to call at this time.


    And so, Toby lifted his eyes and turned to speak to Sonia, who was seated across from him. ¡°I¡¯m going to


    answer a call.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    At that point, Toby connected the call and ced the phone by his ears. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked


    calmly.


    On the other end, Tom¡¯s stern voice rang out. ¡°President Fuller, the press just leaked some photos of


    your outing with Miss Reed from yesterday.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed and he muttered, ¡°They took photos of us?¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia¡¯s expression took a turn and she stopped eating too. ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t keep it from her and he repeated Tom¡¯s words from before to her.


    She didn¡¯t say much when she heard that. Instead, she took out her own cell phone and lowered her


    head to handle the situation.


    Evidently, she was checking out the news that he mentioned.


    Toby also retracted his gaze and asked the person on the other end, ¡°What¡¯s the exact situation online?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the trending topics right now,¡± Tom exined. ¡°Everyone knows your background, President


    Fuller. Furthermore, this news is rted to your rtionship so naturally, there¡¯s a huge public interest


    and especially because this news is rted to you and Miss Reed.¡±


    It¡¯s definitely one of the hottest topics at the moment. After all, the rtionship between President Fuller,


    Miss Reed, and Miss Gray has been so widely discussed online. Everyone in the country and even those


    from overseas know that President Fuller and Miss Reed are divorced. Before their divorce, their


    rtionship had been quite rocky and the Fullers had also mistreated Miss Reed for the past six years.


    However, it was also the news of the possible reconciliation between this extraordinary couple that


    piqued the interest of the public. That was the reason for this topic being the top trending one and it had


    sted past the second trending topic in terms of hits.


    Just then, Toby pursed his lips. ¡°How about thements?¡±


    ¡°Thements are quite neutral and the people aren¡¯t that angsty. Maybe it¡¯s because they¡¯re wary of


    your background so they haven¡¯t said anything that¡¯s too offensive. However, there have been plenty of


    snidements.¡± Tom replied.


    ¡°Okay. Noted.¡± Toby replied with a cold look on his face.


    Meanwhile, Tom voiced his concern, ¡°President Fuller, how do you n on handling this matter?¡±


    ¡°Uncover the member of the press that leaked the photos and warn them. As for the onlinements,


    get our public rtions team to stump them out.¡± Toby instructed with a darkened expression.


    Tom was just about to agree when Sonia suddenly put down her phone. ¡°Leave it as it is and don¡¯t do


    anything to stump them out.¡±


    As soon as she said that, Toby nced at her, shocked. ¡°Sonia, do you know what you¡¯re going on


    about?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Sonia nodded her head intently.


    ¡°Then, why¡ª¡±


    ¡°Well, I suddenly realized that this is great too.¡± Sonia held up her cutlery and smiled at him.


    Just then, Toby found her behavior quite perplexing. ¡°How can it be great? I thought you disliked being in


    the tabloids?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t like to be in the tabloids for nonsensical, fake news, and I really loathe


    them. But this time, the news isn¡¯t fake, right?¡±


    Chapter 640 Trending News


    Last night, he had even given his promise that he wouldn¡¯t get under her nket. Looking at the current


    oue, Sonia grumbled to herself, Look at this! A man¡¯s words really can¡¯t be trusted.


    She squinted her eyes slightly before lifting her feet and directed a kick toward the man next to her.


    Toby was originally sleeping quite close to the edge of the bed and following her kick, his entire being fell


    to the ground with a thud, along with the nket.


    At that point, Toby woke up right away. He sat on the ground and there was a slightly lost look in his eyes


    as he wondered, What¡¯s going on? Why am I on the ground?


    He rubbed his temples, only for him to suddenly sense an angry pair of eyes on him.


    He lifted his head to check it out and his eyes met Sonia¡¯s angry expression. At that moment, his eyes


    alsonded on her feet up in the air and it instantly dawned upon him. She had kicked him out of the


    bed!


    As for the reason, it was definitely because she thought that he hadn¡¯t kept his promise and went under


    her nket.


    Toby chuckled lightly and took his hand off his temples. Then, he got up from the ground and took a seat


    by the edge of the bed. He shifted his body sideways and kept his eyes on her as he intentionally asked,


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you so angry so early in the morning?¡±


    ¡°How dare you have the nerve to ask me what¡¯s wrong?!¡± Sonia red at him. ¡°Toby Fuller, you didn¡¯t


    keep your promise!¡± She pointed a finger at him.


    However, he pressed down on her finger as he questioned, ¡°Why did you say that? I did keep my


    promise.¡±


    ¡°You came under my nket, which means you didn¡¯t keep your promise! How dare you say that you


    kept your word? You¡¯re such a¡­ such a¡­¡±


    Sonia was angered beyond words.


    However, he merely revealed a smile as he purred, ¡°Oh? Did I get under your nket? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°How can I not be sure about that? I woke up this morning to see you sharing my nket.¡± Sonia patted


    the bed as she spoke.


    Meanwhile, Toby shook his index finger. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. To be more urate, when you woke up this


    morning, the nket that you saw was mine and not yours. That¡¯s why, Sonia, I need to correct your


    words¡ªI didn¡¯t get under your nket; rather, you snuggled into mine.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help raising her tone upon hearing his words. ¡°I snuggled into your nket? Stop


    joking around, Toby. How can I possibly¡­¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t get to finish her sentence. Suddenly, she recalled something and with her bright-red lips


    agape, she could no longere up with the remaining words.


    That was because she had realized that Toby was right. Indeed, it seemed that she had actually gone


    under his nket.


    When Sonia had woken up earlier, she had noticed that the nket covering her was blue and it was the


    one she had handed over to Toby the night before. It wasn¡¯t her usual pink nket.


    As soon as she thought of this, she hurriedly nced from left to right to search for her own nket.


    At that moment, there was no nket to be found on the bed. Other than her sitting on it, there were just


    the bed sheets that could be seen.


    Instantly, she nced at the ground and she finally found her pink nket on the floor by the side of her


    bed.


    And so, she was very certain that it wasn¡¯t him who had snuggled into her nket, but she who had


    snuggled into his. Her entire face flushed bright red and she was extremely mortified.


    As soon as Toby saw that, he chuckled lightly. ¡°Have you realized now that I didn¡¯t snuggle into your


    nket?¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia lowered her head and remained silent, but he continued, ¡°So I guess this doesn¡¯t


    count as me breaking my promise then?¡±


    ¡°Stop asking questions that you already have the answer to!¡± Sonia red at him.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll stop asking.¡± Toby then chuckled again before he bent down to pick up the nket on


    the ground. Subsequently, he made his way over to her side by walking past the foot of the bed and


    picking up her nket too. ¡°I¡¯ll go out to call Tom to get us some breakfast. You should freshen up.¡±


    Sonia grunted and nodded in response.


    Subsequently, Toby opened the door and walked out of the room.


    After he had walked out, Sonia grabbed the nket and covered her head with it. She wrapped herself


    up with the nket and groaned frustratedly.


    This is so embarrassing! Howe I went under his nket?! She couldn¡¯t quiteprehend the


    situation. Do I toss and turn so much in my sleep?


    As she tried to figure out what was going on, there was a knock on the door and Toby¡¯s voice rang out,


    ¡°Sonia, what do you want for breakfast?¡±


    Sonia poked her head out from the nket resignedly and looked toward the doorway. Then, she replied


    quite weakly, ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything. You can decide.¡±


    ¡°How about seafood chowder?¡± Toby stood by the entrance and asked while holding onto his phone.


    Upon hearing that, she nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then.¡± With that, Toby walked off once again.


    After she had heard him leave, she finally flung the nket aside and went to freshen up in the


    bathroom.


    Once she had freshened up and finished tidying the bedroom, breakfast had arrived too.


    Toby pulled out a chair. ¡°Come and take a seat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ming.¡± Sonia walked toward him and sat down on the chair that he had pulled out for her.


    Meanwhile, Toby walked to the spot across from her and sat down.


    They enjoyed their breakfast together but halfway through, Toby¡¯s phone rang.


    He put down his cutlery and took out his phone to have a look, only to find that it was Tom.


    Tom had just departed not long ago so he should be aware that Toby was still having his breakfast.


    Generally, the former wouldn¡¯t call and interrupt thetter¡¯s meal, so it was quite likely that something


    urgent had happened for Tom to call at this time.


    And so, Toby lifted his eyes and turned to speak to Sonia, who was seated across from him. ¡°I¡¯m going to


    answer a call.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    At that point, Toby connected the call and ced the phone by his ears. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked


    calmly.


    On the other end, Tom¡¯s stern voice rang out. ¡°President Fuller, the press just leaked some photos of


    your outing with Miss Reed from yesterday.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed and he muttered, ¡°They took photos of us?¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia¡¯s expression took a turn and she stopped eating too. ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t keep it from her and he repeated Tom¡¯s words from before to her.


    She didn¡¯t say much when she heard that. Instead, she took out her own cell phone and lowered her


    head to handle the situation.


    Evidently, she was checking out the news that he mentioned.


    Toby also retracted his gaze and asked the person on the other end, ¡°What¡¯s the exact situation online?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the trending topics right now,¡± Tom exined. ¡°Everyone knows your background, President


    Fuller. Furthermore, this news is rted to your rtionship so naturally, there¡¯s a huge public interest


    and especially because this news is rted to you and Miss Reed.¡±


    It¡¯s definitely one of the hottest topics at the moment. After all, the rtionship between President Fuller,


    Miss Reed, and Miss Gray has been so widely discussed online. Everyone in the country and even those


    from overseas know that President Fuller and Miss Reed are divorced. Before their divorce, their


    rtionship had been quite rocky and the Fullers had also mistreated Miss Reed for the past six years.


    However, it was also the news of the possible reconciliation between this extraordinary couple that


    piqued the interest of the public. That was the reason for this topic being the top trending one and it had


    sted past the second trending topic in terms of hits.


    Just then, Toby pursed his lips. ¡°How about thements?¡±


    ¡°Thements are quite neutral and the people aren¡¯t that angsty. Maybe it¡¯s because they¡¯re wary of


    your background so they haven¡¯t said anything that¡¯s too offensive. However, there have been plenty of


    snidements.¡± Tom replied.


    ¡°Okay. Noted.¡± Toby replied with a cold look on his face.


    Meanwhile, Tom voiced his concern, ¡°President Fuller, how do you n on handling this matter?¡±


    ¡°Uncover the member of the press that leaked the photos and warn them. As for the onlinements,


    get our public rtions team to stump them out.¡± Toby instructed with a darkened expression.


    Tom was just about to agree when Sonia suddenly put down her phone. ¡°Leave it as it is and don¡¯t do


    anything to stump them out.¡±


    As soon as she said that, Toby nced at her, shocked. ¡°Sonia, do you know what you¡¯re going on


    about?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Sonia nodded her head intently.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    ¡°Then, why¡ª¡±


    ¡°Well, I suddenly realized that this is great too.¡± Sonia held up her cutlery and smiled at him.


    Just then, Toby found her behavior quite perplexing. ¡°How can it be great? I thought you disliked being in


    the tabloids?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t like to be in the tabloids for nonsensical, fake news, and I really loathe


    them. But this time, the news isn¡¯t fake, right?¡±

 Chapter 641

    Chapter 641


    Chapter 641 Ignore It


    Although they hadn¡¯t officially gotten back together, it was only a couple of days left so as long as nothing


    major urred between the two of them in the next few days, their reconciliation was definitely a done


    deal.


    As such, the news today that reported on their reconciliation was quite correct.


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not fake news, but this piece of news will have some effect on you.¡± Toby looked at her as he


    said that.


    However, Sonia merely held up her bowl of creamy chowder and took a sip. ¡°I know that, and I¡¯ve


    already prepared myself for all that.¡±


    She had gone online to take a look and there were already quite a few nastyments on her social


    media page. Some even mentioned that she shouldn¡¯t have gone back to him.


    There were alsoments about her sucking up to Toby, besides the ones that mentioned how she had


    been mistreated so badly and questioned why she would even agree to get back together. Furthermore,


    there was a barrage ofments about herck of worth.


    In conclusion, thements on her social media were significantly nastier than the ones on Toby¡¯s.


    Nheless, Sonia had expected to ur from the very moment she had agreed to reconcile with Toby.


    She had expected to be ridiculed by the public, so she had already been mentally prepared for all of this.


    Therefore, as soon as she heard that the news of their reconciliation had been leaked by the press, she


    didn¡¯t have a huge reaction at all.


    ¡°Sonia, are you nning on doing something?¡± Toby put down his cell phone and asked her quite


    intently.


    Meanwhile, she stirred her seafood chowder with her spoon and smiled. ¡°Well, you¡¯re kind of correct, but


    I don¡¯t have ns to do anything. I just want to achieve a single goal.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± Toby was increasingly curious the more he heard.


    At that moment, Sonia announced, ¡°I want this news to remain online so that everyone will keep


    specting whether we¡¯ve reconciled or not. By then, once we actually get back together, it would be


    much more likely for them to ept it, right?¡±


    Toby lifted his brows. ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s on your mind?¡±


    Sonia hummed in response. ¡°Yup, that¡¯s right. Even if the press hadn¡¯t discovered it yesterday and this


    news hadn¡¯t appeared today, our interaction would increase, not to mention be more intimate after


    our reconciliation. By then, there would also be photos taken by members of the press, so I would rather


    this happened. They get plenty of time to ept it and get used to it so by the time we actually announce


    our reconciliation, they won¡¯t have a bad reaction. They might even change and support our


    reconciliation after seeing plenty of news about us.¡±


    Just then, Toby lifted his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do as you say, but I¡¯ll handle those mocking


    comments.¡±


    ¡°No. Just let them be.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°If you suppress thosements, then it will just have a


    rebound effect on theizens and they would most likely behave much more radically. Anyway, I don¡¯t


    go online that much. As long as I avoid seeing theirments, I won¡¯t be bothered by them.¡±


    Despite that, Toby felt that he couldn¡¯t quite achieve her level of open-mindedness.


    Anyway, he didn¡¯t want to see her being mocked relentlessly by the people online.


    He narrowed his eyes slightly and there was a sh of darkness across his gaze that disappeared swiftly.


    She didn¡¯t allow him to suppress thosements, but he could teach those people whomented a


    little lesson.


    After all, some of those keyboard warriors were too despicable so they deserved to be taught a lesson.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was unaware of Toby¡¯s thoughts and she picked up a blueberry with her spoon and


    ced it into his bowl. ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s have breakfast first. Just ignore what¡¯s being said online.¡±


    Toby responded affirmatively and took up his spoon.


    After breakfast, Sonia went into her room to look for something. Meanwhile, Toby remained in the living


    room and he sent a message to Tom, instructing thetter to find the details of the people who had left


    those nastyments on Sonia¡¯s social media page.


    If any one of them worked for Fuller Group, Tom was instructed to fire every single one of them.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    If they were from the otherpanies, then Tom was given instructions to teach them a lesson by


    targeting them.


    Toby was intent on making it known that it didn¡¯t mean these people could just sit behind theirputers,


    tapping on their keyboards and saying whatever they wanted to.


    Besides, the member of the press that took the photos of them had to be taught a lesson. After all, this


    news concerned Toby and yet, they didn¡¯t even consider his thoughts at all and published the news so


    thoughtlessly. Are they disregarding me?


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Just as Toby sent off his message, Sonia walked out of the room.


    He put aside his cell phone and stood up from the sofa. ¡°Come on.¡±


    And so, the two of them went out of the door and headed to the car park.


    Meanwhile, Tom was already waiting for them in the car. As soon as he saw the duo walk out of the


    elevator, he quickly got out of the car and opened the door to the back seat for them.


    Toby waited until Sonia had entered the car before getting in.


    Tom was thest one to get in. He waited for the two of them to get in before finally heading to the


    driver¡¯s seat. Fastening his seatbelt, he mentioned, ¡°By the way, President Fuller, we¡¯ll be taking the side


    entrance that¡¯s less conspicuous.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the press is crowding the main entrance?¡± Sonia thought of the news from this


    morning and she subsequently linked it to Tom¡¯s words about taking another route, so she instantly came


    to this conclusion.


    Upon hearing that, Tom nodded. ¡°Yes, Miss Reed. I¡¯ve actually looked into it earlier, and there are


    members of the press congregating at each of the main entrances to Bayside Residence. They must be


    here to confirm with you whether you¡¯re back together with President Fuller.¡±


    Sonia frowned in response. ¡°They¡¯re relentless!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll just use the side entrance as you suggested.¡± Toby instructed.


    Meanwhile, Tom replied in the affirmative and started the car.


    The side entrance to Bayside Residence was by a secluded area and it was actually an escape route.


    Generally, there were not that many people or cars that came by this ce. Furthermore, the members


    of the press were outsiders, so they were not aware of the door that led to Bayside Residence. As such,


    there were no members of the press waiting there.


    In the end, the trio managed to sessfully get out of Bayside Residence and get onto the highway.


    In the car, Sonia had her head lowered and she was busy asking Daphne on Messenger whether there


    were members of the press waiting at Paradigm Co..


    Indeed, Daphne¡¯s reply confirmed her guess. There were members of the press waiting, and plenty of


    them too.


    Furthermore, there was no side entrance to get into Paradigm Co. so it looked like Sonia would not be


    able to escape from the presster on.


    Toby had been focused on her and he gently reached out to flick her forehead as soon as he saw her


    look of frustration. ¡°Don¡¯t frown. I¡¯ll get someone to evict those members of the press.¡±


    As he said that, he nced toward Tom. ¡°Tom, I¡¯ll put you in charge of this.¡±


    ¡°Sure, President Fuller.¡± Tom responded.


    Meanwhile, Sonia massaged the spot in between her brows before turning to smile at him gratefully.


    ¡°Thanks, Tom.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just doing my job and following President Fuller¡¯s instructions. After all, he pays me for that,


    so you don¡¯t have to thank me.¡± Tom replied as he drove.


    ¡°He¡¯s quite right.¡± Toby inclined his head slightly. ¡°If you feel grateful, then you should thank me instead of


    him. I¡¯m the one who instructed him to do so.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia heard the slightly sour note in Toby¡¯s voice and she rolled her eyes at him, feeling


    slightly perplexed. Then, she lowered her head to rummage in her bag before handing over a piece of


    candy to him. ¡°How about this as a thank-you gift?¡± I¡¯ll make use of this sweet taste to dilute the sour


    note on him.


    Toby frowned slightly as he saw her hand him the candy. ¡°Why are you coaxing me like a child?¡± Does


    she actually think that I¡¯m a kid?! She¡¯s even giving me candy!


    Sonia frowned in response. ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern. Do you want this candy or not? If you don¡¯t


    want it, then I¡¯ll take it back.¡±


    To her, his jealous behavior was exactly like a child.


    ¡°I want it!¡± Toby pursed his lips and grabbed the candy from her.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t like candy because it was too sweet for his taste buds. However, this was a gift from


    Sonia so naturally, it was different.


    Toby slowly unwrapped the wrapper to reveal a translucent piece of candy inside.


    He gently took it in his hand and ced it into his mouth.


    Instantly, the cloying sweetness filled his mouth.


    Meanwhile, Sonia turned to look at him. ¡°Is it sweet?¡±


    Upon hearing that, he turned over to look at her. ¡°If you want to know, why don¡¯t you try it?¡±


    ¡°Me? Try it?¡± Sonia was slightly stunned as she muttered, ¡°You¡¯ve already put it into your mouth, so how


    am I supposed to try it?¡±


    ¡°You sure can.¡±


    As soon as Toby finished his sentence, he reached out to ce a hand on the back of her head and


    steered her toward him. Then, he lowered his head to kiss her right smack on her bright-red lips.

 Chapter 642

    Chapter 642


    Chapter 642 The Reporter¡¯s Interrogation


    At that moment, Sonia was stunned. Her eyes widened and she couldn¡¯t quite react just then.


    Meanwhile, Tom, who was in the driver¡¯s seat, didn¡¯t expect his casual nce in the rearview mirror to


    reveal such a scene. And so, he took a deep breath and quickly operated the divider upward as he kept


    his eyes focused on the road.


    Gosh! I¡¯d better be on my game. If President Fuller realizes it, I¡¯ll definitely get told off! At the very least,


    my workload is going to increase, and the worst would be having my bonus deducted! I have to say,


    though, it¡¯s quite tempting to take a peek. I¡¯m quite impressed that President Fuller actually has the


    courage to forcefully kiss Miss Reed. This would not have been possible in the past! Indeed, Miss Reed¡¯s


    eptance to get back together with President Fuller has definitely boosted his courage! Tom thought to


    himself as he smacked his lips.


    In the backseat, Sonia finally came back to her senses after some time and she shoved Toby aside.


    Holding a hand over her lips, she red at him. ¡°Toby Fuller, how dare¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is it sweet?¡± Toby touched his thin lips with his thumb and asked in a hoarse voice.


    Just then, Sonia finally realized that there was something in her mouth. She touched it with her tongue


    and realized that it was the candy.


    He had actually transferred the piece of candy into her mouth.


    Gosh, I might have choked to death on that candy if I had actually swallowed it by ident! Sonia red


    at him with a disgruntled look on her face and she turned in the other direction, the tip of her ears red


    from embarrassment.


    Never in a million years did she expect that this was what Toby meant when he said that she should


    taste the candy. Indeed, his behavior was as roguish as his tititing words, and he seemed to have


    endless moves which made one unintentionally lower their guard. At that thought, Sonia moved her lips


    and coughed slightly. ¡°It tastes alright. I¡¯ve got to go.¡± With that, she hurriedly opened the car door and


    rushed out.


    Meanwhile, Toby wound down the window and poked his head out of the window. ¡°Sonia, can Ie


    over again to your ce tonight?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia turned around and said, ¡°No.¡± With that, she walked off toward the elevators.


    Just then, Toby shook his head with a smile. No? Well then, I¡¯ll still go! I don¡¯t believe that she would kick


    me out if I were at her doorstep.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby knocked on the divider.


    Although Tom couldn¡¯t hear Toby, the former felt the vibration from the divider so he hazarded a guess.


    Subsequently, Tom started the ignition and drove off in the opposite direction.


    On the other end, Sonia sucked on the candy in her mouth and she had a slightly resigned look on her


    face.


    Logically, the candy had been in someone else¡¯s mouth before this, so she should spit it out as it was


    quite unhygienic. However, she had already kissed Toby so thoroughly earlier. This was just a piece of


    candy and it didn¡¯t seem that uneptable at that point.


    Soon enough, Sonia came to the elevator and she pressed the button to open the door.


    The elevator was on its way down and she waited patiently while staring at the disy screen.


    Suddenly, someone carrying a camera leaped out from behind a car. ¡°Chairman Reed!¡±


    Startled, Sonia turned back to look in that direction and she noticed that the guy was obviously a


    reporter. A frown on her immacte brows.


    What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t Toby arrange for someone to get rid of all of the reporters waiting at Paradigm


    Co.? Why is there another one here?


    The man seemed to be able to tell what was on in Sonia¡¯s mind and he chuckled. ¡°I grabbed the


    opportunity to hide behind a car when the security guards came over to kick us out, so I was lucky to be


    able to stay on.¡±


    Sonia narrowed her eyes when she heard that. ¡°So that¡¯s why¡ªyou¡¯re quite lucky indeed.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ve finally managed to get hold of you, Chairman Reed.¡± The reporter directed his camera at


    Sonia as he spoke. ¡°Can I ask you a few questions? Have you actually reconciled with President Fuller


    of the Fuller Group, who is your ex-husband?¡±


    ¡°Sorry but I¡¯ve got noments for the time being.¡± With a deepening frown, Sonia stared at the elevator


    disy screen, which showed that the elevator was currently on the tenth floor.


    Meanwhile, the reporter was evidently displeased with her reply, so he continued to interrogate her,


    ¡°Chairman Reed, you didn¡¯t answer my question but you didn¡¯t deny it either. Does that mean that you¡¯ve


    indeed reconciled with your ex-husband?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips but decided to remain silent.


    As soon as the reporter noticed her silence, he was even more convinced that he was right, and he


    suddenly became quite excited as he moved closer to her with the microphone. ¡°Chairman Reed, why


    did you and President Fuller decide to get back together? A few months ago, didn¡¯t you speak up at the


    press conference regarding the mental abuse and mistreatment you suffered at the hands of the Fuller


    Family? Didn¡¯t you also mention that President Fuller did not love you at all? Why are you now running


    into the rings of fire and reconciling with him? Do you intend to go back to the previous tormenting


    lifestyle?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s expression turned thunderous. Though she didn¡¯t like being interrogated by the reporter, she had


    to admit that she had mentioned those words before.


    However, that was before she knew that she would go through so much with Toby. Furthermore, she


    hadn¡¯t expected herself to fall back into love with Toby someday.


    Looking back, Sonia¡¯s words were indeed quite ironic.


    ¡°Chairman Reed, why aren¡¯t you answering the questions? Do you feel embarrassed?¡± The reporter


    inched closer.


    Just then, the elevator finally arrived.


    At that point, Sonia was very happy and she instantly walked into the elevator as soon as the door


    opened.


    The reporter trailed after her upon seeing that. ¡°Chairman Reed, please answer my questions. Did that


    car which you arrived in earlier belong to President Fuller? Was he inside the car? Were you guys


    together the whole time since yesterday afternoon after leaving together in the car? Did you two¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, sir!¡± Sonia could no longer stand his words and she pressed the button to shut the doors


    of the elevator. Meanwhile, she looked at him coldly. ¡°This is Paradigm Co. and if you continue trying to


    shove your way inside, don¡¯t me me if I call the cops on you. I¡¯ll press charges on you for trespassing


    on private property and being a threat to public safety.¡±


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Perhaps it was because of Sonia¡¯s stern and domineering voice, or perhaps it was the threat of the


    police that caused the reporter to eventually retreat and no longer tried to force his way into the elevator.


    Sonia heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that. Subsequently, she pressed the button to shut the doors.


    The doors to the elevator slowly slid shut as she tiredly massaged her temples. What¡¯s with all this?


    Soon, the elevator arrived at the topmost level.


    As soon as she walked out of the elevator, her cell phone rang.


    Sonia didn¡¯t even bother to look at her phone and she answered the call directly by cing the phone by


    her ears. ¡°Hello, Sonia speaking.¡±


    ¡°Sonia, is the news on the Inte true or not? Have you actually reconciled with Toby?¡± Zane¡¯s frantic


    voice rang out from the phone as he questioned her.


    Meanwhile, Sonia made her way toward her office while murmuring, ¡°More or less.¡±


    Zane¡¯s expression darkened the moment he heard her reply. So it¡¯s true! He had seen the news earlier


    this morning when he turned on hisputer. Initially, he had scoffed upon seeing the headlines as he


    found it pretty much impossible.


    Although Sonia had fallen in love with Toby once again, she hadn¡¯t realized her own feelings so before


    she realized it, there was no way on earth she would get back together with Toby.


    However, Zane started to have doubts upon seeing the photo attached to the news.


    Though the photo was quite grainy, he could clearly see that she was smiling at Toby, and her smile


    looked very natural and tender too.


    Her smile clearly wasn¡¯t meant for a normal friend, but it was specifically for her lover. That was because


    Zane had seen it way too often on his dad¡¯s face each time he looked at his mom.


    As such, he hurriedly called Sonia to verify the news of whether they had actually gotten back together.


    At that instance, Sonia¡¯s reply had caused his heart to sink.


    ¡°When did this happen?¡± Zane opened his mouth slightly and it took him some effort to ask her with a


    slightly hoarse voice.


    Meanwhile, Sonia didn¡¯t quite understand why he had such a reaction, but she didn¡¯t think too much of it.


    She merely replied, ¡°A few days ago, I guess. I promised to get back together with him but our official


    reconciliation will be in a few more days.¡±


    Although Zane didn¡¯t understand why their official reconciliation had to take a few more days, the words


    ¡®promised to get back together with him¡¯ were in fact already quite hard for him to ept.


    During this period, the Colemans had been busy handling their political opponent, which were the


    Waces, and both parties fought quite hard. As such, Zane had been extremely busy so he had no time


    to seek Sonia out.

 Chapter 643

    Chapter 643


    Chapter 643 Zane Gave Up


    His initial n was to first finish the tasks at hand before he mustered the courage to confess his feelings


    to her, in order to fight for a chance to be with her. However, his n had failed even before he managed


    to make a move.


    When the person on the other end of the line suddenly fell silent, a puzzled Sonia cocked her head to


    one side and asked, ¡°Zane, are you still there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Zane replied weakly, his voice sounding dispirited.


    She blinked her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you unwell?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I am.¡± He raised his head to look at the ceiling as he replied to her with soulless eyes, ¡°I suddenly


    feel my heart hurting.¡±


    This was not only the first time he understood what love was, but also the first time he actually fell in love


    with someone.


    In the end, his unrequited love ended before it even had the chance to begin.


    Is there anyone more pathetic than me in this world? Hold on, I think there is¡ªCharles Lane! Zane


    narrowed his eyes when he thought of the other man.


    He was aware that Charles was in love with Sonia for at least ten years.


    However, Charles¡¯ timid personality had stopped him from making his feelings known to Sonia. As a


    result, he had to watch as she fell in love and got married with another man.


    Now, this would be the second time Charles watched Sonia falling in love with another man and to make


    matters worse, the man in question was the same person whom she had first fallen for!


    Therefore, Zane arrived at the conclusion that Charles was even more pathetic than him. He felt much


    better at that thought.


    ¡°What? Your heart hurts?¡± Sonia, who had no idea what Zane meant when he said that his heart ached,


    thought that he really felt physical pain in his heart, so she said in concern, ¡°You better go and see a


    doctor.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± He waved his hand with a bitter smile. ¡°This isn¡¯t an illness that a doctor could treat.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± She was confused.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    He remained silent for a few seconds and responded with a question. ¡°Sonia, can I know if you are


    serious with your decision on getting back with Toby? Is that a decision you made after thorough


    consideration?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m serious. If I didn¡¯t fall in love with him all over again, I wouldn¡¯t make the decision of getting


    back together. I really wouldn¡¯t, no matter how many times he saved me. Still, my heart was moved and


    he is now different from how he used to be, so I¡¯m willing to give both of us a chance.¡±


    ¡°What if this move you made is wrong?¡± Zane clenched his phone tightly and asked, ¡°You have to bear in


    mind that Jean is not someone easy to get along with.¡±


    At that, Sonia lowered her eyes and chuckled. ¡°I know that very well, but I don¡¯t intend to live under the


    same roof as her. Toby seems to think so as well, so Jean won¡¯t be a problem. As for the question of


    whether this will turn out to be a wrong step, I really don¡¯t know, to be honest. Choosing to get back


    together with Toby is a gamble itself. Everything will be fine if I win the gamble, but I¡¯m prepared to


    ept the possibility that I may lose as well. That will only show that Toby and I are not meant for each


    other. It¡¯s my problem to fall for the same man twice. If that were to happen, I¡¯ll concentrate on my career


    and give up on love.¡±


    Zaneughed resignedly. ¡°You have even considered the possibility of losing the gamble. It seems like


    you have really thought this through. In that case, I won¡¯t be able to tell you why the doctors can¡¯t treat


    my illness.¡±


    Since Sonia had gotten back together with Toby, Zane had no intentions of letting her know the fact that


    he actually liked her romantically. He knew that if he were to do so, he would not only give her pressure


    and make her feel awkward, but both of them might even feel ufortable when they interact or meet


    each other in the future.


    This was just the way he was¡ªupon knowing that he had no chance at all, he certainly wouldn¡¯t disturb


    her life because actions like this wouldn¡¯t reflect his deep feelings for her but would only bring her


    trouble.


    Although what Zane had said was confusing, Sonia had a vague understanding of what he had implied.


    His words gave her a feeling simr to how she had felt when she found out about Charles¡¯ feelings for


    her.


    Does Zane have feelings for me? She bit her lip, a strong sense of guilt bubbling inside her.


    She wondered what quality she possessed that caused both Zane and Charles to fall for her.


    However, she wasn¡¯t able to reciprocate their feelings, so she felt sorry and even guilty for that.


    ¡°Zane¡ª¡± Her lips parted, as though she was about to say something, but he interrupted at that moment,


    ¡°Sonia, please be happy.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± On the other end of the line, Zane covered his eyes with one hand, so nobody could tell


    what expression he was wearing at that moment. However, it was apparent from the atmosphere around


    him that he was grief-stricken.


    ¡°Speaking of which, Sonia, do you remember the bet we made a couple of months ago?¡± Zane suddenly


    asked.


    Sonia slightly nodded. ¡°I remember. I lost that bet.¡±


    At that time, they had made a bet on whether she would get back together with Toby and her reply back


    then was no. Now that she had agreed to get back together with Toby, she had lost the bet.


    When she came to think of it now, she had lost the bet that she had made with Toby as well.


    Not long after Toby had been involved in the car ident, he had told her that he was her pen pal, John,


    when he had paid her a visit at the Bayside Residence.


    At that time, Toby had thought that Sonia would forgive everything that he had done when he confessed


    to her that he was John. Although she had said that she wouldn¡¯t forgive him back then, she still did so


    now.


    ¡°Yes, I won.¡± The smile by the corner of Zane¡¯s lips was even more bitter. ¡°But I¡¯m not happy at all.¡±


    At that point, Zane had been a little interested in her but not to the extent that he fancied her, so he had


    made that bet with her on a whim.


    Nheless, nothing could describe how much he now regretted his actions back then.


    If he could, he would return to the past and give himself a tight p. Why the heck did I make such a


    bet?


    After matching the puzzle pieces, Sonia was able to guess why he was upset. She sighed inwardly and


    murmured, ¡°Zane, at that time, we didn¡¯t specify what you wanted if you won the bet; you said that you


    would tell me when you made up your mind. Have you made up your mind now?¡±


    Zane took down his hand and revealed a pair of bloodshot eyes. His voice hoarse as he replied, ¡°Yes, I


    have.¡±


    His initial idea had been to get her to promise to be his girlfriend if she lost the bet, but he hadn¡¯t


    said it as he was afraid that he might frighten her and cause her to withdraw from the bet.


    However, now that it was time for him to tell her what he wanted so that she could fulfill it, he changed


    his mind.


    Since he had lost the opportunity to be with her, he wouldn¡¯t go back on his word and stubbornly do


    things that would hurt her.


    Even if he really used the bet that they had made to force her to be in a rtionship with him, their


    rtionship wouldn¡¯t be an oue of true love and they would only end up resenting each other.


    Hence, there was no point in going to that extent.


    On the other end of the line, Sonia, who still didn¡¯t receive any information about the bet after some time,


    had a sense of foreboding.


    At the realization that Zane might have romantic feelings for her, she was a little worried that he might


    bring up something that would put her on the spot.


    ¡°Zane, why are you not saying anything?¡± She took a deep breath and urged him to speak. His silence


    had started to worry her.


    Zane squeezed out a smile. ¡°I¡¯m organizing my thoughts. Sonia, what I want is¡ª¡±


    She held her breath. ¡°What is it?¡±


    The corner of his lips twitched helplessly when he noticed the anxiousness in her voice. Without beating


    around the bush, Zane said, ¡°What I want you to do is to be happy with Toby since you have chosen him.


    Don¡¯t be silly like how you used to be and let him bully you. If he bullies you, you should kick him out of


    your life. There are still plenty of people who love you in this world, so you don¡¯t need to keep your eyes


    on only him, understand?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia exhaled in relief. She could feel a warm feeling coursing through her, so she


    smiled and nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ve said what I wanted to say. I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± He lowered his eyes as he spoke.


    Sonia hummed in response. ¡°Okay. Thank you, Zane.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. Goodbye!¡± He waved his hand and hung up the call, then kicked at the


    office desk in front of him and muttered, ¡°Toby Fuller, you jerk! What¡¯s so good about you?!¡±

 Chapter 644

    Chapter 644


    Chapter 644 Zane¡¯s Warning


    Why did Sonia fall in love with him over and over again? Why did this happen? Is it because he is more


    handsome and richer than me? Hmm¡­ Alright, I have to admit that Toby is indeed more outstanding


    than me in terms of looks, and he has a more powerful background as well. Come to think of it, it¡¯s no


    wonder that I lost to him.


    However, deep down, Zane was reluctant to ept the fact that he had lost to Toby since this was the


    first time the former fell for someone. After letting out a self-mockingugh, he calmed down and sat


    down, then took out his phone and dialed Toby¡¯s number. He was going to call Toby to give him a good


    scolding.


    After all, Toby had stolen the person Zane fancied, so thetter wouldn¡¯t be satisfied if he didn¡¯t vent his


    anger on Toby by giving him a good scolding.


    However, the call went through and after Toby¡¯s phone rang twice, Toby ended the call. Zane¡¯s eyes


    widened in rage. He stubbornly called him again, but it was hung up once again.


    Zane was no idiot and he naturally knew that Toby intentionally hung up his call, which showed that the


    latter didn¡¯t want to pick up. Therefore, Zane had no choice but to call Toby¡¯s assistant, Tom, instead.


    This time, the call was picked up. Zane said something on the phone that caused Tom to twitch his lips.


    Then, with an indescribable expression, Tom knocked on the door to Toby¡¯s office.


    ¡°President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Come in!¡± Toby¡¯s cold voice came from his office.


    Tom pushed the door and entered the office. Toby was seen massaging his left arm behind the desk


    when Tom uttered, ¡°President Fuller, Mr. Coleman called me earlier.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Toby raised an eyebrow and stopped what he was doing to raise his head to look at Tom. ¡°He


    scolded me, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    Zane and Toby had been friends for many years regardless of the circumstances. In fact, they were each


    other¡¯s one and only friend. Therefore, Toby thought that he knew Zane quite well. The reason Zane


    called him at this point of time must have been to yell at him after knowing about his rtionship with


    Sonia. This wasn¡¯t something that Zane hadn¡¯t done in the past.


    Back when they had been university students, a junior had fallen in love with Zane and had pursued him


    for a long time. Although Zane hadn¡¯t liked the junior very much, he had agreed to date the girl due to her


    persistence.


    However, when the girl saw Toby, she suddenly had a change of heart and pursued Toby instead. When


    Zane learnt about that, he had reprimanded Toby furiously.


    Hence, this time would definitely be the same, Toby thought. On top of that, Zane had really fallen for


    Sonia, so it would only be logical for him to seek Toby out when he learnt that Toby and Sonia had gotten


    back together.


    Meanwhile, Tom, who was standing in front of the desk, didn¡¯t expect that Toby would guess it right. He


    nodded repeatedly as he responded, ¡°Yes, President Fuller. Mr. Coleman scolded you on the phone for a


    long time.¡±


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    Toby scoffed when he heard that. ¡°Knowing him, this is something that he would do.¡± This was exactly


    the reason why Toby had refused to pick up Zane¡¯s call in the first ce.


    Besides, Zane must have been heartbroken after learning about Toby¡¯s rtionship with Sonia. As a


    friend, Toby wouldn¡¯t be so cruel to the point of giving Zane another blow by picking up the call.


    ¡°President Fuller, how did you know that Mr. Coleman called you to yell at you?¡± Tom asked curiously as


    he looked at Toby.


    Upon hearing that, Toby curled up his thin lips. ¡°If the person you have fallen for ends up with your friend,


    would you scold your friend?¡±


    Tom cocked his head to one side and gave it some thought. A few momentster, he gave Toby a


    thumbs-up. It was rather obvious what his answer to the question was¡ªhe would!


    ¡°Alright. If there¡¯s nothing else, you may leave.¡± Toby waved his hand, but Tom remained rooted to the


    spot and said, ¡°There¡¯s one more thing¡ªbefore Mr. Coleman ended the call, he managed to calm himself


    down and asked me to convey a message to you.¡±


    ¡°What message?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Tom adjusted his sses before he replied, ¡°Mr. Coleman said that since Miss Reed has chosen you,


    you have to treat her well, not upset her and never let the Fuller Family bully her. He said that he cares


    for Miss Reed a lot, so if you ever mistreat her, he will end the friendship with you and take her away


    from you.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t have the chance to do so.¡± Toby pursed his lips. However, he was inwardly satisfied with


    Zane¡¯s attitude.


    From his words, Toby could tell that Zane had decided to suppress his feelings for Sonia and give up on


    her after knowing that she had chosen Toby. This suggested that Zane had a clear conscience.


    Of course, even if Zane didn¡¯t have a clear mind, he would never be qualified to be Toby¡¯s opponent. In


    fact, thetter would ughter anyone who had the audacity toy a finger on Sonia to eliminate their


    unrealistic notions!


    A cold gleam shed across Toby¡¯s eyes and disappeared in a split second.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± Tom added when he thought of something. ¡°Last night, I received an email


    from the hospital that urged you to go to do an arm check-up when you are avable.¡±


    Toby looked down at his left arm and hummed in response. ¡°Alright. Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all for now.¡±


    Toby inclined his head slightly as hemented, ¡°You may leave.¡±


    And so, Tom turned on his heel and left.


    Thereafter, Toby took his phone, unlocked the screen, and tapped open Messenger. After some thought,


    he sent a message to Sonia. ¡®Did Zane contact you this morning?¡¯


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who was holding herptop in her hands, was about to attend a meeting in the


    meeting room. She suddenly felt a vibration from her bag, so she paused in her tracks to check her


    phone.


    Upon seeing that it was a message from Toby, she put down theptop and tapped open Messenger to


    read it. She saw his question and she had no intention to hide it from him, so she replied, ¡®Yes. How did


    you know? Could it be that he contacted you?¡¯


    He chuckled. ¡®Yeah. He specifically called to yell at me.¡¯


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡®Yell at you? Why?¡¯


    Toby leaned back in his chair. With a smile by the corner of his lips, henguidly typed, ¡®I don¡¯t know.


    Maybe he had a loose screw.¡¯


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Upon seeing his reply, Sonia couldn¡¯t stifle herughter. It turns out that he not only has good


    flirting skills but also a sharp tongue. In the end, she helplessly shook her head. ¡®Don¡¯t say things like


    that. He is still your friend, after all.¡¯


    Toby¡¯s finger danced across the keyboard. ¡®Okay, I¡¯ll listen to you. Anyway, what did he tell you?¡¯


    She raised an eyebrow at that question. I see! So his true intentions are to check in on me.


    Sonia chuckled, then texted Toby and exined what Zane had told her over the phone. Toby felt slightly


    relieved after seeing that, as he had been worried that Zane would take the opportunity to confess his


    feelings to her.


    After all, Zane might want to let Sonia know his feelings since he had lost the chance to be in a


    rtionship with her. At the very least, his love for her would not be in vain.


    Of course, Toby wasn¡¯t worried that Sonia would be moved by Zane¡¯s confession, but the former was


    afraid that she might feel pressured when she learnt about Zane¡¯s feelings and feel guilty for not being


    able to reciprocate to Zane¡¯s love.


    Toby understood her character well enough to have such worries. Hence, he specifically asked her about


    all that. Fortunately, a clear-headed Zane hadn¡¯t said anything inappropriate to Sonia, which made Toby


    feel much relieved.


    And so, Toby replied, ¡®Just leave him be since he only wanted to confirm if we have gotten back


    together.¡¯


    She saw his message and typed, ¡®I understand. Speaking of which, are you going to the hospital today?¡±


    Toby had a surprised look on his face. ¡®How did you know?¡¯


    She smiled. ¡®I checked your schedule. I got it from Tim previously, so I know when you are supposed to


    go for check-ups.¡¯


    No wonder! The curvature by Toby¡¯s lips widened. She has my schedule, which shows that she pays


    attention to me all the time.


    A delighted Toby texted back, ¡®Are you going to apany me to the hospital?¡¯


    Fortunately, it would only be an arm check-up today and not a heart check-up, so he wasn¡¯t worried


    about what she might find out if she came along.


    She nodded. ¡®Of course. Your arm is in such a state because of me, so I¡¯ll have to take full responsibility


    no matter what our rtionship is. Come and pick me up at Paradigm Co.ter in the afternoon.¡¯

 Chapter 645

    Chapter 645


    Chapter 645 More Powerful


    She took the initiative to ask him to go pick her up.


    Toby¡¯s pupils dted slightly and he straightened up on his seat, the smile on his face widening.


    This was the first time Sonia requested for him to do something on her own ord.


    This showed that she had started to rely on him more and had stopped being so courteous with him. At


    the same time, she gradually epted the change in their identity and started to treat him like her


    boyfriend.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll drop by this afternoon.¡± This time, instead of typing the message, he chose to send her a voice


    message because he found that the happiness and excitement that he was feeling at the moment was


    indescribable with words.


    On the other end, Sonia tapped on the voice message and heard Toby¡¯s deep, mellow voice. Did he


    purposely speak in a deeper voice? she thought, her ears flushing.


    As she touched the tip of her ears, she reyed the voice message, and his pleasant voice that rang out


    made her blush again.


    However, this time, she noticed something different in Toby¡¯s voice¡ªhappiness. I only asked him to


    come and pick me up in the afternoon. Did that make him that happy?


    She pouted, but her eyes revealed her smiles. She then texted, ¡®Sure. I¡¯ll call you or text you in the


    afternoon. I¡¯ve got to attend a meeting now.¡¯


    After sending the message, she kept her phone away, taking a deep breath to calm her heart that had


    started to race when she heard his voice. Thereafter, she took herptop and exited the office.


    ¡°Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne stood outside Sonia¡¯s office with a hand raised. It was obvious that the former


    was about to knock on the door when the door unexpectedly opened before she managed to do so.


    Upon seeing Soniaing out, Daphne put down her hand. ¡°I was going toe get you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for the dy.¡± Sonia smiled apologetically and asked, ¡°Has everyone arrived?¡±


    ¡°Yes, which was why I was here to inform you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I understand. Let¡¯s go.¡± Sonia closed the door behind her and headed toward the elevator with


    Daphne following her from behind.


    The twodies arrived at the meeting room. The moment they stepped into the room, everyone instantly


    focused on Sonia. Their gazes contained excitement and delight, as well asplexity and anxiousness.


    The former belonged to those that sided with her, while thetter belonged to those that sided with


    Asher.


    Sonia knew very well why they looked at her with such gazes. It was because of the news that had been


    reported that morning.


    Those that sided with her were d that she had gotten back together with Toby, since this suggested


    that Paradigm Co. would be able to coborate with the Fuller Group and nothing would go wrong in the


    future. At the same time, the shareholders¡¯ profits would be guaranteed.


    On the contrary, those who sided with Asher were anxious for the same reason¡ªit being she was now


    with Toby again.


    They were aware that she had been dissatisfied with them. If it wasn¡¯t because of the fact that she would


    have a hard time finding people to rece their positions, she would have kicked all of them out of


    Paradigm Co.. As such, she had no choice but to bear with them although they had supported Asher and


    had given her many troubles.


    Nheless, at present, all of that wouldn¡¯t matter if Sonia was really in a rtionship with Toby.


    After all, the Fuller Group was full of talents. They could easily allocate some of them over to rece


    them. Therefore, it would only be natural for this group of people to feel worried and apprehensive.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Even Asher couldn¡¯t afford to be arrogant at that moment; the way he peered at Sonia was rather


    complicated, totally unlike how he had used to view her as an eyesore.


    He had been giving her a hard time by making use of his seniority in Paradigm Co., but because of Toby,


    he dared not do the same right now.


    As a matter of fact, when Sonia took away the management rights from Asher after being promoted to


    be the chairperson, the situation had proven that he was no match to her. He dared not oppose her


    openly, so all he had nned was to find an opportunity to kick her out of the position using some


    underhanded means.


    Unexpectedly, Sonia actually got back together with Toby before such an opportunity arrived. Now that


    this had happened, how could Asher deal with her? He was afraid that Toby would get rid of him before


    he actually took any action, as he was well-aware of the fact that Toby was an incredibly protective man.


    ¡°My apologies for arrivingte and having you all wait for me.¡± A simple nce at everyone in the


    meeting room was enough to allow Sonia to gauge their thoughts. She smiled, then pulled her chair back


    to take a seat.


    Everyone shook their heads and waved their hands. ¡°No worries, Chairman Reed. You are notte. It is


    us who arrived too early.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We didn¡¯t wait for long.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Thank you for your understanding, then,¡± Sonia replied with a shadow of a smile by her lips,


    thereafter taking the cup before her and sipping her drink.


    Asher and his people were snobbish indeed; they were flexible with their standings depending on the


    situation. In the past, they would say a few sarcastic words if she waste regardless of whether she was


    the chairman.


    However, at present, they expressed that it was their honor to wait for her when she waste.


    Sure enough, her position affected how these people treated her. She had never expected that she could


    make use of Toby¡¯s influence to make things easier.


    ¡°Chairman Reed.¡± Just then, one of the senior managers looked at Sonia excitedly and asked, ¡°Are the


    rumors on the Inte real? Have you really gotten back together with President Fuller?¡±


    The person who asked the question was one of the people who sided with her, and this question


    happened to be one that everyone present at the scene was dying to know.


    Sonia ced the cup down and calmly responded, ¡°Very soon.¡±


    The two simple words exined everything.


    Although they had no idea why she had said ¡®very soon¡¯, the fact that she didn¡¯t deny the question


    showed that she was really in a rtionship with Toby again.


    At that instant, the whole meeting room burst into an uproar.


    Those that sided with Sonia were excited, while those who sided with Asher were dispirited, especially


    Asher himself, whose expression became thunderous.


    Although he had been mentally prepared that the rumors might be real, he still found it a little


    uneptable upon hearing Sonia¡¯s confirmation, as this would suggest that he might never regain the


    management rights from her.


    After all, with Toby by her side, Sonia would only be more powerful and her control over Paradigm


    Co. would only be stronger.


    On the contrary, Asher could be considered lucky if Toby was willing to let him off the hook.


    At that thought, the former was afraid that Toby would hold a grudge against him because the fact that he


    had been giving Sonia a hard time was known by everyone in Paradigm Co.


    As such, he was afraid that Toby would oppress him as a form of taking revenge on behalf of Sonia.


    Meanwhile, Sonia had been secretly paying attention to Asher¡¯s reactions with the corner of her eyes.


    Upon seeing that Asher seemed dejected, as though he had suddenly aged by ten years in a matter of


    minutes, she felt that her anger had been vented.


    She knew what Asher and his men were afraid of¡ªthey were afraid that she would use Toby¡¯s influence


    to drive them out of thepany.


    Nevertheless, they had, in fact, overthought the situation since she had no such intentions.


    Firstly, she had no intention to give Toby any trouble although she was in a rtionship with him. She


    wouldn¡¯t use him to achieve her goals. If she wanted to kick them out of thepany, she would do so


    on her own.


    Therefore, the bunch of men were worrying for nothing. Although they were not on good terms with her,


    she would still keep them in thepany considering their good performance. She would only start to


    think about getting rid of them after she had trained employees that were capable enough to rece


    them.


    Having said that, Sonia wouldn¡¯t mind using Toby¡¯s reputation to decrease their sry and benefits,


    though. She couldn¡¯t very well allow those who bear her ill will to continue receiving a high sry, could


    she?


    ¡°Alright, since you all have found out what you wanted to know, let¡¯s talk about this some other time. We


    shall begin our meeting now.¡± She patted the table to calm everyone down.


    Naturally, there were no objections and they soon calmed down.


    The meeting officially began and it was 12.00 PM when it ended.


    At that point, Sonia returned to her office. When she pushed the door open, she saw someone sitting on


    the seat that belonged to her.


    That person¡¯s arrival stunned her. Her red lips parting, she gaped at that person. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

 Chapter 646

    Chapter 646


    Chapter 646 Sonia¡¯s Guarantee


    Sonia closed the door behind her before going up to him. ¡°It¡¯s not even the afternoon yet.¡±


    ¡°I have to attend to something in the afternoon, so I n to go to the hospital earlier,¡± Toby rose up and


    replied.


    Upon hearing that, she nodded. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you were here?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to give you a surprise.¡± He shed a smile at her, to which Sonia rolled her eyes as she


    commented, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is more of a shock than a surprise.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The light in Toby¡¯s eyes dimmed as he muttered, ¡°I thought that you would be happy to see


    me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop pretending.¡± Sonia knew very well that he intentionally put on a disappointed look to make


    her admit that she was d to see him.


    However, Toby had nned to maintain the act until the very end and refused to give up until she


    admitted it.


    He looked at Sonia with a sorrowful look, and his amusing expression made her twitch her lips helplessly.


    Fine, I give up! She massaged her temples while her red lips parted. ¡°Fine, I admit that I¡¯m happy to see


    you. Are you satisfied now?¡±


    The disappointment on Toby¡¯s face vanished and he returned to normal. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s good enough,¡± he


    replied as he nodded with a straight face.


    At that, Sonia shook her head helplessly. ¡°I surrender.¡±


    Toby chuckled and asked, as if something suddenly crossed his mind, ¡°Your meeting has just ended. You


    haven¡¯t had lunch, have you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She put down theptop she was holding and walked up to the water dispenser in the corner,


    asking as she filled herself a ss of water, ¡°What about you?¡±


    He sat back down. ¡°Neither have I,¡± he murmured. ¡°I¡¯m here to eat with you.¡±


    Sonia had filled up two sses of water and she handed him one of them. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll have Daphne get


    us lunch. What do you want to eat?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Just order anything you like,¡± Toby shook his head and responded.


    Sonia darted a look at him and didn¡¯t force him to tell her what he wanted. Then, she picked up the


    handset to dial Daphne¡¯s office number and told her to get some food.


    Toby raised his dark, thick eyebrows upon hearing the food that Sonia had named.


    Those were all his favorite foods.


    ¡°That¡¯s all. Send them to my office after this, and remember to prepare two sets of cutlery,¡± Sonia


    instructed before cing the handset back.


    Suddenly, Toby extended his arms and wrapped them around her waist to pull her into his embrace.


    Sonia, who was caught off guard, fell back into hisp. Startled, she cried out, ¡°Toby, what are you


    doing?!¡±


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Toby buried his head in her back, his voice deep and filled with a strong sense of fondness. ¡°You


    are so nice to me. You ordered my favorite food.¡±


    She looked back at him. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. Since you are the guest here, I have to aodate to the


    guest¡¯s preference, no?¡±


    A guest? Toby abruptly looked up at her. ¡°Am I not your family?¡±


    Sonia smiled at him. ¡°Not for now, at least!¡±


    ¡°I will be, sooner orter.¡± Toby tightened his grip around her waist and uttered with a straight face, ¡°I¡¯m


    not wrong to say that I¡¯m your family now, am I? I¡¯m just doing that in advance.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still in advance.¡± She removed his hand from her waist and got down from hisp. ¡°Also, who knows


    what will happen in the future? Maybe we will break up before you be my family.¡±


    Her words instantly caused Toby¡¯s expression to change; even the air around him became heavy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that!¡± He grabbed Sonia¡¯s hand and peered into her eyes in a serious manner. ¡°We


    won¡¯t break up. We definitely won¡¯t!¡±


    The solemn look on his face rendered Sonia speechless.


    She meant it as a joke when she had said that they might break up, but she hadn¡¯t expected that he


    would show such a huge reaction.


    She sighed, squeezing the man¡¯s hand as she promised, ¡°As long as you don¡¯t have a change of heart,


    I¡¯ll always be by your side. I¡¯ll never leave you.¡±


    On the contrary, if Toby ever had a change of heart, she would definitely leave him.


    She wouldn¡¯t be as silly as she had been in the past, thinking that he would one day reciprocate her


    feelings as long as she persisted.


    Currently, her head was as clear as ever.


    If he ever had a change of heart or did not want to be with her anymore, she would leave without a


    second thought.


    After all, what was the point for Sonia to stay if Toby had fallen out of love?


    She might as well have a clean breakup with him to retain her dignity.


    Toby¡¯s expression eased a little when he heard what she had said.


    He rose to his full height, thereafter holding her shoulders and pulling her into his embrace. ¡°No, I won¡¯t


    have a change in heart. I never will!¡± he whispered his promise.


    Sonia lowered her eyes. Truth was, it would be too early to make such a promise since nobody could tell


    what will happen in the future.


    Regardless, she still felt happy and satisfied to hear his promise at that moment, at least.


    She raised her arms and wrapped them around Toby, burrowing her head in his chest. She hummed at


    him to show that she had heard his promise.


    Toby curled up his thin lips while his chin rubbed against the top of her head.


    And so, the two of them enjoyed the quiet and cozy moment, wrapped up in each other¡¯s embrace.


    Unfortunately, not long after that, the atmosphere was interrupted by a knock on the door as Daphne


    entered the room carrying a few food containers.


    ¡°Chairman Reed, I¡¯ve bought you lunch¡ª¡±


    Before she managed to finish her sentence, she saw the couple cuddling not far away from her, which


    caused her to gape at them. When Daphne finally returned to her senses after a while, she bowed at


    them with her face flushed red. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! I shouldn¡¯t havee in. I came at the wrong


    time. P-Please carry on. I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡±


    As she spoke, she walked backwards with an awkward smile.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia got out of Toby¡¯s embrace, feeling amused as she called out to Daphne, ¡°It¡¯s


    alright, Daphne. You don¡¯t need to go out. Get the stuff here since you¡¯vee in.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Daphne smiled awkwardly and continued moving forward.


    As she approached them, she could feel the pressure building up because Toby had been staring at her


    in dissatisfaction the whole while. It was apparent that he was unhappy with her suddenly barging in and


    ruining their intimate moment.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Truth was, Daphne regretteding in as well. If she could go back in time, she wouldn¡¯t have entered


    the office at that moment.


    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such an awkward situation.


    And so, she ced the lunch on Sonia¡¯s desk and took a deep breath, trying her best to calm herself


    down. ¡°Chairman Reed, please enjoy your lunch with President Fuller. May I take my leave?¡± She


    pointed at the door.


    Sonia¡¯s red lips parted. Just as she was about to agree, the man beside her beat her to it. ¡°Please leave


    and close the door behind you. If you need toe in for any matters, remember to knock on the door


    first. Don¡¯t ever barge in rashly again. You should know your ce as a subordinate.¡±


    ¡°I understand, President Fuller. I shall take my leave right away.¡± Daphne nodded repeatedly, thereafter


    turning on her heel and dashing out of the door. Her figure soon disappeared from the room.


    The door was closed once again, leaving only Sonia and Toby in the room.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at the man. ¡°What were you thinking? Daphne is not only my secretary, but my


    friend as well. I told her that she coulde in as she pleased as long as it¡¯s not working hours.¡±


    Toby carried the lunch boxes and headed toward the lounge area opposite them. ¡°That might have


    worked in the past, but not now. You are now a person with a family.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She followed him from behind.

 Chapter 647

    Chapter 647


    Chapter 647 Save Dad


    Setting down the lunch boxes onto the coffee table, Toby then turned around and looked at Sonia before


    answering, ¡°What I mean is, from now on, I¡¯lle here often to eat with you, during which we might


    have some intimate interactions. It¡¯s not appropriate for her toe barreling in every time like that, is


    it?¡±


    Hearing his words, Sonia became flushed as she stared at him. Scoffing, she muttered, ¡°Who¡¯s being


    intimate with who now?¡±


    The man really speaks his mind as he pleases.


    Sitting her down, Toby replied, ¡°We¡¯re lovers now, and we¡¯ll soon be husband and wife. If not me, then


    who are you going to have intimate actions with?¡±


    He said that with a serious expression, as if he was implying that if she betrayed him, he would definitely


    see red.


    Holding onto her forehead, Sonia had an inexplicable expression as she touted, ¡°You can stop now,


    Toby. Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know why you want me to cancel the rule that Daphne can go in and out of


    my office as she pleases. I know that you¡¯re having a hissy fit over when she came in just now


    unannounced and interrupted us hugging.¡±


    Inyman terms, Toby was seeking revenge on Daphne.


    Ha! This small-minded man.


    Yet, after Sonia saw through him, not only did Toby not act guilty, he instead asked hurriedly, ¡°So, do you


    agree to it or not?¡±


    Motioning her hand, Sonia replied, ¡°Fine, fine. I agree.¡±


    Although she did think that he was being a bit petty, she also had to admit the fact that they would be


    seeing each other quite often in the future, and that they might be doing things that lovers would do when


    they did meet up.


    If Sonia did not warn Daphne beforehand, it would be awkward if thetter happened upon them like this


    again.


    Of course, the man standing in front of Sonia was currently more concerned of their intimate moments


    being disturbed.


    Seeing her agree finally made Toby satisfied, and he stopped the questioning. ¡°Let¡¯s eat, then.¡±


    Sonia then proceeded to open up her lunch box.


    It was almost 2 PM by the time they finished lunch.


    After delegating some work to Daphne for the afternoon, Sonia then got into the car with Toby and left


    Paradigm Co., with their destination being the First World Hospital.


    As Tim was not scheduled to operate that afternoon, he waited for them in his office instead.


    Seeing Sonia and Toby together did not surprise him at all.


    As the two just got back together again, it was still the honeymoon phase for them. This meant that


    naturally, they would be stuck like glue to each other for the whole day.


    Hence, seeing them arrive together was nothing surprising for Tim.


    ¡°Sit,¡± said Tim as he pointed at the two chairs across his office desk.


    Instead of sitting down, Toby chose to pull out the chair for Sonia first. He had perfectly demonstrated the


    definition of being a gentleman, as he sat down only after she had been seated.


    This scene made Tim raise his eyebrows.


    Oh? Is this still the same Toby that acted so arrogantly and looked down on everybody as if they were


    mere ants?


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked Tim.


    Lightly coughing, Tim replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± Pursing his lips, Toby did not buy it as he continued, ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would say that


    you were thinking of something very rude.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. As a doctor, I only think about the condition and ailments of my patients.¡±


    Toby said bluntly.


    When Tim said that, not only did Toby feel speechless, even Sonia did too.


    He only thinks about the condition and ailments of his patients? Shove off!


    Although Sonia admitted that Tim possessed a considerable amount of skill for his profession, he was


    nowhere close to being a good doctor.


    At least, she had never seen any doctor besides him treat their patients as if he was a serial killer


    catching histest prey.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s talk about other things. Dr. Lancaster, could you take a look at his elbow?¡± Waving


    her hand, Sonia changed the subject.


    Adjusting his sses, Tim said, ¡°No problem. Register him at the counter first. We¡¯ll have to conduct a


    CT scan to see how far his bones have healed.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do so now.¡± Nodding, Sonia stood up before walking over to Toby, lightly tapping his


    shoulders as she said, ¡°Wait for me here and don¡¯t bother Dr. Lancaster.¡±


    Hearing this made Toby sulk a little as he frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of person.¡±


    ¡°Stop it. You think I don¡¯t understand your personality?¡± Pouting, she continued, ¡°Paranoid and overly


    stoic¡ªthat is how you are. Anyway, just stay quiet for now. I leave first. Be back in a jiffy.¡±


    Stating her piece, Sonia then left the office for the registration window.


    After she finished, she was preparing to walk back when she heard a familiar voiceing from the


    elevator.


    The owner of the voice was wiping her eyes, looking like she was weeping.


    However, Sonia only took one nce at her. As to why the woman was crying, she couldn¡¯t care less.


    After all, who would care about why their enemy was crying?


    Thinking that, Sonia walked back with an expressionless face as she stared straight ahead.


    Although Sonia paid no attention to that person, that person had noticed her, as she had stopped


    sniffling and widened her eyes in response.


    Obviously, the woman was shocked to see her at the hospital too.


    But that onlysted for an instant. Suddenly remembering something, she bit her lip and turned to


    Sonia¡¯s direction, chasing after her. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    With a slight frown, Sonia thought to herself, How unlucky.


    The person that she did not want to deal the least with came looking for her.


    Not nning on stopping, Sonia only increased her pace as she pretended not to hear her.


    However, the woman also did not intend to let Sonia go, and she matched her stride before running in


    front of Sonia, stopping her advance.


    Left with no other choice, Sonia could only stop and asked the person blocking her emotionlessly, ¡°Is


    there anything I can help you with, Miss Gray?¡±


    That person in question was none other than Rina Gray.


    Instead of immediately replying, Rina bit her lip while looking at Sonia teary-eyed, as if she was


    struggling to form a sentence.


    Seeing this made Sonia frown even deeper. ¡°Miss Gray, if there is nothing of importance, please get out


    of the way. I have things to do and I do not have time to waste on you.¡±


    After that, she tried to force her way through.


    Spreading out her arms, Rina stopped her once again. ¡°Miss Reed, you cannot leave.¡±


    With a frustrated expression, Sonia was obviously fed up with her as she countered, ¡°Miss Gray, what is


    it that you want? Are you going to say it or not?¡±


    Opening her mouth, Rina suddenly grabbed onto Sonia¡¯s hand and said desperately, ¡°Please, Miss


    Reed, you have to help my dad.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Rina¡¯s words left Sonia in a state of utter confusion.


    cing her hand on her forehead, the frowning Sonia finally made sense of what she heard. However,


    this only made herugh. ¡°Did you say you want me to save your dad? To save Titus?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed. Save him! Please save him!¡± Nodding profusely, Rina went to grab her hands again.


    Stepping backward, Sonia managed to avoid her. As if she was looking at a fool, Sonia questioned,


    ¡°Miss Gray, is everything alright with your brain? Are you asking me to save Titus? Have you gone mad,


    or is there a problem with my hearing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad and you heard me correctly.¡± Shaking her head, Rina continued, ¡°I meant what I said¡ªI


    would like you to save Dad.¡±


    With a cold expression, Sonia countered, ¡°No, Taylor, I do think you¡¯ve gone mad. What are you thinking


    of, wanting me to save Titus? You want me to save my enemy? Did you not take your meds or


    something? Now, get out of my way!


    Losing all patience, Sonia bumped into Rina¡¯s shoulder and continued walking.


    Although strange things happen every year, this year, it seemed to be happening quite frequently.


    Of all people, Taylor actually asked her to save Titus.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    She¡¯s absolutely crazy!


    How do you evene up with such a thing?


    ¡°Sonia, you can¡¯t leave!¡± Suddenly, as Rina shouted from behind her, she tugged at Sonia. With a twisted


    expression, Rina screamed at her, ¡°You have to save him! This is your responsibility, Sonia! Your


    responsibility, you hear me?!¡±


    With a darkened expression, Sonia said, ¡°This is my responsibility?¡±

 Chapter 648

    Chapter 648


    Chapter 648 Moral Coercion


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s your responsibility to do so!¡± With a determined expression, Rina insisted that the responsibility


    of saving Titus fell on Sonia, and that thetter had to take on this liability.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Sonia barely managed to keep her anger at bay as she asked bluntly, ¡°Oh


    really? Pray tell, why is this my responsibility?¡±


    ¡°Because you are¡­¡±


    Before finishing her sentence, Rina fell silent once again. Her expression kept changing and all kinds of


    emotions manifested themselves as doubt, hesitation and struggle flitted across her face.


    Peering at her, Sonia questioned, ¡°Why are you not telling me about why all of this is my responsibility?¡±


    Biting down hard on her lower lip, Rina still stayed mum as she clenched her fists.


    She nearly said out loud that Sonia was Titus¡¯ biological daughter.


    But midway through her sentence, Rina discovered that if she did let slip this information, then she would


    have exposed herself as the impostor of Rina Gray.


    If so, then she would have been chased out from the Gray Family, not to mention from thevish lifestyle.


    So, she can never say it!


    At that thought, Rina tightly shut her eyes. When she reopened them again, she found her mind a lot


    clearer and calmer.


    Looking at Sonia, she finally spoke. ¡°That¡¯s because you have apatible kidney with my dad, so you


    can¡¯t just let him die like that, Sonia.¡±


    At this point, Rina truly treated the Gray¡¯s as her real parents.


    The time spent with them made her understand what parental love was, so she did not want Titus to


    pass just like that.


    More importantly, once Titus died, the Gray Family would die alongside him. When that happened, she


    could also say goodbye to her current decadent life.


    Hence, no matter what, she had to save Titus.


    Back then, Rina found Sonia¡¯s body checkup report by chance in the trash, which she then took to cross


    check with Titus¡¯ bloodwork. It was only then she knew that Sonia¡¯s kidney waspatible with his.


    That was why when Rina saw Sonia right now, the former was so adamant in wanting thetter to save


    him.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes narrowed and her expression changed.


    Her kidney was actuallypatible with Titus¡¯?


    How can that be?


    ¡°How do you know that we havepatible kidneys, Taylor?¡± Walking up to her, Sonia grabbed the


    woman¡¯s wrist and pulled her over to interrogate her fiercely. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    Taylor would have never been able to do thepatibility test without Sonia¡¯s own DNA.


    However, Taylor knew Sonia waspatible with Titus, which was why Sonia realized that Taylor would


    have done the test earlier.


    The thing Sonia was curious about was how Taylor managed to get her DNA.


    Although Sonia¡¯s grasp hurt Rina, thetter did not try to shake her off. Instead, Rina replied as she


    looked at her, ¡°Miss Reed, how I found that out is not what¡¯s important. Anyhow, I know that you and Dad


    havepatible kidneys, so please save him. I beg of you! He has been diagnosed with kidney failure


    and needs a kidney transnt¡­¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s kidney failure.¡± Pretending to just know about this, Sonia smirked openly. ¡°That¡¯s good news. It¡¯s


    divine retribution, you know. That evil man finally gets what he deserves!¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed!¡± Rina shouted suddenly. ¡°You can¡¯t say that about him! After all, he is¡­ He is¡­¡±


    ¡°He is?¡±


    Biting her lip, Rina fell into a deep struggle once again.


    Not wanting to wait for her, Sonia interrupted, ¡°I don¡¯t care who he is, but the fact that I know he has


    kidney failure is a rather joyful piece of news. Taylor, I don¡¯t know how you got the information about our


    compatibility, and I also don¡¯t know what you were thinking, wanting me to save Titus by donating one of


    my kidneys to him. I can tell you outright that you can give up on this thought. He is my enemy and I


    happen to want to see him die, so why on God¡¯s green earth would I save him? You can go back and tell


    him that I¡¯m looking forward to hearing about the news of his death!¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s indifferent words made Rina¡¯s face flush with anger.


    Clenching her fists, Rina trembled with rage. ¡°You¡¯re a heartless person! Even if there¡¯s bad blood


    between you and Dad, this is a life we¡¯re talking about here. Is there anything more important than a


    person¡¯s life? There isn¡¯t, is there? A life is the most important thing of all, so you should set your hatred


    aside and save him first. Not only do you not want to, you¡¯re even spouting sarcastic nonsense here. You


    heartless woman! You have the ability to save him, so why¡ª¡±


    ¡°Must I save him just because I have the ability to do so?¡± Annoyed by all this, Sonia interrupted and


    snapped, ¡°Taylor, I¡¯ll have you know that choosing to save somebody is down to the rtions between


    the two people, and choosing not to save somebody is down to one¡¯s sense of duty. If I don¡¯t want to,


    nobody can make me save him. Also, your words on the importance of life, of wanting me to let go of the


    hatred and save my enemy, is a load of bullsh*t. I¡¯ve never heard anything so hypocritical in my life! You


    don¡¯t seem like much of a saint yourself, so I was wondering how you can even say all those things?¡±


    Rina opened her mouth, but she found herself unable toe up with a rebuke.


    So how exactly did she say all that in the first ce?


    Of course, it was all under the heat of the moment, a convenient excuse that she came up with, to be


    exact.


    Rina did not want to tell Sonia her real identity but at the same time, she wanted thetter to save Titus.


    So, that was why she said to Sonia to forget about her hatred and save him first.


    Even in Rina¡¯s own heart, she knew how hypocritical she was being as she said that.


    If it were her, she also would not save an enemy if she knew that that person was dying.


    However, she had no other choice, and the only person who could save her father was Sonia. Hence,


    Rina could only utter those words under the pretense of not letting her real identity slip.


    Clenching her fists, she plucked her courage up and tried to persuade Sonia again. ¡°Miss Reed, I know


    that I¡¯m making it hard on you by asking you to save Dad, but think about this for a second¡ªif you do


    save my father, that means that you¡¯ll be his literal lifesaver. When that happens, Dad might even resolve


    his animosity toward the Reed Family!¡±


    Her words made Sonia sneer in response. ¡°Resolve his animosity against my family? I think you¡¯re


    mistaken, Taylor. The animosity between our families was started by the Grays, so it should be the


    Reeds that resolve this chain of hatred between the two families, not Titus.¡±


    With that, Sonia waved her hand, motioning that she had had enough of this. ¡°Taylor, you can save your


    breath. The issue here is even if the person you wanted me to save was not Titus and it was some


    complete stranger, I would still reject you. This is my kidney you¡¯re talking about, so why should I give it


    up just to save someone else? I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m simply not that noble. I don¡¯t really care about other


    people¡¯s life or death. If you were in my position, I don¡¯t think you would want to lose one of your kidneys,


    would you?¡±


    If a person really required help, Sonia was willing to donate money and goods. But donating a kidney?


    That was out of the question.


    It made no sense to torture herself just to save someone else.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Again, Rina was struck silent by Sonia¡¯s words, and her expression switched back and forth from anger


    to panic, making it look quite humorous.


    Smirking, Sonia continued, ¡°See¡ªeven you can¡¯t answer that, so what right do you have in wanting me


    to save your father? I have to remind you that he is my enemy. Aren¡¯t kidney transnts supposed to be


    from one¡¯s flesh and blood, or someone they share blood with? That makes the rejection from the body


    the lowest, so if you are Titus¡¯ daughter, you should be the one donating your kidney to save him.¡±


    ¡°M-My kidney is notpatible!¡± Lowering her gaze, Rina answered as she tried to hide the truth from


    her eyes.


    Not knowing that Rina was telling the truth, Sonia only thought that the former was lying out of sheer guilt


    due to her lowered head. And so, Sonia ridiculed, ¡°Even you as Titus¡¯ daughter don¡¯t want to donate your


    kidney to your own father. Instead, you came here to coerce me morally. Aren¡¯t you something else?¡±

 Chapter 649

    Chapter 649


    Chapter 649 It¡¯s a Match


    Hearing this, Rina raised her chin and stared fiercely at Sonia. ¡°What do you know? You know nothing


    about this, so how dare you say I¡¯m not willing to donate my kidney to Dad? I want him to continue living


    more than anyone in this world. It is only through him that everything I have now will stay as mine, and


    only¡­¡±


    Whatever she was going to say, only Rina herself knew, as she fell silent yet again. Looking at her, Sonia


    guessed that it was some kind of secret yet again.


    Not interested in her little secrets, Sonia stated bluntly, ¡°I don¡¯t care about what you have or want. From


    my standpoint, I think something¡¯s wrong with your brain, as you¡¯re asking your father¡¯s enemy to save


    him. I actually am quite amazed that you came up with such a n. Also, I was already being quite


    merciful when I didn¡¯t just curse him to die immediately, so you¡¯d better stop persuading me to save him,


    else I don¡¯t know what I might do. This kind of ¡®joke¡¯ is beyond me.¡±


    After stating her piece, Sonia did not even bother to look at Rina before she spun on her heel, directly


    heading to the elevator.


    At that point, Sonia had lost all patience to deal with the other woman.


    This woman is seriously sick in the head! She¡¯s not normal. If this continues, she might just say


    something saintly that goes againstmon sense again. This makes me sick!


    Hence, Sonia¡¯s best option was to get out of there as soon as possible.


    Staring at Sonia¡¯s silhouette, Rina did not try to hold her back this time. Instead, she shouted at her with


    a terrifying expression and wide, bloodshot eyes, ¡°If you don¡¯t save my dad, you¡¯lle to regret this!


    You¡¯ll regret this, I tell you!¡±


    Briefly stopping in her footsteps, Sonia rolled her eyes before continuing to walk away.


    Come to regret this?


    I wille to regret not removing my own kidney to save my enemy?


    How preposterous!


    Not wanting to rebuke or acknowledge Rina any further, Sonia went into the elevator and disappeared.


    With eyes full of rage, Rina kept staring at the doors of the elevator.


    She had decided that since Sonia was not going to help her father, Rina would do it herself!


    No matter the cost, she needed him to stay alive.


    With such thoughts in her mind, she drew in a deep breath and turned around, walking in a different


    direction.


    After the two left, a person wearing the patient¡¯s overalls came out from the corner.


    Stroking her chin, she looked in the direction where Sonia had left, then in Rina¡¯s direction.


    Is that woman the daughter that Titus recently found? They certainly don¡¯t look alike!


    The thoughts lingered around her head as Jessica narrowed her eyes to slits.


    Of course, this was not the most important part. The key was that this daughter of Titus did not seem to


    be the sharpest tool in the shed, as she actually wanted Sonia to donate a kidney to save him.


    What¡¯s going on in her head? What kind of a person do you have to be toe up with a n like that?


    Also, thatment about her being a saint nearly made Jessicaugh out loud.


    Yet, the strangest thing was that Rina said Sonia woulde to regret not saving Titus.


    Looking at Titus¡¯ daughter¡¯s when she said those words, she seemed to be quite sure that Sonia will


    reallye to regret this.


    But why?


    Might there be some inconceivable secret in all this?


    Pursing her lips, Jessica mused to herself.


    On the other side, Sonia went back to Tim¡¯s office, looking visibly upset.


    At that time, Tim had already done some initial checks on Toby and was waiting for the registration slip


    from Sonia so that he could take Toby to conduct the CT scan.


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s expression made Tim put down his cup. Just as he was going to ask about what


    happened, he saw a figure rushed to stand up and walked past him to Sonia.


    Right, I almost forgot her boyfriend canfort her far better than I can. Let¡¯s not butt in.


    Shaking his head, Tim once again raised his teacup and took a sip, his demeanor rxed. He also made


    himself at home watching the two lovebirds showing some PDA.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Toby, who lifted Sonia¡¯s head up, asked hurriedly.


    Handing over the slip over to Tim, Sonia then replied, ¡°I met a crazy person. I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    ¡°What crazy person?¡± Toby frowned as he pressed on.


    As this was the First World Hospital and not an asylum, there was no way that a mentally deranged


    person would appear.


    Obviously, she meant she met someone she hated.


    Not intending to hide anything, Sonia proceeded to recount everything that happened between her and


    Rina.


    Hearing that, Tim spat out the tea from his mouth.


    Sonia, who was shocked by seeing him gaffe like this for the first time, asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Waving his hand, Tim replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just that I was surprised by your words. Your kidney is actually


    compatible with Titus¡¯?¡±


    Pursing her lips, Sonia muttered in a frustrated tone, ¡°That¡¯s what Taylor said. I¡¯m not sure if it was true or


    not, but looking at her expression, I¡¯m inclined to think that it was the former.¡±


    The matter made her extremely sour.


    If one¡¯s organs werepatible with others, that meant that people would be aiming for the organs in


    that individual¡¯s body; the most disgusting part was the fact that Sonia¡¯s waspatible with her


    enemy¡¯s.


    A pale Toby, who stood by her side, kept silent and he had his eyes closed.


    What Sonia said was of no shock to him.


    After all, she was Titus¡¯ biological daughter. The chances of having apatible kidney with him would


    naturally be very high, which was why the fact that it matched was nothing to be surprised about.


    He was livid at Taylor, who secretly scheduled thepatibility test and targeted Sonia¡¯s kidney.


    ¡°Let me see.¡± With both Tim and Sonia not knowing what Toby was thinking about, Tim opened his


    computer and essed an encrypted software, stating, ¡°I have the detailed metrics of your body here. I¡¯ll


    ess Titus¡¯ info and cross check between the both of you. This way, we¡¯ll know if that woman was


    speaking the truth or not.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you, then.¡± Sonia smiled gratefully at him.


    Although Sonia knew that what Rina said was true, she still held a sliver of hope in her heart.


    Yet, this hope was quickly shattered by Tim.


    After he saw the result from cross checking, he clicked on the mouse vigorously, his expression dark.


    Seeing this made Sonia¡¯s heart sink as she already understood what this meant. Drawing in a deep


    breath, she said, ¡°Taylor¡¯s right, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    Raising his head, Tim nced at her. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve seen your information and discovered that regardless of


    the blood type or other metrics, you have a high assimtion rate with Titus¡¯ data. It¡¯s as if you two are


    father and daughter. No wonder your kidney ispatible with his.¡±


    Hearing the words father and daughter made Toby¡¯s eyes narrow. His voice serious, he muttered,


    ¡°Alright, now¡¯s not the time to discuss this. How¡¯s Titus¡¯ current condition?¡±


    Tim shook his head as he replied, ¡°Not good, I¡¯m afraid. Yesterday, he was admitted yet again. The


    medicines he was prescribed prior are slowly losing their effect, so the hospital¡¯s advice was to


    hospitalize him. However, he wouldn¡¯t agree to that, so now hees in every two to three days. He


    hasn¡¯t been discharged as we speak. If this continues, I estimate that he¡¯ll be meeting God right about


    next year.¡±


    ¡°No wonder Taylor was crying about it at the hospital.¡± Sonia nodded after realizing the situation.


    Toby had his eyes half-closed, and no one knew what was going on in his mind.


    In the end, Tim stood up and said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for now. You don¡¯t have to worry about what the


    Grays will do now that they know your kidney ispatible with Titus¡¯. With him around, nothing will


    happen to you.¡±


    He pointed at Toby as he said that.


    Raising his gaze, Toby gave him a look that said he was stating the obvious.


    Smiling gently, Sonia replied, ¡°I know. I¡¯ll protect myself properly too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. If the worstes to worst, there¡¯s still me.¡± Pushing his sses, Tim continued,


    ¡°If he really dares toe for your kidneys, I¡¯ll help you kill him. Don¡¯t worry, as a doctor, I have my ways


    to make him disappear without a trace on this world, and nobody will be able to find him ever again.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Sonia became quite speechless and looked at him resignedly. ¡°Dr. Lancaster, as a doctor, isn¡¯t it


    your main duty to save people? Don¡¯t keep talking about death all day long, will you? It spoils your


    image!¡±

 Chapter 650

    Chapter 650


    Chapter 650 Rina¡¯s Fear


    She had never seen a doctor like him, who instead of thinking how best to save his patients, was thinking


    about how to kill people.


    Rather than a doctor, it would be more fitting to call him a devil.


    Catching Sonia¡¯s meaning, Tim adjusted his sses and smiled casually. ¡°Rx. To normal people or


    people that I don¡¯t harbor malice toward, I leave them well alone. I only strike against those who are truly


    evil. Also, don¡¯t you think a devil that tortures his own kind is an amusing thing?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched as she replied, ¡°Whatever floats your boat.¡±


    Since Tim said that he would only target evil people and not normal people, she decided to leave him


    alone.


    At this moment, Toby suddenly covered her ears and looked disapprovingly at Tim. ¡°In the future, don¡¯t


    keep mentioning these kinds of violent things to her. You¡¯ll dirty her ears.¡±


    Seeing Toby¡¯s overprotectiveness made Tim pout and stop talking.


    Sonia took Toby¡¯s hands away from her ears and she reassured, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Toby. It¡¯s just words and not


    real, gritty scenes. It¡¯s not as bad as you make it out to be. Let¡¯s go now. We still have to get you that CT


    scan.¡±


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Toby agreed and nced at Tim. ¡°Hurry up.¡±


    Not bothering to even reply, Tim walked out of the office as he twirled his scalpel.


    Sonia, who was holding onto Toby¡¯s arm, followed suit.


    After half an hour, the CT scan was finished.


    Then, Toby and Sonia sat at the waiting area outside the CT room, waiting for the report toe out.


    Suddenly, Toby saw a shadow passing through the corner from the other side, but it disappeared as


    soon as it appeared.


    His gaze darkened when he saw this and he stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll be making a call outside. Just wait here. I¡¯ll be


    back soon.¡±


    Not thinking why he had to step outside to take a call, Sonia only thought that he was going to discuss


    some confidential deals, so she nodded in agreement. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Ruffling her hair, Toby then walked to the direction of that same corner.


    Looking at his silhouette, Sonia slowly tidied up her messy hair. It was not until he disappeared into the


    corner did she finally stop and yed with her phone.


    On the other end, Toby had chased the shadow to where she was outside aboratory.


    Just as she wanted to knock, Toby¡¯s cold gaze peered at her and he shouted, ¡°Taylor Carey!¡±


    Hearing the man¡¯s voice made Rina, who was standing outside theboratory holding Titus¡¯ body


    checkup report, m up as her expression changed for the worse.


    Toby?


    Why is he here?


    Stiffly, Rina turned her body around as she faced the man who slowly walked toward her. Toby¡¯s


    dominating aura made her feel extremely pressured, to the point where she had to control her breathing


    as she became very cautious.


    At the same time, the hand that was holding onto the report tightened slowly, until it became a long strip


    of paper. Her calves even started to tremble as he approached. Rina wanted to step backward, but it was


    as if her feet were glued to the ground and they simply would not budge. Finally, the pale-faced Rina


    could only look at the man standing before her.


    ¡°P-President Fuller¡­¡± Drawing in deep breaths, she tried hard to suppress her fear for the man as she


    greeted him in a trembling voice, all the while guessing wildly about his motives in finding her.


    Seeing this cold expression made her realize that he had a very bad opinion of her.


    What did she do to offend him so?


    Biting her lip, Rina thought back on the few seconds of their encounter. However, she could not find out


    exactly when she managed to offend him.


    Since thest time they met after the paternity test, she had not seen him face to face again. Hence, she


    was extra sure that she did not do anything to offend him.


    Suddenly, a person appeared in her mind that made her gasp in horror.


    Sonia is the cause of this!


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Rina, who had bumped into Sonia just now, had even told thetter that she should donate a kidney to


    save Titus. This would definitely have offended Sonia.


    It just so happened that the man facing Rina now was madly in love with Sonia. Obviously, his


    appearance at the hospital was due to Sonia, which meant that he likely knew about the conversation


    that took ce between Rina and Sonia. Now, it made sense why he chased after the former.


    How could Toby ept the fact that Rina wanted Sonia, who was the love of his life, to donate a kidney?


    Naturally, anyone would explode in rage by this. That was why he came looking for Rina.


    Truth was, Rina¡¯s guess was actually right on the mark.


    Toby, who was initially sitting outside the CT room, caught a glimpse of Rina. He instantly thought about


    the incident between Sonia and her.


    Initially, he had nned to let Tom bring the woman to him after they had left the hospital.


    However, she then appeared right in front of him.


    Since this happened, how could he miss this perfect opportunity?


    Toby consolidated his thoughts and a sh of menace danced in his gaze before he reached out and


    forcefully choked Rina with a powerful grip.


    Not thinking that he would suddenly make a move, Rina was so scared to the point that she turned as


    white as a sheet of paper. With her mouth opening and closing, she struggled to make a sound, ¡°P-


    President¡­ F-Fuller¡­¡±


    She wanted to make him loosen his grip but out of fear for the man, she let her hands fall after raising


    them multiple times and let him just choke her like that.


    She was afraid that if she retaliated, she might agitate him even further, resulting in him choking her to


    death.


    The Rina now was not the same country bumpkin that first came to Seafield back then.


    Presently, she understood how powerful the people from the higher society were. Even though the Gray


    Family was considered quite influential, they were nothing whenpared to the man in front of her.


    Hence, if he really wanted to choke her to death, things would still smooth themselves out and he would


    not pay any price for it.


    ¡°Not bad, Taylor!¡± Not knowing Rina¡¯s thoughts, Toby once again tightened his grip on her throat. Looking


    at her gasping for air through her gaping mouth to her teary eyes because of her current predicament,


    not only did Toby not soften, he was even more disgusted by this. ¡°How dare you make Sonia donate a


    kidney to Titus?!¡±


    His words made Rina¡¯s pupils contract.


    Sure enough, he had sought her out because of this. It was to make her know the consequences of


    doing so.


    At that point, Rina, who was being choked, could not speak properly. The sounds she made were


    extremely unpleasant and hoarse as she choked out, ¡±I¡­ didn¡¯t have a choice. I did it to save Dad. Miss


    Reed b-being his flesh and blood should¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care whose biological daughter she is; she¡¯s not obligated to save anyone!¡± Knowing what Rina


    was going to say, Toby instead interrupted her as he did not want to listen to her. With an emotionless


    tone, he continued, ¡°Also, Titus never cared to raise her. Instead, he only troubled her again and again,


    so what right do you have to make her try to save him?¡±


    As he said this, he raised his arm up even further.


    Rina, who easily weighed over 40 kgs, was being lifted by him single-handedly.


    Due to the absence of staff in the hospital today, not to mention they were in a high security area, there


    were even less people around. Otherwise, passersby would have resorted to calling the guards if they


    chanced upon this scene.


    ¡°Mr. Fuller¡­ P-Please¡­ let go of me first¡­¡± The suffocation made Rina¡¯s eyes bloodshot as her face


    contorted due to not being able to breathe freely.


    Not wanting to kill her then and there, Toby chose to chuck her to the side.


    Rina, who fell onto the floor, clutched at her throat as she gasped for fresh air.


    Standing at his spot, Toby looked at her from above. ¡°Taylor, didn¡¯t I warn you that if you wanted to stay


    as Rina Gray, you should do so quietly and not stir up any trouble? I also told you to keep your hands off


    of Sonia, or I would make your life a living hell. Why didn¡¯t you listen?¡±

 Chapter 651

    Chapter 651


    Chapter 651 A Healed Elbow


    After her body stiffened for a split second, she then proceeded to slowly stand up and replied cowardly,


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry President Fuller. I-It was a hot-headed decision on my part. I just couldn¡¯t bear to see Dad


    suffering this much. That¡¯s why I said those words to Miss Reed; it was all under the heat of the moment.


    I really did not mean anything by it!¡±


    ¡°Whether it was on purpose or not, I believe you and I know the truth. You don¡¯t want Titus to die


    because you think that upon his death, everything you have now will turn into dust. That¡¯s why you, who


    wants Titus to live more than anyone else, wanted Sonia to save him when you happened to bump into


    her.¡± A light smirk appeared on Toby¡¯s face as he exposed Rina¡¯s hypocrisy without batting an eyelid.


    Shuffling backward, Rina wanted to exin that it was not the case but upon looking into his emotionless


    eyes, she felt an invisible force choking her again, making her unable to make a sound.


    Then, Toby took out a decorative handkerchief from his chest pocket and wiped his hand that he used to


    choke her nonchntly. ¡°You should be d that you did not tell Sonia her real identity. Otherwise, I


    would¡¯ve killed you on the spot just now.¡±


    The mere thought of Sonia breaking down due to learning about her real identity made Toby¡¯s heart


    twinge in pain. He just could not ept such an oue.


    Fortunately, the woman in front of him was too greedy and did not want to give up on her current status.


    If she wasn¡¯t, things would have gotten out of hand.


    Hearing the words ¡®killed you on the spot¡¯ made Rina¡¯s body go cold as her eyes showed extreme fear.


    Turned out that Toby actually had the intent to kill her just now. She was truly hanging onto her life by a


    thread because back then, she nearly failed to hold it in about the truth of Sonia¡¯s origin.


    That was to say, if she hadn¡¯t reacted in time and had let slip the truth, she would currently be¡­


    Not daring to venture further into her imagination, Rina bowed profusely. ¡°I know I¡¯m in the wrong,


    President Fuller. I really regret my words and I swear I will never do it again!¡±


    Throwing away his handkerchief, Toby warned, ¡°Remember your words now. If you dare to set your


    sights on Sonia¡¯s kidney, you will be the first to die. Bottom feeders like you who crawled up often cherish


    their lives the most. I assume you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    The sudden turnaround from poor to rich had caused Rina¡¯s mentality to change along with it.


    She had seen prosperity like never before,vishness the old Rina would not even begin toprehend.


    That was why she wanted to continue to live more than anyone. Only by living could she continue to


    enjoy all these. If she died, all of these would be meaningless.


    For this kind of people, death was always the best threat.


    As expected, once Rina heard that Toby would kill her, she nodded repeatedly, as if nodding any slower


    might cost her her life. ¡°Yes, yes, I fully understand. I will never do it again. I will leave Miss Reed alone


    from now on.¡±


    Pursing his lips, Toby said, ¡°I will not believe what you just said based on your word. From now on, I will


    have my people watch you all day. If you have any funny ideas¡­¡±


    Although Toby did not finish his sentence, it was clear what he alluded to.


    However, Rina did not think that he would be so ruthless as to send people to keep tabs on herself.


    Once that happened, she really would have her hands tied.


    Something shed across her gaze as she lowered her eyes. In an almost inaudible voice, she


    whispered, ¡°Yes. I understand, President Fuller.¡±


    Without further ado, Toby turned around and left.


    His goal ining here was just to give her a warning and nothing else.


    Even if he wanted to take it further, he would not choose to do it in a hospital. After leaving, he could still


    call on Tom to teach her a lesson.


    Toby was not such a generous person as to let Rina off with such a simple warning after she wanted


    Sonia to give up a kidney.


    Returning to outside of the CT room, Toby found Sonia ying a game on her phone.


    Hearing the footsteps and the familiar scent emanating from the man, she put down her phone and


    raised her head. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡±


    On his way back, Toby had alreadyposed his emotions, which was why when he faced Sonia again,


    there was only gentleness on his face. The cold attitude from dealing with Rina was nowhere to be


    found.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Nodding, he sat down by her side.


    Looking at him, Sonia asked, ¡°What took you so long? Is there something wrong with thepany? If


    so, you can go deal with that first. I can wait for the report here and I¡¯ll call you when it¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Toby said as he tucked her hair that had fallen to the side when tilted her head while


    gaming just now. Gently, he replied, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with thepany. It¡¯s just that the call


    dragged on for a bit.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Not suspecting anything, Sonia nodded and stopped questioning him.


    Then, the door to the CT room opened and Tim came out wearing ab coat. He had one of his hands


    inside one pocket and the other holding a folder. His big, wide strides paired with his coat as it flowed at


    a beautiful rhythm were candy for the eyes.


    If not for his extremely cold gaze telling people explicitly that he was not one to be trifled with, he would


    be an exceptionally charming man.


    ¡°Are the results out, Dr. Lancaster?¡± Sonia stood up as she asked, her voice full of concern.


    Seeing Sonia so nervous about the report made Toby smile as he stood up too but instead of looking at


    Tim, Toby looked at Sonia as he just could not get enough of her.


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    Seeing Toby being so pathetic made Tim¡¯s eyes sh with a hint of disdain toward the other man.


    However, it vanished in the blink of an eye.


    This is a man who is trapped in love. What a stupid look to have!


    Fortunately for Tim, he was not in love with anyone. Otherwise, the thought of having such a dumb look


    like Toby would make the former want to torture himself.


    ¡°The results are out.¡± Blocking out such thoughts, Tim nodded slightly.


    Sonia¡¯s gazended onto the file in his hands. ¡°What¡¯s the oue? Is his elbow healing nicely?¡±


    Looking toward Toby, Tim clutched the file under his armpit as he took out the scalpel he usually yed


    with from hisb coat pocket. In a swift motion, he shed the strap that was dangling from Toby¡¯s neck.


    At that moment, the strap that supported Toby¡¯s left arm broke, causing his left arm to swing downward.


    Seeing this gave Sonia a good fright, and she quickly held Toby¡¯s left arm up. She was afraid that the


    abrupt motion might have caused problems for the still-damaged arm.


    ¡°Dr. Lancaster, what are you¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish her sentence, Toby used his right hand to gently pat her back. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Since


    he did that, it means that my elbow must be almost healed by now and I don¡¯t need to keep it on a strap


    anymore.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes shined as she looked at Tim hopefully.


    After twirling his scalpel, he put it back into his pocket and replied, ¡°He¡¯s right; otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have


    done that.¡±


    With that, he handed over the file to Toby. ¡°Take a look¡ªthis is his CT scan. The bones in his elbow are


    healing up nicely. Although it hasn¡¯t fully healed, he does not need to support it anymore and he can


    perform simple rehabilitation. In short, as long as you don¡¯t lift heavy stuff and don¡¯t exert toorge of a


    motion, it should be no problem.¡±


    Hearing that made Sonia¡¯s face light up. ¡°That¡¯s good news! Do you hear that, Toby? As long as you


    don¡¯t lift heavy things and don¡¯t exert your left arm too much, your arm should be fine!¡±

 Chapter 652

    Chapter 652


    Chapter 652 He Has Emotions


    Sonia looked at Toby¡¯s left arm before patting it gently. Then, he moved his arm a little before asking with


    a soft voice, ¡°I heard it all, but I¡¯m not sure if I can remember everything, so, Sonia, can you supervise


    me after this?¡±


    ¡°Supervise you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Supervise me to prevent me from lifting heavy objects or doing strenuous


    exercises so that my arm can heal faster.¡±


    Right then, Sonia¡¯s lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something. Meanwhile, Tim, who was


    standing at a side,mented nonchntly, ¡°Supervise? I think he just wants you to apany him


    more after this.¡±


    Immediately, the warm look on Toby¡¯s face disappeared and was reced by a disdainful look before he


    gave Tim a dark look. ¡°No one would think that you¡¯re mute if you don¡¯t talk.¡±


    Nevertheless, Tim shrugged in an unfazed manner. ¡°I just don¡¯t want her to get tricked by you.¡±


    At this moment, Toby was so pissed off that he wanted to punch Tim. How is this trickery when it is just


    harmless flirting between a couple? What can a person who is single know about this?!


    Staring at those two throwing snarky remarks at each other, Sonia massaged her temples as she didn¡¯t


    know how to react. ¡°Alright. Stop fighting with each other.¡± Then, she turned toward Tim and thanked


    him. ¡°Dr. Lancaster, thank you for your kindness, but I knew what he was trying to say.¡±


    Sonia wasn¡¯t a fool, and it was impossible for her not to realize that Toby just wanted herpany.


    Although Toby didn¡¯t make himself clear and asked her to ¡®supervise¡¯ him instead, she didn¡¯t feel like she


    was lied to because such wasmon among couples.


    Sometimes, beating around the bush could sound way more flirtatious than being straightforward, and


    that was the fun of being in love. However, Tim had never been in a rtionship, so he didn¡¯t understand


    how things worked in a rtionship.


    Nevertheless, Sonia was still touched by his kind gestures for not wanting her to be tricked.


    ¡°You knew?¡± Tim was shocked while Sonia hummed in agreement. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Toby put his arm around Sonia¡¯s shoulder before giving Tim a disdainful look. ¡°How does it feel to fail in


    kissing a*s?¡±


    Right then, Tim¡¯s mouth twitched a little before he went quiet while Sonia jabbed the man next to her with


    her elbow and motioned for him to shut up before she gave Tim an apologetic smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dr.


    Lancaster. He¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Tim waved them off. ¡°I really don¡¯t understand what people are thinking about when they¡¯re in a


    rtionship. Why can¡¯t you guys be straightforward? Why must you guys beat around the bush and be


    all ambiguous? Thank god Ick emotions. Else, I would have been so annoyed.¡±


    After being diagnosed with antisocial and affectionless personality disorder when he was a child, Tim had


    been treated badly by his parents as well as the people around him. They¡¯d even call him an emotionless


    monster at times.


    Nevertheless, Tim couldn¡¯t understand how he was emotionless until he grew up and noticed the


    invisible bond between the people around him that could make them closer to each other. At that


    moment, he realized he had no emotions and couldn¡¯t sense any emotions or humanistic bonds.


    From then onward, he harbored a great interest in the idea of rtionships. He was eager to know how a


    rtionship worked and how it could draw humans together. Hence, he focused his research on


    rtionships after his undergraduate studies and found out that there was not just one type of


    rtionship. Instead, there were many types of rtionships.


    As Tim continued researching, he got more confused and felt that rtionships wereplicated to the


    point of iprehension, so he dropped his research.


    Tim knew that continuing his research would only bring to naught, as he had no emotions, and his


    studies wouldn¡¯t bear any fruits. Hence, he couldn¡¯t understand that what Toby said to Sonia just now


    was just a way of him flirting instead of tricking her.


    ¡°Dr. Lancaster, who said that you¡¯re emotionless? You do have emotions,¡± Sonia said to Tim.


    Immediately, Tim¡¯s pupils constricted a little. ¡°What did you just say? Did you just say that I have


    emotions?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Your protection toward me is a type of emotion. If you don¡¯t feel any


    emotions, why are you so protective of me?¡±


    She had heard of rumors of Tim, as his nickname, Demon Tim, was a notorious one. Everyone in the


    field knew that an emotionless freak came out from the famous medical family, the Lancaster Family.


    At first, Sonia genuinely believed that Tim was emotionless, as she couldn¡¯t sense any respect toward


    life orw from him after all. However, she realized that he might not be emotionless after seeing how he


    took care of Tina and herself,ing to the conclusion that he only harbored emotions toward certain


    people.


    Still, Sonia was sure that Tim¡¯s feelings toward her weren¡¯t love or friendship. Instead, he looked up to


    her as if she was his gospel, a goddess, perhaps. Considering Tim¡¯s childhood, she believed he looked


    up to her because she had once saved him. It was Sonia who made Tim realize that there were people


    that didn¡¯t hate the demon.


    ¡°Are you for real? I¡­ actually have emotions?¡± Tim pointed at himself. The man, who was usually smart


    and calcting, suddenly had a confused look on his face.


    Right then, Sonia hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°Of course. Although you act indifferent around people,


    that doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯re emotionless. You¡¯re not the monster others call you to be.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tim felt his heart skip a beat before his gazended on Sonia. Immediately, Toby got


    annoyed and grabbed Sonia¡¯s hand before pulling her behind him and taking a step forward to block her


    from Tim. Then, he stared at Tim coldly. ¡°Have you stared enough?¡±


    Yet, Tim ignored him before he lowered his gaze and chuckled. ¡°This is the first time someone told me


    I¡¯m not a monster. Sonia, you¡¯re really an angel.¡±


    He went into a pond when he was a kid. As the cold pond water slowly drowned him, he could only


    struggle and shout for help as he didn¡¯t know how to swim.


    Despite many adults and kids his age walking past him, not one person was willing to stop by to save


    him. Instead, all of them gave him a disgusted look and left quickly, as if they would be murdered by a


    monster if they didn¡¯t.


    Yet, what they did not know was that Tim wasn¡¯t interested in ordinary people like them. He could only


    get excited by being able to control the life of people who were extremely sinful. Still, no one gave him


    the chance to tell them that.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    As Tim was slowly losing his strength and was starting to drown at the bottom of the pond, an angel


    appeared. Sonia found a wooden stick and pushed it toward him for him to grab it before pulling him up


    and saving him.


    At that moment, Tim suddenly realized that he wasn¡¯t hated by everyone. At least, there was actually a


    person who didn¡¯t look at him with hate-filled eyes but worried ones instead.


    It was right then that he swore to protect Sonia forever. She was the one who showed him color in the


    world he had once epted to be monotonous. Losing her was, to him, losing the only patch of color in


    the ck and white world.


    Sometimes, Tim would wonder if he wasn¡¯t emotionless, would he have been head over heels for her.


    When Sonia told him he actually had emotions, it became clear to him that his feelings toward her


    weren¡¯t one of love or friendship but something rare.

 Chapter 653

    Chapter 653


    Chapter 653 Are You Still Coming Over Tonight?


    Even so, Tim remained content. At least he wasn¡¯t entirely emotionless.


    ¡°Angel?¡± Sonia¡¯s head peaked out behind Toby¡¯s back curiously when she heard how Tim addressed her.


    Right when she wanted to ask Tim why he¡¯d given her such an intimate nickname, arge palm


    appeared before her head and pushed her back.


    ¡°Be obedient and stay in the back. Stop moving or looking around, please.¡± Toby turned around and told


    her.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia felt her mouth twitch a little, and she really felt likeughing.


    They were both well aware that he just didn¡¯t want Tim to look at her, as Tim was staring at her intently


    after her question. What a possessive man. It¡¯s not as if Tim will fall in love with me. What¡¯s the point of


    doing so?


    Still, Sonia obediently stayed behind Toby¡¯s back and stopped moving as she respected his feelings.


    After all, it was better to go along with a jealous man, as it would be harder to appease them if they got


    even more jealous.


    When Toby saw Sonia going along with his request, he nodded before turning around with satisfaction.


    Then, he removed all traces of emotions on his face and stared at Tim coldly. ¡°Why are you giving her


    weird nicknames now? Stop calling her that from now on.¡±


    Even if Sonia is an angel, I¡¯m the only one allowed to call her that. She¡¯s my angel and no one else¡¯s.


    Tim looked up before replying coldly, ¡°Who are you to tell me what to do?¡±


    Toby harrumphed. ¡°Of course, I can tell you what to do. If I get Sonia to ask you to stop, would you not


    listen to her?¡±


    He knew Tim was nice to Sonia not because of love but because Sonia was his lifesaver. If it weren¡¯t so,


    he wouldn¡¯t have allowed Tim to get closer to Sonia.


    Still, that doesn¡¯t mean they could be this close!


    Upon hearing Toby¡¯s words, Tim pursed his lips and went quiet.


    Now that Toby and Sonia were almost together, Sonia would ept it if Toby really wanted Sonia to ask


    Tim to stop.


    At the same time, Tim could only agree with Sonia¡¯s request, as he didn¡¯t want to disappoint her. In other


    words, Toby would still be the winner in the end. This was Tim¡¯s first time feeling aggrieved as he stared


    at Toby with a distant glint in his eyes.


    However, Toby wasn¡¯t afraid of him at all. Instead, he felt very pleased and delighted as the corner of his


    lips turned up because he had won.


    Tim will never call Sonia such an intimate nickname anymore.


    ¡°Sonia, we should leave now.¡± Right then, Toby turned around and grabbed Sonia¡¯s hand.


    Staring at the pleased expression on Toby¡¯s face, Sonia felt likeughing as she shook her head. ¡°Why


    are you so childish?¡±


    Toby was confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go.¡± Sonia smiled before shaking her head.


    It was better if Sonia didn¡¯t exin that his action to get Tim to stop calling her an angel was childish. If


    she told him about it, it would be hard to see him like this anymore. After all, she found him cute this way.


    At the thought of that, Sonia turned toward Tim. ¡°Dr. Lancaster, we shall leave now. Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± Tim nodded.


    Then, Sonia and Toby turned around and headed to the elevator.


    When they left the hospital, Sonia noticed Jessica, who was wearing a hospital gown and sitting on a


    bench in the garden not far away from her, in the midst of a call. Involuntarily, she paused a little in her


    steps.


    Following her gaze, Toby narrowed his eyes when he noticed Jessica as well. ¡°Should we head over?¡±


    Sonia went quiet for a few seconds before she shook her head in the end. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We can just ask Dr.


    Lancaster if we want to know about her condition. There¡¯s no need to approach her ourselves, and I¡¯d


    really prefer not to have an argument now. Since this is a hospital, it will be impolite if we do so.¡±


    Toby chuckled lightly. ¡°I¡¯ll go along with whatever you decide to do.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± When Sonia reached out to hold his hand, his eyes widened a little as a delighted look


    appeared on his face.


    Even though she wasn¡¯t looking at him, she could sense that he was in a good mood and couldn¡¯t help


    but chuckle softly.


    Is he really that happy because I took the initiative to hold his hand? Is he really so easily satisfied?


    The two of them left the hospital and got into the car. After getting into the car, Sonia received a call from


    Daphne and started talking about work matters, while Toby took his phone out and started discussing


    something as well. About two minutester, he kept his phone and started the car engine.


    An hourter, Toby finally sent Sonia back to Paradigm Co.


    When Sonia unfastened her seatbelt and wanted to get out of the car, she suddenly thought of


    something and turned toward the man. ¡°By the way, are you still¡­ing over to mine tonight?¡±


    During these three days, Toby had been spending the night at Sonia¡¯s. Even if she hadn¡¯t invited him to


    stay over officially, he¡¯d always find ways to stay over at hers.


    Hence, it was possible that he might go over to hers tonight as well. If that was so, Sonia figured she


    should go for a grocery run, as there was nothing left to cook at home after all.


    Upon hearing her question, Toby had his gaze brightened immediately. ¡°Is that an invitation?¡±


    A guilty look shed past Sonia¡¯s eyes before it disappeared, and she cleared her throat before


    answering, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m just asking.¡±


    Staring at Sonia¡¯s nervous look, Tobyughed a little. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll take it as an invitation, anyway. Usually,


    I¡¯d go over happily, but I won¡¯t be going over this time. Tomorrow¡­¡±


    He lowered his gaze before the atmosphere in the car became tense as his voice became weird. ¡°I have


    something to do tomorrow.¡±


    Right when Sonia wanted to ask what was going on, she suddenly recalled something.


    It was Toby¡¯s mother¡¯s death anniversary tomorrow.


    At the thought of Rose¡¯s enjoinment, Sonia took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Then, she


    acted as if she didn¡¯t know anything and asked in a calm manner, ¡°Where are you staying tonight, then? I


    heard that you hadn¡¯t been returning to the Fuller residencetely.¡±


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve been staying at my t at Skrk Tower during these few months, as it is


    closer to mypany.¡±


    Besides, he chose to stay there back then, seeing how it was also near Sonia¡¯s ce. At this moment,


    Sonia made a mental note of the name of the ce where Toby was staying and nned to visit him


    tomorrow.


    As for his unit number and house floor, she still hadn¡¯t nned to ask him about it yet, as her intentions


    might be revealed if she asked too many questions.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia was afraid that Toby might stay somewhere else and hide somewhere no one would know if he


    found out she wanted to apany him for his mother¡¯s death anniversary. After all, he would be at his


    weakest on that day, and he might not want Sonia to see him like that.


    Hence, Sonia could only ask simpler questions and get more details from the people around him


    tomorrow. At the thought of that, Sonia closed her eyes and rposed herself. ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯ll be


    leaving now. Drive safe on your journey back to thepany.¡±


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Toby suddenly called out.


    Immediately, Sonia¡¯s hand pulled back from the door handle. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Can you give me a kiss before you leave?¡± Toby was staring at Sonia with his dark eyes. ¡°Just the


    cheek will do. Maybe your kiss will be able to give me enough power to get through my difficulties.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    She knew really well what Toby was trying to say, and he meant that he would have the courage to face


    tomorrow on his own if she gave him a kiss.


    It seems like he knows how he will react tomorrow.


    Staring at Toby¡¯s expectant face, Sonia moved her lips a little. Nevertheless, she ended up not saying


    anything before she opened her arms and hugged Toby.


    Right then, Toby was stunned. ¡°Sonia, you¡ª¡±


    It was obvious that he didn¡¯t expect Sonia to hug him, as he only asked if she could kiss him.


    I guess this is a pleasant surprise?


    At the thought of that, Toby chuckled softly before he reached out to pat Sonia¡¯s back. Then, he turned


    his face toward her ear and asked gently, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

 Chapter 654

    Chapter 654


    Chapter 654 Thrown Gift


    Regardless of Toby¡¯s question, Sonia said nothing and merely hugged him tighter. From her memories,


    he used to be ever so gentle, but he had be a cold and demanding man now. Despite his extreme


    personality change, it didn¡¯t seem like he had moments of weakness.


    However, the truth was, he did. The strong man that looked as if he had no weakness actually had a fatal


    weakness. It was hard to imagine how much impact witnessing his mother¡¯s death had on him, causing


    his entire temperament to go through a drastic change during his mother¡¯s death anniversary.


    If his trauma couldn¡¯t be resolved, he would still have to repeat this for the uing years of his life.


    If any of Toby¡¯s enemies or Fuller Group¡¯spetitors found out about this, they might take advantage of


    it, and that might be fatal for Toby as well. At that thought, Sonia sympathized with Toby even more.


    Upon sensing that, Toby had his gaze darkened a little before he returned to normal and used his chin to


    rub against her shoulder while whispering, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    What Toby meant was that he would get through tomorrow safely and wouldn¡¯t get into any troubles.


    When Sonia heard him, she immediately realized that Toby had already guessed why she suddenly got


    depressed and hugged him.


    Initially, she was still worried that Toby might lose it if he learned that she knew about his mother¡¯s death


    anniversary, but his reaction was surprisingly calm.


    It seemed like Toby didn¡¯t mind Sonia knowing about his mother¡¯s death anniversary and his personality


    change during that day. This showed that Sonia¡¯s act to probe his action previously wasn¡¯t necessary at


    all.


    In fact, Toby might have also guessed that she would look for him during his mother¡¯s death anniversary.


    It¡¯s good that Toby didn¡¯t drop me hints to not go over to his ce when he already knew what I was


    trying to do. This means that he won¡¯t mind me going over or seeing him tomorrow.


    In that case, Sonia wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Toby reacting badly if she went to look for him


    tomorrow. Right then, she let go of Toby and looked at him for a long while. ¡°I hope so.¡±


    After that, she lifted her chin and nted a kiss on the man¡¯s cheek. ¡°I¡¯ve given you what you wanted. I¡¯ll


    be leaving now.¡±


    Then, Sonia opened the car door and got out while Toby, who was still sitting in the car, touched the side


    of his cheek that Sonia kissed before chuckling lightly.


    Rolling his car window down, he then shouted at the woman walking toward Paradigm Co., ¡°Sonia!¡±


    At this moment, Sonia stopped walking and turned around before giving Toby a smile. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    She had a warm smile on her face, enough to make her look like a tiny sun and brighten up sadness.


    Still, Toby shook his head slightly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just felt like calling out for you.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°How childish can you get? Alright. You should leave now in case of a traffic


    jamter on.¡±


    After saying that, she waved and motioned for the man to leave quickly while he hummed in


    acknowledgment. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really leaving now!¡± Toby dered again while Sonia felt likeughing. ¡°Just go.¡±


    Tony pursed his lips and rolled up the car window reluctantly before he finally drove away.


    Meanwhile, Sonia stood there and continued waving at him before his carpletely disappeared out of


    her sight. Then, she put her hand down and turned around before she started heading toward Paradigm


    Co..


    When she got to the top floor, she took her office smart card out and wanted to get into her office.


    However, she suddenly noticed that the secretary¡¯s office next to her was wide open when she got near


    her office, and Daphne was sitting inside with a conflicted frown.


    cing her smart card down, she reached out to knock on the secretary¡¯s office door.


    When Daphne, who was in her office, heard knocking sounds and looked up to see Sonia, she quickly


    stood up. ¡°Chairman Reed, you¡¯re back!¡±


    Sonia smiled before nodding and entering the office.


    At this moment, every other secretary and personal assistant in the office quickly stood up and greeted


    Sonia while she returned their gesture with a smile. ¡°Just continue working. You guys don¡¯t have to be


    bothered by my presence.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± All the secretaries and personal assistants sat back in their seats and continued working after


    hearing thement while the chairperson herself headed toward Daphne.


    Daphne quickly moved away to give Sonia her seat. ¡°Have a seat, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be leaving in a bit.¡± Sonia shook her head to indicate that she wouldn¡¯t be taking the seat,


    and Daphne sat back in her seat again. Since they were friends outside of work, it¡¯d be natural for them


    to omit unnecessary pleasantries.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    ¡°Chairman Reed, do you need anything from me?¡± Daphne asked curiously while Sonia ced her


    hands against Daphne¡¯s office desk. ¡°I don¡¯t have any work-rted issues, but I¡¯m just curious about


    your well-being because I noticed you looked depressed when I saw you from the outside just now.¡±


    After Sonia¡¯s question, Daphne¡¯s gaze dimmed before she looked down.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia got more worried. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what happened? Let me know if you¡¯re


    facing any difficulties, and I can help you out as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± Daphne shook her head. ¡°Nothing happened to me. It¡¯s just that I gave President Lane


    a scarf that I knitted, and I called him to ask if it suited him, but he threw it away.¡±


    Ever since Sonia encouraged her to pursue Charles, she pondered about it and realized that her boss


    was right.


    If Daphne couldn¡¯t even take the initiative to pursue the person she liked, she shouldn¡¯t expect their


    romance to blossom because it was impossible to get a response from merely crushing on someone.


    Still, even if Daphne¡¯s crush wasn¡¯t reactive to her initiatives, at least she tried. Hence, she wouldn¡¯t have


    any regrets, as she would really regret not doing anything at all.


    Despite that, she didn¡¯t expect something like this to happen after mustering the courage to give her


    crush a present for the very first time.


    Nevertheless, Sonia was stunned when she heard Daphne and frowned. ¡°What?! Charles threw your


    present away?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daphne nodded as loneliness and bitterness shed past her eyes. ¡°President Lane doesn¡¯t like


    me, so it¡¯s natural that he won¡¯t like the gifts that I give him too.¡±


    Daphne¡¯s face darkened immediately. ¡°That¡¯s outrageous. He could have just returned the gift if he didn¡¯t


    like it instead of throwing it. How can he act like that? I need to talk to him.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne quickly grabbed Sonia by her arm and shook her head with a sad


    look. ¡°Chairman Reed, please don¡¯t ask President Lane about this. Right now, he doesn¡¯t treat me like


    how he used to in the past and really hates me. If you confronted him about throwing the scarf, he would


    surely think that Iined to you and might hate me even more.¡±


    Daphne was rendered speechless.


    Indeed, since she found out about Charles discarding Daphne¡¯s scarf through Daphne, he would surely


    think that Daphne wasining to her if she confronted him


    If that happened, Charles might despise Daphne even more.


    ¡°Chairman Reed¡­¡± Daphne felt uneasy, and her grip on Sonia¡¯s arm tightened a little when Sonia


    remained silent. ¡°Chairman Reed, are you still going to confront President Lane about this?¡±


    When Sonia noticed the nervous and scared look on Daphne¡¯s face, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°I won¡¯t


    confront him about it.¡±


    Immediately, Daphne sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you, Chairman Reed.¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia gave her a look. ¡°Daphne, are you going to just go along with whatever Charles is


    going to do? He had already thrown the scarf that you¡¯ve spent so much effort on, and you¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Daphne forced a smile on her face. ¡°President Lane hates me, so the chances of him throwing


    my gift would be higher than him returning it. I¡¯ve already made mental preparation for it anyway.¡±


    After pausing for a few seconds, Sonia poked Daphne¡¯s forehead. ¡°Are you dumb?¡±

 Chapter 655

    Chapter 655


    Chapter 655 Toby¡¯s Birthday


    Meanwhile, Daphne smiled wryly as her head moved backward after getting poked. ¡°A little. Still, people


    are fools for love, yes? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve experienced this in the past as well, Chairman Reed.¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what to say upon hearing that because Daphne was right. People were fools when


    they were in love, and she was indeed love drunk in the past too. Still, even when she recalled how


    much of a fool she was in the past, she couldn¡¯t bring it upon herself to hate her past self.


    Sonia¡¯s past self was her most innocent form, as she had never experienced any hardship yet, and all


    she could focus on was to love Toby and wait for her love to be reciprocated. Sometimes, she really


    missed her past self because her current self wasn¡¯t able to love a person so stubbornly any longer.


    The current Sonia was rational for that. Although she could still love, she would never allow herself to


    lose herself or her pride and turn into a mindless puppet for love. True love should be equal.


    There¡¯s no power rtion in a rtionship, and true love means equality. Both parties should encourage


    and support each other. Should both of them stop loving each other, the separation should be mature


    and calm without hard feelings.


    Sonia had made it clear to Toby that they were together now because they loved each other.


    In the future, if any party stopped loving the other party, they should talk about it and break up peacefully


    instead of torturously tying each other down.


    At the thought of that, Sonia patted Daphne¡¯s back. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was a fool in the past, just like you,


    but my current self is definitely not one. Of course, I can¡¯t force you to change your mindset toward love


    now, as everyone has a different mindset during different phases of their life, and me forcing you to


    change will be self-defeating. Maybe you¡¯ll be someone like me one day after you experience


    enough pain in your rtionship.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± A confused glint shed past Daphne¡¯s eyes.


    Knowing that Daphne didn¡¯t really understand what she was talking about, Sonia chuckled lightly.


    ¡°Alright. You shouldn¡¯t think too much about it, and I won¡¯t ask Charles about this, so don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just


    your thrown scarf. You¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already contacted my past colleagues and asked for their help to retrieve it,¡± Daphne said timidly.


    ¡°They¡¯ll probably send it back to me tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded, indicating that she understood.


    Then, she thought of something and asked again, ¡°By the way, can I know why Charles hates you? Is it


    because you love him? Because that¡¯s a really ridiculous reason to hate a person. As someone who


    grew up with him, I understand his personality, and it¡¯s impossible for him to hate girls who like him.¡±


    After all, Charles was good-looking and came from an influential family, so his upbringing wasn¡¯t too bad.


    Ever since he was a kid, he¡¯d always had girls that liked him and confessed to him. Nevertheless, he


    would always reject them politely and return the gifts that they gave him politely. He¡¯d never cause any of


    the rejected girls to feel embarrassed or ufortable.


    Therefore, Charles had always had a good image in front of thedies. Thus, Sonia was confused when


    she learned that Charles hated Daphne.


    By right, Charles wouldn¡¯t have hated Daphne for confessing to him as she had been working as his


    secretary for years, and the two of them were friends as well.


    Still, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but notice that Charles¡¯ attitude toward Daphne was really odd.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s question, Daphne panicked visibly before she quickly lowered her head to cover


    her nervous look. ¡°M-Maybe, it¡¯s because I don¡¯t deserve him¡­¡±


    After she spent the night together with Charles, his attitude toward her took a drastic change as he was


    disgusted at her for taking the opportunity to get into his bed.


    Although she felt aggrieved and wanted to defend herself, she knew she did indeed have different ideas


    when she didn¡¯t push him away, causing them to have a physical rtionship.


    When Daphne thought about it now, she really regretted her actions. If she had pushed Charles away


    and stopped him back then, he wouldn¡¯t have hated her, even though he¡¯d still not ept her.


    At the thought of that, Daphne covered her face and started sobbing. ¡°All of this is my fault. I asked for


    it¡­¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia narrowed her eyes when she saw Daphne¡¯s reaction. ¡°What happened between you


    and Charles?¡±


    Daphne sniffed before shaking her head. ¡°Chairman Reed, can you stop asking me about that? I really


    can¡¯t tell you about it¡­¡±


    Sonia sighed helplessly when she saw how much pain Daphne was in. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll stop asking you about


    it, and I won¡¯t confront Charles either. You can confide in me once you¡¯re ready, and I¡¯ll still be willing to


    be your listening ear.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne stopped covering her face and forced a thankful smile while Sonia


    passed her a tissue paper. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t thank me. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have encouraged you to confess


    to Charles; maybe things wouldn¡¯t end up like this for you if I hadn¡¯t done that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± Daphne took the tissue paper and dried the corners of her eyes before whispering,


    ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault, Chairman Reed. Even if you hadn¡¯t encouraged me to do so, President Lane and I¡¯d


    still end up like this either way.¡±


    As Sonia only encouraged Daphne after what happened between her and Charles, what happened


    between them wasn¡¯t Sonia¡¯s fault.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Still, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but sigh helplessly, seeing Daphne¡¯s reaction, and went quiet.


    Meanwhile, Daphne pursed her lips and took a deep breath. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m fine now, Chairman Reed.


    Thanks forforting me. I¡¯ve taken up so much of your time when you should have been busy with


    work. You should return to your work now.¡±


    Figuring out that Daphne didn¡¯t want to talk about her rtionship with Charles any longer, Sonia could


    only go along and hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll return to my office now. I won¡¯t ask you or


    Charles about anything, and I¡¯ll leave you guys alone to deal with your problems. Of course, you can talk


    to me anytime you want if you need my help.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne nodded.


    Then, Sonia patted Daphne¡¯s back again before leaving. When she returned to her office, she sat down


    in her office chair and massaged her temples.


    I really didn¡¯t expect Charles and Daphne¡¯s rtionship to take such aplicated turn. From Charles¡¯


    hatred toward Daphne and his action of throwing away her gift, it seems like Daphne had really done


    something that crossed his line.


    Still, Daphne¡¯s action to give Charles a present made Sonia recall something.


    Toby¡¯s birthday ising soon, too. Should I prepare a present for him?


    Sonia tilted her head and pondered to herself, Should I get him a shirt? Maybe not, though! All of Toby¡¯s


    outfits are tailor made and cost up to millions. There¡¯s no way that I can buy him clothes when there¡¯s


    only about a million in my savings. If that¡¯s the case, maybe I can get him clothing essories such as a


    necktie clip. Still, Toby doesn¡¯t need stuff like this, and he could also get items with better quality than the


    ones that I got him. In that case, it would be inappropriate for me to buy him these as well.


    Although Sonia knew that Toby would wear what she gifted them, hispetitors would surely make a


    joke out of him. They¡¯dugh at him for wearing cheap essories and question Fuller Group¡¯s ability.


    In short, Sonia couldn¡¯t allow Toby to getughed at by others because of her presence.


    Wouldn¡¯t that mean that I still don¡¯t know what to buy him?


    Sonia scratched her head before sighing and taking her phone from the table. ¡®Are you there yet?¡¯ She


    tapped into the messaging app to send Toby a message.


    Toby¡¯s reply came in quick. ¡®Just got down from the car.¡¯


    Right then, he closed his car door with a smile on his face before staring at his phone while heading to


    the elevator.


    Initially, Toby wanted to text Sonia after he got out of his car, but he didn¡¯t expect Sonia to send him a


    text first.


    Is this what they call telepathic?


    On the other hand, Sonia leaned back when she saw Toby¡¯s reply. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. By the way,


    what kind of gifts do you like?¡±

 Chapter 656

    Chapter 656


    Chapter 656 A Funny Sticker


    Gifts? Toby was stunned at first, then broke into a light chuckle as he asked through a voice note, ¡°Why,


    are you thinking about getting me a present?¡±


    ¡°Your birthday¡¯s just around the corner,¡± Sonia replied with a voice note of her own, nodding on the other


    end of the phone.


    It was only upon hearing her question that he remembered his birthday was fast approaching. It was no


    wonder then that she asked him so abruptly about what he would like for a gift. A warm smile graced his


    lips as he replied, ¡°Anything you get for me will be fine.¡±


    He didn¡¯t expect her to remember his birthday, let alone offer to buy him a gift for the asion of her own


    ord. The thought of this cheered him up to no end, and the smile on his face widened into a grin.


    The other Fuller Group employees who hung around the parking lot couldn¡¯t help but be shocked at the


    sight of Toby¡¯s kilowatt smile.


    Everyone thought of him as a walking iceberg, and there were even senior members of the staff who


    imed to never have seen Toby smile. In fact, his impassive demeanor seemed so consistent and


    unwavering that the senior staff thought he had a terminal condition that made him unable to smile.


    However, they were now bearing witness to the extremely rare moment where Toby was smiling¡ªno,


    grinning¡ªand it was safe to say that they were all shocked.


    That being said, Toby¡¯s face certainly lit up handsomely when he smiled. At that moment, it was as if his


    features had shed their usual indifference and took on a warmer edge instead. He must be in love, the


    employees who watched him thought in unison. They had seen the news from a couple of days ago, and


    they would wager that their guess was correct.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was oblivious to what was happening on Toby¡¯s end. She brought her ss to her lips


    and took a sip of water, then said into her phone through yet another voice note, ¡°Well, that¡¯s not a good


    enough answer. You have to tell me what you really want, or I won¡¯t be able to get you a gift at all. And


    for the record, you¡¯re not allowed to tell me to forget about the gift because then I¡¯ll be very unhappy.¡±


    Ever since their rtionship became official, Toby had always been the one to give, but she never got


    the chance to return such favors. Now that his birthday was rolling around, she thought it would be the


    perfect excuse to get him a present.


    Presently, Toby blinked as he listened to her voice note. I have to tell her what I really want? In actuality,


    he had no idea what he really wanted, either, because he already had everything, and he really did not


    n on letting her buy him a present.


    But he certainly didn¡¯t expect her to have the foresight to warn him off, iming that she would be very


    unhappy with him if he were to refuse her offer of a gift.


    Guess I have no choice in the matter. At the thought of this, he shook his head with good-natured


    exasperation, then chuckled as he said, ¡°Let me think about it, and I¡¯ll get back to you on this.¡±


    When Sonia heard his answer, she nodded and replied through text, ¡®Okay.¡¯ When her message got


    through, she stared at the chat bubble in thought. Standing on its own, her reply seemed a little cold and


    distant. She quickly followed up with, ¡®I shall await your reply with bated breath!¡¯ Then, she attached a


    sticker of a ginger cat making heart hands¡ªor rather, heart paws.


    She blushed furiously at the sight of the sticker. This was the first time she had ever sent him such a bold


    and outwardly-affectionate sticker. She couldn¡¯t help being a little embarrassed and anxious about it.


    On the other end of the conversation, Toby¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the sticker, and he was clearly


    surprised by it.


    Heposed himself just as quickly and let out a smallugh, thereafter saving the sticker and made to


    reply with one of his own. However, when he clicked into his own sticker collection, he fell silent, for he


    had no emojis or stickers other than the preset ones that came with the application.


    As such, he found himself having to search through and download new stickers if he wanted to send one


    to Sonia. Thankfully, he could select the category of stickers he wanted in the application, and it didn¡¯t


    take him too long to find a whole bunch of stickers that more than adequately conveyed his affections for


    Sonia.


    He scrolled through the catalog and finally settled on the one he thought was most adorable. Saving it


    into his collection, he promptly sent it to Sonia.


    Sonia, on the other hand, had assumed that there would be no reply on his end after several minutes of


    inactivity. As of now, she had already set her phone aside and was drinking water from her ss.


    She had only just taken a sip when her phone vibrated, and after seeing the iing message, she


    ced her ss down and grabbed her phone.


    Upon taking a nce, she sputtered, causing water to spray all over her screen before she doubled over


    inughter. My goodness, I can¡¯t believe he actually sent me a sticker like that! It¡¯s so adorable that it¡¯s


    entirely at odds with his usual demeanor!


    She tried to picture Toby choosing and sending the sticker, and it amused her so much that she couldn¡¯t


    stopughing. With his appearance and carriage, she would associate him with a user of the


    conventional array of emojis, like the ones that came with the application. The sticker he used is more


    popr among girls, given how cute it is, and I can¡¯t believe he actually sent it to me! While Sonia found


    thisical, she also thought it was an endearing gesture on his part.


    Havingughed so much that her stomach cramped, Sonia drew in a deep breath to calm herself. She


    wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, then pulled out a piece of tissue to wipe dry her phone


    screen.


    She wiped off the droplets, but as soon as she did, the sticker he sent looked even clearer than it had


    earlier. This time, she sputtered and burst into uncontrobleughter.


    She was certain that he couldn¡¯t possibly be a collector of stickers, and aside from the default emojis,


    there was nothing else on his phone that could be as humorous as this sticker. As such, she came to the


    natural conclusion that he had, in his few minutes of inactivity, been searching for stickers and decided


    on this one.


    Then, she thought about how serious he must have looked while hunting for stickers with which he could


    reply to her, and she felt a surge of warmth course through her, alongside renewed amusement.


    After all, it was no easy feat for a man to be quite so serious about these things. Normally, they would go


    for the preset emojis in the application, which only made Toby¡¯s gesture all the more glorified.


    ¡°Must have been quite the challenge for you,¡± Sonia mumbled affectionately, smiling as she shook her


    head and clicked on the sticker he sent, thereafter saving it.


    Over at Fuller Group, Toby had only just stepped out of the elevator when he saw a couple of male


    assistants and secretaries huddling in the hallway.


    The one standing in the center of the group was holding his scarf with a proud grin on his face, boasting,


    ¡°I can¡¯t expect the lot of you pathetic single men to understand the meaning behind this! So what if the


    scarf is pink? It¡¯s a gorgeous shade that my wife picked out for me. I bet you¡¯re all just jealous!¡±


    His gloating was met with rounds of scoffing and jesting as his peers rolled their eyes at him.


    While this was happening, Toby stood in front of the elevator and narrowed his eyes inquisitively. His wife


    gave it to him? What could she have possibly given him to make him so happy? When he saw the small


    group of men getting rowdy, he pursed his lips and demanded icily, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    When the secretaries and assistants heard his frigid voice, they broke apart immediately and fell in line,


    as though in a military encampment. They stared at Toby warily and greeted, ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    Darn it, when did President Fuller show up? And what timing! He caught us while we¡¯re cking off work.


    They all felt an impending sense of doom as they prepared themselves to either be fired or demoted.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby walked up to them with a somber expression, assessing them with his freezing gaze. The


    assistants and secretaries felt chills running up their spines, and they girded their loins as they waited for


    him to say something.


    After a long, suffocating pause, Toby parted his lips and asked crisply, ¡°You¡¯re all just going to stand


    around here gossiping while work is piling up in your offices? Last I checked, lunchtime is over.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, President Fuller. We won¡¯t do this again,¡± the men said shakily, bowing their heads apologetically.


    Toby scoffed. ¡°Your bonus will be docked this month. Now get back to work.¡±


    ¡°Yes, right away,¡± they responded hastily, all heaving quiet sighs of relief. As far as they were concerned,


    it was a miracle at all that they were only going to have their bonuses docked instead of getting demoted


    or fired on the spot.


    With that in mind, they quickly spun on their heels and darted back into their offices.


    As for the man with the scarf who had been a target of friendly jesting earlier, he was just about to go into


    his own office when Toby said, ¡°You. Stop right there.¡±


    The secretary felt all the color drain from his face, and he grew extremely anxious. Oh, no. Oh, crap. Is


    he going to punish me? It was no surprise that he would feel this way, seeing as he was the reason why


    the other male secretaries and assistants had cked off in the first ce. He had a terrifying inkling that


    Toby might punish him and make an example out of this.


    When the other secretaries and assistants saw their peer getting called on by Toby, they shared the


    same premonition. s, all they could do was pray for the poor man, but they had no intention of staying


    to save him from misfortune.

 Chapter 657

    Chapter 657


    Chapter 657 Hand-Knitted Scarf


    The secretaries and assistants were worried that if they slowed down their pace, Toby would turn his


    attention to them as well. And woe be to them if that were toe to pass! As such, they hurried down


    the hallway, leaving their fallen colleague to deal with Toby¡¯s wrath.


    Presently, the male secretary, Jacob, dared not meet Toby¡¯s gaze. He kept his head down, and he was


    trembling slightly. It was clear to see that he was intimidated by Toby.


    Toby, however, lowered his gaze on the man as he asked cidly, ¡°Did you say that your wife gave you a


    gift?¡±


    Jacob was a little taken aback by this. He looked up, but instead of answering the question, he asked


    Toby skeptically, ¡°President Fuller, did you stop me just to ask me that?¡±


    Upon hearing Toby hum in affirmation, Jacob felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. All the


    anxiousness drained out of him, and as he was visibly rxed, his body stopped trembling as well.


    Straightening up, he let out a quiet breath of relief and answered calmly, ¡°Yes, President Fuller. My wife


    has recently picked up knitting and crocheting, and she decided to make me this scarf.¡±


    As he said this, his hand reached for the pink scarf around his neck, and a lovesick grin spread across


    his face. Then, he eyed Toby earnestly as he asked, ¡°What do you think of it, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby did not reply, but as he stared at the scarf, he thought it looked like a rather jarring shade of pink.


    This guy¡¯s not actually bragging about this to me, is he? Ha! What makes him think this is bragging


    material? It¡¯s just a scarf from his lover, and what¡¯s with that ridiculous grin he has on his face? For some


    reason, he felt challenged, and he was suddenly seized with the confidence that he, too, could get his


    lover to knit him a scarf.


    A little indignant, Toby pursed his lips, and the air around him grew colder as he lied, ¡°It looks decent on


    you. Now get back to work.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Jacob replied respectfully with a firm nod, then happily let go of the scarf as he turned to go


    into the office.


    Toby, on the other hand, walked in the opposite direction toward his own office as well. While doing so,


    he texted Sonia. ¡®I think I know what I want.¡¯


    Sonia was busy going through paperwork when she heard her phone chime with a new message. She


    reached for it and nced at Toby¡¯s text. Raising a brow, she called him instead of replying to him.


    At the sight of her iing call, Toby swiped his screen to put her through, then pressed the phone to


    his ear.


    Sonia¡¯s firm and pleasant voice instantly filled the other line. ¡°You said you know what you want, soe


    right out with it.¡±


    He pulled out his chair and sat down behind his desk, his thoughts lingering on the scarf around Jacob¡¯s


    neck and the smug grin on his face. ¡°I want you to knit me a scarf,¡± Toby said. Once she gives me a


    hand-knitted scarf, then I can put it on and brag around the office, too.


    ¡°Huh?¡± On the other end of the phone, Sonia waspletely stunned when she registered Toby¡¯s


    answer. A scarf? A scarf hand-knitted by me? She clearly had not expected him to ask for something so


    specific and odd, to say the least.


    She had thought of buying him an essory piece even if he couldn¡¯te up with an idea of what he


    would want for a gift, like a razor or a leather belt or something. s, little did she know that what he


    truly wanted for a birthday present was a scarf.


    When he heard no response from her, he immediately grew unsettled. Lowering his gaze slightly, he


    asked, ¡°You¡¯re not backing out of your offer now, are you?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, of course not. It¡¯s just that, well, I¡¯m curious as to what prompted you to want a


    scarf and a hand-knitted one from me, no less.¡±


    Frankly speaking, it was rare for most men to want a hand-knitted scarf from their girlfriends as a


    birthday present. This was especially true for men like Toby, who couldn¡¯t possibly want something as


    in and humble as a scarf after the collection of designer goods he had amassed over the years. As


    such, Sonia had a feeling that there was more to his surprising request than met the eye.


    Sure enough, it didn¡¯t take long for Toby to confess a little sheepishly. ¡°Someone was bragging about it to


    my face.¡±


    ¡°Bragging?¡± she repeated, tipping her head to the side in confusion.


    He hummed in response, then told her about the conversation he had had with Jacob out in the hallway


    earlier.


    Having heard the full story, Sonia was bemused. ¡°How is that considered bragging? He was probably just


    excited to regale everyone with anecdotes of his love life.¡±


    Toby pressed his lips into a thin line. ¡°Yeah, but seeing as I don¡¯t have a scarf hand-knitted by my


    girlfriend, that would make me inferior and him the bragger.¡±


    She sighed and rubbed her temple with mock exasperation. ¡°Okay, fine, he was bragging to your face.


    So because your subordinate has something that you don¡¯t, and he was showing it off in front of you, you


    decided that you would like to have a scarf to bnce out the resentment you feel, is that it?¡±


    Toby lifted his chin petntly. ¡°I¡¯m the boss. How am I going to face my subordinates if I don¡¯t even have


    a love life as enriching as theirs? I need everyone to know that I have what they have, if not more. So,


    circling back to the topic, will you please knit me a scarf, Sonia?¡±


    With one hand pressed against her forehead like she was dealing with the onset of a migraine, she


    countered, ¡°Of course I will, and I¡¯m quite adept at knitting, too. But are you sure it¡¯s what you want? You


    have to know that the scarf isn¡¯t worth anything on the market.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he argued with a firm shake of his head. ¡°Any scarf knitted by you is priceless to me.¡±


    Her expression softened as she let out a smallugh. ¡°In that case, it will be my honor to make you that


    scarf. What color would you like?¡±


    Upon hearing her agreement to make him a scarf, Toby felt a rush of satisfaction course through him,


    and for a minute, he was on cloud nine. The fingers that twirled his pen quickened in light of his tion


    as he said, ¡°I¡¯m fine with any color. You decide.¡±


    ¡°Then ck it is,¡± Sonia said with a decisive air after a moment of thought. ¡°ck looks good on you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± He nodded, the smile on his face never once fading.


    The rest of their conversation surrounded Sonia¡¯s ideas on the knitting pattern and the length, width, and


    thickness of the scarf. It was only after the details had been settled that they each hung up the phone.


    When the call ended, Toby set his phone down on his desk and leaned back into his seat, the


    atmosphere around him growing warm and easy.


    At that moment, Tom walked in with a stack of files in hand. Upon seeing Toby¡¯s insouciant stance, he


    adjusted his sses and pointed out, ¡°You look happy, President Fuller. Did something good happen?¡±


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    ¡°Sonia¡¯s going to knit me a scarf,¡± Toby answered as he nced at Tom, and while he sounded se, he


    was undeniably gloating.


    Tom felt the corner of his lips twitch. He had the sudden urge to p himself for being so nosy, and now


    Toby was rubbing his blooming rtionship in his face. You asked for it, Tom chastised himself grimly.


    As much as he wanted to wipe that smug grin off Toby¡¯s face, Tom maintained a courteous smile and


    feigned surprise as he said, ¡°Oh, really? How wonderful! Congrattions, President Fuller.¡±


    Clearly enjoying this, Toby lifted his chin by just a fraction more as he drawled, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just a


    scarf.¡±


    A bitter chuckle threatened to escape Tom. Oh, just a scarf, you said? If you¡¯re going to pretend to care


    so little about this, then why don¡¯t you take back your damn bragging? Tom pursed his lips, then coughed


    as if to mask his own disgruntlement. He didn¡¯t want to continue on this topic with the obviously


    enamored Toby anymore, for it was getting more disheartening.


    Changing the subject, Tom said, ¡°Well, anyway, President Fuller, the departments have sent these over


    to be executed by you. I¡¯ll just leave them here.¡± He pointed at Toby¡¯s desk, waiting for approval.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Go on, then.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom put the documents down, then stepped back before saying, ¡°If there isn¡¯t anything else you


    need my help with, I shall take my leave, President Fuller.¡± He was worried that if he didn¡¯t leave the


    office now, he would only be in danger of hearing more of Toby and Sonia¡¯s lovey-dovey tidbits.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Toby called out, stopping Tom in his tracks.


    Tom winced, but he quickly rposed himself and put on his standard sryman smile. ¡°Yes,


    President Fuller, is there anything I can help you with?¡±


    Toby straightened up in his seat, suddenly serious. ¡°Ask those men who have been dispatched to track


    down Den to call off the search. There¡¯s no longer the need for that.¡±


    ¡°Call off the search?¡± When Tom heard this, his face lit up with astonishment. ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°Sonia told me a few days ago that Carl has tortured Den so badly that he no longer seemed human,


    and Carl doesn¡¯t n on stopping just yet. I¡¯m afraid Den will die sooner than we think if this goes on,¡±


    Toby answered gravely.


    It was on the night beforest, when Toby and Sonia returned to Bayside Residence after their movie


    date that she told him about Carl¡¯s email.


    If she hadn¡¯t told him then, he would never have known that Carl had already taken care of Den.


    While Toby was a little unhappy that Carl beat him to torturing Den, he had to admit that he agreed


    with Carl¡¯s method of revenge. After all, Den had nearly killed Sonia when he pushed her off the cliff,


    and he deserved the cruel punishment. If Toby were in Carl¡¯s shoes, he didn¡¯t think he would go easy on


    Den, either.

 Chapter 658

    Chapter 658


    Chapter 658 Scarf-Knitting


    Truth be told, Toby might even prove to exact crueler vengeance upon Den than Carl had.


    Presently, Tom felt a chill run down his spine when he heard of what had happened to Den. ¡°I¡¯ll have


    the men return right away,¡± he said, still a little stunned by this news. Looks like we severely


    underestimated how perverse Carl can be. He may look like a warm and affable young man, but his


    vengeance is bloody and ruthless.


    Then again, Tom thought Den deserved the punishment for having kidnapped Sonia and attempted to


    kill her in the first ce. He knew how important Miss Reed was to Carl, but he went ahead and targeted


    her, anyway. Now he¡¯s bearing the brunt of his own stupidity; his days are numbered, and rightfully so.


    ¡°By the way, how¡¯s the investigation on Connor going?¡± Toby asked a little.


    Tom adjusted his sses. ¡°He¡¯s doing what he usually does¡ªfishing, ying chess, and if he isn¡¯t doing


    either of these, he won¡¯t venture out of the vi at all. No odd behavior on his part has been reported


    thus far.¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes in thought, saying nothing. From how he looked at it, the oddest behavior of all


    was to have no odd behavior whatsoever.


    Connor had been Toby¡¯s mother¡¯s first love, and they were rather devoted to one another back in their


    youth. Toby had even learned of Connor¡¯s first andst visit to the Fuller Residence, whereupon he got


    into a dispute with Homer. While Toby never did uncover the cause of the dispute, he wagered that,


    judging by the way Connor had stormed off in a fit of rage, the man bore some intense grudges against


    Homer after the incident.


    As such, Connor was the most likely suspect behind Homer¡¯s murder.


    More importantly, Connor was the head of the Salzburg Family and the chairman of Salzburg Group.


    However, he never once returned to thepany to take charge of things and instead stayed home


    tending to his garden and going on fishing trips. Toby found this incredibly hard to believe.


    At the thought of this, Toby lightly drummed his fingers against his desk, letting the rhythmic thumping fill


    the silent office. Atst, he ordered somberly, ¡°Continue keeping an eye on him. I refuse to believe that


    he will stay idle for long.¡±


    If Connor really was the one behind Homer¡¯s murder and the one who instigated Toby¡¯s car ident,


    then surely the clues of his misdeeds would surface at some point.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Tom stood to attention as a show of obedience.


    Meanwhile, over at Paradigm Co., Sonia called Daphne into her office after putting her phone away.


    Coming to a stop in front of Sonia¡¯s desk, Daphne asked courteously, ¡°Is there anything I can help you


    with, Chairman Reed?¡±


    As of now, Daphne looked as if she hadpletely sorted through her feelings and returned to her usual


    self at work, which put some of Sonia¡¯s worries at ease. Smiling, Sonia asked genially, ¡°Daphne, where


    did you get the yarn from the scarf you made Charles?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Daphne blinked in surprise and asked, ¡°Chairman Reed, are you perhaps nning on


    knitting a scarf as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sonia answered with a nod. ¡°Toby saw one of his subordinates wearing a scarf his wife made for


    him, and now he wants me to hand-knit one for him, too. He said something about wanting to have


    whatever his subordinates have.¡±


    Daphne couldn¡¯t help but sputter; amidst a smallugh, she pointed out, ¡°How interesting of him to wish


    topete with his subordinates, and on such strange matters as well.¡±


    Sonia shook her head in good-natured exasperation. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think a man who¡¯s thirty-one could be


    so childish, either. But since I can¡¯t dissuade him, I agreed to make him a scarf.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Daphne mused, eyeing Sonia enviously. President Fuller actually wants her to make a


    scarf for him, whereas President Lane just throws away whatever I give him.


    The sheer difference in these two men¡¯s behavior was nearly insurmountable.


    Upon catching the dejected look on Daphne¡¯s face, Sonia immediately knew what the girl was thinking


    about. The smile on her face slipped, reced by an apologetic expression as she said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, Daphne. I shouldn¡¯t have brought this up.¡±


    Charles had only just thrown away the scarf Daphne made for him recently, and here Sonia was being


    insensitive as she prattled on about knitting a scarf for Toby. I¡¯m just adding salt to her wound at this


    point, Sonia thought in despair.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne pped her hand dismissively, then smiled as she added, ¡°I didn¡¯t


    really think much of it.¡± She knew plenty of couples who were present in her life, and if she were to get


    mad at everyone else¡¯s happiness, then she would have been thrown into the asylum by now for severe


    anger management issues.


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia pressed fretfully.


    Daphne nodded in affirmation. ¡°Really.¡±


    Sonia eyed her for a moment longer, and she wasn¡¯t convinced that Daphne was unaffected until she


    saw how serious thetter looked. With a small sigh of relief, she said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m d to know that.¡±


    ¡°So, you wanted to know where I got the yarn for my knitting, right, Chairman Reed?¡± Daphne asked,


    changing the topic.


    Sonia hummed in response. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I can¡¯t remember thest time I knitted something, so I


    don¡¯t really know where to get supplies. I could get them online, but the turnaround for the delivery would


    take days at the very least, and I don¡¯t want to wait that long.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Daphne adjusted her ck-framed sses. ¡°I bought the yarn at a shop not too far away


    from ourpany building. I happen to have a delivery to maketer, so I could get the yarn for you if


    you¡¯d like, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°That would be really helpful of you, Daphne. Thank you,¡± Sonia agreed with a bright smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Daphne waved her hand, then asked, ¡°By the way, Chairman Reed, have you decided on


    the color of the yarn you¡¯d like to get?¡±


    ¡°ck,¡± Sonia replied.


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll be leaving now, then, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne gestured toward the door.


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sonia allowed her to leave after a small hum.


    Daphne turned to leave, and before work ended that afternoon, Daphne returned with the ball of yarn for


    Sonia.


    Sonia took out the yarn and examined it. It was pure sheep¡¯s yarn, soft and delicate to the touch. It would


    make for a ratherfortable scarf material.


    Pleased, Sonia made a bank transfer to pay Daphne back for the yarn, then slung her purse over her


    shoulder and made her way home.


    It was 6.30P.M by the time she arrived at Bayside Residence. She sauntered over to the kitchen and got


    started on a light dinner, after which she sat down on the couch and began to sort out the yarn for


    knitting.


    It had been years since shest got into knitting, which exined why she was a little rusty now. It was


    an agonizingly slow process just for her to wind pieces of yarn over the needles.


    Thankfully, she started to gain momentum after a while of handling the needles, and only then did the


    knitting process speed up.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Knitting wasn¡¯t actually difficult, and it didn¡¯t take up much time, either. If Sonia were to go on knitting like


    this, she might actually be done with the scarf by dawn.


    There were even some who made quick work out of knitting, and they could be done within five or six


    hours.


    And indeed, Sonia did stay up the entire night to finish knitting the scarf, and when daylight broke hazily


    over the city, she was done with a rather well-made piece of men¡¯s scarf.


    She opened up the scarf and inspected it carefully. When she was sure that it was as wless as it could


    be, she put it into a paper bag to keep until Toby¡¯s birthday.


    She was just storing the scarf away when the sky darkened, and a torrential downpour, apanied by


    a relentless breeze, quickly followed. The chilling breeze snaked through the open French windows, and


    Sonia shuddered as the air in the room grew cold.


    She hurried over to close the windows, then let out a small sigh of relief. Just then, her phone rang.


    Walking up to the couch, she bent over to take her phone from the coffee table. However, her expression


    stiffened when she saw the caller ID, and she didn¡¯t waste time answering the call.


    Rose was on the other line, and as soon as the call went through, she pressed urgently, ¡°Sonia, is Toby


    with you at the moment?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sonia answered dutifully, shaking her head.


    Rose grew frantic as she urged, ¡°Then do you have any idea where he might be right now? I asked Jean,


    and she told me he didn¡¯t return to the Fuller Residencest night. I can¡¯t get through to him or his


    assistant, so I was hoping you would know.¡±


    Sonia started to panic when she heard how anxious Rose sounded, but she took a deep breath and tried


    to remain calm, then answered reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandma. I have a feeling I know where he is.


    He¡¯s likely at Skrk Tower.¡±


    Having heard this, Rose broke into a relieved smile, and her worries dissipated as she patted her chest,


    prompting, ¡°Well, you¡¯re probably right. That¡¯s good to know. In that case, could you go over right now


    and check on him, Sonia? You have to save him if he¡¯s harmed himself, but if he hasn¡¯t yet, you must


    stop him at all costs. He wouldn¡¯t let any one of us get close to him, but maybe he would let you. Please,


    Sonia, you¡¯re the only one I can trust right now.¡±

 Chapter 659

    Chapter 659


    Chapter 659 Looking for Toby


    Sonia rose from the couch and hurried into her bedroom while speaking into her phone, ¡°Don¡¯t worry,


    Grandma, I know what to do. I¡¯d have rushed over now, even if you didn¡¯t call me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. Well, then, you should get going, Sonia. Remember to keep this old woman updated as


    soon as something happens,¡± Rose said.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Fret not, Grandma. I promise I¡¯ll call you.¡±


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    ¡°Alright. In that case, I¡¯ll leave Toby to you, and maybe you could talk to him for me, see if you can¡¯t bring


    him out of grieving over his mother¡¯s passing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± Sonia promised solemnly.


    Rose hung up the phone in relief, and Mary came over with a cup of tea. Upon seeing the distressed


    expression on the older woman¡¯s face, Mary put on aforting smile. ¡°Now, do stop worrying, Old Mrs.


    Fuller. I¡¯m sure that the Young Mistress will handle this without a hitch; she¡¯d be the cure to Young Master


    Toby¡¯s heartache, if not the beacon of light that guides him out of his grief.¡±


    ¡°Well, here¡¯s to hoping,¡± Rose said wistfully as she took a sip of tea. With a sigh, she added, ¡°It¡¯s not so


    much that I don¡¯t believe in Sonia¡¯s capabilities that I am worried about Toby¡¯s deep-seated trauma


    following his mother¡¯s suicide. It¡¯s not just something that he could be coaxed out of within a day.¡±


    ¡°But I firmly believe that if Young Master Toby were to open himself to the Young Mistress¡¯ gentle


    counseling, his condition would improve greatly,¡± Mary prompted as she came up behind Rose and


    started to rub thetter¡¯s shoulders.


    Rose nodded tiredly. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. I just hope Sonia could get to Toby quickly enough to bring


    to fruition the results we hope for, otherwise¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself, Old Mrs. Fuller. You have to have faith in the Young Mistress. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get


    to Young Master Toby just in time,¡± Mary interrupted the old woman¡¯s worried chain of thought. ¡°We all


    know how much he loves the Young Mistress, and by virtue of that alone, he will allow her to approach


    him.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully,¡± Rose muttered as she lowered her gaze, then blew on the tea in the cup before her.


    Meanwhile, over at Bayside Residence, Sonia had put on a change of clothes and was grabbing an


    umbre, ready to leave to find Toby.


    She had only just opened the door when the icy air attacked her, biting at her skin and making her


    shudder. ¡°The weather¡¯s freezing,¡± she mumbled to herself, her face turning white in the cold as she


    rubbed the backs of her hands to keep warm.


    As much as she wanted to slip back into the warmth of her apartment, she knew she didn¡¯t have a


    choice. She blew warm hair into her hands, then lifted her foot to step past the doorway.


    However, she suddenly thought of something at the exact moment she put her foot out. Retracting her


    step, she spun on her heels and headed back into her bedroom, then came out again a minuteter with


    a paper bag in hand. It was only then that she took the elevator down to the lobby, and while she walked,


    she called Toby¡¯s phone.


    He had promised her that he wouldn¡¯t switch off his phone today, which meant she should be able to get


    through to him. s, an automated voice greeted her, informing her that the number she dialed was


    unavable.


    Anger and frustration coursed through her; she was angry that he had gone back on his word and


    frustrated that she had no idea of what was happening to him right now, given he wouldn¡¯t put her


    through.


    Out of desperation, she could only call Tom. Fortunately, the call went through, and he greeted her


    politely. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Brown, is Toby at Skrk Tower right now?¡± Sonia did not bother with pleasantries like she usually


    would. Instead, she went straight to the point, given that it was a matter of urgency. She was already


    worried about Toby, and her mind was far too preupied for her to remember her phone etiquette.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s question, Tom nodded frantically. ¡°That¡¯s right. President Fuller has been at


    Skrk Tower since yesterday, and he never left. I¡¯m waiting right below the tower, and I¡¯ve already


    knocked several times, but he refused to open the door. I even tried calling Old Mrs. Fuller just now, but


    for some reason, I couldn¡¯t get through.¡±


    At that moment, Sonia realized why Rose had said she couldn¡¯t get through Tom¡¯s phone; it was likely


    that both their lines had been busy as they tried to call one another.


    Presently, with Toby¡¯s location confirmed, Sonia felt her shoulders sag in relief. As long as he¡¯s at Skrk


    Tower and not somewhere remote that we don¡¯t know of. ¡°Okay, got it. I¡¯ll be over right now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll be waiting for you right here,¡± Tom said, lighting up with surprise instantly when


    he heard that Sonia would being over. He and the rest of his team might not be able to see Toby,


    but that didn¡¯t mean Sonia couldn¡¯t. She has a special ce in President Fuller¡¯s heart, after all.


    ¡°Okay, thanks. By the way, do you have the keys to his apartment?¡± Sonia asked.


    Tom shook his head ruefully. ¡°No. He rarely ever stays in Skrk Tower, so I don¡¯t have the keys to his


    apartment there.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± she said with a soft hum. ¡°In that case, I¡¯m going to need you to find a locksmith.¡±


    ¡°A locksmith?¡± he repeated in shock.


    With a firm nod, she replied, ¡°Yes, because neither of us has the key, and Toby refuses to open the door.


    So if we want to break in, we need a locksmith.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t argue with me right now, Tom. As things are, saving Toby is our utmost priority, and I promise I¡¯ll


    take responsibility if he gets mad at us breaking in,¡± Sonia promised with a hand to her chest, as if she


    was taking an oath.


    When Tom heard this, all his hesitation dissipated, and he nodded in agreement. ¡°Roger that. I¡¯ll make


    the arrangements right away.¡±


    He knew Sonia was right. Even if Toby were to get angry over the matter of breaking into his apartment,


    his safety overrode that concern. Moreover, Miss Reed promised that she would take responsibility if he


    were to throw a tantrum, and it¡¯s highly unlikely that he¡¯llsh out at her. There¡¯s nothing for me to worry


    about. As he hung up the phone, he felt reassured, and he wasted no time in hunting down a locksmith.


    Sonia, on the other hand, entered the elevator, and she arrived at Skrk Tower within an hour¡¯s time.


    Tom was standing at the entrance of the building with a locksmith next to him, and at the sight of Sonia¡¯s


    approaching figure, he put up an arm to wave at her. ¡°Over here, Miss Reed!¡±


    Sonia hurried over to join them at the entrance, whereupon Tom gestured toward the door courteously.


    ¡°Please follow me, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll bring you up to his apartment.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sonia replied, nodding at him once as she tightened her hold on the paper bag in her hand.


    Tom led the way, and she fell in step behind him while the locksmith traipsed after her.


    A few minutester, the three of them arrived at Toby¡¯s apartment, which really was just the penthouse


    that upied the entire top floor of the apartment building. As of now, Tom brought Sonia over to arge


    ornate door, then said, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    She nodded, then turned to look at the locksmith meaningfully. ¡°We¡¯ll let you get to work, sir.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re too formal, miss,¡± the locksmith said genially, waving off her courtesy. He had a toolbox slung


    over his shoulder, and having set it down on the floor next to him, he proceeded to take out his tools to


    break the lock. He made quick work of it, and the lock was opened in the blink of an eye.


    At the sight of this, Sonia hastily pushed the door open, and as she did so, she saw something roll


    toward her, stopping just next to her foot.


    She looked down to see that it was a now-empty bottle of red wine. Frowning, she bent over to pick up


    the bottle; there was not a single drop of wine left in the green ss bottle.


    It was clear to see that Toby had spent the whole ofst night downing an entire bottle of wine. The frown


    on her face deepened, and as she put the empty bottle on the shoe cab, she marched through the


    front door.


    The moment she did, her senses were assaulted by the overpowering fumes of alcohol. What was more


    bewildering was the fact that there were a few more empty bottles of wine lying on the floor of the living


    room.


    Which meant Toby had downed not only one but several bottles of red winest night. And these might


    not be all of the wine he drank, Sonia thought gravely, her face twisting into an angry grimace. Was he


    actually nning on killing himself?


    She surveyed the living room for a glimpse of Toby¡¯s silhouette, but after looking around once, she saw


    that he was nowhere in sight.


    More to the point, the penthouse was expansive and covered close to eight hundred square meters. It


    would take up a lot of her time just to search through each of the many bedrooms housed within this


    space.


    Left helpless, Sonia called Tom in and asked that he search through some of the rooms while she did the


    others. The both of them began scurrying in and out of rooms, and finally, Tom found Toby in the study.


    ¡°Miss Reed, he¡¯s over here!¡± Tom cried out to Sonia, who was in the other room down the hallway, while


    standing anxiously at the study¡¯s doorway.

 Chapter 660

    Chapter 660


    Chapter 660 Passed Out Cold


    Upon hearing Tom¡¯s voice from down the hallway, Sonia immediately walked out of the bedroom and


    headed in the direction of the study.


    She came to a stop at the doorway, and Tom gestured into the study as he said grimly, ¡°President Fuller


    is in there, Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia muttered something in acknowledgment, then poked her head into the room, only to see Toby


    sitting slumped on the ground with his back against the desk. His head was lowered, hiding the


    expression on his face, and she couldn¡¯t tell if he was asleep or passed out.


    She pursed her lips and walked over to him warily, then saw how he looked up close.


    The shirt he wore was wrinkled, and his necktie hung loosely around the cor. There were even pinkish


    and yellowish stains on his white shirt that became evidence of his rough night of drinking. She noted


    gravely how even his hair was mussed, and at that moment, he looked as miserable and unkempt as a


    weathered vagabond.


    Sonia felt her heart twist at the sight of him. In two long strides, she came to a stop next to him and was


    immediately assaulted by the pungent scent of alcohol that wafted off him; it pricked her nose and


    brought tears to her eyes in record time.


    Frowning, she resisted the urge to turn away from the overpowering scent, then crouched down to help


    Toby onto his feet.


    As of now, his eyes were tightly shut, and his brows furrowed. He looked to have fallen into an uneasy


    sleep and had detached himself from the rest of the world.


    Sonia patted his face lightly, calling out frantically, ¡°Toby? Hey, wake up!¡± However, there was no


    response from him, and if she hadn¡¯t put a finger under his nose to make sure he was breathing, she


    would have thought he had died in his sleep.


    Behind her, Tom was assessing Toby¡¯s condition. Having seen thetter¡¯sck of response, he pointed


    out, ¡°President Fuller is most likely wasted.¡±


    Sonia hummed. ¡°Probably. It¡¯s no surprise, given the amount of alcohol he consumed. I guess it¡¯s


    fortunate that the wine he took wasn¡¯t too strong. Otherwise, we might have lost him!¡±


    She grew furious and unsettled as she thought about the bottles she had seen scattered around the


    living room. While she was worried about how his body was going to purge that much alcohol, she was


    also outraged by how he had taken all that wine without first considering his own health.


    Tom sighed. ¡°You know, President Fuller used to dabble in much stronger stuff like whiskey or Louis XIII.


    There was one year where he got acute alcohol poisoning and had to get his stomach pumped at the


    hospital to save his life. Old Mrs. Fuller confiscated his entire liquor collection after that, then forbade the


    cer to deliver liquor to him ever again. President Fuller probably knew how much of a fright he gave


    Old Mrs. Fuller, so he never bought hard liquor again, settling instead for red wines with lower alcohol


    contents.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Sonia said quietly with a nod.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Seeing how Tom suddenly grew reluctant to speak, she allowed Toby to rest his head on her shoulder,


    then addressed Tom, ¡°But what?¡±


    Tom pinched the space between his brows. ¡°It¡¯s more likely than not that President Fuller decided to


    drink away his sorrows today, hoping that the alcohol would be enough to numb him. There was a time


    when hard liquor was all he needed to numb the pain, but toward the end, when the alcohol wasn¡¯t


    enough of an escape for him, he turned to self-harming to lessen his agony.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that his self-harming tendencies weren¡¯t there at the beginning?¡± she asked, gazing


    down at the man in her arms.


    Nodding, Tom exined, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The self-harming only started after Old Mrs. Fuller stopped


    him from drinking hard liquor.¡±


    ¡°I understand now.¡± Sonia chewed on her lip, then carefullyid Toby down on the floor. ¡°Mr. Brown,


    could you please check and see if there are any wounds on him that we should tend to while I cook him


    some hangover soup?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Having replied, Tom immediately went over to inspect Toby.


    Sonia tried to smooth out the tufts and spikes of Toby¡¯s mussed hair as much as she could, then


    straightened up. She walked out the door and headed into the kitchen, leaving Tom and Toby in the


    study.


    Having ascertained that there were no wounds on Toby¡¯s body, Tom heaved him up from the floor and


    helped him over to the couch, then sighed as he looked at the unconscious man in resignation.


    In truth, with Toby¡¯s high tolerance for alcohol, it would take more than a few bottles of wine to knock him


    out like this. And yet, here we are. I guess President Fuller just couldn¡¯t take the sadness and the grief


    anymore, and the wine actually caused his body to go into overdrive. Under normal circumstances, he


    would have harmed himself instead of lying unconscious on the floor.


    A little over ten minutes had passed when Sonia returned with a bowl of hangover soup. Her eyes fell


    upon Toby¡¯s unmoving figure on the couch, and as she set the tray down, she asked Tom anxiously,


    ¡°Well, how is he? Did he hurt himself?¡±


    ¡°You can rest easy, Miss Reed. President Fuller did not hurt himself, and I think it¡¯s because he passed


    out before he could do anything impulsive,¡± Tom replied with a somber shake of his head.


    Sonia sighed in relief at this. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good news, isn¡¯t it? Here, help me hoist him up so I can feed


    him some soup.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Tom said readily. He came over and helped propped Toby up.


    Taking up the bowl of hangover soup, Sonia perched on the edge of the couch and brought a spoonful of


    soup to her lips, thereafter blowing on it to cool it off. Then, she passed the spoon to Toby¡¯s lips.


    However, it was as if his lips had been sealed shut, for there was no way for her to prod them open with


    the spoon. Atst, the soup spilled over the corner of his mouth, and the spoon was clean once more.


    ¡°That won¡¯t do, Miss Reed. I don¡¯t think you can feed him if this goes on,¡± Tom pointed out with a frown


    when he saw this.


    She pursed her lips and put the spoon back into the bowl. He¡¯s right, I can¡¯t feed Toby like this, but I


    must. Toby had consumed too much wine, and if she couldn¡¯t feed him the hangover soup to purge the


    alcohol from his stomach, then he would suffer more muchter. At this point, there¡¯s only one way for


    me to do this, but¡­


    Sonia nced up at Tom as a conflicted look flickered in her eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly,


    reced instead by a steely gleam.


    Forget it. Desperate times call for desperate matters, and I can¡¯t be bothered with decency now that


    saving Toby is of utmost priority. With that in mind, she raised the bowl and tipped her head back, taking


    a mouthful of the soup.


    Upon seeing this, Tom froze and muttered in shock, ¡°Miss Reed, did you¡ª¡±


    She ignored him as she set the bowl down on the coffee table, then reached out to pull Toby toward her.


    Leaning forward, she dipped her head and pressed her lips to Toby¡¯s, prying them open with the tip of


    her tongue. Having done so, she began to feed the soup slowly into his mouth.


    As Tom watched this, his jaw dropped wide open. Heavens, this might just work! He realized btedly


    that Sonia had only taken the soup so she could feed Toby like this. While the process was astonishing


    at first, he had to admit that this remained the best option to get some hangover soup into Toby¡¯s system.


    Under Tom¡¯s watchful gaze, Sonia sessfully siphoned the soup through Toby¡¯s lips. She lifted her


    head afterward, her red lips parting from Toby¡¯s as she made to repeat the process.


    At the sight of her reaching for the bowl, Tom hurriedly picked it up and handed it over to her. ¡°Here you


    go, Miss Reed.¡±


    She was stunned for a moment. Then, seemingly flustered, she smiled and took the bowl of soup.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me; you¡¯re doing this for President Fuller,¡± he answered with a dismissive wave of his hand,


    his gaze fixed on Toby.


    Sonia managed a smile, then hummed firmly in response before she tipped her head back and took


    another mouthful of hangover soup, then promptly leaned down to feed Toby once more. She repeated


    the process several times until the bowl was clean.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    cing the bowl down, Sonia let out a long, weary sigh.


    Tom, on the other hand, leaped to his feet and helped Toby over to the couch once more.


    While smoothing out her hair, Sonia asked, ¡°Is there a nket you could drape over him? We need to


    keep him warm while he¡¯s still unconscious. It¡¯ll take a bit of time before the hangover soup works its


    magic.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go get the nket right away,¡± Tom said, nodding earnestly before leaving the study and making


    his way into Toby¡¯s walk-in wardrobe.


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to return with the nket, which he handed over to Sonia promptly.

 Chapter 661

    Chapter 661


    Chapter 661 Old Mrs Fuller Copsed


    Sonia took the folded nket and spread it open, then draped it over Toby¡¯s resting form, but that wasn¡¯t


    the end of it; she asked Tom to turn up the thermostat, and it wasn¡¯t until after he had done so that she


    visibly rxed.


    Tom, on the other hand, was relieved and somewhat grateful to see her taking such tender care of Toby.


    This disy was enough to prove that whatever Toby had done and sacrificed for Sonia was worth it, for


    she had repaid in kind.


    Presently, Sonia was clueless as to Tom¡¯s passing thoughts as she sat down next to Toby. Her body was


    turned to the side as she gazed down at his sleeping profile.


    The effects of Toby¡¯s overt wine drinking were evident in his flushed face, but there were gray shadows


    beneath his eyes that told her he had not slept a winkst night and had passed out from the alcohol


    alone.


    She supposed she was grateful that he only downed red winest night. If he had been on much harder


    stuff, then he would have ended up in the hospital at best and dead at worst.


    The possibility of thetter made Sonia shudder.


    Just then, her phone rang. She regained herposure and fished the phone out of her purse, only to


    see that it was a call from Rose. She¡¯s probably desperate to know if Toby is okay, she thought, then


    answered the call without missing a beat. ¡°Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Rose¡¯s voice was full of worry as she asked, ¡°did you manage to see Toby?¡±


    Nodding, Sonia said grimly, ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s wonderful news. How is he doing right now? Did he do anything impulsive?¡± Rose pressed


    anxiously, tightening her clutch on her cane.


    Sonia looked down at Toby momentarily before exining, ¡°He got really drunk, but other than that, it


    doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯ll do anything impulsive just yet.¡±


    ¡°But he didn¡¯t do anything at all aside from drinking?¡± Rose questioned, sounding incredulous. Toby had


    gone through quite the rough alcoholic phase back in the day, and if the liquor wasn¡¯t enough to knock


    him out, he would start cutting himself. To hear that he had not resorted to self-harming this time and


    only stopped at getting drunk was surprising, and Rose couldn¡¯t hide her disbelief.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Sonia said with a nod. ¡°Mr. Brown said that Toby likely passed out cold before he could hurt


    himself.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible!¡± Rose stood up abruptly.


    Sonia was a little taken aback by the ferocity of the old woman¡¯s denial. ¡°Grandma, what is it?¡±


    All the color drained from Rose¡¯s face as she demanded, ¡°Sonia, tell me what he drank.¡±


    ¡°Red wine,¡± Sonia answered matter-of-factly, without hesitation.


    To the side, Tom faltered as he clenched his fists nervously. Oh, crap, Old Mrs. Fuller isn¡¯t like Miss


    Reed; there¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t know that it would take more than red wine to knock President Fuller


    out. But now that he has passed out cold from drinking red wine, Old Mrs. Fuller will definitely grow


    suspicious of this.


    Sure enough, Rose clutched her phone even tighter when she heard Sonia¡¯s reply. ¡°No, that can¡¯t be.


    Toby is a heavyweight, and it¡¯s impossible that red wine could knock him out. Sonia, is Tom with you right


    now?¡±


    Sonia gave Tom a cursory nce. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Rose¡¯s expression grew stormy as she bit out, ¡°Hand him the phone. I need to speak with him right now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just a moment.¡± Sonia pulled the phone away from her ear and passed it to Tom, saying, ¡°Mr.


    Brown, Grandma would like to speak with you.¡±


    Knowing there was no escape from what was destined toe, Tom took a deep breath to calm his


    nerves. With a forced smile, he took the phone and greeted, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller.¡± He walked out of the study


    to continue the rest of the phone conversation.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was a little baffled by his leaving, not understanding why he had to take the call


    outside. However, she did not dwell on this and instead raked her fingers through Toby¡¯s hair tob it


    into submission. Then, she got onto her feet and went into the bathroom to fetch a basin of water so that


    she could give Toby¡¯s face a good wiping.


    Out on the balcony, Tom surreptitiously closed the balcony doors behind him. Having gone out of Sonia¡¯s


    earshot, he loosened up enough to answer Rose¡¯s question forthrightly, saying, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller,


    President Fuller has, indeed, passed out from drinking red wine alone.¡±


    ¡°Stop spewing lies, Tom,¡± Rose warned darkly on the other line, her face twisting even more. ¡°Toby can¡¯t


    possibly get drunk on red wine alone, so why don¡¯t you tell me the truth? Does he have a secret stash of


    hard liquor?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Tom said solemnly, shaking his head. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, I promise you he does not have a secret


    stash anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you exin to me how he managed to get drunk?¡± Rose demanded sharply.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Looking down at the top of his shoes, Tom wasn¡¯t quite sure how he was supposed to answer.


    He didn¡¯t know if he should be the one to break the news on Toby¡¯s current condition, and if he did break


    such news, he didn¡¯t know how Rose was going to take it.


    Suddenly caught between a rock and a hard ce, Tom had no idea what he should do.


    ¡°Well, what? Out with it!¡± Rose demanded impatiently, not at all aware of his dilemma.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    A sigh of resignation escaped Tom, and atst, he decided to tell the truth about Toby¡¯s condition. If I


    don¡¯t tell her now, she¡¯ll still find out about it eventually. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, I¡¯m going to be frank with you,


    but you have to be mentally prepared for the truth,¡± he said calmly and slowly.


    Rose frowned, a grave look passing over her wizened face. ¡°Mentally prepared?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What in the world has happened? Why would I need to be mentally prepared?¡± she urged. She was


    confused, but she was sharp-witted enough to sense that something was off. In a trembling voice, she


    asked, ¡°Tom,e right out with the truth and tell me if something has happened to Toby.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tom said again with a firm nod. ¡°President Fuller¡¯s heart is¡­ failing. I think it¡¯s precisely because


    of this that red wine was sufficient to knock him out.¡±


    There was no response on the other line, only the sound of shattering ss. Upon hearing this rming


    noise, Tom nched and quickly shouted, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller? Old Mrs. Fuller!¡±


    He started to panic. What if Old Mrs. Fuller fainted because she couldn¡¯t take the news? If that¡¯s the


    case, then I¡¯d be in a world of trouble. She¡¯s old enough as it is, and if she copses this time only to


    never wake again, I¡­


    Not daring to continue his chain of thought, he gripped his phone tightly and shouted into it, ¡°Old Mrs.


    Fuller!¡±


    Just then, he heard speaking voices, but it wasn¡¯t from Rose. Rather, it was Mary.


    On the other side, Mary had propped Rose in an upright position on the couch, and while holding her


    limp frame in her arms, she cried frantically, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, wake up! Please wake up!¡± Tears of panic


    sprang to her eyes, but there was nary a response from Rose.


    Having heard Mary¡¯s disembodied cries over the phone, Tom could guess just how badly Rose was


    doing right now. She really has copsed. Now things are getting worse!


    Stiffly, he pulled the phone away from his ear and sullenly called for an ambnce to be dispatched to


    where Rose was. Then, he returned to the study and handed the phone back to Sonia, anxiously saying,


    ¡°Miss Reed, I¡¯ll leave President Fuller in your care for now. I¡¯m afraid I must be getting back to the old


    manor.¡±


    Sonia saw the look on his face, and upon hearing that he would be leaving for the old manor, she felt a


    lump form in her throat. ¡°Did something happen to Grandma?¡±


    ¡°I believe she has fainted.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s voice rose in pitch as she demanded, ¡°She fainted? H-How did that happen? She was


    fine just moments ago!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I told her something I shouldn¡¯t have,¡± he confessed, patting his cheek like he was


    berating himself. ¡°I would never have said anything if I¡¯d known this would happen.¡± He shouldn¡¯t have


    thought that he could break the news of Toby¡¯s deteriorating condition to Rose, even if it were on the


    assumption that she would find out about it eventually. He had given himself such presumptuous and


    false reassurance, and now he was truly and deeply regretting it.


    Rose¡¯s condition aside, Tom would have a hard time exining to Toby once he sobered up.


    He was pulled out of his thoughts when Sonia asked with a frown, ¡°What did you tell her?¡±


    Tom shook his head tiredly. ¡°Please don¡¯t ask me that, Miss Reed. I can¡¯t say any more about the matter.


    I¡¯ve already caused Old Mrs. Fuller to faint out of shock, and I can¡¯t imagine what would happen if you¡­


    Forget it. Look, I can¡¯t dawdle here any longer; I have to go back and check on Old Mrs. Fuller. I¡¯ll leave


    everything here to you.¡±


    As worried as Sonia was about Rose, she knew that she couldn¡¯t leave Toby here unattended. With a


    grave nod, she said, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll take care of Toby, don¡¯t worry. Please go and check on Grandma, and


    call me if anything else happens.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± With that, Tom turned to brisk-walk out of the study and left the apartment.


    Left alone with Toby, Sonia stared at him and sped his hand tightly, murmuring, ¡°Did anything happen


    to you that I should know about? Why did Grandma faint when she heard about it?¡±


    s, her question went unanswered, for Toby never did stir from his wine-induced slumber. Little did she


    know that he was presently trapped in a seemingly endless nightmare, only it would be more urate to


    call it a recollection of his traumatic past.

 Chapter 662

    Chapter 662


    Chapter 662 A Mysterious Apology


    Right now, Toby was dreaming of his past.


    He was going upstairs like he usually would in the mornings so that he could call his mother for


    breakfast. Normally, all he would have to do was knock on her bedroom door, and she would open it with


    a gentle smile on her face, one that was reserved for him.


    This time, however, the door remained shut no matter how incessantly he was knocking on it. When the


    door didn¡¯t seem like it would open any time soon, he started to sense something wrong.


    Without wasting another moment, he called for one of the household staff to unlock his mother¡¯s


    bedroom door with a spare key. But instead of a warm smile, what greeted him as soon as the door


    swung open was the strong scent of blood. As he walked in, he realized that the coppery smell was


    coming from the adjoining bathroom.


    The color drained from his face as he slowed in his tracks, but when fear seized him, he barreled toward


    the bathroom like a madman.


    The bathroom door had been left ajar, and when he skidded to a stop at the doorway, the horrific sight


    within instantly came into view.


    His mother hung by the side of the bathtub, her face and body sttered with blood. Slumped on the


    ground, she was holding a razor in one hand while the other was submerged in the water-filled tub.


    The water in the bathtub had been colored red by her blood, while she had already gone cold and


    lifeless.


    The bloody scene was burned into the back of Toby¡¯s mind ever since, only to resurface every year on


    his mother¡¯s death anniversary so that it could torture his soul and remind him of his devastating loss.


    There were even times when the scene would evolve into an entirely non-existent one, like right now,


    where he dreamed of his dead mother suddenly rising to her feet and slowly walking over to him. She


    was covered in her own blood as she questioned him hauntingly, ¡°Why was I made to carry you in the


    first ce?¡±


    She went on to use him of being the reason why she was trapped within the Fuller Family, kept from


    pursuing her own true love. Then, as he stood there frozen, she reached out her blood-stained ws and


    strangled him.


    Toby woke up in shock, his bloodshot eyes snapping wide open, and his breathing came out ragged.


    Jumping at his sudden awakening, Sonia didn¡¯t recover from the shock for a while, and when she did,


    she lowered her head as she gently patted his face. ¡°Toby, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    It was as if Toby couldn¡¯t hear her at all. His pupils were dted as he stared up at the ceiling in terror,


    and his lips moved like he was saying something.


    Bending down, Sonia put her ear close to his lips and finally heard him mutter, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    Sorry? She frowned, confusion filling her eyes. Why is he apologizing? And to whom?


    She nced at him worriedly and realized that he was having something like night terrors, and his


    thoughts were not of his own conscious mind. She quickly reached for his shoulders and shook him,


    yelling, ¡°Toby, wake up! Wake up, please!¡±


    She couldn¡¯t let him stay in this trance for too long, or it would start taking a toll on his mind. He has to


    snap out of it and regain his thoughts.


    Perhaps her shaking did the work, for Toby¡¯s pupils started to constrict back to their normal size, and his


    gaze was slowly focusing on Sonia instead of the ceiling. He stared at her in a daze, and after a couple


    of seconds, he muttered weakly, ¡°S-Sonia?¡±


    He sounded hoarse, his voice so unpleasant that it reminded Sonia distinctly of the quack of an old duck.


    All the alcohol he had taken had obviously fried his vocal cords, and she couldn¡¯t help but grow angry at


    him as she let go of his shoulders, snapping sarcastically, ¡°Seeing as you recognized me, I gather that


    you¡¯ve sobered up a bit.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he asked groggily, pressing his hand to his forehead as he made to sit up on


    the couch. But weakness overcame him, and he couldn¡¯t even lift his neck, let alone find the strength to


    sit up.


    At the sight of this, Sonia put her hands on his shoulders to keep him lying down on the couch. ¡°Okay,


    that¡¯s enough of moving. Just lie down and stay still.¡± Having said this, she rolled her eyes at him


    exasperatedly and demanded, ¡°It was only yesterday when you guessed that I¡¯de, and didn¡¯t I also


    tell you not to turn your phone off two days ago? You promised me, but you went ahead and turned it off


    anyway! If it weren¡¯t for the reason that you were knocked out today, I would have broken up with you


    right here and now for having kept your phone off!¡±


    Usually, Toby would have leaped to admit his fault and tried to cheer her up as soon as he heard any


    mention of a break-up, but as things were, he simply wasn¡¯t in the mood.


    He closed his eyes and raised his arm, then let it fall over his eyes as he kept quiet.


    Sonia¡¯s heart twisted when she saw him looking so forlorn, and she couldn¡¯t help empathizing with him.


    After all, she had lost her parents as well, but his loss was a far more bitter tale than hers, so much so


    that anyone would afford him sympathy.


    His father had been murdered at a hotel, while his mother took her own life. However, Toby had been the


    one to discover the horrific aftermath of the second incident when he was only a child.


    As for Sonia, she had been too young to remember anything when her mother passed away from illness.


    While the death upset her, she didn¡¯t feel devastated. Her father¡¯s death hade about during her adult


    years, and she had mourned him, but by then, she was already strong enough emotionally to grow out of


    the grief.


    Toby, however, was different. His mother¡¯s suicide had been so sudden that no one could have possibly


    seen iting; more importantly, he was the first to discover her body, and that would have scarred any


    child at such a tender age.


    With that in mind, Sonia abruptly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Toby, burying her face


    into the curve of his neck as she murmured anxiously, ¡°Did you know you almost gave me a panic attack,


    Toby?¡±


    He hadn¡¯t expected her to embrace him so suddenly and merely lowered his gaze to look at her.


    She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. ¡°Did you know that Grandma told me about how you¡¯d get


    really sentimental and unhinged on this day every year? She even warned me that you would resort to


    self-harm if you were left to your own devices. Can you imagine how frantic and terrified I was when I


    couldn¡¯t get through your phone? I was so scared that I was toote, that I¡¯de into this apartment


    and find your lifeless body!¡±


    Upon hearing the crack in her quivering voice, Toby realized that he had truly scared her to her wits¡¯ end.


    He raised his arm and gently patted her back, muttering hoarsely, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, are you feeling contrite now?¡± She reached out her hands and cupped his face, pointing out in mock


    anger, ¡°Don¡¯t just apologize to me; you still have to say sorry to Grandma and Mr. Brown. They were


    worried sick about you, terrified that you¡¯d do something impulsive. Thank goodness¡­¡± Her expression


    softened aspassion flooded her eyes. ¡°Thank goodness I got here in time, and thank the heavens


    that you got too drunk to hurt yourself. Otherwise, you would have ended up lying in a hospital bed


    instead of on this couch.¡±


    Toby looked down as something shed in his eyes, and he said nothing.


    It wasn¡¯t so much that he hadn¡¯t had the time to hurt himself before the drinks knocked him out, as it was


    the fact that his body had given in without warning. He had only been a couple bottles of wine in when


    his heart started feeling like it was burning, and he passed out from the pain.


    Indeed, he had copsed not because he was drunk but because of his failing heart.


    Even now, he could still feel a stabbing ache in his heart, but he couldn¡¯t let Sonia know about it.


    When Sonia saw the pensive and sullen look on his face, she sighed in resignation, then stared into his


    eyes as she suggested gently, ¡°Toby, how about if we go and see a therapist?¡±


    ¡°A therapist?¡± He parted his lips as he said the words several more times, like he was trying them out.


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, a therapist. You turn into a different person on the same day every year, and I


    think it¡¯s because you have a disorder. You witnessed the traumatic aftermath of your own mother¡¯s


    suicide, and with you being so emotionally scarred at a young age, you be unhinged as a coping


    mechanism this time each year. If we see a therapist about this, then maybe you could get professional


    guidance that will help you work through all these, or it could help you leave the past behind. It might


    even help youe to terms with whatever you witnessed as a child. Eventually, you¡¯ll get better.¡±Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 663

    Chapter 663


    Chapter 663 Deep-Seated Trauma


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t,¡± Toby said weakly with a shake of his head. He knew that he had issues, too, but he didn¡¯t


    think these were issues that could go away with therapy.


    Sonia frowned unhappily when she heard this and countered by saying, ¡°Why not? And how would you


    know you won¡¯t get better until you¡¯ve tried it?¡±


    He closed his eyes tiredly. ¡°My mom, she¡­ She regretted giving birth to me¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia froze at first, then eyed him in bewilderment. ¡°Did you just say your mom regretted giving


    birth to you?¡±


    He said nothing, but his silence was an affirmation.


    She shook her head incredulously. ¡°That can¡¯t be right. No, that¡¯s impossible! How would you know your


    mom regretted giving birth to you? Grandma told me that you were really close with your mom and that


    she was gentle.¡±


    A woman who could earn such praise from Rose couldn¡¯t possibly have regretted giving birth to Toby, but


    as Sonia assessed the expression on his face, she didn¡¯t think he was lying at all. So what in the world is


    going on here?


    Toby still had his eyes closed, and he did not utter a single word.


    Seeing him like this only made her worry more. She leaned closer to him and pleaded, ¡°Tell me, Toby.


    You can talk to me about anything; I¡¯ll be your most faithful listener. Don¡¯t keep it all inside, or it¡¯ll only


    make you spiral deeper. Grandma and I really care about you, and we all want to see you walk away


    from your past and embrace your usual self. If you don¡¯t talk to us or try to ovee the trauma, it¡¯ll only


    make us worry about you more, and we won¡¯t ever get a peace of mind. Do you really want to see


    Grandma and I running around like headless chickens every year because of you? Don¡¯t forget that


    Grandma isn¡¯t getting any younger.¡±


    She didn¡¯t tell him that Rose had copsed. Given his current state, Rose¡¯s predicament would only add


    to his burdens. I¡¯ll wait until he feels better, Sonia thought.


    Having heard Sonia¡¯s words, Toby parted his lips, and he had to admit that his current state would


    indeed make everyone around him worry incessantly. More importantly, Rose really wasn¡¯t getting any


    younger, and with each passing day, her body grew more feeble. The doctor even mentioned that she


    might only have a few good years left in her.


    ¡°The night my mom took her own life¡­¡± he whispered, finally willing to speak as he opened his eyes.


    Sonia stared at him intently. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°That night, she drank a lot. I had no idea why she drank that much, but I kept herpany anyway. It


    wasn¡¯t until she got really wasted when she held me in her arms and told me a bunch of stuff¡­¡± He


    trailed off as he fixed his hollow gaze on the ceiling. ¡°My mom cried about Connor¡¯s uing marriage,


    and she told me that she would have run away with Connor had she not been pregnant with me at the


    time. She told me that she only stayed because she was pregnant with me.¡±


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°She¡­¡± Sonia faltered a little, then pressed, ¡°So you think that she regretted having you because she


    told you this?¡±


    His eyshes fluttered for a bit as he dwelled on his own thoughts. ¡°Back then, I had no idea who


    Connor was, but I knew my mom didn¡¯t love my dad. She didn¡¯t want to marry my dad, but she chose to


    stay in the Fuller Family because of me, and she stayed married to my father for the same reason. I was


    secretly happy when she told me this, until the next morning when I found her body. From there on, my


    nightmare began to torture me, and it¡¯s been this way for over a decade. In my dreams, I would relive the


    moment I discovered her body, or I¡¯d dream that she was strangling me with blood-soaked hands. She


    would ask me why I was born in the first ce, and why I got in the way of her happiness.¡±


    Sonia bit down hard on her lower lip, bristling as she urged, ¡°Those are only dreams; they can¡¯t hurt you


    because they aren¡¯t real.¡±


    ¡°I know that, but what my mom had conveyed to me on the night she took her own life had been her true


    feelings.¡± The light in his eyes looked as if it was extinguished as he gazed at Sonia. ¡°Because of these


    dreams, I realized that my birth was the reason why my mom couldn¡¯t pursue her own happiness. My


    existence tethered her to the Fuller Family and kept her from escaping; I practically pushed my mom into


    taking her own life.¡±


    Taken aback by this, Sonia immediately understood that Toby¡¯s deep-seated trauma had not been a


    result of his witnessing his mother¡¯s suicide but of his belief that he was the reason for her death.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not true!¡± She shook her head vehemently. ¡°Toby, don¡¯t even for a second believe that you


    caused your mom¡¯s death, and your mom never once thought of you as a burden. Listen to me carefully:


    you only think that you had anything to do with your mom¡¯s suicide because those dreams told you so,


    and you were convinced at a young age that that was the truth. However, your mom could never mean


    what she said that night. You were her son, and there was no way she regretted having you, let alone


    think of you as a burden.¡±


    If I were in her shoes, and even if I were in love with another man, I would never regret having a child


    with another man. As far as Sonia was concerned, any sensible woman ought to know that children were


    innocent, that she shouldn¡¯t take her resentment out on these children.


    When Toby heard this, something glimmered in his eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly as she shook


    his head. ¡°You¡¯re not her; you can¡¯t possibly know what her thoughts were.¡±


    ¡°No, I know,¡± she said solemnly, grabbing his hand tightly in hers as she gave him a firm nod. ¡°Toby, I


    truly believe in what I said. I have heard many stories of you and your mother from Grandma. She said


    your mom was a gentle person who loved you as a mother should, even though she never loved your


    father. But she chose to take up her responsibility as a mother for your sake, and I don¡¯t think she ever


    regretted having you. She only said what she did out of sentiment, musings on what could have been if


    she had taken another road in life. That was not regret, because if it was, she wouldn¡¯t have said ¡®what if¡¯


    but told you right there and then that she regretted giving birth to you.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes widened slightly, but he didn¡¯t get to interject as Sonia went on to say, ¡°Also, if she truly did


    regret having you and thought of you as something that kept her from pursuing her own happiness, then


    she wouldn¡¯t have loved you the way she did. She never would have been a good mother to you. On that


    note, Toby, I conclude that you are only so affected by her words because of those nightmares. What you


    should be aware of is that those nightmares are not reality but a manifestation of your childhood trauma.


    So please, Toby, forget about those words and leave the past behind, okay?¡±


    A bitter smile curved on his lips. ¡°It¡¯s been over ten years since the nightmares started. I can¡¯t just stop


    having them, you know.¡±


    ¡°I know, but you¡¯ll have to try and move forward, won¡¯t you?¡± she pressed. A sudden thought crossed her


    mind, and she rose from the couch to walk to the side of the room, whereupon she retrieved a paper bag


    and walked back to him.


    Under his curious gaze, she reached into the bag and pulled out something.


    It was a scarf, a ck one.


    Just then, Toby¡¯s eyes widened when he remembered asking her to knit him a scarf the day before. ¡°Is


    that¡ª¡±


    ¡°This is the scarf you asked me to make. I stayed up all night just to finish knitting it,¡± she said as she


    opened up the scarf and draped it over his nape. ¡°Not bad. It actually looks really good on you.¡±


    She had nned on giving him the scarf on his birthday, but after learning of his shift in personality


    today, she decided to bring it over, hoping that it might help in soothing him or something like that.


    Presently, Toby raised a hand and sunk his fingers into the soft fabric of the scarf hanging from his neck.


    He could pick up a faint, pleasant scent and realized that it was Sonia¡¯s fragrance.


    He couldn¡¯t help but tighten his grip on the scarf, then buried his head into the soft yarn.


    At the sight of this, Sonia added, ¡°It was meant to be your birthday gift, but now that I¡¯ve given it to you in


    advance, I¡¯ll just have to get you something else on the actual day itself.¡±


    ¡°This is good enough,¡± he replied, still holding the scarf as he stared at her appreciatively, clearly moved


    by the gift.


    She poured him another ss of warm water. ¡°Would you like some water?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No, thanks.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I wasn¡¯t actually giving you a choice. You have to drink this. I mean, do you even hear how terrible


    your voice sounds right now?¡± she asked with a frown.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had alcohol in his stomach, she would have made him a honey drink for


    his irritated throat.

 Chapter 664

    Chapter 664


    Chapter 664 Man-Child


    It was when Toby saw the serious and steely look in Sonia¡¯s eyes that he realized he had no choice but


    to take the water.


    He brought his hand up to rub his temple tiredly, and after exerting quite a bit of strength, he managed to


    prop himself up on the couch. He took the ss, and under Sonia¡¯s watchful gaze, he gulped the water


    down withoutint.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    Satisfied, she retracted her gaze, and no longer stared at him like he was a criminal.


    When he finished the water, he set the ss aside and shook his head slowly, feeling as if it had been


    stuffed full of cotton.


    At the sight of this, Sonia pressed, ¡°Headache?¡±


    He hummed wearily in response.


    She pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure. ¡°Well, serve you right for downing all that alcohol with


    such little concern for your own life.¡±


    Knowing that he was in the wrong this time, Toby lowered his head guiltily and stayed mute.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t bring herself to stay mad at him when she saw how worn-out and upset he looked. Her


    expression softened as she muttered, ¡°Forget it. What matters is that you don¡¯t try to reenact this


    incident. You nearly scared me to death, and I don¡¯t think my heart can take another shock like this; I


    certainly don¡¯t want to have all my senses on alert this time each year.¡±


    Toby stared at her with despair in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize; no one could me you for what happened,¡± she said gently. ¡°I understand


    why you would resort to such coping mechanisms in light of the situation, but I do hope you¡¯d sort


    through these feelings before you spiral even further. Don¡¯t forget what I said earlier about you not being


    the cause of your mom¡¯s suicide. There¡¯s no need for you to invalidate yourself, because if you do, then


    who else could give you the affirmation you need?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes glistened like he was pondering her words.


    She brought her hand up to his forehead and exined when she saw the confusion in his eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry, I¡¯m just checking to see if you¡¯re running a fever. You barely slept a winkst night, and coupled


    with the inordinate amount of wine you drank in this unheated space, I¡¯m worried that you might have


    caught a cold or something. But judging by the look of things, you don¡¯t seem to be having a cold at all.¡±


    She put her hand down, then asked, ¡°Maybe you¡¯d like to get a bit of shut-eye?¡±


    He was exhausted andpletely drained of energy, not to mention his head felt like lead. He didn¡¯t


    think he could even put his feet on the ground. He wanted to sleep, but he was worried that if he did, she


    would leave. The thought of that made him shake his head and tell a harmless lie. ¡°No, I¡¯m not tired.¡±


    ¡°As if,¡± Sonia pointed out sardonically, rolling her eyes at his obvious fatigue.


    Toby parted his lips to argue, but before he could say anything, his stomach beat him to it by giving a


    loud grumble.


    He looked down at his own stomach and blinked, seemingly bewildered, as he asked, ¡°It just made a


    noise.¡±


    She nearlyughed at this. ¡°Yeah, and that noise indicates that you¡¯re hungry.¡± It was nearly noon, and


    aside from his hardcore drinkingst night, he didn¡¯t have much else to eat. Even Sonia was beginning to


    feel hungry, so she could only imagine the hollowness he felt in his stomach.


    ¡°Hungry?¡± he repeated slowly, like he had never heard of the word, and his confusion showed in his


    eyes.


    Sonia felt her eye twitch as she assessed him and his rather stupid state. Maybe all that drink he hadst


    night is finally getting to his head and meddling with his mind, which exins why he¡¯s in such a daze, as


    opposed to his usual sharp-witted self. Then again, she had to admit that there was something endearing


    about him when he behaved like this, which was a rare sight indeed.


    She never once thought that Toby, on the edge of beingpletely hungover but still riding out the


    effects of his alcohol consumption, would be quite so interesting before sobriety caught up with him.


    With an exasperated shake of her head, she put out her hands and pressed his shoulders so that she


    could ease him into a reclining position on the couch. ¡°Okay, just be good and lie down here while I go


    into the kitchen to rustle up some food for you, that is if you even have ingredients in the fridge.¡±


    He had only had alcohol to drinkst night with no other sustenance; it was a wonder that his stomach


    could still grumble at all.


    Toby obedientlyy back down on the couch, blinking at Sonia wearily and mutely, still in some kind of a


    stupor.


    She took her hands off his shoulders and rearranged the scarf around his neck, then tucked him under


    the nket before getting up to go into the kitchen.


    However, she had only just taken a step when the man on the couch grabbed her by the wrist. She


    stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Toby curiously. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to leave?¡± he asked, staring up at her instead of answering her question.


    She tipped her head to one side, a little baffled. ¡°Where would I be going?¡±


    ¡°Away,¡± was all he replied.


    Amusement colored her features. ¡°I never said I was going away.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t, but you¡¯re leaving now, aren¡¯t you?¡± he asked hoarsely. He pressed his lips into a fine line,


    and she could hear the disappointment clear in his tone; he wasn¡¯t even trying to hide his dejection, and


    he sounded like he was about to be abandoned.


    Seeing this, Sonia patted the back of his hand and exined patiently, ¡°No, I¡¯m not going away. I¡¯m just


    going to make you something to eat.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Now his lips looked thin and grim as he added usingly, ¡°You¡¯re lying to me.


    You¡¯re going to leave as soon as you step out that door, just like my mom; one day, she promised to


    bring me out for a meal, and the next, she was gone.¡±


    Stunned by this, Sonia took a second to recover. With a sigh, she borated solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m not lying to


    you, and I promise I won¡¯t leave. I¡¯m just going into the kitchen to make you some food, and I¡¯ll be back


    before you know it. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ve always kept my promises. Would you like me to swear or take an


    oath before you?¡± She put up a hand and made to swear with utmost seriousness. ¡°I¡¯m going into the


    kitchen, and I will be back here as soon as I¡¯m done. If I don¡¯t keep my word, then I shall stay and take


    care of you every day for the next foreseeable period. How about that?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes widened, then he blinked as he asked, ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really!¡± She gave him a firm, reassuring nod.


    He stared at her as if to figure out if she could be trusted. After what felt like a long moment of debate


    with himself, he slowly released her wrist and kept his gaze on her as he said, ¡°Fine, then you may go.


    But you have toe back soon because I¡¯ll be here waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be back in a sh,¡± Sonia promised with a grave nod.


    She was beginning to understand that under the influence of alcohol, his mind had regressed to the state


    it had been in when he was around ten years old, which was about the same time when his mother had


    taken her own life.


    So his coping mechanism is to literally transform into his ten-year-old self after getting wasted, but what¡¯s


    most surprising is that a ten-year-old Toby is actually pretty adorable.


    With superhuman self-control, she kept herself from reaching out to pinch the man¡¯s cheeks. Dismissing


    the impulse, she turned away from the couch and left the study under his wary gaze.


    Presently, she headed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She had expected to be greeted by


    empty shelves andpartments, given that Toby had never stepped foot into any kitchen, much less


    cooked, but she was astonished to see that the fridge was fully stocked. In fact, most of the ingredients


    looked fresh.


    A little stunned by the revtion, she couldn¡¯t help casting a brief nce in the direction of the study. No


    way, she thought, blinking. Does he actually know how to cook?


    She took out a packet of vegetables and looked it over in wonder, unable to imagine Toby cooking. After


    all, he waspletely hapless in the kitchen when he had dropped by Bayside Residence the other day,


    and he had no idea how to operate a kitchen.


    Besides, he was the head of the Fuller Family and the president of Fuller Group. With all those


    responsibilities weighing down on him and filling up his schedule, it wasn¡¯t as if he had the luxury of


    picking up culinary skills on the side.


    Without dwelling further on this, Sonia put the packet of vegetables into the sink and rummaged through


    the other ingredients until she came upon chicken breast slices. Inspiration dawned upon her, and she


    decided to cook a chicken chowder with a green sd on the side.


    Toby had had too much to drink, and everything else in the fridge didn¡¯t seem to make for hearty


    hangover-cure recipes. She figured that a well-seasoned bowl of chowder was just what he needed, not


    to mention it would be easy on his stomach.


    She spent about half an hour in the kitchen just rustling up the meal. When she was done, shedled the


    chowder into two separate bowls and ced them onto a tray, thereafter proceeding toward the study.


    I wonder if he¡¯s asleep now. The door to the study was left ajar, for she hadn¡¯t closed it all the way just


    now. Without having to reach for the doorknob, she made her way through with ease.


    She quietly walked over to the couch. She assumed that Toby had drifted off into sleep, but much to her


    surprise, he was wide awake, and his eyes were fixed on the ceiling as if he was in a trance.


    She bent over and set the tray down.


    Upon hearing the sound of her movements, Toby blinked out of his reverie and finally returned to his


    senses. He turned his gaze away from the ceiling and focused on the woman next to him, then looked


    delighted as he eximed, ¡°You came back!¡±

 Chapter 665

    Chapter 665


    Chapter 665 Tobykins


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but smile when she saw how happy Toby was at her return. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back. See, I


    made good on my word and didn¡¯t leave at all, and I came back on time.¡±


    He hummed contentedly in response.


    She pulled up a chair next to the couch and sat down. ¡°Can you get up?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he said, looking at her piteously as he shook his head.


    She sighed, then reached out a hand. ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll help you up.¡±


    He put his hand in hers, and as soon as she had a firm grasp on him, she pulled him into an upright


    position on the couch. ¡°Okay, hold still, and don¡¯t fall back again.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said, nodding like an obedient little boy.


    He was behaving so well that Sonia couldn¡¯t resist ruffling his hair affectionately. ¡°You know, Tobykins, I


    didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so much more fun during a hangover.¡±


    ¡°Tobykins?¡± he repeated with a raise of his brow as he eyed her inquisitively. The next moment, he


    grimaced and demanded unhappily, ¡°Who is Tobykins? Are you seeing someone else?¡±


    His voice was loud, and he looked at her like she was the biggest heartbreaker in the city. She tried to


    keep from sputtering as she asked, ¡°What are you talking about? Who¡¯s seeing someone else?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± he replied furiously, glowering at her.


    She blinked, then pointed at herself. ¡°And who am I seeing?¡±


    Incensed, he pursed his lips, and his eyes were red as he grumbled, ¡°Tobykins!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sonia felt the corner of her lips twitch at the usation. I¡¯m seeing someone else by the name


    of Tobykins? Okay, well, as things are, I can¡¯t say he¡¯s wrong. She put a palm to her forehead as she


    looked at him incredulously and said, ¡°I swear it¡¯s like you¡¯ve lost half a mind, Toby. You do realize that


    you¡¯re Tobykins, don¡¯t you?¡±


    This seemed like news to him as he stiffened. ¡°I¡¯m Tobykins?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± Sonia replied with a slow nod.


    Once again, his face darkened as he argued, ¡°You¡¯re lying to me. My name is Toby, not Tobykins.¡±


    ¡°Tobykins is a nickname I gave you,¡± she answered through gritted teeth, rolling her eyes at him.


    It was only then that he understood that he really was Tobykins. As his anger subsided, he gazed at


    Sonia blearily and asked, ¡°But why am I Tobykins? I¡¯m not a kid anymore.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia was highly entertained by this exchange. ¡°Because you¡¯re behaving like a kid right now, of


    course. Toby, I really want to see how you¡¯d react after you sober up and recall every single childish thing


    you said and did today. I bet you¡¯d wish a hole could open up in the ground and swallow you up.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Toby was clearly too drunk toprehend her words, and his confusion was evident on his face.


    She waved her hand dismissively. ¡°You know what? It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t even know why I bothered telling you


    all this in the first ce; it¡¯s not like you can understand what I¡¯m saying. We should eat.¡±


    Having said that, she took up a bowl of chowder from the tray and ced it carefully in Toby¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Take care not to spill it.¡± My goodness, it¡¯s like I¡¯m actually fussing over a little kid right now. Here¡¯s to


    hoping he won¡¯t spill the chowder.


    Toby was truly on his best behavior as he carefully held the bowl in his palms. Sonia could tell that he


    had a firm grasp on the bowl, and when she was sure that he wouldn¡¯t tip the bowl on one side and spill


    the chowder, she loosened up and took her own bowl of chowder.


    She was already starving as it was, having gone without food for the whole morning while she was


    fussing over him. Hours had passed since then, and now she felt so hollow she might just shrink into


    herself.


    Stirring her chowder with her spoon, she began to take small mouthfuls of it, but that was when she


    sensed Toby staring at her without once eating his own chowder.


    She put the spoon down and nced at him with a raised brow. ¡°Are you going to keep staring at me like


    that, or are you going to eat?¡±


    He looked like he was about to say something, but he did not utter a single word.


    She sighed. ¡°What is it? Don¡¯t you know how to feed yourself?¡±


    Toby stared at her and stayed stubbornly mute. This only made her feel more exasperated. Kids are


    cute, and that¡¯s an understatement, but heaven help me. I have no idea what they¡¯re thinking!


    Sometimes, one would find oneself rendered helpless by children and their strange demeanor.


    Like right now.


    In resignation, she put down her own bowl and reached for his instead, taking it out of his hands as she


    scooped up some chowder and brought it to his lips. ¡°Say, ¡®ah¡¯.¡±


    He did as he was told and opened his mouth, and she spooned the chowder into it.


    He chewed twice, then swallowed. Amused by this, Sonia prompted, ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re just trying to


    get me to wait on you hand and foot instead of doing these things on your own, Toby? Do you actually


    see yourself as a kid?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he replied with a small shake of his head.


    ¡°You know what, don¡¯t even bother arguing with me,¡± she said with a roll of her eyes, then brought yet


    another spoonful of chowder to his lips.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    He opened his mouth just as obediently as he had the first time, making it clear that he wanted her to


    spoon-feed him. Resigned, she sighed and fed him each mouthful. It wasn¡¯t as if she had a choice; if she


    refused to feed him, he would stare at her with wide puppy eyes, which was her weakness. More


    importantly, he was her man, and she couldn¡¯t bear to let him starve.


    When the chowder had been polished off, Sonia set the bowl aside and handed him a ss of water. ¡°It¡¯s


    for you to rinse your mouth.¡±


    He took the ss of water and proceeded to rinse his mouth without needing any assistance. When he


    looked like he was about to be done, she raised a small basin for him to spit out the water, which he did


    without objection.


    After that, she handed him a tissue so he could wipe his mouth, but this time, he somehow became inept


    again and waited for her to do it for him instead, staring at her once more with childish helplessness.


    Frustration seized her. ¡°Okay, you know what, Toby? I think I¡¯ve figured you out. You may look like a


    hapless kid right now, but your thoughts are clear enough for you to decide which chore you¡¯d like to do


    on your own and which you¡¯d prefer to have others do for you.¡±


    Like feeding you chowder, which happens to be a chore that he¡¯d prefer someone else do for him, and


    I¡¯m the only other person avable at his service.


    However, when it came to rinsing his mouth, he knew that there was no way she could have helped him


    and resorted to doing it on his own.


    Right now, wiping his mouth was, once again, a chore that he could elect to have someone else do for


    him.


    He was a maniptive child stuck in a grown man¡¯s body.


    s, he feigned innocence now, as if he couldn¡¯t understand why Sonia was upset at him, and there was


    a groggy look in his eyes as he gazed at her. ¡°Hmm?¡±


    She felt the corner of her mouth twitch once more in anger. Screw this, she thought belligerently. Why do


    I bother talking sense to a hungover person? I¡¯ll wait until he sobers up before I get even with him!


    Rubbing her temples tiredly, she heaved a sigh and wiped the corners of his mouth for him. It was only


    after she was done cleaning him up that hey back down on the couch.


    Now that he had settled down, Sonia finally had the time and the liberty to enjoy her lukewarm chowder,


    and while she ate, Toby kept his eyes on her.


    She swallowed her mouthful of chowder and asked, ¡°Maybe you should take a nap now that your


    stomach is full. Sleep off the alcohol, and you¡¯d feel much better when you wake up.¡±


    However, he shook his head stubbornly, implying that he had no intention to sleep whatsoever, even


    though he was already dozing off and was only keeping his eyes open by sheer determination.


    Sonia made no effort to persuade him and decided to let him be. She would much prefer to keep him like


    this instead of having him run amok like Rose had described; she didn¡¯t think she could handle it if his


    self-harming tendencies were triggered.


    Besides, the harder he tried to stay awake, the more he would wear himself out and eventually drift off


    into sleep.


    At the thought of this, Sonia paid no attention to him and quietly finished her own chowder, thereafter


    setting the bowl down. She was just about to bring the tray out to the kitchen when the man on the


    couch, who had been silent all this while, suddenly said, ¡°Stinks.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± She turned around to glower at him incredulously. Did he just say I stink?


    He said softly, ¡°I stink. I need a bath.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. Okay, he was talking about himself. I got mad for no reason. Crossing her arms, she


    eyed him bemusedly as she countered, ¡°Oh, so you do realize that you stink.¡±


    Naturally, having consumed all that alcohol, he would now, over the course of thest few hours, carry


    with him the overpowering and rather assaulting stench of stale alcohol.


    She had thought about letting him sober up before making him shower, but she certainly didn¡¯t expect


    him to think of his own scent as unbearable and thereafter demand a bath. Fine, I guess it¡¯d be better for


    him to bathe before he sleeps.


    She reached to pull him up from the couch. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll help you over to your room.¡±


    He hummed in response and stood up from the couch, but there was no strength in his legs whatsoever.


    He could barely stand on his own two feet, which was why he was only upright for seconds before he


    toppled forward, dragging Sonia down with him.


    In the end, hey face-down on the floor while Sonianded on his back with a startled cry.

 Chapter 666

    Chapter 666


    Chapter 666 The Peak of Frustration


    With Toby to cushion her fall, Sonia felt no pain whatsoever, though her chin throbbed after colliding


    against his muscled back. She rubbed her chin as she scrambled off him, then reached to pull him up.


    ¡°Toby, are you okay? Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Toby sat up gingerly on the floor and gazed at her in confusion.


    She felt one of her eyes twitch. As it turned out, he didn¡¯t even know what was going on, and he probably


    didn¡¯t register his own fall. But judging from the looks of it, he doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s hurt at all. Besides,


    the floor is carpeted.


    With that in mind, Sonia visibly rxed and continued to help Toby out of the study, guiding him toward


    his bedroom.


    He had no strength in his legs, and he staggered with each step until they finally, painstakingly, found


    themselves in the adjoining bathroom of his bedroom. Sonia didn¡¯t think she had ever in her entire life


    been as exhausted as she was in the present. ¡°Phew.¡± She let out a breath, then turned to address the


    man next to her, saying, ¡°Okay, hold on to this!¡±


    She jerked her chin in the direction of the bathroom sink.


    Toby blinked at her stupidly. ¡°Huh?¡±


    She rolled her eyes, then enunciated through gritted teeth, ¡°I said, put your hand on the edge of the sink


    so you can hold yourself up.¡±


    ¡°My hand?¡± He nced down at his own hand for a few seconds, then tried to reach for the sink.


    Relief washed over her when she saw that he was doing as told, but just as she was about to let go of


    his arm, he suddenly drew his hand back from the sink. He moved so quickly that she would have


    missed such a gesture had she blinked.


    The corner of her mouth twitched a little in exasperation as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Toby?


    Did the sink electrocute you or something?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s cold,¡± Toby answered stiffly, pursing his lips.


    The onset of a migraine was starting to attack Sonia as she grumbled, ¡°I know the sink is cold, but I don¡¯t


    see how that¡¯s a reason for you to not hold onto it. Surely you aren¡¯t so fragile as to shrink away from


    cold porcin. Are you a man or not?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± he replied matter-of-factly with a nod.


    She could choke on frustration. ¡°Well, you answered pretty quickly to that. Okay, that¡¯s enough dilly-


    dallying. Hold onto the sink now.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s cold!¡± he whined as he shook his head, adamant in his stance.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes fluttered close, and with great determination, she suppressed the rage that bubbled up in


    her. Don¡¯t get mad, don¡¯t get mad, she chanted in her mind like a mantra. He¡¯s a ten-year-old kid right


    now. You mustn¡¯t get mad at him. Listen up, Sonia Reed, if you get riled up by a brat, you¡¯d only end up


    losing.


    As she told herself this, she suddenly realized just how tantly oblivious she had been to the trials that


    came with caring for children, particrly the man-child who was currently in her charge. In fact, she had


    never quite experienced the peak of exhaustion and frustration as she did now.


    All in all, she came to the sore conclusion that even Dous had been easier to deal with than Tobykins.


    Pinching the space between her brows, Sonia glowered at the man darkly as she warned, ¡°Toby Fuller,


    I¡¯ll only say this one more time: put your hand on that sink, or I¡¯ll leave now and never speak to you ever


    again.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes widened at this, and he quickly gave in to the threat, putting his hand on the sink right away.


    Looking over at Sonia helplessly, he grumbled, ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll put my hand here. Don¡¯t go.¡±


    She heaved another sigh. ¡°For heavens¡¯ sake, why must I be the viin before you would listen to


    me?¡±


    He lowered his head without saying anything, behaving much like a dejected child who had just been told


    off.


    She couldn¡¯t help seeing theical side of this, though she was still frustrated. He looks like I¡¯m about


    to drag him into a ughterhouse. ¡°Alright, now just keep holding onto that sink and nt your feet firmly


    on the ground, okay?¡± She slowly let go of his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you if you fall overter.


    There¡¯s no carpet here to break your fall; you¡¯re going to end up hurt.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± he mumbled begrudgingly.


    She shook her head, then turned toward the bathtub.


    She came to a stop before the bathtub and took in its extravagance. It wasrge enough that it could


    amodate five or six persons at the same time. She resisted the urge to snort as she thought rather


    disparagingly, My, he certainly knows how to indulge. I didn¡¯t even have such luxuries when the Reed


    Family was in its heyday.


    Not pondering any more on this, she turned on the tap and drew a hot bath for Toby to soak in. As the


    water ran, she returned to Toby¡¯s side and said, ¡°Stay here for a bit while I get your clothes.¡±


    He hummed once more in response.


    She cast a furtive nce at his hand, and after making sure that he had a firm enough grip on the sink to


    not topple over, she ventured out of the bathroom and headed for his walk-in wardrobe.


    Having arrived in the wardrobe space, she made a beeline for the rack where his sleepwear collection


    was stored and mindlessly picked out a set of pajamas for him, thereafter going over to his


    undergarment selection.


    She found the neatly folded boxer briefs in one of the many drawers, and instinctively blushed as she


    selected one at random. Unceremoniously shoving it into the folds of the pajamas in her arm, she hastily


    closed the drawer and went back to the bathroom.


    Tony¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw her figure re-enter the bathroom. Cheerily, he greeted, ¡°You¡¯re back.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± she said with a nod. cing the change of clothes into the hamper, she went over to hold his


    arm and helped him over to the bathtub. ¡°Okay, get into the bath, and you can go to sleep when you¡¯re


    done.¡±


    He hummed again and then lifted his leg so he could crawl into the tub.


    rmed by this, Sonia pulled his arm to stop him. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    He was puzzled as he blinked and replied without much thought, ¡°Taking a bath.¡±


    She pressed a palm to her forehead. ¡°How are you going to do that if you¡¯re still wearing your clothes?¡±


    He tipped his head to the side as though questioning why bathing while fully clothed was impossible. She


    pulled a face that suggested she was trying hard to keep her frustration from getting the better of her;


    with forced patience, she exined, ¡°Toby, listen to me: you cannot step into the bath while you¡¯re fully


    clothed, okay? So take off your clothes and go into the tub, and when you¡¯re done with the bath, change


    into the clothes I put in your hamper.¡±


    He looked over in the direction she was pointing at and noticed the hamper where she had put his


    pajamas.


    Upon sensing hisprehension, she raked her fingers through her hair like an aggrieved parent and


    said, ¡°Alright, you just take your time with the bath. I¡¯ll be waiting for you outside.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± he said, holding onto her arm urgently.


    This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    She halted in her steps. ¡°Is there anything else you need me to do for you?¡±


    ¡°Take off my clothes for me.¡± He was looking at her earnestly as he said this.


    Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± Did he just ask me to take his clothes off for


    him?


    He took a deep breath, then repeated, ¡°Take off my clothes for me.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Sonia was blushing furiously as she rejected him outright. ¡°I can help you with plenty of other


    stuff, but not this! You have to take off your own clothes. I mean, why would you even ask me to do that


    for you?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it myself,¡± he exined pathetically, gesturing to his leather belt as he stared at her helplessly.


    Sonia felt as though she might have a stroke. ¡°Toby, I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re just really dumb or if the


    alcohol has turned you into a spoiled brat, but there is no way you can¡¯t get out of those clothes, so why


    don¡¯t you stop with the excuses and let go of me? I want to go out now.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby tightened his grip on her arm, stubbornly holding her in ce as he stared at her defiantly, as


    though telling her that she would not be stepping out of the bathroom until she helped him with his


    clothes.


    She tried to move her arm, hoping that she could break free from his hold. However, she discovered that


    his grip grew tighter with each one of her movements, and she could not pull away no matter what.


    Cornered, she loosened up so that he would, too.


    She had to remember that she was dealing with someone who was badly drunk. She couldn¡¯t reason


    with him, and there was a likelihood that her suggestions and gentle prompting would only fall upon deaf


    ears. With reverse psychology at work, he would only do the opposite of whatever she said and hold on


    tighter when she asked him to let go; but if she were to loosen up, then so would his vise-like grip on her.


    True enough, as soon as he sensed no resistance on her part, his grip loosened up a little.


    She nced sideways at his hand, which was still clutching her arm. An idea shed in her mind, and


    she quickly jabbed a finger toward the ceiling as she shouted, ¡°Look, it¡¯s a ne!¡±


    Much to her disbelief, Toby actually fell for the trick and looked up.


    When she saw this, she seized the opportunity to pull away from him, hoping that she could break away


    while he was still distracted.


    However, he instantly reacted to her sudden movement and turned his attention back to her. This time,


    he tugged her backward forcefully.


    But because his legs were too weak to hold him upright, his bnce was already precarious as it was,


    and such a forceful backward tug resulted in the both of them toppling into the bathtub behind them.


    With a loud ssh, the water sttered everywhere as Toby and Sonia¡¯sbined weight disced it


    from the tub.

 Chapter 667

    Chapter 667


    Chapter 667 Help Me Take Off My Clothes


    As for Sonia and Toby, the two sank to the bottom of the bathtub. Sonia hurriedly held her breath, so as


    not to choke on the water. But Toby had drunk too much wine and didn¡¯t know what to do, so he foolishly


    opened his eyes and let the water go into his mouth and nose. When Sonia saw his face change, she


    knew he was choking on the water. After a quick frown, she hurriedly reached out and lifted his chin,


    bringing him out of the bathwater.


    After getting out of the water, Sonia coughed twice and hurriedly took a big breath of fresh air. However,


    Toby, who was beside her, was lying motionless by the edge of the bath. After Sonia took several deep


    breaths and felt her breathing gradually return to regr, she turned to check on Toby¡¯s condition. He


    was staring at the bathroom floor with his eyes open, appearing dazed.


    Even though Sonia pushed him, he did not respond, as if he had lost his soul. Nevertheless, Sonia knew


    he had not lost his soul but had almost drowned and had note back to his senses yet. Helplessly


    shaking her head, Sonia patted his back while muttering, ¡°Toby, what do I owe you in my past life? Hurry


    up and open your mouth! Spit out the water you just swallowed.¡±


    She slightly increased the strength of her pats on his back, trying to force out the water he had


    swallowed. After a few more hard pats, Toby came back to his senses. His eyes gradually focused, and


    he also obediently opened his mouth. Soon, he spat out a few mouthfuls of water. When Sonia saw this,


    she stopped patting his back. As long as the water is out, I won¡¯t worry about water umting in his


    lungs and causing inmmation.


    After doing this, Sonia leaned on the side of the bath, slightly panting in fatigue. Looking at the man also


    leaning on the side of the bath in frustration, she said, ¡°Toby, you¡¯ve tormented me so much within these


    few hours. I¡¯m more tired than I¡¯ve ever been in a year. When you sober up, you¡¯ll get it.¡±


    Toby blinked, then suddenly swam to her side and hugged her. ¡°Sonia¡­¡±


    ¡°You still remember my name?¡± Sonia pushed him, but he did not budge.


    Next, Toby buried his head in her shoulder and called again, ¡°Sonia¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia wearily rolled her eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel too well.¡± Toby rubbed her shoulder.


    Sonia lifted her hand to push at his head, then asked, ¡°Where? Are you sure you got all the water out of


    you?¡±


    Then, Toby rubbed her hands. ¡°My body feels weird and heavy!¡±


    Finally, Sonia understood. Looking at the wet clothes on his body, she pursed her lips and said, ¡°Your


    clothes are all wet and have stuck onto you; how could they not feel heavy? I feel the same too.¡±


    She was dragged into the bath by him, so the clothes on her body were all wet and now stuck to her


    body too, making her feel very ufortable. If not for the fact that he was now a drunk and his IQ had


    regressed to about the IQ of a 10-year-old child, she would have beaten him up.


    ¡°What to do?¡± Toby held the clothes on his body and asked her how to get the wet clothes on his body


    off.


    Sighing, Sonia replied, ¡°What else can we do? We take them off and get into the bath.¡±


    She pushed him away and stood up from the bathtub, saying, ¡°You hurry up and take off your own


    clothes, then have your bath. I¡¯m going out to get changed.¡±


    Sonia was soaked from the fall, so she had to wear his clothes. Thinking of this, Sonia had just taken a


    step out of the bath when Toby took her hand again and pulled her back into the bath. The water once


    again sshed and drenched them both, causing Sonia¡¯s dry face to get wet again. Sonia shut her eyes


    fiercely and then opened them again, shouting angrily at Toby, ¡°Toby Fuller!¡±


    This man! How dare he?! Why have I never seen him being so annoying before?


    Toby stared at her with an innocent face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What the hell do you want?¡± Sonia¡¯s chest rose and fell.


    ¡°I want to take a shower,¡± Toby lowered his head and replied.


    It took a while for Sonia to calm down. ¡°Since you want to take a shower, you can do it yourself. Why do


    you have to drag me in with you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to undress; you help me undress.¡± Toby took her hand.


    At that, Sonia fell silent. Okay, I get it now. He was determined to let her help him take his clothes off.


    Otherwise, he would never let her go.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia took a deep breath, resisted the urge to shake him off and walk away, then held his face and


    squeezed it hard. ¡°Toby, listen to me carefully. If you still want to mess me up after I undress you, I will


    really leave. You can try if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°I will not,¡± Toby shook his head and whispered back.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth lifted as she replied, ¡°It seems that your mind is still very clear. Knowing that


    I¡¯m going to leave, you hurriedly stop acting crazy. I suspect you are sober now, and you¡¯re just


    deliberately putting on an act.¡±


    Toby looked at her with a calm gaze, the confusion in his eyes undisguised. Sonia was not sure whether


    he was sober for real, and she did not bother to think about it.


    After releasing his face, she reached down to unbutton the buttons on his shirt. It was not the first time


    she had changed his clothes; she did it once before in the cave under the cliff, so she didn¡¯t feel strange


    undressing him.


    However, when it came to taking off the pants, her heart could no longer be calm. With trembling hands,


    Sonia reached out to Toby¡¯s belt, then turned her head to the side, not wanting to look at something


    inappropriate.


    Luckily, Toby was not too sober at the moment, so he just simply let her help himself undress without any


    other intention. Thus, when Sonia turned her head to the side, he did not force her to turn around. Of


    course, if he was sober, he would have done so.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see Toby, so she took off his clothes without looking. As her hands were still trembling


    slightly, she couldn¡¯t helping in contact with certain inappropriate ces. When her fingertips grazed


    through a particr part, she drew her hand as if she was electrocuted. However, even though she


    retracted her hand, she¡¯d identally touch him again. Frowning hard, Sonia had to desperately calm


    herself down and stop moving unnecessarily.


    Thinking of this, Sonia quickly calmed down. Then, she grabbed his underwear and pulled it down, then


    removed his pants. After taking his clothes off, Sonia hurriedly stood up from the bath and stepped out,


    turning her back on the man behind her and saying, ¡°Okay, you quickly get into the bath. I¡¯m going out


    first.¡±


    After saying that, without waiting for the man to respond, she hurriedly rushed out of the bathroom,


    leaving a trail of water behind her. Next, she went into Toby¡¯s room and found a new set of pajamas


    inside, ready to change into. His pajamas were huge, and on her body, it was like she was wearing a


    loose dress. Thus, she found a belt and put it around her waist so that the originally loose pajamas


    became a fashionable dress.


    After changing her clothes, Sonia threw her soaked and dirty clothes into a clothes basket. Then, she


    took the basket and a blow dryer out of the room and went outside to blow dry her hair. It was already ten


    minutester when her hair finally dried.


    She walked in the bathroom¡¯s direction, ready to ask Toby if he had finished bathing. Since it had been


    so long, he should have been almost done. She came to the bathroom door, raised her hand, and


    knocked on the door. ¡°Toby, are you done yet?¡±


    However, there was no response from inside the door. Thinking that he might not have heard her, Sonia


    knocked and called out again. ¡°Toby?¡±


    There was still no response from inside. Frowning, Sonia put her ear to the door, trying to listen to the


    movements inside. However, there was no sound inside, which made her worried.


    Has something bad happened?

 Chapter 668

    Chapter 668


    Chapter 668 Sonia¡¯s Helplessness


    Toby drank too much, and he had no strength left. In fact, he was so foolish that he didn¡¯t know how to


    swim up after going under the water in the bath.


    Maybe he really slid to the bottom of the bath after I left. Maybe he drowned!


    When Sonia thought of this, her heart sank, and her face turned pale. The next second, she quickly


    opened the door and rushed in. After entering, she didn¡¯t see the horrible scene she had imagined, but


    only saw Toby lying on the edge of the bathtub with his eyes closed like he was asleep.


    Seeing this, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief and patted her heaving chest. Great, he didn¡¯t sink and


    drowned. That really scared me to death! But Toby¡¯s current situation is indeed worrying.


    Rubbing her temples, Sonia walked over slowly, squatted by the edge of the bathtub, raised her hand,


    and then touched Toby¡¯s face lightly, confirming that he was indeed asleep and hadn¡¯t met with an


    ident. Only then did she feel relieved.


    ¡°Ugh, you can even fall asleep while taking a bath.¡± Sonia flicked Toby¡¯s forehead out of revenge.


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s forehead became red, showing that she had really hurt him. Serves him right for


    tormenting me for a few hours!


    ¡°Wake up, Toby. Wake up.¡± Sonia shook the man, trying to wake him up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sleep here as you will catch a cold. Get up, put on your clothes and go to sleep in the room.¡±


    However, Toby only moved a little and did not look like he had any intention of waking up at all. Sonia¡¯s


    hands were tired from shaking him, yet he didn¡¯t even flutter his eyshes but simply slept on peacefully.


    This made Sonia feel a little helpless but also a little amused.


    It seems that I really owed him in myst life, so in this life, I will be tortured by him to repay the debt. Oh


    well, I took off his clothes before, so it¡¯s not a big deal to put them on now for him. Isn¡¯t there a saying


    that whoever takes off the clothes is responsible for putting them on?


    Sighing, Sonia rolled up her sleeves, grabbed Toby¡¯s armpits with both hands, and pulled him out of the


    bath. Toby was tall and big, so naturally, he couldn¡¯t be light. In addition, he was in a state of


    drunkenness and sleep, so Sonia felt he was much heavier than his actual weight.


    Hence, to pull him out, she almost exerted all of her strength. Two minutester, she finally seeded in


    dragging him out, but because she ran out of strength, she couldn¡¯t stand firm after dragging him out and


    staggered back two steps. Finally, she fell back on her bottom on the cold ground with Toby in herp.


    Stunned, Sonia took a while to recover. She looked speechlessly at the floor behind her and then at the


    heavy naked man sitting in herp.


    What is this? How did things turn out like this?


    She put one hand on the man¡¯s shoulder and the other on her forehead and suddenlyughed aloud,


    amused by the funny pose that they were in. Afterughing for a while, Sonia took a long breath to calm


    down, put both hands on the man¡¯s back, brought the man up from the ground, and helped him to the


    bathroom door. Along the way, she tried to look straight ahead and not at the man so as not to see


    anything inappropriate.


    However, in the room, when Sonia threw him on the bed, she nced out of the corner of her eye and


    inevitably saw something inappropriate.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes widened as she gasped for breath, and her entire face turned red right to her neck.


    ¡°B*stard!¡± Sonia blushed and scolded Toby, then quickly covered her face and eyes before she turned


    away. At this point, her heart was beating so fast that it was about to leap out of her chest.


    God, how could I see that thing?


    Under her hands, Sonia¡¯s face was full of annoyance and anger. Frowning, she regretted that she


    shouldn¡¯t have nced just now. However, what she just saw kept appearing in her mind. That thing is


    gigantic!


    When she had sex with him the one time before, she was in a state of drunkenness and medication, so


    she knew little about what was happening and didn¡¯t see his body, either. Now that she saw it, she was


    really taken aback.


    He is really well endowed!


    Thinking of that time when something as big as Toby¡¯s manhood entered her body, Sonia felt that she


    was pretty impressive.


    Hey, hey, what am I thinking? Calm down, calm down!


    Sonia waved her hand and quickly banished the thoughts from her mind, then took a deep breath and


    hastened to the bathroom to get Toby¡¯s pajamas. Soon, she came out holding Toby¡¯s clothes and stood


    beside the bed with a somber expression, as if she was facing life and death. Because next, she was


    going to dress him, and dressing one was no better than undressing. Undressing was easier and could


    be done with eyes closed.


    But she couldn¡¯t do that while dressing him because it was easy to button the wrong button with her eyes


    closed. Moreover, he had to wear underwear, and she had heard before about how men had to adjust


    their manhood while wearing underwear. So, with her eyes closed, how could she adjust? That also


    meant that she would not only look at Toby again, but also touch him. God, spare me!


    Sonia closed her eyes, feeling like she wanted to cry. If only Tom is here now.


    Although she thought so, she knew it was impossible. After all, she couldn¡¯t really wait for Tom toe


    back and let him help his boss get changed.


    Who knows when Tom wille back?


    Thus, Sonia pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long sigh.


    Forget it! I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ve seen it all, anyway! So what if I touch it? Besides, in the future, I can¡¯t avoid it.


    Thinking of this, Sonia took a deep breath, and then got Toby¡¯s underwear out of the clothes in her arms,


    ready to put it on. She threw the other clothes aside and began to unfold his underwear.


    After that, she held Toby¡¯s ankles and began to put the underwear on for him. When she reached his


    hips, she paused, as if she was readying herself. After a few seconds, she calmed her fast-beating heart


    and continued to pull his underwear up.


    Finally, Sonia saw that thing again, and her face that was already red reddened even more now, and her


    breathing became much more rapid. But this time, she didn¡¯t avoid it anymore. Although she was shy,


    she stared boldly at it.


    After watching for a while, she curiously poked at it with her finger. When she realized what she had


    done, she hurriedly raised her head to prevent blood from flowing out of her nostrils.


    God, I¡¯ve just found out that I¡¯m also a lustful person! How could I actually touch Toby¡¯s manhood on


    purpose¡­ Sonia, nothing can save you now!


    Sonia twitched the corners of her mouth, then lowered her head and continued to dress Toby. This time,


    she was calm and no longer nervous and shy like just now. After all, she had seen and touched it, so the


    novelty was gone, and she was no longer interested in it. Finally, Sonia sessfully put Toby¡¯s pants onN?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    the man. She sighed in relief and sat on the bed to rest. Yes, rest. For her, putting Toby¡¯s pants on him


    was akin to fighting a battle, and her tired back was soaked with sweat.


    Turning her head, Sonia nced resentfully at the man who was still sleeping soundly on the bed and


    shook her head helplessly. ¡°You¡¯re really my archenemy!¡±


    Then, she stood up, picked up the pajamas on the side, and continued to put them on Toby. It was less


    stressful to change his shirt than pants, so Sonia quickly pulled his right arm into the right sleeve. When


    she came to his left arm, she halted.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±

 Chapter 669

    Chapter 669


    Chapter 669 His Wedding Ring


    A ring? Why is he wearing a ring on his hand? This ring is also quite familiar. Could it be¡­


    Sonia was taken aback, then she hurriedly dropped the sleeve in her hands and held Toby¡¯s left hand


    with both hands instead, spreading his fingers apart so that she could see the ring he was wearing on his


    ring finger more clearly. After looking at it for a while, she was finally sure that it was their wedding ring at


    that time. When did he put it on?


    Sonia touched the men¡¯s wedding ring on Toby¡¯s finger, and her red lips pursed for a moment. She had


    gone to buy this ring herself at that time.


    When they got married, Rose asked him to apany Sonia to buy the ring, but at that time, he had no


    feelings for Sonia, so he refused to go ring shopping with her. In the end, she went alone. After looking


    over many pairs, she finally saw and bought this, then had their names engraved inside.


    When the wedding came, the jeweler delivered the rings, and they exchanged them, but he took his off


    after the wedding and never wore it again. Although she was sad, she didn¡¯t insist on him wearing it


    because she knew that he did not love her. It was apromise on his part to wear the ring for her at


    the wedding and not make her lose face on the spot, so she could not expect anything else.


    Then, six years down the line, she did not see him put on the ring again until the time before the divorce.


    For some reason, he had suddenly put it on again. However, he refused to let her approach him, so she


    could not see the ring specifically, so much so that she forgot what the men¡¯s ring that she had bought


    looked like.


    If she hadn¡¯t remembered that this ring had the same main diamond as her ring, she wouldn¡¯t recognize


    the ring he was wearing now to be their wedding ring at that time.


    Sonia looked at the sleeping man and then at the ring on the man¡¯s finger. She could guess why he was


    wearing the ring again. It was because of love and because they were going to be together again.


    Besides, she realized he had been wearing this ring for some time. When she looked at the ring, she


    saw the deep ring marks on his finger.


    Thus, she believed that he had already worn it before his cast was removed. It was just that his hand had


    been in a cast for a long time, and she rarely paid attention to it, so she never realized it. Moreover, he


    didn¡¯t say anything about it.


    How could he hold back for so long?


    Sonia smiled with emotion, then tucked Toby¡¯s left arm into his sleeve before buttoning up his pajamas.


    Grabbing the quilt, she covered him up, leaned down, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Next, she


    got up and walked toward the door of the room.


    Get a good night¡¯s sleep. When you wake up, you can no longer be like you are today in such a drunken


    state. You should be spirited, and even if there is too much pain hidden in your heart, you absolutely can


    no longer show it like this. Otherwise, if others find such a weakness in you, they will definitely n to


    take advantage of it, and the consequences will be unimaginable. So, Toby, you must not be reckless


    anymore.


    When Sonia came to the room door, she looked back at the man on the bed and went out, closing the


    door after her. She came to the living room and sat down on the sofa before calling Tom. The call soon


    got through, and Tom¡¯s voice came. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Tom, how is Grandma now?¡± Sonia picked up the ss, took a sip of water, and asked with concern. It


    had been more than two hours since Rose had fainted, and she didn¡¯t know what the situation was now.


    Tom stood outside the ward, looked at the old woman in the ward, and said, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller is fine. The


    doctor said she only fainted from sudden shock and stress. Now, she has calmed down and has fallen


    asleep.¡±


    When Tom came to the hospital, Rose had woken up once. She saw him and instantly grabbed him to


    demand about Toby¡¯s heart failure, and it was only after he exined the reason and said that Toby had


    found a heart donor, did she finally feel relieved to receive treatment and sleep.


    Otherwise, Rose probably would have been worried sick. After all, she had already lost her husband,


    son, and daughter-inw, so if Toby had no heart donor and had to pass in front of Rose, the old woman


    could never ept such an oue.


    ¡°That¡¯s great then.¡± Sonia did not know what Tom was thinking. Hearing that the olddy was no longer


    in trouble, she was greatly relieved.


    ¡°Right, Miss Reed. How is President Fuller doing now?¡± Tom pushed his sses and asked.


    Sonia nced toward Toby¡¯s room and smiled. ¡°He is okay. He woke up for a while after you left, but


    because he drank a lot, he became rather childlike and annoying, but he has also fallen asleep by now.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s great.¡± Tom nodded and also felt relieved. As for what Sonia said about Toby being like a


    child, he thought that it was impossible. Toby was so wise and smart; how could he be childish


    when he was drunk? It must be fake news.


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Tom.¡± Sonia suddenly thought of something and narrowed her eyes. ¡°What exactly did you say to


    Grandma that made her pass out? Was it about Toby?¡±


    Tom didn¡¯t expect that Sonia would suddenly be so perceptive and ask about this, so he was caught in a


    difficult position for a while, not knowing how to answer. Seeing that Tom was silent, Sonia thought that


    what she guessed was right, so she pursed her lips and said, ¡°As expected, it was about Toby. What was


    it about? Did something happen to him that I don¡¯t know about?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ No.¡±


    The corners of Tom¡¯s mouth twitched, and Tom replied sheepishly, ¡°I just told Old Mrs. Fuller that


    President Fuller drank too much alcohol, and she¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Sonia¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Grandma knew that Toby would drink today and even


    prepared herself for the event that Toby might hurt himself today because she had experienced it before,


    so it is absolutely impossible that she would be so shocked by this that she fainted. It must be something


    else.¡±


    Tom was once again silent. Miss Reed is too shrewd. It seems that President Fuller would not be able to


    lie past her in the future.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Tom scratched his head.


    With some difficulty, he pleaded, ¡°Miss Reed, please stop asking. I can¡¯t tell you about this matter. Old


    Mrs. Fuller fainted after I told her. What if you faint too after I tell you? This is not a risk I can¡¯t take, but


    you can rest assured that although this matter is a little hard to ept, the oue is good. Besides,


    when this matter is over, you will know what happened even if we do not tell you by then. In short,


    President Fuller did not do anything wrong to anyone.¡±


    Hearing him say this, Sonia wrinkled her eyebrows tightly. ¡°Why do I not understand? What is so serious


    about it that we can¡¯t ept, and we may even faint from the shock of hearing it? Yet the oue is


    good? Why is it soplicated?¡±


    Sonia felt her head spin as she tried to make sense of it.


    Tom added with awkwardness, ¡°Miss Reed, I know that it is difficult for you to understand now. In any


    case, I cannot tell you this matter, so if you honestly want to know, wait for President Fuller to wake up.


    Then, you can personally ask him and see if he will tell you. If he won¡¯t, then I can¡¯t either. But Miss


    Reed, even if he refuses to tell you, I also hope you can understand him because his present situation is


    horrible!¡±


    Since Tom spoke with such heaviness in his tone, Sonia also realized that this matter was not simple.


    She looked at Toby¡¯s room door and finally nodded. ¡°I got it. Since you said that he did not do anything


    wrong to anyone, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    As long as Toby was not betraying her, she could ept that he was hiding something from her.

 Chapter 670

    Chapter 670


    Chapter 670 The Mysterious Person


    Besides, Sonia herself also had things hidden from him. Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Tom suddenly breathed


    a huge sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you, Miss Reed, for understanding.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°You just watch Grandma over there and call me immediately if


    anything happens. If Toby wakes up, I will also directly convey to him what happened to Grandma.


    Tonight, I will not go back.¡± She was going to stay and keep Tobypany. After all, there were still more


    than ten hours until sunrise. It was impossible for Toby to sleep through the next day, so what if he did


    something stupid again after she left?


    ¡°Okay, I will. I¡¯ll trouble you to take care of President Fuller then, Miss Reed.¡± Tom nodded in response.


    Sonia waved her hand, saying, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s only right I take care of him, since I had promised


    Grandma to be by his side.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then. Miss Reed, I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± Tom saw Mary was moving something in the ward and wanted


    to go over to help.


    But Sonia suddenly called out to him, ¡°Wait a minute, Tom.¡±


    Tom stopped. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°I want you to help me find a psychiatrist. Toby has a big change in temperament on this date every year


    because there is something wrong with his psyche. So, he must receive psychological treatment;


    otherwise, it will be like this again every year in the future, which is not a good thing for him.¡± Sonia


    spoke with the utmost seriousness.


    She did not tell Tom that Toby¡¯s real issue was because he felt that his birth was what prevented his


    mother from leaving the Fuller Family and pursuing her own happiness, leading to her final desperate


    suicide. He believed that his existence killed his mother and that he himself was the murderer. As for


    Tom and his grandmother, they thought that Toby¡¯s trauma was witnessing the scene of his mother¡¯s


    suicide.


    Since, for over ten years, Toby had not told anyone that his real issue was not what Tom, his


    grandmother, and the others thought, then naturally, Sonia would not tell others for him. In her opinion,


    these things were better for him to tell others himself. After all, when the day came that he could tell


    others himself, it meant that he had finally let the past go.


    ¡°Miss Reed, I know what you mean. I am also aware that this is a psychological trauma that President


    Fuller is suffering, which would be terrible to be left unresolved. However, it is not that I have not found a


    psychiatrist for President Fuller. I, and Old Mrs. Fuller, have looked for psychiatrists for President Fuller,


    but he had refused all of them. President Fuller is not willing to ept psychological counseling.¡± Tom


    smiled bitterly.


    Sonia was not the least bit surprised by Tom¡¯s answer and expected it. If Toby had epted


    psychological counseling long ago, he might have already let go of the past, and it would notst until


    now. Therefore, it was obvious that he had never received counseling.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just contact one on behalf of me. I will make Toby obediently go see a psychiatrist.¡± Sonia


    pursed her thin lips.


    Tom¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Miss Reed, what method do you have to make President Fuller


    behave?¡±


    ¡°Break up,¡± Sonia lightly opened her red lips and intoned.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Tom immediately sucked in a breath. ¡°This method is indeed excellent, Miss Reed. You¡¯re really


    something to hit the nail on the head.¡±


    President Fuller loves Miss Reed so much and finally impresses her after much begging in order to make


    her get back together with him. During this time, he has been arrogant and looks at me with a


    condescending look. Yes, a condescending look because I¡¯m single. Before this, I thought that I was


    wrong, but after several times, I¡¯m sure that I¡¯m right. He has indeed been looking at me full of contempt


    for being thirty and unattached.


    Of course, Tom was naturally very angry in his heart. After all, what was wrong with being single?


    I¡¯m not like President Fuller, who goes and loses a good wife and then chases her backter. What right


    does he have to be contemptuous of me?


    Although Tom was angry in his heart, on the surface, he dared not show his emotions the slightest and


    pretended not to see them. Therefore, he knew very well that Toby, who liked to show off that he was


    taken, would care very much about the matter with Sonia.


    Once Sonia threatened to break up and not get back together, Toby certainly would not be able to ept


    it. Thus, he would definitely behave and see a psychiatrist. Thinking of this, Tom could not help but gloat


    andugh.


    It¡¯d be such a rare scene to behold! Miss Reed threatens to break up because President Fuller refuses to


    see a psychiatrist!


    At the other end of the phone, Sonia was embarrassed while listening to Tomplimenting her.


    ¡°There¡¯s no choice. In order to make him ept mental help, I¡¯ll have to use whatever I have up my


    sleeves. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Tom nodded, then seriously continued, ¡°Okay, I will contact a good psychiatrist, then notify you. You can


    then help persuade President Fuller to ept treatment.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Sonia agreed. After that, she spoke to Tom some more and hung up the phone. Originally, she


    intended to directly ask Tim to treat Toby. But then she thought about it and realized that Tim¡¯s main


    profession was a surgeon, and he was so busy all day that he might not have much time to treat Toby.


    So, in the end, she settled for the second-best and let Tom arrange it in the end.


    Let¡¯s hope everything goes well.


    Sonia put down her phone and stood up, ready to go to the kitchen to make some soup for Toby to drink


    when he woke up and sent some to the hospital for Rose. When she came to the kitchen, she opened


    the refrigerator and found fresh chicken in the fridge. Hence, she decided to make chicken soup. She


    prepared the chicken and put the unwanted parts into a bowl, ready to throw it away.


    However, when she opened the food waste bin and saw the dark, unpleasant-smelling pile of ingredients


    inside, she realized that all that was a bunch of wasted ingredients. At that, she suddenly fell into deep


    thought. These ingredients were probably not thrown away by a professional chef, right?


    If so, then this chef would die of shame from wasting ingredients. Thus, this must be done by a newbie


    just learning to cook because that was also what she did back then. As such, it was self-evident who


    actually threw these things out.


    After dumping the unwanted things in the bowl into the trash, Sonia looked up at the kitchen door, as if


    she could see the drunken man sleeping in the other room through the kitchen door.


    He must have done it! Just what was he doing, spoiling the ingredients for nothing? He couldn¡¯t be


    learning how to cook, could he?


    Thinking of this possibility, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but raise her eyebrows, then felt that it was a


    preposterous thought. It was only possible that Toby just had a whim and wanted to try his hand at


    cooking and wasn¡¯t really trying to learn it properly.


    Without much thought, Sonia washed the bowl, lifted the garbage bag, and went out to take out the


    garbage. She had just opened the door when she was shocked at the sight of someone outside. The


    person was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a very long ck down jacket that almost covered the ankles.


    As the whole body was wrapped tightly by the jacket and a hood that covered the head, it was hard to


    see if it was a man or a woman. Since the person appeared so mysteriously, Sonia jumped in fright. In


    any case, the person did not look like they had good intentions.


    Narrowing her eyes, Sonia put her hand on the police rm and stared at the person, asking cautiously,


    ¡°Hello? Is there anything you need?¡±

 Chapter 671

    Chapter 671


    Chapter 671 Toby Is Finally Sober


    The person heard Sonia¡¯s question and finally moved and raised their head. Surprisingly, Sonia still


    couldn¡¯t see the person¡¯s face, but only saw that the person was wearing a ck mask, and half of the


    face exposed above the mask was wrapped in bandages, revealing only a pair of eyes.


    Seeing this, Sonia had her eyes widened in surprise. This person was actually undergoing stic


    surgery. From the bandages wrapped around this person¡¯s face, as well as the swollen eyelids, it was


    obvious that this person had undergone aplete face-lift, which would no doubt be excruciatingly


    painful.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but shiver and feel awe at the same time as being surprised. That was unexpected.


    After all, not everyone dared to take such a big risk and do aplete cosmetic surgery on the face.


    ¡°Miss, what exactly do you want? Are you looking for someone?¡± Sonia suppressed the surprise in her


    heart. When she saw that the person at the door did not answer, she had to ask again. Just now, when


    this person lowered their head, she could not tell whether this person was a man or a woman.


    After all, although this person was sitting in a wheelchair, they were tall and looked to be about 5¡¯6, so it


    was also possible that they were a man. However, after the person raised their head, she determined


    that the person was a woman through the person¡¯s eyes and the strand of hair exposed under the brim


    of the hat. Thus, that was why she addressed the other person as ¡®Miss¡¯.


    The woman outside the door still didn¡¯t answer but just raised her head and stared at Sonia. She was


    calm on the surface, but her heart was pounding.


    How could Sonia be here? It¡¯s hard to believe that the rumors are true! Have she and Toby gotten back


    together?


    The woman¡¯s hands were hidden in the sleeves, but at this point, she suddenly clenched them hard on


    the armrests of the wheelchair, her nails digging into the flesh of her palms. In the next second, she


    hurriedly lowered her head, as her face could no longer maintain calmness. Besides, her pair of eyes


    were filled with menace.


    They are actually together again! They are actually together again!


    The woman could not ept such a result, and thus her body trembled slightly. When Sonia saw that the


    woman still did not say anything, she became more and more alert in her heart, and her voice was no


    longer as polite and courteous as before. Coldly, she said again, ¡°Miss, if you do not answer me, I will


    have to call security.¡±


    Upon saying that, she took out her phone. The woman raised her head again, and her eyes, which were


    originally full of deadly resentment, now returned to the calm naturalness in the beginning, as if nothing


    had happened. She coughed and said back in a low voice, ¡°Sorry, I seem to have gone to the wrong


    unit.¡±


    ¡°Wrong unit?¡± Sonia looked at the woman in front of her suspiciously, while also being surprised at how


    this woman¡¯s voice was so hoarse, as if sand had been poured into her throat. It was even worse than


    Toby¡¯s hoarse voice when he was drunk.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded.


    Sonia obviously was in disbelief. ¡°This is the highest floor, not one of the middle floors.¡±


    So, how could it be possible for the woman to identally appear in front of the wrong unit?


    After all, only a special elevator coulde up to the highest floor of this building. That elevator had only


    a button for the top floor.


    Thus, it was obviously impossible for the woman to go to the wrong floor. The woman saw that Sonia


    doubted herself, so after her eyes flickered for a moment, she replied without much panic, ¡°I know this is


    the top floor. The person I¡¯m looking for also lives on the top floor of a building in this luxury district, but I


    guess he¡¯s not in this building. I thought at first that he¡¯s living in this building, but after seeing you, Miss,


    I knew that¡¯s not the case.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°How can you be sure that you know you¡¯re in the wrong building when you


    see me? What if you didn¡¯t go to the wrong one, and it¡¯s just that I happened toe out of the house of


    the person you were looking for?¡± She stared hard at the woman, as if trying to see through thetter.


    The woman remained calm and responded, ¡°That¡¯s impossible because my friend has a very serious


    illness, and no one else would be allowed in his house except me and his family.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why didn¡¯t you answer when I asked you twice?¡± Sonia asked expressionlessly.


    The woman lowered her eyelids, saying, ¡°Sorry, Miss. This is my first time here, so I was surprised to see


    you. Then, I kept trying to remember which building he was actually in. I¡¯m really sorry, and I¡¯ll leave


    now.¡± After saying that, the woman controlled the wheelchair and turned around, heading in the direction


    of the elevator.


    Sonia stood at the door, her gaze on her but not stopping her from leaving. Only after the woman entered


    the elevator did Sonia carry the trash can out and throw the trash into therge trash can in the stairwell.


    After throwing it away, she brushed the dust off her hands and went back to the house while thinking


    about it.


    Is there something going on with me and stic surgery? In just half a month, I actually saw two people


    with stic surgery in a row. Once in Kosovo, and once just now. Both were women too. Are there so


    many people with stic surgery nowadays, so much so that I¡¯m seeing them so often now?


    Shaking her head, Sonia did not continue to think about it, but quickly put this behind her and went to the


    kitchen to check on her own chicken soup. The time passed quickly, and soon the afternoon passed. In


    just a moment, it was getting dark. Sonia raised her wrist to look at her watch and realized that it was


    already 7.30 PM.


    Wondering if Toby had woken up, she put down her hand and dropped the remote control, then got up


    and went to Toby¡¯s room, ready to see him. She was ready to wake him up if he was not awake. After all,


    she couldn¡¯t let him keep sleeping like this; he had to get up and eat something because he had only


    eaten a small bowl of food all day today.


    When she arrived at the door of Toby¡¯s room, she turned the handle and entered. As she turned on the


    light, she saw the man she thought was still sleeping sitting on the bed at this moment. Perhaps because


    she suddenly turned on the light and stimted his eyes, he frowned and closed his eyes, adjusting to


    the light. Sonia leaned on the door frame, smiled lightly, and asked, ¡°Are you awake?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Toby adapted to the light, after which he opened his eyes and looked at her with a trace of surprise.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    He thought it was Tom who turned on the light.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows in surprise. ¡°Why am I here? You wouldn¡¯t have forgotten, would you?¡±


    She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. ¡°Have you really forgotten?¡±


    Toby lifted his hand to pinch his temples. ¡°Sorry, my head is a little dizzy.¡±


    ¡°Dizzy?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression tightened, then she raised her hand to touch his head, trying to see if he had


    a fever or something. After all, many people who were drunk would sometimes be in a feverish state.


    However, she did not feel any fever and felt relieved. The dizziness should be the after-effects of waking


    up from the alcohol. So, she brought the ss of water that she had put on the bed earlier and handed it


    over to Toby. ¡°Drink some, and you will feel much better.¡±


    Thus, Toby reached out to take the ss and slowly drank the water. After waiting for about a minute,


    Sonia looked at him and asked, ¡°How are you now?¡±


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°Better.¡±


    ¡°Since you are better, you can now recall why I am here and all the things that happened during the day.


    There¡¯s a surprise in store for you,¡± Sonia said with a smile.


    When Toby looked at her expression, his heart thumped hard, and he had an inexplicably bad feeling. He


    was afraid that what she meant was not a pleasant surprise at all.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Sonia looked at Toby¡¯s trembling gaze and


    naturally guessed what he was thinking, but she pretended not to know and asked with a smile.


    However, Toby¡¯s thin lips twitched, but he didn¡¯t answer. Sonia also did not mind; she stood up from the


    side of the bed and said, ¡°Well, I will not bother you now. I will go out first to prepare dinner. You take


    your time to think by yourself, and when you¡¯re done,e out to eat.¡±


    She was looking forward to his awkwardness of not daring to look at her after he came out.

 Chapter 672

    Chapter 672


    Chapter 672 Distress


    As Toby watched Sonia¡¯s figure disappear out the door, he felt his uneasiness heighten. When Sonia


    was leaving just now, her meaningful smile told him he might have done something weird when he was


    drunk. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t put on that sort of expression.


    So, what on earth did I do?


    Toby lowered his head slightly, reaching up a hand to put against his forehead as he tried to remember.


    He was trying his best to regain his drunken memories. In the end, he actually seeded in finding


    them.


    After all, Toby didn¡¯t really lose them; he just forgot them momentarily. If he tried hard enough, he could


    definitely remember. When he realized how much of a fool he looked while he was drunk, he was


    dumbfounded.


    Even though there weren¡¯t changes to his expression, his wavering pupils betrayed the utter disbelief in


    his heart. What have I done?!


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that he would behave like a toddler and do something so childish to Sonia. It was no


    wonder Sonia looked at him with a wry and mocking smile. She wanted to watch him recall the things he


    had done, then she couldugh at him.


    In an instant, Toby began to doubt his life choices. He wondered if he should never have touched


    alcohol, then he wouldn¡¯t turn into that drunken state, and Sonia wouldn¡¯t see that side of him.


    But now, it was toote for regrets. Sonia had seen everything there was to see. He probably was no


    longer high and mighty in Sonia¡¯s eyes. Instead, he must¡¯ve looked beyond foolish and childish to her.


    Toby wiped his face, feeling a multitude ofplicated emotions. Now, he had no idea how he should go


    outside and face Sonia. Because, once he did, Sonia would definitely mock him.


    Toby rubbed the spot between his eyebrows, his thoughts rushing in various directions. Just then, there


    was a knock on the door before Sonia¡¯s voice sounded from outside. ¡°Toby, are you done yet? Food is


    ready.¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips quivered as he replied in a hoarse voice, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ming.¡±


    Noticing the helplessness and distress in Toby¡¯s tone, Sonia raised an eyebrow. Looks like he


    remembered.


    Sonia hid a smile under her hand. ¡°Hurry up, then.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Toby responded.


    Sonia turned around and walked toward the dining room. Inside the room, Toby listened to the distanced


    footsteps, then put down his hand. He removed the nket and was about to get out of bed. Never mind.


    Even if I don¡¯t know how to face it, I still have to.


    After all, he couldn¡¯t just avoid her. Also, since he had done such stupid things, it was the indisputable


    truth now. She couldugh all she wanted.


    With that thought in mind, Toby calmed down a little and moved his legs to get off the bed. As soon as he


    poked a leg out of the nket, he realized he was wearing pajamas instead of the suit he was wearing


    before he got drunk. So, she changed my clothes for me?


    Toby looked at the pajamas on him, a gleeful look shing across the depths of his eyes. Then, he stood


    up and walked toward the door. As soon as he opened the door, he could smell the scent of food.


    Toby¡¯s expression instantly softened as he walked toward the dining room. The closer he got to the


    dining room, the stronger the smell of food was.


    Soon, Toby arrived at the dining room. The room beyond the dining room was the kitchen.


    Toby walked to the dining table. He could clearly see the woman in the kitchen, standing with her back to


    him and busying about. Of course, this wasn¡¯t the focus of Toby¡¯s attention.


    The thing he was really concerned about was the clothes she was wearing. He hadn¡¯t noticed in the


    room just now, but he finally realized that the woman was wearing his pajamas, and she had secured his


    belt around her waist.


    She didn¡¯t wear any garments over her legs, so her slender porcin legs were exposed to the air. Her


    legs were proportioned well and perhaps even followed the golden ratio. With the pale glow over them,


    her legs were almost sensual.


    The look in Toby¡¯s eyes went dark, and he rubbed his fingers for a bit before calling, ¡°Sonia.¡±


    Hearing the man¡¯s voice, Sonia turned around with some dishes in her hands as she walked out. She


    smiled at him. ¡°You¡¯re done?¡±


    Toby nodded slightly in affirmation.


    Sonia ced the dishes on the table and pulled out a chair. ¡°How are you feeling? Do you have energy


    now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia rxed. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. You¡¯re almostpletely sober now.¡±


    Toby sat down opposite her, then took a quick nce at her thighs before saying, ¡°Those clothes¡­¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia had just taken a seat when she rolled her eyes at him. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. You kept


    asking to be bathed and wanted me to help you¡ª¡±


    A blush came over her cheeks as she coughed in embarrassment. Then, she continued, ¡°And you asked


    me to take off your clothes for you, saying you can¡¯t do it on your own. I refused, and you dragged me


    into the bathtub. My clothes got all wet, so I had no choice but to borrow some clothes from you.¡±


    As Toby listened, he could immediately remember the scene in his head. He averted his gaze guiltily.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    Sonia humphed. ¡°You didn¡¯t deny anything, so that means you remembered it all?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Well¡­ something like that.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°So? Are you having a hard time believing that you behaved so childishly?¡±


    Toby was silent as he put to his lips a ss of water she poured out just now. Seeing that, Sonia knew


    for sure that he was awkwardly admitting it. She smiled and said, ¡°To be honest, I couldn¡¯t believe it


    either. I never thought that you would react like that after getting drunk. It was quite cute, honestly.¡±


    ¡°Cute?¡± Toby looked at her.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, very cute. Normally you would never do such childish things, so if it weren¡¯t for you


    getting drunk, I probably would never witness this. Now I know that you were so cute as a child.¡±


    Toby bit his lip and faked a cough, the tips of his ears turning red. He¡¯s actually blushing because I


    praised him? That¡¯s a rare sight. Sonia widened her eyes in surprise.


    ¡°Sonia, sorry for the trouble today. And thanks.¡± Toby regained his calm and suddenly thanked Sonia.


    Even though he didn¡¯t know when exactly she arrived, he knew that she must have arrived quite early.


    She had been taking care of him andforting him, and she also had to suffer his childish behavior, so


    she must be exhausted.


    Sonia saw the heartache in Toby¡¯s eyes, and she knew his reasons for thanking her. She felt warmth in


    her heart as she smiled and waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s all right; it¡¯s no trouble at all. I¡¯m just d that you¡¯re


    alright. But from what I see now, you¡¯re behaving like usual, so I suppose you¡¯ve gotten over it for now?¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze. A few secondster, he finally replied, ¡°Yes, I guess so.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Sonia pped her hands. ¡°I heard Grandma say that you get over things temporarily the


    next day, but it¡¯s not quite the second day yet. We¡¯re still a few hours short, but you¡¯ve already gotten


    over it. This means that you¡¯re getting more optimistic.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to you.¡± Toby met her gaze and spoke with a sincere look in his eyes. He had remembered


    everything in the day, which naturally included her help andfort as well.

 Chapter 673

    Chapter 673


    Chapter 673 Getting Back Together


    Toby had never told anyone what his real problems were. It was also why no one ever told him he wasn¡¯t


    wrong to exist, that he wasn¡¯t the one who killed his own mother.


    So, in all those years, he couldn¡¯t get over this darkness, and it only grew in size over time. He was only


    numbing himself with alcohol at the start, but it progressively turned so bad that he began to inflict self-


    harm.


    And now, Sonia was the first person who told him that his mother never regretted giving birth to him and


    that he hadn¡¯t killed his own mother. His existence was acknowledged and epted, and it was by the


    person he loved the most. Naturally, he could ease his troubled mind a bit, and he started to be more


    optimistic.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Toby was thinking, of course. But when she heard that he was now more


    optimistic thanks to her help, she was d.


    This meant that regardless of whether it was before or after getting drunk, he still listened to her and


    remembered her words.


    It also meant that even when he was drunk, he was still most loyal to her.


    ¡°Toby.¡± Sonia put a drumstick on Toby¡¯s te. ¡°Let¡¯s see a psychologist when we have time, okay?¡±


    ¡°Psychologist?¡± Toby subconsciously frowned.


    Sonia nodded slightly. ¡°Yes, a psychologist. It has been more than ten years since your mother passed


    away, so it¡¯s about time you let that go. Do you really want to spend that day every year in pain just


    because you can¡¯t let go?¡±


    At that, she put down her cutlery and looked at the man sternly. ¡°Do you know, Toby? Grandma had


    always been worried about that side of you, and now that she¡¯s advanced in age, I¡¯m sorry to say this,


    but her days are numbered. Do you want her to be worried about you until the end? At her age, she¡¯s


    supposed to live her retired life in peace and happiness, not worrying about her grandson. We have


    selfishly caused her to worry too much, and I really don¡¯t want to see her still worrying about us in the


    future.¡±


    Toby pursed his thin lips, remaining silent.


    Sonia rubbed her temples and continued, ¡°There¡¯s also me, Toby. Do you want me to worry about you


    like this every year?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Toby immediately replied.


    Sonia stared at him. ¡°If not, then you have to get professional help.¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to consider.¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°You have to agree right away to things like this instead of


    thinking about it. So, you have to agree. If not, let¡¯s not get back together after all. I don¡¯t want a moody


    lover, much less worry about him every year. It¡¯s very tiring for me. So, if we don¡¯t get back together, we


    won¡¯t have any rtionship with each other, so I won¡¯t have to care no matter what happens to you. If I


    don¡¯t care about you, I won¡¯t have to worry, and hence I won¡¯t be tired.¡±


    Hearing her words, Toby immediately constricted his pupils. Instantly, he sprang from his seat, stood up,


    cutlery still in his hands, and grabbed her shoulders so hard that his veins popped. He seemed to be a


    little too emotional as he cried, ¡°Don¡¯t! Sonia, that will not happen!¡±


    He had worked so hard to move her heart again and gain her forgiveness, and she had agreed to get


    back together with him. Now, they were certain to get back together in a few days, but she had changed


    her mind.


    So, what have I been working so hard for? I did everything to get her back, so I can¡¯t bear to lose her


    now. No, no, no! This can¡¯t be! Ugh!


    Seeing Toby¡¯s agitated behavior, Sonia knew she had disturbed him by threatening to change her mind.


    After all, he had been trying so hard to court her, and even though she had agreed to get back together


    with him, she had yet to do so.


    He had always been in an unstable mental condition, and he felt insecure. So, now that he heard her


    saying that she wouldn¡¯t get back together with him, his reaction was strong.


    With an internal sigh, Sonia pressed her hand on Toby¡¯s in an attempt tofort him. ¡°I can still get back


    together with you, but you have to promise me that you¡¯ll see the psychologist. I said before that if you


    don¡¯t get better, even if we get back together, I¡¯ll still have to experience this fatigue every year in the


    future. Maybe when that timees, we might break up again.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t.¡± Toby tightened his grip on her shoulder. ¡°We won¡¯t break up. I promise you that I¡¯ll see the


    psychologist.¡±


    Actually, he had known all along that he couldn¡¯t continue like this, for he might destroy himself one day.


    Even if he didn¡¯t destroy himself, the world would know about this weakness sooner orter. After all,


    there was nothing that could be hidden forever in this world.


    As soon as his rivals knew that he would be emotionally unstable on this day every year, they would take


    advantage of it. He might end up causing himself and the Fuller Family to get attacked and injured.


    So, he had thought of seeing a psychologist before so that he could let go.


    However, every time he made up his mind, he would retreat. This was because if he saw a psychologist,


    it would mean that he would never dream of his mother again.


    But now, he thought it was time for him to let go. For Grandma¡¯s sake, and for Sonia¡¯s sake as well.


    At that thought, Toby suddenly calmed himself, then pulled Sonia into an embrace. He leaned in near her


    ear and whispered, ¡°Sonia, I¡¯ll see the psychologist, so please get back together with me, all right?¡±


    There was a pleading tone in his voice.


    He was begging her!


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what he had thought about. She reached up and patted the man¡¯s back, cing her


    chin on his shoulder. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll get back together with you. I promise to do this as long as you keep


    your promise to see the psychologist.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    ¡°Believe me, I will. I¡¯ll have Tom schedule an appointment with a psychologist right away.¡±


    With that, he moved to push her away in order to get his phone.


    However, Sonia hugged him tighter instead. She looked at him and replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve already asked


    Tom to find one today. I believe he¡¯lle back with results tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia suddenly smiled. ¡°I told you just now that if you won¡¯t see the psychologist, I won¡¯t get back


    together with you, right? Simrly, if you see a psychologist, I¡¯ll reward you. How¡¯s that sound?¡±


    ¡°Reward?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes lit up.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, a reward. What about¡­ getting back together right now? Earlier than promised!¡±


    Toby was stunned at her words. He froze right where he stood, unable to give a response.


    Sonia raised a hand and waved in front of him. ¡°Toby, are you alright? Wake up, earth to Toby!¡±


    Light flickered across Toby¡¯s eyes as he recovered himself. Then, he gripped her hand tightly. His


    trembling hands betrayed his raging emotions. ¡°You¡­ you mean it?¡±


    He swallowed, his voice shaky. This is too good to be true.


    Sonia¡¯s proposal obviously had shaken Toby to the core.


    ¡°I mean it.¡± Sonia nodded firmly and said in a serious tone, ¡°Toby, you¡¯re not hearing things. It¡¯s real.


    We¡¯re getting back together now. How do you feel about it? Are you d?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he raised her chin and gave his reply in the form of a passionate kiss.


    It was enough to express his emotions right now.


    He was indeed overjoyed. For the longest time, he never thought the good news woulde so


    suddenly that she would get back together with him before the promised date.


    He even thought he should¡¯ve agreed to see the psychologist sooner, so they could¡¯ve gotten back


    together a few minutes sooner.


    Sonia never thought that Toby would kiss her so joyfully as soon as she got back together with him. She


    was stunned for a while, then after registering the situation, she wrapped her arms around the man¡¯s


    neck and kissed back.


    Toby noticed it, of course. He paused for a while, then, as if he had gained encouragement, he pushed


    the woman against the chair.

 Chapter 674

    Chapter 674


    Chapter 674 Agreeing to Remarry in the Future


    His kiss became even more intense.


    It was because the woman¡¯s reaction had catalyzed his courage.


    As Sonia didn¡¯t even have time to gasp for breath, she was close to being suffocated.


    She lightly patted the man¡¯s back, signaling for him to stop.


    Even though the man was ovee with emotion, he still had his wits. After understanding Sonia¡¯s


    hints, he slowed down his actions and gave her onest bite on her lips before releasing her. He ced


    his forehead against hers and gazed at her with a deep look, his voice hoarse and sensual as he called,


    ¡°Sonia.¡±


    Sonia was panting and gasping for fresh air. When she heard him calling her, she responded ever so


    slightly.


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Toby called again.


    She caught her breath and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I just wanted to call your name.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Is it fun to you?¡±


    Toby held her tightly in an embrace. ¡°I¡¯m very happy, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± Sonia leaned her head against his shoulder, breathing in the peppermint fragrance on his


    body as she asked a question that they both knew the answer to.


    She knew that he was ted to reconcile with her again.


    However, she didn¡¯t have to say it loud and clear because she was willing to be his best listener.


    Toby lowered his head and kissed the top of Sonia¡¯s head, his voice at its gentlest. ¡°I¡¯m happy that we¡¯re


    together again, Sonia. Let¡¯s get married again, shall we?¡±


    He looked at her, anticipation evident in his eyes.


    Sonia stared at him, almost choking on her own saliva.


    ¡°G-Get married?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Toby hastily nodded.


    To him, getting back together wasn¡¯t enough. Getting married again was his ultimate goal.


    He would consider himself sessful only when they were married again, and she became his wife once


    more.


    Also, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry that somebody else would take her away from him.


    A speechless Sonia stared at the man. She didn¡¯t have to guess much to know what he was thinking.


    However, she truly was shocked to hear Toby suggesting that they remarry.


    They had just reconciled for less than 10 minutes, but he was already thinking about remarrying her.


    That¡¯s too fast.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sonia lightly pushed the man away and lowered her gaze to avoid looking at him. ¡°I can¡¯t


    remarry you right now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Toby¡¯s expression changed, and he frowned so hard that a bug might be stuck between his


    eyebrows.


    They were back together and officially dating, so remarrying was just a matter of time. Why would she


    decline?


    Toby couldn¡¯t understand why.


    Sonia straightened her posture and replied, ¡°Because it¡¯s not the time now.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± He also returned to his seat as he kept his gaze on the woman.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°Because of the Gray Family.¡±


    ¡°The Gray Family?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded. ¡°The hatred between the Reeds and the Gray Family is too deep, so I cannot


    consider things like marriage before I¡¯m done with my revenge.¡±


    Toby understood what she meant, so his frown eased a little. ¡°So, you want to fully get your revenge


    before thinking about getting married?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Correct. Revenge isn¡¯t a small matter, and neither is remarriage. I don¡¯t want to do those


    two things at the same time. You know that my greatest wish right now is to avenge my father, so I don¡¯t


    want anything else to affect or dy my quest, not even marriage. Do you understand, Toby?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°I do. I promise that I won¡¯t talk about remarriage before you¡¯vepleted your quest to


    revenge. However, Sonia, I want to obtain an assurance from you. Are you willing to remarry me?¡±


    ¡°If there are no other idents that ur between us, yeah, I am willing,¡± Sonia replied without any


    hesitation as she looked at the man.


    This was her guarantee to him.


    If they could maintain what they were right now, remarriage was not a problem.


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s affirmative answer, Tobypletely dropped his frown. ¡°This is enough. As long as


    you¡¯re willing to get married again, I can wait until you¡¯ve exacted revenge before remarrying you.¡±


    Sonia held the man¡¯s hand. ¡°Thank you, Toby.¡±


    His understanding and respect made her feel warmth in her heart, and she was touched.


    ¡°No need for thanks. We¡¯ve always done things for each other, haven¡¯t we? You¡¯re considerate of me, so


    I naturally should be considerate toward you as well, right?¡± Toby reached up and tidied Sonia¡¯s hair.


    She nodded firmly. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Even if we can¡¯t remarry right now, can you wear the ring again for me?¡± He cupped her face with his


    hand and asked tentatively


    Sonia lowered her gaze to see the ring finger on his left hand. ¡°Is it because you¡¯re already wearing it? Is


    that why you want me to wear it as well?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s half of the reason.¡± Toby also looked toward his own ring as gentleness flitted across his eyes.


    ¡°The real reason is that I want Charles and Zane to know that we¡¯re together again. And that you¡¯re


    taken.¡±


    Even though Charles and Zane had already announced that they had given up on pursuing Sonia, she


    still had a ce in their hearts.


    So, Toby couldn¡¯t help but try to get back at them.


    Since they had made him ufortable before, of course he had to do something to return the favor.


    In that case, the ring would be the best way to get back at them.


    Hearing Toby¡¯s exnation, Sonia chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re so childish.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Not only you, I want to show everyone that I¡¯m taken too.¡±


    With that, he raised his left hand to disy his ring for her to see.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know whether she shouldugh or cry. ¡°All right, since you¡¯ve gone that far, I can¡¯t possibly


    decline, can I? I¡¯ll wear it.¡±


    After all, she had already agreed to marry him in the future. She would still have to wear her ring as well,


    so it wouldn¡¯t matter much if she started wearing the ring earlier.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby¡¯s eyes lit up at her agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the ring over now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve brought the ring here?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    She knew that she had donated her ring at the charity auction and he had eventually bought it at the high


    price of 5 million.


    So, her ring was with him all the time.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect that he had ced the ring here.


    After all, he had just moved here, so the ring should still be in the Fuller Residence. However, now that


    she knew it was here, she realized that he had always carried the ring with him, perhaps waiting for


    today.


    At that thought, Sonia couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    Toby raised his head a little. ¡°It¡¯s in the drawer in my room. I always carry it with me and return it to the


    drawer aftering home. I¡¯ll ce it in my pocket every morning before I head out.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.


    It was apparent that her guess was correct. He had always been prepared to give the ring back to her, or


    he wouldn¡¯t have carried it with him everywhere.


    ¡°Since when?¡± Sonia asked.


    Toby thought for a while, then parted his thin lips to reply, ¡°Before we went to Kosovo.¡±


    She was dumbfounded. ¡°So, you¡¯ve been carrying the ring with you ever since?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes, I thought that you would notice my wearing the ring again and you¡¯d ask me thereafter.


    If you had done so, I could have taken your ring out and tried to put it back on your finger, but you never


    noticed.¡±


    At that, there were hints of exasperation in his tone.


    It had been a long time since they went to Kosovo and she only noticed the ring on his finger now. She


    really hadn¡¯t been paying attention.


    Sonia was a little embarrassed. ¡°Sorry, I never really paid much attention to your hands.¡±

 Chapter 675

    Chapter 675


    Chapter 675 All Evidence


    ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Toby ruffled her hair. ¡°So, I don¡¯t me you.¡±


    Sonia stuck her tongue out. ¡°Actually, you could have told me about the ring earlier. You didn¡¯t have to


    wait until I noticed it. If I had never noticed it, you wouldn¡¯t have told me that you¡¯re wearing the ring now,


    would you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± He shook his head slightly. ¡°If you never noticed, I would still look for an opportunity to


    tell you about it. All right, wait for me while I get the ring.¡±


    With that, he stood up and walked toward his room.


    She watched him as he went inside and emerged some timeter.


    Toby walked over to his previous spot before he held out a fist in Sonia¡¯s direction. Then, under her


    watchful gaze, he slowly opened his fist to reveal the sparkling ring within.


    Sonia reached out and picked up the ring, after which she held it up to study it for a while to ensure that it


    was really hers.


    As she yed with the ring, she spoke, ¡°I thought that you spent 5 million on this ring just to give it to


    Tina. Then, I never saw her wearing any ring, which was only when I knew you didn¡¯t give it to her. If not,


    judging from her personality, she would definitely wear it and show it off in front of me.¡±


    ¡°I never thought of giving her any ring.¡± Toby took the ring in her hand as he exined, ¡°If I had loved


    her, I wouldn¡¯t purchase a ring that someone else has worn before for her. Since I actually don¡¯t love her,


    there¡¯s even less reason for me to give her a ring.¡±


    ¡°At that time, you didn¡¯t know that Rina wasn¡¯t me and not to mention, you were still hypnotized. In other


    words, at that moment, you were indeed in love with Tina,¡± Sonia said a little bitterly as she looked at


    him.


    He took her left hand and raised it. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t love her at that moment either. It was just the hypnosis


    that made me feel like I loved her, but in reality, I¡¯ve done so many things to express that I never loved


    her at all. On the day of the charity auction, I saw you donating the ring and my first reaction to it was


    anger. I was mad that you actually didn¡¯t want the ring, which was when I decided that I had to get it. The


    ring mustn¡¯t fall into anyone else¡¯s hands, for at that time, I knew very well that I cannot afford to have


    this ring appear on anyone else¡¯s finger. So, when Tina asked for the ring from me, I never thought of


    giving it to her at all.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She found those words hard to believe. ¡°You were still in hypnosis, so how would you have


    such feelings?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± He nodded firmly. ¡°I¡¯m not lying. When we were first married, I was still thinking of you because


    the only person I¡¯ve loved before being hypnotized was you. So, even under the hypnosis, I still care


    about you subconsciously even if I have forgotten about my feelings for you. This ring is proof of that.¡±


    ¡°W-What do you mean?¡± Sonia was stunned. She could barely understand what was being said.


    Toby raised the ring and showed her the inner surface of the band. ¡°Actually, you had no idea that I was


    the one who bought these rings.¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± She immediately retorted, ¡°I bought this ring! I chose it when I went to the jewelry shop


    alone.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°True, you chose it at the jewelry shop, but the one who really bought it was me. Can you


    see the inside of the band?¡±


    She gave it a nce. ¡°It¡¯s the initials of your name.¡±


    The engravings on his ring were her initials as well.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± Sonia frowned.


    When she was done choosing the rings, she only told the shop to engrave their initials, which meant that


    there shouldn¡¯t be anything else. But now that he has said so, could it be that there¡¯s actually something


    more inside?


    With that thought in mind, Sonia took the ring and carefully examined it. Atst, she found another


    engraving on the band¡ªit was a picture.


    She was quite familiar with the picture since she had continuously seen it for 6 years. It was a picture


    exclusive to the Fuller Family.


    It was the family symbol of the Fullers.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°How could there be the family symbol of the Fullers inside?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    She had never noticed it before.


    It was quite reasonable since she had never removed the ring after wearing it. The symbol was engraved


    on the inside of the band, so it was normal for her not to have noticed it.


    However, she was surprised to see the symbol where she had never expected it to be.


    When she bought the ring, she never asked to engrave any symbols and the people at the shop didn¡¯t


    know who she was going to get married to.


    When he saw Sonia¡¯s shocked and wavering behavior, Toby¡¯s thin lips smiled. ¡°I was coincidentally


    auditing the mall on the day you went to choose the rings. I am the biggest shareholder of that mall, after


    all. After the audit, I came out and saw you choosing the rings. I was already hypnotized at the time, so I


    didn¡¯t think I loved you. However, when I watched you choosing the rings, for some reason, I had asked


    Tom to talk to the shop owner and inform them to engrave the Fullers¡¯ family symbol on the rings that you


    chose. Other than that, there¡¯s also the price of the rings.¡±


    Toby once again took the ring from her hand and slid it onto her left ring finger. ¡°These rings were the


    centerpiece of that shop and they cost more than 1 million. The Reeds were already near bankruptcy, so


    I knew you were short on cash. Hence, I also had Tom ry to the shop owner that you only needed to


    pay a small sum for the rings and the bnce would be covered by me.¡±


    Hearing the man¡¯s words, Sonia gaped in shock. Her mind was in a mess and she couldn¡¯t quite sort it


    out. There are actually so many secrets to these rings? No wonder I thought that the rings were a bit too


    cheap to be believable.


    The center stones of the rings were naturally-formed blue diamonds. As they weren¡¯t artificially colored


    ones and a famous designer had designed those rings, the price tag should have been quite costly.


    However, the shop had told her that the rings cost only 300,000¡ªsomething that she could hardly


    believe at first. Then, the shop informed her that because she was the 100th customer of the day, she


    could have a discount. That was why she believed them.


    It was only now that she learned that she wasn¡¯t the 100th customer of the day or something. Rather, it


    was because he had paid arge amount of the cost for her to own the rings.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia fiddled with the ring on her finger. ¡°I always thought that I had bought the rings alone, but


    the real person who bought them was you.¡±


    Toby took her fingers and lowered his head to nt a kiss on her ring. ¡°At that moment, I should have


    forgotten about my feelings for you, but when I saw you happily picking the rings, I was also filled with


    joy. That was why I had Tom do all those things. This is enough proof that even if the hypnosis made me


    forget my feelings for you, you were still someone special to me. I still remembered that I loved you in my


    subconscious mind or I wouldn¡¯t have done anything to the rings. So, that was why I said that the rings


    were evidence. Also, aside from the rings, the Ocean¡¯s Heart was also a proof.¡±


    ¡°Even the Ocean¡¯s Heart?¡± Sonia looked up at him as surprise once again colored her eyes.


    He gently caressed her hair. ¡°Yes. The Ocean¡¯s Heart wasn¡¯t a gift from me to Tina. It was actually a gift


    that I prepared only for you.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± She was shocked.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Toby rubbed his thumb against her face. ¡°After the divorce, I wasn¡¯t happy at all. I couldn¡¯t


    figure out why I was unhappy thanks to the hypnosis. I just knew that I had to keep my eyes on you, so in


    that period of time, I sent people to keep watch over you. I wanted to know how you were doing and


    whether you¡¯re alright. I went abroad for work during that period of time and it was at a local auction


    there that I saw the Ocean¡¯s Heart. At first nce, I thought that it suited you very well, so I went ahead


    and bought it.¡±

 Chapter 676

    Chapter 676


    Chapter 676 It Was All Him


    ¡°Then?¡± Sonia clenched her hands into fists.


    So, the Ocean¡¯s Heart wasn¡¯t meant for Tina at all.


    It was meant for Sonia from the very beginning.


    ¡°Then, after buying it, I suddenly realized that I have no way of passing it to you.¡± Toby looked right into


    Sonia¡¯s eyes. ¡°At that time, we were already divorced, so no matter what identity I used, or what ideas I


    came up with, it simply wasn¡¯t suitable for me to give you the Ocean¡¯s Heart. So, I decided not to give it


    in the end and I just thought it would be lovely to put it on disy, if nothing else. However, I never


    thought that someone would leak the news of me buying the Ocean¡¯s Heart and even circted rumors


    that I bought it as a wedding gift for Tina.¡±


    ¡°However, you didn¡¯t try to mediate the situation, did you?¡± Sonia bit her lip as she was a little upset.


    How could she not be?


    Since it wasn¡¯t a wedding gift for Tina, then why wouldn¡¯t hee out to exin the misunderstanding?


    Why would he have remained silent?


    To be honest, Sonia wasn¡¯t quitefortable with that thought.


    Toby smoothed Sonia¡¯s hair and chuckled. ¡°Sorry, it was my fault, but I had my own reasons too.¡±


    ¡°What kind of reasons?¡± Sonia red at him, acting like she would duke it out with him if he didn¡¯t give


    her a good exnation.


    He parted his thin lips and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t know of the rumor at first. You know that I don¡¯t follow news


    like this often. I only knew of it when Tom told me about it in the end. I was going to clear up the


    misunderstanding, but something happened at that moment.¡±


    ¡°The incident where Tina used me of running into her?¡± She could immediately guess what he was


    referring to.


    After all, that was thergest incident at the time.


    Toby nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Grays had spread the rumors that you crashed into Tina, which turned


    the public opinion against you. The people I sent to watch you told me that you were exasperated, so


    you worked with Charles and Carl to locate the CCTV recordings of Tina¡¯s ident to prove your


    innocence. It was at that moment when I realized that I had wrongly used you and that the Grays had


    deceived me. You nevermitted the act of running into Tina. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    He ced his hand behind Sonia¡¯s head to guide it against his chest as he apologized in a regretful tone.


    In their 6 years of marriage, he was cold to her not only because he felt that he didn¡¯t love her; the main


    reason was because he thought she had crashed into Tina.


    So, in the end, when Toby learned that Sonia was searching for the CCTV recordings with Charles and


    the others, he finally realized that he had been in the wrong.


    As Sonia listened to Toby apologizing for his earlier usation, she felt her nose wrinkle while a bitter


    feeling welled up in her chest.


    She felt wronged for all those years of injustice, but she was also letting it go because of his apology.


    She realized then that she had always been bothered by his misunderstanding of her.


    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been so emotional when she now heard his apology.


    Toby could feel the woman trembling in his arms, so he held her closer and apologized again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    Sonia. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±


    Sonia shook her head in his arms as her voice quivered. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You made up for it, didn¡¯t you? We


    could only locate the CCTV recordings with such ease because you helped us, right?¡±


    She looked up at him.


    There was an apparent change in Toby¡¯s expression.


    When she saw that, Sonia knew she was correct and leaned her head against Toby¡¯s chest. ¡°It really was


    you. When I was looking for the CCTV recordings with Charles and Carl, the process was too smooth-


    sailing to be true. I suspected that someone had helped us out since only the road traffic department had


    the recordings from that time. It had already been 6 years, so the department should¡¯ve already sealed


    the recordings. Also, with our level of influence, we shouldn¡¯t have been able to ask the road traffic


    department to search for the recordings.¡±


    At that, she held the man¡¯s waist tighter. ¡°When we arrived, the department was extremely cooperative


    with our request, though I was puzzled then, but I was too busy celebrating the found recording that I


    didn¡¯t give it much thought. When I heard you saying earlier that you knew of my innocence before Tina


    recovered, I thought you might have had a hand in this.¡±


    ¡°It was indeed me.¡± Toby lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. He had admitted that he was


    the one who helped her out behind the scenes.


    ¡°I have wrongly med you for 6 years, so I couldn¡¯t watch you copping the me any longer. Also, I


    wanted to teach the Grays a lesson, for I had wrongly used you wholly because of the Grays¡¯


    insistence that you ran into Tina,¡± he exined.


    Sonia nodded as she realized the truth. ¡°So, that was why you didn¡¯t stop me when I yed the


    recording at the banquet to celebrate Tina¡¯s recovery?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t stop her, but he had only applied minimal force, as if he were simply pretending to


    do it.


    However, as she was upied with clearing her name at the time, she didn¡¯t notice it.


    Now that she thought about it, she finally realized how odd he looked at the banquet.


    After all, with Toby¡¯s level of influence, he could have easily stopped her from ying the recording if he


    had wanted to. He could¡¯ve thrown her out with Charles and Carl, but he didn¡¯t do so.


    So, he had definitely held back.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded with a faint smile in his eyes. ¡°I told Tom to switch the person checking the invitations


    at the entrance by recing them with my own people so that you can enter the venue as easily as


    possible. If not, you would have been barred outside.¡±


    ¡°No wonder.¡± Sonia raised her head. ¡°Before I entered with Charles and Carl, I was thinking that it


    wouldn¡¯t be an easy task to aplish, that we might suffer some injuries before we could even leave.


    However, everything went surprisingly well that night and it was so smooth that it even felt eerie. I didn¡¯t


    know why I felt that way, but now, I know it¡¯s because you had made arrangements beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    ¡°All right.¡± He patted his chest. ¡°Seeing as to how you have helped me after realizing that you had


    wrongly used me, I forgive you for the 6 years¡¯ worth of false usations.¡±


    With that, she bit the man¡¯s chest under his clothes.


    It wasn¡¯t a forceful bite and his clothes were shielding him, so he wouldn¡¯t have felt any pain.


    However, the man still feigned an injury as he grunted.


    Hearing the sound, Sonia hurriedly released her grip and rubbed the spot she had bitten moments


    earlier. ¡°Did it hurt, Toby?¡±


    Toby took her hand and squeezed it. ¡°No, I was just pulling your leg.¡±


    She pped his hand away in exasperation. ¡°Get lost.¡±


    He gave a low chuckle before he ced his hands back on her waist.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me the whole deal about the Ocean¡¯s Heart.¡±


    ¡°So, the person whom I sent to keep an eye on you told me that you were trying to locate the CCTV


    recordings of the ident with Charles and the others. After you found it, you would cause an uproar at


    the banquet to celebrate Tina¡¯s recovery. You wanted to reveal their cunning plot to shift the me and


    you also wanted to bring shame on the Grays and Tina at the banquet itself. When rumors circted that


    I bought the Ocean¡¯s Heart for Tina, the Grays never doubted it and even thought that the Ocean¡¯s Heart


    was indeed my gift for her. So, the Grays didn¡¯t suppress the rumors and added fuel to the fire instead.


    You thought that if you stole the Ocean¡¯s Heart during the banquet, the Grays and Tina herself would be


    terribly ashamed¡­¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia finally understood everything as she gaped in shock. ¡°So, you just went along with it


    and didn¡¯t clear the misunderstanding on purpose. You felt that I woulde to steal it if you allowed the


    rumors to continue?¡±

 Chapter 677

    Chapter 677


    Chapter 677 Stay the Night


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It was the only way I could give you the Ocean¡¯s Heart without anyone getting the wrong


    idea about it,¡± Toby exined slowly as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. ¡°And it just so


    happened that you were stepping up to take over Paradigm Co.. I knew you needed a lot of resources to


    rebuild thepany and I had hoped that you would sell the Ocean¡¯s Heart to raise the funds to save


    Paradigm Co., but you never did.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t just sell something as precious as that. Who knows what others might think of me if I had done


    so? I would much rather donate it for charity. At least that would sound better on paper,¡± Sonia answered


    as she absentmindedly yed with his hand.


    He froze when he heard this. ¡°You donated the Ocean¡¯s Heart?¡±


    She nodded, a little embarrassed to be confronted about this. ¡°Yeah, I got Charles to arrange for the


    donation, but he never went through with it. He kept the ne instead, which was why I could return it


    to you the other day. If the donation had gone through as nned, I¡­ I would never have been able to


    give it back to you.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    As such, she was grateful that Charles had never donated the ne as per her request; otherwise,


    both the ring and the Ocean¡¯s Heart would have been lost forever.


    Upon hearing this, Toby pressed his lips in displeasure. ¡°I gave you that ne so that you could sell it


    off and get the funds you needed to pull through tough times. How could you have decided to donate it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Sonia apologized. She knew she had been wrong to make arrangements for the donation and


    she felt increasingly apologetic now as she tugged on Toby¡¯s hand, saying coquettishly, ¡°We were so at


    odds with one another back then and I thought I had no choice, but things turned out okay anyway, right?


    The Ocean¡¯s Heart is still with you.¡±


    ¡°My mom¡¯s already worn it, though, so I can¡¯t possibly give it back to you.¡± His hand grazed her bare


    neck as he murmured, ¡°I¡¯ll give you something else in the future and this time, don¡¯t you even dare to


    think about donating it.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she promised solemnly with a nod. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± While he was satisfied with her answer, his hand lingered on her neck and he didn¡¯t look like he


    was going to withdraw it anytime soon as he caressed her bare skin in an almost absentminded manner.


    He loved how warm her neck was and how her soft, supple skin felt beneath his fingers. He couldn¡¯t stop


    running his hand along the curve of her corbone.


    Staring at Sonia¡¯s neck, Toby couldn¡¯t help but think how good it might feel to kiss it, seeing as to how


    touching it was already making him restless.


    At the thought of this, his gaze darkened as it zoned in on her neck and his head slowly inched forward.


    His actions made him look like a predator about to pounce.


    Sonia, on the other hand, felt his warm breath stirring the sensitive skin of her nape. She looked up at


    that precise moment to see the man¡¯s chiseled face looming close to hers and the both of them were


    only separated by mere inches.


    When she registered the lust and hunger in his eyes, she panicked and quickly brought her hand up,


    thereafter blocking his face as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it, Toby.¡±


    He shuddered and snapped out of his reverie.


    When Toby realized that he was peering through her fingers, which were spread over his features, a


    pitiful look surfaced on his handsome face. ¡°Sonia, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she interrupted, already knowing what he was going to say and do. Blushing furiously, she averted


    her gaze as she enunciated, ¡°Not right now.¡±


    ¡°Then, when? We¡¯ve already made up, haven¡¯t we?¡± he argued, not willing to back down without a fight.


    Anyone could tell how much he wanted to im her as his own. Previously, he had been suppressing his


    desires at bay out of respect for her, seeing as they weren¡¯t official until recently. However, now that they


    were a couple again, he figured that there were a couple of bedroom things that they most definitely


    should explore.


    Presently, she let out a dry cough and turned away from him while muttering hesitantly, ¡°Not for the time


    being, okay? I¡­ I¡¯m on my period.¡±


    Sonia wasn¡¯t lying; she really was on her period. More importantly, she hadn¡¯t mentally prepared herself


    for such intimate acts just yet, and she couldn¡¯t very well go all the way with him if she didn¡¯t have the


    time and space to give herself a pep talk.


    Disappointment shed in Toby¡¯s eyes when he heard her reason, but it disappeared just as quickly as


    he said cidly, ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll revisit this conversation when your period is over.¡±


    He had been patient and understanding for so long that a few more days of waiting couldn¡¯t hurt him.


    Sonia did not respond to this because she couldn¡¯t be sure that she would be mentally prepared for


    bedroom endeavors even after her period had ended. She didn¡¯t want to make promises she couldn¡¯t


    keep; if she wasn¡¯t ready by then, it would be another disappointment for him, so she decided to say


    nothing at all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just get on with dinner,¡± she said, changing the subject.


    He nodded and pulled her to sit down by the table before they carried on with their meal.


    After that, Sonia cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher in the kitchen. Throughout the entire


    process, Toby followed her like a shadow, going wherever she did.


    At first, she found it amusing, but she was slowly and dangerously getting irritated by it. She wasn¡¯t so


    much annoyed by the person as she was by his constant obstruction; she would fumble just to dodge


    him when he got in her way.


    She had only just ced her clothes out on the line when she turned and, much to her exasperation, saw


    Toby looming over her like an overly-attached mastiff. ¡°Toby, why in the world are you following me


    around?¡±


    ¡°Just because,¡± he answered with a grin.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched as she retorted, ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Don¡¯t you have


    better things to do?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do,¡± he replied nonchntly as he nodded since he still had plenty of documents to peruse.


    She massaged her temples wearily. ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you go and get those things done while


    leaving me alone?¡±


    ¡°But if I do, will you stay?¡± he asked curiously, his gaze burning into hers.


    Raising a brow, she countered, ¡°So, you¡¯re following me around because you don¡¯t want me to leave?¡±


    When his silence tranted into confirmation, she sputtered. ¡°Toby, in case you haven¡¯t noticed, I¡¯m


    currently doing myundry because I have nothing to wear. Do you think I could leave without a spare


    change of clothes? What am I supposed to do? Walk out in these?¡±


    Sonia looked down at the pajamas she was wearing, which had been altered to fit her for the night. While


    there was an athleisure edge to them, they couldn¡¯t possibly be passed off as actual athleisure wear.


    If she were to wear them out, someone was bound to realize that she was wearing pajamas¡ªmen¡¯s


    pajamas, no less¡ªand she would be theughing stock. She might even find pictures of her


    circting on the Inte tomorrow morning. All things considered, she thought it was pointless for her


    to take the risk, not while it meant inevitable ridicule.


    Having heard what she said, Toby was ted.


    He had been worried that she would insist on leaving after a while. After all, she wasn¡¯t as shameless as


    he was, and if he were over at her ce, he would have tried to find a way to stay the night. Conversely,


    there was a high chance of Sonia leaving his ce even though she already had dinner here, which was


    why he had followed her all this time while hoping he could pester her into staying.


    s, she never thought about leaving at all.


    At that moment, Toby brightened up instantly and he wanted to pat himself on the back for having pulled


    her into the bathtub. There was no finer drunken aplishment than that, he thought proudly, and if


    that never happened, she would have gone home by now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and turn down the bed for you,¡± he offered excitedly as he turned to hurry into the bedroom.


    Sonia stared after him, nearly reaching out to stop him to ask whether he knew how to go about turning


    down the bed at all.


    However, when she saw how eager and anxious he was, she decided to let him figure it out on his own.


    Nah, I¡¯ll just leave him be, seeing as he¡¯s so excited to do this for me. Besides, I can always turn down


    the bedter if he messes it up.


    With that in mind, she brought theundry hamper into the bathroom.


    She had only just exited the bathroom when she heard her phone ringing in the living room. As she


    paced over, she picked up the phone to see that it was a call from Tim.


    The frowning Sonia wondered why he was calling her at this hour.


    Not pausing to think, she swiped toward the green icon to answer the call. ¡°Dr. Lancaster,¡± she greeted


    as she pressed the phone to her ear.


    Tim¡¯s voice filled the other line as he said, ¡°Sonia, Jessica¡¯s been wailing to get out of the hospital.¡±


    ¡°What? She wants to leave?¡± She asked as her eyes narrowed.


    He adjusted his sses, seemingly unfazed as he borated, ¡°Yes, and she¡¯s still hysterical now. She


    even destroyed a few of my equipment in the hospital room. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you still have


    some use for her, I would have drawn out half of the blood in her body or taken one of her kidneys as


    compensation for the damage she has caused.¡±


    As far as he was concerned, Jessica was an insignificant small fry whom he could dispose of at any


    given moment, and he certainly had no qualms drawing out her blood or taking her kidney.

 Chapter 678

    Chapter 678


    Chapter 678 Jessica¡¯s Suspicion


    Sonia didn¡¯t for a second doubt Tim. She could hear how angry he was, but she knew that he had


    swallowed his fury for her sake; otherwise, he would have told her toe to the hospital with a body


    bag for Jessica instead of informing her about Jessica¡¯s hysterics.


    Rubbing the divot between her brows, Sonia apologized, ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry for troubling you, Dr.


    Lancaster. Rest assured that I¡¯ll get her to pay for the damages she has caused in the hospital.¡±


    Sonia would take a cut of Jessica¡¯s share dividends aspensation for the damages and she didn¡¯t


    care what Jessica might think of it. After all, such reparations were a natural consequence of Jessica¡¯s


    tantrum.


    ¡°And what do we do about her?¡± Tim asked, leaning into his seat insouciantly. ¡°Are you going to let her


    out of the hospital? Because if you don¡¯t sign off on her discharge, I¡¯d have to ask someone to give her a


    strong sedative and have her inplete istion.¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for that,¡± Sonia responded with a shake of her head. ¡°Let her out. The longer we


    keep her in the hospital, the more she¡¯ll grow suspicious. If she were to figure out that we¡¯re up to


    something, she¡¯d cause trouble for us.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t matter even if she does figure something out, though,¡± Tim pointed out. ¡°The microchip


    embedded into her forehead wound has already been activated; she could go anywhere and we¡¯d still be


    able to track her down, wouldn¡¯t we?¡± His spectacles red under the lights as he added, ¡°And we can


    always lock her up and force her to have the baby.¡±


    He spoke so lightly of such horrific crimes that it was in to see he had neither fear nor respect for the


    rule ofw. Sonia, however, was already used to his somewhat sociopathic disposition and she was not


    rmed by his direct choice of words. In fact, she thought his idea was a rather merciful onepared


    to his usual suggestions of murder.


    s, she shook her head and turned down his idea, saying, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t found the DNA sample for the


    child¡¯s father, so we¡¯ll have to wait. Just let her out of the hospital for now, and don¡¯t worry about her


    absconding because she won¡¯t. She¡¯ll still try toe after my shares and she won¡¯t leave until that


    mission is aplished. Besides, even if she were to run, her microchip has already been activated and


    we can track her down anytime and lock her up. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything else for us to worry about.¡±


    Jessica had injured her forehead after Sonia made her bow before their father¡¯s grave thest time.


    Shortly after that, Toby had asked for a tracking microchip to be made and asked that Tim slip it into the


    wound on Jessica¡¯s forehead while treating it.


    Having done so, they would have ess to Jessica¡¯s location at all times and there was nowhere in the


    world she could hide from them.


    As such, Sonia was not at all concerned that Jessica would do a runner. On the contrary, she had no


    qualms about letting the girl roam around as she liked.


    ¡®Well, in that case, we¡¯ll go along with your decision,¡± Tim said readily, pushing his sses up his nose


    bridge. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone throw her out of the hospitalter.¡±


    Soniaughed. ¡°You have my gratitude.¡±


    Tim suddenly narrowed his eyes and added, ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something you have to keep an eye out


    for.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Upon hearing his grave tone, she grew somber as well.


    He exined, ¡°Apparently, Jessica swiped one of the nurse¡¯s uniforms from the counterst midnight and


    sneaked into the hospital¡¯s record room so that she could look through your files here.¡±


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What was she after?¡± Sonia asked, her brows knitting close together.


    Tim toyed with his scalpel. ¡°I only heard about this when the nurses discussed it this morning. One of the


    floor attendants caught Jessica scurrying out of the record room after she looked through your files and I


    went to demand an exnation from her as soon as I found out about this. She told me that she was


    doing it out of concern for you, and she wanted to know what conditions could have led to your


    hospitalization the past couple of times.¡±


    ¡°What a tantly false excuse,¡± she drawled with a scoff. As if anyone could truly believe that Jessica felt


    anything other than pure hatred for her. Concern for me? Hah!


    Besides, if Jessica truly had any ounce ofpassion for Sonia, she could have easily asked Sonia


    about it. There was no such need to steal the nurse¡¯s uniform to sneak into the record room and look into


    Sonia¡¯s files.


    Even if she had no intention of asking Sonia about her previous hospitalization, she could have asked


    the nurses and doctors for details instead.


    However, Jessica had resorted to underhanded ways to look for answers instead, which meant that she


    was up to no good.


    ¡°Yes, well, she was obviously lying, so I didn¡¯t bother wasting time on baiting the truth out of her. I


    hypnotized her on the spot and made her confess to her reasons, and as it turned out, she was


    suspicious of your birth story, which was why she decided to look through your files. She wanted to see


    whether her guess was correct by checking if your blood type was the same as your father¡¯s, which


    would conclude any biological rtion you might have with him, or theck thereof. Who knows what she


    would do with the information? Anyway, just watch your back,¡± Tim warned grimly.


    Sonia clutched her phone even tighter when she heard those words as she demanded, ¡°You¡¯re saying


    she¡¯s doubting my identity? How did her suspicions arise in the first ce? What could possibly have


    made her skeptical of my birth story?¡±


    There were only a handful of people who knew Sonia was not the biological daughter of her parents.


    However, aside from Charles, Toby, Curtis, Tim and herself, no one else knew the truth¡ªnot even her


    own grandfather and Carl. So, how could Jessica have found out about it? Who could have told her?


    Tim shook his head slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know and while I did press for an answer, her reply was vague. She


    told me she heard about it from someone or somewhere, but even while hypnotized, she offered no clear


    exnation.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia said, biting down on her lip.


    ¡°She¡¯ll definitely use this information to plot against you. Should I just kill her instead and let the secret


    die with her?¡± he asked, bringing up the topic of murder once more.


    Despite herself, she was amused by his forthright suggestion and countered, ¡°And how would I make her


    produce an heir to the Reed Family if she¡¯s dead? Don¡¯t be rash, Tim.¡±


    He adjusted his sses once more. ¡°Then, you¡¯ll have to stay vignt.¡±


    She hummed in response. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will. Thank you for the reminder, but regardless of how she has


    heard about my birth story, she still can¡¯t oust me from Paradigm Co..¡±


    After all, the shares she held were not inherited from her father¡¯s fortune, and even if they were, she was


    still technically adopted into the Reed Family, which would make the shares her birthright. Jessica could


    scheme all she wanted, but she would make no headway.


    When Tim heard Sonia¡¯s reply, he lifted his chin and said, ¡°Well, then, I have nothing more to say on the


    matter. I¡¯ll go ahead and process Jessica¡¯s discharge now.¡±


    Sonia made a noise of agreement. ¡°Go on then, but as for her rehabilitation¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I had her on a special medication while she was hospitalized that could suppress


    her migraines for a while. I¡¯ll keep her on other medications that could stimte her uterus and tell her


    that it¡¯s a treatment for her migraines and she will unknowingly be more fertile. When her uterus is


    no longer hostile, we could proceed with the imntation procedure at any time.¡±


    ¡°Then, I shall leave it up to you, Dr. Lancaster,¡± Sonia said, finally rxing.


    When the call ended, she set her phone aside, but her brows were still drawn together.


    At that moment, Toby walked out of the room after turning down the bed and drew up behind her. Then,


    he wrapped his arms around her as he murmured in a low, captivating voice, ¡°What is it? Who were you


    speaking with on the phone?¡±


    She turned slightly to look up at the man glued to her back before gently nudging him. When she realized


    that he would not move away, she resigned to staying in his embrace as she replied, ¡°It was Tim.¡±


    ¡°That guy?¡± Toby frowned. ¡°Why did he call you at this hour?¡±


    Parting her shell-pink lips, Sonia exined, ¡°He told me that Jessica has been throwing a fit to leave the


    hospital.¡±

 Chapter 679

    Chapter 679


    Chapter 679 Sleepover


    Sonia did not tell Toby that Jessica had discovered the truth of her birth story¡ªthat she was not her


    parents¡¯ biological daughter.


    If she told him, given how much he cared for her, he would only take it upon himself to investigate how


    Jessica had discovered such information in the first ce. More importantly, Sonia thought she could


    look into this herself without troubling him; otherwise, she would appear truly useless.


    Toby, on the other hand, didn¡¯t notice that she was hiding something from him as he lowered his head


    and burrowed into the dip in her shoulder. ¡°So, you¡¯ve agreed to it?¡± he asked.


    She hummed in response, nodding once. ¡°With the microchip that you gave us imnted in her, we don¡¯t


    have to worry about losing track of her. Besides, I highly doubt that she would do a runner.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough,¡± he murmured softly before he nced at the clock on the wall. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte.


    We should get some sleep.¡±


    As it was drawing close to 10:00P.M, Sonia let out a full-body yawn and said groggily, ¡°You¡¯re right. I am


    pretty tired.¡±


    She had stayed up the whole ofst night to knit him a scarf on top of babysitting and nursing him out of


    his hangover for a better part of today. As of now, she was drained.


    All she wanted to do was to lie down and sleep through the night.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll bring you to the room,¡± Toby offered as he took her hand in his. She nced down at their


    intertwined hands and did not n on pulling away. After all, holding hands was par for the course for


    any loving couple.


    She allowed him to guide her toward one of the bedroom doors, but her expression shifted slightly when


    she saw which bedroom he was leading her to, and she stopped in her tracks.


    Toby stopped as well, and turned to look at her in askance. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°This is your room,¡± she pointed out, jerking her chin toward the door before them.


    He nodded. ¡°I know.¡±


    She stared at him incredulously with wide eyes. ¡°Toby, are you actually asking me to sleep in your


    room?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to?¡± Toby asked, his gaze even and unaffected.


    Sonia fell silent at this.


    It looked like things had turned out the way she felt they would. When he said he was going to turn down


    the bed earlier and went into his own bedroom, she didn¡¯t think much of it, only assuming that he had


    retreated into his room to locate spare nkets or whatever. After all, with all the other rooms in the


    penthouse left vacant, it would only be natural that the beds were bare.


    s, she had given him too much credit. Toby had never intended to set up any of the guest rooms for


    her; he wanted her to sleep in his room instead.


    Then again, she shouldn¡¯t have been too surprised by this, given his past record of climbing into her bed


    in the middle of the night while he was staying over at her ce.


    She wondered how far he would go just to sleep with her on the same bed and what other


    ungentlemanly tactics he might employ to that end. He¡¯s probably going to reenact the whole incident


    where he sneaked into my bed.


    At the thought of this, she facepalmed like she was in utter disbelief before she sighed as she said in


    resignation, ¡°You know what, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just have to make do.¡±


    As she said this, she put a hand on the doorknob and twisted it. When the door swung open, she led the


    way into the room.


    Meanwhile, Toby¡¯s eyes brightened when he saw that she agreed to sleep in his room. He practically


    flew after her, and he would have glued himself to her like they were mas if he could. He had been


    pretty worried earlier that she would turn him down, but now that things were progressing in the direction


    he liked, he visibly rxed.


    Upon entering Toby¡¯s room, Sonia immediately caught sight of his bed, which wasrge enough to fit


    several people at once, and blushed. While she knew that intimacy was off the table tonight, she still


    found herself thinking about it and the size of the bed didn¡¯t help to quell her rampant thoughts.


    She rubbed her temples and winced. This is all Toby¡¯s fault. That pervert has been polluting my good


    senses with his own impurity. Why else would I be having such thoughts as soon as I see the bed? Stop


    thinking about it. Stop right now.


    Then, she tapped her forehead with her knuckles, forcing herself to calm down by taking a deep breath.


    At the sight of this, Toby quickly intervened to pull her hand away from her head and he looked serious


    as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you have a headache?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sonia answered. She squeezed out a faint smile and responded, ¡°I just thought of some amusing


    things.¡±


    ¡°Amusing things?¡± He clearly did not understand what she meant by that.


    She waved her hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Okay, let¡¯s go to bed. I¡¯m exhausted.¡± A yawn followed


    her statement, as though to prove her point.


    Toby surveyed the fatigue on her face and the pale shadows beneath her eyes, and his heart twisted. He


    gently ruffled her hair as he said endearingly, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s sleep.¡±


    Sonia hummed softly, then lifted the covers before sliding beneath them.


    While she did so, he rounded the bed to lie down on the other side before he reached out with an arm to


    pull her into his embrace, his gesture so natural that one might think they had been sleeping together for


    the longest of time, much like an old couple.


    Her fingers brushed his arm, which was snug around her waist, and she felt her lips twitch in


    amusement. He¡¯s aplete natural. He didn¡¯t even bother to ask before cuddling me. Apparently, he


    had none of the bashfulness that came with the tender beginnings of a rtionship, which was just


    another way of saying he was roguish.


    She shook her head in mild exasperation but did not lift his arm off her, and took this unexpected gesture


    of affection in stride.


    She was already worn out from the day¡¯s events, and her eyelids felt heavy as soon as her head hit the


    pillow. Darkness was slowly washing over her, tempting her with rest.


    All in all, she was desperate for sleep, and she couldn¡¯t be bothered if the world copsed on itself. Very


    quickly, she could no longer resist the darkness that was beckoning her and she fell into a deep slumber.


    Her exhaustion was evident in the sound of her breathing, which seemed louder than usual.


    Toby, on the other hand, had only just woken up not too long ago, so it went without saying that he was a


    bundle of energy. Hey on his side, propping his head up with one hand as he gazed at Sonia¡¯s


    sleeping profile.


    No matter how long he looked at her for, her face remained the same, and this was true even as shey


    unmoving on her side of the bed. However, he realized that he could not look away, and he was only


    growing more enamored with her.


    After what felt like a long moment, Sonia finally turned to her side. It was only then that Toby switched off


    the main lights in the room, leaving only the yellow night light that illuminated the dark. Having done so,


    he slid beneath the covers and closed his eyes contentedly.


    The next day, Toby was woken up by the sound of a ringing phone.


    He opened his eyes slowly and nced at the woman in his arms.


    Her eyes were still closed, and she was sleeping soundly,pletely undisturbed by the incessant


    ringing of her phone.


    As he was worried that she would eventually be stirred from sleep if the ringing continued, Toby carefully


    propped himself up and grabbed the phone from the nightstand.


    It was Sonia¡¯s phone that was ringing with an iing call and the screen was shing with Daphne¡¯s


    name disyed on it. With a quick swipe of his thumb, he put the call through and lowered his voice


    deliberately. ¡°What?¡±


    When Daphne heard this, she froze on the other line before she hastily pulled the phone away so she


    could look at the screen. Having made sure that she had indeed called Sonia¡¯s number and not someone


    else¡¯s, she put the phone back to her ear and asked cautiously, ¡°P-President Fuller?¡±


    Toby hummed in confirmation.


    She sighed, relieved that it was indeed Toby on the phone. She had thought that it was some other man,


    and that gave her a fright. Why is President Fuller the one answering Chairman Reed¡¯s phone, though?


    And at such early morning hours, too. Could they be¡­


    The sudden realization that Toby and Sonia had spent the night together dawned upon Daphne, and all


    her doubts dissipated instantly. She adjusted her ck-frame sses and asked delicately, ¡°President


    Fuller, may I know whether Chairman Reed is with you at the moment?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s still sleeping,¡± Toby answered impassively in his crisp morning voice, one hand pressing the


    phone to his ear and the other toying with a strand of Sonia¡¯s hair.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Daphne raised a brow. She¡¯s still sleeping? She gave the clock on her office wall a cursory nce, and


    noted with no small amount of astonishment that it was nearly 10:00A.M. Heavens, if Chairman Reed is


    still asleep at this hour, that could only mean that she had quite the rough night with President Fuller!


    She¡¯s probably too worn out to wake up.


    Not knowing that Daphne had sorely misunderstood, Toby continued in a clipped tone, ¡°I could pass on a


    message for you if you¡¯d like. If it¡¯s nothing urgent, I¡¯ll get her to call you back as soon as she wakes up


    and you can talk to her then.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me, President Fuller. Please get Chairman Reed to call me back when she¡¯s awake. It¡¯s


    nothing particrly important or urgent,¡± Daphne replied courteously.


    He nodded slightly. ¡°Understood.¡± He hung up and set the phone down on the nightstand, then took his


    own phone so he could call Tom.


    At this moment, a pair of delicate hands darted out from under the covers and wrapped around Toby¡¯s


    arm, followed by a soft voice asking, ¡°What time is it?¡±

 Chapter 680

    Chapter 680


    Chapter 680 Atonement


    Sonia¡¯s voice was soft and raspy with sleep, and given that her eyes were still closed, she clearly wasn¡¯t


    fully awake yet.


    That being said, for her to ask for the time despite having not fully awakened meant that she knew she


    was lying next to him all along. Otherwise, she would have bolted upright and demanded an exnation


    for his presence, and he didn¡¯t think she would do it kindly either.


    Toby nced at his watch on the nightstand and said evenly, ¡°It¡¯s 10:00AM.¡±


    At that moment, Sonia¡¯s eyes flew open as she eximed, ¡°What? It¡¯s already 10:00AM?¡± Judging by her


    high pitch, she was more than astonished by his answer.


    He nodded slightly. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    She scrambled to get up. ¡°Oh, no. Oh, crap. I¡¯mte! I have a meeting that I¡¯m supposed to get to this


    morning.¡±


    She raked her fingers through her hair and made to throw off the covers, but just as she was about to


    tumble out of bed, Toby reached out to pull her back into the confines of his arms. Startled, she tried to


    pry his arms off as she asked urgently, ¡°What are you doing, Toby? Let go of me right now. I have to


    wash up and get to work!¡±


    ¡°Hold your horses,¡± he said with a low chuckle. ¡°Your secretary called earlier, probably to ask why you


    haven¡¯t gone into work at this hour. After she found out that you were with me, she hung up, though. She


    didn¡¯t urge me to wake you up so you could rush over to Paradigm Co., which means the meeting this


    morning isn¡¯t really that important, is it? So, why don¡¯t you just rx and have some breakfast before you


    head over?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Sonia trailed off hesitantly. She knew the meeting today wasn¡¯t that important, but she had never


    been one to bail onpany matters, or on anything in general.


    Toby took one look at her frown and immediately knew what she was thinking of. He reached up to


    massage and smooth out the divot between her brows, then muttered softly, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,


    but sometimes, beingte and bailing on apany meeting aren¡¯t necessarily bad things. On the


    contrary, it will only add to your authority because you¡¯re the chairman of thepany and you have the


    privilege of showing upte.¡±


    It was only after she heard this that she calmed down and the panic that had seized her moments ago


    slowly ebbed. With a nod, she relented and responded, ¡°Well, if you say so, then I guess I¡¯ll be cking


    off today for the sake of it.¡±


    He was the president and chairman of Fuller Group, so he couldn¡¯t possibly lie to her about these things.


    Besides, she knew for certain that her tardiness today wasn¡¯t going to hurt Paradigm Co. in the slightest.


    Now that she was consoled, she figured that if she was already runningte as it was, she might as well


    just enjoy her half-day off. ¡°I know I¡¯m not in a rush to get to work, but I still have to get up at some point.


    I mean, aren¡¯t you starving?¡± she turned to ask the man who was hugging her from behind.


    Toby had his head dipped as he toyed with her hand, which was right on top of his own. Her hand was


    soft and delicate, and for some reason, he found it one of the most enchanting things about her, so much


    so that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to let go.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, but we should probably get up,¡± he decided, releasing her hand.


    Sonia could sense his reluctance as he detached his hand from hers and she was highly amused by it.


    What¡¯s so fun about holding my hand? She brought her hand up before her and inspected it from every


    angle; she hadn¡¯t sprouted an extra finger overnight, and she couldn¡¯t find anything remotely interesting


    about her hand that could enthrall him so.


    Without dwelling too much on this, she lifted the covers and crawled out of bed before heading into the


    adjoining bathroom.


    Toby fell in step behind her, resuming his role as her shadow as he made to wash up with her.


    They had done this together the night before, so in a show of eptance of his behavior, she did not


    stop him from following her into the bathroom. After all, she was in his territory as a guest, and certainly


    there had never been a guest so bold as to forbid their hosts from going anywhere in his own home.


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    After washing up, Toby sauntered into his own walk-in wardrobe to put on a fresh change of clothes for


    the day while Sonia went out to the balcony to retrieve herundry.


    She had already thrown herundry into the tumble-dryerst night, and she wasn¡¯t too concerned that


    they hadn¡¯t dried in time.


    Presently, he emerged from his bedroom after wearing his clothes, and Sonia was done putting on hers


    as well. She was sitting on the couch in the living room and holding up a hand mirror as she applied her


    make-up.


    ¡°What do you feel like having for breakfast?¡± she asked, casting him a sideway nce as she tried to


    draw in her eyebrows.


    He walked up to her, his gaze falling on her clothes as he suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we dine out?¡±


    Sonia put down her hand mirror. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Since you like the sausages at Royal Restaurant so much, we¡¯ll have breakfast there,¡± he said as he


    straightened his necktie.


    He noticed that she was wearing her clothes from the day before. He had told her that he would have


    Tom send over a new outfit for her, but she rejected his offer, saying that she wasn¡¯t sure how long Tom


    would take with the delivery and that she wouldn¡¯t mind wearing the same clothes.


    However, Toby suddenly had a feeling that it was time he had some of her clothes here for nights she


    decided to stay over.


    At the thought of having her clothes inside his wardrobe, he started to tingle all over with excitement. He


    swallowed, and when he saw her checking through her purse to make sure she had all her stuff, he said


    hoarsely, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your voice?¡± She slung her purse over her shoulder and looked at him with genuine


    concern, then pressed, ¡°Is your throat still fried from all the alcohol you drank yesterday?¡±


    Sonia tilted her head to the side, a little confused as she thought, That can¡¯t be it. He sounded fine when


    he woke up this morning.


    Toby avoided his eyes and lowered his gaze while mumbling, ¡°It¡¯s nothing; I¡¯m just thirsty, that¡¯s all.¡±


    He was not going to tell her that he grew a little too excited at the thought of having her clothes in the


    wardrobe along with his. He knew she would not let him live this down, and would make fun of him


    mercilessly.


    Sonia did not doubt him at all when she heard his reason, seeing as he truly had not taken a sip of water


    since he woke up that morning.


    She bent over and poured out a ss of water for him. ¡°Here, drink some to soothe that throat of yours


    before we leave.¡±


    He hummed in response and took the ss before he gulped down the water. He couldn¡¯t very well


    refuse, because that would mean he wasn¡¯t thirsty at all and that he had been lying to her.


    When he was done with the water, they walked toward the door. They had only just reached the


    threshold when the bell rang.


    Toby turned on the inte, and through the camera, he saw that the person standing outside the door


    was none other than Tom. He was pacing around and wringing his hands with a long sigh every now and


    then; he looked worried and nervous for some reason.


    Seeing this, Sonia frowned and guessed, ¡°He¡¯s probably here to apologize to you.¡±


    ¡°Apologize?¡± Toby was about to open the door for Tom, but he stopped when he heard this.


    She tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. ¡°Yeah. It totally slipped my mind, but Mr. Brown was


    here with me as well when you were drunk yesterday. Grandma called and asked how you were doing


    and I¡¯m not quite sure what Mr. Brown told her, but she fainted on the spot after that.¡±


    ¡°She fainted?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes widened, and a shrewd expression etched itself upon his face.


    Sonia reached out to pull his hand. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get mad and don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s fine. The stress probably


    got to her and she copsed after panicking. Mr. Brown called me the same afternoon to tell me that she


    was coping well. I was going to tell you about this after you sobered up, but I was busy taking care of you


    that I forgot, until Mr. Brown showed up here looking like a bundle of nerves.¡±


    Upon hearing her exnation, he felt his heart calming in his chest and finally lodging itself back into


    ce.


    All that matters is that Grandma is fine, otherwise¡­ A dark gleam shed in his eyes as he tightened his


    grip on the doorknob and opened the door with much more force than needed.


    Outside was Tom, who straightened up and stood to attention when he saw the door open. ¡°President


    Fuller!¡± he greeted with utmost respect and what appeared to be contrition.


    Toby merely stared at him icily without uttering a single response, and at the sight of this, Tom felt a bitter


    chuckle bubbling up behind his throat. Well, looks like President Fuller has already found out that Old


    Mrs. Fuller copsed out of shock yesterday.


    Tom was not the least bit surprised that Toby had learned of the incident. Even if Sonia hadn¡¯t broken the


    news, he would have shown up and ready to atone for his grave mistake. In fact, that was precisely what


    he was doing right now.


    With that in mind, Tom took in a deep breath and bowed apologetically at Toby. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President


    Fuller. Whatever happened to Old Mrs. Fuller was my fault. I¡¯ll take any punishment you deem fit.¡±

 Chapter 681

    Chapter 681


    Chapter 681 Sonia¡¯s Nickname


    Tom had very nearly killed Rose with what he had told her the day before, but even as she pulled


    through and was recuperating just fine, she was still in shock.


    As such, he had no excuse and he was willing to take any punishment Toby might have for him; he was


    the one to be med anyway.


    Toby lowered his gaze imperiously as he stared at the man bowing before him. He had his lips pressed


    into a grim line as the air around him grew cold and still. He didn¡¯t look like he was going to ask Tom to


    straighten his posture anytime soon because he was truly and absolutely furious.


    For a moment, the tension at the doorway was suffocating and no one dared to speak a word. Aside


    from the sound of shallow breathing, they were engulfed in a deafening silence that became a fertile


    ground for fear to grow.


    And Tom was a blooming example of that notion.


    For each minute that Toby neither spoke nor asked him to straighten his posture and instead stared at


    Tom mutinously was another minute that Tom spent crippled with panic and anxiety. He would much


    rather have Toby kick him or verballysh out at him¡ªat least he wouldn¡¯t be so terrified that beads of


    cold sweat would break out all over his forehead.


    ¡°Toby,¡± Sonia urged quietly as she sighed and tugged on Toby¡¯s sleeve. She understood the pressure


    Tom must have felt at that moment and was close to speaking up for him.


    As if reading her thoughts, Toby shot her a look and finally relented. He turned his frosty gaze toward


    Tom and demanded coldly, ¡°What did you say to Grandma?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Tom let out a huge sigh of relief. If President Fuller is speaking now, it means he isn¡¯t


    as angry as he was minutes ago and my life will be spared! This is all thanks to Miss Reed; had she not


    urged President Fuller earlier, he would never let me leave unscathed.


    ¡°President Fuller, I told Old Mrs. Fuller¡­¡± He nced over at Sonia before shing her an apologetic


    smile.


    Sonia knew that she was not meant to listen to the conversation and gave him an understanding look as


    she borated, ¡°I¡¯ll head back inside the apartment and allow you guys to have a word. I¡¯ll be out once


    you¡¯re done.¡±


    With that, she spun and sauntered through the doorway. She wasn¡¯t upset, for she had known since


    yesterday that Tom had no intention of letting her in on the details of his exchange with Rose.


    Toby, on the other hand, merely stared after Sonia¡¯s retreating figure but didn¡¯t move to stop her.


    Tom was a man of propriety and if he was asking Sonia to give them some privacy, that could only mean


    that his exchange with Rose the day before had something to do with Toby¡¯s physical condition.


    Rose was a woman who had endured all the hardship that life had to offer and she wouldn¡¯t have


    copsed over some trivial news. Even if the Fuller Group was to be liquidated, she would still stand firm


    and hold her ground.


    However, her only weaknesses were Toby and Tyler, so anything that had to do with their lives and


    safety would inevitably cause her to copse in shock.


    When Sonia¡¯s silhouette had entirely disappeared through the doorway, Toby turned to look at Tom with a


    pair of dangerously narrowed eyes. ¡°Did you tell Grandma about my heart?¡±


    There was only one thing threatening his life now and it was his failing heart, so it went without saying


    that Rose only copsed after learning of this matter.


    A guilty Tom bowed his head and muttered, ¡°Yes.¡±


    The air around Toby grew still once more and his voice sounded as if it came from the freezing depths of


    hell as he bit out, ¡°Why would you tell her about it? Didn¡¯t I ask you to keep it a secret from Grandma,


    Sonia and the others? How is it that you¡¯ve forgotten all about that and blurt everything out?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller,¡± Tom apologized woefully. ¡°I was going to keep Old Mrs. Fuller in the dark


    about this, but she sensed that something was wrong the moment you were drunk on red wine alone. It


    was a fatal crack in your ns, President Fuller, and there was no way Old Mrs. Fuller couldn¡¯t have


    known that there was something off about you. Besides, she questioned me incessantly and demanded


    an answer, which was why I¡­ I didn¡¯t have a choice but to tell her the truth. And even if I didn¡¯t, she


    would have looked into this whole thing herself and stumbled upon the truth eventually.¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips were pursed into an even more frigid line as he fell speechless. He was a reasonable man


    after all and after hearing Tom¡¯s exnation, he realized that he couldn¡¯t me Tom entirely.


    Most of the fault was his own anyway; he had overestimated his own physical tenacity. He never thought


    that his current condition would make him susceptible to even the otherwise underwhelming influence of


    red wine.


    Rubbing his forehead tiredly, Toby said, ¡°I¡¯ll let this slide, but only because nothing serious has happened


    to Grandma.¡±


    Tom¡¯s eyes brightened at the news of his salvation. He broke into a surprised smile as he frantically


    replied, ¡°Thank you, President Fuller!¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s Grandma doing now?¡± Toby asked before he tightly pursed his lips.


    Adjusting his sses, Tom informed dutifully, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller is fine now. We admitted her to the hospital


    in time for the doctor to perform the necessary treatment on her and she recovered within a considerably


    short period of time. That being said, she¡¯s still in the hospital at the moment and won¡¯t be discharged


    until tomorrow. The doctor said she needs to recuperate and be under observation for a bit.¡±


    Having heard this, Toby hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°By the way, President Fuller,¡± Tom began as he suddenly recalled something. He eyed Toby evenly and


    added, ¡°Miss Reed might not know about your heart condition just yet, but she¡¯s probably already


    suspicious. She even asked me what was wrong with you and why it could possibly make Old Mrs. Fuller


    copse upon learning of it. I managed to suppress her curiosity, but I don¡¯t think that will remain the


    case for long; knowing her, she¡¯d start asking for an exnation on your part soon.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ll handle matters on Sonia¡¯s end, so just keep your mouth shut.¡± Toby looked up and appraised


    Tom before adding icily, ¡°If I discover that you¡¯ve been bbering about my secret to someone else, I


    have mines in Africa that still need a supervisor and you¡¯d be perfect for the role.¡±


    Tom swallowed convulsively as panic dawned upon him. Nodding profusely, he responded, ¡°Don¡¯t you


    worry, President Fuller. My lips are tightly sealed! I will not breathe a word about this to anyone!¡±


    He had no ns on supervising the mines in Africa; it was havoc there and he had a feeling that he


    might not recognize himself if he ever made it back home.


    ¡°Very well. Go and get the car,¡± Toby ordered tly, rubbing the space between his brows. ¡°Drop Sonia off


    at Paradigm Co. before we head over to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom answered solemnly before he hurried to the elevators.


    Toby spun on his heels as well and entered the apartment.


    Presently, Sonia was sitting on the couch while speaking to someone on the phone. When she heard the


    approaching footsteps, she turned to meet his gaze and quickly chirped into the phone, ¡°Okay, got it. I¡¯ll


    be back in a jiffy. See youter!¡± She hung up her phone and stood up to greet Toby. ¡°Did you and Mr.


    Brown talk things out?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Toby replied with a nod. ¡°Sorry to have kept you waiting.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I was just talking to Daphne on the phone anyway.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± he asked, ncing at the phone in her hand.


    She kept her phone. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then, we should make a move.¡± Toby offered his arm to her, the indication clear in his gesture.


    Sonia smiled and walked over to graciously take the proffered arm. This time, the both of them finally


    made it out of the apartment without any hassle.


    Tom brought the car over and dropped the couple off at the Royal Restaurant for breakfast, thereafter he


    sent them to Paradigm Co..


    When the car pulled up at thepany building, Sonia exited from the car.


    She had only just rounded the vehicle to head to the building entrance when Toby rolled down his side of


    the window and called out, ¡°Little Leaf.¡±


    As she halted in her footsteps, she turned to look at him with wide eyes, clearly astonished as she


    asked, ¡°W-What did you just call me?¡±


    ¡°Little Leaf,¡± he repeated with the barest of smiles tugging on his lips.


    Hot tears sprang to her eyes as she gaped, seemingly at a loss of words. Her voice was thick with


    sentiment as she pressed in disbelief, ¡°H-How did you find out about my nickname?¡±


    It was Sonia¡¯s father who had given her the nickname. Before he passed on, he revealed that it was a


    term of endearment from her mother that was derived from her love of maple leaves. He had brought


    Sonia¡¯s mother on a trip abroad to see the maple leaves in person the year before her death.


    As a result, the nickname was created and given to Sonia in memory of her mother, which subsequently


    became Sonia¡¯s pen name.


    However, since Sonia¡¯s father had already passed, no one else addressed her by Little Leaf. Everyone


    had all called her by her given name and no one knew about this nickname of hers except for Charles


    and Grace, but even they never called her by that term.


    The nickname was special to Sonia and she was adamant that only her parents had the right to call her


    by it.


    s, she didn¡¯t think that for the first time in six years, she would hear herself being called Little Leaf


    once more, and by Toby, no less.

 Chapter 682

    Chapter 682


    Chapter 682 The Exclusive Nickname


    The feeling was so nostalgic and loving that her body couldn¡¯t help but tremble lightly as her eyes


    reddened.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you told me yourself?¡± Toby replied with one hand on the edge of the car window.


    Sonia blinked in confusion at that. ¡°I¡¯m the one who told you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°When?¡± She was even more puzzled because she had never told him that she had this nickname


    before. After her father died 6 years ago, she had sealed it in the depths of her memories. If Toby hadn¡¯t


    called her by this name today, she might have even forgotten that she still had this name.


    ¡°11 years ago,¡± he answered as he looked out the window at the tearful woman.


    At that, Sonia¡¯s eyes widened even more. ¡°11 years ago?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Toby nodded.


    When she heard that, Sonia swallowed. ¡°You mean to say that I told you in the letters before?¡±


    She hadn¡¯t met him yet 11 years ago, so it was impossible for her to personally reveal this nickname of


    hers to him. The only possibility was that it was mentioned in one of their correspondences since they


    had been pen pals at that time.


    Seeing that she guessed it, Toby nodded and admitted, ¡°Yes, you told me in the letters when you were


    bullied by Jessica. Jessica was dissatisfied with your father calling you by your nickname, and she made


    a fuss so that your father would stop calling you that. You were very aggrieved, so you told me about it in


    the letters. You mentioned that your nickname is Little Leaf. Although you had only mentioned it once, I


    have never forgotten about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see.¡± Sonia bit her lower lip; her voice became choked with tears. ¡°It¡¯s been so long ago, yet you


    still remember. I had totally forgotten about it.¡±


    If it weren¡¯t for him, she would have forgotten about this matter and finally remembered about it when he


    told her. She had mentioned her nickname in one of her correspondences when she was about 15 years


    old. Her father had returned from a business trip abroad and bought a gift each for her and Jessica.


    At that time, both girls were ted, but when Jessica heard their father addressing Sonia as Little Leaf,


    Jessica was immediately discontented. Their father had always called Sonia Little Leaf but Jessica as


    Jess. Thus, it made Jessica extremely unhappy because her nickname was not as special as Little Leaf.


    In fact, she felt it was too perfunctory to simply shorten her name. And so, she had been very dissatisfied


    with their father calling Sonia Little Leaf.


    Despite this, Jessica had never made a fuss before and at most, she would just sulk. However, on that


    day when their father gave them gifts, she suddenly made a big fuss and insisted their father not call


    Sonia Little Leaf in the future. Although their father did not agree to the request, Sonia was still aggrieved


    and upset, so she wrote a letter about it and sent it off to her pen pal at the time, John. As John was an


    extremely gentle person and wouldfort her whenever she was sad, she trusted him. Sure enough,


    the reply to that letter of hers contained hisfort and insight.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always remembered everything about you,¡± Toby said with a gentle expression.


    Sonia took a breath and calmed the agitation that was evoked by this nickname. ¡°By the way, why did


    you suddenly call me by this nickname?¡±


    He looked at her and exined, ¡°We are together now, so I can¡¯t keep calling you by your name. It¡¯s too


    aloof, but I don¡¯t want to call you the same as Charles and the others either. I want to have an exclusive


    name for you, so I came up with this.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia ruffled her hair.


    ¡°Then, have you also called Tina this nickname before?¡±


    After all, Tina had impersonated her, so it was highly likely that he had addressed Tina in this manner


    before. If that was really the case, she would feel terrible.


    However, he shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She narrowed her eyes, obviously not quite believing him.


    Toby nodded seriously. ¡°Really. You said in the letter that your mother gave you this nickname, so only


    your parents can call you that. Hence even if I mistook Tina as you, I wouldn¡¯t have called her with this


    nickname, and it has always belonged to you. It¡¯s clean.¡±


    Sonia looked into his eyes and could see that he was not lying to her, so the worry in her heart was


    finally relieved.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She smiled at Toby. ¡°Thank you for still preserving the purity of this name for me and not


    letting Tina dirty it.¡±


    This nickname had been given by her mother, so even if Tina had taken possession of it, Sonia would


    still take this name back. However, she would not use it again in the future. Luckily, Toby had respected


    what she said in the letter about this name only being used by her parents, so he did not call Tina that


    name.


    As such, this name still belonged to her from the beginning to end and had not been soiled.N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°I myself am d that I didn¡¯t contaminate it.¡± Toby looked at Sonia.


    Sonia smiled lightly at him. ¡°That¡¯s because you know how to respect others.¡±


    Toby hooked his lips. ¡°I like yourpliment. Sonia, can I call you that in the future? I know that this is


    an exclusive nickname from your parents, but now that they are no longer around, you won¡¯t hear them


    call you this, so I hope that I may inherit this right to call you this name next.¡±


    In the days toe, he would spoil her as well, just like how her parents did.


    She looked at his expectant look and her red lips moved a little, seemingly torn over the idea, but she


    soon nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    He was right; after her parents died, she had never heard anyone calling her Little Leaf again. Now that


    she heard him addressing her this way, she realized that she was eager to hear someone call her by this


    name again. Thus, since he wanted to call her that way, she was fine with it. Since he wanted an


    exclusive nickname for her, she was willing to fulfill his request.


    Hearing that Sonia agreed, Toby¡¯s smile widened as he immediately opened his mouth to call, ¡°Little


    Leaf.¡±


    At that, Sonia¡¯s face flushed in slight embarrassment. In the past, it was her parents who called her this


    way and she naturally agreed without feeling anything. However, it was now her former husband and


    current boyfriend calling her this. Therefore, this nickname had changed from a parent-child association


    to one of a romantic connotation, so she was somewhat ufortable. I have to slowly adapt to the


    change.


    Thinking of this, she rubbed her cheeks and grunted in a soft voice.


    A trace of slyness shed across Toby¡¯s eyes when he heard that before he repeated, ¡°Little Leaf!¡±


    She red at him. ¡°Toby Fuller, are you done ying around? Are you obsessed with this name?¡±


    He chuckled at her words in response.


    Sonia then waved her hand and said, ¡°Okay, you better hurry up and head off. Weren¡¯t you going to the


    hospital to see Grandma? You should get there earlier. By the way, say hello to her for me. I will visit her


    in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up this afternoon.¡± Toby took a look at his watch.


    She wanted to refuse, but she remembered that they were now together and it was his duty to pick her


    up. So, she swallowed her words and instead replied, ¡°Okay. Let me know in advance so that I can see


    whether I¡¯m busy or not.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Toby nodded slightly.


    Sonia waved her hand at him and turned around to walk toward thepany building while he merely


    watched her from behind.


    Tom, who was in the driver¡¯s seat, suddenly turned his head to ask, ¡°President Fuller, have you and Miss


    Reed reconciled?¡±


    He had eavesdropped on the conversation between Toby and Sonia earlier and vaguely heard them


    saying that they were together or something. Thus, he wanted a confirmation.


    Toby withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Tom, his face revealing an undisguised look of triumph as


    he said, ¡°You guessed right. We are back together.¡±

 Chapter 683

    Chapter 683


    Chapter 683 Daphne¡¯s Pregnancy


    Tom eximed aloud before he hurriedly pped his hands to congratte Toby. ¡°Congrattions,


    President Fuller! Your difficulties have finallye to an end.¡± He was really happy for Toby because he


    had seen how hard Toby tried to win Sonia back and almost endangered his own life. So, knowing that


    Toby had finally reconciled with Sonia, Tom was exhrated.


    Upon hearing Tom¡¯s congrattions, Toby huffed. He¡¯s not bad at sweet talking.


    ¡°By the way, President Fuller¡­¡± Tom looked at Toby and grinned. ¡°President Fuller, now that you and


    Miss Reed are back together, will there be any benefit for us? You see, when other bosses be


    taken or get married, they either invite their employees to dinners or give bonuses to employees for them


    to obtain more good luck. Do you also wish to do something like that?¡±


    Tom expectantly rubbed his hands together.


    At that, Toby¡¯s face instantly darkened. ¡°Benefits?¡±


    I¡¯m already being benevolent by not ming him for stimting my grandmother. How could he be so


    bold as to ask for benefits?


    Of course, although Toby was extremely dissatisfied with Tom¡¯s behavior of asking for benefits, he


    thought that Tom had a point. Giving benefits to the staff was one way to obtain good luck for both


    himself and Sonia. As he and Sonia had just reconciled, they really needed all the good luck that they


    could receive. Although he personally didn¡¯t believe in these, he had to do his best in this rtionship.


    Thus, it was necessary to give benefits to Tom. Thinking about this, Toby said with a cold face, ¡°All the


    company employees will be paid an extra month¡¯s sry.¡±


    Tom¡¯s eyes instantly lit up at that. ¡°Thank you, President Fuller!¡±


    Toby coldly snorted. Then, he no longer cared to pay any attention to Tom but instead leaned back in his


    seat to close his eyes.


    He did not mind Toby¡¯s indifference either as long as he could receive the benefits.


    ¡°Drive,¡± Toby impatiently ordered.


    Tom straightened his tie and hurriedly buried the excitement in his heart to start the car.


    On the other hand, Sonia finally returned to her office. Daphne followed her in and looked at her


    unchanged clothes, then couldn¡¯t help but tease, ¡°Chairman Reed, are you and President Fuller already


    living together?¡±


    Knowing that Toby had helped to answer the phone for her earlier this morning, Sonia pulled a chair over


    and sat on it. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that I stayed overnight at his cest night for a personal reason.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Daphne smiled. ¡°But you¡¯re about to live together, right?¡±


    Then, her gaze fell to the ring on Sonia¡¯s left ring finger. The ring wasn¡¯t there yesterday, yet it was now


    here after Sonia¡¯s overnight stay at Toby¡¯s ce. It clearly meant that they had officially reconciled.


    Nowadays, it wasmon for lovers to live together, which was why she guessed that Sonia could be


    living with Toby. Even if they were not, it definitely wouldn¡¯t take long for them to do so.


    To be honest, she was relieved when she saw the ring on Sonia¡¯s finger. Although it was embarrassing to


    admit it, Daphne was actually ecstatic to see them together. Only when they were together could Charles


    give Sonia up, right?


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Daphne was thinking about. She wanted to say that it was impossible for her and


    Toby to live together so quickly, but she thought about the tricks that he used in order to stay overnight at


    her ce. Then, she quickly realized that it seemed not as impossible as she thought.


    After all, the probability that Toby had the cheek to make her live with him was extremely high. Thinking


    about this, Sonia suddenly felt a little amused. She rubbed her temples before responding, ¡°Well, let¡¯s not


    talk about that for now. How was the morning meeting?¡±


    When Daphne heard Sonia talking about business, her expression also became serious. ¡°The morning


    meeting had ended early because you weren¡¯t around, but the good thing was that it¡¯s not a very


    important meeting. That was the reason why I did not ask you to rush over. Those higher-ups were not


    satisfied that you did not attend, but due to your identity as the current chairman, they did not say


    anything about it. I recorded the meeting so that you can review itter.¡±


    ¡°Okay! Thank you for your hard work.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Daphne was just about to answer something when a sudden wave of nausea came up. Her expression


    changed and she couldn¡¯t help but cover her mouth and lower her head to heave. Seeing this, Sonia


    hurriedly stood up from her chair and walked around the desk to approach Daphne to check on her


    condition. ¡°Daphne, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    Daphne was feeling terrible as her stomach was churning and her nausea refused to go away. She


    couldn¡¯t even answer Sonia¡¯s question as she ran directly toward the bathroom in Sonia¡¯s office before


    bending over the sink to continuously puke.


    Hearing Daphne¡¯s horrifying vomiting soundsing out of the bathroom, Sonia hurriedly rushed to the


    water fountain and took a disposable cup. After putting a little honey in it, she stirred some warm water


    into the honey with a clean straw to dissolve the honey, after which she ced the cup down and


    followed Daphne into the room. When she arrived at the bathroom door, she saw that Daphne had


    already switched on the tap and was sshing water on both her mouth and face.


    Only after Daphne finished rinsing her mouth and turned off the tap that Sonia entered and handed a


    paper towel to her. ¡°Daphne, is everything okay?¡±


    Taking the paper towel, Daphne wiped water on her pale face, nodded her head, and replied in a weak


    voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you for your concern.¡±


    Sonia looked at her. ¡°Are you in pain or are you catching a cold? Do you want me to take you to the


    infirmary for a look?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need, Chairman.¡± Daphne dropped the paper towel and shook her head to indicate her


    refusal. ¡°I don¡¯t have a cold. Maybe it¡¯s because I haven¡¯t paid attention to my eating habits for the past


    two days, so it has caused some difort in my stomach. It¡¯s fine. Maybe I¡¯ll be fine in a couple of


    days.¡±


    How could she say that she might be pregnant with Charles¡¯ child? If Sonia knew about it, she would


    definitely tell Charles. When the time came, he would definitely drag Daphne to the hospital for a


    checkup and if it revealed that she was really with child, he would definitely force her to abort it. How


    could he allow her to deliver his child?


    Daphne lowered her eyes gloomily and sadness emanated from her.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows when she sensed it. ¡°You said it yourself that there might be something wrong


    with your eating habits. Daphne, don¡¯t you know how grave the consequences will be? You might suffer


    from food poisoning or gastric issues. Besides, it¡¯s been two days. How could you neglect your health


    like this? Look at how you vomited just now. No, you have to see a doctor. Come on, I¡¯ll take you there or


    perhaps I¡¯ll call the doctor over.¡±


    After saying that, she took out her phone.


    Daphne immediately pressed Sonia¡¯s hand down and replied with some agitation, ¡°Chairman Reed, don¡¯t


    call a doctor. I don¡¯t want to see a doctor. I really don¡¯t want to see a doctor, please. Don¡¯t force me,


    okay?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    She looked at Sonia with a pleading look.


    It took a while before Sonia responded, ¡°W-What is wrong with you? Daphne, why are you so resistant to


    see a doctor? Are you lying to me? It¡¯s not about eating habits, is it? You have some kind of disease and


    you know it, so that¡¯s why you don¡¯t want to see a doctor, right?¡±


    The first thought Sonia had was that Daphne suffered from an extremely serious disease like stomach


    cancer. Otherwise, why would Daphne have reacted like that?


    Seeing that Sonia only thought she was sick and didn¡¯t guess that she could be pregnant, Daphne


    decided to go along with it. After thinking hard, Daphne squeezed out an extremely forced smile on her


    face and admitted, ¡°Yes, I have a cyst growing in my stomach.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s face changed slightly. ¡°A cyst? Benign or malignant?¡±

 Chapter 684

    Chapter 684


    Chapter 684 Good Luck


    Daphne lowered her eyes and replied sheepishly, ¡°I don¡¯t know yet; I haven¡¯t gone to confirm the


    diagnosis.¡±


    These days, she often vomited like she just did. In addition, her period did note this month, so she


    suspected that she might be pregnant. However, she didn¡¯t actually know whether she was indeed


    pregnant or not, so she nned to head to the drugstore after work today and buy a pregnancy test to


    check for herself. Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t expect to dry heave in front of Sonia before she could even


    get off work.


    In order not to expose the fact that she could be pregnant, Daphne had to lie and deceive Sonia. I¡¯m


    really, really sorry, Chairman Reed.


    ¡°That¡¯s such a serious thing, yet you actually haven¡¯t gone to confirm the diagnosis!¡± When Sonia heard


    Daphne¡¯s words, she was stunned. How little attention is she paying to her health?


    Looking at how angry Sonia was, Daphne felt even more ashamed of the coverup in her heart. However,


    she still had to continue with the lie. She lowered her head further and said in a low voice, ¡°My mom is


    recently staying with me, so that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t rush to the hospital to confirm the diagnosis. I¡¯m just afraid


    that if my mom sees me taking medicine or something, it would be bad for her. She¡¯s old and sick herself


    and I don¡¯t want her to worry about me.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    ¡°Even so, you can¡¯t keep dragging it out, can you?¡± Sonia pursed her red lips.


    Daphne agreed in a small voice. ¡°I¡¯ll go this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes at her.


    ¡°Really. I¡¯m also aware that I can¡¯t dy any longer.¡± Daphne nodded.


    In the event that she was really pregnant, after she confirmed the diagnosis, she could also arrange to


    apply for her leave earlier. If it wasn¡¯t pregnancy, it would be some kind of disease and she could also


    have it treated sooner. This was not a bad thing for her.


    When Sonia heard Daphne¡¯s affirmative reply, her expression looked much better, but worry was still


    etched on her face. ¡°Since you know you can¡¯t dy it, then you must follow up with your words and visit


    the hospital this afternoon. You are my secretary and my only female friend now, so I don¡¯t want anything


    to happen to you. If something happens to you, who can I look for to talk to in the future? Who will help


    me at work?¡±


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Daphne felt warm inside and her eyes reddened. ¡°Chairman Reed, thank you for


    caring about me.¡±


    Sonia patted her shoulder. ¡°You are my friend. Of course I care about you, but are you sure you don¡¯t


    need to head to the infirmary now/¡¯ She was still a bit uneasy.


    Nevertheless, Daphne nodded. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine now.¡±


    She had repeatedly insisted that she would not go to the infirmary, which left Sonia with no choice but to


    give up. After all, Daphne had said that she would go to the hospital for a checkup in the afternoon, so


    there was no need to force her to head to the infirmary.


    ¡°Okay, then. Let¡¯s go out first.¡±


    Sonia withdrew her hand from Daphne¡¯s shoulder while Daphne agreed and followed her out of the


    bathroom. Back in the office, Sonia handed the cup of honey water that she had made to Daphne. ¡°Drink


    this. It¡¯s good for your stomach.¡±


    Daphne looked at the yellowish honey water in front of her and felt so touched that her nose burned


    again. She took the cup of water with both hands and replied with a choked voice, ¡°Thank you, Chairman


    Reed.¡±


    ¡°Well, as I said, we are friends. This is nothing. Don¡¯t thank me; just drink up.¡± Sonia pulled her office


    chair back to sit down again.


    After Daphne repeatedly nodded, she then took a small sip of the honey water from the cup. When Sonia


    saw her drinking it, she smiled before she took her phone out for a quick check.


    There was a message from Toby, so she clicked on it to read it. It was only one sentence long: ¡®I have


    arrived at the hospital.¡¯


    The time of the message was one minute ago. Sonia began to type her reply: ¡®Good, remember to say


    hello to Grandma for me.¡¯


    After sending it, she waited for a while, but did not receive his reply. She guessed that his phone was not


    in his hand at the moment, so he didn¡¯t see her message. It made her a little as she ced her phone


    aside.


    Seeing this, Daphne smiled and asked, ¡°Chairman Reed, are you contacting President Fuller?¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t hide it from her either and nodded slightly. ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°You and President Fuller are really close. It hasn¡¯t been long since you¡¯re apart from him, yet you¡¯re


    already missing each other,¡± Daphne noted with a smile as she threw the cup she had finished drinking


    from away.


    Sonia alsoughed a little. ¡°We¡¯re happy together right now, but who knows what the future holds? Love


    is just like this. When two people have just entered a rtionship, they¡¯re infatuated with each other, but


    when they¡¯ve been together for a long time, the feelings will dissipate. So, what¡¯s important now is to


    grasp the moment.¡±


    Now that she and Toby had good feelings for each other, naturally she would fully cherish the moment.


    ¡°I think you and President Fuller will definitely be happy for life.¡± Daphne looked at Sonia and gave her


    sincere blessing.


    Sonia smiled back. ¡°I hope so. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Then, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll go out first?¡± Daphne pointed to the door.


    Sonia nodded slightly. ¡°Go ahead. By the way, go and contact those who attended the meeting in the


    morning. Just apologize that I¡¯m sorry for keeping them waiting during the morning meeting¡ª¡±


    Before she could even finish her words, there was a knock on the office door.


    Sonia frowned and looked at the door. ¡°Come in.¡±


    The door of the office was pushed open to reveal an assistanting in, thereafter the person arrived in


    front of Sonia and greeted, ¡°Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Sonia asked as she retrieved her own cup of tea and took a sip.


    The excited assistant reported, ¡°Chairman Reed, some staff from the Fuller Group are here with lots of


    gifts.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± She initially froze before she hurriedly put down the cup of tea in her hand. ¡°Did you say that


    those from the Fuller Group have sent a lot of gifts?¡±


    ¡°Yes, those staff said those are gifts from President Fuller to all of our employees at Paradigm Co..¡± The


    assistant nodded in a hurry.


    Daphne pushed her ck-framed sses up. ¡°Chairman Reed, I think this should be a celebration that


    President Fuller arranged to celebrate you two reconciling. It¡¯s just like giving out wedding favors to


    friends, family, colleagues and employees.¡±


    Sonia raised her eyebrow. ¡°I just think that with his knowledge of social etiquette, he isn¡¯t the one to have


    thought about this.¡±


    After eavesdropping on Sonia¡¯s conversation with Daphne, the assistant asked excitedly, ¡°Chairman


    Reed, have you and President Fuller really reconciled like what the news reported the other day?¡±


    After looking at the sudden interest in the assistant¡¯s eyes, Sonia nodded her head in amusement. ¡°Since


    you all know about it, why are you asking me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just confirming the rumors.¡± The assistant grinned, feeling delighted. Oh my God, they¡¯re really back


    together! This is really exciting and big news!


    Sonia ignored the assistant¡¯s tion. Instead, she took her phone again to unlock the device. ¡°I¡¯ll ask


    Toby first what the hell he is doing by sending all these.¡±


    After saying that, she was ready to give Toby a call. However, before she could do so, her phone rang¡ªit


    was Tom calling her instead. She answered it as Tom¡¯s voice came over the phone. ¡°Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Tom.¡± Sonia nodded and replied.


    Tom stood outside Rose¡¯s ward and asked, ¡°Miss Reed, have the staff from the Fuller Group arrived


    yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sonia then asked, ¡°Tom, what¡¯s going on with all these gifts?¡±


    Tom smiled. ¡°To celebrate your rtionship, President Fuller has specially asked me to prepare these for


    all the employees of Paradigm Co. in order to bring good luck. Not only Paradigm Co., but all our


    employees at the Fuller Group are getting them too.¡±


    Hearing this, Sonia looked up at Daphne and told her, ¡°You¡¯ve really hit the nail on the head.¡±

 Chapter 685

    Chapter 685


    Chapter 685 The Antique Bangle


    At that, Daphne smiled in embarrassment. Then, Sonia added to the other end of the phone, ¡°It seems


    that he has spent a fortune this time.¡±


    Toby was wealthy, so with his financial ability, the kind of employee benefits he gave would definitely not


    be cheapskate.


    ¡°Miss Reed, don¡¯t worry. This amount is nothing for President Fuller,¡± Tom rified with a polite chuckle.


    Sonia leaned back in her chair. ¡°Did he bring this up himself?¡±


    Hr shook his head. ¡°No, actually it was me. I was the one who knew that you and President Fuller had


    reconciled and asked him for some benefits, so he simply prepared it for the employees of both


    companies.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She suddenly understood the situation. She was aware that Toby had no knowledge of social


    etiquette, so if no one had reminded him, he simply would not have done this. However, once he realized


    it, he would be able to deliver the best. Thus, this was something exceptional and valuable about him.


    ¡°Miss Reed, those gifts are all from President Fuller¡¯s heart and it¡¯s for good luck too, so I hope you won¡¯t


    send them back,¡± Tom pleaded.


    After all, considering her previous rejection of Toby, Tom was really afraid that she would send the gifts


    back.


    She heard the worry in Tom¡¯s tone and knew why he was concerned, so she ruffled the hair around her


    ear and coughed lightly. ¡°Those won¡¯t be sent back. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± He breathed a sigh of relief.


    Sonia asked again, ¡°Where is he, though? Why are you the one who called?¡±


    ¡°President Fuller is talking with Old Mrs. Fuller, so he has asked me to call to tell you about this.¡±


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    She nodded. ¡°Got it. Thank you, Tom.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Tom replied.


    The two spoke a few more words before the call ended. As she ced the phone down, Sonia looked at


    Daphne and the assistant before saying, ¡°The gifts are indeed sent from Fuller Group. Daphne, you and


    Gretchen should both go and receive them before allocating them to the other employees.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Daphne answered with a nod.


    The assistant also happily echoed, ¡°Thank you, Chairman Reed! Thank you, President Fuller!¡± She really


    had not expected that Sonia and Toby would reconcile and him to actually give them many gifts. Earlier,


    when she took a nce, she saw that there were many valuable items. President Fuller is really


    generous.


    Sonia looked at the excited assistant andughed lightly before turning to Daphne. ¡°After you give these


    out to the staff, inform them that I¡¯m giving all of them a day off too. Of course it should be rotated;


    otherwise, nobody will be around to work.¡±


    When the assistant heard this, she interrupted in glee before Daphne could even answer, ¡°Chairman


    Reed, are you really giving us a holiday?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Toby has given you and his own staff these gifts, so how can I not do


    something too? However, I¡¯m not as rich as him, so I can¡¯t give you gifts. What I can give is a vacation


    instead.¡±


    ¡°Thank you! A vacation is good enough; we haven¡¯t had a break in a long time.¡± The assistant was so


    thrilled that she was about to burst into tears. As Paradigm Co. had been in the development stage these


    few months, they all rarely had a vacation and to have a day off was the biggest gift for them all.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sonia looked at her assistant and felt more or less guilty in her heart. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you


    guys over these few months.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± The assistant quickly waved her hand. ¡°We are fine. It¡¯s all for Paradigm Co. and we can¡¯t


    me you, Chairman Reed. We know what Paradigm Co.¡¯s previous situation was like, so we haven¡¯t


    reallyined about theck of holidays and all the overtime work. I believe that in the future, when


    Paradigm Co. is fully developed, we can all return to a more regr schedule.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡±


    Sonia then looked at Daphne and added, ¡°As for the Fuller Group, just send them some small candies as


    gifts in return.¡±


    Toby had sent so many things to herpany, so she naturally needed to give something in return.


    Although she couldn¡¯t afford to send valuable items to him, she could still at least afford some candy.


    ¡°Okay, Chairman Reed. I¡¯ll go and have it arranged now,¡± Daphne answered with a smile and she


    thereafter left with the assistant.


    An hourter, Daphne returned with a gift box in her hands. ¡°Chairman Reed, we¡¯ve handed out the gifts


    that President Fuller has sent us and the announcement of the holiday has been published. As for the


    candies, I¡¯ve also ordered them and the candy shop will send those out directly to the Fuller Group


    before the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± Sonia smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Chairman Reed.¡± After that, Daphne handed over the gift box in her hand.


    ¡°Chairman Reed, this is what the staff from the Fuller Group has asked me to give you, saying that it¡¯s


    personally from President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± A surprised Sonia reached out to take it. So, he didn¡¯t just give something to the employees when


    he had also prepared something else for her.


    She let out a slight smile and did not immediately open the gift box as she left it aside. ¡°Has the staff from


    the Fuller Group left?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but they¡¯re not returning to theirpany. They¡¯re going to Lane Corporation and Coleman Vi.¡±


    Daphne nodded.


    Sonia frowned in suspicion and asked, ¡°What for?¡±


    The corners of Daphne¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°To deliver gifts.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia froze for a moment.


    Daphne repeated, ¡°To deliver gifts. The staff said that President Lane is your friend, so President Fuller


    also had gifts prepared for all the employees of Lane Corporation. Mr. Coleman is President Fuller¡¯s


    friend, so President Fuller also wanted to deliver gifts to him to share the joy.¡±


    Sonia was speechless. Share the joy? I don¡¯t think this is Toby¡¯s true purpose. His real intention is


    probably to anger Charles and Zane since both of them had feelings for me, especially when Toby is well


    aware of it.


    Since Toby was concerned about it, he had people deliver gifts to both Charles and Zane to anger them


    while using the opportunity to gloat about how he had reconciled with Sonia.


    When she thought of this, she felt amused. ¡°How childish.¡±


    Daphne had also guessed Toby¡¯s true intentions, so she looked at Sonia with worry. ¡°President Lane will


    definitely be exasperated.¡±


    Sonia waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just apologize to Charlester.¡±


    After nodding, Daphne thought of something and looked at her with clenched fists. ¡°Chairman Reed,


    when you contact President Ler, will you please omit me? Especially the fact that I threw up


    today.¡±


    If Sonia had mentioned this to Charles, he would definitely think of pregnancy. In that case, it would be


    troublesome for Daphne. Although Sonia didn¡¯t understand why Daphne had to specifically instruct her


    about this, she still nodded and agreed when she saw Daphne¡¯s pleading look. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t mention it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me.¡±


    ¡°Chairman Reed, I¡¯ll head out first.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sonia smiled a little.


    Daphne let out a breath and turned to leave the office.


    Moments after Daphne left, Sonia retrieved the gift box that she had set aside earlier and opened it since


    she wanted to know what Toby had sent her. Soon, she managed to open the gift box where there was


    actually a jade bangle inside. The jade was emerald green and was of the best quality, but it didn¡¯t have


    a shiny appearance and even had scratches on it, which indicated its age. This bangle is quite old, and


    perhaps it is even antique. Why did Toby give me this?

 Chapter 686

    Chapter 686


    Chapter 686 Rose¡¯s Limits


    Sonia inspected the bangle in utter confusion. Then, she returned the bangle back into the box before


    she took her phone and found Toby¡¯s phone number, ready to call and ask him for rification. However,


    as her finger hovered above the dialing button, she suddenly remembered Tom had said earlier that Toby


    was having a chat with his grandmother.


    So, it was inappropriate for Sonia to call now. Forget it, we¡¯ll talk about it in the afternoon. We have to


    meet again in the afternoon anyway.


    Then, she closed the box, ced it into a drawer and locked it. After all, it was an antique item with


    probably a significant value. If it was lost, she simply couldn¡¯t afford to pay for it with her current financial


    resources.


    After safely locking the bangle, she threw the key into her bag before she picked up a file and started to


    busy herself with the document.


    At the same time, all the staff who had received benefits from Sonia and Toby posted on social media


    tforms to thank them for the gifts and wishing them evesting happiness. If only one person had


    posted it, it certainly wouldn¡¯t have attracted the public¡¯s attention. However, as more people wrote about


    it, the major media outlets soon noticed it and guessed that Sonia and Toby had indeed reconciled,


    resulting in them presenting their respective employees with gifts as a celebration.


    As such, news about Sonia and Toby¡¯s reconciliation immediately made it to the headlines on all major


    social media tforms.


    There were already media reports circting a few days ago that the two might be back together, but


    since neither one of them came forward to admit or deny it, it was uncertain as to whether they were


    really together or not. Nevertheless, most people were convinced that the two had indeed reconciled.


    Otherwise, why didn¡¯t the parties concernede out to rify the situation? Their silence only led to


    the suspicion that there was something fishy going on.


    So, now that the media released the news that the two were indeed back together, not many were


    surprised. After all, most people had long guessed it and mentally prepared for it ages ago. The media¡¯s


    confirmation only served to validate their guesses.


    As for opinions, there were many differing views on Toby and Sonia¡¯s reunion. While there were


    blessings, there was also hate speech. In short, the divergence in public opinion was quite massive.


    In the hospital, Tom looked at Toby staring at his phone before cautiously asking, ¡°President Fuller, why


    don¡¯t I call these media tforms and ask them to ban these ounts making hate speech?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to tolerate them talking bad about you and Miss Reed on the Inte?¡± Tom was


    surprised.


    ¡°Do you think I am that kind of person?¡± Toby raised his eyes and looked at him coolly.


    ¡°No!¡± Tom immediately shook his head as he was well aware of Toby¡¯s vengefulness. Allowing people to


    walk all over him was definitely not Toby¡¯s style, but Tom couldn¡¯t figure out what Toby was nning to


    do!


    Seeming to know what Tom was thinking, Toby smiled a little. ¡°If these people like to talk bad about us so


    much, then I¡¯ll have to force them to give me their blessings.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, do you mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s some sort of online activity where one does raffles for reshares, right? Make one. As long as a


    user reshares and writes something positive about us, they will have a chance to win prizes. Do you


    think they will refuse to do it?¡±


    At that, Tom¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I got it, President Fuller. I¡¯ll arrange it.¡±


    Toby grunted. ¡°Go.¡±


    So, Tom nodded and went out. After he left, it was only Toby and a sleeping Rose on the hospital bed left


    in the ward. As he adjusted her quilt, a trace of guilt passed his eyes as he gazed down at the elderly


    woman.


    Because of his affairs this year, his grandmother had been so anxious that she had aged a lot. She had


    previously maintained her looks exceptionally well and even her hair was still salt and pepper, but now,


    there wasn¡¯t even a strand of ck on her head at all. The doctor said that the reason why Rose¡¯s aging


    process had suddenly elerated was because of her frequent exposure to stress. Moreover, she was


    worried all the time and along with several stressful shocks, it caused her health to deteriorate. At first,


    she could live quite a long life, but now, her lifespan had been drastically shortened.


    Thinking of this, Toby held the old woman¡¯s hand and med himself.


    Rose seemed to feel his bad mood as she slowly opened her eyes. ¡°Toby.¡±


    ¡°Grandma.¡± When he heard her voice, he quickly gathered his emotions and straightened his posture to


    look at her. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    Rose nodded. ¡°Help me to sit up.¡±


    ¡°Sleep a little longer.¡± Toby frowned and advised, ¡°You have only been asleep for a short time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to sleep.¡± She shook her head in refusal. ¡°I¡¯m old and can¡¯t sleep well. Help me get up; I


    feel stiff from lying down all day.¡±


    Seeing that the olddy had insisted on sitting up, he had no choice but to follow her wishes. After he


    helped her up, he stuffed a pillow behind her back so that she could lean back infort.


    Once Rose was properly seated, Toby released her and turned around to pour a ss of water for her.


    Then, she rubbed her brow and asked, ¡°Where is Mary?¡±


    ¡°Mary went back to the house to make some soup for you and will be backter.¡± He poured the water


    and returned to the bedside to put a straw in the cup. ¡°Here, Grandma, drink some water.¡±


    She smiled in reassurance. ¡°Alright.¡±


    Once she drank the water, he took the cup away while she wiped the corner of her mouth and said,


    ¡°Toby, I¡¯m fine now. You should head back first since thepany cannot do without you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Grandma. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Toby sat down again.


    While rearranging the quilt for Rose, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s fine for me not to go in for a day. It¡¯s such arge


    company with many employees. If no one can support thepany in my absence, then why did I hire


    them?¡±


    ¡°You brat.¡± Sheughed at his words, but her heart felt warm as she knew that her grandson did not


    leave because he wanted to stay here with her. Since that was the case, she wouldn¡¯t drive him away.


    ¡°Toby, I heard what you said to the doctor just now.¡± Rose folded her hands on her stomach and


    suddenly spoke. Although she was in her twilight years, her grace and elegance had still remained.


    Every movement of hers, albeit exceptionally slow, was still so pleasing to the eye. This was probably


    what ¡®aged like fine wine¡¯ looked like.


    When Toby heard Rose¡¯s words, his pupils contracted slightly. ¡°Grandma, you¡ª¡±


    Rose smiled faintly and interrupted, ¡°Don¡¯t be annoyed. Look at me; I¡¯m not agitated either after hearing


    that I can only live for a couple more years.¡±


    He lowered his eyes and did not speak.


    Then, she suddenly patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Cheer up. You¡¯re not behaving like my high-spirited


    grandson when you look like that.¡±


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    ¡°Sorry, Grandma.¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    ¡°What is there to be sorry for?¡± She beamed in response. ¡°The matter of life and death is predetermined.


    I have lived for so many years and that¡¯s already enough. Besides, Toby, I miss your grandfather.¡±


    Toby had intended to ce Rose in a nursing home to receive the best care so that she could live longer,


    but her words made him swallow such words. Grandma misses Grandpa.


    What else could he say? How could he have the heart to stop her from thinking about his grandfather?


    How could he prevent her from thinking about meeting his grandfather up there? For someone who loved


    her husband, this would just be making things difficult for her.


    Seeing Toby¡¯s tense expression, Rose chuckled. ¡°Toby, stop frowning. You look terrible like that and you


    might even have wrinkles from all the frowning. Sonia won¡¯t like it then. After all, you¡¯re older than Sonia,


    so if you have wrinkles now, you two won¡¯t look like a couple when you stand together. Rather, you guys


    will resemble a father and daughter instead. Even if Sonia doesn¡¯t dislike it, people will say you¡¯re not


    good enough for her.¡±

 Chapter 687

    Chapter 687


    Chapter 687 Jessica¡¯s Wild Ambition


    Upon hearing that, Toby stopped frowning and started touching his own face. He knew that he was a few


    years older than Sonia, but it wasn¡¯t enough to make them look like father and daughter.¡±


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Did Sonia feel like I¡¯m not good enough for her?


    When Rose saw the confused look on Toby¡¯s face, she couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Toby, why have you


    be such a funny person now?¡±


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Grandma, were you teasing me just now?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t do that, I¡¯m afraid that you might get sad when it¡¯s time for me to leave.¡± Rose patted the back


    of Toby¡¯s hand before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Although I know that I only have about two years left, and I


    want to go meet your grandpa, I won¡¯t go immediately as I still want to see you and Sonia getting back


    together. It¡¯s not toote to leave after I see your children, isn¡¯t it? Two years should be enough for that,


    yes?¡±


    Right then, Toby¡¯s lips pursed. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he stopped in the end and


    hummed in acknowledgment when he saw Rose¡¯s expectant gaze. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t worry. Sonia


    and I will work hard.¡±


    He initially wanted to tell Rose that Sonia wouldn¡¯t be able to get pregnant within these two years. It¡¯s


    impossible for her to see her grandchildren within these two years.


    However, he contemted for a moment and decided not to tell her, as it was better to keep her


    expecting. With something to look forward to, Rose would finally have the will to continue living.


    Besides, it could be possible that she would still choose to continue living until she saw her grandchildren


    if Toby and Sonia weren¡¯t able to conceive within two years.


    Unbeknownst to Toby¡¯s n, Rose smiled with gratification when she heard the promise. ¡°That¡¯s good to


    know. By the way, have you sent Sonia the bangle?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°She had probably received it, but she won¡¯t know why we are giving it to her.¡±


    However, it was weird that Sonia didn¡¯t contact him to ask the reason. Nevertheless, Rose chuckled


    before saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Didn¡¯t you say that she¡¯ll visitter this afternoon? It¡¯s not toote to tell her by


    then.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Toby nodded.


    Then, the grandmother and grandson pair continued chatting with each other, and the atmosphere was


    pleasurable.


    Meanwhile, Charles, Zane, and Jessica were about to go on a rampage. Charles and Zane were pissed


    after receiving the gifts and desserts from Toby¡¯s men. They weren¡¯t fools, and they knew full well what


    the presents signified.


    It was obvious that Toby was trying to brag to them andugh at them. It showed how Toby was a cruel


    man from how he treated them, even though they had already moved on.


    Of course, Jessica, on the other hand, was even more furiouspared to Charles and Zane. After


    being discharged from the hospital, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was anyone more unfortunate


    than her when she saw the news.


    Seriously? Sonia and Toby are back together, like really?


    In fact, Jessica even suspected that Sonia paid the media firms to release the news.


    Sonia knew I liked Toby, so she wanted to anger me! I know she¡¯s capable of doing this! This must have


    been Sonia¡¯s doing!


    At the thought of that, Jessica pushed the gifts and desserts on her office desk to the ground angrily. Not


    being able to release her anger, she walked toward all the presents on the ground before she started


    stomping on them and screaming like a psycho.


    A while after, Jessica finally calmed down as she held onto her office desk and gasped for air with a


    twisted expression on her face. Suddenly, a maniac smile appeared on her face. ¡°So what if they got


    back together? Married couples can get divorced too.¡±


    To Jessica, even if Sonia and Toby rekindled their rtionship, it wouldn¡¯tst long anyway.


    The two of them had gotten a divorce once because they didn¡¯t love one another, so they might not be as


    fond of each other as they thought they were, even though they were now a thing.


    Moreover, from Jessica¡¯s knowledge, couples who had gotten a divorce and got back together were


    more prone to separation again. How could they stay together for the second time when they couldn¡¯t


    evenst for the first time?


    Hence, their rtionship was more likely to face trouble if any misunderstanding or argument happened


    between them.


    Just wait for it. I¡¯ll get you guys to break up sooner orter and snatch Toby back. I must get the man that


    I desire.


    When Jessica thought of Toby¡¯s handsome face and his fortune, her breath started getting ragged, and


    her heart started racing. Right then, her eyes were filled with ambition.


    Jessica would never let go of such an outstanding man, and she believed that there were no men that


    she wouldn¡¯t be able to get. Moreover, the thought of snatching someone from Sonia made it more


    exhrating for her.


    At that moment, Jessica clenched her fists slowly as a determined look shed past her gaze. Still, she


    wasn¡¯t really in a rush as Toby was still there, and she could snatch him anytime she wanted to.


    What is urgent right now is my parentage.


    Jessica¡¯s hair was a mess because of the tantrum she threw. When the thought of her parentage came


    up, she straightened her shirt and tidied up her hair before calling for her assistant.


    ¡°May I assist you, Vice President Reed?¡± A glint of shock shed past the assistant¡¯s eyes and


    disappeared as soon as it appeared. She noticed the messy interior of the office, yet she stayed calm


    andposed.


    Right then, Jessica raised her chin up arrogantly. ¡°Clean up my office. Remember to not let any speck of


    dust remain here. You better clean up my office before I return, or you¡¯ll get it from me. Hmph.¡±


    After that, she strutted out of her office in her high heels and bumped the assistant¡¯s shoulder while the


    assistant massaged her shoulder with an aggrieved look on her face.


    The vice president is just full of herself!


    Ever since she was transferred to work under Jessica, she had been subjected to Jessica¡¯s torture.


    Although Jessica didn¡¯t know how to do anything, she was surprisingly good at making other people¡¯s


    lives harder.


    Just so you wait. I¡¯ll find an opportunity to be transferred away from this stupid vice president.


    The assistant sucked in a deep breath and rposed her emotions before she started tidying the


    office.


    Meanwhile, Jessica had reached Sonia¡¯s office and started banging on the door harshly.


    Right then, Sonia, who was about to sign a document, jumped when she heard the banging door and


    identally tore her document with her pen. Staring at the torn paper, Sonia had her face darkened


    immediately before she was consumed by waves of anger.


    ¡°Who¡¯s knocking?¡± she pursed her lips and asked coldly.


    Gosh, this is not knocking! This is mming, but I shall stayposed for now.


    Nevertheless, from the sound of it, it seemed like the person behind the door was trying to enter the


    office forcefully.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± the person outside answered in an arrogant manner when they heard Sonia.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia narrowed her eyes before a smirk appeared on her face.


    Why do I even bother asking when Jessica is the only person who would do something like this? Even


    Asher wouldn¡¯t attempt something so foolish as entering my office forcefully. Why is she trying to cause


    trouble after getting discharged from the hospital? Is she trying to get admitted to the hospital again?


    Sonia ced her pen down and ced the torn document aside, nning to get Daphne to print a new


    set overter.


    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t an important document or a form that had been stamped by anotherpany that


    couldn¡¯t be reprinted, or Sonia would surely teach Jessica a lesson for what she had done.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Sonia asked in a straightforward manner while she exercised her wrist. It didn¡¯t look


    like she was weing Jessica to enter her office at all.


    When Jessica noticed that, her expression turned into a dissatisfied look immediately. However, she


    suddenly chuckled in a pleased manner before pushing the door to Sonia¡¯s office forcefully and entering


    the office.


    The instant the impolite woman entered, Sonia¡¯s expression became darker, and her voice got colder.


    ¡°Who allowed you to enter my office? Get out!¡±


    She pointed at her door.

 Chapter 688

    Chapter 688


    Chapter 688 Angered Sonia


    Despite Sonia¡¯s demand, Jessica wasn¡¯t at all intimidated. Instead, she sneered disdainfully before


    walking toward Sonia¡¯s desk. Right then, Sonia clenched her fists and snapped with a rage-filled voice,


    ¡°Jessica, how daring of you!¡±


    Nheless, Jessica chuckled coldly. ¡°Why would I even listen to you? Do you really think that you¡¯re my


    sister? How dare an illegitimate child like youpare yourself to the likes of being my sister?!¡±


    Sonia¡¯s pupil constricted immediately. ¡°You¡ª¡±


    ¡°Are you shocked that I found out that you¡¯re not your father¡¯s biological daughter?¡± Jessica stood at the


    opposite end of Sonia¡¯s desk and sneered before crossing her arms. On the other hand, Sonia pursed


    her lips and kept quiet, allowing Jessica to interpret Sonia¡¯s reaction as a silent acknowledgment.


    Then, she pushed her freshly dyed red hair to the back of her shoulders. ¡°Initially, I didn¡¯t know your real


    identity and genuinely thought that you¡¯re Father¡¯s daughter until I overheard something at the hospital a


    few days ago and got interested in your body. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why your kidney waspatible


    with Titus Gray and went to check your medical report before realizing that you two havepletely


    different blood types. Father had B-blood type, and it was impossible for you to be his kid, so you¡¯re


    surely an illegitimate child of your mother and some other man!¡±


    ¡°Do not nder my mother like that!¡± Sonia¡¯s expression changed drastically as she mmed on the


    table and stood up.


    At this moment, Jessica, who had no mental preparation for what wasing, got scared by Sonia¡¯s


    voice before her face turned pale. ¡°Why¡­ Why are you being so emotional?¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia¡¯s eyes turned red as she red at Jessica coldly. ¡°Apologize for tarnishing my


    mother¡¯s image now!¡±


    ¡°Why should I do that?¡± Jessica got upset after Sonia snapped at her.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia slowly reached out for her cup on the desk before her extremely cold voice


    rang out. ¡°Because you humiliated my mother!¡±


    Yet Jessica rolled her eyes before sheughed scornfully. ¡°I did not humiliate your mother, and I¡¯m only


    speaking of the truth. If it weren¡¯t so, why would you have different blood types from our father? It¡¯s


    obvious that your mother cheated, and it¡¯s really pitiful that he was lied to for his entire life to bring up a


    child who wasn¡¯t even his own. Sonia, your mother is really a b*tch¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish what she wanted to say, Sonia couldn¡¯t take it any longer and threw what she


    was holding toward Jessica forcefully.


    The cupnded on Jessica¡¯s forehead, causing a cut on her forehead, and she looked like a mess as


    blood started dripping down along with water. Right then, she staggered backward from the impact of the


    cup before her high heels got caught up on the wrinkled carpet, causing her to lose her footing and fall to


    the ground.


    However, Jessica couldn¡¯t be bothered by the pain of falling to the ground as she quickly reached out to


    touch her face and felt a wet sensation. When she stared at her hands and noticed the blood on her


    hands, she got scared and started screaming, ¡°Ouch! I¡¯m bleeding!¡±


    On the other hand, Sonia, who still hadn¡¯t recovered from her anger, was still grabbing onto the corners


    of her office desk and huffing for breath. Despite that, she didn¡¯t regret her action just now as she panted


    while staring at Jessica, who was still screaming in pain.


    Why would she insult my mother in the first ce? No one has the right to humiliate my mother!


    ¡°Sonia Reed, how dare you throw your cup at me?!¡± Suddenly, Jessica got up and looked around before


    her gazended on the pencil holder on Sonia¡¯s desk. At this moment, a hateful look shed past her


    eyes before she quickly grabbed the pencil holder and threw it at Sonia.


    Nevertheless, Sonia knew that Jessica was a vindictive person, and she knew that Jessica would


    definitely return her gesture after she struck her just now, so she had already made enough preparation


    from the start. When she saw the pencil holder heading in her direction, she dodged to the side calmly


    and avoided it instead of getting caught off guard.


    The pencil holder crashed into a bookshelf behind Sonia, smashing the ss cover of the shelf and


    producing a loud crashing sound.


    When Daphne, who was in the office next door, heard it, she dashed over to check on Sonia. ¡°Chairman


    Reed, what happened?¡±


    Nevertheless, she came to a realization when she saw Sonia and Jessica standing facing each other. It


    was obvious that Jessica, whose facial expression contorted in a twisted manner, was there to cause


    trouble.


    ¡°Are you alright, Chairman Reed?¡± Daphne stood at the entrance of the office and asked worriedly while


    Sonia waved her off. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Chairman Reed, do you need me to get security?¡± Daphne stared at Jessica cautiously, but Sonia shook


    her head. ¡°No. It¡¯s fine for now. You may leave now. I can handle this on my own.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Daphne was still worried. However, Sonia waved her off again when she was about to say something.


    ¡°Just go.¡±


    Right then, Daphne had no choice but to go along with Sonia¡¯s wishes. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Yet, she didn¡¯t refrain from calling the security guards like Sonia ordered even though she left. Instead,


    she even ordered the security guards to stand guard at the office entrance and rush inside to help Sonia


    out if anything happened to her.


    Meanwhile, Jessica had a menacing look on her face when she saw Sonia dodging her attack.


    Pointing at Sonia, she used with a shrill voice, ¡°How¡­ How dare you avoid my attacks, you filthy


    imbecile?!¡±


    Imbecile?


    A sharp glint shed past Sonia¡¯s eyes before she walked past her desk toward Jessica and raised her


    hand to bring it down on Jessica¡¯s face.


    Right then, the sound of Sonia¡¯s p echoed throughout the entire office clearly. Jessica fell down onto


    the ground once again as she covered her burning cheek with her hand. She was stunned.


    Did¡­ Did I get hit again?


    Still, Sonia wasn¡¯t nning to let Jessica hook the hook with just a p. Crouching down, she grabbed


    Jessica¡¯s chin with her left hand and pulled Jessica toward her before she pped her with her right


    hand.


    Right then, pping sounds filled the room as Sonia pped Jessica¡¯s cheeks repeatedly until they were


    swollen.


    When Jessica, who was in disbelief that she was beaten up like some wild animal, finally came back to


    her senses, she felt anger and humiliation at the same time.


    After pushing Sonia away forcefully, she let out a roar before pouncing on her. ¡°Sonia, you little b*tch!


    How dare you even touch me? I¡¯m going to murder you now!¡±


    At the same time, Daphne, who was standing outside of the office, had a tense look on her face as she


    quickly instructed, ¡°Get in there and stop her. Do not let her harm Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the bodyguards answered before rushing in and subduing Jessica by grabbing both her arms and


    pulling her away from Sonia.


    Finally, Sonia sighed in relief and started stretching her wrists, which were exhausted when she


    defended against Jessica while looking at Jessica coldly.


    Although Jessica¡¯s height and force were no match for Sonia, her force would naturally increase when


    she had gone on a rampage.


    Jessica¡¯s force was insane when she lost her rationality after getting beaten up by Sonia, causing Sonia


    to struggle against defending herself just now.


    Fortunately, the bodyguards came in time, as Sonia would have been beaten up by Jessica eventually if


    they hadn¡¯t intervened.


    ¡°Hey! Let me go! Let go of me! Do you guys know who I am? I¡¯m the vice president and the real owner of


    Paradigm Co.! Do you guys think that I¡¯ll let you guys off the hook for treating me like this?!¡± Jessica


    roared in anger while struggling against the hold of the two bodyguards.


    Nevertheless, Sonia gave the bodyguards a look and signaled them to ignore Jessica and capture her.


    The bodyguards obviously listened to hermands as they could tell who was more authoritative


    between the chairman and the vice president.


    ¡°Oh? Paradigm Co.¡¯s real owner?¡± Sonia walked toward the captured Jessica before chuckling


    sarcastically. ¡°Are you not ashamed to say that? Who are you to say that you¡¯re Paradigm Co.¡¯s owner


    with just a little over five percent of thepany share?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.

 Chapter 689

    Chapter 689


    Chapter 689 Fall Short


    ¡°I¡¯m the actual owner of Paradigm Co. because it belongs to the Reed Family, and I¡¯m my father¡¯s only


    biological daughter!¡± A bizarre and pleased smile appeared on Jessica¡¯s face. ¡°You are just an


    illegitimate child conceived after your mother cheated with a random man. You¡¯re thest person that has


    the right to inherit Paradigm Co.!¡±


    Immediately, the two security guards and Daphne were shocked.


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    Still, even though the security guards were shocked and wanted to know if Jessica was speaking the


    truth or not or if Sonia was the biological daughter of the past chairman, they knew their ces as mere


    employees.


    Even if the gossip was extremely juicy, they had to act as if they hadn¡¯t heard anything and continue on


    with their role to not lose their jobs.


    On the other hand, Daphne didn¡¯t have much to worry about as she went forward and red at Jessica


    in anger. ¡°What are you babbling about? Chairman Reed is not an illegitimate child!¡±


    Truthfully, she knew Sonia didn¡¯t belong to the Reeds biologically, as Sonia had already told her about it


    because she was Sonia¡¯s secretary. Hence, she knew that Sonia was adopted by the previous chairman


    instead of being an illegitimate child.


    Why is Jessica making outrageous ims here when she doesn¡¯t even know the real situation?


    Unbeknownst to Daphne¡¯s thoughts, Jessica looked at Sonia before smiling sinisterly. ¡°I¡¯m babbling?


    Why don¡¯t you get Sonia to have a DNA test done if you want to know if I¡¯m telling the truth? If the report


    shows that we are not biological sisters, it would mean that Sonia¡¯s mother gave birth to her secretly after


    cheating and kept it a secret from our father. Why would he raise her or let her inherit Paradigm Co and


    be the chairman if he knew about this? Paradigm Co. is the Reed Family¡¯s family business, and all of it


    should belong to me because she¡¯s nothing but an imbecile. How could someone like that climb over the


    shoulder of the real youngdy of the Reed Family? Sonia, you better return yourpany¡¯s share back


    to me and get out of Paradigm Co.!¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± Sonia chuckled before she reached out to pat Jessica¡¯s cheek while staring at her as if she was


    a fool. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. I¡¯m indeed not the Reed Family¡¯s biological daughter, but I wasn¡¯t born


    because my mother cheated as well, so if you want to use this to get me to give you thepany share,


    it won¡¯t be happening.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an involved party. It¡¯s obvious that you wouldn¡¯t admit to getting born because your mother


    cheated,¡± Jessica looked up and said disdainfully while Sonia snapped her fingers. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re


    that much of a fool. Jessica, don¡¯t you know of the inheritancew? Even if I¡¯m an illegitimate child, which


    I am not, as long as I¡¯m in the Reed Family¡¯s ount, I still have the right to inherit thepany, so you


    have no right to make me return my share of thepany.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Jessica¡¯s expression changed before she snapped.


    Meanwhile, Daphne rolled her eyes at Jessica when she noticed Sonia would not say anything. ¡°Vice


    President Reed, what Chairman Reed said is true. The inheritancew remains the same even in other


    countries as well. If you don¡¯t believe it, you can always consult awyer about it.¡±


    ¡°How is that even possible¡­¡± Jessica¡¯s mouth fell open like she had just found out the lie of the century.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you still in denial?¡± Sonia¡¯s lips curled up into a smirk. ¡°Well, there is more from


    where that came from. You kept mentioning that Paradigm Co. is the Reed Family¡¯s family business, so


    only members of the Reeds will be able to inherit it, but that was Paradigm Co. six years ago. Now, it is


    no longer a family business.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bullsh*t!¡± Jessica¡¯s face contorted in a twisted manner as she shouted.


    ¡°Chairman Reed is not lying.¡± Daphne adjusted her ck rimmed sses. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the


    previous chairman mortgaged 40 percent of thepany¡¯s shares to get his funding? From that moment


    onward, Paradigm Co. became a public-owned enterprise instead of a family business.¡±


    ¡°Daphne, she won¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying, so make it easier for her to understand.¡± Sonia gave


    Daphne a look before bursting intoughter.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Daphne answered before continuing, ¡°Vice President Reed, let¡¯s put it this way. I¡¯m sure you


    know that the shares that Chairman Reed is holding right now aren¡¯t inherited from the previous


    chairman when you came to Paradigm Co.. The shares that Chairman Reed is currently holding were


    brought over by other shareholders with her grandfather and President Lane¡¯s help, so all of them aren¡¯t


    the Reeds¡¯ original shares. All of Chairman Reed¡¯s shares belong to her only without regard to whether


    she is a Reed, so you have no right to ask for her share, even if you file awsuit.¡±


    ¡°Do you finally understand what she¡¯s talking about?¡± Sonia patted Jessica¡¯s face again. ¡°It¡¯s impossible


    for you to snatch my shares away from me using the fact that I¡¯m not a biological daughter of the Reed


    Family. It is simply impossible, and you have no chance of seeding from the very start.¡±


    Jessica¡¯s face went nk after she heard them. Her eyes were filled with confusion as she mumbled to


    herself, ¡°How is it¡­ even possible? How did it end up like this?¡±


    When she came strutting over to Sonia¡¯s office confidently, she had figured that she wouldn¡¯t fail this


    time.


    In fact, she was already plotting how to humiliate Sonia after snatching her shares away from her. No!


    How did things end up this way?


    ¡°Chairman Reed, I think she had gone mad.¡± Daphne stared at Jessica¡¯s nk state before she lowered


    her voice.


    Meanwhile, Sonia retracted her hand from Jessica¡¯s cheek and went back to her desk to get some wet


    tissues, and started rubbing her hand before replying nonchntly, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t she get mad if she can¡¯t


    get what she wanted?¡±


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s a fool after all,¡± Daphne quipped. ¡°If she¡¯s smarter, she would have done her research to see


    if she should waste her time toe over to confront you. Instead, she rushed over blindly upon


    knowing that you¡¯re not the Reed Family¡¯s biological daughter. Someone with nomon knowledge of


    thew would never be able to be sessful.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Sonia smiled for a while before an emotionless expression took over as she ordered, ¡°Get


    her out of my office.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chairman Reed,¡± the security guards replied before they carried Jessica, who was still in a daze,


    out.


    Right then, Daphne contemted for a moment before she spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m leaving, too. I shall remind


    them not to put anything out.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded.


    After Daphne left, Sonia sat in her seat again before massaging her temples and sighing as her head


    started aching after dealing with Jessica.


    Still, she gained something this time because she finally knew how Jessica found out that she wasn¡¯t a


    biological daughter of the Reed Family.


    Jessica said that she started suspecting my identity of being a part of the Reeds after she found out that


    my kidney waspatible with Titus Gray, which meant that Jessica overheard me talking to Taylor in


    the hospital since she was admitted to the hospital at that time as well.


    Nevertheless, Sonia didn¡¯t expect Jessica to be so cautious and actually suspected her identity after


    Jessica found out that her kidney waspatible with Titus¡¯. At least she¡¯s not that dumb.


    Still, Sonia had been wondering about why her kidney would bepatible with Titus recently.


    Tim had previously mentioned that Titus¡¯ body was different, and he had a rare blood type, so it was


    harder for them to find someonepatible.


    However, Sonia¡¯s body was actuallypatible with Titus.


    Isn¡¯t that ironic considering the resentment between the Reeds and Grays?


    Sonia chuckled coldly before she went to the corner of her office to grab a broom, as she wanted to


    clean up the mess on the ground.


    Nevertheless, having apatible kidney did not bother her. She did not go so far as to think about her


    potential rtionship with Titus, seeing how her father and Titus were the banes of each other¡¯s


    existence twenty years ago. It wasn¡¯t too logical to raise the child of one¡¯s enemy.


    Father hated Titus so much, so everything is just a coincidence.

 Chapter 690

    Chapter 690


    Chapter 690 Never Forgive You


    Hence, it was merely a coincidence that Sonia¡¯s kidney waspatible with Titus.


    Still, this coincidence is repulsive.


    Sonia rubbed her cheeks and stopped herself from thinking before she started sweeping her office.


    On the other hand, Jessica, who had been thrown back to her office by the security guards, was on a


    rampage.


    Not to mention getting beaten up by Sonia, she was actually dragged past every department in the


    company for everyone to see her battered look by those two bodyguards upon Daphne¡¯s orders to


    humiliate her.


    ¡°Argh!¡± Jessica, who had regained her freedom, clenched her fists together before stomping the ground


    angrily and screaming. ¡°Daphne, I won¡¯t let you off the hook for this. You hear me? Even if you have


    Sonia backing you up, I¡¯ll return the humiliation that I¡¯ve felt back to you.¡±


    When Daphne, who reached Jessica¡¯s office along with the two bodyguards, heard Jessica, she paused


    and turned around to look at Jessica as if she was a lunatic. ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll be waiting, then.¡± She wasn¡¯t


    afraid of Jessica.


    Daphne was confident that she could outsmart Jessica, who was simple-minded, not to mention Sonia


    would never allow her to be bullied.


    Upon seeing how unconcerned Daphne was, Jessica got so pissed that she felt as if she was about to


    faint from anger.


    Does this woman actually think nothing of me?! How dare she treat my warning as a joke?! She¡¯s too full


    of herself!


    ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Jessica¡¯s face went red as she pointed at Daphne with trembling fingers, despite not


    being able to speak due to anger.


    Nevertheless, Daphne adjusted her sses and turned around, ignoring Jessica as it would be troubling


    if Jessica were actually about to faint from anger.\


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she instructed the security guards before leaving Jessica¡¯s office while the security guards


    followed behind her and closed Jessica¡¯s office door politely.


    Once again, Jessica was left alone in her office, and she started stomping and screaming to vent her


    anger.


    Right then, she was so loud that everyone in the office next door could hear her.


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    In fact, a few people even looked out from their offices in the direction of her office. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    While some of them didn¡¯t know what happened, there were a few that could guess what happened as


    they twitched their lips and said, ¡°What else could have happened? She¡¯s obviously throwing a tantrum


    in her office after getting dismissed by the chairman.¡±


    ¡°Her voice sounds terrifying.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s nothingpared to how horrifying she is if you¡¯ve seen her face when she¡¯s angry. She


    looks just like a demon! Can you imagine how scary that is?¡±


    ¡°Pfft! I¡¯m picturing it now with your descriptions. This is funny.¡±


    Immediately, all the secretaries and personal assistants in the office startedughing, and none of them


    found it wrong for them tough at their superior behind her back, as none of them liked the newly


    appointed Vice President Reed.


    Despite not being Jessica¡¯s secretary or personal assistant, Jessica had been treating them like her


    ves and scolding them if they couldn¡¯t reach her expectations, so all of them had manyints


    about Jessica.


    Thus, all of them were ecstatic when they found out that Sonia humiliated her.


    Not knowing that she had been given the title of an ugly demon by the others, Jessica was still smashing


    everything that was smashable in her office while kicking things that couldn¡¯t be smashed.


    After venting for a while, she finally calmed down a little and panted for air while sitting on the couch.


    Jessica had never been subjected to so much humiliation ever since she was born.


    After she came back to Palmont, Sonia had been the cause of all of the humiliation that she had been


    subjected to, and she would never, ever, let Sonia off the hook for this!


    Since Jessica couldn¡¯t get Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares back from threatening Sonia with her real identity, she


    had decided to utterly discredit Sonia by letting everyone know that Sonia was an illegitimate child!


    At the thought of that, Jessica looked up with her reddish eyes before a sinister smile appeared on her


    face. Then, she grabbed her phone and contacted someone. ¡°It¡¯s me. I have a huge piece of news for


    you.¡±


    In a blink of an eye, it was already afternoon.


    While Sonia was still busy working, her phone that was ced at a side suddenly started ringing.


    cing her pen down, she nced at her phone to see Toby¡¯s name shing on the screen.


    Sonia smiled. Right then, she could feel herself freshening up after getting tortured by work for hours.


    Leaning back against her seat, Sonia swiped on her phone to ept the call before cing her phone


    next to her ear. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Are you done with work?¡± Toby¡¯s arousing and maic voice rang out from the other end of the call,


    causing Sonia to straighten up her posture instinctively. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m almost done. Are you here yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already downstairs.¡± Toby rolled his car window down before he looked up at the balcony of the


    building in front of him from his driver¡¯s seat.


    Upon hearing him, Sonia got up immediately. ¡°Hang on, let me take a look.¡±


    Then, she rushed to the balcony and looked down while grabbing onto the railing before she noticed the


    familiar car parked downstairs.


    Although Sonia couldn¡¯t see the person in the car because she was too high up, it didn¡¯t stop her from


    waving at the person in the car from above.


    At this moment, Toby chuckled lightly. ¡°I saw you.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ming down now. Wait for me,¡± Sonia said while moving away from the railing.


    Meanwhile, Toby nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t have to rush. It¡¯s fine if youe downter, as I¡¯ll be right here


    waiting for you. I¡¯m not going anywhere, so you¡¯ll be able to see me when youe down.¡±


    When Sonia heard what he said, her heart started racing before her face went red. ¡°Alright. Stop it, won¡¯t


    you? When did you learn to say all this?¡±


    ¡°Learn?¡± Toby tilted his head a little. ¡°Do I have to learn how to say these things?¡±


    Isn¡¯t it normal to say these kinds of things when you¡¯re in love?


    Sonia was rendered speechless. ¡°Alright, alright. You don¡¯t have to learn as you¡¯re naturally good with


    sweet-talking, alright? Well, I¡¯ll talk to youter. I have to pack my things now.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded.


    After hanging up, Sonia smiled at the car below her before turning around and returning to her office.


    When Toby saw Sonia leaving, he rolled his window up again, blocking off all the weird looks that he was


    receiving outside.


    After returning to her office, Sonia went to her desk and kept all of the documents in her drawer before


    she took out the bangle that she had kept in a locked safe and ced it in her bag. Then, she turned off


    herputer and left.


    In no time, Sonia reached Toby¡¯s car.


    Before she could knock at his car window, the car door suddenly opened before it was pushed forward.


    Right then, Sonia took a step back so that the car door could be opened.


    When Toby got out of the car and noticed that Sonia¡¯s bangs were messy, he reached out to tidy her hair


    gently. ¡°Did you run over?¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she had been jogging to the elevator from her


    office and here.


    When she was on her way out, she¡¯d even run into a department manager that was teasing her for being


    in a rush to meet Toby.


    At that moment, she also came back to her senses that she shouldn¡¯t have been in a rush to meet Toby,


    as it would give others the impression that she couldn¡¯t wait to meet her man.


    Thus, she slowed down after leaving thepany before walking toward Toby¡¯s car.


    Nevertheless, Toby still noticed that she had run over.


    Does he have X-ray vision?


    It seemed like Toby could sense what Sonia was thinking about as he chuckled lightly. ¡°Well, I noticed


    because your hair was messy.¡±

 Chapter 691

    Chapter 691


    Chapter 691 The Meaning of the Bangle


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Sonia was taken aback as she reached out to touch her hair and startedughing. ¡°Is that so? I


    thought you had X-ray vision.¡±


    Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I do wish that I had X-ray vision,¡± Toby raised his eyebrows before replying, while Sonia felt weird when


    she heard him.


    Then, she looked up and narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Do you wish to have X-ray vision?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded.


    At this moment, Sonia got even more curious. ¡°Why would you want X-ray vision? It¡¯s not because you


    want to see others naked, is it?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t surprising for her to reach that odd conclusion, as it was weird that Toby wanted to have X-ray


    vision.


    Based on Sonia¡¯s knowledge, the usual reason men would want to have X-ray vision was for peculiar


    reasons such as seeing naked bodies.


    Nevertheless, Toby¡¯s lips twitched a little when he heard Sonia before reaching out to flick her forehead.


    ¡°What are you even thinking? Why would I look at other people¡¯s naked bodies? Even if I can, I would


    only look at yours instead of other people¡¯s,¡± he answered earnestly because Sonia jabbed him with her


    elbow.


    Right then, Sonia¡¯s face went red before she red at him. ¡°What are you even talking about? You want


    to see me unclothed?¡±


    Seriously?! The thing this man says!


    Nevertheless, Toby patted Sonia¡¯s shoulder tofort her. ¡°Alright, alright. I won¡¯t.¡±


    Despite saying that, he was thinking of theplete opposite.


    Even if I don¡¯t see it now, I¡¯d still have to see it in the future, though.


    At that thought, a sly glint shed past Toby¡¯s eyes before it quickly disappeared. Then, he acted as if


    nothing had happened and held Sonia¡¯s hand.


    When he noticed that there was only a woman¡¯s watch on Sonia¡¯s pale wrist and no other essories,


    he didn¡¯t look surprised.


    Toby didn¡¯t give any exnations when he got his men to send Sonia the bangle, so she didn¡¯t know


    what it meant or why did he suddenly give her such an old bangle.


    Well, it makesplete sense not to wear it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get in the car. It¡¯s cold out here.¡± Toby ced Sonia¡¯s hands next to his lips before he blew warm


    breath into her hands so that he could warm up her icy hands.


    Sonia didn¡¯t resist Toby¡¯s action. Since they were dating, resisting would make it look like they weren¡¯t a


    couple.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Then, Toby opened the car door for Sonia while she held her hair and bent down to get into the car. Right


    when Sonia was one foot in the car, she suddenly heard the shutter going off.


    Immediately, she frowned before getting out of the car. She turned toward the direction of the sound¡ªthe


    sound came from the back of the bush at the side of the road.


    ¡°Did you hear that just now?¡± Sonia asked the man next to her while she stared intently at the bush, as if


    she could see the person behind the bush if she stared harder.


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°I heard someone taking pictures.¡±


    ¡°As expected, I¡¯m not hearing things.¡± Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°It must be those paparazzi again.¡±


    Toby hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°It is.¡±


    Sonia harrumphed. ¡°Seriously? Why do they keep following me instead of the people in the


    entertainment field?¡±


    Who are they going after at Paradigm Co. if it isn¡¯t me?


    ¡°It¡¯s normal. Since the news that we got back together was made public, the paparazzi would surely


    come over to try to get more details on our rtionship.¡±


    Sonia turned toward Toby. ¡°Are there any paparazzi stationed around Fuller Group?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°None of them dared to station around mypany any longer.¡±


    Ever since he got his men to teach those paparazzi stationed outside of Fuller Group a lesson, none of


    them dared to go around Fuller Group anymore.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia immediately felt annoyed. ¡°Wow. They really fear the strong while bullying the


    weak, huh? They can station around Paradigm Co. but don¡¯t dare to station around Fuller Group? What


    do they even see me as? This doesn¡¯t sit well with me. I need to go have a look.¡±


    Then, she attempted to head toward the bush.


    However, the bush started shaking the moment she took a step forward, and it was obvious that the


    paparazzi saw through Sonia¡¯s intention.


    At this moment, Toby grabbed her by her arm and stopped her. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t confront them. It¡¯s just


    paparazzi anyway. You don¡¯t have to care about them.¡±


    ¡°But they took our pictures, though?¡± Sonia frowned while Toby nodded. ¡°I know. Just let them be. After


    all, we can take this opportunity to let everyone know as well. The news that they reported during the


    afternoon wasn¡¯t fake anyway, so it¡¯s fine as long as they don¡¯t make fake reports. Of course, if they do


    that, I¡¯ll take action against them.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia could only drop the topic and get into the car again while Toby nced at the


    bush coldly.


    Right then, the trembles from the bush got stronger.


    Nevertheless, Toby ignored it and entered the driver¡¯s seat.


    After the car drove away, the trembling from the bush finally calmed down as the paparazzi hiding behind


    it patted his chest and sighed in relief. ¡°They finally left. Oh my goodness. I thought I was going to be


    murdered when President Fuller gave me that look just now. That was terrifying.¡±


    When Toby and Sonia found out that he was hiding behind the bush, he really thought that they would


    come over to get him to delete the pictures.


    Back then, he was so afraid that they might confront him, but he didn¡¯t expect them to drive away in the


    end.


    What are they implying? Does it mean that they allowed me to release these pictures?


    The paparazzi looked in the direction Sonia and Toby left before staring at his camera again. At this


    moment, he didn¡¯t know what they were trying to do or if he should release the pictures that he had


    taken.


    What if they try to look for trouble after I release these pictures? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that it¡¯ll be over for


    me? Still, it would be a pity if I didn¡¯t release these pictures. It is really rare to snap an intimate close-up


    of Toby and Sonia.


    The cameraman looked conflicted as he held onto his camera. A whileter, he suddenly stood up with


    determination written all across his face.


    You know what? Screw it! I¡¯ll upload those pictures!


    Since they didn¡¯t confront me and ask me to delete the pictures, I guess they¡¯re allowing me to release


    them. Worsees to worst, I¡¯ll quit my job!


    You only live once! Go big or go home! I shall take the risk this time around!


    At the thought of that, the paparazzi turned around and headed back to his van.


    On the other hand, Sonia suddenly recalled something when she was in the car before she opened her


    bag and took a box out. After opening the box, she turned toward the man in the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Did you


    send me this, Toby?¡±


    Toby nced at the box from the corner of his eyes. Although he couldn¡¯t see anything inside the box


    from the angle, he knew what was inside the box when he saw the box.


    After all, he was the one who prepared the box.


    Right then, Toby nodded slightly before admitting, ¡°It is.¡±


    Sonia sighed in relief before she ced the box down. ¡°I really thought I was being pranked by other


    people. Still, why would you suddenly send me a bangle out of nowhere? An expensive-looking vintage


    type at that.¡±


    Regardless of how she thought of it, she couldn¡¯te out with a potential reason behind the gift.


    Meanwhile, Toby answered while turning the steering wheel, ¡°The bangle is not from me. It¡¯s actually a


    gift from Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Grandma?¡± Sonia was taken aback before she lowered her head and stared at the box in her hands.


    ¡°Why would she suddenly want to give me this?¡±


    The corner of Toby¡¯s lips curled up into a smile. ¡°You should ask her when we get to the hospital. She¡¯ll


    tell you why.¡±


    Seeing that Toby refused to answer directly but wanted her to ask Rose about it, Sonia rolled her eyes at


    him before keeping the box. ¡°I¡¯ll ask her, then.¡±


    Toby chuckled lightly. ¡°Are you upset?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°Do you think my temper is that bad?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Toby nodded before saying again, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to exin to you about it, but


    it¡¯s better for Grandma to tell you the meaning of this bangle herself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of inheritance,¡± Toby exined.


    Immediately, Sonia could already guess the meaning of the bangle before her heart started racing. After


    humming in acknowledgment, she went quiet while her fingers continued stroking the box that contained


    the bangle.

 Chapter 692

    Chapter 692


    Chapter 692 Private Conversation


    The words ¡®inheritance¡¯ and ¡®takeover¡¯ reminded her of scenes in drama series where influential families


    had family heirlooms given to the son or the family¡¯s daughter-inw. That¡¯s probably this bangle¡¯s


    purpose.


    After all, scenes in drama series were based on real-life stories. The Fullers were influential, so it


    wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they had a family heirloom that was inherited by the son or the daughter-inw


    of the family.


    Nevertheless, Sonia had no ns to share her thoughts with Toby, as he had already mentioned that


    Rose would exin the bangle¡¯s meaning at the hospitalter. Besides, it would be awkward if the


    honest answer wasn¡¯t what she was expecting.


    Those who didn¡¯t know might even think that she was hoping to inherit a family heirloom from the Fullers,


    so it was better if she didn¡¯t say anything.


    In a blink of an eye, Toby and Sonia reached the hospital. After Toby parked the car, the car door was


    opened by Tom. It was obvious that Tom was positioned there to pick them up.


    ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed,¡± he greeted after the two of them got out of the car.


    While Toby didn¡¯t reply to Tom, Sonia smiled at him as an acknowledgment. After that, Tom motioned for


    them to go ahead. ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed, Old Mrs. Fuller had instructed me to bring the both of


    you over to her room.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you, Tom.¡± Sonia smiled politely.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Tom adjusted his sses and walked ahead of them to lead the way.


    However, Toby frowned when he saw the direction where Tom was leading them to. ¡°This isn¡¯t the way to


    Grandma¡¯s room.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t?¡± Sonia was shocked while Tom smiled before replying, ¡°Indeed, it is not. Old Mrs. Fuller


    comined that her previous room was too noisy, as there was a noisy kid that stayed in the room next


    to hers, so she requested me to arrange a new room for her. We are heading to her new room now.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Soniamented while Toby nodded slightly and said nothing.


    Then, the three of them headed to another hospital building for hospital wards. There were VIP wards in


    this building as well, and Rose was currently staying in one of them.


    As Tom brought Sonia and Toby to the area outside of Rose¡¯s ward, they could clearly see what was


    happening in the ward through the ss window on the door entrance of the ward.


    When Sonia saw Rose sitting on her bed while having a conversation with Mary, she smiled. ¡°Looks like


    Grandma is in a good mood today.¡±


    Toby agreed. ¡°Indeed. Let¡¯s go in now.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tom reached out to open the door to the ward for Toby and Sonia to enter.


    When Rose and Mary saw the couple who came in hand-in-hand, they gave each other a look before


    smiling with gratification.


    ¡°Young Master Toby, Miss Reed, you guys are finally here,¡± Mary stood up before greeting them


    cheerfully.


    ¡°Grandma, Mary.¡± Sensing Rose and Mary¡¯s gaze on her and Toby¡¯s intertwined hands, she felt


    somewhat embarrassed and wanted to pull away from Toby.


    Nevertheless, Toby tightened his grip on her hand as if he had already predicted that this would happen,


    not giving her the opportunity to retract her hand.


    Right then, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but turn around and re at him before signaling for him to let go, as


    Rose and Mary were still watching them. Still, Toby was unbothered as he pulled her toward the hospital


    bed nonchntly. He didn¡¯t care if other people saw them holding hands.


    When they were in front of Rose¡¯s bed, Toby didn¡¯t shy away from Rose and Mary but raised their


    intertwined hands up so that they would take a closer look.


    At that moment, it was already toote for Sonia to pull away from him. After all, it¡¯d be rude and


    disrespectful for her to fight Toby off in front of Rose and Mary. Even if they liked her, they¡¯d probably feel


    ufortable if they saw her doing that. Thus, Sonia had no choice but to turn toward Rose and Mary


    with a forced smile on her face. She still hadn¡¯t thought of a way to face the two elders as Toby¡¯s


    girlfriend again, but Toby had forced her to the edge of a cliff right then.


    ¡°Grandma, I¡¯ve brought Little Leaf over to see you,¡± Toby held Sonia¡¯s hand before greeting Rose. The


    olderdy then nced between Toby and Sonia before she nodded with a smile. ¡°Hello¡­ Hold on¡­¡±


    The smile on Rose¡¯s face disappeared when she realized that something was wrong before she frowned.


    ¡°What did you just say? Who did you bring to see me? Little Leaf? Who is Little Leaf?¡±


    She looked at Toby with a stern expression on her face. ¡°You little punk, have you been sleeping around


    again?¡±


    Right then, Mary gave Toby a displeased look, as if she was staring at a womanizer.From N?velDrama.Org.


    Upon noticing that, Sonia covered her mouth and turned around before giggling secretly. At the same


    time, Toby ruffled her hair and stared at Rose helplessly before exining, ¡°Grandma, Little Leaf is


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Rose looked visibly stunned before she turned toward Sonia while Sonia nodded with a smile on


    her face. ¡°It¡¯s me, Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Sonia, when did you change your name?¡± Rose was confused.


    At the same time, Mary nodded along curiously as well.


    Right then, Sonia politely said, ¡°That¡¯s a nickname that my mother had given me before she passed


    away, and my father had been addressing me with this name ever since, so it¡¯s kind of a special name


    that my parents addressed me.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Rose nodded in realization. Looks like these two younglings are really close if she allows him to


    address her using a nickname that was only used by her parents. I won¡¯t have to worry any longer if


    that¡¯s the case.


    ¡°By the way, Toby, I¡¯ll need your help to settle the discharge procedure. I¡¯m well now, and it¡¯s really boring


    staying in the hospital, so I¡¯m leaving tomorrow,¡± Rose said while staring at Toby.


    At this moment, a knowing look shed past Toby¡¯s face before he nodded and agreed. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do it


    now.¡± Then, he gave Sonia a look and left the ward.


    Toby knew Rose only wanted him to excuse himself, so she could be alone with Sonia. An easy task like


    filling in the discharge paperwork could be done by their staff, after all. I shall let them talk, then.


    Nevertheless, he wasn¡¯t nning to expose her little ruse and left instead.


    After pouring two sses of water for Rose and Sonia, Mary suddenly spoke up. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, I


    suddenly remember that the chicken soup that I¡¯ve ordered still isn¡¯t here yet. I¡¯m not really sure what


    had happened, so I¡¯m going to go out to make a call now.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Rose chuckled.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Mary replied before leaving.


    At the same time, Sonia also knew that the chicken soup issue was probably an excuse for Mary to leave


    the room so that Rose and she could speak privately, just like how Toby left just now. Still, she didn¡¯t


    know what Rose wanted to talk to her about, so she lowered her gaze.


    In no time, only Sonia and Rose were left in the room, and it became hushed as Sonia helped Rose to


    cover her body with the nket. ¡°Grandma, do you have something that you want to talk to me about?¡±


    Right then, Rose chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s not really anything serious. I just wanted to ask you if you got back into a


    rtionship with Toby because you¡¯re really in love with him or because he was your lifesaver?¡±


    ¡°Grandma, what made you want to ask about this all of a sudden?¡± Sonia tilted her head in confusion


    before Rose sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve found out that Toby fell off a cliff with you after he tried to protect you


    previously.¡±


    ¡°You knew?¡± Sonia was shocked, while Rose nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Despite already knowing about it earlier, Rose didn¡¯t know that the fall had further damaged Toby¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 693

    Chapter 693


    Chapter 693 A Gift for My Daughter-In-Law


    Thus, when Rose heard from Tom yesterday that Toby¡¯s heart condition was worsening, she got so


    anxious she fainted.


    Although Sonia didn¡¯t know what was going on in Rose¡¯s mind, she stood up and bowed to Rose


    apologetically after knowing that Rose had found out about the cliff incident. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m sorry for


    frightening you regarding the cliff fall.¡±


    She thought that Rose had fainted after finding out about the cliff ident. Toby had previously


    mentioned he wasn¡¯t nning to let Rose know about the fall because he was afraid that she might not


    be able to handle it well.


    ¡°Grandma, regarding the ident at the cliff, I was kidnapped by Den from the Hayes Family in


    Westsanshire. Den wanted to get back at Carl. Toby wasn¡¯t involved in anything and only jumped off


    the cliff to save me. In fact, he almost lost his life for me, and I¡¯m really, really, sorry for that. I¡¯ve almost


    caused you to lose your grandson.¡± Sonia gave Rose a guilty look.


    Nevertheless, Rose got Sonia to stand up again. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize, Sonia. I know everything


    that happened, so I won¡¯t me you because you never wanted to involve Toby in it, and you weren¡¯t the


    one who made him jump off the cliff. Everything he has done was his own decision, and I won¡¯t me


    you for it, so stop feeling guilty.¡±


    ¡°Grandma, do you truly think this way?¡± Sonia looked up at Rose while Rose chuckled and shook her


    head. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve already mentioned that Toby did everything on his own ord, so I can¡¯t me


    you for things that you didn¡¯t ask for. I¡¯m not an irrational old woman, after all. Besides, you guys


    managed to survive in the end, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Right then, Sonia felt touched as she sat down again. ¡°Although you don¡¯t me me for everything that


    has happened, I still feel really guilty, though.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to feel guilty about.¡± Rose tried tofort Sonia by patting the back of her hand.


    ¡°Truthfully, I¡¯m really happy that Toby did everything that he could to save you because you¡¯re the person


    that he loves. If he doesn¡¯t even go all out for the person he loves, I¡¯ll look down upon him, and he would


    have no right to tell you he loves you. In fact, the Fuller Family would be ashamed to im an imbecile


    like him to be our grandchildren.¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ Isn¡¯t that a bit too serious?¡± Sonia motioned around awkwardly.


    Nevertheless, Rose shook her head. ¡°Of course not. Men in the Fuller Family are supposed to be brave


    enough to sacrifice everything for their loved ones without backing down. It was the same way with his


    great grandfather, grandfather, and even his father¡­ Although I dislike Jean, I had to admit that that


    vulgar woman won over Homer¡¯s heartpletely. To be able to marry her, Homer was willing to ept


    the family rule to give up on all of his shares for Fuller Group to be an unnamed president.¡±


    ¡°I see how it is.¡± Sonia nodded her head lightly.


    All of the men from Fuller Family sound noble.


    Rose continued speaking. ¡°Men in the Fuller Family are known to be loyal. Back when Toby¡¯s grandpa,


    Norman, and I were young, we had gone through a lot together. Norman almost lost his life to save me


    without an ounce of hesitation when he was younger, even though I told him not to. So, it is impossible


    for me to me you and think that it¡¯s your fault that Toby saved you when I¡¯ve experienced the same


    thing.¡±


    ¡°Grandma¡­¡± Sonia felt herself tearing up, as it really felt nice to be understood.


    Rose grinned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you crying?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia lowered her head in embarrassment before she rubbed her eyes and changed the topic. ¡°By


    the way, Grandma, what do you mean when you ask me whether I got back together with Toby because


    of love or because he saved me?¡±


    She turned toward Rose while Rose tidied up the youngdy¡¯s stray hair by her ears and exined, ¡°I


    just thought of it myself as well. I know that you¡¯re in love with Toby now, but the pain that he had caused


    you in the past was real as well, so I was wondering if you¡¯re dating Toby again to give him another


    opportunity or because he saved you without any regards to his own safety, so you felt bad? It would be


    good to know if you guys got back together because you love each other, as thetter would definitely


    strain your rtionship. Even if you guys love each other, your hearts won¡¯t be able to align with each


    other, and you won¡¯t ever be happy.¡±


    By then, they would end up breaking up again.


    In fact, the rtionship would even end on a bad note, and Rose really didn¡¯t want to see that as their


    elder.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Nheless, Sonia chuckled when she noticed the worried look on Rose¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandma.


    Toby and I are together again because we have feelings toward each other, and it wasn¡¯t due to


    kindness. I¡¯m rational enough to know not to mix my feelings and my kindness in a rtionship, as they


    are two different things. If I got together with Toby because I felt bad, it would be unfair for both of us


    because if I do it out of kindness, I¡¯ll remain distant even though we were together. If we cannot be


    intimate with each other out of love, what¡¯s the point of being together? I might as well use other


    methods to repay him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Rose nodded before Sonia continued on, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us, Grandma. If I


    were to date Toby out of guilt, I would have already done it earlier instead of waiting until this moment. I


    know what I¡¯m doing, and I know that I forgave him and got back together with him out of love.¡±


    Rose felt relieved when she noticed the serious expression on Sonia¡¯s face.


    Then, she reached out to pat the back of Sonia¡¯s hand. ¡°I understand now. Since you guys got back


    together out of love, you two must be good to each other. What do you think about letting me see my


    great-grandchildren within two years?¡±


    ¡°Grandma!¡± Sonia¡¯s face went red as she was embarrassed.


    However, she couldn¡¯t help but worry because of the miscarriage that she had in the past.


    Still, Rose didn¡¯t notice Sonia¡¯s dejected look. Instead, she pursed her lips before smiling when she


    thought Sonia was embarrassed. ¡°Alright, alright. I won¡¯t mention it anymore. By the way, Sonia, did you


    bring the bangle with you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Sonia came back to her senses and opened her bag before taking the box out and giving it to


    Rose.


    Then, Rose took the box and opened it before taking the dark green bangle out.


    Staring at the bangle, Rose felt a wave of nostalgia. ¡°Sonia, did Toby tell you about the story of this


    bangle?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°He did mention that this bangle is rted to inheritance and takeover.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Rose ced the bangle down before she exined in a nostalgic tone, ¡°This bangle is


    passed down by the Fuller Family¡¯s ancestors. The Fuller Family¡¯s ancestors used to be ancient


    aristocrats, and the bangle was the King¡¯s gift for the family¡¯s matriarch. However, after years of


    modernization, the bangle is now a token of appreciation for the wife of the inheritor of the family.¡±


    ¡°The wife of the inheritor of the family?¡± Sonia stared at the bangle. ¡°That¡¯s what he meant by inheritance


    and takeover, huh? It seems like my guess was correct.¡±


    Rose smiled. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not really that hard to guess, considering how old the bangle looks.¡±


    Sonia hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡±


    ¡°Toby¡¯s great grandmother gave this bangle to me when I married his grandfather. After that, I gave it to


    Toby¡¯s mother, but she didn¡¯t love Toby¡¯s father and never thought of herself as the daughter-inw of the


    Fuller Family, so she never epted this bangle. Hence, I kept this bangle and nned to give it to


    Toby¡¯s future wife, which is you.¡±


    After saying that, Rose sighed. ¡°I was supposed to give this bangle to you six years ago, but Toby


    stopped me when I was going to. You, too, knew that there was something wrong with Toby¡¯s mind back


    then, so¡­¡±

 Chapter 694

    Chapter 694


    Chapter 694 The Heater¡¯s Malfunction


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia understood Rose¡¯s dilemma, nodding with a smile.


    ¡°So, are you sure you don¡¯t me Toby, Sonia?¡± Rose looked at her and asked.


    ¡°Well, like you said, he wasn¡¯t in his right mind at that time, so there¡¯s no point ming him. Furthermore,


    he wasn¡¯t acting on his free will anyway.¡± Sonia let out a sigh.


    ¡°You know Toby was hypnotized?¡± Rose appeared surprised.


    ¡°Yes, I do. He told me earlier, and I also confirmed the statement with Tim. After learning the truth that he


    was hypnotized, I decided to forgive him for what he did to me. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have let it go so


    easily,¡± Sonia answered while flickering her hair.


    Rose smiled and nodded. ¡°You have a point, girl. Anyway, I¡¯ll give you the bangle now, Sonia. I know I


    should have done this six years ago, but I¡¯m d that it still manages to find its way to its rightful owner.


    As you both grow older, you can pass this down to your daughter-inw.¡±


    ¡°No. No, Grandma.¡± Sonia shook her head, showing reluctance to ept what the olddy was giving


    her. ¡°I can¡¯t ept this bangle. I may have rekindled the old mes with Toby, but we¡¯re still not


    remarried. Therefore, I¡¯m still not the Fuller Family¡¯s daughter-inw, so I cannot ept this bangle.¡±


    ¡°I understand that you and Toby haven¡¯t remarried each other, but to me, you¡¯re already my grandson¡¯s


    wife, the Fuller Family¡¯s daughter-inw, and that is a fact that will never change. Moreover, don¡¯t you


    want to remarry Toby?¡± Rose kept her eyes on Sonia.


    Sonia was left with her mouth wide agape as she shook her head shortly after that. ¡°I¡¯d love to marry


    him, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Well then, that means you¡¯re going to remarry Toby, so of course, you can ept this bangle. You¡¯re just


    receiving it slightly earlier.¡± Rose interrupted Sonia¡¯s words, seizing her hand as she slid the bangle


    along her wrist.


    Sonia wanted to stop Rose, but before she could make sense of what was going on, the bangle was


    already on her wrist. Despite its dim greenish appearance, it appeared to be less shiny than the ones


    that could be found in the jewelry shops. However, the bangle¡¯s vintage-looking appearance was


    something that no other bangles could match. Thus, Sonia looked especially gorgeous with the bangle


    on her fair wrist that entuated the uniqueness of her appearance and charm.


    Rose then patted the back of Sonia¡¯s hand andplimented her. ¡°Wonderful! The bangle looks great


    on you. See? You¡¯re the Fuller Family¡¯s daughter-inw, just like I said.¡±


    With her face blushing, Sonia said, ¡°Grandma¡­¡±


    While she wanted to take it off, Rose quickly restrained her by holding her hand and spoke with a stern


    voice. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about taking it off. I¡¯ve already put it on for you, and you mustn¡¯t take it off. Wear


    it all the time, would you?¡±


    Sensing the olddy¡¯s serious look, Sonia felt helplessly amused. ¡°Alright, I heard you. I¡¯ll wear it with me


    all the time.¡± Deep down, she was afraid that Rose would throw a tantrum at her if she ever tried to take


    off the bangle. After all, Sonia reckoned old people like Rose tended to be more and more childish


    as they grew older, almost like a child¡¯s soul trapped in an adult¡¯s body.


    Noticing Sonia retracting her arm, Rose knew she had given up the idea of removing the bangle. Thus,


    she smiled dly, with a benevolent look on her face. ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡±


    Sonia smiled in response and retracted her arm, looking down while rubbing her bangle with her palm.


    Perhaps it was because of Rose¡¯spliment, for she somehow started to believe that the bangle was a


    perfect match for her. Now that I think of it, it doesn¡¯t look old-fashioned at all.


    ¡°By the way, Grandma.¡± Sonia looked up and gazed at the olddy with something seemingly springing


    to her mind. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you give this bangle to Jean?¡± Despite knowing the strained rtionship


    between Rose and Jean, Sonia was aware of the undeniable fact that Jean was married to Toby¡¯s father


    after all, which made her the Fuller Family¡¯s daughter-inw as well. Therefore, she reckoned Jean


    should have the bangle by now, but judging from Rose¡¯s words, she surmised that the bangle had been


    with the olddy all this time.


    The smile on Rose¡¯s face faded when she heard Sonia¡¯s words. ¡°Guess what? I don¡¯t like thatdy at all,


    and neither have I ever approved of her as the Fuller Family¡¯s daughter-inw. After all, all thedies


    who married into the Fuller Family went through a legitimate marriage with their husbands, except her.¡±


    Rose turned her attention to the bangle on Sonia¡¯s wrist and added, ¡°None of the daughters-inw in the


    Fuller Family is ever a mistress, so I didn¡¯t and won¡¯t ever give this to her because if I did, I¡¯d be shaming


    our ancestors.¡±


    ¡°Well, you have a point, I guess.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve never even thought of giving this bangle to her over the years. While she had implied her


    intention to have it, I brushed her off every single time. Honestly, if she hadn¡¯t behaved herself and


    treated Toby like her own son, I would have cast her out of the family a long time ago,¡± Rose answered


    and chuckled the next second. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about that anymore. It¡¯s gettingte now, so would


    you like to stick around and dine with me?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded in agreement.


    Rose happily reached for her phone and called Mary, telling her to buy them a meal. ¡°What would you


    like to eat, Sonia?¡± Rose asked with the phone in her hand.


    Sonia contemted for a while and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll just have whatever you¡¯re having since my taste is pretty


    much the same as yours.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get Mary to take care of it for us then,¡± Rose said.


    Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and stood up. ¡°Grandma, I need to step outside to make a call.


    I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ¡°Sure, please go ahead,¡± Rose replied with a chuckle.


    Soon, Sonia turned around and walked toward the door. When she exited the ward, she was immediately


    scared by the sight of a man standing right outside. ¡°Ah!¡±


    Frightened by her scream, Toby stood straight and asked, ¡°Jeez! What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes upward and gently patted her chest. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You gave me a scare, man.


    How long have you been standing here?¡± Seeing how Toby stood still like a statue right outside the ward,


    Sonia believed anyone would get scared in her ce since no one would expect to be greeted by a


    figure standing right on the other side of the door.


    ¡°For a while.¡± Toby raised his wrist and looked at his watch. ¡°I came here as soon as I was done dealing


    with the discharge procedures.¡± He shifted his gaze to thedy¡¯s wrist on her chest, looking closely at the


    catchy green bangle.


    Sensing Toby¡¯s gaze, Sonia raised her hand and shed her wrist in the air. ¡°Grandma put this on for


    me.¡±


    ¡°It looks good on you.¡± Toby praised thedy while curling his lips upward.


    Sonia was delighted upon hearing the man¡¯spliment, evident in the smile on her face when she put


    down her wrist. ¡°By the way, why didn¡¯t you go inside since you were already done with the procedures?¡±


    Sonia pointed at the ward¡¯s door.


    ¡°I was waiting for you to be done talking with Grandma.¡± Toby looked at thedy.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded and added, ¡°Well, Grandma and I didn¡¯t really talk much either anyway. We were


    talking about the bangle most of the time, in fact.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Toby replied.


    ¡°You heard everything?¡±


    ¡°Only some of it.¡± Toby answered and asked, ¡°What are you doing out here?¡±


    ¡°I came here to make a call.¡± Sonia shed her mobile phone. ¡°Something went wrong with my heater


    last night, so I told the technician to help me take a look at it after I¡¯m done with my work. However, I just


    promised Grandma that I¡¯ll dine with herter, so I had to arrange another time with the technician, which


    was why I was here making the call.¡±


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Oh,e to my ceter at night, then.¡± Toby hummed.


    ¡°Ugh. What?¡± Sonia was stunned.


    ¡°Well, I know your heater isn¡¯t working, but by the time we¡¯re done with our dinner and back, it¡¯s probably


    alreadyte, so I don¡¯t think we can get anyone to fix it until tomorrow. At the same time, you¡¯re going to


    freeze in your sleep without your heaterter at night. What¡¯s worse is that you could even catch a cold


    because of that, so the best way is for you toe over to my ce for the night,¡± Toby said, his eyes


    lighting up with excitement before that subtle expression disappeared.


    Nheless, Sonia was still able to notice that unobvious expression as she squinted and expressed her


    doubt. ¡°Why does it seem to me that you¡¯re happy about my heater acting up?¡±

 Chapter 695

    Chapter 695


    Chapter 695 Where Did You Get the Bangle?


    Toby was caught in a trance when he realized Sonia saw through him. Nheless, he was quickly


    prevented by his pride and intuition from admitting it. Thus, he looked down a little and faked a cough.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t?¡± Sonia looked at Toby, expressing her disbelief in his words. ¡°You looked


    obviously happy because I can stay over. If not, you wouldn¡¯t have suggested that I bunk down in your


    ce, would you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s clearly not what I meant.¡± Toby tried to talk his way out.


    Sonia folded her arms and said, ¡°Really? Alright then, since that¡¯s not what you meant, I suppose I could


    spend the night in the hotelter. Who says bunking down in your ce is the best way?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Toby grew anxious when he heard thedy say she wanted to go to the hotel.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Sonia intentionally asked Toby with her eyes filled with mischief.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t safe to stay in the hotel,¡± Toby knitted his eyebrows and replied seriously.


    Deep down, Sonia was amused by Toby¡¯s reaction; however, she still tried to keep a straight face on the


    outside. Oh man! I wish someone knew how hard it is to keep myself from bursting intoughter. ¡°Who


    says it¡¯s not safe in the hotel?¡± Sonia grunted. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to stay in some motel?¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    ¡°Tell me why not then.¡± Sonia gazed at the man.


    While Toby puckered his lips in silence, Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up with glee. It looks like Toby needs a little


    ¡®motivation¡¯ before he decides to admit that he wants me to spend the night at his ce. Otherwise, he¡¯ll


    just keep denying it. At the thought of that, she reached for her phone. ¡°Fine, if you won¡¯t tell me why, I¡¯m


    going to go ahead and book a room right now. If there¡¯s no avable room, I¡¯ll just head over to Charles¡¯s


    ce and bunk down there.¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s intention to stay at Charles¡¯ ce, Toby was instantly piqued and irritated. No way!


    How can I allow the woman I love to stay at my love rival¡¯s ce? He then snatched her phone and


    locked it. ¡°No! You mustn¡¯t go to the hotel or Charles¡¯ ce.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Seriously? You don¡¯t seem to be okay with anywhere I want to go. Why don¡¯t you tell me a ce that I


    should head to? Am I supposed to sleep by the roadside?¡± Sonia ced her hands on her waist and


    stared at the man.


    Soon, Toby returned Sonia her phone and rubbed his temples, as if he was about to make an important


    decision. ¡°My ce. You can only go to my ce.¡± He especially emphasized his point one more time.


    Sonia curled her lips in response. ¡°In that case, it means you¡¯re happy that my heater is acting up so that


    I cane over to your ce. Am I right?¡±


    As Toby signified his admission with an affirmative hum, Sonia chuckled and said, ¡°See? It wasn¡¯t hard to


    admit it, was it? If you had admitted it earlier, I would have had toe so far just to make you do that.


    You¡¯re insistent, yet your pride still messes with you sometimes. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Upon hearing thedy¡¯s words, Toby was seen with his eyes wide open. ¡°So you did it on purpose when


    you said you were going to stay in the hotel or Charles¡¯ ce?¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± Soniaughed and added, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t done that, you wouldn¡¯t have admitted that you¡¯re happy


    with my malfunctioned heater because you wanted me to bunk down in your ce.¡±


    While Toby faked a cough without saying a single word, Sonia shook her head. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talkter. I¡¯m


    going to call the technician right now.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded.


    While Sonia called the technician and talked over the phone, Toby stood beside her and looked at her


    with love and affection. When the other visitors and patients saw that, they couldn¡¯t help but think Toby


    and Sonia were meant to be a perfect couple.


    After making the call, Sonia met Toby¡¯s eyes that were staring at her just when she took her phone away


    from her ear. Ufortable with the man¡¯s gaze, she intentionally gawked at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯re


    you looking at?¡±


    ¡°You.¡± Toby chuckled.


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s so eye-catching about me?¡± Sonia put away her phone.


    ¡°Your beauty is what¡¯s so eye-catching. To me, you¡¯re the prettiestdy ever.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°Enough with your sweet-talking. Let¡¯s go.¡± Sonia appeared with her blushed cheeks as she opened the


    door and entered the ward with Toby, who chuckled and followed behind her.


    Upon noticing Sonia¡¯s return, Rose felt even happier when she saw Toby smiling brightly from ear to ear.


    ¡°Oh, you both came together.¡±


    ¡°We ran into each other outside the door, so we came in together,¡± Sonia replied.


    ¡°This is all part of fate¡¯s n. That means you both are destined to meet each other. Otherwise, how do


    you exin the coincidence?¡± Rose chuckled and asked.


    Sonia curled her lips upward, feeling skeptical about Rose¡¯s reply. What does that have to do with fate?


    We both came to the hospital to visit you, so of course, we¡¯re going to run into each other. In spite of that,


    Sonia could tell that Rose was just trying to help her bond with Toby, so she decided to go along with her.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Grandma.¡± Sonia nodded her head.


    In the meantime, Toby didn¡¯t say anything but felt happy enough when he watched the delightful


    conversation going on between his grandmother and girlfriend.


    At that moment, Rose¡¯s phone rang as she checked it out and said, ¡°Oh, Mary is calling.¡± She answered


    the phone shortly after that. One minuteter, she put down her phone and let out a sigh. ¡°Mary said she


    drove from the hospital to get us dinner and is now caught in the jam. So, she doesn¡¯t think she can


    make it back in time and suggests that we buy dinner ourselves. Otherwise, the food will have already


    gone cold by the time she returns.¡±


    ¡°Oh, in that case, I¡¯ll swing by the cafeteria near the hospital to get us a little something to eat.¡± Sonia


    stood up and volunteered to help.


    Toby sat her down and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go. You could stay here and keep Grandmapany.¡± Feeling


    obligated to take care of that matter as a man, he reckoned that was how his presence could be


    useful to them. That¡¯s what a man does. Otherwise, what else am I here for?


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Let Toby take care of that while you stay here and keep mepany.¡± Rose agreed,


    seizing Sonia¡¯s hand.


    Because of that, Sonia had no choice but to listen to Rose and sit down while Toby walked away to get


    them dinner.


    Not long after Toby left, the doctor came to check on Rose and permitted her to leave the hospital the


    next day upon examination. Nevertheless, the doctor went on to give the olddy a prescribed list of


    medicines in order to ensure a speedy recovery. Therefore, Sonia made her way to the dispensary with


    the prescription to collect the medicine for Rose. When she was done with that, she entered the elevator,


    where she saw someone familiar¡ªJean.


    While Jean didn¡¯t seem like she expected to see Sonia either, a surprised look shed across her face.


    Then, she jutted her chin and arrogantly sized Sonia up. ¡°Oh, poor little thing. Why are you taking so


    much medicine? Do you have a terminal disease or something?¡±


    ¡°This medicine belongs to Grandma. Are you cursing her now?¡± Sonia reacted with a cial look on her


    face.


    Caught in a brief trance, Jean then berated Sonia with a pucker on her bby cheeks. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you


    tell me that this medicine belongs to that olddy? Did you do this on purpose to make fun of me?!¡±


    Sonia was pissed yet amused at the same time. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me who this medicine belongs to in the


    first ce. Instead, you jumped right to the conclusion and assumed it was mine. Then, when you


    realized you said something you shouldn¡¯t have, you med me for not telling you and used me of


    my ¡®ill intention¡¯ to embarrass you. You¡¯re pretty good at turning the table, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jean was aware of her own intention to mess with Sonia but decided to never admit her mistake


    due to her seniority and pride. Ugh! Don¡¯t even think I¡¯m going to admit it because I¡¯m not going to do


    something that¡¯ll embarrass myself.


    At the thought of that, Jean folded her arms and was about to refute Sonia until she saw the bangle the


    latter was wearing. As her face changed, she subsequently stretched out her arm and grasped Sonia¡¯s


    right hand to take a closer look at it with a darkened look. Oh my gosh! She is wearing that bangle!


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Sonia was caught off guard by Jean¡¯s rough reaction, nearly losing her bnce due


    to thetter¡¯s violent approach. Fortunately, she reacted in time and regained her bnce by leaning


    against the wall inside the elevator with her arm.


    ¡°How did you get this? Why are you wearing it?¡± Jean seized Sonia¡¯s wrist and raised it to her eye level,


    asking with her face twisted in irritation. ¡°Did you steal it?¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind or something?¡± Sonia shook her hand and freed herself from Jean¡¯s grasp.


    Then, she rubbed her painful wrist with an unhappy look on her face.


    ¡°Did I steal it? You¡¯re pretty imaginative, aren¡¯t you? Why don¡¯t you tell or show me how to steal it?¡±

 Chapter 696

    Chapter 696


    Chapter 696 Give Up the Bangle


    Jean was rendered speechless by Sonia¡¯s words as her face twisted in frustration. After all, the bangle


    was an heirloom passed down to the daughters-inw from one generation to another in the Fuller


    Family.


    While Rose had always been its keeper, the tight security in the old manor made it hard for anyone to


    steal it. Moreover, Jean believed that anyone who seeded in stealing it wouldn¡¯t dare to wear it


    openly, either.


    Thus, she quickly understood the reason Sonia had the bangle was not that she stole it, but because of


    another reason she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to ept. As a few puckers were seen on her bby


    cheeks, she questioned Sonia in an annoyed manner, ¡°Tell me. How did you get this bangle?¡±


    Sonia dropped her wrist and calmly replied, ¡°How else do you think I got it? Of course, it was Grandma


    who gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Jean raised the pitch in her tone, responding with a jarring voice that sounded so unpleasant


    that Sonia had to look away and cover her ears in agony.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing? Why won¡¯t you believe it?!¡±


    ¡°You must be lying, right?!¡± Jean approached her intimidatingly, clearly showing her agitation. ¡°This


    bangle is meant for the Fuller Family¡¯s daughters-inw, but you¡¯re not one. So, why would Old Mrs.


    Fuller give it to you? Therefore, I¡¯m pretty sure that you¡¯re lying.¡± Jean didn¡¯t believe that it was Rose who


    gave Sonia the bangle because she reckoned she should be next in line to receive that, since she was


    the daughter-inw of the Fuller Family. Thus, she was convinced that Sonia was lying.


    ¡°Haha. I¡¯m lying?¡± Sonia was caught in a trance upon hearing Jean¡¯s words but subsequently became


    amused the next second. ¡°What proof do you have to use me of lying?¡±


    ¡°What kind of proof do you need? This bangle is proof!¡± Jean pointed at the bangle on Sonia¡¯s wrist with


    an exasperated look on her face. ¡°I already said that the bangle is meant for the Fuller Family¡¯s


    daughters-inw, so who are you to have it? Old Mrs. Fuller is the kind of person who ys by the book,


    so what you said about her giving the bangle to you is pure nonsense! Unless she is old and dumb, that


    will never happen. Thus, I urge you to give it back!¡± She stretched out her arm in front of Sonia, hinting to


    her that she should take off her bangle.


    Sonia covered her bangle and stepped back, gazing at Jean emotionlessly. ¡°No way! Grandma gave me


    this bangle, so it belongs to me now. For that, I won¡¯t ever give it to you. If you¡¯re dissatisfied, take it up


    with Grandma becauseining to me isn¡¯t going to help.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jean was surprised by Sonia¡¯s reluctance to give in, feeling piqued by her unwillingness to give


    up the bangle. Overwhelmed by her anger, she began to shiver from head to toe in anger. ¡°Sonia, will


    you give me the bangle?!¡±


    ¡°Nope, I won¡¯t!¡± Sonia replied without a second of hesitation, her eyes filled with ridicule. ¡°Jean, don¡¯t you


    think that I have no idea why you want me to give up the bangle? You¡¯ve been eyeing this bangle for a


    while, knowing that it is meant to be passed down to the Fuller Family¡¯s daughters-inw from one


    generation to another. Nheless, Grandma wouldn¡¯t give it to you even though you¡¯re her daughter-in-


    law, which is what bothers and irks you. Now that you see me wearing the bangle, you feel so


    disappointed that you can¡¯t handle the truth because you know that Grandma gave it to me herself.


    Therefore, you¡¯re trying to take it from me now. Aren¡¯t I right?¡±


    Jean¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief when she heard Sonia¡¯s words, her panicky emotions written all over


    her face. Although Sonia had obviously just stated what was on her mind, Jean denied everything and


    pointed at the former, grunting and bellowing. ¡°You! What you just said is simply nonsense!¡±


    ¡°Well, you and I both know whether what I just said is truly nonsense. After all, I can tell how much you


    want to kill me with the jealousy in your eyes.¡± Sonia chuckled in irony and added, ¡°Actually, you believe


    that Grandma gave me the bangle herself because there was no other way I would get my hands on it,


    yet you won¡¯t admit it because you won¡¯t have an excuse to take it from me once you do that. This is


    clear enough, isn¡¯t it? Do you really still want to deny it?¡±


    Jean¡¯s face turned pale, which was what Sonia found hrious, as it looked like a palette to her. After


    clenching her fists for a few moments, she eventually epted the reality and calmed down, responding


    with a grunt to Sonia. ¡°What¡¯re you going to do even if you get that right? I still won¡¯t believe that Old Mrs.


    Fuller gave that to you herself. You must have coaxed her into handing that bangle over to you when she


    barely knew about what she was doing in the hospital.¡±


    Upon hearing thedy¡¯s words, Sonia rolled her eyes upward and said, ¡°You really impress me with your


    ¡®talent¡¯. Do you know that, Jean? How did that even ur to you in the first ce? Grandma has been


    hospitalized because she was slightly overwhelmed, but in spite of that, she is totally aware of what she


    is doing, which is nothing like what you just said. As for this bangle, I didn¡¯t even know its existence


    before I wore it, so tell me how I was supposed to coax her?¡±


    Jean¡¯s avoidant gaze gave away her guilt as she extended her arm in a menacing manner once more.


    ¡°Who knows how you coaxed her? Anyway, you will have to surrender the bangle, like it or not.¡±


    In the face of Jean¡¯s insistence on getting her hands on the bangle, Sonia showed no signs of backing


    down. ¡°No can do!¡± She hid her hands behind her back. While Jean was about to escte her approach


    to snatch it from Sonia, the elevator arrived, allowing Sonia to step outside before the former could reach


    her.


    ¡°Stop, Sonia!¡± Jean was caught in a trance, gritting her teeth as she gave chase, but Sonia pretended


    like she didn¡¯t hear anything and continued to move forward. Therefore, she picked up her pace and


    shouted, ¡°I told you to stop! Didn¡¯t you hear me?!¡±


    Only a fool would stop. At the thought of that, Sonia sped up her pace, noticing the ward with her eyes


    brightening up, whereupon she quickly entered it.


    Seeing Sonia enter the ward, Jean thought the former was just hiding there because there was no way


    else to go. Thus, she chuckled in a sinister manner and ridiculed Sonia. Let¡¯s see where else you can go.


    No one can stop me from getting that bangle today. Soon, Jean scurried in the direction of the ward


    without realizing that it was, in fact, her destination¡ªRose¡¯s ward¡ªthanks to her obsession with the


    bangle. Unknown to her, every single word she had just said was clearly heard by Rose.


    ¡°Sonia, you¡¯d better give up the bangle now. Do you hear me?! Otherwise¡­¡±


    ¡°Otherwise what? What¡¯s going to happen?¡± The olddy¡¯s cial voice interrupted Jean¡¯s words before


    she could finish her sentence.


    The voice was like a bucket of ice water that was sshed on Jean, snapping her out of her obsession


    and taking her back to reality. Upon making sense of what was going on, Jean was instantly


    overwhelmed by fear as she froze in ce, unable to take one step forward.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Jean took a moment to find her own voice and greeted the olddy who was ring at her in


    the bed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Mom. I¡¯m not ¡®worthy¡¯ of being your mother-inw,¡± Rose sneered and said.


    Sensing the olddy¡¯s anger in her voice, Jean gulped in fear and felt especially anxious on the inside.


    Oh, man! I¡¯m so screwed this time. Old Mrs. Fuller is super pissed off right now. How did I let her hear


    everything I said? Jean felt nothing but a huge pang of regret, not because she wouldn¡¯t stop demanding


    the bangle from Sonia, but because she didn¡¯t keep her voice down, or Rose wouldn¡¯t have heard that.


    This is all Sonia¡¯s fault.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was aware that Jean was hot on her heels, so she purposely entered Rose¡¯s ward


    without warning her because she was hoping for the olddy to deal with her after hearing what she said.


    Haha. By pitting Jean against Grandma, I don¡¯t even have to deal with her myself.


    Soon, Jean gawked at Sonia, who was preparing Rose¡¯s medicine obediently beside the bed, wishing


    she could just kill her with her angry stare.

 Chapter 697

    Chapter 697


    Chapter 697 Goody Two-Shoes


    Noticing Jean¡¯s hostility toward Sonia, Rose reacted with an even darkened expression. She then


    pped the nket and said with an icy voice, ¡°What is your cial gaze supposed to mean, Jean? Are


    you going to bite Sonia?¡±


    Jean shivered a little upon hearing Rose¡¯s lecture, shrugging her shoulders as she timidly looked away


    from Sonia with a bitter smile. ¡°What¡¯re you talking about, Mom? Why would I want to bite her?¡±


    ¡°Hmph! Your eyes make you look like you were about to eat Sonia alive!¡± Rose snickered nonchntly.


    In response, Jean kept her head down without saying a single word, knowing she would only make


    things worse if she continued to exin for herself. Meanwhile, Sonia quietly enjoyed the sight of Jean¡¯s


    humiliation in front of Rose, gloating over her with a gleeful smile.


    At the same time, Jean, who noticed that, was piqued and angry. ¡°Sonia, you¡ª¡±


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Rose mmed her nket once more when she noticed Jean¡¯s


    aggression toward Sonia.


    Jean¡¯s dominance was weakened by the olddy¡¯s words as she pointed at Sonia andined.


    ¡°Mom, she wasughing at me.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re a joke. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Rose sized her up with disgust and added, ¡°I¡¯m not surprised


    about that because anyone wouldugh at a joke like you.¡±


    ¡°How could you say that, Mom?¡± Jean was seen with her eyes wide open. ¡°I¡¯m your daughter-inw.¡±


    ¡°And Sonia is my granddaughter-inw, so if you ever dare to bully her, I¡¯m going to make sure you


    regret it. After all, you need to know that you¡¯re not as important as my granddaughter-inw.¡± Rose


    gazed at Jean with a darkened look.


    Overwhelmed by her jealousy, Jean red at Sonia with her eyes turning red. ¡°Granddaughter-inw?


    Are you getting too old and dumb to realize she is no longer your granddaughter-inw, Mom? Not only


    did you continue to treat her like your granddaughter-inw, but you also gave her the bangle. You must


    be out of¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me before I forget.¡± Rose suddenly squinted.


    ¡°W-What?¡± Jean¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard Rose¡¯s words.


    ¡°Come here, Sonia.¡± Rose patted the bed as a gesture to have Sonia sit beside her.


    ¡°Grandma.¡± Sonia put the medicine aside and obediently did as she was told.


    ¡°Sonia, tell me whether she just tried to take the bangle from you.¡± Rose seized Sonia¡¯s wrist with the


    bangle on it.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sonia looked down bitterly. ¡°Grandma, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate for me to bring this up. After


    all, she is still Toby¡¯s mother. I¡­¡±


    Rose assured Sonia and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She is just Toby¡¯s stepmother. There is no need for you to be


    worried about that. Just do as I said and tell me what happened. Fear not¡ªI¡¯ll have your back even if


    Toby isn¡¯t happy about it.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, since you insist, I¡¯ll tell you everything, Grandma.¡± Sonia nodded, looking down a little to


    hide the cunning look on her face. Then, she reacted with a bitter look on her face and said, ¡°Mrs. Fuller


    spotted the bangle on my wrist when we were in the elevator. Not only did she suspect that I stole it, but


    she also tried to take it from me by force. No matter how I tried to exin that the bangle was given to


    me by you, she simply wouldn¡¯t believe it. Then, she used me of coaxing you into giving me the


    bangle when you weren¡¯t sober enough to act on your free will. Grandma, please exin to Mrs. Fuller


    that I didn¡¯t do what she said I did.¡±


    Sonia put her words in a bitter way that made her seem as sympathetic as possible. Upon hearing


    Sonia¡¯s words, Rose couldn¡¯t help but feel a strong urge to protect her, as she believed her story without


    question. Nheless, only Sonia herself was aware of how much she was disgusted by her own fake


    pretense. Jeez! I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d be so disgusting ying a goody two-shoes.


    ¡°Alright. Alright, I¡¯ll talk to her right now.¡± Rose fixed Sonia¡¯s hair with a benevolent expression on her


    face. When she turned her attention to Jean, the amiable look immediately disappeared and was


    reced by annoyance. ¡°You¡¯ve got some guts there,dy! How dare you try to forcefully take Sonia¡¯s


    bangle from her!¡±


    ¡°No, Mom! Please don¡¯t listen to her nonsense.¡± Jean pointed at Sonia. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to take her bangle


    by force. Instead, I just wanted to take it back because I knew it belonged to the Fuller Family. After all,


    she is an outsider while the bangle is the Fuller Family¡¯s heirloom, so what right does she have to wear


    it? Besides, how could you give something important to an outsider? Only the Fuller Family¡¯s daughters-


    inw can have it, but she isn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Who should I give it to if Sonia is not the one to have it? You?¡± Rose looked up, cutting Jean short.


    ¡°I-I¡­¡± Jean responded with her avoidant gaze.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Noticing Jean¡¯s speechlessness, Sonia gleefully asked, ¡°What is it, Mrs. Fuller? Please speak your


    mind.¡±


    In response, Jean bit her lip and angrily gawked at Sonia. Speak my mind? How am I supposed to? I


    can¡¯t just tell Old Mrs. Fuller that I want the bangle for myself. If I do that, the olddy is definitely going


    to give me a hard time. Soon, she took a deep breath and kept herself together, forcing a smile on her


    face. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, Mom. What I¡¯m trying to say is that the bangle should be given to any of


    the Fuller Family¡¯s daughters-inw as it is meant to be. I¡¯m not saying that you should give it to me, but


    you could give it to Toby or Tyler¡¯s wife. Sonia is an outsider, so wouldn¡¯t you be going against the


    ancestor¡¯s wishes by giving her the bangle?¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Rose shot a darkened gaze at Jean and chuckled coldly. Does this woman really think I¡¯m too


    dumb to read between the lines? All she wants is for me to take the bangle back and give it to her


    instead. Sadly, I¡¯m not going to grant her wish.


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m giving the bangle to an outsider? In fact, Sonia and Toby are back together. Don¡¯t you


    know that? Since they¡¯re back together, it won¡¯t take them long to remarry to each other. So, technically, I


    didn¡¯t give this bangle to an outsider, although I gave it to Sonia a little earlier than I should,¡± Rose


    replied with both her palms facing upward.


    ¡°What?! They¡¯re back together?!¡± Jean screeched with a jarring voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Mrs. Fuller. I forgot to tell you that, and I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± Sonia smiled at Jean.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Jean puckered her lips, taking a few moments before she could organize her sentence.


    ¡°When did you both get back together?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday.¡± Sonia continued to smile.


    Then, Rose seized Sonia¡¯s hand amiably but stared at Jean with a cial gaze. ¡°Now that you know it¡¯s


    only a matter of time for Sonia to remarry Toby after they rekindled the old mes, you¡¯d better behave


    yourself, Jean. Don¡¯t ever forget your promise. If you ever dare to bully Sonia like you used to, you¡¯d


    better be prepared for what¡¯sing to you.¡±


    As soon as Jean heard the olddy¡¯s words, her face turned as pale as a white sheet. ¡°D-Don¡¯t worry,


    Mom. I won¡¯t.¡± Deep down, Jean could still remember the words she once said because Rose swore to


    cast her out of the Fuller Family if she ever dared to bully Sonia again. After all, she didn¡¯t want to leave


    the Fuller Family because of her reluctance to give up herfortable and wealthy life.


    Besides that, she was also unwilling to leave her son and the ce that was full of memories between


    her and Homer. Apart from Rose¡¯s warning, Toby had also told Jean that he would pick her if he had to


    choose who to give up between her and Sonia. Therefore, Jean realized she was now in a


    disadvantageous situation that didn¡¯t allow her to argue with Sonia.


    ¡°Talking is easy, but the execution is another story.¡± Rose added, ¡°I hope you could keep your word, or


    you¡¯re going to regret it. Besides, I want you to forget about the bangle Sonia is wearing; otherwise, it


    won¡¯t end well for you either.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Jean looked down, replying with a bitter voice while Rose grunted coldly and left her in the


    cold.


    In the meantime, Sonia stomached the disgust inside of her and decided to y a goody two-shoes once


    more, smiling at Jean in embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Mrs. Fuller. It was my fault. Because of me, you


    got lectured by Grandma, so please forgive me for that.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Jean¡¯s response was ambiguous, her eyes appearing red.


    As Rose furrowed her eyebrows unhappily and was about to say something, Sonia seized her hand and


    squinted at Jean with a smiling face. ¡°Well, I¡¯m d to hear that there will be no further trouble from you,


    Mrs. Fuller, but even if you doe to me for retaliation someday in the future, I¡¯m not afraid of you


    either with Grandma by my side.¡±

 Chapter 698

    Chapter 698


    Chapter 698 A Warning to Jean


    Sonia implied that Jean would still retaliate against her despite her verbal promise to leave her alone. In


    fact, Sonia was right about Jean, as she was indeed not going to let it slide like that. After all, her strong


    grudge and ego wouldn¡¯t allow her to swallow the humiliation that Sonia brought upon her.


    Nheless, Sonia, who knew Jean well, directly pointed out what was on her mind in front of Rose,


    catching her off guard and forcing her to give up the idea of retaliation.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Rose red at Jean with a cold and sinister gaze. ¡°I doubt she dares to do


    that, but if she ever has the guts to mess with you, you must let me know.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Grandma.¡± Sonia seized Rose¡¯s arm, resting her head on the olddy¡¯s shoulder with a


    smile. ¡°Thanks for backing me up, Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, girl. We are a family, and you¡¯re Toby¡¯s future wife. If I wouldn¡¯t help you, who would?¡±


    Rose gently caressed Sonia¡¯s hair as thetter responded with an affirmative hum.


    Meanwhile, Jean was fuming at the sight of their warm interaction that she had to take a few moments to


    calm herself down. Then, she decided to excuse herself and make a move. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, Mom. I


    came here to see how well you¡¯ve recovered, but since you¡¯re fine, I guess I should probably get going.


    After all, I still need to get back to the Fullers¡¯ Residence to do some cleaning before Tyler returns in a


    few days.¡±


    Fearing that Sonia would abet Rose in giving her a hard time, Jean decided not to stick around anymore.


    At that moment, she began to understand that everyone in the Fuller Family was on Sonia¡¯s side while


    she was on her own.


    I¡¯m just one woman, and how can I hope to fight so many of them? I¡¯m going to find a chance to make


    Sonia pay when she marries into the familyter. I spent six years keeping her under my thumb, so I


    could do it again. At the thought, Jean lightened up just when the irritated look on her face disappeared.


    ¡°Alright, please go. I don¡¯t want to see you any longer either.¡± Rose impatiently waved her hand.


    Jean was rendered speechless, nearly biting her own tongue when she heard Rose¡¯s reply. That is


    mean! I¡¯m her daughter-inw too, so what have I done to deserve such a harsh attitude from this old


    lady?! Was it because I was a mistress? But I thought she knew I was a different mistress from the


    others, so why does she hate me so much?


    Unlike her nonchnce when interacting with Jean, Rose¡¯s loving attitude to Sonia created a huge


    contrast that stabbed Jean¡¯s heart like a de. A few momentster, she closed her eyes, thinking she


    had seen enough, so she grabbed her purse and left.


    Sonia kept her eyes on Jean¡¯s back as she walked away with a gleeful expression that shed across


    her face. Soon, she stood up beside the bed and said, ¡°Grandma, let me see Mrs. Fuller off.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Why would you want to do that?¡± Rose furrowed her eyebrows and asked.


    Sonia smiled and replied, ¡°Well, she is still Toby¡¯s stepmother who raised him up, whether I like it or not,


    and that is something I can never deny. So, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Sonia went after Jean as soon as she


    finished her sentence. Soon, she managed to catch up with Jean not far from the ward¡¯s door. ¡°Mrs.


    Fuller.¡±


    Jean stopped in her tracks and turned around, letting loose of the anger she had been bottling up in the


    ward while ring at her like a madwoman. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did youe out here to gloat?¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Sonia walked up to her.


    ¡°For my humiliation of being lectured by that olddy like a ve.¡± Jean¡¯s response was sarcastic.


    Sonia stopped just right in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re right. I came out here to gloat.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jean was taken over by her aggression as she raised her hand to give Sonia a p in the face.


    However, her hand was caught by thetter in the air shortly before she was overwhelmed by the pain


    caused by Sonia¡¯s firm grip. Overwhelmed by the unbearable pain, she moaned with her puckering


    cheeks. ¡°Ouch! Let me go!¡±


    Sonia then shook off Jean¡¯s hand as hard as she could and spoke with a crisp voice. ¡°You should be


    grateful that I¡¯m now back together with Toby; otherwise, I would have pped you in the face when I


    caught your hand in the air just now. For that, you wouldn¡¯t be standing here and talking big now like


    nothing ever happened.¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s serious tone, Jean was seen with a fearful look on her face that was apanied


    by her puckering her lips. Oh gosh! So, Sonia was really going to give me a p!


    Seeing the fear on Jean¡¯s face, Sonia smiled with glee. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not here to gloat but to give you a


    warning.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to warn me about?¡± Jean clenched her fists.


    Sonia flicked her hair and folded her arms. ¡°I¡¯m warning you to forget about whatever monkey business


    you have in your mind. You¡¯d be a fool if you think that I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re up to. In spite of


    the promise you just made, I know you haven¡¯t given up on your n to retaliate against me, which


    means you just lied to Grandma.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Jean raised her voice, as if it was the only way to prove that Sonia was talking nonsense.


    Sonia chuckled and answered, ¡°Nonsense? I don¡¯t have to convince you about that because you know


    that best, but on the other hand, I know what kind of a person you are pretty well. In case you haven¡¯t


    noticed, I¡¯m no longer the same person you used to bully six years ago. Now that Toby and I are back


    together, it¡¯s only a matter of time for us to get remarried. Therefore, I¡¯m going to be a Fuller once


    again, but this time is not the same as thest one. Because if you dare to take advantage of me, I won¡¯t


    stand by and let you boss me around like I¡¯m your servant, as I always did six years ago. Instead, I¡¯m


    going to stand up for myself and fight back.¡±


    ¡°Do you think so little of me?¡± Jean rolled her eyes upward, appearing unconcerned about Sonia¡¯s


    warning. Unknown to herself, Jean hadn¡¯t realized Sonia had changed and be a different person


    from who she was six years ago, just like she had mentioned. Instead, she still believed that Sonia was


    still a pushover whom she could bully as always.


    While Jean¡¯s expression was expected, Sonia didn¡¯t seem surprised to see her reaction. For that, she


    continued to smile calmly and coldly. ¡°You¡¯re going to believe it soon.¡± Sonia puckered her lips and added


    with a calm tone, ¡°Grandma told me to let her know should you mess with me.¡±


    ¡°So, your solution is to alert Old Mrs. Fuller after all your big talk about me no longer being able to bully


    you like I did six years ago?¡± Jean gazed at Sonia contemptuously. ¡°And here I thought you were up to


    something else.¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Sonia shook her index finger. ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t n to alert Grandma either because I can


    deal with you by myself without her help.¡±


    ¡°By yourself?¡± Jean reacted with a haughty attitude.


    Sonia curled her lips upward and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I can deal with you by myself. Now that Toby¡¯s heart


    is with me, I can think of a million ways to make you suffer so long as things remain the same. In fact,


    after Toby and I get married, I¡¯m going to be the matriarch of the Fuller Family. By then, dealing with you


    will only be a piece of cake while you may even find yourself at my mercy. If you get on my nerves,


    I could freeze your bank ount or even cast you out of the Fuller Family. By then, do you think Toby


    and Grandma are going to side with you? If you ask me, I don¡¯t think they will, except Tyler since you¡¯re


    his biological mother after all, but again, what else could he do? Nothing, because he is at my mercy too.


    If he upsets me, I¡¯m going to freeze his bank ount too, so that he won¡¯t be able to help you


    financially.¡±


    ¡°You dare?!¡± Jean screeched. ¡°I¡¯m Toby¡¯s mother, so how dare you treat me that way?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only just her stepmother, so don¡¯t you get carried away with that.¡± Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°You


    might have raised Toby, but did you pay everything for him? No, you used the Fuller Family¡¯s money


    instead. Thus, the most you ever gave Toby was just your motherly love, which means he doesn¡¯t owe


    you anything from a materialistic standpoint. Therefore, how much love do you think you both share with


    each other? Which one of us do you think matters more to him? You or me?¡±

 Chapter 699

    Chapter 699


    Chapter 699 Rose¡¯s Contemptuous Pity


    Jean was rendered tongue-tied by Sonia¡¯s words, not knowing how she should respond. Which of us


    matters more? While the answer was obvious to Jean herself, she was reminded of Toby¡¯s words that


    she was not as important as Sonia, although she was his stepmother. Therefore, she had no idea how to


    reply to Sonia.


    Noticing Jean¡¯s bitter look, Sonia chuckled and said, ¡°It looks like you know the answer yourself, so do


    you really think that I don¡¯t have the courage to do that?¡±


    While Jean shivered and red at Sonia without saying a word, thetter snapped her fingers and


    calmly said, ¡°I¡¯m only warning you for the sake of those years that you spent raising Toby, but instead of


    a warning, I prefer the word, advice. I¡¯m advising you to be more polite to me from now on. Forget about


    whatever monkey business you¡¯re up to; otherwise, you¡¯ll end up like I just told you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only so arrogant because you think you¡¯re protected by Toby¡¯s love for you.¡± Jean clenched her


    jaw. ¡°If Toby no longer loves you, I bet you don¡¯t even have the guts to show me any disrespect, so you¡¯d


    better pray that Toby loves you forever because I¡¯m going toe after you otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the reminder.¡± Sonia squinted with a smiling face. ¡°But don¡¯t you worry about that because


    that day will nevere. Even if Toby doesn¡¯t love me anymore, I¡¯ll be sure to make my move against


    you before you can do anything to me.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jean was speechless once again with a pale face. Deep down, she knew she could never win in


    a battle of argument or a physical fight against Sonia. Therefore, she stomped the ground and left,


    thinking she had had enough of Sonia¡¯s haughty attitude.


    In the meantime, Sonia kept her eyes on Jean as thetter walked away, stroking her chin with a pair of


    smiling eyes on her face.


    Well, I have to admit that ying a bad girl to warn someone feels especially satisfying. No wonder


    everyone likes to give others a stuck-up attitude nowadays.


    Soon, she responded with a grunt and made her way back to the ward as soon as Jean disappeared


    from sight in the elevator.


    On the other hand, Rose was reading a magazine when she happened to hear footstepsing closer.


    Without even looking up, she asked, ¡°Did you manage to say goodbye to her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did,¡± Sonia replied with an affirmative hum.


    Rose looked up from her magazine, smiling ambiguously at her. ¡°I didn¡¯t think there would be a day that


    you had to y a goody two-shoes just to take on your enemy.¡± The olddy was referring to the moment


    when Sonia feigned her sympathy to pit Rose against Jean.


    Rendered awkward by Rose¡¯s words, Sonia froze and stiffened unnaturally. ¡°Y-You noticed, Grandma?¡±


    ¡°Well, that was way too obvious for me not to notice. I¡¯m not what you young people call¡­ a nerd.


    Instead, I¡¯m also a woman, so do you think I can¡¯t tell when a woman was up to some of her


    shenanigans?¡± Rose smiled and asked Sonia.


    Sonia guiltily fiddled with her fingers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for using you, Grandma.¡± Oh no, Grandma just saw


    through me. Damn it. She is probably not going to think that I¡¯m as kind as I used to be. She is going to


    hate me from now on.


    At the same time, Rose was able to see through the anxiety within Sonia and said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t let


    your wild imagination upset you because I¡¯m not trying to me you. Instead, I¡¯m pretty happy about it.¡±


    Sonia was caught in a trance, staring at Rose with a bewildered look. ¡°Did you just say you¡¯re happy


    about it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Rose nodded.


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia was confused as she sat down on the bed.


    ¡°Because I feel gratified?¡±


    ¡°Gratified?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Rose seized her hand, gently patting it. ¡°I know Jean had been keeping you under her thumb for


    the past six years, and I wasn¡¯t happy about that, yet you wouldn¡¯t let me stand up for you despite my


    intention to do something. For that, I felt especially helpless about your situation.¡±


    Sonia was overwhelmed by a pang of bitterness, her face turning red when she heard what Rose said


    because the things that thetter said were indeed true.


    Soon, Rose let out a sigh and said, ¡°You kept me from helping you, but Jean wouldn¡¯t stop her bullying;


    then I tried to help you again, only to be turned down by you once again. As the process went on and on,


    I eventually gave up the intention to stand up for you. Thus, you shouldn¡¯t feel sorry for me but for


    yourself.¡±


    ¡°No, Grandma. I also owe you an apology for having turned you away despite your kind intentions to help


    me.¡±


    Rose responded by ruffling Sonia¡¯s hair. ¡°Yeah, you were like a puppet back then. You wouldn¡¯t talk back,


    and neither would you ept someone else¡¯s help. As much as I was pissed back then, I¡¯m d that


    you¡¯ve changed and be a better person. Right now, you seem to be in high spirits as you know how


    to fight back or get someone else to do that for you, which is why I said I¡¯m gratified.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Sonia nodded with a smile. ¡°I thought you would hate me for using you.¡±


    ¡°Why would I?¡± Rose smiled and added, ¡°I won¡¯t hate you as long as you¡¯re not using me for any evil


    intentions. Furthermore, I could understand your aim to protect yourself and hence condone your action


    of using me to do so. In fact, I did something simr as well when I was younger.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Sonia blinked in surprise, finding it hard to believe that Rose had also yed a goody two-


    shoes when she was younger.


    ¡°Yeah, would you like to hear some of my stories?¡± Rose asked.


    ¡°Yeah, of course I do.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go ahead and tell you my story.¡±


    Not long after the twodies began to recount their pasts, Toby happened to return with their meals when


    he saw Sonia and Rose happily chatting with each other. Thus, he grinned brightly and asked, ¡°What are


    youdies talking about? You both seem exhrated.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Sonia stood up from her seat and approached Toby, taking the food from his hands.


    ¡°Grandma and I were sharing stories about our pasts. She told me a lot about her own stories, which I


    found pretty interesting.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Toby rubbed her head, but Sonia took it off her.


    ¡°Stop patting my head. I¡¯m getting shorter and shorter because you won¡¯t stop doing that. By the way,


    what took you so long?¡±


    Toby seized Sonia¡¯s hand and walked toward the table with her. ¡°I received a conference call on my way


    back, and that took a bit of my time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Sonia nodded without asking any further.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Soon, the two of them got closer to the table and began to dig in. At the same time, Rose was seen with


    a bright and grateful smile on her face when she saw the heartwarming interaction between the couple.


    This is awesome! It looks like I¡¯m the one who¡¯s been overthinking.


    In spite of her concern about the impact and difort their checkered pasts might bring to their current


    rtionship, she realized she had nothing to worry about because the two of them were getting along


    with each other just fine.


    ¡°Eat up, Grandma.¡± Sonia brought Rose¡¯s meal closer to thetter, ready to feed her just when the old


    lady was preupied with her thoughts.


    Despite sensing her kind intention, Rose waved her hand and said, ¡°No need for that. I may be old, but


    I¡¯m not handicapped, so I can take care of it myself. Anyway, you should start eating, Sonia. Toby, please


    see that Sonia finishes her meal.¡±


    Upon hearing Rose¡¯s instruction, Toby replied with an affirmative hum and stopped preparing the dishes


    before he walked toward the bed. After all, he had just told Sonia to let his grandmother take care of


    herself, but to no avail, as thetter insisted on feeding Rose and told him to go on without her.


    Unable to convince Sonia, Toby could only ce more dishes in her meal box so that he could feed her


    when she was feeding Rose. Nheless, Sonia was summoned by Rose before he could do so.


    In fact, Toby believed it would be better to let Rose eat by herself so that she would still feel a sense of


    worth in her old age. After all, he knew his grandmother was too prideful to ept her inability to take


    care of herself.

 Chapter 700

    Chapter 700


    Chapter 700 A Newlywed House


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby seized Sonia¡¯s arm.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Sonia was holding a bowl as she wanted to say something. However, when she saw Toby


    shaking his head, she somehow seemed to understand the underlying meaning and gave Rose the bowl.


    ¡°Enjoy your meal, Grandma. Call me if you need anything.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Rose nodded benevolently.


    As soon as Toby took Sonia back to the table, he gave her a fork and a knife. ¡°Let¡¯s dig in. I bought your


    favorite dish.¡±


    Sonia then grabbed the silverware with a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Soon, the three of them began to enjoy their meal and stuck around for a while after dinner. When the


    clock struck 9 PM, they left the hospital and headed to Skrk Tower. Upon opening the door, Toby


    made a gesture by chivalrously inviting thedy next to him to go first. At the same time, Sonia held the


    chain strap of her purse on her shoulder and bowed down slightly. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on. Seriously? This will be your home soon, so cut the pleasantries.¡± Toby knitted his


    eyebrows.


    When Sonia heard the man¡¯s words, she looked away with her blushed cheeks. ¡°What¡¯re you talking


    about? What do you mean by this will be my home soon? Stop your nonsense.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not babbling nonsense.¡± Toby bent over and opened his shoe cab, seemingly rummaging


    through it for something he was looking for. ¡°When we remarry each other, my house is going to be yours


    anyway, so what do you say that we use this ce as our newlywed house?¡±


    ¡°Our newlywed house?¡± Sonia was caught in a trance just as Toby replied with an affirmative hum.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re going to live in the old manor with Grandma in the future?¡± Sonia looked at the


    man in confusion.


    ¡°Well, that was initially my n, but I have now decided to send Grandma to the sanatorium.¡± Toby then


    took a pair of pink furry slippers, cing them in front of Sonia.


    Looking at the pair of slippers with a face of a rabbit on them, Sonia curled her lips upward and


    wondered to herself. Whoever bought this pair of slippers must have had bad taste. In spite of the


    thought of that, she didn¡¯t speak her mind and proceeded to put them on after taking off her high heels. It


    was only when she put on the slippers that she realized they fitted her feet perfectly. Thus, she believed


    the slippers were probably prepared for her beforehand, although she had no idea whether it was Toby


    or Tom who bought them.


    Whichever of them bought the slippers really needs to up their game. Who says alldies love anything


    pink with a cute little rabbit?


    Soon, Sonia followed Toby behind and entered the living room, putting down her purse while asking,


    ¡°Why do you want to send Grandma to the sanatorium?¡±


    At that moment, Toby was standing in front of the water dispenser machine, whereupon he returned to


    Sonia with a ss of water for her. Then, he answered with a deep voice, ¡°Grandma¡¯s health is¡­ not


    doing good. In fact, the doctor has already warned us onest time about what could happen.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? What did you just say?¡± Sonia¡¯s face changed, her hand shivering so hard that she nearly


    dropped the ss on the floor. A few momentster, she barely calmed herself down and asked with a


    bitter voice, ¡°How did this happen?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the harsh reality we all live in. We never know what will happen next.¡± Toby sat down in front


    of her and took a sip of water from the ss he was holding, replying with a tired voice.


    ¡°H-How long does Grandma still have?¡± Sonia gripped the ss and asked.


    ¡°Two years.¡± Toby looked down and answered, ¡°Two years at most.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you have decided to send Grandma to the sanatorium? To buy yourself more time to spend


    with her?¡± Sonia gazed at the man.


    Toby nodded in response. ¡°The sanatorium is the ce with some of the best health experts in the world.


    For that, I believe Grandma will receive the best treatment there, which should theoretically buy her more


    time to live, but even so, it won¡¯t¡­¡±


    The man didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but Sonia understood what he would have said, believing he was


    going to tell her that the treatment at the sanatorium was still no magic, although it could possibly extend


    Rose¡¯s life.


    At the same time, she also understood that those heartbreaking words would take courage for Toby to


    speak up and that she could empathize with his pain. The next moment, she ced her hand on Toby¡¯s


    shoulder, trying tofort him with her silent gesture, but Toby seemed to want more than just that.


    Thus, he yfully wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her in his arms while burying his head


    into her embrace.


    Sonia paused and tried to push him away. ¡°Hey, what¡¯re you doing?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. Just let me hug you.¡± Toby tightened his arms around thedy¡¯s waist, making sure there


    was no gap between her body and his, like he was trying to fuse with her.


    Soon, Sonia began to suffocate, feeling ufortable in her spine as she said, ¡°Please! Let me go


    now.¡±


    Toby looked up, his eyes filled with bitterness. ¡°Grandma¡¯s condition breaks my heart, so please just let


    me hug you. It helps relieve the pain inside of me because I don¡¯t think you can bear to see it torment me


    either, right?¡±


    Sonia curled her lips in a speechless manner. What kind of excuse is that? He doesn¡¯t actually need to


    hug me to relieve the pain inside of him, does he? He is just using his grandma as an excuse to take


    advantage of me. Despite the thought, Sonia eventually let it slide because she couldn¡¯t stop admiring


    his childish behavior.


    Soon, she let out a sigh and rxed, taking her hand off his shoulder that was initially going to push her


    away. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you hug me for a few more moments, but you¡¯re going to let me go by then because


    I still need to take a showerter.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby continued to bury his head in thedy¡¯s embrace, responding with a grunt. At first, he


    merely just hugged her without doing anything, but a few momentster, he began to turn the situation


    into a touchy-feely intimacy as he started to kiss her neck and bite her lips.


    Although it wasn¡¯t painful at all, Sonia couldn¡¯t stand the ticklish feeling and shrugged her shoulders,


    patting the man¡¯s back. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±


    Toby looked up and met her eyes with his darkened gaze. He then gulped and spoke with his hoarse,


    maic voice. ¡°Little Leaf, is your shark week over?¡±


    Knowing what he was referring to, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but blush. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°How much longer?¡± A disappointed look shed across Toby¡¯s face as he was desperate to share an


    intimate moment with her. Ugh, man! I¡¯ve been holding in my urge for so long that I¡¯m going to lose my


    mind if she is still not ready.


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    ¡°What¡¯s your hurry?¡± Sonia impatiently nudged him with her elbow, sensing his desperation.


    Toby then hugged her tightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m just restless. After all, the woman I love is sitting right in front


    of me, but there isn¡¯t a thing I can do to enjoy an intimate moment with her. For that, how do you expect


    me to continue waiting like this?¡±


    ¡°Well, like it or not, you¡¯re going to have to bite the bullet and keep waiting.¡± Sonia pushed the man away


    and stood up with her cheeks blushing even more. As soon as she finished her words, she walked


    toward the washroom.


    Meanwhile, Toby kept his eyes on her and helplessly rubbed his forehead, chuckling with a deep voice.


    Well, I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait for a few days then. By then, my wish is going toe true, and I can


    have her without anything to worry about.


    In the meantime, Sonia was standing in front of the basin, looking at her blushed face in the mirror. She


    then turned on the tap and proceeded to wash her face in an attempt to calm herself down. Nheless,


    she still felt something burning inside of her as her heart wouldn¡¯t stop beating rapidly even after


    sshing her face with the icy tap water a few times.


    This is all Toby¡¯s fault. We were talking about Grandma, but he just somehow steered the conversation


    astray. Thanks to him, my mind is full of those dirty thoughts, and I¡¯m having trouble calming myself


    down. He is pretty good at ruining the vibe, isn¡¯t he?


    While Sonia was caught in her train of thought, she was interrupted by a knock on the door and the


    man¡¯s voice. ¡°Little Leaf, there is no shower gel and hair shampoo in this bathroom. Instead, they are all


    in the bathroom in my room. Besides, I¡¯ve already gotten someone to prepare everything you need for


    your shower, and they¡¯re now in the bathroom of my bedroom. So, if you want to take a shower, you


    could go to my bedroom.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I heard you.¡± Sonia rubbed her hands and made her way to the room, opening the door.


    Noticing her wet hair, Toby furrowed his eyebrows and asked, ¡°What happened to your hair?¡±

 Chapter 701

    Chapter 701


    Chapter 701 Toby¡¯s Surprise


    ¡°My hair?¡± Sonia felt her hair, feeling her hands getting wet as she quickly understood what Toby was


    asking. Thus, she dropped her hand and said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I just got a little careless when I was


    washing my face.¡±


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby nodded in response without asking any further questions, whereupon he seized Sonia¡¯s hand and


    walked toward his room. On their way there, something seemed to pop up in Sonia¡¯s mind while she


    turned her attention to the man. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t prepare a room for me.¡±


    ¡°No need for that.¡± Toby curled his lips upward and looked in her direction. ¡°My room is yours, so you¡¯re


    going to be staying with me.¡±


    ¡°I knew it.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes upward at Toby, finding his ¡®secret¡¯ arrangement unsurprising because


    she expected something like that to happen.


    This man may be held back by his pride to say or do what he has to sometimes, but his ¡®shamelessness¡¯


    knows no bounds. Most of the time, he will do anything to make me share a bed with him.


    Upon arrival in Toby¡¯s bedroom, Sonia knew there was no way for her to sleep in a separate room. Even


    if she did manage to get herself a separate room, she believed she would wake up and find herself lying


    beside him the next day, thinking he would surely sneak into her room in the middle of the night.


    ¡°You don¡¯t agree with my arrangement?¡± Toby stopped in his tracks.


    Sonia followed suit and responded with a question instead of an answer. ¡°If I tell you I don¡¯t, are you


    going to get me a guest room?¡±


    ¡°No can do,¡± Toby replied without a second of hesitation.


    ¡°Well then, what difference would it make if I disagree with it? I knew you wouldn¡¯t prepare a separate


    room for me, which is why I¡¯m not nning to sleep alone, either.¡±


    ¡°You really know me well, don¡¯t you?¡± Toby chuckled upon hearing thedy¡¯s words.


    ¡°You¡¯re a flirt, and I already know that well enough.¡± Sonia poked the man¡¯s chest with her red fingernails.


    Toby then raised her hand and grabbed her fingers, bringing them closer to his mouth to kiss them. ¡°So,


    that means you¡¯re willing to stay with me in the same room, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± Sonia looked away in embarrassment.


    As Toby responded with his charmingughter, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel numb in her ears. Thus, she


    gestured and urged Toby to move on. ¡°Alright. Alright, stopughing, and let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded, holding her hand as he took her into the room.


    Upon entering the room, Sonia was instantly stunned at the sight of the spacious interior. While there


    was nothing else besides the basic furniture and electrical appliances in Toby¡¯s room the day before, the


    decoration style was themed with dark colors that brought a sense of depression to anyone whoid


    eyes on it.


    However, the room had just be different, with a brighter and warmer theme along with beige


    curtains that were previously ck. Although the bed still remained the same, the dark bed sheet on it


    was now reced with a white one. Other than that, the room was also more pleasant to admire with


    flowers and many other decorators in it. Among the things in the confined space, the dressing table was


    especially eye-catching, with various types of facial masks and skincare products, which was a sight that


    was enough to make anydy go crazy.


    While Sonia stood in front of the dressing table in a trance, Toby took her closer to the dressing table and


    gently said, ¡°This is all for you.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Sonia puckered her lips but only managed to find her voice a few momentster.


    Toby replied with an affirmative hum. ¡°Yeah, I just told you that this house will be our newlywed home,


    didn¡¯t I? So, I had someone design this room earlier and changed its style to your favorite one. Then, I


    ordered someone else to prepare everything you ever need, and this is one of them.¡± He pointed at the


    dressing table.


    ¡°One of them? Do you have something else for me too?¡± Sonia blinked.


    Toby smiled at Sonia and held her hand, taking her to the cloakroom. When they reached there, he


    opened the door and revealed a massive cloakroom in front of thedy.


    Oh my gosh! This is huge! I remember I dide to the cloakroom yesterday, but I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t as


    spacious as it is now. This cloakroom that I¡¯m seeing is definitely more than twice as big as the one I saw


    yesterday.


    In fact, the extra space was filled with a new closet and rack with various types of women¡¯s apparel,


    including socks, lingerie, casual wear, dresses, pajamas, and sportswear. Apart from that, there were


    also many different types of high heels and branded purses, as well as jewelry, which was an exciting


    sight that was enough to make Sonia scream in ecstasy.


    Oh jeez! This is not a cloakroom! This is a small luxury fashion shop. Sonia gazed at Toby with her


    stiffened neck. ¡°D-Did you prepare all this for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby brought thedy into the cloakroom and said, ¡°As your future husband, this is what I should


    do. Plus, it¡¯s not a lot either, so don¡¯t worry about it. Anyway, there will be someone who will deliver the


    latest release of every season, and they¡¯re all your favorite styles.¡± Like a proud child who scored a full


    mark on an exam, he looked at her with an expectant gaze.


    ¡°Thanks for doing so much for me, but actually, you don¡¯t have to¡­¡± Sonia somehow found itughable.


    ¡°Of course, I do.¡± Toby interrupted Sonia and added, ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m your future husband, and I¡¯m just


    fulfilling my duty. Otherwise, what¡¯s the point of making so much money if I¡¯m not going to spend it on my


    family and my lover? So, don¡¯t ever say anything like that again because I don¡¯t like the sound of that.¡±


    He sounded serious.


    Sonia looked at the man for a few moments and chuckled. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t say that anymore, but don¡¯t


    you think this is a little unfair to you?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Toby didn¡¯t understand Sonia¡¯s meaning.


    Sonia pointed at the cloakroom and said, ¡°Your space is so much smaller than mine, and it looks like


    you¡¯re just living in a cramped corner.¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No, this is perfectly fine. The more items you have, the more it¡¯ll make you look


    like the matriarch in this house.¡±


    ¡°You never really run out of excuses, do you?¡± Sonia shook her head.


    Soon, Toby let go of Sonia¡¯s hand and walked toward the pajamas area as she watched in puzzlement.


    Then, he took a ck sleeping gown with silk shoulderces that made her heart skip a beat when she


    saw that. Having a bad feeling, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but wonder what he was up to. Don¡¯t tell me he wants


    me to¡­


    When she saw the man walking toward her with the sleeping gown, she pursed her lips and slowly


    began to suspect that she was right about his intention. It wasn¡¯t until the man handed her the sleeping


    gown with an excited expression that she could confirm her suspicion. He wants me to wear this sleeping


    gown when I go to bed. As she expected, Toby stated what was on her mind as soon as he made sure


    she took the sleeping gown. ¡°Wear this tonight, would you?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia could feel her eyelids twitching.


    ¡°Because I want to see you wearing that.¡± Toby spoke his mind without hesitation at all.


    Upon hearing the man¡¯s words, Sonia felt her eyelids twitching even more. Although she was about to


    turn Toby down, she eventually softened up when she noticed the hopeful look on his face and thought


    about the cloakroom he had prepared for her. In the end, she helplessly sighed and shook her head.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll wear it.¡±


    It¡¯s just a sleeping gown. What¡¯s the big deal with wearing it? It may look a little skimpy, but I guess it¡¯s


    still not going to reveal too much of my skin. So, maybe I should think of it as a traditional swimming suit.


    At that thought, Sonia entered the bathroom with it while Toby sat on the bed with a magazine in his


    hands.


    Although Toby appeared to be reading the magazine, he hadn¡¯t flipped a page after a few moments.


    Instead, he kept peeking at the bathroom door, too restless to read the magazine as he couldn¡¯t wait to


    see Sonia stepping out of the bathroom. However, his phone in his pocket rang a few minutester. He


    then knitted his eyebrows and closed the magazine, reaching for his phone, only to realize it was a call


    from Tom.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Toby pursed his lips and coldly asked.


    ¡°I have bad news, President Fuller. Miss Reed has just be the most searched name on the inte


    once again.¡± Tom¡¯s anxious voice was heard.

 Chapter 702

    Chapter 702


    Chapter 702 Jessica¡¯s Evil Scheme


    Toby¡¯s brows were knitted tightly together as he spoke in an eerily cold tone. ¡°What is the trending topic


    about?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about how Miss Reed isn¡¯t a biological daughter from the Reed Family. The news is out,¡± Tom replied


    in an anxious tone.


    ¡°What?¡± Toby straightened his back as his expression turned grim. ¡°Are you saying that the truth is out?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How did it happen? Who exposed her?¡± Toby asked sternly. There were only a few people who knew


    about the fact that Sonia wasn¡¯t biologically rted to the Reed Family. Both Grandma and the Lanes


    would never reveal such a thing, and the only other people who know about this are Tim and me. I don¡¯t


    think Tim¡¯s the one¡ªhe isn¡¯t the type to start troubles with others. Furthermore, he¡¯d never betray Sonia.


    Something¡¯s wrong here, Toby thought.


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    Right as Toby was thinking about who might have possibly exposed Sonia, Tom parted his lips to give


    Toby the answer. ¡°It was Jessica.¡±


    ¡°What? Jessica?¡± A dangerous look shed in Toby¡¯s gaze.


    Tom nodded. ¡°She was the one who revealed all of this information. She even made postsining


    about how Miss Reed had stolen all of Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares. Furthermore, Jessica started a bunch of


    rumors online, iming that Miss Reed bullied her, and that Lina had cheated on Henry and gave birth to


    Miss Reed after sleeping with another man. Everyone on the Inte is criticizing Miss Reed now. The


    news is spreading extremely quickly.¡±


    Toby tightened his grip on his phone as he listened to Tom. By the end of Tom¡¯s sentence, Toby¡¯s grip on


    his phone was so strong that he looked like he was about to crush the device. There was a threatening


    aura surrounding his figure. Of course. How could I forget about Jessica? Tim just told me about Jessica


    sneaking into the hospital¡¯s file storage room a few days ago. He said that she checked Sonia¡¯s report,


    so she may be suspicious of Sonia¡¯s identity. I knew Jessica would do something with this information,


    but I didn¡¯t expect her to act so quickly! I thought she¡¯d wait for a while more, but¡­


    Toby was no longer in the mood to hear about this matter, and he punched the bed with a grim look on


    his face. ¡°I got it. I want you to contact all the major mediapanies and tell them to cool off the heat


    surrounding this topic. I also want you to hunt down thepany that epted Jessica¡¯s request to


    expose Sonia. I want to destroy thatpany!¡± His voice had no emotion to it, and his order sent chills


    down Tom¡¯s spine.


    ¡°I got it, President Fuller!¡± Tom replied in an equally serious tone. Once they got off the call, Toby held his


    phone in front of him before tapping on one of his browser applications. Perhaps Jessica had pulled


    some strings to ensure that this topic would trend, for Toby found himself staring at one of the rted


    headlines the moment he opened his browser.


    An icy look shed in his eyes as he tapped on the rmended topic, and a live broadcast started


    immediately. The live broadcast showed Jessica with a handkerchief in her hand. She was sitting on a


    couch in an office, and her hair was aplete mess. There were fresh, red p marks on her cheeks. It


    was clear that Jessica was trying to show others that she had been pped. Judging by how swollen her


    cheeks were, it seemed like the person who hit her had used quite a lot of strength.


    At that moment, Jessica was crying and wiping her tears away as she attempted to speak through her


    sobs. Everything she said had to do with Sonia. Her words reflected what Tom had told Toby earlier¡ªshe


    imed that Sonia had always been a domineering kid who had never treated her like a sister. ¡°Sonia


    would criticize and hit me all the time, and I grew up being bullied by her. Although Henry was my father,


    he had never done anything to help me. In fact, he even supported Sonia in bullying my mom and me.¡±


    Upon finishing her words, Jessica got to her feet and edged her face toward the camera. ¡°Look at this.


    Sonia was the one who hit me,¡± Jessica cried in a pitiful tone. ¡°When I found out that Sonia isn¡¯t my


    father¡¯s biological daughter, I approached her to ask her if it were the truth. However, once I asked her


    about it, her expressionpletely changed, and she started pping and strangling me. She even told


    me not to tell anyone because she was worried that she¡¯d get exposed for holding onto all of Paradigm


    Co.¡¯s shares. After all, it¡¯s not nice for someone unrted to hold all of the shares of thepany, so


    she¡­¡±


    Jessica stopped talking after that. Instead, she covered her face with her hands and continued wailing.


    When the audience saw the way she acted, they probably assumed that she was too sad to continue


    talking. However, Toby knew that Jessica had intentionally stopped at that point so that the audience


    could put the pieces together to criticize Sonia. Jessica¡¯s throwing Sonia into a ming pit!


    Toby cracked his knuckles as he red at Jessica on the screen. He felt the urge to tear her into pieces.


    He knew that Jessica was a heartless woman, but he also knew that the blindsidedizens and fans


    contributed to worsening this matter. When Toby saw the emergingments that criticized Sonia, he


    clenched his jaw in anger.


    ¡®F*ck. She¡¯s so ungrateful! This is the first time I¡¯ve witnessed an illegitimate child who doesn¡¯t even know


    her father to shamelessly bully the actual biological daughter in a family. Ahh, this is just so¡­¡¯ someone


    commented.


    ¡®You shouldn¡¯t just me Sonia for this, dude. The father¡¯s in the wrong too! Didn¡¯t you hear Jessica


    saying that her father was only nice to Sonia but not her? He even helped Sonia to bully Jessica. A sh*tty


    father like him is the worst,¡¯ someone elsemented.


    ¡®Exactly. When I heard that his ex-wife had cheated on him and made him think he was a father, I felt


    sorry for him. However, it looks like he was blinded to a point where he helped an outsider to bully his


    own wife and daughter. A man like him deserves no pity!¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s right. Also, I bet Sonia knew about her identity a long time ago. That was why she snatched all of


    Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares without leaving any for the Reed Family¡¯s biological daughter. Sonia¡¯s probably


    afraid that she¡¯d lose everything and be kicked out of the family once her identity was revealed. That¡¯s


    why she concealed her true identity and tried to kick Jessica out to ensure that she¡¯d get all of the


    shares. She¡¯s such a disgusting woman! These shares belong to Jessica. Sonia is just an illegitimate


    daughter¡ªshe has no right to inherit Paradigm Co. She should return the shares to Jessica!¡¯


    ¡®Yeah, return the shares to Jessica! Also, didn¡¯t Sonia and the Fuller Group¡¯s president get back with


    each other? I¡¯m starting to wonder if President Fuller¡¯s taste in women is really that good. He probably


    isn¡¯t that great of a man if he fell for someone like Sonia.¡¯


    ¡®You sure are a brave one to say that President Fuller isn¡¯t that great of a man! Aren¡¯t you afraid that


    someone might avenge President Fuller? Anyway, I was wondering why President Fuller would date a


    woman like Sonia, but I was thinking¡­ Perhaps he doesn¡¯t know Sonia¡¯s true colors.¡¯


    There were tons ofments popping up all at once, and many of them were starting to mention Toby¡¯s


    name. A raging storm gathered in Toby¡¯s eyes as he skimmed through all thements. He didn¡¯t even


    need to search for suchments¡ªthey had surfaced all over the Fuller Group¡¯s official site, their


    Facebook ount, and thement sections of other social media tforms. Everyone was tagging


    Toby to get him to see Sonia¡¯s ¡®true colors¡¯!


    Hah! What a joke. Do they think I don¡¯t know the sort of person Sonia is? Do I need these idiots to tell me


    anything? They are the ones who should be opening their eyes wide to look for the truth. They¡¯re being


    used as puppets, yet they seem so proud to be able to participate.


    Toby¡¯s thin lips were pressed in a t line as he gazed down to turn off the live broadcast he had been


    watching. All of a sudden, the live broadcast¡¯s stream of wordyments disappeared from his screen,


    leaving only a few unimportant spamments.

 Chapter 703

    Chapter 703


    Chapter 703 Old Tales


    When Toby saw the spamments, he knew that Tom had managed to suppress theizen¡¯s


    responses to calm the situation down. Toby turned the live broadcast off and massaged his brows. He


    didn¡¯t feel any relief, although the situation was partially under control. After all, just calming the situation


    down on the Inte didn¡¯t mean that they had actually resolved the issue. The public had seen


    whatever Jessica wanted them to see, so Toby had to clear Sonia¡¯s name.


    He was just thinking of ways to fix this matter when Sonia walked out of the bathroom with the ck silk


    nightgown that he had selected for her. She wasn¡¯t wearing slippers, so she tiptoed quietly on the carpet


    with her bare feet. Toby didn¡¯t hear hering over, but he could smell the pleasant scent as she got


    closer. He quickly lowered his hand from his brows before he looked up to find Sonia walking over in the


    spaghetti-strapped nightgown. His pupils shrank as he looked at the woman before him.


    She had just finished showering, so her damp hair was carelessly hanging from her fair shoulders. A few


    strands of hair were yfully dangling around her sexy corbones, and they swayed left and right as


    she walked over. The sharp contrast between her ck nightgown and her fair skin made it hard for one


    to tear one¡¯s eyes away from her.


    Naturally, Sonia could sense the man¡¯s eyes burning into her skin. Her face had been flushed from the


    warm shower she took, but her cheeks turned redder when she realized that he was looking at her. She


    took a nce at herself before she shot Toby a re. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°You look really pretty in this nightgown,¡± Toby said with a gentle smile. His suddenpliment left Sonia


    utterly abashed, and she had to turn away to hide her expression. However, she had curled her lips up a


    little, revealing how she was slightly pleased to hear what the man said. She was a sucker for


    compliments.


    ¡°Come here,¡± Toby uttered as he patted a spot on the bed. Sonia turned alert when she saw what he was


    doing. ¡°What is it?¡± Does he want to¡­ No, no. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s such a pervert. He knows that I¡¯m still on


    my period.


    ¡°I¡¯ll blow-dry your hair for you.¡± Toby had somehow produced a mini hairdryer in his hands, and he swung


    it in the air to show it to Sonia. She heaved a sigh of relief. I knew he wasn¡¯t that big of a pervert. She


    walked over and sat down by the edge of the bed. The moment she sat down, a shadow towered over


    her as a pair ofrge hands reached over to wrap a thick, white sleeping robe firmly over her body.


    Sonia lowered her head to look at the arms around her waist. ¡°Toby, what are you¡­¡±


    Toby¡¯s face was pressed against the back of her neck as he spoke in a rather hoarse voice. ¡°I have to


    cover you up, or else I¡¯m afraid I might lose control if I keep staring at you.¡± He was just a regr man¡ªit


    was impossible for him to not feel certain urges when his lover was dressed in such a sexy gown in front


    of him. Therefore, he could only use his own sleeping robe to cover her up. Otherwise, seeing her


    gorgeous figure without being able to touch her would only agonize him even more.


    Initially, Sonia froze when she heard Toby¡¯s words. Then, she put her hand over her mouth to stifle a


    giggle. ¡°You were the one who picked this gown for me,¡± she uttered in a rather yful tone as if she


    were saying, You brought this upon yourself!


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby pressed his forehead against the back of her neck and rubbed it against her. ¡°I regret it


    now,¡± he muttered. He shouldn¡¯t have been in a rush to get her to dress in such nightgowns¡ªhe should


    have waited until they got married. Now that she was already in one, he was the only one who¡¯d suffer


    since he could only see her without being able toy hands on her.


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    ¡°You deserve it!¡± Soniaughed louder than she did before.


    He let out a helpless sigh. ¡°Alright. Put on the sleeping robe properly, and I¡¯ll dry your hair for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia uttered as she stuck both her arms into the holes of the robe and tied a knot around her


    waist. Then, Toby turned the hairdryer on before he started drying her hair. Sonia simply sat on the edge


    of her bed while she shut her eyes and enjoyed the experience. Her hair was being dried without her


    having to lift a finger¡ªwasn¡¯t that the most pleasurable experience ever?


    A long time passed before Toby finally turned the hairdryer off. Sonia was close to falling asleep at that


    point. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± he uttered. Sonia opened her eyes and felt her hair to realize that it waspletely dry.


    Her hair was long and thick, so it was hard for it to bepletely dried with a hairdryer. Her arms would


    always get sore before she was done drying her hair. Sometimes, if shecked the patience, she would


    leave her hair slightly damp. However, she was d that Toby had the patience to finish the job.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia brushed her hair to one side as she turned around to thank the man who was


    keeping the hairdryer. Right then, Toby frowned as if he had just recalled something. Sonia blinked at


    him. ¡°What is it? I realized you seemed rather troubled when I walked out of the shower just now. Is


    something the matter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about me,¡± Toby replied as he put the hairdryer away. ¡°It¡¯s about you.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Sonia pointed at herself as she eyed the man confusedly. He nodded. ¡°Jessica exposed your


    identity on the Inte, and she went on a live broadcast to spit rumors about you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia was too stunned to move. It took her a while before she picked up her phone and


    checked her browser for the news that Toby had just told her about. Although some of thements and


    articles had been restricted at that point, Sonia was still able to search for the relevant posts.


    Sonia sneered when she saw a rey of the live broadcast Jessica made earlier. ¡°This is exactly the sort


    of thing she would do.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you expected her to expose you on the Inte all along.¡± Toby eyed the woman puzzledly


    ¡ªhe was surprised by how calm she was.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah. I know Jessica. She may be an idiot, but she¡¯s great at causing trouble. She


    instantly contacted me and asked me to give her the shares once she found out that I¡¯m not the Reeds¡¯


    biological daughter. She thinks that she deserves all the shares just because she¡¯s biologically rted to


    the Reeds. Unfortunately, Paradigm Co. is no longer a family business. I didn¡¯t even inherit the shares


    from Dad. Knowing her, she¡¯s definitely resentful toward the fact that she had failed toplete her initial


    mission. That¡¯s why she¡¯s continuing to cause problems for me by highlighting my actual identity. Using


    the court of public opinion is the best way to get this done, obviously.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that Jessica already contacted you during the day to ask for the shares?¡± Toby asked


    after he picked up on the details in Sonia¡¯s exnation.


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah. She asked me for thepany¡¯s shares, and she tried to shame my mother by


    saying that my mother betrayed my father. I was furious, so I pped her a few times.¡±


    So¡­ Sonia was really the one who left those marks on Jessica¡¯s face, Toby thought. His lips twitched a


    little. I thought Jessica got someone to p her just to frame Sonia. ¡°pping her was a good choice,¡±


    he finally uttered with augh.


    ¡°I think so too,¡± Sonia replied as she raised her chin arrogantly. Her face turned cold as she spoke.


    ¡°Jessica deserves to be hit since she insulted my mom. I thought she¡¯d learn a lesson after I hit her, and I


    thought she¡¯d stop shaming my mom. However, she didn¡¯t just ignore my words; she even brought this to


    the public! It¡¯s fine if she tells the public that I¡¯m not the Reeds¡¯ daughter, and it¡¯s fine if she frames me for


    bullying her, but how dare she insult my mom in front of everyone? My name will no longer be Sonia if I


    don¡¯t beat her to a pulp this time. Anyway, it was clearly Sandra who had cheated on my dad,¡± Sonia


    hissed grumpily.


    ¡°What?¡± Toby raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you saying that Jessica is Sandra¡¯s illegitimate daughter?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°Jessica is biologically rted to my dad, but Sandra has cheated on him


    previously. My dad had no intentions of remarrying at the start, you know,¡± Sonia said as she got to her


    feet. ¡°He has always been in love with my mom, and a part of him died when my mom passed away.


    How could he find the desire to remarry another woman during such a time?¡± Sonia said with an icy look


    on her face.


    ¡°Yet, he remarried in the end.¡± Toby looked at Sonia. ¡°Was he tricked into doing that?¡±

 Chapter 704

    Chapter 704


    Chapter 704 Producing Evidence


    Toby wasn¡¯t an idiot. Sonia pointed out that Henry had no intention of remarrying, yet Henry got married


    again in the end¡ªthere had to be a reason why. Judging by the look on Sonia¡¯s face, Toby could tell that


    something bad must have happened in between.


    Indeed, Sonia lowered her head as she revealed the truth. ¡°Yeah. My dad was tricked into this. Back


    then, he went out to meet a client for business, and Sandra happened to be a waitress at the hotel he


    was at. She was attracted to my dad, so she drugged my dad¡¯s drink and lured my dad into her trap. The


    next day, Sandra sneaked off before my father woke up, and she only reappeared in front of him when


    she was pregnant with Jessica. My dad is an extremely responsible man¡ªhe had to take responsibility


    for Sandra since she was pregnant with his baby. That was why he decided to marry her,¡± Sonia


    exined.


    ¡°I see!¡± Toby was surprised by Sonia¡¯s story.


    Sonia bit her lip before she continued, ¡°I recall my dad drinking a lot of alcohol the night he decided to


    marry Sandra. He hugged me and sobbed for a long while, and he kept apologizing to my mom and me.


    Jessica was right about one thing¡ªmy dad was never very nice to Jessica and her mother.¡±


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°How could he forgive Sandra after she tricked him into such a huge thing?¡± Toby parted his lips to speak


    calmly.


    To this, Sonia nodded in agreement. ¡°You¡¯re right. My dad hated Sandra for what she did. Although he


    despised her, the most he did was to keep his distance away from her. He was never violent to her, and


    he always made sure to take care of her. My dad might not be as loving and gentle with Jessica, but


    Jessica¡¯s still his child, and it¡¯s clear that he cares for her. That was why Dad was so strict with her.


    However, Jessica perceived Dad¡¯s strictness as hisck of love for her, and she even¡­¡± Sonia clenched


    her fists as the muscles in her face trembled. Hatred and anger were written all over her face.


    Right then, Toby gave her hand a gentle squeeze to make her calm down. ¡°Sandra cheated on your


    father because he wasn¡¯t intimate with her at all, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. My dad never treated her like a wife; he only treated her like a colleague. Sandra eventually felt


    lonely, so she cheated on him with another man. Although my dad didn¡¯t love her, he couldn¡¯t stand the


    idea of being cheated on. He got furious and gave Sandra a huge scolding. After that, Sandra no longer


    dared to cheat on my dad, but she started acting oddly around him. He never loved her, so he never


    bothered to fault her for her odd demeanor. I didn¡¯t think much about it in the past, but now¡­ Now that I


    know Sandra drugged my father, it seems like that incident was when Sandra really started hating him.


    Both she and Jessica only decided to drug Dad after that incident!¡±


    At this point, Sonia¡¯s gaze was filled with a mixture of fury and agony. Toby slowly pulled the woman into


    his arms as heforted her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re going to avenge your father¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sonia muttered as she leaned against Toby¡¯s shoulder. He caressed her smooth hair as he


    continued speaking. ¡°Jessica¡¯s acts of revealing your identity online and starting rumors about you seem


    to be done with the intention of getting the public to side with her so that she can force you to hand your


    shares over. What are you going to do about this?¡± Toby was nning to step in if Sonia didn¡¯t know


    what to do, but he believed that she would rather deal with this matter on her own.


    His assumptions were right¡ªSonia narrowed her eyes for a while before she replied, ¡°Jessica thinks that


    I¡¯ll copse under the pressure ifizens bad-mouth me for being an illegitimate daughter, but I¡¯m not


    going to let her get her way. She¡¯s trying to use the power ofizens, but she didn¡¯t think this through.


    Doesn¡¯t she realize that theizens will turn against her once I step forward to expose her lies? The


    netizens would realize that she was just using them, and she¡¯d receive double the criticism that I


    received on the Inte. Jessica only dares to make such statements online because she thinks that I


    don¡¯t have the evidence to show that I¡¯m not an illegitimate daughter.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you have evidence?¡± Toby lowered his gaze to look at Sonia.


    She nodded. ¡°Of course. My parents adopted me, so there has to be a letter of adoption. Once I provide


    them with this document, I¡¯ll be able to show that I wasn¡¯t a product of an extramarital affair. That way,


    Jessica¡¯s first lie would be exposed. Also, do you remember what I said about Jessica and her mother


    bullying me? My dad had ced CCTV cameras in the house for the sake of me; do you still remember


    that I told you about it?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Toby smirked. ¡°I¡¯d never forget anything about you.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. How is he flirting with me during such a serious conversation? Well¡­ I guess it¡¯s


    pretty sweet of him. She chuckled. ¡°The CCTV cameras recorded some footage of Sandra and Jessica


    bullying me, and the videos have been stored in the bank¡¯s safety deposit box, along with the Reed


    Residence¡¯s property ownership documents. Both Jessica and Sandra don¡¯t know about this. My dad


    had intended to get a divorce with Sandra once Jessica turned legal, so he kept those videos to use


    during the court case. But before Jessica turned legal, my dad¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s voice trembled as she felt a


    lump in her throat.


    Toby nted a kiss on her forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m here with you from now on.¡±


    She smiled at him before she continued, ¡°With these video recordings, Jessica¡¯s lie about me bullying


    her will be disproved. When that happens, all of the lies she told will be used against her.¡± You reap what


    you sow, Jessica.


    Toby tidied Sonia¡¯s hair as he spoke. ¡°Are you going to host a press conference to present all of your


    evidence?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the fastest and most direct way,¡± she replied with a nod.


    ¡°Have you decided when you¡¯re going to do it?¡± he asked again.


    ¡°Tomorrow morning, I guess. The faster, the better.¡± Upon finishing her words, Sonia shifted her gaze to


    stare at the man as she seemed to recall something. ¡°By the way, I realized there weren¡¯t a lot of


    comments when I was looking at the posts earlier. Did you get someone to contain the situation?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded in full honesty. ¡°I just can¡¯t bear watching you being criticized by thoseizens,¡± he


    mumbled with a stern look on his face.


    She felt a surge of warmth in her chest. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s something I should do,¡± he replied gently.


    She beamed. ¡°After this, I¡¯ll post my press conference on my social media ount, and things will get


    heated once more. When that happens, I don¡¯t want you to limit the audience¡¯s engagement anymore¡ª


    myeback for Jessica¡¯s attack will be stronger if theizens turn this into a hot topic.¡±


    Toby frowned as he didn¡¯t seem to agree with her. No man would enjoy watching his woman getting


    cyberbullied by others, after all. Sonia could tell what was going on in his mind just by the look on his


    face, so she raised her hands and caressed his cheeks. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. I feel bad


    when I see criticalments about me, but I can always choose not to read them, right? Also, the


    netizens who cursed me will probably feel bad after tomorrow¡¯s press conference. While they may


    release their anger on Jessica, they may also purchase Paradigm Co.¡¯s products to reduce their feelings


    of guilt toward me. Aren¡¯t we killing two birds with one stone? We¡¯re even promoting the business!¡±


    He burst intoughter upon hearing her. ¡°You¡¯re starting to sound more and more like a true


    businesswoman. You¡¯re getting so good at seizing opportunities, huh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m taking that as apliment,¡± she replied. With that said, Sonia lowered her hands and pulled her


    phone out to draft an announcement for her press conference. However, when she unlocked her phone,


    she saw a bunch of messages from different people.


    There were messages from Charles, Grace, Rose, and Daphne¡ªall of them texted to ask her about the


    trending news on the Inte. Sonia texted them back and reassured them that she had a n to deal


    with this before she went back to drafting her announcement.

 Chapter 705

    Chapter 705


    Chapter 705 Changing the Public¡¯s Opinion


    While Sonia was working on uploading her post, Toby got to work as well. He pulled his phone out and


    logged onto his social media ounts before typing a few sentences and posting it online. He was a


    well-known businessman, so he had arge following. His followers ranged from regr citizens to other


    wealthy entrepreneurs. The moment he made a post, there were a lot of people who received


    notifications on their phones. These people were shocked as Toby was a man who barely used social


    media. How could one not be surprised when he suddenly updated his status?


    Toby¡¯s followers hastily tapped on their notifications to check his post, and they all gasped in


    astonishment when they saw what he wrote. ¡®I¡¯m writing to ask everyone to stop tagging me. I also hope


    that you guys will stop iming that @Sonia doesn¡¯t match up to my standards or that she¡¯s bad or


    maniptive. I¡¯m not as blind as you guys think I am. Being in the position I am, do you guys think I¡¯m


    clueless about this matter? It¡¯s a fact that she hasn¡¯t done any of those things that others used her of,


    but she¡¯d still be the best woman in the world even if she has done such a thing!¡¯


    His status was like a huge rock being flung into a peacefulke¡ªit created huge waves that impacted


    everyone on the Inte. ¡®Gosh, the big boss actually spoke up! His vegetated ount is finally back in


    use! Sonia¡¯s riding on his coattails!¡¯ someonemented.


    ¡®Our big boss, who never uses his social media ounts, is doing it for his ex-wife¡­ No, they¡¯re back


    together now, so she¡¯s technically his girlfriend. Why is this so touching? Especially when he said that


    she¡¯s the best woman even if she had made some mistakes¡­ Gosh, this is just too sweet! He¡¯s like the


    domineering CEO who makes an official announcement for hisdy in TV shows¡­ That exins why


    Sonia wants to get back with him. I¡¯d also do it if I were her,¡¯ someone elsemented.


    ¡®Hey, hey, hey! Aren¡¯t you guys getting off topic here? We should be talking about whatever Jessica


    used Sonia of! ording to Mr. Fuller¡¯s post, it seems like Jessica is lying. Am I getting this right?¡¯


    someone asked.


    ¡®You¡¯re right. Mr. Fuller does seem to be iming that Sonia hasn¡¯t done whatever Jessica used her


    of,¡¯ another person replied to the previousment.


    ¡®That¡¯s fun. One ims that she did it, while the other says that she didn¡¯t¡­ Who¡¯s telling the truth?¡¯


    ¡®Personally, I have more faith in Mr. Fuller. The Fuller Group is huge¡ªMr. Fuller wouldn¡¯t risk being


    exposed for saying something that isn¡¯t true just because of his personal favoritism. The public¡¯s opinion


    has power over everything, so even an important figure like President Fuller would be impacted if the


    public were to go against him. I believe the person in charge of such a hugepany would know better


    than to put himself in such a risky position,¡¯ someone stated.


    ¡®I agree!¡¯ someone replied to thement above. ¡®I¡¯m on Mr. Fuller¡¯s side too! Jessica, who popped up


    out of nowhere, is much less reliable than Mr. Fuller. What Mr. Fuller said is right¡ªit¡¯s impossible for a


    man of his status to not know the sort of person Sonia truly is. He must know what she has or has not


    done, right? Furthermore, if Sonia had done such a thing in the past, why didn¡¯t Jessica point it out


    earlier? Why is she doing it now? There¡¯s clearly an issue here.¡¯


    ¡®I think you guys should pause your discussion temporarily. The other person involved just posted a


    status announcing that she¡¯ll be hosting a press conference. Go take a look!¡¯ someonemented. It


    only took a short while for Toby¡¯s social media ount to blow up¡ªit wasn¡¯t justizens who were


    commenting, but there were also arge number of media and marketing ounts who were reposting


    his status to rub off on his fame.


    However, it was an undeniable fact that Toby¡¯s post had allowed manyizens to gain some perspective


    on the matter. On the other hand, once Sonia made an announcement about her press conference, she


    received a pop-up notification with a headline that was bolded by some news site. The headline was too


    eye-catching for her to ignore. ¡°Fuller Group¡¯s president updated his social media ount?!¡± Sonia


    couldn¡¯t help but read the headline out in surprise when she saw the bolded words.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Toby looked up at her when he heard her talking.


    ¡°Did you post something?¡± Sonia lowered her phone as she stared at him.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he replied.


    ¡°What did you post?¡± Sonia felt her heart racing. Her gut feeling told her that his post was rted to her.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you look at it yourself?¡± he asked as he chuckled.


    Sonia lowered her gaze to search for the post and read it. ¡°You¡­¡± She felt tears welling up in her eyes.


    The smirk on Toby¡¯s lips deepened. ¡°Are you touched?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She bit her lip. She had been touched for a short while when she first saw the post, but Toby ruined


    the moment for her by speaking, and she no longer wanted to feel moved by his actions. After all, these


    were the sort of feelings that should¡¯ve been experienced in a discreet manner. However, Toby had


    exposed her emotions without any hesitation, so she felt too embarrassed to continue feeling touched.


    After taking a deep breath and calming down a little, Sonia spoke up once more. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do


    this. You may not be a public figure, but you have more influence than some famous people, so you


    should be more careful with the things you put out there. Otherwise, you might cause trouble for Fuller


    Group and the Fuller Family. Although your statement seems pretty decent here, I¡¯m afraid there may be


    some ill-intentioned individuals who may choose to misunderstand and twist your words. Some may see


    you as a person who¡¯s blindly protecting someone who has ws, and that might impact the public¡¯s view


    of you,¡± she exined.


    ¡°I know,¡± he replied with a nod.


    ¡°If you knew, then why did you¡ª¡± Sonia widened her eyes.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t care.¡± Toby held her hand and kissed the back of it. ¡°You may not want me to do anything, but


    I feel like it¡¯s my responsibility to take action. I¡¯m your man¡ªI can¡¯t just sit around and do nothing when I


    see my woman being attacked by the public. What sort of man would I be if I did such a thing? On top of


    that, do you think I care what the rest of the world thinks of me? The only thing I¡¯ve ever cared about is


    how you see me.¡±


    It had taken some effort for Sonia to suppress her feelings of gratitude for the man earlier, but all of those


    emotions filled her chest once more after she heard his words. ¡°Thank you,¡± she uttered as she rxed


    the muscles around her brows.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me.¡± Toby stroked her hair. ¡°I believe you¡¯d do the same for me if I were


    involved in such a thing, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Sonia nodded. Since they were back together, she would definitely take action if Toby


    encountered any issues.


    ¡°Exactly. I feel the same way,¡± Toby said as he pressed his forehead against hers. ¡°So, I don¡¯t want you


    to say that you don¡¯t need me to do such things in the future, okay?¡± His forehead was cold, yet Sonia


    felt oddly warm as their heads touched. ¡°Okay.¡± She beamed as she gave him a firm nod.


    ¡°Alright. You should get some rest. Since we¡¯re going to resolve this tomorrow, we shouldn¡¯t think about it


    now. You seem rather tired. Go to bed,¡± Toby uttered as he massaged Sonia¡¯s temples for her.


    She half-closed her eyes in response. ¡°You¡¯re right. I feel pretty drained.¡±


    ¡°Go to bed.¡± Toby pulled the sheets aside and gestured for her to get into bed. She rubbed her eyes as


    shey down in her spot, and he tucked her into bed before he walked around to slip into bed from the


    other side. Once hey down, he reached his arm out to wrap it around Sonia¡¯s waist in a practiced


    manner.


    Then, he gave her a gentle tug to pull her closer to him. This was precisely the way Sonia would pull her


    dolls closer to her when shey in bed as a child. The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched as she thought


    about this. She didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at the thought she had, but she didn¡¯t protest or resist


    his actions. Instead, shey obediently in his arms without budging at all.


    After a short while, she shut her eyes and faded into a deep sleep. Sleep was a contagious thing¡ªToby


    pressed Sonia¡¯s head against his chest before he shut his eyes and drifted to sleep as well. On this end,


    the main figure of discussion and the victim of cyberbullying, Sonia, was having sweet dreams as if


    everything on the Inte had nothing to do with her.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Meanwhile, the mastermind of this controversy, Jessica, was the one who couldn¡¯t seem to fall asleep.

 Chapter 706

    Chapter 706


    Chapter 706 You¡¯re No Match For Her


    Jessica¡¯s teeth were chattering as she chewed on the nail of her thumb. Her bloodshot eyes were glued


    to her phone screen. She was on the verge of snapping when she saw theizens gaining rity of the


    situation and speaking up for Sonia and Toby. What¡¯s wrong with theseizens? Are they noticing so


    many things just because Toby posted a status? Do his words carry that much power? Jessica gritted


    her teeth as she stomped her foot angrily.


    No way! I worked so hard to influence theizens to side with me, and I finally managed to get them to


    curse Sonia to her death. I was so close! Sonia was about to copse under the public¡¯s words, and she


    was about to give in and hand the shares over. I can¡¯t believe Sonia might be gaining the upper hand


    now just because of Toby¡¯s post! I have to defeat her once more! At that thought, Jessica typed furiously


    to make a call to someone.


    However, the dial tone indicated that the other person¡¯s phone was switched off. She nearly mmed her


    phone onto the ground when her call couldn¡¯t get through. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that useless b*stard is


    unreachable during such a critical moment! I guess I have no choice but to contact other media outlets,¡±


    Jessica grumbled. After taking a deep breath, she suppressed all the rage within her before she made


    another call.


    Someone picked up her call this time. ¡°Who is it?¡± The husky voice of a man came from the other end of


    the line.


    Jessica frowned in disgust. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    The manughed when he recognized Jessica¡¯s voice. ¡°I was wondering who you could be. So it¡¯s you,


    Miss Jessica. Do you have any orders? Please tell me what you need. I¡¯d climb mountains and dive into


    oceans just for you.¡±


    ¡°Enough with your lies.¡± Jessica rolled her eyes. ¡°When I was staying at the hospital, you didn¡¯t put up an


    article on Sonia¡¯s bad deeds even though I told you to do so. How could you say that you¡¯d do anything


    for me? What a joke!¡±


    The man didn¡¯t seem the least bit infuriated by Jessica¡¯s condescending tone. He let out augh instead.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Jessica. It¡¯s true that we didn¡¯t get our job done thest time, but I promise you we had


    our reasons. President Fuller from Fuller Group was around Sonia all the time back then, so we didn¡¯t


    have the guts to stalk her and make a report. We¡¯d be digging our own grave if we did that!¡±


    ¡°Forget it.¡± Jessica waved her hand as she spoke in an exasperated tone. ¡°You can forget about what


    happenedst time, but I want you to get things done for me this time.¡±


    ¡°What do you need?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I have some more information about Sonia, and I want you to release it. Please make sure these go up


    to the headlines of your website¡¯s official page. I want¡ª¡± Before Jessica could finish her words, the man


    interrupted her. ¡°That¡¯s not possible,¡± he said while stroking the stubble around his chin.


    Jessica widened her eyes in dissatisfaction. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, Miss Jessica. I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d call to ask me to make another report on Sonia.


    If this were to do with something else, I¡¯d help you without any hesitation, but I really can¡¯t do anything if


    it¡¯s rted to Sonia. I bet you don¡¯t know this¡ªsomething happened to Trevor.¡± The man lowered his


    voice as he uttered hisst sentence.


    Jessica¡¯s expression changed upon hearing the man¡¯s words. ¡°What happened?¡± Trevor was the person


    Jessica had contacted during the day, and he was the reporter who had helped her to publish the news


    about Sonia. When Jessica heard that something had happened to Trevor, her heart sank as an uneasy


    feeling spread across her stomach.


    The man took a deep breath on the other end of the line. ¡°Trevor and I aren¡¯t from the same media


    company, but we¡¯re all in the same circle. You told Trevor to make the report on Sonia. He¡¯s a newbie in


    the field who¡¯s attracted to therge sum of money you offered, and he doesn¡¯t know what it means for


    Sonia to have President Fuller backing him up. In the heat of the moment, Trevor agreed to help you with


    the article, so he¡¯s now suffering the consequences. President Fuller has decided to take revenge, not


    just on Trevor but also on Trevor¡¯s mediapany. How could a tinypany go against the almighty


    Fuller Group? I¡¯m afraid their whole organization will be gone by tomorrow morning,¡± the man exined.


    ¡°What?¡± Jessica¡¯s face turned pale as her pupils shrank in terror. How did things end up like this? That


    exins why Trevor didn¡¯t pick up his phone earlier. He has already been caught! Jessica felt her body


    trembling with uneasiness.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I can¡¯t help you out this time, Miss Jessica. I¡¯m not the only one¡ªI don¡¯t think any other


    mediapanies, private marketing firms, or online trolls will agree to help you out. At this point, anyone


    is afraid of triggering President Fuller and following in the footsteps of Trevor and hispany. Look,


    Miss Jessica, considering the fact that we slept together once, I¡¯m advising you to give up on this. I don¡¯t


    know why you insist on going against Sonia, but you should know that you¡¯ll never be a match for her as


    long as she has President Fuller¡¯s support.¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m never going to give up!¡± Jessica bit her bottom lip. ¡°She treated me so badly. If I don¡¯t get


    revenge, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± The man rolled his eyes. ¡°Do you think we don¡¯t know that the things you posted online


    are all fake? You might be able to fool those dumbizens, but do you think you can fool a reporter?


    Perhaps you can try again after practicing for another 200 years.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Jessica¡¯s face turned beet red when she realized she had been exposed. She was too furious to


    speak for a while.


    ¡°Alright. You can stop debating with me. I¡¯ve given you my advice, but it¡¯s up to you whether you want to


    take it or not. I have a better picture of the entire situation now, and even I don¡¯t think you can defeat


    Sonia even if President Fuller wasn¡¯t there to support her. What do you have against her? Are those


    forged lies all that you have? Your lies arepletely useless. Perhaps Sonia might resolve this issue


    before President Fuller gets involved. I¡¯ll see what bes of you then,¡± the man uttered before ending


    the call.


    Jessica was so furious that she stomped her foot against the ground while crying and shouting like a


    madwoman. It took her a while to calm down. ¡°You¡¯d like to see what bes of me, huh? Hmph!


    Maybe in your next life! How could I possibly lose to Sonia?¡± Jessica hissed with an evil, twisted look on


    her face.


    She wasn¡¯t about to give up¡ªshe picked her phone up once more. This time, she contacted the people


    behind social media ounts that were specially created for advertising and online trolls to get them to


    generate more heat surrounding this topic. However, the man¡¯s predictions earlier were spot on. None of


    the advertising ounts and online trolls took up her job. Some of them even ended the call the moment


    they heard her name.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    At this point, Jessica was so furious that she felt like she was about to faint. Meanwhile, she also sensed


    a growing uneasiness within her chest. These people are afraid to take my orders because they¡¯re afraid


    to get on Toby¡¯s bad side. Toby is someone they can¡¯t afford to mess with. Am I really going to fail again?


    No, I can¡¯t. Although some of theizens are iming that my posts are fake, some of them are still in


    the midst of observing the situation, while others are still on my side. As long as some people stay on my


    side, it means that I have not lost, Jessica thought.


    Regardless of how powerful Toby may be, all he can do is control what they post. He can¡¯t control their


    minds. So, as long as Sonia and Toby don¡¯t have any evidence to prove my ims are fake, theizens


    will continue to suspect Sonia¡¯s identity. They will continue to wonder if Sonia used to bully me in the


    past. In that case, Sonia¡¯s reputation will still be tarnished.


    Even if Jessica couldn¡¯t manage to get the shares from Sonia, she¡¯d still be satisfied even if all she did


    was ruin Sonia¡¯s reputation. At that thought, a light-hearted smile spread across Jessica¡¯s face once


    more. She was certain that Sonia wouldn¡¯t have any evidence to prove her wrong. All of this happened


    such a long time ago. It¡¯s impossible for Sonia to have any evidence, right?


    Meanwhile, Titus copsed because of the immense pain he felt, and he was sent to the hospital once


    more. It was a few hours before he gradually regained consciousness. When he woke up, the first thing


    he saw was Julia sitting by his bedside with her head lowered as she sobbed.

 Chapter 707

    Chapter 707


    Chapter 707 Julia¡¯s Mixed Emotions


    Titus knew what happened when he saw the look on Julia¡¯s face and the room that he was in. ¡°I fainted


    again, didn¡¯t I?¡± he asked in a hoarse and tired voice. Julia immediately looked up when she heard his


    voice. ¡°Are you awake, darling?¡± Her tear-stained eyes were filled with surprise.


    ¡°Help me up,¡± he groaned. Julia reached for him and helped him up so that he could lean against the


    bed¡¯s headboard. She even added an additional pillow to make sure that he wasfortable in his spot.


    Once she was done with all of this, she poured him a ss of water. ¡°Darling, how many times have you


    fainted already? Why don¡¯t we admit you into the hospital to receive treatment?¡±


    He took the ss of water over with a shaky hand. ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± he replied with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve lost my


    last few court cases with Sonia, and Triforce Enterprise has been suffering as a result of that. The shares


    I have are barely enough to suppress the power of the remaining shareholders, so I have to stay in the


    company for now. If I get admitted into the hospital now, those shareholders are going to find a way to


    team up against me and overthrow me while I¡¯m not around. Things will be more troublesome then.¡±


    Although Julia wasn¡¯t too familiar with how apany was managed, she understood what it meant for a


    CEO to be overthrown. She had tried extremely hard to stop her tears earlier, but they trickled down her


    cheeks once more. ¡°How can all of this be happening?¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop crying. You¡¯re giving me a headache,¡± Titus said as he massaged his temples. Julia


    immediately stopped before giving her husband a sympathetic look. Julia felt a stinging pain in her chest


    when she saw Titus¡¯ white hair and the wrinkles around his forehead and at the corners of his eyes. Back


    when the Gray Family was rich, both Titus and Julia had put a lot of effort in maintaining their looks. They


    were in their fifties, but they used to look like they were in their thirties.


    Although Julia still looked the same, Titus looked like he had aged more than ten years as a result of the


    torments of his kidney failure. He no longer looked like he was thirty, but older than his age at that point.N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Some might even believe him to be in his seventies. ¡°Have you heard any news from the organ bank?¡±


    Titus asked in a weak voice.


    ¡°No¡­¡± Julia shook her head. It was hard for Titus to find a suitable kidney because of his unique blood


    type, and the hospital had already put out an emergency notice. Titus only had six more months to look


    for a suitable kidney. If he doesn¡¯t manage to find one by then, he¡­ Julia didn¡¯t want to go there. She


    rubbed the corners of her eyes as she looked at her husband. ¡°Darling, do you feel any difort?


    Should I get the doctor to check on you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m okay. You can get me discharged from the hospital. I can¡¯t stay here for too long as Triforce


    Enterprise has arge meeting tomorrow. Apparently, the higher-ups are sending some people to inspect


    thepany, so things may get messy if I¡¯m not there tomorrow. I have to be present,¡± Titus uttered as


    he looked at his wife.


    ¡°Okay. I got it.¡± Julia nodded.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Rina?¡± Titus asked after taking a sip of water.


    ¡°She went home. I thought it¡¯d be better for you to get admitted, so I told her to go home to pack your


    stuff and bring it over tomorrow, but since you¡¯re not staying, I¡¯ll phone her in a while and tell her not to


    pack anything,¡± Julia replied. Titus nodded without saying anything else.


    After a while, Julia picked the TV remote up to turn the TV on. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can sleep since you just


    woke up. Why don¡¯t you watch some TV to rx?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he replied while massaging the space between his brows. Julia was flicking through the channels


    when she heard Titus¡¯ voice ordering her to stop. ¡°Hold on,¡± he cried.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Julia was stunned.


    ¡°Go back to the previous channel,¡± Titus ordered.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Julia didn¡¯t know what was going on, but she followed his orders and switched to the previous


    channel. Soon enough, she realized why Titus wanted to watch that channel. It was an entertainment


    channel that was broadcasting some news rted to Sonia. That exins the stern look on Titus¡¯ face.


    It¡¯s because Sonia¡¯s on the news again, huh. I wonder what it could be about this time, Julia thought as


    she watched the news with Titus.


    She widened her eyes after hearing the news. ¡°Sonia isn¡¯t Henry¡¯s biological daughter?¡±


    Titus was just as shocked to hear this news. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what Jessica ims. She¡¯s saying that Lina


    cheated on Henry and got pregnant with Sonia. If that¡¯s really the case, this would be great news!¡±


    A cheerful look spread across Titus¡¯ face as he gloated. ¡°Everyone says that Henry was a good man.


    Everyone from his higher-ups to his low-level employees always praised him for being a good man, and


    some of them even put me down to further emphasize how great he was. They¡¯ve been putting me down


    for more than ten years, yet it turns out that this ¡®perfect¡¯ man was still betrayed by his closest family


    member in the end. I can¡¯t believe his wife cheated on him! Hah! I¡¯m so happy!¡±


    Titus and Henry were good friends when they were younger. However, Titus¡¯ nightmare began when


    Henry began excelling in school. Everyone madeparisons between Titus and Henry¡ªeven Titus¡¯


    parents would me Titus for being academically weaker than Henry. Sometimes, others woulde


    over and point at Titus, demanding reasons that Titus wasn¡¯t doing as well as Henry since they were both


    good friends. Some of Titus¡¯ staff members thought that Henry was a better boss, and a few teams even


    switched over to work under Henry, where they developed a new machine. Titus had tons of reasons to


    wish for Henry¡¯s death.


    However, a quick death also meant that one wouldn¡¯t suffer much. So, Titus took his time to destroy


    everything that Henry had, and Henry died after losing all hope in life. To Titus¡¯ surprise, the news of


    Henry being cheated on came out a few years after Henry¡¯s death. Perhaps God doesn¡¯t like Henry that


    much, either, Titus thought with a smirk.


    Julia, on the other hand, didn¡¯t smile along with Titus. She had aplicated look on her face as her


    eyes remained glued to the TV. ¡°What is it?¡± Titus cleared his throat before asking.


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just felt an inexplicable sensation after hearing that Sonia isn¡¯t


    Henry¡¯s biological daughter. It¡¯s a really odd feeling,¡± Julia uttered as she pressed her hand against her


    chest.


    Titus waved her off. ¡°What¡¯s so odd about this? Stop overthinking it. I need you to go through the


    procedures to have me discharged,¡± he ordered.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Julia nodded and put down the TV remote before she walked out of the ward. Her movements


    were slow, and she stopped for a while to turn and look at the TV before she left the room. She didn¡¯t


    understand why she cared about whether Sonia was Henry¡¯s daughter or not. All she knew was that she


    could feel a whirlpool of emotions that refused to settle within her. It felt like something was being


    awakened within her, but she couldn¡¯t tell what it was, which made her more frustrated than ever.


    ¡­


    The sky had turned bright when Sonia woke up. She found herself in Toby¡¯s arms, and she was greeted


    by the man¡¯s dark pupils the moment she opened her eyes. He was lying sideways beside her, with one


    arm supporting his head and another hand ying with her hair. He had been twirling her hair in his


    fingertips in a leisurely manner when she woke up.


    ¡°You¡¯re up,¡± he muttered in a deep and sexy voice.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Sonia stuck her hand out of the sheet to snatch her hair back. ¡°When did you wake up?¡±


    ¡°A while ago,¡± he replied.


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Have you been staring at me ever since you woke up?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I wanted to catch you waking up.¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°You should be d that I remember where I sleptst night. Otherwise, I


    would have gotten a heart attack if I woke up to find someone staring at me.¡± She gave the man a yful


    shove before she sat up in bed.


    Toby fell t on the bed after she pushed him, but he sat up beside her two secondster. ¡°Are you


    getting out of bed?¡±


    ¡°I need to open the safety deposit box at the bank to get the video recordings,¡± Sonia muttered as she


    narrowed her eyes.

 Chapter 708

    Chapter 708


    Chapter 708 Treasure in the Box


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you after we have breakfast.¡± Toby pushed his hair back as he spoke. Sonia didn¡¯t have an


    issue with that, so she nodded in agreement with his words. They got out of bed and washed up before


    they left the room. Sonia had been about to prepare some food in the kitchen when she heard the


    doorbell ringing in the living room.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s here, Toby,¡± Sonia told the man, who was bent low in front of the coffee table making them


    some hot coffee. Once he poured the drinks, he responded to Sonia. ¡°Tom¡¯s here with breakfast, I think.¡±


    ¡°Did you tell him to buy breakfast?¡± Sonia asked with an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°Yes, I texted him after I woke up,¡± Toby replied as he walked toward the foyer to open the door. Indeed,


    it was Tom who was standing outside. ¡°Come in.¡± Toby kept the door open for Tom before he led Tom


    into the living room.


    Tom entered with lunch boxes that consisted of their food, and he gave Sonia a polite nod when he saw


    her sitting on the couch and sipping on coffee. ¡°Good morning, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Tom,¡± Sonia responded with a smile. Tom ced their breakfast on the dining table and


    set up the table as he spoke. ¡°By the way, President Fuller, I asked some of the staff earlier. Apparently,


    both Paradigm Co. and Fuller Group¡¯s front entrances are surrounded by reporters.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡± Toby¡¯s expression remained calm upon hearing Tom¡¯s statement, seemingly not bothered by the


    fact that reporters were crowding the office. He wasn¡¯t the only one¡ªeven Sonia didn¡¯t show much of a


    response. She continued sipping on her coffee calmly. This wasn¡¯t the first time she trended on the


    Inte¡ªshe was more of a hot topic than some celebrities were. Every time she became a trending


    topic, the reporters would immediately show up at her workce, so she wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that


    they were camping outside Paradigm Co. today. She was used to it, after all.


    Tom scratched the tip of his nose awkwardly when he saw how calm both of them were. Woah. They¡¯re


    so calm. I¡¯m just the one bringing the message to them, yet I feel more nervous than them. Tom


    shrugged and quietly set up the rest of the table after that.


    Soon enough, breakfast was ready, and Tom turned to look at the couple sitting by the coffee table. ¡°It¡¯s


    time for breakfast, Miss Reed and President Fuller.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Toby lowered his coffee cup and pulled Sonia over to the dining table. By the time they were


    done with breakfast, it was almost 8.30AM. They had slightly less than 2 hours until the press


    conference, so it was just right for them to collect the videos at the bank before returning to Paradigm


    Co.


    While they were on the way to the bank, Toby recalled something and he turned his head sideways to


    look at the woman who was typing away on her phone. ¡°Hey, darling.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Sonia looked up when she heard him calling. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You mentioned that you have the videos stored in the bank¡¯s safety deposit box and that these videos


    will prove Jessica and Sandra bullied you, but you didn¡¯t say anything about your adoption letter. If you


    don¡¯t have the document, how are you going to tell others that Henry and his wife adopted you?¡± Toby


    frowned with a rather serious look on his face. She might not know that she¡¯s Titus¡¯ daughter, but I do.


    Henry stole her from Titus; he didn¡¯t adopt her from an orphanage, so I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t have any


    adoption documentation. Back then, Lina must have been dumbfounded when she lost her real child, so


    Henry might have wanted to keep Sonia around tofort his wife. He probably used Sonia as a


    recement for their dead child. If Sonia took over the role of their dead child just like that, then I don¡¯t


    think they obtained any letter of adoption for her. It¡¯s been more than 20 years, yet no one apart from the


    Lanes know that Henry¡¯s daughter is actually dead and that Sonia isn¡¯t Henry¡¯s biological daughter. The


    public has never even heard of Henry adopting a child, so it¡¯s not likely that Sonia will have any adoption


    documents.


    Sonia knew what was going on in Toby¡¯s mind when she saw the look on his face. She ced her hand


    on his thigh as she responded with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have the documents.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± Toby was shocked.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah. I thought I didn¡¯t have it at first, but I gave the Public Security Bureau a call while I


    was brushing up this morning. I figured I¡¯d just try my luck to see if my dad had gone through the


    procedures at the Public Security Bureau when he adopted me. My parents never told the public about


    their dead child, so they didn¡¯t make an announcement when they adopted me. This itself shows that


    they had no n of telling the world that their biological daughter was dead. It seemed like they wanted


    to tell the world that I was their daughter, so they technically didn¡¯t have toplete the adoption


    procedures.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Toby nodded. That was precisely what he thought.


    Sonia continued smiling. ¡°I was nervous when I first made the call. I was thinking that I would call my


    grandfather to prove my identity if I couldn¡¯t find any adoption papers. Fortunately, my parents actually


    went through with the adoption procedures, and the Public Security Bureau agreed to provide a copy. I


    got Daphne to help me collect it, and she just gave me an update a while ago. She already has it with


    her.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby rxed his knitted brows. ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry about that, then.¡± He initially thought of


    forging some adoption documents if Sonia didn¡¯t have any. Forging documents was an easy job to him,


    after all. But since she actually had a copy, he didn¡¯t need to go the extra mile to get that done for her. A


    fake document might be able to help her to get through some tough times, but a fake is a fake¡ªhaving


    an actual document will definitely give her a better sense of security. I didn¡¯t want to forge the documents


    as I didn¡¯t want her to have to worry about this matter in the future.


    They arrived at the bank a whileter. Sonia had pre-booked an appointment to ess her safety


    deposit box, so it only took a while to collect her items. Once they got in the car, Sonia ced the leather


    box on her thigh before running her fingers across the rather old leather surface. ¡°This is such a huge


    box. I wonder what else is inside apart from the video recordings,¡± Sonia uttered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡± Toby took a nce at the box.


    She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t. I know about the few things that my dad told me about, but I don¡¯t know


    what else is inside.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out when you open it.¡± Toby rested his head against his palm as he spoke to her. ¡°You¡¯ll have


    to open it to take the videos outter, anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Sonia smiled before she keyed in the passcode for the box. She knew the passcode¡ªit


    was her birthday. That was something that her father told her when he kept the box in the bank, and she


    hadn¡¯t forgotten his words ever since. Click! When Sonia keyed in thest number of the code, a sound


    came from the lock.


    ¡°It¡¯s open,¡± she said excitedly. Toby lowered his arm from the car¡¯s armrest while Sonia grabbed the box


    with both hands to lift the lid up.


    She knew about the memory cards and property ownership documents that were in the box, but she


    didn¡¯t expect the few other things in the box¡ªa well-folded silk product and a set of baby¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Sonia froze in shock. ¡°Why would Dad keep a set of baby¡¯s clothes here? What¡¯s this piece of


    silk doing here?¡± She reached out to feel the soft fabric. ¡°This can¡¯t be a nket, can it?¡±


    When she took the folded piece of silk out to open it up, she realized that it was actually a nket. It


    looks more like a baby¡¯s swaddle.

 Chapter 709

    Chapter 709


    Chapter 709 Pauline¡¯s Masterpiece


    Sonia held the swaddle up to take a better look. The outeryer of the swaddle wasn¡¯t just a in, silky


    surface, but there were a number of patterns embroidered on it as well. The embroidery waspact,


    and it made the graphics look like they were real. Such handiwork wasn¡¯t something that could be


    completed with a machine¡ªit was obvious that this was entirely human-made. The delicate embroidery


    and the smooth silk told Sonia that this swaddle certainly cost a lot. Furthermore, even the baby¡¯s


    clothing felt like a high-quality product in her hands. Despite having a yellow stain from the years of being


    in storage, the baby¡¯s outfit felt soft and smooth in her hands, and she could tell that it was an expensive


    piece of clothing.


    ¡°Why did you keep all of this in the safety deposit box, Dad?¡± Sonia¡¯s face was filled with confusion as


    she lowered the swaddle. Toby took a look at the swaddle. His eyes lit up for a brief moment when he


    saw the patterns on it. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you wore this when you were a child. You probably wore it when


    you first met the Reed Family, which was why your dad kept it safe for you. It¡¯s a meaningful item, after


    all.¡±


    ¡°How would you know that I was wearing this when I first entered the Reed Family?¡± Sonia gave Toby a


    puzzled look as she held onto the swaddle. He responded with his gaze lowered. ¡°It was just a guess. If


    Henry bought it for you after you got into the Reed Family, he wouldn¡¯t have had to keep it for you since


    you would have tons of clothes by then. However, if this was what you were wearing before you arrived


    at the Reed Residence, then perhaps he held onto it as a keepsake. When someone sees this in the


    future, they might recall how you looked when you first came to the Reed Family,¡± Toby replied.


    ¡°I guess that does sound possible.¡± Sonia nodded thoughtfully. Toby pressed his lips together without


    making any furtherments. He hadn¡¯t just made a random guess¡ªhe said that she had worn the


    swaddle and the baby¡¯s clothes when she first met the Reed Family because he noticed the embroidery


    on the swaddle.


    Pauline Gray was once famous for her embroidery skills, and she had even been one of the elders in the


    embroidery organization in the past. There were tons of people who loved her products. However, for


    some reason, she made an official announcement about 30 years ago to tell everyone that she was


    stopping her embroidering work. The public had been disappointed by such news.


    Yet, four years after that announcement, Pauline went against her own words to start embroidering


    again. She picked the needle up on the day that Julia found out she was pregnant. Back then, Pauline


    did an interview where she highlighted that she wasn¡¯t embroidering for anyone else, but she only


    wanted to make a swaddle for the future grandchild she was expecting. That grandchild turned out to be


    Sonia.


    Henry stole Sonia from the Grays a short while after Sonia was born, so it was likely that Sonia was


    wrapped in that very swaddle when that happened. However, Toby was shocked to see that Henry had


    kept the swaddle for so long. Sonia had no idea what was in Toby¡¯s mind, so she simply folded the


    swaddle while speaking. ¡°If your guess was right, and I was wearing this swaddle before entering the


    Reed Family, then it seems like my biological family was doing pretty well. They seem like a rich bunch.¡±


    ¡°They are rich indeed,¡± Toby muttered.


    Sonia looked up to stare at him. ¡°Why does it sound as if you know who my biological parents are?¡±


    His eyes glinted for a moment before he let out augh. ¡°How could that be possible? I just said so


    because of this.¡± He pointed at the swaddle in her hands. Sonia didn¡¯t actually suspect that Toby knew


    something about her family, so she simply ced the swaddle back into the box as she spoke. ¡°Well, it


    doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re rich. I belong in the Reed Family, and I¡¯ll always be a part of the Reeds.¡±


    ¡°Are you nning to keep this swaddle, then?¡± Toby asked as he looked at her.


    She shut the lid of the box. ¡°Of course. Since Dad put it in here, I¡¯m sure he wanted it as a keepsake. If


    that¡¯s the case, then I have to keep it safe with me. I¡¯ll keep this at home from now on.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t bring it out¡ªyou don¡¯t want others to see it.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes as he gave her a


    reminder. She can¡¯t let anyone from the Gray Family, or anyone who may recognize Pauline¡¯s


    embroidery, see this swaddle. Otherwise, someone will surely find out about her true identity. Pauline¡¯s


    embroidery skills are superior and she has her own unique style, so all of her products are easily


    identifiable. Anyone who has seen her work would be able to tell if a piece of art was made by her. From


    what I know, at least 6 out of 10 olderdies in the circle would be able to recognize her work, he


    thought.


    Sonia was utterly amused by the man¡¯s serious expression. ¡°What are you talking about? This is a


    secret, so why would I bring it out for no reason? Do I look like I¡¯m going to show everyone my childhood


    outfits?¡±


    Toby chuckled upon hearing her words. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was overthinking the situation.¡±


    ¡°Why would you say you were overthinking?¡± Sonia blinked a few times. ¡°I just realized that you¡¯re acting


    oddly, especially when you saw the swaddle. You¡­¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s overthinking now.¡± Before Sonia had a chance to finish speaking, he smoothed


    out her frown to interrupt her. He was worried that she might start getting suspicious if they proceeded


    with the topic. Fortunately, Sonia forgot about the odd feeling she had after Toby interrupted her, and she


    stopped questioning him after that.


    Soon enough, they arrived at Paradigm Co.. Before the car turned toward the entrance, Sonia could


    already see groups of reporters surrounding the building. The reporters had been chased away by the


    security and captured by the police when theyst gathered in front of the office, so they learned their


    lesson and kept away from the front entrance this time. Instead, they parked a few feet away from the


    front entrance so that they wouldn¡¯t block thepany staff from going in and out. That way, they also


    gave the security one less reason to chase them off.


    ¡°Miss Reed.¡± Tom turned around to look at Sonia after he saw the sight in front of him. ¡°Should I drive


    into the basement, or¡­¡±


    ¡°You can just stop at the front entrance. You don¡¯t have to go to the basement¡ªI¡¯m sure there will be


    reporters there as well. Since the reporters are everywhere, I might as well confront them in a more


    direct manner,¡± Sonia replied.


    Then, Tom turned to look at Toby. Toby lifted his head a little. ¡°Just follow her orders. Her orders are my


    orders from now on.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tom wore a smile on his face, but deep down, he was rolling his eyes. Tsk tsk tsk. They haven¡¯t


    even remarried each other, and he¡¯s already so severely in love with her. I wonder who guided President


    Fuller through his development of manhood. I never want to be like him when I get a girlfriend in the


    future. Never! Tom swore to himself as he slowly steered the car over to the front entrance of Paradigm


    Co. before stopping at the public parking area.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Toby¡¯s car was easily recognized by the public. It wasn¡¯t just the exclusive look of his pricey car, but it


    was also his special car te number that made it hard for others to miss it. Seafield was arge ce,


    yet Toby was the only one with this type of car te. Once the public saw his car te number, they


    could immediately name the owner of the car. So, when one reporter noticed Toby¡¯s car, all of the


    reporters quickly caught up with the first reporter¡¯s realization.


    At first, the reporters were shocked to see Fuller Group¡¯s president¡¯s car showing up in that area, but


    they quickly realized that Toby had gotten back together with Sonia. President Fuller must be here to see


    Miss Reed! the reporters thought. On top of that, their sources had told them that Sonia hadn¡¯t shown up


    at Paradigm Co. yet today. Considering that Toby had just arrived, they figured that it was highly possible


    for Sonia to be in his car.


    The reporters¡¯ eyes lit up when they realized what was going on. They had only hoped to bump into


    Sonia today, and they didn¡¯t expect to be able to sessfully meet Toby as well. If both of them were


    indeed in the car, wouldn¡¯t that be the perfect opportunity for the reporters to interview them?


    Therefore, the group of reporters hastily abandoned their initial positions before charging toward Toby¡¯s


    car. Soon enough, they formed a barrier around Toby¡¯s car, making it hard for the vehicle to even move.

 Chapter 710

    Chapter 710


    Chapter 710 I¡¯ll Protect You


    Sonia felt her heart pounding at the sight of the reporters even though she was in the car. She patted her


    chest as she spoke. ¡°Why does it feel like we¡¯re being attacked by zombies?¡± Tom burst intoughter


    from the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°That description is on point, Miss Reed. That¡¯s exactly what this looks like.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Hurry up and get out to block these reporters,¡± Toby urged as he knitted his eyebrows together.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Tom unbuckled his seatbelt before he opened his door to get out of the car. Once he stepped


    out, the reporters immediately pointed their microphones and cameras at him before drowning him with a


    series of questions. ¡°Mr. Brown, are you the only one in the car, or are President Fuller and Miss Reed


    inside as well?¡± one asked.


    ¡°Please answer us, Mr. Brown!¡± another one cried.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, everyone!¡± Tom held his arms up as he shouted at the reporters. ¡°Please move aside!


    You guys are blocking the entrance.¡± Tom showed no intention of answering the reporters¡¯ questions, and


    he simply squeezed his way to the backseat car door while chasing the reporters away. Once the


    reporters made some space for Tom, he ced his hand on the handle of the backseat car door.


    The reporters immediately became alert once they noticed Tom¡¯s actions. They tightened their grip on


    their microphones and cameras as they all stared at the car door. The only person who could get Toby¡¯s


    trusty assistant to step out of the car and open the door had to be Toby himself. The reporters


    immediately concluded that Toby himself had to be in the car. Click. The car door opened.


    Tom had one hand on the handle while gesturing with his other hand to invite Toby out of the car.


    ¡°President Fuller,¡± Tom uttered. Toby nodded from his seat in the car before he bent down to step out.


    The reporters went crazy once they saw him. Toby frowned because he was blinded momentarily by all


    the shing lights. However, he simply ignored the reporters as he reached a hand into the car. ¡°You can


    They realized that there was another person in the car! If that person is someone who can make


    President Fuller speak in such a gentle manner, that person has to be Miss Reed. They really came


    together! Sonia smiled when she saw Toby reaching his hand into the car. Then, she reached over to slip


    her hand into his. Toby held onto her tightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect you,¡± he uttered lovingly.


    Sonia took a nce at the bunch of reporters behind him. ¡°Okay. I trust you,¡± she replied with a nod. If


    she were being honest, she wasn¡¯t afraid of the reporters surrounding them, but the way he offered to


    protect her made her insides feel warm. I guess I¡¯m willing to be a submissive, needy girl sometimes, just


    so that I can give him a chance to show off a little.


    Toby helped Sonia out of the car, and the reporters went wild the moment she got out. The sharp,


    shing lights made Sonia want to squeeze her eyes shut. Toby immediately held his arm over her eyes


    before he shot the reporters a stern re. ¡°Step aside.¡±


    The reporters¡¯ held themselves back once they experienced a taste of Toby¡¯s dominance, and they no


    longer dared to snap images continuously. At the same time, the reporters took a few steps back to open


    up a pathway for the couple to walk through. Although they wanted to interview the couple, they weren¡¯t


    foolish enough to offend Toby, who was a man of high status. The reporters had no choice but to step


    down because they were afraid that they would lose their jobs if they infuriated him.


    Toby¡¯s expression seemed a little more pleasant after he saw the reporters stepping back. However, he


    continued to hold his arm up in front of Sonia¡¯s face as he gazed down at her. ¡°Wrap your arm around


    me, and I¡¯ll bring you in. They¡¯re afraid of me, but they aren¡¯t afraid of you. If you¡¯re a little farther away


    from me, they¡¯ll find a way to drag you aside before forcing you to respond to their questions.¡± He wasn¡¯t


    saying this to take advantage of her, but merely telling her the truth. Reporters were like house flies¡ª


    they would pester you whenever they got the chance to do it.


    Sonia was well-aware of this, so she didn¡¯t think that Toby had any other intentions. ¡°Okay,¡± she said


    while nodding. She reached over and wrapped her arm around the man¡¯s slim waist, and all of the


    reporters¡¯ cameras instantly clicked once they saw what she did. Sonia and Toby ignored these


    ¡®houseflies¡¯ and simply marched forward with their arms around each other.


    Meanwhile, Tom followed behind both of them with his arms spread out wide to stop the reporters from


    getting close to Toby and Sonia. These reporters have no limits at all! What if they bump into President


    Fuller and Miss Reed? What if they injure them? With Tom and Toby¡¯s doubleyered protection, the


    reporters were too afraid to get close to Sonia¡ªall they could do was tag along behind them while


    raising their questions and sticking their different colored microphones into the air.


    ¡°Miss Reed, can you tell us whether what President Fuller posted yesterday was true? Have you never


    bullied your sister? Is it true that you¡¯ve never fought for thepany¡¯s shares?¡± one shouted.


    ¡°Yeah, Miss Reed. Were you the result of your mother¡¯s extramarital affair? Can you answer us?¡±


    another one cried.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Also, President Fuller, since Miss Reed got out of your car, does that mean that you guys were staying


    togetherst night? Have you guys moved in together? When are you guys going to get married again?¡±


    one reporter asked.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us something, Miss Reed?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression darkened in response to the reporters¡¯


    nasty questions, and her footsteps came to a halt. Toby could sense that Sonia¡¯s emotions were


    impacted by the reporters, so he gave her shoulder a firm squeeze. ¡°Just ignore them. You don¡¯t need to


    waste your time with these people.¡±


    Sonia looked up at him, and she smiled a little when she saw the encouragement in his gaze. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Both of them continued walking at a faster pace while Tom stayed back to deal with the reporters.


    ¡°Alright, everyone. Stop with your questions. Miss Reed will respond to all your questions during the


    press conferenceter, so there¡¯s no need for you guys to question her here. Stop gathering around and


    blocking this area,¡± Tom urged as he waved his hands to shoo the people away.


    But the reporters weren¡¯t willing to leave empty-handed! They had gathered there for the sole purpose of


    obtaining exclusive information before writing an article on it. Once they got this piece, they would no


    longer have to worry about their KPI for the following week. What was the purpose of them reporting it


    after the press conference? At that point, all theizens would already know the news, and the media


    outlets wouldn¡¯t see much engagement in their articles if they posted them then. It¡¯d be a huge loss for


    them.


    So, how could the reporters possibly leave just like that? They didn¡¯t just stay around the area, but they


    even formed a wall around Tom before they stuck their ¡®weapons¡¯ in Tom¡¯s face. Every reporter tried their


    best to get their mics as close to Tom¡¯s face as possible.


    ¡°Please tell us something, Mr. Brown. Did Miss Reed do those things or not?¡± one asked.


    ¡°Yeah, Tom. Tell us something.¡± The reporters continued chattering and hurling their questions at him.


    Tom¡¯s expression turned grim. ¡°I made things clear earlier. If you guys want answers, just watch the


    press conference. There¡¯s no use in asking me questions because I don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we believe you?¡± one reporter asked.


    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re the closest person to President Fuller, so you must know something. Tell us a thing or two!¡±


    When Tom saw how relentless the reporters were, he let out an angry scoff. ¡°You guys are really testing


    my limits. It seems like you guys will continue to be fearless until I take some form of action, huh? I can


    make a single call, and all of yourpanies will immediately fire every single one of you. Do you guys


    think I¡¯m capable of doing that?¡±


    The reporters¡¯ faces fell once they heard Tom¡¯s words. All of them shuffled a few steps back before they


    turned around and hurried off. They were afraid that Tom would ask for their name if they stayed behind,


    and they were afraid that the next call they received would bring them news of their unemployment.

 Chapter 711

    Chapter 711


    Chapter 711 Ulterior Motives


    The reporters weren¡¯t idiots, so they knew how much power Tom held as the assistant of Fuller Group¡¯s


    president. The reporters knew that their bosses would certainly heed the words of Toby¡¯s assistant to fire


    them. When should we run if not now? they thought.


    Soon enough, the reporters who had blocked Tom¡¯s way a moment ago had disappeared into thin air.


    Not a single one of them stayed behind. Tom pretended to brush off the non-existent dust particles on his


    suit before he let out a proud grin. ¡°You little brats thought you could win a fight against me, huh? Hmph!¡±


    Tom fixed his necktie before he strode toward Paradigm Co.¡¯s front entrance.


    Meanwhile, all of Paradigm Co.¡¯s shareholders and high-level staff members were already gathered in


    the meeting room. Sonia¡¯s online incident had caused a huge impact on thepany, so the people


    involved were all gathered in the room as they waited for Sonia¡¯s arrival. They had to ask Sonia how she


    was nning to resolve this matter and whether it was even a resolvable matter.


    Asher and his people, in particr, were waiting around with excitement and greed in their eyes. They


    shared the same beliefs as Jessica¡ªthey didn¡¯t think that the press conference would be enough to


    contain this matter. They figured that evidence wasn¡¯t something one could pull out of thin air, so they


    thought that Sonia¡¯s press conference would be a failure if she failed to produce any hard evidence. A


    failure was exactly what they were hoping for because that was the only way they had a chance to force


    some benefits out of Sonia.


    Asher had it all nned out. He wanted to use this opportunity to force Sonia to give him some power


    over thepany. It didn¡¯t matter if Sonia had Fuller Group supporting her; it¡¯d still be a fact that she was


    an illegitimate daughter who had stolen the Reed Family¡¯s shares if she couldn¡¯t resolve this issue.


    The scandalous news of her bullying Jessica would then be the truth. When that happened, the


    whole of society would me Sonia, and even Toby would be a target if he spoke up for her. Toby¡¯s


    post the night before already showed that he was indeed blinded by love¡ªhe was offering unconditional


    protection to Sonia despite her wrongdoings.


    If such a thing happened, the rest of the people in the field of business and even the shareholders of


    Fuller Group would start feeling suspicious toward a president thatcked good judgment. They might


    even wonder if Toby was trustworthy and if he was able to continue leading Fuller Group to sess.


    Once people grew wary of Toby¡¯s abilities, the shareholders of Fuller Group would gradually lose trust in


    him, and he would no longer hold full power over hispany.


    Toby would struggle even to help himself at that point, so how was he going to support Sonia? Perhaps


    he would even begin to resent Sonia, and he might think that Sonia was the cause of his troubles. He


    might even end up breaking up with Sonia once more. When that happens, Sonia will lose Fuller Group¡¯s


    support, and she¡¯ll lose power over thepany.


    Won¡¯t I be able to do whatever I want with her then? I¡¯m definitely going to return double the amount of


    the shame and pressure she has caused me in the past few months! Asher felt increasingly enthusiastic


    at the thought of this, and his teacup began to tremble in his hand while his breathing turned shallow.


    Jessica, who was sitting to his left, felt the same as he did. Whenever she saw the special spot reserved


    for the chairman at the front of the meeting room, desire would pour out of her eyes. She thought, Soon!


    Soon, I¡¯m going to take over Sonia¡¯s ce to sit on that spot. She can¡¯t produce any evidence, so she¡¯ll


    be helpless under the impact of societal judgments and harsh criticisms on the Inte. Then, she¡¯ll


    hand the shares to me. Jessica giggled at the thought of it.


    When Asher heard Jessica¡¯sugh and saw the greed in her eyes, a dark look flickered across his face


    for a moment before he put on a friendly smile. ¡°Congrattions, Jessica. You¡¯ll be getting what you want


    really soon.¡±


    ¡°You must be kidding, Asher. I haven¡¯t gotten anything yet, have I?¡± Jessica brushed her hair aside as


    she responded in a seemingly humble tone.


    Asher took a sip of his tea. ¡°You haven¡¯t gotten anything now, but you¡¯re getting it soon, aren¡¯t you? I


    figured that I¡¯d congratte you first, and I hope you don¡¯t forget about me once you get what you want,¡±


    he uttered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Asher. Of course I won¡¯t forget about you. I¡¯m going to need your support and guidance in


    the future.¡± Jessica held her teacup up in front of him as a respectful gesture. He lifted his own cup and


    responded with a simr gesture. As they were talking to one another, they hadn¡¯t realized the presence


    of others around them. The people who were on Asher¡¯s side had no issues with whatever they said, and


    they even seemed d.


    However, the people who were on Sonia¡¯s side frowned without making anyments. After all, they


    didn¡¯t have that much confidence in their chairman¡¯s victory in the uing press conference. There


    was a clear difference in the overall mood of the two groups in the room. Those who were happy seemed


    extremely excited¡ªit was as if they were counting down to the new year.


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    Meanwhile, those who were down looked as if they were waiting for the world to end. They didn¡¯t have a


    choice¡ªthey had chosen to stand on Sonia¡¯s side, so they were on the same boat regardless of what


    happened to Sonia.


    If Sonia¡¯s incident caused the boat to capsize, then they would have no way of saving themselves. Asher


    and his people would certainly find a way to get rid of them, so how could they be in high-spirits during


    such a situation? Sigh¡­ The people on Sonia¡¯s side hung their heads low as they put on bitter smiles on


    their faces.


    At that very moment, the doors to the meeting room opened, and Daphne stepped in with a bunch of


    folders. Then, she made a weing gesture, which was followed by the clicking sound of high heels


    coming from outside the room. Everyone knew that the main star had arrived when they heard the sound


    of her footsteps.


    Although most of the people in the room had ulterior motives, they all put on serious expressions and


    straightened their backs as they waited for Sonia¡¯s arrival. Sonia was still the chairman, after all.


    Regardless of what they thought of her, they still had to be on their best behavior. Once everyone stood


    up, Daphne addressed the person behind the door. ¡°Pleasee in, Chairman Reed and President


    Fuller.¡±


    President Fuller? Everyone¡¯s ears perked when they heard this name. When the staff members


    exchanged nces with one another, they saw the same look of surprise in everyone¡¯s eyes.


    What is President Fuller doing here? Could he be here to give support to Miss Reed? All of a sudden,


    the people who were on Sonia¡¯s side began to grin. They finally began to feel a sense of hope. Perhaps


    we can win the press conference if President Fuller is here to support us.


    Meanwhile, Asher and his people started to shift around uneasily. Their thoughts were different from the


    other group¡ªthey felt like their hopes died a little the moment they found out that Toby was there.


    Asher¡¯s face, in particr, turned extremely grim.


    Jessica, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem too bothered. She wasn¡¯t that smart of an individual, so she


    didn¡¯t think much about the situation. She was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Toby had shown up,


    and her gaze was filled with excitement and eagerness as she stared at the entrance. If Sonia¡¯s press


    conference turns out to be a failureter, will Toby be utterly disappointed in her performance?


    I bet so. He¡¯s a smart man, so he knows what will happen if Sonia fails, right? It means that he¡¯ll be


    impacted as well. If that¡¯s the case, he¡¯ll definitely be disappointed in her and break up with her. Jessica¡¯s


    face was flushed with excitement as she thought about this.


    Her thoughts were written all over her face, and Asher let out a cold scoff when he saw her. However, he


    showed no intention of reminding her to control herself a little. She was the one who was embarrassing


    herself, after all, and it had nothing to do with him.


    Both Sonia and Toby had no idea what was going on in the room, and they walked in holding hands with


    each other. Toby was leading the way with Sonia following behind him. He held onto her and strode into


    the room at a rxed pace. There was a gentle look in his eyes and a slight smirk on his lips. Sonia had


    a smile on her face as she walked in behind him.

 Chapter 712

    Chapter 712


    Chapter 712 Your Reward


    Both Sonia and Toby looked like they were taking a stroll in the park instead of attending a press


    conference. This didn¡¯t matter, of course¡ªwhat mattered was that their intimate actions left everyone


    gasping in surprise. The people who were on Sonia¡¯s side felt their hope reigniting when they saw the


    couple walking in.


    Asher and his people, on the other hand, were starting to feel nervous at the sight of them. When they


    saw how gentle Toby was toward Sonia, they could tell that he was deeply in love with her. Even if the


    press conference didn¡¯t go well, and even if he got into trouble for it, he definitely wouldn¡¯t give up on


    Sonia. Things didn¡¯t look too good for Asher¡¯s people.


    Toby was a man of power, after all, so such minor inconveniences wouldn¡¯t be an issue for him at all.


    He¡¯d eventually find a way to resolve the matter, and he would gain authority over Fuller Group once


    more. Wouldn¡¯t he be able to offer help to Sonia then? Once Sonia had his support, she¡¯d be able to


    retrieve everything she had lost, and she might even use his power to take revenge on the people who


    had attempted to oust her¡­


    The more Asher¡¯s people thought about it, the grimmer they looked. They shifted their gazes toward


    Asher as if they were asking, What are we going to do now? Asher merely clenched his fists without


    responding. How was he supposed to respond? I have no idea what Toby is doing here.


    His appearance is ruining all my ns, and I don¡¯t know how to fix things now. I guess all I can do is to


    go with the flow. Asher rubbed his face in frustration.


    Meanwhile, Toby went up a step before he stopped and turned around to look at the woman behind him.


    ¡°Watch your step. Don¡¯t fall,¡± he reminded her. Sonia didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at that moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not blind, and walking is something I do everyday. Why would I fall?¡± While she was talking, Toby


    held her arm and guided her toward the front of the room. He continued to hold onto her as he spoke.


    ¡°Just in case.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always worrying about unnecessary things.¡± Sonia smiled as she shook her head. The rest of the


    people in the meeting room noticed the couple¡¯s interactions¡ªthose who were happy for them felt


    happier, while those who were against them looked more dejected than ever.


    Jessica was the outlier in the room as she was the only one who felt jealous of them. She felt as if she


    were losing her mind as the jealousy ate her insides. Her face was twisted into an ugly expression as


    she red at the couple walking to the front of the room with bloodshot eyes. I don¡¯t understand.


    Why would this rich and powerful man choose someone like Sonia, who¡¯s just an illegitimate daughter


    that doesn¡¯t know who her biological dad is? He can go for any other girl he wants! What¡¯s so great


    about Sonia?


    Sonia wasn¡¯t aware that there was a certain someone who was deadly jealous of her at that moment. As


    Sonia walked toward her seat, she turned to give orders to Daphne. ¡°Bring another chair over for


    President Fuller. He¡¯s going to be a part of this press conference as well.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Daphne smiled and nodded before she proceeded toplete her task. Once the rest of the


    people heard that Toby was joining the meeting, they had mixed emotions. However, no one had the guts


    to step forward and question anything. Toby was too powerful of a person for them to provoke.


    Furthermore, more than half of Paradigm Co.¡¯s partnerships were rted to Fuller Group, so Toby was


    practically like a sugar daddy to theirpany. Would anyone reject their sugar daddy¡¯s money and


    chase him away?


    Eventually, Toby took a seat next to Sonia at the head of the meeting room¡¯s table. The strong aura Toby


    gave off easily overpowered Sonia¡¯s presence. It seemed almost like the chairman of Paradigm Co. was


    Toby instead of Sonia. However, Sonia didn¡¯t tell him to hold himself back as she knew that he wasn¡¯t an


    insensitive individual.


    Toby wasn¡¯t someone who would disregard the situation and overpower her intentionally¡ªhe was only


    acting in such a manner to scare the people who were working for her. Specifically, he wanted to make


    Asher and his people feel threatened.


    From the moment they entered the meeting room, both Toby and Sonia had noticed the greed in their


    eyes. That was the reason Toby intentionally made himself appear more domineering¡ªhe wanted to


    extinguish the greed in these people. If Sonia had been alone, she might not have been able to gain


    control over them.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time. Since everyone¡¯s here, I¡¯ll proceed without wasting everyone¡¯s time. Daphne, please get


    the mediapanies who have been invited for the press conference to enter the room. They¡¯re over in


    the lounge area. Also, you may start the live stream.¡± Sonia took a nce at the people sitting below her


    before she raised her hand to look at her watch.


    Daphne nodded before she took the walkie-talkie that was hanging on her belt and spoke into it. Soon


    enough, more than ten representatives from various mediapanies squeezed into the meeting room


    from the lounge next door. When the representatives saw Sonia sitting next to Toby, they were stunned


    for a second before holding their microphones up to throw out all their questions.


    ¡°What are you doing here, President Fuller? Are you here to give Miss Reed support?¡± one asked.


    ¡°President Fuller, do you think Miss Reed will be able to produce evidence during the press conference


    today? Will she be able to prove that she hasn¡¯t done all those things to Miss Jessica?¡± another asked.


    ¡°Yeah, President Fuller, if Miss Reed doesn¡¯t manage to produce the evidence, that would mean that


    whatever Miss Jessica posted on the inte might be the truth. If that¡¯s the case, will you break up with


    Miss Reed?¡± Toby hadn¡¯t intended to respond to the reporters, but he knitted his brows together when he


    heard one reporter ask him if he would break up with Sonia. Am I still a man if I just pretend not to hear


    the question when this reporter¡¯s asking me about a breakup? Toby took the microphone that had been


    ced in front of Sonia.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sonia grabbed his arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Toby patted the back of her hand before giving her a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll just answer one of their


    questions.¡± Toby had spoken directly into the microphone, so everyone in the meeting room heard what


    he said. All the reporters¡¯ eyes lit up immediately. Even the audience who was watching the livestream


    were extremely excited. They all began to guess which question Toby was about to answer. ¡°President


    Fuller¡­¡± one of the reporters uttered in an attempt to rify his intentions.


    However, Toby merely ignored the reporter before turning to the female reporter who had questioned him


    earlier. ¡°Just now, you asked me whether I would break up with Sonia if what Jessica said was the truth,


    right?¡±


    The female reporter was extremely ttered by the fact that he had chosen her question, so she


    immediately nodded. ¡°Y-Yes, President Fuller!¡±


    ¡°Well, my answer is simple. No.¡± Toby spoke in a firm and straightforward tone. Sonia held a teacup in


    her hand and had been about to sip on her tea when she heard his words. The corner of her lips curled


    into a smile as she sneakily lowered one of the hands that she had ced on the desk. She secretly


    slipped it under the table to reach for Toby¡¯s thigh before resting her hand there.


    Toby sensed something pressing against his leg, and he looked down to find her hand there. She wasn¡¯t


    just cing it on his leg, she was even giving him a squeeze. It didn¡¯t hurt him, but it sent an electric


    current through his entire body. His gaze darkened as his voice turned hoarse. ¡°You¡­¡±


    Sonia turned to face him before she edged closer to his ear. ¡°It¡¯s my reward for you.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow before he smiled. ¡°I like this reward. I¡¯d like it even more if you were the reward.¡±


    ¡°Pfft.¡± Sonia blushed as she rolled her eyes at him. Then, she straightened her figure as she decided not


    to fool around with him any longer. She had been about to pull her hand away from his leg when he


    reached over just in time to grab it . Sonia turned to stare at him, and he put her hand back onto his


    thigh. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t pull away since you¡¯ve ced your hand here. This is your reward for me, isn¡¯t it?


    Shouldn¡¯t I be the one to decide when this reward ends?¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia was speechless in response to his answer, but she eventuallyplied to his request and left her


    hand on his leg. The reporters below them couldn¡¯t tell what the couple was doing, so they held their


    microphones up to pose them more questions. ¡°Why won¡¯t you break up with her, President Fuller? Can


    you give us a reason?¡±


    ¡°Because I love her. Isn¡¯t this reason good enough?¡± Toby gave the female reporter a sideways nce.

 Chapter 713

    Chapter 713


    Chapter 713 Proiming Love


    The female reporter gave Toby a polite smile, but she no longer said anything after that. He¡¯s right. He¡¯s


    not breaking up with her because he loves her¡ªthat¡¯s such a simple yet convincing exnation. While


    the reporters may have their own opinions regarding Toby¡¯s statements, the female audiences watching


    this incident through the live stream were already in tears because they were touched.


    Making a public statement about loving someone and promising the rest of the world that you wouldn¡¯t


    break up with your partner wasn¡¯t an easy thing to do. There were probably only a few people in the


    world who had the guts to do such a thing. Furthermore, Toby¡¯s actions were akin to him hanging himself


    above a pit of fire. It¡¯d be hard for him to break his promise since the whole world had witnessed Fuller


    Group¡¯s president proiming his love for Paradigm Co.¡¯s president.


    Toby had promised never to break up with her. However, if he lost feelings for her someday, or if he


    decided to break up with her someday, then the words he uttered during the day of the press conference


    would be turned into a joke. The rest of the world would cast


    Toby aside if that happened because he had taught the world to believe in love before shattering the trust


    that everyone had given him. It¡¯d bepletely understandable for everyone to boycott him at that point.


    As the president of Fuller Group, Toby certainly knew the consequences of his actions.


    Yet, despite being aware of such possible oues, he still chose to make such a huge promise in front


    of the public. This showed that he was serious about his rtionship with Sonia, and many individuals


    naturally felt touched by the sight of his sincerity. All of a sudden, all the femaleizens began to


    express their admiration for Sonia. The live streamment box was filled with sentences along the


    lines of, ¡®I wish I were Sonia!¡¯


    However, there was one individual who didn¡¯t feel the same. When this individual heard Toby revealing


    his love for Sonia, her entire body trembled with jealousy. With a loud smack, this individual pped


    her hand against the table and stood up. She gave Sonia a furious re before turning toward Toby. A


    series ofplicated emotions were shing in this individual¡¯s gaze¡ªresentment and hatred were the


    more prominent ones.


    When Sonia noticed this individual, she merely rolled her eyes before cing her hand on Toby¡¯s thigh


    and giving it a hard squeeze. The man raised an eyebrow when he felt a sting in his leg, and he quickly


    grabbed Sonia¡¯s hand before he gently rubbed her palm. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone trying to seduce you. Are you happy to see her?¡± Sonia spun a pen between her


    fingers as she spoke with a rather amused look on her face. Toby scowled for a moment before he threw


    a nce in Jessica¡¯s direction. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing. Stop talking nonsense! I only feel annoyed when I


    see her.¡±


    Sonia was pleased by his answer, and she had been about to say something when Jessica spoke up


    first. ¡°Mr. Fuller, I know that you have romantic feelings for my sister, but are you saying that you¡¯re


    allowing your romantic feelings to override your principles?¡± Once Jessica finished her sentence,


    everyone turned to stare at her. Some individuals were shocked by how Jessica had questioned Toby,


    while others were puzzled.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Toby¡¯s face turned stone cold as he spoke in a t and unforgiving tone.


    Jessica couldn¡¯t help but shudder at the sight of Toby¡¯s expression. Fear was written all over her face as


    she thought, This man¡¯s re is so terrifying, it feels like he can kill me with his looks. However, I have to


    hide my fear no matter what. At that thought, Jessica balled her hands into fists and took a deep breath


    to put on a determined look as she stared at Toby.


    ¡°Mr. Fuller, just now, the reporter asked whether you would break up with Sonia or not if what I posted on


    the Inte was real. If I was telling the truth, it would mean that Sonia truly bullied me and used her


    identity to steal everything from the Reed Family. Yet, you said that you wouldn¡¯t break up with her


    because you love her. But have you ever considered the fact that you¡¯re just spoiling Sonia and


    concealing her wrongdoings?


    You¡¯re providing her support but not upholding your moral standards and principles! Do you think it¡¯s


    really right to do that? You¡¯re aware of Sonia¡¯s immoral doings, and you¡¯re aware that she made many


    mistakes. If you continue to stand by her side, you¡¯re not doing her any good at all! You¡¯re just causing


    her more harm and neglecting your duty toward society!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± Jessica¡¯s words made everyone¡ªthe people in the room and the audience watching the


    live stream¡ªnod in agreement. Jessica wore a smug smile on her face when she noticed everyone


    agreeing with her. She had made things clear¡ªshe highlighted that he¡¯d be irresponsible to the public if


    he were to continue being in a rtionship with Sonia. He¡¯s probably going to break up with her now,


    right?


    At that thought, Jessica turned to look at the woman standing beside Toby. Then, Jessica raised her chin


    up to give Sonia a provocative look. Sonia immediately read Jessica¡¯s mind, and she let out a sneer.


    She¡¯s getting ahead of herself! Jessica really thinks I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to lose today, huh? Well,


    what a shame¡­ Sonia had to look down at the ground to conceal the scornful look in her eyes.


    Meanwhile, the reporters started hurling questions at Toby once more. ¡°What Miss Jessica said makes


    sense, President Fuller. If Miss Reed did do those things, then wouldn¡¯t it be wrong for you to continue


    supporting her?¡± one reporter asked.


    ¡°Yeah, President Fuller. Aren¡¯t you worried that your actions may serve as a bad example to others?¡±


    another one asked.


    Bang! Toby smacked his palm against the desk as he red at the crowd with a stern, icy expression on


    his face. Pin-drop silence filled the room at once. ¡°Are you done?¡± His calm and hollow gaze scanned the


    crowd before he held the microphone to his lips. ¡°Is there anything wrong with my actions? I already


    pointed this outst night¡ªSonia didn¡¯t do any of those things. Even if she did, would I be wrong to stay


    in a rtionship with her?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be wrong?¡± The muscles in Jessica¡¯s neck were tense as she spoke.


    Toby curled his lips into a cold smirk. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me standing up for the woman I love? I¡¯d only


    be wrong if I questioned her honesty and refused to support her. I wouldn¡¯t deserve to be her lover in that


    case.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The crowd was speechless. What Toby said seemed to make sense to them. Regardless of


    whether your loved one made a mistake or not, it¡¯s your duty to provide unconditional support to your


    loved one, right?


    How could you call it love otherwise? If your boyfriend or girlfriend strays away from you while you¡¯re


    involved in a scandal, how would you feel? How would you feel if they didn¡¯t trust you and back you up?


    You¡¯d probably feel like your partner isn¡¯t worthy of your love, right?


    When Jessica saw that the crowd was starting to change their opinions toward the situation, she


    panicked. ¡°Mr. Fuller, you¡¯re¡ª¡±


    Toby frowned before he spoke into the microphone to interrupt her. ¡°You im that I¡¯m excusing Sonia¡¯s


    wrongdoings when I stand by her side, and you say that I¡¯m irresponsible toward society due to this


    matter. That¡¯s hrious. How is standing up for my woman rted to a societal matter? How did you get


    to that conclusion?¡±


    The rest of the crowd lowered their heads in shame. He¡¯s right. Speaking up and supporting your loved


    ones is a personal matter that isn¡¯t rted to society at all. It seems like we¡¯ve been making too big a


    deal out of this. It¡¯s all because of Jessica! Upon that thought, most of the crowd turned to stare at


    Jessica with unfriendly looks on their faces.


    Jessica¡¯s face turned pale as she protested. ¡°Why are you guys looking at me? What do you want?¡±


    ¡°What they¡¯re trying to tell you is that you¡¯re adding oil to the fire. You¡¯re putting Sonia on the spot and


    turning the crowd against her. You¡¯re trying to create distance between Sonia and me.¡± Toby didn¡¯t bother


    to protect Jessica¡¯s dignity at all and immediately exposed her true intentions.


    A look of panic shed in Jessica¡¯s gaze. ¡°T-That¡¯s nonsense! I wasn¡¯t trying to do that!¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you?¡± It was Sonia, not Toby, who spoke up this time. She took the microphone from Toby and


    red at Jessica. Both Sonia and Toby stared at Jessica with gazes so cold that it seemed almost like


    they were looking at an object rather than a person. ¡°If you weren¡¯t trying to do that, why did you utter


    those words to President Fuller?


    You imed that his protection of me is his neglect toward society, but it appears like you were trying to


    brainwash the crowd. You want others to believe that I¡¯ve actually done those things, but you forgot that


    you don¡¯t have any solid evidence for all of those things you used me of either. We¡¯ll still require proof


    to determine whether I wronged you or not, right?¡± Sonia asked.

 Chapter 714

    Chapter 714


    Chapter 714 The Public¡¯s Suspicions


    Sonia¡¯s words made sense to the crowd. It was a fact that Jessica had been making ims without


    providing any evidence to the public. No one knew whether what she said was the truth or not. All she


    had given the public were words, after all.


    As long as she hadn¡¯t produced any evidence, it meant that no one could determine the validity of her


    statements. If the truth couldn¡¯t be proven, why would Jessica continue to emphasize that Sonia had


    done something wrong?


    Previously, the crowd hadn¡¯t realized what was going on. However, after they heard what Sonia said,


    they realized that her words had some truth to it. It did seem like Jessica was doing all the talking in


    order to brainwash them and make them believe that Sonia had done something bad. Then, Jessica got


    the public to point their fingers at Sonia, so that everyone wouldbel Sonia as the illegitimate daughter


    and evil sister who bullied Jessica.


    Once the public realized this, they also realized that they no longer knew who was the evil person in that


    situation. Even if Sonia had actually done bad things, the public could tell that Jessica was no innocent


    saint either.


    At that thought, many of the reporters and audiences turned to Jessica with looks of astonishment on


    their faces. One reporter broke the silence to ask Jessica a question. ¡°Miss Jessica, since you imed


    that Miss Reed has bullied you and your mother since you were a child, you probably have some


    evidence, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You also mentioned that Miss Reed isn¡¯t your father¡¯s biological daughter, but you didn¡¯t provide


    us any solid proof for that. If you can¡¯t give us any evidence of this, and if you can¡¯t prove that your


    father¡¯s ex-wife had Sonia with another man, then we have enough reason to question your motives!


    Would we be wrong to suspect that you¡¯re harming Miss Reed intentionally because you¡¯re displeased


    by the fact that she has more shares than you?¡¯ one reporter cried.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss Jessica. Please exin yourself. If you can¡¯t provide us with sturdy evidence, then


    whatever you said online can be considered as defamation. You¡¯d have to face the consequences of the


    law.¡±


    When Jessica saw all the reporters turning to interrogate her, she felt her chest heaving up and down as


    her eyes turned red. She had been sneakily enjoying herself while the reporters interrogated Toby and


    Sonia just moments ago, and she hadn¡¯t expected the tables to turn so quickly.


    Unfortunately, Jessica didn¡¯t have the evidence that the public wanted. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you answering us,


    Miss Jessica? Are you hiding something?¡± The reporters began to question Jessica when they saw her


    staying silent. Even the online audiences discussed it in the livestream chat.


    ¡®Did you see that? Miss Jessica sure looks frantic when she¡¯s questioned by the reporters,¡¯ one


    commented.


    ¡®I don¡¯t think she¡¯s frantic. I think that¡¯s a look of guilt on her face. My brother always looks like that when


    he does something wrong and doesn¡¯t want to admit it. I know that expression too well,¡¯ another one


    replied.


    ¡®Are you saying that there¡¯s something wrong with Miss Jessica?¡¯ someone asked.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡®Of course! I¡¯m 100 percent sure that what Jessica said was a lie. If it were true, why wouldn¡¯t she give us


    evidence? She could have given her evidence to the police after reporting about this online yesterday.


    Yet, she didn¡¯t take any action or show any evidence¡ªall she did was whine on the Inte. A normal


    person wouldn¡¯t do that, would they?¡±


    ¡®You¡¯re right. I would¡¯ve made a police report if I were Jessica,¡¯ another one replied.


    Although Jessica couldn¡¯t see thements that were being written about her in the live stream, she


    could tell from the demeanors of the reporters that the situation online probably wasn¡¯t looking too good


    for her. With her fists clenched and her eyes darting around anxiously, Jessica attempted to reply to the


    reporters. ¡°It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t have evidence of Sonia bullying me. After all, I mentioned that this


    happened when I was young. How am I supposed to find evidence for my childhood incidents?¡±


    ¡°You also said that Miss Reed isn¡¯t your father¡¯s biological daughter. Do you have proof of that, Miss


    Jessica?¡± The reporters held their microphones up to her. Jessica took a nce at Sonia who was on the


    stage. In an instant, the fear and panic in Jessica¡¯s face were reced with a smirk.


    ¡°Of course I have evidence for that,¡± she replied. She expected Sonia to panic the moment she uttered


    those words. I¡¯m about to expose Sonia¡¯s true identity in front of the whole world, so she should be afraid


    of me now. Everyone¡¯s going to know that she¡¯s not a child of the Reed Family.


    But to Jessica¡¯s surprise, Sonia didn¡¯t show a hint of fear in her eyes, and she even began to giggle and


    chat with the man beside her. No one heard what Sonia said to Toby, but Toby turned to give her a fond


    gaze. Jessica gritted her teeth in anger when she saw the man gazing at Sonia affectionately. You guys


    canugh all you want now! Jessica thought as she looked away. We¡¯ll see who¡¯s the oneughing in a


    while!


    At that thought, Jessica spread her lips into an arrogant smile once more as she held onto the


    microphone and stared directly at the reporters¡¯ cameras. ¡°It¡¯s easy to prove if Sonia is my father¡¯s


    daughter or not. We can run a DNA test.


    I¡¯m my father¡¯s biological daughter, so if Sonia does a DNA test with me, it¡¯ll tell whether we are


    biological sisters. If the results show that we aren¡¯t, then it¡¯ll prove that Sonia isn¡¯t my father¡¯s daughter.


    It¡¯ll prove that she¡¯s a product of her mom and some other man.¡±


    ¡°That does sound like a good n.¡± The reporters nodded agreeably. Jessica took another nce at


    Sonia as she lifted her chin to provoke Sonia. ¡°Would you dare to do that with me, Sonia?¡±


    Everyone turned their attention to Sonia as they anticipated her answer. Sonia responded with a calm


    smile. ¡°Of course I would dare to do that. However, there is no need for it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jessica knitted her brows together. ¡°Are you trying to hide the truth from everyone


    and lie your way out of this situation?¡±


    ¡°When did I say anything about hiding anything from others?¡± Sonia raised an eyebrow while ring at


    Jessica coldly.


    Jessica let out a resentful scoff. ¡°If you¡¯re not trying to hide, then why did you say that there¡¯s no need for


    a DNA test?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a simple answer to that¡ªit¡¯s useless to run a DNA test because it¡¯s true that we¡¯re not sisters.


    The test will not indicate that we¡¯re rted to one another, so it¡¯s pointless to run the test.¡± Sonia flicked


    her wrist dismissively. Meanwhile, Toby reached his hand out toward Daphne, who was standing beside


    them. Daphne knew what he wanted, so she quickly lowered the files that she had been hugging in her


    arms.


    Once Toby took the file, he slowly flipped through it. The contents were rted to the procedures the


    Reeds went through to adopt Sonia. Meanwhile, Jessica and the reporters were equally shocked when


    they heard Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, it sounds like you¡¯ve known this all along. How long has it been since you


    knew that you¡¯re not Jessica¡¯s biological sister?¡±


    Sonia held onto one of the microphones. ¡°I¡¯ve known this all along, but I only obtained this information


    about two months ago.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, doesn¡¯t that mean that your mother actually did it with another guy¡­¡± The reporter trailed


    off. She knew how offensive this statement could be to some individuals. Of course, the reporter wouldn¡¯t


    have had to consider so many things if Sonia had been alone. However, since the man beside Sonia was


    a person who held power over everyone, all of the reporters had to be especially cautious when they


    spoke.


    At that very moment, Toby frowned in response to the reporter¡¯s question. The reporter who had posed


    the question could feel her heart racing. She even regretted asking the question. But the world was filled


    with idiots, and the reporter was just one of them.


    When Jessica saw the reporter chickening out, she decided that she would step forward toplete the


    reporter¡¯s questions. ¡°Sonia, the reporter is asking if you knew that your mother had given birth to you


    after sleeping around with another man.¡±


    ¡°Jessica, you¡ª¡° The reporter hadn¡¯t expected Jessica toplete her question. She even highlighted


    that I, the reporter, was the one who asked this question. Isn¡¯t she just trying to sabotage me? The


    female reporter stared at the couple on stage with fear in her eyes. Her chest tightened when she saw


    the icy look on both Toby and Sonia¡¯s faces.

 Chapter 715

    Chapter 715


    Chapter 715 I Have Evidence


    I¡¯m dead. President Fuller and Miss Reed aren¡¯t going to let me go. I stopped my question mid-way


    because I know that it maye off as offensive. Although Miss Reed may be displeased with my


    actions, she wouldn¡¯t have done anything to me since I didn¡¯t finish my question.


    She wouldn¡¯t have a reason to attack me. But now that Jessica finished my question and pointed out that


    I was the one who asked it¡­ Miss Reed and President Fuller are both going to hate me! While fear


    consumed the female reporter, she also felt a sudden surge of hatred toward Jessica.


    The female reporter turned to give Jessica a hateful look. She had Jessica¡¯s face etched in her memory.


    If I survive Miss Reed and President Fuller¡¯s punishment, I will make sure to get revenge on this woman.


    I¡¯m going to ensure that she spends the rest of her life dealing with scandals, even if some are only half-


    true. Jessica had no idea how much the female reporter was offended by her actions, so she simply let


    out a scoff as she looked at Sonia. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Don¡¯t you want to admit that you¡¯re


    Miss Lina and another man¡¯s child?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously as he shut the files in his hands with a loud smack. He was about to


    take Sonia¡¯s microphone to say something, but Sonia shook her head at him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do this on my own,¡± she uttered. Then, she took the files from Toby before she stood up and threw


    Jessica a dirty re. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disappointing you. I¡¯m not Dad¡¯s biological daughter, but I¡¯m not


    Mom¡¯s biological daughter either. So, your ims about my mother betraying my father and having


    affairs with other men just sounds like a huge joke to me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Everyone was shocked the moment Sonia finished her words. ¡°Lina didn¡¯t give birth to you?!¡±


    Jessica cried out in shock.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Titus and Julia were watching the press conference live stream from the hospital. They had


    been waiting to see how things would turn out for Sonia, but they were both stunned the moment they


    heard Sonia¡¯s announcement. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Sonia isn¡¯t Henry and Lina¡¯s daughter.¡± Titus frowned.


    Julia nodded her head dazedly. ¡°I-It seems like it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Titus had a look of disbelief on his pale, sickly face. ¡°How could Sonia not be Henry


    and Lina¡¯s child? I recall seeing Lina pregnant.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Julia nodded. ¡°Lina and I got pregnant in the same year, but she was due three months earlier


    than me. We even gave birth in the same hospital, and we both had daughters. Everyone in the circle


    knows this! How could Sonia not be Henry and Lina¡¯s daughter? If she isn¡¯t their child, then where did


    their biological daughter go?¡± The atmosphere in the room turned awkward once Julia uttered her


    question.


    Titus merely squinted and stared at the TV without answering Julia. After looking at him for a while, Julia


    decided to shift her focus back to the TV as well. For some reason, Julia felt a surge of emotionsing


    up within her the moment she heard Sonia say that she wasn¡¯t Henry and Lina¡¯s biological daughter.


    Julia¡¯s emotions made her more attentive toward this matter, and it made her more desperate to find out


    about the truth.


    ¡­


    At the same time, Rina was watching the press conference in the Gray Residence. When she heard


    Sonia announcing that she wasn¡¯t Lina¡¯s biological daughter, her expression did a 360 as she leapt out of


    the couch. The fruit knife that she had been holding fell to the ground with a loud ng, but Rina was too


    flustered to be bothered. Sh*t. Why did Sonia talk about this? I wouldn¡¯t feel so anxious if she had just


    said that she wasn¡¯t Henry¡¯s daughter.


    But now that her rtionship with Lina is revealed, a lot of people are going to be curious about her true


    identity. If Sonia talks about her blood type and the mark on her body to prove that she isn¡¯t Henry and


    Lina¡¯s daughter, then Mom and Dad might realize something. They might find out that Sonia is their


    daughter!


    Rina sank her teeth into her bottom lip as her eyes darted around frantically. She knew that she had to


    come up with an idea. There was no way for her to stop Sonia from talking, so the only thing Rina could


    do was to distract and confuse Titus and Julia.


    I don¡¯t know if Mom and Dad are watching the press conference or not, and I don¡¯t know if Sonia will talk


    about her birthmark or not, but I have to rush to the hospital now to distract Mom and Dad. At that


    thought, Rina picked her bag up and marched toward the exit of the vi.


    Back at the press conference, Sonia tugged her lips into a smirk when she saw Jessica¡¯s look of utter


    shock and disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m not Lina¡¯s child, either. So, I¡¯m not some illegitimate daughter who


    has to feel ashamed of anything.¡±


    ¡°No! That¡¯s impossible!¡± Jessica shook her head in denial. All the reporters and viewers of the live stream


    had their jaws hanging open upon hearing this news.


    ¡°Sh*t! What¡¯s going on right now? Didn¡¯t they say that the ex-wife of Miss Jessica¡¯s dad had an affair with


    another man? Why isn¡¯t that the case now?¡±


    ¡°No, no. My mind is a total mess now.¡± All the reporters were discussing among themselves for a while


    before one individual finally couldn¡¯t resist the urge to question Sonia. He took a deep breath before


    speaking. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Miss Reed? Can you give us more details regarding this matter?¡¯


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia spread her red lips into a smile. ¡°To tell you the truth, Henry and Lina adopted me


    when I was a baby.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± Jessica pointed at Sonia as she protested. ¡°This can¡¯t be true. This must be one of your


    lies. You just don¡¯t want to admit that you¡¯re a product of Lina¡¯s love affair with another man.¡±


    ¡°A product?¡¯ Sonia narrowed her eyes as she repeated Jessica¡¯s words. The air around Sonia turned


    cold as Toby¡¯s face darkened. If they had been in Fuller Group, Toby would have taught the girl a lesson


    and let her know the consequences of not watching her words.


    Sonia could sense the fury of the man beside her, so she patted him on the thigh to tell him to calm


    down. Then, she stared at Jessica with a mocking grin. ¡°I know why you¡¯re finding it hard to recognize


    that I¡¯m an adopted daughter.


    It¡¯s because our whole globe applies the same set ofws to adopted children¡ªit¡¯s that adopted children


    possess equal rights to one¡¯s family inheritance. You hope that I¡¯m an illegitimate daughter instead of an


    adopted one, because I wouldn¡¯t be able to inherit anything from the Reed Family if I were an illegitimate


    daughter. Am I right?¡±


    Jessica had to avoid Sonia¡¯s eyes¡ªshe felt self-conscious as Sonia¡¯s words had been spot on. Sonia


    smirked as she continued. ¡°It¡¯s a shame that things didn¡¯t go the way you nned. My parents adopted


    me 26 years ago, and theypleted the adoption procedures at the Public Security Bureau.


    Here¡¯s a photocopied version of the documents.¡± Sonia ced the files on the meeting table. ¡°The


    original copy is in one of the storage areas of the Public Security Bureau. If the media needs more


    evidence on the validity of this, they can contact the Public Security Bureau for more information. I can¡¯t


    possibly get the Public Security Bureau to forge documents for me, right?¡±


    The moment Sonia finished her words, people on the Inte instantly found Seafield¡¯s Public Security


    Bureau¡¯s announcement. They had validated Sonia¡¯s words. This proved that Sonia had been adopted


    and had gone through the necessary procedures.


    Furthermore, since it was an official adoption, it meant that Sonia was part of the Reed Family although


    they weren¡¯t rted by blood and possessed the same rights as Jessica did. In that case, what Jessica


    uttered about Lina cheating on Henry was clearly a lie.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Can we take a look at the adoption documents, Miss Reed?¡± a reporter asked.

 Chapter 716

    Chapter 716


    Chapter 716 Jessica¡¯s Fear


    Sonia nced at the reporter before agreeing whole-heartedly. ¡°Of course. Daphne?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chairman.¡± Daphne smiled as she picked up the adoption documents.


    ¡°Please hand them out so that everyone gets to take a look. Please make sure that Miss Jessica gets a


    good look at the documents too,¡± Sonia uttered as she threw Jessica a cold re. The pale and terrified


    look on Jessica¡¯s face was an amusing sight.


    Daphne grinned and nodded after she looked in Jessica¡¯s direction. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Reed. I¡¯ll


    make sure that Miss Jessica is the first to get a look.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sonia waved her arm at Daphne, and Daphne walked over to Jessica with the documents.


    Once Daphne was in front of Jessica, she opened the files. ¡°Please take a look, Miss Jessica. You


    should make sure to go through it thoroughly.¡±


    Jessica¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as she red at the adoption documents with all the official stamps on it.


    It was then that she epted her fate¡ªshe had lost to Sonia once more. However, she didn¡¯t wish to


    admit it in front of everyone. ¡°Take it away. I don¡¯t want to see it. Who knows whether this is real or not?


    What if you guys bribed the Public Security Bureau to get them to forge this document?¡±


    The crowd and the live stream viewers fell silent upon hearing Jessica. Forgery? It might seem a little


    far-fetched, but that¡¯s not impossible. The audience exchanged confused nces before they turned to


    look at the couple on the stage.


    Sonia had a grim expression on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought you were dumb, but I just realized how


    brainless you are. Forgery? I can¡¯t believe you thought of such a thing. Do you think I¡¯m powerful enough


    to get a government organization to forge this document for me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The crowd nodded in agreement. Jessica bit her lip as she continued her end of the


    argument. ¡°You might not have that power, but what about the man beside you?¡± Jessica pointed at Toby,


    who had his gaze lowered.


    He appeared to be bored and uninterested, but he was actually ying with Sonia¡¯s hand under the


    table. ¡°I¡¯m sure Mr. Fuller has the capabilities, considering how powerful his family is. With his ancestors¡¯


    contribution to the country, I¡¯m sure the government might be a little more respectful toward him. So¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Sonia mmed her palm against the table as she couldn¡¯t bear to listen to Jessica¡¯s


    words any longer. ¡°Do you have any idea what you¡¯re talking about? You¡¯re ruining the reputation of an


    elderly who has contributed to the country, and you¡¯re even tainting our country¡¯s name.


    Even if President Fuller has the ability to ask the bureau to forge documents, he wouldn¡¯t do such a thing


    as he¡¯d never sacrifice the blood, sweat and tears that his own grandfather has given to the country.


    President Fuller knows that I have to ability to resolve this on my own, so what you¡¯re saying now is utter


    bullsh*t!¡±


    Sonia was fuming. She rarely ever swore in front of others, but she couldn¡¯t help herself then. When


    Jessica saw how infuriated Sonia was, she merely let out an unbothered scoff. ¡°This is just a one-sided


    statement. Is there any way you can prove that you¡¯re telling the truth?¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡° Sonia frowned. She was about to say something when Toby pulled her to sit down and lifted his


    gaze to re at Jessica. His eyes were nk and soulless as he stared at her. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe her,


    you can file a report and get some higher-ups to investigate if I¡¯ve bribed the Public Security Bureau.


    What do you think you will do if I turn out to be innocent?¡± Toby¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud and his tone was


    light-hearted, but his threat was obvious.


    Jessica shuddered before she parted her lips to speak. However, just then, Daphne pushed her sses


    up her nose and said, ¡°ording to thew, one who starts rumors about the nation and its heroes will


    have to face consequences. The lightest sentence is three to six months, while the heaviest sentence is


    three years. Are you prepared to get detained by the police, Miss Jessica?¡±


    When Jessica heard the word ¡®detained¡¯, her expression changed as her voice became sharp and high-


    pitched. ¡°What do you mean? I just had some suspicions; how did we get to talking about detainment?


    You must be lying to scare me, right?¡± Jessica wagged a finger at Daphne as she red at Daphne


    hatefully.


    Daphne simply rolled her eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you may ask the reporters here. They are


    required to have some knowledge of thew because of their job, so I¡¯m sure they can tell you whether


    what I said is real or not.¡± The reporters who heard Daphne nodded immediately. ¡°Thisdy here is right,


    Miss Jessica. If the investigation shows that President Fuller hasn¡¯t done anything wrong, then whatever


    you said today will be enough to send you to jail.¡±


    ¡°H-How could this be?¡± Jessica¡¯s face was as white as a sheet. She opened and shut her mouth like a


    fish as she felt the terror taking over her. After a while, she looked at Sonia and Toby. ¡°Mr. Fuller, I¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Toby held his hand up. ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say, but I¡¯m not going to give you


    any hope. Since you¡¯ve done what you did, you should take full responsibility for it. This is the most basic


    rule that every grown person should live by. You can make a police report now, Daphne.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± Daphne quickly pulled her phone out to make a call. When Jessica saw this


    happening, she screamed and climbed onto the table in an attempt to reach Daphne, who was seated on


    the opposite end. Jessica wanted to snatch Daphne¡¯s phone away to stop her from calling the police.


    However, her sudden gestures sent the whole room into a frenzy.


    Fortunately, Sonia had been prepared for this. She knew how messy the situation could get since there


    were so many reporters in the room, so she had already ordered a few guards to wait around outside.


    When Sonia saw Jessica causing a fuss in the meeting room, she instantly called for the guards to hold


    Jessica back.


    Daphne took two steps back and patted her chest in relief once Jessica was subdued. ¡°Is everything


    okay, Daphne?¡± Sonia asked.


    Daphne nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you for asking. It¡¯s just that I hadn¡¯t managed to call the police during


    that whole chaos.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can do it now,¡± Toby uttered in a t tone as he spun a pen between his fingers. Daphne


    nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true, President Fuller.¡± With that said, Daphne dialed the police¡¯s number and made a


    report regarding Jessica¡¯s suspicions of Toby. The call was made in front of everyone, and it took only


    two minutes. A faint smile surfaced on Daphne¡¯s face as she looked at Jessica¡¯s dumbfounded


    expression. ¡°The police have filed the report, Miss Jessica. They will inform their higher-ups and send an


    investigation team to check on President Fuller. You don¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡±


    Jessica felt chills running from the tip of her head down to her ankles. She had been trying to wriggle her


    way out of the guards¡¯ grip at first, but all her energy seemed to leave her body at that moment¡ªshe no


    longer had the strength to fight any longer. The guards loosened their grip on her when they felt her


    calming down, and she copsed onto the ground once she was released.


    Jessica happened to copse in the middle of the round-shaped meeting table, and all the higher-ups of


    Paradigm Co. and reporters surrounded her. The entire scene made it look as if she was a criminal who


    was being interrogated by a whole group of people.


    In other words, Jessica had turned herself into aplete joke. Since Daphne had made a police report,


    everyone concluded that the adoption documents were legitimate. It¡¯s true. President Fuller didn¡¯t get


    involved in any forgery. He would never dare to make a police report otherwise, right? He may be


    powerful, but he can¡¯t possibly fight against the whole system. So, the adoption documents have to be


    legitimate.


    Daphne took the adoption papers away from Jessica¡¯s seat on the table without even ncing in


    Jessica¡¯s direction. Soon enough, the reporters got a chance to read the adoption papers before they


    held it up to show the live stream audiences.


    That was how Titus and Julia got to see all the contents of the adoption papers. When Julia saw the date


    written on the document, her pupils shrank in shock. ¡°3rd¡­ of May¡­¡±


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.

 Chapter 717

    Chapter 717


    Chapter 717 Is She Rina?


    I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s the 3rd of May! Julia immediately turned to address Titus in a shaky voice. ¡°Did you


    see that, darling? The date¡­ Sonia¡¯s date of adoption. Did you see it?¡±


    ¡°I saw it!¡± Titus responded with a grim nod. He gripped the railing of the bed so hard that his arm began


    to tremble. Julia pressed a hand over her mouth as her eyes began to water. ¡°Why would it be the 3rd of


    May?¡± She couldn¡¯t understand. Why isn¡¯t Sonia their biological daughter? How could she be adopted?


    It¡¯s the 3rd of May, a day that I¡¯ll never forget. This is still the most painful month to go through every year


    because the 1st of May was the day that Henry stole my daughter and threw her into the river! The day


    that Sonia was adopted was just two days after Henry threw my daughter into the water. Does that


    mean¡­


    ¡°Darling, do you think it¡¯s possible that Sonia might actually be our daughter, Rina?¡± Julia held onto her


    husband¡¯s hand as she spoke in a hurried voice. Titus frowned. ¡°Are you getting confused? How could


    Sonia be Rina?¡±


    ¡°But Sonia isn¡¯t Henry¡¯s biological daughter¡ªshe was adopted. If you look at the dates, it¡¯s just such a


    coincidence! That¡¯s why I thought she might be our daughter,¡± Julia cried in an increasingly emotional


    tone.


    Titus patted the back of her hand. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why is it impossible?¡± Julia flung his hand off of hers before she red at the TV. ¡°The date itself seems


    like pretty solid evidence. Weren¡¯t you shocked when you saw the date? That shows that you considered


    the possibility of Sonia being Rina, right?¡±


    For a moment, Titus didn¡¯t know what to say. She¡¯s right; I did think that Sonia might be Rina when I first


    saw the date. First, it¡¯s the fact that Sonia and Rina were born in the same year.


    Next is the fact that Henry kidnapped and threw Rina into the river on the 1st of May, but two dayster,


    he decided to adopt a baby girl. No matter how I try to look at it, it just seems like Henry hadn¡¯t thrown


    the child away and had secretly decided to nurture the child instead. But that¡¯s just so unlikely.


    Since Rina is my daughter, she¡¯s technically Henry¡¯s enemy as well. If I were Henry, I wouldn¡¯t care for


    my enemy¡¯s daughter, and I certainly wouldn¡¯t allow her to live such a good life. That¡¯s why it¡¯s


    impossible for Sonia to be Rina. Titus sighed at that thought. ¡°Why don¡¯t you calm down? If Sonia is


    Rina, then who¡¯s the daughter we have at home now? Rina did a DNA test that proved she¡¯s our


    biological daughter, so Sonia can¡¯t be Rina. She just happened to be adopted by Henry during the same


    period of time when Rina was thrown into the river.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I still care a lot about this for some reason.¡± Julia sat down on the hospital bed and covered


    her face with her hands as she sobbed. ¡°I¡¯ve never told you this, Titus, but my maternal instincts aren¡¯t


    very strong when ites to Rina.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡¯ Titus looked at her.


    Julia bit her bottom lip before she exined herself. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I just feel like I can¡¯t get close to


    Rina. I know she¡¯s my daughter, and I know I should love and care for her to make her feel like the


    happiest child on earth, yet for some reason, I can¡¯t seem to do it. I feel like I¡¯m just acting whenever I


    show love and care for Rina. Deep down, I feel rather reluctant whenever I¡¯m interacting with her, and I


    ¡ª¡°


    ¡°Rina!¡± Before Julia could finish her words, Titus let out a loud cry. Julia¡¯s heart sank when she looked up


    to find Titus looking past her. He had an extremely helpless and awkward look on his face. Julia¡¯s


    expression changed and she immediately turned around to look in the direction of the room door. Rina


    stood by the door with tears in her eyes and a hurt expression on her face.


    ¡°Rina¡­¡± Julia¡¯s face turned pale.


    ¡°You¡¯re too much, Mom!¡± Rina balled her hands into fists and shouted at Julia before she turned around


    and ran off. ¡°Rina!¡± Julia reached her hand out to stop Rina, but she was toote. ¡°Darling, I¡­¡± Julia was


    too shocked to know what to do, so she turned to look at Titus. She had just been telling him her deepest


    thoughts, and she hadn¡¯t expected Rina to show up at that exact moment. Rina even ran off because


    she was too upset by what Julia said.


    A heavy sense of guilt surfaced in Julia¡¯s chest, and it made her feel like she couldn¡¯t breathe at all.


    Simrly, Titus hadn¡¯t expected such a thing to happen. He hadn¡¯t expected Rina to show up at the


    hospital. ¡°What else can you do? You should go after her,¡± he uttered as he massaged his temples to


    soothe his headache.


    ¡°Oh! Okay.¡± Julia only came to her senses then. She hastily stood up and jogged out of the room, leaving


    Titus alone in the ward. He looked at the TV in front of him with aplicated look on his face. After


    thinking about it for a while, he pulled his phone out to contact his assistant. ¡°I want you to check how


    Henry managed to adopt Sonia and where he got her from!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± the assistant replied. Titus lowered his phone with the same serious expression on his face.


    Although he didn¡¯t think that Sonia was Rina, and although he didn¡¯t think that the ¡®Rina¡¯ living with them


    was a fake, he still felt deeply concerned because of when Sonia had been adopted. He agreed with


    Julia¡ªhe knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find peace until he got a clear answer as to how Henry had


    adopted Sonia and from where.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, all of the reporters at the press conference and the viewers on the live stream had seen


    Sonia¡¯s adoption documents. Daphne finally retrieved the copy of the adoption documents from the


    crowd before cing it in front of Sonia and Toby. Then, Sonia picked the microphone up to address


    everyone with a friendly smile. ¡°Does anyone still think my adoption documents were forged?¡¯


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Everyone shook their heads. Is she kidding? Only one person questioned Sonia earlier,


    and they already called the police on her. The police are on their way now. We¡¯d be idiots to question


    her! the crowd thought.


    ¡°Well, if no one else suspects anything, then I¡¯m sure you guys don¡¯t have an issue with my identity


    anymore, right?¡¯ Sonia ced her hand on top of the file that consisted of her adoption documents. ¡°My


    mom didn¡¯t cheat and get pregnant with another man. On the contrary, my parents have gone through


    official procedures to adopt me.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    I may not be biologically rted to my parents, but legally speaking, I am their daughter. This also means


    that I¡¯m just as entitled as Jessica to receive an inheritance from the Reed Family. Jessica imed that I


    snatched all of the Reed Family¡¯s fortune, but I don¡¯t think her argument sounds right now, does it?¡±


    Sonia asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, Miss Reed.¡± The crowd nodded once more.


    ¡°Jessica said that I stole all of Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares. I don¡¯t see a point in exining much on this


    matter, as any one of the shareholders here would probably know what I¡¯m about to say. I didn¡¯t steal or


    fight for any shares¡ªmy father had sold a majority of his shares before he passed away.


    Later on, it was my grandfather who repurchased the shares and gifted them to me. Since the shares


    had already belonged to two other individuals before it came back to me, would you guys still say that


    these shares belong to the Reeds?¡± Sonia asked once more.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± one of the reporters replied loudly. ¡°Since the previous president sold it off, the Reed


    Family no longer owns Paradigm Co.¡¯s shares. The shares that you have now were purchased at ater


    time, so they are no longer rted to the Reeds. Since it¡¯s not rted, this shouldn¡¯t be seen as your


    inheritance. The shares simply belong to you, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Many of the reporters nodded in agreement. Just then, Sonia took a look at Jessica¡¯s pale


    face. ¡°Now, everyone knows that I didn¡¯t steal the shares. Aren¡¯t you guys curious then about the reason


    Jessica went through all that trouble to cause such a hugemotion online? Why would she say that I


    snatched the shares from my father?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The crowd froze for a moment before they all turned to look at Jessica, and the


    interrogation started once again.

 Chapter 718

    Chapter 718


    Chapter 718 The End


    ¡°Miss Jessica, after hearing what Miss Reed said, can you justify your actions?¡± one reporter asked.


    ¡°Miss Jessica, did you know that your father had sold his shares a long time ago?¡± Jessica couldn¡¯t


    tolerate the never-ending questions that were thrown in her direction, so she pressed her palms against


    her ears as she scrunched up her face.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Shut up! Everyone shut up!¡± She began to scream like a madwoman. The crowd and the


    live stream viewers let out sympathetic sighs when they saw her that way. Perhaps they assumed that


    she was raging out of shame.


    Sonia lowered her gaze to give Jessica a cold re while Jessica thrashed and raged on the ground.


    Sonia smirked. ¡°Let me answer on behalf of her since she doesn¡¯t want to do it. She was aware that Dad


    had sold the Reed Family¡¯s shares, and she was aware that the shares I own have got nothing to do with


    her.


    The reason she started all those rumors about me online was because she couldn¡¯t get what I have. That


    was why she imed that I was an illegitimate daughter who had bullied her when we were young¡ªshe


    wanted to use the power of the media andizens to force me to hand her some shares.¡±


    ¡®Sheesh. That¡¯s so horrible,¡¯ someonemented. ¡®Exactly! This is my first time encountering someone


    who¡¯s so disgusting,¡¯ another one replied. ¡®I knew Miss Jessica wasn¡¯t as innocent as she seemed to be.


    I was right! I can¡¯t believe she tricked all of usizens to side with her, and I can¡¯t believe I spoke up for


    her. F*ck¡­¡¯


    While all theizens raged over the incident online, the reporters on the site looked as if they wanted to


    tear Jessica into pieces. The paparazzi and the media had always been the ones who would stir rumors


    and gain benefits from others¡¯ pain, but Jessica seemed to be the one who was doing their job this time.


    They refused to forgive this woman so easily.


    ¡°I¡¯m d that Miss Reed stopped Miss Jessica¡¯s evil n from happening,¡± one reporter uttered in an


    attempt to tter Sonia.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Sonia responded with a polite smile. ¡°You¡¯re right. However, I don¡¯t think she could¡¯ve seeded from


    the start. She thought that I didn¡¯t have proof of my identity as an adopted child, and she thought that I


    couldn¡¯t prove that I had never bullied her as a child.


    That was why she was so certain that I wouldn¡¯t be able to speak up for myself, and that was why she


    thought I¡¯d crumble under societal pressure to hand her the shares.¡±


    ¡°Miss Reed, are you saying that you can prove that you¡¯ve never bullied Miss Jessica as a child?¡± The


    reporters stared at Sonia with stunned expressions. Jessica, who had been sitting on the ground, threw


    her head up as she screamed. ¡°How is that possible?! How could you have proof of our childhood days?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do!¡± Sonia¡¯s smile seemed to demolish thest bit of Jessica¡¯s pride and ego. While Jessica


    stared at the wless smile on Sonia¡¯s face, she felt as if she were looking into the face of the devil.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Jessica¡¯s lips were trembling. Sonia wasn¡¯t interested in having a conversation with Jessica and


    simply turned sideways to look at the man beside her.


    Toby opened the box in front of him and pulled a USB drive out before handing it to Daphne. Sonia had


    been holding the box at first, but Toby had offered to help her carry it as he didn¡¯t want her to tire herself


    out. That was why the box was with him.


    Daphne had previously heard Sonia talking about the CCTV cameras, so she understood that the


    footage was stored in the USB that Toby had just handed her. Without saying anything, Daphne hurried


    over to theputer that was connected to therge projector. Everyone watched as Toby handed the


    USB over to Daphne.


    When Jessica saw the USB, she felt intense fear consuming her entire being. She had already felt cold


    and shaky to begin with, but she was practically numb with fear after she saw the USB. She had no idea


    what sort of evidence the USB contained, but she knew that she was about to be thoroughly destroyed.


    Meanwhile, Asher, who had been sipping on his tea and trying his best to remain invisible throughout the


    press conference, realized that Jessica was about to be defeated. He lowered his teacup before giving


    Jessica a deadly re. She¡¯s such a good-for-nothing! I was hoping that she might have some skills, but


    now I know¡­ Once brainless, always brainless. I got excited for no reason!


    Sonia didn¡¯t care about what the reporters and staff members thought¡ªshe simply held her microphone


    up before parting her red lips to speak. ¡°This USB consists of more than ten video clips showing CCTV


    camera footage of Jessica and me as children.


    Bullying is seen in the footage, but it was Jessica who bullied me, and not the other way round. Both


    Jessica and her mother bullied me together.¡±


    ¡°That means Jessica lied again! I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s acting like she¡¯s the good person here,¡± one


    reporter uttered. Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Furthermore, it¡¯s also true that my father¡¯s wife had cheated


    on him. However, it wasn¡¯t my mom who did it, but Jessica¡¯s mom!¡± Sonia pointed at Jessica.


    Sonia¡¯s cerise-colored nailsplemented her slender fingers and fair skin, and Toby¡¯s gaze darkened


    when he saw her pretty hands. He reached over and held her hand before he nted a gentle and loving


    kiss on her fingers.


    He did this in front of the crowd, and it wasn¡¯t just Sonia who was stunned by his actions¡ªthe rest of the


    crowd were equally shocked. I-Isn¡¯t this a press conference? Since when did it be a ce for them


    to disy affection to each other?


    ¡°Pfft.¡± Rose, who had left the hospital and returned home, burst intoughter when she watched this


    scene on the TV. Mary happened to walk over with a te of fruits when this happened, and sheughed


    along with Rose. ¡°Young Master Toby sure is full of surprises, Old Mrs. Fuller,¡± Marymented.


    Rose shook her head as she continued to smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to feel about this boy sometimes.


    Well, I guess it shows that his rtionship with Sonia is going well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Mary agreed.


    While Rose and Mary gave the couple their full support, there was another man who was grinding his


    teeth in anger. Zane grabbed a fistful of his hair, feeling like he was about to lose his mind. ¡°Toby, you


    f*cking snake! How dare you do such a thing to Sonia during a live broadcast? You¡¯re clearly doing this


    on purpose. You knew that we would be watching this press conference, and you¡¯re doing it because you


    want us to see this, right?! You¡¯re doing this to piss us off! I can¡¯t believe you even drew attention to the


    ring!¡±


    Dous, who had been reading aic book, lifted his head to nce at his uncle who was grumbling


    in front of the TV. After a few moments, Dous lowered his head once more.


    ¡°Why does it matter if he did it intentionally? You wouldn¡¯t be able to do it intentionally even if you wanted


    to, since Mr. Toby and Aunt Sonia¡­ Oh no! I can¡¯t call her Aunt Sonia anymore. I should call her Miss


    Sonia instead. Since Mr. Toby and Aunt Sonia are dating, all you can do now is to continue feeling


    jealous of them,¡± the young boy uttered tly.


    Zane stormed over to grab Dous¡¯s cor from the back before lifting the child up like he was some soft


    toy. Then, Zane held Dous up in front of him and looked at the child¡¯s pure and innocent face before


    letting out a scoff. ¡°Hey, whose side are you on? How could you help the outsiders? You¡¯re looking down


    on me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Dous rolled his eyes in response. ¡°I was siding with you at first, but you didn¡¯t seize your opportunities


    when you had them. I even tried helping you out with Miss Sonia, yet you didn¡¯t get her in the end.


    What am I supposed to do now that Mr. Fuller won her over?¡± Dous waved his arms around as he


    continued. ¡°I think you should be d that I still call you my uncle despite you being useless.¡±


    Zane was close to dropping Dous to the ground when he heard the child¡¯s words. However, soon


    enough, Zane calmed down and lowered Dous onto the couch before he took a nce at the TV.


    ¡°Do you think I didn¡¯t try hard enough? I don¡¯t think so. I think it¡¯s all because of fate. It doesn¡¯t matter


    how much I try; nothing will be enough if she doesn¡¯t wish to consider me at all. She will never be with


    me. Just look at that guy from the Lane Family!¡±


    ¡­


    At the same time, Charles was sitting in front of hisputer with a forbidding look on his face. He


    stared at the screen as Toby kissed Sonia¡¯s hand. Charles shared the same opinion as Zane¡ªhe


    thought that Toby was using the live stream to put on an act that would provoke all his love rivals. Why


    else would he kiss Sonia¡¯s hand at such a public event?

 Chapter 719

    Chapter 719


    Chapter 719 Where Did They Find You?


    Toby¡¯s sudden passionate gesture left the two other men losing their minds. As Toby lifted his head and


    let go of Sonia¡¯s hand, she stared at him with a helpless expression on her face. ¡°Do you know what


    you¡¯re doing right now?¡¯ she asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Toby uttered in a stubborn voice. His lips were nted to form a seductive smirk as he


    responded to her. Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid about what others might say when they see


    what you just did?¡±


    ¡°What would they say?¡± Toby looked up to send the crowd azy yet charismatic nce. His gaze


    eventually fell on the camera that was used for the live stream. ¡°It¡¯s not illegal for me to kiss my lover.


    What can they say about this? They¡¯ll just have to be envious of me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, President Fuller.¡± The reporters below nodded with smiles on their faces. Even the viewers


    from the live stream were cheering over how sweet the couple was. All of a sudden, Sonia and Toby


    became the hottest couple in town¡ªpeople were close to starting a fan base just for their rtionship.


    Toby turned to look at Sonia when he saw howpliant the reporters were when it came to him. ¡°Look.


    They wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything.¡± The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched in annoyance before she looked


    away from the man and turned to the crowd in front of them. ¡°My apologies. That was embarrassing,¡±


    she said into the microphone before giving the crowd a bashful smile.


    ¡°No, no!¡± The crowd waved their arms in disagreement. ¡°We¡¯re so envious of the lovely rtionship you


    guys have, Miss Reed and President Fuller! How could this be embarrassing? We hope both of you have


    a long, loving rtionship!¡± someone uttered.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Before Sonia could say anything else, Toby interrupted to thank the person who had wished


    them well. At that point, Sonia didn¡¯t know whether tough or get mad at Toby. The atmosphere in the


    room became more peaceful after that. However, Jessica¡ªwho was on the floor¡ªand a few other


    viewers of the live stream were drowning in jealousy.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s stop talking about this. We should get back to our main topic,¡± Sonia stated as she cleared


    her throat and put on her stern expression. ¡°Earlier, I said that my mom wasn¡¯t the one who had an


    extramarital affair. Instead, it was Jessica¡¯s mother, Sandra, who had cheated. Jessica lied again, and


    she made it seem like I¡¯m the bad person. Of course, it may be pointless for me to talk, and you guys


    may not believe what I say, so why don¡¯t we take a look at the evidence, Daphne?¡¯


    ¡°Got it, Chairman.¡± Daphne, who was sitting in front of theputer, began to run her fingers across the


    keyboard. Soon enough, the projector in the meeting room was lowered, and more than 10 CCTV


    camera clips were yed all at once. Some videos showed Jessica bullying Sonia, while others showed


    Sandra bullying Sonia.


    Additionally, there was one where Henry was shouting at Sandra and ming her for cheating on him.


    Sandra twisted the argument to say that she only cheated because Henry couldn¡¯t satisfy her. Apart from


    that, there was also a video where Sandra told Jessica that they would chase Sonia out and that


    everything in the Reed Family belonged to them.


    Most of the people watching these CCTV camera clips online felt goosebumps forming on their skin. The


    contents of the video sent a chill down their spine. ¡®Gosh, she¡¯s too evil. She¡¯s already this malicious at


    such a young age. How could she bully her own sister?¡¯ someonemented.


    ¡®Look at the type of person her mother is! That exins why Jessica is such a cunning person¡ªit all


    stems from her upbringing! She truly has her mother¡¯s genes,¡¯ anothermented. ¡°Poor Miss Reed!¡±


    someone cried.


    Jessica felt her entire body shaking when she heard the crowd talking about her. She lowered her head


    and wished the ground would open up and swallow her. All she wanted to do then was to flee the


    terrifying situation she was in. As much as Jessica wanted to fight, she knew when to protect her dignity.


    Everything that I¡¯ve been doing and all the lies that I¡¯ve told¡­ Sonia has thoroughly exposed me. This is


    it for me. From now on, I¡¯ll be judged and criticized no matter where I go, and people are going to give


    me dirty looks. This is the death of my reputation, Jessica thought.


    When Sonia saw the helpless and resigned look on Jessica¡¯s face, she smiled. Jessica¡¯s initial n had


    been to turn everyone against Sonia. She wanted everyone to treat Sonia like a useless piece of rubbish.


    Yet, it turned out that Jessica was the one who was seen as trash now. Here¡¯s a taste of her own


    medicine. This is how it feels to be treated like rubbish, Jessica! Sonia thought.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    At the same time, Toby remained beside Sonia and watched as a smile formed on her lips. Despite


    seeing her smile, he couldn¡¯t seem to feel happy for her at that moment. All he felt was his heart aching


    for the woman before his eyes. He was sorry for the things she had experienced as a child, and he


    regretted not searching for her earlier. If I had looked for her shortly after we became penpals and taken


    her under my wing, perhaps she wouldn¡¯t have been bullied so badly.


    Sonia seemed to sense the man¡¯s peculiar demeanor, for she turned around to stare at him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He parted his lips to say something, but one of the reporters below the stage interrupted him and began


    to speak to them. Toby was ticked off by this, and his thin lips immediately spread into a thin line. The


    reporter hadn¡¯t noticed that he offended Toby, so he continued speaking with his microphone held up


    toward Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, since Miss Jessica¡¯s mother is the one who cheated on her husband, do you


    think Miss Jessica is really your father¡¯s daughter?¡±


    This question was right on point as everyone wanted to know. Sonia responded with a wry smile.


    ¡°Unfortunately, she is my father¡¯s daughter. When Dad found out about Sandra¡¯s affair, he suspected that


    Jessica might not be his child, so he secretly did a DNA test without telling Jessica. The test showed that


    Jessica was his biological child, and that was why Dad had continued being patient with Sandra for so


    many years. He did it to give Jessica aplete family¡ªhe sacrificed himself and stayed in his marriage


    with Sandra for the sake of Jessica.¡±


    ¡°I see. Mr. Reed really had it tough,¡± the reporter replied. ¡°Miss Reed, since you imed that you are


    your parents¡¯ adopted child, then do you know what happened to their biological daughter? I just got my


    colleagues to do some research, and it shows that your mother gave birth to a daughter 26 years ago.


    This happened in a hospital in Norfolk. Coincidentally, my colleague¡¯s aunt is one of the nurses who


    helped your mother give birth. So, what happened to your mother¡¯s biological daughter? Where did she


    go?¡± another reporter asked.


    Once this question was put forth, Titus narrowed his eyes behind the TV screen in the hospital. His


    pupils were fixed directly on the screen as Sonia lifted her microphone to give her answer. ¡°Unfortunately,


    my sister is no longer here. She has passed away.¡±


    ¡°She passed away?!¡± The crowd eximed in shock.


    Sonia nodded with a grim look on her face. ¡°Yes. My sister passed away when she was about four


    months old,¡± she replied before turning to address the reporter who had asked her the question. ¡°If your


    colleague¡¯s aunt worked there, I bet she recalls that my sister was an extremely weak baby even during


    birth, right?¡±


    The reporter nodded hastily. ¡°Yes. My colleague¡¯s aunt said that your mother¡¯s biological daughter was a


    premature baby who may not survive her first year. As I was asking the question, my guess was that the


    child might have passed away. However, I didn¡¯t bring it up as I wanted to hear it from you,¡± the reporter


    exined.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. My mom had a mental breakdown after my sister passed away, and my dad


    brought me home to soothe my mom¡¯s emotions.¡±


    ¡°Brought her¡­ home¡­¡± Titus squinted at the TV for a while before he pulled his phone out to call his


    assistant. ¡°Have you found out about Sonia¡¯s origins?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, President Gray. I haven¡¯t found anything. I checked with the Public Security Bureau, and


    they imed that Henry had just found Sonia somewhere. He didn¡¯t adopt her from a welfare home or an


    orphanage. That¡¯s why it¡¯s rather hard to find Sonia¡¯s actual family,¡± the assistant exined in an


    apologetic tone.


    Titus frowned again. ¡°Forget it. I want you to contact one of the reporters who is there at the press


    conference. Get the reporter to ask Sonia if she knows where Henry got her and when he brought her


    home.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± his assistant replied. Soon enough, one of the reporters in the crowd got the message and held


    up his hand to ask Sonia the two questions Titus had. Sonia wasn¡¯t suspicious of anything as it was


    normal for reporters to ask her questions. So, she held the microphone up to answer the reporter.

 Chapter 720

    Chapter 720


    Chapter 720 Toby Is Jealous


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not sure about that either. There¡¯s no clear answer about the adoption process, so I can¡¯t


    answer that.¡± Sonia smiled apologetically to the reporter.


    The reporter nodded. ¡°I see, Miss. Reed. Thank you for your answer.¡±


    He stared down and sent a text to someone. At the same time, Titus received that text from the reporter.


    Even without the text, he already knew the answer since he had been watching the press conference.


    Titus sighed and put his phone down. For some reason, he felt dejected.


    The reporters kept asking questions, and eventually, the press conference came to an end. The


    conference was done to rify all the lies Jessica spread, and Sonia wanted to clear her mother¡¯s name


    as well. Now that Jessica¡¯s lies were exposed and Sonia¡¯s mother¡¯s name was cleared, it was time to


    bring the event to an end.


    But just before the conference came to a close, someone asked curiously, ¡°Miss Reed, how are you


    going to deal with Miss Jessica?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, how are you going to deal with her?¡± Everyone was curious as well.


    Jessica hadmitted a grave crime by ndering Sonia and her mother. She also crossed a line Sonia


    wouldn¡¯t forgive, but since Jessica was Sonia¡¯s father¡¯s real daughter, Sonia couldn¡¯t do much to her.


    That was why they wanted to know how Sonia would handle it.


    Sonia looked at Jessica, and she squinted. ¡°She has broken aw, and I¡¯m aw-abiding citizen, so I¡¯ll let


    the police handle this. My secretary has called them over already.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Everyone smiled, though they were let down. They wanted to see Sonia and Jessica fight, but


    they didn¡¯t expect Sonia to directly hand Jessica over to the police. Well, that¡¯s a letdown.


    Just then, Daphne¡¯s phone rang, and she looked at Sonia. Sonia nodded, telling her she could take it.


    Daphne took her phone out and looked at the screen. ¡°It¡¯s from the receptionist.¡±


    She took the call, and two minutester, she put her phone down. ¡°Chairman Reed, President Fuller, the


    officers are here.¡± She smiled at Sonia and Toby.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia arched her eyebrow and smiled, then she nodded. ¡°Lead them here.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Daphne nodded and left the conference hall.


    The reporters were packing up and about to leave to work on their articles, but they quickly stopped after


    hearing thetest development. They looked at Jessica with excitement. The live stream audience was


    also filled with anticipation for what was about toe.


    Oh yeah, the cops are here. Finally, we can see how they arrest a criminal. Everyone was waiting for the


    moment where Jessica was arrested.


    When Jessica heard that the police officers had arrived, she finally snapped out of her daze and got up.


    She wanted to escape. I can¡¯t get caught. I can¡¯t get taken away. I can¡¯t go to prison. Those women in


    prison are crazy. They¡¯re perverts and they¡¯ll torture me. She had seen how Sandra was tortured by the


    female inmates overseas, after all. I have to run.


    Jessica pushed herself up and tried to flip the table so she could have some time to escape.


    Sonia would not allow her to escape. She sneered and was about to ask someone to arrest Jessica, but


    Toby beat her to it. ¡°Catch her. If she escapes, it¡¯s your fault.¡±


    He might sound calm, but the threat in his voice was tant enough. The bodyguards shivered, and they


    quickly subdued Jessica before she could escape.


    When Jessica was caught, she finally snapped. ¡°Let me go! Let! Me! Go!¡± she roared maniacally.


    She tried to struggle free. Her eyes and face were red, and veins throbbed on her forehead. There was


    fear within her soul. How could she not be terrified? The police officers were already waiting for her


    downstairs. If she couldn¡¯t escape, she would be arrested.


    Nobody cared about her. In fact, everyone was starting to enjoy the show, since they wouldn¡¯t get to see


    that kind of event every day. All the reporters held their cameras up and took a lot of photos. Sounds of


    snapping filled the air and the lights shed as they took photo after photo.


    If the audience didn¡¯t know better, they would have thought Jessica was on a red-carpet procession,


    since she had all the attention on her.


    Usually, she would be delighted if there were so many cameras facing her, since that proved that she


    had the charm. However, she couldn¡¯t feel happy in this situation. All she wanted to do was smash all the


    cameras apart. ¡°Stop! Stop taking photos!¡± Jessica was almost blinded by all the shing.


    She couldn¡¯t see the looks on the reporters¡¯ faces, but she knew they were very excited, and she knew


    how ugly and messed up she must look now. If they took that kind of photo and released it online, they¡¯d


    hit their KPI for that month. That was why they were so eager to catch her on camera.


    ¡°I said no photos! Did you hear me?¡± The snapping sounds were driving her mad, and there was visceral


    fear within her roars. It was as if she was a beast in a cage, roaring helplessly. She looked pitiful, but


    nobody spared her any mercy, for everyone knew how evil she was.


    A short whileter, someone opened the conference room¡¯s door, and Daphne came in with a few police


    officers. She looked at Jessica, who was still struggling and shouting, for a moment, then she retracted


    her gaze. ¡°The officers are here, Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia stood up and extended her hand to the leader. ¡°Thank you foring.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really.¡± The leader was about to shake Sonia¡¯s hand as well, but before he could, someone


    else held his hand..


    That person was none other than Toby. He had stood up the moment Sonia did, and he followed her


    closely. When Sonia was about to shake hands with another guy, he frowned in jealousy. Even though it


    was just a polite handshake, he was still annoyed, so he shook the leader¡¯s hand in Sonia¡¯s ce in the


    end.


    Both the leader and Sonia were surprised by his action. On the contrary, all the reporters and audience


    laughed.


    ¡°Oh, Mr. Fuller is jealous, it seems.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s upset that his wife was about to shake hands with another man, so he took her ce and


    prevented someone else from touching Miss Reed¡¯s hand.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s so sweet. He¡¯s so bossy and romantic.¡±


    The female reporters were shipping Sonia and Toby together, and they were excited when Toby shook


    the officer¡¯s hand in Sonia¡¯s ce. The discussion wasn¡¯t loud, but it was still loud enough to be heard.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.

 Chapter 721

    Chapter 721


    Chapter 721 Your Past Is Sad


    Sonia heard it, of course. She watched as Toby shot daggers at the police officer, and she held her


    forehead in resignation.


    The police officer felt awkward about the situation, but his younger team members wereughing in


    delight. ¡°Ahem.¡± The officer scratched his head and looked at Toby sheepishly. ¡°Can you let me go now,


    Mr. Fuller?¡± Ow, this handshake hurts. If I didn¡¯t know he¡¯s just being jealous, I would have suspected


    him of assaulting a police officer.


    ¡°Enough, Toby. Let him go. What are you doing?¡± Sonia tugged on his sleeve and told him to let the


    officer go.


    Toby pursed his lips and finally let the officer¡¯s hand go.


    The officer looked at his swollen hand and smiled bitterly. These guys really get jealous easily, huh? I¡¯m


    just here for my job, and he thinks I¡¯m here for his wife. Honestly¡­ He shook his head helplessly and


    put his hand down.


    Beside the officer, Sonia shot Toby a re. She knew he was a germaphobe, so she handed him her


    handkerchief. ¡°Here.¡±


    Toby looked at it, and he smiled. His annoyance was washed away, reced by love for Sonia. ¡°You¡¯re


    the best,¡± he said gently, then he wiped the hand he used to shake the officer¡¯s hand with a moment


    ago.


    Sonia was annoyed, but she was also amused. ¡°It was just a handshake, and I started it. Do you have


    to get jealous over that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s still a guy.¡± Toby didn¡¯t want to throw the handkerchief away, so he stuffed it into his pocket.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re so unreasonable.¡± She turned around and smiled at the officer


    apologetically. ¡°Sorry you had to see that.¡±


    The officer waved her off nonchntly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± In reality, he was actually annoyed, as it was his


    first time running into this situation. He wouldn¡¯t have let it slide if it was someone else other than Toby.


    He could be a hothead if he wanted to. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, Miss Reed. We¡¯re taking her away.¡± The officer


    straightened his cap and looked at Sonia seriously.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Of course. Thank you again. She¡¯s right there. You may take her away. We¡¯ll help you in your


    investigation if you need it.¡± Sonia nodded and pointed at Jessica, who was held down on the meeting


    table by two security guards.


    ¡°Of course.¡± The officer saluted her, then he beckoned his men to take Jessica away.


    When the officers closed in on her, Jessica shook her head in horror, as if they were demons who were


    there for her soul. ¡°No, don¡¯te near me. Don¡¯te near me! Stay away! Stay away!¡± She shook


    her head and tried to kick the officers away.


    However, that failed, and the officers took her from the bodyguards. The moment the officers took her,


    Jessicapletely panicked, and her face was as white as a sheet. She tried to cry as ast-ditch


    effort.


    ¡°Sonia,you have to save me.¡± She looked at Sonia, begging for mercy. She was already a mess of


    tears and snot, but she continued, ¡°Sonia, please tell them to let me go. Don¡¯t let them arrest me. I¡­


    I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry. I won¡¯t do it again, I swear.¡± She started to bawl.


    Her cries were pitiful, and she looked like she had repented, so she managed to garner some


    sympathy from the kinder audience. Some of the livestream audience even started to ask Sonia to let


    Jessica go in thement section.


    Sonia didn¡¯t see it, so she wasn¡¯t affected. Even if she did see thements, she wouldn¡¯t be swayed.


    They didn¡¯t know Jessica as well as she did. Jessica wasn¡¯t someone who knew what repentance was.


    Sonia didn¡¯t see any hint of repentance in her eyes. In fact, hatred was the only thing sleeping within


    her.


    In other words, Jessica was lying. She was just trying to get some sympathy from the public and get


    them on her side so she could be free. In reality, Jessica was probably thinking how she would get


    back at Sonia after she was free. How foolish.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡± Toby suddenly covered Sonia¡¯s eyes and looked at Jessica in disgust. ¡°This is going to


    traumatize you.¡±


    Sonia smiled.


    Toby said again, ¡°And don¡¯t show her mercy. She is not to be trusted.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She nodded.


    Toby grunted. ¡°Good to hear.¡±


    Since Sonia wasn¡¯t showing Jessica any mercy, the officers took her away.


    When they came to the door and were about to leave the conference hall, Jessica finally realized that


    Sonia wouldn¡¯t let her off the hook. She stopped begging for mercy and even stopped struggling. She


    followed the officers out, as if she had given in, but the moment they came out, she stopped, and the


    officers stopped as well. Jessica turned around, ring at Sonia with bloodshot eyes. Her gaze was


    filled with venom and malice. ¡°Just you wait, Sonia. I won¡¯t forget this. I¡¯ll get back at you once I¡¯m


    released. I swear!¡±


    The leader smacked the back of her head with his cap, and he looked at her darkly. ¡°How dare you


    threaten someone right in front of us? That¡¯s another crime added to the list. Take her away.¡±


    Jessica was taken away just like that, and the reporters recorded it. All the audience saw what


    happened, and they finally knew that Jessica was a criminal. That was never going to change even


    after she was released.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take what she said to heart,¡± Toby hugged her gently and calmed her down. He was worried


    Sonia might be frightened.


    Sonia looked up at him and shook her head with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t really care. It¡¯s not the


    first time she did this. Every time she loses to me, she¡¯d threaten me. I¡¯m used to it.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down. She might be no match for you, but she can still trip you up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Soinia nodded pensively.


    Toby patted her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She won¡¯t even get the chance to do anything to you.¡± Jessica¡¯s


    threat infuriated Toby. Threatening the person he cared about the most right in front of him was akin to


    signing a death warrant. Jessica is going to have a hell of an experience in the detention center.


    Emphasis on hell. Toby squinted, and a storm brewed within his eyes.


    Sonia didn¡¯t notice that. She left his embrace, picked up the microphone, and gave a speech to close


    the conference. After that, the crowd started to leave. In the end, only Toby and Sonia were left in the


    room.


    Toby came to theputer Daphne worked on and pulled the USB drive out, then he handed it to


    Sonia. ¡°You showed this to expose Jessica¡¯s lies, but don¡¯t do it ever again. I don¡¯t want you to bring up


    your past to everyone. That¡¯ll only remind you of all the dark memories. It¡¯s a cruel thing for you.¡±


    Sonia was touched that Toby was concerned about her. She smiled and took the drive from him. ¡°I¡¯m


    fine. I¡¯ve gotten over it, so I don¡¯t feel anything when I see the video again. I¡¯m strong enough now, and


    these things can no longer hurt me.¡±

 Chapter 722

    Chapter 722


    Chapter 722 Jailed


    ¡°I know.¡± He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to see


    your past brought up. And I really regret this.¡±


    ¡°Regret what?¡± She looked up at him in confusion.


    Toby rubbed his forehead against hers. ¡°For being absent in your life when you needed me. If I showed


    up when you told me that Jessica and her mother abused you in your letters, none of this would have


    happened.¡±


    Even Tina wouldn¡¯t have showed up. We would have gotten together, gotten married, and have children


    now.


    Toby was ming himself. Seeing this, Sonia held his face in her hands and pinched him. ¡°Don¡¯t me


    yourself. It¡¯s not your fault. You had to stay in the hospital because of your heart condition. You can¡¯t go


    around anywhere you like, so don¡¯t beat yourself up. Besides, that onlysted a short time. Once my dad


    found out, they stopped doing it, so my childhood can still be considered a happy one.¡±


    Toby pulled her hands off his face. ¡°I still think I missed out on a lot.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°If you think so, then you¡¯ll have to be even nicer to me.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes lit up, then he pulled her closer and hugged her as tight as he could, as if he wanted


    to meld her into him.


    Sonia felt ufortable, but she knew how he was feeling, so she didn¡¯t stop him. It¡¯ll just be for a bit.


    Toby was reminded of something, so he loosened his hug and looked at her. ¡°Oh, right. Do you know


    where Sandra is?¡±


    Sonia arched her eyebrow. ¡°Sandra?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sonia pouted. ¡°I thought about that when Jessica first came back to Seafield. I wondered why Sandra


    wasn¡¯t with her. She was also alone when I saw her in Kosovost time. Sandra is probably dead, I


    guess.¡±


    ¡°No, she is not.¡± Toby shook his head.


    Sonia was surprised. ¡°She¡¯s not?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded.


    Sonia sneered. ¡°She¡¯s a survivor, huh? She got cancer six years ago, so she must be in an even worse


    condition now. I thought she was dead, but turns out she¡¯s still alive, huh¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in prison,¡± Toby said calmly, but it was a bombshell for her.


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia paused for a moment, then she stood up straight. ¡°Jailed? Why?¡±


    Is it because she poisoned Dad? No. She did it when she was in Seafield. The foreign police wouldn¡¯t


    care about this. Besides, Jessica was her aplice. If she was jailed because of this, there¡¯s no way


    Jessica can go free.


    ¡°Involuntary manughter.¡± Toby straightened out Sonia¡¯s hair and answered, ¡°She and Jessica left for


    Mesania after their stint in Seafield, and they became Mesanians. They spent two yearsvishly with the


    money they swindled from Paradigm Co., but since they had no ie, the money dried up. Jessica


    and her mother aren¡¯t the kind to want to work, so they¡­¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying they whored themselves out.¡± Sonia finished the sentence, but she was disgusted.


    Toby nodded. ¡°More or less. They went to nightclubs and tried to hook up with rich guys so they wouldn¡¯t


    have to worry about money. Jessica¡¯s young, so a lot of people want her, and eventually, she hooked up


    with a rich kid. Sandra might be older, but she still has her charm, and there¡¯s a market for that. An old


    guy decided to be her sugar daddy. He liked her a lot and spent a lot of time with her. He was even going


    to divorce his wife for Sandra too.¡±


    ¡°Hold up.¡± Sonia raised her hand to stop him, then she gulped. This is going to be a bold guess. ¡°Did the


    wife find out about the affair and went to argue? Was that the person Sandra killed?¡±


    ¡°Smart, Little Leaf.¡± Toby chuckled and ruffled her hair.


    Sonia took his hand away in annoyance. ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Look, it¡¯s messy now. Didn¡¯t you just straighten it


    out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can do it again.¡± He looked at her.


    Sonia was amused. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter. How did Sandra kill the wife anyway?¡±


    ¡°Naturally, the wife couldn¡¯t ept it when she knew her husband was about to divorce her. She


    launched an investigation and found out about the affair, so she went to argue with Sandra. And then


    Sandra inadvertently pushed her down the staircase, killing her on the spot.¡±


    Sonia gasped in shock. ¡°I pity the wife.¡±


    That woman is cancer, no pun intended. She killed Dad, and she ruined someone¡¯s marriage overseas.


    Howe she¡¯s still alive? ¡°Did she do it on purpose, or was it involuntary?¡± Sonia frowned. She¡¯s an


    evil woman, so I won¡¯t put murder past her. After all, she could poison her own husband. Who knows


    what else she can do?


    ¡°The cops say it was involuntary, but who knows about the truth?¡± A sardonic smile appeared on Toby¡¯s


    face.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°How many years is she serving?¡±


    ¡°Five,¡± Toby answered curtly.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Only five years?¡±


    ¡°That old git¡¯s a powerful guy, so he helped her out. But it¡¯s good news, right?¡± Toby held a lock of her


    hair and kissed it.


    Sonia frowned. ¡°Which part of that is good?¡±


    ¡°She killed someone overseas, and now her citizenship is revoked. Once she serves her time, she¡¯ll be


    extradited back here. And then you can avenge our dad.¡± Toby put her hair down.


    Sonia blushed, and she shot him a re. ¡°Our dad? That¡¯s my dad.¡±


    ¡°Same difference. I¡¯ll have to call him that sooner orter,¡± Toby said shamelessly while smiling.


    Sonia shook her head with resignation, but she didn¡¯t say anything to that. ¡°You¡¯re right. Just because


    she served her time overseas doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll forgive her for poisoning Dad. Committing a crime


    overseas andmitting a crime here are two different things. She did her time for manughter, but


    she didn¡¯t get punished for poisoning Dad. She has to pay the price for that.¡± She clenched her fists and


    frowned.


    Toby raised her chin. ¡°And she will, so stop frowning. You look ugly.¡±


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t like that?¡± Sonia nced at him.


    Toby massaged her brows with his thumb. ¡°No. I just think you shouldn¡¯t get too emotional when ites


    to people like them. It¡¯s not worth it, and it¡¯ll make you upset.¡±N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Sonia looked down. ¡°I know, but they¡¯re thorns in my side, and I can¡¯t just stay calm. I¡¯ll have to pull them


    all out before I can rest easy.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Toby ced his chin on her head. ¡°But you can ease up for now. They aren¡¯t right in front of


    you, but I am, so look at me.¡±

 Chapter 723

    Chapter 723


    Chapter 723 Desire to Kiss


    ¡°Why?¡± Sonia was confused, but she looked up at him anyway.


    Toby smiled. ¡°Because I can make you forget about them for a while and cheer you up.¡±


    Soniaughed. ¡°You really think highly about yourself, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s the truth.¡± Toby looked up proudly. ¡°People always get cheered up when they see pretty things.


    Am I not pretty enough for you?¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°Humility isn¡¯t one of your traits, is it?¡±


    ¡°But honesty is.¡± He looked at her.


    Sonia opened her mouth, but she could say nothing to that. Not like she could argue with him on that


    matter, since he was indeed handsome and noble. It wasn¡¯t every day she met a man like him, or she


    wouldn¡¯t have fallen for him at first nce.


    Sonia had seen a lot of handsome men as well. Charles was dashing, but he didn¡¯t have the X factor


    Toby had. He wasn¡¯t as mature or noble as Toby was, and those were traits that could attract girls the


    most.


    He looked down and huddled closer to whisper, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡±


    Sonia snapped out of it. ¡°I was thinking about something.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby huddled even closer to her. ¡°What were you thinking about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling.¡± Sonia pushed him away. ¡°Alright, you can let me go now.¡±


    Toby wouldn¡¯t do it and ignored her. I¡¯m not letting this chance go. I¡¯m close.


    Since Toby wasn¡¯t letting her go, she knew he was going to act like a spoiled child again, so she held her


    forehead. ¡°Enough. Let me go. We should go out now.¡±


    She nudged him with her elbow, but he still wouldn¡¯t release her. Instead, he leaned over. As the table


    was right behind her, she was forced to lie on the table, and Toby pressed down on her.


    There was no space between them. Sonia could feel his sturdy chest and the steady heartbeat that was


    coming from within. As shey down on the table, her long hair spread out like a blooming lotus. Her fair


    face that dotted the middle caught all the attention, however.


    When Toby looked at her again, he started gulping, and his eyes started to be filled with lust.


    Sonia knew he was starting to lust for her, since she could feel something getting bigger around her


    thigh. She started getting nervous and stared at him unblinkingly, but she was blushing.


    It was obvious what was going to happen. She should have pushed him away and stopped it, but


    instead, she ced her hands against his chest and did nothing. She lost her strength when she met his


    lustful, greedy gaze, but she also didn¡¯t want to do it. She didn¡¯t want to push him away.


    ¡°Sonia,¡± Toby called her name all of a sudden. His voice was hoarse, but it was seducing and electrifying.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Sonia could feel her heart thumping, as if it wanted to break free of her chest. Her breathing became


    heavier and she answered his call, but her voice was barely a whisper. Even so, it was inviting and


    seductive.


    Toby¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he pinned her down even further. ¡°I want to kiss you.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. He never asked for my permission when he kissed me before, but now he¡¯s doing


    it. She was amused, and she nodded. Toby was already pinning her down which prevented her escape,


    but more importantly, she wasn¡¯t nning on escaping.


    Toby pinned her down against the table and created this scene to make her fall for him. Once she fell for


    him, she wouldn¡¯t break free, nor would she want to. Toby knew she wouldn¡¯t refuse from the beginning,


    but he had asked her just so he could hear her say yes. What a scheming man.


    He didn¡¯t know what she was thinking about, nor did he want to. All he knew was that she had agreed to


    let him kiss her, so he didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. He lowered his head and kissed her red lips.


    Sonia gasped, but she couldn¡¯t make a sound after that. He had kissed her without any warning, and she


    didn¡¯t get any time to catch her breath.


    Fortunately, he realized her breathing was getting shallow, so he let her gasp. Once she could breathe


    normally, his kiss became more intense.


    Sonia lost her strength as the kiss went on. She was hugging him in the beginning, but in the end, she let


    him go, and her armsy limply by her side. She looked vulnerable, as if she would let him do anything


    he wanted to her. At that moment, Sonia looked luscious and seductive.


    What a subus, Toby thought. Sonia was looking just like a subus who wanted nothing but to make


    love to him. I wouldn¡¯t mind dying if I get to do anything to a subus like her. I would dly give my life


    to her.


    He put his hand on her back and pushed her up to switch positions. It¡¯s not good for her back if she


    keeps lying like that.


    It was then that Sonia heard the sounds of footsteps and conversationing from outside.


    She quickly snapped out of it and opened her eyes, then she pushed Toby away, but he wouldn¡¯t get off


    her. Get up. Someone¡¯s here! She made a muffled sound because he was still kissing her, and she


    hoped he would get what she was trying to say.


    Toby heard her muffled sound, and he released her lips. ¡°What is it?¡± He panted.


    I knew it. He didn¡¯t get it. She turned her head toward the door. ¡°Someone¡¯sing. Let me go.¡±


    Toby looked at the door and indeed heard some sound, but he smiled. ¡°It¡¯s probably the janitor. Ignore


    them. They can clean the ce, and we can keep going on. It¡¯s alright.¡±


    Sonia widened her eyes. What is he talking about? What does he mean we can make out while they


    clean? I mean, yeah, whatever the janitors do won¡¯t affect us, and whatever we do won¡¯t affect them, but


    I can¡¯t kiss right in front of someone else. She pursed her lips. ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to kiss in public. And the


    rumors are going to spread like wildfire tomorrow.¡±


    Since Sonia was reluctant to do it, Toby sighed. ¡°Fine. I get it.¡±


    Sonia red at him. ¡°Hey, why do you sound so disappointed?¡±


    ¡°I do not,¡± he answered seriously. ¡°Hug my neck.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Her heart sank, and she had a bad feeling about it.


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°Just listen to me and do it. You¡¯ll find out in a minute. Quick. They¡¯reing in.¡±


    The footsteps were getting closer, but Toby still wouldn¡¯t let her go. Oh, alright. She closed her eyes and


    hugged his neck.

 Chapter 724

    Chapter 724


    Chapter 724 Get Under the Table


    After she hugged him, she opened her eyes and gave him a warning, ¡°You¡¯d better not be up to


    something, Toby. Put me down and stop hugging me. If theye in and see us like this, it¡¯d be


    awkward for both of us.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He smiled confidently.


    She looked at him. ¡°Why?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he held her butt with one hand and picked her up from the table. Oh, it¡¯s


    soft. And it¡¯s meaty¡­ It feels great. Toby groped it.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Toby, what are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shh¡­¡± Toby put his index finger against his lips and told her to be quiet.


    Sonia pursed her lips and said nothing.


    Then, Toby pulled the tablecloth up, and much to Sonia¡¯s shock, he went under the table with her. Then


    he let her go.


    Sonia pointed at him in disbelief. ¡°Toby, I can¡¯t believe you just¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t even get aplete


    sentence out. He just took me and hid under the table? What the heck? She never thought he would do


    that. Is this really Toby? Oh my god, I can¡¯t believe it.


    Toby knew Sonia would be shocked, and he only smiled at her. Then, he straightened the tablecloth out


    and made it look like it hadn¡¯t been touched.


    The tablecloth was long and reached the floor. Once he put it down, it was enough to cover everything


    underneath the table. If nobody pulled it up, they would never find Toby and Sonia underneath. The


    space under the table wasrge enough for them to sit or squat, though they couldn¡¯t stand up, of


    course.


    Sonia was sitting, and thanks to the rug, she wasn¡¯t feeling cold. After Toby had straightened the


    tablecloth out, she pinched his cheeks at once and pulled his face to the sides. ¡°Who are you, and where


    did you hide Toby? I¡¯m tearing your mask down.¡± Then she started to pull harder.


    Toby frowned from the pain, then he held her wrists and pulled her hands away from his face, though


    there were red marks on his cheek. He looked funny with the marks, but Toby didn¡¯t mind. He flicked


    Sonia¡¯s forehead and huddled closer to her. ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m me. Who would dare


    impersonate me? Who would be good enough to even impersonate me?¡±


    He looked up proudly. After all, nobody could impersonate him. He was too handsome, too powerful, and


    too sexy.


    Sonia knew he was the real Toby, since their novel¡¯s genre was urban romance, not fantasy. She was


    just asking that because she never expected him to hide underneath a table. It¡¯s not like him. That was


    why she was shocked. ¡°I know it¡¯s the real you. I just¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is why did you


    take me here?¡± Sonia was confused.


    Toby looked at her seductively. ¡°Because nobody can see us if we resume what we were doing here.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°Y-You took me here just to¡­¡±


    Toby chuckled, then he leaned over. The moment he did, she leaned backward, and eventually, she fell


    to the rug and grunted. Fortunately, the moment she did, someone opened the conference¡¯s room door,


    and the sound of the door opening drowned out her grunt, so nobody heard it. I¡¯d be embarrassed


    otherwise.


    After all, if anyone found out that twopany presidents were hiding under a table instead of sitting on


    their chairs, they¡¯d beughing stocks.


    When Sonia heard the sound of footstepsing in, she covered her mouth instinctively and red at


    Toby. She tried to give him a look that said, ¡®Get off me. Stop kissing.¡¯


    Toby wouldn¡¯t listen, of course. He huddled closer and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is exciting?¡±


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. Yeah. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would think we were having an affair,


    but we¡¯re a real couple. No couples would hide under a table and stay there. If we go out now, the janitor


    will find out. What should we say to the employees then?


    ¡°Alright, stop fooling around. Get up.¡± She put her hand down and whispered to him.


    Toby curled his leg and knelt between Sonia¡¯s legs, then he looked at her seductively. ¡°Honey, we can¡¯t


    go out now, and since we¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t we do something? It¡¯d be a waste of time if we don¡¯t.


    If we make out here, it¡¯d be memorable, since you don¡¯t get this chance every day.¡±


    ¡°What the h¡­¡± Sonia was embarrassed that he called her honey, and she blushed. She knew couples


    would call each other endearing nicknames like ¡®honey¡¯ or ¡®sugarpie,¡¯ but she never thought it¡¯d happen


    between her and Toby. I wouldn¡¯t call him honey, since that doesn¡¯t fit his vibe. And I don¡¯t expect him to


    call me that either. He doesn¡¯t seem like the kind of guy who¡¯d call me that.


    However, she was proven wrong. He would call her honey, and he did it effortlessly and without any


    embarrassment. It was as if he had done it a million times before even though it was the first time he was


    doing it. She got goosebumps all over when he called her honey. After all, she was nearly twenty-seven


    years old, and she felt embarrassed when her boyfriend called her that.


    But for some reason, she felt delighted as well. In other words, she actually loved it when Toby called her


    honey. Am I that kind of lewd woman? She covered her face and moaned ever so quietly.


    The employee who was wiping the table seemed to have heard it, so she stopped wiping and asked her


    colleague, ¡°Hey, did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Someone¡¯s here.¡±


    Sonia stiffened up, and she started sweating. Oh no, oh no. We¡¯re gonna get busted. It¡¯s going to be so


    embarrassing. By tomorrow, everyone¡¯s going to say that I hid under the table to do something sordid


    with Toby. When she thought about what would happen, she stared up at the table hopelessly.


    However, Toby didn¡¯t panic in the slightest, as if he wasn¡¯t afraid to be found out. Then, he chuckled.


    His chuckle annoyed her. In the end, it got to her head, so she turned her head and bit his wrist.


    However, she didn¡¯t bite it for too hard or too long, since he might whelp in pain.

 Chapter 725

    Chapter 725


    Chapter 725 Surreptitious


    She red at him, and the look in her eyes said, ¡®What are youughing at? How dare youugh? We


    wouldn¡¯t have been in this situation if not for you taking me here.¡¯


    He touched her cheek and huddled closer, then he said with a voice only they could hear, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.


    We won¡¯t be found.¡±


    ¡°And how are you so sure about that?¡± Sonia didn¡¯t believe him.


    Toby was about to say something, but then the employees started talking again.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t see anyone here.¡± The employee named Lisanna looked around. ¡°There¡¯s only the two of us


    here. You must be seeing things.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only the two of us here, but I heard someone talking just now.¡± The employee who talked first


    earlier waved her hand. ¡°No. It wasn¡¯t someone talking. I heard a grunt. No, more like a moan. Yeah, a


    moan.¡±


    ¡°A moan?¡± Lisanna blinked. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it. You might be hearing things.¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± The first employee shook her head adamantly.


    ¡°Odd. We¡¯re alone here, but there¡¯s someone moaning? Wait, it can¡¯t be¡­¡± Lisanna shivered, and her


    voice started trembling. ¡°This ce can¡¯t be haunted, right?¡±


    The first employee shrieked, and she nched. ¡°That¡¯s just nonsense, Lisanna. There are no ghosts. It¡¯s


    still morning. Stop scaring me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not scaring you. You said you heard things but we¡¯re alone here, so who made that sound? It¡¯s either


    a ghost, or you must have been hearing things,¡± Lisanna said seriously.


    The first employee gulped. ¡°D-Do you think this ce is really haunted?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Lisanna shook her head fearfully.


    The employee held the cleaning cloth. ¡°Why don¡¯t we hotfoot it out of here, Lisanna? You¡¯re scaring me,


    and I¡¯m getting the heebie jeebies.¡±


    ¡°But we haven¡¯t finished cleaning the room.¡± Lisanna wanted to go out, but she hesitated.


    Her colleague held her arm. ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s not even dirty, and this room isn¡¯t used too much. It¡¯s fine, so


    let¡¯s just leave. I¡¯m really getting scared here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The employees took their cleaning tools and left the room as soon as possible.


    Sonia was looking absolutely stormy and annoyed after hearing that. ¡°They¡­ They called me a ghost?


    That¡¯s just too far.¡± I don¡¯t look like a ghost.


    ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Ghosts are ugly, but you¡¯re hot. They just can¡¯t see the difference.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. I wouldn¡¯t have done this if it weren¡¯t for you.¡± She pushed him


    away and sat up, then shebed through her hair with her hand. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯m hiding under


    a table.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± Toby sat up and straightened out his suit.


    Sonia grumbled, ¡°You brought this on yourself. I told you to let me go, but you took me straight under the


    table.¡±


    Toby smiled. ¡°If we didn¡¯t hide, they would have seen us. Even if we hadn¡¯t done anything, there would


    still be rumors flying around tomorrow. Wanna bet?¡±


    Sonia paused for a moment. ¡°But why?¡± Obviously, she was still dazed.


    Toby sat on the rug. He put one leg up and crossed the other leg underneath. It was a sexy pose. Then,


    he raised one finger. ¡°Because we stayed around for a long time after the conference ended. Do you


    think they won¡¯t imagine what we were doing in the room during that time?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t find any argument for that. He has a point. We stayed in a room, alone. Of course they¡¯d


    start to imagine things.


    Toby raised another finger. ¡°And secondly, you stand out too much.¡±


    Sonia tilted her head to the side. ¡°How?¡±


    Toby pointed at his lips, and she looked at them. His lips were thin and nice, and the color wasn¡¯t too


    luscious. However, now that she had a closer look, she realized his lips were obviously red. The only


    reason for that was because of the kissing. His lips had turned red from the kiss, and it was the same for


    Sonia. Her upper lip was thin, but her lower lip was full. It was perfect for kissing, so her lips would be


    redder than his after the kiss, and they might even be swollen.


    No wonder I stand out. My lips are swollen from the kiss. Of course I stand out. Just like what Toby said,


    after the employees came in, even if they weren¡¯t kissing or standing together, the employees could still


    figure out what they were doing before they came in. The rumors would still fly around the next day. ¡°So I


    have to thank you for taking me under the table?¡± Sonia looked at him speechlessly.


    He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and whispered, ¡°No. But if you insist, I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Give an inch and you take a mile. You can stay here if you want, but I¡¯m going


    out.¡± She pulled the tablecloth up and crawled out.


    After she left, Toby went out as well, and they reappeared in the conference room.


    Sonia heaved a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that kind of stuff ever again.¡±


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    Toby straightened his suit, and he chuckled. ¡°But don¡¯t you think it¡¯s exciting?¡±


    ¡°Once is enough.¡± She massaged her neck. ¡°We¡¯re lucky we weren¡¯t found out, but we might run out of


    luck the next time. I¡¯m not taking the risk, and you aren¡¯t dragging me into this.¡±


    Toby shrugged, though he looked disappointed. Fine, no next time then, but I can change the spot.


    Bathrooms, couches, and even the balcony. He curled his lips into a smile.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what he had in mind, but that smile made her shiver. I have a bad feeling about this.


    He must be up to something bad. ¡°We should go out now.¡± She held his arm and stopped his train of


    thought, then she dragged him away.


    Toby smiled at her and yed along quietly.


    She opened the door and went out, but Sonia looked around her, as if she was worried someone might


    see them.


    Toby was amused by what she was doing. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh, what do you know?¡± She looked at him. ¡°I¡¯m checking the coast. If someone saw using out,


    they¡¯de up with another rumor, so we have to avoid the crowd, understand?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Alright. You take that side, I take this side. We¡¯ll split up and cover more ground.¡± Sonia pointed at her


    left.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded. If she wants to do this, I¡¯ll y along. She was reluctant to hide under the table


    earlier, but she yed along with me anyway.


    The two of them skulked around furtively and evaded all the offices and crowds before finallying


    back to their own office.


    The moment she closed the door, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Now I can rest easy. Nobody will know


    what happened.¡±


    Toby stood beside her and smiled lovingly. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Sonia stretched her arms and turned around. ¡°So what now? It¡¯s still early, so aren¡¯t you going back to


    yourpany?¡±

 Chapter 726

    Chapter 726


    Chapter 726 Two Childish Men


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll stay here with you.¡± Toby went to the couch and took a seat.


    Sonia didn¡¯t chase him out, and she went back to her desk. ¡°Sure. As long as you¡¯re not bored out of


    your mind.¡±


    ¡°Do I look like the kind of guy who gets bored easily?¡± Toby poured a cup of tea for himself and smiled.


    Sonia smiled at him, but she said nothing. Then, she made a call.


    When Toby saw her putting her phone against her ear, he rubbed the side of the cup. ¡°Who are you


    calling?¡±


    Since the call hadn¡¯t gone through yet, Sonia took a second to answer, ¡°Charles.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°Lane?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why are you calling him?¡± He sounded jealous. He knew Charles had given up on Sonia, but he knew


    the guy still had feelings for her, and that alone made Toby dislike him.


    Sonia knew why Toby¡¯s face fell, and she shook her head. ¡°I want to thank him. He¡¯s the first one who


    tried to clear my name right after Jessicaunched her smear campaign. Oh, and Zane too, so I¡¯ll have


    to thank himter. Stop getting jealous.¡±


    Toby grunted and stayed quiet. Fine. I¡¯ll let this one slide because they helped her. Despite him thinking


    that, he still stared at Sonia and listened closely in case the conversation got out of hand.


    Sonia felt his gaze, and she knew why he was looking. She shook her head in amusement.


    Charles heard herughter, and he was confused. ¡°Why are youughing, Sonia?¡± Did I crack a joke or


    something? I don¡¯t think I did.


    Sonia waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just amused because I saw a childish guy doing something


    stupid.¡±


    ¡°A childish guy?¡± Charles was even more confused now. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Sonia wasn¡¯t about to tell him it was Toby.


    Since she wasn¡¯t spilling, Charles shrugged and stopped asking.


    Toby realized that Sonia was calling him childish, and he arched his eyebrow. Does she think I¡¯m a


    childish guy?


    Sonia made some small talk and was about to hang up so she could call Zane, but then Charles


    remembered something, and he stopped her seriously. ¡°Oh, right. Sonia. You need to hear this.¡±


    Sonia put her phone back against her ear, and she turned serious as well. ¡°What is it, Charles?¡±


    ¡°Someone from the hospital in Norfolk called me. You know, the ce where your parents¡¯ daughter was


    born.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and?¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles squinted. ¡°The guy told me that Titus sent someone to snoop around about your mother¡¯s case


    twenty-six years ago.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s face fell. ¡°Why would Titus want to find out about that?¡±


    When Toby overheard that, he stopped sipping his tea and went over to her. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Sonia shook her head quietly and waited for Charles to answer her.


    Charles shook his head as well. ¡°No idea. The guy said Titus¡¯ckey only asked about your mother¡¯s


    child¡¯s basic info and left, so I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s up to.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She bit her lip.


    Charles continued, ¡°I think he must be up to something. Titus must be nning a conspiracy, or else he


    would have no reason to snoop around. Be careful, Sonia.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Sonia smiled. ¡°Thanks for the heads up.¡±


    Charles waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We¡¯re friends, right? Call me if you need anything. I¡¯ll help if I can.¡±


    Sonia was about to answer, but Toby¡ªwho had been listening in¡ªinterrupted with a dark look on his


    face, ¡°No need. She has me. And you aren¡¯t useful enough, really.¡±


    The corner of her lips twitched, and she shot him a re. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± Toby smiled.


    When Charles heard his voice, he paused for a moment, but when he realized who it was, he stood up


    angrily. ¡°Toby! Why are you there?¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here?¡± Toby ced one hand on Sonia¡¯s shoulder and the other on the back of her chair.


    From the front, it looked like he was hugging her, and he looked smug. ¡°I am her lover. If I can¡¯t be here,


    who else can? You?¡±


    ¡°Why you¡­¡± Charles stomped his foot angrily. ¡°Don¡¯t get smug, Toby. You weren¡¯t even around when I


    met Sonia.¡±


    Toby looked ahead and answerednguidly, ¡°So? Not like you can have her in the end.¡±


    Charles was annoyed, but he could say nothing to that.


    Sonia leaned forward and held her forehead in resignation. These men are in their thirties and they¡¯re the


    bosses of their ownpanies, but now they¡¯re arguing like kids, and they sound so childish. How


    amusing.


    Toby didn¡¯t know Sonia just called him childish again, and he was busy basking in his glory of winning


    the argument. Of course he was delighted, for Charles was his romantic rival, and he won. Toby


    massaged his forehead and told Charles arrogantly, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going to be very busy, and we don¡¯t


    have time to waste. Goodbye.¡±


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    Charles froze up, then he held the phone tightly. ¡°Hey, wait a minute,¡± he quickly said. ¡°What are you two


    going to do? I¡¯m not going to let you do anything funny to her, you hear me? You hear me, Toby?¡±


    Toby could imagine how panicked Charles must be. He must be dying toe over right now. He took


    Sonia¡¯s phone and retorted coldly, ¡°Charles, what Little Leaf and I will do is between us. It¡¯s none of your


    business. You¡¯re just an outsider.¡±


    Charles was fuming. ¡°Little Leaf? You called her Little Leaf?¡±


    Toby caressed Sonia¡¯s hair and retorted nonchntly, ¡°So?¡±


    Charles clenched his fist. ¡°So? So that¡¯s what her parents call her. You don¡¯t have the right to call her


    that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I do, and Little Leaf allowed it.¡± Toby¡¯s smile was broadening.


    Charles was shocked. ¡°What? She allowed it?¡± She told him her nickname and allowed him to call her


    that?


    ¡°That is right.¡± He held a lock of her hair and kissed it.


    Charles was silent. He did try to call her Little Leaf back then, but she refused. She said that nickname


    was only reserved for her parents, so he changed and called her ¡®baby¡¯ instead. He thought she would


    lock her nickname away forever after her parents¡¯ death, but he never thought she would allow Toby to


    call her that after six years. So this is the difference between someone who¡¯s loved, and someone who¡¯s


    not.

 Chapter 727

    Chapter 727


    Chapter 727 Charles¡¯ Worry


    Toby felt delighted after gaining another win. Since he was happy now, he was willing to let Charles go.


    He cleared his throat and said victoriously, ¡°Alright then. Since you¡­¡±


    Charles didn¡¯t want to hear his voice, so he interrupted Toby, ¡°Give Sonia the phone.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°Why? Wanna snitch? Then you¡¯ve failed. She heard everything we said.¡±


    ¡°You think too highly of yourself. I¡¯m not that much of a sore loser.¡± Charles snorted. Snitch? Man, I want


    to, but it¡¯s useless. She wouldn¡¯t stand on my side and scold him. She heard everything we said, but she


    didn¡¯t even make a sound. It¡¯s obvious she¡¯s not stepping in, so snitching is just a waste of time.


    ¡°Knowing where your ce is a good trait.¡± Toby snickered.


    Charles closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°Toby, I¡¯m not going to argue with you. Hand her the


    phone. I have something I need to ask.¡±


    ¡°You can ask me. We¡¯re one and the same. Whatever she knows, I know,¡± Toby answered. He just didn¡¯t


    want to give the phone back to Sonia.


    Charles rolled his eyes. ¡°As if. I want to ask about my ex-secretary. Do you even know anything about


    her?¡±


    Toby shut up. Um, no. I know nothing about that.


    Sonia shook her head in amusement. ¡°Give it to me. I¡¯ll talk to him.¡± She extended her hand, and Toby


    gave her the phone back reluctantly. Sonia put it against her ear. ¡°What do you want to know about


    Daphne, Charles?¡±


    God, that annoying guy is finally gone. He heaved a sigh, and he cooled down a lot. He stared at the


    ground and asked, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just want to know if she¡¯s acting weirdtely.¡±


    ¡°Weird?¡± Sonia tilted her head to the side. ¡°Which part?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Charles sat down and looked around, but he just couldn¡¯t form a coherent sentence.


    Sonia thought it was weird. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Charles?¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Charles raised his arm and covered his eyes. ¡°I just want to know if something¡¯s off about her


    recently. Like her behavior or something.¡±


    ¡°Behavior?¡± Sonia arched her eyebrow and shook her head. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine with hertely. Why do


    you want to know about that, Charles? Wait, are you suspecting her?¡± Did someone buy her off? If that¡¯s


    the case¡­


    Just when Sonia was starting to take it the wrong way, Charles said again, ¡°No, she¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just that


    something happened between us and I wanted to know how is she doing.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded and heaved a sigh of relief. I was being paranoid. She was worried someone close


    to her might have been bought off. After all, getting betrayed by someone she trusted the most would be


    devastating. Good thing nothing¡¯s wrong with her.


    ¡°Okay. Since she¡¯s fine, then I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± Charles resumed his usual self and hung up. It had been


    almost two months after that event with Daphne. He was worried she might disobey him and refuse to


    take the morning after pills so she could get pregnant with his child. After all, Daphne did love him, so he


    knew it was possible she might do that. That was why he wanted to know if something was off with her,


    and the best way to find out was to ask Sonia. Once he knew nothing was wrong with her, he heaved a


    sigh of relief for now.


    Yes, for now. He did ask for some doctors¡¯ opinions, and they said some women would only show the


    symptoms of pregnancyter in the first trimester. That was why he would ask again after a couple of


    months.


    Once the call was over, Toby pulled Sonia out of her chair.


    Sonia looked at him dumbly. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Instead of answering, he sat on her chair.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°You pulled me up and took my ce? Are you saying you want to


    take over thepany?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Your ce is right here.¡± He patted hisp, then he held her wrist and pulled her closer to


    him. The moment she was pulled over, he held her by her waist and made her spin around before she


    sat on hisp.


    It happened too quickly, and she only realized what was happening a few moments after she sat on his


    lap. She tried to get up, but he held her down, preventing her from getting up.


    Since she couldn¡¯t stand, she pushed him. ¡°What are you doing? Let me go.¡±


    ¡°You can just stay like this.¡± Toby refused to let her go. She couldn¡¯t force her way through either, since


    his left arm was still injured. If she forced her way through, she might tear the wound open. Sigh. She sat


    down and gave him a look. ¡°You¡¯re really taking advantage of the situation, huh?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± He smiled at her. ¡°We¡¯re lovers, and this is what lovers do to keep the love alive. Besides, what


    kind of man wouldn¡¯t want to be all lovey dovey with his wife?¡±


    Wife? Sonia blushed and her heart pounded furiously, but she took a deep breath. ¡°Did you learn this on


    the Inte?¡±


    Toby grunted vaguely. ¡°I saw it by chance, but I think it¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°You should stay away from those quotes. It doesn¡¯t suit your vibe.¡± She smacked her forehead.


    He hugged her closer to him, and he gulped. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t need that vibe when I¡¯m around you.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Suit yourself.¡±


    Toby smiled for a moment, then he got to business. ¡°Oh, what did Lane tell you? What¡¯s this about


    Titus?¡± He heard Titus being brought up when he walked up to Sonia earlier, but he didn¡¯t get the details.


    Since Toby was asking, Sonia stopped smiling and got serious as well. ¡°He said Titus sent someone to


    Norfolk. To be precise, to the hospital where my mother gave birth to my sister twenty-six years ago. He


    wanted to know about my sister.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted darkly. ¡°He sent someone to snoop around about that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded. ¡°So he told me to be careful, since Titus wouldn¡¯t snoop around for nothing. He must


    have something in mind.¡±


    Something in mind¡­ He stared down and started thinking about the possibilities.


    Sonia didn¡¯t disturb him while he was thinking about the case.


    A whileter, Toby realized something, and his face fell. Dammit. I forgot that he must have watched the


    live broadcast too. Titus is Sonia¡¯s nemesis, and he thinks the same way about Sonia too. Of course he


    would want to know everything about hertest mess.


    He must have watched the show, and he must have found out that Sonia isn¡¯t the Reeds¡¯ real daughter.


    He knows she¡¯s adopted now. But more importantly, the reporters exposed the adoption documents, and


    the date that Sonia was adopted was written right there. It was just a few days after Henry stole Sonia.


    That¡¯s why Titus sent someone to Norfolk to snoop around about the case. He probably suspects that


    Sonia is his daughter!

 Chapter 728

    Chapter 728


    Chapter 728 Impossible


    That was just his guess, so he needed to confirm it for himself.


    When Sonia realized he was frowning and looking grim, she got solemn herself. ¡°What is it, Toby?¡±


    Toby looked at her. ¡°Call the police station.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She tilted her head curiously.


    He answered, ¡°I need to confirm my suspicion. I need to know if Titus has contacted them and looked


    into your adoption process or when you were adopted.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was even more confused. ¡°Why does Titus want to know that?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer. He just told her, ¡°Just call them. I need to know.¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t do anything about his obstinance, so she did as he asked, but two minutester, she put


    her phone down grimly and looked at him. ¡°You hit the bullseye. Titus did send someone to ask. What


    are you suspecting, Toby?¡± She really wanted to know.


    He put his hand on her head and patted it. ¡°I suspect that Titus might think that you¡¯re his daughter.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The corner of her lips twitched, and she squinted, giving him a weird look. ¡°Did you catch a


    fever?¡± She touched his forehead. ¡°No, you¡¯re normal. Why are you talking nonsense now?¡±


    He pulled her hand away and answered with a sigh, ¡°I am not.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    Sonia stared at him. ¡°So why did you say that? Who does he think I am?¡±


    ¡°He thinks you¡¯re Rina.¡± Toby looked into her eyes.


    Sonia was shocked, then she was quiet for a while, as if Toby¡¯s revtion was too stunning for her to


    process. But a momentter, she startedughing, and it didn¡¯t take her long to start rocking back and


    forth,ughing as if she had just heard the biggest joke ever. Her face was red, and she was starting to


    cry from the sheer hrity. ¡°Oh my god, that¡¯s so hrious. Rina? Oh my god!¡±


    Toby looked at her, and his eyes were filled with lust, then he pulled her closer to him ever so slightly.


    ¡°Stopughing,¡± he said hoarsely.


    She was letting herself go and shook a lot when sheughed. Because of that, she rubbed against


    Toby¡¯s body, and it was both good and bad news for him. He felt happy, but he also had to hold his lust


    back. Maybe I should not have let her sit on myp, or this wouldn¡¯t have happened.


    He looked at her, then at her chest that was rubbing against his. Finally, his lust was awoken. Oh god.


    He closed his eyes and held her tightly. ¡°I told you, stopughing.¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t know she had awoken his lust. She took a deep breath and stoppedughing, then she


    looked at him with a red face. ¡°You can¡¯t me me. That¡¯s one serious joke. You think Titus thinks I¡¯m


    Rina? That¡¯s impossible.¡± She almost startedughing again.


    Toby noticed it, so he held her chin. ¡°Stopughing, or I¡¯m kissing you.¡±


    Sonia quickly covered her mouth and shook her head, telling Toby she would stopughing. I¡¯m not


    laughing. I¡¯m not letting him kiss me however he likes.


    Toby felt a bit disappointed. All of a sudden, he wished she would keepughing, but he was a man of


    his word, so after she stoppedughing, he let her chin go and turned serious. ¡°I wasn¡¯t kidding when I


    said he suspects that you¡¯re Rina. Think about the day your father took Rina away. Think about when he


    tossed her into the river, and think about when you got adopted.¡±


    Sonia stared down and started recalling the dates. Suddenly, realization struck her, and her eyes


    widened. ¡°Oh god¡­¡±


    ¡°I see you¡¯re getting what I¡¯m saying.¡± His eyes glimmered. ¡°Those events happened too close to each


    other. Rina was tossed into the river, and then you showed up as an adopted daughter? Of course Titus


    suspects that you¡¯re Rina.¡±


    Sonia opened her mouth, but she said nothing, for her mind was a mess. Yeah, I appeared after Dad


    took Rina away. He adopted me right after he tossed her into the river. Of course anyone would suspect


    that I¡¯m Rina. That¡¯s why Titus sent his men to snoop around, but¡­


    ¡°But I can¡¯t be Rina.¡± She looked up at him adamantly. ¡°Even if I appear right after Dad tossed Rina into


    the river, I can¡¯t be her. My Dad hated Titus¡¯ guts. There¡¯s no way he would raise his enemy¡¯s child. If I¡¯m


    Rina, then who¡¯s Taylor?¡±


    Taylor? Toby¡¯s eyes gleamed coldly. She¡¯s just a shameless thief and impersonator. I¡¯m not telling her


    that though.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, nor did she notice the change in his gaze. She bit her lip. ¡°She¡¯s


    the real Rina. When I told everyone that Taylor is just a spy Zane and I hired, she came up and said


    she¡¯s the real Rina and did a DNA test with Titus right away. The results said that they¡¯re father and


    daughter. You were there. You saw it too, right?¡± She held Toby¡¯s arm and shook it, trying desperately to


    get confirmation from him that she wasn¡¯t Rina.


    He looked at him and nodded. ¡°Yes, I did. Taylor is Rina.¡±


    Sonia heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. ¡°See? Titus is thinking too much. It¡¯s normal since the events


    happened too closely to each other, but once he calms down, he¡¯ll know howughable that is. How


    could he even think that his enemy¡¯s child is his own daughter?¡±


    Toby said nothing. He just patted her head and grunted. A while ago, he was about to ask her how she


    would feel if she was really Rina so he could glean her reaction. Well, no need for that now. Knowing that


    Titus suspects that she is Rina is already making her so disgusted. She keeps finding reasons to prove


    that she isn¡¯t Rina.


    That proves that she hates being Titus¡¯ daughter. If she knows she¡¯s really Rina, god¡­ She might have a


    mental breakdown. He suddenly held her tightly, and the air around him turned solemn. When he saw


    how she reacted, he knew that he would never let her know that she was Rina. At least not until Titus is


    dead.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know about the decision Toby just made, and she poked his back. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Toby?¡±


    She sounded concerned.

 Chapter 729

    Chapter 729


    Chapter 729 Hurt Julia


    Toby¡¯s eyes glinted, and he hugged her even tighter. ¡°Nothing. I just thought of something, but it¡¯s not


    important.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia leaned against his chest. She stopped asking him, even though she could feel that he


    was bogged down by something. If he doesn¡¯t want to talk about it, then I won¡¯t pry.


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll make a call, then we¡¯ll have lunch.¡± Toby let her go.


    Sonia got off hisp and nodded. ¡°Sure. You do your job. I¡¯ll call Zane to thank him.¡±


    Toby was about to leave, but he paused and turned around to say, ¡°Don¡¯t talk too long. Just say thank


    you and hang up.¡±


    Sonia knew why he was saying that. He just doesn¡¯t want me to talk too long to other guys. He even


    listens in when I talk to Charles. Of course Zane will alert him. She waved him off. ¡°Okay, okay, I get it.


    Just do your work.¡±


    Toby went to the balcony, but after just taking a few steps, he stopped again. ¡°Remember, just say thank


    you. Even if he tries to talk to you, just ignore him and hang up.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes and waved him off once more, then Toby finally went to the balcony. She looked at


    him for a moment and shook her head, though she was smiling. She then picked her phone up and


    called Zane.


    Toby closed the french window and made a call. It went through a momentter, and a woman¡¯s voice


    said carefully, ¡°Mr. Fuller¡­¡±


    ¡°I assume that you saw the press conference today?¡± he asked coldy. He ced one hand on the


    guardrail and looked at the city.


    Rina stared down. ¡°I did.¡± That was how she knew things had gotten very serious and had gone to the


    hospital as fast as she could.


    As she expected, after the Gray couple heard what Sonia said, they started suspecting that Sonia was


    their real daughter. She even heard what Julia really thought about her. If she didn¡¯t overhear it, she


    wouldn¡¯t have known that Julia was only pretending to love her. She even said that even though she


    knew Taylor was their ¡®real daughter,¡¯ she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to be close to her. She only


    pretended to love Taylor so she wouldn¡¯t hurt her.


    They don¡¯t know why they can¡¯t feel close,but I do. It¡¯s not that they can¡¯t; it¡¯s that they want to be close


    with their real daughter, not an impostor. But Mom doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m a fake, so she has to act. I don¡¯t


    understand. Is a bond of blood that important?


    After hearing her answer, Toby squinted dangerously. ¡°If you saw it, then you should know that Titus will


    start to suspect her of being the real Rina. After all, she did release her details. He¡¯s already suspecting


    something now, and he¡¯s looking into it. I want you to go to him right away to quash his suspicions once


    and for all. Stop him from looking into Sonia¡¯s past, understand?¡±


    ¡°I understand, Mr. Fuller.¡± She took a deep breath and nodded. ¡°I know what I should do. Don¡¯t worry. I


    will stop Dad from looking into this any further.¡± If they find out that Sonia is their real daughter, I¡¯ll be in


    trouble.


    ¡°Good. Now do your job.¡± Toby nodded and hung up.


    Rina put her phone down. She looked at the screen and heaved a sigh. Then, she kept it and went to a


    ward. Once she was there, she knocked on the door.


    A momentter, a weak voice said, ¡°Come in.¡±


    Rina bit her lip and turned the doorknob. The door opened easily, and she went in, though her head was


    hanging low. ¡°Dad, Mom,¡± she called.


    The Gray couple quickly looked at her. Titus was reminded of what happened, so he coughed awkwardly.


    ¡°Wee back, Rina.¡±


    Julia put the bowl and spoon down. She stood up from beside the bed and smiled apologetically at Rina.


    ¡°Rina!¡±


    Rina only nodded at her.


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    Julia went over to her. ¡°Where have you been, Rina? I went after you, but you shook me off easily. I was


    worried, you know.¡±


    She was about to hold Rina¡¯s hand, but Rina¡¯s eyes gleamed, and she dodged Julia¡¯s hand as she


    pretended to look hurt.


    Julia¡¯s face froze, and her hand hung in the air. She felt awkward and at a loss, and she didn¡¯t even pull


    her hand back. Evidently, she didn¡¯t think her daughter would avoid her, and she teared up. At the same


    time, she med herself for this.


    She knew why Rina was acting that way. She¡¯s still hurt because of what I said. Of course she is. That¡¯s


    really traumatizing. She has suffered for more than two decades, and now that she finally came back to


    us, she heard me saying that I only pretended to love her. How can she not be hurt after hearing that I


    just can¡¯t bring myself to feel close to her?


    I can understand why. I can see why she¡¯s so cold to me. Even so, I just can¡¯t feel close to her. She


    wasn¡¯t about to tell Rina that, nor would she ever let anyone else know. She would start to rectify her


    wrongs and ept her daughter. At that thought, Julia put her hand down and looked at Rina tearfully.


    ¡°Rina.¡±


    Rina was still staring down in silence. She knew Julia must be ming herself for hurting her. She knew


    Julia wanted to apologize, but Rina knew she mustn¡¯t ept it. She must pretend that she didn¡¯t want to


    face Julia for the time being.


    If I forgive her so easily, her guilt will lessen and even disappear. She might think I wasn¡¯t hurt at all. I will


    not forgive her that easily. I will keep her curious and keep the me of self-me alive. She¡¯ll only give


    me more that way. Rina went past Julia with her head lowered and headed straight for Titus.


    Julia was shocked, and she was on the verge of tears. She was nearly crying a moment ago, and now


    she was truly shedding tears. She quickly turned around and looked at her daughter. Rina¡¯s deliberate


    neglect hurt Julia. ¡°Rina, you¡ª¡±


    Rina cut Julia off, ¡°Dad, I need to talk to you.¡±


    Titus was an experienced businessman, and he could see that his daughter didn¡¯t want to talk to his wife.


    After all, Julia did hurt her, but seeing his wife looking so sad was breaking his heart as well. Even so, he


    couldn¡¯t help anyone here, since it would be unfair to the other side no matter which side he chose. Titus


    sighed. Being sandwiched in the middle is so annoying. He massaged his temples and looked at Rina.


    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡±

 Chapter 730

    Chapter 730


    Chapter 730 Gloss It Over


    Rina said nothing. Instead, she looked at Julia, and it was obvious that she wanted Julia to leave them


    alone. She wanted a private talk.


    Julia nched and she felt even more hurt, but still, she managed to force a smile. ¡°Rina, I¡¯m your


    mother. Why can¡¯t I listen to the conversation?¡±


    Rina turned her head away and averted her gaze.


    That simple action was like a stab to the heart for Julia, shattering it into pieces. She felt suffocated from


    the sheer pain. She doesn¡¯t want me to be here, and she doesn¡¯t even want to see me. She doesn¡¯t want


    to talk to me. She¡­ Julia covered her face and started to cry.


    Titus had chosen to stay neutral, but at that point, he frowned, and he looked at Rina with slight


    annoyance. He knew what Julia said hurt Rina and angered her. That was why he turned a blind eye


    even though Rina was throwing a tantrum. But she¡¯s taking it too far now.


    Yes, it was hurtful, but Julia truly cares about her. Even if she was only acting, at least she didn¡¯t stay


    distant like how she truly feels about Rina. He thought Julia didn¡¯t really wrong Rina, so he felt that Rina


    should stop while she was ahead. She can¡¯t just stay mad at Julia forever.


    At this thought, Titus said coldly, ¡°Rina, she¡¯s your mother. Even if she did hurt you, you don¡¯t have to


    hold it against her forever. At least she has never hurt you after you came back to us.¡±


    Rina noticed the displeasure in his voice. She averted her gaze and stared at the ground silently.


    Titus ignored her and turned to his wife, though he looked a lot gentler than he was a moment ago.


    ¡°Leave us for now. You two should calm down and talk things through after that.¡±


    Julia looked at Rina and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± She turned around and slowly went out, though she kept


    looking back.


    Eventually, she closed the door, leaving Titus and Rina alone in the room.


    Titus massaged his temples and looked down. ¡°Rina, I know you took what your mother said to heart,


    and I know what she said was hurtful, but you just came back after two decades of absence. She is still


    not used to it, which is why she said what she said. But she still loves you, alright? Talk to herter. Clear


    this up, or it¡¯ll be a mess down the line.¡±


    Rina bit her lip and muttered, ¡°I understand, Dad.¡± She was nning on guilt-tripping Julia for a while so


    she could get more love out of her, but now Titus was displeased with her attitude. It was then she


    realized that Titus cared more about his wife whom he had married for decades than her, whom he had


    just met a few months ago. Dad will always pick Mom when ites down to me or her. If I keep this up,


    Dad¡¯s going to dislike me. I have to stop this, or I¡¯ll lose a lot.


    Titus nodded in approval, and a smile made its way through his wizened face. ¡°That¡¯s my girl. So, what


    do you want to talk about?¡±


    Rina clenched her fists and hesitated for a while before she said, ¡°Dad, are you¡­ are you suspecting


    that Miss Reed is your real daughter? Is that why you sent your men to look into her past?¡±


    Titus¡¯ expression turned serious, and he looked at her sharply. ¡°How did you find out about that?¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Rina was honest. ¡°Mr. Fuller told me about it. You know he got back together with Miss Reed, so he


    cares about everything that¡¯s rted to her. Of course he knows what you¡¯re doing. He thinks that you¡¯re


    looking into Miss Reed¡¯s past because you suspect that she¡¯s your daughter. That¡¯s why he called me.


    He wanted me to ask you to stop investigating, since Miss Reed can¡¯t be your daughter.¡±


    ¡°What a busybody.¡± Titus sneered.


    Rina came up with a little n and stomped her foot angrily, then she started to sob. ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t


    understand why you think she¡¯s your daughter. I¡¯m Rina. We even did a DNA test. I¡¯m your daughter,


    right? So why do you think she¡¯s your daughter? Do you think the DNA test is a fluke? Am I not good


    enough? Do you want someone else to be your daughter?¡±


    Titus started panicking, and he waved his hands. ¡°Rina, I-I didn¡¯t. I just thought about it because Sonia


    got adopted right after you were stolen, so I had some suspicions. I¡­¡±


    ¡°So what? Does that mean more than a DNA test? You saw the results. I¡¯m the real Rina, but now you


    think someone else is the real me because of some random date? And you looked into it right away?


    Dad, that¡¯s really hurtful,¡± she interrupted and cried louder.


    Titus knew he was on the wrong side, and he felt guilty. He cleared his throat and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    Rina. It was just on impulse. I won¡¯t do it again.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She looked at him tearfully.


    He nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    She sniffled. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll trust you for once. But please tell your men to retreat and stop looking into this. If


    someone found out, they might use it to attack you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, right away. I¡¯ll stop the investigation.¡± Titus took his phone.


    Rina¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now, Dad. I¡¯ll talk to Mom.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure.¡± He waved her away.


    Rina wiped away her tears, but the moment she turned around, she smiled. All the sadness on her face


    was reced by a smug look. Good. I got through this safely. Dad has stopped suspecting Sonia, and


    he¡¯s not looking into the case anymore. I can keep up this fa?ade longer. Her eyes glinted and she took


    her phone out and sent a text. After she confirmed that it was sent, she went to open the door.


    Toby had just finished smoking when he felt his phone vibrating. He flicked the ash away and put the


    cigarette out before taking his phone out. When he noticed that it was from Rina, he got serious. He


    deleted the text after reading it, then he put his phone into his pocket and went back to Sonia¡¯s office.


    Sonia was long done talking to Zane, and she was brewing coffee when Toby came back. When she


    heard the sound of his footsteps, she stopped grinding the beans and looked in his direction. ¡°Done?¡±


    She smiled.

 Chapter 731

    Chapter 731


    Chapter 731 Daphne¡¯s Longing


    Toby sat down and held her by her waist, then he pecked her cheek. ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you smoked.¡± Sonia frowned when she smelled the stench of tobo. She then pushed his face


    away so he couldn¡¯t kiss her.


    Toby was surprised, then he smelled himself. ¡°That obvious?¡±


    ¡°No, but I can smell it.¡± She shook her head. It wasn¡¯t rancid at all. In fact, it had a hint of sweetness to it,


    but she disliked tobo, so she disliked its smell as well. ¡°Why did you smoke anyway?¡± She steamed


    the ground beans. ¡°Did something annoy you? You were on the phone for a while.¡±


    Toby sipped some water. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve settled it.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded and stopped asking. She killed the heat and put a cap on it, then she poured two


    cups of coffee.


    She gave Toby a cup. ¡°Blue Mountain coffee. Original, just like you like it. See how it tastes. It¡¯s my first


    time making it, but I think I didn¡¯t overcook it.¡±


    Toby picked up the dark, luscious coffee and smelled it, then he smiled. ¡°It smells great, so I bet it tastes


    nice. And you made it yourself. I¡¯ll finish it even if it¡¯s bad.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°My, someone¡¯s having a glib tongue. Where did you pick that up?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my true feelings. I¡¯m not being smooth,¡± he said seriously.


    Sonia shook her head in amusement. ¡°Just drink it.¡± She looked down and added milk and sugar to her


    coffee. Unlike Toby, she had to add a few things to her coffee, or it¡¯d be too bitter for her.


    ¡°How long did you talk to Zane?¡± Toby suddenly put his coffee down and stared at her, as if he wanted to


    know the answer right away.


    Sonia arched her eyebrow. ¡°Why? Jealous?¡±


    ¡°If you talked to him for too long, then yes.¡± He admitted it honestly and pursed his lips. ¡°You know how


    much he likes you.¡±


    Sonia stirred her coffee and smiled. ¡°Two minutes. Happy?¡±


    Two minutes? Toby smiled. ¡°Not bad.¡±


    Sonia held her forehead.


    Daphne knocked on the door and came in. ¡°Chairman Reed, President Fuller, it¡¯s lunch time. What would


    you two like? I¡¯ll order them.¡±


    Sonia looked at Toby, obviously asking what he wanted. He was a guest after all, so she had to put him


    first.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll have whatever you have, Sonia.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Daphne smiled. ¡°President Fuller really loves you, doesn¡¯t he? He¡¯ll have whatever you have.¡±


    Sonia blushed. ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. Am I right, President Fuller?¡± Daphne looked at Toby.


    Toby put his coffee down and nodded at Daphne with approval. ¡°You¡¯re right. She¡¯s my lover, so of


    course I¡¯m spoiling her. It¡¯s all about her. I¡¯ll have whatever she has.¡± He then looked at her lovingly.


    Sonia¡¯s face turned even redder, and her ears turned scarlet as well. Gorgeous. He would have held her


    chin and kissed her if there were nobody else around. Toby suddenly shot Daphne a re. What an


    eyesore. But then, if she didn¡¯te in and say that, Sonia wouldn¡¯t have blushed either.


    Daphne noticed Toby¡¯s displeasure, and she was confused. Did I do or say something wrong? Why is he


    ring at me? She tilted her head, but since she couldn¡¯t figure it out, she put it aside and looked at


    Sonia. ¡°What would you like, Chairman Reed? The usual?¡±


    Sonia thought about it and nodded. ¡°Sure, but add two more dishes for me. I¡¯ll take some orange crabs


    and some fried shrimp balls.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes shone, and his smile broadened. My favorite.


    Daphne adjusted her sses. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll call the restaurant right away.¡± Then, she turned around to


    leave.


    Sonia remembered something, and she stopped Daphne. ¡°Daphne, hold on.¡±


    ¡°Anything, Chairman Reed?¡± Daphne stopped.


    Sonia looked at her. ¡°I called Charles a while ago, and we talked about you.¡±


    Daphne was surprised, but she calmed down quickly and asked, ¡°What did Mr. Lane say, Chairman


    Reed?¡± She started clenching her fists nervously.


    Charles never liked her. He didn¡¯t even ask about her after he sent her over to Sonia, nor did he care


    how she was doing or if she could get used to Paradigm. After Charles sent her over, it was like she


    never existed to him, so she was pleasantly surprised that he suddenly asked Sonia about her. I wonder


    why he¡¯s asking. Is he thinking about me after what happened back then? Daphne started to make up


    theories of her own.


    She knew it wasn¡¯t probable, but what if it was true? Don¡¯t people say that a man always remembers his


    first woman? I¡¯ve worked for him for many years now, and I know I¡¯m his first. Maybe he actually misses


    me after what happened that night and came to ask Chairman Reed about me. Her heart started


    pounding, and she looked at Sonia expectantly, wanting to hear the answer she longed for.


    Sonia and Toby could see the expectant look in her eyes and her excitement, since she wasn¡¯t hiding it,


    and they looked at each other.


    Toby stayed calm. After all, he didn¡¯t care about anyone besides Sonia. On the other hand, Sonia sighed


    silently and felt sorry for Daphne. ¡°Daphne¡­¡± Sonia didn¡¯t want to do it, but she decided to tell Daphne


    after all.


    She shouldn¡¯t live in her fantasies forever, or she¡¯ll get sucked in and think that¡¯s true. And when the


    bubble pops, she¡¯ll suffer for a long time. I have to wake her up before she gets fully sucked in. It will hurt


    for a while, but it¡¯s better than the other route.


    Daphne knew Sonia was going to talk, so she snapped out of it. ¡°Oh, yes, Chairman Reed. What did he


    say?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ He asked me if you¡¯re acting weirdtely.¡±


    Daphne nched, and all her hopes and dreams were dashed. She stiffened up and only asked after


    some time, ¡°Did he only ask that one question, Chairman Reed?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Daphne clenched her fists. ¡°What did he mean by me acting weird?¡± Did he find out about my morning


    sickness and guessed that I got pregnant? Is that why he called Chairman Reed? To get confirmation?

 Chapter 732

    Chapter 732


    Chapter 732 You Don¡¯t Trust Me


    When she realized that that was a possibility, she was overwhelmed by a great sense of fear, and it


    squeezed her heart. With how much Charles disliked her, she knew he would never allow her to be


    pregnant with his child, but when she went to the hospital to get a checkup, the doctor already confirmed


    that she was pregnant. If Mr. Lane finds out, he¡¯ll force me to abort. But I don¡¯t want to do that. I want to


    give birth to this baby.


    Sonia was worried about Daphne, since she was looking pale. ¡°Are you alright, Daphne? Why are you


    looking so pale all of a sudden?¡±


    Daphne stared down. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia looked at her, obviously not believing Daphne. She looks so pale. That can¡¯t be alright.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, really.¡± She shook her head adamantly and repeated her earlier question, ¡°Chairman Reed, why


    did Mr. Lane want to know if I¡¯m acting weird anyway? What does he mean by ¡®acting weird?¡¯¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Daphne, but I don¡¯t know either. I asked him, but he said nothing. He said something


    happened between you two, so he wants to know if you¡¯re acting weirdtely. That¡¯s all.¡± Sonia looked at


    her with an apologetic smile.


    Daphne bit her lip, and she started feeling really nervous. ¡°How did you answer him?¡± If she told him I


    retched, it¡¯d be a disaster.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know why Daphne was so nervous, but she shrugged and answered honestly, ¡°I told him


    you¡¯re fine.¡±


    Daphne looked at her. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell him I¡¯m feeling unwell?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No. You¡¯re feeling unwell because you¡¯re sick. That¡¯s not acting weird. Why


    should I tell him that?¡±


    Daphne secretly heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Sonia gratefully. ¡°I see. Thank you, Chairman


    Reed.¡±


    She bowed to Sonia. Good thing she didn¡¯t notice what Mr. Lane was talking about. If not, she might


    have told him about my retching, and he would have figured out I¡¯m pregnant. He might force me to get


    the abortion.


    Sonia didn¡¯t understand why Daphne was suddenly thanking her, nor did she understand why Daphne


    looked so relieved. Sonia waved her hands and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I was just telling the truth. What


    happened between you guys anyway?¡±


    Daphne stared down and stayed quiet.


    Oh, she can¡¯t say. Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to talk about it, but if you guys


    have a misunderstanding, please clear it up. If you don¡¯t, it¡¯ll be harder to clear it upter. You want to be


    with him, right? So talk it through with him.¡±


    Daphne forced a smile. ¡°I understand. Thank you for the tip.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia waved her away.


    Daphne took a deep breath and turned around, then she went toward the door, but her footsteps felt


    heavier than they were when she came in. Eventually, she left, and the door was closed.


    Suddenly, Toby blocked Sonia¡¯s sight and stopped her from looking at the door.


    Sonia pulled his hand away, then she turned around. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re spending too much time sending her off.¡± He hugged her.


    Sonia was amused. ¡°I was just sending my secretary off. You¡¯re jealous of her?¡±


    He snorted. ¡°They¡¯re not me. You can only look at me like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a baby.¡± She rolled her eyes and refilled her cup with coffee.


    Toby pushed his cup over to her. ¡°I want some too.¡±


    Sonia might have grumbled about him, but she refilled his cup anyway. Toby happily picked the cup up


    and took a sip. ¡°Your secretary seems to be scared of Charles.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sonia said. ¡°I noticed it too. She looked pale when I said Charles asked if she was acting weird.


    Judging from herter reactions to my questions, it¡¯s obvious that she¡¯s afraid of him finding out about


    something.¡±


    ¡°You want to know what that something is?¡± Toby nced at her.


    She arched her eyebrow. ¡°You know what it is?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head.


    The corner of her lips twitched. ¡°Why did you say that then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that I can get someone to look into it if you want to know. He can¡¯t hide from me even if


    he wants to.¡± He looked down and kissed her forehead.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No. Charles is my friend. I can¡¯t snoop around just because I¡¯m curious. That¡¯s


    disrespectful.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Toby shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to pay attention to him either.¡±


    Soniaughed. ¡°You really get jealous of everything, huh?¡±N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s only one you, but there are a lot of people who want a piece of you.¡± Toby caressed her


    cheek.


    Sonia¡¯s cheek was feeling itchy, so she held his hand and pulled it away. ¡°Same goes to you, Toby.


    There¡¯s only one of you, but there are a lot of girls who want a piece of you. I remember you topping the


    charts of ¡®Men Women Want to Marry Most¡¯ for the longest time. Congrats, Mr. Fuller.¡± She looked up


    and smirked at him.


    He frowned. ¡°It¡¯s just some chart those women came up with because they¡¯re bored. I don¡¯t care about it.


    I¡¯m all yours, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He pecked her lips.


    She was looking up, and it made it easier for him to kiss. She didn¡¯t expect the kiss toe so suddenly


    so she was startled, then she covered her lips and shot him a re. ¡°You¡¯re such a cheeky opportunist,


    aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Toby chuckled in response.


    Sonia pushed him away. ¡°You¡¯re a smooth talker.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± He held her by her waist and pulled her into his embrace, then he looked at her. ¡°It¡¯s my true


    feelings.¡± Look at my eyes. My feelings are genuine.


    Toby was looking serious, but Sonia rolled her eyes.


    Toby frowned slightly, then he held her face. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re imagining things.¡± She smacked his hands away.


    He looked at the back of his hand, then at her. ¡°I am not. You have to say you believe me.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She turned her head away.


    He pulled her back to face him. ¡°If you don¡¯t say it, then it means you don¡¯t trust me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really imagining things.¡± She held her forehead. He¡¯s being a pain right now. He wasn¡¯t like this.


    Why did he even be this way anyway? Sonia was immersed in her thoughts at this moment.


    Toby noticed her spacing out, and he pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, and you got distracted?¡±


    Sonia snapped out of it. ¡°Huh? What were you saying?¡±


    The veins on his forehead throbbed, and his voice took on a menacing tone. ¡°I want you to say you trust


    me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still on about that?¡± Sonia was slightly annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s just a little statement. Don¡¯t get obsessed


    over it. All that matters is I trust you with all my heart. I don¡¯t have to say it out loud.¡±

 Chapter 733

    Chapter 733


    Chapter 733 Clingy


    ¡°No.¡± He put his forehead against hers and gave her a serious look. ¡°You have to trust me, and you have


    to say it, so let me hear it. I can¡¯t rest easy if I don¡¯t hear it, so you have to say it.¡±


    Sonia resigned, so she said, ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll say it, alright? I trust you. There, happy?¡±


    Toby smiled happily.


    Amused, Sonia pinched his face. ¡°Why are you acting like a child?¡±


    ¡°Only to you.¡± He puffed his chest out.


    Sonia was amused. ¡°And you seem proud about it.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± He looked up with pride. ¡°That¡¯s apliment to me.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m notplimenting you, though I won¡¯t say anything if you want to take it that


    way.¡±


    ¡°Then I will take it that way.¡± He sipped some coffee, then he recalled something. ¡°Oh, right. About the


    machines from Kosovo. You told the factory workers to assemble the first batch already, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They¡¯re done, and it¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°Did you find a seller?¡± he asked again.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Of course. I called them before the machines came. I¡¯m not the newbie president


    anymore, you know. I arrange stuff beforehand so I won¡¯t fumble at thest moment.¡±


    ¡°Not bad,¡± he praised.


    Sonia smiled as well.


    ¡°So, whichpany did you partner with?¡± Toby put his coffee down and looked at her.


    ¡°Excellence Co.,¡± she answered.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Not bad. A century of good reputation. You have a great eye for this.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Not me, but my dad. He worked with Excellence Co. a lot when he was still alive. The


    company¡¯s leader is my father¡¯s friend, so we¡¯re working well together.¡±


    Toby grunted. ¡°Excellence Co. just opened a new mall, and they¡¯re going to start business at the end of


    this month. Did they give you an invitation?¡± He would bring her there if she had no invitation. I heard


    Excellence Co. just hired some experts in heavy industry. I can introduce them to her as it¡¯s her


    company¡¯s main business. Once it gets listed again, some changes must be made, and expert opinions


    are needed for that.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know Toby was nning for her. She went to her desk and took out a purple invitation from


    her drawer. ¡°Guess what this is?¡±


    Toby arched his eyebrow. ¡°So you got it already. Not bad.¡±


    She put the invitation back. ¡°I just got it yesterday. I was about to tell you, but I forgot. If you hadn¡¯t


    mentioned it, I wouldn¡¯t have thought about it.¡±


    ¡°Come with me then.¡± He looked at her invitation. ¡°As my lover.¡±


    Sonia went over to him. ¡°Sure.¡± Since they were dating again, she wouldn¡¯t say no to attending events


    together.


    ¡°That¡¯s settled, then. I¡¯ll pick you up on the day of the event.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± She nodded.


    Toby left after lunch. He was about to stay with her until her work was over and go back to Bayside


    Residence, but Tom called halfway through lunch and said thepany needed him to handle some


    work, so he had to leave. But before he left, he clung to her and seemed reluctant to go to work. If it


    weren¡¯t for her telling him to go back to hispany, he might have actually stayed.


    He did leave in the end, but before he did, he had asked her to kiss him multiple times, or he wouldn¡¯t


    have left. She looked in the mirror and noticed that her lips were swollen again from the kissing, then she


    sighed. He¡¯s getting clingier. I can¡¯t keep up with him at this rate. She put herpact powder down and


    shook her head in amusement.


    ¡°Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne knocked on the door at this moment.


    Sonia collected herself and sat up. ¡°Come in,¡± she said.


    Daphne came in. ¡°Chairman Reed, the renovators from the factory called. They want to know when


    you¡¯re going to check on the items and see if any changes need to be made. If it¡¯s fine with you, they can


    tell theirpany and go ahead to finish the job.¡±


    Sonia looked at the date on her PC. ¡°They finished the job in less than two months? That¡¯s fast.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re all waiting to move into our own factory, so we nudged them a little so they would work


    faster. That¡¯s why they finished it so soon.¡± Daphne adjusted her sses and smiled.


    Sonia smiled as well. ¡°I like efficientpanies like this. And what about the museum next door?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s going to take longer. They¡¯re aiming for that vibe, so it¡¯s going slow. Besides, Titus¡¯ men trashed


    the ce, so that set us back. They haven¡¯t even finished building the structure yet, let alone renovate


    it.¡± Daphne shrugged.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°We dragged them into this.¡± If she didn¡¯t rent half of thend to the government so they


    could build the museum up, she couldn¡¯t have built her factory. Titus kepting over to sabotage her,


    and the museum actually shielded her once. Titus¡¯ goons wanted to trash her factory, but in the end, they


    destroyed the museum instead thanks to her. Because of her, the museum suffered a setback, and as


    compensation, herpany covered all the food expenses for the museum¡¯s builders.


    Sonia massaged her temples. ¡°Since the museum needs time to be finished, then we¡¯ll keep the


    cafeteria there. Once our factory is done with the renovation, close down the factory¡¯s cafeteria.¡± She


    had promised that she would cover all food expenses for the museum builders until the museum was


    finished.


    ¡°Yes, Chairman.¡± Daphne nodded.


    Sonia looked at her schedule. ¡°Tell the renovators I¡¯m going to check on their progress this weekend. If


    they¡¯re not working on weekends, then just send a representative to wait for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Daphne said.


    Sonia looked at her. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°You may leave now.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Daphne nodded and left the office.


    After she left, Sonia took her pen and was about to work, but then her phone rang, so she picked it up.


    Tim? She tilted her head to the side in surprise. Why did he call me? She took the call without hesitation.


    ¡°Anything you need, Dr. Lancaster?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s getting jailed, isn¡¯t she?¡± Tim cut to the chase.N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    Sonia wondered what he was talking about, but when he mentioned prison, she knew he was talking


    about Jessica.


    ¡°Yes. She ndered the nation. It¡¯s a crime, and she has to serve time.¡± Sonia nodded. Jessica¡¯s


    nders against her was a crime as well, but the consequences weren¡¯t severe. She would be detained


    for some time at most, but since she had insulted the nation, she had taken it to a whole other level. At


    the very least, she would be locked up for months.

 Chapter 734

    Chapter 734


    Chapter 734 Julia Acts Weird


    Sonia guessed that Jessica would be jailed anywhere from three to six months.


    Once Sonia gave him the confirmation, Tim nodded. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Why did you bring this up anyway?¡± Sonia was curious.


    Tim adjusted his sses. ¡°You want that woman to bear a child so the Reeds¡¯ bloodline won¡¯t die, right?


    If that¡¯s the case, she can¡¯t stop taking her medications, or she¡¯ll have to restart her treatment after she¡¯s


    released. You¡¯ll have to spend more time waiting then.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I see. Thanks for the reminder. I¡¯ll tell the police officers about that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about it.¡± Tim grunted, then he continued, ¡°Ande to the hospital for a followup checkup.


    You should have almost finished the meds I gave youst time, right?¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°I still have enough for one day.¡±


    ¡°Knew it.¡± He spun the scalpel in his hand. ¡°Come overter if you¡¯re not busy.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯m not busy this afternoon. How about 3PM?¡± Sonia looked at the time on her PC.


    Tim looked at the time as well. ¡°Juste to the OBGYN department straight away. I¡¯ll be waiting for


    you.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Sonia answered.


    They made some small talk and ended the call. She still had an hour and a half before three. Lots of


    time. I can take it slow. She put her phone down and went back to work. When it was two thirty, she


    picked her handbag up and left thepany.


    It was three when she came to the hospital. After she parked her car and sent Tim a text, she went into


    the hospital and headed to the elevator, then she pressed the floor she was going to.


    The doors slowly closed, but just before they fully shut themselves, she heard someone say quickly,


    ¡°Wait up!¡±


    It was a familiar voice, but since the elevator door had blocked out most of the voice, she couldn¡¯t


    remember who it was, so she instinctively pressed the open button to stop the elevator door from


    closing. Once the doors slid open, the person came in quickly. She was holding a thermos and leaned


    against elevator walls as she huffed and puffed. Obviously, she hade to the elevator running.


    When Sonia saw who it was, she was surprised, but then she frowned. No wonder she sounds so


    familiar. It¡¯s her. Are enemies always bound to cross paths? She crossed her arms and moved to the side


    silently, putting some distance between her and the person who came in. Why did I even wait for her?


    Now I have to stay in the same elevator with this woman. This is awkward.


    Julia didn¡¯t know who the person was. After she caught her breath, shebed through her hair and


    stood up, then smiled at Sonia. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Sonia arched her eyebrow in surprise. Whoa. Unbelievable. A Gray, being so polite? She chuckled


    sardonically. ¡°Mrs. Gray, you should turn around and see who I am. Once you know who I am, you¡¯d


    probably regret thanking me.¡±


    That voice¡­ Julia swiveled around, and she was shocked when she saw Sonia. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±


    Sonia beamed at her. ¡°Good afternoon, Mrs. Gray.¡±


    Julia¡¯s face fell. ¡°Why are you here?¡± She never thought it would be Sonia in the elevator. If she did, she


    wouldn¡¯t havee in. However, she was surprised that Sonia didn¡¯t leave right away after seeing her


    and even held the elevator doors open for her.


    Julia looked at Sonia. She had mixed feelings about the encounter, and she was confused. Why did


    Sonia do this? We¡¯re enemies, right? If I were her, I wouldn¡¯t have waited for my enemy. I¡¯d have left right


    away.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what she was thinking. She looked at the elevator screen and smiled. ¡°We¡¯re in a


    hospital, not your house. If you cane here, why can¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Why you¡­¡± Julia couldn¡¯t argue with that. She snorted and turned the other away. If it was any other


    time, she would be angry after Sonia talked to her like that, but for some reason, she wasn¡¯t angered at


    all. In fact, she felt worried.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Julia turned around and asked Sonia, ¡°Are you sick?¡±


    Sonia froze up when she heard that, and even Julia was shocked that she asked the question. W-What


    am I doing? She covered her mouth, her eyes filled with perplexion. Why did I ask her that? Am I mad?


    Julia quickly shook her head and waved her hands. ¡°D-Don¡¯t take it the wrong way,¡± she exined


    nervously. ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about you. I¡¯m just¡­ just¡­¡± She couldn¡¯te up with an excuse, and her


    face was getting red.


    Sonia knew Julia was trying to hide her concern. Her gaze turned dark, and she pursed her lips. I¡¯m


    getting mixed feelings about this.


    Indeed, Julia was trying to hide her true feelings. She didn¡¯t want to admit that she was concerned about


    Sonia. Sonia could see that Julia was genuinely asking her if she was sick. She didn¡¯t know what was


    wrong with Julia and why she was suddenly concerned about Sonia, but the moment Julia asked her that


    question, Sonia felt sad for some reason. It almost made her cry.


    However, she held it down. Sonia clenched her fists and tried to be as calm as possible. ¡°I know you


    were just kidding. Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t take it the wrong way,¡± she said calmly.


    Sonia was always a fair person. She¡¯d repay kindness with kindness. Anyone who treated her well would


    receive a kind gesture in return. She might be enemies with the Grays, but since Julia was concerned


    about her, she wouldn¡¯t make things awkward for thedy and expose her.


    Julia¡¯s eyes lit up, and she nodded. ¡°Yeah. I was just kidding. I don¡¯t really care about you. That¡¯s


    impossible.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Sonia answered.


    Julia didn¡¯t know what to say after how readily Sonia answered that, and an awkward silence fell


    between them. Both of them didn¡¯t say anything more, and there was only the sound of breathing.


    Sonia nced subtly at Julia, who was staring at the ground and looking pensive. It was her first time


    where she didn¡¯t argue while being in the same room with her enemy. And she was concerned about me


    as well. This is¡­ a really weird experience.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t the only one feeling weird; Julia had the same experience as well. She was regretting what


    she said earlier, and she knew why she did that. Must be because of the press conference. I can¡¯t do that


    again, she told herself. She¡¯s not Rina. Rina has alreadye back, and she¡¯s with us now. I must get


    rid of all these thoughts, otherwise I¡¯ll hurt Rina.


    I have to deal with Sonia as I usually would the next time I see her. I can¡¯t do something stupid like that


    again. That line of thinking calmed Julia down a lot.


    Sonia arrived at her floor a momentter, and the elevator came to a halt. The moment the doors swung


    open, she went out without saying goodbye to Julia. She only thought of that incident earlier as an


    ident. I can¡¯t forget the fact that she¡¯s my enemy just because she¡¯s concerned about me for once.

 Chapter 735

    Chapter 735


    Chapter 735 Let¡¯s Get a Child


    Since Julia was her enemy, there was no need to even be polite with her.


    Sonia could think that way easily, but not Julia. As Sonia went away without even saying anything, Julia¡¯s


    face fell, and she felt sad for some reason. ¡°She didn¡¯t even say goodbye before she left. What a¡­ rude


    woman!¡± Julia held the thermos¡¯ handle tightly as she grumbled.


    She wanted to say something more insulting, but in the end, she couldn¡¯t do it, so she changed her mind.


    Julia saw Sonia off, but she didn¡¯t even look away after Sonia was gone. She only stared down at the


    ground after the elevator¡¯s doors slid shut.


    She could have closed the doors the moment Sonia went out, but she didn¡¯t. She thought Sonia was


    really beautiful, and she wanted to get closer to her. Only God knew how much she had to hold back to


    stop herself from calling out to Sonia.


    Julia loosened her grip on the thermos, but the marks of her nails that dug into her palm wouldn¡¯t


    disappear so soon. Julia sighed. That press release really messed with my head. I actually almost


    thought Sonia was Rina. This is not good. She rubbed her cheeks and tried to sober herself up. Stop


    thinking about that. Stop it.


    At the same time, Sonia was approaching the OBGYN department, and she heaved a sigh of relief. It


    was a short journey from the elevator, but she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders. Even though she


    didn¡¯t look back, she could still feel Julia¡¯s intense gaze on her, and it was almost palpable. That feeling


    only disappeared after she went out of Julia¡¯s sight.


    She didn¡¯t know why Julia was staring at her that way. If it weren¡¯t because she didn¡¯t feel any malice in


    her gaze, she would have shot Julia a re instead of leaving right away. What is wrong with her today?


    That was one heck of a weird experience. Sonia shivered at this thought.


    Tim had been waiting for her a long time, and when he came out to see if Sonia was there, he saw her


    shivering uncontrobly. He went up to her and touched her forehead. ¡°Stop moving. You might be down


    with the flu.¡±


    Amused, Sonia pulled his hand away. ¡°No. I just thought of something disgusting, that¡¯s why.¡±


    Since she wasn¡¯t feeling hot, Tim put his hand back into his coat¡¯s pocket. ¡°Is that so? Well,e in


    then.¡± He wasn¡¯t interested in what she was thinking. He was only interested in three things in his life:


    Sonia¡¯s safety,plex diseases, and corpses. Everything else was a waste of time for him.


    Since Tim wasn¡¯t asking, Sonia didn¡¯t tell him what happened either. She grunted and followed him into


    the department.


    The checkup took an hour, then Tim came back out with her results. He looked at it and told her, ¡°Not


    bad. Your body¡¯s regenerative factor is great, and you did everything the doctor told you to do. Your


    womb is healing faster than I expected. Keep this up, and you can bear Toby¡¯s child in less than two


    years.¡± He uncapped his pen and started scribbling on the result paper.


    Sonia was sitting right in front of him, and her face turned pink. ¡°What are you talking about? What do


    you mean ¡®bear Toby¡¯s child¡¯?¡±


    Tim stopped writing and looked at her. ¡°I mean what I said. You guys are dating, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded.


    Tim spun his pen around. ¡°Then that¡¯s it. Since you guys are dating, you¡¯ll bear his child sooner orter,


    right?¡±


    Sonia covered her face. ¡°Later. Much, muchter.¡±


    ¡°Still doesn¡¯t change the fact that he¡¯s going to knock you up.¡± Tim reclined against his chair. ¡°Rose was


    discharged yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how much time she has left?¡± Tim looked her in the eye.


    Sonia had a sad look on her face. ¡°Two years. Toby told me that. But he wants to send her to a nursing


    home. He thinks that can keep her alive longer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that can keep her alive for a longer period of time, but¡­¡± Tim raised a single finger and told her


    seriously, ¡°Only by one year, at best. I guarantee that.¡±


    The news shocked Sonia, and her heart skipped a beat. ¡°One year?¡±


    ¡°Nursing homes are where people can rest, but they aren¡¯t hospitals. Rose is aging naturally, and her


    organs are going to fail sooner orter. Not even hospitals can save her, let alone nursing homes. The


    best they can do is drag out her feeble existence.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t say that.¡± Sonia frowned in displeasure. ¡°What do you mean ¡®drag out her feeble


    existence¡¯?¡±


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Tim adjusted his sses and smiled. ¡°Pardon my rude answer. Rose is already blessed enough if she


    can live for one year longer than expected.¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips and said nothing. So Grandma only has three years left to live even if she¡¯s sent to


    a nursing home. Three years¡­ ¡°Can¡¯t you do anything about it?¡± Sonia held his arm and gave him a look


    of plea. She hoped he coulde up with something, since she didn¡¯t want Rose to pass away so soon.


    Tim pulled her hand away from his arm. ¡°Sorry, but I am no god. I can¡¯t save her from death.¡±


    The light in Sonia¡¯s eyes dimmed.


    Tim looked at her. ¡°Rose doesn¡¯t really want to keep on living.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia blinked in confusion. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°When I went to check up on her a few days ago, I overheard her conversation with Toby. He wanted to


    send her to a nursing home after she¡¯s discharged, but she refused. She knows he wants her to live a


    longer life, but she doesn¡¯t want it. ording to her, she only held on for so long so she could see Toby


    get married and have his own kids. She did it for herte husband, but after she knew how much time


    she has left, she gave up. She said she¡¯ll just go with the flow.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She clenched her fists.


    Tim answered, ¡°She said she misses her husband. It has been far too long since they were separated by


    the veil of death. She wants to see him soon.¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t say anything to that. They had no right to stop their grandmother if she wanted to see her


    husband. Her life wasing to an end, so they couldn¡¯t stop it anyway. Even if they prolonged her life,


    Rose would not be happy either. She would only ask them why they were stopping her from seeing her


    own husband.


    When Tim saw her looking so shocked, he knew what she was thinking. He stopped spinning his pen


    and continued scribbling on the results. ¡°Rose doesn¡¯t think she can live long enough to see you and


    Toby get married and have kids, but I think you guys can make it in time. At least when she crosses to


    the other side, she can tell her husband that their grandson finally has his own family. Three years is


    enough.¡±


    Sonia said, ¡°You can¡¯t be too sure about that. It¡¯s not like I can get a kid whenever I want to. Some


    people have been trying for years, but they can¡¯t even get one.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you aren¡¯t in that group.¡± Tim¡¯s sses glinted under the lights.


    Sonia tilted her head to the side. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you can get pregnant easily. That¡¯s why he knocked you up after you guys only had sex one


    time.¡± Tim closed the file after he finished writing the notes in there.

 Chapter 736

    Chapter 736


    Chapter 736 Rina Pokes Around


    Sonia was caught by surprise. She kept quiet for a while, then she asked shakily, ¡°I thought it¡¯s all luck.¡±


    ¡°Some part of it is, but a big part of it depends on the kind of body you have.¡± Tim capped his pen.


    Sonia looked down and touched her belly. Wow, so I can get pregnant easily? I thought that¡¯s a myth.


    Tim noticed Sonia was looking crestfallen, and he leaned against his chair. ¡°What is it? Aren¡¯t you


    happy? A lot of women wish they could get pregnant easily.¡±


    Sonia forced a smile even though she felt down. ¡°No. I can¡¯t really ept this for now.¡± I get pregnant


    easily. That makes me sound like a baby-making machine. Of course I¡¯m not happy.


    ¡°Why not? I thought you loved Rose. You should be happy if she can see her great grandkid before she


    passes away. Do you want her to leave with her final wish unfulfilled?¡± Tim adjusted his sses.


    Sonia pursed her lips, but she said nothing. No, I don¡¯t want to. Dang, now I really have to have a child


    with Toby in three years. She massaged her temples. ¡°Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves. Just give me the


    prescription.¡±


    ¡°Done.¡± Tim pointed at the prescription he just wrote.


    Sonia looked at it. What is this? Some scribble? I can¡¯t read this. She picked the prescription up and


    stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll get my meds from the pharmacy.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Time nodded. ¡°Go, but I do have to remind you that even though you can¡¯t get pregnant for now,


    please take some precaution. There¡¯s always an exception to the rule.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s face was red, and she felt awkward. ¡°We aren¡¯t that far in the rtionship yet. You¡¯re really


    getting ahead of yourself.¡±


    ¡°You guys are adults now. It¡¯ll happen sooner orter.¡± Tim smiled mysteriously.


    Sonia took a deep breath. ¡°You really love to joke around, don¡¯t you? I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    She left the office and went to the pharmacy. When she was about to leave the hospital after she took


    her meds, she bumped into another familiar figure. When she saw who it was, Sonia frowned. This is not


    my day. I ran into Julia when I came, and now I¡¯m running into her daughter. I just have to bump into


    them no matter where I go, don¡¯t I?


    Rina was holding an expensive handbag and came over haughtily. ¡°Hello, Miss Reed.¡±


    Rina was wearing branded items from head to toe, and Sonia frowned when she realized that. For some


    reason, she felt angry about it. If she¡¯s here, then that means Titus is in the hospital too. I guess it¡¯s


    normal for someone with that condition to get hospitalized frequently. That was why she wasn¡¯t surprised


    when she saw Julia earlier. But their daughter dresses up like she¡¯s going on a date even when Titus is


    in trouble. I feel sad for them. Sonia nodded at her. ¡°Miss Gray,¡± she answered coolly.


    Rina stopped before her. ¡°You seem angry, Miss Reed. Did I do something wrong? But I just got here. I


    don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything to cross you, right?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s my own problem,¡± Sonia answered, her voice as cool as ever.


    Rina looked at the meds that were contained in the bag Sonia was holding, and she looked surprised.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a lot of meds. Are you down with something, Miss Reed?¡±


    She pulled her bag of meds up. ¡°That is none of your business. Why are you stopping me, Miss Gray?


    Say what you have to say, or I¡¯m leaving now. I have something I need to do,¡± she answered impatiently.


    Rina knew that Sonia didn¡¯t want to answer her question, and she was displeased, but she hid that


    quickly. She flicked her hair back and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just came to say hi because I saw you. Oh,


    and I watched the press release too.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Sonia looked at Rina coldly.


    A hint of anger welled up within Rina¡¯s eyes. ¡°My father thinks you¡¯re Rina. Or at least, he thought you


    were Rina.¡± She stared at Sonia¡¯s face, trying to see what kind of response Sonia would show.


    She thought Sonia would be surprised or amused, but on the contrary, Sonia was calm. In fact, she didn¡¯t


    even show any response at all. ¡°And? Should I be happy about it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no.¡± Rina forced a smile through all her anger and annoyance. I thought she didn¡¯t know about


    Dad¡¯s suspicions. I see, so Mr. Fuller has told her about it. That¡¯s why she isn¡¯t even surprised about it.


    ¡°Miss Reed, do you have anything to say about that?¡± Rina calmed herself down and looked at Sonia.


    A frown furrowed Sonia¡¯s brows. She answered with a question, ¡°What do you want me to say?¡±


    Rina looked away, and she had a weird look on her face. ¡°Have you ever thought that you might actually


    be the real Rina?¡±


    ¡°The heck?¡± Sonia looked at her as if she just said the most bizarre thing in the world.


    N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    Rina ignored the look Sonia gave her, and she stared at the ground. ¡°You aren¡¯t the Reeds¡¯ real


    daughter. Your parents adopted you, and they did it when you were practically a baby. Not to mention


    you showed up on the third day after Rina was stolen. It is very possible that you are the real Rina, Miss


    Reed.¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Sonia¡¯s face fell. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    Rina clenched her fists. She didn¡¯t want to dangle the answer around anymore, so she asked, ¡°Miss


    Reed, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re the real Rina?¡± She knew Sonia would get suspicious if she said that, but it


    must be done. She had to see if Sonia was suspecting her own identity. If she was, Rina could stop


    Sonia from finding out about the truth before it was toote.


    ¡°Why should I think I¡¯m Rina?¡± Sonia looked at Rina coldly, and her voice was filled with contempt. ¡°You


    are Rina. You did that DNA test with Titus, and you proved your own identity. I won¡¯t think that I¡¯m the


    real Rina, unless I¡¯m mad.¡±


    Rina finally could rest easy after she got Sonia¡¯s answer, and she smiled. Good. She doesn¡¯t suspect a


    thing. That DNA test helped me out big time.


    Just when Rina was heaving a sigh of relief, Sonia suddenly went up and looked down at her, then


    squinted. ¡°Miss Gray, why did you keep on asking me the same question anyway? Are you trying to tell


    me something?¡±


    Shocked, Rina took a few steps back and put some distance between them. She then turned her head


    away so she wouldn¡¯t lock gazes with Sonia. She clenched her fists and tried her best to stay calm. ¡°No,


    Miss Reed. I wasn¡¯t trying to tell you anything. I only asked you the same question because I¡¯m jealous.¡±


    ¡°Jealous?¡± Sonia crossed her arms. ¡°Jealous of what?¡±

 Chapter 737

    Chapter 737


    Chapter 737 Second-Hand Embarrassment


    Rina came up with an excuse and looked at Sonia with envy in her eyes. ¡°You said that I¡¯m the real Rina


    because I did the DNA test, right? But my own father thinks you¡¯re the real me just because he watched


    your press release. Of course I¡¯m angry about that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia arched her eyebrow, and she smiled disdainfully. ¡°But you¡¯re barking up the wrong tree


    here, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Rina snorted. ¡°Who knows? You might impersonate me if you know about my father¡¯s suspicions.¡±


    ¡°And why would I do that?¡± Sonia frowned. Is she stupid or what?


    Rina bit her lip. ¡°To bait my parents and take revenge on them.¡±


    ¡°You must think I¡¯m stupid.¡± Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°Do you think identity theft is easy to pull off? Even if I


    can pull it off, I can¡¯t do it forever. Sooner orter, I¡¯ll be exposed. You might love to be Rina, but I don¡¯t.¡±


    Even though Sonia said she wouldn¡¯t do it, Rina wasn¡¯t happy at all. Instead, she was overwhelmed by


    fear. She¡¯s right. I can¡¯t keep this up for life. Someday, I¡¯ll be exposed. She doesn¡¯t know who she is for


    now, but she will someday, and I¡¯ll be finished when that happens. Naturally, she feared that.


    When Sonia saw her suddenly turning pale and horrified as if she had seen a ghost, she couldn¡¯t help


    but wonder.


    What? I didn¡¯t say anything surprising, so why the shock? Sonia tilted her head to the side, but she didn¡¯t


    think much about it, and then she left. She¡¯s paranoid. Me, trying to impersonate her? Howughable.


    Only a madman woulde up with that kind of idea.


    It was already five when she came back to thepany, so she cleared her table up and got ready to go


    home. When she was about toe out of her office, her phone rang, and she took it out. When she


    noticed that the caller was Toby, she smiled with delight and took the call. ¡°Hello?¡± Sonia had truly fallen


    in love with him again, for she could get happy just from him calling her.


    A gentle smile curled Toby¡¯s lips. ¡°Are you done with work?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m just about to go home.¡± Sonia headed to the elevator.


    ¡°Great. I¡¯m waiting for you at the parking lot. Juste over.¡± Toby rolled his window down.


    Sonia stopped for a moment, for she was even more delighted. ¡°What? The parking lot? Here? At my


    company?¡±


    ¡°Where else?¡± He chuckled.


    His voice was sexy, and it sent an electric current up Sonia¡¯s head. She tensed up, and her throat felt dry


    from all her lust burning within her. ¡°Coming right over.¡± She hung up and hurried toward the elevator.


    Toby looked at the phone. He wondered why she hung up, then he chuckled and put his phone down.


    When Tom heard himughing, he turned around. ¡°What did Miss Reed say, sir? You seem happy.¡±


    Toby looked at the car park¡¯s elevator through the car window, and he answered calmly, ¡°Nothing. She


    hung up.¡±


    The corner of Tom¡¯s lips twitched, but he said nothing. She hung up? You¡¯re happy because she hung


    up? Are you mad or stupid? He looked at Toby, who was waiting for Sonia to arrive, and he shook his


    head. I don¡¯t get men who are in love.


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    Sonia didn¡¯t let Toby wait for long. She appeared a short whileter.


    Once she came out of the elevator, Toby stepped out of the car and stood beside it.


    Sonia was wondering where he was parked, but the moment she turned around, she saw him standing


    right there. He was tall, beautiful, and shining. He stood out wherever he was, so she didn¡¯t have to look


    too hard to find him. She waved at him and held her handbag tighter as she trotted over to him.


    As Sonia came closer, Toby opened his arms. When she stood before him, she stopped for a while, then


    she opened her arms while smiling and went into his embrace as they hugged.


    Tom looked at them, then he clicked his tongue and closed his eyes. I¡¯m not looking. I¡¯m not looking.


    Ooh, I¡¯m so jealous.


    They hugged for a while before Sonia stepped back reluctantly. Toby took his scarf off and wrapped it


    around Sonia¡¯s neck. She wanted to take it off and say she didn¡¯t need it, but he stopped her. ¡°Wear it,¡±


    he said imperiously. ¡°Your hands are freezing. You¡¯ll feel better if you wear this.¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t win against his obstinance, so she wore the scarf, then she smiled at him. ¡°I made you


    this scarf, but I seem to wear it more than you do. I wonder if I made this for you or for me.¡±


    ¡°I might not always wear it, but I take it with me everywhere I go.¡± Toby straightened the scarf out.


    He wasn¡¯t lying. He took it with him at all times, and some of his employees even said he was too broke


    to afford two scarves. Hmph. I¡¯m not telling them that no scarf canpare to the one I have. ¡°Let¡¯s get


    in the car. It¡¯s warmer inside.¡± He focused on Sonia and held her hand, then they got in the car.


    Sonia followed him quietly. When she came into the car, she realized that it was Tom who was driving,


    not Toby. She said hi with a smile, and Tom turned around to smile at her.


    Toby closed the door and told Tom, ¡°Drive.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom revved the engine up.


    Sonia put her handbag aside and looked at Toby. ¡°How long have you guys been here?¡±


    ¡°Not too long. We just came when I called you.¡± Toby crossed his legs elegantly.


    Sonia blinked at him. ¡°You came just in time then.¡±


    Toby chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s no coincidence. I know you. I heard you went out earlier in the afternoon?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Sonia was surprised, then she looked at him suspiciously. ¡°Did you nt spies in


    mypany again?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head.


    Sonia didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Impossible. How did you know I went out then? You must have nted spies in


    there again.¡± Darn. I told him to take all his guys back and only leave the finance department¡¯s head for


    me. But now he has more guys in mypany again?


    ¡°I really didn¡¯t,¡± Toby defended himself again.


    Sonia still didn¡¯t believe him. Just when she was about to say something, Tom looked in the rear-view


    mirror and said, ¡°You got it wrong this time, Miss Reed. Mr. Fuller didn¡¯t send any spies over. He knows


    because Daphne told him. He called her earlier.¡±


    Sonia paused for a moment and looked at Toby. ¡°You called Daphne?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why did you call her? You could have called me if you wanted to talk to me,¡± Sonia asked curiously.

 Chapter 738

    Chapter 738


    Chapter 738 Origin


    ¡°I did, but your phone was turned off.¡± He looked at her handbag, and there was a hidden bitterness in


    his gaze. I called you, but your phone was turned off. Of course I feel wronged.


    Sonia knew what he was thinking, and the corner of her left eye twitched. ¡°Sorry. My phone was dead


    back then. I only recharged it after I got back to my car.¡±


    Toby chuckled, but he said nothing.


    Sonia looked at him, then she tugged on his arm. ¡°Are you angry?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby turned his head away.


    Sonia held her forehead. No? The word ¡®angry¡¯ is written on your face. Geez, you don¡¯t have to get


    annoyed just because my phone was dead and I missed your call. You¡¯re really bing more and


    more of a child. She was thinking all that in her mind, but Sonia hugged his arm and apologized anyway.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my fault. I should have charged it before I left home. I won¡¯t do it again, alright?¡±


    Toby turned around, but he still looked slightly miffed for whatever reason it was. ¡°Fine.¡±


    Tom almost screamed. What is up with that? Did he just go ¡®Fine, I¡¯ll forgive you because you asked me


    to?¡¯ That¡¯s what thedy should say. You¡¯re the man here, but Miss Reed has to be the one to cheer you


    up? Are you sure you should be doing that? Tom shivered, but it was not from the cold.


    Sonia was amused by his reaction, and she shook her head. ¡°Alright, stop acting like a child, you.¡± She


    nudged him with her elbow.


    Toby held her arm and pulled her into his embrace. She gasped in surprise and fell back down, then he


    held her by her waist and stopped her from breaking free. ¡°Just like that. Don¡¯t move.¡±


    Sonia wanted to sit back up, but he asked her to stay still. She knew he wanted to hug her, so she


    yed along. Sonia leaned against his chest and stopped moving, much to Toby¡¯s delight.


    Tom looked away calmly and pressed a button, then a divider slowly appeared between the front and


    backseat. Toby looked at it, and he seemed satisfied with it. Good. You¡¯re a smart man, Tom.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Toby was thinking. She leaned against his chest and fiddled with the diamond


    button on his suit. ¡°Why were you looking for me in the afternoon anyway?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I was just missing you and wanted to hear your voice,¡± Toby looked at her and muttered.


    Sonia paused for a moment and blushed, then she looked up at him. However, she couldn¡¯t see his face


    from where she was sitting. All she could see was his jaw and sexy Adam¡¯s apple. It was bobbing up and


    down as he breathed, and she wanted to touch it.


    She had never touched a man¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple before. I wonder what it feels like. Is it soft, or is it hard?


    Since Sonia was suddenly being quiet, Toby let her go and looked at her. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± She snapped out of it and shook her head. ¡°I was just thinking, we were only apart for a


    couple of hours, and you say you¡¯re already missing me. Is that a lie?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll lie to you?¡± Toby raised her chin.


    Sonia looked into his eyes. Most people in the West would have brownish-ck eyes, but Toby¡¯s eyes


    were fully obsidian. They were beautiful, but terrifyingly so. They looked like ck holes, and if someone


    were to stare at them, they would be sucked in. That was why few people would look Toby in the eye, for


    they were scared. Sonia wasn¡¯t scared, however. She thought his eyes were pretty, and she raised her


    hand to touch them.


    Toby was surprised, and he started to blink. His eyshes brushed against her palm, and it felt ticklish.


    Sheughed, and he held her hand, then he nibbled on it. ¡°Why are youughing?¡± he asked hoarsely.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Your eyshes tickled me, and I realized that they¡¯re really long.¡± She looked at his


    eyshes enviously. She couldn¡¯t believe that a man could have eyshes that long and lustrous. He


    makes me feel ashamed because my eyshes aren¡¯t even that pretty as a woman.


    Toby noticed the envy in her eyes, though it disappeared a momentter. It didn¡¯t escape him, however.


    He chuckled. ¡°Do you like them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course. They¡¯re beautiful.¡± She nodded.


    Toby¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°If you like them, you can touch them whenever you want. I shall allow it.¡±


    Sonia snorted. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like a generous offer, but now that I have a closer look, your


    features look more oriental than Western.¡± She suddenly held his face and looked closely. Wow, it¡¯s real.


    People in the West have softer faces and tend to be oval-shaped, but Toby¡¯s face doesn¡¯t look soft. It


    looks sharp. She didn¡¯t notice it since she never looked closely, so it surprised her.


    Sonia¡¯s surprise made Toby chuckle again. ¡°You¡¯re right. I have some oriental ancestors in my family


    tree.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia gasped. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°My mother¡¯s grandfather was an oriental who came to the West more than a


    century ago, and he married my mother¡¯s grandmother. They then had a son, which was my grandfather.


    Hisst name was He, but he took on a Western surname¡ªHerrias.¡±


    Realization struck Sonia. ¡°I see. Your mother¡¯s side of the family isplex.¡±


    Toby chuckled. ¡°Well, my mom¡¯s family tree is really big, so it tends to getplex.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard you talking about your mother¡¯s father before. Hey,e to think of it, I¡¯ve never heard


    of any Herrais family in the nation.¡± She tilted her head to the side and thought about it. ¡°Yep. I¡¯ve never


    heard of them.¡±


    Toby hugged her tightly. ¡°I did. I just never brought thatst name up.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°You want to hear about it?¡± Toby asked a question instead.


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    She nodded. ¡°Of course. That¡¯s why I asked these questions.¡±


    ¡°Since you want to hear it, then I shall tell you.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°Tell me, tell me,¡± she urged while shaking his arm.


    Toby patted the back of her hand and told her to calm down, then he said, ¡°I¡¯ve said that my mother¡¯s


    grandfather was an oriental, and hisst name was Herrias, right? My grandfather used thatst name


    instead of He.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia said.


    Toby continued, ¡°After my great grandfather came to the West and married my great grandmother, he


    never went back. Their child inherited my great grandfather¡¯s name, but actually, my great grandfather


    was a live-in son-inw. My great grandmother¡¯sst name was Sandstone.¡±

 Chapter 739

    Chapter 739


    Chapter 739 Cousin


    ¡°Sandstone?¡± Sonia blinked and looked at Toby. ¡°Oh, I get it. You said that the Herrais family exists, but


    they don¡¯t use that name. So your motheres from the Sandstones, right?¡±


    ¡°Smart,¡± Toby praised.


    Sonia looked embarrassed. ¡°You¡¯ve made it obvious, so if I can¡¯t even guess that, I¡¯m¡­ That¡¯s not


    important.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°But there are a lot of families in the nation with the samest name.


    Which family did your grandfathere from?¡±


    ¡°The one in Westsanshire,¡± Toby answered.


    ¡°Westsanshire¡­¡± Sonia thought about it, then her eyes widened as realization struck her. ¡°The one


    who¡¯s friends with the Salzburgs?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded.


    That was why his mother used to date Connor.


    ¡°I see. So the Sandstone Family is your mother¡¯s family, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Even though they¡¯re the Sandstones, the lynchpin is actually a Herrias, so the guys in


    Westsanshire call them the Herrias Family,¡± Toby exined.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I see. Since they¡¯re in Westsanshire, I didn¡¯t know the Sandstone Family was the Herrias


    Family, but I¡¯ve heard rumors about yourpany being at odds with Sandstone Group. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°That is true,¡± he told her honestly, and he squinted.


    The news shocked Sonia. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s real? I thought that¡¯s your mother¡¯s family. So why are they at


    odds with the Fullers?¡±


    ¡°Because the one in charge isn¡¯t my grandfather.¡± He patted her head gently, but there was only an icy


    chill in his eyes.


    Sonia could see that he was in a bad mood.


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    ¡°My great grandfather had two sons. His eldest son was my grandfather. He inherited the family


    business, but he only sired one daughter, that was my mother. After they passed away, I was supposed


    to take over, but halfway through the session, my grandfather¡¯s brother showed up and took away the


    rest,¡± Toby said coldly. ¡°My grandfather just passed away back then. I wanted him to rest in peace and


    keep things under control, so I didn¡¯t fight them. I let them take the inheritance away.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you mad about that?¡± Sonia looked at him.


    Toby chuckled. ¡°No. What they took was just something that¡¯ll be obsolete in the near future. It just


    looked valuable back then. I think you¡¯ve heard about their financials being in hot soup now, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia adjusted her position. ¡°I read finance news a lot. Last week, I saw an analysis on their


    company¡¯s situation. The news said they¡¯re working on a sunset industry, and they¡¯ll be booted out of the


    business world if they don¡¯t change soon. I actually thought it was sad that an oldpany was going to


    be bankrupt. I thought they should go with the flow instead of stubbornly insisting on the old ways. Now


    that I know they¡¯re actually robbers, I don¡¯t feel sorry anymore.¡±


    She could see that Toby hated the Sandstones, so she wasn¡¯t afraid he would be upset if she said that.


    And as expected, Toby wasn¡¯t upset at all. In fact, he smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s no point pitying them now. They thought they got something good, but it¡¯s really


    something I don¡¯t care about. Even if they didn¡¯t take it, I would have given them half of the inheritance


    and worked with them too. Before he died, my grandfather said he owed his brother a lot, so I would


    have given them half of the inheritance anyway, but¡­¡± Toby squinted.


    Sonia looked at him sadly. ¡°But they let you down.¡±


    Toby massaged his forehead. ¡°They did. Theirpany started to rot years and years ago. They came


    to me four years ago, asking me to help them, but I refused. That¡¯s how I am. I would help them if I was


    the one who gave them the business, but since they took it forcefully from me, what happens to them


    has nothing to do with me. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t help. They started a smear campaign against us after they


    went back. That¡¯s why you heard the rumors about us being at odds.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia smiled. ¡°I get it, but they can do what they want. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re your grandfather¡¯s


    descendants anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I never really cared about what they were up to.¡± Toby smiled. ¡°But I¡¯m actually friends with their


    second family.¡±


    Sonia stretched her arms. ¡°Second family?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s the brother of the current head of the Sandstone Family¡ªmy uncle. He knows he¡¯s not in line


    for the inheritance, so he didn¡¯t work with his brother back then. He protected my mother when they were


    kids, so the bond is still there. That¡¯s the only bond I have with the Sandstones.¡± Toby straightened out


    her clothes which had gotten messy after she stretched her arms.


    Sonia curled up in his embrace. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen his daughter before. She¡¯s my cousin.¡± Toby suddenly remembered something, and he


    looked at her.


    Sonia looked at him curiously. ¡°Cousin? I don¡¯t remember seeing her before.¡±


    ¡°The one who danced with me back at the ball,¡± Toby answered.


    Sonia thought about it for a few moments, then she sat up. ¡°Oh, so she¡¯s your cousin?¡± Back then, she


    went to the ball with Zane while Toby went with another woman. That woman wasn¡¯t exactly gorgeous,


    but she was tall, and her air was regal. Sonia thought she was a model. Toby had chatted and drank with


    her, and he had even danced with her. Sonia had thought the woman was a richdy who caught his


    eyes. So she¡¯s his cousin? Oh, darn. Sonia blushed as she felt awkward about her misunderstanding.


    Toby arched his eyebrow curiously when he saw her blushing. ¡°Why are you blushing?¡±


    ¡°Well, I misunderstood your cousin.¡± She stared down sheepishly.


    Toby squinted. ¡°Is that so? What kind of misunderstanding was it?¡±


    ¡°Stop asking. It¡¯s embarrassing!¡± She covered her face.


    Huh? Oh, I see. I get it now. Toby started chuckling.


    Hisugh only made her feel more embarrassed. ¡°Stopughing!¡± She red at him. I know I thought


    she was his new love-interest, but it¡¯s only natural. He was so close with her. He started the whole thing,


    and now he¡¯sughing?


    Toby knew she was feeling awkward, so he stoppedughing and cleared his throat. ¡°Alright, alright. Put


    your hand down. Stop covering your face. Can you even breathe through that?¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t move, so Toby, left with no choice, did it himself. He pulled her hand away, but she was still


    blushing, and he pinched her cheek.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She quickly retreated.


    Toby smirked. ¡°Nothing. I just think you¡¯re looking a bit too hot, so I¡¯m cooling you down.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Sonia fidgeted.


    Toby knew she got embarrassed easily, so he stopped teasing her. He changed the topic and asked,


    ¡°Where did you go this afternoon anyway?¡±

 Chapter 740

    Chapter 740


    Chapter 740 Respect for Her


    ¡°The hospital,¡± Sonia adjusted her position as she answered him truthfully.


    Toby tensed up right away. He held her hand and looked at her closely. ¡°The hospital? Why? Are you


    feeling unwell?¡± He sounded worried.


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia felt touched that Toby was so worried about her, and she smiled. ¡°Dr. Lancaster said it was


    time for my followup, and he gave me a new prescription.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby heaved a sigh of relief, and he could rest easy after knowing that she was fine. Then he


    asked, ¡°Did he say anything about your condition?¡±


    ¡°He did.¡± She nodded.


    ¡°What is it? How¡¯s your recovery going?¡± Toby looked at her with great concern.


    She met his gaze, then she remembered what Tim told her, and she started to blush once more.


    Toby was surprised that she was starting to blush instead of answering his question, and he arched his


    eyebrow. ¡°What is it? Is it something you can¡¯t say?¡±


    She stared down, and her voice was barely a whisper. ¡°Ahem. Not really.¡±


    But that only piqued Toby¡¯s interest. ¡°What did he say? Tell me.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Must I really?¡± She pushed a lock of her hair back. Sonia was reluctant to talk.


    When he saw her ears turning red, he could guess that Tim must have said something really private. He


    was curious about it, so he nodded. ¡°Yes. You said it¡¯s nothing big, so it¡¯s no big deal if you tell me,


    right?¡±


    Sonia shut up for a moment. A whileter, she finally arrived at a decision, and she looked at him. ¡°Fine.


    It¡¯s nothing big anyway. You¡¯ll ask him even if I don¡¯t tell you, so let¡¯s just cut out the middleman.¡±


    Toby smiled, since Sonia was right. If she wouldn¡¯t tell him, he would ask Tim, and he would know what


    she was hiding in the end. It would be better if she told him right away. ¡°Tell me then.¡± He nodded, telling


    her to talk.


    She took a deep breath and told him the gist of what Tim said to her.


    Toby wasn¡¯t embarrassed at all. Instead, he nodded seriously. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll do as he says then.¡±


    Embarrassed, Sonia buried her head in his embrace and refused to get up.


    Her embarrassment made Toby chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re already shy now? What will you do when we get to


    fourth base then?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that when the timees,¡± she said softly. She knew sex would happen sooner orter


    after she dated him, so she didn¡¯t say she wouldn¡¯t do it. She just needed time.


    The light in Toby¡¯s eyes dimmed, and he huddled closer to whisper to her, ¡°And the time wille soon


    enough. I know your period¡¯s over.¡± It¡¯s been so many days. She has to be done. If not, I¡¯ll have to send


    her to a hospital to get checked.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯ve been counting the days, haven¡¯t you?¡± He counted my days? Oh my god.


    Toby knew she was misunderstanding something, so he exined, ¡°Yes, but not because I want to have


    sex. I just want to know about your cycle so I can take care of you the next time ites.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°I believe you, but I know you¡¯re also counting the days to know when to have sex


    with me.¡±


    Well, she got me. Toby was embarrassed that Sonia exposed him right away even though he was usually


    shameless. He coughed awkwardly, and heughed. ¡°Fine, I admit it. Yes, but I won¡¯t force you. I said I


    would give you time to prepare.¡±


    He did want to get intimate with her and secure his spot as boyfriend in the rtionship, butpared to


    that, he would rather respect her wishes first.


    Sonia knew Toby was being genuine, and it calmed her pounding heart down. She blinked a few times,


    and she finally smiled. ¡°Thank you. I-I¡¯ll do my best to fully ept you.¡±


    They did have sex once, but she had been drunk and drugged. It had happened out of nowhere, and she


    didn¡¯t even remember anything. She didn¡¯t know if she was embarrassed or not about it then, but now


    that she was sober, she knew that if she wasn¡¯t prepared, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do it with him.


    Toby kissed her forehead. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll wait for you then, but can you raise your head? Don¡¯t you feel


    suffocated?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia shook her head.


    Since she wasn¡¯t getting up, Toby chuckled and stopped persuading her. As long as she¡¯s fine with it.


    And I really like her sticking to me. He ced his hand on her waist and hugged her tightly.


    Sonia suddenly remembered something, and she said, ¡°Oh. I saw Julia and Taylor at the hospital today.¡±


    Toby wasn¡¯t surprised. He yed with her hair and asked lovingly, ¡°And?¡± He knew Titus was


    hospitalized again, so he wasn¡¯t surprised she met them. He only wondered what their conversations


    were like.


    ¡°And it¡¯s weird.¡± She finally got up and looked at him, then she frowned. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with them.


    They kept saying weird stuff to me, especially Julia. I met her first, and we were in the same elevator.


    She actually asked if I was sick. But weirdly enough, she wasn¡¯t being sarcastic. I could see that she was


    concerned about me. That was shocking.¡±


    Toby tightened his hug, and he finally got serious.


    Sonia noticed that he was quiet and seemed to be spacing out, so she nudged him. ¡°What are you


    spacing out for?¡±


    Toby looked away. ¡°Nothing. What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± She shook her head. ¡°More precisely, before I could say anything, she realized that she must


    have sounded a bit mad, so she quickly said she wasn¡¯t concerned about me. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t say


    anything. I got to my floor and went out, but she wouldn¡¯t stop seeing me off. I didn¡¯t look back, but I


    know that there was no malice in her gaze. For some reason, there was¡­ love in her eyes. God, that


    gave me goosebumps. What¡¯s wrong with her? Why did she change her attitude toward me?¡±


    ¡°Maybe she still suspects you,¡± Toby suddenly said.

 Chapter 741

    Chapter 741


    Chapter 741 Move


    Sonia knew what he was talking about, and she was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re saying she still thinks I¡¯m Rina?


    That¡¯s why she acted that way?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°No other exnation fits the bill. That¡¯s probably why she changed her attitude.¡±


    Sonia thought about it for a while. ¡°You¡¯re right. I can¡¯t think of any other exnation for this. Julia hated


    my guts until today, but I bet they know how ludicrous their suspicion is now. The real Rina is right beside


    them, after all. They should have known I¡¯m not the real Rina.¡±


    ¡°Titus has probably gotten over it and knows you¡¯re not Rina, but not Julia. Like I said, she still thinks


    you¡¯re Rina. Women are always more sentimental when ites to matters like this, especially when


    said woman is a mother.¡± Toby looked at her.


    He was still hiding something from her. Even if Julia knew Sonia wasn¡¯t her daughter, the thought that


    she could be Rina wouldn¡¯t be that easy to wipe out once it had formed. Every time she saw Sonia, she


    would be reminded of that thought, and she would act weird around Sonia. For example, she would be


    concerned about her situation.


    If this went on, Julia would care more about Sonia, and she might even think of Sonia as her own


    daughter, for blood bonds were always mysterious. When that time came, Julia would suspect that Sonia


    was Rina again.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. She agreed with his analysis, and she nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right.


    Women are always more sentimental than men are. I can see why Julia acted so weird around me.¡±


    Toby had mixed feelings about the matter, so he changed the topic. ¡°And what did Taylor say to you?¡±


    She pouted. ¡°Even weirder stuff. She asked me if I think I¡¯m Rina or something.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face fell. ¡°She really said that?¡± What was she doing? Isn¡¯t she worried Sonia might suspect


    something?


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yeah. She told me all that because she¡¯s jealous.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby squinted.


    Sonia sneered. ¡°She told me that Titus suspects that I might be Rina after he watched the press


    conference, and she asked me that because she¡¯s worried I might take her ce and dupe the Grays so


    I can take revenge on them. Something must be wrong with her.¡± She pointed at the side of her head


    speechlessly. ¡°How on earth did shee up with that idea?¡±


    Toby was silent for a while. He never thought Taylor could actuallye up with a good exnation for


    such a tant lie, and Sonia bought it. Toby looked at her. I don¡¯t me Sonia. She wouldn¡¯t think she


    was the real Rina, nor would she even have that idea in the first ce. She has to believe Taylor. Even if


    she knows Taylor is lying, she mustn¡¯t expose her. ¡°Don¡¯t take what she said to heart.¡±


    ¡°I know. I don¡¯t care about stupid stuff like that.¡± She smiled.


    Toby grunted, then he asked, ¡°Did she ask you any other question?¡± Like if you have a red mark or a


    birthmark? If she does, then it¡¯s going to be trouble.


    Fortunately, Sonia shook her head. ¡°No.¡±


    Toby heaved a sigh of relief in silence. ¡°Good to hear.¡±


    Sonia looked at him curiously. ¡°You sound relieved that they didn¡¯t ask me anything else. Are you hiding


    something from me?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby put on a calm look and held her hand. ¡°I¡¯m just worried Julia might ask you some hard


    questions and mock you,¡± he said calmly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She didn¡¯t do that this time.¡± Sonia shrugged. ¡°And since she cared about me for some


    reason, I didn¡¯t argue back like I always did. It¡¯s the first time we got along peacefully, and honestly, it


    feels fine.¡±


    She truly felt it was fine. Even if she didn¡¯t argue with Julia, staying with her enemy in a confined space


    would still be a bad experience for her, but not this time. She didn¡¯t feel any animosity from Julia, nor was


    there any tension in the air. She just felt awkward, and she had mixed feelings about it. Overall, it was a


    nice experience, and she didn¡¯t feel ufortable.


    Sonia was wondering why she could get along with Julia that one time. When Toby saw her expression,


    he pursed his lips. Sonia didn¡¯t know the reason, but he did. They¡¯re mother and daughter. Actual mother


    and daughter. They know nothing about this, but the bond is there. It¡¯s a magical thing. Even if two


    brothers were separated from birth and had no idea they had a sibling, they¡¯d still feel close to their


    brother if they saw each other one day.


    That was how powerful bonds were. That was why Sonia could get along well with Julia and didn¡¯t even


    argue with her. However, he couldn¡¯t tell her that. He knew it was unfair to her, but it was for her own


    good. Besides, he wasn¡¯t nning on hiding it from her forever. He would tell her who she really was


    once Titus was dead. Once he passed away, the Grays would be no more, and he wouldn¡¯t have to


    worry about her breaking down because of her identity in the feud between the Grays and Reeds.


    Sonia noticed Toby spacing out again, and she stared at him as she ced her left cheek in her


    hand.¡°You spaced out again.¡±


    Toby quickly snapped out of it.


    Sonia was about to ask him what he was thinking about and why he spaced out twice, but then the


    divider rolled down, and Tom looked at them in the rear-view mirror. ¡°We¡¯re here, sir, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fast.¡± She forgot about her questions and rolled the window down, and she saw Bayside


    Residence standing not far away.


    ¡°I kept talking to you and didn¡¯t pay attention.¡± She rolled the window back up.


    Toby chuckled. ¡°That means I¡¯m all you think about.¡±


    ¡°You think too highly of yourself.¡± She rolled her eyes, but she didn¡¯t refute that.


    Toby beamed.


    Sonia noticed the look in his eyes, and she felt embarrassed, then she turned away. ¡°I¡¯ll get out now.¡±


    She got out of the car right away.


    Toby opened the door on his side and got out, then he told Tom, ¡°Take the luggage up.¡±


    Tom just got out of the car as well. ¡°Yes,¡± he said, then he went to the trunk.


    Sonia was curious. ¡°What luggage?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer, so Tom did it for him. ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Fuller¡¯s. There¡¯s his clothes and necessities. He said


    you won¡¯t move to his ce so soon, so that¡¯s why he opted to move to your ce instead. I had to pack


    his stuff. Two crates of it.¡±


    Tom took two gigantic luggage out of the trunk. The luggage reached Sonia¡¯s waist, and when she saw it,


    the corner of her lip twitched. ¡°You really think of my ce as your home, huh?¡±

 Chapter 742

    Chapter 742


    Chapter 742 Key Card


    She didn¡¯t even say he could move in with her, but he was already prepared to stay under the same roof


    with her.


    Toby chuckled. ¡°Well, your ce is my ce, right? Since it¡¯s also my ce, I get to live in it too, no? So


    let¡¯s skip all the formalities.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think my ce is cramped? Can you get used to it?¡± Sonia crossed her arms and looked at


    him.


    Toby smiled. ¡°Yes. As long as it¡¯s with you, I can take it no matter how cramped it is.¡±


    Sonia smiled. ¡°You might be lying to me though.¡± She had to say that she was happy Toby would do it for


    her.


    ¡°I won¡¯t. I always tell you the truth. I wouldn¡¯t have moved here otherwise.¡± He looked at Tom¡ªwho was


    holding the luggage¡ªand he nodded. ¡°Take it upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom answered.


    Toby looked away and held Sonia¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go. He can do it himself.¡±


    ¡°A minute.¡± Instead of going in with him, Sonia looked back at the luggage. ¡°Are they heavy, Tom? If they


    are, I¡ª¡±


    He knew what she was about to say, so he waved her off. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Miss Reed. I can do this alone.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia pointed at the luggage.


    Before Tom could answer, Toby pushed her hand down. ¡°There are wheels under the luggage. He


    doesn¡¯t need to hold them all the time. If he can¡¯t even do this, I would have wasted my money on him.¡±


    He shot Tom a cold look.


    Tom cursed silently, but outwardly, he was smiling. ¡°Mr. Fuller is right. Don¡¯t worry about me, Miss Reed.¡±


    I¡¯ll pick Miss Reed any day of the week. She¡¯s so much friendlier than this demon.


    Since Tom wasn¡¯t insisting, Sonia nodded. ¡°I see. Thank you then, Tom.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s my job.¡± Tom let one luggage go and adjusted his sses.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Toby didn¡¯t want to waste any more time in the parking lot. He wanted to go up, so he held her


    hand and went to the elevator.


    Sonia could see that he was in a hurry, and she shook her head in amusement. ¡°Slow down.¡±


    Toby said nothing, but he slowed down.


    It didn¡¯t take them long toe back to her home. She took her card out and swiped it on the electronic


    lock, and the door opened. She was about to put her card back into her handbag, but she realized that


    Toby was looking at her hand, and she looked up at him.


    He didn¡¯t realize she was looking at him, and his gaze was still locked on the card she was holding. He


    wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. Sonia arched her eyebrow, and sheughed. It¡¯s so


    obvious what he wants. ¡°Give me your hand,¡± she crossed her arms andmanded.


    Toby was curious, but he raised his hand as she said. ¡°Why?¡±


    Instead of answering, she keptmanding, ¡°Open it. Palm up.¡±


    Toby did as he was told, and she stopped crossing her arms, then she put the white card in his hand,


    much to his surprise. ¡°This is¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t want it?¡± Sonia smiled at Toby, who was dumbfounded. ¡°You kept staring at it, and I


    thought you wanted it. Well, if you don¡¯t want it, then I¡¯ll take it back.¡±


    She extended her hand and pretended she would take it back.


    The moment she did, Toby held the card tightly and pulled his hand back, then he kept it in his suit¡¯s


    pocket and patted it carefully. Sonia was watching as he did so. ¡°I want this. Since you gave it to me,


    then it¡¯s mine.¡± A smile curled his lips, and he looked obviously delighted.


    Sonia covered her mouth and chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s just a key card. Do you have to be so happy about it?¡±


    He looked at her. ¡°Of course. You gave me your home¡¯s key, so that means you acknowledge me, and


    you¡¯re saying I can move in. Of course I¡¯m happy. I¡¯m keeping this card well.¡±


    ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better, I would have thought you¡¯re taking it as a family heirloom.¡± Sonia was amused.


    He gave me his ce¡¯s key two days ago, but I wasn¡¯t even this excited.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Even though Sonia was just teasing him, Toby actually patted the key card and thought about it. ¡°Family


    heirloom?¡±


    Sonia had a bad feeling about it, and the corner of her lips twitched. ¡°You¡¯re getting some ideas, aren¡¯t


    you?¡±


    He nodded seriously. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I can consider it.¡±


    Sonia was horrified. ¡°Please don¡¯t. Stop considering it. It was just a joke. It¡¯s just a card, so there¡¯s no


    value in passing it down.¡±


    ¡°There is.¡± Toby was still looking serious. ¡°I can tell our kids that this is proof that their parents finally


    started living together. And they can tell their kids about it.¡±


    Sonia was dumbfounded, then she went into her home, sighing. She was half amused, half annoyed.


    ¡°Kids and grandkids? You sure know how to joke, Toby.¡± How did he evene up with that?


    Toby went in after her. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just put your luggage down. I¡¯ll make dinner.¡± She ced her handbag down and picked the


    apron up from the chair at the dining table. She started tying it up, and Toby went over to help her. She


    didn¡¯t say no, and she let her hands go.


    Toby tied her apron up and answered, ¡°Tom can do that. I¡¯ll help you with dinner.¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Sonia quickly turned around. ¡°You want to help?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡± He nodded again.


    Sonia suddenlyughed. ¡°Forget it. Thest time you helped¡ª¡±


    Before she could finish, he suddenly held her shoulder and turned her around so that she was facing


    him. A while of silenceter, Toby looked away first, since he was feeling embarrassed from the look


    Sonia was giving him. He coughed awkwardly, then he said, ¡°I liedst time. I was only starting to cook


    so I couldn¡¯t help much, but now, I¡¯ve mastered a lot of cuisines, so I can do it. I can make dinner tonight,


    and you can see how I do. Is that fine?¡±


    Sonia arched an eyebrow. ¡°Are you for real?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± He arched his eyebrow as well. ¡°I was nning on cooking for you after I¡¯ve fully mastered


    the skills of culinary. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I can¡¯t wait any longer.¡±


    Since he wanted to prove himself, Sonia wouldn¡¯t take the chance away from him. She untied her apron


    and handed it to him. ¡°Alright. You do it then. I¡¯m looking forward to tonight¡¯s dinner.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be disappointed.¡± Toby smiled and took the apron from her. He was confident in his repertoire,


    and he knew he would really surprise her.

 Chapter 743

    Chapter 743


    Chapter 743 Toby¡¯s Cooking


    When Sonia heard how confident Toby sounded, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a growing sense of


    anticipation for the oue. ¡°Okay, I trust you. Turn around,¡± she uttered with a smile.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby was puzzled. When Sonia pointed at the apron in his hand, he finally understood what


    she meant. His eyes lit up a little as he turned to face his back against her. She took the apron from him


    before tying it around his waist. Once she was done, she gave him a pat on the back. ¡°Alright. You may


    head to the kitchen for your duties now, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go now!¡± Toby nodded before marching to the kitchen. Sonia chuckled as she watched him leave.


    Momentster, she shouted for him as she recalled something. ¡°Do you need my help, Mr. Fuller?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby waved his arm without turning around. ¡°I can do it on my own.¡± He was worried that she might


    laugh at him if he made a mistake, so he figured that it¡¯d be better for him to get his work done behind


    closed doors. Even if he made a mistake, he¡¯d be able to fix things without having her catch him. He


    didn¡¯t want her to think that he was bluffing.


    Sonia shrugged when Toby rejected her offer to help. ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll help you with your luggage,¡± she


    offered.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Toby called out from the kitchen. She smiled as she turned around and headed toward the


    bedroom. When she got there, she found Tom squatting on the ground with two huge luggages in front of


    him. He had opened both the luggages, but he was squatting in front of them without moving. He looked


    like he was contemting something.


    When Tom heard the sound of footsteps, he turned around to find Sonia behind him. ¡°Miss Reed,¡± he


    greeted as he hastily got to his feet and smiled.


    ¡°Tom, what were you¡­¡±


    Tom let out a bitterugh as he scratched the back of his head. ¡°Well, you see, Miss Reed¡­ Didn¡¯t


    President Fuller ask me to unpack his luggage earlier? I wanted to do that, but this is your room and not


    his. I¡¯m a man, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Sonia chuckled when she understood what Tom meant. ¡°We left you in a tough situation


    there. You can go get some rest; I¡¯ll unpack his luggage for him.¡± Tom¡¯s right. This is my room, and all my


    things are here. Tom¡¯s an outsider, and he might identally see some of my stuff while he¡¯s unpacking


    for Toby. There might even be some secret items lying around! It¡¯s no wonder Tom seemed so clueless


    for a while. It makes sense that he would squat around without knowing how to start unpacking.


    A look of pure relief appeared on Tom¡¯s face when he heard Sonia¡¯s words. He immediately pressed his


    palms together as a gesture of gratitude. ¡°Thank you, Miss Reed. Sorry for troubling you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all.¡± Sonia shook her head lightly. Once Tom hurried out of the room, Sonia went to the


    spot where Tom had been squatting. She got into the same position as Tom had been in before she


    scanned Toby¡¯s luggages to see what he had brought. After seeing all that he had brought, Sonia


    pressed her palm against her forehead.


    Hmm, although two luggages don¡¯t seem like they can fit a lot, there¡¯s practically everything that Toby


    needs in here. His daily items, his clothes, his essories¡­ I¡¯ll have to empty out an entire wardrobe for


    all his stuff. At that thought, Sonia looked up to stare at the wall opposite her. The wall was about 65 feet


    wide, and the entire stretch was actually her wardrobe.


    Sonia was a woman, after all¡ªshe had a lot of clothes, essories, bags and so on. Since Sonia lived


    in her condominium and hadn¡¯t moved back into the Reed Residence, she no longer had a walk-in


    wardrobe. Instead, she had a long stretch of wardrobe thaty hidden behind the walls. However, most


    of the space had been taken up by her items, so it would require some amount of effort for her to empty


    out some space for Toby.


    Sonia rubbed her cheeks as she thought about how tiring it would be to move all the items out of her


    wardrobe. However, she eventually got up to open the cupboards to figure out which spaces to clear.


    After taking a long look at her whole wardrobe, she decided that it would be easier to move her bags and


    essories elsewhere. She therefore decided that she would empty out that space for Toby¡¯s items.


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    Uponing to that decision, Sonia rolled her sleeves up and got to work immediately. More than one


    hour had passed when she finally finished clearing her bags and essories out to make space for


    Toby¡¯s clothes and other items. Sonia hadn¡¯t stopped for a break throughout the whole hour, and she


    only realized how much her body ached after she was done with her task.


    With one hand massaging her back, Sonia shuffled over to her bed before she sat down. The wardrobe


    was right in front of her, and she felt a sudden surge of satisfaction when she saw all of Toby¡¯s clothes


    and items on the left side while hers remained on the right.


    Initially, Sonia assumed that it¡¯d feel like someone had invaded her territory when she first saw Toby¡¯s


    items hanging around in her closet. However, when she saw her clothes hanging beside Toby¡¯s, she


    realized that she didn¡¯t feel invaded at all. In fact, it felt rather nice. She wondered if Toby felt the same


    way when he arranged for his wardrobe to be shared with her in the past.


    As she was caught up in her thoughts, she heard someone knocking on the door from outside. ¡°Food¡¯s


    ready, Little Leaf.¡± Sonia got to her feet when she heard the man¡¯s voice. ¡°Okay! I¡¯ming.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±¡¯ Toby was silent after that. She bent down and gathered his luggages before dragging one in


    each hand to leave the room. The moment she opened the door, she found the man standing in front of


    her. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sonia was shocked. She patted her chest as she stared at the man grumpily.


    ¡°Are you a doorman or something?¡±


    ¡°I was waiting for you,¡± he uttered before pressing his lips together. Then, his gaze fell on the luggages in


    her hands. ¡°What are those?¡±


    ¡°I emptied your luggage, and these bags don¡¯t fit in the room, so I thought I¡¯d keep them in the study.¡±


    Sonia patted the bags as she spoke. He reached his arm over to take the bags from her. ¡°I should be the


    one doing these things,¡± he uttered before bringing both the luggages toward the study.


    She tagged along behind him and looked around the house to see that they were the only two people at


    home. ¡°Where¡¯s Tom?¡± she asked.


    Toby opened the study door. ¡°I told him to go home,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get him to stay for a meal?¡± Sonia uttered while looking at Toby¡¯s back.


    All of a sudden, the man halted his footsteps and paused before turning around. ¡°Why would I tell him to


    stay? I prepared this meal for you¡ªhow could I allow someone else to enjoy my food? Have you seen


    an employer preparing a meal for his staff?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I guess not.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Toby turned away before lifting his chin up. ¡°He¡¯ll never get a chance to try my cooking. I¡¯ll only


    cook for you.¡±


    Sonia giggled. ¡°Should I feel proud?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should feel proud?¡± Toby tilted his head to the side and gave her a sideways nce.


    Sonia nodded hastily. ¡°Of course. I do feel proud right now. You¡¯re the Fuller Group¡¯s president, after all.


    You¡¯re a man who has consistently maintained his spot in the Top 5 of Forbes¡¯ World¡¯s Billionaire List, yet


    you¡¯re preparing a meal for me. I¡¯m the only woman in the world who will get a chance to experience


    such treatment! If the public knows about this, all of the women who admire you will probably feel


    extremely jealous of me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you know.¡± Toby scoffed. ¡°So, you should keep your eye on me and cherish me to make


    sure that I don¡¯t get stolen by some other woman.¡±


    Sonia wasughing so hard that she had to bend over and clutch her belly. ¡°You¡¯re really taking my


    words seriously, huh? Fine. Put the luggages aside so that we can eat. I¡¯m waiting to have a taste of your


    cooking.¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡± Toby no longer took his sweet time when he heard that Sonia was eager to taste his


    cooking. He hastily kept the luggages away before walking out of the study. By then, Sonia was already


    standing beside the dining table with both her hands pressed against the table. She stared at the few


    dishes in front of her without looking away.


    Toby walked over and hugged her from behind. ¡°What do you think?¡±

 Chapter 744

    Chapter 744


    Chapter 744 A Celebration


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    ¡°This looks pretty good,¡± Sonia uttered as she turned to look at the man whose face was directly beside


    hers.


    ¡°Really?¡± Toby turned to look at her as well. She nodded. ¡°Yeah. The ting of the food might be rather


    odd, but the colors of the dishes look really good. For a beginner¡¯s standard, this deserves a thumbs up.¡±


    Sonia stuck her thumb up in front of the man as she spoke. Initially, Sonia assumed that his dishes


    wouldn¡¯t be too great even if he put in the effort to learn cooking.


    However, she just realized that she had gotten it wrong. Although she couldn¡¯t tell if the food was good


    until she tasted it, just the smell and the color of the dishes told her that it would taste average, if not


    amazing. Toby smirked when he saw how amazed Sonia seemed by his cooking. Then, he released his


    arm around her waist to pull one of the chairs back. He pulled her closer to the chair and pressed her


    shoulders to make her sit down before he handed her some cutleries. ¡°Try it! Tell me how it tastes,¡± he


    urged.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Sonia replied with a smile. She was just as eager to taste the dishes, anyway. With her cutleries


    in her hands, Sonia nced at the few dishes in front of her while contemting which to try first.


    Fortunately, she had never been an indecisive individual, so she came to a conclusion pretty soon. She


    picked the dish that was the closest to her.


    Toby had prepared a total of three dishes¡ªan omelet, some grilled meat, and fried vegetables. All of


    these were some of the mostmonly seen dishes in any household, but these weren¡¯t dishes that


    would typically appear in the Fuller Residence. The Fullers¡¯ chefs were Michelin star chefs who didn¡¯t


    necessarily specialize in suchmon dishes. Sonia was certain that Toby hadn¡¯t tasted regr food


    like these in the past.


    After all, Tom would never get Toby such a simple meal even when they ate out. Most of the time, Tom


    would order meals from high-end restaurants. That exined why Sonia was so shocked when she first


    saw the dishes that Toby had prepared. However, upon further thought, Sonia realized how almost every


    beginner would start by preparing these basic dishes. She no longer felt as surprised after that.


    In the end, Sonia chose to try the omelet first. Toby¡¯s eyes followed the egg in her spoon as she raised it


    to her mouth. ¡°How is it?¡¯ Toby pulled out a chair beside her to sit down as he questioned her. Sonia


    didn¡¯t respond immediately¡ªshe was busy chewing on her food. After chewing for a while more, she


    turned to look at the man. His expression seemed as calm as usual, but Sonia could tell that he was


    rather nervous when she observed his actions a little more. Is he worried that I might say his cooking


    isn¡¯t good?


    Sonia smiled at that thought. ¡°I can¡¯t give you an answer since I only tried one of the dishes. I need to try


    the rest of them before giving you an answer.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Continue eating,¡± Toby ordered as he used his cutleries to scoop out portions of the two other


    dishes onto her te. As Sonia proceeded with her taste-testing, Toby continued to stare at her. He no


    longer asked her how it tasted, but he frowned as he watched her finish the food on her te. The


    anxiousness in his eyes seemed to increase with every passing moment.


    When she saw how nervous he seemed, she couldn¡¯t help but giggle. I think I might be the only person


    who can evoke such feelings of nervousness within this man. I have to say, I do feel pretty happy to


    watch him getting all worried over my opinion. It shows that he only gets emotional when ites to


    things rted to me.


    After finishing the food on her te, Sonia lowered her cutleries and wiped her mouth with a piece of


    tissue. ¡°Sonia,¡± Toby called. He was clearly asking for her to give him somements. However, she


    pretended not to hear him calling her. Instead, she sipped on her ss of water while maintaining the


    suspense in the air.


    At this point, Toby pressed his lips into a thin line before calling her with a deeper voice. ¡°Sonia!¡±


    She knew that he was getting impatient, so sheughed and broke the suspense. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± she


    uttered while giving his hand a squeeze. ¡°I won¡¯t take my time anymore. Calm down, I¡¯ll talk now.¡±


    ¡°Tell me!¡± Toby lifted his chin a little as he waited for her to speak. Sonia stared at him for a while before


    she held her thumb up once more. ¡°This is pretty good!¡±


    Toby felt a weight being lifted off his chest when he saw Sonia¡¯s thumb. Although he had some


    confidence in his cooking skills, he wasn¡¯t sure if Sonia would like it. Everyone had different tastes in


    food, after all. Fortunately, she seemed to enjoy his cooking in the end. As much as he wanted to control


    himself from grinning, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a smile.


    In the end, he had to rest his chin on his palm in order to block Sonia¡¯s view of his lips. After clearing his


    throat, he spoke in an especially calm voice. ¡°You can continue eating if you like it.¡± Toby began scooping


    more portions of the food for her right after he finished speaking. The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched


    when she saw the huge pile of food gathering on her te¡ªshe didn¡¯t know what to feel at that point.


    However, the man was on cloud nine at that point, and he didn¡¯t seem to consider the fact that she might


    not be able to finish her food. He continued piling food onto her te until she reached her hand over to


    stop him. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stop giving me food. I won¡¯t be able to finish any more than what I have here.


    You don¡¯t want to waste this!¡±


    Toby¡¯s hand halted mid-way as he raised an eyebrow and stared at her te. Hmm, that does seem like


    a lot of food. I must have forgotten myself after she praised me earlier. I can¡¯t even think straight! That¡¯s


    why I kept piling food onto her te. I hadn¡¯t expected her te to be so full. He immediately lowered his


    cutleries. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I wasn¡¯t paying attention. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll eat whatever you can¡¯t finish, so it won¡¯t be a


    waste.¡±


    ¡°Mark your words!¡± Sonia rested her head on her palm as she turned tough at him.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Toby uttered with a nod. Sonia held up her own cutleries before giving him some of the food on


    her te. ¡°This is yours, then. You prepared this, so I can¡¯t have it all on my own. You should eat more


    after working so hard on this.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard work.¡± Toby couldn¡¯t seem to stop himself from smiling. All of a sudden, Sonia got to her


    feet as she seemed to recall something. ¡°What is it?¡± Toby looked up at her.


    ¡°I just recalled that I have another bottle of wine.¡± Sonia put her cutleries aside. ¡°Let¡¯s have a drink. It¡¯s


    your first time cooking for me, and I think you deserve a celebration.¡± She headed off to take the wine,


    but Toby quickly held her hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just a meal. There¡¯s no need for a celebration.¡±


    ¡°Of course there is.¡± Sonia eyed the man with a sincere look in her eyes. ¡°I believe there are a lot of firsts


    which deserve to be celebrated. We¡¯re humans¡ªwe need some spark and romance in our lives, or life


    would get boring otherwise. This is also my way of showing you that I value your cooking,¡± Sonia uttered


    before she pulled her arm away from his. Then, she shed him a smile before hurrying over to the


    study.


    Toby let out a deep chuckle when he saw her tiny figure moving away. The tenderness in his eyes


    seemed to spread into the air around him. What she had said made him extremely happy¡ªshe had


    highlighted that both men and women had the right to be valued and cherished. Sonia clearly cherished


    Toby¡¯s actions as she insisted on having a celebration when he had just prepared a simple meal.


    He felt really touched by this. Soon enough, Sonia appeared with a bottle of red wine that was still


    sealed. ¡°Let me do it,¡± Toby urged as he took the bottle over.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia passed him the corkscrew. She didn¡¯t bother to insist on the job as she knew that it


    required a lot of strength to tug the cork out of the wine bottle. This is a man¡¯s job, she thought. While


    Toby worked on opening the bottle, he nced at thebel of the bottle. ¡°This wine looks really good,¡± he


    uttered in a surprised tone.

 Chapter 745

    Chapter 745


    Chapter 745 Extremely Expensive Wine


    The wine was made out of the first batch of wild grapes that was grown in Cave Vineyard ten years ago.


    The first batch of wild grapes was a smaller batch that had produced less wine than the other batches,


    so there were only a total of 100 bottles of wine made. These were practically sold out the moment it was


    put on sale. Due to the limited avability of wine, the price of one bottle was extremely high. The first 50


    bottles cost almost 5 million for one, while the remaining 50 bottles were a little cheaper¡ªabout 3 to 4


    million each.


    Although the wine was pricey, there were also a lot of wealthy individuals who could afford it. Its sales


    weren¡¯t affected despite it being highly priced. Toby had first phoned Cave Vineyard to order ten bottles


    of the wine, but he had finished it a long time ago. Since this specific batch of wine was sold out right


    after it was released, and since the factory hadn¡¯t released much information about this wine to the


    public, most people weren¡¯t aware of the fact that the factory had ever produced this batch of wine.


    Yet, Sonia had one of these exorbitantly-priced wine bottles with her. Toby wasn¡¯t looking down on Sonia


    ¡ªhe simply knew that it was impossible for someone with her spending power to purchase this type of


    wine. That exined why he was so shocked to see her showing up with that wine bottle. Sonia had no


    idea what the man was thinking about, and she sat down while responding to his words. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad.


    Apparently, this costs more than a million. My dad left it behind. He said that a friend had given it to him


    and that he had left it here because he couldn¡¯t bear to drink it. However, I¡¯m not sure if it was really a


    friend who gave it to him. He¡¯s a huge fan of red wine, and he usually collects expensive wine, so it¡¯s


    possible that he was the one who bought it. Furthermore, I¡¯m not sure how much this actually costs. I


    tried looking for this brand online, but I couldn¡¯t find any information about it. I would¡¯ve thought my father


    had been conned if he wasn¡¯t someone who was rtively knowledgeable about wine. I might have


    thought that he paid all that money for an unknown wine brand.¡± Sonia let out a smile at the thought of


    her father. Her eyes were filled with longing for the past.


    Eventually, Toby forced the cork out of the bottle and held a wine ss up to pour some of the red liquid


    into it. He passed the ss to Sonia. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if your father was the one who bought this wine, but I


    can tell you that he didn¡¯t lie about the price.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s hand trembled a little upon hearing the man¡¯s words. ¡°Are you serious? Is it that expensive?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Toby poured a ss for himself before he sat down and swirled the wine ss in his hand.


    He took a sniff before he continued speaking. ¡°There are only a total of 100 of these bottles in the world.


    The first 50 bottles cost 5 million, while the remaining 50 bottles cost about 3 to 4 million. Yours is


    probably¡­¡±


    Toby reached over and spun the wine bottle around to check the number on the back of the bottle. He


    raised an eyebrow. ¡°Your bottle says number 50. It¡¯s the 50th one.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean that this was worth 5 milion?¡± Sonia stared at the wine bottle before looking at the ss


    in her hand. She gulped after speaking in a shaky voice. Although her father had once boasted about


    owning a bottle of wine that was worth millions, she had never truly believed his words and had always


    assumed he was just exaggerating. Her father did have that bad habit, after all. However, she was


    shocked to hear that it was the actual price of the wine.


    Sonia didn¡¯t consider the possibility of Toby lying to her since he had no reason to lie about such a thing.


    Toby chuckled when he saw the dumbfounded expression on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°Yes. This costs 5,000,000.¡±


    5,000,000¡­ 5,000,000! Sonia hastily ced her ss down on the table. ¡°I¡¯m not drinking this anymore.


    This is so pricey; it probably costs at least 10,000 for every sip. It¡¯s such a shame to finish it. I don¡¯t even


    feel like I¡¯m drinking alcohol¡ªit feels like I¡¯m swallowing money, and it makes me feel guilty. I should


    pour this back and rece the cork so that it can be some inheritance that I pass on to my


    nephews and nieces. Stop drinking,¡± she ordered. Right after that, she reached her hand over to snatch


    the ss from Toby.


    Although Sonia was also from a rich family, she had never tasted wine that cost more than 3 million.


    Even the wine that cost 3 million sounded too expensive to Sonia, let alone trying one that cost 5 million.


    Sonia felt like she couldn¡¯t take another sip of the liquid after hearing its price. Toby hadn¡¯t expected her


    to react in such a manner upon hearing the price. She attempted to pour the wine back into the bottle,


    and she even tried to snatch the wine away from him.


    How could he allow her to do that? With Sonia¡¯s hand still reaching toward Toby¡¯s ss, he abruptly


    threw his head backward to pour the whole ss of wine down his throat. Sonia widened her eyes when


    she saw his actions. ¡°Why did you drink it, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this wine meant for drinking?¡± Toby put down his wine ss before staring at her with an innocent


    look on his face. Sonia felt as if someone had stabbed her chest when she saw his empty ss. Her


    face was twisted into a frown as she felt a physical ache in her chest. ¡°This isn¡¯t just any regr wine,¡±


    she muttered while looking like she was about to burst into tears.


    ¡°Hmm? What sort of wine is it, then?¡± Toby rested his chin on his palm.


    ¡°This is extremely expensive wine!¡± Sonia let out a sob.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Toby lowered his head as he chuckled silently. ¡°It¡¯s still wine regardless of how much it costs. Why are


    you feeling sorry for it?¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mind drinking it since this isn¡¯t your wine,¡± she uttered while ring at him. ¡°This is my


    wine¡­ My¡­¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she wrapped her arms around the bottle of wine and


    brought it close to her while she sobbed.


    Toby let out a soft sigh as he felt sorry to see her cry. He quickly leaned over to bring her into his arms


    before patting her on her back gently. ¡°You¡¯re right that this isn¡¯t my wine, but I¡¯ve bought the exact same


    type of wine before. I bought ten bottles then, and I finished all of them without feeling any sorrow or


    regret. So, you should stop feeling that way.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re richer than I am. Of course it doesn¡¯t hurt you to do such a thing,¡± Sonia hissed grumpily.


    Toby remained silent as he curled his lips a little. It seems like I¡¯ve used the wrong way tofort her.


    Well, that doesn¡¯t matter. He held the back of her head as he finally responded to her. ¡°That may be true,


    but you should change your mindset and consider things from a different perspective.¡±


    ¡°What perspective?¡± Sonia looked up at him with her misery-filled eyes. Toby let out augh as he found


    this rather adorable. ¡°Well, you should remember its expiration date. Although wine can be stored for


    long periods, it eventually expires. So, would it be a greater loss for a bottle of wine worth 5 million to be


    left until it expires, or for it to be finished by its owner?¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s a greater loss for it to expire without the owner tasting it, of course,¡± she replied after a while.


    ¡°Exactly my point! So, we¡¯re drinking to ensure that it doesn¡¯t get to its expiry date. If that happened, you


    would suffer a greater loss, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes glinted as he spoke. After that, Sonia silently


    nced at the red wine bottle in her arms, and she recognized a slight shift within her. It does seem like


    my heart no longer aches as much after hearing what Toby said to me.


    Toby was paying attention to the changes in Sonia¡¯s emotions the whole time, and he noticed that she


    had gradually begun to let go of the wine bottle in her hands. He could tell that her mind had been


    changed a little. Finally, he reached out and took the red wine bottle from her before cing it on the


    dining table again.


    Although Sonia¡¯s first instinct had been to protect the wine, she soon pulled her hands away after


    reflecting on Toby¡¯s words. Soon after that, Toby ced the wine ss back in Sonia¡¯s hands. ¡°You


    should drink some since it¡¯s open. It¡¯d be a waste if you didn¡¯t have it.¡±


    Sonia looked at the ss that was filled with deep, red liquid that gave off a strong smell. She gave in in


    the end. He¡¯s right. I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the wine for long even if I poured it back into the bottle.


    When that happens, I will suffer a greater loss. It¡¯d be more than just losing 5 million; it¡¯d also be losing


    the chance to taste good wine. I¡¯d cry over this for the rest of my life.


    At that thought, Sonia took a deep breath. Then, she threw her head back and gulped down the ss of


    wine.

 Chapter 746

    Chapter 746


    Chapter 746 Liquid Courage


    Sonia¡¯s movements had been bold and exaggerated when she first drank the wine, but Toby burst into


    laughter when he saw the way she scrunched up her face in response to the taste of the alcohol. ¡°Slow


    down. You don¡¯t want to choke.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to choke!¡± Sonia ced the wine ss down with a loud ng before pushing it closer to


    him. ¡°Give me another ss of that.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t your heart ache over the price of the drink now?¡± Toby raised an eyebrow. She red at him.


    ¡°Of course my heart still aches, but I¡¯d rather finish it than let it turn bad. Hurry and pour me another


    ss,¡± she urged.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll pour you another ss,¡± he uttered afterughing for a while more. Then, he held the wine


    bottle up to refill her ss. Sonia let out a sigh as she held the wine ss up and nced at the


    sparkling, red liquid inside. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. Why did you decide to prepare a meal out of nowhere?¡±


    ¡°What?¡¯ Toby was confused. ¡°Did you say it¡¯s my fault?¡± How can it be my fault? he wondered.


    ¡°It¡¯s obviously your fault!¡± Sonia stomped her foot on the ground. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought of celebrating


    anything if you hadn¡¯t made me a meal. I wouldn¡¯t have recalled the existence of this red wine if I hadn¡¯t


    thought of celebrating anything. You wouldn¡¯t have gotten the chance to open this bottle if I hadn¡¯t


    thought of it. So, whose fault do you think it is?¡±


    Toby was shocked and speechless upon hearing her exnation. This brat is so two-faced! I can¡¯t


    believe she¡¯s putting all of the me on me. She¡¯s expecting me to deal with all the consequences on my


    own! Sure, I made the meal, and I suggested the idea itself, but I wasn¡¯t the one who suggested having a


    celebration, and I even tried to stop her when she brought it up. She¡¯s the one who insisted on bringing a


    bottle of wine here. Yet, it sounds like everything¡¯s my fault now. Great. Toby pressed his palm against


    his forehead while feeling sorry for himself.


    Sonia seemed even more displeased when she saw Toby pressing his lips together with a contemtive


    look on his face. She smacked her palm against the table. ¡°What is it? Are you unhappy now? Don¡¯t you


    think it¡¯s your fault?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. So, she¡¯s forcing me to admit my wrongs, huh? ¡°Fine, fine. It¡¯s my fault. It¡¯s all my


    fault!¡± Toby had no choice but to shoulder the burden of being wrong. He patted the woman¡¯s shoulder to


    calm her down. Forget it, he thought. Since she¡¯s my woman, I¡¯m okay with taking all of the me. I¡¯ll just


    have to coax herter. A man like me shouldn¡¯t get too petty about such matters, anyway.


    Toby took a sip of his red wine at that thought. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re with me. I don¡¯t think anyone else


    would pamper you like this.¡± He swirled the wine in his ss and looked at the red liquid before letting


    out a softugh. This was the first time he was being med for something he hadn¡¯t done, and he


    willingly epted the me. He was certain that no one would believe their ears if they found out about


    this.


    Of course, Sonia knew what Toby meant by his words, and she knew how unreasonable she was being.


    But why does that matter? He¡¯s the man, right? What¡¯s wrong with taking the me for me sometimes?


    Sonia responded with a stubborn scoff in Toby¡¯s face. ¡°At least you know what¡¯s the right thing to do.¡±


    Toby couldn¡¯t resist pinching her face. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I know that you had this side to you in the past?¡±


    She flicked his hand away. ¡°There are tons of things you haven¡¯t realized. You don¡¯t even know how


    many sides of me there are.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± He smirked. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to continue digging deep into you, then.¡±


    ¡°You can go ahead and do that. I¡¯d like to see how much you can find about me.¡± Sonia raised her ss


    and finished her wine once more. Again, she ced it in front of Toby to indicate that she wanted another


    ss. He frowned without making a move. ¡°You should stop drinking,¡± he uttered.


    ¡°No. I can¡¯t waste this.¡± Sonia shook her head as she insisted on having another ss. Toby ced his


    large palm over her ss as he spoke. ¡°You¡¯ll get drunk. This red wine¡¯s alcohol percentage is a little


    higher than the usual red wines. On top of that, your tolerance isn¡¯t that great, and you¡¯ll get drunk after a


    few sses. Why don¡¯t you just listen to me and stop drinking? We can drink another day.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia felt oddly displeased when her lover stopped her from drinking, so she raised her sharp


    eyebrow before speaking in a coquettish tone. ¡°I insist on drinking this! The alcohol tastes good. I¡¯m not


    done drinking!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Toby continued to reject her while he began keeping the wine bottle away. Sonia


    immediately pressed her palms against the table to stand up. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, Toby! Don¡¯t put it away,


    okay? Otherwise¡­ I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, what?¡± Toby stopped and turned to look at her. There was a gleam in his eyes that made his


    gaze seem rather mysterious.


    Sonia blinked¡ªshe was at a loss for words. Soon enough, she came up with a reply. ¡°Otherwise¡­ I¡¯ll


    start crying in front of you!¡± Then, she stuck her lower lip out and forced herself to start wailing. However,


    regardless of how much she tried to cry, she simply couldn¡¯t squeeze the tears out of her eyes.


    Toby was stunned by her actions. He had already been shocked when she smacked her palm against


    the table before that. The woman Toby knew wasn¡¯t someone who would smack her palm against the


    table when she didn¡¯t get to drink. Yet, that was exactly what she had just done. That was the reason


    Toby suspected that she was starting to get drunk. Perhaps her temper ising out because she¡¯s


    drunk. Now, as I¡¯m watching her attempt to cry, I know for a fact that she¡¯s drunk.


    But Sonia wasn¡¯t entirely wasted¡ªshe simply seemed rather tipsy. The slight tipsiness had turned her


    gentle and smart character into a more aggressive person who seemed livelier than her usual, day-to-


    day self. When Toby saw the confusion in Sonia¡¯s eyes and the redness in her cheeks, he felt the urge to


    tease her more. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to cry for me? Why aren¡¯t you crying yet?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it¡­¡± She pouted while looking sorry for herself. He let out a deep chuckle that made his chest


    vibrate as heughed. That was how funny she was to him. ¡°I¡¯ll return the wine to its ce since you


    can¡¯t seem to cry.¡± He began to act as if he was about to leave.


    She immediately clung to his waist. ¡°No! I told you I wanted more of it. You can¡¯t take it away.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re drunk,¡± he replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°You are!¡± Toby stared at the woman in his arms as he repeated himself in a patient tone. Sonia frowned


    and kept quiet for a while as if she were making sense of his words and checking if she were actually


    drunk. After a while more, Sonia looked up at the man with her gaze more confused than before. ¡°Isn¡¯t


    that perfect? You¡¯re in luck. You can do whatever you want now,¡± she muttered,


    Toby¡¯s pupils narrowed, and his face darkened once he heard her. Sonia giggled. ¡°I know. I know you¡¯ve


    always wanted my body, and that it has been hard for you to control yourself all along. It was all because


    I couldn¡¯t get past my own views on this. You must have struggled to hold it in for so long. Today


    morning, in the meeting room, I sensed some changes in you, and I wanted to find an opportunity to


    hand myself over to youpletely, but I didn¡¯t know how to do it, so I thought that drinking some wine


    would help us a little. At least I¡¯d have a little more liquid courage then. I don¡¯t want to stay stagnant at


    this point and not go further with you.¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Toby¡¯s pupils trembled as his Adam¡¯s apple bobbed up and down once every 2


    seconds. ¡°So¡­ The celebration was a lie, and you were just using it as an excuse to have some drinks?


    You wanted to get yourself drunk so that you could let me take control over your body, huh?¡±


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    ¡°That sounds about right.¡± Sonia rested her head against the man¡¯s chest as she listened to his rather


    elevated heartbeat. Her tone of voice made it clear that she was intoxicated. ¡°But the celebration was


    real too. I¡¯m killing two birds with one stone!¡± she insisted.

 Chapter 747

    Chapter 747


    Chapter 747 She¡¯s Finally Mine


    At this point, Sonia let out a suddenugh. ¡°It¡¯s true when they say that alcohol builds your courage. I¡¯m


    so much braver now, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯d never say such things if I were sober.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You do seem much more brave now.¡± Toby gently kept her in his arms. His heart was still racing


    from what just happened. I had no idea that she was already prepared to surrender herself to me. I can¡¯t


    believe she drank alcohol just to gather the courage to let me know that she¡¯s ready to let go of herself


    with me. Well, it is a pretty good idea, he thought.


    ¡°Well, why aren¡¯t you doing anything yet?¡± Sonia didn¡¯t know what the man was thinking, so she grabbed


    onto his necktie hanging in front of his chest. The slight stench of alcohol traveled through the air and


    into Toby¡¯s nose as she continued speaking. ¡°It took me a long time to decide to do this. I even went


    through with my n to get drunk! What are you waiting for, Toby? I¡¯m not that drunk now, and I¡¯m sober


    enough to know what¡¯s going on. Soon, I¡¯ll be too sober to do anything with you. Why don¡¯t you


    appreciate this opportunity?¡±


    It was clear that Sonia was much braver when she was drunk¡ªshe was excited enough to urge him to


    get into bed with her. Toby¡¯s gaze was as dark as the bottom of a well as he stared at Sonia, and he


    parted his lips to speak. ¡°I¡¯ll take this opportunity since you¡¯re the one who offered yourself to me.


    However, I¡¯m not a man without principles, and I don¡¯t want to do anything to you while you¡¯re drunk or


    unconscious. That¡¯s taking advantage of someone. I want you to do it willingly, so I¡¯d like to make sure


    that you¡¯re currently sober and aware. Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Are you looking down on me?¡¯ Sonia widened her eyes to re at him. ¡°Of course I know what¡¯s going


    on. I might be tipsy, but I¡¯m still clear-headed. I know what I¡¯m saying and doing. Do you think I¡¯d be able


    to hold such a proper conversation with you otherwise?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Toby shook his head.


    ¡°Hmph. That solves your issue, doesn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m perfectly conscious of what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m just


    a little more courageous than usual,¡± she uttered while patting herself on the chest. As she patted her


    chest, her soft breasts jiggled in response. Toby let out a gentle sigh as he felt beads of sweat forming on


    his forehead. This woman sure is getting really bold. She¡¯d never do such a thing on a normal day. She¡¯s


    not afraid to say or do anything now that she has the guts to do it, huh?


    ¡°You sure are killing me.¡± He lowered his head to let out a deep, airy whisper in Sonia¡¯s ear. She let out a


    slyugh when she understood what he meant. Then, Toby lifted her up and grabbed both her butt


    cheeks. She spread her legs open to hook them around his waist. To make sure that she wouldn¡¯t fall,


    she looped her arms around his neck.


    Toby gulped as he lowered his gaze to stare at her. ¡°Sonia, since you mentioned that you¡¯re conscious,


    I¡¯ll give you another chance. You can still change your mind now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not changing my mind!¡± Sonia shook her head furiously before she shed him a silly grin. ¡°I¡¯ve


    always been curious about what it feels like, but I¡¯ve just been too shy to let you know about this all


    along. Previously, I had been too drunk and someone had drugged me, so I wasn¡¯t conscious at all and


    had no idea what it felt like. I¡¯m expecting you to do well tonight, Toby. You need to show me what the


    feeling¡¯s like, and if it¡¯s really as good as they say it is.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby was shocked by her words. Did she ask others about details regarding this matter?


    When Sonia saw him hugging her and zoning out without taking action, she pouted to show him an


    unhappy expression. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are you zoning out? Do you want to do it or not?¡± She


    tapped him on the shoulder.


    Toby¡¯s gaze refocused as he snapped out of his daze. When he saw that Sonia was annoyed by hisck


    of action, he let out a deepugh. ¡°Of course I want to do it. You¡¯re already rushing me to do it, right? If I


    don¡¯t take action now, you probably won¡¯t see me as a man anymore, right?¡±


    ¡°At least you know.¡± Sonia scoffed. He narrowed his eyes a little. ¡°Well, let me show you whether I¡¯m a


    man or not.¡± Upon finishing his words, he lowered his head to bite her lips. His kiss was especially harsh,


    perhaps because he wanted to punish her for what she said earlier. He bit and sucked on her lips, and


    he only became gentler when she began to whine in difort. Then, he continued to kiss her as he led


    her back to their room.


    They went crazy that night. Toby was especially harsh in bed; perhaps it was because he finally


    managed to have the woman he loved. There were times when Sonia couldn¡¯t stand it any longer, and


    she tried to shrink away from him. Other times, she crawled to the edge of the bed to escape him.


    However, she never managed to escape in the end¡ªToby would hold her ankle and drag her back.


    Sonia wailed and hit the man to get him to release her. However, the man didn¡¯t go easy on her even


    when he saw her crying and sobbing. Instead, he got rougher and rougher with her. Her teary-eyed look


    may seem pitiful in his eyes, but it only made him want to bully her more. He wanted to make her cry


    harder. Sonia had practically lost her voice by the second half of the night. Her eyes were extremely


    swollen, and she no longer had any tears left to cry. All she could do was whine and sob quietly.


    By 4AM in the morning, Sonia was too tired to continue, but the man on top of her was still full of energy.


    It was almost as if he had an endless amount of energy. Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel a tight feeling in her


    chest¡ªshe was filled with regret for deciding to surrender herself to the man. She was too tired to lift a


    finger, but she wouldn¡¯t have been in this state if she hadn¡¯t made the decision to surrender.


    Although she enjoyed herself, it was also true that her entire body was drained and in pain. Was he this


    harsh with me in bed when we did it thest time? Was I this tired as well? Sonia let out a sob before


    speaking in a hoarse and weak voice. ¡°Stop it, Toby. You¡­ Stop it¡­ I¡¯m so tired. I really want to sleep¡­¡±


    She couldn¡¯t hold on for much longer. Yet, the man seemed like he wanted to go on.


    When Toby finally stopped and lowered his head to look at the woman under him, he saw her panting


    with her eyes barely open. He reached over to push away the strands of hair that were stuck to her


    forehead because of her sweat. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, but he didn¡¯t sound as weak as


    her. ¡°Oh? Are you sleepy?¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Sonia gave him a barely-visible nod. Toby lowered himself to kiss her red and swollen lips.


    ¡°You can sleep if you want to, but you have to answer my question first.¡±


    Sonia felt the urge to cry. This man is a devil. I just told him that I wanted to sleep, yet he still wants me


    to answer his question?


    Toby didn¡¯t know what was going on in Sonia¡¯s head. ¡°Tell me¡ªam I a man to you?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes shot wide open the moment she heard his question. I can¡¯t believe he still remembers what


    I said about him earlier. Was he especially harsh to me tonight just because he wanted me to answer this


    question? She genuinely felt like she was on the verge of tears. If she had known how vengeful the man


    was, she wouldn¡¯t have provoked him.


    Toby shoved himself deeper into the woman when he saw her sobbing without answering his question.


    ¡°Stop¡­ Stop moving¡­¡± she groaned.


    ¡°Answer me, then. Am I a man or not?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Sonia sniffed before answering in a meek voice. ¡°Yes. Yes, you are.¡±


    ¡°Whose man am I?¡± he asked again. She felt even more sorry for herself. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were


    only going to ask me one question? This is the second¡­¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how many questions I ask. What matters is your answer.¡± Toby gently ran his fingers


    across her flushed face. Her eyes glistened with tears as she opened them slightly to look at the man.


    ¡°You¡¯re mine.¡±

 Chapter 748

    Chapter 748


    Chapter 748 Tom¡¯s Best Wishes


    The pitiful sight of the woman made Toby feel like torturing her even more than ever. However, he knew


    that she could no longer handle his harsh treatment, so he had no choice but to take a deep breath and


    suppress the urge to continue bullying her. He ran his hand across her burning face as he spoke in a


    deep voice. ¡°Who do I belong to? Tell me your name. How am I supposed to know if you don¡¯t tell me


    your name?¡±


    Sonia knew that the guy was trying to cause her trouble. If she wasn¡¯t so weak, she would definitely kick


    him off the bed!


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Toby lowered his head when he saw her eyes looking around the room for a while. ¡°What are


    you thinking about?¡± He gave her a peck on the lips.


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Sonia looked away as she didn¡¯t want him to know what she was thinking. What if he


    can tell what I¡¯m thinking about, and what if he decides to go on with me after this? But Toby stopped


    forcing her to answer his question when he saw her keeping quiet. Instead, he only got her to answer his


    previous question. ¡°Tell me¡ªwho do I belong to? I¡¯ll let you rest after you answer me.¡±


    ¡°How do I know if you¡¯re being honest? How do I know you won¡¯t make me answer another question?¡±


    Sonia bit her lip as she answered in a pitiful tone.


    He chuckled. ¡°I won¡¯t. This is thest one. Trust me, alright?¡±


    Sonia shifted her gaze to look at him. She kept staring at him as if she was trying to decide if she could


    trust him. In the end, she gave in when she thought about how tired she felt. She decided that she would


    trust the man once more. ¡°You¡¯re Sonia¡¯s.¡± Her swollen lips parted as she spoke softly.


    Toby was rather disappointed at how soft her voice was, but he gave up on asking for her to repeat


    herself in a louder voice when he saw how tired she looked. Instead, he rubbed his forehead against


    hers as he spoke in a gentle voice. ¡°Okay. Look, I kept my word, right? You can go to bed now. Thank


    you for tonight.¡± He gave her another kiss on her lips before resting his hands on top of the woman¡¯s face


    to close her eyes.


    When he finally released her, she felt her entire body rxing. She no longer had to fight the sleepiness,


    and she allowed herself to close her eyes beneath the man¡¯s warm hand. After about two minutes, she


    fell asleep, snoring a little louder than usual as she was too tired.


    Eventually, Toby removed his hand from Sonia¡¯s eyes to find her fast asleep. When he saw her flushed


    face and the hair that was stuck to her forehead due to her sweat, he felt as if his heart was about to


    melt. After that, he pulled the sheets off of him and picked his pants off the floor to put them on. He didn¡¯t


    put on a shirt, and he leaned down to pick the woman up before carrying her to the bathroom.


    By the time he changed the bedsheets and showered both himself and Sonia, it was nearly sunrise. He


    tucked her into bed and took his phone from the bedside table to send Tom a text, telling him to contact


    Sonia¡¯spany to inform them that she was taking a day off. Once that was done, he got into bed and


    curled up beside the girl before falling asleep. The next day, he only woke up when he received a call at


    2PM.


    The moment Toby opened his eyes, he immediately hurried to find the ringing phone before ending the


    call and turning to check on the woman beside him. He wanted to see if she had been awakened by the


    phone call. When he was certain that she was still fast asleep, he massaged his brows as he let out a


    sigh of relief and got out of bed. ¡°It¡¯s 2PM already?¡± Toby frowned when he saw the time on his phone.


    He hadn¡¯t expected to sleep past noon. If it weren¡¯t for Tom¡¯s call, he might have slept for even longer.


    My quality of sleep does seem better when I have my lover in my arms.


    Toby lowered his phone to look at the sleeping woman with a tender and loving gaze. He knew that he


    had worn her out yesterday¡ªthat was probably why she hadn¡¯t woken up despite the loud ringing of his


    phone. By the looks of it, she is going to remain asleep for a while longer. I guess that¡¯s fine. I should just


    let her continue sleeping. After bending down to give her a kiss, Toby left the room to return Tom¡¯s call.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Toby walked over to the couch, where he sat down and poured himself a ss of water


    while talking on the phone. Tom was shocked to hear his boss¡¯s rough and rather sleepy voice from the


    other end of the line. ¡°President Fuller, you didn¡¯t just wake up, did you?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Toby took a gulp of water to soothe his dry throat.


    ¡°Did you really just wake up?¡± Tom stared out of his office window, where the blinding sun¡ªa rare sight


    during winter¡ªhung high up in the sky. The sunlight reminded Tom that it was past 2PM in the afternoon.


    Yet, President Fuller just woke up¡­ I¡­ This is¡­ Tom gulped. Is this the diligent workaholic that I know?


    ¡°Is anything the matter?¡± Toby didn¡¯t want to know the reason Tom was so shocked, so he phrased his


    question in a t tone.


    Tom hastily shook his head. ¡°No, no. There¡¯s no issue at all.¡±


    Toby scoffed as he lowered his ss and changed the topic. ¡°I texted you at 5AM this morning and got


    you to inform Paradigm Co. that Sonia won¡¯t be going to work today. Did you do it?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯d never not follow your orders.¡± Tom pushed his sses up the bridge of his nose. Despite


    his polite and ttering tone of voice, Tom wore a stiff, icy smile on his face. He was furious about what


    happened at 5AM that morning. The sun wasn¡¯t out yet, and Tom had been dreaming about meeting a


    new girlfriend, but before he got to take a good look at the girlfriend¡¯s face, his work phone on his


    bedside table began to ring and vibrate like mad.


    The loud noise had startled Tom, sending his imaginary girlfriend up into thin air. Tom had two phones,


    and the one that vibrated was the one he used only when he was contacting Toby. When he heard that


    phone ringing so early in the morning, he assumed that something huge and urgent must have


    happened to Toby. Tom didn¡¯t even attempt to recall what his girlfriend in his dream looked like and


    instantly picked the phone up to check his messages.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    However, he then realized that it was no big deal at all. Toby simply got him to apply for leaves for both


    Toby and Sonia as they weren¡¯t going to work the next day. Tsk! What¡¯s the big deal? Can¡¯t he just tell


    me thatter? Why does he have to wake me up at 5AM to tell me about this? Despite feeling annoyed


    by the matter, Tom proceeded to fulfill his tasks once he woke up the next day.


    Initially, Tom assumed that Toby and Sonia were taking a day off from both their workces because


    they wanted to go on a date. Tom was, therefore, shocked when he heard that both of them had slept


    through the entire morning. Wait¡­ They slept? Tom widened his eyes as he seemed to realize


    something. If all they did was sleep, they couldn¡¯t have remained in bed until this hour. That means¡­


    President Fuller and Miss Reed¡­


    Once Tom realized what was going on, he looked around his room before speaking into the phone with a


    careful tone. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± Toby frowned.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Tom spread his lips into a perverted smile. ¡°You and Miss Reed were up to somethingst night,


    weren¡¯t you?¡± As Toby¡¯s trusty assistant, Tom was well-aware of everything going on between Sonia and


    Toby. Although both of them were officially dating, Sonia hadn¡¯t gone beyond third base with Toby as she


    wasn¡¯t mentally prepared for it.


    But considering the fact that both President Fuller and Miss Reed applied for leaves today, and


    considering that they just woke up, it¡¯s likely that they did somethingst night. That¡¯s why they¡¯re only


    waking up now.


    Toby narrowed his eyes when he heard Tom¡¯s question. ¡°Why are you asking me about this?¡± Although


    Toby didn¡¯t give Tom a solid answer, Tom knew his guess was right.


    The perverted smile on Tom¡¯s face widened. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I just wanted to congratte you. You¡¯ve


    finally gotten what you wanted! Miss Reed ispletely and utterly yours now.¡±

 Chapter 749

    Chapter 749


    Chapter 749 Jessica Wants to See You


    Deep down, Tom was aware of Toby¡¯s insecurities even after Toby rekindled the old mes with Sonia,


    as she still appeared to reject him somehow. Therefore, he believed Toby should probably feel more


    uplifted and confident now that he had managed to win Sonia overpletely.


    As Tom had anticipated, Toby curled his lips upward upon hearing his congrattions. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s


    enough. What¡¯s there to congratte me for? After all, what we did was nothing umon,¡± Toby said


    as he barely hid hiscency.


    Tom rolled his eyes upward in a speechless manner but still responded with a smiling face. ¡°Of course,


    President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°By the way, why did you call up?¡± Toby asked and continued to say, ¡°I told you I won¡¯t be in the office


    today, so don¡¯t bother looking for me for anything because I¡¯ll only be back to look into them tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I must tell you this because it¡¯s not about ourpany¡¯s affair but Jessica.¡± Tom sounded


    serious.


    As soon as Toby heard Jessica¡¯s name, he sat up straight and showed a keen interest. ¡°Really?


    Jessica?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°I got a call from the police station this morning and was told that Jessica would like


    to see you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby knitted his eyebrows. ¡°She wants to see me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure Little Leaf is not the one she wants to see?¡± Toby had no idea why Jessica wanted to see


    him because there was nothing personal between him and her. Instead, he reckoned Sonia should be


    the one she wanted to see before going to jail.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s not Miss Reed she wants to see because that was not what the officer said. In fact, I


    was surprised after confirming with the caller because you¡¯re indeed the one Jessica wants to see, not


    Sonia,¡± Tom replied.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Alright, I heard you. By the way, did Jessica mention why she wanted to see me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she did.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°The police said Jessica wants to see you for something about Miss Reed,


    so I called to inform you about the matter.¡± Tom knew Toby would be interested in learning anything


    about Sonia, or he would have turned Jessica down on his behalf in the first ce.


    After all, Jessica had nothing to do with Toby at all, and Tom wouldn¡¯t have mentioned her request to his


    boss. However, the situation became different when Sonia was involved.


    ¡°About Sonia?¡± Toby squinted warily. ¡°Did she say what it was about?¡±


    ¡°No, she didn¡¯t, and the police weren¡¯t sure about it either. After all, Jessica¡¯s political rights were not


    stripped of her, and she has the right to maintain silence.¡± Tom helplessly asked, ¡°So, would you like to


    meet her, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby grunted in a ponderous manner as he jutted his chin. ¡°Tell the police I¡¯ll be there tomorrow. I want to


    hear what thatdy has to say.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Tom nodded and continued to say, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll hang up the call and leave you and Miss


    Reed to it, President Fuller. See you!¡± As soon as he finished his words, he immediately hung up the call,


    unlike his unusual response to end the call only after Toby did that.


    Thinking he was doing Toby a favor by leaving him alone with Sonia, he doubted his boss would be


    angry with him. After all, he was aware that Toby would be blinded by his affection for Sonia as long as


    he was distracted by anything rted to her. Therefore, he wasn¡¯t worried about angering him at all, and


    as it turned out, he was right about his intuition.


    On the other hand, Toby instantly lightened up after hearing what Tom said, despite his initial irritation


    toward thetter¡¯s audacity to hang up on him. Well, Tom is still wise enough to choose his words


    carefully. Otherwise, he could just forget about the bonus this month.


    Toby grunted coldly and put his phone away, getting up from the bed, whereupon he nned to make


    Sonia some porridge in the kitchen before waking her up. Although he knew she was tired from what


    they did the night before and might hence be reluctant to wake up, he reckoned it was necessary for her


    to eat a little something for the sake of her health.


    For that, Toby made his way to the kitchen and started getting down to work. With the cooking


    experience he had the night before, he found it easier to prepare food, although he only knew how to


    make a few simple dishes. By the time he was making porridge, it was already three-something in the


    afternoon.


    Toby took a look at the time and realized it was about time to wake Sonia up, so he turned off the stove


    and took off his apron. When he arrived in the room, he saw Sonia still sleeping soundly, like a log. Thus,


    he trod carefully while making his way to the bed, where he sat down and gently shook Sonia¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Wake up, Little Leaf.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia was still in her dream, in which she was happily flying in the sky until a huge palm


    appeared out of nowhere and nudged her, causing her to plummet to the ground. It was then that she


    woke up from her sleep in fright, screaming out loud while opening her eyes.


    At the same time, Toby was awakened by her sudden scream as he was caught in a trance for two


    seconds before he asked, ¡°Did you just have a nightmare?¡±


    Sonia blinked and took a moment to calm herself down. Then, she red at the man. ¡°Yeah, you were


    the nightmare!¡±


    Toby speechlessly curled his lips upward. ¡°Why was I your nightmare?¡±


    ¡°You were the nightmare.¡± Sonia grunted and said, ¡°I was flying in the air until I got dragged down by


    someone¡¯s hand. The next moment, I woke up to the fall that felt so real, and this is all your fault!¡±


    Noticing the man¡¯s hand on her shoulder, Sonia was sure that Toby was the one who frightened and


    woke her up from her sleep. Whose fault is it if it¡¯s not his?


    Seeing her bitter face, Toby was amused by her expression. ¡°Alright. Alright, it¡¯s my bad. Okay, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! That¡¯s more like it.¡± Sonia grunted and chuckled, propping herself up with her arms. However,


    she had no memory of what happened the night before, so she sat up straight like she normally did, only


    to copse onto the bed due to her sore body.


    As her face turned pale, the soreness on every inch of her body seemed to be reminding her of


    something that she had just gone through. At that moment, she stared nkly at the ceiling, her eyes


    slowly filled with lust as the memories of what happened the night before, including how she felt, slowly


    flooded her mind. Soon, she was able to recall the fact that she intentionally made herself drunk, in order


    to muster the courage necessary to help her initiate her intimate approach with Toby.


    What have I done? And Toby¡­ He acted like an animal, a machine that could never get tired of torturing


    me. ¡°Ugh!¡± The more Sonia dwelled on that matter, the more she felt angry and embarrassed about it.


    Soon, she grabbed the nket and covered her head, as if she wanted to detach herself from the world.


    Deep down, she couldn¡¯t believe she was the one who got drunk and started everything that happened


    after that. What made her even more ashamed was the fact that she provoked and encouraged Toby to


    proceed with their intimate moment, so she reckoned it was technically her own fault for what Toby did to


    her.


    In the meantime, Toby was stunned when she saw Sonia covering herself. Wondering what was wrong


    with her, he reached out for her nket to lift it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why are you burying herself


    underneath the nket? Come on, lighten up, and let go of the nket.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Sonia wouldn¡¯t release her tight grip on her nket, refusing to let the man


    lift it while her voice was so muffled under the sheets.


    Toby furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m your lover, so whose business is it if it¡¯s none of mine? Therefore, listen


    to me and let go.¡±


    While Sonia was still reluctant to let go, Toby eventually stepped up his approach and pulled the nket


    away from her. In that instant, Sonia was left staring at him with her eyes wide open, finding it hard to


    believe that he would be this straightforward. ¡°You¡­¡±


    Noticing Sonia¡¯s blushed cheeks and the embarrassment that filled her eyes, Toby suddenly understood


    why she wanted to stay hidden underneath the nket, as he believed she was feeling shy about what


    happened the night before.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. What¡¯s there to be embarrassed about? It¡¯s not like we did something


    embarrassing.¡± Toby tossed Sonia¡¯s nket aside, keeping his head down while looking at thedy with


    a smile.

 Chapter 750

    Chapter 750


    Chapter 750 Six of One and Half a Dozen of the Other


    Sonia squirmed, disagreeing with Toby¡¯s words.


    Who says it wasn¡¯t embarrassing? We¡¯re talking about the intimacy we hadst night, so how was that


    not embarrassing?! Furthermore, I just sacrificed my first time technically, so there is no way I won¡¯t feel


    embarrassed about that. Moreover¡­


    Sonia pulled on the cor of her pajamas, revealing her fair neck that would have looked otherwise


    perfect if it hadn¡¯t been for the reddish kissing marks. Then, she looked at her own corbone with a


    blushed face,ying eyes on the hickeys before she gawked at the man beside her in annoyance. ¡°Look


    at what you¡¯ve done! This ispletely uneptable. How do you expect me to meet anyone like this?¡±


    Noticing the marks that he had left on Sonia¡¯s body, Toby curled his lips upward and replied, ¡°It¡¯s winter


    now, so all you have to do is just wear something with a high cor, and no one will be able to spot your


    hickeys. Furthermore, I¡¯m not the only one who was being naughty.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia straightened her spine, having a bad feeling on the inside. The next second, she saw


    Toby turning around and facing away from her.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sonia asked the man in confusion.


    Toby didn¡¯t respond as he only looked down and untied his sleeping robe, taking it off and revealing his


    muscr back. While Sonia had seen his bare back before, she hadn¡¯t forgotten how many scars were


    left by Rose¡¯s caning during her punishment.


    However, she quickly noticed a few fresh wounds on the man¡¯s back that ran from his shoulders all the


    way down to the birthmark on his waist besides the caning scars. As the wounds looked horrible, the


    milder ones were blue-ck in color without any signs of bleeding, but the more severe ones resulted in


    his scraped skin with scabs on the surface.


    Needless to say, Sonia was able to tell how Toby developed those wounds on his back. Upon noticing


    the cuts on the man¡¯s skin, she suspected that they were inflicted by someone who scratched him with


    her nails. Then, she immediately turned her attention to her fingernails and noticed blood stains on them.


    As what she saw suggested, she was the one who left the scratch marks on Toby¡¯s back.


    No wonder he said he was not the only one who was being naughty because I inflicted those scratch


    marks on him while he covered my skin with hickeys all over. We¡¯re not so different, I guess.


    At the sight of the scratch marks left on Toby¡¯s back, Sonia was rendered speechlessly awkward.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    Then, Toby slowly looked back at her, setting his eyes on her embarrassed look. After that, he chuckled


    and shrugged his shoulders a little, putting his sleeping robe back on before he turned around and


    stretched out his hand toward her. ¡°Get up, girl. Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡±


    Of course, I¡¯m hungry. After a long night and the long sleep she had just had, Sonia felt so hungry that


    she barely had any strength left.


    In fact, the reason she struggled to get up was because of her hunger, along with the soreness she was


    experiencing. Due to that, she extended her arm to seize Toby¡¯s hand.


    As soon as the man held Sonia¡¯s hand, he flexed his arm a little and effortlessly got her out of bed.


    However, the moment Sonia¡¯s legsnded on the ground, she immediately went weak at the knees and


    fell forward.


    Toby, who noticed the reaction, quickly caught her in his embrace to prevent her from falling, but even


    so, she still moaned in pain.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby looked down with a nervous look on his face.


    ¡°Ouch! It hurts,¡± Sonia took a deep breath and tearfully said.


    ¡°Where does it hurt?¡± Toby asked anxiously.


    Sonia bit her lip with her blushed cheeks without saying anything while Toby was able to tell where it hurt


    from her embarrassed look. In that instant, the man¡¯s ears turned red as he awkwardly faked a cough


    and replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what happenedst night. I¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t say it!¡± Sonia seemingly knew what he was going to say and quickly covered his mouth,


    cutting him short in an awkward manner.


    Toby nodded, expressing his agreement not to say a word more as Sonia wished.


    I must have gotten carried away when I finally got to share an intimate moment with herst night, which


    was why I forgot to be gentle. Oh man! I can still remember the miserable look on her face in the shower


    after that. The pain in there must have hurt her like hell. This was all my fault!


    In the meantime, Sonia had no idea what was on Toby¡¯s mind but decided to take her hands off his


    mouth after noticing his willingness to go along with her cheeks still blushing. Then, the man caught his


    breath a little and tried to carry her in his arms.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Sonia appeared to be startled.


    ¡°You¡¯re not feeling well, so don¡¯t strain yourself with the walking. I¡¯ll carry you,¡± Toby said as he carried


    her and walked out of the room.


    ¡°No. Let me down. Your arms are hurt.¡± Sonia sounded anxious.


    Upon hearing her words, Toby felt helpless, yet ttered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My arms are recovering well, and I


    know what I¡¯m doing, so I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    In the face of the man¡¯s serious response, Sonia eventually gave in and let him continue to carry her


    since his left arm seemed fine, not to mention the fact that she was already in his arms. Furthermore,


    she could barely walk without much strength left in her, while the burning sensation she felt in her crotch


    with each step she took only served to discourage her from walking. Frustrated and annoyed with that,


    she patted the man¡¯s shoulder impatiently. ¡°This is all your fault.¡±


    Toby hissed in pain and smiled. ¡°Are you ming me now? What do you say if you get to punish me for


    that?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up as she reckoned Toby¡¯s suggestion was a good idea that had just piqued her


    interest. ¡°Alright, how would you like to be punished, then?¡±


    With mischief filling his eyes, Toby replied, ¡°Do the same thing to me like what I did to you. Make me


    suffer so much that I can¡¯t walk.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Sonia was stunned.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Toby nodded seriously. ¡°Isn¡¯t that fair?¡±


    ¡°Jeez!¡± Sonia rolled her eyes at the man with her face flustering in embarrassment. Fair? Like hell, that¡¯s


    fair! I¡¯m still going to be at the losing end, even if I manage to make him suffer so badly that he can¡¯t


    walk.


    Believing that women could never match men¡¯s physical strength, Sonia feared that her fate would be


    much worse if Toby had a problem walking. For that, she reckoned Toby was actually trying to take


    advantage of her with the excuse of his so-called punishment.


    Hmph! Forget about it, Toby!


    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding, so lighten up.¡± Toby chuckled when Sonia caught on to what he was saying.


    ¡°You know you could be beaten to death for making such ame joke, don¡¯t you?¡± Sonia then patted


    Toby¡¯s back, hurting the scratch marks on him, which caused him to moan in pain with a frown on his


    pale face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Sonia seemed scared.


    ¡°Nothing. Just don¡¯t be scared,¡± Toby responded with a deep voice.


    ¡°That serves you right.¡± Sonia seemingly understood Toby¡¯s meaning behind his words and grunted.


    Despite her mean reply, she still took her hand off his back and ced her grip around his neck yfully,


    showing her concern to Toby, who was aware of that.


    Soon, Toby brought thedy to the dining table and sat her down. When Sonia saw the table full of


    dishes, the messy arrangement gave the man away and implied to her that he was the author of this


    masterpiece.


    ¡°Not bad.¡± Sonia happily shook her leg, feeling warm on the inside to see the man she loved to cook for


    her.


    Then, Toby ced the spoon in her hand and asked, ¡°I specially prepared you some porridge. How does


    it taste?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded with a smile and scooped a spoonful of porridge.


    Toby looked at thedy, seemingly waiting to hear herments. Nheless, Sonia reacted in a coy


    manner and said, ¡°Well, I suppose it wasn¡¯t easy to screw up amidst the preparation of a simple dish,


    right?¡±

 Chapter 751

    Chapter 751


    Chapter 751 Sonia¡¯s Worry


    Toby raised his eyebrows, feeling slightly surprised about Sonia¡¯s indirect way ofplimenting him,


    making his day because he reckoned she approved of him. ¡°Eat more if you like it. There¡¯s plenty left for


    both of us.¡± Toby smiled and pulled the chair, sitting down on it before the two of them began to dig in.


    When they were halfway through enjoying their meal, Toby put down his bowl and gazed at Sonia. ¡°Stay


    home at rest while I¡¯ll head out to take care of some business. I¡¯ll be back when I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t really have to keep mepany because I¡¯m going to work


    later.¡±


    ¡°Work?¡± Toby glimpsed at the balcony and looked back at thedy with a strange gaze. ¡°Are you sure


    about that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded, still unable to notice Toby¡¯s unusual response.


    Toby propped his head and smiled ambiguously at her. ¡°Do you have any idea what time it is now?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard that, as she had a bad feeling that surged through her. ¡°W-


    What time is it now?¡± Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s noon now.


    Then, Toby reached for his phone and showed it to Sonia, who got stunned after looking at the time on


    the screen. ¡°Sixteen hundred hours?¡± ording to the time in Westsanshire, it should be around 4 PM


    now. At the thought of that, she eximed with her mouth wide agape in disbelief. ¡°What?! I was asleep


    for so long?!¡±


    ¡°You were beat and exhausted, so it¡¯s not surprising that you had a long sleep.¡± Toby put away his phone


    and nodded.


    ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not surprising?¡± Sonia covered her face in frustration. ¡°I was supposed to visit the


    site and inspect the renovation, but¡­¡± The renovation team should already be gone by now, yet here I


    thought it was just noon by now after I woke up. Wait a second.


    ¡°By the way, when did you wake up?¡± Sonia stared at the man and asked.


    ¡°Around noon,¡± Toby answered upon taking a sip of water.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up after you were up for so long?¡± Sonia raised her voice.


    Toby blinked innocently. ¡°Because I wanted you to sleep longer due to the tiring moments we went


    throughst night. Furthermore, are you sure you were in the right condition to go to work even if I woke


    you up at that time?¡± He subconsciously shifted his gaze to her crotch.


    ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡± Sonia steered the man¡¯s face away from her in embarrassment, secretly


    admitting the fact that she wouldn¡¯t have been able to head to work, even if Toby had woken her up. After


    all, her poor condition wouldn¡¯t have been better before noon either, as she believed she would have


    struggled to walk as well.


    Ugh, man! If I had insisted on visiting the site to inspect the renovation, I would have be a


    laughingstock there.


    ¡°Oh man. If I had known that I¡¯d be in such a poor state today, I would have¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your job isn¡¯t affected at all.¡± Toby interrupted her words because he would never let her


    regret the precious moment they shared the night before.


    ¡°What? Did you just say that my job isn¡¯t affected at all?¡± Sonia¡¯s anxiety seemed to be alleviated by


    Toby¡¯s reassuring reply.


    Toby nodded and said, ¡°I had Tom apply for leave for both of us this morning, so your secretary should


    know what to do. Besides, she hasn¡¯t called you until now, so that must mean she has taken care of


    everything.¡±


    Upon hearing the man¡¯s exnation, Sonia squinted and believed that Toby could be right. However, she


    was still prompted by her prudent nature to seek confirmation from her secretary. Needless to say, Toby


    saw through what was on her mind and decided to hand her phone over to her without even being asked


    to do that.


    In the meantime, Sonia was about to give Daphne a call to ask thetter about thetest arrangement of


    her that day, but as soon as she unlocked her phone screen, she saw her secretary¡¯s message that was


    received earlier that morning. It turned out that her original itinerary was rescheduled right after her


    absence at work was confirmed. Then, she took a look at the amended schedule and saw the inspection


    was dyed to the following day, just as the construction team would postpone their ns. It was only


    then that she heaved a sigh of relief and put her mind to ease.


    Meanwhile, Toby, who was sitting beside her, was able to see her message. Thus, he smiled and said,


    ¡°See? It¡¯s like I said, isn¡¯t it? If your secretary couldn¡¯t take care of something so simple, she should


    probably resign and leave the job.¡±


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    Nheless, Sonia only ignored Toby, putting away her phone as she continued to enjoy her meal. After


    that, Toby proceeded to wash the dish and clean the table, but since the dishwashing machine did most


    of the job, he didn¡¯t really have to wash them by himself.


    On the other hand, Sonia decided to take another bath to relieve the soreness all over her body.


    Needless to say, she had help from Toby, who carried her to the bathroom, whereupon he filled the


    bathtub with water for her and left her to it. Then, Sonia stood in front of the mirror and took off her


    sleeping robe, taking a deep breath at the sight of the bruises that covered all of her body. In fact, when


    she spotted the blue-ck patches on her corbone, she had a feeling that there was more than what


    she had seen. Now that she had witnessed the bruises with her own eyes, she med Toby once again


    for putting her through the pain that she was currently experiencing.


    ¡°What a rascal!¡± Soniained angrily, calling Toby names for inflicting the bruises on her.


    Nevertheless, she quickly put it behind her when she thought about the initiative he took to handle what


    could have been a mess to her job.


    Therefore, she let out a sigh and ced her arms on the bathtub¡¯s edge, slowly immersing herself in the


    water. As the warm water widened the pores on her skin, she felt sofortable she couldn¡¯t help but


    close her eyes and enjoy the wonderful moment with a blissful smile on her face.


    Meanwhile, Toby was sitting on the couch outside the bathroom, waiting for Sonia to be done so that he


    could carry her. At the same time, he wasn¡¯t just idly waiting. Instead, he reached for his phone and


    called his bodyguards, who were nearby, to buy some medicine from the pharmacy. Half an hourter,


    Toby heard thedy¡¯s voice from the bathroom. ¡°I¡¯m done, Toby.¡±


    While Sonia¡¯s voice seemingly became more soothing after the cozy shower, Toby gulped with a


    darkened gaze. ¡°Coming,¡± he responded with a deep voice, making his way toward the bathroom, only to


    take more than ten minutes to carry Sonia out of it.


    At that moment, Sonia was wearing a thin sleeping gown with her noticeably blushed cheeks while Toby


    carried her in his arms. Besides that, the sight of her catching her breath with her mouth wide agape


    somehow seemed to excite Toby, who appeared to be smiling in satisfaction. As it might suggest, the


    couple must have done something intimate within the past ten minutes in the bathroom.


    When Toby carried Sonia to the couch and was about to dry her hair for her, the doorbell rang. He then


    put down the hairdryer and said, ¡°Sit down. I guess the medicine I ordered someone to buy me is here.


    Let me check it out.¡±


    ¡°Medicine? What kind of medicine?¡± Sonia¡¯s heart sank when she heard that word, which urred to her


    as contraceptive pills. After all, they didn¡¯t have any protection when they went about their intimate


    moment the night before.


    Thus, she couldn¡¯t help but feel insecure now that Toby had just gotten someone to stop by the


    drugstore.


    Wait a second! If the medicine he bought is the kind that I¡¯m thinking of, then I¡­


    In the meantime, Toby had no idea what was on Sonia¡¯s mind, so he only told her that she would know


    what it was soon enough and went ahead to answer the door, leaving thedy restless and uneasy. By


    the time Toby returned to her, he was still able to see the worry that was written on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby opened up the paper bag, going through the content inside it while asking thedy


    a question.


    Sonia shook her head with an avoidant gaze. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Sensing her reluctance to speak up, Toby decided not to force Sonia and brought the medicine before


    her eyes. ¡°Here you go.¡± When she received it and took a closer look at it, she realized the medicine was


    not the contraceptive pills she was expecting, but some anti-inmmatory gel instead.


    Sonia blinked. ¡°So, this is the medicine you told someone to buy for you?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Your bruises and my wounds could use a little treatment, so I sent someone to buy


    it for us.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Sonia set her eyes on the paper bag and asked.


    ¡°Yes, there is,¡± Toby replied.


    Initially feeling relieved, Sonia was once again overwhelmed by the nervousness that was written all over


    her pale face. ¡°So, there is really something else?¡±

 Chapter 752

    Chapter 752


    Chapter 752 Wild Imaginations


    Oh really? Did Toby buy n B? Sonia¡¯s heart skipped a beat, her eyes staring at the paper bag like


    sharp des as she wondered what was within.


    However, Toby was still not aware of Sonia¡¯s disturbed feelings due to her unobvious expression. Soon,


    he emptied the paper bag by taking every single item out of it, including some gauze, cotton wool,


    iodophor, and alcohol, which were mostly sterilization agents. Although there was nothing else besides


    those few things, Sonia skeptically reached for the bag to take a closer look and realized there was


    nothing else inside. After confirming the bag was empty, she heaved a sigh of relief.


    In the meantime, Toby knitted his eyebrows when he noticed her relieved look. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Sonia smiled and shook her head, feeling a little guilty at the same time. Deep down, she


    reckoned she had wronged his kind intentions, thinking he had bought morning-after pills. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The


    lady suddenly apologized to the man.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the sudden apology?¡± Toby frowned in confusion.


    Sonia smiled without any intention of hiding her feelings. ¡°I thought the medicine you told your men to


    buy was morning-after pills, so¡­¡± She didn¡¯t finish her sentence because it was self-exnatory.


    ¡°Do you seriously think I¡¯d let you take that kind of medicine?¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    Sensing the anger in Toby¡¯s tone, Sonia guiltily kept her head down. ¡°Well, you can¡¯t me me for


    thinking that way. Of all the times you could ask them to go to the drugstore, you chose now, so how was


    I supposed to not misunderstand?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Toby poked her forehead with his finger. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just have a little faith in me? Do you know


    I wish for you to get pregnant? Because then we¡¯ll be able to register ourselves as legal spouses, so why


    would I let you take something like that? Furthermore, they are harmful to your health, and I would never


    do that unless I¡¯m out of my mind.¡±


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    Sonia fixed her gaze on the man and gently tugged his sleeves. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is my bad. I didn¡¯t know


    what your stance was about pregnancy, so I kind of got a little sensitive about that. Now that you¡¯ve told


    me about your stance, I swear I¡¯ll put a stop to my wild imaginations.¡±


    It was then Toby finally rxed his eyebrows and hugged her in his arms. ¡°I should apologize to you as


    well. I should have told you how I felt about pregnancy, but I let your wild imaginations get the better of


    you because I didn¡¯t do that. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯re both in the wrong, so why don¡¯t we consider this even?¡± Sonia shook her head and


    gazed at the man.


    Toby looked back at her with a smile, amused by her reaction. ¡°Are you going to be upset if I disagree


    with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia jutted her chin.


    Toby then gently bit her chin and replied, ¡°Alright, I want you to be happy, so we¡¯re even.¡±


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯re you doing?¡± Sonia rubbed her chin, ring at Toby, whoughed out loud happily and


    carried her in his arms.


    Startled, Sonia wrapped her arms around the man¡¯s neck while Toby carried her and walked toward the


    bedroom. Upon arrival, he put her down on the bed and set his eyes on the gel she was holding. ¡°Would


    you like me to help you with it?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need your help. I can handle it myself.¡± Sonia was irritated, her face blushing in


    embarrassment.


    Is he kidding me? How can I let him help me apply this gel¡­ down there? We might have had the most


    intimate moment together, and he has certainly seen every part of me, but what happens now is another


    story. I mustn¡¯t let him see or touch that part of me again! Who knows his urges could get the better of


    him anytime? I¡¯d be at a disadvantage by then.


    Despite knowing that Sonia would reject him, Toby still intentionally asked her that question to pull her


    leg. ¡°Alright, do it yourself then. I¡¯ll step outside now.¡± Toby fixed his clothes after putting her down and


    left the room.


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Sonia suddenly called out to Toby.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Toby stopped in his tracks and looked back.


    ¡°Lie down on your belly.¡± Sonia patted the empty space beside her.


    Toby raised his eyebrows with a smile. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯re you going to do to me?¡±


    Upon hearing his question, Sonia rolled her eyes upward in response. ¡°Can you stop thinking about


    those dirty thoughts, Toby? I wonder what else is on your mind.¡±


    What is he expecting me to do to him? I¡¯m sore from head to toe, so unless I¡¯m going crazy, I¡¯m not doing


    anything out of the ordinary to him.


    Meanwhile, Toby knew he had crossed the line with his joke, so he rubbed his nose and faked a cough.


    ¡°Okay. Okay, I¡¯ll knock it off right now.¡±


    ¡°Good. Lie down on your belly then.¡± Sonia patted the space next to her once more.


    Although Toby had no idea what Sonia wanted to do to him, he still listened to her and did as told. After


    all, he reckoned he should listen to Sonia, whom he had long treated as his wife. Thus, he obedientlyy


    down on his belly, right where Sonia patted.


    ¡°Take off your shirt.¡± Sonia grabbed the iodophor and looked at Toby¡¯s shirt. Due to the heater in the


    house, the man only wore a shirt without his vest. So when he heard thedy telling him to take off his


    shirt, his eyes brightened up with excitement.


    However, when he looked back, he realized he had gotten carried away upon noticing what thedy was


    holding. It turned out that Sonia only wanted to apply the medicine to his back. At the thought of that, a


    regretful look shed across Toby¡¯s face before it disappeared. Then, he did as Sonia told and took off


    his shirt, revealing his upper body.


    Thanks to Toby¡¯s disciplined workout routine, the days he had spent in the gym had rewarded him with


    an attractive physique, which included his eight-pack abdomen that looked like a piece of chocte bar.


    While it was nice to touch, Sonia remembered that she had touched it more than once the night before.


    At the thought of that, she subconsciously shifted her gaze to Toby¡¯s abdomen, but unfortunately, the


    man immediatelyy down on his belly right after he took off his shirt, hiding his muscr abdomen. In


    that instant, she could only see the silhouette of his physique but not the muscles, let alone touch them.


    s!


    As a regretful look shed across Sonia¡¯s face, she bitterly went ahead to sterilize the wounds on Toby¡¯s


    back with the alcohol and the anti-inmmatory medicine. After all, she understood that the wounds


    could lead to inmmation if they continued to be covered underneath the man¡¯s shirt without medicine


    for a long period of time. ¡°I¡¯m going to put some medicine on your back now, so please bear with the


    pain.¡± Sonia turned around slightly, speaking to the man who was lying on the bed.


    ¡°I will. You may start now.¡± The man closed his eyes.


    Sonia replied with an affirmative hum and began to do what she was going to do. Since the alcohol could


    irritate fresh wounds, Toby moaned and shivered in pain the moment it came into contact with his wound.


    At the same time, Sonia paused and peeked at Toby, realizing he hadn¡¯t opened his eyes at all. In the


    meantime, he furrowed his eyebrows a lot tighter, with sweat covering his forehead.


    Oh my gosh! It looks like this really hurts him a lot. Staring at the scratch marks all over his back, Sonia


    felt a pang of guilt because she was the one who inflicted those wounds on him.


    Then, Sonia took a look at her own long fingernails, wondering whether she should find time to trim them


    instead of keeping them so that she wouldn¡¯t hurt him with her scratches again. After a brief moment of


    contemtion, she decided to concentrate on treating Toby¡¯s wound and put the idea at the back of her


    mind as she continued to sterilize the man¡¯s wounds.


    After more than ten minutes, the sterilization process was finally over. Then, when Sonia looked at Toby


    once again, she noticed his pale face, which implied how painful it was to him throughout the process.


    Thus, she sympathetically wiped the sweat on his face with her sleeves and said, ¡°Alright, the


    sterilization is done, so I¡¯m going to apply the gel on you now, and it won¡¯t hurt anymore.¡±

 Chapter 753

    Chapter 753


    Chapter 753 A Visit to Jessica


    ¡°Sure, you make the call.¡± Toby opened his eyes slightly, responding with his hoarse voice.


    Sonia replied with an affirmative hum and started applying the anti-inmmatory gel to the scratch marks


    on his back, during which she inevitably touched the caning scars left on the man¡¯s skin.


    Although Toby had already recovered from those wounds, they became horrible-looking scars that


    looked like centipedes. In the meantime, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel heartbroken at the sight of those


    scars. Her eyes were filled with tears all of a sudden. ¡°It must have hurt a lot, right?¡±


    Knowing what thedy was asking, Toby kept his eyes on the white bedsheet he was lying on with a


    smile. ¡°What¡¯s done is done, plus I did something terrible, so I deserved to be punished.¡± The man didn¡¯t


    answer her question directly because he didn¡¯t see any meaning in doing so since his wounds had


    already be scars.


    Moreover, he was prevented by his pride as a man to tell her directly that it hurt as it would make him


    seem useless, but at the same time, he reckoned it would sound too fake if he told her that it didn¡¯t hurt


    at all. Therefore, he decided to be coy in answering her question.


    ¡°Something terrible? Why would you beat yourself up for that?¡± Sonia sniggered, finding Toby¡¯s reply


    amusing.


    Nevertheless, Toby turned around slightly and propped his head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t being dramatic. Back then, I


    was hypnotized into doing horrible things, but in hindsight, those were things that I wouldn¡¯t have done if


    I could act on my free will. Thus, I wasn¡¯t technically wrong with what I just said.¡±


    Sonia let out a sigh and answered, ¡°This was all Tina¡¯s fault. She was the one who sought help from a


    hypnotist to brainwash you.¡±


    ¡°The hypnotist was her then-boyfriend¡¯s brother,¡± Toby squinted and said.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I know that. Tim spoke to me about that earlier. He even mentioned that your heart was


    transnted from Tina¡¯s then-boyfriend, who was the hypnotist¡¯s brother.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It belonged to Quentin back then.¡±


    Sonia looked at the man and added, ¡°Tim even said the timing of your heart donor showing up was too


    much of a coincidence. After all, the Fuller Family had been searching for the right heart for you, but had


    no luck for twenty-four years. Still, just when the golden period for your heart transnt surgery to be


    carried out was about toe to an end, Quentin passed away, and it just so happened that his heart


    waspatible with yours. This obviously aroused Tim¡¯s suspicion and made him wonder whether Tina


    was responsible for causing Quentin¡¯s ident. Besides, he also said you were investigating the matter,


    so is there any new update about it?¡±


    Toby shook his head with a cial look. ¡°Nothing much. Quentin¡¯s ident happened six years ago, and


    the location it took ce was somewhere on the outskirts. There was no surveince camera nearby,


    and neither was there anyone who lived around that area. Therefore, there was no witness who saw


    what happened at that time. Because of that, the investigation has be tough.¡±


    ¡°Now that you put it this way, it seems to me that the car ident was no coincidence.¡± Sonia stroked


    her chin and analyzed. ¡°The car ident happened somewhere sparsely popted on the outskirts with


    no surveince camera. Well, it looks pretty obvious that whoever caused the ident didn¡¯t want to


    alert anyone about it.¡±


    Toby chuckled coldly and replied, ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s why Tina definitely has something to do with


    Quentin¡¯s death, but sadly, we don¡¯t know where Tina is. Otherwise, we could just directly interrogate


    her.¡±


    ¡°You have a point.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°I wonder where Tina is hiding to manage to stay away from you for


    so long, which I find surprising.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as we¡¯re still alive, I¡¯m sure her vengeful nature will prompt her to show up and


    retaliate one day,¡± Toby held Sonia¡¯s hand and said.


    Sonia curled her lips and smiled. ¡°I know, which is why I¡¯m not in a hurry to look for Tina at all, but as for


    Quentin¡¯s death, have you told the hypnotist about it?¡±


    ¡°Nope, I haven¡¯t.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s still not toote to tell Miles about that when we find Tina. By


    then, we could even let him do his trick if she refuses to reveal the truth.¡±


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Alright, let go of my hand now. I still need to apply the gel on you.¡± Sonia changed the


    subject, impatiently telling the man to let go of her hand when she felt his strong resistance.


    Toby chuckled and let go of her hand. After Sonia had her hands free, she continued to apply the gel on


    his back. Soon, Toby put on his shirt and got up from the bed. ¡°I need to go now.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sonia waved her hand. ¡°You have something to attend to, right? Hurry up before it gets


    dark.¡± It¡¯s already 5.30 PM now.


    Toby took a look at the time and realized it was getting a little toote, so he nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll


    get going first. I¡¯ll be back when I¡¯m done.¡± He nted a kiss on her cheek and grabbed his coat before


    leaving the room.


    Sonia rubbed her cheek and smiled, reaching for the gel while taking off her bathrobe with a blushed


    face.


    On the other hand, Toby entered the car park and drove away from Bayside Residence, hitting the road


    as he made a phone call. Half an hourter, he arrived at the police station and parked his car, at which


    point Tom walked closer and opened the door for him. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    Toby replied with an affirmative hum in response and unfastened his seatbelt. Then, he gave Tom the car


    keys and walked toward the police station. Meanwhile, Tom, who held the keys, followed right behind


    and asked, ¡°By the way, did you tell Miss Reed that you¡¯re going to meet Jessica, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby stopped in his tracks. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? She mustn¡¯t know about it?¡±


    ¡°No, she mustn¡¯t.¡± Tom adjusted his sses in embarrassment. ¡°I got a call from the police this morning,


    and they told me to keep Miss Reed out of the loop about you meeting Jessica. They said this is


    Jessica¡¯s special request, and if Sonia knows about it, she won¡¯t want to see you anymore. Then, she¡¯ll


    make sure you regret it when she leaves jail. I forgot to tell you that when we were talking on the phone,


    but I did send you a message subsequently. So, I¡¯m asking now because you didn¡¯t reply to my


    message, and I thought you didn¡¯t see it.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Toby squinted, thinking that was why he didn¡¯t tell Sonia he was going to meet Jessica. ¡°Anyway,


    you said Jessica will make me regret it if I tell Little Leaf that I¡¯m going to meet her, didn¡¯t you?¡± Toby


    sniggered coldly.


    ¡°Yes, she did.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°Really? I want to see how she can make me regret it. Is she still in the detention room now?¡± Toby


    responded with a cial smile on his face.


    ¡°Yes, she is,¡± Tom replied. ¡°Her sentence hasn¡¯t been confirmed because there hasn¡¯t been a decision


    made by the court. Therefore, she is now detained in the police station for the time being until her


    sentence is confirmed. Then, she will be sent to jail after that.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I heard you.¡± Toby nodded, stepping forward without saying a word more. Soon, they were both


    taken to Jessica by a police officer.


    On the other hand, Jessica was sitting in an interrogation chair in the detention room with her hands


    cuffed. Unable to move, she was seen wearing a yellow singlet that all detained suspects wore with a


    haggard look on her face.


    Due to the fear of being sentenced to prison, Jessica suffered from extreme insomnia and anorexia that


    made her look very emaciated. With her bony face and yellowish skin apanied by dark circles, she


    looked as if she had aged a few years, much to the men¡¯s disbelief.


    ¡°Is this Jessica?¡± Tom stood behind Toby, looking at Jessica behind the ss while eximing in


    disbelief.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the screaming?¡± Toby looked back at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller. I can¡¯t help it. I was just shocked to see her like that.¡± Tom giggled.

 Chapter 754

    Chapter 754


    Chapter 754 Jessica¡¯s Bargaining Chip


    Able to empathize with Tom, Toby understood why Tom would feel shocked at the sight of Jessica¡¯s


    frightening appearance. At the same time, Jessica could hear the conversation between Tom and Toby in


    the detention room. Seeing the fear in Tom¡¯s eyes, Jessica couldn¡¯t help but feel her heart sinking. After


    all, she hadn¡¯t washed her face and removed her make-up in days, and herck of sleep only served to


    make her look even more emaciated.


    Thus, she was aware of how frightening her appearance was but didn¡¯t expect to see someone exim


    at the sight of her looks. Deep down, she couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she had be ugly, especially in


    front of Toby, whom she considered an outstanding man.


    The more she dwelled on that matter, the more she wanted to cover her face to keep anyone from


    seeing it. However, she quickly realized her hands were strapped to the armrest and weren¡¯t able to


    move at all.


    Therefore, she could only keep her head down to avoid their gaze. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me! I said don¡¯t look!¡±


    Shemanded with a maniacal voice, her body shivering like a madwoman as Toby watched in disgust


    with a frown on his face.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Then, Tom pointed at her. ¡°President Fuller, do you think she¡¯s gone nuts?¡±


    ¡°Do you think someone as scheming as her would go nuts so easily?¡± Toby asked his assistant back


    coldly.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Tom gulped and scratched his head. ¡°I guess you have a point.¡±


    At that moment, the police officer guarding the entrance came over and knocked on the ss with his


    baton, warning thedy sternly. ¡°Silence! Open your eyes and look around you! This is not your home, so


    shut your mouth up!¡±


    Seeing the police officer¡¯s darkened face, Jessica backed away fearfully and kept quiet. After all, ever


    since she was detained a few days ago, she had been tortured by those officers to the point of


    traumatization. She seemed to have been conditioned to fear them, knowing about the extreme


    measures they would resort to when dealing with criminals. Thus, she didn¡¯t dare to mess with those


    officers.


    As soon as Jessica kept her mouth shut, the police officer put away his baton and turned around to Toby


    with a polite smile. ¡°Please carry on with your conversation, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded, replying with an affirmative hum.


    After the officer tipped his hat and walked out of the ce, the detention room was left with Toby and the


    other two in it. Then, Toby took a step forward and walked closer to the ss, staring at thedy with his


    cold gaze. ¡°Why did you want to meet me?¡±


    Upon hearing the man¡¯s question, Jessica looked up in fear but immediately kept her head down for the


    next second like a frightened rabbit.


    Meanwhile, Tom began to run out of patience at the sight of Jessica¡¯s expression, frowning in frustration.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that supposed to mean? You¡¯re acting like President Fuller is going to bite you.¡±


    Well, I think President Fuller would rather ¡®bite¡¯ Miss Reed, in fact. That¡¯ll never happen to you,dy.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it. I don¡¯t want to see her face any longer either, anyway.¡± Toby pursed his lips, speaking


    with a bitter voice.


    Jessica squinted in anger, feeling insulted upon hearing Toby¡¯s words. Although she knew Toby didn¡¯t


    like her, she was unhappy that he didn¡¯t treat her with the chivalry and decency she deserved as ady.


    On the inside, she believed Toby was aware of her feelings for him and was convinced that the reason


    she kept her head down was to prevent him from seeing her ugly face.


    He knows how I feel, yet he still says all those mean things to hurt me. At the thought of that, Jessica


    looked up and red at Toby like he was her unfaithful lover who wronged her.


    While Toby appeared rather calm, Tom felt so disgusted that he was starting to have goosebumps


    running all over his body. What¡¯s that look supposed to mean,dy? It¡¯s disgusting!


    ¡°Mr. Fuller.¡± Jessica sat straight in the interrogation chair, taking a deep breath as she set her enchanted


    eyes on the rich and handsome man like he was an angel who cast a spell on her. ¡°Mr. Fuller, the reason


    why I sent for you is that I want you to get me out of here. With your power and status, I believe that¡¯s not


    something very hard to pull off.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me. Did you just say that you want me to get you out of here?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Jessica nodded in a serious manner.


    At that instant, Toby looked at thedy with a strange gaze, having a weird feeling as if he knew nothing


    about thedy at all.


    On the other hand, Tom dramatically eximed, ¡°Jeez! Am I overreacting, or are you out of your mind?


    You¡¯re telling President Fuller to get you out of detention, aren¡¯t you? You probably need to get your brain


    checked, Jessica. Don¡¯t you know about the rtionship between President Fuller and Miss Reed?


    You¡¯re enemies with Miss Reed, so that makes you the enemy of President Fuller as well. So, why do


    you still have the cheek to demand President Fuller help you get out of trouble? Unless he is out of his


    mind, President Fuller will never break up with Miss Reed and agree to help you. Besides.¡± He paused


    and smirked. ¡°Even if President Fuller and Miss Reed didn¡¯t know each other, he has no reason to save


    you from your trouble. Who are you, after all?¡±


    Upon hearing the man¡¯s mean reply, Jessica reacted with a twisted expression on her face shortly before


    she returned to normal. She then fixed her gaze on Toby¡¯s conceited look and said, ¡°I may be a nobody


    to Mr. Fuller, but I¡¯m sure you will promise to get me out of this ce.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± Tom furrowed his eyebrows while Toby squinted skeptically.


    ¡°Because I know a little secret that is about Sonia.¡± Acent look slowly began to show on Jessica¡¯s


    face.


    ¡°Really? A secret about Sonia?¡± Toby squinted even more.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Jessica¡¯s eyes were filled with craze and madness. ¡°I discovered Sonia¡¯s actual identity.¡±


    Tom rolled his eyes upward in response when he heard those words. ¡°Oh, jeez! And here I thought it was


    something else big and dramatic. Didn¡¯t you already know Miss Reed¡¯s actual identity long ago? What


    else is there besides the fact that she is not the Reed Family¡¯s biological daughter? You even tried to


    spread it on the inte but failed to seed in the end, yet you¡¯re now nning to use the same old


    trick twice, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    While Toby remained quiet with his head kept down in a broody manner, Jessica unhappily gawked at


    Tom. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m no fool. Of course, I¡¯m not going to use the same old trick twice. It¡¯s no longer


    useful anymore, after all. Instead, I mean I¡¯ve discovered whose biological daughter Sonia is when I


    mention her actual identity.¡±


    Toby immediately looked up, radiating an intimidating aura upon hearing that as Tom¡¯s face changed.


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said I know who Sonia¡¯s biological parents are.¡± Jessica felt gleeful upon witnessing the two men¡¯s


    reaction,ughing maniacally.


    Unsure whether Jessica was telling the truth, Tom decided to sound her out for Toby. ¡°Why should we


    believe that you know who her real parents are? You could be lying.¡±


    ¡°There is no reason for me to lie because I¡¯m counting on this secret to get me out of here,¡± Jessica


    answered with a cold grunt.


    A cial look shed across Toby¡¯s face shortly before it disappeared. He then asked with a cold voice,


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you want me to get you out of here in exchange for the secret that will reveal who


    Sonia¡¯s biological parents are?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Jessica jutted her chin.


    Meanwhile, Tom couldn¡¯t stand the smug expression on Jessica¡¯s face, feeling annoyed to see her acting


    as if she had everything under control, but when he was about to say something, Toby raised his hand as


    a gesture to tell him to keep quiet. Therefore, Tom reluctantly remained silent as he was told and said


    nothing more.


    Soon, Toby fixed his gaze on Jessica, his eyes filled with unfathomable emotions. ¡°What makes you think


    I¡¯ll get you out of here right after you tell me who Sonia¡¯s parents are? Moreover, do you think you¡¯re in a


    position to make deals?¡± Although he had no idea whether Jessica was aware that the couple from the


    Gray Family was, in fact, Sonia¡¯s biological parents, he decided to seize the opportunity and sound her


    out.

 Chapter 755

    Chapter 755


    Chapter 755 Jessica¡¯s Threat


    Jessica clenched her fists, trying to hide her fear while looking at Toby. ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t be in a


    ce to make deals with you if Sonia¡¯s parents were just ordinary people, but what if I say her parents


    are Titus and his wife?¡±


    While Tom took a deep breath upon hearing thedy¡¯s words, Toby squinted with a darkened look on his


    face. So, it¡¯s true that thisdy knows Titus and his wife are Sonia¡¯s parents.


    ¡°President Fuller!¡± Tom immediately looked at Toby.


    Nheless, Toby raised his hand, gesturing to his assistant to keep quiet, whereupon Tom nodded and


    stepped back.


    However, Jessica appeared to be satisfied with the two men¡¯s reaction, smiling with glee. ¡°How does that


    sound, Mr. Fuller? Is this secret surprising enough to you?¡±


    In the meantime, Tom, who was standing right behind Toby, rolled his eyes upward in response, thinking


    thedy was a fool because she didn¡¯t know that Toby was already aware of who Sonia¡¯s biological


    parents were.


    So, Jessica really thinks she can trade this secret with her freedom through a deal with President Fuller.


    Howughable that is!


    With a darkened expression on his face, Toby quickly calmed himself down and asked gloomily, ¡°What


    makes you so sure that Titus and his wife are Sonia¡¯s parents?¡±


    Meanwhile, Jessica failed to notice anything wrong with Toby and Tom¡¯s expressions, as she still thought


    that everything was under her control. Thus, she began to get carried away and jutted her chin, saying,


    ¡°In fact, I didn¡¯t know that until I was kept here. Then, I recalled the conversation that I overheard


    between Tina and Sonia in the hospital that day. When I found out that Tina wanted Sonia to donate her


    kidney to Titus, I got curious and wondered why Sonia and Titus¡¯ kidneys were so conveniently


    compatible with each other, so I investigated the matter further by skimming through Sonia¡¯s medical


    report.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how you found out that Sonia isn¡¯t the Reed Family¡¯s biological daughter?¡± Toby had known


    about that from Sonia long ago, but decided to y Jessica¡¯s game to see where she would lead him.


    Unknown to Jessica, she didn¡¯t know that she was, in fact, the clown and still believed that she was the


    one in control, which Toby foundughable.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Jessica nodded before a hideous look showed on her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t read too much into


    Sonia¡¯s rtionship with Titus at that time. Instead, I was simply too excited about the fact that Sonia is


    not my father¡¯s biological daughter. It was not long before my impulse got the better of me and prompted


    me to spread the news all over the inte. Although I subsequently ended up here because of that, I


    suppose it was still a blessing in disguise because it gave me enough time to figure out that Sonia is


    actually Titus¡¯ real daughter.¡±


    She gritted her teeth and added, ¡°Right after I read Sonia¡¯s medical report, I went on to peek at Titus¡¯


    report as well and realized that they both shared the same blood type. More importantly, Titus¡¯ peculiar


    physical condition and blood type made it hard for him to find apatible kidney donor unless he had


    help from anyone rted to him by blood. While my excitement about the fact that Sonia is not my


    father¡¯s daughter blinded me from realizing that, I¡¯m sure I would have figured their rtionship out


    sooner had I thought about it calmer. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be trapped here.¡±


    Thinking that she could just reveal the truth to make Sonia fall apart, Jessica was grateful that it wasn¡¯t


    toote for her to figure out the untold story.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Toby reacted with a cial look, catching on to how Jessica came to know so much. I


    thought someone told her all these things, but it turns out that she figured everything out by herself. He


    looked down a little to hide his expression, coldly asking, ¡°But why should I believe that you¡¯re telling me


    the truth?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m telling you the truth. If you don¡¯t believe me, you could arrange a paternity test for Sonia


    and Titus. With what you¡¯re capable of, you can easily do that without them even knowing it.¡± Jessica


    gazed at the man.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby fiddled with his fingers, his emotions barely fathomable.


    Soon, something seemed to spring to Jessica¡¯s mind as she said, ¡°You can also start from the imposter,


    Tina. I don¡¯t know how she could keep her cover from being blown for so long, but once you find her,


    you¡¯ll know that Sonia is actually Tina, since even she had to talk Sonia into donating her kidney to Titus.


    For that, it¡¯s obvious enough that Sonia is, in fact, the one who belongs with the Gray Family instead of


    Tina.¡±


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea,¡± Toby replied with a bleak voice.


    Still unable to sense anything awry, Jessica thought Toby wasplimenting her and smiled even wider.


    ¡°What do you think, Mr. Fuller? Is this secret worth the trouble of getting me out of here? After all, you


    and I both know how much the Reed Family and the Gray Family hate each other, yet Sonia, who should


    have been with the Gray Family over the years, grew up with the Reeds. Ironically, her vendetta has


    always motivated her to cripple the Grays, in order to avenge the Reeds. So, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    Thedy gazed at Toby and continued to say, ¡°Do you think Sonia will be so heartbroken that she may


    commit suicide upon learning the truth that the person whom she has always wanted to seek revenge on


    is her father? After all, she has spent years trying to achieve her quest for vengeance, only to be


    disappointed because this so-called revenge that she prioritizes so much and even considers her life


    goal turns out to be nothing more than a joke. If that happens, which do you think she¡¯ll choose? Will she


    go ahead with her revenge or not? If she is going to do that, her parents are going to end up behind bars


    or even meet their demise, which will leave her stigmatized because she will have be the one who


    kills her parents. Do you think that¡¯s not going to haunt her conscience for the rest of her life?¡±


    While Toby¡¯s expression became even more and more darkened, Jessica became more and more


    excited. ¡°But if she gives up her quest for vengeance, she¡¯ll let the Reed Family down after all those


    years they spent raising her and educating her. You know what¡¯s sarcastic? Sonia may be Titus¡¯


    daughter, but she is nothing like this evil, cunning, and vicious man. Instead, she has Henry¡¯s hypocrisy,


    but knowing her, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be weighed down by her conscience for the rest of her life too, even if


    she decides not to seek revenge on the Grays because that means she¡¯ll be living in guilt until she dies.


    No matter which choice she makes, it won¡¯t end well for her. In fact, she may even¡­¡±


    ¡°In fact, she may even what?¡± Toby radiated an intimidating aura.


    Jessica smiled and answered, ¡°She may even take her own life in order to avoid the fate of having to


    make a tough choice. Knowing Sonia, I¡¯m quite convinced that she¡¯llmit suicide after learning the


    truth. Although this is what a dumb coward would do, it is a good way to resolve the vendetta between


    the Grays and the Reeds. For that, I believe my analysis has enlightened you about why you shouldn¡¯t


    let Sonia know that she is Titus¡¯ daughter. Am I right, Mr. Fuller?¡±


    As much as Jessica would hate to admit Toby¡¯s love for Sonia, she could tell that the man wouldn¡¯t let the


    truth break Sonia¡¯s heart, unless he was willing to watch her fall apart and kill herself. Therefore, she was


    confident that Toby would agree to get her out of detention.


    ¡°Is this a threat?¡± Toby squinted warily.


    Jessica smiled and replied, ¡°Come on, Mr. Fuller. How is this a threat to you? I¡¯m trying to make a deal


    with you instead. Once you get me out of here, break up with Sonia and be my man. Then, I¡¯ll make


    sure Sonia knows nothing about her actual identity. Considering your love for her, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do


    anything for her. Right, Mr. Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on. Where is your sense of shame?!¡± Tom could no longer stand Jessica¡¯s brazen attitude,


    pointing at her with his finger while lecturing her. ¡°You want President Fuller to get you out of this ce,


    as if you don¡¯t think it¡¯s too much to ask at all; now, you¡¯re even thinking you can be with President Fuller


    when you get out of here. Lady, you really know how to push your luck, but the question here is¡ªdo you


    think President Fuller is going to agree to your terms?¡±

 Chapter 756

    Chapter 756


    Chapter 756 No One Can ckmail Me


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Mr. Fuller will agree to it. I¡¯ve only just mentioned how much he loves Sonia, so there¡¯s no way


    he would risk letting her know the truth and have her breakdown over it. Instead, he would continue to


    keep her in the dark. Am I right, Mr. Fuller?¡± Jessica¡¯s gaze was burning hot as she stared at Toby


    meaningfully.


    It was precisely because she knew of his feelings for Sonia that she became emboldened to make such


    a request. Otherwise, she never would have said anything in the first ce.


    She could have not seen him altogether and demanded to see Sonia, thereafter telling her about her real


    identity and having her lose her mind over it as well. However, now that there was a chance for Jessica


    to be together with this man, torturing Sonia seemed secondary. If I get my hands on this man, Sonia


    would be equally tortured, too.


    Besides, Jessica could always get even with Sonia after she was released. More importantly, she was


    already excited at the prospect of showing up in front of Sonia while holding Toby¡¯s arm. I can just


    imagine the look on Sonia¡¯s face when that happens!


    The anticipation that came with these thoughts made Jessica tremble in an almost maniacal way.


    Toby, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t care less about what she thought, and he eyed her like he would a


    dead man as he bit out icily, ¡°You¡¯re right to say that I won¡¯t breathe a word to Sonia about her being


    Titus¡¯ biological daughter.¡±


    ¡°In that case, Mr. Fuller, you¡¯re left with no other choice but to break me out of here and be together with


    me,¡± Jessica dered arrogantly, tilting her chin up at a haughty angle.


    To the side, Tom rolled his eyes in exasperation as he barked, ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you just a little too full of


    yourself, Jessica? Do you honestly believe our President Fuller to be the type to ede to your threats


    just because you have something on him? Let me make one thing clear: you are way in over your head,


    and there is no way President Fuller will agree to break you out of here, much less be together with you,


    so give up!¡±


    Jessica¡¯s face twisted into an ugly grimace. ¡°What do you know, youpdog? I, for one, know about


    Sonia¡¯s true identity. If Mr. Fuller here doesn¡¯t want her to lose her mind after she learns the truth, then


    he¡¯ll have no choice but to agree to my terms, unless he cares so little for Sonia that he would rather see


    her die!¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom was not at all riled up despite having been called apdog. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had been


    called names, and being Toby¡¯s assistant for all these years had fortified him against such abuse. As


    such, he remained level-headed as he thought dryly, There are plenty of people in this world who would


    kill to be President Fuller¡¯spdog.


    Maintaining a cool front, he raised his brow and said apathetically, ¡°Of course, President Fuller loves


    Sonia and would do everything in his power to keep her from dying in a fit of hysterics. That being said,


    he would never agree to your oundish terms and bow before your threats. Do you truly think so highly


    of yourself that you believe you have what it takes to ckmail President Fuller? Please. Ever since he


    has taken control of the Fuller Family and Fuller Group, he¡¯s been threatened countless times, and none


    has made him surrender yet, so your confidence is beyondprehension. If the likes of you could bring


    him to his knees, then those who threatened him in the past ought to jump off a building in disbelief;


    we¡¯re talking about big shots which have the money and power to squash you under their thumbs and


    whatever weakness they thought they had found on President Fuller far exceeded the one you have


    now.¡±


    Upon hearing such mockery, Jessica choked on her own confidence, and she felt her heart plunge to her


    stomach as doubt crept over her. ¡°And what do you have to say, Mr. Fuller?¡± With her thoughts racing


    frantically, she stared at Toby as her voice rose in pitch and quivered dangerously. ¡°Do you or do you not


    agree?!¡±


    She had a feeling that everything was slipping out of her hands and that she could no longer be sure of


    his answer.


    Whatever Tom had said had truly shaken her, and a bad premonition dawned upon her as she became


    slowly convinced that she would not win this game of chess.


    No, don¡¯t think that, she thought wildly, shaking her head as though to discard the bad premonition. Of


    course, this will work. I know about Sonia¡¯s identity, and if Toby truly loves her so much, then he would


    agree to do what I asked of him¡ªhe will, and he must!


    She started chanting under her breath, as if that was the key to her sess.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯d have anything to say to you?¡± Toby looked up and said pointedly in clipped tones.


    Jessica swallowed, and rms sounded off in her heart as the bad feeling she had just suppressed


    bubbled up once more after she heard his stiff reply. ¡°W-What do you mean?¡± she demanded in a


    shaking voice.


    Tom scoffed in disdain. ¡°Isn¡¯t it clear? President Fuller does not agree!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Hysterical, Jessica faltered, and all the color drained from her face. Unable to take


    the hit of this rejection, she struggled and tried to barrel toward the imperious man to demand an


    exnation from him, and she did so with such vigor that the chair firmly nted on the ground began to


    shake.


    ¡°How is that impossible?¡± Tom pressed further, taking delight in her obvious rage.


    She was struggling so hard to break loose of her restraints that her face turned red, and her eyes were


    bloodshot as they bugged out. Manic frenzy seized her as she roared, ¡°This is about Sonia¡¯s safety, is it


    not? How could you disagree? Aren¡¯t you worried that I would tell Sonia everything? Or do you simply


    not love her at all?¡±


    ¡°Of course I love her!¡± Toby answered without a second of hesitation. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I have to


    listen to you. Fuller Group would have crumbled in my hands if I truly were so easily ckmailed.¡±


    Jessica was stunned, speechless for a moment when she heard his indifferent words, and then she burst


    into a hysterical rage as she roared, ¡°Okay, you made me do this, Toby. You made me! I¡¯m going to tell


    Sonia all about her real identity; I¡¯m going to make her lose her mind and kill herself! I¡¯ll make you regret


    this! Mark my words, Toby! Someonee get me!¡± she yelled for the policemen.


    Toby stood in ce, looking as impassive as ever andpletely unaffected by Jessica¡¯s senseless


    threats. He turned to give Tom a knowing look, and thetter nodded inprehension before walking


    out the door to pacify the police officers who were on their way in.


    With Tom gone, Toby and Jessica were the only ones left in the detention room.


    cing one hand on the ss and the other in his pocket, Toby leaned forward and lowered his gaze.


    Through the ss, he eyed Jessica with the same superiority and apathy that one might have for a pest


    and drawled icily, ¡°You won¡¯t even get the chance to tell her that. Do you think I wouldn¡¯t have thought of


    a contingency n the moment I rejected your sorry request? I will never let you get close enough to


    Sonia to tell her the truth, and you will have no way of contacting her. I won¡¯t even let you see anyone


    else from the outside world; I¡¯ll cut off all yourwork and let the secret die with your tortured soul as


    you get to know the fresh hell that is prison life.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Her eyes widened as she gaped at him in disbelief. She never expected him to be able to go the


    extra mile and cut off all her back-up ns. She had always imagined herself the victor in this game of


    chess, that she would be the one to cry ¡®checkmate!¡¯ to his face.


    Little did she know that he would be the one to beat her to it; she realized now that she had been his


    pawn all along, and she was never even a yer to begin with.


    ¡°I was wrong¡­¡± Regret crashed over her like a tidal wave, drowning her.


    The pleasure of knowing such a deep and dark secret had blinded her. She had forgotten that the man


    was an unforgiving, godlike character in the business world; plenty had tried to bring him down before,


    and none of them had seeded. Btedly, she started to wonder how she had been so confident that


    she could be the first one to one-up him through ckmail and bring him to his knees.


    At that moment, an icy chill washed over her as fear consumed all the air in her lungs. Her teeth seemed


    to chatter on their own will, and she gritted them hard as she stammered, ¡°Y-You can¡¯t do this¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Toby lifted his chin, looking down at her with immense superiority. ¡°No one other than Sonia


    gets to be so brazen in front of me as to be able to leave unscathed after threatening me. You should


    have thought about what might happen to you the very moment you decided to ckmail me!¡±

 Chapter 757

    Chapter 757


    Chapter 757 The ident


    Horror dawned on Jessica, and she felt her blood grow cold. Even her calves were trembling as she


    thought, This man is the devil! He actually wants someone to greet me in hell! Determined not to end up


    in the same miserable state as Sandra had, she cried out in panic, ¡°Mr. Fuller, I was wrong, I really was.


    Please, please don¡¯t do this to me! I promise this won¡¯t happen ever again. I swear on my life!¡± She


    began to plead for mercy relentlessly, hoping to persuade Toby to spare her.


    However, Toby remained impassive, and being the heartless man that he was, he didn¡¯t look like he was


    about to pardon her wrongdoings at all.


    Jessica might be brash, but she wasn¡¯t stupid. She knew what Sonia would look like the moment she


    found out about the truth of her own identity, and simrly, she knew there was no way Toby would spare


    her, even if she pleaded for mercy to her wits¡¯ end. Then why am I still begging like this?


    At the thought of this, a menacing grimace twisted her features, and she glowered at Toby mutinously,


    grinding out the words with force, ¡°Listen here, Fuller, even if you don¡¯t spare me now, I¡¯ll only be in


    prison for a couple of months. When I¡¯m released, I¡¯ll still find Sonia and tell her every little detail about


    her being Titus¡¯ biological daughter!¡±


    ¡°From the looks of things, Titus will only have a few months more to live. Do you think he¡¯d be around by


    the time you are released from prison? The moment he dies, the feud between the Reed and the Gray


    families will be automatically resolved, and the truth of Sonia¡¯s birth will not have that much of an effect


    on her anymore, so you were set up to fail from the very beginning,¡± Toby countered icily, then strode


    easily out of the door, leaving behind a shell-shocked Jessica.


    I-Is that true? Have I really been set up to fail from the very beginning? Jessica¡¯s lips quivered as she


    struggled toe to terms with this reality.


    But at that moment, the memories of how she had been forced to admit defeat before Sonia for thest


    few times shed in her mind; she had never once had the upper hand in any of their games. Is this it?


    Will I always be defeated by Sonia no matter how hard I try? No. This can¡¯t be. I won¡¯t stand for it. I will


    not go down like this!


    A sense of urgency gripped her as she turned to fix her eyes on the door, then maniacally shouted in its


    direction, ¡°Hey! Someone! Anyone! Bring me Sonia. I want to see Sonia!¡± She refused to believe that


    Toby truly had what it took to stop the police officers from viting her rights as a civilian to see anyone


    while in detention.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    s, even as her throat became sandpapery from all her roaring in the detention room, not one officer


    came in to check on her, for Tom had given all the officers a heads-up prior to this.


    ¡°President Fuller,¡± Tom greeted respectfully when he saw Toby emerge from the doorway, stopping his


    conversation with the captain of the police station.


    Toby hummed in acknowledgment, then strolled up to the captain with a proffered handshake. The


    captain, naturally, did not reject such pleasantries.


    Having exchanged a perfunctory handshake, Toby withdrew his hand and said, ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I


    need you and your officers to help me out with.¡±


    The captain eyed him evenly. ¡°Of course, Mr. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°I would like Jessica to be cut off from the outside world for the next few months of her imprisonment,¡±


    Toby began, meeting the captain¡¯s gaze steadily. ¡°I don¡¯t want her seeing or talking to anyone, and if


    there are any visitors who wish to see or speak to her, please turn them away and let me know


    immediately.¡±


    The captain gave an amiable smile. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s no trouble at all.¡± It went without saying that he only


    agreed to such terms so readily because of Toby¡¯s status as the president of Fuller Group, and he


    wouldn¡¯t have done so for any other ordinary person. More importantly, Toby¡¯s grandfather was a


    powerful politician who had contributed significantly to the country;mon courtesy would have


    compelled the captain to allow such a favor.


    ¡°Your help is greatly appreciated,¡± Toby said with a nod. ¡°When I get back, I shall have a sum of money


    wired to your esteemed station asbor fees.¡±


    Upon hearing this, the captain broke into a wide grin. ¡°We thank you in advance, President Fuller.¡±


    With a hum, Toby turned to leave the station, with Tom in tow.


    Having gotten into the car, Tom nced into the rearview mirror at the man who was pinching his nose


    bridge, asking, ¡°Will we be heading back to your ce now, President Fuller, or Miss Reed¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Toby looked up and shot him a withering look.


    Tom retracted his gaze immediately and fixed his eyes ahead. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll drop you off at Miss Reed¡¯s


    immediately.¡±


    He should have known the answer beforehand. President Fuller had only just imed Miss Reed as his


    ownst night, so naturally, he¡¯ll have to go back and keep herpany. I mean, he¡¯d be a jerk if he just


    sped off after putting on his pants and left her high and dry. No wonder he red at me; I basically asked


    a stupid question. Hah! Tom gave a sheepish grin and said nothing more as he proceeded to maneuver


    the car down the road.


    In the backseat, Toby had his phone in hand as he texted Sonia. ¡®I¡¯m on my way home now.¡¯


    Meanwhile, in Bayside Residence, Sonia was sitting on the couch watching television when she heard


    her phone chime with a new message. She picked it up and saw Toby¡¯s text, then smiled as she replied,


    ¡®Okay, I¡¯ll be right here waiting for you. Be safe on the way back.¡±


    A light chuckle escaped Toby, and after he replied to her text with a brief ¡®okay¡¯, he tossed his phone


    aside and stared out the window with his chin propped up on his palm.


    It was already getting dark outside, enough for him to see his own reflection in the ss.


    Just then, he thought of something and frowned, his expression growing grim as his mood obviously


    turned sour.


    After a pause, he took his hand off the car handle and asked aloud with narrowed eyes, ¡°When does


    Jessica¡¯s trial start?¡±


    Tom turned the steering wheel as he answered without missing a beat, ¡°Three dayster. The date


    comes sooner thanter because it¡¯s not a criminal case; if it were, we might have to wait for months


    before a date is set down for trial.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Toby nodded to show that he had heard his assistant¡¯s answer, then ordered coldly, ¡°When


    Jessica is transferred to the prison cell, have someone give her a warm wee. I want her to wish she


    was dead!¡±


    He was incensed that Jessica had threatened him and gone after Sonia. And I¡¯ll make sure she pays the


    price!


    Tom simply nodded solemnly. ¡°Got it, President Fuller.¡±


    Toby closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat, falling silent.


    In the silence of the vehicle, Tom nced into the rearview mirror at the man who appeared to be getting


    some shut-eye, and he suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy for Jessica. For heaven¡¯s sake, she could


    have trifled with anyone, but she just had to go for President Fuller and the love of his life, Miss Reed. I


    guess she deserves what¡¯sing for her now!


    He was just thinking of this when shock colored his face, for at that precise moment, a woman in a


    wheelchair rolled out from the left sidewalk up ahead.


    The woman didn¡¯t look like she had been expecting any vehicles to drive down the road, and she


    stiffened and stilled in surprise.


    At the sight of this, Tom grimaced and cursed, ¡°Crap, why did a pedestrian appear out of nowhere?!¡± It¡¯s


    a red light, for goodness¡¯ sake!


    ¡°President Fuller¡­¡± Tom was at aplete loss for what to do. There was only a short distance between


    the car and the woman in the wheelchair, and he didn¡¯t have enough time to brake. Even if he did, the


    car would still lurch forward and run the woman down on momentum.


    But if the car didn¡¯t knock the woman down and Tom were to veer the car toward the other side of the


    road, then he and Toby would end up getting hurt.


    Realizing the urgency of this situation, Toby had a hard look on his face as he clenched his fists and


    snapped, ¡°Veer to the left and drive into the hedge!¡± No matter what, they could not afford to run


    someone down to stop the momentum of the car.


    Immediately understanding what Toby asked of him, Tom had no choice but to quickly steer the car


    toward the left.


    Thankfully, the hedge on the left did not have one of those ridiculously tall curbs, and the car merely


    shook violently for a while as it collided into the roadside feature. The impact smashed the headlights in,


    and the car rm sounded frantically into the approaching evening.


    Other than the damage to the car, there didn¡¯t seem to be any problems.


    That being said, the airbags were still deployed, and Tom¡¯s head was left spinning from the collision.


    Toby wasn¡¯t doing any better in the backseat, for he was exceedingly dizzy after hitting his head against


    the car window.


    ¡°President Fuller!¡± Tom could hardly shake himself out of his daze, but he ignored his own dizzy spell as


    he hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt, thereafter turning to check on Toby.


    When he saw Toby pressing a hand to his forehead and doubling over in his seat, he panicked.


    ¡°President Fuller, are you alright?¡±


    Toby did not answer, and Tom instantly knew that the man was hurt somehow and somewhere. He


    hurtled out from behind the wheel as he fished for his phone, and while he called for an ambnce, he


    hastily threw open the door to the backseat to check on Toby¡¯s condition.


    ¡°President Fuller,¡± he called out anxiously, shaking the man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°President Fuller?¡±


    As if responding to his name, Toby looked up and met Tom¡¯s gaze. Abruptly, his expression shifted, and


    with a low grunt, he passed out.

 Chapter 758

    Chapter 758


    Chapter 758 Take Responsibility


    Tom¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°President Fuller!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Just then, a few officers who had been on duty nearby came over to assess the


    situation after hearing the ring car rm.


    Tom grabbed hold of the officer and said frantically, ¡°Quick, get a car and send my boss to the hospital


    right now.¡±


    ¡°What? Is there a casualty?¡± Startled by this, the police officer hurried over to the car and saw Toby, who


    was unconscious and had his head bowed. Growing anxious, the officer said, ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll go get my


    car right away!¡± With that, he rushed over to the patrol stand to retrieve his cruiser.


    Now that Tom was sure Toby would get the help he needed, he let out a sigh of relief and promptly


    heaved the unconscious man out of the car. As he did so, he muttered under his breath furtively, ¡°Just


    hold on, President Fuller. We¡¯ll be at the hospital soon. Please be okay; it¡¯ll break Old Mrs. Fuller and


    Miss Reed¡¯s hearts if they know something has happened to you. Please hold on.¡±


    Toby¡¯s fingers twitched slightly, as if he could hear all this.


    Tom was so overwhelmed by this that he nearly cried. ¡°Oh, thank goodness! President Fuller must still be


    conscious. He hasn¡¯tpletely cked out!¡± As long as Toby could respond, then the worst had not


    happened.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Suddenly, a trembling female voice sounded from behind Tom.


    While holding Toby up, Tom turned to look at the owner of the voice and saw, to his great dismay and


    anger, the woman in the wheelchair who had crossed the road at the wrong time and caused this whole


    ident.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    As if realizing that she was in big trouble, the girl clutched the hem of her shirt and nced worriedly at


    the unconscious Toby, her face drained of color as she asked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did he get hurt?¡±


    A look of rage unfurled across Tom¡¯s otherwise-cid features as he growled, ¡°Your apology means


    nothing! If my boss had not tried to avoid knocking you down earlier and asked that I run into the hedge


    instead, he would still be fine right now!¡±


    The girl shrunk into her wheelchair after receiving such hostility, and she looked even paler as hot tears


    glistened in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really am. I didn¡¯t mean to. I was in a rush, and I¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough from you. I don¡¯t want to hear your exnation for this. Don¡¯t think that the matter ends


    here, and you¡¯d better hope my boss is fine if you don¡¯t want to spend the rest of your life in prison!¡± Tom


    bit out harshly, cutting her off mid-apology.


    She gaped at him with wide eyes, and she truly was mortified, judging by therge teardrops streaming


    past her cheeks.


    Tom, however, didn¡¯t bother with her as he took out his phone to call Sonia and tell her about this.


    However, before he could make the call, the police officer from earlier returned in his cruiser. Left without


    a choice, Tom kept his phone for the time being and helped Toby into the car, thinking that he could give


    Sonia a call on the way to the hospital. What matters most now is to get President Fuller to the hospital


    in time.


    ¡°Wait.¡± He was just about to close the door after getting into the car when he felt resistance, and he saw


    that the woman in the wheelchair was holding onto the door handle forcefully.


    Furious, Tom stared at her with bloodshot eyes. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± He was desperate to get


    Toby to the hospital, and he couldn¡¯t believe that this woman was stalling them. ¡°I¡¯m warning you: if you


    don¡¯t let go of the door and we miss out on the best time to save my boss, I¡¯ll make sure you regret this


    for life,¡± he threatened darkly, his voice taking on a somber edge.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the woman had a disability, he would have kicked her far away from the car.


    When the woman saw the murderous gleam in Tom¡¯s eyes, she drew back slightly, but she held onto the


    car door firmly nheless. ¡°I¡­ I should go with you, too. I was the one who caused the ident, and I


    want to take responsibility.¡±


    Tom was about to protest when the police officer sitting behind the wheel turned and interjected, ¡°Mister,


    if what you told me just now was true, then this woman will have to take responsibility for being the one


    to cause the ident. It¡¯s ideal that shees with us to the hospital.¡±


    Now that the police officer had put his foot in, Tom¡¯s hands were tied, and as much as he disagreed, he


    found himself relenting.


    Upon seeing that Tom implicitly allowed her to go with them, she smiled with what appeared to be a great


    relief, and the police officer gently helped her into the passenger side of the car.


    Along the way, the woman kept turning around in her seat to look at Toby. There were no lights in the car,


    and with the darkening sky, it was far too dim for Tom to notice the maniacal and sadistic gleam in the


    woman¡¯s eyes when she gazed at Toby.


    Presently, Tom fished out his phone once more and called Sonia¡¯s number with a bitter frown on his face.


    He would never have thought that he and Toby could be so unlucky as to meet with an ident right


    after seeing Jessica.


    While Tom had cracked his head on the window and suffered some light bleeding, the airbags and


    seatbelt kept him from grievous injuries, and he came out of the ident with only a concussion.


    But the same could not be said for Toby, who was already dealing with a failing heart that made him


    susceptible to shock and stress. If he fainted so abruptly, there was a chance that the collision had put


    his heart into overdrive, and he cked out from the shock of it all.


    Tom could only hope that Toby pulled through this just fine. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t even bring himself to


    think of how drastic the consequences might be.


    He pinched the space between his brows and hoped that Sonia would not faint when she heard about


    what had happened to Toby.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Just as his thoughts were fraying and unraveling, Sonia¡¯s gentle voice filled the other line. ¡°Mr.


    Brown, is everything alright?¡±


    Sonia was currently sitting on the couch, having not moved since her phone call with Toby, but she now


    paused the television show as she grew concerned as to why Tom was calling her out of the blue.


    He was Toby¡¯s personal assistant. Could it be that something had happened to Toby? But that doesn¡¯t


    make sense. Toby would have called me personally if there were any sudden changes in his n; he


    wouldn¡¯t go through Mr. Brown.


    Besides, she knew it was unlikely that Toby had his hands full at the moment, given that they had only


    just texted each other not ten minutes ago.


    ¡°Miss Reed,¡± Tom began hoarsely, then gulped.


    Sonia felt her heart drop to her stomach when she heard his grim tone. Clutching her phone tightly, she


    asked nervously, ¡°Mr. Brown, where¡¯s Toby?¡± Her instincts were sharp, and it took her only a second to


    realize that maybe something had happened to Toby.


    Tom wouldn¡¯t have called her otherwise and spoken in such somber tones. Please let Toby be okay, she


    prayed silently.


    However, Tom sounded even more strangled as he said guiltily, ¡°Miss Reed, President Fuller has met


    with a car ident.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Stunned, she rose to her feet so abruptly that the soreness from a particr area decided to


    assault her once more. Ignoring the pain, she gripped her phone tightly as she asked in a raised voice,


    ¡°Did you just say Toby got into a car ident?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Tom nodded.


    At that moment, Sonia thought her mind had imploded, and the world began to spin around her. She


    swayed dizzily, nearly copsing as ck dots flooded her vision. She would have fainted on the spot


    had she not grabbed hold of the couch armrest in time and resumed her seat.


    However, the sound of her sitting down on the couch was picked up by Tom through the phone, and his


    heart constricted for a second as he pressed urgently, ¡°Miss Reed, are you alright?¡±


    It was bad enough that he had not protected Toby well enough to keep him from harm, but he didn¡¯t think


    he could live it down if news of the ident had caused Sonia to faint. But it¡¯s not like I can keep Toby¡¯s


    ident a secret from her¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she replied slowly, but even as she said this, her face was pale and full of worry and


    anxiousness. She dug her nails into the armrest and heaved several breaths to calm herself down,


    forcing herself to not cave into the darkness that threatened to wash over her. Inhaling deeply, she tried


    to stay calm as she asked, ¡°How¡¯s Toby doing now?¡±

 Chapter 759

    Chapter 759


    Chapter 759 Fine for Now


    A car ident? How did that even happen? Sonia was in disbelief. She had only just texted Toby not ten


    minutes ago, and he had told her he was on the way home, that he was going back to her. And now, out


    of the blue, she got a call from Tom saying that Toby had met with an ident. How the hell am I


    supposed to cope with that?


    She chewed hard on her lower lip as her eyes turned red with fresh tears. She felt a tightness in her


    chest, and her heart twisted so much that it hurt.


    She knew how terrifying a car ident could be; on one end, it could result in minor injuries, but on the


    other, it could end up being fatal. Toby had already been through an ident once, and while he


    survived that one, there was no telling if such luck would repeat itself. I¡¯ve only just gotten him back. Am I


    going to lose him again?


    Crippling fear seized her the more she thought about it, and her breathing grew ragged once more.


    On the other end of the phone, Tom had heard her question and cast Toby a brief look before saying,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Reed. He¡¯s fine for now, though he is still unconscious. I¡¯m on my way to the hospital


    right now to get him medical help.¡±


    ¡°Is he really okay?¡± Sonia asked, still worried as her nails sunk into the fabric of the armrest. It was a car


    ident, after all, and she had every right to be nervous.


    Tom nodded somberly. ¡°President Fuller will be just fine. I was the driver, and if I made it alive, then


    surely President Fuller will pull through as well. More importantly, the ident wasn¡¯t a serious one; we


    merely ran into the hedge on the sidewalk.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia felt reassured, and her heartbeat slowed. Indeed, there were plenty of ident


    cases where the first to die of their grievous injuries were the driver and the passenger in front, whereas


    those in the backseat had a higher chance of survival.


    If Tom had been the driver and he was presently fine, then Toby would surely pull through as well.


    Comforted by the thought of this, Sonia let out a sigh of relief and felt the tightness in her chest wane,


    and the pain ebbed with it. But why would Toby ck out? Given his physical condition, he should be


    able to sustain the collision.


    More to the point, Tom had said that they ran into a roadside hedge. The impact would have hurt Tom


    more than it would Toby, but if the former was fine, then it didn¡¯t make sense that thetter had fainted


    after the ident.


    Narrowing her eyes, she was deep in thought for a few seconds, but gave up when she couldn¡¯t figure


    out an exnation for this. She didn¡¯t want to dwell on it, either; what mattered now was that she could


    get to the hospital to see Toby.


    With that in mind, she dug her nails into her palm and forced herself to stayposed, then rose to her


    feet again. Bracing through the pain, she headed into her room. ¡°Mr. Brown, which hospital are you


    heading toward? I¡¯ll be right over.¡±


    ¡°The hospital where Dr. Lancaster works,¡± Tom answered dutifully, referring to the First Hospital.


    Nodding, Sonia said, ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll be on my way. Take good care of Toby, and call me if anything else


    happens.¡±


    ¡°I will, Miss Reed. Don¡¯t worry,¡± Tom reassured.


    Sonia forced out a smile and hung up the call, then hurried to put on a change of clothes. After barreling


    out the door, she made her way over to the First Hospital.


    Along the way, she clenched the steering wheel tightly, so much so that her hands trembled, making the


    car swerve out ofne every once in a while. Her dangerous driving began to irk the other drivers on the


    road, and there were even a few of them who, in the process of overtaking her, rolled down their


    windows to hurl abuse at her.


    But this was the least of her concerns as she gnawed on her bottom lip, her red-rimmed eyes staring


    ahead as worries over Toby¡¯s safety filled her mind.


    Tom might have said that Toby was fine for now, but the temporariness of such reassurance was what


    weighed on Sonia¡¯s thoughts. There was no medical diagnosis to confirm this, and for as long as Toby


    was not seen by a doctor at the hospital, her worries would only grow.


    As things were, she had to get to the hospital and get to Toby as soon as possible.


    And yet, fate had a way of withholding one¡¯s true wishes in the most desperate of moments.


    Sonia had only just gotten onto the freeway when she saw that the traffic was badly congested, and the


    frustration that had been welling up in her made her give the steering wheel a hard p. The tears that


    threatened to overwhelm her finally did.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Meanwhile, Tom had managed to get Toby to the hospital in time, and Tim happened to be on duty


    tonight.


    Upon seeing Toby on the stretcher, Tim was astonished as he asked, ¡°What in the world happened?¡±


    ¡°President Fuller cked out following a car ident, but your questions will have to wait, Dr. Lancaster.


    You need to save President Fuller right now! Come on!¡± Tom said frantically, shoving Tim into the


    emergency room.


    A cold frown etched itself on Tim¡¯s face as he became obviously displeased at being treated this way.


    He was not altruistic, despite his profession, and most times, he would refuse to perform operations even


    though he could perfectly manage them. He knew full well that he could save lives if he had performed


    those surgeries, but out ofziness or apathy, he had watched those patients die instead. And he had


    done so without feeling even a trace of remorse.


    Then again, Tim was antisocial by nature, and whatever sentiment that made society humane was


    decidedly non-existent to him. Presently, he shoved Tom aside and straightened his own wrinkled sleeve,


    pointing out sharply, ¡°You should be grateful that your precious President Fuller is Sonia¡¯s boyfriend;


    otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t save him, no matter how powerful he is.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Tom¡¯s surprise at the doctor¡¯s outrageous words quickly turned into anger.


    However, Tim did not bother waiting for a heated response from Tom before he turned and marched into


    the emergency room.


    Seeing this, Tom had no choice but to quell the rage in him. I can¡¯t very wellsh out at him now that he¡¯s


    gone in to save President Fuller.


    Scratching his hair in frustration, he crouched down and pulled out his phone, then informed Sonia


    through a text that Toby was currently undergoing emergency treatment by Tim.


    Having read this message, Sonia finally felt the divot between her brows smooth out, and she no longer


    felt so uptight. Now that Toby had safely arrived at the hospital and was receiving treatment from Tim,


    there was a strong likelihood that he would pull through just fine.


    She clutched her phone to her chest and tipped her head up slightly as tears of relief and joy cascaded


    past her cheeks. The frustration, helplessness, and desperation she had felt when she realized she was


    going to be held up in traffic and that she wouldn¡¯t be able to make it to the hospital in time finally


    subsided.


    Over at the hospital, Tom did not kick up a fuss when he read Sonia¡¯s reply, which told him that it would


    take her a while to reach them due to traffic conditions.


    After all, traffic congestions weremonce in Seafield, and earlier on, they would have been caught


    up in traffic as well had the police officer not turned on the siren and cleared the way.


    ¡°Excuse me, sir, now that your boss is receiving treatment, I¡¯m going to need you and thedy toe


    with me so I can get your statements on how the ident happened,¡± said the police officer as he


    approached Tom with a pen and notepad in hand, gesturing at the woman in the wheelchair.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Tom agreed wearily with a nod. He kept his phone and rubbed his face once, then stood up


    and shot the woman a baleful look.


    She did not object to having her statement taken down by the police, either, and merely said delicately,


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a malicious car crash but rather an idental one, so the statements were taken quickly and


    without hassle. The only thing left for them to do now was to agree on a solution.


    ¡°I¡¯m willing topensate all his medical and rehabilitation bills, and I¡¯ll nurse him back to health,¡± the


    woman promised, ncing at the door of the emergency room as she clutched the armrests of her


    wheelchair tightly.


    While that sounded like the most sensible solution to this conundrum, it would only work out if the person


    lying unconscious was not Toby.


    ¡°Our boss doesn¡¯t need your measlypensation,¡± Tom replied stoically, eyeing the woman with sharp


    indifference.


    For some reason, he found the woman familiar, even though he had never seen her anywhere before the


    ident.


    Shaking his head, Tom did not ponder on this and brushed the thought off, then resumed his cold and


    angry stance as he barked, ¡°Seeing as my boss is the one who got injured, I don¡¯t have the right as his


    assistant to decide on these matters on his behalf, so we¡¯ll just have to settle this after he wakes up. As


    for you, don¡¯t you dare think of leaving until then!¡±

 Chapter 760

    Chapter 760


    Chapter 760 Thorough Work


    ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t dream of running away from my responsibility,¡± the woman promised with a


    trepidatious nod.


    Tom looked away from her, turning instead to stare fretfully at the doors to the emergency room, hoping


    that Toby would be wheeled out soon.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    After getting Tom and the woman¡¯s statements, the police left the hospital for the ident scene to


    retrieve the car. The police added that he would return as soon as the patient was awake to work out a


    settlement between the patient and the woman who caused the ident, but that would all have to wait


    until the car was taken care of.


    In the event that no settlement could be reached, the police would have to pass the case on to the police


    station and let thew take over.


    Just then, the woman in the wheelchair maneuvered herself over to where Tom was standing and called


    out gently, ¡°Excuse me, mister.¡±


    Tom looked down and eyed her with no small amount of hostility. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    There was a gleam in her eyes as she asked curiously, ¡°I was wondering if you were speaking to that


    gentleman¡¯s girlfriend while we were on our way here?¡± As she said this, she nced at the emergency


    room, indicating that the gentleman she referred to was Toby.


    Upon hearing this, Tom frowned deeply and countered icily, ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡±


    She lowered her gaze and let out a sheepishugh. ¡°Nothing, I was just curious is all.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Tom snorted, then pointed out in a withering tone, ¡°Maybe you should devote your curiosity to


    other things, like the consequences that will befall you now that you¡¯ve sent my boss into the emergency


    room!¡± Then, he broke eye contact and returned to staring at the emergency room doors, no longer


    paying any attention to the woman.


    She clenched her fists on top of the wheelchair armrests, and the fearful look on her face slowly faded


    away, reced by a cold and menacing grimace as she eyed Tom venomously.


    However, she quickly retracted her outward hostility toward him and made as if she was unaffected by


    the assistant¡¯s icy rebuff, then lowered her head and stayed mute for the rest of the time.


    For a while, the hallway was filled with a heavy silence, and the air grew eerily still.


    After what felt like a long time, the emergency room doors finally swung open.


    When Tom heard this, he quickly stood up and walked over to the doors with the woman wheeling herself


    after him.


    Presently, Tim was making his way through the doors, taking off his surgical mask as he did so.


    At the sight of this, Tom reached out to stop the doctor so that he could ask about Toby¡¯s condition, but


    before he could get his words out, the woman in the wheelchair suddenly piped up, ¡°Doctor, is everything


    alright?¡±


    Infuriated by the woman¡¯s interruption, Tom frowned and shot her a hard look. But on ount of the fact


    that he had been about to ask the same thing she did, he decided to swallow his anger for now.


    Tim looked down at the woman, and there was a strange glimmer in his eyes as he asked, ¡°Who are


    you?¡±


    She looked down, then answered hesitantly, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m the one who caused that man in there to get into an


    ident.¡±


    A dark shadow passed over Tim¡¯s face when he heard this, and there was no warmth in his eyes as he


    gazed down imperiously at the woman. ¡°So you¡¯re the reason why Fuller is in the emergency room.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± The woman¡¯s head drooped lower as though she was ashamed.


    Tim narrowed his eyes at her and said with cool malice, ¡°If these were old times, I probably wouldn¡¯t say


    anything if you somehow got Fuller killed; I wouldn¡¯t even care. But now, Fuller belongs to someone who


    is really important to me. He got injured because of you, and in turn, the person most important to me


    has her heart broken over this. What do you intend to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Alright, Dr. Lancaster,¡± Tom cut him off impatiently. ¡°I know you¡¯re upset on Miss Reed¡¯s behalf, but now


    isn¡¯t the time to hash things out. What matters most is President Fuller¡¯s condition; once he stabilizes,


    you can do whatever you want with this woman.¡±


    Naturally, Tom was only exaggerating to scare the woman. He wouldn¡¯t actually leave the woman in


    Tim¡¯s hands. The doctor had a twisted mind and a perverse way of settling the score; there was no telling


    what might happen to the woman should she be his victim.


    Seemingly interested in the prospect of punishing the woman, Tim raised a brow and asked keenly, ¡°Oh,


    whatever I want, you say?¡±


    Tom cast a sideways nce at the woman, who looked ashen-faced as she gaped at them in horror, and


    nodded slightly. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Mister, are you actually¡ª¡± The woman broke off, her red-rimmed eyes wide and glistening as she stared


    at Tom in utter disbelief. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d just leave my fate up to some stranger. I know your boss


    got injured because of me, but I didn¡¯t mean for the ident to happen in the first ce. You¡¯d be going


    against thew if you were to let someone else punish me in private!¡±


    Tom did not spare her a look, pretending as if he had not heard her at all.


    Tim toyed with his scalpel and appraised the woman with a somewhat eager gaze. ¡°I must say, the


    stic surgeon did a rather splendid job with your face.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tom froze, obviously unaware of what Tim was talking about.


    The woman, however, faltered as cold sweat broke out over her temples. She backed away from Tim


    immediately, as if shrinking into her wheelchair. Her hands clenched tightly on top of the armrests, so


    much so that her knuckles turned white. It took him one look to tell that I had work done on my face!


    Tim ignored the look of askance Tom was giving him and quirked a brow at the woman¡¯s evasive


    behavior instead. ¡°Why are you backing away from me? stic surgery ismon nowadays, so why


    do you look so afraid after I pointed out that you had it done?¡±


    The woman stiffened in her wheelchair. It was then that she realized she might have overreacted earlier,


    and she quickly lowered her gaze to hide the panic in her eyes. Forcing out a watery smile, she said, ¡°On


    the contrary, doctor, I¡¯m not so much afraid as I am embarrassed that you proimed I had work done in


    front of everybody. Any woman would prefer to have their looks deemed as natural, and what you did


    would rub anyone wrong.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Tim hummed and nodded, seemingly convinced. Then, his gaze fell upon her legs. ¡°Looks


    like stic surgery isn¡¯t all you¡¯ve done. You even got limb-lengthening surgery for your legs, and you¡¯re


    still in the recovery stage, which is why you¡¯re in a wheelchair. stic surgery and limb lengthening,


    huh? I can tell that you had a lot of work done on your face, judging by how much bone-shaving was


    involved, and your legs are longer by an inch or so, aren¡¯t they? Your calves are no longer symmetrical,


    which means you won¡¯t be able to run or jump even after you¡¯ve recovered; you won¡¯t even be able to


    pull exaggerated faces, so you¡¯d forever be a porcin doll. Pretty harsh stuff to put up with just to look


    beautiful, if you ask me.¡±


    Having said all this, he began to look at the woman with interest. ¡°I must say, I¡¯ve seen more than my fair


    share of people¡ªof any gender and age¡ªwho have had stic surgery done, but none of their


    procedures were as thorough as yours. I¡¯m well-versed in anatomy and the human bone structure, but


    even I can¡¯t tell what you used to look like, and believe me when I say I¡¯m just dying to know. This is the


    first time I¡¯ve encountered something like this, and I want to know what made you decide to undergo


    such an extreme overhaul.¡±


    Having heard all this, Tom turned to look at the woman in bewilderment. He had to admit that it took


    serious courage for her to have undergone all those procedures to look the way she did now.


    He had no in-depth knowledge of stic surgery, but he was familiar with limb-lengthening procedures.


    He used to have a friend back in elementary school whose legs had been asymmetrical, and in order to


    correct this, he had gotten limb-lengthening surgery done. The doctor had surgically cut through the


    lower leg bone and thereafter attached an internal fixture between the two ends of the cut bone, which


    added length to correct the previous discrepancy.


    The procedure was as painful as it sounded, and most people wouldn¡¯t dare attempt it under normal


    circumstances. This woman is either really gutsy or some kind of masochist to go through all that.


    Meanwhile, the woman felt a chill run down her spine as she gaped at Tim, stunned that he could tell


    from one brief appraisal that she had had stic surgery and limb-lengthening procedure done. Does he


    have X-ray vision or something? How can he tell how much work I¡¯ve done just by one look? As


    incredulous as she was, the woman was also infuriated. Also, it¡¯s one thing to know I had work done, but


    to dere it out loud? What if they start getting suspicious?

 Chapter 761

    Chapter 761


    Chapter 761 I¡¯m Sure You Won¡¯t Mind


    The woman bit down on her lip. Not wanting to dwell on this, she took a deep breath and suppressed the


    tempest within her, then forced out a smile as she pointed out, ¡°Doctor, with all due respect, I think the


    most important thing we need to know now is how that man in the emergency room is doing, so we¡¯d be


    grateful if you could tell us more about that. As for what I used to look like¡­¡± She trailed off, and a dark


    gleam came into her eyes, though it passed just as quickly as she continued, ¡°I won¡¯t ever show up again


    in front of any of you once that man recovers from his injuries, so I don¡¯t think it means anything for you


    to know what I used to look like, does it?¡±


    ¡°She has a point, Dr. Lancaster. I mean, she¡¯s only a stranger to you, and it¡¯s a little strange to ask about


    what she used to look like. It¡¯d be great if you could tell me how President Fuller is doing now,¡± Tom


    urged, nodding in agreement with what the woman said.


    The fluorescent lights bounced off Tim¡¯s sses. He rather agreed as well that this woman was a


    stranger to him, and logically speaking, he ought not to be so interested in the procedure she had done


    even if she made herself look like a toad. But for some reason, there was something urging him to find


    out what she used to look like. He had a feeling that unveiling her past face would reveal something most


    shocking to them all.


    As he thought this, he adjusted his sses and drawled meaningfully, ¡°Fine, then. Let¡¯s talk about Toby


    for now.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t in a rush to find out what the woman used to look like. After all, he had plenty of time after this


    to dig through her past if he wanted. If he set his mind to it, he could uncover anything he wanted, unless


    of course, he suddenly lost interest in it halfway through.


    ¡°Please,¡± Tom urged, his fists clenching at his sides as he eyed Tim imploringly.


    Tim threw a brief look over his shoulder at the emergency room, then looked back at the anxious


    assistant as he exined nonchntly, ¡°He¡¯s fine. He didn¡¯t get hurt from the ident, but he did hit the


    back of his head. That being said, the concussion is not the main cause of concern, nor did he ck out


    because of it.¡±


    Upon hearing that Toby was alright, Tom let out a huge sigh of relief, and he ced a hand on his chest


    as he eximed joyously, ¡°Oh, thank heavens! President Fuller is okay, which means I can give Old


    Madam Fuller a peace of mind. Guess I¡¯ll still get to keep my job!¡±


    Next to him, the woman in the wheelchair did not seem overjoyed by the news of Toby¡¯s stable condition.


    On the contrary, she seemed a little peeved by the oue, if notpletely frustrated. He¡¯s fine? For


    goodness¡¯ sake, how is that possible? Damn it, why couldn¡¯t the impact have killed him on the spot? She


    had been so deliriously happy when she found out that he had fainted after the ident. She was


    convinced that he had been seriously injured. But as it turned out, he pulled through this just fine, and all


    he had was a concussion. This is¡­ She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, her heart filled with


    bitter resentment.


    Tom had no idea what was going through her mind right now as he pressed Tim with even more urgency,


    ¡°So what really made him pass out, Dr. Lancaster? Could it be his¡ª¡± He broke off then, as if suddenly


    catching himself. He turned to look at the woman and bit out tly, ¡°Could you go somewhere else? You


    aren¡¯t allowed to be privy to the rest of this conversation.¡±


    There was no courtesy in his tone, and even though he phrased it as a request, it sounded more like a


    command.


    ¡°Very well,¡± the woman replied mildly, then wheeled herself toward the other end of the corridor, away


    from the two men who wished to speak in private.


    When she was out of sight, she lowered her head, and her gaze darkened. What did he mean by that? If


    he won¡¯t let me listen in on the conversation, could it mean that there¡¯s something going on with Toby¡¯s


    health that no one should find out about? In that case¡­ A cold smirk tugged on her lips as an insidious


    look shed in her eyes.


    On the other end of the hallway, Tom turned back to Tim after dismissing the woman and asked, ¡°Dr.


    Lancaster, did President Fuller ck out because of his heart?¡±


    ¡°You could say that.¡± Tim toyed with the scalpel and added indifferently, ¡°The ident must have caused


    his adrenaline to spike, and as a result, it put a strain on his heart. That probably sent his system into


    shock, which exins why he passed out. He¡¯s alright now, and he¡¯ll wake up soon enough, but you


    have to work on finding the heart as soon as possible; he can¡¯t keep going on like this.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already found a donor,¡± Tom said, raking his hand through his hair. ¡°But the donor is still alive,


    which is why we¡¯re still waiting on the heart.¡±


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Tim raised a brow. ¡°How much longer will he have to live?¡±


    ¡°About half a year.¡±


    Tim nodded slightly. ¡°There¡¯s still time.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve put my worries to rest,¡± Tom said with an airyugh, clearly relieved to hear Tim¡¯s conclusion. He


    had been worried that Toby¡¯s heart would not be able to sustain the aftermath of this ident without its


    lifespan shortening, and if that were toe to pass, there was no telling if Toby could hold out another


    half a year longer. Now that Tim had said they would be in time for the heart transnt that could save


    Toby¡¯s life, Tom felt as if a weight had finally been lifted off his chest.


    ¡°Alright, pull yourself together. He¡¯ll be transferred to a hospital room soon, and he¡¯ll have to stay here for


    the night. But I want him out by tomorrow, or he¡¯d just be a waste of space here,¡± Tim said coldly,


    then let out a yawn as he turned to leave.


    Sure enough, Toby was transferred to the normal hospital ward around ten minutester, and the nurse


    hooked him up to the IV for the night.


    Naturally, Tom and the woman in the wheelchair went over to the room as well. However, given that there


    was paperwork to go through for Toby¡¯s hospital admission, Tom had to hurry off to the front desk not


    long after he had stepped foot into the room.


    Before leaving, he had made it a point to chase the girl out of Toby¡¯s hospital room and closed the door


    behind them both. Then, he warned her tersely to stay away from Toby and that she was not toe


    into close contact with him.


    After all, there was no telling what she would do to Toby once Tom left to settle the paperwork.


    Granted, Tom didn¡¯t think she had it in her to kill Toby, but that didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t take advantage


    of Toby¡¯s unconscious state and force herself on him like some depraved creature. After all, with Toby¡¯s


    fine looks, the possibility of this happening was scarily real.


    With that in mind, Tom warned the woman once more that she must not sneak into the room while he


    was away, and only then did he leave the vicinity.


    s, his warning did nothing, for the woman immediately scoffed and threw Toby¡¯s door wide open as


    soon as Tom walked away. Having done so, she wheeled herself in, paying no heed to Tom¡¯s forbidding


    words at all.


    Meanwhile, Sonia finally arrived at the hospital after what felt like ages.


    She immediately fished out her phone and gave Tom a call, pressing him for details on Toby¡¯s condition.


    Upon hearing that Toby would be fine after a night¡¯s rest at the hospital and that he had only cked out


    from a concussion, she was ted. The weight seemed to roll off her chest in an instant, and air filled her


    lungs once more.


    Relieved, she asked where Toby¡¯s room was, then smiled as she kept her phone and made her way


    over. She had every n to take care of Toby until he recovered, but as soon as she opened the door to


    his hospital room, the smile on her face froze.


    Inside the room was a woman who sat by Toby¡¯s bedside while gently dabbing his sleeping face with a


    damp towel, looking like apassionate angel as she did so. In fact, she looked like a good wife who


    was lovingly taking care of her sick husband, and anyone who didn¡¯t know better would find it heart-


    wrenching that she would devote herself to such sacred duties.


    Sonia clenched her jaw. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the man lying there was her boyfriend, she might just


    get sentimental about this scene and praise the woman for being such a caring wife. But it was precisely


    because the man on the bed was her boyfriend. It wasn¡¯t as if Sonia could be ecstatic that some strange


    woman was taking care of him.


    More importantly, that woman didn¡¯t look like a caretaker at all. She¡¯s in a wheelchair, for goodness¡¯


    sake. How is a caretaker supposed to take care of others if she can¡¯t even walk on her own?


    What displeased Sonia even more was that the girl actually looked pretty.


    As if not expecting someone to walk in at that moment, the girl turned to look at Sonia in surprise, then


    asked softly, ¡°And you are?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips and made no answer. She let go of the doorknob and instantly marched over to the


    bed with a grim look on her face.


    If this was six years ago, she might be heartbroken to find some other woman taking care of the man she


    loved, and she would have run out crying without even asking for an exnation. But now, she had


    outgrown those timid ways of hers, and her mind was clearer than ever.


    She didn¡¯t know who this woman was, and she had never seen her before. She most definitely is not


    rted to Toby in any way, seeing as I¡¯ve never seen her hanging around him before this. At the thought


    of this, Sonia figured that this woman must be the culprit behind the ident, and she secretly thanked


    Tom for having told her about this on the phone earlier.


    With a frigid expression, Sonia came to a stop next to Toby¡¯s bed. She nced at the towel the woman


    was holding, then at the hand that rested on Toby¡¯s chest. A stormy look passed over her face as she


    said icily, ¡°Miss, could you please take your hand off my boyfriend¡¯s chest?¡±

 Chapter 762

    Chapter 762


    Chapter 762 The Way of the Skank


    ¡°Boyfriend?¡±


    The woman in the wheelchair took her hand off Toby¡¯s chest and shed Sonia a sheepish smile. ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, miss, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you. I was only trying to clean his face, and I must have put my hand


    on his chest to keep myself from falling. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t mind.¡±


    She might be apologizing, but she didn¡¯t look like she meant it at all, and there was even a trace of a


    smirk tugging on her lips, as if she was challenging Sonia.


    What was even more infuriating was the way the woman drawled ¡®I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t mind¡¯. This skank is


    outright provoking me!


    Sonia was so mad she thought she mightbust on the spot.


    She had more or less figured out that the woman was only provoking her because she had her eyes set


    on Toby. In all fairness, any woman would prey on him, seeing as he was tall and handsome with a well-


    built figure, not to mention he carried himself with such natural grace and a sense of nobility that belied


    his billion-something worth.


    At the thought of this, Sonia nced over at the man lying unconscious in bed, and while she was


    frustrated at him, she was also sympathetic toward him. She was frustrated that he had gotten the fancy


    of yet another hussy within such a short span of time, but her heart twisted at the sight of him lying in bed


    with a bandage wrapped around the crown of his head. The impact must have really hurt him.


    With a sigh, she decided to reason with herself. It wasn¡¯t Toby¡¯s fault that the wheelchair-bound vixen


    had decided to set her eyes on him, and Sonia¡¯s anger ebbed away following this line of reasoning. She


    retracted her gaze and turned to eye the woman imperiously, then barked, ¡°Of course, I mind. I mind very


    much! Move!¡±


    She was not leaving any room for negotiation, and there was even amanding edge to her tone as


    she ordered the woman to move away from the bed.


    The smile on the woman¡¯s face slipped. Obviously, she hadn¡¯t expected such a blunt and cutting


    response from Sonia. A dark look shed in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared as the woman gave


    Sonia yet another gentle smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, miss. I know my presence here disturbs you, but I can¡¯t leave


    right now. See, I was the one who caused him to get into the ident, and it goes without saying that I


    have to take responsibility for it. I would like to remain by his side and nurse him back to help, so I hope


    you¡¯ll understand, miss.¡±


    Sonia gaped at the woman in disbelief. She didn¡¯t think the woman would spew such disgusting


    nonsense just to stay by Toby¡¯s side.


    Resisting the urge to retch, Sonia shot the woman a look so frigid that it was a wonder she didn¡¯t turn to


    ice. ¡°Listen here,dy¡ªmy boyfriend is only lying here because of you, so of course, you¡¯d have to take


    responsibility, but there are plenty of ways for you to go about it. I don¡¯t think my boyfriend needs you to


    take care of him, considering I¡¯m already here to do just that, and I¡¯m well within my rights to do it, too.


    So I suggest you stop crossing the line,¡± Sonia snapped with angry contempt.


    Sonia thought she was being subtle with her words, if not diplomatic. After all, she highly doubted that


    other women would go easy on the shameless hussies who went around seducing their men. Other


    women in Sonia¡¯s position might even abandon reason and shriek at the top of their lungs or resort to


    violence. And here I am being civilized, if not just a bit terse with her.


    She hoped the woman would know better than to be thick-skinned. If she insisted on staying instead of


    moving away, Sonia would have to get rid of her the hard way. She was no longer thepassionate


    and empathetic person she used to be; she would much rather let someone else bear the brunt than


    shoulder through it like a naive fool.


    s, Sonia underestimated the woman and how brazen and shameless she could be. It didn¡¯t take long


    after Sonia had delivered her warning that the woman looked wounded. The next second, the woman¡¯s


    eyes turned red with fresh tears, and she started to cry.


    Frowning, Sonia demanded irritably, ¡°What¡¯s with the waterworks?¡±


    The woman buried her face in her hands as she whimpered, ¡°Miss, I know you don¡¯t like me taking care


    of your boyfriend, but I really didn¡¯t mean to cross any lines at all. I genuinely want to nurse this man


    back to health, seeing as I was the cause of all this in the first ce. I have to do something to make it


    up to him, and if I don¡¯t, I¡¯d only me myself even more; this will haunt me, and the guilt will eat me


    alive, and I¡¯d feel as if something is pressing down on my chest. Please, Miss, I¡¯m only hoping that you


    could give me a chance to make things right and allow me to take care of him. But I promise you that I


    won¡¯t do anything more than that, so don¡¯t you worry. I only want to atone for my mistakes and spare


    myself from the guilt. Otherwise, I¡¯d¡­¡±


    When the woman trailed off, Sonia¡¯s face grew somber as she demanded through gritted teeth,


    ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯d what?¡±


    The woman chewed on her bottom lit. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯d only live in guilt for the rest of my life, and I might


    grow so depressed that I¡¯d take my own life to save myself from the pain.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia asked, narrowing her eyes.


    Nodding earnestly, the woman affirmed, ¡°Really.¡±


    However, Sonia let out a cold bark ofughter and countered, ¡°And what does all that have to do with


    me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The woman was stunned. She clearly hadn¡¯t been expecting such a response.


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips lifted in an impassive smirk as she borated, ¡°I don¡¯t see how a suicidal


    attempt on your part has anything to do with me. I can¡¯t just leave my boyfriend under the care of a


    scheming no-good woman in order to protect your feelings, can I? Sorry, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that


    altruistic!¡±


    With that, she shot the woman a look of unadulterated disgust, then immediately pulled the wheelchair


    away so that the woman was removed from Toby¡¯s bedside.


    Sonia¡¯s push made the wheelchair roll forward uncontrobly, bringing the woman meters away from the


    bed as it went along with momentum.


    If the woman had not reacted in time to stop the wheelchair, she might have rolled right out the door of


    the hospital room altogether.


    Having regained control over the wheelchair, the woman spun around to face Sonia, who was sitting next


    to the bed and gently caressing Toby¡¯s forehead. A grimace twisted the woman¡¯s features, but she


    quickly hid it and resumed a miserable front as she whined, ¡°You¡¯re being a little unreasonable, miss. I¡¯m


    only trying to take responsibility for my mistakes, and you won¡¯t even give me the chance to do that. It¡¯s


    cruel, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    She certainly never thought Sonia could be so heartless. I even put out the suicide card, and she still


    stood her ground, the woman thought angrily, frowning. It¡¯s as if she¡¯s no longer the Sonia I used to


    know.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Presently, Sonia dipped a cotton bud into the water and gently brushed it over Toby¡¯s lips to moisturize


    them, not at all paying any attention to the wheelchair-bound hussy.


    She knew that vixens like her would only be spurred on if the conversation dragged on. The more Sonia


    said to her, the more she would try to rile her up. As if I¡¯m stupid enough to hash things out with you, you


    skank. Go waste someone else¡¯s time.


    Upon seeing that Sonia was determined to ignore her, the woman clenched the edge of her armrest so


    tightly that her hands began to tremble. Her eyes turned red, and her blood was boiling with rage. When


    did Sonia be such a tough cookie?


    Just as the woman bit down on her lip and tried to provoke Sonia further, the sound of approaching


    footfalls came from outside the door, followed by Tom¡¯s voice as he asked aloud in confusion, ¡°Hey,


    why¡¯s the door open?¡±


    Then, he appeared in the doorway with a bunch of invoices in hand, ready to confront thedy in the


    wheelchair.


    He had warned her repeatedly to stay out of Toby¡¯s room, and yet he returned to see that the door was


    left ajar and the woman, who was supposed to be outside in the hallway, was nowhere to be found. It


    didn¡¯t take a genius to know that she had deliberately gone against his warning and wheeled herself


    merrily into Toby¡¯s room.


    At the thought of that, Tom grew mutinous, and his face was as dark as a stormy sky as he marched into


    the room.


    However, as soon as he did, he saw that the woman in the wheelchair was not the only one in the room,


    for Sonia was standing next to Toby¡¯s bed as well.


    At the sight of Sonia, the dark look on Tom¡¯s face was quickly reced by a wide grin as he greeted,


    ¡°Miss Reed, you¡¯re finally here!¡±


    Sonia discarded the cotton bud into the trash can by the corner, then set the ss of water down before


    she turned to nod at Tom in mild acknowledgment. ¡°Yeah, if I hadn¡¯t hit traffic on the way here, I would


    have arrived ages ago.¡±


    ¡°Well, you got here with plenty of time to spare anyway, Miss Reed. I¡¯m sure President Fuller will be very


    happy to wake up and find you at his bedside,¡± Tom said with a kind smile.

 Chapter 763

    Chapter 763


    Chapter 763 All It Took Was One Look


    Sonia let out a smallugh as well, but her smile faded when she suddenly thought of something. She


    nced over at the woman in the wheelchair, who was fuming in the corner of the room, and pointed out


    mockingly, ¡°But it looks like I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s waiting for your precious President Fuller to wake


    up.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tom blinked, but he quickly caught on to what Sonia was implying, and when he turned to look


    at the woman in the corner, there was not a shred of warmth in his eyes.


    Sonia had no intention of letting this woman off the hook. She had tried to go easy on the woman when


    she first came, but her patience and tact had run out after she saw how insistent and stubborn the


    woman was. Fine, then, Sonia thought wickedly. If it¡¯s humiliation you seek, then so be it.


    ¡°Thisdy has been here taking care of President Fuller before I came in. I asked her to leave, given that


    President Fuller is my boyfriend and I¡¯m the one who should be taking care of him instead of some


    stranger, but she refused to budge. She was going on about how she caused the ident and how she


    simply must stay by his side to nurse him back to health, iming that doing so was the only way to ease


    her conscience. She even tried to force me to give the green light, too, saying that she¡¯d take her own life


    if I wouldn¡¯t!¡±


    Tom was rendered speechless after hearing this, and the corner of his lips twitched with the urge to


    sputter. Wow, who would have thought that something this dramatic would happen in the short time that I


    was away?


    Presently, he fixed his icy stare on the woman and used, ¡°So that¡¯s why you asked me about


    President Fuller¡¯s girlfriend when we were outside the emergency room¡ªyou¡¯ve got your eyes on him!¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not true!¡± The woman panicked as she quickly shook her head and waved her hands


    vehemently to deny this. However, the flustered look on her blushing face was incontrovertible proof of


    her lying.


    Sonia frowned in disgust. ¡°Mr. Brown, I¡¯ll leave her to you. I want her out of my sight at once.¡± No woman


    in the right mind would tolerate seeing her own boyfriend surrounded by scheming skanks. Just seeing


    one of them makes me sick, she thought.


    ¡°Of course, Miss Reed.¡± Tom nodded solemnly, then shot her an apologetic look as he said, ¡°Miss Reed,


    I¡¯m truly sorry about what happened. I promise I didn¡¯t put her up in here; she wheeled herself in while I


    was settling President Fuller¡¯s admission paperwork. I even warned her to stay out of the room and


    remain in the hallway, but I didn¡¯t think she would¡­ Anyway, Miss Reed, you have to know that President


    Fuller is a decent man, and he would never be entangled with anyone else, especially with the likes of


    thisdy. I hope you won¡¯t jump to any conclusions.¡±


    He was actually terrified that Sonia would suspect Toby was cheating on her and break up with him


    unterally while he was unconscious. Tom would lose his head for sure if Toby woke up to discover that


    his girlfriend, whom he had just gotten back together with, had fled his side in a fit of rage.


    As if sensing Tom¡¯stent worries, Sonia pped a hand over her mouth and giggled, then said, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry, Mr. Brown, I¡¯m not jumping to any conclusions here. President Fuller was still unconscious when I


    came in earlier, so it wasn¡¯t as if he and thatdy could get up to anything scandalous.¡±


    Now, if Toby had been awake while thedy was cleaning his face and he allowed her to take care of


    him, then Sonia might feel very differently. She might implode.


    Upon hearing her reassurance, Tom let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good. Excuse me while I take


    out the eyesore, Miss Reed. You can stay here and keep President Fullerpany in the meantime.


    He¡¯s alright, just hit the back of his head during the collision. The doctor said he could be discharged


    tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Sonia said with a nod. ¡°You told me just now.¡±


    ¡°Just a friendly reminder,¡± Tom teased as he pushed his sses up his nose bridge. The next second,


    his expression turned grim again, and he maneuvered thedy in the wheelchair out of the room.


    Thedy had kept her head down the entire time after Sonia called her out about her nonsense, and she


    did not utter a word of objection. It was as if she had turned into a different person altogether, shedding


    her skank persona and adopting an ashamed and guilty stance instead.


    Sonia highly doubted the woman was ashamed of what she had done. Skanks didn¡¯t have the capacity


    to feel shame, and they were already thick-skinned, to begin with.


    As such, Sonia didn¡¯t believe the woman had be quiet and demure after the humiliation. She


    probably has something up her sleeve.


    Then, Sonia shrugged off the thought. There was no point dwelling on this when the woman could very


    well be sent away by the time Toby regained consciousness tomorrow. When that happened, Sonia


    wouldn¡¯t ever cross paths with the woman again and pondering on what tricks she might have up her


    sleeves would be a waste of time.


    But for some reason, she kept thinking there was something familiar about the woman in the wheelchair.


    It¡¯s like I¡¯ve seen her somewhere before, but where?


    Lowering her gaze in thought, Sonia still couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on where she had seen the woman


    before this. She gave up, then gently nudged Toby closer to the other side of the hospital bed to make


    room for herself. Having done so, she folded her arms on the bed and rested her head on them, then


    drifted off into sleep.


    She was exhausted; her body ached everywhere and coupled with her constant worry over Toby¡¯s


    condition, she had been listless for the better part of the day, which in turn took a toll on her nerves.


    Now that she had seen Toby and knew he was going to be alright, the uneasiness in her finally waned,


    but it was quickly reced by a strong sense of fatigue.


    She didn¡¯t torture herself by insisting that she would stay awake the whole time until Toby regained


    consciousness and chose to rest instead. If she expended herself now, she couldn¡¯t very well take care


    of him the next day.


    Outside, Tom had sessfully sent the woman in the wheelchair off on her way and asked her to only


    return tomorrow. He sauntered back to the room and raised his hand to knock on the door, asking, ¡°Miss


    Reed, may Ie in?¡±


    When he heard no response from within the room, his brows furrowed. Is Miss Reed not in there? As the


    thought crossed his mind, he pushed open the door and peered in, only to see Sonia holding Toby¡¯s


    hand while she slept by the bedside. He let out a small breath of relief and muttered quietly, ¡°Oh, she¡¯s


    still here.¡±


    Well, of course she is. Where would she go at this hour?


    Just then, his gaze fell upon Sonia and Toby¡¯s ovepping hands and seeing how sweet they were even


    while they were sleeping exasperated him all of a sudden. To keep himself from wallowing in self-pity,


    Tom promptly left the room and closed the door so he wouldn¡¯t have to look at them.


    He didn¡¯t think it was strange to feel sorry for himself. He and Toby were the same age, but where the


    latter had already been married, divorced, and subsequently reconciled with his ex-wife, Tom was still a


    bachelor with no prospects whatsoever, and seeing Toby and Sonia stick together like glue only served


    as a sore reminder of his lonely, partner-less life.


    Time passed quickly, and within a blink of an eye, it was past midnight.


    Toby was stirred from sleep by thirst. Frowning, he opened his eyes.


    He was first greeted by a bright white light, which made him wince and shut his eyes. He waited a while


    before opening them again, and this time, his eyes had adjusted to the brightness, so he could register


    his surroundings.


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    He took in the pristine white ceiling above him and the in, practical fluorescent lights. His brows drew


    together as he thought, Where am I?


    He turned his neck, looking around the room, and it was only after he saw the IV pole next to him that he


    understood he was in the hospital.


    Simultaneously, he could wager a guess as to why he had ended up here in the room. He distinctly


    recalled the sharp, stabbing pain that had seized his heart after the car collided with the roadside hedge.


    Apparently, the impact had put a strain on his heart and sent his system into shock. Tom had probably


    been the one who sent him to the hospital after he cked out.


    Toby pursed his lips. He wasn¡¯t too bothered by his own condition, regardless of whether the ident


    had damaged his heart even further. Besides, he was convinced that the absence of pain in his chest


    meant he had pulled through just fine. In that case, he wasn¡¯t overly concerned about his heart.


    Presently, what he worried about most was whether Sonia knew about the ident. Did Tom tell her? If


    she heard about it, did she faint out of shock?


    He was just thinking of this when he suddenly sensed something encircling his right wrist. He froze at


    first, then quickly nced over to his right and saw that there was a figure asleep by his bed with her


    head in her folded arms.


    And the person had instinctively held his hand earlier. She must have been dreaming when she reached


    for his wrist, and he was only alerted of her presence when he felt the ticklish sensation.


    While he couldn¡¯t see the person¡¯s face, all it took him was one look to know that it was Sonia.

 Chapter 764

    Chapter 764


    Chapter 764 Toby¡¯s Apology


    Toby softened his gaze at the sight of Sonia lying there. He gently pulled his hand out of hers so he


    wouldn¡¯t wake her, then lightly stroked her hair.


    If she was here next to him, then Tom had clearly told her about the ident. She must have been


    startled when she heard the news, Toby thought grimly, and an apologetic look shed across his


    features as he reached to tuck her hair behind her ear so that it wasn¡¯t all in her face.


    Then, he drew his hand back and lifted the covers. He slid out of bed and came over to her side,


    thereafter bending down to scoop her into his arms.


    Meanwhile, Sonia had not fallen into a deep slumber, and she started as soon as she felt someone


    touching her. Her eyes flew open, and the first thing she saw was a familiar and handsomely chiseled


    face.


    At first, she thought she might be imagining things, so she blinked hard to snap out of it.


    However, when she saw that the same face was still there, she knew that she was not delusional. It¡¯s


    really him, she thought as she broke into an ted grin. ¡°Toby, you¡¯re¡ª¡±


    She broke off when she suddenly felt that there was something off about the weightless sensation that


    gripped her. Turning, she was astonished to find that at some point, Toby had swept her into his arms.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± Toby pointed out softly as he gazed down at her. ¡°Sorry for waking you.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I wasn¡¯t really sleeping that well, anyway. What are you doing, though?


    Put me down right now.¡± He was still injured, and he ought not to be straining himself by carrying her in


    his arms.


    However, he brushed her off and only put her down on the bed, in the same spot where he hadid. ¡°If


    you kept sleeping the way you did just now, you¡¯re going to wake up tomorrow morning with a crick in


    your neck and your back. I wanted to let you have the bed so you could sleep better, but it looks like I


    woke you up instead.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Sonia said with a smile, acknowledging his efforts. There was still residual warmth on the bed


    where hey just now, and she felt snug andfortable as soon as her back touched the mattress.


    Coupled with what he had said earlier, she couldn¡¯t help the rush of warm sentiments that seized her.


    ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t be too concerned about me. You¡¯re still a patient, after all, and this bed is meant for


    you, not me. Here, you can have it back,¡± Sonia said, reaching to lift the covers off her so she could get


    out of bed.


    Toby frowned and pinned the covers down, tucking her in firmly as he said authoritatively, ¡°Do as you¡¯re


    told and just go to sleep already. Do not get down from the bed, understand?¡±


    She gaped at him in mild amusement. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so controlling.¡±


    He caressed her face lovingly. ¡°I¡¯m not being controlling; I just can¡¯t bear to see you ufortable, is


    all.¡±


    This made her heart swell, and the smile on her face grew even warmer.


    ¡°Okay, go to sleep. I can still see how groggy you are. You must be tired after I woke you up identally


    earlier.¡± With that, he began to rearrange the covers.


    She hummed in response before suddenly scooting further to the side, then patted the space next to her


    on the bed.


    He raised a brow. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    ¡°I know the bed isn¡¯t very big, but I¡¯m sure we could squeeze in together. Come over here and take a nap


    with me,¡± she said, staring at him.


    He wouldn¡¯t let her get down from the bed, and she couldn¡¯t very well make a patient slouch over the


    side of the bed, so she decided that the only solution was for them to share the bed.


    Toby¡¯s eyes lit up at the suggestion. ¡°Is that an invitation?¡±


    She rolled her eyes at him in mock exasperation, then said, ¡°Yes, it is. Now, can you please get into bed


    with me, my dear Mr. Fuller?¡±


    He was amused, but he kept up an oh-very-well expression as he let out a dry cough and muttered,


    ¡°Fine, then. Since you¡¯ve offered, I see no reason to upset you by rejecting it.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you reluctant?¡± she drawled sarcastically and gave him a yful pat on the shoulder as soon as


    he burrowed beneath the covers.


    Toby was lying on his side, and he wasted no time in drawing her into his embrace. His arms wound


    around her tightly as he nibbled her ear and muttered, ¡°How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?¡±


    Sonia hadn¡¯t thought that he would prey on her even while theyy in the hospital bed together. The


    corner of her lips twitched in disbelief as she countered, ¡°You¡¯re the one who got into an ident and


    sustained injuries, so why are you asking me if I¡¯m hurt? I don¡¯t think transitive property works that way.¡±


    He let out a low chuckle. ¡°I see you don¡¯t understand what I¡¯m referring to. What I meant to ask was,


    does it still hurt down there?¡± As he murmured this close to her ear, his hand began to trail past the dip in


    her waist and toward a certain sensitive area.


    As realization dawned upon her, her eyes widened, and her hand darted under the covers to seize his


    wandering one. Blushing furiously, she demanded through gritted teeth, ¡°What are you doing, Toby?¡±


    He eyed her innocently. ¡°I just wanted to help you check if it still hurts.¡±


    ¡°As if!¡± She batted his hand away and snapped, ¡°Checking? Hah! You know as well as I do that you¡¯d be


    getting up to no good if I let you.¡±


    ¡°I would not!¡± he insisted, still feigning innocence.


    At that moment, she pried off his arm from her waist and turned to her side so that her back was to him,


    then decidedly ignored him.


    It was then that Toby knew he had crossed the line. After all, women were all prideful creatures, and


    most of them were easily flustered by such roguish teasing. Great, now she¡¯s mad at me, he thought


    ruefully.


    With his gaze fixed on the back of her head, he let out a contrite dry cough and nudged himself forward.


    When his chest was pressed against her back, he tried to reach around her and pull her back into his


    embrace.


    But his arm had only just begun to snake around her waist when she shoved her elbow backward,


    knocking his arm away as she grumbled, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡±


    This did little to dissuade him from his efforts, and it only spurred him on. Summoning his strength, he


    forcefully drew her close and wrapped his arm around her tight.


    She froze at first, then started to struggle.


    He lifted his head slightly and whispered huskily close to her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t move unless you want me to


    break my arm again before it could mend. Also, I still have a mild concussion from the ident; if you


    keep moving like this, I¡¯ll take it as you want me to pass out for another day.¡±


    Upon hearing this, she stopped struggling and fixed her eyes on the wall across from her. After a while,


    she bit down on her lip and pointed out sourly, ¡°You always seem to have the upper hand, Toby.¡±


    He buried his face into the crook of her neck as he muttered humorously, ¡°It¡¯s less about me having the


    upper hand and more about me knowing that you love me enough to be considerate. Naturally, I¡¯d do the


    same for you.¡± While saying this, he slowly prompted her to turn over to face him.


    She did not object this time and merely allowed her body to flip as though his guiding hand was an axis


    on which she spun. The next moment, they found themselves facing each other as theyy on their


    sides.


    He reached out and brushed his thumb over her cheek, then toyed with the long strands of her raven-


    ck hair as he said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I made you mad earlier, but I really did have the intention


    of checking if you still hurt, you know, down there. I¡¯m not a beast, and I certainly wouldn¡¯t dream of


    doing anything to you while you¡¯ve barely recovered.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glistened when she heard this. Does this mean he wasn¡¯t feigning innocence at all just


    now? I misunderstood him, then? At the thought of this, she shot him an embarrassed look and averted


    her gaze, mumbling, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I forgive you.¡±


    He chuckled lightheartedly. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    A few seconds of silenceter, she gazed into his eyes and said quietly, ¡°I¡¯m feeling much better down


    there. It¡¯s not as painful as it was during the day. I guess the ointment you got for me really worked.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± Toby replied, then inched closer to give her a quick peck on the lips before he


    added, ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I hurt youst night. I was only too excited to im you as my own, and I didn¡¯t bother


    holding back when I should have. I promise I won¡¯t be so rough with you next time.¡±


    Sonia hummed and teased, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll keep your word.¡±

 Chapter 765

    Chapter 765


    Chapter 765 Never Again


    ¡°You have my word.¡± Toby nodded.


    Finally, Sonia smiled ever so slightly, her mood lifted. ¡°Good. But how about you?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Toby asked in a low voice. ¡°What about me?¡±


    ¡°Your back¡­¡± Sonia put on an awkward smile. ¡°I mean, the scratches on your back¡­¡±


    Toby finally realized what she was asking. Before she could finish, he parted his thin lips and answered


    in a clearly cheerful tone, ¡°They¡¯re recovering.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Sonia sighed lightly in relief, then said, ¡°Then don¡¯t you want to know your current


    condition? Ever since you woke up, you haven¡¯t asked me anything about your condition.¡±


    ¡°I just realized I didn¡¯t.¡± Toby nodded, admitting.


    Sonia pouted and gave his chest a half-hearted p. ¡°What¡¯s with you? I put it that way so that you can


    ask me about your condition on your own. You got into an ident, so why aren¡¯t you more concerned


    about your own body?¡±


    Well, look at you. He didn¡¯t ask anything, as if he weren¡¯t the one who got into an ident.


    Toby pinched her hand, which was still on his chest, and let out a chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t get mad. I didn¡¯t ask


    because I guessed that I was all right. If there really is something serious, you wouldn¡¯t recover so


    quickly from the surprise when you see me awake. This is why I¡¯m very sure I guessed correctly that my


    condition is not serious. Am I right?¡±


    He pulled her hand out from under the nket, then guided it to his lips and kissed it.


    Sonia humphed. ¡°All right, your guess is correct. It¡¯s true that there¡¯s nothing too serious about your


    condition. Tom said that you fainted because you got hit on the back of your head. You will be discharged


    tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby jutted out his chin slightly to signify that he understood what she said, but his eyes told a


    different story.


    This excuse was probably something Tom made up to deceive her. After all, Toby knew very well how


    painful his heart was before he fainted.


    Of course, the back of his head was also hurting, but that sort of pain definitely wouldn¡¯t be enough to


    cause fainting. So, his fainting naturally had something to do with his heart.


    Also, he had told Tom not to tell Sonia about his heart problem, so naturally, thetter had no choice but


    to make up a usible excuse to deceive Sonia.


    Coincidentally, the back of his head was actually hit, so this became the best reason to exin his


    fainting. Also, by the looks of it, Sonia had believed it right away, without any doubt.


    Toby sighed in relief at the sight. As he was thinking, he suddenly felt something on his face.


    He looked down to see that Sonia had suddenly sat up and was squeezing his face with her hands. She


    looked at him sternly. ¡°Toby, do you know how scared I was when I heard Tom say that you got into an


    ident? I was so shocked I thought I was going to die, and I almost fainted. In order to prevent myself


    from fainting so that I could find out how serious the ident was, I pinched my thighs hard so that the


    pain could keep me focused. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Before she could finish, Toby quickly sat up in rm. ¡°You pinched your own thighs?¡±


    Sonia blinked. ¡°I did, to maintain my consciousness and calm.¡±


    ¡°Who gave you permission to treat yourself like that?¡± Toby red at her sternly and said in a harsh tone.


    Sonia widened her eyes. ¡°I did that all for you, and you¡¯re here criticizing me for that?¡±


    For a moment, she felt an indescribable injustice.


    Toby also realized that he was a little too harsh on her, so he softened his attitude. ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t telling


    you off; I just ache for you. Isn¡¯t it painful when you pinch yourself?¡±


    Sonia humphed. ¡°What do you think? But in order to keep myself conscious and stop myself from


    fainting, it¡¯s the only thing I could do. Who would¡¯ve expected you to get into an ident so suddenly on


    a casual trip outside? It¡¯s all your fault. If you hadn¡¯t gotten into the ident, I wouldn¡¯t have to pinch


    myself. But look at what you did! You turn back on me and reprimand me.¡±


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    Toby pursed his thin lips and fell silent because he really was the one with the most faults here.


    Toby rubbed between his eyebrows, then looked at Sonia apologetically. ¡°Sorry for frightening you like


    that. Does your leg still hurt? Let me check.¡±


    With that, he bent over so that he could take a look.


    Sonia shifted her thigh away. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m all right now. It only hurt at the moment, so the pain stopped a


    long time ago. Also, I¡¯m wearing pants, so I can¡¯t just show you my tights. If you really want to look, you


    can look when you get home tomorrow.¡±


    Toby was originally upset by her refusal. After all, he was concerned about her, but she didn¡¯t ept it,


    so he naturally didn¡¯t feel too happy about it.


    However, when he heard her say afterward that he could check after he got home, his originally bad


    mood was instantly lifted.


    Sonia looked at the upturned corners of his mouth and could immediately guess what he was thinking.


    She couldn¡¯t help but smile as she shook her head.


    In the next second, however, her face fell. Toby noticed her change in expression. He raised an eyebrow


    as he somehow guessed that she was finally turning to the main issue at hand.


    Just as expected, Sonia crossed her arms and looked at him coolly. ¡°Toby, I heard from Tom that you got


    into an ident because a woman was running the red light when she crossed the road. Then Tom


    couldn¡¯t brake in time, so you told Tom to run into the flowerbed instead, right?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes, or we might hit the woman.¡±


    At the mention of the woman crossing the road, Toby put on an annoyed expression.


    Those who jaywalk at their own convenience are the worst! They don¡¯t care about their own or others¡¯


    lives.


    Sonia could see the displeasure Toby had toward that woman, and she was d to see it. She would be


    happiest if he hated the woman.


    Though she knew Toby didn¡¯t know the woman or had any chances of dating her, she was still bothered


    and upset when she saw the woman staying by his side and taking care of him.


    So, now that she saw how much he hated that woman, she felt much better.


    ¡°Even though you did it because you didn¡¯t want to hit anyone, have you ever thought that you yourself


    would get hurt as a result?¡± Sonia leaned in toward Toby.


    Toby was surprised by her sudden movement, so he reached out to hold her. Sonia looked up at him and


    felt giddy. Well, he¡¯s a quick learner.


    ¡°I did a quick calction then. If we ran into the flowerbed at that distance and speed, it wouldn¡¯t be too


    serious of an ident. This was why I told Tom to swerve in that direction.¡± Toby ced his chin on the


    top of Sonia¡¯s head as he spoke.


    Sonia pursed her red lips. ¡°Yes, you calcted minimal damage at that time because there was a


    flowerbed conveniently ced there at the moment. But if the ident took ce somewhere else and


    there were no flowerbeds in sight, what would you do? Would you also tell Tom to swerve to the side?


    What if there¡¯s opposite traffic on the other side? You¡¯d run into a car then. If both cars were going at


    high speeds when they ran into each other, the car and the people within wouldn¡¯t survive. So, Toby, I


    would rather you hit the woman than get hurt yourself, understand?¡±


    She looked at him with her eyes reddened. It wasn¡¯t that she was cold-blooded and wanted him to run


    over people.


    Butpared to a stranger, she would rather he be the one who was safe.


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Toby constricted his pupils, an obvious shock in his eyes. He knew how kind she


    was, but now she was willing to throw that kindness away so that he would be safe and sound.


    This was enough evidence to show how important he was to her.


    At that thought, Toby hugged Sonia tightly, as if he was trying to meld her into his body. He said in a


    hoarse yet touched voice, ¡°Got it. I won¡¯t do it again. I won¡¯t cause you such anxiety ever again.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia turned her head slightly to look at the man¡¯s profile.

 Chapter 766

    Chapter 766


    Chapter 766 Sonia¡¯s Comint


    ¡°Really.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°Good.¡± Sonia finally let him go.


    The man curved his lips into a light smile, but Sonia suddenly thought of something as a glint flitted


    across her eyes. Then, she looked at him with a half-smile. ¡°Right, don¡¯t you want to know about the


    woman who caused this ident?¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°Why would I?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s also one of the main characters in this incident.¡± Sonia continued staring at him.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Toby¡¯s brow raised a little, for he had a bad feeling about this. She seems to have something on her


    mind.


    ¡°No matter who she is, Tom will take care of it,¡± Toby parted his thin lips and said calmly. ¡°He¡¯ll sort out


    thepensation or go to court if necessary.¡±


    She was just a careless person who ran the red light. He wouldn¡¯t get revenge on her like some kind of


    sworn enemy, but he also wouldn¡¯t be so kind as to let her go without asking for somepensation.


    ¡°You say that, but I think Tom isn¡¯t capable of handling this incident,¡± Sonia said teasingly.


    Toby¡¯s frown grew deeper. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Sonia stopped teasing him and gave him a resentful look as she answered, ¡°I mean, that woman might


    have fallen for you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby was stunned.


    Sonia rolled her eyes, then grabbed his ear and shouted in a louder voice, ¡°I said, that woman fell for


    you! Aren¡¯t you d?¡±


    Toby was dumbfounded, and he finally recovered his senses after a while. The corner of his mouth


    twitched as he said, ¡°What on earth?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Sonia pouted. ¡°That woman fell for you.¡±


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s upset expression, Toby reached out and pinched her face lightly. ¡°Come on, quit joking.


    Do you think I told Tom to swerve away simply because the person on the road was a woman? You think


    I might like her a little, so you¡¯re saying this to test me?¡±


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help butugh in annoyance at what he said. ¡°Who¡¯s testing you? I don¡¯t have the time for


    that. I mean it, that woman really fell for you.¡±


    She sounded jealous, but her earnestness was obvious as well. Toby¡¯s expression sank as he realized


    she really wasn¡¯t joking. In an instant. his thin lips were pressed into a straight line. ¡°That woman¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish, Sonia said, ¡°It¡¯s understandable. You¡¯re talented and rich and handsome, and it¡¯d


    be weirder if the woman didn¡¯t fall for you. It¡¯s about time you realize your own charm, right, Mr. Fuller?¡±


    Mr. Fuller? He let out a low chuckle as he looked at her with an earnest gaze. ¡°I work my charm on you


    and you alone.¡±


    As a reply, Sonia snorted. ¡°Yeah, right? If it¡¯s just me, then how do you exin that woman? How do you


    exin Jessica? And all the rich youngdies in the field? Thoseizens calling you their husband? Try


    exining that to me.¡±


    Toby went silent, for he had no words to say. A long whileter, he finally moved his thin lips and said,


    ¡°They were probably blind.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Toby¡¯s words caught Sonia by surprise, and she let out augh.


    Seeing her joyfulugh, Toby knew she had stopped sulking, so he let out a tiny sigh of relief.


    A minuteter, Sonia finally stoppedughing. She wiped away the tears produced from all theughing


    as she looked at him. ¡°I never thought you would exin your charm in such a self-deprecating way. But


    you made meugh, so I¡¯ll forgive you this time.¡±


    Tobyughed as well. ¡°Thank you so much, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Sonia raised an eyebrow, then said smilingly, ¡°Not bad. I like it.¡±


    The two bantered for a while, and Toby went back to the topic at hand. ¡°Right. How are you so sure that


    the woman had her eyes on me? You¡¯ve met her?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sonia humphed. ¡°It¡¯s exactly because I¡¯ve met her that I knew she fell for you. When I


    arrived, she was sitting beside you and wiping your face, taking good care of you. She was so serious


    about it. When I came in, I told her I was your girlfriend. Usually, when someone hears that the man¡¯s


    girlfriend has arrived, they will move away and make some space in case the girlfriend misunderstands.


    But she didn¡¯t even try to leave and even told me not to mind her.¡±


    At that, her expression grew cold. ¡°But wait, there¡¯s more. After that, she cried in front of me and she told


    me she had to take care of you. She said that if I shooed her away, she might jump off a building or


    something. She¡¯s challenging and threatening me! I¡¯ve never seen such a b*tch like her before!¡±


    Toby held her hand tightly. ¡°Sorry for making you go through all this humiliation.¡±


    He never thought that the love of his life would get humiliated just because of his momentary act of


    kindness in letting the woman leave unscathed. If he had known things would turn out like this, he¡¯d let


    Tom run over her.


    At that thought, Toby allowed a cold gleam to flit across his eyes. Sonia didn¡¯t know what he was thinking


    as she shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not much of a humiliation. Besides, I¡¯m a new person now, and I will never


    allow myself to be humiliated. I pushed the woman away in the end.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Toby was curious. ¡°How did you do it?¡±


    ¡°I grabbed her wheelchair and pushed her forward. Simple. She moved.¡± Sonia lifted her chin in glee.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve seen the bbergasted look on her face. Ah! It was so amusing!¡±


    When Toby saw the brilliant smile in Sonia¡¯s eyes as she talked, he was so full of tenderness it almost


    spilled out of his eyes. ¡°Even though I didn¡¯t see it, I can still imagine that. Good job!¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Sonia lifted her chin higher.


    Seeing that, Toby reached out and gently scratched her like he was scratching a cat.


    Sonia pped his hand away, pouting. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Toby just smiled. ¡°You looked very cute just now.¡±


    ¡°That goes without saying.¡± Sonia eyed him, squinting.


    Toby caressed her hair, then asked, ¡°Right, where¡¯s Tom when it happened? Where did he go? He let the


    woman into my ward, but he himself went missing.¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t look too happy when he said that, obviously dissatisfied with Tom¡¯s absence.


    Sonia leaned against his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t me Tom. He went to deal with the formalities in your stead.


    Before he went, he told the woman not to barge into your ward, but she didn¡¯t listen. She sneaked in


    while Tom was gone, and then I came in. Tom returned soon after that, and then he took the woman


    away. I don¡¯t know where he took her or what he did to her; I never asked, and I don¡¯t even want to


    know.¡±


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Toby finally rxed his expression a little.


    At this moment, Sonia yawned as drowsiness took over her. Toby could see the sleepiness in her eyes,


    so he pulled her closer to him. ¡°Sleepy already?¡±


    ¡°Always have been.¡± Sonia covered her mouth and yawned again as she said, ¡°If I weren¡¯t so careful


    about waking you up, I would¡¯ve been sound asleep by now.¡±


    Toby smiled lightly. ¡°My fault. Continue sleeping, then. I won¡¯t bother you anymore.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Sonia looked up at him.


    Toby¡¯s gaze met hers. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep too.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Sonia nodded, then closed her eyes.


    Toby caressed her cheeks, then shut his eyes as well. However, right before his eyes closed, there was


    a spine-chilling re within them.

 Chapter 767

    Chapter 767


    Chapter 767 Not Easily Forgiven


    Thedy in the wheelchair had barged into Toby¡¯s ward without permission and even threatened and


    challenged his lover. I absolutely will not forgive her so easily.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    He figured that even though she ran the red light and caused an ident, she was no more than a


    clumsy pedestrian. He thought he only needed to ask for appropriatepensation and the proper


    responsibilities to be held, after which he would leave it be.


    I never thought that woman would act so boldly. It goes without question that I won¡¯t sit by!


    At that thought, Toby suddenly opened his tightly shut eyes, a vicious light flitting across them.


    The next day, Sonia was roused by the sound of knocking on the door. She shifted a little in her position


    between Toby¡¯s arms, her eyes refusing to open. She obviously wasn¡¯t fully awake yet, so she just had


    her eyes closed as she said in a sleepy voice, ¡°Toby, someone¡¯s here.¡±


    Toby opened his eyes and couldn¡¯t help but smile as he saw her curled up like a cat. ¡°Yes, I heard it.¡±


    ¡°Get the door, then.¡± Sonia scrunched her pretty eyebrows as she spoke in a meek voice.


    Obviously, she had forgotten where she was at the moment and thought that she was at home.


    Toby embraced her. ¡°It¡¯s fine cause he¡¯lle in himself. Go back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia was truly sleepy then, for she still didn¡¯t remember where she was. So, when she heard


    him say that she could continue sleeping, she didn¡¯t make a fuss. She grunted in response, then pulled


    the nket up over her head and continued sleeping.


    Seeing that, Toby chuckled lightly, then gently removed his arms from their position around her. He sat


    up on the bed and said toward the door, ¡°Come in.¡±


    The person outside stopped knocking, then the handle of the door turned in the next moment.


    The door swung open to reveal Tom and Tim standing at the door. When the two saw the man already up


    and sitting on the bed, they walked in.


    Tom spoke as he walked. ¡°President Fuller, you¡¯re finally awake. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shush!¡± Before Tom could finish, Toby put a finger to his lips, signaling for Tom to lower his voice. Tom


    gave a puzzling hum, for he didn¡¯t understand why he had to be quiet.


    But soon, he noticed a mound under the nket, right next to Toby, with long hair peeking out at the top


    of the nket. The confusion inside him immediately disappeared.


    No wonder he was told to keep it down. I guess someone¡¯s still asleep.


    Still, Toby and Sonia were so close that they even insisted on sleeping together on the sickbed after an


    ident. This sort of intimacy was too much for Tom.


    In contrast to Tom¡¯s inner thoughts, when Tim saw Sonia sleeping soundly on the bed, he didn¡¯t have


    much of a reaction.


    After all, this matter didn¡¯t concern him; it was just between the two. If they didn¡¯t find it too crowded, then


    he, as a doctor, naturally had nothing to say about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m here for an examination.¡± Tim walked toward the bed and stopped next to it, taking out the medical


    record folder he kept under his armpit. He opened the folder, then took a pen out of the front pocket of


    his coat. He unscrewed the cap of the pen and began writing notes as he asked Toby how he felt.


    After the questioning, he proceeded to check Toby¡¯s head. Then, he smiled and nodded as he said,


    ¡°Good, you can get discharged now. However, seeing that she hasn¡¯t woken up yet, I¡¯ll allow you to leave


    by noon.¡±


    He pped the folder shut and smiled as he spoke. Toby knew, of course, that Tim allowed for an


    extension of his time in the ward for Sonia¡¯s sake.


    Under normal circumstances, he would have none of it and just take Sonia away. But now that Sonia


    was obviously still asleep, he could only ept it.


    Tim didn¡¯t stay for long in the ward; he left right afterpleting his tasks. After all, he had a surgery


    scheduled afterward, which would take up over ten hours. He couldn¡¯t afford to dy it.


    After Tim was gone, save for the sleeping Sonia, there were only Toby and Tom left in the ward.


    Tom looked at Toby. ¡°President Fuller, are you feeling better?¡±


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°Much better.¡±


    He knew Tom wasn¡¯t asking about his head injury. Instead, thetter was referring to his heart.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Tom sighed in relief.


    Toby looked at the bandages wrapped around his assistant¡¯s head and pursed his thin lips. ¡°What about


    you?¡±


    No matter what, being Tom¡¯s superior, he was the one who told Tom to make the collision. So, now that


    Tom was injured, Toby had to take responsibility as his superior.


    Tom touched his forehead and smiled sheepishly. ¡°Nothing too bad, just a surface scratch on the


    forehead. It¡¯ll recover in a few days.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll double your bonus this month and give you two days off.¡±


    Two days off!


    Immediately, Tom beamed when he heard those words. Even the bonus didn¡¯t matter that much


    anymore, as he waspletely entranced by the holiday.


    A holiday! A real holiday!


    Heaven knows how long it¡¯s been since myst break! I keep working from early morning into the middle


    of the night, and it¡¯s really just too sad.


    Tom thought holidays wouldn¡¯te easy for the rest of his life, but now he got lucky and finally had time


    off. The more he thought, the more excited he got, and he could barely stop himself from smiling.


    Toby looked up and gave him a nonchnt look. ¡°You good-for-nothing.¡±


    Still smiling, Tom pushed his sses.


    Toby rubbed between his eyebrows and got to business. ¡°Are you done handling the identst night?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Tom also resumed his serious look and shook his head as he spoke.


    Toby narrowed his gaze. ¡°Not yet?¡±


    Tom replied, ¡°Yes. You passed out, so it isn¡¯t something that can be taken lightly. I cannot employ the


    usual procedures of a traffic ident, so I decided to wait until you¡¯re conscious and see what you want


    to do about it.¡±


    Toby¡¯s mood seemed to lift a bit. ¡°If that¡¯s so, then have you done some investigations? Why did that


    woman run the light all of a sudden? Logically speaking, she is in a wheelchair, which means she cannot


    move freely. There should be someone with her.¡±


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t suspecting that someone was behind the identst night. After all, his car had


    made an impromptu turn onto that road, and there were also many other cars on that road.


    If it were a plot, the person behind the scenes couldn¡¯t have made such an urate calction and


    appeared right in front of his car. So, he believed that he really was too unluckyst night to have


    encountered an uncultured pedestrian.


    ¡°I did look her up.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°The woman¡¯s name is Anya Steinfeld. She is an orphan who grew up in


    an orphanage. Because of her good grades, she received a rmendation to study at a well-known


    college in Kosovo. She has just returned from Kosovo after stic surgery.¡±


    ¡°stic surgery?¡± Toby raised an eyebrow.


    Tom coughed. ¡°Yes, the woman not only did stic surgery, she even had her limbs lengthened. That¡¯s


    why she¡¯s in a wheelchair; her legs haven¡¯t recovered, and she can¡¯t walk yet. She ran the red lightst


    night because she took a longer time to cross the roadpared to a normal person, so she had only


    crossed about a third of the road before the lights turned red. She couldn¡¯t go back to the sidewalk, so


    she could only keep moving forward. And that¡¯s where we came in.¡±


    Toby lifted his chin slightly. ¡°Got it. Even though it was an identst night, arge part of the


    responsibility is still hers. Tell her topensate properly, and if she refuses to cooperate, report to the


    police straight away.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Tom wasn¡¯t surprised to hear the decision, and he nodded as he answered.


    However, things apparently weren¡¯t over yet as Toby darkened his expression. ¡°Also, she challenged and


    threatened Soniast night, so I have no intention of letting her off the hook just like that.¡±


    ¡°You knew, President Fuller?¡± Tom was slightly surprised.


    Toby nodded before looking toward the woman still sleeping beside him. Tom followed Toby¡¯s gaze, then


    realized that Sonia had told him.


    ¡°Then what do you intend to do, President Fuller?¡± Tom averted his gaze and queried.


    Tom knew Sonia was the apple of Toby¡¯s eye, so if he kept looking at her, Toby would dig his eyes out.

 Chapter 768

    Chapter 768


    Chapter 768 Let Her Off


    ¡°What do I intend to do?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes, which were filled with a spine-chilling coldness. ¡°She


    fell for me, didn¡¯t she? Then I¡¯ll have her apologize to Sonia in public and say why she is apologizing.¡±


    ¡°Man¡­¡± Tom inhaled sharply. He¡¯s nning to embarrass her in front of the entire world.


    Apologizing to Sonia and stating her reasons meant Anya would be telling the world that she had fallen


    for Toby, and she had challenged and threatened Sonia, Toby¡¯s proper girlfriend. It meant that Anya was


    trying to be a secret lover.


    If word of this got out, Anya would be cyberbullied to the ends of the earth. After all, almost everyone in


    this world hated secret lovers. Judging by Toby¡¯s ns for Anya, Toby was definitely furious about it.


    But it was also reasonable. Anya didn¡¯t do much, but since she did what she did, she would have to take


    responsibility for her actions.


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll get to it right¡ª¡± Before Tom could finish, a knock on the door interrupted him.


    Tom frowned and looked toward Toby.


    After getting Toby¡¯s permission, he turned to the door and asked in a displeased tone, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    It couldn¡¯t have been a doctor or nurse.


    Tim had just checked up on Toby, so he would¡¯ve told the nurse that it wasn¡¯t necessary to check again.


    Therefore, the visitor must have been someone else.


    ¡°Mr. Brown, it¡¯s me, Anya Steinfeld,¡± a gentle female voice said from the other side of the door.


    Tom raised an eyebrow. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s her!¡±


    Speak of the devil. Moreover¡­


    Tom didn¡¯t look too good. ¡°President Fuller, when I took her awayst night, I warned her not to show up


    at the hospital. I said I would notify her if anything happens, but she actually still came, regardless.¡±


    The look in Toby¡¯s eyes grew cold as he heard Tom¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s not too surprising, since she came into


    my ward after you leftst night. Naturally, she wouldn¡¯t listen to you and obediently wait like you told her


    to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless person,¡± Tommented with a dark expression.


    Toby waved his hand. ¡°Deal with her. Tell her my intentions, and if she refuses, I won¡¯t go easy on her,¡±


    Toby said emotionlessly, parting his thin lips.


    Tom responded with a serious look, saying, ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll go right away.¡±


    With that, he turned and walked toward the door, after which he quickly opened the door and went out.


    Toby frowned as he rubbed his temples.


    Suddenly, the woman beside him turned around. One of her arms reached out of the nket andnded


    right on his chest. Toby paused his actions, then looked down at her, only to be met with the woman¡¯s


    pretty eyes. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    Sonia nodded and leaned in closer to him, trying to find a morefortable position. Unfortunately, no


    matter how much she moved, she couldn¡¯t find a suitable spot. In the end, she simply raised her head


    and leaned it against his chest.


    She seemed to have found her best position. Her eyebrows curved, and her arm moved from his chest to


    his waist as she hugged him. ¡°This isn¡¯t too bad.¡±


    Toby watched as she hugged him like she would hug a human-shaped bolster, and he couldn¡¯t help but


    laugh. After that, he held her shoulders as well. He pulled her closer to him so that she could hug him in


    a more natural position.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you keep sleeping?¡± Toby asked.


    Sonia looked up at him. ¡°Do you really not know, or are you pretending?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Confusion flitted across the deep pools of Toby¡¯s eyes. He honestly didn¡¯t know what she meant.


    Sonia sighed in exasperation. ¡°You were talking with Tom in whispers, but I could still hear it, you know.¡±


    It hadn¡¯t urred to Toby that he was the one who had woken her up. He felt a little guilty as he coughed


    a little into his hand, then said, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d hear it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Sonia waved her hand. ¡°It¡¯s not anything big, anyway. But do you really intend to let that Anya


    person apologize to me in public and state her reasons for her apology?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Toby replied with a distant look. ¡°If she dared to do it, then she would be brave enough to


    bear the consequences. This is all very fair, isn¡¯t it? Moreover, you are my most treasured person, so if I


    don¡¯t do anything after knowing how she treated you, I would not have the right to say that I love you.¡±


    Sonia knew he was trying to bring her justice, and she felt warm inside as her lips curved into a smile.


    ¡°Anya would definitely cry!¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Toby raised an eyebrow, then snorted. ¡°She did it to herself; she doesn¡¯t deserve to cry about it!¡±


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean it like that. I mean, she fell for you, right? She would be hurt to know


    that you gave her trouble on my behalf, so she¡¯d for sure cry. After all, it¡¯s more heartbreaking when the


    person she likes takes revenge on her,pared to me doing the same thing.¡±


    Toby pinched her nose. ¡°Next time, don¡¯t put it like that. I don¡¯t want to be the person she likes.¡±


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Soniaughed even louder, her body shaking. ¡°All right, all right. I won¡¯t.¡±


    Afterughing for a while, she recovered herself and looked up at the man. ¡°But won¡¯t this punishment be


    too severe? It¡¯s okay if she apologized in public, but if she also mentions her reasons for apologizing,


    she would get criticized on the. After all,izens are never nice to someone who¡¯s trying to get in


    between a rtionship. Even if she isn¡¯t a real secret lover, and she only challenged and threatened me


    to get me out, theizens won¡¯t go easy on her. I fear that she won¡¯t be able to handle the cyberbullying


    and proceed to do something to herself.¡±


    After all, cyberbullying was no joke, and the inte¡¯s advancement had had its negative effects.


    Sonia despised Anya and even hated her, but all Anya did was challenge and threaten Sonia. Anya


    didn¡¯t really take any action. Hence, it would be overkill if Anya got cyberbullied. If she really took her


    own life because of it, her blood would be on their hands.


    Toby saw the seriousness in Sonia¡¯s expression, and he knew what she was worried about.


    Actually, he had already thought about this possibility when he asked Tom to do the deed. However, he


    didn¡¯t care because he could cover it up. But now that he saw Sonia¡¯s expression, he hesitated a little.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want her to state her reasons for her apology in public?¡± Toby asked as he looked at Sonia.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s enough if she apologizes to me in public. If she does, theizens can more or less


    guess the reasons. As long as we don¡¯t state the reason clearly, theizens won¡¯t get overboard. She


    will be able to handle it, then. But if she mentions the reasons and really died because of cyberbullying, I


    won¡¯t sleep in peace either. I¡¯ll keep thinking that I¡¯ve killed her indirectly.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t happen!¡± Toby held her tightly and replied right away.


    Sonia smiled half-heartedly. ¡°Who knows? It¡¯s always better to be careful, so let¡¯s not take the risk. Just


    have her apologize and call it a day.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t you feel wronged?¡± Toby frowned.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t feel wronged now that you took measures against Anya for my sake. At least I


    know that you won¡¯t just stand by and watch me get bullied. You¡¯ll help me, and I¡¯m already happy


    enough to know that. Also, Anya isn¡¯t the only one who likes you. There¡¯s also Jessica and all the other


    women out there. If they all came to challenge me, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with so much


    injustice.¡±

 Chapter 769

    Chapter 769


    Chapter 769 Do as You Are Told


    Noticing that Toby pursed his lips, Sonia reached out to hold his face gently. ¡°Alright. Stop frowning. I


    honestly don¡¯t feel aggrieved about it. As long as you stay by my side and understand my pain and


    emotions, nothing else really matters.¡±


    Nevertheless, Toby sighed when he met Sonia¡¯s serious gaze. ¡°But, I feel like you¡¯re wronged.¡±


    ¡°Since you think that I was wronged, you can make up for me in other ways. As for Anya, just do as I say


    and don¡¯t cause any casualties. She didn¡¯t do anything other than throw empty threats,¡± Sonia


    suggested.


    As she insisted, he could only go along with her decisions. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get Tom to arrange something.¡±


    Then, he turned around to grab his phone by the side of the bed and sent Tom a message. At the same


    time, Tom was in a confrontation with Anya outside of the hospital ward.


    When Anya noticed that Tom was alone and no one else was present, her gaze darkened. She tilted her


    head a little to look behind Tom as if she wanted to see if anyone was behind him.


    Noticing what Anya was doing, Tom had his face darkened before he closed the door and asked in a


    hostile tone, ¡°What do you think you are trying to do?¡±


    Right then, Anya¡¯s gaze wavered before she looked away and smiled. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Tom harrumphed. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re looking for.¡±


    You want to see President Fuller, huh? I won¡¯t let things go your way.


    Anya pursed her lips. Then, she acted as if she hadn¡¯t heard what Tom said and pushed her stray hair to


    the back of her ear before asking, ¡°Mr. Brown, is President Fuller getting better now?¡±


    ¡°Well, thanks to you, President Fuller woke up in the hospital bed when he could have done so in Miss


    Reed¡¯s bed,¡± Tom replied snarkily.


    Upon hearing Tom¡¯s words, Anya felt her face twitch a little before she rposed her emotion and


    smiled gently again. This time, there was a hint of joy in her eyes. ¡°Mr. Brown, are you saying that


    President Fuller regained consciousness?¡±


    Tom harrumphed and didn¡¯t answer or deny what Anya said, which indicated that Toby had indeed


    regained consciousness.


    Anya pped her hands together. ¡°That¡¯s great! It¡¯s good news that President Fuller finally regained his


    consciousness! Mr. Brown, can you let me enter and talk to him?¡±


    Immediately, Tom got alerted before he dashed toward the entrance of Toby¡¯s ward and blocked it. ¡°You


    want to meet President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Although Anya was furious when she saw Tom¡¯s action, she didn¡¯t let it show. Instead, she sighed


    and exined in a guilty manner, ¡°I know that President Fuller and you got into an ident because of


    me, so I¡¯m hoping that I can meet President Fuller to apologize to him and¡ª¡±


    ¡°And stay by his side to take care of him?¡± Tom¡¯s gaze turned cold while Anya blushed. ¡°I do have the


    responsibility to take care of President Fuller till he heals. I caused the harm, after all.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± Tom chuckled in disbelief. ¡°Miss Steinfeld, I would advise you to drop that idea because what you


    told Miss Reed had already upset her. Do you think President Fuller would allow you to stay, considering


    how loyal he is to Miss Reed? Moreover, President Fuller doesn¡¯t need any more helpers and doesn¡¯t


    like strangers invading his personal space, so you don¡¯t need to offer to take care of him. Besides, all of


    us know that that¡¯s actually a lie to get closer to President Fuller, anyway.¡±


    Anya¡¯s face turned pale after she heard what Tom said. Instantly, she lowered her head awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m


    not. I just¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Tom rolled his eyes. ¡°No one cares if you did or didn¡¯t. To make things easier for you to


    understand, President Fuller doesn¡¯t need your care now, and it¡¯s better if you keep those desires of


    yours to yourself because President Fuller has a girlfriend now, and he loves her very much. President


    Fuller is loyal to his girlfriend, and there won¡¯t be anyone else besides her, not to mention someone like


    you. Besides, you¡¯re in apletely different world from him, so it¡¯s better if you drop those thoughts of


    yours, or you¡¯ll be the one who ends up getting hurt in the end.¡±


    Anya bit her lip and went quiet. It seemed like she was hurt by Tom¡¯s straightforwardness.


    Nevertheless, Tom didn¡¯t soften up, despite noticing Anya¡¯s reaction. Instead, he nced at his watch


    before saying, ¡°Alright. It¡¯s time to get to the point after all that nonsense just now. Miss Reed had


    already told President Fuller everything that you told herst night. Right now, President Fuller is very


    upset at your attitude toward Miss Reed, so he¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is he going toe after me on behalf of Miss Reed?¡± Anya¡¯s hands, which were ced on her thighs,


    balled up into fists.


    At this moment, Tom nced at Anya and noticed her uneasiness. However, he didn¡¯t pity her at all


    before he answered calmly, ¡°Since you didn¡¯t cause President Fuller¡¯s ident on purpose, he won¡¯t


    make a fuss about what happened yesterday. Everything will be settled by the books, and you¡¯ll have to


    pay forpensation. If you¡¯re unwilling to do so, we will see you in court.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay forpensation!¡± Anya nodded without hesitation before she said, ¡°I am the one who caused


    the ident, so I should bear responsibility for it and pay forpensation.¡±


    Tom nodded slightly. ¡°That¡¯s great. Regarding how you talked to Miss Reedst night, President Fuller


    wants you to broadcast your apology to Miss Reed, along with the reason you¡¯re sorry. As long as you


    carry out President Fuller¡¯s requests, he¡¯ll let you off the hook.¡±


    Anya¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°E-Exin why I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°Bingo!¡± Tom grinned at Anya, causing her face to turn even paler before she clenched her fists tighter.


    She then gulped before asking in a panicked manner, ¡°Don¡¯t President Fuller know¡­ how cruel it is to


    ount for my mistakes and apologize in front of the public?¡±


    Although what Anya said to Soniast night wasn¡¯t direct, everyone would be able to tell what she was


    implying, and she knew what would happen once she exined why she apologized to the public.


    ¡°This is none of President Fuller¡¯s concerns. Since you had the guts to do something like that, you should


    be able to handle the consequences of doing so,¡± Tom crossed his arms before he nonchntly


    remarked while Anya started trembling. ¡°It¡¯s Miss Reed, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tom raised his eyebrows.


    What is she talking about?


    Anya met his gaze with red eyes. ¡°Miss Reed told President Fuller to do this, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    Right then, Tom finally understood what Anya meant.


    Does she actually think that Miss Reed was the one who wanted President Fuller to request a public


    apology? Wow! What a joke. Although Miss Reed could do something like that, this is definitely President


    Fuller¡¯s own doing, based on my understanding. After all, how could she have told President Fuller what


    to do when she was sound asleep next to him?


    Tom¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Miss Steinfeld, you might have misunderstood things. Miss Reed had never made


    such a request, and all of these are President Fuller¡¯s decisions.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Anya retorted, while Tom rolled his eyes at her. ¡°How is it impossible? You¡¯ve only


    met President Fuller once, and he wasn¡¯t even conscious. Do you even understand him? How can you


    tell that this is not President Fuller¡¯s decision when you don¡¯t even know him?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Anya paused before she went quiet.


    Then, she lowered her head to hide the dark glint in her eyes while feeling resentful.


    Who says that I don¡¯t understand Toby? Of course, I understand him. However, Toby back then, and


    Toby right now¡­


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Anya¡¯s gaze faltered before she stopped herself from thinking further.


    On the other hand, Tom couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his time with Anya any longer as he uncrossed his


    arms. ¡°All of this is President Fuller¡¯s decision. You might not know how much he loves Miss Reed, but I


    can tell you that President Fuller definitely wouldn¡¯t let you off the hook if you upset Miss Reed, so it¡¯s


    better if you do as you are told, or you¡¯ll have to pay for what you¡¯ve done. Do you understand me?¡±

 Chapter 770

    Chapter 770


    Chapter 770 Thank Sonia


    Anya¡¯s body shook as she could tell that Tom was giving her a warning, but she couldn¡¯t do anything


    about it. Currently, she was in a vulnerable position and had no right to refuse anything.


    At the thought of that, Anya clenched her fists before she took a deep breath to force herself to calm


    down and answered with a tense voice, saying, ¡°I¡­ I understand.¡±


    Looks like I won¡¯t be able to avoid making a public apology to Sonia and exining the reason I have to


    apologize. Still, I can cover my face during the broadcast so that no one will be able to find out my real


    identity and hurt me. Since they didn¡¯t mention that I can¡¯t cover my face to hide my identity, I¡¯ll take


    advantage of that!


    Anya¡¯s facial expression got better when she thought of that.


    Not knowing what Anya was thinking about, Tom adjusted his sses before he said in a nonchnt


    manner, ¡°That¡¯s good to know. You can arrange the broadcast ording to your timing, but I¡¯m hoping


    that you can schedule it as soon as possible. Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Anya answered quietly with a hint of spasmodic sobs while lowering her head to hide her


    emotions.


    Nevertheless, Tom only frowned and didn¡¯t say anything when he noticed that she was crying, as it was


    normal to cry when one was about to face cyberbullying, after all.


    ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ll be leaving now, and you should do so as well. As for President Fuller¡¯spensation,


    I¡¯ll arrange for someone to contact youter on, and you can pass everything to that person. Do not show


    up in front of any of us ever again after this.¡±


    Then, Tom prepared to leave. Suddenly, he felt the phone in his pocket vibrating. At this moment, he


    paused to check his phone before a shocked look appeared on his face, and the way he looked at Anya


    changed a little.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    At the same time, Anya¡¯s eyes glistened when she noticed the change in Tom¡¯s look before she asked


    curiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mr. Brown? Is there anything on my face?¡±


    Immediately, Tom kept his phone and rposed himself before his facial expression became calm


    again, and he replied in a collected manner, ¡°There¡¯s nothing on your face. However, there¡¯s good news


    for you. President Fuller had decided to let you broadcast your apology to Miss Reed without exining


    the reason behind the apology.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Anya looked taken aback before a surprised look appeared on her face. ¡°Is that true?


    Mr. Brown, are you serious? I¡¯m not hearing things wrongly, am I?¡± She quickly grabbed Tom by his arm.


    As Anya was overly excited, her grip on Tom¡¯s arm was extremely forceful, causing Tom to wince with


    pain. ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    Tom¡¯s voice quivered as he was really in pain. Even though his arm was covered by his shirt, he could


    still feel Anya¡¯s nails digging into his flesh as if they had pierced through his shirt. From that, it was


    obvious how forceful she was.


    When Anya noticed Tom¡¯s face twisting in pain, a joyful glint shed past her gaze before it disappeared,


    and an anxious look quickly appeared on her face. Then, she removed her hand and apologized


    profusely, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry, Mr. Brown. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Are you alright?¡±


    Nevertheless, Tom unfeelingly chuckled when he saw the fingernail marks on his sleeve. Am I alright?


    Isn¡¯t it obvious that I¡¯m in pain, considering she had even left fingernail marks on my shirt?


    Tom had his hand on his injured arm before staring at the teary and lost woman in front of him


    emotionlessly before he asked coldly, ¡°Did you do it on purpose?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Anya looked taken aback as if she didn¡¯t understand what Tom meant, while Tom narrowed his


    eyes and stared at her. ¡°What I meant was, did you purposely grab my arm?¡±


    Anya¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°How is that possible?!¡± She quickly shook her head and motioned her hands


    around. ¡°I definitely didn¡¯t do it on purpose. It¡¯s true, Mr. Brown. You have to believe me. I just lost my


    composure because I was really happy. Besides, why would I deliberately do that?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tom sneered. ¡°Because I was really rude to you, and I¡¯ve offended you just now, so you have the


    perfect opportunity to take revenge on me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± Anya shook her head furiously. ¡°I¡¯m not like that. You have to believe me, Mr. Brown. I


    don¡¯t have any thoughts of taking revenge on you at all.¡±


    While she exined herself, she went from tearful to full-on bawling as droplets of tears started falling


    down her eyes.


    At that moment, Tom panicked, as he didn¡¯t expect Anya to start crying just like that. It was as if he had


    done something wrong to her. Yet, all he did was raise his suspicions. Hence, he was truly taken aback


    when Anya started bawling.


    Right then, Tom started feeling annoyed as he massaged his temple. ¡°Alright. Stop crying. You didn¡¯t do


    it on purpose, then.¡±


    Although he believed Anya did it purposely, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it as Anya cried and refused to


    admit it. If Tom legitimately forced her to admit it, she might even pull some dirty tricks to make it look as


    if he bullied her. Therefore, he had no choice but to let things go.


    Still, Anya acted as if she hadn¡¯t heard how unwilling Tom sounded and broke into a smile. ¡°I knew you


    were a fair person, after all.¡±


    Once again, Tom chuckled coldly. How dare she im she didn¡¯t do it purposely when she quickly took


    my cue and tried to please me? If she really didn¡¯t do it purposely, she would have been upset when she


    heard how unwilling I was and would have tried to argue to change my mind, but she didn¡¯t do that at all.


    It¡¯s obvious that she did it on purpose based on her reaction.


    Still, that didn¡¯t matter anymore, as Tom had no choice but to let things go.


    ¡°By the way, Mr. Brown, why did President Fuller suddenly change his mind?¡± Anya stared at Tom


    intently before she asked.


    Meanwhile, Tom flicked on the wrinkle on his sleeve before he answered emotionlessly, ¡°President Fuller


    is worried that you might get harmed, so he changed his mind and wants you to apologize only.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Anya had her eyes glistened before her face brightened up visibly. ¡°President Fuller is


    really a good person.¡±


    Tom¡¯s lips twitched a little when he heard her.


    A good person? Did she misunderstand the definition of a good person? The only reason President


    Fuller wanted her to broadcast her apology was to allow the public to criticize her. Although she didn¡¯t


    have to exin why she apologized now and she wouldn¡¯t be attacked as much anymore, the


    spections about her action definitely wouldn¡¯t decrease. She would still be chastised publicly but with


    lesser consequences. Despite that, it would still be damaging to a woman¡¯s reputation. Knowing all that,


    she actually thinks President Fuller is a good person? Is she seriously blinded because of love?


    While Tom roasted Anya mentally, he pursed his lips. ¡°You should be thanking Miss Reed instead of


    President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The smile on Anya¡¯s face froze. ¡°Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°President Fuller told me that Miss Reed was the one who wanted him to do


    so. It wasn¡¯t his decision, and he was only going along with Miss Reed¡¯s wishes, so you should be


    thanking Miss Reed instead.¡±


    This time, Anya¡¯s facial expression frozepletely before her hand that was grasping the armrest


    clenched up as well. It¡¯s Sonia¡¯s doing! I can¡¯t believe that I thought this was Toby¡¯s decision when Sonia


    had been the one behind this all along. Are they trying to humiliate me by making me thank Sonia?


    When Tom noticed the look on Anya¡¯s face, he narrowed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Miss Steinfeld? Are


    you unwilling to ept Miss Reed¡¯s kindness and thank her for it?¡±

 Chapter 771

    Chapter 771


    Chapter 771 Apany Him to Work


    Upon hearing Tom¡¯s displeasure, Anya had her pupils constricted a little before realizing her behavior


    was inappropriate. Immediately, she pursed her lips and forced herself to smile. ¡°No. Of course not.


    That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, then?¡± Tom frowned while Anya lowered her gaze. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to express my


    disbelief because I didn¡¯t expect Miss Reed to voice out for me despite me offending her, and that¡¯s


    why I was so surprised when I heard what you said. I am not being ungrateful for Miss Reed¡¯s


    kindness. Instead, I¡¯m nothing but grateful for her thoughtfulness.¡±


    Tom dropped the topic as Anya¡¯s exnation was logical, and he couldn¡¯t find any fault in what she


    said, so he harrumphed. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. You may return now, Miss Steinfeld. We will be waiting


    for yourpensation and apology.¡±


    Anya nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±


    Then, Tom stopped entertaining her and turned around to enter Toby¡¯s ward.


    Meanwhile, Anya watched as Tom left with a twisted expression on her face.


    Nevertheless, her demeanor only made her face look even more stiff and terrifying due to her facial


    reconstruction surgery.


    Of course, Tom didn¡¯t know about what happened after he left.


    When he entered the ward and saw the couple cuddling on the hospital bed, he rolled his eyes secretly.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Are these two for real? Why would they still fool around in bed instead of getting up when they already


    woke up?


    Although that was what Tom thought to himself, he didn¡¯t dare to voice out his thoughts and only


    cleared his throat while acting as if he hadn¡¯t seen anything. ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed.¡±


    While Toby had no reaction, Sonia reacted awkwardly upon seeing Tom¡¯s arrival before she blushed


    and wanted to get away from Toby¡¯s embrace as she was awake now.


    Sonia could act as if she didn¡¯t know anything when she was asleep, but she couldn¡¯t do so since she


    was awake.


    It¡¯s better if I get up.


    Nevertheless, Toby hugged her waist tightly when he noticed that she was moving and refused to let


    her out of his embrace. ¡°Stop moving!¡±


    Sonia red at him. ¡°Let me go. Mr. Brown is here.¡±


    Right then, Toby gave Tom a look, and Tom quickly tensed up and straightened his posture as if he was


    threatened. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Miss Reed. You can pretend I¡¯m not here, really!¡± Tom said earnestly.


    However, that made Sonia feel even more embarrassed.


    Pretend he isn¡¯t there? How is that even possible when he¡¯s sitting right there? There¡¯s no way that I


    can act like he¡¯s invisible unless I¡¯m blind or I really don¡¯t care. Wouldn¡¯t he witness everything if Toby


    suddenly gets into the mood for that?! That would be so embarrassing!


    Toby could tell what Sonia was thinking about by looking at her wavering eyes. He smirked a little and


    got down to business, as that would distract Sonia from overthinking.


    ¡°Have you settled everything?¡± He turned to Tom while Tom nodded slightly before replying, ¡°Everything


    is settled. That woman promised to pay forpensation and apologize to Miss Reed openly.¡±


    Toby hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°However, she didn¡¯t ept it at first,¡± Tom mentioned.


    Upon hearing that, Tom frowned. ¡°How so?¡±


    On the other hand, Sonia didn¡¯t look surprised as she chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s normal for her not to ept the


    arrangement, considering the fact that she might get cyberbullied after this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°She even thought that Miss Reed was trying to get revenge on her.¡±


    ¡°Me getting revenge on her?¡± Sonia chuckled in disbelief while Toby¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Who does she


    think she is for Sonia to get revenge on her?¡±


    Tom shrugged. ¡°At least that¡¯s what she thought.¡±


    Soniaughed. ¡°Had she never thought that Toby was the one who made that decision?¡±


    Tom eyed Toby before he shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°As expected!¡± Sonia turned around and gave the man next to her a look with a ghost of a smile on her


    face. ¡°Look how much she likes you. I can¡¯t believe that all of the faults are ced on me, and she


    didn¡¯t even suspect once that it could be your decision. I¡¯ve be an evil woman, but you¡¯re still as


    innocent as ever to her.¡±


    ¡°Stop it.¡± Toby reached out to pat Sonia¡¯s head. ¡°How are you an evil woman? You¡¯re an angel to me.¡±


    At this moment, Tom couldn¡¯t help but cringe before he felt goosebumps.


    Why didn¡¯t I notice that President Fuller actually has manyme pickup lines in the past?


    Noticing Tom¡¯s reaction, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. ¡°Alright. Stop it. I was just joking


    anyway. What did you say in the end, Mr. Brown?¡±


    ¡°I told her that it was solely President Fuller¡¯s decision, and you had nothing to do with it. After some


    warnings, she finally agreed to publicly apologize and exin why she apologized. However, when I


    was about toe in to report what happened, I received a message from President Fuller, so I told


    her that she only needed to apologize without giving any exnation. Upon hearing that, she was


    delighted and even pinched me purposely,¡± Tom answered with a frown.


    ¡°Pinched you?¡± Sonia was taken aback while Toby turned toward Tom as well. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Tom harrumphed. ¡°She purposely took advantage of her happiness to pinch me so that she could get


    revenge on me for being rude to her.¡±


    Then, he rolled up his sleeve and revealed ten deep fingernail marks on his arm.


    Right then, all of the fingernail marks had turned purplish due to the torn blood vessels underneath.


    Anya¡¯s viciousness was made known after Tom¡¯s arm was bruised even though he was wearing two


    layers of garments.


    Even Sonia couldn¡¯t help but suck in a deep breath. ¡°Oh my goodness. That¡¯s horrible.¡±


    ¡°This woman is a vicious one,¡± Toby narrowed his eyes and remarked with a deep voice while Sonia


    nodded. I agree.


    In fact, she had already figured it outst night. Though, she didn¡¯t think that Anya was vicious and only


    thought that she was a calctive person after what happened.


    Therefore, Sonia¡¯s face darkened when she saw the marks on Tom¡¯s arm. She could tell that Anya


    wasn¡¯t just calctive from how she treated Tom but was a brutal woman.


    This woman is one to do anything to get what she wants. Thank goodness we won¡¯t need to see her


    again after today, or it would make our lives even harder for sure.


    ¡°Go get a nurse to treat your woundster on,¡± Toby observed Tom¡¯s arm before he instructed.


    Tom replied, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Then, he left.


    After that, Toby and Sonia stop cuddling in the hospital bed and get up to pack their things to prepare


    for discharge.


    Toby hadn¡¯t been to Fuller Group since yesterday, and his work was already piled up, so he had to


    return to hispany by today, no matter what.


    After all, Fuller Group wasn¡¯t a smallpany like Paradigm Co..


    Although Sonia wanted Toby to rest for another day before resuming work, she quickly shut up when


    she heard that he had a meeting regarding a project worth a billion.


    I can¡¯t just let him lose a project worth about a billion. Even if he¡¯s willing to rest, the stockholders in the


    company would surely riot.


    Staring at Toby¡¯s bandaged forehead, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel bad for him.


    How could she not feel bad for Toby when he had to resume his work right after regaining his


    consciousness in a hospital bed? As expected, being in a huge corporation is not all sunshine and


    rainbows.


    Unlike Fuller Group, Paradigm Co. had never received any projects worth billions. Even if Sonia didn¡¯t


    go to work for a few days, thepany¡¯s operation was still manageable by her employees, while Toby


    wouldn¡¯t be able to do so as it was different in Fuller Group.


    Sonia sighed at the thought of that. ¡°Do you want me to apany you to work?¡±


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 Chapter 772

    Chapter 772


    Chapter 772 Interception


    When Toby heard Sonia, he was stunned for a few seconds before he stared at Sonia in disbelief.


    ¡°What did you just say? You want to apany me to work?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Upon getting the confirmation that he didn¡¯t mishear her, his disbelief turned into happiness. ¡°Why


    would you suddenly want to apany me to work?¡±


    While folding her coat, Sonia replied, ¡°Because you¡¯re injured.¡±


    Toby touched the bandage that was wrapped around his forehead. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call this an injury,


    though.¡±


    He didn¡¯t sustain any heavy injury that needed him to be under others¡¯ surveince or assistance, as he


    only suffered a slight scratch due to him banging the back of his head.


    ¡°Who says that it¡¯s not?¡± Sonia pulled his hand away from his forehead. ¡°You knocked your head, after


    all. What if you get nauseous symptomster on?¡±


    Who could tell if something like that would happenter on?


    In short, Sonia was worried about Toby resuming work. She knew him well enough to know that he


    wouldn¡¯t stop once he started working, which was bad for his body.


    Thus, Sonia had decided to apany Toby for a day so that she wouldn¡¯t be worried about him.


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Toby pressed Sonia¡¯s hand slightly. ¡°Why would I feel nauseous when I don¡¯t have a


    concussion? You don¡¯t have toe along.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes at him.


    At the same time, he pursed his lips, and a hint of hesitation shed past his eyes before he finally


    nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    However, Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You need to tell me what you really think. To be


    honest, you wanted me to apany you, didn¡¯t you? If not, your eyes wouldn¡¯t have brightened up


    when you heard my question. Besides, why did you have a moment of hesitation just now?¡±


    An awkward look appeared on Toby¡¯s face after his lover exposed him for not being truthful.


    Although he had to admit that he was pleased to know that Sonia wanted to apany him to work,


    he didn¡¯t want her to know how happy he felt, so he acted coldly.


    Nevertheless, Toby didn¡¯t expect Sonia to notice his excitement, despite what he said.


    Still, he was relieved that Sonia had exposed him because he got worried that Sonia might drop the


    idea of apanying him to work, and he really didn¡¯t want that.


    Not knowing what Toby was thinking, Sonia frowned and urged when Toby kept quiet. ¡°Come on, do


    you want me to go with you? If you really don¡¯t want me to go, I won¡¯t go.¡±


    While Toby still remained quiet, he made his intentions clear by holding onto her hand.


    When Sonia lowered her head and looked at their intertwined hands, she couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°How


    can someone as shameless as you get so bashful at times?¡±


    Clearing his throat, Toby replied, ¡°My reaction varies depending on the situation.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched a little. ¡°Enough of that. Let¡¯s get you discharged. You don¡¯t want to take up other


    patients¡¯ spaces, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded.


    Then, the two of them held hands and left the room together. At the same time, Tom was waiting for


    Toby and Sonia at the hospital¡¯s parking lot.


    Upon Toby and Sonia¡¯s arrival, Tom quickly kept his phone and went forward to help them carry their


    stuff.


    Nevertheless, Toby didn¡¯t have much to take with him as he was only admitted for a day, so Tom only


    helped Sonia carry the daily necessities she had packed for Toby.


    When Sonia was informed about Toby¡¯s ident, she reacted quickly by packing up the essential


    necessities for Toby, considering he might be admitted to the hospital as she thought that he had


    sustained heavy injuries.


    Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t expect all of the things that she packed weren¡¯t needed at all.


    Still, that was good news, after all.


    ¡°Get in.¡± Toby got to the car and opened the car¡¯s door so that Sonia could enter.


    After humming in acknowledgment, Sonia bent down and wanted to get into the car.


    Right then, the sound of the wheelchair rang out behind them. At this moment, the gentle voice of a


    woman could be heard. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯ve finally found you.¡±


    Upon hearing that voice, Sonia immediately had her face darkened while Tom scowled and cursed at


    Anya mentally.


    What the hell? Why is she here? Didn¡¯t I ask her to leave?


    A glint of anger appeared in Tom¡¯s gaze when he turned around and saw Anya, who was in her


    wheelchair.


    As expected, it¡¯s her! She actually didn¡¯t leave! How dare she pull such a dirty trick by waiting in the


    parking lot even though she promised me she would leave?


    Tom had seen all sorts of women after working by Toby¡¯s side for a long time, but this was his first time


    seeing such an annoying one.


    Even Tina wasn¡¯t this annoying! Hopefully, President Fuller won¡¯t me me since I really did make her


    leave.


    At the thought of that, Tom turned toward Toby.


    When he noticed Toby was frowning with a stony expression on his face, he got anxious.


    As expected, President Fuller is angry. I bet Miss Reed is probably upset as well.


    Tom turned toward Sonia tensely to see that Sonia¡¯s face darkened as well. Right then, he couldn¡¯t help


    but smile wryly.


    Looks like I¡¯m surely getting a lecture after this!


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes and stared at the woman in front of him. Although he knew


    who she was, he acted like he didn¡¯t know her before asking emotionlessly.


    Nevertheless, Sonia nced at Toby because she didn¡¯t believe that Toby couldn¡¯t recognize Anya.


    Tom had told him that the person who caused their ident was a woman in a wheelchair, after all.


    Even though Toby might not be able to recognize Anya¡¯s looks, her wheelchair was enough to exin


    her identity.


    Still, if Toby could recognize Anya but acted as if he didn¡¯t know her, it probably means that he¡¯s just


    trying to humiliate her.


    At that thought, Sonia walked toward Toby while her bad mood upon seeing Anya was lifted up.


    On the other hand, Anya was taken aback because she didn¡¯t expect Toby to ask her who she was.


    Does he not know who I am? How is that even possible?! I won¡¯t believe that he wasn¡¯t informed about


    me, so is he just trying to humiliate me now?


    Anya¡¯s face stiffened when she thought of that before she gripped her armrest tightly in anger.


    However, she didn¡¯t let her anger show on her face. She quickly reacted by smiling and acting as if


    nothing had happened without any hints of awkwardness.


    ¡°Hello, President Fuller. My name is Anya Steinfeld, and I¡¯m the person who caused your ident.¡±


    Anya looked up at Toby with a guilty look on her face.


    Meanwhile, a disdainful look shed past Sonia¡¯s eyes before she went toward Toby¡¯s side and held his


    hand while giving Anya a grin. ¡°Are you here to apologize, Miss Steinfeld?¡±


    Anya¡¯s eyes dimmed when her gazended on Sonia and Toby¡¯s intertwined hands before she quickly


    smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m here to apologize to President Fuller.¡±


    Then, she turned to look at Toby with a guilty look on her face. ¡°President Fuller, I¡¯m honestly sorry for


    what happenedst night. You wouldn¡¯t have injured yourself if it weren¡¯t for me. All of this happened


    because of me, and I¡¯m really sorry about it!¡±


    Anya bent down to bow at Toby. Currently, she acted as if she wasn¡¯t hoping that he¡¯d forgive her, and


    she looked really pitiful.


    At this moment, men who were into women like Anya would have already helped her up and forgiven


    her.


    Nheless, Sonia turned to the man next to her and gave him a warning look as if she was telling


    them to prepare for the worst if he got soft-hearted.


    Upon seeing that, Toby chuckled lightly. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±


    Then, he reached out and flicked Sonia¡¯s forehead softly while Sonia harrumphed. ¡°I¡¯m not overthinking


    things. There are many men who are into girls like this, and I¡¯ll surely show you what¡¯sing for you if


    you¡¯re into this as well!¡±


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 Chapter 773

    Chapter 773


    Chapter 773 Put Her in Her ce


    Sonia even reached out to pinch Toby as she said those words.


    Toby raised a brow, and he quickly grabbed her hand as he shed an exasperated smile. ¡°What kind


    of person do you take me for? I¡¯m not one of those shallow men out there. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t have that


    big of a heart; it has enough room for you and only you.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Tom shuddered where he stood behind Toby and had to rub his arms like he caught


    a cold.


    Goodness, is this the same President Fuller who wouldn¡¯t crack a smile back in the day? If Tom hadn¡¯t


    been standing there and listening to all the conversation, he would have thought that Toby had been


    swapped with somebody else. Honestly speaking, though, President Fuller really is a changed man. He


    isn¡¯t like what he used to be. Can love really turn someone into an entirely different person?


    At the thought of this, Tom tipped his head to the side, looking puzzled. He had been a bachelor


    throughout his thirty plus years of life and without a woman to call his own, he couldn¡¯t hope to catch up


    with the likes of Toby and Sonia.


    Sonia, on the other hand, didn¡¯t overreact as Tom had and she only thought that Toby¡¯s line was


    cringeworthy.


    However, as cringeworthy as it sounded, it still made her blush and made her heart swell as it skittered


    from beat to beat. Sure, it¡¯s cheesy, but I loved it.


    She shot Toby a knowing look. ¡°I¡¯d say you have good judgment, then.¡±


    Tobyughed, clearly amused by her reaction.


    Meanwhile, Anya frowned when she heard hisugh. She couldn¡¯t understand what could be so funny


    as to make himugh twice in a row. More importantly, she didn¡¯t remember him having a sense of


    humor, much less the ability tough.


    A dark look came into her eyes as she thought, Looks like he went through a pretty big shift in his


    personality since Ist saw him.


    ¡°Mr. Fuller¡­¡± She looked up and eyed Toby with unease.


    He paused his warm interactions with Sonia and turned to look at Anya with a frown. At once, he shed


    his affable demeanor as he asked stonily in a voice that sent chills running down one¡¯s spine, ¡°What is


    it that you want to say?¡±


    Next to him, Sonia was appraising Anya with a triumphant look.


    Anya wasn¡¯t oblivious to the wicked gleam in Sonia¡¯s eyes, as if Sonia was waiting for her to embarrass


    herself. She gritted her teeth, but took a deep breath to retain herposure as she responded, ¡°Mr.


    Fuller, I was going to say, aboutst night¡ª¡±


    ¡°I thought we were done with it,¡± an impatient Toby interrupted as he raised his hand to stop her from


    pressing further. ¡°I¡¯m willing to overlook the fact that you ran the red light and subsequently caused me


    to meet with an ident because you were in a wheelchair. Now, all you have to do is pay the agreed


    sum of damages. As for theck of respect with which you treated my lover, I¡¯m sure my assistant has


    also told you to make a public apology about it, no?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Anya muttered with a nod, then looked past Toby¡¯s shoulder at Tom. ¡°Mr. Brown has informed me


    of the things that I need to do.¡±


    ¡°In that case, what else is there for you to say?¡± Toby demanded icily, his face devoid of warmth.


    She shook her headmely. ¡°Nothing else. I¡¯m only here to tell you in person that I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t my assistant tell you that I don¡¯t want your apology? You only need to fork out thepensation


    for my injuries,¡± he pointed out sardonically, sounding more irritated than he had moments ago.


    Anya was about to retort when Tom stepped forward and interjected, ¡°President Fuller, I might not have


    told her that an apology can be dispensed with, but I¡¯m sure I implied it when I settled on a


    compensation sum with her; anyone with half a mind could have deciphered it without hassle. I even


    asked her to leave and never to show up in front of you ever again, but as it turns out¡­¡±


    He trailed off, but everyone knew what he was going to say. He had as good aspared Anya to a


    piece of chewing gum stuck to the bottom of the shoe, refusing to fall off on her own.


    Sonia sputtered in her refusal to spare the woman¡¯s feelings.


    She had never liked Anya in the first ce, so she wouldn¡¯t even think about sparing a shred of Anya¡¯s


    dignity. It didn¡¯t help that Anya had decided to drop by deliberately to badger Toby.


    Why should I have to spare you from humiliation? Sonia thought as she eyed Anya defiantly.


    Anya didn¡¯t think that Tom would be so blunt and his words stoked a fiery rage within her. What really


    added insult to her injury was Sonia and her lofty giggling. What¡¯s so funny, huh? Anya thought as she


    glowered at the other woman. If I can, I¡¯d like to smack that grin off your face and see how you¡¯d like it!


    Nheless, these were only thoughts she wished she could word out for Sonia and she knew better


    than to let herself screw up now. Closing her eyes briefly, she wore a flustered expression and stared at


    Toby fretfully, ¡°But, Mr. Fuller, I didn¡¯t mean to stick around for so long; I only wanted to apologize to


    you personally for causing your ident. I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself if I didn¡¯t get to say sorry


    to you, which is why I waited for you here. You have to believe me, Mr. Fuller. Apologizing is all I¡¯m


    setting out to do!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sonia scoffed and drawled slowly, ¡°Is that truly the only thing you¡¯ve set out to do?¡±


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Anya¡¯s eyes glimmered insidiously, but she feigned confusion as she asked, ¡°What do you mean by


    that, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious by what I mean. Your apology is but a sham and you only wanted to badger my boyfriend


    because you wanted to see him, right?¡± Sonia used without beating around the bush as she


    narrowed her eyes at Anya in cold amusement.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± Anya¡¯s voice was so shrill that she sounded like a cat whose tail had been stepped


    on. Then, worried that Toby might not believe her no matter how vehemently she denied the


    usation, she nced over at him with red-rimmed eyes and added, ¡°Please, Mr. Fuller, it¡¯s nothing


    like that. I¡ª¡±


    Toby¡¯s brows furrowed, but just as he was about to say something, Sonia stepped forward and shielded


    him. She lowered her head to regard Anya imperiously with no warmth in her eyes as she said,


    ¡°Please, could you spare us the act? We don¡¯t need you looking like a sad puppy when you¡¯re


    apologizing. Do you honestly think none of us would see through your pathetic front? You¡¯re only trying


    to gain sympathy from my boyfriend in the hopes of winning him over, but let me make one thing very


    clear: you are messing with the wrong person. He has eyes for me and only me, and your little


    despicable antics aren¡¯t going to cut it.¡±


    A smile tugged on Toby¡¯s lips as he was obviously pleased to hear Sonia¡¯s words.


    In her wheelchair, Anya lifted her chin and stared at Sonia in disbelief, looking as if Sonia had


    committed some horrific crime against her. ¡°H-How could you say such things, Miss Reed? I would


    never¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Sonia spat out harshly, waving her hand to dismiss Anya¡¯s argument. ¡°The only thing that


    matters is what I think, got it? And we¡¯re all women here, so it¡¯s not as if I can¡¯t see through your act.


    You know, you¡¯re one of the most shameless people I¡¯ve ever met, and I can¡¯t imagine how thick-


    skinned you¡¯d have to be if you could still try to speak with him even after he told you not to apologize.


    He didn¡¯t even want to see you! Yet here you are, dismissing everything he told you not to do and


    badgering him in front of his girlfriend. Shameless and pathetic, that¡¯s what you are. In other words, you


    are nothing but a skank!¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Anya pointed a finger at Sonia, shock and horror coloring her face as she took in the harsh


    words.


    Even Tom was taken aback by what Sonia said. He had always thought of her as a demure and


    intellectual sort of woman rather than someone who would not resort to such unpredictable ways to


    fend off a vixen who was trying to get Toby¡¯s attention.


    s, he had underestimated Sonia whose belligerent scolding had left Anya stumped.


    I must say I¡¯m impressed by her way with words, and she certainly put Anya in her ce! Seeing Anya


    receiving the insult that she deserves is absolutely invigorating.


    Toby, on the other hand, clearly had not seen thising either. He raised his brow in surprise at how


    stone-cold and harsh Sonia had sounded, but he quickly regained hisposure.


    Presently, Sonia smacked Anya¡¯s trembling finger away and snapped, ¡°What? Did I say something


    wrong? I was going to spare your feelings, but you just had to get on my nerves, so don¡¯t me me for


    putting you in your ce. If you¡¯re going to stoop so low as a woman and go around pining after other


    people¡¯s partners, then you should have girded yourself for the humiliation that follows.¡±


    Then, she looked away from the woman in the wheelchair and slid into the car.


    A speechless Toby went into the vehicle after her without sparing Anya a second nce.


    Tom eyed Anya, who appeared to be crying as she kept her head down, impassively and scoffed


    before brushing past her to get into the car and driving out of the parking lot.


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 Chapter 774

    Chapter 774


    Chapter 774 An Angry Sonia


    On the way back, Sonia sat in the backseat with a particrly sullen expression and judging by the way


    her chest was rising and falling rapidly, it was clear that she was still furious.


    Toby registered how hard she was breathing, then let out a dry cough as he retracted his gaze from her


    chest area. He thought it was best to proceed with caution as he asked, ¡°Are you still mad?¡±


    He could tell that Sonia had only intended to mock Anya at the beginning, but toward the end, there


    was no mistaking that she was boiling with rage, which exined why she was still sulking until now.


    Not realizing that the way her chest rose and fell had provided quite the suggestive show to the man


    next to her, Sonia turned to re at him and snapped, ¡°Are you asking me to calm down after


    encountering such a shameless little skank? Believe it or not, she would have leaped into an entire


    dance sequence about how she¡¯d like to take care of you and nurse you back to health to ease her


    rotten conscience had I not asked her to put a sock in it! She would have insisted on staying by your


    side or something like that.¡±


    ¡°And how are you so sure about that?¡± Toby asked with a teasing smile.


    She scoffed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how her eyes sparkled when she saw you? Please, I can smell her


    desperation from miles away! If she likes you that much, surely she¡¯d try to find a way to stay by your


    side, or at the very least get close to you. Besides, she was sobbing herself silly when she begged me


    to let her take care of youst night!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can vouch for that, President Fuller,¡± Tom spoke up from the driver¡¯s seat, nodding firmly as he


    nced into the rearview mirror to address Toby.


    Toby shot him a cold look.


    The assistant retracted his neck and turned his attention back on the road, pretending as if he said


    nothing at all.


    However, hisical demeanor amused Sonia, who sputtered and felt the rage in her die down. ¡°See,


    even Mr. Brown thinks I was right to put that skank in her ce. The bottom line is that the woman is


    shameless and she most definitely would have made ridiculous requests if I hadn¡¯t given her a piece of


    my mind, so I did.¡± At the mention of this, she curiously eyed Toby. ¡°I must have made myself look bad


    when I snapped at her back there.¡±


    Toby raised a brow. ¡°Why would you say that?¡±


    ¡°Because no one likes a shrew, which I¡¯d wager is what I looked like earlier,¡± she pointed out as she


    nervously assessed him.


    He stared into her eyes for a few seconds, and under Sonia¡¯s anxious scrutiny, he suddenly chuckled


    and reassured, ¡°Not at all!¡±


    Sonia let out an obvious sigh of relief, though she still eyed him skeptically as she asked, ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± Toby promised, nodding firmly.


    Sheughed. ¡°Well, that¡¯s more like it, I suppose. I was thinking how maniacal I must have looked while


    putting that woman in her ce.¡±


    ¡°No, you actually looked pretty adorable,¡± Tobymented as he propped his head against his


    knuckles, sounding serious.


    ¡°Really? Don¡¯t spin me a line now, Toby. Was I really adorable?¡± Sonia asked, her eyes wide with


    surprise.


    ¡°Definitely adorable,¡± he confirmed as his smile deepened. ¡°I have never seen you give someone a


    piece of your mind ever so vigorously and you didn¡¯t even point a finger at her or make gestures in her


    face. You articted your words well, but what was more endearing was how your eyes were wide and


    your face was flushed. You looked like an angry pufferfish.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t at all trying tofort her; he actually meant what he said. He thought an angry pufferfish


    was exactly what she had looked like back there in the parking lot; she didn¡¯t so much look as if she


    was trying to put the woman in ce as she was trying to pick a fight with Anya. There had been a brief


    moment or two when Toby thought Sonia might burst into tears.


    Which, he thought with amusement, was his idea of endearing.


    Upon hearing his description, however, Sonia tried to imagine what she must have looked like to Toby,


    but that alone was enough to make her embarrassed. She immediately buried her face in her hands


    and tipped her head back, leaning into the seat as she prayed for a hole to open up in the ground and


    swallow her.


    At the sight of this, Toby reached to pull her hand away from her face to cajole, ¡°Come on, put your


    hands down. It¡¯s nothing to be embarrassed about, so why are you hiding your face all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it!¡± she responded, her voice muffled by her palms.


    He chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t, indeed, but I¡¯m really happy about it.¡±


    ¡°Happy?¡± Sonia froze before she took one hand away from her face to reveal half her features and cast


    a sideways nce at him. ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you put her in her ce,¡± he borated.


    The corner of her lips twitched. ¡°Okay, but why?¡± Doesn¡¯t he find it embarrassing for his girlfriend to


    lose her cool in front of everyone?


    As if sensing her uneasiness, Toby stopped teasing her and grew serious, then pointed out matter-of-


    factly, ¡°I¡¯m happy that you put her in her ce because that means you care enough about me to be


    possessive, just as I do for you. It reassures me that I¡¯m not the only one fighting for us and standing


    guard over our rtionship. I know there are men out there who have feelings for you, too, like Carl,


    Zane and Charles.¡±


    At the mention of this, he eyed her steadily and added, ¡°I never liked seeing the three of them show up


    in front of you and I would be seized with the urge to chase them away, because that¡¯s how much I love


    you and how much I want you for my own. I don¡¯t want anyone else to butt in and pull us apart because


    there¡¯s only enough room in this rtionship for the both of us. So when I saw you give thatdy a


    piece of your mind after she made her feelings for me known, I was ted. It only goes to show that


    you¡¯re serious about us, and that you¡¯d cut anyone who tries to get between us.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Having heard all this, Sonia blushed all the way to the tips of her ears as she mumbled, ¡°You¡¯re right to


    say that I only snapped at Anya because I could tell she had feelings for you. I just couldn¡¯t take it; if I


    could have endured it and didn¡¯t stop her from making her shameless advances, then it would have


    meant that I didn¡¯t love you or care about you enough. However, it¡¯s precisely because I love you so


    much that I became so angry, and I wanted to shout some sense into her so that she would know not to


    cross the line. She needed to learn her ce, and that was all I wanted her to understand.¡±


    She lowered her gaze, which suddenly grew icy as she added, ¡°I¡¯ve been through a lot, which is why I


    am really defensive about our rtionship. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand having someone trying to stir up


    trouble to tear us apart. I¡¯d probably nip it in the bud before things spiraled out of control and we both


    ended up getting hurt, or I¡¯d give up on us at worst. I would never cling onto a fraying rtionship like


    some hopeless, hysterical shrew.¡±


    Sonia remembered how the sirens had sounded off in her head when she first saw Anya in the room


    with Toby. Thatdy had obvious intentions for Toby and Sonia had wanted nothing more than to get rid


    of her. She wanted to dash all of Anya¡¯s hopes to get close to Toby and stand guard over this


    painstakingly-recovered rtionship of theirs.


    That said, it wasn¡¯t as if she didn¡¯t believe her love with Toby was strong enough to take a hit. She just


    didn¡¯t want to have to deal with all these disgusting and unnecessary challenges along the way.


    Tina had already brought enough trouble and heartache to her and Toby and she didn¡¯t want their


    rtionship to suffer from another skank¡¯s schemes.


    As such, Sonia had asked Tom to immediately remove Anya from their presence. She certainly hadn¡¯t


    expected Anya to be so persistent as to wheel herself over to see him earlier today. When Anya did not


    see Toby anywhere near Tom, she had waited patiently at the hospital parking lot just to get a glimpse


    of Toby and speak to him. This would have made for a touching story if it weren¡¯t for the fact that she


    was pining after Toby.


    Unfortunately, that was not the case and her continuous attempts to try and get his attention inevitably


    caused Sonia¡¯s rage to burn. Why should I have to spare her feelings then? Sonia reasoned with


    herself.


    Sonia knew she couldn¡¯t be patient enough to wait for Toby to put the annoying girl in ce, and she


    definitely was not saintly enough to hold back until the woman showed her hand.


    What she had wanted to do back there was to strike first and weed the woman out of the picture before


    things festered. She had wanted to crush that woman¡¯s hopes entirely!


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 Chapter 775

    Chapter 775


    Chapter 775 I Can Always Pay Them Off


    This was precisely the reason behind Sonia¡¯s sudden outburst at the parking lot earlier when she so


    harshly put Anya in her ce. I¡¯m not some pushover who would just smile and nod while some other


    woman tries to steal my man! Hah! As if I would back down without a fight. She crossed the line, and


    she had to reap what she sowed!


    More importantly, if she had just watched from the sidelines while the woman in the wheelchair tried to


    get close to Toby, it would only be proof that Sonia didn¡¯t love Toby enough or respect their rtionship


    enough to defend them.


    Presently, while Toby had no idea what was going through Sonia¡¯s head, he was still a little guilty after


    hearing what she had said. He reached for her wrist and pulled her into his arms.


    Just like that, Sonia found herself lying in hisp.


    She made to get up, but he pressed on her shoulder and kept her in a prostrate position. He stroked


    her hair gently as he muttered, ¡°You won¡¯t be a shrew or a hysterical creature, and I would never


    betray you either. I wouldn¡¯t ever make you feel insecure. Didn¡¯t I just say that my heart only has


    enough room for you? Well, in that case, you won¡¯t have to be bothered by any other woman who tries


    to get between us, because I have my own ways of weeding them out and getting these eyesores out


    of your sight. I¡¯m sorry I let my guard down this time.¡±


    Having said this, he frowned.


    She flipped so that shey with her back t against the seat. Looking up at him, she reached to


    smooth out his frown and responded, ¡°I do feel a lot better now that I have your word that you¡¯d weed


    them out at first sight, but you were wrong about the whole letting-your-guard-down thing because


    there was no way you could have seen thising. You saved Anya by having Tom drive into the


    hedge and she had her eyes on you ever since. You were also unconscious when she provoked me in


    the hospital room, so there was nothing you could have done about that. No, you didn¡¯t let your guard


    down and none of this was your fault. It was obviously Tom¡¯s.¡±


    Tom, who had been driving while eavesdropping and enjoying these tidbits, froze at once. He hadn¡¯t


    thought that he would suddenly be the subject of conversation.


    Almost immediately, he sensed a murderous gaze fixed upon the back of his head and he warily


    nced into the rearview mirror to see that it was Toby staring at him mutinously, his eyes devoid of


    any warmth.


    Tom shuddered, and all the color drained from his face as he smiled sheepishly, ¡°Isn¡¯t Miss Reed


    hrious, President Fuller? Surely none of this was my fault.¡±


    ¡°Of course it was your fault,¡± Sonia said with a small huff. ¡°I asked you to get that woman out of the


    hospitalst night, yet she turned up today like nothing happened! And you¡¯ve known sincest night


    that she was pining after Toby, but you never told her off either.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡ª¡± Tom choked on his words. He was going to defend himself, but for some reason, he couldn¡¯t


    retort against Sonia because he truly had not handled things as impably as he should have.


    While fanning the mes, she added, ¡°Also, didn¡¯t Toby ask you to send her away earlier? You clearly


    didn¡¯t do as you were told because she was lingering around the parking lot to wait for him!¡±


    Tom knew he had to say something now, and when he saw how grim Toby was looking, he quickly


    exined, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Miss Reed, President Fuller! I really did get rid of that woman and asked that


    she never show up in front of you again, but I didn¡¯t think she would be so stubborn as to lurk around


    the parking lot just to speak with you. That surely couldn¡¯t be my fault!¡±


    ¡°How was that not your fault?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes and demanded icily, ¡°Getting rid of someone


    doesn¡¯t just entail telling them off, you know. You have to make sure that they would not return the


    second or third time, but clearly, you missed out on the memo. It was your fault, through and through.¡±


    Sonia hummed in avid agreement.


    Tom felt the corner of his lips twitch in exasperation. ¡°I¡­¡±


    He couldn¡¯t even find the words to argue for his own benefit and he was sure that the world was being


    unfair to him. They¡¯re just ganging up on me now. They¡¯re practicallyplementing each other¡¯s


    arguments just to drag me under the bus!


    Back in the day, whenever Toby asked him to ¡®get rid¡¯ of someone, it was always just to warn the


    person off and never to actually have the person thrown out of the premises. And now, Sonia was


    feeding all these ideas into his head with Tom having to bear the brunt of it all.


    For a moment, he seemed to shrink into himself like a shriveled-up beanstalk.


    At this moment, Toby said coldly, ¡°If that woman could be so persistent in her efforts, then she probably


    wouldn¡¯t back off just because Little Leaf gave her a piece of her mind.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia frowned and asked, ¡°Are you saying that she might try to badger you again?¡±


    He hummed in response. He wasn¡¯t egocentric, but there was a voice in the back of his mind telling


    him that the woman would not give up so easily. More to the point, she had a modus operandi like most


    of the women he hade across before this.


    Those women were all as shameless as Anya was. They were well aware that he hated being pestered


    and he certainly never gave any indication that he liked them as they did him, but they were undeterred


    and continued to show up in front of him anyway.


    It was only after his patience had run out that he warned the women¡¯s families; otherwise, there would


    have been plenty of youngdies still avidly throwing themselves at him.


    Now that he thought about it, the only reason why there weren¡¯t a lot of women who flocked around him


    was because he had told their families off. With stern warnings and vague threats looming over them,


    the women¡¯s families would be sure to keep their daughters under control and avoid having them show


    up in front of Toby.


    However, Anya had no known family, so Toby couldn¡¯t employ the same methods to keep her away. As


    things were, chances of her finding a way to appear before him were high.


    Now that Sonia had heard the man¡¯s reaffirming answer, she nodded and responded, ¡°Well, I won¡¯t


    discount the possibility of it either. If she could repeatedly disobey Mr. Brown to throw herself at you,


    then she could very well do it again soon.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Toby asked, ncing up at Tom icily.


    Tom swallowed convulsively and nodded. ¡°Yes, President Fuller. I¡¯ll have someone keep an eye out for


    that woman and prevent her from getting close to you. If she so much as plotted to show up within a


    ten-mile radius of you, our men will immediately dispatch her.¡±


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°I want you to make up for your oversight this time, so I¡¯ll let you off the hook.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, President Fuller,¡± Tom replied with a sheepish grin.


    Sonia smiled as well and at the sight of her cated mood, the frown on Toby¡¯s face eased.


    The atmosphere in the car, which had grown tense because of Anya and her intrusion, finally lightened


    up.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at the Fuller Group, and after Tom parked the car at Toby¡¯s


    designated parking space, they all alighted from the vehicle.


    Toby sped Sonia¡¯s hand in his and led her toward the elevators.


    Tom, on the other hand, had his phone pressed to his ear as he asked the secretary for details on the


    meeting that was due tomenceter.


    Having done so, the three of them headed into the waiting elevator.


    Tom hung up the phone and looked over at Toby, his face no longer asical as it had been in the


    car now that he had returned to his serious working self. ¡°President Fuller, the secretary has told me


    that everyone has arrived for the meeting and it is set to begin the moment you enter.¡±


    Toby hummed. ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°So, President Fuller, will we be going over together or¡­¡± Tom trailed off and gave Sonia a meaningful


    look, the implication of which was obvious.


    Sonia shed a smile and said, ¡°You guys should continue since I can make my way to your office on


    my own.¡± After all, she was here to keep himpany at work, so she couldn¡¯t very well go anywhere


    else other than his office.


    However, Toby seemed to disagree as he squeezed her hand andmented, ¡°No, I¡¯ll escort you over


    to my office. I can¡¯t just let you walk around here on your own, not while this is my turf. That¡¯s


    borderline ridiculous, not to mention unchivalrous of me.¡±


    It went without saying that she was happy to hear him say this, but she shook her head nheless


    and argued, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I can go into your office on my own. Besides, isn¡¯t the meeting


    an urgent one? You shouldn¡¯t have to dy your entry just because you want to escort me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Spending time with you is worth dying my presence at the meeting. I don¡¯t actually care


    about whatever little profit that could be reaped from this meeting, anyway. I can always pay off the


    shareholders to stifle them,¡± an arrogant Toby replied while tipping his chin up at a haughty and


    domineering angle.


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 776

    Chapter 776


    Chapter 776 Rich Enough


    Sonia was amused. ¡°I know you¡¯re wealthy, but that doesn¡¯t mean you should give your money to the


    shareholders for free. Those money are not even dividends. If you use your own money to help them


    with whatever difficulties they¡¯re facing, they¡¯ll only be greedier, and the next time something


    happens, they won¡¯t be concerned since they know you¡¯ll resolve the matter to avoid them from


    suffering any loss.¡±


    Toby gently touched her nose before responding, ¡°I know, but do you think I would let them take


    advantage of me for nothing? Only in their dreams.¡±


    Hearing that, she nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we shall stop here. Let¡¯s go.¡± He held her hands tightly and insisted, ¡°I¡¯ll send you to the office.


    Don¡¯t worry, it wouldn¡¯t affect the meeting. The meeting is important, but a few minutes of dy is


    eptable.¡±


    Sonia knew that he was adamant about sending her, or else he wouldn¡¯t have insisted on doing so after


    her repeated rejections.


    Thus, she didn¡¯t want to turn him down again and instead nodded in agreement. ¡°Sure, since you have


    said so.¡±


    When Toby heard that, he caressed the back of her palm and led her toward his office.


    Seeing them arriving at the chairman¡¯s office, Tom then politely opened the door for them.


    Then, Toby walked into the office while holding Sonia¡¯s hand. Tom did not enter the office, but he


    instead walked to the pantry next door.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    The moment they were in the office, Toby released Sonia¡¯s hand and gestured to the couch. ¡°Wait for


    me here. You can watch television or y games. If you feel like doing neither, I have arge collection


    of books on the bookshelf behind the table. You can also sleep in my resting room if you prefer. The


    meetingter wouldst for at least a few hours and it would be better for you to take a nap instead of


    doing nothing.¡±


    While speaking, he pointed in the direction of his resting room.


    Sonia looked at the direction of his finger and nodded. ¡°I know. Just attend your meeting and don¡¯t


    worry about me. I¡¯m already a grown-up and no longer a child. I will look for something to upy my


    time. Arranging everything for me would only make me feel like I¡¯m just a child or even a guest as I can


    only do what you¡¯ve said and nothing else.¡±


    Guest? This word of hers made Toby frown. ¡°You¡¯re not a guest. You¡¯re my lover and this is my ce,


    which makes it yours too. So, you can do anything you want. I won¡¯t arrange anything for you


    anymore.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. At least I have some freedom now,¡± she replied while stretching her arms.


    He smiled lightly and was about to say something when Tom entered the room holding a tray that had a


    pot of ck tea and an exquisite-looking red velvet mousse cake on it.


    ¡°President Fuller, I brought over a pot of tea and a snack for Miss Reed,¡± Tom borated while walking


    toward the both of them.


    Seeing this, Toby nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I was about to instruct you to prepare a pot of tea. It¡¯s good


    that you did so even before I said anything.¡±


    Tom smiled after hearing Toby¡¯spliment. ¡°This is my job. Furthermore, these were originally


    instructed by you with Miss Reed in mind.¡±


    ¡°For me?¡± Surprised by what she had heard, Sonia pointed at her own nose and asked.


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed,¡± Tom answered while nodding.


    She looked at the tray in his hands, then at Toby, before she asked, ¡°It was a sudden decision of mine


    toe and I didn¡¯t see you giving any instructions for this during our way here. How did you manage


    to prepare all this beforehand?¡±


    Of course these must have all been prepared earlier, she thought.


    After all, Tom had returned with them at the same time whereupon he brought the pot of tea and the


    cake momentster.


    So, she was certain that they had been prepared earlier.


    Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been this quick even if Tom had bought slightly after her arrival.


    And, most importantly, Toby wasn¡¯t someone who enjoyed ck tea and dessert.


    Toby appeared to be somewhat awkward when he saw a confused Sonia and let out a light cough. ¡°I¡¯ve


    been instructing Tom to prepare these for a long time.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia suspected that she understood what he meant while also feeling that her


    doubts were not answered.


    Tom pushed his spectacles and answered, ¡°Miss Reed, the truth is that President Fuller had already


    instructed me to prepare your favorite ck tea and dessert while he was courting you back then.


    ck tea can be stored for a period of time, so it isn¡¯t an issue. The same can¡¯t be said for desserts, so


    President Fuller insisted on a fresh cake being delivered here by the top pastry chef on a daily basis


    just in case you were here and could enjoy it. If you weren¡¯t here that day, he would then instruct me to


    throw away the cake when I leave since it would notst overnight. Fresh cakes would then be


    delivered the next day and this cycle has been going on for several months now.¡±


    In other words, he had actually destroyed a few hundred pieces of top-quality and costly cakes.


    Despite the fact that it wasn¡¯t his money, Tom felt that it had been squandered since he was the one


    spending them, after all.


    After hearing Tom¡¯s rification, Sonia finally understood everything and she was instantly moved.


    When she looked at the man standing beside her, who was attempting to avoid her gaze, tears started


    to swim in her eyes.


    Is he afraid of looking at me because he is shy or because he fears that I will use him for being


    extravagant?


    Sonia was unsure what he was thinking at the moment. Nheless, she took a step forward and


    hugged him with a smile.


    Her sudden action had startled Toby that he didn¡¯t dare to move, but instead lowered his head to look


    at her.


    ¡°Thank you for what you¡¯ve done for me,¡± she said as her head buried in his chest while listening to his


    heartbeat.


    If it had not been for Tom, she wouldn¡¯t have known that Toby had actually prepared her favorite


    desserts for several months in a row.


    Despite knowing that she wouldn¡¯t be here on a regr basis, he had insisted on doing so to allow her


    to have them whenever she visited.


    Any woman would be moved by such persistence and attentiveness.


    Sensing Sonia¡¯s happiness and gratitude, Toby felt rxed as he returned her hug. ¡°You do not need to


    thank me. This is what I¡¯m supposed to do¡ªto do something for the one I love.¡±


    He pondered, How could I im to love her if I am unwilling to do even such small acts for her?


    In the meantime, while they were enjoying their embraces, Tom was standing beside them in


    awkwardness.


    He shouldn¡¯t be there, he thought.


    He couldn¡¯t stand the both of them bing emotional, especially when there was only a short time


    left before the uing meeting.


    Furthermore, he reckoned that he should leave the room as fast as he could in the event that he was


    affected since he was still a single man with no one to hug.


    With all these in his mind, Tom immediately turned around in the direction of the exit and quietly walked


    out of the office.


    Of course I have to leave, he thought. If both of them started to do something more intimate, like


    kissing, he would be chased out anyway.


    So, leaving on his own was much better; at least he wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed by being chased out.


    Meanwhile, both Toby and Sonia didn¡¯t notice that Tom had actually left the room.


    Sonia was still smiling sweetly in Toby¡¯s arms. Then, she raised her head and looked at Toby¡¯s


    charming face.


    Her reddish eyes made it clear that she had been emotional earlier andbined with the slightly red


    area that surrounded her eyes, it only served to make her look even more stunning.


    ¡°Yes, it is, but at the very least you should have told me. Do you not intend to tell me if it weren¡¯t for


    Tom?¡± she inquired.


    Hearing her question, Toby looked elsewhere and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t see it necessary to tell you. Such


    acts should be done without saying it out loud. Telling you this would only make me appear insincere in


    courting you, as if I deliberately wanted you to know what I¡¯ve done for you. It¡¯s so hypocritical.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± Swallowing her saliva, Sonia agreed with a nod and continued, ¡°That is true. In fact, you do


    not need to do this, though. I don¡¯t visit here often, perhaps not even once in several months. Wouldn¡¯t


    that mean hundreds of cakes would be discarded then?¡±


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 Chapter 777

    Chapter 777


    Chapter 777 The Naggy Toby


    Toby smirked and said, ¡°Well, this amount of money doesn¡¯t even matter to me, so it¡¯s not wasted.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes after hearing his reply. Fine, we¡¯re back to the fact that you¡¯re wealthy again, she


    thought.


    She would have suspected he was bragging about his wealth if not for the fact that she understood


    what he really meant.


    An amused Sonia was also rendered speechless at the same time. ¡°Okay, I know that you¡¯re rich. Go


    to your meeting now. Look, even Tom has left.¡±


    Toby hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over then. You should stay here. If you don¡¯t feel


    like taking a nap, you can walk around all the departments, or look for any secretary to have a chat with


    you. You can also ask the secretary to bring you more food and drinks if you want more,¡± he reminded


    her.


    After hearing him nag, she couldn¡¯t help but stop him and interrupt, ¡°I know. I will make myself at home


    here. You seem to have forgotten what I¡¯ve just said: that you don¡¯t need to arrange everything for me.


    You were so persistent that I almost thought you were possessed. The Toby I knew was not like this.¡±


    Nevertheless, Toby pursed his lips and looked at her. ¡°I¡¯m still worried about you.¡±


    ¡°What are you worrying about? I¡¯m not a child. Just go.¡± Sonia grinned while getting out of his arms.


    Then, she turned him around and pushed him toward the exit of the office.


    And of course, he cooperated with her and walked forward. If not, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to push


    him in light of his sturdy build.


    This yful scene was nothing more than a sweet game between the couple where one would make a


    fuss while the other pampered her by satisfying her every whim.


    She pushed him out of the office, then took out a decorative handkerchief from his front pocket.


    Toby didn¡¯t understand her purpose for doing so, but the next second, he saw Sonia waving the


    handkerchief while saying, ¡°Just go to your meeting. Don¡¯t make them wait any longer. I¡¯ll be waiting in


    the office for you to return.¡±


    She promised to apany him to work today and she naturally wouldn¡¯t leave.


    When Toby saw what she was doing, he couldn¡¯t help butugh lightly. He could tell she was waving


    him off.


    This was the first time he had seen such a way of saying goodbye and he liked it.


    As long as it was Sonia sending him off, he would like it¡ªin whatever way it was done.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± He nodded and walked away.


    However, he had only taken a few steps before he came to a halt.


    Sonia stopped waving her hand upon seeing him stop in his tracks. ¡°Why? Did you forget anything?¡±


    She tilted her head and asked.


    ¡°Yes, indeed,¡± Toby replied with a nod. Then, he turned around and walked toward her. With only a few


    steps, he was already standing in front of her.


    While she was still looking at him in doubt, he hugged her waist with one hand and used the other hand


    to raise her chin. Without waiting for her to react, he lowered his head and kissed her red lips.


    Sonia was stunned by what he was doing.


    When she finally realized what was happening, Toby had already released her, but his hands had


    remained on his waist and chin.


    ¡°Is this what you meant when you said you¡¯d forgotten something?¡± she asked, with blinking eyes and


    flushed face while ring at him at the same time.


    Stroking her lips gently, Toby replied with his hoarse and sexy voice, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sonia blushed even more after hearing his positive response.


    He had stopped his steps abruptly earlier and looking from behind him, she could sense his solemnity.


    When she asked whether he had forgotten anything, his response seemed to indicate that there were


    some serious issues.


    She was under the impression that he had forgotten something important at that time, and she couldn¡¯t


    help but be nervous too.


    Who knew¡­


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    He came back just to kiss her!


    It was enough to make Sonia feel somewhat annoyed and amused. ¡°Since you¡¯ve done what was


    forgotten earlier, you can leave now.¡±


    Oh my, she thought. She had been urging him to leave several times and up until now, he was still


    here.


    If this had continued, she was concerned that she would bebeled a vixen if the shareholders of the


    Fuller Group discovered that she was the reason why he waste for the meeting.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave now then,¡± Toby replied with his Adam¡¯s apple moving up and down before he took his hand


    off her waist.


    Despite his words, the hand that held her chin did not move an inch. In fact, his eyes seemed to have


    darkened as he fixed his gaze on her.


    Seeing him in this manner, Sonia had a bad feeling. Don¡¯t tell me this guy is going to do something


    more, she murmured in her heart.


    And she was right.


    While she was still guessing what he was going to do next, Toby suddenly lowered his head and kissed


    her lips again.


    It was a quick peck this time, but its force seemed to be greater than the previous one.


    Sonia could even feel a slight tingling pain on her lips and thereafter smacked him. ¡°You bit me? Are


    you a dog?¡±


    He did give her a peck, but just as he was about to be done, he bit her lips. Or else, she wouldn¡¯t have


    felt the sting.


    Her lips would most likely swell after a while.


    However, Sonia¡¯s smack was not something to be easily dismissed too. Toby had also felt pain at the


    ce where she smacked him, but he was not bothered by it. Instead, heughed as he watched her


    whine.


    Obviously, he was pleased with what he had done!


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll really leave now.¡± Releasing her chin, Toby ruffled her hair before turning around to walk


    toward the elevators.


    Sonia touched her hair where he had just ruffled it as she watched him leave.


    She could feel that her hair was tangled as a result of his rubbing earlier. ¡°Toby Fuller, you¡­¡± she


    yelled.


    Yet, before she could even finish her sentence, Toby had already disappeared into the lift.


    As if he sensed her impending rage, he leaped into the elevator as quickly as he could, appearing to be


    fleeing from something.


    ¡°This jerk. He just wants to annoy me.¡± Seeing what he did, Soniaughed and her anger disappeared


    in an instant.


    She then continued to grumble while tidying her hair.


    After she was done, she turned to walk back to Toby¡¯s office.


    His office was huge as it was double the size of hers, which made the ce look more like a luxury


    residence.


    There was a resting room and a gym; as if those weren¡¯tvish enough, he even had a projection room


    and a swimming pool here.


    For the past 6 years, Sonia had never visited the Fuller Group, let alone Toby¡¯s office. That was why


    she totally had no idea of how his office was.


    She had been here twice in her capacity as the chairman of Paradigm Co. after their divorce, but the


    only ce she had been to was the office lobby and she did not step foot in any other ces.


    Now, she could fully make use of this opportunity to walk around.


    After she walked around his office, her only thought was, This guy really knows how to enjoy life.


    Her own office was already considered luxurious, but it definitely paled inparison to his, as if hers


    were a straw house and his a vi.


    After taking a look around, she sat on the couch and drank a sip of ck tea before pulling out her


    phone to make a call to Daphne.


    The call was answered within seconds. ¡°Chairman Reed, is President Fuller alright?¡±


    Daphne immediately asked about Toby.


    This was because Sonia had told her earlier in the morning that Toby met with an ident and that she


    wouldn¡¯t be heading into work today to apany him.


    So, it was obvious that Daphne had to ask about President Fuller when Sonia called.


    Since they were friends, she had to express her concern about Sonia¡¯s boyfriend; if not, she would


    appear as uncaring.


    Hearing Daphne¡¯s question, Sonia shook her head and answered with a smile, ¡°He¡¯s fine now, and he


    has been discharged. I¡¯m now in his office.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Daphne felt relieved. ¡°Congrats, Chairman Reed. Good to hear that President Fuller is fine.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia dly epted Daphne¡¯s congrattions and proceeded to inquire about the


    company matters. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve asked you to stand in for me to check on the factory¡¯s renovation.


    How are things going?¡±


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 Chapter 778

    Chapter 778


    Chapter 778 Discovering the Conspiracy


    On the other end of the phone was Daphne, who held the mouse and clicked twice before she saw all


    the numerous photos on theputer screen. Finally, she replied with a serious expression,


    ¡°Chairman Reed, I have already checked the overall renovation of the factory, and I feel that it¡¯s pretty


    good so far. However, there are a few ces which still need to be repaired a little, but it is not a big


    problem. If it needs to be repaired, it will not take much time. Our factory has officially stationed


    employees there and the date of opening the assembly line is on the fifth of next month, so there will be


    no dy regarding that.¡±


    Hearing this, Sonia nodded with satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s good. You can let me know what needs to be


    repaired.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t clearly describe it over the phone. I¡¯ll send the photos directly to your phone,¡± Daphne


    suggested.


    Sonia agreed. ¡°Of course that would be best.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send it to you first.¡± A smiling Daphne dragged all the photos on theputer into a folder


    before zipping them to send them to Sonia.


    As Sonia¡¯s phone vibrated, Sonia pulled it away from her ear to ce the call in the background as she


    started to receive the said photos.


    The folder was gigantic, so it took a long time for her to receive it. All in all, the process took at least


    two or three minutes.


    Taking advantage of the time, Sonia instructed Daphne, ¡°By the way, there may be someone live


    streaming to apologize to me in theing two days. You should keep an eye on the news on the


    Inte. If there is too much news on the Inte, ask the public rtions department to handle it over


    there. They need to take control and remove maliciousments toward the person.¡±


    Since Anya would not exin the reason for her apology,izens would not be attacking her too


    much. However, the apology would make everyone curious, which would result in their definite


    spection on the reason behind the apology.


    Netizens were not all fools, so there would always be someone who would think too much about it.


    After all, it was a beautiful woman apologizing to another woman, so everyone would assume it was


    because of a love rtionship. Hence, those who guessed this would definitely say some malicious


    things.


    Once many started toment, it would give rise to the online trend and the rest of theizens who


    were unaware of the truth would begin to believe the rumors and agree with it. In the end, things could


    still escte into cyberbullying. In order to prevent that from happening, Sonia could only warn Daphne


    in advance.


    Daphne was dumbfounded when she heard Sonia¡¯s words and obviously didn¡¯t understand what Sonia


    meant.


    ¡°Chairman, will someone apologize to you? What is going on?¡± Daphne asked in confusion.


    Sonia didn¡¯t beat around the bush and after snorting, she told Daphne what had happened when she


    met Anyast night and today.


    After listening to this, Daphne couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback. ¡°Is it because of that? That woman


    really doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for her. President Fuller would rather take risks on his own in order not


    to run into herst night, but what did she do? She is actually interested in President Fuller and even


    provoked you? Moreover, she kept blocking his way? This¡­ This is on a whole different level of


    shamelessness!¡±


    Although she had never seen Anya, it didn¡¯t stop her from disliking Anya. Chairman Reed was right in


    scolding her!


    In fact, Daphne still felt that the scolding wasn¡¯t strong enough. Why didn¡¯t she scold the woman until


    the woman cried or felt humiliated? What a pity!


    It was with regret that she sighed.


    When Sonia heard Daphne¡¯s indignant tone, her heart felt warm before she said with amusement, ¡°It¡¯s


    the first time that I¡¯ve seen a pretentious woman like that. She almost made me sick.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, President Fuller is a good man and won¡¯t be easily distracted by these women,¡± Daphne


    commented with relief.


    Sonia smiled again and noted, ¡°If he can easily be fooled by them, then he is not Toby Fuller. He will


    not be worthy of managing the Fuller Group and being the head of the Fuller Family. Not to mention,


    he¡¯ll be even less worthy of my love.¡±


    Daphne repeatedly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why I said that he is a good man unlike his peers. Many men like


    this kind of woman; they can¡¯t tell the difference between the good from the bad at all. They just feel


    that these pretentious women are so soft, weak, and pitiful that it arouses their inner desire to protect


    these women. In short, it is simply annoying.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Sonia agreed.


    ¡°Chairman, since Anya wants to rob you of President Fuller, why do you have to handle thements


    on the Inte for her? If it were me, I would allow her to be criticized by thousands of people.¡± Daphne


    frowned as she couldn¡¯t understand Sonia¡¯s thoughts.


    When Sonia heard Daphne¡¯sments, her smile faded. ¡°I also hope that she will be criticized, but


    before that, we have to be sure that she is psychologically and mentally strong enough to ignore those


    maliciousments on the Inte. However, none of us know whether she is strong enough or not.


    Hence, I won¡¯t dare to take the risk. In case she is not mentally strong enough and takes extreme


    actions after reading the terrible onlinements, it will be me who ends up being responsible.¡±


    Daphne fell silent.


    Indeed, the Inte was a murderous weapon. If used improperly, it was indeed effortless to cost


    people¡¯s lives.


    By then, Sonia would be the murderer, even though she didn¡¯t directly cause the action.


    So, the onlinements needed to be handled well.


    Thinking of this, Daphne pushed her ck-rimmed sses and replied, ¡°I understand now. I will keep


    an eye on the Inte and I will also instruct the public rtions department to handle this.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded.


    When the call was over, she kept her phone away, took another sip of the ck tea, then set her gaze


    on the untouched piece of cake.


    It was a strawberry red velvet mousse cake that was topped with arge, fresh, and ginormous


    strawberry that was simply irresistible. Under the strawberry, there was ayer of scattered red velvet


    while underneath was a white cream mousse followed by the nextyer of fruit jam¡­


    All in all, it looked extremely appetizing.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help swallowing her saliva before she picked up the silver fork. She had always loved


    desserts; she especially had no resistance toward desserts that looked as good as it tasted.


    Sitting on the sofa, she happily ate the cake. When she tasted her favorite jam, she couldn¡¯t help but


    squint in delight. The expression on her face was beyond beautiful.


    After eating the cake, Sonia went to the bathroom to rinse her mouth. When she finished rinsing and


    was about to head out, she suddenly heard footsteps in the office. Has Tobye back from the


    meeting?


    Now that her face was filled with joy, she ced her hand on the door handle of the bathroom, ready to


    open the door and head out.


    However, just as she turned the door handle, a voice came from outside. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he is in a


    meeting right now and there is no one in the office, so he won¡¯t find out.¡±


    This is not Toby¡¯s voice! Sonia stopped her movements immediately as the expression on her face


    became a little ugly. Toby said that this meeting willst a few hours, so it¡¯s impossible for him to return


    at this time.


    She originally thought that he was back because he was worried that she was all alone in the office, so


    she was about to leave the bathroom.


    What she didn¡¯t expect was that it was not Toby who came back, but a sneaky thief had entered!


    From what the man just said, it can be deduced that this person deliberately sneaked in while Toby was


    in a meeting, thinking that there was no one here to witness him doing something bad.


    Sonia also didn¡¯t expect that she would discover a conspiracy for Toby when she came here today.


    This is really¡­


    She chuckled as she gently turned the doorknob. After opening the door, she took out her phone and


    started recording.


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Fortunately, this person was not smart enough. He probably thought that there was no one in the office


    and Toby would not be able toe back at this time, so he did not even lower his voice. If Sonia could


    hear him clearly from the bathroom, the recording would be naturally clear as well.


    The person outside the door was probably rummaging through boxes and cabs. Then, she heard


    the sound of him pulling a drawer open.


    Seemingly not stumbling upon what he was looking for, the man angrily mmed the drawer shut and


    cursed, ¡°Mr. Lore, Toby is too cunning! I rummaged through his desk and couldn¡¯t find the documents!¡±


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 779

    Chapter 779


    Chapter 779 Seeing Toby Making a Fool of Himself


    Documents? Sonia¡¯s expression froze as she suddenly realized that the person was a business thief.


    Taking advantage of Toby¡¯s absence, he sneaked into Toby¡¯s office to steal some documents.


    As for who Mr. Lore was¡­


    She frowned and thought about it before she suddenly remembered that Toby had called Tom once and


    mentioned this person before.


    Apparently, it was an old shareholder of the Fuller Group and Mr. Lore was around way before the


    Fuller Group achieved its current standing. He did not want to be a silent shareholder who only raked in


    the money without caring about anything else. Instead, he wanted to be a hands-on shareholder with


    real power and who could threaten Toby¡¯s position in thepany.


    Therefore, when Toby called Tom, his expression was terrible because Mr. Lore had sabotaged him.


    Although it did not cause any substantial harm to Toby, it was enough to make Toby annoyed for some


    time.


    Since Sonia was Toby¡¯s girlfriend, she naturally did not have a good impression of those who were


    enemies with Toby.


    Thus, the Mr. Lore whom the thief mentioned was probably the same one that Toby spoke of on the


    phone the other day.


    Since she had stumbled across the thief, she naturally had to help Toby.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    So, Sonia looked at the phone in her hand and pursed her red lips.


    As the thief outside was still rummaging and banging things, she didn¡¯t dare to head out because she


    was afraid that he would discover that there was someone in the office and then kill her or something.


    She felt that she was not really thinking too much because this kind of thing had really happened


    before in the business world. After all, some people could be ruthless for money, power and fame.


    Therefore, for her own safety, she decided to remain where she was!


    Sonia tightly clenched her phone and stood quietly behind the bathroom door, trying her best not to


    move or make a sound so as not to be discovered by the thief.


    After a long time, the man still didn¡¯t seem to locate what he wanted in the end. Cursing Toby for being


    extremely cunning, he stopped moving things around and the room fell silent.


    Sonia felt that the thief had probably left because she heard the door closing earlier. Thinking of this,


    she took a deep breath, saved the recording, and gently opened the bathroom door.


    She didn¡¯t open the door all at once, but only a small crack first before she secretly peeked through the


    gap. After confirming that there was indeed no one outside, she breathed a sigh of relief and opened


    the door wide.


    As she walked into the office, she lightly patted her chest where her heart was racing before she locked


    the door of Toby¡¯s office. Finally, she opened Messenger, ready to tell Toby what had just happened.


    After all, this kind of thing was not a trivial matter. She was afraid that she would forget if she waited


    until his meeting was over.


    Having typed the matter out to Toby in detail, Sonia then sat on the sofa to calm down. ¡°Phew¡­¡±


    She took out a piece of tissue and wiped her face. God knew how nervous and frightened she had


    been earlier! Cold sweat had broken out on her forehead with chills running down her spine too.


    Sonia had always known that the business world was like a battlefield, and there were all kinds of


    individuals in apany. Paradigm Co. too had scum like Asher Dafoe, let alone such a massive


    company like the Fuller Group where there would be no shortage of scumbags.


    However, it never urred to her that she would encounter it as soon as she came. The situation


    earlier had been grave and she didn¡¯t dare to even breathe for fear of being discovered.


    Fortunately, in the end, the person was merely looking for something in Toby¡¯s office area and didn¡¯t


    search the other rooms. Otherwise, something bad would have happened if Sonia was discovered.


    Rubbing her brows, Sonia nced at her phone that was ced on the coffee table. The screen of the


    phone was ck and there was no reply from Toby, but she was not in a hurry either.


    Toby was still in a meeting at this time; he might not have had his phone on him, so naturally he would


    not be able to instantly read her messages. After he was done, he would attend to all of them. Anyway,


    she had already told him before she forgot about it.


    On the other side, in the conference room situated in the Fuller Group, Toby was standing in front of the


    big screen, and holding aser pointer in his hand. He was telling the others what needed to be


    improved in the project nning during the meeting.


    Just as he was talking about something important, a vibration had suddenly sounded. It was the


    vibration of a phone that was ced on the table and it made a louder noise than usual.


    The conference room was originally deathly quiet where everyone was attentively listening to Toby¡¯s


    speech. So, as soon as the noise sounded, it was obvious that everyone in the conference room had


    heard it.


    Everyone looked at each other for a moment before quickly looking at the man before the big screen.


    Sure enough, Toby¡¯s expression was extremely ugly while he was exuding a murderous aura.


    Oh no, President Fuller is angry! Who is so bold as to allow their phone to make noise during the


    meeting?


    While everyone cursed in their hearts at the person who didn¡¯t switch off their phone, they looked


    around as they tried to find out who it was. Otherwise, Toby would definitely chew them all out and they


    didn¡¯t want to take responsibility for that culprit either.


    However, the strange thing was that after looking around, not one suspicious person was found


    because nobody looked guilty. Hence, nobody was sure who did it. It¡¯s a big problem!


    Everyone felt nervous as they thought hard; they all felt like they were sitting on pins and needles.


    Seeing that they still hadn¡¯t discovered the person whose phone was not turned off, Toby walked to his


    seat with a dark face, ced theser pointer in his hand down heavily on the table, and swept his


    eyes coldly around everyone present.


    Everyone lowered their heads one after another, not daring to look at him for fear that they would be


    picked out and med if they so much as looked at him.


    ¡°Whose phone rang earlier?¡± Toby finally spoke, his voice even colder than his gaze. ¡°Did I not say


    before that this meeting is especially important, so everyone has to turn off their phones? Why did


    someone ignore my orders? ¡±


    ¡°President Fuller, we did as you ordered.¡± Everyone quickly exined themselves and some even took


    out their phones to prove it.


    Toby snorted coldly. ¡°Since you did, then tell me what happened just now?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Everyone did not know what to say for a while.


    On the contrary, there was a person who nced at the phone in front of Toby from time to time with a


    difficult expression as if he wanted to say something, but no one spoke in the end.


    Toby¡¯s face became even darker when he saw that everyone was silent. ¡°No one is admitting to it?


    Well, if that¡¯s the case, then you¡ª¡±


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± At this moment, the person who nced at Toby¡¯s phone finally couldn¡¯t hold it any


    longer and raised his hand.


    Toby frowned, then looked at him. ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°I know whose phone was ringing just now.¡± After the man finished speaking, he hurriedly lowered his


    head. However, the others present all turned their attention to him with wariness.


    Is this guy trying to nder someone just to resolve the matter because he wants to get away by


    himself?


    Thinking of this possibility, everyone became nervous for the fear that they would be the one being


    med.


    ¡°You know?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Who was it?¡±


    The man took a deep breath before he raised his hand to slowly point at Toby. This move shocked


    everyone as all of them looked at Toby. A startled Toby pursed his lips. ¡°Are you saying it was me?¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°It¡¯s you, President Fuller. I saw that your phone was vibrating earlier.¡±


    Toby looked down at his phone which was blinking slightly. It seemed that his phone was indeed not


    turned off and it was ced on the table!


    He nced at the man before taking his phone.


    Seeing this, the others also stared at Toby¡¯s phone, wondering whether it was really his device that


    rang earlier.


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 Chapter 780

    Chapter 780


    Chapter 780 Furious


    If that is the case¡­


    Everyone secretly looked at each other and saw smiles in each other¡¯s eyes.


    If it was Toby¡¯s phone that was ringing, they could watch him mess up for once since it was something


    that they had never witnessed before. After all, he was a faultless person, so it was impossible for


    others to see him make a fool out of himself.


    However, it might not necessarily be the case this time. Of course they were prepared to see him make


    a fool out of himself since this was the first time in history.


    Thinking about it, everyone began to covertly look forward to it in excitement.


    Toby didn¡¯t care about these people¡¯s thoughts. He switched on his phone screen and saw that a few


    messages had popped up. As soon as he saw them, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.


    Well, it was really his phone. Sure enough, he had made a fool of himself earlier when he questioned


    others, which was why he was now embarrassed.


    If it were someone random who sent the messages and dared to embarrass him in public, he would


    skin them alive. However, the person who sent the messages was his darling, so how could he be


    willing to do that?


    Toby massaged his brows before he turned off his phone and momentarily ignored the few messages


    from Sonia. He knew that she was not the kind of ignorant person who texted him when she was aware


    that he was in a meeting. Since she had sent him a message at this time, there was probably


    something serious happening, but it was not particrly urgent. Otherwise, she would have directly


    called him.


    Thus, it would be fine to read the messagester as the current meeting was much more important.


    He set the phone aside, picked up theser pointer and said nothing. Then, he turned around and


    calmly walked toward the big screen without any emotion on his face as if he was not the slightest bit


    embarrassed by the misunderstanding.


    All in all, as long as he was not embarrassed, it would be the others who would feel as such, especially


    when everyone didn¡¯t know what Toby thought. After he saw that it was indeed his phone, he calmly


    ced it down as if nothing had happened and left those present a little dumbfounded.


    What¡¯s going on here?


    The subtle expression that Toby had when he looked at the phone earlier told him that it was indeed his


    phone that was ringing. However, why didn¡¯t Toby feel embarrassed? How were they supposed to see


    him make a fool of himself if he was not embarrassed?


    Everyone looked at each other again and they all saw the disbelief in each other¡¯s eyes.


    Sure enough, Toby was still the same person. Even if he was filled with embarrassment, he would not


    reveal it before them. Ugh, what a pity. I thought we would have a chance¡­


    Everyone shook their heads in regret.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡± Seeing these people looking downcast, he knew what they were thinking about and


    snorted coldly, not intending to bother with them.


    There were indeed many people who wanted to see him making a fool of himself, but no one had


    seeded so far.


    The meeting hadsted nearly four hours, after which it finally came to an end. Everyone gathered the


    documents in front of them and left the conference room in satisfaction.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    How could they be dissatisfied? After the n was set in motion, all they had to do was to wait for the


    profit. Once thepany had made the profit, the shareholders¡¯ pockets would also swell, so they


    were grinning from ear to ear when they left one by one.


    Toby didn¡¯t leave but merely pulled out his chair and sat down to ease his stiff legs.


    In this meeting, he was basically standing all the time and he didn¡¯t stop talking. He kept describing the


    n, which resulted in his now sore and dry throat. Then, he took a sip of the coffee that had already


    cooled down in front of him before picking up his phone. He was now ready to check the messages that


    Sonia had sent.


    However, after he finished reading the text, his expression changed as he jumped from his chair


    angrily. ¡°Tom!¡±


    His shout was filled with an undisguised coldness and hardness. When Tom heard his voice outside, he


    immediately opened the door to enter. ¡°President Fuller, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡±


    Looking at Toby¡¯s extremely dark face, Tom immediately understood that something bad had


    happened. However, Toby didn¡¯t answer but merely handed over his phone.


    Although Tom didn¡¯t understand what was going on, he still took the phone over. The first thing that he


    saw was the nickname of ¡®Little Leaf¡¯ on the top of the screen, which made him raise his eyebrows


    involuntarily.


    Why is President Fuller showing me his chat record with Miss Reed? Could it be that he wants to show


    off his rtionship with her? If so¡­.


    He forced a smile on his face. If this was the case, he didn¡¯t want to see it, but he couldn¡¯t throw the


    phone aside either. As he thought about it in irritation, he still read the chat as per Toby¡¯s orders. Tom


    had initially thought it was an intimate conversation between Toby and Sonia, but what he didn¡¯t expect


    was her saying that someone had trespassed Toby¡¯s office to look for documents.


    ¡°President Fuller, this¡­¡± Tom¡¯s expression had also changed as he hurriedly looked at Toby. No


    wonder President Fuller was so angry earlier. He thought that it was because the couple were arguing


    with each other and never once expected Toby¡¯s reaction to be a result of this revtion at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s Damon Lore.¡± Toby tightly pursed his thin lips and uttered these words in an emotionless voice.


    Tom returned the phone to Toby. ¡°He hasn¡¯t given up.¡±


    Toby sneered. ¡°He is not satisfied with being an idle shareholder because he is the veteran of the Fuller


    Group. He has always wanted to be a shareholder with real power, the kind who can influence my


    decision-making and pave the way for the younger generation of the Lore Family. The document on


    that infrastructure project is the only way for him to gain real power, so he certainly won¡¯t give up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°There is something wrong with that infrastructure n, though. Otherwise,


    President Fuller, you wouldn¡¯t have been holding back from implementing it all these while. After all, it¡¯s


    a mega-project worth tens of billions.¡±


    ¡°He couldn¡¯t see the problem, though; he thought I was a fool who refused to make money, that¡¯s why


    he repeatedly mentioned the implementation of the n to me and asked me to hand over the n to


    him with full responsibility. He thought that as long as he does a good job on it, I and the other


    shareholders will not object nor dare to object if he asks for real powerter. After all, he will be a


    hero who has made great contributions to the Fuller Group. However, he really didn¡¯t think it through.


    Am I really the kind of person who refuses to make money? If this n is so good, will I keep holding it


    back?¡± Toby added with a frosty face.


    Tom sighed. ¡°Yes, there are too many problems in this n and there are many government


    departments to be involved. If you are not careful, it will all copse. By that time, the Fuller Group will


    definitely run into huge problems. Mr. Lore is really a piece of work, though. After he wasn¡¯t able to


    obtain the nning documents from you, he actually had someonee to your office to find them. It¡¯s


    just¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish his words as it was clear that he wanted to say how brainless Damon Lore was.


    For a questionable project, he hadpletely offended Toby! As a result, Damon was now finished.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the office!¡± Toby grabbed his phone and strode out of the conference room. He


    wanted to hurry back to the office to check on Sonia¡¯s situation. When Damon¡¯s thief entered the office,


    she was alone, so she was probably scared.


    Thinking that Sonia was probably afraid at that time, Toby felt his heart constricting in distress. Soon,


    he returned to the office and opened the door himself without waiting for Tom to do it.


    ¡°Little Leaf¡­¡± Before Toby¡¯s words were fully said, Toby suddenly saw Sonia asleep on the couch and


    immediately swallowed the words that he wanted to express.


    Behind him was Tom, who saw that he had stopped and didn¡¯t go any forward, so he asked, ¡°President


    Fuller, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Toby raised his hand and lowered his voice. ¡°It¡¯s okay; go and check on Damon first to see who he had


    sent to my office.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded in agreement and turned to do as ordered.


    Then, Toby closed the door of the office and quietly walked toward the sofa.


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 Chapter 781

    Chapter 781


    Chapter 781 It Goes Both Ways


    Not only did Toby walk quietly, he also walked in a slow manner; it was probably because he was


    frightened of waking the sleeping woman on the couch. It took him almost a minute to walk for a short


    distance of 20 steps and this intention alone was enough to make anyone watching feel moved.


    Arriving next to the couch, Toby squatted down slightly and stared at the woman on it. Sonia was lying


    on the side of the sofa with her hands folded and ced under her head as a pillow while her legs were


    slightly curled up, and she slept very sweetly.


    However, it was probably a little cold as her body asionally trembled.


    Seeing this, Toby rose to his full height and walked to his desk to take the remote control of the air


    conditioner before turning up the heating. After doing this, he walked to his private lounge again, took


    out a thicker nket from it, and covered Sonia with it, for fear that she would catch a cold while


    sleeping here.


    He knew that she might not wake up for a while, so he didn¡¯t spend a second longer next to the couch.


    After brushing the hair off her face, he got up and walked to his desk, ready to process documents


    while waiting for her to wake up.


    This waitsted two hours. By the time Sonia woke up, it was already 3:00 PM and she was so hungry


    that her stomach began rumbling. As she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a luxurious


    coffee table. At first, she was still a little confused and didn¡¯t know where she was. However, when she


    saw the ck tea on the coffee table, she realized that she was in Toby¡¯s office.


    After sending the message to Toby earlier, she sat on the couch to wait for him but fell asleep instead.


    She had no idea how long she had slept for and was about to check the time on her phone when


    something fell from her body to the ground in front of the sofa when she moved her hand.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia looked down, only to realize that it was actually a nket!


    Yet, how could she have a nket on her? There was nothing on her body when she fell asleep, so


    someone must have ced a quilt on her. As she had locked the door of Toby¡¯s office, there was only


    one person who coulde in and put a nket on her¡ªthe owner of this office.


    Toby! So, he came back from the meeting?


    Thinking of this, Sonia immediately sat up and grabbed the nket from the floor. Then, she looked


    around at her surroundings for any signs of Toby¡¯s figure. However, after looking around, she didn¡¯t see


    him.


    So, did he note back? Or, he came back, but actually left again?


    Sonia¡¯s eyelids drooped, and there was visible disappointment on her face.


    Suddenly, there was a sound of a window opening from the direction behind her. She initially froze


    before immediately dropping the nket in her hands and abruptly turned around.


    Toby came in from the balcony holding his phone, and while closing the door of the balcony, he said


    something to the other end of the phone in a low voice, but he didn¡¯t realize that she was awake and


    looking at him.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes were full of happiness, and a bright smile appeared on her face. Great, it turns out that he


    really came back and didn¡¯t leave! He was just making a phone call at the balcony.


    The balcony was so cold, and since the office was on an exceptionally high floor, the temperature


    would be even lower. However, he chose to head to the balcony to make the call, which was obvious


    that he didn¡¯t want to wake her up.


    This stupid man!


    ¡°Toby!¡± Sonia took a deep breath, restrained her emotions, and called out softly to the man in front of


    the balcony¡¯s floor-to-ceiling window.


    The man was startled for a second, then brought the phone away from his ear and turned his head to


    look at Sonia who stood there, smiling at him with a bright and beautiful smile.


    Toby¡¯s pupils constricted slightly, but soon he returned to normal, albeit with a little darkness in his


    eyes. He raised his hand and waved at her, indicating that he heard her, then put the phone back to his


    ear. After he said something to the other end, he hung up the phone and walked toward her quickly.


    When there were still a few steps left, Sonia suddenly stretched out her hand to stop him. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±


    Toby stopped subconsciously. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s enough for you to take this many steps.¡±


    N?velDrama.Org owns all content.


    Sonia put down her hand, and under the puzzled gaze of the man, she smiled and continued, ¡°A


    rtionship goes both ways. You took so many steps toward me, so let me take the remaining few


    steps. Let mee near you.¡±


    After speaking, she raised her feet and walked forward. Toby knew what she meant, so a light smile


    appeared on his face.


    A rtionship goes both ways. He liked the sound of this very much.


    Soon, Sonia came up to Toby. She first looked up at him for a while before she spread her arms to hug


    him, and finally, she pressed her face to his chest.


    However, he was about to push her away. ¡°Don¡¯t hug me. I just came in from outside, and it¡¯s raining


    out there. It¡¯s also windy outside, and I¡¯m chilly. If you hold me like this, you¡¯ll catch a cold.¡±


    As he spoke, he pushed her away, but his movements were gentle as if he was afraid of her getting


    hurt or falling over.


    However, even though he did this, Sonia still tightly hugged him and didn¡¯t let go at all. Instead, she


    smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care; it¡¯s very warm here. I¡¯ll neither feel cold nor catch a cold!¡±


    In order to convince him, she raised her head and winked at him earnestly. She hadrge almond-


    shaped eyes, and her pupils were also very dark and huge. When she looked at others like that, her


    gaze was clear and made one¡¯s heart beat faster. Toby knew early on that her eyes were very


    attractive, and when she stared at others like this, she seemed to be able to suck in their very souls.


    Even though he had looked at her for so long, he could not help but still be attracted by her eyes,


    especially the sincerity in them at that moment where it made him subconsciously soft-hearted with the


    desire of wanting to give everything to her.


    ¡°Cough.¡± Toby clenched his fist and raised it against his lips before he coughed in difort. He


    looked away from her and said in a slightly hoarse voice, ¡°If you catch a cold, you can¡¯t me me.¡±


    She was the one holding onto him herself. Nevertheless, he was happy that she took the initiative to


    get close to him.


    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t me you.¡± Sonia smiled and nodded.


    Toby moved his gaze back and looked down at her, his gaze softening. ¡°When did you wake up?¡±


    ¡°I just woke up and was about to look for you, but I saw youing in. We have a tacit understanding.¡±


    Sonia smiled.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Toby then nodded and wrapped his arm around her waist to lead her back to the couch to


    sit down. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    Sonia looked down at her stomach, her face a little shy. ¡°I¡¯m a little hungry; what time is it?¡±


    Raising his wrist, Toby looked at his watch. ¡°3:00PM.¡±


    She eximed, ¡°It¡¯s 3:00PM?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Her mouth twitched. ¡°I actually slept for so long.¡±


    Before she began her nap, she had checked the time and only wanted to take a short nap, but ended


    up sleeping for 3 hours.


    No wonder I¡¯m so hungry.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that long.¡± Toby chuckled, then took out his phone and called Tom. ¡°What would you like to


    eat?¡±


    ¡°I want to eat assorted seafood,¡± Sonia replied.


    For some reason, she was now craving for seafood and just thinking about it made her drool.


    Toby nodded dotingly before he instructed on the phone, ¡°You heard it. Go and make an appointment


    for two.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tom replied on the other end of the phone.


    Sonia looked at the man beside her in surprise. ¡°For two? You haven¡¯t had lunch yet, have you?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips without denying it.


    The smile on her face faded and turned into disapproval. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you eat? It¡¯s already afternoon.


    Have you been busy until now?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    An unhappy Sonia looked at him with a frown. ¡°Then, what?¡±


    Seeing the flickering look in his eyes, she suddenly realized something and opened her mouth to ask,


    ¡°You weren¡¯t waiting for me, were you?¡±


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 Chapter 782

    Chapter 782


    Chapter 782 I Have Evidence


    Toby didn¡¯t answer, which obviously meant that Sonia had guessed correctly.


    While Sonia was curious, her heart was also a little warm. She knew that he just wanted to have lunch


    with her and didn¡¯t want to eat alone.


    With a sigh, Sonia softened her gaze and said, ¡°Why did you do this? You know that I¡¯m sleeping, but


    you still waited for me. Did you know what time I¡¯m going to wake up? What if I slept until you got off


    work in the afternoon? Would you have waited until then?¡±


    Toby chuckled indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal; don¡¯t look so serious.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a big deal?¡± She pursed her lips and raised her voice. ¡°If you don¡¯t eat on time, it¡¯s not good


    for your health, do you know that? Besides, something bad happened to youst night.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head slightly, indicating that there was no big problem with ate meal.


    An angry Sonia pinched his thigh when she saw that he still looked indifferent, which made him groan


    in pain.


    Hearing that, she snorted coldly. ¡°Serves you right!¡±


    ¡°Are you angry?¡± Toby rubbed his thigh and turned his head slightly to look at her.


    Sonia didn¡¯t care to look at him, so she turned away. ¡°What do you think? You don¡¯t eat on time and


    you don¡¯t care about it either. Of course, I¡¯m angry. I¡¯m worried about your health, yet you don¡¯t care at


    all. ¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He stretched out with his hand to hold her shoulders. Seeing her turned back, he said with a


    gentle voice, ¡°I do care, and I did listen to you, but I don¡¯t think that e meal will cause much harm


    to the body. Besides, I want to eat with you more than eating alone. It is more delicious eating together,


    right?¡±


    She looked up at him. ¡°Yes, but you could have called me to get up at that time.¡±


    Toby smiled. ¡°You slept so deeply and beautifully. How could I be willing to wake you up?¡±


    These words made Sonia¡¯s face blushed; she red at him with annoyance, but the anger in her heart


    dissipated instantly. He always had a way to quell her anger.


    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll let you go this time. Don¡¯t wait for me in the future. If you act like this, I won¡¯t dare toe


    here to rest in the future.¡± Sonia pursed the corner of her mouth and spoke helplessly.


    She won¡¯t dare toe here? How can this be! Toby¡¯s expression stiffened and his tone immediately


    became serious. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t do this in the future. This is thest time.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She raised an eyebrow.


    He nodded. ¡°Really.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Sonia finally smiled, but did not forget to remind him afterward, ¡°Even if I don¡¯te


    here in the future, you still have to eat on time. I heard Tom say before that when you are busy


    sometimes, you will neglect your meals. How can that be? If you don¡¯t care about your meals, how can


    your body take it? If something goes wrong with your health, I will despise you.¡±


    Is she threatening me? His expression became solemn. ¡°It seems that in order not to be despised by


    you and not to be abandoned by you, I have to really take good care of myself.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you are several years older than me. Therefore, you have to take good care of your health;


    otherwise, when you be old in the future, others will say that you are a decade older than me


    when we go out.¡± Sonia looked at him and smiled.


    Toby¡¯s expression was slightly stiff. Others will say that I am a decade older than her when we go out


    together?


    He didn¡¯t like this at all, and he suddenly felt like he was really bing old. Thinking about it, he


    couldn¡¯t help raising his hand to touch his face before he looked at Sonia¡¯s face.


    Sonia¡¯s face was fair and clean, with perfect skin and no fine lines. Although she was 26 or 27 now, she


    still looked like she was in her early 20s.


    As for himself¡­


    Toby couldn¡¯t see his face at the moment, so he wasn¡¯t sure whether there were any wrinkles on his


    face. However, the fact that he was several years older than her made him unable to help thinking


    about whether he was really old.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia waved her hand curiously when she saw Toby lowering his eyes, looking


    distracted and doubtful.


    The man¡¯s eyes flickered for a while before he came back to his senses. Avoiding her gaze, he


    coughed lightly and replied in a cold voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I will take good care of myself, and I won¡¯t let


    myself end up a decade older than you.¡±


    Hearing that the man¡¯s tone was a bit unhappy, Sonia quickly realized why he was upset and couldn¡¯t


    helpughing. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll wait for you to take good care of yourself, hahaha. ¡±


    Seeing the womanughing so happily, Toby sighed helplessly, then flicked her forehead with his


    finger. ¡°Okay, stopughing. You¡¯ll lose your breath.¡±


    She nodded whileughing, then slowly stopped. She raised her hand and touched the man¡¯s face


    before she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; in fact, even if you don¡¯t take care of your looks, you won¡¯t look that old,


    and we won¡¯t be misunderstood by others when we go out.¡±


    When he heard saying that he was not old, Toby raised his eyebrow. Although he didn¡¯t answer, his thin


    lips curled up in satisfaction. That¡¯s better.


    ¡°By the way, have you read the messages I sent you before?¡± Afterughing for a while, Sonia finally


    remembered the previous matter and looked at Toby.


    He nodded and his expression hardened. ¡°Yeah. It was done by a director of mypany named


    Damon Lore. I have ordered Tom to investigate this matter. After finding the evidence, I will deal with


    the scum.¡±


    As he spoke, a chill shed in his eyes. The air pressure around him plummeted and his face was filled


    with disgust.


    It was clear that this director named Damon Lorepletely made him angry this time.


    ¡°You want evidence? I have it,¡± she said.


    Toby looked at her in astonishment, ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia nodded, then frowned. ¡°Why? Why are you looking at me like that? Are you doubting my


    words?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not; I just want to know where you obtained the evidence.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I have my own way.¡± She smiled at him before she took out her phone from her bag and


    clicked on the recording to y it.


    Toby narrowed his eyes when he heard the voice in the recording as it was the voice of Damon¡¯s


    manager. Previously, he had asked Tom to investigate who Damon sent into his office, and the result of


    Tom¡¯s investigation was this manager.


    Just knowing that the manager was the one who entered the office to look for documents was useless


    because there was no proof of it. Moreover, the manager couldin and im that he entered just


    to look for Toby, so no one including Toby could do anything to him.


    After all, this manager was under Damon, and Damon was a veteran director of thepany who


    made great contributions to thepany in the early days. If Toby couldn¡¯te up with any evidence,


    somepany shareholders would definitely have negative opinions of him going against Damon and


    his underlings like this. That was why Toby told Tom to look for evidence. If it were another shareholder,


    he wouldn¡¯t be so patient to look for evidence. He would have directly dealt with the problem at hand.


    Unexpectedly, before Tom could even locate the evidence, Sonia already handed it to him. It was a


    beneficial piece of evidence as it was an actual recording.Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    This really made Toby angry!


    After the recording was over, he pursed his thin lips into a straight line, looking at the woman in front of


    him with a dark face.


    The woman kept her phone away proudly, but she didn¡¯t notice any changes in the man. Instead, she


    smiled and said, ¡°See, my evidence is not bad, right? I will send it to you now; I originally wanted to


    send it to you along with those messages, but you were in a meeting at that time. I was also afraid that


    if you released it directly at the meeting, it would be dangerous for some people in yourpany to


    learn that the secret has been leaked.¡±


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 Chapter 783

    Chapter 783


    Chapter 783 Happy to Help You


    As Sonia spoke, she found Toby¡¯s social media and sent the recording to him.


    Toby heard his phone vibrating, but he did not take it out of his pocket and instead stared at her with a


    deep gaze. ¡°Dangerous? Do you know what danger is?¡±


    He had a peculiar tone, which made Sonia look up at him with suspicion. Seeing his gloomy


    expression, the smile on her face slowly solidified before it finally disappeared. Feeling a little uneasy,


    she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why do you have such a terrible expression? I didn¡¯t offend you,


    did I?¡±


    Toby sighed before he took her phone away from her hand, after which he grabbed her wrist. As he


    pulled her forward, he embraced her in his arms tightly before he said, ¡°Sonia Reed, do you know how


    dangerous it was to record that man?¡±


    This time, he called out her full name. In the past few days, he had been calling her by her nickname


    and she was already used to it. Now that she heard him call her christened name, she was no longer


    used to it. After being taken aback for a while, she also realized that he was admonishing her like that


    because he was exasperated. She alsoprehended that he was angry about the recording that she


    took.


    Of course, it was not that she shouldn¡¯t record it, but it was the fact that she didn¡¯t care about her own


    safety when she recorded it. He was angry that she didn¡¯t protect herself well.


    After thinking about this, Sonia gradually rxed her stiff body. She then raised her arms and returned


    Toby¡¯s hug. As she leaned her chin on his shoulder, she replied with a slight smile, ¡°I know, but don¡¯t


    worry. Am I not fine now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are fine now, but if something really happens, can you still speak in front of me like this?¡±


    Toby slightly pushed her away from his arms and stared at her face. ¡°Do you know how nervous and


    worried I was when I saw the messages you sent me after the meeting? I was worried that you were


    discovered by Damon¡¯s subordinate. I know that person; he is a ruthless man. If he found you, he


    would definitely not let you go, so I rushed to the office in fear. When I came to the office, I found the


    door was locked. I didn¡¯t know if it was you who locked it or that person did it. All I knew was that when


    I opened the door, my hands were shaking. I was afraid I would see that you were¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish his words, as if he didn¡¯t dare to say it, and he didn¡¯t seem to want to say it either.


    However, Sonia knew what he meant. What he was afraid to see was her lifeless body.


    It seemed that she had really scared him this time.


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    A touch of guilt rose in Sonia¡¯s heart before she took the initiative to hug Toby. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I should¡¯ve


    sent you a message at the end to tell you that I¡¯m fine. I didn¡¯t think of this at that time and it made you


    worried.¡±


    Toby stroked her hair. ¡°Yeah, I was worried, but fortunately, when I opened the door, I saw that you¡¯re


    fine.¡±


    She smiled again. ¡°That person didn¡¯t find me. I was quite lucky, I guess. I went to the bathroom to


    wash my hands after eating the cake, and just as I was about toe out after washing my hands, I


    heard movement outside. I thought at first that it was you, but when I heard that person talking, I


    realized that it wasn¡¯t you, but someone hostile to you. That person was calling another guy to say that


    he was looking for some documents, so I knew I couldn¡¯t go out and couldn¡¯t be found. If I was found,


    that person would definitely be against me, so I stayed in the bathroom quietly and didn¡¯t n to head


    out. At the same time, I took out my phone and recorded everything. Anyway, I didn¡¯t go out until he left


    the ce. I was the one who locked the door of your office because I was afraid that the person would


    come back. Speaking of which, I was extremely lucky that the person didn¡¯t look in other rooms, else


    he would have found me.¡±


    After listening to Sonia, Toby felt his heart constrict. Although she had described it very inly, as if


    what happened had already passed and she no longer cared, it still made him tense when he heard it.


    She knew that it would be dangerous to head out at that time, so he could imagine how scared she was


    when she was alone in the bathroom at that time.


    Thinking of this, Toby wrapped his arms and hugged Sonia so tightly that he wanted to melt her into


    him. His voice was a little broken as he responded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have left you alone in the


    office. At that time, you were petrified, right?¡±


    In the morning, he should have insisted on not letting here here. If she hadn¡¯te, she wouldn¡¯t


    have encountered such a dangerous situation.


    Although she was lucky at the time and happened to head to the bathroom, what if she didn¡¯t go to the


    bathroom at that time? Or what if she went to the bathroom and came out without hearing any


    movements outside? Or maybe that person didn¡¯t just rummage through his office area, but snooped


    around all the rooms?


    He couldn¡¯t imagine it, and he didn¡¯t dare to think about it. In short, he never wanted to experience this


    kind of thing again. This time, it almost drove him crazy.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Toby was thinking. When she heard his words, she bit her lower lip slightly, and


    a trace of fear shed in her eyes. ¡°Yeah, I was a little scared. This is the first time I have encountered


    such a thing, and I have no experience. So, I was afraid, of course, but I quickly calmed down again. I


    didn¡¯t let myself make a sound or go out, and I just calmly recorded with my phone, and finally locked


    the door. Speaking of which, I feel that I was very brave.¡±


    Saying that, sheughed.


    Toby knew that she was intentionallyughing to show him that he should not worry because the matter


    had passed, and she was safe now. He stroked Sonia¡¯s hair while his gaze softened, and his voice was


    much lower and hoarser. ¡°Yeah, you were very brave, and you did a good job.¡±


    His office was not like this at first. At first, it was an office with only one bathroom and no other rooms.


    Later, Tom thought it was too uninteresting, so he changed it. Toby had thought it was too troublesome


    at the time and didn¡¯t even want to remodel his office, but now, he felt extremely fortunate that Tom


    insisted on remodeling the office.


    Otherwise, Sonia would have had nowhere to hide.


    Thus, he had to thank Tom for that.


    ¡°Then are you still mad at me?¡± Sonia looked up at Toby.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you anymore, but I¡¯m only mad at myself. I didn¡¯t do a good job of


    safeguarding the office. In the entire Fuller Group, no one dares to trespass my office and I didn¡¯t


    expect someone to sneak in, so I just neglected its safety and didn¡¯t have security around it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± She shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re not God. How could you have expected this? If it were me, I


    wouldn¡¯t have imagined that someone would dare to sneak into my office.¡±


    Toby looked at the emptiness behind her with slightly squinting eyes. His gaze was filled with killing


    intent as he said, ¡°This incident has brought fear to you. I will avenge you, and I will not let any of these


    people off the hook.¡±


    Sonia knew that he was going to deal with the person who trespassed in his office seriously as well as


    the mastermind. She didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with that. After all, Toby should deal with


    this kind of enemy who took advantage of him.


    Otherwise, he would be the one in trouble in the end.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to avenge me. This is your own enemy. You can handle it by yourself. Although the


    whole situation frightened me, I¡¯m still quite happy,¡± Sonia cajoled with a smile.


    Toby frowned. ¡°Happy?!¡±


    He didn¡¯t understand why she was ted about it.


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m happy, I¡¯m happy that I was able to help you. All along, you have been the one


    helping me in my affairs and I¡¯ve never returned the favor, but I helped you this time. Of course, I¡¯m


    happy because I know I can do something for you now too.¡±


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 Chapter 784

    Chapter 784


    Chapter 784 Passion


    After Toby heard Sonia¡¯s words, his pupils contracted slightly. ¡°You¡­¡±


    It turned out that she was ecstatic just because she had done something for him. She¡¯s such an easy


    person to please!


    Toby felt warmth rising in his heart. Looking at her, his Adam¡¯s apple bobbed a few times and his voice


    was low and hoarse as he rified, ¡°Are you really that happy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Of course I¡¯m happy. Through this way, I know that I am not only someone who


    is helped by you, but I can also help you in turn. A rtionship goes both ways, right?¡±


    She raised her head and met his inky eyes, which darkened even more. ¡°It goes both ways¡­¡±


    He repeated these four words over and over.


    Sonia tilted her head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. It sounds good. I like it very much.¡±


    A smiling Sonia replied, ¡°A rtionship that goes both ways is one that is the sincerest and touching. In


    our current rtionship, you have always given me more and I can see that. Yet, I didn¡¯t know how to


    help you, which makes me feel that the rtionship is a little unbnced. I always feel that you keep


    giving to me all the time. I seem to owe you too much, so I have been thinking, what should I do? How


    can I make up to you? Since you don¡¯tck anything and don¡¯t need me to do anything, I¡¯ve always


    been helpless, but now, I finally had the chance to do something for you. This makes me feel better.¡±


    She patted her chest, her eyes filled with happiness.


    He looked at her for a while, then suddenly pushed her down on the sofa.


    A startled Sonia stared at the man with wide eyes. ¡°Toby, you¡­¡±


    Before she could finish her words, her red lips were caught in a kiss by the man.


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She hummed at first, but in the next second, the tip of the man¡¯s tongue made its way into


    her mouth and danced with her tongue.


    Toby¡¯s kiss had been sudden, but it was also fierce and passionate. Sonia couldn¡¯t stand it at all and


    her whole body became soft after being kissed by him. Losing her strength, she finally wrapped her


    arms around his neck and lost herself in the kiss. She probably knew why he wanted to kiss her at this


    time. It was because he was moved by what she had said earlier.


    This was how this man was like. Once he felt moved, he would use actions to prove how excited he


    was at that moment. After all, such a moving thing could not be described with words. Therefore,


    expressing it with actions was the most appropriate move at the moment, and it was also the best one


    that could illustrate his happiness to her.


    Sonia was also quite amused that he was this ted because she had only recorded some evidence


    and said a few words. Toby was already a 30-year-old man, yet he was still quite pure in certain areas.


    Her hands around the man¡¯s neck tightened slightly, and when he felt her encouragement, he


    deepened the kiss even more. For some time, the situation in the huge office was intense as they


    became entangled with each other.


    After a long time, Toby released Sonia¡¯s lips and kissed her neck instead. Gradually, there were fewer


    and fewer pieces of clothing left on her body while he was only left with a thin shirt. All of a sudden,


    there was a knock on the door of the office.


    This knock on the door was like a basin of cold water that was poured on the couple who was still


    entwined with each other. At that, they instantly sobered up and regained their senses.


    Sonia then remembered that Tom had gone to order lunch for them. After calcting the time, she


    realized it was almost time for the man to return with the dishes. With a blush, she immediately pushed


    Toby away from her and sat up.


    When Toby felt her abrupt push, his eyes widened as he looked at her with disbelief, feeling unhappy


    that she suddenly pushed him away like that.


    She nced at him, panting slightly. ¡°Okay, stop it. It should be Tom, so go and open the door.¡±


    While ruffling through her messy hair, she collected the clothes on the floor beside the sofa and


    proceeded to wear them.


    She knew that Toby liked to kiss her when he was happy. As a girlfriend, she was also willing to satisfy


    her boyfriend. However, since the beginning, she had obviously just wanted to kiss him, and didn¡¯t n


    to do anything more.


    In the end¡­ The expression on Sonia¡¯s face was indescribable when she found out that almost all her


    clothes were stripped off by him.


    Why are men always so into sex?


    Toby¡¯s eyes were still dark from emotion while his cheeks were reddish and his aura was domineering.


    His figure exuded a sense of masculinity that made women crazy. Since Sonia was just an ordinary


    woman, she would naturally be attracted to such a man and finally indulged in passion with him.


    So, at that time, she was so dazzled by Toby¡¯s sexy appearance that she forgot that this was his office,


    and there would be peopleingter.


    Fortunately, they had not proceeded to the next stage. If they did so and suddenly someone knocked


    on the door, it would be the worst anticlimax. For her, it was fine as she was a woman whereas as a


    man, he would definitely be more hurt and it would be easy for him to feel upset.


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    Sonia felt her eyes burning, and she quickly turned away, her heart beating fast. Nothing is wrong,


    right?


    Toby didn¡¯t know what Sonia was thinking. He bent down and picked up the tie and suit jacket on the


    floor. However, he didn¡¯t wear his tie and merely wore his jacket.


    After wearing it, he frowned while tidying up his cor and cuffs, then said in a deep voice, ¡°He came


    just in time, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    His tone was full of displeasure. Obviously, he was annoyed that Tom arrived at this time.


    After all, they were about to have sex, and now that someone had interrupted them so suddenly, no


    one would be happy about it.


    Sonia looked at his dark, handsome face that was unhappy before she covered her mouth and smiled.


    Next, she stood up and ruffled his hair. ¡°Okay, don¡¯tin anymore. I¡¯ll just satisfy you tonight,


    okay?¡±


    Hearing this, Toby was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his eyes to look at her, with a


    gleam in them. Seeing his expression, Sonia began to blush even more. She turned her face to the


    other side and pushed him forward thereafter. ¡°Go and quickly open the door.¡±


    Toby knew that she was shy, so he didn¡¯t ask whether what she said was true. After all, she must be


    serious since she was already shy.


    The gloomy expression on his face disappeared in an instant and his moodpletely improved.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to open the door.¡± He walked toward the door with a brisk pace.


    It was clear that what she said made him much happier.


    Sonia shook her head with augh, then quickly got off the sofa and sat upright. Next, she took the


    teacup in front of her and sipped the already cold ck tea. Her movements were elegant and


    beautiful, and she didn¡¯t look panicked at all. It was as if everything that happened before where she


    hurriedly pushed Toby away in a panic upon the knock on the door was just an illusion.


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 Chapter 785

    Chapter 785


    Chapter 785 Seafood Feast


    After all, Sonia¡¯s image couldn¡¯t be ruined in front of outsiders and it had to be maintained at all times.


    Moreover, it was that kind of thing, which she couldn¡¯t allow others to notice even more; otherwise, it


    would be embarrassing for her.


    Thinking of this, Sonia pursed her lips again.


    Over there, Toby arrived at the door of the office to grab the door handle and turned it to open the


    locked door to reveal Tom. When Tom saw Toby, he first smiled respectfully at Toby, then raised the


    oversized food box in his hand. ¡°President Fuller, your lunch with Miss Reed has arrived.¡±


    Toby¡¯s good mood instantly vanished and he had a dark face again while facing Tom. He nced at


    Tom coldly before impatiently asking, ¡°Why are you sote?¡±


    If Tom came earlier, he would not have interrupted Toby and Sonia. However, this man came neither


    too soon nor toote and messed up Toby¡¯s steamy moment with Sonia. Obviously, Toby was upset at


    him.


    When Tom saw Toby being mad at him, he was startled and blinked his eyes in confusion. ¡°H-How is


    this toote? As soon as lunch arrived, I immediately brought it to you.¡±


    So, how was thiste? It didn¡¯t even take half an hour, yet Toby said that he waste. Did Toby expect


    him to be the sh?


    Tom felt a little aggrieved, but at the same time he felt that something was wrong. He knew that Toby


    was not the kind of person who would say that he waste for no reason. Yet, Toby said so at this time.


    Thus, there must be some special reason, but what was it?


    A suspicious Tom looked behind Toby. On the sofa not far behind him was Sonia sitting there and


    drinking elegantly, but it seemed that this elegance had a sense of oddness. It had a kind of stiff and


    unnatural feeling about it as if she had done something wrong and was trying her best to mask her


    panic and keep herposure. After all, Sonia didn¡¯t even look at Tom but kept her head down.


    This was definitely not like her usual style, so he was more determined now that she was guilty of


    something.


    Nevertheless, Tom couldn¡¯t understand what she was guilty of, so he turned his attention to Toby.


    At this point, he finally found something wrong with Toby. Toby¡¯s tie was missing while the cor of his


    shirt was wrinkled as if it had been grabbed by someone just a moment ago. There was also some


    redness on his Adam¡¯s apple as if it was bitten by someone.


    Wait, bitten?


    Tom¡¯s eyes widened and he suddenly understood everything.


    No wonder Toby looked disgruntled and said that he waste. That was because he came at the wrong


    time and messed up Toby¡¯s intimate session.


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    Realizing this, Tom was immediately embarrassed and he chuckled. ¡°Um, President Fuller, about this


    lunch¡­¡±


    ¡°Put it inside.¡± Toby turned and walked into the office without looking at him.


    Tom knew that Toby didn¡¯t want to see him at the moment, so he sighed and entered with his head


    down. Along the way, he didn¡¯t dare to look around for fear that he would see something that he


    shouldn¡¯t see. After all, the two of them were having fun in the office earlier. Although he didn¡¯t know


    how far they went, if they had gone all the way, there would have been some strange signs in the


    office.


    Therefore, he tried his best not to look around, lest his eyes burned at the sight. Moreover, it would be


    terrible if he was scolded for it too. Thinking about it, he took a deep breath and ced the food box on


    the coffee table. Forcing out a smile, he told Toby and Sonia, ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed, lunch is


    here. Please enjoy.¡±


    Sonia smiled politely at him. ¡°Okay, thanks, Tom.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Tom waved his hand, indicating that it was fine.


    At this time, Toby took out his phone and clicked on it, after which he instructed Tom, ¡°I just sent you a


    recording; you can listen to it once you head out. I believe you will know how to deal with it after


    listening to it. I don¡¯t have many demands. I just want Damon and his subordinates out of the Fuller


    Group. Also, buy back the shares in Damon¡¯s hands when he leaves, especially the 1 percent of


    original shares. Don¡¯t let him resell it to others!¡±


    Hearing this, Tom stopped thinking about other things and his expression became serious.


    Although he didn¡¯t know what recording Toby had sent over, Toby said that he could directly drive


    Damon and his subordinates out of the Fuller Group. As such, Tom guessed that the recording


    contained hard evidence that could definitely prevent Damon from extricating himself from the mess


    this time.


    Even though he didn¡¯t know where Toby received it from, it didn¡¯t matter as long as it was useful and


    could make Damon leave thepany.


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller, I will arrange everything and will not disappoint you,¡± Tom replied in a serious


    tone.


    Toby raised his chin slightly before he hummed. ¡°I will give this matter to you to handle. After buying


    back the shares in Damon¡¯s hands, throw him and his men into prison under the crimes ofmercial


    espionage and theft.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tom responded again, then turned and left.


    After he left, Sonia opened the food box and set out the seafood feast that was inside the packaging.


    She then poured two cups of ck tea and handed one of them to Toby. ¡°It¡¯s not appropriate to drink


    alcohol while eating seafood, so I used tea instead of wine. Congrattions for sessfully weeding


    out the scum in yourpany,¡± she said with a smile.


    Toby chuckled and took the cup of tea. ¡°I should thank you too. You helped me to obtain the hard


    evidence, so I was able to quickly weed them out; otherwise, I would have wasted some time.¡±


    At the very least, it would take a while to find evidence.


    When she heard the man¡¯s words, Sonia raised her cup and touched his. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s


    celebrate together.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± he replied softly and drank the ck tea in one gulp.


    After drinking the tea, Sonia sat down and urged, ¡°Toby, you should sit down and eat too. It¡¯s been


    many hours; aren¡¯t you hungry?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby smiled and walked to the seat opposite her.


    Then, Sonia couldn¡¯t wait to take a piece of shrimp and ced it in her mouth. The vor of the shrimp


    meat burst in her mouth in the most delicious manner, causing her to narrow her eyes in bliss while her


    legs couldn¡¯t help swinging. This was a habit of hers. Every time she ate something delicious or felt


    ted, she liked to swing her legs.


    Toby also knew her little habit as he felt the coffee table shaking a little. He bent down slightly and


    looked, whereupon his eyes darkened when he saw her swinging feet. If it weren¡¯t for the wrong


    atmosphere, he really wanted to grab her by both feet and press her legs to shackle her before fondling


    her hard.


    She was so cute that she should be caressed and loved well by him.


    ¡°Is it really so delicious?¡± Toby didn¡¯t look further and raised his head to look at Sonia¡¯s face. He was


    afraid that he would lose control if he looked at her legs any longer and she might kick him.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what the man was thinking about, so she nodded. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s delicious, I haven¡¯t


    eaten seafood so happily in a long time.¡±


    First of all, she was too busy. After she had taken over Paradigm Co., she had no time to eat delicious


    food or have fun. Secondly, it was boring for her to eat alone. Charles and the others were busy, so


    they couldn¡¯t spend time with her often. Over time, she gradually had many disappointments in her


    heart.


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 Chapter 786

    Chapter 786


    Chapter 786 Peel a Crab for You


    Toby noticed the dejected expression on Sonia¡¯s face and he subsequently ced a prawn onto her


    te. ¡°You haven¡¯t had any seafood for quite some time now, so you should enjoy this meal. Have


    some more. In the future. I¡¯ll apany you and get seafood whenever you crave it.¡±


    Sonia was very touched to hear his words and she nodded her head with a smile. ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll hold you


    ountable to that, then. I warn you, though¡ªyou¡¯d better not renege on your words because of your


    busy schedule.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°Well, the worst that could happen would be that I deal with work while


    eating seafood with you. I could deal with the paperwork and hold a conference while we eat if you


    don¡¯t find it annoying.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t control herughter as soon as she heard his description.


    ¡°What do you mean by holding a conference and dealing with your paperwork while eating seafood


    with me? Stop pulling my leg.¡±


    Indeed, Sonia found his words quite amusing and she envisioned the situation of him sitting in a


    conference room with tens to hundreds of people, holding a meeting while sitting on his spot with a


    tter of seafood in front of him. The whole time, Toby would peel prawns while he spoke to the crowd


    regarding the content of the meeting.


    The scene in her mind was extremely amusing to her and she couldn¡¯t contain herughter at all. At


    once, her face flushed red from the excitement she felt.


    At that moment, Toby stared at her. ¡°Alright, alright. You¡¯veughed long enough. Don¡¯tugh too long


    because you might be breathless.¡±


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    Sonia nodded her head repeatedly. ¡°Yeah, I know that.¡± Subsequently, she took a deep breath and


    gradually calmed down.


    Just then, Toby picked up a crab and ced it on his te. Following that, he slipped some disposable


    gloves on while mentioning, ¡°How are you feeling? Are you feeling much better now?¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia lifted her brows. ¡°So did you purposely say that you were going to apany me for


    some seafood while holding a conference to cheer me up?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡± Toby put on his gloves and opened another box. Inside the box, there were some


    professional tools used to peel a crab.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia instantly felt a warm, fuzzy feeling. ¡°Of course I feel better! I justughed so


    happily earlier, so my mood¡¯s definitely great. However, I didn¡¯t expect that you would actually take the


    initiative to cheer me up.¡±


    Toby lifted his head to nce at her and warmly murmured, ¡°You¡¯re the person I love, so of course I will


    do so.¡± Then, he lowered his head and started to peel the crab.


    This was the first time ever that Sonia had seen Toby peel a crab. In fact, it wasn¡¯t a dignified thing to


    do and especially for someone belonging to such high social circles, it could even be considered to be


    a very vulgar move as it seemed to be quite unhygienic.


    Therefore, ones belonging to such social circles didn¡¯t generally eat crabs. They generally ate crabs


    that had been dismantled and well-processed. Basically, none of them would actually personally peel a


    crab. That would be considered a disruption to their pristine image and they were much more worried


    about the mocking voices of the others.


    Even Sonia didn¡¯t tend to personally peel a crab when she was eating with someone else. She


    normally did that in private, when she was by herself or if she dined with Charles. Those were the only


    times when she would disregard her image and take action. Other than that, she didn¡¯t generally do


    that when she was outside.


    She had assumed that Toby was the same and he wouldn¡¯t actually lift a finger himself. Unexpectedly


    though, he had done something on the contrary and dismantled a crab personally. Furthermore, his


    actions weren¡¯t the least bit vulgar at all. On the other hand, he looked exceptionally refined and it was


    a pleasure to see him do the job.


    Sonia was captivated and she couldn¡¯t even take her eyes off him.


    Anyway, Toby seemed to be the only one who was able to perform an act generally shunned and


    widely avoided by people in their social circles so artistically and enjoyably.


    As such, Sonia couldn¡¯t help looking at Toby with an admirable gaze.


    At the same time, Toby sensed it and he lifted his head to look at her. He saw that she was staring


    unblinkingly at the crab in his hands, and the smile on his face instantly deepened but he didn¡¯t say a


    word. Subsequently, he lowered his head once again and continued to handle the crab in his hands.


    This time, his movements were much faster than before.


    After a few minutes, Toby finally finished removing all of the meat from the crab, and he ced the


    crabmeat and roe back into the back of the shell. The yellowish filling glistened and the whole shell was


    filled to the brim. Just by a light touch, the crabmeat and roe quivered and it looked very appetizing, to


    the point where one was tempted to take a huge scoop of it into one¡¯s mouth. It would definitely be


    great to have a mouth filled with crab meat.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help taking a huge gulp as she forced herself to shift her eyes elsewhere with a torn


    feeling. She was quite worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop herself from grabbing the crab from


    Toby if she continued to stare at it.


    I¡¯ll just peel another one myself. And so, Sonia ced down her utensils, and then she took a crab to


    start dismantling it when arge hand, which was holding the crab shell filled to the brim with crabmeat,


    stretched out in front of her. Therge hand reached over in front of her te to ce the crab shell


    into her te.


    At that moment, Sonia was significantly stunned as she looked at the crabmeat on her te, and she


    nced at the man who¡¯d just withdrawn his hand. Her mouth widened slightly and then she spoke up


    in disbelief. ¡°Why did you hand me this?¡±


    Toby pulled out a piece of tissue to wipe his hand and replied smilingly, ¡°I did it for you anyway.¡±


    At his response, Sonia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°F-For me?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Toby responded. ¡°Hurry up and finish it. Don¡¯t let it turn cold because it won¡¯t taste as nice then.¡±


    Finally, Sonia realized that it was actually prepared for her and Toby had intentionally dismantled the


    crab for her. Come to think of it, she was salivating after it earlier and had even intended to grab it from


    him. Unexpectedly though, he had prepared it for her right from the start. Immediately, there was a


    warm, fuzzy feeling that rose within Sonia, and an extremely tender expression appeared on her face.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Subsequently, Toby took a sip from his cup of tea. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. It¡¯s just a crab. Hurry


    up and eat it. But, one¡¯s enough and you shouldn¡¯t eat any more than that. It¡¯s not good for you if you


    have too much of it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded her head earnestly and her expression was one full of joy.


    Meanwhile, Toby ced down his cup of tea and took his utensils to start eating. As for Sonia, she


    enjoyed herself eating the crab and the smile on her face lingered.


    Evidently, Toby was very pleased to see her eating so happily. Despite the fact that he hadn¡¯t


    personally cooked the crabs, he was still the one who had removed the meat from the crab for Sonia so


    being the one who¡¯d done all the hard work, he was obviously quite content to see her eating so


    happily. The contentment that he felt was all due to the happy feeling of being acknowledged.


    ¡°By the way, how do you know how to peel a crab?¡± Sonia suddenly thought of that and she turned to


    ask Toby out of curiosity.


    From her impression of him, he wasn¡¯t one who knew how to peel a crab, and neither was he one who


    would do such a job. However, Toby had indeed done it for her and he had done a great job of it too.


    His actions of dismantling the crab didn¡¯t seem out of practice at all. On the contrary, he seemed quite


    skilled at it and at a nce, he seemed to know what he was doing. However, this was quite out of


    character for him.


    Meanwhile, Toby used his fork and knife to cut an abalone into pieces from the dish in front of him. He


    then said to Sonia with a slight smile, ¡°I specifically went to learn this.¡±


    ¡°Why did you go and learn this all of a sudden?¡± Sonia was even more confused by then. ¡°This isn¡¯t a


    life skill and it¡¯s not helpful in your career either.¡±


    The skills that Toby learned should rte to his professional development and those would definitely be


    much more useful than some dubious crab dismantling skill. Even if he was learning how to cook at the


    moment, he didn¡¯t need to learn to peel a crab. After all, the two skills were not directly rted to each


    other.


    At this moment, Toby finished eating his abalone and he ced down the fork and knife in his hands.


    Subsequently, he wiped his mouth and replied, ¡°It¡¯s indeed not helpful in my career, but it has its role in


    my love life.¡±


    At that moment, he lifted his head and stared at her with a tender and loving expression. His unmasked


    and intense stare caused Sonia to blush red right to the tip of her ears, and she couldn¡¯t help lowering


    her head slightly out of embarrassment. ¡°What are you on about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. Ever since I got to know all of the things that you enjoyed, I¡¯ve basically learned


    most of the skills rted to it for the sake of making use of them someday and to have amon topic


    with you. This time with dismantling the crab is a ssic example. I knew from the start that you


    enjoyed eating seafood, so I purposely went to learn how to peel a crab so that the next time we ate


    seafood together, I could personally peel it for you. As such, you wouldn¡¯t need to lift a finger, but you


    will still be able to enjoy the best morsels of crab meat.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you learned the skill.¡± Sonia¡¯s voice quivered slightly and naturally, it went without saying


    that she was quite moved by his words. She was very touched by all that.


    She had made a guess earlier on that this man had definitely gone behind her back and done a lot of


    other things for her. Indeed, she was right as he had even gone and learned such a redundant skill of


    dismantling a crab just for a moment like this. Presently, she was seemingly at a loss of words.


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 Chapter 787

    Chapter 787


    Chapter 787 Can¡¯t Help Being Attracted


    It was no wonder that Sonia would be attracted to Toby once again. After all, he had put in so much


    effort without her realizing it, and he had even found out in detail about all of the things that she


    enjoyed. He had done so much preparatory work and the effort he put into it was more than enough to


    touch her heart.


    It was quite likely that Sonia wasn¡¯t the only one who thought so. Every woman would definitely be


    attracted to that. After all, women tended to be sentimental. It was pretty much impossible not to be


    touched by a man who had put in so much consideration for her and even silently done so much for her


    behind her back. Furthermore, not every man couldmit like Toby had.


    Most men were great at professing their love but in actual fact, they hardly did much for their loved


    ones. It was fortunate enough if they didn¡¯t find their loved ones troublesome.


    Meanwhile, Toby came from such a well-off background and yet, he was willing to put in so much effort


    for her. Sonia was quite touched by that.


    At that thought, she lowered her head and smiled. Subsequently, she scooped a spoonful of crabmeat


    and reached out toward Toby¡¯s direction. ¡°Open your mouth.¡±


    Just then, Toby was caught by surprise and soon after that, he came to his senses so he nced at her


    with a half-smile. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Do you want to feed me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded her head. ¡°It¡¯s quite obvious, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    At that moment, Toby smiled and reached out to block her spoon. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. I specifically


    prepared this for you. You should enjoy it yourself.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia frowned and replied unhappily, ¡°I know that you¡¯ve specifically prepared this for me, but this


    belongs to me now that you¡¯ve handed it to me and I want to share it with you. You must not reject this.


    For example, you wouldn¡¯t want me to reject this crab that you handed over to me, right? If I¡¯d rejected


    you, then you would surely be quite upset about it. Simrly, I will be unhappy with your rejection too.


    Besides, this crabmeat was prepared by you so tediously and the crab shell was so hard, so your


    hands must be very ufortable after all that. If you didn¡¯t even get a taste of it, then what¡¯s the point


    of doing all this? Come on and open your mouth. Hurry up. Otherwise, I¡¯m about to get mad!¡± There


    was a threatening hint in Sonia¡¯s voice just then.


    Meanwhile, Toby saw Sonia¡¯s no-nonsense look and he chuckled softly before nodding his head.


    ¡°Okay, then. I won¡¯t reject it.¡±


    It¡¯s quite true that I would be unhappy if she rejected my offer. Naturally, she would be unhappy if I


    rejected her too. That¡¯s why I should ept this. After all, this is a token of her regard and it¡¯s also


    proof that she cares about me. As soon as he thought of that, he inclined his head slightly and opened


    his mouth to eat the crab meat on the spoon.


    Sonia retracted her hand with a pleased expression upon seeing that. Subsequently, she asked him


    with a smile, ¡°How does it taste?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite good.¡± Toby swallowed the crabmeat and nodded. ¡°Anything handed over by you definitely


    tastes much better.¡±


    At that moment, Sonia didn¡¯t expect that he would suddenly flirt with her and she instantly blushed.


    ¡°Toby!¡±


    In response, Toby chuckled and he seemed to be in good spirits.


    In the end, they took nearly an hour to finish their meal and Toby instructed his secretary toe in


    and tidy up the table after they were done with the meal.


    His secretary moved about quite swiftly and in no time, she had tidied up everything. She didn¡¯t stay in


    the room any longer than necessary and walked out after she was done.


    Toby was extremely pleased with his secretary¡¯s actions. Subsequently, he nced toward the woman


    on the couch.


    Sonia was quite satiated with the delicious meal and at that moment, shey on the couchfortably.


    She lounged there quitezily, and she flopped on the couch in a lying down position. She didn¡¯t even


    want to lift a finger and she curled up on the couch, looking like a cute little kitten enjoying the


    afternoon sun.


    Seeing this, Toby tugged at her hand. ¡°You just had arge meal, so don¡¯t lie down yet. Get up and


    take a walk.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get up.¡± Sonia continued toze on the couch and refused to move at all. She was quite


    adamant to remain in her position as she focused her almond-shaped eyes on him. ¡°Don¡¯t tug at my


    hand. I don¡¯t want to get up. Let me take a rest for a short while, pretty please?¡±


    As she said that, she blinked her eyes pleadingly at him and tried to extricate her hand from his.


    Meanwhile, Toby relented instantly upon seeing her response. Instinctively, he released her hand.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Shortly after that, she grabbed hold of a pillow and found another much morefortable position to


    laze around.


    Toby was slightly taken aback to see her behavior. He finally realized that he had actually been


    charmed by her cute response and had even changed his mind from dragging her up from the couch


    by letting go of her hand.


    Gosh¡­ At that moment, Toby suddenly turned silent and he was full of self-doubts. Am I so weak-


    willed?! No, actually I¡¯m not! I¡¯m usually quite a resolute person, but it¡¯s dependent on the other party


    too. If this was anyone else, then I would definitely show absolute resoluteness. However, he was


    faced with Sonia and her pleading look earlier had caused him to relent almost instantaneously. He had


    instinctively backed off.


    With an inner sigh, he nced resignedly at Sonia, whose eyelids had started to droop and she


    seemed to be about to catch some shut-eye.


    It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve already let go of her hand, so I¡¯ll let her have her way this time. She can lie down. It¡¯s


    just this once so hopefully, she¡¯ll be fine. I must make sure to stop her next time, though. With that in


    mind, Toby picked up a nket and unfurled it to cover Sonia with it. ¡°Get some rest, then. I¡¯ll deal with


    some documents and then let¡¯s go home together in the evening, alright?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia hugged the pillow and nodded her head without opening her eyes at all.


    Meanwhile, Toby was slightly upset to see that she didn¡¯t even bother to nce at him.


    This ungrateful woman didn¡¯t even bother to look at me! However, despite hisments, she was his


    beloved one after all, so there was nothing he could do about it and he could only ept it. As such,


    Toby shook his head resignedly but there was a slight smile in his eyes. Shortly after that, he suddenly


    leaned forward and kissed Sonia gently on the cheek.


    Instantly, Sonia opened her eyes. ¡°You¡­¡±


    She was just about toin that he had stealthily pounced on her but before she could get a word


    in edgewise, he had gently ruffled her hair. ¡°Okay, get some sleep. I¡¯ll go and get some work done


    now.¡± After he had finished his words, he got up and strode off on his slender, long legs toward his work


    desk.


    As soon as Toby got back to his work desk, he immediately dragged out his chair but he didn¡¯t take a


    seat right away. Instead, he nced toward the couch and noticed that Sonia was still dazedly


    clutching her face. His lips curved into a smile and he chuckled before taking his seat. Subsequently,


    he took hold of a document and started on his work.


    He was normally quite impatient when dealing with such documents and he tended to flick through


    them quite forcefully. The noise of the rustling papers usually was quite audible in the room but this


    time, with Sonia around, it was highly likely that he wanted to maintain his patient personality in front of


    her so he was exceptionally gentle and patient with the documents. If Tom was present at the moment,


    he would surely be close to tears at the sight of this.


    Meanwhile, Sonia had intended to rest for a short while on the couch, but she didn¡¯t n on actually


    going to sleep there. However, she ended up falling asleep after resting with her eyes shut for some


    time.


    It was slightly awkward but she was basically fast asleep practically the whole day. She slept the whole


    morning and then after lunch as well. She even ended up falling asleep until night had fallen. In the


    end, she woke up to find herself back in her own room in Bayside Residence. She was no longer at the


    Fuller Group.


    It went without saying that Toby hadn¡¯t woken her up after he¡¯d finished work and left to go home.


    Instead, he had directly taken her into his arms and brought her back home.


    Sonia sat up in bed and rubbed her forehead sleepily as she muttered, ¡°Gosh. He carried me back!


    Isn¡¯t he worried about spraining his arm?¡±


    Though she said that, she was in fact quite happy about it because she realized that he did that


    because he didn¡¯t want to disrupt her sleep.


    Where¡¯s Toby? At this moment, Sonia took her hand off from her temples and she nced around the


    room.


    There was a dim, yellowmp switched on inside the room and the door was left ajar. Meanwhile, there


    was a bright, ring light outside the door.


    She spected that he must be in the living room so without thinking too much, she pushed back the


    covers and walked toward the door wearing her bedroom slippers.


    As soon as she walked out of the bedroom, she instantly saw Toby¡¯s back. He was currently squatting


    in front of the washing machine, and he seemed to be lost in thought.


    He had a tall, strapping figure, and the sight of him squatting in front of the washing machine with an


    utterly confused look on his face was quite aical one. Seeing this, Sonia couldn¡¯t contain herself


    from bursting intoughter.


    As soon as he heard herughter, Toby turned his head in her direction and saw her. Instantly, his eyes


    sparkled and he got up to walk toward her. ¡°You¡¯re up!¡±


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 Chapter 788

    Chapter 788


    Chapter 788 Tyler¡¯s Phone Call


    ¡°Yup.¡± Sonia nodded her head. She felt quite dizzy and weak due to her sleeping for such a long period


    during the daytime, so she couldn¡¯t even walk in a straight line and seemed to be quite dazed.


    As soon as Toby saw that, he couldn¡¯t help frowning and he instantly moved forward to grab her around


    the shoulders. Subsequently, he took her into his arms and allowed her to lean on him. Then, he


    lowered his head to look at her as he asked anxiously, ¡°Are you feeling unwell?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia lifted her head to smile at him and responded, ¡°I slept for too long so I¡¯m feeling dizzy,


    that¡¯s all. I¡¯ll be fine after a quick rest.¡±


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Despite her reassurance, Toby remained quite worried and he lifted his hand to ce it on her forehead


    to make sure that her temperature was fine. He finally trusted her words after confirming that she didn¡¯t


    have a fever.


    ¡°I told you to get up and take a walk in the afternoon, but you insisted on lying down despite my


    objections.¡± As he spoke, Toby flicked her on the forehead.


    Meanwhile, Sonia pressed a hand on her forehead and smiled. ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s my fault. I was just


    too satisfied with our seafood meal earlier and I ended up quite sleepy after that. I didn¡¯t feel like


    moving at all. I won¡¯t do that again.¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± At that moment, Toby snorted. ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll make sure to keep an eye on you. Alright,


    let¡¯s go over to the couch so you can take a rest. We¡¯ll have dinner after that.¡±


    Sonia nodded in response. ¡°Sure.¡±


    And so, Toby slowly escorted her to the couch to take a seat before he poured her a ss of water.


    Sonia took a sip of warm water and as soon as the water flowed into her stomach, she felt a warm


    sensation instantly. Shortly after that, the warm feeling coursed through her whole body and she


    immediately felt much morefortable than before.


    ¡°By the way, what were you doing squatting over there earlier?¡± Sonia pointed toward the washing


    machine while asking.


    Suddenly, there was an awkward look that shed across Toby¡¯s eyes but he responded calmly, ¡°I was


    doing the washing.¡±


    However, she couldn¡¯t quiteprehend the situation, so she added, ¡°The machine can do the


    washing, but why did you squat over there?¡±


    Just then, Toby realized that he had to give her a usible exnation; otherwise, she would definitely


    persist in interrogating him. As such, he released a slight cough before directlying up with an


    answer. ¡°I searched on the inte and found out that the washing machine spins when it¡¯s washing


    the clothes, but I waited there for quite some time and it didn¡¯t spin at all. Is the machine broken?¡±


    In response, Sonia grimaced. ¡°Are you sure that it¡¯s broken? Could it be that you don¡¯t know how to


    operate it?¡±


    Instantly, Toby turned silent.


    At that moment, Sonia kept her silence too.


    After quite some time, she finally covered her lips and smiled. ¡°It looks like you had trouble operating


    it.¡±


    There was a sh of awkwardness across Toby¡¯s face and in the end, he had no choice but to admit it.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well, I¡¯ve never used a machine like this before.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Sonia patted him on the shoulder and she didn¡¯t mock him at all.


    After all, his clothes wereundered by the servants and some of the more expensive ones were dealt


    with by the designers personally. Other than that, the rest of it went into the bin, so Toby didn¡¯t have the


    chance to use something like a washing machine. As such, it was normal for him to have difficulty


    operating a washing machine.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I feel quite useless sometimes.¡± Toby rubbed the spot in between his brows. I¡¯m useless


    indeed. I don¡¯t even know such basic life skills.


    Sonia stood up with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re not useless. On the contrary, you¡¯re the most useful person. If


    you¡¯re useless, how did you manage to amass your fortune? The wealthier you are, then obviously


    there would be plenty of people sorting this out for you. You don¡¯t even need to lift a finger. This is the


    life everyone yearns for. How can you still find yourself useless? Besides, other than being great at


    earning money, you¡¯re able to cook too. Furthermore, you learned how to peel a crab for me. There¡¯s


    no other man who has as many skills as you do. You¡¯re great at your career out there and you can also


    handle the house chores at home. You¡¯re awesome!¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes shone and he flushed red to the tip of his ears when he heard Sonia¡¯s praises.


    Then, he gave a slight cough out of shyness and his low voice rang out, ¡°Alright, stop it. You must be


    hungry by now. I¡¯ll go and get you your dinner in the kitchen.¡±


    After he had said that, he got up and walked past the couch. Then, he hurried off to the kitchen.


    Sonia watched his retreating figure and lifted her brows slightly. It¡¯s quite umon to see his shy


    look. He ran off before I could get another look at his face!


    At that point, she shook her head with an amused look on her face as she headed toward the washing


    machine.


    He didn¡¯t know how to operate the washing machine, so she wanted to take a closer look to find out


    what he did. She was worried that he had broken the machine.


    And so, Sonia opened the round door of the washing machine and peered at the clothes inside. Just


    then, she realized that it was all of her clothes inside and there was none of Toby¡¯s at all. It was the


    clothes that she had changed out of two nights before and she¡¯d thrown them into the washing machine


    the previous night. She had intended to wash the clothes but as soon as she heard that he¡¯d been


    involved in a car ident, she disregarded everything and rushed out of the house without a backward


    nce. She hadpletely forgotten that her clothes were in the machine.


    In the end, Toby had found out and even made the effort to help her do the washing.


    He¡¯s really trying his best to be the resident chef andplete all the house chores. He¡¯s working


    his way to bing the perfect man.


    Sonia smiled and started to find out why Toby couldn¡¯t get the machine to spin. In the end, she realized


    that he had forgotten to turn on the water valve, so there was no water entering the washing machine.


    Evidently, the washing machine couldn¡¯t function without any water.


    Besides the water, he didn¡¯t put in any detergent either.


    This silly man! Surely he can¡¯t expect to just ce the clothes in and then do nothing after that! Sonia


    heaved a sigh and turned on the water valve. Then, she poured some detergent into thepartment


    before finishing off by dusting off her hands. Finally, she went back to take a seat on the couch and


    turned on the television.


    She had just started on a television program when the cell phone on the coffee table suddenly rang.


    She didn¡¯t bother to take a look at the caller identification and immediately swiped to the right before


    cing the phone to her ear. ¡°Hello, this is Sonia speaking.¡±


    ¡°Son¡ªno, I mean, sister-inw!¡± Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from the other end of the phone, and


    Sonia was significantly startled.


    Who¡¯s that? Why did he randomly call me sister-inw? Sonia frowned and thought that someone must


    have dialed the wrong number, so she removed the phone from her ear and was about to hang up


    when she suddenly saw the name Tyler on the screen. Instantly, she was caught by surprise, and soon


    after that, she grimaced. Oh¡ªit¡¯s Tyler on the line!


    He had gone overseas for a tournament and had been away for nearly three months now. Over these


    two months, he had not been in contact with Sonia at all, and she had rarely heard anyone mention him


    too.


    The oue was that she hadpletely forgotten this person and even forgotten his voice too.


    Actually, she didn¡¯t forget his voice, but Tyler was going through puberty so his voice changed. Before


    he had left, she remembered that his voice had been quite gruff and it¡¯d been quite grating to the ears.


    Now that he hadpletely gone through puberty, his voice was no longer gruff and grating to the


    ears, and it was now quite clear and sounded soothing. That was also why it wasn¡¯t Sonia¡¯s fault that


    she couldn¡¯t identify his voice from the start.


    Then, Sonia ced her cell phone back to her ear and pursed her lips while saying, ¡°Stop addressing


    me randomly. I¡¯m not your sister-inw!¡±


    On the other end of the line, Tyler had just finished ying in the semi-finals and he was taking a break


    in the changing room. He was dressed in a loose-fitting basketball shirt and was currently syed out


    on a row of seats. There was a towel wrapped around his neck and he wiped the sweat on his face as


    he spoke to her on the phone. His usually young, handsome face was now much more mature and


    there was now a resolute look on it. The chubbiness on his face had nearly disappeared now, and what


    was left was a rough outline of the defined features of a handsome male. Furthermore, the muscles on


    his arms and thighs were significantly bulged up than before. In any case, he was much more mature.


    Just then, Tyler bared his teeth andughed into the phone. He couldn¡¯t contain the excitement on his


    face as he countered, ¡°I didn¡¯t address you randomly! You are my sister-inw. I¡¯ve been told that


    you¡¯ve reconciled with Toby.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia could hear the smugness in Tyler¡¯s voice and she couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes. ¡°Ha!


    In the past, when I was his wife, you never addressed me that way before. Now that we¡¯ve gone


    through a divorce and reconciled, you seem to be full of enthusiasm. Tyler Fuller, you¡¯re quite nosy,


    aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Obviously, Tyler realized that Sonia was mocking him, but he wasn¡¯t the least bit upset. If this had


    happened a few months back, he was very prideful back then and definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate


    that. He would have surely lost his temper. After all, he had been used to getting his way all the time


    and there was no way he would have tolerated another person¡¯s mocking words. However, now that


    Tyler had been through the harsh reality of the current society, he had matured a lot. At the very least,


    he was no longer as prideful and easily triggered. As such, he merelyughed upon hearing Sonia¡¯s


    mocking words. ¡°Sister-inw, are you still mindful of the past? I was foolishly tricked back then. You


    must have realized that too!¡±


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 Chapter 789

    Chapter 789


    Chapter 789 Guilt


    If it weren¡¯t because of Tina, who had been pulling strings in the shadows, Tyler wouldn¡¯t have


    mistaken Sonia as the homewrecker who hade between Toby and Tina. This naturally wouldn¡¯t


    have led to his resentment toward Sonia.


    Although he used to have an awful temper, he was well-aware of the fact that Sonia had treated him


    extremely well during the six long years.


    However, due to the resentment Tyler held against homewreckers, he had been ignoring how well


    Sonia had treated him and even treated her with his worst attitude.


    It was only through this way could he constantly remind himself to never be moved by Sonia. He had


    always told himself that she was the other woman, the one who came between Toby and Tina. Hence,


    he would never treat her nicely and go soft on her.


    The reason behind Tyler¡¯s intense hatred toward women who came between other people¡¯s marriage


    was because the people in his circle had always bad mouthed his mother, who was the third person


    between his father and Valerie Johann, Toby¡¯s biological mother. They had derided him because Tyler


    was an illegitimate child.


    He was enraged, yet there was nothing he could do as his mother was indeed the mistress in spite of


    her not being an ordinary ¡®mistress¡¯.


    Nheless, he still had faced plenty of mockeries because of his mother¡¯s identity, and even his


    parents had faced public condemnation. His mother was derided as a country bumpkin who had


    miraculously captured the heart of the head of the Fuller Family. On the other hand, the public criticized


    his father for not loving ady from a wealthy family and instead falling in love with a country bumpkin;


    Homer was even said to be testing out if the trash outside smelled better after being used to luxurious


    food.


    Those words resembled sharp knives that stabbed into Tyler¡¯s young, fragile heart, prompting him to


    be more rebellious during his teenage years. He also had an incredibly low self-esteem.


    Hence, in those six years, he kept targeting Sonia because he had resented her for destroying the


    rtionship between Toby and Tina. Tyler even thought that Sonia would cause Toby to be ridiculed by


    outsiders, just like what his father had experienced all these years for marrying the mistress.


    As such, Tyler had been bullying Sonia and put on his most awful attitude in hopes of destroying her


    marriage with Toby, so that she would back down and leave the Fuller Residence.


    However, who could have expected that after Sonia had left, only did Tyler finally know that Sonia was


    not the homewrecker. Instead, she had been the woman that Toby had loved all along. The third person


    between their rtionship was actually Tina, who had pretended to be Sonia.


    Tyler, on the other hand, had helped the real homewrecker drive away Toby¡¯s original partner. At that


    instant, he felt as though he had been devoured by a heavy sense of guilt.


    He had wanted to apologize to Sonia, but he felt so embarrassed and at the same time, he had been


    afraid that she wouldn¡¯t forgive him. Therefore, Tyler hadn¡¯t been able to muster the courage to even


    show his face in front of Sonia, let alone apologize to her. He had even felt relieved when the U17


    Cross-Country Championships was just around the corner. At that time, he had eagerly packed up his


    luggage and fled Seafield.


    He had thought that he wouldn¡¯t need to face the guilt in his heart after he had fled the city¡ªat least, he


    wouldn¡¯t need to apologize to her for the moment. However, the guilt in his heart kept weighing him


    down when he had been abroad, and the feeling that he had been a despicable man grew by the day.


    I¡¯m not worthy to be a man; I couldn¡¯t even say sorry.


    As months passed by, many contestants had been disqualified from thepetition. After having been


    through multiple defeats, Tyler had grown a lot and be more mature mentally. Finally, he was able


    to pluck the courage to make this call.


    This time, he had to confess to her the apology that he had been keeping inside him.


    With such thoughts in mind, Tyler clenched his fists to cheer on himself.


    Sonia had no idea what the young man on the other end of the line was thinking. However, she curled


    up her red lips and coldly snorted. ¡°Even though you have been deceived, you can¡¯t deny all your past


    doings.¡±


    Tyler was at a loss for words, as he was unable to refute what she said.


    That¡¯s true. Although I had been deceived, it was still me who had been blinded to the truth. I was the


    one who did all those terrible deeds, and none of them were forced by Tina.


    Therefore, he had indeedmitted a grave sin.


    Upon noticing that the young man on the other end of the line had fallen silent and his breathing


    became heavier, Sonia snapped her fingers and impassively asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did I give you a


    huge blow?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tyler muttered with a nod.


    As a 17-year-old teenager who hadn¡¯t even reached adulthood, he was incredibly tall as he was a


    basketball yer. Standing at six feet two, he was even taller than Toby by two inches.


    Tyler¡¯srge figure made him look like a mountain as currently he sat on the bench.


    At that moment, arge man like him behaved like a meek boy, and it made him seem a little ridiculous.


    ¡°I¡¯m aware of that, but I deserved it.¡±


    A hint of surprise shed across Sonia¡¯s eyes and sheughed. ¡°You actually know that you deserved


    that? Not bad, Tyler. You are currently more charming than you were in the past.¡±


    Although she didn¡¯t meet him in person, their brief conversation that night allowed her to feel the boy¡¯s


    transformation.


    In the past, Tyler had been gloomy and he had a nasty personality. He had a strong ego that forbade


    him from hearing any harsh words or criticisms, and he would blow up whenever that happened. On


    top of that, the way he looked at people and the way he spoke was sharp and unfriendly.


    However, at present, all of that had vanished. Sonia couldn¡¯t see how his gaze was, but she could tell


    from the way he spoke that he had dropped the sharp tone and be much calmer. Besides, Tyler


    wasn¡¯t mad when she mocked him that night, which was why she was surprised that he had changed


    so much.


    She wondered what he had experienced in the past few months.


    When he heard Soniaplimenting that he was currently much more charming than he used to be,


    Tyler could feel happiness blooming in his heart and a silly grin appeared on his face. ¡°My dear sister-


    inw, does this mean that you like me now?¡±


    However, Sonia chuckled coldly in response. ¡°Says who? Don¡¯t overthink it. I still remember what you


    did in the past. You still have to wait for a long time before you can get me to like you.¡±


    The mild changes that he had portrayed was still insufficient to make her change her mind about him.


    And so, Tyler sighed in disappointment. ¡°The way you expressed it made me think that you have


    started to take a liking to the current me.¡±


    ¡°Dream on!¡± Sonia cold-heartedly uttered, to which Tyler pouted in displeasure.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Sonia, why are you so cold toward me? You have gotten back together with Toby, which suggests that


    you forgive everything that he has done, but how about me?¡±


    ¡°Stop it right there!¡± Sonia frowned and quickly interrupted him coldly. ¡°You want topare yourself


    with your brother? You should first see what he has done in these past couple of months. I was willing


    to forgive him and agreed to get back together with him not because of what he said, but because of


    what he did. How about you? You didn¡¯t do anything, yet you are asking for my forgiveness? Are you


    living in your own dreand?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Tyler¡¯s spirit drooped. ¡°Okay, I admit that I was being shameless. I was wrong.¡±


    Just now, he had indeed thought to ask for Sonia¡¯s forgiveness seeing that she had forgiven Toby.


    After all, since Toby had been forgiven, Tyler thought that it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for him to be forgiven


    as well.


    Therefore, it never urred to him that Toby had actually taken physical actions to obtain Sonia¡¯s


    forgiveness.


    Although she didn¡¯t state it clearly, judging from how serious her tone had been, Tyler understood that


    Toby must have done many important things in exchange for her forgiveness and for her to agree to be


    with him again.


    Inparison to Toby, Tyler, who had owed Sonia an apology for so long, had been shameless when


    he asked for her forgiveness.


    On the other end of the line, Sonia rubbed her temple. ¡°Alright, cut the crap. What¡¯s your purpose for


    calling me tonight?¡±


    Tyler rubbed the tip of his nose. ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯ve been undergoingpetition and training that are


    closed to the public, whereby I have restricted ess to electronic devices. Hence, I didn¡¯t know that


    you have gotten back together with Toby. I only learnt about this today after thepetition ended. I


    was excited, so I thought to give you a call to talk to you.¡±


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 790

    Chapter 790


    Chapter 790 Became More Mature


    Then, he chuckled. ¡°Sonia, are you happy?¡±


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Why would I be happy just because you called me? Are you some


    sort of treasure?¡±


    ¡°Although I¡¯m not a treasure, I¡¯m your younger brother.¡± Tyler raised his voice.


    ¡°My younger brother? I don¡¯t have a younger brother. Don¡¯t randomly associate yourself with me.¡± She


    had a look of disgust on her face as she said that.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t randomly associate myself with you. You are my brother¡¯s wife and I¡¯m his younger brother, so


    that makes me your brother as well,¡± Tyler immediately exined.


    The anxiousness in his voice inadvertently amused her. ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s drop it. You said that you


    called me the moment you got hold of your phone? Why didn¡¯t you call your brother? Aren¡¯t you afraid


    that he may be jealous?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Tyler pursed his lips. ¡°Toby feeling jealous? Both of us are grown men, so there¡¯s


    nothing to talk about between us. You yourself know that I¡¯m afraid of him, so I dare not call him. If I do,


    he will ask about my studies out of habit. He¡¯s that terrifying. I won¡¯t call him and I never will. He¡¯s a


    monster.¡±


    ¡°A monster, you say?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes, a yful smile by her lips as shemented, ¡°Tyler


    Fuller, you¡¯re so screwed.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?!¡± Tyler¡¯s heart skipped a beat. At that instant, he had a sense of foreboding.


    Sonia moved the phone further away from her ear before she jerked her head in the direction of the


    kitchen and yelled, ¡°Toby, your brother called. He said that you are a monster!¡±


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Upon hearing that, Tyler, who was on the other end of the line, was so shocked that he jumped


    to his feet from the bench, his face pale. Oh, no! Toby is with Sonia now and she actually reported to


    him about the bad things that I said to her about him. Cr*p! I¡¯m dead meat!


    Sure enough, when Tyler was on pins and needles, Toby¡¯s voice rang down the line. ¡°What? I¡¯m a


    monster?¡± Although the voice was soft, it was indeed Toby¡¯s.


    Toby really is with Sonia now! Cold sweat appeared on Tyler¡¯s face at that realization.


    Meanwhile, Sonia seemed to smell the fear exuded by the other person from the end of the line and


    she looked at Toby, who was walking in her direction while holding her dinner. Moving the phone back


    to her ear, she grinned and teased, ¡°Tyler, your brother¡¯s here. Do you want to speak to him?¡±


    ¡°N-No. I-I¡¯m all good.¡± Tyler shook his head vigorously to reject her offer. ¡°Sonia, I suddenly


    remembered that I have training right before the final round. The time¡¯s almost up, so I¡¯ll hang up first.


    We shall talk another time. I wish the two of you all the best in this new chapter in life and be happy


    forever!¡±


    With that, Tyler was about to quickly hang up the call.


    However, right before he did that, he thought of something again and a hint of guilt shed across his


    eyes. ¡°Also, Sonia, sorry for everything in the past. I sincerely apologize to you,¡± he whispered in a


    small voice with a flushed face.


    As soon as she said that, he immediately hung up the call before patting himself on his chest to calm


    his racing heart. Only then did he exhale in relief.


    He had finally apologized to her.


    Although he wasn¡¯t sure if Sonia would forgive him, he still had to show her his sincerity and apology


    no matter what her decision would be.


    Worsees to worse, he would try to do something for her after he went back in order to obtain her


    forgiveness, just like what Toby had done.


    With such thoughts in mind, Tyler finally felt a little relieved from all the guilt that had been weighing him


    down.


    ¡°Fuller, the training is about to begin. Coach asked me to call you over.¡± Just then, one of his


    teammates appeared at the door of the lounge and knocked on the door.


    ¡°Coming!¡± Toby kept his phone away, shing a smile at his teammate before he tossed the towel


    around his neck away. With an arm ced over his teammate¡¯s shoulder, Toby headed over to the


    training ground.


    Meanwhile at Bayside Residence, Sonia never expected Tyler to fear Toby to that extent. The moment


    he heard that Toby would be speaking to him, he was so frightened that he immediately hung up the


    call. In truth, his reaction was rather amusing.


    However, what surprised Sonia the most was the apology he had said right before the call ended.


    She understood the reason for his sudden apology¡ªhe had apologized for how he had treated her in


    the past six years.


    She knew Tyler very well. Ever since he had been young, he had a luxurious life and a prestigious


    family background. These had made him a proud man. All his life, he had never apologized to anyone,


    even if he had been at fault. The other person, no matter whether it was someone he was acquainted


    with or not, would be the one to apologize to him despite the fact that they might be the victim


    themselves. Yet, nobody had ever raised any question about this.


    Therefore, the fact that Tyler would actually apologize to her really astonished her. However, what


    came after the feeling of astonishment was the feeling of pleasure and content that he had actually


    be much more mature.


    ¡°What did you say earlier? That I¡¯m a monster?¡± On the other hand, Toby walked up to her with dinner


    and ced it on the coffee table. Then, he straightened up and looked at her in displeasure.


    It was apparent that he was unhappy that he was actually a terrifying monster to her.


    Seeing that he seemed a little upset, Sonia understood that he had misunderstood her. In response,


    she held her forehead helplessly and smiled. ¡°Not me. It¡¯s your younger brother who said that.¡±


    ¡°Tyler?¡± Toby frowned.


    Sonia hummed in response. ¡°Your brother called me earlier. We talked about you and I asked him if he


    wanted to speak to you, but he said that he didn¡¯t want to. He called you a monster, and that he didn¡¯t


    want to speak to one.¡±


    As a matter of fact, she didn¡¯t exaggerate anything; all that she said was true.


    Toby¡¯s expression instantly fell. ¡°A monster?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded and continued, ¡°He said that you will question his studies every time you talk to him


    over the phone. To someone like him who dislikes studying, you are exactly like a monster.¡± She


    laughed gloatingly.


    Seeing that she wasughing at him, Toby reached out his hand to pinched her cheek. ¡°Is it that


    funny?¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia nodded with bright eyes. ¡°Of course. This is the first time I ever hear someone calling you a


    monster. This is really hrious!¡±


    Toby flicked her on her forehead, feeling helpless the whole time. If it was any other person who dared


    tough at him like this, he would have beat the crap out of this person.


    However, if it was Sonia, he would always tolerate her.


    ¡°Alright, stopughing. Hurry up and eat. Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Toby pushed dinner toward her. ¡°As for


    Tyler, I have my way to deal with him,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°How are you going to deal with him?¡± Sonia asked curiously as she picked up the cutlery.


    He narrowed his eyes menacingly. ¡°I¡¯ll send him a few sets of exercise books and have his coach


    watch over him to make sure that he finishes them. I¡¯ve checked the calendar; they will have their final


    competition soon, so he will probably be back next week. When he returns, I¡¯ll check his homework. He


    can forget about ying basketball if he doesn¡¯t finish them.¡±


    Sonia inhaled sharply, then gave him a thumbs-up. ¡°That¡¯s harsh,¡± she eximed, thinking whether it


    was her fault that Tyler would soon face this tragedy.


    In a short span of a week, Tyler was expected toplete a few exercise books. She reckoned that


    only God would have such capabilities¡ªat the very least, it would be impossible for Tyler, who was an


    underachiever in academics, to pull it off. Therefore, it was clear that this punishment was especially


    harsh for Tyler.


    Sure enough, those who were in the business had described Toby urately. He was known as the


    Demon of the Business World¡ªvengeful, petty, always holding grudges, and cruel. All of these were


    exactly his quality.


    He was even able to bring himself to treat his own biological brother so cruelly, let alone outsiders.


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯sment, Toby chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m doing that for Tyler¡¯s own good. Speaking of


    which, why did he call you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing important. He finally got his hands on his phone and he learnt that we have reconciled, so he


    called up to talk to me.¡± Sonia took a sip of the warm stew.


    Upon hearing that, Toby nodded lightly. ¡°Don¡¯t pick up his call too often.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Sonia was puzzled when she heard that.


    He pursed his lips and muttered, ¡°Because he¡¯s a man.¡±


    In response, Sonia looked at him speechlessly. After a while, she said, ¡°Toby, he¡¯s still a kid and he¡¯s


    your younger brother. Why are you jealous over this?¡±


    He looked into her eyes and repeated, ¡°But he¡¯s a man.¡±


    In the end, Sonia was at a loss for words.


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 791

    Chapter 791


    Chapter 791 Toby¡¯s Trap


    We won¡¯t be getting anywhere like this. His concern is never whether Tyler is his brother or he is still a


    teenager; instead, Toby¡¯s concern lies in the gender of the person that I¡¯m in touch with¡ªhe won¡¯t be


    happy as long as that person is a man. His possessiveness is pissing me off, but it is hrious at the


    same time.


    Sonia held her forehead helplessly. ¡°Alright, alright. I will try to not pick up his call so often, okay?¡±


    Anyway, Tyler would being back soon, so she reckoned that he wouldn¡¯t have the chance to call


    her often since they would be speaking face to face. She wouldn¡¯t say this out loud to Toby, of course.


    Upon hearing that Sonia agreed to his request, Toby curled up his thin lips and his mood instantly lifted.


    Sonia put down the spoon and said, ¡°Speaking of which, Tyler has be more mature. He even


    apologized to me just now.¡±


    ¡°Why did he apologize to you all of a sudden?¡± Her words instantly put a frown between his brows and


    his expression tensed. ¡°Did he bully you during the call just now?¡±


    Sonia was stunned and she was unable to understand how he arrived at this conclusion. Although it


    was funny, she felt warm inwardly due to his concern.


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°He apologized for his past behaviors.¡±


    Toby¡¯s overreaction subsided a little and he gradually calmed down when he heard that. With his chin


    slightly lifted, he responded, ¡°That¡¯s something he should do. My mother¡­ I mean Jean, should


    apologize too, but I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t force her to apologize to you. She was the one who raised me,


    so I¡¯ll bear the responsibility by apologizing to you on her behalf.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Sonia waved her hand. ¡°Both of you are different individuals, so you don¡¯t


    need to bear the responsibility on her behalf. Besides, I¡¯m willing to let this slide for your sake since I


    don¡¯t need her apology anyway. She doesn¡¯t need to apologize to me since it won¡¯te from the


    bottom of her heart even if she does. So, there¡¯s no need for her to do anything. Anyway, I won¡¯t be


    living under the same roof as her. Let¡¯s just live our own lives and not meddle with each other¡¯s lives.¡±


    Toby chuckled in response. ¡°Of course. I said that the unit at the Skrk Tower will be our future home.


    Although it is not as huge or luxurious as the Fuller Residence, it¡¯s still sufficient to be a home that


    belongs to only the two of us. What do you think?¡±


    In fact, a smaller house felt more like a home. If the house was too huge, it would sometimes feel


    empty and cold even if two people who loved each other lived in it.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine as long as we don¡¯t live with Jean,¡± Sonia replied with slightly flushed ears.


    Upon seeing that, Toby stroked her hair. ¡°Great. Okay, time to dig in. The food is getting cold.¡±


    Sonia hummed in agreement. The next second, something seemed to cross her mind when she looked


    at him in concern as she asked, ¡°Have you eaten?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes. I had Tom send me food. I initially wanted to wake you up so that you could join me,


    but I didn¡¯t after giving it some thought. Hence, I left you some food.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up at that time?¡± asked Sonia in puzzlement while she ate.


    A gleam shed across Toby¡¯s eyes. He leaned back, the back of his head resting against the couch as


    he stared at her with a gaze so passionate and intense it was as though he was about to devour her.


    Then, he flirted with her in a husky voice, ¡°Because I want you to have a good rest so that you won¡¯t be


    able to fall asleep at night. If you can¡¯t fall asleep, you will have the energy to keep mepany


    tonight.¡±


    In response, Sonia dropped the cutlery in her hand and itnded on the coffee table, making a thud.


    She waspletely bbergasted.


    If you can¡¯t fall asleep, you will have the energy to keep mepany tonight. The short sentence kept


    lingering in her head without any signs of disappearing.


    She suddenly recalled the promise she had made to him in his office earlier that day, that she would


    apany him that night, and coupled with his words earlier¡­


    Boom! At that instant, blood rushed to her head and her whole face turned as red as blood. She red


    at the man with her almond eyes that had various emotions shing across them. In short, Sonia was


    utterly embarrassed.


    Never in a million years would she have thought that the reason behind Toby refusing to wake her up


    and allowing her to continue sleeping was actually this.


    This man is downright shameless!


    More importantly, she indeed felt incredibly energetic at the moment.


    On normal days, she would at least feel a little exhausted at that hour. However, that wasn¡¯t the case at


    that moment; she was in great spirits.


    Thus, it was apparent that his n had seeded.


    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Toby pretended to not notice her using eyes. He cleared his throat


    and added with a straight face, ¡°Hurry up and eat. You will have strength after you eat.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll have the strength to keep up with you in our activityter,¡± she growled through gritted


    teeth as she clenched her fists tightly.


    Toby raised his dashing brows at her as he cleared his throat lightly. ¡°You have misunderstood me.


    That¡¯s not what I meant. I merely want you to eat until you are full. It¡¯s not healthy for your body if you


    don¡¯t eat enough.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± She rolled her eyes at him as she countered, ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯ll buy that?¡±


    Toby averted his gaze guiltily and fell silent because even he himself didn¡¯t believe that.


    After all, the exnation that followed after saying that she would have strength after she ate didn¡¯t


    sound believable at all.


    Seeing that Toby remained silent, an enraged Sonia pped the table. ¡°I¡¯m not eating. I¡¯m so pissed


    that I don¡¯t have the appetite to eat anymore!¡±


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    ¡°Are you really not eating?¡± He narrowed his eyes, to which she hummed in response and said, ¡°Not


    eating.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then.¡± With that, Toby rose to his full height and walked up to her.


    Upon seeing his reaction, Sonia somehow had a sense of foreboding. Subconsciously, she lifted her


    butt and nudged herself to the side, shouting at him warily, ¡°What are you going to do? Stand right


    there! Don¡¯te any closer!¡±


    Ignoring her, he went up to her and bent over to carry her in his arms. ¡°Since you have filled your


    stomach, let¡¯s do some workout to aid in digestion.¡±


    As he spoke, he carried her to the room.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was stunned again. Do some workout to aid in digestion? Why do I feel that I have dug


    myself a hole?


    At that instant, she finally realized that Toby was setting up a trap when he asked her if she was really


    not going to eat. That realization pissed her even more, causing her to hit him on his shoulder and


    bellow at him, ¡°Toby Fuller, you are utterly shameless! How dare you trick me?¡±


    Toby looked down at her and pushed the door to the room open with his foot, his voice containing a hint


    of a smile when he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t. I asked you if you want to continue eating and you said no. And so,


    your time after this will naturally belong to me.¡±


    Sonia was rendered speechless, but she then replied angrily, ¡°Who told you that my time will belong to


    you after I stopped eating? That doesn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s now night time,¡± he interrupted and reminded her.


    Upon hearing that, she blinked at him in response. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You promised to keep mepany at night, so it means that your time belongs to me after the sky


    bes dark. Having said that, I kindly gave you one to two hours to eat, but you didn¡¯t cherish the


    time you had. My kindness has gone down the drain so after this, you have to keep mepany,¡± Toby


    eximed and sighed, using her for being heartless as he ced her on the bed.


    Sonia was dumbfounded. Why does he sound like I¡¯m the one being ungrateful now? I did say that I¡¯ll


    keep himpany at night, but I didn¡¯t say that all my time after the sky became dark belongs to him.


    He is making things up! Not only that, he even used that to trick me! That¡¯s really too much!


    Sonia red at him furiously. Then, her red lips parted. She was just about to say something when


    Toby suddenly lowered his head and captured her lips with his, blocking all that she wanted to say.


    Soon, hot and passionate sounds echoed in the room, causing the embarrassed moon to hide behind


    the clouds. It was almost daybreak when everything returned to quiet.


    Previous Post


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    Chapter 791 Toby¡¯s Trap


    We won¡¯t be getting anywhere like this. His concern is never whether Tyler is his brother or he is still a


    teenager; instead, Toby¡¯s concern lies in the gender of the person that I¡¯m in touch with¡ªhe won¡¯t be


    happy as long as that person is a man. His possessiveness is pissing me off, but it is hrious at the


    same time.


    Sonia held her forehead helplessly. ¡°Alright, alright. I will try to not pick up his call so often, okay?¡±


    Anyway, Tyler would being back soon, so she reckoned that he wouldn¡¯t have the chance to call


    her often since they would be speaking face to face. She wouldn¡¯t say this out loud to Toby, of course.


    Upon hearing that Sonia agreed to his request, Toby curled up his thin lips and his mood instantly lifted.


    Sonia put down the spoon and said, ¡°Speaking of which, Tyler has be more mature. He even


    apologized to me just now.¡±


    ¡°Why did he apologize to you all of a sudden?¡± Her words instantly put a frown between his brows and


    his expression tensed. ¡°Did he bully you during the call just now?¡±


    Sonia was stunned and she was unable to understand how he arrived at this conclusion. Although it


    was funny, she felt warm inwardly due to his concern.


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°He apologized for his past behaviors.¡±


    Toby¡¯s overreaction subsided a little and he gradually calmed down when he heard that. With his chin


    slightly lifted, he responded, ¡°That¡¯s something he should do. My mother¡­ I mean Jean, should


    apologize too, but I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t force her to apologize to you. She was the one who raised me,


    so I¡¯ll bear the responsibility by apologizing to you on her behalf.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Sonia waved her hand. ¡°Both of you are different individuals, so you don¡¯t


    need to bear the responsibility on her behalf. Besides, I¡¯m willing to let this slide for your sake since I


    don¡¯t need her apology anyway. She doesn¡¯t need to apologize to me since it won¡¯te from the


    bottom of her heart even if she does. So, there¡¯s no need for her to do anything. Anyway, I won¡¯t be


    living under the same roof as her. Let¡¯s just live our own lives and not meddle with each other¡¯s lives.¡±


    Toby chuckled in response. ¡°Of course. I said that the unit at the Skrk Tower will be our future home.


    Although it is not as huge or luxurious as the Fuller Residence, it¡¯s still sufficient to be a home that


    belongs to only the two of us. What do you think?¡±


    In fact, a smaller house felt more like a home. If the house was too huge, it would sometimes feel


    empty and cold even if two people who loved each other lived in it.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine as long as we don¡¯t live with Jean,¡± Sonia replied with slightly flushed ears.


    Upon seeing that, Toby stroked her hair. ¡°Great. Okay, time to dig in. The food is getting cold.¡±


    Sonia hummed in agreement. The next second, something seemed to cross her mind when she looked


    at him in concern as she asked, ¡°Have you eaten?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes. I had Tom send me food. I initially wanted to wake you up so that you could join me,


    but I didn¡¯t after giving it some thought. Hence, I left you some food.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up at that time?¡± asked Sonia in puzzlement while she ate.


    A gleam shed across Toby¡¯s eyes. He leaned back, the back of his head resting against the couch as


    he stared at her with a gaze so passionate and intense it was as though he was about to devour her.


    Then, he flirted with her in a husky voice, ¡°Because I want you to have a good rest so that you won¡¯t be


    able to fall asleep at night. If you can¡¯t fall asleep, you will have the energy to keep mepany


    tonight.¡±


    In response, Sonia dropped the cutlery in her hand and itnded on the coffee table, making a thud.


    She waspletely bbergasted.


    If you can¡¯t fall asleep, you will have the energy to keep mepany tonight. The short sentence kept


    lingering in her head without any signs of disappearing.


    She suddenly recalled the promise she had made to him in his office earlier that day, that she would


    apany him that night, and coupled with his words earlier¡­


    Boom! At that instant, blood rushed to her head and her whole face turned as red as blood. She red


    at the man with her almond eyes that had various emotions shing across them. In short, Sonia was


    utterly embarrassed.


    Never in a million years would she have thought that the reason behind Toby refusing to wake her up


    and allowing her to continue sleeping was actually this.


    This man is downright shameless!


    More importantly, she indeed felt incredibly energetic at the moment.


    On normal days, she would at least feel a little exhausted at that hour. However, that wasn¡¯t the case at


    that moment; she was in great spirits.


    Thus, it was apparent that his n had seeded.


    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Toby pretended to not notice her using eyes. He cleared his throat


    and added with a straight face, ¡°Hurry up and eat. You will have strength after you eat.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll have the strength to keep up with you in our activityter,¡± she growled through gritted


    teeth as she clenched her fists tightly.


    Toby raised his dashing brows at her as he cleared his throat lightly. ¡°You have misunderstood me.


    That¡¯s not what I meant. I merely want you to eat until you are full. It¡¯s not healthy for your body if you


    don¡¯t eat enough.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± She rolled her eyes at him as she countered, ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯ll buy that?¡±


    Toby averted his gaze guiltily and fell silent because even he himself didn¡¯t believe that.


    After all, the exnation that followed after saying that she would have strength after she ate didn¡¯t


    sound believable at all.


    Seeing that Toby remained silent, an enraged Sonia pped the table. ¡°I¡¯m not eating. I¡¯m so pissed


    that I don¡¯t have the appetite to eat anymore!¡±


    ¡°Are you really not eating?¡± He narrowed his eyes, to which she hummed in response and said, ¡°Not


    eating.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then.¡± With that, Toby rose to his full height and walked up to her.


    Upon seeing his reaction, Sonia somehow had a sense of foreboding. Subconsciously, she lifted her


    butt and nudged herself to the side, shouting at him warily, ¡°What are you going to do? Stand right


    there! Don¡¯te any closer!¡±


    Ignoring her, he went up to her and bent over to carry her in his arms. ¡°Since you have filled your


    stomach, let¡¯s do some workout to aid in digestion.¡±


    As he spoke, he carried her to the room.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was stunned again. Do some workout to aid in digestion? Why do I feel that I have dug


    myself a hole?


    At that instant, she finally realized that Toby was setting up a trap when he asked her if she was really


    not going to eat. That realization pissed her even more, causing her to hit him on his shoulder and


    bellow at him, ¡°Toby Fuller, you are utterly shameless! How dare you trick me?¡±


    Toby looked down at her and pushed the door to the room open with his foot, his voice containing a hint


    of a smile when he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t. I asked you if you want to continue eating and you said no. And so,


    your time after this will naturally belong to me.¡±


    Sonia was rendered speechless, but she then replied angrily, ¡°Who told you that my time will belong to


    you after I stopped eating? That doesn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s now night time,¡± he interrupted and reminded her.


    Upon hearing that, she blinked at him in response. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You promised to keep mepany at night, so it means that your time belongs to me after the sky


    bes dark. Having said that, I kindly gave you one to two hours to eat, but you didn¡¯t cherish the


    time you had. My kindness has gone down the drain so after this, you have to keep mepany,¡± Toby


    eximed and sighed, using her for being heartless as he ced her on the bed.


    Sonia was dumbfounded. Why does he sound like I¡¯m the one being ungrateful now? I did say that I¡¯ll


    keep himpany at night, but I didn¡¯t say that all my time after the sky became dark belongs to him.


    He is making things up! Not only that, he even used that to trick me! That¡¯s really too much!


    Sonia red at him furiously. Then, her red lips parted. She was just about to say something when


    Toby suddenly lowered his head and captured her lips with his, blocking all that she wanted to say.


    Soon, hot and passionate sounds echoed in the room, causing the embarrassed moon to hide behind


    the clouds. It was almost daybreak when everything returned to quiet.

 Chapter 792

    Chapter 792


    Chapter 792 President Fuller Is an Incubus


    Looking at the woman who was sleeping in his embrace, Toby knew that she must have been


    exhausted, and he med himself as he felt bad for her.


    He knew that he did not hold back this night, but this wasn¡¯t exactly his fault either.


    What man could hold it in when doing the most intimate thing in the world with the woman they loved


    the most?


    Rubbing his forehead, Toby thought of apologizing to Sonia after she woke up and buying a present for


    her.


    At that thought, he carried Sonia to the bathroom before washing her and himself up. It was only then


    that he did sleep, with the woman in his embrace.


    Yet, Toby did not sleep for long. At around 7 AM, he was already awake. After washing up and putting


    on his clothes, he then pecked Sonia¡¯s cheek and exited the room silently, leaving Bayside Residence.


    The idea that was pushed forth the day before was unanimously voted on by everyone. So naturally, he


    would have his fair share of work cut out for him today.


    The reason he had to leave so early was because he needed to go inspect every factory. Otherwise,


    Toby would¡¯ve apanied Sonia until she woke up.


    ¡°Morning, President Fuller.¡± In the parking lot, Tom, who had been waiting beside Toby¡¯s car for quite a


    while, immediately extinguished the cigarette and greeted him while standing up straight the moment


    he saw Tobying.


    Toby greeted him with a nod. Then, he ordered Tom, ¡°Tell Daphne that Little Leaf will be arrivingte to


    Paradigm Co. today.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Tom immediately knew what was up. He nodded after a shortugh. ¡°I


    understand, President Fuller.¡±


    He¡¯s good, making Miss Reed unable to get up as usual and go to work. Now I see how capable the


    president is in that area.


    Toby nced sideways at Tom after catching himughing.


    Understanding that he had exposed his somewhat dirty side, Tom immediately stoppedughing and


    tried to cover it up with a cough. With a straight face, hemented, ¡°Sorry, President Fuller. I¡¯ve a


    somewhat sore throat today.¡±


    Not in the mood to care about such things, Toby instead opened the door and boarded the car.


    While Tom was fastening his seatbelt after hurriedly getting into the driver seat, he heard another order


    coming from behind him, ¡°When it¡¯s about 9 AM, let the hotel prepare a set of breakfast and send it to


    her residence, but don¡¯t knock. Let the waiter stand at the door and only give it to Little Leaf when she


    wakes up. Don¡¯t let them disturb her sleep.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± Tom nodded.


    With no further orders, Toby then took out his phone, lowering his head and looking at the screen.


    At the same time he put away his phone, Sonia¡¯s phone in her room also buzzed as the screen lit up.


    Hearing the buzzing, Sonia, who was still on the bed, frowned and moved her eyes around, looking like


    she was about to wake up.


    But s, due to her eyelids feeling like metal shutters, she could not open them up after trying for quite


    some time, so she just gave up and went back to sleep.


    It was a phone call that thoroughly woke her up after sleeping for another two to three hours.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Sonia, who still had not opened her eyes, only used her hand to reach in the direction of the


    bedside table.


    With the habit of putting the phone at the bedside table before sleeping, she reached for her phone on


    the first try. Then, using muscle memory, she unlocked the screen and put the phone to her ear.


    At the other side, Daphne only heard a sleepy and hoarse sounding Sonia struggling to get up. After a


    bit of silence, the former proceeded to speak, ¡°Chairman Reed, it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ªDaphne.¡± Recognizing the woman¡¯s voice, Sonia rubbed her eyes before finally opening them.


    Lying t on the bed, she gazed at the lights on the ceiling.


    Nodding, Daphne replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me, Chairman Reed. Have you¡­ just woken up?¡±


    Daphne asked this in a careful tone.


    In the morning, she had already received a call from Toby¡¯s assistant, Tom, informing her that Sonia


    woulde in veryte today, as usual.


    Daphne then realized that Sonia and Toby must have done the deed the night before. Otherwise, why


    would she show upte?


    If it was the old Sonia, she would clock in to thepany on time everyday but ever since she handed


    herself to Toby these few days, she did not show her face at Paradigm Co. at all.


    Sonia was supposed toe today, but there was still no sight of her even as it approached the


    afternoon. It turned out that she was still on her bed, asleep.


    My word! I did not think that President Fuller would be such an incubus that would suck Chairman


    Reed dry! What a devilish man!


    Not knowing what Daphne wasining deep down, Sonia only felt her face flush, as she looked


    toward the other side of the bed when her secretary asked if she was already awake or not.


    The space beside her had already been empty for some time, seeing as how it was cold to the touch. It


    seemed like Toby was already long gone, but she did not know since when.


    Angry and embarrassed, Sonia cursed the man deep down for not even waking her when he woke up.


    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be stuck in this situation, needing her own secretary to ask her if she had


    woken up or not.


    At this point, Sonia was quite certain that Daphne knew the reason why she woke up sote.


    This is so embarrassing that I could die!


    Covering her face, Sonia replied in a helpless voice, ¡°I¡¯m getting up now.¡±


    Since Daphne already knew that she just woken up, what else could she do except admit it?


    Sonia¡¯s dignity had no meaning to it now, so she might as well just admit it.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Daphne murmured with a light chuckle.


    Rubbing her temples, Sonia then sat up.


    After a whole night¡¯s worth of ¡®extreme exercising¡¯, her body, although still sore, was feeling much


    better than the day before.


    The most important thing was, she could feel Toby using the same amount of vigor as before, but she


    did not feel as ufortable as back then.


    Obviously, this meant that her body was slowly adapting to this kind of thing.


    This conclusion made Sonia¡¯s face flush again.


    Even she did not know whether this was considered a good or a bad thing.


    But she was absolutely certain that for Toby, it was a good thing.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Coughing awkwardly, Sonia quickly repressed such dirty thoughts and changed the subject, instead


    asking about her secretary¡¯s intention in calling her. ¡°Right, Daphne, why are you calling me at this


    time? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing too important.¡± Adjusting her sses, Daphne then put on a serious expression.


    ¡°Yesterday, you said that a woman would be apologizing to you through the Inte, and that you didn¡¯t


    want any maliciousments to surface that would make it into a cyberbullying incident. You wanted


    me to closely monitor the public rtions side, right?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± Nodding, Sonia then asked, ¡°And? Did that woman, Anya, apologize?¡±


    ¡°She did.¡± Daphne nodded. ¡°At 8 AM today, she went live on the Inte after informing the reception


    of her intentions. She publicly apologized to you, Chairman Reed. Then, she proceeded to cry her


    heart out and said sorry profusely. It all sounded quite unpleasant.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows. ¡°Did she do anything else?¡±


    If even her apology could disgust Daphne, that meant that there¡¯s more than meets the eye.


    ¡°You guessed right, Chairman Reed. Even though she did not do anything out of ce, I could not hear


    any sincerity from her apology. Even when her tone when she was directly apologizing to you was like


    it was you who wronged her instead of the other way around. And she intentionally cried so tragically,


    trying to sway the public¡¯s opinion and making it seem like she was forced to do so by the president.


    That b*tch pisses me off so much!¡± Daphne said agitatedly.


    Although Sonia had a smile on, there was no trace of joy in her gaze. Instead, her gaze looked sharp


    and cold. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t get so worked up now. She¡¯s not wrong in trying to sway public opinion as I did


    force her to apologize publicly like this.¡±


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 Chapter 793

    Chapter 793


    Chapter 793 Something Nourishing for His Body


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± After Daphne calmed down for a moment, she came to realize that it really was like what Sonia


    had said.


    Touching her nose, Daphne then awkwardly muttered, ¡°Chairman Reed, even if it was you who forced


    her to apologize, she was at fault for the whole incident first. If you didn¡¯t force her, she wouldn¡¯t have


    apologized at all. So, you forcing her isn¡¯t wrong. It¡¯s her acting like you wronged her and her making


    you out to be the bad guy that makes me disgusted.¡±


    Smiling, Sonia then said sarcastically, ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯ll always meet delusional people who don¡¯t


    think they are in the wrong. It is always someone else¡¯s fault in their minds.¡±


    Tina was such a person.


    I wonder which hole is Tina hiding in right now.


    Tim said that he had poisoned her two times using the venom of the sago palm. This kind of poison can


    make a person contract the most painful and incurable sickness in the world¡ªALS.


    Tina was not born with it and she would not be directly affected by the sickness, but her body would still


    start to stiffen after being destroyed by the venom.


    That was why Sonia and Toby had been trying to find Tina through doctors that specialize in treating


    ALS. However, after searching for so long, they only found out that those doctors had not diagnosed a


    person simr to Tina, nor were they invited to give a private diagnosis somewhere else.


    This only meant that Tina¡¯s body had not started to siffen, as each individual was different. Tim also


    was not able to ensure that her body would show signs of the sickness working, only saying that the


    chances of her body having problems would be higher.


    The alternative conclusion was that Tina¡¯s body had started to stiffen but in order to not get discovered,


    she did not go for a diagnosis and just let her body stiffen slowly. This was not that far-fetched of an


    idea.


    After all, she was a ruthless person not only to others, but to herself as well.


    Inhaling deeply, Sonia decided to not think about her any longer, as it made her more and more


    frustrated.


    ¡°What is the Inte¡¯s take on this?¡± Sonia asked as she moved her neck around.


    Subsequently, Daphne replied, ¡°Because you had ordered them earlier on, the PR department has


    been doing their job since the start. Although the opinion is against you due to Anya whining, the


    problem isn¡¯t that big as the PR department has practically silenced all such thoughts. There wasn¡¯t


    much of a ssh caused by the incident this time around. Although some media outlets did contact me


    and wanted to ask about the details of her apology video, I just ignored them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can just continue to ignore them. No matter who asks, don¡¯t entertain them.¡± Sonia waved


    her hand.


    Nodding, Daphne then suggested, ¡°I understand, but Anya intentionally behaved that way to sway


    public opinion, Chairman Reed. Do you want to¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Pursing her lips, Sonia continued, ¡°I know what you¡¯re trying to get at. Just leave


    this kind of person be. The more you care about this, the more excited she¡¯ll be. She might even do


    something to frame us bullying her. We¡¯ll be on the losing end if that happens. Just treat her as air,


    since we won¡¯t be bumping into each other anytime soon, so we don¡¯t have toe into contact with


    her anymore.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Hearing Sonia say that, Daphne also chose to give up. ¡°Alright, then. I know what to do.¡±


    Sonia hummed in agreement. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing more, I¡¯ll be hanging up now. I will be at thepany


    before noon.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne nodded.


    Putting her phone down, Sonia then looked at the time.


    It was 10.20 AM.


    Turned out that she didn¡¯t actually sleep that long.


    She still remembered that when she was going to sleep yesterday, she could vaguely see twilight


    breaking the sky outside her window¡ªit was a little over 5 AM then.


    That meant Sonia had only slept five to six hours, which wasn¡¯t a long sleep at all.


    But this only applied to her because she had gone to sleep sote.


    For a normal person who slept before midnight, she did wake up toote.


    After switching away from the clock on the screen, Sonia then noticed a message from Toby, which he


    had sent a little after 7 AM.


    So that¡¯s how early he woke up and left in the morning!


    Does that mean that he didn¡¯t sleep for the whole night?


    Pursing her lips and frowning slightly, Sonia thought, Can his body handle it, him not sleeping for a


    whole night?


    Although she was very tired, she wasn¡¯t the one that was exerting herself constantly¡ªthat was all Toby.


    The person who did not do much was exhausted to the point of falling asleep, which could only mean


    that the person who exerted themselves constantly would not exactly be in a state of bliss.


    In conclusion, Toby was definitely lethargic.


    But he did not even sleep in for a while and instead, he left so early. Does he really think of himself as a


    robot?


    With a dark expression, Sonia was a bit angry yet worried for Toby.


    It wasn¡¯t something she would care about if he wasn¡¯t her man.


    Feeling frustrated, she tousled her hair before opening up Toby¡¯s message to see what he had sent.


    However, the anger inside her was extinguished after reading through. Smiling resignedly, she


    mumbled, ¡°Always looking out for me. You should think about yourself too, you know.¡±


    The content of the message was that Toby had informed her that he had arranged breakfast to be sent


    over to her room at around 9 AM. If she hadn¡¯t woken up then, the person would be waiting at the door


    for her to wake up, then they would finally hand the breakfast over. The message did not say that the


    deliverer would knock on the door to inform her that breakfast had arrived.


    This must have been specially ordered by him because he wants me to sleep longer.


    The man always did something so warm that it would calm her down after she flew into a rage¡ªthe


    breakfast and the pajamas she had on was a ssic example.


    When Sonia fell asleep yesterday, she had nothing on. But now, she was wearing a sleeping robe and


    her body was feeling fresh. Obviously, Toby had cleaned her up.


    So how could she be angry when such an attentive man existed?


    Tapping on her screen, Sonia replied with a ¡®okay¡¯ before pushing back the covers and standing up.


    Ignoring her body¡¯s difort, she walked to the entrance and opened the door.


    As expected, there was a person squatting beside the door.


    Wearing the hotel¡¯s waiter¡¯s uniform, he had a delivery box at the side as he squatted there, ying


    games with his phone out of boredom.


    Hearing the door beside him open, the waiter immediately turned and looked. Seeing Sonia, he quickly


    put his phone away as he happily greeted her, ¡°Miss, you¡¯re finally awake.¡±


    How could he not be happy? He had already been waiting here for over an hour. At that point, his legs


    were all numb from squatting. Now, he could finally go back and continue his job since the person he


    had been waiting for came out.


    Seeing the waiter¡¯s bright eyes staring at her, Sonia understood his feelings andughed apologetically.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I overslept. You must have waited for a long time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no issue.¡± Waving his hand, the waiter then opened the box before taking out the breakfast from


    within. Handing it over to Sonia, he announced, ¡°Miss, this breakfast was ordered for you by Mr. Fuller.


    Since it has been kept inside the cooler box, it should still be warm, so you can eat it straight away.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you so much.¡± Sonia took the breakfast and she could feel the heating from the


    container. She smiled sincerely in response.


    Slinging the box over his shoulders, the waiter then replied, ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure. Enjoy your breakfast,


    Miss. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±


    Sonia hummed in response and nodded.


    Turning around, the waiter then left, and Sonia closed the door after seeing him walk away. Holding the


    breakfast, she then sat down at the dining table and started to eat.


    As Sonia was eating, she kept thinking if she should send something over to Toby as well.


    Since he didn¡¯t rest at allst night, should I send something nourishing to him, like stew or something


    else?


    After all, sending something else that would not give his body a boost would be inappropriate.


    Also, judging by how Toby still hasn¡¯t replied to her message yet, he should still be busy.


    Not sleeping all night and then working himself to the bone now¡­ How can his body still function?


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 794

    Chapter 794


    Chapter 794 I Will Never Be His Daughter


    The more she thought about it, the more she was worried about Toby¡¯s current condition. In the end,


    Sonia decided to make some nutritious stew and bring it over to him. Being his girlfriend, her making


    some stew for him was natural.


    With such thoughts, Sonia quickly ate her breakfast. After bringing the trash out, she went out to the


    supermarket nearby to purchase the necessary ingredients for the stew.


    As it was still early before she would go to work in the afternoon, she had ample amount of time to


    make the stew.


    After picking through the ingredients, Sonia chose beef bone as the base, thinking of making beef stew


    for Toby.


    Beef stew was filled with nutrition. On top of that, it had the added advantage of strengthening one¡¯s


    body. On such a cold day, a beef stew would also certainly help in warming up the body.


    She believed that Toby would like it very much.


    Holding the beef in her hand, Sonia smiled lightly, putting it into the basket before walking to the


    cashier to pay.


    When she returned to her residence, it was already 11.30 AM.


    Walking to her block, she saw a familiar silhouette standing in front of the elevator just as she was


    about to call for it.


    The person, who had her head slightly lowered, had her hands in front while clutching onto her


    handbag tightly. Standing there, she looked like she was in a daze, as she did not even notice a person


    approaching her side.


    Looking at the person, Sonia pursed her lips slightly and frowned before asking in a t tone, ¡°Miss


    Gray? Why are you here?¡±


    Hearing Sonia¡¯s voice made the persone back to her senses, and she raised her head to look at


    Sonia. When she saw Sonia, she could not hide the instant of panic that shed across her face but


    after quickly calming down, she tightened her grip on her bag as she forced out a smile. ¡°Oh¡ªhello,


    Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia stared at her. ¡°Do you also have a unit here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Rina answered honestly and she shook her head.


    This made Sonia frown deeper. ¡°Since you don¡¯t, then why are you here? Don¡¯t tell me that you just so


    happen to talk a walk and end up here? Eastbourne is literally on the opposite end.¡±


    After a few seconds of silence, Rina suddenly stared back at her. ¡°Miss Reed, I didn¡¯t end up here on


    my walk. I came here just to look for you.¡±


    ¡°Look for me?¡± Although Sonia frowned, she was not at all surprised by Rina¡¯s answer.


    That was because she had already guessed that Rina appearing here was for her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything between us that would warrant a face to face talk. Tell me, Miss Gray,


    why do you want to meet with me?¡± Clutching the grocery bag, Sonia asked bluntly.


    Biting her lip, Rina then uttered, ¡°I don¡¯t have any ulterior motives ining here. I just want to ask you


    a question.¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Sonia would not even pick up her call, she wouldn¡¯t evene here in


    person.


    ¡°A question?¡± Sonia peered at her. ¡°What kind of question can make youe over personally, Miss


    Gray?¡±


    Tightening her grip on her handbag again, Rina said, ¡°Miss Reed, my father¡¯s condition is getting


    worse. The doctors have said that if this continues, he might have less than half a year left.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Sonia looked at her indifferently.


    Drawing in a deep breath, Rina continued, ¡°My father urgently needs a kidney transnt now, so I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait just one second!¡± With a dark expression, Sonia spoke coldly. ¡°So, youing here was just to


    persuade me to donate a kidney to Titus? If that is the case, please leave. I think that there¡¯s nothing


    more to talk about here.¡±


    Sonia then proceeded to make a gesture, indicating for Rina to leave. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to leave on


    your own two feet, I can always trouble the guards to remove you from the premises. Your choice, Miss


    Gray.¡±


    Panicked, Rina then grabbed onto Sonia¡¯s arm. ¡°You misunderstand me, Miss Reed. I didn¡¯te this


    time to¡ª¡±


    However, before Rina could finish her exnation, Sonia interrupted her yet again, ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    Lowering her gaze, thetter looked at the hand that wastching onto her arm with a disgusted


    expression.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she was afraid of the grocery bag tearing apart or dropping onto the floor,


    she wouldn¡¯t even have voiced out to make Rina let go. Instead, Sonia would¡¯ve just pushed the


    woman away.


    Feeling the seriousness emanating from Sonia, Rina also knew that her actions had triggered her. Her


    expression stiffening, she released her grip in the end, feeling a bit angry too.


    If it wasn¡¯t for her father, why would she even submit herself to such treatment?


    After all, she wasn¡¯t the Taylor that everyone could bully anymore. She was now the Gray Family


    Young Mistress, Rina Gray, and this meant that her status was the same as Sonia¡¯s.


    Hence, Rina could totally not choose to swallow her anger.


    But she knew that this was the only way for now. For the sake of her father and her own future, she had


    to bear with whatever Sonia had to say.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    Breathing in deeply, Rina then managed to squeeze out a smile before apologizing to Sonia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,


    Miss Reed. I didn¡¯t mean to grab onto you. It was just that I was too agitated.¡±


    Looking at the other woman coldly, Sonia then looked at her own sleeve, which was all wrinkled due to


    Rina¡¯s hands grabbing onto it. This made her boil inside.


    Looks like I¡¯ll have to change again.


    ¡°Miss Reed, I didn¡¯t reallye here this time to persuade you to donate a kidney to my father. I just


    wanted to ask you¡­ I-If Titus was your father, would you go through with the transnt?¡± Ignoring


    Sonia¡¯s look of disdain, Rina clenched her fists and asked the question she came here for.


    Upon hearing this, Sonia, who was still trying to smooth out her sleeve, looked up at Rina with a


    perplexed gaze. ¡°Miss Gray, have you gone mad?! Are you actually asking me this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad!¡± Looking at the floor, Rina had a flurry of emotion within. ¡°I¡¯m serious. I really want to


    know that if Dad was your father, would you go through the operation, Miss Reed?¡±


    After staring at Rina for a while, Sonia realized the other woman was nervous, so she smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t


    know why you are asking this kind of funny question, but I can tell you right now that the answer is no.¡±


    In a state of disbelief, Rina stared at her wide-eyed. ¡°But why?! Miss Reed, I¡¯ve already stated if he was


    your father. Do you not even want to donate a kidney to your own father?¡±


    ¡°I would of course be willing to go through the transnt for my own father, but it is on the condition


    that my father wasn¡¯t such a evil b*stard like Titus Gray!¡± Sonia stated her answer without hesitation.


    This shocked Rina beyond words. ¡°You¡­ How could you be so cold? Even if your father was evil, he¡¯s


    still your father, right? How could you not even save your own father?¡±


    ¡°Why would I save an evil man? Indeed, saving him might show my piety but at the same time, I would


    be resurrecting a devil. He would only continue to wreak havoc upon society after this, and goodness


    knows who else will be his prey? So for the greater good and for the lives of others, I would rather


    let him die off. Hey, people might even praise me for being sensible.¡±


    Looking at her, Sonia then continued, ¡°Also, there are no ¡®ifs¡¯ in this world, and I will never be Titus¡¯


    daughter. I¡¯m not sure why you came all the way just to ask me some weird question. Whatever


    motives you¡¯re harboring, I¡¯ll have you know that I will never save him. So, you should give up on


    persuading me.¡±


    After stating her thoughts, Sonia passed by Rina and went into the elevator.


    Looking at the elevator doors slowly closing, Rina finally snapped back to reality. With a contorted


    expression, she looked at Sonia, who was gradually disappearing from her line of sight. Clenching her


    teeth, Rina growled, ¡°I¡¯ve already given you a chance, Sonia. It was you that did not cherish it, so don¡¯t


    me me for what happens next!¡±


    If one did not stand up for themselves, there would be no ce for them in this vast world.


    Rina wasn¡¯t afraid even if Toby was protecting Sonia. She needed to risk it all for her own future


    happiness.


    Dad cannot die!


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 795

    Chapter 795


    Chapter 795 Daphne¡¯s Teasing


    Although Sonia didn¡¯t hear what Rina muttered to herself at the end, she did see the change in Rina¡¯s


    expression the moment the elevator doors slid shut.


    The ferocious expression, so full of hostile intent, was intimidating enough to make Sonia shudder.


    She knew Rina was looking at her like that because the answer she gave wasn¡¯t what Rina wanted.


    What Rina wanted was for her to agree to donate a kidney to Titus, regardless of whether he was her


    father.


    However, Sonia simply wouldn¡¯t agree, and that was what had Rina so enraged.


    In truth, it was quite amusing. Sonia had no idea what Rina was thinking of and where she found the


    gall to assume that Sonia not only would, but was supposed, to save Titus.


    For Rina to even bring up the hypothetical, where Titus was Sonia¡¯s father!


    Titus Gray, my father?


    As Sonia stared at the elevator disy, she sneered internally.


    How can that be possible?


    It would be a tragedy to her if he were.


    After all, she was raised by the Reeds. What would she even do if she was trapped between them and


    the biological father who ruined them?


    Was she supposed to continue helping them seek revenge?


    Or was she supposed to give up seeking revenge and return to her father¡¯s side?


    No matter which path it was, Sonia had no way of choosing.


    If she chose the former, she would be cast aside by society as the demon who could harm even her


    biological parents.


    If she chose thetter, she would still be cast aside by society as the traitor who abandoned the foster


    parents who treasured her.


    That was why either path was a dead end for her. The only thing she could do was entirely dissolve the


    enmity between the two families in the most peaceful way possible.


    As for what the most peaceful way was, it would be giving up her life in exchange for the dissipation of


    the feud between the families.


    As long as Sonia died, she would not need to seek revenge on behalf of the Reeds.


    As long as she died, the Grays would perhaps recognize that they had wronged the Reeds, choosing to


    let everything go and atone for their past sins. After all, the Reeds had raised her.


    That way, not only would she not need to face her biological parents, but she would be able to make up


    for the wrongful treatment of the Reeds. No one else would need to pay for this feud with their lives¡ª


    only her.


    How ideal that would be!


    Of course, before all of that, Titus Gray and his wife would need to be her biological parents.


    Since they weren¡¯t, Sonia didn¡¯t need to worry about what problems would arise from the feud between


    the Grays and the Reeds. With a clear conscience, she could plunge the de of revenge into the


    Grays on behalf of the Reeds.


    On that note, Zane had mentioned the establishment of a business investigation team. In Seafield, it


    would be investigating the Triforce Enterprise and one other business.


    By now, the investigation team had reached the neighboring city of Fredburg, and they would be at


    Seafield by the next month and begin investigations on Triforce Enterprise.


    There was definitely something fishy going on at the Triforce Enterprise.


    If the skeletons in its closet were dug out next month, would Titus get so angry that he perished on the


    spot, especially now that his health was so poor?


    At the thought of that possibility, Sonia couldn¡¯t help feeling gleeful.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    Ding!


    Just then, the elevator reached its destination.


    Taking a deep breath, she calmed the emotions in her heart and exited the elevator with the paper bag


    in hand. Once she returned to her apartment, she began making the stew.


    By the time the stew was made, it was nearly 1 PM.


    With a thermos in hand, she drove all the way to Paradigm. Co..


    At first, she had wanted to deliver it to the Fuller Group right away, but had received a phone call from


    Daphne in the middle of the trip telling her that there was an important document that urgently needed


    her signature. With no other choice, Sonia could only return to thepany.


    ¡°Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°Good afternoon, Chairman Reed.¡±


    After she walked through the front doors of Paradigm Co., all of the employees she met on the way


    stopped to greet her.


    In response, she nodded with a smile at all of them.


    Very quickly, Sonia reached the top floor, whereupon she stepped out of the elevator to see Daphne


    waiting by her office door.


    As she waved at Daphne, thetter smiled. ¡°Good afternoon, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°G-Good afternoon.¡± Sonia then coughed with some embarrassment.


    While she was able to calmly respond to the previous employees¡¯ greetings, she wasn¡¯t able to achieve


    that with Daphne, since Daphne knew the reason she had only just arrived here.


    That was why Sonia felt somewhat awkward as she was responding to her secretary.


    However, Sonia was gradually growing a thicker skin nowpared to before. As long as she didn¡¯t


    meet Daphne¡¯s eyes, she could more or less pretend nothing had happened and open her office door


    with false indifference.


    Since Sonia hadn¡¯t been to the office in a couple of days, there was a stuffy smell inside.


    Immediately, Daphne walked over to the windows and opened all of them to allow fresh air through.


    Dropping her purse, Sonia smiled at Daphne. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    With a shake of her head, Daphne answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me, Chairman Reed. This is


    part of my job.¡±


    ¡°That may be so, but it still wouldn¡¯t be polite.¡± Sonia smiled and pulled out her chair to sit down.


    Walking over to stand in front of her desk, Daphne suggested, ¡°Perhaps you should give me a key so


    that I can help you tidy up your office if you¡¯re unable toe for a few days, Chairman Reed.¡±


    The words instantly made Sonia¡¯s face heat up. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®unable toe for a few days¡¯?


    Don¡¯t speak nonsense.¡±


    Watching her with amusement, Daphne continued, ¡°I¡¯m not speaking nonsense. Haven¡¯t the past two


    days been proof?¡±


    Feeling her cheeks warm even further, Sonia stared at the secretary who had rendered her speechless.


    Finally, pretending to be annoyed, she picked up the plush toy on her desk and tossed it at Daphne. ¡°I


    see you¡¯ve grown bold enough to tease me now.¡±


    Meanwhile, Daphne smoothly caught the toy and returned it to the desk with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry,


    Chairman Reed. I was only joking. But to tell you the truth, you¡¯re looking rather fine today.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Sonia felt her own cheeks.


    Daphne nodded. ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a blush on your cheeks that makes you look much prettier than usual,


    all thanks to President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°What does it have to do with him?¡± Not having caught Daphne¡¯s meaning yet, Sonia raised her


    eyebrows.


    It wasn¡¯t until she noticed Daphne watching her silently with the tiniest hint of a smile that Sonia


    suddenly understood what her secretary was implying.


    And just like that, the blush that had barely faded came back in full force. Annoyed and exasperated,


    she red at her secretary. ¡°If you keep up with this, Daphne Robinson, I¡¯m going to get really angry.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll stop.¡± With a smile, Daphne waved a hand to indicate that she would behave.


    Sonia harrumphed in response. ¡°Now give me the document.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Daphne rubbed her cheeks and reverted to her usual no-nonsense, school teacher


    demeanor before handing the document over.


    As Sonia epted the document and signed it, she instructed at the same time, ¡°By the way, please


    have someone deliver this to Fuller Group in a minute.¡±


    She tapped the thermos next to her with a pen.


    Pushing her ck-framed sses up her nose, Daphne inquired, ¡°Is this for President Fuller, Chairman


    Reed?¡±


    Instantly, she guessed correctly.


    With a glimmer in her eyes, Sonia simply nodded and told the truth. ¡°Yes. As you know, he was in a car


    ident the other day and although he wasn¡¯t severely injured, I still wanted to make him some stew in


    case his body needed supplemental nutrition.¡±


    There was no way she would admit to the real reason she thought he needed ¡®supplemental nutrition¡¯


    being the previous night and not the car crash.


    If she said such things out loud, Daphne would no doubt begin another round of teasing.


    That¡¯s why Sonia chose to remain silent.


    Sure enough, Daphne epted her reasoning at face value and didn¡¯t ask any further questions.


    Instead, the secretary simply picked up the thermos. ¡°I¡¯ll have Andrew drop it off, since he¡¯ll be passing


    byter.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Do as you see fit.¡± Sonia nodded and handed the signed document back.


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 796

    Chapter 796


    Chapter 796 Miscalction


    Upon receiving the document from Sonia, Daphne left with it, along with the thermos. After she left,


    Sonia leaned back in her chair. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she breathed out a sigh of relief.


    All of a sudden, she was realizing how much Daphne had changed during this period. The Daphne


    from the past was stern, all business, and so devoid of facial expression as to be intimidating.


    However, this Daphne was different. Not only was she no longer as strict and inflexible, but she had


    warmed and gentled to the point where she could even joke around with Sonia. A good example was a


    few minutes ago when she had dared to tease Sonia.


    Moreover, it seemed like her sense of style had changed from before. Although the changes weren¡¯t


    too obvious and she still wore the same old ck-colored business suit and A-line skirt, she no longer


    wore heels and had switched them out for a pair of soft-soled shoes instead.


    That said, Sonia wasn¡¯t going to put too much thought into it. Perhaps Daphne had grown bored of


    heels and simply wanted to try out a new style. Even though Daphne didn¡¯t often dress up, she was still


    a woman. And like many other women, she still wanted to look pretty sometimes.


    With that thought in mind, Sonia shook her head with a small smile and picked up her cell phone to let


    Toby know that she was having someone deliver him stew. However, before she did so, she checked


    her Messenger to see if he had replied to her.


    Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t. That alone showed her how busy he was during this period.


    Sighing, she speedily tapped out a few words on the screen. After checking to make sure that there


    were no errors, she sent the message. And then, once it was sent, she exited the app and picked up


    her pen to begin working.


    Meanwhile at therge factory under the Fuller Group banner, Toby finally finished inspecting the


    various workshops and departments in the nt. He then emerged through the front doors wearing a


    white protective suit.


    The moment Tom saw Toby, he strode over. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    Instead of going with Toby to inspect the factory, he had been out and about handling the matter with


    Damon, and had only just managed to rush to the factory in time to wait for Toby to emerge.


    Taking off his suit and tossing it to Tom, Toby asked, ¡°Did you get everything handled?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded above the protective suit in his arms. ¡°With the audio recording, Damon and his


    lackeys will be unable to exin things away. I¡¯ve handed everything I heard over to the police, and the


    police have contacted the Business Investigation Department for arrests. They scared Damon¡¯s


    lackeys so much that theckeys naturally capitted and confessed to everything Damon was doing.


    With the way this is going, Damon will be jailed for at least 10 years.¡±


    At that, Toby smiled coldly. ¡°In gratitude for him being a founding member of the Fuller Group, I once


    hinted at him to keep in line and cede his ce to the younger generation before he became hated by


    them, but he would not listen. It¡¯s his own fault that he¡¯s ended up this way.¡±


    While Toby would admit that he wasn¡¯t a good person, he would not say that he was a bad one. All


    along, he had treated those who contributed to the Fuller Group with a measure of kindness and


    tolerance.


    As long as these people minded their ce, he could sometimes provide them with the highest honor.


    Yet, there were always people who assumed he was easily bullied and would pick on him in order to


    get things that weren¡¯t theirs. Since that was the case, they couldn¡¯t me him for being merciless.


    Just like that, something so cold shed through Toby¡¯s eyes, and anyone who saw it would have


    shuddered.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Tom nodded in approval behind Toby.


    The thing was, Tom couldn¡¯t understand what those people were thinking either. As a shareholder, they


    didn¡¯t even have to do anything to earn money. Wasn¡¯t that a good thing?


    It was ridiculous for them to still be fighting for power at their age, especially when what they held was


    nothing inparison to what Toby did. Even if they got that bit of power, who would they pass it to


    after they died? Theiryabout, good-for-nothing children?


    At any rate, those who didn¡¯t calcte their odds before trying to stir up a fuss deserved the end they


    met with. By now, Damon was already 60. When he was released from prison, he would be 70, and his


    health would already have been wrecked by his stay. What would it all have been for?


    Feeling nothing but scorn for Damon and his gang, Tom curled his lip.


    ¡°By the way, President Fuller, you were right. After finding out that he wouldn¡¯t escape thew this time,


    Damon made ns to sell his shares. The person he¡¯s chosen is Wesley Barber. He wishes to incite


    Wesley¡¯s greed and turn Wesley into his sessor¡ªyour future antagonist,¡± Tom reported as he


    walked to the car with Toby.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    After narrowing his eyes, Toby sneered, ¡°He¡¯s chosen the wrong person, then. Wesley would never


    agree.¡±


    Tom chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re also right on that front. Mr. Barber indeed would not take over Damon Lore¡¯s


    shares.¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡± Toby opened his car door and got into the car. ¡°Wesley is obsessed with his art and has


    never interfered withpany affairs in the decades that he¡¯s been a shareholder, let alone been as


    ambitious as Damon. Clearly, Damon doesn¡¯t understand Wesley. Does he think every shareholder


    who doesn¡¯t have power or position in thepany is as ambitious as him?¡±


    ¡°Indeed! Clearly, Damon doesn¡¯t know that Mr. Barber seeks you out every year hoping you¡¯ll buy his


    shares from him so that he can use the money to search for his own artistic spirit.¡± Pushing his sses


    up his nose, Tom continued with a chuckle, ¡°Speaking of which, he¡¯s soon toe and seek you out


    this year to sell his shares, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    At that, Toby¡¯s expression softened slightly. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to buy them. I still need him to be a


    figurehead. How could I let him go just like that?¡±


    The Wesley Barber that they were referring to was also a founding member of the Fuller Group. Not


    only did hee from the same batch as Damon, he was also the Fuller Group¡¯s secondrgest


    shareholder, with 5 percent of thepany¡¯s shares.


    Damon, knowing that he had lost to Toby with no way out and still wanting to leave him with the


    inconvenience of another enemy, had been prepared to sell the 3 percent of shares that he owned to


    Wesley. That way, thetter would be ambitious and fight for his side.


    Of course, for a shareholder of such arge group, 8 percent of shares was an incredible amount. Any


    regr person would be greedy and ambitious enough to be dissatisfied with the previous


    idleck of rights and decision-making power.


    That was why it was actually a smart move on Damon¡¯s end.


    However, what he failed to foresee was that Wesley was not a regr person. From the start, Wesley


    had no intention of remaining at the Fuller Group, nor was he greedy for money and power. His biggest


    dream was to be able to travel the world with an easel on his back and leave behind nothing but a


    soulless, enigmatic graffiti-style oil masterpiece. That was why pigs would have to fly before Wesley


    bought Damon¡¯s shares.


    If Wesley had a choice, he would sooner have sold his shares to Damon so that he could extract


    himself and leave.


    The only reason Toby needed some old shareholders to remain at the Fuller Group was to let the


    outside world know and see that he was not a despot who would switch out the old shareholders the


    moment he rose to his position. That was why he could not allow Wesley to leave.


    That being said, he had reserved Wesley¡¯s shares a long time ago and once Wesley was old enough,


    Toby would naturally purchase Wesley¡¯s shares and allow the man to leave.


    Once Tom heard Toby¡¯s exnation, heughed gleefully. ¡°Mr. Barber must be so angry right now that


    he has steaming out of his ears.¡±


    ¡°He can be cated with a set of the newest oil-painting tools,¡± Toby answered lightly.


    It was obvious just how he appeased the old shareholder every year.


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 797

    Chapter 797


    Chapter 797 Tom¡¯s Speechlessness


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have someone ready a set of oil-painting tools for the next time Mr. Barber gets angry.¡± Tom


    chuckled, to which Toby hummed in response. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you to decide.¡±


    Nodding, Tom switched his smile into a frown. ¡°Although Mr. Barber wouldn¡¯t agree to buy Damon¡¯s


    shares, Damon won¡¯t sell them to us either, President Fuller. He says he would rather sit in jail with his


    shares than make things easy for us.¡± Looking at Toby, he then asked, ¡°How do you want to deal with


    this?¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t make things easy for us?¡± Toby repeated as he crossed his legs. His expression was not easily


    distinguishable in the shadows, but the crook of his smile could lead someone to guess that he was in


    a very bad mood and was suppressing his anger at this moment. ¡°Does he think that I wouldn¡¯t be able


    to get the shares I had my eyes on even if he wouldn¡¯t sell them to me?¡± Suddenly clenching his fists,


    he continued, ¡°No, I will make him voluntarily sell those shares to me.¡±


    ¡°You have a solution, President Fuller?¡± Tom hurriedly turned to him.


    At that point, Toby looked up and said coldly, ¡°He has a son who likes betting, doesn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded andmented, ¡°However, after the son was severely beaten and shut up at home


    by Damon, he¡¯s rarely gone to bet. He doesn¡¯t really have the money to, for the most part.¡±


    Toby snorted. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, have someone draw his son out. I want his son to fall into the habit of


    betting again and losing everything he has. When the timees, go and visit Damon in prison, and


    he¡¯ll voluntarily sign the share sales agreement. After all, he has only one son and will not bear to


    watch the boy be crippled by his creditors just like that. No, Damon would find a way to help his son


    clear all those debts.¡±


    At that point, no one could me Toby for using such vicious and indiscriminate methods.


    After all, Damon himself was the one who insisted on challenging Toby¡¯s limit despite thetter¡¯s initial


    tolerance.


    Not to mention that if Toby had been the one to lose today, Damon wouldn¡¯t have spared him so easily.


    Besides, all was fair in the business world. Weren¡¯t such vicious methods simply the way things


    worked?


    Sure enough, Tom didn¡¯t have any objections to Toby¡¯s suggestion, and he simply nodded without


    hesitation. ¡°Roger that, President Fuller. I¡¯ll have it arranged. There¡¯s another thing¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell me.¡± Toby pulled out his cell phone and spun it around a few times, thereafter tapping on the


    screen to get it to light up.


    In truth, he had only wanted to check the time, not expecting that there would be two unread messages


    on his phone from Sonia.


    The pleasant surprise made his expression gentle by quite a bit.


    After that, he quickly opened the messages to see what Sonia had sent.


    The first one was her thanking him for having someone deliver her breakfast. The second was to say


    that she had made him some stew and that someone was delivering it to the Fuller Group.


    The message was from about half an hour ago.


    Since Paradigm Co. was more than an hour from the Fuller Group, it was obvious that the stew hadn¡¯t


    been delivered yet.


    If Toby rushed back now, he would likely be able to receive the stew himself.


    ¡°Drive!¡± he snapped immediately, mming his phone down.


    Since Tom was still thinking about what he wanted to say to Toby, the suddenmand made him


    jump and choke on his own spit. After coughing a few times, he asked with a red face, ¡°Did something


    urgent happen, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby grunted in acknowledgment, not bothering to borate.


    Having no other choice, Tom could only shut up and start the car.


    It wasn¡¯t until the car had left the factory that Toby suddenly asked about the previous topic. ¡°You said


    there was something else. What was it?¡±


    Silently, Tom grimaced.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    He had assumed that Toby had forgotten.


    After tugging on his necktie with one hand, he finally admitted with a cough, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important, just


    that thewyer I sent out to discusspensation with Anya Steinfeld returned this morning, saying


    negotiations wereplete.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Toby nced up to meet Tom¡¯s eyes through the rearview mirror. ¡°How much is she paying?¡±


    ¡°She agreed to cover the maintenance costs of the car without hesitation and transferred 300,000 into


    our ount just like that. That¡¯s not even taking into consideration your medical bills and follow-up


    treatment expenses,¡± Tom replied.


    Startled, Toby paused before narrowing his eyes. ¡°She paid 300,000 for fixing the car, just like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded.


    ¡°She must be rich.¡± Toby scoffed at that.


    Not finding anything was amiss, Tom agreed with a chuckle, ¡°After all, she did get full-body stic


    surgery. Someone who could do that naturally isn¡¯t poor.¡±


    Toby hummed. ¡°Well, since we¡¯ve beenpensated, you needn¡¯t keep an eye on her anymore. She¡¯s


    just an unrted stranger.¡±


    ¡°Alright, President Fuller. I understand.¡± Once again, Tom nodded.


    With that, Toby closed his eyes and ended the conversation. He was starting to look forward to the


    stew that Sonia made him.


    He had no idea what kind of stew it was either.


    As he thought about it, Toby found the smile on his face deepened to the point where he couldn¡¯t


    suppress it no matter what.


    Witnessing Toby¡¯s lovesick expression through the rearview mirror, Tom couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes.


    There was no doubt Toby was thinking about Sonia again.


    Why would he smile so freely otherwise?


    Now he was just mocking Tom as a bachelor!


    Despite the resentment in his heart, Tom didn¡¯t dare to say anything out loud and only continued to


    drive quietly.


    Nearly an hourter, they arrived at the Fuller Group.


    At first, Tom was about to drive the car directly into the parking lot, only to have Toby stop him by


    instructing, ¡°Stop at the front entrance.¡±


    Although he was surprised, Tom did as he was told and stopped at the entrance of thepany


    building.


    When Toby first officially took over the Fuller Group, he had ordered that no one be allowed to park


    outside the front entrance, even just temporarily.


    Now, it turned out that the first person to break that rule was none other than Toby himself.


    It wasn¡¯t the only time he had broken a rule, either¡ªthere was also the time when his cell phone had


    rung during a meeting.


    As Tom heard from the people who attended that meeting, Toby got angry once the phone started


    ringing¡ªassuming it belonged to someone else¡ªonly to discover that it was his own cell phone in the


    end.


    And then, once he looked at the phone, his anger not only dissipated but turned into a smile.


    No doubt the ringing was because of a call or message from Sonia.


    At any rate, it was due to Sonia that Toby broke multiple rules of his own. What Tom didn¡¯t know was


    simply what particr reason Toby had this time for breaking his own rules.


    After stopping, Tom opened the car door and got out of the car.


    At first, the security guard by the door stepped up to chase him away, only to immediately halt in his


    tracks once he saw who it was. And then, he turned and returned to his position to continue standing


    guard.


    If the driver was Tom, the person in the backseat had to be Toby.


    That was why it was best he pretended he didn¡¯t see any rules being broken.


    No one in their right mind would chase their boss away unless they wanted to lose their job!


    ¡°We¡¯re here, President Fuller.¡± Tom opened the rear car door for Toby.


    After climbing out of the car, Toby straightened up, dusted off his suit, and strode toward the main


    entrance.


    Dutifully, Tom followed behind Toby until he reached the security guard. Tossing the keys to the security


    guard, he instructed, ¡°Move the car to the parking lot.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Brown,¡± the security guard hurried to answer, catching the keys before jogging over to the car


    and driving off to park.


    After checking to make sure that the security guard was doing his job, Tom continued to follow Toby.


    When he saw Toby stop at the front desk, he asked curiously, ¡°Are you looking for something,


    President Fuller?¡±


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 Chapter 798

    Chapter 798


    Chapter 798 The Laughing Stock of the Company


    Toby ignored him and rapped his knuckles against the top of the front desk.


    The receptionist at the front desk was in her seat with her head low as she jotted something down into


    her files, and she didn¡¯t notice that there was someone at the counter at all until she heard the knock.


    She put her pen aside and looked up, only to see that the person in front of her was none other than


    the big man himself.


    She jumped in her seat and stammered, ¡°P-President Fuller!¡±


    Toby frowned, but he didn¡¯t look like he nned on giving her a hard time. He knew his presence was a


    terrifying one to entry-level employees, so he wasn¡¯t surprised to see how intimidated the receptionist


    was. In fact, he was already used to being greeted with such fear and respect.


    ¡°Did anyone from Paradigm Co.e by?¡± he asked after withdrawing his hand from the countertop.


    The receptionist blinked at him and repeated inquisitively, ¡°Paradigm Co.?¡±


    Toby hummed in response, and behind him, Tom immediately realized what was going on.


    Oh, so that¡¯s why he wanted me to park the car outside all of a sudden. He¡¯s breaking old habits for


    Sonia, Tom thought wryly. Then again, I should have known. Sonia is the only person who can make


    Toby give up his old habits and principles.


    ¡°No, President Fuller,¡± the receptionist replied dutifully.


    Toby pursed his lips. Looks like the person in charge of delivering the soup isn¡¯t here yet.


    Upon seeing Toby¡¯s lowered gaze, Tom cleared his throat and took the initiative to ask, ¡°President


    Fuller, did Miss Reed ask someone to drop something off for you?¡±


    Toby nodded slightly in affirmation.


    Tom chuckled. He then adjusted his sses and said, ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you go up to your office


    first and I¡¯ll stay here to look out for the delivery guy? I¡¯ll bring whatever it is up to youter.¡±


    He cast a sidelong nce at Tom, and it looked as though he was telling him to stay out of his


    business. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± he said curtly. ¡°I will personally sign off on anything she delivers to


    me, so don¡¯t be bothered by this.¡±


    At the sight of this, the corner of Tom¡¯s lips twitched with the urge to snap back at him. Excuse me?


    Why do you think I¡¯m offering my services? It¡¯s all because of you, you jerk! After all, no assistant would


    want to see their own boss waiting for a delivery at the front desk like some hapless fool. It was only


    right for him to make the offer because it was well within his job scope as an assistant.


    And yet, instead ofplimenting me on being a good employee for offering to help, this guy decides


    to take it the wrong way and implicitly use me of wanting to take his special stuff! The audacity of


    him! Who cares if you¡¯re in love, President Fuller? It¡¯s not a big deal.


    At that moment, Tom vowed to himself that he would and he must find a girlfriend soon. If he has to


    deal with Toby and Sonia¡¯s sickening lovey-dovey moments any longer, he might go insane.


    Although he was cursing in his head, the poor assistant maintained a professional smile that perfectly


    concealed his disgruntlement.


    Meanwhile, Toby was not one to guess Tom¡¯s thoughts. He sat down on the chair the receptionist had


    pulled up for him and crossed his legs leisurely while waiting for the delivery guy to show up.


    It took about an hour to get to Fuller Group from Paradigm Co., and he had taken the same amount of


    time just to get back from the factory. If his estimation was correct, the delivery guy would arrive


    anytime soon.


    At the thought of this, Toby raised his arm and nced at the time. Then, he tapped his fingers


    absentmindedly against the tops of his knees. His eyes were fixed on the main entrance of the


    company building, and there was no hiding the anticipation that glittered in his obsidian orbs.


    Now that he was determined to stay and wait at the front desk, Tom couldn¡¯t very well leave him alone.


    As such, he pulled up a seat behind Toby and sat down to wait with him.


    Behind them, the receptionist at the front desk stared helplessly at the two most important men in the


    company sitting alongside her. The smile on her face was nearly frozen as she thought, What in the


    world is going on here? Why are these two big shots sitting here still?


    The pressure of having them sit so close to her was crazy. She couldn¡¯t even focus on her work, and


    she dared not breathe too loudly for fear that they might suddenly look at her or notice her presence.


    She wanted to sigh. Her cheeks were already stiff from all the smiling, and she cursed at fate¡¯s dark


    humor.


    In the receptionists¡¯ group, the women would either brag about the number of times they had seen Toby


    or discuss his breathtakingly handsome face. There were even times when this receptionist would


    dream of Toby showing up in front of her and letting her stare at his unreal beauty to her heart¡¯s


    content. That way, she would be the most enviable and luckiest girl among her colleagues.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    And now, her fantasy was realized; Toby had indeed shown up in front of her and sat down by her work


    station. However, she did not dare to stare at him and take in his handsome face like a lovesick


    schoolgirl as she had fantasized. She didn¡¯t even dare to sneak a nce at him, fearing that if she did,


    he would suddenly turn around, catch her staring at him, and fire her right away.


    After all, there had been examples where female subordinates and employees in the group had stalked


    Toby around the building and stared at him from afar. They were all dealt with by Toby and Tom, and


    they never showed up again for work.


    As such, every female employee in Fuller Group dared not act upon their fantasies of Toby. They didn¡¯t


    want to gamble away their careers before they could even bring their hopes to reality. More importantly,


    if they were fired from thepany, it would show on their record and affect their job-hunting


    prospects.


    Don¡¯t look. You can¡¯t look and you mustn¡¯t! The receptionist gripped her pen tightly as she told herself


    this over and over. Do not even think about peering at President Fuller!


    While Toby¡¯s presence was giving her immense pressure, the receptionist was determined to hold out


    until after he left. However, the nerves she was feeling at the moment reflected the unease of the other


    employees who walked through the lobby. As such, they were undoubtedly nervous as well.


    None of them had expected the president to be sitting at the front desk instead of lounging in his cushy


    office. If they didn¡¯t know any better, they would have thought that Toby was here to be a receptionist


    for a day or to ambush problematic employees.


    Either way, the employees who brushed through the lobby immediately slowed in their steps and


    lightened their footfalls when they caught sight of him. Moreover, they dared not so much as breathe as


    they lowered their heads like nervous schoolchildren and pretended they had not seen him. All of them


    were terrified that he would suddenly call their names and question them.


    However, as afraid as they were of him, they couldn¡¯t help finding this whole scene ridiculously funny.


    That much was understandable. After all, Toby and Tom stood at the top of the pyramid in Fuller Group,


    but each of them were sitting in a simple chair that did not, in any way,plement their fine clothes


    and intimidating aura. Not to mention, they were staring at the door from where they sat at the front


    desk. No matter how one looked at this, one had to appreciate the humor of it.


    When these employees were safely out of Toby and Tom¡¯s view, they sputtered and burst intoughter.


    Some of them even took out their phones and spread the hrious news to all theirpany group


    texts.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the entirepany to learn of their president¡¯s return, but instead of being cooped


    up in his office, the big man was seated at the front desk like some guardian deity. Not a single


    employee who heard about this refrained fromughing out loud.


    Presently, Tom was oblivious to the fact that he and Toby were now the biggest joke among their


    subordinates, but he could feel the shift in their expressions when they walked past the lobby. They had


    gone from looking shocked, to cautious, to wary, and eventually to amused. At some point, they looked


    like they were shaking with the effort to keep themselves fromughing.


    Oh, I know exactly what they want tough about! They probably think it¡¯s hrious to see me and


    President Fuller sitting here!


    In all fairness, it was quite the absurd sight for two important corporate figures to be manning the front


    desk in the lobby when they should be in the expansive and opulent confines of the president¡¯s office


    and sitting in fine armchairs.


    Here, they were warming up old stic chairs that had been upied by an indefinite number of


    people before them, allowing themselves to be in full view of the employees who walked in and out of


    the lobby.


    In fact, they should be handling all kinds of documents for multi-million business deals right now


    instead of sitting here and staring at the ss-door entrance like two mindless idiots.


    Whatever the case might be, Tom and Toby had officially humiliated themselves today.


    Tom had never been so embarrassed before. He decidedly kept his head down and pped a hand


    over his features, hoping that might save hisst shred of dignity.


    This is all President Fuller¡¯s fault!


    Toby, on the other hand, was solemn as he nced at his watch from time to time, which was the only


    other thing he did aside from staring at the entrance. He did not notice that he and Tom had be


    theughing stock of the entirepany at all.


    However, Tom knew better than to point this out to the man. It was bad enough that he had to endure


    this shame, and he didn¡¯t want to be snapped at in the process. My goodness¡­ he found himself


    musing. He sighed in frustration. Well, as things are, I can¡¯t do anything about us bing the butt of


    the joke, so what else is there for me to do other than to keep this guypany while he continues to


    wait?


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 799

    Chapter 799


    Chapter 799 Don¡¯t Even Think About It


    While Tom was resigned to this humiliation, he couldn¡¯t help but pray fervently that the delivery guy


    from Paradigm Co. would show up soon. If he did, then Tom and Toby would be spared from this


    embarrassment.


    Perhaps the heavens decided to take pity on Tom and moved to spare him and Toby from the awkward


    situation, because not long after that, a man in a suit came through the entrance with a thermal


    container in hand.


    As soon as Tom spotted the man, he stood up and announced enthusiastically, ¡°President Fuller, the


    guy from Paradigm Co. is here! I remember that thermal container he¡¯s holding because Miss Reed


    used it while she was taking care of you!¡±


    Toby had been ncing at his watch when he heard Tom¡¯s words and looked up immediately. Sure


    enough, the familiar thermal container came into view, and as for the man carrying it, Toby decided to


    pay no mind to him at all.


    A smile tugged on his lips as he rose from his seat and walked up to the man from Paradigm Co.


    On the other hand, the man was a little startled to see Toby approach him personally. ¡°President Fuller,¡±


    he greeted.


    ¡°Give it to me,¡± Toby said in clipped tones as he reached for the container.


    Without dy, the man quickly handed it over and smiled respectfully as he said, ¡°President Fuller, this


    is the soup Chairman Reed made for you and had me send over here. She also wants to remind you to


    drink it while it¡¯s hot.¡±


    Toby grabbed the thermal container and replied warmly, ¡°Thank you. You may go back now.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± the man said courteously with a nod.


    Then, Toby turned and headed for the elevators with Tom hurrying after him.


    It was only after the two of them had disappeared into the elevator that the receptionist let out a sigh of


    relief. Thank goodness, the two heads of Ceberus are gone! It was as if she had been brought back to


    life after turning into stone. She didn¡¯t have to gird her loins or bear with the suffocating pressure


    anymore!


    She wiped off the beads of cold sweat that had broken out over her forehead and smiled in tired relief.


    After that, she picked up her phone and immediately texted into the group chat to tell her colleagues


    what had happened.


    Everyone in the group mored to guess what Toby could have been doing at the lobby, and when it


    was revealed by the front desk receptionist that he had been there to personally collect the soup Sonia


    made for him, everyone burst into an uproar.


    None of them would have thought that he was there for such a simple reason, for it seemed too surreal.


    However, the female employees in the group chat seemed to have descended into a frenzy. Each of


    them thought it was incredibly romantic of Toby to wait in the lobby just so he could personally collect


    the soup Sonia had made for him. More importantly, it only went to show just how much he cared for


    and loved her. This is a fine example of a good man!


    Following that, the male employees in the group chat were mercilessly criticized for not being as


    romantic or considerate or devoted as Toby. s, they could make no retort even if they thought the


    criticism andparison were unfair. After all, they were beingpared to the president of Fuller


    Group, and any protest on their part could easily be construed as an insult to Toby.


    If they were caught muttering even a word of dissatisfaction about Toby, then it would only take 10


    minutes before their supervisors came up to them and demanded an exnation. As things were, they


    could do nothing but swallow their pride and reluctantly admit their own shorings.


    Meanwhile, Toby and Tom had returned to the office. Thetter was just about to ask if there were any


    documents to be sent to relevant departments in thepany when Toby spoke first. ¡°Bring me a


    bowl.¡±


    Oh, yes, by all means, set aside important work just so you can enjoy your precious soup, Tom thought


    sarcastically while suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. He maintained a smile as he very obligingly


    went into the utilities room to retrieve a bowl and a spoon.


    When he returned, he saw that Toby had already twisted open the lid of the thermal container. Sure


    enough, the soup was still piping hot, and white smoke unfurled from the opening of the container. This


    was coupled with the savory, appetizing scent of the bone broth.


    Tom took a sniff and swallowed as he stared longingly at the thermal container. ¡°President Fuller, Miss


    Reed sure has a way with making bone broth! That smells delicious!¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Toby agreed proudly as he lifted his chin at a haughty angle. My Little Leaf is the best at


    cooking, and the bone broth she makes is the finest there is!


    At the sight of Toby¡¯s smug look, Tom rolled his eyes. I¡¯m notplimenting you, so wipe that grin off


    your face, sir! But even as he thought this, he uttered not a single word and hurriedly passed the bowl


    and spoon over.


    Toby took the utensils and promptly served himself a bowl of soup.


    It was obvious to see that Sonia had stewed the bone broth for hours on end; the broth was milky-white


    in color, which only went to show that all the vor and goodness of the beef bones had been released


    and stewed over a slow fire.


    The soup was precious indeed.


    Tom swallowed once more as he stared at the milky-white soup with the spring onions sprinkled on top.


    He waspletely enamored with it. Look at that gorgeous coloring, he thought wistfully. This is driving


    me crazy. I can already imagine how good the soup will taste.


    With glittering eyes, he asked hesitantly, ¡°Uh, President Fuller¡­¡±


    Toby pulled up his seat and plopped down at the table. Then, he eyed Tom curiously. ¡°What?¡±


    Tom¡¯s gaze was fixed on the remaining soup in the container. He rubbed his palms together eagerly as


    he chuckled. ¡°President Fuller¡­¡±


    It was obvious what he was hinting at.


    A dark look passed over Toby¡¯s face as he asked, ¡°Do you want some too?¡±


    Tom¡¯s eyes lit up at this and he quickly nodded. ¡°Yes. I mean, Miss Reed is a brilliant cook, and that


    soup smells really delicious, so I was¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Toby cut him off ruthlessly and dashed his hopes.


    Tom gaped at him with wide eyes. ¡°But why, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby snorted and pointed out, ¡°My lover made me this soup, so no, you can¡¯t try it no matter what! If


    you want some soup, go find your own girlfriend and have her make it for you!¡±


    This rendered Tom so speechless and disappointed that he lowered his head. Find a girlfriend? Like it¡¯s


    that easy! If it weren¡¯t so difficult, why would I still be single at 30 years old?


    Upon seeing how dejected Tom looked, Toby put down his spoon and frowned in annoyance. ¡°What are


    you still standing there for? Get out. Don¡¯t think that I¡¯d take pity on you just because you¡¯re sulking


    over there. Go on.¡±


    He waved his hand to dismiss Tom impatiently. He even made it a point to pull the thermal container


    closer to him, making it seem as though he was terrified that Tom might snatch it and run away with it.


    The corner of Tom¡¯s lips twitched in disbelief. And now he thinks I¡¯m a soup robber? Come on! It¡¯s just


    a bowl of soup, and I couldn¡¯t care less about drinking it! He was lying to himself while cursing at Toby,


    but he forced a smile and said pleasantly, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get going then.¡±


    Toby did not spare him a second nce as he lowered his head and drank the soup in earnest.


    Tom pouted, and after giving the thermal container another wistful look, he sighed and walked out the


    door.


    After he left, Toby scoffed as a triumphant smirk tugged at his lips. You want to drink my soup? Over


    my dead body! Sonia is the one who made me this soup and no one gets to have it but me!


    He took another mouthful of soup as he fished out his phone to give Sonia a call.


    Sonia had only juste out of the washroom when she heard her phone ring. She flicked off the


    water droplets on her hands and walked up to her desk. When she grabbed her phone and saw Toby¡¯s


    name shing on the screen, she lit up considerably and swiped to answer the call without any dy.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    Toby¡¯s heart melted into a pool when he heard Sonia¡¯s voice. ¡°Hey, are you busy at the moment?¡± he


    asked softly.


    She shook her head on the other line. ¡°Not at all, but what about you? I didn¡¯t hear from you for the


    entire morning; you must have been so tied up with work that you didn¡¯t even have time to check your


    phone.¡±


    He hummed in response. ¡°I was checking up on things at the factory this morning and I didn¡¯t have time


    to check my messages, but I¡¯m free for now. I still have to visit the site two hourster, so I might be


    homete tonight. Have dinner without me and don¡¯t wait up, okay?¡± he said after drinking some soup.


    ¡°Okay, I got it,¡± she replied with a nod, but a frown quickly etched itself on her delicate face.


    He hadn¡¯t slept muchst night, and it was bad enough that he had to work for the whole day. Yet, he


    was going to have to work through the night as well.


    It¡¯s going to take a toll on his body.


    However, she sighed and did not try to persuade him to get off work early today. She was also the


    chairman of apany, and she knew it was impossible to just set work aside on a whim. After all,Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    they had their employees¡¯ livelihoods to consider.


    That said, she was still worried about how the workload might affect his body. As things stood, all she


    could do was to make sure he had all the right food. At the thought of this, she asked, ¡°By the way, did


    you get the soup?¡±


    Previous Post


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 Chapter 800

    Chapter 800


    Chapter 800 The Rival¡¯s Confrontation


    Toby hummed earnestly in response as he replied, ¡°I got it, and I¡¯m drinking it right now.¡± As he said


    this, he took up a spoonful of soup and slurped it loudly. ¡°Hear that?¡±


    Soniaughed and nodded. ¡°Yes, I heard it. How is it? I stewed it for ages just to get the vor right.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious,¡± he answered with a firm nod. Then, his brows drew together as he added, ¡°Tom was


    here too, and he wanted to give a taste after he saw how good it looked. He even asked me if I could


    spare him some.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She raised a brow in amusement. Sonia thenughed and said, ¡°If he truly thinks that way, then I


    must have disyed exemry culinary skills.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t let him try it, though,¡± Toby said huffily on the other line. ¡°You made the soup for me, and it¡¯s


    mine¡ªall mine! No one else gets to have it.¡±


    Upon hearing his stubborn tone, Sonia couldn¡¯t help being entertained. ¡°That¡¯s a little selfish of you,


    isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± He shook his head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to protect what¡¯s mine, so how is that selfish?


    Besides, you said you made the soup for me. It wouldn¡¯t seem right to let someone else have it too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± she agreed with a nod. She was admittedly gratified to hear how defensive he was over


    something she gave him. After all, it wasn¡¯t a pleasant feeling to know that the gift one gave a person


    was passed on to another. It¡¯s a good thing to see him appreciate the soup so much, she thought with a


    smile.


    Just then, she remembered something and said, ¡°By the way, Anya apologized to me today.¡±


    Toby stopped drinking his soup when he heard this, but quickly regainedposure as he nodded.


    ¡°Well, as long as she apologizes.¡±


    He had thought about getting someone to give her a reminder if she didn¡¯t apologize to Sonia in the


    next two days. After he swallowed his soup, he then asked, ¡°What was she like when she apologized?¡±


    He had been too busy today to follow up on these things, much less even hear about it.


    Sonia sputtered as she said, ¡°What was she like, you ask? Disgusting.¡±


    He frowned at this and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not actually a big deal or whatever, but¡­¡± She went on to tell him all about Anya¡¯s apology


    and the way she had gone about it.


    After hearing the details, Toby frowned.


    Sonia rubbed her temple in a tired manner and said, ¡°All in all, she basically misled theizens.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get Tom to handle this,¡± Toby offered in a stone-cold voice.


    She shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Daphne offered to take care of it too, but I turned her


    down. It¡¯s not like Anya and I are ever going to cross paths again, so I¡¯ll let this die off on its own. I


    never expected a genuine apology from her anyway, and I thought she might have had some dirty


    tricks up her sleeve. I guess you could say I saw thising, and whatever she did was not surprising


    at all. She¡¯s such an attention-seeking person that the more we try to get back at her, the more she


    would pester us. Let¡¯s just ignore her from now on.¡±


    The gloomy look on Toby¡¯s face waned after he heard this, and his tone was considerably less stony as


    he muttered, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let this go.¡±


    Although he sounded like he was willing to turn a blind eye to this, he had no ns of doing so. After


    all, he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to hurt Sonia without paying the price. She was kind-hearted, but he


    certainly was not.


    He had been merciful enough to give Anya a way out when he asked her to apologize to Sonia. Little


    did he know that the girl would end up making trouble when she could have had an easy escape.


    In that case, she will reap what she has sowed.


    At the thought of this, Toby narrowed his eyes dangerously.


    Meanwhile, on the other line, Sonia smiled when she heard that he was going to let this matter go.


    s, she had no idea that the petty and vengeful man she called her lover was already nning to get


    Anya back for her misdeeds.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Following this, they moved on to another topic, and they hung up the call shortly after exchanging


    words of affection.


    ¡°Tom,¡± Toby called for his assistant as soon as he set his phone down.


    When Tom came into the office, he saw that Toby was standing at his desk while clearing away the


    utensils and carefully keeping the thermal container.


    He looked like the perfect house-husband. Tom quickly averted his eyes and thought grimly, How far


    has this guy fallen? This can¡¯t possibly be the same workaholic who couldn¡¯t even take care of himself


    on the daily.


    He never would have expected Toby to look so adept at simple chores like this, nor did he know when


    the man had started picking up such habits. Without dwelling on this, he cleared his throat and asked,


    ¡°Is there anything I can help you with, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby set the utensils and the thermal container aside before pulling out a couple of tissues to wipe his


    fingers. Then, he said darkly, ¡°Did you see Anya¡¯s apology?¡±


    ¡°Apology?¡± Tom froze in surprise, which meant he hadn¡¯t seen it at all.


    Toby didn¡¯t me him, though; Tom had been too tied up with work today, so it was no surprise that he


    hadn¡¯t heard of this.


    ¡°Apparently, Anya went to apologize to Little Leaf today, but she clearly didn¡¯t mean it,¡± Toby borated


    icily as he threw the used tissues into the bin and sat down once more.


    Tom frowned. ¡°I had no idea about this. I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller¡ªI¡¯ll look into it right now.¡± With that,


    he pulled out his phone and searched the inte.


    Sonia had managed to get the public rtions team to keep the news of the apology from trending, but


    Tom thought he might still be able to find something if he dug deep enough.


    It didn¡¯t take long before he came across a video of Anya¡¯s apology to Sonia.


    Anya was crying in the video and apologizing to Sonia under the guise of telling her sob-story to the


    netizens. She wailed about how she was innocent and how she had been forced into apologizing just to


    gain sympathy.


    Having seen all this, Tom grew sullen as he hissed through gritted teeth, ¡°This woman is incorrigibly


    despicable!¡±


    Toby eyed him steadily. ¡°Do you now know why I called you in here?¡±


    Tom nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. I¡¯ll make sure to teach her a lesson for this.¡±


    Humming in response, Toby reminded, ¡°Make sure to do it quietly. She just apologized to Little Leaf,


    and if anything too rming happens to her, the public might think that Little Leaf is the one behind it.


    It¡¯ll only make things worse for her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. I know what to do.¡± Tom pushed his sses up his nose bridge as a cold


    gleam shed in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just going to make sure she runs into various obstacles in her life and


    career. It¡¯ll all seem like bad luck on her end, and no one will be able to tell that we had anything to do


    with it.¡±


    Toby made a small noise of agreement and waved to dismiss him. ¡°Well then, please get to it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom turned on his heels to leave the office.


    Now that he was left alone, Toby nced at the thermal container and decided to wash it in the


    adjoining kitchte.


    But before he could lift a finger, his phone rang again.


    Toby took his phone out to check the caller ID with a frown on his face, and a look of astonishment


    flickered in his dark eyes for a moment. However, he quickly snapped out of the initial shock and


    thought, Why is he calling me out of the blue?


    Toby pursed his lips. He had no intention of answering the call, so with a decisive swipe of his thumb,


    he rejected it.


    However, he had only just dismissed the call for a few seconds before his phone buzzed again. The


    ringtone was starting to sound like a hymn at some point, and he had a feeling that the person would


    not stop calling until he picked up.


    Toby¡¯s face was dark as he picked up the phone impatiently and pressed it to his ear. ¡°What do you


    want?¡± he barked unhappily. He was clearly irritated, and if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the person might


    go to Sonia and make up ridiculous lies to paint him in a bad light, he wouldn¡¯t have picked up the call


    in the first ce. In fact, he would have turned off his phone right away.


    On the other line, Charles¡¯ thunderous voice roared, ¡°What the hell are you up to, Toby? Did you get


    Sonia into trouble again?¡±


    He was currently sitting in his office chair. He had one hand on the phone and the other clenching the


    edge of the desk. He was so angry that the veins near his temples were throbbing, and his handsome


    face had turned red with fury. Even his eyes were growing bloodshot as well. He looked like he could


    kill, and his body was trembling with rage.


    Anyone could tell that he was close to bursting into mes, looking as though he might even explode.


    Again? The air around Toby grew cold when he heard this word, and his face was sullen. There was


    fury in his eyes as he demanded venomously, ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, Charles. When and how did I get


    Little Leaf into trouble again?¡±


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 Chapter 801

    Chapter 801


    Chapter 801 A Stern Warning


    ¡°Oh, am I being ridiculous?¡± Charles¡¯ voice was dripping with sarcasm on the other line. With a snort, he


    then demanded, ¡°You know as well as I do that I¡¯m not being ridiculous. What the hell happened between


    you and Anya? Huh?¡±


    ¡°Anya?¡± Toby¡¯s brows furrowed at the mention of this. ¡°Why are you asking about her?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because she went live when she apologized to Sonia and I looked into the reason behind the


    apology. As it turns out, you were the one who messed around with that chick, and now you¡¯ve dragged


    Sonia into your problems!¡± Charles¡¯ blood was boiling as he gave the table an angry p.


    Toby¡¯s face darkened as he retorted, ¡°Are you out of your mind? I never messed around with her! It¡¯s not


    my fault I can¡¯t do anything about others¡¯ feelings for me!¡±


    He admitted that he had sensed Anya¡¯s feelings for him, but it wasn¡¯t as if he had asked for them or even


    prompted them deliberately. As things were, Charles was wrongfully using him of rotten behavior!


    ¡°It¡¯s true that you can¡¯t help what others feel for you, but you allowed that woman to pick on Sonia, and


    that¡¯s on you. You and Sonia are a couple now, but instead of treating her right, you let her deal with


    some crazy woman¡¯s senseless confrontation. If you can¡¯t give Sonia the best, Toby, I suggest you let her


    go before you hurt her all over again,¡± Charles warned frigidly.


    Toby¡¯s lips were pressed into a grim line. ¡°This is between me and Sonia, so you don¡¯t get to have a say


    in this. Also, I didn¡¯t do wrong by her in any way, and I certainly did not cause crazy women to confront


    her on purpose. Why do you think Anya live-streamed that apology of hers in the first ce? Would I


    treat her that way if I had fooled around with her?¡±


    After hearing this, Charles stopped and felt the rest of his words die on the tip of his tongue. After all, he


    had known from the start that there was nothing going on between Toby and Anya. He only got angry


    because he found out about Anya¡¯s romantic feelings for Toby, which led her to provoke Sonia.


    None of this would have happened to Sonia if it weren¡¯t for Toby, so Charles couldn¡¯t resist calling him up


    to demand an exnation from him. At the thought of this, he scoffed and said sardonically, ¡°Even if you


    never fooled around with Anya, you can¡¯t deny that she has feelings for you, can you, Toby?¡±


    ¡°I never denied it, nor did I ever attempt to,¡± Toby countered coolly.


    Narrowing his eyes, Charles snapped, ¡°Well, since we¡¯ve agreed on that, let me make something clear¡ª


    watch yourself, Toby. You¡¯re already seeing Sonia, so don¡¯t go around making trouble for her or treat her


    wrong. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill you even if it means throwing my life away.¡±


    He had stood guard over Sonia for over twenty years, and he sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to watch her get


    hurt by the same man twice in this lifetime.


    Toby, on the other hand, was impassive. His voice fell t as he said, ¡°You should feel lucky that you¡¯re


    threatening me because you¡¯re looking out for Little Leaf. I wouldn¡¯t have let you get away with it


    otherwise.¡±


    He promptly hung up the call, no longer wanting to entertain the crazy Charles.


    Meanwhile, Charles stared incredulously at the homepage of his phone screen and scoffed indignantly,


    though he was no longer quite so angry. Aside from wanting to cuss at Toby, the only other reason he


    even called the guy in the first ce was to find out what he nned to do with Anya and her ridiculous


    antics.


    Now that he knew for sure that Toby found Anya just as irritating, his rage naturally subsided, but that


    didn¡¯t mean it had died off entirely. I need him to know that I was not joking about that threat of mine.


    Soon, he found himself dialing Sonia¡¯s number.


    Presently, Sonia was in the middle of a business discussion with Daphne when she heard her phone


    ring. She fished it out, and when she saw the call was from Charles, she lit up instantly. Then, she


    suddenly thought of something and nced up at Daphne, who happened to be sitting across from her.


    ¡°It¡¯s Charles.¡±


    Daphne¡¯s eyes lit up when she heard his name, but the sparkle disappeared just as quickly. She


    regained herposure as she lowered her gaze and muttered sadly, ¡°He must have something


    important to tell you if he¡¯s calling, Chairman Reed. Just answer it. Don¡¯t mind me¡ªit¡¯s not as if there¡¯s


    anything going on between us anyway.¡±


    Indeed, she and Charles shared no rtionship whatsoever, but the baby she was carrying remained the


    only thing that tied them together. However, this wasn¡¯t the kind of connection she wanted to have with


    him. At the thought of this, her hand subconsciously fluttered to her lower abdomen and caressed it.


    Sonia noticed this and asked in concern, ¡°Daphne, is your stomach feeling unwell?¡±


    Shocked, Daphne hurriedly took her hand off her abdomen and answered in a high-pitched voice, ¡°Not at


    all!¡± She could hear her heart beating in her ears as she shook her head. While trying to calm her nerves,


    she forced out the most natural smile she could manage and added, ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia still looked worried. ¡°I saw you touch your stomach earlier, though.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Daphne averted her gaze, seemingly flustered as she lied by saying, ¡°I¡¯m just a little hungry, and I


    thought my stomach was rumbling. I¡¯m really fine, Chairman Reed. Don¡¯t worry about me at all and pick


    up that call. Don¡¯t keep President Lane waiting.¡±


    Upon seeing how serious she looked, Sonia had no choice but to believe that she was hungry. After


    nodding, she picked up the call and greeted pleasantly, ¡°Charles.¡±


    ¡°Sonia.¡± Charles¡¯ voice filled the other line as he said, ¡°I know all about that Anya incident.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± She was somewhat surprised.


    He hummed in response. ¡°Of course. I mean, everyone was talking about it online, so it¡¯s hard for me to


    not hear about it. That said, I did get curious about your rtionship with that woman and why she


    apologized to you, so I had someone look into it. As it turns out, some of theizens had guessed it


    right; that woman is one of Toby¡¯s mindless admirers!¡±


    Soniaughed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually had someone look into something like this!¡± The incident had


    taken ce two nights ago, and Toby had yet to block public ess to the video back then. As such, it


    wouldn¡¯t have been hard for anyone to look into this at all.


    He pouted. ¡°I¡¯m like a brother to you, aren¡¯t I? It¡¯s within my duty to look into anything that threatens your


    safety, and I wanted to make sure that the woman didn¡¯t pick on you. But lo and behold, the information I


    found made me hate her more.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t exactly pick on me,¡± Sonia corrected as she toyed with the pen in her hand. ¡°She¡¯s just one of


    those skanks who¡¯s trying to make life difficult for me.¡±


    He snorted and frowned before pointing out, ¡°It is all Toby¡¯s fault. Why can¡¯t he just stay in line and stop


    attracting all these annoying and relentless women?¡±


    ¡°Truthfully, he didn¡¯t attract them on purpose. He was only trying to be nice, but Anya decided to cling


    onto him; there¡¯s nothing surprising about that. I mean, with his face and his status, any girl would swoon


    in his presence. He can¡¯t help his own charisma, so cut him some ck.¡±


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°You guys aren¡¯t even remarried, yet you¡¯re already standing up for him,¡± Charles drawled sourly.


    She chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not standing up for him; I¡¯m just stating the facts. He didn¡¯t ask for Anya¡¯s affection,


    and since he isn¡¯t at fault, I can¡¯t just put him in jail for something he didn¡¯t do. In fact, when he found out


    that Anya was picking on me, he demanded that she publicly apologize to me and exin the reason


    behind the apology. You know as well as I do what would happen to her once she confesses the reason


    for the apology, so Toby nipped this in the bud and defended me. What more can I ask for?¡±


    ¡°Wait, the public apology was Toby¡¯s idea?¡± Charles asked.


    She nodded and said, ¡°Of course. You didn¡¯t think it was my idea, did you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I actually did think it was your idea,¡± he admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be Toby¡¯s instead.¡±


    Soniaughed again. ¡°I know you only called because you wanted to voice your many opinions on Anya


    and Toby, but now that you¡¯ve heard the full story, do you have anything else to add?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll let him off the hook this time, seeing as he arranged for the apology and all, but¡­¡± Charles


    frowned deeply. ¡°I saw the live-stream earlier, and while that woman did give a long-winded and tearful


    apology, she never did mention what she was apologizing for.¡±

 Chapter 802

    Chapter 802


    Chapter 802 Hurtful Words


    ¡°I was the one who told Anya not to say anything,¡± Sonia replied smilingly.


    Charles frowned, unable toprehend the reason for it. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why else? What if someone got killed for real?¡± Sonia said, rubbing her temples.


    Charles understood immediately, but he also fell silent.


    Yes, it¡¯ll be terrible if someone died.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Nheless, Charles quickly regained hisposure. He adjusted his tie and smiled again. ¡°I


    thought that woman didn¡¯t say anything on purpose.¡±


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t dare to,¡± Sonia replied with assurance.


    Anya would dare to misguide theizens, but she would never be brave enough to hide her reasons for


    apologizing.


    After all, those were entirely different things.


    Not everyone was smart enough to notice that she was misguiding theizens, but if she refused to


    exin her reasons for apologizing, everyone would be able to catch on.


    As such, Sonia was very sure that Anya wouldn¡¯t dare to do it.


    ¡°Alright, since that¡¯s what you want, then I won¡¯t say anything more. Sonny, just keep an eye on Toby and


    don¡¯t let him attract any more girls outside. If you can¡¯t do that, you can just abandon him. Otherwise,


    you¡¯ll end up getting hurt yourself,¡± Charles said with a pout.


    Meanwhile, Sonia didn¡¯t know if she shouldugh or cry. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m not a fool. I know what to do, so


    don¡¯t worry about me. Worry about yourself first.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Charles pointed at himself in confusion. ¡°What is there to worry about?¡±


    Sonia looked over to Daphne, who had her head lowered as she quietly listened to her call. Sighing in


    her heart, Sonia prodded Charles over the phone. ¡°Your love life, of course. Charles, you¡¯re almost 31


    now. Don¡¯t you want to get a girlfriend?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Daphne swiftly raised her head and stared at Sonia¡¯s phone with a panicked look in


    her eyes.


    ¡°Chairman¡­¡± Daphne called in a quiet voice. She feared that Sonia would rmend her to Charles


    just then.


    After all, Sonia was always supportive of her pursuing Charles.


    If Charles didn¡¯t dislike her and Sonia had rmended her, she would only be nervous instead of


    scared.


    However, it was true that Charles disliked her. If Sonia rmended Daphne, Charles would think she


    had asked Sonia to do the rmendation. By then, Charles would hate her even more.


    Sonia knew what Daphne was worried about with just a nce at thetter¡¯s expression.


    She shook her head slightly at Daphne while giving thetter aforting smile. It was as if she were


    saying, ¡®Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t say anything unnecessary.¡¯


    Upon seeing that, Daphne finally managed to calm herself a little.


    However, she hadn¡¯tpletely rxed yet as her kept her gaze trained on Sonia¡¯s phone.


    After hearing Sonia ask about his love life, Charles had a darkened expression on his face. He then said


    with a bitter smile, ¡°Don¡¯t you know me well enough, Sonny? I¡¯ve never gotten over you, so how can I


    find a new girlfriend? Even if I did, it wouldn¡¯t be fair for her.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia sighed. ¡°But you can find apatible woman to ept and love. Who knows, maybe


    you¡¯ll really fall in love with her in the end.¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone suitable,¡± said Charles disapprovingly while he shrugged his shoulders.


    Sonia looked toward Daphne, and thetter tensed up once again.


    Meanwhile, Sonia hastily averted her gaze and said tentatively, ¡°Perhaps you haven¡¯t looked hard


    enough. You¡¯re so handsome, and you have a good family background too. There should be lots of girls


    who like you, so why don¡¯t you try it out with a girl who likes you a lot?¡±


    She discreetly turned on the loudspeaker just then, and Daphne could hear Charles¡¯ voice clearly.


    Charles still had that disapproving tone as he spoke. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Those women are all the same, and I¡¯m


    not interested in them one bit.¡±


    Upon hearing Charles¡¯ words, Daphne went pale in the face. Her anticipation was dashed to pieces, and


    she felt so cold that she might as well be a popsicle.


    Seeing Daphne like that, Sonia parted her red lips, feeling a deep regret in her heart.


    She had wanted to test the waters in Daphne¡¯s stead to see if Daphne had a future with Charles.


    However, she had never expected Charles¡¯ reply to be so hurtful.


    Even though he hadn¡¯t mentioned Daphne specifically, she was still one of the girls who liked him.


    Nheless, Charles said that he had no interest in girls who liked him, so didn¡¯t it include Daphne as


    well?


    Sonia deeply regretted her actions, for she shouldn¡¯t have let Daphne suffer this damage by turning on


    the loudspeaker.


    She nced at the other woman and eventually sighed. Then, Sonia furrowed her brows as she said


    through the phone, ¡°Charles, don¡¯t you think your words are a little too hurtful?¡±


    Charles leaned against his chairzily as he said nonchntly, ¡°How hurtful could it be? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m


    saying those words directly to them.¡±


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Driven to anger by Charles¡¯ reply, Sonia pinched the area between her eyebrows. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s not


    talk about that anymore. I still have matters to attend to, so I¡¯ll hang up now.¡±


    With that, she moved to end the call.


    However, Charles stopped her. ¡°Wait, Sonny.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia asked.


    Charles sat upright. ¡°It¡¯s nothing too important, but my mom wanted to treat you and Toby to a meal after


    she received news of you two getting back together. She wanted to do this some time ago, but I told her


    you were busy, so she hasn¡¯t asked you herself. I know she won¡¯t give up and will probably ask you in


    the future, so this is just a heads up.¡±


    ¡°Why would she want to treat us to a meal?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    It was normal for Grace to treat her to a meal, but it wasn¡¯t usual for Toby to be invited as well. Hence,


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but overthink.


    Charles smiled. ¡°You two getting back together is no small matter, and my mom treats you like her own


    daughter. It seems like she wants to invite the both of you to a meal so that she can have a word with


    Toby. After all, Toby has taken her goddaughter away for a second time, and it¡¯s only natural for her to


    want to have a word with him.¡±


    Sonia nodded and smiled. ¡°I see. Alright, please tell Mrs. Lane that Toby and I would dly ept her


    invitation. Just tell us the date.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Charles replied.


    After ending the call, Sonia put down her phone and sighed slightly. She then looked at Daphne, who


    had her head lowered so that no one could see her expression. Guilt washed over Sonia as she said,


    ¡°Daphne¡­ I¡¯m so sorry for what happened just now. I didn¡¯t know that Charles would¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Chairman.¡± Daphne looked up, her eyes red and expression sorrowful. Despite that, she still


    managed to squeeze a smile onto her lips.


    It was a tight and difficult smile, however.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to make it work for my sake, so I¡¯m not going to me you. You did it out of


    kindness, after all. I know you just want me to be happy. Still, I¡¯ve always known what he¡¯s like, so I¡¯m not


    surprised at all to hear him talk like that. After all, he doesn¡¯t fancy girls who like him¡ªespecially when


    it¡¯s me.¡± Daphne¡¯s voice was bitter.


    After all, it was her fault for getting onto Charles¡¯ bed while he was drunk.


    Even though he was the one who held onto her and refused to let her go because he had mistaken her


    for Sonia, the woman was sober. A grown adult should have enough energy to push a drunkard away


    and even send the drunkard somewhere they could sober up.


    However, she didn¡¯t do that; she allowed him to do whatever he pleased and indulged in it herself.


    Hence, it was why Charles hated her so much right now.


    She did it to herself, and she deserved it very much.


    Sometimes she would ask herself if she regretted not pushing Charles away that day.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    She couldn¡¯t deceive herself, and she felt nothing but regret.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 803

    Chapter 803


    Chapter 803 Apologizing to Father


    If she had pushed him away that day, Charles wouldn¡¯t have hated her even if he refused to ept her


    feelings.


    However, it was toote for regrets since the incident had happened so long ago.


    Moreover, she was also pregnant!


    Daphne clenched her fists, barely able to control her emotions.


    Logically speaking, she should have removed the child as soon as she confirmed that she was pregnant.


    Simply put, Daphne had to remove any repercussions from the incident that day.


    After all, Charles would never allow her to give birth to the child, much less ept them.


    But since she was still in love with Charles, she couldn¡¯t bear to remove the child.


    Her sense of reason told her that she should have the child aborted, or the child would be born


    fatherless. After all, it wouldn¡¯t be fair for them. It would also be a very selfish decision to make, for she


    would be giving Charles an illegitimate child before he even got married.


    However, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it since her feelings and emotions were in the way.


    It had been two months since then, but she still hadn¡¯t made a decision.


    As things dragged on, she no longer knew what to do.


    ¡°Daphne?¡± Sonia waved a hand in front of Daphne¡¯s eyes.


    Daphne blinked and came to her senses, her lips quivering as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter,


    Chairman?¡±


    ¡°I should be the one asking you that. You¡¯re in a daze, and you also look very pale. Is it because of me


    ¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± Daphne hastily waved her hands to deny. ¡°Chairman, it¡¯s not because of you. There¡¯s


    just something on my mind right now, so I was a little disheartened. Um¡­ Chairman, may I have a few


    days off?¡±


    Sonia looked at her. ¡°A few days off?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Daphne lowered her gaze. ¡°I have to make a decision about something important, so I want to rest


    and calm down before I do that.¡±


    ¡°May I know what it is?¡± Sonia asked.


    Daphne pursed her lips and did not answer.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia sighed helplessly. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t force you if you don¡¯t want to talk. Sure, you


    can have a few days off. Rest well, and it¡¯s okay toe back to work after everything is settled.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Chairman.¡± Daphne sighed in relief. Then, she bowed toward Sonia and bid her goodbye.


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    Sonia gazed at her figure and said, ¡°Daphne, about just now¡­¡±


    Daphne paused in her tracks and turned around while smiling at Sonia. ¡°Chairman, I don¡¯t mind what


    happened just now, so you should let it go as well. I¡¯m really okay.¡±


    ¡°No matter what, I should still apologize to you.¡± Sonia pursed her lips.


    Even though she had done it out of kindness, she still did the wrong thing and hurt Daphne.


    She couldn¡¯t me anyone else for that, so she should apologize for her actions.


    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep in peace.


    Daphne also understood the guilt Sonia was feeling, so she smiled and nodded. ¡°Fine, apology


    epted. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, Chairman.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia responded.


    Daphne waved and continued walking toward the entrance. She soon left the office, disappearing out of


    sight.


    At that moment, Sonia leaned against her chair and gently rubbed her temples as she sighed inwardly.


    I should really stop trying to matchmake people so carelessly.


    If she failed and upset one of the parties like what happened this time, she would also be found guilty.


    She stopped thinking too much about it as she put down her hands and sat upright before burying herself


    in her work.


    In the afternoon, Sonia received a message from Grace right before the work day ended.


    Grace had invited Sonia and Toby to have dinner at the Lane Residence three dayster. What was


    more, the woman even emphasized that Sonia had to bring Toby along with her.


    It seems like Charles was right; Grace really wants to have a word with Toby.


    ¡°Chairman.¡± Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.


    Sonia looked up at the entrance to see that it was Daphne¡¯s assistant.


    Daphne had already taken the day off and gone home, so her work was being handled by her assistant


    for the time being.


    Sonia put down her phone and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Chairman, there was a call from the police station just now. They said that the court hearing for Vice


    President Reed is tomorrow, so please remember to attend.¡± The assistant let go of the door handle.


    Sonia was stunned at first, but she remembered that Jessica had been locked up for so long that it


    indeed was about time for a court hearing to take ce.


    As the intiff, she naturally had to attend.


    Sonia nodded and smiled at the assistant. ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now, Chairman.¡± The assistant nodded slightly at her.


    Sonia hummed in response and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    The assistant closed the door and left, whereas Sonia didn¡¯t think much about this interlude.


    After all, Jessica¡¯s court hearing was already set in stone. Sonia would have to attend it no matter if it


    were tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.


    As such, she just needed to sit in and listen. There was no need to get so worked up since Jessica would


    definitely be jailed.


    Save for the bad rep her father got from the Grays, Jessica and Sandra had tarnished his reputation as


    well.


    At the thought of Sandra¡­


    Sonia narrowed her eyes, her finger lightly tapping twice on the desk. The taps sounded unusually clear


    in therge, quiet office.


    Sandra was serving a sentence overseas, so she wouldn¡¯t being back anytime soon. Hence, Sonia


    couldn¡¯t do anything despite her desire to teach that woman a lesson.


    Sonia could only ask Toby to find ways to ship that woman back after she had served her sentence.


    While rubbing her temples, Sonia suppressed the hatred in her heart and got up to go to the bathroom.


    After washing her face with cold water, the woman finally managed to hush the fire of hatred she held


    toward Sandra and Jessica.


    Then, she returned to her desk and looked at her phone. Noticing that it was about time, she gathered


    her things as she prepared to get off work.


    However, after leaving Paradigm Co., Sonia didn¡¯t head straight back to Bayside Residence. Instead,


    she drove in a direction away from the ce.


    She wanted to go to the cemetery to visit her father and tell him about Jessica¡¯s court hearing tomorrow.


    No matter what, Jessica was still her father¡¯s biological daughter¡ªthat was a fact no one could dispute


    or deny.


    Hence, her father had the right to know about this, and she wanted to apologize to her father as well.


    Even though Jessica had stirred things up and provoked her, it was still true that she was the one who


    sent Jessica to jail.


    Jessica was her father¡¯s biological daughter, but she herself was adopted. She knew her father loved


    her, but she also knew he loved Jessica as well.


    Naturally, she should apologize to her father for sending his biological daughter to jail.


    Sonia managed to arrive at the cemetery by nightfall, and she bought some flowers before going in.


    Once she went in, she only came out two hourster.


    It was almost 9.00PM by then, and Sonia¡¯s eyes were a little red.


    She went to her car and tilted her head to look at the sky. Then, she reached up and wiped a tear away


    before opening the door of the car and getting in, ready to go home.


    It was already 10.00PM when she went back to the city.


    Sonia still hadn¡¯t had dinner, so she was starving. Worse yet, there was a traffic jam, so she didn¡¯t know


    when she would be able to make it back to Bayside Residence given the situation.


    Toby might even be home by the time I get back.


    When she thought about this, Sonia let go of the steering wheel and picked up her phone that was lying


    on the passenger seat.


    She hadn¡¯t received any missed calls or unread messages, so it seemed like Toby was still working as


    well.


    It was already sote, but Toby hadn¡¯t finished work. Sonia was even more worried now.

 Chapter 804

    Chapter 804


    Chapter 804 Titus Regrets


    More than 36 hours had psed sincest night.


    If Toby did not rest during the day and kept on working, it would mean that he hadn¡¯t closed his eyes for


    36 consecutive hours.


    How could his body bear the burden if it went on like this?


    But she couldn¡¯t do much more than worry, for it wasn¡¯t possible for her to just stop Toby from working


    and get him to rest.


    Sonia sighed as she rubbed her cheeks. Noticing that the traffic was moving, she suppressed her


    emotions and shifted gears so that the car could move.


    The drive became much smoother once Sonia got through the traffic jam, and she didn¡¯t have to stop her


    car after that except for the asional red light.


    However, when Sonia was about six miles away from Bayside Residence, she parked the car and


    walked toward a rustic shop by the road.


    It was a cake shop that sold traditional cakes, and the business had been passed down from thest era.


    With more than 100 years of history, this shop could be considered a tourist attraction in Seafield.


    Most importantly, the cakes sold at this shop were all delicious, and many customers flocked to this shop


    every single day.


    There were still a number of customers in the shop even at such an odd hour.


    Sonia opened the door and walked into the shop before heading straight to the register. She then asked


    the shop assistant, ¡°Hi, are there any blueberry cakes left?¡±


    She wasn¡¯t sure if there were any left, for blueberry cakes were one of the shop¡¯s specialities. However,


    since it wasn¡¯t as popr as the other goods sold there, the shop only baked a limited number of


    blueberry cakes per day. Only a hundred were made each day, so once these cakes sold out, one would


    have toe back another day.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was one of the few people who loved blueberry cake.


    In fact, she had loved it since young, and her father even wondered where she got her preferences from.


    However, as she grew up, she no longer ate them as frequently as before. She would only have an


    asional slice every now and then.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky, Miss¡ªwe have exactly one serving left.¡± Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s question, the shop


    assistant immediately checked their inventory and responded with a smile.


    Sonia smiled as well. ¡°Wow, thest one! I guess I¡¯m quite lucky after all. I¡¯ll take it, please.¡±


    ¡°Alright, one blueberry cake it is. Hang on.¡± Smiling, the shop assistant sent the order to the shop


    assistant who was in charge of packing it up.


    However, the packing process was rather slow since there were many customers in front of her.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t in a hurry, so she sat in an empty seat while she waited.


    On a small table next to the seat, they shop hadid out aplimentary jug of water and some cups.


    After taking a cup of water, Sonia sipped as she took out her phone and sent Toby a message. ¡®Are you


    still working?¡¯


    She thought that Toby wouldn¡¯t reply for some time, but when she was about to put her phone away, the


    screen lit up with a message from Toby. ¡®I¡¯m wrapping up soon. Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡¯


    Sonia put down the cup as her red lips curved into a smile. She seemed to be in high spirits, and even


    her typing speed increased. ¡®No, I¡¯m still outside. I haven¡¯t gone home yet.¡¯


    Toby had just walked out of the nning Department and was making his way toward his office. He


    stopped in his tracks and frowned.


    Due to Toby¡¯s sudden halt, Tom, who had been walking behind him, almost bumped into the man.


    After steadying himself, Tom hastily took a step backward and pushed his sses back up while asking,


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby ignored him as he typed out his reply to Sonia. It read, ¡®You¡¯re not home yet? Are you at Paradigm


    Co.? Are you outside?¡¯


    Looking at the series of questions, Sonia knew that Toby was beginning to worry about the fact that she


    hadn¡¯t arrived home yet. She smiled as she replied, ¡®I¡¯m outside. I was visiting my father¡¯s cemetery just


    now. Jessica¡¯s court hearing is tomorrow, so I thought I should tell him about it. I¡¯ll be home soon, so


    don¡¯t worry.¡¯


    Turns out she went to the cemetery.


    Toby¡¯s furrowed eyebrows began to rx.


    Earlier on, he thought she went shopping and hadn¡¯t gone home at this hour.


    With his worries cleared, Toby heaved a small sigh of relief and continued walking forward.


    Tom didn¡¯t know what happened, but he felt relieved when Toby returned to his usualposure. Thus,


    he followed suit.


    As Toby walked, he typed out, ¡®Alright, please go home earlier. It¡¯s not safe outside.¡¯


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Sonia smiled as she replied, ¡®Okay, I got it. I won¡¯t interrupt your work anymore. Don¡¯t drive after finishing


    work, okay? You haven¡¯t rested for an entire day, so I don¡¯t think you should be driving. Let Tom send


    you home.¡¯


    When he saw how concerned Sonia was for him, Toby¡¯s eyes were filled with so much tenderness that


    he could melt. He gulped and replied, ¡®Okay.¡¯


    Then, Sonia put away her phone and stopped chatting with him.


    She wanted him to finish work as soon as possible, so she decided not to dy him any further.


    As she looked out of the window, Sonia took another sip of water. A contagiously gentle and peaceful


    smile warmed her lips.


    Just then, another door of the shop opened to let in a middle-aged couple.


    This couple had an unusual aura about them, and they were so well-dressed that anyone would know


    they were rich people at first nce.


    However, the man looked very pale; his face was shrunken and his eyes were dim. He even had one


    hand on his waist, and it was obvious that he was gued with a serious illness.


    The woman next to him helped him along. Her eyes were reddened and she looked like she had just


    cried, further cementing the fact that this man was a patient.


    ¡°It¡¯s already sote at night, so why are we here for blueberry cakes instead of resting at home?¡± The


    woman named Julia looked at Titus, the man beside her, while rolling her eyes at him.


    Titus patted her hand that was holding onto his arm. He then mustered a rtively gentle smile onto his


    pale face. ¡°You love blueberry cakes, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Julia widened her eyes. ¡°So¡­ you called me over right after work and apanied me here simply


    because you know that I love blueberry cakes?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Titus nodded weakly. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much longer I have left. I have been too busy all my life


    and focusing my efforts solely on Triforce Enterprise. Now that I¡¯m about to die, I¡¯ve realized that I


    seldom spend time with you. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Julia¡¯s red eyes turned even redder as tears glistened within. She shook her head and


    said, ¡°You have nothing to be sorry about, Titus¡ªnothing at all.¡±


    Titus simply smiled. ¡°I know very well the things I¡¯ve done.¡±


    In the past, his actions had allowed Henry to get away with Rina. This caused Julia to go mad with the


    loss of her daughter soon after giving birth.


    Even when they adopted Tina afterward, Titus knew that an adopted daughter could only be so much


    though Julia was slightlyforted. It would never mend the pain of losing one¡¯s own flesh and blood,


    after all. Even thefort was a mere sliver, unable to soothe the entire wound. In other words, there


    had always been a gaping hole in her heart.


    He was truly sorry for that.


    Besides, they had been married for decades, but even though he loved Julia, he still prioritized Triforce


    Enterprise over her. He rarely apanied her anywhere even though she loved to travel. Titus had


    also promised to travel somewhere with her, but he had never fulfilled that promise.


    Now that he was old and about to die, he began to reminisce the past. As he did so, he realized he had


    been terrible to her. He felt sorry for his wife, for she was a woman who neverined about him or


    left his side.


    The sorrier he felt, the more he regretted not fulfilling his past promises to her. Now, even if he wanted to,


    he couldn¡¯t keep most of his promises anymore.


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 Chapter 805

    Chapter 805


    Chapter 805 Bitter Feelings


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Therefore, the only thing that Titus could do in the final moments of his life was to keep Juliapany


    and take her ces to enjoy some good food to make it up to her.


    On the other hand, Julia knew what Titus was thinking after their 30-year marriage. In fact, one look at


    Titus¡¯ face was enough for her to tell what was on his mind. However, that was precisely why Julia felt


    bitter on the inside. Soon, tears rolled down her cheeks as she said, ¡°You¡¯re not going to die, Titus. You


    are not! We¡¯ll find a suitable kidney for you! I¡¯m sure we will!¡± Julia wrapped her fingers around Titus¡¯


    hand tightly, afraid that the man would be gone forever if she ever let it go.


    Needless to say, Titus was able to see through Julia¡¯s fear, so he patted her back and told her to ease


    her mind. ¡°You and I both know how unlikely we¡¯ll find apatible donor.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Julia refused to ept the truth as she hugged Titus and rested her head on his shoulders, crying


    non-stop.


    Titus smiled gently and patted her back. ¡°Alright, stop crying. There are others watching us here. It¡¯s


    okay.¡±


    At the same time, Julia knew her current state was embarrassing since all bystanders had their eyes on


    her. She then looked up and reached for her handkerchief in her pocket to wipe her tears. After that, she


    stopped crying and reced her sad look with a smile in an attempt to be the elegant socialite she


    always was, looking as if she didn¡¯t just cry at all. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about that. After all, we¡¯re here for


    the blueberry cake. Let¡¯s go.¡± Julia tried to keep herself together and responded with an affirmative hum,


    seizing the man¡¯s arm while stepping forward.


    Soon, both of them made it to the cashier as Titus coughed and ced an order. ¡°I¡¯d like to have a


    blueberry cake.¡±


    The cashier looked up and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but thatdy just bought thest piece of


    blueberry cake.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who happened to have her back toward them as she sat in her seat, somehow


    sensed someone pointing at her just when she turned around and put her ss down. The moment


    Sonia exchanged gazes with the couple, the three of them paused in a trance.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you both?¡±


    While the three of them simultaneously said that, the cashier gazed at Sonia and turned her attention to


    Titus and Julia before realizing the three of them knew each other. Therefore, she decided not to


    interfere with them and say anything else.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Julia hugged Titus¡¯ arm and asked with a slightly darkened look on her face.


    While Titus looked at Sonia silently with his cial gaze, Sonia smiled coldly and stood up in front of the


    couple who used to treat her badly. ¡°The Gray Family doesn¡¯t own this ce, so why can¡¯t I be here?


    Who would ask a dumb question like that, Mrs. Gray?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Julia grew furious, but Titus quickly stood in her way with his arm stretched out to tell her to calm


    down. Then, he stepped forward to confront Sonia himself, but he continued to remain silent as he kept


    his eyes on her. For some reason, he started losing himself the longer he looked at her face.


    She looks so much like her! To Titus, the side view of Sonia¡¯s face and every part of her facial features


    reminded him of his mother. Although he was able to notice this back then, he didn¡¯t really keep that in


    mind and had slowly forgotten how Sonia looked like his mother. However, when he saw her during the


    press conference back then, it suddenly urred to him that Sonia might be Rina all along. He had


    made this assumption by judging from the time she was adopted and her resemnce to his mother,


    only toter find out that he was wrong. While he had no idea whether he should thank or me his fate


    for that, his eyes that were fixed upon Sonia¡¯s face were filled withplicated emotions. I should be


    lecturing her now, but I just can¡¯t utter those words out of my mouth. I just can¡¯t!


    Regardless of Titus¡¯ mood at that moment, Sonia somehow found it strange when looking the man in the


    eye. After all, she had only seen Titus¡¯ sinister gaze every time they locked eyes with each other, but in


    the face of his current expression, she surprisingly didn¡¯t feel ufortable at all. Although Titus¡¯ eyes


    still seemed sinister and wicked to Sonia, there was also another indescribable feeling that she could


    sense from his gaze. At the same time, she felt ufortable with that feeling, for it seemed like her


    limbs were tied up.


    Nheless, Sonia didn¡¯t express her actual feelings; she hid them well as she looked Titus in the eye


    and sized him up in silence. It had been a long time since shest saw him, but even she knew that Titus


    had been frequently admitted into the hospital. At the same time, Tina had also approached Sonia and


    begged the woman to help him out¡ªthis suggested how serious his condition was. However, it wasn¡¯t


    until she saw Titus¡¯ skinny and sickly look that she realized what she had heard was true. For some


    reason, Sonia felt bitter on the inside when she saw Titus¡¯ emaciated appearance as she reckoned she


    should be happy that the man whom she considered her enemy was dying, yet she didn¡¯t feel gleeful at


    all. Instead, her heart was filled with sadness and unhappiness.


    Am I feeling sad now? Sonia bit her lips, wondering whether she was feeling bad for Titus¡¯ severe


    condition. No way! This is impossible! I¡¯ll never feel sad for Titus unless I¡¯m out of my mind! Sonia


    clenched her fists and took a deep breath, suppressing all of her thoughts while she pretended to re


    at the couple in annoyance. Then, she turned her attention to the cashier and asked, ¡°Hi, is my blueberry


    cake ready?¡±


    While Sonia¡¯s question alleviated the tension of the atmosphere, Titus decided not to stare at her


    anymore and kept his head down in a broody manner. As for Sonia, she couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised


    with Titus¡¯ strange reaction, for he typically had an unfriendly attitude. After all, the man didn¡¯t take kindly


    to her every time they met, which often led to a heated argument because Sonia could never endure it


    without talking back. Therefore, she was left bewildered by Titus¡¯ reticent response that day, but she


    quickly reckoned it was because he was sick and weak to talk. As she was trying to think of an answer to


    exin Titus¡¯ unusual behavior, the cashier suddenly called out to her by saying, ¡°Miss, your blueberry


    cake is ready.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Sonia smiled at the cashier and extended her arm to receive the bag.


    However, just when Sonia had stretched her arm out, Julia seemingly saw something and squinted


    before she seized the former¡¯s hand and jerked the woman toward her.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Sonia nearly fell onto the ground, but fortunately, her quick reflexes prompted her to get a hold of


    the edge of the desk just in time to maintain her bnce before she lost her footing.


    ¡°What are you doing, Mrs. Gray?!¡± Sonia stood still and let go of the desk. Her face was dark as she


    questioned the woman with a re.


    While every other customer¡¯s attention was drawn by Sonia¡¯s voice, they all looked at her in puzzlement


    and wondered what was going on. At the same time, Titus was also surprised by his wife¡¯s behavior, but


    he quickly regained his senses and gently spoke to Julia with a frown on his face. ¡°What are you doing?


    Let her go. This is no ce for us to settle our vendetta. We¡¯re out in the open, and doing anything


    impulsive is only going to put us in trouble.¡±


    Nevertheless, Julia ignored Titus¡¯ words and fixed her gaze on Sonia¡¯s wrist, looking closely at the scar


    on it. As she shivered from head to toe in agitation, she then said, ¡°Look, Titus.¡±


    ¡°What are you looking at? You¡¯d better let me go now, or I¡¯m going to call the cops.¡± Unhappy and


    annoyed, Sonia tried to free her wrist, but Julia¡¯s grasp was too tight for her to resist.


    ¡°Please stop moving and let me take a look at it. Please!¡±


    Upon hearing her plea, Sonia paused in a trance and even stopped struggling. She looked at Julia in


    disbelief and asked, ¡°D-Do you know what you just said?¡±


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 806

    Chapter 806


    Chapter 806 Was There Really Nothing Else?


    Is she begging me? Is Mrs. Gray begging me now? In that instant, Sonia was overwhelmed with


    complicated emotions as she asked herself whether she was happy about it. Soon, she quickly had an


    answer to her own question¡ªno. While she reckoned she should feel unhappy to see her enemy


    begging her, she somehow didn¡¯t feel happy at all. Right now, she could only feel a myriad of emotions.


    At that moment, Titus was too overwhelmed by surprise to even be bothered by Sonia¡¯s emotions as he


    red at Julia agitatedly. ¡°What are you doing?! Why are you begging her?¡± You¡¯re embarrassing me in


    front of Sonia, Julia.


    Meanwhile, Julia obviously knew that her action of begging Sonia had reflected badly on the Gray Family


    by making it seem submissive to the Reed Family. However, she couldn¡¯t be bothered by that as she was


    too desperate and curious to know the story behind Sonia¡¯s scar. ¡°Look, Titus. There is a scar on her


    wrist.¡± Julia quickly shed Sonia¡¯s wrist in front of Titus as she spoke to him in an agitated manner.


    ¡°What scar?¡± Titus frowned. He felt a surge of anger coursing through him, but in the end, he reluctantly


    did as Julia said and set his eyes on Sonia¡¯s wrist. However, when his eyes fell upon it, he froze and


    wondered about the spot where the scar was on her skin. The scar¡­ It¡¯s where Rina¡¯s red mole used to


    be.


    Titus finally realized why his wife was so agitated because he knew she must have discovered what he


    had previously assumed and thought that Sonia was Rina, but deep down, he didn¡¯t think that was true.


    Therefore, he tried to remind Julia of the reality by telling her that it was Sonia they were talking to, not


    Rina. We found Rina a long time ago, and she¡¯s staying at home right now. Do not get influenced by the


    press conference that day. Wake up!


    However, Julia stared at Sonia tearfully asplicated emotions filled her eyes. ¡°W-What¡¯s the story


    behind your scar?¡±


    In response to Julia¡¯s unusual agitation, Sonia frowned her eyebrows and asked, ¡°Why are you asking


    me about my scar?¡± I have your daughter, Rina, to thank for this scar. How else do you think I got this


    scar otherwise?


    ¡°Please just answer me first. How did you get the scar?¡± Julia seized Sonia¡¯s wrist and wrapped her


    fingers tightly around it as she sounded more and more desperate. ¡°Was there anything else here before


    you got the scar? Please answer me!¡± She desperately asked Sonia for an answer, wanting to know the


    truth behind her scar.


    In the meantime, Sonia only pursed her lips in silence, her eyes fixed on Julia whose anxiety and


    impatience had gotten better of her. While she had a red mole in the same spot before she got the scar,


    there was somehow a voice in her head that told her not to tell Julia anything about her wrist because it


    would invite chaos in the future. As a believer of her own intuition, Sonia decided to follow her hunch, not


    to mention her personal vendetta with Julia. Without any idea why Julia was so concerned about her


    scar, she believed that Julia must be harboring an ulterior motive for doing that. Thus, Sonia didn¡¯t think


    she should tell her enemy anything, fearing it could be a trap that was meant for her to fall into. At the


    thought of that, she looked down and hid her expression. ¡°Nope, there used to be nothing on my wrist at


    all. Nothing! I got the scar from a burn not long ago,¡± she replied.


    As Sonia retracted her arm from Julia, thetter was suddenly sent falling backward due to the sudden


    jerk. Seeing that, she quickly stretched out her hand to reach for Julia because she didn¡¯t want her to fall,


    but before she could do so, Titus was already one step ahead of her as he wrapped his arm around his


    wife¡¯s shoulders and saved her from the fall.


    Meanwhile, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief and quietly took her arm back, trying to make it seem like she


    hadn¡¯t done anything at all. Nheless, that didn¡¯t change the concern and worry within her as she


    couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she would be worried for Julia who nearly fell. I must be out of my mind! In


    fact, ever since she met Julia in the hospital thest time, her impression toward her had somehow


    improved even though she couldn¡¯t exin why. Therefore, she was panicky about the unusual feelings


    that were overwhelming her.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Titus looked at Julia with a panicked look on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Julia nodded her head, feeling a little upset.


    After glimpsing Julia for a while, Titus looked up and turned his attention to Sonia with a darkened


    expression as he spoke unpleasantly. ¡°Is this how Henry taught his daughter to be an uncivilized


    person? How could you just shove someone away like that?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia lost her temper and stared back at Titus without flinching. ¡°That¡¯s funny, Mr.


    Gray. Did you just say I shoved her away? When did I do that? Wasn¡¯t she the one who grabbed my wrist


    first? She nearly fell because she lost her footing when I tried to retract my arm from her, so how does


    that make me the one who shoved her away? If you really want to do this, I could also say that it was


    Mrs. Gray who tried to take advantage of me because she grabbed me by the wrist in the first ce.


    How does that sound?¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s reply, the expression on Titus¡¯ face took an uglier turn. Just as the two of them


    were about to engage in a heated argument, Julia immediately seized Titus¡¯ arm in desperation and told


    him to calm down. ¡°Alright, Titus. Don¡¯t stoop to her level. We¡¯re out in the open where there are people


    around us, so let¡¯s not embarrass ourselves here.¡± Deep down, Julia couldn¡¯t stand watching the two of


    them argue because that was what broke her heart.


    While Tina and Rina had both argued with Titus before, she never felt such a strong urge to stop Sonia


    and Titus from quarreling with each other because she simply couldn¡¯t bear to watch it. Although she had


    never experienced something like this in the past, it felt confusing yet new to her. Strangely enough, she


    even wished that Sonia and Titus would get along well with each other. What¡¯s wrong with me? Julia


    fiddled with her palms and set her eyes on Sonia¡¯s wrist. ¡°Sonia, was there really nothing on your wrist?


    Like a¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Nothing!¡± Sonia pursed her lips and cut her short rudely. ¡°I¡¯ve already said no, so what makes you


    think asking me a few more times is going to change anything?¡±


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    Julia¡¯s eyes darkened as disappointment was written all over her pale face. She then blinked and


    responded with a hoarse voice. ¡°Are you sure¡­¡±


    Upon seeing Julia¡¯s sympathetic look, Sonia began to feel a pang of guilt on the inside as her heart


    started to pound faster and faster. The next second, Sonia¡¯s face turned as pale as a white sheet when


    she noticed that. Damn! Something must be really wrong with me! My heart is pounding, and I¡¯m feeling


    both panicky and guilty. Why would I feel guilty toward Mrs. Gray, though? She clenched her fists, and


    her breathing intensified while she struggled to ept the truth.


    Soon, Sonia quickly realized how much Julia was affecting her rationality, and she recalled thest time


    when the woman had shown her concern in the elevator. It was then that she started to care more about


    Julia¡¯s feelings, making her think she was not in the right mind. Thus, Sonia closed her eyes and tried to


    force herself to calm down.


    I must leave! I have to get out of here now! If I stay here any longer, I¡¯m going to get brainwashed by


    Mrs. Gray. This woman is like a toxin that spreads. At the thought of that, Sonia grabbed her blueberry


    cake and took a deep breath. She suppressed her anxiety while trying to make herself sound as calm as


    possible. ¡°Mrs. Gray, I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so interested in my scar. I don¡¯t care what you¡¯re up to


    either, but you¡¯d better not try any monkey business on me. Otherwise¡­¡±


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 807

    Chapter 807


    Chapter 807 I Wish She Was Rina


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Or what?¡± Titus interrupted Sonia and asked, ¡°Are you going to kill us?¡±


    Sonia knitted her eyebrows with a smile. ¡°Guess what? I¡¯m not because that¡¯s only going to make my


    hands dirty, but I could do something else to make you suffer from a fate like death, Titus.¡± Soon, she


    stepped forward and spoke with a cially hushed voice. ¡°I know you were the one who ordered Jessica


    and Sandra to poison my father, as well as the other dirty things that you did. So, once I gather all the


    evidence I need, your death sentence awaits!¡±


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Titus was left with his eyes wide open, his face turning pale as he stared at


    thedy in horror like he was asking how she knew it without saying it.


    As Sonia chuckled coldly and left the pastry shop without responding any further, Titus had his sinister


    eyes glued to thedy who was walking further away. A few years ago, he secretly bribed Sandra and


    her daughter to poison Henry without telling anyone, including those who were close to him. While he


    thought his dark secret would remain buried forever, Sonia¡¯s threat came like a bolt from the blue.


    Was it that dumbdy, Jessica, who told her? No, I don¡¯t think so. If she told Sonia she was the one who


    poisoned Henry, Sonia would surelye after her, so I doubt she was dumb enough to do that.


    Someone else must have tipped Sonia off about that, but who?


    Titus squinted with his wicked eyes, swearing that he would find and kill the snitch to leave no loose ends


    behind.


    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, Titus? You look scary!¡± Julia was frightened by Titus¡¯ menacing expression.


    However, Titus blinked and hid his menacing look before he returned to his calmer self, shaking his head


    in response. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Sensing his reluctance to borate further, Julia decided not to press on and kept her head down in a


    disheartening manner. ¡°Titus, do you think Sonia had a red mole on her wrist?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Titus furrowed his eyebrows and gazed at his wife. ¡°Do you really hope that Sonia


    is Rina?¡±


    ¡°No! No!¡± Julia immediately shook her head and waved her hand in denial. ¡°Of course not! It¡¯s just that


    Sonia and Rina both share way too many things inmon. They were both adopted around the same


    time, which was the third day when Rina was taken away by Henry. Besides, Sonia also has your


    mother¡¯s looks, and her red mole could be right where her scar is right now. With all these simrities, it¡¯s


    very hard for me not to think that she is Rina. Most importantly, you saw what she ordered too. She loves


    blueberry cakes!¡± Julia then grabbed Titus by the cor and smiled, agitatedly saying, ¡°She loves


    blueberry cakes, but not everyone loves that because Rina doesn¡¯t like them even though I do. Honestly


    speaking, I¡¯m pretty disappointed to find that my daughter didn¡¯t inherit the same taste as I do, yet Sonia


    and I share the same taste, apart from her simrities with Rina. For that, I can¡¯t help but have a strange


    feeling about it within me.¡± What Julia didn¡¯t say was that she was actually secretly feeling happy about


    everything.


    In the face of Julia¡¯s smiling expression, Titus responded with a gloomy look. She is over the moon now


    that she is talking about Sonia, so does she really look like she doesn¡¯t hope that Sonia is Rina? Titus


    then let out a sigh and patted Julia¡¯s hand. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about her anymore because nothing you


    say is going to change the fact. Sonia is not Rina because Rina is back with us, so no matter how many


    simrities they share inmon, they¡¯re all just coincidences. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so obsessed with


    the thought that Sonia could be Rina because you apparently forgot that Rina has already returned to


    our side now. What you did wasn¡¯t right because you broke Rina¡¯s heart thest time, and if you do that


    again, Rina is not going to like you anymore.¡±


    In response, Julia didn¡¯t say a single word but was aware of her inappropriate action. For some reason,


    she couldn¡¯t stop herself from caring about Sonia and thinking that she was Rina. In fact, it even seemed


    to her that Sonia looked more like Rina than Rina herself, sometimes. After all, Sonia had way too many


    things inmon with Rina, like the time they were adopted, the taste that she shared with Julia, her


    striking resemnce with Titus¡¯ mother, and the scar on her wrist. On the other hand, the ¡®Rina¡¯ who had


    returned to the Gray Family didn¡¯t seem to possess any of the traits Julia observed from Sonia. Just like


    she mentioned earlier, she couldn¡¯t seem to love Rina even though she had treated her well. Despite


    knowing that was wrong and had to be corrected, Julia was still disturbed by her struggle to show Rina


    her motherly love.


    At the same time, Titus wasn¡¯t sure whether his wife really listened to any of his words without getting an


    affirmative response from her. Thus, he rubbed his forehead and replied in a tired manner, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s


    forget about everything else. We¡¯re here for the food, aren¡¯t we? Since the blueberry cakes are all sold


    out, why don¡¯t we get something else instead? We¡¯re already here anyway, so let¡¯s not go home empty-


    handed.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Julia forced a brittle smile.


    Meanwhile, Sonia returned to her car and entered it, whereupon she threw the blueberry cake onto the


    front passenger seat. Leaning in the driver¡¯s seat, she closed her eyes and was able to feel the pressure


    that filled the interior of her car. At the same time, her mind was flooded with images of Julia¡¯s tearful


    eyes when they met each other earlier. Recalling Julia¡¯s unusual gaze, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but wonder


    whether the former was being agitated or happy to see her, but at the same time, she was confused by


    that reaction because she didn¡¯t know what Julia was up to. However, she was sure the reason Julia


    would ever react that way was because of the scar on her wrist.


    As Sonia¡¯s disturbing thoughts continued to haunt her, she suddenly opened her eyes and turned on the


    headlights. Then, she raised her hand and took a look at the new scar on her wrist, her eyes lighting up


    in puzzlement. Why is Mrs. Gray so concerned about the scar? She¡¯s even changed her attitude toward


    mepletely because of that. At the thought of that, her heartbeat intensified as she looked forward to


    an answer, but shortly after that, she immediately restrained herself from thinking about it any further. At


    the same time, she rubbed her cheeks so hard that her make-up was fading away until the pain


    prompted her to stop.


    No! I mustn¡¯t think about it anymore! I mustn¡¯t! It¡¯s only going to get scarier if I keep thinking about it, and


    I don¡¯t think I can handle it. So, I must keep myself from thinking about it. Sonia bit her lip and forced


    herself to stop thinking about Julia, whom she reckoned had swayed her emotions way too muchtely.


    Thus, she told herself that she should stop thinking about Julia before things turned ugly. I must stay


    calm! Stay calm! Clenching her fists, Sonia calmed herself down and tried to rid her mind of all the


    negative thoughts, but even after a few moments, she was still preupied despite her calm exterior.


    Even when she arrived at Bayside Residence, her confusion and fear still continued to bother her.


    By the time Toby returned, it was almost 12 AM. Thinking Sonia was already in bed, he gently tiptoed


    into the house, as he didn¡¯t want to startle and wake her up by ident. Nevertheless, when he turned


    on the lights in the living room after he changed his shoes, he was frightened by the sight of Sonia sitting


    on the couch with her head kept down, but even so, he immediately kept himself together and regained


    hisposure. Then, he walked toward her with a pair of furrowed brows while speaking with an


    annoying voice that showed his concern despite his frustration. ¡°It¡¯ste. Why are you still up?¡±


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t respond at all, remaining still as if she didn¡¯t hear anything at all. Thus, Toby


    quickly paused what he was doing and checked on thedy, only to realize she was caught up in a


    trance.


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 Chapter 808

    Chapter 808


    Chapter 808 Toby¡¯s Counseling


    Besides, Toby was also able to tell from Sonia¡¯s aura that she seemed depressed and preupied, as if


    she had just gone through something saddening. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby sat down beside Sonia and


    grabbed her shoulders, gently nudging her. ¡°Did something happen?¡±


    When Sonia felt the nudge, she finally snapped out of her trance and blinked, her darkened eyes finally


    brightening up. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± She looked at the man with a smile on her face.


    Toby responded with an affirmative hum. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back, but why are you still up at this hour? Why are


    you sitting here in the living room without turning the lights on? Was there something that happened? Tell


    me what happened.¡±


    In the face of the man¡¯s bombardment of questions, Sonia shook her head and sighed. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    However, Toby didn¡¯t seem to believe Sonia as he pursed his lips and asked, ¡°Then, why are you acting


    so strange if nothing happened?¡±


    Sonia responded with silence, knowing she couldn¡¯t hide what she was thinking from the man.


    ¡°Just tell me what happened.¡± Toby ruffled her hair with his hand and said with a concerned voice, ¡°Don¡¯t


    keep me in the dark. You know that¡¯ll only make me even more worried.¡±


    Feeling warm on the inside, Sonia stopped sitting up straight as she gave in and hunched. Resting her


    head on his shoulder, she exined, ¡°I ran into Titus and his wife an hour ago.¡±


    ¡°Titus and his wife?¡± Toby, who was caressing Sonia¡¯s hair, paused for a second.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Where did you run into them?¡±


    ¡°I went to the pastry shop nearby to buy some blueberry cake after visiting my father. Then, when I was


    waiting for my order to be ready, Titus and his wife showed up,¡± Sonia answered.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    ¡°Did they give you a hard time?¡± Toby knitted his eyebrows.


    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°We quarreled a bit as usual, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡± Toby¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    Sonia raised her hand. ¡°When Mrs. Gray saw the scar on my wrist, she began acting strange. She then


    caught my hand and asked me about the scar, wanting to know whether there was something else there


    before I got it. Do you think¡­¡±


    Before Sonia could finish her sentence, Toby¡¯s face changed as he tightened his arm around her waist.


    Then, he gulped and asked in a serious manner, ¡°Did you tell her about it?¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Sonia looked up and fixed her gaze on the man. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I said, did you tell her about your scar and what was there before you got it?¡± Toby kept his eyes down,


    his tone sounding as if something went wrong.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I had no idea why Mrs. Gray was asking me about my scar, and I


    wasn¡¯t sure whether it was a trap, so I brushed her off without telling her anything.¡±


    Upon staring at Sonia and making sure she wasn¡¯t lying, Toby heaved a sigh of relief and started to put


    his mind at ease. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good,¡± he said with his arm still around Sonia¡¯s waist.


    Sonia squinted. ¡°Why does it seem to me you¡¯re nervous? Are you worried that I told her about my


    scar?¡± She looked at the man.


    Toby blinked shortly before he returned to his normal state with a calm look on his face, as if there was


    nothing wrong. ¡°No, I¡¯m not. You said it yourself that you didn¡¯t want Mrs. Gray to know about your scar


    because you were worried that she could be up to something. I feel the same way too, so of course, I


    wouldn¡¯t have wanted you to tell her everything. That would have been stupid. If she was up to


    something, I wouldn¡¯t be able to save you since I wasn¡¯t by your side.¡± He poked her head with his finger.


    While Toby¡¯s response dispelled the doubt within Sonia, she rubbed her forehead and replied, ¡°Hey, who


    are you calling stupid here? I¡¯m smart enough to know that I can¡¯t tell the Gray Family everything. After


    all, they are my enemy, so if you won¡¯t stop calling me stupid, I¡¯m going to be so mad!¡± She acted as if


    she was angry and red at the man.


    Toby chuckled and gently pecked her on the lips. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re not stupid. You¡¯re smart.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Sonia jutted her chin incency shortly before her expression returned to a


    complicated one.


    In the meantime, Toby could also notice Sonia¡¯s emotional look just when he thought her mood had been


    lifted. Thus, he furrowed his eyebrows once again and pinched her chin to lift her head up, looking her in


    the eye. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sonia patted his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, actually. I just realized I have a special feeling with Titus


    and his wife.¡±


    Toby¡¯s face changed as he asked with a steady tone, ¡°What special feeling?¡±


    Sonia rubbed her forehead. ¡°Well, I kind of care about them because I used to hate them a lot. Back


    then, I would gloat over their misery, but ever since thest time I ran into Mrs. Gray in the hospital,


    something changed between me and them. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m concerned about their feelings now, and


    my mood tends to change because of them. Am I out of my mind, Toby?¡±


    Toby kept his head down slightly, cing his chin on her head and rubbing it. ¡°You¡¯re not out of your


    mind. You¡¯re just too empathetic.¡±


    ¡°Empathetic?¡± Sonia knitted her eyebrows.


    Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what makes you go soft easily.


    Furthermore, Titus is sick, which makes the entire Gray Family look miserable, so when you see them,


    you tend to empathize with them due to your kind nature. After all, you can never do anything, such as


    gloating over someone¡¯s misfortune, and that renders you susceptible to them.¡±


    Toby¡¯s words somehow made sense to Sonia, but thedy still seemed a little skeptical as she asked,


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s the case?¡± She looked up and fixed her gaze on the man.


    In the face of her unwavering eyes, Toby felt his guilt haunting him as he looked away and took his eyes


    off hers to divert his attention. ¡°Of course.¡± He faked a cough before answering with a hoarse voice.


    Little did Sonia know that Toby was actually just making up a usible story to keep her imagination from


    running wild. In fact, the reason her emotions were so susceptible to Titus and Julia was because of her


    blood rtion with them. After all, blood rtions were the most magical thing in the world, even though


    they might not be aware of their rtionship, not to mention the hatred they had for each other. It was


    exactly what held Sonia together with Titus and Julia, making them feel differently toward each other.


    Although Toby was aware of the influence their blood rtion had over them, he restrained himself from


    telling Sonia the truth by lying to her that she was being too kind, thinking he was doing that for her own


    good.


    Sonia¡¯s blood rtion with Titus and Julia had never influenced her so much, but her feelings toward


    them have grown a lot stronger now. I suppose I have to do something before things get out of hand.


    At the thought of that, Toby cupped Sonia¡¯s face and said in a serious manner, ¡°From now on, you have


    to stay away from Titus and his wife as much as you can. Your soft spot for them will only get the better


    of you and even keep you from exacting your revenge on them.¡±


    ¡°Come on! That¡¯s not going to happen.¡± Soniaughed.


    ¡°Just in case!¡± Toby didn¡¯tugh with her but instead continued to show a serious look on his face.


    In the face of the man¡¯s stern look, Sonia decided to stop being funny and nodded in a serious manner.


    ¡°Alright. Alright, I get you. You have a point. I have started acting a little strange ever since thest two


    times I met them. Somehow, I have a feeling that they are leading me by the nose, like I¡¯m not myself


    anymore. So, I should probably stay away from them.¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 809

    Chapter 809


    Chapter 809 Do I Look Old to You?


    ¡°I¡¯m d you know that.¡± It was after hearing Sonia¡¯s answer that Toby let go of her face with satisfaction.


    Then, he pulled her up and asked, ¡°You ought to be in bed at this hour, yet you¡¯re still awake. Anyway,


    are you hungry? Do you want to eat a little something?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll pass. I don¡¯t want to put on weight, and I¡¯m not starving either. I should


    have been the one asking you that question because you just came back from work. Are you hungry?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± Toby shook his head too.


    Soon, Sonia yawned and said, ¡°Well, since you¡¯re not hungry, you should probably get ready for bed


    now. After all, you just had a long day, and I think you¡¯re probably beat now, aren¡¯t you? Look at your


    dark circles.¡± She pointed at the man¡¯s eyes.


    Toby touched his eye bags and chuckled in an unconcerned manner. ¡°It¡¯s not that serious.¡±


    ¡°Not that serious? Come on. You haven¡¯t slept in 36 hours.¡± Sonia pursed her lips, appearing unhappy.


    Meanwhile, Toby shrugged his shoulders in response, thinking it was no big deal that he hadn¡¯t slept in


    36 hours. After all, he had gone without sleeping for 2 to 3 days straight in the past, but his intuition told


    him not to talk back because he would only piss Sonia off.


    At the same time, Sonia had no idea what the man thought as she dragged him to the bathroom and


    pushed him inside. ¡°Alright, you¡¯d better take a shower now and get to bed. It¡¯s gettingte now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take a shower right away.¡± Toby looked back at thedy behind him with a smile.


    Upon taking Toby to the bathroom, Sonia dusted off her hands and returned to the room, where she sat


    on the bed and leaned on the headboard. Then, she stretched out her arm and reached for the crystal


    ball on the headboard, holding it in her hands while ying with it.


    Admiring the raining snow within the crystal ball, she curled her lips and smiled brightly. In fact, she was


    deeply disturbed and vexed ever since she returned from the pastry shop because she couldn¡¯t stop


    thinking about Titus and Julia.


    Not knowing why her attitude toward Titus and Julia had changed so much, she became annoyed and


    started to let her imaginations run wild while figuring out the reason behind it. However, the more she


    dwelled on that matter, the more confused she got, which was why she ended up sitting on the couch in


    a trance until Toby returned.


    Fortunately, Sonia began to feel her mood lifted after Toby¡¯s counseling as her strange concern about


    Titus and Julia faded. Maybe Toby was right. I guess I only care about Titus and his wife because of my


    empathy, which is what makes me go soft. Well, let¡¯s just hope that¡¯s the reason behind it, or else¡­ Just


    when she was absorbed in her thoughts, the room door was open, whereupon Toby came into view with


    a loose bathrobe on him that made him look manly by revealing his muscr chest.


    At that moment, Toby was stepping forward while wiping his hair with a towel. At the same time, water


    droplets could still be seen dripping from his hair before they fell upon his bathrobe and disappeared


    without a trace. Sonia then put aside the crystal ball and stopped leaning on the headboard, sitting


    straight with her eyes fixed upon him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dry your hair beforeing in?¡±


    ¡°I want to keep youpany,¡± Toby responded, walking closer to the bed before he sat down.


    Sonia rolled her eyes upward. ¡°Who needs yourpany?¡±


    ¡°I said I want to keep youpany,¡± Toby said while looking at her.


    Sonia was helplessly amused. ¡°Alright, give me the towel. I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby responded with an affirmative hum and gave thedy his towel.


    Then, Sonia kneeled behind Toby and started wiping his hair with the towel. As his soft and smooth hair


    felt like silk, she loved it so much that she didn¡¯t feel like taking her hands off it. However, she soon felt a


    stitched scar on the man¡¯s scalp. While it was probably about 2 centimeters long, it looked like there


    were a few stitches there. Besides, the scar looked like it had been there for a long time. The next


    moment, she paused what she was doing and furrowed her eyebrows, gently rubbing the scar with her


    fingertips in a sympathetic manner. ¡°How did you get this scar?¡± she asked with a bitter voice, which


    suggested how ufortable the unsightly scar made her.


    Toby opened his eyes, feeling Sonia¡¯s touch as he instantly knew she was asking about the scar. Thus,


    he answered with a soft voice, ¡°Tyler threw something, which identally hit me when we were kids.¡±


    ¡°Tyler did that?¡± Sonia raised her voice.


    Toby replied with an affirmative hum. ¡°Tyler was a 3-year-old kid back then, and he liked to toss almost


    everything he got his hands on. Thanks to him, a mug flew my way and hit my head one day when I


    came home.¡±


    Rubbing the scar, Sonia answered with a slightly gloomy face, ¡°I thought you went through something


    that left you with a scar like that, but I didn¡¯t expect that it was Tyler who did that to you. I guess he¡¯s


    always been quite a nasty scoundrel, hasn¡¯t he?¡±


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Nheless, Toby couldn¡¯t feel happier upon hearing her words that expressed her disgust. ¡°You¡¯re


    right.¡±


    ¡°Alright, sit still. I¡¯m still drying your hair, so stop squirming. I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡± Sonia patted the


    man¡¯s shoulder.


    Toby sat straight obediently, as he was told, just like a soldier in the military force, stern yet adorable.


    After wiping his hair, Sonia reached for the hair dryer and started blow-drying his hair with it. Since Toby¡¯s


    hair was short, it didn¡¯t take long for it to bepletely dry. Then, she put the hair dryer back into the


    drawer, but as soon as she did that, she quickly found herself pinned to the bed by the man.


    When Sonia looked up, she saw Toby staring at her as well with an ambiguous gaze, which seemed like


    two ck holes that could suck a person¡¯s soul away. At the same time, she could feel the man¡¯s heavy


    breathing just inches away from her cheek while sensing his eyes fixed upon her lips like a hungry beast.


    As Toby lowered his head closer and closer to hers, she knew what he was going to do and quickly


    resisted him by cing her hands on his forehead, stopping the man from lowering his head even more.


    On the other hand, Toby was stunned by Sonia¡¯s reaction, as he didn¡¯t expect to face any resistance.


    Thus, he gazed at thedy with his eyes wide open, as if he was asking her why she wanted to stop him.


    Sonia puckered her lips, revealing her white teeth while looking at him and shaking her head. ¡°No! You


    haven¡¯t slept since yesterday. Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± I wish this guy could take his health more seriously. How


    can he be thinking about doing that right now?


    Nheless, Toby shook his head as well and spoke with a hoarse voice, saying, ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not tired at


    all.¡±


    Sonia rolled her eyes upward at him in response. ¡°You may not be tired, but I¡¯m worried about you, so


    like it or not, you¡¯re going to bed early tonight. You¡¯re not as young as you used to be back in your


    twenties anymore. You¡¯re thirty this year, so how much longer do you think your body can take it?¡±


    Toby was left with his eyes wide open, feeling somewhat annoyed to be reminded by Sonia of his age. I


    know I¡¯m thirty, but does that make me look old? I thought they said men be more charming as they


    age. In fact, a man is in his golden years when he turns thirty, but why does she make it sound like I¡¯m an


    old man? At that instant, Toby felt a little disappointed upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words.


    On the other hand, Sonia noticed the bitter look on Toby¡¯s face and pushed him to the side. ¡°Alright, what


    you need now is sleep. Do you know that? Get to bed now.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips and asked, ¡°Do I look old to you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia blinked and asked.


    ¡°You said I¡¯m thirty and that I¡¯m not as young as I used to be in my twenties.¡± Toby looked askance at the


    lady. ¡°So, do you really think I¡¯m old?¡±


    Sonia was amused yet helpless. ¡°I didn¡¯t say you¡¯re old. Instead, what I mean is that a thirty-year-old


    man may not be as fit as a man in his twenties, and that¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t take your health for granted


    just because you think you¡¯re still young. I¡¯m telling you this because I want what¡¯s good for you. Do you


    get me?¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 810

    Chapter 810


    Chapter 810 Good News


    Toby looked at Sonia with his unwavering eyes, without saying a single word. Suddenly, he turned


    around and faced away from her, speaking in a gloomy voice. ¡°You¡¯re just trying to tell me that I¡¯m old


    after everything you said?


    She said I¡¯m not like I used to be in my twenties. In other words, she is saying that my physical condition


    is getting worse than those in their twenties because the older we get, the more our health goes downhill.


    Therefore, I¡¯m sure she is saying that I¡¯m old.


    Sonia¡¯s lips stiffened as she was rendered speechless. No, that wasn¡¯t what I meant, but why does he


    keep thinking that I¡¯m saying he is old? Great, now he is pissed! Sonia rubbed her temples, feeling


    helpless yet amused. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. Please trust me.¡±


    Nheless, Toby continued to ignore Sonia, facing away from her. Thus, she gently nudged his


    shoulder. ¡°Hey, trust me. That¡¯s really not what I meant.¡±


    While Toby remained nonchnt, Sonia let out a sigh and hugged his shoulders, nting a kiss on his


    face. ¡°Do you believe me now? If I had thought you were old, I would have left you long ago. I¡¯m just


    worried about your health because you haven¡¯t had a good rest for a while. Don¡¯t forget¡ªyou¡¯re not


    Superman. Your body is made of flesh and blood, so please take good care of your health. Furthermore,


    you can only feel energized with enough rest, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    Soon, Toby sat straight and turned his face to the side, looking back at Sonia as he finally gave her a


    response. While Sonia heaved a sigh of relief, Toby gazed at her and said, ¡°Give me one more kiss, and


    I¡¯ll believe you didn¡¯t mean it.¡±


    Sonia raised her eyebrows and chuckled. ¡°You really know how to push your luck and get what you


    want.¡± Despite her words, she kept her head down and nted a kiss on the man¡¯s face.


    It was then that Toby eventually turned around and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her.


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±


    Sonia helplessly shook her head. ¡°So, can we sleep now?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded, thinking Sonia was right, as he could only feel energized with sufficient rest.


    Alright, I¡¯ll sleep now and prove to her I¡¯m not old tomorrow. I will let her know that a thirty-year-old man


    can be fitter than one in his twenties. At the thought of that, his eyes lit up for a split second before they


    were back to normal. Then, he closed his eyes while hugging Sonia in his embrace.


    Meanwhile, Sonia had no idea what Toby was up to, only heaving a sigh of relief when she saw the


    man¡¯s eyes closed. Soon, she began to rx and closed her eyes, feeling satisfied that she could finally


    sleep peacefully after the trouble she had just gone through. Thank god he didn¡¯t make things harder for


    me, or I would still be struggling to pacify him. If that had gone on, there would be no telling when I would


    be ready for bed. Thus, I guess I¡¯m happy that I can have a peace of mind now. Sonia smiled and buried


    herself in the man¡¯s arms, finding a suitable position as she closed her eyes and drifted off.


    When Sonia woke up the next morning, she found herself lying in bed alone. Thus, she ced her hand


    beside her, right where Toby was sleeping. Feeling the warmth next to her, she believed Toby woke up


    not long ago, although she wasn¡¯t sure whether he had left home. Then, she reached for her phone on


    the headboard and took a look at the time, only to realize it was 7.30 AM as it had already dawned


    outside. After that, she put her phone away and yawned, sitting up straight on her bed before she folded


    the nket and walked out of the bedroom.


    When Sonia came to the living room, she didn¡¯t see anyone else, so she shifted her gaze to the door and


    realized Toby¡¯s flip-flops were right there. Therefore, it was obvious to her that the man had already left


    home. At that instant, Sonia felt a stab of disappointment for failing to see him even though she had


    woken up earlier. Nheless, the disappointment didn¡¯tst long as she hummed and went ahead to


    take a shower. At the same time, she remembered Toby had told her that he would be busy the next few


    days and might be backte. Thus, she didn¡¯t expect to see him back early and was hence able to adjust


    herself ordingly. As soon as she finished her shower, she received a phone call from the police


    station. ¡°Hello.¡±


    It turned out that Jessica¡¯s trial was on the same day, which was why the police had called to inform her


    to attend the hearing. After hearing the officer out, Sonia nodded and said, ¡°Alright, thanks for the


    reminder. I¡¯ll be there.¡± She put away her phone when she finished her words, letting out a sigh as she


    walked closer to the dining table and poured herself a ss of water. Upon taking a sip, she rubbed her


    forehead and pursed her lips, wishing she could tell the police that Jessica had poisoned her father.


    Nheless, she didn¡¯t do that because she didn¡¯t have substantial proof to justify her statement, not to


    mention the far-reaching consequences that would follow her action, as it involved the Gray Family and


    Sandra.


    In fact, Sonia intentionally told Titus that she knew he was the one who ordered Jessica and Sandra to


    poison her father the night before because she wanted to observe his reaction. Although Titus was


    panicky at first, he quickly hid his emotions and remained calm, which made her heart sink at the sight of


    that. After all, if Titus had continued to look panicky when she sounded him out, it would have meant that


    he might have left some loose ends behind that would perhaps make it easy for Sonia to gather the


    evidence she needed.


    Nevertheless, reality spoke otherwise as Titus quickly went back to his calm self without showing any


    signs of anxiety, even though Sonia had found out what he had done. Therefore, Sonia doubted Titus left


    any loose ends behind and that he was confident that the police wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything to


    testify against him. Because of that, she held back her urge to tell the police that they poisoned her


    father, thinking it wouldn¡¯t help the situation at all. Without any useful evidence, Jessica¡¯s charges would


    remain the same, while Titus would only be detained for interrogation at most. Thinking it would serve no


    purpose, Sonia decided to put her n on hold until she could find some evidence that could help her


    bring them to justice.


    As Sonia was caught up in her thoughts, she was suddenly interrupted by another phone call. She then


    snapped out of her trance and reached for her phone, realizing it was Zane who was calling. It was then


    that she was reminded of how long she hadn¡¯t met Zane ever since she rekindled the old mes with


    Toby. Not knowing what he was calling for, Sonia grabbed the chair and sat down before picking up the


    call. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Sonia, I have good news for you.¡± Zane, who was sitting in his car, crossed his legs while holding his


    phone to his ear. At the same time, he was holding a file in his hand while tapping his knee with it,


    speaking in a rather casual tone,


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia appeared interested, asking with a smile, ¡°Really? What¡¯s the good news?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to collect some gic samples of some of the smartest people in the world earlier? I


    previously had someone visit a few overseas gene banks, and I have gathered what you want, so


    doesn¡¯t that sound like some good news to you?¡± Zane set his eyes on the dossier on his knee with a


    smile.


    Sonia paused, surprise written all over her face. ¡°That¡¯s some good news indeed.¡± In fact, she was


    hoping that Jessica could bear a child who could take over Paradigm Co. in the future, but deep down,


    she condemned Jessica for her wicked character and dim wit. Thus, she was counting on the father¡¯s


    superior gene to be passed down to the child in terms of his appearance, character, and intelligence.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 811

    Chapter 811


    Chapter 811 We Will Talk During the Meeting


    This was the only way in which Jessica¡¯s w¡ªher personality¡ªhad a chance of being erased.


    However, searching for such good genes was a difficult feat on its own. It was usually sessful men


    that would have the traits Sonia was looking for, and yet, men like this don¡¯t typically offer their semen to


    a random stranger.


    Of course some would, but those were usually foreigners.


    Looking for such genes with the limited ability she had was no easy matter. Even if she somehow


    managed to find one, the man would most probably not sell it to her.


    For the sake of getting a higher profit, sperm banks would definitely prioritize customers who were richer


    and more powerful if they had top-tier genes like that in their inventory.


    Left with no other option, Sonia could only enlist Zane¡¯s help with his connections to look for a donor with


    that kind of genes..


    As for why she didn¡¯t ask Toby¡­


    Indeed, Toby would be able to find her what she wanted much quicker than Zane ever could. Not only


    that, knowing what an influential person Toby was, the sperm bank would not hesitate to sell him


    anything he requested.


    In spite of that, on top of being someone who found it hard to reach out for help, Sonia also absolutely


    disliked having to owe anyone anything. She even found it ufortable to owe her lover a favor. She


    knew better than to ask for Toby¡¯s help when she fully knew how she would have to pay him back in the


    future.


    If she had requested for his help, she would definitely feel burdened by the fact that she had unpaid dues


    with him until the day when she repaid everything to him.


    It was a feeling that she couldn¡¯t get herself to ovee, and so she quickly threw the idea of asking for


    Toby to the back of her head, and went for Zane instead.


    She would feel less of that pressure even if the one she owed favors to was Zane.


    After all, Zane wasn¡¯t someone important to her. He wouldn¡¯t have a reason to reject her when she


    repaid him someday.


    Toby, on the other hand, was her lover. He would dly help without expecting anything in return. He


    might even get mad if Sonia were to insist on repaying him since he wasn¡¯t the type to draw lines when it


    came to his romantic partner.


    She wanted to avoid any possible arguments from happening, and so, she would rather get someone


    else to help her with it.


    Furthermore, the procedure would still work smoother if Zane used his authority to get it done.


    Thinking about this, Sonia held her phone with a much tighter grip than before and hurriedly asked, ¡°How


    many did you manage to get?¡±


    ¡°A little more than 10 that somewhat meet your requirements,¡± Zane answered while waving the


    documents in his hand.


    She lightly nodded at that. ¡°That is quite a lot.¡±


    ¡°So, go ahead and take your pick,¡± he continued. ¡°Their lineage, their personality, their educational


    background¡­ I have all the information you need here.¡±


    Softly chucking, she replied, ¡°You are pretty thorough with your work, huh?¡±


    ¡°Of course! How can I not do a good job when this is the first time you have ever asked for my help?¡± He


    proudly lifted his chin before asking, ¡°Should I send this to you or would you prefer the original files?¡±


    She gave it a thought and finally parted her red lips. ¡°I¡¯ll take the original files from you. I¡¯ll also need to


    have a talk with you about the specifications of the sperm purchase.¡±


    ¡°Sure! Where should I wait for you?¡± Zane immediately became energized when she mentioned meeting


    up. He quickly set his crossed leg on the floor and sat as straight as a pole while he tightly grabbed onto


    the documents in his hand. He had a look of absolute joy on his face.


    It had been a long time since he had met up with Sonia.


    He might have given up on pursuing her, but that didn¡¯t mean that he had gotten rid of his feelings for


    her.


    There were times when he still thought of her.


    Anyway, it wasn¡¯t like they were meeting up to do anything weird. Toby could be unhappy all he wanted,


    but he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to Zane, other than showing him that cranky expression of his.


    Zane began to let out a series of deviousughs when he thought about that.


    Truth be told, he was looking forward to seeing Toby¡¯s face if he were to find out that Zane and Sonia


    had arranged a private meeting. It would be so much fun! he mused.


    ¡°I can¡¯t now,¡± Sonia said with a shake of her head. She was oblivious to the mischievous thoughts


    currently running through Zane¡¯s mind. ¡°It is Jessica¡¯s court hearing today. I can only meet you in the


    afternoon.¡±


    ¡°No need to wait until then. I¡¯ll go to court with you. We can have our talk right after the court hearing,¡± he


    suggested as he waved his fingers in the air.


    Sonia then raised her brows andughed. ¡°Sure, if you aren¡¯t busy. Why don¡¯t you wait for me at the


    inferior court?¡±


    Jessica¡¯s primary offenses were tarnishing the country¡¯s prestige and dignity, and also defamation.


    For theck of severity in her offenses, her matter would only be heard by the inferior court.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll head over now. See you in a bit,¡± he singsonged as he stood up.


    Sonia gave him acknowledgement as she, too, bid him goodbye.


    After the call ended, she ced her phone down on the table and massaged her neck. She then stood


    up and headed to the kitchen to prepare something filling.


    She had not expected Zane to be done with the job so soon.


    Knowing how busy of a man he was, Sonia had initially thought that he would help out when he could


    take some free time out of his normally-packed schedule. Never would she have expected him to give


    his all into this little request of hers.


    For him to prepare it so soon, she could only imagine how he must have pushed his other priorities aside


    for her. He wouldn¡¯t have had the information ready so quickly otherwise.


    I owe him big time! she mused.


    She then helplessly smiled, but just as her gaze swept past the coffee table at the corner of the couch,


    her eyes stopped at an eye-catching strip of paper ced under a cup.


    She hadn¡¯t seen it the night before, which could only mean that it was put there earlier today.


    As she began to wonder whether Toby had left her an important note, she made a U-turn and walked out


    of the kitchen. She eventually picked the paper up as she stood in front of the coffee table.


    It was as she had expected. The neat handwriting definitely belonged to Toby.


    Even though the characters looked sharp, the content was rather heartwarming. It was basically a note


    telling her that he had left for work, and she only had to go and collect her breakfast that he was going to


    have someone send it to her at the door. He also especially reminded her to fill her stomach well.


    A gentle smile began to tug at the corner of Sonia¡¯s lips after she read thest sentence of the note, and


    she softly mumbled, ¡°Oh, Toby¡­¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    For him to get her breakfast and remind her to eat, he must have really treated her like a precious child.


    Does he not know that I am capable of getting my own breakfast? Sonia silentlyined, yet her


    heart was filled with warmth and joy.


    s, who wouldn¡¯t feel happy about being on the receiving end of such care?


    Then, she put the paper down, and after making sure that she had kept it safely on her, she went to the


    entryway and opened the door.


    She was immediately greeted by the sight of a hotel attendant squatting at the same door as yesterday.


    Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was the same attendant from before!


    What an odd coincidence! she thought.


    Sonia was the first to give her greeting, which prompted the attendant to do the same while passing her


    the breakfast.


    He left soon after she took it and said her thanks.


    After returning to her room, she didn¡¯t immediately dig in, but instead, she sat down and whipped out her


    phone. She then took a photo of the hearty breakfast and sent it to Toby, along with a text caption¡ªI got


    the breakfast.


    She set her phone onto the table right after she sent the message over.


    Knowing that Toby had been dealing with a lot of work these days, Sonia hadn¡¯t expected to get a quick


    reply from him.


    However, it hadn¡¯t even been two minutes since she sent the message when her phone screen lit up,


    showing that she had gotten a reply from Toby. In his message, he wrote: Good. I got you a Spanish


    breakfast. It¡¯s pretty light on the pte. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll like it or not.


    Her eyes rested on the exquisite pastries and cakes on the tes, and with a smile on her face, she


    typed out another reply: I like it. I like anything that you get me.


    As soon as Toby read the message, a smile began to appear on his thin lips. His dim and cold


    expression was reced by a small smile that immediately brightened the mood around him. It felt like a


    warm spring breeze hade blowing after an excruciatingly cold winter.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 812

    Chapter 812


    Chapter 812 Misery


    Toby was like a vengeful demon who suddenly overcame his resentment and in that instant, he became


    an angel that radiated warmth and love.


    The rest of the people in the meeting room began to exchange gazes and let out breaths of relief after


    witnessing Toby being so different from how he used to be.


    It was hard for them to not let their relief show.


    Apparently, someone had misced a decimal point in an important project proposal earlier during the


    meeting. When Toby had noticed the hundred-million-dor mistake, he immediately exploded and


    started biting everyone¡¯s heads off. Even the innocent bystanders were given a taste of his wrath. The


    atmosphere in the meeting room had be so tense that there wasn¡¯t one person in the meeting


    room, minus Toby, that wasn¡¯t on edge.


    Just as they thought they wouldn¡¯t be let off easily, his phone started ringing. As soon as Toby held the


    phone in his hand, the scary Oni mask on his face had been reced with a gentle, warm expression.


    Everyone knew that only one person had the ability to make Toby transform like that. It was definitely


    Toby¡¯s ex-wife and also his current girlfriend¡ªSonia Reed.


    They were extremely grateful for the sudden life-saving text she had sent him.


    Otherwise, they would have to suffer more if it wasn¡¯t her message that came at the exact right time.


    Even though no one spoke, everyone was thinking the same thing in their hearts. Sonia is my savior, and


    I¡¯m thankful to her.


    Despite his employees¡¯ evident change in mood, Toby was not interested to look at their faces. He only


    leaned against the backrest of his chair while his fingers swiftly typed out a message: ¡®I¡¯m d you like it.


    I was worried you wouldn¡¯t.¡¯


    Sonia smiled when she read the reply, and quickly wrote another message: ¡®How could I not? I quite like


    it! And you? You left pretty early today. Had your breakfast?¡¯


    Toby slightly nodded. ¡®I did.¡¯


    Sonia took a bite into her food. ¡®That¡¯s good. Are you busy?¡¯


    Toby¡¯s cold gaze averted from the phone screen and on the faces of his employees after he read that


    message by her.


    Everyone instantly was on high alert again. Is he going to go off on us again? Did Miss Reed fail at


    calming President Fuller down?


    Just as everyone was preparing themselves for what seemed to be a death sentence, Toby¡¯s eyes


    lowered to his phone once again. He then typed, ¡®I¡¯m in a meeting. These high level executives are so


    bad that they¡¯re annoying.¡¯


    People like them who lived life ratherfortably were especiallyx when it came to work. They even


    overlooked such an obvious mistake that they would¡¯ve noticed if they paid more attention.


    Thepany would have lost no less than a hundred million if he hadn¡¯t asked, and the proposal would


    have been executed!


    It was only normal for him to feel annoyed by their ipetence.


    Even though Sonia couldn¡¯t see him, she could feel through the texts that he wasn¡¯t in the best of moods.


    She sent him a sticker of a head rub and wrote: ¡®Don¡¯t be mad. There¡¯s always someone like that in


    everypany, but a small punishment would suffice if that employee hadn¡¯t done it on purpose or with


    the intention to betray thepany. Don¡¯t fuss too much over them. All that anger isn¡¯t good for your


    health. So, don¡¯t be so angry, okay?¡¯


    Seeing the cute sticker and her words of constion, his heart further softened again. That rare


    gentleness was almost flowing out of him for everyone to see.


    Toby¡¯s thin lips curled into a smile. ¡®Okay. I¡¯ll listen to you. I¡¯m not angry anymore.¡¯


    Sonia put down her ss of milk and wrote back. ¡®Attaboy. Alright, go ahead with your meeting. Don¡¯t let


    me disturb you. I¡¯m almost done with breakfast too. I¡¯ll be heading to court after this.¡¯


    Toby slightly nodded. ¡®Okay. Be careful on the road. Let¡¯s have dinner together.¡¯


    Dinner together?


    Her brows wiggled at that. ¡®Will you be done with work early?¡¯


    Toby pressed his lips together when he suddenly recalled how she said that he, a 30-year-old man,


    wasn¡¯t as energetic as a 20-year-old was. A glint of unknown emotion quickly shed across his eyes


    before it disappeared. Then, he wrote, ¡®I¡¯ll be done ande home to you as soon as possible.¡¯


    Sonia didn¡¯t think too much into his words and only typed that she would be waiting for him before she


    ced the spoon in her hand back to the table.


    She was secretly hoping for him to head home earlier as well, but of course, it wasn¡¯t because she


    wanted him to apany her at home.


    It was because she hoped for Toby to stop working sote into the night since it wasn¡¯t a healthy habit to


    have.


    The smile on his face deepened when read her message, after which he wrote back. ¡®Okay. I won¡¯t


    disappoint you.¡¯


    Tonight, he would let her know that him being a 30-year-old man didn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m definitely not worse


    than some 20 something stud, he grumbled. I might even outperform a younger man!


    However, despite his gusto, Sonia didn¡¯t actually understand hisst text.


    Even though she couldn¡¯t quite connect his reply to her message, she simply sent him a smiley emoji


    before putting her phone down.


    Toby knew from her smiley emoji that she was ending the conversation to let him focus on work, so he


    only let out a low chuckle before saving all the stickers she had sent him. The moment he kept his


    phone, the smile on his face had also disappeared. He coldly looked at the people before him and


    announced, ¡°The person who is responsible for his mistake will have his employee bonuses,


    performance bonuses and executive benefits deducted. Add a 5000-word reflection essay on top of that.


    Any objections?¡±


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    His eyes fell on one of the department managers¡¯ faces as he spoke.


    The manager was on his feet the next second, and with a forced smile, he quickly nodded and gushed,


    ¡°None! I¡¯ll dly take the punishment!¡±


    How else am I supposed to continue staying with thispany if I don¡¯t? He kept thatst part to


    himself.


    He was just a high-level executive. Unlike a shareholder, he still had the risk of being fired from the


    company.


    For him to be at the managerial position he was in today, he had spent over ten years of hard work just


    to climb up thedder. With a sry that could easily be more than ten million yearly, of course he


    wanted to stay!


    It was an undeniable fact that the fault in the proposal was his mistake, which was why he had been


    concerned about being sacked. He had even mentally prepared himself to be fired, as there was a high-


    level executive whomitted a mistake more minor than his and ended up gettingid off by the


    company. Toby was the kind of man who didn¡¯t tolerate the tiniest of mistakes, after all.


    Unexpectedly, right as the manager was getting ready to look for his next workce, there was a 180


    degree change in the crisis as Toby had only wanted to deduct his pay and asked him to write a


    reflection. Writing a reflection essay at his age was embarrassing, yes, but it couldn¡¯t bepared to


    losing those yearly tens of millions sry. He was just d that he wasn¡¯t fired!


    Of course the manager knew that Toby hadn¡¯t kept him because Toby became soft-hearted. It was all


    because of Sonia who managed to ease Toby¡¯s foul mood that he was given another chance to prove


    himself.


    If it wasn¡¯t for Sonia, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t have stayed a day longer at thepany from the cold


    and emotionless look in Toby¡¯s eyes.


    The manager sat on his chair and wiped the perspiration off his forehead. He thought with resolve, I must


    get Miss Reed a gift as thanks. I can¡¯t owe her my gratitude!


    Toby had already turned his gaze away from the manager at that moment. This time, his cold gaze swept


    across the faces of all the other employees in the meeting room. ¡°As for the rest of you, do a proper


    check on the documents or projects you have at hand. Amend it if it needs to be fixed. And if I still find a


    mistake in them, I¡¯m going to fry your *ss.¡±


    The crowd quickly nodded like chicks pecking on grains on the ground while chirping, ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡±


    They were relieved that they had gotten away with a mere warning.


    They had known their president too well to be used to his unexpected kindness. He wouldn¡¯t have let


    them go just like that if he had been his old self.


    Everyone who was familiar with Toby¡¯s style of punishment knew that it wasn¡¯t only limited to one person.


    He would always make sure to punish the whole team because he would expect the higher-ups to keep


    an eye on one another. If one person did something wrong, the other was supposed to notice it so that


    the entire project wouldn¡¯t go off track.


    Yes, it was tough working under Toby, but they couldn¡¯t deny how much their work productivity had


    increased under Toby¡¯s ruling.


    It must have been a while since anyone had made a mistake that they became more rxed when


    checking their own and others¡¯ works.


    However, who would have thought that a problem would arise the second that they cked off?


    As the thought mmed on all the high-level executives, they abruptly turned to look at the manager.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 813

    Chapter 813


    Chapter 813 Zane¡¯s Instigation


    They wouldn¡¯t have been barked at if it hadn¡¯t been for the manager¡¯s mistake.


    If it wasn¡¯t for Sonia, Toby would have incinerated them all with his me of fury. The old Toby would


    probably have deducted their sries for the month. It definitely wouldn¡¯t have ended with a mere self-


    reflection.


    We are all indebted to Miss Reed, everyone quietly cheered in their hearts at the same time. We¡¯ll need


    Miss Reed¡¯s help again if President Fuller gets mad at us.


    Tody, who did not have the faintest clue about the thoughts going through the employees¡¯ heads, lightly


    knocked his knuckle on the table. ¡°Enough with that. We will continue the meeting.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± the crowd responded in unison before they started focusing on the meeting once more.


    Sonia, on the other hand, had finished her breakfast at lightning speed after she ced her phone down.


    It took her only about 10 minutes to dust everything off.


    After that, she stood up and made sure she looked presentable before she checked the time. She then


    picked up her bag and finally made her move.


    It was around 8:30AM when she arrived at the gates of the courthouse.


    Just as she was about to unbuckle her seatbelt and leave the car, someone suddenly knocked on her car


    window.


    She turned to look and found a tall and big figure of a man dressed in casual clothes standing right


    outside her car. He had intentionally left the first two buttons of his top undone and she could see the


    sexy, manly cor bone that teasingly peeked through.


    On top of that, he wore a ne thatpleted his ¡®yboy¡¯ look.


    And that person was Zane Coleman, the one supposed to meet up with Sonia.


    Sonia rolled down her window and looked at the scantily-d man. Then, the corner of her mouth began


    to twitch unconsciously. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel cold being dressed like this?¡±


    The Zane whom Sonia knew from before was not someone who would rock this style of clothes. Sure,


    his personality was considerably mboyant and bubbly, but when it came to his fashion sense, he didn¡¯t


    dress all that different from Toby.


    As someone who was always in a sleek business suit, his current fashion must have been greatly


    influenced by Charles, who would always have fancy prints or undone buttons on his clothes.


    Sonia never thought there woulde a day when Zane would turn into Charles 2.0.


    Zane lowered his gaze to peek at the clothes he was wearing when he let out a bashfulugh as he fixed


    his cor. ¡°I feel warm enough! How is it? Do I look good?¡±


    Sonia opened her door and scrutinized him from head to toe before she gave an approving nod. ¡°It is not


    bad. It is pretty chic, but why did you suddenly change your style?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it just to meet up with you. I had a business engagementst night. A few of the second


    generation officials from Westsanshire came and I as the Seaview¡¯s Official Second Generation Top Dog


    would naturally have to wee them. I even heard some first-hand information about Westsanshire,¡±


    he exined while he helped to close the car door behind her.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia simply replied without asking about the information he had learned about.


    s, it was an old rivalry between the different cities¡¯ officials, and she was but a mere businesswoman


    who had no right to stick her nose into such matters.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Zane eximed as he whipped out a blue file he had sped between his arm and waist.


    ¡°Here is the information you wanted.¡±


    Sonia took it over, and as she flipped through the pieces of paper in the file, she could roughly see that it


    was filled with the personal information of the sperm donors.


    She didn¡¯t even take a closer look before she closed the file with a smile on her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll take a lookter.


    It is about time. Let¡¯s head into the courtroom.¡±


    He had his handsfortably tucked in the pockets of his pants when he suddenly mentioned, ¡°Right,


    does Toby know that I will be attending the court hearing with you?¡±


    Sonia seemed unbothered by his question as she continued to stride forward. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t


    tell him.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡± Zane gasped in disbelief, his steps came to a slight halt.


    He had nned to ask Sonia about the look on Toby¡¯s face when she informed Zane about it. Zane


    probably would have had a goodugh, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Toby had no idea the man was


    meeting up with Sonia.


    Notprehending his strong reaction, she turned to look at him and asked, ¡°What is there to tell him


    about? It isn¡¯t like it is something important.¡±


    ¡°That is true, but¡­ Hello? You do realize that I¡¯m apanying you to a court hearing, yes?¡± He looked


    her straight in the eye. ¡°You know how possessive Toby can be. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he gets super


    pissed after knowing that you went to a court hearing with another man behind his back.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia stood there frozen.


    She hadn¡¯t considered this at all.


    All she had in mind was that she was going to have a meet up with Zane to talk about the purchase of


    the sperm, andter allow him to join her for the court hearing.


    She hadn¡¯t thought to reject Zane¡¯s request because they would have to meet up in the end either way.


    Also, it wasn¡¯t like she was going to talk about anything but matters about the sperm purchase.


    It was after Zane¡¯s ill-timed reminder when Sonia only remembered how easily Toby was always jealous.


    For someone who was jealous even over his biological younger brother, she could only imagine how


    much worse it would be if Toby found out about Zane.


    She lightly pressed on her temples to massage the iing headache away before letting out a long


    sigh. ¡°It is fine. I¡¯ll let him know, so he won¡¯t get angry.¡±


    Even though she was spewing random words of reassurance, she knew better than that. Her Toby would


    definitely throw a tantrum.


    Also, now that Zane was already here, there was no way she could ask him to leave.


    She was sure that Toby would get into a fit, but there was nothing more she could do at this point. Her


    only solution would be to continue with her busy schedule and return home at night to coo at Toby.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he won¡¯t get mad.¡±


    Zane¡¯s eyes stopped at Sonia and he let out a mysterious smile. When Sonia turned to look at him, he


    inched even closer to her and added, ¡°Sonia, I¡¯m telling you. Toby will be mad for sure. Do you think he¡¯ll


    hit me if he was angry enough?¡±


    She gave him a big eye roll at that and took a step back to create distance between them. ¡°You think too


    much. He isn¡¯t that type of person.¡±


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    A disappointment glint shed across his face, but just as suddenly it had appeared, it was gone the next


    second. With the smile still on his face, he started provoking Sonia. ¡°How can you say that for sure? I


    know how scary Toby can be. Of course, I can handle a few blows because I¡¯m a man, but I¡¯m worried¡­¡±


    Zane trailed off without finishing his sentence, which piqued Sonia¡¯s curiosity.


    ¡°What are you worried about?¡± she asked while lifting her eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried that he willy his hands on you when he gets angry.¡±


    She immediately waved her hands in denial. ¡°That isn¡¯t possible. Stop talking nonsense.¡±


    Although she knew that Toby would be jealous about Zane sitting in on the court hearing with her, Toby


    would never direct that negativity to her. Zane would definitely be the victim of Toby¡¯s wrath instead.


    Even if he did end up losing his temper with her, he couldn¡¯t possiblyy his hands on her, because she


    would otherwise break off their rtionship with no hesitation.


    ¡°It is a hypothetical question.¡± Zane shrugged and continued, ¡°He does have a pretty bad temper. What if


    he reallyys his hands on you? You know how vtile he is! But me? I¡¯m hisplete opposite! I¡¯ll


    always treasure you. Sonia, why don¡¯t you break up with him and, maybe, consider me? Unlike Toby, my


    temperament has always been on the calm side. Don¡¯t you feel insecure staying by the side of such an


    unpredictable man?¡±


    After hearing his words, Sonia immediately red at him and rebuked, ¡°What the hell are you talking


    about? Toby is a great guy and even if he has a nasty temper, he has never shown me that side of him.


    You! I can¡¯t believe you call yourself his friend, and yet here you are, talking smack about him and trying


    to drive a wedge between us!¡±


    Upon saying that, she stomped at Zane¡¯s foot with her high-heeled shoe and went straight into the


    courthouse without sparing him a second nce.


    As he broke out in a cold sweat, Zane bent over from the excruciating pain in his foot.


    He would have been hugging his leg and started hopping up and down if it wasn¡¯t because he needed to


    watch his image at such a somber ce.


    It really was painful!


    What a heavy-handed woman! He squatted and buried his face in his knees as he waited for the pain to


    subside.


    It took him a few long minutes before he felt well enough to stand up again.


    After taking in a deep breath to steady himself, he limped all the way into the courtroom and reunited


    with Sonia at the intiff¡¯s table.


    ¡°I see that you still can walk,¡± Sonia hissed while giving him the side-eye.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 814

    Chapter 814


    Chapter 814 Can¡¯t Wait to Kill Her Off


    Zane couldn¡¯t help but feel that Sonia was hoping to have turned him into a cripple from that stomp she


    gave him. ¡°Seriously?¡± The corners of his mouth made a small twitch. ¡°Were you trying to immobilize


    me?! No wonder you went so heavy with your attack! I thought you had underestimated your strength by


    ident, but it turns out you did it on purpose!¡± he eximed as he bewilderedly pointed at her.


    Sonia pouted and let out a huff. ¡°It was your fault for trying toe between Toby and me. That was


    disrespectful, okay?¡±


    Despite not looking like it, Sonia was, in fact, a little angry when she had heard Zane say those words.


    He was trying to make Toby seem like the bad guy by using him of being an emotionally vtile and


    violent man.


    As Toby¡¯s girlfriend, Sonia would naturally get defensive when Zane, someone whom Toby considered


    his friend, started ndering Toby.


    Also, what kind of woman did Zane think she was, for him to suggest that she break up with Toby to get


    together with him?


    Did he think of her as the kind of wanton woman who would get together with anyone whenever she


    wanted?


    Who wouldn¡¯t be mad after listening to such insulting words?! she thought.


    Her stomp on his foot was a result of her identally losing her temper. It was his little punishment for


    saying anything he wanted without a care.


    As Zane looked at the icy expression on Sonia¡¯s face, he quickly realized that he had said things that he


    shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°I¡­ I was just kidding,¡± he muttered while rubbing his nose in guilt.


    ¡°You can¡¯t joke about things like this.¡± Sonia red at him.


    Feeling remorseful, Zane lowered his head and took a seat beside Sonia. ¡°I got it. I won¡¯t do it again. I


    really don¡¯t want to end up bing a cripple,¡± he said as he pointed at his leg.


    Even though the surface of his leather shoe was shining brightly, Sonia could see the dusty shape of a


    shoe print on it. There was also a wrinkled spot in the otherwise smooth surface as the left and right


    shoes didn¡¯t even look like they were a pair then.


    Sonia finally burst outughing when she couldn¡¯t hold it in after seeing howical the shoes looked.


    ¡°It is good that you know. Not everything can be made into a joke.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I won¡¯t do it anymore,¡± Zane sighed as he waved her off. He then quickly cast his eyes


    down to hide the dejected look on his face. Even though he was only fooling around with her earlier, he


    did put his true feelings into the words that he seemed to have mindlessly sputtered.


    He really did intend to gauge how deep Sonia¡¯s feelings for Toby were, which was why he mentioned to


    her about Toby¡¯s bad temper and how Toby might even hurt women when he became violent. Zane


    wanted to see whether she would start having doubts about the man she had chosen after hearing his


    words.


    If she had shown the slightest bit of hesitation, or if she started to wonder whether Toby really would get


    physical with a woman, that would mean that her love for Toby hadn¡¯t returned to what it was during


    those 6 years. In that case, their rtionship this time around would probably break off before long.


    And that, of course, would be his cue to take his chance.


    Zane knew how despicable it was for him to tarnish Toby¡¯s name in order to raise himself, but humans


    were selfish beings after all. It wasn¡¯t as though he had done anything other than smear some dirt over


    Toby¡¯s name. Zane was only doing what he could when he had the opportunity to. He didn¡¯t think that


    there was anything wrong with him fighting for the woman he liked.


    Furthermore, if her love for Toby didn¡¯t run as deep as Zabe thought and he still stood a chance to win


    her heart, he might just have to get involved and do something to make them split up quickly. At least


    that way, they wouldn¡¯t have to drag on a fruitless rtionship that would eventually end with both parties


    being deeply wounded.


    On the contrary, Zane wouldpletely back off on his own ord if they were already head over heels


    for one another.


    Despite his hopes, he had proved that Sonia had deep feelings for Toby. Not only did she trust him with


    all her heart, she also defended him when Zane had talked about him behind his back. She was the kind


    of lover and protector Zane was envious of Toby for having.


    Maybe it really is time to let her go, he thought as a bitter smile appeared on his face.


    Even though he had told Toby that he was going to give up on Sonia, a small part of him couldn¡¯t do it.


    His unwillingness only worsened when he saw her again today, which was why he momentarily set aside


    what he had promised Toby before, and went ahead to take a shot at Sonia again.


    However, what Zane had received in return for his perseverance was, yet again, another rejection. It


    seemed like fate was not going to give him what he wanted. Toby you lucky dog, he sighed.


    For the same woman whom Toby hurt before to somehow end up falling for him again, Toby must have


    had some kind of otherworldly good luck that normal people did not possess.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Zane was thinking about, after seeing how sincere he was when he apologized,


    her anger began to subside.


    It didn¡¯t take long after she had calmed down that she was overtaken by feelings of guilt.


    It was her fault for hurting him even after he had put his all intopiling the list ofpatible donors


    she needed. She hadn¡¯t even repaid him yet!


    As she thought about that, she gave Zane an embarrassed look and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about earlier.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Zane took a second to catch what she was apologizing for, and he quickly waved her off with a


    smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! It was my fault for saying something I shouldn¡¯t have. It is understandable


    why you reacted the way you did. You don¡¯t have to apologize.¡±


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear as she listened to Zane¡¯s words. ¡°Regardless of that, I did step on


    your foot. Are you hurt? If you are¡ª¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± he interrupted with the shake of his head before she could continue saying the words he knew


    she was about to say. ¡°It will probably bruise a little, but it won¡¯t affect my gait. I¡¯ll be okay in a few days,


    so stop feeling guilty over nothing!¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Sonia, with a frown on her face, was about to say something again when Zane pointed at the


    crowd that was gradually spilling into the courtroom. ¡°We¡¯ll talkter. It is about to begin,¡± he said in a


    hushed voice.


    Sonia turned to look at the entrance and she immediately swallowed her words down her throat when


    she saw the rted personnel entering the room. Her own expression soon became stern.


    It didn¡¯t take long after the court hearing began for Jessica to be escorted by a bailiff into the room.


    She was dressed in a yellow prison uniform from neck to toe. Sonia also noticed how both Jessica¡¯s


    hands and legs had been bound by cuffs.


    Her hair that had been cut short partially covered her downcast head, and even though her expression


    didn¡¯t show much of how she was feeling, anyone could see how disheartened she was from her body


    language.


    Her wrists that peeked from her sleeves were so scrawny that it was obvious how much weight she had


    lost during her stay in the detention cell¡ªsomething she had not been coping well with. The uniform she


    had on looked extremely baggy on her torso.


    For their father¡¯s sake, Sonia would probably have feltpassion for the pitiful Jessica in front of her if


    she was her biological sister, or if she had never poisoned their father.


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    However, despite how pathetic Jessica looked, she was not worthy of Sonia¡¯s pity. She was undoubtedly


    the sinner who had caused their father¡¯s death.


    And so, Sonia only took a short nce at her before turning away.


    Unbeknownst to Sonia, the moment she had looked away, Jessica suddenly lifted her head and stared


    directly at Sonia. The hatred in her eyes was so raw that even her face seemed twisted as she red at


    her sister.


    She probably would have charged at Sonia and ripped her throat out with her bare hands, if not for the


    bailiff beside her and the locked cuffs on her limbs.


    The female bailiff escorting Jessica didn¡¯t miss her gaze at Sonia. Her eyebrows crinkled and she coldly


    barked amand. ¡°Stop looking around and keep walking!¡±


    The bailiff¡¯s ring voice seemed to have reminded Jessica that they were in court, as she quickly


    shrank in fear and lowered her head. She was back to being the cowering, timid Jessica who entered the


    courtroom a moment ago.


    ¡°Jessica was ring at you,¡± Zane suddenly whispered to Sonia as his gaze rested on Jessica, who was


    standing behind the defendant¡¯s table.


    ¡°I know,¡± Sonia replied in an equally hushed voice, but her eyes were looking ahead. ¡°I can feel it. I bet


    she can¡¯t wait to kill me off.¡±


    Zane let out a soft ¡®tsk¡¯ at that. ¡°What an interesting woman. She was the one who came for your neck,


    but how is she the one looking daggers at you like you owed her something after she lost? Did she think


    you would just take it lying down?¡±


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s red lips curled into a snarl. ¡°That is the kind of person she is. Nothing weird about


    that.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, there is something that I really don¡¯t understand,¡± Zane suddenly eximed, in which


    Sonia turned to look at him and ask, ¡°What don¡¯t you understand?¡±


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 Chapter 815

    Chapter 815


    Chapter 815 The Lust for Freedom


    Zane cushioned both arms behind his head and startedining, ¡°I don¡¯t understand how the two of


    you grew up to be so different when you were both raised by the same father! I know that you aren¡¯t


    sisters by blood, but how did you turn out so good while she became so bad?! Were you taught


    differently growing up?¡±


    Sonia let out a chuckle at that. ¡°Of course we were taught the same thing. The only different thing is our


    genes.¡±


    She then took a small pause as her eyes slowly fell on Jessica. ¡°Sandra wasn¡¯t a good person, either.


    She only got married to Dad after her carefully nned pregnancy. Also, she¡­ Never mind. Anyway, the


    apple doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree. A daughter born from a woman like that can¡¯t be much different from


    the mother. Even if she was taught the right things growing up, it is impossible to remove the bad


    gics she had received from Sandra.¡±


    ¡°That is an interesting way to put it.¡± Zane nodded his head in approval. ¡°Is that the reason why you are


    insistent on finding a good man? So that you can erase Jessica¡¯s bad genes?¡±


    Sonia nodded in return and said, ¡°That is about right. If we are going to make an heir for the Reed


    Family, we can¡¯t be sloppy about getting the right genes. I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t want to raise a kid who


    will eventually turn into a second Jessica.¡±


    ¡°You are doing a great job,¡± he supportively reassured her, but just as he was about to give her a pat on


    the shoulder, he seemed to be stopped by his thoughts and only let his hand hover over her shoulder.


    With a disappointed look on his face, he curled his fingers before nonchntly tucking his hand into his


    bag. He then continued asking, ¡°Why are you raising Jessica¡¯s kid for her after all the bullying she has


    put you through?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for her. I¡¯m doing it for the Reed Family.¡± She shook her head as she lightly pressed her


    throbbing temples. ¡°I may be a Reed in name, but it is for a fact that we are not bonded by blood. For


    Jessica to poison Dad and do all the other evil things, I¡¯m sure she will stay in prison for life without


    having the chance to get married nor have kids. Also, I don¡¯t want to see her get married. She is


    definitely too much for any man to handle. This is the only thing I can do to continue the Reeds¡¯


    bloodline.¡±


    After listening to her exnation, Zane looked at her with aplicated look. ¡°But really, the reason you


    are doing this is because you feel guilty about continuing the family name yourself because you aren¡¯t


    rted to them by blood, correct? I doubt you¡¯ll ever feel at peace if you were the sessor.¡±


    Sonia lifted her gaze to look at him. Her red lips parted, but it took some time for her to finally say


    something. ¡°Mm,¡± she gave a hum of approval. ¡°You are right. I¡¯m the type of person who hates taking


    things for free, and I absolutely detest ever owing anyone anything. I would have dly inherited the


    name if I hadn¡¯t found out that I¡¯m not actually a Reed. I wouldn¡¯t even have the thought of letting Jessica


    give birth to a sessor when my own child will naturally continue the legacy, but the truth is what it is.


    I¡¯m not a Reed. Even if it is legal, the idea of continuing the Reed heritage doesn¡¯t sit right with me.¡±


    Seemingly lost in thoughts, she let out another sigh. ¡°I owe Dad everything for his care all those years,


    but it is a debt that I can¡¯t and never will be able to fully repay him. Who in the future would still


    remember the Reeds¡¯ true legacy if I or my future child inherited the family name? That is why I want


    Jessica to leave a sessor for me. I will raise the child and give them the right to inherit the Reeds¡¯


    name one day. This is the only way I can ever repay Dad.¡±


    ¡°I understand what you mean,¡± Zane said after hearing her view. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t see the need for


    you to worry about all this. You may not share the same blood, but your father has always treated you


    like his real daughter. I¡¯m sure he thought of you as one, too. That shouldn¡¯t make it a problem for you to


    inherit the family¡¯s legacy. You are a Reed. Not by blood, but by name. And that is what matters more


    sometimes.¡±


    She let out a smile and replied, ¡°I know that, but this is what I have decided to do. I don¡¯t want to change


    my mind.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay with it, though?¡± he quickly asked with his eyebrows furrowed. ¡°You worked so hard to


    build Paradigm Co., and now you are just going to pass it to Jessica¡¯s child instead of your own? Are you


    really okay with that?¡±


    Surprisingly, she shook her head and confessed, ¡°That is not it. Growing up, I¡¯ve never had the thought


    of wanting to manage apany. I wanted to be a painter. I like to paint. It is a dream that no one


    other than Toby knows about.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Zane eximed, his eyes shining with interest. ¡°Does this mean that I¡¯m the second person to


    know about this?¡±


    Sonia softly smiled at that. ¡°Yes, you are the second one. I never even told Dad or Charles.¡±


    Zane¡¯s smile had blossomed into a full-blown grin by then. Anyone could see that he was in an extremely


    good mood. ¡°What an honor!¡± he cheered.


    Seeing him practically jumping with joy, Sonia let out a heartyugh and shook her head. She continued


    talking after the smile on her face gradually faded. ¡°Actually, there is another reason why I want to give


    Paradigm Co. to Jessica¡¯s child. I never had the chance to pursue my dream of bing a painter. I


    want to someday let go of everything holding me back and chase after my dream. I want to live life again,


    and this time, it will be for the sake of my dream.¡±


    As she spoke, she slightly tilted her head upward and had a hopeful smile on her face. Even her eyes


    seemed to shine with anticipation.


    A captivated Zane could tell that Sonia really didn¡¯t have the least bit of interest in Paradigm Co.. Sonia


    liked to paint and she was going to be a painter.


    She radiated at the thought of throwing everything aside to restart her life.


    Her fight toward freedom against the weight of the family name was so passionate that heat started to


    rise in his chest.


    He slowly ced his hand over his chest to feel the rapid thumping of his heart, which seemed to have


    its every crook and cranny upied by Sonia.


    How could he ever stop his heart from racing every time he saw this radiant, confident woman?


    People like him were always envied for having been born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but who


    other than themselves would truly understand the pain ofing from such families?


    Ordinary people had the chance to choose a future they wanted, but people like him grew up having


    every decision in their life made for them. The men were raised like poisonous bugs whose sole purpose


    was to take the lives of theirpetitors whereas the women were raised to be tools for tying two


    families together.


    They were but people who had their wings clipped. Even their thoughts were constantly denied as they


    were expected to be the puppets of their families. A lot of them longed for freedom to live their lives the


    way they wanted to, but they weren¡¯t allowed to do anything that didn¡¯t bring benefits for the family. They


    might even be cast out of the family if they had rebelled a little.


    Those who were abandoned by their families, too, didn¡¯t get to live the life of an average Joe. Instead,


    they might be forced to leave the country and survive on their own. There were only bad endings waiting


    for those who were forgotten by their families.


    That was the reason why people like him always ended up the way they were. They might hate living a


    life with no freedom, but they were unable to not do as their families had wanted them to. They gradually


    turn numb from it and stop dreaming at some point. That freedom they once longed for was only a


    faraway, unreachable dream. They hadpletely be the puppets their families were shaping them


    into with the rest of their lives being dedicated to their families.


    Zane was a prime example of it.


    With Toby being the only exception, Zane and the rest of the rich bunch were people who needed their


    families to live on.


    Still, Zane was better than the others as he was never fully dependent on his family. He had always been


    tempted by the idea of breaking free from them, but that was a well-kept secret only he knew.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    And that was why his heart began to beat uncontrobly when he saw how uninhibited and optimistic


    Sonia was about living the future she wanted.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 816

    Chapter 816


    Chapter 816 Stopped


    Zane had fallen in love with Sonia because of her kindness, and more importantly, he could see hope


    when he looked at her.


    Sonia had been so deeply in love with Toby, only to end up getting divorced by the very man she gave


    her heart to.


    It was quitemon for women to get their hearts broken by men in their circle. There were even a


    whole bunch who had it worse than Sonia.


    Those women often give up on themselves, and eventually on life after getting hurt.


    However, Sonia, on the other hand, was able to bounce back quickly. She even managed to make


    herself fall out of love soon after.


    She always had that hopeful glint in her eyes. Not only did she not fall into a spiral, she put all her focus


    into saving the barely-salvageable Paradigm Co., and making it into what it was today.


    Sonia was not someone who would stay trapped in a person or in a situation.


    She might have battle scars all over her body, but she would always get out as soon as she could.


    Always one to have the right mentality, she never allowed herself to be drifted by the flow.


    She knew that neither heartbreak nor Toby were her life¡¯s priority, and so she wasn¡¯t going to lose herself


    for the things and people that didn¡¯t matter the most to her.


    Instead, she got them out of her head fairly quickly, and with that, she started to create a better, more


    productive life for herself.


    As simple as it might sound, this wasn¡¯t something that just anyone could do.


    Zane could even go as far as to believe that if Sonia had been forced to act as a puppet of her family,


    she would have never conformed. Instead, she would break free from them and create a path of her


    own.


    He believed so because she was always someone with a clear head. She knew what she wanted, and


    she had the courage to go after her dreams.


    She was unlike him and the rest of the bunch, who not only weren¡¯t gutsy enough, but would always end


    up being brainwashed by their family values, and eventually live the life they never wanted.


    It was Sonia¡¯s hopeful gaze that never stopped looking forward that had first caught Zane¡¯s interest. At


    some point, that interest began to turn into romantic feelings.


    Now that he listened to her share her ns for the future, he was suddenly hit by the realization that it


    was impossible for him to let her go.


    Sonia soon realized the fiery gaze on her after she had shared her dreams with Zane. ¡°What is wrong?¡±


    she asked, a frown on her face.


    Fearing that she would see the raw emotions running in his eyes, Zane quickly dropped his gaze and


    shook his head. ¡°It is nothing. I suddenly remembered something, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Sonia nodded and didn¡¯t say anything more.


    However, Zane was slightly disappointed by her lukewarm reaction, so he asked, ¡°Are you not going to


    ask me what came to my mind?¡±


    Sonia gently shook her head again. ¡°What is there for me to ask? Everyone has a secret or two. I don¡¯t


    have to pry into everything.¡±


    More importantly, she wasn¡¯t at all interested to know what was in his head.


    Also, they were only normal friends. She could never be thick-skinned enough to ask him something so


    private.


    Zane shrugged when he saw that Sonia wasn¡¯t interested. ¡°Okay, then,¡± he huffed, even though he


    wouldn¡¯t have told her even if she had asked.


    I¡¯ll probably scare her off if I told her, he mused.


    He needed time to calm himself down too.


    It had taken him a lot of strength to decide to give up on her, but now that she had rekindled the me,


    he was reluctant to give up again.


    He knew that it wasn¡¯t right of him to act that way, which was why he needed to calm down and adjust his


    mentality before he did something that he would end up regretting.


    The two of them soon fell into silence as they waited for the court session to begin.


    The wait went on for the next 10 minutes. After all the involved parties were present in the room, the


    judge took a nce at the time and announced the start of the hearing.


    The court session was actually for the sake of formalities. They had solid evidence of both Jessica¡¯s


    offenses, after all. Jessica couldn¡¯t possibly talk her way out of her crimes since she had verbally


    confessed to them.


    She was finally sentenced to half a year in prison, with the consideration of getting parole.


    Despite it being a light sentence for someone who hadmitted those crimes, Jessica immediately


    panicked and wanted to appeal for a second ruling. Even half a year was too long for someone who


    didn¡¯t want to go to prison.


    It was her constitutional right as a citizen of the country to file an appeal, so the court allowed it.


    However, everyone knew that the court wouldn¡¯t change her sentence even if she had the second trial.


    That was why Sonia wasn¡¯t that concerned when she heard Jessica¡¯s request to appeal.


    Jessica knew better than to act out when she had so many scrutinizing eyes on her, so she gradually


    calmed down after her outburst.


    She managed to calm herself down, but after learning about how the second trial would go, she sat there


    with a nk face, her eyes staring into the air. She looked as energetic as a soulless zombie.


    An unperturbed Sonia threw her a nce before standing up to leave the courtroom.


    There was no reason for her to stay any longer since the first hearing had already ended on a good note.


    She woulde again for the second hearing.


    Zane, too, stood up and followed after Sonia, but not before he nced over at Jessica another time and


    clicked his tongue in disapproval.


    They had to walk past Jessica to leave the courtroom, but just as they were walking by her, Jessica was


    enraged by how Sonia treated her as though she was invisible. Her eyes looked alive again then. She


    seemed to have thought of something suddenly when she let out a smirk and shouted, ¡°Sonia, aren¡¯t you


    interested to know who your birth parents are?¡±


    Upon hearing her words, Sonia froze at the spot before whipping her head around to re at Jessica.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± she growled.


    The smirk on her face turned more evil when she saw the way Sonia reacted to her words. ¡°I said I know


    who your biological parents are. I bet you would be so surprised to know that they are¡ª¡±


    Her words were interrupted when the bailiff suddenly covered her mouth.


    ¡°Shut your mouth. Court has been adjourned. You have to return to the detention center with us. Stop


    dilly-dallying and go!¡± the bailiff barked as she threw a nce at another officer.


    As soon as the other bailiff caught her gaze, she nodded and stepped forward before the two of them


    brought Jessica out of the room.


    In order to hide the truth from Jessica, they tried their absolute best to not show a trace of panic on their


    calm faces.


    They were reminded to never let Jessica say a word about Sonia¡¯s birth parents, but due to their


    momentary negligence, Jessica had managed to reveal to Sonia a hint of the secret.


    They could only me their luck that they had let it happen under their watch.


    Even though they had stopped her in time, those who had seen how abruptly they had covered her


    mouth could have easily guessed that they were trying to cover something up.


    The only thing they could do now was hope that Jessica hadn¡¯t realized their true intention.


    Sonia let out a frown while she looked at Jessica throwing a fit as she was dragged away by the bailiffs.


    ¡°The officers looked like they intentionally stopped her from telling me who my birth parents are,¡± she


    spected.


    Zane¡¯s eyes seemed to brighten when he heard her words. He thenughed. ¡°How is that possible? You


    may not know this because you are not part of the system, but after the court has been adjourned, the


    criminal is the first person who has to be brought out. It could get nasty if the family members of the


    victim were to get aggressive. And that is why the bailiff was so rough with Jessica. She needed to bring


    her to the police car as soon as possible. She was just doing her job.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrow and looked at Zane skeptically, in which the man gave a few


    serious nods in return.


    ¡°Of course!¡± he gushed.


    Sonia began to chew on her lower lip as she pondered over his seemingly unbelievable words, but after


    a while, a smile broke across her face, and she said, ¡°You are probably right. That officer doesn¡¯t even


    know me or Jessica personally. There is no reason she would do that, right? I probably thought too


    deeply into it.¡±


    Zane didn¡¯t answer, and only let out a forcedugh. After all, he did feel quite guilty for lying.

 Chapter 817

    Chapter 817


    Chapter 817 Too Late for Regrets


    Zane was someone from the organization, which was why he would know first-hand how there was no


    existingw that mentioned anything about having to escort the criminal out right after court had been


    adjourned. That had been something that he had made up on the spot to stop Sonia¡¯s suspicious mind


    from wandering.


    He did notice how the bailiff, as Sonia suspected, seemed to have tried her absolute best to stop Jessica


    from revealing information about Sonia¡¯s birth parents.


    By right, it didn¡¯t matter whether it was before or after the court session, but the defendant had the right


    to speak as long as they hadn¡¯t been restricted by the court.


    However, the bailiff had suspiciously stopped Jessica from speaking.


    The only usible spection Zane coulde up with was someone had gone to the people of the


    organization before the court hearing today, and had specifically mentioned to keep an eye on Jessica in


    case she blurted out the truth about Sonia¡¯s birth.


    As for who that ¡®someone¡¯ was, he could already somewhat make a guess.


    There were only a few influential figures in Seafield who could get the organization to help with silencing


    Jessica, one of them being his own father and the other the political head of the Coleman Family.


    However, it didn¡¯t seem usible for either one of them to interfere with the matters of a woman they


    didn¡¯t know.


    There was one more person other than them that had the ability to do this¡ªToby.


    Zane was sure that Toby was the one who had talked the organization into it.


    However, why would he do this? Zane wondered quietly. He didn¡¯t understand why Toby wouldn¡¯t let


    Sonia know who her birth parents were. Does Sonia¡¯s parents have some kind of secret they can¡¯t let her


    know?


    The lingering question remained in his head all the way to the cafe, where he only snapped back to


    reality after Sonia waved in his face.


    Seeing that he was graduallying back to earth again, she put down her hand and asked, ¡°What are


    you zoning out for?¡±


    ¡°It is nothing,¡± Zane replied with a smile before taking a sip of water from the ss in front of him. ¡°What


    do you want to drink?¡±


    He then put down his ss and passed the menu to Sonia.


    She didn¡¯t take the menu, and instead shook her head. Then, she looked at the waiter standing beside


    their table. ¡°I don¡¯t need the menu. ck tea with milk, please.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The waiter took down her order and waited for Zane to ce his.


    Zane took the menu again and flipped through it for a while before finally ordering an Iced Americano.


    After the waiter left to prepare their drinks, Sonia took out the file containing the sperm donors¡¯


    information and gave it a careful read.


    ¡°I was super serious when I gathered this list for you. These guys are all highly educated. There are a


    few that are from a poor family, but they have good character. I¡¯m sure you will find at least one


    satisfactory one from the file,¡± he confidently said after seeing her scan through the papers.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes never stopped looking as she flipped the papers. ¡°Indeed. These guys are great.¡±


    ¡°No, they are the greatest! These kinds of genes are treated like treasure at the sperm banks. Those


    without a worth of at least ten billion aren¡¯t even taken into consideration. I heard that a lot of women


    abroad want these genes to give birth to quality babies, but they were all rejected because their worth


    isn¡¯t high enough. These sperm banks target rich clients who don¡¯t want to get married, but still need a


    sessor to inherit their legacy.¡±


    Sonia gently closed the file and smiled after hearing his words. ¡°Seems like we will need Jessica to y


    the role of a rich woman with a ten billion worth.¡±


    ¡°It seems so,¡± he chuckled and took a sip of his cold drink. He then asked, ¡°Oh right, which one do you


    fancy? I¡¯ll book the person for you first in case some other richdyes along and brings that semen


    away.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with the third one,¡± she concluded as she handed the file back to him. ¡°I¡¯m satisfied with what I


    have seen. He must be a smart guy, for him to be a university professor. And it says here that he is an


    orphan that is about to pass on soon because of his sickness. This is wonderful. At least the child won¡¯t


    have any contact with its father in the future.¡±


    Sonia needed a child, but she wanted one that wouldn¡¯t start searching for its father after asking her how


    they came about.


    That would end up bing more troublesome than she liked.


    She had seen many simr cases on the news where a lot of children born this way would eventually set


    off on a search for their fathers. Some would ept them as their biological father while there were


    others who went as far as to connect both families together.


    That was why she hoped that the father wouldn¡¯t have any next of kin. She could save herself from a


    whole lot of trouble in the future if she had prevented it earlier on.


    Zane understood where Sonia wasing from as he listened to her. Having a child this way was


    equivalent to buying it, and like any other business transaction, the buyer-seller rtionship should only


    last until the moment the goods arrived. He didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with Sonia¡¯s n at all.


    Furthermore, anything could happen especially when the rich mother was a member of the Reed Family.


    She is right, Zane thought approvingly.


    ¡°I like the third one too! I was going to advise you to pick the third one, but I didn¡¯t want your decision to


    be affected by my unsolicited opinion. I can¡¯t believe we both like the same one. We are so in sync!¡± He


    laughed while stirring his coffee..


    Ignoring his words, Sonia took a sip of her tea and continued, ¡°You can go ahead and bring Tim the


    sperm sample. He will get everything else ready. I told him about this a while ago. All we have to do after


    this is to wait for Jessica¡¯s discharge, after which we can proceed with the procedure.¡±


    ¡°You have everything nned out!¡± he eximed, his brows wiggling in the process. ¡°I was going to ask


    you if you have found a hospital. I would have arranged it for you if you haven¡¯t, but it turns out you


    already have everything set up.¡±


    ¡°I have been setting everything in ce from the moment I made up my mind to do this. All that is left


    now is for the IVF procedure itself, but we will have to wait for at least another 6 months. Jessica is in no


    condition to be a mother now.¡± Sonia sighed.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    He looked at her and quickly reassured her then. ¡°Don¡¯t hurry. You can¡¯t rush things like this. Just take


    your time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied. ¡°I got it. Alright, enough of that. How has Dous been doingtely?¡± She changed


    the conversation by mentioning Zane¡¯s nephew.


    Zane¡¯s lips immediately formed a grumpy pout at the kid¡¯s name. ¡°Don¡¯t even talk about him. He is so


    infuriating. He made me so angry that I almost had high blood pressure the day before!¡±


    ¡°Why? What happened?¡± a curious Sonia asked.


    He started to tell her about all the mischief that the young boy caused, and by the time he was done with


    his story, he had his hands up in resignation while his head was throbbing. ¡°What more can I do? He is at


    that super annoying age.¡±


    Sonia covered her mouth and giggled, clearly entertained by the boy¡¯s antics. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Dous is


    such a cutie pie!¡±


    ¡°To you. Not to me.¡± He rolled his eyes.


    Just as Sonia was about to say something in return, her phone suddenly rang.


    She quickly apologized to Zane and took out the phone from her bag, and in the instant that she saw the


    caller ID, the smile on her face grew.


    Zane could tell from the happiness showing on her face that she had probably received a call from Toby.


    All it takes is one phone call from Toby to make you smile like that? You are in so deep, Sonia, he


    grumbled as jealousy began to grow. He held his coffee cup tighter, and he let out a self-ridiculingugh


    when he started to reminisce about the past.


    Zane regretted not knowing Sonia earlier.


    There was amon saying that one can easily move hearts if they had reached out during times the


    other party needed help.


    If only he had been there to give her warmth during the 6 year she had to endure the Fullers¡¯ cold


    treatment, he would have had the chance to be with her after the divorce.


    He had found himself wondering about Sonia during the past 6 years. At times, he would question the


    reason why she was so loyal to the man even though he hadn¡¯t shown her an ounce of kindness. He


    didn¡¯t understand why she chose to stay with Toby.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 818

    Chapter 818


    Chapter 818 Jealous Rage


    His curiosity and desire to see her were always on and off, which was how he dragged it on for 6 years


    before he finally met her. He kept telling himself that he wasn¡¯t romantically interested in her¡ªshe was


    only someone whom he asionally thought about. Someone whom he sometimes wanted to see.


    Someone whom he was curious about every now and then.


    That was the reason why he didn¡¯t think it was important whether they met or not, and it was for that


    exact reason that he missed the opportunity to strike when the iron was hot.


    He truly regretted not making a move.


    Would the oue have been any different if he had spent time seeing her?


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    At that, Zane was so dismayed that he suddenly let out a weird howl before he covered his face, and his


    torso leaned into the chair.


    Not only was Sonia surprised by his odd actions, the other patrons of the cafe also turned to look at the


    two of them.


    As she was ufortable at having the spotlight shining on her and Zane, she apologetically smiled at


    them and forced out two small hacks to cough away her embarrassment. ¡°Zane,¡± she called out in a


    whisper. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±


    Zane had a smile that looked even worse than the ugliest cries on his face as he looked at her. He


    seemed to be feeling all the sorrows in the world when he waved his hands dejectedly and moaned,


    ¡°Nothing. I was just thinking about that one time I lost an opportunity of a lifetime, and how much I want


    to knock myself out, is all.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia didn¡¯t understand a single word that Zane said.


    He only shook his head without further exining himself. ¡°It is nothing. Go ahead and answer your call.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She could tell that he wasn¡¯t going to say more, and so she simply gave him a short reply as she


    nodded. She then pressed her phone to her ear and said gently, ¡°Hello?¡± Her attention was now fully on


    the phone call.


    Her voice put Toby to ease in an instant. Even the frown between his eyebrows had disappeared. ¡°Why


    did you take so long to answer the call? Has the court hearing not ended yet?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It ended some time ago,¡± she answered. ¡°I was talking to Zane.¡±


    With that, she threw a nce at Zane, only to see him raising his cup at her with a smile on his face.


    Toby immediately jumped out of his office chair when he heard her saying the name of Zane Coleman.


    ¡°Zane?¡± he repeated, his thin lips pursing.


    ¡°Yup.¡± Sonia nodded.


    After making sure that he hadn¡¯t heard her wrongly, Toby¡¯s eyebrows knitted together again. ¡°Is he there


    with you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She nodded again. ¡°I¡¯m meeting up with him because we have something to discuss.¡±


    ¡°What kind of ¡®thing¡¯ is it that you need to meet up to discuss?¡± His low voice rang out as his grip on his


    phone was getting tighter by the second.


    Zane might have said that he had given up on pursuing Sonia, but it was hard to draw the lines when it


    came to feelings.


    What if Zane suddenly didn¡¯t feel like giving her up after he had seen her?


    Anyhow, Zane was a ticking time bomb that Toby wasn¡¯t sure when it would go off.


    Even though he knew that his friend wouldn¡¯t possibly attempt to tantly snatch Sonia from him, Zach


    was still a love rival that was on par with him.


    It was difficult for Toby to be at ease, knowing that his lover was with someone who had eyes on her.


    Even his sense of danger was telling him that one wrong move from his side and he could potentially


    lose Sonia to his love rival.


    The more Tony thought about the possibilities, the angrier he became. If circumstances allowed, he


    would have loved to toss his work aside, head straight to them, and kick Zane away from his woman.


    However, much to his regret, the only thing he could do was be grumpy.


    A smiling Sonia began to shake her head in all helplessness when she detected the jealousy in his voice.


    Doesn¡¯t sound like he is only a little jealous, she mused.


    He was reacting exactly as she imagined he would, which was why she didn¡¯t even think to tell him about


    Zane apanying her to court. He might just get so jealous that he¡¯lle here right away!


    ¡°We have business with each other. You know that he and I are coborating to deal with the Gray


    Family. We are just talking about our next steps.¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes were twinkling when she said that.


    Zane, who had already calmed his hysteria, ced his cup of coffee down and looked at her strangely.


    He didn¡¯t understand why she had to lie about their meeting.


    Sonia, on the other hand, only shook her head at him without any exnation.


    Toby¡¯s face on the other side of the call had visibly rxed after hearing her exnation.


    He had thought that Zane was the one who asked her out and that he was probably waiting to confess to


    Sonia.


    Toby had always found people who confessed despite knowing that the other party already had their own


    partners extremely disgusting. He never understood why they felt the need to do something so that they


    wouldn¡¯t feel like their one-sided feelings were a waste.


    He was relieved that it wasn¡¯t as he had thought because he would have personally dragged Zane to hell


    otherwise.


    Toby didn¡¯t hesitate to trust Sonia¡¯s words, and he only nodded slightly as he reminded, ¡°Go home earlier


    after your discussion. Don¡¯t stay with him for too long. He is a bad guy.¡±


    A wave of guilt was just about to hit Sonia for lying to Toby, and that was until his childish warning that


    she didn¡¯t know whether she shouldugh about it.


    There was no doubt that Toby and Zane were lifetime friends.


    One told her that the other was an emotionally unbnced man while the allegedly emotionally


    unbnced man was calling his friend a bad guy.


    Now that she knew that bickering was the two men¡¯s usual conversation style, she couldn¡¯t believe how


    angry she became when Zane had ¡®ndered¡¯ Toby.


    Thinking of that, Sonia lifted her gaze and humorously looked at Zane. ¡°Okay, I got it. I¡¯ll be right back


    after the discussion,¡± she said into the phone.


    Zane began to wonder whether Toby had mentioned him, and so he pointed at himself and moved his


    other hand around.


    Bingo, Sonia thought while nodding at Zane.


    Knowing that Toby probably said something funny about him, he immediately rolled his eyes.


    On the other side of the phone, Toby was in a better mood after Sonia had reassured him, but the


    heaviness in his heart still wasn¡¯tpletely gone.


    This time, he was worried about Sonia¡¯s n to confront the Gray Family with Zane.


    He knew that she had decided to partner up with Zane for a better revenge, but what he couldn¡¯t


    understand was why she went to Zane instead of him for help.


    With what Toby was capable of, it would only take a snap of the finger to execute the revenge she was


    looking for. However, she had insisted on doing it without his help, and that she wouldn¡¯t forgive him if he


    were to lend her a hand without her knowledge.


    He knew that she was doing so for his sake, but he couldn¡¯t get himself to be okay with the fact that she


    would rather depend on someone else rather than him.


    Toby pinched the bridge of his nose as he forced himself to stop thinking about the thoughts that were


    starting to get overwhelming.


    He had to stop himself now if he didn¡¯t want to be paranoid about Sonia. He was afraid he would start


    assuming the worst with Sonia, should he allow such negative thoughts and emotions fill his mind.


    I have to stop this. I can¡¯t ruin it this time, he sternly warned himself. Sonia might have said that she


    didn¡¯t want me to help her behind her back, but I can always find a way to lend her a hand in broad


    daylight!


    He finally started to calm down a little when he ced himself in the right mindset.


    ¡°Oh, right! Are you busy now?¡± Sonia suddenly asked.


    Toby hummed an acknowledgment. ¡°I¡¯m taking a short break. I have a meeting in a bit.¡±


    Her heart slightly ached for her man who didn¡¯t seem to have the time for a good rest nowadays. ¡°Good


    work.¡± she sighed.


    Toby let out a gentle smile at that. ¡°It is only for now.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she hummed, a smile appearing on her face as well.


    He suddenly thought of the court hearing earlier and swiftly asked, ¡°What was the court¡¯s ruling?¡±


    ¡°Half a year, but Jessica went for a second appeal. She didn¡¯t seem like she was happy with the court¡¯s


    decision.¡± Sonia¡¯s smile now turned bitter as she replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the court¡¯s ruling won¡¯t change no matter how many appeals she makes.¡±


    ¡°Right, and that is why I¡¯m not worried at all,¡± Sonia answered with a shrug.


    A seemingly nervous Toby began to squeeze his fingers and, as nonchntly as he could, asked, ¡°Did


    Jessica behave strangely at court today? Or did she say anything weird?¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 819

    Chapter 819


    Chapter 819 Don¡¯t Wish to Trouble Him


    ¡°Anything strange?¡± Sonia straightened her back and frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked


    tentatively.


    She couldn¡¯t understand why Toby had asked this question.


    In the court, Jessica had indeed said something weird to her¡ªshe asked if Sonia would like to know who


    her biological parents were.


    Could this be what Toby was referring to?


    On the other hand, Toby naturally perceived the doubt in Sonia¡¯s tone too. With downcast eyes, he


    responded calmly, ¡°I¡¯m asking whether Jessica said nasty things to you or threatened you in court.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so this is what you¡¯re referring to by ¡®strange words¡¯.¡± Sonia¡¯s knitted brows smoothened as she


    heaved a sigh of relief inwardly.


    She actually thought there was something that he didn¡¯t want her to find out.


    Toby pressed his lips and said, ¡°Yeah. What else did you think I¡¯m referring to?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I overthought.¡± Smiling, Sonia waved her hands about and continued, ¡°Of course she said


    nasty things to me. You knew how much Jessica hates me. How could she possibly not be agitated upon


    seeing me?¡±


    Toby hummed in response, ¡°That¡¯s true. Besides that, did she do anything else to you?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Not really. She actually almost dashed over to rough me up, but there were court


    officers at the scene and she was handcuffed, so I¡¯m very safe.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Toby nodded slightly as he could finally stop worrying.


    Although he did not ask Sonia directly whether Jessica told her about her biological parents, he could


    deduce from the conversation earlier and from Sonia¡¯s calm tone that Jessica most likely did not.


    If she did tell Sonia about her biological parents, Sonia wouldn¡¯t possibly be this calm.


    Anyway, Toby was relieved that Jessica did not say it.


    He knew the most effective way Jessica could seek revenge against Sonia was to tell her about her


    biological parents, and by doing so, defeat Sonia¡¯s conviction to seek revenge against the Gray Family


    besides putting her into agony and desperation.


    He could prevent Jessica from seeing and keeping in touch with the outsiders when she was in the


    detention center or prison, but he couldn¡¯t stop her from meeting Sonia in court.


    As such, in order to prevent Jessica from taking extreme measures to tell Sonia the truth while at the


    court, Toby had informed the court before this to keep an eye on Jessica so that she could not possibly


    come into contact with Sonia and mention to Sonia anything about her biological parents.


    In fact, Toby was extremely nervous throughout the entire trial today. Because he couldn¡¯t head to court


    and did not know whether the officers there would keep an eye on Jessica as per his instruction, he


    actually couldn¡¯t focus at work today and couldn¡¯t help checking the time now and then.


    When he thought it was about time for the trial to be over, he quickly called Sonia to check in on her.


    If truth be told, he was on pins and needles during the few seconds that Sonia had yet to answer the call.


    He was worried that Sonia might have been made aware of the matter about her biological parents and


    was having a breakdown, hence did not answer the phone.


    Fortunately, the oue was not as serious as he had thought.


    At this thought, Toby supported his forehead with one hand as his nervous look and stiff mood finally


    rxed.


    ¡°Alright Toby, I¡¯m going to hang up first. I still have some important stuff to talk to Zane. Don¡¯t you have a


    meeting soon too? I shall not disturb you first. We can talk at night if there¡¯s anything else,¡± Saying that,


    Sonia cast a nce at Zane, who was seated across from her and looking dispirited.


    Toby¡¯s pupils dted when he heard Sonia call him ¡®Toby¡¯. Stirred up, he gulped and eximed agitatedly


    in a hoarse voice, ¡°What did you just call me?¡±


    Sonia actually called Toby by his first name.


    Truth was, ever since their divorce, she had always addressed him in a formal and distant way¡ªshe


    would either call him President Fuller or Mr. Fuller.


    Even after they reconciled, she had only addressed Toby by his full name.


    Before this, Toby did not think it was inappropriate for Sonia to address him by his full name. However, it


    was only earlier that she called him by his first name did he suddenly realize it actually felt distant to be


    addressed by his full name, and of course, it sounded more intimate when Sonia called his first name


    directly.


    Humans were made of greed. At this moment, Toby realized he couldn¡¯t ept Sonia addressing him by


    his full name anymore. Now that he had heard her call his first name, he wished she would always do the


    same moving forward.


    The smart Sonia naturally perceived the suppressed joy from Toby¡¯s tone at once, and she knew what


    made him so ted all of a sudden. It¡¯s just a name and he¡¯s actually this happy. This guy is so easily


    satisfied!


    Sonia shook her head with a smile and answered generously, ¡°I¡¯m calling you ¡®Toby¡¯.¡±


    It was not an ident, nor did he hear it wrongly.


    Sonia had indeed genuinely called him that.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    A joyful smile spread across Toby¡¯s face. His voice became increasingly hoarse because he was


    agitated, but it was attractive and pleasing to the ear. ¡°I like the way you addressed me just now. Can you


    keep it that way from now on?¡± he asked in anticipation.


    Sonia didn¡¯t want to disappoint him either, so she nodded without hesitation and agreed dly, ¡°Sure.¡±


    The smile on his face widened.


    Thereafter, the two said goodbye in a clingy manner before ending the call.


    Opposite Sonia was Zane, who was extremely jealous and tinged with sour grapes as he saw her


    keeping away her phone with a sweet smile, but he still feigned a disgusted look and teased her as chills


    ran down his spine, ¡°Hey, that¡¯s enough, you guys. Do you have to be so clingy even over a phone call?


    I¡¯ve witnessed too much PDA already!¡±


    Saying that, he rubbed his eyes in a cheeky manner.


    Sonia nced at Zane and made a dry cough in embarrassment. ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating! Why don¡¯t I feel


    like we¡¯re being clingy?¡±


    ¡°Of course you don¡¯t.¡± Zane pouted. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a saying that goes like this¡ªlove makes one blind.


    Anyway, I think you guys are clingy. By the way, did you and Toby mention me just now?¡± he stared at


    Sonia and asked, to which Sonia nodded in response.


    Zane fiddled with the teaspoon in his hand and muttered, ¡°Did he talk bad about me?¡±


    Sonia lifted her brows. ¡°You actually guessed it right!¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Zane rolled his eyes. ¡°Toby and I have been friends for more than 20 years, so of course I know


    him well. After you told him you met me, he would surely taint my name to ruin your impression of me,


    given how possessive and jealous he is. So, tell me¡ªwhat did he say about me?¡±


    Smiling, Sonia took a sip of ck tea and said, ¡°Nothing much. He just said you¡¯re not a good guy and


    asked me not to hang out with you for too long and to go home earlier.¡±


    Zane tutted and blurted, ¡°This fellow¡­ How dare he say I¡¯m not a good guy!¡±


    Following that, he waved his hands about and said, ¡°Forget about it. Since I¡¯ve talked bad about him too


    today, we¡¯re all square now and I shall not go after him. Sonia, I¡¯d like to know why you didn¡¯t tell him


    directly that we met up to discuss the matter regarding Jessica¡¯s child¡¯s gene, though? Why did you have


    to lie to him? You didn¡¯t tell Toby that I¡¯m helping to find apatible gene?¡±


    Zane¡¯s expression became slightly more solemn.


    Sonia nodded and answered, ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t tell him.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Zane couldn¡¯t understand.


    Leaning backward, she rested a finger on her lips and said in a nonchnt manner, ¡°Because I don¡¯t


    want to trouble him. I know you¡¯ll surely have doubts¡ªToby is my boyfriend. Isn¡¯t it reasonable for me to


    ask for his help? Why did I say I don¡¯t wish to trouble him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He nodded. ¡°Exactly what I¡¯m thinking.¡±


    Sonia smiled and continued, ¡°It¡¯s very simple, actually. I don¡¯t wish to owe Toby favors anymore. He has


    already helped me a lot and saved me several times before we got back together. I¡¯ve already owed him


    too much, so I don¡¯t wish to continue adding more to that.¡±


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 Chapter 820

    Chapter 820


    Chapter 820 Buy You a Meal


    ¡°That¡¯s not an issue. You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend now. If everything goes smoothly, both of you


    will even remarry and be husband and wife by then. You¡¯re not really owing him or whatsoever. Isn¡¯t


    it reasonable for him to do these for you?¡± Zane shrugged disapprovingly.


    However, Sonia shook her head and replied, ¡°Nothing in this world should be taken for granted. True


    enough, Toby and I are boyfriend and girlfriend now and will eventually be husband and wife, but


    this doesn¡¯t mean that he has to do everything for me. This concept is wrong per se. Besides, I don¡¯t


    prefer owing favors to others to begin with because it makes me feel ufortable as if there¡¯s a weight


    on my mind. I can only feel relieved upon returning those favors.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can tell that.¡± Zane looked at Sonia and agreed.


    Sonia smiled and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve just said that I¡¯ve already owed Toby too much even before we got


    back together, so I don¡¯t wish to owe him more. Moreover, now that we¡¯ve reconciled, I¡¯ll feel inferior to


    him and that we¡¯re not equal in this rtionship if I have to trouble him with everything and owe favors to


    him. In addition, if I¡¯m counting on him to solve all problems for me, I¡¯ll lose my problem-solving skills and


    the ability to think independently. Eventually, I¡¯ll think of asking for Toby¡¯s help whenever I encounter a


    difficulty, but have you thought of this¡­¡±


    ¡°Think of what?¡± Zane blinked in confusion.


    She put the cup of ck tea on the table. ¡°At this moment, Toby is very much in love with me. I believe


    he¡¯ll not turn down any requests from me and he¡¯ll try his best to achieve them. As much as this is great,


    if our love for each other fades off someday and he stops loving me anymore, but it has already be


    a habit for me to rely on him, will he continue helping by that time?¡±


    She shook her head and added, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Sometimes, love will cease to exist after it is depleted.


    So, I don¡¯t want to treat Toby like a handyman who can handle everything for me. Not only is this unfair


    to him, it¡¯s also a misjudgment and distrust of my own ability.¡±


    Zane waspletely stunned upon hearing Sonia¡¯s statements. He parted his lips but couldn¡¯t say a


    word to refute her.


    In his original conception, a man should pamper his woman and directly help her to solve any problems


    or difficulties when one arises. He thought it was the right thing to do because it was a man¡¯s


    responsibility.


    However, after listening to Sonia¡¯s opinion, he was able to look at things from a different perspective. All


    of a sudden, he thought his original conception didn¡¯t appear to be right after all.


    Indeed, it was a way to show one¡¯s love and care toward his lover by helping his lover to solve every


    problem.


    Nheless, this love would indeed make his lover lose the ability to be independent, and make the


    other party be someone who couldn¡¯t handle situations independently. So, was this actually an act


    of love or harm?


    Zane reckoned the answer was both. It was not wrong to lend a helping hand, but one shouldn¡¯t do it


    blindly in an obsequious manner. It would only be truly meaningful for one to extend his support to his


    lover when the other party ran into bottlenecks.


    Besides, Zane totally agreed with one point that Sonia brought up¡ªwhen one was in love with another


    person, he or she would not mind taking all the trouble to solve every problem for the other party.


    However, once the love ceased, the person would start feeling annoyed.


    As much as the person might continue helping the other party for the sake of the rtionship that they


    once had, he or she would be tired of it after several times.


    At this thought, the affection in Zane¡¯s gaze toward Sonia increased. ¡°Indeed, you¡¯re still so unique and


    sober when looking at things.¡± And that was exactly the reason why he couldn¡¯t let her go.


    Nheless, Sonia did not perceive the implication in Zane¡¯s words. Smiling, she said, ¡°Besides these


    reasons, there¡¯s another one¡ªToby will definitely not allow me to return him favors even though he has


    helped me this much. If I insist on returning him favors, he will surely be displeased, but I don¡¯t wish to


    have arguments with him. So, when I face some difficulties that can¡¯t be solved on my own, I¡¯ll think of


    you and Charles. At least, we¡¯re friends, so you guys can¡¯t reject it when I want to return you favors


    because you know I¡¯ll be unhappy if you actually did.¡±


    With a sudden realization, Zane wore an unfathomable smile. ¡°No wonder. I was thinking why you didn¡¯t


    seek Toby¡¯s help for this matter but actually came to me. So, it turns out that it¡¯s because I won¡¯t and


    can¡¯t reject your return of favor. I guess the same reason goes to the pursuit of the Gray Family, then.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sonia stared at Zane.


    Zane leaned forward slightly and exined, ¡°Before this, I couldn¡¯t understand why you didn¡¯t ask for


    Toby¡¯s help to seek revenge because that would be much easier. Although Toby can¡¯t tackle the Gray


    Family directly because he might receive warning from the authorities, given his power, it¡¯s a piece of


    cake for him to destroy the Gray Family in the dark. Even if the authorities know it is Toby¡¯s doing, they


    can¡¯t really give him warnings since he did not do it outrightly.¡±


    He tapped his fingers on the table and continued, ¡°So, if you actually asked Toby to help you go after the


    Gray Family, the Gray Family would have long been gone and won¡¯t be alive and kicking until today.


    However, you did not seek Toby¡¯s help all these while and insisted on relying on yourself. After so much


    effort, the effect is still vague. I was wondering what the reason behind your approach was, but I didn¡¯t


    expect it is actually because of this.¡±


    ¡°Well, this is not the sole reason,¡± Sonia said with downcast eyes. ¡°The main reason is that the grudge is


    between the Reed Family and the Gray Family, so what¡¯s the point of leveraging the Fuller Family¡¯s


    power to seek revenge? The Fuller Family has such achievements today thanks to Toby¡¯s grandfather.


    His grandfather is one of the pioneers in developing this country and has left a very good impression on


    the authorities. I don¡¯t wish the positive image of Toby¡¯s grandfather, which he had diligently built all


    these years, to be affected in the authorities¡¯ opinion just because Toby helped me to seek revenge. I


    can¡¯t be that selfish.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not wrong to say that, but have you thought that Toby actually will not let the Gray Family off


    too? Tina Gray hypnotized Toby¡ªthis alone has started a feud between Toby and the Gray Family, yet


    he has not gone after the Gray Family all these while. Have you thought of the reasons behind it?¡± Zane


    asked.


    Sonia smiled and replied, ¡°I¡¯m actually aware of it because I¡¯ve asked Toby the same question before


    this. He said it¡¯s because of me. He knew I wanted to seek revenge on the Gray Family with my own


    ability. So, after I rejected his help, he established that he can wait for me to finish taking vengeance first,


    then he¡¯ll handle the remaining powers of the Gray Family and take that as a revenge on Tina for


    hypnotizing him.¡±


    ¡°So, you guys actually have had everything arranged. It seems like I¡¯ve been worrying for y¡¯all for


    nothing.¡± Zane twitched the corner of his lips in resignation.


    Sonia checked the time on her watch and said, ¡°Please don¡¯t say that. I appreciate your concern toward


    us. You helped me to find apatible gene this time, so I owe you a favor. I¡¯ll do whatever you ask me


    to, but of course, illegal affairs are an exception.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Zane waved his hands about. ¡°I¡¯m an officer to begin with, so I won¡¯t possibly consciously


    break thew. Besides, I won¡¯t ask you to do something that puts you in a difficult position, but I can¡¯t


    think of what I need yet. I¡¯ll let you know after I¡¯ve decided.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, but please don¡¯t forget about it because if you do, I might take it as I¡¯m unaware of it,¡± Sonia


    quipped. Thereafter, she stood up and took her purse. ¡°It¡¯s almost lunch time. Let me buy you lunch to


    thank you for apanying me to the trial just now and for helping me to look for the gene.¡±


    Zane leaned backward vigntly and blurted, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of using this meal to fulfill the


    promise earlier.¡±


    She was amused. ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    Hearing that, he became even more alert.


    Sonia rolled an eye at him and said, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ll be belittling myself if I actually intended to return


    your huge favor just by buying you a meal. Alright, let¡¯s go. Time for lunch.¡±


    ¡°Coming.¡± A giggling Zane followed Sonia and went out of the cafe.


    After lunch, Zane and Sonia went their separate ways.


    Zane did not head back to Coleman Vi but drove to the Fuller Group as he wanted to rify some


    matters with Toby.


    Upon arriving at the Fuller Group, Zane walked straight to the elevator without anyone stopping him.


    After all, he came so frequently in the past that even the receptionists knew him, so they naturally


    wouldn¡¯t stop him.


    However, the truth was Zane never came ever since he told Toby that he was in love with Sonia. And in


    fact, the friendship between the two men was not as deep as before with even cracks in their


    rtionship.


    Nevertheless, the outsiders were unaware of all these and they actually thought Toby and Zane were still


    as close as before.


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 Chapter 821

    Chapter 821


    Chapter 821 You Have No Right to Ask


    Zane made his way up to the highest floor of the building without much hassle and found himself


    standing just outside Toby¡¯s office.


    He was just about to knock on Toby¡¯s door when the one next to it, which led into the personal assistant¡¯s


    office, opened.


    Tom emerged with a folder in hand, and when he saw Zane outside Toby¡¯s office, he froze. ¡°Mr.


    Coleman?¡±


    Zane raised a brow but made no reply.


    After snapping out of his initial surprise, Tom adjusted his sses and asked, ¡°What are you doing here,


    Mr. Coleman? Are you here to see President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Why else would I be standing outside his office?¡± Zane rolled his eyes at the question. He then added,


    ¡°Is Toby in?¡±


    As though realizing that his question was redundant, Tom let out an embarrassed cough and answered


    stoically, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s in. If you¡¯d like to see him, I¡¯ll go and inform him of your arrival. Just a moment,


    please.¡±


    Zane narrowed his eyes and asked before Tom could slither into Toby¡¯s office, ¡°What, do I have to


    announce myself now that I want to see him?¡±


    Tom could tell that the man was decidedly grumpy about this, but he remainedposed as he


    exined patiently, ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, Mr. Coleman. Your affection for Miss Reed has made President


    Fuller rather unhappy, and as such, he has told me that you are not allowed to go right into his office like


    old times just to see him; you will need his permission.¡± With that, he shrugged helplessly as if to show


    that he had no choice in the matter.


    Zane quirked his lips and clicked his tongue, clearly irritated by this unexpected rule. ¡°A little childish and


    petty of him to deny me from seeing him without prior notice just because of my feelings for Sonia, don¡¯t


    you think so? Fine, whatever. Just go in and tell him that I¡¯m here.¡± He waved his hand impatiently as he


    spoke.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Tom said with a professional smile. Then, he turned to knock on Toby¡¯s door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Toby¡¯s cold and crisp voice called out from beyond the door after Tom had knocked thrice.


    Tom let his hand drop to his side and opened the door. He walked in and said, ¡°I have the documents


    you asked for, President Fuller.¡±


    As he sat behind his work desk, Toby hummed in response without looking up to acknowledge his


    assistant. ¡°Just leave them here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom carefully ced the folder on a spot on the desk that was within Toby¡¯s reach. After that,


    he took a step back to put some distance between himself and the desk before saying, ¡°President Fuller,


    Mr. Coleman is here to see you.¡±


    Toby stopped writing abruptly when he heard this, and his pen scraped a hole through the paper. His


    handwriting was ruined too, and it didn¡¯t look as neat now.


    As he frowned, he set his pen aside and took up the piece of paper before crumpling it and throwing it


    into the trash. After that, he rubbed the space between his brows and asked somberly, ¡°What is he doing


    here?¡±


    Tom shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I didn¡¯t ask, but judging by how at ease he seems, I reckon he¡¯s here


    to catch up with you.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby sputtered. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to catch up on, so he must be here for some


    other reason or ulterior motive. Let him in.¡±


    ¡°Very well, President Fuller,¡± Tom said with a nod. Then, he turned to walk out the door.


    Toby leaned into his seat and closed his eyes. He used his hands to massage the area around his eyes


    as though to relieve them of the weariness from a day¡¯s work.


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Just then, he heard the sound of approaching footfalls. He knew who hade into his office, but that


    didn¡¯t deter him from massaging the area around his eyes, nor did it make him open his eyes and greet


    the person. It was as if no one had entered in the first ce.


    Zane was not at all peeved by Toby¡¯s outright indifference, and he merely chuckled as he looked around


    the office. While doing so, he mused mischievously, ¡°My, my, Toby¡ªit¡¯s only been months since Ist


    dropped in here, but I can see you¡¯ve made some very big changes. I won¡¯t say much about the warm-


    colored carpet, but those throw pillows on the couch and the adorable odds and ends that I¡¯m sure are


    part of your new decoration? I¡¯m a little surprised, honestly. You didn¡¯t redecorate the space for Sonia,


    did you?¡±


    Toby¡¯s preferences when it came to interior designs were emblematic of what he was like as a person¡ª


    cold and aloof. Be it his own bedroom or his office, he would always go for cooler palettes that brought


    an intimidating edge to the space, and anyone who found themselves standing amidst such decor would


    be unnerved by its obviousck of warmth.


    There had been several asions in the past when Zane tried to persuade Toby to switch up his


    preferences and stop turning his office into something like a torture chamber. ¡°Others might start thinking


    of you as a sadist or something,¡± he had pointed out to Toby back then.


    However, Toby did not take any of his advice.


    Now that his office had decorations that would¡¯ve never been there in the first ce, Zane couldn¡¯t help


    but wonder if Sonia was the driving force behind this sudden change in Toby¡¯s preferences.


    Presently, Toby put his hands down and opened his eyes slowly. He ignored Zane¡¯s question and instead


    asked impassively, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Zane did not try to force an answer out of him. He shrugged nonchntly and pulled out the seat across


    from Toby before he grinned at thetter. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal or anything; I just want to know why you¡¯re


    trying to hide the identities of Sonia¡¯s birth parents from her.¡±


    Toby¡¯s expression shifted at once as a dark look shed in his eyes. He stared at Zane like how an eagle


    might zone in on its prey and hissed, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    Zane rolled his eyes. ¡°Please, like I¡¯d believe you. I heard with my own ears that Jessica was about to tell


    Sonia who her birth parents were while they were in court today, but before she could get her words out,


    the bailiff stopped her. Under normal circumstances, the bailiff would never stop the used from


    speaking to anyone after the court hearing, especially if the perp has onlymitted a minor offense like


    Jessica. Yet, the bailiff stopped her from continuing her conversation with Sonia anyway.¡±


    He continued, ¡°Anyone withmon sense would know that the bailiff was acting under someone¡¯s


    orders, and there are only three people in Seafield capable of giving such orders. Two of them have


    nothing to do with Sonia whatsoever, which leaves you as the third and only person who could have


    intervened.¡±


    He was still smiling at Toby even though thetter was already looking mutinous. ¡°Toby, I just want to


    know why you¡¯re so intent on keeping Sonia¡¯s birth parents a secret from her. I can tell from the fact that


    you had someone stop Jessica from spilling the truth that you are terrified of Sonia finding out. Is there


    something about her birth parents that you think could be a problem for her?¡± he asked.


    Toby clenched his fists and asked in a voice so emotionless that it sent chills running down Zane¡¯s spine,


    ¡°How would you know what took ce during the court hearing unless you were there too?¡± He could


    think of no other reasonable exnation otherwise.


    Upon realizing that he had exposed himself, Zane shed him a sheepish smile. ¡°Come on, that¡¯s not the


    point here. I was only there by coincidence. After all, I thought you knew about my being there at the


    court hearing after Sonia called you on the phone. Sonia and I had agreed to meet up not after the


    hearing but before it, so I ended up sitting in the courtroom, and¡­¡± He let out an awkward cough. ¡°Well,


    that¡¯s how I found out about it.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Toby pressed his lips into a thin line. The nerve of this guy to attend the court hearing


    with Little Leaf! I didn¡¯t attend the hearing, and I¡¯m her boyfriend! However, this douchebag decided that


    he would take my ce and stay through the entire hearing instead!


    The thought infuriated him to no end, and it upset him even more that Sonia did not mention this to him


    when they spoke on the phone earlier. He began to wonder if she conveniently left this detail out


    because she thought it insignificant or if she was trying to keep it a secret from him.


    As he pondered on either possibility, his brows drew together. Meanwhile, the air around him grew cold


    and suffocating.


    Even Zane was starting to feel uneasy. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously before


    saying, ¡°Forget about that, Toby. Come on, tell me what¡¯s the deal with Sonia¡¯s birth parents and the


    exact moment you discovered their identities.¡±


    Toby wouldn¡¯t have gone to such lengths to keep Sonia from learning the truth if he had no idea of it. As


    such, Zane was sure that he had the answer.


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you anyway?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits as he gazed at Zane indifferently. ¡°This is


    between me and Sonia, and it has nothing to do with you. You have no right to ask about this.¡±

 Chapter 822

    Chapter 822


    Chapter 822 Zane¡¯s Confusion


    The way Toby said this confirmed Zane¡¯s suspicion that he knew who Sonia¡¯s birth parents were.


    Toby was irate after being questioned on matters concerning Sonia, but that did not dissuade Zane from


    pressing further. Instead, he chuckled as he shrugged nonchntly. ¡°It¡¯s a little toote for you to point


    that out to me, Toby. If you told me that this had nothing to do with me before I went to the court hearing


    with Sonia, I¡¯d dly walk away right now without another word. However, as things are, I¡¯m already


    involved. Jessica didn¡¯t tell Sonia everything back in the courtroom, but she had said enough to make


    Sonia grow suspicious.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s back stiffened as a grim look passed over his face. ¡°What do you mean she¡¯s grown


    suspicious?¡±


    ¡°You heard me,¡± Zane affirmed with a nod. ¡°It was only after Jessica had brought up the matter of Sonia¡¯s


    birth parents when the bailiff pped a hand over her mouth to stop her from continuing. Based on the


    timing of the bailiff¡¯s gesture, anyone could tell that it was made to stop Jessica from speaking on the


    matter. Sonia isn¡¯t a fool to begin with, and she¡¯s bright enough to connect the dots right away. If I hadn¡¯t


    been quick enough to sense that you were behind this and talked Sonia out of her initial suspicions, she


    would have demanded an exnation from Jessica herself. You know how that could have been a real


    possibility.¡±


    Toby clenched his fists and made no reply. He felt nothing but a strong surge of rage for the ipetent


    fools who worked at the courthouse.


    ¡°If you think about it, Toby, you ought to thank me for stepping in,¡± Zane added insouciantly as he


    swiveled in his chair. ¡°Do you still think that this has nothing to do with me? I was dragged into this the


    moment I covered for you, so what choice do you have now other than to tell me who Sonia¡¯s birth


    parents are? That would be for the best, and I can keep covering for you if I know the truth. I wouldn¡¯t


    want to unknowingly help her track them down.¡±


    This rendered Toby speechless, for he knew that Zane made sense.


    If Zane were to work together with Sonia to take down the Gray Family, it naturally meant that he would


    look into them as well. Eventually, he would start digging up more information on Rina. Once he had all


    these leads andy them side by side with Sonia¡¯s findings, he would inadvertently help her piece up the


    puzzle.


    There was no telling that Sonia wouldn¡¯t start questioning her own identity after that.


    In fact, it was impossible to assume that she wouldn¡¯t figure it out, and there could only be so many


    coincidences before real doubt began to sink in. More importantly, Sonia was already suspicious; based


    on her character, she wouldn¡¯t be so easily dissuaded by a few lighthearted words on Zane¡¯s part.


    Toby lowered his gaze as he thought about what he had asked Sonia on the phone earlier. He asked her


    if Jessica said anything strange to her in the courtroom, specifically anything that alluded to the identity


    of Sonia¡¯s birth parents.


    He had believed her when she said Jessica told her nothing of the sort. However, after hearing what


    Zane said, he realized that Sonia had lied to him.


    Jessica had told her about her birth parents, which was a strange topic in itself. Yet, Sonia did not ry


    this to Toby at all. This could only mean that she was suspicious of him, and even though Zane had tried


    to put her doubts to rest, it couldn¡¯t have been enough to quell her suspicions. Otherwise, why would she


    have lied to Toby?


    At the thought of this, Toby grew somber as he began to worry. He was acutely aware of the fact that he


    was losing control over the matter of Sonia¡¯s birth parents. Now that her suspicions had been seeded, it


    wouldn¡¯t take long for them to sprout.


    Sooner orter, she would discover the truth about her birth parents, and Toby feared it might be sooner


    thanter.


    For a moment, he was so frustrated that he even began to feel a strong urge to murder those who might


    tell Sonia the truth, particrly Jessica.


    However, killing Jessica was not a feasible n since it would only aggravate Sonia¡¯s suspicions.


    More importantly, Sonia still needed Jessica to bear a child for the Reed Family.


    As such, Toby needed to abandon quick measures and focus on the big picture.


    Meanwhile, Zane had a bad feeling when he saw the dark and ominous look on Toby¡¯s face. He


    understood the man well enough to know that he was nning something wicked.


    ¡°Hey, Toby, maybe you should¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, Toby looked up at him and cut him off icily, ¡°I can tell you who Little


    Leaf¡¯s birth parents are, but you must not tell anyone. If you do, I won¡¯t spare you from my wrath even


    though I¡¯ve known you for over twenty years.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Upon hearing Toby¡¯s grave tone, Zane immediately knew that there was something wrong with Sonia¡¯s


    birth parents, and whatever it was must be kept secret from everyone else, especially Sonia herself.


    Perhaps something drastic will happen if she finds out. At the thought of this, he nodded and promised in


    all seriousness, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t breathe a word about it. I¡¯ll cover for you, and I¡¯ll even get someone


    to keep an eye on Jessica so that she won¡¯t get the chance to tell Sonia about it.¡±


    When Toby heard this, his expression softened slightly, and he lowered his gaze as he said in clipped


    tones, ¡°Sonia¡¯s birth parents are Titus and Julia Gray.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Zane was so shocked by this that he stood up from his chair and gaped at Toby


    incredulously. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be joking, Toby. How could Titus and Julia be her parents?¡±


    Toby met his bewildered gaze and asked, ¡°Do you honestly think I¡¯d joke about something like this?¡±


    Zane was at a loss for words. After all, he knew Toby would never do that. He was too serious to make a


    joke or prank someone, which could only mean that he was telling the truth.


    His thoughts mored at that moment, and he lookedpletely dumbfounded. He clenched his fists as


    he paced from one end of Toby¡¯s desk to the other, and he muttered in a seemingly endless loop, ¡°How


    could they be Sonia¡¯s parents? How? Last I checked, Titus and Julia didn¡¯t have two daughters.¡±


    Toby took a sip of his iced coffee and said, ¡°No, you¡¯re right. They only have one daughter named Rina.¡±


    Zane stopped in his tracks and stared at him with wide eyes. ¡°Are you telling me that Sonia and Rina are


    the same people?¡±


    Toby did not shake his head or nod. He made no answer, but it was clear that he was confirming the fact


    that Sonia was indeed Rina.


    After inhaling sharply, Zane then asked, ¡°How can Sonia be Rina? If that¡¯s the case, who the hell is


    Taylor?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Taylor the recement that you and Sonia found?¡± Toby asked as he eyed the other man steadily.


    Zane parted his lips, and after a pause, he said, ¡°Yeah, she was supposed to be the recement at first,


    but the DNA test afterward showed that she was indeed Rina. How can Sonia be Rina all of a sudden?


    What the hell is going on? My head hurts from having to process this.¡±


    He sat down and clutched his head as if to keep his mind from imploding, and he looked like he was


    questioning everything he had learned since birth.


    Toby set his iced coffee down and said curtly, ¡°The DNA test results were fake.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zane eximed in shock. ¡°Fake?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Zane was bbergasted as he raked his fingers through his hair. ¡°The results can¡¯t be fake,


    though. I was there throughout the whole process, and I had my men keep an eye on the other facilities


    too. There is no way those results could¡¯ve been faked.¡±


    Toby gazed at him witheringly. ¡°The results weren¡¯t sabotaged because the DNA samples used in the


    test were Sonia¡¯s and Titus¡¯ right from the beginning, not Taylor¡¯s and Titus¡¯. In other words, it wasn¡¯t the


    DNA test results that got swapped or tampered with, but Taylor¡¯s DNA sample.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Zane put up his hand. ¡°Let me get this straight. You said that Taylor¡¯s DNA sample was


    swapped, but I saw her pull out her hair for the sample with my own eyes. Sonia never once pulled a


    single strand of her own hair, and Taylor¡¯s sample was sent to the facilities immediately. I had my men


    keep an eye on the whole process, so there was no way the sample could¡¯ve been swapped. How in the


    world did Sonia¡¯s DNA sample get mixed up in all this anyway?¡±


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 Chapter 823

    Chapter 823


    Chapter 823 You Helped, Didn¡¯t You?


    Toby looked up calmly and gave him a look. ¡°The hair that Taylor plucked from her head belongs to


    Sonia.¡±


    ¡°What the heck?¡± Zane was stunned. ¡°Sonia¡¯s hair is growing on Taylor¡¯s head? Toby, you must be


    kidding. How could she have Sonia¡¯s hair on her head? Could it be that she took Sonia¡¯s scalp and


    nted it on her own head?¡±


    That was utterly impossible.


    Toby looked at him in disdain. ¡°I meant that Taylor got a strand of Sonia¡¯s hair beforehand and ced it


    on her hair clip. If needs be, she could always take out Sonia¡¯s hair with precision and use it for DNA


    tests in ce of her own.¡±


    Upon hearing Toby¡¯s exnation, Zane finally understood. ¡°I see. If that¡¯s the case, Taylor probably


    discovered that Sonia is the daughter of Titus and his wife, and that she¡¯s the real Rina Gray. Is that why


    she got Sonia¡¯s hair beforehand just in case?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded.


    Zane frowned. ¡°How did Taylor know that Sonia is Rina, though?¡±


    Toby parted his thin lips. ¡°The red mole.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The red mole on Little Leaf¡¯s wrist,¡± said Toby once more.


    Zane¡¯s eyes widened as he made the connection. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s because of that! No wonder Taylor


    whacked Sonia unconscious and removed the red mole on her wrist. She was scared that if the mole


    continued to exist, Titus and his wife would eventually find out and realize that Sonia is the real Rina.


    Thus, Taylor made the first move by gouging out the red mole in case her identity got exposed. No


    wonder¡­¡±


    For the longest time, he couldn¡¯t figure out why Taylor would knock Sonia out cold and attack the mole


    on Sonia¡¯s wrist.


    After all, there weren¡¯t any grudges between the two, and Sonia was even the one who brought Taylor


    back to the Gray Family for Taylor to be reunited with them.


    If Taylor did that, wouldn¡¯t she be repaying kindness with evil?


    Of course, one could think that Taylor had done this for the Gray Family.


    After all, once Taylor returned to the Gray Family, she would be one of them too. She would naturally be


    at odds with Sonia like the Grays, and it would be understandable for her to inflict harm on Sonia.


    However, based on the eternal hatred between the Grays and the Reeds, if Taylor wanted to deal with


    Sonia on the Grays¡¯ behalf, wouldn¡¯t it have been easier for her to just kill Sonia?


    After all, Taylor could¡¯ve simply killed the woman back then.


    However, Taylor didn¡¯t do that. She just sliced a piece of flesh from Sonia¡¯s wrist in puzzlement.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Because of Taylor¡¯s nonsensical move, they couldn¡¯t figure out her real motive at all.


    It was only now that Zane understood she was trying to hide the fact that Sonia was the real Rina.


    Upon thinking about this, Zane suddenly thought of something and looked at Toby with aplicated


    expression. ¡°Toby, since when did you know that Sonia is Rina?¡±


    ¡°Not long after Taylor attacked Little Leaf, I identally heard Mrs. Gray mentioning that there¡¯s a red


    mole on Rina¡¯s wrist. I linked that to Little Leaf¡¯s removed mole, and I guessed Little Leaf¡¯s identity. After


    that, I managed to get my hands on Little Leaf and Titus¡¯ DNA samples to run a test, hence confirming


    Little Leaf¡¯s identity. I¡¯ve also discussed it with Taylor at the police station before,¡± said Toby calmly as he


    inteced his fingers and set them against his belly.


    Zane was dumbfounded. ¡°You knew about this from the beginning?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t deny it.


    ¡°In that case, why didn¡¯t you tell Sonia?¡± Zane interrogated, cing both his hands on Toby¡¯s desk. ¡°Why


    did you let Taylor take her rightful ce and identity?¡±


    Toby frowned. He was about to speak when Zane thought of something and hastily said, ¡°Wait, I just


    remembered that after Taylor attacked Sonia, she angered me and Sonia. We were ready to expose that


    Taylor wasn¡¯t the real Rina, but an impostor we set up. Did you already know that Taylor wasn¡¯t Rina?¡±


    Toby gazed at Zane with a calm look in his eyes, silent.


    Nheless, his unspoken answer was clear.


    Indeed, he had already known about this at that time.


    Zane drew in a sharp breath. ¡°When we got Taylor and Titus to go through the DNA test, you helped


    Taylor, didn¡¯t you? You knew early on that Taylor wasn¡¯t Rina, and you even discussed it with her.


    However, you didn¡¯t expose Taylor¡¯s identity, and you even helped her to hide it. After Rina¡¯s custody


    ended, you probably knew that Taylor had Sonia¡¯s hair with her when you carried out the DNA test in


    front of everyone present. Perhaps you even helped Taylor get that piece of hair. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re wrong.¡± Toby leaned back slightly in his chair while maintaining a calm expression on his


    face. ¡°I didn¡¯t help Taylor get the hair; she did it herself. Before Taylor got the hair, I didn¡¯t even know she


    had this ace up her sleeve.¡±


    Zane frowned again, and his eyes were knitted tightly. It was obvious that he hadn¡¯t expected to guess


    wrongly.


    However, it didn¡¯t matter. Judging by Toby¡¯s expression, he had guessed something right.


    Toby had definitely helped Taylor that day, but what was it?


    Zane lowered his gaze and thought for a while before he realized something. His hands, which were still


    on the desk, clenched into fists. ¡°It¡¯s Mr. and Mrs. Carey.¡±


    A dim light shed across the depths of Toby¡¯s eyes, but they disappeared instantly.


    Zane leaned forward and stared at Toby. ¡°It¡¯s Mr. and Mrs. Carey, right? You didn¡¯t switch out the test


    report between Taylor and Titus, but you definitely switched out the one between Taylor and the Careys.


    Taylor couldn¡¯t get those testing facilities to help her, and neither could Sonia. I would¡¯ve never helped,


    whereas Titus and his wife wouldn¡¯t either since they wanted to know if Taylor was their daughter. Hence,


    the only one who could manipte it was you, Toby.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t switch out the tests; I switched out the hair. The hair that was sent to be tested with the Careys


    didn¡¯t belong to Taylor; it was Little Leaf¡¯s,¡± Toby said coldly, indirectly admitting that he had indeed


    tampered with the results.


    Zane squeezed his eyes shut. ¡°I knew it. You knew Sonia¡¯s real identity so early on, but from the moment


    you chose not to tell her, I knew that you definitely helped Taylor so that she could better hide the fact


    that she was an impostor. Had she been acting on her own, she couldn¡¯t have hidden it until now. Why


    did you do that, Toby? What good is that to you?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t understand.


    The look in Toby¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m doing it for myself? Do you remember the


    rtionship between the Reeds and the Grays? Sonia grew up in the Reed Family and believes that she


    is one of them, and she wants to exact revenge for them. She hates the Grays to the core, but if you


    suddenly tell her that she isn¡¯t actually a Reed but a Gray that she absolutely loathes instead, how do


    you think she¡¯ll react?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Zane swallowed, suddenly unable to speak.


    Then, he lowered his gaze and tried to stand in Sonia¡¯s shoes. He imagined how Sonia would react if


    she knew of her true identity.


    At that thought, Zane¡¯s handsome face turned visibly pale, and there was a lump in his throat as he


    spoke muchter in a hoarse voice. ¡°I know what you mean now. No wonder you¡¯re hiding it from her and


    choosing to help Taylor settle in as Rina. You fear that Sonia cannot ept this truth, and she¡¯ll¡­¡±


    Toby pursed his thin lips while remaining silent.


    Zane heaved a long sigh. ¡°How can this be possible? Fate is so cruel. What sort of sick joke is this? Why


    is Sonia actually Rina?¡±


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 824

    Chapter 824


    Chapter 824 Lovey-Dovey


    Despite Toby¡¯s silence, he couldn¡¯t agree more with Zane¡¯s words. Well, we¡¯re all just puppets and toys


    to our own fate, aren¡¯t we? Then, he rubbed his forehead and asked Zane with a tired look on his face,


    ¡°Well, do you think I should tell Sonia about her actual identity?¡±


    ¡°Unless I want to see her suffer, I think you should tell her the truth.¡± Zane bitterly shook his head.


    ¡°In that case, you ought to keep your lips sealed as well. After all, we both don¡¯t want her to know


    anything more than she should,¡± said Toby as he grunted coldly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I must do.¡± Zane waved his hand without saying a single word more.


    Since Toby was a man of a few words himself, the subsequent moments went on without a response


    from either of them. Soon, the atmosphere in the office was filled with an oppressive silence.


    It was only a few momentster that Zane started speaking with a slightly confused expression on his


    face. He asked, ¡°Toby, I know that you¡¯re holding out on Sonia about her identity for her own good, but


    some secrets can never be buried forever. Have you ever thought about what would happen if she finds


    out about it one day? By then, don¡¯t you think she is going to be so mad at you knowing that you kept her


    in the dark all this while?¡±


    Toby fiddled with his fingers for a while before he replied, ¡°She will certainly me me for it, but I believe


    she wille to understand why I did it sooner orter. After all, she is smart, and I trust she knows what


    to do.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡± Zane shrugged his shoulders.


    Then, Toby picked up the cup and guzzled down the coffee in it. ¡°Well, now that you know everything


    you¡¯ve wanted to know, is there anything else I can help you with?¡±


    Zane sensed that it was Toby¡¯s hint for him to be gone, so he curled his lips upward and smirked. ¡°Hey,


    you and I are like brothers in arms, but why do I feel like I¡¯m something disposable that you merely use


    and throw away? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little too mean to treat yourrade like that?¡±


    While Toby reacted by shooting an annoyed gaze at his friend, Zane stood up and said, ¡°Fine, stop


    giving me that look, okay? You¡¯re scaring me. I¡¯ll get going now.¡±


    ¡°Tom!¡± Toby called out to his assistant.


    Tom, who was waiting outside the door, heard his name and quickly pushed the door open before


    coming in. ¡°Yes, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Please see him out.¡± Toby jutted his chin toward Zane.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Tom smiled at Zane. ¡°This way, Mr. Coleman.¡±


    Zane rolled his eyes. ¡°Were you waiting outside the door all this while? Were you aware of that too,


    Toby? Damn, you two had this all nned seeing how ready you are to see me out of here the moment


    you got the chance, am I right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d we¡¯ve made ourselves clear about that, Mr. Coleman. This way, please.¡± Tom gazed at Zane


    with a smile. Well, I wouldn¡¯t make a fuss if I were you. Otherwise, things will turn ugly.


    As soon as Zane understood Toby¡¯s implicit gesture, he pursed his lips in speechlessness and walked


    away with Tom.


    Instantly, the office returned to its usual quiet and peaceful state. At the same time, Toby looked in the


    direction of where Zane had left, feeling uneasy and restless as thetter¡¯s words reverberated in his


    mind.


    In fact, he was somewhat worried that Sonia would me him when she found out about the truth, but


    even so, he¡¯d rather take his chances because he thought he was doing the right thing for her.


    Thus, he told himself that he would not regret his decision just as a determined look shed across his


    face before it disappeared.


    Later that afternoon, Toby finished his work before it was time to go home and drive to Paradigm Co. By


    the time he arrived there, it was already 6.00PM.


    However, he remained in his car and sent Sonia a text message to inform her about his arrival, but when


    he didn¡¯t get a reply from her a few momentster, he began to feel a little anxious and wondered if she


    wasn¡¯t replying to his messages intentionally because of the call they had earlier that morning.


    As he pursed his lips, he ced his phone in his pocket and grabbed the coat lying in the front


    passenger seat next to him before he wrapped the scarf Sonia had made for him around his neck. After


    that, he stepped out of his car and made his way to Paradigm Co.¡¯s lobby.


    Soon, Toby¡¯s appearance in Paradigm Co.¡¯s lobby immediately stunned everyone, causing many heads


    to turn as they didn¡¯t expect to see him there.


    After all, Toby was the Fuller Group¡¯s president. He was the youngest and richest man in Seafield and


    the whole country, not to mention the fact that he was also among the top few wealthiest men in the


    world.


    Therefore, the employees present felt fortunate to have run into him after work, thinking that he was


    there to see Sonia. While everyone else was wondering about the purpose of his visit, Toby couldn¡¯t care


    less about the attention that was directed at him and walked toward the front desk emotionlessly.


    As Toby got closer and closer, the receptionist at the front desk felt more and more nervous. She tried to


    talk but struggled to do so, and she stuttered while her cheeks blushed wildly. ¡°G-Greetings. P-President


    Fuller¡­ How may I help you?¡±


    The receptionist wasn¡¯t inept; she was simply just too stunned to entertain Toby. After all, she hadn¡¯t


    even met Sonia in person, let alone someone else even more powerful than her chairman. Nheless,


    she was still able to pull herself together and speak.


    ¡°Is Little Leaf still here?¡± Toby asked calmly.


    ¡°Little Leaf?¡± The receptionist appeared confused.


    ¡°I mean Sonia Reed.¡± Toby pursed his lips.


    At that moment, the receptionist realized that Little Leaf was her chairman, Sonia.


    None of us has ever heard about Chairman Reed¡¯s nickname. In fact, we¡¯ve never heard President Lane


    calling her that way either. Well, I guess this is a name uniquely given by President Fuller to Chairman


    Reed. Oh, my gosh! This is so sweet!


    At the thought of that, the receptionist¡¯s face blushed even more as she felt thrilled on the inside. After


    all, she was a big fan of both Toby and Sonia and had been following all kinds of news about them on the


    inte, but now that she got to see the man in person, her ecstasy and excitement took over her mind.


    Deep down, she thought to herself that she would scream in joy if she was at the right ce at the right


    time. Then, she told herself that she would drop a message in the group chat that was centered around


    Toby and Sonia to unt her encounter with the man and make everyone else envy her.


    Oh, dear! Even the thought of that is making me so excited!


    Upon taking a few breaths, the receptionist tried her best to calm down and smiled at Toby. ¡°Chairman


    Reed is still in the office. There¡¯s an urgent meeting which requires her presence, so she is probably in


    the meeting room with all the other directors and department heads.¡±


    No wonder she didn¡¯t reply to my messages. After learning the truth, Toby put his mind to ease and


    responded with an affirmative hum before walking toward the elevator.


    Meanwhile, the receptionist, who had her eyes glued to the man, clenched her fists and celebrated in


    excitement. Then, she texted the group about his arrival. I mustn¡¯t be the only singledy who feels the


    pain. After that, she proceeded to sign into her Facebook ount and continued to show off about her


    encounter with Toby to the other fans.


    Needless to say, Toby was unaware of what the receptionist was doing as he soon arrived outside the


    meeting room, and there was another front desk there. One of Sonia¡¯s assistants was seated there;


    when he heard footsteps approaching, he looked up and shifted his gaze away from his monitor, only to


    catch sight of Toby¡¯s face. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately rose from his seat and


    greeted the man by saying, ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    Toby glimpsed the man and replied with an affirmative hum, whereupon he shifted his gaze to the


    meeting room¡¯s door. ¡°Is the meeting still going on?¡±


    The assistant nodded his head. ¡°Yes, but I think they¡¯re about to wrap things up soon. After all, Chairman


    Reed and the rest have been there for more than an hour. Are you here to see Chairman Reed,


    President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°I¡¯m here to take her home.¡±


    Despite feeling a sting of pain in the face of Toby¡¯s loving attitude toward Sonia, the assistant tried his


    best to keep a smile on his face. ¡°Please give me a moment, President Fuller. I¡¯ll inform Chairman Reed


    about your arrival at once.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Toby put a hand up. ¡°Let¡¯s not interrupt her meeting. I¡¯ll wait until she is done.¡±


    Upon hearing Toby¡¯s words, the assistant politely showed him where to sit instead of trying to change his


    mind. ¡°In that case, please sit here and wait, President Fuller. I¡¯ll get you a cup of tea.¡±


    This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby nodded and walked toward the ce where the assistant had pointed at. Then, he sat down and


    waited for Sonia to be done with her meeting.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 825

    Chapter 825


    Chapter 825 One of the Responsibilities of a Man


    After waiting for about half an hour, Toby was drinking coffee when he suddenly heard movement from


    the direction of the conference room opposite him.


    He put down the coffee cup, stood up, and looked in that direction just in time to see the door of the


    conference room open. Then, a group of people came out in twos and threes.


    Toby stared at those people, looking for the figure he had been thinking of among them.


    However, he still couldn¡¯t see the figure that he wanted to see after looking for some time, and he felt


    slightly disappointed.


    It seems like she¡¯s going to be thest one toe out.


    Toby pursed his lips, but he still did not withdraw his gaze. If Sonia didn¡¯te outst, wouldn¡¯t he miss


    her if he looked away now?


    Toby¡¯s gaze was so focused that he quickly attracted the attention of those who came out of the


    conference room.


    When those people looked around and saw Toby standing there, they were all stunned.


    ¡°P-President Fuller?¡±


    Someone couldn¡¯t help but call out. With this, the other sluggish people also came back to their senses.


    ¡°It really is President Fuller! I thought I was mistaken.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Why is President Fuller here?¡± Someone raised a curious question.


    Soon, these curious people were looked down upon by others.


    ¡°Nonsense, what kind of question is that? Our chairman and President Fuller are a match made in


    heaven.¡±


    Upon being reminded of this, the person who had asked curiously immediately reacted by patting his


    forehead. He then said, ¡°Yes, I almost forgot. President Fuller must be here to look for our chairman.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°In that case, shall we say hello?¡± someone asked.


    However, it was quickly opposed by others. ¡°It¡¯s not necessary to greet him. President Fuller is here to


    find the chairman. Wouldn¡¯t it be annoying if we go over to greet him?¡±


    ¡°However, since he is here, it seems a little bit inappropriate if we don¡¯t go over to say hello.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Everyone didn¡¯t know what to say and fell silent.


    Yes, it was both appropriate and inappropriate to say hello. What else could they do, though?


    Moreover, they couldn¡¯t leave now.


    At that moment, the Paradigm Co.¡¯s executives who came out of the conference room were all unsure of


    what to do.


    Asher, who was in the middle of the crowd, listened to everyone¡¯s discussion before he looked at Toby.


    Meanwhile, thetter was staring at the expectant crowd, his face as dark as ever.


    Asher had always been troubled by the rtionship between Toby and Sonia.


    The better the rtionship between these two people, the worse it was for him.


    When their rtionship was good, Toby would help Sonia out during difficulties, so Asher¡¯s dream of


    obtaining Paradigm Co. would be even more difficult to achieve.


    Therefore, he wished that these two were distant from each other. Nevertheless, that was unlikely and


    unrealistic right now.


    Toby hade here to pick up Sonia from work, so how could they be distant from each other now?


    Asher clenched his fists, his face full of unhappiness.


    When the executives who supported Sonia saw Asher like this, they allughed in disdain.


    They all felt that Asher had some sort of brain damage and could notprehend things clearly.


    He obviously had no talent in managing the group, but he was very ambitious. He wanted to hold


    Paradigm Co. in his hands, but he had forgotten how thepany had struggled under his leadership


    before Sonia took over Paradigm Co. In fact, it was Sonia who had asked everywhere for help after she


    took over thepany to salvage it. At this time, not only was Asher neither thankful or grateful, he


    wanted to overthrow Sonia and manage Paradigm Co. by himself instead.


    What he didn¡¯t consider was that if Sonia had really been driven out, Toby would be the first to stop the


    coboration with Paradigm Co.


    After all, half of Paradigm Co. Group¡¯s coborative projects now relied on various subsidiaries of the


    Fuller Group, and the rest were coborative projects between Sonia and Charles. Once Sonia was


    overthrown, Toby would surely revoke all the projects. Meanwhile, the remaining projects between Sonia


    and Charles would definitely be destroyed and not left to Asher.


    It could be said that Paradigm Co. was entirely supported by Sonia. Without her, Paradigm Co. would


    naturally fail.


    Every one of them could see this clearly, but Asher, a man who only knew how to fight for power and


    profit, couldn¡¯t. He was thinking that even if Sonia was expelled, Paradigm Co. would continue as usual.


    Oh, dream on.


    A high-level executive who was a director nced at Asher with disdain. Then, he turned his head to a


    manager who was one level lower than himself and said, ¡°Go in and tell the chairman that President


    Fuller is waiting for her here. Also, tell her to leave the minutes of the meeting behind first. Tell her to


    hurry up and meet him so that we can leave.¡±


    If Toby didn¡¯t leave, they couldn¡¯t leave either.


    ¡°Alright,¡± the manager answered and hurriedly turned around to enter the conference room.


    Inside, Sonia was sitting in the main seat while checking out the meeting minutes.


    Just then, someone walked quickly to her side and said, ¡°Chairman Reed.¡±


    Sonia paused to look up. Then, she smiled at the person and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Manager


    Watson?¡±


    ¡°Chairman Reed, President Fuller is here.¡± Manager Watson pointed to the door and spoke.


    Sonia looked over, but she couldn¡¯t see the situation outside. However, based on Manager Watson¡¯s


    movements, she could still guess what he meant.


    She stood up in surprise. ¡°Are you saying that Toby is outside?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Manager Watson nodded. ¡°He¡¯s waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°When did hee? How long has he been here?¡± Sonia asked as she took out her phone to see if Toby


    had texted her.


    At first nce, she realized that he had sent her a message more than half an hour ago.


    In other words, Toby had already been here for quite some time.


    Manager Watson shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. When we went out after the meeting, we saw him sitting


    at the front desk. It must have been a while.¡±


    ¡°I see, thank you for telling me this.¡± After Sonia smiled at him, she quickly gathered up all the


    documents on the table, put them in a folder, and walked quickly toward the door.


    Then, Manager Watson followed closely behind her.


    As soon as Sonia left the conference room, she found that the high-level executives hadn¡¯t left yet as


    they all stood outside.


    Fortunately, the area outside wasrge. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been jam-packed.


    ¡°Chairman Reed.¡±


    When they saw Soniaing out, everyone looked happy except for Asher and his people. ¡°You¡¯re


    finally here. President Fuller is waiting for you.¡±


    After saying that, someone pointed at Toby.


    Sonia turned her head to look and saw the man walking around the front desk. With a smile on her face,


    she raised her hand and waved at the man. Then, she stepped forward and walked toward him.


    After a few steps, Sonia and Toby came to each other. Sonia stopped several feet away from him before


    she looked up at him and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait for a long time.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°Waiting for a woman is part of a man¡¯s responsibility.¡±


    Tom previously told him that men who were in love needed to wait patiently when women dressed up,


    went shopping, and ate slowly. What was more, she was holding a meeting.


    He also believed that if it were him, she would¡¯ve waited as well.


    When she heard the man¡¯s words, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°Where did you hear this from?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter; the important thing is that I am willing to wait.¡± After Toby finished speaking, he took


    her hand and was about to pull her into his arms.


    When she felt the pulling force from the man¡¯s hand, Sonia panicked and quickly stopped him. ¡°Wait.¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 826

    Chapter 826


    Chapter 826 Toby Looks Hrious


    Toby instinctively loosened his grip. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    At this moment, Sonia¡¯s face was red as she whispered, ¡°Someone¡¯s staring at us.¡±


    A look of realization appeared on his face.


    And here I thought she didn¡¯t want to be near me, but it looks like she just didn¡¯t want others to see us


    like this.


    Toby ruffled Sonia¡¯s hair gently, after which he looked up and turned to the higher executives staring at


    them before giving them an indifferent look. ¡°The meeting has ended. Are you all not going to excuse


    yourselves?¡±


    Upon hearing that, all of them caught on that they were in the way of the lovebirds, so they chuckled in


    embarrassment.


    ¡°We are leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s not disturb President Fuller and Miss Reed any longer.¡±


    Those who said that were employees from Sonia¡¯s side, as they sincerely hoped for those two to be in a


    good rtionship.


    If Sonia and Toby were in a good rtionship, Paradigm Co. could always rely on Fuller Group, and


    these people¡¯s interests would be secured.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    In no time, all of the higher executives hurried off the meeting room.


    Nevertheless, humans were curious by nature, especially the locals.


    Although all the higher executives left in a rush, they turned around to nce in Sonia and Toby¡¯s


    direction after walking a distance away.


    Upon seeing them hugging each other, a few of them were satisfied, while a few others¡¯ facial


    expressions soured.


    Of course, Toby and Sonia, who werepletely engrossed with each other, couldn¡¯t be bothered by


    any of their reactions.


    At this moment, Sonia was lying in Toby¡¯s arms obediently as she rested her head on his shoulder. ¡°I


    thought you wouldn¡¯t get off work so early, so I started a meeting without informing you about it. If I had


    known earlier, I would have told you about it so that you didn¡¯t have to wait for me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Toby ruffled her smooth hair gently. ¡°I didn¡¯t inform you that I¡¯m getting off work on time


    because I wanted to give you a surprise.¡±


    ¡°So we were both not thoughtful enough.¡± Sonia looked up at him while he chuckled. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a good


    thing because it adds on to surprises asionally.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Sonia chuckled as well.


    They embraced each other for a while before heading to the elevator hand-in-hand. When they got back


    to Sonia¡¯s office, Toby let go of her hand and looked at her before asking, ¡°Are you going to continue with


    your work?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Nah. I did initially have some work scheduled. I was thinking I could stay a little


    longer to finish my work since you were busy recently and had been working overtime anding home


    late. However, now that you¡¯re here, I¡¯m obviously cing you as my priority. Well, I¡¯m going to work on


    these tomorrow, as they¡¯re not really important. Shall we go back now?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips curled up as he was in a good mood. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go home together.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait for me for a moment. I have some things to tidy up.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby nodded while Sonia headed to her desk to pack her stuff in preparation to clock off.


    Just then, Toby started trailing behind her, following her everywhere she went, as if he was a duckling.


    Although Sonia found his actions funny, she didn¡¯t stop him from doing so.


    I guess I¡¯ll let him trail behind me if he wants to. Plus, it¡¯s kind of funny seeing a tall man like him trailing


    behind me.


    A whileter, Sonia tidied all her stuff and locked them in her drawer before she dusted her hands off.


    Upon seeing that, Toby asked, ¡°Are you done?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yes. We can leave after I grab my coat and handbag.¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± Toby took it upon himself to walk over to Sonia¡¯s coat rack to grab her coat and her handbag.


    Just then, he slung Sonia¡¯s handbag over his shoulder before unfolding her beige coat and motioned for


    her to slip her arms into her coat.


    At this moment, Sonia smiled and didn¡¯t refuse Toby¡¯s advances to help her to get into her coat. Instead,


    she slipped her arms into the sleeves and wore her coat with his help.


    It¡¯s normal for a boyfriend to help his girlfriend to wear her coat, so why should I refuse his


    advancement? Besides, it¡¯s rare for something like this to happen, and he might get upset if I reject him.


    Sure enough, Toby¡¯s mood lifted when Sonia wore her coat with his help.


    While Sonia didn¡¯t notice the man¡¯s expression, she extended her hand toward the man after tying the


    belt around her waist with a knot. ¡°You can hand me my bag now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Toby pulled on the bag¡¯s strap before he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll carry it for you.¡±


    Sonia raised her eyebrows. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    Is he actually going to carry my handbag for me?!


    Toby nodded seriously. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Staring at the beige handbag slinging off the man¡¯s shoulder and his good-looking suit, Sonia couldn¡¯t


    help but feel bewildered as he looked mismatched.


    It was already odd to see a man carrying a woman¡¯s handbag, not to mention a well-dressed and


    charismatic man carrying a feminine handbag. Those who didn¡¯t know who Toby was might even think


    that he was a twisted pervert.


    Right then, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but purse her lips to avoidughing as she looked at Toby, who was


    carrying her handbag. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she was worried that his pride would get hurt if she


    startedughing, she wouldn¡¯t have refrained from doing so.


    At that instance, Sonia was really struggling not tough.


    ¡°Sure. You can carry my handbag if you insist on doing so. I¡¯ll take this chance to rx, then,¡± she


    cleared her throat before saying and covered her mouth so that Toby couldn¡¯t see the smile on her face.


    Not noticing Sonia¡¯s reaction, Toby pushed the strap of the handbag on his shoulder before humming in


    acknowledgment. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia lowered her gaze to mask the smile in her eyes.


    Then, the two of them left the office, one after another.


    Right after they left the office, the door to the secretaries and assistants¡¯ office next door opened as well.


    Following that, a few secretaries and assistants came out of the office along with their bags, as it was


    already time to get off work.


    When they noticed Sonia and Toby, all of them halted before greeting them. ¡°Miss Reed, President


    Fuller.¡±


    While Toby didn¡¯t react to them, Sonia smiled gently at them. ¡°Hey guys, do get home safely.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Miss Reed,¡± they nodded before replying with a smile.


    Just then, Sonia looked away and held onto Toby¡¯s arm before they started heading toward the elevator


    while the others stared at their retreating figures in awe.


    Suddenly, one of the assistants¡¯ eyes widened before their mouth fell open in disbelief when they noticed


    Toby carrying a woman¡¯s handbag. ¡°Look at that.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the person next to them asked in confusion.


    The assistant pointed to Toby¡¯s left. ¡°Look at that. President Fuller is carrying a woman¡¯s handbag. That


    must be Miss Reed¡¯s.¡±


    Surely, all of them noticed the beige handbag when they looked in the direction that the assistant


    pointed.


    Upon seeing the bag and staring at Toby¡¯srge build as well as the suit that he was wearing, they


    nced at each other before breaking intoughter at the same time.


    ¡°Oh my goodness! President Fuller looks hrious carrying that tiny handbag!¡±


    ¡°I know, right? It doesn¡¯t fit his image at all.¡±


    ¡°Still, that¡¯s much a caring move. Although knowing that others might make fun of him, he still helps Miss


    Reed to carry her handbag. Looks like President Fuller really loves Miss Reed. I¡¯m so jealous of her.¡±


    ¡°Who isn¡¯t, though?¡±


    The few secretaries and assistants gathered around and eximed among each other, staring in the


    direction where Sonia and Toby left together.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 827

    Chapter 827


    Chapter 827 Remember to Wake Me Up


    It only went to show that Toby, with Sonia¡¯s purse slung over his shoulder, was a hrious sight indeed,


    and those who were fortunate enough to witness this moment were either wide-eyed with surprise or


    pressing their lips together to keep fromughing.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    There were even some standing a little further away from the scene who took out their phones and


    snapped pictures, emboldened by the distance and the low likelihood of getting caught. After that, they


    excitedly shared the pictures with their respective work groups.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the pictures of Toby with a woman¡¯s purse slung around him began to circte


    among the employees, and naturally, they allughed at thisical sight.


    The entire Paradigm Co. was buzzing like it was New Year¡¯s as everyone pored over the funny pictures.


    Being the chairman, Sonia was not in the employees¡¯ various group chats, but she saw the pictures of


    Toby in the executive group anyway. After all, the world was never short of gossip-mongers, and it was


    only par for the course that something as hrious and bombastic as this would make its way from the


    employees¡¯ group text to the executives¡¯.


    As Sonia gazed at the picture of Toby walking alongside her with her purse slung over his shoulder, she


    couldn¡¯t help but sputter and burst intoughter.


    Next to her in the driver¡¯s seat, Toby had already started the car and was ready to pull away from the


    curb when he heard herugh. He put a hand on the steering wheel and turned to look at her in askance.


    ¡°What are youughing at?¡±


    Sonia quickly flipped her phone screen-down on her thigh, then met his eyes. Amusement glittered in her


    gaze, and her cheeks were flushed. She shook her head and said in a voice that quivered with repressed


    laughter, ¡°Oh, nothing, just a funny picture on the inte.¡±


    She didn¡¯t even consider showing him the picture, knowing that he would only sulk if he saw that he had


    be the joke of the day.


    Toby narrowed his eyes skeptically. ¡°A funny picture?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied as she deftly locked her phone.


    His gaze fell upon the phone. ¡°Show me the picture, then.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already turned my phone off,¡± Sonia said as she showed him the ck screen of her phone to prove


    a point. Then, she quickly set it aside and changed the subject. ¡°Okay, forget about all that, because it¡¯s


    not as important as getting home so I can finally eat. I¡¯m starving.¡± As she said this, she patted her


    stomach.


    Upon hearing this, Toby naturally abandoned the subject of the funny picture and nodded as he said, ¡°Sit


    tight.¡±


    She hummed in response. ¡°I¡¯m all strapped in,¡± she dered while clutching her seatbelt.


    It was only then that he released the brakes and steered the car away from the curb.


    When Sonia saw that he had willingly dropped the matter of the picture and that he had his eyes on the


    road while he drove, she let out a sigh of relief. She subtly clicked into her phone once more and found


    the picture, then saved it.


    A picture this hrious could very well be the only one of its kind, and if she didn¡¯t save it now, it would be


    her loss, seeing as there would be no carbon copies. She would hate to miss out on owning such a


    special memento.


    Who knows? I might even pull it up to cheer myself up on a bad day.


    At the thought of this, she carefully stored the image on her phone and set up a password for it so that


    Toby wouldn¡¯t snoop around ande across it. She knew he would throw a fit for sure if he ever saw it.


    After she was done setting up the password, she smiled in satisfaction and shoved her phone into her


    bag, then let out a small yawn.


    Toby caught sight out of the corner of his eyes, so he pointed out gently, saying, ¡°We¡¯ll be hitting traffic


    soon, so it might take a while before we get home. Take a nap if you¡¯re tired. I can wake you up when we


    arrive.¡± Sleep now so you won¡¯t be tiredter, he thought as his gaze darkened.


    Oblivious to his devilish thoughts, Sonia massaged her temples and nced at the view up ahead. He


    was right when he said that they would be hitting traffic soon. She could see that it would be a slow crawl


    from this point forward, and there was no telling how long it would take for them to get back to Bayside


    Residence. As such, she nodded and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take a nap. Remember to wake me up when we


    get home, and don¡¯t try to carry me up, either. I don¡¯t want you putting any more strain on your arm


    before it healspletely.¡±


    He nodded obediently in agreement. ¡°Got it.¡±


    She let out another yawn and reclined her seat, theny in a lounging position as she closed her eyes.


    Before long, she was fast asleep.


    Toby nced over at her side profile while she slept. He took his hand off the steering wheel and


    reached for her face, then caressed it softly.


    As if sensing someone touching her, Sonia frowned and reached up semi-consciously to swat his hand


    away, and her lips parted as she mumbled, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ That tickles¡­¡±


    Her voice was thick and soft with sleep, like a down feather that brushed over the edge of Toby¡¯s ears.


    He stiffened and raised his hand to pinch his ear to ease the sudden, ticklish sensation, then turned to


    see Sonia flipping on her side. She was now facing the passenger seat window.


    At the sight of this, he chuckled and let her be. He retracted his hand and elegantly unbuttoned his suit


    jacket, then shrugged it off. He shook it out to straighten the fabric, after which he carefully draped it over


    Sonia¡¯s sleeping frame and brushed her hair away from her delicate face. It was only after that that he


    straightened up in his seat, refastened his seatbelt, and proceeded to drive.


    There was no telling how much time had passed before they finally parked outside Bayside Residence.


    It was already nightfall, and upon their arrival, Toby tenderly stirred Sonia from sleep.


    She rubbed her eyes groggily and took in the confined space of the car. Registering where she was, she


    sat up slowly and asked, ¡°Are we here?¡± She wasn¡¯t entirely awake just yet, and her voice was still soft


    and hoarse from sleep.


    ¡°We are.¡±


    Nodding, he turned on the lights in the car, and at once, the dimness inside the vehicle was reced by


    a much-weed brightness.


    Sonia peered out the windshield, and she knew that they were home when she saw that they were in the


    familiar parking lot. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to sh a smile at Toby. ¡°I¡¯m d you decided


    to wake me up instead of carrying me up into the apartment like you usually do.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°I figured you would only wake up and lecture me if I did thetter.¡±


    She rubbed her stiff neck and said, ¡°Good to know you¡¯re aware of it. I couldn¡¯t care less if your arm was


    perfectly fine and you insisted on carrying me up, but seeing as you¡¯re still recovering, I wouldn¡¯t want to


    live with the guilt of worsening your injury.¡±


    ¡°As if I would make you feel guilty if that ever happened,¡± he pointed out solemnly as he met her gaze.


    She rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t, my conscience would make sure I drown in guilt. Now,


    what time is it?¡± As she asked, she raised her arm and nced at her watch. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s almost 9.00PM.¡±


    She seemed stunned by this. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be thiste. Were we stuck in traffic for long?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Kind of.¡±


    She put her arm down as realization dawned upon her. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder I¡¯m starving, then. Come on, let¡¯s


    get out of the car.¡±


    Toby hummed in response and got out of the car at the same time she did.


    After closing the car door, Sonia shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over her arm. When she saw


    him rounding the vehicle to meet her, she handed the jacket to him.


    However, he pushed the jacket back to her and said, ¡°Wear it. You¡¯ll only catch a chill if you give it back


    to me now.¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡± She shook her head and handed him the jacket with more insistence. ¡°You¡¯re the one


    wearing a waistcoat and shirt, so there¡¯s a higher chance of you catching the chill than me. Put your


    jacket on, and no, I don¡¯t believe that a big, strong man like you won¡¯t catch a cold. Some women might


    believe it, but I¡¯m not that gullible. Humans are susceptible to the cold weather no matter the gender, so


    come on, pull on the jacket,¡± she said with a steely edge to her voice, looking as if she would not take no


    for an answer.


    Toby raised a brow at her and let out a low chuckle, then grabbed the jacket. ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯ll wear it.¡±


    He knew she was only worried that he would get sick, and he would much rather do as he was told than


    make her worry.


    When Sonia saw that he had pulled on the jacket, she smiled in satisfaction and said, ¡°Right, let¡¯s go


    home now.¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 828

    Chapter 828


    Chapter 828 A Heartwarming Dinner


    Toby hummed in response as he buttoned up his jacket and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Sonia took a step forward, but perhaps she was hungry and still groggy from her nap because she


    wobbled on her feet. She had only just tried to walk when her legs caved under her weight, and she


    toppled forward like a house of cards.


    At the sight of this, Toby¡¯s expression froze. He didn¡¯t bother with thest two buttons on his suit jacket


    as he reached out to grab Sonia¡¯s arm, then pulled her forcefully upward and into his embrace.


    The next second, Sonia found herself pressed against his sturdy chest, and she appeared to be in a


    daze. The fact that she had nearly fallen clearly scared her.


    Toby held onto her gently. He had one arm around her waist and a hand patting her back softly as he


    asked anxiously, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    She nodded feebly. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°What happened just now?¡± he asked as he gripped her shoulders and put some distance between them


    so he could look at her.


    She let out a slow breath. Having regainedposure, she replied calmly, ¡°I was hungry, and I guess all


    my strength drained out of me because one moment I was standing and the next I was swaying. You saw


    what happened after that.¡±


    Upon hearing her exnation, Toby nodded, then nced down at her feet. ¡°Did you sprain your ankle?¡±


    She was wearing heels, and she could have sprained her ankle from a stumble like the one earlier. While


    he didn¡¯t hear the sound of popping bones that usually apanied a sprain, he wasn¡¯t taking any


    chances.


    ¡°No,¡± Sonia answered with a smile. She shook her head good-naturedly when she saw how anxious he


    looked and added, ¡°My ankles are perfectly fine. I promise.¡± As she said this, she made it a point to turn


    her ankle this way and that. When she was done with the right ankle, she proceeded to do the same with


    the left, and atst, she stood still.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    Toby was no longer as worried when he saw that she was unhurt. Nodding slightly, he said, ¡°Alright then.


    Come on, let¡¯s get back to the apartment. You¡¯re hungry, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± she replied.


    And just like that, Toby put his arm around her waist and helped her over to the elevators.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was kind of hoping that he would let her go so that they didn¡¯t have to hobble,


    as two so often did when they were glued at the hips. However, seeing as he was so convinced she


    would fall if he let go, she didn¡¯t have the heart to decline his gesture.


    They didn¡¯t have to hobble around for long before they reached the apartment.


    Sonia set her purse down and grabbed the apron from the living room, then pulled it over herself as she


    made her way into the kitchen to get started on dinner.


    But she had only just stepped through the kitchen doorway when Toby grabbed her arm and said, ¡°You


    don¡¯t have to cook tonight. It¡¯ste, and you¡¯re so famished you can barely walk. I¡¯ll make dinner


    instead.¡±


    When she saw how serious he looked, she did not insist on making dinner and handed him the apron


    instead as she conceded, ¡°Very well, then. You get to have the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Dinner will be ready in just a moment,¡± he promised as he took the apron, then gave her a gentle stroke


    on the head before he headed into the kitchen.


    She reached up to smooth her hair and let out an amusedugh, then turned to walk into the living room.


    She sat down on the couch and watched some television while waiting for the man in the kitchen to


    serve dinner.


    Ten minutester, Toby was still making dinner, and Sonia was waiting for him patiently when her phone


    suddenly rang.


    She put the TV show on pause and set the remote control down, then picked up her phone. After


    ncing at the caller ID, she put the call through and greeted, ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed. We¡¯re calling from the atelier,¡± a woman¡¯s voice said pleasantly on the other line.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Yes, I know. This is a ratherte hour for you to be calling. Is there something I can help


    you with?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re actually calling to inform you that the evening dress you ordered has already been shipped


    over from Mn. May I know when you would be free to drop by for a fitting so we can see what


    alterations need to be made?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the dress!¡± Sonia hit her head with her palm when she heard the woman¡¯s exnation. Now that


    she remembered, she gave an embarrassedugh. ¡°I nearly forgot about that dress. I cane by the


    atelier tomorrow afternoon for the fitting.¡±


    After she had received the invitation from the mall the other day, she asked Daphne to ce an order for


    an evening dress for her. Some time had passed since then, long enough for her to push this matter to


    the back of her mind, where it would have inevitably dwelled forever had it not been for the call from the


    atelier.


    Presently, the woman on the other line said with a politeugh, ¡°Well, in that case, Miss Reed, we¡¯ll see


    you tomorrow at the atelier.¡±


    Sonia hummed in response. ¡°Okay.¡±


    When the call ended, she put her phone down.


    Just then, a savory scent came up from behind her. She turned around to see Toby bringing a tray out


    from the kitchen, and on it were tworge bowls of something.


    He was standing, and she was sitting, so from her vantage point, she couldn¡¯t see what was in the bowls


    until Toby bent over to put the tray on the coffee table in front of her. She peered at the familiar coloring


    of the soup-like substance in the bowls. Is that borscht?


    The borscht was a rich red in color with potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables peeking out. She could


    even see the slices of beetroot that had given the soup its distinct auburn-ish coloring. On top of the


    soup was a dollop of sour cream garnished with dill. The savory scent she had picked up on earlier must


    be from the sour cream.


    A bright smile stretched across her face as she stared at the two bowls of soup and eximed, ¡°Wow,


    you actually made borscht!¡±


    Toby handed her a spoon and said, ¡°Well, you were hungry, and I didn¡¯t think I had time to make anything


    fancy. Borscht happened to be the quickest dish I could think of when I saw beetroot in the fridge. It¡¯s a


    simple fare, so I hope you won¡¯t mind.¡±


    Sonia shook her head to dismiss his self-invalidation. ¡°No, it¡¯s not a simple fare at all. You made this from


    scratch, and this bowl of borscht is filled with your sentiments. There is no way it¡¯s a simple fare, and I


    happen to love borscht.¡±


    With that, she stirred the sour cream into the soup and picked up a spoonful of the concoction, then blew


    on it to cool it off for a bit before taking a hearty sip. At once, her eyes lit up, and she gave him an


    earnest thumbs-up. ¡°This is delicious! Hey, your culinary skills are improving!¡±


    Toby gave her a lopsided grin. ¡°Of course. I am a man who is constantly improving, after all.¡±


    More importantly, there was no one else he would cook for, and if he wanted to make sure she ate well,


    he was going to have to pick up proper cooking skills.


    She beamed at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a modest one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just stating facts,¡± he pointed out solemnly as he looked at her.


    She nodded. ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re factual and constantly improving. Come on, it¡¯s alreadyte, and you¡¯re


    probably hungry as well. Also, you made this borscht, and you should definitely try your own cooking.¡±


    Toby chuckled at the way her eyes sparkled when she praised his cooking and nodded as he said,


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    They ate their dinner infortable silence, and neither one made conversation. The only sound that


    filled the living room was the slurping that apanied their eating.


    It was aical sight indeed to see two civilized persons abandon eating at the dining table in favor of


    eating at the coffee table.


    Every time they bent their heads to wee the next mouthful of borscht, they would quite literally be


    head-to-head with each other. There were several times when they bent so far down that they knocked


    heads, and while it wasn¡¯t painful, the thud that came from it was still audible.


    After each knock, they would look up and meet eyes, then exchange amused smiles before they went on


    eating. Then, they would knock heads again, and exchange an amused look and a smile, and this


    process repeated itself several times until they finally polished off their bowls of soup.


    Sonia set her spoon down and leaned into the couch, practically lying on it as she patted her stomach.


    Her eyes were heavily lidded as a contented smile spread over her delicate face.


    She waspletely surprised by how wonderful the borscht had tasted. The vors were all there, and


    Toby¡¯spany only made the dinner all the better. She had so heartily slurped up the soup that she felt


    like she might burst now, and as shey there on the couch, she didn¡¯t think she would ever consider


    moving again.


    She wasn¡¯t the only one feeling this way, for Toby looked like he was happily stuffed from dinner, too.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 829

    Chapter 829


    Chapter 829 Sneaking Into the Bathroom


    When he was growing up, Toby received a strict education. He had to follow a set of rules in every part of


    his life, and eating was no exception. He had three meals with a certain amount of food a day at a


    scheduled hour¡ªno more, no less.


    As a result, he would always stop eating when he was 80 percent full. He never ate until he was entirely


    satisfied, so feeling bloated after cleaning his te was a first for him.


    When he was about 80 percent full, his rationality told him to put down his cutlery and stop eating.


    However, when he saw how much Sonia enjoyed her food, he didn¡¯t feel like stopping either, so he went


    on and finished the meal with her.


    It was undeniable that when he hadpany who enjoyed eating so much, he could disregard all the


    past rules while having a hearty meal.


    Rubbing his tummy, Toby stood up and offered, saying, ¡°Go ahead and rest. I¡¯ll clean this up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Sonia pressed his hands down and counter-offered by stating, ¡°Let me. I¡¯ll take care of the


    dishes since you did the cooking. I can¡¯t let you do everything, so just sit back and rx. By the way, you


    don¡¯t look so good either.¡±


    With that, she stacked the tes and cutleries before carrying them to the kitchen.


    To Sonia, a rtionship should be mutual, and so was the same for cohabiting. A rtionship between


    two individuals was about give-and-take, so having only one party blindly giving or receiving didn¡¯t feel


    right. Regardless of how great the rtionship was, it would gradually wear away as time passed.


    Therefore, it was critical that both parties put equal effort into maintaining the rtionship, just as it was


    with co-living. It was only then that both could go strong for a long time.


    Watching Sonia carrying the tes into the kitchen, Toby heaved a sigh before taking a seat.


    Well, that came as a surprise. I didn¡¯t expect her to be able to tell that I wasn¡¯t feeling okay.


    It was proven from that alone that she still cared for him. With that thought in mind, Toby lowered his


    head and chuckled lightly.


    After a few minutes, Sonia, who had just cleared the table, came out with a first aid kit in her hand.


    Toby was suddenly anxious when he saw the first aid kit. Straightening his back, he quickly inquired,


    ¡°What happened? Where did you hurt yourself?¡±


    Seeing his concerned look, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel warmth pooling in her heart. Shaking her head,


    she smiled. ¡°Not me. You.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Toby questioned with his brows raised.


    Sonia returned to her seat and sat down before opening the first aid kit, saying, ¡°Aren¡¯t you feeling


    bloated from overeating? Let me look for the antacid.¡±


    After saying that, she picked one of the medicine bottles and read the instructions. Unscrewing the lid,


    she poured three tablets into her hand and gave them to Toby. ¡°Here. These are antacid medicines. Take


    it.¡±


    Looking at the tablets in her hand, he didn¡¯t reach over to take them. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and


    poured the tablets into his mouth. That wasn¡¯t all. Once all the tablets were poured into his mouth, he


    licked her palm deliberately.


    Tickled by his licks, Sonia red at him petntly. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Toby chuckled in response. ¡°Oops. Sorry.¡±


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°The look on your face tells me otherwise.¡±


    Rolling her eyes at him, Sonia pulled her hand back and poured a ss of water for him. ¡°Drink some


    water.¡±


    Toby hummed and didn¡¯t try anything else on her. This time, he took the ss and drank a sip of water to


    melt the bitter tablets in his mouth before swallowing them.


    Sonia shut the lid of the first aid kit while uttering, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have eaten so much. Don¡¯t force


    yourself to eat so much anymore, alright? It¡¯s not worth it if you get an upset stomach.¡±


    ¡°How do you know I can¡¯t eat much?¡± Toby inquired while holding the ss and staring at her.


    Spreading her palms, Sonia replied, ¡°You always control your portion for every meal, so it¡¯s not difficult to


    notice that you¡¯ve eaten more than you usually do. If it weren¡¯t for that happy look of yours, I would¡¯ve


    stopped you from eating.¡±


    She was indeed shocked to see that he had almost finished the whole bowl of borscht earlier, and she


    did intend to stop him.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    His stomach could only hold a certain portion of food because he had always managed his meals.


    The portion of the borscht he had eaten earlier exceeded his usual portion, so it made sense for him to


    have an upset stomach right now.


    Moreover, he was obviously ufortable but refused to stop eating. Sonia was a little taken aback and


    wanted to stop him, but she held back after watching him enjoying the food.


    Sonia was also aware of what made him so happy.


    The reason was none other than him having the meal with her and watching her eating happily. It made


    him want to do the same.


    What an innocent fool. I can¡¯t believe he did that! Haha!


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that anymore. You only suffer from it.¡± Sonia looked at him.


    Meeting her concerned gaze, Toby responded with a gentle look on his face, ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Lie down here and take a rest. I think you¡¯ll be fine in a while after the medicine starts working.¡±


    After that, Sonia carried the first aid kit into the kitchen and stored it. She then grabbed her clothes and


    went to the bathroom.


    On the other hand, Toby sat on the sofa while his gaze was locked on her as she moved. Even after


    Sonia had entered the bathroom and closed the door, he couldn¡¯t peel his eyes off the frosted door.


    Though he couldn¡¯t see the inside, he could see a graceful figure through the frosted door. The figure


    was currently putting her hands to the back of her head and tying her hair into a bun.


    After that was done, the figure rested her hands in a crossover posture before lifting the hem of her shirt


    over her head, showing off her voluptuous figure.


    Seeing that, Toby could feel his eyes darken and Adam¡¯s apple bobbing up and down. He then grabbed


    hold of the sofa¡¯s arms and stood up before sauntering to the bathroom.


    Once he was right outside the bathroom, the figure was done taking off her clothes. With one hand, she


    held onto the showerhead and started washing herself.


    The sound of the rushing flow of water prated the frosted door and into Toby¡¯s ears. At that moment,


    Toby¡¯s eyes turned dark.


    He then turned the doorknob lightly with one hand, and the door opened.


    Having been staying alone in the past, Sonia never got used to locking doors because no one would


    barge in any way.


    Though she was currently living with Toby, she kept the habit of not locking doors because she never


    expected him to enter while she showered.


    Slowly, the door was pushed open by Toby. The bathroom was enveloped in mist and fragrance, and


    everything else in the bathroom entered Toby¡¯s line of sight.


    Sonia was currently naked and standing under the showerhead with her back facing him. Water poured


    down her body from the huge showerhead above her while she held the small showerhead on her


    shoulder, giving her shoulders a little massage as she tilted her head sideways.


    The whole day of work had burdened her shoulders, so during the shower, she sshed hot water on


    her shoulders as a form of massage to relieve the soreness. It became a habit for her to do it every time


    during a shower.


    Perhaps Sonia was too focused on showering, or perhaps Toby was too quiet as he opened the door and


    walked toward her, but she didn¡¯t even realize the door was open and his figure was sneaking in.


    It was only when Toby stood right behind her and reached out to hug her waist did shee to a


    shocking realization. She blurted a cry, and her whole body went stiff.


    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t scream!¡± Toby immediately covered Sonia¡¯s mouth and leaned his head on her shoulders,


    uttering in a raspy voice, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Toby?


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 830

    Chapter 830


    Chapter 830 You¡¯re Getting Ahead of Yourself


    Sonia was first stunned, but soon after, she became frustrated.


    How could Toby sneak into the bathroom while I showered?! And here I thought some weirdo entered,


    but well, it¡¯s just him! Gosh, he gave me the shock of my life!


    Sonia¡¯s cheeks quickly turned crimson as she pped away Toby¡¯s hands, which were ced on her


    waist.


    In response, Toby loosened his grip. Sonia then hurriedly took a step forward, widening the gap between


    them. Turning around, she tilted her head upward and looked at him.


    His clothes were soaking wet due to the water flowing from the huge showerhead above them. Even his


    hair was damp and stuck onto his face and scalp.


    However, he didn¡¯t look the least bit messy. Instead, his damp shirt clung to his body, punctuating his


    perfect body proportions.


    Even as water dripped down his face, it only further entuated his charm and sexiness. Men or women


    soaking wet looked equally enchanting.


    At that moment, dreamy was the word to describe Toby. His dampened figure drained off his usual cold


    and aloof expression, bringing out the dreamy and delicate impression of him.


    It was simply hard to tear one¡¯s eyes off of him. Watching the gorgeous being in front of her, Sonia


    couldn¡¯t help but be awestruck.


    However, she was quick to return to her senses. This is no time to stare at a hot guy! He was the one


    who sneaked into the bathroom while she was showering!


    I¡¯m¡­ nude! Argh!


    After she realized there wasn¡¯t a single piece of clothing on her body, her already pink cheeks turned


    crimson.


    After letting out another yelp, she quickly crouched down and wrapped herself with both hands, covering


    her body. Tilting her head up, she red at Toby in embarrassment while yelling, ¡°Why did youe in


    when I¡¯m showering, Toby Fuller?! Get out!¡±


    If she didn¡¯t have to cover herself up, she would have pped his calves to chase him out.


    Despite that, Toby stayed rooted to the spot while looking down at her. His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed a little,


    and his voice sounded raspy. ¡°I¡¯m here to take a shower too.¡±


    ¡°You want to take a shower?¡± Sonia widened her eyes in disbelief.


    ¡°Mmhm.¡± Toby nodded in all seriousness.


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched as she questioned, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll buy that? Who on earth barges into the


    bathroom to shower when someone else is showering? Just get out already,¡± she urged once again.


    Regardless of her pushes, Toby didn¡¯t leave. Instead, he started unbuttoning his shirt.


    Seeing that, Sonia could feel her heart skip a beat. ¡°What are you doing, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Taking off my clothes to shower,¡± replied Toby. ¡°I¡¯m being serious with you. I¡¯m here to shower.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia was furious. ¡°Why do you want to shower when I¡¯m showering? Get out! Do


    you hear me? Get out, Toby Fuller! Stop taking off your clothes. Get out!¡±


    She was so anxious to the verge of crying, although they had hit the home run before.


    But still, it was going to be the first time for them to be fully naked in the shower with each other!


    She wasn¡¯t going to let him do whatever he wanted.


    Watching Sonia hugging herself even more tightly like a ball, Toby halted his actions.


    Though he stopped moving, the buttons on his shirt had all been undone.


    His shirt was slightly left open, revealing his well-defined chest and abs. Any person would easily swoon


    over that sight.


    After that, he crouched down to Sonia¡¯s eye level, asking, ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you want to shower with me?¡±


    Sonia red at him in embarrassment.


    What kind of nonsense is he spewing? I¡¯ve never showered with someone else. A man at that!


    It only made sense that Sonia would reject that idea. Though she didn¡¯t speak, Toby understood her


    thoughts.


    Reaching his arms out, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. After a quick yelp, Sonia


    fell into his chest and was locked in his embrace.


    This was the first time that Sonia was lying naked in his arms while he was clothed. The unfair


    circumstances made her blush even more. Instantly, she panicked and struggled to get out of his grip.


    ¡°Let go, Toby! Do you hear me? I said, let go!¡±


    Caressing her smooth back, Toby refused to let go. He then nibbled her earlobe and reassured, ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry. We¡¯re just showering together. I¡¯ve done that for you before, so what are you so afraid of? There¡¯s


    nothing to be embarrassed about.¡±


    Sonia was so enraged that her eyes turned red. ¡°How is that the same?¡±


    When he washed her up before, she was in aa, so she didn¡¯t know what was going on. At that time,


    she was just like a rag doll. She didn¡¯t have any consciousness, so naturally, she didn¡¯t feel shy or


    embarrassed.


    However, Sonia was entirely conscious at this moment. Being aware of whatever was going to happen


    only served to make her panic.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much difference.¡± A tiny chuckle escaped Toby.


    ¡°We¡¯ve done the deed, so is showering a big deal now? Come on. Get up. Aren¡¯t your legs getting sore


    from crouching so long?¡±


    After saying that, Toby got up and pulled her up together. At the same time, Sonia realized that he was


    determined to shower with her now, and there was no way he would leave this bathroom anymore.


    Inhaling a deep breath, she tried topose herself and look calm.


    It was just like what he said. They had already done the most intimate thing that a couple could do, so


    showering together was nothingpared to two bodies intertwined with each other.


    Well, now that I think of it, I did overreact a little. Does he think I¡¯m a joke now? It¡¯s just a shower! What¡¯s


    there to be embarrassed about? Stop panicking! There¡¯s no need to be shy!


    It seemed that she was too conservative and narrow-mindedpared to him.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia shut her eyes and persuaded herself silently. At the same time, she was trying to calm herself


    down.


    After a while, her tensed body finally loosened a little. Even the panicky and nervous feeling gradually


    dissipated.


    She was no longer the flustered little deer caught in the headlights when Toby suddenly barged in.


    He was right. They had reached the highest form of physical intimacy, and he also gave her a shower


    before. They had be the closest person to each other. On top of everything, there was no part of


    her body that he hadn¡¯t seen before.


    Therefore, there was no reason for her to be so nervous and shy. Being flustered in front of Toby, who


    didn¡¯t even feel the slightest bit of shame, made her seem lower in status.


    With that thought in mind, Sonia could finallypose herself. She could even look him in the eye now,


    though her cheeks were still flushed pink. It was a pretty sight for Toby to watch.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Toby inquired when he could feel Sonia¡¯s body rx.


    Sonia nodded in response and red at him. ¡°Ready. You trained another set of courage out of me.¡±


    Sonia could then feel the vibration in Toby¡¯s chest as he chuckled lightly with a seductive voice. Smirking,


    he uttered, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re all shy.¡±


    ¡°Hah! Do you think everyone is as brazen as you?¡± Sonia snorted in dismay, but that only served to


    trigger anotherugh from Toby. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m a brazen man. So, Mrs. Fuller, may I ask you for a


    favor?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia widened her eyes and questioned, ¡°What did you call me?¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Fuller,¡± Toby repeated.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia could feel the heat surging up her face again. ¡°W-Who allowed you to call me


    Mrs. Fuller? Why are you talking nonsense?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense.¡± Toby blinked his eyes and looked at her with a serious expression.


    ¡°You will be Mrs. Fuller unless you don¡¯t want to marry me. But it¡¯s toote to refuse because I will drag


    you to the Civil Affairs Bureau and register our marriage. You are only allowed to marry me, my dear Mrs.


    Fuller.¡±


    Toby looked into her eyes with a gaze that was dead serious. If she rejected him, that would ruin his


    whole domineering stance.


    After lifting her hand to hit him on the chest, Sonia quickly caressed the spot with a scar left from the


    surgery before questioning, ¡°You¡¯re getting ahead of yourself. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I don¡¯t like someone


    so haughty?¡±


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 Chapter 831

    Chapter 831


    Chapter 831 Bathroom


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head without hesitating.


    Sonia was surprised. ¡°Why?¡±


    A sh of resolve glinted in Toby¡¯s eyes. ¡°Because I won¡¯t change my mind even if you don¡¯t like it. I¡¯ll


    have you stay with me for life. You¡¯re mine and only mine. You¡¯re my wife and thedy of the Fuller


    Family. That fact will never change.¡±


    She looked at him for a long while, and sheughed. ¡°That¡¯s not just being bossy. I call that


    unreasonable.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. This is what I want.¡± He held her hand and kissed it.


    After peering at him, she said, ¡°Since you want me to stay with you for life, then you must never have a


    change of heart. You can only have me. If you fall for someone else, I will take you down with me. After


    all, you said you want me to stay with you for life first. Remember what you said today and never go back


    on your word, or I will take you down even if that¡¯s thest thing I do.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Toby agreed without even thinking.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia smiled happily. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±


    He touched her forehead with his and asked gently, ¡°So, do you want to be Mrs. Fuller now?¡±


    She looked away. ¡°You know the answer to that.¡±


    As he knew she was shy, he stopped teasing her and instead chuckled. ¡°So, can you help me out here,


    honey?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± She nodded.


    He let her go and spread his arms open. ¡°I can¡¯t stand my clothes sticking to me. Can you take it off for


    me, honey?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You want me to take your clothes off? Don¡¯t you have hands, Toby?¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to move.¡± Toby gazed at her innocently. ¡°And my arm¡¯s not fully healed yet. You said so,


    didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Sonia was annoyed, and the corner of her lips twitched. ¡°I did say that, but I didn¡¯t say the wound is so


    bad that you can¡¯t take your clothes off.¡±


    Toby closed his eyes and said nothing. His arms were still open, and he obviously wouldn¡¯t put them


    down until she took his clothes off.


    She was speechless. She knew he was being cheeky, but she never thought he could act like this. I


    guess the more shameless you are, the stupider the things you can do. She didn¡¯t let him carry her


    because his arm wasn¡¯t healed yet, and now he had used the same excuse to get her to take his clothes


    off. Well, that backfired.


    Although she was annoyed, she took his clothes off anyway. It wasn¡¯t like she had any other choice. If


    she didn¡¯t do it, he might never lower his arms. What did I do to deserve this? He just ys me like a


    fiddle. She heaved a sigh and tossed Toby¡¯s ck shirt into theundry basket, where herundry


    resided.


    Then, Toby held her arm.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    He gazed at her in silence before he pulled her into his embrace and held her chin up, then he kissed


    her.


    Sonia struggled by reflex, but he quickly released her chin and held the back of her head. It pulled them


    closer to each other, and she couldn¡¯t break free.


    Toby¡¯s kissing skill was improving over time. It was probably men¡¯s instincts to improve their skill. Sonia


    showed no improvement, and she couldn¡¯t even breathe normally when she was kissing. On the other


    hand, he was already starting to lead her into a world of enjoyment at this point.


    Her strength left her halfway into the kiss, and everything around her started to spin. Her legs gave out


    and she slid down. He noticed that and quickly pulled her closer to him, but she still couldn¡¯t steady


    herself. Her legs turned to jelly, and if it weren¡¯t because she was leaning against him, she would have


    already copsed in a heap on the ground.


    Oh, this won¡¯t do. Toby¡¯s eyes glinted. He let her go and held her legs before lifting them up.


    After she was carried, he took her to the basin and ced her on the counter so she could sit. That way,


    she couldn¡¯t slide down even if her strength left her. At the same time, he didn¡¯t have to hold her tight just


    to keep her from falling. He could spend more energy kissing her all over.


    ¡­


    About two or three hourster, the sound of running watering from the bathroom finally stopped.


    Toby looked at Sonia, who was in the bathtub. Her eyes were closed, and her body was filled with


    hickeys. Toby changed into his bathrobe, a smile curling his lips.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes were closed. She ced one hand on her belly and the other on the side of the bathtub.


    She didn¡¯t move, looking as if she was asleep.


    After Toby changed into his bathrobe, he took a women¡¯s bathrobe from the rack and crouched down


    before the bathtub. He pushed the hair covering her face aside and called softly, ¡°Little Leaf?¡±


    Sonia heard that, and she opened her eyes with difficulty, her gaze filled with an unspokenint.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Get up. We¡¯re going back to the room now,¡± Toby said softly.


    She raised her hand and waved it weakly. ¡°I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t have the strength to.¡± Her voice was soft and


    adorable. Her face was tinged with a red hue from all the love earlier, and she looked just like a little


    kitten ying around.


    He felt something shooting into his heart, and he stopped breathing for a few moments. Oh my gosh.


    She¡¯s so adorable that it¡¯s almost illegal!


    She almost never acted cute around him, so he didn¡¯t know what she looked like if she acted that way,


    nor did he know if she could act that way. Now that she was acting cute, he realized that she could be


    illegally adorable if she wanted to. I knew it. Just because a woman has never acted cute doesn¡¯t mean


    she doesn¡¯t know how to do it. It¡¯s just that they¡¯re almost always illegally adorable when they do. He


    gulped, and he said hoarsely, ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll take you out.¡±


    ¡°But your arm¡ª¡±


    Toby huddled closer and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Sonia was too exhausted to move even a finger, let alone her whole self. As Toby was offering to help,


    she stopped refusing and nodded before she closed her eyes again.


    He covered her with her bathrobe and carried her up, after which they came out of the bathroom.


    Thanks to the heater in the living room, it didn¡¯t feel cold when they came out, and he didn¡¯t have to


    worry about hering down with a cold. Heid her down on the couch, then helped her wear the


    bathrobe. After that, he ced her wet hair on the couch¡¯s armrest to keep it from sticking to her face


    and neck.


    He then went to the bedroom and came back to her side with a blowdryer and clean towel. He dried her


    hair with the towel gently, worried that he might hurt her if he was being even just a bit rough.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 832

    Chapter 832


    Chapter 832 Send You Off


    Sonia wasn¡¯t really asleep yet. Her eyes might be closed, but she was half-awake, and she could feel


    what was happening around her, including the fact that Toby was drying her hair gently. Especially the


    fact that he was drying her hair gently. She smiled. ¡°Toby.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Toby stopped drying her hair for a moment, surprised that she wasn¡¯t asleep yet. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Will you dry my hair like this forever?¡± she asked, her eyes still closed.


    And I thought she was going to say something else. He chuckled and answered, ¡°Of course. You¡¯ll


    always be my wife, and I¡¯ll always dry your hair.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± After she got the answer she wanted, she turned away and fell asleep.


    She fell asleep just like that? He shook his head and pinched her cheek, mumbling, ¡°You only care for


    yourself, huh?¡± You might have fallen asleep, but I still need some time. Toby might be grumbling, but the


    love in his eyes was palpable. He went back to drying her hair and blew it with the hair dryer. Then he


    picked her up and took her back to the bedroom, sleeping with her in his arms.


    He opened his eyes at the break of dawn the next day. His circadian clock would never go out of whack


    unless something special took ce. He would always wake up at the break of dawn, and he noticed


    something pressing down on him that day. It wasn¡¯t heavy, though it did get in the way of his breathing.


    He looked down and saw the silhouette of a head on his chest. Sonia was still sound asleep, and he


    chuckled silently.


    No wonder I felt something pushing down on mest night. I remember pushing it away, but then it came


    back like it grew hands and legs, and it held onto me like some kind of octopus. So it¡¯s just Sonia. He


    brushed his hand down her hair and took his phone from the bedside table to look at the time. It was


    almost seven. He put his phone back and slowly moved Sonia¡¯s head to the pillow beside him. That was


    just the beginning, however, as he still had to move all of her away.


    He gently lifted the nket, and when he saw her beautiful long legs interlocking with his, a spark of


    desire red in his eyes. He put his hand on the base of her thighs and caressed them, then he moved


    them aside. On a closer inspection, he seemed reluctant to do so. Of course he was reluctant. The


    woman in his arms was the one he loved, and nobody would put the woman they loved aside right after


    they woke up. Nobody would do that, unless they didn¡¯t love the woman.


    Toby had to do his best to hold his desire down, and he finally moved her legs away. However, his eyes


    were still glued to her thighs, and he massaged his temples, then he chuckled dryly. She really does


    know how to seduce people. Men are always horny in the morning, and she clung to me like a ko. Of


    course that won¡¯t help with my desire. If it weren¡¯t because he had a morning meeting that day, he would


    have done something lewd with her as punishment for seducing him so early in the morning.


    Toby heaved a sigh. When his desire had lessened, he put his hand down from his temple and looked at


    Sonia¡¯s hand, which was on his waist.


    He held her wrist and was about to put her hand away, but that woke her up. She stirred and opened her


    eyes, and she saw him holding her wrist while sitting on the bed. She moved around and adjusted her


    position.


    He noticed that and turned around. Their eyes met, but she still looked groggy and confused. ¡°Good


    morning.¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°Good morning,¡± they said at the same time.


    They froze for a moment, apparently never expecting them to say the same thing at the same time.


    They snapped out of it and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you sleep in?¡± That was the second time, and both of them


    laughed.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re telepathic, huh?¡± Sonia stoppedughing a momentter and stared at Toby.


    He straightened out the nket. ¡°We are telepathic. It¡¯s still early, and the sun isn¡¯t fully up yet. Sleep in.


    You must be tired.¡±


    Her face turned pink, and she shot him a yful re. ¡°And that¡¯s all your fault, you know that?¡± If we


    hadn¡¯t fooled around in the bathroom, I wouldn¡¯t have fallen asleep right away. We did it everywhere. The


    counter, the bathtub, and even the ground.


    She thought she wouldn¡¯t get too exhausted if they had sex again, since she was improving her stamina,


    but he was also improving at the same time, which nullified her improvement.


    Toby noticed theint in her eyes, and he chuckled. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my fault. Just go back to sleep,


    alright?¡± He patted her as if he was trying to get a child to sleep.


    It actually worked on Sonia. She started yawning and blinking. ¡°What about you? Why are you up so


    early? Are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The overseas branchpany¡¯s top brass is here to give me a report on their management.


    They¡¯ll leave right after that, so we¡¯re on a tight schedule. It must be done in the morning, so I have to be


    there early.¡± He took the clothes on the bedside table, which he had prepared beforehand, and he


    changed into them.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°That¡¯s the problem when yourpany grows too big. Good thing Paradigm Co. is still a


    small workshop.¡±


    Toby scraped her nose. ¡°It¡¯s a small workshop for now, but not in the future. You¡¯ll get busy too.¡±


    She pulled his hand down and pinched it like it was a toy. ¡°It¡¯s still too early to talk about that. Even if I


    can make it big, it won¡¯t grow as big as yourpany, so I won¡¯t be as busy as you are.¡± Sheughed in


    delight.


    He flicked her forehead. ¡°You really love tough at my misery, huh? Just sleep in. I¡¯ll get someone to


    send you breakfast. See youter.¡± He got out of bed and tied his necktie beside it.


    He looked very handsome while tying his necktie, and it was pleasing to Sonia¡¯s eyes. She turned to her


    side and held her head up just to stare at him. ¡°I¡¯lle back to sleep after I send you off.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you sleepy?¡± He straightened his tie out, smiling. ¡°Can you still sleep after you send me off?¡±


    ¡°I can watch some TV and wait for the sun toe up if I can¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry about me. I know what I¡¯m


    doing.¡± She sat up as well.


    Toby patted her head. ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s go. I thought you¡¯re sending me off?¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± She nodded and got out of bed. Toby extended his hand to her. She wore her slippers,


    smiled at him, and took his hand. He held her hand firmly, and they walked out of the bedroom.


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 Chapter 833

    Chapter 833


    Chapter 833 Sendoff


    They came to the porch, and Toby bent over to change his shoes. Sonia opened the door, and a gust of


    cold breeze smacked her in the face. She shivered from the chill that ran through her body.


    Toby noticed that, and he frowned. He then took his scarf off and wrapped it around her shoulder. ¡°I


    should have asked you to put on anotheryer. Alright, that¡¯s enough. You should go back to the


    bedroom now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She shook her head and held the scarf on her shoulders. She was refusing to leave. ¡°It


    won¡¯t take long, and nothing will happen. I¡¯ve never sent you off to work before. This seems fun, and I


    want to try it. Don¡¯t tell me to go back to the room.¡±


    He noticed the light in her eyes, and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask her to go back to her room. He


    patted her head lovingly and relented. ¡°Fine, you can send me off if you want to, but just to the door,


    alright? You don¡¯t have to send me off to the lift.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded. She knew he wouldn¡¯t let her even if she wanted to send him all the way to the


    elevator. The weather outside would only get colder, and he wouldn¡¯t let her suffer that. Letting her send


    him to the door was already the limit, and she wouldn¡¯t want to challenge that.


    Toby stopped patting her head and pulled her into his embrace, happy that she listened to him. He put


    his chin on her shoulder and said gently, ¡°I¡¯m going now. See you tonight.¡±


    ¡°See you tonight, and drive safely.¡± She raised her hand and hugged him back, and she patted his back.


    Toby chuckled. ¡°I will. It¡¯s cold outside, so go back in.¡± He let her go.


    ¡°Yeah, sure. You should go now. I¡¯ll go back in once I see you off.¡±


    So she won¡¯t go back in until I leave? Toby had no choice but to leave, but right after he took one step,


    he stopped and turned around. Then he gave her a hug and kissed her.


    Sonia was surprised at first, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and responded to his kiss in a


    moment.


    Toby knew when to stop. He had work to do, and she was feeling cold, so he only kissed her for a minute


    before he let her go. He looked at her crimson lips and wiped the saliva off the corner of her lips, and he


    smiled. ¡°I¡¯m going now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded, her face red, and she was a little out of breath.


    Toby let her go and left the house. This time, he didn¡¯t stop, nor did he turn around to give her a hug or a


    kiss. All he did was go ahead.


    Sonia stood at the door and saw him off. Toby came to the lift and turned to wave her goodbye. She


    waved him goodbye as well, and after he went into the lift, she put her hand down and stopped smiling.


    Then she closed the door and went back to the bedroom. It was cold outside, but the room was


    adequately warm.


    Sonia took her slippers off and went into the bed. It was still warm, and the moment she went back to


    bed, she felt herself surrounded by warm air, and she stopped shivering from the cold. ¡°Nice.¡± Shey


    back down and stretched her arms. Sonia closed her eyes and tried to sleep, since the sun wasn¡¯t fully


    up yet.


    However, her sleepiness was all gone after she said goodbye earlier, and she couldn¡¯t sleep. Sonia


    opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She pushed the nket down to her belly and heaved a sigh.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep.¡±


    Toby¡¯s right. He said I won¡¯t be able to sleep once I send him off, and now I can¡¯t sleep. She iled her


    legs and messed the nket up even more before she calmed down. She then turned to the side and


    touched the spot where Toby slept in. There was still some warmth there, but it felt a lot cooler than her


    side of the bed. Even so, she felt happy to feel that, for it was as if she could feel him by her side.


    It was funny though. It hadn¡¯t been long since they got back together, but she was already starting to find


    his short absences unbearable. Even though they would meet every night, she still felt empty during the


    day. She wanted him to be by her side at all times. He had just left, but she was already missing him. Oh,


    why is love so torturous?


    She thumped his pillow in frustration, then she fell silent and spaced out. That spacing-out sessionsted


    for more than an hour, and by then, the sun was already fully up. Sonia heard her phone¡¯s rm ringing,


    and she snoozed it before she got up. She washed herself up and went to the porch to see if breakfast


    had arrived. Lo and behold, when she opened the door, room service was already standing outside, and


    it was still the same waiter who served them thest time.


    Toby must have known that she couldn¡¯t sleep after she sent him off and asked the hotel to send some


    room service after he left. Sonia took the breakfast from him and smiled. He knows me best. ¡°Thank


    you.¡± She smiled at the waiter and closed the door before she came back in.


    After she put the breakfast on the table, she took a photo of it with her phone and sent it to Toby.


    ¡®Breakfast is here. Do your best at work today.¡¯ She then sent a cute panda emoji to him. The sight of


    that emoji reminded her of the photo where Toby saddled her bag. He was in ck attire in the photo,


    and her bag was beige. The colors matched that of a panda¡¯s, and she chuckled at the thought of that.


    Sonia locked her phone and put it on the table before she went to have breakfast.


    Toby was probably busy and wouldn¡¯t text her back, so she didn¡¯t wait for his reply. He¡¯ll text me back


    after he¡¯s done with work. But the phone rang not long after she put it down, much to her surprise. She


    paused for a moment and stared at her phone.


    Whoa. I thought he was working. He¡¯s calling me now? She put her spoon down and quickly picked her


    phone up, but when she saw who the caller was, her smile faded. It was Tim, not Toby. Why is he calling


    me so early in the morning? She took the call curiously. ¡°Hello, Dr. Lancaster.¡±


    ¡°I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you.¡± He was sitting behind his desk, leaning into his chair. His phone was held


    in one hand, and a scalpel in the other.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No. I¡¯m not working just yet, so you aren¡¯t disturbing me.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Tim nodded.


    She tilted her head and held her phone between her head and shoulder. ¡°Why did you call me?¡±


    ¡°Nothing big, really. I just want to know if you have found the genes of Jessica¡¯s child¡¯s father. You did,


    right?¡± Tim asked.


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sonia said. ¡°How did you know? I don¡¯t remember telling you that.¡± She was going to tell him after


    Zane came back with the genes so Tim could help her with its cryopreservation, but she never expected


    him to find out before she told him.


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 Chapter 834

    Chapter 834


    Chapter 834 Daphne is Pregnant


    ¡°Yeah. We found it. But how did you know about this?¡± Sonia ran her fingers through her hair as she


    asked him curiously.


    Tim spun his scalpel around furiously. ¡°Zane told me about it. He gave me a call and told me to prepare


    the equipment needed to cryopreserve it.¡±


    ¡°I see. So, he was the one who told you about it!¡± Sonia nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Tsk. He told you about it


    even before I had the chance to do it.¡± She felt likeughing.


    He lowered his scalpel before he pushed his gold-rimmed sses up the bridge of his nose. ¡°He


    sounded so full of himself when he told me about it. He just helped withpleting a task, yet he felt so


    proud about it,¡± he muttered.


    Sonia let out a heartyugh this time, and Tim lowered his hand from his sses as he continued


    speaking. ¡°Alright. Enough about him. I just contacted you to check whether you¡¯ve really found the


    gene. Since you did, I¡¯ll order the hospital to prepare their cryopreservation tools.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thank you so much.¡± Sonia nodded gratefully.


    Tim¡¯s sses glinted for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just a small thing to me¡ªI can get it done after


    sending a few orders.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re about to get the role as the dean,¡± she replied with a smile.


    He curled his lips into a grin as well. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something else I want to tell you,¡± he uttered.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia took a mouthful of her porridge.


    Tim nced at the pregnancy report on his table. ¡°Your secretary dropped by at the hospital yesterday


    for some tests,¡± he stated.


    Sonia was surprised to hear this. ¡°Are you talking about Daphne?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s her name,¡± he uttered as he checked the name on the report.


    She felt a surge of worry when she was certain that it was her secretary they were talking about. ¡°What is


    it? Is she ill?¡± Sonia asked worriedly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case.¡± He shook his head. ¡°She went for some tests with the gynecologist. I guess you


    know what that means, right?¡±


    The gynecologist?! A look of disbelief spread across Sonia¡¯s face. Of course I know what that means.


    How could I not understand?! I went to the gynecologist back when I was pregnant. That means¡­


    She parted her red lips in surprise. ¡°Is Daphne pregnant?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s two months into her pregnancy,¡± Tim uttered with a nod.


    ¡°H-How can this be true?!¡± Her voice went a few octaves higher as a look of utter shock spread across


    her face. How could Daphne be pregnant for two months?! Right then, she recalled how Daphne had


    been feeling nauseous when she was in Sonia¡¯s office.


    She had been worried about Daphne¡¯s health and had suggested she visit the doctor in thepany¡¯s


    infirmary. However, Daphne had rejected Sonia¡¯s suggestion with a look of panic and even said that she


    didn¡¯t need the doctor as she had just eaten something bad.


    Sonia didn¡¯t think much about it back then, but it seemed like Daphne knew about her own pregnancy all


    along now that she recalled her conversations with Daphne. That¡¯s why she declined my suggestion for


    her to visit the doctor. She didn¡¯t want her pregnancy to be exposed, but why can¡¯t she tell others about


    it? There has to be some issue with the child¡¯s father. Otherwise, Daphne wouldn¡¯t have to hide it at all.


    She¡¯s a grown woman¡ªit¡¯s normal to get pregnant. Yet, Daphne chose to keep it a secret. She doesn¡¯t


    have a boyfriend, and she isn¡¯t married, yet she¡¯s now pregnant¡­ That means that she has to be hiding


    her pregnancy because of the child¡¯s father. But who is the child¡¯s father?


    She bit her lip as she found a probable answer in her mind.


    When she thought about the unique chemistry between Charles and Daphne, how Charles had suddenly


    seemed rude toward Daphne, and how Daphne looked like she had things she wanted to tell Charles¡­


    I¡¯m afraid she might be pregnant with Charles¡¯ kid.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Sonia massaged her temples. ¡°Is the child healthy, Dr. Lancaster?¡± she asked.


    Tim nced through the reports on his table. ¡°The child¡¯s pretty healthy, but the mother seems to be


    under a lot of stress. She¡¯s not doing too well, and this might cause problems in the long run,¡± he replied.


    If he hadn¡¯t realized how loyal Daphne was to Sonia, he wouldn¡¯t have paid much attention to the


    pregnancy report, and he wouldn¡¯t have retrieved a copy from the gynecologist and called to tell Sonia


    about it either.


    Sonia frowned when she heard that Daphne wasn¡¯t in good health. She was about to say something


    when Tim spoke up. ¡°Anyway, Daphne is thinking of aborting the child and she just had a conversation


    with her gynecologist yesterday.¡±


    ¡°What? An abortion?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes widened as she had a dumbfounded look.


    He nodded. ¡°She has the intention of doing it, but nothing¡¯s set in stone yet. She mentioned that she


    would go home to think about it, but I think there¡¯s a high chance she might follow through with the


    procedure.¡±


    Sonia felt her heart sinking as she tightened her grip on her phone. ¡°I got it. Thank you for telling me


    about this.¡±


    ¡°No worries. I only paid more attention to her since she¡¯s rted to you.¡± Tim waved it off. Sonia chuckled


    ¡ªshe knew that Tim wouldn¡¯t even have noticed Daphne¡¯s name if it weren¡¯t for her.


    ¡°Okay. That¡¯s all for now. I have a patient entering surgery today, so I have to get prepared now.¡± He


    gazed at the clock on the lower bottom corner of hisptop. Then, he straightened his back as he


    decided that he couldn¡¯tze around anymore.


    She nodded. ¡°Okay, go ahead. I¡¯ll buy you a meal when we have the time.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be waiting,¡± Tim uttered as he smiled and adjusted his sses. After the call was over, Sonia


    clutched her phone with both hands as aplicated expression formed on her face.


    I would¡¯ve never expected Tim to drop me such a huge bomb early in the morning. Daphne is pregnant,


    and the child might belong to Charles¡­ Does Charles know about this? Sonia lowered her gaze and


    nced at her phone before unlocking it. She found Charles¡¯ phone number as she wanted to call him to


    ask about his rtionship with Daphne. She wanted to ask if the child belonged to him.


    However, right before she tapped on Charles¡¯ name, she seemed to recall something, and she stopped


    herself at the veryst minute. No. I can¡¯t call him. Not now, at least! Daphne¡¯s pregnancy seems to be a


    secret, and it doesn¡¯t seem like she has told anyone about it. That means that she isn¡¯t ready for others


    to know. Wouldn¡¯t I be causing harm to Daphne if I told Charles about it?


    Furthermore, this is Daphne¡¯s matter¡ªshe should be the one announcing it to others. I have no right to


    do it for her. With that thought, Sonia lowered her phone once more. However, she still felt worried. She


    decided to do what she could¡ªshe would call and ask Daphne since she couldn¡¯t ask Charles about it.


    Sonia was sure that Daphne would no longer keep it a secret from her at that point. So, Sonia dropped


    Daphne a text.


    To Sonia¡¯s surprise, Daphne replied almost immediately. ¡®Is anything the matter, President Reed?¡¯


    Sonia nced at the reply for a while before moving her fingers to type. ¡®Can we meet in person? There


    are some things I¡¯d like to talk to you about.¡¯


    On the receiving end, Daphne felt her heart sink when she saw Sonia¡¯s text. Daphne had been sitting


    down and eating her breakfast, but an uneasy feeling spread across her chest after receiving the test.


    Daphne¡¯s heart was racing¡ªshe felt like someone had found out about her secret.


    She lowered her spoon and contemted for a moment. Instead of agreeing to Sonia¡¯s request, she


    replied with a question. ¡®What would you like to talk about, President Reed?¡¯


    Sonia scoffed. She¡¯s being really cautious. After shaking her head exasperatedly, she typed a reply to


    Daphne. ¡®It¡¯s about work.¡¯


    She didn¡¯t n on telling Daphne that she knew about the pregnancy just yet. She knew Daphne well;


    Daphne would refuse to meet her and would use all sorts of excuses to avoid her if she confronted


    Daphne about the pregnancy.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 835

    Chapter 835


    Chapter 835 Meetup


    As expected, Daphne was more rxed after she heard Sonia iming that Sonia wanted to meet for


    work-rted matters. Daphne massaged her rather tense cheeks before she responded with a text.


    ¡®Sure, President Reed. Let me know where to meet. I can meet you anytime.¡¯ Daphne was still on


    holiday, so she had all the time in the world.


    Sonia nced at the watch on her wrist. ¡®Let¡¯s meet at 10.00AM at the milk tea shop right below the


    office.¡¯


    ¡®Okay.¡¯ Daphne texted. After that, Sonia lowered her phone and continued eating. Her breakfast had


    turned cold since she had been talking on the phone and texting for a while. After eating a few more


    mouthfuls of it, she lowered her cutleries and decided not to have any more. She cleaned the table


    before picking her bag up and heading out.


    As Sonia sat on her desk at the office, she found herself distracted by thoughts of Daphne¡¯s pregnancy.


    She couldn¡¯t focus on the work she was doing. She only managed to deal with two to three documents


    after an entire hour¡ªshe was much less efficient than she usually was.


    Sonia only felt a little calmer after Toby replied to her text. Toby was busy, so they didn¡¯t talk for long.


    However, he tried his best to find the time to reply to her texts every now and then. After they texted for a


    while, Toby continued to focus on his work. It was about 10.00AM then, so Sonia headed downstairs


    after she was done texting Toby. She went to the milk tea shop right beside her office.


    Daphne was extremely punctual¡ªshe was already in the store when Sonia arrived. Sonia entered the


    store to find Daphne waving at her, and Sonia smiled and waved back before walking over. Daphne


    stood up and pulled the chair out for Sonia to sit in. ¡°Please take a seat, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia beamed as she sat down. Daphne only returned to her seat and sat down after Sonia


    did. ¡°What would you like to drink, President Reed?¡± Daphne gazed at Sonia while handing her a menu.


    After going through the menu for a while, Sonia ordered an original-vored milk tea. Without asking for


    Daphne¡¯s order, Sonia simply returned the menu to the waiter. ¡°Give her some warm milk,¡± Sonia told the


    waiter.


    The waiter was just about to respond when Daphne frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t want to drink milk, President Reed.


    I don¡¯t like its smell,¡± she uttered.


    ¡°No.¡± Sonia gazed at her sternly. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant, so it¡¯s best for you to drink milk.¡±


    ng! Daphne¡¯s ss fell from her hand, making a loud noise as itnded on the table. Water spilled out


    of the ss onto the table in front of her. Fortunately, the ss didn¡¯t roll off the table, or it would have


    shattered.


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    However, Daphne didn¡¯t care about the ss at all. Her pupils were shrunken, and her face was pale as


    she gazed at Sonia. Her lips twitched for a moment before she spoke in a trembling voice. ¡°P-President


    Reed, how¡ª¡±


    ¡°How did I find out?¡± Sonia interrupted. She was calm in the face of Daphne¡¯s shock. Daphne could only


    open and close her mouth without saying much. It was clear that her silence was an agreement to


    Sonia¡¯s words. Sonia pressed her palms together. ¡°Calm down. For now, let¡¯s clean up the mess in front


    of you.¡± Sonia called for the waiter beside her. ¡°Excuse me! Sorry, can we get some help?¡±


    The waiter smiled. ¡°Sure. It¡¯s no problem at all.¡± He quickly gathered some cloth and cleaning tools


    before he came over to Daphne¡¯s side of the table and cleaned up the mess. Only then did Daphne


    realize that she had spilled a ss of water while she was panicking. She felt rather guilty. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I


    didn¡¯t do it on purpose,¡± she uttered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Miss. This is no big deal. We can clean it up. What matters is that you aren¡¯t hurt,¡±


    the waiter said with a smile. His actions were swift and smooth, and he cleaned the table up in an


    instant. After the waiter left, it was just Sonia and Daphne at the table.


    Daphne felt even more afraid when she was alone with Sonia. In fact, Daphne was so nervous that her


    hands were shivering. She was unconsciously scratching the back of her own hands, and red marks had


    formed all over her skin.


    Sonia sighed upon seeing what Daphne was doing. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You¡¯re going to start bleeding if you


    scratch any harder.¡± Daphne lowered her gaze to see the red marks on her hand before she immediately


    pulled her hands off the desk and hid them under the table. Sonia lifted the ss in front of her and


    sipped on her drink before she spoke at a slow pace. ¡°You went for a pregnancy checkup at First World


    Hospital yesterday, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Daphne¡¯s pupils shrank. Her first instinct was to lie, but she couldn¡¯t seem to utter any of her lies when


    she looked directly into Sonia¡¯s eyes. Instead, Daphne remained silent for a long while. Sonia sighed and


    smiled upon seeing Daphne¡¯s expression. ¡°The next dean of the First World Hospital is actually my


    friend. You guys have met in the past,¡± Sonia exined.


    ¡°Is it Dr. Lancaster?¡± Daphne immediately thought about the man in his whiteb coat. ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia


    nodded. Sometimes, Daphne would apany Sonia to the hospital for Sonia¡¯s checkups, so Daphne


    had definitely seen Tim around.


    ¡°He saw you at the hospital yesterday, and he had a look at your records since you¡¯re my assistant. He


    found out that you went for a pregnancy checkup, and he called me to tell me about it this morning¡ª


    that¡¯s how I found out that you¡¯re pregnant,¡± Sonia exined as she lowered her drink.


    Daphne bit her lip. ¡°I see. I thought you realized it on your own, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too good at hiding it. I would never have realized it on my own. Furthermore, there was once


    where you showed pregnancy symptoms in front of me, yet you managed to convince me that you just


    ate something bad. I didn¡¯t even suspect that you were lying! I was once a pregnant woman myself¡ªI


    can¡¯t believe I was fooled by your lies!¡± Sonia chuckled.


    Daphneughed along with her. She knew that Sonia was trying to make her feel better by iming that


    she was a good liar. Sonia was trying to ease the mood to make Daphne less tense. However, after


    speaking to Sonia about it, Daphne did feel a little less worried than before. ¡°You were only pregnant for


    about two months, and you didn¡¯t know much about pregnancy, so it¡¯s no surprise that my little trick


    fooled you,¡± Daphne said as she took her ss of milk that the waiter handed her.


    Sonia took her milk tea and sipped on it before speaking. ¡°Yeah. But I should have also checked on you


    more. If I did so, I might have seen through your lie earlier.¡±


    Daphne shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re already good enough to me. You even gave me a holiday!¡±


    ¡°How are you feeling now?¡± Sonia gazed at the other woman. ¡°Tim said that your health isn¡¯t that great.


    He said that you overthink, which causes all sorts of health issues in the long run.¡±


    ¡°Did Dr Lancaster tell you that as well?¡± Daphne was shocked.


    Sonia stirred her drink in the cup. ¡°Since he decided to tell me about your pregnancy, he provided all the


    details as well.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense.¡± Daphne nodded before responding to Sonia¡¯s earlier question. ¡°My health


    isn¡¯t that poor. My blood sugar is a little low, and I get dizzy easily. I have a few of the symptoms of


    pregnancy, but apart from that, everything¡¯s fine,¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s still pretty bad.¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think you shoulde for work anymore. You need to


    stay home and rest. How does a three-month break sound?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Daphne shook her head immediately. ¡°I don¡¯t need rest, President Reed. I can go to work.¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 836

    Chapter 836


    Chapter 836 Is This Karma?


    Daphne grabbed Sonia¡¯s hand worriedly. When Sonia saw her assistant¡¯s pale face and bony hands, she


    let out a sigh before using her other hand to hold Daphne¡¯s. ¡°Calm down. I¡¯m not firing you. I just figured


    that it¡¯d be bad for you to continue working when you¡¯re pregnant and when your body¡¯s weak. That¡¯s


    why I wanted you to take a break and rest a little more beforeing back to work.¡±


    ¡°I know, but there¡¯s no need for that.¡± Daphne shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m about to abort this child, so I¡¯ll be


    able toe back to work soon. I won¡¯t need a break.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia¡¯s expression changed immediately. ¡°Are you really going to abort your child?¡± When


    Daphne heard the way Sonia phrased her sentence, she wasn¡¯t surprised by the fact that Sonia had


    expected her to abort the child. After all, if Tim told Sonia about Daphne¡¯s pregnancy, it was likely that he


    also told Sonia about Daphne¡¯s enquires about abortion.


    ¡°Yeah. I want to abort the child!¡± Daphne nodded with a bitter and disappointed look on her face. ¡°This


    child shouldn¡¯t have existed, after all. The child¡¯s father doesn¡¯t know about my pregnancy, so I should


    abort it as soon as possible so that everything will go back to normal. I can just pretend that nothing


    happened between the child¡¯s father and me.¡±


    Sonia gazed at Daphne for a long while before questioning her. ¡°The child¡¯s father is Charles, right?¡±


    Daphne froze with a dumbfounded look on her face as she locked gazes with Sonia. She was clearly


    stunned by the fact that Sonia knew about this. Sonia sighed upon seeing Daphne¡¯s reaction. ¡°I knew it. I


    was right. Charles is the father. You¡¯ve always had feelings for Charles, so I didn¡¯t expect you to sleep


    with anyone else. Furthermore, there haven¡¯t been any other men in your life, so the child has to belong


    to Charles, right? When did you and Charles¡­¡± Sonia didn¡¯t finish her sentence as she felt rather shy to


    utter the remaining words, but both of them knew what she meant.


    Daphne hung her head low. There was a mixture of embarrassment and awkwardness written all over


    her face. ¡°It was that time when Mr. Lane left your office after he got mad. You were worried about him,


    and you told me to check on him to make sure he didn¡¯t do anything stupid.¡±


    Sonia recalled what happened back then. Charles had just confessed his feelings for me at that time. I


    rejected him and told him that I didn¡¯t have any feelings for him. I told him that he¡¯s only a good friend


    and that I couldn¡¯t be with him. He was really sad when he left. I was worried that he might do something


    rash, but I couldn¡¯t chase after him since I had just rejected his confession. Wouldn¡¯t I be confusing him if


    I chased after him and showed him my care? That¡¯s why I told Daphne to help me watch over him to


    make sure he didn¡¯t do anything stupid. I figured that Daphne is his ex-secretary, and they were


    ssmates, after all. I thought it¡¯d be good for her to check on him. But she didn¡¯t return after checking


    on him, and she was walking in a rather odd manner when she came back the second day. I didn¡¯t think


    much about it then, but it seems like there were a lot of things I neglected. Sonia rubbed her temples as


    she reflected on how careless she had been.


    ¡°So, it was that day. That exins it.¡± Sonia pressed her lips together. ¡°I just realized that things had


    been odd between you and Charles after that day. Before that, you guys seemed like normal friends. But


    after that day, his attitude toward you changed drastically, and he became really rude. You also seemed


    rather conflicted when someone mentioned his name.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It was because I slept with him that night.¡± A bitter look spread across Daphne¡¯s face. ¡°After


    Charles left that day, he went to buy alcohol. I told him not to drink too much, but he wouldn¡¯t listen to


    me, so I had no choice but to sit and watch him drink. I figured I would send him home after he got drunk.


    But I didn¡¯t expect him to mistakenly think of me as you after he was drunk. He pulled me¡­¡± Daphne


    looked up at Sonia.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    Sonia felt extremely awkward at that moment. What else could she feel apart from awkwardness? Based


    on what Daphne¡¯s telling me, she¡¯s saying that Charles thought she was me, and he dragged her into


    bed. So, Daphne was like my recement that night, and Charles slept with her¡­ A strong sense of guilt


    surfaced in Sonia¡¯s chest as she gazed at Daphne. Sonia couldn¡¯t help but me herself for this. ¡°I¡¯m


    sorry, Daphne. I¡­¡±


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say, President Reed.¡± Daphne shook her head while smiling at Sonia. ¡°This


    is none of your business, and it¡¯s not your fault either.¡±


    ¡°No. It is my fault.¡± Sonia rubbed her face guiltily. ¡°If I didn¡¯t tell you to follow Charles that day, then


    Charles wouldn¡¯t have¡ª¡±


    ¡°I did it willingly.¡± Daphne interrupted Sonia.


    Sonia was stunned. ¡°Willingly?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daphne nodded. ¡°You know that I like President Lane, President Reed. When President Lane


    thought that I was you and dragged me into the hotel, I didn¡¯t protest at all. I chose to follow him because


    I liked him. That was why I didn¡¯t reject him that day. I knew I would never get the chance to sleep with


    him if I rejected him that night. On top of that, I also drank a little with him. Although I wasn¡¯t drunk, he


    managed to lure the dark side of me out that night.¡±


    Sonia seemed to understand the situation a little better as she looked at Daphne. Daphne let out a scoff


    that was meant for herself. ¡°Did you know this, President Reed? When President Lane dragged me into


    the room, my first instinct wasn¡¯t to push him away. Instead, I imagined that he would take responsibility


    for me if I slept with him. Then, I could be with him. He might not love me, but I thought I could touch him


    with my sincerity once I got together with him. I slept with him because of that, but the next morning, he


    didn¡¯t just refuse to take any responsibility. He even began to despise me for what I did. I didn¡¯t expect


    that.¡± Tears welled up in Daphne¡¯s eyes as she spoke.


    Daphne wiped the corners of her eyes with the insides of her wrists before she forced a smile. ¡°Do you


    think this is karma, President Reed? I brought this all upon myself, didn¡¯t I?¡¯


    Sonia parted her lips to say something, but she remained silent in the end. She didn¡¯t know how to


    comment on this matter. At first, she assumed that she was the one who was at fault since she had told


    Daphne to go after Charles. Sonia thought that they only ended up sleeping together because of her. But


    after hearing Daphne¡¯s side of the story, Sonia realized that while she was at fault, the main reason for


    this whole incident was Daphne herself.


    After all, Daphne imed that she could have pushed Charles away and avoided all contact if she


    wanted to. Yet, the dark side of Daphne hade out, and she chose not to push Charles away. In other


    words, Daphne was trying to manipte Charles to get him to marry her so that they could be together.


    However, Charles didn¡¯t go along with her n as he didn¡¯t want to take any responsibility. So, it was true


    to say that Daphne brought this upon herself, but Sonia felt like it wouldn¡¯t be right for her to say such


    things.


    Daphne didn¡¯t seem to care whether Sonia responded to her or not. The assistant simply took a sip of


    her milk before she continued speaking. It was as if she wanted to let out everything that she had been


    keeping to herself throughout this period. ¡°President Lane is so cold and hateful toward me because he


    knows that I was trying to manipte him. He knew that I chose not to push him away. He was the only


    one who was drunk, after all. I was still sober.¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 837

    Chapter 837


    Chapter 837 Abort the Child


    After all, would a sober woman, who had learned how to fight, not be able to push a drunk man off of


    her? No; of course she¡¯d be able to do so. She could even knock the drunk man out before throwing him


    over her shoulder. Charles knew of Daphne¡¯s capabilities¡ªthat was why he immediately realized what


    she was trying to do after learning that she had allowed him to bring her to bed. That was why he hated


    her so much.


    Daphne had been his secretary for years. She was a trusted secretary and friend, yet she tried to


    manipte him this time. How could he not feel angry and hateful? So, he didn¡¯t exactly make a mistake


    when he decided not to take any responsibility for her. Sonia let out a sigh. ¡°Regardless of who was right


    or wrong, the child is still innocent. Are you sure you want to abort the child?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daphne nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve made a decision. This child popped out of nowhere, and the father is not


    going to like the child. President Lane is not going to wee the child if I give birth to it, and this would


    make my baby an illegitimate child. How am I supposed to answer my child when my child asks me who


    his or her father is? I thought about it. Since I can¡¯t give my child a happy family, and since my child won¡¯t


    have a father, I¡¯d rather not have the childe into this world at all. I can¡¯t allow my selfishness to harm


    the child,¡± she uttered.


    Sonia wasn¡¯t too surprised after hearing Daphne¡¯s words. That was exactly what went through Sonia¡¯s


    mind when she was pregnant. Back then, she didn¡¯t know that she was pregnant with Toby¡¯s child¡ªshe


    thought the child belonged to a stranger. So, she decided not to give birth to the child as she didn¡¯t want


    things to be unfair for the child.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve made up your mind, I don¡¯t think I should make any morements. But I¡¯d like to know if


    Charles knows about this baby. If he does, then you should tell him about it before aborting the child. If


    he doesn¡¯t know about it, then you can just pretend I never said anything.¡±


    Daphne shook her head. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know about my pregnancy. I didn¡¯t tell anyone about this, and I


    don¡¯t n to tell President Lane about it either. If he knew that I got pregnant, he would only hate me


    even more. He might even think that I didn¡¯t take the morning after pill just because I wanted to be


    pregnant with his child.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Sonia pressed her lips together as she didn¡¯t know what to say. It was a possibility, after all.


    Judging by the negative feelings Charles presently had toward Daphne, he would probably make the


    worst assumptions about all of her actions. So, if he found out about her pregnancy, he might think she


    had gotten pregnant intentionally, just so that he would have to marry her.


    ¡°But I bet President Charles would get me to abort the child even if he found out that I was pregnant. As I


    said, President Lane hates me, so how could he ept the child? So, the best way to deal with this child


    now is to abort it. That way, all of the fate and connection between President Lane and me woulde


    to a proper end,¡± Daphne said with her ss of milk in her hand. The milk was hot, yet its temperature


    didn¡¯t seem to warm her cold hands or her icy heart at all. Her heart¡ªlike the rest of her body¡ªfelt as


    cold as ice.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s good,¡± Sonia said with a nod. Sonia finally understood that Charles and Daphne¡¯s


    rtionship would never work out. After she heard about what happened between them that night, she


    knew that she would no longer be able to matchmake the both of them. Charles now saw Daphne as a


    maniptive woman. So, he would never fall for a woman like Daphne, nor would he be with a woman


    like her. If that were the case, their child would live a sad life if he or she had been born.


    Even if they kept the child, Charles wouldn¡¯t stay with Daphne just for the sake of the child. Charles


    might even fight for custody over the child, and Daphne would struggle to win against him. If that


    happened, Daphne would only be more disappointed. What would all of it be for? Perhaps an abortion


    was the best choice.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you for the procedure.¡± Sonia patted the back of Daphne¡¯s hand. Daphne felt a warm, fuzzy


    feeling in her heart. ¡°Thank you, President Reed.¡± Daphne nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°I was part of the reason you and Charles ended up in this situation.


    I was the one who told you to follow him. If I hadn¡¯t done so, perhaps you and Charles¡¯ rtionship would


    still be fine. You might have had a better chance of being with him.¡±


    Daphne lowered her gaze as she smiled. ¡°Even though you told me to follow him, I was the one who had


    control over how things turned out. I am the one who chose to do what I did, so I am the one at fault


    here. You shouldn¡¯t me yourself, President Reed.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯re the oneforting me now.¡± Sonia shook her head as sheughed. After that, both


    of them stayed in the milk tea shop for a while more before they paid the bill and left.


    Daphne returned to her house while Sonia went back to the office. However, before they parted ways,


    Daphne specifically reminded Sonia to help keep her pregnancy a secret. ¡°You can never tell Charles


    about this,¡± Daphne uttered. Daphne only left after Sonia promised to keep her secret.


    However, Sonia knew that it would be unfair to keep this a secret from Charles. He was the father of the


    child, after all¡ªhe had the right to know about this. But she knew that she would cause a whole scene if


    she were to tell Charles about it. A person like Charles would certainly look for Daphne once he found


    out about this matter. That was why Sonia had promised Daphne without any hesitation.


    Right when Sonia was zoning out at her desk, someone pushed her office door open. Toby walked in


    with a delicate-looking wooden lunchbox. When he saw the woman sitting around and zoning out with a


    soulless look in her eyes, he raised an eyebrow before walking in quietly. Sonia only noticed movement


    in the room when Toby ced the lunchbox on her desk. Then, her eyes lit up for a moment as she


    returned to her senses. She turned her focus toward the lunchbox.


    At first, she was shocked by how a random lunchbox appeared on her table. Then, she shifted her gaze


    up and saw the person standing in front of her desk. She widened her eyes when she saw a man eyeing


    her with his eyebrows raised. ¡°W-What are you doing here?¡± She wore a dumbfounded look on her face.


    Sonia hurriedly got up and walked over to the man. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be at work now? What are you doing


    here?¡±


    Toby let go of the lunchbox handle and gave her a smile. ¡°I brought the management teams from


    internationalpanies to take a look at the factory in Seafield, and I happened to pass by your area


    after leaving the ce. Since it¡¯s lunchtime, I figured that I would drop by to eat with you. After lunch, I¡¯ll


    have to go to the airport to send them off.¡±


    The management team consisted of CEOs that handled Toby¡¯s international branches. They were


    dedicated to working with Toby, and they only traveled back to the country a few times each year, so


    Toby had to send them off to show that he was a boss who cared for them. That way, they would be


    more focused on their work, and they would take better care of the subsidiarypanies overseas.


    When Sonia heard that he was going to be busy after lunch, she let out an inaudible sigh. ¡°I¡¯m tired just


    hearing about it. It sounds like hard work.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. There¡¯ll be harder thingsing up. I think I¡¯ll be even busier from next month onward


    ¡ªthe end of the year is when things get the busiest. Fuller Group will have to take a physical inventory


    count, so I¡¯ll probably have to stay in thepany for the entire duration.¡± Toby slipped his hand into


    hers before lifting the lunchbox with his other hand. He led her over to the couch.


    ¡°Are you really going to stay at the office?¡± Sonia turned her head to look at him.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°It¡¯s always the same at the end of the year. I¡¯m just letting you know now that I


    may not have the time to be with you during the end of the year,¡± he said. Then, he paused for a moment


    before gazing at her apologetically.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°Why are you like this? You¡¯re just too busy to spend time with me. Why do you look so


    sorry?¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 838

    Chapter 838


    Chapter 838 Exceptionally Handsome


    Sonia pulled her hand away before sitting down on the couch. ¡°You¡¯re doing it for thepany. You¡¯re


    not cheating on me, so you don¡¯t have to feel sorry for anything. It¡¯s not wrong for you to be too busy to


    spend time with me once in a while¡ªI¡¯m not the sort of woman who insists on being with you all the time,


    anyway. I have apany to run myself, and I, too, don¡¯t have time to be with you when I¡¯m busy. Do


    you think I should feel guilty for that?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Sonia patted the seat beside her to get Toby to sit down. ¡°As long as you¡¯re not cheating, and


    as long as you still have feelings for me, you don¡¯t have to feel sorry toward me at all. We¡¯re grown-ups,


    and both our career and our rtionship matter a lot to us. Sometimes, it¡¯s inevitable for someone to


    neglect the other party due to our work¡ªthat doesn¡¯t mean that we¡¯re doing anything wrong. So, you


    don¡¯t have to think that you owe me anything just because you¡¯re too busy to spend time with me.¡±


    Toby gazed at the woman before his eyes. He knew that she uttered all those words so that he wouldn¡¯t


    overthink the situation. ¡°Okay. I won¡¯t say that in the future.¡± He smiled as a surge of warmth filled his


    chest.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± Sonia beamed and leaned forward to look at the lunchbox that he had brought. ¡°What did you


    bring?¡±


    Toby ced the lunchbox on the coffee table before opening it slowly. ¡°While I was on the way back, I


    passed by a seafood restaurant that you spoke of in the past. I recall you saying that the restaurant was


    good, so I brought some of their dishes over,¡± he exined.


    A look of joy and surprise formed on Sonia¡¯s face upon hearing the man¡¯s words. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great. I


    love seafood, and I miss the feeling of eating spicy seafood. Thank you, Toby.¡±


    The smile on his face broadened. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you take a look at the dishes to see if you like them?¡±


    He ced the few dishes out on the table.


    Sonia only took one nce to realize that Toby had selected all of the signature dishes in that restaurant.


    She lifted her cutleries while smiling and nodding. ¡°I love it. I love all types of seafood.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. Try this. How does it taste?¡± Toby gave her some steamed fish as he spoke. ¡°I never tried


    these dishes before, so I don¡¯t know how good they are. It sure looks good.¡±


    ¡°How bad could the dishes taste? You were the one who bought them, after all.¡± Sonia smiled before


    eating a mouthful of the fish that Toby had just ced in her bowl. The burning, spicy sensation filled her


    mouth, and her face turned as red as a tomato. Tears began to form in her eyes.


    It was clear that the steamed fish was extremely spicy. Sonia had to open her mouth before fanning


    herself with her hand. ¡°It¡¯s so spicy!¡± she cried. Toby frowned when she saw how spicy the fish was for


    her. He quickly lowered his cutlery before handing her a ss of water. ¡°Drink some water.¡±


    She took the ss over before throwing her head back and pouring half of its contents into her mouth.


    The water washed off the spiciness, and she let out a long sigh before putting the ss down. Her eyes


    were still watery as she gazed at the worried man before giving him an embarrassed smile. ¡°It¡¯s been a


    while since I tasted something this spicy, so I couldn¡¯t tolerate the spiciness of it.¡±


    Toby pressed his lips together when he saw that both her eyes and cheeks were red as a result of the


    spicy food. ¡°You should stop eating it if it¡¯s too spicy. I¡¯ll get my men to buy something nder. Your


    stomach won¡¯t be able to handle such spiciness,¡± he uttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± Sonia immediately reached her hands out to stop the man from taking the food away. ¡°I haven¡¯t


    had spicy food in a while¡ªthat¡¯s the only reason I couldn¡¯t tolerate it. I¡¯ll get used to it after a few


    mouthfuls, so you don¡¯t have to order any extra food. These dishes are great. They may be spicy, but


    they¡¯re also really tasty!¡±


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried that your tummy will get upsetter.¡± Toby frowned. He regretted his decision to purchase


    such spicy food. Even though he enjoyed pampering his wife, he should have also taken her health into


    ount. But Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve eaten things that were spicier than this, and I was fine


    back then. Furthermore, I¡¯m a grown woman. Don¡¯t you think I know what I can and cannot eat?¡±


    Ultimately, Sonia didn¡¯t want Toby to keep the dishes away¡ªshe wanted to eat them.


    When Toby looked into her eyes and finally understood what she meant, he sighed. ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t keep


    them away. But you have to promise me one thing¡ªif your tummy doesn¡¯t feel well, then¡ª¡±


    ¡°You can punish me however you want to,¡± she interrupted him.


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Oh? Are you sure I can use any punishment?¡± There was a sly look in his eyes.


    Sonia immediately noticed the look, and she felt her heart racing as she realized that she had spoken a


    little too quickly. Aren¡¯t I being a little too nice if I allow him to punish me however he wants to? If he


    wants to do some nasty stuff with me, I won¡¯t be able to say no. Did I just dig my own grave?


    The corner of Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched as she thought of ways to get herself out of this situation. She had


    to take her words back. However, when Toby saw the confused look on her face, he immediately


    understood what she was thinking about. He spoke up before she could say anything. ¡°Fine. Since you


    say that I can punish you however I want to, then I guess it¡¯s decided. Go ahead and finish your food. I


    won¡¯t keep them away.¡±


    Sonia widened her eyes. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t say¡ªI¡­¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡± Toby beamed as he interrupted her and ced more food into her bowl. Although the food still


    had chili in it, it didn¡¯t look as spicy as the steamed fish. Sonia gazed at the food in her bowl before


    gazing at the man.


    The corner of her mouth twitched a little. She could tell that the man was doing this on purpose. He knew


    that she was about to go against her own word, so he instantly interrupted her so that she couldn¡¯t take


    her words back. How was he going to punish her if she took her words back?


    Hmph. He¡¯s such a maniptive man. Sonia stuck her lips out into an angry pout as she stuffed some


    food into her mouth before munching on it grumpily. She treated her food as if it was Toby himself. Toby


    didn¡¯t seem mad even as he watched her releasing all of her anger toward him onto her food. He merely


    chuckled before he began to eat as well.


    At first, he didn¡¯t find any of the food spicy. However, after he tried some of the fish, his face and eyes


    turned extremely red. A thinyer of sweat formed on his forehead, and he felt oddly warm in the


    temperature-regted room. He felt so hot that he couldn¡¯t seem to calm himself down.


    He hastily lowered his cutlery before loosening his necktie and unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt. He


    exposed his chest to the air outside in order to cool himself down a little. Right after that, he took some of


    Sonia¡¯s water that she hadn¡¯t finished earlier. He tilted his head back and finished all of it. The water was


    cold, and it didn¡¯t just cool his lips from the spiciness¡ªit also served to cool the overall heat he felt in his


    body.


    Toby heaved a sigh once he felt a little more rxed. He leaned against the couch and rubbed his


    forehead with one hand while covering his eyes with the other. His red lips, his bare chest, and the


    strands of hair that were stuck to his forehead as a result of his sweat¡­ All of this made him seem like a


    handsome vampire from the middle ages. He was too mesmerizing of a sight for one to look away.


    Sonia found herself seduced by him at that moment. She didn¡¯t blink a single time as she looked at him,


    and she even unconsciously gulped while checking him out. It wasn¡¯t her fault that she was so


    uncontrobly attracted to the man¡ªit was all because the man before her eyes was simply too


    gorgeous for one not to be mesmerized.


    Furthermore, humans were creatures who were naturally attracted to pretty things, and Sonia was no


    different. So, it wasn¡¯t her fault that she was attracted to Toby. Whose fault was it that he was so


    handsome?


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 839

    Chapter 839


    Chapter 839 Underestimated Their Rtionship


    Sonia had seen that sentence on the Inte and it now shed across her mind again, as she found it


    very apt for the current situation between her and Toby.


    Of course, Sonia knew that Toby¡¯s current state was not an attempt to seduce her, but merely a result of


    the spicy food he had just eaten.


    Toby could not tolerate spice at all. Just a little bit was enough to make him suffer, and this was an


    rmingly spicy dish. Thus, Toby¡¯s present state made it abundantly clear that he was really suffering


    from the spiciness this time. Otherwise, he would never look this vulnerable.


    After all, Toby was always the picture of handsome masculinity. No one had ever seen such a fragile side


    of him. He looked as if he had been deeply hurt by someone.


    Toby continued to be tortured by the spice, and Sonia quickly came back to her senses as she stopped


    herself from admiring his attractiveness. She briskly poured a ss of water and even got up to grab a


    few pieces of ice from the freezer.


    ¡°Here, have some iced water and you¡¯ll feel better.¡± Once Sonia added the ice, she swiftly headed back


    to the couch and handed Toby the ss.


    Toby removed the hand that was covering his reddened eyes which were beginning to water. He nced


    at Sonia before reaching out for the ss of iced water and readily taking severalrge gulps.


    His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed with each gulp, and Sonia¡¯s lips parted slightly. How dearly she wished to


    know how it would feel to touch it. But she knew that it was not the time to do such a thing. If she did it,


    then it would mean that she was trying to seduce this man.


    What if she really did manage to seduce him, and they ended up doing the deed right there and then?


    No touching, no touching. Sonia warned herself as shook her head and tried to rid her mind of these


    lustful thoughts. She moved her gaze back up to his face instead.


    Once Toby had finished drinking, Sonia took the ss from him first before reaching out with a pair of


    tissues to wipe the sweat off his forehead. ¡°Are you okay now?¡±


    Toby shook his head and answered hoarsely, ¡°Yes, I feel a lot better now.¡±


    His breathing was indeed a lot calmer.


    Sonia tossed the tissues away as she chided, ¡°Really now, you shouldn¡¯t have taken a bite if you can¡¯t


    eat spicy food. Look at what happened to you just now¡­¡±


    Just as she was speaking, she noticed how the spiciness had affected Toby. She could not help but


    chuckle as she took in his reddish lips, flushed face, and reddened eyes, as well as his hair that had


    gotten all sweaty.


    When Toby heard herughter, he raised his eyebrows. ¡°What are youughing at?¡±


    Sonia tried to stifle herughter by covering her mouth. ¡°I¡¯mughing at you, of course! All it took was


    one bite for you to be so drained, so isn¡¯t it very funny?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips but did not respond. He too did not expect to have such a low spice tolerance, and


    that one mouthful was enough to cause him this much pain.


    Sonia had also felt the spice, but she was not at all as affected as he was.


    He was a man, yet he was not evenparable to a woman.


    Sonia could see the self-doubt that was written all over Toby¡¯s face, and once again, she chuckled as


    she shook her head. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t think about it anymore. It¡¯s normal for people to have different levels


    of spice tolerance, and you just happen to be one of those who can¡¯t eat spicy food. You don¡¯t have to


    doubt yourself like that. Why don¡¯t you head to the washroom and wash your face? Oh, and remember to


    tidy up your hair as well. You were sweating earlier and your hair¡¯s all messed up now.¡±


    She reached out and adjusted his cor as she spoke.


    Toby hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do that. You should continue eating.¡±


    Once he finished speaking, he stood up and headed for the washroom.


    Sonia stared at the table of spicy food in front of her, and not a single one was without spice. She let out


    another helplessugh andmented, ¡°Really now, if he couldn¡¯t eat spicy food at all, then why didn¡¯t


    he order a few non-spicy dishes for himself?¡±


    Toby was always considerate of her and made choices in ordance with her preferences. Was he not


    afraid of spoiling her rotten?


    She turned and looked toward the washroom before reaching for her cellphone to make a call.


    ¡°What would you like me to do, Miss Reed?¡± A woman¡¯s respectful voice rang out.


    Sonia took a sip of water and answered, ¡°Order a few dishes from Executive Dining and bring them over


    to me.¡±


    She listed out a few non-spicy dishes that she knew Toby liked eating.


    Executive Dining was a private restaurant in Paradigm Co. that catered exclusively to the executives in


    thepany. Although the chefs working there were not quite the same caliber as Michelin star chefs,


    they were definitely still skilled enough to open their own restaurants.


    At the very least, it was good enough for Toby to eat.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°Duly noted, Miss Reed. I will bring it over soon.¡± Sonia¡¯s personal assistant noted down her request.


    Sonia ended the call after a brief acknowledgment.


    By this time, Toby had tidied himself up and exited the washroom.


    When Sonia turned to look at him, she saw that his hair was now perfectly styled, and his clothes were


    neatly arranged once more. Toby lost all signs of his previous vulnerability and had now resumed his


    usual dignified manner that was aloof and reserved.


    Of course, this was only if she ignored his still-reddish lips.


    ¡°All good?¡± Sonia asked with a smile.


    Toby nodded lightly and resumed his seat.


    However, Sonia quickly took his cutlery away from him. ¡°Don¡¯t eat any of this anymore. I¡¯ve already


    asked someone to deliver some non-spicy food over, and it¡¯ll be here soon.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Toby nodded in agreement. He really did not want to eat these dishes either, and he wished to


    never experience the horrendous pain that he had just gone through earlier ever again.


    ¡°Next time, don¡¯t just blindly order whatever that I like to eat. You should think about yourself as well.


    Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to eat anything and it¡¯ll just be a repeat of today,¡± Sonia started to lecture


    him as she tucked into the food.


    Toby chuckled and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll pay more attention next time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Sonia nodded and soon had a cheeky smile on her face. ¡°Oh well, your food isn¡¯t here yet.


    I guess you¡¯ll have to just sit there and watch me eat.¡±


    ¡°dly.¡± Toby gestured toward the fish. ¡°Not only will I watch you eat, but I can even pick out the bones


    for you.¡±


    Right after he spoke, he started checking every piece of fish for bones and picking each one out for her.


    Sonia¡¯s heart grew warm as she observed Toby¡¯s actions.


    Therefore, while they were waiting for Toby¡¯s food to arrive, Toby began to wait on Sonia as she ate.


    When the personal assistant brought up the food, she happened to see Toby cing a piece of deboned


    fish onto Sonia¡¯s te.


    The personal assistant was shocked by the sight of Toby¡¯s oil-stained fingers. After all, Toby¡¯s hands


    were usually fair and clean, as they were only used to sign documents.


    All the employees knew that President Fuller was deeply in love with Miss Reed, and he would often


    shower her with lots of affection.


    But it was still rather unexpected to see how far President Fuller would go for Miss Reed. He did not


    mind getting his hands covered in oil in order to pick out the bones for her. President Fuller did not even


    have a frown on his face while doing so, instead, he had a faint smile that was full of warmth.


    It was certain that President Fuller was doing it willingly, and it was not just a request from Miss Reed.


    Their assumptions about the rtionship initially madeplete sense to them. Since President Fuller


    was someone with such a high status, he would not easily deign to do such a thing for Miss Reed no


    matter how much he loved her.


    Furthermore, even for normal couples, a guy would not necessarily be willing to do this for his girlfriend,


    let alone the almighty President Fuller that they all looked up to.


    Still, what they assumed was impossible was exactly what was happening now. President Fuller was not


    only deboning fish for Miss Reed, but he was also doing it willingly as he waited on Miss Reed.


    It seemed like they had underestimated Miss Reed¡¯s wiles, as well as the feelings that President Fuller


    had for Miss Reed.


    This couple was far more loving than they thought.


    The personal assistant¡¯s thoughts started straying to the future. It was likely that she would not feel


    startled no matter how shocking President Fuller¡¯s actions were in the future. After all, she had just


    witnessed how President Fuller deboned fish for Miss Reed.


    After giving Sonia an envious look, the personal assistant ced the food on the table and reported,


    ¡°Miss Reed, here is the food you requested.¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 840

    Chapter 840


    Chapter 840 Toby¡¯s Disdain


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia patted Toby¡¯s thigh as a hint that he could stop waiting on her.


    Toby set his cutlery down before getting up and saying, ¡°I¡¯ll go wash my hands.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Once Toby walked away, Sonia looked at the personal assistant in front of her. ¡°You can just leave it


    here. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, Miss Reed. Shall I head back to work now?¡± The personal assistant pointed toward the door.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Sonia acknowledged.


    The personal assistant nodded and left.


    Sonia then got up and started rearranging the table in order to amodate the new dishes. Just as


    soon as she finished, Toby came back from the washroom.


    Sonia waved him over. ¡°Come and eat.¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips curved into a smile. ¡°Coming.¡±


    He sped up his steps and soon sat down beside her.


    Sonia stuffed a new set of cutlery into his hands. ¡°Hurry up and eat. The food might not taste as nice as


    what you¡¯re used to eating, but you¡¯ll have to make do. It¡¯s not good to go on an empty stomach for too


    long.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Toby chuckled.


    ¡°Okay then, so let¡¯s eat.¡± Sonia gave him a smile and resumed eating as well. She had not eaten her fill


    yet either.


    Sonia had not been able to indulge in an entire meal of spicy food for a very long time. Who knew when


    she would get to eat such spicy food again? Since she had the opportunity now, then she had to eat to


    her heart¡¯s content.


    Toby was worried that Sonia might end up with an upset stomach from eating that much spicy food, but


    when he saw how she continued eating with such relish even though she was gasping from the


    spiciness, he relented and did not say anything. In any case, he made a mental note to call her upter


    tonight and check if she felt any difort.


    The meal went on for over an hour. When they were done, Sonia had her personal assistante in to


    clear the table while she and Toby went to the washroom to freshen up.


    Once they were in the washroom, Toby took her hands into his and added a dollop of hand wash onto


    her palm before he started to rinse her hands under the tap.


    Sonia turned to look at Toby, who stood behind her with a serious expression as he washed her hands


    for her. Something about this image felt wrong to her. Somehow, their position reminded her of a father


    who was washing his daughter¡¯s hands.


    No, that must be her own misconception!


    Sonia shook her head and chased the thought out of her mind. She did not want to dwell on it.


    As for Toby, he never thought that his actions would be equated to a father helping his daughter. Toby


    washed Sonia¡¯s hands for her simply because he wanted to.


    Plus, her hands were tiny. They were only two-thirds the size of his, and he could easily wrap his entire


    hand around hers. Furthermore, her hands were soft and felt like they had no bones in them, which


    made them feel veryfortable to hold onto.


    That was why Toby could not get enough of her hands, and he kept toying with them while he washed


    Sonia¡¯s hands for her.


    ¡°By the way, what were you thinking about when I came in earlier?¡± Toby was done with the rinsing and


    was drying Sonia¡¯s hands with a hand towel.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really. Something just happened.¡±


    When Toby heard that something had happened, his face immediately became solemn. ¡°What


    happened?¡±


    Sonia could tell from his expression that he misunderstood it as something bad happening to her, so she


    chuckled and assuaged his concern. ¡°No, not me. It¡¯s something between Charles and Daphne.¡±


    ¡°Charles Lane?¡± Toby frowned and instantly lost interest in the subject. He did not bother finding out


    about the incident anymore.


    But Sonia herself wanted a listener, so she regaled the story without being prompted. ¡°Two months ago,


    Charles slept with Daphne, and now Daphne is pregnant with Charles¡¯ kid.¡±


    Sonia knew that Toby despised Charles, and Toby would not tell Charles about this.


    Thus, she felt at ease when sharing the story with him.


    However, when Toby heard that Charles had a child, he was dazed for a moment. ¡°What did you say?


    Charles Lane got someone pregnant?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Toby snorted and his eyes were telling. It was obvious that Toby thought Charles had iting.


    In the past, when Sonia¡¯s pregnancy was exposed, everyone knew that it was Toby¡¯s child. Charles


    personally sought him out and ridiculed him for being an irresponsible man who got Sonia pregnant even


    though they were getting a divorce.


    Yet now, Charles himself had gotten Daphne pregnant despite not being in a rtionship with her, so


    who was the irresponsible one now?


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Sonia gently nudged the man behind her.


    Toby¡¯s gaze was a little distant, but he quickly came out of his reverie. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just thinking about


    how Charles keeps saying that he likes you, so how did he end up sleeping with another woman?¡±


    At least in this matter, Toby was far more of a gentleman than Charles was.


    Even when he had been hypnotized into believing that he loved Tina Gray, he never got into bed with


    her. Tina herself did try to make it happen several times, but he rejected her on every single asion


    and kept his virtue.


    Which meant that the only person he ever slept with was his Little Leaf. Toby was not at all like Charles,


    who would get into bed with another woman even as he imed to be in love with Sonia.


    Some kind of love this was.


    Meanwhile, Sonia did not know what Toby was gloating about inside. She rubbed her forehead and


    sighed again. ¡°Actually, Charles got drunk that day and mistook Daphne for me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Instantly, several deep creases formed on Toby¡¯s brow. He was beginning to feel a little repulsed


    as he asked, ¡°Do you really believe that he was drunk?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia did not expect Toby¡¯s question. She looked at him and queried, ¡°What do you mean?


    You¡¯re saying that he wasn¡¯t drunk?¡±


    Toby had a scornful smirk as he exined, ¡°When a man is really drunk, he would not be able to have an


    erection, so how would he be able to sleep with another woman? Since he did sleep with her, then it


    means that he wasn¡¯t actually drunk. And if he wasn¡¯t drunk, would he not be able to tell who he was with


    at the time?¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡± Sonia was at a loss for words. Toby had a point.


    ¡°It¡¯s just Charles¡¯ excuse to avoid taking responsibility for his actions,¡± Toby dered. He did not bother


    hiding his disdain at all.


    Sonia opened her mouth to speak, but eventually just sighed. ¡°Regardless if he was drunk or not, the fact


    of the matter is that he did sleep with Daphne, and now Daphne¡¯s pregnant. Charles doesn¡¯t even know


    about it yet.¡±


    ¡°Just tell him then.¡± Toby did not consider it an issue.


    But Sonia hurriedly shook her head. ¡°We can¡¯t tell him. Charles thinks very ill of Daphne right now, since


    he believes that the incident was Daphne¡¯s fault. If Charles finds out about her pregnancy, then he will


    only despise her even more. Daphne¡¯s situation bes even more dire if that happens.¡±


    Once Toby heard that, he began to frown again. ¡°Charles Lane is being ridiculous. He is the one who


    slept with her, but he wants to push all the me to her? What a way to paint himself as the faultless


    victim.¡±


    Toby stood by his earlier words. If a man was really drunk, then he would not be able to have an


    erection. Therefore, Charles could not have been drunk, and his excuse of mistaken identity was


    undeniably false as well.


    Charles surely knew who he was getting into bed with. He just did not want to admit that he had betrayed


    his professed love for Sonia. This was why he had to me it all on the woman instead. Perhaps he


    thought that by framing it this way, it would mean that he had not intentionally betrayed Sonia, and it was


    someone else who put him in that situation.


    Ha, what a joke!


    Sonia rolled her eyes at Toby, but she did not refute his words. She knew that Toby was right. Both


    Charles and Daphne were responsible since both of them had a part to y in this situation. Neither one


    of them could have done it alone.


    It was simr to what had happened between her and Toby. Even though Toby was not aware that he


    had slept with her at the time, she did not ce all the me on him. In such a situation, the fault would


    often lie with both parties and not just one of them.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 841

    Chapter 841


    Chapter 841 Chance Meeting at the Boutique


    Daphne had gone along with Charles and slept with him for her own benefit. As for Charles, it did not


    matter if he was drunk or not. He was already making a mistake by getting a woman to sleep with him.


    Sonia started to wonder what would have happened if it had been another woman who went to him that


    day. Would Charles still have gone to a hotel with that woman?


    Chances are, the answer would still be yes. This was why both Charles and Daphne were responsible


    for what had happened.


    Toby saw how Sonia was lost in thought with a worried expression on her face, so he gently scraped her


    nose and asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about Daphne, since she ns to abort the child and asked me


    to keep it a secret from Charles. I don¡¯t know if that is the right thing to do or not.¡±


    Once Toby heard that, he stroked her hair andforted her. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s right or wrong. It¡¯s


    still a private matter between the two of them. Even if you¡¯re Charles¡¯ friend, it¡¯s still not something you


    should get involved in, so just let them solve their own issues. It may backfire on you if you tried to


    interfere, so it¡¯s best not to do anything.¡±


    ¡°I know that, but Charles is my friend, and I¡­¡±


    ¡°So what if he¡¯s your friend? This is their private business.¡± Toby cut her off and reminded her, ¡°Charles is


    a grown man. You don¡¯t have to concern yourself with his matters. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s your son.¡±


    When Sonia heard Toby¡¯s words, she snorted and smacked him lightly. ¡°What are you talking about?


    Who are you calling my son?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just giving an example.¡± Toby grinned at her. ¡°Whatever Charles does with your secretary is their


    own business and they can take care of it themselves. Nothing is going on yet, but you¡¯re already getting


    yourself so worked up about it. You¡¯re probably showing even more concern than Mrs. Lane, so doesn¡¯t


    that make it seem like Charles is your son?¡±


    ¡°What a load of nonsense!¡± Sonia red at Toby yfully.


    But Toby simply chuckled before appeasing her. ¡°Alright, stop worrying about them. They don¡¯t seem to


    be that concerned about it themselves, so why are you worrying on their behalf? Shouldn¡¯t you be


    spending all that time and energy on me instead?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I care enough about you?¡± Sonia looked at Toby.


    Toby nodded. ¡°You do, but I¡¯m a greedy man and I¡¯ll never get enough of you. If you give me all the love


    and care that you give other people, then I¡¯ll be even more satisfied.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to pay any attention to you any longer.¡± Sonia was torn between feeling pleased and


    annoyed.


    Toby ruffled her hair and stopped teasing her. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s gettingte so I should leave now. I¡¯ll see you


    tonight.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, see you tonight.¡± Sonia nodded and walked him to the elevator.


    They were standing in front of the elevator when Toby suddenly pulled her into a hug. ¡°Remember to


    think about me.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± Sonia promised as she patted him on the back.


    Satisfied with her answer, Toby released her from his embrace and entered the elevator.


    Sonia stood there and waved him goodbye. Finally, the doors closed and the elevator began its descent,


    and Sonia headed back to her office.


    She gave it some thought and agreed that Toby was right. This was a private matter between Charles


    and Daphne, so they should handle it themselves. She was just Charles¡¯ friend and not his mother, so


    she need not worry about it so much.


    Furthermore, she had also just firmly rejected Charles¡¯ affection. How would her actions be taken if she


    started being troubled over Charles¡¯ matters now?


    She really needed to fix this habit of hers!


    No matter how close of a friend he was, this was not something that she should be concerned about on


    her friend¡¯s behalf. By doing so, it would make the rtionship seem more than just friendship.


    Sonia decided that it was best for her to heed Toby¡¯s advice. She would pretend to not know anything


    about Charles and Daphne¡¯s issue, and let them solve it themselves.


    If something did happen in the future, then she could reconsider and offer her help if it was within her


    means. Now that Sonia sorted out her thoughts and made her decision, it felt like a weight had been


    lifted off her shoulders.


    It was sometime in the afternoon when Sonia noticed that it was nearly time for her appointment. She


    stopped working, left her office, and headed to the mall for a dress fitting.


    The staff in the boutique were already waiting for her at the entrance. Once they noticed Sonia


    approaching, they went forward with a smile and greeted, ¡°Good afternoon, Miss Reed.¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°Good afternoon,¡± Sonia replied to their greeting with a smile of her own.


    The manager moved to usher her in. ¡°Pleasee with me, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia followed the manager into the boutique.


    This boutique belonged to an international luxury brand. Once Sonia entered the store, she found herself


    surrounded by rows and rows of expensive gowns with intricate designs.


    But of course, the gowns that were hung around the store were not the ones that were the most


    expensive. The most exquisite gowns were all hidden away deep within the boutique, and would only be


    brought out for those who were wealthy and influential enough to buy those gowns. People who were


    unfamiliar with luxury brands would often make the mistake of assuming that the best gowns were


    already hung on the racks outside.


    ¡°Please take a seat, Miss Reed. Would you like a cup of coffee, or perhaps a ss of champagne?¡± The


    manager brought Sonia to a couch inside the private resting area and offered Sonia a drink once she


    had taken her seat.


    Sonia set her purse down and replied, ¡°Coffee is fine. I drove here so I can¡¯t drink alcohol.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Please give me a moment and I will have the coffee prepared for you. I have sent someone


    to retrieve your gown, so it will be brought out to you soon,¡± the manager added with a smile.


    Sonia nodded lightly. ¡°Alright, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, Miss Reed.¡± The manager walked away.


    Sonia leaned against the couch and browsed the Inte on her phone as she waited for her gown.


    After a while, she heard a familiar voiceing from a distance behind her. ¡°Is that all you have? Don¡¯t


    you have any gowns that are more dazzling?¡±


    That voice¡­


    Sonia narrowed her eyes in thought before a name finally popped into her mind.


    It was Anya Steinfeld!


    Immediately, Sonia set her phone down and turned toward the voice. Sure enough, she saw the figure of


    a person who was sitting in a wheelchair.


    That figure was definitely Anya Steinfeld.


    Sonia cocked her eyebrows. Why is she here? It looks like she¡¯s here to buy a gown, but why would she


    need one?


    Sonia did not doubt Anya¡¯s ability to afford a dress here. After all, she could afford to get stic surgery


    from head to toe. That would have cost her quite a sum of money. Furthermore, the repairs for Toby¡¯s car


    amounted to hundreds of thousands, and Anya had paid it in full without giving it a second thought. All in


    all, it proved that she had the money.


    Though Sonia did wonder how an orphan who did not even have a job could get her hands on that much


    money.


    After taking a look at Anya, Sonia withdrew her gaze and paid her no mind. She had no goodwill toward


    this maniptive woman who wanted to steal Toby away from her. Even if they ran into one another,


    Sonia would still pretend that Anya was invisible, and Sonia would not greet her.


    As for Anya, she did not notice that Sonia was in the resting area behind her. She was holding up a pink-


    colored fishtail gown and studying it with a critical eye. After taking a good look at it, she was not at all


    satisfied with the gown.


    She handed it over to the sales assistant beside her and frowned as she asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any


    other gowns with a fishtail design?¡±


    The sales assistant shook her head and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, miss. We only have these few fishtail


    gown designs here.¡±


    Anya began to look rather crossed. ¡°All of these designs are from the past seasons. Haven¡¯t the designs


    for the new seasone out yet?¡±


    ¡°They have, but we only released one fishtail gown design this year. If you are interested in it, then


    please provide us with the details of your VIP membership. We will ce an order with our headquarters


    and have a gown custom made for you. Would you like that, miss?¡± The sales assistant smiled


    pleasantly as she looked at Anya.


    However, Anya¡¯s expression froze a little. ¡°VIP membership?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The sales assistant nodded and exined, ¡°This year¡¯s fishtail gown was designed by our top


    designer, so naturally it costs a lot more than our other designs. Therefore, it is only offered to our VIP


    clients. If you are not one of our VIP membership clients, then I¡¯m afraid you will have to consider the


    other designs that we have right now. Our VIP membership is only for clients who have spent over a


    hundred million with us. Do you have a VIP membership with us, miss?¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 842

    Chapter 842


    Chapter 842 Coaxing This Man Again


    Anya¡¯s expression became even uglier.


    They were just making things difficult on purpose if it took spending over a hundred million with them to


    be a VIP client!


    Even when she used to¡­ be richer, she never spent over a hundred million in this boutique, what more


    in her current situation.


    When the sales assistant noticed Anya¡¯s silence and unnatural expression, she narrowed her eyes and


    quickly put on a smile. ¡°Even without the VIP membership, there is still one possible solution. If you can


    prove your financial standing by having at least a nine-digit bnce in your bank ount, then you can


    also put in an order for a custom made dress.¡±


    Anya gave her a wide-eyed stare. ¡°Nine digits?¡±


    Was that not the same as having over a hundred million? How was it any different from having to spend


    a hundred million with them?


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± The sales assistant was still smiling as she nodded. ¡°So, can you prove that you have


    such means, miss?¡±


    Anya stared at the smile on the sales assistant¡¯s face and felt terribly insulted. If she had that much in her


    bank ount, she would already have a VIP membership.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    This sales assistant was humiliating her on purpose!


    It was obvious that Anya did not have such financial means, and she did not believe that the sales


    assistant was unable to make that deduction. And yet the sales assistant still asked her such a question,


    which made it clear that sales assistant was mocking her.


    Anya clenched the armrests on her wheelchair. She exerted so much force that her veins on her arm


    were more pronounced than usual.


    In the private resting area behind her, Sonia had also heard how Anya had been humiliated by the sales


    assistant, and she could not resistughing.


    On one hand, Sonia did think that the sales assistant had been rather impolite, but on the other hand, the


    person on the receiving end was someone she hated, so naturally she had no qualms with what the


    sales assistant did.


    If Anya had not been full of malicious schemes, then Sonia might have put in a good word for her out of


    consideration for being acquaintances. But she would not do it for Anya. Such a shameless person


    deserved to be taught a lesson by society.


    Sonia smirked and lightly shook her head. She picked up a fashion magazine and slowly flipped through


    the pages.


    Still, she could hear scuffles sounding out behind her. Sonia overheard some of the conversation and


    knew that it was Anya who was lecturing the sales assistant for treating her in that manner. However, the


    sales assistant was not a pushover. She used the politest tone possible and easily turned Anya¡¯s words


    right back at her.


    Sonia was starting to feel rather entertained. It was a kind of enjoyment to be sitting there browsing


    through her magazine while theedic drama went on behind her. Her smile deepened as she took a


    sip from the coffee that another sales assistant had just delivered to her.


    Suddenly, her phone, which had been left on the coffee table in front of her, started vibrating. Sonia set


    her coffee down and checked the notification. When she saw a text message from Toby, she raised her


    brows unexpectedly.


    Why is he messaging me now? Isn¡¯t he busy?


    Sonia was a little puzzled, but she quickly unlocked her phone and scrolled through the messages.


    When she saw what Toby sent, she did not know how to react at all.


    Toby was asking her if she felt any difort or pain in her tummy.


    He was probably worried all along about how the spicy food would affect her digestive system. She had


    to give him credit for worrying about it all this time.


    Sonia had a helpless smile on her face, but deep down inside her, she felt very moved by Toby¡¯s


    concern. Only someone who truly cared about her would ask her this question. Otherwise, who would be


    concerned if she felt any difort after eating spicy food?


    Sonia¡¯s expression was warm as she typed out her response. ¡®I¡¯m fine, no difort at all. You don¡¯t


    have to worry.¡¯


    Meanwhile, when Toby saw the reply from Sonia, his furrowed brows were finally released.


    It was just as Sonia suspected. Toby had been worried all this time about how the spicy food at lunch


    would affect her stomach. That was why even in the midst of a busy day, he took the time to send her a


    message and ask her about it. Once Toby confirmed that she was fine, his heart could finally settle down


    again.


    ¡°President Fuller, the ne has arrived, so we¡¯ll take our leave now.¡± Just as Toby was about to respond


    to Sonia¡¯s message, a few men in suits walked over with their luggage. One look was enough to tell that


    they were respectable men of society. All of them crowded over and respectfully bid their goodbyes to


    Toby.


    They were all part of the management teams for Fuller Group¡¯s subsidiaries overseas.


    Toby had gone to the airport to make arrangements for them to head overseas on his private jet. As their


    boss, Toby wanted to show his appreciation for these men, who were working overseas for thepany


    and could only return to the country once every few years.


    This was one of the ways Toby proved to them that he valued their sacrifice and did not take them for


    granted. Toby was a worthy boss who knew how to win the hearts of his workers in order for them to


    willingly work hard for hispany.


    Toby set aside his phone and nodded toward the men. ¡°Alright, travel safe. If anything happens


    overseas, then give Tom a call. He will get the message to me immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± All of them quickly acknowledged Toby before heading off toward the airport¡¯s


    VIP passage.


    Toby remained standing there to send them off. Once they were out of sight, he and Tom then made their


    way back out to the parking lot.


    Atst, when Toby got in the car, he recalled that he forgot to respond to Sonia¡¯s message. He pulled out


    his phone and swiftly typed out a message. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, I was sending off a few of my men at the airport


    and could not respond in time.¡¯


    Back when he stopped replying, Sonia assumed that he would not be responding anytime soon, so she


    was focused on the amusing drama behind her. However, she did not expect her phone to vibrate once


    more.


    When Sonia saw Toby¡¯s apology, she gave another helplessugh before replying to him. ¡®I know you¡¯re


    busy, so I won¡¯t be angry if you don¡¯t respond. You don¡¯t have to worry about it. Have they left the country


    already?¡¯


    Toby had a smile on his face as he sent his response. ¡°Yes, they have just boarded the ne, and I¡¯m


    heading back to the office now. There¡¯s still work to be done.¡±


    ¡°He works so hard,¡± Sonia sighed as shemented to herself. She continued to type out a message to


    him. ¡®Drive safe. I¡¯m not in the office either.¡¯


    Toby narrowed his eyes when he saw that she was not in the office. ¡®What are you doing outside?¡¯


    Sonia took another sip of coffee before replying. ¡®My gown has arrived, so I came to the shop for a


    fitting.¡¯


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡®I told you that you should leave your outfit to me and let me make all the necessary


    arrangements. I was going to get the designer toe right to your doorstep and take your


    measurements for you, but you rejected my offer.¡¯


    Sonia chuckled when she read his message. She could sense the petnce in his words.


    When she and Toby first received the invites, Toby had immediately requested that she be his


    companion to the event. They had already gotten back together by then, so she had no reason to


    decline. Toby happily started making the arrangements for her gown. But even so, she still rejected his


    offer.


    Sonia¡¯s reasoning was still the same. She did not want to rely on Toby for things that she could handle by


    herself.


    Toby was unable to convince her, so he had to leave it be. However, despite him never mentioning it


    again, Sonia knew that he was affected by her choice. In his mind, he believed that declining his help


    and refusing to rely on him were all signs that she did not fully ept him yet.


    But that was not the case for Sonia. She just did not want to be reliant on him. She worried that if she


    did, then she would lose herself in the process. She did not want to be a flower that was kept inside


    a greenhouse and could not survive the elements without it. If she grew to rely on him too much, then


    she would one day lose her ability to live on her own.


    She was a rational woman who had her own dreams and ambitions in life. She would never allow herself


    to be reliant on someone else. That was why she kept refusing to ept Toby¡¯s well-meaning


    offers to help her.


    After thinking about it at length, Sonia massaged her forehead and chuckled as she began shaking her


    head. It was time for her to start coaxing this man again.


    Sonia swiftly tapped out her response. ¡®Okay, don¡¯t be angry. Why don¡¯t I let you handle my wedding


    dress?¡¯


    After she sent the message, her face began to flush.


    It was the first time she brought up the topic of marriage since they had gotten back together. This was


    also her way of making it clear that she did want to marry him.


    Sonia thought about Toby¡¯s reaction once he saw this message. He would most likely not feel upset


    anymore, right?


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 843

    Chapter 843


    Chapter 843 Berserk


    Sure enough, when he saw the word ¡®marriage,¡¯ Toby straightened his back immediately. He then held


    the phone closer to his eyes to see if he had read it wrong.


    After making sure he wasn¡¯t mistaken, Toby¡¯s eyes sparkled with happiness. Just about anyone could


    see that he was in an excellent mood.


    When Tom saw the delighted Toby in the rearview mirror, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°President Fuller,


    did something good happen?¡±


    Toby was in a good mood, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to answer Tom, ¡°Little Leaf said she wants me to prepare


    our wedding outfits.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Tom was surprised at this revtion.


    Toby nodded with tant pride on his face. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Congrattions to you, President Fuller. It means that Miss Reed is genuinely willing to


    remarry you.¡± Tom alsoughed as he was happy for Toby.


    Toby pursed his lips upon hearing that and coughed, attempting to suppress his joy. Then, he lightly


    replied, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After speaking, he lowered his head and replied to Sonia. ¡®Okay, I will prepare the dress when the time


    comes.¡¯


    Although it was just a simple sentence, it was enough for Sonia to figure out how pleased he was.


    Sonia smiled and replied, ¡®I¡¯ll leave it to you. Talk to youter; my dress is being prepared.¡¯


    Toby replied with an ¡®alright¡¯ and reluctantly put down the phone. Then, he looked at Tom and instructed,


    ¡°After you go back, you have to collect information on all the world-ss bridal designers. I want to see


    who has the best design toplement me and Sonia¡¯s temperament.¡±


    Upon hearing the order, Tom raised his eyebrows.


    President Fuller is too proactive. Miss Reed had just told President Fuller to prepare her wedding dress.


    They haven¡¯t even picked a wedding date yet, but he¡¯s already getting impatient and working on the


    design immediately. He¡¯s definitely a marriage maniac.


    Despite what heined in his mind, Tom didn¡¯t dare show it on his face. He nodded with a smile.


    ¡°Okay, President Fuller, I¡¯ll make arrangements after returning to thepany.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Toby raised his chin. ¡°And see if there are suitable venues for weddings. I will check them out.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Tom answered again.


    After thinking for a short while, Toby said again, ¡°Plus world-ss jewelry designers. Find their portfolios


    for me. I¡¯ll need them to design our essories for the ceremony and the wedding ring.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Is there anything else?¡± Tom said with a humorless smile.


    Please just give me all the orders at once.


    ¡°Not for now.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°If I have more ideas, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Tom nodded and stopped talking.


    Toby also fell silent to think.


    In the past, Toby and Sonia hastily applied for the marriage certificate. He never organized a wedding


    ceremony for Sonia because at that time, he had been hypnotized to firmly believe that Sonia was


    coercing him into marriage. He hated Sonia at that time, so it was no surprise that he never organized a


    ceremony for Sonia.


    However, Toby had snapped out of the delusion. Currently, he loved Sonia more than ever. So naturally,


    he wanted to give her the best wedding ceremony, reception, and everything else.


    Even if Toby gave her everything in the universe, it was still not enough to express his love for Sonia.


    On the other side, in the boutique.


    Sonia locked her phone and put it in the bag.


    Behind her, the manager had already taken out her dress from the storeroom and was walking toward


    her.


    However, when the manager passed by Anya, Anya stopped her. ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    Hearing that, the manager stopped immediately and turned around to look at Anya in the wheelchair.


    She then asked politely, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, miss?¡±


    Anya didn¡¯t look at the manager as she only had eyes for the dress.


    It was a silver-blue off-shoulder fishtail dress with a unique design and novel fabric. In addition, it was


    embellished with countless tiny diamonds, making the dress look gorgeous even without the help of


    lighting.


    After wearing it, you could be a mermaid that only existed in legends.


    Anya¡¯s eyes were fixed on the dress at the moment, and she couldn¡¯t tear her eyes away.


    Anya had fallen in love with this dress at first sight. She could already imagine how beautiful she would


    be when she wore it.


    Suppressing her pounding heart, Anya pointed at the dress in the manager¡¯s hand with undisguised


    determination and ambition on her face. ¡°I want to try on this dress.¡±


    Before Anya came here, she had already checked out all the new dresses released by the store this year


    on the official website, and she didn¡¯t see this fishtail dress.


    Therefore, this fishtail dress didn¡¯t require a customer to have a VIP membership to purchase or order,


    right?


    Since this is the case, I must take this dress.


    The manager never thought that this woman stopped her because of the dress in her hand.


    But the manager could understand. After all, this dress was so beautiful that every employee was


    amazed when the dress arrived at the store. Any woman would not be able to tear their eyes away from


    the dress.


    Therefore, it was no surprise that the woman would want to snatch it.


    Despite the request, the manager did not hand over the dress to Anya. Instead, she smiled at Anya and


    said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, miss. This dress is custom-made, and it was specially made by our designer for the


    owner. Therefore, this is not a runway product. I can¡¯t let you have it.¡±


    Anya¡¯s face fell upon hearing that. ¡°What? It¡¯s custom-made?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The manager nodded.


    Anya bit her lip.


    No wonder I didn¡¯t see this dress on the official website. It¡¯s because someone specificallymissioned


    the dress from a designer. Therefore, it is an exclusive dress.


    In that case, I can¡¯t get this dress.


    Anya looked at the dress in front of her, unwilling to part with it.


    It was such a beautiful dress. No matter what, Anya couldn¡¯t let go of it.


    Why don¡¯t I fight for it?


    With resolution, Anya bit her lower lip and took a deep breath. After she calmed down, she smiled and


    said, ¡°Since it¡¯s a custom-made dress, I have to give it up. However, the owner of this dress is not here


    now, so it should be fine if you let me try on this dress, right? I want to see if this design is right for me.


    After that, I can get your designer to customize one for me. What do you think?¡±


    She looked around the store, and she couldn¡¯t see any other customers there.


    Therefore, she was sure that the dress owner was not around.


    Anya was sure that the sales assistant would ept her request. Especially since the assistant could get


    moremission if she ordered the dress.


    Anya thought that her proposal was perfect. However, the smile on her face froze the next second.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    The manager said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, miss. I still can¡¯t let you try on the dress. Everyone¡¯s


    physique is different, and this is a custom-made dress. There is a chance that you will deform the dress.


    If that happens, we can¡¯t exin it to the owner. It is also hical to let other customers try on a


    custom-made dress without the owner¡¯s permission. We will lose our jobs once they find out we did that.


    Secondly, this is amissioned dress. It is the one and only design in the world. If you want to get the


    same dress, you need to get permission from the owner. You can get the same dress after the owner


    gives her permission to let other people use the design. Of course, there are some more conditions.¡±


    When Anya heard that she couldn¡¯t try it on, she was already dissatisfied.


    But then she heard that she even needed the owner¡¯s permission to have the same dress. This irritated


    her and she wanted to hit someone.


    Now that she heard that more conditions were needed, she was so annoyed that she wanted to protest.


    Isn¡¯t it just a dress?


    Why are there so many rules?!


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 844

    Chapter 844


    Chapter 844 What Are You


    The more Anya thought about it, the angrier she became. She gritted her teeth. ¡°Tell me, what are the


    conditions?¡±


    The manager smiled. ¡°The condition is that you also need to be our VIP client aside from obtaining the


    owner¡¯s permission.¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Hearing that, Anya stayed silent. Now, Anya¡¯s face looked like hell and she was shaking as a result of


    her anger. VIP membership? This damn VIP membership again! Why does everything have to be


    associated with the VIP membership? I am crazy to even want to enter this store. This is so annoying.


    The sales assistant who had argued with Anya stayed silent after that and finally couldn¡¯t help butugh


    upon seeing Anya¡¯s angry face.


    Even Sonia, who was behind them the whole time, burst outughing when she heard the manager¡¯s


    words.


    The sound ofughter entered Anya¡¯s ears, making her face even more distorted. She shouted, ¡°W-Who


    isughing?¡±


    To answer the question, the manager turned around and looked at Sonia before he introduced Sonia to


    Anya. ¡°Miss, thedyughing is the owner of the dress.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Anya was stunned.


    The dress owner? She never thought that the dress owner would be here. Shouldn¡¯t I be the only


    customer in the store right now? I thought she was not here.


    While Anya thought that, she looked toward Sonia.


    Sonia was sitting on the couch with her back facing Anya. The couch was big enough to obscure the


    whole body, which was why no one would notice someone sitting there.


    No wonder I assumed I was the only one because someone was hiding there like a cat.


    ¡°Miss, if you want to order the same dress, you can discuss it with the owner and see if she agrees.¡± The


    manager gestured to Anya and led her toward Sonia.


    When Sonia heard footsteps, she knew she herself was about to confront Anya. At once, she lost


    interest in enjoying the drama and coffee. Sonia simply put down her cup of coffee and pulled out a


    tissue to wipe the corners of her mouth gracefully. Then, she waited for Anya toe.


    Soon, the manager brought Anya over. Just when the manager was about to speak, Anya interrupted


    her.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Anya looked with disbelief at Sonia sitting on the couch.


    The dress owner is actually Sonia Reed!


    So, it was Sonia whoughed at me earlier?! Now that I think about it, doesn¡¯t that mean that she saw


    the whole process of me being embarrassed by that sales assistant earlier too?


    When Anya thought of this, her face darkened.


    To lose respect in front of someone she disliked was worse than getting killed.


    As if Sonia didn¡¯t see Anya¡¯s hideous face, she raised her eyes and showed Anya a cold smile. ¡°Miss


    Steinfeld, what a coincidence. We meet again.¡±


    Hearing that, the manager was surprised. ¡°Do you know thisdy?¡±


    Sonia nced at Anya, her red lips curled into an unforgiving smile. ¡°Not really. We¡¯ve met only once, but


    it was enough to leave a deep impression on me. I didn¡¯t expect Miss Steinfeld to be a stealer. s, she


    didn¡¯t manage to poach my employee and apologized to me on the Inte instead.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Anya¡¯s eyes widened. She obviously was not expecting Sonia to be so direct and expose what


    she had done.


    Now, Anya could feel the manager looking at her strangely.


    She did it on purpose. She is doing this to humiliate me.


    Anya clenched her fists tightly with hatred.


    In response, the manager looked at Anya with aical expression but soon withdrew her gaze and


    nodded at Sonia. ¡°I see. That exins why I thought she felt familiar, but I could not remember where I


    saw her. It must be on the Inte, then.¡±


    Sonia smiled but said nothing.


    Finally, the manager remembered her job and she handed over the dress with both hands. ¡°Miss Reed,


    this is the dress you ordered. Please try it on and see if you need further adjustment.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sonia took the dress. Then, she uncrossed her legs and stood up.


    Just as Sonia was about to take a closer look at the dress and head to the fitting room, Anya narrowed


    her eyes and said, ¡°Miss Reed, you said that I am a stealer, right?¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia put down the dress and stared at Anya alongside the manager.


    ¡°What do you want to say?¡± Sonia asked in a low voice.


    Anya flicked her nails with a wicked smile on her face. ¡°Since I am a stealer, I have to act like one to fit


    your opinion. I like your dress very much. Can you let me have it?¡±


    Then, Sonia frowned.


    The manager didn¡¯t expect Anya to directly attempt to steal the dress in the presence of Sonia.


    Miss Reed is angry. It will be an interesting fight.


    As a manager, she had to do her best to not offend anyone. The best thing to do now was to withdraw


    from the battlefield to let the women fight with each other, but she couldn¡¯t do this.


    After all, President Fuller is supporting Miss Reed. He is one of the shareholders of the brand, and not


    many people know that he is my boss. On the other hand, Miss Reed is also my boss.


    Therefore, the manager could not allow Miss Reed to be bullied in the store that she was in charge of.


    Otherwise, it would be a problem if President Fuller found out.


    Thinking of this, the manager took a deep breath, then stepped forward and stood in front of Sonia. She


    looked down at Anya with an oh-so-polite smile infused with coldness. ¡°Miss Steinfeld, I said before that


    Miss Reed reached out to our designer andmissioned the dress. Therefore, the dress is owned by


    Miss Reed. You are not qualified to take it away, and you can only ask for the permission of Miss Reed if


    you want to order a second dress. Do you understand?¡±


    However, Anya didn¡¯t care about this and sneered. ¡°So what? Even if shemissioned the dress, it


    doesn¡¯t mean that this dress can¡¯t be mine. Anyone could have this dress. So, Miss Reed, dare to give it


    to me?¡±


    Anya believed that Sonia would definitely fall into a difficult situation as soon as she said those words.


    If Sonia refused, Anya could tell the others in their circle that Sonia was extremely unreasonable. In this


    way, those cooperating with Paradigm Co. would reconsider whether they should continue doing


    business with them. After all, if they somehow had some disagreement, Sonia would never let them off


    the hook.


    However, if Sonia agreed to give it to her, then Anya could say that Sonia was a coward. In that case,


    anyone could step on her.


    The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. Anya was convinced that Sonia would


    figure out that she was in a difficult situation.


    Sonia would definitely understand the significance of her choice. To save herpany, Sonia could only


    give up the dress.


    Anya could already imagine the upset look on Sonia¡¯s face when she gave up the dress.


    Looking at Anya¡¯s tant wicked smile, Sonia could tell what the woman was daydreaming about.


    So, with a trace of ridicule shing in her eyes, Sonia said coldly, ¡°I won¡¯t answer your question. But I can


    say that I will never let go of my dress. Moreover, you don¡¯t have the right to ask me to give up my


    belongings. What makes you think you have such a right? What are you?¡±


    Excellent!


    The manager was cheering for Sonia.


    If it weren¡¯t for the circumstances, she would have apuded Sonia.


    After all, the manager hated Anya too. She saw how Anya argued with the sales assistant earlier and


    was convinced that this woman was being unreasonable.


    So, the manager was happy to see Anya reprimanded by Sonia. It was an understatement to say she


    was happy.


    Not far away, the sales assistant who argued with Anya saw that she was being roasted by Sonia. Now,


    Anya was stunned by the imposing Sonia, and the sales assistant was pleased to see it.


    After all, she thought that Anya deserved to get stumped by Sonia.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 845

    Chapter 845


    Chapter 845 Useless Threat


    Although the manager and the sales assistant did not speak, one could clearly see the gloating in their


    eyes.


    Seeing that these people dared tough at her like this, Anya almost snapped.


    But this wasn¡¯t the worst. What angered Anya the most was Sonia saying, ¡®what are you¡¯ to her.


    This was the first time she had been referred to as a thing.


    To Anya, this was pure humiliation.


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t want to give me your dress, right?¡± Anya held the armrest of the wheelchair tightly with


    both hands, her voice extremely gloomy.


    In response, Sonia looked at her coldly. ¡°It¡¯s mine. Why should I give it to you? If it was yours, would you


    let me have the dress?¡±


    Of course not!


    Anya replied silently.


    But she didn¡¯t show her thoughts on her face.


    Moreover, in her opinion, she could steal other people¡¯s possessions, and others had to obey her.


    But if someone dared to steal from her, it would be a heinous crime and could not be forgiven.


    Anya was such a hypocrite.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that you¡¯re not afraid of people in the circle thinking that you have no sympathy and


    are unforgiving at all, right?¡± Anya narrowed her eyes and made a threat.


    Sonia looked at Anya like she was a fool. ¡°I know what you want to say and do. I¡¯m telling you, the


    people in the circle are not fools. Since they have been epted by the circle and have not been


    eliminated, they are all smart people. It is impossible for them to not see who¡¯s in the wrong in this


    situation. If I give up the dress, it will be a shame for me and everyone in the circle. If I did that, did that


    mean they have to give up their possession unwillingly, too? If they don¡¯t, does that mean they¡¯re in the


    wrong and unreasonable?¡±


    Speaking of this, Sonia stepped forward to get closer. ¡°Miss Steinfeld, if I were to share your idea to the


    circle, how would they react?¡±


    Anya¡¯s face was pale, and a trace of panic shed in her eyes.


    How else? Of course, they would want to kill me.


    She thought that if Sonia did not give in, she would make people believe that Sonia was an assertive and


    arrogant person. Those who cooperated with the Reed Family in the circle would keep their distance


    from Sonia. However, Anya never thought that her idea would offend everyone else in the circle.


    Indeed. As Sonia had said, if someone took a fancy to the possession of the people in the circle and


    asked them for it, would it be unreasonable if they declined it?


    Anya didn¡¯t expect Sonia to quickly catch the loophole in her words.


    Now, Anya was the one in a difficult situation.


    Seeing Anya¡¯s face changing like a palette, Sonia smiled coldly.


    Sonia thought that Anya could hold on for long, but now she had almost lost.


    As a result, Sonia smacked her lips in boredom. ¡°Miss Steinfeld, I know that if I don¡¯t give in to your


    demands, you will tell my business partners to be wary of me, and if I give in, you will make me a


    laughing stock. In this way, everyone will think that I¡¯m a weakling everyone can step on. But you never


    thought that no one would keep their distance from me if I didn¡¯t give in. This is because not simply


    letting go of my possession is right. My business partner will only appreciate me because I am a firm


    person, and they will be morefortable cooperating with me. You are not a manager, so you don¡¯t


    understand how it works. Moreover, you are taking them too lightly and thinking they¡¯re stupid!¡±


    As Sonia said that, she sneered. ¡°If I give in, you think that people in the circle will bully me, but that¡¯s


    impossible because I will never give in. Besides, even if I let you have the dress, do you think it will look


    good on you? Are you worthy of the dress?¡±


    Sonia unfolded the dress, shoving it toward Anya¡¯s face that looked ready to kill, and continued, ¡°This


    dress is based on my measurements. Although you¡¯re taller than me, your figure is too bad. Do you think


    you will look good in this dress? No, it¡¯ll look ugly. You¡¯re just an ugly woman trying to imitate beauty.¡±


    At first, Sonia didn¡¯t want to speak so harshly, but she really hated Anya too much.


    She hated Anya to the point that she didn¡¯t want to save any respect for her.


    For some reason, she hated Anya to the same extent as she hated Tina Gray, which exceeded the


    hatred she had for Taylor Carey.


    Obviously, Anya had no machinations besides verbal abuse, but Sonia just hated this woman a lot.


    This was probably a natural misalignment.


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    In addition, Sonia felt that this woman¡¯s ruthless appearance was somewhat simr to Tina¡¯s.


    Sure enough, there were simrities between the bad guys.


    Anya was so annoyed by Sonia¡¯s words that she could hardly bear it, so she stood up from the


    wheelchair and rushed over in an attempt to strangle Sonia to death.


    Sonia Reed, I¡¯m okay with you mocking something else, but not my figure! You even made me sound


    worthless!


    Is this still the same cowardly Sonia from the past?


    Even the manager and sales assistant on the side didn¡¯t expect Sonia to be so merciless. When Sonia


    was getting serious about hurting people, it would hit where it hurts.


    However, upon seeing Anya being roasted, they still felt happy.


    ¡°Fine, you win.¡± After a while, Anya finally took a deep breath and smiled coldly. ¡°Since I can¡¯t get this


    dress, you can¡¯t have it either.¡±


    As soon as these words came out, everyone, including Sonia, became vignt.


    It was especially so for the manager and sales assistant.


    The manager stared at Anya. ¡°Miss Steinfeld, what do you want to do?¡±


    Does this woman want to ruin the dress?


    Another sales assistant took out her mobile phone and entered the police department¡¯s contact number.


    As soon as Anya made a move, she would immediately call the police.


    Anya nced at the mobile phone in the sales assistant¡¯s hand and snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do


    something stupid like destroying the dress. I know that I will never be able to get out of this store once I


    do, and thepensation fee can bankrupt me.¡±


    Hearing this, the manager and the sales assistant were relieved.


    The sales assistant also put down the phone.


    Only Sonia still tightly grabbed the dress hanger and stared at Anya with squinted eyes. ¡°Then what do


    you want?¡±


    Anya sneered. ¡°Manager, I remember you said that if I want a custom-made dress like this, I need the


    permission from the owner and a VIP membership, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Although the manager didn¡¯t know what Anya meant, she still nodded and answered truthfully.


    Anya went on to say, ¡°Getting a VIP membership requires you to spend more than 100 million in any


    store of your brand. Since customizing such a dress requires a VIP membership, the same is required for


    commission, right? As far as I know, Miss Reed¡¯s Paradigm Co., which is currently not profitable, is


    ranking at the bottom in the city. Does Miss Reed have 100 million to spend?¡±


    Seeing that Sonia pursed her lips and said nothing, Anya smiled proudly. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Then Miss


    Reed definitely doesn¡¯t have a VIP membership. Since she doesn¡¯t, how can Miss Reed seed in


    making a request for amission? You must be letting her walk through the back door. Then, don¡¯t


    me me for exposing this truth to the public and making your brand less valuable.¡±


    The manager raised her eyebrows as she immediately understood what Anya meant. The sneer in her


    eyes dissolved immediately. ¡°So, what you mean is that, I should take back the dress and not let Miss


    Reed have it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Anya raised her chin arrogantly.


    Anya firmly believed that Sonia had walked through the back door.


    In the past, Anya was wealthier than Sonia, but she still didn¡¯t manage to spend 100 million on this


    brand. So, Sonia couldn¡¯t have the VIP membership.


    Therefore, something had to be wrong with the origin of this dress.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 846

    Chapter 846


    Chapter 846 Lowlife


    Anya firmly believed that Sonia¡¯s dress was the product of corruption.


    Anya never thought about the reason behind this brand allowing Sonia ess from the back.


    Anya only knew that she could use this to threaten the brand to let them take back the dress.


    In short, if Anya couldn¡¯t get what she liked, she wouldn¡¯t let others have it, especially Sonia.


    Seeing Anya¡¯s smug look, Sonia felt disgusted.


    At the same time, the manager was speechless too. The corner of her mouth twitched, and then she


    said, ¡°Miss Steinfeld, I¡¯m sorry. We can¡¯t ept the return of the dress as Miss Reed didn¡¯t go through


    the back door.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Anya¡¯s expression immediately froze, looking very ridiculous.


    Sonia simply sat down and put the dress aside. Right now, she didn¡¯t feel the need to rush and try the


    dress on. Instead, she picked up her unfinished cup of coffee and sipped it.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Anya finally came to her senses and shook her head, unwilling to ept the


    truth. ¡°How could she not have gone through the back door? Then how did shemission a dress from


    your top designer without the VIP membership? Who are you kidding?!¡±


    She shrieked.


    The manager frowned and became impatient. ¡°I¡¯m not lying. Miss Reed did not go through the back door.


    Just as you said, Paradigm Co. is currently not profitable. Therefore, she never spent 100 million to get


    the VIP membership. Our brand looks down on someone like that, so we won¡¯t let Miss Reed walk


    through any back door. However, her boyfriend is President Fuller. Instead of Miss Reed, President


    Fuller has the money instead. President Fuller is the VIP of our brand and many other luxury brands.


    This is why we let Miss Reed have a custom-made dress.¡±


    Having said that, the manager looked at Sonia, who was drinking coffee calmly. A trace of apology


    shed across her face. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Miss Reed. I¡¯ve just said something rude about you.¡±


    To say that the brand was looking down at her was really offensive.


    I hope Miss Reed doesn¡¯t get angry. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if President Fuller decides to


    punish me.


    Hearing that, Sonia put down the coffee cup, raised her eyes, and smiled at the uneasy manager. ¡°It


    doesn¡¯t matter. After all, you¡¯re just telling the truth. I must ept the truth.¡±


    What the manager said was the truth. Paradigm Co. was just a corporation with a small reputation in


    Seafield, and it ranked near thest in terms of size and profitability.


    To put it nicely, Paradigm Co. was a corporation. In truth, Paradigm Co. was just a mid-sizedpany


    and was far from a corporation. After all, only apany with multiple subsidiaries could be called a


    corporation.


    Six years ago, Paradigm Co. sold off many of its subsidiaries. Now, only a few of them remained. The


    reason why it retained the name was that no one renamed it. Strictly speaking, it should be named


    Paradigm Company instead of Paradigm Corporation.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Paradigm Co. had no ce in Seafield, not to mention how it did worldwide. So, it was typical for a luxury


    brand with a century-old heritage to look down on a chairman of a smallpany.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t even get angry about this. After all, she knew where she stood the whole time.


    Moreover, it was the truth that she could get this dress only because of Toby.


    At first, Sonia didn¡¯t want to use Toby¡¯s power to get the dress. However, a proprietress was going to


    attend the business banquet. The proprietress was a loyal fan of this haute couture brand. From daily


    wear to evening gowns, she only wore clothes from this brand.


    If Sonia wanted to get an exhibition tform at the shopping mall, she had to start with the proprietress.


    Because she didn¡¯t know the proprietress, Sonia had to find a way to befriend the proprietress. The best


    way to befriend her was to start with her preferences.


    Only this brand could work. After research, Sonia found that the proprietress loved the clothes from this


    brand. She even collected all kinds of bags and essories from the same brand. Therefore, Sonia


    gave up on visiting her usual boutique which sold affordable luxury dresses.


    However, it didn¡¯t work if she chose an ordinary dress from this brand. It had to be a unique dress not


    avable on the official website. Only then could she attract the attention of the proprietress and form a


    friendship with her using the dress as a medium.


    But to get such a dress, one could only contact the designer of this brand for amission.


    As Anya said, Sonia did not have a VIP membership, so she was not qualified to have this brand design


    her a dress. Then she thought of using Toby¡¯s membership, and she finally got the brand to agree to


    design for her.


    Of course, Sonia had to pay for the dress herself.


    Toby wanted to pay for her, but Sonia had refused.


    The dress cost her two million. After spending the money on the dress, Sonia¡¯s bank ount was


    emptied.


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t mind as it would let her gain the rights to the exhibition tform. Even if her bank


    ount was emptied, she could still earn the money back in the future.


    Anya didn¡¯t know what Sonia was thinking, but she was stunned when the manager said that Sonia was


    using Toby¡¯s VIP membership.


    Toby Fuller. Is it actually him?!


    Anya gritted her teeth.


    Of course. How could I forget about him?


    They are back together now!


    Anya bit her lower lip, her face filled with resentment.


    How is this happening?


    I don¡¯t understand.


    Whenever I feel my n is working as intended, and sometimes, even when I¡¯m so close to seeding,


    there will always be a twist at the very end of the situation.


    Is Sonia a favorite of God?


    Why is luck always with her?


    Seeing Anya doubting herself with anger, Sonia felt a little bored.


    So, Sonia picked up the dress and stood up. ¡°Miss Steinfeld, do you still want my dress? If you still feel


    like it, I¨C¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Anya clenched the armrest of the wheelchair with both hands while looking at Sonia.


    She clearly hated Sonia, but she still smiled. ¡°This is your dress. I can¡¯t steal it from you. If I were to steal


    it, you wouldn¡¯t let me go so easily, right?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia raised her eyebrows and smiled. ¡°Since you have already figured it out and


    took the hint, I will excuse your rudeness earlier. After all, we wouldn¡¯t want this incident to escte while


    being in public. Well, it¡¯s gettingte. I should try the dress now. Please excuse me.¡±


    After saying that, Sonia took the dress and brushed past Anya to walk toward the dressing room.


    Anya stared at Sonia¡¯s back with bloodshot eyes as if she wanted to kill Sonia. She felt resentful.


    B*tch! ¡®Take a hint¡¯, my ass! You use the phrase ¡®take a hint¡¯ on servants and lowlifes, but this b*tch had


    the nerve to use it on me. You¡¯re belittling and humiliating me! Just you wait! One day, I will kill you,


    and¡­


    Anya narrowed her eyes viciously as she swore fiercely in her heart.


    The manager on the side frowned uneasily when she saw Anya¡¯s expression, then she asked, ¡°Miss


    Steinfeld, Miss Reed has gone to try on the dress. Do you want to see other dresses?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Anya raised her head and looked at the manager coldly. ¡°I can¡¯t afford your dresses.¡±


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 847

    Chapter 847


    Chapter 847 You¡¯re Gorgeous


    How could the manager not hear the disdain in Anya¡¯s tone? While the manager¡¯s smile didn¡¯t falter, the


    warmth had faded away from her voice. ¡°Since you think the outfits here are below you, please check out


    the other shops.¡±


    The manager was implicitly kicking her out of the store.


    Of course, Anya understood the message, and she was furious about being kicked out.


    However, she knew that things were different now. Currently, she couldn¡¯t even afford to offend the


    branch manager of some insignificant brand.


    And so, all she could do was swallow her anger, and she scoffed coldly. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go. There¡¯s nothing


    much your brand can offer anyway.¡±


    ¡°Our sincere apologies,¡± the manager replied with a fake smile.


    In the end, Anya wheeled her way out of the store with her lips pursed tightly together.


    The manager watched her leave with scorn in her eyes.


    In her time as the branch manager of this shop for the past few years, she had met all sorts of people.


    However, it was her first time encountering someone as crazy as Anya.


    She would love to see how long Anya¡¯s arrogance couldst, for Anya was arrogant beyond belief.


    One day, someone would teach her a lesson!


    After Anya¡¯s departure, the manager calmly turned around and walked toward the dressing room.


    Just as the manager arrived at the dressing room, the door opened.


    Then, Sonia walked out dressed in a beautiful blue off-shoulder diamond-embellished dress with a


    mermaid tail.


    The moment she stepped out of the dressing room, it was as if the world lit up.


    The manager inhaled sharply as awe was painted on her face. ¡°Miss Reed, you¡¯re out of this world.¡±


    There was no attempt to disguise the admiration in the manager¡¯s eyes as she scanned Sonia up and


    down.


    In the manager¡¯s opinion, Sonia might be beautiful, but she wasn¡¯t the most beautiful kind of girl. In fact,


    she had seen women prettier than Sonia.


    However, none of those women had ever awed the manager as much as Sonia did.


    Also, the manager could tell there was something unique about the way Sonia carried herself. There was


    something about her air that otherdies didn¡¯t have. Perhaps it was because Sonia had been through


    too much and carried too many secrets with her.


    Not only that, the mermaid tail dress had the same aura as Sonia. Hence, itplemented Sonia so


    naturally that her beauty amazed everyone who saw her.


    When Sonia heard the manager¡¯s praises and felt her admiring gaze, Sonia blushed with


    embarrassment. ¡°You¡¯re too kind.¡±


    ¡°No, no, Miss Reed,¡± the manager said, hurriedly shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m speaking the truth. You¡¯re


    beautiful. If you don¡¯t believe me, take a look for yourself.¡±


    The manager then pointed at the full-length mirror nearby.


    Sonia turned to look at where the manager pointed and saw herself reflected from head to toe.


    Upon seeing herself in the mirror, Sonia paused in surprise. She could scarcely believe that the woman


    in the mirror was her.


    She¡­ She was indeed quite the beauty!


    The realization made Sonia¡¯s heart race, as she slowly walked over to the mirror to carefully look at her


    reflection.


    She then realized the more she looked at herself, the more beautiful she was.


    Humans were creatures who appreciated beauty, and she was no different. Anyone would be stupefied


    to see an astonishingly beautiful version of themselves.


    Hence, she was simrly stupefied.


    It wasn¡¯t like she had never worn a pretty dress before, but she had never looked as beautiful.


    However, she had no idea why that was.


    Nevertheless, none of that mattered. What was important was that she was beautiful.


    At that thought, Sonia smiled at her reflection. Due to the gentle and warm nature of that smile, her


    beauty increased.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Well, Miss Reed?¡± The manager walked over to stand beside Sonia. ¡°Isn¡¯t the dress heavenly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite nice,¡± Sonia replied with a nod and a smile.


    ¡°Your beauty will be even more out of this world if you wear some nice make-up, a few matching


    essories, style your hair, and change into a matching pair of heels.¡±


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea. I¡¯m making a note in my head.¡±


    ¡°Trust me. You¡¯ll look amazing,¡± the manager said, giving her a thumbs up. Then, as though she was just


    reminded of something, she asked, ¡°Miss Reed, would you like to take a photo?¡±


    ¡°A photo?¡± Sonia raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯re so beautiful that it would be a shame if you don¡¯t have anything to remember this by. You


    can also send the picture to President Fuller. He¡¯ll find it very hard to look away.¡± The manager winked.


    Hearing that, Sonia¡¯s mouth twitched awkwardly. She handed her phone over to the manager and said,


    ¡°Take a few photos for me, but it¡¯s just for myself. I won¡¯t be sending him any pictures.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s words sounded like a rather bad attempt at disguising her intent.


    Pretending as though she didn¡¯t realize it, the manager merely smiled and epted the phone. ¡°Okay.


    Miss Reed, please strike a pose. I¡¯ll definitely make sure you look stunning.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia nodded and took a few steps back. When she was far enough away from the camera, she


    struck an elegant pose.


    As the manager frequently took photos for customers, she was a great photographer. Hence, in the


    photos, Sonia stood out from the background.


    Frankly speaking, the manager was so good at taking photos that she could be a frence photographer


    if she decided to quit her job.


    When Sonia looked at the photos of herself, she recalled what the manager said to her. Then, after a few


    moments of hesitation, she sent one to Toby.


    Fine. She would send him a photo of herself. Otherwise, if he looked through her phone in the future, he


    would me her for not showing it to him.


    After all, he had gone out just to buy her Thai food today, and he had sent messages asking if she felt


    alright.


    Since he was being so attentive and sweet, she should reward him.


    At that thought, Sonia smiled and put her phone away. Then, she walked back into the dressing room to


    change into her clothes before paying for the new dress.


    While she was changing, her phone began to ring from where it sat inside her jacket pocket. It was a call


    from Toby.


    However, she had left her jacket outside, so Sonia couldn¡¯t hear the phone ringing from within the


    dressing room.


    After a few moments, the phone stopped ringing and silence ruled the shop once more.


    But soon, the store phone began ringing.


    Although the manager answered the call, no one knew what the conversation was about. All anyone


    knew was the manager walking around the shop after ending the call as if she was looking for


    something.


    When Sonia eventually exited the dressing room, she was greeted by the sight of the manager walking


    over to her with a man¡¯s suit in her hands.


    Upon closer inspection, the suit was visibly different from the average suit style. It was a little bit more


    stylish, and the fabric used wasn¡¯t the usual dark and dull fabric. Instead, the suit¡¯s fabric shimmered.


    Sonia could tell at a nce that the manager wasn¡¯t carrying an ordinary suit, but a tuxedo.


    But why was the manager bringing it over to her?


    Furthermore, the tie paired with the tuxedo seemed to match her dress.


    If a man¡¯s tie was simr to ady¡¯s dress, then it signified to all that the wearers were a couple.


    Was the manager trying to rmend to Sonia a tuxedo for Toby?


    It turned out Sonia¡¯s guess was almost urate.


    ¡°Miss Reed, this is President Fuller¡¯s tuxedo. President Fuller has asked for your opinion, and for you to


    bring it to him if you find it is suitable for him,¡± said the manager with a smile as she showed Sonia the


    tuxedo.


    ¡°Toby¡¯s tuxedo?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°And he wants me to decide?¡±


    ¡°Yes, miss.¡±


    ¡°That means,¡± Sonia asked the manager, ¡°Toby called the store just now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed,¡± the manager replied, nodding. ¡°President Fuller had just called us to purchase a suit.


    As he is unable to be here, he has requested for me to select something for him before asking you for


    your opinion. If you think this suits him, you can bring it to him. If you don¡¯t think it suits him, you are to


    select a set for President Fuller. He has stated he¡¯ll be wearing it at the event which he¡¯ll attend with


    you.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched.


    To be worn at the event which he would attend with her?


    Didn¡¯t Toby already have an outfit chosen for it?


    Why did he want another outfit now?


    Just what was Toby up to?


    ¡°I see,¡± Sonia said, facepalming herself. ¡°Put the tuxedo down for now. I¡¯ll ask him for his opinion.¡±


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 Chapter 848

    Chapter 848


    Chapter 848 Matching Outfits With You


    ¡°Yes, Miss Reed.¡± The manager smiled and nodded.


    Sonia then walked over to where she had left her jacket.


    After searching through her jacket¡¯s pockets for her phone, what she saw disyed on her phone screen


    surprised her.


    Toby had tried to call her a few minutes ago.


    However, she didn¡¯t hear the phone ring because she was in the dressing room.


    Sonia ced the outfit she was holding on top of her jacket and unlocked her phone to call Toby.


    Toby immediately picked up, but before she could even speak, Toby spoke in a hoarse voice that


    sounded like he was suppressing his emotions. ¡°Little Leaf.¡±


    He had only called her by her nickname.


    Even though it was just two words, something felt different about the way he had said them.


    Whenever his sensual, raspy voice called out her name in that kind of sweet and seductive tone, Sonia


    always thought he was flirting with her.


    Sonia cleared her throat as her cheeks and ears burned. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You look stunning in the photo you sent me.¡± There were a few seconds of silence before Toby


    continued, ¡°Can you put it on and show it to me tonight?¡±


    His voice sounded even raspier as he spoke.


    Finally, Sonia understood why Toby¡¯s voice had suddenly taken on this hoarse tone; she even figured out


    why she thought that he was trying to seduce her.


    In actuality, he had been tempted by her.


    Sonia fully understood just how beautiful she looked in the photo she sent. Even she was stunned when


    she saw how she looked in that dress, let alone Toby.


    As such, the reason behind Toby¡¯s emotional state was found.


    Not only that, the way he said the word ¡®Tonight¡¯ was an obvious implication.


    If she wore that dress that evening, he would instantly pounce on her and tear her new dress to shreds.


    From her understanding of Toby, it was definitely something he was capable of.


    Upon thinking about this, Sonia huffed and rolled her eyes before decisively saying, ¡°No!¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Sonia nced toward where the manager was standing before she raised a hand to cover


    her mouth as she whispered into the phone, ¡°If I wear that dress tonight, will it still be intact?¡±


    That question stunned Toby. For a moment, he didn¡¯t know what to say. However, the answer was loud


    and clear in his mind.


    It would definitely not be intact.


    When he received the photo, he had been working through his paperwork.


    Initially, he had nned on ignoring the phone when he heard it buzzing, but he nced at it


    nheless.


    From that, he saw that it was a message from Sonia.


    His first reaction upon realizing it was a message from Sonia wasn¡¯t joy. Instead, he had been worried.


    After all, they had just contacted each other. Why was she messaging him all of a sudden? It wasn¡¯t hard


    for him to wonder if she was in trouble.


    With that, he swiftly abandoned his urgent documents and looked at his new message.


    Unexpectedly, he had been unable to tear his eyes away from his phone screen since then.


    Sonia¡¯s message wasn¡¯t just a random message, for she had sent him a photo of her in an evening dress


    that made her look divine.


    Although he had seen how beautiful she was when dressed in evening gowns, this was actually his first


    time seeing her look so gorgeous.


    A mermaid tail dress was meant to fit tightly around the wearer¡¯s waist and hips. When Sonia put on


    such a dress, her curvy body was perfectly emphasized.


    In fact, it made her look like an actual mermaid.


    How he wished he could rush over to her right then and there so that he could have his way with her. It


    was the only way he could ensure no one else knew about her beauty.


    Of course, that was impossible.


    The only thing Toby could do was call Sonia and ask her to wear the dresster that evening, for he


    desperately wanted to have her.


    After all, it was impossible for a man to feel nothing when faced with such heavenly beauty.


    Just like she said, he wanted to tear her dress to shreds and have her all to himself.


    In the end, she unexpectedly pointed out his intentions before he could even do a thing.


    When Toby remained silent, Sonia was even more certain of her refusal and her guess that her dress


    would be ruined. She let out a huff and said, ¡°I just know that you¡¯re up to no good.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± Toby scratched his nose guiltily as he replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to do that.¡±


    ¡°As if I¡¯d believe you,¡± she said with a pout. ¡°If you weren¡¯t going to do that, exin to me what you


    meant when you asked me to show it to you tonight.¡±


    His eyes darted around the room as he thought hard. Then, he calmly replied, ¡°I only wanted to see you


    in the dress in person, not through my phone screen.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so? You want to see it in person, and as you look at it, you¡¯ll have an irresistible urge to


    pounce on me, right?¡± Sonia rolled her eyes again. ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know you.¡±


    At that, Toby had run out of exnations.


    Upon hearing silence, Sonia waved her hand in exasperation. She didn¡¯t want to continue with this topic.


    That being said, she quite enjoyed hearing Toby tell her that.


    Every woman was vain in some way, and she was no exception.


    She liked being praised, and she liked it when people paid attention to her.


    Hence, she felt quite proud of being able to charm Toby into staring at her all day long.


    ¡°By the way, did you ask the store manager to find you an outfit just now?¡± she solemnly asked, putting


    aside her vanity.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby said, tilting his chin upward. ¡°Did she do it?¡±


    ¡°She did.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°She chose a nice outfit, but why are you buying this all of a sudden? Haven¡¯t


    you already asked your tailor to custom-make you one?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s custom, but I don¡¯t like it,¡± he replied with a frown.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± Sonia felt the edges of her mouth twitching. ¡°It is made specifically for you. The fabric


    is only cut after you decide on a style that you are satisfied with. You¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t like it now?¡±


    ¡°Well, I just don¡¯t,¡± Toby haughtily said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t match your dress.¡±


    When Sonia heard that, she understood what Toby was trying to say.


    It was because his designer outfit would not match a single aspect of her new dress.


    They would be appearing at the same time, after all. Also, he wanted them to wear matching couple


    outfits. Hence, he couldn¡¯t wear the tuxedo he had originally ordered and had to buy a new outfit that


    complimented her dress better.


    In fact, he even asked the manager to select a tuxedo with a blue tie.


    Honestly, he only wanted to match his outfit to hers. Was there a need to be so sly?


    Emotions warred in her as she said, ¡°It¡¯s just an outfit. Do you need to do all that?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Toby solemnly nodded. ¡°This is a chance to let everyone know that we¡¯re lovers.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so childish.¡± Sonia was stuck between crying andughing.


    Toby didn¡¯t think much of it, though. Who cared if he was childish?


    Either way, he would be happy to wear matching outfits with her.


    ¡°Do you think the tuxedo chosen by the manager matches your dress? If it doesn¡¯t, why don¡¯t you help


    me pick one?¡± Toby said, handing her the mission.


    Sonia nced at the manager. ¡°I think it¡¯s fine, and the manager has good judgment. While the dresses


    she led me to were made of different fabric, they didn¡¯t look any different when I looked closer.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Toby said. ¡°It¡¯s settled, then. Could you help bring the outfits home?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia agreed.


    The couple kept chatting for a while longer. When she heard Tom asking Toby about some documents,


    Sonia ended the call, not wanting to distract him from work.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 849

    Chapter 849


    Chapter 849 Stolen


    Sonia put down her phone and turned to the manager. ¡°Please wrap these two for me. I¡¯ll be paying


    now.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The manager smiled and nodded. She grabbed the dress and tuxedo, draped them over her arm,


    and led Sonia over to the cashier.


    Once the outfits were packed, the manager handed two bags over to Sonia and said, ¡°You only need to


    pay for your dress, Miss Reed. There¡¯s no need to pay for President Fuller¡¯s tuxedo.¡±


    ¡°Why is that so?¡± Sonia¡¯s hand froze while she was pulling out her card.


    ¡°It¡¯s because President Fuller usually pays for his purchases at the end of the year,¡± the manager


    exined. ¡°We usually send the bill to President Fuller on thest day of the year.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded dazedly.


    Indeed, many rich people only paid for their purchases at the end of the year.


    ¡°Alright. Card, please.¡± Sonia handed over her card.


    Although the manager epted the card, she didn¡¯t swipe it immediately. Instead, she asked Sonia,


    ¡°Miss Reed, President Fuller said your dress could be put on his tab during the call earlier. Would you¡­¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sonia as she interrupted the manager and shook her head. After all, she knew what the


    manager was going to say next. ¡°I was the one who ordered the dress, and I¡¯ve already used his VIP


    ount. I can¡¯t spend his money as well.¡±


    ¡°I see. Understood.¡± The manager smiled and handed the card over to the cashier.


    Frankly speaking, the manager didn¡¯t understand Sonia¡¯s logic.


    Wasn¡¯t she dating Toby?


    Why was Sonia insistent on keeping separate ounts when shopping?


    Although the dress was rather expensive, President Fuller was very wealthy. In fact, the cost of the dress


    was just a drop in the bucket for him.


    Why was Sonia unwilling to spend Toby¡¯s money?


    Despite the barrage of questions in the manager¡¯s mind, she didn¡¯t intend on asking any of them.


    After all, this was a private matter, and it would be rude if she asked about it.


    ¡°Your card, Miss Reed.¡± After the transaction was done, the manager handed Sonia¡¯s card back to her.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be going now,¡± Sonia said with a smile.


    ¡°Take care, Miss Reed,¡± the manager said as she walked Sonia out of the shop.


    Once she was outside, Sonia walked out of the mall and back to her car. She nned to drive home to


    Bayside Residence.


    She had spent two hours in the store, and it was already past 5.00PM. Since it was almost time to get off


    work, she didn¡¯t need to return to the office. Instead, she could head straight home to prepare dinner.


    During the call just now, Toby announced that he would be homete because he needed to pick


    something up from the Fuller Residence on his way home.


    Sonia wondered what it was Toby had to pick up.


    However, she shook that thought out of her head. Once she stood beside her car, she looked down into


    her purse in search of her car keys.


    Just then, a masked man dressed in ck with a cap began to walk over from across the street.


    At first, there was nothing weird about the way the man was walking, and he looked just like an ordinary


    passerby.


    Hence, Sonia merely nced at him before ignoring him.


    Right as the man brushed past her, he suddenly reached out, grabbed the two bags out of her hands,


    and pulled hard.


    As the bags¡¯ handles were quite weak in the first ce, they could not handle being tugged around so


    harshly.


    In an instant, the handles snapped.


    The two bags fell to the ground, hitting Sonia¡¯s feet on the way down.


    Since the boxes inside the bags were hard and sturdy, the force from the impact had Sonia letting out a


    muffled grunt of pain.


    Meanwhile, the man seized his chance while Sonia was distracted by the pain. He bent down, picked up


    the bags from the ground, and ran.


    When Sonia finally snapped back to her senses and realized that she had just been robbed, she


    hurriedly got into the car. Ignoring the pain radiating from her feet, she drove after the thief.


    She never once imagined she would be so unlucky as to be robbed, and the branded logo on the bags


    probably attracted the thief¡¯s attention.


    After all, that was the logo of a luxury brand. Whatever was inside the bag would definitely be worth a lot,


    so it was a bigger target for greed.


    Sonia¡¯s hands tightened around the steering wheel as she stared coldly at the man who was running


    away.


    Since the man was running on the pedestrian walkway where cars couldn¡¯t drive on, Sonia had to pursue


    the man through traffic.


    While she drove after the thief, she pulled out her phone to call the police.


    She knew that her only choice was to drive after the man, for she could not stop her car anywhere she


    liked. If she knew where he ran off to, it would be easier for the police to catch him.


    However, just as Sonia got off the phone with the police, the thief suddenly darted into an alleyway to the


    left.


    Upon seeing that, Sonia¡¯s face twisted.


    There was no way her car could fit in that alleyway, so she had no clue where the thief went after running


    in there.


    That meant it would be quite hard for the police to find the thief unless there were security cameras


    within the alleyway.


    ¡°Darn it!¡± As soon as Sonia found a ce to safely stop her car, she smacked the steering wheel


    furiously.


    Anyone would be fuming if they encountered such an incident.


    Not only that, she didn¡¯t think she would be so unlucky as to be targeted as soon as she left the mall. Her


    eyes were bloodshot due to the anger within her.


    However, there was no point in getting angry. Her outfits had been stolen, so the immediate task at hand


    was to capture that thief and drag him back.


    Still, the event was happening tomorrow night.


    After forcing herself to take a few deep breaths and suppress the zing anger within her, Sonia called


    the police once more to let them know where the thief ran off to, and she even requested them to look


    through the surveince cameras in the area to find where the thief went afterward.


    Naturally, the police epted the leads she provided and reassured her that she shouldn¡¯t panic as they


    would ensure a satisfactory ending to the case.


    Eventually, Sonia was able to force a smile and agreed to the suggestion.


    After all, what else could she do?


    There was no way she could find the thief when she was all alone, and she had to wait for the police to


    settle the case.


    Hence, all she could do was believe in the police.


    What should she say to Toby?


    He had asked her to bring the tuxedo back, yet she couldn¡¯t even do that.


    In an instant, Sonia was filled with self-reproach, and she felt so useless.


    She couldn¡¯t help letting go of the steering wheel and covering her face with her hands while guilt filled


    the air.


    Time passed, and someone eventually knocked on the window ss. Sonia¡¯s hands fell away from her


    face while revealing her red eyes, and she turned to wind down her window.


    The person who knocked on the window was a traffic officer. ¡°Miss, you can¡¯t stop your car here for long.


    Please park it somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia nodded and said in a somewhat hoarse voice. ¡°I¡¯ll drive away right now. My apologies.¡±


    The officer didn¡¯t say anything in response but saluted her and walked away.


    Sonia sighed. After calming herself down, she started the car once more.


    The police had yet to call her back, so they were likely still in pursuit.


    They had told her over the phone that they would call her back when they caught the thief. Would they


    be able to call by the end of the night?


    Sonia rubbed her brows in frustration before deciding to put it out of her mind. The more she thought


    about it, the more frustrated she got. In turn, she would be even more distracted from her driving.


    Needless to say, it would be troublesome if she got into an ident.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    By the time she arrived at Bayside Residence, it was 6.30PM.


    After putting away her bags, Sonia slouched across the couch and stayed there. Even though she was


    starving, she was in no mood to cook.


    The only thing on her mind now was the outfits. As long as the outfits were still missing, she was no


    longer in the mood to cook or eat.


    Sonia bit her lips and silently stared at the darkened screen of her phone, hoping it would light up.


    However, all of that anticipation would lead to nothing.


    Although she waited and waited until the sky grew dark, no one ever called her. It was clear the police


    had yet to catch the thief.


    Anger, panic, and resentment rose within her. Sonia was also upset because she wanted someone to


    keep herpany and wait with her; after all, she didn¡¯t want to wait alone in fear.


    Sonia thought of Toby, and her red lips pursed together.


    She missed him.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 850

    Chapter 850


    Chapter 850 Chubbier Jean White


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what Toby would think of her once he learned that she had lost their outfits.


    All she knew was that she was feeling very uneasy, and she desperately wanted someone to be by her


    side¡ªshe wanted someone she could rely on.


    In the past, before she got back together with Toby, she would just grit her teeth and bear with it no


    matter how uneasy she felt. The emotion would pass if she just stayed strong enough.


    However, now that she had gotten back together with him, she was no longer alone. Naturally, she was


    going to depend on him a little.


    After all, that was what boyfriends were meant for.


    Sonia¡¯s hands curled into fists as insecure thoughts shed through her mind.


    Meanwhile, Toby¡¯s car came to a stop at the Fuller Residence. The moment Toby got out of the car, he


    spotted a rather chubby figure happily walking over to him from the front door.


    ¡°Toby! Why are you here?¡± Jean jogged over to Toby. She was panting as she had run toward him out of


    excitement. Not only that, she was being weighed down by her chubby figure. Her fat cheeks were bright


    red from the exertion.


    Anyone could tell that she was exhausted.


    Toby frowned. ¡°Mom, you should go on a diet. You only ran a short distance, yet you¡¯re panting hard. It¡¯s


    not good for you.¡±


    It had been a while since hest saw Jean, and he was shocked to realize that she had grown even


    fatter since thest time he saw her.


    Previously, her eyes were tiny dots on her face. Now, all that could be seen were two slits.


    Jean was upset to hear Toby call her fat. ¡°A diet? Why? I¡¯m just fine. The otherdies say that this is a


    sign of prosperity and good luck for our family.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re lying, yet you believe them?¡± Toby pursed his lips. ¡°If this is a sign of good fortune, why don¡¯t


    they look like you? Why don¡¯t they try bringing good luck to their family?¡±


    His line of questioning stunned Jean.


    He had a point; if a plump figure was a sign of prosperity, why were those women so obsessed with


    slimming down?


    Indeed, Jean was not a stupid woman. She soon realized what was going on, and the look on her face


    was very unpleasant.


    Those women had lied to her!


    They had deliberately tricked her so that they couldugh at her. In fact, their goal was to prevent her


    from slimming down so that they could mock her.


    As for Jean, she thought they were speaking the truth; she even felt proud of herself. To think that they


    were all aiming to make fun of her from the start!


    It was very likely they had been gossiping about her behind her back.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    At that thought, Jean was furious. Due to her chubby figure and intense anger, she was heaving so badly


    that it looked like she was going to explode.


    Additionally, she was also swaying as if she would copse at any moment.


    Upon seeing that, Toby¡¯s frown deepened. He reached out to support her and said, ¡°Careful.¡±


    Jean gradually calmed down. Then, she happily patted Toby on the back of his hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re


    still the best, Toby. Thank goodness you supported me just now. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve copsed.¡±


    ¡°What happened just now?¡± Toby asked through pursed lips.


    He could tell that something was off about her moments ago.


    ¡°Oh, I was just feeling dizzy all of a sudden,¡± Jean said with a wave of her hand. ¡°My head was


    throbbing.¡±


    Instantly, Toby understood what had happened.


    ¡°It¡¯s high blood pressure,¡± Toby uttered in a deep voice.


    Jean¡¯s eyes widened with disbelief. ¡°High blood pressure?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby said while nodding. ¡°To have those symptoms when you¡¯re agitated means you have high


    blood pressure.¡±


    ¡°H-How could I have high blood pressure?¡± Jean¡¯s jaw dropped in astonishment. ¡°Isn¡¯t that something


    only elderly people have?¡±


    ¡°Who told you that?¡± Toby frowned. ¡°Even young people can have high blood pressure, let alone a


    middle-aged woman like you. Additionally, obesity means a higher chance of getting high blood


    pressure.¡±


    Jean immediately knew what Toby meant by that. Her plump cheeks wobbled as she asked, ¡°Are you


    saying that I have high blood pressure because I¡¯m too fat?¡±


    Instead of answering her, Toby merely shot his mother a nce.


    ¡°Those women have ruined me!¡± Jean shouted in fury. ¡°If they hadn¡¯t kept saying it was a sign of good


    luck, I wouldn¡¯t have put on so much weight so suddenly! Those women are evil! Toby, you must avenge


    me!¡±


    She grabbed Toby by the arm, nearly in tears from her rage.


    Upon seeing Jean¡¯s crazed eyes, Toby rubbed his throbbing temples. ¡°They were doing something bad,


    so I will warn their husbands and let them punish their wives. However, you are also at fault, Mom. You


    just let your vanity and thoughts run free. A few ttering words were all it took for you to believe them.


    Then, you started binge eating.¡±


    Jean guiltily lowered her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the doctors do a thorough full-body checkup for you and draw up a personalized diet n,¡± Toby


    said to her. ¡°I¡¯ll also have some of my people monitor you so that you¡¯ll exercise every day and control


    your food intake. Let¡¯s try and slim down as fast as we can.¡±


    ¡°D-Diet?¡± When Jean heard Toby¡¯s request for her to go on a diet, her face twisted in fear. Refusal


    radiated from her as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go on a diet. Toby, can I not?¡±


    She stared at him with a mournful gaze.


    After all, everyone knew going on a diet was her greatest fear.


    In the past, she had gone on diets before. There were so many things she couldn¡¯t eat, and she had to


    wake up early to exercise. It was so exhausting, and it made life so dull and miserable.


    If the doctors hadn¡¯t eventually said she wasn¡¯t so fat that it affected her health, she would¡¯ve been


    tortured to death by that diet.


    Jean even thought that she would never have to go on a diet again after that experience.


    Who would¡¯ve known that she would need to go on a diet again and relive that torturous time of her life?


    ¡°Nope!¡± Toby mercilessly answered, acting as if he had not seen the pain in Jean¡¯s face. ¡°You have high


    blood pressure because of your obesity. If you don¡¯t slim down, your health will not improve, and the


    otherdies will continue to ridicule you. Tyler is also going to be home soon. Do you want him to see


    you like this and worry about you every day?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Jean¡¯s eyes widened. She swiftly stood up straight, making the fat on her neck and


    cheeks wobble and tremble. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    The three people she cared most about were her husband and her two sons.


    In particr, she cared greatly about Tyler, the son she had given birth to.


    The thought of her son worrying over his mother every single day upset her.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want that to happen, you have to go on a diet.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes at Jean.


    As she gazed into his eyes that brook no dissent, Jean opened her mouth in an attempt to say


    something, but she ended up saying nothing. Instead, she nodded in defeat. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go on a diet.¡±


    It was only then that Toby¡¯s face stopped being so unpleasant.


    When Jean saw that, she let out a small sigh of relief.


    Frankly, she had always been afraid of Toby, particrly when his face clouded over. His anger only


    increased her terror.


    Now that he didn¡¯t look as upset, she could let out the breath she had been holding in.


    ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t answered me yet, Toby. Why are you back so suddenly?¡± Jean asked as she


    changed the topic. ¡°Will you be staying the night? I¡¯ve been the only one living in this house. It¡¯s so quiet


    and lonely that I don¡¯t even have anyone to talk to.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only here to pick up something,¡± Toby calmly said as he smoothened out the sleeve that had been


    crumpled by her grip.


    The message between the lines was that he would be leaving as soon as he got what he wanted.


    As Jean followed Toby through the doors of the Fuller Residence, she asked, ¡°What are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°My mother¡¯s jewelry,¡± Toby answered, striding into the house without so much as a nce backward.


    ¡°Valerie¡¯s jewelry?¡± Jean paused and asked.


    Toby grunted in affirmation, but he didn¡¯t stop walking. Soon, he was about to ascend the staircase.


    Jean hurriedly rushed over to him. ¡°Why do you want Valerie¡¯s jewelry? Are you also going to give them


    to Sonia?¡±


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 851

    Chapter 851


    Chapter 851 Toby¡¯s Concerns


    Jean¡¯s voice turned shrill at the mention of Sonia. Toby was nearing the stairway when he heard her,


    sensing the disgust in her words. He narrowed his eyes as he halted at the stairway. Then, he turned


    around to Jean.


    Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the sulky look on his face. Attempting to exin herself, she


    muttered, ¡°Toby¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°Mom, as I have told you before, I won¡¯t force you to like Sonia. After all, everyone has their own


    preference. However, please don¡¯t make it evident in front of me because it upsets me. She is my girl,


    and I am not going to let anyone look down on her. Not even you. Do you understand?¡± He gave her a


    stern re.


    Jean lowered her head and replied sheepishly, ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you understand, but your actions show otherwise,¡± Toby remarked. ¡°There is no blood feud


    between the two of you. What good is it for you to despise her so much?¡±


    Jean¡¯s lips parted, but she quickly forced them back together. She couldn¡¯t say anything back to him.


    Of course, Jean knew that picking on Sonia would be foolish. It was just that she had been embarrassed


    by Sonia publicly several times. She had lost all respect, and all she wanted was to be respected as an


    older person. Because of that, she held a grudge in her heart. That was why she hated Sonia. Therefore,


    every time she saw or mentioned Sonia, she subconsciously became spiteful.


    When Toby saw Jean¡¯s silence, he realized the topic hade to an end. He rubbed his temple and


    sighed as he said, ¡°Anyway, please keep the promise that you will not pick on her anymore.¡±


    ¡°I held my promise. I didn¡¯t do anything to her physically. I just wanted to say something,¡± Jean mumbled.


    If she wanted to take action against Sonia, she would have done so already. She wouldn¡¯t have been


    holding back if it weren¡¯t for Toby.


    What¡¯s more, she had not forgotten what Toby had said before. If she took action against Sonia, he


    would choose Sonia over her and send her away to the other properties of the Fuller Family. In fact, it


    implied a disguised expulsion from the Fuller Family. She certainly wouldn¡¯t want to rock the boat and go


    against Sonia unnecessarily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even say anything bad about her.¡± Toby had no idea what was going through Jean¡¯s head, but he


    couldn¡¯t care less. ¡°I adore her so much that I can¡¯t even raise my voice to her. That is why I will not


    tolerate others speaking ill of her. Regardless, you can ignore her, as she will not be living with you,¡± he


    added.


    Jean wasn¡¯t happy to hear that, but all she could do was nod. In the end, Toby was satisfied by her


    response and proceeded upstairs.


    After he went upstairs, Jean stood there for a long moment. Then, she stomped her feet with annoyance


    on her face before returning to the couch. Before long, Toby came down with a jewelry box in his hand.


    She immediately got up from the couch and strode to him as she saw the jewelry box. ¡°Toby, what


    jewelry have you chosen for her?¡± she asked with curiosity.


    ¡°A sapphire jewelry set,¡± Toby added as he opened and showed her the jewelry box.


    Jean couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the sapphire jewelry set. In wonderment, she reached her hand out as


    she couldn¡¯t resist touching them. As soon as Toby realized her intention, he immediately closed the box,


    stopping her from gazing and feeling the jewelry.


    There is no way I will give the jewelry that was touched by others to my Little Leaf. Not to mention that


    the person who wants to touch it is someone she dislikes.


    Jean had not anticipated Toby closing the box so quickly. Her expression froze for a while before she


    could react. Soon, she asked incredulously, ¡°Why did you close the box, Toby?¡±


    He did not respond to her question. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I should go now,¡± he said as he put the box away


    and prepared to leave.


    Just then, Jean pulled his arm and said, ¡°Wait a second, Toby. Why are you giving her jewelry all of a


    sudden? Don¡¯t you think it is too valuable to give as a gift?¡± She acted like she was concerned about


    him.


    Toby pressed his lips down as he frowned, and Jean was back to her old self again. Although she did not


    specifically mention Sonia, he was able to read between the lines. Mom doesn¡¯t want me to give the


    jewelry set to Sonia.


    He just couldn¡¯t figure out why his mom had a problem with Sonia.


    Jean had never liked Sonia in the past six years. She did not want him to marry a lower-ss woman


    because not only did it not bring him any business support, but it also made him a joke in the social


    circle.


    But he had also made it clear to her that he did not care whether his wife would bring him any benefits.


    He had the ability to expand the Fuller Group financially. As long as he remained in power, others would


    not dare to mock his wife¡¯s social status.


    He knew Jean was certain that he could do so. Nheless, she was still unable to get along with Sonia.


    He couldn¡¯t understand it, but he was not bothered by it. It no longer mattered because he and Sonia


    would not live in the Fuller Residence with Jean.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Toby replied. ¡°This jewelry set was meant as a gift from my birth mother to my wife. Sonia will


    be her daughter-inw again, so there¡¯s nothing wrong with giving it to her,¡± he looked at her and said.


    Jean remained silent. What else could she say when his attitude was firm and undeniable? Even if she


    was unwilling to give the jewelry set to Sonia, she could not convince Toby to do so.


    In the end, Jean stopped persuading him. So, Toby ended the conversation, walked toward the main


    door, and left Fuller Residence.


    It was already past nine o¡¯clock at night when he arrived at the Bayside Residence. When Toby opened


    the door and entered Sonia¡¯s apartment, he instinctively felt something wrong with the atmosphere.


    He frowned first, then walked gingerly toward the living room with light steps. The lights were on, and he


    found Sonia sitting on the couch with her head slightly bowed, seemingly in a daze.


    Toby¡¯s heart sank because he could tell from her bodynguage that she looked intense, and the air


    around her exuded anxiety.


    What made her so tense? Why is she so anxious? Did something happen to her while I was away?


    He put away the jewelry box on any surface that he could find and sprinted toward her. ¡°Little Leaf!¡± he


    called out her name in a deep tone, looking worried.


    When Sonia heard his voice, she raised her head and turned toward him. The moment she saw him, she


    seemed frightened and startled. She lowered her gaze as she forced a smile on her face. ¡°Hey. You¡¯re


    here,¡± she murmured in her hoarse voice.


    Toby did not respond. Instead, he pursed his thin lips and continued to walk closer to her till he was at


    her side. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± he asked in a soothing tone as he looked down and


    fixed his gaze on her.


    His words were full of concern and worry, and they relieved all the tensions she was carrying in her


    chest. Her lips trembled as she could no longer hold her emotions together. At once, she stood up and


    let herself fall into his arms. Her hands wrapped around his waist, and she buried her face in his chest.


    Toby could sense her helplessness, and it made his heart sink deeper. He ced one hand around her


    waist and another gently patted her back. There was an endless frost in his eyes while he gazed over


    her shoulder. However, his tone was still soothing andforting. ¡°Tell me what happened. You know


    you can trust me, right?¡± he said gently.


    If anyone bullies her, I will make them go through hell!


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 852

    Chapter 852


    Chapter 852 I Will Always Have Your Back


    Looking at the concern on Toby¡¯s face and the expression of wanting to do her justice, Sonia felt a warm


    sensation fill her heart.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I lost the gown and your suit,¡± she replied and sniffled with a remorseful voice.


    ¡°What?¡± He froze for a moment and asked, ¡°You lost them?¡±


    So, she wasn¡¯t bullied after all. I took it the wrong way. Hang on, was she upset and nervous earlier


    because she lost clothes worth a few million?


    Well, it was not entirely impossible. A few million was nothing to him. Even if that amount of money fell to


    the ground, he would not be bothered to bend down and pick them up. This amount of moneywas close


    to zero for him. But for her, that was a lot of money.


    No wonder she acted this way.


    Toby patted her shoulder with an amused look on his face. ¡°That¡¯s alright. I am your man, and don¡¯t


    forget that I am rich. If the clothes are lost, we¡¯ll just get a new one,¡± he said.


    Moreover, he had always believed that his money was all hers, and that¡¯s why he had linked her phone


    number to his credit card. On top of that, his card had no set limit, so she could use it as much as she


    wanted for however long she wanted.


    However, he could only do all this without her knowing. If she had known, she would have gone to the


    bank and gotten the card unlinked.


    Sonia was still ming herself and feeling guilty, but augh bubbled out of her as she heard him


    bragging about being wealthy. After she stoppedughing, she calmed down and raised her eyes to gaze


    at him. ¡°When I say I lost the clothes, I didn¡¯t mean I identally forgot them somewhere and couldn¡¯t


    find them. Rather, they were robbed by a man,¡± she exined.


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s expression shifted from amusement to concern when he heard what she said. Then, he


    hugged her tighter once more before he let loose to make sure that she wasn¡¯t hurt. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he


    asked.


    He was not in a rush to ask how exactly the clothes were robbed. What he was concerned about was


    only her safety.


    Sonia was moved when she saw his troubled expression. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine,¡± she replied as she


    shook her head slightly.


    However, Toby remained skeptical of her response. He gently lifted her hand up and squeezed her arm


    and shoulder, checking to see if she had lied because she didn¡¯t want him to worry. After all, if she had


    been harmed, a slight squeeze like this would cause her to flinch out of pain.


    In the end, he concluded that she was not hurt because she showed no signs of pain during his


    examination. The realization had relieved his worries, and his pounding heart had finally dropped back to


    normal speed.


    Then, he gently pulled her hand and made her sit on the couch. ¡°I am d that you are okay. Now, tell


    me exactly how it happened,¡± he queried as they sat down.


    After Sonia settled herself in afortable position on the couch, she exined, ¡°I came out of the mall


    after picking up our clothes and getting ready to leave. However, just as I was going to get into my car, a


    man passed by and snatched the garment bags from me. Then, I gave chase¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait. What do you mean by ¡®gave chase¡¯?¡± Toby interrupted with a miffed tone. His expression darkened


    as he increased the force of his hand that closed around her wrist. Clearly, he was getting irritated. ¡°Do


    you realize how risky that is? To chase after a robber? Have you ever considered what might happen to


    you?¡± he ranted as he stared at her. There were mes in his eyes, but there were also concerns and


    tensions.


    How can I not worry? Toby couldn¡¯t believe that she had the guts to chase after a robber.


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    These thugs were dangerous and crazy, which is why they dared to rob such valuable items in public.


    Based on the value of the gown and suit, the robber might have to serve a life sentence in prison.


    Therefore, only repeat offenders with nothing to lose would do such things.


    It disturbed Toby to imagine what they would do to a woman like her. The thought of Sonia being


    tormented by these thugs made his blood boil, and he would go to any extent to harm them.


    Sonia realized that she had made him worried. As he was bing overly emotional and protective of


    her, she patted his shoulder to calm him down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Toby. Although I did chase after the robber, I


    did it by car. So, he can¡¯t do anything to me since I can always drive away,¡± she coaxed him.


    But Toby was not cated by her. He was pensive, with his thin lips tightly pursed. ¡°Do you think you are


    safe chasing him in your car? Have you ever thought that the robber might deliberately lead you to his


    aplice?¡± He began to analyze the potential dangers she might encounter.


    Then, he went on and said, ¡°These thugs are usually organized, and do you think you¡¯ll be able to drive


    away safely if you go into their territory? Plus, they have a lot of manpower, and they might block your


    path using their own bodies. Well, you could leave if you ran over their bodies, but can you?¡±


    Her lips parted, but she couldn¡¯t say anything. It shocked her that Toby could predict her reaction and


    knew she couldn¡¯t pull it off.


    Indeed, she was acting a little reckless today. She was too focused on chasing the robber, and she never


    thought of the possibility of him leading her to his aplice. She never considered any other


    circumstances that he had just exined to her.


    If what Toby said came true and I bit the bait, I would be¡­


    Unable to think any further, Sonia shivered, and the color drained from her face.


    Toby¡¯s tight brows loosened up as he noticed Sonia¡¯s realization of how reckless and impulsive she was


    by chasing after a robber. So, he gave her a flick on her forehead and said, ¡°Next time, think before you


    leap. Whatever you do, you have to leave room for maneuver so that you can change your ns when


    things head south. But if you don¡¯t, you might lose everything.¡±


    Knowing that he was teaching her how to handle tough situations, Sonia took heed of his advice and


    nodded in response. ¡°I understand. I will be more careful next time. Aside from that, don¡¯t you me me


    for losing the clothes?¡± she asked and nced at him with a nervous look. She could feel butterflies in


    her stomach.


    Tobyughed faintly. ¡°It was just two pieces of clothing. What is there to be med for? Do you think that


    I would put the gown and suit before you?¡±


    ¡°No. Of course not.¡± She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s just that I have lost your suit, and I felt bad, so¡­¡± she


    exined nervously.


    Just then, Toby stopped Sonia from exining by putting his finger on her lips. ¡°There is nothing to be


    sorry for. I am not short of suits anyway. Besides, I cared more about you than the suit. As long as you


    are safe, we can always get a new one. Did you forget what I said earlier? I am rich,¡± he said with a grin.


    She took his hand away from covering her lips and stared at him for a few seconds. Then, she burst out


    laughing and eximed, ¡°You behave like a parvenu!¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, Little Leaf,¡± he replied as he flicked her nose.


    She chuckled and leaned on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve been afraid that you might me me. You gave me the


    task, but I can¡¯t even get it right. So, I¡¯ve been very upset,¡± she said in a gloomy tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think of me as one of those stupid men who are incapable and only do best at ming their


    women.¡± Then, he lowered his head and ced a kiss on her forehead. ¡°Remember, I will not me you


    for anything you do. I will always have your back. Even if you murder someone, I will cover for you by


    burying the body and turning myself into your aplice,¡± he joked.


    ¡°Yeah, right. As if you¡¯re actually going to murder someone.¡± Sonia pped the back of his hand in


    amusement. His words made her heart flutter.


    It was not easy for a man to make a statement like this. Even if he was only saying this to make her feel


    better, it was enough to move her.


    At that moment, Toby cupped her face and stated, ¡°The murder part was just a metaphor because we


    both know you can¡¯t kill anything. However, when I say I have your back, I mean every word. Do you


    believe me?¡±


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 853

    Chapter 853


    Chapter 853 The Gown and Suit Were Ruined


    Sonia could feel the sincerity and faithfulness in Toby¡¯s eyes when she looked at them. ¡°I believe you.¡±


    She nodded instinctively.


    After he heard her, a broad smile appeared on his face. Then, he drew her back into his arms and


    assured her, ¡°You can trust me. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let you down.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Sonia nodded once more, wrapping her arms around his back.


    Seeming to enjoy the intimacy between them, he leaned his head forward to rub his face around her


    neck. ¡°Have you reported the incident to the police?¡± he asked then.


    ¡°Yes. I have,¡± she replied promptly. Her expression became solemn as they reverted the conversation to


    the incident. ¡°When the garment bags were snatched, I called the police straight away. They promptly


    dispatched officers to arrest the robber after receiving the clues. They are supposed to update me after


    they have arrested the robber, but I haven¡¯t received any calls since then,¡± she added. Her expression


    was dimmed and disappointed.


    Toby narrowed his eyes as he scowled. ¡°If it was just a typical robbery, the police would have arrested


    him by now. It seems to be an organized robbery. That¡¯s why they need more time to track him down.


    Leave this matter to me. I will handle it.¡±


    ¡°How do you n to¡ª¡± Sonia¡¯s phone rang at that very time, interrupting the conversation.


    At first, she furrowed her brows. Then, both of them tilted their heads and looked toward the coffee table,


    where her cell phone sat. ¡°It¡¯s the police.¡± She gasped with sparkles in her eyes.


    A surprised smile appeared on her face. ¡°It¡¯s a phone call from the police, Toby. They must have arrested


    the robber and recovered the clothes,¡± she blurted.


    Toby¡¯s knitted brows rxed when he saw her happy little face. ¡°That¡¯s great. Go on and pick up the


    phone, then.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± She nodded and grabbed her phone. ¡°Hello,¡± she answered the call with a nervous tone.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Reed.¡± A gruff, masculine voice sounded from the other side. Sonia recognized the voice, for


    it belonged to one of the police officers that she had spoken to when she made the police report.


    She gripped the phone with both hands and responded promptly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Have you arrested the


    robber? Did the police manage to recover the clothes?¡±


    However, there was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Her heart skipped a beat when she


    heard the silence because she had a bad feeling. The smile on her face stiffened and slowly


    disappeared.


    Seeing that, Toby squinted his eyes and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    She silently shook her head at him in response because she had no idea. ¡°Officer, can you answer my


    questions? Did the robber get caught? Did you get the clothes back?¡± she asked again.


    Just then, she heard a long sighing from the phone. The police officer finally responded, ¡°We are


    sorry, Miss Reed. We caught him, but the gown and the suit¡­¡±


    Sonia bit into her lip as she was getting anxious. ¡°What do you mean? You couldn¡¯t find them?¡± she


    asked.


    Has the robber traded the gown and suit for cash? she thought to herself.


    ¡°Well, we did recover your clothes, but there have been someplications,¡± the police said. He shook


    his head feebly as he nced at the gown and the suit that was in front of him.


    ¡°Anyway, Miss Reed, you have to be mentally prepared for this situation. We will exin it to you once


    you get here to close the file,¡± the police officer added.


    Her heart sank as she heard the officer, but she tried to squeeze a smile and said, ¡°Sure. I¡¯lle right


    over.¡±


    After the call ended, Sonia put the phone down slowly. She seemed zoned out. Her reactions concerned


    Toby.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get the clothes back?¡± he asked as he nced at her.


    ¡°We got it back,¡± she replied as she frowned. ¡°But the police said there were someplications.¡±


    She first thought that the hesitation from the police was because they had lost the clothes. However, if


    they have found them, then what¡¯s the problem? I have no clue!


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    She bit her lip and immersed herself in her thoughts.


    Meanwhile, Toby stroked his jaw and pondered for a moment. Then, he suggested, ¡°Maybe the gown


    and suit were ruined?¡±


    When she heard his spection, her eyes widened. ¡°You might be right. What you¡¯re saying makes


    sense,¡± she concurred.


    After all, the police had said that the clothes were found, but something had gone wrong. The worst that


    could happen to clothes was either they were ruined, or they were soiled. So, the police must have been


    hesitant for one of these two reasons. Her heart sank deeper as she reached her conclusion, and her


    brows clenched together.


    With a concerned look, Toby reached out his hand and gently smoothed her knitted brows with his


    thumb. ¡°Don¡¯t frown like an olddy. If the clothes are ruined, we will get ourselves new ones,¡± he said.


    ¡°You¡¯re the olddy,¡± Sonia replied in a slightly annoyed tone, pping the back of his hand. ¡°I can never


    know how good or bad it is until I see it for myself. I am heading to the police station now since they are


    expecting me. You stay here. I will be back soon.¡±


    ¡°We are going together,¡± he said firmly, holding her hand in his. ¡°I am right next to you. Why would you


    want to go alone when you can utilize my help as your man?¡±


    When Sonia was considering his offer, she nced at their interlocked fingers, and the corner of her lips


    curved up. ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s go together,¡± she agreed.


    Just then, Sonia¡¯s stomach suddenly rumbled twice. Toby frowned when he heard the rumbling sound.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t had dinner yet?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Mm.¡± She nodded slightly, and she ced her palm on her stomach.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you eat?¡± His frown deepened.


    ¡°The clothes have been robbed, but the robber hasn¡¯t been caught yet. How can I be in the mood to


    eat?¡± she exined sheepishly as she raised her head to meet his eyes.


    Toby¡¯s thin lips pursed into a straight line. ¡°Nheless, you should eat something. Don¡¯t starve yourself


    to death, or I will be worried.¡±


    She grinned. ¡°I only skipped one meal. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go to the police stationter. I need to feed you something because you can¡¯t stay hungry like this,¡±


    he said as he let go of her hand.


    She looked at him disapprovingly and said, ¡°If we eat before going to the police station, we will be


    dyed, and the police must be waiting now.¡±


    He paused for a few seconds. Then, as if he had an idea, he stroked her hair gently and asked, ¡°You can


    eat in the car while I drive. Is there anything in the fridge that you can take with you and have in the car?¡±


    She thought for a moment and replied, ¡°I have wraps with ham and egg, but we¡¯ll need to prepare it.¡±


    She knew that once Toby had made up his mind, it would be hard to change it. If she did not eat


    something, he would rather not send her to the police station. Therefore, she answered his questions


    honestly.


    Toby was pleased to hear that there was food for her to eat during the car ride. Then, he nodded and


    said, ¡°Just a moment. I¡¯ll prepare it for you.¡±


    After saying that, he took off his coat, revealing the ck shirt and his perfect body underneath it. Then,


    he casually pulled off his tie, tossed it on the couch, and moved on to unfasten the cufflinks around his


    wrist.


    The way Toby undid the cufflinks was slow, but the motion alone made him look ssy, and there was a


    hint of erotic sensation attached to it, which Sonia couldn¡¯t help but stare at.


    When he noticed that her eyes were fixed on him, the corner of his mouth curled up, and it seemed to


    take forever for him to take them off. Usually, he should have been able to undo them within a minute,


    but he took three. Once he was done with the cufflinks, he rolled up the sleeves one by one, showing off


    his muscr and sexy arms.


    While Sonia was staring at his muscr arms, the memories of those nights shed through her mind.


    On those nights, these strong arms carried her up when she was too tired to move her body. And now,


    she seemed to be able to feel the strength of these arms simply by looking at them.


    Ahem. What am I thinking?


    I shouldn¡¯t be thinking these dirty thoughts when we are talking about serious matters!


    Oh my. Sonia Reed, you have fallen for him!


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 854

    Chapter 854


    Chapter 854 ZToby¡¯s Acting


    Sonia squirmed in embarrassment as she covered her burning face¡ªan action that elicited a broader


    smile on Toby¡¯s face.


    Though he wasn¡¯t sure what was on her mind, he could tell she was pleased with his body and it ttered


    his vanity.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    ¡°Enough of this. Stay here, and I¡¯ll make something for you in the kitchen,¡± said Toby as he raised his


    head before he slightly tapped her on his head.


    Sonia snapped out of the embarrassment at his light tap. Then, she cleared her throat and looked at him.


    ¡°Do you know how to make wraps with ham and cheese?¡±


    She had bought the wraps a long time ago. Sometimes when she returned home dog-tired and there


    was no one else, she would make a wrap instead of a cumbersome meal for dinner. Then, she would


    slump on the couch as she watched the television while enjoying the wrap and living the time of her life.


    However, since they reconciled, it was either Toby fixing their dinner or they had it delivered from the


    hotel. It had been a while since she entered the kitchen.


    Thus, the wraps were left untouched in the fridge all the while. Right now, Toby imed he was going to


    make her wraps, but she was dubious whether he knew how to make it or not.


    Even though he had the culinary skills, wraps were not an orthodox meal but a snack. Sonia bet he had


    not learned how to make it before. As an afterthought, she suggested, ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to, I¡¯ll


    make it. You stay.¡± Then, she was about to rise to her feet, only to be thwarted by Toby.


    ¡°Just leave it to me.¡± He ced his hands on her shoulders and pressed her back on the couch. He


    gazed at her with a gentle smile. ¡°I¡¯ll search up the recipe on the Inte. Trust me. There won¡¯t be any


    problem.¡±


    It usually took a nce at it for Toby to get the hang of something; thereby, he was confident with his


    skills.


    Sonia smiled and sat on the couch with her mind at ease as she saw his confident look. ¡°Fine. Since you


    already said that, all I can do is trust you, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    He hummed as he nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll only take a short while.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± She lifted her head and smiled at him.


    He grabbed the apron that was hanging by the wall before entering the kitchen while she smiled in the


    direction he went, after which she turned to fix her gaze on the television screen.


    The screen was all ck as she did not turn on the television. Through the screen, she saw her


    reflection, and despite the smile on her face, her brows were slightly creased in concern.


    Even though Toby did not care about the gown¡¯s condition because he was well-off, that wasn¡¯t the case


    for her because she was penniless.


    That gown ate into almost all of her savings. If it was really ruined, she would be devastated.


    Sonia¡¯s brows furrowed as she sighed in frustration. Next, she averted her gaze and noticed an exquisite


    box on the table. She was puzzled. Since when was there a box on the table?


    Almost immediately after that, she surmised that it was Toby who had brought it along as she recalled


    him giving a call in the afternoon. Perhaps he returned to Fuller Residence to get this?


    In spite of her curiosity to know what was inside the box, Sonia had no means to open it.


    They were a couple, but she nevertheless needed to respect his privacy. She would never check his


    stuff, including his phone, without his permission.


    This was her principle as well as her trust in him. Since they had gotten together again, she should have


    faith in him. Sonia was willing to believe that he would never do anything that would hurt her.


    After all, there were no secrets that time couldn¡¯t reveal. Should he wrong her, she would find out about it


    eventually.


    Therefore, there was no need for Toby to prove his faith and loyalty by her checking his personal stuff.


    Toby possessed the same notion as well. Akin to her, he dly devoted himself without any reservation


    by respecting and believing in her. As a result, both of them were mature and confident in their


    rtionship matters.


    At the thought of it, Sonia looked away from the box before grabbing the cup of water in front of her to


    take a sip.


    Soon, a pleasant fragrance permeated the air from the kitchen. As soon as she caught the whiff of it, she


    could recognize that it was from the wraps. The smell was no less different from her wraps. Not bad.


    He¡¯s a beginner, yet he managed to make it almost the same as a veteran like me. He¡¯s stunningly


    talented.


    Sonia rose from the couch and headed for the kitchen after putting down her cup. Once she reached the


    door, the aroma became stronger with the faint smell of eggs.


    She continued her steps farther into the kitchen until she reached behind the man, who was busy at the


    cooktop. With his towering height, his back was inherently robust enough to cover her whole body. Her


    mind was put to ease while she looked at his back.


    As she tilted her body to take a peek from his back, she saw what was in the frying pan. Her eyes shone


    when she saw Toby adding ayer of eggs to the wrap. ¡°It smells delicious.¡±


    He had noticed her advent before that, despite the light steps she took, so she didn¡¯t scare him the


    slightest.


    That was why he wasn¡¯t the slightest surprised at her voice suddenly ringing out in the kitchen. Instead,


    his hands moved smoothly and steadily as he answered her, ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t let you down with my skills,


    did I?¡±


    Sonia was baffled and her eyes widened in response. ¡°You knew I was here?¡±


    Toby turned his head slightly and gave her an ambiguous smile. It was evident that he knew all along.


    She blinked her eyes in doubt. ¡°But¡­ But how? I tiptoed all the way here just to scare you, yet you didn¡¯t


    budge at all. You even found out about it before I could scare you.¡±


    Her initial intention was to scare him as his reaction would have been fun to watch. However, she failed


    miserably.


    Toby remained silent for a few seconds when his gazended on her disappointed pouting face before


    turning off the fire and switching to a terrified expression. ¡°Gosh, how did you sneak in?!¡±


    It was probably because he had acted before in his entire life, which was why it pained Sonia to watch


    his awful acting. Besides, it was rare to have his deadpan face to be rife with such emotions in reality. No


    one would ever believe that Toby Fuller, the apathetic man, could have that kind of expression.


    In the face of his acting, Sonia was stunned momentarily before bursting into a peal of heartyughter as


    she covered her stomach. ¡°Toby, what are you doing?¡±


    Sheughed so hard that she was shedding tears. ¡°You looked like a fool.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips while staring at her. ¡°That¡¯s to make you happy. Didn¡¯t you say you were trying to


    scare me? You looked disappointed, so I faked it just to make you smile.¡±


    He was from a prestigious family. So, he was always the person held in high regard by others regardless


    of their age.


    Thus, he didn¡¯t need to feign or butter up to someone to achieve his goals like others in his circle did.


    In other words, this could be considered as his first acting experience, and he obviously knew how it


    would turn out¡ªhrious and foolish.


    Even so, Toby was willing to act silly for her happiness. After all, the only people that could make him let


    go of his pride and do such things weren¡¯t that many. It was only Sonia and his grandma.


    Meanwhile, warmth crept into Sonia¡¯s heart in that he was behaving silly just for her sake. She stretched


    out her arm to hug the man¡¯s waist from behind. ¡°Toby, thank you. I was just fooling around, actually. You


    didn¡¯t have to do that.¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy.¡± He turned around and hugged her before kissing her on her head.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 855

    Chapter 855


    Chapter 855 Tasty Wraps


    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s nothing embarrassing anyway,¡± said Toby as he patted her shoulders lightly.


    To him, pleasing one¡¯s partner wasn¡¯t something shameful that could hurt one¡¯s pride. If pleasing one¡¯s


    partner was considered an embarrassment, one was either notpletely in love or had fallen out of


    love.


    It was anyone¡¯s bliss to make their partners smile in joy. Thus, Toby wished Sonia wouldn¡¯t overthink him


    doing those actions just to make her happy.


    She stared at him and rested her head on his chest in the end. ¡°What can I say when you¡¯ve told me


    this? But you still haven¡¯t told me how you found out I entered the kitchen. I crept so quietly.¡±


    She swayed her body slightly as she hugged him, acting all cutesy. If he didn¡¯t tell her, she wouldn¡¯t stop.


    The glint in Toby¡¯s eyes changed at the sight of her affectionate actions. He gulped as his voice turned


    husky. ¡°Alright, alright. Stop swaying. I¡¯ll tell you. Don¡¯t you know you¡¯re ying with fire acting like this? I


    can¡¯t help but think that you want it.¡±


    It was natural for some parts of their body to rub against each other if she hugged him while moving like


    that. He was wearing only a thin shirt and thus could feel more of the sensation from the physical


    affection.


    If it weren¡¯t for his rationality, knowing that he was in the kitchen to make her food, he would¡¯ve just


    hovered over her and showered her with kisses in the face of such temptation. Only then would she learn


    her lesson that she shouldn¡¯t mess with a man that easily.


    ¡°W-Who¡¯s ying with fire? Stop spouting nonsense.¡± Sonia finally realized her actions were akin to


    arousing a beast from its slumber when she noticed Toby¡¯s red-rimmed eyes. Now that she was frantic


    with fear, the panic and awkward Sonia let go of the man¡¯s waist at that instant in her attempt to retreat


    from his embrace.


    ¡°Where are you running to?¡± Since he knew her intentions, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his


    arms once again. He tightened his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. His voice


    sounded gruffer as he spoke, ¡°You¡¯re the one who turned me on. How could you just run away without


    helping me out? That¡¯s irresponsible of you.¡±


    As his minty scent filled her nostrils, her flushed cheeks turned crimson. ¡°When did I tease you? Stop


    spouting nonsense.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t? Really?¡± Toby raised his brow as his hands around her began to slide downward.


    Sonia¡¯s face changed abruptly, clearly knowing what he was up to. ¡°Hold on! Wait! Wait! Toby! Don¡¯t you


    dare!¡±


    ¡°Dare what?¡± He yed innocent, staring at her with those innocuous eyes.


    She rolled her eyes. Why don¡¯t you look at your hands and repeat that? You¡¯re one shameless man.


    As though he could read her mind, he snickered in an undertone. It was sexy and seductive. ¡°Okay, okay.


    I¡¯ll stop. Just let me hug you for a while to calm myself down.¡±


    Sonia gave him a doubtful look. It was apparent she didn¡¯t believe that he would let her off that easily


    after something as simple as a hug.


    She trusted him in everything else but not in this matter. He did not show mercy on her on those few


    nights.


    Several times, she begged him to stop and let her go. He said ¡®yes¡¯ and promised to stop after onest


    time. Yet, what happened in the end?


    He wanted her again after that ¡®onest time¡¯. It was an endless cycle. With that in mind, she would


    never believe his words about this aspect of their rtionship.


    Aware of the incredulity glint in Sonia¡¯s eyes, Toby smiled and shook his head helplessly. He didn¡¯t


    expect her to perceive him as a man who couldn¡¯t keep his promises.


    ¡°I promise. I¡¯m not lying. Just a hug is enough; I won¡¯t do anything to you,¡± he reassured her, gently


    stroking her hair.


    Since she couldn¡¯t free herself, she had no choice but to trust him and relented.


    This time, Toby kept his promise. The hugsted for a short while. Needless to say, he seized the chance


    to take advantage of her, whereas Sonia rolled her eyes the whole time because of his naughty hands


    wandering her body.


    The man inhaled her lingering scent. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask how I noticed you entered the kitchen?¡±


    Her body straightened in a heartbeat upon his words because she was confident that she didn¡¯t make a


    single noise whileing in. Furthermore, he was paying total attention to the food. There was no way


    he could notice her approaching. However, he realized it, all the same, making her wonder how he could


    possibly know that.


    He smiled as he looked at her perplexed face. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice at first since I was focusing on making the


    wraps. But when you came closer, I could smell your perfume. That was why I knew.¡±


    ¡°Perfume?¡± Sonia was in a daze, not expecting to expose herself with her perfume.


    She raised her arm and sniffed herself. She smelled something pleasant, but it was a faint scent. One


    wouldn¡¯t notice without a deep inhale at a close distance.


    However, Toby caught the whiff of it at a rtively far distance. Does he possibly have any supernatural


    powers? Otherwise, how could he pick up such a faint smell from afar?


    As she was absorbed in her musing, there was a flicker of surprise in her gaze that was fixated on him.


    At the same time, he saw through her at once. It was easy to read her mind as her expression gave it all


    away.


    He slightly raised his head. ¡°I have a good sense of smell. So, as long as it¡¯s not too far from me, I can


    pick up the smell even if it¡¯s faint.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded upon realization. ¡°So, this must be your talent. It ain¡¯t easy for one to have an


    exceptional sense of smell.¡±


    Her musings humored Toby as he chuckled. ¡°Probably. You can leave the kitchen first. It¡¯ll be ready in


    minutes.¡±


    ¡°No. I wanna stay here with you,¡± she refused while shaking her head.


    Since it was her wish, he didn¡¯t insist. Instead, after he spared her a nce, he turned on the stove and


    continued making the wraps. Meanwhile, she stood next to him with her eyes focused on him.


    His hands glided smoothly while making the wraps, and he didn¡¯t seem like a total beginner in making


    them at all. Even so, she didn¡¯t doubt him because she knew he was a fast learner.


    Sonia stayed seated in the kitchen for about ten minutes before a scrumptious wrap was done. It was a


    premium meal with eggs, vegetables, and meat.


    Toby held it with a baking paper and handed it to her. ¡°Dig in.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She smiled as she took it over. Then, after having a bite of it, her eyes twinkled brightly. ¡°It¡¯s


    amazing! It¡¯s much better than mine.¡±


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    After he listened to her showering him withpliments, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°d to hear that.


    We should hit the road now. You can have it slowly in the car.¡±


    Sonia hummed and gave him a nod. Then, with a wrap in one of her hands and his hand holding the


    other, she and Toby left the apartment.


    He drove slower than usual to make sure she didn¡¯t finish it in a hurry. If he were to rush to the police


    station, she might choke herself while trying to finish the snack. Nothing woulde good from that, for


    his heart would end up suffering anyway.


    Therefore, the car was moving at a slower speed. It took them almost an hour when it was a mere 30


    minutes ride, where his tortoise speed even irritated some drivers on the road. However, they didn¡¯t dare


    to m the honk. All they could do was curse at him in their own cars.


    After all, they had no guts to pick on the owner of a luxurious car. What if it was scratched? They didn¡¯t


    have the money to repay for the damage.


    At longst, Sonia and Toby arrived at the police station, after which they got out of the car and went


    inside.


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 Chapter 856

    Chapter 856


    Chapter 856 Gown and Suit Cut into Pieces


    Though it was already midnight, the lights were still on in the police station.


    Sonia and Toby went into the police station with their hands held together. The officer, who had talked to


    her on the phone, came to usher them to a room as soon as he saw them.


    ¡°Miss Reed, your clothes are on the table. Please be mentally prepared before checking it.¡± The officer


    sighed as he pointed at the table in the room.


    After all, what if she fainted after seeing that the few million worth of clothes had turned into something


    like that? If the officer was in her shoes, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take it and would fall into a swoon.


    The officer¡¯s reminder made her calm heart race in agitation again. Then, she let go of Toby¡¯s hand; she


    scampered toward the table while Toby followed her at her heels. Meanwhile, the officer followed them


    behind instead of standing by the door.


    Sonia arrived in front of the table and saw the two boxes that contained the clothes. The exquisite box


    was undamaged. But the things in it might be¡­


    She dared not to think further about it. She pursed her lips and reached out her hand to open one of the


    boxes.


    Her hands were trembling while opening the box as she felt uneasy. Toby noticed it and ced his hands


    atop hers before giving it a slight squeeze. He reassured her gently, soothingly, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m


    always behind you no matter what happens. Just do whatever you want. I got your back.¡±


    Sonia focused her gaze on him while looking at that faint smile on his face. Though it was a light smile, it


    instantly soothed her anxious heart with sce.


    She told herself, He¡¯s right. No matter what¡¯s in the box, I still have to face it.


    Since it was inevitable, there was no need for any hesitation. Things had already happened; she couldn¡¯t


    change the conditions of the items in the box.


    Thus, facing it with equanimity would be better. Besides, regardless of what was in that box, she wasn¡¯t


    alone as Toby was by her side.


    Her tense face finally let out a smile as she thought of him apanying her. ¡°You¡¯re right. I feel better


    now.¡±


    With that being said, she took a deep breath and regained herposure. Even her hands weren¡¯t


    shaking anymore. Despite that, Toby didn¡¯t move his hand away, and they opened the box together.


    The moment the box contents were revealed, Sonia¡¯s pupils contracted as her expression fell. Even


    Toby¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. His face darkened immediately, and he exuded an intimidating aura


    around him, sending shudders to the officer who was standing right behind him. The petrified officer


    timidly looked at Toby as it was the officer¡¯s first time encountering someone with such a domineering


    disposition.


    Oh lord, this must be a top dog that manages over a hundred thousand employees. The air around him


    is indeed different.


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    Meanwhile, the man in question had no idea that his outpouring aura had terrified the poor officer.


    His eyes zeroed in on the blue dress in the box. It had be pieces of cruddy cloth after being cut


    when he had previously assumed that it would be either ripped or stained with dirty smudges at most.


    Therefore, he was pretty shocked to see itpletely ruined like that.


    Of course, other than surprise, the wrath in him was zing fiercely. It was the same case for Sonia as


    well.


    She had expected the gown to be damaged, but the truth was way more appalling than she had


    imagined.


    She stretched out her arm to hold the dress high to take a closer look at it. However, the moment she


    grabbed it, it was all pieces of cloth where none of them was wider than her palm. So, she was merely


    holding pieces of fabric, not a dress.


    In short, no one could tell that these fabrics were, in fact, still a gorgeous gown a few hours ago.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes reddened with rage. ¡°Toby, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    Toby patted her shoulder lightly, signaling her to keep her cool. Then, he opened the other box himself.


    Needless to say, his suit was cut into pieces too. It was no longer the chic suit from before but pieces of


    rags.


    His eyes narrowed at the rags, and it took him long before he could suppress the surging bloodlust in


    him. Then, he picked up one of them to inspect it.


    He grazed the frayed edge before he deduced, ¡°It¡¯s scissors. Judging from the finely cut fabric, she must


    be holding a grudge.¡±


    ¡°Grudge?¡± Sonia was baffled.


    He threw the cloth back into the box. ¡°At first, I thought he was just a mercenary person who wanted to


    get some money by selling them off. But looking at these, it¡¯s not as simple as I thought. It wasn¡¯t for


    money. He was ordered to turn up right there and snatched your gown for the culprit, who is holding a


    grudge against you. So, the culprit ruined your gown to let off steam.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The officer who had been silent the whole time suddenly piped up, ¡°We were equally


    shocked to see your clothes in this state. That¡¯s when we realized that it wasn¡¯t a simple case of robbery.


    As President Fuller has assumed, if it were really for money, the robber wouldn¡¯t have ruined them even


    if the clothes weren¡¯t sold yet. They are worth a lot of money, after all. Now that the clothes have been


    cut into such fine pieces, there¡¯s only one exnation for that¡ªyour enemy is taking revenge on you,


    Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°Enemy, revenge¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s face became solemn as she dropped her gaze onto the ground, racking her


    brain to think who could be the possible suspect.


    Toby didn¡¯t disturb her when he saw her deep in thought. Instead, he averted his gaze onto the officer


    next to him. ¡°Where was the robber arrested?¡±


    ¡°At a waste disposal area,¡± replied the officer.


    Toby¡¯s brows creased tightly. ¡°He wanted to get rid of the clothes?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The officer nodded. ¡°When we caught him, he was about to dump the clothes into an incinerator.


    We managed to stop him, but the clothes were already ruined.¡±


    ¡°Was there anyone else?¡± questioned Toby seriously.


    The officer shook his head. ¡°Nope. He was alone. But we arrested him two hours ago, and Miss Reed


    made a report to us six hours ago. That means we¡¯re not sure of his whereabouts during those four


    hours, let alone the people he had met. The only thing we¡¯re certain of is that he must have met the


    culprit who had ordered him to do so. Then, the culprit gave him the already ruined clothes so he could


    incinerate the evidence.¡±


    When he listened to the officer¡¯s words, Toby¡¯s face was full of disapproval. ¡°It¡¯s been two hours. Haven¡¯t


    you got the culprit¡¯s identity from that robber yet?¡±


    The officer¡¯s face broke into a bitter smile. ¡°He¡¯s a recidivist, President Fuller. He frequents our ce


    because of theft and robbery, and he¡¯s tight-lipped. He¡¯s currently in the interrogation room. We¡¯re using


    light exposure to distress him. Once he puts his guard down a little, we¡¯ll be able to get whatever


    information we need.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips into a thin line. Before he could say anything, Sonia¡¯s eyes suddenly widened as


    color drained from her face. ¡°I know who did this.¡±


    Toby and the officer instantly turned to look at her.


    Previous Chapter


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 Chapter 857

    Chapter 857


    Chapter 857 Desperate Measures


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Toby.


    Sonia locked eyes with him before nodding. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely her.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± he questioned again.


    Her hands were tightly clenched into fists. ¡°It¡¯s Anya Steinfield.¡±


    ¡°Her?¡± He was confounded as he had not expected her to suspect that woman.


    It wasn¡¯t that Toby didn¡¯t believe in Sonia, but it was because he previously had done a background


    check on Anya, who was just an ordinary orphan.


    Was Anya fearless enough tomit a crime? Didn¡¯t she know what kind of repercussions awaited her


    once he got to the bottom of it?


    ¡°It must be her!¡± Ire filled Sonia¡¯s eyes. ¡°Actually, Anya and I were in the store. She liked my dress and


    wanted it. She even asked me to let her have it, but I didn¡¯t. She must be holding a grudge about it and


    then ordered someone to snatch it, so I can¡¯t have it either. Above all, she mentioned something about


    me dreaming of getting the dress that she couldn¡¯t have. So, she did something but failed in the end.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s possible that she nned everything that happened after I left the shop.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby¡¯s face tensed up immediately as he grabbed Sonia¡¯s shoulders to gaze at her from head to


    toe. ¡°She picked on you in the store? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    When she was still in the store, he gave her a call and even texted her! Yet, she had not texted a word


    about her being bullied. He was greatly upset about this.


    After looking at his displeased visage, she had a pretty good sense of what was going on in his mind and


    let out a gentle smile while assuring him, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that she¡¯s just a small fry to me? I can deal with


    her with ease. She said she wouldn¡¯t let me off, but she failed. Instead, I made fun of her. I didn¡¯t inform


    you of anything because I¡¯mpletely fine. It¡¯ll make me seem useless if I have to let you know about


    such a trivial matter. Besides, you¡¯re busy. I will never want to bother you with such trivial matters. Do


    you understand?¡±


    Toby lowered his gaze to the ground without uttering a word. He got it, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling upset.


    Sonia sighed before holding his hand and cing it on her cheek to nuzzle it against his palm.


    Only then did he smile and clear his throat. ¡°I got it.¡±


    So, he needs somefort at times like this. What a ¡®cold¡¯ guy. Sonia shook her head helplessly.


    Meanwhile, the officer behind them had witnessed the entirety of their affections and rolled his eyes.


    Excuse me, but it¡¯s a serious matter we¡¯re talking about here. Behave, please.


    However, he dared not blurt it out or bother the couple. Knowing that it was crunch time, they did not


    cross the line either. So, they got serious again after the short affectionate moment.


    Sonia put the man¡¯s hand down and said, ¡°Back at the store, she didn¡¯t manage to harm me, but I


    humiliated her instead. She must be resenting me for that, so it¡¯s her for sure. Besides, the culprit used


    the dress to get back at me. She¡¯s the only person rted to the dress.¡±


    ¡°So, do you know what you should do right now?¡± Toby looked at the officer with shrewd eyes.


    The officer nodded. ¡°Miss Reed has given us a lead. We¡¯ll dispatch someone to call on Miss Steinfeld.


    The both of you can stay here.¡±


    ¡°No need for that. Please take us to the robber,¡± urged Toby.


    Sonia agreed as well, ¡°Yeah, I wanna see him. I wanna make sure if the culprit is really her.¡±


    The officer nodded as he looked at the resolute couple. ¡°Alright. But he¡¯s tight-lipped. You maye out


    with nothing.¡±


    Just as she wanted to say something, Toby suddenly took a step forward, standing right before her. ¡°That


    will be our business.¡±


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    In the end, the officer didn¡¯t say much and took them to the interrogation room.


    The officer gave them ten minutes. Since he was just adhering to the rules, Sonia had no opinion against


    it, and she even thanked him with a smile.


    After the officer had taken his leave, she turned toward Toby. ¡°Why did you interrupt me?¡±


    He reciprocated with a smile. ¡°Because he said you may be unable to get the answers to your doubts. I


    have an idea, which I can¡¯t tell yet, though. That¡¯s why I interrupted you so that he can bring us here


    sooner.¡±


    ¡°You got an idea?¡± Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up in anticipation. ¡°What is it?¡±


    However, he kept her in suspense. ¡°You¡¯ll know soon. Let¡¯s head in first.¡±


    After he said that, he opened the door and she didn¡¯t insist further. Since he already mentioned that she


    would know soon, asking further wouldn¡¯t do anything. After she gave him a short hum in response, she


    followed him into the room.


    In the interrogation room, the lights were brightly lit in the criminal¡¯s direction. But, even so, Sonia felt it


    was ring.


    As her eyes squinted in difort, she barely saw the person sitting on the torture chair, putting up with


    the blinding illumination.


    It was the man who snatched the clothes while passing by her. The mere sight of him made her hackles


    rise in an instant. ¡°It¡¯s him.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes at the guy.


    Due to the lights, the guy was pressured into mise, and his face was pale. Tottering on the seat, he


    looked like he had lost his soul, moaning and whimpering soft and painful cries.


    This was due to the light exposure.


    This kind of light would only cause one to squint their eyes at the beginning. However, as time passed,


    one would feel the rising emotional tension and his mentality gradually tensing up, resulting in a mental


    breakdown in the end.


    That was when the criminal would answer the questions truthfully. Hence, light exposure was


    indispensable to the civil force whenever during interrogations.


    At that moment, the robber was reaching his limits. Sonia noticed that and seized her chance to ask his


    name and the culprit¡¯s identity.


    Still, as the officer had stated earlier, the robber was one tenacious man. His lips were tightly sealed


    despite the excruciating difort.


    His reaction made her irritable. In fact, his perseverance was indeed impressive. Yet, it was more vexing


    because that meant he wouldn¡¯t let the cat out of the bag regardless of the interrogation.


    Toby saw Sonia¡¯s infuriated face, turned his cold gaze at the criminal, and patted her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t


    worry. Leave it to me. I got it.¡±


    As she recalled his words before they entered the room, she nodded. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    He gave her a smile and approached the robber. Then, he reached out his hand toward the robber¡¯s


    neck.


    What happened at the very next second surprised Sonia. The robber¡¯s body vibrated tremendously as


    though electrical waves were passing through his body. The spasm of pain contorted his face as he


    started yelping non-stop, ¡°Stop! It hurts! Stop it!¡±


    ¡°W-What¡¯s happening?¡± Sonia pointed at the guy who was in excruciating pain as she looked at Toby in


    surprise. ¡°What did you do? Why is he hurting like this?¡±


    Toby smiled at her. ¡°I learned it from one of my bodyguards. As you know, the Fuller Group is one huge


    company. There are openings for spies and unforeseen imponderables. I have to interrogate them


    whenever we catch them. Quite a number of them are tight-lipped. Dealing with this kind of person calls


    for desperate measures, and pain is the best incentive for people like him.¡±


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 Chapter 858

    Chapter 858


    Chapter 858 Overwhelmed


    Sonia had no doubts about his experience in this matter.


    Forget about Fuller Group; some bad apples exist within Paradigm Co. too.


    It was useless to report those bad apples to the police. The police were particr about human rights.


    So, their interrogation was mild as they prohibited corporal punishment. Therefore, it was useless against


    one who was strong-willed and never cried uncle. Not even intense light could let them surrender. Thus,


    the police might never pry out any information from them. After they were released from the station, one


    could never find them again as they escaped.


    Hence, any bigwigs would hire ruthless interrogators to just interrogate those bad apples.


    They could do whatever the police couldn¡¯t in private.


    In the past, Paradigm Co. had those interrogators. However, the Paradigm Co. had lost its glory since


    Sonia¡¯s father passed away, and they couldn¡¯t afford the interrogator anymore.


    So, Sonia didn¡¯t feel disgusted by the fact that Toby had learned some interrogation tricks.


    This is normal if you own apany. Otherwise, would you rather watch the bad apple destroy your


    company as they sell you out?


    ¡°Will he confess?¡± she asked with a frown while looking at the man about to die in pain.


    Toby looked at the man with a cold re. ¡°Of course. My bodyguard, who specializes in interrogating


    spies, is a retired mercenary. Back then, he was also an interrogator, so his knowledge of human biology


    rivals even Tim Lancaster. For example, he knows the pressure points on the human body that inflicts


    immense pain when pressed. Therefore, no spy can hold their secrets for long under his interrogation.¡±


    She believed him without hesitation when she heard his confident answer. She nodded as she stepped


    forward and said coldly, ¡°Tell me, who instructed you to appear before me and snatch my dress?¡±


    The man was about to have an out-of-body experience as he lost control of his copsed body. As the


    pain tormented him, his face was covered with tears and snot, and even his protruding eyes were


    bloodshot. It was a scary scene to behold.


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    When she saw this, all she did was frown in disgust. ¡°Answer me, now! If not, the pain will never go


    away.¡±


    After saying that, Toby put the finishing touch by pressing harder.


    The man screamed, and his body trembled even more. His voice was filled with fear. ¡°I-I give¡­ Please,


    let me go! It hurts, it hurts so much¡­¡±


    He cried in despair.


    He prided himself on being manly as he was never afraid of police arrest and interrogation.


    Therefore, he was smug, thinking he was a tough nut to crack as not even the police could handle him.


    When he faced the intense light, the man was confident that he would not utter a single word despite


    being ufortable.


    After all, someone had his liability. But unfortunately, his penalty would be rather significant once he


    confesses his client¡¯s identity.


    However, this man was ruthlesspared to the police.


    The man broke his confidence using just a finger and made him feel worse than death.


    If I die now, I won¡¯t suffer anymore.


    Still, he was filled with regrets. He couldn¡¯t resist the pain, let alonemit suicide, and he could only let


    Toby torture him.


    It hurts. It hurts so much!


    He had never experienced such a painful moment in his life. The severe pain made him unable to care


    about his so-called liability, and he just wanted to save himself.


    My liability is important to me, but my life is even more precious.


    I¡¯m sure Jane will forgive me.


    He convinced himself.


    Sonia heard that he was yielding, so she looked at Toby with admiration.


    When he saw his loverplimenting him, he was so happy that he was about to fly.


    She could see how happy he was, so she shook her head withughter. Then, her expression turned


    austere, and she looked coldly at the regretful man. ¡°Confess, right this instant. But, before that, I have to


    warn you that you should not try to lie to us. If you do lie, we will find you whenever you run to. I¡¯m not


    bluffing. Do you know that one of the suits you snatched belongs to the President of the Fuller Group?


    He is capable of finding you everywhere on Earth. Do you think this is despair? Just wait. Once you try


    us, we¡¯ll show you what true despair really is.¡±


    The man¡¯s expression changed significantly as white noise filled his head after hearing a little tidbit of


    information. His face got even paler than before.


    What? Did I snatch President Fuller¡¯s suit?


    The severity of his actions finally hit him when he recalled the two bags he snatched this afternoon.


    I offended President Fuller. I stole his suit. I¡ª


    He felt despair with monstrous hatred rising in his mind.


    He finally understood that he had been deceived.


    When he took the order, the client said that he needed to rob the bag of a washed-up rich woman.


    However, they omitted the details about the owner of the clothes.


    I get it. After all, I would have never epted this order if I knew the truth.


    At this moment, the man could no longer hold back the hatred in his mind. He looked at Sonia with


    bloodshot eyes and said emotionally, ¡°I will tell you everything. However, you have to promise me just


    one thing.¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡± Sonia frowned.


    Toby dangerously narrowed his eyes and pressed the pressure point again. ¡°Who do you think you are?


    How dare you want to make us promise you something! If we disagree, you won¡¯t tell us anything? Ha!


    What a joke. You think you can bear the pain?¡±


    A robber tries to negotiate with us. How foolish. Does he even have a bargaining counter to make the


    deal?


    ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± the man screamed again in his trembling voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that. My client deceived me!


    They said that I just had to snatch a normal woman¡¯s bag. But they never said that it belongs to


    President Fuller! If I had known it, I would have never epted that order. All in all, they are causing me


    suffering now! That¡¯s why I hope that you will never let them go. I am not trying to negotiate. I will tell you


    everything I know, really!¡±


    He grew desperate as he was afraid that Sonia and Toby did not believe him.


    I am not a fool. I know how much power the President of the Fuller Group holds, and I must never offend


    him if I value my lowly life.


    However, I¡¯ve hit a snag. I offended President Fuller, so I would never be able to see the daylight again.


    As a result, I can never get revenge for myself.


    Therefore, these two are my only hope now. They might be President Fuller¡¯s confidants. As long as they


    let the President know about what my client did, he will never let them go.


    I will take that as my revenge when the client is getting destroyed.


    Toby understood what he meant when he saw the man¡¯s agitation. He wanted Toby to avenge him.


    Heh. So, this man isn¡¯t that stupid after all.


    ¡°But of course, they definitely will live in a living hell soon,¡± Toby said with a poker face and a cold voice.


    I never nned to let the mastermind escape anyway.


    The man was overjoyed when he heard Toby¡¯s words. ¡°Thank you, thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. We promise to avenge you. So tell us everything now.¡± Sonia impatiently pursed her lips.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 859

    Chapter 859


    Chapter 859 Deceptive Anya


    They only granted ten minutes for the interrogation, and five minutes had already passed.


    If they procrastinated, the time would end before the man could say anything useful.


    As the man sensed Sonia¡¯s impatience, the robber didn¡¯t beat around the bush and said, ¡°O-Of course,


    I¡¯ll tell you everything. A woman contacted me and offered 100,000 for me to wait at the mall entrance,


    and she said that I must snatch two bags that a woman is holding if I see her walking toward a red


    Benz.¡±


    ¡°A woman?¡± Toby asked that in a low voice, then looked at Sonia.


    She nodded as she was sure that it was Anya.


    ¡°Is the woman sitting in a wheelchair?¡± She stared at the man to confirm it.


    The robber nodded and said, ¡°Yes! She¡¯s in a wheelchair.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Anya.¡± At this rate, Sonia had already confirmed the identity of the mastermind.


    Toby clenched his fists. ¡°She is bold and even exposed her identity before him.¡±


    ¡°It means she is confident he wouldn¡¯t snitch on her.¡± She pointed at the regretful man and inquired,


    ¡°How did she contact you?¡±


    The man raised his head and nced at her timidly. ¡°She contacted me online.¡±


    ¡°Online?¡± Sonia was surprised.


    Toby understood what the man meant and exined, ¡°Every circle has its own unique contact


    information. This is an individual robber, but he is not the only one in Seafield. He probably belongs to an


    organization, and every organization must have a group chat or website where they can contact each


    other.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± the man hurriedly agreed. ¡°Besides robbery, we can also go into a brawl for you. For


    example, you can hire our service by cing an order using our website if you are having a fight butck


    people to do your bidding. Moreover, you elites often order our service to act as a spy for the


    competitor¡¯s intelligence or steal their documents.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ So, this service exists.¡± Sonia¡¯s lips twitched as she was surprised.


    Obviously, she never knew that one could ce an order for someone to fight and steal.


    Seeing her surprised expression, Toby chuckled. ¡°Indeed, he¡¯s right. Somepany elites don¡¯t want to


    get their hands dirty to let others get hold of their weakness, so they choose to enlist those scoundrels


    instead. They have tricks to get the job done, so somepanies are keen to let them do their dirty job.¡±


    ¡°Did you enlist for their help before?¡± She looked at him.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No. I have a lot of talents under mymand, so I don¡¯t need them at all.¡±


    Sonia nodded and stopped asking. Then, she frowned and wondered, ¡°Anya knows of the existence of


    this organization and even ced an order. Who exactly is she?¡±


    If I didn¡¯t know about this organization, then it isn¡¯t public to ordinary people. However, Anya knows about


    them. How curious.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    However, Sonia didn¡¯t overthink this. After all, the police were bringing Anya over.


    She just needed Anya to spit out the truth to get her answer.


    ¡°If she used 100,000 to hire you, it means that she is just an ordinary client to you. Why did you refuse to


    snitch her out?¡± Sonia looked at the man with frustration.


    If Anya is just an ordinary client to him, it means that there is no need for him to hide Anya. After all,


    there is no benefit for him to hide her for long if she isn¡¯t someone significant. However, this man tried to


    take the secret to his grave. If Toby hadn¡¯t interrogated him, I¡¯m afraid he would never speak the truth.


    Moreover, there must be other reasons for him to do that.


    Toby slightly raised his lips with pride as he saw Sonia quickly identifying the suspicious point.


    As expected of my lover, she is so intelligent.


    ¡°I wanted to snitch on her, but I can¡¯t.¡± The man looked pained. ¡°That woman threatened me with my


    girlfriend and said she would send someone to hurt my girlfriend if I ever snitched on her. So, I have no


    other way but to keep her identity a secret.¡±


    ¡°But you still told us about her.¡± Sonia nced at him.


    It seems that his girlfriend isn¡¯t worth that much to him.


    He understood the hidden meaning in her words and muttered in an aggrieved tone, ¡°It¡¯s not my fault.


    You tortured me, so¡ª¡±


    ¡°So what? You still snitched on her, which means that your girlfriend isn¡¯t that important to you, at least


    not as important as yourself.¡± Sonia mercilessly exposed him.


    His mouth was agape, but he said nothing because he understood what he had done perfectly and was


    ashamed of him.


    Toby nced at the man with contempt and looked at Sonia. He promised, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t be like


    him. I would never give you up if I were him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I believe in you.¡± She looked at him and nodded.


    She genuinely believed in him, and those words weren¡¯t mere words to her.


    Toby¡¯s upbringing determined that he would never sacrifice an innocent person for his safety.


    Therefore, she could trust his promises without hesitation.


    His brows softened and showed a slight smile when he saw that she believed him.


    ¡°Okay. You said that Anya threatened you with your girlfriend so that you would not snitch on her. Then


    tell me this: why are you convinced that she will really hurt your girlfriend?¡± She stared at the man and


    asked.


    The man sighed. ¡°Of course. I never mentioned my girlfriend on the website, so no one should know


    about her. However, my client knows about her existence and even urately stated my girlfriend¡¯s


    home address. What does that mean? It means that she is not an ordinary person. Otherwise, how could


    she have known about those details?¡±


    This time, Sonia couldn¡¯t refute his statements.


    Of course, Anya urgently hired this man to rob my bags. Therefore, it is impossible to know his


    background in such a short time. To investigate one¡¯s background, she would need to spend a lot of time


    doing that. One also needs special rights to check on a stranger¡¯s background. However, Anya did the


    impossible in such a short time. This shows that there is an unknown force supporting her.


    Toby had also arrived at the same conclusion, which caused his face to turn nasty.


    I had asked Tom to check Anya¡¯s background before. The result shows that she is just an ordinary citizen


    with a small fortune. However, what she did clearly indicates that she isn¡¯t just an average person. This


    makes the information I have on my hands unreliable. I believe that my subordinates did their best, and


    they would never create a fake profile to deceive me. The only exnation is that something is wrong


    with Anya herself. She conceals her true identity and presents herself as an ordinary person.


    Good job. A job well done, Anya. I thought you were just an insignificant ant, and I didn¡¯t expect you to


    be someone with hidden depths!


    ¡°I¡¯m going out to make a call.¡± Toby released his fingers from the man¡¯s neck and took out his cell phone


    while telling Sonia.


    She knew he would contact his subordinate to investigate Anya¡¯s identity, so she nodded with a serious


    expression. ¡°Sure.¡±


    He patted her head and left.


    Previous Chapter


    Next Post

 Chapter 860

    Chapter 860


    Chapter 860 Sleep Well


    As Sonia was alone with the man, Toby wasfortable leaving the room since the man was chained to


    a chair and could not hurt her.


    Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t leave her alone.


    After he left the interrogation room, he finally had cell reception and immediately dialed Tom¡¯s number.


    At this moment, Tom was hanging out with his friends, and the ringtone made his skin crawl.


    That was because he knew that he would be busy for a long time after he epted the call.


    With a sigh, Tom excused himself from his friends and left the room to ept the call. ¡°President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Did you feel something was off while checking Anya Steinfeld¡¯s background?¡± Toby asked immediately.


    Tom was stunned. ¡°Anya Steinfeld? Are you saying there¡¯s something wrong with the information we


    obtained?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t expect much. So, he summarized what the man had told him in the interrogation room to


    Tom.


    After hearing that, Tom inhaled sharply when he heard everything that had urred.


    That¡¯s why he¡¯s asking me about Anya. There¡¯s more than it seems about her identity, and it¡¯s not what I


    had investigated before. If she is just an average person, how can she obtain the background of a man in


    such a short time? This means that someone brought the information for Anya. If they can get the result


    in a short time, the team behind her definitely isn¡¯t weak.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, President Fuller. I didn¡¯t notice anything wrong with her information before letting my


    subordinate obtain them. Her information was so ordinary that I never thought it could be forged,¡± Tom


    answered, shamefaced.


    Toby knew that this wasn¡¯t his fault, so he didn¡¯ty the me on him.


    After all, she used a fake identity to convince outsiders. Of course, no ordinary people would think that it


    was a forged identity.


    ¡°Investigate it again. I want you to investigate Anya¡¯s identity thoroughly this time,¡± he instructed with a


    cold expression.


    Tom nodded seriously. ¡°Yes, sir. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Toby nodded, then ended the call.


    Although he passed the job to Tom, his brows were still in a knitted state.


    He was worried about one thing.


    Who is Anya? Why does she want to hide her identity? She even appeared before Sonia and me. Is that


    just a coincidence, or is it on purpose? I hope that it is just a coincidence. If not, then she must have an


    ulterior motive. Hiding her identity toplete that motive means that it isn¡¯t something good. Whatever


    it is, I will make sure that she will never seed!


    ¡°What are you thinking? You look scary.¡± At this moment, Toby heard Sonia¡¯s voiceing from behind


    him.


    His stern and murderous look dissipated as he turned to face her. Then, he shook his head in response.


    ¡°I asked Tom about Anya¡¯s identity, and he said there was nothing suspicious about her information.¡±


    She was not surprised by the answer and stood beside him. ¡°It¡¯s alright. A forged identity is useless if it


    does not fool you.¡±


    Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed when they discussed this topic. ¡°I¡¯m sure when Tom was investigating


    her identity, he must have obtained the information from the census website. It is a government-owned


    website, and you cannot even forge your identity on it. However, Anya¡¯s information on the website is


    clearly forged. In conclusion, Anya¡¯s team must have an insider in the system; otherwise, they are rted


    to the people working there. You need to be in the system to edit your information on the census


    website.¡±


    ¡°You reminded me of something.¡± Toby narrowed his eyes, picked up the phone again, and dialed Tom¡¯s


    number.


    Tom answered the call quickly. ¡°President Fuller, do you have any other orders?¡±


    ¡°Contact the Coleman Family and ask them to investigate the organization in charge of the census. I


    want to know who has used their authority to change Anya¡¯s information.¡± Toby¡¯s hand clenched on his


    phone tightly as he instructed with a cold expression.


    Not even the government can change the information on the website willy-nilly. You need the authority to


    do it. If they did it, they would leave a trace on the website. As long as you investigate the browsing


    history, you can find the culprit that edited the information. After that, finding Anya¡¯s true identity will be


    significantly easier.


    ¡°Understood. I will do that now,¡± Tom responded earnestly.


    Toby replied curtly and hung up the call.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°Now, don¡¯t frown anymore. I¡¯m sure that Tom will get the answer soon.¡±


    He put away the phone and smiled at her. ¡°All right. I won¡¯t. Then, you should help me out with my


    problem.¡±


    She side-eyed him. ¡°Really? Just do it yourself.¡±


    ¡°But I want you to do it for me.¡± He looked at her with anticipation.


    Sheughed and beckoned him toe closer when she heard that. ¡°Then, lower your head. You¡¯re too


    tall for me; my hands can¡¯t reach all the way up there.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Toby was thrilled that he immediately bent down when he heard that she was willing to do even


    the most trivial request from him.


    She raised her hand and gently massaged his brows.


    Then, she showed a beautiful smile once she saw his irritation gradually fading away from his face.


    ¡°Now, you look handsome. Jeez, stop frowning. Over time, those wrinkles will remain on your forehead,


    making you look older. Do you want to look older than me?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Okay, I will try not to frown as much from now on.¡±


    ¡°Good boy.¡± She removed her hands from his eyebrows and took the initiative to hold his hands. ¡°Let¡¯s


    rest over there. I don¡¯t know how long it will take for Anya to arrive, and we can¡¯t do anything about it


    even if we keep standing here.¡±


    Of course, Toby had no objection to her arrangement.


    It was under the police¡¯s arrangement that they arrived at a small lounge.


    After they sat down on the sofa, Sonia immediately started yawning as exhaustion was etched on her


    face.


    Toby asked in concern when he noticed her sleepiness, ¡°Sleepy?¡±


    She rested her head on his shoulder and nodded wearily. ¡°A little. It is way past my bedtime, but I am still


    here trying to get this case over with.¡±


    Thus, the fatigue was catching up to her.


    Toby raised his wrist and looked at the watch. It was indeedte as it was already 2:00 AM.


    He gently hugged her shoulder. ¡°Should we go home now and return tomorrow?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. Since we¡¯re already here, I want to make this trip count.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re tired.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but frown again.


    However, after remembering his promise toward her, he immediately rxed his face.


    It was so fast that she didn¡¯t notice he ever frowned.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    Sonia yawned again. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I can still handle it.¡±


    However, this time, she yawned as she spoke, and tears glistened in her eyes since her sleepiness was


    getting to her.


    No one would believe her words seeing how tired she was.


    After he kept quiet for a while, he said indulgently, ¡°You can use me as your pillow for now. I¡¯ll wake you


    up when Anya arrives.¡±


    Previous Chapter

 Chapter 861

    Chapter 861


    Chapter 861 It Finally Came


    ¡±But¡­¡± Sonia instantly lifted her head from his shoulder upon hearing what he said. As she looked at his


    attractive face, she was tempted to do as told.


    The next moment, she quickly shook her head and rejected. ¡±It¡¯s alright. Anya might be arriving soon.¡±


    ¡±What if she doesn¡¯t?¡± Toby asked her.


    She rolled her eyes at him as she replied, ¡±You always disagree with me.¡±


    ¡±That isn¡¯t my intention. Don¡¯t you think that there might be a chance that Anya might not turn up? Toby


    looked at Sonia earnestly. ¡±How are we to know whether she¡¯de for sure? What if she doesn¡¯t? Are


    you going to keep trying to stay awake while waiting for her? Don¡¯t you feel groggy?¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t know how to reply when she heard the logical points he made. Of course, she felt groggy.


    She was so tired that she felt light-headed.


    He sighed and pulled her into his arms when he noticed that she was so tired that she might fall asleep


    at a moment¡¯s notice. Then, he gently arranged her, so her head wasid on hisp. ¡±Have some sleep.


    It doesn¡¯t matter when she reaches. Just sleep while we have time. How would you have the energy to


    face herter if youck rest? You might not have the energy to confront her.¡±


    Sonia nodded thoughtfully when she heard his suggestions. ¡±What you said makes sense, and you¡¯ve


    sessfully convinced me. Okay, I¡¯ll take a nap. Wake me up once she is here?


    ¡±Yes, I will.¡± Toby nodded slightly and said, ¡±I¡¯m here, so just sleep.¡±


    Toby¡¯s words gave Sonia a sense of security. Then, she smiled as she shut her eyes and mumbled softly,


    ¡±Fine, I¡¯ll take a nap, but don¡¯t you feel tired?¡±


    ¡±I¡¯m not tired,¡± he replied gently as he stroked her long, silky hair. ¡±Haven¡¯t I told you before that I can


    stay up for two consecutive nights without issues? As of now, it hasn¡¯t been that long yet.¡±


    ¡±Alright, you¡¯re incredible. I can¡¯t do something like that. Just remember to wake me up.¡±


    Sonia yawned once again afterpleting her sentence and closed her eyes at ease.


    Soon, her breathing deepened and slowed as she fell asleep.


    Toby smiled as he looked at her while gently touching her face with the back of his hand.


    She truly was one of a kind, being able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.


    After he slowly freed one of his hands, he briefly tapped on his smartphone and quickly kept it away.


    Soon after, the door of the lounge cracked open. A female officer walked in with a nket and


    whispered, ¡±President Fuller, this is the nket you requested.¡±


    He stretched his hand out without saying a word.


    The female officer walked over quietly when she noticed his actions. Once she was not far from him, she


    paused and passed the nket to him.


    After Toby received the nket from her, he gave her a nod of thanks.


    The female officer merely waved him off with a smile and left the room, not before ncing an envious


    look at Sonia, who was sleeping on hisp.


    As she left the room, she quietly shut the door, not making any noise at all.


    It was obvious that she had received Toby¡¯s instruction beforehand to be quiet so that she didn¡¯t interrupt


    Sonia¡¯s sleep.


    Slowly, he unfolded the nket and covered Sonia with it.


    Sonia squirmed, feeling a bit unused to the sensation when she sensed something against her body.


    Toby thought that he had used too much force when he covered her with the nket, which woke her up.


    So, he swiftly patted her back as if patting a baby to sleep.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Soon, she calmed down again. However, he didn¡¯t stop and continued patting her back lightly.


    After some time, someone knocked on the door. It was only then did he stop patting her back, but he still


    had his hand on her back.


    The person outside seemed to know that Toby would not answer. After knocking twice, she opened the


    door.


    It was the female officer from before this.


    As she stood outside the door, she stuck her head in. ¡±President Fuller, Ms. Steinfeld has arrived.¡±


    When he heard that name, his expression turned solemn, and his eyes looked cold. The next moment,


    he nodded slightly. ¡±Alright, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±


    ¡±Sure.¡± The female officer smiled and then retracted her head.


    In the lounge, Toby looked at Sonia, who was sleeping soundly in his arms. His gaze darkened as if he


    was contemting whether to wake her up now that Anya had reached.


    But he was reluctant to as she was sleeping so soundly.


    In the end, after some contemtion, he decided not to wake her up as he could take care of matters


    like this himself.


    At that thought, he lifted her head and slowly moved it away from hisp.


    When he had raised her head high enough to make space for himself, he slowly got up and stood at the


    edge of the couch. Then he grabbed the pillow by his side when he was seated and put it under her head


    before tucking her in.


    His maneuvering wasn¡¯t much, but it wasn¡¯t exactly indiscernible either.


    But since Sonia was in a deep sleep, she wasn¡¯t awakened by him. So, she just moved her head on the


    pillow a bit and continued sleeping.


    As Toby stood on the edge of the couch, he stretched his sore arms and legs while looking at her


    tenderly.


    The difort and stiffness of the body that he felt for maintaining the same posture for two hours was


    worth it as he looked at her sleeping so soundly.


    Loving her meant that he would give her his best.


    After Toby massaged his arm, he bent down to kiss Sonia on her cheeks. Only then did he turn around


    and walk toward the door.


    When he left the room, the female officer was still there.


    When she saw that he came out alone, she was rather surprised, so she looked into the room. Then, as


    she saw Sonia sleeping soundly on the couch, she was perplexed. ¡±President Toby, is Ms. Reed not


    joining us?¡± she asked.


    ¡±Since she¡¯s still sleeping, let¡¯s just let her be. I¡¯ll handle this myself,¡± Toby replied nonchntly as he


    closed the door.


    The female officer stopped asking and nodded, feeling even more envious of Sonia.


    She was envious that Sonia had such a great boyfriend.


    How nice would it be if she could have such a great boyfriend as well?


    s, it wasn¡¯t that easy!


    The female officer sighed and shook her head. Then, she set her thoughts aside and acted


    professionally as her job required.


    ¡±President Fuller, this way, please.¡± She looked at Toby while showing him the way.


    With a nod, he followed behind her.


    At that moment, Anya was giving her statement in the interview room.


    However, since the man in the interrogation room had not confessed that the person who hired him was


    Anya, she was only considered a suspect. Thus, she wasn¡¯t required to be interrogated in the


    interrogation room.


    Because of that, the officers couldn¡¯t send her to the interrogation room, and she was only sent to the


    interview room to have her statement recorded.


    As soon as Toby arrived, the officers were showing her pictures of the man in the interrogation room,


    asking whether she knew him.


    When Anya looked at the picture, a shrewd gleam shed across her eyes, and she replied calmly, ¡±I


    don¡¯t know him.¡±


    ¡±Is that true?¡± Toby squinted his eyes and asked.


    When they heard the unexpected voice, everyone turned and looked toward the door.


    Even though Toby interrupted the questioning, the officers weren¡¯t displeased about it. Instead, they


    stood up and greeted him, ¡±President Fuller.¡±


    Toby nodded at them and red at Anya, who was sitting at the other end of the table. His gaze was


    cold and held an undisguised killing intent.


    When she saw his re, her face turned pale, and her body trembled uncontrobly.


    It was terrifying that he would now re at her with such vicious eyes. Before this, he would look at her


    with¡­


    Anya bit her lips as the thought of it made her irate and frustrated.

 Chapter 862

    Chapter 862


    Chapter 862 Like in Purgatory


    Toby didn¡¯t care what she was thinking. After he walked into the room, he stood next to a few officers and


    stared at Anya coldly. ¡±Do you really not recognize this person?¡± he repeated.


    She shook her head with her eyes closed. ¡±President Fuller, I¡¯m telling the truth. I really don¡¯t know this


    man, but I would like to know why you asked me toe to the police stationte at night. What is your


    intention?¡±


    ¡±Ms. Steinfeld, you have been involved in a robbery and the malicious acts that resulted in personal


    property damage. The damage caused is estimated at about a few million, and this amount is sufficient


    to ssify this matter as a criminal case,¡± one of the officers answered coldly as he looked at her.


    She raised her head in dismay when she heard that. ¡±What? Robbery? I¡¯m suspected of robbery?¡±


    ¡±That¡¯s correct.¡± The police officers nodded.


    Anya suddenly became agitated by the officer¡¯s words. ¡±Cut the nonsense. I didn¡¯t rob anyone! Who did I


    rob?¡±


    ¡±You robbed two of Ms. Reed¡¯s gowns; she is President Fuller¡¯s girlfriend. Based on the statement that


    Ms. Reed had provided, both of you were in the same designer shop this afternoon where an argument


    urred. You attempted to grab the gown that Ms. Reed had reserved but failed to do so. Therefore, we


    have reason to suspect that you held a grudge against her, so when Ms. Reed left the shopping mall,


    you got someone to snatch the dress from her. That person is the man in this picture.¡±


    ¡±No, I¡¯ve not done anything like that.¡± Anya was so anxious that her eyes turned red as she tried to


    defend herself. ¡±I don¡¯t even know this person. I admit that I met with Ms. Reed in the designer shop, and


    there was an argument, but I¡¯ll never get someone to snatch the gown from her. I¡¯m just a normal person,


    unlike Ms. Reed, who is the president of a corporation and the girlfriend of President Fuller. I don¡¯t have


    the guts to snatch her things. Doing so would be akin to digging my own grave.¡±


    ¡±This¡­¡± The officer didn¡¯t know what to say because she was right about one thing.


    It was true that those who knew about Sonia¡¯s identity would not do such a thing since doing so would be


    asking for trouble.


    Usually, those who were in their right mind wouldn¡¯t have done that.


    Maybe it was really not her doing?


    A gleam shed across Anya¡¯s eyes as she saw how the officers became hesitant about hermitting


    the crime before she broke into a smile.


    Soon after, her smile froze on her face when she heard something unbelievable.


    It was because Toby had started talking, and his tone was as cold as always, making her tremble in fear.


    ¡±Even when you knew that Sonia was my girlfriend, you dared to provoke her and tried to break us up.


    And now you¡¯re saying you don¡¯t have the guts to hire someone to snatch her things?¡±


    Immediately, her face turned pale. She stared at him and asked, ¡±President Fuller, you don¡¯t believe


    me?¡±


    ¡±Who are you to me? Why should I believe in you?¡± he replied with narrowed eyes.


    Anya stuttered, ¡±I-I-¡±


    ¡±That¡¯s enough. You can stop with false ims. I have evidence that you¡¯re the perpetrator of this crime.¡±


    Toby interrupted her impatiently.


    As soon as Anya heard the word ¡®evidence¡¯, her face twisted in shock.


    On the other hand, the officers were happy when they heard that.


    One of the officers even asked in delight, ¡±President Fuller, you have evidence?¡±


    Now that they had the evidence, the case could be solved quickly, which was good news for the officers.


    Since this case involved the loss of personal properties worth millions, it would not be beneficial for the


    officers if they dragged out the case and left it unsolved for too long.


    Anya, who was seated in her wheelchair, looked solemn when she heard the police officers¡¯


    conversation. A trace of panic could be seen in her eyes as she clenched her hands into fists under the


    table.


    Toby has evidence? That¡¯s impossible!


    Anya doubted it, but she thought that there was such a possibility because he would not have said those


    words if he did not have the evidence.


    Toby lowered his head and gazed at the straight-faced Anya. Then, he took his phone out and yed a


    voice recording.


    That was the recording of the man in the trial room confessing to his crime.


    Toby recorded it for moments like this because he had expected Anya to deny her wrongdoings.


    So, he took out the recording and yed it for everyone to hear. It would save time and effort trying to


    get her into custody that way.


    As Anya listened to the recording of the man and Sonia¡¯s conversation, her expression turned pallid.


    When the recording ended, Anya immediately screamed, ¡±That¡¯s fake. I don¡¯t even know that man. How


    could he say that I hired him? You guys must have bribed him to use me!¡±


    A few of the officers kept quiet and frowned. Then, they stared at her while deep in thought.


    Toby then pulled out a chair and sat down with his legs crossed. He expressionlessly questioned her,


    ¡±use you? What makes you think that you are worth using?¡±


    As her gaze flickered, she replied, ¡±Is it because I offended Ms. Reed at the designer shop, which is why


    you guys came up with the recording to scheme against me. You¡ª¡±


    ¡±Use a few million to get revenge on you?¡± Toby interrupted.


    Anya bit her lip when she heard that. ¡±Both of you are rich, so a few million is nothing to you¡­¡±


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    ¡±A few million is indeed nothing to us, but we wouldn¡¯t purposely use it to use you because you don¡¯t


    deserve it!¡±


    ¡±You¡­¡± She looked at him with a twisted look on her face.


    He actually said that she didn¡¯t deserve it?


    Toby didn¡¯t have the right to say that to her since she was the one who saved his life!


    However, Anya couldn¡¯t reveal it, or else she would be exposed.


    ¡±Even though it¡¯s just a few million, it was still the result of Sonia and I working our butts off to earn that


    amount of money. Therefore, you are not deserving of us to simply use you by wasting our hard-


    earned money. That would be an insult to us. Also, you mentioned that we are seeking revenge from you


    because you offended Sonia in the shop. Since you are aware that a minor fault might lead to


    vengeance, in that case, our suspicion of you snatching Sonia¡¯s gown to get revenge on her for not


    giving you what you wanted is valid.¡±


    Anya was lost for words, and her facial expression turned grim when she heard his arguments against


    her.


    Toby continued as he lifted the phone in his hand, ¡±You also mentioned that you don¡¯t know this man. If


    that¡¯s the case, how would he know your facial features? How could he have known that you were in a


    wheelchair? Does he possess any supernatural abilities? Of course, you can suspect that Sonia and I


    had colluded with him, but there were cameras in the interrogation room which had recorded our whole


    conversation. The answer to whether we have conspired with him could be revealed with the recording,


    but I can guarantee you that we did not.¡±


    As he spoke, he gave one of the police officers a look.


    With a nod, the officer replied, ¡±I¡¯ll retrieve the recording.¡±


    With that, he started tapping on the keyboard. The next moment, the video recording appeared on the


    big screen in the interview room.


    The video was ten minutes long, which was the duration where Toby and Sonia were allowed to remain


    in the room.


    Everyone was focusing on the video that was ying on the big screen.


    Only Anya felt anxious as her face gradually started paling into a sickly shade.


    Toby observed Anya¡¯s reaction instead of watching the video.


    As the video continued, his gaze darkened into a terrifying abyss when he noticed how distressed she


    was.


    She could feel his gaze on her, and their eyes met when she looked up.


    At that instant, she felt an invisible force seizing her soul, and it was suffocating.


    Just that one nce was enough to show her a glimpse of purgatory.


    He¡¯s terrifying! Oh, God, he¡¯s scary!


    As she trembled, she quickly looked down as she feared to make any eye contact with him.

 Chapter 863

    Chapter 863


    Chapter 863 Unable to Argue


    She feared that if their gazes met, she would have to experience the terrifying situation again.


    Since the others focused on the video recording, they did not notice Toby and Anya¡¯s little interaction.


    Ten minutester, the video ended.


    Soon after, everyone¡¯s attention was back on Anya. Whereby the atmosphere became severe again.


    The video recording didn¡¯t contain any portion indicating that Toby and Sonia conspired with the man.


    Such an illustration meant that the statement given by the man about him being hired by the woman in


    the wheelchair was the truth.


    Anya was the woman in the wheelchair and the one who snatched Sonia¡¯s gown in the shop.


    In that case, it was apparent who the real culprit actually was. It was Anya.


    ¡±Ms. Steinfeld, is there anything more you¡¯d like to say?¡± the officer asked Anya sternly with a pen in his


    hand. Anya was terrified as she clenched her hands into fists, unable to say a single word in her


    defense.


    What more could she say?


    Now that she knew that her wrongdoings had been exposed, she would look like a joke if she continued


    arguing.


    What she didn¡¯t expect was how useless the man was. He confessed to everything after being tortured


    by Toby.


    Didn¡¯t he care about his girlfriend at all?


    The officers stopped questioning her since they had solid proof on hand when she remained silent.


    Moving forward, they would prepare a case summary and other relevant procedures, including


    deciphering Anya¡¯s motive and letting her sign some documents, among other things.


    However, Toby suddenly spoke, ¡±I¡¯m afraid this case isn¡¯t as simple as a robbery and the malicious acts


    that resulted in personal property damage.¡±


    The officers drafting the records immediately stopped their work on hand and stared at him when he


    suddenly spoke up.


    ¡±President Fuller, what do you mean by that?¡± one of the officers inquired.


    Toby pursed his thin lips and responded, ¡±As you all have seen in the video recording, this is the first time


    she used an innocent person to threaten the man. This action involves the use of threats and


    intimidation, which is uwful. Secondly, as this is the first time she hired that man, how could she


    complete a background check on that man in such a short time frame? This illustrates that someone with


    considerable influence backs her. Finally, her identity isn¡¯t as simple as you think. Her information


    registered in the census is fake. All of you should suspect why she faked her identity. Could it be


    because she¡¯s a spy?¡±


    As soon as they heard what Toby said, they were stunned, and their expression was solemn.


    Indeed, they wouldn¡¯t have thought of it if not for President Fuller¡¯s reminder.


    They really should investigate her. If she were a spy, they would have done an excellent job stopping her


    from executing her actions.


    Even if she wasn¡¯t a spy, hiding her true identity seemed suspicious as people normally wouldn¡¯t do so.


    Or was she a wanted fugitive?


    Anyhow, they would have to look into Anya¡¯s background thoroughly since they would be held


    ountable if anything happened.


    Anya, situated on the other side of the table, felt like white noise filled her mind; it was as if there was an


    explosion as she listened to Toby exposing her identity. Almost immediately, an incredible feeling of fear


    fell upon her, making her breathe out in short gasps while it caused her to lose all color on her face


    simultaneously.


    Toby knew that her identity was fake. But, was he also aware that she¡­


    As Anya thought of that possibility, she felt a wave of despair.


    Initially, she thought that she had done an excellent job hiding her identity. She never thought that Toby


    was able to realize that her identity was fake based on the information that he obtained.


    At this moment, Anya regretted it.


    She regretted being hot-headed to the point where she hired someone to snatch the gown just to get


    back at Sonia. Since she couldn¡¯t get the dress, she couldn¡¯t stand the thought of someone else having


    it. That was the reason why she ruined the gown.


    If she hadn¡¯t done that, Toby wouldn¡¯t have realized her fake identity.


    Toby felt more confident that she was hiding her true identity when he saw how distressed she became.


    The only thing that he didn¡¯t know was her real identity.


    A few of the officers had the same feeling as Toby and immediately resumed their line of questioning


    about her true identity.


    ¡±I won¡¯t say it.¡± Then, she raised her head and spoke through gritted teeth as she looked at the police


    officers plus the expressionless Toby.


    When they heard her deration, the police officers frowned.


    However, Toby didn¡¯t give any reactions as her answer was within his expectations.


    ¡±You won¡¯t say?¡± The police officers were dissatisfied with her reply.


    Finally, one of the hot-tempered officers mmed his hands on the table and scowled, ¡±Do you think that


    you can get off the hook just by staying quiet? Let me tell you. You are in a police station. You better tell


    us the truth, or else¡­¡±


    ¡±Or else what? Are you going to extort confession by torturing me?¡± Anya scoffed.


    ¡±What kind of attitude is this?¡± The ill-tempered police officer mmed the table again and jumped to his


    feet.


    Anya was only scared of Toby but not of the other police officers. She said derisively, ¡±I¡¯m indeed the


    suspect, but before the trial, I have the right to remain silent until mywyer is here.¡±


    The police officers were rendered speechless by her daring.


    Indeed, what she said was valid, and thew held them ountable.


    However, her behavior did not surprise Toby. For someone who could have faked an identity, she


    wouldn¡¯t confess that readily even though she was exposed.


    If she easily confessed, that would make things even more suspicious.


    ¡±Since she wants to hire awyer, let her be. It¡¯s alreadyte into the night, and thewyer probably won¡¯t


    come, so let¡¯s wait till tomorrow. I want to know about the truth tomorrow,¡± Toby said coldly while staring


    at the distressed Anya.


    The police officers looked at the time; it was almost four in the morning.


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    During this time, they couldn¡¯t proceed with the investigation as the officers from the morning shift would


    be starting their shift soon. That was why they could only resume in the morning.


    After some consideration, one of the senior police officers looked at Anya and said, ¡±Ms. Steinfeld, you


    can¡¯t leave the police station since you are currently one of the key suspects. We¡¯re sorry for the


    inconvenience.¡±


    Anya¡¯s eyes lowered as she remained reticent.


    She was well aware of the situation. No matter what she said, she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the police


    station.


    Toby left the interview room without a backward nce at her.


    Once he was outside, he gave instructions to the police officers who exited the room after him. ¡±Please


    keep a close eye on the suspect and report to me immediately if anything happens.¡±


    ¡±Yes, President Fuller,¡± they replied.


    Toby merely nodded and quickly walked toward the lounge without saying anything.


    Sonia was still sleeping without realizing that Toby had already returned from meeting Anya.


    He walked to the front of the couch and squatted to look at Sonia, who was sleeping soundly. He gave a


    slight smile as he gently removed the nket on her before carrying her in his arms and walking out of


    the room.


    Along the way, the police officers looked at them, especially the female officers who were envious of


    Sonia. Not long after, they left the police station.


    When Sonia woke up, it was already morning.


    The bright light overwhelmed her as she opened her eyes.


    As she felt ufortable, she frowned and closed her eyes. Then, when she was finally ustomed to


    the lights after a while, she opened her eyes again.


    As she looked at the familiar ceiling, the bed she was on, and its counterpane, she was confused and


    dazed.


    What¡¯s going on?

 Chapter 864

    Chapter 864


    Chapter 864 Toby Was Wronged


    Thest thing Sonia remembered was being in the police station. So, she didn¡¯t understand why she was


    in her own room at this moment.


    She rubbed her brows and tried to recollect as to how she returned but failed to do so. Then, she turned


    her head and looked at the French window in her room.


    Even though the sun was not out yet, it was dazzling outside.


    At this moment, the only thing she could remember was the police station that she went tost night. So,


    what¡¯s the time now? When she thought about it, she stopped staring at the French window and looked


    at the bedside table.


    Her phone was on the table as usual. When she noticed it, she turned her phone over so that the screen


    was facing it upward and grabbed the device to check the time. As soon as she saw that it was 8.30AM


    on the screen, she gasped in surprise. What? It¡¯s already 8:30AM.?!


    Suddenly, she recalled what had happened yesterday night in the police station. She felt sleepy and


    Toby had asked her to lean on his shoulder for a nap.


    After she agreed to his suggestion, Sonia fell asleep and couldn¡¯t remember anything after that at all.


    It was obvious that she hadn¡¯t woken up since then, which meant that she had slept until now and had


    missed the chance to confront Anya.


    But if she wasn¡¯t there, who was confronting Anya then? Was it Toby or the police?


    While Sonia was thinking, she heard footsteps resonating from outside the room all of a sudden. She


    quickly put down her phone and turned her head to look at the door.


    At the next moment, the door was opened and a tall figure entered the room with a ss of water in his


    hands. As expected, it was Toby.


    He was not in his usual smart and tidy suit but was in hisfortable home wear instead. His off-white


    casual wear made him appear gentler and approachable than usual.


    Once Toby entered the room, his eyes met Sonia¡¯s immediately and he was left startled. Obviously, he


    didn¡¯t expect her to be awake when he came in to check on her.


    Almost immediately, he pulled himself together before putting on a little smile. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake.¡±


    Sonia replied affirmatively when she heard him. Then, she held her hands together tightly on the nket


    and asked, ¡°Toby, did Anya go to the police stationst night?¡±


    ¡°She did.¡± He sat by the bedside with the ss of water in his hand.


    When Sonia heard that, she stared at Toby and questioned him, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up then?


    Didn¡¯t I tell you to wake me up when she arrived?¡±


    He was aware that he was in the wrong, so he cleared his throat and answered, ¡°You were sleeping so


    soundly with such an adorable face that I just couldn¡¯t bear to wake you up.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± She furiously rolled her eyes at him as soon as she heard that. However, she didn¡¯t expect him


    to take that as a reason to not wake her up. Before this, she had thought he didn¡¯t wake her up because


    Anya didn¡¯t show up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Here, have some water.¡± When he noticed that she was enraged, he immediately


    handed over the ss of water he had prepared for her and said coaxingly.


    At that moment, Sonia actually felt parched. She looked at the ss of water in front of her and then at


    Toby, who made it rather evident that he was trying to get on her good side. Then, all of a sudden, the


    anger inside her dissipated at once.


    However, she still pretended to re at him before she took the ss to drink the water.


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    It seldom rained during the winter in Seafield, which caused the air to be rtively dry. So, even though


    the humidifier was on the whole time, her throat would still be dry whenever she woke up in the morning.


    Usually, she would put a ss of water at the bedside before she went to bed, so she could have some


    water as soon as she woke up the next morning. But she fell asleepst night, which obviously meant


    that she couldn¡¯t prepare the water for herself.


    It was so sweet of Toby that he took the initiative to prepare the water for her as soon as she woke up.


    So, with that in mind, how could she be angry with him?


    After Sonia finished the ss of water, she handed the ss back to him and asked, ¡°Now, tell me. Anya


    went to the police stationst night, right? What happened next?¡±


    At this moment, Toby was holding the ss in his hands and noticed that there was some water left in


    the ss. For a few seconds, he stared at the ce where her lips had just touched the ss, and then


    without warning, he put his lips at the same ce before raising his head to finish the water.


    As soon as she noticed his actions, she couldn¡¯t help blushing. Oh, this man. Indirect kisses so early in


    the morning? She didn¡¯t know what to say about his shamelessness.


    When Toby finished the water, Sonia tugged his arm softly. ¡°Tell me.¡±


    After he put down the ss, he chuckled and replied, ¡°I met Anya when she arrived, and she just kept


    denying and arguing. However, after she listened to my recording of what the man in the interrogation


    chamber had said, she finally admitted to her crimes.¡±


    When Sonia heard that Anya had admitted to her doings, she smiled at once. ¡°Oh great! But, hold on¡­¡±


    She paused for a moment, then looked at Toby. ¡°You were recording our conversation in the trial room?


    Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°Before we entered the trial room, I had already started the voice recording in secret. Since there were


    police around us, I didn¡¯t have the chance to give you a heads up, so I just didn¡¯t tell you,¡± Toby


    answered honestly.


    Sonia could understand why he didn¡¯t want to let her know. It was because nobody was allowed to


    record in the police station without permission, regardless of whether they were the intiff or the


    defendant. Therefore, even when Toby had some influence, he still had to do it secretly since it was


    against the national regtions.


    ¡°Were the police disgruntled when they saw you take out the sound recording?¡± she asked while staring


    at him.


    When he heard that he chuckled a little and replied, ¡°So what if they were? I had already recorded it, and


    with my status, they could only let it slide.¡±


    The police officers would have definitely stopped him if they had found out about it before he started


    recording. Since he had already done it, what else could they do? So, in the end, they could only turn a


    blind eye to his misdemeanor. Besides, he had helped with the case, so it was just easier for them to let


    things slide.


    Sonia covered her mouth and giggled as she saw his proud face. ¡°You¡¯re really quite something. So, did


    the police talk about how they will handle Anya¡¯s case?¡±


    ¡°Nothing for now.¡± Toby shook his head and his expression became serious. ¡°If she were an ordinary


    person, the police would have already charged her for her offense after she admitted to it, but it¡¯s not so


    easy this time. They need to investigate her real identity first before handling the case together with that.


    Even I can¡¯t change this procedure.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s understandable since we still don¡¯t know who she really is. Why would a


    normal person forge their identity anyway? Who knows whether she was a spy or a fugitive? So, it¡¯s


    normal for the police to handle this case carefully.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re so understanding about this.¡± Toby stroked her hair. ¡°But there¡¯s no need to worry.


    Things won¡¯t end well for her.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia nodded with a sigh. ¡°But it¡¯s so sad that those two dresses have gone to waste.¡± They


    cost a few million and were gone just like that¡ªall because a crazy woman with a grudge wanted to let


    off steam after not getting what she wanted.


    Even if Anya were topensate for the dresses, it wasn¡¯t going to happen now. Sonia would have to


    wait until Anya¡¯s identity came to light and it was only after Anya¡¯s trial could she receive the


    compensation. That would be a long process.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Toby looked at Sonia with a little smile. ¡°I¡¯ve already instructed Tom to prepare a new dress for


    you in the morning. It¡¯s different from your previous one, but it¡¯s surely better. You won¡¯t reject me again


    this time, will you?¡±


    He lowered his head and put his forehead against hers.


    When Sonia heard that, she sighed. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m broke now.¡± She couldn¡¯t afford another dress


    but didn¡¯t want to rent one either.


    If she attended the banquet in a rented dress, it would mean that she had disrespected the party¡¯s host.


    She was not that foolish or crazy to pull such a stunt. So, she had no choice but to ept Toby¡¯s gift


    now.


    ¡°Who said you¡¯re broke?¡± Toby lightly pinched her nose. ¡°My money belongs to you. It¡¯s just that you


    don¡¯t see it that way. Grandma even asked me if I ever bought or gave you anything. I said I did, but you


    didn¡¯t ept them and kept rejecting me. Despite beingpletely honest, she didn¡¯t believe me and


    even scolded me for being stingy.¡±


    As he spoke, he began to sulk a little as he felt utterly wronged by his grandmother¡¯s lectures.

 Chapter 865

    Chapter 865


    Chapter 865 Mr. Fuller is Always Nice


    Sonia noticed the change in his expression and became a little embarrassed. After all, it was


    understandable for Toby to feel aggrieved in this matter.


    Not only did he give her presents, like clothes, essories, flowers, and many more, but he also wished


    he could provide her with the best of the best. It was especially so during the period of time when they


    just got back together; he wanted to send her gifts nearly every day.


    However, she felt apologetic toward him since she couldn¡¯t give him anything of equivalent value in


    return if she epted the gifts. Therefore, she felt that his gifts were like a burden on her chest, so


    instead of receiving the presents graciously, she rejected all of them.


    After he noticed how insistent she was on refusing his gifts, Toby restrained himself and did not shower


    her with gifts as maniacally as before. Sonia even heaved a sigh of relief at his change of behavior.


    That was why she really didn¡¯t know Grandma scolded him for being a stingy partner. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t


    know that.¡± She lowered her head apologetically.


    When Toby heard that, he replied while ruffling her hair, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I wasn¡¯t ming you. I understand why


    you didn¡¯t want to ept my presents, but it¡¯s not as serious as you think. We¡¯re a couple, and we¡¯ll get


    married sooner orter, which makes us the closest people to each other in this world. So, you can


    ept whatever I give you without feeling pressured because they¡¯re just tokens of my love. Actually,


    whenever you rejected the gifts, I would always think that I didn¡¯t do enough, and that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t


    want to ept them.¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°I just¡ª¡±


    ¡°I just¡­¡± Toby cut her off. ¡°I just couldn¡¯t help thinking this way at times, but I know the real reason for


    your rejection. I just hope that you can loosen yourself a little and ept some of my presents because


    they alle from my heart. Can you do that? ¡±


    He stared at her with his eyes full of anticipation. When Sonia his pleading eyes, she couldn¡¯t help but


    reflect on her own actions. Was it really a mistake to reject all of his gifts?


    Her heart wrenched a little at the thought of his disappointed look whenever she rejected his presents or


    refused his help.


    At this thought, she tried to put herself in his shoes. How would she feel when she happily prepared the


    best gift for her loved one, but he rejected it without even looking?


    She would definitely not be happy about it. Her first thought would be, was he giving her the cold


    shoulder? Was the present not good enough? In any case, she wouldn¡¯t be exactly a happy camper after


    that.


    After Sonia gave it a good thought, she looked at Toby. She finally realized that her actions had hurt him


    and that she had made a mistake.


    Finally, she shed him a smile and nodded. ¡°Fine. From now on, I won¡¯t reject everything. Whatever it is


    from you, I¡¯ll love it and consider epting it. But only if it¡¯s not too costly.¡± As she still couldn¡¯t afford to


    return him a gift of equivalent value.


    When he heard her decision, he answered with a smile, ¡°Okay.¡±


    In fact, what Toby wanted to say was that, based on his background, all the presents that he bought were


    not expensive in his eyes. After all, he had the money.


    However, it was different for Sonia; the presents were indeed costly in her eyes.


    In the future, he would need to consider the price before buying anything for her. But everything would be


    fine after they tied the knot.


    After they got married, he could give her anything, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to reject him since they


    would be a family.


    She was rejecting the gifts because she felt they were not a married couple and were just partners who


    could separate at any time, so she couldn¡¯t ept them easily.


    All these problems could be solved effortlessly when they were married. But speaking of getting


    married¡­


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered, and he looked at Sonia with a thoughtful gaze. Would she agree to it if he asked


    her to marry him as soon as possible?


    She blinked and asked curiously when she noticed his odd gaze, ¡°What is it?¡±


    However, he only shook his head and answered, ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just happy.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± she asked while looking at him.


    When he heard that, he smiled. ¡°Happy that you finally came around to epting my presents and not


    simply rejecting them.¡±


    Embarrassed, she stuck out her tongue a little and apologized, ¡°Sorry. I wasn¡¯t aware that my rejections


    could affect you. Although,e to think of it now, I was behaving rather selfishly.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°It was also my problem that I always wanted to give you something, which


    put some pressure on you. So, we were both at fault.¡±


    Sonia smiled after listening to his reply. ¡°Then, let¡¯s change that habit together, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Then, he held the back of her head with a hand as he gently pulled her toward himself


    before lowering his head to kiss her on her forehead.


    Then, she leaned on his chest and smiled. ¡°Oh, right! The dress that you prepared, where is it from? The


    CEO of that party likes the dresses from Reign Designs.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why the dress that I prepared is also from them. I¡¯m your boyfriend. Of


    course, I wouldn¡¯t be a hindrance to you.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Sonia hit his chest, displeased. ¡°Who said you¡¯re a hindrance to me? You¡¯re much more influential


    and smarter than me. If anyone¡¯s the ¡®hindrance¡¯ in this rtionship, that would be me.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby¡¯s expression turned a little serious. ¡°I¡¯m the one who chose you. Before we were together, I¡¯d


    already pictured what our future would be like. So, I¡¯ve never taken you as a burden. You shouldn¡¯t feel


    this way. Got it?¡± He looked at her with a stern face.


    For a few seconds, Sonia was startled by his stare. After that, she smiled and replied, ¡°Okay. I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s better.¡± His expression returned to normal only when he heard her affirmative answer. Then,


    he continued, ¡°I know you ordered the dress from Reign Designs because you wanted an opportunity to


    get close to Madam Llyod. So, of course, I would also prepare the dress from them. It¡¯s from the same


    designer too. I¡¯ve asked her to re-design your dress and my suit and speed up the production. The dress


    will be here before the banquet starts. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Actually, it wouldn¡¯t take more than a few words for Toby to connect Sonia to Madam Lloyd. Even if he


    didn¡¯t say anything, Sonia could just go and tell her that she was Toby¡¯s girlfriend, and Madam Lloyd


    would want to get to know her.


    However, he knew that Sonia didn¡¯t want it that way. She didn¡¯t want Madam Lloyd to think that she used


    her connection with Toby to get the exhibition counter. He admired her independence, but at the same


    time, he still felt a little upset when she didn¡¯t depend on him at all.


    But luckily, she epted the dress this time. So, could this be counted as Anya¡¯s good deed?


    Toby¡¯s face turned dark at once at the thought of Anya.


    When Sonia noticed his sudden burst of unhappiness, she tugged at his arm and asked, ¡°What¡¯s


    wrong?¡±


    He replied while caressing her cheek, ¡°Nothing. Just thinking about Anya¡¯s identity.¡±


    As soon as she heard Anya¡¯s name, she frowned with disgust in her eyes. ¡°Has the police found


    anything concrete on her true identity yet?¡±


    ¡°She could let the officials forge an identity for her, which means that her real identity is not that simple.


    She definitely has some connections with someone influential. So, it¡¯s quite impossible for them to be


    able to provide any results so quickly,¡± Toby exined.


    After listening to his exnation, Sonia understood the severity of her fake identity and nodded.


    Just then, he took out his phone. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    She rubbed her stomach and said, ¡°A little.¡±


    ¡°You should go wash up. Tom brought us breakfast in the morning. I¡¯ve been keeping your share warm


    all this while.¡± Toby lifted Sonia¡¯s nket and ced her slippers neatly by her bedside.


    Sonia¡¯s heart melted when she saw him doing all the work for her. ¡°It¡¯s nice having you by my side.¡±


    As soon as he heard that, he chuckled and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t I always nice to you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. You¡¯re always very nice, Mr. Fuller,¡± she agreed to his words with a grin.

 Chapter 866

    Chapter 866


    Chapter 866 As It Turns Out, It¡¯s the Salzburg Family


    Toby was on cloud nine after getting coaxed by the woman he loved. This was shown through his


    upturned lips and the slight tilt of his chin.


    When Sonia noticed his proud look, sheughed while shaking her head in amusement.


    After that, he helped her stand before she wore her slippers and left the room to go to the bathroom.


    At first, she didn¡¯t want him to help since she wasn¡¯t injured or disabled. But he insisted on it; she


    couldn¡¯t stop him and just epted his support.


    When Sonia came out of the bathroom after washing up, Toby had already prepared her breakfast on the


    dining table.


    As soon as she walked to the table, he pulled out the chair for her and tapped on it. ¡°Come sit.¡±


    When she heard that, she gave a slight hum of acknowledgment before sitting down. And then, a set of


    cutlery appeared in front of her.


    When she looked at the cutlery set handed over by Toby, Sonia raised her eyebrows a little before


    reaching out to take them. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± He sat down next to her. ¡°You should dig in. These are all yours.¡±


    As she looked at the big breakfast in front of her, a jovial smile appeared on her face.


    Just then, something came to her mind. Her hands that were holding the fork and spoon came to a halt


    as she asked, ¡°Did you have your breakfast?¡±


    With his elbow on the dining table, he rested his chin on his palm and replied to her with a nod, ¡°I did. I


    woke up early today and had my breakfast while having a video conference in your workspace.¡±


    Sonia nodded when she heard his answer and said, ¡°Okay then.¡± If he hadn¡¯t eaten yet, they could have


    had breakfast together now.


    ¡°By the way, don¡¯t you need to be at the Fuller Group?¡± she asked after biting into the sausage.


    However, he only shook his head in reply. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy for the past few days, and it¡¯s the weekend


    today, so I can rest for a day. But this will be myst rest day before year-end.¡±


    He would need to start hustling again after today, and then he could rx once Christmas was over.


    When Sonia heard that, she looked at Toby with some sympathy in her eyes. ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped.


    With such a huge family business, your responsibilities will be much heavier. You can only endure it.¡±


    Then, in pity, she patted his shoulder.


    He chuckled as he nced at her hand on his shoulder. ¡°Okay, okay. Eat up. When you¡¯re done, we


    need to go to the police station to meet Anya.¡±


    Anya had hired awyer for herself, so, of course, they needed to send awyer over to handle the case


    as well.


    As soon as Sonia heard that they were to meet Anyater, her expression became serious. She simply


    replied, ¡°Okay.¡± and quickened the speed of her hands.


    Indeed, she still needed to meet Anya. Since she didn¡¯t get to see Anya yesterday, she needed to do so


    today, by hook or by crook.


    Suddenly, a ringtone sounded and killed the mood a little. With a frown, Toby took out his phone. Clearly,


    it was his phone ringing.


    Sonia took a glimpse at the caller ID on his screen. Then, she took a sip of the milk and said, ¡°Tom¡¯s


    calling. Hurry! Pick it up.¡±


    With a nod, Toby unlocked the screen with a swipe of his thumb and answered the call, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°President Fuller.¡± Tom¡¯s voice resonated from the other side of the phone. ¡°About Anya¡¯s identity that


    you asked me to investigate yesterday, I¡¯ve found some information.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Toby straightened immediately once he heard that.


    When he picked up the phone, he didn¡¯t mind Sonia listening to their conversation, even putting it on


    loudspeaker, which obviously meant that she could hear what Tom had just said.


    The cutleries in her hands came to a halt as she transferred her focus from her breakfast to Toby¡¯s phone


    the instant she heard that Tom had found something on Anya¡¯s identity.


    When Tom heard Toby¡¯s query, he nodded, then shook his head. ¡°Just a little clue. I still can¡¯t find out her


    real identity.¡±


    Toby frowned as soon as he heard the unsatisfying result.


    On the other hand, Sonia felt slightly disappointed too, but she could understand where he wasing


    from. The person behind Anya had tried so hard to forge an identity for her. So, it certainly would not be


    easy to have the truth surfacing immediately. But, even if it was just a little clue, it was already good


    enough.


    ¡°What clue?¡± Toby asked while pressing his lips together.


    Tom¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°I discovered that Anya is connected to the Salzburg Family.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Toby¡¯s pupils contracted at once, and the air around him turned cold. ¡°Salzburg Family?¡±


    When Sonia suddenly saw him be agitated, she was confused. What about the Salzburg Family?


    But almost immediately, she remembered that the man Toby¡¯s mother was in love with was a Salzburg.


    Perhaps Anya Steinfeld is a part of the Salzburg Family? This is quite possible based on what we know


    so far about her forged identity. But I don¡¯t recall any heiresses in that family.


    Even when Sonia was not familiar with Fredburg¡¯s social circle, she still knew that there were only a few


    family members in that family. Moreover, they were well-known for having only one son in each


    generation. How could a unique family trait like that not be famous in their social circles?


    Not to mention that the head of the Salzburg Family now, Connor Salzburg, who was the true love of


    Toby¡¯s mother, had never married because he had always been in love with Toby¡¯s mother.


    In fact, 20 years ago, he was actually going to get married. But when he heard the news about Toby¡¯s


    mother¡¯s suicide, he called off the engagement and had been single since then. Therefore, he definitely


    had no children.


    If Anya really is a Salzburg, then what is her rtionship with Connor? Is she his daughter?


    Worried, Sonia looked at the man beside her. She knew that Toby always had mixed emotions toward


    the Salzburg Family.


    Connor was the man whom his mother deeply loved. But at the same time, he most probably was the


    murderer of Toby¡¯s father. So, it was normal for him to get triggered once anyone mentioned the Salzburg


    Family within his vicinity.


    At this thought, Sonia reached out her hand and put it on Toby¡¯s, which was clenched tightly into a fist.


    Then, she tapped gently on his hand tofort him.


    Toby immediately realized that she was worried, and he was startled for a few seconds before turning his


    head to look at her.


    When he noticed her concerned look, his eyes flickered, and he realized that his reaction had made her


    anxious.


    In order to adjust his state of mind, he took a deep breath and loosened the tension in his body. After


    that, he unclenched his fist and held her hand in his palm before gently squeezing her hand to let her


    know that he was fine.


    On the other side of the phone, Tom had no idea what was in Toby¡¯s mind. So, he continued earnestly.


    ¡°Yes, the Salzburg Family. I went to Mr. Coleman and requested his help to use his power to check


    whose authorization was used to alter the poption census and modify Anya Steinfeld¡¯s information. In


    the end, we tracked it back to the Deputy Chief managing the poption census, who has a connection


    with the Salzburg Family. I immediately confronted him with the evidence of him modifying the


    information in the poption census, and he came clean, telling me that the head of the Salzburg Family


    instructed him to do so.¡±


    ¡°Connor Salzburg¡­¡± Toby muttered the name under his breath, but his tone was so menacing that it was


    bloodcurdling.


    After all, there was a possibility that Connor was the murderer of Toby¡¯s father. Even though there was no


    evidence, the possibility was still high. So, naturally, Toby wasn¡¯t particrly fond of him.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the rtionship between Anya and Connor?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes dangerously.


    If Connor had personally made the order to forge Anya¡¯s identity, it would mean that their rtionship


    was not so simple. They had to be very close to each other, at least. Were they rtives? Or father and


    daughter?


    ¡°Sorry, President Fuller. I still haven¡¯t gotten there yet. I¡¯ve asked the Deputy Chief, and he said he wasn¡¯t


    sure either. He did what he did only because Connor Salzburg instructed him to do so, and the strange


    thing is that he told me that he did modify Anya¡¯s information, but he didn¡¯t forge an identity for her. He


    was just correcting her information,¡± Tom exined.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

 Chapter 867

    Chapter 867


    Chapter 867 Entering The Lion¡¯s Den


    ¡°Restore Anya¡¯s identity?¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°What does this mean? Are you saying that Anya¡¯s current


    identity isn¡¯t fake, but it might be real?


    Toby pursed his lips and did not reply.


    However, Tom, who heard what she said, nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, Miss Reed, you¡¯ve hit the nail on the


    matter. Connor told her to change her previous identification to her current one, which also happened to


    be the one I¡¯ve found before this and assumed that it had something to do with Anya.¡±


    ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± Toby asked quietly.


    Tom hummed in acknowledgment and continued, ¡°Anya¡¯s past identity was of an orphan who grew up in


    a welfare house, but she didn¡¯t go by the name Anya. Instead, she was known as Germaine Combs, a


    name that the welfare home director gave her. It was onlyter that Connor changed her name to Anya,


    and that was when you told me to investigate her.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that the Deputy Chief did not change much of Anya¡¯s identity?¡± Toby frowned.


    When Tom heard Toby¡¯s question, he nodded. ¡°Exactly. But, of course, this is just what I heard from the


    Deputy Chief himself, although I don¡¯t think he will lie. He was only following Connor¡¯s orders. We can


    only find out more about Anya¡¯s true identity from Connor.¡±


    At this moment, Toby pursed lips turned into a straight line as he fell silent.


    At the same time, Sonia looked over at him and said, ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought this would be the case?¡±


    Initially, they thought they could learn about Anya¡¯s identity from the Census Bureau.


    They never expected the Census Bureau to only help change her name while the rest of her information


    was the same as Toby¡¯s previous investigation.


    In other words, they had only managed to get the name that Anya used in the past with no clue about her


    true identity.


    The only thing they could confirm was that Anya¡¯s rtionship with Connor, the head of the Salzburg


    Family, was not simple.


    After thinking it through, Toby nodded slightly. ¡°Oh, well. I¡¯ll ask Connor myself if we can¡¯t find anything


    here.¡±


    With that, he spoke into his phone again, ¡°Alright, you can stop the investigation here. I¡¯ll get in touch


    with Connor myself.¡±


    ¡°Alright, President Fuller,¡± Tom responded.


    Then, Toby hung up and wanted to call Connor.


    Toby had never contacted Connor before, let alone met him in person.


    The rtionship Connor had with Toby¡¯s mother raised doubts within him. Hence, he had never felt the


    need to meet or reach out to Connor.


    The only exception was to discover whether Connor was behind Homer¡¯s death and if Connor was the


    mastermind behind the car ident that Toby was involved in.


    At the end of the day, if Toby found out that it was indeed Connor who was behind all of these, he would


    want to meet Connor for the first andst time. After all, Connor was the man whom Toby¡¯s mother had


    loved the most.


    However, if Connor wasn¡¯t behind this, or if there was no factual evidence, Toby would choose never to


    meet this man because the man repelled him.


    Yet, Toby did not expect that he would have to reach out to Connor so early.


    When Sonia saw the frown on his lips, she chewed on hers before asking, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± He looked at her in puzzlement, as if he did not understand her meaning.


    She then pointed at the phone and asked again, ¡°Is it really okay for you to call Connor? I¡¯m sure you


    don¡¯t want to speak to him now, do you?¡±


    No child would have a good impression of their mother¡¯s lover.


    Moreover, this man might be the mastermind behind his father¡¯s death.


    Naturally, Sonia was a little concerned for Toby.


    When he saw the worry in her eyes, he immediately understood why she was worried. His heart softened


    as he replied seriously, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯d have to face him sooner orter. It is just sooner than I expected.


    I¡¯m also curious about how he will react when he hears my voice. Maybe I could decipher how he feels


    about me from his reaction.¡±


    After all, he was the son of Connor¡¯s love rival. If Connor hated Toby, Connor would definitely hate


    Homer as well. That would naturally give rise to the possibility of Connor plotting both Homer¡¯s death and


    Toby¡¯s car ident.


    After all, not everyone would love everything that came with their lover¡¯s life. Those who could love their


    lovers¡¯ children were rare.


    Sonia was at a loss for words when she realized that Toby was putting Connor to the test and nodded.


    ¡°Alright, then. I will be here to support you, no matter what you do.¡±


    At the end of the day, she knew that Toby had always wanted to know who killed his father and to


    avenge his father¡¯s death.


    Since this was him trying to eliminate possible suspects of Homer¡¯s death, Sonia wouldn¡¯t attempt to stop


    Toby from making the call.


    Toby turned to look at her and lightly touched her hair before he unlocked his phone.


    Just as he fished out Connor¡¯s phone number, which he had found in the past, and was about to make


    the call, his phone rang.


    This call came from the police station.


    When Sonia noticed Toby¡¯s darkened face, sheughed and said, ¡°It seems like God doesn¡¯t want you to


    call Connor right now. Alright, it¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s answer the call first. It¡¯s not toote for you to call him again


    once you¡¯re done with this call.¡±


    As Toby watched her sooth his ruffled feathers, he raised his chin slightly before answering, ¡°Okay.¡±


    He had no choice either way. His phone was already ringing, and he couldn¡¯t just hang up.


    Then, he rubbed his brows before answering the call from the police station.


    What was said in the call was simr to Tom¡¯s; they told Toby that they had found some leads on Anya¡¯s


    identity.


    The police had also received their information from the Deputy Chief. After some cross-examination, it


    was determined that the only thing that Anya changed was her name; they discovered that she used to


    be called Germaine Combs.


    Nothing had been changed other than her name.


    They also mentioned that Anya was her real name, not Germaine.


    Besides that, the police station also knew that the Deputy Chief was following Connor¡¯s order to change


    Anya¡¯s name back to her real name.


    Therefore, they contacted the police in the capital to find out who Anya really was, and task-forces were


    sent to Salzburg Residence to question Connor.


    They believed that they would get to the end of this soon.


    After the call ended, Toby put his phone down.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help snickering as she watched all this unfold right before her eyes. ¡°I was right. God


    really does not want you to talk to Connor right now. Wait, no, you don¡¯t have to reach out to Connor. The


    police are already sending people to question him.¡±


    All this information overwhelmed Toby as he held onto his head.


    He had never expected things to turn out like this.


    However, this was a good thing. There was no need for him to walk into the lion¡¯s den.


    Since he hadn¡¯t reached out to Connor, perhaps Connor might be the one who would take the initiative to


    contact him.


    If Anya was as important to Connor as it seemed, he would definitely protect her and not let her bear any


    criminal responsibility. So, naturally, he would turn to Toby.


    After all, one of the formalwear that Anya ruined belonged to him. Connor could only save Anya if Toby


    agreed to it.


    Therefore, there was a good chance that Connor would try and call Toby.


    On some asions, there was a difference between taking the initiative to contact the other party and


    getting the other party to reach out first; the differencesy in their pride and status.


    Even if Toby were of a higher status than Connor, Toby would always be a step below Connor by taking


    the initiative to contact Connor.


    Simrly, if Connor reached out to him first, it would mean that he bowed down to Toby.


    Hence, Toby was delighted to know that Connor might reach out to him first, and at that time, Toby could


    still put him to the test.


    As he thought of this, he turned to look at Sonia and eximed, ¡°If Connor wants to protect Anya, he


    would most likely try to reach out to you first before calling me. When he does that, don¡¯t be afraid to tell


    me directly.¡±


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Connor was an intelligent man. He would definitely investigate the cause of this incident, and in order to


    save Anya, he would start with Sonia.


    After all, Sonia¡¯s status was far less superior whenpared to Connor.


    He would naturally use his position and status to get past him, put pressure on Sonia, and try to get her


    to empathize with Anya.


    The possibility of this happening was highly likely.

 Chapter 868

    Chapter 868


    Chapter 868 It Is Not Easy to Coax a Jealous Man


    Sonia immediately took Toby¡¯s advice seriously when she heard what he said and nodded in response.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t worry. I will.¡±


    There was no way she would have met Connor before he did.


    Toby had no idea how Connor was or whether he was a good or bad person.


    So, for her safety, if he really reached out to her, she would have to tell Toby.


    She shouldn¡¯t try to act tough when it came to such a dangerous man, after all.


    After that, the two stopped talking. Sonia quietly ate her breakfast with Toby by her side, who


    asionally fed her food.


    As he watched her cheeks swelling like a chipmunk while she ate, his gaze darkened, and he


    understood at this moment why people would rear pets.


    ¡°What are you thinking of?¡± She felt his gaze on him, and she turned to narrow her beautiful almond-


    shaped eyes and stared at the man suspiciously before adding, ¡°I feel like you¡¯re always having


    inappropriate thoughts.¡±


    When he heard her somewhat urate usations, he froze before quickly pushing his thoughts aside


    and replying calmly, ¡°What? You¡¯re overthinking again. Quickly eat up, or it¡¯ll go cold.¡±


    This made Sonia roll her eyes.


    What did he mean by it would go cold?


    Her food was still piping hot.


    Then, she noticed how Toby had immediately changed the subject after what she said.


    Because of this, she knew that he was caught red-handed.


    She knew that he must be having inappropriate thoughts about her as he stared her down, like a lion


    hunting down its prey.


    After all, it wasn¡¯t like Toby hadn¡¯t acted on it before.


    As Sonia thought about this, she felt her face turn red, and she quickly lowered her head a little to not let


    him discover what she was thinking at the moment.


    Otherwise, he would take advantage of the situation and say that since she must have wanted it as she


    was thinking about it, thus, he might as well make it a reality.


    In short, Toby would undoubtedly hop on this opportunity.


    When she thought about the possibility of that happening, she let out a dry cough as she quickly shook


    her head to abandon those thoughts and focus on finishing her food.


    After breakfast, the two went together to head to the police station.


    Just as they were on their way over, Sonia received a call from Zane.


    Since Tom had requested Zane toe and greet the officials in charge of Anya¡¯s case, it was


    impossible to keep things a secret from Zane.


    He would naturally want to know what had happened to Anya.


    Because of that, he had decided to call Sonia to ask.


    Toby, who was driving, was furious when he heard Zane¡¯s call.


    After all, it was Toby¡¯s men who looked for Zane. As a matter of fact, Zane should ask Tom directly if he


    wanted to know more about what happened.


    However, Zane did not do this. Instead, he bypassed Tom entirely and called Sonia.


    It was evident that he was taking this opportunity to talk to her.


    His intentions were not a secret to anyone.


    If Sonia hadn¡¯t stopped Toby, he would¡¯ve reached out to grab her phone and disconnected the call


    himself.


    Wasn¡¯t Zane¡¯s action of calling his woman in front of him an act of provocation?


    Good job, Zane, you¡¯ve sessfully pushed my buttons! Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously as his gaze


    turned cold.


    It seemed like he would have to bring some troubles into Zane¡¯s life to stop him from bothering someone


    else¡¯s woman.


    Toby drove the car gloomily while asionally ncing at Sonia, who was on the phone, in the


    passenger seat.


    Whenever he saw the phone in her hand, it made him wish that lightning would just strike it and blow it


    up.


    All this while, she could naturally feel the displeasure of the man next to him. So, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that


    he was jealous.


    Although she was a little annoyed, she found this whole situation hrious.


    It¡¯s just a phone call. So why is he jealous? Whatever, I should start coaxing him before he blows up,


    Sonia thought to herself.


    She shook her head in disbelief before saying a few quick words to Zane and hanging up.


    When Toby saw her put her phone away, satisfaction was apparent in his eyes, but his face was still


    gloomy. ¡°Are you done?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Sonia answered and nodded.


    When he heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but pursed his lips and pressed on, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you talk a while


    longer?¡±


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    Toby¡¯s jealous tone amused Sonia.


    This man was already 31 years old, an age that was so close to the midway point of his life, and yet he


    was behaving like a jealous kid due to a measly phone call.


    With this thought in mind, Sonia shook her head andughed. ¡°If I drag on a little longer, someone might


    explode.¡±


    A trace of guilt shed across his eyes as he could tell that she was talking about him, but his face


    remained indifferent as he mumbled, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Enough, stop pretending.¡± She patted his thigh helplessly. ¡°It¡¯s just a call, and I didn¡¯t even say much.


    You heard everything. Why do you have to get so jealous? Get a hold of yourself,¡± she grumbled while


    holding back herughter.


    Her words made him pout. ¡°You don¡¯t care about me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She was stunned to hear this. ¡°Did you just say I don¡¯t care about you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded seriously.


    The corner of her mouth twitched as she replied, ¡°When did I not care about you?¡±


    ¡°I told you not to answer his call, but you did it anyway. This means that you don¡¯t care about me.¡± He


    nced at her, and the look in his eyes was basically screaming, ¡®I¡¯m jealous! Make me feel better!¡¯.


    Sonia immediately held her head in her hand and whined, ¡°Toby, you¡¯re obviously finding fault in me


    when there¡¯s nothing to find.¡±


    Then, she red at him. ¡°How dare you say I don¡¯t care about you! I¡¯ve noticed how you¡¯ve turned green


    with envy when I was on the phone. I wouldn¡¯t have hung up the call so quickly if I wasn¡¯t concerned


    about you and how you might burst from jealousy. I didn¡¯t even get to thank Zane yet.¡±


    ¡°Why do you have to thank him?¡± Toby frowned at her answer.


    She rolled her eyes at him and added, ¡°You told Zane to check on the investigation with Anya. Since you


    don¡¯t want to thank him, I¡¯ll have to thank him for you. This is supposed to be your job, but you¡¯re getting


    jealous instead.¡±


    When he heard this, he became unreasonable and snorted coldly. ¡°If Zane wants to know the details, he


    could¡¯ve just called me. Instead, he chose to call you. Obviously, he has no good intentions, and you


    want me to thank him?!¡±


    There¡¯s no way he would ever thank that guy!


    Zane should consider himself lucky that Toby wasn¡¯t going after him!


    Sonia was speechless when she saw Toby¡¯s adamant face and shook her head. ¡°What other intentions


    could he have?¡±


    Finally, he stopped answering.


    What could he say? Was he supposed to tell his lover that Zane was trying to hit on her?


    He was about to burst into mes just thinking about it. How could he say it out loud?


    When she noticed that he was quiet, she did not bother to pry further. Instead, she softly added, ¡°Alright,


    you don¡¯t have to be jealous anymore. I¡¯m with you now. Nothing is going on between other men and me;


    it¡¯s just small talk. I was even on loudspeaker and speaking in front of you. So there¡¯s nothing to be


    jealous about. Besides, there are countless men in this world. Do I have to try and avoid all of them?¡±


    The only way to stop her from engaging with men would be to lock her up.


    But would he dare to do so?


    Although Toby was a little less tense after hearing what Sonia said, he remained quiet.


    As a matter of fact, he knew that nothing was going on between her and the other men.


    It was just this particr person that she was talking to. That was because he knew that Zane had other


    intentions.


    Toby wouldn¡¯t have such a big reaction if Sonia were just talking to a random stranger.


    From his silence, she had no idea what he was thinking. So, she assumed that he was still jealous, and


    she sighed before smiling. ¡°Okay, now. Don¡¯t be upset anymore. Look, I¡¯m here to coax you! Once I


    realized you were jealous, I immediately hung up the phone with Zane. You¡¯re pushing it too far if you


    continue to be upset. You¡¯ll make me angry.¡±

 Chapter 869

    Chapter 869


    Chapter 869 Toby¡¯s ssmate


    It was not a joke as Sonia was dead serious about this.


    If Toby was still upset with her even though she had tried her best to coax him, then she would definitely


    be exasperated with him. It would feel like all her effort had gone to waste, so naturally, she would not be


    happy about it.


    Toby picked up on the fact that Sonia meant what she said, so he straightened up andposed himself


    before shaking his head in response. ¡°I¡¯m not upset anymore. I¡¯m fine now.¡±


    He shot up in high alert as if he were sitting on the edge of a cliff, and Sonia could not help herself from


    feeling amused by his reaction. Of course, she could tell that he had only said so because he sensed


    that she was beginning to get a little impatient with him. It was only for the sake of not riling her up, but


    she had to give him credit for that.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re not upset, then show me a smile.¡± Sonia looked at Toby.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Toby¡¯s lips twitched into a grimace.


    She nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Not bad. I¡¯ll ept that.¡±


    Frankly, it was not much of a smile at all, but she knew him well enough to know that it was a good effort.


    He did not like to smile very much; at most, he gave a faint smile or a slight chuckle whenever he did feel


    a surge of pleasant emotions. If anyone else asked him to smile, then he would not have even attempted


    to do it at all. However, he was willing to at least try for her sake, which meant that he really did care


    about her. Therefore, she was happy to ept it.


    The atmosphere in the car finally returned to normal, as if nothing had happened at all. Since Toby did


    not bring the matter up again, obviously, Sonia did not either.


    Half an hourter, they arrived at the police station. She strode into the lobby hand-in-hand with him and


    signed their names in the visitors¡¯ log book before one of the policemen arranged for them to see Anya.


    However, it turned out that they came at a bad time, as Anya was currently in the interrogation room and


    could not be brought out to meet them.


    It was to be expected, and since the investigation took precedence, Sonia was happy to cooperate. Both


    she and Toby settled into a bench nearby. They were in no rush and were willing to wait until Anya¡¯s


    interrogation ended.


    However, just as soon as they took their seats, a man in a suit walked over to them. Sonia noticed his


    shadow on the floor, and she looked up to see an average-looking man in sses smiling at them. While


    his looks were unassuming, he had a confident air about him that made it seem like he had everything


    under control.


    He gave them a polite smile which would usually leave a good impression, but oddly enough, Sonia did


    not have a good feeling about him at all. In fact, she felt a little ufortable with him. She frowned as


    she asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Judging by his aura and the luxury brands he wore, he had to be someone of status. Sonia may not have


    recognized him, but Toby did and his expression was a little grim.


    ¡°You¡¯re Anya Steinfeld¡¯s attorney?¡± Toby spoke up and disclosed the man¡¯s identity before the man could


    answer Sonia¡¯s question.


    ¡°Attorney?¡± Sonia felt surprised, and she began to scrutinize the man in front of them. So, he¡¯s an


    attorney, huh. Well, he does look like one. It¡¯s too bad that he¡¯s Anya¡¯s attorney.


    No wonder she did not have a good first impression of him. Why would she think favorably of anyone


    who was involved with Anya?


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller. I am Miss Steinfeld¡¯s legal representative. Long time no see, President Fuller,¡± the


    man responded with a polite smile that had a hint of awkwardness to it.


    Sonia noticed the man¡¯s awkwardness as well as the grim expression on Toby¡¯s face. She was rather


    puzzled as she asked Toby, ¡°You¡¯re acquainted with him?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re acquainted. We went to university together, and he used


    to head our legal department at Fuller Group.¡±


    Her eyes grew wide after Toby made the introductions.


    University mates?


    Head of the legal department?


    She turned her startled gaze back to the man.


    The attorney was rather ill at ease and even began to seem a little distressed. He rubbed his nose


    sheepishly. ¡°It¡¯s a little embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Toby¡¯s ssmate, and you were even the head of his legal department, so how did you end up


    as Anya¡¯s attorney?¡± Sonia could not wrap her head around this.


    There was no way that an attorney would not check who he would be going up against before he took on


    a case. Details such as who the intiff was, and what kind of influence he had, were information that


    would sway an attorney¡¯s decision to ept a case. If an attorney had to go up against a powerful figure,


    then the attorney would be caught between a rock and a hard ce. Losing would be the lesser of two


    evils, but if the attorney won the case, then he would worry about the likelihood of retribution from the


    intiff.


    This attorney had to know that he was going up against both her and Toby when he agreed to represent


    Anya. Since he knew that Toby was involved, then should he not have declined to ept the case to


    avoid going up against Toby?


    It was unusual that this man took on Anya¡¯s case and became her legal representative.


    One reason could be that this attorney felt like he had no reason to be afraid of offending Toby. Or


    perhaps, he thought that his prior connection with Toby would protect him from any sort of payback?


    Sonia¡¯s thoughts were spelled out on her face and the attorney added awkwardly, ¡°About that¡­


    President Fuller would know why.¡±


    Upon hearing him say that, Sonia immediately turned to Toby. ¡°You know why?¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s a very materialistic man. If he¡¯s willing to ept Anya¡¯s case despite the


    fact that he would go up against me in a case that he¡¯s bound to lose, then it must mean that Anya


    offered him a high retainer fee.¡±


    Sonia turned her gaze back to the attorney as if she was seeking verification from him.


    The attorney quickly nodded and admitted, ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it. She made a very lucrative offer.¡±


    He had an embarrassed look on his face again as he said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m well aware of the fact that I¡¯ll just


    be going through the motions for this case. I¡¯ve gone over the file, so I have a good idea of what


    happened. My client is the one at fault. There¡¯s enough evidence to prove that, and she has even


    admitted it herself, so there¡¯s no way for me to try and fight this in court. The only reason why I epted


    this legal hot potato is because of the sum of money she¡¯s offered me. After all, why would I turn down a


    free lunch?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched a little. She was rendered speechless by his words, but somehow, he did sound


    rather convincing. If she were in his position, she might not have declined the case either. Who could say


    no to free money? Something would not be right with the person who could.


    Therefore, after hearing what the attorney had to say for himself, Sonia seemed to have understood why


    he decided to take on Anya¡¯s case.


    ¡°Surely it can¡¯t be that simple?¡± Toby had a shrewd look on his face as he spoke up. ¡°Anyone with half a


    mind can tell that this is a no-win situation since Anya is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even if she


    hired an attorney to go through the motions, wouldn¡¯t it be enough to just get any random attorney? Why


    fork out such a huge sum to hire you instead? Let me guess, did the person helping Anya hire you to get


    to me?¡±


    The attorney adjusted his sses and gave a helpless smile. ¡°I really can¡¯t hide anything from you,


    President Fuller. You¡¯ve always been a sharp observer ever since our days in university. You¡¯re


    absolutely right. Mr. Salzburg did hire me specifically because he somehow found out about our past


    connection with one another. He was willing to pay arge sum to hire me in the hopes that you would


    show mercy on Miss Steinfeld for my sake.¡±


    The attorney pointed toward the trial room where Anya currently was in.


    Sonia nced at Toby before taking another look at the attorney. Moments after that, she snorted to


    herself. Have mercy on Anya?


    Anya¡¯s mysterious helper was in for a sore disappointment if he thought that Toby would show mercy to


    anyone.


    Toby had no qualms about disregarding his rtionships with other people when it came to doing what


    he thought was right , unless the person was his grandmother, or perhaps Sonia herself.

 Chapter 870

    Chapter 870


    Chapter 870 Jealous Again


    Sonia was not exaggerating at all. Toby¡¯s affections for her ran deep, and she believed that he would do


    anything she asked him to, even if it meant letting Anya off scot-free.


    But would she ask him to do that?


    Certainly not!


    The man behind Anya was barking up the wrong tree with this n of his.


    True enough, Toby did not even have to refute the attorney¡¯s words, as the attorney himself quickly


    added, ¡°I know that it¡¯s impossible, of course. President Fuller and I might go way back, but now we


    barely have any contact with each other. He would not choose to go easy on Anya just for my sake.¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re well aware of that, then why did you ept the case anyway?¡± Sonia asked.


    The attorney had full knowledge of her rtionship with Toby, so he was very respectful to her as well.


    He smiled and exined, ¡°For the very reason I mentioned earlier, money. Mr. Salzburg promised that as


    long as I met with President Fuller and pleaded the case to him, then I would be paid 5 million.¡±


    He held up his fingers to emphasize the amount.


    Sonia gasped. ¡°5 million? That¡¯s a lot of money indeed.¡±


    The attorney nodded in agreement. ¡°Exactly! Combined with my retainer fee, I would be paid a total of


    slightly over 7 million. How could I say no to that?¡±


    Soniaughed. ¡°That may be so, but what if you didn¡¯t manage to persuade Toby? Wouldn¡¯t they take the


    5 million back?¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, no.¡± The attorney shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve asked Miss Steinfeld about this before, since I¡¯m


    thoroughly aware of the fact that my rtionship with President Fuller was not one that held any sway


    over him. I was upfront about this to Mr. Salzburg as well, so he knows that it¡¯s an impossible task, but he


    insisted on trying anyway. Since he¡¯s determined to give it a go despite knowing the odds, then I have no


    qualms about epting his money.¡±


    Sonia was beginning to admire this man¡¯s gumption. She gave him a thumbs up and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you


    afraid of losing your credibility as an attorney?¡±


    The attorney chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s a little credibility when ites to that much money?¡±


    Sonia had no response for that. His life revolved around money, and it was exactly like how Toby


    described him .


    Still, she could ept his point of view. After all, money did make the world go round.


    Both she and Toby were hard at work amassing a fortune for themselves as well. If not, why else would


    they be ving away for their respectivepanies?


    ¡°So you¡¯re here to plead clemency on behalf of Anya?¡± Finally, Toby spoke up once more, and his icy


    stare was fixed on the attorney.


    The attorney adjusted his sses and nodded. ¡°Indeed, but only for the sake of making an attempt.


    Since I did agree to take this case, then I should at least give it a try even if I know that it won¡¯t work.


    After all, I still need to do my job.¡±


    What a guy!


    Sonia stuck her thumb up for him once again as she was impressed by him.


    When Toby saw what Sonia was doing, he pursed his lips in displeasure and pulled her hand back down


    before giving her a warning look. She was not allowed to be impressed with any man other than him.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Sonia rolled her eyes in amusement, but nodded her assent. She would not be impressed with anyone


    else except for him. This satisfied Toby, so he turned back to the attorney. ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that you


    might offend me?¡±


    However, the attorney adjusted his necktie and responded confidently, ¡°I may not be close friends with


    you, President Fuller, but I¡¯d like to think that I have a fairly good understanding of you. Since you¡¯re


    certain of the oue and you know the kind of person I am, then it¡¯s unlikely that you¡¯d have a bone to


    pick with me. I¡¯m sure about this, so that¡¯s why I decided to take on this case.¡±


    Toby snorted and did not respond, but the attorney was right when he alluded to the fact that Toby would


    not hold this against him. It was the reason why Toby wasrgely unaffected by the attorney¡¯s presence.


    There was nothing that this attorney could do to change Toby¡¯s mind after all. Since this attorney was


    merely going through the motions and had no intentions of helping Anya, then there was no reason for


    Toby to begrudge him this chance to earn a sizable fee.


    Sonia nced at Toby and noticed that while his expression was a little cold, it was still fairly neutral. The


    attorney had guessed correctly, so he did understand Toby quite well.


    ¡°Since you know that Toby¡¯s not going to get offended, why don¡¯t you hurry up and make an attempt to


    plead the case on Anya¡¯s behalf? It¡¯ll be our turn to see Anya soon.¡± Sonia checked her watch and


    reminded the attorney.


    Earlier, the policeman had informed them that Anya¡¯s interrogation would take another half hour. Half an


    hour was nearly up, so the attorney needed to do whatever he intended to do now.


    Once the attorney heard Sonia¡¯s reminder, he quickly looked over to Toby. Toby had a neutral expression


    on his face, but he did not refute Sonia, so the attorney immediately got the hint. He realized Sonia was


    more important to Toby than he previously thought. After tugging at his necktie, he tapped away on his


    phone before turning to Toby with a look of utmost respect. ¡°It¡¯s my honor to meet you, President Fuller.


    I¡¯m Miss Anya Steinfeld¡¯s legal representative, and I would like to know what your stance is on this case.


    Would you be willing to settle out of court? We would do our best to meet any of your demands if both


    you and Miss Reed are willing to forgive Miss Anya Steinfeld for her actions. Would you be open to


    discussing this further?¡±


    ¡°Never, so get lost!¡± Toby remained expressionless, but his tone was icy.


    Sonia did not say anything, but she nodded in agreement to show that she shared Toby¡¯s stance.


    The attorney adjusted his sses as his expression morphed into one of disappointment. He sighed and


    added regretfully, ¡°Alright, thank you for letting me know where you stand on this. I apologize for


    interrupting you both.¡±


    Right after that, the attorney saved the audio recording and pocketed his phone. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve done my


    part. With this recording, I¡¯ll be able to im the 5 million.¡±


    When Sonia noticed the greedy look on the attorney¡¯s face, sheughed and said, ¡°This is the least


    amount of effort I¡¯ve ever seen from anyone. Isn¡¯t it obvious from the recording that you¡¯re just putting on


    a show? After hearing it, would they really be willing to pay you still?¡±


    The attorney patted the phone in his pocket and reassured her. ¡°Of course, Miss Reed. They said I would


    be paid if I made a plea to President Fuller. I did just that, and even if it was all an act, it still counts as


    making a plea. After all, our agreement did not stipte how serious I had to be about it.¡±


    Once again, Sonia was speechless. The attorney sounded too convincing, and it was impossible for her


    to refute him. Who knew he had such a glib tongue? He had to be pretty sessful in his field.


    Sonia was curious, so she decided to search him up on the web. As soon as she saw his credentials, her


    eyes grew wide and she began to see the attorney in a different light. Indeed, he was not an ordinary


    attorney at all.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Sonia had a look of marvel when she looked up at the attorney, but soon, a


    large hand covered her eyes to prevent her from giving the attorney a look of admiration.


    Toby¡¯s lips were pressed into a thin line, and he had a stormy expression on his face. He was extremely


    ufortable with the look on Sonia¡¯s face when she stared up at the attorney. Sure enough, his


    expression changed as he shot daggers at the attorney.

 Chapter 871

    Chapter 871


    Chapter 871 Constantly Getting Jealous


    ¡°What, what¡¯s the matter?¡± The attorney was bewildered as he had no idea how he had offended Toby.


    Why was Toby staring at him with such a scary expression?


    He wanted to ask what was happening, but Tobymanded with a steely tone, ¡°Get lost!¡±


    The attorney¡¯s lips twitched. It was obvious that Toby was in a foul mood, so the attorney nodded and


    rushed off.


    Sonia moved Toby¡¯s hand away from her eyes and pursed her lips in displeasure as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s


    up with you?¡±


    Toby did not reply. Instead, he cupped her face with his hands and pulled her toward him before he


    finally uttered in a low growl, ¡°Never look at another man like that ever again. You¡¯re not allowed to show


    a look of admiration to any other man, do you hear me? You can only look at me like that!¡±


    His words were dripping with jealousy, and Sonia finally realized what was happening. He was upset by


    the way she looked at the attorney earlier, and this revtion amused her.


    Sheughed without saying anything, and Toby was not satisfied with her reaction. ¡°Did you hear me?¡±


    He repeated his words as his grip grew stronger.


    Sonia hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes, yes, I heard you.¡±


    Only then did Toby let her go.


    Sonia massaged her now-reddened face and chided him. ¡°Why are you always like this? Why do you


    keep getting jealous? It¡¯s the third time today.¡±


    Toby remained silent for a while before dering, ¡°It¡¯s because I care about you and love you too much.


    When I was under the hypnosis, even though you were right beside me, I had no idea that you were the


    one I loved, and in the end, I lost you. I don¡¯t want to lose you again. You¡¯re too important to me, and I


    can¡¯t stand the thought of you paying too much attention to anyone else.¡±


    Toby was conscious of how easily he got jealous over the most inconsequential things, but he could not


    stop himself. Sonia was like a precious jewel that had once been lost to him, so now that he found her


    again, all he wanted to do was keep her by his side for good. He could not bear the thought of her


    spending her time and effort on someone else.


    Both his words and his present demeanor made it clear that he was feeling insecure, and Sonia could


    not help but sigh. He lost her once before, so he could not bear the thought of losing her again. He lived


    in constant fear that she would fall in love with someone else, because at one point in time, she had


    been deeply hurt by him, and had fallen out of love with him.


    She held his arm and sighed again. She had been the one who felt insecure about their rtionship back


    then, and now it was his turn.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Sonia rested her head on his shoulders. Her tone had softened as she consoled him,


    ¡°You¡¯re the most important person in the world to me. I might be curious about other people, but I don¡¯t


    feel anything for them, so you don¡¯t have to worry that they¡¯ll take my attention away from you. You¡¯ll


    always be the one I pay the most attention to.¡±


    Unless, if by some chance they were no longer a couple and had be strangers. If that happened,


    then she would naturally stop paying him any attention. However, there was no reason for her to say this


    out loud since it would only serve to make him even more unhappy.


    Toby¡¯s stiff expression grew a lot more rxed after hearing Sonia¡¯s words, but he still sounded a little


    upset as he said, ¡°What¡¯s there to be curious about him? Why did you look at him in admiration?¡±


    Sonia held his arm tightly. ¡°I¡¯m just curious about his credentials. What else do you think I would be


    curious about?¡±


    She looked him in the eye and added, ¡°He¡¯s nowhere near as good-looking as you, nor does he have a


    rocking body like you do, so why would I be interested in him?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips quirked up a little at Sonia¡¯s satisfactory appraisal of his looks. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±


    Sonia was scoffing at him on the inside, and her amusement was written all over her face as well.


    He¡¯s always putting on airs, but deep down inside, he¡¯s such a child. Just a little praise is enough to get


    him all excited again.


    In her heart, she secretly apologized to the attorney for putting him down when she was praising Toby.


    ¡°But why are you curious about his credentials?¡± Toby looked at Sonia, who was still resting her head


    against his shoulder. While he was thrilled by how highly she thought of him, he still wanted to get to the


    bottom of her curiosity toward that attorney.


    Sonia could tell that he was determined to find out, and her lips twitched in exasperation. Oh fine, since


    he¡¯s so curious, then I might as well let him know, or else he would never stop asking.


    She rubbed her temples and said, ¡°He seemed like a smooth talker, so I was curious to know if he was a


    good attorney. When I looked him up on the inte, I found out that he was one of the top three best


    attorneys in the country. At first, I assumed that he was just a typical greedy attorney, and I never


    expected him to be that well-known, so that¡¯s why I was surprised.¡±


    Having said that, she turned and looked Toby in the eye. ¡°By the way, since he¡¯s such a good attorney,


    why didn¡¯t you keep him in thepany?¡±


    Even though it would cost a bomb to have such a good attorney on retainer, it was still not a big deal for


    a man like Toby. Therefore, she was curious why Toby had let him go.


    ¡°He resigned,¡± Toby stated coolly.


    ¡°Whatever for?¡± Sonia did not understand it at all. ¡°If he¡¯s the head of the legal department, then you


    would¡¯ve paid him a fine sry. At the very least, it should be more than what he¡¯s currently earning on


    his own. He¡¯s such a materialistic guy, so why would he do that?¡±


    ¡°If he didn¡¯t leave, then his position would soon be reced by someone else. Rather than being


    unceremoniously dethroned, he would rather leave on his own ord. At the very least, it would sound a


    lot better.¡± Toby began toying with Sonia¡¯s hand as he exined.


    Sonia cocked her head to the side. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°It means that not only did I hire him, one of the top three attorneys in the country, I also hired the top


    attorney in the country, who is now the head of our legal department at Fuller Group.¡± Toby pressed his


    lips on her hand and gave her a soft kiss.


    Sonia was hit with a realization. ¡°So that¡¯s why. Now I get it.¡±


    If she had been in that position, then she probably would have resigned too. If someone who was better


    than her was eyeing her position, and she felt unconfident about keeping it, then she might as well resign


    instead.


    ¡°Oh, by the way.¡± A thought just urred to Sonia and she sat up straight. ¡°Mr. Woolley kept mentioning


    a Mr. Salzburg. Was he talking about Connor Salzburg?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him.¡± Toby nodded firmly.


    Sonia¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°We should¡¯ve asked Mr. Woolley what the connection between Anya and


    Connor was.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no matter. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed and glinted dangerously.


    Sonia looked over at him and was about to speak when a policeman came over. ¡°President Fuller, Miss


    Reed, you may see Anya Steinfeld now.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Sonia rushed to her feet and dragged Toby up with her. ¡°Thank you, please lead


    the way for us.¡±


    The policeman gave a courteous smile and gestured for them to follow him.


    When Sonia and Toby entered the interrogation room, they saw Anya, who was sitting in a wheelchair


    with her head lowered. Anya was unable to walk right now, so instead of cuffing her into the seat in the


    interrogation room, the policemen graciously allowed her to stay seated in her own wheelchair while they


    questioned her.


    Even so, Anya had gone through a lot in thest 24 hours, and she was not in a very good state of mind.


    It was clear that she had an awful time when she spent the night at the police station. While the police


    obviously would not use force on her, she would still be tormented by her own thoughts and emotions


    over being locked up.


    It was clear for all to see that Anya was to me for her present situation.

 Chapter 872

    Chapter 872


    Chapter 872 Toby¡¯s Overindulgent Love


    A person would crumble under such guilt, fear, and anxiety, but Sonia felt that Anya deserved what she


    was going through.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here. Miss Reed, President Fuller.¡± The police officers who were interrogating Anya


    immediately greeted Sonia and Toby once they entered the room. Toby gave a grunt of acknowledgment,


    but Sonia was a lot more polite. She gave them a smile and said, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re here.¡±


    The moment Anya heard Sonia¡¯s voice, she raised her head and fixed her eyes on Sonia with a baleful


    re. The atmosphere seemed to chill around Toby when he noticed that, but Sonia gently nudged his


    hand as a reminder to stay calm. Then, she released his hand and started moving toward Anya.


    However, when Sonia was just about to take a step, Toby grabbed her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t go over. She might


    try and hurt you.¡±


    Sonia turned around and gave him a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she doesn¡¯t have the guts to do anything of that


    sort in a police station. In any case, she¡¯s stuck in a wheelchair, so she¡¯s no match for me.¡±


    Truth be told, Sonia had every reason to be confident. She may not be as strong as a man, but she was


    definitely stronger than the average woman. Seeing as how she could easily overpower Jessica and


    come out of the fight unscathed, she was not at all worried about defending himself from Anya, who


    could not even stand up from her own wheelchair. In fact, if she took some self-defense sses, then


    she would surely be able to defeat certain men as well.


    Toby could see the confidence in Sonia¡¯s eyes, so he decided to put his worries aside and trust her


    judgment on this. He let go of her hand but still insisted, ¡°Be careful, and be on your guard.¡±


    Even if Anya was a weak opponent, there was no guarantee that Anya would not resort to any dirty


    tricks. If Sonia did not keep her guard up, then she might get hurt.


    Sonia was moved by how worried Toby was for her, so she smiled and nodded. ¡°I will. Anyway, aren¡¯t you


    right behind me? I trust that you¡¯ll keep an eye on me, and you won¡¯t let me get hurt, right?¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips curved into a faint smile. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be alright.¡± Sonia gave him a huge grin and headed toward Anya once more.


    True enough, Toby kept his eyes fixed on Sonia. His brows were tightly knitted together as he remained


    on high alert to detect any possible danger that mighte to her.


    The other police officers hadplicated looks on their faces as they watched the couple¡¯s interaction.


    Hey, show a little respect for us over here! This is a police station, and you¡¯re not on your honeymoon


    here.


    Though obviously, none of them actually voiced this out loud.


    Therefore, under Toby¡¯s watchful gaze, Sonia proceeded to approach Anya.


    Anya¡¯s hands were handcuffed together and resting on her knees, but her fists were tightly clenched. As


    soon as Sonia came nearer, Anya¡¯s fists clenched even tighter and her veins began to pop.


    It was obvious just how hard Anya was trying to suppress her anger and hatred.


    Sonia nced at Anya¡¯s tightly-fisted hands, along with her monstrous expression and venomous re,


    before snorting. ¡°You hate me?¡±


    Anya bit her lip without making a sound, but her feelings were obvious. It was clear that Anya despised


    Sonia.


    Sonia¡¯s red lips curved into a sneer, and to everyone¡¯s shock, she raised her hand and pped Anya


    right across her face.


    Smack! The sound rang out as clear as a bell.


    Anya¡¯s head was flung to one side, and she felt like it was rattling from the forceful p. She was


    dumbstruck as she clutched her cheek and stared wide-eyed at Sonia, and all the color drained from her


    face.


    It was not just Anya either. Everyone in the interrogation room had frozen as well. For a brief moment,


    the interrogation room fell into pin-drop silence, and no one spoke at all. No one expected Sonia to raise


    her hand against Anya, let alone do it so openly.


    Toby was the first to snap out of his shock. He did not think that Sonia would p Anya, so he had been


    stunned as well, but he had a faint smile once he got over the shock. He walked over to Sonia.


    After giving Anya a p, Sonia lowered her gaze and started massaging her hand. She had not held


    back at all, and she ended up exerting too much force. It felt like her wrist had strained a little, and it was


    starting to feel a little numb. She had used too much strength in that p, so the opposing force had


    done a number on her own hand.


    ¡°Let me take a look.¡± When Toby walked up to Sonia, he noticed that she was clutching her wrist. All


    signs of mirth immediately vanished from his face as checked in on her.


    Sonia stopped massaging her wrist and turned to him. ¡°Why did youe over?¡±


    ¡°I came to see if you got hurt,¡± Toby said. He pulled her hand over to take a better look at it.


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°How would I have gotten hurt? I¡¯m the one who hit her, not the other way around.¡±


    Yes, exactly!


    By now, the other police officers had snapped out of their daze as well, but they never thought they


    would hear such ridiculous wordsing out of Toby¡¯s mouth. Thankfully, Miss Reed was not as


    irrational as he was.


    She¡¯s right! She¡¯s the one who did the pping, so why would President Fuller think that she would get


    hurt?


    They were beginning to think that Toby was a little shameless.


    As for Anya, she was still clutching her face in a daze and had note out of her shock yet.


    Toby had no clue that the police officers were scoffing at him internally, and he did not even bother to


    spare them a nce. Even if he knew what they were thinking about him, he would not care either. The


    only person whose opinion mattered to him was Sonia.


    He opened up Sonia¡¯s palm and began to look at it carefully. When he saw how red it was, his brows


    creased even more.


    ¡°What, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she saw his grim expression.


    Why does he look so grim? Did something happen?


    Toby gently caressed her palm and replied in a low voice, ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t hurt. Look at


    how red your hand is.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s expression became a little stiff.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    As for the other police officers, they were dumbfounded by Toby¡¯s words as well. Earlier, when they saw


    the grim expression on his face, they reacted just like Sonia did and assumed that something serious


    had happened.


    Who would have thought that it was just a little redness?


    That¡¯s all? Isn¡¯t it just a little redness? Why did he have to startle us with such a horrible expression?


    Once again, the police officers grumbled in their hearts, but they still kept a begrudging smile on their


    faces. If it were not for the fact that Toby was an influential member of society, they would have shredded


    him to pieces for giving them such a scare.


    Meanwhile, Sonia sighed and gave Toby a look. ¡°Of course my hand would be a little red after I¡¯ve hit


    someone with it. What¡¯s so shocking about that?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°If it¡¯s this red, then it must have been painful for you as well.¡±


    Well, Sonia could not deny that. She knew her physics, so the force that she exerted when she pped


    Anya woulde right back at her too. Even now, her wrist was still a little numb, and she had been


    massaging it earlier.


    When Toby saw Sonia admitting it with a nod, he kissed her hand soothingly. ¡°Next time, you don¡¯t have


    to do this kind of thing yourself. Just ask someone else to do it so that you won¡¯t get hurt. Especially if


    you¡¯re hitting someone thick-skinned since it¡¯ll be even easier for you to get hurt when you hit them. Even


    if you can¡¯t find someone else to do it for you, then find an object to use instead so that your hand won¡¯t


    hurt.¡±


    The moment Toby said those words, the interrogation room fell silent once again. All the police officers


    stared at Toby like he was some sort of monster.


    Where¡¯s your decency, President Fuller? It¡¯s one thing to not condemn your girlfriend¡¯s actions of


    pping another person in public, but must you also start mocking the person she hit? Also, why are you


    advising her to get someone else to do it for her next time? Have you forgotten that there are police


    officers here in the room with you?


    Though, no matter how much they wereining to themselves, the police officers still did not dare


    say a word.

 Chapter 873

    Chapter 873


    Chapter 873 The Stupidest Woman


    Sonia smiled warmly as she stared at the man in front of him. He was still massaging her wrist and


    showering it with gentle kisses as his eyes shone with concern.


    How could he be so adorable?


    ¡°I¡¯m fine now. It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± By now, Toby seemed to have forgotten that they were in a police


    station and had an audience of police officers behind them. She was a little embarrassed by his overt


    disy of affection, so she hurriedly withdrew her hand to stop his barrage of kisses.


    He might go even further if she did not stop him now.


    Toby understood her well, so naturally, he figured out why she withdrew her hand from his grasp. He


    gave the police officers a warning look and reluctantly let go of her hand. ¡°Remember, let someone else


    do the grunt work for you next time. Or if you must hit them yourself, then find an object to use. That way,


    you won¡¯t hurt yourself and won¡¯t get your hands dirty either.¡±


    Sonia was amused by how serious Toby was about his advice, so she nodded and promised him, ¡°Okay,


    I¡¯ll give it a try next time.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Toby was satisfied.


    Just then, Anya finally recovered from her state of shock. She turned to face the front again, but she was


    still clutching her cheek. Her ears were still ringing, and her face felt like it was on fire. Sonia did not hold


    back at all with the p. Anya did not need a mirror to know that her face must be swollen like a balloon


    right now!


    She could feel the throbbing pain on her face, and when she looked up at the lovey-dovey couple in front


    of her, her eyes were filled with hostility. She began to tremble as she shrieked, ¡°Sonia Reed, how dare


    you hit me?¡±


    Her piercing voice echoed around the room. Both Sonia and Toby turned to look at her. Toby¡¯s eyes were


    narrowed and bloodthirsty. One look from him would be enough to strike fear into someone¡¯s heart.


    However, Anya¡¯s eyes were glued to Sonia, so she did not realize the animosity that wasing from


    Toby.


    Sonia smirked and asked coolly, ¡°Why would I be afraid of hitting you? You¡¯re staring daggers at me as if


    you¡¯re about to rip me to pieces, so naturally, I feel the urge to hit you back. Since I feel the urge to do


    so, then why shouldn¡¯t I act upon it? It¡¯s better than suppressing my feelings. Who knows when I¡¯d


    explode if I stopped myself? I wouldn¡¯t risk it just for your sake.¡±


    She observed the hand that she used to p Anya before waving it in front of her. Her smile began to


    look a little cruel as she sneered. ¡°How was it? Did you enjoy the p I gave you?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Anya red at Sonia with a fiery look in her eyes.


    But Sonia was not spooked by her at all. She lowered her hand and said, ¡°It seems like you did find it


    quite enjoyable. You can¡¯t even find the words to describe it now.¡±


    Toby had an adoring look in his eyes as he watched how Sonia toyed with Anya. Sonia looked like a


    dominatrix with a devilish penchant for teasing. She would look even more the part if she wore a leather


    bodysuit and had a whip in her hands.


    Toby¡¯s eyes darkened as he began to imagine Sonia in a leather bodysuit. His mind had formed quite the


    image, and Toby¡¯s eyes grew even darker. His breath caught in his throat, and he swallowed


    unconsciously.


    Maybe I should get a few of those outfits for her to try on.


    Toby rubbed his jaw in thought, and his eyes began to glint.


    All of a sudden, Sonia had a weird feeling and she shuddered unconsciously. She looked around her, but


    she could not find anything unusual, so she cocked her head slightly in confusion.


    That¡¯s weird, what was that feeling about?


    It felt like something hadtched itself onto her, and she did not sense any malice, but it gave her a


    peculiar feeling nheless. However, that feeling was gone once she took a look around.


    Could it have been that the interrogation room was too cold, so it made her shudder?


    That sounded quite usible, so Sonia did not give it a second thought. She turned her attention back to


    Anya, then reached out to grab Anya by the jaw before yanking hard.


    Anya groaned in pain. It felt like her face had been disfigured, and she red at Sonia in disbelief.


    ¡°Sonia Reed, how dare youy your hands on me again?!¡±


    She could not believe that Sonia dared to do this to her in front of all the police officers. The p earlier


    had been unexpected, so none of the police officers could react in time, but was Sonia hitting her again


    without being afraid of the police officers this time?


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare to?¡± Sonia yanked Anya¡¯s head up by the jaw. ¡°You keep asking for it, so I couldn¡¯t


    resist at all. Like I said earlier, if I feel the urge to hit you, then I¡¯m going to hit you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Anya¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. ¡°This is a police station!¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    So what?


    Anya threw an incensed re at the police officers in the room. ¡°Are all of you blind? Can¡¯t you see that


    she¡¯s hitting me? How can you even say you¡¯re a police officer if you don¡¯t stop her from hitting me in


    your jurisdiction?! Are you all a bunch of cowards?!¡±


    Once they heard Anya¡¯s screams, all the police officers had dark expressions on their faces, and they


    stared at Anya in silence.


    Sonia could not resist snorting out inughter. Even Toby raised his eyebrows and stared at Anya like


    she was an idiot.


    He had seen a lot of stupid people in his time, but he had never seen one as stupid as her.


    Toby was standing right there in the room with the rest of them, so naturally, the police officers would not


    try and stop Sonia from hitting Anya. Even though they were in a police station, all the police officers still


    chose to turn a blind eye.


    It was a little embarrassing for them, but they would rather not offend him. After all, he had been


    providing the police force with a lot of financial assistance. He was the one who invested in improving


    their police vehicles and police equipment. Therefore, to a certain extent, they were willing to let things


    slide.


    However, Anya did not think of this at all. Instead, she called them out for not stopping Sonia¡¯s actions


    and even went so far as tobel them cowards. There was no way they were going to step in and help


    her now.


    Either way, this was the first time that Toby had seen such a stupid person who boxed herself into a


    corner by single-handedly offending every person she possibly could.


    To make matters worse, she still did not realize what she had done.


    ¡°By the way, what time is it now?¡± Suddenly, one of the police officers spoke up.


    Another police officer made a show of checking his watch before getting up and saying, ¡°It¡¯s nearly noon.


    Time for lunch! Let¡¯s go and grab a bite.¡±


    ¡°Great idea, let¡¯s go now.¡± All the police officers nodded in agreement.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Sure enough, all of them nced at Sonia and Toby before walking out of the interrogation room.


    Both Sonia and Toby understood to look in the police officers¡¯ eyes. It meant that they were giving the


    couple carte nche to continue doing whatever they wanted to Anya but to not leave any ring signs


    of it. Sonia graciously epted their gesture with a smile.


    As for Anya, she was stunned when she saw all of the police officers leaving the room. Clearly, she still


    had no idea why they were leaving.


    Sonia noticed the stupefied look in Anya¡¯s eyes, so she asked in a taunting voice, ¡°You don¡¯t know why


    they¡¯re leaving? Well, I¡¯ll be kind just once and enlighten you. It¡¯s because you offended them.¡±


    I offended them?


    Anya¡¯s pupils began darting around, but she quickly shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! When did I ever


    offend them?¡±

 Chapter 874

    Chapter 874


    Chapter 874 Always Paying Attention to You


    Sonia smirked. She had seen her fair share of foolishness, but this really took the cake. Even now, Anya


    probably had not figured out how offensive she had been with her words earlier.


    How could anyone not find her despicable?


    Sonia gave her a mocking stare. ¡°You called them cowards, but you think you didn¡¯t offend them?¡±


    Sigh, she really did have such a soft heart. Why else would she be kind enough to remind Anya?


    Sonia¡¯s reminder sparked Anya¡¯s memory, and her face grew pale as she finally realized why the police


    officers had all left.


    So it really was because of something I said?


    Anya¡¯s eyes roamed from the door, to Sonia who stood in front of her, and to Toby who was lounging in a


    chair nearby. Slowly, her entire body began to tremble, but it was not fear that she felt¡ªit was anger.


    How could they call themselves police officers if they decided to leave her alone when they knew full well


    that both of these people were out for blood?! So what if she had offended them by her words? Was she


    wrong?


    Everything she said was the truth! They were cowards who did not even bother trying to stop Sonia from


    hurting her!


    How could they just throw a tantrum and leave like that? Shouldn¡¯t they stay and prove that they¡¯re not


    cowards by stopping these two from going any further?


    They did nothing of the sort, but instead, they chose to hold a grudge against her. How could they put on


    that uniform and call themselves police officers?


    Judging by Anya¡¯s heavy breathing and murderous gaze, it was easy for Sonia to deduce the thoughts


    that were running through Anya¡¯s mind.


    For some reason, Sonia felt like she could read Anya like a book despite having only met her a couple of


    times. Anya was one of those women who felt like the world should revolve around them. She would


    never own up to her own mistakes, and would always find someone else to me for anything that went


    wrong. The world should bow down at her feet and cater to her every whim, and if they did not, then


    something was wrong with the world while she remainedpletely faultless.


    She was exactly the same as Tina Gray. A sh of loathing flitted across Sonia¡¯s eyes as she thought


    about that woman.


    Tina Gray had ruined Sonia¡¯s marriage and even attempted to take her life several times. No matter how


    good-tempered Sonia was, there was no way that she could tolerate Tina¡¯s existence. Sonia had sworn


    to get even with Tina once she found her. In all likelihood, Tina would be given the death sentence for all


    the times she tried to take Sonia¡¯s life. The only problem was they had no idea where Tina was right now!


    Sonia threw a derisive look at Anya andmented at her own unlucky streak. She thought that her


    encounter with the abominable Tina Gray was enough to use up her allotment of bad luck in life, but who


    knew that she would still run into Anya, who was shaping up to be Tina Gray 2.0.


    She was starting to wonder if she had somehow been born a ma for heinous people. Why were


    there so many despicable people around her?


    Of course, she had to be a ma for kind people as well. After all, were there not many people around


    her who lent her a helping hand?


    The more she thought about it, the happier she felt, and she had a faint smile on her face.


    However, in Anya¡¯s eyes, it was a taunting smile that was mocking her. Sonia wasughing at her own


    stupidity for offending the only people who might have helped her.


    But so what if she had offended them all?


    How dared Sonia at her?!


    ¡°Stop that. Don¡¯t you dareugh at me! Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Anya stirred into a frenzy and hollered at Sonia


    with a vicious tone as she red at her with venomous eyes.


    Sonia¡¯s smirk reminded Anya of those few months she had suffered under that person. That person


    spoke to her scornfully and treated her derisively. She had been humiliated, and her pride trampled into


    the ground, so she despised anyone who treated her in the same way. Sonia¡¯s mocking only served to


    strike a painful chord in her.


    As for Sonia, she had not anticipated Anya¡¯s blow-up at all. The madness in Anya¡¯s eyes was pretty


    scary, but Sonia was not afraid of her. Anya was handcuffed to her wheelchair, and no matter how hard


    Anya trashed about, it was impossible for her to even get out of the wheelchair. Therefore, no matter how


    scary Anya seemed to be, there was nothing for Sonia to be afraid of. She was merely puzzled by Anya¡¯s


    explosive reaction.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is there something wrong with my smile? Why should I stop smiling?¡± Sonia


    responded coolly.


    Toby had not said anything, but he was deep in thought as he observed Anya.


    Anya red at Sonia and announced through gritted teeth, ¡°I forbid you to smile! No one is allowed to


    smile like that in front of me!¡±


    ¡°No one?¡± Sonia narrowed her eyes. ¡°And just who might you be, bigshot? Who are you to set the rules


    for whether or not a person can smile in front of you? Hah. So what if I want to smile? What can you do


    about it?¡±


    As Sonia spoke, she moved closer to Anya and shed Anya a brilliant grin to rile her up. Even without


    Anya misconstruing anything, it was obvious to everyone that this grin was full of condescension and


    derision.


    Indeed, right at this moment, Sonia felt nothing but condescension and derision toward Anya.


    It was important for people to have self-awareness, but Anya did not. She even tried to be all high and


    mighty, demanding that other people lived by her rules.


    Hah! She has zero self-awareness. If she¡¯s so great, then why doesn¡¯t she just snap her fingers to get


    her way?


    Sonia rolled her eyes at Anya. This was the exact reason why Sonia felt nothing but condescension and


    derision toward her.


    Meanwhile, Toby was very amused as he watched how Sonia continued to toy with Anya. She was like a


    predator teasing its prey. There was a gentle smile on his face that was full of adoration, but he looked a


    little thoughtful as well.


    Toby knew that Sonia was not the kind of person who would kick a dog when it was down, or tease


    others this way. Even if it were her enemy, she would still choose not to stoop to their level.


    It had been the case with Jessica. Once Sonia had gotten her revenge against Jessica, she left Jessica


    to rot in prison without sparing her a second look. Sonia had never done this to anyone before, and she


    was going so far as to mock Anya time and time again.


    He could not figure out why she was behaving so differently this time. However, Toby assumed that she


    was doing it because she truly despised Anya, and he was willing to support anything she did as long as


    it did not put her in a dangerous situation. In fact, he was rather enjoying how lively she looked right now


    as she continued to toy with Anya.


    Therefore, he fully supported whatever she wanted to do.


    In any case, Anya was no saint either. If Sonia had fun teasing her, then at least there was some value to


    Anya¡¯s existence. Toby crossed his legs and settled into afortable position. There was the barest


    hint of a smile on his face, and he looked like a king who was surveying his court.


    However, his eyes alight as he stared at Sonia.


    Sonia seemed to have noticed the adoring eyes that were fixed upon her. She turned back and smiled at


    Toby to let him know that she was still aware of his presence in the room. She had not forgotten about


    him in the midst of her fooling around with Anya.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    After all, she was fully aware of just how much of a green-eyed monster he was. It did not matter if it


    were men or women, he would still stew in jealousy if she paid anyone else too much attention.


    True enough, when Toby saw Sonia turning around to look at him, his heart began singing with glee.


    Sonia could almost envision a fluffy tail sticking out from behind him and wagging about excitedly. Toby


    acted like a giant puppy sometimes. Sheughed and shook her head before turning back to Anya.


    Anya could not care less about the couple¡¯s flirtatious interaction. Or to be more specific, Sonia¡¯s taunting


    was like a knife that wedged deeply into her heart, so what was a little flirting inparison to that?


    ¡°Sonia Reed! Sonia Reed!¡± Anya¡¯s hands were twisted together as she shrieked Sonia¡¯s name.


    Sonia picked up on the intense hatred in Anya¡¯s voice, and her smile slowly faded into an emotionless


    expression.

 Chapter 875

    Chapter 875


    Chapter 875 The Enmity Between Us


    ¡°You really despise me, huh.¡± There was not a shred of emotion in Sonia¡¯s voice.


    Toby was also frowning in displeasure at Anya¡¯s disy of hatred toward Sonia. It was a shockingly


    deep-seated hate. Anyone who did not know the truth about the situation between them would have


    thought that Sonia had done a great wrong against Anya, such as killing her parents. Otherwise, it was


    impossible for Anya to feel such abhorrence toward Sonia over the two times that they had shed with


    one another.


    Truth be told, the enmity between Sonia and Anya was not quite earth-shattering, but it was still a serious


    matter. It was within reason for Anya to hate Sonia for sending her to prison, but it should not be such an


    all-consuming hatred. The way Anya acted made it seem like she and Sonia were mortal enemies.


    They hardly knew each other, and Sonia held no such grudge against Anya either, so why did Anya feel


    such an intense loathing toward Sonia? Was it merely because of Anya¡¯s own personality that amplified


    her hatred, or was there some other reason?


    Toby narrowed his eyes and stared at Anya with an indecipherable expression.


    However, Sonia did not notice the change in Toby¡¯s expression. She kept her gaze even as she looked


    into Anya¡¯s loathsome eyes, and she sneered. ¡°Look at you now. You¡¯re brimming with hatred and you


    look like you¡¯re going to tear me to pieces! But I don¡¯t get it. What gives you the right to hate me?¡±


    Sonia reached out to grasp Anya¡¯s jaw again before jerking her head upward to stare right into her eyes.


    ¡°In the past, we never met before. If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that you jumped out in front of my lover¡¯s


    car, then we never would have met either, and we would have had nothing to do with each other.¡±


    When Toby heard the word ¡®lover¡¯e out of Sonia¡¯s mouth, he immediately jumped with glee. He sat


    up straight and began to gloat.


    It was something that he had to gloat about! Sonia had never introduced him to anyone else ever since


    they got back together. Even though most people already knew about their rtionship, having a proper


    introduction still made a difference. This was the first time that she openly dered their rtionship, and


    she even used the word ¡®lover¡¯ instead of ¡®boyfriend¡¯.


    Lover was a lot more intimate than boyfriend. Toby could not hide his smile as he dwelled on this


    thought.


    However, both Sonia and Anya had no clue about the thoughts that were running amok in Toby¡¯s head.


    They continued staring at one another. Sonia gripped a little harder, and instantly, Anya felt a stinging


    pain on her face.


    Sonia was not at all concerned about Anya¡¯s wellbeing. She clutched Anya¡¯s jaw tightly and said, ¡°When


    we first met, you tried to steal my man away from me. I demanded that you apologize, but you made a


    huge fuss about it and your apology was full of snide contempt. Did you think I hadn¡¯t noticed that? Of


    course I did. I just chose to ignore it since we weren¡¯t going to run into each other ever again. I¡¯ve always


    had a soft heart and would rather avoid conflict.¡±


    Having said that, Sonia gripped even harder. Anya gasped in pain as her eyes began to tear up.


    Anya was panicking now, and she struggled as hard as she could as she cried out, ¡°Sonia Reed, you let


    go right this instant! Stop pinching my chin, you¡¯re going to bend it out of shape!¡±


    Sonia was stunned by Anya¡¯s words before she recalled the fact that Anya had gotten stic surgery all


    over her body. The amount of strength she used just now was enough to make Anya¡¯s chin fillers move


    out of its ce.


    She thought about removing her hand, but Toby drawled coldly, ¡°Ignore her. Who cares if it gets bent out


    of shape? It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t afford to pay for her to get it again.¡±


    Sonia cocked her eyebrows and nced at Anya¡¯s petrified expression beforeughing. ¡°You¡¯re right.


    We can just pay for it.¡±


    Since money was not a problem, there was no reason for her to worry about it. She had long been


    itching to teach this woman a lesson. This feeling had begun ever since Anya showed up in Toby¡¯s


    hospital room in an attempt to rile her up and steal Toby away from her. At the time, she figured that it


    was the first time that she had met Anya, so she did not push things too far and swallowed her anger.


    Who would have thought that Anya could be this shameless? Yesterday, at the boutique, she had


    brazenly tried to buy Sonia¡¯s gown, and when that failed, she decided to hire someone to destroy the


    gown instead.


    Anya¡¯s actions thoroughly incensed Sonia, and this was why Sonia did not hesitate to give Anya a tight


    p across the face. Apart from Tina, Anya was the craziest woman that Sonia had ever met. In fact,


    that p had barely even begun to appease her anger. Sonia was tempted to abandon all pretense and


    beat up Anya for the sake of venting her fury.


    But they were in a police station, so she could not be so unruly. Furthermore, if she did end up hurting


    Anya, then she would have to face the consequences for her actions as well. Still, if she did nothing, then


    she would explode from all her pent-up rage. Therefore, she could only rely on these ploys to release a


    little bit of her anger.


    She used little tricks such as toying with Anya, ridiculing Anya, and using words to crush Anya¡¯s soul and


    mental state. The only physical thing she did was to pinch Anya¡¯s jaw. This was the only way she could


    take her rage out on Anya without leaving any visible wounds that would get her in trouble with thew.


    Once again, Sonia pinched Anya¡¯s jaw a little harder. Her perfectly-manicured nails dug into Anya¡¯s flesh


    and left little indents on Anya¡¯s face. ¡°Did you hear that? We¡¯ll pay for it, so we won¡¯t care about how bent


    out of shape your chin gets.¡±


    ¡°You guys¡­¡± Anya¡¯s eyes grew wide in disbelief as she had never thought that they would be this


    callous.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°What about us? Your hatred for me is clear for all to see, so why do you think that


    we¡¯d give a damn about you? Just how audacious are you?¡±


    She chuckled and added, ¡°Oh, right. You¡¯re pretty audacious. We¡¯ve only met twice, but the first time we


    did, you tried to steal my man, and the second time, you tried to steal my gown. When that failed, you


    even hired someone to destroy the gown. You were the one who came and picked a fight with me both


    times, so I really don¡¯t get it. What gives you, Anya Steinfeld, the right to hate me? What gives you the


    audacity to hate me?¡±


    As soon as Sonia said that, she started to pat Anya¡¯s cheek. It was obvious that she was doing it to


    humiliate Anya.


    Toby had been right about her. She was not someone who would kick a dog while it was down, and she


    would not go about humiliating others when they were suffering, not even her enemies. In her mind,


    since they had lost to her, she had no reason to waste any more of her precious time on them.


    Yet this approach failed when it came to Anya. Anya was scum, and Sonia could not hold back anymore.


    Anya was appalling enough that Sonia ended up going against her own principles.


    What gives me the right?


    What gives me the audacity?


    Anya sneered and red at Sonia with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Do you really think that the enmity between us


    is all because of our conflict in those two encounters?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    At the same time, Toby also leaned forward and stared at Anya.


    However, Anya started to cackle, and she cackled so hard that she was beginning to tear up. ¡°Are you


    dying to know? Well, I¡¯m not telling you anything! You can take your time to try and find out for yourself.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Sonia kept quiet and stared at Anya evenly.


    Anya squirmed under Sonia¡¯s emotionless stare and stoppedughing, but then she muttered, ¡°I won¡¯t


    break no matter what you do. Even if I died, I still wouldn¡¯t tell you.¡±


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    When Sonia found out the truth, she would drown in despair! Anya began to light up in excitement as she


    imagined how hopeless Sonia would be when that happened.

 Chapter 876

    Chapter 876


    Chapter 876 Mentally Ill


    Anya looked like a raving lunatic who was having a psychotic episode, and it was a ghastly sight to


    behold.


    Sonia quickly stepped away just in case Anya tried to hurt her. At the same time, Toby leapt forward and


    supported her from behind. He was afraid that she might slip and fall, or perhaps knock into something


    as she stepped backward. If that happened, then he would probably be even more upset about it than


    she would.


    ¡°Here, wipe with this.¡± Toby took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Sonia. He pointed


    at her hand that had been clutching Anya¡¯s jaw just a few moments ago.


    Sonia grinned at him. ¡°We really do think alike! I was just about to look for something to clean my hands


    with.¡±


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    She was about to rummage around her purse for a tissue, but Toby beat her to it by giving her his


    handkerchief.


    Toby chuckled at her words. ¡°If we think alike, then it means we¡¯re meant to be together. You don¡¯t even


    have to tell me what you want. With just one look, or a simple gesture, I¡¯ll be able to tell what you¡¯re


    thinking of, and what your heart desires.¡±


    He would fulfill every single wish she had.


    Sonia was deeply moved by Toby¡¯s words. Once she was done cleaning her hands, she put the


    handkerchief away and pulled him into a warm hug. Toby froze for a second, but soon he smiled and


    wrapped his arms around her as well.


    They were being very affectionate in front of Anya. If it had been any other time, Anya would have had a


    conniption by now, but she was currently out of her senses. Anya was still in a frenzied state and


    laughing maniacally as she babbled on and on. Neither Sonia nor Toby could understand what Anya was


    saying, as she spoke too fast and the words were iprehensible. In any case, Anya really looked like


    she was mentally ill right now.


    Sonia pulled away from Toby and frowned. She said solemnly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s putting on an


    act.¡±


    Toby hummed in agreement. To his eyes, it did not seem like Anya was acting either.


    Sonia pursed her lips and continued, ¡°She started having an episode after saying that the enmity


    between us was more than just those two times we shed. What do you think she¡¯s talking about? Do


    we have some sort of grudge or feud between us that I don¡¯t know about? But I¡¯ve never met her before


    in the past.¡±


    Toby gave Sonia aforting look. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. She looks like she¡¯s not well in the head right


    now, so it might just be her own hallucinations.¡±


    Sonia nodded along. ¡°It could be, but I never would¡¯ve expected that she¡¯d be so unstable.¡±


    She nced at Anya, who was still rather hysterical, and noted, ¡°Perhaps she went through something.¡±


    ¡°Well, whatever it is that she¡¯s gone through, it¡¯s still none of our business. We¡¯re not going to get


    anything out of her in her present state, so let¡¯s leave.¡± Toby gently squeezed Sonia¡¯s hand.


    She nodded in agreement and followed him to the door. However, she paused when they reached the


    exit.


    When Toby noticed that she had stopped, he paused as well and turned to her. ¡°Is something the


    matter?¡±


    Sonia shook her head, but turned back to take another look at Anya. Right now, Anya¡¯s head was


    lowered and her eyes were ssy, but she was still muttering under her breath and asionally letting


    out a deliriousugh. It was quite a chilling sight.


    Toby narrowed his eyes in disgust at the sight of Anya, and he reached out to make Sonia face the front


    again. ¡°That¡¯s enough now. There¡¯s nothing more to see, so don¡¯t dirty your eyes with that unpleasant


    sight.¡±


    Sonia chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone in such a frenzied state before. I¡¯m a little curious, so I


    wanted to take a closer look.¡±


    ¡°Who said that you¡¯ve never seen someone like that before?¡±


    ¡°I have?¡± Sonia was a little confused. ¡°When? Why am I not aware of it?¡±


    By now, Toby had pulled her out of the interrogation room. ¡°Isn¡¯t Carl Lee like that as well?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Sonia choked slightly and helplessly corrected Toby, ¡°Of course not. Carl has dissociative identity


    disorder, but he¡¯s not mentally ill.¡±


    ¡°Dissociative identity disorder is a type of mental disorder, so in that sense, he is considered mentally ill,¡±


    Toby lectured her seriously.


    Sonia rolled her eyes and refused to continue this line of conversation, but now that she thought Carl,


    she was starting to get a little worried about him. She had not seen him for many months now. Thest


    time that she spoke to Carl on the phone, she recognized that it was not the main personality or ¡°host¡±


    who was in control, but instead, it was the alternate personality. It had been quite some time now, and


    she wondered if Carl had regained control yet.


    The answer was most likely no. The fact that she had not heard from Reba as well made it obvious.


    Also, If Carl had regained control of his body, then he would have reached out to her by now.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Toby stopped in front of her and asked in concern. He had noticed that


    Sonia had slowed down her pace, and she seemed to be deep in thought.


    Sonia massaged her temples and said, ¡°Just thinking about Carl.¡±


    Instantly, Toby got miffed. ¡°What¡¯s there to think about?¡±


    Sonia was amused by his reaction. ¡°You¡¯re the one who brought him up in the first ce. If you hadn¡¯t,


    then I wouldn¡¯t have recalled that it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve spoken to Carl.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Toby opened his mouth, but soon closed it again. Right, he was indeed the one who brought it up.


    Had he dug a hole for himself?


    Toby¡¯s expression turned sour.


    Sonia took one look at his grim face andughed. ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t pout. I won¡¯t bring him up again.


    Come, let¡¯s go meet that attorney, Mr. Woolley.¡±


    She smoothly changed the topic. Once she did that, Toby¡¯s grim expression slowly faded back to normal.


    He knew that she was letting it slide, so naturally, he followed suit.


    When Toby and Sonia returned to the lobby, they saw Anya¡¯s legal representative still there. He was


    engaged in a discussion on the phone.


    Sonia picked up on the courteous and ttering tone of voice that he was using, but she did not see the


    same in his expression at all. It was obvious that the attorney was simply pretending to show respect for


    the person he was talking to, but did not actually consider that person worthy.


    The attorney¡ªMr. Woolley¡ªseemed to have noticed that someone was observing him, and when he


    looked up, he met Sonia¡¯s gaze.


    She had not expected him to be so alert, so she was taken by surprise when he caught her gaze.


    However, it was not a big deal, so she smiled and nodded politely toward him. She was not flustered at


    all since she was doing it openly anyway, and she had no reason to hide or feel embarrassed. It was not


    something to be ashamed of either.


    When the attorney noticed Sonia¡¯s greeting, he did not return it immediately. First, he nced at Toby,


    who was standing beside her. Toby had a neutral expression, but it did not seem like he was upset. Once


    the attorney confirmed Toby¡¯s reaction, he gave a tiny sigh of relief and shed a polite smile back at


    Sonia.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s sit over there. He¡¯lle over soon enough.¡± Toby held Sonia¡¯s hand and gestured


    toward the couch nearby.


    As Sonia walked with him, she teased, ¡°So you¡¯re not jealous anymore, huh?¡±


    Sonia was certain that Toby knew she had been scrutinizing Mr. Woolley, and had even smiled at him.


    Surprisingly, Toby did not have a negative reaction toward that. It was rather unexpected, as he was a


    petty green-eyed monster who would get jealous at the tiniest sign of her paying attention to anyone


    else. Therefore, she was very curious about his indifference this time.

 Chapter 877

    Chapter 877


    Chapter 877 Can¡¯t Keep Getting Jealous


    ¡°Who said I¡¯m not jealous? Of course I¡¯m jealous.¡± Toby took a seat and nced at Sonia before


    responding inly.


    With that tone of yours, yeah, you¡¯re jealous alright.


    Sonia nodded thoughtfully. ¡°But I couldn¡¯t tell that you were jealous at all.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t always make it obvious that I¡¯m jealous.¡± Toby pulled her hand over and started toying with it in


    hisp. Her fair hand was so much smaller than him, and it was so soft to the touch that he could not


    resist from holding it all the time. Whenever he got the chance, he would always start ying with her


    hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that we shouldn¡¯t wear our hearts on our sleeves, but you¡¯re not like that though.¡± Sonia cocked


    her head to the side and stared at Toby teasingly. ¡°When you¡¯re jealous, it¡¯s spelled out in big bold letters


    right across your face for all to see. That¡¯s why I¡¯m surprised to know that you were jealous earlier, since


    I hadn¡¯t seen any sign of it in your expression.¡±


    ¡°I am jealous.¡± Toby fixed his eyes on Sonia. ¡°But I also know that you won¡¯t be attracted to Oscar


    Woolley, so there¡¯s no reason for me to get all worked up over him.¡±


    Oscar Woolley was the attorney¡¯s full name.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows. ¡°Really? And you¡¯re certain that I won¡¯t be attracted to him?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not as handsome or as fit as I am.¡± Toby puffed out his chest and dered arrogantly, ¡°You won¡¯t


    have such poor taste in men!¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia snorted. This was what she had said earlier to coax him when he was jealous of Oscar. She had


    not expected him to memorize it. Though he was right, of course¡ªshe did not have such poor taste.


    Even setting aside the fact that Oscar was not a very principled man, he was still not quite a feast for the


    eyes, and she did have an eye for pretty things. All in all, she would not be interested in Oscar.


    ¡°Since you know that I won¡¯t be interested in Mr. Woolley, then why do you still get jealous of other


    people around me, like Charles? You can¡¯t possibly think that I¡¯d be interested in them, right?¡± Sonia


    wrapped her hands around his arm and probed him further.


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°That¡¯s not the same. Charles and those other guys might not be as handsome or


    as fit as me, but they¡¯re still a lot better than the average man. Most importantly, Charles has feelings for


    you.¡±


    He sensed danger, so naturally, he would react with even more jealousy toward them.


    Sonia chuckled at how Toby sneakily praised himself while putting them down. ¡°Fine, but no matter what


    happens, I¡¯m yours, and no one can steal me away. I don¡¯t know if we might go our separate ways one


    day, but as long as we¡¯re together, you don¡¯t have to feel insecure about us.¡±


    However, as soon as she said that, Toby covered her mouth with his hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Sonia blinked, and her words were slightly muffled.


    Toby stared at her with a serious expression. ¡°We¡¯re not going to separate. We¡¯re going to spend our


    lives together and no one can tear us apart, not even us. And we¡¯re even going to be buried in the same


    grave.¡±


    Soniaughed and pulled his hand away. ¡°And here thought you were going to say something more


    serious. Look at how solemn you¡¯ve gotten.¡±


    ¡°I am serious.¡±


    ¡°I know you¡¯re serious.¡± Sonia rested her head on his shoulder. ¡°But sometimes, we shouldn¡¯t make


    promises like that. A lifetime is a very long time, so who knows what will happen in the future?¡±


    Toby pulled her closer. ¡°It¡¯ll be the same in the future. Nothing will change.¡±


    Sonia could only sigh as Toby continued to insist that everything would be the same in the future. He was


    too stubborn, and he did not want to think that the future would change. She did not want to continue


    talking about it either, since it would probably stir him up into a frenzy. Maybe it was because he had lost


    her once before, so he was now very sensitive about the possibility of them separating or breaking up.


    He did not want to hear about such a possibility, and he refused to believe that it would happen to them.


    She had no idea how he was able to be this confident that their rtionship would stay the way it was


    now, and that their feelings would never fade or diminish. Despite that, she had to admit that his


    conviction had also chipped away a lot of the insecurities and uncertainty that she felt about their future


    together. Oh well, they had a long future ahead of them, and no one knew what was in store for them.


    Perhaps sometimes, it was best to not dwell on the future, but instead, to simply focus on the present.


    Regardless of whether they stayed together for the rest of their lives or not, she was content with the


    love that they had for each other now.


    Once Sonia sorted through her thoughts, she smiled and hugged his arm tighter. ¡°Yeah, nothing will


    change. As long as our feelings stay the way they are right now, then I think nothing will change in our


    future, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Toby stroked her hair softly.


    Sonia¡¯s smile grew wider.


    Just then, Oscar¡¯s call had finally ended, and he came walking toward them.


    ¡°President Fuller, Miss Reed.¡± After putting his phone away, he nodded toward them in greeting.


    Toby looked up at him and said, ¡°Connor Salzburg?¡±


    Oscar was taken aback. ¡°How did you know, President Fuller?¡±


    All at once, Sonia sat up straight in her seat. ¡°What? Mr. Woolley was on the phone with Connor


    Salzburg earlier?¡±


    ¡°When we walked past him earlier, I heard him say ¡®Mr. Salzburg¡¯,¡± Toby exined as he stared at


    Oscar¡¯s suit pocket where the phone was now tucked in.


    Sonia was even more surprised. ¡°You were able to hear that?¡±


    When they came out of the interrogation room, she did pause to greet Oscar, so it was true that they


    were fairly near. However, it was not a distance where they could hear what he was saying on the phone.


    At least, she had not been able to hear anything, but Toby did somehow.


    Sonia stared in awe at Toby¡¯s ears. ¡°So, not only do you have a keen sense of smell, but you have a


    sharp pair of ears as well.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Toby replied nonchntly, but his lips had curled up ever so slightly, and it gave him away.


    Clearly, he was basking in her praise and was not asposed as he pretended to be.


    After spending so much time with Toby, Sonia hade to realize that he was not as indifferent as he


    seemed to be. Still waters ran deep, and he was a gigantic ball of emotions on the inside. It exined


    why he would often take her by surprise with his sudden disys of affection. Nowadays, she often


    found it amusing whenever she noticed that he was not as calm as he looked.


    ¡°Alright now, let¡¯s focus on the issue at hand.¡± Sonia nudged Toby with her elbow gently.


    Toby coughed and regained hisposure. He was back to his everyday intimidating self as he


    questioned, ¡°What did Connor Salzburg say?¡±


    Oscar pushed his sses up his nose and said, ¡°He wanted to know if I¡¯ve met with you yet, and also


    asked about your attitude toward Miss Steinfeld, as well as the possibility of getting Miss Steinfeld out of


    this situation.¡±


    ¡°And how did you reply?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Oscar chuckled. ¡°I told him the truth. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t very pleased with the results, so he berated me


    for quite a while back there. I had to spend quite some time convincing him, or I might have lost a fair bit


    of money.¡±


    Soniaughed as she recalled, ¡°So that¡¯s why you seemed to be speaking courteously on the phone, but


    didn¡¯t look courteous at all.¡±


    ¡°I must have looked like a joke.¡± Oscarughed in embarrassment.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Not at all.¡±


    She knew that he was only doing it for the sake of earning money. If she had been in his position, she


    would have done it as well, so it was nothing to be embarrassed about.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, President Fuller.¡± A thought urred to Oscar and he added seriously, ¡°Mr. Salzburg is


    aware of the fact that I won¡¯t be able to convince you, so he might ask to meet you in person.¡±

 Chapter 878

    Chapter 878


    Chapter 878 Lucius Hayes is Injured


    Toby was irked by the look on Oscar¡¯s face. He frowned and asked, ¡°So what? Would I be afraid if he


    came knocking on my door?¡±


    ¡°No, no, not at all. I didn¡¯t mean it that way,¡± Oscar hurriedly exined himself to avoid any


    misunderstandings. ¡°What I mean is, Mr. Salzburg tends to resort to rather unsavory means to get what


    he wants, so you should keep an eye out for that, President Fuller.¡±


    When Sonia heard his exnation, her expression grew serious as well. ¡°What do you mean? Is he


    going to do something underhanded?¡±


    Toby was also starting to look a little grim as he waited for Oscar¡¯s answer.


    Oscar continued, ¡°Mr. Salzburg does tend to rely on some underhanded tactics. I don¡¯t know if he would


    use them on President Fuller, but I do know that in order to meet his goals, he has done so to numerous


    other influential families in Westsanshire. I had taken a trip to Westsanshire for one of my cases a while


    ago, and I heard that the Salzburgs are currently feuding with the Hayes.¡±


    ¡°The Hayes?!¡± As soon as Sonia heard that, she straightened up and asked, ¡°What happened to the


    Hayes?¡±


    The Hayes were Carl¡¯s family. She did not care which personality was in charge of his body right now. To


    her, he was still the Carl that she knew. Since the news involved his family, she felt the need to pay


    closer attention to it.


    Toby knew why Sonia was suddenly so concerned about what Oscar said. He pursed his lips in slight


    displeasure, but he did not say anything, nor did he fly into a fit of jealousy either. Maybe he was feeling


    more secure now, since the words that Sonia said earlier were etched into his heart. He would no longer


    feel overwhelmed with jealousy.


    Oscar was unaware of Sonia¡¯s rtionship with Carl, so he had no idea why she cared about the Hayes,


    but he answered her anyway. ¡°The Hayes recently appointed a new head of the family, and he was


    eyeing a piece ofnd in Westsanshire that Mr. Salzburg was also keen to get. Neither one of them


    wanted to give it up, but Mr. Salzburg managed to get it since he had a lot more influence. However, Mr.


    Hayes was unwilling to let it go, and somehow, right before they were able to sign off on the transfer of


    land ownership, Mr. Hayes convinced the owner to sell it to him instead of Mr. Salzburg. Because of this,


    Mr. Salzburg threw a fit and the next day, Mr. Hayes was injured.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sonia stood up with a stricken expression. ¡°Carl got injured?¡±


    ¡°Carl?¡± Oscar¡¯s brows creased a little.


    Sonia replied hoarsely, ¡°Carl, also known as Lucius Hayes, is the new head of the Hayes family, and also


    my younger brother.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Oscar nodded in realization.


    At first, Toby was rather annoyed by the fact that Sonia seemed so worried over Carl¡¯s injury. She was


    showing too much concern for him. Her reaction now was even bigger than it had been when she heard


    about the Hayes earlier. He might be feeling a little more secure and was not about to fly into a fit of


    jealousy, but he was still a little upset. However, when he heard the word ¡®younger brother¡¯, his brows


    unfurrowed and his mood immediately got a lot better.


    He was just her brother.


    A brother would be nothing more than a brother. So what if he had some tricks up his sleeve? If Sonia


    saw him as a brother, then Carl would never be anything more than a brother to her in this life!


    Why should he care about a brother? He was going to be Carl¡¯s brother-inw, so why would he


    get jealous over his younger brother?


    The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. His lips began to curl up again and it was clear


    that he was in a good mood.


    On the other hand, Sonia was not aware of Toby¡¯s internal monologue. She was preupied with the


    news of Carl¡¯s injury.


    Her hands were tightly clenched as she anxiously asked Oscar, ¡°Mr. Woolley, did Carl really get injured?¡±


    She had to double-check.


    However, Oscar could only shake his head and say, ¡°These are all hearsay, and I¡¯m afraid that I don¡¯t


    know for sure. After all, I¡¯m not someone who is able to meet Mr. Hayes in person. However, the news


    has spread across the wealthy circles in Westsanshire, and they seemed to be quite consistent, so I


    think it¡¯s true.¡±


    It was true¡­


    Sonia bit her lip and turned to look at Toby in the hopes that he might be able to assuage her fears.


    Instead, Toby shrugged and sighed. ¡°I haven¡¯t been paying attention to the goings-on in Westsanshire,


    but since the news has already spread that far and wide until even an attorney has heard it, then it¡¯s


    most likely true. With the influence that both the Hayes and the Salzburgs have, it¡¯s unlikely that anyone


    would spread a false rumor.¡±


    No one would dare to incur the wrath of these influential families by spreading such rumors.


    The thought had crossed Sonia¡¯s mind as well, and her heart sank even deeper. She wobbled and


    seemed to have lost all energy as she fell onto the couch.


    Toby wrapped his arm around her waist and frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t be so upset. Carl is just injured, but his life


    is not in danger. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    Sonia rubbed her forehead and said, ¡°I know, but I can¡¯t help myself from worrying. Carl is like my little


    brother, and he has already been through so many struggles in life. I¡­¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°Carl is no longer the same person that you knew before,¡± Toby interrupted her and reminded her.


    He wanted to remind her that Carl was currently under the control of his alternate personality. It was not


    the main personality, the Carl that she knew. They may share the same body, but they were two different


    people. This meant that the one who was injured was someone else, and not the Carl that she knew.


    This way, she could feel a little less worried about him.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re saying, but it¡¯s Carl¡¯s body, so I¡­¡±


    ¡°If the current alternate personality has already overpowered the main personality, or if Carl had willingly


    allowed Lucius Hayes to take control and refused to regain control, then it means that it will forever be


    the body of Lucius Hayes. This means there would no longer be a Carl Lee in this world, and it means


    that the person you¡¯re concerned about right now is Lucius, not Carl.¡±


    Toby looked her straight in the eye. ¡°Even if Carl returns one day, it¡¯s still sometime in the future, and not


    now. The person now isn¡¯t Carl, but Lucius, so you don¡¯t need to worry yourself over a stranger.¡±


    Sonia parted her lips to speak, but no words came out.


    Toby was right. It was the alternate personality¡ªLucius Hayes¡ªwho was in control of the body right


    now, and not Carl. Lucius was just a stranger, and in fact, a stranger that she was not very fond of. There


    was no reason for her to be concerned about him. However, even though she could break it down like


    that, she was still a little worried.


    She took a deep breath and bit her lips. ¡°Is Carl¡­ never waking up again?¡± She had no idea if it was a


    question that she was asking to herself, or to the man beside her.


    Toby stayed silent for a while before responding solemnly, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯ll depend on whether he is


    willing to seize back control over his body and whether he is strong enough to overpower Lucius or not. If


    he isn¡¯t, then he won¡¯t wake up.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we get a doctor to wake him up?¡± Sonia stared at Toby with hopeful eyes.


    Toby shook his head lightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve asked Miles about this before, since he¡¯s a hypnotherapist


    and is familiar with such cases. He told me that if the alternate personality has managed to usurp the


    ce of the main personality, then it means that the main personality isn¡¯t strong enough topete. Or


    perhaps the main personality does not wish to face the world and chooses to relinquish control over the


    body. Either way, if you want to resort to external means of waking Carl up, it seems like it¡¯s unlikely that


    you¡¯ll seed.¡±


    This was not a lie. Truth be told, Toby was not keen on having Carl regain control over his body. Just like


    Charles, Carl¡¯s feelings toward Sonia were very strong. In fact, Carl was even more crazy, and a lot more


    dangerous. In order to be with Sonia, Carl was willing to go so far as to drug her in spite of his ims


    about loving her. He was a ticking time bomb.


    Unfortunately, Sonia always had a soft spot for Carl, and she even forgave him for drugging her. If Carl


    came back, Sonia would still be trusting and would not have her guard up against him. Either way, Carl


    would surely continue to force his way into Sonia¡¯s life. If that happened, then Toby would not be able to


    rest easy. He would be constantly worried about the possibility of Carl harming Sonia again. He was sure


    Carl was capable of that.

 Chapter 879

    Chapter 879


    Chapter 879 Do Not Leave Any Weaknesses Behind


    He would rather Carl stay unconscious forever.


    Although that was what he thought, he wouldn¡¯t use these to lie to her because it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia¡¯s gaze dimmed and she wasn¡¯t doubtful of what Toby said at all.


    The rate of sess is not high, huh¡­ Well, it makes sense since Carl would have already regained his


    consciousness if the rate of sess was higher. I don¡¯t think that Reba wouldn¡¯t have gotten a doctor


    to check on Carl as they¡¯re on his side instead of Lucius, so does it really mean that Carl will remain


    unconscious forever?


    It seemed like Toby had figured out what was on Sonia¡¯s mind as he reached out and guided her head to


    lean on his shoulder while consoling her gently. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Although the doctor can¡¯t get Carl


    to wake up, there are still other ways to help him.¡±


    Hearing that, Sonia¡¯s eyes immediately brightened. ¡°Are there ways to help Carl to regain over his


    body?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°ording to Miles, there are cases where the main personality manages to get their body


    back and all of the cases bear a simrity.¡±


    ¡°What kind of simrity?¡± Sonia grabbed Toby by his sleeve and urged.


    She was willing to give it a try if there was a chance that Carl could regain his consciousness.


    ¡°A miracle,¡± Toby stared at Sonia before he said slowly.


    She was dumbfounded. ¡°What? A miracle?¡±


    It was obvious that she wasn¡¯t expecting the simrity to be a miracle.


    Toby nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, a miracle. Miles said that those people in these cases are often triggered or


    influenced by something or someone, which subconsciously gets the main personality to regain


    consciousness, and that¡¯s the miracle. As long as we can find a reason to get Carl to wake up willingly,


    he will.¡±


    As for the trigger, he knew that it was definitely Little Leaf. If Little Leaf tells Carl that she¡¯s willing to get


    into a rtionship with him, wouldn¡¯t that trigger him to fight for his body¡¯s ownership? Of course. Still, I¡¯ll


    never let her do that.


    He stared at Sonia intently, and his gaze was knowing.


    Truthfully, Sonia also came to a realization that she could be the trigger to the miracle of Carl regaining


    his consciousness. However, her excitement died down because she realized that she couldn¡¯t do it.


    One could call her out for being hypocritical, but she just couldn¡¯t do it because she would really be


    a hypocrite for doing so.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t do that to Toby, or even herself and Carl.


    She only viewed Carl as a little brother, and being together with him would bring nothing but pain and


    suffering to the both of them.


    Carl was an anxious, insecure and depressed child. Due to that, a long-term emotional entrapment


    would only cause him to get more out of . By then, he might even produce more alternate personalities


    and things would be even worse by then.


    At the thought of that, Sonia sighed before cing her hand on Toby¡¯s back and smiled forcefully.


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do something like that. Even though I want Carl to wake up, I¡¯ll only go


    through with it if it¡¯s the best for everyone. I can¡¯t just disregard our future just to get Carl to regain his


    consciousness, right?¡±


    After her reassurance, Toby¡¯s tense face rxed immediately, and his gaze on her became gentle again


    as he nted a kiss on her forehead. ¡°It¡¯s good to know that you think so too.¡±


    He was worried that Sonia might do something foolish to get Carl to wake up just because she was too


    soft-hearted.


    Fortunately, she was still rational.


    Meanwhile, Oscar was confused after overhearing Toby and Sonia¡¯s conversation.


    What are they talking about? The ownership of the body? Alternate personalities? Am I missing


    something? Are they saying that Mr. Hayes has split personality disorder, and the current Mr. Hayes is


    not his main personality?


    As he pondered on those questions, Sonia suddenly asked, ¡°By the way, Mr. Woolley, how¡¯s Carl¡¯s injury


    right now? Is it really serious?¡±


    Although Carl¡¯s persona had been taken over by Lucius now, they still shared the same body.


    While Sonia didn¡¯t know if Carl would recover in the future, she still wished that his body wasn¡¯t injured in


    any way. If something had happened to his body, how can Carl deal with that knowledge if and when he


    wakes up?


    Toby gave Sonia a look. Even though he knew what was going on in Sonia¡¯s mind, he didn¡¯t try to


    persuade her to stop worrying about Carl this time because he knew that she could already differentiate


    between Lucius and Carl and that she was just worried about their body.


    It was already enough that she could differentiate that.


    Toby wouldn¡¯t go to the extreme of getting jealous over a body.


    On the other hand, Oscar adjusted his sses before replying, ¡°I heard the people in my field saying that


    Mr. Lucius hurt his dominant arm, and it seemed like it was serious because he won¡¯t be able to heal


    without resting for half a year.¡±


    Damn¡­


    Sonia¡¯s breath hitched. ¡°Won¡¯t be able to heal without resting for half a year¡­¡±


    That¡¯s way more serious than Toby¡¯s arm injury. Toby was able to remove his arm cast after two months


    for minor movements, and he¡¯s already almost healed after three months, but Carl¡¯s arm actually needs


    more than six months to heal! It doesn¡¯t usually take that long unless a bone is broken.


    ¡°How did he injure himself?¡± Toby suddenly asked. ¡°Is anywhere else injured other than his arm?¡±


    After thinking for a while, Oscar answered, ¡°I heard that he was injured by a wheelbarrow.¡±


    ¡°His arm was crushed by a wheelbarrow?¡± A puzzled expression appeared on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°What kind


    of wheelbarrow was it? How could Carl possibly get injured by it?¡±


    This was a really odd way of injuring oneself and she couldn¡¯t help but wonder about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure about the details of what happened. I only heard that Carl was pushed to the ground


    on his way back from a bidding before a wheelbarrow carrying merchandise suddenly lost and rolled


    over Mr. Lucius¡¯ right arm. However, it was spected that it was Mr. Salzburg¡¯s revenge because Mr.


    Lucius snatched hisnd since it was impossible for a wheelbarrow that was pushed manually to lose out


    of nowhere. Since Mr. Lucius injured his arm, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sign with his hand, and the owner of


    thend definitely wouldn¡¯t wait for his arm to heal for six months as they were in need of money. I heard


    that the Salzburg Family had already bought thatnd,¡± Oscar exined.


    Sonia¡¯s face darkened. A wheelbarrow filled with goods must have been extremely heavy. I can¡¯t even


    imagine how painful it feels for something heavy to run over my arm, let alone how painful it was for Carl.


    Although the current Carl isn¡¯t the Carl I know any longer, he¡¯s still a part of Carl, and I can¡¯t just stop


    worrying knowing that he¡¯s injured.


    ¡°Lucius¡¯ arm was injured after the bidding, and thend fell into the Salzburg Family¡¯s hand again?


    Based on this series of unfortunate coincidence, Connor Salzburg definitely sounds extremely suspicious


    right now,¡± Toby rubbed his chin andmented.


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    Oscar nodded. ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s why everyone in Westsanshire is saying that Mr. Salzburg is behind this.


    However, no one could find any evidence proving it, and this includes Mr. Lucius as well. I heard that the


    issue was dropped after that despite everyone knowing that it was definitely Mr. Salzburg who was


    behind this. Besides, it wasn¡¯t the first time that something so coincidental happened.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes, and his eyes glinted darkly.


    Oscar continued, ¡°It¡¯s true. Many people in Westsanshire im that something bad will happen if


    someone tries to steal Mr. Salzburg¡¯s business from him, and said business will surely go back to him.


    Although everyone knows that it was his doing, no one could find any evidence as he¡¯s secretive and


    doesn¡¯t leave any traces behind,¡± he shrugged and said with resignation.

 Chapter 880

    Chapter 880


    Chapter 880 Connor¡¯s Illegitimate Daughter


    Nevertheless, Oscar was also impressed by Connor as no one was able to get ahold of his weakness


    despite everyone knowing that he was a bad person as well as all the bad things that he had done.


    That alone was enough to make one feel impressed.


    It was important to note that people would somehow leave a trail or a hint behind when they did


    something, but not Connor.


    This was enough to show how cautious and maniptive he was, and no one could do anything about it.


    Upon hearing what Oscar said, Sonia inhaled deeply. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Mr. Salzburg is such a cunning


    man. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that Carl got injured for nothing?¡±


    Since there was no evidence that Connor harmed Carl, it would mean that Carl had no reason to get


    revenge on him.


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± The corners of Toby¡¯s lips curled up into a cold smile while Sonia watched. He then


    said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that Lucius is not a good man as well. His main personality and alternate personality


    are both cunning, and he definitely won¡¯t sit and allow anyone to harm him without getting back at them.


    Even if he has no evidence, that doesn¡¯t mean that he won¡¯t get revenge on Connor since there are


    situations where evidence can be disregarded.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t argue against what he said.


    It¡¯s true that evidence isn¡¯t necessary when he already knows who harmed him. I need to think outside


    the box.


    ¡°However, we shouldn¡¯t worry about how Lucius is nning to return Connor¡¯s gesture. Instead,


    Connor¡¯s style of operating makes me believe that he¡¯s the Fuller Family¡¯s enemy!¡± Toby suddenly


    clenched his fists and eximed with a dark look on his face.


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Twelve years ago, my father was murdered in a hotel overseas, but no evidence regarding the murderer


    was found, so the case has gone cold until now. The car ident that I got into a few months ago was


    the same as well. Although it was obvious that someone rammed into me on purpose, no evidence


    regarding the person behind the ident was found, so the case was also put aside for the time being.¡±


    Toby met Sonia¡¯s gaze. ¡°Both cases had no evidence or hints regarding the perpetrator. Up until this


    point, who else could do these without leaving any trail other than Connor Salzburg?¡±


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°That makes sense!¡± Sonia came to a realization and quickly nodded. ¡°The modus operandi of the


    perpetrator is exactly the same as Connor, and considering the grudge he¡¯s holding against your family,


    your suspicions might be legitimate.¡±


    Toby clenched his fists harder, and the cracking sound of his knuckles rang out. ¡°If he¡¯s really behind


    these cases, I¡¯ll make sure that he pays with his life!¡±


    His face was cold, and the rims around his eyes turned red. Toby¡¯s voice was extremely chilling and


    terrifying when he made that statement.


    To him, Connor wasn¡¯t just his father¡¯s murderer. Connor was indirectly rted to his mother¡¯s death as


    well.


    Although Toby¡¯s mothermitted suicide, it happened because of Connor, so Connor was responsible


    for both his parents¡¯ death.


    I won¡¯t let Connor off easily just by taking his life!


    Noticing that something was off with Toby, Sonia quickly held his hands and consoled him. ¡°Calm down,


    Toby. Don¡¯t you remember your advice to not let hatred consume your rationale? Why are you bing


    like this as well?¡±


    Upon hearing the woman¡¯s voice, he slowly came back to his senses.


    A pang of guilt hit him when he saw Sonia¡¯s anxious look, and he apologized in a hoarse voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry


    for scaring you like that.¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I wasn¡¯t scared. I was just worried about you.¡±


    Toby pulled her into a hug. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just lost control of my emotions just now.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I was worried.¡± She patted his back gently.


    The two of them hugged for a while, and Sonia only let Toby go when he had finally calmed down. She


    then turned to Oscar, who had to witness the couple¡¯s public disy of affection. ¡°By the way, Mr.


    Woolley, do you know how Connor Salzburg is rted to Anya? Since he found you, and you¡¯re Anya¡¯s


    attorney, you probably know about their rtionship, don¡¯t you?¡±


    At that, Toby narrowed his eyes at Oscar as well.


    Under their scrutinizing gazes, Oscar, who felt extremely pressured, adjusted his sses again before


    replying, ¡°They have a father and daughter rtionship.¡±


    ¡°Father and daughter rtionship?!¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help but exim in shock even though she had


    already guessed their rtionship.


    Meanwhile, Toby didn¡¯t look surprised. However, his face had darkened again.


    It was obvious that he wasn¡¯t happy knowing that Anya was Connor¡¯s daughter.


    In fact, he was furious because he didn¡¯t want to acknowledge the fact that she was Connor¡¯s daughter.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but feel puzzled at Toby¡¯s reaction. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Instead of answering her, he turned to stare at Oscar. ¡°Connor Salzburg isn¡¯t married, though. Is Anya


    his illegitimate daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Oscar nodded and answered. ¡°I heard from Mr. Salzburg¡¯s personal assistant that Miss Steinfeld is


    Mr. Salzburg¡¯s illegitimate daughter that was left to fend for her own, and she finally acknowledged Mr.


    Salzburg as her father six months ago due to unknown reasons. However, he did not help Miss Steinfeld


    to change herst name right away, and only changed it to Anya Salzburg recently. Despite that, he did


    not alter any of her other documents or reveal that she is his daughter to the public, so no one knows


    that he actually has a daughter.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded in realization while Toby chuckled disdainfully. ¡°If I recall correctly, Anya is 27 years


    old currently, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Oscar answered truthfully.


    Immediately, a disdainful look appeared in his gaze. ¡°Just three years younger than me, huh? That¡¯s


    good to know!¡±


    Sonia could tell that Toby was seething in anger when he said that.


    He¡¯s furious at Connor for having an illegitimate daughter, but why?


    Sonia lowered her curious gaze.


    Nevertheless, she kept her curiosity and only asked Toby about it after they bade Oscar farewell and


    returned to the car, where it was only the two of them.


    Still, Toby didn¡¯t not answer her, and his gaze was lowered. It seemed like he was contemting


    something.


    A whileter, he answered in a gloomy tone, ¡°I¡¯m feeling unfair for my mother.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re feeling unfair for her because she loved Connor, but he had an illegitimate daughter?¡± Sonia


    raised her eyebrows, as she thought Toby didn¡¯t need to feel that way.


    Toby¡¯s mother was in love with Connor, and the two of them used to be together. However, she chose to


    break up with Connor to get married to Toby¡¯s father in the end, andter, she gave birth to Toby.


    Naturally, there was no need for Connor to wait for Toby¡¯s mother since they weren¡¯t together anymore,


    so it was unnecessary for Toby to feel unfair for his mother just because Connor had an illegitimate


    daughter.


    When Toby realized what Sonia was thinking about, he stared at her for a while before he pursed his lips


    and said without any hint of emotion, ¡°I actually never told you about this, but I wasn¡¯t conceived


    normally.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia was stunned.


    Meanwhile, Toby had both his hands on the steering wheel with a stiff expression on his face. ¡°I was a


    test-tube baby.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia gasped before she eximed in shock, ¡°A test-tube baby?!¡±


    Nheless, Toby had already predicted her reaction.


    After parking the car at the side of the road, he mumbled an acknowledgement with his gaze lowered, his


    face devoid of any emotions. ¡°I only found out about it when I was going through my mother¡¯s belongings


    after she died.¡±

 Chapter 881

    Chapter 881


    Chapter 881 The Worst Type of People


    Just then, Toby tightened his grip on the steering wheel so much so that Sonia could see the veins on


    his hands popping up.


    ¡°Actually, my parents never slept with each other at all.¡± His statement caused Sonia to cover her


    mouth in shock. ¡°Are you for real?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± He nodded emotionlessly. ¡°It was written in my mother¡¯s diary. She used to have a habit of


    doing that. My mother never loved my father, so there was no way that she would have epted him.


    My father was a prideful man, so he would never force her to do it as well.


    After they got married, one stayed in the master bedroom while the other stayed in a refurbished


    changing room, and nothing ever happened between them even though they lived together. This


    means that there was no way that I could have been conceived. However, they had a duty to produce


    an heir for the Fullers, so they secretly did in-vitro fertilization to have me.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Sonia¡¯s mouth fell open as her heart started racing.


    It was obvious that she was stunned after hearing what Toby said.


    ¡°Does Grandma know about this?¡± she asked.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°She doesn¡¯t. I wouldn¡¯t even have known the way I was conceived if I hadn¡¯t


    gone through my mother¡¯s diary.¡±


    Sonia ced her hand on top of Toby¡¯s hand before giving him a look of heartache.


    That was right. It was a look of heartache.


    Toby wasn¡¯t born as an evidence of love between his parents like other ordinary children, but due to


    duty.


    It was like his arrival hadn¡¯t been anticipated by his parents at all. Instead, he was just a tool created by


    his parents to aplish a mission.


    ¡°Toby¡­¡± Sonia trailed off with a hoarse voice. Although she wanted to console him, she didn¡¯t know


    where to start as she was worried that she might hurt him if she wasn¡¯t being careful with what she


    said.


    Knowing that she felt conflicted, Toby held her hand in his before he chuckled lowly. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Although


    I wasn¡¯t conceived out of love, they were still responsible as parents.


    The way I was conceived didn¡¯t affect their love for me. Instead, they really adored me, so I didn¡¯t


    experience anyck of love during my childhood.¡±


    Toby¡¯s mother loved him when she was still alive. Even after her death, Jean¡¯s arrival also provided him


    with motherly love.


    Other than that, Toby¡¯s father¡¯s attitude toward him never changed even after remarrying, so Toby didn¡¯t


    think that there was anything to feel sad about regarding the way he was conceived.


    Noticing that Toby meant what he said instead of consoling her so that she wouldn¡¯t worry about him,


    Sonia sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±


    She nodded before asking again, ¡°She probably did that because of Connor, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    Toby¡¯s mother probably wanted to remain abstinent for Connor.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes. She mentioned in her diary that she made a promise with Connor. After getting


    married to my father and conceiving an heir for the Fullers, she would find an excuse to divorce my


    father and get back together with Connor after the heir grew up and could understand that she wanted


    to be with the person she really loved.


    My mother told Connor that she would conceive the Fullers¡¯ next inheritor through in-vitro fertilization


    and wouldn¡¯t do anything intimate with my father. She practiced abstinence for him, and she hoped that


    he would do so as well.¡±


    ¡°Did Connor agree to it?¡± Sonia asked.


    However, she quickly realized that her question was unnecessary.


    How could Anya exist if Connor had agreed to it?


    ¡°In my mother¡¯s diary, she wrote that Connor agreed to remain abstinent with her and waited till my


    mother left the Fuller Family so that they could get back together. I can still remember how happy my


    mother sounded in her diary, but¡­¡±


    Toby¡¯s facial expression suddenly darkened, and Sonia squeezed his hand. ¡°Although he made a


    promise, he betrayed your mother and had Anya. That¡¯s why you looked off and angry at the police


    station when you heard that Anya is his illegitimate daughter, and that she¡¯s just three years younger


    than you.¡±


    Toby did not deny Sonia¡¯s statement, and there was a storm brewing in his gaze. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m furious


    because of that. My mother was abstinent for ten years because of him, but he already betrayed her


    three years after they made their promise.


    He had an illegitimate daughter and chose to hide her identity until now, and my mother died not


    knowing that the man she loved had already betrayed her a long time ago. It¡¯s possible that he had


    betrayed her even earlier than that. In fact, he could have already betrayed her while they were


    together!¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what to say.


    It was true that there were many men who would cheat on their partners while showering them with


    sweet nothings.


    To them, loving a woman and getting under the sheets with other women wasn¡¯t a conflict in interest at


    all. In fact, there were also shameless ones who would make outrageous ims like, ¡®I gave someone


    else my body, but I gave you my heart¡¯.


    The thought of that disgusted Sonia, and she was guessing that Connor was probably someone like


    this.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    At that thought, a disgusted look shed across her face. ¡°I really feel bad for her. She will never know


    that the man she loved was actually a horrible man.¡±


    There was no need to make such a promise with a woman if he couldn¡¯t keep it, as it would only put


    him in a bad light.


    Now, Sonia took back what she thought about Connor not having to practice abstinence for Toby¡¯s


    mother after her marriage, because all she did was to remain abstinent for Connor so that she could


    present herself to him purely.


    However, Connor was sleeping with other women despite the promise he made to Toby¡¯s mother and


    ended up having an illegitimate daughter.


    Sonia felt sorry for Toby¡¯s mother.


    Maybe that¡¯s why she left this world so soon.


    Initially, she couldn¡¯t understand why Toby¡¯s mother would even attempt suicide.


    Although she was in love with Connor, she had broken up with him to get married to Toby¡¯s father, so it


    was only natural for Connor to get married to other women.


    It turned out that the two of them had actually made a promise with each other that was not known to


    outsiders.


    While Toby¡¯s mother kept the promise and was waiting to get divorced so that she could get back


    together with Connor, Connor had already betrayed her years ago and revealed that he was getting


    married when Toby¡¯s mother was about to divorce Toby¡¯s father.


    How could Toby¡¯s mother, who had been waiting to be reunited with Connor for such a long time, not


    break down when she received such devastating news?


    Her evesting conviction and persistence for ten years was destroyed single-handedly by the man


    that she loved, and that was why she took her own life.


    At that moment, Toby¡¯s mother probably had already realized that she had wasted ten years, and her


    feelings were merely a joke. Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t turn back time, nor could she bring herself to


    move forward. She could only choose to end her life in the end.


    What a pitiful story.


    At the thought of that, Sonia inhaled deeply, looking sad. ¡°Connor indirectly caused your mother¡¯s


    death, and he should be responsible for it. He shouldn¡¯t have broken his promise to her. He betrayed


    her not once, but twice¡ªthe first for having Anya, his illegitimate daughter, and the second for getting


    married again.


    Although he canceled his engagement after your mother¡¯s death, she won¡¯t return anymore. He


    brought her hope but ended up destroying it himself. He¡ª¡±


    ¡°He deserves death!¡± Toby cut her off and said with a hatred-filled voice.


    Sonia hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°You¡¯re right. Men who y with women¡¯s feelings are the worst.¡±


    She didn¡¯t know if Connor still had feelings for Toby¡¯s mother, but even if he did, it only disgusted her.

 Chapter 882

    Chapter 882


    Chapter 882 Don¡¯t Betray Me


    ¡°I¡¯m at fault as well.¡±


    Suddenly, Toby took off his seatbelt and spun around to pull Sonia, who was sitting in the front


    passenger seat, into a hug. He ced his chin on her shoulder before he said dejectedly, ¡°If only I


    found out that Connor betrayed my mother when I was younger, she wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer for ten


    years, and she wouldn¡¯t have felt so hopeless that she took her own life. If she knew that Connor


    betrayed her earlier, she might have been able to move on from the rtionship and ept my father


    instead.¡±


    Sonia could sense the loneliness and guilt from the man next to her, and she reached out to pat his


    back. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. It¡¯s not your fault at all. How could you have thought about all that when you were


    just a kid? You¡¯re not responsible for what happened, and you can¡¯t me yourself for it. Your mother


    loved you, and she would be sad if she knew that you med yourself for her death. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t


    want that to happen, do you?¡±


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    This time, Toby didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he hugged Sonia tighter and buried his head into her neck


    deeper.


    Meanwhile, Sonia continued patting his back, consoling him silently.


    Although Toby normally looked powerful and unfazed as if he could achieve anything he wanted, he


    was just an ordinary man behind his glorious facade.


    An ordinary man with feelings just like every other human.


    He would feel sad, guilty, and self sabotage as well.


    Currently, Toby really needed apanion to console him.


    A whileter, he let go of Sonia and started the car engine to drive away after a traffic police came


    knocking at the car window to remind them that they couldn¡¯t park here for long.


    On the way back to Bayside Residence, Toby drove quietly while staring ahead at the road.


    When they reached Bayside Residence, he parked the car in the parking lot before letting go of the


    steering wheel and turned to Sonia. Then, he finally spoke again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t be


    someone like Connor Salzburg.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia, who was undoing her seatbelt, paused as she was confused about why Toby would say


    something like that.


    Nevertheless, Toby held her hand with a serious expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll be loyal to you. My heart


    and body belong to you, and I won¡¯t act like Connor by cheating on you like what he did to my mother.


    This is my promise to you. Please believe me.¡±


    A man should know to keep his promises.


    Once a promise was made, he must be able to keep it.


    Ever since he was young, Toby had been taught to not be a person who couldn¡¯t keep their promises.


    One should give their all to the person one loved, and that person should be the only one in their eyes.


    Even if the feeling of love was gone, one¡¯s loyalty was expected as long as they were still together.


    This was basic respect toward that person as well as responsibility toward one¡¯s morals.


    Of course, Toby would never stop loving Sonia, so he was disgusted at what Connor did as a man


    himself.


    The reason why he was telling Sonia all these was because while there were many men in this world


    that behaved like Connor, there were still many good men that existed, and he was one of them.


    Toby didn¡¯t want Sonia to be suspicious that he might cheat on her after hearing about Connor¡¯s


    wrongdoings, since he had made a promise to her as well. He was worried that she might lose trust in


    his promise because of Connor.


    If that was really the case, he would be really frustrated.


    Hence, Toby really wanted to prove himself to Sonia that he wasn¡¯t like Connor, and that he would


    never be like him.


    She¡¯ll believe me, won¡¯t she?


    He pursed his lips as his gaze darkened. However, a hint of anxiousness could be seen in his dark


    gaze.


    Toby was really worried that Sonia would not trust him and think that he might cheat on her because of


    Connor.


    Noticing how nervous the man was, Sonia pursed her lips and chuckled softly. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like


    that. I won¡¯t doubt you just because of what Connor did to your mother. Everyone is different, and I


    know that well.¡±


    It was too easy to guess what Toby was thinking about. Sonia could immediately tell what was


    bothering him.


    Although Sonia thought that Toby¡¯s worries were unnecessary, she was still touched that he had


    immediately thought of her feelings and wanted to make sure that she wouldn¡¯t overthink.


    ¡°There are many perspectives from which we view the world and humans. There are good people and


    bad people. I won¡¯t think badly of every man in this world just because Connor is a horrible one


    because that would be unfair to all other nice men. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t overthink or suspect that you


    might cheat on me. Even if I don¡¯t trust you, I should trust my taste in men. I believe the man that I like


    won¡¯t be a cheater. What do you think?¡±


    She turned to Toby with a smile while Toby nodded with determination. ¡°Of course. I won¡¯t let you doubt


    your taste in men.¡±


    ¡°Good. That¡¯s already enough for me.¡± Sonia squeezed the man¡¯s hand.


    Toby sighed in relief.


    Great. Looks like she¡¯s not affected by what Connor did. If she is, I¡¯ll immediately crush Connor without


    any regards for the consequences that I¡¯ll be facing.


    While pondering to himself, he felt his heart racing after hearing what Sonia said next.


    ¡°However¡­¡± Sonia¡¯s glistening eyes narrowed slightly.


    At the same time, Toby felt his heart skip a beat as he had a bad feeling about this. ¡°What?¡± he gulped


    and asked with a hoarse voice.


    Sonia stared at the man in front of her while grinning and didn¡¯t bother hiding the cunning look in her


    eyes. ¡°If you really cheat on me while we are still together and destroy my trust for you, don¡¯t me me


    for destroying your reproductive tool.¡±


    Then, she made a cutting gesture and shifted her gaze downward before fixating it between the man¡¯s


    legs.


    Immediately, Toby¡¯s pupils shrank, and he felt a little intimidated. Under Sonia¡¯s heated gaze, his legs,


    which were apart, closed instinctively.


    It was obvious that he hadn¡¯t expected Sonia to say that.


    That¡¯s kind of cruel, man.


    Seeing that Toby remained quiet while pursing his lips, Sonia propped her head against her hand


    before a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you think that I went over the line?


    I don¡¯t think so, though, because I won¡¯t do that as long as you don¡¯t cheat on me. If you think that I


    went over the line, does that mean that you¡¯re nning to treat me like how Connor treated your


    mother?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Toby frowned and quickly eximed, ¡°I will never be like him.¡±


    ¡°Why were you quiet, then? I made myself clear. You won¡¯t think that I¡¯m crossing the line as long as


    you don¡¯t betray me, because there¡¯s nothing to worry about if you won¡¯t do it.¡± Sonia¡¯s gaze met


    Toby¡¯s.


    At this moment, Toby sighed softly. ¡°I don¡¯t think that you went over the line. I was just shocked by what


    you said.¡±


    ¡°Shocked?¡± Sonia tilted her head to the side curiously while Toby nodded and hummed in


    acknowledgement. ¡°I wasn¡¯t afraid of what you said just now, and I¡¯m not worried about it happening,


    but still, don¡¯t stare at me like that. You made me feel like you might just end me within the next


    second. You should know all men care about their assets. After all¡­¡±


    He looked around.

 Chapter 883

    Chapter 883


    Chapter 883 Brazen Man


    Sonia had a bad feeling about what was toe. ¡°After all what?¡±


    Toby chuckled and huddled closer to her. He nibbled on her earlobe, whispering, ¡°After all, it makes you


    happy too. You won¡¯t cut it off, right?¡±


    Sonia felt her mind going nk all of a sudden, and her face was as red as an apple. Her eyes


    widened in shock and embarrassment, and she red at Toby, who was smirking at her. She opened


    her mouth, but it was only after a while did she say, ¡°Why you¡­¡±


    Is he hearing himself? I won¡¯t cut it off because it makes me happy? It does not¡­ Oh fine, it does bring


    me joy, but he doesn¡¯t have to point it out. It¡¯s such a private matter! This is going to ruin his reputation,


    but he doesn¡¯t really care, does he? Point is, he¡¯s a lot pervier than he usually is. Sonia took a deep


    breath and held her frustration down. She shot Toby a re, chiding, ¡°Shut up, will you?¡± She covered


    her beet-red face, knowing that she must look redder than an apple.


    Toby was amused by the look on her face, and heughed. Theugh seemed toe from his chest,


    and it sounded alluring. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m just telling you that there are things you should never say or think


    about, get it?¡±


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    Sonia averted her gaze. She was worried that her face would get even hotter if she faced him. ¡°I won¡¯t


    do anything if you don¡¯t cheat on me.¡± She snorted. ¡°But if you do, I might actually cut it off.¡± She made


    a snipping gesture with her fingers, though she was looking at the other side. If she faced him while


    she made that gesture, he might pin her down and rail her in the car.


    Tobybed through her hair with his fingers. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will never cheat on you. You¡¯re my only


    one for life.¡± He breathed into her ear.


    ¡°You¡¯re so full of yourself.¡± She gave him a yful re. Her whole body was already hot from the


    earlier conversation, and him breathing down her neck tickled her. She bobbed her head down,


    chuckling.


    Her evading him so happily interested Toby, as if he found something fun. He huddled closer and kept


    breathing down her neck. Sometimes, he would even kiss or nibble on her neck. The sight of the hickey


    made him smile. He was apparently in a great mood, but that was not enough. One hickey was a


    rookie number. There was arge patch of skin for him to nt even more hickeys. I bet it¡¯d look great


    if I nt my hickeys all over her. He squinted and extended his hand under Sonia¡¯s seat, then he


    pushed a button.


    Sonia felt herself moving downward on her seat, and the sudden sense of vertigo made her gasp in


    shock.


    Toby covered her mouth. He said hoarsely, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just adjusted the seat a little. It¡¯s fine. Just lie


    down.¡±


    Sonia heaved a sigh of relief, and she eased up. Her heartbeat slowed, and she rxed as she leaned


    back into the seat.


    Toby leaned closer to her, touching her face and hair. The look in his eyes was a calm one, but there


    was a spark hiding in the deepest area of his gaze.


    Sonia noticed that, and rm bells rang in her head. Of course they would. She had seen that look in


    his eyes before, back when he railed her for days.


    He had that same look again, and he had adjusted her seat, and he was leaning on her. Of course she


    would suspect something. Sonia gulped, looking at him cautiously. ¡°What are you doing, Toby?¡±


    Toby squinted. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s exciting doing this in the car park, Little Leaf?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s jaw dropped. She was in a trance, feeling shocked. She thought he was only going to pin her


    down and give her a kiss, but his goal was bolder than she expected.


    Kissing in a public ce like the car park was already uneptable for her. She was worried that


    someone might bump into them and make things awkward. And now he wants to have sex right here?


    He¡¯s a lot bolder than I thought. She took a deep breath and snapped out of it. Her racing heart was


    slowing down, and she puffed her cheeks. She hissed, ¡°Are you mad, Toby? We¡¯re in the car park! The


    car park!¡± She repeated thest part. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid,¡± she reminded him.


    Toby looked at her, and he gulped. ¡°I know,¡± he said dismissively.


    ¡°Then get off me.¡± Sonia pushed him away, but he was too heavy, and the roof was right behind him. If


    she pushed him too hard, he might bump his head against the roof. The roof was a hard one, and it


    might hurt him. If they were in any other ce, she would have shoved him away.


    Toby did not get off like she asked. Instead he leaned down and touched her forehead with his, closing


    in on her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There isn¡¯t anyone here.¡±


    Sonia almost choked on herself. ¡°Just because we¡¯re alone now doesn¡¯t mean that won¡¯t change. Get


    off me, Toby. Don¡¯t do anything stupid. If someone sees us, it¡¯ll ruin our reputation. We¡¯d be the butt of


    everyone¡¯s joke.¡±


    Both of them were public figures. Even if they were not, two civilians having public sex was newsworthy


    enough. If they were the ones who got caught, the media would have a field day with them.


    If someone were to catch them in the act, they would color the headlines of the next day¡¯s news. Not


    only would they embarrass themselves, but they would also embarrass theirpanies and family.


    The mere thought of that happening sent a chill down her spine.


    Toby was a lot calmerpared to her, as if he was not worried about the consequences. He kissed


    her cheek, assuring her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll be fine.


    The windows are made of one-way mirrors. Nobody can see through it from outside. Nothing will


    happen. Trust me.¡± He moved away from her cheek and started kissing her lips.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Is he for real? I told him we¡¯re in public space, and someone might


    come by! Someone might see us! Doesn¡¯t he care about that?


    Does he really need to have sex with me here? Is he confident that no one will find out about this?


    Wait. He doesn¡¯t care even if we were found out, huh?

 Chapter 884

    Chapter 884


    Chapter 884 Found


    No matter what the case was, Sonia had to stop him. She would not let him do this. He might not care


    about his reputation, but I care about mine. Her lips were sealed, and all she could do was make some


    muffled sounds as she tried to push him away.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    The man could see nothing but lust at the moment, and Sonia did not manage to shove him away.


    Instead, he thought she was flirting with her, so he held her tighter.


    Sonia was starting to suffocate from the kiss. Her face was red, and her mind was a mush. She started


    losing strength, and eventually, her push had no resistance behind it. She was moving slower as well.


    Almost all her strength had left her, and she was starting to get into a trance. Apparently, Toby had


    managed to stoke her mes as well.


    Sex was an alluring affair after all. As long as someone was doing the goading, the other side would


    give in eventually. Slowly but surely, Sonia could not think straight anymore. She gave up resisting, and


    she had forgotten that they were still in the car park. She eased up, lying down and allowing Toby to


    hold her.


    Toby noticed her reaction. He stopped the kiss for a moment, and a smile curled his lips. A moment


    later, the ck Maybach started to rock.


    It looked eerie, especially paired with the fact that it was parked in a dimly-lit car park. Anyone who


    didn¡¯t know better would think they hade across a paranormal encounter.


    If Toby and Sonia were not up in each other¡¯s business, they would have heard the sounds of footsteps


    approaching them. They were the sounds of heels and leather shoes. A young couple had exited the


    elevator and was walking into the carpark while holding each other. Suddenly, the young man saw


    something, and he stopped. ¡°Holy shit!¡± he eximed.


    The youngdy stopped as well, seeing that her partner was not moving an inch. ¡°What¡¯s wrong,


    honey?¡±


    The man took a phone out and pointed at the rocking Maybach. ¡°Honey, look at that!¡± he gushed.


    The woman looked at where he was pointing. When she saw what was going on, her eyes widened in


    surprise. ¡°Oh my god¡­¡±


    ¡°Hot damn. I wonder who¡¯s the couple. I¡¯ve always wanted to do that. Man, I should learn from them.¡±


    The man rubbed his hands in excitement and walked over to the Maybach.


    The woman asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Taking a video. This is worthy of tomorrow¡¯s headline. I¡¯m not letting this slip through my fingers,¡± the


    man answered without even turning back.


    His partner was more rational than he was, though. She looked at the man, then at the Maybach. She


    could not see the te, but Maybachs were rare in this town. Worried that the man might get himself


    into trouble, she stomped her foot and trotted after him. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid, honey.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The man shrugged, capturing a video of the Maybach with his phone.


    Sonia was exhausted. All her strength had left her after she had that intense sex with Toby. Suddenly,


    she heard someone talking outside. rm bells rang in her head, and her face fell. She curled herself


    into the fetal position and tensed up. A chill ran down her spine, and beads of sweat formed on her


    forehead.


    Someone¡¯s here! Someone saw us, and they took photos! Oh no, oh no. This is so embarrassing.


    Sonia could already imagine how the headlines would go. ¡®Shocking news. Paradigm¡¯s CEO going at it


    with Fuller Group¡¯s CEO in public. She is insatiable.¡¯ She felt fear gripping her mind, and she almost


    fainted. Her heart was starting to race as well.


    Toby felt her tensing up, and he squeezed her hand gently. ¡°Rx, honey,¡± he said, his voice husky.


    Sonia had no idea how hard she was making it for Toby, but she was in no mood to care. What she


    cared about was the people outside. She turned around and saw the young couple standing outside.


    Even though she knew they could not see her, the fact that she was naked still embarrassed her. It was


    as if the window was covering nothing; as if the people outside could still see her.


    When the man started recording, all the color faded from her face. ¡°What should we do? Someone¡¯s


    taking pictures of us,¡± she whispered, grabbing Toby¡¯s arm for assurance. Her voice, however, sounded


    nervous, and she was almost sobbing. Why did he have to do it here? Why did he have to seduce me?


    And why did I actually fall for it? It was just a kiss, but I ended up having sex with him just like that.


    Toby noticed her tears. He let her go and wiped the tear off the corner of her eye, then put his hand


    near his lips and licked the tear off his finger. Toby looked at the young couple coldly, and he assured,


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.


    It¡¯s fine. They can¡¯t see or hear us, and they won¡¯t do anything either. Even if they did record us, they


    won¡¯t post it online. In fact, they would delete it immediately and pretend that nothing has happened.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia looked bbergasted.


    Toby was just about to answer, but the woman outside was faster. The look on her face changed, as if


    she just saw something terrifying. She gasped in horror, and her face paled.


    The woman grabbed the man¡¯s arm, shouting frantically, ¡°Alright, stop it!¡± She snatched the phone from


    him straight away and deleted the video he just recorded.


    The man roared, ¡°What are you doing? Are you mad?¡± He snatched his phone back and checked the


    video he just recorded. Maybe I can salvage it.


    However, when he realized that everything he caught on video was deleted, he shot the woman a


    re. ¡°Are you out of your mind? What is wrong with you? Why did you delete it? Give me a good


    reason or I¡¯m breaking up with you!¡±


    The woman was angered by the look her boyfriend was giving her. ¡°You want to break up with me? I


    just saved you, you know that?¡±

 Chapter 885

    Chapter 885


    Chapter 885 Saving Your Life


    ¡°What do you mean you saved me?¡± The man chortled dismissively. ¡°I¡¯m not in danger, so what are you


    saving me from?¡±


    The woman felt like pping her stupid boyfriend. ¡°I¡¯m saving you from your own stupidity!¡± She was


    trembling from rage. ¡°The people in there are gonna get mad at you, you know.¡±


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    The man waved her off,ughing. ¡°So what? I¡¯m right here. What can they do? Beat me up? Not like


    they would do it anyway.¡± He gave the car window a disdainful look.


    Sonia met his gaze, and she tensed up. For some reason, she felt that the man could see her. Even


    though Toby had guaranteed that would never happen, she still felt nervous. After all, she could see


    them, which made her feel as if they could see her. That thought alone made her feel embarrassed.


    Her tensing up put Toby in a hard situation again. He was already feeling better after Sonia had


    rxed, but she was shocked when the man closed in, and it plunged Toby back into a world of pain.


    Just you wait. When I get out of here, I will end you. Toby squinted at the couple outside, the look in his


    eyes dark and evil.


    The man was inches away from the car, and he shuddered for some reason. Why do I feel like


    someone is looking at me? Am I mistaken?


    The woman did not feel that gaze, but her boyfriend¡¯s provocative gesture made her gasp in horror.


    She almost cked out, but she held on and took a deep breath. She held her fear down, then pulled


    the man¡¯s ear. ¡°Open your eyes and look closely, you idiot! Don¡¯t drag me down with you, you


    dumbass!¡± She pulled him by the ear and headed to the back of the Maybach.


    The man struggled in pain, shouting, ¡°Are you mad? Stop pulling my ear, you¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish, the woman pushed his head closer to the car te. ¡°Open your eyes and look


    closely. You recognize this car te, don¡¯t you?¡±


    The man was shoved to the car te all of a sudden, and he could see the te number in its full glory.


    He might be a frivolous guy, but he was no fool. Of course he recognized the te number and what it


    meant. Horrified, he stood up and backed away quickly. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± The man stared at the car te,


    his jaw open. He was in too much of a shock to form a sentence. ¡°I-If this kind of car is here, then the


    people inside must be¡­¡±


    The man looked at the car in horror. He could not see what was happening inside, but that was all the


    more reason he felt terrified. He had no idea which one of the A-lister was in there, but no matter who


    they were, they were out of his league.


    The car was not shaking anymore. Obviously, the people inside knew that they were there. They had


    probably seen their every move and heard everything they said. Are they going to hunt us down now?


    The man gulped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He had a look of fear on his face, and he


    slowly turned to look at the woman beside him. ¡°What should we do, honey?¡±


    The woman bit her lip and gave the man an angry look. ¡°I don¡¯t know. This is all your fault. You just had


    to record it, and now see what that got us!¡± The woman was starting to tear up from fear of what might


    happen.


    The man backed off a little, muttering, ¡°I-I had no idea someone like this would be here.¡± They would


    not be scared if the car¡¯s owner was a homeowner at Bayside Residence, since everyone here was


    about the same in terms of social hierarchy.


    The woman stomped her foot out of frustration when she heard what he said, but she had no idea what


    to say either.


    Seafield was one of the most globalized cities in the nation, and itsnd cost a pretty penny. A lot of


    rich and powerful people took residence here.


    Bayside Residence was not the top-of-the-line ce here, but it still was an expensive condominium


    complex. Not everyone was uber rich, but they were richer than most people. The couple knew and


    saw a lot more than civilians, so they knew what a car te like that meant.


    The top dogs in Seafield had special car tes, especially the elite of the elite. The numbers on their


    car tes were usually made up of a single number. She had no idea who owned the car that had a car


    te with four nines on it, but she knew he was one of the top dogs. If they were to upload that video,


    they would be dead by the next morning. It would be too easy for people like the top dogs to kill


    someone off.


    Fear was starting to drown her, and she started shivering. Fortunately, she was more rational and


    meticulous than her boyfriend, as she did notice the car te first after all.


    She bit her lip and clenched her fists. In the end, she led her boyfriend to the front passenger car door.


    ¡°Just apologize for now. No matter what happens, that¡¯s the right move.¡± Maybe they¡¯ll let us go if we


    say sorry.


    The man thought she had a point, so they bowed deeply to apologize. It was a standard bow, and they


    seemed genuine. They quickly said sorry and begged for forgiveness. They said they had deleted the


    video and that it would not make its way online.


    Toby was feeling really bad at the moment. Beads of sweat were pouring down his head, but Sonia just


    would not rx. He knew that she would never ease up if the couple outside did not leave. He took a


    deep breath to hold his anger down, then he pushed down on a button.


    Sonia heard a sound over her head. She looked up and nched when she saw the panel of the


    sunroof moving back. Is he mad? Why is he opening the sunroof?


    Yeah, it¡¯s just a crack, but they might jump up and look down into the car. Wracked by her nerves,


    Sonia buried her nails into Toby¡¯s arm.


    Just when she was about to tell Toby to close the roof, he roared, ¡°Scram!¡± His voice sounded husky


    and in pain.


    The couple shuddered. He¡¯s letting us go for now. They looked at each other and ran off like their lives


    depended on it.


    Toby closed the sunroof after they left. He looked down at Sonia, who was still nervous, and he


    caressed her face. He assured her, ¡°They¡¯re gone now. Calm down.¡±


    Color came back to her face, and Sonia blushed. She shot Toby an angry re. ¡°You deserve it. I told


    you someone woulde by, but you just wouldn¡¯t listen. You wanted to do it, and see what that got us


    into.¡± She could feel her heart almost jumping out of her chest earlier.


    This is all his fault! Despite what she was thinking, Sonia still slowly rxed herself so that Toby would


    not be in pain anymore. If she did not do that, he would hold it against her the next time they did this.


    Hey, what am I even thinking about?

 Chapter 886

    Chapter 886


    Chapter 886 Audacious


    I won¡¯t let him use that against me, and so what if he¡¯s feeling squirmish? He deserves it, Sonia thought


    bashfully.


    Toby had no idea what she was thinking. Once he felt her easing up, he heaved a sigh of relief. The


    feeling earlier had subsided, and he moved around, smiling at her. ¡°I told you nothing would happen.


    Did you hear them? They¡¯re terrified of me. They wouldn¡¯t want to cross me.¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips.¡±You knew how they would react even if we were found out?¡±


    Toby did not answer.


    Surprise shed in Sonia¡¯s eyes. ¡°How did you know?¡± She was curious. The couple did not know who


    the people in the car were, so it was surprising that they were struck by fear all of a sudden. On top of


    that, they deleted the footage and apologized despite not even having seen them.


    Toby thought her bbergasted look was adorable. He kissed the corner of her eyes and exined,


    ¡°The car te.¡±


    ¡°The car te?¡± Sonia asked.


    ¡°Yes. Everyone in Bayside Residence is in the upper echelon of society, so they know a lot more


    compared to most people. They know all the top dogs in Seafield have special car tes, and I¡¯m one


    of the top dogs. They saw the number on my car te and knew I¡¯m not to be trifled with, so they


    apologized.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia smacked her forehead. ¡°I forgot about that.¡±


    She never expected the day woulde where she would have sex with a guy in a car park. If


    someone told her she would do this eventually, she would haveughed at them. Something like this


    would never have happened in the past. This was the first time she let herself go and did something


    she had never thought about doing. It was exciting, but it terrified her. If someone caught them, it would


    be embarrassing.


    She could not think straight when someone approached the car just now, and she forgot that the car


    te alone was enough to ward off any curious bypassers. Hey, this is not fair. We¡¯re both involved


    here. Why am I the only one who¡¯s scared, while he can be the cool guy? What if someone uploads the


    video without knowing what the car te number means? Someone might search the number and find


    out that it¡¯s us. She gave him a curious look.


    She wore her heart on her sleeve, and Toby saw right through her. He touched her forehead with his.


    ¡°Even if they uploaded the video without knowing anything, someone at the tform knows. Even if


    they don¡¯t, there¡¯s a safety mechanism tied to the car te. It¡¯s secure, and nobody without clearance


    can find anything about it. You¡¯re worried for nothing.¡±


    Sonia looked up at him. ¡°No wonder you wanted to do it here. You knew what would happen. You know


    we¡¯d be fine even if we were found out.¡±


    Toby said nothing, much to Sonia¡¯s chagrin. Why didn¡¯t he tell me about it if he knows that? Is it that fun


    seeing me scared? Wait! What am I thinking? The corner of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. Why do I want him to


    tell me sooner? That makes me sound like I want to do it here. No, I don¡¯t! I¡¯m a decent woman! I¡¯m


    only in this situation because he seduced me! I never wanted this! No, sir! Sonia thought nervously, her


    face red.


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    Toby noticed her spacing out and shifting her attention away from him. He squinted and thrusted into


    her.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened, and she let out a moan, though she covered her mouth right away. She also


    shot him a re of annoyance. He did that on purpose! Just because I stopped halfway through. I know


    telling a man to stop before he has his release is going to kill the mood, but I did it for us.


    This is not something to be proud of after all. Even if nobody could see who they were, and even if they


    would never cross them because they knew how powerful they were, doing it in public still felt


    awkward. She felt like she was performing in front of everyone, and it embarrassed her. Why doesn¡¯t


    he feel embarrassed? Oh wait. He suggested this and went for it without thinking twice. Of course he


    doesn¡¯t mind. He¡¯s indecent.


    Toby noticed her spacing out again, and he frowned, then he bit her lip.


    It was not painful, though it was enough to make her snap out of it.


    Toby was breathing heavily, sounding sexier than ever. ¡°Spacing out during sex is disrespectful to me,


    you know? You spacing out makes me feel like I¡¯m not giving it my all. Maybe I should go harder.¡±


    Sonia dug her nails into his shoulders, sinking into his flesh. Toby, you bastard!¡±


    Toby smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll go slower. Focus on me and I¡¯ll finish sooner.¡±


    He did not finish sooner. Time passed, and about an eternityter, Toby finally stopped. She felt


    exhausted. It was like she had turned into a pile of mush. She leaned back into the chair, unwilling to


    move even a muscle. All her strength had left her.


    Toby was not someone who would dump her after he was done though. After he put his clothes back


    on, he started cleaning Sonia up. There was no water around, so a full cleanup was impossible. Toby


    only wore a suit and nothing inside, since he used his ck shirt to wipe Sonia clean.

 Chapter 887

    Chapter 887


    Chapter 887 Grumbling Tom


    Sonia felt likeughing when she saw him using his ck shirt as a towel, but she could not even


    chuckle. She had no strength for that, so she only smiled a little.


    Toby noticed that. ¡°Why are youughing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Just thinking that I¡¯m a really lucky girl. Apany president worth billions is serving me like I¡¯m his


    master, and he¡¯s even using a shirt worth a few ten thousand as a towel. Of course I feel happy.¡± She


    looked at him.


    Toby was only wearing his suit, and there were only two to three buttons, all of which were located


    under the chest. She could see his naked chest and perfectly-toned muscles. He was radiating and


    glistening with sweat after all that sex earlier, but it did not make him look ugly. Instead, he seemed


    primal and alluring.


    Sonia thought she was a whole lot stronger, mentally speaking. At least she would no longer blush


    every time she saw a naked part of Toby¡¯s body, nor would she turn away the moment she saw it. Now,


    she could enjoy the view and allow him to clean her up. It would have been impossible in the past, but


    not now.


    She had no strength to move, but she did not want to feel sticky and slimy either, so she allowed him to


    clean her up. He was still energetic and strong. Besides, it was great having a billionaire fussing over


    her. At least her ego was stroked. Besides, he had seen her naked and gone even further than that


    before. There was no need to feel embarrassed. Well, whatever.


    Toby gently cleaned the stains off her. ¡°It¡¯s my honor to serve you, and I don¡¯t feel unfair. I feel proud. I


    can do this all my life. If you¡¯d like, I can buy some towels that cost the same as the shirt for this job.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sonia mustered all her strength to raise her hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine with you doing this all your life, but


    don¡¯t use that kind of towel. They cost a fortune.¡± That¡¯s just unnecessary.


    Toby saw the look on her face, and he smiled. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Using his shirt was the same thing anyway, and he preferred using the shirtpared to a towel.


    Cleaning her off with his shirt made him feel hot. He started to tighten his grip on the shirt, as if he was


    holding something in. A momentter, he heaved a sigh and held the urge down. I can¡¯t go another


    round, or it would break her.


    He massaged his temples and perished his sexual thoughts. He took the clothes on the driver¡¯s seat


    and put them over Sonia. He loved helping her get into her clothes, especially when she was lying in


    his embrace. It melted his heart, and that helpless look of hers enticed him. Toby could have finished


    helping her in moments, but he dragged on and took advantage of her.


    Sonia knew that, of course, but she was too tired to say anything. She could not even roll her eyes.


    When he finally finished helping her get into her clothes, Toby cleaned the stains in the car. He made


    sure that there were no suspicious stains left before getting out of the car with Sonia in his arms, then


    he walked to the elevator.


    Sonia leaned against his chest, her eyes closed. The thought of what happened over thest few hours


    made her feel embarrassed. She never would have thought that she would have sex with Toby in


    public. That¡¯s kind of an achievement, huh?


    It was fortunate that the people here knew a lot of stuff, and that Toby was driving his usual car instead


    of a regr one. If he was in a regr car, then the car te would have been a regr one as well. If


    they had sex in that kind of car, the couple would have uploaded the video without fear or fervor. Once


    the public went through with the doxxing, their reputation would be ruined. Good thing nobody else


    passed by, or I would have to go through it a second time. She eventually loosened up, and the


    exhaustion caught up to her. Eventually, she leaned closer to his chest and fell asleep.


    Toby noticed her taking deeper breaths than usual, and he looked down to find her asleep. He


    chuckled, holding her tighter as he quickened his pace into the elevator.


    It was three in the afternoon when he came back to Bayside Residence. He put her on the bed and


    tucked her in. He wanted to wake her up and tell her to have lunch before she went to sleep, but she


    would not wake up, so he let it slide. He knew she was in a deep sleep after exhausting herself, and it


    was impossible to wake her up. Since that was the case, he had no choice but to let her sleep.


    He pushed her hair out of the way so she could breathe easier, then he got back up and rummaged


    through her wardrobe until he came across some clothes that fitted him. He tiptoed out of the bedroom


    and headed to the bathroom. Toby was drying his head with a towel when he came out, and he made a


    call.


    It went through in a moment. ¡°How can I help you, Mr. Fuller?¡± Tom said, sounding lethargic and a little


    bitter.


    Of course he was bitter. It was nearing the festival, and everyone in thepany was working overtime


    to get things done, but Toby skipped out on work instead. Tom knew the reason for that, and he could


    understand why, but he thought it was unfair to take on so much of the work. He ran around the


    company the whole day without even resting, and his mind was about to explode.


    Toby ignored the bitterness in his voice. He said, ¡°Come to Bayside Residence after work and get the


    car¡¯s interior washed.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tom was bbergasted. ¡°Get the interior washed?¡±Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But it was only washed two days ago.¡± Tom was confused. Toby was a germaphobe, and he would


    wash his regr car¡¯s interiors once every week. It was a deep clean as well. It¡¯s only been two days,


    and Mr. Fuller wants it cleaned again? Odd. ¡°Did you get it dirty, Mr. Fuller?¡± Tom asked curiously.


    Toby¡¯s face fell, and he pursed his lips. ¡°No. Just do as I say and ask no questions!¡±


    Tom scratched his nose awkwardly. ¡°Alright, Mr. Fuller. I understand. I¡¯ll take the car to the shop after


    work.¡±


    Toby grunted. ¡°And take the spare key with you. Don¡¯te upstairs.¡± He sounded like he did not want


    to be disturbed.


    ¡°Of course, Mr. Fuller,¡± Tom replied. He sounded like he was smiling, but the man was rolling his eyes


    in silence. You don¡¯t want me to go upstairs? Well, I don¡¯t want to go anyway. I¡¯m not stupid. I¡¯m not


    going to watch you guys make out.

 Chapter 888

    Chapter 888


    Chapter 888 Bizarre Call


    Tom stoppedining in silence and asked, ¡°What else do you need, President Fuller?¡±


    Toby lowered his head pensively for a moment. ¡°Have you received any weird calls today? Or did you


    see any weird people?¡±


    Weird calls? Weird people? Tom shook his head in confusion. ¡°No, President Fuller. Did something


    happen?¡±


    ¡°Anya hired our ex-legal department head as herwyer,¡± Toby answered.


    Tom tried to recall who it was, and he remembered someone. ¡°Oscar?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Connor¡¯s the one who hired him. He thought he could use our connection to get


    Anya off the hook, but the negotiation broke down, so he might call you to find out more about me. He


    might also send his spies as well.¡±


    Connor would not contact him that easily. Homer was his father after all, and no man would want toe


    in contact with the son of the man who took their beloved away.


    ¡°I see.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Fuller. I haven¡¯t received any weird calls today. Didn¡¯t see


    any weird people either.¡±


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Toby nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    ¡°By the way, sir¡­¡± Tom remembered something and he adjusted his sses. ¡°Is Connor rted to


    Anya? Why did he do so much for her? Are they father and daughter just like what we guessed?¡±


    Toby did not answer, but he had a dark look on his face.


    The silence was an answer in and of itself.


    Tom knew that, and his eyes widened. ¡°She¡¯s actually his daughter?¡±


    Toby chortled sardonically. ¡°The product of an affair.¡±


    Tom gasped. ¡°She¡¯s born out of wedlock? If I remember correctly, she¡¯s twenty-seven, isn¡¯t she? Then,


    that means¡­¡± Tom¡¯s eyes were as big as saucepans now, and he did not finish his sentence, though he


    felt sad for Toby¡¯s mother.


    He was one of the people who knew about what Toby¡¯s mother did in her younger days. Of course he


    could not stay still after finding out that Connor sired an illegitimate daughter three years after Toby¡¯s


    mother was married to Homer. Didn¡¯t he say he would wait for the madam?


    He promised he wouldn¡¯t get another woman, but in the end, not only did he do that, but they had a child


    as well. Everyone in Westsanshire calls him a loyal man. They say he¡¯s staying single for the madam,


    but he¡¯s been sleeping around like everyone else. The madam should have never fallen in love with him.


    Tom cursed Connor silently and he asked with concern, ¡°Are you alright, sir?¡±


    Even he felt angry after he found out that Anya was Connor¡¯s love child, let alone Toby. President Fuller¡¯s


    heart is getting weaker by the day. He can¡¯t get furious or too emotional. He was worried about Toby.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± Toby squinted, a storm brewing in his eyes. ¡°I had a guess, so I was prepared for this. I


    won¡¯t lose my mind and kill him or something, and I have Little Leaf with me. All is good.¡±


    Tom had a deadpan look on his face. Heughed at himself in silence. I still have to hear about your love


    life on the phone? Why are you doing this to me?


    I¡¯m just trying to help. This is just ungrateful. I can¡¯t do this anymore. Imma hang up. He rolled his eyes


    but pretended that he was fine. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, sir. I¡¯ll be going now. There¡¯s work to do.¡±


    ¡°You do that.¡± Toby nodded coolly.


    Tom hung up, still looking deadpan.


    Toby had no idea that Tom was already grumbling. He put his phone down and tossed it onto the couch,


    then he went back to drying his hair.


    Once he was done, he tossed the towel onto the couch¡¯s armrest and headed to the kitchen. His hair


    was still wet, but he was not going to blow them dry. He wanted to make some soup so Sonia could have


    it after she woke up.


    She had better strength and stamina after doing all the workout. It was better than how she was at first,


    but it was far from what he had in mind. She¡¯s still weak. She needs her nutrients. Toby brewed the soup


    as fast as he could.


    ¡­


    A ringtone woke Sonia up. She extended her hand from under the nket and rummaged around the


    bedside table. Her eyes were still closed and she had no idea where she was, but she still did it because


    of her muscle memory. She found her phone and swiped right on the screen before cing the device


    against her ear. ¡°Hello, may I know who you are?¡± she asked, her voicenguid and hoarse.


    She received no answer.


    There was a frown on her forehead and she opened her eyes with difficulty. She ced her phone in


    front of her, but the screen shone like the sun in the dark room. It almost blinded her, so she closed her


    eyes and put her phone back against her ear.


    It was just for a moment, but Sonia could see that the call was from an unknown number. She could not


    see where the location was, and there was only a string of numbers.


    Apparently, the caller had hidden their location, but Sonia did not think it was weird. She received a lot of


    simr calls every day¡ªit was either sales calls or her client. The call did not faze her at all, and she


    asked politely, ¡°Hello, can you hear me?¡±


    She still had no answer. If it were not because the call was still ongoing, she would have thought the


    caller had hung up on her.


    Sonia did not force them to talk. She covered her mouth and yawned, which sobered her up a little and


    jogged her awake. She tried to sound a lot less sleepy as she exined, ¡°Hello, I¡¯ll be hanging up now if


    there¡¯s nothing you want to talk about. If you¡¯re Paradigm Co.¡¯s client, you can call me once you figure


    out what you want to talk about. My phone is on 24/7. See you.¡±


    She finished talking and raised her phone to hang up. Sonia opened her eyes and blinked a few times so


    she could get used to looking at her phone in the dark.


    When she saw the time, Sonia froze for a moment, and her eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s already seven?¡± She sat


    up abruptly.


    Sonia scratched her head and looked at the French window. The curtains were closed, preventing her


    from seeing the view outside. However, she noticed that there were neon lights shining in the distance,


    and she realized that she was not seeing things. Her phone was working correctly. Indeed, it was already


    7.00PM.


    The days were short in winter. It would get dark at six and night would fully descend at about seven. All


    the neon lights in the city had been turned on. Those lights aren¡¯t natural. They¡¯re neon lights. I¡¯m sure of


    it. She held her forehead, looking a little disappointed in herself.


    She never thought she would sleep through the afternoon and wake up only at night. Sonia knew she


    had fallen asleep from the sheer exhaustion, but she never thought the slumber wouldst that long.


    Right before she slept, she even thought she would just take a nap and go back to Paradigm Co. after


    that, but so much for that.

 Chapter 889

    Chapter 889


    Chapter 889 Toby¡¯s Fault


    This is all Toby¡¯s fault. I wouldn¡¯t have gotten so tired and slept through the afternoon if not for him. I


    could have gotten some work done. Ooh, I¡¯m so mad. He¡¯s gonna pay for this.


    She turned to the side and flipped the switch of hermp on. The light illuminated the room, and Sonia


    could see everything. She put her phone down and got out of bed, but the moment she did, her legs


    gave out. She fell down with a thud, kneeling on her knees and hands.


    It was fortunate that the floor had a rug over it, and the impact did not hurt that much. However, she


    turned beet-red from the awkwardness.


    She fell because she had gone the whole day without eating, and a part of her was feeling sore. She had


    pulled on it when she got off the bed, and that was why her legs gave out.


    As she looked at her knees and hands, something bubbled within Sonia. Tears welled up in her eyes,


    and she kept muttering Toby¡¯s name. It¡¯s all Toby¡¯s fault. I wouldn¡¯t be kneeling here like some kind of


    weakling if not for him.


    The more she thought about it, the sadder it made her. She bit her lip, and she was on the verge of tears.


    Sonia had never embarrassed herself like this before, but after she met Toby, all she did was embarrass


    herself. What did I ever do to make that guy do this to me?


    She took a deep breath and held her tears down. Sonia slowly got back up, holding the edge of her bed


    as she did so. She sat on the edge of her bed to check her legs.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Sonia was in pajamas. Toby probably changed her clothes after he took her back. She bent over and


    rolled her pants up to see if her knees were bruised. She had fallen down hard, and it might leave a


    bruise even though it did not hurt. She had to check.


    She rolled the legs of her pants up, revealing her fair and lovely calves. They shone like jade under the


    illumination of the light, attracting the eyes of those who would look at them.


    She took a close look at her knees and heaved a sigh of relief, as they were fine. She rolled the legs of


    the pants down and went outside, leaning against the wall.


    She had to. Sonia almost lost all feeling of her body, and she was starving. There was not an ounce of


    strength left in her, and she would fall if she did not lean against something.


    It was some time past seven, and Toby was not in the room. She wondered if he was in the living room


    or outside. If he was in the living room, she would bite him hard to get back at him for making her fall.


    She was walking slowly, but eventually, she came out of her bedroom and stepped into the living


    quarters. All the lights were on, and the room was bright. In other words, Toby was in the house. He was


    not in the living room, however, which meant he was either in the kitchen or bedroom-turned-study.


    Sonia changed directions, heading to the left, where the study was. The door was ajar when she arrived,


    and some light seeped out of the crack. She heard the sound of someone tapping the keyboarding


    from within, and she knew the culprit was right in there. Sonia took a deep breath and pushed the door


    open.


    She did not make any sound when she opened the door, so Toby did not realize that she hade in.


    He was sitting behind the desk, working seriously.


    Sonia was still leaning against the wall, tiptoeing into the study, as if she was worried about disturbing


    him. The study used to be hers and only hers. She could barge in like an elephant without having to


    worry about disturbing anyone. However, she had split the study in half now.


    There was an extra desk,puter, chair, and most importantly, a book shelf filled with books that bored


    her. She did not understand what they were talking about either. Obviously, they belonged to Toby.


    Toby had a lot more stuff than she did, causing her desk andputer to be ced in a corner. She only


    took up a third of the space, while the rest belonged to Toby. She was the owner of the room, but Toby


    had taken it from her and turned her into something like an assistant. On top of that, she had to walk on


    tiptoes just so she would not disturb him. It annoyed her a little.


    However, when she remembered how her clothes took up two thirds of the cab while Toby¡¯s


    expensive clothes only took up a third of the space, it cheered her up a little. A smile curled her lips, and


    she coughed.


    Toby stopped typing when he heard that, and he looked up. When he saw Sonia standing not far from


    him, the deadpan look on his face turned into a gentle smile, and surprise shed in his eyes. ¡°Good


    evening.¡±


    He pushed the chair back and got up. Toby stopped right before Sonia, looking at her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you


    call me?¡±


    Sonai rolled her eyes. ¡°I had no idea where you were. How am I supposed to call you?¡±


    ¡°Your phone,¡± Toby answered.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I don¡¯t need to call someone just because I woke up. And why would


    I? I¡¯m not hurt or anything. I don¡¯t need you to treat me like I¡¯m a patient.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not a patient. Don¡¯t call yourself that.¡± He poked her forehead and frowned. ¡°You¡¯re perfectly fine,


    and I¡¯m happy to do anything for you. Are you hungry?¡±


    Sonia looked down and rubbed her belly. It growled.


    Toby smiled. ¡°I think you are. Let¡¯s have dinner.¡±


    He held her hand and led her out.


    Sonia looked at his desk. ¡°Don¡¯t you have work to do? You seem busy. Why don¡¯t you finish your work


    first? I can make my own dinner.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not that important. I can finish them tomorrow.¡± Toby opened the study¡¯s door. No matter


    how important his work was, Sonia would always take precedence. He would rather spend time with her


    than working.


    They came to the dining room, and Toby pulled a chair back for Sonia. Once she sat down, he said,


    ¡°Give me a minute. The food¡¯s in the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in the kitchen?¡± Sonia sat up straighter. ¡°Dinner¡¯s already made?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been keeping it warm for you. Give me a minute.¡± He patted her shoulder and


    went to the kitchen. A momentter, he came back with a variety of food, and there was even chicken


    soup too. They smelled great. Toby gave her the cutlery. ¡°Dig in.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Sonia took it from him.


    Toby sat across from her. ¡°I had dinner already. Dig in. I want your opinion. I just learned how to make


    these.¡±


    Sonia stopped taking the food for a minute and gave Toby a look of surprise. ¡°You made these?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Toby nodded, looking proud of himself.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°I bet they¡¯re good. You learn things fast, and you learn them well. I¡¯m confident about


    that.¡± She speared a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth.

 Chapter 890

    Chapter 890


    Chapter 890 Don¡¯t Call Me Baby


    They were great, as expected. Sonia gave Toby a thumbs up as praise.


    Toby smiled. ¡°Have some more then.¡± He filled her bowl with all kinds of food, and when he was done,


    the food in her bowl looked like a small mountain. Even so, Toby did not show any signs of stopping. It


    was like he was having fun filling her bowl with food.


    Sonia held his hand before he could continue, and she shook her head. ¡°Stop it. Are you trying to fatten


    me up?¡±


    Toby looked at her bowl and realized that he had gone a bit too far. He put his fork down sheepishly and


    coughed. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll stop now. Dig in.¡±


    Sonia let his hand go and went back to dinner. Halfway through, she remembered something, and she


    stopped chewing for a moment. Wait, wasn¡¯t I going to bite him as payback for exhausting me and


    making me fall? Why haven¡¯t I done that yet?


    Sonia looked at the food before her as she fell into her thoughts. In the end, she chalked it up to him


    being too good at cheering her up. Fine. Since he made dinner for me, I¡¯ll let it slide.


    Sonia tossed her annoyance out the window and kept eating. Hey, I¡¯m not easily bought. I¡¯m just too kind


    to bite someone. Yep, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m just too kind. Sonia nodded.


    Toby looked at her and squinted. He extended his hand and patted her head. I wonder what she¡¯s


    thinking about.


    The head pat came all of a sudden, and Sonia shot him an angry re. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Toby smiled. ¡°Nothing. Your head is just too cute, so I couldn¡¯t hold back.¡±


    Sonia was not happy at all. In fact, she felt terrified. Her lips twitched, and she nudged her chair back to


    put some distance between her and Toby. He¡¯s patting my head because he finds it cute? What are you


    going to do next? Tear my head off because it¡¯s cute?


    Toby noticed her moving backward, and he blinked in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Why did she move


    backward?


    Sonia would not tell him that she misinterpreted what he said. She popped a piece of meat into her


    mouth and shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I wasn¡¯t feeling toofortable sitting at that angle, so I


    moved.¡±


    Toby nodded, but he said nothing. He did the dishes after dinner, and Sonia did not refuse, seeing as he


    was so adamant. Shey on the couch to recuperate. There was no reason not to let him do it, as he


    was so eager. She stretched her arms out, but just then, her phone rang.


    The vibration was making her leg numb, and she took it out from her pocket. Charles had sent her a text.


    It¡¯ste. Why is he texting me? Did something happen?


    Sonia quickly sat up and clicked into the text. The message read, ¡®Sonia, Mom asked me if you¡¯re free


    tomorrow. She wants you and Fuller over for dinner.¡¯


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Sonia smacked her forehead. I totally forgot about this. Charles did tell her that his mother knew she had


    gotten back together with Toby, and she wanted her to bring Toby over for dinner. She had agreed to it


    and even said she could make it in two days, but things happened, and she failed to fulfill her promise.


    Mrs. Lane was understanding, however. She said Sonia could go after she was done with work, but


    Sonia forgot all about it after she was done with work. She had not told Toby about it either. If it were not


    for Charles, Sonia would have forgotten all about it. Tomorrow, huh?


    Sonia recalled her itinerary for the next day. She did not have much to do, so she could go, but she was


    not sure if Toby had the same luxury. Sonia put her phone down and turned around. She knelt on the


    couch, holding the back of it with her hands. ¡°Toby!¡± she called out in the direction of the kitchen.


    Toby was cleaning up the kitchen at the moment. He was wearing an apron, and his sleeves were rolled


    up. The man was wiping the counter with a cloth, and it looked like he was used to it.


    He looked just like a househusband who was used to doing chores. If Tom was here, he would probably


    cry seeing his employer doing chores like a househusband. Toby, however, was used to this, and he


    seemed happy doing it.


    When Sonia called him, he quickly tossed the cloth away and washed his hands, then he took his apron


    off before going over to Sonia. ¡°What is it?¡± He came to the living quarters and looked at Sonia.


    Sonia waved her phone. ¡°Charles texted me. He wants to know if we¡¯re free to go over to his ce for


    dinner tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°At his house?¡± Toby frowned. He did not understand why Charles wanted them over. There¡¯s no way


    Charles sent that invitation. He would only invite Little Leaf, not me. Someone else must have sent the


    invite. He thought about Charles¡¯ folks and arched his eyebrow. ¡°Did his mother invite us?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± She looked at him, shocked. Wow, he¡¯s smart. He can guess a lot of things just


    from one clue. No wonder thepany has grown so much under him. He¡¯s smart, so of course it¡¯ll


    grow.


    Toby noticed the astonishment in her eyes, and he chuckled. ¡°Easy. Charles hates me, so he wouldn¡¯t


    invite me to his ce. There¡¯s only him and his parents there, so only his parents would invite me for


    dinner. His father¡¯s a man, so he won¡¯t ask us over for no reason. The only one who would do that is his


    mother.¡±


    ¡°Nice deduction.¡± Sonia gave him another thumbs up. ¡°If you weren¡¯t a part of the Fullers, you would


    probably be a detective or police officer by now.¡±


    Toby sat down and held the back of her head, then he kissed her forehead. ¡°I¡¯m ttered, baby.¡±


    Sonia felt a chill run down her spine from being called that. She rubbed her arm, and her face was red.


    She shot him an awkward but embarrassed re. ¡°Don¡¯t call me baby. It sounds so icky.¡±


    She was twenty-seven, not seven, and she was not a girl who was in the early days of a rtionship.


    She did not need her boyfriend to call her ¡®baby¡¯. It was hard to get used to, and it sounded like she was


    trying to act like a teen girl when she was almost thirty years old. Wait. Where did he learn that?


    He doesn¡¯t look like the kind of guy who would say that. Despite her disbelief, Toby did say that, and he


    sounded so sexy when he did it, she felt really ttered in spite of how embarrassed she was.

 Chapter 891

    Chapter 891


    Chapter 891 Nervous Meeting


    He really knows how to flirt.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± Toby had no idea Sonia was overthinking, though her reddened face did arouse him, but he


    held down the urge to bite her.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Sonia kept ring at him. ¡°Why not? I¡¯m going to be thirty in three years. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s icky calling


    me that?¡± If she was a teenager or ady in her twenties, she would have epted that easily. Of


    course, she was still happy hearing that, and it was sweet, but it still felt awkward for her.


    Toby chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it, and don¡¯t make yourself sound like an old woman. If


    you¡¯re old, then I¡¯m ancient. Just toss it out the window.


    I call you baby because I want to. No matter how old you are, you¡¯re still my baby, even if your hair is all


    white.¡± He held her in his embrace. ¡°Age has nothing to do with it. It depends on how much someone


    cares for you. I love and care for you, so you¡¯ll always be my baby.¡±


    That made Sonia even redder, and her heart started to race. She would be lying if she said she was not


    delighted to hear that. Every woman would love to be someone¡¯s baby, and she felt delighted to be his.


    She hugged him back and closed her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re such a flirt.¡± She smiled. ¡°At this rate, I¡¯m going to


    lose myself in your love.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll be more than happy to hold your hand.¡± He brushed his hand down her hair. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you


    never lose your way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m holding you to that.¡± She looked at him.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Sonia said nothing, but she held him tightly.


    Toby brushed her hair and kissed the top of her head. ¡°Why did Mrs. Lane call us over?¡± He could


    understand if she only called Sonia, but inviting him as well was weird.


    She leaned against his chest, her eyes closed. ¡°Mrs. Lane is my mother¡¯s best friend, and she¡¯s really


    nice to me, just like how my mother was. I might call her Mrs. Lane, but she¡¯s like my mother. Now that


    she knows we¡¯re back together, she wants to see you.¡±


    For some reason, Toby felt himself getting nervous. If Mrs. Lane sees Sonia as her daughter, does that


    mean I have to think of her as my mother-inw, and that I¡¯m meeting her parents? ¡°Must we go?¡± Toby


    gulped and asked, sounding hoarse.


    Sonia felt him tensing up. She opened her eyes and got up to look at him. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± Toby shook his head. A long whileter, he finally said, ¡°I¡¯ve never actually done this


    before, so¡­¡±


    Henry was still alive when Toby married Sonia, but he was already hypnotized back then. He believed


    that he was forced into the marriage because he had to repay some debt.


    Because of that, he despised her and had no love for Henry. She had asked him to meet his father


    before they got married, but he had refused without any hesitation. He never expected that he would lose


    the chance to meet Henry forever.


    Technically, he had never met his inws. He did visit his grave with her, but it was still something he


    would never get to do. This great loss in life tranted to an intense hatred for Tina. If it were not for her,


    he would not have had to go through so much to find his true love, nor would he let Sonia lose her only


    family.


    If he was not hypnotized, he would have gotten together with Sonia a long time ago. He would never


    have let Paradigm Co. get into trouble without even lifting a finger to help. Yes, he had done a lot of


    wrong things, but Tina was even worse than him.


    Sonia lost her parents, and her biological parents were¡­ inconsequential. It was natural that she thought


    of the Lanes as her parents, which would make them his inws, given how much they cared for her.


    He had no chance to see his inws before this, but now he did. The problem was that he had no idea


    how to deal with them, or how he should talk to them. He had been the leader of a greatpany for too


    long. Aside from Sonia, his grandmother, and Jean, he was always arrogant to everyone else.


    He did have the position and wealth to do so, so he never thought that was the wrong attitude to take.


    Nobody thought so either. However, now that he was about to see the couple whom Sonia thought of as


    her parents, that attitude would not fly. They would be his inws after all, but still, he had no idea how to


    deal with them.


    The Greys were his inws back when he was hypnotized. Technically, he had experience dealing with


    inws, but the problem was he never liked them.


    Yes, he disliked them. He was under a spell that made him believe he loved Tina, but how he felt about


    everyone else did not change. He knew the kind of people the Greys were, and he disliked them for that.


    He was only polite to them for the sake of Tina, but when push came to shove, he was still arrogant


    when it came to the Greys.


    Titus and his wife knew that, and they hated it, but there was no way they could do anything about it.


    Instead of his inws, Toby treated the Greys like business veterans whom he could overwhelm.


    He was not lying when he said he didn¡¯t know how to deal with inws, as he never treated the Greys


    like they were his inws. Things were different now, though.


    This time, he was going to see a couple whom Sonia saw as her parents. She cared for them deeply,


    and he felt no resentment toward them. Naturally, he could not treat them like how he treated everyone


    else. He had to treat them like real inws, but he had no idea how to do that. The more he thought


    about it, the more frustrated he got. In the end, he pursed his lips.


    Sonia was astonished to see him looking so nervous, and her jaw dropped. ¡°Whoa. Toby, don¡¯t tell me


    that you¡¯re nervous about the meeting?¡±


    She hit the bullseye, and he tensed up further. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he lied stubbornly.


    Sonia pinched his arm, but it was as hard as steel. She was amused. ¡°Yeah, right. I can see right through


    you. Look at your face. It¡¯s practically telling me you¡¯re nervous.¡± She poked his cheek.


    Toby held her finger. ¡°Stop messing around.¡±


    ¡°Alright, fine.¡± Sonia grinned, letting him pull her finger down. It¡¯s so obvious that he¡¯s nervous.


    She found it unbelievable, however. Toby held immense power in his hands, and yet he felt nervous right


    after she told him they were going to meet a couple whom she thought of as her parents.


    He looked like every guy who was going to meet their inws the very first time, and the Lanes were not


    the ones who raised her up. He would be more nervous if he were to meet Dad and Mom.

 Chapter 892

    Chapter 892


    Chapter 892 Toby¡¯s EQ


    The thought of Toby looking cautious and nervous when he met her foster parents made her smile.


    However, the amusement did notst long. Her parents had passed away, and Toby would never have


    the chance to see them in the flesh. There were only graves of them left.


    Toby noticed the sorrowing from Sonia. One look at her face was enough to tell him what she was


    thinking about. He patted her head and assured, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t think too much about it. We should think


    about the gifts I should bring for Mrs. Lane tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Are you free tomorrow?¡± Sonia looked at him.


    ¡°Yes. This is important. Even if I don¡¯t have time, I¡¯ll make some.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡± Sonia shook her head. ¡°I can tell Mrs. Lane about this. She¡¯ll understand.¡±


    ¡°This is nothing.¡± He kissed her forehead. ¡°There are a lot of capable people in thepany. If the


    company can¡¯t run just because I¡¯m out for one day, I would have trained them for nothing. Don¡¯t worry


    about it. Tom can handle things without me.¡±


    Since he was being serious, Sonia had no reason to refuse. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll tell Charles we¡¯ll be going


    tomorrow.¡± She got up from his embrace and whipped her phone out.


    Toby watched as her fingers flew across her phone screen. It did not take long for her to send her reply.


    Charles had been waiting for it, so not long after Sonia sent her reply, he texted her back. It was a cat


    emoji that said okay, and he also texted, ¡®See you tomorrow¡¯.


    Sonia locked her phone. ¡°I texted Charles. We can go straight to his ce tomorrow.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Now can you tell me what kind of stuff the Lanes like? I need to get prepared.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Lane likes wine, and as for Mrs. Lane¡­¡± Sonia pointed at her cheek and smiled. ¡°She likes


    handbags and makeup products.¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°I have some original wine back at my ce. Mr. Lane should love it. As for Mrs. Lane, I¡¯ll


    give her Doir and Chenal¡¯s makeup products and perfume. They¡¯re next season¡¯s stuff that hasn¡¯t been


    released yet. What do you think?¡± Toby looked at Sonia.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°They¡¯ll love it.¡±


    Original wine? They¡¯re the first batch of wine made by the biggest wine factories in the world, and they


    cost a lot. Toby¡¯s listed on Forbes. That¡¯s why he has the wine.


    The Lane Family was not one of the top families in the world. They were rich in Seafield, but not when it


    came to the whole nation, let alone the world, so despite their wealth, they could never purchase original


    wines.


    Mr. Lane loved wine, and he loved collecting them. When she was a kid, hemented the fact that he


    had no original wine among hisrge collection. I bet Mr. Lane is going to be ecstatic about this gift


    tomorrow.


    There was also the case of Mrs. Lane. She might be in her fifties, but she was elegant and loved to look


    beautiful like any other woman. She was young at heart and loved anything youngdies liked. She


    could buy any of the most expensive luxury items she wanted, but the most she could do was purchase


    the in-season items. She was not privileged enough to get anything that would onlye out next


    season.


    Toby was different, however. All thepanies would happily give him the products that would only be


    released in the next season or even the next year if he asked for it. He would be spoiled for choice. Mrs.


    Lane is going to be excited to get next season¡¯s items.


    Mrs. Lane was the one inviting them over, and Sonia knew her well enough to figure out her n. She


    was probably going to warn Toby and ask her to cherish Sonia for life.


    Sonia lost her mother, so Mrs. Lane would step up as her defender. She would quiz Toby in the ce of


    Lina and support Sonia all the way.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    However, if Toby were to give her all these presents, Mrs. Lane would probably toss everything behind


    her and acknowledge Toby right away.


    She would probably see him as her own son, as his presents were perfect for ady, and it stroked her


    ego. Mrs. Lane could show off the items to her friends, and she would enjoy a higher status among them.


    That alone was enough to make Mrs. Lane support Toby.


    The thought that the Lane couple would be delighted upon receiving the gifts made Sonia smile. He can


    be stupid at times but really smart at other times.


    I only brought their preferences up casually, and he¡¯s already preparing the perfect gifts that they can¡¯t


    refuse. No wonder he can be so sessful. He reacts fast.


    Toby was oblivious to her thoughts. He patted her head and stood up. ¡°Stay here. I¡¯ll call Tom.¡±


    Oh, he¡¯s going to ask Tom to prepare the gifts. ¡°Okay, sure.¡±


    Toby went back into the study. He had left his phone in the study, so he could only make the call inside.


    Sonia sat back down on the couch and switched the TV on. Toby came back out a few minutester. He


    sat beside Sonia, wrapped his arm around her waist, and watched TV with her.


    Sonia was used to him hugging her every time he sat down beside her. She did not look uneasy when he


    held her. In fact, she epted it easily and offered him half the nket. They watched TV together side


    by side like a family.


    Two hourster, Sonia could not fight off her sleepiness anymore, and she fell asleep on Toby¡¯s shoulder.


    Toby looked at her and smiled. He slowly removed her head from his shoulder and carried her in his


    arms before taking her to the bedroom.


    It was eight when Sonia woke up the next day. Toby had left for Fuller Group a while ago. Tom might


    have handled work for him the day before, but he needed to sign a lot of documents himself. He had to


    work, or the documents would pile up, so after he woke up, he left a slip of paper for Sonia and left.


    Sonia yawned. She looked at the slip and put it on the cab before getting out of bed, then went to the


    porch and opened the door to take her breakfast.


    Toby¡¯s message did not tell her that someone would be sending breakfast over because he was sure that


    she knew he would send someone to give her the breakfast of the day if he left home before she did.


    She behaved like he expected and came to the door right after she woke up.

 Chapter 893

    Chapter 893


    Chapter 893 Connor in Seafield


    She took the breakfast and said thanks to the waiter. Sonia closed the door and went back to have her


    food. The breakfast was as big as usual, and it was all her favorite. He really remembers what I like,


    huh? Sonia thought as she ate. Despite how great the breakfast was, she felt that Toby¡¯s absence took


    away some of the enjoyment.


    She massaged her forehead and sighed. It hasn¡¯t been too long, and I¡¯m already missing him just


    because he¡¯s not around for breakfast. At this rate, will I lose all my appetite just because he isn¡¯t


    around? No, no, no. She shook her head. I can¡¯t let this happen. She patted her cheeks.


    She was fine with missing him, but not to the point it controlled her. If they were to break up in that state,


    she would lose everything. She must not lose herself and feel demotivated just because Toby was not


    around for a while. I can¡¯t be a girl who can¡¯t do anything without him. I should be more rational


    about this.


    True love was cherishing your partner while they were around and doing your own thing while they were


    not. Staying calm at all times was key.


    Losing all motivation to do anything while they were gone would be dangerous. I should put him aside for


    now. He¡¯ll be back at night, and we can spend a lot of time together then. Now that he¡¯s working, I should


    get to work too. Love is important, but work takes priority.


    If she were to lose love, at least she would still have her career. If she put love before her career, she


    would be left with nothing if the love was gone. Sonia took a deep breath and put Toby aside for now.


    She finished her breakfast and took a shower. She then got changed and went out.


    Right after she came out of theplex, a man in a ck suit suddenly appeared out of nowhere and


    stood before her. ¡°A minute, Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia looked at the man, a frown furrowing her brows. ¡°And you are?¡±


    The man seemed like an ordinary Joe in a suit and sses, and he had a professional smile on his face.


    He looked like Tom, and Sonia thought he must be someone¡¯s assistant. ¡°Hello, Miss Reed. Allow me to


    introduce myself.¡± He adjusted his sses. ¡°I¡¯m Xander Little, and I came here on my employer¡¯s orders.


    He wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°Your employer?¡± Her frown deepened. ¡°Who is he? Why does he want to see me?¡±


    Xander was still smiling. ¡°His surname is Salzburg. I think you can guess who he is, Miss Reed.¡±


    Salzburg? Sonia froze up for a moment, and a name popped into her mind. Connor? Her eyes widened,


    and she looked at Xander in shock.


    The look on Xander¡¯s face did not change, though there was a mysterious air about his smile now. ¡°I see


    you know who he is. Yes, he¡¯s the head of Westsanshire¡¯s Salzburg Family¡ªMr. Connor Salzburg. Miss


    Reed, if you may.


    He¡¯s right outside the neighborhood.¡± Xander extended his arm outward, inviting Sonia to go with him.


    He seemed demanding though, apparently telling her that she had to go whether she liked it or not.


    Sonia stopped looking shocked, but she was still panicking internally. Her heart raced, and her lips were


    pursed. She had never thought Connor woulde to see her.


    Toby did tell her that Connor would try to convince her to let Anya go, and she was prepared to take that


    call, as she thought that was how he would contact her. Connor was in Westsanshire and would not


    travel to Seafield that easily, or so she thought.


    Instead of giving her a call, he came to Seafield himself and waited right outside her neighborhood. She


    was not prepared to see him. After all, she had no idea what kind of person he was. If she met him just


    like that, she would be at a disadvantage. What should I do? Should I see him? She bit her lip and


    hesitated.


    Sonia¡¯s hesitation annoyed Xander, and he wasn¡¯t smiling so hugely anymore. When he spoke again, he


    sounded a lot colder. ¡°Are you listening, Miss Reed?¡±


    She noticed the hostility, and she was not surprised. Sonia already knew that Xander was not a good


    person from the start. He might have the same cunning smile like Tom had, but Tom¡¯s smile was


    mysterious, not unnerving.


    Xander, on the other hand, had an eerie and unnerving smile. Connor is infamous in Westsanshire. I


    can¡¯t expect much from his assistant. With that kind of master, it¡¯d be a miracle if his assistant turns out


    to be a great guy. Sonia took a deep breath and held her unease down. She put on a deadpan look and


    scoffed. ¡°Howughable.¡±


    That wiped the smilepletely off Xander¡¯s face, and he asked icily, ¡°What do you mean, Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about you and your boss,¡± Sonia said. ¡°He¡¯s here for Anya¡¯s case, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Xander did not answer.


    Sonia continued, ¡°You want to save Anya, but you can¡¯t ask for the local authority¡¯s help, since the


    Colemans are at the helm. They¡¯re friends with the Fullers, so they won¡¯t let Anya go just because you


    asked them to.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    The only way to free her will be through me or Toby. If Toby and I sign the memorandum of


    understanding, Anya can be released, but there¡¯s a little thing preventing your boss from going straight to


    Toby, so I¡¯m the only avenue left. But¡­¡±


    ¡°But what? Speak up, Miss Reed.¡± The look on Xander¡¯s face was getting stormier by the minute.


    Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°You came to me for help, but you¡¯re giving me attitude instead. You tried to push


    me around, and quite frankly, I¡¯m upset. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re the one who¡¯s asking for my help.


    Shouldn¡¯t your boss be the one to see me? Why is it the other way around? You don¡¯t even know what


    you should do when you¡¯re asking me for help, and you think I¡¯ll do as you say? Go back and tell your


    boss to see me himself.¡±


    Xander did not expect her outright refusal, and he seemed irritated. He thought taking Sonia to Connor


    would be a simple task. She¡¯s just a useless woman who got this far with Toby¡¯s help.


    How hard can it be? She won¡¯t say no. Reality proved him wrong, however. Sonia was far from useless,


    and she was not someone who could only rely on men to solve her problems.


    A useless woman would never have the courage to refuse him. His employer was the head of the


    Salzburg Family after all. However, aside from the initial shock after hearing Connor¡¯s name, Sonia had


    remained calm since then.


    She did not even care about who Connor was. It might be either a brave or stupid move, but her reply


    alone told him that it would be difficult to take her to Connor. For a moment there, Xander felt humiliated,


    and there was a hint of anger in his eyes. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not going, Miss Reed?¡±

 Chapter 894

    Chapter 894


    Chapter 894 This is Connor


    Of course Xander thought it was humiliating. He had strutted in like a peacock, thinking that a mere


    woman would never refuse him. He thought she would do as he said, but Sonia was not the coward he


    thought she was. Instead, she had great courage within her, and it was a reminder of his earlier


    foolishness. It was as if she just broke his pride, and it made him snap.


    Sonia noticed the veiled threat, and she tightened her grip on her handbag. ¡°My answer is still the same


    no matter how many times you¡¯re going to ask. I won¡¯t go.¡± I¡¯d be mad if I went with him. Who knows


    what would happen if I did? I¡¯m not going, just in case.


    Xander finally ran out of patience, and venom dripped in his eyes. ¡°Since you¡¯re noting with me,


    then I might have to take you by force, Miss Reed.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you.¡± She froze up for a moment and took a step back. Fear bubbled within


    her, but she held it down and looked at the man cautiously.


    ¡°You¡¯re at Bayside Residence, one of the high-end condominiumplexes in Seafield. There are


    surveince cameras everywhere. Touch me and it won¡¯t be pretty. Same thing goes for your boss. Do


    you think Toby will let this slide?¡± She used Toby to threaten them.


    Xander stopped in his tracks, and the anger on his face subsided. It was reced by concern and worry.


    He was just trying to finish his task and take her to him, but he forgot that he was in Seafield. He was on


    Toby¡¯s turf, not somewhere he could do whatever he wanted.


    He was the outsider here, and if Toby found out that he attacked Sonia, he would fly into a rage and ruin


    Connor¡¯s n. Xander clenched his fists as he was out of ideas.


    The sight of him stopping in his tracks told Sonia that her warning worked. She heaved a sigh of relief in


    silence, and she was touched at the same time.


    Toby did protect her at all times. Even though he was not around, his name alone made her feel safe. As


    long as he was there, she had nothing to fear. He actually managed to be my biggest defender and


    protect me at all times, just like he promised.


    Sonia took a deep breath and put those thoughts aside. It was not the time for sentiments. She was


    nning on leaving and escaping into her home while Xander was still in a trance. She would then call


    Toby and tell him that Connor hade to Seafield.


    Sonia stared at Xander as she slowly retreated. She nned to turn back and run once she had put


    some distance between them. If she ran right away, Xander would be rmed, and he would catch up to


    her in no time.


    She closed her eyes and retreated, keeping her breathing and mind calm at all times. It was imperative


    to stay collected, or she might slip up and get caught.


    However, Xander had already snapped out of it even though Sonia did not make any mistakes. He


    noticed her backing off and realized what she was trying to do. He shot her a fierce look. ¡°You think you


    can run?¡±


    Sonia looked shocked that he saw through her. She ditched her original n and made a run for the


    complex right away.


    Xander tried to go after her, but then a deep male voice sounded. ¡°Xander, stop.¡±


    The look on Xander¡¯s face changed, and he stopped. He turned around to bow at the man in fear and


    respect. ¡°Sir.¡±


    The man who came was Connor, and Sonia heard Xander greeting him. She realized who he was as


    well, and she stopped. Connor¡¯s here himself? Sonia looked surprised for a moment. Did his patience


    run out from waiting outside too long?


    Sonia was still caught up in her mind, but Connor broke her train of thoughts. ¡°You must be Miss Reed.


    Can we have a chat? I mean you no harm, I promise,¡± he said. He sounded warmer than his cold, cruel


    assistant.


    Sonia pursed her lips, but she said nothing. She was weighing her choices. Her mind was telling her to


    ignore Connor and go straight into theplex.


    She would be safe if she did that, but her heart was telling her to stay. She wanted to see Connor with


    her own eyes and judge what kind of man he was. It was both for her and Toby¡¯s sake. Sonia took a


    deep breath and decided to follow her heart. She turned around slowly.


    Sonia finally saw the legendary Connor Salzburg, but she was shocked. This man is Connor?


    She had never seen Connor in person until this moment, but from what Oscar and Toby told her, she


    imagined Connor to be a big, burly thug who cussed every time he spoke.


    She thought he would smoke cigars and look murderous like the mafia bosses on TV. Sonia thought he


    would be a capricious man who killed people for fun.


    However, it was different in reality. He was the opposite of what she had in mind. Connor was in his


    fifties, but he looked no older than thirty years old.


    He took good care of himself, and he had soft, gentle features. The man was in white traditional attire,


    and his hair was slicked back. A warm smile hung on his face, and he looked nothing like the head of an


    aristocratic family.


    He did not have the majestic air that the typical family head had. In fact, he looked like a schr or artist.


    The man was young, and he did not look or act like a scheming, conniving bastard.


    Looks are deceiving though. So he¡¯s the man Toby¡¯s mother loved. I can see why she loved him so


    much. Any woman would fall for just his looks alone.


    There are girls whom boys would fall in love at first sight with, and the same goes for girls. I bet all the


    girls had a crush on him when he was younger. He¡¯s the guy of every girl¡¯s dream. She never thought


    Connor would be a guy like that. It waspletely different from what she had in mind.


    Connor noticed her staring at him, and he fiddled with his jade ring. Something glinted in his eyes for a


    moment, and he asked gently, ¡°You¡¯re expecting a burlier, more thuggish man, aren¡¯t you, Miss Reed?¡±


    He saw through me? Sonia¡¯s eyes widened.


    Connor smiled. His smile was as gentle as his voice. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Everyone looks at me the same the


    first time they see me, and they think about the same thing every time. I don¡¯t have to even guess what


    you were thinking about.¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

 Chapter 895

    Chapter 895


    Chapter 895 A Talk


    I see. Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. And I thought he was a psychic.


    A lock of her hair had fallen out of ce from the running earlier and she pushed it behind her ear. She


    looked at Connor and said, ¡°I imagined quite a different person, Mr. Salzburg. I never thought you¡¯d look


    so friendly. I apologize for looking so surprised.¡±


    She was just being polite, though. Connor¡¯s looks were deceiving, but she knew he was not friendly at


    all. He was just putting on an act, but thanks to that front, she was not feeling as nervous anymore.


    He ignored the little white lie and waved her off with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. If anyone should apologize


    here, it¡¯s me. I¡¯m sorry for scaring you, Miss Reed. I spoil my assistant a little too much, so he can be


    quite arrogant. I¡¯m really sorry for his behavior.¡±


    Connor was about to bow when Sonia stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mr. Salzburg. You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    She would have let him bow to her, but he might get back at her for this, so she stopped him. People like


    him thought they could do no wrong, and all their apologies or bowing were just for show.


    If she did not stop him, he would get back at her someday for this. He might be smiling on the outside,


    but he would have already thought of Sonia as his enemy on the inside. Whatever courtesy they offered


    was just for show.


    If someone was stupid enough to let them do it, they would think that the other person was at fault, not


    them. Just as Sonia expected, Connor started beaming the moment Sonia stopped him. He straightened


    his back and said, ¡°My, you¡¯re such a kind person, Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia forced a smile. ¡°You tter me, Mr. Salzburg.¡± Yeah right. I would have let you bow if it weren¡¯t for


    the fact that you¡¯re a hypocritical snake. The fact that he betrayed Toby¡¯s mother disgusted her despiteThis content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    them not meeting before. Sonia was a woman, so of course she would take the women¡¯s side and reject


    jerks like Connor.


    ¡°You¡¯re too modest, Miss Reed. I¡¯m just speaking the truth.¡± Connor¡¯s warm smile had still remained.


    She looked at his smile, and she frowned. For some reason, the way he carried himself felt familiar. A lot


    of people were gentle, and she had seen a lot of people like Connor, but due to their differences,


    everyone was different despite them being gentle.


    It was her first time seeing Connor, but the way he carried himself was really familiar. She must have


    seen it before, or she would not feel this way. Who is it?


    She bit her lip and wracked her brain to search through her memories. A momentter, the image of a


    young man in a white shirt popped into her mind. She opened her mouth in disbelief. Toby? Toby¡¯s the


    one who gave me that feeling before?


    Sonia quickly faced Connor again andpared him to the young, gentle Toby in her mind. In the end,


    she noticed that Toby acted just like Connor when he was younger.


    There¡¯s no way two men can carry themselves in the exact same way, unless one of them is modeled


    after the other. Connor can¡¯t be modeled after Toby.


    The guy is about twenty years older than Toby is, so Toby must be modeled after Connor. The younger


    they are, the easier they are to sculpt. There are only a few people who would model Toby after


    someone though. It¡¯s either his grandmother, father, or mother.


    No way Grandma and Toby¡¯s father would model him after someone else, especially not Connor.


    Grandma thinks he¡¯s the one who seduced Toby¡¯s mother while Toby¡¯s father thinks Connor¡¯s the one


    standing between him and his wife, stopping them from being a real couple.


    They hate Connor¡¯s guts. There¡¯s no way they¡¯d model Toby after him, so that leaves only one answer.


    The one who modeled Toby after Connor was his own mother. She loved Connor, but she couldn¡¯t see


    him, so she modeled her own son after her lover just to satiate a part of her yearning.


    If that¡¯s true, then Toby¡¯s really¡­ Sonia gasped as sadness and sympathy welled up within her. If that


    was true, then Toby had her sympathy.


    Even though she did her job as Toby¡¯s mother and showered him with all her love while she was alive, it


    could not change the fact that she used Toby as some sort of tool.


    She did not bring him to this world out of love. She only thought of him as an item toplete her


    mission and break free from the Fullers.


    On top of that, she even modeled Toby after Connor just to calm her yearning. To make things worse,


    she abandoned Toby when he was only ten years old and took her own life for Connor¡¯s sake. It


    traumatized Toby and something that he still could not get over after many years.


    Toby¡¯s mother was the textbook definition of selfish. She only loved and cared for Toby because he was


    the only thing she could use to finish her task.


    Her love was filled with selfish agendas. It tainted the love of a mother, one of the purest loves in the


    world. Compared to that, the love and care Jean had shown for Toby was more innocent and pure.


    Oh, Toby. Sonia felt tears welling up in her eyes, and her heart ached.


    A lot of people envied Toby for being born in a great family like the Fullers. He was born on a silver


    tter, but none knew that his childhood was a wreck.


    And the one who did all this to him is right in front of me. He¡¯s the cause of all his pain. That fact alone


    made her feel nothing but contempt toward Connor, and she showed it all in her eyes.


    Connor noticed that as well and he squinted. A sh of cruelty appeared in his eyes, but it faded right


    away. He kept smiling as if nothing had happened. ¡°Is there something on my face, Miss Reed? Why are


    you looking at me like that?¡±


    Sonia looked down, hiding the contempt she felt for him. ¡°Nothing. Are you here to talk about Anya¡¯s


    case?¡± Sonia cut to the chase.


    He was surprised about how straightforward she was. He fiddled with his thumb ring while smiling. ¡°Yes,


    that¡¯s part of why I¡¯m here, but I¡¯m also here to see an old friend.¡± There was love and reminiscence in


    his eyes when he said that.


    She noticed that and she could guess who his old friend was. Toby¡¯s mother. She was not buried in the


    cemetery of the Johann Family after her death because the family was not what they used to be


    anymore at that point.


    She was not buried in the Fuller Family¡¯s cemetery either. The Fullers would have allowed it, but Toby¡¯s


    mother probably refused the offer. She wanted to break free from the Fullers when she was alive, so it


    was impossible that she would want to be buried in the family cemetery after her death. That would tie


    her to the family for eternity.


    The Fullers buried her in a regr cemetery in the end, but Sonia had no idea where it was as Toby


    never told her about it either.

 Chapter 896

    Chapter 896


    Chapter 896 ¨C Connor¡¯s Terms


    That was not important, however. What was important was when Connor brought Toby¡¯s mother up,


    Sonia could see that the love in his eyes was genuine. So he still loves her? But so what?


    He cheated on her even though he said he loves her. She¡¯s gone now. Pretending like she¡¯s your


    greatest love means nothing. The only one who thinks it means something is you. People like me and


    everyone else think you¡¯re as disgusting as a piece of rat poop in the bathroom¡¯s corner.


    She was starting to get lost in her thoughts, but Connor started talking. He spun his thumb ring and gave


    Sonia an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m at that age now. I love to reminisce. You guys must think I¡¯m a


    drag.¡±


    Sonia forced a smile. ¡°Not at all, Mr. Salzburg, but it is time we talk business.¡± In other words, she was


    telling him to cut the crap and stop talking about his past. She had no interest in it, and she was


    disgusted by it.


    Connor got what she said, of course. His smile did not waver, though it had be mirthless. He


    extended his hand to Xander, and Xander whipped out an arm-length walking cane from nowhere.


    He handed it to Connor with two hands. Connor took it and tapped it on the ground, putting both his


    hands on the top of the walking cane, which was adorned with a dragon¡¯s head.


    Now that he had his walking cane, Sonia could feel the air change. He was finally looking like the head of


    a family, and there was an air of a leader about him. He was no longer a simple schr. So this is what


    he looks like when he negotiates, Sonia thought. She pursed her lips and got on guard.


    Connor was starting to take his real form, and she knew he was getting serious. I can¡¯t let my guard


    down, or he¡¯d be dominating the talks. She was no match for Connor.


    He was about twenty years older than she was, and he had led his family for more than a decade. The


    man was a sly old fox, while she was just a newbie. One false move could cost her dearly.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    At the same time, she was looking forward to this encounter. She could learn from it and grow. Chances


    like this did note by every day. She breathed deeply to calm herself down.


    Don¡¯t panic. It¡¯d be bad if he sees an opening. She clenched her fists and lowered her eyes. She tried to


    stay as calm as she could. I can¡¯t let him know that I¡¯m nervous.


    Connor was oblivious to her thoughts. He was still holding his walking cane and looking as calm as ever,


    though he was slightly surprised inside. He was surprised that Sonia could stay so calm even under


    pressure. He assumed his usual stance earlier in an attempt to scare her so he could have the upper


    hand in the negotiations. Much to his surprise, this tactic failed where it should have seeded.


    Even if she was feigning it, meeting his gaze calmly was already impressive enough. She was


    praiseworthy, at least among the younger generation. A pity she¡¯s on Toby¡¯s side.


    He squinted for a moment and resumed his gentle smile. ¡°I know what happened between you and my


    foolish daughter, Miss Reed. She¡¯s the one at fault here, and I apologize for her behavior.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°You¡¯re more reasonable than your daughter is, Mr. Salzburg. At least you know


    right from wrong. I can¡¯t say the same for your daughter.¡±


    A smirk curled her lips, and she pointed at her head. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s something wrong with her. She


    needs to look at things from more perspectives. Your daughter thinks she can do no wrong. If anything


    goes wrong, she¡¯s always quick to point fingers. She never stops to think if she¡¯s at fault. I can¡¯t believe


    that a reasonable man like you is her father.¡±


    She did not care if Connor was pretending to apologize. The fact that he acknowledged Anya¡¯s faults


    made him heaps better than Anya. Even if he was saying that to save Anya, at least it made Sonia feel


    better.


    I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re her father? Connor looked down and tightened his grip on his everwalking cane.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Miss Reed. This is my fault. She has been separated from me since she was an infant.


    Her environment changed her a lot, and it¡¯s all on me. I¡¯ll try to change her ways if I can. Will you give me


    a chance to do that?¡± He looked at her, his gaze turning sharper.


    Sonia pretended that she had no idea about what he was talking about. She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m d to hear


    that, Mr. Salzburg. She¡¯s your daughter, and it¡¯s your job to educate her.


    You certainly don¡¯t need an outsider like me to give you any chance to do that.¡± She noticed that Connor


    was starting to look angry, and mockery glinted in her eyes for a moment. She continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.


    You¡¯ll get your chance to educate her once she has done her time.¡±


    He wanted her to let Anya go, but she would not do that. Sonia feigned ignorance and drove him up the


    wall. It was one way to get back at him for betraying Toby¡¯s mother. She might have lost some respect for


    the woman now, but she was still a woman, and Sonia had to protect women wherever she could.


    She had to get some justice for the women who were hurt by men. Connor¡¯s face fell right after she


    finished talking, and Sonia would be lying if she said she was not nervous. For the most part, however,


    she felt delighted. She had managed to anger Connor.


    Connor gripped his walking cane so tightly, he almost crushed it. The warmth in his eyes was gone and


    reced by cold venom. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about, Miss Reed?¡±


    Oh, he¡¯s not beating about the bush anymore. He¡¯s cutting straight to the chase. She took a deep breath


    and smiled. ¡°What do you mean, Mr. Salzburg? Am I missing something?¡± She kept ying dumb. As


    long as she kept this up, he could never say she was lying.


    She still won¡¯t let up? Connor did not expose her, but heughed mirthlessly, and his smile dripped with


    venom. ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t get it, then I¡¯ll make it clear.


    Can you let my daughter go for my sake? Of course, I¡¯ll pay for all the damages she did. You can have


    whatever you want as well, Miss Reed. I¡¯ll do whatever I can to get it for you. What do you think, Miss


    Reed?¡±


    He gazed at Sonia, and Sonia flicked her hair back. ¡°I can have whatever I want? Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Connor nodded, looking absolutely arrogant. There was scorn and disdain in his eyes, as if


    Sonia was nothing but a mere beggar.

 Chapter 897

    Chapter 897


    Chapter 897 Sonia Survives the Storm


    Sonia was not angered by his attitude toward her. She snorted to herself and said, ¡°You¡¯re indeed a


    generous man, Mr. Salzburg. Fine, since you¡¯re offering, then I demand the entire Salzburg Group in


    exchange. Would that be alright with you?¡±


    She gave Connor a pleasant smile.


    Connor¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°What? Salzburg Group?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Sonia was still smiling as she nodded.


    Connor¡¯s lips twitched as he stared at her incredulously. He never thought that she had the audacity to


    request for the entire Salzburg Group.


    There was a smug glint in Sonia¡¯s eyes when she saw that Connor had fallen silent, and she probed


    once more, ¡°So, is that okay with you, Mr. Salzburg?¡±


    Certainly not! Salzburg Group is the foundation of the entire Salzburg Family!


    Connor was on the verge of going ballistic, and he could barely keep his face straight.


    However, Connor¡¯s assistant was far less capable of keeping hisposure. He marched forward and


    rebuked Sonia, ¡°What a shameless woman you are! How can you possibly even think about asking for


    Salzburg Group? You should take a good look at your ownpetency first!¡±


    Sonia smirked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯mpetent or not. The point is, are you willing to hand over


    Salzburg Group? Mr. Salzburg, you¡¯re the one who said that I could make any request at all. I¡¯m asking


    for Salzburg Group, but are you willing to give it to me?¡±


    She fixed her eyes on Connor.


    He stared her in the eye for a while before he finally sneered. ¡°I get it now. Miss Reed, you never had


    any intention of letting my daughter go, so you decided to ask for Salzburg Group because you knew that


    I would never use it to exchange for my daughter¡¯s freedom.¡±


    Sonia was not surprised that he had seen right through her. She simply smiled back at him. After all, it


    was obvious that she had no intention of letting Anya go free, and anyone could see thating from a


    mile away. It was not like he would really give up Salzburg Group in exchange for Anya, right? If he had


    agreed to it, then she would have been dumbfounded.


    For a man like Connor Salzburg, the family¡¯s foundation was of the utmost importance. Even a simpleton


    would know how to choose between those options. Therefore, she purposely requested that he hand


    over Salzburg Group. In a way, she was letting him know that there was no room for negotiation, and she


    would never let Anya off scot-free.


    When Connor saw her meaningful smile, his face darkened as his grip on the walking cane tightened


    further. He never would have predicted that after all his years of living, he would still fall for a young


    woman¡¯s trick. Indeed, he had been certain that she would not refuse his offer.


    After all, a cursory search on the web was enough for him to know how Paradigm Co. was doing. If she


    had taken up his offer, she could have used his help to build Paradigm Co. up, and it would not remain


    the middlingpany that it was now.


    She was in a rtionship with Toby Fuller, and if he had been willing to give her a hand, Paradigm Co.


    would not be doing so poorly. It would have reentered the market and be one of the toppanies


    by now. However, Toby did not do so. This surely meant that he did not love her all that much, because


    otherwise, it was unlikely that he would just sit idly by.


    If she really wanted to expand herpany, she should have seized this chance. He had delivered it to


    her on a silver tter, but she actually refused him! Just for the sake of getting her revenge, she chose to


    forego this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!


    Connor had no idea if she was blind or stupid.


    As for him, the head of the Salzburg Family, who had never fought a losing battle, had actually been


    fooled by such a stupid woman.


    She had made a mockery out of him.


    What he had assumed was a done deal was actually an illusion, and the thought of this made him livid.


    ¡°Miss Reed, aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll be displeased by your actions today?¡± Connor finally shed his mask


    of courteous civility and eyed Sonia with a neutral expression that made him seem like a venomous


    snake.


    Sonia could tell that he was referring to both the fact that she refused to forgive Anya, and also the fact


    that she had just fooled him. True enough, she realized that she was ying with fire when she did that.


    After all, he was the head of the Salzburg Family, and a lot more dangerous than the people she had


    faced in the past, like Anya Steinfeld, Tina Gray, or even Titus Gray.


    She did not know the kind of person that Connor was, so she should not be treating him the same way


    she treated the others earlier on. There was no way of knowing what he might do if she pushed him too


    far. However, it was toote now. She had already had her fun fooling him, so she could only bite the


    bullet and continue down this path.


    Having thought that, Sonia exhaled discreetly and stared straight into Connor¡¯s cunning eyes. ¡°Mr.


    Salzburg, haven¡¯t I already offended you? There¡¯s no point in dwelling on what I do or do not fear. I¡¯ll be


    honest with you. If I make the decision that pleases you, then it will only make me unhappy. I love myself


    the most, so naturally, I will only do the things that make me happy, even if it means that others will just


    have to be unhappy as a result.¡±


    ¡°So, Miss Reed, what you¡¯re saying is that there¡¯s no way you¡¯re willing to let this slide just this once?¡±


    Connor narrowed his eyes.


    Sonia¡¯s fists tightened as she steeled herself and announced, ¡°Exactly. Anyamitted a crime, and she


    deserves to be punished for it. It¡¯s for her own good.¡±


    ¡°For her own good, huh.¡± Connor had an insincere smile on his face as he pped his hands slowly, but


    he quickly stopped and began to look a little thoughtful. ¡°However, Miss Reed, I must advise you to not


    be so hasty with your decision of wanting to punish my daughter. I think you should take the time to


    consider your options carefully. Who knows, you may very well change your mind.¡±


    ¡°Consider my options?¡± Sonia furrowed her brows.


    What was there for her to consider in this situation? Did he think that she would really let Anya off after


    giving it more thought? Hah, what a joke!


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Even if it meant offending Connor Salzburg, she did not care. She was never going to let Anya get out of


    this unscathed. So what if she could not go up against Connor herself? She had Toby¡¯s help, and


    therefore, she had nothing to fear.


    Sonia opened her mouth to reject his suggestion.


    However, Connor interrupted her before she could speak. ¡°I¡¯ll give you two days to reconsider, Miss


    Reed. I¡¯ll see you again in two days¡¯ time, and hopefully, I¡¯ll hear a satisfactory answer from you when I


    do. I¡¯ve taken up enough of your time today, Miss Reed. Good day!¡±


    After saying that, Connor resumed his mask of cordial civility and smiled at her, then nodded at her


    before walking off.


    Mr. Little hurried behind him, but after taking a few steps, he quickly threw a dark look at Sonia before he


    continued making his way out. Soon enough, both of their silhouettes disappeared from her sight.


    Finally, Sonia was able to breathe a sigh of relief as she rxed. She had been tightly wound up, so now


    that she released all of her tension, her legs turned to jelly and she nearly stumbled to the ground.


    Thankfully, she managed to support herself with the furniture next to her and avoided falling t on her


    butt.


    Even though she had not crumbled to a heap on the ground, her back was soaked through from cold


    sweat. It was a rather chilly day today, so by now, her clothes were sticking to her and it felt a little


    ufortable.


    This was the result of the pressure she felt in her stand-off with Connor. She had met her share of


    intimidating people in her life, but none of them were half as intimidating as Connor was today.


    The pressure she felt from those people never instilled a sense of fear in her, and she never felt like she


    was in any danger around them. However, Connor¡¯s presence made her feel like she had fallen prey to a


    venomous snake who was about to sink its fangs into her.


    Even Sonia had no idea how she managed to stand her ground in his presence, but she managed to


    ignore her fear and the pressure that she felt and kept herposure the entire time.


    Thankfully, the storm was over.


    Sonia massaged her temples and felt behind her. Her trip to Paradigm Co. would have to wait, as she


    needed to get changed and inform Toby about Connor¡¯s unexpected visit. She turned around and


    headed for the apartment, and along the way, she gave Toby a call.


    Toby picked up the phone almost immediately. He was smiling and was about to speak, but Sonia beat


    him to it. ¡°Toby, I have something very important to tell you!¡±

 Chapter 898

    Chapter 898


    Chapter 898 Toby Doesn¡¯t Love Her Very Much


    Toby heard the somber tone in Sonia¡¯s voice, and his prior delight instantly vanished. ¡°Go ahead,¡± he


    said solemnly.


    Sonia was standing in front of the elevator, so she closed her eyes and calmed herself down before she


    slowly started regaling what had happened.


    Meanwhile, Connor and Xander had climbed into Connor¡¯s car.


    Xander made sure that Connor wasfortably settled in his seat before he started the car. ¡°Sir, where


    are we headed for now?¡±


    ¡°Drive to the police station. Let¡¯s take a look at that woman,¡± Connor drawled out in a solemn voice. He


    sat in the backseat of the car with his legs apart, and both his hands rested on top of the walking cane


    that was between his legs.


    Xander quickly acknowledged hismand and turned on the navigation system before driving off. He


    began to vent, ¡°Sir, that woman, Sonia Reed, really doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for her! You went to see


    her in person, but she still refused to cooperate with you!¡±


    Connor had an indiscernible look in his eye as he gazed out of the car. ¡°You¡¯re right. I never thought that


    she would be this stubborn. I thought she was just a weakling who managed to gain the favor of the


    Fuller Family. Who knew that she would have the guts to reject my offer?¡±


    ¡°Sir, we should never havee looking for her.¡± Xander frowned. ¡°Anya Steinfeld destroyed both Sonia


    Reed and Toby Fuller¡¯s attires, so we need to get both of them to forgive her in order for us to get her


    released from detention. We should have just gone straight to Toby Fuller. If he agreed to let Anya go,


    then Sonia would not be able to go against him even if she was unhappy about it. I doubt that she would


    have the guts or the ability to stand against Toby.¡±


    Xander had a scornful expression.


    Perhaps she would, if she was willing to end her rtionship with Toby, but would she be willing to do


    that? Even though they realized that she was not a weakling who relied on the Fuller Family, they still


    believed that she would not give up on Toby so easily. After all, Toby wielded great influence in the


    business world, and as long as she remained in a rtionship with him, then she would surely receive a


    lot of benefits. Therefore, would it not have been better if they met up with Toby directly?


    There was no need for them to pay Sonia a visit. She was just an ipetent woman who was not


    worth their time.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand!¡± Connor¡¯s wrinkles deepened as he narrowed his eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯te to see her


    for the sake of asking her to forgive Anya. Like you said, if we looked for Sonia now, we would still have


    to pay a visit to Tobyter on, so it would¡¯ve been easier if I just went straight to him since he¡¯s the one


    who has the final say. I have no reason to get Sonia¡¯s opinion in the matter since Toby¡¯s decision would


    be enough, but I came to see her anyway. Why do you think that is?¡±


    Xander shook his head.


    Connor snorted. ¡°I came to meet her to see just how important she is to Toby. Once I¡¯m certain about


    this, then my ns will not go awry.¡±


    Xander came to a realization. ¡°So that¡¯s why. In that case, sir, did you find out what you wanted to


    know?¡±


    He turned to look at Connor in the rearview mirror.


    Connor tossed his walking cane to the side corner and said, ¡°At first, I thought that Sonia would be some


    kind of goddess with breathtaking beauty, or maybe a remarkable talent of some sort in order to captivate


    Toby into winning her back after the divorce. This is why I made the trip to see her. I wanted to be sure of


    Toby¡¯s affections toward her. That way, we could use her to keep him in check, but it seems like I have


    overestimated her. She might be of some importance to Toby, but it¡¯s definitely not to the point where he


    would do anything for her.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, sir?¡± Xander voiced his curiosity.


    Connor crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knee. ¡°I observed her carefully, and she may be


    quite pretty, but she¡¯s not that beautiful. There¡¯s nothing special about her either, or else, why would her


    company be doing so poorly under her leadership? The only positive thing I noticed about her was her


    attitude, which I felt deserved some praise, but other than that, I see nothing unique about her. Toby will


    surely be aware of this as well, and that¡¯s why he hasn¡¯t truly fallen in love with her. If he really loved her,


    then why would he stand by and watch as Paradigm Co. faced obstacle after obstacle? For a man like


    Toby, he could have Paradigm Co. relisted on the stock exchange with just a wave of his hand.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is the case.¡± Xander nodded along. ¡°Sir, you believe that Toby doesn¡¯t love Sonia very much,


    and that¡¯s why he hasn¡¯t done anything to help her?¡±


    Connor hummed nonmittedly.


    ¡°But something doesn¡¯t add up.¡± Xander frowned.


    Connor looked grim. ¡°What doesn¡¯t add up?¡±


    ¡°Both of these people.¡± Xander continued to drive as he added, ¡°If Toby doesn¡¯t love Sonia all that much,


    then why did he try so hard to win her back after their divorce? In the information that we received, it was


    obvious that he had put in a lot of effort into wooing her.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he found herpatible.¡± Connor fell silent for a moment before he exined, ¡°He may not


    love her very much, but it doesn¡¯t mean that he doesn¡¯t love her at all. Toby probably has some affection


    for Sonia, but just not a lot of it. Furthermore, he can¡¯t stay single forever as the Fullers will need an heir.


    Therefore, instead of looking for a woman that he has no feelings for at all, it would be better to resume


    his rtionship with Sonia, who he did have some feelings for. At least, she would be morepatible


    with him than any other woman. The Fullers are one of the most influential families out there, so it


    doesn¡¯t matter if Soniaes from an inconsequential family background, as the Fullers do not need to


    make a marriage of convenience. In fact, a marriage alliance would be damaging to the Fullers as it


    might weaken the foothold that they have in the business world.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡± Xander finally understood the situation, but his brows were still creased. ¡°But sir, if Sonia


    isn¡¯t that important to Toby, then would our ns still work if we used her to control Toby? Doesn¡¯t this


    mean that he would easily give her up?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right to be concerned about this. Sonia is of little value to us, but she still has some value to her.


    At least, she is of some importance to Toby, and as long as we put it to good use, we might not get


    everything that we want, but we will still get something out of it,¡± Connor dered as he toyed with the


    ring on his finger.


    Xander nodded once more. ¡°You¡¯re right, sir. Oh, we¡¯ve arrived at the police station.¡±


    Connor¡¯s expression stiffened when he heard the words ¡®police station¡¯, and his fingers tightened around


    the ring on his finger until it almost felt like he would crumble it to pieces. However, he soon regained his


    cool and calmly got out of the car before heading into the police station.


    When he reached the entrance, he suddenly paused in his footsteps and stared up at the banner above


    the doors. His mind raced, and his face started twitching all of a sudden.


    Xander noticed the change in Connor, and he immediately called out, ¡°Sir!¡±


    When Connor heard Xander¡¯s voice, he calmed down and gripped his walking cane a little tighter. Then,


    he said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s go.¡±R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Xander followed along behind him.


    A police officer brought them to Anya.


    She had been detained for two days. Throughout this time, she could not eat well, and she could not


    sleep well either. Everything she did was under surveince, and it reminded her of those two months of


    torture that she endured.


    In just the span of two short days, she had lost a significant amount of weight. Her cheeks were sunken


    and her skin was sallow. She looked like she was at her wit¡¯s end, and her limp hair had lost all its


    previous luster. She looked like apletely different person, and even Xander jumped a little.


    Despite that, Connor¡¯s expression remained neutral as if he had not noticed any change in Anya. He


    leaned against his walking cane and walked over to Anya. Then, he stuck the walking cane under her


    jaw and lifted her head up.

 Chapter 899

    Chapter 899


    Chapter 899 Anya on the Verge of Madness


    Anya¡¯s face was on full disy, but her eyes were closed as if she was asleep.


    Xander noticed this and came forward. ¡°Sir, shall I wake her?¡±


    Connor hummed in agreement.


    Xander took a look around the room and saw a cup of water on the table. It had probably been left


    behind by the police officers who interrogated Anya. When he saw the cup of water, he swiftly went over


    and picked it up before sshing the water onto her face.


    The police officer who brought them into the room stared at them in shock. He never thought that these


    two men would resort to such means to wake her up. However, Mr. Salzburg seemed to be fine with the


    way his assistant treated Anya. This puzzled the police officer very much. Isn¡¯t Anya Steinfeld Mr.


    Salzburg¡¯s daughter? Why is hepletely fine with how his assistant treated his daughter?


    At the same time, Anya regained consciousness after getting water sshed onto her face. She had


    been a nervous wreck for the past two days, and now that she had been startled awake, she screamed


    in fear.


    Her piercing screams made Connor incredibly annoyed. He barked, ¡°Shut up!¡±


    As soon as Anya heard Connor¡¯s voice, she stopped screaming and raised her head in disbelief.


    When she saw Connor¡¯s grim face in front of her, her eyes turned wide with fear. ¡°M-Mr. Salzburg, why


    are you here?¡±


    She gulped in fear, and her body began to tremble.


    When the police officer saw this scene, he became even more puzzled. That¡¯s weird. Isn¡¯t she his


    daughter? Why is she frightened at the sight of him? And she didn¡¯t call him father or daddy either, but


    Mr. Salzburg. This feels really odd!


    Despite being curious, the police officer did not dare voice his doubts. After all, it was a family matter, so


    after taking another look at the three of them in the trial room, he turned around and walked away.


    Earlier, Mr. Salzburg had requested to meet with Anya alone. The police chief had agreed to Mr.


    Salzburg¡¯s request, so there was no reason for the police officer to stick around.


    Soon enough, there were only three of them in the trial room: Anya, Connor, and Xander. Xander wisely


    stood guard at the door and kept out of the conversation between Connor and Anya. As for Connor, he


    slowly removed his walking cane that was under Anya¡¯s jaw and ced it back down on the ground.


    Anya felt relieved that it had been removed where it had been beneath her jaw. She forced a smile and


    spoke very carefully. ¡°Mr. Salzburg, you¡­ you haven¡¯t told me why you¡¯re here yet.¡±


    This old man who stood in front of her now typically had a calm and jovial demeanor, but in reality, he


    was a very twisted person. Anya recalled the methods that he used to torture people and began to shiver


    instinctively. She tried to be as careful and respectful as possible to avoid making him angry.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    ¡°Why am I here?¡± Connor walked past the table and took a seat before shifting his chilling gaze to Anya.


    ¡°You should be asking yourself that question. Anya Steinfeld, didn¡¯t I tell you that if you came to Seafield


    first, then you should stay out of trouble? I warned you to stay out of sight as it¡¯s not time for you to make


    an appearance yet, but what did you do instead? On the first day that you arrived in Seafield, you went


    and created a scene by getting into an ident with Toby Fuller, and you ended up pissing off Sonia


    Reed. You exposed yourself to them, and I had to change all of my ns because of you. Tell me, are


    you a glutton for punishment? If you are, then I don¡¯t mind doing you a favor!¡±


    When Anya heard his words, she felt a chill rib down her spine, and she immediately shook her head in


    terror. ¡°No, no, no! Mr. Salzburg, I know I messed up, I really do. I shouldn¡¯t have been so reckless. I¡­ I


    just couldn¡¯t stop myself. I couldn¡¯t just swallow down my anger, so I¡ª¡±


    ¡°So you decided to act so foolishly?¡± Connor interrupted her in annoyance.


    Anya lowered her head and fell silent.


    Connor snorted in fury. ¡°Alright then. You¡¯re incredible, you know that, Anya? I don¡¯t mind if you tried to


    do something to them, but at the very least, you should have done a good job. If you had managed to


    strike either Toby or Sonia down with one fell swoop, then I would have sung your praises, but what did


    you do instead? Not only did you go behind my back and act ording to your own whims, you even


    resorted to such useless tactics. All child¡¯s y, and you didn¡¯t even manage to do it properly! And now


    you¡¯ve exposed me as well. You¡¯re hopeless.¡±


    He pointed at her, and his finger was trembling from his rage.


    Anya felt contempt for the way he described her, and a look of hatred shed in her eyes, but she did not


    dare to make her true feelings known. She quickly hid away all signs of her contempt before looking up


    and nodding guiltily. ¡°You¡¯re right, Mr. Salzburg, I¡¯m hopeless. I¡¯ve realized my mistake, Mr. Salzburg, so


    please save me from here. I won¡¯t act alone again. I¡¯ll do everything you ask me, really. I¡¯ll listen to you


    and do whatever you want me to do as long as you save me from this ce. I don¡¯t want to be locked up


    in here anymore. I can¡¯t do anything when I¡¯m in here, and there¡¯s always someone keeping an eye on


    me. It makes me feel like I¡¯m back in that mental asylum, and it¡¯s too hard¡­¡±


    Anya broke down in tears by the end of her pleading. It was obvious that she was frightened and in a lot


    of pain.


    Connor knew about her past, so naturally, he was aware of how it was like for her in that mental asylum.


    Therefore, he knew that she was telling the truth about how she was suffering, and it was not a lie.


    Even so, he merely threw her a chilly gaze and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll save you.¡±


    Immediately, her crying stopped. She raised her head and stared excitedly at Connor with tear-stricken


    eyes. ¡°Really? You¡¯re not lying to me right, Mr. Salzburg? You¡¯re really going to save me?¡±


    Connor toyed with his ring again and replied indifferently, ¡°I never lie to anyone. Back then, I approached


    you first and promised to help you, so naturally, I¡¯m going to see it to the end. I won¡¯t give up on you


    halfway. Isn¡¯t that obvious from the fact that I spent such a huge sum of money to hire an attorney for


    you, and I¡¯ve evene to Seafield personally? In any case, you may be foolish, but you¡¯re not totally


    useless yet. I¡¯ll still get some use out of you.¡±


    Anya kept nodding along. ¡°Yes, of course. I know that you¡¯re the best, Mr. Salzburg, so please, hurry up


    and get me out of here. I really can¡¯t stand staying here any longer.¡±


    She was beginning to sound a little hysterical.


    However, Connor was unmoved. ¡°What¡¯s the rush? We¡¯re in Seafield, not Westsanshire. This is Toby¡¯s


    yground, and you pissed him off. Even if I wanted to save you, it would not be easy for me to do so in


    his city. It¡¯s impossible to get you out right now, so you¡¯ll just have to wait for a while.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Anya could not believe her ears. Her eyes opened so wide that they nearly popped out of her


    head. ¡°I have to stay here for a while? No, Mr. Salzburg! I can¡¯t stay here any longer. If I continue staying


    here, then I¡¯ll go mad. I¡¯ll really go mad!¡±


    She could not ept that this was happening, and she began to jerk around violently that it almost felt


    like her wheelchair would fall apart.


    When Connor saw the way she trashed about, he felt utterly repulsed. ¡°You¡¯re on the verge of madness


    anyway, so it doesn¡¯t matter if you be a little more psychotic. In any case, I want you to stay here a


    little longer too. You went against my orders and acted ording to your own whims, and you couldn¡¯t


    even get anything done. Did you really think I wouldn¡¯t settle this score with you?¡±


    Connor sneered.

 Chapter 900

    Chapter 900


    Chapter 900 Toby¡¯s Concern


    Anya froze in shock as she stared dazedly at Connor. It never crossed her mind that Connor would want


    to keep her in here for the sake of teaching her a lesson!


    ¡°M-Mr. Salzburg, you can¡¯t! You can¡¯t!¡±


    She snapped out of her daze after some time and began to plead, her bulging eyes fixed on Connor. ¡°Mr.


    Salzburg, I beg you, please don¡¯t leave me here. I¡¯ve really learned my lesson, and I will never go


    against your word ever again, I promise! So please save me from here. Please get me out of here!¡±


    Connor remained stoic despite the sound of Anya¡¯s pleading echoing across the room.


    He got up with the help of his walking cane and walked away without even taking another look at Anya,


    who was still cuffed to her wheelchair. As he made his way toward the door, he said without turning


    around, ¡°Like I said, if you made a mistake, then you should bear the consequences. You went behind


    my back, but I¡¯m already being merciful by letting you stay here. You should be thankful for the fact that I


    still have a use for you, because otherwise, Toby won¡¯t even have the chance to mess with you when


    you¡¯re in prison. I will do it myself, and I¡¯ll get someone to make sure that you snuff out in prison!¡±


    His words silenced all of her pleading. She stared after him, her face stricken with terror and her body


    trembling violently.


    He actually wanted her to die!


    Of course he did. A miserable old conniving git like him would not keep someone around if they were of


    no use to him. She should be thanking her lucky stars that he still found her useful enough to not take


    her life just yet. At the same time, she was also clear now. As soon as he got what he wanted, then she


    would no longer be useful to him, and she would not be able to escape from his grasp. It meant that he


    was never going to let her get away with causing trouble for him. It was only a matter of time before she


    got her punishment.


    Anya shuddered at the thought of this. There was no point in her begging for his help anymore, since he


    would never agree. In fact, she was beginning to fear that her pleading might only serve to make him


    angrier. If he lost all patience with her, then he might just get rid of her immediately. It would be toote


    for her to do anything then.


    She simply had to put up with it for now. She was able to survive two months of torture at the mental


    asylum anyway, and it was unlikely that she would have to spend more than two months locked up in


    here!


    Anya finally quietened down. She lowered her head and made no response.


    Connor felt a little surprised that she settled down and stopped making a fuss. Soon enough, he smirked.


    ¡°Seems like you¡¯re behaving yourself now once you¡¯ve realized the predicament you¡¯re in. Not bad. It¡¯s a


    good sign, so keep it up.¡±


    Once he said that, he left the room along with Xander.


    Only then did Anya lift her bloodshot eyes and stared at the exit. She gritted her teeth and snarled, ¡°You


    old git, just you wait and see! You can threaten me now because you have something on me, but when I


    get my hands on something that I can use against you, I¡¯m going to destroy you immediately!¡±


    Connor walked out of the police station without the faintest idea of Anya¡¯s resentment toward him. Once


    he got in the car, he closed his eyes and began to massage his temples.


    Xander buckled up in his seat and turned around to ask, ¡°Sir, are we heading back to the hotel now?¡±


    Connor¡¯s eyes were filled with an indiscernible emotion when he reopened them. ¡°Still no news on where


    Valerie¡¯s grave is?¡±


    Immediately, Xander lowered his head and could not look Connor in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, sir, but no.


    The Fullers hid the location of Ms. Johann¡¯s grave very carefully, and it seems like no one has visited her


    all these years. We haven¡¯t been able to find out where she was buried, and I think our only option is to


    ask the Fullers. But even so, only two people in the family know where she¡¯s buried¡ªToby Fuller and Old


    Mrs. Fuller.¡±


    The second wife, Jean White, and the younger son, Tyler, probably had no idea where the grave was


    either.


    Connor stayed silent, fidgeting with the ring on his finger as he became lost in his thoughts. Finally, he


    stopped toying with it and waved his hand. ¡°Drive back to the hotel.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Xander started the engine.


    In the meantime, at Bayside Residence.


    Toby abandoned his meeting that was halfway through and left behind a room full of disgruntled


    executives. He sped straight over to Sonia¡¯s apartment and dashed into the living room without removing


    his shoes, leaving a trail of dirty tracks behind him.


    When Sonia heard themotion, she leapt off the couch and stared at the entrance in rm.


    However, when she saw Toby¡¯s flurried arrival, she called out with a smile, ¡°Toby¡­¡±


    She could not even finish her sentence before Toby shed across the room to appear right in front of


    her, and he swept her up into a fierce embrace. It was almost as if he thought that she would disappear


    the moment he let go.


    Sonia could feel the anxiety emanating from him, and her smile was slowly reced with a concerned


    expression.


    She reached out and gently patted him on the back as she asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are


    you in such a frenzy?¡±


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    When Toby heard her voice, he slowly came out of his anxiety. He loosened the hug a little and looked


    down at her. Instead of responding to her, he asked, ¡°Are you alright? Did Connor Salzburg do anything


    to you?¡±


    His hands moved to her shoulders and he began to look all over her to see if she was hurt in any way.


    He was worried that she might have been harmed during her meeting with Connor. When Sonia realized


    that she was the reason for his agitated state, her heart grew warm.


    She took his hands off her shoulders and held them in her hands as she shook her head. ¡°Nothing


    happened. I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry. I was a little worried that Connor and his assistant might do something to


    me at first, but in the end, they didn¡¯t. We just had a conversation and they left right after.¡±


    Now that he was sure she was okay, Toby heaved a sigh of relief. He pulled her into his arms again.


    ¡°Thank goodness. You have no idea how worried I was when I heard you say that Connor Salzburg


    came looking for you. I was so anxious that I rushed over right away.¡±


    Sonia blinked in realization. ¡°So that¡¯s why the call ended so abruptly when I told you that Connor came


    to see me. It¡¯s not because your phone ran out of battery, but instead, it¡¯s because you hung up the


    phone?¡±


    When Connor left, Sonia headed back to her apartment and called Toby to let him know that Connor


    came to see her. However, as soon as she said that, that call abruptly ended. It had been very sudden,


    so she assumed that Toby¡¯s phone must have coincidentally ran out of battery.


    It turned out that he was the one who ended the call.


    ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°When I heard that Connor came looking for you, I got so worried that I


    ended the call and rushed over to see you.¡±


    ¡°But what about your work?¡± Sonia stared at him.


    Toby stroked her hair and dered, ¡°To me, your safety is far more important than work.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s face turned red.


    Toby pulled her over to the couch and took a seat before moving on to the matter at hand. ¡°What did


    Connor say when he came to see you?¡±


    ¡°He offered to give me anything I wanted in exchange for letting Anya go free,¡± Sonia replied.


    Toby piped in confidently, ¡°But you didn¡¯t agree.¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t agree. It¡¯s impossible that I would. If I agreed, then wouldn¡¯t it


    imply that I was afraid of him? Wouldn¡¯t that make me seem like a doormat? So no matter what, I would


    never agree. Not only did I not agree to his condition, but I even made a fool out of him.¡±


    She startedughing once she mentioned it to Toby.


    Toby¡¯s brows creased a little. ¡°Made a fool out of him?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± Sonia nodded.


    ¡°How did you make a fool out of him?¡± Toby looked at her.


    Sonia had a slight pout as she said, ¡°He wanted me to forgive Anya, but I didn¡¯t agree, so he made me


    an offer and said that I could ask for anything that I wanted. I asked him to give me Salzburg Group, and


    he immediately changed his tune with me. Isn¡¯t that hrious?¡±

 Chapter 901

    Chapter 901


    Chapter 901 Deliberately Nurtured This Way


    ¡°It¡¯s not funny at all!¡± Toby refuted Sonia with a stormy expression. Sonia¡¯s smile froze on her face.


    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re upset?¡± She saw how grim he looked, and it was obvious that he was angry.


    Toby reached out and cupped Sonia¡¯s face with both of his hands. ¡°I am angry. In fact, I¡¯m furious. Do


    you have any idea why?¡± Sonia blinked in bewilderment. She did not respond since she obviously had no


    idea why.


    Toby sighed. ¡°I¡¯m angry because you made a fool out of Connor right to his face. Did you think about


    what would¡¯ve happened if you had infuriated him, and he decided to do something to you right there and


    then? What would happen to you if he did that?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I know it was careless of me.¡± Sonia finally figured out why Toby was angry. He was worried that she


    might have gotten hurt.


    She took his hands off her face. ¡°Actually, as soon as I did that, I realized how reckless I had been and


    regretted it. I was also worried that he might do something to me, but luckily, he had his apprehensions


    and did not do anything to me.¡±


    ¡°You should be thankful that he had his apprehensions. If he had nothing to be wary of, then you


    probably wouldn¡¯t be here right now, but with Tim Lancaster.¡± Toby still had a deep frown on his face.


    Sonia grabbed his arm and tried to appease him. ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t be angry anymore. I¡¯ve realized my


    mistake, and I won¡¯t do it again.¡±


    Toby felt helpless after taking a look at Sonia, who was blinking at him with a pitiful expression. He


    massaged his temples and said, ¡°So long as you don¡¯t do it again.¡±


    ¡°I definitely won¡¯t,¡± Sonia quickly promised.


    Toby flicked her on the forehead. ¡°Did Connor say anything after he changed his tune?¡±


    ¡°He told me to not make a decision so hastily, and that he was giving me two more days to reconsider.


    He said I might change my mind,¡± Sonia replied.


    Toby¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Change your mind?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what he said. He looked like he was absolutely certain that I would change my mind after


    thinking about it for two more days.¡±


    Toby¡¯s lips formed a thin line. ¡°This means he¡¯s got a hold against you, or else he would not have said


    such a thing.¡±


    ¡°I think so too.¡± Sonia toyed with Toby¡¯s hands as she asked in puzzlement, ¡°But I don¡¯t know what he


    would have that he could use to threaten me.¡±


    As soon as she returned to the apartment, she had begun to ponder about this, but she still could not


    think of anything. This was why she was certain that Connor had nothing on her.


    Toby nced at her. ¡°Since you can¡¯t think of anything, then let¡¯s not dwell on it. In two days¡¯ time, we¡¯ll


    find out what he¡¯s up to.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°I thought so too.¡±


    ¡°When the timees, I¡¯ll go with you to meet with him,¡± Toby decided.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Naturally, Sonia did not object. She would be quite nervous if she met Connor alone, but if Toby came


    with her, then she would feel a lot more reassured. In any case, Connor did not say that she could not


    bring someone with her.


    ¡°Did he say anything else?¡± Toby asked again.


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°No. He only said these things to me, but¡­¡±


    She looked up at him in contemtion.


    Toby realized that she had something to say that concerned him.


    ¡°Just say it,¡± Toby urged her while stroking her luscious hair.


    Sonia took a deep breath. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll say it. Before he brought up the possibility of me forgiving Anya, he


    mentioned that he didn¡¯te here just for Anya. He came to visit an old friend as well. Even though he


    didn¡¯t say who it was, I¡¯m quite certain that he was talking about your mother.¡±


    All at once, Toby¡¯s expression darkened, and the air around him became a little stifling.


    Sonia could feel it too, so she hurriedly grabbed his hand. ¡°Toby, you¡­¡±


    She tried to say something, but Toby interrupted her. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    His voice was hoarse and full of disdain as he said, ¡°He¡¯s here to visit my mother? Hah. He betrayed her,


    but he¡¯s still shameless enough toe and see her. It¡¯s been over thirty years. He never came to see


    her when she was alive, and even after she died, he didn¡¯te to visit her grave either. What¡¯s the


    point ofing now? How much more insincere can he be?¡±


    Sonia nodded in agreement.


    She thought the same as well. Connor came running after over thirty years of absolute silence, so no


    one would feel moved by his deep devotion. In fact, it would only make them feel disdainful. If Connor


    really cared about Toby¡¯s mother, then he would havee to Seafield to visit her, or at least visited her


    grave when she died. If he did any of that, then Sonia would still be able to admit that he had some


    decency in him.


    But now, it was only her sense of dignity that stopped her from spitting on him.


    ¡°By the way, Toby, did you know?¡± All of a sudden, a thought urred to Sonia and she gave Toby¡¯s


    thigh a light smack.


    Toby felt a tinge of numbness in his thigh, and he cocked his eyebrows. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Sonia quickly summarized, ¡°When I pictured Connor Salzburg, I always thought he would be this hulking


    man with a menacing look in his eyes, but surprisingly, he actually looks like a schrly gentleman with a


    pleasant demeanor. He wore a white suit and carried a walking cane around with him, and he looked like


    a distinguished professor. He was theplete opposite of what I had expected.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯ve seen his picture before.¡± Toby had no reaction when he heard Sonia¡¯s description. He was


    well-aware of Connor¡¯s appearance.


    It only made sense, since Connor was who Toby suspected to have killed his father, and even if he had


    not, Connor was still his mother¡¯s ex-lover. It stood to reason that Toby would have some understanding


    of Connor.


    However, what Sonia was referring to was not Connor¡¯s physical appearance, but his aura and


    personality.


    She bit her lip and asked tentatively, ¡°Toby, do you remember what you used to be like? I¡¯m talking about


    the old you, before you were hypnotized.¡±


    Toby narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why are you asking me about this?¡±


    Sonia averted her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me about it first. Just hurry up and answer me.¡±


    She pped his arm to hurry him.


    She was acting cute toward him, and Toby had a weakness for that, so he dutifully responded to her


    question. ¡°Gentle?¡±


    ¡°What else?¡± Sonia continued urging him.


    Toby chuckled. ¡°Jolly. I would always have a smile on my face.¡±


    This was how she had described him in the past, so he copied her words. In reality, he could not recall


    what he had been like before. Thanks to the hypnosis, his memory of his past self was rather fuzzy. He


    became the person that he was now because of the hypnosis, and there was no way for him to return to


    his old personality.


    Sonia sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right. The old you was indeed like that, but I¡¯m curious to know¡ªdid someone


    shape that old personality of yours?¡±


    ¡°My mother,¡± Toby replied at once. ¡°My father and grandmother only paid attention to my education and


    my moral character, but they never had a hand in shaping my personality. They believed that each


    person had their own personality, and as long as I was an upright citizen, then I would be fine no matter


    what my personality was like. My mother, on the other hand, had a different mindset, and she influenced


    arge part of my old personality. She wanted to have a son with a gentle personality. Since she was my


    mother, and since she was not trying to influence me in a negative way, I did not go against her wishes.¡±


    Toby was not very concerned about his personality, as he only cared about having a mind of his own. He


    did not think that his way of thinking shed with his personality. He was a clear-headed person, so even


    if there was a mismatch between his thoughts and personality, it still would not affect his decision-


    making.


    Therefore, as he grew up, he continued to mold himself in ordance to his mother¡¯s wishes, and even


    during the ten-year period after his mother¡¯s death, he still remained the same. It was only after the


    hypnosis that he developed a new personality that was cold and distant, and when that happened, the


    old Toby Fuller with a gentle personality was gone.

 Chapter 902

    Chapter 902


    Chapter 902 Who You Were Meant to Be


    For some reason, although he was saddled with regrets and felt somewhat sorry for his mother, he was


    relieved by his change of character.


    His mother was proud of the Toby Fuller of the past and had everyone singing praises for him. However,


    this only gave the old Toby a lot of pressure. No one knew he disliked his past self as he felt his mother


    was not looking at him, but rather, looking at someone else through him.


    ¡°Just as I expected.¡± Sonia sighed sorrowfully after listening to the man¡¯s words.


    Sensing a vague premonition, Toby lifted Sonia¡¯s chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. ¡°Just as you


    expected? Did something happen for you to bring up my past character so abruptly?¡±


    This man is still as perceptive as ever. Sonia¡¯s red lips twitched a little before she bit her lip and uttered a


    response. ¡°Toby, the truth is¡­ I was reminded of how you were the moment I met Connor Salzburg


    today.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Toby frowned.


    Sonia took a deep breath before exining herself, ¡°Looking at Connor was just like looking at how you


    were in the past, that gentle and graceful boy in white. Do you know that Connor and you give off the


    same kind of energy? You two are so much alike, not in terms of your looks, but in the way you two


    expressed yourselves as well as your personalities. Naturally, I¡¯mparing Connor to your past self


    since how you are right now ispletely different from him. How you were in the past is almost identical


    to Connor. It¡¯s not even a stretch to say that the two of you were one and the same person. Do you


    understand me when I put it this way?¡±


    She fixed her gaze at him after her exnation.


    His character was exactly the same as Connor¡¯s. To put it more bluntly, someone had intentionally


    developed his character to be just like Connor¡¯s. And that person was his own mother.


    The reason why he thought of his mother was because of Sonia¡¯s question on the person who had


    developed his past character. With the fact that she told him that his past character was exactly the same


    as Connor¡¯s, everything fell into ce in his head.


    Toby was not a foolish person, which was why it was not impossible for him to read between the lines of


    what Sonia was saying. It was because he understood Sonia that he nked out with his body tensing


    up once more at this moment.


    Clenching his fists tightly, Toby fixed his gaze on Sonia before asking in a somewhat trembling and


    hoarse tone, ¡°What are you saying? Connor Salzburg is just like how I was in the past?¡±


    Toby had only ever seen pictures of Connor and had never met the man in person. Although he had


    heard talks about how Connor¡¯s character was and how Connor treated others, thoughts of himself being


    simr to Connor had never crossed his mind, nor did anyone mention this to him. Thus, it was no


    surprise why Toby never knew how simr he was to Connor.


    Looking at Toby, who was clearly starting to get agitated, Sonia nodded reluctantly even though she


    knew that it would be hard on the man right now. ¡°Yes.¡±


    After all, he grew up ording to what his mother wanted. In order for him to fulfill her wishes, he gave


    up on his ideal personality and grew into the character his mother wanted.


    Everything he did, he did for his mother.


    However, the end result of Toby¡¯s actions was for him to be told by another that the reason why his


    mother had raised him in this way was not because of her fondness for a gentle and warm child, but


    because she wanted to realize her longing for another man through him.


    Anyone in his position would feel turmoil in their heart. Even more so for a man as prideful as Toby. Toby


    lowered his head slightly and stayed silent, as he did not wish for others to witness his expression in this


    instance.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Nevertheless, Sonia noticed from the cold air Toby was exuding that he was angry and extremely furious,


    but she did not know who was the target of his anger.


    Was it Connor, Sonia herself, or¡­ his own mother?


    After some time had passed, Toby abruptly lifted his head and revealed a pair of bloodshot eyes. Though


    his voice became hoarse by the minute while filled with indications that he was holding himself back, he


    said, ¡°I need some time to calm down.¡±


    Sonia knew that he was feeling awful at this moment as various emotions would no doubt spring inside


    him. Should he choose not to calm himself down here, troubles would no doubt appear further down the


    road. With such thoughts, Sonia nodded to Toby. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll return to my room for now.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Toby grabbed Sonia¡¯s hand to stop her from getting up. ¡°I¡¯ll head over to the study.¡±


    Saying that, he released his grip on her hand before standing up himself and leaving for the study. Even


    in such a moment when his heart was in turmoil, the man had not asked her to take a step back, but


    rather chose to take a step back himself.


    This man is really¡­


    As Sonia watched Toby¡¯s usually tall and straight back be somewhat hunched at this moment, she


    felt a vague sense of unpleasantness and felt her heart aching inside with her eyes filled with pain for the


    man.


    The birth of one person was the end of another. For the prideful man¡ªthat was looked up to by others


    and even caused others to feel inferior to him¡ªto be hunching like this would be a shock to anyone.


    Furthermore, the person that had brought the man into this state was none other than his mother, whom


    he had great respect for. Although the reason for his birth was his mother¡¯s desire for freedom, Toby still


    loved her and respected her. Yet, he had never considered that his mother¡ªwho had always treated him


    well and loved him dearly so¡ªhad mixed her motherly love for him with such impure desires.


    His own mother wanted a gentle and warm child merely because the person she loved was a gentle and


    warm person. Just because she could not meet with her beloved, she molded her own son to be exactly


    like her beloved. It was all so that she could use her son to relieve her longing for her lover.


    Was it really appropriate for a mother to treat her own son as a stand-in for her lover? Toby knew


    precisely that he was a substitute for Connor, which was why his back was hunched now.


    Every person in this world was unique and should not be taken as a substitute for anyone else. However,


    regardless of how firm and upright his posture usually was, it was expected for someone as prideful as


    Toby Fuller¡ªwho had unknowingly be someone¡¯s substitute¡ªto be hunching his back after being


    dealt such a blow, especially since it was not an enemy but his beloved and revered mother who dealt


    such a fatal blow to him.


    Oftentimes, the most painful wounds a person could have was not dealt by their enemies, but by the


    people closest to them. Sonia¡¯s eyes reddened at such thoughts.


    As she clenched her fists, she stood up instantly and shouted at Toby, ¡°Toby Fuller!¡±


    With his hand on the door handle, Toby was already by the entrance of the room and was about to open


    the door to leave at this point. After Sonia called out to him, he stopped in his tracks but showed no other


    reaction aside from staying silent.


    Wearing a serious expression, she stared at the back of the man before saying, ¡°Toby Fuller, there¡¯s


    something I¡¯ve never told you all this time. Truthfully, I have always regretted the fact that you¡¯ve not


    reverted into that gentle Toby Fuller.¡±


    Toby was stunned at her words with his eyes turning into a deep shade of crimson red by the seconds.


    What does she mean by that? She wants me to continue being a stand-in for Connor Salzburg?


    Just when he was about to turn around and question her, Sonia continued, ¡°However, I no longer have


    such regrets. Instead, I¡¯m d that you did not revert into that Toby Fuller. I know now that the past you


    weren¡¯t the real you. Although the way you are now was formed by way of hypnosis, you were the one


    that chose this; no one else influenced you in this. Perhaps the current you is the real you, and perhaps


    this is your ideal character. That¡¯s why I¡¯m happy right now, and I¡¯m happy for you. Congrattions, Toby


    Fuller. You have finally returned to being who you were meant to be!¡±


    Before Sonia knew the reason for his personality, she felt that it was such a pity for Toby to have not


    returned to how he was in the past. After all, she loved how gentle he was. Who wouldn¡¯t be fond of that


    gentle and graceful boy dressed in that white shirt of his?


    Nevertheless, now that she knew the origins of his gentle personality, she no longer felt that it was a pity.


    Moreover, she felt slightly grateful for Tina to have found Miles to hypnotize Toby, where it had indirectly


    aided Toby into bing his true self once more.

 Chapter 903

    Chapter 903


    Chapter 903 Sonia¡¯s Reassurance


    After Sonia¡¯s exnation, Toby widened his eyes before turning around abruptly. Though his eyes were


    still red from anger, his pupils were trembling. He was agitated and ted over what Sonia had said.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Toby thought that Sonia wasmenting on why he wouldn¡¯t continue being Connor¡¯s substitute, and on


    why he wouldn¡¯t turn back into that gentle Toby Fuller. He felt a surge of anger rising and wanted to


    question her if she really liked his past self to the extent of asking him to be just a stand-in.


    If his mother had raised him purely without basing it on her own preference, and Sonia chose to like the


    past him, at most, he would be slightly upset, but would not be angry about it. The reason being, that


    would still be the real him.


    However, his past self was molded in the shape of Connor. How could Toby ept this should Sonia


    prefer his past self over the present him? It would be as if she had never loved him and had only ever


    loved the illusion of his character.


    Fortunately, her words after thatpletely quelled his anger.


    It turned out that Sonia loved not the illusion of his character, but his true self¡ªwho he really was on the


    inside. Why else would Sonia say that she was d that Toby did not return to how he was before?


    That was because Sonia knew Toby was not just a substitute for Connor. He was Toby Fuller; he was his


    own person. He should have had his own personality that was untainted by another person.


    And so, Sonia congratted him on turning back into who he was meant to be.


    After Sonia congratted him, Toby couldn¡¯t hold back his tion and agitation any longer. He took swift


    steps toward Sonia and tightly embraced her in his arms. With how tight his embrace was, it was as if he


    wanted to merge with her into bing one person.


    ¡°Sonia¡­ Sonia¡­ Sonia!¡± Toby leaned his head on her shoulder and continued crying out her name.


    Each cry of his was filled with heavy emotions. It was just as heavy as the tone of his voice.


    Looking at the man, Sonia knew the reason for the man¡¯s agitation.


    It was because of what she said.


    She clearly knew the influence her words would have on him.


    When the man found out that he was just a substitute that was fostered by his mother, he would


    subconsciously question his own existence, questioning whether he should¡¯ve been born into this world.


    To be born into this world, yet denied from being his own person. To not be able to be his true self but


    just somebody else¡¯s stand-in. Thus, a sense of disgust was born inside of the man. As a result, he


    rejected his own existence.


    However, Sonia¡¯s words were an acknowledgment of his existence. She was telling him that there was a


    meaning for him to be here in this world and that he wasn¡¯t just a stand-in for somebody else.


    He was his own person. He was Toby Fuller.


    Naturally, Toby got agitated by her words and rushed to embrace her in joy.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough now.¡± Sonia smiled while patting Toby¡¯s back before she softly said, ¡°You should let go of


    me first. I can¡¯t breathe properly with how tightly you¡¯re hugging me.¡±


    Toby lessened his strength in his embrace, but did not release her from his embrace as he continued to


    hold her in his arms. At this moment, he couldn¡¯t do so. It was only by holding her in his arms could he


    believe that what he just heard was true.


    Sonia felt amused and helpless as she could feel Toby being reluctant to break their embrace. The gap


    between a usually independent, distant man and a man who was clinging onto her like a child now was


    indeed amusing to her.


    Fine. I should just let it be if he wants to continue hugging me.


    Since Sonia was no longer asking for the man to let go of her and had decided to allow the man to


    continue hugging her, she continued patting his back andforted him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter what


    happens, you¡¯ll have me by your side. Not only me, but Grandma, Jean, and even Tyler are by your side


    as well. We all know that you are your own person, and not just another person¡¯s substitute.¡±


    Although she did not want to mention Jean, she had to bear her aversion for Jean and mention Jean¡¯s


    name in order tofort the man.


    At this point, Toby was still quiet and had buried his head right at Sonia¡¯s neck. He only muffled a sound


    as an indication that he was listening and would take her words into mind. And so, Sonia did not say


    anything more, and the two of them stayed silent as they continued to be in each other¡¯s arms.


    It was only when Sonia¡¯s phone rang did Toby reluctantly release her.


    She took out her phone and smiled when she saw the caller ID. ¡°It¡¯s Mrs. Lane. She¡¯s probably calling to


    ask what you like to eat so that she can prepare them for tonight¡¯s dinner.¡±


    After Toby took a nce at the caller ID, his emotions became much better. ¡°Answer her. I¡¯ll leave for the


    study first.¡±


    Toby still needed to take time to calm himself down. Though Sonia had said much and somewhat


    comforted him, he still needed to think about certain things himself. After all, it was his own mother. He¡ª


    as her son¡ªneeded to process what his own mother had done to him.


    Sonia understood where Toby wasing from, which was why she had not objected when Toby wanted


    to leave for the study, and instead nodded in agreement. However, she believed that he would take no


    time at all in the study after the encouragement she gave. That was why she was relieved even though


    Toby was going to process things by himself at this time.


    ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll call you when it¡¯s time for lunch,¡± Sonia said while looking at Toby.


    With a slight nod, Toby turned around and left for the study.


    Sonia then called Mrs. Lane back after watching Toby enter the study. Due to Sonia watching Toby


    intently, the ringing had stopped as she did not answer the call even after some time had passed. Now,


    she had to call her back instead.


    After Toby entered the study and closed the door, he stood with his back against the door and closed his


    eyes slightly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He wore an expression that was full of fatigue¡ªboth


    physically and mentally.


    He¡¯d always thought that although he was born for the purpose of his mother¡¯s freedom, his mother still


    loved him, and that her love for him was pure and untainted by any other feelings. Yet, he only found out


    now just how wrong he was.


    His mother did love him, but it was not just a simple mother¡¯s love. At the very least, he would never be


    able to reach Connor¡¯s position in his mother¡¯s heart.


    For the sake of Connor, his mother nurtured him into the likes of Connor. In her heart, as long as she


    could relieve her longing for her lover, whether or not her son had a character of his own did not matter.


    Even so, in order to make his mother happy and not disappoint her, he still tried his best in bing


    someone gentle even when he disliked it.


    It was all because his mother liked it.


    He knew that his mother was unhappy about getting married to his father, which was why Toby chose to


    be someone he didn¡¯t like in order to make his mother happy. Yet, everything was just a lie in the


    end. It was all a lie!


    Toby hung his head with both his hands clenched into fists. Due to how hard he was clenching his hands,


    his arms trembled slightly with his veins bulged. The air around him turned frightfully cold.


    Toby had not doubted Sonia¡¯s words and even believed her instantly. In the past, he would always have


    the suspicion of his mother looking at someone else through him, but he never had any proof for his


    suspicion and thought that he was mistaken.


    Yet, he realized that he wasn¡¯t wrong with his suspicion the moment Sonia said that his past self was just


    like Connor. His mother was looking at someone else through him as Toby was specifically nurtured to


    be the substitute for Connor.


    Just a stand-in!


    This was a mockery to Toby.


    To think he, Toby Fuller, the head of the Fullers, would one day be someone else¡¯s stand-in.


    And that someone else might even be his father¡¯s murderer!


    He couldn¡¯t forgive his mother¡¯s actions. Although he would still give her his respect, he would no longer


    give her his love. After all, no one would be able to ept just being a stand-in for someone else, much


    less him, Toby Fuller.


    Nevertheless, he did not care anymore. Neither the fact that his mother treated him as a substitute and


    never fully treated him as her son nor loved her son with all of her heart mattered anymore. Now, even


    without his mother, there were other people who truly loved him.


    Little Leaf, and Grandma, they both love me a lot.


    After Little Leaf knew that how he was before was specifically nurtured ording to someone else, she


    immediately let go of her fond memories of his past self and epted the current him.


    This sentiment of hers was enough for him to remember her for the rest of his life.

 Chapter 904

    Chapter 904


    Chapter 904 Wanting to Take Action Regardless of Everything Else


    Speaking of Grandma¡­ Thinking of his grandma, Toby suddenly remembered how surprised and


    relieved Rose was when she first saw him six years ago.


    Six years ago, he had just finished his heart surgery and was getting ready to fulfill his promise with Little


    Leaf for a meeting. Yet, just before he could do so, he was hypnotized by Miles.


    After the hypnotism, there was a drastic change in Toby¡¯s personality. His warm, gentle personality was


    reced by coldness and indifference.


    After his change in personality, Toby clearly remembered that there was something nagging at him when


    he first met Rose. That nagging he felt was how Rose was surprised over his change in personality yet


    never questioned him about it.


    Normally, wouldn¡¯t someone ask in a panic about the reason for such a drastic change in personality? To


    ask the person whether something had happened in their life?


    However, Rose did not. After a moment of being taken by surprise, she immediately held Toby¡¯s hand


    and wouldn¡¯t stop telling him that it was a good thing for this to happen.


    At the time, tears welled up in Rose¡¯s reddened eyes. He knew that those tears were from her emotions


    of joy. Although he couldn¡¯t understand why Rose reacted that way at the time, he knew better now.


    Perhaps Rose already knew the truth behind his old personality¡ªhow his personality was nurtured by


    his mother to be just like Connor¡¯s.


    That was why Rose was relieved by the change in his personality and had told him repeatedly that it was


    a good thing for him. But a few months back, when he had somewhat returned to how he was in the past


    after that car ident, Rose¡¯s eyes were filled with anxiousness, though she herself said nothing at all.


    He always thought that the anxiousness Rose had then was due to the injuries he sustained from the car


    ident. Looking back on it now, perhaps her anxiousness stemmed from the possibility of him turning


    back into how he was before, and that he would return to his old self. Clearly, she did not wish for Toby to


    return to being a stand-in for Connor.


    Rose¡¯s thoughts were the same as Sonia¡¯s, which was why he could say with certainty that both his


    grandmother and Sonia loved him.


    As long as they were with him and always filled him with their love, he could stop rejecting himself and


    doubting himself over being made into a stand-in. Furthermore, he would no longer need to care about


    what his mother¡¯s thoughts were or his mother¡¯s love tainted by other feelings.


    Now, he could let go of his feelings for his mother as there were people that truly and sincerely cared


    about him. Naturally, though he overcame his doubts and wouldn¡¯t hold any grudges against his mother


    since she was ultimately the one who gave birth to him, he would never forgive Connor.


    Absolutely not!


    The true master?


    I will let Connor know that no one else in this world is the true master of the Fuller Family!


    With his fists clenched tightly, Toby was filled with bloodlust as his eyes turned crimson red. At this


    moment, his phone in his pocket rang. With the ringing of his phone having somewhat dispersed the


    stifling air in the room, Toby loosened his fists and took his phone out.


    Seeing that it was his assistant, Tom, calling, he walked over to his desk and answered the phone. ¡°What


    is it?¡± He sounded indifferent.


    ¡°President Fuller, bad news. Connor Salzburg is in Seafield.¡± Tom¡¯s tone wasced with stress on the


    other end of the line.


    Toby murmured in assent. ¡°Yes, I already know of it.¡± He pulled out a chair and sat down.


    Tom was shocked by his president¡¯s reply. ¡°You knew?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°He was here for Little Leaf. It was Little Leaf who told me about it.¡±


    Tom immediately understood his president¡¯s exnation. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened when you took the


    phone call from Miss Reed back in the conference room.¡±


    Back then, Tom was also present in the conference room and was also aware of Sonia¡¯s phone call to


    Toby. After all, Toby¡¯s phone was with him at the time as he was responsible for his phone, which was


    why he would be the first to know of any iing phone calls. If it was somebody else that had called,


    he would have immediately ended the call and wouldn¡¯t have notified his president as Toby hated


    answering calls during a meeting.


    But Sonia was the exception.


    That was why when Tom saw it was Sonia calling, he immediately passed the phone to Toby. Sure


    enough, Toby answered the call without any hesitation. When Toby did, his face wore a gentle


    expression that gave everyone in the conference room goosebumps and shocked them to the bones.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Tom had initially thought that the others in the room would see his president¡¯s humble side as Toby would


    try to please Sonia through the phone. After all, Tom knew that men would bend over backward to please


    their lovers once they fell in love. Not even the great Toby Fuller could escape this love spell.


    Just by looking at how Toby was grinning from ear to ear when he knew that it was Sonia on the phone,


    Tom knew that his president would bend over backward for Sonia.


    However, contrary to Tom¡¯s expectation, the others in the room did not witness his president¡¯s side of


    trying to please Sonia, but saw his president¡¯s expression going through a drastic change while staying


    silent. Right after Toby ended the call, he grabbed his jacket and left the conference room in a hurry.


    Recalling how dark his president¡¯s expression looked, it still frightened him greatly until now.


    As Toby¡¯s assistant, Tom should have left with him as well. However, he stayed back and continued to


    chair the meeting as it was still ongoing. That was why Tom was in the dark about what Sonia had told


    Toby for Toby¡¯s expression to change that much and for him to be that angry.


    He assumed that Sonia might have gotten into some trouble, such as being involved in some sort of


    ident. However, he realized now that it was the news of Connor Salzburg arriving in Seafield, and that


    the man had even gone to meet Sonia.


    Toby firmly believed that Connor was his father¡¯s murderer, while Sonia was someone that had a special


    ce in Toby¡¯s heart.


    It was to be expected for Toby to undergo such a change the moment he heard of the two meeting. With


    his anger mixed with his worries over Sonia, Toby naturally couldn¡¯t sit still and left the room in a hurry.


    After figuring out the incident back at the conference room, Tom hurriedly asked with concern, ¡°President


    Fuller, is Miss Reed alright? Did Connor harm Miss Reed?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head slightly. Should Connor dare touch a single hair on Sonia, Toby would go to


    war with the Salzburg Family regardless of any nationalws, let alone thinking about the numerous


    people that would be made jobless and homeless by his action.


    He only wanted the death of Connor.


    If not for the nationalws, the hundreds of thousands of employees under the Fuller Group, and the


    innocent employees under the Salzburg Group, Toby would not hold himself back and would use any


    means necessary to question Connor on whether Connor was his father¡¯s murderer. Who wouldn¡¯t break


    down under illegal means of interrogation, right?


    However, there was still kindness in him. He knew that if he had done what he thought of doing, there


    would be war between the Fuller Family and the Salzburg Family. Once the fight between the two


    families broke out, the employees of the two groups would end up bearing the brunt. When that time


    came, many would choose to end their life as they would lose their means of living.


    Although the employees meant little to the cold and distant Toby, the sense of responsibility and morals


    instilled within him since young prevented him from doing so. Else, he would have gotten his revenge a


    long time ago.


    ¡°Good thing he didn¡¯t.¡± Tom sighed in relief after hearing his president¡¯s answer. Here, Tom was not


    nervous about Sonia but his own president instead. He knew how much Toby cared about Sonia, and


    that Toby would go crazy should anything happen to her.


    ¡°By the way, how did you find out that Connor is in Seafield?¡± Toby asked with his eyes narrowed in


    suspicion, as he did not disclose this information to anyone else. ¡°Did hee by the Fuller Group?¡± he


    spected.


    Tom immediately shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not it, President Fuller. Connor did note to the Fuller


    Group. I was notified by the police that Connor went to the police station half an hour ago to meet with


    Anya.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how you knew.¡± Toby slightly nodded. He was not surprised by the fact that Connor went to the


    police station. Anya is Connor¡¯s daughter, and is the only reason he came to Seafield. There¡¯s no way he


    wouldn¡¯t go meet her.

 Chapter 905

    Chapter 905


    Chapter 905 They Might Not Be Father and Daughter


    Toby pinched his nose while asking in a grave tone, ¡°What happened after that? Has there been any


    updates from the police? What did they say?¡±


    Tom shook his head. ¡°Sorry, President Fuller, but there¡¯s no update regarding this. ording to the


    police, Connor asked to meet Anya alone when he went. The police couldn¡¯tply with his request to


    let Anya off, but Connor is one of the city¡¯s biggest taxpayers, so the police wouldn¡¯t turn down such a


    small request. Therefore, the police had no idea what they had talked about during their private meeting.


    But¡­¡±


    ¡°Shoot!¡± Toby frowned in displeasure.


    Tom hemmed. Not daring to tarry, he hurriedly continued, ¡°The police officer who took Connor to see


    Anya gave us a strange piece of information. He said that judging from Connor and Anya¡¯s manner


    toward each other, they didn¡¯t seem like father and daughter; instead, they seemed more like a superior


    and his subordinate.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Toby stopped pinching his nose as suspicion showed on his face. ¡°A superior and his


    subordinate?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what the police officer said, but I don¡¯t know the details. I didn¡¯t see it myself, after all,¡± Tom


    replied seriously.


    Toby rubbed his thumb and forefinger together a few times. ¡°Did he exin in detail why they seemed


    not like father and daughter, but like a superior and his subordinate?¡±


    ¡°He did.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°ording to him, when Connor saw Anya, his face didn¡¯t show the slightest


    excitement or joy of seeing his daughter. Even if he wasn¡¯t happy, he should¡¯ve been angry, right? After


    all, now that his daughter had gotten into such big trouble, he should¡¯ve been exasperated and


    disappointed as a father. But Connor looked neither happy nor angry. When he saw Anya, he looked


    very imperturbable, as if Anya weren¡¯t his daughter but someone unrted to him.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Toby mumbled thoughtfully while lowering his eyes. Then, he asked, ¡°What about Anya,


    then?¡±


    ¡°Anya was strange, too. When she saw Connor, she didn¡¯t react like she was meeting her father; she


    didn¡¯t look happy at all. A daughter should¡¯ve been excited and overjoyed to see her fathere to save


    her, right? But she wasn¡¯t. When she saw Connor, she was only terrified.¡±


    ¡°Terrified?¡±


    Tom nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve confirmed it repeatedly, and the police officer insisted that she looked


    terrified. People in their line of work would¡¯ve seen all kinds of people, so there was no way he would¡¯ve


    misread her expression.¡±


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    What Tom said was indeed true, so Toby didn¡¯t ask any further. After a while, he finally said, ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± Tom continued, ¡°Anya was terrified of Connor from the bottom of her heart.


    ording to the police officer, Connor had probably done something to her before, which was why she


    was so terrified of him. And besides, when Anya saw Connor, she didn¡¯t call him ¡®Dad¡¯ or ¡®Father.¡¯


    Instead, she called him ¡®Mr. Salzburg,¡¯ which was why the police officer wondered if they really were


    father and daughter.¡± The father wasn¡¯t happy to see his daughter, nor was he angry or exasperated by


    her ipetence. On the other hand, when the daughter saw her father, she wasn¡¯t excited about being


    rescued. Instead, she was terrified. This is strange no matter how one looks at it, right?


    Toby narrowed his eyes in thought without saying a word. Anya was terrified of Connor, who had done


    something very terrifying to her. Would a father do something terrifying to his daughter? Well, there


    certainly are such fathers in the world, but I believe they¡¯re in the minority. However perverted Connor is,


    he wouldn¡¯t have done anything terrifying to his daughter¡ªunless they weren¡¯t father and daughter! They


    aren¡¯t father and daughter, huh¡­ Toby¡¯s eyes flickered as the idea crossed his mind. That¡¯s right! If they


    aren¡¯t father and daughter, then all of this makes sense. ¡°Tom,¡± he said.


    Tom straightened up upon hearing Toby¡¯s words. ¡°Yes, at your service, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Try to get your hands on Anya and Connor¡¯s DNA samples,¡± Toby ordered in a grim voice.


    Realizing what Toby meant, Tom immediately asked, ¡°President Fuller, are you suspecting that¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Toby replied.


    Tom took a deep breath. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s indeed likely. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t understand it. If they really aren¡¯t


    father and daughter, then why are they pretending to be?¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°It¡¯s pointless to think about these right now. We¡¯ll know why once we get to the


    bottom of it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller,¡± Tom replied.


    Toby massaged his temples. ¡°How did the meeting go after I left?¡±


    Upon hearing his question, Tom instantly rolled his eyes. Oh, President Fuller, so you still remember that


    you¡¯re thepany¡¯s president and that you¡¯ve left the Fuller Group and the meeting behind, huh? He


    wished he could throw this remark at Toby, but he didn¡¯t have the nerve to do so. Therefore, he could


    only take a deep breath,pose himself, and reply with a businesslike smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President


    Fuller. The meeting went without a hitch. After you left, I gathered everyone and continued the meeting.¡±


    The meeting wasn¡¯t a particrly important meeting where Toby had to be present. In reality, even if


    Toby¡ªthe Fuller Group¡¯s president¡ªwas absent, the meeting could still go on, for the amount of


    property and money involved weren¡¯t much. Because of that, Tom had the courage to continue the


    meeting as Toby¡¯s personal assistant. If there were many properties involved and the amount of money


    was huge, Tom couldn¡¯t chair the meeting on Toby¡¯s behalf, of course.


    Upon hearing that the meeting had gone smoothly and ended without a hitch, Toby gave an ¡°Uh-huh¡± in


    satisfaction. ¡°Good to hear that. Well, if there¡¯s nothing else, I gotta go,¡± he said. With that, he hung up


    the phone heartlessly right away.


    At the Fuller Group, Tom rolled his eyes as hard as he could as he listened to the disconnect tone on his


    cell phone. President Fuller, you can hang up all you want, but before you do so, could you please tell


    me if you¡¯ll still being to work today? There¡¯s a desk full of documents waiting for you to sign and


    deal with! He turned to look at the pile of documents on Toby¡¯s desk before letting out a sigh of distress.


    There are so many documents, and they¡¯re all urgent. When is President Fuller gonnae back to deal


    with them? They¡¯re worth a fortune, a fortune I say! He grabbed his own hair in frustration.


    A whileter, however, Tom suddenly calmed down and looked at the pile of documents coldly. Ha! If he¡¯s


    noting back, then fine. It¡¯s President Fuller¡¯s ownpany, anyway, so the money lost will be his


    own. Even the boss himself doesn¡¯t worry about it, so why should I¡ªa mere employee¡ªbe worried? At


    the thought of this, Tom instantly felt much more rxed. Then, he walked out of Toby¡¯s office while


    humming a tune.


    Meanwhile, at Bayside Residence, after putting down his cell phone, Toby sat in his chair and linked his


    fingers together on the desk before him. The lights in the study were off, and the curtains were closed, so


    it was very dark in the study. As a result, Toby was almost shrouded in darkness, which made him seem


    mysterious and grim since no one could see his expression clearly.


    Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Sonia¡¯s gentle voice rang outside. ¡°Toby?¡±


    Upon hearing the woman call out to him, Toby looked up and took his hands off his desk. Then, he stood


    up, went over to the door, and opened it.


    Seeing the pitch-dark study, Sonia turned to look at the man before her. She asked with a slight frown,


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you turn the lights on?¡±


    ¡°I forgot,¡± Toby replied as his thin lips parted.


    Sonia didn¡¯t bother to ask if he had really forgotten to turn on the lights or if he had purposely kept them


    off. Instead, she asked, ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± She was referring to whether Toby had swallowed the


    fact that he was a substitute.


    Toby lowered his eyes. ¡°Yeah, I am.¡±


    ¡°Then what about your mom¡ª¡±


    Toby lowered his eyes and replied impassively, ¡°I don¡¯t me her for that, but I won¡¯t have any feelings


    toward her anymore. Now all I have for her is respect.¡± Even though his mother was nice to him, he really


    couldn¡¯t withstand the fact that she had used him as a substitute. That isn¡¯t something a mother¡¯s


    supposed to do!

 Chapter 906

    Chapter 906


    Chapter 906 A Man Who Is Easily Moved


    Upon hearing the man¡¯s words, Sonia nodded in understanding. ¡°Good to hear that. No matter what, you


    still have us by your side. None of us will treat you as a substitute for anyone, so don¡¯t think too much


    about it. Got it?¡± she said while staring at him.


    Toby felt a warm feeling in his heart at the sight of the woman¡¯s serious expression. Caressing her tender


    cheek, he replied softly, ¡°Yeah, I got it.¡±


    Sonia put her hand on the back of the hand that Toby caressed her cheek with. She asked, ¡°That¡¯s good.


    Are you still sad and upset, then?¡±


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not sad or upset anymore, because you said you¡¯re staying by my side.¡±


    He was only upset, anguished, and furious when he first learned that his mother had raised him to be


    Connor¡¯s substitute. After all, it was his own mother who had done so to him.


    However, after his anger cooled, he gradually calmed down. He began to realize that even though his


    mother had treated him as a substitute, she had passed away for nearly 20 years, and he didn¡¯t have to


    bother about a person who had passed away for a long time.


    Still, as he was unable to vent his anger on her, he could only take all his anger and humiliation out on


    Connor. It didn¡¯t matter whether or not Connor knew he was a substitute for the former. Even if Connor


    was aware of it, he wouldn¡¯t let Connor off. Somebody had to bear the responsibility for the wrong that


    had beenmitted. Since his mother had passed away, it was only natural that Connor should be the


    person who bore the responsibility.


    After he figured this out, his anger subsided a lot, and the violent rage within him gradually disappeared.


    Even if he didn¡¯t figure it out, he wouldn¡¯t keep being angry all the time. Instead, he would quickly


    compose his emotions. He couldn¡¯t let Sonia worry about him all the time, for his anger would scare her


    and make her feel uneasy. Moreover, she had beenforting him all this while, so he couldn¡¯t let her


    concerns and words offorte to naught. At the thought of this, he caressed her cheek even


    gentler, and his hand lingered on her face, as if to trace its outline.


    Sonia¡¯s cheek itched somewhat as Toby caressed her, so she grabbed his wrist and took his hand off her


    face right away. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re alright, let¡¯s eat first. It¡¯s well past noon now, and I¡¯m hungry. You


    must be hungry as well, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer her whether he was hungry or not. Hearing that Sonia was hungry, he took her hand


    and hurried to the kitchen. ¡°Let me fix you something to eat.¡±


    Seeing him in such a hurry, Sonia stopped him with a look of amusement. ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    Toby stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to cook. I¡¯ve already made lunch.¡± Sonia tugged at her apron.


    Only then did Toby notice that Sonia was wearing an apron. His attention had been focused on her face


    since he opened the door and saw her just now, so he really didn¡¯t notice the apron she was wearing.


    Sonia put down the apron. ¡°I made a lot of your favorite dishes, so eat moreter. I made them specially


    for you.¡±


    Toby¡¯s eyes lit up visibly. ¡°You made them specially for me?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s of course. A certain man was angry and upset, so I had to appease him


    by making some of his favorite dishes for him, right?¡±


    Toby realized what Sonia meant. She made lunch for me because she wanted me to pull myself


    together; she doesn¡¯t want me to lose my reason or even doubt myself and abandon myself to despair


    after learning of the cruel truth. At the thought of this, he swept her into his arms and held her tight once


    again.


    Sonia¡¯s nose hurt so much when it bumped against Toby¡¯s sturdy chest that her eyes reddened in an


    instant. Still, she smothered a cry of pain, or else the man would definitely get nervous and check on her


    from head to toe. To avoid getting into unweed situationster on, she decided to bear it.


    While the man wasn¡¯t noticing, Sonia gently massaged the tip of her nose until the pain subsided; only


    then did she finally exhale and put her hand down. She knew that Toby had hugged her all of a sudden


    because he was moved by the fact that she had made lunch for him. Because of that, he suddenly


    released his emotions and embraced her to express his excitement and joy at this very moment. This


    guy is just like this. He won¡¯t say verbally that he¡¯s touched or happy. Instead, he¡¯ll express it in a more


    passionate and straightforward way like hugs and kisses. In reality, such direct expressions can better


    tell whether a person is really moved or happy.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡± Sonia stuck out her forefinger and poked the man gently in the waist. ¡°It¡¯s just a


    meal, right? Do you have to be so touched? People who have no idea what happened would think that


    I¡¯ve done something earth-shaking.¡± Speaking of it, this guy¡¯s appearance gives the impression of being


    cold and indifferent. Not only is he cold toward outsiders, but he always seems self-important and


    capable of everything. Even so, only I know that in private¡ªespecially when he¡¯s facing me¡ªhe¡¯ll smile


    at me, speak softly to me, and even flirt with me. At the same time, he¡¯s easily moved. A person who is


    easily moved must be soft-hearted as well. However, I know very well that he isn¡¯t soft with anyone else,


    but only with me and those whom he cares the most. How could such a man not be charming? Perhaps


    that was why I fell in love with him all over again.


    Not knowing what Sonia was thinking, Toby rubbed his chin against her head. ¡°To me, every single thing


    you¡¯ve done for me is even more moving than any earth-shaking thing.¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t know whether tough or to frown at the man¡¯s remark. ¡°I¡¯m really embarrassed to ept


    what you said. Alright, hurry up and let go of me and go to eat. Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± She patted Toby on


    the back.


    Only then did Toby reluctantly let go of Sonia. Then, she took him by the hand and went to the kitchen


    with him, serving lunch with him before having lunch together at the dining table.


    It wasn¡¯t until the man enjoyed his meal with no sign of the terrifying chilliness that had shown in his eyes


    when he learned that he had been a substitute that Sonia finally gave an inward sigh of relief. In reality,


    she wasn¡¯t idling outside during the time when Toby had gone to the study to calm down. Instead, she


    was reflecting upon whether it was right of her to tell him about this. After all, this wasn¡¯t some good


    news. After that, though, she suppressed her doubts and felt that she did the right thing. As one of the


    parties involved, Toby had the right to know the truth. And besides, only by knowing it earlier could he


    take early precautions to prevent the fact from being learned by others and used by someone like


    Connor to mock him.


    If Connor really were the person who had killed Toby¡¯s father, there would definitely be a fight between


    the two men. If Connor were to learn about Toby being his substitute and mock thetter for it while he


    was still unaware of this, it would definitely be a huge blow to him. Even if Connor didn¡¯t do so, Toby still


    had other enemies in the business world, and they would use this to attack him if they learned about it.


    Therefore, she decided to simply let him know earlier and erase any traces that would lead anyone else


    to learn about it so that he wouldn¡¯t hear anyone attack him using this. She believed she was doing this


    for Toby¡¯s own good, so she didn¡¯t think it was wrong of her to tell him about it.


    Seeing Sonia holding her fork and spoon in a daze with a nk look in her eyes, Toby asked with a slight


    frown, ¡°What are you thinking?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes flickered. Coming to her senses, she shook her head and replied, ¡°Nothing. I was just


    thinking about my phone conversation with Mrs. Lane just now.¡± She had no intention of telling him whatR¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    she had just thought about. Since he had gotten past the matter, she didn¡¯t have to bring it up again.


    ¡°What did you two talk about?¡± Toby picked up the ss of water beside him and took a drink from it.


    Sonia picked up a chunk of fish and put it on his te. ¡°She asked what time in the evening we would go


    to her ce so that she could arrange for someone to greet us at the gate. She also asked what your


    favorite food is so that she can have the food ingredients bought in advance to prepare dinner. Also¡­¡±

 Chapter 907

    Chapter 907


    Chapter 907 Sonia¡¯s Guilt


    Toby¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he captured the sly look that shed past Sonia¡¯s eyes. However, he


    remained calm and acted as if nothing happened. ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane also asked me whether you were nice to me. If you¡¯re not¡­¡± She smirked.


    Meanwhile, Toby¡¯s grip on the cup that he was holding tightened a little. ¡°What will happen if I¡¯m not


    nice?¡±


    Noticing that his grip tightened, Sonia pursed her lips into a smile. ¡°Kick you out of Lane Residence, of


    course. She also rmended that I break up with you.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Toby¡¯s facial expression darkened immediately.


    Although he knew that Grace only meant that only if he wasn¡¯t nice to Sonia, he was still upset to hear


    those words as it sounded ominous. How could he feel happy hearing that after all the effort he had


    exercised to get Sonia back again?


    ¡°What about you? How did you reply to her?¡± Toby asked gloomily with his lips pursed.


    Nevertheless, Sonia burst into giggles when she noticed his upset expression. ¡°Of course I said yes.


    Mrs. Lane would have rushed over if I said no.¡±


    Immediately, the uneasiness that Toby was feeling dispersed into nothing. I knew she wouldn¡¯t disappoint


    me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can tell whether you¡¯ve been nice to me or not, and I won¡¯t lie to frame you.¡± Sonia


    grabbed her cup and took a sip of water while Toby hummed in acknowledgment with a smile on his


    face. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°What time are we heading over tonight? I need to inform Mrs. Lane about it,¡± she ced her cup down


    and asked.


    At this moment, Toby nced at his wristwatch and pondered for a moment before answering, ¡°About


    7.00PM, I guess. I need to head back to the old manor to talk to Grandma first as I need to rify


    something with her.¡±


    His eyes narrowed before his facial expression darkened.


    He wanted to know if Rose knew from the start that he had been raised by his mother as Connor¡¯s


    recement.


    Noticing the change in Toby¡¯s facial expression, Sonia opened her lips and looked like she wanted to say


    something.


    However, she chose to not say it in the end and closed her mouth. Whatever. It¡¯s better if I don¡¯t ask him


    about it since he didn¡¯t mention why he wants to meet Grandma. If he didn¡¯t tell me about it, he probably


    doesn¡¯t want me to know about it.


    After lunch, Toby cuddled Sonia for a while before he pressed her against the couch and started


    peppering her with kisses until she zoned out while staring at the ceiling. Then, he chuckled with


    satisfaction and left.


    Hearing the footsteps of the man walking away, Sonia didn¡¯t bother getting up to send him off.


    Why should I even send him off when I don¡¯t have any energy left after those kisses? It¡¯s already good


    enough for him that I didn¡¯t scold him. How dare he use the excuse of feeling upset for being a


    recement to get me to console him after I wash the dishes! How dare he press me against the couch


    and take advantage of me?! What a shameless man!


    She looked away from the ceiling and touched her red and swollen lips. Just then, there was an


    embarrassed look on her face.


    Sonia ced her arms against the couch behind her to prop herself up before turning to look at the


    entryway.


    There was no one there, and it was obvious that Toby already left.


    Sonia looked away before she returned to the room to pack her stuff. It was time to head to Paradigm


    Co.


    Initially, she nned to head over early in the morning, but she couldn¡¯t do so because of Connor.


    Now that it was already afternoon, she couldn¡¯t dy it anymore and had to head to Paradigm Co.


    If she didn¡¯t go again, her absence would be marked for the second day in a row. The higher executives


    would surely criticize her as she was the president now.


    Sighing, Sonia changed into a new set of outfit from the closet and did her makeup before heading out


    with her handbag.


    After a day and a half¡¯s break from thepany, she couldn¡¯t help but feel like it had been a lifetime ago


    since shest stepped foot at Paradigm Co.


    Shaking her head and smiling, Sonia returned the greetings of her employees and headed into the


    elevator. Then, she went up to the highest floor and entered her office.


    After entering the office and cing her handbag down, someone knocked at her door before she could


    even sit down.


    Sonia took her seat and said to the person outside of her office, ¡°Come in.¡±


    Subsequently, the knocking on the door stopped. Immediately, the door was opened and a figure in a


    ck business suit entered the room.


    It was Daphne.


    At that moment, Daphne lookedpletely like a different person. She had cut her hair to a length that


    was below her ears and changed out of her usual high heels into ts. Even her pair of sses had been


    changed.


    Although the sses¡¯ frame was still ck, it was way smaller than the previous one.


    An odd look appeared on Sonia¡¯s face when she saw Daphne¡¯s change of appearance. ¡°Miss Daphne,


    why did you return to work so soon? Are you not going to take a break for a few more days? Also,


    your¡­¡± She pointed at Daphne¡¯s hair.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    In response, Daphne ced the documents onto Sonia¡¯s desk before replying with a smile, ¡°I feel much


    better after resting for two days, so I figured that it was time toe back to work. Since I¡¯m used to


    working with high intensity, I might find it hard to adapt back to work if I take a break for too long. As for


    my hair¡­¡±


    She ran her fingers through her hair. ¡°One of my friends told me that my hairstylest time was too old-


    fashioned, so she took me to a hair salon to change my hairstyle since she noticed that I¡¯ve been in a


    bad mood recently. She ims that my mood will be lifted with a new hairstyle. Still, it¡¯s my first time


    cutting my hair so short, so I¡¯m not sure if it looks nice.¡±


    ¡°It looks good.¡± Sonia quickly nodded. ¡°It¡¯s really nice and suits you very well. Your friend really has an


    eye for good hairstyles.¡±


    Sheplimented Daphne with a thumbs up.


    Upon hearing that, Daphne seemed somewhat embarrassed as her face flushed. ¡°Thank you for


    complimenting me, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not apliment. It¡¯s true that you look good like this. In fact, you look better now. Looks like you


    really did adjust your mindset during your two days at home.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daphne nodded. ¡°Since President Lane doesn¡¯t know that I fell pregnant, I won¡¯t tell him about it,


    and I¡¯ll go through the abortion myself. After that, I¡¯ll act like nothing ever happened. About President


    Lane¡¯s attitude toward me, I¡¯ve already epted the fact that feelings can¡¯t be forced, and I won¡¯t dream


    of him having any feelings toward me anymore. I¡¯m choosing to move on and see him as my university


    friend and ex-boss. If that¡¯s the case, I probably won¡¯t feel as sad when he treats me badly, wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    When Sonia heard her words, a forceful smile appeared on her face. However, Sonia felt her heart


    aching when she looked at Daphne. ¡°Are you really nning to give up? Don¡¯t you feel that it is a pity to


    let go of a crush thatsted for years?¡±


    Daphne shook her head. ¡°I might feel that way, but what else can I do other than give up? Even if I


    continue holding on, it won¡¯t change President Lane¡¯s perception of me. In fact, my determination might


    even disgust him even more.¡±


    Sonia was rendered speechless. It¡¯s true that being determined isn¡¯t necessarily rewarding as Daphne


    didn¡¯t manage to get Charles to fall in love with her. However, isn¡¯t it the same for Charles on my side?


    She sighed before staring at Daphne apologetically. ¡°Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have encouraged you to pursue


    Charles in the first ce.


    Daphne had liked Charles ever since they studied in university together, and her crush on him remained


    hidden until a few months ago, so Sonia encouraged Daphne to pursue Charles after finding out about


    her feelings.


    Then, Daphne gained courage because of her encouragement, which led to what happened today.


    All of this is my fault!

 Chapter 908

    Chapter 908


    Chapter 908 No Regrets


    If I didn¡¯t realize Daphne¡¯s feelings, or if I did but didn¡¯t encourage her, she wouldn¡¯t have had the


    courage to confess to Charles. As long as she didn¡¯t express her feelings and treated him like before,


    things could have been different now.


    Nevertheless, Daphne waved her off and smiled when she saw the guilty look on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s fine,


    President Reed. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong, and you were just trying to help me out. Even if you


    hadn¡¯t encouraged me to pursue President Lane, I¡¯d still do it on my own.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia straightened her posture a little while Daphne lowered her gaze and chuckled. ¡°In the


    past, you never knew that President Lane had feelings toward you, so you couldn¡¯t reject him. Since I¡¯m


    not sure whether the two of you would get together or not as a bystander, I had always hid my feelings


    so that no one would know about it. However, I realized that I could go after him without any worries or


    consequences once he confessed, and you rejected him.¡±


    ¡°So, the reason why you never confessed in the past was that you¡¯re not sure if I will get into a


    rtionship with him once I know about his feelings?¡± Sonia nced at her.


    Daphne nodded. ¡°Yes. I started having the urge to confess after knowing that you won¡¯t get together with


    President Lane, so even if you discourage me, I will still pursue him. Nevertheless, you gave me


    encouragement before I could properly n how I wanted to pursue him.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± In that instance, the sudden realization hit Sonia.


    Meanwhile, Daphne stared at her and exined, ¡°That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t feel guilty, President Reed.


    Although I was suffering because of President Lane¡¯s disgust toward me, I¡¯ve already thought things


    through. Feelings can¡¯t be forced, and I can¡¯t expect him to love me back just because I love him. What


    happened between us that night was a mistake, and we are both responsible for it. I won¡¯t make him take


    responsibility for it, and I¡¯ll settle things on my own without his knowledge. I¡¯ll act like nothing ever


    happened that night, and I don¡¯t care if his attitude toward me remains the same in the future. I¡¯ll try to


    move on and forget about him. From now on, I¡¯ll look for a man who loves me and get into a new


    rtionship.¡±


    Seeing how serious Daphne sounded as well as how she looked forward to starting a new chapter, Sonia


    was relieved.


    ¡°It¡¯s good if that¡¯s what you think. I hope that you¡¯ll find someone who truly loves you and treats you well,¡±


    she said genuinely.


    Daphne nodded with a smile. ¡°Thank you for your kind words, President Reed. I believe that I will.¡±


    ¡°Of course you will!¡± Sonia smiled as well. ¡°Still, are you really nning to abort the baby?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Daphne hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°Since I¡¯m nning to start a new chapter in my life,


    I¡¯d naturally have to take care of the matter with the baby, or it will be unfair to my future husband.


    Besides, what if my future husband refuses to take care of the baby once I give birth to it? Even if I


    refuse to get married because of the baby, I still can¡¯t provide the baby with fatherly love. What should I


    tell my baby when they ask me about their father? It would be best for me to abort it now. Although it


    sounds cruel, it¡¯s for the best.¡±


    As she said that, there were still sentences she decided not to speak out loud.


    If I keep and raise the baby, President Charles would surely take the child away from me once he knows


    that the child has his blood. Even if he won¡¯t ept me as the child¡¯s mother, the child still belongs to


    him, and he definitely won¡¯t let the child stray outside and will take the child back to the Lanes. By then, I


    definitely can¡¯t fight against him. This means that I will have to be separated from my child once he finds


    out about the child¡¯s existence. Can I really watch and do nothing as he takes my child away from me? I


    don¡¯t think I can do that. I will definitely have emotional connections with my child after giving birth to


    them and raising them up. Knowing the fact that my child might get taken away from me without me


    being able to do anything pains me. Since I can¡¯t ept something like that happening, it is better for me


    to abort the baby while I still don¡¯t feel so emotionally attached yet.


    At the thought of that, Daphne caressed her stomach with a dim look in her gaze.


    It was obvious that she didn¡¯t really want to abort the baby and felt bad about doing so.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s for the best.¡± Sonia sighed. ¡°It¡¯s better for you, too. When are you going for the abortion?¡±


    Initially, Daphne had already nned to get an abortion before she requested a break from work and had


    already set an appointment to do so.


    However, a call from Sonia stopped her because Sonia experienced the same thing as she did.


    Back when Sonia found out that she was pregnant, she was devastated because she never expected


    herself to get pregnant just because of a drunk night.


    Most importantly, she didn¡¯t even know who the father of the child was.


    Sonia didn¡¯t have any feelings or emotional attachment toward the baby and never thought of keeping


    the baby. Although she was adamant about getting an abortion, she didn¡¯t rush to get it due to her being


    too busy with work and everything else that was happening, which sent Carl into a frenzy and poisoned


    her, causing her to have to abort the baby.


    While she felt lost after getting an abortion, she was more than relieved at the same time as it meant that


    the consequence of that drunken night was finally gone.


    However, Sonia regretted her action after that when she realized that she was starting to fall in love with


    Toby again.


    That was how hypocritical women were. When they weren¡¯t in love in a person, being pregnant with that


    person¡¯s child would make them feel devastated, and they¡¯d want to get an abortion, but it would be


    different once they fell in love with that person.


    Therefore, Sonia didn¡¯t want Daphne to take the same path as she did and regretted aborting the baby.


    Because of that, she gave Daphne a call that night after Daphne took leave and advised her to not act


    rashly by aborting the baby. Sonia suggested Daphne rest for a few days and reconsider the abortion.


    She didn¡¯t want Daphne to do something that she might regret due to her impulsivity because Sonia


    figured that Daphne would regret doing so.


    After all, Daphne was in a different situation. While Sonia didn¡¯t know whose child she was pregnant


    with, Daphne knew that she was pregnant with Charles¡¯ baby.


    Thus, Daphne must have been extremely courageous to make the decision to abort the baby considering


    how much she loved Charles.


    Of course, it could also have been an impulsive act, so Sonia wanted her to calm down and reconsider


    her decision as Sonia didn¡¯t want her to regret getting an abortion when she thought about Charles


    again.


    Still, she didn¡¯t expect Daphne to be so adamant with her decision to get an abortion even after two


    days,


    Looks like Daphne has really made up her mind. If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t have to worry about her


    regretting doing so.


    ¡°Tomorrow,¡± Daphne adjusted her sses before answering. ¡°I¡¯ve already made an appointment at the


    hospital, and the operation is scheduled for tomorrow at noon.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°I see. Since tomorrow is the weekend, you should take a break for about a month after


    the operation for your postpartum recovery.¡±R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

 Chapter 909

    Chapter 909


    Chapter 909 A Lavish Gift


    Postpartum recovery wasn¡¯t just for women who had given birth. Those who didn¡¯t get to give birth to


    their baby¨C¨Chad a miscarriage or abortion, could do so as well. In fact, they were encouraged to do so as


    it was beneficial for their body¡¯s recovery.


    However, Daphne shook her head and rejected Sonia. ¡°It¡¯s fine, President Reed. I don¡¯t need that. I grew


    up in a different culture from yours, and people in our culture generally don¡¯t believe in postpartum


    recovery, so I¡¯m not nning to do that as well. Like I¡¯ve said, I¡¯m afraid that I might getzy after taking


    a break for a few days because I might not be able to get used to the high intensity work-life after I


    return, so a month¡¯s break is definitely not going to do. If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t think I can carry on with


    my job anymore.¡±


    After saying what she wanted, she chuckled.


    However, Sonia frowned. ¡°Is your job more important than your body? Daphne, I know that you¡¯re a


    career-minded woman, but you can¡¯t just disregard your health because of your job. I know that going


    through a postpartum recovery is not prevalent in your culture, but it must have its reason for being so


    well-practiced here. I¡¯m doing this for your own good. If you return to work right after your operation, you


    won¡¯t be able to continue working if your body gives in on you.¡±


    Daphne went quiet and didn¡¯t say anything because she knew that Sonia was only suggesting she go


    through a postpartum recovery for her own good.


    Truthfully, she wasn¡¯t against doing so, but she was just afraid that she might feel ufortable during


    that period, and it would remind her that she just aborted her baby.


    Daphne was afraid that she might start thinking of Charles following that and start regretting getting an


    abortion.


    If I keep thinking about the baby, I¡¯ll definitely start regretting my actions¡­


    The reason why she didn¡¯t want to go through postpartum recovery was that she wanted to use her busy


    job to numb and distract herself from the ufortable feeling of her body so that she wouldn¡¯t think


    about the baby or Charles.


    However, she couldn¡¯t say that because she didn¡¯t want Sonia to know about it.


    If Sonia knew, she would definitely think that Daphne was trying to use her job to harm herself.


    Noticing that Daphne had her head hung low without saying anything, Sonia sighed. ¡°Just listen to me.


    Rest at home after your operation, and don¡¯te to work before the one-month mark. Even if you


    come, I¡¯ll get someone to send you home, is that clear?¡± she said with a stern voice.


    Right then, Daphne¡¯s mouth moved a little. It seemed like she still wanted to argue against Sonia, but


    Sonia immediately red at her. ¡°Alright. That¡¯s enough. I¡¯ve made my decision, and you¡¯re not allowed


    to argue against me. I¡¯ll visit you when I¡¯m free, and I¡¯ll be pissed if I find out that you¡¯re not resting at


    home.¡±


    Daphne was taken aback by Sonia¡¯s stern expression before she chuckled. ¡°President Reed, seriously¡­


    Fine, I get it. Thank you for worrying about me. I¡¯ll make sure to rest well.¡±


    I guess I¡¯m really lucky to have such a nice boss, She thought to herself.


    Meanwhile, Sonia¡¯s facial expression softened. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Is anyone apanying you for


    the operation tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Yes. My friend will be with me,¡± Daphne replied.


    Upon hearing that, Sonia was put at ease. ¡°I¡¯m relieved to know that someone will be apanying you.


    I¡¯ll pay you a visit at the hospitalter on.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Daphne agreed.


    After that, Sonia reached out for the documents that Daphne ced on her desk previously. ¡°It¡¯s settled.


    You may leave now if there¡¯s nothing else. Get off work earlier today so that you can prepare for


    tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you, President Reed.¡± Daphne bowed a little before leaving the office.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    After Daphne left, Sonia massaged her temples before grabbing a pen from her pen holder and started


    going through the documents.


    When she was halfway done, thendline on her desk suddenly rang.


    She grabbed the receiver and held it between her shoulder and her head before saying while signing the


    documents, ¡°This is the president¡¯s office. May I know who is on the line?¡±


    ¡°President Reed,¡± A polite voice of a woman rang out. ¡°This is the reception calling. Someone from Fuller


    Group came over with a lot of bags iming that they are gifts that President Fuller prepared for the


    elders. He wants you to check them to see if they¡¯re suitable, or if you want them to prepare more.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Sonia paused for a moment before quicklying back to her senses.


    I guess those are gifts that Toby prepared for Mr. and Mrs. Lane, huh? I thought that he would bring them


    over to the Lane Residence tonight after his preparation, but I didn¡¯t expect him to send them over for me


    to check because he¡¯s afraid that they might not be enough.


    Grinning, Sonia replied, ¡°I see. Please send someone to bring them up for me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, President Reed,¡± the receptionist replied.


    Then, Sonia ced the receiver back on thendline and continued working.


    About ten minutester, someone knocked at her office door.


    After getting Sonia¡¯s permission to enter, two security guards came in with bags of gifts. Thereafter,


    Sonia instructed them to ce the gifts on the couch of her lounge. ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t knock them over.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Reed.¡± The security guards assured her while moving the gifts, and Sonia gave


    them two bottles of water after they were done. ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, President Reed.¡± The security guards were surprised by her gesture and quickly


    motioned around with their hands as they were afraid of epting her goodwill.


    They only reached out for the water bottles after Sonia demanded them to take it, and she sent them


    down after that.


    The office became quiet once again.


    Sonia walked over to the gift bags and noticed that all of them looked exquisite. It was obvious that the


    gifts in these gift bags were extremely expensive.


    Opening every single one of the gift bags, she found a lot of wine and makeup products.


    Then, she started separating the gifts for Grace and Curtis before going through them.


    Toby got Curtis a few bottles of estate-bottled wine.


    Although Sonia didn¡¯t know much about wine, she knew the price of an estate-bottled wine.


    One bottle of these wines was extremely expensive, and some of them couldn¡¯t even be bought just with


    money. Only those that fulfilled the requirements of having money and a high social background were


    able to get their hands on an estate-bottled wine.


    Thus, having a bottle of estate-bottled wine was enough for one to brag around, not to mention a few


    bottles of them.


    Toby was extremely generous for gifting Curtis five bottles of estate-bottled wine from different estates as


    if he was stamp-collecting.


    I bet Mr. Lane would be extremely delighted when he sees these.


    Sonia grinned before cing the wine bottles at a side carefully. Then, she started going through Grace¡¯s


    gifts.


    After opening all of her gift bags, Sonia realized that Toby had prepared not just makeup products but


    perfumes, handbags, scarfs, shoes, and other essories as well.


    This is literally a full gift collection of women¡¯s favorite items. Although everything added here is not as


    expensive as those few bottles of wine, Mrs. Lane probably wouldn¡¯t mind since the things that she likes


    are different from what Mr. Lane likes.


    She was guessing that Grace would be delighted to see these gifts just like Curtis.


    Following that, Sonia repackaged the gifts so that they wouldn¡¯t look like they had been opened before


    massaging her temples and sighing. ¡°He has really outdone himself this time.¡±


    It is enough to prepare a gift for each of them since we¡¯re only going out for dinner. I can¡¯t believe he


    actually prepared so many gifts. Does he want them to get a stroke from being too happy or something?


    At the thought of that, Sonia¡¯s phone that was on her desk started ringing.


    Immediately, she stopped what she was doing and headed to her desk. When she nced at her phone


    and saw Toby¡¯s name on the caller ID, she smirked.

 Chapter 910

    Chapter 910


    Chapter 910 Something Bad Happened


    As expected, Sonia knew that Toby would contact her. Since he had already gotten someone to send


    these gifts over, he would surely want to make sure that his gifts were appropriate.


    At that thought, she answered the call without any hesitation. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Did you see the gifts?¡± The man¡¯s


    maic voice rang out from the other end of the call.


    Just then, Sonia sat down on the single-seated couch and stared at the gift bags in front of her before


    smiling and nodding. ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Do you think my gifts are appropriate? Do I still need to prepare more?¡± Toby, who was sitting on a


    vintage sandalwood chair in the manor, straightened his back and asked.


    Sonia felt her mouth twitching a little. ¡°More? Please don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously asking why?¡± she cried out. ¡°Are you nning to scare them off by preparing so many


    gifts?¡±


    ¡°Is it too much?¡± Toby tilted his head a little. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t feel like he had prepared a lot.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. ¡°To you, it might not be a lot, but to people like us, it¡¯s just too much. It¡¯s only your


    first time visiting, so you shouldn¡¯t need to prepare so much. Just one for each of them is already


    enough. Nevertheless, they will still be happy to receive your gifts.¡±


    After all, anyone would be happy to receive estate-bottled wine and thetest makeup products that


    hadn¡¯t been released yet.


    Hearing her reply, Toby chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. These aren¡¯t much anyway. Didn¡¯t you say that I should treat


    them like my own parents? If that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t just simply prepare my gifts for them.¡±


    ¡°I did say that¡­ but these are toovish.¡± Sonia frowned, but Toby shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not since I have


    the financial capability to do so. Besides, I¡¯d naturally give them the best of the best to thank them for


    taking care of you since they treated you so well.¡±


    She was taken aback by his reply. ¡°Are you saying that you did all these to express your gratitude?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°They deserve it, after all. If you only treat them as your elders, and they¡¯re only


    alright to you, I won¡¯t put in so much effort to prepare these gifts. Instead, I could have just prepared


    them gifts that I usually give others. However, since you¡¯ve mentioned that you guys are close because


    you treat them as your own parents, and they treat you like a daughter, I can¡¯t be perfunctory as your


    man. Doing so will make it look like you¡¯re not important to me. I¡¯m preparing all these gifts to let the


    Lane couple know that I¡¯m willing to spend my all to make them happy for you, which indirectly shows


    how much I love you, and that you didn¡¯t make a wrong decision to get back together with me.¡±


    He was willing to spend all this money because Sonia was important to her.


    Although it sounded superficial, being willing to spend for a partner was a great implication of how much


    the person valued their significant other, and that was the truth.


    Nheless, Sonia didn¡¯t expect the real reason why Toby prepared so many gifts was because of her.


    This made her feel warm and giddy all over.


    ¡°I see. I guess we will go with these gifts since you¡¯ve already prepared them.¡± Sonia¡¯s voice took a


    gentle turn.


    Initially, she was nning to get Toby to take some of the gifts back as one gift per person was enough.


    However, she had decided that it didn¡¯t matter.


    Since he¡¯s doing this to express his gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Lane for taking care of me and wants them


    to know that he really cares about me, I can¡¯t disregard his good intentions, can I?


    Upon hearing Sonia¡¯s reply, the corners of Toby¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°The gifts are alright, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°If these gifts are problematic, it would be an insult for other gifters.¡±


    Toby chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. I¡¯lle over to pick you up at 7.00PM tonight.¡±


    Sonia hummed in acknowledgment. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the lobby. By the way, are you still at


    Grandma¡¯s ce?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Grandma is taking an afternoon nap right now, so I¡¯m waiting for her to wake up.¡±


    ¡°I see. I thought that you have already returned to Fuller Group.¡± Sonia reached out for the teapot on her


    coffee table before pouring herself a cup of tea.


    The tea had already gone cold, and it tasted slightly bitter.


    Sonia ced the cup back onto the table with a frown and didn¡¯t drink from it anymore.


    ¡°I¡¯m not returning to the Fuller Group today. I¡¯ll head to Paradigm Co. to pick you up after my discussion


    with Grandma,¡± Toby replied gently while Sonia smiled. ¡°Well, since Grandma is not awake yet, why don¡¯t


    I apany you if you¡¯re bored?¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Immediately, Toby straightened his back, and his gaze brightened. ¡°Sure!¡±


    He¡¯d be a fool to reject Sonia, who offered to apany him.


    Noticing the excitement and happiness in the man¡¯s voice, Sonia couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    The two of them continued chatting about everything from the gifts to worrying job matters before they


    started gossiping about Charles and Daphne.


    Nevertheless, Sonia was mostly the one doing the talking while Toby listened and chimed in to give


    some suggestions asionally.


    Unknowingly, they had already been on call for about two hours, and the time now was 5.00 PM.


    Sonia had barely gotten any job done in her office during the entire noon as she had been consoling


    Daphne and talking to Toby.


    Staring at her desk piled up with documents, she felt like crying at the thought that there would be more


    documents on her desk tomorrow.


    Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t regret talking to Toby for the entire noon and disregarding her job as none of


    these documents were urgent or important.


    If that wasn¡¯t the case, she wouldn¡¯t have spoken to Toby on the phone for so long as she still had her


    priorities well sorted.


    ¡°President Reed.¡± Right then, the door to her office was opened, and one of Daphne¡¯s assistants


    appeared at the entrance of her office with an anxious look. ¡°Something bad happened.¡±


    Seeing how anxious the assistant looked and the fact that they didn¡¯t even bother knocking, Sonia knew


    that something really bad must have happened.


    Immediately, she couldn¡¯t care less about Toby anymore as she ced her phone down and asked with


    a stern expression, ¡°What happened?¡±


    The assistant huffed for air to calm himself down before quickly replying, ¡°The factory that we are


    working with said that the supplies that we ordered got stolen by another party.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Sonia stood up abruptly. ¡°Who did it?¡±


    Although Toby couldn¡¯t hear the assistant¡¯s voice clearly from the other end of the call, he could still


    vaguely hear Sonia¡¯s voice.


    Upon sensing the shock and disbelief in her voice, he frowned. ¡°Sonia, what happened?¡±


    Nevertheless, Sonia didn¡¯t answer him as she had already ced her phone on her desk and couldn¡¯t


    hear him.


    Then, she moved away from her desk and headed to the assistant. ¡°How could it get stolen? We


    customized those supplies and paid a deposit. All that¡¯s left is the final payment after getting our


    supplies. Ourpany¡¯s logo had been literally printed on those supplies, so who would take them


    away? What about the factory? How dare they give away our supplies when we already signed a


    contract with them?¡±


    The assistant smiled wryly. ¡°They really did it, though. Just now, we received a call from the factory


    saying that they had already shipped our supplies to the other party. They knew that they were in the


    wrong for breaking the contract and are willing to pay double for our liquidated damages.¡±

 Chapter 911

    Chapter 911


    Chapter 911 Someone Is Getting in the Way


    ¡°Doublepensation? Ha!¡± Sonia was so angered by such an excuse that sheughed instead. ¡°They


    sold our stuff to someone else without our permission and only told us about it after the fact. Clearly, they


    had gone over our heads. If we couldn¡¯t get the spare parts on time, some machines wouldn¡¯t be able to


    be used in the processing, and all the progress would have to be halted for the time being. Even if they


    pay us doublepensation, it won¡¯t be enough to cover the costs incurred by the shutdown!¡±


    Her assistant lowered her head. ¡°That¡¯s right. We talked to the coborating manufacturer and asked


    them to intercept our parts, but they refused to do so, saying that it was unreasonable to intercept the


    goods after they¡¯d been shipped out.¡±


    ¡°Were they being reasonable?¡± Sonia was frothing at the mouth. ¡°If they were being reasonable, they


    wouldn¡¯t have breached the contract and sold our stuff to someone else. I¡¯m gonna hold them


    ountable for this!¡± she said while clenching her fists in anger. ¡°Also, have you found out which


    company it was that bought our parts before we did?¡±


    There were only a few enterprises in Seafield that were engaged in heavy industry, but she felt that none


    of these enterprises was the culprit behind this. Paradigm Co. was ranked bottom among these


    enterprises, after all, so these enterprises had no reason to snatch things from her, not to mention that


    these enterprises bore no grudge against her. Furthermore, everyone in the country knew that she was


    Toby¡¯s spouse, so there was no way these enterprises were unaware of it. Therefore, they would only


    make concessions to her out of courtesy to show Toby respect instead of offending her. So, who is it


    that¡¯s targeting me? That¡¯s right¡ªthey¡¯re targeting me!


    Again, everyone in the country knew that she and Toby were a couple, so no one would snatch things


    from her for Toby¡¯s sake. The owner of the coborating manufacturer wouldn¡¯t sell her stuff to someone


    else either, for he was afraid of offending Toby, who was backing her up.


    This time, however, someone had snatched things from her despite knowing about her rtionship with


    Toby, and the owner of the coborating manufacturer had sold her stuff to someone else despite


    knowing about her rtionship with Toby. There was only one exnation for this: someone had


    deliberately picked on her by snatching her stuff.


    As for why the owner of the coborating manufacturer dared to sell her stuff to someone else, it was


    either because he had nothing to fear since the one who had bought her stuff had even more clout than


    Toby, or because he had to do so because the one who had bought her stuff had gotten something on


    him.


    Whatever the reason is, I¡¯m not gonna let this slide. I won¡¯t let both the owner of the coborating


    manufacturer and the one who had deliberately picked on me by snatching my stuff off! Sonia¡¯s


    expression was dark as she bit her lower lip.


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s expression, her assistant was somewhat afraid. She lowered her head and replied, ¡°No,


    we don¡¯t know that yet.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that yet?¡± Sonia raised her voice as she was taken aback by the assistant¡¯s reply. ¡°How


    could you not know that?¡± She was puzzled. ¡°Someone snatched our stuff, yet we don¡¯t even know who


    they are! Does this even make sense?¡± she asked with a frown.


    The assistant hung her head even lower. ¡°We really don¡¯t know that, Miss Reed. We asked the


    coborating manufacturer, and they said that it was someone with a powerful background who


    intercepted our parts. As for who the person was, the coborating manufacturer didn¡¯t tell us about it; it


    was as if they had scruples about doing so. They only told us that the person wasn¡¯t a local and told us


    to find out about it on our own.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Sonia clenched her fists even tighter. Someone with a powerful background who isn¡¯t


    a local¡­ Suddenly, a figure shed across her mind, and her eyes widened in shock. ¡°It was him!¡±


    The assistant immediately looked at her. ¡°Do you know who it was, Miss Reed?¡±


    At this very moment, Sonia¡¯s heart was beating fast, and her breathing quickened somewhat. The person


    who had just crossed her mind was Connor. After all, he was the only person who matched the clues


    provided by the coborating manufacturer.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Connor wasn¡¯t a native of Seafield, but his social standing in Westsanshire was high. Even if he came to


    Seafield, he wouldn¡¯t be of low standing. His standing would have been at least higher than that of Titus


    in his heyday, and this alone fitted the description of having a powerful background. Secondly, Connor


    was a citizen of Westsanshire, which meant that he wasn¡¯t a local to the citizens of Seafield, right?


    However, although Connor had some standing in Seafield, his standing wouldn¡¯t beparable to


    Toby¡¯s. Even so, the coborating manufacturer¡¯s owner dared to ignore Toby and did things for Connor.


    So, her second conjecture just now was probably correct¡ªConnor had gotten something on the


    coborating manufacturer¡¯s owner.


    At the thought of this, Sonia took a deep breath, and her anxiety subsided somewhat. After all, she had


    figured out who was the person that had snatched things from her. As long as she knew who the person


    was, it would be easier to deal with the aftermath. Otherwise, she would only find herself at a loss


    without knowing where to start in dealing with the matter. ¡°I do know who did it, but I can¡¯t say it yet right


    now.¡± She shook her head before looking at her assistant. Then, she asked with a grave expression,


    ¡°How many people in thepany know that our parts have been intercepted? Does Asher know that?¡±


    The assistant promptly shook her head. ¡°President Dafoe doesn¡¯t know about this yet. Ever since you


    took back the administrative power from him, Miss Daphne had picked out all the people he had nted


    in the coborating manufacturer. He no longer has any informers, so he doesn¡¯t know about this yet, or


    he and his men would¡¯ve made a fuss about it long ago.¡±


    Sonia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s great. In that case, I can rest assured for the time being.¡± She breathed a faint


    sigh of relief. As long as Asher doesn¡¯t know about this, I don¡¯t have to worry that he¡¯ll take the


    opportunity to stir up trouble. ¡°But this matter can¡¯t be kept a secret for long,¡± she muttered while knitting


    her good-looking eyebrows.


    The assistant replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. We and the coborating manufacturer have agreed to have the parts


    delivered three days from now, which means that we can only keep this from President Dafoe and his


    men for three days at most. If we can¡¯t get the parts back in three days, the rest of the progress won¡¯t be


    able to be carried out. When that happens, we¡¯ll no longer be able to keep it a secret even if we want to.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Sonia pursed her lips. ¡°So, we have to either get the parts back in three days or buy a


    batch of identical parts that don¡¯t bear any logo, but it¡¯ll be difficult to find such parts.¡± She massaged her


    temples.


    The assistant looked at her. ¡°In that case, Miss Reed, does that mean the first solution is the only option


    we have?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Sonia mumbled. ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡±


    ¡°In that case, can we get the parts back in the next three days?¡± asked the assistant.


    Sonia¡¯s red lips parted. She wanted to say that they would definitely be able to do so, but she felt


    somewhat uncertain when it urred to her that it was Connor who had snatched the parts from her.


    However, she couldn¡¯t show herck of confidence. As the chairman of thepany, she could only


    keep her thoughts to herself without saying them out loud, or those working for her would lose


    confidence in thepany. Therefore, she let out a breath and patted the assistant gently on the


    shoulder while managing a rxed smile, saying, ¡°Of course we can. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Seeing that Sonia had said so, the assistant breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. ¡°That¡¯d be great. In that


    case, I¡¯ll share the good news with the others. They¡¯re still worrying about this, but they¡¯ll surely be happy


    once I tell them the good news.¡± Only when thepany didn¡¯t run into problems would they not have to


    worry about their paychecks and future lives. Therefore, if anything were to happen to Paradigm Co.,


    they would definitely be worried, nervous, and anxious. Now that Sonia had said that she could deal with


    the matter, they would be able to keep their jobs, so they were surely happy.


    Sonia¡¯s heart was incredibly heavy when she saw the smile on her assistant¡¯s face. Still, she kept smiling


    and said, ¡°Just go.¡±


    ¡°In that case, Miss Reed, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± The assistant took a step back and bowed slightly to Sonia


    before turning around to leave the room.


    Sonia watched the assistant disappear from her sight before massaging the space between her


    eyebrows. As she returned to her desk, she felt very distressed. This is why everypany has to have


    its own manufacturing nt to prevent the urrence of such or other situations that lead to unsolvable


    problems that¡¯ll cause thepany to go bankrupt. Little did I think that I¡¯de across this right now!

 Chapter 912

    Chapter 912


    Chapter 912 Connor¡¯s Motive


    Her factory had just been built at the moment, and the machines she had ordered from Kosovo wouldn¡¯t


    be delivered until the beginning of next month. Once the machines were delivered at the beginning of


    next month, Paradigm Co. would be able to support itself without having to coborate with other


    manufacturers to produce spare parts and other machines. It was now less than ten days away from the


    beginning of next month, so this was naturally Paradigm Co.¡¯sst coboration with the coborating


    manufacturer. However, little did she think that such a thing would happen during thest coboration!


    She closed her eyes slightly while heaving a long sigh.


    Just then, Sonia suddenly recalled something, and her expression changed slightly. After she rejected


    Connor¡¯s request to let Anya off this morning, Connor had told her not to make her decision in such a


    hurry, saying that he would give her two days to think about it and that she might change her mind two


    dayster.


    She had told Toby about this, and she had even mocked Connor at that time for having no reason to say


    that she would change her mind two dayster. She had wondered if Connor had any bargaining chips,


    but now, Connor had intercepted her parts. If she couldn¡¯t get the parts in three days, she would be met


    with all kinds of troubles. Wouldn¡¯t she have to give in by then in order to get the parts back?


    So, this has been Connor¡¯s motive all along¡ªto intimidate me into changing my mind in two days! What


    a scheming man he is! Indeed, I¡¯m too inexperiencedpared to a sly old fox like Connor. Otherwise, I


    wouldn¡¯t have fallen into his trap while being unprepared! Those thoughts sent Sonia into a fit, and her


    chest heaved up and down from anger, her eyes reddened.


    Just then, her phone¡¯s screen shed on her desk, and Toby¡¯s slightly amplified voice sounded through


    the phone again. ¡°Little Leaf, are you still there?¡±


    When Sonia heard the man¡¯s voice, her eyes flickered, and she looked down at the phone. Only then did


    she recall that her phone conversation with Toby hadn¡¯t ended yet. After taking a deep breath to


    suppress her anger andpose herself a little, she picked up her phone and held it to her ear, saying,


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still here.¡±


    Toby¡¯s taut expression eased somewhat when he heard Sonia¡¯s reply. He pursed his thin lips, asking,


    ¡°What happened just now?¡±


    Sonia knew that Toby must¡¯ve heard something when she lost her temper just now, so he would


    definitely ask her about it. If it were something that happened to herpany, she would probably have


    told him directly instead of keeping it from him.


    However, she didn¡¯t want to tell him what had happened this time. If Toby were to learn about it, he would


    definitely go to Connor right away. However, the feud between Toby and Connor was so great that now


    wasn¡¯t the right time for Toby toe face to face with Connor. Therefore, she decided to keep it from


    him first.


    I still have three days left, during which time I¡¯m gonna try it on my own. If I can¡¯t get back the parts in


    three days, I¡¯ll consider whether to ask for his help. At the thought of this, Sonia bit her lower lip. Trying


    her best to sound natural, she replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious¡ªjust a trifling matter, actually. Asher kicked


    up a fuss again. You know how power-hungry he is, so it¡¯s normal for him to kick up a fuss every once in


    a while. I¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes in apparent suspicion. It doesn¡¯t seem like a trifling matter. She


    looked so furious and shocked just now, after all.


    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Sonia nodded. Then, she purposely hardened her expression and said in displeasure,


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t you believe me? Do you think that I¡¯m lying to you?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so,¡± he replied immediately.


    She let out a snort. ¡°That settles it. In any case, I¡¯ve given the orders to take care of the matter, so don¡¯t


    ask about it anymore.¡±


    Seeing how eager Sonia was to stop talking about the matter, Toby could only listen to her, and he


    massaged the space between his eyebrows. ¡°Since it¡¯s nothing serious, I¡¯m not gonna ask you about it.


    But if it¡¯s something serious, I hope that you won¡¯t keep it from me. Be sure to tell me about it and not


    make me worried. Got it?¡± he said with a frown.


    Sonia lowered her eyes with a guilty conscience and mumbled, ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Then, she added, ¡°Alright, I


    gotta go. I¡¯ve got something to do over here, or else I won¡¯t be able to leave at seven.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Toby nodded slightly.


    After the phone conversation ended, he put down his phone, but his brows were still furrowed. The next


    moment, he made another phone call with a few taps on his phone¡¯s screen.


    Soon after that, the phone call was answered by a tired voice. ¡°President Fuller, is there anything I can


    do for you?¡±


    Toby asked expressionlessly, as though he hadn¡¯t heard how exhausted Tom sounded, ¡°Have you


    withdrawn all the people that you previously nted in Paradigm Co.?¡±


    He was trying hard to court Sonia at the time. In order to know what she had been doing all day, he had


    Tom nt a few informers in Paradigm Co. After he got back together with Sonia afterward, she asked


    him to have those informers withdrawn, so he agreed and asked Tom to do so.


    However, he didn¡¯t know if Tom had done that yet.


    Upon hearing Toby¡¯s question, Tom pushed his sses and answered, ¡°Yeah, I did withdraw all the


    informers, but one of them chose to stay, saying that Paradigm Co. paid the same amount of wages as


    the Fuller Group did, but his job at Paradigm Co. was easier than his job at the Fuller Group. So, he


    stayed in Paradigm Co. instead of going back to the Fuller Group.¡±


    When he responded, Tom felt somewhat embarrassed. This guy was talking as if the Fuller Group was


    exploiting its employees. Does he not realize how many talented employees the Fuller Group has and


    how many talented employees Paradigm Co. has? He was just an average employee at the Fuller


    Group, but at Paradigm Co., he would be considered a brilliant employee. Based on this alone, how can


    he not receive the same amount of paychecks?


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    On the other hand, Toby had no objection to his own employee¡¯s insistence on staying at Paradigm Co.


    instead of returning to the Fuller Group. After all, everyone had their own choice, and he respected


    everyone¡¯s choice. Furthermore, in his opinion, it was better to have someone stay at Paradigm Co. at


    the moment, for he happened to need someone to help him inquire about some things. ¡°Good that


    someone is still there. Call him and tell him to ask around in secret if something has happened to


    Paradigm Co. today,¡± he ordered in a grave voice.


    Toby had previously told Sonia on the phone that he trusted her, but at the same time, he knew her very


    well. Sonia didn¡¯t want to rely on him, so she¡¯d be unwilling to let him help her if anything were to


    happen. Therefore, it was very likely that she didn¡¯t tell him the truth. Well, since she refuses to tell me


    about it, I¡¯ll find out myself.


    After hearing Toby¡¯s instructions, Tom rolled his eyes. I knew it! As long as President Fuller isn¡¯ting


    to work at the Fuller Group, whenever he calls me, it¡¯s definitely not for the Fuller Group¡¯s sake, but for


    Miss Reed¡¯s. I simply can¡¯t wrap my head around it. I¡¯m just a personal assistant who is in charge of the


    Fuller Group¡¯s affairs! Why am I now moonlighting as an expert in solving the rtionship problems


    between President Fuller and Miss Reed?


    Despiteining inwardly, he dared not voice hisints out loud. Instead, he had no choice but


    to reply with a smile, ¡°Yes, I got it, President Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Toby didn¡¯t care what Tom¡¯s response was on the other end of the line. He raised his chin with


    a cold and lofty expression, saying, ¡°Give the orders as soon as possible. I¡¯d like to know the answer


    tonight.¡±


    ¡°Yes, President Fuller.¡± Tom rolled his eyes again.


    After ending the phone call, Toby put down his phone and gently massaged the space between his


    eyebrows. Let¡¯s hope that Little Leaf wasn¡¯t lying to me. If I find out in the end that she lied to me, I¡¯m


    gonna give her a good spanking!


    Just as Toby was thinking about it, the sound of a walking stick hitting the ground came from the right


    side of the door.


    Toby put down his hand and turned to look at his right. Appearing at the door on the right of the main


    room were two aged figures. They were none other than Rose and Mary as she helped Rose in.


    At the sight of his grandmother, Toby immediately stood up and walked over to her. Then, he supported


    her on the other side, saying, ¡°You¡¯re awake, Grandma?¡±


    Rose looked kindly at her eldest grandson with a nod. ¡°That¡¯s right; I¡¯ve woken from sleep atst. Mary


    said that you¡¯d like to see me and that you¡¯de here long ago and had been waiting for almost three


    hours. Why wait for such a long time instead of having Mary wake me up right away?¡± she said


    somewhat unhappily before patting the back of Toby¡¯s hand.

 Chapter 913

    Chapter 913


    Chapter 913 Old Mrs. Fuller Is Almost at Her Limit


    Toby¡¯s frown softened. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I didn¡¯t ask Mary to wake you up because I think it¡¯s most important for


    you to rest.¡±


    After all, Rose¡¯s health would only recover after she had rested enough. However, it was true that she


    had been resting for a little too long! He always knew that she had a habit of taking an afternoon nap,


    and she had had this habit since she was young and had never changed for decades. Besides, her


    afternoon nap had always been only two hours, which was from one o¡¯clock to three o¡¯clock, and she


    had always gone to sleep and woke up on time.


    Now, however, Rose had already been resting for four hours, from one o¡¯clock to the current time.


    Although it was a good thing to be able to fall asleep, sometimes it was also not good to sleep for too


    long, especially for people of her age. If a person slept for too long, it was most probably because their


    body functions were getting worse and they spent less and less time awake.


    Thinking that, Toby pursed his thin lips and looked at Rose¡¯s head. As he looked at her hair that was as


    white as snow, he felt his heart ache. At that moment, he truly realized that Rose was turning old.


    ¡°Mary.¡± Toby retracted his gaze and looked at Mary, who was supporting Rose on the other side.


    When Mary heard him calling for her, she immediately turned around. ¡°Is there anything wrong, Young


    Master Toby?¡±


    ¡°Did Grandma only sleep for so long today, or has she been sleeping for this long recently?¡± Toby held


    Rose¡¯s hand and asked, his throat tightening slightly.


    Mary seemed to know the meaning behind his question, and looked at Rose with a sh of grief in her


    eyes.


    Rose naturally understood, but she only smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mary. If Toby wants to know, just tell


    him.¡±


    ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller¡­¡±


    ¡°Toby will find out sooner orter anyway. It¡¯s fine, just tell him.¡± Rose patted Mary on the back of her


    hand soothingly.


    Mary opened her mouth, and after a while, she nodded with a small sob. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll say it. Young Master


    Toby, Old Mrs. Fuller has indeed been taking longer and longer breaks recently, but they aren¡¯t


    continuous. She only sleeps for this long every two or three days. On other days, it¡¯s the same as usual;


    she only has a two-hour afternoon nap.¡±


    When Toby heard that, his stiff expression rxed a little. Although Rose had been resting longer and


    longer now, it wasn¡¯t every day, which showed that her health had not deteriorated that badly yet. If she


    had been sleeping for this long every day, it would be really troublesome.


    ¡°Grandma.¡± After Toby helped Rose sit down in a wooden chair, he looked at her seriously and said,


    ¡°Remember the nursing home I mentioned to you earlier? This time, no matter what you say, you have to


    go.¡±


    Back then, after Rose was hospitalized, Tim told him that she only had two years left. Hence, Toby


    wanted to send her to the nursing home, hoping that she could live for a few more years.


    Later, he told Rose about everything, including her physical condition, in hopes that she would listen to


    him and go to the nursing home. However, she rejected the idea, saying that the nursing home was not


    asfortable as being at home, and refused to go there. He couldn¡¯t win over her, and seeing that she


    was in good spirits, he thought it would be fine to go some timeter.


    However, he didn¡¯t expect that the time Rose spent awake would start decreasing this early. The less


    time she was awake, it meant that her health was deteriorating faster. If this continued, she might not be


    able to hold on for two years. Therefore, this time, he would make Rose go no matter what; he would not


    let her have her way anymore.


    When Mary heard Toby¡¯s words, she nodded quickly. ¡°Yes, Old Mrs. Fuller, Young Master Toby is right.


    You really have to go to the nursing home. With your current condition¡­¡±


    Mary¡¯s voice became more and more choked as she spoke, and she couldn¡¯t finish her sentence in the


    end.


    Rose looked at her serious-looking eldest grandson, then at the crying Mary, and sighed. ¡°All right, you


    two. It¡¯s not like this is a big deal. Life and death are fated, so this is very normal and I can ept it


    calmly. Besides, isn¡¯t it enough that I¡¯ve lived this age? If I keep hanging on, wouldn¡¯t I turn out to be an


    old monster? Besides, Toby, didn¡¯t I tell you before? I miss your grandfather. He has been waiting for me


    down there for so long. I don¡¯t want him to have to wait for me any longer after preparing for my arrival.


    I¡¯m afraid he will be impatient and leave first. When I go down there, I won¡¯t be able to find him then.¡±


    As Toby listened to the longing for his grandfather in Rose¡¯s tone, his forceful words suddenly got stuck


    in his throat, and he didn¡¯t know what to say. He didn¡¯t even know what to do!


    He wanted her to go to the nursing home, but she was unwilling. Even if he forcibly sent her over, if she


    was in a bad mood, the treatment in the nursing home would not be effective. However, if she didn¡¯t go


    and he obeyed her wishes, letting her stay, he would still feel the same pain in his heart while watching


    Rose¡¯s gradually failing health. Hence, he really didn¡¯t know what to do.


    The same was true of Mary on the side, who was crying so much that she didn¡¯t know if she should


    continue. Rose looked at Toby, who was frowning silently, and then at Mary, who was grieving on her


    own by the side, and knew that her words had upsetted them.


    Thus, she smiled and gave two ps. ¡°Okay, okay, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Toby, why were you


    looking for me?¡±


    Toby knew that Rose had deliberately changed the subject and didn¡¯t want to continue dwelling on the


    matter. He pursed his lips and replied, ¡°I came to confirm one thing with you.¡±


    ¡°Tell me,¡± Rose said with a nod, picking up her cup of tea and blowing on it gracefully.


    Toby looked at her. ¡°Grandma, I want to know, were you aware about my mother deliberately raising me


    to be Connor¡¯s recement in the past?¡±


    As soon as he said that, Rose paused in her motions. Even Mary, who was massaging Rose¡¯s shoulders,


    widened her eyes in shock.


    Toby watched the reactions of the two elders, his eyes darkening. He remained silent, waiting for them to


    speak.


    About two minutester, Rose covered her cup without taking a sip and ced it on the small table


    beside her before looking at him seriously. ¡°How did you know about this?¡±


    ¡°So it seems what I said is true?¡± Toby did not answer her rhetorical question.


    Rose nodded before letting out another sigh. ¡°It¡¯s true. Your mother did do this. When I found out about it,


    I couldn¡¯t believe how a mother could do such an unreasonable thing, but at that time, your mother had


    already passed away, so I couldn¡¯t get angry or hold her ountable anymore. I could only swallow the


    secret angrily and not let you know. I knew very well that although you have been deliberately raised by


    your mother into a very gentle child, your nature and arrogance were still there, so it would be absolutely


    impossible for you to ept it. I figured once you found out about this, not only would you resent your


    mother, but you would do unthinkable things next.¡±


    At this point, Rose¡¯s expression becameplicated. ¡°Although I¡¯m angry with your mother for doing


    something like this, I don¡¯t want you to hate your mother and harbor any resentment toward her. No


    matter what, she brought you to life and gave you maternal love. Even if this love of hers contained


    selfish motives, nothing in the past was faked. So I would rather you don¡¯t know anything and want your


    mother to remain as her best in your heart forever.¡±


    She looked at him. ¡°I originally thought that after your mother died, if I kept quiet, this matter would


    remain a secret, but I didn¡¯t expect that you would still find out after I had deliberately hidden it for so


    long.¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Toby clenched his fists and replied in a deep voice, ¡°As long as Connor is alive, this matter can¡¯t be


    hidden forever.¡±

 Chapter 914

    Chapter 914


    Chapter 914 Parents¡¯ Grudge


    As soon as he said that, Rose was taken aback for a moment. However, she soon calmed down and


    nodded with a sigh. ¡°You¡¯re right. Him being alive is the biggest w in this n. Although you¡¯ve never


    met him, you¡¯ll eventually meet him one day. By then, this secret will start falling apart. It is but a matter


    of time for you to find out about it. But, I want to know how you found out about this if Connor hasn¡¯t met


    you yet.


    Rose looked at Toby, who took a step back and sat down on a bench under her left hand. ¡°Little Leaf told


    me.¡± ¡°Sonny?¡± Rose was stunned.


    Mary was dubious as well. ¡°How did the Young Mistress know?¡± Except for her and Rose, no one else


    knew about this¡ªnot even Toby himself. She hadn¡¯t expected Sonia to know, and was naturally


    surprised.


    Toby didn¡¯t hide it either, and answered them directly, ¡°Little Leaf met Connor and found that he was very


    simr to me in the past, so she figured it out.¡±


    Rose¡¯s hand tightened around the cane she was holding. ¡°What? Sonny met Connor? How did that


    happen? Did she go to Westsanshire?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head slightly. ¡°Connor came to Seafield. His illegitimate daughter provoked Little


    Leaf, and was thrown into jail by us. When he came to Seafield to bail her out, he ended up meeting


    Little Leaf.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Rose nodded in understanding before a strange expression appeared on her wrinkled face.


    ¡°Toby, you just mentioned an illegitimate daughter. Does Connor have an illegitimate daughter?¡±


    Toby hummed in reply. ¡°For now, that seems to be the case.¡±


    Though he was doubtful that Anya was Connor¡¯s illegitimate daughter, he still thought of her as such


    while waiting for Tom¡¯s investigation results toe out.


    Hearing Toby¡¯s words, Rose jabbed her cane on the ground with a sneer on her face. ¡°Illegitimate


    daughter? Ha! And Val fell in love with such a man?¡±


    Val was Toby¡¯s mother¡¯s nickname. Rose had always called her this way.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    ¡°If your mother finds out about this, she might turn in her grave.¡± Rose raised her eyes to look down at


    Toby.


    Toby clenched his fists and looked up at her. ¡°Grandma, did you also know about the agreement


    between my mother and Connor?¡±


    Rose nodded nomittally. ¡°I did. Your mother thought she was hiding it very well, but everyone knew


    everything she had done, including me. When your mother first married your father, your father had just


    inherited Fuller Group. Compared to you, who was born ready for business and power, your father was


    more mediocre, so at that time, there were many senior management in the Fuller Group who were


    dissatisfied with him.


    It was after I came forward and temporarily took over as chairman of the board to help your father


    suppress the rascals in thepany that he was able to concentrate on building his portfolio and


    foundation. That is also why it was not your father who had the most power in Fuller Group back then,


    but me. My power extended all over Fuller Group and the Fuller Family, except for those spies that were


    ced by some rascals, so how could I not know about your mother¡¯s actions?¡±


    Toby listened quietly. After she was done speaking, a possibility emerged in his heart, and his gaze


    narrowed. ¡°So¡­ do you also know how on earth my mother got pregnant with me, Grandma?¡±


    Rose sighed. ¡°Of course. Didn¡¯t I say that everything your mother did could not be hidden from me?


    When I learned that your mother had an agreement with Connor and was protecting her chastity for him,


    I was so angry that I nearly exploded. I always knew that your mother was not willing to marry your father


    because there was someone else in her heart.


    However, in order to fulfill the marriage contract with the Fuller Family, your mother had to break up with


    the person she liked and marry your father. For this reason, we even felt very guilty then, and it was also


    the reason why even if your mother had treated your father coldly, we turned a blind eye to it and said


    nothing¡ªuntil your mother got pregnant.¡±


    Having said that, Roseughed mockingly at herself. ¡°To be honest, when I learned that your mother was


    pregnant, my first reaction wasn¡¯t to celebrate, but to feel doubtful. Your mother didn¡¯t like your father and


    treated him indifferently, so how could she ept the fact that she was already a part of the Fuller Family


    so quickly?


    Hence, I asked someone to check it out, and the results made me furious. Your mother made a promise


    with Connor to abstain for each other, so she had never slept with your father. Even if she got pregnant,


    it wasn¡¯t conceived naturally with your father, but because your father did an in vitro fertilization to have


    you. This was all because your father promised her that as long as she left an heir for the Fuller Family,


    he would set her free.¡±


    ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, have some water.¡± Hearing that Rose¡¯s voice was turning hoarse, Mary hurriedly poured


    a ss of water for her and handed it over.


    Rose took a sip and returned the ss of water to Mary before continuing, ¡°Since your mother doesn¡¯t


    like your father and didn¡¯t want to sleep with him, this is the only way to have a child. Isn¡¯t that pure


    nonsense? Your mother was married, but she couldn¡¯t forget that man in her heart and did something like


    this. To make things worse, your father actually condoned her and joined her. They were practically trying


    to drive me to an early grave. Of course, I knew that your father did this just because he respected your


    mother and didn¡¯t want to force her against her wishes. He knew that your mother could never let go of


    Connor and settle with living with him peacefully, so he was willing to let her go.¡±


    Rose suddenly scoffed coldly. ¡°Toby, don¡¯t think that your father is so open-minded and so noble, to the


    point where he was willing to help his wife live with another man. In fact, your father was absolutely


    miserable at that time, because he had genuinely liked your mother back then.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby was shocked, his thin lips twitching. It took a long time before he managed to utter, ¡°Dad


    liked Mom before?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Rose nodded.


    ¡°How could that be¡­¡± His gaze wavered; he was obviously still shaken.


    Since he was a child, he had only witnessed his mother¡¯s cold attitude toward his father, and his father¡¯s


    civil yet distant treatment of his mother. The way they got along was no better than two strangers.


    However, now Rose was telling him that his father had actually loved his mother once.


    ¡°Young Master Toby, it¡¯s true. Master Homer once liked Madam Valerie before. You probably don¡¯t know


    how the marriage contract between your father and your mother came about, right?¡± Mary said with a


    benign look.


    Slightly startled, Toby shook his head. He really didn¡¯t know.


    Mary looked at Rose, who nodded and said, ¡°Mary, tell him.¡±


    Mary hummed in response before she exined slowly, ¡°Actually, Master Homer and Madam Valerie had


    known each other since they were young, way before Madam Valerie got to know Connor. At that time,


    Master Homer was ten, while Madam Valerie was seven. The two children met at a banquet and had a


    good time together. When they parted, Madam Valerie was still very reluctant to be separated from him


    and cried for him to not forget her, and that when she grew up, she wanted to marry him. Although us


    adults knew that it was just a joke at that time as children¡¯s words can¡¯t be taken seriously, we didn¡¯t


    expect Master Homer to take it seriously, and even secretly went to Westsanshire alone to look for


    Madam Valerie. At that time, he wasn¡¯t even eleven.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± Toby looked at Mary, wanting to hear more about his parents¡¯ past.


    He was only ten years old when his mother died, and was in his teens when his father diedter.


    Besides, he had never fully understood his parents, so he actually didn¡¯t know much about their past.

 Chapter 915

    Chapter 915


    Chapter 915 Understanding the Past


    Now, he wanted to take this opportunity to get to understand everything he didn¡¯t know about his parents.


    Rose lowered her head and drank tea calmly. Standing behind her, Mary continued to tell him about the


    past.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    ¡°When Master Homer was eleven, he avoided all the Fuller Family¡¯s security guards and shook off his


    bodyguards, then secretly went to Westsanshire alone. Master Homer¡¯s departure was simply bad news


    for the Fuller Family, and everyone thought he had been abducted, causing Old Mr. Fuller and Old Mrs.


    Fuller to nearly faint from the shock.


    Even us, the staff, were extremely anxious and nearly flipped the city over looking for him, but after we


    searched for three days, we still didn¡¯t find Master Homer. We had no idea where he went either. After all,


    technology was still underdeveloped back then, and even if the Fuller Family was powerful, it was not


    easy to find someone. Just when we thought Master Homer had really gotten abducted and we were


    turning desperate, he suddenly came back. When he came back¡­¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Mary sighed. ¡°He came back looking dejected. When he saw us, he immediately started crying, saying


    that Valerie didn¡¯t remember him anymore, and she had another friend. That friend happened to be


    Connor.¡±


    At that point, Toby could guess what happened after. Pursing his thin lips, he said solemnly, ¡°Has Dad


    never gone to look for Mom since then?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mary nodded. ¡°When Madam Valerie reached twenty years old, the Johann Family suddenly came


    to marry her into the Fuller Family. They said that it was an arranged marriage, but it¡¯s more urate to


    say that they wanted the Fuller Family to help them. At that time, the Johann Family had already begun


    to go downhill. Originally, Old Mr. Fuller and Old Mrs. Fuller didn¡¯t agree to the marriage, but Master


    Homer had heard it and agreed, so the marriage contract between Master Homer and Madam Valerie


    was set just like that.¡±


    ¡°Then, did you know about Mom¡¯s rtionship with Connor back then?¡± Toby frowned.


    Rose replied angrily, ¡°How could we have known? At that time, not even the Johann Family knew, let


    alone us. Your mother and Connor kept their rtionship secret and never told anyone. If we had known,


    we would¡¯ve never agreed to your father¡¯s engagement to your mother, and even if your father wanted to,


    we wouldn¡¯t have allowed it.¡±


    The other couple was already together, but if her son still got engaged to the girl, what would he


    be? A homewrecker who showed up halfway? How could a woman as arrogant as her allow her


    son to be the other man in a rtionship? However, that was how God yed games with people.


    Her son thought he could finally be with the girl he liked, but unexpectedly, that girl was already with


    someone else. Her son, by mistake, still became a third party who was inserted in someone else¡¯s


    rtionship. Her heart hurt just thinking about it!


    ¡°When did you find out?¡± Toby¡¯s frown deepened even further.


    The anger on Rose¡¯s face was unabated. ¡°A month before the marriage, your mother suddenly made a


    fuss about not wanting to get married, and she unintentionally blurted out her rtionship with Connor. At


    that time, your dad and I happened to be at the Johann Residence to deliver something, and we


    happened to hear her words when we walked to the door. Toby, you have no idea how your father looked


    when he heard that.


    He waspletely stunned, and his face had turned white. As for me, I was so angry that I wanted to go


    in and settle this with the Johann Family to ask them what this was about. Why did they hide the fact that


    their daughter had a boyfriend without even saying anything when they got engaged, and only waited


    until they were about to get married to say it? Even then, they didn¡¯t tell us to our faces. However, I was


    stopped by your father before I could go in. Your father dejectedly told me to forget it and begged me to


    go back.¡±


    Rose wiped the corners of her eyes. ¡°Though I was angry at the behavior of the Johann Family, I felt


    more hurt for my son, so I didn¡¯t enter in the end. I left with your father and returned to Seafield. After we


    came back, I asked your father what he nned to do now, but he didn¡¯t answer and locked himself in


    the room for three days. After the third day, he came out in a haggard state and told me in a hoarse voice


    that he wanted to terminate the marriage contract. Your grandfather and I agreed, and we went to


    Westsanshire the next day to prepare to terminate the marriage contract. But little did I expect, the


    Johann Family disagreed, and your mother was unwilling as well.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t want to?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes in confusion. Didn¡¯t she love Connor a lot? If there is a


    chance not to marry Dad, shouldn¡¯t she seize the opportunity? Why would she be unwilling?


    ¡°Yes, she was very unwilling.¡± Rose nodded. ¡°This marriage contract was originally proposed by the


    Johann Family, so it¡¯s normal for them to disagree, but it surprised us greatly that your mother was


    unwilling as well. However, we quickly figured out the reason, which was because the Johann Family


    needed the help of the Fuller Family. In fact, at that time, although I was very unhappy with the Johann


    Family, because of your father¡¯s liking toward your mother, even if we canceled the marriage contract, I


    was willing to help the Johann Family, and I believe your father thought the same as well. Hence, I told


    them my thoughts very clearly, then asked your mother if she wanted to cancel the marriage now.¡±


    ¡°My mom still disagreed.¡± Toby guessed the oue in an instant. If she had agreed, his parents


    wouldn¡¯t have gotten married.


    Rose sighed. ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though I told her so clearly that I¡¯d help the Johann Family even if there


    was no marriage, they were still unwilling. They felt that without the help of marriage, my words would


    still be unreliable. Not only that, but your father was a romantic. In the past, it was for your mother, and


    ¡°What did you tell Mom?¡± Toby looked at her.


    Rose waved her hand. ¡°What else could I say except the usual stuff? I knew your mother loved Connor,


    so I told her that since she¡¯s willing to marry my son, then she¡¯d better forget about Connor as soon as


    possible and concentrate on being the daughter-inw of the Fuller Family and the wife of my son. The


    Fuller Family would not treat her badly since it was her own choice after all, no? It wasn¡¯t that we didn¡¯t


    give her a chance, but she still chose your father in the end. Since she had made her choice, I told her


    not to regret it and think about her duty.¡±


    ¡°But my mom didn¡¯t keep her promise.¡± A sardonic smile appeared on the corner of Toby¡¯s lips. ¡°She


    never forgot about Connor.¡±


    ¡°Yes. She had promised me that she would forget about Connor and be a good wife to your father, but


    she went back on her word. Not only did she not forget that man, but she also refused your father¡¯s


    advances. Your father obviously felt sad, but he was still willing to help her.¡± Rose angrily pounded the


    ground twice with her cane, making a loud thumping sound.


    ¡°I was so angry. I was angry at your mother for treating my son like this. Since she had already married


    into our family, she was the Fuller Family¡¯s daughter-inw, but she was still hung up on another man.


    What did she take your father for? Did she look down on him that much?¡± Rose striked her chest in


    agony.


    ¡°All this time, I was aware of your mother¡¯s treatment toward your father, but I thought that it was none of


    my business to interfere in their rtionship, so I had never asked and always turned a blind eye to it.


    Still, after witnessing it too many times, it was natural that I would be unhappy.¡±

 Chapter 916

    Chapter 916


    Chapter 916 Old Mrs. Fuller¡¯s Motive


    ¡°I understand.¡± Toby nodded. Rose thumped on her chest. ¡°So, once again, after your father fainted from


    overdrinking because of your mother, I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. I went to look for your mother and


    asked what she wanted. Why didn¡¯t she keep her word? Since she looked down on my son so much,


    why didn¡¯t she agree when the Fuller Family asked to cancel their marriage?


    Why did she have to marry into our family? Didn¡¯t we give her a chance? Yes, we did. After canceling the


    marriage, she could be together with Connor, and the Fuller Family would also help the Johann Family,


    but she disagreed. After she got married, she enjoyed the Fuller Family¡¯s contribution to the Johann


    Family, and still treated my son like that¡­¡±


    No matter who it was, it would be intolerable, no? Toby lowered his eyes and did not respond. As a son,


    he knew that his mother¡¯s behavior was wrong, and even immoral. However, he couldn¡¯t say that directly.


    Even though he didn¡¯t have much affection for her, she was still his mother.


    Rose had always been a reasonable woman. Hence, though she knew the reason for Toby¡¯s silence, she


    never med her grandson. After all, it was his duty as a son to not talk about his mother¡¯s mistakes. If


    he had said something, she would¡¯ve thought that he was in the wrong instead.


    ¡°But, Grandma, did you never ask them to divorce?¡± Toby pursed his lips and asked suddenly. ¡°With your


    personality, if you see Dad living in such pain and watching as Mom keeps thinking about another man,


    you should¡¯ve asked them to divorce for everyone¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Rose sighed. ¡°When I was talking to your mother, I suggested a divorce. Although your


    mother was already pregnant with you at that time, I also told her clearly that she could abort the child


    and pursue her love. But¡­¡±


    ¡°My mom still refused?¡± Toby guessed.


    Rose nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Although your mother was a little stupid in love, she still possessed a sense


    of responsibility. She rejected my suggestion and said that because she had promised to give birth to an


    heir for your father, she couldn¡¯t go back on her word and thus wouldn¡¯t abort the child. Also, she told me


    that she wouldn¡¯t divorce for the time being, and that only after her child had grown up and could


    understand that there was no love between their parents would she divorce your father and leave.


    She told me this very seriously, and I did want a grandson really badly. Besides, your mother was already


    pregnant with you, and I couldn¡¯t bear to let her get rid of the baby. I just didn¡¯t want to see her and your


    dad torturing each other anymore, which was the only reason I endured the pain and allowed her to abort


    it in the first ce. But since she said she wanted to keep the child, I naturally stopped trying to persuade


    her.¡±


    ¡°What happened next?¡± he asked.


    She took a sip of her tea before continuing, ¡°After that, I told your mother that as long as she didn¡¯t regret


    it, then it was up to her. That time, your mother smiled and touched her stomach, saying that she didn¡¯t


    regret it, and that although she could only be with Connor many yearster, he would wait for her, and


    still protect his chastity just like she had. She and Connor had made an agreement, and I already found


    out about this when I looked into her, but I didn¡¯t tell her that. Even after she told me, I deliberately


    pretended to be surprised and said good for her.¡±


    Saying that, she scoffed mockingly. ¡°Although I said that at the time, I thought it was ridiculous. How


    could she believe that a man would actually abstain for her sake? She had really overestimated Connor¡¯s


    feelings for her. If that man really loved her so much, why did he never stand up against her engagement


    to the Fuller Family or the fact that she was about to get married?


    He didn¡¯t even make his rtionship with your mother public. On the contrary, it was your mother who


    dered it before she got married. If that man really loved her so much, would he not object to her


    marrying another man, and would he hide his girlfriend¡¯s status? Hence, I never thought that Connor had


    loved your mother, but she¡­ Sigh¡­¡±


    Rose heaved a long sigh. ¡°It turns out that what I thought back then was right. Connor even has an


    illegitimate daughter, and she¡¯s about the same age as Sonny. This obviously shows that he had broken


    his promise on his own when your mother hadn¡¯t even been married for more than two years. If she


    found out about this, she might rise from her grave in anger.¡±


    ¡°Just keep it from her,¡± Toby said indifferently, lowering his eyes.


    Amused by his words, Rose burst out intoughter. ¡°You have a point. But, although your mother was


    despicable, she was also really pitiful. If she had really left Connor behind and stayed with your father,


    she would¡¯ve definitely been living a happy life now, and Jean wouldn¡¯t havee into the equation.¡±


    Toby trusted her words as Rose said before that his father used to love his mother. If it weren¡¯t for Valerie


    refusing to reciprocate Homer¡¯s affection and kept pushing him away, he wouldn¡¯t have fallen in love with


    Jean. However, although Jean was crude and not up to par, she was indeed a good person. Because


    she felt that she was the other woman and that she had caused the death of his mother, she treated him


    completely like her own son.


    It was also because of this that even though Rose didn¡¯t like Jean, she still recognized Jean as her


    daughter-inw.


    ¡°Perhaps, Dad wasn¡¯t destined to be with Mom, and his real fate was with stepmom.¡± Toby looked at


    Rose and said, ¡°Besides, Grandma, don¡¯t you think that after Dad got together with stepmom, he has


    be so much happier?¡±


    Rose huffed. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been sure that the two of them did have feelings for each other and Jean was


    also kind to you, even if your father had epted punishment, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed Jean to marry into


    our family.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Grandma, even if you don¡¯t like stepmom, you still give her enough recognition. You just


    don¡¯t like her personality, but it doesn¡¯t mean that you didn¡¯t acknowledge her as the daughter-inw of


    the Fuller Family.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s gaudy and uncouth, and I can¡¯t find anything about her to like. She still wouldn¡¯t


    change after I¡¯d tried for so many years and gives me a headache, but I can¡¯t find any problems in the


    way she treats you. In the end, she¡¯s unqualified to be the daughter-inw of the Fuller Family in terms of


    family ties, but I have to admit that she¡¯s a good wife and mother. Still, I didn¡¯t hold high hopes for her in


    the first ce. As long as she did her duty well as a wife and mother, I wouldn¡¯t ask for anything more.¡±


    Saying that, she waved her hand with a disdainful look.


    Tobyughed for a moment before his expression returned to a cold look. ¡°Right, Grandma, you still


    haven¡¯t told me how you realized that Mom raised me to have Connor¡¯s personality.¡±


    When Rose heard that, her face darkened. ¡°I really didn¡¯t know at first. When your mother said that she


    wanted to foster your character personally, I didn¡¯t think much about it because I thought that it was


    normal for a mother to raise her son. I couldn¡¯t deprive her of her rights as a mother, so I went along with


    her words.


    It was only until you turned eight and I went to Westsanshire for your grandfather¡¯s fellowrade¡¯s 80th


    birthday that I met Connor there. The moment I saw him, my first impression of him was like Sonny¡¯s, as


    you¡¯ve said. In an instant, I understood your mother¡¯s actions, and I was angry. How could your mother


    be so foolish to raise her son into her lover¡¯s recement? Was that something a mother should do?¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Her face flushed red from anger.


    As though suddenly recalling something, Toby raised his head and looked at her. ¡°No wonder you


    suddenly asked me toe and live with you aftering back from Westsanshire. You just wanted to


    prevent my mother from continuing to brainwash me and fully turn me to have Connor¡¯s personality.¡±

 Chapter 917

    Chapter 917


    Chapter 917 Convincing Old Mrs. Fuller


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Rose admitted with resignation. ¡°I was so mad back then. I trusted your mother so much. I


    thought even if she didn¡¯t love your father, she still wouldn¡¯t divorce him immediately because she


    wanted to be a responsible mother to you. I thought she¡¯d treat you well because of it.


    Yes, she had indeed treated you well, but who¡¯d have thought she selfishly raised you to be a man¡¯s


    double? You¡¯re my grandson and the Fuller Family¡¯s third sessor. How can you be some


    person¡¯s double? I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t want to even if you¡¯re from an ordinary household.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t.¡± Toby nodded in agreement. This was his pride. In fact, it was anyone¡¯s pride.


    Everyone came into this world as a unique individual. No one would be willing to be anyone¡¯s double, be


    it the rich or the poor.


    ¡°See what I mean? How am I supposed to tolerate your mother¡¯s behavior?¡± Rose tapped her cane. ¡°So,


    I came up with an excuse to take you away from Fuller Residence, saying that you need toe and


    learn here. I couldn¡¯t continue letting you stay by your mother¡¯s side, for you¡¯ll eventually be a


    second Connor. I couldn¡¯t watch my own grandson be someone else, so I tried to turn your


    character around. Yet, who¡¯d have thought I was still one step toote? Your character had basically fully


    formed by then and I couldn¡¯t shape it anymore.¡±


    She shook her head woefully at that. ¡°I had no choice but to let you be, but six years ago¡ªI don¡¯t know


    what happened¡ªyour personality did aplete one-eighty, leading you to finally behave as you do


    now. I¡¯m not going to lie. I was genuinely happy.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Toby walked up to his grandmother and held her hand. ¡°Sorry for making you worry all these


    years, Grandma.¡±


    At that, Rose patted the back of his hand with gratification. ¡°I¡¯m your grandmother. It¡¯s only natural that I¡¯d


    be worried about my own grandson. Fortunately, everything I¡¯ve done wasn¡¯t for nothing. You¡¯ve finally


    abandoned the personality your mother shaped you and lived like yourself.¡±


    Though he was aloof and somewhat exasperated, as long as he was himself and not forcibly shaped by


    others, she would be pleased no matter how.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve said all that I should and even told you your parents¡¯ history. Is there anything else you want


    to know?¡± Rose took a sip of her tea as she looked at Toby, who shook his head in response.


    ¡°Not at the moment¨C¨Cno. My main purpose foring over today is to find all this out. Thank you for


    rifying, Grandma.¡±


    ¡°This is nothing. You¡¯re my grandson. I¡¯ll tell you anything you want to know, or do you expect me to treat


    these things as secrets and take them with me to my grave?¡± Rose joked.


    However, Toby wasn¡¯t amused. He frowned as he replied, ¡°Grandma, you have to stop saying things like


    that. You¡¯re still young and will live a long life.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll stop.¡± She gave in upon seeing him bing upset and promising that she wouldn¡¯t say


    such doleful words anymore.


    Only then did his tense face rxed.


    Meanwhile, Rose looked toward the sky. ¡°My, would you look at time? It¡¯s already getting dark.¡±


    At that, Toby checked his watch only to end up locking his brow into a tight furrow¨C¨Cit was already six.


    On the other hand, Mary, who had been quiet all this while, suggested, ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, it¡¯s almost time


    for dinner. Since Young Master Toby is here, shall I ask the kitchen to make a couple more dishes?¡±


    Rose, however, didn¡¯t answer right away but looked toward her grandson. ¡°What do you say, Toby? Do


    you want to have dinner with me, or go to Sonny¡¯s and be with her? That reminds me, you¡¯ve moved into


    her ce, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been staying with her for a while now.¡± Toby didn¡¯t hide the truth from her.


    Rose and Mary exchanged a nce and smiled when they saw his smile and hints of triumph in his tone.


    And Rose, even more so, nodded as she smiled. ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t stay for dinner. I¡¯ve promised Little Leaf that I¡¯d go to Lane Residence with her tonight. Mrs. Lane


    wants to see me,¡± Toby exined as he took another nce at his watch.


    A surprised Rose asked, ¡°Mrs. Lane? Do you mean Gracie, your mother¡¯s friend here in Seafield?¡±


    Mrs. Lane¡¯s name was Grace, so Toby knew immediately that his grandmother was referring to her. With


    that, he nodded. ¡°Yeah, she was also Mother¡¯s ssmate in college, but Mrs. Lane was closer with


    Sonia¡¯s motherpared to my mother. Hence, Sonia sees Mrs. Lane as her second mother, and the


    reason why Mrs. Lane wants to see me today and also to test me since she¡¯s Sonia¡¯s second mother.¡±


    ¡°This means you¡¯re meeting Miss Reed¡¯s family, aren¡¯t you, Young Master?¡± Mary teased.


    Toby cleared his throat in response as he felt a little embarrassed. ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Rose giggled upon seeing his reaction like she had discovered something interesting. ¡°Have you


    prepared any gifts then? I have a lot of supplements and tonics here that you can take.¡±


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Toby refused her offer by shaking his head. ¡°You should keep them for yourself, Grandma. They¡¯re all for


    you. It won¡¯t be right to gift them. No need to worry, Grandma. I know what to do. I¡¯ve already made the


    arrangements.¡±


    Knowing that he never talked through his hat, she nodded as she was never in doubt of his words.


    ¡°Alright, you should get going then. It¡¯s gettingte. Bring Sonny over for dinner another day.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be leaving then, Grandma.¡± Toby bid his grandmother farewell before ncing over at Mary,


    who instantly received the message and smiled at Rose. ¡°Old Mrs. Fuller, why don¡¯t I go and see Young


    Master Toby off?¡±


    Of course, Rose understood the nce her grandson gave Mary. She wanted to stop them but knowing


    that they were worried for her, she sighed in the end and merely waved her hand. ¡°Go on then.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Mary answered with a smile as she was relieved that Rose didn¡¯t refuse the suggestion, for she


    knew Rose surely would¡¯ve understood Toby¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°This way please, Young Master.¡± Mary gestured as she looked toward Toby.


    Toby dipped his head in response and headed out.


    Neither of them spoke until they were out the main door and standing in front of Toby¡¯s car. At that, he


    turned to Mary. ¡°Mary, please convince my grandmother to move to the nursing home. I¡¯m sure you know


    why I can¡¯t forcibly send her there.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Worry crept up Mary¡¯s face. ¡°Sending Old Mrs. Fuller there by force might upset her, and the rehab


    won¡¯t work, or worse, might even elerate the deterioration of her condition. I understand where you¡¯re


    coming from, Young Master Toby.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Toby nodded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Master. I¡¯d try to persuade Old Mrs. Fuller even if you didn¡¯t ask me to.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have to trouble you, Mary.¡±


    At that, he bowed to her.


    ¡°What are you doing, Young Master Toby? You can¡¯t possibly do this.¡± Mary hurriedly straightened his


    body. ¡°I¡¯ve known Old Mrs. Fuller for decades. How can I bear to see her continue like this? Old Mrs.


    Fuller and I have long be family, not just master and servant. So as family, I should do what¡¯s best


    for her and see that she continues to live for a few more years. Anyhow, you can leave the convincing to


    me. Alright, Young Master, you should go to Miss Reed now. I¡¯ll keep you updated on Old Mrs. Fuller.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± Toby nodded and went into the car.

 Chapter 918

    Chapter 918


    Chapter 918 He Came With the Wind


    Mary stood still and waved Toby goodbye as she watched him drive away, only going back inside after


    the car could no longer be seen. Inside the car, Toby had been ncing toward the rear view mirror until


    the old manor waspletely out of his sight before rolling the window up.


    Following that, he grabbed his phone, searched for Sonia¡¯s contact, and called her. Meanwhile, Sonia


    had been waiting for Toby to show up at Paradigm Co.


    However, he was still nowhere to be found when there was only half an hour left until seven, and it got


    her worrying if he was only still talking to Old Mrs. Fuller or if something had happened on his way there.


    Just as she was about to call and check on him after a few seconds of hesitation, her phone, which she


    had left on her desk, suddenly rang.


    At that, she turned around to find it was Toby calling, leading her worries to fade away as she answered


    it with a smile. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Sorry for keeping you waiting. My chat with Grandma went on longer than expected,¡± he apologized


    immediately.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°Grandma¡¯s more important. Besides, there¡¯s still time.


    Have you finished chatting with her?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve just left her ce. I¡¯ll reach in about ten to twenty minutes.¡±


    ¡°Ten to twenty?¡± Sonia chuckled with a quirked brow, amused. ¡°You¡¯re joking. The old manor is up on the


    hill, miles away from the city. You¡¯ve just left, and it¡¯d take at least half an hour to get here by car. No way


    will you be able to get here less than that. If you think it¡¯ll be toote by the time you get here, I can tell


    Mrs. Lane we¡¯ll bete. Don¡¯t speed just because you want to get here in time. It¡¯s perilous.¡±


    He wouldn¡¯t be able to reach in less than twenty minutes even if he sped, but he would still be able to


    show up sooner.


    Hence, she worried he would actually do it. What if he got into an ident?


    Speeding was one of the leading causes of car idents!


    Toby smiled and chuckled under his breath upon hearing her worry and disapproval. ¡°Rx. I won¡¯t


    speed. I have a n. I mean it when I said I¡¯ll be there in ten to twenty minutes. You wanna bet?¡±


    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t think of any other way he could get here so quickly.


    However, Toby wouldn¡¯t say anything as he continued acting all mysterious. ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon. Alright,


    I¡¯m hanging up now. See you in a few.¡±


    At that, he ended the call.


    And just like that, her words got stuck in her throat. H*ll, she wasn¡¯t done talking!


    She looked at her phone, which now disyed the homescreen, and shook her head, chuckling. ¡°Alright,


    fine. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll actually show up in twenty minutes.¡±


    It better not be just big talk, or the person beingughed at will be you.


    After mumbling, she put her phone down and headed to the washroom.


    Meanwhile, after Toby parked his car on a privatene on Tolher Hill, he got out and looked up into the


    sky.


    About a minuteter, the sound of a propeller buzzing grew louder, and avish, silver-white helicopter


    appeared in the sky the next second,ing closer and closer to Toby, ultimately hovering about thirty


    feet above his head.


    After he gave a signal to the helicopter, the hatch opened, and a ropedder was chucked out of it.


    Following that, a man in a bodyguard uniform poked his head out and nodded toward Toby before


    climbing down the ropedder.


    Very quickly, the bodyguard jumped off the ropedder and saluted Toby. ¡°President.¡±


    Toby dipped his head in response and chucked his car key to the bodyguard. ¡°Take it back to Fuller


    Group.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said the bodyguard as he caught the key.


    At that, Toby walked past the bodyguard and climbed up the ropedder, leaving the bodyguard to his


    task.


    He stopped when he got to the middle of the ropedder, and with that, the helicopter elevated.


    It wasn¡¯t until it rose to a certain height that someone in the helicopter began pulling the ropedder in,


    bringing Toby inside.


    Meanwhile, Sonia still had no clue that a certain someone was already on his way to Paradigm Co. in a


    helicopter.


    After returning to her desk, she grabbed her phone and began counting down for Toby.


    Though she was certain he wouldn¡¯t show up in less than twenty minutes, she still wanted to see if he


    could do it.


    Hey, what if there¡¯s a miracle? She thought while smiling.


    Time ticked by, and when it came to the fourteenth minute, her phone suddenly vibrated.


    Startled, she nearly dropped it.


    Fortunately, she responded in time and caught it. With that, she heaved a sigh of relief and mumbled,


    vexed and amused with herself. ¡°Oh my. You just have to send a message so suddenly.¡±


    Thoughining, her eyes were all smiles as she opened the Messenger app.


    Fifteen minutes had passed since hest called. Surely the sudden text was to apologize for his big talk


    and that he couldn¡¯t make it in time.


    Ha, why boast when you know you will eventually have to admit you¡¯re wrong? She thought as she


    clicked into their chat interface.


    Lo and behold, there were only four words: Come to the rooftop.


    Rooftop? His request stumped her for a split second.


    Rooftop? Why does he want me to go to the rooftop? To jump?


    At that, she shook her head, chucking the ridiculous inchoate thought out the window, before mulling


    over his purpose for asking her to go up there.


    Surely it isn¡¯t to jump or to view the rooftop. There¡¯s nothing up there apart from a helicopternding pad.


    Only a lunatic would view¡ªwait. Landing pad?


    An idea struck her, and she widened her eyes with incredulity as she jumped out of her seat.


    ¡°No, he can¡¯t possibly being in a chopper, can he?¡±


    But he did say he would reach in ten to twenty minutes, and only an aircraft could do that.


    Besides, this guy had all sorts of private aircraft, yachts, and whatnot. He just had to give the order, and


    someone would fly the helicopter to him, no?


    Since he wanted her to go up to the rooftop now, no doubt it was a helicopter.


    Sonia chuckled at that.


    She had really underestimated him, thinking it was impossible for him to reach in twenty minutes.


    But, in reality? He absolutely could.


    Sonia wasted no more time and jogged upstairs.


    Right as she opened the heavy metal door to the rooftop, she heard the sound of an approaching


    propeller.


    With that, she looked up to find a helicopter slowing down in her direction, bringing along a gust of wind.


    It caused her hair to fly in every direction and forced her to squint.


    She hurriedly pressed her hair down while staring at the helicopter with squinted eyes.


    Soon, it came and hovered above thending pad for a moment before slowly descending, clearly


    wanting to park there.


    Meanwhile, Sonia¡¯s gaze continued to follow the helicopter, lowering her eyes as it descended.


    The rotor finally stopped after it parked, and the wind had also disappeared along with it.


    When she finally no longer had to squint and press her hair down, she went up to the helicopter.


    Right as she got to the hatch, it opened, and there Toby was, in his full glory. He was sitting inside with


    his legs bent, and both hands were holding onto the hatch, smiling at her. ¡°Well? I didn¡¯t miss the twenty-


    minute mark, did I?¡±


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sonia as she shook her head, smiling. ¡°You¡¯re very much on time. Precisely twenty minutes.


    You sure didn¡¯t let me down, Mr. Fuller.¡±

 Chapter 919

    Chapter 919


    Chapter 919 What Are You Going to Do?


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you.¡± Toby smiled as well as he looked into her eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you or Mrs. Lane and


    the others to wait too long. So, the chopper is my best option.¡±


    They had agreed to go to Lane Residence at seven, but it was already 6.30PM when he left the old


    manor. So he was certain they wouldn¡¯t be able to show up at seven sharp no matter how.


    Though they were alreadyte, he didn¡¯t choose to go to seed but instead had someone fly a helicopter


    to take him here.


    At least they could head there a little earlier and not show up toote.


    ¡°I had no idea you would show up like this. I didn¡¯t believe you at all when you said you¡¯ll arrive in ten to


    twenty minutes.¡± At that, Sonia shrugged. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to think a degree higher at everything you


    do so that it¡¯ll be more realistic,¡± she said while raising a hand above her head, looking exceptionally


    adorable.


    Toby jumped out of the helicopter upon seeing her and pulled her into his arms. ¡°Are you afraid to sit in a


    helicopter?¡±


    At that, Sonia looked up at him. ¡°You¡¯re not nning on going there, are you?¡±


    He nodded in response, indicating it was precisely his thought. ¡°It¡¯ll be faster. We might not be able to get


    there at seven sharp, but we can at about a quarter after seven. We won¡¯t be toote.¡±


    After all, it was already a little over seven.


    However, Sonia shook her head. ¡°Uh-uh. Yes, it¡¯s faster if we take the chopper, but Lane Residence


    doesn¡¯t have anding pad, and I don¡¯t dare to climb down the ropedder on my own. My Legs will give


    in. So let¡¯s just drive. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already told Mrs. Lane we¡¯ll be therete. She¡¯s okay with it as


    well. She won¡¯t me us for beingte; she isn¡¯t unreasonable. I told her we¡¯rete because you¡¯re


    keeping Grandmapany, and she even praised you for being a sweet grandson.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Toby looked at her and asked.


    Sonia nodded in response. ¡°Of course! Why would I need to lie? Alright, let me go. Stop hugging. People


    are watching.¡±


    Following that, she looked bashfully toward the pilot and two bodyguards inside the helicopter.


    Oh dear, they were looking right at us when Toby pulled me into his arms!


    She wanted to pretend she couldn¡¯t see them at first.


    But their gossipy gazes were too intense. She couldn¡¯t convince herself.


    So, she decided to throw the idea away and shove Toby lightly, telling him to let go.


    After all, she didn¡¯t have a kink for others to watch her and her man smooch.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Toby naturally knew who she was referring to, and with that, he released her and shot a re toward the


    helicopter.


    The guys inside instantly felt a chill down their spines, and they all hurriedly looked down, no longer


    daring to gossip.


    Sonia burst into a chuckle upon seeing their reaction. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t scare them anymore. Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s


    quite windy up here. I¡¯m a little chilly,¡± she said after exhaling a cold breath while tucking her neck.


    Toby reflexively turned his attention back to her at that, and held her hand, leading her to the metal door.


    As for the guys in the helicopter, they could sort themselves out, for they wouldn¡¯t be needed for the rest


    of the night.


    The metal door blocked the cold wind, and Sonia finally let out a deep breath. Her tensed muscles had


    also rxed a little, no longer feeling cold.


    However, Toby still pulled her hands to his mouth, breathing warm air at her freezing hands.


    After a few breaths, he even rubbed them, wanting to warm up her hands quickly.


    Sonia¡¯s heart melted at the sight of him being so lovely to her, and the smile on her face was even a


    sight to behold. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough rubbing. My hands are warm now. Any more and my skin will


    peel.¡±


    Peel?!


    Toby froze upon hearing her words, and he hurriedly checked her hands to see if he had really rubbed a


    layer of skin off of her.


    Seeing that he was freaking out, believing what she said was true, she withdrew her hand,ughing and


    feeling a little bad for him. ¡°What are you doing? I¡¯m only messing with you. I can¡¯t believe you actually


    took it seriously. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go.¡±


    She rolled her eyes while smiling as she passed him, continuing down the stairs.


    Toby, on the other hand, watched her leave with pursed lips. Feeling irked, his gaze was filled with


    yful malice. ¡°Someone¡¯s being brave, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    At that, Sonia stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. ¡°So? What are you going to do, stop me?¡±


    Then, she stuck her tongue out yfully, provoking him.


    Toby¡¯s gaze turned dangerous in response, and he curled his lips into a fearful smile while his voice


    deepened. ¡°What am I going to do?¡± He sneered at that. ¡°Why don¡¯t we find out?¡±


    With that, he strode to her with darkness surging beneath his eyes, fear-evoking.


    A bad feeling instantly arose within Sonia, knowing that her provocation had stirred him. Without a


    second thought, she turned and ran away.


    Seeing how she dashed, he sneered, ¡°Trying to run away I see.¡±


    This little bunny thinks she can escape, dream on!


    With that, he quickened his pace and chased after her.


    Though Sonia¡¯s legs were considered long amongst women, they were still shortpared to men¡¯s.


    What was more, she was wearing heels, so she had to be extra careful going down the stairs, and thus,


    she could barely run.


    Because of that, Toby caught up to her in seconds, and he immediately bent over to hug her calves,


    scooping her up in one swift motion.


    Sonia reflexively screamed upon the sudden levitation. ¡°Ah! What are you doing, Fuller!?¡±


    Toby didn¡¯t answer her. Instead, he took a nce at her before throwing her over his shoulder, carrying


    her away like he was carrying a bag of cement.


    As he walked, he even gave her butt a couple of smacks. ¡°Do you still dare to say there¡¯s nothing I can


    do about you, huh?¡±


    The way her stomach pressed against his shoulder made her super ufortable, but she couldn¡¯t care


    less about that now, for her face was flushing bright red.


    It was due to blood rushing to her face from being upside down, and also because he smacked her butt.


    Never had she thought she would one day be smacked in the butt after bing an adult.


    Mortified, she pounded Toby¡¯s back while struggling to look toward him. ¡°Toby Fuller, put me down this


    instance. We¡¯re in mypany. It¡¯ll be bad if people see us like this!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± Toby brushed her off, carrying her firmly on one shoulder with an arm around her


    thighs, looking like the reincarnation of Hercules.


    ¡°We¡¯re a couple; everything we do is legal, so there¡¯s nothing bad about this. Anyone who thinks so is


    only jealous.¡± He turned around as he spoke, seemingly wanting to look at her.


    However, her torso waspletely behind his back, so he wasn¡¯t able to see her face even if he turned.


    However, he could imagine what she looked like in that instance.


    Surely, it was bright red from embarrassment.


    Sonia, on the other hand, turned exasperated upon hearing his dismissive words. ¡°Are you ying dumb


    with me, Fuller? I meant I don¡¯t want people to see us like this when I said it¡¯s bad! How embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°What is there to be embarrassed about? As I said, we¡¯re a couple; everything we do is normal. You¡¯re


    way too bashful. It¡¯s good that people see us like this sometimes. Build up your nerves so that you won¡¯t


    be so bashful anymore,¡± Toby said with a straight face.

 Chapter 920

    Chapter 920


    Chapter 920 How Embarrassing


    ¡°You¡ª¡± Sonia was so pissed off that she could not say anything. She finally realized that Toby was not


    going to let her off no matter what.


    Despite feeling ufortable and extremely embarrassed, she did not dare to struggle and allowed him


    to carry her. Not only was Sonia afraid that she would fall, but also that she would injure Toby¡¯s arm in


    the process.


    Hence, she had no choice but to let him carry her. In no time, Toby walked up the stairs leading to the


    rooftop with Sonia on his shoulder before exiting the emergency stairway and reaching the corridor of the


    highest floor.


    When she noticed the familiar corridor, she panicked even more and started patting the man¡¯s back.


    ¡°Come on, Toby, you have already carried me all the way here. It is time for you to let me down. There


    are people here, and some are still working overtime in the secretary¡¯s assistant office next to mine. It is


    inappropriate for them to see me like this, and everyone will gossip about us tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°It is fine. Let them say whatever they want.¡± Toby did not stop and continued walking.


    ¡°Toby Fuller!¡± Sonia raised her voice as she was starting to get angry.


    However, just as Toby was about to say something, the door to the office next to the president¡¯s office


    suddenly opened, and two women dressed in office clothes with their handbags walked out.


    These two were Sonia¡¯s secretary and assistant.


    Initially, they were nning to leave after finishing their overtime work.


    However, they sensed something while they were in the midst of chatting and turned to their side


    simultaneously before their mouths fell open in shock when they saw Toby carrying another figure.


    ¡°P-President Fuller?¡±


    What is happening? Why is President Fuller here? Also, why is he carrying a person? Is that¡­


    The two women stared intently at the figure on Toby¡¯s shoulder and deducted that it was a woman from


    her outfit.


    Although they could only see the woman¡¯s slender legs and curvy bottom, not her face or torso hidden


    behind Toby¡¯s back, they recognized her after working with her for a long time.


    Nevertheless, they were stunned when they found out that it was Sonia on Toby¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°President Fuller, President Reed, are you guys¡­¡±


    The curious look in their gazes was visible as they pointed at the two of them.


    Oh my God! Are we allowed to witness this?! I cannot believe President Fuller is carrying President Reed


    like that. Is this not like those scenes in drama shows? This is so romantic!


    Sonia felt her heart drop the moment Toby stopped walking, and she had a really bad feeling about this.


    Why would he stop walking out of nowhere?


    Sure enough, the sound of the door opening rang out within the next second, followed by someone


    calling out Toby¡¯s name.


    At this moment, she got frustrated at the fact that someone saw them.


    Sonia knew that people would spot them seeing how Toby was carrying her to her office in a high-prolific


    manner.


    Nevertheless, she had hoped that none of her secretaries or assistants, who were still working overtime,


    would run across Toby carrying her and walking past their office.


    Unfortunately, someone came out of the office and caught them before they could even walk past it.


    In fact, they even recognized her.


    How embarrassing!


    Sonia covered her face bashfully, and her ears that were exposed in the air had turned redpletely.


    Now that my employees saw me getting carried like this, they would surelyugh about it behind my


    back. Sobs¡­


    She groaned in embarrassment.


    On the contrary, Toby was extremely calm as he turned to those two women and nodded slightly after


    they greeted him.


    Nevertheless, he did not answer the women when they asked about what the two of them were doing.


    Is it not obvious that this is a public disy of affection? Anyone who fails to see it is a fool.


    Toby looked away after that and continued walking forward while carrying Sonia. In no time, he got closer


    to the two women, walked past them, and headed toward Sonia¡¯s office.


    Just then, the two women held their breath and said nothing, even though their gazes shifted along with


    Toby and Sonia¡¯s movement.


    Upon noticing how Sonia was covering her face, the two of them nced at each other before giggling to


    themselves.


    Is President Reed covering her face because she is embarrassed and is scared to look at us? I guess


    we would be embarrassed if our boyfriends walked around in public while carrying us on their backs as


    well. It is understandable!


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Meanwhile, Sonia felt like dying when she sensed her employees¡¯ heated gaze and muffled giggles. She


    had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life.


    Hang on, I felt the same way during the incident with the shaking car as well. Why does it feel like I get


    embarrassed on so many asions ever since I got into a rtionship with this man? I bet there will be


    more asions like this in the future.


    Finally, Toby opened the door to Sonia¡¯s office and carried her inside before he turned around to close


    the door under the two women¡¯s gazes.


    Sonia sighed in relief the moment the door was closed and her hands moved away from her face to


    reveal apletely flushed face.


    Meanwhile, those two women held their hands together in excitement as they stared at the door that


    mmed shut outside of Sonia¡¯s office.


    ¡°Oh my goodness, did you see that? Did you see that?! I cannot believe President Fuller carried


    President Reed like that.¡±


    ¡°I did! Oh my God, I am feeling so giddy right now! He actually carried President Reed using just one


    hand! What a strong boyfriend. President Reed is so lucky.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I know, right? Did you see how President Reed covered her face? Although we did not get to see


    her face, I bet it was flushed considering how red her ears were. This is my first time seeing President


    Reed act in such an adorable manner.¡±


    ¡°Me too! President Reed always has a serious demeanor around her, so it is my first time seeing her


    embarrassed. I mean, why do you think President Fuller is carrying her? What are they going to do after


    he carries her into the office? Could it be that¡­¡±


    Suddenly, one of them giggled knowingly before using both thumbs to press downward.


    Just then, the other woman hit her. ¡°Come on, seriously¡­ Still, it is possible, though.¡±


    The two of them continued gossiping outside of the president¡¯s room.


    Meanwhile, Toby carried Sonia to the couch in the office and bent down to ce her on it.


    After Sonia was ced on the couch, she was pushed back onto it before she could get up.


    Immediately, her eyes widened. ¡°Toby, what are you doing? Get up.¡±


    ¡°Just let me hug you for a while.¡± Toby snaked his arms around Sonia¡¯s waist and buried his head in her


    shoulder. His entire body was weighing down on her as he refused to get up, as if he was a whiny big


    dog. Just then, Toby¡¯s actions were incredibly adorable.


    Sonia ced her arms around the man¡¯s back gently. ¡°Only for a while. Get up immediately after that. Do


    you hear me?¡±


    Toby hummed in acknowledgement without even looking up as he was intoxicated by Sonia¡¯s scent.


    At the same time, Sonia stopped talking and hugged him quietly.


    A few minutester, the phone in her pocket started ringing, breaking the peaceful atmosphere in the


    office.

 Chapter 921

    Chapter 921


    Chapter 921 A Serious-Looking Toby


    Sonia patted Toby¡¯s back and urged, ¡°Come on, get up. I need to ept the call.¡±


    Upon hearing her, Toby pursed his lips and got up reluctantly.


    Then, Sonia propped herself up from the couch and reached out for her phone in her coat¡¯s pocket,


    ignoring her messy hair.


    When she saw the caller ID, she quickly said, ¡°It is Mrs. Lane. She probably wants to know what time we


    areing.¡±


    Sonia epted the call and ced the phone against her ear. ¡°Hey, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    Meanwhile, Toby sat next to her and startedbing through her unruly hair gently.


    On the other end of the call, Grace was sitting on the couch in her living room with her phone in her hand


    as well. With a gentle smile on her face, she asked, ¡°Sonny, it is already 7.30PM, what time are you guys


    coming over?¡±


    At that, Sonia quickly lowered her head to nce at her watch before answering, ¡°I am sorry that we took


    so long to get ready, Mrs. Lane. We are heading out now and will arrive at around 8.00PM.¡±


    Since Paradigm Co. was not really far from the Lane Residence, reaching there would only take


    approximately 40 minutes.


    Meanwhile, Grace nodded after she heard Sonia¡¯s answer. ¡°Alright. I will get the chefs to start preparing


    dinner now. We will be waiting for you guys.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Sonia replied with a smile.


    After the call ended, she ced her phone down and pulled Toby up. ¡°Come on, Mrs. Lane is asking


    about our whereabouts already. We should hurry.¡±


    While talking, she grabbed the giftbags on the couch as well.


    Nevertheless, Toby quickly moved forward to take most of the giftbags from her. ¡°Let me take those. You


    can carry these two instead.¡±


    He left two giftbags in Sonia¡¯s hand, which contained two of the lightest handbags.


    Toby had taken all the heavy ones away and let her carry all the light ones.


    Although Sonia was touched when she realized what he was trying to do, she still snatched two gift bags


    from him. ¡°I know that you do not want me to carry heavy things, but your arm has notpletely healed


    yet, and I cannot bear watching you lift all these on your own, so why not we carry them together? I will


    let you carry everything in the future once your arm ispletely healed, alright? Let¡¯s go.¡±


    She chuckled before heading toward the door.


    At the same time, Toby stared at her retreating figure before ncing at his left arm. At that moment, he


    felt like his heart was about to melt.


    On the other hand, Sonia had already walked out of her office.


    However, she paused and was confused when she noticed that Toby was not trailing behind her.


    Immediately, she rolled her eyes and shouted, ¡°What are you doing, Toby? Stop daydreaming. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    When Toby heard her voice, his gaze wavered slightly before he came back to his senses. ¡°I am


    coming.¡±


    He quickly ran out to catch up to Sonia, and the two of them took the elevator down to the first floor, as


    Sonia¡¯s car was parked at the spot outside of Paradigm Co.¡¯s lobby instead of the basement parking.


    Just then, Sonia and Toby headed out from thepany one after another. During their journey out,


    most of the employees that were working overtime greeted them when they saw them.


    Among these employees, there were a few that gave them knowing looks, and Sonia was extremely


    familiar with the looks they gave her and Toby.


    Are these not the exact same looks that the two assistant and secretary gave us when we were outside


    of my office? Although I covered my face and could not see their expressions clearly, I could still sense


    their gazes on me. It is the ssic gaze when one ships two other people together. Since these people


    are staring at us like this, it is obvious that many people found out that Toby carried me into my office. It


    must have been those two girls. Hmph, I will be sure to give them more work tomorrow. Wait for it!


    She felt her scalp go numb from awkwardness when her employees smiled at her knowingly, making her


    quicken her pace instinctively. At one point, she walked faster than Toby and managed to get out of the


    building first.


    Meanwhile, Toby raised his eyebrows when he noticed that Sonia seemed in a rush, as if she was being


    chased by something.


    What is happening?


    Although he was confused, Toby did not drag on and quickly ran after Sonia.


    By the time he caught up to Sonia, Sonia was already cing the gift bags into the car¡¯s trunk.


    He went forward to ce the bags into the trunk as well.


    While doing so, he turned to look at Sonia, who was pouting angrily, before asking, ¡°What is wrong? Why


    did you get mad all of a sudden?¡±


    When Sonia finished cing all the bags, she red at Toby. ¡°I cannot believe you have the guts to ask


    me that. If it were not for you, who did not want to put me down, I would not be so embarrassed by the


    looks my employees are giving me. Great. Not just those two girls, but everyone in thepany knows


    about it now. The looks that they were giving me just now made me feel so humiliated. On top of that, the


    image that I have spent a long time building to make myself look stern as a president ispletely gone


    now.¡±


    Then, she harrumphed and ignored him before walking toward the front passenger seat.


    Meanwhile, Toby stood there and rubbed the tip of his nose before heading to the driver¡¯s seat after


    closing the trunk.


    When he entered the car, he started adjusting the seat while consoling the angry woman next to him.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be mad. I¡¯m doing this for your own good, you know?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± A confused look appeared on Sonia¡¯s face. ¡°For my own good?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Toby nodded.


    At this moment, Sonia gave him a look of disbelief, as if she was encouraging him to continue making up


    lies.


    Nevertheless, Toby¡¯s gaze wavered, and he did not return her gaze. After starting the car engine, he


    looked forward and started driving with a serious expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s true. I¡¯m really doing it for


    your own good.


    Although it¡¯s good to be stern as a president, it¡¯ll only make your employees fear you and distance


    themselves from you in the long run because they¡¯ll feel like you¡¯re unapproachable, and that¡¯s not good.


    Soon, you won¡¯t even have someone to talk to in thepany, and that¡¯s not beneficial to your


    Just then, he gave Sonia a look from the rearview mirror with a serious look on his face. ¡°After what


    happened, your employees¡¯ view toward you surely took a drastic change, as they would feel that you¡¯re


    not as stern as you look. Although you¡¯re the president, you have feelings and willugh and cry just like


    every other woman does.


    This will lead them to think that you¡¯re not as unapproachable as you seem, and they will feel less


    intimidated about working for you. After all, a down-to-earth boss is more likely to forgive you for any


    possible mistakes. Because of that, your status among your employees will surely rise.¡±


    Sonia felt her mouth twitch upon hearing what Toby said.


    Although what he said kind of makes sense, he¡¯s just trying toe up with an excuse if you really listen


    to it carefully. Since when does being a stern and intimidating president threaten apany¡¯s


    management? What about him? If he wants to talk about being strict, there¡¯s no one else stricter and


    more arrogant than him in the entire Seafield.


    I mean, who isn¡¯t afraid of him in Fuller Group? Still, he has thepanypletely under his control,


    right? That alone is enough to prove that the boss¡¯ attitude toward their employees has no corrtion


    and is not important. He¡¯s justing up with all these excuses because he doesn¡¯t want to admit that


    he pissed me off.

 Chapter 922

    Chapter 922


    Chapter 922 Chairman Lane¡¯s Test


    Why didn¡¯t I realize that he¡¯s so good at bullsh*tting? Still, he¡¯s kind of funny like this.


    At the thought of that, Sonia burst intoughter.


    When Toby saw herughing, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Why is sheughing out of nowhere?


    Sonia gave him a coquettish look. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Toby shook his head as he really didn¡¯t know.


    Wasn¡¯t she still angry at me just a few seconds ago? Why did she suddenly burst intoughter? The shift


    in her mood has happened so rapidly that I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s happening.


    Noticing the confused look on the man¡¯s face, Sonia harrumphed. ¡°Good for you. I¡¯m not going to tell you


    why since you refused to let me down when I asked you to. This is my punishment to you. Hmph!¡±


    Then, she spun around to stare outside from the car window while Toby was in awe as he looked at the


    smug look on her face.


    If it weren¡¯t due to the fact that he was driving and needed to make sure that he was driving safely, he


    would have pinched her chubby cheeks. I bet they feel really soft.


    Toby¡¯s tongue was pressed against the ceiling of his mouth as he thought to himself secretly.


    40 minutes went past in a blink of an eye and they found themselves nearing the Lane Residence.


    After Toby drove into Lane Residence¡¯s area, Sonia noticed Grace and Curtis standing at the entrance of


    their house. It was obvious that they were there to wee them.


    Upon seeing that, she felt warmth coursing through her body before a warm smile appeared on her face.


    ¡°I already told them to not wait for me by the door, but they still did.¡±


    When Toby spotted the middle-aged couple standing ahead, he replied, ¡°That¡¯s how they are. Although


    they promised not to, they¡¯ll still do it to express their care toward us young ones.¡±


    Only the people who were the closest to said individual would do that, though.


    Sonia nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah. Mr. and Mrs. Lane are really nice to me, and they would always wait


    for me by the door everytime Ie over.¡±


    ¡°Right here! Right here!¡± Grace waved when she spotted Sonia¡¯s red car and pointed at the parking spot


    at the side before motioning for them to park the car there.


    Although Curtis, who was standing next to her, didn¡¯t react as much as Grace did, his intent gaze on the


    car revealed his joy upon seeing those two¡¯s arrival.


    Following Grace¡¯s instructions, Toby parked the car before undoing his seatbelt and got down.


    At the same time, Sonia got down from the car as well.


    Immediately after she alighted from the car, Grace, who was initially standing with Curtis at the steps by


    the door, quickly jogged toward her with a smile and her arms wide open. ¡°Sonny, I missed you so much!


    Give me a hug.¡±


    Since Sonia was already used to Grace¡¯s warm antics, she quickly took a few steps forward when she


    saw Grace running toward her before spreading her arms to hug Grace. ¡°Mrs. Lane, I missed you too!¡±


    While Grace and Sonia hugged, Toby and Curtis looked at each other without saying anything.


    Compared to Grace and Sonia, they were much quieter and awkward around each other.


    After all, they couldn¡¯t just hug each other like how Grace and Sonia did, could they?


    Besides, they weren¡¯t close enough to do that yet.


    ¡°Erm, well¡­¡± Since Curtis was the host, he knew that he should break the ice first.


    Although he didn¡¯t know how to get along with Toby, he still had to stand up and do something.


    At this moment, Curtis pulled on his patterned necktie and cleared his throat before extending his hand


    toward Toby. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, President Fuller. Nice to meet you again.¡±


    Although they were both in the same field, the Lanes were nothingpared to the Fullers, so they


    barely worked together or had any interactions. Nevertheless, they¡¯d still greet each other whenever they


    ran into each other on important asions such as a dinner.


    Hence, there was nothing wrong with what Curtis said since they did know each other.


    Toby extended his hand to shake Curtis¡¯ hand. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Lane. However, you don¡¯t have to


    address me formally since we are not in a business setting, and I¡¯m just here for Sonia.¡±


    His tone and gestures were extremely respectful, and Curtis couldn¡¯t find any fault with what he said at


    all.


    This made Curtis, who initially didn¡¯t know how to approach Toby because of his status as a president,


    sigh in relief.


    After all, Toby was a reputable figure in the field that he wouldn¡¯t attempt to cross, and he¡¯d still have to


    be respectful toward Toby if they ran into each other.


    However, Toby wasn¡¯t here for business purposes this time. Instead, he was here to meet his inws as


    a son-inw.


    Still, Curtis didn¡¯t dare to intimidate his ¡®son-inw¡¯ with his status as an elderly considering Toby¡¯s social


    background. What if he gets offended by it? Wouldn¡¯t that cause trouble for Sonny?


    After contemting for a while, he decided to address Toby as ¡®President Fuller¡¯ to gauge Toby¡¯s attitude


    and allow Toby to decide how they should get along with each other.


    Undeniably, Curtis made the right move as Toby insisted that he wasn¡¯t here for business purposes,


    which gave him an idea of how they could interact with each other.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Not bad. For him to lower himself down to us, who aren¡¯t even Sonny¡¯s biological parents, proves that his


    feelings toward her are genuine. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m relieved that they¡¯re together now. Of course,


    that¡¯s not all to it since there are still more tests toe if he wants our full blessing.


    He thought to himself smugly despite having a kind smile on his face before retracting his hand. ¡°Since


    you insisted, I¡¯ll address you by your name privately.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Mr. Lane,¡± Toby nodded and replied.


    While Curtis felt uneasy with how Toby addressed him, he still felt a tiny sense of achievement as the


    fact that he was addressed informally by Toby was something he was proud of.


    Grace could immediately tell what Curtis was thinking about when she saw the bright smile on his face,


    which caused her to roll her eyes at him.


    Useless fe. I can¡¯t believe the way Toby addressed him sent him to cloud nine. Didn¡¯t we agree to be


    less friendly toward Toby considering all of the things that he did toward Sonny in the past? I can¡¯t


    believe he seriously forgot all about it just because he was addressed as ¡®Mr. Lane¡¯. Looks like I can only


    rely on myself for this.


    She pondered to herself. While holding Sonia¡¯s hand, Grace started sizing Toby up as if she was trying to


    find fault in him.


    Nevertheless, her facial expression stiffened after doing so because Toby¡¯s appearance was perfect from


    head to toe.


    As Grace had always been proud of having Charles as her son, she couldn¡¯t help butpare him to


    Toby. However, she quickly realized that in terms of face, body, height and what not, Charles would never


    be able to outwin Toby.


    This realization made her feel somewhat dejected.


    On the other hand, Toby knew that Grace was scrutinizing him, so he stood straight and allowed her to


    do so without avoiding it.

 Chapter 923

    Chapter 923


    Chapter 923 Much More Outstanding Than Our Son


    Toby noticed that Grace was studying him carefully and her face was tinged with strange expressions.


    However, he did not feel the slightest bit offended or unhappy at all.


    Moreover, in the afternoon earlier, he purposely asked several of the married secretaries toe to his


    office when he was at thepany to ask them about the possible situations he might face when


    meeting his parents-inw for the first time. He also sought their advice on how to avoid making a


    blunder.


    The secretaries had told him that his parents-inw would usually behave the same way as to how a


    man¡¯s parents treated their future daughter-inw and they would generallye up with a series of


    tests to determine whether this person suited their own son or daughter.


    Most of the time, the testsmonly put forward by the future inws would firstly include judging the


    man or woman¡¯s appearance.


    If their appearance passed the test then they were already halfway through winning the approval of the


    inws.


    As such, Toby knew in advance that he would be carefully observed by Grace so he had already been


    prepared to be scrutinized.


    As such, as soon as Grace shot a scrutinizing look at him, he stood calm andposed while allowing


    her to take a good look at him.


    He was quite confident in his appearances and frankly, no other man was as good-looking as he was.


    Naturally, Miles¡¯ appearance did not count.


    Indeed, after Grace had taken a good look at him, although she looked slightly defeated, she didn¡¯t


    mention that there was anything wrong with his appearance, and neither did she voice out that his


    appearance was not to her liking.


    This indicated that he had passed the test in regard to his appearances.


    Grace could find no fault with him so he now had one foot in the door.


    With that in his mind, he revealed a smile, and at that moment, he noticed Sonia, who was standing


    behind Grace, furtively gave him a thumbs-up gesture.


    As soon as he saw that, the smile on his face widened ¡°Mrs. Lane, are you happy with what you¡¯ve


    seen? My attire today should be quite presentable, right?¡±


    His underlying meaning was to ask if she was pleased with him.


    After all, it was awkward to ask about this directly so he substituted it by referring to his attire.


    However, everyone caught on to his words.


    Meanwhile, Grace heard his question but she didn¡¯t bother to answer and she merely snorted at him and


    turned to Sonia affectionately, ¡°Sonny, I haven¡¯t seen you for quite some time. Why have you lost so


    much weight? Is it because someone has been mistreating you? If that¡¯s true then let me know and I¡¯ll


    definitely do whatever I can to stand up for you!¡±


    As Grace spoke, she shot a pointed look at Toby.


    In response, Toby raised his brows. Fine then, the second round of tests is about to start now.


    His secretaries had mentioned to him that after oveing the appearance test, the inws would


    naturally start to question their own kids to find out hints of whether they were treated well by their


    partners. Even if they knew that their kids¡¯ partners treated their kids extremely well, they would still ask


    about it.


    They would also purposely mention threatening words to their kids¡¯ partners to find out the person in


    question¡¯s temperament and disposition.


    If their kids¡¯ partner had a bad temper with an ugly disposition and was full of self-importance, then they


    would definitely not be able to tolerate such words and leave in a huff. As parents, they would then have


    seeded in weeding out the bad apples for their kids.


    However, if their kids¡¯ partners had a great temper and a sunny disposition then they would not find such


    words an issue at all. They would merely find it quite normal. After all, parents were naturally protective


    of their kids and would not wish for their own kids to suffer.


    As long as their kids were together with a great dependable partner then the other party would definitely


    not be annoyed by such words. They would naturally smile quite confidently and face everything without


    feeling troubled.


    Right now, Toby faced everything with this exact mindset.


    He was sincere toward Little Leaf so he had nothing to fear at all.


    He did have a bad temper but he never lost his temper with Little Leaf and he was definitely the gentlest


    man on earth.


    Meanwhile, Sonia heard the question directed to her by Grace and she realized that Grace purposely


    mentioned that for Toby¡¯s ears.


    She took a look at Toby and was not the slightest bit worried that he would be unhappy.


    Indeed, she noticed that he was very calm andposed so she smiled and said, ¡°Mrs. Lane, I¡¯ve been


    too busy with worktely so that¡¯s why I¡¯ve lost some weight. There¡¯s no other reason for my weight loss.


    He treats me very well. Look into my eyes and you¡¯ll notice the happy glint in them. If he¡¯s been treating


    me poorly then I wouldn¡¯t look so happy at all. My eyes would be full of gloominess. Besides, I¡¯m no


    longer the person I was in the past. If he was unkind to me then I would not stay by his side at all. Don¡¯t


    you think so?¡±


    She clung to Grace¡¯s arm as she spoke.


    Just then, Grace listened to her words and silently scrutinized Toby.


    She noticed the beaming smile on Toby¡¯s face upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words and she couldn¡¯t help pursing


    her lips. ¡°It¡¯s great that he¡¯s been treating you well. Alright, it¡¯s quite windy outside so let¡¯s not stand here


    any longer. Let¡¯s head inside.¡±


    After Grace had said that, she held Sonia¡¯s hand and led Sonia toward the mansion.


    Sonia found it rude to shrug off Grace¡¯s hand so she allowed Grace to lead her off by holding her hand.


    At the same time, she turned around while walking off and her ruby-red lips moved slightly as she tried to


    say something.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Toby nodded his head at her slightly and signaled for her to go along with Grace. Subsequently, he


    pointed at the trunk of his car and pointed to himself to indicate that he would carry the items inside by


    himself.


    Sonia noticed then that he knew what she was trying to say so she was finally at ease. She smiled at him


    before entering the house with Grace.


    At that moment, Toby and Curtis were the only ones left outside.


    Curtis was slightly awkward as he had also noticed Grace¡¯s rude attitude toward Toby.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Pre¡­ I mean, Toby, my wife¡¯s just too protective of Sonny so that¡¯s why she behaved quite


    rudely. I hope that you are not offended,¡± Curtis apologized to Toby.


    In response, Toby waved his hand to brush off Curtis¡¯s concern. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s quite normal for Mrs.


    Lane to behave this way so I wouldn¡¯t take offense.¡±


    ¡°Oh, great! That¡¯s really great.¡± Curtis nodded his head and heaved a sigh of relief. Subsequently, he


    indicated with his hand and weed Toby into the house. ¡°They¡¯ve entered the house so let¡¯s join them


    too. Dinner should be ready shortly.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Toby affirmed but he walked toward the trunk of his car. ¡°Mr. Lane, could you hold on for a


    moment. I¡¯d like to bring in the presents too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve brought presents?¡± Curtis frowned. ¡°I remember telling my wife to inform you that presents


    weren¡¯t necessary, no?¡±


    Subsequently, Curtis followed Toby and walked to the trunk of the car too.


    As soon as he saw the presents all piled up in the trunk, he was significantly shocked. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of


    presents!¡±


    Toby reached into the trunk and took out the items one by one. ¡°Mrs. Lane did mention to me but I


    figured that I shouldn¡¯t take that literally too. It would be quite rude toe empty-handed. Besides, this


    is my first time paying you a visit so it would be very rude toe without anything. Little Leaf agreed


    with me about this too.¡±


    ¡°I see, but you still shouldn¡¯t have brought so many things.¡± Curtis continued, ¡°A single present would be


    enough to express your well-wishes. We¡¯re not strangers to each other so there is really no need to


    behave so overly courteous with each other. Alright. ce back the items into your car and just bring one


    with you.¡±


    As Curtis spoke, he tried to help by putting the presents back into the trunk.


    However, Toby rejected, ¡°Mr. Lane, I prepared all of this with sincerity and I¡¯ve brought it with me anyway


    so it doesn¡¯t make sense at all to bring it back home. Little Leaf would be unhappy too. She might feel


    that you¡¯re annoyed with her so that¡¯s why you¡¯ve refused to ept the presents by sending me back


    home with them.¡± Toby shut the trunk and spoke while looking at Curtis.


    He was quite confident that by mentioning Sonia, Curtis would no longer reject him.


    Indeed, as soon as Curtis heard Toby¡¯s words, the former quickly shook his head and exined, ¡°We


    would not be annoyed with her. We love her as dearly as one of our own and she¡¯s just like our


    daughter!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great then. These are all just gifts from your daughter so you should just ept them and be at


    ease. If you refuse these then Little Leaf might overthink the situation. Do you agree with me?¡±


    Curtis¡¯s mouth was slightly agape as he stammered slightly. Finally, he heaved a resigned sigh. ¡°That¡¯s


    fine then. We¡¯ll ept these. Thank you for spending so much on us.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing too precious here so you shouldn¡¯t say that.¡± Toby lifted several paper bags and boxes.


    However, the items were too heavy and his arm was not fully recovered yet so he could feel the pain in


    his left arm as soon as he lifted them.


    At that moment, he couldn¡¯t help but frown while looking at his left arm.

 Chapter 924

    Chapter 924


    Chapter 924 Where¡¯s Charles?


    Curtis noticed Toby¡¯s sudden change in expression so he followed Toby¡¯s gaze. Curtis then observed


    Toby ncing at his own left arm and the former instantly recalled that his wife had mentioned to him


    previously how thetter had broken his arm while rescuing Sonia.


    He had thought that Grace was just joking back then. After all, he couldn¡¯t imagine what sort of danger


    Sonia could be subjected to for Toby to actually break his arm to rescue her.


    However, it seemed right now that Grace was telling the truth.


    ¡°Toby, your arm¡¯s not fully recovered yet so give me some of the items and I¡¯ll carry them inside.¡± As


    soon as Curtis said that, he reached out and removed the items from Toby¡¯s left arm.


    Curtis instantly felt the weight of the presents as soon as he took them from Toby. Surprised, Curtis


    asked, ¡°What¡¯s inside? It seems quite heavy.¡±


    ¡°Little Leaf mentioned that you enjoy asional drinks and you¡¯re a wine collector. I was in possession


    of a few great wines so I¡¯ve brought them along with me today.¡± Toby flexed his left arm as he spoke.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    At that point, he was not carrying anything on his left arm so the pain gradually dissipated.


    Meanwhile, Curtis¡¯s expression brightened upon hearing that he had in his hands some wine. ¡°Oh, did


    you bring me wine? That¡¯s great. That¡¯s really great.¡±


    Curtis repeated great twice and his expression was joyful as he spoke.


    Evidently, Curtis was a wine lover.


    As for Toby, he couldn¡¯t help chuckling upon noticing that. ¡°Mr. Lane, I¡¯m d that you like it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course! I love wine,¡± Curtis replied hastily.


    Although he had not seen the wine gifted by Toby, he was quite sure that something from Toby would


    definitely be of good quality.


    Perhaps it was much better than the precious wines in his collection.


    At that point, he was quite excited at the thought of it and he became increasingly enthusiastic. He


    quickly made a wee gesture at Toby to invite him inside. ¡°Alright, Toby. Let¡¯s quickly head inside.


    They¡¯ve gone inside for quite some time now so they must be waiting.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Mr. Lane.¡± Toby nodded his head slightly and trailed after Curtis to enter the mansion.


    Inside the living room of the mansion, Sonia and Grace sat side by side. Grace held onto Sonia¡¯s hand


    affectionately on the former¡¯sp as they chattered.


    They seemed to be discussing something happy as the two womenughed gaily.


    Just then, Toby noticed the beaming smile and bright eyes on Sonia¡¯s face and he couldn¡¯t help but


    reveal a slight smile too.


    ¡°Toby, take a seat.¡± Curtis put down the paper bags in his hand and quickly invited Toby to take a seat.


    Toby hummed in response before taking a seat while Curtis stood up to pour him some tea.


    As soon as Toby noticed that, he quickly stopped Curtis by lifting his hand over Curtis¡¯s hand. ¡°Mr. Lane,


    there¡¯s no need to trouble yourself for such small matters. Allow me to serve myself.¡±


    He was here as their future son-inw so it would reflect quite badly for an elder to serve him tea.


    At that moment, Curtis came to his senses too and he realized that they were at home right now so they


    weren¡¯t exactly interacting with each other as business associates. He was a father-inw meeting his


    son-inw for the first time. As such, it was not necessary for him to serve Toby some tea.


    Curtis removed his hand from the teapot and revealed an awkward smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m still not used to


    this change in our rtionship.¡±


    Toby smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Subsequently, Toby lifted the teapot and got up to pour four cups of tea. He handed the first one to Curtis


    and the second one to Grace.


    Curtis immediately took the tea from Toby upon seeing Toby serve it personally and the former felt quite


    ttered at that point. Gosh. It¡¯s tea served to me personally by the president of Fuller Group. Other than


    Old Mrs. Fuller and Sonia, I must be the third person in Seafield to experience this privilege. Oh! Grace¡¯s


    the fourth one.


    Compared to Curtis, Grace took everything in her own stride and she was quite nonchnt about


    everything. Unlike Curtis, she did not over-analyze the situation.


    She merely felt quite pleased by Toby¡¯s action of serving them tea. After all, he was able to forsake his


    status to serve tea to them¡ªhis elders¡ªso he had passed the test in her eyes.


    After Grace had taken a sip of the tea, she stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s quitete now. I¡¯ll just pop into the


    kitchen to check on the dishes and find out how long before dinner will be ready. It should be ready quite


    soon.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Sonia got up too and she nced toward Toby. ¡°Toby, stay here and keep


    Mr. Lanepany.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Toby responded with a smile.


    Subsequently, Sonia followed Grace into the kitchen.


    As soon as they got to the kitchen, they saw the chefs busy scurrying around as they prepared dinner.


    Grace took a look at the menu before nodding her head. ¡°Dinner should be ready soon. There are only


    two dishes left to prepare.¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia took a look at the counter and she couldn¡¯t help eximing upon seeing the multiple


    dishes of sumptuous food. ¡°There are so many dishes and most of them are my favorite food.¡±


    Grace held her hand and smiled affectionately. ¡°These are definitely all of your favorite dishes because


    you¡¯re not always here for dinner! That¡¯s why I¡¯ve intentionally prepared them for you.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane, you¡¯re too kind.¡± Sonia wrapped her arms around Grace¡¯s waist and leaned on Grace¡¯s


    shoulders affectionately.


    In response, Grace chuckled while lightly smacking her on her head. ¡°You¡¯re behaving just like a kid by


    being so overly affectionate!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll always be a kid in your eyes, right?¡± Sonia smiled while responding.


    Just then, Grace stroked her head tenderly. ¡°Yeah, no matter how old you get, you¡¯ll always be a kid in


    my eyes. You¡¯re my favorite child ever.¡± The duo interacted with each other quite affectionately.


    After some time, Sonia suddenly realized something and she scrambled out of Grace¡¯s arms. ¡°By the


    way, Mrs. Lane, where¡¯s Charles?¡±


    Sonia suddenly realized that she hadn¡¯t seen Charles at all since entering the house. Where¡¯s Charles?


    As soon as Grace heard Sonia¡¯s question, she snorted angrily, ¡°That kid didn¡¯te back because he


    said he is busy with work.¡±


    ¡°Is he swamped with work at Lane Corporationtely?¡± Sonia nced at Grace and asked, ¡°There was


    no word about this though.¡±


    Though there were some projects that Paradigm Co. and Lane Corporation coborated on together, she


    would definitely be aware if Lane Corporation hit a busy period.


    In response, Grace pouted slightly. ¡°He¡¯s not busy with work at all! Besides, Curtis hasn¡¯t relinquished his


    position and he¡¯s the chairman of thepany. The chairman who¡¯s usually much busier than the


    president is home right now. Evidently, being the president, Charles should havepleted his work as


    well.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean Charles purposely imed that he¡¯s busy to avoiding back?¡± Sonia blinked as she


    spoke.


    Grace nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Why is that so?¡± Sonia was perplexed.


    However, Grace merely kept her eyes on Sonia without saying a word.


    Suddenly, Sonia caught on to things upon being stared at intently by Grace and her eyes widened. ¡°Is it


    because of m-me?¡±


    Grace heaved a sigh and nodded her head slowly. ¡°You must already realize Charles¡¯s feelings toward


    you. Although he said that he¡¯s gotten over you and he¡¯ll forget about you, it takes time to get over


    someone and the process won¡¯t be easy either. For the moment, Charles still cares about you so


    naturally, he wouldn¡¯t want to be present when you bring your partner over. He wants to avoid feeling


    upset upon seeing you behaving intimately with your partner so he chose to hide from this.¡±


    As soon as Sonia heard that, a wave of guilt welled up within her and there was an ashamed look on her


    face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mrs. Lane. I¡­¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t feel bad, Sonny.¡± Grace interrupted her words, ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say. You must


    think that Charles refused toe home because of your rejection and it¡¯s all your fault so you feel quite


    bad about this, right?¡±


    Sonia looked at Grace and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Grace smiled and responded, ¡°You silly child. This isn¡¯t your fault at all. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.


    Everyone has a right to choose their own happiness. Charles loves you but that doesn¡¯t mean that you


    have to ept him and love him too. You were not at fault for rejecting him.¡±


    ¡°I hurt him though.¡± Sonia bit her lips.


    Grace smiled and patted her on the head. ¡°One would definitely feel upset and dejected at being rejected


    and this is quite normal. If he didn¡¯t feel upset or dejected, then that would mean he didn¡¯t like you at all.


    Charles developed feelings toward you and that¡¯s something that he has to deal with himself. It has


    nothing to do with you. You¡¯ve rejected him so he would naturally have to bear the consequences for the


    oue of his infatuation.¡±

 Chapter 925

    Chapter 925


    Chapter 925 An Excited Curtis


    Sonia looked at Grace as she said, ¡°I understand what you mean, Mrs. Lane, but do you really not hold


    any grudges against me? Charles is your son and he is heartbroken because of my rejection. Do you


    really not me me for that?¡±


    ¡°You have asked me this question before and I¡¯ll now answer you again¡ªI¡¯ve never med you, of


    course.¡± Grace held Sonia¡¯s hands. ¡°I¡¯ve told you this before¡ªCharles loves you, but that¡¯s his deal and


    you don¡¯t necessarily have to reciprocate his feelings. A rtionship requires both parties to share


    mutual feelings for each other in order for it to work out.


    If two people fancy each other, they are free to be in a rtionship; if one doesn¡¯t have feelings for the


    other, the former should reject thetter properly and thetter should move on. So, why would I me


    you when you didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Although I have aged, I¡¯m still rather open-minded. However¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane, you can just tell me anything.¡± Sonia looked Grace in her eyes.


    Grace sighed and continued, ¡°Although I really wish that you can be my daughter-inw, I know


    that you won¡¯t be happy with Charles because he is not your type. You won¡¯t fall in love with him no


    matter what and forcing you two together will only turn you and him into a resentful couple. Therefore, I


    would rather see you find yourself a suitable partner that will make you happy than make you my


    daughter-inw.¡±


    She then regained her smile. ¡°As for Charles, he is now in a dejected state, but I believe that this is just


    temporary. He will move on when he meets someone suitable for him. So, Sonny, you don¡¯t need to


    worry about him. It¡¯s also a good thing that he is not in tonight since meeting him would only make you


    feel awkward, and at the same time, it would hurt him to see you together with Toby. It¡¯s for the best that


    you two don¡¯t see each other, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane, thank you. Thank you so much! Sonia hugged her tightly.


    After being stunned at first, Grace then gently patted Sonia on her back and beamed. ¡°Don¡¯t need to


    thank me. Alright, let¡¯s head out.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sonia responded. The corner of her lips curved upward whereby a smile was finally revealed.


    The two of them left the kitchen holding hands.


    However, Sonia parted with Grace on their way out and went to the washroom, so Grace returned to the


    living room on her own.


    Upon seeing Grace returning alone without Sonia by her side, Toby immediately paused the business


    discussion with Curtis and asked, ¡°Mrs. Lane, where¡¯s Little Leaf?¡±


    Grace was d to hear the hint of concern in his tone, but she still feigned displeasure and snorted, ¡°She


    went to the washroom. What¡¯s wrong? Do you think that I would harm her?¡±


    When he heard that Sonia had gone to use the washroom, Toby felt much relieved. ¡°That¡¯s not what I


    meant. I can¡¯t help feeling worried whenever I don¡¯t see her.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, why are you worried about her? What could happen to her when she is under my roof?¡± Grace


    rolled her eyes at him.


    He pursed his lips and fell silent.


    At this moment, Curtis stepped in and mediated the situation. ¡°Alright, what nonsense are you spewing?


    Toby is merely worried about Sonia. The couple is now at their most intimate and inseparable stage, so


    it¡¯s only natural for him to feel worried when he doesn¡¯t see Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Stop putting in good words for him.¡± She pointed at Toby. Jeez, this old man. We agreed to put Toby to a


    test and give him a hard time until he passes. However, he is treating Toby so well from the very


    beginning; he haspletely forgotten about our agreement.


    When Curtis, who had no idea what Grace was thinking about, heard her words, he let out an


    embarrassed chuckle. ¡°Hehe. Well, Toby gave me a few bottles of lovely wine. I¡¯ll feel bad if I don¡¯t side


    with him this time.¡±


    She rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Useless fool!¡±


    As Toby peered at the middle-aged couple bickering with each other, a thoughtful look shed across his


    face. Thereafter, he grabbed the bag that contained the bottles of wine and ced it on the coffee table


    before Curtis. ¡°Mr. Lane, since there¡¯s still some time until dinner, would you like to check out the wine


    that I gifted to see whether they suit your taste?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Curtis immediately nodded. As a wine lover, he had wanted to open them since the moment he


    found out about them.


    However, since they were gifts from Toby, he was embarrassed to open them when Toby was still


    around, so he had to hold himself back despite the strong, unbearable urge that made him feel restless.


    Therefore, Toby¡¯s suggestion to open it was just exactly what he had wished for, which gave him no


    reason to reject the offer.


    With a bright grin stered on his face, Curtis moved the few bags closer to him and eagerly unwrapped


    the packaging.


    The moment he unwrapped the box in the first bag and saw the wordings on thebel, he was stunned


    and nearly thought that he was seeing things.


    He quickly rubbed his eyes before taking a closer look again. Once he confirmed that what he saw was


    not his imagination but was actually that thing, he instantly let out a cry of excitement.


    His sudden shout startled Grace, who was sipping tea, and nearly caused her to choke on her drink.


    After cing the cup down, an exasperated Grace nced at him. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡±


    Curtis ignored her and reached out with his trembling hands for the second bag.


    Seeing that he had ignored her as his eyes were practically glued to the presents, she was so mad that


    she decided that she should ignore him as well.


    Toby, who took in the scene, rubbed the cup in his hands, and an unnoticeable, slight smile yed by his


    lips.


    Soon, Curtis let out a second cry.


    Grace, who was again startled by his voice, was so enraged that she sprang up from the couch. ¡°Hey,


    Mr. Lane! Have you gone out of your mind? Why are you suddenly screaming?¡±


    While continuing to ignore her, he stared at the four bottles of wine in the two boxes in front of him with


    wide eyes. He was so worked up that his body shuddered in extreme excitement. ¡°T-T-These are estate-


    bottled wines from the few most renowned wineries in the world.¡±


    He turned to Toby to confirm if he was right, to which Toby nodded without hesitation to gesture that


    Curtis was indeed right.


    Upon getting Toby¡¯s confirmation, Curtis became even more exhrated to the point that his body


    trembled even more. ¡°These are actually estate-bottled wines. Haha! I can¡¯t believe that I am able to see


    an estate-bottled wine one day, not to mention wines from different wineries. Oh, Lord.¡±


    Upon seeing how excited Curtis was¨C¨Cas if he could just die happily without any regrets there and then,


    Grace pouted at him in disdain. ¡°It¡¯s merely a few bottles of wine. Do you have to act this way?¡±


    ¡°What do you know about wines?¡± He nced at her with contempt. ¡°These are estate-bottled wines and


    these few bottles, in particr, are actually part of the first batch of wine that was produced by the


    wineries upon establishment. Every single bottle here costs a few million and there are only a hundred of


    them in the whole world. These are things that you can¡¯t buy with money only. I have been wanting to


    own one all this while but I¡¯m stillcking in my status. I never thought that the wine that I have been


    dreaming about will one day appear before me, let alone so many of them. I-I am really moved.¡±


    Curtis hugged the few bottles of wine in his arms; he really cherished them.


    When he gave the exnation, her emotion evolved from the initial feeling of disdain to shock, then to


    incredulous.


    Toby found the whole process of how her expression changed rather amusing.


    ¡°A-A few million?¡± Grace gulped, staring at the few bottles of wine in his arms. ¡°That can¡¯t be real. They


    are merely a few bottles of wine, but they cost a few million?¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    She knew that wine was expensive, but the most expensive wine that she ever knew of only cost a few


    hundred thousand. She never expected that there were wines that cost a few million out there in the


    world. Has the world gone crazy?


    Although she used to think that the Lane Family was rather wealthy, she suddenly found themselves


    quite poor¡ªthey were not as extravagant as willing to spend a few million just to buy a bottle of wine.

 Chapter 926

    Chapter 926


    Chapter 926 Grace¡¯s Excitement


    However, what surprised Grace even more was Toby¡¯svishness. These few bottles of wine were worth


    several million each, yet he gave them away without the slightest hesitation. Not only that, but these


    wines were extremely invaluable. There were only 100 bottles of each kind of these wines in the world.


    With each bottle drunk, there would be one bottle less of them.


    She thought that people basically bought these wines not to drink them, but to collect them. And yet,


    Toby gave these collectible wines away as a gift¡ªa degree ofvishness that few people could reach.


    Seems like he has mended his ways and does love Sonny very much. Otherwise, how could he possibly


    gift my husband with these wines?


    After all, Curtis isn¡¯t really his father-inw. Still, he gave these wines to Curtis as a gift. Obviously, this


    means that he loves Sonny so much that he¡¯s willing to treat us as his actual parents-inw for her sake,


    right? At the thought of this, she inwardly gave Toby a passing mark with a few dozen bonus points. As


    for thest dozens of points, she had to observe and scrutinize him further.


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered slightly for a moment, as if he had sensed what Grace was thinking. After taking a


    nce at Curtis¡ªwho was smiling creepily at those wines¡ªhe stood up and handed the remaining few


    bags of gift boxes to her. ¡°Mrs. Lane, these are the presents I prepared for you. Take a look and see if


    you like them.¡±


    Grace was startled for a moment before she pointed at herself. ¡°Are there presents for me too?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes, of course. There are presents for Mr. Lane, and so do you, naturally. I can¡¯t favor one


    of you more than the other, right?¡±


    This time, it was Grace¡¯s turn to feel embarrassed. Touching her cheek, she replied with a smile, ¡°Well,


    thank you so much for the presents.¡± She gave him another ten bonus points in her mind. Hmm, now


    he¡¯s 30 points away from a perfect score.


    ¡°You¡¯re very wee, Mrs. Lane. Why don¡¯t you take a look at the presents?¡± Toby replied as he sat


    back down.


    She rolled her eyes inwardly at Curtis, who was toying with the wine bottles one after another. Look at


    how silly that old man is. Those who don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on would think that he¡¯s groping a woman.


    How pathetic! She withdrew her gaze in disdain before turning to look at the gift boxes before her.


    Thanks to those bottles of wine, she knew that with Toby¡¯svishness, his presents for her had to be


    extraordinary as well. Well, I don¡¯t know how extraordinary these gifts are, but I definitely won¡¯t be as silly


    as Curtis. At the thought of this, she calmly put down the teacup in her hand and smiled gracefully at


    Toby, saying, ¡°Well, in that case, I¡¯ll open them to take a look.¡±


    Toby¡¯s thin lips curled into a faint smile as he gestured to Grace to go ahead.


    Grace exhaled softly before cing her hands on the gift box¡¯s ribbon. After opening the first gift box,


    she looked at its contents and was stunned.


    The next instant, she cried out, ¡°Ahhhh!¡± The situation was exactly the same as how Curtis had reacted


    upon seeing the first bottle of wine just now.


    Curtis was startled, too. After sping the bottle of wine in his hand to his chest, he red at Grace


    angrily. ¡°What are you doing, honey? You startled me so much that I nearly dropped my wine. Can you


    pay for it if I drop it?¡± God only knew how frightened and panic-stricken he was when he nearly lost his


    grip on the bottle of wine in his hand after being startled by her cry just now. His heart had almost


    stopped, and he even felt that he had had the living daylights scared out of him at that very moment.


    When Grace heard Curtis¡¯int, the look of excitement on her face froze for a moment. She turned


    her head and gave him a dirty look, saying, ¡°Shut up and mind your own business!¡± Then, she let out a


    snort and ignored him. After withdrawing her gaze, she reached out her hands toward the next gift box


    and proceeded to open it with her hands trembling in excitement.


    Seeing how Grace behaved just like how he himself had a moment ago, Curtis said to Toby with ring


    eyes, ¡°Look at her, Toby! She chided me just now, but isn¡¯t she acting the same right now?¡±


    Toby drank his tea and smiled without saying a word.


    Grace soon opened the second gift box and saw its contents. Although she had already had an idea of


    what the gift box might contain, now that she had seen its contents for real, she couldn¡¯t help but let out


    another cry of excitement. ¡°These are the Almani bag and the top-grade Chenal perfume, both of which


    will only be avable for purchase in the next quarter! Could the rest of the items be¡­¡± She gave a gulp


    of exhration while shifting her gaze to the remaining few boxes. Her eyes glittered with apparent


    covetousness, like a wolf that spotted its prey.


    The next instant, she quickly reached for the remaining few gift boxes, opening them swiftly. Seeing the


    cosmetics, silk scarves, and the like in those gift boxes, she instantly let out a gasp and clutched her


    chest with both hands. Color suffused her face as she felt she was going to pass out from extreme


    happiness. ¡°T-These are top-end luxury items that will only be on the market in the next quarter! Usually,


    I can only view them on the official websites. To think that I¡¯d see the real stuff right before me! I¡­ I have


    no regrets in life anymore!¡± she said excitedly while sinking back onto the sofa and staring at the ceiling.


    Seeing her act like this, Curtis curled his lips. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just some cosmetics, handbags, and stuff like that?


    It¡¯s not like you can eat or drink them. Do you have to get so worked up as to say that you have no


    regrets in life anymore?¡± He couldn¡¯t understand why women liked these. My wines are way better, he


    thought with a cheerful grin while carefully holding one of the wine bottles in his arms.


    When Toby looked at Grace, who was still in a daze after copsing on the sofa, then at Curtis, who was


    smiling very foolishly at those wines, the smile on his lips deepened.


    After a while, Grace recovered from her excitement and sat up on the sofa. After looking at the pile of


    presents before her that would make any woman go insane, she finally looked up at Toby, who was


    drinking tea. ¡°Oh, Toby.¡±


    After being here for such a long time, Toby finally sensed that Grace was warming up to him. This was


    his first time hearing her address him so cordially, and to be honest, he was somewhat unused to it. ¡°Yes,


    Mrs. Lane.¡± He put down his teacup and met her eyes.


    Grace cackled. ¡°Well, uh, are these presents really for us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Toby nodded. ¡°If these presents weren¡¯t for you both, I wouldn¡¯t have brought them


    here, right?¡±


    A flicker of joy shed across Grace¡¯s eyes before it was quickly reced by a conflicted look. ¡°I know


    that, but these presents are too valuable for us, so you¡¯d better take them back,¡± she said while pushing


    the gift boxes toward Toby.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    When he heard her words, Curtis, who had been in a state of excitement after getting his hands on the


    good wines, instantly came to his senses as well. He looked down at the wine bottle in his arms. She¡¯s


    right. I was so excited to see these wines that I didn¡¯t care about anything else, but I forgot how much


    these wines are worth. Indeed, I can¡¯t ept such valuable wines without hesitation.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Letting out a reluctant sigh, he put the wine bottle back in its box and pushed it toward Toby.


    ¡°My wife is right. Toby, these presents are really too valuable, so you¡¯d better take them back. We¡¯re


    already satisfied with the kindness you¡¯re showing us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± Grace nodded.


    Toby looked at the presents that had been pushed back toward him. He replied with a soft chuckle, ¡°Mr.


    and Mrs. Lane, you don¡¯t have to do this. These presents might be valuable to you two, but they¡¯re


    chicken feed to me, so you may ept them with an open heart. And besides, I¡¯m gifting you two with


    these, not only to thank you for taking care of Little Leaf in the past, but also to let you two know how


    sincerely I love her. It¡¯s somewhat vulgar to use money to show my sincerity, but this is the best way to


    let you two see it at a nce.¡±

 Chapter 927

    Chapter 927


    Chapter 927 Public Disy of Affection


    Grace and Curtis subconsciously nodded at Toby¡¯s words. ¡°Well, that¡¯s true.¡± After all, there was a saying


    that a man who was willing to spend money for the sake of a woman must have a ce for her in his


    heart, even if he didn¡¯t love her very much. However, a man who was unwilling to spend money on her


    must have no ce for her in his heart.


    Toby is willing tovish so much money on Sonny. Even if he has yet to love her to the bones, his


    feelings for her are probably not far from that, thought Grace as she exchanged a brief look with Curtis.


    Inwardly, she gave Toby ten more bonus points. Now he¡¯s 20 points away from a perfect score.


    ¡°So, please be sure to ept these presents. These are a token of my regard,¡± Toby said while pushing


    the presents back toward them. Curtis and Grace looked at the presents that were pushed back toward


    them. ¡°Does Sonny know that you¡¯ve prepared these valuable presents?¡± We can¡¯t ept these


    presents if Sonny doesn¡¯t know about them.


    Knowing what they meant, Toby replied with a slight nod, ¡°Please rest assured, Mr. and Mrs. Lane. Little


    Leaf knows about this. I made a point of showing these to her and asking her if it was necessary to add


    anything else before bringing these over.


    She knows about these presents, so you two may ept them with peace of mind. If you two don¡¯t


    ept them, even she will feel ufortable and think that the gifts we prepared aren¡¯t to your liking, let


    alone me.¡±


    The instant he said that, Curtis and Grace dared not refuse his gifts anymore. After exchanging a brief


    look, they immediately replied, ¡°How could such fancy gifts not be to our liking?¡±


    ¡°Since they¡¯re to your liking, please don¡¯t refuse them anymore.¡± Toby looked at the couple.


    Curtis and Grace exchanged another brief look. Finally, they took the presents back with a smile. ¡°Alright


    then. Now that you¡¯ve said so, it¡¯ll seem unkind and even somewhat unreasonable for us to refuse these


    gifts,¡± Grace said with a smile while closing the lids of the gift boxes one by one. She nned to take a


    closer look at them and try them on before going to sleep that night.


    These are brand-new items that will only be on sale in the next quarter! I¡¯m probably the first in the circle


    of upper-ss women who got my hands on these. This is perfect. I can put them on tomorrow and show


    them off in front of them. At the same time, she gave Toby thest 20 bonus points on the scoring sheet


    in her mind. With that, he scored a perfect score in her mind.


    At the moment, she was as satisfied with Toby as she could. Sonny has found herself a nice guy.


    Inwardly, she couldn¡¯t stop feeling happy.


    ¡°She¡¯s right. In that case, Toby, we¡¯ll ept them with pleasure,¡± Curtis chimed in while putting the wines


    away one by one. Inwardly, he thought the same as Grace. Let¡¯s call those few old friends over tomorrow


    to open their eyes. It had to be said that he and Grace had proved themselves to be a couple because


    they thought alike.


    After putting the presents away, Curtis and Grace chatted with Toby, during which time Grace showed


    thetter as much cordiality and friendliness as she could. It was no exaggeration to say that she treated


    him like her own son.


    At first, Toby didn¡¯t like Grace being so cordial, but he really couldn¡¯t resist it. He had no choice but to


    force himself to ept her cordiality with a smile. In the end, however, he slowly got used to it.


    When Sonia came back from the washroom, she saw Grace pouring Toby tea in one moment and


    offering him fruit the next while calling him ¡°Toby.¡±


    At the sight of this, Sonia was totally stunned. What is going on? What caused Mrs. Lane¡¯s attitude


    toward Toby to change drastically while I was absent? Before I went to the washroom, she was still


    having him under scrutiny, which was why she purposely pretended to be cool and standoffish toward


    him.


    Why would she be so friendly toward him when I came back from the washroom? She offers him


    food and drink like a mother treating her own son lest he might get thirsty or hungry. So, what happened


    when I went to the washroom that made her be so friendly toward him? Looking at the three people


    across from her who were chatting happily, she tilted her head to one side in utter bafflement.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Upon seeing Sonia, Toby put down the drinking ss in his hand and beckoned to her. ¡°Hurry ande


    over.¡±


    Seeing his gesture, Grace and Curtis turned their heads and saw Sonia. They beckoned to her with a


    smile, saying, ¡°Sonny, why are you standing there in a daze? Come on over.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ming,¡± Sonia replied with a smile while walking toward them.


    When she came to Toby¡¯s side, Toby took her hand and moved to the side to make room for her.


    She took the opportunity to sit down.


    Toby then handed her a ss of water. ¡°What took you so long?¡±


    Sonia had a drink of water before replying, ¡°I had a phone call to answer. Otherwise, I¡¯d havee back


    earlier.¡±


    Toby nodded without questioning her further. He merely picked up the fruit tter that Grace had just


    given him. Then, he forked a piece of fruit from it and brought it to her lips.


    Sonia seemed to have grown used to being waited upon like this by the man. Therefore, she


    subconsciously opened her mouth and ate the fruit in a very natural manner.


    Neither she nor Toby thought there was anything wrong with their actions, but Grace and Curtis were


    shocked to see this. So is this how Sonny and Toby get along in private? To think that he could humble


    himself to look after her like this!


    As an old couple, Grace and Curtis didn¡¯t know how other young couples got along with each other, but


    they dared to say that many men wouldn¡¯t serve their girlfriends the way Toby did.


    After all, young people nowadays were proud and ambitious, and they were pampered and spoiled by


    their parents. There was no way they would humble themselves to look after someone else¡ªeven if that


    someone was their lover. However, as the high and mighty chairman of a conglomerate, Toby was able


    to go to such extents. The visual impact brought about by this was simply enormous.


    At the same time, though, it proved that he really loved Sonia very much. Furthermore, Sonia epted


    Toby¡¯s service in such an unruffled manner without feeling embarrassed in the slightest. This showed


    that he had always been looking after her like this in private, which was why as time passed, she no


    longer thought it was wrong of him to take care of her like this.


    Seeing how the young couple got along with each other, Curtis said with a smile, ¡°Honey, look! They¡¯re


    so lovey-dovey.¡±


    Grace nodded with a smile. ¡°You can say that again.¡±


    Upon hearing their words, Sonia finally realized that she had gotten so used to being fed by Toby that for


    a moment, she had forgotten that they were not at home, but at Lane Residence. It made her feel rather


    embarrassed to be lovey-dovey with Toby in front of Grace and Curtis, and her face reddened. ¡°Well, uh,


    sorry for making you see this, Mr. and Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s okay.¡± Curtis and Grace immediately waved their hands and said that this was nothing tough


    at.


    ¡°We¡¯re just feeling happy that you two love each other so much,¡± Grace replied.


    Curtis nodded. ¡°She¡¯s right. My wife and I will be even happier if you two can always be so affectionate


    toward each other.¡±


    Sonia hung her head bashfully without saying a word.


    On the other hand, Toby smiled unperturbedly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. and Mrs. Lane. We will.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great,¡± replied Grace and Curtis.


    Just then, the servant came over. ¡°Sir, ma¡¯am, dinner is served and ready.¡±


    Hearing that the dinner was ready, Grace immediately stood up and said, ¡°Sonny, Toby, let¡¯s go to the


    dining room for dinner. It¡¯s such ate hour. You two must be getting hungry, right?¡±

 Chapter 928

    Chapter 928


    Chapter 928 Sit Still


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re a little hungry.¡± Sonia touched her stomach without being reserved with Grace. After all,


    they were very close, so there was no need to stand on ceremony.


    Hearing her reply, Grace hurriedly said, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s hurry and go there.¡± Sonia nodded with a


    smile. ¡°Alright. Mr. and Mrs. Lane, please go first. We¡¯ll follow you from behind.¡±


    Curtis then headed for the dining room while taking Grace by the hand, whereas Toby followed behind


    them while holding Sonia¡¯s hand. As they walked, Sonia gently tickled Toby¡¯s palm with her fingertips.


    Toby wrapped his fingers around her hand to keep her out of mischief. Then, he asked in a whisper,


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Sonia pointed at Curtis and Grace, who were walking ahead of them, with one hand while cupping the


    other hand around her mouth. She whispered, ¡°What happened? Why did Mrs. Lane¡¯s attitude toward


    you change so greatly?¡± Curtis had been more friendly toward Toby when they came, whereas Grace


    had been rtively cold toward him. Sonia knew that Grace had purposely put on a cold front for the


    purpose of testing Toby, but could she have finished testing him so soon?


    Toby¡¯s thin lips curled up slightly at Sonia¡¯s curious question. ¡°That¡¯s simple. I let them open the presents


    to take a look.¡±


    The instant he said that, Sonia immediately figured out what had happened. After raising her pretty


    eyebrows for a moment, she gave him a thumbs up. ¡°That was a smart move. I thought you¡¯d only give


    them the presents before we leave.¡±


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be necessary,¡± Toby replied with a chuckle. ¡°I could make Mrs. Lane approve of me


    sooner by doing so, so why not?¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right.¡± Sonia giggled as well.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Curtis and Grace had seated themselves in the dining room. Seeing that Sonia and Toby had just


    entered through the door, they couldn¡¯t help but urge, ¡°Sonia, Toby, what are you two talking about?


    Hurry ande over.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯reing,¡± Sonia replied with a smile. Then, she took Toby¡¯s hand and quickened her pace toward


    them.


    The four of them had a pleasant dinner. Sonia and Grace discussed women¡¯s favorite topics like


    cosmetics, clothing, and shoes, whereas Toby and Curtis talked about some business-rted matters.


    They didn¡¯t butt in on each other, but their conversations were harmonious.


    It wasn¡¯t until 11:00 PM that Sonia and Toby took their leave. Grace wanted to persuade them to stay


    here for the night, but Sonia and Toby turned it down. Sonia refused Grace¡¯s invitation for a simple


    reason: she knew that Toby didn¡¯t like staying overnight at someone else¡¯s home, so she naturally


    wouldn¡¯t disregard his feelings. As for Toby, his intention in refusing Grace¡¯s invitation was even more


    straightforward. He wanted to have some quiet time together with Sonia at night, but how could they do


    so if they were to stay at somebody else¡¯s home?


    Seeing that Sonia and Toby were determined to leave, Grace had no choice but to give up and let them


    leave. She and Curtis then saw the couple to the door.


    She hugged Sonia outside the vi, saying, ¡°Sonny, tell Toby to drive slower and be careful on your way


    home, okay?¡± She tucked Sonia¡¯s hair behind her ears.


    Sonia nodded with a smile. ¡°I will,¡± she said while turning to look at the man standing next to the car.


    Sensing her gaze, the man turned his head slightly to meet her gaze before giving her a faint and yet


    charming smile.


    Seeing the interaction between the young couple, Grace couldn¡¯t help but shake her head with a smile.


    They¡¯re so affectionate toward each other, being lovey-dovey at all times. Well, this is a good thing. Now


    that they seem to have no problem getting back together, I can finally put my mind at rest. ¡°Just go.¡± She


    let go of Sonia¡¯s hand and pushed her toward Toby.


    Sonia took a hesitant step forward, upon which Toby immediately stepped forward and took her into his


    arms.


    Sonia seemed somewhat embarrassed as she smelled the refreshing mint perfume on Toby. Her cheeks


    blushing slightly, she looked back and called out to Grace, ¡°Mrs. Lane¡­¡±


    Grace covered her lips and smiled. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t be teasing you anymore. Go back and be careful on


    your way home,¡± she said while motioning them to leave with a wave of her hand.


    Sonia suppressed her shyness and waved goodbye to Grace and Curtis. ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll be going home,


    then. Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± Toby gave the couple a slight nod as well. Then, he walked up to his car with his arm


    wrapped around Sonia¡¯s waist.


    Grace stood where she was while seeing them off.


    Curtis walked down the steps to Grace¡¯s side before putting his arm around her shoulder. They stood


    side by side while seeing the young couple off together. Only after the couple¡¯s car drove out of the vi


    did they turn back into the house.


    Meanwhile, Sonia rolled up the car window and had a slight stretch inside the car. At this moment, she


    was only wearing a figure-hugging turtleneck sweater without a coat. As she stretched, the sweater


    shrank upward, revealing a part of her fair and t tummy without her realizing it.


    When Toby caught sight of this out of the corner of his eye, his eyes instantly darkened. His Adam¡¯s


    apple bobbed up and down, and his voice deepened. ¡°Sit still and don¡¯t move around.¡±


    Sonia put down her hands and looked at him with a baffled expression. ¡°I¡¯m not moving around.¡± How am


    I moving around? All I did was stretch.


    Toby also knew that what he had said was somewhat absurd. He lowered his eyelids, saying, ¡°In any


    case, just be good and sit tight.¡±


    ¡°Cut that nonsense.¡± Sonia gave him a dirty look.


    They soon arrived at Bayside Residence. As soon as Sonia opened the door to their apartment and bent


    down to take her slippers out of the shoe cab, Toby suddenly hugged her from behind and turned her


    around. Pressing her against the shoe cab, he raised her chin and kissed her on the lips.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened as she was stunned. It wasn¡¯t until she felt a slight tingle in her lips a whileter


    that she came to her senses and pushed the man away.


    Toby¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at her while panting somewhat heavily. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he


    asked in a voice so attractive that it could melt one¡¯s soul.


    Suppressing the urge to go weak at the knees, Sonia opened her eyes as wide as she could. ¡°W-Why


    did you kiss me all of a sudden?¡± He didn¡¯t even close the door, which showed how impatient he was at


    the time. Luckily, their apartment was the only unit on the floor, so they didn¡¯t have to worry about being


    seen.


    Hearing her questioning, Toby leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, kissing her eyes


    and the tip of her nose off and on with his thin lips. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to do this for a long time. I wanted to do


    this back when we were in the car, but I¡¯d been suppressing the urge to do it. Now that we¡¯re at home,


    how can I restrain myself any longer?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°You wanted to do so back when we were in the car? Do you have to be so


    thirsty?¡±


    ¡°It was your fault for seducing me at the time.¡± Toby¡¯s voice became increasingly deep and husky.


    Sonia looked stupefied. ¡°I seduced you? When?¡±


    ¡°You exposed your waist while stretching,¡± Toby replied while looking into her eyes.


    Sonia¡¯s lips twitched violently as she was rendered speechless. No wonder he told me not to move


    around back then. Turns out this was the reason! This guy got thirsty just because I stretched and


    revealed a part of my waist. Should I chide him for having poor self-control or pride myself on being


    charming enough?


    When Toby saw that Sonia zoned out all of a sudden, his eyes flickered slightly. The next instant, he


    kissed her once again and spread her legs apart. Then, he picked her up and carried her to their room.


    Sonia was shocked the instant she came to her senses and realized what the man was going to do.


    Cupping his face in her hands, she pushed the man away to stop him from kissing her. Panting slightly,


    she looked at the man, saying, ¡°Toby, we haven¡¯t showered yet!¡±

 Chapter 929

    Chapter 929


    Chapter 929 Worst Nightmare


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered for an instant. She only said that we haven¡¯t showered yet. Does that mean she


    doesn¡¯t reject what I¡¯m going to do? He stopped in his tracks for a moment to look down at the woman


    who was also looking at him. His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed up and down for a moment before he said in a


    husky voice, as if to suppress something, ¡°Forget about taking a shower.


    That¡¯d be a waste of time.¡± Now that I¡¯ve gotten all heated up, I don¡¯t want to pause to take a shower.


    What if she quits after we do so? At the thought of this, he lowered his head and kissed Sonia again


    without waiting for her reply. At the same time, he continued going upstairs before kicking the bedroom


    door open and going inside.


    Soon after that, the sounds of a woman¡¯s coquettish moans and a man¡¯s attractive breathing could be


    heard from the room, so much so that the moon hid behind the dark clouds in the sky in shyness.


    No one knew how much time had passed when the rain began pattering outside. The instant it started


    raining, the noise in the room finally died down.


    Toby looked down at the woman beneath him, who had fallen asleep in exhaustion. Curling his lips into a


    faint smile, he nted a kiss on her sweaty forehead. Then, he got up and scooped her up in his arms


    before going to the bathroom to clean her as well as himself.


    By the time he finished doing all these andid her back onto the bed in the room, the clock had struck


    four in the morning. He tucked her in and caressed her cheek as she was soundly asleep, but he didn¡¯t


    feel sleepy. Instead, wearing a loose bathrobe, he came to the living room and took out his cell phone.


    During the day, he had asked Tom to find out if something had happened to Paradigm Co. However, he


    had been busy talking to his grandmother and visiting the Lane Residence after that, not to mention that


    he had done the most important thing in life aftering home. As a result, he hadn¡¯t had time to check


    his cell phone. It wasn¡¯t until now that he finally had time to look at Tom¡¯s findings.


    He opened his mailbox on his cell phone. Seeing that the findings sent by his assistant were ced at


    the top of the list of unread emails, he opened the email with a slight tap of his finger.


    Seeing the email¡¯s contents, he knitted his brows. The next instant, he closed the email app and called


    Tom directly, totally disregarding the fact that Tom was probably dreaming in his sleep as it was now 4:00


    AM.


    As a result, just when Tom dreamed that he had a girlfriend and was about to kiss her, the face of his


    girlfriend suddenly transformed into Toby¡¯s face. One could imagine how traumatized Tom was at this


    very moment.


    Tom was so frightened that he woke up and sat up with a start. ¡°Ah!¡± he cried out, gasping for breath as


    beads of sweat oozed out of his forehead. ¡°How scary! This is really scary! To think that I¡¯d dream about


    my girlfriend turning into President Fuller! This is simply the worst nightmare in my whole life!¡± he


    muttered while rubbing his arms, still badly shaken.


    Now he sincerely believed that he had fallen under Toby¡¯s curse. It¡¯s enough that I¡¯m being enved by


    President Fuller every single day. Why can¡¯t I even escape from him in my dream? Oh, God! This is


    killing me! He looked up at the ceiling with despair written all over his face.


    After a long time, he finally collected himself. After all, he had seen much of life, so regaining his


    composure was a piece of cake. Afterposing himself, he was finally in the mood to care about the


    cell phone that had been ringing nonstop on the bedside table. He was really annoyed. Who would dare


    to call me in the middle of the night?


    Believe it or not, I¡¯m gonna get even with that person for this tomorrow! Swearing like a trooper inwardly,


    he turned on the light and reached for his sses before putting them on. Only then did he slowly and


    impatiently grab his phone.


    When he saw the caller ID on his phone¡¯s screen, his eyes widened at once. He let out a gasp at first.


    The next instant, his lips twitched and twisted into a rueful smile. Well, only that person would dare to call


    me in the middle of the night. Since it¡¯s him calling, I¡¯d better forget about getting even with him for this.


    After all, I can¡¯t beat him, nor do I have the nerve to do so! Also, I was wondering why my girlfriend would


    transform into President Fuller all of a sudden.


    Turns out that President Fuller really is calling me, he thought to himself in helplessness while holding his


    phone to his ear. Despite cursing inwardly, he appeared and sounded as zealous as he could. ¡°President


    Fuller, what makes you call me all of a sudden at this time of night?¡±


    ¡°What were you doing? What took you so long to answer my phone call?¡± Toby asked in displeasure with


    a frown.


    Tom rolled his eyes while cursing even more severely in his mind. At this very moment, he could no


    longer put on a zealous front, and even his voice took on a note of sarcasm. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s 4:00


    AM right now. I was sleeping, of course.¡±


    Speechless, Toby fell silent. Not even he could me Tom for not answering his phone call in the middle


    of the night. After all, not only did Tom state explicitly that he had been sleeping, but he even made a


    point of emphasizing what time it was.


    However much he wanted to, he couldn¡¯t ignore these against his conscience. At the thought of this, a


    hint of embarrassment shed across his eyes, and he hemmed with his hand over his mouth. ¡°Sorry. I


    didn¡¯t notice it.¡±


    Tom rolled his eyes again. Why doesn¡¯t he take note of the time and go to sleep at this time of night?


    Doesn¡¯t Miss Reed care about him? he thought to himself, but he dared not say so. Instead, he had to


    reply with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay, President Fuller.


    But is there anything that you want to talk to me about?¡± If you¡¯ve got something to talk to me about, just


    hurry up and spill it. If not, then you¡¯d better hang up. I¡¯m sleepy!


    Toby seemed to perceive the hidden meaning behind Tom¡¯s words. Pursing his thin lips, he asked, ¡°What


    exactly does the email you sent mean? What do you mean by ¡®it¡¯s not confirmed, but something might


    have happened to Paradigm Co.¡¯?¡±


    Upon hearing his question, Tom pushed his sses and put on a grave expression. ¡°Well, President


    Fuller, the person who stayed in Paradigm Co. asked about it. Something was wrong with the behavior of


    Miss Reed¡¯s other secretaries and assistants this afternoon. They seemed very anxious, and they even


    went to her directly. But after meeting with Miss Reed and leaving her office, they resumed their usual


    demeanor, which was why I stated in my email that something might have happened to Paradigm Co.


    Still, I¡¯m not sure if something happened because it was difficult to confirm this from the response of


    these secretaries and assistants. It seems like something happened but was resolved.¡±


    Toby¡¯s taut expression eased a little when he heard Tom say so. Sonia¡¯s secretaries and assistants had


    been nervous and anxious at first, but they recovered themselves in the end. Indeed, it seemed like


    something had happened but was solved soon afterward. And besides, he hadn¡¯t noticed anything wrong


    with Sonia¡¯s expression since meeting up with her this afternoon.


    Seems like it¡¯s really just as Sonia said during the day. Asher was making trouble, but she probably


    stamped it out, he thought. Still, he asked anxiously, ¡°Did you find out what made those secretaries and


    assistants so anxious?¡±


    Tom shook his head. ¡°No, we didn¡¯t. That person asked about it, but those secretaries and assistants


    kept mum about it. Miss Reed probably had told them to keep it a secret, so that person couldn¡¯t


    continue asking about it. Otherwise, she¡¯d find out that we were keeping a close eye on her anytime.


    She¡¯d definitely put up a fuss with you over this.¡±


    The instant he said so, Toby¡¯s expression immediately froze. He replied, ¡°I got it. Since you didn¡¯t find out


    about it, then never mind. It probably wasn¡¯t anything serious. Well, just go on with your sleep.¡± With that,


    he hung up right away.


    Looking at his phone that had returned to the home screen, Tom smiled smugly. I just knew that


    President Fuller would definitely stop babbling once I mentioned Miss Reed.


    Atst, I can continue sleeping, he thought with a sigh of relief. He tossed his cell phone and sses


    next to his pillow before falling back into bed to continue dreaming about his girlfriend. He only hoped


    that his sweet dream wouldn¡¯t turn into a nightmare again this time.

 Chapter 930

    Chapter 930


    Chapter 930 An Early Morning Prank


    I¡¯m still too young to handle such scares, after all! thought Tom. Meanwhile, Toby didn¡¯t stay in the living


    room after hanging up the phone. Instead, he put his phone away, stood up, and went back to his room.


    Sonia was still sleeping soundly in the room while looking beautiful and serene. Toby stood by the bed


    and stared at her face for a long time. In the end, he bent down and caressed her somewhat rosy cheek.


    Only then did he throw back the covers, get into bed, take her into his arms, and close his eyes.


    Sonia had a good night¡¯s sleep. By the time she woke up, it was already 8:00 AM. As soon as she


    opened her eyes, she felt something wrapping around her waist tightly, as if for fear that she might run


    away. Consequently, she rubbed her eyes and turned her head to take a look.


    Seeing the man who was still soundly asleep next to her, she looked somewhat surprised. This guy


    usually gets up and leaves home early in the morning, so I usually don¡¯t get to see him after I wake up. I


    never thought he¡¯d wake upter than I do today. Could he have also been tired outst night?


    At the thought of this possibility, she finally felt somewhat better. Whenever she and Toby finished


    making out, she was always so dog-tired that she didn¡¯t want to move and couldn¡¯t get out of bed the


    next day, whereas Toby was always as fresh as a daisy.


    Even if they made out all night without getting a wink of sleep, he would be as full of vigor as usual the


    next day without showing the slightest hint of fatigue. Atst, I get to see him being unable to wake up


    today. Well, it lets me know that he¡¯s not made of steel. He¡¯s not always full of energy, and it¡¯s not like


    he¡¯ll never get tired.


    The more she thought about it, the happier she got. As she looked at Toby¡¯s closed eyes and quiet


    sleeping face, her eyes flickered with a hint of mischief. The next instant, she quietly lifted the covers and


    grabbed his wrist, moving his hand bit by bit away from her waist.


    Fearing that she might wake him while doing so, she looked back from time to time at the man who was


    lying on his side with his face to her. Seeing that her actions didn¡¯t wake him, she finally put her mind at


    rest and continued moving his hand away. It wasn¡¯t until she ced his hand back onto him that she let


    out a sigh of relief with her heart back in ce.


    ¡°Phew¡­¡± She wiped the thin sheen of sweat off her forehead. Only now do I know it is so tiring to do


    something furtively. After shaking her head, she stopped thinking about it and slowly propped herself up


    to a sitting position on bed. Then, she turned to open the bedside table¡¯s drawer, remembering that it


    contained a lipstick that she had bought a few days ago.


    While she was searching for the lipstick, the man behind her slowly and suddenly opened his eyes and


    stared at her bare, fair, and tender back with dark eyes.


    As she leaned forward, her back twisted into a beautiful S-shape, causing her shoulder des to


    protrude slightly in two beautiful arcs as if she were about to grow a pair of pure white wings.


    No one could resist the urge to touch her back at the sight of this.


    Toby¡¯srge hand clutched the bed sheet underneath the quilt, and his thin lips quivered slightly.


    However, as soon as Sonia straightened her back slightly, he immediately closed his eyes, and his hand


    and lips stopped moving. He got back to what he had looked like before opening his eyes as though


    nothing had happened.


    Sonia didn¡¯t know what the man behind her had done while she was searching for the lipstick. She found


    her lipstick and held it before her eyes to take a look. Then, with a mischievous grin, she uncapped the


    lipstick and rolled it up.


    After doing all of this, she took a deep breath. Then, holding her breath slightly, she quietly turned around


    and looked guiltily at the man who was still ¡°soundly asleep.¡± Then, with a mischievous smile, she


    stretched the lipstick toward his lips and painted them bit by bit with a bright color.


    The lipstick she had bought was a pure, bright red, which was very beautiful and eye-catching. Toby¡¯s


    lips had always been rtively light-colored. Now that they were painted red, not only did it not make him


    look funny in the slightest, but it even lent him a seductive charm. That was right; he looked seductive.


    If Toby looked like an aloof and arrogant martial arts grandmaster or the most revered god in the celestial


    realm before wearing the lipstick, he would look like the leader of a demonic cult who loved to dress in


    bright red and could be both good and evil as described in novels with the lipstick on, or rather he would


    give the impression of a demon who was seductive but not feminine. If he were to really dress in a red


    ancient costume, he would really look like a demon who came from hell.


    Seeing how Toby looked totally different from usual, Sonia had her breath taken away. She felt that her


    heart was beating faster. At first, she had just wanted to y a prank on him by putting lipstick on him to


    make him look funnier. To her surprise, however, not only did she fail to aplish her goal, but she


    discovered the devilishly charming side of him.


    Having gotten used to his usual appearance, she found herself even more attracted to him after seeing


    him in a totally different style. In an instant, she stared at him in a daze while holding her lipstick. As a


    result, she didn¡¯t notice that the man had slowly opened his eyes.


    ¡°Do I look good?¡± The man¡¯s thin lips parted slightly as he spoke in a voice that wasnguid and husky


    with sleep. Coupled with his devilishly charming ¡°makeup,¡± it made him look even more like a charming


    and unpredictable demon.


    Coming to her senses with a start, Sonia subconsciously replied with a nod, ¡°Yeah, you do.¡± After that,


    she finally realized what the man had asked. Her heart skipped a beat, and she forced a strained smile


    on her face. ¡°Uh¡­ Do you know this?¡±


    Toby raised his eyes without giving a definite answer.


    Seeing his response, Sonia felt even guiltier. Not daring to look at him, she turned her eyes away. ¡°So


    you actually woke up long ago?¡±


    Toby nodded again. ¡°Of course. Otherwise, how would I know that my Little Leaf had such a naughty


    side as to y pranks on me?¡± he said as his eyes fell on the lipstick in her hand.


    Sonia followed his gaze and saw the lipstick. Uh-oh. He saw the material evidence, she thought to


    herself. Feeling guilty, she waved the lipstick in her hands and asked with a cating smile, ¡°Well, uh¡­


    Would you believe it if I were to tell you that I want to wear makeup?¡±


    Toby merely looked at her quietly without answering her.


    Sonia could no longer continue to make excuses under his stare. Knowing that she was in the wrong,


    she lowered her head and smiled embarrassedly at him. ¡°Alright, I was wrong. I admit that I yed a


    prank on you, but¡­¡± She red at him.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve woken up long ago, why didn¡¯t you stop me or expose me? Why did you let me finish it


    instead? Were you waiting for me to finish doing it so that you could catch me in the act and give me a


    hard time?¡±


    Seeing how the woman apologized for her actions one minute before leveling usations at him and


    even questioning him the next, Toby was amused. After shaking his head in resignation, he got up


    slightly. Propping his head in his hand, he looked at her and replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to do so.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    I didn¡¯t expose or stop you because I¡¯m indulging you. Since you wanted to y, I¡¯d y with you, of


    course. It¡¯s rare to see such a vivacious side of you, so how could I have the heart to cut it short?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s red lips parted slightly as she had surprise written all over her face. Obviously, she wasn¡¯t


    expecting such a reason for his actions. Putting the lipstick back on the nightstand, she replied with


    embarrassment, ¡°You made me feel ashamed of my childish behavior by doing so.¡±

 Chapter 931

    Chapter 931


    Chapter 931 An Exciting Morning


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel ashamed.¡± Toby stretched out his hand and pinched Sonia¡¯s cheek gently. ¡°As


    long as you¡¯re not trying to kill me, you don¡¯t have to be ashamed of everything you did to me. I¡¯ll take it


    as you only did it because you were naughty and liked me. You wouldn¡¯t do what you did just now to an


    outsider, right?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I would¡¯ve been crazy to do that.¡± If I were to do that to an outsider, I¡¯d probably


    get pped across the face.


    Toby¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°That¡¯s it. So, this is the special treatment you¡¯re giving me, which is


    another disy of your love toward me. Why do you have to be ashamed of that? Give me your cell


    phone.¡± Putting down his hand that was propping his head, he sat up in bed and stretched out his hand


    toward her with his back leaning against the head of the bed.


    ¡°Why are you asking for my cell phone?¡± Sonia asked in puzzlement while handing her cell phone to him.


    After taking her phone from her, Toby held it up before himself and looked at his reflection in the phone¡¯s


    dark screen. When he saw his thin, red lips, his mouth curved into a smile. ¡°Nice skills,¡± he praised.


    Sonia blushed. ¡°S-Should I thank you for thepliment?¡±


    Toby chuckled. ¡°You can do so if you want, of course. But¡­¡±


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    ¡°But what?¡± Sonia looked at him while blinking her eyes.


    Toby¡¯s thin lips parted slightly as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s not good for a guy to wear lipstick, after all.¡±


    Sonia nodded repeatedly. ¡°I know that. I just had a sudden whim to y a prank on you when I saw that


    you were still asleep, but I never intended to let you leave home wearing lipstick. After all, you¡¯re my


    man. How could I let somebody elseugh at you? Well, they might notugh at you¡ªthe lipstick suits


    you pretty well, after all¡ªbut they would surely stare at you. After all, such a devilishly charming side of


    you looks even more charming than your usual appearance.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Toby¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Do you like the current me, then?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s cheeks blushed slightly as she hemmed. ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± she replied while sneaking a nce at


    his thin lips.


    Amusement showed in Toby¡¯s eyes when he saw how Sonia sneaked nces at himself. Leaning close


    to her ear, he gently bit her earlobe and said in a charmingly husky voice, ¡°Well, it seems that you like me


    as well. But however much you like me, you have to wipe the lipstick off. As you said, you don¡¯t want


    anyone else to keep staring at me. I don¡¯t like being stared at by somebody else either; I just want to be


    stared at by no one else but you. If you like to see me like this, I can wear makeup like this for you after I


    come home every night if you want. I can even role-y.¡±


    At that very moment, Sonia straightened her back instantly, and she got goosebumps all over. Her face


    blushed crimson as she was both charmed and creeped out by Toby¡¯s words. ¡°Stop it.¡± She gently


    pushed him away.


    When Toby saw her reddened face, ears, and neck, his heart pounded, and he let out an orgasmic


    chuckle.


    Hearing the man¡¯s chuckle, Sonia only felt even more embarrassed. How could this guye up with


    the idea of wearing makeup like this every day for me and even role-ying? To think that he¡¯s so


    creative in ways of having fun as toe up with the idea of role-ying! But what role am I going to


    y? Well, it doesn¡¯t seem like a bad idea if I y a role that can have an edge over him¡­ Ahem! Pffft!


    What nonsense am I thinking about? She hurriedly shook her head. Seriously, this guy made me think of


    something I wasn¡¯t supposed to. As a matter of fact, I used to be quite pure and innocent. Why am I


    now¡­ Wait a minute! I can¡¯t keep on thinking about it anymore. Letting out a long breath, she hurriedly


    suppressed these nonsensical ideas lest she really fall from virtue.


    Toby wouldn¡¯t let her off, though. His eyes flickered slightly as he asked, ¡°What were you thinking just


    now?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened. Subconsciously, she replied loudly, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows in apparent incredulity.


    Sonia nodded vigorously. ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯s definitely true.¡±


    A hint of disappointment shed across Toby¡¯s eyes when he saw that she was unwilling to tell him what


    she had been thinking. However, he didn¡¯t force her to do so. ¡°Well, since you weren¡¯t thinking about


    anything, just forget it. But what about my lipstick¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll wipe it off for you!¡± Sonia replied immediately. After all, she was the one who had applied lipstick on


    his lips, so she had to be responsible for dealing with the aftermath, of course. As it happens, there is a


    makeup remover and cleansing wipes in the nightstand¡¯s drawer. At the thought of this, Sonia turned


    over to search for them.


    However, Toby grabbed her wrist and pulled her back before sping her in his arms. They had only


    washed themselves without putting any clothes on after making outst night. Toby had put on a


    bathrobe before going to sleep, but he had taken it off in his sleep. As a consequence, they were both


    naked at this moment.


    As Sonia was pulled into the man¡¯s arms by surprise, the two naked bodies were naturally pressed


    closely against each other. It made them feel like an electric current was spreading throughout their


    bodies, and they were both able to feel the warmth of each other¡¯s skin very distinctly.


    Sonia had already been intimate with Toby a number of times, but she was still somewhat unused to


    having her naked body pressed against his, so she felt rather embarrassed. Therefore, she


    subconsciously tried to dodge him.


    However, seeing through her intentions, Toby hugged her tightly around the waist without giving her the


    opportunity to dodge him. In the end, he even held her waist with both hands and lifted her up, letting her


    sit astride his waist.


    Sonia was instantly overwhelmed with mortification at that very moment. T-This position¡­ Isn¡¯t this the


    so-called cowgirl position?


    There had been a time when Toby had wanted to use the cowgirl position while they were having sex,


    but she adamantly refused to do it because the fact that she would have to be the one moving was really


    too embarrassing. She was unwilling to move on her own, so she firmly refused to do it since it would


    make her feel like a loose woman. Luckily, Toby respected her. Since she was unwilling to use the


    cowgirl position, he didn¡¯t force her to do so. As a result, they had never used such a position during the


    last few times of coupling.


    But now, Toby put her on top of him in such a position while they weren¡¯t having sex. Not only that, but


    they were both stark naked at this very moment, so it didn¡¯t make any difference whether or not they


    were making out since they were adopting that kind of position. The more she thought about it, the more


    embarrassed she felt. Her heart pounded faster and faster, and her cheeks burned more and more. She


    hurriedly pushed the man, saying, ¡°Let go of me! I have to wipe the lipstick off your lips.¡±


    Toby wouldn¡¯t let go of her as he grabbed her waist. ¡°How are you gonna do it?¡±


    Sonia put her hands on his chest. ¡°There¡¯s a makeup remover in the drawer. Once I use it to wipe the


    lipstick off, the lipstick will be gone.¡±


    Toby shook his head, though. ¡°I don¡¯t like to use such a conventional method.¡±


    Sonia was startled. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Toby curled his lips into a smile while looking at her with his dark, fathomless eyes. ¡°I like to use


    unconventional methods. This is your lipstick, which you applied on my lips yourself, so wipe it off with


    your own mouth,¡± he said. With that, he released one hand from her waist. Then, he reached up and


    grabbed the back of her head, pushing her head downward.


    As Sonia¡¯s head was pushed downward, her body naturally leaned downward. In the end, her body was


    pressed against Toby¡¯s. He raised her chin and stared at her lips for two seconds. Then, he bit her lips


    while she was in a daze.


    Feeling the slight tingle on her lips, Sonia finally realized that this was the man¡¯s so-called


    unconventional method to remove the lipstick. Embarrassment and vexation inundated her all at once.


    Bah! What kind of lipstick-removing method is this? This is simply an excuse that he purposely made up


    to kiss me. What an *sshole!

 Chapter 932

    Chapter 932


    Chapter 932 A Call From Charles


    Despiteining inwardly, Sonia didn¡¯t push the man away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around


    his neck and responded to his advances.


    Sensing her movements, Toby immediately kissed her even more passionately as though he had been


    encouraged.


    It was already 11:00 AM when they finished making out. Sonia¡¯s stomach growled with hunger, but she


    didn¡¯t care about it. Instead, she sat on the bed in a daze, wondering when she had be so wild. I


    slept with himst night, no? Why would I make out with him again early in the morning? Am I so bad at


    self-control nowadays?


    Toby¡¯s lips curled into a smile of satisfaction as he stood next to the bed and put on his clothes while


    looking at her dazed expression. Obviously, the lovemaking just now had given him immense satisfaction


    and pleasure. ¡°Alright, time to stop daydreaming. Let me carry you to wash up.¡± He stretched out his


    hand and gently stroked her hair after getting dressed.


    Coming to her senses, Sonia grabbed the quilt and covered her face with it, resulting in an amusing sight


    as shey face down underneath the quilt like a cocoon.


    Toby knew that she was feeling shy. After all, they had never been so crazy after getting up early in the


    morning before. This was well beyond what was eptable to her. And besides, they had even used the


    cowgirl position, which he had always wanted to use previously but which she had always refused to


    use. Undoubtedly, this had caused her to be overwhelmed with embarrassment. She had put everything


    out of her mind and immersed herself wholeheartedly in the wonderful act while they were making out,


    so she didn¡¯t think about anything else. Now that they had finished making out, she would naturally find it


    embarrassing to show her face.


    Still, he didn¡¯t regret making out with her early in the morning. Again, she was too shy and somewhat


    reserved. If he had a few more special lovemaking episodes with her, she would slowlye out of her


    shell so that he could enjoy even more benefits such as the rooftop, the bathroom, the kitchen, or the


    office¡­


    He wanted to try these ces with her and leave behind traces that only belonged to them. Of course,


    he could only hold these thoughts inside as he couldn¡¯t let her know about it. Otherwise, he probably


    wouldn¡¯t get to repeat what he had done this morning, let alone make wonderful memories at these


    ces in the future.


    As he thought of this, his eyes darkened for an instant before returning to normal soon afterward. He


    stretched out his hand and lifted the quilt off her. ¡°Don¡¯t smother yourself with the nket. Aren¡¯t you


    afraid of getting suffocated?¡±


    Sonia let out a snort without saying a word. Getting suffocated is no big deal! What matters most is the


    fact that I¡¯m shy of showing my face, okay? In the past, she had never dared to imagine herself as being


    so bold and open-minded. If someone had told her that she would behave like this, she would probably


    dieughing. However, the truth was that thanks to Toby¡¯s temptation, she actually slowly became


    someone she had never dared to imagine in the past. Over time, her eptance of this kind of thing


    would reach an unthinkably high extent.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Toby gently tapped the back of her neck. ¡°Stop snorting. Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡±


    Sonia looked up at him with her eyes full of bitterness.


    Toby let out a chuckle. ¡°Alright, alright. It was all my fault. How about I carry you to go wash up and then


    apologize to you?¡±


    Sonia pursed her lips without saying a word, but she stretched out her arms.


    When Toby saw this, the smile in his eyes deepened. Scooping her up in his arms, he walked out of their


    room and headed for the bathroom. After helping her wash up, he carried her back to their room and


    personally picked a set of clothes for her from the wardrobe. He had good taste and an aesthetic eye, so


    the matching set of clothes he picked for her was stunningly beautiful.


    Sonia quite liked these clothes, which she had bought separately and worn only a few times. However,


    she never thought that these clothes would rise to a higher level after being matched by Toby like this.


    Holding the clothes in her arms, she looked at him in surprise. ¡°I never noticed that you had a knack for


    matching clothes.¡±


    ¡°The Fuller Group isn¡¯t involved in the clothing industry, but it has investments in several luxury brands.


    They would send me a catalog of their merchandise every quarter for me to sign. Usually, I¡¯d also ept


    these brands¡¯ invitations to attend fashion shows featuring their new products. As a result, I learned


    about fashion over time. Of course, what mattered the most was that you knew which clothes to buy, or I


    wouldn¡¯t have been able to match them,¡± Toby replied, exining why he knew how to match clothes


    while praising Sonia at the same time.


    Sonia looked somewhat embarrassed, but she was inwardly pleased by his words.


    ¡°Alright, just get dressed while I go out to fix something to eat. What would you like to eat?¡± he asked


    while stroking her hair.


    Sonia blinked her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s almost twelve already. Just don¡¯t make anything that¡¯s tooplicated.¡± She


    could now leave the kitchen to him with peace of mind.


    Toby nodded. ¡°Alright. In that case, I¡¯ll make two bowls of pasta. Just wait for me,¡± he said. He put his


    hand on the back of her head and kissed her on the forehead. Then, he stood up and left the room,


    heading for the kitchen.


    Sonia touched the spot on her forehead where he had kissed. She mumbled with a smile, ¡°This guy


    really takes advantage of me at every opportunity.¡±


    She shook her head with a smile of resignation before starting to put on her clothes. After getting


    dressed, she walked up to the full-length mirror next to the wardrobe and looked at herself in the mirror.


    Seeing how she was dressed differently from usual, she was dazed for a few seconds. Then, she did a


    twirl in front of the mirror, finding that the more she looked at the clothes Toby had matched for her, the


    more the clothing style suited her. In fact, it suited her even better than her usual clothing style did. How


    about I buy clothes ording to the style he matched for me today in the future? She made up her mind


    as she touched her chin.


    Just as Sonia finished looking at herself in the mirror and was about to leave the room to show Toby his


    masterpiece, her phone suddenly rang on the nightstand. Dismissing her ideas for the time being, she


    walked toward the phone. She walked up to the nightstand and looked down at the phone¡¯s screen, only


    to see that it was a call from Charles. Without hesitation, she picked up the phone and answered it. ¡°Hey,


    Charles.¡±


    Charles¡¯ agitated questioning voice sounded through the phone. ¡°Sonny, what¡¯s going on with Rentoor?


    Why did they resell our spare parts to someone else for no reason?¡±


    Of course, Sonia knew that Charles¡¯ agitated questioning wasn¡¯t directed at her, but at Rentoor¡ªthe


    name of the manufacturer with which Paradigm Co. was currently coborating.


    Instead of answering Charles¡¯ questions at once, she asked in surprise, ¡°Charles, how did you learn


    about this?¡± I didn¡¯t tell him about this, did I? Could word have leaked that our parts were snatched


    away? In that case, wouldn¡¯t Asher and his men¡ªas well as Paradigm Co.¡¯s employees¡ªbe thrown into


    confusion right now?


    After all, this batch of spare parts is very important. They concern Paradigm Co.¡¯s lifeline since Paradigm


    Co. is engaged in heavy industry. These spare parts are supposed to be delivered to us two dayster


    so that we can continue processing them. Without these parts, those employees who are waiting for the


    processing will have nothing to do, and we will still have to continue to bear thebor costs, the


    compensation for the dy in their work, and so on.

 Chapter 933

    Chapter 933


    Chapter 933 Not Knowing What to Do


    This would be equivalent to spending money on nothing. However, the current Paradigm Co. couldn¡¯t


    bear the costs despite having to do so. As a result, Paradigm Co. would end up spending money without


    having goods to sell.


    As they earned zero ie, they would be unable to pay their employees¡¯ wages, the bank¡¯s loan, the


    dividends for the otherpanies that coborated with them, and so on. By then, the only thing that


    awaited Paradigm would be bankruptcy.


    A small spare part being snatched away could cause such a terrible result, so one could imagine how


    important the spare parts were. If Asher learned about it, he would definitely make an issue of it to deal


    her, thepany¡¯s chairman, a blow.


    If the employees learned about it, they would be in a state of anxiety, so much so that they might even


    raise an uproar for fear that they might not receive this month¡¯s paycheck.


    Therefore, she cautiously withheld the news from everyone except her and the secretaries and


    assistants. However, she didn¡¯t expect that Charles would know about it.


    If Charles knew about it, Asher and thepany¡¯s employees might have learned about it as well. Is the


    company in an uproar right now? She felt her heart instantly plunge at the thought of this possibility.


    Just then, Charles replied, ¡°One of your secretaries called me and told me about this. Don¡¯t forget that


    I¡¯m a nominal director at Paradigm Co. And besides, I was the one who acted as go-between for the


    coboration between Paradigm Co. and Rentoor back then, whereas you were the one who secured it.


    Since Rentoor breached the contract, I, the go-between, am supposed to learn about it, of course, so


    your secretary told me about it this morning. I immediately went to Rentoor¡¯s chairman, but he refused to


    see me. I couldn¡¯t figure out why they breached the contract, so I called you.¡±


    Hearing his exnation, Sonia finally learned that it wasn¡¯t what she had thought it was, and she gave


    an inward sigh of relief. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°What happened, Sonny?¡± Charles asked again with a frown. ¡°Why would Rentoor breach the contract all


    of a sudden? I remember that this batch of spare parts is supposed to be delivered soon, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re supposed to be delivered two dayster.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles pped his desk in anger. ¡°What a nerve he¡¯s got, selling the spare parts to someone else just


    before they¡¯re supposed to be delivered! Tell me, Sonny¡ªdid something happen between you and


    Rentoor¡¯s chairman?¡± If not, why would Rentoor¡¯s chairman take such a huge risk to breach the


    contract? He¡¯ll be held legally responsible for doing this!


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°Nope. Nothing happened between me and Rentoor¡¯s chairman, but I came into


    conflict with the person who snatched our spare parts. That person probably got something on Rentoor¡¯s


    chairman, so he intimidated Rentoor¡¯s chairman into selling the spare parts to him in order to keep me


    from getting the spare parts so that he can get what he wants from me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles was surprised. ¡°To think that there¡¯s such a story behind it! Sonny, who exactly did you


    offend?¡± he immediately asked, wanting to see if he could be of any help.


    Sonia bit her red lips before slowly uttering a name. ¡°Connor Salzburg.¡±


    ¡°Connor Salzburg?¡± Charles was startled for a moment as the name sounded familiar to him. Soon after


    that, though, he recalled who Connor was and was shocked. ¡°Sonny, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re talking about


    Connor Salzburg, the head of the Salzburg Family of Westsanshire, which ranked among Westsanshire¡¯s


    few greatest families along with the Hayes Family.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. It¡¯s him.¡± Sonia nodded.


    Charles let out a gasp. ¡°So it¡¯s really him. Sonny, why would he bear a grudge against you? By rights,


    you two are supposed to have nothing to do with each other.¡±


    Sonia lowered her eyes. ¡°It has something to do with Connor¡¯s illegitimate daughter.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Charles didn¡¯t understand what she meant.


    Sonia replied, ¡°Connor has an illegitimate daughter who came to Seafield recently. She is Anya


    Steinfield, whom you know about.¡±


    Charles was so surprised that he raised his voice. ¡°You mean that the Anya Steinfield who was forced by


    you and Toby to apologize publicly after she fell in love with Toby at first sight and tried to steal him from


    you is Connor¡¯s illegitimate daughter?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Sonia mumbled again. ¡°It¡¯s her.¡±


    ¡°Holy crap.¡± Charles looked astounded. ¡°I thought she was just an ordinary orphan. I never thought that


    she came from such a background.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, tell me about it.¡± Sonia let out a sigh. Who would¡¯ve thought of that? At first, both she and Toby


    thought that Anya was an ordinary girl from an orphanage who was smarter than average people and


    knew how to make money, which was why she could spend a lot of money to change her image despite


    not having a prominent background.


    If such ady wasn¡¯t an angelic b*tch who would do something so disgusting as to steal someone else¡¯s


    boyfriend, she would definitely admire her very much. After all, if it were her, she didn¡¯t think she could


    make so much money at such a young age aftering from an orphanage. However, Anya was


    precisely a troublesome angelic b*tch and a disgusting woman who had tried to steal her boyfriend, so


    she looked down on her no matter how capable she was.


    She thought she would never meet Anya again after thetter¡¯s public apology, but she didn¡¯t expect she


    would meet Anya again at the boutique soon after that. Not only that, but Anya had snatched and ruined


    her evening dress, which was how the former¡¯s identity was revealed. Otherwise, she and Toby would


    probably have no idea that Anya was Connor¡¯s daughter until now.


    ¡°So, you mean that Connor holds a grudge against you because you had his daughter apologize publicly


    last time, which was why he then snatched the spare parts away to get back at you on purpose?¡±


    Charles tried to connect the dots, frowning.


    Sonia nodded before shaking her head. ¡°This is probably part of the reason, but the actual reason has


    something to do with the second conflict between Anya and me.¡±


    ¡°What? You came across Anya again after that?¡± Charles cried.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Sonia pursed her lips before telling Charles about her encounter with Anya in the boutique and


    everything that had happened after that without hiding any details. However, she didn¡¯t tell him about the


    old scores between Toby and Connor.


    After all, the outsiders were clueless about what had happened between Connor and Toby¡¯s mother in


    the past, nor would she tell anyone about it without Toby¡¯s permission. After all, this was the Fuller


    Family¡¯s secret.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Having listened to her description, Charles was infuriated by Anya even if he wasn¡¯t involved in


    these events. He paced back and forth in his office in anger, saying, ¡°Are they nuts? It was obviously


    their fault, but they med you for not forgiving them and snatched your spare parts away to threaten


    you. How could such shameless people exist in the world?¡±


    Sonia massaged her temples. ¡°That¡¯s right. I also wonder why I keep running into these people.¡±


    ¡°Life is being unfair to you, that¡¯s why.¡± Charles looked up at the sky outside through his office¡¯s French


    window before giving the sky the finger.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t see it, but a smile of helplessness appeared on her face as she could imagine how he


    looked at the moment.


    Having given the sky the one-finger salute, Charles withdrew his gaze and asked with a serious


    expression, ¡°How are you gonna solve this?¡±


    Sonia closed her eyes. ¡°To be honest, I haven¡¯te up with any solution yet.¡±


    Charles wasn¡¯t surprised by her answer. After falling silent for a moment, he said, ¡°If you want to take


    back the spare parts, I guess you can only agree to Connor¡¯s demand and have Anya released. But if


    you do so, you¡¯ll feel very aggrieved.


    You weren¡¯t the one in the wrong; you only punished the evil person by correct andwful means, but


    you end up having to give in because of another evil person¡¯s threats. Anyone would be resentful about


    this.¡±


    His words expressed perfectly what Sonia was thinking. She bit her lips and replied, ¡°Which was why I¡¯d


    never nned to meet them halfway since the very beginning.¡±


    ¡°But if you don¡¯t give in, you won¡¯t be able to take back the spare parts. How can you handle the


    consequences of¡ª¡±


    Sonia sat down on the bed again in dejection. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, which is why I¡¯m feeling restless


    right now. I feel like I¡¯m standing on the edge of a cliff, not knowing what to do.¡±

 Chapter 934

    Chapter 934


    Chapter 934 A Humanlike Drug


    Charles fell silent as well. For a moment, he couldn¡¯te up with a good solution. After all, they were


    going up against the head of the Salzburg Family, a presence that not even the Lane Corporation could


    mess with, let alone the current Paradigm Co. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve put pressure on Connor right


    away in the Lane Family¡¯s name and forced him to return the spare parts.


    Of course, there was another person at the moment who could make Connor hand over the spare parts


    ¡ªToby. To Charles, however, Toby was both his love rival and a nuisance, so he couldn¡¯t ask Toby for


    help.


    He couldn¡¯t deign to do so, nor could he put aside his pride. At the same time, though, he couldn¡¯t tell


    Sonia to ask Toby for help. In reality, Sonia and Toby were a couple, so it was perfectly justified for her to


    ask Toby for help.


    However, Charles knew that Sonia wouldn¡¯t want to rely on men to aplish something. Otherwise,


    she would¡¯ve turned to Toby as soon as the incident happened instead of procrastinating until now.


    Therefore, he respected her ideas as a friend. Since she didn¡¯t want to ask Toby for help, he wouldn¡¯t


    bring this up, of course.


    Furthermore, he had a selfish motive in not suggesting that she ask Toby for help. By telling her to go to


    Toby, he would undoubtedly acknowledge that he was no match for Toby in every aspect. He wasn¡¯t as


    useful as Toby, nor could he be of help to her as Toby was. He knew it was despicable of him to think like


    this, but it wasn¡¯t like he wanted to do so.


    He had loved Sonia for over ten years, having fallen in love with her since he matured at the age of


    puberty. In other words, he had fallen in love with her much earlier than Toby had.


    In the end, however, Toby had stolen her from him twice. He had said that he would now give up, get


    over her, and give them his best wishes. Inwardly, however, he couldn¡¯t reconcile himself to this. In short,


    he was unwilling to go to Toby.


    After much hesitation, Charles finally refrained from suggesting that Sonia turn to Toby for help. He


    merely asked, ¡°Sonny, how about we try to purchase another batch of spare parts from another


    manufacturer of the same trade?


    Let¡¯s solve the problem with the spare parts first for the time being to let Paradigm Co. continue its


    operations. As for the matter of settling the score with Connor, we can do it slowly after that. What do you


    think?¡±


    Sonia sighed. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯ve never thought of this solution? I considered it, of course, but it¡¯s


    useless. The spare parts manufactured by those of the same trade would have their manufacturer¡¯s logo


    engraved on them. If we buy them, we have to reprocess them in our factory to remove those logos and


    engrave Paradigm Co.¡¯s logo on them.


    This will undoubtedly be a time- andbor-consuming big project that will take at least five days. So, by


    the time those logos are removed, Paradigm Co. will be in chaos. Of course, we can purchase spare


    parts that don¡¯t have any logos on them yet, but such spare parts are very much in the minority.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    Even if we buy such spare parts from all over the country, it probably won¡¯t be enough. The spare parts


    usually have logos engraved on them as soon as they¡¯re produced.¡±


    She inspected Rentoor¡¯s processing lines before, so she knew full well when the logos would be


    engraved on the spare parts. After all, the logos represented theirpanies so that one could tell the


    manufacturer of these spare parts at a nce. Because of that, engraving logos on the spare parts was


    a strict process that allowed no negligence, nor could they choose not to engrave logos on the spare


    parts.


    Upon hearing her words, Charles grabbed his hair in frustration. ¡°We can¡¯t do this, and we can¡¯t do that.


    Then what else can we do? Or how about we confront Connor head on and snatch the spare parts back?


    But the chances of sess are¡­¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence as it would hurt to do so. It was totally


    impossible for the current Paradigm Co. to go up against Connor and try to snatch the spare parts back.


    ¡°Say, how about we ask Zane for help?¡± he suggested again with a smile.


    Zane was a government official. If he stepped in, Connor would probably have to do him a favor. It was


    an act of provocation against the Seafield government for Connor, a citizen of Westsanshire, toe to


    Seafield¡ªwhich was under the Coleman Family¡¯s jurisdiction¡ªand make things difficult for a Seafield


    enterprise. Therefore, as thergest representative of the Seafield government, the Coleman Family


    would probably step in.


    However, Sonia shook her head as well. ¡°I¡¯ve considered this as well, but I rejected it. Don¡¯t forget that


    Zane is friends with Toby. If I ask Zane for help, Toby will definitely learn about it. What will he think by


    then?


    Will he think that I¡¯d rather bypass my boyfriend and ask somebody else for help rather than turning to


    him? What position am I putting him in? Do I have a ce for him in my heart? By then, there will


    definitely be problems in our rtionship, which will be entirely my fault. I don¡¯t want such things to


    happen.¡±


    Rtionships were no joking matter. There were a lot of times when both sides were very close, but


    problems might ur in a supposedly smooth rtionship because one side or the other made a slightly


    wrong move.


    Therefore, there were a lot of times when it was better to think twice before doing anything and not do


    anything one wasn¡¯t supposed to do. Moreover, she had asked for Zane¡¯s help a few times before. How


    could she have the cheek to turn to him again when she had yet to return his favor?


    Upon hearing her say so, Charles fell silent. To think that she refused to ask Zane for help in


    consideration of Toby¡¯s feelings! Well, that shows how much she cares about him right now. Charles¡¯


    heart ached so badly that he couldn¡¯t help tightening his grip on his phone. He replied with a wry smile, ¡°I


    really wonder if Toby is a humanlike drug.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sonia was startled. Apparently, she didn¡¯t understand why he described Toby as such.


    Leaning back in his chair, Charles rested his head on the headrest and closed his eyes slightly to


    conceal the sadness in them. ¡°I¡¯m talking about Toby. If he¡¯s not a humanlike drug, how can he make you


    care so much about him right now? There¡¯s also my parents. When I went home this morning and asked


    them about how things went when you and Toby visited homest night, they couldn¡¯t be more satisfied


    with him.


    They took my hand and heaped praise on Toby. Not only that, but they even frowned at me for being


    inferior to him in every aspect. I was so pissed off, you know? That was why I said I was wondering if he


    was a humanlike drug. It¡¯s enough that he put you under his spell, but why would my parents be so full of


    praise for him as well? Who is their son, Toby or me?¡±


    Upon hearing hisints, Sonia covered her mouth and shook withughter. ¡°Alright, Charles, stop


    being jealous. Actually, your parents praised Toby so much for a reason. He gifted them with presents


    that were very much to their liking. That¡¯s why¡­¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Charles figured out what had happened even though Sonia didn¡¯t finish her sentence. Toby was


    rich andvish with money, so it was true that his presents would satisfy Curtis even more easily than the


    presents given by Charles, who was Curtis¡¯ own son. After all, it would indeed be somewhat stressful for


    him to buy some of his parents¡¯ favorite items.


    ¡°Ah, never mind. I¡¯ve lost to Toby when ites to you. Now that I¡¯ve lost to him again in front of my


    parents, I think I¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡± He waved his hand before getting back to the subject on hand.


    With a serious expression, he said, ¡°Sonny, if worsees to worst, let¡¯s take out a bank loan and use it


    to pull through this.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s expression turned grave. ¡°You mean we should give up the batch of spare parts?¡±


    Charles nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. If we really can¡¯t get the spare parts back, we have no choice but to give


    up. But after we give up, there¡¯s no way the current Paradigm Co. can pay the misceneous costs, so


    we can only take out a loan and pull through this crisis while waiting for the machines you ordered from


    Kosovo to arrive.


    By then, we¡¯ll be able to produce the spare parts by ourselves without coborating with anyone, so we


    won¡¯t have to worry about these things anymore. What do you think?¡±

 Chapter 935

    Chapter 935


    Chapter 935 Life in Old Age


    This solution is¡­ Sonia fell silent. Honestly, she thought that this was feasible. It was just that if they


    were to give up on the batch of spare parts, they would need money to pull through, which meant that


    they would undoubtedly need arge amount of money. If Paradigm Co. were to take out such a huge


    loan, they had to offer something valuable as coteral.


    At the moment, the most valuable coteral Paradigm Co. had was its building. It was very risky to


    mortgage the building, for the slightest bit of carelessness could cause her to lose the building.


    Therefore, she had to think about it carefully. At the thought of this, she massaged her temples, took a


    deep breath, and replied, ¡°Let me think about it, Charles. Just give me a day.¡±


    Charles knew what she was hesitating over. If it were him, he would also hesitate like this. He replied


    with a nod, ¡°Okay, take your time. Whatever your decision is, remember to tell me. Don¡¯t make me


    worried.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Sonia replied with a forced smile.


    The two then exchanged a few more words before hanging up.


    Putting down her phone, Sonia sat on the edge of the bed and lowered her head slightly in


    contemtion.


    A few minutester, the room door was opened, and Toby came in. He asked in a gentle voice, ¡°What¡¯s


    wrong? Are you daydreaming again?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes flickered before she looked up at Toby with a smile. ¡°Nothing. I was just thinking about


    some stuff. By the way, what do you think about my outfit?¡± She stood up while suppressing her


    restlessness. Not wanting Toby to notice it, she quickly changed the subject and did a twirl in front of him


    to show him her outfit.


    Toby rubbed his chin and nodded with unconcealed admiration in his eyes. ¡°Not bad. It looks beautiful on


    you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s of course. You picked this outfit for me, after all,¡± Sonia said with a smile while putting down her


    arms.


    Toby curled his lips into a smile. ¡°So I¡¯ve got pretty good taste, right?¡±


    Sonia gave him a thumbs up. ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Fuller. You¡¯ve got good taste, or you wouldn¡¯t have been


    able to pick such a good-looking outfit for me.¡±


    Toby came up to her. Putting his arm around her slim waist, he lowered his head and whispered in her


    ear, ¡°In that case, how about I match clothes for you every day from now on?¡±


    Sonia looked at him. ¡°I¡¯ve got no problem if you want to, of course.¡± Why not use a stylist if it¡¯s avable


    for free?


    Seeing the hint of slyness in her eyes, Toby chuckled in a deep voice. ¡°Okay. From now on, as long as I


    have time to do so, I¡¯ll choose your outfit for the next day. Alright, our meal is ready. Let¡¯s go and have


    lunch.¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Toby made two bowls of hearty pasta that had prawns, meat, and braised pork in them with half a boiled


    egg and two little bok choys for garnish. The sight of the pasta alone was mouthwatering.


    Holding down her hair, Sonia bent down and took a sniff at the pasta. She said with a smile, ¡°It smells so


    good! This is gonna taste amazing. Thanks for the hard work.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. As long as you like it, I¡¯ll think that it¡¯s worth it,¡± Toby said while pulling out the chair for her.


    After she sat down, he put the fork in her hand. ¡°Hurry up and give it a try.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sonia clutched her fork and nodded heavily. Then, she forked up the pasta and dug in.


    The pasta was al dente, the prawns were chewy, the meat was tender, and the braised pork was sweet.


    These food ingredients were far from the top-grade ones, but they tasted great whenbined together.


    Sonia couldn¡¯t help but say as she chewed her pasta, ¡°Toby, if you open a pasta restaurant one day, just


    sell such pastas. I¡¯m sure that your business will do well.¡±


    Toby ate a spoonful of soup gracefully before replying, ¡°Good idea. After we grow old and retire in the


    future, let¡¯s hand ourpany over to the kids and open a pasta restaurant. I¡¯ll make pastas, while you¡¯ll


    be the cashier. How about it?¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t expect that Toby would respond to her suggestion and even paint a picture of what their


    lives would be like in their old age. As a consequence, she couldn¡¯t help but subconsciously imagine


    what he had described. Well¡­ It seems like a pretty good idea to open a pasta restaurant as he


    described when we get old. At the thought of this, she couldn¡¯t help but blush and lowered her head to


    stuff herself with pasta.


    She didn¡¯t answer Toby¡¯s question, but Toby knew her thoughts and answer from her reddened cheeks.


    He fell silent as a hint of joy shed across his eyes. If I speak again, she¡¯ll feel even more shy.


    He refused to let her clear the dishes away after lunch. Instead, he let her sit on the sofa and rest while


    he brought the dishes to the kitchen to wash them.


    Sonia rxed with pleasure as Toby didn¡¯t allow her to wash the dishes. Sitting on the sofa, she quietly


    waited for him to finish doing the dishes ande out.


    After she waited for a while, her cell phone vibrated. She picked it up to take a look, only to see that it


    was a message from Charles.


    We¡¯ve just spoken on the phone. Why would he message me at this time? She curiously opened the


    message and found that Charles had sent her a document. With a few taps of her finger, she epted


    the document and opened it to take a look, finding that it contained very detailed personal information


    about Connor. She skimmed through the document, finding that it contained some secret information


    about Connor¡ªincluding his past rtionships and all kinds of shady stuff he had done in secret¡ªas


    well as everything else. Not only that, but it gave a sinct description of Connor¡¯s character.


    A few question marks popped up in her head as she read through the document. Obviously, she didn¡¯t


    understand why Charles would send this to her. Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately texted


    him to ask him about it.


    Charles texted her back soon afterward. ¡®Aren¡¯t you gonna meet him the day after tomorrow? You


    probably still don¡¯t know much about what kind of a person he is, so I made a special effort to ask my


    connections in Westsanshire for help to get my hands on detailed information about Connor. Just read it


    carefully and try to memorize as much information about him as possible. Try to understand him better


    so that you won¡¯t be at a disadvantage when you meet him by then.¡¯


    A warm smile yed across Sonia¡¯s lips when she saw his reply. As expected, a real friend will go to


    such an extent for me. He probably spent a lot of money to get his hands on such detailed information.


    Feeling deeply moved, she began to reply with a few taps of her fingers, ¡®Alright, I got it. Thank you,


    Charles.¡¯


    She didn¡¯t ask Charles how much it had cost him to buy such information, nor did she mention that she


    wanted to return the money to him. She knew him very well, so she knew that he would definitely be


    angry and sad if she were to bring this up. To him, everything he had done for her was of his own


    volition, so he didn¡¯t want her to give him money. If she did, he¡¯d take it as a sign that she wanted to keep


    her distance from him. Since she knew him, she knew not to mention or ask about these things.


    As she had expected, there were undertones of apparent joy and cheerfulness in his reply message.


    ¡®Why thank me? I¡¯m your brother. Alright, I gotta go. I¡¯ve got to attend a meeting.¡¯


    Sonia let out a chuckle. ¡®Alright. Just go ahead with your meeting.¡¯


    As soon as she put down her phone, she heard footsteps from behind, which was followed by Toby¡¯s


    inquiring voice. ¡°Who were you chatting with? You smiled so happily.¡±


    Sonia looked back at the man who was walking toward her and replied without hiding anything from him,


    ¡°It was Charles.¡±


    Hearing that it was Charles, Toby instantly knitted his brows. ¡°Charles? Why would he text you?¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t he text me?¡± Sonia let out a chuckle. ¡°Friends can have a casual chat when they have


    nothing to do.¡±


    Toby turned his gaze to her cell phone and pursed his lips. ¡°Hmph! He¡¯s got to be up to something,¡± he


    said ufortably.


    Sonia¡¯s smile deepened as she propped her head in her hand. ¡°Are you upset?¡±


    Toby sat down next to her. He didn¡¯t answer her question, but he had annoyance written all over his face.


    He¡¯s just being jealous again, thought Sonia.

 Chapter 936

    Chapter 936


    Chapter 936 Toby¡¯s Gift


    ¡°Why are you acting all jealous?¡± Looking at the man¡¯s wry face, Sonia was at a loss. Sneaking a nce


    at her, Toby replied, ¡°Because I care. That¡¯s why I¡¯m jealous.¡±


    That sounds about right, she thought. ¡°Alright, then how about I tell you something that will cheer you


    up?¡± Sonia gently nudged the man¡¯s shoulder with her elbow. The man then grabbed her yful arm and


    gently squeezed it. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Do you know what Charles had told me?¡± Sonia had her eyes on Toby. Her question prompted Toby to


    purse his lips. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know since you two were talking behind my back.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°What do you mean behind your back? Don¡¯t put it as though I¡¯ve done something


    wrong to you. Didn¡¯t I tell you everything when you asked me who I was talking to?¡± How is that going


    behind him?


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    He only grunted and said nothing more.


    Soniaughed helplessly as she watched Toby acting this way. ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll stop with the


    suspense. Charlesined and asked me what have you done to his parents for them to have such


    a good impression of you. With how they kept singing praises of you and even said to Charles that you


    were leagues better than him, Charles is left wondering if you¡¯re their real son instead. So? Are you


    happy to hear you¡¯ve beaten Charles in his parents¡¯ eyes?¡±


    She knew the reason Toby was always jealous upon seeing her with Charles was that he was mindful of


    how Charles might have feelings for her. Thus, she thought that telling him Charles¡¯ embarrassing stories


    would appease his jealousy.


    Consequently, it was just as Sonia had expected. When Toby heard Charles¡¯ parents were giving him the


    cold shoulders, the cold air around him instantly vanished while his expression brightened, and the


    corners of his tightly pursed lips lifted slightly.


    ¡°Did Charles really tell you that?¡± Toby gazed at Sonia with eyes filled with clear expectation.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Of course. Why would I lie to you? You can ask his parents about it if you don¡¯t believe


    me.¡±


    ¡°I believe you.¡± At this point, Toby was already full-blown smiling from the bottom of his heart and was


    unable to hide the clear delight in his eyes.


    Seeing the delight in Toby¡¯s eyes, Sonia knew that the man before her was all cheered up. ¡°So, are you


    happy now?¡± she asked once more.


    Pretending to be reserved, he immediately shifted his sight elsewhere before giving out a fake cough and


    answering, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Feeling better than I was moments ago.¡±


    Looking at how haughty Toby was acting, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes, albeit with a smile on her


    face. Geez, if this man is in such a good mood, can¡¯t he just admit that he¡¯s happy? After their light


    banter, Sonia took a look at the time to find that it was already past noon; it was time to leave for work.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Since they had skipped their work during the morning, she thought that they should at least make an


    appearance during the afternoon.


    Toby stayed silent and only grunted a response before holding her hand. With their hands holding each


    other¡¯s, the two then left for the parking lot.


    In the parking lot, Tom was leaning against Toby¡¯s Maybach and tapping away at his phone. It was only


    when he noticed the two had arrived that he put away his phone and greeted, ¡°President Fuller. Miss


    Reed.¡±


    Sonia nodded and smiled at Tom as a reply.


    With his eyes on his assistant, Toby asked, ¡°Have you prepared what I¡¯ve asked?¡±


    Tom pushed his sses back up his nose bridge before casting a loaded nce at Sonia and nodding.


    ¡°Naturally, there is nothing for President Fuller to worry about if I¡¯m on the job.¡±


    Toby¡ªwho didn¡¯t bother with his assistant¡¯s boastful remarks¡ªpulled Sonia by her hand toward the


    trunk of his Maybach.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sonia was clueless as she was led to the trunk.


    With his eyes fixed squarely on the trunk, he replied in a mysterious tone, ¡°You¡¯ll know soon enough.


    Tom.¡±


    The moment Toby called for his assistant, Tom immediately gave a response from the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Understood, President Fuller.¡±


    In the next instance, the trunk of the Maybach automatically unlocked and gradually opened in a rising


    motion. As the trunk gradually opened, it slowly revealed a different sight of the inner trunk. First,


    balloons came floating up, followed by the numerous fresh flowers, and finally, several exquisitely


    wrapped boxes.


    Sonia suddenly understood what was going on, and she stared ck-jawed at the man beside her.


    Although she had no personal experience, she often saw such videos online where boyfriends would


    give gifts to their girlfriends by hiding them in the decorated trunk of a car. Now, just like the videos she


    saw online, Sonia was the girlfriend in this scenario.


    At this moment, Sonia finally understood the surprise and excitement the girls in the videos felt when


    they received such an attentive and sincere gift. With her heart beating fast, she pointed to the trunk and


    to herself before finally managing to react to the situation. ¡°This¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for you. Surprised?¡± Toby took a nce at the romantically decorated trunk before asking gently.


    Sonia gulped before she finally managed to nod slowly. With a slight tremble in her voice, she


    questioned, ¡°Surprised, very much. But I don¡¯t understand. Why would you suddenly give me such a


    huge surprise? I don¡¯t recall there being any celebrations right now.¡±


    ¡°Who decided that you can only give your loved ones gifts during a celebration?¡± Toby raised his


    eyebrows.


    She choked for a moment and was speechless over what she had heard. True, there weren¡¯t any rules


    saying that you can only give gifts during a celebration. ¡°Even if you say that, I still don¡¯t understand why


    you would suddenly give me gifts on such a normal day? Not to mention, so many of them.¡± Sonia stared


    in confusion at the man beside her.


    In truth, Toby Fuller was a romantic himself. Every now and then, he would prepare flowers and even


    small surprises for Sonia. Since he knew that she would never ept anything expensive, he would only


    prepare for her something small-scaled and that wasn¡¯t of much value. It was only then that she would


    ept his gifts, as she knew they were tokens of his sincerity.


    However, right now, there were about seven boxes of varying sizes in the trunk. Since one couldn¡¯t see


    the logo of the boxes, one would have a hard time knowing exactly what the presents were. However,


    looking at how exquisite the boxes were along with how attentive the trunk was decorated with fresh


    flowers, balloons, colored lightings, and so forth, Sonia knew that the gifts were definitely not simple


    ones, or rather, something expensive.


    For Toby to suddenly give her such a surprise and these expensive gifts, Sonia wondered just what Toby


    was up to, especially since these were all given to her when there was no celebration at hand. At this


    point, she was deep in her thoughts over Toby¡¯s motives for these gifts.


    Looking at Sonia¡¯s pensive expression, Toby knew that she was in her habit of overthinking again.


    Hence, he reached his hands out and gently stroked her head. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. The reason why


    I¡¯m giving all these to you so suddenly is because of Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane?¡± Sonia was slightly taken aback.


    With his chin slightly raised, he exined, ¡°Yes. Yesterday when we went to meet them, I had prepared


    many gifts for the Lanes. For Mr. Lane, bottles of fine wine. For Mrs. Lane, things that women would be


    pleased to receive. Since I¡¯ve prepared so many gifts for Mrs. Lane, I couldn¡¯t very well have nothing


    prepared for the woman I love. That¡¯s why, these are all gifts I¡¯ve prepared for you. Rest assured, they


    are much better than the ones I¡¯ve gifted Mrs. Lane.¡±


    Hearing the man¡¯s exnation, she was utterly dumbfounded with her eyes widened. She never would


    have expected that Toby would suddenly give all these gifts to her for such a reason. Nevertheless, at


    this moment, Sonia¡¯s heart was leaping with joy.

 Chapter 937

    Chapter 937


    Chapter 937 Sonia¡¯s Petty Scheme


    Just like what the man had said, women, in general, would be pleased when receiving things such as


    clothes, shoes, bags, and cosmetics. Sonia was no exception.


    Nheless, Sonia hadn¡¯t the slightest ounce of displeasure when Toby had given these gifts to Grace.


    After all, Grace was like a mother figure to her. Naturally, she, as a daughter, would be pleased when her


    mother figure was given such wonderful gifts, especially since she herself had inspected the gifts


    beforehand.


    Hence, Sonia had neither dissatisfaction nor problems with Toby giving these gifts to Grace. Neither had


    she thought of wanting these gifts for herself as well.


    However, she had not expected Toby to feel that his actions were inappropriate. Not to mention, for Toby


    to secretly prepare gifts that were much better than the ones given to Grace for her.


    Without doubt, Sonia, as a woman, had her vanity utterly satisfied at this particr moment. She was


    moved, as joy filled every corner of her heart due to the fact that the man beside her could have such


    thoughts, which in turn proved how sincere and genuine he treated her. When these thoughts crossed


    her mind, the tip of her nose gradually reddened and tears began to well up in her eyes.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Looking at her red-rimmed eyes, Toby instantly panicked. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± He reached his hands


    out and wiped the tears at the corners of her eyes.


    Grabbing the man¡¯s hand that was wiping her tears, Sonia smiled tearfully. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m happy. It¡¯s


    because I never thought you would prepare these for me as well.¡±


    Relieved, Toby chuckled. ¡°You are the love of my life. How could I just prepare gifts for others but not for


    you? While we¡¯re on that topic, if someone else has them, you would naturally have them as well. Not


    only that, but what you have will be much better. Since the ones Mrs. Lane had were premium editions,


    the ones I¡¯ve gotten for you are all limited editions. So, do you like them?¡±


    Sonia smiled at the man. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already said that much, wouldn¡¯t it be insensitive if I said I didn¡¯t


    like them?¡± Saying that, she immediately went toward him and embraced the man. ¡°I love them. I can tell


    that you prepared all these sincerely. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m happy. Thank you, Toby.¡±


    The man returned her embrace and nted a kiss on the top of her head. ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy.


    Then I assume you won¡¯t refuse these gifts, right?¡±


    Sonia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll ept them. After all, I can tell these gifts are filled with your heart for me. If I


    reject them, wouldn¡¯t you be sad?¡±


    Although he felt relieved, Toby kept his poker face and his silence. He always knew that Sonia would


    dislike him giving her expensive gifts, so he always practiced restraint when it came to her gifts.


    Otherwise, he would have practically given her a gift every day, and it would all be different ones at that.


    Regardless, Toby was beside himself with apprehensiveness when he prepared these gifts, as he was


    worried that Sonia would not ept them. Fortunately, she did not reject this time.


    ¡°Want to open them now?¡± Toby gently released his embrace after a while.


    However, Sonia shook her head. ¡°Nope, I won¡¯t open them now. I¡¯ll take them back to the office and


    slowly open them one by one. I mean, if I were to walk into the office with all these gifts with me, I¡¯m sure


    I¡¯ll draw a few envious eyes on me, right?¡±


    Ah, so she wants to brag about it. Toby chuckled before he gently brushed the bridge of her nose with his


    finger. ¡°Alright, then bring them back to the office and slowly open them there.¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡± Sonia raised her head proudly. ¡°I just want to tell the others that these are all gifts from you so


    that the others would know you¡¯re a good man. A good man that treats me very, very well.¡±


    ¡°If you go around showing me off like this, won¡¯t you be afraid that other women would start eyeing me?¡±


    Toby frowned.


    Sonia grunted in response. ¡°There are already many women who have their eyes on you anyway, so


    what¡¯s a few more? Not to mention, even if they do express their interest in you, you¡¯re still going to be


    mine. Unless of course, they have the ability to steal you away from me.¡±


    ¡°Not a chance!¡± Toby immediately replied.


    Sonia smiled and said with confidence, ¡°And that¡¯s why I have nothing to be afraid of.¡±


    Looking at Sonia¡¯s confidence, Toby knew that it was due to her trust in him. This fact alone was enough


    to warm the corners of his heart.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for us to go back to our offices,¡± said Sonia after she took a few pictures of the gift-filled


    trunk with her phone.


    Toby gently petted her head. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Inside the car, Sonia kept fiddling with her phone and would asionallyugh to herself. Since Toby


    was never a snooping man, he didn¡¯t ask her about it nor did he try to sneak a look, even though he had


    no idea what she was doing on her phone. However, Soniaughing piqued his curiosity. ¡°What are you


    laughing at?¡±


    ¡°There are many enviousments on the picture I¡¯ve just posted on my social media.¡± Saying that,


    Sonia handed her phone over to Toby to show him thements.


    After looking at thements, Toby replied, ¡°Let them be green with envy. There¡¯s still more toe.¡±


    After all, to him, others should be envious of Sonia, as he would only give her the best there was to offer.


    ¡°Alright, you should stop ying with your phone, or you¡¯ll be dizzyter.¡± He returned her phone to her


    before admonishing her with concern.


    Sonia knew that he was just looking out for her, which was why she didn¡¯t brush him off and obediently


    put her phone away.


    Soon, they arrived at Paradigm Co.


    Sonia, who had rejected the man¡¯s suggestion for him to escort her in, was walking into the building of


    Paradigm Co. with her hands full of Toby¡¯s gifts.


    Unbeknownst to her, the upper floor employees that had seen her post had spread word about it all the


    way to the employees on the lower floors. Hence, everyone in the building knew that Toby had given her


    all those gifts.


    Therefore, the moment Sonia entered the building, all eyes were instantly drawn to the several bags she


    was carrying with her. Although they knew the bags contained Toby¡¯s gifts, they did not know exactly


    what they were.


    Nevertheless, they had already assumed that the gifts would be valuable and expensive, as they knew


    the worth of Toby Fuller. It was because they knew Toby¡¯s worth that their curiosity grew; they


    were interested to know what kind of extravagant gifts would a rich man like him bestow upon Sonia.


    Naturally, Sonia had sensed the curious eyes on her. Nevertheless, she chose neither to keep a low


    profile nor to try hiding the bags she had, but to deliberately hold the bags higher¡ªas though she was on


    a shopping spree¡ªby holding the bags over her shoulders before she paraded over toward the elevator.


    It was only when the elevator Sonia was in had its door closed did the employees¡ªwho had their eyes


    glued on her ever since she entered the building¡ªdare to speak up boldly.


    ¡°See? President must¡¯ve done that on purpose.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so true.¡± One of the employees nodded approvingly. ¡°The president must have lifted those bags


    up high to show them off to us.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh, the president is so mean. Just because she finally got herself a man doesn¡¯t mean she should be


    showing off to us singletons.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°But, I am curious to know just what President Fuller had given to our president for her to be this smug.¡±


    ¡°I want to know too. Should we ask around about it?¡±


    ¡°But, who do we ask?¡±


    The moment the question was asked, the gossipers became silent. After all, the employees here were all


    at the lowest level. To seek the answer to their question, they would have to ask the employees on the


    top floor, as only the employees there would have some contact with Sonia. The only problem was that


    they didn¡¯t have the opportunity to make friends with the employees on the top floor.


    Although Sonia, who was in the elevator currently, was not privy to the details of the lower floor


    employees¡¯ conversation, she knew that they would gossip about her. Regardless, she held no interest in


    the details of the gossip, as she had achieved what she wanted to do¡ªto show off the gifts.


    Upon entering her office, she ced the gifts on the sofa, nning to open them after she had checked


    her schedule, as she wanted to open the gifts with peace of mind. After checking that there wasn¡¯t


    anything important for today¡¯s schedule, Sonia felt relieved and went over to the sofa.


    However, just when Sonia was about to open the first of the gifts, there was a knock on her office door.


    She then stopped what she was doing and turned her attention to the door. ¡°Come in.¡±


    In the next instance, the door opened with Daphne entering the office. Sonia was surprised the moment


    she saw who it was, and she immediately stood up before asking, ¡°Miss Daphne? Why are you here?


    Shouldn¡¯t you be in the hospital for your surgery today?¡±

 Chapter 938

    Chapter 938


    Chapter 938 No Regrets


    Upon Sonia¡¯s question, Daphne released her grip on the door handle. ¡°I was in the hospital, but decided


    to leave halfway through.¡± ¡°Halfway through?¡± Sonia frowned. ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re not going


    through with the surgery?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daphne nodded slightly. ¡°Why not?¡± Sonia was even more confused. ¡°Does this mean that you


    regretted your decision just before the surgery?¡±


    There was that possibility after all. There had been many women who had chosen to give up on their


    children out of impulsiveness. However, they would regret the moment it was time for them to go past the


    point of no return. Thus, it would not be out of ce for Daphne to suddenly back out from her decision.


    However, contrary to Sonia¡¯s assumption, Daphne shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not regretting it now. It¡¯s


    just¡­ I can¡¯t go through the surgery today.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Although confused, Sonia went over and supported Daphne over to the sofa, as


    Daphne would have a sore back from standing for a long period of time due to her pregnancy.


    Feeling grateful to Sonia, Daphne smiled at her before she answered, ¡°I was in the hospital to prepare


    for the surgery today. However, just before it was time for my surgery, I met Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Lane?¡± Sonia was surprised to hear that name popped up.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daphne bit her lip.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Sonia¡¯s shock turned to anxiety instantly. ¡°Is she sick?¡± But, that¡¯s impossible.


    She looked fine when I met herst night!


    Sure enough, Daphne shook her head. ¡°No, she¡¯s not sick. She¡¯s just there for a routine medical


    checkup.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what it was.¡± Sonia heaved a sigh of relief upon Daphne¡¯s rification. Phew. As long as she¡¯s


    fine. That really gave me a scare. She patted her chest to calm the anxiousness in her before she fixed


    her attention squarely on Daphne. ¡°So, you suddenly decided to leave before the surgery after meeting


    with Mrs. Lane out of fear of her finding out about your pregnancy?¡±


    Gazing at Sonia, Daphne nodded slightly. ¡°Yes, President, you should know that I was ssmates with


    President Lane back in university. Ever since we graduated, I¡¯ve been his secretary by his side for many


    years, which is why Mrs. Lane knows me. In the past, when she came to visit him in the office, she would


    always bring along some homemade snacks for me as well. Over time, we became much closer to the


    extent that I would be the one apanying her for meals and walks whenever President Lane was not


    around. It would not be wrong to even say Mrs. Lane had already treated me as her friend at that point.


    Hence, if she finds out just what surgery I would be going through today, she would definitely be curious


    as to the identity of the father of my child. At that point, even if I do lie to her, she might just mention my


    pregnancy as a topic of gossip to President Lane. By then, he would find out that I am pregnant with his


    child.¡±


    With her brow wrinkled, Sonia nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s indeed possible for that to happen. After all,


    you used to be Charles¡¯ secretary. If Mrs. Lane finds out you¡¯re pregnant, she would definitely mention it


    to Charles.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I immediately asked to postpone the surgery right after meeting with Mrs. Lane,¡± Daphne


    said bitterly with a sigh.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Sonia kept her gaze on Daphne. ¡°Mrs. Lane wasn¡¯t suspicious of you being pregnant, right?¡±


    Daphne waved her hand. ¡°I doubt it. She did ask me about why I was in the hospital, but I exined to


    her that it was just a problem with my neck. Since many office workers who sat in the office the whole


    year round would have some sort of problem with their necks, Mrs. Lane did not doubt my exnation


    and only urged me to get some massage device to help relieve my neck.¡±


    ¡°She is a kind person, after all.¡± Sonia smiled faintly.


    Daphne forced a smile. ¡°Yes, Mrs. Lane is a kind person.¡± For her, anyone fortunate enough to have


    Grace as their mother-inw would be lucky indeed, as Grace was a kind person and wasn¡¯t like those


    kinds of evil mother-inw that would spite their daughter-inw. Unfortunately, she would never have


    the opportunity to be Grace¡¯s daughter-inw.


    Noticing Daphne¡¯s mood slightly taking a turn for the worse, Sonia gently patted her shoulder and


    assured her, ¡°Alright, time to stop drowning in your thoughts. It was unexpected for you to meet Mrs.


    Lane in the hospital. Since you couldn¡¯t go through the surgery today, you should take this time to


    compose yourself before going to the hospital next time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daphne forced another smile at Sonia.


    With that, Sonia took her hand off Daphne¡¯s shoulder. ¡°However, why did youe back to work instead


    of just going back home to rest?¡±


    ¡°Rather than being bored at home with nothing better to do, I would much prefering back to the


    office and having a look at everyone¡¯s face. President, you don¡¯t have to worry about me. I¡¯ll be extra


    careful myself,¡± Daphne replied.


    Since Daphne had already said this much, there was nothing more Sonia could say. Thus, she only


    nodded in response. ¡°Fine. Oh, right, did you have any business meeting me?¡± asked Sonia, as she


    noticed that Daphne had no documents with her when she came in. Probably something that isn¡¯t work-


    rted?


    As Sonia expected, Daphne sighed helplessly upon her president¡¯s question. ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious. It¡¯s


    just that I was sent here by the others in the secretary circle.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sonia became interested.


    Daphne shrugged her shoulders while smiling. ¡°It¡¯s all because everyone found out about the many gifts


    President Fuller gave you and were just full with curiosity as to what those gifts were, as they saw their


    low-profile president show off the gifts during her entrance here. Since they were too embarrassed to


    come over and ask you themselves, they pushed me intoing here to ask you, as they thought that


    you would certainly tell me, the one you¡¯re closest with in the office, about it. Since I had no other choice


    in the matter, I came here to ask you about it. So, President. You wouldn¡¯t just let me go off without


    anything to offer to the other secretaries, right?¡± At this point, Daphne had swept away the despondency


    and bitterness she felt when she was talking about her pregnancy and was smiling at Sonia.


    Noticing that Daphne had perked up, Sonia felt relieved as she had thought that Daphne¡ªdespite what


    she had said about herself¡ªwas not at fault. Sonia always felt she was partly responsible for what had


    happened with Daphne, which was why she always felt a twinge of guilt whenever she was with Daphne.


    Hence, it was only when Daphne was happy did the heavy feelings in her heart stop weighing her down.


    ¡°Naturally I won¡¯t leave you out to dry. Since they want to know about it, I¡¯ll naturally oblige. After all,


    happiness is meant to be shared, right?¡± Sonia said with a smile before pointing at the coffee table.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s all there. Give me a hand here, would you?¡±


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be appropriate of me.¡± Daphne quickly shook her head while waving her hands. ¡°These


    are all President Fuller¡¯s gifts to you. How could I help you unwrap them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. They¡¯re just presents. Just think of it as me having not enough hands to unwrap them,¡± Sonia


    said nonchntly with a smile.


    Daphne¡¯s mouth twitched as a response. ¡°President, what you said is just annoying. If possible, I too


    would like to have so many gifts that I couldn¡¯t unwrap them all by myself.¡±


    ¡°You will.¡± Sonia looked at Daphne. ¡°With how wonderful of a person you are, it¡¯ll definitely happen to you


    eventually.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll ept your kind words.¡± Daphne smiled once more.


    Saying nothing further, Sonia gave Daphne one of the gifts and asked for her help unwrapping them.


    Daphne¡ªwho said nothing as well¡ªproceeded to help Sonia unwrap the gifts. Although the gifts were


    hers, she still felt the simple joy in unwrapping the presents, especially the sense of satisfaction one


    would have upon seeing what the gifts were. For Daphne, it was truly an indescribable feeling.


    In no time, the gifts were all unwrapped with thebined efforts of the two. Looking at the various


    luxurious gifts, Sonia had not much change in her expression, as she already knew exactly what the gifts


    were even before they unwrapped them, but she was still happy nheless. After all, these were all


    from Toby.


    As for Daphne, she was so shocked that her jaws had dropped to the floor. It was only after a moment


    passed did she manage topose herself. Pointing at the gifts on the table, she gulped and said,


    ¡°Chairman Reed, President Fuller is just too good at winning over a woman!¡±

 Chapter 939

    Chapter 939


    Chapter 939 Going Viral


    From the moment she helped unwrap the gifts, she knew that whatever the gifts were woulde as a


    shock. That was not to say that it was how priceless the gifts were that was shocking to Daphne, as she


    knew the gifts would have been valuable since they were given to Sonia by Toby.


    After all, if Toby¡¯s gifts weren¡¯t valuable, that would turn everything Sonia knew about him upside down.


    Hence, Daphne had expected Toby¡¯s gifts to Sonia to be priceless from the very start.


    What was truly shocking to Daphne was how she could feel Toby¡¯s sincerity, as these gifts were just


    perfect for Sonia. For the rich, they would be satisfied with giving women something valuable and


    expensive without considering the receiver¡¯s feelings, not to mention whether the gifts would suit the


    receiver. All they knew was just the mere act of giving gifts, as they gave no further care to the aspects of


    the action itself.


    Hence, Toby¡¯s gifts had very well set themselves apart in this aspect, as they were not only priceless,


    but, more importantly, also showed just how well Toby knew Sonia.


    The numerous cosmetics, handbags, perfumes, and pieces of jewelry were each very exquisite to the


    extent that any woman would not be able to keep their eyes away from them. Thus, one should always


    strive to give the most suitable gifts and not just simply give for the sake of giving, as it was the sincerity


    behind the gift that would make or break a gift.


    Look at all these gifts President Fuller gave Chairman Reed. Each and every one of them are well


    thought out and suits the chairman very much. If this doesn¡¯t win a woman over, I don¡¯t know what will.


    As Sonia listened to what Daphne said, she looked at the gifts, revealing a smile on her face. ¡°I guess he


    is quite good at winning over someone.¡± Toby had told her that the gifts he prepared for her would be


    better than the ones he gave to Grace. Looking at the gifts, it was far better than she had expected. This


    man, she thought while shaking her head with a smile.


    Daphne was also looking at the gifts on the table. ¡°Chairman Reed, these all should be thetest


    products, right?¡±


    Sonia answered yes before she further rified, ¡°These aren¡¯t put up for sale yet. Toby got them in


    advance.¡±


    ¡°President Fuller does indeed have that power to do so.¡± Daphne nodded before she started urging,


    ¡°Chairman Reed, hurry up and try them out. I¡¯ll take a picture for you.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sonia nodded. Since she had epted these gifts from Toby, she would naturally choose to


    use them. If that man caught me not using his gifts, he would be overthinking things again. After all, what


    difference would there be between her epting the gifts but never using them and never epting the


    gifts in the first ce? Hence, when Daphne offered to take a picture for her, she readily agreed to try out


    the bags and so forth.


    As a result, the two of them started ying dress-up in the office.


    After Sonia was done trying out all the gifts, she got tired and took a seat on the sofa before taking a


    drink of water.


    Daphne, who was sitting next to Sonia, was sorting out the pictures she had taken for her. When she


    was done, she handed Sonia¡¯s phone back to her. ¡°Chairman Reed, these pictures came out good. What


    do you think?¡±


    cing her drink on the table, she then took the phone and started looking through the photos before


    giving Daphne a thumbs up. ¡°These are good. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Chairman Reed.¡± Daphne smiled, albeit feeling slightly embarrassed.


    Sonia then sent a few of the best photos to Toby. However, perhaps Toby was preupied at the


    moment, as there were no replies from him after she had sent the photos.


    Nevertheless, she was not disappointed about theck of reply; she was not the kind of person to force


    her significant other¡ªregardless of whether they were busy¡ªto immediately reply to her message as a


    show of her significant other¡¯s love for her.


    Furthermore, she knew that Toby would reply the moment he was done with his matters. ¡°Alright, looks


    like you have some juicy story for your circle of secretaries now that we¡¯re done unwrapping the gifts,¡±


    Sonia said with a smile after she kept her phone away and sorted the gifts on the table.


    Daphne stood up with a smile on her face. ¡°Looks like it. I¡¯m guessing the others are now beside


    themselves with anticipation. However, it¡¯d be much more urate to say even the employees on the


    lower floors are hoping to get news from the top floor. After all, everyone just loves gossiping here. It


    would be impossible for only the top floor employees to be curious about President Fuller¡¯s gifts.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Well, since they are dying to know about it, you should quickly let them know,¡± Sonia said


    wryly.


    Daphne pushed her sses up. ¡°Understood. Then, I shall take my leave here, Chairman Reed.¡± Saying


    that, she bowed before turning around and walking toward the door.


    However, before Daphne could even take her third step, Sonia called out to her. ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°Chairman Reed, do you have anything more to add?¡± Daphne asked curiously after stopping.


    Sonia¡¯s expression gradually grew stern. ¡°Did you hear about Rentoor breaching the contract?¡± she


    asked.


    Since Sonia was talking about official matters, Daphne became serious as well. ¡°I do. Jordan has notified


    me about it.¡± Jordan was her assistant.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°Good. I need you to draw up a detailed table about the money thepany would need


    under the assumption that a spare part could not be recovered.¡± In the event that Sonia couldn¡¯t get the


    spare part back, she would have to follow Charles¡¯ suggestion to get a loan from the bank. With a


    detailed table breaking down the cost, she would know how much the loan she needed from the bank


    was going to be.


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll hand them to you before the end of the day, Chairman Reed,¡± Daphne replied with a


    serious expression. Since she knew that this was a serious matter, she tried not to dy the report.


    Satisfied, Sonia replied, ¡°Good. Leaving it to you does put me at ease. You can leave now.¡±


    ¡°Take care, Chairman Reed.¡±


    After Daphne left, Sonia rubbed her temples before she exhaled and walked over to her desk. Soon,


    everyone in thepany would know just what Toby¡¯s gifts to her were, as Daphne, who had her


    express permission, would be spreading the news out to the others in the secretary¡¯s office. From there,


    the secretaries would further spread the news to the various cliques. In no time at all, the wholepany


    would have caught wind of the news.


    Soon, feelings of envy filled the air of the building. Naturally, some felt sour and even angry about it, as


    not everyone would only be purely jealous about the fact Sonia had received numerous expensive gifts.


    After all, there would always be conflict wherever there were people, and it was only human to feel


    envious, as well as jealous. Nevertheless, however jealous they were, they could not act on it, as there


    was nothing they could do.


    Regardless, the matter of Toby¡¯s gifts to Sonia did not merely end with the employees of Paradigm Co.


    On the contrary, the news spread like wildfire and eventually made the headlines on the inte. At the


    end of the day, humans¡ªwho could not appease their jealousy and envy¡ªwould wish for others to


    share the same negative feelings they were feeling. Thus, the employees of Paradigm Co. had spread it


    all over the inte.


    The news of Toby and Sonia caught the eyes of a number of marketing and media teams. The moment


    they noticed the news, they immediately did articles of their own with many others following suit.


    As a result of the hype created by these marketing and media teams, the news of Toby¡¯s gifts to Sonia


    eventually became the most trending topic on the inte.


    There were manyizens that had even gone to Sonia¡¯s profile to take a look at the photos of Toby¡¯s


    gifts, as they wished to open their eyes to how valuable and extravagant the gifts a rich man would give.


    There were even some that had gone to Toby¡¯s profile to leavements containing words like ¡®Honey,¡¯


    ¡®Darling,¡¯ ¡®Sweetheart,¡¯ and all sorts of cringeworthy endearments while asking for gifts as well. Anyone


    watching suchments would definitely squirm inside. However, that was still not the height of it.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    It was when the photos of the gifts were posted online by someone who imed to be an employee of


    Paradigm Co. did the hype reach its climax. At first, without the photos, everyone was merely shooting


    the breeze andughing about it. However, with the photos, each and every one of theizens went into


    a crazed frenzy.

 Chapter 940

    Chapter 940


    Chapter 940 Nation¡¯s Husband


    In particr, after some skilledizens dug up the specific information and value of the gifts, the inte


    fell intoplete chaos. All of the girls envied Sonia for receiving these gifts that were enough to drive


    women crazy, and even more envied her for having such a rich, handsome, and caring man who could


    give her these presents anytime and anywhere.


    The men, on the other hand, mumbled sourly that it was just a few bucks that shouldn¡¯t make these


    women lose their minds that much. Clearly, women were all gold diggers and only loved the rich. There


    were even many people who said that the reason why Sonia got back together with Toby must be


    because he was wealthy. If not, why did she choose to be with him and not another man?


    All in all, while these men looked down on Sonia and the crazed fangirls on the inte, they were also


    envious of Toby¡¯s wealth and couldn¡¯t help but fantasize that if they had so much money, it would be


    them who were being praised now.


    Even those women, whom they could only dream about but never have, would be throwing themselves


    at their feet, right? Of course, it was just their fantasies and they didn¡¯t have that much money in reality.


    In the end, they were only jealous.


    All of a sudden, various jokes appeared on the inte in an endless stream, and some even said that


    they wanted to possess Sonia¡¯s body so that the gifts and a man like Toby would be theirs. Meanwhile,


    others named Toby as the nation¡¯s husband, and this title unanimously received the approval of the


    people on the inte and immediately began trending.


    At this point, Toby¡¯s position as the nation¡¯s husband was settled. Therefore, when he came out of the


    conference room after the meeting ended, he felt that the way his employees looked at him had changed


    in a way that he had never seen before, but he didn¡¯t know what their gazes meant or whether they were


    good or bad.


    ¡°Look into it.¡± Toby ordered Tom behind him as he walked to the office with a frown.


    Tom had clearly also seen the way the employees were looking at Toby and managed to guess what


    happened, so he replied while pushing his sses up, ¡°Understood, President Fuller.¡±


    Saying that, he took out his phone and made a call. Once he was done and hung up the call, he looked


    at Toby and smiled. ¡°President Fuller, it¡¯s good news.¡±


    ¡°Good news?¡± Toby stopped in front of the office and looked back at him. ¡°What¡¯s the good news?¡±


    ¡°This is what happened.¡± Tom replied with a smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t you give Miss Reed a lot of gifts at noon?¡±


    Toby nodded slightly. ¡°Does the good news have to do with those gifts?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tom nodded. ¡°Miss Reed took the gifts to Paradigm Co. and told her employees what you gave


    her, then the employees spread it onto the inte. Now, theizens are extremely envious of Miss


    Reed and call her the happiest woman. They even named you as the Nation¡¯s Husband.¡±


    ¡°Nation¡¯s Husband?¡± Toby raised his eyebrows. What kind of name was that?


    Seeing Toby¡¯s slightly puzzled look, Tom knew that he didn¡¯t understand inte ng and exined


    with a smile, ¡°It means that a man who is tall, handsome, rich, and has a good personality is the ideal


    husband. They call dream guys like this the nation¡¯s husband. Because they can¡¯t get someone like this,


    they can only call him their husband on the inte to satisfy themselves.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Toby¡¯s eyes shed suddenly as he came to an understanding. These people had good taste for


    knowing that he was not only tall and handsome, but also a dream guy. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t their


    dream guy.


    Toby turned around and opened the office door before walking in with Tom following closely behind. After


    he came to his desk, he pulled his chair out and sat down, then pointed at the pile of documents on the


    desk. ¡°These are urgent documents sent by various departments. Send them outter.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Tom replied with a nod.


    Toby pulled on his tie and asked, ¡°Have you found out whether Connor and Anya are father and daughter


    yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Fuller, I haven¡¯t.¡± Tom shook his head and exined truthfully, ¡°I¡¯ve already acquired


    Anya¡¯s DNA, but we¡¯re facing some trouble on Connor¡¯s end. He hasn¡¯t been out of the hotel for the past


    two days, and he usually doesn¡¯t let the hotel staff in to clean his room, so we can¡¯t even ask the staff to


    take some of his hair.¡±


    Hence, his investigation was stuck here. When Toby heard Tom¡¯s ashamed answer, he was not angry,


    nor did he want to me him. It was a fact that Connor had always been vignt. Otherwise, why was he


    able tomit so many crimes that harmed otherpanies in Westsanshire without getting caught?


    ¡°All right. Keep watching him and get his DNA if you have the chance.¡± Toby waved his hand.


    Tom nodded. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    As his business was finished, he carried the pile of documents out.


    After he left, Toby rubbed his temples, then took out his phone from his pocket. The moment he turned it


    on, he saw a bunch of messages from Sonia. The number of messages suggested that she had sent a


    lot. This made Toby¡¯s expression tighten; he thought that something had happened. Why else would she


    send so many messages all of a sudden?


    Thinking that, he hurriedly tapped on the messages to check. However, he realized after a nce that he


    had been overthinking. Nothing had happened to her, and all of her messages were just pictures of her.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    In the photos, she was wearing the bags, jewelry, and heels that he had given her. Under these photos,


    there was also a text message from her asking him if she looked good. Of course, Toby didn¡¯t care too


    much about this text.


    What he cared more about was the one after it, which was also her final text where she said that she


    used the perfume he gave her and it smelled good, but unfortunately, there was no way to show it in her


    photos, so she didn¡¯t take any as he couldn¡¯t see it anyway. This message was followed by a sticker of a


    sad kitten.


    Although the kitten looked regretful, there was a triumphant and mischievous smile in its eyes. Clearly,


    Sonia was joking that he couldn¡¯t see the picture of her using the perfume, and if he looked into her


    words even further, she was implying that he couldn¡¯t smell the fragrance wafting off her body.


    Ha¡­ Toby¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed slightly as his lips curled into a small smile. This woman was getting


    bolder now, enough to dare to seduce him on her own. I can¡¯t smell it, huh? Let¡¯s see whether I can or


    not when I go back home at night.


    Toby¡¯s eyes flickered before he typed out a reply. ¡®It looks good. It suits you very well.¡¯


    After sending it, he scrolled up the conversation and saved the photos that Sonia sent one by one.


    Once he finished, he recalled what Tom had just said outside the office and opened a page on his


    browser to check the news on the inte. Sure enough, as Tom said, the fact that he gave Sonia gifts


    was trending on the inte. As he looked at thements that were envying Sonia, his lips curled up


    into a bigger smile. Of course they envied her. Everyone should be jealous of his woman.


    However, when Toby saw them calling him their husband under hisment section, he immediately


    frowned. Husband? Were they worthy of calling him that? What if his Little Leaf misunderstood? At this,


    his face darkened, and he clicked on thements before typing hurriedly and hitting the send button.


    Soon after, someone on the inte discovered that Toby¡¯s personal Facebook, which had not been


    updated for a long time, had a new post!

 Chapter 941

    Chapter 941


    Chapter 941 I¡¯ll Give You a Reward Tonight


    Theizen who discovered it first thought they had read it wrong. After rubbing their sses and


    refreshing the screen to look again, the post that had just been updated was still there. Yes, it was still


    there!


    Thisizen was so excited that they didn¡¯t care about the content at all and only wanted to quickly tell


    everyone that Toby had updated his Facebook. He was someone who was inactive all year round, and


    his Facebook only had two posts since it was created, with one of those posts being a notification after


    creating a new ount. Hence, it was surprising that he had suddenly posted again. When theizen


    was spreading the news, their hands even trembled excitedly while they typed on the keyboard.


    Their effort paid off. Soon, the entire inte knew that Toby had posted on his Facebook and it even


    began trending in the top five searches with the tag ¡®Fuller Group¡¯s President¡¯s Facebook Post.¡¯ Clearly,


    Toby¡¯s poprity did not lose out to those so-called celebrities in the entertainment industry. Even as


    those celebrities watched as their searches were buried by Toby, they didn¡¯t dare to get angry. After all,


    Toby was a powerful person, and he would always be on the top.


    After Toby¡¯s Facebook began trending, people finally began to pay attention to the content of his


    Facebook post. It was a short post, with only a brief sentence. ¡®Don¡¯t call me that. I¡¯m not your


    husband. I¡¯m only ¡°Paradigm Co. Sonia¡¯s¡± husband, and she¡¯s the only one who can call me that. The


    rest of you should just forget about it. Please be noted!¡¯


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    This was obviously a warning to everyone, but in the eyes of theizens, not only did it not make them


    feel unhappy and ufortable, but they began excitedly praising Toby for being a good man. As a


    result, after being titled as the Nation¡¯s Husband, Toby gained another hrious title, ¡®The Male


    Standard.¡¯


    At the same time, the people who envied Sonia increased. Everyone knew that theizens only called


    Toby their husband as a joke and it couldn¡¯t be true, and Toby himself must¡¯ve also known this.


    There were many male celebrities in the entertainment industry who were called husbands. Whether


    they were single, had girlfriends, or married, many would still call them that. The celebrities knew that it


    was just a joke as well, so they always readily epted it. They had nevere forward like Toby to


    warn against calling them their husbands, including their girlfriends and wives, because they knew it


    wasn¡¯t true. However, even though he knew it was a joke, Toby still came forward to tell theizens


    not to call him their husband, which was enough to prove how much he loved Sonia.


    Even if he knew that Sonia might not care or get angry that theizens called him by that name, he


    still cared about her feelings and was afraid that she would be unhappy, so he came forward to ask the


    netizens to stop and seriously stated that he didn¡¯t like others to call him as their husband, and that he


    only wanted to hear Sonia call him that. How could a man who was so assertive, dedicated, and so


    attentive not touch the hearts of theizens? In an instant, his poprity soared to unprecedented


    levels, making the celebrities in the entertainment industry extremely jealous.


    In Paradigm Co., Sonia still had no idea about the craze Toby had caused on the inte as she was


    swamped with work at the moment, painstakingly processing the documents from her staff. It wasn¡¯t


    until Daphne handed her the fund statement she had prepared and told her what happened that Sonia


    realized what Toby had done.


    When she saw what Toby had posted, Sonia was extremely moved and joyful, and her eyes watered.


    ¡°This guy¡­¡±


    ¡°Chairman Reed, President Fuller really treats you well,¡± Daphne said with an envious look as she


    stood across her desk.


    Sonia nodded and clutched her phone tightly. ¡°Yeah. After we got back together, he¡¯s been nothing but


    kind to me.¡±


    Now, he even warned theizens on her behalf, which was not something he would have done in the


    past. But, it was adorable. It was so silly that it was adorable!


    ¡°Chairman Reed, President Fuller tagged you and even said all of those heart-fluttering words. Aren¡¯t


    you going to reply to him?¡± Daphne urged excitedly as she looked at Sonia¡¯s phone.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at her. ¡°You just want to snoop around our rtionship, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Daphne giggled embarrassedly. ¡°You guessed it right, Chairman Reed.¡±


    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Sonia said, not knowing whether tough or cry, ¡°Even though you look like a strict


    and uptight headmaster, you¡¯re just as lively as those young female graduates in thepany who like


    to gossip around.¡±


    Even though she usually wore a serious expression on her face, Daphne couldn¡¯t help but blush as


    Sonia saw through her true personality.


    Sonia flicked her hand. ¡°All right, you can go and focus on your work. You¡¯re affecting me too much by


    being here, and I don¡¯t even know how to reply to him. If you want to know, you can just look on the


    inte yourselfter.¡±


    Daphne¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°You¡¯re right, Chairman Reed. In that case, I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sonia waved her hand.


    After Daphne turned around and left, Sonia turned on her phone again and looked at the post Toby had


    tagged her in, her red lips curling upward slightly.


    To be honest, when she saw that theizens were calling Toby their husband, she was surprised at


    first, but at the same time, she found it a little funny and even wanted to see what he looked like when


    he saw so many people calling him their husband. She didn¡¯t know what his reaction would be like. As


    for her, she truly wasn¡¯t jealous or unhappy. She knew that it was just a joke made by theizens, and


    they weren¡¯t taking it seriously. She wasn¡¯t petty enough to start a fight with theizens for a small


    issue like this.


    However, she didn¡¯t expect that Toby would take it seriously and exin that theizens were not


    allowed to call him that way, and even state that he would not be their husband, while she was the only


    one who could call him that. His behavior truly moved her. Now, people on the inte were probably


    even more envious of her, especially those women whose husbands were also being named as the


    netizens¡¯ husbands like her.


    Thinking of this, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but stifle augh. She then shared Toby¡¯s post and typed a reply.


    ¡®You¡¯re smart. I¡¯ll give you a reward when youe backter at night!¡¯


    The moment she sent the post, her face immediately flushed red as she turned her phone off while her


    heart raced. Her words were very bold and suggestive, and anyone who read it would know what the


    so-called reward was. It was the first time she hinted at something like this to Toby, and she had even


    done so for everyone to see. She had no choice either. After all, his behavior today made her feel


    extremely satisfied and happy. If he could do this, she thought that she should be bold and reward him


    sometimes, because he deserved it.


    Toby had his notifications turned on for Sonia, so the moment she shared and replied to his post, his


    phone immediately rang, and he hurriedly picked up his phone to check. When he saw what she had


    posted, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his expression was in slight disbelief. This was really a reply


    from her. However, as he looked at the post, he quickly calmed down andughed under his breath


    before replying ¡®Okay¡¯ under herment section.


    She had never been this bold, as he had always been the one to take the initiative in these areas.


    Given she was being proactive now, and announced to everyone that she would reward him at night all


    of a sudden, she was probably moved by his actions. Now, he was pleased and d he made that


    post. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten such a satisfactory reward.

 Chapter 942

    Chapter 942


    Chapter 942 The Lively Inte


    Theizens had not expected that Toby and Sonia would actually flirt openly on a public tform. In


    the public¡¯s eye, they were big figures that were out of reach to ordinaryizens like them, to the point


    where theizens didn¡¯t even understand them and only felt that they were unattainable figures that


    they could only look up to.


    However, watching them acting so down-to-earth on the inte and showing their affection in public


    like ordinary people, and even flirting in front of everyone, theizens instantly felt that the big figures


    they thought were out of their reach were actually not as unattainable as they¡¯d thought. They realized


    the couple could also say and do ordinary things just like everyone else.


    After that, theizens suddenly felt that the two of them got along well, and their affection for the two


    rose all of a sudden. Some boldizens even dared to joke under theirment section, asking if


    they could be invited to peek from under their bed. Unexpectedly, Toby replied to one of them, ¡®Never!


    Keep dreaming!¡¯


    Although he had not held back on his words, not only did he not make theizens angry, but on the


    contrary, they nearly fainted with excitement. He had been noticed by a big shot. A big figure actually


    replied to him! He was probably the first to receive this honor. Just as thisizen was happily jumping


    around in excitement, otherizens were envious when they saw this. They wanted to be noticed too.


    All of a sudden, Toby¡¯sment section turned lively and cheerful as jokingments continued to


    appear. Probably because he wasn¡¯t as cold as theizens thought he was in the past, and he also


    had a side to him that was down-to-earth, Toby was now very popr with theizens, and Fuller


    Group¡¯s stock prices had even risen a little.


    After Tom found out, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that Toby really deserved his position. Just by expressing


    his love to Sonia on the inte, he was able to make a fortune. As expected, this was why Toby could


    be the boss while he could only remain as his assistant.


    On the other side, Sonia had also seen the news of the changes in Fuller Group¡¯s stocks. After


    knowing the reason, she didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Obviously, she didn¡¯t expect that she


    would cause such amotion just because she wanted to show off his gifts in Paradigm Co.


    However, at least it wasn¡¯t a bad thing. She indirectly helped Fuller Group to make more profits, no?


    ¡°Haha.¡± Sonia couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    However, the aftermath of this incident was not over yet. Theizens were still happily leaving


    comments for Toby and Sonia, and the entertainment industry had begun to stir. The girlfriends or


    wives of male celebrities who were called husbands by theizens became envious of Sonia after


    seeing Toby¡¯s warning to theizens, and they also began to tag their boyfriends or husbands,


    wanting them to do the same.


    Then, some smart male celebrities really did as they said, learning from Toby and also posting some


    ¡°harsh statements¡± to theizens. There were some male stars who weren¡¯t as tactful, but had skilled


    agents supporting them, and they began to follow Toby¡¯s example at their agents¡¯ suggestions.


    However, after these male celebrities did this, not only were they not scolded by their girlfriends or their


    fans, but they were praised for their sense of responsibility and their tactfulness. In short, these male


    stars also got the praise Toby had received after following his actions.


    As a result, in this entertainment industry that had always been a mess of fights between fans, the


    atmosphere suddenly changed and became more harmonious than it had ever been before. The


    various fans stopped picking fights with each other andughed together under their favorite celebrities¡¯


    comment sections, and the inte had be so peaceful that it made people speechless.


    After that, some media outlets began expressing their amazement. It was as expected of a big shot.


    Just by being in a rtionship and showing his affection, not only did he increase the stock prices of his


    ownpany, but he also eliminated the bad behavior of fans in the entertainment industry and


    changed everything. This statement naturally received a lot of approval from countlessizens.


    Of course, there were also some people who sourly said that there was nothing great about this.


    Among them were Zane and Charles, two pitiful men who could only look but never get what they


    wanted.


    This also included Titus of Triforce Enterprise, who was still working hard despite his illness and pain.


    Because of themotion on the inte, even Titus, an old man who didn¡¯t pay attention to the


    recent trends, heard a little about what was happening. After finding out that Toby¡¯s gift to Sonia had


    gotten on the news, he clicked on the news and checked the details with the intention of understanding


    his enemy. When he saw the pictures of the gifts that were listed out by theizens, his face that was


    originally morbidly pale turned red.


    ¡°Toby, that b*stard. When he was with Tina, I never saw him giving her anything. The only thing he was


    going to give her was the Ocean¡¯s Heart, but he let that brat Sonia take it away in the end. He was so


    cruel to Tina, but he¡¯s extremely generous to that brat Sonia, enough to give her tens and hundreds of


    millions worth of gifts for no reason.¡± Titus cursed under his breath as he squeezed the mouse tightly


    with a re.


    Julia, who was sitting next to him, had been worried about his health recently and stayed with him all


    the time,muting to and back from work with him. When she heard Titus¡¯int, she should¡¯ve


    joined in, but for reasons unknown to her, she defended Sonia instead.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Wasn¡¯t Toby hypnotized by a person Tina found, which was why we thought he liked


    her? However, he never did. The person he likes has always been Sonia, so it makes sense that he


    never gave Tina anything and only gives presents to Sonia.¡±


    Titus widened his eyes in disbelief. ¡°Honey, why are you taking Sonia¡¯s side? Don¡¯t tell me you still


    think Sonia is our daughter?¡±


    Julia¡¯s eyes shed, and she lowered her eyelids. ¡°No, I¡¯m just talking based on the facts.¡±


    There was one more thing she didn¡¯t say. Although she didn¡¯t think Sonia was her daughter anymore,


    in her heart, she had always been very concerned that Sonia was not Henry¡¯s biological daughter and


    was extremely aware of the scar on Sonia¡¯s wrist. She always felt that she had missed out something,


    but she couldn¡¯t tell what it was. Most importantly, her disgust for Sonia didn¡¯t run as deeply as before.


    However, she couldn¡¯t say this out loud.


    ¡°Hmph, what facts? I say he¡¯s just being stingy.¡± Titus let out a scoff.


    In fact, he knew in his heart that what Julia said was the truth, but he just didn¡¯t want to admit it.


    ¡°All right, darling.¡± Julia snatched the mouse from Titus¡¯ hand. ¡°Don¡¯t look at these things anymore. The


    more you look at it, the angrier you¡¯ll get, and it isn¡¯t good for your health. All you have to do now is to


    calm down, recuperate, and wait for a kidney donor. After you rece your kidney and recover, it¡¯ll be


    time for us to take revenge.¡±


    Titus rubbed his temples and nodded wearily. ¡°Yeah, when I get better, I won¡¯t let both Toby and Sonia


    go. I must make her die, or when she eventually finds out what I did to Henry, it¡¯ll be me who will die by


    then.¡±


    As he spoke, a fierce light shed quickly in his yellowed pupils. ¡°If my body weren¡¯t this weak, how


    could Sonia be able to act so arrogantly until now?¡±


    In the past, Julia might have nodded in agreement. Now, however, she just massaged Titus¡¯ shoulders


    silently without answering. Her mind was in a mess. On one hand, she knew that the Gray Family and


    the Reed Family were mortal enemies. More than 20 years ago, Titus plotted against Henry and


    caused one of his staff to end their own life, which almost caused the Reed Family to go bankrupt.

 Chapter 943

    Chapter 943


    Chapter 943 Connor¡¯s n


    In order to fight back, Henry stole her daughter and threw her into the river. At this point, the two


    families hadpletely be mortal enemies. After that, because of Mia Murray, Titus¡¯ mother, the


    Reed Family and Gray Family did not continue to fight, and their hatred seemed to subside. However,


    she knew Titus had never forgotten that Henry killed their daughter, and he had never given up the idea


    of taking revenge.


    Three years after Mia¡¯s death, which was also six years ago, Titus not only bribed Sandra to give Henry


    a drug to weaken his mental state, but he also secretly set a trap for Henry and made him fall for it,


    causing Paradigm Co. to make a grave mistake that couldn¡¯t even be fixed by selling all the shares


    they had. Finally, Titus ordered people to tell Henry things that encouraged him to take his own life.


    Under Henry¡¯s weakened mental state, he was naturally convinced and jumped off a building in


    despair.


    Even if Sonia didn¡¯t know the true cause of Henry¡¯s death, she still med it on the Gray Family. After


    all, to her, Henry took his own life because they plotted against Paradigm Co. and left him with nothing.


    Hence, she felt nothing but hatred toward the Gray Family. Later, Tina got someone to hypnotize Toby


    and stole him from Sonia, then she and Titus plotted against Sonia several times. All of these grudges


    piled up made it so that the Gray Family and Reed Family were destined to be unable to coexist.


    Now, Julia felt somepassion for Sonia and didn¡¯t really want her to die, but she was still a part of


    the Gray Family and was Titus¡¯ wife, so she could only side with the Gray Family and hope that they


    would win. After all, while Sonia did have some of Rina¡¯s characteristics, at the end of the day, she was


    not Rina.


    As Titus and Julia schemed about their future ns, in a hotel, Connor had naturally also seen the


    commotion on the inte. Sitting on the sofa and looking at theptop in front of him, he rubbed the


    cane in his hand as he fell deep in thought.


    Behind him, Xander pushed his sses and said, ¡°Mr. Salzburg, Toby gave Sonia so many valuable


    gifts and even showed his sincerity to her in front of the entire inte. It seems that she is indeed very


    important to him. Maybe we can restore our n to use Sonia.¡±


    It sounded good, but Connor shook his head. ¡°Just these things alone can¡¯t fully prove that Toby takes


    Sonia very seriously, so we can¡¯t reuse that n for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it enough proof?¡± Xander was shocked.


    Connor put his cane aside and picked up his drink on the coffee table to take a sip before he said


    lightly, ¡°You haven¡¯t dated yet, so you wouldn¡¯t know. Some seemingly affectionate actions are a piece


    of cake for men, and it¡¯s not enough to prove their sincerity. Toby has a worth of tens of billions, but


    the gifts he gave Sonia is nothing more than a few million. This small amount of money isn¡¯t even worth


    mentioning to him. His presents are just like feeding a beggar. You¡¯ve been working for me for so long,


    so you¡¯ve seen people who date others for money, right?¡±


    Xander nodded profusely. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Connor smirked. ¡°Which of those people aren¡¯t generous and able to casually give their lovers gifts that


    are worth millions? Cars, houses, nes, cruise ships; as long as their lover makes them happy


    enough, wouldn¡¯t they give it out like it¡¯s nothing? But, does this mean that they love those women?¡±


    Xander shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not true. If they loved them, they wouldn¡¯t just throw money at them;


    they would give them a proper status instead.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. So, can these gifts Toby gave to Sonia prove that he loves her enough to give up


    everything for her? Which one of his gifts can¡¯t be offered by any man who¡¯s slightly rich and fools


    around with women? Besides, his presents aren¡¯t even as surprising as the cars and houses that those


    men give to their lovers. At least cars and houses can show his feelings more clearly. What use do


    these useless luxury items have?¡± Saying that, Connor put down his cup.


    Xander couldn¡¯te up with a reply.


    Connor grabbed his cane and continued, ¡°As for the statement he posted, ha, that¡¯s even more


    ridiculous. For any man within the circle, as long as he has a woman by his side, which one of them


    hasn¡¯t sweet talked them? In the end, they¡¯re just words. Anyone can learn how to say them. For


    instance, those young couples on the streets. They always say they love each other, but do they mean


    it? Can they prove their feelings with just one sentence? It¡¯s only young people who have not faced any


    difficulties who think that they can take these sweet nothings seriously.¡±


    The young Xander, who had never faced any difficulties, felt his mouth twitch and fell silent. He had just


    taken it seriously earlier and thought that with Toby¡¯s identity, being able to say such things in public on


    the inte must mean that he truly loved Sonia. However, after Connor¡¯s analysis, he realized just


    how naive he had been.


    That was right. Those young masters and bosses in the circle did often call their lovers with


    endearments and bombard them with sweet words, but in reality, it was all just a game. They could say


    the same sweet nothings to another woman, even if they weren¡¯t the same words. Hence, it was indeed


    a little ridiculous to prove someone¡¯s sincerity only with words.


    ¡°Mr. Salzburg, doesn¡¯t that mean that Toby¡¯s feelings for Sonia aren¡¯t actually that serious?¡± Xander


    frowned.


    Connor narrowed his wrinkled eyes. ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s been a day since I asked someone to snatch Sonia¡¯s


    company¡¯s spare parts, so she¡¯s probably feeling extremely anxious and is trying to figure out how to


    solve this matter. If she can¡¯t get the parts back within three days, she knows clearly what Paradigm


    Co. would face, but she didn¡¯t tell Toby. It¡¯s clear she knows that he still has some reservations toward


    her and might not help her. Of course, this is not absolute. Maybe she didn¡¯t tell him because she didn¡¯t


    want him to help and wanted to solve it herself. After meeting herst time, I can tell that Sonia is


    actually a very tough woman, and it¡¯s possible that she would do this.¡±


    Xander didn¡¯t care what kind of woman Sonia was. Hearing that Toby¡¯s feelings for Sonia might not be


    serious, he felt unhappy. ¡°Mr. Salzburg, Toby possesses andmands great wealth and power. If we


    want to deal with him, we must target his weakness. Only by doing so can we seed. We should


    probably forget about Old Mrs. Fuller for now. She wouldn¡¯t leave the Fuller Residence easily, and it¡¯s


    impossible for us to use her to deal with him. Secondly, his stepmother and her son are probably not


    his weaknesses either. After all, they¡¯re only his step family, so they might not feel strongly for each


    other, and a cold and powerful person like Toby may give up on them at any time. Excluding these


    three, we¡¯re only left with Sonia.¡±


    ¡°I know what you mean. This may not be able to test Sonia¡¯s position in Toby¡¯s heart, but it doesn¡¯t


    matter because I still have another solution.¡± Connor suddenly grasped his cane as his voice turned


    cold,pletely devoid of the gentleness he had at the beginning; it made him seem a little terrifying.


    He was like a hissing poisonous snake, sending a chill down people¡¯s spines.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Xander¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Mr. Salzburg, what do you n to do?¡±


    Connor shot him a look. ¡°You¡¯ll find outter.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of saying more, so Xander tactfully stopped asking as well.


    Meanwhile, in Paradigm Co., Sonia had no idea that people were plotting against her behind her back.


    She was sitting in her office chair right now, talking to Grace on her phone.

 Chapter 944

    Chapter 944


    Chapter 944 Grace¡¯s Reminder


    Grace liked to use social media in the first ce, so it was impossible for her to miss the current


    trending topics. Seeing Sonia and Toby openly show their love on the inte, she was honestly


    shocked. After all, she knew that Sonia had a gentle personality and didn¡¯t like to show off too much in


    public. It was basically impossible for her to do something like showing affection on the inte.


    As for Toby, the chances were even slimmer. He was always busy managing Fuller Group, so he


    wouldn¡¯t have time to entertain theizens on the inte. Besides, Toby was cold and arrogant, and


    he was not someone who would do something like this. However, the two who seemed least likely to


    show their affection were the ones who did.


    Because of that, Grace was utterly surprised and quickly made a phone call to Sonia.


    ¡°Sonny, you and Toby really caused a hugemotion. Not only are the stock prices of thepany


    rising, but the entertainment industry has also turned lively. Your disy of affection really shocked the


    world.¡± Graceughed.


    Sonia¡¯s face flushed red as she said a little embarrassedly, ¡°I just wanted to show off the gifts he gave


    me to my employees, but I didn¡¯t expect everyone to post it on the inte and turn it into such a big


    deal.¡±


    ¡°But on the bright side, letting everyone know your feelings with Toby appropriately can serve as a


    deterrent to people who have ulterior motives. Just some time ago, I heard Charles talk about the


    person who tried to steal your husband and then apologized to the whole inte¡­¡±


    ¡°Anya,¡± Sonia reminded her.


    Grace hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s her. You can let her and the other women who are aiming for


    Toby see how good your rtionship is with him, and they can never stand a chance.¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Hearing that, Soniaughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that far, but now that you¡¯ve said it, I guess it really is a good


    thing.¡±


    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Grace scoffed. ¡°There¡¯s something I haven¡¯t told you. A while ago, when I went for


    afternoon tea with some otherdies, Mrs. Wace, whose family runs a seafood market, knows that


    I¡¯m close with you, so she was trying to pry on your rtionship with Toby from me.¡±


    ¡°Something like that happened?¡± Sonia was stunned.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Grace pouted. ¡°Mrs. Wace has a daughter who is about your age. Recently, I heard that


    there¡¯s been a problem with the Wace Family¡¯s seafood market. Apparently, they¡¯re being


    investigated by the authorities for substituting fresh fish with stale fish. In order to solve this matter, the


    Wace Family asked about young men in the circle who were not married yet, and they wanted to


    marry their daughter off so that their inws could help them out. Let alone Seafield, who else is better


    than Toby in the country? So, they were eyeing him and wanted to make a move on him through me.¡±


    Sonia pursed her red lips as her expression sank. She felt disgusted, as if she had swallowed a fly. No


    one would feel happy thinking about the possibility of their lover being snatched away.


    Grace continued, ¡°After I found out about Mrs. Wace¡¯s ns, I couldn¡¯t tell her honestly, of course. If I


    did that, I¡¯d be betraying you. So, I refused and gave her a piece of my mind. You have no idea how


    terrible she looked back then.¡±


    Saying that, she covered her mouth with a hand andughed.


    Sonia smiled as well. ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°What are you thanking me for? Anyone who encounters this kind of thing would hate it.¡± Grace waved


    her hand. ¡°But, Sonny, I don¡¯t think the Wace Family will give up just like that. In the past two days,


    they¡¯ve been asking around about invitations to the business banquet within the circle.¡±


    ¡°Invitations to the banquet?¡± Sonia frowned.


    Grace hummed in reply. ¡°That¡¯s right. This time, the people invited to the business banquet are the


    ones who have more power in Seafield.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°I received an invitation too.¡±


    Logically speaking, with Paradigm Co.¡¯s current state, she wasn¡¯t supposed to receive an invitation.


    However, she had already gotten back together with Toby at that time, so the Lore Family would


    naturally not forget about her. In other words, she only got the invitation because of her rtionship


    with Toby.


    Speaking of which, she had alsomissioned a custom-made dress from a designer for this banquet.


    At first, she had already gotten her dress, but it was ruined by that woman, Anya. Thinking about it now,


    she started fuming again. The most disgusting one of them all was still that short-sighted man, Connor.


    Grace didn¡¯t know what Sonia was thinking, but she was not surprised to hear that she had also


    received the invitation. After all, with Toby there, it would be surprising if she didn¡¯t receive it.


    ¡°The Wace Family isn¡¯t on the invitation list this time, so they¡¯ve been looking for connections in the


    circle for the past two days in order to get one. At the same time, I also heard that they¡¯ve found a well-


    known stylist to dress their daughter up. I¡¯m guessing the Wace Family just wants to take their


    daughter to the banquet to find a target. Toby will definitely be going this time, right?¡± Grace asked.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°He will. He didn¡¯t want to at first. With his status and the strength of the Fuller Group


    now, there¡¯s no need for him to take part in this kind of banquet that isn¡¯t of any help to him and the


    Fuller Family. He¡¯s mainly going to apany and support me. After all, I need to get an exhibition


    tform in the Lore Family¡¯s mall this time.¡±


    When Grace heard what she said, her expression immediately turned serious. ¡°I knew it. The Wace


    Family will definitely make a move on Toby when the timees. Even if they don¡¯t target him, they


    would still go for other young men. Sonny, you have to take good care of Toby when the timees.


    I¡¯m afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stand the temptation. After all, men will always be men. You can¡¯t


    guarantee that they¡¯d be able to hold out when someone offers themselves to them.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Sonia clenched her phone and squeezed out a smile before she replied, ¡°But, I trust that he


    wouldn¡¯t do anything to hurt me.¡±


    Although she trusted that Toby would not betray her, she still hated it when people tried to snatch him


    away from her. She hoped that the Wace Family would know their ce and find another man. As


    long as they didn¡¯t make a move on her husband, she would turn a blind eye to it. However, if the


    Wace Family really dared to snatch her man away, she wouldn¡¯t hold back. The Wace Family was


    not as powerful as Paradigm Co., so it wasn¡¯t impossible for her to deal with them.


    ¡°I know you trust him, and I do as well, but there are some things that just having trust wouldn¡¯t be


    enough. Anyway, just be careful,¡± Grace advised with a sigh.


    Sonia nodded. ¡°All right, thank you for your reminder, Mrs. Lane.¡±


    ¡°Still, the Wace Family is really ridiculous. Even I, a woman who doesn¡¯t understand business, know


    what this banquet represents, but the Wace Family is trying to use this asion to find a man for


    their daughter without even being afraid of offending the Lore Family.¡± Grace¡¯s face was full of


    contempt and ridicule.


    Sonia knew the reason and replied indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s because this is the only opportunity for the


    Wace Family to reach out to many young men and top families at once, so of course they wouldn¡¯t


    want to miss it. They¡¯d rather risk offending the Lore Family just to give it a try. If they seed, they


    wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Lore Family dealing with them and they can just ask their daughter¡¯s


    family to help them settle things. After all, the people who can receive invitations from the Lore Family


    are on the same level as them, and the Lore Family will not truly be enemies with a family that is


    almost as powerful as them, so they can only bear it.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s the case. I was just wondering.¡± Grace came to a realization.


    Sonia turned the pen in her hand. ¡°But it¡¯s only on the condition that they seed. If they don¡¯t, I


    wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the Lore Family takes revenge on them.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Isn¡¯t it a p to the Lore Family¡¯s face if they tried to sell their daughter off at their


    banquet?¡± Graceughed.


    Although Sonia also had a faint smile on her face, it did not reach her eyes.


    ¡°All right, let¡¯s not talk about these things. Anyway, Sonny, just take care of yourself by then,¡± Grace


    reminded her worriedly.


    It was only then that Sonia showed a sincere smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mrs. Lane. I know when to stop.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Oh, right.¡± Suddenly recalling something, Grace asked in concern, ¡°How is Daphne?¡±

 Chapter 945

    Chapter 945


    Chapter 945 Am I a Merchandise


    After hearing Grace asking about Daphne, Sonia instantly became nervous. Initially leaning back in her


    chair, she adjusted her posture slightly and sat up, straightening her back. ¡°Oh, Daphne? She¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, good to hear that.¡± Grace nodded. ¡°I happened to meet her today while I was at the


    hospital for a checkup. At the time, I noticed that she looked somewhat pale while holding a thick pile of


    papers in her hand. I thought she was seriously ill, so I asked her immediately if she was alright, but


    she told me that she only had some problems with her neck.¡±


    Sonia bit her lower lip. ¡°You mean you don¡¯t believe that she¡¯s got a problem with her neck?¡±


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Grace nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve known that youngdy for years, so I know her to a degree. She


    lowered her head and dared not look me in the eye when she answered my question, so it was obvious


    that she was lying. Since she lied without telling me what was wrong with her, I couldn¡¯t force her to tell


    me the truth, so I pretended to buy her story. We then had a little chat before she made an excuse and


    left in a hurry, as if she feared that I¡¯d stop her. I was wondering why she was so afraid of me at the


    time. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a tiger that will eat her.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia raised her chin at the revtion. Then, she asked tentatively, ¡°In that case, Mrs. Lane,


    didn¡¯t you ask those at the hospital what was wrong with Daphne after she left?¡±


    Grace shook her head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t want to tell me about it, so how could I ask about these


    things? It¡¯ll be disrespectful toward her if I find out these things without permission.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Sonia patted her chest while breathing an inward sigh of relief. Luckily, Mrs. Lane is still


    unaware that Daphne is pregnant. Well, that¡¯s understandable. If she knew about it, she wouldn¡¯t have


    been soposed.


    Suddenly, Grace asked, ¡°Sonny, do you know about Daphne¡¯s illness?¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes flickered as she answered guiltily, ¡°Uh-huh. I know a little about it.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you were so calm when I asked you just now whether Daphne was alright. You were


    unruffled even when I mentioned that I met her at the hospital. So, you¡¯ve learned about it earlier on.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sort of.¡± Sonia gave an embarrassed smile. ¡°She¡¯s now my secretary, so she had to ask me for


    leave before going to the hospital to see a doctor.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. How could I forget about this?¡± Grace pped her forehead. Then, she continued, ¡°By the


    way, Sonny, Daphne didn¡¯t want to tell others what kind of illness she had. I noticed that she looked


    very unwell at the time, so I thought she was probably seriously ill. Moreover, she left in a hurry at the


    time. I guess she probably couldn¡¯t ept it and was devastated, so I¡¯m worried that she might


    abandon herself to despair and refuse to receive treatment. Since you¡¯re her boss, you have to


    persuade her to receive treatment.¡±


    At Grace¡¯s words, Sonia didn¡¯t know whether tough or to frown. She never expected that Grace


    would misinterpret Daphne¡¯s ¡®illness¡¯ so badly, as though thetter was suffering from an incurable


    disease. She couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, but she could only hold back herughter to avoid arousing


    Grace¡¯s suspicion. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she replied, ¡°Alright, Mrs. Lane, I¡¯ll do that. Don¡¯t


    worry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Well, I¡¯ve got nothing else to say. You haven¡¯t finished work yet, so I won¡¯t keep you any


    longer,¡± Grace said after checking the time.


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Sonia mumbled. After hanging up the phone, she opened her Messenger and sent Daphne a


    voice message to tell her what Grace had just said.


    In therge office next door, Daphne listened to Sonia¡¯s words via the Bluetooth earpiece she was


    wearing. Knowing that Grace cared so much about her, she felt warm and yet conflicted inside, and her


    eyes moistened slightly. What a kind person Mrs. Lane is! Too bad that we¡¯re not meant to be close.


    Having listened to Sonia¡¯s voice message, she sent Sonia a text message that read, ¡®Please say


    thanks to Mrs. Lane for me, Chairman Reed.¡¯ Then, she switched off her phone, put away her


    innermost feelings, and proceeded to bury herself in work, knowing that she couldn¡¯t allow herself to be


    moved too deeply, nor could she dwell too much upon it, or she would crave for more and be


    even more resentful and regretful.


    When Sonia saw that Daphne had only asked her to thank Grace on her behalf without mentioning


    anything else in her reply message, she let out a sigh and shook her head.


    Then, she started working again without replying to Daphne¡¯s message.


    It was soon time to get off work. As soon as Sonia stretched after dealing with thest document,


    someone knocked on the door to her office. Thinking that it was one of her assistants or secretaries,


    she immediately sat up straight and straightened her clothes. Only then did she say in the door¡¯s


    direction, ¡°Come in.¡±


    The knock on the door stopped. The next instant, the door was opened.


    Surprisingly, the person who came in wasn¡¯t Sonia¡¯s assistant or secretary, but a certain man with the


    last name of Fuller. ¡°Have you finished work?¡± he asked in a soft voice while looking at the woman


    behind the desk with a smile as he came in.


    When she saw him, Sonia promptly stood up with a look of unconcealed surprise on her face. ¡°Why are


    you here?¡± Soon after that, though, she recalled something, and the look of surprise on her face faded.


    Letting out a snort, she settled back in her chair and turned away, looking as though she didn¡¯t want to


    see the man because she was angry with him.


    Toby was startled upon seeing this. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up from work. What¡¯s the matter?¡± He walked


    up to her as fast as his long legs could carry him. ¡°Did I do something wrong that upset you?¡±


    Still unwilling to turn to face him, Sonia let out another snort.


    Toby came to her side and ced his hands on her shoulders before forcibly turning her around. ¡°Look


    at me.¡±


    Sonia was unwilling to do so, though.


    He let out a soft sigh. Then, he raised her chin to force her to face him. ¡°Come on, tell me what I¡¯ve


    done. If I did something wrong, I¡¯ll apologize to you for that, okay?¡± Despite saying so, he didn¡¯t think he


    had done anything wrong. However, if she firmly believed that he had done something wrong, he was


    willing to say he was wrong and apologize to her. After all, she was his woman, so he would appease


    her however he wanted to, as long as she was happy.


    Upon hearing his words, Sonia finally turned around and looked him in the eye. She said jealously with


    a snort, ¡°Congrattions, President Fuller. Someone has taken a fancy to you and wants you to be


    their son-inw¡ªagain.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Toby was startled at first before his face fell. ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. Why didn¡¯t I know about such a


    thing?¡± He had always known that many women in the upper-ss circles were eying him covetously


    and that many families were seeking to establish a connection with him. However, ever since he


    threatened those in the circles many years ago, those women and families who were interested in him


    had never shown up before him and gotten in his way, fearing that he would pick on them in a fit of


    anger if they annoyed him. As a result, these people gave up on trying to be rted to him over


    time, which was why he thought it impossible when Sonia said now that someone had taken a fancy to


    him and wanted him to be their son-inw. And besides, how could he possibly be unaware of such a


    thing if it was true?


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense.¡± Sonia threw her hands up. ¡°Mrs. Lane told me about this, saying that the


    Waces, who are in the seafood business, have their eyes on you and want to steal you from me.


    How does that feel, Mr. Fuller? You must be feeling smug now that you¡¯re a hot item.¡±


    Seeing how she pretended to make fun of him despite her apparent jealousy, Toby was inwardly


    delighted. The fact that she¡¯s jealous means that she loves me, he thought. ¡°That¡¯s nonsense.¡± He


    released his grip on her chin and gently tickled her nose. ¡°Why should I feel smug? Am I a


    merchandise that needs their appraisal? And besides, do I have to be their son-inw just


    because they want me to? They¡¯re belittling me,¡± he said. As he spoke of this, his face became visibly


    sullen, and the air around him turned frosty.

 Chapter 946

    Chapter 946


    Chapter 946 One Ought to Be Kind


    ¡°I know you won¡¯t let them have their way by bing their son-inw, but it¡¯s true that they have their


    eyes on you,¡± Sonia said, pouting.


    Toby pinched her nose gently. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of this before. From whom did Mrs. Lane hear about


    this?¡± It didn¡¯t make sense that as one of the people involved, he would learn about something rted


    to himter than others did.


    ¡°She heard it from the family that has their eyes on you, of course.¡± Sonia stopped keeping Toby in


    suspense and told him everything Grace had told her at the time.


    Toby looked as ck as thunder when he finished listening to her story. ¡°What a nerve they¡¯ve got, the


    Waces!¡± He knew the Waces, who ran a seafood business in Seafield. However, Seafield was a


    coastal city where many were engaged in the seafood business. Because of the fiercepetition, the


    Waces were pretty much a nobody among them. Most annoyingly, they were dishonest in their


    business practices.


    They often resorted to some dishonest petty means, such as passing spoiled seafood off as fresh ones


    or passing cultivated seafood off as freshly caught ones. As time went on, some people couldn¡¯t stand


    it anymore, so they were reported to the relevant department. As a result, the Waces got into trouble.


    Many of their fishing quays were sealed off by the relevant department, and several of their seafood


    markets were closed for the time being. Naturally, they could no longer run their seafood business at


    present.


    Toby had heard that the Waces had been pulling strings wherever they could to solve this issue and


    that they had been seeking to form an alliance with a family that had some say in Seafield through


    marriage. However, he thought he had nothing to do with it, so he no longer paid attention to it after


    hearing about this. Still, he never thought he was the one whom the Waces targeted and wanted to


    form a marriage alliance with!


    Ha! What a nerve they¡¯ve got! There are so many prestigious figures in Seafield, and people who want


    to marry me are a dime a dozen. Which of these people isn¡¯t of higher standing than the Waces? But


    would they actually show up before me and propose a marriage alliance with me?


    They wouldn¡¯t dare to, I¡¯m afraid. Even if they have such an intention, they dare not show it, let alone


    put it into practice. The Waces are inferior to those families in every way, but they¡¯re even bolder than


    those families. Not only do they have the idea of forming a marriage alliance with me, but they even


    have the nerve to put it into practice by asking Mrs. Lane about my current rtionship status! Do they


    really think that I won¡¯t get angry with them?


    Noticing the man¡¯s sullen expression and the freezingly cold vibes emanating from him, Sonia had a


    rough idea of what he was thinking. He¡¯s probably thinking about how to deal with the Waces for


    targeting him. Looking at his frosty expression, she asked affirmatively, ¡°You want to take action against


    the Waces?¡±


    Toby patted her head without giving a definite answer.


    Sonia shook her head, though. ¡°You¡¯d better not do that.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because they haven¡¯t done anything yet so far, of course.¡± Sonia took his hand off the top of her head


    and toyed with it. His hand was very warm, whereas her hands and feet were ice-cold in winter, so she


    liked to hold his hand and use it as a free human heater to warm her hands.


    ¡°The Waces do have such an intention, but they never really showed up or did anything in front of


    you. Even if you want to deal with them, you don¡¯t have a valid reason or proof for doing so. Won¡¯t you


    be a person who strikes and kills indiscriminately in the eyes of others by then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Toby said impassively as his thin lips parted slightly. ¡°If there¡¯s some scheme that¡¯s about


    to crop up, I¡¯d rather nip it in the bud.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± Sonia released his hand and hugged him around the waist, burying her head in his chest.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want you to be spoken of like that. Your reputation in business circles is a bit unsavory in


    the first ce. They say you¡¯re a cold-blooded and merciless devil incarnate and a detestable capitalist.


    Do these sound pleasant to you?¡±


    Toby frowned slightly without saying a word. It wasn¡¯t that he was unaware of these nicknames, which


    were given to him by those in business circles. However, he had never cared about them. These were


    nothing but the products of the rage of ipetent losers, after all.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Sonia continued, ¡°In any case, they don¡¯t sound pleasant to me. If you deal with the Waces right now,


    those in business circles will definitely give you some other offensive titles. After all, the Waces are


    only harboring such an idea. They haven¡¯t done anything specific yet.


    If you deal with them, they¡¯ll find you terrifying, and those who have been distancing themselves from


    you will distance themselves from you even further. I know you¡¯re so powerful that you don¡¯t have to


    make friends with others in business circles, but being alone can sometimes put you at a disadvantage.


    After all, however strong one might be, they¡¯re just a single person. Even the weakest of ants can


    devour an elephant if theye together. So, let¡¯s pretend that you don¡¯t know anything as long as the


    Waces don¡¯t really do anything specific. After all, didn¡¯t Mrs. Lane say that the Waces might also


    have their eyes on somebody else in Seafield?¡±


    Toby pursed his lips. ¡°They might have their eyes on others, but I¡¯m one of those they have their eyes


    on, after all. I can refrain from doing anything to the Waces for the time being, but don¡¯t you mind


    their presence?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Sonia acknowledged her thoughts with a poised nod. ¡°If I didn¡¯t mind that, I wouldn¡¯t have been


    angry with you just now. But I can¡¯t let somebody pay the price because I mind the fact that they have


    their eyes on you and want you to be their son-inw, right? After all, they haven¡¯t done anything yet.


    If they had, I wouldn¡¯t say anything, of course. But if they haven¡¯t, I won¡¯t really deal with them. The


    most I¡¯d do is dislike them. And besides, the Waces aren¡¯t the only family that wants you to be their


    son-inw. It¡¯s just that the Waces have now made their intentions known, whereas the others hide


    their intentions well. Surely I can¡¯t ask you to deal with them all as well, right?¡± If I really do so, both of


    us will be setting ourselves up against the entire world. By then, the winners will definitely be those


    people, not us.


    Toby¡¯s eyes showed tenderness and a hint of helplessness when he finished listening to her words.


    ¡°Little Leaf, being too kind and softhearted will sometimes put you at a disadvantage, you know?¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± Sonia smiled. ¡°Still, I¡¯d like to stick to my beliefs. As long as they haven¡¯t done anything,


    I¡¯ll pretend that I don¡¯t know anything, and I won¡¯t target them on my own initiative. If I take action like


    crazy just because they harbor such an idea, then what¡¯s the difference between me and those like


    Tina and Titus? I can¡¯t ept myself bing like that. One would better be kind as long as they live.¡±


    Toby put his arms around her head and rested his chin on the top of her head as his Adam¡¯s apple


    bobbed up and down. Then, he replied in a gentle, husky voice, ¡°Alright. You win.¡±


    Sonia nced up at him, but she couldn¡¯t raise her head much as he held her head tightly. As a result,


    she could only raise her head a little and see his delicate jaw. ¡°Still, you¡¯ve got to watch out. Mrs. Lane


    said that the Waces had gone to great pains to get the invitation to the business banquet for the


    purpose of seeking a potential son-inw.


    Of course, it¡¯ll be best if they don¡¯ty their hands on you. If they really target you, be sure to control


    yourself. Mrs. Lane said that men would easily lose control over themselves most of the time when


    women volunteered to sleep with them.¡±


    Toby was both vexed and amused upon hearing this. ¡°That¡¯s sheer nonsense. Am I the kind of idiot


    who has no self-control and who only thinks with their lower half? Seriously, why would Mrs. Lane say


    these things to you? What kind of a person does she think I am?¡±


    Sonia smiled at him. ¡°She only went out of her way to say these things to me for my sake.¡±


    Toby pursed his lips in displeasure. ¡°Even if she said these things for your sake, you mustn¡¯t take her


    words to heart. Just listen to it, but don¡¯t take it seriously. By the way, you¡¯re not taking it seriously, are


    you?¡±

 Chapter 947

    Chapter 947


    Chapter 947 Sonia¡¯s yacting


    Despite looking at Sonia, he was inwardly tense. She treats Mrs. Lane like her own mother, so she


    might take her words seriously and think that I can actually be a man who will lose self-control over a


    woman who volunteers to sleep with me. If that really happens, then Mrs. Lane has really made things


    difficult for me.


    How could Sonia not know what Toby was thinking at the moment when she saw the apparent nervous


    look on his face? Her eyes flickered before she looked at him with feigned sternness without answering


    him.


    Her silence caused his heart to start to sink. ¡°Are you really taking it seriously?¡±


    Sonia watched as the man looked more and more nervous until he almost got all worked up. Then, she


    wiped the stern look off her face andughed. ¡°How is that possible? I won¡¯t take it seriously, of


    course.¡±


    ¡°But you just¡ª¡±


    ¡°I did it on purpose.¡± Sonia smiled smugly at him. ¡°I did it on purpose to watch your reaction. Look how


    scared you are. It¡¯s fun.¡±


    Hearing her mischievousughter, Toby let out a breath of relief. Luckily, she didn¡¯t take it seriously. But


    what a nerve she¡¯s got, scaring me on purpose! He pursed his lips before tickling her armpit.


    Sonia was ticklish, so she recoiled when Toby tickled her. She dodged him whileughing, asking,


    ¡°What are you doing, Toby?¡±


    ¡°Punishing you, of course. How dare you scare me on purpose?¡± Toby looked at her solemnly while


    tickling her armpit again.


    Sonia dodged him even further, and herughter was interspersed with shouts. ¡°I was just kidding,


    okay? I know you¡¯re not that kind of person, so I didn¡¯t take her words to heart from the very beginning.


    But the sight of your expressionless face made me want to tease you on purpose. I don¡¯t mean


    anything else; I just want to know how you¡¯d react when you saw that I took her words seriously.¡±


    ¡°Can this kind of thing be joked about as you wish? Do you know that I have a heart condition?¡± Toby


    said with a frown. She really scared me just now. I really thought that after we¡¯d been together for so


    long, she¡¯d still think that I couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of the outside world like those vulgar men.


    Turns out that she was just kidding to try to scare me.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Sonia grumpily rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Your heart condition is a thing of the past. Your


    heart condition has been cured long ago.¡± She poked him in the chest where his heart was with her


    finger.


    Toby held her finger and lowered his eyelids to conceal his dark eyes. He argued in an impassive


    voice, ¡°Still, you can¡¯t do that.¡±


    Seeing how serious he looked, Sonia became serious as well. ¡°Do you dislike such jokes?¡±


    Toby lifted her face and nodded solemnly to her. ¡°Uh-huh. I don¡¯t like it. If you do so, you¡¯ll make me


    doubt that I don¡¯t make you feel secure enough. Also, you¡¯ll make me doubt that there¡¯s something I


    didn¡¯t do well that makes you feel that I might get seduced by others anytime.¡±


    Upon hearing him say so, Sonia finally realized that the joke was somewhat inappropriate. She quickly


    apologized, saying, ¡°Sorry for my thoughtlessness. I won¡¯t do that again.¡± Since she had done


    something wrong, she had to acknowledge her mistakes and apologize.


    Toby stroked her hair. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°But please don¡¯t me Mrs. Lane for this. She doesn¡¯t know you as well as I do, so it¡¯s normal for her


    to think so. There are too many of such men, after all. She only said that for my sake.¡± Sonia looked at


    him worriedly, fearing that he would get displeased with Grace for this.


    However, Toby suddenly let out a chuckle. ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t. I know she only said that for your sake,


    so why should I me her?¡±


    ¡°Phew.¡± Sonia breathed an inward sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. I was afraid that you might think she was


    trying to sow discord between us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d probably think so before meeting her. But now that I¡¯ve met herst night and gave her so many


    presents, I know from her attitude toward me that she won¡¯t do such a thing.¡± Toby caressed her tender


    cheek. ¡°So, don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Sonia nodded with a smile while putting her mind at rest.


    ¡°Have you finished work?¡± Toby darted a look at the desk next to her, which had been cleared and


    tidied at this moment. Obviously, she had finished her work.


    As he had expected, Sonia left his embrace and took the handbag that was hanging from the coat


    stand nearby. ¡°Of course. And besides, you¡¯re already here to pick me up, so how could I not go with


    you? Let¡¯s go.¡± She stretched out her hand toward him.


    Toby took her handbag from her while holding her hand before taking her out of her office.


    Naturally, some secretaries and assistants saw them walk out of her office toward the elevator. They


    had gotten used to seeing Toby carry Sonia¡¯s handbag for her. In any case, as long as he came here,


    he would definitely carry her handbag for her. Therefore, however funny he looked while carrying a


    ladies¡¯ handbag, they would look as imperturbable as they were right now instead ofughing as they


    had at first. Having seen much of it, they thought nothing of it, even if it was funny. After all, they had


    grown used to it.


    The only thing that remained unchanged was that they would always be awed by Sonia¡¯s rtionship


    with Toby. Seriously, they¡¯re getting more and more lovey-dovey. They just had a public disy of


    affection on the inte during the day, which was so sweet that it¡¯d make people lose their teeth. Now


    that they¡¯ve finished work, they¡¯re being lovey-dovey here in front of us. Isn¡¯t this inhumane?


    Inwardly, thepany¡¯s employees were deeply resentful, moring that they didn¡¯t want to see such


    public disys of affection. However, whenever Sonia and Toby showed up together, they would enjoy


    their public disys of affection with great pleasure. It couldn¡¯t be helped. After all, the scene of them


    appearing together was simply too wonderful.


    Soon, the elevator arrived.


    Knowing that the secretaries and assistants were looking at them from the door to therge office,


    Sonia made a point of nodding to them with a smile before entering the elevator. After waving them


    goodbye, she finally entered the elevator with Toby.


    R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    After the elevator door closed, she turned to look at the man next to her. ¡°What do you want to eat


    tonight?¡± she asked. ¡°There¡¯s no food ingredients at home. We have to buy some at the grocery store.¡±


    Toby lowered his eyes to meet her gaze. ¡°We¡¯re not gonna eat at home tonight.¡±


    Sonia tilted her head to one side. ¡°You mean we¡¯re gonna eat out?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Toby raised his chin. ¡°And go somewhere while we¡¯re at it.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Sonia blinked her eyes curiously.


    Instead of answering her question, Toby secretively kept her in suspense. ¡°You¡¯ll know it once we¡¯re


    there.¡±


    Sonia gave him a dirty look. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re not gonna say it, then don¡¯t.¡±


    As soon as she finished her sentence, the elevator stopped all of a sudden. Then, its door opened with


    a Ding!


    Seeing the couple in the elevator, Asher was startled for a moment with a look of unconcealed surprise


    in his eyes. Obviously, he didn¡¯t expect Sonia and Toby to be in the elevator, nor did he expect he


    would run into them by such coincidence.


    Sonia also didn¡¯t expect the person outside to be Asher. She was surprised for a moment, but she


    came to her senses soon afterward and nodded to him impassively. ¡°President Dafoe, are you getting


    off work too?¡±


    Asher came to his senses as well. Surprisingly, he gave Sonia a benign smile, which startled her.


    However, she soon figured out the reason behind it. It¡¯s probably because he saw Toby next to me,


    which is why he doesn¡¯t behave as peculiarly as he usually does when he sees me.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. You¡¯re getting off work with President Fuller, aren¡¯t you?¡± Asher replied while turning


    to look at the tall man next to her. ¡°President Fuller, are you here to pick Sonia up from work?¡±


    Toby darted an impassive nce at Asher disinterestedly.


    Asher¡¯s eyes flickered for a moment, but he wasn¡¯t angry.

 Chapter 948

    Chapter 948


    Chapter 948 The Date of Our Wedding Has Been Decided


    Thanks to the difference in their status, he dared not blow up in front of this guy, nor could he afford to


    do so. ¡°Sonia, President Fuller, since we¡¯re clocking out at the same time, you don¡¯t mind me taking the


    same elevator, right? he asked. Despite his question, he entered the elevator right away without waiting


    for Sonia and Toby¡¯s reply.


    As soon as he entered, the elevator door slowly closed. Now it was toote to say they minded him


    taking the elevator and to ask him to get out.


    Toby looked as ck as thunder. Sonia didn¡¯t look very pleased either, but she said nothing. After all,


    this elevator wasn¡¯t hers alone. It was for exclusive use by senior management, so Asher had the right


    to use it. It¡¯s not the end of the world. I¡¯ll just put up with it.


    It was so quiet inside the elevator that only the sounds of shallow breathing and the elevator operating


    could be heard. For a time, Asher sensed some pressure.


    Of course, the pressure wasn¡¯ting from Sonia. Although she had been running thepany for


    nearly half a year, she was still young, after all. In terms of vigor, she was far from being a match for


    Asher, who had been in business for decades. Therefore, there was no way Sonia could put pressure


    on him; only the reverse was possible.


    There are only the three of us in the elevator. Since Sonia can¡¯t put pressure on me, the only one who


    can do so is none other than Toby. At the thought of this, Asher turned slightly to nce at Toby, who


    was standing next to Sonia while putting his arm around her waist in a protective posture. Inwardly, he


    sighed with feeling. This guy is young, but themanding aura that¡¯s emanating from him overpowers


    me, an old man who has been a businessman for decades. How can old people like us stand this?


    Just as he was thinking, Toby suddenly turned his gaze to him with cold, expressionless eyes. ¡°What


    are you looking at?¡±


    Seeing the look in his eyes, Asher shuddered all over, and his face paled somewhat. However, as a sly


    old fox, heposed himself and concealed his fears soon afterward. He replied with a forced smile,


    ¡°I¡¯m just looking at how lovey-dovey you and Sonia still are. You two are such an object of envy on the


    inte today.¡±


    ¡°A wonderful rtionship is supposed to be envied,¡± Toby replied while withdrawing his gaze


    impassively.


    Sonia smiled without saying a word.


    Asher lowered his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re right, President Fuller. But no matter how you put it, I¡¯m considered a


    family friend of Sonia. Her father and I had been friends for many years. Now that her father has


    passed away, it¡¯s only natural that as his friends, we should look after her on his behalf.¡±


    Toby frowned. ¡°So? What are you trying to say?¡±


    Sonia also looked at Asher without concealing the sarcasm in her eyes. This guy is really funny. When


    he fights for power and money, he wishes I could die so that he could scramble for what I have.


    Whenever he sees me, he¡¯s never nice to me. He never respected my position as chairman of the


    company, let alone treated me as his family friend for real, she thought. If it weren¡¯t for Asher¡¯s early


    contributions to Paradigm Co. as well as his age, she wouldn¡¯t have put up with his attitude. Instead,


    she would¡¯ve let him know what it meant to be respectful toward thepany¡¯s chairman. Right now,


    however, because of Toby¡¯s presence, he shamelessly assumed an air of seniority and called himself a


    family friend, saying as kindly as he could that he would look after her. If she hadn¡¯t known that he was


    pretending, she¡¯d probably have been fooled by him. Well, he¡¯s quite a good actor, after all.


    How could Asher not tell that Sonia was mocking him for his hypocrisy at this moment? Pinching his


    palms in secret, he pretended that he didn¡¯t notice anything and continued to look at Toby with a smile.


    He replied, ¡°I just wanted to say that you and Sonia have gotten back together for some time, and


    everyone knows that you two are very affectionate toward each other. I was just wondering when you


    two are gonna get married¡ªor rather, do you intend to get married?¡±


    The instant he said so, Sonia narrowed her eyes and looked at him with sarcasm as well as a hint of


    suspicion. Why is this old geezer asking about these things?


    ¡°You¡¯re asking if we intend to get married?¡± Toby¡¯s lips curled slightly.


    Asher nodded. ¡°Yeah. You two are already a couple, after all, so it¡¯s time to think about this. Don¡¯t you


    think so, President Fuller?¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Tobyughed before lowering his eyes to look at Sonia. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this,


    President Dafoe. We intend to get married, of course, and the date of our wedding has been decided. I


    definitely won¡¯t forget to invite you to our wedding by then.¡±


    Asher¡¯s expression instantly froze. He was just sounding Toby out, but he didn¡¯t expect thetter to


    really have the intention of marrying Sonia. Not only that, but even the date of their wedding had been


    decided. For a moment, he felt quite restless, as Toby¡¯s desire to marry Sonia was definitely not a good


    thing for him. He was intent on having Paradigm Co. to himself. Now that Sonia and Toby were a


    couple, his chances of sess were very slim. Won¡¯t I have no chance of having Paradigm Co. to


    myself once they get married? If Sonia gives Paradigm Co. to Toby on impulse and has it merged with


    the Fuller Group after they get married, won¡¯t I end up with nothing?


    He was incredibly anxious, whereas Sonia was inwardly surprised. She stared wide-eyed at the man


    next to her with a look in her eyes that clearly asked him when the date of their wedding had been


    decided.


    Toby merely gave her a smile without answering her. However, his smile vanished soon afterward, and


    a hint of chilliness shed across his eyes for an instant as he looked expressionlessly at Asher, who


    was lowering his head in thought. ¡°President Dafoe, why didn¡¯t you say anything when I said that I


    intended to marry Sonia? Weren¡¯t you the one who asked the question? You fell silent when I answered


    your question. Not only that, but you didn¡¯t even smile. What¡¯s wrong? Do you not want me to marry


    Little Leaf?¡±


    Asher nched at once. He broke out in a cold sweat, and his heart was beating so fast that it almost


    jumped out of his chest. Immediately, he shook his head and replied, ¡°No, no, no! Of course not! I¡¯m a


    family friend of Sonia as well as her father¡¯s friend. I treat her as my daughter, so how can I possibly


    not wish you two to get married? I¡¯m only too happy to know that you two are getting married.¡± God


    only knew how reluctant he was to say these things. He couldn¡¯t admit that he didn¡¯t want them to get


    married. Their marriage wouldn¡¯t do him any good, but he couldn¡¯t let this man know such a thing, or


    nobody knew how this guy was going to deal with him. Therefore, he could only say so against his


    conscience and put up with it even when Sonia rolled her eyes at him.


    ¡°Is that so? Good that you¡¯re happy with it. I¡¯ll definitely have the invitation sent to you by then, so be


    sure to attend our wedding,¡± Toby said while putting his arm around Sonia¡¯s shoulders.


    Asher¡¯s smile looked increasingly strained. ¡°That¡¯s of course. I-I¡¯ll definitely attend your wedding.¡±


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    ¡°Good to hear that.¡± Toby looked at him with emotionless eyes. ¡°President Dafoe, you¡¯re indeed a good


    family friend; you care so much about Little Leaf. Don¡¯t worry. Even after our wedding, I¡¯ll treat her as


    well as I do now so that she¡¯ll be happy forever.¡±


    I¡¯d rather you treated her badly and made her suffer! thought Asher viciously. Of course, he couldn¡¯t


    show the slightest hint of malice. Instead, he could only reply with a smile, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve said so, I


    can finally put my mind at rest. Sonia¡¯s such a poor thing, after all.¡± After darting a look at Sonia, he let


    out another sigh, looking as though he pitied her.


    Sonia nearly threw up in disgust. At the same time, she was furious.

 Chapter 949

    Chapter 949


    Chapter 949 Asher¡¯s Scheme


    A poor thing? Why don¡¯t I find anything about me that deserves pity? thought Sonia. Just as Sonia


    could no longer restrain herself and wanted to argue with Asher about what he meant, Toby gave her


    shoulder a gentle squeeze, signaling her to hold her horses.


    She looked up at Toby, who happened to be looking at her as well. Seeing her gaze, he merely gave


    her a reassuring look without saying a word, signaling her to leave the matter to him.


    As it turned out, Toby had noticed that she had gotten pissed off by Asher¡¯s words and wanted to


    confront him. He stopped her because he worried that she might be at a disadvantage against Asher.


    After all, Asher had been in business for decades longer than she had. It was easy for her to be at a


    disadvantage against him, so Toby thought it was better to let him deal with this kind of thing. When


    Sonia realized what he meant, her heart warmed for a moment. Then, she calmed down.


    Sensing her emotional changes, Toby gently patted her on the shoulder. Then, he pulled her to his


    right, separating her from Asher with his own body while facing Asher himself.


    To be honest, now that he had to face Toby head-on with Sonia no longer standing between them,


    Asher was under much more pressure than he had been at first, so much so that he somewhat


    regretted entering the elevator. But now that he was already in the elevator, he had no choice but to


    brazen it out and continue facing Toby.


    Standing right before Asher, Toby lowered his head slightly to look down at him. ¡°President Dafoe, what


    makes you say that Little Leaf is a poor thing?¡±


    The man¡¯s expressionless eyes made Asher feel like he was a nobody. In an instant, a tremendous


    sense of humiliation surged up within him. However, he had always been good at concealing his


    emotions, so he suppressed the feeling soon afterward. Putting on a hypocritical look of regret, he let


    out a sigh, saying, ¡°President Fuller, you know as well that Sonia wasn¡¯t the Reed Family¡¯s biological


    daughter.


    For some reason, she was abandoned by her biological parents as soon as she was born, but she was


    lucky to be picked up by Henry. Otherwise, nobody knows what would¡¯ve happened to her. Perhaps


    she would¡¯ve died, or perhaps she would¡¯ve been sent to an orphanage and grown up there before


    getting married, having kids, and bing the most ordinary person among all living things.¡±


    Sonia almostughed in anger at his words. Is he saying these things to remind me of my real identity?


    Is he saying this so that I¡¯ll keep in mind that I¡¯m just an orphan who might¡¯ve not been able to live like


    the daughter of a rich family, inherit Paradigm Co., join the upper-ss circles, and get to know Toby if


    Dad hadn¡¯t picked me up? Is he saying this so that I¡¯ll feel inferior in front of Toby?


    Well, it¡¯s true that as the Fullers¡¯ eldest grandson, Toby is of noble status, whereas I¡¯m just an orphan


    abandoned by my biological parents. I became the Reed Family¡¯s daughter thanks to a series of


    coincidences, or I¡¯d probably have grown up in an orphanage like Asher said. If I had been luckier, I¡¯d


    probably have been adopted before living the life of an ordinary person. I¡¯d never have joined the


    upper-ss circles, nor would I have gotten to know Toby and gotten together with him. So, when it


    comes to family background, it¡¯s true that Toby and I are worlds apart. Indeed, I should feel inferior


    because of this. After all, no matter how one looks at it, I¡¯m not worthy of Toby.


    Even so, she wouldn¡¯t feel inferior as Asher wished. Why should she feel inferior? The one who was


    courting her right now and determined to get back together with her was Toby, not her! Therefore, she


    didn¡¯t find anything about herself that she should feel inferior about. In fact, she prided herself on her


    charms and her ability to make a big shot like Toby fall in love with her and court her persistently. In the


    eyes of Toby, she had to be outstanding. She had to have some merit. Otherwise, with Toby¡¯s good


    taste, there was no way he¡¯d fall in love with her, right?


    Does anyone honestly think that the clich¨¦s in novels and soap operas where the scions of


    distinguished families take a fancy to a good-for-nothing Cindere will really happen? Ha! That¡¯s


    totally unrealistic, okay? Scions of distinguished families have to receive selective education since


    they¡¯re little. With their knowledge and refinement, they¡¯re destined not to fall in love with an ordinary


    Cindere that is totally without merit.


    Of course, there were all kinds of strange people, so there would also be some exceptions. For


    example, it was perhaps an exception that Toby¡¯s father had fallen in love with Jean. However, Sonia


    was sure that such an exception only made up one percent of the world¡¯s human poption, and Toby


    definitely wasn¡¯t such an exception.


    The fact that Toby had fallen in love with her proved that she was outstanding and was of some worth.


    Since she was an outstanding person, she didn¡¯t have to feel inferior about her parentage. She should


    even be proud of herself because some people loved her even if she had been abandoned. After all,


    not everyone could be so lucky. Shouldn¡¯t she be proud of herself for being so lucky?


    Sonia could figure out that Asher had said those words on purpose to humiliate her and make her feel


    inferior. Toby was such a smart person, so how could he not figure it out as well? At that very moment,


    he wished he could grab Asher by the throat and strangle him to death.


    However, he cared more about how Sonia felt than how he wanted to strangle Asher to death. Asher


    was right there, so he could kill him anytime, but he couldn¡¯t neglect his beloved¡¯s feelings. Therefore,


    he forcibly suppressed the murderous desire inside him and turned to look at the woman next to him.


    Seeing how the woman next to him had been furious at first before smiling proudly all of a sudden, he


    realized that she had been very angry at first, but she straightened out her thinking in the end. This


    eased his anxious heart a little, but he wasn¡¯t thoroughly relieved, so he still looked at her nervously.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Seeing the look in his eyes, Sonia knew what he was worried about. She looked up at him with a smile,


    saying, ¡°I¡¯m fine. In fact, I¡¯m very happy.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say specifically why she was happy, but Toby understood what she meant. Finally putting his


    mind at rest, he gently stroked her hair before looking back sharply at Asher with murderous eyes.


    ¡°Seems like things didn¡¯t work out the way you intended it to.¡±


    The instant Asher heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and his expression froze. ¡°What do you mean by


    that, President Fuller?¡±


    Acting dumb, huh? Toby now looked at him like he was dead meat. ¡°Didn¡¯t you purposely stress Little


    Leaf¡¯s identity to deal a blow to her pride in front of me and tell her that she wasn¡¯t good enough for


    me? You also wanted to drive a wedge between us by making me unhappy with her because of this.


    Unfortunately, though, you didn¡¯t seed at all.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Asher instantly turned ghastly pale, and his pupils shrank to the size of a needle tip.


    He knew there was no way he could hide the meaning behind his words from the couple. After all, the


    meaning expressed by his words was indeed very obvious. However, he never thought that Toby would


    say these things out loud without sparing his feelings. Won¡¯t he feel embarrassed?


    I¡¯ve made it so clear that Sonia is just an orphan who was disliked and abandoned by her own parents.


    If the Reed Family hadn¡¯t adopted her, she¡¯d either have died or be an ordinary woman. She and


    Toby don¡¯t suit each other at all, for she¡¯s not good enough for him in every aspect. He had believed


    that his words would wound Sonia¡¯s pride and make Toby feel embarrassed. After all, he had found


    himself an unpresentable orphan as his wife.


    Any proud man would definitely mind it when somebody pointed out that he had found himself an


    orphan as his girlfriend. At the same time, he would start to feel disgusted with her. After all, he would


    think that it was his girlfriend¡¯s obscure family background that had made him lose face, so he would


    slowly begin to love her less.


    A man like Toby was definitely even prouder, so Asher had thought that the former would behave as he


    thought he would. That way, he would¡¯ve sessfully sowed discord between the couple. Getting


    married would be out of the question; perhaps it wouldn¡¯t even take long before they broke up.


    However, he never expected Toby to say that he had failed!

 Chapter 950

    Chapter 950


    Chapter 950 Crushing Her to Death


    How is that possible?! Why would I fail? For a time, Asher couldn¡¯t ept such an oue. In his


    opinion, men were supposed to behave as he thought they would. There was no man who wouldn¡¯t


    mind his better half¡¯s origins. In fact, the higher the man¡¯s standing was, the more he would mind it.


    After all, if word got out that he fell in love with an orphan despite being of such a high social standing,


    people wouldugh at him and gossip about him. Men were creatures who cared about their reputation.


    How could they possibly not care about these things?


    Seeing Asher¡¯s twitching facial muscles, Sonia could no longer restrain herself. She mocked, ¡°Seems


    like President Dafoe doesn¡¯t quite believe your words.¡± She gently poked Toby¡¯s slim waist.


    Toby¡¯s eyes darkened; he grabbed her naughty finger and held it in a tight grip. ¡°Stop it.¡± A man¡¯s waist


    is one of his erogenous zones, so it can¡¯t be touched as one pleases. She¡¯s ying with fire!


    Seeing his darkened eyes, Sonia realized why he asked her to stop. Her face blushing, she withdrew


    her finger from his grasp and turned her head away as though nothing had happened.


    Seeing how she fled after flirting with him like a ygirl, Toby was both vexed and amused. ¡°I¡¯ll settle


    the score with youter,¡± he whispered in her ear with his head lowered before turning his gaze back to


    Asher with a frosty look in his eyes. ¡°President Dafoe, I can only say that you don¡¯t understand me. Not


    every man behaves as you think they will. Whatever kind of a person you are, it doesn¡¯t mean that the


    others are the same kind of people.¡± In other words, he implied that Asher was the kind of man who


    cared about both his woman¡¯s family background and his reputation.


    Understanding what Toby meant, Asher felt deeply embarrassed, but he couldn¡¯t admit it. Therefore, he


    could only continue to smile catingly, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve got to be joking, President Fuller. That isn¡¯t


    what I mean. Sonia is my family friend, so how can I possibly harbor such ideas? I only wish the best


    for both of you.¡±


    Seeing how Asher refused to admit his doings and even lied through his teeth after she and Toby had


    expressed themselves so bluntly without sparing his feelings, Sonia couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes.


    Inwardly, she was very impressed. After all, no ordinary person could be a match for Asher when it


    came to shamelessness.


    ¡°You only wish the best for both of us, huh?¡± Toby repeated softly in a tone that was worth pondering as


    his thin lips parted.


    Asher nodded repeatedly. ¡°Yes, of course. Really, I only think that Sonia is pitiful, and I have no


    intention of wounding her pride or sowing discord between you two. Believe me, President Fuller. If I


    had such ideas, I¡¯d have put them into practice, right? Why would I wait until now? I only feel sorry for


    her. She was abandoned by her biological parents as a child, and after she was finally adopted,


    Henry¡¯s wife suddenly fell ill and passed away when she was one year old. When she was five years


    old, she got a stepmother. As the saying goes, a stepmotheres with a stepfather.¡±


    As he spoke of this, he darted another look at Sonia. Then, pretending to pity her as though he didn¡¯t


    see how sullen she looked as if she wanted to rip him to shreds, he continued, ¡°Well, Henry didn¡¯t go


    so far as to be like a stepfather, but he definitely didn¡¯t care about Sonia as much as he had at


    first. So, I thought it was perhaps because she didn¡¯t have too much love from her father as a child that


    she always surrounded herself with men to get love from them. At first, there was the Lane brat,


    followed by the male model in show business that was surnamed Lee. Then, there was the Coleman


    guy. Of course, I don¡¯t mean anything else by saying this. President Fuller, I just want to tell you that


    Sonia is craving love, which is why she always has so many men around her. So, you have to take


    good care of her and not me her. Those people are all a thing of the past. Indeed, Sonia deserves


    pity.¡± I¡¯ve made myself so clear that Sonia is a promiscuous wh*re who has so many men around her.


    There¡¯s no way that Toby wouldn¡¯t mind it. If he still doesn¡¯t mind it, I¡¯ll doubt if he¡¯s really a man!


    Asher was confident about his n. Firstly, he emphasized that Sonia¡¯s mother had somehow passed


    away from an illness when she was little. Wouldn¡¯t that mean Sonia had brought bad luck to her


    mother? After all, her mother was fine before she joined the Reed Family. After that, he cooked up a


    story where Sonia had been craving love since childhood because her father didn¡¯t love her enough.


    He then used her of being a loose woman who couldn¡¯t live without men after growing up so that


    Toby would take offense at this.


    He really has another trick up his sleeve when his previous trick doesn¡¯t work. He yed such a move


    right after his previous n failed just to sabotage my rtionship with Toby, huh? thought Sonia. She


    knew that there was nothing between her and Charles and the others. At this very moment, however,


    she couldn¡¯t help but worry that the man next to her would overthink and mind it. Therefore, after


    looking daggers at Asher with bloodshot eyes, she hurriedly turned to look at the man next to her as


    Asher watched smugly. ¡°Toby¡­¡±


    Just as she wanted to say something, Toby suddenly let out a chuckle that caused her heart to skip a


    beat. Feeling even more anxious, she called out again in a voice filled with apprehension, ¡°Toby¡­¡±


    Noticing that Sonia had started to panic, Asher could hardly hide his excitement. It works! Finally, I


    sessfully made Toby love her less. As long as Toby no longer cares so much about her, he definitely


    won¡¯t marry her. If I had known earlier that I¡¯d seed by saying so, I¡¯d have said so at the beginning.


    Inwardly, he couldn¡¯t help being somewhat frustrated, but his frustrations vanished soon afterward. In


    any case, he had now seeded. Even though he had taken a few bad turns, it was enough that the


    oue was what he wanted.


    Seeing how Sonia looked at Toby nervously, Asher sneered smugly and intended to say something


    more to add insult to injury for the purpose of making the couple break up right here. However, just


    when he wanted to do so, Toby lifted Sonia¡¯s face while looking at him with a chilling smile. ¡°Who said


    that I¡¯d me her?¡±R¨ºAdt??St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only


    Sonia was startled.


    Asher was stunned as well, and he looked incredibly funny as his smug expression froze on his face.


    ¡°P-President Fuller, what do you mean?¡± His voice quavered somewhat as a feeling of unease arose


    inside him. He won¡¯t me Sonia? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s really what I thought! If he doesn¡¯t even me her


    for this, is he still a man? Are there people who like to get cuckolded nowadays?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I make myself clear?¡± Toby gently caressed Sonia¡¯s lips with his thumb. ¡°Indeed, she used to


    have a few men around her in the past. But why should I me her for that? We hadn¡¯t started seeing


    each other at the time, right? Now that we¡¯re together, did you see those men showing up around her


    again?¡±


    Stumped by Toby¡¯s words, Asher was rendered speechless. Indeed, he hadn¡¯t seen those men


    showing up at Paradigm Co. for a long time. ¡°Even so, it doesn¡¯t prove that they never showed up


    again around Sonia. Perhaps it was just that I didn¡¯t see it,¡± Asher uttered between clenched teeth.


    Screw it! I have to sabotage their rtionship today, or I¡¯ll be in trouble!


    ¡°Ha!¡± Sonia grabbed Toby¡¯s wrist and took his hand off her chin. Staring at Asher, she said in a gloomy


    voice, ¡°President Dafoe, you really can¡¯t wait to crush me to death, huh? You call me a family friend,


    but youy traps for me with every word you say. You can¡¯t bear to see me doing well, can you? Well, I


    dare not have a family friend like you. Otherwise, I¡¯ll probably die without knowing who killed me.¡±

 Chapter 951

    Chapter 951


    Chapter 951 The Fatal Blow


    ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong idea, Sonia. I¡¯m your family friend, so how can I possibly not wish you well?¡±


    Asher was a sly old fox in every sense of the word, so he could keep his countenance even when


    Sonia exposed his dark side. ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything else by saying these things. I just thought that


    since President Fuller and you are a couple, you should let him know some of your past instead of


    hiding it from him, or it¡¯ll be unfair to him. What do you think?¡±


    Sonia sneered. ¡°President Dafoe, you always sound like you have some sort of moral authority.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be joking Sonia.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, though.¡± Sonia stared at him frostily. ¡°Do you think Toby is unaware of what you just said?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Asher was startled.


    Sonia continued, ¡°Or do you think that you¡ªan outsider¡ªknow more than he does?¡± At this moment,


    she had regained herposure and calmed down. At first, she had really worried that Toby would


    mind what Asher had said. She was indeed very thick with Charles and the two other men, but it was


    true that there was nothing between them. She had a clear conscience about her rtionship with


    them, but she feared that Toby would overthink things and be jealous. After all, this man would


    get jealous over something as minor as a phone call from another man. It would be strange that he


    didn¡¯t be jealous after she told him that they had been close in the past. And when he did, she¡¯d


    have to cate him, not to mention the chances of her failing to pacify him. This was what she really


    worried about when she heard Asher¡¯s words.


    As it turned out, however, her worries were unnecessary. When Toby raised her chin just now, he gave


    her a look that told her clearly that he was somewhat jealous, but he wouldn¡¯t be jealous pointlessly.


    What had happened in the past was over, so they shouldn¡¯t be brought up at present to affect their


    present life. Also, the look in his eyes told her that he knew there was nothing between her and Charles


    and others. Even if there was something, it was Charles and the others who had feelings for her, not


    vice versa. Therefore, even if he was angry, he would be angry with Charles and the others, not with


    her. Upon learning about this, she heaved a sigh of relief. Not only was she relieved, but she could now


    deal with Asher with peace of mind.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    ¡°Little Leaf is right.¡± Toby gave Sonia¡¯s hand a gentle squeeze. ¡°Like I said, even if she used to have


    many men around her, that only happened before she got together with me. I won¡¯t me her for that,


    nor do I have the right to me her. Not only that, but I have to thank those men around her. If they


    hadn¡¯t been helping her and protecting her, she wouldn¡¯t have taken over Paradigm Co. so smoothly.


    Also, I know very well what their rtionship with her is like. There¡¯s nothing between them. Otherwise,


    with my possessiveness, do you think I¡¯ll let them off if there¡¯s really something between them and


    her?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Asher was rendered speechless once again. What kind of a person is this? His


    woman has so many men around her, but he doesn¡¯t mind it. Not only that, but he even says he wants


    to thank those men! Is he crazy? He couldn¡¯t understand this.


    Seeing the look of disbelief on Asher¡¯s face, Toby narrowed his eyes menacingly. ¡°Also, what you just


    said about Little Leaf having met these men while you weren¡¯t noticing is sheer nonsense. Carl went to


    Westsanshire a few months ago and has nevere back since then. The Lane Family has been


    engaged in a new industrytely, and Charles is so busy that he¡¯s been staying at Lane Corporation for


    two months. How can he have the time to go everywhere? Lastly, Zane has to take the political exam


    lately, so he has been secluding himself from the outside world for two months lest he fail the exam.


    So, do you think they have time toe here? Or do you think they have the nerve to go against me?¡±


    Asher¡¯s face turned livid one minute and pale the next. He was already at aplete loss for words. At


    the moment, he was in a state of total confusion. Everything in my n went so smoothly that it was


    about to seed. Why would these two people outargue me in just a few words and cause my n to


    fail in the end? Are they really so affectionate toward each other that they don¡¯t mind everything about


    each other? Does such a rtionship really exist in the world? He could hardly believe such an


    oue, nor could he ept it.


    Just then, Toby spoke. ¡°President Dafoe, we all know that you said these things today just to drive a


    wedge between Little Leaf and me to stop us from getting married. After all, our marriage won¡¯t do you


    any good, so you couldn¡¯t wait to try dividing us. Unfortunately, all your ns have failed. Now, why


    don¡¯t you think about what you¡¯ll get for trying to drive a wedge between us?¡± He raised his eyes. The


    look in his eyes was imperturbable, but it felt murderous for some reason.


    Asher couldn¡¯t help but step back. ¡°W-What are you nning to do? I¡¯m telling you, Toby, don¡¯t do


    anything reckless. We¡¯re now living in a society governed byw. Don¡¯t tell me you want toy a hand


    on me!¡±


    Toby looked at Asher¡ªwho looked as cowardly as a dog at the moment¡ªwith his eyes full of disdain.


    ¡°A society governed byw, huh? Seems like you¡¯ve now admitted everything you did just now¡ªhurting


    Little Leaf¡¯s pride, driving a wedge between us, and spreading false stories about her rtionships with


    other men. Asher Dafoe, how many people in the world do you think dare to go against me? What do


    you think they¡¯ll get for doing so? Or do you think that those who go against me can safely escape my


    clutches if they bring up the subject ofw?¡±


    Asher¡¯s face began to turn pale, and his facial muscles twitched even more violently in fear. At the


    same time, he began to regret saying so much just now. Of course, rather than regretting saying those


    things, he regretted saying those things in front of Toby and trying to make him love Sonia less. Ha!


    This guy is simply abnormal! For a time, he cursed inwardly. ¡°Toby Fuller, I know that you¡¯re rich and


    powerful and that you have someone backing you up. But don¡¯t forget that if you dare to do anything to


    me, I¡¯ll hold a press conference and disclose what you did to me! Let¡¯s see if the person backing you


    will oppose the entire society to protect you when public opinion is aroused by then!¡± he warned Toby,


    his face contorting with a hint of provocation in his eyes.


    Toby didn¡¯t say a word. Instead, he merely looked at Asher and curled his thin lips into a cial smile


    that would give people the creeps.


    Asher couldn¡¯t help but cringe in fear for a moment.


    Just then, Sonia could no longer stand the sight of this, and she rolled her eyes right away. ¡°President


    Dafoe, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s stupid of you to say that? You want to hold a press conference to disclose


    what we did to you? Ha! Do you think we¡¯ll give you the opportunity? If one is to defeat someone, they


    have to make sure that the person will never rise again, especially when you¡¯ve explicitly threatened to


    not let us off. In that case, we have to finish you off with one blow so that you won¡¯t have the chance to


    make everything public. What do you think, President Dafoe?¡±


    Asher¡¯s eyes instantly widened, and his pupils shrank to the size of a needle tip. Not only that, but he


    trembled all over with fear written all over his face. She¡¯s right. All I cared about was to warn him, but it


    never crossed my mind that my warning might make me unable to step out of the elevator alive. And


    besides, Sonia is right that one has to defeat their enemy thoroughly so that they¡¯ll never rise again,


    especially when the enemy bears a grudge against them in the first ce. Otherwise, letting the enemy


    off will bring them endless trouble. If it were me, I¡¯d have done the same. Does it mean that I¡¯m gonna


    die here?

 Chapter 952

    Chapter 952


    Chapter 952 Keep You From Having Paradigm Co. To Yourself


    Asher looked ashen with his eyes full of despair. Coupled with his slightly aged appearance, it made


    him appear somewhat pitiful.


    However, Sonia and Toby knew what kind of a person he was. A person¡¯s wickedness had nothing to


    do with their age or appearance. Therefore, however pitiful Asher seemed at this moment, she wouldn¡¯t


    let him off.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Even so, she wouldn¡¯t really do anything to him in the elevator. After patting the back of Toby¡¯s hand,


    she pointed to the other side, signaling Toby to step aside a little to make way for her.


    Knowing that she wanted to face Asher, Toby was somewhat reluctant to do so, fearing that Asher


    would hurt her in a fit of desperation. In the end, however, he took a step to the side and made way for


    her at her insistence. However, he only took a short step to the side, shielding her with one-third of his


    own body in a protective posture.


    Upon seeing this, Sonia was amused.


    Standing across from them, Asher didn¡¯t find it amusing at all. Instead, he only felt even more hopeless.


    Toby protected Sonia so well for fear that she might get hurt, which showed how deep his love for her


    was. Asher simply couldn¡¯t understand what was so good about Sonia. There are many women who


    are prettier than her, right? With Toby¡¯s social standing, he can have whatever kind of woman he wants.


    Of all people, why is he so infatuated with her?


    Not knowing that Asher was still belittling her in his mind, Sonia took a step forward. Now that Toby was


    no longer blocking her view by standing between them, she could clearly meet Asher¡¯s gaze. Seeing


    how wary, uneasy, and resentful the old man looked, she suddenly gave augh. ¡°Rx, President


    Dafoe. We¡¯re in the elevator, and there¡¯s a security camera overhead. However displeased we are with


    you, we won¡¯t reallyy a hand on you. After all, if anything happens to you, those in the monitoring


    room will see it. It won¡¯t be easy for us to dispose of a dead body.¡±


    Dead body! Upon hearing these words, Asher instantly felt his hair stand on end. As I expected, these


    two people want to kill me!


    Asher¡¯s feelings aside, even Toby couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow upon hearing Sonia¡¯s words at


    this moment. He was disgusted with Asher¡¯s attempt to drive a wedge between him and Sonia just


    now, so he wanted to deal with this old man, but he had never thought of killing him for real. Firstly,


    what he had done didn¡¯t warrant death. Secondly, he¡¯d never do the job himself when it came to these


    things. Instead, he would give orders. There were plenty of people who would do the job for him, so he


    didn¡¯t have to dirty his hands. He had only intended to teach Asher a profound lesson so that thetter


    would stay away from him and Sonia withouting up with any evil ideas when he saw them.


    However, before he could put his ideas into practice, Sonia told him to step aside. Not only did she face


    Asher by herself, but she even threatened to dispose of thetter¡¯s dead body. He knew that Sonia


    couldn¡¯t possibly have the intention to kill Asher. After all, she was much more kind-hearted than he


    was, so she probably said so just to scare Asher. However, one could tell at a nce that Asher was a


    cowardly bully, so he¡¯d probably be terrified by her words. At the thought of this, he darted a look at


    Asher. Seeing how Asher looked as white as a sheet with his eyes full of fear, he couldn¡¯t help but curl


    his lips into a smile.


    When Sonia saw how frightened Asher was, a hint of exultation shed across her eyes for an instant.


    ¡°So, President Dafoe, you don¡¯t have to worry about your life. I¡¯m not the kind of person who threatens


    others with their lives. That¡¯s too demeaning, and it doesn¡¯t match my personality. I like to get back at


    others using what they care about the most. Only by doing so can I enjoy my revenge to the fullest.


    After all, death sometimes means nothing. A life worse than death is the most painful oue.


    Hmm¡­¡± She purposely paused for a moment and put a finger on her lips while pretending to be deep


    in thought. ¡°Let me think about it. President Dafoe, what is it that you care about the most?¡±


    Toby raised his eyes, causing his long eyshes to flutter in a good-looking way. ¡°Paradigm Co.,¡± he


    reminded her.


    Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up as she smacked her fist down on her palm. ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s Paradigm Co.! Thanks


    for reminding me.¡± She turned to look at Toby with feigned gratitude.


    Toby also looked at her with a smile. He replied in a gentle voice, ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±


    The sight of thempleting each other¡¯s sentences made Asher shudder with fright, and his fear


    grew stronger and stronger.


    Just then, Sonia said, ¡°President Dafoe, you and my father founded Paradigm Co. together. When the


    company was founded, you invested 100,000 in it and obtained five percent of its original shares. At


    first, you sincerely sided with my father and had no designs on thepany. However, as Paradigm


    Co. became more and more sessful, the amount of shares you were holding fluctuated. You


    became increasingly dissatisfied with ying second fiddle to others, and you weren¡¯t willing to settle


    as a general manager who only holds a minority stake. So, you set your sights on the position of


    chairman and the chairman¡¯s shares. For this purpose, you had nned for many years until you finally


    obtained the right to manage thepany. Unfortunately, that right of yours was snatched away by me


    a few months ago. Of course, you definitely couldn¡¯t ept such an oue, so you¡¯re bent on


    snatching the administrative power back from me. Not only that, but the idea of having Paradigm Co. to


    yourself has be an obsession for you.¡±


    By rights, Asher should¡¯ve panicked when Sonia exposed his true colors. Surprisingly, though, he was


    very calm at this moment without panicking in the slightest. Perhaps it was because he knew that it was


    useless to panic and resort to sophistry, so it was better to face it and ept it imperturbably. ¡°What


    exactly do you want by saying this?¡± he asked in a chilling voice as he clenched his fists while


    suppressing his unease.


    Sonia smiled. ¡°It¡¯s simple. What you care about the most is Paradigm Co., which you would use any


    means necessary to get your hands on. But I won¡¯t let you have Paradigm Co. to yourself. Not only


    that, but I¡¯ll do everything possible to rob you of your shares before kicking you out of thepany,¡±


    she said in a soft and impassive voice with a smile on her face, as if she was affably telling someone


    that the weather today was nice.


    However, her words sounded very chilling to Asher; even her smile looked like that of a demon in his


    mind¡¯s eye. ¡°You¡­¡± His eyes widened as he pointed at Sonia, his finger trembling. He was so agitated


    that he couldn¡¯t say a word. He had to admit that Sonia knew what his weakness was. As Sonia had


    said, the idea of having Paradigm Co. to himself had be an obsession for him. He had to have


    Paradigm Co. to himself, or he would die discontented. Indeed, this was the best way to get back at


    him, for it would make him suffer and make his life worse than death.


    ¡°Calm down, President Dafoe.¡± Sonia was still smiling as she stretched out her hand to push Asher¡¯s


    finger down.


    However, before she could touch Asher¡¯s hand, Toby stepped in front of her.


    Startled, Sonia looked up at the man. His face was expressionless, but she understood what he meant


    very clearly.


    He¡¯s telling me not to touch another man¡ªeven if it¡¯s an old geezer. Vexed and amused, she couldn¡¯t


    help but roll her eyes. What a jealous person! Afterining about Toby inwardly, she went along


    with him and put down her hand.


    Upon seeing this, Toby curled his thin lips with apparent satisfaction. Then, he pushed Asher¡¯s hand


    down himself, after which he frowned in disgust as though he had touched something dirty. The next


    instant, he immediately took his pocket square out of the left pocket of his suit jacket, wiping his hands


    with it without letting off even the space between his fingers.


    At the sight of this, Asher nearly spat blood. These sted people¡­

 Chapter 953

    Chapter 953


    Chapter 953 Lied to Him


    Not only were they threatening him, they were even humiliating him! Asher was dizzy with anger, and


    his breathing became rapid while his face flushed, looking as if he was about to faint in the next


    second.


    Sonia pretended that she didn¡¯t understand that he had gotten this angry because of Toby¡¯s behavior


    and yed with her hair as she said, ¡°President Dafoe, rx. I know that you can¡¯t ept my decision


    to drive you out of Paradigm Co., but there is no other way.


    Between you and me, only one of us can stay in, and I am the chairman with the most shares in the


    company, so the one who has to leave definitely wouldn¡¯t be me. Since it¡¯s not me, it can only be you,


    President Dafoe. Originally, I didn¡¯t think this way, and even if you usually caused me a lot of trouble, I


    endured it again and again because you¡¯ve worked hard for thepany in the past. I didn¡¯t want to do


    anything to you, but¡­¡±


    The smile on her face slowly disappeared as her expression turned cold. ¡°However, there¡¯s a limit to a


    person¡¯s tolerance. I originally nned to let you remain in Paradigm Co. for the rest of your life as long


    as you held yourself back a little, but I never thought that you would go overboard.


    Not only did you use my identity, but you involved my parents and got in between my rtionship.


    You¡¯ve already used up all my tolerance for you, so I can¡¯t stand you anymore, and I must drive you


    away. Because you own some shares, I can¡¯t fire you immediately, but as the chairman of the board, I


    can set up traps to make you have no choice but to sell the shares that you own until you have nothing


    left!¡±


    Sonia didn¡¯t continue, but everyone understood what she meant to say. Without shares, he would not


    be a shareholder and would only be an ordinary employee. As the chairman of the board, it couldn¡¯t be


    simpler for her to fire an ordinary employee.


    Of course, Asher didn¡¯t doubt for a second that she wouldn¡¯t have the ability to do this and made a final


    struggle with a pale face. ¡°Sonia, don¡¯t you dare!¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Sonia jutted her chin out slightly and said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m the chairman


    of Paradigm Co., and you¡¯re just a small shareholder. I only gave you the position of general manager


    for old times¡¯ sake, but it doesn¡¯t mean that you can do whatever you want just because you¡¯re one of


    the founders of thepany.


    Not only did you disrespect my identity as the chairman, but you also worked with Jessica to trip me up


    multiple times. I let you go so many times because I wanted to give you the opportunity to settle down


    and stop causing trouble to focus on your duties as the general manager. I thought I could overlook


    your past mistakes, but I was wrong. People like you will never settle down. If I let you go again and


    again, it will only make you think that I am a pushover who doesn¡¯t dare to do anything to you and you


    would be more and more rampant.¡±


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s face bing angrier and adopting the shade of bright red as she talked, Toby patted


    her gently on the back to calm her down and motioned to her to rx and not to get so emotional over


    mere scum.


    Sonia understood his actions and realized that she was overreacting a little. After taking a deep breath,


    she calmed down a little. ¡°However, now I realize that I was wrong. I should¡¯ve shot you down when


    you first joined forces with Jessica so that you wouldn¡¯t have a chance to show up in front of me today


    and disgust me.


    But, it doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m a littlete. I still have time toe back to my senses. So, from now on,


    enjoy your remaining days in Paradigm Co., President Dafoe. I¡¯ve said before, the best way to take


    revenge on someone is to make their life a living hell. I¡¯m looking forward to the day you get chased out


    of thepany, and how your pained expression will look when you realize it will never be yours.¡±


    Saying this, she gave Toby a look under Asher¡¯s utterly frightened gaze, and Toby nodded knowingly


    before pressing on a button in the elevator. The elevator door opened with a ding, revealing the lobby


    on the first floor of Paradigm Co. In fact, the elevator had already arrived at the first floor a long time


    ago, but she had held onto the button just to confront Asher. Therefore, after the elevator reached the


    first floor, its door never opened.


    Now that they had walked out of the elevator and far away from Asher, Sonia felt her mood improving a


    lot as she breathed in the outside air. As expected, it was much better not to breathe the same air as


    scum. Seeing that her expression had rxed, Toby opened the car door for her, and she had just bent


    over to get inside when he suddenly stopped her.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sonia, who already had a foot inside the car, stepped out again and looked at him


    curiously.


    Toby looked at her as well. ¡°When you said those things to Asher in the elevator, weren¡¯t you afraid that


    he would hold a grudge and fight you to death?¡±


    Asher wanted to obtain Paradigm Co. with all his heart, so he had been scheming against her all the


    time. Now, she hadpletely ruined his ns and bluntly wanted to make Asher lose his shares, then


    drive him out. Therefore, it was very likely that he might be driven into a corner and attempt to kill her.


    She looked at the worry in the man¡¯s eyes and smiled slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you can think of this, how


    could I not? I¡¯ll arrange for the guards from the security department to keep an eye on Asher


    throughout the process, and I won¡¯t give him the opportunity to harm me.¡±


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    ¡°Security guards aren¡¯t enough.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°After all, they were recruited from outside. They


    haven¡¯t received any systematic training, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to react immediately in a lot of areas.


    I¡¯ll arrange for a few bodyguards toe to yourpany to pretend to be security guards to protect


    you while monitoring Asher instead.¡±


    Sonia parted her red lips as she looked at Toby¡¯s serious expression, wanting to say something. In the


    end, she did not refuse. It was a matter of life and death, and she wasn¡¯t the headstrong type. His ns


    were obviously the best, so she would not refuse. After all,pared to bodyguards, the role that


    security guards could y was indeed too small.


    ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± She looked at Toby and thanked him sincerely.


    He flicked her forehead. ¡°Why are you thanking me? Protecting my wife is something I should be doing,


    isn¡¯t it?¡±


    When he called her his wife, Sonia blushed. ¡°Who are you calling your wife? Don¡¯t call me by the wrong


    name.¡±


    ¡°I am calling you by the right name. You used to be my wife, and you¡¯ll always be. Although we don¡¯t


    have the certificate yet, in my heart, you¡¯re my wife. Why don¡¯t we go and sign the certificate now?¡±


    Toby looked at her with a sincere expression.


    Sonia¡¯s heart raced faster. ¡°Why are we talking about the certificate again all of a sudden? Also, as you


    said in the elevator before, you¡¯ve already decided on the day of our wedding. When did you do that?


    Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    She had wanted to ask at the time, and she also tried asking him with her eyes, but he did not answer.


    Now, he had to give her an exnation.


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s gaze forcing him to reply, Toby curled his lips into a small smile. ¡°I was lying to Asher.¡±


    ¡°You were lying to him?¡± Sonia was taken aback.


    Toby raised his chin. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°You were being so serious just now that I thought you¡ª¡±


    Toby looped an arm around her waist and wrapped her into a hug before he mmed the door shut


    behind her with his other hand and pushed her against it, saying in a hoarse voice, ¡°But if you really


    want to, I can make the decision any time.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± Sonia refused immediately, turning her head away.


    At this, Toby frowned.


    She sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve told you before. Until the day I get my revenge, I won¡¯t think about marriage. My


    stance remains. So, you¡ª¡±


    Toby pulled her into his arms and interrupted her, ¡°All right, I know what you mean. Don¡¯t worry, I do


    want to get married with you right away, but if you don¡¯t want to, I won¡¯t force you. I¡¯ll always respect


    your decision.¡±


    ¡°If you act like this, it¡¯ll make me feel even more sorry.¡± Leaning against his chest, Sonia smiled and


    spoke guiltily.

 Chapter 954

    Chapter 954


    Chapter 954 He Has to Kill Her


    Toby was really treating Sonia well and thought about her before he did anything. She also knew that


    he wanted to remarry her with all his heart, but now, she really couldn¡¯t fulfill his wish. Hence, she felt


    guilty upon seeing his disappointment and felt that she was taking advantage of his kindness by


    constantly refusing to marry him again.


    Seeing Sonia ming herself, Toby smiled and rubbed her head, messing up her hair. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad.


    As long as you have the intention of remarrying me, that¡¯s enough. As for when, it¡¯s just a matter of


    time, and it doesn¡¯t matter if it takes a long time as long as you don¡¯t regret remarrying me.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Sonia grabbed Toby¡¯s hand and looked up at him with a serious expression. ¡°As long as you


    don¡¯t do anything to hurt me, I won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    Toby lowered his head and kissed her forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t give you the chance to regret. All


    right, get in the car.¡±


    Saying that, he let go of her and opened the car door behind her again. Sonia nodded with a smile


    before bending over and getting into the car. After Toby closed the door, he went around the front of the


    car to the other side and got into the driver¡¯s seat, then made a phone call. When Sonia saw him


    cing his phone to his ear, she immediately kept quiet to not disturb him. Soon, she found out who he


    was talking to. He called Tom and ordered him to arrange some bodyguards for her. He had only said a


    few minutes ago that he would arrange for bodyguards toe over, and was immediately doing it


    now. From this, it was clear how much he cared about her.


    She believed that as long as she told him about the spare parts, he would immediately look for Connor


    to help her solve her problem. However, she wouldn¡¯t do that. If she did, she would easily get used to


    relying on him in the future. By then, if something happened, the first thing that woulde to her mind


    would be him. Over time, she would lose the ability to handle things by herself. Besides, she knew how


    to solve this matter now, so there was no need to tell him.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Meanwhile, Toby had already finished the call and was about to drive.


    When he turned around, he saw Sonia was sitting with her head lowered, as if she had something on


    her mind.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    At his voice, she jolted, her eyes trembling slightly, before she came back to her senses, then shook


    her head at him and smiled. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    As she didn¡¯t want to say more, Toby didn¡¯t force her either. He started the car with a hum and drove


    her in the opposite direction of Bayside Residence.


    As soon as the two of them left, a ck Mercedes-Benz immediately drove out of Paradigm Co.¡¯s


    parking lot and stopped where their car had just been parked. The window of the driver¡¯s seat opened,


    revealing Asher¡¯s gloomy and wrinkled face. He ced one hand on the steering wheel while the other


    held a lighted cigarette and bnced on the edge of the open car window. His eyes were full of venom


    as he stared at the direction where Sonia and Toby had left.


    ¡°Huff¡­¡± Asher took a puff of the cigarette and exhaled, the smoke covering his increasingly hideous


    and terrifying face.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that he would get into such a big fight with Sonia just by getting in between the two


    of them. Although everyone knew that he and Sonia harbored a grudge against each other, they knew


    that one of the two would eventually lose to the other. Not only that, but everyone was secretly


    guessing when he and Sonia woulde to blows.


    Yes, everyone knew that there would be a final battle between him and Sonia. Although things seemed


    to be peaceful now, it was just because the time wasn¡¯t right yet. Sonia had gotten rid of most of his


    power, making it absolutely impossible for him to fight with her, so he could only cause a little trouble


    for her in secret to see if he could heavily damage her power. At the same time, he was secretly


    restoring his own power so that he could confront her one day and win.


    However, he never expected that he would be impulsive after hearing that the two were thinking


    of getting married, and started getting in between their rtionship without caring about the


    consequences. Then, hepletely angered Sonia, making her hold a grudge against him and setting


    her mind to deal with him once and for all. Although he didn¡¯t want to, Asher had to admit that he had


    gotten a little carried away after seeing that Sonia had no means of teaching him a lesson after he had


    caused so much trouble for her, and had forgotten that she was not a pushover anymore.


    In any case, he had truly made the wrong move today. It was foolish of him topletely burn bridges


    with Sonia before he had fully restored his power. But now, there was no way for him to make up for it,


    and she was already preparing to deal with him. Hence, what he had to do now was to prevent her


    from seeding. He was indeed not her opponent right now, but he didn¡¯t want to be driven out of


    Paradigm Co. either, as acquiring thepany had already be his obsession. He couldn¡¯t


    imagine being chased out of thepany, for he might lose his mind. Therefore, he had to find a way


    to kill Sonia. Only by having her dead would Paradigm Co. be his.


    The more he thought about it, the crazier he became, and his hands soon trembled with excitement.


    Even as the cigarette ash fell on the back of his hand, he didn¡¯t feel the heat at all.


    Then, he threw the cigarette butt out of the window and took out his phone. After taking a deep breath,


    he dialed a number and said, ¡°Hey, I need you guys to do something for me. We can negotiate the


    price¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Sonia had no idea that after she left, Asher had already made up his mind to kill her. She


    opened the door and got out of the car. As she looked at the private design studio in front of her, she


    couldn¡¯t help but feel a little dazed. ¡°Why did you bring me here?¡±


    ¡°After Anya destroyed your dress, didn¡¯t I say that I¡¯ll handle the rest?¡± As Toby pointed at the design


    studio in front of him, it was clear what he meant.


    Sonia blinked. ¡°So, the dress is already ready, and you brought me here to try it on?¡±


    Toby nodded. ¡°Yes, the owner of this design studio is the world¡¯s top fashion designer, but she did not


    join any luxury brand as a designer, so she was unable to earn a brand name for her designs.


    However, she¡¯s still extremely well known in the fashion industry across the world, so even if her


    designs aren¡¯t supported by a luxury brand name, there are still people looking for her to design


    dresses, and her designs are worth as much as the luxury brands, or perhaps even more.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Because there isn¡¯t any pressure from the top luxury brands, designers can


    fullyply with their own wishes and create only a single item in the world for each design. Hence,


    the value of these dresses will naturally be higher, and they would be even more worth collecting.¡±


    If a designer joined a brand, they had to work for the brand and could only do as thepany said for


    the most part. For example, if a designer came up with a beautiful dress and only wanted to make it


    one of its kind in the world, the brand would be unhappy and force the designer to make duplicates of


    the dress. Not only would this bring down the value of the dress, but it would also affect the designer¡¯s


    confidence and inspiration. Hence, not every designer was willing to work for a brand.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Toby gave her an approving nce.


    Upon seeing him praise her, Sonia felt quite satisfied, as though she were a child who had gained their


    parents¡¯ recognition. She was really going crazy. She shook her head and hurriedly tossed this feeling


    out of her mind, or her rtionship with Toby would turn odd.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby asked worriedly at the sight of Sonia¡¯s disgusted expression.


    Sonia was a little afraid to meet his eyes and hurriedly replied with a wave of her hands, ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Toby narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

 Chapter 955

    Chapter 955


    Chapter 955 The Mangoes Are About to Turn Ripe


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true.¡± Sonia retracted her gaze and met his eyes. Seeing her calm andposed


    expression, Toby poked her forehead with his finger. ¡°All right, I believe you, but I still hope you don¡¯t


    keep anything from me. Just tell me if there¡¯s anything and don¡¯t let me worry.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Sonia hummed in reply as the corners of her lips twitched a little. She felt a little guilty on the


    inside.


    Toby held her hand in his. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and quickly finish trying the clothes on so that we can eat.


    Are you hungry?¡±


    Sonia rubbed her stomach with her other hand. ¡°A little.¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go.¡± Saying that, Toby quickened his stride.


    Soon, the two entered the design studio. The designer¡¯s assistant had been waiting at the entrance for


    some time. Upon seeing their arrival, she went up to wee them warmly and led them to the sofa to


    sit down before serving them the best coffee they had.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your boss?¡± However, Toby didn¡¯t drink the coffee and put it aside. He looked at the assistant


    and asked indifferently.


    Sonia sat next to him without speaking and drank her coffee quietly, leaving everything to him. After all,


    this was originally arranged by him, so it was a given that she left things to him.


    ¡°The boss is currently on the phone in her office. She knows that President Fuller is here, so she asked


    me toe out to greet the two of you first. She¡¯ll be here once she¡¯s done with the call,¡± the assistant


    replied with a smile.


    Toby hummed in assent and stopped asking questions. After that, the assistant served a variety of


    exquisite desserts and fruits as if afraid of neglecting them. This gesture pleased Toby greatly. Sonia


    liked to eat desserts, and coincidentally, the assistant served them desserts. Of course he was


    pleased.


    He looked at the desserts on the table before he finally chose a piece of mango mousse and gave it to


    Sonia. ¡°Here, give it a try.¡±


    He knew that her favorite fruits were mangoes. Speaking of which, the second batch of mangoes from


    Autumn Crest Hill was about to turn ripe, wasn¡¯t it? When the first batch of mangoes turned ripe, he


    was still under hypnosis and thought Tina was Sonia, so after learning that the first batch of mangoes


    in Autumn Crest Hill had turned ripe, he immediately asked his men to choose the best ones and send


    them to Tina.


    Thinking about it now, he yearned to beat his past self up. Still, it was fortunate that the mangoes


    ended up in Sonia¡¯s hands. Then, after she found out that he had wrongly sent it to her and wanted to


    return it to him, he didn¡¯t take it back and allowed her to keep it. It was just that he had no idea how she


    ended up dealing with that box of mangoes. Did she throw it out? She might have. At that time, they


    had already divorced, and she still resented him. She knew that the box of mangoes was for Tina, but it


    was sent to her by mistake, so she must¡¯ve greatly disliked the box of mangoes and likely threw it out.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Sonia tapped him on the shoulder.


    Toby¡¯s eyes snapped back into focus as he suddenly returned to his senses and asked, ¡°What¡¯s


    wrong?¡±


    Sonia looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s my question. When you handed me the


    dessert, I wanted to take it, but you didn¡¯t let go and even spaced out. I even thought that you were


    teasing me on purpose and wouldn¡¯t let me eat it.¡±


    Hearing that, Toby looked down at his hand and realized that he was still holding onto the mango


    mousse without letting go.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Toby coughed a little embarrassedly before he ced the mango mousse in her hand and


    apologized, ¡°Sorry, I was thinking about something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sonia forked a piece of mango, but she didn¡¯t eat it and brought it to Toby¡¯s mouth instead.


    He eyed the dessert that was by his mouth and raised his eyebrows. ¡°For me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sonia nodded. ¡°Why else would I give it to you? I know you don¡¯t like to eat these things, but it¡¯s


    all right to eat them once in a while. To me, eating these things makes me happy, so I want to share


    that happiness with you.¡±


    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll have a taste then.¡± Toby opened his mouth and epted the dessert from her along with


    the fork.


    Seeing that he had eaten the dessert, Sonia made to take the fork back, but as she tugged on it, she


    realized that he had bitten on the fork and wouldn¡¯t let it budge an inch.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sonia rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Can you eat properly? Why are you stealing the


    fork like a child?¡±


    Toby chuckled in a low voice before he let go of the fork. ¡°I was just teasing you.¡±


    Saying that, he hurriedly picked up the cup of coffee to suppress the taste in his mouth.


    Seeing him chug down the coffee, Sonia felt her heart skip a beat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Does it taste bad?¡±


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Toby shook his head. ¡°No, I just don¡¯t like eating things that are too sweet. This dessert is too sweet.¡±


    Sonia let out a breath of relief. ¡°So that¡¯s the case. I thought it tasted so bad that it made you sick.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Toby took some tissue paper and elegantly dabbed at the corners of his mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t feel


    sick. In fact, I feel really happy.¡±


    ¡°Happy?¡± Sonia tilted her head in confusion. ¡°You can¡¯t even take a bite of something this sweet. How


    could you feel happy?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can.¡± Toby ced his cup of coffee down and looked at her. ¡°You shared the things that


    make you happy and even fed it to me yourself. That is happiness to me.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s face turned red and sheughed. ¡°You really know what to say to make me happy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. This is really how I feel.¡± Toby grabbed her hand and ced it on his chest where


    his heart was.


    Sonia felt his heartbeat. She didn¡¯t know if it was just her or what, but she always felt that his heartbeat


    seemed to be a little irregr, as if it was slower than her own. Soon after, she shook her head,


    thinking that it should just be her imagination. After all, everyone¡¯s heartbeat was the same, so how


    could his heartbeat be slower? I must be overthinking it.


    Thinking that, she quickly ced her doubts at the back of her mind and retracted her hand. ¡°All right, I


    know that you are being sincere now. Can you stop doing this already? There¡¯s someone watching.¡±


    Saying that, she looked in one direction embarrassedly. There, the assistant was looking at them with a


    doting smile. Sonia knew that there were many people who liked to see her and Toby together, and


    there were many people like this in Paradigm Co. Every time Toby came to visit her, she could always


    see these fans smiling at them, just like the assistant in front of her now. So, did that mean that this


    assistant was also a fan of her and Toby?


    Toby had also noticed the assistant, but he didn¡¯t care. For him, it was normal for him to be close to his


    lover, and it wasn¡¯t like they were doing anything else. If others wanted to look, they could go ahead. It


    wasn¡¯t like it affected him anyway. However, he had always respected Sonia, and if she did not want to


    act intimately in front of others, he would naturally not force her to. Of course, there were exceptions. If


    he were kissing her, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily stop even if someone walked in.


    ¡°By the way, the mangoes in Autumn Crest Hill are about to turn ripe, so I asked someone to send


    some over. What do you think?¡± Toby looked sideways at Sonia beside him and asked her for her


    opinion.


    When Sonia heard his words, she paused while picking up the dessert. ¡°Did you just say Autumn Crest


    Hill?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby nodded slightly.


    As if recalling something, Sonia pursed her red lips. ¡°I remember that you prepared mangoes for Tina a


    few months ago. They were from Autumn Crest Hill, weren¡¯t they?¡±


    Hearing that, Toby immediately knew that she was still bothered about that incident.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby didn¡¯t deny her words and admitted with a nod, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve booked the mangoes at


    Autumn Crest Hill a long time ago for you. You¡¯re the only person who likes mangoes. Tina is allergic to


    it, but she was pretending to be you at that time, and I didn¡¯t realize that she was a fake because of the


    hypnosis, so I thought of her as you and sent the mangoes to her.¡±


    ¡°But in the end, it was delivered to me.¡± Sonia looked at him with a half smile.

 Chapter 956

    Chapter 956


    Chapter 956 Fashion Designer


    Toby touched the tip of his nose. ¡°How exactly did it get to you? To be honest, I was also surprised, but


    now that I think about it, it must¡¯ve been our fate. We must¡¯ve been destined for each other, and it was


    God¡¯s reminder to me that made me send the mangoes to the person who should¡¯ve received it


    instead.¡±


    His words made Sonia feel quite pleased.


    Toby continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t like the mangoes from Autumn Crest Hill because of this, I can ask them


    to order some from somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s go with this.¡± Sonia shook her head and smiled lightly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the mangoes from


    Autumn Crest Hill¡¯s fault. It¡¯s Tina. Those mangoes taste really good, and I can¡¯t hate them just


    because I hate Tina. She isn¡¯t worthy of beingpared with those mangoes.¡±


    Toby suddenly chuckled. ¡°Okay, then I will tell the vi. When it¡¯s time for the mangoes to be picked, I¡¯ll


    ask them to deliver it immediately.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Sonia agreed with a smile.


    Just then, the sound of high heels cking on the ground sounded from behind them. Sonia put down


    the te in her hand and, together with Toby, turned to look, only to see a fashionable blond woman


    walking over from the opposite end with a bag in her hand.


    The woman looked about fifty years old, and although her face was already riddled with wrinkles,


    making her look a little old, her energy and aura easily drew people¡¯s attention to her. Sonia was not


    particrly able to understand when people described beauties as timeless in the past, but she now


    knew why they did.


    ¡°Hello, President Fuller. It¡¯s been a long time since west met.¡± Just as Sonia was staring at the blond


    woman in a daze, Toby had already stood up and was greeting the woman who stopped in front of


    them.


    ¡°Hello, Sophia.¡± Toby reached out and shook her hand briefly. He barely touched her before he quickly


    retracted his hand.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Upon seeing this, the blond woman raised her eyebrows slightly, then looked at Sonia beside him. As if


    immediately understanding something, she covered her lips and smiled, then said in Plerian that Sonia


    didn¡¯t understand, ¡°Before I came here, I heard that the famous President Fuller has a girlfriend that


    he¡¯s extremely affectionate to. At first, I thought it was just a joke. After all, the famous President Fuller


    is cold and indifferent, and doesn¡¯t seem like someone who would fall deeply in love, but now that I¡¯ve


    seen it with my own eyes, I understand that it wasn¡¯t a joke, and the rumors didn¡¯t do you enough


    justice. President Fuller, you love your girlfriend very much. In order not to make her worry, you don¡¯t


    even care about shaking hands anymore.¡±


    Toby turned and nced at the woman next to him as well, his thin lips curling slightly as he replied in


    Plerian, ¡°She¡¯s the star I¡¯ve been chasing for many years, and the light of my life. In this world, there is


    no one who canpare with her, so she deserves everything I have.¡±


    The blond woman was taken aback before she smiled in a congratting manner. ¡°You¡¯re very lucky to


    be able to catch a star, President Fuller, and I hope you two will always be happy.¡±


    Toby took Sonia¡¯s hand and intertwined their fingers tightly before he raised their hands up and showed


    it off to Sophia. ¡°Thank you for your blessing. We¡¯ll definitely be happy together.¡±


    As she listened to the two conversing with each other, Sonia¡¯s face and eyes were full of confusion.


    What were they talking about? She didn¡¯t understand a word.


    Seeing Sonia¡¯s dumbfounded look, Sophia covered her lips and giggled.


    This was usually an action that only young girls would do, and not many women of her age would act


    like this. After all, it didn¡¯t look as good when they did it, and they could give others the impression that


    they were acting childish. However, it didn¡¯t look out of ce on Sophia at all and suited her well


    instead, as if she was meant tough like this. In conclusion, even if the middle-aged Sophia wanted to


    laugh like a young girl, not only did it not look odd on her, but it was even quite pleasing to the eye.


    ¡°President Fuller, your girlfriend is adorable. Aren¡¯t you going to introduce me to her?¡± Sophia looked at


    Sonia kindly as she spoke to Toby with a smile.


    Although Sonia didn¡¯t understand what Sophia was saying, she could roughly guess that Sophia was


    talking about her. Hence, she quickly turned to look at the man next to her as well.


    Just as she was about to ask Toby to trante for her, he suddenly chuckled. ¡°Of course. She¡¯s my


    girlfriend, so I¡¯ll naturally introduce everyone I know to her.¡±


    Saying that, Toby also turned and looked at Sonia, just in time to meet her eyes that showed how


    desperately she wanted to know what they were talking about. His smile became more tender as he


    gently squeezed the palm of her hand, then introduced in a low voice, ¡°This is Sophia, the owner of this


    designer studio, and the designer who is in charge of our formal clothes this time.¡±


    Sonia said in realization, ¡°So she¡¯s the designer.¡±


    Saying that, she hurriedly faced Sophia on the opposite side and smiled shyly before extending her


    hand to introduce herself. However, before she could speak, she suddenly hesitated as she didn¡¯t know


    if she should speak Mesanian or Espanian. If Sophia couldn¡¯t understand either of these two


    languages, she would feel awkward. Besides, she couldn¡¯t speak Sophia¡¯snguage either.


    As if seeing through Sonia¡¯s hesitation, Toby instructed in a low voice, ¡°Just speak Espanian. Sophia is


    from Eriford, so she doesn¡¯t speak Mesanian. Just use Espanian, and I¡¯ll trante it for you.¡±


    With Toby¡¯s words, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to smile gratefully at him. Then,


    she was able to introduce herself with confidence. ¡°Hello, Ms. Sophia, my name is Sonia, and I am


    Toby¡¯s girlfriend.¡±


    When she started a sentence, Toby would begin tranting, and after she finished speaking, Toby


    would¡¯ve also finished tranting, as if he was a qualified interpreter.


    Sophia shook hands with Sonia. ¡°I know. When I received President Fuller¡¯s invitation, I heard about


    you from him.¡±


    Listening to Toby¡¯s trantion, Sonia showed a trace of surprise on her face, then nced at the man


    next to her before asking, ¡°Ms. Sophia, Toby told you about me?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Sophia nodded, then nced at Toby with a smile. ¡°When President Fuller was telling me


    about you, he said nothing butpliments.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at him. ¡°Nothing butpliments? Ms. Sophia, can I


    know how heplimented me?¡±


    She expressed her curiosity, but Toby¡¯s expression froze for a moment before he looked away.


    Seeing this, Sophia smiled even more happily. ¡°Of course, in President Fuller¡¯s heart, you¡¯re the most


    perfect woman in the world, Miss Reed. His praise for you can probably outdo many other men.¡±


    Immediately afterward, she told Sonia what Toby had said about her at the time. Sonia couldn¡¯t


    understand her words, so she could only turn to the man next to her and ask him to trante for her


    quickly.


    In the beginning, he tranted simultaneously as she and Sophia conversed with one another.


    However, at Sophia¡¯sst few words, he suddenly shut his mouth and didn¡¯t say a word. Instead, he


    turned his head to one side, revealing only the slightly red tip of his ear.


    Seeing that he wasn¡¯t tranting and even looked evasive, Sonia wanted to know what he had said


    even more, but he kept his mouth sealed tight and refused to speak.


    Sophia smiled and said, ¡°Miss Reed, President Fuller is probably shy.¡±


    ¡°Sophia!¡± With a frown, Toby called her name sharply.


    However, Sophia was not afraid of him and smiled even more happily.

 Chapter 957

    Chapter 957


    Chapter 957 Toby¡¯s Praise


    From the look of things, Sonia could guess what kind ofpliments Toby had said. It must¡¯ve been


    something extremely cheesy, or he wouldn¡¯t have had such a big reaction.


    Yes, even Sophia could tell that this man was shy. Having been together with Toby for so long, there


    was no way Sonia couldn¡¯t figure it out. As a guy, he was extremely thick-skinned, and even when he


    uttered obscenities, she had never seen him make such a look. Hence, she really wanted to know how


    sappily he had described her to make him, who was usually thick-skinned, being this shy. However, he


    made it clear that he would not say anything, and even when Sonia stared at him intently, he would not


    turn around, as if afraid that as soon as he did, he would be captured by her and forced to tell her.


    Seeing that the man refused to turn around and face her no matter what, Sonia knew that it was


    impossible to make him speak. Left with no other choice, she could only look to Sophia helplessly.


    Seeing through her troubled thoughts, Sophia smiled and patted her on the shoulder, telling her not to


    worry. Then, she beckoned to her assistant and said a few words to her in Plerian.


    As Sophia talked to her assistant, Sonia did not ignore the man beside her. She could clearly see the


    slight change in his expression, as if he was nervous. What¡¯s he nervous about?


    Just as she was wondering, Sophia¡¯s assistant said, ¡°Miss Reed, Ms. Sophia asked me to trante for


    you.¡±


    Sophia¡¯s assistant was a local. Hence, although she mostly stayed abroad, she was still well versed in


    the localnguage and could speak fluently.


    When Sonia heard that she was going to rece Toby as her trantor, Sonia¡¯s eyes lit up and she


    quickly smiled gratefully. ¡°That¡¯s great, thank you.¡±


    The assistant shook her head. ¡°No problem.¡±


    After saying her pleasantries, the assistant began to trante Sophia¡¯s previous words.


    As she listened to the sappypliments, Sonia was so embarrassed that she felt goosebumps rising


    all over her body because Toby¡¯s praise for her was almost a culmination of all the praises in the world.


    She had no idea that these words and phrases could even be used to describe her. She didn¡¯t even


    know that she was such a wonderful person!


    In short, he was talking about apletely different person, and it didn¡¯t sound like her at all. Besides,


    he used so many beautiful adjectives to describe her. Didn¡¯t he feel a prick on his conscience as he


    was saying all of this that time? Either way, she felt flustered.


    As Sonia turned to look at Toby and the increasingly reddening tips of his ears, she parted her red lips


    and asked, ¡°Are¡­ Are you sure you¡¯re not lying to Ms. Sophia? How am I as wonderful as you¡¯ve


    described me? Everything you said is clearly not about me.¡±


    Although she was indeed very happy that he could describe her that way, she still felt incredibly


    awkward.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to her!¡± Toby finally turned his head around, his gaze turning serious as he looked at her.


    Beside them, the assistant was tranting their conversation to Sophia. However, at that moment,


    Sonia and Toby only had eyes for each other and didn¡¯t care about anyone else.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    ¡°How are you not lying to her? You sure you¡¯re talking about me?¡± Sonia rolled her eyes, her face


    turning red.


    No, she couldn¡¯t think too much about what he told Sophia. Every time she recalled his words, she was


    so embarrassed that she felt like digging a hole to hide into.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Hearing Sonia¡¯s words, Toby nodded without any hesitation.


    The corners of Sonia¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°How is it about me? It doesn¡¯t fit me at all.¡±


    ¡°I know, but in my heart, that¡¯s the way you are. To me, you¡¯re the most wonderful person in the world,


    and you¡¯re worthy of all the beautiful phrases that have ever existed,¡± Toby said sincerely as he gazed


    at her.


    Sonia¡¯s face immediately flushed even redder. ¡°You¡­¡±


    Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Sophia who was opposite them. Sophia looked at her


    with a smile. ¡°Miss Reed, you¡¯re using President Fuller. Even if his description of you doesn¡¯t fit you,


    to him, he thinks that you¡¯re exactly the kind of person he had described. Isn¡¯t there a saying that goes


    ¡®Beauty is in the eye of the beholder¡¯? No matter what, the person you love will always be the most


    perfect being to you. Miss Reed, I believe that you think of President Fuller in the same way, right?¡±


    As soon as she said that, Sonia was immediately rendered speechless. She looked at Toby, as if


    asking him if Sophia was telling the truth, and he nodded, indicating that this was the case. In his heart,


    she was the perfect existence. Because of this, Sonia became even more abashed. Even if it was true


    that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, wasn¡¯t he a little too much? Still, it was inexplicably sweet of


    him.


    ¡°Miss Reed, do you want to know what else I said to President Fuller?¡± Sophia asked again with a


    smile.


    Next to her, her assistant tranted her words dutifully.


    Sonia looked at Toby, then at Sophia, before she nodded profusely, expressing her desire to know. She


    had been curious since earlier.


    Sophia didn¡¯t beat around the bush either, and soon told her about the conversation she had just had


    with Toby. Based on her assistant¡¯s trantion, Toby said that Sonia was his orbit, the light of his life.


    Instantly, Sonia flushed red, and her heart raced. Could he be any cheesier? She nced in yful


    disdain at the man next to her, and he coughed softly before turning away again.


    Sophia smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve known President Fuller for some years, and he¡¯s always been cold every


    time I met him. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen President Fuller being so open with his feelings and


    expression. Miss Reed, this is all thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to me?¡± Sonia was slightly taken aback.


    Sophia nodded. ¡°Yes. Most of the time, most cold-hearted people arepletely oblivious to love


    before they experience it. But once they find the person they love, they¡¯ll be more and more


    personable. That¡¯s the reason why I said that it¡¯s thanks to you that President Fuller has be so


    personable now, Miss Reed.¡±


    Sonia yed with her hair a little bashfully. ¡°Ms. Sophia, you¡¯re praising me too much. I didn¡¯t really do


    anything.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to. Your existence itself is enough for President Fuller. He¡¯ll naturally change on his


    own as long as you¡¯re there,¡± Sophia said with a smile.


    Sonia became even more self-conscious and didn¡¯t reply. She was afraid that if she continued, she


    would turn into a legendary figure.


    Seeing her embarrassment, Toby pursed his lips and coughed, then looked at Sophia and said, ¡°Okay,


    enough talking about this. Let¡¯s get down to business. Sophia, where¡¯s the dress?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Sophia immediately lifted the bag in her hand and handed it to Sonia. ¡°Miss Reed, this is the


    dress that President Fuller asked me to design for you. Please have a look to see if you¡¯re happy with it


    or not.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± Sonia epted the bag with both hands. Then, she nced at Toby after recalling


    something. ¡°Where¡¯s your suit?¡±


    Before Toby could answer, Sophia spoke up. ¡°President Fuller¡¯s suit has not beenpleted yet, and


    there¡¯s still a little work that needs to be done, so you should try yours on first to see if there is anything


    that needs to be modified, Miss Reed. After all, dresses are moreplicated to modify than men¡¯s


    suits, so I chose to work on your dress first.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Sonia nodded in realization and said nothing more. After sitting down, she opened the bag and


    took out the gift box containing the dress from inside.


    The gift box wasn¡¯t tied with a ribbon, so Sonia easily opened the lid, revealing the fiery red dress


    inside. The dress was a beautiful vintage Hepburn spaghetti dress with a wide V-neck and a slim-fitting


    A-line skirt that was decorated with ruffles below, giving off a sense of yful sexiness to the viewer.


    She liked it at first nce.

 Chapter 958

    Chapter 958


    Chapter 958 ck and Red Compliment Each Other the Most


    Seeing her surprised expression, Sophia knew that she was very satisfied with the dress and was


    relieved. ¡°When I first received President Fuller¡¯s request for me to design a dress for you, Miss Reed, I


    once proposed to meet you in person. After all, I can design a better dress only by seeing you and


    understanding your preferences, but I was rejected by President Fuller.¡±


    At this, Sophia felt a little regretful. ¡°So, I had no choice but to learn about you only through the inte


    or from others. Then, after many modifications, I ended up with this dress. At first, I was worried if you


    would like it or if the dress would suit you, but now, after meeting you, I understand that I had been


    worrying for nothing. The dress suits you very well.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let me meet with Ms. Sophia?¡± Sonia put down her dress and looked at the man in


    confusion.


    Sophia was not a man, so what was the problem with them meeting up? He couldn¡¯t be jealous of a


    woman, and an older one at that, could he? If that was the case, he was too petty. At that thought,


    Sonia stared at Toby, her gaze turning contemptful.


    When Toby understood the meaning behind her gaze, his thin lips twitched slightly. ¡°What are you


    thinking? I just wanted to give you a surprise.¡±


    ¡°A surprise?¡± Sonia raised her eyebrows.


    Toby hummed in reply. ¡°I wanted to give you a dress that would amaze you at first nce, so of course


    I couldn¡¯t let you meet Sophia. If you do, Sophia would ask you what styles you like, and there would


    be no surprises when she finishes the dress by then because you would already know what it looks


    like. You would only feel surprised if you were kept in the dark until the end.¡±


    ¡°All right, I misunderstood you earlier.¡± Sonia smiled apologetically, then asked, ¡°But if you kept it from


    me and didn¡¯t let me participate in the design of the dress, aren¡¯t you afraid that I wouldn¡¯t like it, just


    like Ms. Sophia said?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Toby shook his head and said with certainty, ¡°I¡¯veplimented you to Sophia, so she¡¯ll know


    what kind of dress she has to design for you. That¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t worried about any problems with the


    dress she designed.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s forehead creased with a frown. ¡°Thosepliments of yours¡­¡±


    When she thought of Sophia¡¯s assistant tranting Toby¡¯spliments that used nothing but praises to


    describe her earlier, she was filled with embarrassment again.


    ¡°Were mypliments wrong?¡± Toby spread his hands slightly. ¡°Sophia did tell me that it¡¯s not easy to


    design a dress if she hasn¡¯t seen you before. Later, I told her that it¡¯s okay to design in the most


    beautiful and gorgeous way, just like mypliments to you, so¡­¡±


    He stopped speaking and only lifted his gaze to look at Sophia.


    After listening to her assistant¡¯s trantion, Sophia nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, Miss Reed. At first, when


    President Fuller didn¡¯t let me meet you, I didn¡¯t know how to design the dress. Even though I learned


    about you from the inte and other people, it was a bit difficult for me to design a dress for you. In


    the end, I couldn¡¯t help but contact President Fuller again, and he gave me some pointers, which is


    how this dress came to be.¡±


    Sonia red at him yfully. ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared that I¡¯m not good enough for the prettiest and fanciest


    design?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re good enough.¡± Toby nodded confidently. ¡°To me, you¡¯re good enough for all the good things in


    the world, so I was never worried that the dress Sophia designed for you wouldn¡¯t suit you. Look.¡± He


    lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on the dress in her hands. ¡°As you can see, I wasn¡¯t wrong. The


    dress suits you very well. Besides, you look better in red than blue.¡±


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    ¡°Really?¡± Sonia tilted her head and looked at him flirtingly.


    Toby¡¯s throat bobbed a little as he replied hoarsely, ¡°Yes. I wouldn¡¯t lie to you.¡±


    Sophia agreed, ¡°Miss Reed, it¡¯s true. I think that a passionate, fiery red suits you very well too.¡±


    Sonia was pleased and couldn¡¯t hide the shyness from her face as she said, ¡°Since it suits me, I guess


    I¡¯ll buy more red clothes in the future.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡± Toby nodded, his dark eyes brightening.


    Clearly, he agreed with her and supported her idea very much. He liked ck, and most of his clothes


    were usually ck, whether it was a suit or a shirt. Only a fraction of it were other colors, but other than


    white, they were mostly dull colors such as gray, and he never wore these clothes if he could help it.


    In short, he basically only wore ck, and ck and red had always been a perfect match, much more


    so than ck and white. The dark and mysterious ck and the seductive and enchanting red were a


    much better fit, while a pure color like white was not worthy of his ck.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Upon seeing him spacing out, Sonia waved her hand in front of his


    face.


    Toby blinked as he returned to his senses, and his voice was still hoarse as he replied, ¡°Nothing much.


    I was just thinking about what you¡¯d look like wearing the dress. You¡¯ll definitely look gorgeous.¡±


    Saying that, he looked at her with a heated gaze.


    His gaze made Sonia feel uneasy all over, as if she were a piece of meat that was about to be


    devoured by him. Her face turned red as she said, ¡°I haven¡¯t even tried it on, so how would you know it


    would look good? All right, I won¡¯t argue with you anymore. I¡¯m going to try this on with Ms. Sophia.


    Hold my bag and wait for me here.¡±


    Sonia smiled at Sophia before they walked toward the fitting room nearby together with the assistant,


    as it was difficult for someone to put on a dress alone. In particr, a single wear dress such as this


    was very fragile in itself, and if someone used too much force, the zipper or hand-stitched thread would


    easily fall apart. Therefore, when putting on a dress, it was usually best to have someone around to


    help.


    Sophia was the designer and maker of the dress, and the assistant was still responsible for tranting


    from the side. With the help of two people, Sonia easily changed into the dress. Then, she turned


    around and looked at the amazement in their eyes. She was just about to ask how she looked, but she


    suddenly found it difficult to. From their reactions, she already knew that the dress looked extremely


    good on her.


    Sure enough, after Sophia came back to her senses, she held Sonia¡¯s hand in surprise and excitement.


    ¡°Oh, my dear, you look absolutely gorgeous. This dress suits you so well. I designed this blindly by


    listening to a certain man¡¯s exaggerated descriptions when I hadn¡¯t met you yet, and I thought


    President Fuller was lying to me, but now I know that he wasn¡¯t, and what he said was true. He also


    indirectly helped me improve my design skills. My dear, meeting you and President Fuller really is my


    greatest fortune.¡±


    Upon Sophia flushing red with excitement, the smile on Sonia¡¯s face turned reluctant as her red lips


    opened to say something, but she didn¡¯t know where to start. That was because she wanted to say that


    Toby did lie to her. With Toby¡¯s exaggeratedpliments, who would be able to design an appropriate


    dress?


    Now that Sophia was able toe up with a design, it was because of her highly honed design skills,


    and it had nothing to do with Toby. After all, designers didn¡¯t always design clothes specifically for


    someone. They often designed them as long as they had the inspiration. Even if many people couldn¡¯t


    wear the clothes they came up with, there would always be one person who could. Just like this time,


    when Toby asked Sophia to blindly design Sonia¡¯s dress, it just happened to be just right for her. It was


    that simple. Hence, it was illogical to say that Toby had helped to improve Sophia¡¯s design skills.

 Chapter 959

    Chapter 959


    Chapter 959 Ruby Ne


    However, seeing as how happy Sophia was, Sophia chose to keep quiet. Fine, I¡¯ll give Toby the credit


    this time, she thought.


    ¡°Oh right, my dear, since you¡¯re so gorgeous, we can¡¯t just keep it to ourselves. The person who truly


    appreciates your beauty is still waiting outside. Come now, let¡¯s go over there and show you off to


    President Fuller.¡± Saying that, Sophia excitedly dragged Sonia over to Toby.


    Toby, who was looking down at his phone, locked his phone upon hearing the footsteps. However, the


    moment he saw that person in red, he felt time stood still with his surroundings blurred. At this moment,


    only one person was in his vision.


    In Toby¡¯s eyes, everything had vanished around him, leaving only the person in red before him. At this


    moment, here and now, his eyes were only on that person to the extent that he could no longer


    perceive the surrounding noises, as he could only hear one particr sound. That sound came from


    that person with beautiful long hair as she lightly jogged over to him in her crystal high heels with a


    Duchenne smile on her face.


    It was at this very moment that Toby was enlightened to what was the most beautiful scenery in the


    entire world. The most beautiful scenery in the world was neither the product of nature nor was it an


    incredible man-made creation, but it was the very image of one¡¯s most beloved running toward one with


    a smile on their face.


    Toby threw his phone to the side before he stood up and stepped away from the sofa with his arms


    opened wide, and went to embrace the iing woman.


    Sonia, on the other hand, froze and was unable to react, as she had only intended to stop right in front


    of Toby to ask him how she looked. In the end, he gave no opening to her, as before she even reached


    Toby, Toby himself came to her and had her in his embrace instantly.


    It was so unexpected that even Sophia, who was beside Sonia, could only stare dumbfoundedly at the


    couple locked in an embrace. Right now, only the assistant on the side was full of excitement, as she


    held her breath while wearing a satisfied smile, albeit with some feelings of regret. Her regret stemmed


    from the fact that she hadn¡¯t the courage to take her phone out to get a picture of this embrace to share


    with her fellow shippers.


    Although the assistant was a long-time shipper of the two, it was not easy for her to finally savor the


    sight of the ones she had shipped being all lovey-dovey, yet she could not share such a beautiful scene


    with her fellow shippers. Ah, who could understand this pain of mine, she thought.


    Minutes passed before Sonia gently pushed Toby away. Tilting her head to look at Toby, she was about


    to ask him what was wrong with him, and about the sudden embrace.


    However, Toby was the first to speak up. ¡°Gorgeous!¡±


    Sonia immediately blushed while her heart started palpitating. Prior to this, Sonia had only blushed at


    Sophia and the others¡¯pliments without having her heart beating fast. Yet, her heart palpitated


    upon Toby¡¯spliment. Truly, this was the difference between receiving apliment from a friend


    and a lover. A lover¡¯spliment, aspared to a friend¡¯s, truly had the ability to influence the


    receiver¡¯s mood.


    ¡°Do I really look good?¡± Sonia spread her arms out slightly while looking at the man before her.


    The man nodded before he grabbed one of her arms and dragged her away.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked in confusion, but still obediently followed his pace.


    Toby remained silent and only stopped right in front of a mirror. The mirror in front of them was a floor-


    to-ceiling mirror that reflected the entire body of the viewer from head to toe.


    Looking at the reflections in the mirror, Sonia turned her head toward him with slight confusion. ¡°Why


    did you bring me here?¡±


    Toby gently held her chin and turned her head back to the mirror. ¡°Look, look just how beautiful you are


    in that mirror.¡±


    With a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, Sonia asked, ¡°So, you brought me all the way here just


    to let me look at the mirror?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Toby raised his head while admitting the reason for bringing her here. ¡°I only wished to show you


    just how beautiful you are, and how fitting the dress looks on you.¡± His lips were almost touching her


    ear when he said this.


    The warm breath he exhaled went straight into Sonia¡¯s ear and gave her a sense of tingling. As a


    result, she couldn¡¯t help but curl her neck up.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Toby asked as though he knew not the cause of her action, and he looked at the tip of


    Sonia¡¯s reddened ear with drooping eyes.


    Sonia rubbed the tip of her ear before she replied in a slightly soft voice, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Seeing that she was reluctant to speak further, Toby was happy, as he could continue to cling to her


    much more openly. ¡°Look, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re beautiful?¡± Toby said with his fingers on her chin.


    Sonia then took a good look in the mirror. Although she had done neither the matching hairstyle nor the


    matching makeup with the dress she was wearing, the dress was so beautiful to the extent that it¡¯d still


    make the wearer look good without doing anything extra. Here, one would remember the saying: ¡®the


    clothes made the man.¡¯ However, much more important than the dress, Sonia herself was a beauty, as


    her delicate looks suited well with the bright red dress. Such abination would naturally shock all


    those whoid eyes on her to their very core.


    ¡°Yeah, I do think so.¡± Sonia touched her face and nodded all while looking at her reflection in the mirror.


    Although she was slightly shy when she said such thoughts about herself, she knew that to be the


    truth, and couldn¡¯t very well speak otherwise.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°However, don¡¯t you think something¡¯s missing?¡± Toby released her chin and slowly traced his fingers


    down before caressing her neck.


    As she was feeling ticklish from his touch, she red at him through the mirror and asked him to stop


    his tomfoolery.


    Toby chuckled but still did as he was told and stopped his caress.


    Only when Sonia was satisfied did her re soften with her voice escaping from her red lips. ¡°I guess


    the matching makeup and hairstyle, right?¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡± Toby shook his head. ¡°Those are only secondary.¡±


    ¡°Hm? If not makeup and hairstyle, then what can it be?¡± Sonia looked curiously at that reflection of that


    devilishly handsome man in the mirror.


    The man said nothing and only shed a smirk at Sonia¡¯s reflection before he had his hands removed


    from her to reach into his suit pocket. Looking at his reflection, Sonia came to the assumption that the


    man was looking for something. She then turned to him and gazed curiously at his pocket. ¡°What are


    you looking for?¡±


    Toby did not answer her before finally taking his hand out of his pocket. However, Sonia could not see


    what he was holding, as his hand was clenched into a fist. In a nutshell, he was being mysterious at


    this moment. ¡°Turn around,¡± he said without answering her question.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. Fine, I¡¯ll y along, she thought while obediently turning her attention back to


    the mirror, as she was curious about what he nned to do.


    From behind Sonia, Toby extended his fist out beside her ear and slowly opened his fist. Instantly, an


    item with the shine of red and silver came falling from the palm of his hand. It was a lustrous ruby


    ne that was brimming with opulence. The ruby ne that swayed slightly under Toby¡¯s hand


    had a beautiful radiance of red, from the gemstone, and silver, from the ne.


    Now, Sonia was staring wide-eyed at the man smirking in the mirror. It was only after moments passed


    did she manage to speak up, albeit with trembling lips. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Toby raised his voice slightly.


    Sonia stopped moving instinctively with her mouth shut.


    Then, Toby reached his other hand over from her other side to open the ne and helped her put


    them on.


    Sonia stood dumbfounded the entire process and only managed toe to her senses when the


    ne was on her neck. Gently touching the red ruby on her neck, she asked, ¡°What are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it. You look beautiful wearing it. The ne suits you very well.¡± Toby was worried that


    Sonia would take off the ne and hurriedly removed her hand that was resting on the ne.


    Upon noticing how nervous Toby was, Sonia was taken aback before she finally let out augh. ¡°What¡¯s


    up with you? I never said I was going to take it off. I was just curious. When did you prepare this


    ne?¡±

 Chapter 960

    Chapter 960


    Chapter 960 Give Me a Son


    ¡°It was prepared a long time ago. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve kept it with me and had never taken it out before,¡±


    said Toby while he adjusted the ne so that the ruby would be at the center of her corbones.


    After he was satisfied with the arrangement, he withdrew his hand and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Looks


    good. I knew that the ne I chose would be good.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine topliment the ne, but why did you have topliment yourself as well?¡± Sonia


    laughed in amusement. Toby gently stroked her hair. ¡°Since I have a good eye for beauty, it¡¯s fine to be


    boastful about it.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure. My man here has the best eye for beauty. Are you happy now?¡± Soniaughed while


    shaking her head before she asked, ¡°You said that you¡¯ve prepared it a long time ago. Was it for the


    sake of matching my dress today?¡±


    The ruby on the ne was at least fifty carats, whereas the secondary small gemstones were


    around ten carats. Even the rest of the small ordinary diamonds were at one carat each.


    For such a luxurious ne, it was obvious that it was not intended for daily wear, but it was intended


    to be worn to match a dress for when one attended a formal event. Hence, it was natural to assume


    that it was unlikely for Toby to have prepared this ne for Sonia to wear daily. The only possibility


    left that came to Sonia¡¯s mind was for the ne to match the dress she was wearing. After all, the


    dress was red in color, which was the same color as the ruby. No matter how you sliced it, it would be a


    perfect match.


    Just as Sonia suspected, Toby nodded in affirmation. ¡°Yes, I know you used to have many kinds of


    jewelry, but you sold them all for the sake of Paradigm Co. Now, the only pieces of jewelry you have


    now are just ordinary ones that wouldn¡¯t be able to match the dress, so I took the liberty to prepare you


    this ne.¡±


    Sonia lowered her head while touching the ne around her neck. ¡°This is the second time you¡¯ve


    given me jewelry. Is this a keepsake of your mother as well?¡±


    The first time he gave her jewelry was for a dinner party as well. Just like Toby said, the only jewelry


    she had right now after she sold most of them for the sake of Paradigm Co. was mere ordinary ones


    that would most definitely not match the red dress she donned. She would be theughingstock should


    she try matching the dress with the jewelry she had on hand. Hence, she had epted the first time,


    but did eventually return the jewelry to him, as they still hadn¡¯t made up at that point in time.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Toby answered. ¡°It is my mother¡¯s keepsake, though I would have to mention that it was not part


    of her dowry. My father had specifically bought this ne for my mother when they got married. The


    Johann Family did prepare a dowry during my parents¡¯ marriage, but most of the bulk was prepared by


    the Fuller Family. This ne here was one of the ones my family prepared. The rest of them will be


    yours from now on.¡±


    Listening to what Toby said, Sonia immediately rolled her eyes. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting


    now? Why would they be mine?¡±


    ¡°You are my wife. Is it not proper for you to inherit the jewelry left by your mother-inw?¡± He looked at


    her with a Duchenne smile. ¡°Not to mention, these pieces of jewelry were originally given to my mother,


    as she was the daughter-inw of the Fuller Family. In the future, you could give it to our daughter-in-


    law as well.¡±


    First, Toby mentioned that his mother¡¯s pieces of jewelry would be hers in the future. Then, he even


    talked about their son having a wife in the future. This man¡¯s really getting ahead of himself. The next


    thing you know, he would start thinking about his child having grandchildren of their own, Sonia


    thought.


    Giving a wry expression at the man, Sonia lowered the hand that was touching the ne. ¡°You¡¯re


    getting carried away by the second. We¡¯re not even married, yet you have already nned for your


    future son¡¯s marriage. Not to mention, who would want to give birth to your son?¡± Why not a daughter?


    she thought grudgingly.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby had no idea what Sonia was thinking, so he held her shoulders with his two hands to turn her


    around. Looking at her directly, he said, ¡°When we get married, we would naturally have children of our


    own. Plus, don¡¯t you want to see what I was like as a child?¡±


    Sonia was puzzled at Toby¡¯s question. ¡°As a child? Why are you suddenly talking about your


    childhood?¡±


    Toby smiled. ¡°Because when you give me a son, you¡¯ll be able to see what I was like as a child, won¡¯t


    you?¡±


    Upon realizing what Toby meant, Sonia¡¯s eyes widened with her face turned red before she pushed the


    man aside. ¡°Who decided that a son would grow up just like their father? I mean, shouldn¡¯t the


    daughters be the ones that would be like their fathers? Usually, the son would follow their mother,


    whereas the daughter would follow their father, right? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re the type of man to prefer a


    son over a daughter, and that you¡¯ll only ever love your sons and not your daughters?¡±


    Toby hurriedly shook his head. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m not that type of man at all. Not to mention, I know


    very well that the gender of the child would be up to me to decide. If I were to prefer a son over a


    daughter, it would mean that I was looking down on myself.¡±


    When Toby finished his exnation, Sonia¡¯s expression softened with her eyes no longer narrowed.


    ¡°Then why are you so obsessed over wanting a son?¡±


    With a faint smile on his face, Toby exined, ¡°That way, there would be two men protecting you. If we


    were to give birth to a daughter, then not only do I have to protect you, but I would also have to protect


    my daughter. However, who I truly wish to protect is only you. After all, you are much, much more


    important than my children, so much so that I would not hesitate in sacrificing my children in order to


    keep you safe when pushes to shove.¡± To Toby, his children were not a necessity, only Sonia, and


    always Sonia.


    Although Sonia thought that the man was slightly extreme, she was still moved by how sweet the man


    was, as that meant the man was only ever looking at her, and only her. ¡°Regardless, we¡¯re dropping the


    topic right now, since it¡¯s still early to talk about it. You should know that I¡¯m still in the middle of my


    treatment. It would be impossible for you to even catch a glimpse of your children for at least three


    years,¡± said Sonia while she ruffled the hair around her ears.


    Gazing deeply into Sonia¡¯s eyes, the man asked, ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll be willing to have a child with


    me?¡±


    With Sonia¡¯s cheeks growing hot, she was afraid to look the man in the eye, but could still manage to


    stammer her thoughts, ¡°If we really get married once more, then I guess it would only be natural to


    have children.¡±


    Sonia¡¯s answer implied that she was willing to have children with him. Not only for his sake, but her


    own as well. After all, the child would not only be Toby¡¯s alone; it would be hers as well. Not to mention,


    she did like children as well, albeit the children should be the ones who she had willingly conceived.


    Sonia felt guilty andplicated over the child she had aborted in the past. She felt guilty for giving up


    on the child and preventing the child froming into this world, especially since it was the child


    between her and Toby. She feltplicated because that child was not conceived willingly. Currently,


    she felt affection for that unborn child, though even affection had its limitations.


    Nheless, with the child gone now, there was no point in dwelling over these anymore. She wished


    nothing but for the unborn child to be reincarnated into another happy family, and to note across


    irresponsible parents like her and Toby again.


    With such thoughts creeping up into her head, she suppressed the unpleasant feelings she felt and


    forced a smile. ¡°Help me take the ne off. I¡¯ll wear it when it¡¯s time for the event. It¡¯s not proper to


    wear it now since it would make my neck sore with how heavy it is.¡± She then turned her back toward


    him.


    Initially, Toby intended for Sonia to wear it up until the conclusion of the party. However, since she had


    comined that the ne was too heavy, he held back his tongue and helped her take off the


    ne. When he was trying to unhook the ne, he suddenly said, ¡°This ruby ne wasn¡¯t


    what I had originally prepared for you.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Sonia turned her head to the side slightly and looked at the man who wore a serious expression


    from the corner of her eyes. ¡°Then, what was the thing you originally prepared for me?¡±


    Finally taking off the ne, Toby ced it in her hand before he replied, ¡°It was supposed to be a


    sky blue diamond ne.¡±


    ¡°Blue diamond ne?¡± Sonia repeatedly mumbled before a thought shed through her mind,


    which prompted her to look at the man. ¡°The blue fishtail dress that Anya had ruined!¡±

 Chapter 961

    Chapter 961


    Dragging Sonia by her hand, Toby walked toward the seating area with Sonia in tow. "I knew my Little


    Leaf was smart. After I knew you had ordered a blue custom-made dress, I picked out a piece of blue-


    colored jewelry from my mother''s keepsake that would match your dress. But, I never gave it to you


    and decided to pick another piece out due to the incident."


    "When did this happen?" Sonia asked while walking beside him.


    Toby''s expression grew stern. "It was the day when Anya ruined your dress. Don''t you remember I


    went back to the Fuller Residence on that day?"


    As Sonia instantly understood the full picture, she looked at him in a daze. "So, the reason you went


    back there was to get the jewelry?"


    "That''s right." Toby raised his chin slightly.


    "The box you brought back that night was the jewelry?" asked Sonia again.


    Toby replied, "Yes, it was supposed to be a surprise for you. However, I decided not to give it to you


    after that incident."


    "It''s better that way." Sonia''s eyes shed a hint of coldness. "If you had given me the jewelry then, I


    might have been much more upset. You trusted me to bring your dress back to you and had even


    prepared jewelry for me, yet I couldn''t even do a simple thing of watching over the dress. I''ve really let


    you down in the end."


    Toby stopped abruptly before he turned to Sonia and lifted her chin.


    Looking at the man''s frown and displeased expression, Sonia blinked dumbfoundedly before she


    asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "Don''t talk about yourself that way," Toby said. "You did not let me down, since you sessfully


    brought the dress out of the store. It is not your fault that the dress was ruined. After all, how could you


    stop someone''s malice? So, you do not have any need to feel ashamed." Saying that, he caressed her


    lips with his thumb.


    ring at the man, Sonia pped away his hand which was taking advantage of her.


    Toby chuckled. "Looks like you''ve cheered up."


    Sonia was slightly stunned. "So you took advantage of me just so I would stop feeling ashamed?"


    "Of course." Toby nodded. "Since you''re a sensitive person, words of assurance won''t be enough to


    help you get over your feeling of shame. That''s why angering you is the best way to stop you from


    dwelling on such things."


    "You''re really... Pfft!" Sonia had wanted to tell the man off, yet couldn''t stop herself from smiling. How


    could she? After all, Toby was sincerely trying to cheer her up, yet she was going to tell him off. That


    would just be ungrateful of her.


    "Looks like you finally smiled." Toby gently pinched her soft cheeks. "You look much better smiling than


    when you are depressed. My Little Leaf is the most beautiful when she smiles."


    "Tell me something I don''t know." Sonia blushed before she broke free of his grip and strode forward.


    As Toby stood still looking at Sonia quickly walking away in embarrassment, he chuckled in adornment


    before following her.


    Back in the seating area, Sophia and her assistant had been patiently waiting for their return. Upon


    noticing the coupleing back, they hurriedly put down the coffee and snacks they had in their hands


    before they stood up. "President Fuller, Miss Reed, wee back," Sophia said with a smile.


    Sonia returned a smile of her own.


    "Miss Reed, President Fuller, what do you two think of the dress? Is there anything that needs to be


    altered?" asked Sophia.


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    Shaking her head, Sonia answered, "I think it''s very good and there''s nothing that needs altering. What


    do you think?" She turned her attention to the man beside her to seek his opinion, as she knew that


    Toby was a jealous man. Although the dress wasn''t that revealing, the area around the legs and


    shoulders was slightly revealing. Hence, she had thought that it was possible for him to dislike the


    current design and want to alter parts of it.


    Despite the fact that he had no problem with her dress currently and had evenplimented her by


    saying she was beautiful, Sonia thought that it was because the few people here were all female with


    Toby being the only exception. Naturally, he wouldn''t need to be jealous and worried over other men


    looking at her. However, that would not be the case during the night of the party, as there would be


    other men there that would inevitably have their eyes on her. Hence, she couldn''t be sure that he


    wouldn''t be jealous at that time.


    Nevertheless, Toby''s answer waspletely out of Sonia''s expectations, as he said that he had no


    problems with the dress, so there was no need to alter the dress, which made Sonia look at him in


    amazement.


    "What''s wrong?" Toby asked while he gently brushed the bridge of her nose upon noticing the look she


    gave him.


    Sonia pped his hand away. "And here I thought you would be asking Ms. Sophia to make some


    alterations to the dress, especially around the skirt, since it is a split design."


    "I know, but the dress looks better with this design. Why would you think I would want to alter it?" asked


    Toby.


    Sonia chose not to hide her thoughts and answered truthfully, "Because I thought you would be


    jealous."


    Toby, who had now understood Sonia''s reason for her question, chuckled. "I am indeed unhappy that


    other men would look at how beautiful you are in that dress. However, I cannot deprive you of your right


    to wear such beautiful clothes just because I dislike having others look at you. So, you don''t have to


    worry about it and just wear this dress. And as for those that wouldy their eyes on you, I would give


    them a stern warning, naturally." His tone during hisst sentence grew much, much colder.


    Sonia was taken aback but gave a snicker when she came back to her senses. "It must be hard for you


    to endure your displeasure for my sake."


    "It''s not hard." Toby stroked her hair. "This is of my own volition. Although I dislike you wearing


    something too revealing that would stimte other men, I''d much prefer for you to shine brightly."


    With a twitch of her red lips, Sonia was about to speak up before she was interrupted by Sophia''s p


    of her hand. "Oh, this is truly a love that moves hearts," Sophia said excitedly.


    In an instant, Sonia''s face grew red and she became embarrassed to continue her conversation with


    Toby. She then cleared her throat before hurriedly changing the topic. "Alright, Ms. Sophia, do help me


    undress and pack the dress up."


    "Alright." Sophia nodded with a smile.


    Sonia then turned toward Toby. "I''m heading to the dressing room to change. Wait for me here. Oh


    right, it''d be better if you kept the ne." She handed the ne over to him.


    Toby did not refuse her, so he took the ne and said, "Alright, I''ll put it on for you when it''s time."


    "Yeah." Sonia shed a smile before walking toward the dressing room with Sophia.


    However, just as they arrived at the dressing room, Sophia''s assistant came over to her with a grave


    expression and said something to Sophia. Since Sonia did not understand what was going on, she


    stood there waiting for them without a sound, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.


    About two minutester, her assistant nodded and left after Sophia had waved her hand at her. Taking


    a deep breath after her conversation with her assistant, Sophia softened her heavy expression and


    smiled at Sonia. "Miss Reed, I''m sorry, but I have some urgent matters to attend to right now. Do you


    mind waiting for me for a few minutes? Just a few minutes. I''ll be right back."


    Sonia nodded understandingly. "Of course, I don''t mind waiting. You go ahead and deal with your


    matters first."


    "You''re such a darling. You really are a kind girl." Touched, Sophia hugged Sonia.


    Shocked by how Sophia hugged her so enthusiastically, Sonia could only pat her on her back.


    As Sophia remembered that she still had to settle her matters, she quickly let go of Sonia and jogged


    toward the direction where her assistant had gone.


    Looking at Sophia leaving, Sonia smiled helplessly before she sat down on the bench near the


    dressing room while waiting for Sophia''s return. Since the back of the dress was designed with straps,


    she could only wait for Sophia, as it was easy to ruin the dress should she undress herself.


    Meanwhile, Toby had waited for some time back in the seating area, yet Sonia had not finished


    changing out of her dress. As he couldn''t wait any longer, he stood up and went toward the dressing


    room.

 Chapter 962

    Chapter 962


    Chapter 962 Sham


    On his way to the dressing room, the phone in his pocket rang. Without stopping in his tracks, Toby


    took his phone out and answered the call after taking a nce at the caller ID. "What is it?"


    Upon hearing Toby''s question, the caller, Tom, immediately answered, "The person we''ve set to keep


    an eye on Connor Salzburg has just sent word that he has gone out this afternoon."


    "Where to?" Toby''s expression turned gloomy.


    At the other end of the line, Tom adjusted his sses before he replied, "Campbell Residence."


    "Campbell Residence?" Toby narrowed his eyes. "Why would he go there? Does Connor have


    connections with the Campbell Family?"


    The Campbell Family was a long-standing family that had settled in Seafield hundreds of years ago.


    They were different from all the other merchant families, as they were a family of schrs.


    Furthermore, with each and every one of the Campbells keeping a low profile and practicing restraint,


    their reputation in Seafield was exceptional. They wouldn''t get too acquainted with the other families as


    well. In short, the Campbell Family gave off an aura of independence unlike the other families in


    Seafield.


    However, everything had its exceptions, as the Fuller Family was on decent terms with the Campbell


    Family. The main reason for this was that thete Old Master of the Campbell Family had worked


    under Toby''s grandfather, Norman, as a security officer.


    During the warring era, Old Master Campbell once took a bullet for Norman. Although the bullet would


    not have been fatal, as it wasn''t aimed at either the head or heart of Norman, Old Master Campbell''s


    action in using his own body to block a bullet for others was courageous like no other. It was for this


    reason that the Fuller Family had always looked out for the Campbell Family. Furthermore, Toby knew


    the Campbells well, including their interpersonal rtionships. Besides the Fuller Family, it was unlikely


    for the Campbell Family to have a connection with the Salzburg Family.


    However, the fact that Connor had gone to the Campbell Family made Toby reconsider his


    understanding of the Campbells. He had even considered that they had hidden their connection to


    Connor and that they were connected right from the start. Should that be the case, Toby would have to


    consider whether to continue supporting and looking out for the Campbell Family.


    Although Old Master Campbell had taken a bullet for Norman, this debt had been repaid by the Fuller


    Family. In the past, Norman had bailed the Campbells when they were forced to the farms, as they


    were marked as a schr family. It was at that time that the Fullers had fully repaid their debt to the


    Campbells. As for the reason why the Fuller Family continued to look out for them, it was merely out of


    the friendship between Norman and Old Master Campbell. After all, the Fullers were fully capable of


    supporting the Campbells and were never skimpy with them.


    Decades passed, and supporting the Campbell Family had be a habit that the Fullers did not


    bother to change. However, if the Campbells went behind Toby''s back and got involved with Connor


    Salzburg, then they would see just how merciless Toby could be. Toby could be merciful in giving his


    support to them, but he could absolutely not tolerate the people under his protection to be secretly in


    contact with someone that the Fuller Family had problems with. This was the very action of biting the


    hands that fed them!


    Tom, on the other end of the line, knew not of what was on his president''s mind, but he could hear the


    change in Toby''s tone when he had reported to him that Connor had gone to the Campbell Family. After


    all, Tom was privy to the rtionship between the Fuller Family and the Campbell Family.


    "Don''t worry, President Fuller. They do not have a connection with each other," Tom hurriedly replied


    while he shook his head, as he did not wish for Toby to misunderstand the situation. "I am aware of


    what you''re worried about. After I''d gotten word that Connor went to the Campbell Residence, I


    immediately investigated whether the Campbell Family had ever been in contact with Connor all these


    years. In the end, the result of the investigation was that the Campbells did not have any contact with


    any other families besides the Fullers. It is unlikely that Connor has been in contact with them prior to


    this."


    When he heard his assistant''s exnation, Toby''s darkened expression softened slightly. "Good." It


    seems that the Campbell Family has kept their loyalty and did not wrong us, Toby thought. "Did you


    find out why Connor went to the Campbell Residence?" he asked with his lips pursed.


    Tom nodded. "Naturally. Since I''ve determined that they have no prior connection, I would naturally turn


    my investigation to the reason Connor went to the Campbell Residence."


    With a light grunt, Toby''s tightly pursed thin lips slightly loosened, as Tom had given a satisfying answer


    to his question. "Speak." Toby indicated for Tom to report on the result of his investigation.


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    After acknowledging his president''s question, Tom said in a serious tone, "So far, Connor himself has


    not left the hotel, but our people have reported that his assistant has gone out several times. We found


    out that the assistant has been going to several famous private investigation agencies. We''ve


    contacted the owners of these agencies to find out the reason for Connor''s assistant''s visit. From the


    owners, we learned that Connor has been searching for thete Madam''s grave for the past few days."


    "What?" Toby''s expression slightly changed. "Looking for my mother''s grave?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded.


    This prompted Toby tough in exasperation. "He wants to pay his respect to my mother?"


    "I believe so." Tom then lowered his head. "Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths to search for


    Madam''s grave? Hence, I believe that Connor met with the Campbell Family for this matter, and left the


    residence after 2 hours there. When he left, I immediately contacted the current head of the Campbell


    Family to ask about the purpose of Connor''s visit. The family head told me that Connor had asked him


    about the location of Madam''s grave, as the whole of Seafield knew just how close the Campbell


    Family was with the Fuller Family, and even more so whenpared to the Coleman Family. It would


    not be a stretch to say that the Campbell Family knew the Fuller Family the best. Since Connor could


    not get any information regarding Madam''s grave from the investigation agencies, he would naturally


    turn to the Campbell Family about it. Nevertheless, he was destined to have made the trip for nothing."


    After all, besides Toby and Grace, the only other person who knew the location of the grave was Tom.


    No one else knew about it. Hence, it was impossible for Connor to find the information about the


    location of the grave no matter who he sought¡ªeven if the ones he sought were the Campbells who


    knew the Fullers best.


    Toby''s smile became much more shrewd and frightening. He cared not about theter portion of Tom''s


    report, as he focused on the earlier portion of the report. "He still has the gall to seek my mother''s


    grave? Not only that, but he has the audacity to pay respect to my mother?! Does he think that he


    would be expressing his love for my mother by doing something this insolent? Ridiculous!"


    If Connor had really loved Valerie, then he would havee straight out to stop the marriage proposal


    from the Johann Family by announcing his rtionship with her back then. Instead, he did nothing but


    only watched how Valerie struggled to resist all the way up to her marriage to Homer from the sideline


    like a coward.


    It would have been fine if that was the end of the matter. Yet, Connor had the gall to incur Valerie and to


    subject her to some ridiculous agreement that Connor himself had not abided by, as he had numerous


    affairs. Not only did he have an illegitimate daughter, but he had also even agreed to marry someone


    else the moment Valerie was about to run away from the Fuller Family. That was thest straw that


    broke the camel''s back, as he drove Valerie into taking her own life out of despair.


    It had been 20 years ever since Valerie''s death, yet Connor had never asked about Valerie, nor did he


    come to Seafield to pay his respects. In these 20 years, he had acted as though Valerie had not existed


    in this world as he continued to have a free and easy life in Westsanshire.


    After 20 years had passed, only now did Connor finallye to Seafield to pretend to search for


    Valerie''s grave to pay his respects. Toby hadn''t once assumed that Connor did all these out of his love


    for Valerie since he knew that Connor''s love for his mother was just superficial. If Connor had truly


    loved her, he wouldn''t have done all those despicable things to her. Right now, all Connor was doing


    was satisfying his own ego.


    He was just another hypocrite, another sham of a person!

 Chapter 963

    Chapter 963


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    Tom nodded to express his anger at Connor as well, as he shared Toby''s opinion that Connor''s


    behavior was ridiculous. To Tom, Connor was not the source of hope for thete Madam, as he drove


    her to take her own life. Even after her death, Connor gave no care and had note to Seafield to


    pay his respect all these years. No one would think he was being affectionate now that 20 years had


    passed, but rather, they would only think that Connor was just putting on a show to satisfy his own ego.


    Perhaps Connor did feel some guilt when he heard the news of Valerie''s suicide 20 years ago. After all,


    Connor did immediately cancel his then-uing wedding. Nevertheless, the guilt he had was


    definitely superficial. Otherwise, why did Connor note back to Seafield to pay his respects for 20


    years? Now that he wished to pay his respects, Tom assumed that Connor was probably only doing it


    for the sake of clearing that tiny guilty conscience of his so that he could continue his easy and free life.


    Such a man is truly a disgrace, Tom thought scornfully.


    "Besides the investigation agencies and the Campbell Family, did Connor meet anyone else to ask


    about my mother''s grave?" Toby asked in a chilling voice with his eyes narrowed.


    Tom immediately collected his thoughts before nodding. "He did. After failing to seek information from


    the investigation agencies, he had invited the Coleman Family to meet but was rejected by them. It was


    only then Connor went to the Campbell Family."


    "The Coleman Family obviously wouldn''t ept his invitation." Toby sneered. "Although there was no


    evidence to the things he did back in Westsanshire, everyone there knows about the truth to it. Since


    the Coleman Family has always been an honest and upright family, it would be unlikely for them to


    want to involve themselves with a man like him. But I digress, was there anyone else?"


    "No. No more." Tom shook his head, but had hesitation in his tone, as he suddenly remembered


    something.


    Impatient, Toby said, "Talk."


    "Right," Tom immediately replied. With his hesitation gone, he continued, "I was just thinking if Connor


    had gone to the Johann Family. Considering the fact that the Johanns are in Westsanshire and that the


    Fuller Family has not paid any attention to them for so long, we would be none the wiser should Connor


    have met with them."


    Toby snorted. "What would be the point? The current Johann Family is no longer rted to my mother.


    They weren''t even invited to my mother''s funeral back then. It would have been pointless for Connor to


    meet with them. It would be just another wasted trip for him."


    "That''s true." Tom nodded.


    "Anything else?" Toby rubbed his temple.


    Tom cleared his throat before he replied, "Nothing else. That is all we have on Connor so far. However,


    the man we sent to keep an eye on him has also reported that he has lost track of his assistant once on


    the day before yesterday. Although he didn''t know where the assistant had gone, he knew that it wasn''t


    the investigation agencies."


    "Investigate him." Toby frowned.


    "Understood," Tom replied.


    With his thin lips pursed, Toby continued to ask, "Have you arranged for the bodyguards that would


    rece the security guards in Paradigm Co.?"


    Tom smiled. "Don''t worry, President Fuller. I have already made the arrangement the moment you''ve


    ordered me to. I''m guessing that the security guards have been reced at this time around."


    Feeling satisfied, Toby replied, "Good. I''ll need you to arrange some bodyguards for the old manor and


    the Fuller Residence as well to strengthen the security there. I''m worried that Connor might resort to


    holding my men hostage to threaten me into telling him after he failed to find my mother''s grave."


    "Understood, President Fuller." Tom nodded with a serious expression. "Should I arrange some for


    Miss Reed as well?"


    "No need." Toby waved his hand. "I''ve already made arrangements for her."


    "Understood." Tom did not pursue the matter, as Sonia was his president''s woman after all. Since his


    president had told him that it had been arranged, there was no point in worrying, as he was just a mere


    subordinate.


    After that, Toby ended the call and increased his pace slightly.


    Not long after, he arrived near the dressing room and saw from afar a woman sitting on the bench with


    her head down on her phone; she hadn''t changed out of that magnificent red dress yet. Suspicious of


    the woman''s reason for doing so, Toby walked over and said softly, "Why are you sitting here?"


    Upon hearing his voice, Sonia put down her phone and turned her attention toward the direction of the


    voice with a surprised expression. "Why did youe over?"


    "I was worried since I''ve waited for some time, yet you still haven''te back. So, I came over to find


    you." Toby came to a stop in front of her.


    With a smile, Sonia stood up. "What can go wrong when we''re inside a store?"


    "Many things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. Troublees regardless of the location. Even the


    safest ce in the world would not guarantee one''s safety." Toby looked at her with a serious


    expression.


    Looking at the man being serious and preachy, Sonia was amused. "Yes, yes. I get it. But, now that you


    see I''m fine, shouldn''t you be relieved right now?"


    Toby then raised his chin haughtily. "Looks like it, but why are you sitting down here? Weren''t you going


    to change out of your dress? Where''s Sophia?"


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    "I was supposed to get changed," Sonia answered with a shrug. "But when I came here, something


    urgent came up for Sophia. So, I asked her to settle her matters first beforeing back to help me out


    of my dress. That''s why I''m here waiting for her."


    Upon her exnation, Toby frowned. "Even if you are being considerate, are you not hungry right


    now?"


    "I am." Sonia touched her stomach before giving Toby a pitiful expression.


    Looking at Sonia''s expression, Toby couldn''t bring himself to get angry at her. Hence, he pretended to


    be angry. "Why did you let Sophia go when you''re already hungry? Although you were being


    considerate to her, why didn''t you give any thought about yourself? Why didn''t you give me any


    thought? What if you faint from hunger?"


    The man in front of her had his brow wrinkled while he wore a worried expression. He looked very


    much like a mother to Sonia, which made her cover her mouth and snicker. "Alright, alright. You can


    stop grumbling now. I was wrong, okay? To be honest, I wasn''t even thinking that far. I was only


    thinking that it wouldn''t be nice to inconvenience Sophia. Plus, Sophia did say it would only take her a


    few minutes. I can still afford to wait for a few minutes."


    "And how many minutes ago was that?" Toby raised his eyes and gave her a cold gaze.


    Sonia stuck her tongue out briefly before she replied, "Maybe she couldn''t solve the urgent matter in a


    few minutes. Don''t mind her, it''s okay."


    Toby sighed. "I''ve already told you before, you''ll only suffer if you''re too kind. See what I told you? Fine,


    I''ll help you get changed. The earlier you finish changing, the earlier we can go get something to eat."


    Right now, Toby regretted bringing her to try the dress out, as he thought that he should have brought


    her to have a meal first beforeing to try the dress.


    "Help me get changed?" Sonia stared at Toby wide-eyed.


    Toby frowned. "Why not? Is that not eptable?"


    Covering her chest with her arms, Sonia replied, "What are you saying? You do know that we''re not the


    same gender, right?"


    Hearing Sonia''s reason, Tobyughed. "Not only have I already seen you naked, but we''ve also done


    the most intimate deed any couple could do. Helping you get changed is just a small matter at this


    point."


    At this point, Sonia was speechless, as she knew what he said was true. Indeed, there was no reason


    for her to act this way, as he had already seen her naked before. Ugh, fine. I am feeling weak from


    hunger now. I''ll be able to eat earlier the sooner he helps me get changed. With such thoughts, Sonia


    exhaled lightly before looking at the man with a slight blush on her face. "Let''s go."


    "Where to?" Toby asked deliberately while looking at her flushed cheeks with hints of yfulness in his


    eyes.

 Chapter 964

    Chapter 964


    Home 1 Romance / Boss, Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia could tell at a nce that Toby had done it intentionally. Stomping her feet out of anger, she


    grumbled, "I would rather wait for Ms. Sophia toe back if this is how you are going to behave."


    Then, she sat down again.


    Seeing this, Toby instantly knew that he had gone overboard with his teasing.


    She was already embarrassed to begin with. It was no wonder that she would end up getting angry


    after he purposely made fun of her.


    "I''m sorry. It is my fault," he hurriedly apologized while holding onto her. "I shouldn''t have done that.


    Please don''t be mad, alright?"


    With his chin low, he kept peeking at her while he blurted out words of persuasion.


    Now that he had apologized, it only seemed natural for her to let him off the hook. After all, she wasn''t


    actually angry at him. She was only sulking out of embarrassment.


    Sonia proceeded to let out a huff as she headed to the entrance of the dressing room in her silver pair


    of crystal high heels.


    Toby couldn''t help but lightly chuckle as he watched the back of her torso. It was only then that he


    followed after her.


    It was a considerably small-sized fitting room which was only about three square meters. Having to fit


    two people in it, on top of the clothes racks and other things, made the small space extremely


    congested.


    After Toby closed the door behind him, Sonia turned her back to him and said, "This dress is fastened


    by the straps on the back. Ms. Sophia had to tie the straps for me using a special knot instead of a


    regr bow. I can''t undo it by myself, so you''ve got to do it for me. You can go out after that."


    After all, the straps were at the back. The bow could easily unravel, and the dress would fall if someone


    were to tug on the strap of a regr bow.


    That was the reason why all the clothes with straps at the back were tied using a special knot.


    Otherwise, a wardrobe malfunction could easily happen.


    However, the biggest disadvantage of this special knot was that it was hard to undo by the person


    wearing the clothes. One would usually need help with it from others.


    Once he heard that Sonia wanted him gone after helping her with undoing the knot, Toby instantly felt


    like he was a mere errand boy that she could get rid of as soon as she was done with him.


    Even with that thought going through his head, he didn''t forget the reason why he was able to step into


    this ce. After he scooped her hair in front, which revealed the perfect back of her neck and body, he


    began to carefully observe the knot on her back.


    It took him a little more than ten seconds to figure it out.


    All he had to do to undo theplicated knot was tug on four straps at the same time with his fingers.


    However, instead of the simple method, he wanted to spice things up.


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    A glint appeared in Toby''s eyes as he suddenly had an idea. With that, he ced his palms on the back


    of her torso, and shoved at her.


    Sonia had been patiently standing there waiting for his help to get out of her dress, but what she got in


    return was a push that sent her staggering forward with a yelp.


    Luckily, the momentum of her fall wasn''t big because he didn''t push her with much force. As she


    stumbled, she immediately stretched out her hands and supported herself against the soft wall in front


    of her, thereafter managing to stabilize herself.


    She might not, and would not, be hurt, but the shock from unexpectedly being pushed enraged her.


    Sonia let her hand fall to her sides and turned to re at him. "Have you gone crazy, Toby?!"


    He didn''t answer her as he took one step toward her. He then reached out his hand and propped it on


    the wall near her ear, giving her another shock that made her freeze momentarily.


    Not knowing what he was up to, she frowned and was about to push him away from her when he finally


    spoke again. "Don''t move. I will undo the knot for you."


    "You will undo the knot for me?" Sonia scoffed angrily. "Not only have you not done anything useful


    even though you have been in here for a while now, you even did something confusing as hell. What do


    you want, Toby?"


    She was telling him that she was starting to not understand what was going on in his head. After that,


    she massaged her forehead when she felt a headacheing.


    "Forget it." She sighed without waiting for his reply. "Don''t undo it. You can head out now. I will think of


    a way myself."


    She then began to turn around to watch him leave.


    Sonia was sure she wouldn''t be out of her dress anytime soon if Toby stayed in the dressing room with


    her.


    Gosh, I must have been nuts to believe that he would obediently help me with my dress here.


    Even though he didn''t take advantage of her after he followed her in, he had behaved in a way that was


    even more confusing than if he did.


    Anyhow, she concluded, he better be out of here fast.


    However, just as she had turned around halfway, Toby suddenly moved her back to the position she


    was in and bit the tip of her ear. "Don''t move," he growled.


    And Sonia subconsciously did exactly as he told.


    The man then released his bite before burying his face in the back of her neck.


    There was a mirror in the dressing room. With a slight tilt of her head, Sonia could see everything he


    was doing behind her.


    Toby was currently following along her neck to the line on her back, and he only came to a stop when


    he was at the small of her back.


    Following that, he slightly parted his thin lips and held one of the straps on her back in between his


    teeth. He then started moving backward.


    She immediately knew what this dirty dog of a man was doing upon seeing this. Instead of undoing the


    knot the normal way, he would rather do it using his teeth.


    It was impossible for Sonia to not be surprised when she realized what he was up to.


    At the same time, her face had flushed red.


    This method of untying knots felt so risque that it was enough to make anyone blush.


    Sonia was frozen in ce as she couldn''t will herself to move away. All she could do was let her face


    get redder by the second while she held her breath, her eyes noticing Toby''s every movement as he


    undid the knot.


    At that moment, only the sounds of two unsynchronized breaths and fabric being pulled against fabric


    could be heard reverberating across the narrow dressing room. The room was instantly engulfed in


    intimacy like no other, and the couple''s hearts beat as though there were wild horses galloping in their


    chest.


    Sonia could even clearly feel the increase of temperature in the air that also brought her body heat up,


    making it difficult for her to calm down.


    She didn''t know how much time had passed by the time Toby had loosened the four straps on her


    back, but as soon as the two pieces of fabric that held the dress together parted, he could see her


    snow-white skin underneath the previously covered area.


    She finally let out a sigh of relief when he was done.


    Now that the knot had been undone, she wouldn''t need his help anymore to take off the dress that she


    could take off on her own.


    Since Toby was done with his little prank, she initially thought that he would read her tone and let go of


    her.


    Sonia didn''t expect him to not even have the thought of stopping and going easy on her.


    The man proceeded to spit out the strap in his mouth before he resumed his earlier position.


    Seeing this, she immediately yelled panickedly, "What else are you trying to do, Toby?! The knot is


    undone. Hurry up and let me go."


    As though he hadn''t heard a word she said, he went on and pressed his thin lips on her back.


    Sonia couldn''t help but shiver when his cold lips met the hot skin on the back of her torso.


    He didn''t stop here then. She soon felt the light kiss turn into a suckle, and it was a feeling too familiar


    to her that he would always do it to her whenever they were getting it on. His sucking on her skin would


    always leave a mark on her unblemished skin.


    Toby''s intentions were instantly made clear, now that he was suddenly doing this¡ªhe wanted to leave


    his mark on her back.


    Coincidentally, Sonia''s back was one of the more sensitive parts of her body. There was no way she


    could stand it when the man kept kissing and biting her. Her energy gradually seeped out of her body,


    leaving her a boneless, gasping puddle. By now, her face had turnedpletely red, and her eyes


    were hazy when she unconsciously let out mewls and moans in between hitched breaths.

 Chapter 965

    Chapter 965


    Sophia and her assistant instinctively stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the first sound.


    They both had hurried back after they were done with their work. Just as they had reached the outside


    of the fitting room, they suddenly heard those noises from inside that threw their minds in the gutter.


    A confused expression immediately appeared on Sophia''s face. The assistant''s eyes, however, were


    sparkling as she covered her hands over her mouth.


    Oh God. Oh God! Is this real?! Am I hearing a live session of people getting nasty?! The assistant


    screamed on the inside. Ah! How exciting!


    The assistant had gotten so excited her face had gone red. She would even have screamed and


    jumped to vent her current feelings if it wasn''t because she didn''t want her presence to be noticed.


    Sophia finally snapped back to reality after sucking in a deep breath, and she whipped around to her


    assistant and whispered, "Let''s go!"


    Hearing that, the assistant removed her hands from her face and whined in an equally hushed voice,


    "Can''t we stay a little longer, Lady Boss?"


    Let''s stay and listen a while more! It is such a rare chance. There might not be a next time! She kept


    this part to herself.


    Sophia understood her assistant too well to not know what was going through her head as her wide


    eyes kept darting in the direction of the fitting room.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Feeling slightly speechless, Sophia lightly knocked her knuckles on the assistant''s head and gave a


    grave warning. "You can stay if you aren''t afraid of being caught and getting President Fuller''s


    attention. Don''t tell him you are my assistant if hees for your head after that. I can''t save you."


    After saying that, she left her assistant alone as she made her way to the seating area.


    The assistant couldn''t possibly insist on lurking around here since her employer had said those words.


    Throwing an unwilling nce at the door of the fitting room, she let out a disappointed sigh before she


    scurried after Sophia.


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who was still in the fitting room, had no idea the sounds that left her lips had been


    overheard by Sophia and her assistant. Not only that, they had also misunderstood what was going on


    in the room.


    She would definitely die of embarrassment if she were to know that someone had heard her.


    Even though she and Toby weren''t really doing anything, they were probably not far from actually


    delving into the main event.


    That was because, at this moment, Sonia barely had clothes on her upper body. The dress she still had


    on moments ago had automatically slipped down after the man untied the straps on her back.


    There was supposed to be a strap on her shoulder that would have prevented the dress from falling.


    However, due to its ''interference''¡ªit getting in the way of Toby putting his heart and soul into kissing


    her¡ªwhen he was kissing her all over her back, he had moved the strap off her shoulder and down her


    arm.


    With theck of support from the remaining strap, the dress hadpletely slipped from Sonia''s body.


    Fortunately, the waist of the dress was form-fitting, which had prevented it from slipping anywhere past


    the waist.


    Or else, she would be naked as the day she was born instead of still having her lower half covered.


    Even so, she had already flushed red from embarrassment as she mentally cursed at him.


    She initially thought that he only wanted to undo the knot the naughtier way. It wasn''t like he was going


    to do anything to her directly if she let him have his fun. After all, this was someone else''s dressing


    room. It was ill-mannered to do something like this in someone else''s territory.


    Sonia failed to consider how the dirty dog didn''t care about all that. He was probably thinking about


    how it would be a waste for him to not take advantage of her when he had already partially removed


    her clothes anyway.


    With that, he hugged her from behind and nibbled along her skin.


    She had personally seen from the mirror how her back was full of red spots and bite marks. It was as


    though she had been chewed on by a dog.


    This only proved that she wasn''t wrong in calling him a dirty dog.


    Thankfully, Toby wasn''t a senseless brute who didn''t know that it was improper to do it at someone


    else''s ce. He only let her go contentedly after he left love bites all over her back.


    Sonia finally felt a little more relieved when she felt the ''dog''s snout'' detach from her back. A wave of


    embarrassment and anger immediately hit her when she lowered her head to look at her naked upper


    body, and she quickly snatched the blouse she wore here that was hung on the clothes stand beside.


    Covering the front of her body, she turned around and looked at the man with her red eyes. "Toby


    Fuller!" she roared.


    He was wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb, and she could see the satisfaction in his eyes.


    Seeing how contented he looked, she grew even more embarrassed than she already was.


    Toby Fuller, you dirty dog! You might have had your fun, but have you thought about how long it would


    take for these to fade?!


    "Oh¡ªyou piss me off!" Sonia''s eyes had a dangerous glint from the extreme emotions she was feeling.


    "I shouldn''t have believed you when you said you would help me change out of my clothes! I even


    thought you really were going to help me. You only said that to take advantage of me, didn''t you?!"


    She was already on the verge of tears from being angry at him.


    Toby was well aware that his behavior had ticked her off. Putting his hands down, he gently held her in


    an embrace and cooed, "Don''t cry. It was my fault. I really dide in to help you with your clothes. It


    is just that I couldn''t hold myself back after seeing how the dress was removed. Furthermore, you look


    absolutely stunning in that dress. That was why..."


    He didn''t need to finish his words for her to understand what he meant.


    As the saying went, men would always be men. There was no man in the world that could keep their


    hands to themselves when the woman they loved appeared beautiful in their eyes.


    Something must be wrong somewhere if the man could hold back.


    This was Toby''s reasoning for her to not me him. It wasn''t his fault!


    "You..." She red at him. "Are you putting the me on me?"


    She had thought that he was sincerely apologizing.


    It had baffled her when it turned out to not be the case.


    ording to his words, she was the one who was at fault for wearing such a beautiful dress!


    Looking at her sulking little face, Toby came to the realization that not only did his exnation not make


    things better, he was only infuriating her more and more. He couldn''t help touching the tip of her nose


    and coughing lightly, "Alright. It is not because of you. It''s all me. Don''t be angry. How about you kiss


    me in return?"


    His gaze on her was serious as he spoke.


    It almost looked like he was hoping for her to say yes to his offer.


    The corner of Sonia''s lips started twitching as she felt a headacheing her way.


    Kiss him in return? she repeated to herself. Aren''t I still the one being taken advantage of while he gets


    to enjoy it? How is this someone who is admitting to his faults? This shameless dirty dog who spews all


    sorts of excuses even though he was the one at fault. He is not sincerely remorsefill at all. Ugh!


    She hugged the blouse covering her chest tighter and huffed, "No need for that. I know that you will be


    the one in control of the situation again anyway. Won''t I be exactly how I was earlier when the time


    comes? I will be nothing but a b of meat you cut and chew on as you please."


    Hearing that, Toby wordlessly pursed his lips.


    In fact, he knew that no matter if he was the one who kissed her, or she was the one who kissed him,


    there was only one possible oue. And said oue would be the one that she was talking about.


    His gaze was somewhat guilty now as he gingerly suggested, "Y-You can do anything you want then. I


    will be okay with it all. I won''t go back on my words."


    "Really?" Sonia''s eyes narrowed, to which Toby nodded and agreed, "Really."


    She instantly broke out inughter at that.


    Her smile, however, felt especially unsettling as he looked at her.


    It brought him such difort that he was starting to regret what he said.


    Is it toote to take back my words now? Toby thought with a frown on his face.


    Sonia, however, couldn''t be bothered with the turmoil in his head at the moment. The corners of her red


    lips lifted ever-so-slightly as she said, "Alright, then. Since you are the one who said that I can do


    anything I want, and as punishment for upsetting me with what you did earlier, we will consider what


    happened as your prize. That will be all you are rewarded with tonight."


    Toby had made Sonia promise, with everyone on the inte as their witness, to ''reward'' him tonight


    during their loving exchange on the web this morning.


    All the adults knew what kind of reward it would be.


    Now that he had gotten her angry with his earlier behavior, she wanted to take back the reward as


    punishment for him.


    She wanted this to be asting lesson for him that he shouldn''t do something like that anytime he


    pleased.


    On the other hand, Toby froze as soon as he heard her words. Even his eyes started to widen. Right


    when he heard that there was no reward for him tonight, it felt as though a terrifying sh of lightning


    had hit him, leaving no remnant of him behind.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 966

    Chapter 966


    What did she just say?


    No more reward?!


    My long-awaited reward disappeared just like that?


    Gone?!


    As though trying to reconfirm if he had heard or if she had said wrongly, Toby only looked at Sonia in


    disbelief.


    Seeing his gaze, she solemnly nodded and assured him that there was no mistake in the words that he


    had heard.


    She was serious about not giving him his reward!


    Toby''s mind was utterly nk at that point. It felt as though his world had crumbled, and he was left to


    dumbly stand there without knowing how to react.


    This was actually the first time Sonia had seen such an expression on his face. She couldn''t help but


    notice how mismatched that silly, dumbfounded look was with his image.


    However, it wasn''t as if she didn''t know why he was reacting this way. It had probably been a blow to


    his ego when she told him that she was taking back his reward.


    After all, men in their thirties had the sex drive of a lion.


    From the way Toby desired after her during the few times they were together, she could say for sure


    that he was definitely a lion in bed.


    It was expected that he would look forward to spending a wonderful night if she had made him the


    promise earlier during the day.


    There was no way Toby''s ego would be intact after Sonia had single-handedly destroyed the one thing


    he anticipated.


    It was like a child who had been promised by their parents a bucket of fried chicken if they were to get


    first ce in a school examination.


    And yet, all the child got when they one day happily returned home with the test paper in their hand


    was their parents'' failure to fulfill their promise.


    It was easy to imagine how the child would feelpletely and utterly cold. It was probably a


    coldness that seeped through their skin and into their bones as though cold water had been poured on


    them, soaking them from head to toe.


    And the cold disappointment Toby was feeling now was exactly like how the child would feel.


    Still, Sonia mused that it wasn''t her fault. It was that dirty dog''s fault for getting excited over her in the


    kitchen, in her office, or in the car, where he would steal a bit or two. After all, those were in their own


    territory.


    But he was gradually overstepping the boundary now. He didn''t seem to be bothered by the fact that


    they were at someone else'' ce, and he wasn''t at all scared of being made fun of if caught red-


    handed.


    Toby might be fearless, but Sonia was not.


    Canceling the reward she had promised him might be beneficial in the long-run, lest he get more and


    more out of control.


    Toby didn''t pause to think that her intention for revoking his reward was to teach him a lesson.


    The only thought going through his head now was that his reward was no more. Gone was the pie that


    had fallen right from the sky and onto hisp.


    How can this happen? he fumed. I refuse to ept this!


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    His conscience seemed to have manifested into a mini version of him, and mini Toby had his arms


    crossed in front of his chest as he rapidly shook his head, indicating that Toby shouldn''t allow his


    reward to be canceled without putting up a fight.


    Thinking of this, he reached out and held Sonia by the wrist. "Don''t be like that, Little Leaf. Why do you


    have to cancel it out of nowhere?"


    "Toby." A half smile appeared on her face as she looked at him. "Are you pretending not to know, or do


    you really not know why I am canceling it?"


    His eyes started drifting sideways guiltily at that. He then pretended like he didn''t understand a word


    she was saying and with a slight shake of his head, he answered, "I really don''t know."


    Sonia immediately rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Enough. Did you think I wouldn''t notice you looking


    elsewhere because you can look me in the eye? Stop putting on that act."


    Unable toe up with more excuses for himself, Toby pressed his lips together before shifting his


    gaze back to her. He somewhat grumpily looked at her.


    Sonia''s heart couldn''t help but melt at the sight of him behaving like a big puppy that was looking back


    at her with innocent eyes while it sat on the floor.


    No human being in their right mind would say no to a furry.


    "Stop looking at me like that. It doesn''t help with anything. I never change my mind once I have decided


    on something. Canceled means canceled, and that is final." She took a breath and tried to shake away


    the big puppy Toby image she had in her head. She might just get soft-hearted if this were to continue.


    Also, she was sure that he would grab hold of her weakness, which was his puppy eyes, if she were to


    let him off the hook this time. She would definitely go soft again if something simr happened in the


    future, and he used his gaze to get out of the trouble he had gotten himself in.


    In order to prevent that from happening. Sonia had to persist and not be seduced by him.


    She would only get more lenient with him and herself if she couldn''t even brace herself against his fake


    innocence the first time.


    Which is why, Sonia Reed, you have to hold on, she convinced herself. You cannot go soft on him. You


    can never restart the moment this dirty dog puts a leash on you.


    Thinking about that, she continued to suck in and let out a few more breaths, and even closed her eyes


    for a while before she opened them again. However, there was a calm in Toby''s eyes, which were void


    of worldly desires. There wasn''t any emotion other than peace in those pupils.


    With this, nothing can affect me anymore. Ame¡ªbah! What the heck!


    Anyhow, after some self-adjustment of her emotion just now, she could look at his pitiful appearance


    calmly without worrying about getting soft-hearted.


    Toby naturally noticed the change in her mood as well. Seeing her suppress herself to the point of


    calm, he pressed his lips together even tighter.


    Darn it! Did I fail? he grumbled to himself.


    Yes, indeed. He did it on purpose. He deliberately showed the innocent and sad look in hopes of


    moving her and changing her mind.


    This was something that Tom taught him before.


    Men usually couldn''t resist it when women acted coy. Simrly, women had a hard time putting on a


    tough face against pitiful men.


    Tom had told Toby that thetter could pull a trick like this if he ever upset Sonia. Tom guaranteed that


    she would immediately forgive Toby, and would even coax him in return.


    And so, Toby had blindly believed his assistant by doing exactly as he taught him.


    But what is this? Toby silently mourned for himself. It is not working.


    Sonia looked like she was going to go easy on him at first, but she had hardened her heart and


    resumed being as cold-blooded as in the beginning.


    I shouldn''t have trusted Tom. That damn bachelor! Like hell someone like him who has never been in a


    rtionship would know about how rtionships work!


    But then again, Toby couldn''t help but think that he was a fool as well for believing in Tom''s words that


    the method would work. He forgot about how everyone had different preferences. It might work, but


    only with certain groups of people.


    The one thing he found out from this was that Sonia was definitely not in any of those ''groups''.


    Just wait and see! I am going to kick his dumb behind when I go back. How dare he teach me when he


    hasn''t got any experience himself?


    Toby was making a mental note to teach Tom a lesson, but he still kept that innocent look on his face.


    He then softly parted his thin lips and gave another shot at his happiness. "Is it really impossible for you


    to change your mind?"


    Sonia pulled her hand back and mused, "Of course. We need to have our own principles. I can''t


    change just because. Also, I am doing this for your own good. I don''t want you to do something like this


    in the future regardless of the asion. It would be so embarrassing if we got into trouble because of


    your recklessness. Alright, now hurry up and leave. I will change out of the dress myself. I don''t need


    you anymore."


    She stretched out one arm to spin him around and out of the dressing room as she spoke.


    Instead of putting up a fight, Toby let her do as she pleased. However, he kept turning backward to look


    at her, seemingly still trying to make her change her mind. It was only until he hadpletely stepped


    out of the room and had watched the door close with a loud bang that he sighed. At this point, the man


    had finally epted his fate. He knew that Sonia wasn''t going to change her mind.


    He couldn''t help but regret his actions right at this moment.


    He would have held back if he had known that his behavior in the dressing room would lead to the


    cancetion of his reward.


    He had taken a lick at the sauce and missed the opportunity to have the steak.


    What a loss this is!


    Toby massaged his temples, a hint of helpless amusement in his eyes.

 Chapter 967

    Chapter 967


    It''s fine, though. It wasn''t as if he couldn''t fight for what he wanted now that he didn''t have his reward.


    He could always think of a way to work around things when night fell.


    A determined glint shed across Toby''s eyes as he came to that resolution. He then sat in front of the


    cushioned stool while he waited for the woman in the dressing room toe out.


    A few minutes had passed before the door opened with a click from the inside.


    Sonia then stepped out wearing the clothes she hade here in, and she was holding the red dress


    in her hand.


    She was happy to see him waiting for her outside, but she still arrogantly let out a harrumph as she


    walked past him in her heels while pretending to not have seen him.


    Seeing this,Toby raised his eyebrows and stood up to pull her by her hand. "What is this? You are not


    going to tell me that we are leaving?" he asked in a low voice.


    As though she had just noticed him, she immediately put on a surprised face and gasped, "You are still


    here? I thought you went to the seating area!"


    Her act frustrated him to the point ofughing out loud.


    How was it that he never knew she had such a frustrating side?


    However, Toby had to admit that he thought it was cute.


    He lightly pinched her hand and sighed. "Alright, alright. Let''s stop messing around. We''ll settle our bill


    with Sophia and head out for a meal."


    Sonia hummed with her lips pressed together while she nodded.


    He would always bring the lightheartedness back to normal when there was yful bickering between


    them anyway. She wouldn''t go against him without reading the mood first.


    After they had ''made up'', the duo walked hand-in-hand to the seating area, where Sophia and her


    assistant had been waiting for them all this time. As soon as the women saw the couple, they quickly


    stood up to greet them.


    Toby only nodded in response, but Sonia replied with a smile and asked Sophia, "Are you done with


    what you were out to do, Ms. Sophia?"


    Hearing that made Sophia smile. "Thanks for asking, darling. It is done." She nodded.


    "That is great, then." As Sonia replied, she could feel a zing gaze on her. She hesitantly looked over,


    only to see that it was Sophia''s assistant who had her hands together as she looked at Sonia with a


    smile on her face.


    Sonia couldn''t exactly describe what kind of smile the woman had on. It was way more ttering than


    the motherly smile the assistant had on before, even to the point where it looked slightly perverted.


    The assistant looked extremely unnatural with her ''perverted'' smile so wide that it almost reached her


    ears as she stared at Sonia and Toby.


    Sonia didn''t know why the assistant was looking at them that way, but she was weirded out by it. It


    gave her an unspeakable feeling that she had been seen through.


    Thinking of this, Sonia forced a smile as she questioned the assistant, "Uh... Is there something on my


    lover''s or my face? Why are you looking at us like that?"


    As soon as Toby heard Sonia''s words, he squinted and looked at the assistant as well.


    He had actually noticed the gaze earlier, but he hadn''t paid much attention to it.


    There were too many people who would both openly and secretly stare at him everyday anyway. There


    was no way he could look at every single one of the onlookers.


    More importantly, the assistant was a woman. He would always make it a point to not look at other


    women.


    However, ording to Sonia, the assistant not only looked at him, she was also staring at Sonia. He


    couldn''t help but raise his guard after hearing something like this.


    The assistant hadn''t thought that Sonia would directly call her out for her staring, which was why when


    Sonia did, the assistant''s reverie was immediately broken as her face paled, and she panickedly looked


    to Sophia for help.


    She was a mere assistant who liked looking at the gossip column on the Inte, and asionally


    paired couples together.


    It was no wonder she would get so excited and agitated as she finally had a rare chance of seeing the


    couple she had previously paired up together. Not only that, she even overheard them going at it live in


    the dressing room.


    That was why she couldn''t help herself from gawking at them when the protagonists had reappeared in


    front of her.


    She didn''t think she would get caught, though.


    Now that she had been busted, she couldn''te up with a good enough exnation as to why she


    was looking at them that way. She had a feeling they would get angry if they were to hear that she was


    only looking at them because she had heard them having fun in the dressing room.


    It wouldn''t even surprise her if they were to wipe her off from the surface of the earth.


    As fear started to get to her, the assistant looked at Sophia, seeming to plead for help more and more


    desperately.


    Help me! Lady Boss, please help me!


    Sophia, who understood her assistant''s distressed call for help, sighed at the headache her little


    assistant was causing her. She then returned the assistant a reassuring look.


    Her troublemaker of an assistant might be on the dumber side, but she had worked for Sophia for many


    years. Sophia was satisfied with how her assistant was serious and meticulous about her work.


    She couldn''t possibly watch on as her assistant fell into doom.


    Heaving a breath, Sophia turned to Sonia and Toby with a smile. "Please don''t misunderstand,


    President Fuller and Miss Reed. My assistant is a little soft in the head sometimes."


    She then pointed to her own head. "On top of that, she is a fan of both of you. She usually likes


    watching you on the Inte. It is what people of your country call..."


    "''Shipping'', Ms. Sophia," the assistant reminded her.


    Sophia continuously nodded at that. "Ah yes, yes. That''s it. She likes to ''ship'' both of you together. She


    only stared because she was too happy to see you. Please don''t mind her too much. She doesn''t


    harbor any ill intentions."


    "Yes. Please don''t get angry, President Fuller and Ms. Reed. I promise I won''t do it again." The


    assistant quickly nodded in support of Sophia''s words, and her expression couldn''t get more serious


    than this.


    In fact, Sonia hadn''t felt any malicious intenting from the assistant earlier, so she naturally didn''t


    doubt Sophia''s words. "We aren''t angry," she assured with a smile on her face. "I was only curious as


    to why your assistant kept looking at us, Ms. Sophia. Everything is fine now that you have exined it.


    Isn''t that right, Toby?"


    Sonia gently nudged Toby with her elbow as she asked him, also reminding him to stop staring at the


    meek assistant.


    It was fine as long as she didn''t look at them because she had ns to hurt them or anything. It wasn''t


    as though looking alone did anything to them.


    Toby understood Sonia''s words, and only tilted his chin in silent acknowledgement.


    Honestly, it wasn''t as though he would do anything to the assistant even if Sonia hadn''t reminded him.


    He wasn''t a demon who would hold grudges just because someone looked.


    Because if he did, almost the entire poption on earth would be his enemy.


    Still, he kept musing on Sophia''s exnation earlier.


    Happy? The assistant''s eyes didn''t only look ''happy''.


    They had been here for about two to three hours. Why would the assistant only be ''happy'' now instead


    of when they had just arrived?


    He concluded that Sophia was lying in order to help her assistant hide the truth.


    Still, it didn''t matter. He already had a rough guess of why the assistant looked at them that way.


    Not knowing that Toby had already seen through their lie, Sophia and her assistant were relieved that


    the couple let it go just like that.


    The assistant even almost burst out in tears due to extreme joy as she blurted out words of gratitude.


    She knew that her ''ship'' wouldn''t disappoint her.


    Not only was her ''ship'' beautiful on the outside, they were also incredibly wonderful on the inside.


    Oh¡ªhow happy I am!


    The assistant was so worked up she lifted her hand to wipe the moisture from her eyes.


    Sonia was surprised at first, but she soon startedughing hysterically.


    However, Sophia thought that her assistant was embarrassing her, and she lightly hit her. "What are


    you doing, child? Is there a need for you to burst out in happy tears because President Fuller and Ms.


    Reed are going to let you off the hook?"


    After saying that, Sophia shed Sonia an embarrassed smile and added, "My apologies for this


    ridiculousness, Ms. Fuller. My assistant is still behaving like a kid, you see."


    Sonia shook her head with a smile as she listened to Toby''s trantion of Sophia''s words. "Don''t worry


    about it," Sonia murmured. "She is adorable. Alright now, Ms. Sophia. It''s gettingte, and my lover and


    I would like to head out to dinner now.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    I''ll have to trouble you with wrapping both the dress and heels up, please."


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 968

    Chapter 968


    "Of course. Please wait a moment; it will be ready soon." Sophia took the dress from Sonia and packed


    it with her assistant.


    Toby and Sonia were sitting on the sofa to wait for the apparel.


    After waiting for a few seconds, he looked at Sonia, who was beside him, and asked, "What would you


    like to eatter?"


    "I have no idea; what about you?" She shook her head and asked the same question.


    He smiled lightly. "I''m okay with anything. I will eat whatever you like."


    "Is that so?" Sonia touched her chin and was thinking about what they should eat soon. Her eyes lit up


    after she thought for two minutes. Then, she said excitedly, "How about Norfolkian cuisine?"


    "Norfolkian cuisine?" Toby raised his eyebrows.


    Sonia nodded twice.


    Looking at her, he said, "Norfolkian cuisine is notoriously sour. Are you sure you can handle it?"


    Many sour crops such as lemons grew well in Norfolk, so it affected the meals of the Norfolkians. The


    food they consumed was mostly acidic.


    In fact, many travelers were not used to eating there.


    That was why the Norfolkian cuisine was known as the most unptable cuisine in the country. It also


    illustrated that no one but the Norfolkians enjoyed Norfolkian cuisine.


    "I can handle it." Sonia knew Toby''s reason for caution, so she smiled and nodded. "Don''t worry. I love


    Norfolkian cuisine. However, there are few Norfolk restaurants in Seafield, so I rarely have it too."


    "You love Norfolkian cuisine, you say?" Toby squinted. "Since when have you loved Norfolkian cuisine?


    You never wrote about it in your letters before."


    "I''ve always loved it," Sonia replied with a smile. "However, my dad doesn''t enjoy it, so our chef in the


    Reeds Family rarely cooked it. This isn''t important, so I didn''t write it in the letters either. Besides, I


    haven''t eaten Norfolkian cuisine for years, so you wouldn''t know."


    He nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. "Okay, let''s have it since you love it."


    Sonia, however, hesitated at this moment. "Are you sure?"


    Toby chuckled upon hearing that. "What''s the matter? Didn''t you want to have it? Why are you


    hesitating now?"


    He reached out and lightly squeezed her nose.


    "I''m not hesitating." She peevishly pped his hand away. "I''m worried about you, just like you did me


    earlier. I''m worried that you can''t handle the cuisine. If you can''t, you have to watch me eat while you


    go hungry."


    She couldn''t do such a wicked thing.


    After Toby knew her reason for hesitation, his heart melted into a puddle. "Don''t worry. I can handle any


    meal as long as it''s not too spicy or sweet. Besides, although Norfolkian cuisine is notoriously sour,


    there must be a few non-sour dishes. I won''t have those that are sour, so you don''t have to worry about


    me." He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of her hand.


    Sonia thought it was reasonable and she stopped hesitating. She hugged Toby''s arm as she said,


    "Alright, then. Let''s have Norfolkian food! I know delicious Norfolkian cuisine that is not sour. How about


    putting me in charge of orderingter?"


    "Sure, I''ll leave my dinner to you." Toby nodded slightly.


    After hearing that, Sonia smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure you


    won''t starve."


    "I trust you." He looked at her with a doting gaze.


    His thoughts, however, were getting turbulent. I would never have thought that Sonia loves Norfolkian


    cuisine. Julia is from Norfolk. In other words, before Julia married Asher, she was born and raised in


    Norfolk. Unfortunately, the Ramsay Family fell and moved out of Norfolk to head aboard. However,


    Julia will still return to Norfolk every once in a while. ording to what I know about her, she seems to


    love Norfolkian cuisine. As someone born in Seafield, Sonia loves Norfolkian cuisine. She inherited that


    trait from Julia. Although Sonia doesn''t look like Titus and Julia, she does seem like the deceased Old


    Madam Gray, Mia Murray. However, Sonia''s favorites are simr to Titus and Julia''s. They might doubt


    Sonia''s identity again if they discover her tastes.


    "What are you thinking about?" Sonia stood before Toby. She then bent over and waved at him.


    He grabbed her hand and his gaze froze for a moment. Suddenly, he came back to his senses and


    murmured, "Nothing."


    Only then did Toby realize that, at some point, Sonia had let go of his arm and stood up. She was now


    holding a delicately packaged gift box, with Sophia standing beside her.


    "Nothing?" Sonia squinted slightly. "I don''t believe you. You didn''t respond when I called you several


    times earlier. You didn''t even notice that Sophia had packaged the dress for me. Are you


    daydreaming?"


    "It''s true; it''s nothing much." Toby stood up, thereafter taking the dress from her and smiling lightly. "I


    was just thinking about thepany''s affairs."


    "Is it important?" Sonia quickly asked in concern. "If it''s important, you¡ª"


    "It''s not important." Toby cut off her words. "I won''t be this calm if it isn''t important."


    "That''s true." Sonia nodded. Although he was distracted earlier, his expression was indeed calm. It


    didn''t look like something significant had happened. So, what he said should be urate.


    "Okay, we already have the order, so let''s go." Toby took Sonia''s hand.


    She hummed, then smiled at Sophia and bid farewell.


    Sophia showed them the way out of the store and set a time to deliver Toby''s suit. She didn''t return to


    the store until they got into the car and left.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    In the car, Sonia turned her head to look at the gift box in the back seat and suddenly bit her lip.


    Seeing this, Toby asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "I suddenly remembered that I had changed the piece. Do I still have a reason to chat with Madam


    Lloyd? She loved that brand, after all," Sonia retracted her gaze and said uncertainty.


    Toby smiled lightly. "Jeez! And here I was thinking that it was something serious. You don''t have to


    worry about this. I have checked about Madam Lloyd''s taste before. She prefers clothes designed by


    Sophia over that brand. However, Madam Lloyd could nevermission a dress from Sophia because


    she was too famous and had many orders ahead. So, Madam Lloyd can only give up and wear that


    brand''s dress instead. If she had to choose only one dress, she would definitely take Sophia''s."


    Sonia''s eyes lit up. "So, this dress will have an easier time attracting Madam Lloyd''s attention than the


    dress that Anya had ruined?"


    "Of course." Toby coolly turned the steering wheel with one hand. "Sophia has a habit of embroidering


    a camellia on her clothes, which is the emblem of her family. To attract Madam Lloyd at a nce, I


    specifically instructed Sophia to make the camellia bigger while not destroying the beauty of the dress.


    This proves that she did it."


    Sonia slightly opened her mouth in surprise. "That''s why the flower on the shoulder is a bit too big. It


    turned out that you designed it on purpose to get Madam Lloyd''s attention."

 Chapter 969

    Chapter 969


    "Of course." Toby chuckled. "I know you''re trying to attract Madam Lloyd''s attention; that''s why you


    commissioned the earlier dress. However, that dress was destroyed by Anya. Since I took over this


    task, I won''t forget the purpose of your dress. I won''t only find the best dress for you and forget about


    Madam Lloyd. That''s why Imissioned the dress from Sophia."


    Sonia looked at Toby with eyes full of emotion. "Thank you so much. You kept thinking about me."


    As Toby had stopped before a red traffic light, he freed his hand to stroke her hair. "If I don''t n


    carefully, I will be holding you back. Your hubby is not dumb at all."


    "Hey!" Sonia blushed. "Hubby? Since when are you my husband? Stop assuming things."


    Toby raised his eyebrows. "Am I really? You said you will remarry me and we can have a child. I''m just


    saying that earlier. I''m not wrong."


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Sonia couldn''t refute it.


    Indeed. Assuming things are going well, we will get married again.


    He isn''t wrong; he''s just early.


    Fine, I''ll just let him be.


    "Alright, the light''s green now. Go." Sonia peevishly nced at the man and changed the topic.


    Toby chuckled and stepped on the pedal.


    On the way, Sonia suddenly frowned and looked worried.


    Although Toby was driving carefully, he would still pay attention to her from time to time using the


    corner of his sight.


    Seeing her worried expression, he asked with concern, "Any more troubles?"


    "I have a feeling that I forgot something," Sonia said with uncertainty while biting her lip.


    Toby turned around and nced. "Forgot something?"


    "Yeah." Sonia nodded. "I think I''ve overlooked something, especially since I left Sophia''s shop.


    However, I can''t remember what I had forgotten."


    "Then don''t think of it anymore. If you feel that way after you leave Sophia''s store, it means you have


    forgotten something in that store. However, the only thing we did in the store was to get the dress. We


    have nothing to do with the store after we receive the dress so even if you do forget something, it is not


    important. Don''t worry about it," Tobyforted while looking at the road ahead.


    Sonia thought it made sense, so she didn''t say any more.


    Soon, they arrived at the most famous restaurant specializing Norfolkian cuisine in Seafield.


    After Toby parked his car, he took Sonia''s hand and the duo then went in.


    The restaurant was vast as it had two floors. The first floor was an open hall and the second floor


    housed private rooms.


    It was apparent Toby wouldn''t choose an open hall. After entering, he quickly asked for a room as he


    didn''t want to enjoy a meal with others.


    He just wanted to enjoy the meal with Sonia without being disturbed.


    Sonia thought the same. The hall was crowded and chaotic, and the private room was quietpared


    to the hall.


    Hence, she was happy with Toby''s arrangement.


    "This way, please." The waiter then urged them to follow her.


    Without saying anything, Toby took Sonia''s hand and followed the waiter.


    When the three reached the second floor, the waiter opened the door to the best private room for Toby


    and Sonia.


    As the couple followed the waiter into the room, the door of a room on the opposite side suddenly


    opened. Then, Rina came out with an ufortable expression, just in time to see Sonia and Toby''s


    silhouettes.


    Rina opened her eyes wide immediately and was stunned.


    Is that President Fuller and Miss Reed?


    Although I can''t see their faces, I can immediately recognize their familiar backs.


    It must be them who entered the opposite room!


    Rina tightly clenched her hands and her face was paler than before.


    She never expected to see Toby and Sonia. Initially, Rina was making her way to the washroom to


    discreetly vomit out the disgusting Norfolkian cuisine.


    Are they here for the Norfolkian cuisine?


    Of course. This is a restaurant selling Norfolkian cuisine, after all. There are no other things to do in a


    restaurant.


    However, I don''t understand why theye here for the unptable cuisine.


    Rina didn''t care about Toby.


    However, she paid attention to Sonia.


    Julia was a Norfolkian. Even after her marriage, she still enjoyed Norfolkian cuisine, so she would go to


    Norfolk or this restaurant once in a while for a Norfolk meal.


    The reason why Rina appeared here was to apany her parents to eat Norfolkian cuisine. This was


    her first time consuming it, but she hated it. To act like Julia''s daughter, Rina lied that she loved


    Norfolkian cuisine and inherited Julia''s taste. As expected, it made Julia happy.


    However, Rina secretly hated this kind of food. In order to avoid exposing her lies, however, she


    swallowed every bite despite the nausea that threatened to ovee. If she couldn''t take it anymore,


    she would go to the washroom to vomit it out. This was her second time going to the washroom.


    Unexpectedly, Rina saw Toby and Sonia as soon as she came out.


    I don''t know about Toby, but it is evident that Sonia inherited Julia''s taste.


    Moreover, Julia and Titus are in this restaurant too. Our room is just opposite Sonia''s room, so there is


    a big chance that they will meet each other.


    If my parents meet Sonia and know she loves Norfolkian cuisine, will they doubt her identity again?


    There''s a lot of evidence that Sonia is the actual Rina Gray.


    Last time, when Julia and Titus returned from buying a blueberry cake, Julia said Sonia had a scar on


    her wrist.


    God knows that when I heard this, I was terrified, fearing that Sonia would tell them the scar was from


    the red mole removal surgery.


    Fortunately, Sonia didn''t say anything as she dislikes them. Otherwise, I wouldn''t be able to keep my


    fake identity as Rina Gray.


    I must not allow them to meet Sonia, especially not in the ce where Julia and Sonia share the same


    taste. Otherwise, Julia and Titus will make a connection.


    The only problem is, how can I stop them from meeting each other?


    This is a restaurant, after all. How can I predict when Sonia and Toby wille out of the room?


    As Rina gritted her teeth and panicked, Julia''s puzzled voice came from behind. "Rina, why are you


    standing there? Aren''t you going to the washroom?"


    Hearing Julia''s words, Rina forced a smile and turned back. "It''s nothing. I''ll go now."


    After that, Rina closed the door and walked to the washroom.


    Sonia might note out soon because she has just entered the room.


    Titus and Julia also went to the washroom earlier, so they won''t leave the room again.


    So, it should be safe to vomit in the washroom.


    In the Gray Family''s room, Julia looked at the closed door, feeling worried. "Hubby, do you think that


    Rina has been strangetely? It seems that she is nervous and worried about something. However,


    she didn''t tell me about it."


    Titus took a sip of pickle soup and nodded. "I agree, but you know how unpredictable the youths can


    be. I don''t think we should worry about it."


    "I understand. However, Sharon said Rina is often gued by a nightmare. She will mutter that she is


    the real Rina, not a fake. What do you think is going on?" Julia put down her spoon and looked at Titus.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 970

    Chapter 970


    K Download the book on the App


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    "That happened?" Titus was stunned in surprise and stopped moving his spoon.


    Julia hummed with a sad expression. "That happened for a while, but I haven''t told you about this. You


    are not in good health and I am afraid it''ll make you stressed, so I hid the truth. I thought the situation


    would gradually improve; however, she didn''t, and she is losing weight."


    However, as a mother, I am not distressed when I see my daughter in pain.


    I don''t have even the slightest distress at the sight of my depressed daughter.


    I know this is wrong as a mother.


    But I am not sad at all.


    Still, I have a duty as a mother.


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    Although I don''t have affection for this girl, she is still my daughter whom I had been looking for twenty


    years.


    Even though I don''t like Rina, I will still take responsibility as a mother.


    It is strange. I don''t have much affection toward Rina even though she is the daughter I didn''t feel able


    to attend to and love for twenty years. I should spoil her, and my brain is telling me I should do that too.


    However, I can''t do it in practice. I can''t love Rina. Still, when I looked at the photos of my daughter


    when she was a child, the maternal love in my heart was overflowing.


    I can''t understand this situation.


    Could it be that I love Rina''s child self instead of her grown-up self?


    But this isn''t possible!


    This isn''t logical.


    No matter what Rina''s age is, she is still the same person.


    Does my love for Rina disappear as she grows up?


    This isn''t scientific at all. As for a reason, I don''t know and can''t understand.


    Hence, Julia had kept these strange feelings deep in her mind and never revealed them. She was


    afraid that Rina would be sad uponing to know that her mother did not love her.


    For a while, Julia was distracted.


    Titus didn''t know what she was thinking about, so he spooned some food for her. "It might be because


    of the incident in the ward."


    Upon hearing that, Julia was stunned. "You mean the stuff we discussed in the ward during Sonia''s


    press conference?"


    "Yup." Titus nodded. "At that time, we suspected Sonia was Rina. Then, you said that you don''t feel


    love for Rina. After Rina heard those words, she ran away sadly. We coaxed her for a long time to


    make her feel better. I think that despite her looking better, she is secretly concerned about this, so she


    had nightmares."


    Julia frowned upon hearing that. "However, it''s been so long since the incident. I thought she had long


    forgotten about it."


    Titus tapped her hand. "I can understand. Rina has been separated from us for twenty years. When


    she finally returned home, she heard her parents suspected someone else was the daughter and you


    didn''t have feelings for her. It must be traumatic for Rina, and she would surely wonder if she''s a


    burden."


    Hearing that, Julia knew she was at fault. After a sigh, she said, "Hubby, do you think I need to consult


    a psychiatrist? I don''t know why I don''t have feelings for Rina. I was yearning for our daughter and


    prayed for her well-being, but I am so cold to her when she finally has returned." Julia looked at her


    hand and was confused. "Hubby, do I have an illness?"


    Titus looked at her in response.


    To be honest, I don''t quite understand my wife.


    However, I know she definitely isn''t ill.


    I will exin Julia''s attitude toward Rina as Julia hasn''t gotten used to Rina yet.


    Hence, Titusforted Julia as such.


    Julia forced a smile but did not speak. Still, no one knew what she was thinking.


    In the opposite room, Sonia was unaware her arrival with Toby had caused a series of reactions from


    the Gray Family.


    She took the menu from the waiter and carefully browsed it for dinner.


    After looking around, she ordered six items from the menu¡ªthree for herself and the other three for


    Toby. The food for Toby was actually inclined to Seafield''s style.


    After all, Seafield and Norfolk were neighbors, so some dishes would be influenced by each other.


    "That''s all." Sonia looked at Toby. After Toby nodded, she returned the menu to the waiter with a smile.


    "Okay, please wait for a moment." The waiter took the menu and left the room.


    Shortly after the waiter left, Sonia put down her bag and stood up.


    Toby was pouring Sonia a cup of juice. When he saw her leaving, he put down the jug and asked,


    "Where are you going?"


    "Washroom." Sonia pushed the chair back to the original position.


    Toby hummed. "Do it quickly."


    "Sure." Sonia smiled before turning around and leaving the room.


    The washroom was not far. One could reach the washroom by walking straight and turning a corner.


    There were only a few people on the second floor, so there were not many in the washroom either.


    When Sonia went in, it was utterly quiet. The next second, she heard a heart-piercing vomit sound from


    one of the cubicles.


    That sound made Sonia tremble all over. It sounded like the person was about to vomit out bile. Not


    only did it make her have goosebumps, but it also made her disgusted and want to vomit.


    However, Sonia could still hold back and hurried into a cubicle. She pretended she had never heard


    that sound and focused on herself, so she could get back to the room earlier.


    While Sonia was using the toilet, the vomit sound stopped, followed by flushing.


    Soon, the flushing stopped and Sonia heard the door open, apanied by high heels clicking on the


    ground.


    The rhythm of the clicking sound was chaotic. It was apparent the person had weak legs.


    It must be because the woman vomited out all her energy. Sonia thought that as she flushed and tidied


    her clothes.


    Then, she opened the door to leave the cubicle.


    After she went out, she was stunned when she saw the person at the sink.


    It''s her!


    Sonia never thought this coincidence would ur. The vomiting sound earlier was from Rina.


    Currently, Rina was standing at the sink to rinse her mouth. When she felt the gaze behind her, she


    raised her head and looked in the mirror.


    She was stunned as she looked in the mirror. Then, she sharply turned her head and looked at Sonia,


    who was standing at the door with tant surprise on her face. "Miss Reed."


    When Rina found Sonia, Sonia didn''t continue standing there and walked to the sink and stopped


    beside Rina. Then, Sonia turned on the faucet and washed her hand while replying, "Miss Gray."


    Rina forced a smile on her face. "Such coincidence, Miss Reed. I didn''t expect to meet you here. Are


    you here for a meal?"


    Sonia rolled her eyes.


    Is she crazy to enjoy a meal in the washroom?


    Taylor can eat here all she wants. I won''t do it.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 971

    Chapter 971


    Although Sonia thought that, she didn''t speak it out loud. Instead, she squeezed out some hand wash


    and replied in a cold voice, "Not really. We are in the main city of Seafield, and it''s not the biggest city in


    the world. It''s normal to see each other asionally."


    Rina didn''t expect Sonia to answer so coldly, and the former''s expression froze. "T-That''s right."


    Sonia raised her eyebrows and paused her hand-washing. She then turned around to look at Rina.


    "You seem... nervous since we met. Are you afraid of me?"


    Rina''s eyes widened and she shouted, "Of course not! I''m not afraid of you. Don''t be ridiculous!"


    After that, she lowered her head and quickly rubbed her hands.


    Her movement was so rough that one would think she would scrap off her skin, and it looked painful.


    Sonia squinted and sneered inexplicably. "Ridiculous? I don''t think I am. Your expression and behavior


    are telling me that you''re panicking and uneasy. Before you noticed me, you were calm even after you


    vomited. After you see me, you''re suddenly panicking, nervous, and scared. I''m now starting to wonder


    if you did something to offend me."


    "No!" Rina sharply raised her head and hurriedly replied, "Miss Reed, I have never done anything to


    offend you. If I did, Toby won''t ever forgive me."


    Rina''s expression was sincere as she spoke.


    Sonia could tell that Rina was not lying, which was why the former frowned. "Since that''s the case, why


    are you still nervous when you see me? What are you nervous about?"


    Even though Rina didn''t do anything to Sonia, Rina''s actions were suspicious. They made Sonia think


    that she was nning something terrible.


    Facing the prating gaze, Rina felt guilty and her eyes kept wavering. She did not dare to look Sonia


    in the eye as she mumbled, "I''m not nervous¡ª"


    "Lies!" Sonia couldn''t bear to listen anymore and she frowned, saying sternly, "I clearly said you are


    nervous when looking at me. However, you are still lying. Taylor Carey, you''re a liar. You could rival


    Titus Gray, you know? As father as daughter."


    These words hit Rina''s nerves. She suddenly smiled sarcastically and looked into Sonia''s eyes. With


    an inexplicable expression, Rina stated, "Thanks for yourpliment. However, you are wrong."


    I am not Titus'' birth daughter.


    Indeed, why am I not the Gray Family''s birth daughter?


    Why did God not let me be the Gray Family''s birth daughter?


    Looking at Rina''s sudden burst of anger and jealousy toward her, Sonia was stunned.


    She''s jealous?


    Why is Rina jealous of me?


    Do I have something that shecks?


    The Gray Family is more wealthy and influential than me. I should be the one who is jealous of her.


    However, Rina is jealous of me now.


    She can''t be jealous of my wealth. After all, her family is wealthier than me.


    Is it about my looks?


    Not to blow my own trumpet, but I am prettier than Rina. However, Rina is not ugly either. With her


    makeup, she is now a beauty. I don''t think she is jealous of my looks either.


    Since it''s not about money or looks, it should be men.


    Many care about wealth and looks. Whates after those two is love.


    Toby has a broad chest and a narrow waist. He is handsome and a billionaire, so he is the best among


    men. Therefore, many women want him as their husband.


    I can shamelessly attest that most of the rich daughters in Seafield definitely have a crush on Toby, so


    it isn''t strange that Rina loves Toby too.


    Thinking of Rina falling in love with Toby, Sonia''s heart sank.


    Sonia was convinced that Rina was flustered because she fell in love with Toby and tried to court him.


    So, she was guilty when Rina saw Sonia.


    It''s not impossible, and she will likely do that.


    Otherwise, I can''t exin her actions.


    Thinking of that, Sonia didn''t think much about what Rina had said. After staring at Rina and giving an


    icy chuckle, Sonia washed away the foam from her hand and left the washroom.


    Just wait for me, Toby Fuller.


    I''m okay with you attracting every woman in Seafield. However, you drew Rina too.


    What in the world?!


    Rina didn''t know what Sonia was thinking about. However, Rina''s heart tightened when she saw Sonia


    angrily walking out of the washroom. Rina was afraid Sonia would meet Titus and Julia along the way,


    so she quickly stopped Sonia in the heat of the moment. "Please wait a moment, Miss Reed."


    Sonia stopped and coldly looked at Rina. "What''s the matter?"


    Rina squeezed her palm but did not speak immediately as she hesitated.


    Seeing this, Sonia frowned with impatience on her face. "I''ll leave if you have nothing to say."


    Sonia turned her head after speaking.


    Rina hurriedly reached out. "Wait. I''ll talk now."


    Sonia stopped. Although she didn''t speak, she still coldly gazed at Rina and waited for her to speak.


    Rina bit her lip, took a deep breath, and met Sonia''s eyes.


    Although it gave Rina a lot of pressure, she could handle it for her needs.


    "Miss Reed, can you leave this restaurant and dine elsewhere? Of course, I will handle your expenses


    for your meal."


    "Pardon me?" Sonia was stunned by Rina and questions appeared in her mind.


    Rina thought she didn''t hear it clearly, so she repeated it.


    Sonia smiled angrily at that. "Taylor, are you crazy?"


    "What?" Rina''s face twisted for a moment.


    How dare she say I''m crazy?!


    "You must be crazy to say those words. Why are you ordering me to leave this restaurant? You''re really


    shameless!" Sonia crossed her arms and stared at the other woman coldly. She did not hold back.


    I don''t have to be polite.


    Anyone sane won''t make people leave the restaurant.


    This isn''t Rina''s restaurant.


    What else did she expect when her words angered me?!


    Rina never thought that Sonia would insult her. The former''s face turned pale with anger as she


    growled, "You little¡ª"


    "Stop it." Sonia rolled her eyes as she was getting impatient. "I don''t understand and am not interested


    to know why you are making me leave this restaurant. However, I''m not wrong. You can''t make me


    leave this restaurant. If you don''t want to meet me in this restaurant, then that''s your problem and you


    should leave instead. Either you leave or hold back reluctantly."


    Saying that, Sonia ignored the crazy Rina and left the washroom.


    On the other hand, Rina stomped her foot angrily.


    However, she stopped quickly and caught up to Sonia. She wanted to know if Sonia would meet her


    parents.


    It''d be best if they don''t meet. If they do, I must divert my parents'' attention and not let them overthink


    things.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 972

    Chapter 972


    Sonia was aware that Rina was following her from behind. Not only that, Rina was also looking at her


    suspiciously, which irritated her as it appeared that she had done something shady.


    However, why did Rina want to chase her out of the restaurant in the first ce? This action of hers


    had only piqued Sonia''s interest.


    What was the reason behind that?


    Though Sonia was dying to know, she did not explicitly ask Rina as she knew that Rina would not


    answer her.


    Hence, she could only find the answer herself.


    As she was in her thoughts, her steps slowed down and she cast a sidelong nce at the person


    behind her.


    That person nervously halted her steps when she saw that.


    Noticing that, Sonia sneered deep down. Can''t she do it properly if she''s determined to follow me?


    When Sonia stopped, Rina did the same immediately. It was so obvious to everyone that Sonia was


    being followed!


    Yet, Sonia did not expose Rina''s act. She simply pursed her lips and resumed her walk.


    Within minutes, she arrived at her private room and went straight away.


    Rina saw Sonia entering it. Then, she took a look at the Gray Family''s private room, which was


    opposite Sonia''s room, before exhaling a breath of relief.


    Luckily Dad and Mom did note out from the room, she thought.


    She wouldn''t have to worry as long as her parents did not bump into Sonia here today.


    Rina let out a light breath while thinking, and her tense expression finally rxed. She then averted her


    gaze and proceeded to the Gray Family''s room.


    However, even though her parents did not leave the room and did not meet Sonia, they were all in the


    same restaurant. They could still run into each otherter.


    To prevent such a situation from happening, Rina now had to persuade her parents to leave this ce.


    She then opened the door by twisting her hand on the door handle.


    Just when Rina was entering the room her parents were at, Sonia''s room door opened, although not in


    its entirety.


    Sonia merely opened a small gap. And she was watching Rina enter the room opposite hers from


    behind the door.


    She was already intrigued by Rina''s earlier attempt to chase her out, and she was even more curious


    now after Rina trailed behind her the entire way.


    Furthermore, Sonia suspected that the restaurant had something that Rina did not want her to see,


    which was why she tried to chase her out or even followed behind her in case she discovered what


    Rina was trying to keep from her.


    Hence, she went along with Rina''s n. After entering the room, Sonia intentionally opened a small


    gap to observe Rina''s subsequent actions. From that, she was pretty certain that things were as she


    had suspected, as she saw Rina heaving a sigh of relief after she entered her room.


    Rina did this obviously because Sonia did not encounter the thing that would make Rina anxious. Then,


    she noticed Rina looking at the private room opposite hers before her expression slightly changed.


    Sonia couldn''t exin the change, but she had an intuitive feeling that the things Rina wanted to keep


    hidden from her were in that room.


    So, what was in that room?


    Sonia lowered her eyes, something shing through her gaze.


    At this moment, the man who had been standing behind her since who-knows-when suddenly lowered


    his head and asked, while looking at her, "What happened? What are you looking at?"


    When Sonia heard his voice, she retracted her gaze and shut the room door before turning around and


    saying, "Rina Gray."


    "Rina Gray?" When Toby heard this name, his expression changed slightly. His gaze flickered with a


    different expression too.


    However, Sonia did not notice his reactions as all her mind was on the room that Rina entered. "Yes,


    it''s her," she replied, after letting out a low hum.


    "Where did you see her?" he continued asking, his gaze darkening.


    She responded directly and without hesitation, "The restroom. When I walked in, I noticed she was


    inside."


    "Did she hurt you in any way?" Toby immediately grabbed her hands and began to examine them.


    Seeing his anxious demeanor, Soniaughed as she shook her head. "She did not. I am not someone


    who will be easily bullied, you know. However, she was behaving strangely."


    "What do you mean?" Toby was relieved that Sonia had not been bullied, but when she told him that


    Rina was acting strangely, he frowned.


    She did not respond right away. Instead, she took his hand in hers and led him to the table. The table


    was already filled with delectable food that the waiter had served before Sonia returned.


    After Toby sat down, Sonia took her seat as well. "When I bumped into Rina in the washroom, she


    looked anxious and it was as if she was afraid of me," she said after taking a sip of water.


    "Anxious? Afraid of you?" Hearing that, Toby furrowed his brows even more. He did not understand


    what Rina was feeling anxious about.


    "Yes. I am certain that I did not sense it wrongly. There was also some guilt and jealousy mixed in with


    her anxious and fearful feelings! I''m not sure why she was feeling that way, so I tried to probe, but I got


    nothing. Then..."


    Sonia abruptly stopped and grudgingly raised her head and looked at him.


    "Why are you looking at me like this?" he raised his brows and asked.


    Her gaze now was making him fearful as well. She then rolled her eyes and retracted her gaze before


    continuing, "Well, there are only a few things for women to be jealous of. It is either looks, figure, family


    background, or men."


    With each of her words, Sonia tapped her fingers one by one. "Though the Gray Family is in jeopardy


    now, they are still wealthier than my Paradigm Co., so she won''t be jealous of my family background.


    That''s the same in terms of looks and body figure. Despite being slightly inferior to me, she is still


    attractive after applying makeup, and there is no reason for her to be jealous of me in these two areas


    as well. With this, the only factor remaining is men."


    Sonia looked at Toby, who was sitting beside her, after she finished her words.


    Pursing his lips, he responded, "So, you think that Rina is attracted to me?"


    "Yes," Sonia replied, her chin raised.


    Toby merely found it amusing. "That''s impossible. I know I am captivating, but not to the point where


    every woman will like me. In addition, I know who Rina truly adores."


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    He stroked her hair while saying that.


    Sonia was taken aback to hear that. "The man that Rina truly loves?" she asked, her eyes wide.


    "Yes."


    "Who''s that?"


    "Zane," he said slowly.


    Sonia was in the midst of drinking water. The moment she heard Zane''s nameing out of Toby''s


    mouth, she couldn''t stop herself from choking and spitting out all the water in her mouth.


    Toby had not anticipated such a strong reaction from her. He regained his senses quickly after being


    stunned for a while and gently patted her back to soothe her. Then, he handed a tissue to her. "Here


    you go."


    That came at the perfect time. Sonia grabbed the tissue and wiped the water on her lips before staring


    in disbelief at the man in front of her. "Is that true? Rina has feelings for Zane?!"


    "It''s true." Toby nodded with his gaze solemn.


    Seeing that, she had no other options but to believe him, although she was still stunned. "How is this


    even possible? You said she has feelings for Zane? Since when?"


    He shook his head in response. "I have no idea."


    Toby truly had no knowledge on this.


    Biting her lips, Sonia continued her probing, "How did you know she likes Zane, then?"


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 973

    Chapter 973


    "I didn''t know it at first." He ced some dishes on her te and went on, "When Zane came to


    discuss a government project with me, he received a gift from Rina about halfway through, and that day


    happened to be White Day. While opening the gift, he told me awkwardly that it wasn''t the first time


    he''d received Rina''s gift. She had done it several times before, even on ordinary days, and she


    frequently finds opportunities to meet him. It''s easy to understand where she''sing from."


    "Wow..." Sonia was taken aback and took a deep breath. "I had no idea about this at all."


    "We had not yet reconciled at that point in time. And because this isn''t about us, I didn''t tell you


    anything else after that," Toby responded while raising his head.


    When Sonia heard that, she fell silent, unsure what to say. She wasn''t sure if she should feel sorry for


    Zane for being adored by Rina.


    On the other hand, she found it amusing too.


    "From what you''ve said, she''s been in love with him for a long time." Sonia then had the food that Toby


    had ced on her te earlier.


    Toby sipped his red wine and replied, "That should be the case. Rina had taken the DNAtest with Julia


    about two weeks before White Day, and she had been trying to meet Zane at random even before that.


    So I''m guessing she had a crush on him not long after they met."


    "Would it be when they were constantly in contact with each other?"


    Toby''s action was halted by her words. "Do you know about it?" he asked, looking at her.


    She nodded to that. "As you know, we wanted Rina to be our insider in the Gray Family, so we needed


    her to go through some training to learn more about them. Zane was in charge of training her. They


    saw each other almost every day during the training. It is very likely for her to fall in love with him after


    all those days together. Frankly speaking, Rina had never had the opportunity to meet outstanding


    guys like Zane before she met us, and once she saw him, she was naturally tempted."


    "That should be it," Toby said, raising his chin.


    "I never imagined that our n would undergo such drastic changes. Not only did we discover the


    Grays'' biological daughter, Rina is now harassing Zane. I''m sure he''s now regretting the entire n."


    Even Sonia, let alone Zane, regretted the n.


    Her original n was to put an insider into the Gray Family to find ways to beat them down.


    However, it turned out that she had, in fact, lent them a hand.


    Sonia felt regretful thinking about it.


    Toby, on the other hand, did not say anything and silently added more food to her te.


    "Zane didn''t tell me about this either, not to mention that I''m his coworker!" She exhaled a sigh.


    "He doesn''t want you to feel bad about it. After all, engaging Rina was your mutual n," Toby said this


    while putting food in his mouth.


    Sonia only gave a bitter smile in response. "True. That''s why I''m regretting it now."


    "You don''t have to. Nobody could have predicted that things would progress to this point." He stroked


    her hair and attempted to console her, but she only pursed her lips and remained silent.


    Setting his utensils down, Toby then supported his head with his hand and smilingly asked, "So, do you


    now believe that Rina isn''t interested in me?"


    When Sonia heard that, she looked at him coquettishly and said, "Based on her actions earlier, I


    suspected she has a crush on you. I assumed she was jealous, or even anxious and afraid of me when


    she saw me, because she intends to court you. I was prepared to deal with you on that!"


    That stunned Toby for a while. Then, heughed. "I am so aggrieved!"


    Sonia was flushed with embarrassment. "That was my initial thought. However, after I left the


    washroom, Rina followed me from behind anxiously until I entered this room, where she stood outside


    and appeared to be relieved. That''s when I realized she wasn''t feeling guilty or anxious because she


    loves you, but rather because she has something she wants to keep from me, which is why she


    followed me and tried to monitor everything I did. Toby, what do you think is in this restaurant that


    makes her so nervous that she wants to chase me out and then has to follow me all the way?"


    "Did she chase you out?" Toby wore a solemn expression when he heard that.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    Sonia responded with a light hum. "Yes. She asked me to leave when we were in the restroom earlier.


    Isn''t it amusing? This isn''t her restaurant, yet she has the audacity to chase me away!"


    Upon hearing that, Toby was even more glum. "She is the one who should leave. Since when does she


    have the authority to drive people away?"


    And it was his woman she did this to!


    Is Taylor Carey tired of living?


    Sonia had no idea that Toby was already displeased with Rina. When she heard his words, she nodded


    and said, "That''s correct. I told her as well and her expression was priceless!"


    "What happened next?" Looking at Sonia''s smile, Toby finally rxed his brows before taking a tissue


    and gently wiping her mouth.


    Sonia then took a spoonful of soup and said, "I left the washroom after that and headed here, and she


    followed me all the way. From that, I realized that she wasn''t anxious or afraid of me because she likes


    you, but that there is something here that she doesn''t want me to run into. She entered her room,


    relieved, after seeing that I had not encountered anything on my way here. When she looked into her


    room, her gaze seemed strange as well. I can''t put my feelings into words, but I believe the thing she


    doesn''t want me toe across is in her room. What do you think she''s hiding?"


    However, Toby merely lowered his gaze and remained silent.


    What was it in Rina''s room that made her so terrified?


    In the entire Seafield, only Titus and his wife could do that.


    It was such a coincidence that Sonia was craving Norfolkian cuisine today, and Titus and Julia were


    also here.


    It was most likely Julia''s idea. Since she was from Norfolk, it wasn''t surprising for her to adore


    Norfolkian cuisine.


    Hence, it was perfectly natural for them to appear here.


    Sonia, however, wasn''t the same. She was from Seafield, and it was surprising that she loved


    Norfolkian cuisine, though this could be attributed to her personal preferences.


    After all, there was no hard and fast rule that Seafield residents couldn''t prefer food from other ces.


    But then again, Sonia shared many simrities with Rina. Titus and Julia would be suspicious of her


    identity if they saw her here and learned that she adored Norfolk''s cuisine.


    Perhaps Rina wanted her to leave the restaurant because of this. She did not want Sonia to run into


    Titus and Julia.


    However, Sonia refused. Rina did not dare to forcefully chase her out, so she could only follow closely


    behind Sonia to see if she would happen to run into Titus and Julia.


    She did not, which was why Rina felt relieved.


    "What are you thinking about?" Seeing that Toby was immersed in his thoughts, Sonia gently nudged


    him.


    "Nothing much." His gaze flickered. Trying to suppress his thoughts, he smiled nonchntly and


    continued, "I think the one in Rina''s room is Titus and his wife."


    "Titus and his wife?" Sonia eximed in shock.

 Chapter 974

    Chapter 974


    "Yes." Toby then set his utensils down and said, his eyes shing, "You know that Titus and his wife


    once suspected you were their daughter, right?"


    Sonia nodded in response. While recalling this, a tinge of annoyance shed across her face. "I know. I


    recall publicly admitting during Jessica''s press conference that I am not my parents'' biological child and


    was instead discovered by my father three days after he took Rina away. Titus and Julia began to


    suspect that I was the real ''Rina''. It''s amusing how they continue to suspect other people as their


    daughter even after Rina has been found and a DNA test has been performed to confirm her identity. In


    this regard, I sympathize with her."


    Toby felt a tinge of guilt when he saw Sonia''s disdainful expression, but he didn''t show it. "There''s one


    thing you don''t know about," he said, his face expressionless.


    "What''s that?" Sonia asked curiously.


    With his gaze lowered, Toby answered, "I happened to hear that during the time when both Titus and


    Julia suspected you were the real ''Rina'', Julia expressed that she did not have any feelings towards the


    current Rina. Rina heard it and from what I''ve heard, her reaction was massive."


    Though Toby dismissed it as a coincidence, he had obtained such information from the people he had


    sent to spy on Rina.


    That''s why he knew this piece of information and Sonia didn''t.


    "What?" Sonia was stunned by his words. "Julia said she doesn''t have any feelings towards Rina?"


    "Yes."


    "How can that be?" She shook her head, feeling stunned. "Julia had a serious illness after my father


    took Rina away, and it is still affecting her emotionally. Logically, she should be overjoyed andvishing


    Rina with her love now that Rina has returned. Julia can''t possibly have no feelings for Rina!


    Furthermore, from what I can tell, they get along well."


    "Julia is just putting on a show for the outsiders." Toby put his utensils down and leaned back against


    his chair. "She is well aware that such an attitude is wrong, so even though she has no feelings for


    Rina, Julia epts her responsibility as a mother and pretends that she adores Rina."


    "Oh my." Sonia believed everything Toby had said. After all, he had no reason to lie to her.


    She then sneered coldly and continued, "That''s unusual. How could a mother have no feelings for her


    daughter? I don''t understand that."


    Toby did not say anything to this, as he knew there was nothing wrong with Julia.


    Rina wasn''t her biological daughter; that was why she had no feelings for her.


    Truth be told, Toby was also shocked and had the same doubts as Sonia had now when he first heard


    about it.


    But Toby knew something that Sonia didn''t¡ªthe current Rina was an imposter. She was not Titus and


    Julia''s biological daughter. After all, Sonia was the true ''Rina''!


    Hence, he understood why Julia did not have any feelings toward Rina.


    This was her natural instinct as her mother.


    Despite not knowing that Rina, who was in front of her now, was an imposter, Julia''s maternal instinct


    prevented her from having any feelings for an imposter.


    Sonia, on the other hand, did not know what Toby was thinking. She bit her lips for a few seconds and


    as if she had suddenly realized something, she opened her eyes widely and eximed, "Wait a


    minute... So, Rina was afraid of me meeting Titus and Julia, right? Rina wanted to chase me out


    because she is still bothered by the fact that they both once took me for their daughter, and Julia even


    once hurt Rina''s heart over this. This is also why Rina followed me all the way, fearing that I would run


    into Titus and Julia and confirm their suspicions that I am their daughter, right?"


    Toby responded with a light hum. "This is possible."


    In fact, he initially did not n to tell Sonia that Titus and Julia might be in Rina''s room. He was also


    concerned that something unexpected would ur when they all met.


    But, after giving it some thought, he decided against it and told her directly about Titus and Julia.


    If he did not do so, Sonia would be left wondering why Rina acted so strangely, and she would inquire


    about who was inside Rina''s room. After receiving the answer, she would begin to wonder why Rina


    was so afraid of allowing her to meet with Titus and Julia.


    With that doubt nted within her, Sonia would undoubtedly pursue the matter. It would be a disaster if


    she managed to get the whole truth out.


    That being the case, he told her right away that the person inside was Titus and his wife, followed by


    him purposefully leading her astray. This would clear her doubts and prevent any further investigation.


    And he was right. Based on Sonia''s reaction and her next words, he knew that he had seeded in


    doing so.


    With her lips pursed, she said dismissively, "Is there a problem with Rina''s mind? A DNA test confirmed


    that she is their daughter. I just happen to share some characteristics with their daughter, but that


    doesn''t mean I''m her! What does she have to be concerned about?"


    Sonia really could not fathom Rina''s thinking.


    In her opinion, Rina simply wasn''t someone normal.


    Noticing that Sonia was no longer interested in Rina''s room, Toby rxed his brows and stood up.


    Sonia saw what he was doing and reflexively asked, "You''re going to the gents?"


    "Yes." He nodded. "Sit here and don''t run around."


    She merely rolled her eyes in response. "I am not a child. You don''t have to remind me of this. Besides,


    what''s the big deal if I go out? I can''t possibly get lost, can I?"


    "You''re always a child to me," he said with a warm smile on his face.


    Toby, of course, wasn''t afraid of her getting lost.


    He was terrified of her running into Titus and Julia!


    Though she would not overthink, the same couldn''t be said for them.


    Hence, he had to remind her to stay in this room, to be safer rather than sorry.


    "I know. I won''t go anywhere," Sonia waved her hand and replied.


    Her face was blushing as well.


    He dares to say that I''m a child to him?


    I have never seen anyone who would do all those things to a child.


    Sonia''s face flushed when she thought of that.


    However, Toby did not realize that as his mind was elsewhere. When she waved her hand earlier, he


    had already moved forward and walked outside.


    The moment he stepped out of the room, he took a nce at the row of private rooms opposite him.


    He had no idea which room Rina was in but ording to Sonia, he knew it was one of the rooms in the


    row opposite theirs.


    He then locked his gaze on two rooms that were most likely to contain Rina, before pulling out his


    phone and texting, ''Take Titus and his family out of this restaurant.''


    His tone in the message came across as authoritative, but not at all offensive.


    After all, Toby was a natural leader with the authority to rule over everyone.


    He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it after sending the message. Then, he leaned against the


    wall next to him and began smoking.


    Every other man smoked the same way; it was nothing special at all.


    But Toby was unique. The way he smoked was captivating, with his actions revealing a delicate sense.


    When he puffed, it almost felt as if there was more to what he did.


    Those who looked at him would sense that he had been through a lot.


    And that was what made him attractive.


    Meanwhile, the Gray Family was eating in the room across from him.


    Rina was preupied while eating the food Julia had ced on her te. She didn''t even notice Julia


    calling to her.


    It was until Titus gently pushed her arm that she regained her senses, thereafter dropping the food that


    was in her spoon and onto her te.


    Next ChapterContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!

 Chapter 975

    Chapter 975


    "Dad, what happened?" Rina asked while looking at Titus.


    While gesturing at Julia with his lips, Titus replied, "Your mother was calling you."


    Once Rina learned that Julia was looking for her, she looked at Julia and asked, "Mom, why did you


    call me?"


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "What were you thinking about? You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn''t even hear me calling


    you," Julia exined while frowning. There was a look of concern on her face as well.


    Although she didn''t have much feelings for Rina, she wasn''t stingy about her responsibilities toward her


    daughter, including being concerned for Rina.


    "It''s nothing," Rina mumbled with her head down.


    As Julia and Titus nced at each other, they knew that Rina was lying.


    Sighing, Juliaforted, "Rina, are you still mad at me for what I said in your father''s ward? If you are,


    how about I apologize to you again? It wasn''t my intention to hurt you with my words. I said those


    words because I''m still not used to your return. Once we''ve spent more time together, I''ll get used to


    having you around and won''t act like that again. So, Rina, can you forgive me?"


    With her head still lowered, Rina didn''t answer Julia.


    Wouldn''t act like that after getting used to it? I don''t think so.


    She wasn''t their biological daughter, so it was normal for them to reject her because they weren''t


    rted by blood, and because of that, both adults wouldn''t have feelings for her no matter how long


    they spent time together. At this moment, they treated her nicely mostly because it was their


    responsibility.


    Ironically, they took up that responsibility because they thought she was Rina Gray.


    Once they had discovered that she wasn''t their daughter, apart from their feelings for her, they would


    probably stop being responsible for her too.


    Seeing that Rina wasn''t talking, Julia grew anxious, while Titus frowned andmented, "Rina, your


    mother has apologized to you. Aren''t you going to forgive her?"


    As Rina noticed the unhappiness in his voice, she knew that she had taken a wrong move. Just as she


    was about to make amends, her phone on the table suddenly started vibrating, which made them all


    nce toward it.


    Being the one closest to Rina''s phone, Julia saw the contents disyed on the screen and asked in


    shock, "Mr. F? Rina, who is this? Is he your boyfriend?"


    Once Titus heard that his daughter had a boyfriend, his expression changed drastically. "What? Your


    boyfriend? When did you have a boyfriend and why didn''t you tell me? What if he''s a scammer?"


    Although he disliked the way his daughter was treating his wife, she was his daughter and his only


    descendant. Besides his wife, she was the person whom he cared most about in the world.


    How could he not be anxious after discovering she had a boyfriend?


    Their family had been separated for over twenty years, and it hadn''t been long since her return, but


    now that she had a boyfriend, it wouldn''t be long before she would have to get married. How would the


    two parents be able to cope with that?


    After all, the two hadn''t spent much time with their long-lost daughter, so how would they be willing to


    let their daughter leave their home and live at another person''s ce?


    Even if they had to let Rina leave, they would like to spend a few years with her first.


    Thus, if this Mr. F was truly their daughter''s boyfriend, he would do anything in his power to have Rina


    break up with him!


    "Your father''s right, Rina. You should have told us about this. What would we do if something happened


    to you because of this boyfriend of yours?" Julia agreed with a nod.


    When Rina noticed the reaction from them, she blushed out of awkwardness as she assured, "Dad,


    that''s not my boyfriend. He''s just an acquaintance."


    How could she let that terrifying man be her boyfriend?


    Moreover, the person she liked wasn''t him, but...


    When Zane''s face appeared in her mind, her face blushed even redder as a trace of shyness emerged


    in her eyes, which her parents noticed. However, they misunderstood her reaction, thinking they were


    right, and that the person who had just sent a message to their daughter was her boyfriend.


    Titus felt sour and his face turned red as he pped the table while stating, "Rina, tell me who he is. I


    want to know who dares to flirt with my daughter under my nose. This is driving me crazy."


    "Yes, Rina. Tell us, who is he? Let me help you take a look at his character and see whether he is the


    right man for you," Julia hurriedly agreed while nodding.


    At that moment, Rina blushed even harder as she took her phone and stood up. "Oh, Mom, Dad, what


    are you guys talking about?


    I said I don''t have a boyfriend, and I mean it. He is just an acquaintance."


    "Oh? Are you telling the truth?" Titus narrowed his eyes.


    She answered with a nod, "Of course I''m telling the truth."


    After discovering the seriousness in their daughter''s expression, the two fell into silence. Then, Julia


    borated, "Titus, I think we''ve misunderstood Rina. Maybe she really doesn''t have a boyfriend."


    "Even if she doesn''t have a boyfriend, she must have someone she likes, right?" he asked.


    Rina''s shyness didn''t seem fake, so if she didn''t have a boyfriend, she must have been thinking about


    the man she liked. Otherwise, why would she feel shy?


    As expected, once Rina heard his words, her expression paled as she became anxious.


    Watching the scene before her, Julia knew that what Titus said was true. "Rina, do you have someone


    you like?" she asked as she pulled Rina''s hand.


    Rina kept quiet while having her head lowered. Then, she withdrew her hand after a few moments and


    said indifferently, "Alright, Mom, stop asking. I need to reply to the message."


    After that, she took a breath and walked to the window as she was afraid of bumping into Sonia if she


    went out. If they were to meet each other again and get into a fight, it might attract her parents''


    attention and lure them out.


    As Julia watched her daughter''s back, she looked at her husband and whispered, "Honey, what do you


    think Rina meant by that?"


    ncing at Rina as well, Titus shook his head and replied, "I don''t know."


    After a moment of silence, she asked, "Who do you think is the person Rina likes? I noticed her


    expression was not right when I asked her about it. I think maybe that guy doesn''t like her back."


    Titus'' expression darkened when he heard that. "He should be honored that my daughter took a fancy


    to him. How can he not like my daughter? Just wait until I find out who he is. I''ll skin him for not


    knowing chalk from cheese."


    In his eyes, his daughter was the best in the world, and all men were out of her league. Yet, now she


    had someone she liked, but that man hadn''t returned her feelings.


    Thinking about that made his blood boil.


    While Julia listened to his aggrieved speech, she didn''t have much opinion on that matter. Instead, she


    was looking at Rina, who had her head down while standing beside the window. She couldn''t help but


    feel curious about who Mr. F was and why Rina had to reply to his messages behind their backs.


    Also, she remembered Rina''s shocked and anxious expression when she mentioned Mr. F. Could it be


    that he was a bad person?


    On the other hand, Rina hade to the window and immediately opened the message Toby had sent,


    but when she read its content, her grip on her phone suddenly tightened.


    He told her to leave the restaurant with her parents!


    It seemed like Sonia had told him about their encounter and Toby guessed that something was up.


    Since things hade to this, she couldn''t stay here any longer.


    Although she didn''t like it, she had to ept the reality that if Sonia wasn''t leaving, she would have to


    leave.


    Moreover, she didn''t have the guts to go against his orders because he would definitely cause more


    trouble for her.


    She took a deep breath, sent him a reply before storing her phone away, and returned to the dining


    table.

 Chapter 976

    Chapter 976


    As she walked, she pondered for a good excuse to take her parents away.


    After all, they hadn''t been here for long, so they hadn''t had the chance to try out most of the dishes on


    the dining table. If there wasn''t a special reason, her parents wouldn''t just leave like that.


    She had toe up with a logical excuse that wouldn''t arouse suspicion.


    However, this type of excuse obviously wasn''t that easy to find.


    Just when Rina was getting more and more annoyed inside, Julia suddenly spoke up. "What''s wrong,


    Rina? Why do you look so pale?"


    "I''m¡ª"


    Rina looked up and was about to tell them she was fine. Then, she suddenly thought of something, and


    her eyes lit up with a fleeting light.


    Right, my pale face can serve as an excellent excuse!


    With that in mind, Rina smiled a little, but fearing that someone might catch on, she quickly hid the


    smile. Then, with a sudden change of expression, she gripped her chest where her heart should be,


    and put on a suffering expression.


    Seeing that, Titus and Julia were both startled, and they stood up simultaneously.


    "Rina, what''s wrong?" Julia hastily circled around the table and walked toward Rina.


    Even though Titus didn''t say anything, the nervous look on his face was clear as day.


    When Rina saw that they were indeed worried, a light shed across her eyes. She knew her n was


    working.


    But this wasn''t enough. She needed to do something more.


    At that thought, Rina faked a diforted scream, and she slowly crouched down on the ground, as if


    she suddenly caught some sort of disease and couldn''t hold on any longer.


    She really managed to trick Titus and Julia like this, and they were immensely terrified.


    "Rina, what exactly is going on?" Julia was so worried that she was about to cry.


    Titus helped Rina off the ground and asked hastily, "Yes, Rina. Tell us, where does it hurt? Don''t scare


    us like this."


    "Dad..." Rina gripped her chest as she heavedbored breaths, her widened eyes staring at Titus. Her


    lips trembled as she said weakly, "I... I don''t feel so good, I¡ª"


    She suddenly stopped short.


    Then, leaning in Titus'' arms, Rina "fainted."


    Titus shook her a little, but there was no response. He was really frightened now. "Rina!"


    "Honey, quick, let''s take Rina to the hospital." Julia also was so worried that her eyes reddened, and


    she hastily reminded him.


    Titus finally gathered his wits about him and nodded consecutively. "Right, the hospital. Let''s go to the


    hospital. Come, we''re going right now."


    Once he finished speaking, the couple carried Rina as they hastily walked toward the entrance of the


    private room.


    In the corridor, Toby was still leaning on the wall next to the entrance of the private room, smoking.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    He had more or less finished the cigarette, but he still hadn''t put it out and returned to the private room.


    Instead, he kept staring at one of the private rooms across from him, as if waiting for something.


    Just now, Rina had replied to him, saying that she would lead Titus and his wife away soon.


    He wanted to see how long it would take her to do it.


    Toby faintly let out some smoke, hovering the cigarette over the ashtray at the side. With a slight tap of


    his finger, the ash broke off and fell into the ashtray.


    Soon after, there was some movementing from a certain private room across from him.


    Toby was about to take one more puff, but when he heard the sounds, he suddenly changed his mind


    and put out the cigarette by pressing it against the ashtray.


    The cigarette was just put out and tossed into the ashtray when the door of the private room diagonally


    across from Toby opened. A couple familiar to Toby was carrying someone as they hastily walked out


    from within.


    Toby could recognize right away that the couple was Titus and Julia.


    As for the person Titus was carrying...


    Even though Toby couldn''t see her face, he knew it could be none other than Rina.


    Seeing the couple''s worried looks, and from the way Rina was carried outside by Titus, Toby could


    make out that Rina had a "sudden sickness."


    Of course, he knew that Rina had faked it. It was an excuse Rina made up specially so that Titus and


    Julia could leave.


    If not, how could such coincidences ur? He had just asked her to leave moments before, and now


    she was suddenly ill?


    As Toby watched the three leave, a cold smile crept upon his thin lips.


    Titus and his wife focused all their attention on Rina, so they didn''t realize his presence. After leaving


    the room, they headed right toward the stairs.


    But it was a good thing. If Titus and Julia saw him and challenged him, Little Leaf mighte out, and


    things would get much trickier.


    Toby sent ast nce at the stairs the three disappeared at, then calmly averted his gaze and turned


    around, returning to the private room.


    When Sonia heard the footsteps behind her, she turned around and smiled as she said, "You''re back."


    "Yeah." The chill in Toby''s face receded as it was reced with a gentle warmth that filled his eyes.


    Sonia patted his chair. "You''ve taken quite a long time."


    "I saw a performance when I wasing back," Toby replied after taking his seat.


    "A performance?" Sonia was stunned, then she got curious and was about to ask him what sort of


    performance it was when she caught the smell of cigarettesing from him.


    Yes, the smell of cigarettes.


    It wasn''t the usual kind of cigarette, though, which was especially thick and foul.


    On the contrary, there was a slight fragrance to it, and it smelled quite nice.


    Since these cigarettes were specially made, outsiders who had never smelled the fumes before


    wouldn''t know that it belonged to a cigarette. They might even think it was some sort of perfume.


    As for Sonia, she had smelled this cigarette before, and from him no less. This was exactly why she


    knew that he had been smoking.


    Also, she knew that he smoked, but it wasn''t an addiction, so she usually never saw him smoking. As


    time went on, she almost forgot that he smoked.


    Now, when she suddenly caught the scent of cigarettes from him, she finally remembered that this


    terrible man was a smoker.


    In an instant, Sonia''s expression soured as she red at the man, her voice filled with anger as she


    said, "You smoked?"


    Hearing that, Toby knew he was in trouble. She seemed to be upset about him smoking.


    Toby subconsciously wanted to say he wasn''t smoking, but he knew it was futile to lie, for the smell


    couldn''t fool anyone.


    Also, he still had the rest of the cigarettes in his pocket. If he lied, she could definitely search his


    pockets and find the cigarettes.


    When that happened, the atmosphere would get even worse.


    So, it was better for him to admit it right from the start.


    With that in mind, Toby coughed lightly, his voice a little guilty as he answered, "Yes, I smoked."


    "I knew it." Sonia frowned, her expression turning worse.


    Toby nced at her from the corner of his eye. "You don''t like me smoking?"


    "Of course I don''t." Sonia pursed her red lips and looked at him. "Who would want people they care


    about to smoke? Smoking is bad for your health, don''t you know that?"


    "I do." Toby nodded.


    Sonia red at him, her voice getting louder. "You knew, but you still smoked?"


    Toby touched his nose, keeping quiet. He knew very well that if he replied now, he would only make the


    situation worse.


    Sonia red coldly at the man. "I already knew before this that you smoked, but that was when we


    weren''t back together. So, I wouldn''t care if you smoked, or if you smoked a lot, or if you smoked


    yourself to death. After all, there''s nothing between us. But now, it''s different. We''re together now, so I


    have to take responsibility for your body and your health. So, I absolutely do not allow you to smoke.


    Also, I noticed that you haven''t smoked in a while, so I thought you quit long ago. Too bad, I was


    wrong."


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 977

    Chapter 977


    This man didn''t quit smoking after all. and he was probably smoking quite often.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    However, he made sure she never saw him smoking, so she thought he had quit.


    Now, she knew that she was fooled through and through.


    As Toby looked at the woman''s small infuriated face, he guiltily rubbed his nose.


    He had never expected that smoking a single cigarette would cause such dissatisfaction in the woman.


    Now, he also regretted smoking that cigarette a little.


    "Sorry, I won''t smoke in the future. I''ll quit, so don''t get angry, all right?" Toby held Sonia''s hand as he


    said in all sincerity.


    Sonia eyed him sideways. "Really?"


    "Really." Toby raised three fingers. "I swear."


    His expression was serious.


    Sonia pursed her red lips. "What use is swearing? Do all promisese true as soon as you swear?"


    Of course not!


    Toby replied silently in his heart as he realized swearing probably wasn''t the best way, nor could it


    convince anyone. After falling silent for a bit, he looked at her and asked, "Then tell me, what should I


    do so that you''ll believe me?"


    "Who knows?" Sonia said indifferently, "Even if I believe you now, who would know if you''d smoke


    when I''m not looking? You said you won''t smoke, but I don''t know if you mean it."


    She was right.


    Toby was silent again.


    Then, he reached into his pocket and fished out the cigarettes and the expensive lighter, cing them


    on the table in front of Sonia.


    Sonia looked at the cigarettes on the table, then back at the man beside her. "What do you mean by


    this?"


    "You can do whatever you please with them," Toby said sincerely.


    Then, he took her hands and ced them in his palms. "I mean everything I say. I really won''t smoke in


    the future, and I will definitely keep my promise. I won''t do anything that makes you sad, so please,


    give me another chance, okay?"


    As he spoke, he was especially serious.


    He was so serious that Sonia didn''t have the heart to say no.


    Sonia gave a wry smile, then sighed in the end. "Fine. Seeing how sincere you are, if I don''t believe


    you and give you another chance, I might look like the viin here."


    "Impossible." Toby frowned. "To me, you''re always the kind fairy in my heart."


    Sonia chuckled at that. "A fairy? You''re crafty with words, aren''t you?"


    Toby smiled. "Only for you."


    Sonia red at him.


    She believed those words all right.


    "Fine. Since you said you''ll quit smoking, I''ll hold onto these for you." Sonia reached out and gathered


    the cigarettes and lighter toward her, then put them in her bag.


    When she did so, she kept a watchful eye on the man''s expressions, intending to figure out if the man


    would express any reluctance.


    Fortunately, throughout the whole process, the man was very calm and didn''t show any refusal toward


    her actions.


    This made Sonia see the man in a better light.


    After cing her bag back on the chair beside her, Sonia looked at the man with a half-smile. "I thought


    you''d protest."


    Toby ate his food calmly. "Nothing to protest about. I don''t have much of a smoke addiction in the first


    ce, and I rarely smoke anyways. I only smoke one cigarette sometimes. If not, howe you only


    found out now that I''m still smoking?"


    Sonia had no retort for these words.


    He was right. If he had a strong addiction to smoking, she would''ve found out pretty early that he


    smoked regrly.


    "I just didn''t expect you to react so strongly to my smoking." Toby put some food on her te as he


    spoke.


    Sonia ate the food courteously, which was also another sign that she was no longer upset about his


    smoking habits.


    "I reacted strongly because I care about you and your body. If you aren''t my lover, I wouldn''t care at


    all." At that, Sonia rolled her eyes at the man.


    Toby nodded sincerely. "Yeah, I won''t do it anymore. Don''t worry, I''ll keep my body in good condition,


    and I won''t put you at a disadvantage. I''ll only make you happy."


    Hisst sentence was whispered in a low and seductive voice in her ear as he leaned in toward her.


    Sonia felt a tickle in her ear as she moved away a little bit. Her face was extremely red as she red at


    the man.


    What was this stupid man flirting around for?


    She cared about his body so that he wouldn''t fall sick. She wasn''t hoping for him to keep up his


    abnormal amounts of stamina and do those things with her.


    This stupid man always liked to interrupt the conversation with such things.


    "Go away and be good." Sonia pushed the man away, annoyed.


    The man chuckled, but still he obediently shifted back to his position.


    Sonia tucked a bit of her hair behind her ears and took a sip of water before she could finally calm


    down. Then, she returned to the topic at hand. "Tell me, why smoke all of a sudden? Or did you go to


    the washroom just to have a puff?"


    "It''s not that." Toby shook his head. "I smoked because I was too bored while watching the


    performance."


    "It has something to do with that performance?" Sonia was surprised. "What performance is that? You


    never cared much about these tilings and don''t really join in the fun, but this performance is actually


    interesting enough that you''d stop and smoke while you watched?"


    She was curious about this instead.


    "It''s a performance by the Grays," Toby said, sipping his wine.


    Sonia blinked. "The Grays?"


    "Yup." Toby nodded. "What other performance do you think was worth stopping by and watching?"


    "You have a point." Sonia nodded. "What happened to the Grays?"


    "Rina suddenly fell ill, and the Gray couple took her away."


    "Suddenly fell ill?" Sonia was truly surprised then, and her voice went an octave higher. "How can this


    be? When I saw her in the washroom just now, she seemed alright. She didn''t look ill at all."


    "That''s why it''s sudden," Toby replied as he lowered his gaze.


    Sonia pouted. "Then she''s really unfortunate to fall ill just like that. How is she?"


    "She fainted." Toby rubbed the wine ss.


    Sonia supported her head with her hand. "That sounds serious. Say, do you think this is hereditary?"


    She looked at the man.


    The man was stunned for a bit. "What?"


    "A hereditary disease." Sonia shrugged. "Titus has kidney failure, doesn''t he? And this sort of illness is


    usually hereditary. You said that Rina suddenly fell ill, so could it be that she inherited Titus'' kidney


    failure?"


    As soon as Sonia uttered those words, Toby''s expression changed in an instant.


    He had never thought that kidney failure would be hereditary!


    It was true. In a family, if one of them had this illness, their descendants might very possibly get the


    same illness as well.


    Titus had kidney failure, so would Little Leaf have that as well?


    After all, Little Leaf was Titus'' real biological daughter!


    At that thought, Toby stared at Sonia, his thin lips pressed into a tight line as his expression tensed.


    The look in his eyes was so serious that it was terrifying.


    Sonia was startled at his behavior. She parted her red lips and asked faintly, "What''s wrong? I feel kind


    of scared when you look at me like this."


    "Little Leaf, let''s find some time to go to the hospital for a full body checkup, all right?" Toby took her


    hand and said.


    Sonia was shocked. "A full body checkup?"


    "Yes." Toby nodded.


    Sonia cocked her head to a side, expressing confusion. "I''m feeling alright, so why the sudden


    checkup? Aren''t we talking about Rina? Why focus on me all of a sudden?"


    Toby had no way of telling her that it was because she was Titus'' daughter, so he was worried that she


    might have kidney failure like Titus did.


    So, he could only find an excuse. "Because, when I saw Rina fall sick so suddenly, I realized that the


    human body is very fragile. Someone might look okay one moment and then faint the next. So, I want


    you to go for a checkup, then I''ll rest assured."


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 978

    Chapter 978


    He had to know if she had inherited Titus'' kidney failure.


    If she did, then it would still be early if they found out now, so she could be cured soon. Otherwise, if


    this dragged on and they couldn''t find a recement kidney for herter, things would be more


    troublesome.


    After all, because of Titus'' special condition, he still couldn''t find a recement kidney until now.


    What if Sonia inherited the same special conditions as well?


    Toby didn''t dare bet on it, so the only thing he could do right now was to find out early and prevent it


    before it got worse.


    Sonia didn''t know what the man was so anxious about. Seeing his serious expression, she couldn''t


    help but be amused. "Even though some people do fall sick all of a sudden. I am definitely not one of


    them. Remember. I''m still taking supplements right now. Every time before giving me the supplements,


    Tim will run a quick checkup on me. He never mentioned anything wrong with my body, so that means


    I''m in the pink. So, this incident that happened to Rina won''t happen to me. Rina became like this


    probably because she inherited this disease from Titus, or something terrible happened to her when


    she was young, which manifested its aftereffects only now. I don''t have either of those conditions, so I''ll


    be fine. Don''t worry."


    She patted the man''s tense shoulder, a gesture telling the man that he should rx and stop worrying


    too much.


    However, she didn''t know that even if she said so, the man couldn''t stop worrying, nor could he rx.


    Because she was Titus'' real daughter.


    "You also said that Tim only did simple checkups on you instead of a moreprehensive one. So if


    something really is going on, he wouldn''t be able to notice it. You''d better get a full body checkup,"


    Toby said as he looked at Sonia.


    Sonia frowned, her pretty eyebrows knitting together. "Why do I feel like you''re very sure that there''s


    something wrong with me? Are you so sure that I have some sort of illness?"


    She shifted closer to the man and stared at him with an intense look, as if trying to figure out some


    clues from the man''s face.


    But the man hid his thoughts well, and there was nothing out of the ordinary showing on his face.


    So, Sonia looked at him for a while, but she couldn''t fmd anything different.


    "Why would I think that you''re definitely ill?" Toby put down his wine ss and took her hand. "I wish,


    more than anyone, that you''re perfectly healthy. I was just really worried that the same thing that


    happened to Rina might happen to you. I was really shocked by Rina this time." Toby lowered his gaze


    as he spoke in his emotionless voice.


    He was really shocked.


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    However, it wasn''t because of Rina. Instead, Sonia''s words had frightened him.


    If she hadn''t suddenly mentioned the hereditary disease just now, he really didn''t think that she might


    also inherit the illness.


    Sonia stared at the man for a while, then smiled. "You''re shocked just by that? Since when are you so


    easily spooked? This isn''t like you."


    "Because I''m worried about you." Toby gently caressed her face. As he gazed at her, she saw a look in


    his eyes that she couldn''t quite decipher.


    Sonia was silent for a while before she said, "Will you rest assured only after I do a full body checkup?"


    She believed that he had asked her to go for a full body checkup because of this sudden incident with


    Rina, and he was worried that the same thing might happen to her.


    However, for an unknown reason, she could faintly feel that there was something wrong somewhere.


    As if he did this not solely for this reason, and he might have some other reason he hadn''t disclosed.


    However, she couldn''t confirm her suspicions from this man''s expressions.


    After all, the man only expressed concern for her, and there was nothing out of the ordinary other than


    that.


    Perhaps she really was overthinking it, and he really was just concerned about her health.


    Just like how she worried about him smoking.


    At that thought, Sonia managed to convince herself. She smiled at the man once again. "If you''re really


    worried because of this, let''s go then."


    Hearing that the woman finally relented and agreed to a full body checkup, Toby nodded and smiled.


    "Good. Let''s go tomorrow morning."


    He needed to know about her health conditions as soon as possible, or he wouldn''t be at ease.


    Seeing the man''s anxious behavior, Sonia didn''t know if she shouldugh or cry. Nevertheless, she felt


    very warm in her heart.


    After her parents'' passing, there was almost no one left in this world who would care about her.


    There were three people who cared about her in the Lane Family, plus Rose, Carl, and Leonard, which


    totaled to six people.


    However, these six people all had their own families and lives and businesses to attend to, so they


    couldn''t be concerned about her all the time. There were evenmon instances where they lost


    contact for days and weeks on end.


    So,pared to them, Toby''s constant concern for her as he stayed by her side was the most


    touching, and also the warmest to her.


    As she thought about this, Sonia suddenly wrapped her arms around the man''s waist and buried


    herself in the man''s arms.


    The man was stunned, then responded with a smile as he hugged her back. He patted her back lightly


    and said in a soft voice, "What''s the matter? Why the sudden show of affection?"


    "It''s not that." Sonia humphed in the man''s arms, her eyes closed but her lips in a smile. "I''m just


    thanking you."


    "Thanking me?" Toby raised an eyebrow. "For what?"


    "I''m thanking you for your meticulous love and care." Sonia nudged at his chest. "Aside from you, I


    don''t think anyone else would be so concerned about me."


    Toby''s expression softened. "I am your man, so it''s only natural that I do these things for you. Just like


    how you were worried about me, I feel the same toward you. So you don''t have to thank me at all.


    Alright now, we haven''t eaten much, so let''s eat more."


    With that, Toby gently pushed her away from his embrace.


    This was his first time breaking away from their hugs of his own ord.


    This man, after all, was someone who wanted to take as much advantage as possible.


    When she got close to him, he wouldn''t let go of her so easily.


    But now, his actions were indeed surprising.


    Sonia chuckled and took up her fork as she continued eating.


    But Toby didn''t have much of an appetite as he kept tapping away at his phone.


    Sonia asked him about it, and he only said that he was replying to Tom on some business matters.


    Seeing his serious expression, with his eyebrows tightly knitted together, Sonia didn''t suspect him one


    bit. She ate quietly, trying not to bother him too much in his conversation with Tom.


    She was wondering, though, why Toby didn''t just call Tom and talk. Still, perhaps Tom was busy with


    something and couldn''t talk over the phone.


    Seeing that Sonia''s attention waspletely diverted, Toby sighed in relief and began looking at the


    contents disyed on his phone.


    Just now, he was contacting Tim and asking thetter about Titus'' kidney failure, especially in the


    hereditary department.


    When he saw Tim''s reply, Toby pursed his thin lips into a line, his heart sinking. His grip on his phone


    tightened as well, as if threatening to crush the phone into smithereens. Even the air around him


    seemed to gain weight.


    Tim said that Titus'' kidney failure was truly a hereditary disease, and the chances of it getting passed


    down was very high. There would be one with the disease in every three generations.


    Thest one was Titus'' great grandfather.


    And this fact was something Titus found from the files at home when he first found out he had kidney


    failure, and he had reported that to the hospital.


    That kidney failure was truly a hereditary disease instead of the asionally urring ones that didn''t


    get inherited.


    Toby gritted his teeth, anger boiling in his heart. He hadn''t expected that the Grays would have this


    hereditary disease!

 Chapter 979

    Chapter 979


    When Titus'' kidneys failed, he thought that it was just pure misfortune that he was struck with the


    illness and did not even think that it might have been due to his gics.


    It was really close now that they thought about it; still, they should be able to make it in time.


    Rubbing his forehead, Toby replied, ''Okay. Do you have any news on Titus'' kidney recement?'' he


    asked Tim.


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    Even though Tim was not treating Titus, it was child''s y for an executive like him in the hospital to


    get a hold of a patient''s condition.


    Looking at Toby''s question, he simply typed on the keyboard a few times before the answer popped up.


    ''Nope!'' he replied.


    The answer did not surprise him too much as Toby''s expression maintained. This was because he


    already had the answer as he merely wanted Tim''s confirmation.


    Toby then nced at the woman who was busy eating. Seeing that she was not paying any attention to


    him, he typed, ''You mentioned that this is hereditary to each third generation. Does this mean that after


    every third generation, there will be a descendant with this illness?"


    If that was the case, then he could rx a little. After all, if Titus had contracted the illness, that meant


    that Sonia should be safe.


    Yet, Tim, who saw Toby''s question,ughed as he rolled his eyes and used the voice message


    function. "What makes you think so? There''s no set rule for hereditary diseases. If it really were to


    befall someone every three generations, that patient''s family can rx, but things like this can happen


    to anyone at any time. Some hereditary diseases have patients in every generation while some might


    have it after countless generations. All in all, this isn''t something that can be pre-determined with time."


    Converting the voice message into words, Toby felt his heart sink upon seeing Tim''s exnation. So, it


    doesn''t religiously happen every three generations. Titus just happens to be the unlucky one who


    contracted this gic illness after three generations. This means that there is still a high possibility


    that Sonia might contract it.


    Toby clenched his fist and stopped asking.


    Yet, it was Tim who became curious and asked, "Why are you suddenly so concerned about the


    hereditary condition of the Grays?"


    His question made Toby pursed his lips. "Have you forgotten that Little Leaf is Titus'' daughter?"


    In fact, he did mention this to Tim in the past.


    The reply had dted Tim''s pupils as he suddenly became stern. He was originally lying on the chair


    lazily before springing up into an upright position; it was obvious how shocking Toby''s words were.


    Right. I already knew that Titus is Sonia''s biological father. I actually did not consider that she might


    inherit this kidney failure disease... and I call myself a doctor.


    Adjusting his sses, Tim replied, ''Bring Sonia to the hospital if you have time. I''ll do a full-body


    checkup for her personally."


    His words made Toby''s tightly clenched forehead slightly rx as he typed, ''That''s what I was thinking


    too; I''ll bring her in tomorrow. Since she still doesn''t know her rtionship with Titus, I''ll just lie to her


    and say that I want her to do a full-body checkup to ensure that she won''t just copse suddenly. Make


    sure to keep this a secret.''


    Tim sneered. ''I don''t need you to remind me of that. Okay, let''s end the conversation here. I''m going to


    the nephrology department to take a look at Titus'' medical records, to be on the safe side.''


    Replying with a simple ''Okay'', Toby kept his cell phone aside, yet he could not seem to settle his


    nervous heart as he felt stuffy inside.


    His action made Sonia turn to look at him. "Are you done talking with Tom?"


    "Yup," he lied without batting an eye.


    Since she did not suspect him at all from the start, she naturally could not detect that the man was


    lying. Hearing that both men were finished with the conversation, she nodded and did not ask anything


    else as she only ced some food onto his te. "Alright. Since you''re finished, it''s time to eat. You


    didn''t really touch your food earlier."


    The woman''s concern made Toby smile and reply gently, "Sure."


    After dinner, Sonia went to the toilet again before preparing to return with Toby.


    It was about 9.00PM when they finished eating, so she estimated that it would be almost 11.00PM by


    the time they arrived home. After a day''s work, she was feeling a bit tired.


    Standing outside the entrance of the restaurant, Sonia was looking at the busy road while waiting for


    Toby to pay. A few minutes had passed before he came out with a slip of paper and a somewhat weird


    expression. Hmm, he actually looks a bit dazed. That''s new.


    Since this was the first time she ever saw such an expression from the man, she thought that


    something had transpired, so she quickly asked, "What''s wrong, Toby?"


    Reaching out, he gave her the colorful paper. "I won the grand prize."


    "Wait, what?" Sonia was surprised.


    Toby repeated, "I said that I won the grand prize."


    The corners of her mouth twitched. "Grand prize?!"


    "Yup." He nodded and motioned her to look at the item in her hand.


    It was then she lowered her head to look at the paper. After reading it, she discovered that it was a


    voucher for a couple''s suite!


    This...


    Sonia was dumbfounded as she looked at the voucher, then at the somewhat baffled man before


    epting the fact.


    "You... How did you get it? Where did you get it?" she asked.


    Blinking, Toby then regained his usualposure as he stopped looking stunned and coughed lightly.


    "In the restaurant. When I was paying, the owner said I could enter in the raffle, so I shook it and¡ª"


    "You won the prize?" She raised her eyebrows.


    He nodded. "I never thought that I would get it too. I had never won a raffle before, so this is frankly my


    first time."


    So, this is why he looked a little shocked and baffled earlier. For his whole life, he had never won


    anything before, so this sudden dawn of luck rendered him unable to respond to the situation.


    Gazing at the unconvinced Toby, Sonia smirked, thinking that he looked somewhat adorable. She could


    understand his feelings, though. After all, if one was to win something out of the blue after twenty or


    thirty years of living, they would experience a torrent of emotions too.


    "How does it feel to win a raffle?" She made a fist and pointed it at Toby''s chin, pretending as if a


    microphone was in her hand.


    Toby then looked down and smiled before acting how he usually did in front of the media and replied


    seriously, "It''s quite nice. It''s a feeling that I''ve never had before."


    Finding the situation amusing, Sonia continued her line of question. "Then, President Fuller, can you


    describe what this nice feeling is?"


    Toby had a doting gaze when looking at the beaming woman. "I can''t, but if I really have to, I would say


    that it''s quite alien and strange."


    "Anything else besides that?"


    Pretending to be deep in thought, he replied, "And also joy. Of course, if you are to spend the night with


    me at this hotel, I would feel even happier."


    He then gazed at her upon saying this. With a piercing gaze, he had a charming smile that would make


    any woman fall for him.

 Chapter 980

    Chapter 980


    Sonia blushed and red at the man. This b*stard is teasing me again!


    Dropping her hands, she stopped ying around, fearing that he would say something inappropriate if


    she was to continue the role-acting.


    "I''m not going to continue this." She snorted before returning him the voucher.


    However, Toby only shook his head as he did not retrieve it and asked, "So, do you want to experience


    this so-called love hotel together with me? After all, this is my first time to ever win something. Will you


    grant me this honor?"


    His words amused Sonia. "Are you really nning to go there?"


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "No matter how I look at it, I gotta honor this win. Otherwise, this will all be naught, won''t it?" Toby


    smiled lightly.


    Sonia thought he made sense as well. Besides, she also knew about the existence of this hotel as it


    was rtively famous with a lot of branches within the borders. Thanks to the various themes, it


    became popr among couples.


    Of course, she heard all of this via rumors and had never seen it for herself before, so this did pique


    her interest a little.


    Noticing the woman''s curiosity, Toby knew that there was still a chance as he said with a glimmer in his


    eyes, "What I got was the presidential suite as well. If we were to miss out on that, it really would be a


    waste, seeing how it costs fifteen hundred thousand per night." He then sighed intentionally.


    It was this very sentence that dispelled Sonia''s hesitation as she gripped the voucher and nodded.


    "Let''s go. Since you finally won something and it''s the grand prize, we should definitely go!"


    Even though she was not one who liked to take advantage of any situation, she was not a wasteful


    person either. After all, it would be such a waste to miss out on such a luxurious suite.


    I might feel physical pain if I let this room go! Besides, this was his first time winning something, so I


    should just let him have the joys of being able to redeem his prize. Or else, this will be all for nothing.


    Seeing the woman agree made Toby hide his smile behind his hand.


    He only said that because he knew her well enough to know that she was thrifty. As expected, she


    agreed immediately after the statement.


    "It''s gettingte now and there''s quite a distance from the hotel. Let''s go!" Toby held Sonia''s hand.


    With that, she nodded and let the man lead her to the car. Walking somewhat in a hurry, he had an


    anxious look that bemused the woman greatly.


    After half an hour, they arrived at the hotel.


    Alighting from the car, Sonia found herself standing at the entrance of the hotel as she looked up and


    felt her mouth twitch, not really daring to step inside. Well... This is a love hotel afterall.


    The design of the hotel looked very romantic at first nce, for the outline of the building resembled a


    heart shape with eye catching pink exterior walls.


    If that''s what it looks like on the outside, I can only imagine how crazy it''ll be inside.


    All in all, the couple would have to possess a certain amount of bravery; otherwise, they would not dare


    to even step into the ce.


    Due to the bizarre exterior of the establishment, it stuck out like a sore thumb whenpared to the


    square buildings nearby.


    Sonia thought to herself that if she was hesitating upon seeing the hotel and did not dare to go in, Toby


    would probably have the same thoughts.


    Turning her head slightly, she noticed the man standing beside her looking at the building as well.


    The man pursed his lips and had a bit of a sour expression, but more than anything else, a torrent of


    emotions were swirling inside him.


    It was obvious that the ce stunned him too as she burst out inughter.


    The chortle finally pulled Toby back to his senses before he looked at her and asked, "What are you


    laughing at?"


    "How is it? You feel like washing your eyes, do you?" Sonia teased happily.


    Not replying to her, he merely nodded.


    It indeed was a unique piece of architecture for it was not ugly by any means, but it was very girly.


    However, it was the very fact that it was entuated by all themercial buildings nearby that made


    the hotel on its own seem awkward.


    As such, Toby rubbed his temples. He had never expected that it would look like this.


    I regret not doing my research before going anywhere with a woman I like. Yes, this has to be thest


    time we''re in such an awkward situation like this.


    Noticing that the man stopped talking, Sonia nodded andughed even louder. "What now? Should we


    head home? Or do you want to go in?"


    After a few seconds of silence, Toby squeezed out, "In we go!"


    This surprised her. "We are?"


    "Yup." He nodded.


    We''re already here. If we leave just like that, doesn''t that mean that we got cold feet? This is not my


    style. If word got out that I don''t even have the guts to enter a love hotel, I would be the butt of


    everyone''s joke.


    But, how could Sonia not know what the man was thinking inside? She looked at him before turning her


    gaze at the building once again and smirked.


    She thought that he would never enter anything so ugly. After all, his style waspletely opposite to


    this hotel. Besides, she could not imagine how wild the interior was going to be.


    Even if he were to get cold feet now, she would not tease him about it since she wanted to leave as


    equally as he did.


    To her surprise, she waspletely wrong about him!


    "We''re really going in?" Sonia suppressed her shock and took a deep breath in, looking at the man for


    confirmation.


    A solemn expression apanied Toby before he nodded. "Of course. Since we''re already here, why


    not just go in? Let''s go. We have to face this." He then held her hand and went into the hotel.


    Looking at him, Sonia was greatly entertained.


    If he was not so stiff with such a heavy expression, she would have bought the fact that he was


    nonchntly epting this. Yet, that was the exact reality and it ironically seemed like he was bringing


    her into war, not into a romantic, tacky, love hotel.


    All in all, his temperament now was hrious.


    At the sight of this, Sonia could not help but giggle.


    Seriously, even though he detests how it looks, why is he still forcing himself to go in? There''s no way a


    rich man like him would be reluctant to let one night of tacky hotelstay go to waste. I don''t think so.


    This man just wants to experience something new and exciting with me in the hotel.


    Other than that, she had searched up the information regarding the hotel online in the car and it stated


    that it was a paradise for couples. ording to the reviews, every couple that came here would be


    catalyzed by the atmosphere and get all steamy real quick; it was precisely this that piqued her interest.


    She was curious as to what kind of sorcery the hotel possessed to have all the guests leave good


    reviews.


    Just as Sonia was thinking about this, Toby had already collected the room key from the front desk.


    When she snapped back to reality, he was seen refusing the receptionist''s guide and dragged her to


    the elevator himself.


    Ding! The elevator door opened.


    After the couple went in, Sonia could clearly hear Toby heaving a sigh of relief.


    Turning around, she saw the man had finally rxed his facial muscles and she asked, "Do you have


    to be so dramatic? Look at you all nervous."


    He then shot a nce at her. "It''s my first time at a ce like this."


    "Like it''s not mine as well," she replied.


    Falling silent for a few seconds, Toby continued, "It was me who exchanged the voucher at the front


    desk, so it was me who got more unwanted flirtatious looks."


    Speechless, Sonia could not retort his words as it was the truth.

 Chapter 981

    Chapter 981


    Yet, she kept thinking that he was trying to have thest say in this.


    Whatever. Since it''s him that redeemed the prize at the front desk earlier. I''ll stop arguing about this.


    Sonia then rolled her eyes. "Nobody forced you to be here either. I did ask you if you wanted to head


    back, but here we are now."


    While saying that, she observed the insides of the elevator and was speechless.


    Excluding the pink exterior of the building, she did not expect that the elevator would be in pink too.


    The moment they entered the lobby, she also saw that it was smothered in pink. It seems like the


    building is pink inside and out.


    This might be the building with the most pink decor I''ve ever seen.


    Usually, pink is a girl''s fantasy color, but when so much of it was in one ce, it became too dazzling


    instead.


    I can''t even stand this and I''m already thinking of getting away. How did the male guests stand this


    much pink?


    Yet, it''s all good reviews online.


    This is beyond me!


    "I am a man of principles. If I promised to take you here, naturally, I will not go back on my words. So,


    even if this building is hideous, I will not leave," stated Toby with a serious expression.


    Sonia facepalmed at this.


    He''s actually shifting the me onto me, although it was him that wanted toe here and made me


    promise it.


    Now, he''s saying it as if I was the one who wanted toe here instead.


    Sonia looked at Toby full of disdain.


    Not missing her gaze, he understood the context of her look and felt a little awkward inside, prompting


    him to lightly cough and direct his eyes elsewhere.


    Obviously, he was feeling guilty.


    Actually, the reason why he refused to leave was because of what Zane had said.


    Zane, who used to be a yboy, brought his girlfriend here before.


    There was once when Toby and him went out for drinks and he was just talking about random topics.


    One of them included this hotel, where he mentioned that it was a very great experience as there were


    lots of exciting features that were perfect for couples.


    Since he felt somewhat disgusted by Zane''s words, he did not listen too much for he never thought that


    he would step foot in a ce like this.


    However, it was different this time now with Sonia by his side. On top of that, Toby recalled Zane''s


    words the moment he won the prize, so an idea hatched inside his mind¡ªhe wanted to experience it


    with the woman he liked and see if it was as exciting as Zane made it out to be.


    If not for that, he would have turned around and left the moment he saw this strange looking hotel.


    With a building as shing as this, it was truly assaulting his vision along the way. Hence, he sincerely


    hoped that the hotel would be just as good as Zane had described. Otherwise, he would purchase the


    hotel the next day and repurpose it from a love hotel to amercial one!


    "We''re here!" Toby said as the elevator stopped.


    As clueless as Sonia could get, she could only go along with him as he did not let on any other


    information regarding the room.


    Holding each other''s hand, they exited the elevator only for the woman to bepletely stunned by


    what she saw.


    She had thought that the exterior of the hotel, the decor lobby, and the elevator was already testing the


    limits of what she could ept. Yet, she was baffled that the hallway leading to the presidential suite


    would be decorated in an even morevish way, outshining the lobby by miles.


    There were love-shaped drawings and a variety of adult toys lined up every meter along the path.


    This made the corner of Sonia''s mouth twitch. Even though Toby looked calm on the outside, his


    breathing was getting ragged.


    My lord, what the heck is all this?


    "Let''s go. Things might be better when we reach the room." Covering her eyes, Sonia did not wish to


    see such a crazily decorated hallway.


    This led her to think that there was something wrong with the owner''s taste in aesthetics, or that the


    designer was total bonkers.


    What were they thinking? How could they actuallye up with something like this?


    In a love hotel, it should already be enough to include some elements of romance and love.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Yet, it was either the owner or designer who chose to stuff everything rted to couples in this world in


    here, causing such a messy and uncoordinated designnguage.


    The weirdest thing is with such hideous decor, they are actually quite busy!


    I really can''t fathom this.


    "Will the room be better?" Toby pursed his lips upon hearing the woman''s words of selffort and


    pointed toward the hallway. "Isn''t this all proof that the room will only be worse?"


    Speechless, Sonia replied after a few seconds, "It was just a random thought to deceive myself so that


    I could feel better."


    After all, she did not expect the room to turn out any better.


    Rubbing his temples, Toby said, "Okay. Let''s go and have a look now."


    "Alright." Sonia nodded.


    The couple soon found themselves standing at the door of the suite.


    Even the door was pink.


    She turned around, deciding for the man to face the horrors alone, seeing as the key was in his hands


    anyway.


    The man smiled upon deciphering what the woman meant by her actions.


    You heartless woman.


    While chiding her dotingly inside, Toby took the key out and unlocked the room.


    With a beep, the door opened.


    Just as a sliver was opened, Sonia smelled a very pleasant perfume scent wafting from inside.


    The smell was unexpectedly nice; not having enough of it, she turned around to sniff it again.


    "It smells so nice." Sonia''s eyes glimmered when she smelled it.


    Toby agreed with her too. "It is very nice."


    Even a man like him, who was not sensitive to scents, thought that it was quite pleasant as well.


    This was the first good impression after being in this hotel.


    Sniffing it a few more times, Soniamented, "I thought, with the decor being so... ostentatious, that


    even if there was perfume in the air, it would be the sultry kind that you would get tired of pretty quickly.


    The bar is low, but this actually exceeded my expectations."


    "It is quite a surprise," Toby affirmed.


    She then smiled. "I''m suddenly a bit expectant of the room now. Maybe, it won''t be as bad as we


    assumed."


    "Let''s find out, then." He squeezed her hand gently as he opened the door.


    The moment the door swung open, the lights in the room automatically activated.


    In that instance, Sonia felt as if she was in space.


    Standing at the entrance, she gasped at the interior; even Toby was shocked.


    This was because the decor of the room and hallway werepletely different.


    If the lobby and hallway were dreamt up by some insane person, then the design of the room was a


    designer''s masterpiece.


    Being a space themed suite, there were all sorts of images on the wall; the ceiling was dotted


    with ck and purple lights, representing the universe. It really made them feel as if they were in the


    milky way.


    Even the bed was round as all sorts of space illustrations were on the bed sheet.


    "It''s so beautiful." Sonia was taking in the beautiful view while she retracted her hand and walked inside


    joyfully.


    Closing the door, Toby followed her, nodding satisfyingly as he went in.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 982

    Chapter 982


    It really is amazing.


    Even a man with such high standards as him had to admit how pretty the room was.


    This hadpletely made him change his view on the hotel.


    It turns out that those hideous decor outside is to create a contrast for the rooms.


    No wonder the hotel hasn''t gone bankrupt yet and still receives good reviews even with the tackiest


    design.


    The contrast alone makes it a very viable promoting method.


    "Do you like it?" Toby hugged Sonia while cing his jaw on her shoulder.


    Sonia nodded. "I do. It looks so beautiful. It''s my first time seeing a room being decorated like this."


    "Then, should we... decorate our room like this after we get married?" he asked her.


    Turning her head around, Sonia matched the man''s deep gaze, making her blush. "We haven''t even


    discussed our wedding, so why are you already deciding on what our room will be like?"


    "We can always n ahead," said Toby.


    This reminded him that some things were indeed up for preparation.


    With that in mind, he let go of her and looked around as if he was finding something, rendering a


    curious Sonia.


    The man replied, "The toilet."


    "It should be there." She looked around and pointed at the door.


    Raising his chin, he confirmed the direction before heading there.


    Sonia, who ignored him, was walking around in the room by herself after Toby had entered the


    washroom as she grew fonder of the room the more she observed it.


    The room did not scream ''romance'' in their faces, for it did not even have a petal of rose in ce. Yet,


    she found herself liking it inexplicably.


    Perhaps this is the owner''s stroke of genius. Without using any couple themed decor, they designed it


    with other themes in mind, which only attracted the attention of couples even more.


    After all, there were a lot of love hotels filled with couple-themed rooms. In contrast, a love hotel


    decorated with other elements created a juxtaposition, making it the most unique and interesting one


    out of all of them.


    The owner is something else. Sonia praised the person while walking around.


    In the washroom, Toby was leaning against the sink as he dialed a number.


    Soon, the call connected and a familiar voice came through. "Hello, President Fuller. I''m surprised that


    you actually contacted me thiste at night instead of spending your precious time with Miss Reed."


    The woman on the other end smiled.


    Yet, Toby only calmly replied, "Of course, I will spend the night with my loved one. It''s still quite early,


    though. Seeing as we have the whole night to ourselves, I don''t need to rush anything. So, let''s talk


    business, Sophia."


    "No problem, President Fuller. Go ahead, though you should keep this short; Miss Reed is waiting for


    you." Sheughed again.


    Pursing his lips, he retorted, "I don''t need you to remind me. I never spend more than three minutes


    talking to another woman besides my partner."


    "Haha. You sure are a good man, President Fuller." She teased.


    Pinching his forehead, Toby stated, "Yeah yeah, enough about that. Sophia, I recall that you have a


    license for designing wedding dresses, am I right?"


    "Yup. I majored in both wedding gown design and fashion design." She raised her chin up proudly.


    Even though wedding dress designing was a branch of fashion design, it required one to have a


    certificate for it. This was why people who designed wedding gowns were referred to as wedding dress


    designers whereas the other subcategory designer would be called fashion designers.


    Due to this, wedding dress designers often thought themselves much superior than fashion designers


    and rarely came into contact with them, causing two factions to be formed, which was namely the


    ''wedding dress designer circle'' and the ''fashion designer circle''; both did not like the other.


    Clearly, Sophia was an exception as she mixed with both groups regrly.


    It just so happened that she designed more gowns and casual attires than wedding dresses as of now.


    "President Fuller, are you asking me this because you wish for me to design a wedding dress for Miss


    Reed?" Sophia immediately guessed Toby''s intentions.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Cutting to the chase, Toby admitted to it. "That''s right. I want you to design the most beautiful wedding


    dress for my lover. I want her to be the most stunning bride in the world as I give her the grandest


    wedding ever."


    When they married for the first time around, he was still being hypnotized and did not know she was his


    true love. At one point, he even misunderstood her to have ckmailed her way in so that she could


    get married to him, which exined his detest toward her. As for the wedding, it was as simple as it


    could be to the point where there were barely any guests; the wedding dress she wore was but a


    normal one that one could get anywhere.


    Now that he thought about it, regret filled his heart. Therefore, he wanted to make it up to her and give


    her all the best things he could.


    Toby''s words touched and excited Sophia as she became so pumped to the point where she was


    trembling while holding the phone. "Oh my, President Fuller, you really are the perfect man. If I were


    twenty years younger, I would be swayed by your charisma too. You''re the most charming and perfect


    man I''ve ever seen."


    However, he did not be smug by her praise, for he only felt a little speechless. "Enough. Do you


    ept thismission or not?"


    "I do! Of course, I ept it!" Sophia pped her chest confidently. "You said that you wanted me to


    design the most beautiful wedding dress. Even though it might be a hard task, I feel that it''s not an


    insurmountable wall. I also want to see the most beautiful wedding dressing from my own hands


    and the birth of the prettiest bride in the world. So, I''ll take this mission on."


    "Very good." He smirked satisfyingly.


    Breathing in, sheposed herself before asking, "As for the time?"


    "No rush. I estimate within two years," he blurted out a deadline after giving it some consideration.


    Although he did want to remarry Sonia faster, she had mentioned that she would not consider marriage


    until she got her revenge.


    Her wishes may not be too far off as the Grays might be finished soon. Still, it is hard to say when Titus


    will die.


    As long as he still stands alive, Sonia''s identity is like a ticking time bomb that would get exposed at


    any moment.


    Hence, he hoped that their wedding could be held after Titus'' death so as to prevent any unknown


    variables from popping up.


    Besides that, there was another danger lurking around named Tina!


    The mere thought of her filled Toby''s eyes with bloodlust. That woman is insane. Everytime she did


    something, she would always aim for Little Leafs life; she even tried to take my life as well.


    As such, he had decided that once he found her, he would never let her walk away alive.


    Despite the fact that he wanted Titus dead as much as for Tina, Toby could not just kill him as he was


    still Sonia''s biological father after all. What he could do was to watch on as he slowly died.


    As for Tina, this dilemma did not exist since she was merely a foster daughter of the Grays. She can


    just die in a ditch for all I care.


    The only issue nowy in the mystery that nobody knew Tina''s location...

 Chapter 983

    Chapter 983


    After the incident where she faked her death, she had thoroughly vanished ever since without a single


    trace.


    Despite having clues given by Tim, Toby had someone to follow up with the search, but to no avail until


    this day.


    This made him feel not only rage and frustration, but also a sense of defeat.


    He was wondering if Tina was just adept at hiding, or that someone else was hiding her to the point


    where even an influential man like him could not find her.


    Regardless of the circumstances, he had now epted the fact that he underestimated the woman.


    After countlessworks of people inquired and a number of men sent out, Toby had still yet to locate


    Tina. I can''t even guarantee myself as to how long this''ll take.


    That was why he gave himself two years.


    Within a couple of years, he not only wanted to see Titus dead, but also Tina.


    As long as these two are gone, the other small fries are just easy pickings.


    All in all, I must settle this within two years. It''s the only way that I can reassuringly marry Little Leaf.


    Of course, if he could not find Tina within the year, he would use the connections his grandfather left


    and request the government to locate her whereabouts.


    Still, this is the worst case scenario as he did not want to spend what his grandfather left him in this


    way.


    After all, the rtionship his grandfather had with the country was through the rebellion. He had earned


    that right through his achievements on the battlefield.


    If he used that just to search for a woman, it would only bring shame to his grandfather.


    A lot of people always said that with the amount of influence the Fullers held, they could do pretty much


    anything they wanted in the country.


    They were right, but lest forgotten, the Fullers, influential they might be, were still not above the


    government. In the end, they still had to live under the rules of the government, so no matter how


    strong they were, he was only able to utilize a small part of it.


    Since he was a businessman and not a politician or a general, it was said that with great poweres


    great obstacles. Therefore, it was not as easy as a finger flick to utilize his influence.


    Not only that, if he made too much of amotion or used his assets too frequently, the government


    would monitor him and suspect him of treason. This was the most frustrating part of being a


    businessman.


    Otherwise, he might have found Tina a long time ago.


    When it came to a day where she was inevitably out of reach, Toby could only seek help from the


    officials.


    Even if they would not help him find her, he just needed to go there as a courtesy call. After that, he


    should be permitted to use all the power at his disposal. It was either that or he would have to request


    them to help find Tina.


    In the end, his goal was to get rid of her within two years'' time.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Ending the call with Sophia, Toby proceeded to call Tom.


    He had himmission some of the interior designers in the market. He was thinking of building the


    best room for himself and Sonia.


    Naturally, since he had prepared for the best wedding dress and wedding ceremony, he would not miss


    out on building the best room for her.


    He made sure that the designers woulde up with a design that would be sure to satisfy his bride-


    to-be.


    After handing over the tasks, Toby kept his phone and exited the toilet.


    In the room, he looked around only to not see Sonia in sight, rendering a frown on his face.


    Where''s she?


    Where has my wife gone?


    "Little Leaf?" Toby pursed his lips before calling out to her.


    Hearing his voice, Sonia turned around. "I''m over here on the balcony. The view''s not bad. Come and


    take a look."


    Her voice relieved Toby as he unfurled his tightening eyebrows.


    Oh, the balcony. I thought that she had left.


    Walking to the balcony, he saw Sonia standing in front of the railing.


    Her back was facing him as her hands were resting on the flower engraved railing while she was


    looking at the night view intently.


    Smiling gently, Toby turned around to head back into the room and went straight to the bar.


    He had seen the bar upon entry and noticed the selection of alcohol was impressive.


    Since we will be enjoying the night view, it will be a little nd without some alcohol, no?


    As such, he went to the bar and chose a red wine that was rtively sweeter and milder before


    unsecurring it with a bottle opener. Taking out the wine sses from underneath the bar table, he filled


    them halfway and went back to the balcony.


    Sonia, who heard the footsteps from behind her, knew the man wasing, so she did not turn


    around. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders, then pointed at the sky with twinkling eyes upon seeing


    something rare. "Is that a shooting star?"


    Moments ago, she saw a beam of light sh across the sky at high speed, so she thought that it was a


    shooting star.


    Yet, Toby only nced at the sky before rifying to her coldly, "It''s not. That should be a fighter jet the


    army sent out for patrolling purposes. I didn''t hear the news forecast mentioning that there would be a


    shooting star tonight."


    The man''s words made Sonia''s mouth twitch as she thought that it was both frustrating yet funny.


    Turning around to face him, she said, "I found that your EQ can be quite high and low at times.


    Sometimes, you would just say very sweet things, yet other times, you can be very blunt."


    The best example would be now where he was being very straightforward.


    Isn''t it more normal for a boyfriend to go along with their girlfriend''s words when encountering a


    shooting star? Like, ''oh, we''re so lucky!'' or ''let''s make a wish together!''.


    Regardless of whether it was a shooting star or not, at least that would make their girlfriends happy.


    He sure is something else. Instead of being all sweet, he just told me factually that it wasn''t a shooting


    star.


    Yet, Toby only looked at the woman with a confused look as he replied, "Did I... say something wrong?"


    Wow. He doesn''t even know where he went wrong.


    Whatever.


    Sonia decided to let this go and not argue with the man at a ce like this.


    After all, she knew how straightforward men could be at times.


    Men don''t change overnight just because you win an argument with him once.


    So, I''ll be the bigger person this time. It''s nothing major anyway.


    "You didn''t. You said it very correctly." Sonia smiled.


    But, you can keep your mouth zipped next time.


    Toby, who did not know what the woman was thinking, really believed what she said as he saw the


    smile on her face. "If you want, I can bring you to Mount Rushpeak to see real shooting stars this


    weekend."


    "Mount Rushpeak?" Sonia was stunned. "Are you talking about the highest mountain in Seafield?"


    "Yup." He nodded. "Mount Rushpeak is over three thousand meters in altitude. When the timees,


    we''ll go there via helicopter and install a telescope. Using that, we''ll be able to see shooting stars."


    "Really?" She held the man''s arm excitedly. "Isn''t shooting stars a rare sight? Will there be any if you


    bring me there this weekend?"


    "Of course, there will be. In actuality, there are shooting stars everyday. It''s just that we can''t see them


    with our eyes. As for the ones we can see, there are all starsing from the Pegasus or Leo


    constetion; the weather forecast only announces these shooting stars. As for the others that our eyes


    cannot see, they won''t report them since it''s useless anyway. However, once we get to the highest


    ce with our professional equipment, we''ll be able to see them."


    "So, I see. That''s great, then!" Sonia sped her hand in joy. "Even till now, I never saw a meteor


    shower before. When I was a child, the news broadcasted that a meteor shower would happen that


    night, so my dad promised to see it with me. Due to work, he didn''t manage to keep his promise and I


    cried the whole night before falling asleep and eventually missed it. Now that I think about it, it really


    became a thing I regretted a lot."


    Up to this point, she let out a sigh.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 984

    Chapter 984


    S Download the book on the App


    Home / Romance / Boss, Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    "Don''t be sad. You still have me, right?" Toby said gently while looking at her.


    Sonia was stunned. "You?"


    Nodding, he replied, "In the future, I''ll be right beside you to watch all the shooting stars."


    This made her smile. "Didn''t you say that shooting stars ur everyday? Does that mean we''ll have to


    go to the mountain everyday to see it? That''ll be so exhausting."


    She''s right...


    Pursing his lips, he responded after a moment of silence, "Then, how about we watch it every so


    often?"


    The man''s sincere gaze made Sonia feel all warm inside as she found herself unable to reject him.


    After all, Toby was satisfying her wish to witness shooting stars, for it was not him who wanted to see it.


    "Alright." Sonia smiled and nodded.


    He then handed the winess over to her. "Don''t worry. Whatever regrets you have, I will rewrite those


    stories with you, so you''ll never feel like you have any unfulfilled wishes."


    "Okay." She epted the ss and leaned against his shoulders.


    Yet, the next moment, she thought of something and straightened herself before looking at the wine in


    her hand.


    This made Toby curious as to why she suddenly withdrew herself away from him.


    Holding the ss tightly, Sonia asked, "Toby Fuller, who permitted you to drink?"


    "Eh?" He was drinking from his ss when the question cornered him.


    nning to consume it all at once, he could only change his ns as he took his onest sip before


    cing the ss down.


    "Can I... not drink?" Toby looked at the woman with hesitation while still gripping the winess.


    At that moment, there was a stern re shot at him.


    This made him feel like he had done something unforgivable and a sense of guilt welled up from within.


    Since his wife was too fierce, he could only concede to her.


    But, it''s not shameful to be scared of your wife, since that means I love her. This was how Toby


    comforted himself in his head.


    "Of course, you can''t!" Sonia ced her ss onto the railing.


    Due to the t surface, one could put things that were not bulky on it and not have it fall as long as they


    were careful.


    After cing her ss down, she snatched the winess from Toby and looked at him sternly. "Don''t


    forget that consuming alcohol hurts your body. Besides, when you get drunk, you have a tendency to


    ¡ª"


    She stopped at that point.


    What she wanted to say was that if he got drunk, he might self-harm like what he did on his mother''s


    death anniversary,


    After a moment of thought, she realized that it was rather inappropriate to mention that and bring up his


    unhappy memories.


    "Just don''t drink. You promised Old Mrs. Fuller after all." Sonia then ced his winess on the railing.


    Pursing his lips, the man did not speak while only staring at his woman.


    A brief silence passed as he suddenlyughed and said, "I know what you''re worried about. You can


    rx. It won''t happen."


    The cold breeze blew on Sonia''s hair, making it a mess.


    Gently smoothing out her hair for her, Toby continued, "The reason why I always drink so heavily on my


    mother''s death anniversary was because I saw the scene of my mother''s suicide, which casted a


    trauma within me. All these years, I believed that I was the reason why my mother couldn''t break free


    and be with the one she loved. I thought I had pushed her to end her own life."


    As the man brought the subject up first, Sonia was not scared that he might be sad again as she


    asked, "I see. Did you take my advice and hire a therapist then?"


    Toby shook his head. "I didn''t."


    Scrunching her nose, she was about to get upset when he quickly exined, "I had nned to hire a


    doctor after the banquet, but it doesn''t look like I''ll be needing one anymore."


    "Why?" She looked at the man, perplexed.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    His smile suddenly became a lot more subtle as his gaze turned icy cold. "If I hadn''t known that my


    mother was grooming me to be the substitute of Connor, I would have carried this guilt for the rest of


    my life and think that it was me who led my mother to her demise. But, after knowing about that fact, I


    realized how foolish I was to be carrying that guilt all these years. Mother didn''tmit suicide


    because she couldn''t leave the family; it was just because she could not ept the fact that Connor


    married someone else. What aedy."


    Hearing the man''s rant, Sonia realized what he was trying to convey as she held the man''s arm and


    said, "So, you''re not gonna be traumatized by her death anymore? Does that mean that I won''t see you


    sad on her death anniversary anymore?"


    Toby touched her face. "Absolutely. She''s not worth it!"


    "That''s great!" Sonia smiled. "Then, Old Mrs. Fuller won''t have to worry about you anymore."


    "Is she the only one?" He asked her with a smirk, "Aren''t you worried too?"


    She rolled her eyes. "Why ask something you already know the answer to?" Her shy answer filled the


    man with joy as heughed.


    Knowing why he wasughing, the embarrassed Sonia hit him lightly. "What are youughing at?"


    "Nothing! I am just delighted to see how adorable my wife is." Toby then lightly pinched her cheeks.


    Yet, the woman only pped his hands away. "Stop that."


    I''m not a child with chubby cheeks! Gosh, I really don''t understand why he likes doing that so much. My


    face has be so big!


    "Alright, alright. I''ll stop." Toby was still smiling.


    Since she did not like it, he naturally refrained from doing it; it was not news that he had always been


    respectful of her.


    "Now, can you return my ss?" Toby reached out and used his chin to motion the two wine sses.


    Crossing her arms, Sonia wriggled her finger. "Nope."


    This made the man confused. "Why? I''ll be fine. Besides, it''s just a ss of red wine. It''s not like I can


    get drunk from that."


    "That''s still a no-go." She was adamant on her stance. "Even if you don''t get drunk, drinking is still bad


    for you. Besides, you''ve already drunk some earlier at the restaurant. Otherwise, why would I stop


    you?"


    In actuality, she was not refraining him from drinking entirely but just the amount of consumption.


    At the start, she was worried that if he drank too much, he might think of his mother and repeat the


    incident on her death anniversary.


    Now that it was out of the equation, she was just worried that his overconsumption might harm his


    body.


    Of course, one or two sses were fine. However, he had been drinking a lot during dinner earlier,


    which exined why she was reluctant to let him drink right now.


    "I didn''t even have that much at the restaurant." Toby, who was still trying to persuade Sonia, pointed at


    the night sky and the busy city before whining, "Also, if we just enjoy the view, won''t it be a little empty


    without some alcohol to go along with it? It''s the idealbo to be pairing wine with the night view."


    Rolling her eyes, she rebuked, "I see through your tricks."


    Smiling, the man did not reply.


    In the end, she sighed as she still conceded to him.


    How could she not, though? After all, he had fought for his chance twice already. It would be cold of her


    to keep rejecting him and ruining the atmosphere.


    He''s right too. If we just stand here and admire the view, it would be a bit boring. With a ss of wine in


    hand, the atmosphere will be different.


    Thinking of this, Sonia stopped hesitating and took the wine sses before handing Toby his. "Here.


    Just one ss! No more than that!"


    "Okay." Finally, he nodded with a smile and took the ss. Shaking it, he raised his eyebrows. "Shall


    we toast to this?"


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 985

    Chapter 985


    "Cheers!" Sonia toasted him.


    ng!


    After their sses touched, Sonia tilted her head and drank the wine.


    The moment the wine entered her throat, she gasped involuntarily.


    Toby turned around and asked her, "What''s wrong?"


    "This red wine is so sweet," said Sonia after she put her ss down.


    Smiling, he replied, "Of course, it is; I specially chose it. Rather than saying it is a red wine, it''s more


    appropriate to call it a red grape wine instead. Its alcohol content isn''t as high as the other red wines


    and it''s also on the sweeter side, so it''s perfect fordies who can''t hold their tolerance."


    "It really is wonderful." Blinking her eyes, she took another sip.


    "Do you like it?" Toby asked while stroking the wine ss.


    Sonia replied, "I do. It''s very suitable for casual drinking."


    "If you like it, I can have someone send a few dozen of it to Bayside Residence. I own a few vineyards


    that produce this specific kind of wine," stated the man after taking a sip.


    Even though Sonia was tempted, she did not agree to it immediately as she asked, "How much does


    one bottle cost?"


    "It''s rtively cheap at about thirty thousand a bottle," he replied.


    Sonia''s mouth twitched.


    Thirty thousand is cheap? Oh, right. For a wealthy man like him, it is cheap.


    "I don''t need that many. Just a case is enough tost me for the entire year. If you send me more than


    that, it''ll take me forever to finish them. I think I''ll get sick of it before I even get to thest one," she


    rified while holding up a finger.


    Toby then gave it a thought before asking, "We have other fruity wines besides this. Do you want a


    case for each of them?"


    "There are other fruit wines?" Sonia was shocked.


    Nodding, he replied, "It''s a vineyard. Of course, there are."


    "Then... A case for each?" She tilted her head yfully.


    One could not me her for not being frugal. He offered so much and all of them happened to be what


    she fancied too.


    Besides desserts, she also liked to drink a little from time to time, though most of them were not liquors.


    Instead, she prefered those that were low in concentration and fruit-like.


    As such, when faced with Toby''s ''fruity'' suggestion, she could not resist the temptation any longer.


    Seeing the woman''s glimmering eyes lifted his mood as his smile became wider. "Okay, then. I''ll make


    an arrangement and have them send it over tomorrow."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded. "Let''s toast." She reached out with her ss in hand.


    Looking at it, Toby then clinked sses with her happily.


    Then, the two stood side by side while drinking and admiring the view of the busy city.


    It turns out that life can be so pleasant.


    Soon enough, Toby drank thest of the wine before turning over slightly and facing the woman beside


    her. "Little Leaf."


    "Yes?" Sonia put her ss down and looked at him. "What''s up?"


    Without saying anything, he kneeled down and ced his ss on the ground before he grabbed her


    arm and pulled her.


    Caught off guard, Sonia fell into his embrace. Failing to grab onto the ss, it slipped and shattered on


    the floor.


    Thest sip of wine had also spilled out and made a red mess on the ground.


    It was fortunate that she caught hold of the ss when it fell. Furthermore, she held it with her hand


    that was on the balcony.


    Otherwise, it would have been a dangerous object falling from high above.


    "Ugh, Toby. What are you do¡ª" Before she could finish her sentence, her lips were sealed by the


    man''s.


    Wide-eyed, Sonia froze up. Obviously, she did not expect the man to grab and kiss her like this.


    Seems like he wants to do a little something after our meal.


    Blushing, she finally reacted and pushed him while panting slightly. "Stop ying around."


    "I''m not ying around." Toby used his thumb to wipe away the saliva around the corner of his mouth,


    which made him look alluring and sexy.


    Blushing even harder, she rebuked, "How is this not ying around? You just did that on the balcony


    ¡ª"


    "Which is also a part of the hotel," he cut her off with a hawk-like gaze, making her feel chills in her


    back. "Since we''re already at a love hotel, don''t you think that we should make this night worth it?"


    Embarrassed, Sonia retorted, "Who said that it''s customary to do something at a love hotel? Can''t we


    just go to bed?"


    Seriously. All men are dirty-minded.


    Tobyughed in a low tone. "We can, but if we don''t, people might assume there''s something wrong


    with us."


    Sonia rolled her eyes. He should stop bringing ''us'' into everything.


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    If a man and woman went into a hotel and nothing happened, they would normally suspect if something


    went wrong on the man''s side and never the woman.


    This man actually wants to drag me down with him. How cunning.


    The woman''s look of disdain made the corner of Toby''s mouth twitch as he turned around and coughed


    awkwardly. "Alright now, Little Leaf. Don''t you want to have a good time with me in this room tonight?


    Who knows? It might get... exciting," he persuaded her.


    Recalling the space-themed room, Sonia''s heart started to race as she knew she could not refute the


    seductive man''s words.


    She did like the room''s decoration and wanted to try spending a night together in a room like this to see


    how it would feel.


    Wait a minute!


    Sonia covered her face.


    My God, what have I be? I used to be so pure-minded.


    Where did the shy, avoidant-of-intimacy, conservative Sonia go? Come back out now! Am I really the


    kind of person who craves excitement and adventure in the bedroom now? What happened to me?!


    Am I saying goodbye to my pure-minded self now?


    No, this is all Toby''s fault. He... is the one who projected all these bad influences onto me.


    Thinking of this, she snorted and started to fidget.


    Toby, who witnessed all her internal conflict, knew that it was the perfect opportunity. As a terrifying


    look shot across his peered eyes, he leaned in for a kiss again.


    This time, Sonia stopped resisting.


    However, it onlysted for a few seconds before she suddenly recalled something with her eyes wide


    while shoving the man away.


    Since the man was in an ecstatic state, one could think how he felt upon being pushed away.


    His forehead veins popped as he clenched his teeth and asked, "What now?"


    "I suddenly recalled something." Sonia blinked.


    Toby then took a deep breath and decided to maintain his patience before asking, "What did you recall


    now?"


    Staring at him, she replied, "Do you remember that time when I seemed to have missed out on


    something after we left Miss Sophia''s shop?"


    He nodded. "I do."


    "I remember it now!" She pped her hands. "I overlooked a small detail. Miss Sophia came to the


    changing room to help me into the gown that time, but before we managed to do that, she suddenly


    mentioned that something came up and went away, saying that she''lle back as soon as she''s


    finished. But... eventually, she never came back to the dressing room for me. Instead, she was waiting


    for us at the resting area. Do you know what this means? It wasn''t that she was too busy toe back


    for me, it''s that... she heard us and quietly left."


    Up to this point, Sonia covered her face, embarrassed to death.


    Yet, Toby only looked calmly at her and asked. "And?"


    "And?" She matched his gaze in total shock. "Don''t you understand? What I meant was Miss Sophia


    heard what we were doing in the changing room; she heard all of it!"


    "She heard it, so what?" He snorted nonchntly.


    She only heard it. It''s not like she saw it.


    The man''s calmness suddenly stirred frustration within Sonia. "Aren''t you a least bit embarrassed that


    we were overheard?"


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 986

    Chapter 986


    All in all, she was embarrassed to the extreme.


    She also realized now why her assistant had such an expression when she and Toby returned to the


    resting area.


    Tom must''ve heard it, right?


    God, this is so embarrassing.


    At this point, she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.


    Amused, Toby said, "And here I thought something major happened to make you push me away like


    that. Turns out that it was just such a small matter. So what if they heard us? It''s no biggie. We''re


    lovers, after all. It''s normal to be consumed by passion in the heat of a moment. With Sophia being so


    cultured, I''m sure that she is open-minded enough to not tease us about it. Besides, it''s not as if we


    would meet her often, so you can be relieved."


    "Uhm..." Sonia uncovered her face and said in a daze, "Hm, I guess that makes sense."


    "That''s that, then." He patted her head.


    "Still, it''s so embarrassing. It''s all your fault!" She had a long face.


    Smiling subtly, Toby embraced her. "Okay, okay, it''s all my fault. Here, hit me."


    "Are you trying me?" she asked as she pounded the man''s chest.


    Of course, she did it very lightly. Rather than hitting him, it felt more like she was messaging him as it


    was akin to an ant biting him.


    Catching her hands, Toby lightly gripped them before kissing them. "Your hands must hurt after hitting


    me. Let me blow on them. Pain, pain, go away."


    His action instantly amused Sonia as all anger within her was dispersed by the man''s words.


    "Why would I be hurt? I''m the one who''s hitting you. Does it hurt?" She looked at the man with worried


    eyes.


    Smirking, he shook his head. "Of course not."


    This made Sonia rxed. "Oh yeah, I noticed that you didn''t seem so surprised when I mentioned the


    incident to you. Did you know that we were heard from the beginning?"


    "Something like that." Toby nodded. "I guessed it when I saw her assistant."


    Sonia felt so awkward by all this.


    Upon seeing the excited look of the assistant, Toby instantly understood the meaning whereas Sonia''s


    mind was... nk.


    She was not aware of why Sophia chose to stay at the resting area instead of going to the changing


    room even after she left the store.


    It was until now that she finally realized all this, thanks to her slow reaction.


    "Alright. Let''s stop talking about others now. Shall we pick up where we left off?" Toby then slowly lifted


    Sonia''s chin, which interrupted her train of thoughts.


    Helpless, she stared at him. "I thought that I''d get to invalidate your rewardst time so that we could


    actually sleep. I didn''t think that things would still progress to this stage."


    The man closed in and whispered, "This might be God helping me. Even though you took back the


    reward, God used another way to descend me this opportunity by allowing me to win the grand prize."


    Sonia was wide-eyed at his exnation.


    That kind of makes sense. Otherwise, why would he suddenly win a raffle? On top of that, it is the


    grand prize of a presidential suite in a love hotel.


    Is he really the chosen one or something like that?


    Since God disliked the fact that I withdrew the reward, did He use this way to make it up to him? Sigh.


    The heavens are so unfair. Why can''t I be the winner?


    Just when Sonia was begrudginglyining to God, the man had already carried her to the room.


    Undoubtedly, the night was spent in ecstasy.


    Everytime she opened her eyes, she would see the milky-way filling the room.


    Not only that, she even felt like they were really out in space doing the deed.


    I hereby dere that we are the first couple to ever make love in space!


    How exciting.


    The excitement Sonia felt was unlike anything she had experienced in her life.


    As for the next day, she managed to wake upte at around 10.00AM.


    Fortunately, the time to check out was 12.00PM, so they were not in a hurry to do so.


    "Are you awake?" The moment she opened her eyes, she heard the man''s sultry voiceing from


    behind her.


    Blinking, she found herself staring at the curtains instead of the man, as it was after a few seconds


    before her mind woke uppletely and she noticed that the man was behind her.


    Hence, Sonia, who endured her aching body, flipped over. As expected, she came face to face with the


    man''s perfect face.


    Yet, Toby''s current image almost made herugh.


    What she saw was the man in a loose ck robe with his chest exposed with a bite mark on it.


    The mark was still red, hinting that it was freshly delivered.


    This must be fromst night when I bit him on the chest out of pain.


    Besides that, his hair was also messy with a chunk stiffly standing up, rendering himical.


    It was also her who clumped his hair together like that.


    She also did it out of pain.


    Yet, it was as if the man did not know what he looked like, for he still had on a subtle yet charismatic


    smile like always.


    Under usual circumstances, this smile would be captivating. However, with the look he had on now, he


    seemed a little silly instead.


    "Morning." Sonia yawned while suppressing her urge tough.


    Smiling, Toby greeted her back. "Morning," he replied as he wasbing through his hair.


    Even though she did not say a word , he could vaguely guess how he looked judging from the way she


    was struggling to notugh out loud.


    "What time is it?" She rubbed her eyes and asked.


    Not answering her, Toby only adjusted his posture as he retracted his ''arm pillow'' from his head and sat


    up against the headboard. He then stretched the same arm before her to show her the watch on his


    hand.


    Grabbing onto his wrist, Sonia looked for a while until she finally got the time and gasped, "It''s already


    ten something!"


    "Yup." He withdrew his hand.


    "Then, why did you still say ''morning'' to me?" The woman frowned.


    It''s already approaching noon.


    How is it still morning?


    "Since you greeted me, it should be natural that I reciprocate," replied Toby.


    Sonia pursed her lips. "Nonsense."


    Smiling, he asked, "Are you hungry?"


    Followed by the rumblinging from her stomach, she nodded. "I am."


    "What do you want to eat? I''ll call for room service." While saying that, he had already reached for the


    hotel''s phone.


    Yawning again, she replied with an unclear voice, "Whatever. I want something light."


    "Okay." He then contacted the room service.


    Propping her body up with her arms, she sat up as well.


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    She was wearing the same bathrobe as Toby, just that it was in a different color.


    I think he put this on for me afterst night.


    Besides that, she also found her body refreshed and non-sticky, other than it being sore. From this, she


    gathered that he must have cleaned her body after she fell asleep out of exhaustion.


    Looks like he still has a conscience left.


    Just as she was thinking about this, Toby had ended the call. "I had the hotel prepare some eggs and


    toast. How does that sound?"


    Sonia nodded. "Yeah, that sounds nice."


    "Do you want to get down?" Heid the phone down and asked her since he saw her flipping the


    nket.


    cing her legs on the floor, she replied, "Yes. I''m going to the toilet."


    "I''ll carry you there." Getting off the bed, Toby put on the sandals before walking toward her.


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    Chapter 987


    S Download the book on the App


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    "No, that''s not necessary.¡± Sonia quickly gestured no before he walked over. "I''m not crippled, so why


    would I need you to carry me over there?"


    After she said that, she lowered her head and started to put on her shoes.


    Toby stood still by her side and lifted his perfectly-shaped brows. "Are you sure that you don''t need my


    help?"


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± She was done putting on her shoes when she nodded at him.


    He snorted. "Alright, I''ll wait and see whether you''re able to make it there by yourself."


    Perhaps she was mistaken, but she seemed to detect a hint of mockery in his voice.


    She lifted her head to look at him for a moment, but she could not tell from his expression, so she


    shook her slightly fuzzy head. "Why won''t I be able to get there? Look carefully. I definitely can do it!"


    As she said that, she stood up abruptly.


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    However, as soon as she rose to her feet, she felt her knees weaken and she immediately tumbled


    forward.


    Instantly, her expression changed and she yelled out in fright.


    As soon as Toby noticed that, he took a step forward calmly and reached out to hold her.


    She fell into his arms and she could smell the minty scent on his body as well as his body warmth.


    Finally, she heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness I didn''tnd on the ground. If she had fallen


    directly headfirst to the ground, then it was quite likely that her teeth would be chipped.


    "How are you feeling? Are you fine?" Toby carried her in his arms and ced her back on the edge of


    the bed.


    Sonia sat down and shook her head with quite a startled look. "I''m fine."


    "Do you realize now why I insisted on carrying you over?" He stood in front of her with his arms


    crossed and there was a teasing look on his face.


    At this point, her face was bright red. "Did you know that this was going to happen from the start?"


    Toby was nonmittal; after all, he clearly knew how much he had gone overboardst night.


    Otherwise, she would not have left scratches and a bite mark on his body out of a frenzy. As such, he


    was aware of the state that she would be in the next morning, so he was prepared to take care of her.


    However, she was stubborn and refused his help by insisting to do things all by herself. In the end, she


    had to learn her lesson the hard way.


    As Toby thought about that, he nced at the stubborn woman and smiled resignedly. "Are you still


    sure that you don''t need my help?"


    Sonia pursed her lips tightly and finally opened up her arms. "Carry me." Whatever. I''ll just rx, then.


    Her knees were weakened and she could not really move about, so there was no point in rejecting help


    since he insisted on serving her.


    He noticed the nonchnt and indifferent stance that she maintained and there was a doting look that


    shed across his eyes. He bent his back and carried her in his arms toward the direction of the


    bathroom.


    He knew that she was the type to easily get bashful, so he did not offer to help her remove her clothes


    or stand guard outside the bathroom. He merely carried her into the bathroom and then confirmed that


    she was able to hold on to a surface and maintain her standing up stance before leaving the bathroom


    to wait for her outside.


    Truth be told, as she looked at his retreating figure, she heaved a sigh of relief. She was worried that


    he would want to keep an eye on her as she relieved herself. After all, he was thick-skinned and those


    words were quite likely toe out of his mouth. Luckily for her, he did not do that.


    She exhaled slightly and uncovered the toilet bowl to get down to business.


    Meanwhile, Toby leaned against the wall next to the bathroom and waited patiently. As soon as he


    heard the sound of flushing from inside, he stood up straight immediately and opened the door to enter


    the bathroom.


    "Are you done?" He stood by the entrance with one hand holding onto the door knob.


    Sonia held onto the edge of the basin and came to stand in front of it. "No, I''m about to freshen up."


    He nodded. "Alright then, take your time. I''ll wait outside." After he said that, he let go of his grip on the


    doorknob and walked toward her. He decided to wait next to her this time instead of outside.


    She ignored him as she was not going to use the throne this time and she was just freshening up, so


    she was not worried about him peeping. She did not mind it as long as he did not disrupt her by


    causing trouble.


    Generally, women took longer to freshen up; after she was done with everything, half an hour had gone


    by.


    Toby waited patiently without anyints. Besides, he kept his eyes on her the whole time.


    Sonia was applying some moisturizer on her face and she felt quite pressured under his intent stare.


    Finally, she could not contain herself and asked, "Why are you staring at me?"


    Ever since she had started to freshen up, he had been staring at her intently until now without shifting


    his eyes at all.


    "My wife''s pretty, so I can''t control myself from staring." Toby smiled and mentioned.


    She harrumphed. "I can''t be bothered with you."


    In response, he chuckled and was about to voice out when the doorbell rang.


    Without a choice, he frowned and turned around. "It must be our room service order. I''ll go and take a


    look."


    Sonia waved at him and gestured for him to hurry up.


    If he continued to stay on and stare at her, she would feel shy even just wiping her face.


    As such, he turned around, walked out, and opened the door.


    It was not the waiter from the hotel that delivered their meal, but it was Tom instead.


    Tom saw Toby and shifted his sses before revealing a smile. "Good afternoon, President Fuller."


    Toby responded coolly and grunted in reply.


    Tom did not mind Toby''s cold attitude. After all. Tom was used to this and he reckoned that it would be


    much more terrifying if Toby suddenly gave an enthusiastic response. Besides, Tom was Toby''s


    subordinate, so he did not have any expectations that his boss would be friendly with him.


    "President Fuller, this is the clothes for you and Miss Reed that you requested this morning." As Tom


    spoke, he handed over two bags to Toby. At the same time, he could not help chiding them in his mind.


    They''ve got their bed at home to enjoy, but why did they have toe to a hotel? They really do know


    how to have fun, huh? Of course, he only thought so in his mind as he did not dare to express his


    thought by words or his expression. If not, he might not be able to walk out of the front door of the hotel


    in one piece.


    Come to think about it, he shuddered as he thought of this hotel.


    The design of the ce was rather odd; the entire ce was painted ghastly pink and his heart nearly


    stopped at the sight of that. He had mustered up so much courage to actually step through the front


    doors of the hotel. After all, he was an upstanding member of society, usually dressed smartly in a suit.


    He reckoned that he should only be going into ces like propermercial office buildings from the


    manner of air he generally carried himself. This ce here right now was just nonsense. If it was not


    because of his reluctance to disobey Toby, he would never have walked through the doors at all and he


    would just turn on his back and leave. This ce was a disgrace for an elite like him.


    Most importantly, I can''t believe that President Fuller and Miss Reed came somewhere like this for


    some excitement! How did they even find this ce? Didn''t President Fuller feel the pressure when


    entering the ce? Or is he actually fine with this odd hotel?


    "Alright. Since you''ve delivered the items, then just wait for us in the car." Toby took the bags from Tom


    and sent Tom on his way.


    Clearly, Tom did not wish to stay in this ce any longer too, so as soon as he heard that, he nodded


    earnestly. "Alright, I''ll leave right away." After Tom said that, he quickly turned around in a haste and


    headed in the direction of the elevator.


    Tom had just taken a few steps forward when a guy dressed in a waiter''s outfit wheeled a food cart and


    brushed past him. Finally, the waiter stopped in front of Toby. "Sir, here''s your room service."


    Toby lifted his chin slightly. "I''ll wheel it into the room myself."


    "Sure." The waiter was clearly used to this from their guests, so he did not reject Toby''s request and


    readily left the food cart to the man.


    Toby ced the two bags on the bottomyer of the food cart and then pulled the handle of the cart to


    drag it into the room before shutting the door after him.


    As he pushed the cart toward the dining table in the room, Sonia''s voice rang out from the left of the


    room.


    He lifted his head and turned to look in that direction. Then, he saw her holding onto the wall as she


    walked out of the bathroom; she was slowly making her way toward him.


    He quickly let go of the food cart and strode over to her with a stern look on his handsome face. "I told


    you to wait for me inside, didn''t I? Why did you walk out on your own? You''re no longer afraid of falling


    headfirst to the ground, huh?" He leaned forward and swept her into his arms.


    She merely smiled in response. "I won''t fall. I am holding onto something as I walk out. It took you a


    while to return and besides, I was freshening up, so I didn''t want to remain in the bathroom. That''s why


    I tried to make my way out by myself. Don''t worry. Everything''s fine."


    ¡°But, what if something had happened?¡± Toby lowered his head and looked at her solemnly. "There''s


    no guarantee for things like this."

 Chapter 988

    Chapter 988


    Sonia found herself unable to respond to that.


    His words made perfect sense, so she was at a loss for words.


    The reason why idents were known as idents was because they were unpredictable and unable


    to be anticipated; it could happen the next day or even the next second.


    As she thought of that, she tugged his arm with a smile and spoke coyly, "Alright there. I''ll be sure to


    watch out from now on, so rx, alright?"


    She tilted her head to look at him, looking all adorable.


    He was not angry at all from the start; in fact, he only put on an angry look to make her realize that he


    was worried about her.


    Now that she had realized on her own ord that it was wrong of her to act tough, she had also


    apologized for her mistake, which gave him no reason to continue with the act.


    Moreover, he could not bear to keep it up any longer upon seeing her adorable look.


    He freed up one hand and gently pinched her on the cheek before squishing her cheeks together. Her


    face was scrunched up from his move and even her lips were in a pout.


    He lowered his head and kissed her hard on her pouty lips before letting go of her with a contented


    expression. "That''s enough.


    Let''s have lunch."


    She snorted at him in response.


    Geez, this man! It''s so shameless of him to take advantage of me as soon as he gets the chance!


    Toby noticed her slight gesture from the corner of his eye, but he did not expose her behavior. He


    merely curved his lips into a smile and clearly, he was in good spirits.


    They approached the dining table and Toby pulled out a chair before cing her on it. Once she was


    comfortable in her seat, he then started to serve the dishes on the cart, one after the other.


    He served the dishes while Sonia removed the cover from them.


    They divided the work and were very much in sync with each other.


    After he had ced all of the dishes on the table, she had also removed the covers from all of them;


    dainty little breakfast bites were revealed in front of them.


    She pointed to the chair across from her. "Have a set. Let''s dive right in."


    He grunted in response, "Hold on, don''t rush."


    After he had said that, he twisted open a bottle of milk and poured some into a ss before cing it in


    front of her.


    Once he had done that, he then pulled out the chair across from her and took a seat. "Let''s eat."


    She took a sip of milk and nced at the breakfast spread in front of her. Suddenly, she smiled. "It''s


    11.00AM right now, but we''re just about to have breakfast. We''re behaving too wilfully, aren''t we?"


    Toby picked up a danish and ced it on her te before responding calmly, "No. There are no specific


    ways of how life should be led from the start anyway. Rules were passed on by our forefathers, but who


    stipted that we had to adhere strictly to them? At times, it would be a totally different experience to


    live life without adhering to the rules. That applies to having breakfast too.


    Doesn''t it feel different and special to have breakfast during lunchtime?"


    "Indeed so." Sonia picked up the danish handed over by Toby and took a bite from it before nodding.


    He took a sip of coffee and continued, "However, though this may be true, it''s best to just experience


    such rebellious behavior once in a while. It would be wise to avoid doing so because if this bes a


    habit, it would be detrimental to our stomach."


    "Obviously, I''d know that." She lifted her eyes and shot a look at him nonchntly.


    As for Toby, he chuckled without saying anything else.


    The couple continued to enjoy their brunch in silence thereafter.


    After finishing the meal, it was nearly 12.00PM and they were due to check out.


    Toby walked out of the bathroom after rinsing his mouth and he handed over an exquisite paper bag to


    Sonia.


    She blinked and took it from him with a confused look. "What''s this?"


    "A change of clothes," he replied, "I got Tom to send them over in the morning."


    As soon as she heard that there was a change of clothing in the bag, she opened it to take a look and


    found a brand-new outfit inside from top to bottom.


    She blushed. "There is underwear and a bra inside too. Mr. Brown..."


    Toby realized what she was about to say and he spoke while untying the belt of the bathrobe around


    his waist. "No, the clothes were sent over from Skrk Tower. Have you forgotten that I''ve also


    prepared a walk-in wardrobe there filled with clothes for you? Some of the outfits are already matched


    out for you and ced into sealed bags for the convenience of grab-and-leave. That''s why when I sent


    Tom over to get us a change of clothes, he was able to grab a packed bag immediately."


    After hearing his exnation, Sonia finally felt relieved. "That''s good, then. I thought that he was the


    one who matched the outfit for me. It would be so awkward if that was the case. I would be


    embarrassed."


    "I can''t possibly allow that to happen. How can I allow another man toy hands on your outfit?" Toby


    had already stripped his clothes and stood naked in front of her.


    At that moment, Sonia''s eyes widened and her face flushed bright red. She yelped out and instantly


    covered her eyes. "Toby! Why are you so perverted?!"


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    He lifted his brows innocently and looked at the shy woman, who did not dare to cast eyes on him, with


    a bemused look. He took his sweet time reaching into the bag to grab his clothes before wearing them


    slowly.


    "Why are you covering your eyes? You''ve seen all of this before. We had a great timest night as we


    left our skins bare, didn''t we?" He put on his pants as he spoke slowly.


    She stomped her feet. "That''s different! Last night was... Gosh, I don''t want to talk about this. Just hurry


    up and put on your clothes."


    After she said that, she instantly turned her back at him.


    Toby looked at the tip of her ears which were bright red and a burst of seductiveughter rumbled from


    his lips.


    Evidently, her shy look was amusing to him and put him in good spirits.


    He stopped teasing her and hastened up in putting on his clothes.


    After he was done, he folded the cuff of his suit and said, "Alright, you can turn around now."


    She heard his words and lowered her hand from her face as she gradually turned around.


    She noticed that he was indeed dressed and had not lied to her, so she was relieved by that. "You''re


    done, so it''s my turn now. I''ll get changed in the bathroom." Subsequently, she turned around and


    raced off in the direction of the bathroom.


    Perhaps she had regained some energy after breakfast, so her knees were no longer weak; she could


    at least take a few steps and walk briskly without any issue.


    He smiled as he saw her retreating back and he took out his phone to instruct Tom to shift the car out


    of the parking lot, as they were about to head down shortly.


    Sonia did not take too long to get changed and she was done in a few minutes. Next, she opened up


    her bag and took out some makeup products and quickly applied basic makeup.


    Subsequently, she took a look at herself in the mirror to ensure that her makeup was wless before


    stowing away her makeup kit into her bag. She then walked out of the bathroom with her bag in her


    hands.


    Toby waited for her on the couch and he instantly put down the magazine in his hand as soon as he


    saw her walk out. "Are you done?"


    "Yes, I am." She nodded and headed in his direction.


    He lifted his arm and his intention was quite evident.


    Meanwhile, she smiled and did not disappoint him either. She held his arm graciously and walked


    through the doors of the room with him.


    At that point, Tom was already waiting in the car by the front entrance and the couple saw him as soon


    as they walked out of the hotel doors.


    After all, Toby''s car was a very special one, not only in Seafield but in the entire country too. It was also


    the case especially for his license te number. Unsurprisingly, the car easily became the center of


    everyone''s attention.


    Tom saw the two of them walk out and he quickly alighted from the car to greet them as he opened the


    car door for the couple.


    Toby gestured for Sonia to get into the car first and he remained outside the car as he looked at Tom


    and asked, "How did the investigation go?"


    "I''ve discovered some clues." Tom shifted his sses and replied solemnly, "Connor''s personal


    assistant paid a visit to Dwells and Rentoor."


    "Dwells and Rentoor?" Toby frowned. "What sort of ces are those?"


    Tom winced. "President Fuller, have you forgotten that these twopanies were involved in


    coboration work with Miss Reed previously, especially Rentoor? She had previously bought over the


    holiday resort about two months ago, but eventually, President Drew of Rentoor took over the ce


    again."


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 989

    Chapter 989


    As soon as Toby heard that, he suddenly recalled that there was such an incident. Back then, he had


    just gone through the divorce process with Sonia and even brought Tina to the resort to take a break;


    Sonia and Charles had visited the same resort too.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    During that visit, Tina had even poured shower gel on the floor of Sonia''s cubicle, causing Sonia to slip


    and fall. As a result, Sonia was unconscious, but would have lost her life if he had not appeared in time.


    Now that he recalled the situation, the lingering fear hit him and he could not help feeling contempt for


    himself.


    Even though he had been hypnotized into believing that he was deeply infatuated with Tina at that


    time, he could not believe that he would actually forsake his principles and morality as well. He had


    ultimately realized that Tina was the perpetrator, yet he made the choice to let the matter blow over.


    Eventually, he covered up for Tina¡ªthe criminal who had nearly caused Sonia''s death.


    Furthermore, simr situations happened more frequently than expected.


    Although several of those circumstances could be chalked up to him not being in his right state of mind,


    he was the one who had ended up taking action. He had repeatedly hurt someone whom he truly loved


    all for a nasty woman and this was an indisputable fact.


    As soon as Tom noticed Toby''s tightly furrowed brows and the sh of guilt in Toby''s eyes, Tom could


    somewhat haphazard a close guess and pped his forehead in frustration. "I''m sorry, President Fuller,


    I shouldn''t have reminded you about this. I''ve stirred up some bad memories from the past."


    "It''s alright." Toby brushed him off wearily. "Even if you don''t bring it up, ultimately, the fact remains


    unchanged and I can''t pretend that nothing ever happened just because no one brings it up."


    Tom lowered his head and remained silent.


    Toby had no intention of continuing the topic, so he massaged the spot between his brows and asked,


    "Why did Connor send his personal assistant to these twopanies?"


    "I''m not too sure about this yet. I made the discovery regarding thatst night, but it was toote at


    night, so I couldn''t possibly contact the bosses of these twopanies and their staff involved at that


    hour. As such, I had to wait till this morning and made arrangements to contact them. I believe we''ll get


    the results in no time."


    Toby responded affirmatively, "Inform me of the result immediately."


    These twopanies were indeed linked to Sonia, so perhaps Connor intended to go after her by


    sending his personal assistant to visit these twopanies.


    "Sure, President Fuller." Tom agreed and nodded.


    Without saying much else, Toby opened the car door to enter the car.


    Sonia was originally scrolling on her phone with her head lowered. As soon as she saw him enter the


    car, she asked, "You''re already done with the business talk with Mr. Brown?"


    She assumed that they were discussing business matters.


    Toby did not express denial and he merely lifted his chin slightly. "Yes, I am."


    "President Fuller, are we sending Miss Reed to Paradigm Co. first?" At that moment, Tom, who was


    buckling his seat belt in the driver''s seat, suddenly asked.


    Toby moved his thin lips and responded, "Not now. We''re going to see Tim."


    "Dr. Lancaster?" Tom was slightly surprised. "President Fuller, are you or Miss Reed unwell?"


    "Why do you have so many questions? Just drive." Toby frowned and there was an impatient look on


    his face.


    At that moment, Tom drew back slightly and hastily kept his mouth shut without asking anything else.


    Sonia noticed the aggrieved expression on Tom''s face and she could not help bursting intoughter.


    "Toby, why are you being mean to him? He''s just being nice."


    Yeah, that''s right! Tom, who was currently driving, nodded earnestly to indicate that he agreed with her


    words.


    Meanwhile, Toby snorted. "Being nice doesn''t cover the fact that he''s wasting our time. I would rather


    he start the journey as soon as possible so that we can arrive at the hospital earlier."


    "A single question is not gonna take up much of your time." Sonia grimaced in speechlessness and


    mentioned subsequently, "But then, will Tim have time to see us if we just turn up like that? He''s a


    world-renowned surgeon and there are many patients with appointments to see him every day. What if


    he''s busy today? We would have gone in vain. We can''t possibly make him abandon his patients to


    treat us, right?"


    "Don''t worry. He''s free." Toby turned his head to look at her. "I''ve spoken to him yesterday and he


    doesn''t have any surgeries arranged for today, so he can spare some time."


    "Is that so?" She nodded with a relieved look. "That''s great, then. If any of his patients need him, then


    let''s not bother him. I wouldn''t want to be the reason for him dying someone else''s life-saving


    procedure."


    "That won''t be an issue." He tried to reassure her and prevent her from overthinking.


    When it came to matters like this, Toby was always one step ahead of her and would have taken the


    necessary precautions to avoid such an issue. Although he was generally quite cold toward everyone,


    he was not a callous and heartless man to disregard the lives of others. As such, he definitely would


    have made the necessary arrangements for the other patients.


    Even if Tim had patients to see and was unable to leave his station, he would have arranged for the


    other doctors to take over those patients temporarily so that he could get away for a moment. In short,


    he would not resort to any moves that would harm lives. However, there were some exceptions to this


    rule.


    Sonia noticed that he repeatedly promised that the issue she was most concerned about would not


    happen, so she finally feltpletely at ease and no longer had any concerns. She had faith that he


    would not lie to her about something like that, judging from his character.


    Shortly after that, they arrived at the hospital.


    Toby and Sonia alighted from the car and entered the hospital thereafter. Tom, however, did not go


    along with them as he continued to wait inside the car.


    Both of them arrived outside Tim''s office and Toby lifted his hand to knock on the door.


    Tim''s cold voice rang out, "Come in."


    Subsequently, Toby pushed open the door and walked in.


    Instantly, Sonia noticed a man in a white coat busy typing while seated in front of theputer.


    At that moment, he stopped what he was doing and lifted his head to nce in their direction.


    As soon as he saw them, there was not the slightest hint of surprise on his face as he frowned and


    revealed an unhappy expression. "I told you toe over at 9.00AM. It''s nearly 1.00PM now. What


    were you doing?" Tim lifted his hand and pointed to his arm as he chided them.


    Despite being lectured, Toby remained unperturbed. Even more so, he did not find that there was


    anything wrong in them beingte. As such, he merely held Sonia''s hands and walked over calmly.


    As for Sonia, she felt slightly awkward and embarrassed.


    "Excuse us," she apologized to Tim with a smile. "I didn''t know that the appointment was made for


    9.00AM. If I had known, then we wouldn''t have turned upte. I''m so sorry."


    Tim noticed that she was the one voicing out, so his unhappiness disappeared almost instantly as he


    spoke in a mellow tone, "It''s alright. This isn''t your fault. It''s the fault of the man next to you. I can''t


    believe that he didn''t even inform you about the time of the appointment. Not only is hete, he doesn''t


    even think that he is at fault for beingte."


    As Tim spoke, he shifted his eyes to coldly and distantly nce at Toby.


    Toby frowned. "That''s enough. Little Leaf was fast asleep in the morning, so I wanted her to catch


    some more sleep."


    "Toby." Sonia directed an apologetic smile at Tim once again before instantly turning to Toby with an


    angry look. She tugged at his sleeve and lowered her voice to chide him, "What''s with you?! It''s our


    fault for beingte and yet you''re¡ª"


    Before she could finish her sentence, Tim had cut her off. He flung his mouse aside and stood up.


    "That''s enough. Let''s just move on and get down to business. It''s time-consuming toplete a full


    body check, so if we don''t proceed with things right now, it will probably take us until midnight to finish


    everything. Let''s not waste any more time. Follow me and we''ll proceed with the full body check." He


    gestured to Sonia.


    Meanwhile, she nced at Toby.


    Toby nodded. "Go ahead."


    Sonia handed over her bag to him and smiled while asking, "I''ll be going off with Tim now. Aren''t you


    jealous?"


    He took the bag from her. "I''m not jealous. He''s different."


    "How is he different?"


    "He''s a doctor," Toby responded.


    Inevitably, Tim would have to be in contact with her body since he was there to treat and run checks on


    her. However, Toby was not going to be jealous about something like that. After all, he was not an


    unreasonable person.


    Besides, Tim had an inborn personality where hecked emotions, so there was no way he would


    develop any wild desire for Sonia. As such, there was really no point for Toby to be jealous.

 Chapter 990

    Chapter 990


    "I thought that you would be jealous of a doctor too," Sonia quipped.


    Immediately after that, Toby reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her into his


    arms. He ced his forehead against hers and spoke in a low voice in her ears, "Your husband here


    isn''t so petty to the extent that I regard a doctor as an ordinary male."


    To him, Tim was not a typical male anyway. Since that was the case, then naturally he was fine with


    Tim.


    Sonia erupted into a peal ofughter. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Mr. Fuller''s the most generous guy ever."


    "That goes without saying of course." Toby lifted his chin and though he had a calm look on his face, it


    was noticeable that he was quite smug.


    Amused, she shook her head. "Alright, alright. Let''s not continue this conversation. Let go of me. Dr.


    Lancaster is waiting."


    At that point, he lifted his head and shot a look not too far away from behind her, where a man was


    leaning by the door and twirling a de. "It''s fine to keep him waiting. It doesn''t matter." After he said


    that, he lowered his head and nted a kiss on her lips.


    Tim, who was leaning against the door frame with a hand tucked into his white coat pocket while


    twirling a de with the other hand, saw that and could not help rolling his eyes. He stopped twirling


    the de in his hand and voiced out snappily, "Hey, you two! That''s enough. You can go home to act all


    lovey-dovey, but stop doing that in my office. Do you think that this is an appropriate ce for such


    PDA?"


    As soon as Sonia heard that, her face turned red instantly and she shoved Toby aside. She red at


    him before turning around while swiping at her lips as she smiled at Tim abashedly. "I''m sorry for


    holding you up. Let''s go."


    Finally, Tim stoppedining and he left the room first.


    She turned around and red at the man once again. "Look what you did! I told youst night to


    behave in public and that there will be people who get offended. See, I was right."


    Toby lifted his eyes and nced in the direction that Tim walked off in and he pursed his lips. "He''s


    jealous."


    "Why would he be jealous?" She rolled her eyes.


    Meanwhile, he responded haughtily, "He''s forever alone, so obviously he feels jealous."


    Sonia was instantly rendered speechless. His words made sense and she suddenly found herself


    unable to argue with that.


    Exasperated, she shook her head and hastily said to him, "Alright, I''ll be on my way. Otherwise, Dr.


    Lancaster might pop back and urge me to hurry up. Are you gonna wait for me here or head back to


    Fuller Group? You should leave first if it''s thetter. I reckon that I''ll be here until tonight."


    "I''m not going back to Fuller Group. I''ll stay here with you." He shook his head. "You''re going to


    undergo multiple tests here at the hospital. There''s no way I''m going to be leaving you here by yourself.


    I will be right here."


    At that moment, Sonia felt a warm, fuzzy feeling well up within her. She revealed a tender smile. "Aren''t


    you busy with things at work?"


    "Tom''s avable. I''ll send him back to work in a short while." Toby decided to shirk his responsibility.


    Although she did not think that it was a good idea, she did not object to it out of the tiny selfishness


    within her. There were multiple tests to be done during aplete body check and some of them made


    her quite fearful and worried. At this point, she would feel much safer knowing that there was someone


    here with her, waiting for her and concerned about her. As such, she yearned for Toby to stay from the


    start. That was also why she was ted to hear him offer to stay on his own ord. Of course though,


    even if he mentioned otherwise and headed back to work, she would not have stopped him from doing


    so. She would only be slightly disappointed, that''s all.


    "Alright, then. Go on." Toby ruffled her hair. "It won''t take too long toplete the initial checks. I''ll be


    right by your side for the rest of the major checkupster ,so you won''t have to worry."


    "Okay." She nodded firmly.


    Soon after that, she walked out of Tim''s office under Toby''s intent gaze.


    Although Tim had walked out of the room earlier on, he had not gone far and was currently leaning


    against the wall near the elevator as he waited for her.


    As soon as Tim saw her approaching, he stood up straight and shifted his sses before asking, "Are


    you done cuddling?"


    She blushed red in response. "He''s worried that I will be afraid during the checkup procedures, so he''s


    staying here for me. He will also be there for me during the ones that are anxiety-inducing and painful.


    That''s why we talked for quite some time. I''m sorry to keep you waiting."


    "I didn''t wait for too long." Tim nodded slightly and mentioned soon after that, "So, is he going to stay


    here with you for the entire day?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded.


    Tim twirled his de. "Great. That proves he''s a man."


    "He already is." She could not help but emphasize.


    Tim lifted his brows and nced at her as his eyes traveled down from her face to finallynd on her


    neck.


    There was an inconspicuous reddened mark on her neck that looked quite illicit.


    The smile on his face suddenly spoke volumes. "He is a good man indeed. Alright, let''s go." After he


    said that, he walked off ahead of her and entered the elevator.


    Sonia trailed after him but she could not help feeling slightly ufortable. What does he mean by


    that look and the smile from earlier on?! She tilted her head perplexedly.


    A body check was generally aplicated process, especially a full body check. There were at least


    tens and even up to hundreds of checks to run through, so generally it would take one to two days to


    complete everything.


    Although Sonia was meant to go through aplete body check, there were some procedures that


    they removed, such as the eyesight, hearing tests, and tens of others that they could exclude without


    affecting the final result. After excluding those, it was nearly 11.00PM when she finallypleted all of


    the procedures for her body check.


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    It had been more than twelve hours since the moment she left the hotel until now and she had not even


    taken a single sip of water or a morsel of food. Furthermore, she had to rush all over the ce and she


    was currently in an exhausted state. Atst, shey in Toby''s arms and did not have the urge to move


    at all.


    Fortunately, there was a canteen at the hospital and the food was tasty, so Tim requested the help of a


    nurse to order some food for them. The three of them then started to devour theirte supper


    ravenously.


    Sonia ate half of her meal and finally regained some energy, so she no longer leaned against Toby and


    could manage to sit up by herself.


    He put down his cutleries and turned to look at the woman next to him. He expressed concern by


    asking, "Are you feeling better?"


    "Yes." She nodded. "I''m feeling much better."


    On the opposite side, Tim heard their conversation and took a sip of soup before replying calmly,


    "You''ve got some slight issue with low blood sugar, so if you fast for slightly more than ten hours, then


    your body would be exhausted. You need some nourishment."


    "I know that." Sonia nodded in acknowledgement. She was well aware of her issue with low blood


    sugar, so she was not surprised by his words.


    On the other hand, Toby was not surprised either as he spoke to Tim, "I want you to be in charge of her


    nutritions."


    "You don''t even have to tell me to do that. I''ll definitely see to it." Tim wiped the side of his mouth


    gracefully and shot Toby a look.


    Toby frowned in response. "When will we get the report for the body check?"


    "It''s been processed as urgent, so I reckon we should get it in half an hour." Tim took a look at his


    watch.


    Toby stopped pursuing the topic after obtaining his answer and he continued to enjoy the meal with


    Sonia.


    She was ravenous and finished off practically everything on her tter. The amount of food that she


    ate was way more than the usual amount she had.


    As soon as Toby noticed her big appetite, there was a sh of worry in his eyes. "You''re eating too


    much. You''re going to get indigestionter on."


    She leaned against the back of the chair and repliedzily, "I can''t help it. I''m too hungry, but I do


    realize that I have overeaten. I''m feeling bloated at the moment." She patted her stomach and she


    could clearly feel the bulge on it.


    As soon as Toby noticed that, he ced a hand on her stomach and stroked it gently. It felt hard to the


    touch and subsequently, he let go. He nced at Tim and said, "Get her some indigestion tablets."


    It was great being in a hospital, especially with a doctor around, because he could just request verbally


    for any medication needed at any time he wanted.

 Chapter 991

    Chapter 991


    Tim shot a look at the duo in an embrace and did not bother to say much. He got up and walked to the


    ss medicine cab on the opposite side and opened one side of it. Subsequently, he took out a box


    of indigestion tablets and flung it right at Toby.


    Toby managed to grab it mid-air using hisrge palms and that move he made was very cool.


    Sonia''s eyes shone at the sight of that.


    He could not help revealing a smug smile on his thin lips upon noticing that.


    "Two tablets will be enough." Tim returned to his seat and reminded Toby.


    Although Toby did not respond to Tim, he still followed his instruction and opened the box to pop two


    tablets out from the blister before handing it over to her. "Take this."


    Sonia was currently feeling bloated, so she naturally did not reject his offer. She took the indigestion


    tablet and popped them into her mouth immediately. The tablets were not bitter at all; on the contrary, it


    was a chewable tablet that tasted like sweets.


    As such, she did not even need to take the water that Toby poured for her, so he ced it back on the


    table after that.


    After their meal, Sonia''s body check report was finally out.


    Tim took the document folder handed over by the nurse and opened it to retrieve the report inside.


    Subsequently, he checked the result.


    Sonia and Toby were already seated on the couch at the moment.


    Toby had his head slightly lowered and he was toying with her soft little hands. He did not even bother


    to cast eyes on Tim while behaving like he was unbothered by the report.


    However, Sonia was very concerned about the results of her check-up, so she craned her neck to look


    at Tim while asking, "Dr. Lancaster, how''s the result?"


    Tim walked over and handed the report to her. "There aren''t any major issues. Other than the low blood


    sugar that I mentioned before, you have some slight issues with your cervical and lumbar spine from


    sitting too much."


    "Uhh..." She winced and took the report from her. "I can''t help that because I work in an office. At times,


    I would even be seated for hours if I had arge amount of things to deal with, so these issues aren''t


    unexpected." This was practically the issue faced by every young man and woman working in an office.


    "That is true, but you should try and improve your condition as much as possible. If you keep this up,


    the issues with your cervical and lumbar spine will persist. By then, you''ll need to undergo surgery to


    correct them."


    "Ah..." Sonia gasped in fright. "Is it really that serious?"


    "Do I look like I''m joking?" Tim looked at her from the reflection of his sses. "Or, do you think that I''m


    not serious with what I do?"


    "No, I don''t." She shook her head and quickly exined herself, "I didn''t mean those things at all."


    "Since you don''t have any doubts for me, then you shouldn''t have questioned my diagnosis." Tim


    retracted his gaze. "I''m a doctor, you can be assured of mypetence."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded meekly like a young student.


    At that moment, Tim was finally pleased. "These aren''t major issues at all. I can prescribe you some


    medications for your anemia and low blood sugar. Take them daily for your body to recover gradually.


    Then, I''ll give you a menu with a list of suitable food for intake. Take your meals ording to the menu


    and in two to three months time, there should be a significant improvement in your condition. As for


    your spinal issues, it''s easy to resolve too. Take a short break and go for a stretch after sitting down


    continuously for one to two hours. Stretch your neck and do some waist exercises. Of course, the best


    advice would be to take up yoga or go to the gym regrly. Your muscles aren''t firm enough, so these


    exercises will be beneficial to you."


    At that point, there were no wordsing out from her parted lips as she did not expect that she would


    be riddled with so many health issues. After all, she usually felt fine.


    However, now that Tim pointed things out, it suddenly dawned upon her that her issues seemed to be


    quite serious.


    "I''ll supervise her and help her mend her ways," Toby answered on behalf of Sonia.


    As he spoke, he had his eyes on her and the firm look in his eyes were very evident.


    Sonia grimaced slightly and she suddenly felt a mounting pressure within her. The look in his eyes was


    a clear indication that he would be sure to supervise and ensure that she exercised to sort out the


    issues with her spine. At that point, she could clearly sense that her couch potato days were over from


    now on. How frustrating!


    Though she felt resigned to fate, on the other hand, it was a warm gesture from him and she knew that


    he was doing all this for her sake. He was so determined to supervise her because he cared about her,


    otherwise, why would he bother?


    "It''s a good thing to have him supervising you." At that moment, Tim spoke up, "Otherwise, if you try to


    exercise by yourself without any supervision, then it''s quite likely that you won''t be able to keep it up for


    too long. You will need long-term exercise in order to correct your spinal issues. If you do it


    asionally, then it won''t be effective at all. Besides, I can guess that without any supervision, you will


    definitely be the type to only exercise at asions when you feel like it."


    Toby nodded nonmitally and agreed with Tim''s words.


    As soon as Sonia noticed the two men jumping to their conclusion about her, she found it hard to


    maintain the smile on her face.


    "I get it. Well, thanks guys."


    She emphasized on the word ''thanks'' quite hard and everyone present could clearly tell that she said


    that through clenched teeth. It was unfortunate because she was clearly unhappy about that. I can''t


    believe that I''m such azy and umitted person in their eyes. Although I do hate exercising,


    laziness isn''t that bad... Well, okay. I admit I do getzy, but that''s normal though. Of course, people get


    demotivated sometimes to exercise! I guess I deserve their judgment, but I don''t like this though! All of


    us work in an office, but why am I the only one who needs to exercise, huh?


    As she thought of that, she steered the conversation toward Toby, "Dr. Lancaster, I reckon that he has


    issues on his cervical and lumbar spine as well."


    Meanwhile, Toby lifted his brows and turned to look at her with a slightly surprised expression. He


    clearly did not expect her to suddenly mention him. However, he noticed the sly look in her eyes and he


    realized what was going on instantly. At that moment, he smiled indulgently and shook his head.


    Tim guessed the same thing too, so he shifted his sses and replied calmly, "Don''t you worry. He


    definitely won''t have any issues."


    "Why?" Sonia''s eyes widened in response. How can he be so confident about that?!


    Tim crossed his arms. "Why? Well, you should ask yourself this question. You should know how well


    he''s able to use his waist, shouldn''t you? As for his cervical spine, well, he''s such a loaded guy, so he


    must have a personal masseuse, right?"


    At that point, Sonia was rendered speechless and she lowered her head to hide her reddened face.


    Yeah, I should know how well he''s able to use his waist. I''m the one who ends up begging for mercy


    each time. The answer was quite evident and she felt ashamed to have asked that.


    Toby revealed a half-smile and stroked her hair upon noticing the embarrassed look on her face.


    Subsequently, he changed the topic. "Other than these, are there any other issues?"


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Tim flung the brown document on his work desk. "No."


    Toby affirmed and shot Tim a look.


    Tim nodded knowingly. "That''s all for the day. It''s gettingte now, so I need to go on a ward round


    before I get off. You guys should leave too." After he said that, he tucked both hands into the pockets of


    his white coat and strode out of the door.


    Sonia nced at the time on her phone and it was already past midnight. She felt quite tired and


    yawned as she rubbed her eyes.


    Her eyes were slightly red-rimmed due to her exhaustion. "Toby, let''s go home."


    "Sure, but give me a few minutes. I just need to go to the bathroom." Toby patted her shoulders and


    stood up.


    She held her cup and took a sip from it. Next, she nodded her head after feeling refreshed. "Sure, go


    ahead."


    He ruffled her hair in response and strode out of the room on his slender, long legs.


    Nheless, he did not head in the direction of the bathroom after walking out of the room. In fact, he


    took the opposite way and walked past a bend in the corridor before stopping to look at the person


    across from him.

 Chapter 992

    Chapter 992


    The person had his back against Toby; perhaps the person heard footsteps approaching him, so he


    turned around gradually to face him. It was none other than Tim, who hade up with an excuse that


    he was going to do the ward round!


    Toby and Tim were unsurprised to see each other appear at this spot and clearly, they had both agreed


    to meet up right there.


    "Just tell me, is it found in Little Leafs report?" Toby looked at Tim and spoke in a low voice.


    Tim leaned against one side of the wall. "Fortunately, she''s fine. She didn''t inherit Titus'' kidney failure


    condition."


    As soon as Toby heard Tim''s reply, the tense expression on Toby''s face finally rxed slightly. "That''s


    great."


    However, Toby was not entirely at ease because he recalled that Titus'' condition had just been


    discovered a few months back, which meant that over the past fifty-odd years, Titus'' kidneys were


    perfectly fine and it had been a sudden urrence. Perhaps it had not been a sudden urrence and


    Titus'' kidneys had actually decreased in function over the recent years without him realizing. Finally, he


    copsed at the point when his kidneys had deteriorated beyond working conditions.


    As soon as Toby thought of that possibility, he shut his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them,


    there was a solemn look in


    them. "Little Leaf hasn''t been diagnosed to have inherited that condition right now, but would it be


    possible that in the next ten or twenty years, she would end up inheriting that same condition and


    copse in her fifties, just like Titus?"


    Titus was the head of the Gray family, so it was virtually impossible that he had never done a thorough


    body check over the past ten years or so. If he had, it meant that he was never diagnosed in the first


    ce and hence, healthy for the past decades. This could only mean that in recent years¡ªor perhaps


    just within this year¡ªthe inherited condition had suddenly red up within him. Toby was worried that


    Sonia would face a simr situation as Titus.


    As soon as Tim heard Toby''s query, he reached into the pocket of his white coat and took out a packet


    of cigarettes. He retrieved one from the pack and ced it into his mouth before removing another one


    from the pack to hand to Toby. "Would you like one?"


    Toby gestured to reject Tim. "No, thanks. I''ve quit smoking. She prefers that I don''t smoke." As he said


    that, he lifted his chin slightly and the smug note in his voice was quite evident.


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    One side of Tim''s lenses glinted under the light as he retracted the cigarette. "You don''t need to


    emphasize thatst sentence." Tim could clearly tell that Toby had said that to mock him.


    Toby pretended not to understand what Tim was on about and he impatiently urged Tim to continue,


    "That''s enough. Hurry up and answer my question. Will Little Leaf end up in the same condition as


    Titus?"


    Still, Tim did not respond but took out a lighter to light his cigarette. Perhaps his lighter was faulty and


    he tried multiple times to no avail. At that point, his expression darkened significantly.


    Toby could not stand the sight of that, so he reached into his suit pocket and took out a gold-colored


    metallic lighter that had a carving of a dragon on the exterior and flung it over to Tim.


    With that, Tim reached out and caught it in his hands deftly before releasing his fist to take a look at it.


    As soon as he saw the expensive-looking lighter in his hands, his eyes lit up instantly. "If I''m not


    mistaken, this was custom-made for the Queen of Erendale and it is an identification token for the male


    member of the royal family. There are only two of these in this world. One belongs to her son while the


    other one was gifted by the Queen to a mysterious person. I can''t believe that you''re the mysterious


    person."


    "A few years ago, I went on a business trip to Erendale and met the Queen once. She gifted this to me


    then." Toby exined calmly as his thin lips moved while he spoke.


    The lighter was the one that Sonia had confiscated from him at the restaurant the night before.


    However, she had returned it to him this morning when they were in the car together. She had


    mentioned that since she trusted him to not smoke again, her returning his lighter would be a gesture to


    emphasize her statement. She knew that even if he had the lighter in possession, he would keep his


    promise. That was also why he was able to retrieve the lighter right now.


    At that moment, Tim lifted his thumb and there was a ''clink'' sound as the lighter was uncovered; the


    fiery mes lit up too and subsequently, his cold expressionless face glowed and the scene was nice.


    He craned his head forward to move the cigarette on top of the me. Soon enough, his cigarette was


    lit up too.


    He then pressed down on his thumb to cover the lighter. He continued to twirl the lighter in his hands


    after that and did not have any intention to return it to Toby. "What would you say if you gave this to


    me? You''ve quit smoking, right? You won''t need this lighter, then. After all, you won''t be lighting


    anyone''s cigarette given your identity." After he said that, he puffed his cigarette quite rxedly.


    Perhaps it was because of the luxurious lighter and he found that the puff of his cigarette seemed much


    nicer than usual.


    Toby nced at Tim indifferently with an unperturbed expression, but Toby''s brows were even more


    tightly knitted. "I don''t mind giving it to you, but I have a condition and I want a satisfactory answer from


    you."


    "It''s a deal!" Tim instantly stopped his act of flinging the lighter into the air and caught it with his hand.


    Finally, he started on answering Toby''s question, "Don''t worry. I reckon that it will not happen."


    "What do you mean?" Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Tim puffed out once more and held the cigarette in between his fingers. He gently tapped his index


    finger and some ash to the ground before continuing, "Well, do you think that you''re the one who has


    come up with a question that a professional like me would overlook? After ending the call with youst


    night, I considered the point that Sonia''s test result might not be conclusive of any issue at all, so I


    wondered whether there was a chance that she would have a re-up ten years down the line. As


    such, I investigated the Gray family medical history for those with a simr condition."


    "Their medical history?" There was a knowing glint in Toby''s eyes at that moment.


    Tim nodded slightly. "That''s right. Although First World Hospital is a public hospital, part of the shares


    are held privately in the hands of my family. The hospital was established eighty years ago¡ªpre-war¡ª


    and the founding father was my ancestor. Back


    then, First World Hospital wasn''t known as this name and it was known as Lancaster Hospital. It was a


    fully privately-owned hospital and it was the first private hospital in Seafield. The Gray Family originated


    from Seafield and they are considered one of the oldest families here. Eighty years ago, their ancestor


    was andowner, so he could afford to seek treatment at a private hospital. As such, I purposely went


    to the database to look up all of the medical records of the Gray Family at this hospital dated all the


    way back. Coincidentally, the person who sought treatment at the hospital back then was the previous


    person in the family to have the same kidney failure condition; that man was Titus'' great-grandfather."


    "Oh?" Toby pursed his thin lips. "What happened after that?"


    "Titus'' great-grandfather was younger than Titus was when his condition was first discovered. Back


    then, Titus'' great-grandfather was only in his twenties and from the records, he clearly knew that his


    kidney failure condition was inherited from the older generations. The reason for that was because the


    same condition would appear in a generation after some time went by. The person who treated him in


    the past was my great-great grandfather. My great-great grandfather had studied medicine abroad and


    back then, he had learned of the concept of hereditary medical conditions. However, he had never


    seen an actual case with his own eyes. Titus'' great-grandfather was the first case my great-great


    grandfather''s treated, so he was very interested in the patient and asked the patient a lot of questions,


    which were all recorded in a notebook here."


    "How did you know that your great-great grandfather interviewed him and recorded them in a


    notebook?" Toby frowned and looked at Tim.


    "It''s on the records." Tim puffed on his cigarette slowly. "It was the first time ever that my great-great


    grandfather had encountered a patient with a hereditary medical condition, so be it for him or for the


    medical world in the country, this was something worth investigating. That''s why he purposely recorded


    this detail in the medical records of Titus'' great-grandfather."

 Chapter 993

    Chapter 993


    Toby nodded slightly to imply the resolved suspicions in his head.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Tim exhaled a puff of smoke. "So, I went to the Lancasters'' Old Residence after I got off from workst


    night and I discovered a notebook left by my great-great-grandfather. Titus'' great-grandfather had


    written the historical details of their family''s health. The men in the Gray Family have kidney failure, but


    it won''t affect the women even if they get married and have children with others."


    A flicker shone in Toby''s eyes when he heard that. There were finally some nuances on his


    emotionless face. "Is that true?"


    "It''s written in the notebook, so it should be true." Tim looked at him. "Genomically speaking, male and


    female genes are different. There are many gic diseases in this world with some only passed down


    through either the men or women, but this possibility is rare."


    Toby smiled. "In other words, neither Little Leaf nor our children will inherit the disease."


    "That''s right." Tim nodded approvingly. "That will be the case if everything that''s written by Titus'' great-


    grandfather is true. The women in the Gray Family won''t be affected by the disease, which means their


    genes are healthy. That''s why it won''t be passed down to their children when they''re married to


    outsiders. Thus, you should put your worries to rest. If you''re still concerned about it, you can bring her


    over for a yearly check-up just to be sure."


    "Got it." Toby nodded because he was nning to do so to avoid the worst case scenario even if Tim


    hadn''t advised. Nevertheless, it was really excellent news for Toby as he felt relieved upon hearing the


    news.


    Tim then gave him some advice pertaining to Sonia''s diet before separating ways with him. As for the


    lighter, it was given to Tim. Although it was a precious item to Toby, that was it. Nothing more. Since he


    had decided to give it, he gave it away with pleasure.


    Meanwhile, Sonia had already been waiting for him for about ten minutes at his office, but there was no


    sign of him returning.


    She murmured with pouty lips, "This guy. Didn''t he say that he''ll return in just a few minutes? Why isn''t


    he back yet? Has he gone elsewhere?"


    She checked on the time through her phone and it rang at the very next second. It was an unknown


    caller.


    Gazing at the number, she assumed that it was either a salesperson or a scammer. So, she did not


    pick it up as she had no intention to do so.


    However, just a few momentster, she received a call from the exact same number again. It kept


    ringing as though it was urging her to pick it up. Sonia''s brows creased tightly and before she could


    decline the call, the caller sent her a message while the phone was still ringing like he had predicted


    what she was going to do.


    Ding!


    A notification popped into the screen upon receiving a text, so she could read the content without


    clicking on it. Despite the short message, the context blew her mind and her expression fall at the drop


    of a hat.


    It read, ''Miss Reed, I''m Connor. Are you really not going to ept the call?''


    Gripping onto the phone tightly, she clenched her teeth while her heart was pounding rapidly. It is him!


    Looking at the ringing phone and thinking of the message, she knew that she had to ept the call.


    After taking a deep breath, she swiped across the screen with her finger, which slightly trembled due to


    the anxiety.


    "Hello?" She raised the gadget next to her ear.


    There came Connor''s voice from the other side of the line. It was surprising to hear him sounded like a


    brisk young man, not like an old chap in his fifties.


    "Good evening, Miss Reed," he greeted with chuckles.


    Her gaze fell onto the ground and she formed a fist with her hand in order to suppress the surging


    uneasiness. She tried to make herself sound calm and natural by saying, "It''s not a good evening. It''s


    alreadyte. What''s the asion, Mr. Salzburg? If I read the time correctly, it''s already past twelve at


    midnight. Don''t you think that it''s unbing of you to call someone at this hour, Mr. Salzburg?"


    Hearing her reprimand, he was not angry in the slightest. The smile on his face was beaming widely.


    "My apologies, Miss Reed. It is thoughtless of me, but I can''t help it. I told you that you have two days


    to consider it when we first met. Time is out, so I decided to give you a call. I didn''t realize that it''s


    alreadyte at night."


    Sonia''s expression stiffened as she had not imagined him to ring her at this hour because of the deal.


    Considering that the time had reached 12.00AM, it was true that it had been two days. Should she


    praise him for his punctuality?


    She remained quiet, but the smile on Connor''s became wider. "So, Miss Reed, it''s been two days and


    what do you think?"


    How dare he ask me that?! Her countenance slightly scrunched up with her eyes reddened in rage.


    "Mr. Salzburg, before I answer that question, don''t you think that you should give me an exnation


    first? About you snatching theponents produced by my business partner?"


    Instead of feeling guilty in the face of her interrogation, Connor chuckled. "As you''ve said, it is true. I


    asked someone to snatch it."


    "I knew it!" The fury was visible on her visage as she sprang to her feet. Holding the phone tightly, she


    growled without a care of her image. "Connor Salzburg, I know why you''re doing this. You''re trying to


    threaten me to give in and let go of Anya. But I''m telling you¡ªI will never do as you wish! Dream it on!"


    Obviously, he did not foresee her to blurt such words out as the smile on his face went stiff before


    simmering. Even the gentleness in his voice dissipated, reced by a crumb of menace. "Are you


    really going to behave like this, Miss Reed? You should know what kind of consequences Paradigm


    Co. will face without theponents. Are you trying to imply that you have the money to fill the pit?"


    She snorted coldly. "That''s none of your concern."


    Silence dawned upon him because he was aware that those were not impulsive words; Sonia


    appeared confident in regards to dealing with the predicament. Has she managed to buy the


    components or is she going to use money to solve the problem?


    Thetter seemed highly possible since it was not easy to search for suchponents. During the


    beginning of the production, the workers would crave the respective logos of eachpany on the


    components. Thus, it would take her a long time to dispose of the logos, rendering it redundant to


    purchase new ones.


    Since it was impossible to procure theponents, he reckoned Sonia was going to solve it with


    money. He could make a vague guess of how she was going to get enough money for it.


    "Miss Reed, you''ve sought help from Toby, right?" A glint shed across his eyes as he tested the


    waters.


    If that was really the case, the big sum of money could prove how important she was to Toby, which


    was beyond Connor''s expectation and all the more reason for him to use her for his advantage.


    Still, her answer had ruined his ns again.

 Chapter 994

    Chapter 994


    Sonia snorted coldly. "I can solve this problem on my own. I don''t need his help."


    "What?" Connor had been sitting on the couch with crossed legs, but he jumped to his feet abruptly


    when he heard that. "You didn''t seek help from Toby?"


    "So what if I didn''t receive any help from him? What''s with the surprised reaction, Mr. Salzburg? Are


    you perhaps hoping that he will help me?" She rolled her eyes in contemtion.


    He had grabbed the dragon ferrule of the walking stick so tightly that veins were protruding on the back


    of his hand. "That''s not it. I''m just surprised that you don''t need Toby''s help to handle the situation. It


    seems like I''ve underestimated you, Miss Reed. You''re more capable than I thought."


    Sonia bit her lips. "I''m ttered, Mr. Salzburg."


    Listening to her sarcastic remarks, Connor disyed a fearsome expression on his dimmed face. Now,


    he was certain that she had not sought help from Toby at all. So, the n of using her to go against


    Toby had to be put on hold.


    "Miss Reed." He shut his eyes and sat on the couch while attempting to smother the fury boiling in him.


    "I''ve given you two days to think about it, but I think that there''s no need for us to meet up today


    anymore."


    "There''s no need to do so from the first start." Sonia retaliated straightforwardly.


    Connor''s face contorted in sinister grim. "That sharp tongue of yours. I wonder if you have the


    capability topensate for your ill behavior, Miss Reed."


    Her eyes wavered at that. "What do you mean by that, Mr. Salzburg? Are you going to hurt me if you


    don''t achieve your goals?"


    "Who knows? That''s it, Miss Reed. I''ve called you just to know your decision and I know now. It is not


    necessary for this conversation to continue any further." He gave an implicit answer.


    "Hold on!" She suddenly stopped him.


    Connor was a little surprised. "Is there anything else, Miss Reed?"


    "Mr. Salzburg, have you forgotten something?" Ire began to burn in her eyes.


    His brows knitted tightly. "What?"


    "Theponents. Shouldn''t you return them to me? I''ve paid for them and yet, you snatched all of


    them without anypensation. That''s stealing! You could return me the money at the very least. How


    could you steal someone else''s things without paying? That''s ridiculous!" she eximed with clenched


    fists.


    He was stunned as he had not expected to hear such words and he could not believe his ears. "What?


    Are you asking me to either return theponents or pay back the money?"


    "What else then?" Sonia pursed her lips. "As I''ve said earlier, it is considered as stealing if you take my


    components without paying any money. So, choose either one."


    Connorughed speechless. "You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me. Who gives you the guts to demand such a


    request from me? I, Connor zburg, have stayed in Westsanshire for so many years and I''ve done


    simr things many times, but never once did anyone ask me for money. You''re the first, Miss Reed."


    "It''s my honor." Sonia''s expression turned into a sarcastic one. "But it seems that stealing is something


    you''re proud of, Mr. Salzburg. If so, I have noments in regards to your character."


    It was almost a blunt statement that implied Connor had an improper behavior of a bandit. Despite the


    long years being held high in repute, no one had ever said such bold words to him.


    He was aware that many disapproved of him and talked badly behind him, yet no one had ever had the


    audacity to throw criticism to his face. Well, well. Look at her manners.


    "Miss Reed, you''re the bravest person I''ve ever seen so far. How dare you speak to me that way! I


    don''t care if you have Toby on your side, but I will never forget about today. You better watch out." He


    let out an ominous smile before hanging up the phone.


    Sonia ced the phone down and frowned in dismay instead of feeling triumph after chewing him out.


    It was rash of her to do that.


    Her initial n was to give it a shot to salvage theponents or to getpensation at the very least.


    Still, she had underestimated Connor''s shamelessness as stealing had be a habit of his. To him, it


    did not matter if he was at fault for stealing things, but it was wrong for others to retrieve them or ask for


    money from him.


    He deemed it as their honor to have their belongings stolen by him; so, they should not ask him to


    return the items, let alone apensation. Otherwise, it would be the victim''s fault.


    So, she was disgusted yet infuriated and thus the reprimands under the impulsion.


    It did feel refreshing when she hinted it at Connor at that moment, but she realized that it was a rash


    move afterward. Due to the gap in terms of status and capability between them, the offense had


    undeniably formed a bad blood in between.


    Besides, he was a petty and vengeful bad man. It was likely that he woulde up with something to


    get back at Sonia in future.


    Still, she did not regret her actions one bit. Instead of an implicit mockery, she used the bluntest


    possible words to build the grudge in him.


    As an afterthought, she raked her fingers through her hair in frustration as her bad temper did her no


    good. If she continued acting in this manner, she would definitely have more to lose.


    All and still, what was done had been done, so it was useless to think about it. It was best for her to


    think of how to confront Connor''s revenge in the future.


    "Little Leaf." Toby''s voice could be heard from the door.


    Sonia''s eyes lit up. She quickly regained herposure before raising her head to him with a smile.


    "You''re back. What took you so long?"


    "I received a call from Tom midway," he exined while entering the office.


    "Oh," she responded before falling into silence.


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    He looked at her gorgeous face and his gazended on her hair in the end. With a frown, he asked,


    "Your hair is a mess."


    "Huh?" She reached out to touch her hair, which was indeed in a mess like a bird nest. She recalled the


    moment she messed her hair up due to frustration. It must be because of that.


    While Sonia was busy primping her hair, her downcast eyes hid the glint in her eyes. She then


    reciprocated with a smile. "It''s probably because I kept leaning against the armrest. I lied down on the


    sofa when you were out."


    Toby nodded without a shadow of suspicion before taking over her bag from her shoulder. "Alright.


    Time to go home."


    "Hmm." She stared at him with a smile and nodded. "Let''s go home."


    She took the initiative to hold his hand, at which he was stunned momentarily before squeezing her


    hand tighter, as though he was afraid that he was going to lose her.


    Joy filled her instantly because of that. "Oh, right. You should have a full medical check-up once you''re


    free."


    "Me?" His footsteps stopped before regaining its pace as he led her toward the elevator.

 Chapter 995

    Chapter 995


    Sonia nodded without hesitation. "Yeah, you''ve asked me to do a full medical check-up in concern of


    my health. It¡¯s just the same for you because I''m worried about your health as well. I shouldn''t be the


    only one doing it, right? That will be so unfair."


    She shot Toby a nce in resentment as the medical check-up had never been easy, especially the


    gastroscopy, which was pure torture in her opinion.


    Gazing at her protesting look, he fell into silence because he knew that she would think so if she was to


    do it alone. Besides, it would be suspicious to her and hence, hepromised.


    He cleared his throat before saying, "Okay. I''ll do it too."


    Sonia broke into a smile when she heard that. "That''s great! I''ll apany you here a few dayster."


    Staring at her crescent-like eyes, he shook his head in helplessness. "Alright."


    It was already 2.00AM when they arrived at Bayside Residence. Sonia had lost the fight against


    drowsiness and fell asleep along the way home.


    Still, Toby could not bring himself to wake her up when they reached her ce. So, he carried her in


    bridal style to the elevator to bring her back to her apartment.


    Then, he helped to remove her make-up and washed her face, as well as brushing her teeth, treating


    her like a queen. The time struck three once he had finished all of those. Even if he had a strong and


    healthy physique, he felt tired.


    When he joined her in bed, he looked down at the woman who cuddled into his embrace instinctively


    as she sensed something warm. Letting out a silent chuckle, he whispered ''goodnight'' before hugging


    her and closing his eyes.


    It was 6.00AM when Toby''s ringing phone woke him up. He opened his eyes to see the dark sky. One


    could still see the moon in the gray sky outside the half-covered window.


    He then averted his gaze and grabbed his phone to pick up the call. Instead of cing the phone next


    to his ear, he turned to stare at the sleeping woman in his arms.


    Seeing that Sonia was still fast asleep, he deemed it alright to speak over the phone, but lowered his


    voice nevertheless. "What''s the matter?"


    "President Fuller, we managed to contact the codger and catch him," reported Tom solemnly.


    Toby''s eyes narrowed at the news. "Got it. I''ll be on my way there. Just keep an eye on him."


    "Okay," responded Tom.


    Toby put down the phone as the call had ended. The so-called codger was the boss of the factory,


    Sonia''s business partner.


    After Tom caught the wind of Connor''s assistant dropping in at Dwells and Rentoor, Toby asked him to


    look into the fellow''s purpose of going there in order to find out if they were scheming something


    against Sonia.


    After all, both thepanies had worked with her before.


    Tom went to Rentoor yesterday, but thatpany was acquitted by Ryan and they were not


    coborating with Sonia at the moment. Ryan mentioned that an assistant named ''Mr. Little'' did look for


    him to inquire about him and Paradigm Co.. The assistant left after being told that it had been two


    months since Rentoor worked with Sonia.


    Then, Tom went to Dwells, only to discover that the boss had run away two days ago, causing the


    company to be sold to others in urgency.


    Therefore, he was one step toote and failed to find out the reason for Connor''s subordinate''s visit


    there. Fortunately, the former boss of Dwells was still nearby and was caught by Tom''s underlings.


    Now, all Toby had to do was to interrogate the codger about the deal he had with Connor, which made


    him go lengths by escaping. If he was reluctant to level with him, Toby would pluck his teeth out by


    force one by one!


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    With hindsight, a cold glint shed through his eyes for a fleeting second as they were smitten with


    warmth the moment he looked at Sonia. Stretching out his arm, he caressed her face with the back of


    his hand.


    Due to the subtle tickle, she shrank her head and frowned before muttering, "Stop it."


    Toby chuckled lightly and withdrew his hand. Hearing theughter, she thought she was dreaming until


    she opened her eyes into a narrow slit, only to see the man sitting on the bed. It was not until then did


    she realize that he was really chuckling and that it was actually not a dream.


    "Are you... already waking up?" She yawned while asking.


    He hummed. "Tom called just now. There''s something I gotta deal with."


    "But the sky isn''t even bright yet." Sonia raised her head and looked out of the French window to see


    the moon that was hanging high up in the sky.


    He stroked her cheeks affectionately. "I know, but it''s urgent. I gotta go now."


    "I see." She blinked her eyes. "Okay, go ahead."


    Toby nodded lightly. "You should sleep more. I think you''re not fully awake yet. It''s still six something,


    so you should lie in. I''ll have someone bringing breakfast over for you. Remember to take it."


    "Hmm." Sonia yawned again.


    Looking at the tears glittering at the corner of her eyes, he let out a gentle smile before kissing her


    forehead. "Sleep tight. I''ll go now."


    He lifted the nket and got out of the bed, after which he stood next to it without his flip-flops to cover


    her with the nket so that she would not catch a cold.


    She was still sleepy at that moment. Not only her eyelids felt heavy, her voice was all mushy, which


    could easily melt one''s heart. "Alright. Have a safe trip. Drive safely."


    "Okay." He lowered his head, giving her another light kiss on the lips before rising to his feet. He stared


    at her for a while to make sure she was fast asleep before sneaking out of the room and leaving the


    ce so early in the morning.


    Two hours had passed when Sonia was finally awake. She propped up on bed and zoned out,


    kneading her forehead while staring nkly. Did I wake up once just now and talk to Toby?


    She looked at where Toby had slept. She fumbled her hand across the fabric to feel the cold sensation,


    which indicated the man had gone for a while now. As an afterthought, she felt that her hunch was right


    ¡ªshe did wake up and bid him goodbye before he left.


    Thinking that it was her first time bidding him goodbye so early in the morning, she smiled. Previously,


    she was oblivious of his early departure so many times that it became a regret for her. Still, her wish


    had been granted and there was nothing to regret about anymore.


    Ruffling her hair, she got out of the bed and left the room to take the breakfast that was left at the


    entrance. She took some rest after the meal before changing clothes and putting make-up on. Then,


    she drove herself to Paradigm Co. by car.


    Daphne had been waiting for her at the door that led to the office. Noticing her arrival, Daphne wore a


    smile. "Good morning, President."


    "Morning." Sonia returned the smile and her footsteps came to a halt as her gazended onto her


    assistant''s belly. "When''s the next visit?"


    Daphne looked down with a faint smile. "This weekend."


    Sonia hummed in reply. "That''s good. You should recover soon."


    "You''re right." Daphne opened the door for her and she entered the office with Daphne trailing behind


    her.


    "Oh, right. President Reed, you''ve mentioned that you needed to go for a check-up in the hospital


    yesterday. Are you alright?" Daphne questioned in concern.


    Feeling the warmth crept into her heart, Sonia pulled the chair and took a seat. "Don''t worry. I''m fine.


    It''s just a normal check-up."


    "That''s a relief, then." Daphne nodded and handed her the schedule for today without further


    questions.

 Chapter 996

    Chapter 996


    Sonia had just taken the folder and was about to review it when someone knocked the door. "Come in,"


    she replied while flicking through the schedule.


    "President Reed." When the door was opened, an assistant stood at the door frame with one hand


    holding a blue file and the other hand rested on the doorknob as he announced, "President Lane has


    arrived to meet with you."


    "Charles is here?" Sonia was taken aback.


    What brings him here at this time?


    "President Reed." Standing in front of her desk, Dapline started to get nervous.


    She nced at Daphne and knew why Daphne was anxious, after which she gestured at Daphne to


    calm down. "Don''t worry or stress about it, Miss Daphne. I know what you''re going to say, so rest in my


    private lounge first."


    At that, Sonia indicated at the private lounge in the front. Then, Dapline wrung her hands as she gave a


    quick smile and sprinted to the said location. As she watched Daphne leaving, Sonia let out a soft sigh


    because Dapline and Charles had been the ideal working partners in the past. Yet, it was now a dream


    to watch them interact normally.


    Sonia massaged her temples before turning to look at the assistant standing at the door. "Where is


    Charles right now?"


    "President Lane is currently downstairs. He intended toe up, but President Dafoe stopped him as


    he passed by the area. They''re currently having a conversation," the assistant replied.


    Sonia frowned.


    Asher stopped Charles? What is he trying to achieve by stopping Charles?


    Her eyes dimmed momentarily, but she quickly regained herposure as she smiled at the assistant.


    "Okay, I understand. In that case, invite Charles toe up."


    "Understood," the assistant answered before closing the door.


    Soon after, the door reopened to reveal Charles stepping in casually. He was wearing a maroon shirt


    underneath his white casual suit, but he didn''tplement it with a tie. As two of the buttons of his


    outer attire were undone, it exposed his fair chest.


    Matching the top half of his attire was a pair of white ankle pants that fit his beautiful, slender ankles. To


    top things off, he even wore pointed leather shoes in the color of white.


    As a result, it made him look both showy and trashy.


    Even though Sonia was ustomed to his fashion sense, Sonia still found it repulsive.


    "Why are you dressed like this? Aren''t you cold?" She rubbed her temples again as she could already


    feel the chill from his exposed chest and ankles.


    However, Charles sensually approached her with his chin slightly raised. "No, of course not. I''m not


    feeling anything. Don''t you think that my outfit today is perfect?"


    His footsteps came to a rest in front of her desk. He then spun on his heels andpleted his antics


    with Michael Jackson''s ssic movement.


    Sonia restrained her smile. "Absolutely not. I just think you''re feeling cold right now. The corners of your


    mouth and your ankle are turning purple."


    The corner of his mouth twitched. "Please stop being so specific. The cold is meaningless when being


    cool is more important."


    "Dude, I''m worried you''re going to get sick." A helpless Sonia rubbed her temples for the third time.


    Charles gave a dismissive wave of his hand to indicate his disagreement. "I am, after all, thepany


    president. How is it possible that I would get sick?"


    He then lifted his head arrogantly as though nothing could ever drag him down.


    His actions caused her tough and she remarked, "President? Sadly, your outfit does not match the


    image. You look more like a yboy. I''ve never seen a president dressed as trashy as you."


    His fashion style had already been trashy during the summer, what more with his floral shirts and


    showy pants. She had never expected him to maintain fashion style even during the winter, but she


    would nheless be rmed if he suddenly changed his entire image.


    "Of course, you''ve never seen anything like it. Those presidents you''ve met are mostly older men. How


    can they possiblypare with me?" Charles mocked as he drew a chair in front of her and sat.


    She rolled her eyes in return. "They are not all old. Tob¡ª"


    Sonia paused in the middle of her sentence as if she had realized something. No, I cannot mention


    Toby in his presence. Even if he''s imed he''s given up on me and offered us his blessing, I shouldn''t


    bring up Toby so casually in front of him. It''ll hurt him.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Sorry, Charles. I¡ª"


    "It''s all right." Charles waved his hand again, his smile still on his face. "You don''t have to be that way. I


    know you want to talk about Toby, so just be yourself and say it. I''m not bothered at all. He''s your


    boyfriend, and you may speak openly about him. I shouldn''t restrict you from talking about him for


    some reason, should I? That would be far too selfish of me."


    Charles smiled widely at her. He was slightly upset when she brought up Toby, but he soon overcame


    it. He had already said that it would be selfish of him to stop Sonia from talking about her boyfriend just


    because he still loved her. Being selfish was thest thing on his mind. Moreover, he had made up his


    mind from the start to make the one whom he loved happy.


    If Toby was the one who could offer Sonia happiness, then Charles would dly give her up. So, if she


    was upset because it made him sad that her boyfriend''s name was being mentioned, wouldn''t that


    break the promise he made when he decided to let her go?


    Sonia moved her lips, but she said nothing in response to his nonchnt expression. Apart from his


    parents, she was the only one who understood her childhoodpanion after knowing him for almost


    twenty years.


    Charles might look cheery at the time, but it was all an act; he was clearly upset beneath that smiling


    facade.


    "Charles..." She looked at the man with guilt.


    He sighed, knowing she med herself for owing him too much again. "Sonia, let''s not bring it up


    again. Let''s get back to the main point. Theponents are due today. It will be a major problem if it is


    not resolved by today. Do you have any ideas on how to address it?"


    She was focused again when it rted to business. She nodded, dismissing her conflicting feelings.


    "Yeah. I will follow your earlier rmendations."


    "You''re going to mortgage thepany building?" His eyes widened in shock.


    Sonia shook her head. "No, nope, I''m not mortgaging this building."


    "Not this building?" When he heard the response, he felt relieved. Charles almost jumped up in


    surprise, but he sat up and patted his chest in relief. "That''s a big relief. Despite my suggestion, I didn''t


    want it to be Paradigm Co., which your father built twenty years ago. Although the value of this old


    building cannot bepared to that of new office towers, the cost of its location in the city center is


    unquantifiable. Using it as a mortgage for a single opportunity to get out of business trouble is not worth


    the risk. Furthermore, the bank may be unwilling to release the building''s deed to you in the future."


    Due to its strategic location, its value will never depreciate. Because of this, the bank will try everything


    in its power to get its hands on it.

 Chapter 997

    Chapter 997


    Sonia rubbed her forehead as she closed her eyes. "You have thought about it, and so have I. I''m very


    concerned about this, so I''m not nning to mortgage this building."


    "That''s good." Charles nodded, but his concerns remained. "What are you going to mortgage with if it''s


    not Paradigm Co.''s building?"


    As Sonia opened her eyes, she uttered, "The Reed Residence."


    He was slightly taken aback. "Are you nning to give¡ª"


    "Yeah." She nodded. "That''s right."


    "But it''s the house your mother left behind. Are you... sure about it?" Charles looked at her.


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ears. "To be honest, I didn''t want to do it at first, but after giving it


    some thought, I don''t think there''s anything to be sad about parting with. It''s the house my mother left


    behind. I spent my childhood there, and my memories are also tarnished by rats."


    Charles noticed that she had narrowed her eyes in disdain and quickly knew what she meant. As he


    sighed, his heart ached.


    "Jessica and Sandra."


    "Yeah." She gripped the pen tighter. "You are correct. It''s them. That house is supposed to be a cozy


    home for me, my mother, and my father. Ultimately, the space was filled with their vile atmosphere,


    which had ruined it. Because of this, I moved out to the Bayside Residence. I no longer feel anything


    that makes me think of my mother. I detest the Reed Residence now that it is solely filled with


    memories of their worst kind."


    "You have a valid point." He sipped the water in front of him. "If I were you, I would have felt the same


    way. Because the house is an eyesore, I would have put it up for sale a long time ago. I''m impressed


    that you''ve kept the house for years."


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia''s lips twitched. "It''s because that''s the house my mother bought before she passed away. And


    this is where she lived and where we previously stayed. Nothing else. Now that I think about it, I think


    my opinion was wrong because Mom might not want to keep it. After all, it is already tainted."


    "There''s no doubt about it." He nodded and looked at her. "You''re her daughter, and she loved you so


    much that she gave you the house before she left. I''m sure she wasn''t expecting Jessica and Sandra to


    show up after that. In that same house, they bullied you and poisoned your father! So, what makes her


    want to keep it? Sonia, I agree with your decision. It''s not the same ce it used to be. That way, you


    can also forget about the unpleasant memories."


    "Yeah," she responded gently.


    "Oh, have you had the house appraised?" Charles was keen to know.


    Sonia sipped her coffee before responding, "Yes, I''ve contacted an appraiser a couple of days ago.


    Although it is an old building, its location, like this one, is very strategic. When she purchased this


    house, my mother used Grandpa''s connections to invite the most famous master to view the property.


    There should not be a significant price differencepared to new homes. It should be worth at least 1


    billion." She raised a finger.


    He let out a chuckle. "Great. That will be more than necessary to solve the problem. Have you set up


    an appointment with the bank?"


    "Yeah, I have. I will submit a loan application this afternoon." She ced her cup down.


    "I''ll apany you. Instead of just one person going there, it would be better for two people to go."


    Charles checked his watch.


    Sonia shrugged her shoulders. "I''m fine with it, but I heard from your mother that Lane Corporation is


    going through a transition. Shouldn''t you be busy then? Do you have the time?"


    "It is nearlypleted. I could even celebrate the new year." He was beaming with a broad grin.


    "Okay. Let''s go together." There was no reason for Sonia to refuse. Suddenly, she thought of


    something as she looked at him. "Charles, my assistant, informed me that Asher has stopped you


    downstairs. What exactly is going on? Why did he stop you?"


    When Charles heard that, he frowned and mmed his cup onto the table with a grumble. "I''m not sure


    what''s wrong with the old git. As soon as he saw me, he pulled me into his office and told me


    something strange. I didn''t understand him at first, but I soon realized he was trying to create tension


    between us."


    "Creating tension between us?" Her expression changed from surprise to one of gloom in an instant.


    He concurred. "Yeah, but I just walked away and ignored him."


    She didn''t say anything, and her frown deepened because she couldn''t understand why Asher was


    acting this way. Charles was not employed by Paradigm Co.; he was merely in the higher management


    with that title and yed no role in management or production. Therefore, his existence posed no


    threat to Asher.


    But why is Asher attempting to sever our rtionships? What is he nning?


    "Is there something on your mind, Sonia?" Charles waved his hand in her direction.


    Sonia regained herposure and smiled as she shook her head. "Nothing. I''m just curious as to why


    he''s doing it."


    He sulked. "Don''t fret. This old git cannot endure our presence, likewise for us. No matter what he


    does, we will ultimately fight each other. Since we are rivals, there is no point in considering what he is


    doing. Simply confront him when the time is right."


    She grinned. "You are right. Although yournguage is somewhat harsh, you make a good point. When


    the circumstances are set, there is no need to overthink the process. Instead, we should concentrate


    on the results. You are more positive than I am. I''d get irritated from overthinking."


    "See? I am brilliant." Charles arched an eyebrow at her in amusement.


    Sonia smiled and lowered her head, feeling more at ease. It looked like their rtionship was back to


    how it was before. Today was the Charles that she remembered, so it would be for the best if


    everything remained this way.


    On the other side, Toby came out of a dark room with an aloof face and Tom had the same expression.


    "President Fuller, here''s a handkerchief." Tom handed a wet handkerchief, whose footsteps came to a


    halt before he turned to take it. After wiping his hands, Toby continued walking.


    At the same time, Tom was wiping his hands and said in disgust, "That old git is so stubborn. He didn''t


    say anything until we had to use the pliers. We overestimated him. But, President Fuller, you could


    have let us pull out his teeth. Why did you do it on your own?"


    Toby, who was walking in front and threw the filthy handkerchief and stomped on it, reacted bitterly,


    "When ites to my lover, I''ll do it myself."


    Tom was speechless when he heard the word lover because he felt a knot in his throat and wanted to


    smack himself in the face.

 Chapter 998

    Chapter 998


    I should have known better; President Fuller behaves oddly whenever Miss Reed is involved. So, why


    do I seem to forget this and have to ask him about it? Now, I have to bear all of these sappy moments.


    At this very moment, Tom was feeling queasy as a direct result of his boss excessive disy of regard


    for love. It was as though he needed to ingrain it in his memory to keep from asking questions that he


    should not be asking in the future. If not, he would suffer emotional harm nheless.


    I am still a single man. What if I eventually lost interest in the process of looking for a girlfriend for


    myself? When that day finally arrived, I would be miserable.


    While pondering this, he rubbed his cheeks while simultaneously preventing a series of profanities from


    exiting his mouth. To preserve his professional demeanor, he smiled and asked, "President Fuller, what


    should we do with that old git now?"


    When Toby opened the door, he was met with the sight of arge parking lot. Keeping his eyes on a


    nearby car, he walked toward it and said, "Keep him in for now. We will have more use for him in the


    future."


    "Noted," Tom said calmly.


    Toby hopped in as Tom walked to the driver''s side to take over. "Are we going to Paradigm Co. to see


    Miss Reed, President Fuller?"


    "No." Toby narrowed his menacing eyes. "To Connor''s hotel."


    Tom''s hand froze as he heard that, just as he was about to start the engine. He turned his head in


    astonishment. "To Connor''s hotel? Are you going to meet him, President Fuller?"


    Toby''s rage was overlooked due to his downcast gaze. "Isn''t it appropriate for me to pay my guest a


    visit after he''s been here for so long? Furthermore, he has no right to exploit Sonia after his actions."


    Even though he nodded his head in agreement, Tom was annoyed. "It is inappropriate of him to steal


    components from the Paradigm Co. to ckmail Miss Reed into releasing Anya. Even smaller


    companies do not employ such petty practices. If he weren''t the head of the Salzburg Family, he could


    easily be mistaken for a lowly underling. How could he use such horrible measures to threaten a


    woman? He disgusts me."


    Indeed, it was repulsive. Even though business people often resort to deceit and conspiracies, it is


    highly umon for someone to sink to the lowest of the low to take advantage of some smaller


    companies. Despite their superior resources and might, they reject the idea of resorting to this


    dishonorable solution. On the other hand, Connor does not appear to be the least bit embarrassed by


    his actions.


    Hearing his assistant''s critics, Toby slightly raised his gaze. "It''s not surprising for him to do that. The


    fact that he shares a past with my mother is enough to tell that he is aplete jerk."


    Tom smiled sheepishly. "You''re right, President Fuller. As I''ve expected, you''re the best at criticizing a


    scumbag. I have more to learn from you."


    Toby ignored his ttering words while looking down. "Regarding Little Leafsponents, have you


    found out where Connor moved them to?"


    Tom kept his eyes on the road and shook his head. "Nope. Although I haven''t looked into it thoroughly,


    I believe it is still in Seafield. The old git from the underground reports that Miss Reed cooperated with


    him to purchase twenty tons ofponents. With such a significant quantity, it would be impossible to


    transport it out of the city in three days owing to the sheer number of procedures required. After


    discovering that Connor had taken Miss Reed''spanyponents, I made a personnel inquiry with


    the various checkpoints. They informed me that no suchponents were being transferred out of the


    city, indicating that the parts are still within the city."


    Toby''s brows rxed as he heard this. "That''s good to hear."


    "Don''t worry, President Fuller." Tom turned the steering wheel. "Since we know what Connor did to


    Miss Reed, we will try to loosen his tongue until he reveals the location of theponents."


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby red at him. "Are you telling me what to do?"


    How could he sit idly by while Sonia was bullied and her belongings were stolen when she was his


    girlfriend? It was logical for him to act to retrieve what she had lost.


    Tom grinned as he adjusted his sses. "I just wanted to let you know, President Fuller, that I''m


    worried you will be upset. The bullying of Miss Reed has put you in a bad mood, and I only mean to


    cheer you up a little. It''s been three days and she still hasn''t informed you about it. We wouldn''t have


    discovered Connor stole theponents from herpany if we hadn''t tracked his assistant to the


    twopanies she cooperated with. I''m curious about what she''s thinking. I thought you two had


    reconciled. Why hasn''t she asked you for help? Is it because she can solve the problem on her own?"


    Toby''s thin lips pursed as he maintained his silence, making it impossible to decipher his thoughts.


    Despite this, it was not difficult to ascertain that he was in a foul mood due to the gloomy air around


    him. Yes, he is in a bad mood.


    As Tom had said, they wouldn''t know what was happening at Paradigm Co. if they didn''t find out where


    Connor''s assistant was going that day.


    When Toby spoke with Sonia over the phone three days earlier, he became concerned when he


    observed a change in her tone and questioned her about it. However, she assured him nothing had


    transpired and that it was only a misunderstanding with Asher.


    Now, he knew it wasn''t Asher''s fault; Connor had stolen theponents, which had set off her bad


    mood. She used Asher as an excuse to keep him in the dark about what was happening.


    Toby took her word for it because nothing significant was happening. It was only now that he realized


    the depth of the panic and anguish she''d been hiding behind her grin. Without a doubt, Paradigm Co.


    would suffer a devastating loss if she could not retrieve theponents.


    Having realized this, he rubbed his forehead while experiencing conflicting emotions of sadness and


    rage. He couldn''t believe Sonia had kept it a secret from him, and he was furious about it. Toby was


    well aware the entire time that she wanted to handle some issues on her own without depending on


    him to help her. He supported her decision by limiting his interference in her business and personal


    concerns. This would prevent her from bing angered and turned off by him.


    In many conversations with Sonia, he emphasized that she should not feel bad about asking for help


    from him, as though doing so would indicate an unbnced dynamic between them.


    After all, Toby was her man and naturally wanted to assist her. Moreover, she was still fragile and


    needed his support behind the scenes.


    He knew, though, that she would never listen because of her stubbornness, which came from her


    strong desire to prove that she was capable and could do well without his help.


    As it turned out, she was still too naive to see through a lot of things. That was the reason why things


    were not going ording to ns. But when he saw her dazzling eyes light up with confidence as she


    said she could do it, his heart softened, and he let her do everything she wanted.


    The facts made it clear to him that his actions were wrong because Connor had exploited the situation


    to his advantage.

 Chapter 999

    Chapter 999


    While driving, Tom reflected on the incident and said, "President Fuller, you said it''s been three days


    since the incident. Has Miss Reede up with a solution?"


    When he heard Tom''s words, Toby frowned.


    Do I have a solution? Judging from my understanding of Sonia, she might have already found a


    solution. After all, I haven''t seen any signs of worry or anxiety in thest three days and it''s definitely


    not because of how well she acted. It is highly likely that she already has a solution, which exins


    why she is able to regrly continue our conversation. If she did not, she would definitely have been


    distracted and I''d have noticed it, sooner orter. So, she definitely has a n, but will this solution


    resolve all her problems?"


    Tom was not surprised when Toby remained silent; instead, he turned the steering wheel and


    continued, "I guess Miss Reed didn''te up with any solution because ording to what we know


    about Paradigm Co., thoseponents are crucial for them. We''ll be in a serious problem if we can''t


    recover them. The consequences are devastating and there are only two viable options right now. The


    first option is to get theponents back whereas the second is to use the money topensate for


    the missingponents. However, Miss Reed may not be able to obtain that much money, or is she


    prepared to reimburse it?"


    After speaking, Tom nced in the rearview mirror to check on Toby seated in the backseat. I know


    that President Fuller had already given his supplementary credit card to Miss Reed and told her that


    she could use it at any time she wanted. As a result, her hesitating to use it is not crucial, but the


    question remains as to whether she is willing to withdraw the money. On the other hand, I feel that Miss


    Reed will be unwilling to spend President Fuller''s money. How could she be willing to do so when she


    did not inform him about the incident?


    Tom''s hypothesis was verified by Toby''s reply.


    Toby lowered his gaze and muttered quietly, "She''s not going to swipe my card."


    "I knew it." Tom eximed, "I''m confused about why Miss Reed is so adamant, though. Even though it


    is clear that she has your support, she insists on taking responsibility for everything alone. However,


    shecks the ability and strength to satisfactorily address many situations now; why does she even


    bother?"


    If I were Miss Reed, I''d be ecstatic to learn that President Fuller is on my side and will provide me with


    resources to spend so that I won''t be as helpless. Miss Reed''s thoughts and actions are baffling me.


    "Do you still think Miss Reed doesn''t fully trust you, President Fuller?" Tom made a guess as he turned


    back to look at Toby.


    "Shut up," Toby hissed as his eyes narrowed. What does he mean when he says Sonia doesn''t trust


    mepletely? No way. She has to have total confidence in me. Perhaps, she just didn''t want to


    depend too much on me.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    However, Tom''s statements made Toby uneasy.


    Tom lowered his head and kept driving in silence after he realized he had said something inappropriate.


    Toby took out his phone, opened Messenger, and looked for Sonia''s contact. He then clicked in,


    intending to send her a message but didn''t type anything, despite his fingers hovering over the typing


    bar for a long time. After a while, Toby removed his finger from the screen and quit Messenger.


    He couldn''t think of anything to say and had no idea how to approach or ask her for the reason why


    she hadn''t informed him about the incident. Nheless, there was no use in asking again because he


    already knew the answer. Let''s hear her out once I return theponents to her.


    Also, Toby realized he needed to get the record straight with her instead of lowering his guard down in


    response to her confident demeanor. It was vital for him to be forthright with her about his generosity


    being inappropriate. Not for her, at least not right


    now.


    Meanwhile, afterpleting a document processing task, Sonia was a little unsettled and disturbed. It


    was akin to being caught with one''s hand in the cookie jar.


    "What''s the matter?" Charles asked with concern as he watched Sonia''s expression change while


    seated across her and ying games on his phone.


    Sonia sipped her coffee and shook her head before responding, "It''s alright. I''m a little anxious, but I''m


    fine right now."


    "Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to call the doctor?" He grew anxious upon hearing her reply. He


    turned off the game and kept his phone away. In an instant, he stood up and extended his arm in an


    attempt to touch her forehead.


    Daphne, who was in the lounge across from them, could see this scene through a crack in the open


    door as her eyes were filled with sadness and anger. She had known that President Lane was a kind


    and caring man, who was deliberately arrogant and pretentious to those who were not acquainted with


    him. Being one of those outsiders, she would never be the one whom he cared for.


    A resigned Daphne closed the door and stopped looking at them. She had made up her mind to forget


    about him. If I continue to look, doesn''t it mean I''m just asking for trouble? What''s the point? After


    letting go of the door handle, she turned around and sat by the bed in the lounge where she lowered


    her head and said nothing.


    After Sonia smacked Charles'' hand away, he appeared to sense something and turned to check the


    closed door to the lounge across the office.


    She was in the middle of fixing her hair when she was startled by Charles'' reaction and stopped


    abruptly. It was enough to make her instantaneously worried and with concern, she said, "What''s the


    matter, Charles? What exactly are you staring at?"


    "I was staring at your lounge, and I felt like someone was looking at me earlier," Charles said as he still


    nced at the lounge door.


    "Uhm... Is someone staring at you?" Sonia''s eyes widened in surprise. How, oh, how did he manage to


    find out?


    "Yes, I did feel someone watching me just now." He nodded, confirming his suspicion.


    At that, he turned his head and narrowed his eyes at her as he spoke.


    The unexpected expression in his eyes startled Sonia and the corners of her mouth twitched." W-


    what?"


    "You look quite terrified right now, Sonny. Are you... hiding someone inside?" Charles'' eyes narrowed


    again as he leaned his head over.


    "No!" She was full of fear and it was immediately apparent in her tone.


    Sonia''s overreaction validated Charles'' im that she was hiding someone in the lounge. Moreover,


    that person was looking at them earlier.


    Sonia regained herposure and recognized that her behavior was giving the appearance of guilt.


    She was betraying her innocence by consciously denying it. She was upset and annoyed. It''s over!


    In the lounge, Daphne sprang to her feet in a state of terror and anxiety when she heard noises outside


    at that very moment. What should I do? President Lane noticed I was staring at him just now! Will he


    barge into the room and grab me? Her face paled as she paced the lounge, unsure what to do. She


    was terrified that Charles woulde in any time, drag her out, and find out that she was pregnant.


    Then...


    The fear in Daphne''s eyes grew as her face paled even more. Her eyes turned red as she sped her


    hand and silently prayed that Sonia would be able to stop Charles from finding her.


    Standing outside, Sonia was aware of the consequences of Charles discovering Daphne. She was


    prepared to do whatever it took to prevent it from happening.


    After confirming that there was, in fact, someone in the lounge, he went to the room to conduct an


    investigation.


    Sonia jumped to her feet and went around the desk in a sh as she trotted to Charles with


    outstretched arms. "What are you doing, Charles?"


    He came to a stop and replied, "What am I doing? Obviously, I''ll find out who you''ve been hiding in the


    lounge."

 Chapter 1000

    Chapter 1000


    "No way!" A look of disapproval crossed Sonia''s face as she hastily kept refusing.


    Daphne was visibly shaken as she stood anxiously behind the lounge door and firmly grasped the door


    handle with both hands. It was obvious that she was resisting. So, she had to quickly stop Charles from


    entering the room by blocking the door while thinking that Sonia should give it her all and prevent


    Charles from entering.


    Sonia''s rejection had only fueled Charles'' suspicions as he eventually asked, "Sonny, are you keeping


    a lover inside, which is why you won''t let me look?"


    "What?" Sonia''s lips quivered into a questioning twitch as she answered, "A lover? Am I the kind of


    person that does that?"


    "Exin why you''re blocking my entry if that''s the case." He rolled his eyes.


    "It makes no difference why. I said no." Sonia''s arm was still outstretched to block his way.


    "Could you be anxious because Toby is in the room? That''s not right. If he''s your man, there''s no need


    to keep him from me. To top it all off, he is a jealous man. If I''m here now, he''ll be out in an instant. So,


    Sonny, who are you hiding behind closed doors? Are you doing something that might upset Toby?"


    "Do you believe it is possible?" She rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh.


    "It''s impossible," he replied as he shook his head.


    "That''s it," Sonia stated tly.


    "Why won''t you let me in if you aren''t trying to keep a lover hidden inside and haven''t done anything


    that would cause Toby any harm? Who is it that you have hidden inside? Why are you acting so


    suspiciously?" Charles asked while pointing to the lounge that was located behind her.


    "I won''t reveal who''s inside, but I can tell you she''s a girl. She felt ufortable, so I invited her to take


    a break in my lounge. She was ready toe out after her nap, but she''s too embarrassed to leave my


    office while I have a visitor. She is pretty shy," she said as she lowered her arms.


    "Oh, really?" He arched his brow.


    Sonia looked at him coldly and responded, "Yes, without a doubt. How could I possibly betray Toby?"


    "No, of course not! I believe you, then. It would be disrespectful and inappropriate for me to have a look


    given that the person in question is a girl," Charles chuckled as he spoke.


    "You shouldn''t be seeing in the first ce." Sonia sneered before continuing, "It''s almost lunchtime


    now. Let me buy your lunch, okay?" she said this as she looked at the watch on her wrist.


    Such words were said to hold Charles at bay to allow Daphne to leave the lounge room. Otherwise, he


    would be endlessly curious about who was in the lounge, causing her to fear being discovered at any


    moment. Sonia was also anxious about the potential oue of the encounter between the two. For


    this reason alone, Sonia knew that both she and Charles should leave the office.


    After hearing Sonia''s words, he feltpelled to lower his head and nib his tummy. "Okay, I''ll admit it:


    I''m starting to get hungry. Where do you suggest we eat? Should we eat at the cafeteria or go to a


    nearby restaurant?"


    Sonia shed a grin as she reached the shelf where her purse was kept inside. "Ick the courage to


    ask you to the cafeteria because you are such a distinguished guest. Of course, we should eat at the


    restaurant. What kind of food are you craving right now?"


    "On this cold day, let''s have a spicy dish. It''ll be delicious," Charles answered as he licked the edge of


    his mouth.


    Sonia nodded and said, "Of course, but I suppose you favor it because you fear the cold."


    Her eyes wandered down his bare chest and ankles as she spoke and she let out a mischievousugh.


    "What? Do I, Charles Lane, seem like the kind of man afraid of the cold?" His eyes widened in surprise


    and he swiftly shot back, "To bepletely honest, all I care about is satisfying my craving for a spicy


    dish. As you have inferred, I do not suffer from a fear of the cold."


    After seeing the stubborn look on his face, she found it impossible to contain herughter. "Well then.


    You don''t fear the cold because you''re the best? I was wrong."


    "Hmph! You''re right!" Charles proudly raised his chin.


    "Okay." Seeing him responding in such a manner, Sonia rolled her eyes. "Please wait for me outside.


    I''ll be there as soon as I change."


    "Alright." He nodded and strolled away, hands in his pockets as he hummed.


    Sonia shook her head in surprise as she gazed at his back. After making sure he was gone, she ran


    straight to the lounge.


    She knocked on the lounge door with a hand, saying, "Daphne, please open the door. It''s me."


    Daphne turned the door handle and then pushed it open. When she realized it was Sonia and not


    Charles, she let out a sigh of relief and greeted, "Miss Reed."


    Daphne could not resist craning her neck to look around while weing Sonia as if she was


    searching for something.Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "You don''t need to look," Sonia reassured her, knowing who she was seeking. "Don''t worry; Charles


    has left."


    As soon as Daphne heard Sonia''s words, she quickly averted her gaze and smiled while pursing her


    lips. "I am very grateful to you, Miss Reed, for keeping President Lane from entering the lounge and


    coming over to find me. If not, the consequences will be severe. It''s my fault; I shouldn''t have peeked


    through the door in the first ce, or else he wouldn''t have noticed that I was staring at him. I apologize


    for giving him the impression that you harbored a man inside and acted inappropriately against


    President Fuller. My sincere apologies to you, Miss Reed."


    "It''s alright. It''s not your fault, and you shouldn''t me yourself either. Moreover, you are on my turf, so


    I''ll help you. I have just sent Charles out and I will take him to lunch. You are wee to stay here until


    we leave Paradigm Co., at which point you are free to leave."


    Daphne was aware that Sonia''s aim was to keep her from being discovered by Charles by leaving the


    lounge earlier with him. "Okay, I understand. Miss Reed, thank you so much."


    A grateful Daphne nodded.


    "There''s no need to thank me." While removing her hand from Daphne''s shoulder, Sonia said, "All right,


    take a little break and rx. I should be going; if I amte, Charles will be suspicious, and that will


    cause problems down the road."


    "Goodbye, Miss Reed." Daphne waved her hand.


    Sonia returned the gesture before turning around to pack her belongings from the desk.


    However, when Charles was done with his smoking, he had an idea that made him narrow his eyes as


    he nced at the assistants and secretaries working at the office next to the chairman''s room. He


    threw the stubs of his cigarettes and opened the assistant secretary''s door. It was still early; Sonia''s


    assistants and the secretary were still working hard. As soon as they heard the door open, several


    heads swiveled to observe who was there.


    When they saw Charles, they immediately greeted him. "Greetings, President Lane."


    He nodded, but his eyes darted about the room as if trying to locate someone.


    Despite this, he could not locate the person he was seeking, so he pursed his lips and asked, "Where


    is Daphne?"


    The other secretaries in the workce knew that Daphne had been in a rtionship with Charles


    before she started working for Paradigm Co. as Chairman Reed''s secretary. However, they were


    unaware that Charles and Daphne had ended their rtionship and thought those two were in a


    superior-subordinate rtionship.


    When they heard his question, the assistant secretaries said without hesitation, "President Lane,


    Daphne is with Miss Reed. Didn''t you see her when you were looking for Miss Reed?"

 Chapter 1001

    Chapter 1001


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    Charles fell silent after hearing the answers from the assistants and secretaries. What was it that he


    didn''t get it this time?


    After being hidden in the lounge by Sonia, the person watching him in the lounge was actually Daphne.


    It was no surprise that Sonia wanted to keep him from opening the lounge door so that he would not


    see Daphne.


    "President Lane? President Lane?" The assistants in the office could not help but call Charles twice out


    of curiosity when they saw him standing at the door with his head slightly lowered.


    "What''s the matter?" His eyes flickered briefly before returning to normal.


    "Oh, nothing at all. It''s just that we noticed you suddenly lost your focus and we''re concerned that


    something is up with you," the assistants said while shaking their heads.


    "It''s all right. Continue with your work. I''m not going to bother you," Charles said as he rubbed his


    brows.


    Then, he exited the room, shut the door, and leaned against the wall of the assistant secretary''s office.


    Deep in thought, he raised his head slightly to look at the corridor ceiling.


    He finally understood why Daphne hid in Sonia''s lounge and refused toe out. It was all because he


    had stated that he did not want to see her again. Due to his words, Daphne probably hid when she


    heard him approaching. Huh, she really did remember my words and stood by them.


    Charles had an iprehensible expression, indicating that he was feeling uneasy. By right, he should


    be happy and satisfied that Daphne had reacted in that manner. Instead of being pleased, he was


    rather irritated and bothered when she avoided him.


    He became enraged the more he thought about it, so he abruptly opened the door to the assistant


    secretary''s office once again.


    The ajar door disturbed the secretaries and assistants inside, who were focused on their work, and


    several of them stared at the man.


    "President Lane... Do you need something?" an assistant asked cautiously while blinking at a glum


    Charles.


    "Does Daphne have anything going on these days?" Charles asked with a muffled voice while


    squeezing his palms. For instance, did she mention me? Did she ask about my whereabouts?


    However, his face darkened at the thought. What the hell? Why should I care if Daphne has mentioned


    me? Am I crazy?


    Just as he was about to dismiss his question to save them from answering, the secretaries and


    assistants were prompt to reply to him. "Is there anything wrong with her?"


    The previous respondent touched her chin and thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes."


    "Really?" Charles asked, surprised.


    "Yes. Daphne has been frequently dazed recently. She is always sick and requests leave from time to


    time," the assistant confirmed.


    "She''s sick? What happened to her?" He frowned.


    "Well, I''m not sure about this. We asked her, but she didn''t say much," the assistant responded as she


    shook her head.


    After not receiving the desired answer, he hummed slightly and exited the room, closing the door


    behind him.


    The secretaries and assistants in the office exchanged nces after the door was shut; their eyes were


    filled with doubt and confusion. They all thought Charles was odd and no one could figure out what he


    was thinking.


    After closing the door, he leaned against the wall with his head lowered slightly while he thought about


    something.


    He was thinking about what the assistant had just said, that Daphne was frequently dazed and was


    also always absent due to an illness.


    Regarding her well-being, he actually did know a thing or two.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    When his mother returned from a physical examination in the hospital, she told him that she had met


    Daphne, who was also in the hospital.


    However, it was said that Daphne had some issues with her cervical spine, but no other major


    illnesses.


    Is it necessary to take a three to five days'' leave due to a cervical spine problem? Will this divert her


    attention from work?


    Daphne had known Charles for quite some time. Being the one most familiar with her, he knew that she


    was a powerful woman. She once had a nearly 104 degree fever but refused to give up her work.


    As a result, a person like her could not possibly be depressed simply because of a minor cervical


    spine issue. There had to be other reasons that he did not know of.


    Terminal illness? No way.


    Charles'' face tensed as he considered this possibility and his heart sank for a moment; it felt like his


    heart was yanked to the pit of his stomach, leaving him breathless.


    Just as he was thinking about it, the door to the office next to him clicked open, derailing his train of


    thoughts.


    Sonia emerged with her bag on her shoulders. She noticed the uneasy looking Charles, so she


    inquired, "What''s the matter, Charles?"


    "Oh, it''s nothing. I just thought of something. Well, it''s not important. Let''s go, shall we?" he spoke


    hoarsely as he raised his head and forced a smile.


    She nodded in agreement when she noticed he did not want to exin further. "Alright, let''s go." They


    walked together to the elevator, then entered the car and drove to the hotpot restaurant.


    However, Charles did not possess the lively and carefree character he usually had in Sonia''s office as


    he remained silent, serious, and preupied throughout the car ride.


    Driving, Sonia gaped a few times in an attempt to ask him what was wrong, but every time she saw his


    solemn expression, she eventually remained quiet. As a result, the mood in the car was rather


    depressed and heavy.


    Toby, on the other hand, had arrived at Connor''s hotel. He was not in a hurry to get out of the car;


    instead, he was sitting in his car, holding his phone and talking on the phone.


    After hearing about the news that Sonia and Charles had left Paradigm Co., he hummed with a frown


    and hung up the phone.


    When Tom overheard the conversation, he could not help but turn his head. "Are you upset, President


    Fuller, because Miss Reed is having lunch with Mr. Lane?"


    Toby kept his phone and looked at Tom. "Charles is here to help Little Leaf, so it''s perfectly normal for


    her to have a meal with him. If I''m jealous over trivial matters like this, I''ll appear selfish."


    "You''re right, President Fuller," Tom replied with a chuckle.


    However, Toby snorted before asking, "Please check the location where they''re having lunch."


    "For what, President Fuller? You said you aren''t jealous, didn''t you? So why do you care where they


    eat?" Tom''s brow furrowed.


    Is he shameless? He squinted at Toby as he thought about it with his eyes clearly mocking.


    Toby pursed his thin lips and answered quietly, "I''m not jealous, but that doesn''t mean I don''t care


    where they go. I''m only concerned about Little Leafs well-being."


    When Tom heard Toby''s words, he sighed and rolled his eyes.


    He''s unbelievable! He''s obviously jealous. Why is he being so pompous?


    Obviously, Tom obviously did not dare to rebuke him, so he just nodded and smiled. "Alright, President


    Fuller. I''ll have someone look into it," he assured.


    "After inquiring, please pay for their meal and then notify Charles that I have paid. Make sure he knows


    that I was the one who bought him lunch," Toby said with a noble hum as he raised his chin.

 Chapter 1002

    Chapter 1002


    Toby wanted to let Charles know that he was aware of their lunch together.


    Simultaneously, he wanted Charles to dispel the secret hrity about eating with Little Leaf that he had


    assumed Toby was unaware of


    Tom had known Toby for many years and could tell what he meant and what he was thinking just by


    looking at him.


    As such, Tom''s mouth twitched uncontrobly. President Fuller is so childish!


    He just said that he won''t be jealous of Miss Reed and Mr. Lane having lunch together, because he''s


    broad-minded.


    And now, he wants to prove his existence in front of Mr. Lane by reminding him that hees first to


    Sonia??


    Isn''t this a bit childish?


    "Why are you staring at me like that?" Toby asked coldly with his brows furrowed when he saw Tom''s


    speechless expression in the rearview mirror.


    Tom realized that he had been exposed, so he coughed and smiled quickly. "No, President Fuller.


    You''re mistaken. I wasn''t staring at you. I was thinking about something else."


    "Huh. Do you think I believe it?" Toby sneered.


    Tom quickly lowered his head and fell silent when he heard that.


    "Just do as I say," Toby reminded as he opened the door to exit the car.


    "Yes," Tom replied before scurrying down the car. All of a sudden, a thought shed through his mind,


    so he raised his head and carefully examined Toby''s back. "Miss Reed will definitely think we sent


    someone to follow her, President Fuller. Are you not concerned that she will be enraged by this


    misunderstanding?"


    Toby paused briefly, his face slightly frozen as he tidied up his cuffs.


    He clearly never considered this.


    When he heard Charles was having lunch with Sonia, he simply wanted to brag in front of the other


    man. I should''ve thought of that.


    When Tom noticed Toby was quiet, he seemed to understand something and fell silent.


    After a few seconds, Toby turned around and looked at Tom. "It''s none of your concern. I''ll take care of


    it myself. All you have to do is follow my instructions."


    "Yes," Tom answered, twitching the corner of his mouth. However, he was secretly grumbling. He said


    he will handle it? How will he deal with it??


    He''ll probably coax Miss Reed as he always does.


    I''m sure Miss Reed will easily be amused with some nice, sweet words.


    President Fuller must have thought so too...


    Hmph! Men! Tom snubbed his nose at Toby.


    Toby had no idea Tom was looking down on him. After straightening his clothes, he walked toward the


    hotel door.


    Tom was quick to follow, pulling out his phone and ordering his subordinates to carry out Toby''s orders.


    Soon, they were at the door of a presidential suite on the hotel''s top floor.


    Toby took a step back, turned his head and gave Tom a look.


    The witty assistant, on the other hand, nodded knowingly and took a step forward before ringing the


    doorbell.


    Thereafter, a voice from the loudspeaker located above Tom''s head asked, "Who is it?"


    He raised his head, fixed his gaze on the loudspeaker and responded, "Is this Mr. Connor''s assistant,


    Mr. Little? Hello, my name is Tom Brown and I work as Toby Fuller''s assistant."


    Xander was sluggish in the room, but his expression changed dramatically when he heard Tom''s


    words. He was wide awake now and his eyes had widened from the shock.


    What? It is Toby''s assistant, Tom, standing outside the door!


    Xander''s expression darkened as he became panicked and apprehensive.


    He quickly took a deep breath to regain hisposure and leaned against the door to avoid losing the


    battle. With lowered eyelids, he greeted, "Oh! It''s Mr. Brown, President Fuller''s assistant. Good day, Mr.


    Brown. May I know how I can help you?"


    They had been in Seafield for a long time and they did not deliberately hide their location, therefore.


    President Fuller could not have been unaware of their arrival.


    After all, Mr. Salzburg had also gone in search of Toby''s woman.


    Toby''s woman must have informed him that Mr. Salzburg had arrived.


    Hence, Toby had known Mr. Salzburg wasing to Seafield from the beginning, but he remained


    nonchnt for the past few days as if he waspletely unaware of Mr. Salzburg''s arrival.


    Xander had assumed that Toby would keep up his pretense until Mr. Salzburg left Seafield and


    returned to Westsanshire.


    However, Toby''s entourage arrived unexpectedly today.


    This had to be what Toby meant!


    When Tom heard Xander''s question and turned around, he motioned to Toby for assistance.


    Nevertheless, the man remained silent and only raised his chin.


    Tom understood his boss'' action in an instant, so he turned around and replied impatiently, "President


    Fuller travels all the way here to see Mr. Connor. We hope that you will be able to invite Mr. Connor to


    come forward and greet President Fuller.


    Otherwise, don''t hold it against us for breaking in and humiliating Mr. Connor. We''re warning you ahead


    of time."


    Tom had no desire to befriend Connor or his subordinates as there was no need to beat around the


    bush.


    Furthermore, Tom and Toby came here to meet Connor on their own initiative, so Connor should be


    grateful to them and extend a warm wee to them.


    After all, Toby could simply disregard Connor because of his inferior identity even if thetter begged to


    meet him one day.


    As a result, Tom no longer had to be polite to Connor and his people because of their identities; he


    could simply get straight to the point.


    Of course, Toby had given him the permission to do so.


    Xander, who was standing on the other side of the door, was enraged and gritted his teeth upon


    hearing Tom''s unkind and harsh words.


    Nheless, Xander was rational and he knew that the man outside was one of Toby''sckeys.


    Therefore, he could not afford to offend Tom right now; he needed to be patient for the time being, no


    matter how angry he was.


    Xander''s face was gloomy as he took another breath, but he politely replied, "I understand that


    President Fuller has requested to meet with our boss. I''ll report to Mr. Salzburg now. Please wait for a


    moment, Mr. Brown."


    "Hurry up! President Fuller is right next to me, so don''t make him wait too long. Or else, believe it or


    not, I''ll kick down the door," Tom yelled in rage, crossing his arms in a fierce gesture he had learned


    from Zane.


    Undoubtedly, Xander was fuming, though he had no choice but to grit his teeth and respond, "Mr.


    Brown Zhang, rest assured, Mr. Salzburg will be here shortly."


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    After he finished speaking, he squeezed his hands tightly together and walked into the house.


    Tom assumed Xander had left when he heard silence from his end. "President Fuller, what do you think


    of my performance earlier?" he asked, turning his head to Toby while shing a smile.


    "Not bad," Tobyplimented with his lips pursed.


    Tom grinned when he heard that. "Thank you for your kind words. Mr. Coleman taught me this. Despite


    hisck of trustworthiness in daily circumstances, he excels during crises."


    At the very least, his demeanor appeared to be highly offensive.


    At first, Tom had no desire to learn; after all, he was part of the elite, so how could he learn


    hooliganism?


    However, learning was required as Mr. Coleman''s hooliganism was lethal when it came to enraging


    people.


    Toby had a higher status than Connor in both Seafield and Westsanshire. Connor should be the one


    who paid a visit to him instead. Now that Toby had taken the initiative to see Connor, it implied that he


    wanted to retaliate.


    As a result, Tom was putting on a show earlier to let Connor know that Toby hade to visit him.


    Since Toby was the far more superior one, Connor must not disrespect him at all costs.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1003

    Chapter 1003


    "He''s only helpful in situations like this." Toby parted his thin lips and remarked on Zane.


    "If Mr. Coleman knew you looked down on him so much, President Fuller, he''d probably get angry."


    Tom pushed his sses.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    "And I should be afraid of that?" Toby gently raised his eyelids.


    When Tom heard that, he quickly waved his hand and rified, "No, no. You''ve misunderstood,


    President Fuller. That is not what I mean."


    "Then, shut up," Toby chided while frowning.


    Shrugging, Tom then made a zipper motion with his mouth and stopped speaking.


    Meanwhile, Xander dashed into the audio-visual room in the suite without knocking and simply pushing


    the door open. The room was dark and only the movie screen shone brightly.


    The screen was showing a ck-and-white film from the 1920s and the babble of singing came from


    the gramophone on the side, giving the entire AV room the appearance of a horror venue.


    Connor sat on the single sofa in the center of the screen, dressed in a white suit. He closed his eyes,


    swayed his head and fingers to the music and listened intently to the musical.


    Xander approached Connor carefully while ncing at the drama film on the big screen and taking in


    his surroundings. Even though he had seen simr scenes before, he could not help but shiver in fear


    at that moment.


    Too bad, Xander was terrified of ghosts and not of anything else. Not to mention how ying ck and


    white movies with horror special effects and soundtracks in an originally dark AV room heightened the


    dread.


    "Hello, Mr. Salzburg," Xander greeted Connor respectfully and bravely approached him while lowering


    his head.


    Connor, who was grooving to the music, came to a halt. The next moment, he slowly opened his eyes


    and looked at Xander in front of him. His pupils constricted, indicating that he was clearly bothered by


    the guy''s interruption in the midst of his entertainment.


    "What''s the matter?" Connor inquired quietly after taking a sip of red wine to calm himself.


    Although he was able to suppress his anger, Xander could still sense his boss'' rage, so he lowered his


    head. "Mr. Salzburg. Big news. Toby has arrived."


    When Connor heard this, he stopped swirling his red wine and raised his head to look at Xander. "What


    exactly did you say? Toby Fuller is here?"


    "Yes." Xander nodded and added, "He''s right outside. He has brought his assistant with him to see


    you."


    Connor tightened his grip on the wine ss upon hearing this. He was silent for a moment before


    speaking again, "Did he tell you why he''de to see me?"


    Connor and Toby both believed that they would meet one day, but clearly, it was not now; not when it


    was a bad timing seeing that neither of them was prepared.


    Still, he was not surprised when he realized Toby made no statement or moves after so many days,


    despite being aware of Connor''s arrival.


    Out of his expectation, Toby appeared at this precise moment.


    This exceeded his expectations.


    He picked up the remote control and pressed the pause button, bringing the movie on the screen to a


    halt.


    He then stood up, epted his dragon-head walking stick from Xander before lightly squeezing it and


    asked, "Did Toby mention why he wanted to see me so suddenly?"


    "No... I inquired, but they both remained silent. Instead..." Xander replied with a shake of his head; his


    face revealed a hint of rage midway through his sentence.


    Connor squinted his eyes as he noticed it. "Instead?"


    "I''m sorry, Mr. Salzburg," Xander quickly apologized before continuing, "Their attitude is terrible. They


    come to see us, but they are extremely arrogant. Tom even threatened me that if I don''t bring you to


    meet Toby right away, they''d break in forcefully.


    That''s truly revolting of them."


    After hearing Xander''s exnation, Connor''s face darkened but not to the point where he was about to


    erupt in rage. Instead, he just grimaced and asked, "What''s there to be angry about? He has a higher


    social standing than I do regardless in Seafield or Westsanshire. I should have paid him a visit, not the


    other way around. Now that he has taken the initiative toe see me, he must disy some


    arrogance in order to suppress me. Otherwise, it will imply that he is afraid of me. Therefore, there''s no


    need to be upset. If I were in Toby''s shoes, I''d do the same."


    "Yes." Xander bowed before remaining silent.


    "Perhaps Toby did note for the grudge between me and him," Connor rubbed the dragon head


    carved on his walking stick.


    "Do you mean Toby is here because of the woman, Miss Reed, Mr. Salzburg?" Xander stared at him,


    puzzled.


    "That is most likely it. We shouldn''t meet now to air our grievances. Toby, after all, has yet to discover


    anything. If I were him, I would only meet to dere war after conducting an extensive investigation."


    "What if Toby is here because of something he discovered, not because of the woman?" Xander was


    unsettled.


    "If he could, he would have found it a long time ago and would not have been suspicious until now. Do


    you get it?" Connor said somberly.


    After meeting Connor''s cold and piercing gaze, Xander lowered his head in fear and quickly replied,


    "Yes, I understand."


    "I don''t want to hear any discouraging words from you again," Connor warned sternly.


    Xander nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Salzburg."


    Only then did Connor avert his gaze and said, "I''m still confident when ites to how much Toby has


    discovered. On the other hand, he must havee to me at this point solely for Sonia''s sake because


    the issue with her missing parts has yet to be resolved. Today is the deadline and if it is not met, she


    will face serious consequences. Last night, I spoke with Sonia and she stated that she has a solution.


    However, I haven''t heard anything about it from the people we sent to keep an eye on her, so the


    ostensible solution could be to rely on Toby."


    "That is why he showed up!" Realization hit Xander. "Now it all makes sense. If so, then Toby must


    genuinely care about Sonia."


    "It may not be the case though." Connor stated as he gripped his cane, "Assisting Sonia in solving the


    problem does not imply that he cares about her. After all, Sonia is one of them and when something


    bad happens to Toby''s people, he naturally lends a helping hand. Furthermore, such a problem is not


    difficult for him to resolve. All he has to do is show up. As a result, even if he doesn''t love her, he can''t


    stand by and watch her suffer. This will only embarrass himself once the words are out."


    "You''re right. Toby''s willingness toe forward to deal with such a difficult matter demonstrates his


    concern for Sonia," Xander analyzed as he pushed his sses.


    "Alright. That''s enough. Let''s not get into that right now. I should meet Toby since he''s here. We should


    greet him before he breaks in. If that happens, I''ll be the butt of everyone''s joke," Connor uttered while


    rubbing his temples.


    "Yes," the assistant responded quickly before following his boss out of the AV room.


    After exiting, Connor sat on the sofa in the living room with his legs spread apart and his cane


    positioned between his legs. He ced his hands on top of the dragon-head and lowered his head


    slightly, making it impossible to decipher what he was thinking.


    Xander, on the other hand, went to open the suite''s door.

 Chapter 1004

    Chapter 1004


    Outside the door, Tom kept staring at his watch, estimating in his mind how much time had passed


    since Xander left.


    Leaning against the wall beside him, Toby suddenly opened his eyes, asking, "How long has it been?"


    Tom lowered his wrist and replied, "Three minutes."


    Toby''s eyes narrowed. "Kick the door open!" How could it take that assistant three full minutes just to


    notify his boss? Obviously, they didn''t give a damn about him. Since that was the case, he didn''t have


    to y nice with them anymore. He would just force his way in.


    Tom had been waiting for Toby to say this, so he immediately replied with a smile, "Alright, President


    Fuller. I''ll get it done right away." As soon as he finished his sentence, he stepped back and lifted his


    foot to kick the door.


    However, the instant he kicked out his leg, the door suddenly opened with Xander emerging behind it.


    As he didn''t manage to pull back his leg in time, Xander was immediately sent flying by the kick before


    landing on the steps leading to the hallway at the back.


    Consequently, Xander curled himself into a ball while letting out cries of pain.


    No one expected this to happen.


    At this moment, Tom still had his foot raised in midair in a kicking posture. He looked at the open door,


    then Xander, who was clutching his stomach in pain and rolling on the floor across from him with sweat


    all over his face. "Uh... Will you believe me if I say I didn''t mean it?" He slowly lowered his leg as his


    lips twitched.


    When Xander heard this, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Struggling to open his eyes, he stared


    at Tom with bloodshot eyes as if to say something. However, thanks to the acute pain in his stomach,


    he could hardly even breathe, let alone speak. As a result, he could only curl up on the floor while


    clutching his stomach with both hands. Enduring the sharp pain, he red hard at Tom, as if wanting to


    skin thetter alive.


    Feeling somewhat guilty under his stare, Tom touched the tip of his nose. "Um, sorry, Mr. Little, but I


    really didn''t mean it. I''d like to apologize to you, and I''m sorry for what happened. Please don''t take it to


    heart. I''ll be more careful to not hurt you again by mistake next time, really," he apologized with an


    earnest look, but he didn''t sound apologetic at all.


    Even his face showed no guilt or remorse for having injured Xander by mistake. Instead, all it showed


    was clear, unconcealed joy.


    That was right: not only did Tom not feel sorry for what he had done, he even felt smug about it. He


    also didn''t expect to end up sending Connor''sckey flying with a kick when all he wanted was to kick


    the door open. What does this mean? This means that even God can''t stand the sight of Connor and


    hisckey, so He purposefully created the opportunity for me to hit thetter. Otherwise, why would he


    come to the door just when I was about to kick it open? That''s the work of fate!


    At the thought of this, he almost grinned from ear to ear.


    How could Xander not know what Tom was thinking when he saw thetter like this? "Pffft!" He spat out


    a mouthful of blood for real. "Y-You..." He pulled his hand away from his stomach, then raised it


    tremblingly to point at Tom as if to use thetter.


    However, he was in so much pain that he didn''t have the strength to say aplete sentence. The


    hard kick he had sustained just now made him feel almost like being hit by a truck. In short, now he felt


    like his insides had been crushed from the impact, and he nearly passed out from the resulting pain. He


    felt wretched enough to begin with, but little did he realize that this b*stard would lie through his teeth.


    His insides twinged with anger. This *sshole says he''s sorry, but he doesn''t sound sorry to me at all.


    The most ridiculous thing is that he says he''ll be careful next time. Damn it! He''s thinking of doing that


    again next time!


    Seeing how Xander spat out blood and appeared to be dying, Tom opened his mouth and was stunned.


    "President Fuller... Could I have hurt him badly?"


    Toby had been silently watching the scene all this while. At this moment, he finally raised his eyes and


    said, "Who cares? Just deal with it." With that, he directly strode in through the door before walking


    toward Xander.


    Xander was still lying on the floor when he sensed a shadow looming over him. He looked up to see


    the man walking toward him. Tall and expressionless, the man had a powerful and domineering


    presence that was impossible to ignore.


    Xander stared at Toby in a daze. It wasn''t like he didn''t know what Toby looked like, but he had never


    seen this guy with his own eyes. He had only seen Toby in photos and documents. He knew that those


    in power usually had amanding presence. Even so, he never expected that the presence projected


    by the man before him was so oppressive that he felt like being grabbed by the throat when all the man


    did was lower his eyes and dart a look at him. He dared not even breathe, nor did he have the courage


    to meet the man''s eyes.


    Flustered, he hastily lowered his head to avoid making eye contact with Toby. Only by doing so was he


    able to breathe and feel that he was still alive. It was unlike just now, when he felt his blood freeze as


    though he was going to die.


    This guy really isn''t easy to deal with! he thought to himself, his heart pounding heavily as his body


    trembled even more violently. He used to think that his boss was the most intimidating and formidable


    person on earth who struck terror into the hearts of whoever that met him. However, he was wrong.


    The man before him was the most intimidating and terrifying person he had met so far. He was at least


    able to look Connor in the eye sometimes, but he didn''t even have the courage to meet the eyes of the


    man before him. It wasughable that he had thought that if he were to meet this man formally, he


    would take a good look at thetter to see if he was really as intimidating as he was rumored to be.


    It was true that there were rumors circting in the outside world about how Toby was a demon king


    and how scary he was, but he had never believed them. Not only that; he even scoffed at these


    rumors, thinking that they were false exaggerations. However, he now finally realized that these rumors


    were no exaggerations. They were true, and he was the one with tunnel vision.


    On the other hand, Toby didn''t know what Xander was thinking. He merely lowered his eyes and darted


    a look at thetter, whom he viewed as nothing but a piece of trash, before withdrawing his gaze and


    lifting his foot to step over the man.


    Imitating his boss, Tom stepped over Xander as well.


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    Xander felt humiliated when Toby stepped over him, but the difference between them was so huge that


    he was still able to tell himself to calm down and pretend to know nothing. However, when Tom stepped


    over him, he gnashed his teeth in hatred and wished he could tear Tom to pieces right away.


    Naturally, Tom sensed the murderous gaze behind him, so he looked back and happened to see


    Xander''s eyes bulging with anger. Instead of being frightened, he raised his chin with a provoking smile


    and gave thetter a taunting thumbs down.


    At the sight of this, Xander could no longer restrain himself. Everything went ck before his eyes, and


    he fainted.


    Tom raised his eyebrows in surprise upon seeing this. The next instant, he quickly curled his lips and


    turned his head back indifferently, with no intention of calling a doctor for the unconscious Xander. To


    him, Xander was just ackey of Connor, so it didn''t matter to him that he fainted. Moreover, he passed


    out from anger just like that, so he definitely wasn''t capable of anything. He can''t even endure this little


    bit of hardship? What an unpresentable good-for-nothing! To think that he''d pass out just like that.

 Chapter 1005

    Chapter 1005


    Tom wasn''t at all worried about what would happen to Xander afterward. As President Fuller said, we''ll


    just deal with it, anyway, he thought. Putting Xander out of his mind, he quickly caught up to Toby


    ahead of him, paying no more attention to the unconscious man.


    Toby entered the suite''s living room. At a nce, he saw Connor sitting across from him with his eyes


    slightly closed as if he was napping. At that very moment, he stopped in his tracks with a violent storm


    brewing in his eyes. So this old man is Connor Salzburg, the man who failed my mother and caused


    her to kill herself. He might also be my dad''s murderer! At the thought of this, he clenched his hands at


    his sides into fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked audibly.


    Looking down at the veins standing out on the back of Toby''s hands and his pale knuckles, Tom quickly


    whispered, "Calm down, President Fuller. Your left arm hasn''t recovered yet. If anything happens to


    you, Miss Reed will get worried."


    As he had expected, the instant he mentioned Sonia, Toby instantly calmed down a lot, and his fists


    unclenched a little.


    At the sight of this, he breathed a sigh of relief. Miss Reed is useful after all. Seems like if President


    Fuller loses his temper again in the future, I can mention her to quell his anger, he thought to himself as


    his eyes flickered. The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was feasible. In the end, he


    couldn''t help but nod twice to himself.


    On the other hand, Toby had no time to care about what Tom was thinking behind him. All he knew was


    that he had finally met Connor, the person behind the death of his parents. He had always thought that


    he could remainposed enough even if he met Connor, but now, he finally realized that he was


    wrong, and that he had yet to reach that level ofposure. Upon meeting his enemy, he was inwardly


    consumed with impulsiveness and violent rage, so much so that he even wanted to kill this guy right


    away. Turns out that I''m not as good as I thought. Clenching his fists again, he took a deep breath. It


    took him a lot of effort to barely suppress the murderous intent inside him and continue to walk on.


    Sitting on the sofa nearby, Connor rubbed the dragon''s head on his walking stick when he heard the


    footsteps. "Xander, go make some tea if you''ve brought them here."


    There was no answer.


    Toby stopped right in front of the sofa opposite Connor''s. Then, he sat down and stared at thetter.


    Naturally, Tom stepped behind him and stood still while also staring at Connor. Seeing how Connor


    closed his eyes with a calm and mysterious expression, he couldn''t help but roll his eyes while


    sneering inwardly. This old guy is quite good at pretending. Now that we''re here, he''s still closing his


    eyes in an enigmatic fashion. Those who don''t know what''s going on would think that he''s ying the


    role of some reclusive master. Just look at how pretentious he is; no ordinary people could reach that


    level. "You''d better stop calling for your assistant, Mr. Salzburg. I''m afraid that he can''t get up and make


    tea at the moment," he said while pushing his sses.


    Finally, Connor opened his eyes across from them. At first nce, he saw an expressionless Toby


    sitting on the sofa across from him while exuding frostiness through every pore.


    The instant Connor saw Toby, his pupils shrank, and a hint of an inscrutable emotion shed across his


    eyes. The next instant, though, he resumed his former expression as if nothing had happened. He even


    smiled gently at Toby, saying, "We finally get to meet in person, son. You''re even taller and more


    handsome than I imagined. As expected of Vai''s child."


    Toby knitted his brows; his eyes looked even more murderous. "You have no right to call me ''son,'' nor


    are you worthy of calling my mother by her pet name."


    "Hehe." Connor chuckled. Instead of getting angry, heughed. "In terms of family background and


    social status, I''m indeed not your equal, and I have to call you President Fuller. However, considering


    our age and my past rtionship with your mother, you''re indeed supposed to call me Uncle Connor,


    whereas I''m supposed to call you ''son.'' As for me calling your mother by her pet name..." He narrowed


    his eyes with a meaningful smile. "I think I''m the only person on earth whom your mother would want to


    call her by her pet name."


    As soon as he said that, Toby''s face immediately darkened, but he couldn''t make a retort. Indeed,


    given her feelings for him, his mother would naturally want Connor to call her like that.


    Connor''s smile deepened when he saw how Tobypressed his lips without saying a word. "By the


    way, son, your assistant behind you just said that my assistant couldn''t get up. What does that mean?"


    Tom stepped forward, but just when he was about to speak, Toby raised a hand to signal him to back


    off. Upon seeing this, he immediately gave a knowing nod and stepped back to his original position.


    Toby put down his hand while looking at Connor. Then, as his thin lips parted, he said in a cold and


    stony voice, "I''m not that interested to mention so much about an unimportant person. Let''s get straight


    to the point. Where are the spare parts of my lover''spany?"


    Connor''s face showed no surprise when he heard Toby say this. After all, he had figured out Toby''s


    purpose ining here when he learned of thetter''s arrival. And now, what Toby had said merely


    confirmed his guess. "So you''re here for what happened to Miss Reed. Seems like you''re deeply in


    love with her." He looked at Toby with a shrewd gleam in his eyes.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby kept his countenance so that no one could tell his emotions. "That isn''t something you should


    care about. You just have to tell me whether you''re gonna return the spare parts or not!"


    Seeing how cold and unyielding his manner was, Connor let out a sigh of regret. Thisd is pretty good


    at maintaining hisposure; there''s no way to tell anything from his face. Ah, young people


    nowadays... Rubbing the dragon''s head on his walking stick, he sighed to himself while feeling jealous


    at the same time. He had been heaped with praise since childhood, but he wasn''t able to be as


    imperturbable as Toby was when he was younger. It was evident from this alone that he was inferior to


    Homer. He had beenpared with Homer when he was younger. They said that however outstanding


    he was, he was slightly inferior to Homer. And now, even Homer''s son did better than he had been in


    his younger days. Ha! How ironic.


    He lowered his eyes to conceal the emotions in them before putting on a gentle smile again. He


    replied, "Now that you''vee here in person, wouldn''t it make you look bad if I were to refuse to


    return the spare parts? We''ve never met in person before, but we''ve heard about what kind of a person


    each other is, so we naturally won''t offend each other easily. Moreover, it''s still hard for us to shed all


    pretenses of cordiality now, isn''t it?"


    Toby narrowed his eyes. "Your words seem to reveal a lot of information."


    Connor let out a chuckle. "Some things aren''t that easy to point out, don''t you think?" he said while


    pouring a cup of tea for Toby. Then, he pushed the cup of tea toward thetter with an inviting gesture.


    Toby nced down at the cup of tea, but he had no intention of picking it up and drinking it. Instead, he


    stood up from the sofa. "By saying those things, don''t you worry that I''ll kill you right away to save


    myself a lot of trouble and get everything over and done with?"


    Connor picked up his cup of tea and drank it slowly. "You won''t. If you do that, all the contributions your


    grandfather made to the country back then will be wiped out overnight. Do you wanna make him turn in


    his grave?"


    Toby''s eyes were blood red. "No wonder you dare to admit it. Turns out you were waiting for me to say


    that."


    Connor looked at him smilingly without saying a word.


    Toby closed his eyes hard for a long time before suppressing his anger. His face sullen, he said, "I


    didn''te here for nothing today. I''ll remember what you said, and I''ll end your life myself!"

 Chapter 1006

    Chapter 1006


    As Connor had said, he was indeed eager for revenge, but he wouldn''t really kill thetter right away to


    save trouble. If he were to do that, he would ruin the aplishments Norman had made with his own


    life.


    Given Norman''s past contributions, the country wouldn''t hold him ountable for killing Connor, but it


    would use Norman''s meritorious exploits to cancel out the impact and trouble caused by him killing


    Connor like that. Norman had performed meritorious deeds at the cost of his own life, so it really wasn''t


    worth it to use them to cancel out the problems caused by Connor''s death. He wouldn''t do that either,


    so he would use the most righteous means of revenge: he would find the evidence of Connor''s crimes


    before requesting the top guns to let him execute Connor in person. He believed that they wouldn''t turn


    down such a request. As long as he didn''t do anything reckless and cause hundreds of thousands of


    people to lose their jobs or their families, the authorities would definitely satisfy him for Norman''s sake.


    Connor''s grip on the dragon''s head on his walking stick tightened when he heard Toby''s words.


    However, he loosened his grip with a dismissive smile soon afterward, saying, "Is that so? In that case,


    let''s see what you''re capable of."


    Toby raised his chin slightly while looking down at Connor with the aid of his height. "You won''t be


    disappointed. I just hope that you won''t beg me for mercy when the dayes."


    Naturally, Connor didn''t like it when Toby looked at him with contempt like this. However, he couldn''t do


    anything about it because of thetter''s height, so he had no choice but to put up with it while barely


    managing to keep smiling. "Of course I won''t."


    "Good to hear that," Toby replied coldly with his hands in his trouser pockets. Then, he threatened


    airily, "I hope you''ll have the spare parts delivered to Paradigm Co. within an hour. Otherwise, even if I


    can''t take your life at the moment, I can make you suffer. Try me if you don''t believe it."


    Connor replied with a chuckle, "Rest assured, son. Since I''ve promised to return the spare parts, I


    won''t put it off, of course. So there are some things that you can''t do even if you want to."


    Toby''s eyes flickered slightly. "Is that so? That''s too bad. I was hoping that you could be a bitte." If


    this old man does so, I''ll have a reason to give him trouble.


    Connor let out another chuckle. "Now that you''ve fulfilled your purpose ining here, I wonder if you


    can talk about my purpose."


    "What do you want?" Toby squinted.


    Connor stood up as well. "As you know, I''ve never set foot in Seafield over the past 30 years. Now I''m


    here for my only daughter."


    "So Anya really is your illegitimate daughter?" Toby cut him short.


    Connor lowered his eyes to conceal the look in them. "Of course. What''s wrong? Are you suspecting


    that she isn''t my daughter?"


    "The police have told me about the way you interacted with Anya. It''s hard for me to believe that you


    two are father and daughter," Toby replied, admitting straightforwardly that he didn''t believe it.


    Connor smiled calmly. "I see. No wonder you''re suspicious. It''s normal for you to be suspicious, though.


    It''s true that I''m not nice to my daughter. After all, she is a disgrace to a man. I believe that you''d also


    be like that if you were me."


    "That''d be impossible." Toby''s thin lips curled into a cold sneer. "Firstly, I''m not like you. I wouldn''t keep


    on saying that I love someone while getting involved with another woman out there at the same time,


    nor would I produce a love child. Not only do you treat your illegitimate child badly, but you even regard


    her as a disgrace. Didn''t you bring disgrace upon yourself by giving way to your lust?"


    One could say that these words unceremoniously blew Connor''s cover and exposed the most


    hypocritical side of him to the sun. An illegitimate child was indeed a disgrace to a man. However, the


    disgrace wasn''t brought by the illegitimate child; it was brought by the man upon himself for failing to


    restrain his urges. Connor was such a man. Despite being the one in the wrong, he put all the me on


    his illegitimate daughter, thinking that it was thetter''s presence that had brought disgrace upon him.


    Thinking that he had done nothing wrong, he put his actions out of his mind. Such a man was a typical


    example of selfishness, and such a selfish person usually loved themselves the most. They would


    never fall in love with anyone else.


    So, my mother... Toby sneered inwardly in mockery. Did you see that, Mom? Such is the man you love.


    Little did Connor think Toby would say such things without sparing his feelings. Perhaps because he


    knew that Toby was right and that he was such a person, he found thetter''s words uneptable at


    this very moment. For a moment, he got so exasperated that he stared at Toby with bloodshot eyes. He


    uttered sinisterly between clenched teeth, "Don''t you worry that I''ll get angry when you say these


    things?"


    Tobyughed as if he had heard a cosmic joke. "Do you think I should be worried?" He took a step


    forward to close in on Connor. With his height and hismanding presence, he was more


    outstanding than Connor in every aspect. Moreover, he was a fierce tiger in its prime, whereas Connor


    was already an old wolf in the twilight of its life. It was a no-brainer which of them would win if they


    were toe head-to-head. In terms of presence alone, Connor was several notches below him, for he


    totally suppressed Connor.


    "I''m not at all worried about whether you''ll be unhappy. Even if I kill you right now, no one would dare to


    say anything, so you should be d that my grandfather''s meritorious service is saving your life for the


    time being. Don''t get ahead of yourself and forget whose territory this is and who you''re facing. Are youContent ? N?velDrama.Org.


    even qualified to threaten me?" He looked down at Connor with a mercilessly cold look in his eyes, as if


    he was looking at a dead person.


    Connor had always thought he was the one who brought the fear of death upon others in his life.


    However, he never dreamed that he would feel the fear of death brought upon him by somebody else


    one day. Furthermore, that somebody was a young man 30 years his junior. Such a blow was indeed a


    humiliation to him. At the same time, it made him realize that he was indeed getting ahead of himself.


    He had forgotten that he was in Seafield, not Westsanshire. Also, he had forgotten that the person he


    was facing wasn''t any of those who had feared him in the past, but the demon king who harbored


    grudges against him but was of a much higher status than he was. This was his mistake.


    Seeing how Connor fell silent with a darkened expression, Toby withdrew his gaze. "I have a rough


    idea what your purpose is. You want me to let Anya off, so you first went to my woman. But you failed,


    which was why you intercepted herpany''s spare parts to threaten her."


    Connor''s ringed thumb moved slightly to rub against the dragon''s head on his walking stick. "You''re


    right. I thought she was a persuadable and soft-hearted woman, so I went to her after arriving in


    Seafield. I thought it''d be easy for me to achieve my goal. As long as she was willing to forgive Anya, I


    could offer doublepensation. However, she turned me down, so I had no choice but to resort to


    this. Still, I didn''t think that my n would fail. She''s even more stubborn than I imagined. She refuses


    to relent even under such circumstances."


    "She''s my woman. If she were to give in so easily, I wouldn''t have fallen in love with her," Toby said


    through his thin lips without concealing the pride in his voice.


    "Is that so?" Connor''s eyes flickered.


    Toby then said, "On the other hand, you intercepted the goods to coerce my woman when you failed to


    reach your objective. Don''t you worry that I''ll get angry when you do so?"

 Chapter 1007

    Chapter 1007


    He repeated the question Connor had thrown at him.


    Connor chuckled. "If I were worried, I wouldn''t have done that. After all, all I did was intercept some


    goods, so you wouldn''t go so far as to fight me to the bitter end. Furthermore, I''ve decided since the


    beginning that if you personally ask me to return the spare parts, I''ll immediately give them back


    without dy. Wouldn''t that give you no reason toy a hand on me?" It was exactly because he was


    absolutely certain about this that he dared to do so. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have taken the risk.


    "You know me better than I imagined," Toby taunted.


    Connor rubbed the dragon''s head with a half-smile. "And so do you."


    "In that case, if I didn''te to you to ask for the batch of spare parts, would you continue to feign


    ignorance by not returning the spare parts? Would you let my lover''spany get into trouble so that


    you couldugh at me?" Toby said while unleashing his murderous intent.


    Connor, the old fox, still had a smile on his face. "How is that possible? I knew that you''d definitely


    come back. After all, you and I know very well what Miss Reed is capable of. She has no means to


    solve this issue. If she wants to prevent Paradigm Co. from going bankrupt, all she has to do is agree


    to let Anya off, and I''ll naturally return the spare parts to her. However, she refuses to do so, so I have


    no choice but to keep on stalling her. You know Paradigm Co.''s situation without me telling you about it.


    The problem with the spare parts can''t be held off, but she can''t produce arge sum of money to


    weather the crisis caused by theck of spare parts, so you''re the only one she can turn to. She''s your


    woman, so it''s only natural that you can''t sit by and do nothing about it. Well, my guess proved to be


    right, no?"


    In reality, it wasn''t for Anya''s sake that he intercepted the spare parts in the beginning. His real purpose


    was to sound out how much the man before him cared about Sonia. Anya was just an extra. What if


    Sonia was softhearted enough to agree to let Anya off? Even if the couple didn''t agree to let Anya off,


    he could sound out how much Toby cared about Sonia. In short, whatever the oue was, he


    wouldn''t be at a disadvantage. He would get what he wanted, and he proved to have seeded. Sonia


    was very dependent on Toby. On the other hand, Toby might not love her so much as to be unable to


    live without her, but he was absolutely deeply in love with her. Otherwise, why would hee in person


    instead of sending his assistant here? Of course, this wasn''t enough. What he wanted to see the most


    was for Toby to love Sonia so much that he could sacrifice his life in exchange for hers. Only then could


    Sonia be of great use in the future.


    "Unfortunately, your guess is partly wrong," Toby mocked sharply while looking at Connor. It was true


    that Sonia couldn''t produce the money, but she had never intended to ask him for help. She''d rather


    consult Charles about how to solve the problem than ask him for help. Connor was wrong about this


    from the beginning.


    Connor''s confident smile froze all of a sudden when he heard Toby say that his guess was wrong. "My


    guess is wrong? That''s impossible. How am I wrong?"


    Toby had no intention of answering his questions, though. His thin lips parted slightly as he replied


    coldly, "That isn''t what you''re supposed to know. It''s true that I won''t fight you to the bitter end just


    because you intercepted the spare parts, but I''ll remember this and settle all the scores with you in the


    future." His eyes gleamed with frostiness as he spoke.


    Connor stopped rubbing the dragon''s head with his thumb for a moment. Soon after that, he started


    rubbing the dragon''s head again, but Toby''s words seemed to make him feel somewhat restless. His


    thumb rubbed against the dragon''s head much faster than just now, which revealed his turbulent


    emotions. "Is that so? Well, I''ll be looking forward to that." He lowered his eyes. "Having said so much,


    I have yet to tell you my purpose. Your guess just now is right. I''m indeed here for that disappointing


    daughter of mine. I don''t like her either, but no matter what, she''s my daughter. I can''t bear to see her


    like this, so I''d like to ask you to show her mercy and let her off. Of course, I''ll pay Miss Reed the full


    compensation she''s supposed to receive. I''ll even pay her doublepensation. How about that?"


    The instant he said so, Tom nearly threw up in disgust, not to mention Toby. The question of whether


    Connor had caused the death of Homer aside, it was an indisputable fact that Connor had caused the


    death of Toby''s mother. Secondly, it was also an indisputable fact that Anya, Connor''s illegitimate


    daughter, had repeatedly bullied Sonia. One might as well say that Toby and Sonia had a lot of scores


    to settle with Connor and Anya, so what gave Connor the cheek to ask Toby to have Anya released? In


    short, this was his first time seeing someone asking their enemy to release one of their people. Don''t


    tell me Connor thinks that President Fuller will definitely say yes once he makes a request. What a


    joke!


    As he had expected, Toby replied in a grim voice, "You want me to let Anya off? Do you think that''s


    possible?"


    Connor wasn''t surprised by Toby''s reply. Instead, heughed. "I know that with the history between us,


    it''s indeed quite impossible for you to let my daughter off like that. But what if I trade something for


    that?"


    "I''m not interested," Toby replied without the slightest hesitation.


    Connor looked at him, his eyes flickering. "We''re talking about the stuff your mother left behind back


    then. Are you sure that you''re not interested?"


    Toby''s face changed color instantly at these words. Staring at Connor with bloodshot eyes, he asked,


    "What did you say? You mean the stuff my mother left behind?"


    Connor smiled smugly. "That''s right. I won''t go so far as to lie to you about this kind of thing."


    Toby fell silent, whereas Tom had aplicated expression on his face. They never expected things to


    turn out this way. To think that Connor still has the stuff left behind by thete Madam in his hands! Not


    only that, but he''s now using it to threaten President Fuller, thought Tom.


    Toby stared at Connor with a terrifyingly grim expression. "What did my mother leave behind?"


    Connor picked up his cup of tea and took a sip from it. "I won''t tell you what it is for now. All I can tell


    you is that it was very, very important to your mother. She gave it to me when she and I were together,


    saying that it was as important as her own life. She gave it to me in hopes that I''d think of her whenever


    I saw it, so I''ve kept it well until now."


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    "Howmentable," Toby suddenlymented.


    Connor was startled for a moment. "What do you mean?"


    Toby replied, "Something as important as her own life, huh? My mother gave such an important thing to


    you because she trusted you. To think that you''d betray her trust by offering the stuff she gave you in


    exchange for your illegitimate daughter. Isn''t thatmentable?" He raised his head and suddenly


    stretched out his hand. Then, before Connor could realize what was going on, he immediately grabbed


    Connor''s throat and lifted him up with all his might.


    Connor was only about 170 centimeters tall. Moreover, he was thin, so Toby lifted him up effortlessly


    with one hand. Before Connor realized it, he was already at least six centimeters above the ground.


    The walking stick in Connor''s hand dropped to the floor with a thud and rolled on the carpet before


    coming to a stop. On the other hand, Connor was suspended in midair. At this moment, his face was


    flushed, and his eyes were bulging and tinged with blood.


    He was opening his mouth in an attempt to ask Toby to let go of him, but Toby grabbed his neck so


    tightly that he couldn''t make a sound at all. Consequently, he could only keep trying to prise Toby''s


    fingers, wanting to prise thetter''s fingers from his neck.

 Chapter 1008

    Chapter 1008


    At this moment, however, Toby had let rage ovee his reason. All he knew was that not only had


    the old man in his hand caused the death of his mother, but he was now offering to trade the stuff she


    had left behind for the life of his illegitimate daughter. There was no way he could keep calm, so he


    grasped Connor''s throat in a vice-like grip that he gradually tightened.


    Soon after that, Connor felt that he couldn''t breathe; his face turned from crimson to purple and was


    streaming with tears and snot. His eyes rolled up uncontrobly, and all the veins in his temples


    protruded as if they would burst simultaneously in the next second. In short, he felt terrible at this very


    moment. He couldn''t breathe, and his strength was gradually melting away. At first, he had been


    struggling desperately to prise Toby''s hand in a panic, but he slowed down as his strength melted.


    He knew that Toby was in the mood to kill and wanted to take his life. He could even feel his death


    approaching at this very moment. No, no way! I can''t die! I mustn''t die now that my wishes haven''t


    been fulfilled! At the thought of this, he suddenly had a will to survive. At this moment, some strength


    returned to his originally powerless hands. Struggling vigorously, he began pping Toby''s hand while


    iling his legs continuously.


    However, these were merely hopeless efforts for Toby. To him, Connor''s struggles were just thest-


    ditch struggle of a nobody, which would only enrage him even further without doing him any harm.


    Consequently, he tightened his grasp on Connor''s throat once again.


    Connor looked even more ghastly and pained. His vision began to blur, and he felt like Toby was about


    to break his neck; he could even hear the sound of his bones breaking. Am I really gonna die here? No,


    I can''t ept this! Still, however unwilling he was to die at this moment, he no longer had the strength


    to struggle or fight back. What he had done just now was already hisst struggle.


    As such, instead of struggling to prise Toby''s hand, he suddenly let go of it and let his hands fall to his


    sides.


    Still, Toby had no intention of letting Connor off. With a cruel expression, he continued to tighten his


    grip. At this moment, there was only a voice in his mind telling him to choke thetter to death. As long


    as he did so, the deaths of his parents would be avenged, and his grandmother''s longtime wish would


    come true. The more he thought about this, the more bloodshot his eyes became, and his grip


    tightened more and more.


    As he continued to tighten his grip, Connor''s eyelids began to droop, and his head began to tilt to the


    side as if he was about to die.


    Upon seeing this, Tom knew that the situation had to stop. Hurriedly, he put his hand on Toby''s wrist


    and said loudly, "Stop it. President Fuller! Connor is dying! I know how you feel, but we can''t kill him


    like this right now. Don''t forget about thete Old Master Fuller''s meritorious exploits! It''s not worth it to


    use them to cancel out the consequences of killing this guy."


    When Toby heard this, his pupils shrank slightly for an instant. At this moment, his originally stony face


    showed a hint of warmth, which only appeared when he heard Tom mention his grandfather. Thanks to


    the bit of warmth, he gradually returned to his senses. Seeing how he had almost choked Connor to


    death, he closed his eyes hard, suppressing all the murderous desires within him. Then, he uncurled


    his fingers and released his grip on Connor''s throat.


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    Connor fell to the ground with a loud thud. His eyes wide open, he stared fixedly at the ceiling,


    clutching his terribly painful throat with both hands while greedily gasping for air with his mouth agape.


    This was his first time being so close to death. So is death such a horrifying thing? Recalling how Toby


    had nearly choked him to death just now, he instantly turned as white as a sheet with irrepressible


    terror showing in his eyes.


    Seeing how Toby had listened to him and let go of Connor, Tom immediately heaved a sigh of relief.


    "Phew..." He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Toby. "Please wipe your hands,


    President Fuller."


    Toby darted a look at Tom before taking the handkerchief from him. Then, as he wiped his hands clean,


    he lifted one foot and stepped on Connor''s chest with all his might. "Connor, I seriously wonder if you


    ever loved my mother."


    Enduring the severe pain in his throat and on his chest, Connor slowly moved his eyes to meet Toby''s


    frosty and condescending gaze. He replied in a weak and unpleasantly hoarse voice, "Of course I love


    her."


    "Do you think I''ll believe it?" Toby let out a sneer. "If you had loved her, you wouldn''t have hidden your


    rtionship with her from everyone else without openly acknowledging her identity. If you had loved


    her, you wouldn''t have watched her get married without trying to stop it or even fighting for her. You


    wouldn''t have kept in touch with her, strung her along, and made thatughable promise without


    honoring it after she got married, nor would you have had an illegitimate daughter, for whom you


    offered to trade her possessions. So, Connor, given your actions, what gives you the right to say that


    you love her? Which part of your behavior represents your love for her? You were merely teasing her,


    manipting her, and humiliating her!" he said. Then, overwhelmed with rage once again, he lifted his


    foot and stepped hard on Connor.


    Crack! A sharp, loud sound of bones breaking sounded, apanied by Connor''s shrill cries of pain.


    "Hiss..." Upon hearing this, Tom let out a gasp of horror. President Fuller has definitely broken at least


    two of Connor''s ribs with his foot! Seeing Connor''s pained expression and bulging eyes, he clicked his


    tongue twice. However, he had no sympathy for Connor. He totally deserves this, he thought.


    Toby moved his foot away and let go of Connor before taking a step back to distance himself from the


    latter. Seeing how Connor writhed on the floor in agony, he said through his thin lips in a mercilessly


    cold voice, "Bear in mind that this isn''t gonna cancel out everything you did¡ªonly your life will do."


    Then, he said to Tom, "Let''s go." With that, he turned around and headed toward the suite''s door,


    ignoring Connor, who was lying on the floor like a dead dog.


    Tom gave Connor a scornful look before catching up with Toby. However, as soon as he took a step


    forward, Connor grabbed his ankle.


    As a result, he was forced to stop. Looking down at Connor, who was in so much pain that he wished


    he were dead, he said with a frown, "Mr. Salzburg, don''t tell me you''re grabbing me because you want


    me to call an ambnce for you?"


    Trembling all over, Connor gasped violently in pain as beads of cold sweat dripped from his forehead.


    He said in a feeble voice, "I-I want you to tell him to think about whether to agree to the exchange... If


    he decides not to. I''ll dispose of the stuff his mother left behind myself. You two had better not regret it."


    "You..." Tom''s face darkened. "How dare you threaten President Fuller even now?"


    Instead of answering him, Connor smiled a creepy smile, revealing his bloodied teeth.


    At the sight of the scene, Tom instantly got goosebumps. After staring at Connor for a while, he yanked


    his ankle out of Connor''s grasp. Then, he turned around and quickly trotted after Toby.

 Chapter 1009

    Chapter 1009


    When Tom caught up to Toby, thetter was already in front of the elevator. Seeing how the man gave


    off an oppressive aura through every pore, he knew that he was in a bad mood at the moment. After a


    moment''s thought, he fished his cigarette pack from his pocket, shook a cigarette out of it, and handed


    the cigarette to the man. "Wanna smoke a cigarette, President Fuller?"


    Toby darted a look at it before straightening up. "No, I don''t need it. I''ve quit smoking."


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Huh?" Tom was startled. "You''ve quit smoking?" When was that? Why don''t I know about that? Well,


    President Fuller wasn''t a heavy smoker, but he''d asionally smoke a cigarette or two. I''ve not heard


    of him quitting smoking, though.


    Raising his chin slightly, Toby replied with a note of unconcealed pride in his voice, "I quit smoking just


    a few days ago. Little Leaf forbade me to smoke, saying that it was bad for my health. Since she cares


    so much about me, how could I disappoint her?"


    "Uh..." Tom''s lips twitched. "I see. Alright then, I''ll smoke the cigarette myself," he said while putting


    away the cigarette.


    Toby frowned. "You''re not allowed to smoke as well."


    Tom was just about to put the cigarette between his lips when he heard this. "Why?" he couldn''t help


    but ask curiously. "Could it be that you''re also concerned about my health, President Fuller?" Aww, I''m


    so touched! I''ve been working for this mean boss for over ten years. Not only has he never cared about


    me, but he also leaves all kinds of dirty and heavy work to me. It''s no exaggeration to say that he''s a


    bully who exploits his employees. I thought I''d keep on living under his exploitation, but to think that he


    has finally be more like a human now! Really, I''m so touched. This is all thanks to Miss Reed''s


    taming of him!


    Just when he was inwardly walking on air, Toby''s response dampened his spirits like a bucket of cold


    water pouring down on him, making him feel touched for nothing. "What are you dreaming about? Why


    would I care about a guy like you?" Toby looked at him with a frown of disgust. "I forbid you to smoke


    because I don''t want to betray Little Leafs concern for me by breathing in secondhand smoke from you.


    What does that have to do with you?"


    Ha ha. Speechless, Tom put his cigarette back into his cigarette pack with an expressionless face. I


    should''ve thought of this long ago. How could the wicked boss for whom I''ve worked for over ten years


    be so humane all of a sudden? If he were humane, he would''ve done so long ago, no? How could


    he possibly be humane over ten yearster? Seriously, it''s too naive of me to believe that my


    bully of a boss will care about me. Ha ha. Really, I was touched for nothing. What ack of awareness.


    "Remember not to smoke in front of me from now on, or I''ll make you feel sorry for it," Toby warned in a


    cold voice.


    Tom''s lips twitched again before he replied sulkily, "Yes, President Fuller."


    Only then did Toby withdraw his gaze in satisfaction and stop looking at him.


    Just then, the elevator arrived. Toby stepped into it, and Tom immediately followed suit.


    After the elevator door closed, Tom turned to look at the man next to him, asking, "By the way,


    President Fuller, does your previous conversation with Connor mean that he admitted he was the one


    behind Mr. Homer''s death?"


    Toby balled his hands at his sides into fists while starting to give off chilly vibes once again. He replied


    with a monotonous "yes," but one could recognize the murderous note in it if they were to listen


    carefully.


    Tom took a deep breath. "So it really was him. I never thought he''d really dare to admit it."


    Toby''s eyes were bloodshot with fury. "Didn''t you hear it? With Grandpa''s meritorious service, is there


    anything he wouldn''t dare to do?"


    Tom fell silent. After a while, he said with a sigh, "I suddenly feel that it''s not a good thing for thete


    Old Master Fuller to have made so many contributions. Who knows if these contributions were used to


    shield the Fullers or our enemies?"


    Toby lowered his eyes. "There are things that are good and bad at the same time, to begin with. With


    advantagese disadvantages. The Fuller Family is able to be so sessful mostly thanks to


    the contributions Grandpa made to the country. Now that we''re enjoying the benefits brought by his


    contributions, we have to abide by thew and not do anything reckless."


    "It''s exactly because of this that Connor is able to catch this w and act cocky." Tom sighed. "As


    expected, there are some things thate with their own advantages and disadvantages."


    Toby didn''t respond to his words.


    Looking at the man, Tom continued, "Say, President Fuller, if thete Old Master Fuller were to know


    how Connor had killed his son and used his meritorious service as a protective cover, would he still


    care about his legacy? Perhaps he''d agree to let you kill Connor right away to avenge the deaths of Mr.


    Homer and thete Madam before using his contributions to smooth over the consequences of killing


    Connor."


    "Grandpa wouldn''t agree to it." Toby wearily pinched the space between his eyebrows. He said, "I know


    what kind of a person he is. Grandpa lived through the war years and was one of the founders of our


    country. Not only did he have an abhorrence of evil, but he also knew how and when to repay


    grievances with grievances. Connor killed my dad, so he would approve of me taking revenge on


    Connor, but he wouldn''t approve of me doing so by giving Connor a taste of his own medicine. He''d


    only let me search for evidence and have Connor arrested ording tow. Otherwise, do you think I''d


    really wait until now without asking Connor whether he was my dad''s murderer? No, I''d have asked him


    about it and killed him right away as soon as I began to suspect him in the beginning. But if I were to do


    so, I''d act against Grandpa''s beliefs and what he had taught me." If it weren''t for this, he wouldn''t have


    really waited for 12 years while still searching for clues and evidence about Homer''s death. He''d have


    gotten his revenge long ago.


    Tom threw up his hands in resignation. "Well, an old revolutionary like him did have strict morals. He''s


    too upright and incorruptible, though."


    "That''s why I wouldn''t disappoint him by bringing shame upon him," Toby replied impassively while


    watching the floor numbers sh on the elevator board.


    "Oh, right, President Fuller, Connor wanted me to pass on a message to you when we left just now,"


    Tom said as he suddenly recalled this. Then, he quoted what Connor had asked him to tell Toby.


    Toby''s face darkened when he finished listening to Tom''s words. "He''s really unwilling to give up, isn''t


    he? How dare he threaten me!" Seems like I was too lenient with him just now.


    "President Fuller, Connor knew that by offering thete Madam''s stuff in exchange for his illegitimate


    daughter, he''d probably make you so angry as to kill him on the spot for real, but he did it anyway.


    Perhaps Anya really is his daughter, and they only interacted in such a strange manner because he


    doesn''t like her. But Anya is his only offspring, after all, so he has no choice but to save her." Tom


    made his analysis while rubbing his chin. Then, looking at Toby, he asked, "I can tell that the stuff


    belonging to thete Madam that Connor talked about was really important to her. Should we get it


    back?"


    Toby lowered his head in thought without saying a word.


    Upon seeing this, Tom shut up and stopped bothering him.


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Charles had finished eating, so they called the waiter over. They were about to


    pay the bill and leave for the bank to meet up with the bank''s person in charge.


    Sonia opened her handbag and took out her cell phone, asking, "How much is it?"


    The waiter opened his notebook to take a look. Then, he replied with a smile, "Miss Reed, both your


    meal and this gentleman''s have been paid for."


    Sonia paused for a moment just as she was about to tap the ''Pay'' button on her phone''s screen. Then,


    she looked up at the waiter, asking, "What did you say? You mean the bill has been paid?"


    "Yes, it has." The waiter nodded with a smile.


    Sonia immediately turned to look at Charles. "Did you pay the bill?"


    Charles threw up his hands. "No, it wasn''t me. I didn''t pay the bill. I never left the room even once, so


    how could I have paid the bill?"

 Chapter 1010

    Chapter 1010


    That''s true. With her suspicion toward Charles dispelled, she shifted her gaze back to the waiter.


    "Excuse me, but since we didn''t pay the bill, could you tell us who paid it? Or did your system go wrong


    and show that we had paid the bill when we didn''t?"


    The waiter replied with a smile, "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. Our system didn''t go wrong, and it''s true that


    your bill has been paid. It was paid by Mr. Fuller, your boyfriend."


    "Toby?" Sonia and Charles responded in chorus.


    Charles even stood up in surprise.


    The waiter nodded. "That''s right. It was Mr. Fuller who paid the bill. Also, he has a message for you, Mr.


    Lane."


    "For me?" Charles pointed at his own nose.


    Puzzled about what Toby wanted to say to Charles, Sonia turned to look at thetter.


    "Yes, Mr. Lane. For you." The waiter nodded with a smile.


    Charles'' lips twitched. "Okay. What kind of message does Toby have for me, then?"


    The waiter adjusted his bow tie before replying with a straight face, "Mr. Fuller said the meal you had


    with Miss Reed today was his treat, so he hoped you wouldn''t get too full of yourself and think that you


    had defeated him by eating out with her alone. He also hoped that you wouldn''t show off in front of him


    later about how he didn''t know you had had dinner with Miss Reed. He said he knew everything, and


    he warned you not to ask for trouble. That''s all." With that, he raised his eyes to look at Charles.


    Looking as ck as thunder, Charles clutched his fork and spoon tightly while uttering between


    clenched teeth, "Damn you, Toby Fuller!" Can he read my mind or something? To think that he''s even


    able to figure this out! Alright, I admit that I do feel a little smug about eating out with Sonny alone, and


    I do think that I''m several notches above Toby. After all, he doesn''t know that Sonny and I were eating


    out together. Moreover, I can even call Toby and brag about thister to anger him on purpose. s,


    before I could do that, Toby saw through my ns and even warned me. This is so... Peeved, he


    screwed up his face. Is Toby a dog or something? He''s so sensitive!


    Sonia also didn''t expect Toby to be the person who paid for her and Charles'' meal. Not only that, but he


    even left such a message for Charles. She wasn''t dumb, so it was impossible for her not to figure out


    that Toby had left such a message for Charles for the purpose of asserting his im. After all, since


    Charles had such feelings for her, there was no way Toby wouldn''t mind it. This was why Toby made a


    special effort to warn Charles to know his ce and not fool around after knowing that she had gone


    out with thetter for dinner.


    On one hand, she understood Toby''s feelings. On the other hand, though, she felt that he had gone a


    bit too far. After all, Charles had said that he would let go, so he naturally wouldn''t do anything to her.


    Therefore, it was somewhat disrespectful to Charles for him to warn the former like this.


    Sonia massaged the space between her eyebrows as if she had a headache. Well, it can''t be helped.


    Toby is my boyfriend. Now that he''s done something wrong, I''ve got to help cover his *ss, of course. At


    the thought of this, she put down her hand and smiled at the waiter. "We got it; thanks for telling us


    about this. If there''s nothing else, please go ahead with your work. We''ll be leaving in a minute."


    "Sure, Miss Reed." The waiter bowed politely. Then, he turned around and left, leaving Sonia and an


    angry Charles in the private room.


    Sonia poured a ss of fruit juice and handed it to Charles. "Sorry, Charles. Let me apologize to you


    on Toby''s behalf. Don''t get angry, okay? That''s the kind of person he is. He only did that because he


    became jealous upon knowing that you and I were eating out together. I''m sorry about that, so please


    don''t take it to heart."


    Charles was really angry at first. Upon hearing her words, he looked up at her and took the fruit juice.


    His dark expression cleared, and he was visibly a lot less angry. "Why apologize to me? This isn''t your


    fault at all."


    Sonia smiled. "Well, that''s true, but Toby and I are a couple. If he does something wrong, I ought to


    deal with the aftermath, right?"


    Charles let out a snort and took a drink from his fruit juice before his anger dissipatedpletely.


    "Never mind, I won''t fuss about Toby''s actions for your sake. But, Sonny, I remember that you didn''t tell


    him about us eating out together, right?"


    Sonia shook her head. "No, I didn''t. It''s not a big deal, so I don''t have to report it to him."


    "Precisely," Charles replied. Then, he said with a snort, "You didn''t tell him about us eating out together,


    but he knew everything about it, including where we were having dinner. What does this mean? This


    means that this guy is petty and possessive and is watching you all the time. Who knows how many


    people around you have been bought off by him to work as his spies and report to him everything about


    you from morning till night? Hiss..." As he spoke of this, he folded his arms and shuddered. "Sonny, it


    makes me feel suffocated just to imagine such perverted behavior. Aren''t you tired of being with him?"


    Hmph! Didn''t Toby care so much about Sonny and I eating out together as to assert his im and warn


    me directly? I can speak ill of him in front of her in return! That''s what they call an eye for an eye! Since


    he gives me a hard time, I''ll give him a hard time as well.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia noticed the mischievous joy in Charles'' eyes as he spoke. Naturally, she knew that he was


    purposely saying so to get back at Toby, so she couldn''t help feeling amused. What a pair of childish


    men! "Alright, that''s enough. Toby didn''t buy off mypany''s employees to work as his spies, nor


    does he have somebody keep an eye on me at all times and report to him everything about me. I guess


    he learned of this after asking mypany''s employees," she said while picking up her handbag and


    slinging it over her shoulder. She was confident that Toby didn''t buy off her employees. After all, all the


    subordinates around her knew about the problem with the spare parts. If Toby had bought them off, he


    would''ve learned about it long ago instead of being unaware of it even now.


    Propping his head in his hand, Charles looked at her while interrupting her thoughts, saying, "That''s


    really strange, then."


    Sonia blinked her eyes. "What is strange?"


    "Toby, of course," Charles replied with a yawn. "Why would he call your employees instead of calling


    you directly?"


    Sonia was startled for a moment. Yeah, that seems to be right. However, she soon found an excuse for


    Toby. "Perhaps he did call me, but he couldn''t get through because there was no signal. We were stuck


    in the parking lot for quite a while, remember?"


    Charles rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright." Speechless, he waved his hand. "What a devoted girlfriend.


    Just speak for him however you want."


    Sonia was amused. "What are you talking about? Alright, let''s go. It''s about time for our appointment


    with the bank''s manager."


    As they had business to discuss, Charles finally stopped picking on Toby. "Uh-huh," he responded.


    After putting down his ss of fruit juice, he stood up and left the private room and the restaurant after


    Sonia.


    He stared straight ahead while driving the car with rapt attention, whereas Sonia, sitting in the


    passenger seat, was typing on her cell phone with her head down. She was texting Toby about what


    had happened in the restaurant just now. Not only that, but she also advised him not to do that to


    Charles again since that was very rude.

 Chapter 1011

    Chapter 1011


    After all, Charles was a friend and a brother figure to her. Secondly, Charles came this time to help her,


    so it was inappropriate for Toby to treat him like this. Of course, she was also in the wrong. She knew


    that Toby was a petty and jealous lover, but it never urred to her to tell him about her eating out with


    Charles to prepare him for it. Toby had probably said those things to Charles because he became


    jealous upon learning by chance that she and Charles had gone out together for dinner. Sigh, I have to


    learn the lesson and be more careful in the future. Lastly, I have to tell him wherever I go lest he


    bes jealous and does something off-putting. At the thought of this, she shook her head helplessly


    and sent thetter half of her message.


    On the other hand, Toby had returned to the Fuller Group at this moment. As soon as he sat down


    behind his desk, his cell phone vibrated. Tired, he loosened his tie until it was loosely hung around his


    neck before taking his cell phone out of his pocket.


    When he saw that it was a text message from Sonia, the look of weariness in his eyes was instantly


    reced with a more spirited look. Obviously, she had be a source of mental strength for him.


    Whenever he saw her or anything about her, he would feel incredibly contented and energetic.


    A faint smile curved his thin lips before he quickly opened the text message from her to read its


    contents. However, when he saw her message telling him not to say those things to Charles again, his


    smile faded visibly. In the end, his lipspressed into a straight line, and he was clearly in a bad


    mood. Clutching his cell phone, he stared at the contents disyed on its screen with a dark


    expression and a sullen look in his eyes. How could she tell me not to say those things to Charles


    again? Does she care so much about him?


    At this moment, he recalled how Sonia hadn''t told him about Connor intercepting the spare parts.


    Instead of asking him for help, she turned to Charles and told thetter about it. Although he knew that


    she didn''t go to him for some reason, he was upset at this moment. At least he was upset with Charles


    being there forparison. She keeps on saying that she wants to grow up on her own without relying


    on me, but it turns out that she''s willing to depend on Charles! How is asking Charles for help growing


    up on her own?


    His lips curled into a sneer. If she hadn''t gone to anyone, he would''ve been willing to ept it when


    she said she wanted to grow up and solve problems on her own without asking him for help. However,


    he found it uneptable that she had turned to Charles for help after saying so. It made him feel that


    he couldn''tpare with an outsider in her mind despite being her actual boyfriend.


    He closed his eyes while pinching his nose. After a while, he opened his eyes expressionlessly. With a


    terrifyingly chilly aura about him, he replied to Sonia''s text message. ''Let''s talk tonight.''


    When Sonia read the text message, the smile on her face froze all of a sudden. Somehow, when she


    saw such a reply from Toby, she had a bad feeling, and her heart skipped a beat. Furthermore, she


    could tell the note of frostiness and anger in the sentence. Am I imagining things? she thought uneasily


    while biting her lower lip. Her fingers went weak and trembled slightly as she typed her reply. ''Okay, but


    what are we gonna talk about? Why say "let''s talk" all of a sudden? Did something happen to you?''


    Usually, words like "let''s talk" wouldn''t be said aloud easily. Such words would only be said when there


    was a problem or a misunderstanding between a couple. In short, she had never heard of anyone


    saying "let''s talk" under normal circumstances. Therefore, she couldn''t help but wonder at this very


    moment if there was some misunderstanding between her and Toby that caused him to say that.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Rubbing the phone''s screen with her thumb, she stared at the screen while waiting for Toby''s reply.


    However, after a few minutes, the message disyed on her cell phone was still the one she had sent;


    there was no reply from him. Because of that, she couldn''t help but wonder if he didn''t see her


    message or if he didn''t reply to her message because he had something unexpected to deal with and


    didn''t see her message. Or could it be that he deliberately refused to reply to my message after seeing


    it?


    She didn''t know what Toby''s situation was at the moment. However, judging from the words "let''s talk,"


    she was somewhat inclined to believe that Toby had deliberately refused to reply to her message after


    seeing it. If that was really the case, there must''ve been a misunderstanding between them.


    For a time, Sonia''s mind was in turmoil. She bit her lip so hard that her lower lip turned pale and was


    almost pierced. If it weren''t that she couldn''t call him and ask him directly about it in Charles'' presence


    at this moment, she would''ve actually called him and asked him what was going on. She wouldn''t have


    been as puzzled and clueless as she was now. She could only make wild guesses on her own, but the


    more she guessed, the more flustered and anxious she became.


    Charles noticed from the corner of his eye that something was wrong with Sonia all of a sudden. Sitting


    in the driver''s seat next to her, he turned his head to dart a quick look at her. Then, he asked with


    concern, "What''s wrong?"


    Sonia clutched her phone to her chest while managing a weak smile. "Nothing."


    "Do you think I''m gonna believe it?" Charles curled his lips. "We grew up together, so I know you better


    than Toby does. Whenever something happens to you and you don''t want to talk about it, you''ll force a


    smile like this. So, how could I not tell that you''re lying?"


    Speechless, Sonia hung her head without saying a word. Now that her lie had been exposed, what else


    could she say?


    Just then, Charles'' car happened to stop at a red light, allowing him to finally turn his head to look at


    Sonia. He asked, "Come on, what happened? Everything was okay just now. Why are you depressed


    all of a sudden?"


    Putting her cell phone into her handbag, Sonia put her hands on her cheeks and massaged them.


    Then, she replied, "It''s really nothing, actually. It''s just that Toby and I were texting just now, and I


    sense that something seems to be wrong with him."


    "Wrong?" Charles raised his eyebrows. "What kind of wrong?"


    "I don''t know." Sonia shook her head with a look of confusion in her eyes. "He texted me that we should


    talk tonight. Such words are only used when there''s a conflict or a misunderstanding, but there isn''t any


    conflict or misunderstanding between us. When he suddenly texted me that we should talk, I can''t help


    but wonder if something went wrong in our rtionship."


    "I see." Charles raised his chin inprehension. "Are you sure that nothing has happened between


    you two?"


    "Nope, absolutely nothing." Sonia nodded earnestly. She and Toby had said goodbye to each other


    when thetter left home in the morning, so how could anything have happened between them?


    "That''s strange, then." Charles drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.


    Sonia''s eyes lit up as if she had found a bosom friend. She quickly chimed in, "That''s right. You also


    think it''s strange for him to say that all of a sudden, no?"


    "Uh-huh," Charles mumbled. "Indeed, words like ''let''s talk'' won''t be said when there''s nothing wrong.


    He probably said so because something happened. But since there''s no conflict or misunderstanding


    between you two, you don''t have to be worried. Perhaps he just wants to talk about business-rted


    stuff. After all, Paradigm Co. has coborations with some of the Fuller Group''s subsidiarypanies.


    Perhaps that''s what he wants to discuss with you. It''s just that he didn''t make himself clear, so you


    should ask him about it tonight," he said in an attempt tofort her. In reality, he was anxious for


    Sonia and Toby to break up so that he would stand a chance, but even so, he wouldn''t fish in troubled


    waters by stirring up trouble. Otherwise, he''d be no different from a homewrecker.

 Chapter 1012

    Chapter 1012


    Besides, he wanted the person he liked to be happy rather than expecting them to break up, and that


    the person who could make her happy would be another man instead of him. Even if he despised that


    man, he was willing to put in a good word for him. After all, he was just a great and selfless man.


    Charles'' thoughts were bitter, but he still had to be strong and deliberately praise himself inwardly. Only


    by doing this could he somewhat alleviate the bitterness and helplessness in his heart.


    Sonia didn''t know what Charles was thinking, but as she listened to his analysis of Toby, she felt that it


    was not impossible either. Toby''s emotional intelligence had never been stable. Sometimes he was


    extremely perceptive, but other times he would be so dense that it was appalling. Perhaps she really


    had been thinking too much into it.


    At that thought, she temporarily let go of her worries and smiled at Charles. "Thank you forforting


    me. I feel so much better now."


    "That''s good." Charles nodded before reminding her anxiously, "Of course, it''s best if there is nothing


    between you and Toby. If something happens, don''t hide it and give yourself a hard time. If he ever


    bullies you or treats you badly, you must tell me, and I''ll avenge you even if it costs me my life."


    As he said this, his expression was extremely firm and serious.


    Sonia felt her eyes sting with tears as his words moved her. "All right. Thank you, Charles."


    "You don''t have to thank me." After the lights turned green, Charles retracted his gaze and started


    driving again. As he looked at the road ahead, he said, "You treat my parents as your second parents.


    In that case, I''m your brother as well. As your brother, it''s natural that I have to protect you all the time.


    Caring for you is also my responsibility, so you don''t have to thank me. This is what I should do for


    you."


    No one knew how painful he felt when he admitted that he was her brother. If they could help it, nobody


    would want to be the brother of the person they liked either. However, he could only be her brother, and


    only the identity of being her brother could bring him closer to her without being pushed away.


    Sonia didn''t notice the loneliness and rue in Charles'' eyes as he stared at the road ahead, and she was


    only moved by his words. With slightly red eyes, she replied, "I''m really d to have a brother like you."


    "Really? I''m d. All''s good as long as you''re happy." Charles nodded.


    That was right. Didn''t he wish for her to be happy when he let her go? As long as she was happy, what


    was wrong with him being her brother? He could still achieve his original intention. He should be


    content just by protecting her as a brother.


    While talking, they arrived at the ce where they had an appointment with the bank manager, which


    was a private room in a hotel. When Sonia and Charles followed the waiter to the room, the manager


    was already sitting and waiting inside with a drink.


    Upon seeing the manager, Sonia and Charles were both taken aback as neither of them expected the


    manager to arrive before them. They had even thought they were the first to arrive, but unexpectedly,


    the manager had arrived earlier, which made Sonia feel a little embarrassed. After all, she was the one


    who had something to ask of him, and yet he had arrived earlier. What would he think of this? Would he


    think that she thought little of him despite having a favor to ask of him?


    Sonia had a headache just from thinking about it. After rubbing her temples, she quickly stepped


    forward and walked to the manager before bowing. "Sorry for beingte, Mr. Smith. The road was a


    little congested. I apologize for making you wait. I didn''t expect you to arrive so soon."


    Charles joined her by her side and apologized as well. "Mr. Smith, we''re really sorry. Please forgive us."


    If he refused to give them a loan because they werete, they would be doomed.


    Brian Smith looked at the two uneasy people and put down the red wine in his hand, smiling happily as


    he said, "You don''t have to worry. I just arrived not long ago as well, mainly because this ce is close


    to my office. I happened to finish my work and had nothing to do, so I just came here to have


    something to drink and take a break while waiting for you to arrive. Besides, you aren''tte. There''s still


    more than ten minutes before our scheduled time, so there''s no need for the two of you to apologize to


    me."


    Hearing Brian''s words, Sonia and Charles looked at each other before breathing a sigh of relief.


    Although they knew that they weren''tte, Brian had still arrived earlier than them, and they were the


    ones who had a favor to ask. If he hadn''t cared about the time and only thought that they werete as


    long as he arrived before them, they couldn''t even refute it. After all, they had a request for him.


    Fortunately, Brian wasn''t as unreasonable as they expected, and he seemed cheerful and rtively


    easy to talk to, so they would most probably get along with him easily.


    Sonia let out a small sigh and straightened her posture before pulling the chair opposite Brian out and


    sitting down. Charles stood next to her and poured wine for the three of them, ying the part of her


    assistant. After all, he had tagged along this time to be Sonia''s temporary assistant.


    "Mr. Smith, I''ve already told you why I invited you out on the phone. This is the building n of the


    Reed Residence and the property rights. Please take a look," Sonia said with a smile before opening


    the briefcase she had brought and taking out a stack of documents from it, which she handed to the


    man opposite her with both hands.


    Brian took the documents from her and began flipping through them. Seeing that he was focusing,


    Sonia and Charles fell silent in order not to disturb him. For a while, in the huge room, there was only


    the sound of the paper flipping while Brian read the documents, and there was no other noise besides


    that. As there were many documents, he naturally took a long time to read through them.


    After half an hour passed, Brian closed the folder in his hand and ced his hand on top of it as he


    raised his head to look at Sonia with a smile. "Miss Reed, I''ve mostly read through the documents.


    There aren''t any problems."


    Sonia sped her hands together and smiled along with him. "Since that''s the case, then my mortgage


    should be fine, right? As for the mortgage funds I mentioned on the phone before, is that¡ª"


    Brian suddenly raised his hand and interrupted, "Let''s not talk about the funds for the time being.


    Before that, I want to confirm something with you, Miss Reed."


    "Confirm something with me?" The smile on Sonia''s face froze as she suddenly felt uneasy.


    How could she not be uneasy? She thought that since he had said that the documents were fine, then


    she would naturally get the mortgage she wanted as well. However, just as she was about to seed,


    he suddenly suppressed the topic for the time being to ask her something else instead. How could this


    situation not make her nervous? In fact, she even began to worry if her mortgage would be rejected this


    time.


    Next to her, Charles had not expected that what was about to be a smooth and sessful event would


    have such a change. He couldn''t help but frown, wanting to ask Brian what he meant by this. Was he


    making a fool of them?


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    Seeing that Charles was about to stand up unhappily, Sonia panicked, her expression faltering, and


    she hurriedly tugged on his sleeve under the table, causing him to turn his head and look at her. Sonia


    shook her head at him, indicating that he should not act impulsively in case they made things worse.

 Chapter 1013

    Chapter 1013


    After all, they were the ones who had a favor to ask. Even if it felt like the other party was deliberately


    ying with them, they had to remain patient. Otherwise, if he got angry and walked away without


    lending them any money, they would''ve reallye in vain, and Paradigm Co. was in urgent need of


    money now.


    Charles understood the meaning behind Sonia''s gaze and suddenly recovered from his anger. After


    taking a deep breath, he calmed down and nodded, indicating that he would not be impulsive anymore.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Upon seeing this, Sonia let go of his sleeve, then smiled at Brian and asked, "Mr. Smith, the thing you


    want to make sure of, does it have anything to do with me asking you for a loan?"


    "Yes, and no." Brian shook his head and nodded.


    Sonia frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"


    Brian lifted the ss of wine before him and drank a sip before replying leisurely, "Miss Reed, you''re


    asking me for a 200 million loan."


    Saying that, he put up two fingers. "This is not a small amount. On our end, we also need to withdraw


    funds from a few of our branches in order to get the amount you need in a short time. The most


    important thing is that you''re asking for a non-recoverable loan. You might not be able to buy your vi


    and thend back, so even if the twobined is worth 200 million, the interest we can earn is much


    less as it is a non-recoverable loan, and there is not much profit. In short, this transaction is an


    unprofitable business for our bank."


    Sonia nodded slightly. "So, you are saying...?"


    "I need a reason to prove that I wouldn''t lose money with this deal, even if I don''t make a profit.


    Otherwise, I really can''t approve this loan. Should the bank directors hold me ountable, I wouldn''t


    be able to bear this responsibility," Brian said, sighing.


    Sonia hummed in reply. "That would certainly be the case. However, what kind of reason do you need


    to prove that this deal wouldn''t be at a loss?"


    "That''s simple. I just need a few affirmative answers from you." Brian smiled at her.


    Coming to a realization, Sonia agreed, "All right. Please ask."


    Brian took a sip of wine. "You''re an easygoing person, Miss Reed. All right, I''ll ask. If you need such a


    large sum of money, why didn''t you ask President Fuller for help? Whye to our bank instead?"


    This question made Sonia purse her red lips.


    Next to her, Charles couldn''t hold it in and asked, "Mr. Smith, does this question have anything to do


    with us asking for a loan?"


    This happened to be what Sonia wanted to know as well. Now that Charles had asked, she


    immediately turned to look at Brian, waiting for his answer.


    Brianughed. "Of course it does, because now everyone knows the rtionship between Miss Reed


    and President Fuller. But now, you''ve bypassed him ande to our bank for a loan. This makes us


    have to think more about whether there is a problem with the rtionship between the both of you. This


    might be something that you might not want to hear, but to be frank, the current Paradigm Co. is not


    qualified to borrow hundreds of millions of funds from our bank. First of all, Paradigm Co. is no longer a


    listedpany, and secondly, it has internal and external troubles, and the flow of funds is unstable.


    Which bank would dare to lend to such apany confidently? Tens of millions may be fine, but


    hundreds of millions of money must be discussed at a board meeting, and the request may not even go


    through. Do you understand, Miss Reed?"


    Sonia''s face paled a little, making it clear that his straightforward words had impacted her. She knew as


    well that Paradigm Co. was currently mediocre, and it was in a very tricky position. However, knowing it


    and hearing it from someone else were two different things, and it made her feel extremely awkward.


    Sonia bit her lower lip, her face looking extremely strained.


    Meanwhile, Charles'' face darkened even more. "Mr. Smith, I''ve mostly understood what you''re saying.


    You mean to say that if the rtionship between Sonny and Toby has changed, then this loan will not


    be approved today, right?"


    Sonia clenched her palms and looked at Brian, who nodded and said, "You''re right, Mr. Lane."


    Her eyes widened with agitation. "But why? Mr. Smith, I don''t understand. Why does my rtionship


    with Toby matter when I''m borrowing money to the point where it could affect everything?"


    She could not figure it out at all.


    Brian looked at Sonia, who couldn''t ept his words, and pushed his hands downward in the air.


    "Calm down, Miss Reed. As I said just now, Paradigm Co. doesn''t have the capital to borrow hundreds


    of millions of funds, and you said you need 200 million. Do you think that if you didn''t have your


    rtionship with President Fuller backing you, our bank would agree to meet with you to discuss this


    matter in detail? Not only us, but other banks wouldn''t agree as well, and they would only find a reason


    to reject you the moment they receive your call exining your intentions."


    Sonia''s red lips twitched as she fell silent, suddenly unable to find the words to say. His words were


    irrefutable. Indeed, Paradigm Co. was not qualified to borrow such arge sum of money, so banks


    would naturally refuse her from the beginning rather than agreeing to meet with her to discuss matters


    in detail.


    At that time, she was just happy that the bank had agreed to meet up and had never thought about why


    the bank would agree so quickly without even considering. If she had thought of this detail at the time,


    the current situation wouldn''t be so embarrassing, would it? In any case, she was now in an awkward


    in-between situation.


    She had been in high spirits when she arrived, thinking that she would definitely be able to sessfully


    take out a loan to solve Paradigm Co.''s current predicament, but reality had given her a heavy blow


    and made her aware that things were not going as smoothly as she thought, and that the opportunity


    she thought she had fought for with her own abilities was actually because of Toby in the end.


    Now that she thought about it, it was funny. She had always believed that she could solve things


    without relying on Toby, but now, the facts told her that even if she didn''t want to rely on him, she was


    still forced to as many people were only willing to contact her because of him, or she wouldn''t even


    have the chance to talk to them. It really was ironic.


    Sonia was not the only one feeling irritable at the moment¡ªeven Charles had nothing to say at this


    moment. Beforehand, he didn''t expect this either. He was also aware that she didn''t want to rely on


    Toby for everything, so he knew exactly how she felt now after knowing the truth.


    Charles turned his head to look at her with a look of worry in his eyes, and his mouth moved, as if he


    wanted to say something tofort her. However, even though the words were at the tip of his tongue,


    he couldn''t say it. He had no idea what to tell her. If he brought Toby up, she would probably feel even


    worse, but if he didn''t, there was nothing to say.


    Sigh... What should I do? He rubbed his forehead, feeling frustrated.


    On the opposite side, Brian took a sip of wine, not knowing what Sonia was thinking, but seeing that


    she was not in a good mood, he could roughly guess her feelings. If she didn''t ask Toby for money, it


    meant that she definitely didn''t tell him about this meeting and had decided toe by herself. When


    she came, she was still spirited and confident, but after she listened to what he said, her entire


    demeanor turned glum.


    He guessed that Sonia thought he was here because of her invitation, not because of Toby, and now


    that she knew the truth, her mood took a turn for the worse. After all, he had seen many young


    managers in somepanies, and he knew what they were thinking. He was aware that they all


    wanted to settle things with their own abilities, but when they learnedter that they didn''t do anything,


    but relied on their connections to settle matters instead, it was natural for them to feel crestfallen.


    He could understand how it felt. When he was young, he wasn''t a bank manager, but only a humble


    clerk. He had wanted to acquire a drawdown with his own strength, but after he seeded, he didn''t


    have the time to celebrate before the other party told him that the reason the funds were given to him


    was for the sake of the senior who was backing him. Naturally, he didn''t feel pleased with the


    knowledge. Sonia''s current predicament was just like what he had gone through when he was younger.

 Chapter 1014

    Chapter 1014


    Hence, it made Brian feel a little more empathetic. At that thought, he looked at Sonia, his expression


    bing a lot kinder, making him look like a kind elderly man instead of a businessman who was here


    to sign a deal.


    "Don''t get upset, Miss Reed. This is a very realistic question. A person who has no ability, connections,


    or support can''t get far in life. I hope you can understand," heforted.


    Sonia knew that he was saying these words for her own good, but she still couldn''t ept it. It felt as if


    all of her efforts were just a joke. Even though she had worked hard and struggled, what others saw


    was not her efforts, but the influence behind her. Her so- called efforts were worthless in the face of this


    influence and weren''t even worth mentioning.


    "Sonny." At the sight of Sonia biting her lower lip with a pale face, Charles became even more worried.


    At the same time, he also med himself for not being as powerful and formidable as Toby, and that he


    could only remain unchanged, so he had been unable to develop the Lane Family even further. If not,


    he could easily help her solve any problems she faced instead of letting her fall into an awkward


    situation like she had now.


    "I''m fine, don''t worry." Seeing the concern in his eyes, Sonia forced a smile at him, indicating that she


    was all right.


    However, Charles could clearly tell that she was faking a smile and lying that she was fine. He knew


    that she must be feeling miserable, but he didn''t know how tofort her.


    After taking a breath, Sonia calmed her thoughts and looked at Brian with a smile. "Mr. Smith, thank


    you for enlightening me. Indeed, I feel upset to hear you say that as I always thought that you promisedContent ? N?velDrama.Org.


    to meet me because of my conditions and not because of anyone else. However, you told me that you


    came to see me not because of me, but because of my boyfriend, and that I''m not qualified to meet


    you. To be honest, it was a huge gap from my expectations."


    "I''m really sorry." Brian still apologized.


    Sonia hurriedly waved her hand. "No, you don''t need to apologize to me. In fact, I should thank you for


    telling the truth. Thank you for waking me up and letting me understand that I am far from being strong


    or qualified enough to let others prioritize me. Now, I would like to thank you and give you a toast."


    Saying that, she picked up her ss of wine and stood up.


    At the beginning, she was really happy to hear that the bank was willing to meet with her and had truly


    felt that they agreed because of her. For this reason, she did feelcent and thought that she was


    now strong enough to seed in whatever she wanted to do. She had never thought deeply about


    whether it was really her who had been powerful or if it was because others knew that she had Toby


    backing her.


    Hence, Brian''s words had reminded her that she was actually not as strong as she thought she was.


    The reason why she could seed in whatever she did was actually because of the person supporting


    her, not because of herself, and that others were treating her well because of the person backing her


    and not out of respect for her. After all, to these people, if she didn''t have Toby supporting her, she was


    just a little ant and was far from being qualified to make them happily do whatever she said.


    It was his words that woke Sonia up and made her see the true nature of things now. Otherwise, she


    would remain clueless and think that everything was going well because of her own strength. In the


    end, if she became more blindly confident and even got ahead of herself, it would be even more


    terrifying. After all, a conceited person had no way to ept things that were different from their


    imagination.


    If she really became conceited and overly self-confident in the future, once she learned that her


    sess was not because of her own capability, but because of Toby, she might have a breakdown and


    even do something unthinkable. There was no need to say more about how terrible it was to meet


    someone conceited.


    It was really fortunate that Brian appeared and gave her a wake-up call, making her understand how


    weak she actually was, and that her so-called sess was just an illusion. Because of that, she could


    reflect on herself even better and prevent herself from bing an arrogant person in the future.


    Hence, why wouldn''t she want to thank him?


    Brian could tell that Sonia''s gratitude was sincere and not mere lip service, which improved his


    impression of her. His smile turned kinder as he raised his ss and epted her toast. "Thank you,


    Miss Reed. In fact, you don''t have to thank me. I only said that for the sake of my business."


    "I know." Sonia took a sip of wine and replied with a smile, "You''re doing it for your business, but


    simrly, you''ve also enlightened me, so my gratitude isn''t contradictory."


    Heughed heartily. "In that case, I''ll dly ept your gratitude."


    "Of course." Sonia nodded with a smile.


    When Charles saw her smiling naturally without a trace of the gloom she had shown earlier, he


    breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the bottle of wine to refill their sses.


    After Brian thanked Charles, he looked at Sonia and said, "Miss Reed, you haven''t answered me yet.


    Why do you want to borrow money from our bank instead of President Fuller?"


    Charles sat back in his chair once he was done pouring the wine. He then looked at Sonia as he


    wondered how she would answer the question. Would she answer truthfully or find another excuse?


    Shetwirled the wine ss in her hand and did not answer immediately. Instead, she remained silent for


    a long time before she replied, "Actually, the reason is quite simple. I just don''t want to rely on him."


    "Oh?" Brian raised an eyebrow. "You don''t want to rely on President Fuller?"


    "Yeah."


    "Why?" He straightened his posture and asked, "Could it be that you and President Fuller aren''t


    intending to tie the knot?"


    "Of course not." Sonia shook her head. "I''ve already told him that as long as our rtionship doesn''t


    change, we''ll definitely remarry, but just not for the time being."


    "Since you will eventually get to that step, what do you mean by not relying on President Fuller?" Brian


    swirled his ss as he asked, "He''s your lover and future husband, so isn''t it normal for you to rely on


    him?"


    Sonia caressed her wine ss and looked at the bright red liquid inside with a faint smile at the corner


    of her mouth. "Mr. Smith, you''re also aware that I manage a business by myself. If I was single, or a


    helpless woman, I would naturally have no qualms about relying on him. However, I don''t want to be


    weak and helpless. I want to make Paradigm Co. thrive, and I want to return thepany to its former


    glory with my power, so I can''t rely on him. I don''t want outsiders to think about me being Toby''s


    woman instead of my capabilities whenever Paradigm Co. is mentioned, and that I relied on Toby to


    prosper Paradigm Co. For me, that is uneptable."


    "I see." He nodded. "I understand your troubles, Miss Reed. Indeed, no matter the industry, there will


    always be more constraints and concepts for womenpared to men, and women have to give up


    much more."

 Chapter 1015

    Chapter 1015


    Sonia nodded profusely, agreeing with Brian''s words.


    "I just don''t want others to look down on me and say that I can''t do anything without relying on men,


    but..." She supported her forehead with a wry smile on her face. "But now I discovered that I''ve been


    relying on Toby all the time, and there are not many things I have done by myself. It''s ironic."


    "Don''t say that." Charles patted her on the shoulder, not wanting to see her doubt herself.


    Brian took a bite of his food before saying, "Miss Reed, you dwell on things too much."


    "What?" Sonia''s hand that was propping up her head jolted before she lifted her head to look at him.


    "Mr. Smith, what do you mean?"


    "Miss Reed, how long have you been managing Paradigm Co.?" Brian raised his hand, interrupting her


    question.


    Sonia didn''t know why he was asking this all of a sudden, but she replied without hesitating, "It''s been


    almost half a year."


    "Then, have you studied management before you took over Paradigm Co.?" Brian asked again.


    Sonia shook her head. "Of course not. Since I was young, my hobby has never been in business


    management, but my father respected my wishes and didn''t force me to inherit thepany when I


    grew up. Even when I was still in my teens, he decided to find a professional manager to manage


    Paradigm Co. after he retires so that I can pursue my hobbies without being tied to thepany.


    Unfortunately, before he could find a suitable professional manager, my father..."


    A sad expression appeared on her face, and she didn''t finish her sentence.


    Brian rubbed his chin. "So you werepletely rushed to take over Paradigm Co., and you hadn''t


    learned anything about management before that?"


    "Yes." Sonia let out a sigh. "Speaking of which, I know you''ll find this funny, but I basically learned


    everything about managing by myself. Charles and Toby have taught me some things, but they have


    their own jobs, so they can''t be teaching me all the time. Hence, there were many times that I was


    completely clueless. Fortunately, I was still able to hold onto Paradigm Co. and did not let thepany


    go bankrupt in my hands."


    "In that case, you''re quite talented, Miss Reed. As a novice, even if you can''t bring Paradigm Co. back


    to its peak for the time being, you were still able to stabilize thepany, and that''s already a very


    remarkable feat. That''s why I said that you dwell on things too much. You''re too focused on not relying


    on President Fuller so that outsiders wouldn''t look down on you and think that you rely on men to


    support Paradigm Co., but have you ever thought that you are just a neer instead of a veteran


    who has been familiar with business management since they were a child?" Brian looked at Sonia.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    She was taken aback by his words.


    Charles blinked in confusion. "Mr. Smith, if you have anything to say, just say it. It''s making us antsy if


    you beat around the bush like this."


    Sonia nodded.


    Brianughed. "All right, since you say that, then I won''t beat around the bush anymore. Miss Reed,


    what I mean is that you''re a mere newbie who has just started to manage thepany and not a


    veteran who has studied business management since young, so you don''t need to burden yourself at


    all. You can rely on President Fuller and seek his help without any worries. Because you''re new at this,


    the outside world will not find fault with you relying on President Fuller. On the contrary, if you relied on


    him even though you were a veteran, outsiders would look down on you and think you''re ipetent.


    In fact, the business world is quite tolerant to novices, but you just don''t understand this yet, Miss


    Reed. You thought that the business world was cruel from the beginning, and you weren''t aware of its


    other side. That is why I said that you dwell on things too much."


    "That''s..." Hearing that, Soniapletely froze as she fell into a daze all of a sudden.


    Clearly, his words had a huge impact on her as she had never thought about it that way.


    "Mr. Smith, you''re trying to tell me that I can rely on Toby without feeling helpless, and I don''t have to


    care about what other people think, right?" Sonia bit her lip and looked at Brian.


    He nodded. "Yes. As I''ve said before, you''re new to the business world, and the business world is quite


    tolerant. We wouldn''t criticize a novice for relying on someone else for support, because every


    neer starts their business like this. Before they inherit thepany, they will have someone


    supporting them. That''s why, Miss Reed, you can rely on President Fuller."


    Sonia''s red lips twitched, and she was just about to say something when Charles suddenly sided with


    Brian. "Sonny, I think Mr. Smith is right. Toby is your lover, and you''ll get married to him in the future, so


    you can indeed rely on him for his help. Don''t think that relying on him to solve things is a result of your


    own ipetence. You''re a neer who is still learning, and you don''t have a strong influence yet,


    so there are many things that you can''t solve. If you can''t solve them, you naturally have to rely on


    others for help. Didn''t wee to Mr. Smith for his help today? Since you''re willing to look for Mr.


    Smith, why not look for Toby? He''s the person you''re closest to, and you don''t even need to pay for his


    help."


    He didn''t like Toby and didn''t want to speak on his behalf at all, but now, he had to admit that Toby was


    the person who could help Sonia the most. Hence, he didn''t mind putting in a good word for him.


    Sonia looked at Brian, then at Charles. Brian was an outsider, so she was not surprised that he would


    say this. However, now that Charles had joined in, she had no choice but to care. Could it be that she


    was wrong for insisting on doing everything by herself?


    As if sensing her thoughts, Charles patted her on the shoulder again. "Of course you aren''t in the


    wrong, but the premise is that you are still a neer. If you are a veteran who has been dabbling in


    business for a long time, it''s absolutely right for you to insist on solving things by yourself. On the


    contrary, if you were a veteran, but you still rely on others all the time, then others would look down on


    you. But, since you''re new, you can rely on others. This is how every industry treats neers, and I


    can''t believe I''ve forgotten this even after doing business for so long."


    Saying that, he couldn''t help but smack his forehead.


    At the sight, Soniaughed. "Do you think that I should rely on Toby as well?"


    "It''s not that you should, but at your current state, you have to rely on others, because your current


    capabilities aren''t strong enough, and you can only rely on others to grow stronger in a short period of


    time. If you take your time, how long would it take? Have you ever thought about it? Besides, have you


    ever considered if Paradigm Co. can afford to let you develop slowly? I don''t think so. Paradigm Co.


    needs to thrive as soon as possible, which means all your work in the future would be highly difficult.


    For neers like you, that would only make you more confused. If you don''t rely on others, you


    won''t even know what to do. Only by depending on someone else will you not lose your way in the


    future and make the wrong decisions."


    As he said this, his expression was serious and solemn.


    "Sonny, depending on Toby to solve some problems isn''t shameful, nor would it lower your status in


    your rtionship with him, let alone make you feel that you will lose the ability to do things on your own.


    In fact, when you ask him for help, take a good look at his solutions and methods and learn from them.


    umte your experience and treat him as your own mentor. After all, he is unparalleled in the


    business world. With him as your teacher, you will grow even faster."

 Chapter 1016

    Chapter 1016


    The business world had a tolerant side, but it was also cruel. If a person wandered around in the


    business world without anyone to protect them, they would be eaten alive sooner orter.


    As Charles'' tone was solemn, Sonia bit her lip and looked at him. After a while, she asked in an


    uncertain voice, "Do you really think I should rely on him?"


    "It''s not about what I think." Charles shrugged. "But, since you have this resource, why don''t you use it?


    I know that you don''t use it just because you can''t ept the feeling that you aren''t capable and need


    to depend on others to achieve something. You think that you''ll be inferior to Toby, and that your


    rtionship with him would be imbnced, which is why you refuse to rely on him for his help."


    Sonia was silent. Indeed, this was the biggest reason why she didn''t want to rely on Toby. In her


    opinion, she was the only one she could rely on in this world, and others could only help her


    temporarily, but not for a lifetime. If she depended on Toby with all her heart now, what would she do if


    they broke up one day, or if he got tired of her asking for help all the time and refused? People who


    were used to relying on others would gradually lose their ability to handle things on their own. As she


    didn''t want to end up that way, she hated the thought of going to Toby for help at the first sign of


    trouble.


    Simrly, another reason was because she really didn''t want to hear others refer to her as Toby''s


    woman instead of the chairman of Paradigm Co. whenever they brought up thepany or her name.


    When that happened, she always felt that she was like Toby''s essory, and that her name was


    always tied to his instead of being an independent person. When others talked about her, they would


    always think of Toby first, not her.


    Secondly, she would feel ufortable every time she asked Toby for help, and she truly felt


    worthless, as if she were inferior to him. Over time, her mental state would start to deteriorate, and she


    wouldn''t even be able to recognize herself. Hence, due to these various reasons, how could she be


    willing to ask Toby for help?


    She wanted to be someone as powerful as him and could confidently stand by his side, enough to


    make the first thing that came to mind when anyone looked at her was that she was the chairman of


    Paradigm Co. who was extremely capable and able to bring thepany to a new level. She wanted


    to be a genius who was not inferior to Toby, and look like a match made in heaven whenever she stood


    next to him. She didn''t want people to ask her if she was Toby''s lover whenever they saw her and look


    past all of her other capabilities, making her achievements worthlesspared to the title of being


    Toby''s lover! She absolutely didn''t want that!


    Upon seeing Sonia''s furrowed brows and conflicted expression, Charles knew what she was thinking.


    After all, they had grown up together, and he knew her best. He could even confidently say that he


    understood her more than Toby.


    "Sometimes, you force yourself to be too strong." Charles sighed. "This isn''t a good thing. It''ll just make


    you suffer. Not relying on someone else is a good thing, and it''s great that you''re aware of this, but you


    never considered that you''re just a novice. If you don''t depend on the people you can depend on and


    only rely on yourself, how can you solve things? If you force yourself to push through, have you


    considered that it would make things worse?"


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Sonia''s gaze wavered as she was rendered speechless. She really hadn''t thought about it. She


    believed with all her heart that as long as she worked hard and held on, she would be able to solve


    everything. She hadpletely forgotten that this was the business world, and there were many things


    that couldn''t be achieved with mere hard work or persistence. Behind the scenes, she needed


    contacts, connections, and authority.


    However, she hardly had any of those things, so how could she talk about solving everything on her


    own? People would not give her a chance just because she was Henry''s daughter. After all, he had


    been dead for so many years, and the past connections he had built had long since faded away.


    For example, if it weren''t because she had Toby supporting her, Brian wouldn''t have agreed to meet up


    with her at all. By then, her so-called request for a loan would simply be a dream, and what was waiting


    for her would only be Paradigm Co.''s bankruptcy, thousands of employees losing their jobs, and


    hundreds of millions of debts that she would have to bear. She felt horrified just by thinking about it,


    and she couldn''t help but shiver.


    "Perhaps I''ve been too idealistic and naive," she said with a wry smile, ncing up at Charles and


    Brian.


    Charles added wine to her ss. "No, you weren''t. You just didn''t consider that you''re like a baby who


    just learned how to walk in the business world, and you don''t have the ability to solve every problem by


    yourself. That''s why you need to rely on the power of others, and it isn''t a shameful thing. I''ll say it


    again, but you don''t have to feel burdened or that you would be inferior to Toby. In fact, I think that man


    would want you to rely on him all the time."


    Saying that, he curled his lips unhappily. "Besides, Sonny, have you ever thought about how Toby


    would feel with you refusing his help all the time? I don''t think I''d be happy if it were me. If my girlfriend


    never thought of asking me for help every time she faced a problem, I wouldn''t feel good about it, and


    I''d think that she doesn''t love or care about me. If not, why would she rather go to someone else than


    ask me for help?"


    Sonia''s red lips gaped open. "I... didn''t think that far."


    "So, you didn''t consider Toby''s feelings." Charles spread his hands. "Even though I hate him, I''m still


    defending him. It''s clear that you''re in the wrong here, Sonny. Also, have you ever thought about it?


    What if he''s always felt guilty for those six years, and he''s been trying to find a chance to make it up to


    you, but since you won''t let him do anything, he would feel even worse because he can''t find a way to


    make it up to you? In fact, you can calmly ask him for help. That way, your problems would be resolved


    and he could also make amends with you. Isn''t that a good thing?"


    Sonia shook her head. "He''s alreadypensated me for the past six years by saving me all those


    times. In fact, he''spensated for more than he needs to."


    "That''s different." Charles stared at her intently. "Toby saved you because he loves you and is willing to


    do anything for you, even if he has to sacrifice his life. To him, he wouldn''t think that saving you a few


    times would make up for the harm he did to you back then. These two things can''t bepared. I''m a


    man, so I understand how he feels."


    "Is that so?" Sonia mumbled, lowering her gaze.


    She had never thought about it that way.


    Charles nodded confidently. "It definitely is. If not, you can talk to him about it. In any case, I''m saying


    this because I just hope that you wouldn''t burden yourself. Rely on others when you need to. You


    already need help to aplish some things now, and how many people can you rely on? Besides me


    and Carl, who else do you have? Besides, I understand your personality, and I know that you definitely


    don''t want to rely on us or let us help you all the time. If that''s the case, you need to find someone to


    support you, so why can''t it be Toby? You''re already in a rtionship with him, and if you have to rely


    on one person, but you don''t consider him, what would he think? At that time, you''ll face problems in


    your rtionship sooner orter."

 Chapter 1017

    Chapter 1017


    Sonia''s eyes widened all of a sudden, and her hand subconsciously tightened around her ss.


    Charles'' wordspletely made her realize what the consequences would be if she kept doing what


    she wanted without considering others. She had always just wanted to rely on herself and not on


    anyone else, so she never thought about what Toby would think about this. Now that Charles had


    mentioned it, she realized that her mindset was indeed unfair to Toby.


    Indeed, with how she was now, there were many things that she couldn''t resolve on her own and


    needed help for. This time she had gone to Brian, but who would it be next time? If Charles didn''t say


    these things to her, the next time something happened, the person she would ask for help would still


    not be Toby. Even if he could endure it once or twice, would he be able to bear it many times? If she


    skipped him every time she needed help and went to someone else, it would make him worry. When


    she put herself in his shoes and thought about Toby going to someone else for help without asking her,


    she felt unpleasant. Hence, it was true that she had not considered this and had let down Toby.


    Besides, Charles was right. Since she had to ask for help anyway, why didn''t she turn to Toby? At least


    he wouldn''t reject her if she went to him, let alone sabotage her when certain interests were involved.


    He would even be considerate toward her at all times and teach her how to survive in the business


    world. At the same time, it wouldn''t affect their rtionship. So what had she been doing all this time?


    Sonia held her forehead and rubbed her temples before she turned to look at Charles and thanked him


    sincerely, "Charles, thank you for reminding me. If it weren''t for you and Mr. Smith, I wouldn''t have


    thought of it, and I might not even know where I went wrong if I end up having an argument or


    misunderstanding with Toby."


    Seeing that she had thought it through, Charles smiled with relief. However, there was an indescribable


    feeling of bitterness and self-deprecation in his heart. By saying this, he undoubtedly pushed her closer


    to Toby andpletely tied them together. After all, she was the one he loved, so how could he feel


    good about pushing the woman he loved into the arms of another man? However, he just wanted her to


    be happy. As long as she was happy, he could endure his pain and lick his wounds alone.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Thinking that, he lifted his head and downed all of his wine in one go.


    Sonia wasn''t paying much attention to what Charles was doing at the moment. She took a sip of the


    wine as well and looked at Brian opposite her. "Mr. Smith, do you have any other questions?"


    His first question was to ask her why she went to their bank when she was in trouble instead of going to


    Toby. As she had already answered this question, it was naturally time to take the next step.


    Brian smiled and nodded. "There''s onest question I''d like to know. Miss Reed, there aren''t any


    problems in your rtionship with President Fuller, right?"


    Sonia shook her head. "Of course not. At the very least, I don''t sense anything wrong with our


    rtionship."


    "d to hear that." Brian ced his wine ss down and reopened the folder in front of him. "Since


    there is nothing wrong with your rtionship, our bank will agree to this loan. Please don''t take offense,


    Miss Reed. After all, with Paradigm Co.''s current situation, there is really no way for our bank to easily


    provide a loan. Now that we''ve confirmed that there aren''t any problems with your rtionship with


    President Fuller, it means that you have him to vouch for you. With his support, it also means that


    Paradigm Co. will notpletely fail, and that there''ll always be a chance for you to return the loan


    within the specified time. In that case, our bank can confidently lend you the money you need."


    "I see." Sonia nodded. Now, she finally understood why Brian asked about her rtionship with Toby


    before giving her the loan and persuaded her to seek Toby''s help as much as possible.


    It was because he wanted to make Toby vouch for her. It made sense¡ªif the bank did not have a


    guarantee that was enough to reassure them, how could they easily lend the money to her? If she only


    relied on herself, when Paradigm Co. copsed and she wasn''t able to repay the money, Brian wouldn''t


    be able to ount for it either. She had really walked right into his tricks.


    Next to her, Charles had also understood what Brian meant, but he didn''t think there was anything


    wrong with Brian tricking Sonia. After all, everyone was in a different position, so they had to always put


    themselves first. Hence, Brian was not in the wrong. Besides, didn''t he persuade her to ept Toby''s


    help for her own good?


    "Sonny, are you still nning to take this loan?" Charles looked at Sonia and asked, "Or are you still


    unwilling to ask Toby for help?"


    Sonia shook her head before she nodded again. "Of course I will. If I can use the loan to get through


    this problem, I won''t look for Toby anymore. In the future... If anything happens in the future, I''ll


    consider asking him for help. Although that''s what I''m nning, he has also helped us indirectly with


    this loan, or it wouldn''t have been this easy either."


    Saying that, sheughed bitterly before continuing, "Although I''ve figured out that there are many


    things I can''t do and I was naive for thinking that I could solve it by myself, and I''m now willing to ask


    him for help and rely on him more, I still feel troubled about it. I keep thinking that if I keep depending


    on him, I''ll be owing him something, and it makes me ufortable. After all, we aren''t married yet."


    Even if they were married, she would not be able to peacefully ept the fact that Toby was helping


    her. In any case, this was the kind of person she was¡ªsomeone who didn''t like to owe others. As long


    as someone helped her a little, she would always think of returning the favor to them in the future. If


    not, it would weigh heavily on her, and she wouldn''t be able to rest easy.


    Hearing Sonia''s words, Charles didn''t know if he should cry orugh. "Oh, Sonny, why do you worry so


    much? If you feel bad about letting Toby help you, or that you would owe him something, then you can


    just wait for a chance to return the favor in the future."


    He spread his arms.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "That''s easy for you to say. The Fuller Family''s business is so huge. Why would


    they need my help?"


    "You don''t understand. So what if they have a huge business? There must be something that they need


    someone else''s help to solve. Don''t think of him as someone who is so powerful and omnipotent,"


    Charles said, waving his hands.


    Sonia fell silent. A momentter, she suddenly thought of something and her posture straightened all of


    a sudden. "I have an idea.


    I know how I can help him in the future."


    Thinking that, Sonia got so excited her face flushed red.


    At the sight of her expression, Charles blinked. "What is it?"


    Sonia smiled at him. "I can''t tell you. It''s his personal business."


    Charles pouted. "So be it, then. Still, it''s good that you figured things out, so I don''t have to worry


    anymore. In any case, I still think the same way. If there''s something he can help you with, you have to


    let him help you. No one will criticize you, and they might even envy you. After all, not everyone has


    such a powerful person to rely on."


    Sonia shook her head in amusement, but she had already let a huge burden off her shoulders.


    Just as Charles had said, as long as she could help Toby in the future, then she wouldn''t feel like she


    was begging him for help or that she owed him something, and it would feel like they had reached an


    equal exchange. This way, she wouldn''t feel any pressure to depend on him. Moreover, she knew what


    Toby wanted to aplish the most now. As long as she helped Toby achieve what he wanted the


    most, asking him for help would no longer be one-sided, and she would feel much better about it.


    At that thought, Sonia smiled easily before she thanked Charles. "Thank you, Charles. I know what I


    should do now."

 Chapter 1018

    Chapter 1018


    In the future, if Sonia faced any difficulties, she would no longer escape, and would go to Toby for help


    instead. However, she would remember every single time she received his assistance, so that she


    could return the favor in her own way. Only by maintaining this mutually beneficial rtionship would


    she not feel any kind of burden.


    At Sonia''s words, Charles was able topletely rx as well.


    After that, Sonia lifted her ss of wine and looked at Brian. "Mr. Smith, please approve my application


    for a loan. I really need the funds to be in ce today, as Paradigm Co. urgently needs the money.


    Your help would be much appreciated."


    Saying that, she lifted her ss of wine at Brian.


    Smiling, Brian followed suit and clinked his ss with Sonia''s. "Don''t worry, I''ll instruct the bankter,


    and I''ll make sure that the funds will be in ce before nine o''clock tonight by thetest."


    "That''s great. Thank you, Mr. Smith." Sonia felt extremely excited and grateful. Then, as if recalling


    something, she bent over and lifted a gift box from the ground before handing it to Brian with both


    hands. "Mr. Smith, this is a small gift to thank you for your help. Please ept it."


    Before she arrived, she had found out that Brian''s biggest hobby was collecting antiques. Hence, she


    specially brought an antique vase from her house as a gift for him. After all, she had a favor to ask of


    him, so she couldn''t just show up empty-handed. That would just be aide.


    Besides, preparing a gift that would satisfy the other party was also a trump card. What if they were


    unwilling to pass her application for a loan at first, but they changed their mind after seeing her gift?


    Even if they refused after seeing the present, they might still give her some other usefill suggestions.


    In short, a gift was a must no matter what, and nothing would go wrong with it. Besides, it would make


    the other party feel better about themselves. Even if they couldn''t work together this time, they might be


    willing to give her another chance because she had prepared a gift for them in the past. In any case, a


    gift was no longer only needed to achieve a certain purpose, but it was also a necessary step in the


    negotiating process.


    Brian was not too surprised when he saw the gift from Sonia. After all, he had watched her walk in with


    a gift, and he knew very well that it was prepared for him. Hence, when he was faced with Sonia''s


    present, he did not refuse, but reached out to ept it with a smile.


    If he didn''t agree to her loan, he would not ept this gift. However, now that he had agreed, then he


    would naturally have no qualms about taking the gift. Besides, this gift was a part of the negotiations,


    so it wouldn''t be appropriate for him to refuse. Now that he had epted it, it was also a way to


    reassure Sonia that he wouldn''t go back on his word.


    Sure enough, upon seeing that Brian took the gift, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief.


    Brian ced the gift on the table and opened it to take a look. When he saw the antique vase inside,


    his eyes lit up. "Miss Reed, this is from the medieval era, isn''t it?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded with a smile.


    Brian''s face instantly lit up when he confirmed the vase''s origins. He couldn''t help but lift the vase to


    get a closer look. As he observed it, he gasped in awe, "The craftsmanship is really good. I never


    expected you to have a treasure like this, Miss Reed."


    Sonia calmly sipped on her wine while she replied with a smile, "Let me tell you something, Mr. Smith.


    My grandfather is an archaeologist, and this vase was awarded to him by the country, and he gave it to


    me as a birthday giftter on. Now, I''m giving it to you. Because I knew that you like things like these, I


    brought it over as a present. Since this vase was just an ordinary vase in the medieval era, it may notMaterial ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    be worth much, but there aren''t many of these that have been preserved, so it''s still a rare item. I hope


    you won''t mind."


    The vase was only worth around 100 thousand, which was nothingpared to other antiques.


    However, due to the fact that there weren''t many of its kind that had been preserved perfectly, it was


    still worth collecting.


    "No, no, of course I don''t." Brian hurriedly waved his hand and replied, "I have many antiques in my


    collection, but I don''t have this vase yet. Now that you''ve gifted me one, I don''t have to worry anymore.


    I have no reason to dislike this. Instead, I''m feeling overjoyed. Still, Miss Reed, this was a birthday gift


    from your grandfather. Is it all right for you to give it to me?"


    Charles looked at Sonia as well. To be honest, when they were in the car, he had asked what she was


    nning to give to Brian, but she didn''t answer, making him itching to know the answer for the rest of


    the day. It was only then that he found out she had prepared a vase.


    Sonia still smiled calmly after Brian''s question. "Don''t worry, Mr. Smith. There will be no problem with


    my grandfather. The reason why I can inherit Paradigm Co. is because my grandfather has put in a lot


    of effort. I''m giving the vase to you for Paradigm Co.''s sake, so I believe my grandfather would support


    my decision."


    "In that case, I''ll dly ept this vase. Thank you, Miss Reed," Brian said as he lovingly caressed the


    vase.


    Sonia nodded. "You''re wee, Mr. Smith."


    For the rest of their meeting, Brian happily admired the vase, while Sonia and Charles discussed ways


    to perfectly solve the consequences of the missing parts after getting the loan. After all, they couldn''t


    just throw money into this case after acquiring it, and they had to n how to use the money in the best


    way. If they used up the money without thinking, they might end up wasting it all.


    The meetingsted at least three hours before it ended. By the time Sonia and Charles bade Brian


    goodbye and walked out of the room, it was already five in the afternoon. After Sonia paid the bill, she


    immediately waited at the hotel entrance with Charles for the hotel''s jockey to drive their car out of the


    parking lot. They had no choice as both she and Charles had drunk alcohol that night, so they could


    only ask the hotel to arrange a driver to take them home.


    "Achoo!" Suddenly, a cold breeze blew over, causing Sonia to sneeze. Her body was trembling slightly


    as well.


    When Charles turned to look at her and saw that she had turned pale from the cold, he hurriedly


    unbuttoned his coat and put it on her. At the same time, Sonia was rubbing her hands with her head


    down, trying to warm her cold hands a little. She had just started rubbing her hands together when she


    felt a warmth on her back as something was ced on her body. When she turned, she saw a gaudy


    suit jacket, and Charles'' hands that he was just about to retract from her body. She realized that he had


    taken off his coat and put it on her because he saw that she was cold.


    "What are you doing?" She lifted her head to look at the man beside her.


    Charles sped his hands together and brought them to his face to blow on them. "Aren''t you cold? I


    gave you my jacket so that you wouldn''t feel cold anymore."


    Seeing that he was trembling from the cold, Sonia felt amused and quickly took off his coat before


    tossing it back into his arms. "I don''t need it. You''re wearing even less clothes than me. I''m cold, but not


    to the point where I would be shivering. Look at you, after you take off your coat, you only have a shirt


    left. I feel cold just from looking at you. You''d better put your coat back on quickly. Don''t give it to me.


    What if you get a coldter?"


    "No, I''m a man. I wouldn''t... Achoo!"


    Before he could finish, he immediately sneezed. All at once, he turned speechless.

 Chapter 1019

    Chapter 1019


    Upon seeing this, Sonia immediatelyughed. "Look, you just sneezed. What do you mean you''re not


    cold? Your lips are already turning blue. Okay, hurry up and put on your coat. In the future, don''t


    sacrificefort for style and walk around in something so thin and gaudy. This weather isn''t a joke."


    Charles felt displeased by her chiding words as he thought to himself, How are my clothes thin and


    gaudy? Just as he was about to refute, he felt the tip of his nose itch as he sneezed again, causing him


    to abruptly hold his rebuking reply in. Fine, I''ll admit my clothes are indeed a little thin. He had already


    sneezed twice in just a short amount of time, and he could faintly feel an itch in his nose, as if


    something was about to flow out.


    In order not to look like a joke, Charles stopped acting tough and put his coat back on. Once he did, he


    felt much better even if he wasn''tpletely warm yet. At the very least, he wasn''t trembling as badly.


    "Sonny." Charles dug around his suit pocket and took out a pack of tissues, pulling one out to wipe his


    nose as he asked, "Are you still cold? If you are, I''ll ask the hotel to provide two coats for us."


    "It''s all right." Sonia shook her head and refused. "I''m fine. The car will be here soon, so I''ll just bear


    with it. You don''t need to ask the hotel to prepare a coat. It''ll be troublesome because we have to return


    itter. However, if you need it, just ask for a set. After all, you look much colder than me."


    "I don''t need it either." Charles straightened his back and said seriously, "I''m feeling much better now,


    so I don''t need it anymore."


    What a joke. No matter what, he was still a grown man, so how could he allow himself to be unable to


    handle a little cold?


    At the sight of his tough act, Sonia shook her head helplessly. "Well, you said that yourself. Don''t regret


    it when you catch a cold."


    "I absolutely will not." Charles patted his chest. "I''m really healthy, so I won''t fall sick."


    The corners of Sonia''s mouth twitched when she saw him being so confident, but she didn''t say


    anything anymore.


    At this time, the car was finally driven over, and Charles'' eyes lit up. He hurriedly descended the steps


    and opened the door, urging, "Sonny, get in the car."


    He gestured to her eagerly, as if he was in a hurry. Of course, Sonia knew him well and was aware that


    he felt too cold and wanted to get in the car quickly, but he was too stubborn to admit it, so he could


    only urge her to get in the car quickly and follow her in afterward. If he went in first, wasn''t that just


    admitting that he was afraid of the cold?


    Shaking her head in amusement, Sonia didn''t expose his act either. She only rolled her eyes at him


    before quickly walking over and getting into the car.


    Not longter, Charles leaned on the car window dizzily, his face turning red as if he were sick.


    Seeing that, Sonia became worried and called out to him. "Charles? Charles?"


    He opened an eye to look at her, but his vision was a little blurry, and he couldn''t see well. Even his


    voice became muffled as he asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "That''s what I should be asking you. Are you feeling ill?" Sonia returned the question as she observed


    him.


    Charles shook his head. "I''m fine. I just feel a little dizzy."


    "Dizzy?" Sonia snapped to her senses and hurriedly asked, "Did you catch a cold?"


    Charlesughed. "Of course not. I''m still healthy, so how could I catch a cold?"


    "Why not?" Sonia frowned. "You were standing in the cold outside the hotel, and you even took off your


    coat, so it''s possible that you''d get sick. All right, don''t move. Let me feel your forehead."


    Saying that, she reached out to touch his forehead.


    However, just as her hand was about to make contact with his skin, Charles grabbed her hand. "Don''t


    worry, Sonny, I really don''t have a cold. I''m just a little tipsy after drinking too much. You''ll know from


    the smell of wine on my body. Besides, if I have a cold, wouldn''t I know that myself?"


    Sonia fell silent and looked at him quietly. A whileter, she retracted her extended hand. "Are you


    really all right? Is it really because you are drunk?"


    "I''m fine, really." Charles nodded.


    At his serious expression, Sonia decided to believe him for the time being. "All right, it''s good that


    you''re fine. In that case, you can continue to rest."


    "Okay. I''m feeling really dizzy, so I''m not going to talk anymore or I might throw up." Charles yawned


    before closing his eyes again.


    Upon seeing him leaning against the car window and falling asleep again, Sonia stopped bothering


    him, but she whispered to the driver, "Please turn up the heat a little. Thank you."


    "Yes, miss." The driver was very polite.


    Sonia nodded with a smile and turned to look outside the car window and spaced out as she watched


    the bustling city outside.


    However, the sound of her phone ringing suddenly brought her back to reality. Sonia first nced at


    Charles. When she saw that he was still in a deep sleep and wasn''t disturbed by her phone ringing in


    the slightest, she breathed a sigh of relief and took her phone out of her bag. The moment she saw


    who was calling, she quickly covered the phone and looked at Charles again.


    Seeing that he hadn''t woken up, she finally rxed and answered the phone, asking in a low voice,


    "What''s the matter?"


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    On the other end of the phone, Daphne was a little startled when she heard Sonia''s deliberately


    lowered voice. However, she soon realized the reason why. Sonia had gone out with Charles in the


    afternoon, and the two of them were probably still together now, so Sonia had lowered her voice to


    remind her that Charles was still by her side. When she realized that Sonia was still with Charles at the


    moment. Daphne felt bitter on the inside.


    However, she did not forget the purpose of her call. After taking a breath, she suppressed her feelings


    and returned to her usual state as an elite secretary, replying with a serious expression, "Good news,


    Chairman Reed. Our parts have been sent back to us."


    Hearing this, Sonia was taken aback for a moment before she sat up in disbelief and held her phone in


    both hands, eximing, "Say what? Our parts were sent back to us?"


    "Yes." Daphne nodded and continued excitedly, "The staff told me earlier that the parts were sent to the


    processing department. They have already gone through the inventory, and not a single piece is


    missing. How did you get the parts back, Chairman Reed?"


    Sonia seemed to not have heard Daphne''sst sentence. All she had in her mind at the moment was


    the news that the parts had been sent back. This was obviously good news, but she did not feel happy


    at all. She wondered why the spare parts had been sent back to them.


    Connor was clearly not the kind of person who wouldpromise to return the parts to her. If he was,


    he would have already done so after the callst night and would not deliberately dy it until now.


    Hence, there had to be a reason why Connor had sent the parts back, but what exactly was it?


    Sonia bit her lip. "This has nothing to do with me. I didn''t get the parts back."


    "Huh?" Daphne was stunned. "It wasn''t you? Then who was it? Was it President Fuller?"


    She took a blind guess. She knew that Charles definitely wasn''t capable of this. If he did, he would''ve


    definitely taken action as soon as the parts were intercepted. Hence, there was only one person who


    could do this, and that was Toby. After all, he loved Sonia so much, and if he knew that something


    happened to her, he would definitely not stand around idly, which made it greatly possible that it was


    his doing.

 Chapter 1020

    Chapter 1020


    On this side of the phone, Sonia''s red lips twitched as she listened to Daphne''s guess. She thought


    that Toby might have done it as well. In the entire Seafield, he was the only one who did not have to


    respect Connor and was able to take the parts back from him without any effort. After all, Connor would


    never take the initiative to return it.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    However, how did he know that Connor stole herpany''s parts? She was pretty sure she had never


    told him. Could it be that he had ced a spy in herpany again, and was really watching her as


    Charles had guessed before? As she recalled what Charles had said in the past, Toby must have


    ced some of his people in Paradigm Co., and it was not impossible for him to receive reports about


    her in every detail all the time. Otherwise, how could he know about the parts?


    As she pondered, Sonia frowned, feeling a little unhappy. How would she be happy? Nobody would be


    d that the person they loved sent someone to monitor them and report their movements all the time.


    It was like being a prisoner without having any privacy. In short, Toby''s behavior waspletely


    distrustful and he didn''t believe in her performance. Besides, he had done this before, but she had told


    him to withdraw the spies ced in herpany. Though he agreed, he did not keep his word at all.


    Sonia pursed her red lips, and it took a while for her to respond to Daphne''s words. "I will verify


    whether it is Toby or not and give you a reply tomorrow. As for the parts, it''s a good thing that they are


    back. Hurry up and notify the processing department to start processing so that we don''t miss the


    construction period."


    "Yes, Chairman Reed." As she listened to Sonia''s instructions, Daphne had no objections and


    immediately agreed.


    When the call ended, Sonia slowly took her phone away from her ear with a stiff expression. After a few


    seconds, she rubbed her eyebrows, then tapped on her contacts to dial Toby''s number. She wanted to


    know if he was the one who had gotten the parts back, and if he was, why didn''t he tell her


    beforehand?


    When the call went through, Sonia quietly listened to the beeping sound on the phone. However, after a


    while, the dial tone was still ringing, and it was not reced by his low and pleasant voice. She frowned


    again and brought her phone to her face to have a look. It showed on the screen that she had already


    been dialing for more than twenty seconds. If Toby hadn''t answered the phone for so long, it probably


    meant that he wasn''t free.


    When she thought of how Fuller Group had thousands of people in their headquarters alone, she


    suddenly couldn''t be angry with Toby for sending someone to monitor her, and she only felt worried for


    him. After all, she already felt exhausted managing hundreds of people in Paradigm Co., let alone the


    Fuller Group headquarters with more than 2,000 people. Besides, many subsidiaries of the Fuller


    Group submitted hundreds of documents every day and sent them to the headquarters for processing,


    so it was clear that he worked so much more than her.


    She had backache every single day, and Toby, who worked so much more than her, naturally had it


    worse. However, because he was a man, he never showed these things on his face, so the person she


    saw was always in good spirits. It seemed that she had neglected him quite a lot. Sonia lowered her


    eyes, feeling shameful and guilty. If it weren''t for the fact that Toby didn''t answer the call this time, she


    might not realize how busy and tired he usually was. She had really been spoiled.


    Recently, he almost always pushed his work back, or pushed it aside just to make time to be with her.


    Even if he was not by her side, as long as she contacted him, he would almost always respond as soon


    as possible. So much so that over time, she forgot that he was the president of Fuller Group, and he


    was so much more tired and busy than her.


    A helpless smile came from the corner of Sonia''s mouth. Didn''t this mean that she was spoiled? He


    spoiled her, and yet she had neglected him so often. In the future, she would have to pay more


    attention to him, and she couldn''t gradually abandon him like this. It was unfair to him.


    At the thought, Sonia hung up and gently sent a message to Toby.


    At the same time, in the president''s office in Fuller Group. Toby was sitting behind his desk with a


    fountain pen in his hand and his head slightly lowered, going through documents one after another. The


    time each document spent in his hand would not exceed three minutes, and he was as precise as a


    ruthless machine. After the documents were processed, he tossed them directly to Tom who was


    standing opposite the desk and sorting out the documents.


    Meanwhile, the documents in Tom''s hand had already been piled high into a tall mountain, all of which


    Toby hadpleted in a single afternoon. Though Toby could work without getting tired, Tom felt that in


    the two or three hours he had spent standing here, his eyes were losing focus and his legs were sore.


    However, as he looked at Toby''s cold expression and the pressuring aura that emanated from his body,


    he couldn''t seem to persuade him to rest for a while and let him go. Instead, he could only grit his teeth


    and force himself to endure the pain in his sore legs, pretending as if nothing was wrong as he


    organized the documents in silence.


    That was until a minute ago, when Toby''s phone rang, and Tom nced at the screen. Seeing that it


    was a call from Sonia, he suddenly became excited, thinking that Toby would answer her call no matter


    what, which meant that he could also take the opportunity to move his legs around and rest.


    Unexpectedly, Toby didn''t mean to answer the phone at all, as if he hadn''t heard or seen Sonia calling,


    and he didn''t pause in going through the documents.


    Though Tom was disappointed that he had lost the chance to rest, he couldn''t help but feel his heart


    stop as he had a bad premonition. What was going on? Toby didn''t answer Sonia''s call, and he even


    indifferently pretended not to have seen it. They weren''t facing rtionship problems, were they?


    Tom looked at the phone that was already quiet, and then at Toby, who was looking at another


    document on the opposite side, and panicked a little. No way. That can''t be true, right?


    He took a breath and couldn''t help but ask tentatively, "President Fuller, the call just now was from Miss


    Reed. Didn''t you see the caller ID?"


    Still, he knew how unnecessary his question was. How could Toby not be aware? When he looked at


    Toby''s phone screen, he saw that Toby had also nced at it, so it was impossible for him not to know.


    He had seen it, but he deliberately didn''t answer the call.


    Toby''s hand stopped in its tracks as he raised his eyes to look at Tom. Those eyes were full of


    darkness and indifference, but they were enough to pierce through a person. Tom almost felt as if Toby


    could see through his mind, and he quickly lowered his gaze.


    "I saw it." The second Tom lowered his eyes and avoided Toby''s gaze, Toby spoke up, answering him


    in a cold and curt tone.


    Hearing that, Tom abruptly lifted his head. "You saw it?"


    Toby did not reply to his question.


    Tom''s mouth gaped. "Then... why didn''t you answer?"


    Toby still remained silent, only looking at him gloomily.


    Tom felt a shiver run down his spine from Toby''s stare and lowered his head again, feeling his heart


    race with panic. It''s over. These two are definitely having rtionship problems.

 Chapter 1021

    Chapter 1021


    As Toby''s personal assistant, Tom knew very well how much he loved and worried about Sonia.


    Whenever Sonia called and sent a message, when did Toby not reply immediately? Even if he was in a


    meeting, he would break the rules he had set to answer Sonia''s phone calls or reply to her messages,


    and he had never missed any of them.


    This time, however, Toby was clearly not busy, and he had also seen that it was Sonia who was calling,


    but he chose to ignore her coldly. If this didn''t mean that he was having rtionship problems, what


    else could it mean? After all, if they weren''t having any problems, Toby would never treat Sonia like


    this.


    However, Tom had no clue what happened between the two without him knowing that could make Toby


    act like this all of a sudden. The two of them were still deeply in love yesterday, and Toby was still


    working hard to deal with all kinds of troubles Sonia was facing that day, making it clear that his


    feelings for her had not faded in the slightest. So, did the problem lie with Sonia?


    Tom rubbed his chin as he pondered. That seemed to be the case, but he had no clue what Sonia did


    to offend Toby to the point where he refused to answer her calls.


    Suddenly, a vibrating noise sounded in the quiet atmosphere, breaking the creepy silence. Tom looked


    down, only to see the sound hade from Toby''s phone again, but this time it was not a phone call,


    but a text message instead. The sender of the text message was still Sonia.


    Tom immediately raised his head and snuck a peek at Toby, who was sitting with a fountain pen in both


    hands, not showing any intention to reach out to get his phone. However, this time, he didn''t


    deliberately ignore his phone, but looked at the screen as if deep in thought.


    Seeing this, Tom couldn''t help but purse his lips. "President Fuller, I don''t know what happened


    between you and Miss Reed, but it''s not a good thing for you to give her the cold shoulder. If Miss


    Reed knows that you deliberately didn''t answer the phone or read her text, your previous situation will


    be even worse, so you should take a look," he advised sincerely.


    He was well aware of how much Toby loved Sonia, and knew how Toby had even nearly given up his


    life just to get her back. Hence, he didn''t like how the couple would let a misunderstanding build up


    without dealing with it immediately, causing their conflicts to grow even worse and making Toby regret it


    even more in the future. That would do more harm than good, and there was no point in it either.


    Toby could naturally tell that Tom was saying these things for his own good, so he did not get angry at


    his suggestion. He just frowned, then waved his hand and said, "This is my business, and I will take


    care of it myself. I don''t need your reminders. You can leave first."


    "Yes, sir." At Toby''s words, there was nothing more Tom could say. Thus, he nodded before picking up


    the documents he had processed and turning around to leave.


    Soon, Toby was the only one left in the office. At that moment, his phone screen had turned dark again.


    He pursed his thin lips with a stiff expression, as if he was struggling or hesitating. After a while, he let


    out a small sigli and decided to pick his phone up.


    Yes, he knew that Sonia had called him, but he chose not to answer on purpose. Sonia refusing to tell


    him her problems and choosing to ask others for help rather than looking for him made him extremely


    angry, and at the same time, he felt like a failure. He was her lover, but why did she always go to other


    people instead of him? Was he an unreliable person in her heart?


    Hence, he had deliberately ignored her call with the intention to give her the cold shoulder and silently


    show her that he felt unhappy and that he hadints. He wanted to let her know how


    ufortable it was to be deliberately ignored by one''s lover. However, he was also aware of how


    childish his approach was. After all, Sonia didn''t know that he ignored her on purpose. Therefore, she


    wouldn''t be able to experience the feeling of being ignored by the man she loved. In other words, by


    giving her the cold shoulder, he was only torturing himself in the end, and he couldn''t get back at Sonia


    at all.


    Toby''s thin lips twitched as a self-deprecating smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Even if he


    was angry and wanted to ignore her on purpose, he still gave in and was unable to continue his


    actions. Clearly, he had barelysted a moment before he picked up his phone again. At that thought,


    he realized that he was quite useless at times.


    Toby rubbed his forehead as he unlocked his phone with his other hand and tapped on the text


    message from Sonia. ''Sorry, I didn''t know you were busy. Did I disturb you with the call earlier? You


    don''t have to call me back. I just wanted to ask you a question, but if you''re busy, it''s fine. I''ll just ask


    you when youe home at night. Also, what time will you be back? If you''ll be toote, just tell me


    and don''t let me worry. Of course, it''s best if you cane back earlier. I''ll cook you your favorite


    dishes.''


    Though the message wasn''t particrly warm, it was full of concern.


    The furrow between Toby''s brows loosened and his expression eased. Then, he replied with a text, ''I''ll


    go back earlier.''


    In the end, he was still the only one who was angry, and his anger had decreased rapidly after a few


    words from her. He was truly stuck with her for the rest of his life.


    On the other end, after Sonia sent the text, she did not receive a reply after a long time, just like her


    phone call. However, she did not feel downcast as she had already confirmed that Toby was too busy


    to check his phone, and that he would definitely reply once he saw her text. Hence, the moment she


    sent the text, instead of waiting for a reply, she cleverly turned off her phone and held it in her hand as


    she leaned against the car window and closed her eyes to take a nap, just like Charles.


    Probably because she had also drunk a lot, she felt a little dizzy at this moment. However, it was not as


    serious as Charles, who waspletely drunk and was deeply asleep. On the other hand, she didn''t


    feel like sleeping much.


    Not long after Sonia closed her eyes, the phone in her hand suddenly buzzed. Caught off guard, her


    hands suddenly trembled, and if she hadn''t reacted in time, she would''ve subconsciously thrown her


    phone out.


    She opened her eyes and sat up straight, turning her phone to face her. Upon seeing that there was a


    text from Toby, she immediately smiled and tapped on it quickly. However, he had only sent a short


    sentence that was no longer than ten words, which was far shorter than her lengthy text, and it made


    her feel a little disappointed.


    However, she quickly regained herposure. No matter how long his text was, she should be


    satisfied if he was able to take the time to reply to her amidst his busy schedule.


    Sonia smoothed her hair that had be messy from leaning against the car window and replied,


    ''Okay, then I''ll wait for you. Stay safe when youe back.''


    After sending the text, Sonia thought that Toby would be too busy to reply again, so she ced her


    phone in her bag before peeking out slightly to say to the driver, "Sir, when we reach Bayside


    Residence, please send me to the luxury mall nearby. I''m nning to get some groceries. After that,


    you can just send him back to the Lane Residence. You can leave my car there without sending it


    back."


    "Yes, miss," the driver answered with a smile.


    Sonia nodded and leaned back on the seat again.


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    Half an hourter, when they arrived at the luxury mall in Bayside Residence, Sonia got out of the car


    and instructed the driver to call her after he had sent Charles back. Then, she turned around and


    entered the mall.

 Chapter 1022

    Chapter 1022


    That night, she wanted to stock up on groceries and make a feast for Toby to make up for her


    neglecting him during the past few days. At the thought, Sonia smiled as she pushed the cart around


    the fresh food section.


    By the time she finished shopping and came out, it was already past six in the evening, and the sky


    had already turned dark. With tworge bags in her hands, Sonia swayed left and right like a penguin


    as she walked toward Bayside Residence. Due to the amount of heavy groceries, her speed was


    extremely slow, and the bags would also hit her calves from time to time, which hindered her from


    walking. Fortunately, Bayside Residence was not far away, and it was just a short walk from the mall.


    Finally, about ten minutester, Sonia sessfully returned to the apartment with the groceries.


    After she ced the things in the kitchen, she let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall,


    panting heavily from exhaustion. Because she had been wearing high heels while walking back with


    two bags of heavy groceries, not only did her feet hurt, but her arms and shoulders were also sore.


    Leaning against the wall, she bent over and rubbed her calves for a moment, then straightened her


    body to knead her shoulders before her body finally felt much better. Then, she started to go through


    the bags and use the ingredients to start cooking.


    At the same time, Tom parked the car at an empty spot in the parking lot of Bayside Residence and


    turned to look at the resting man in the back seat. "President Fuller, we''re here."


    The car lights were not turned on, so the back seat waspletely dark. Though Tom couldn''t see


    Toby clearly except for a part of his body, the man who was concealed in darkness like this gave off an


    extremely pressuring aura.


    When Toby heard Tom''s words, he opened his eyes slightly, and a dark glint shed in his gaze as he


    hummed in reply. However, he still remained seated with his legs crossed gracefully and his head


    leaning on his hand that was resting on the armrest, showing not the slightest intention of getting out of


    the car.


    Tom turned on the smallest lights in the car and was finally able to see Toby''s current expression.


    When he saw him looking nkly at the empty parking lot outside the car window, Tom said in surprise,


    "Miss Reed''s car isn''t here. Hasn''t shee back yet?"


    "She has," Toby indifferently replied.


    When she sent him a text message in the afternoon, she said that she was back to Bayside Residence,


    and he believed that she would not lie to him. As for why her car wasn''t parked here...


    Toby pursed his thin lips. "Check if her car is at the Lane Residence."


    "Huh?" Tom was taken aback for a moment, but when he looked at Toby''s cold handsome face, he


    shivered. Not daring to dy any further, he quickly took out his phone and made a call, providing the


    other end with Sonia''s car''s license te. After around two minutes, he acquired the desired answer.


    He put down his phone and looked at Toby in surprise, giving him a thumbs up. "President Fuller,


    you''re right on the money. Miss Reed''s car is really at the Lane Residence, but how did you know


    that?"


    "They went for lunch together. After Charles sent her back, he took her car with him," Toby replied,


    slightly lifting his gaze.


    Tom said in realization, "Right. I forgot about that."


    He couldn''t help but swat at his forehead. Then, he thought of something that caused his eyes to


    widen, and his mouth gaped as if he wanted to say something. However, he held back and remained


    silent.


    Toby''s eyes narrowed. "What do you want to say?"


    Seeing that his hesitation to speak had been discovered, Tom could not hide it anymore and could only


    voice out his guesses. "President Fuller, are you treating Miss Reed so... weirdly because she went out


    to eat with Mr. Lane?"


    However, it didn''t seem quite right. During the day, when Toby found out that Sonia was going for lunch


    with Charles, although he was a little jealous and was rushing to pay the bill, his attitude toward Sonia


    wasn''t like this. Besides, he had also said at that time that Charles was going to help Sonia, so it was


    normal for her to invite him to a meal, and he would not be jealous for such a reason. Hence, he


    thought that his guess seemed a little wrong.


    However, apart from this reason, he really couldn''t figure out why Toby was suddenly giving Sonia the


    cold shoulder. He could only say that love was a confusing thing, and it was fortunate that he had not


    experienced it yet.


    Toby nced at the panicking Tom and nonchntly replied, "No."


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    Tom blinked in confusion. "No?"


    He couldn''t believe he had guessed wrongly.


    Meanwhile, Toby pursed his lips and didn''t reply.


    At the sight, Tom mustered his courage and asked again, "In that case, what happened between you


    and Miss Reed, President Fuller?"


    Toby rubbed his fingers together, showing no intention of answering.


    Tom sighed helplessly. Toby really was stubborn. Once he had something he didn''t want to say out


    loud, he would never say it. Tom had still been considering helping Tobye up with a solution, but


    as he refused to say a word, Tom couldn''te up with any ideas either.


    While he was deep in thought, a cell phone rang in the car, interrupting Tom''s inward grumbling. He


    looked at Toby, realizing that it was his phone that was ringing.


    At the same time, Toby had already taken his phone out of his pocket and was looking down at the


    screen. Although Tom was in the driver''s seat and was a little far away from his phone, he was able to


    see the contents on the screen by stretching his neck out slightly. The call was from Sonia.


    Tom''s mouth gaped open again before he looked at Toby, wanting to see what he would do this time.


    Would he choose to ignore her on purpose like he did earlier, or would he pick up the phone? Tom


    didn''t have to wait long before he received his answer.


    He watched as Toby put his hand down from the armrest and straightened his head before he gently


    swiped at the screen with his thumb and put the phone to liis ear.


    He picked up! He actually picked up the phone! Tom''s eyes turned wide in surprise. Toby did not ignore


    Sonia''s call as he had done during the day, but chose to answer. From the looks of things, the situation


    between the two did not seem to be particrly bad. He thought it made sense. After all, if it were bad,


    why would Toby choose to go back to Bayside Residence instead of going back to his residence? It


    seemed that he didn''t have to worry too much.


    Tom breathed a sigh of relief and smiled in reassurance as he quietly listened to Toby talking to the


    person on the other side of the phone.


    "Hello?" Toby answered in a low voice. His tone was still a little cold, and it waspletely different


    from the usual gentle and doting voice he usually used when he talked to Sonia.


    However, Sonia was cooking at the moment. She sandwiched her phone between her head and her


    shoulder while her hands busied themselves, one of them holding the handle of the pan while the other


    held a spat as she stir-fried the ingredients in the pan constantly. The sizzling sounds were loud,


    and it covered the indifference in Toby''s tone.


    Hence, she didn''t sense anything wrong and spoke to him as she usually did. "Are you done with work?


    When are youing back?"


    On the phone, Toby naturally heard the sounds of cooking on the other end, and he began envisioning


    the sight of Sonia in an apron and busily cooking for him in the kitchen. Just the thought of it filled him


    with a warmth that only a lover could bring about. Toby''s frown rxed, and the apathy in his tone


    instantly disappeared. The usual gentleness of his voice returned.

 Chapter 1023

    Chapter 1023


    "I''m already downstairs. I''ll be back soon," Toby replied in a warm voice.


    Hearing that, Sonia smiled. "That''s great. I was just finishing up thest dish and was worried that it


    won''t taste good if it gets cold. Hurry up, it''s almost time to eat."


    Toby nodded and hummed in reply.


    After the call ended, he put down his phone and uncrossed his legs as if he was finally ready to get out


    of the car. Sure enough, as soon as he put his phone away, he immediately opened the car door and


    bent over to exit.


    Tom hurriedly lowered the window at the driver''s seat and called out to the man who was about to walk


    toward the elevator. "President Fuller."


    Toby stopped and frowned, as if he was displeased with Tom stopping him from going home. "What is


    it?" He pursed his lips, his tone clearly impatient.


    The corners of Tom''s mouth twitched. What now? ming me for keeping him from going home? He


    rolled his eyes inwardly. Who was the one who stayed in the car and refused to move earlier? Toby


    wasn''t rushing to get out of the car and go home just now, but now that Sonia had called him, he


    immediately wanted to rush home. Ha, men will always be men!


    Although he was ranting in his mind, Tom didn''t show it on his face and asked with a smile, "Do you


    need me to pick you up tomorrow?"


    "What do you think?" Toby asked expressionlessly.


    Tom nced at Sonia''s empty parking space and fell silent. After a few seconds, he spoke again. "I


    understand, President Fuller. What time should I arrive tomorrow morning?"


    "Eight o''clock." Toby thought for a moment before giving him a time.


    Tom nodded, making a note of it in his head.


    Then, when Toby turned around and was about to leave, Tom suddenly recalled something and


    extended his hand from the car window, calling him again. "President Fuller!"


    Toby was getting a little angry this time, and he turned around with a dark expression. "You''d better


    have something important, or you can go back to thepany to work overtime now."


    Tom fell silent as his breath got caught in his chest. This man really was vicious!


    "President Fuller, I want to say that no matter what happened between you and Miss Reed, I hope that


    when you go back tonight, you will have a good talk with her and try to resolve the misunderstanding as


    much as possible so that it wouldn''t cause you any problems in the future. After all, you almost gave


    your life to pursue Miss Reed, and I don''t want you two to break up because of a minor issue.


    President Fuller, d-do you understand what I''m saying?" Tom looked at Toby and asked cautiously.


    As an assistant, it was out of line for him to be involved in his superior''s private life. However, he really


    couldn''t bear to see Toby falling back into his pain after breaking up with Sonia. Hence, he plucked up


    the courage and boldly gave his advice, hoping that Toby wouldn''t me him.


    In fact, Toby really didn''t mean to me Tom. He was not the kind of person who didn''t know any better


    of himself. He knew that Tom was worried about him when he said those words, so he would not


    punish him indiscriminately for stepping out of line.


    "I don''t need you to tell me that. I was going to do that myself." The displeasure on Toby''s face


    disappeared, reced by an indifferent calm.


    His expression showed that he was no longer angry about Tom stopping him earlier, and he wouldn''t


    care about Tom''s rude behavior in meddling in his private life either.


    Hearing that, Tom was relieved. After patting his chest, heughed. "That''s good. In that case, I won''t


    dy your reunion with Miss Reed anymore, President Fuller. I''ll leave now ande back tomorrow


    morning."


    After Toby hummed in reply, Tom rolled the car window up and backed the car before he turned and


    left.


    While massaging his eyebrows, Toby entered the elevator. Two minutester, he opened the apartment


    door and walked in. As soon as he stepped inside, a mouth-watering aroma filled his nostrils. His


    expression softened even more at the scent and the air around him turned rxed. He was no longer


    as cold and indifferent as he was in the parking lot just now.


    Toby changed his shoes and walked into the living room. There was no one there, except for a few


    dishes that were ced on the dining table. When he saw the dishes, his eyes shed with surprise.


    The dinner tonight was sovish! Usually, as it was only the two of them, they would prepare a small


    meal that was delicious but notrge in proportions. Sometimes they might even have leftovers if they


    didn''t have much of an appetite. However, Sonia had prepared so much tonight, and the entire table


    was filled with food. Did something good happen for her to prepare such a feast?


    Toby took off his coat and hung it on the shelf on one side, then turned and walked toward the kitchen.


    As Sonia wasn''t in the living room and there was still movement in the kitchen, it was clear where she


    was.


    Toby treaded lightly, making almost no sound as he walked. When he arrived at the kitchen entrance,


    he saw Sonia standing behind the kitchen counter with her head down, busy doing something


    seriously. However, her hands were blocked by her body, and Toby couldn''t see what she was doing.


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    Still, this did not prevent him from leaning against the door frame as he stared at her figure with folded


    arms. She had a good figure, and with her height of five feet five, though she wasn''t considered tall for


    a female, she wasn''t short either. In particr, her proportions were good, making her look tall and eye-


    catching. Coupled with her curves and her slender waist, along with her long legs, she was a beauty


    that made people unable to move their gaze away from her.


    Toby kept looking back and forth between the woman''s waist and her firm hips with a dark expression,


    as if he was about to suck everything into his eyes, making it difficult for one to return his stare.


    Perhaps he had been staring too openly as Sonia faintly sensed something, and she paused in her


    movements to turn around, just toe face-to-face with Toby''s deep and intense eyes.


    "Ah!" Her body jolted in shock.


    At the sound of her shout, Toby immediately returned to his senses and strode over to her in one big


    step. He then grabbed her shoulders with both hands, asking urgently, "What''s wrong?"


    Upon seeing his nervous expression, Sonia said with an amused smile, "I''m fine, you just scared me.


    Anyone would be scared if they turned around and saw someone at the door, right? You should''ve said


    something if you''re back. The way you don''t even make a sound when you enter, who wouldn''t be


    scared?"


    When Toby heard this, he let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry, I just wanted to see what you were doing, but I


    didn''t expect that I''d scare you."


    He really didn''t mean to do so. After all, he hadn''t expected that she would have such a big reaction


    after seeing him.


    At his apologetic expression, Sonia patted his arm lightly. "All right, I''m fine. It''s not entirely your fault.


    It''s also because I was too focused just now that I got startled so easily."


    "What were you doing?" Toby stepped past her and looked behind her.


    Sonia turned around and replied, "I''m carving."


    She picked up the pumpkin she had carved in half and smiled sheepishly. "I need to set up thest dish


    for it to look good, but I forgot to buy an orchid, so I nned to carve one by myself. When I followed a


    tutorial online, it looked simple, but it was difficult when I actually started doing it myself. I didn''t expect


    it to turn out so bad after all that work. It''s all crooked, and it doesn''t look like a flower at all. It looks like


    a pool of mud instead."


    Tobyughed under his breath. "It does, but it''s still salvageable."


    "This pile of mess? Salvageable?" Sonia''s eyes widened in shock.


    Toby nodded and answered confidently, "Yes!"

 Chapter 1024

    Chapter 1024


    "Really?" Sonia looked at Toby with wide eyes.


    He nodded. "Yes. If you don''t believe me, why don''t you let me try?"


    She handed the carving knife over without saying anything. After he took it, he took two steps forward


    and stood where she had just stood before he picked up the mud-like pumpkin she had carved and


    inspected it carefully, as if he was wondering where he should start from.


    Sonia didn''t know what he was thinking. As she watched him remain motionless with the knife in one


    hand and her carved pumpkin in the other, she thought that he finally realized that things were not as


    simple and easy as he had said they were at the beginning. Just as she was about tough at him for


    boasting, she saw him move all of a sudden. With his long fingers wrapped around the carving knife, he


    carved onto the pumpkin little by little. His movements were deft, and he didn''t seem like a novice at all,


    more like a master with many years of carving experience.


    Her red lips opened slightly in surprise. "You''re so good at this. When did you learn how to carve? Did


    you pick it up when you learned to cook?"


    Even though food carving was a part of culinary arts, there were not many people who would learn it,


    and it was mostly those who dreamed of being a hotel chef or a chef in some high-end restaurant who


    would learn it. After all, it was only in a situation like this that food carving woulde in handy. The


    average chef in a small restaurant would only know some simple dishes, but there was no need for any


    complicated food carvings in those dishes. Although Toby had been learning cooking recently, he was


    mostly learning home-cooked dishes from major cuisines instead of any exquisite and beautiful dishes.


    Therefore, it surprised her greatly that he knew food carving.


    "I never learned it." Unexpectedly, Toby''s answer was that he hadn''t learned it.


    Sonia walked to his side in surprise. Looking at the movements in his hands, she looked even more


    astonished. "You never learned it? Then how did you know how to do this? You even look so good at


    it!"


    Toby focused on his carving and did not look up. He only replied with a chuckle, "I studied jade carving


    for a bit during high school."


    "Jade carving?"


    "Yeah." Toby raised his chin slightly. "At that time, I wanted to give my grandmother something special


    for her birthday, but I didn''t know what to give her. Later, Tom suggested that I give her a carved


    statue."


    "Oh, I get it now." Sonia pped her hands. "Grandma likes these things, so it''s a good gift for her."


    Toby hummed in assent. "Yes, but Grandma has many statues that were all made by famous sculptors.


    If I gave her another one, it wouldn''t be anything new to her, and she wouldn''t be amazed by it."


    "So, you went to learn jade carving just to make Grandma surprised by your gift?" Sonia guessed,


    touching her chin.


    Toby smiled. "Something like that. Besides, I couldn''t do many things because of my heart condition


    back then, and I felt useless. Because of that, I was always angry and depressed. Learning jade


    carving was not only for Grandma''s gift, but it was also a form of self care. It requires great patience


    and carefulness, so if I wasn''t in a good mental state, I wouldn''t be able to pick it up at all."


    "In other words, if you hadn''t learned jade carving, your heart might take a bigger burden due to your


    anger issues to the point where you might not have held on long enough to rece your heart?" Sonia


    bit her lip and asked.


    Toby nodded. "That''s right."


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    Sonia felt her heart stop. Then, she slowly took a step back and went behind him to embrace him,


    burying her head on his sturdy back.


    Toby''s body jolted and his hand stopped carving; he was obviously shocked by her sudden behavior.


    He ced down the carving knife in his hand and turned his head slightly to look at the woman behind


    him.


    As she was hugging him, he couldn''t turn much, so he couldn''t see her entire body and only saw a part


    of her body and her side profile. Even so, his gaze was still gentle and doting as he asked, "What''s the


    matter? Why are you so affectionate today?"


    "I''m not." Sonia lifted her head to roll her eyes at him, before she lowered her head again and rested


    her head on the middle of his back, her red lips opening as she spoke in a sad yet grateful tone. "I was


    just d that Tom rmended you to give Grandma a statue back then. If not, you wouldn''t learn


    jade carving, and if you didn''t, you wouldn''t be able to calm your heart down, and then..."


    She couldn''t continue. Her voice trembled and choked with fear. She was afraid that if he had not


    studied jade carving to calm his mind, he wouldn''t be able tost long enough to find a suitable heart


    and would''ve died back then.


    Sensing that she was feeling down, Toby ced the pumpkin in his hand down and turned around to


    hug her tightly, rubbing his chin against the top of her head as he softlyforted, "All right, I''m fine


    now, aren''t I? Don''t be scared. That''s all in the past. I''m all better now."


    Saying that, he caressed the woman''s hair. He put in more strength than usual to let her know that he


    really was fine at the moment, that he was right in front of her, and he wasn''t an illusion. He wanted her


    to stop overthinking and stop being afraid.


    When Sonia raised her head, her eyes were a little red. "I know you''re fine now, but what happened


    back then was still really scary and dangerous. It was such a close call. If Tom hadn''t advised you back


    then, or if you hadn''t epted his suggestion, you... you wouldn''t be here now!"


    Toby''s face was filled with a smile as he said, "But what happened was that Tom made a suggestion,


    and I epted his suggestion, right?"


    "What if you didn''t?"


    "There is no what if," he replied seriously.


    She pursed her lips. "What do you mean?"


    "Don''t forget that you and I were already pen pals back then." Toby pinched her face gently. "I


    remember that at that time, we had been pen pals for two years. Although I hadn''t fallen in love with


    you, I was already interested in you. I always knew that I needed to calm my mental state instead of


    being angry all the time, so when Tom suggested that to me, I immediately thought of learning jade


    carving and fixing my anger issues. Only then would I be able to live longer and hold on long enough to


    find the right recement for my heart in order to meet you in the future."


    "So, what you''re saying is that because you wanted to meet me, you wouldn''t refuse Tom''s suggestion,


    right?" Sonia sniffled as she looked at him.


    He lowered his head and dropped an extremely gentle kiss on her wet eyes, replying in a low and


    pleasant voice, "Of course. So, do you feel better now?"


    Sonia huffed and rested her forehead against his chest, falling silent in tacit agreement. Toby chuckled


    and wrapped an arm around her waist while he ced the other on the back of her head and caressed


    her gently as if he were coaxing a child. Sonia leaned in his embrace with a slight smile, enjoying his


    doting actions. After all, which woman wouldn''t want to live like a child and be spoiled like one by their


    lover? In any case, she liked it.


    However, she knew that she couldn''t keep hugging him like this. Hence, after he had embraced her for


    about two minutes, she took the initiative toe out of Toby''s arms and looked at the man who was


    still a little startled with a smile. He seemed to be wondering why she wasn''t letting him hug her


    anymore.

 Chapter 1025

    Chapter 1025


    "All right, it''s gettingte. You''d better hurry up and finish carving the rest of the orchids. After you''re


    done, we should eat before the food gets cold," Sonia said as she fixed her ruffled hair.


    On the other hand, Toby felt relieved after finding out why she left his embrace. He had thought that


    she didn''t want him to hug her anymore.


    "Okay, I''ll speed it up." Toby nodded slightly and turned around, picking up the pumpkin and carving


    knife he had just put down before he continued to carve.


    Sonia stood next to him again, watching him carving obediently. "I really didn''t expect that after you


    learned to carve a jade statue, you would even know how to carve an orchid."


    Hearing that, Toby smiled. "A jade statue is a big object. I wouldn''t have been able to carve it from the


    beginning. Although I have money and I don''t care how much jade is wasted, the master I was under


    the tutge of cared and felt sorry for the jade shards and asked me to use scraps of jade to learn


    carving, starting from some simple small objects. Orchids were one of those objects. After I learned


    some carving techniques from carving small objects and I became better at it, he started to teach me


    how to carverger objects."


    "I see." Sonia nodded in realization. "But this was all so long ago. I didn''t expect you to remember it


    and still be so proficient at it. If it were me, I would''ve be a novice again a long time ago."


    A glint shed past Toby''s eyes, but he did not reply, whether consciously or not. However, Sonia didn''t


    sense anything wrong, and looked at the pumpkin in Toby''s hand with bright eyes. She had turned the


    pumpkin into a mess earlier, and it barely looked like anything, much less an orchid. It was so ugly that


    she couldn''t even bear to look at it directly. Now, however, after Toby gave it a makeover, it was already


    starting to look like an orchid at a nce.


    She gasped, "You''re amazing. So it really was salvageable. You''re so amazing, Toby!"


    Her praises made Toby overjoyed. His smile grew even wider, and his chin was lifted even higher than


    earlier. Clearly, he enjoyed herpliments, and he subconsciously became proud.


    However, he still acted nonchnt on the surface and replied indifferently, "This is nothing."


    Sonia wasn''t aware that he was just being humble, and she felt unhappy at his nonchnt answer. She


    pursed her lips and said, "You call this nothing? To me, this is amazing. I can''t believe that you were


    able to do this. You''ve never mentioned this to me before." She looked at him with admiring eyes.


    Feeling a little embarrassed by her expression, he pursed his lips and coughed softly, pretending to be


    calm as he replied, "This is not something important, so I never told you in the past. As for now, I''ve


    already forgotten about it myself. If it weren''t for you, I wouldn''t have recalled my carving skills."


    As he spoke, he lowered his eyes, covering the glint that shed through his gaze.


    However, Sonia didn''t notice anything and said gleefully, "Does that mean that I helped you rediscover


    your skills?"


    At the sight of her proud expression, Toby extended a hand and lightly scratched her nose. "That''s


    right."


    Sonia''s smile became even brighter. "It seems that I have to look for more new things in the future.


    That way, I might discover even more of your talents."


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    Toby raised his eyebrows. He hadn''t expected her to be so mind blown by his skills. However, she was


    right about one thing¡ªhe did have some skills that he hadn''t told her about or shown her yet. After all,


    as a part of the Fuller Family, he was destined to be the heir from the moment he was born, and


    he naturally had a lot to learn. Although he was not skilled in all areas, he still knew a little about


    everything. In short, to this day, he was still unsure what skills he had.


    "All right. I''ll be looking forward to the day you rediscover all of the skills that I know," he said dotingly.


    Sonia nodded heavily. "Okay. Just wait, I''ll make sure of it."


    "Yeah, I believe you." He nodded as well.


    Then. Sonia let him do his thing and fell silent.


    After Toby carved the pumpkin for a while, he saw how seriously she was watching him and pondered


    for a moment before he stopped his movements and asked, "Do you want to try it out?"


    Sonia straightened her body in confusion. "Me? Try it out?" She pointed at her nose.


    Toby nodded. "Yeah."


    "No way. I can''t do it." Sonia hurriedly shook her head while waving her hand, indicating that she wasn''t


    able to do it.


    Toby looked at her. "Why not?"


    "You already saw how badly I did earlier, and I''m different from you. I''m a novice, and this is my first


    time trying this, while you have learned this since a long time ago. You''ve already fixed the pumpkin


    from what I''ve done to it. It would be a pity to ruin the orchid that you painstakingly restored again,"


    Sonia spread out her hands and said.


    Toby looked at her, then at the orchid in his hand, and finally chuckled. "It''s okay. If it''s ruined, then so


    be it. Either way, it''s just the two of us, so you don''t have to be scared of anyoneughing at you.


    Besides, with me here, I don''t think it''ll be ruined. Come here, I''ll teach you."


    He beckoned at her.


    Sonia looked at the orchid in his hand, her thoughts still wavering. In fact, after seeing how easily he


    restored her hideous work, she had been curious and wanted to give it a try. However, she knew her


    level, so in order not to make a joke of herself, she held it in. But now that he brought it up himself, he


    stirred her urge again.


    At the sight of her eager yet hesitant expression, Toby immediately stretched out his hand and grabbed


    her wrist to pull her over to his side. As Sonia was struggling to make a decision, she was caught off


    guard when he pulled her in front of him, and she let out a scream.


    Toby ced his index finger on her lips. "Don''t be scared. It''s just me."


    Sonia blinked before pulling his hand away from her lips, saying angrily, "I know it''s you, but you scared


    me by suddenly pulling me over."


    Toby smiled. "I''m sorry. I saw that you wanted to try, but you didn''t dare to, so I just helped you make a


    decision. All right,e and try it out. Don''t worry, I''m here, and I''ll teach you. I won''t let you ruin it."


    As he spoke, he tugged her in front of him while he stood behind her, then stuffed the pumpkin and


    carving knife in her hands and held them from behind, slowly teaching her the carving steps.


    With Toby guiding her step by step, though Sonia was cautious at the beginning, her movements


    became more natural at the end, and she ended upughing happily. "Toby, do you see this? I know


    how to do it too. Even though you only taught me the simplest steps, I actually managed to learn them."


    She looked at the man behind her, her face turning red from excitement.


    Seeing that she was so ecstatic, Tobyughed along as well. "Not bad. You''re smart."


    "Of course." Sonia raised her chin triumphantly, then jabbed the man behind her with her elbow. "You


    can let go of me."


    "What''s wrong?" Toby asked, looking confused.


    Sonia snorted. "Obviously it''s because I already know how to do it, and I want to finish the rest on my


    own. I don''t need you anymore, so you can let go of me now."


    Toby fell silent as his lips twitched before he questioned, "Are you sure you don''t need me to teach you


    the rest?"

 Chapter 1026

    Chapter 1026


    "Yes, I''m certain!" Sonia nodded with a very serious expression, indicating that she had indeed learned


    enough, and she really didn''t need him anymore.


    At the sight of her confidence, Toby shook his head with augh. "All right. I''ll leave it to you, then.


    Show me what you''ve learned."


    He wanted to see if she really didn''t need him anymore.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t let you down." She smiled at him, then turned around and began to carve the rest


    of the pumpkin.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Seeing that she was no longer paying attention to him, Toby patted her head lightly, then walked away


    with his arms crossed and leaned against the wall.


    Sonia turned and glowered at him. "What are you doing?"


    "Nothing. I''m just teaching an ungrateful person a lesson," he replied with a shrug.


    She shot him a re. "Hey, who are you calling ungrateful?"


    "I''m not wrong." Toby unfolded his arms and spread them outward. "I just finished teaching you, and


    you pushed me aside now that you don''t have a use for me. If that isn''t being ungrateful, what is it? Not


    only that, but you don''t have a conscience either."


    "You..." Sonia was rendered speechless by him as his words seemed to make sense.


    It was true that she pushed him aside after she felt that she had learned enough, and it was ungrateful


    of her to do so. All of a sudden, Sonia felt so embarrassed that her face turned red.


    At the sight of her expression, Toby no longer had the heart to tease her anymore. He stepped forward


    and gently caressed her hair, messing up her hair that she had painstakingly tidied earlier once more.


    "All right, I was just teasing you. Don''t overthink it, okay?"


    She pushed his hand away from her head huffily. "Go away. I don''t want to talk to you."


    "Really?" He narrowed his eyes.


    She rolled her eyes at him. "If you still want to eatter, don''t disturb me anymore. Aren''t you hungry?"


    Toby nodded. "A little."


    "Then move aside and wait for me to finish carving it so that we can eat." Sonia waved him off, urging


    him disdainfully.


    Heughed under his breath. "All right, I won''t disrupt you anymore. Go ahead."


    Seeing that she was so impatient, Toby retreated again and gave her space. After she watched him


    leave obediently, Sonia turned her wrist before she continued to carve the pumpkin with her head


    lowered. However, she had thought that it would be an easy process as she had learned how to do it,


    but for some reason, it was not as easy as she had imagined. At first, with Toby guiding her, her


    movements were extremely smooth and skilled, but why did it be so difficult all of a sudden?


    Every time she carved the pumpkin with the knife, she could feel a clear obstruction blocking her, and it


    was not as simplepared to when she had Toby helping her. With his help, the pumpkin was easily


    sliced away with the knife, but now that she was doing it alone, she clearly had to put in the effort to be


    able to cut the pumpkin off. In less than two minutes, she felt that her arm was turning sore, just like


    how she had felt when she was carving before Toby came back. What''s going on? Sonia''s hands


    stopped in their tracks as she looked down at the carving knife in her hand, as well as the pumpkin


    orchid that was almostpleted, and began to space out.


    When she tilted backward, the man leaning against the wall saw that she had suddenly gone


    motionless, and a glint shed past his eyes as he asked with a smirk, "What''s the matter? Have you


    finished carving?"


    Sonia''s red lips gaped. A momentter, she said sheepishly, "No."


    "Then why did you stop?" The smile on Toby''s face grew even wider.


    Sonia''s grip tightened around the knife as she fell silent. Why did she stop? Of course it was because


    she felt too tired.


    Seeing that she had fallen silent and turned her head to look at her arm, Toby stepped forward with a


    smile and took the carving knife and pumpkin orchid from her. "All right, let me do it. Your arms are


    feeling sore, aren''t they?"


    Sonia looked at the man in surprise. "Why are you... You knew I would end up like this a long time ago,


    right? That''s why you asked me if I was sure."


    Toby didn''t reply and lowered his head, saying as he began carving, "You''re a newbie who has never


    carved before. Even if you have learned a little bit of the basics, you''re still unclear on the amount of


    strength or the skills you need to carve something. That''s why I was sure it won''t take long for your


    arms to be sore, because I was like that at the beginning too."


    "I see." Sonia pouted unhappily, her gaze falling on his hand.


    As she watched the man gently carve off a piece of pumpkin, she asked again, "I could carve through


    the pumpkin easily when I first started, but howe it didn''t work earlier?"


    Toby raised his gaze and looked at her. "Obviously, it''s because I was guiding you in the beginning


    while holding your hand. Rather than you, it was me who was putting in the strength to carve the


    pumpkin, which was why you felt very rxed, and it became difficult for you after I left."


    At this moment, Sonia fellpletely silent. It turned out that she was actually the fool. It was no


    wonder that when she was with Toby, she managed to carve the pumpkin so easily without facing any


    troubles. It was all because he was exerting his strength behind her back. To put it bluntly, he had been


    doing all the work from beginning to end, and what she thought she had learned was just Toby


    deliberately making her happy. However, she had taken it for granted, thinking that she had really


    learned it by herself, and she became proud andcent about it.


    Sonia covered her face. "You must''ve beenughing at me earlier, right?"


    Toby chuckled. "I wasn''t."


    "I don''t believe you," she mumbled.


    Toby blew the scraps of pumpkin on his hand away and said, "All right, I''m done. How does it look?"


    As he handed thepleted orchid over, Sonia''s eyes immediately lit up at the sight. "It''s gorgeous."


    She took the orchid with a smile and ced it in her hand to have a look.


    Toby was washing the carving knife to put it away. When he heard her words, his smile became wider.


    "It''s good that you like it. If you have time in the future, do you want to learn how to carve? I can teach


    you."


    "Okay." Sonia put the orchid on the side of the dish and nodded happily. "In the future, I''ll make a


    beautiful carving by myself, and I''ll never make a fool of myself in front of you again."


    "Then it''s settled. Let''s go and eat." Toby took the te from her.


    Sonia didn''t stop him either, and she trailed out of the kitchen behind him.


    When they reached the dining table in the living room, Toby put the dishes down, then pulled a chair


    out and patted the back of it. Seeing that, Sonia walked over and took a seat. She knew that he had


    pulled the chair out for her. Sure enough, after she sat down, he went to the seat opposite of her and


    took a seat himself.


    Once he was seated, he pulled out a napkin and wiped his hands, then nced at the sumptuous


    dishes on the table. Suddenly, he asked the question he had been wondering about since he walked


    through the door. "Did something good happen today?"


    "What do you mean?" Sonia poured a ss of mild-tasting juice for Toby and handed it over.


    After he took the ss, he ced it aside and pointed at the feast on the table. "Usually, we''ll only eat


    half of the amount here. Is there any asion today?"


    Only then did Sonia understand what he meant. He was asking if she was celebrating anything by


    preparing so many dishes. With a smile, she said, "Nothing good happened. I just thought that you


    might be busy because you didn''t answer my call this afternoon, and you''ve always been by my side


    recently without going to Fuller Group often, which made you so busy that you weren''t able to answer


    the phone today. I felt a little guilty, so I decided to make a few more dishes to make it up to you. Quick,


    have a bite and see how it tastes."

 Chapter 1027

    Chapter 1027


    When Sonia ced some food on his te, Toby felt that his heart was about to melt into a puddle. It


    was all because of the food she prepared. At first, he had guessed that she suddenly cooked so much


    because she had an asion that she wanted to celebrate with him. For example, getting the spare


    parts back was a good thing that was worth celebrating. For this reason, he was even going to suggest


    opening a bottle of wine.


    However, she told himter on that she cooked so much not because she wanted to celebrate


    anything, but to make it up to him. She felt that he had left liis work to apany her during this period


    of time, which had caused him to fall behind in many things, and she was feeling guilty about it, which


    was why she prepared a feast to cheer him up.


    In any case, she had prepared an entire table of food just for him. How could he not feel moved by


    that? In fact, he was so moved that he wanted to carry her back to the room and kiss her fiercely to


    show her how he felt. However, they hadn''t eaten yet, so he could only suppress this thought. After all,


    eating was more important, and it wasn''t good for their health to skip a meal.


    "I don''t need to try it to know that it tastes good." Toby looked at the woman opposite him with a smile.


    Sonia red at him yfully. "Stop spouting nonsense. You haven''t even tasted it yet."


    "Even though I haven''t tried it, I know it. I''ve always been confident in your skills, just like the way you


    believe in mine." Saying that, he picked up his utensils.


    He wasn''t just uttering these sweet words to make her happy. He meant everything he said. Although


    she had never studied cooking properly, her skills were sharpened by Jean''s pickiness in the six years.


    Hence, she was quite good at cooking.


    "All you can do is talk. Hurry up and eat." Sonia rolled her eyes at him, but there was a sweet smile on


    her face.


    After all, she wouldn''t be unhappy by the fact that he thought her cooking tasted good.


    She picked up the soupdle and served him another bowl of soup. "You should drink more of this


    soup. I made it for you. You''re usually much busier than me, so you must feel much more physically


    exhausted than me. This soup can help to tone your body, so it''s good for you to drink it."


    "All right." Toby took the bowl of soup with a gentle expression. "What about you? You should drink


    some too."


    "I''m fine. I..."


    "No." Toby pursed his lips and said in a serious tone, "Since it''s good for the body, you should drink


    some too. I can''t just tone my body alone."


    Saying that, he ced his bowl down and filled another for her. He had already ced the bowl of soup


    in front of her, so she had no reason not to drink it.


    Sonia took the bowl from him, not knowing if she shouldugh or cry. "All right, I''ll drink it."


    "That''s more like it." Toby lifted his chin and picked up his spoon as he began to drink the soup. It did


    taste good.


    "Oh, right." Suddenly recalling something, Sonia stopped eating and looked at him. "Connor has


    already sent the spare parts back. Were you the one who went to him and made him give them up?"


    Hearing that, Toby ced his spoon down and lifted his head. "It was me." He admitted it boldly.


    Sonia bit on her lip. "As expected, I knew it was you. No one could do this except you, but... How did


    you know about Connor taking the spare parts from Paradigm Co.? I never told you about it. Did you


    really nt a spy in mypany again?"


    "Again?" Toby''s eyes narrowed. "Who told you that I nted a spy in Paradigm Co.? Or did you doubt


    me on your own ord?"


    Either way, it made him feel a little ufortable. If it were the former, it meant that there was


    someone trying to get in the way of their rtionship, but if it was thetter, it showed that she didn''t


    trust him.


    Spotting the displeasure on Toby''s face, Sonia knew that her suspicion had made him unhappy. After


    all, no one would be happy to be suspected.


    "I guessed it myself." Sonia lowered her eyes, not revealing that it was Charles who made her think


    that way. If she did, he would probably get jealous again, so it was better for her to hide this fact in


    order to save herself from more trouble.


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    "Why did you think that I nted a spy?" Toby looked at her.


    Sonia took a sip of the juice before replying, "When I treated Charles for lunch today, you knew about it


    even though I hadn''t told you anything. I also hadn''t told you about the interception of Paradigm Co.''s


    spare parts, but you also knew about it, so I had no choice but to wonder if you had nted a spy in my


    company again to report everything I did to you."


    "Your words do make sense." Toby raised his chin slightly. "However, I did not nt a spy in your


    company. When you told me to get rid of the men I had nted in Paradigm Co., I did as you said, and


    ever since then, I don''t have any spies in yourpany anymore. As for how I knew you and Charles


    were going out for lunch, and how I knew that Paradigm Co.''s parts had been intercepted, it was all a


    coincidence. My men have been watching Connor and reporting his movements to me at all times,


    which was how I learned that yourpany''s parts were taken away. After that, it''s obvious that I


    would monitor you. I wanted to see how you would solve this matter, so I naturally had to figure out who


    you have contacted and who you went to for help. After all, we are lovers, aren''t we? Do I have to act


    like I don''t know if something happened to you? Am I supposed to ignore it?"


    As she faced the man''s all-knowing eyes, Sonia''s red lips twitched. "So that was the case. I thought...


    I''m sorry, I misunderstood you. Please don''t be angry at me."


    She looked at him, her eyes filled with worry and guilt. She was ashamed and regretful of her doubts


    toward him. After all, they had promised to trust each other in the past, but this time, she had broken


    her promise...


    Sensing Sonia''s uneasiness, Toby sighed softly. "I''m not angry, and I don''t care if you suspect me in


    these matters. After all, I do have a record, but there''s something I''m really unhappy about. Do you


    know what it is?"


    She shook her head to show that she didn''t know.


    Toby rubbed his brows, before he looked at her intently. "What I''m really upset about is the way you''re


    hiding everything from me. If you refuse to tell me when something this bad happens and would rather


    take the burden alone and ask outsiders for help instead of me, do you know how I would feel, Sonia


    Reed?"


    The way he emphasized her name at the end of his sentence was enough to exin his anger about


    this matter. Sonia''s expression froze. She hadn''t heard him call her by her full name for a long time.


    She also understood that by using her full name, it meant that he was really angry with her.


    Earlier that day, Brian and Charles had said that if Toby found out that she never told him anything nor


    asked him for help, he would definitely not be happy. She hadn''t realized it back then, but now that she


    was looking at Toby, she was speechless. Charles and Brian really had been spot on about the worst


    that could happen.


    "I''m sorry, I..."


    Sonia bit her lip and was just about to apologize when Toby suddenly interrupted her. "Sonia, there''s


    something I want to know. Am I actually important to you?"


    His gaze was extremely serious as he looked at her. He genuinely suspected that he didn''t mean much


    to her.


    All of a sudden, Sonia panicked and gripped her fork tightly. She instantly replied without even thinking


    about it, "Of course you are!"


    If he wasn''t important, she wouldn''t even think about preparing this meal to make up for her neglecting


    him recently. However, his doubtfulness made her a little sad. At the same time, she wondered if she


    had really done a bad job, causing him to doubt if she actually cared about him.

 Chapter 1028

    Chapter 1028


    "If it''s so important, then why didn''t you tell me? Why did you ask someone else for help when you


    could''vee to me? Am I that unreliable to you?" Toby had no idea what Sonia was thinking. All he


    wanted was to make things clear with her.


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    Sonia didn''t want Toby to think that he was unimportant to her. She shook her head. "No. I never


    thought of you that way. I didn''t tell you because I didn''t want to rely on you for everything. I told you


    about it, and you agreed. I made it very clear why I didn''t want to rely on you too much. I don''t want to


    turn to you every time I run into something. If I do that, I''ll lose my independence eventually. I''ll turn into


    a woman who needs you to solve everything for her. I don''t want that. And..."


    "And what?" Toby pursed his lips. She did tell him her reason before and he supported her, but this was


    a bit too much. She didn''t even tell him anything because she didn''t even ask for his help, and it made


    him feel like an outsider. No, he was less than that. She''d rather ask an outsider for help, but not him.


    "And..She massaged her forehead. "I don''t want everyone to think of me as a hapless girl who needs


    you for everything. I don''t want them to think that mypany only got this far thanks to you. I don''t


    want them to see me as some sort of sidekick, like I''m just a side dish to the main course. I want them


    to see me as an independent woman. I don''t want them to think I got this far because of sheer luck


    instead of my own hard work. I don''t want them to think Paradigm Co. got big because you helped me


    out instead of my own hard work."


    She had a bitter look on her face, and her voice broke. "I never told you that, but it weighs down on me


    like a mountain. It''s suffocating. Getting back together with you puts a lot of strain on me. You have no


    idea how worried I am about the public''s opinion. They''d say I''m not worthy of you because my family


    andpany are in decline. They called me amon wench who got lucky. They also said that I''m


    an orphan and that nobody will help me when you argue with me and dump me."


    A loud bang interrupted her.


    Toby had mmed the table with his fist and shot up, the air around him turning ever colder. The look


    on his face was dark as a storm brewed in his eyes. "You''re my girlfriend. I''ll never let anyone call you


    an orphan."


    Sonia smiled bitterly. "Yes. They won''t do that in your face. I''ve never heard thosements ever


    since we reconciled, but you can''t guarantee they won''t say the same thing behind our backs."


    Toby fell silent. He had no answer for that. He couldn''t guarantee everyone would keep quiet. He


    couldn''t control what they said in private. He might be powerful, but not powerful enough to find out


    what they were saying in private.


    Sonia took his silence as an agreement, and she inhaled deeply. "See? Not even you can guarantee


    that. Thements have stopped now, but it wasn''t always like this. Things were different six years


    ago. Much different."


    "What?" Toby''s face fell, his heart skipping a beat. "You mean they said that to your face six years


    ago?"


    "Yeah. You haven''t cared about me for the past six years. On top of that, my dad died, and my


    company fell into someone else''s hands. I don''t have anyone to back me up. I was alone and helpless.


    Your stepmom, Tyler, business partners, and all the girls who love youugh at me behind your back.


    They humiliated me all they wanted, all because you didn''t care about me. Just because you didn''t care


    about me, they insulted me all they wanted. It was a dark time. Perhaps the darkest in my life."


    She brushed that past off as nothing, but he could feel something squeezing his heart. It felt like his


    heart was stopping, and his face paled. His lips trembled, and he croaked, "I''m sorry... I didn''t know..."


    He had no idea about that.


    He knew Jean and Tyler were borderline abusive to her in the past, but he had no idea everyone else


    was too.


    Sonia shook her head. "I don''t me you. Nobody''s gonna be stupid enough to bring it up with you. I


    was your wife after all. They weren''t sure if you''d destroy them if you found out what they did, so they


    agreed to keep it a secret from you."


    Toby pulled his chair back and went around the table. He approached Sonia and bent down to hold her,


    then buried his head in her shoulder and apologized profusely, "Sorry. I''m really, really sorry." He didn''t


    stupidly ask her why she didn''t tell him about it since he knew the answer himself. He was under


    hypnosis, and Tina was all he could think about. He probably wouldn''t even help her out if she told him.


    How Jean and Tyler treated her alone was enough to tell him that. He knew what they did to her, but he


    never did anything to stop it. He feigned ignorance about it. If he didn''t even stop his family from


    pushing her around, there was no way he''d stop anyone else from doing the same thing. "I''m sorry,


    Little Leaf. I-I was a b*stard. A useless b*stard!"


    Toby held her tightly. Sonia couldn''t see it, but his face was contorted with hatred and fury. He would


    tear Tina apart if he could. If it weren''t for her, he wouldn''t have been hypnotized. If it weren''t for her, he


    wouldn''t have hurt the woman he loved. Yes, he didn''t mean it, but it didn''t change the fact that he did


    it. He allowed his own family to hurt the woman he loved. That f*cking b*tch! When I find her, I''ll make


    her wish she was never born, or I''m not Toby Fuller! He looked up, ring into the distance behind


    Sonia, as if he could see Tina through it.


    Sonia didn''t know what Toby was thinking as she patted his back and looked down in silence. Sonia


    didn''t tell him it wasn''t his fault, or that he was not to me. She might have forgiven him, but she still


    had some resentment. Yes, she knew he didn''t mean what he did. He was just hypnotized, making him


    a victim as well, but that did not mean he could be absolved from what he did. She still couldn''t get


    over it. They hugged for a moment, and she pushed him away.


    He stared into her eyes, and she smiled. "I wondered why they did that to me at first, but I figured that


    out after we got divorced."

 Chapter 1029

    Chapter 1029


    Sonia looked calmly into his eyes. "Because I was weak. Because I don''te from a good family.


    Because I''m an orphan.


    Because my husband didn''t care about me. Because I had no one to help me. Because they only bully


    the weak. I realized that, and I swore I''d get stronger. Not just myself either. I''d create a whole team of


    strong people to back me up. Nobody''s gonna push me around if I have power. And I don''t want to rely


    on anyone else for that. I can''t trust anyone but myself."


    She can''t trust anyone but herself. Toby felt a little hurt. He clenched his fists and asked hoarsely, "You


    can''t trust me either?"


    Sonia averted her gaze, refusing to look into his eyes. She knew he was a little hurt. "Yes. Everyone''s


    prone to betrayal. Some can even betray their own family. That can happen to us too. And besides, I


    told you one of the reasons is that I don''t want to turn to you every time I run into something. If I do that


    every time, I''ll eventually lose my independence. I''d be left for dead if you dump me again."


    "I won''t dump you!" His face fell, and he held her chin. Toby turned her head to him, forcing her to look


    into his eyes. "You just don''t trust our rtionship. You don''t think we can see this through."


    Toby hit the bullseye, and Sonia heaved a sigh. She stopped averting her gaze and stared at him. "Yes.


    I don''t think we can see this through. Life isn''t as short as you think. We might be in love now, but love


    has an expiry date. We have no idea how long our love canst. Three years? Ten? I don''t think


    anyone can stay in love forever."


    "I won''t be so sure about that," Toby retorted.


    Sonia froze for a moment, staring at him dumbly.


    He rubbed her forehead and said gently, "My grandpa died when I was a kid, so you didn''t get to see


    him. You don''t know this, but he was in love with my grandma his whole life. So you see, there is


    someone who can stay in love with the same person their whole life. Just because you haven''t seen it


    doesn''t mean you can deny its existence."


    Sonia''s jaw dropped a little. "I-Is that so?"


    "Of course. If you don''t believe me, you can ask my grandma about it the next time you see her. Ask


    her about their love story. You''ll see that I''m not lying." He looked into her eyes.


    Sonia bit her lip and stayed quiet.


    Toby poked her lip. "Stop biting it. Doesn''t it hurt?"


    Sonia shook her head. It didn''t hurt.


    He patted her head and whispered, "Put a little faith in it, will you?"


    "In what?" Sonia looked at him again.


    He gazed into her eyes. "Put your faith in the fact that we can see this through. My grandpa and


    grandma were in love their whole lives, and they never got into any arguments. They saw their


    marriage vows through, so why can''t we do the same?"


    Sonia looked down in silence. Yeah. Why can''t we? She wanted to feel confident, but she couldn''t.


    They had long lives ahead of them. Sure, they could make promises like it was nothing at the moment,


    but nobody knew what the future had in store.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Sonia was still silent. Toby knew she still couldn''t believe they could see their rtionship through. He


    sighed in silence, but he could understand why. Nobody could see the future. She had no reason to


    believe his promise. "It''s alright." He held her head and pulled her closer to him. He said softly, "You''ll


    see that you can trust me. I''ll show you. You won''t lose this war of love, but that''s for the future. Let''s


    not talk about that for now. We should go back to what we were talking about. I know you don''t want to


    rely on me because you want to grow. I had no idea you care about what the public thinks about you,


    and it''s my fault. I''m your boyfriend, but I have no idea what you''re worried about. I''m sorry."


    Sonia shook her head. "It''s not your fault. I didn''t tell you. Of course you don''t know what''s happening."


    "I''ll keep a closer eye on you. I won''t let this happen again." He bent over and kissed her head. "And


    just ignore what the public says. Don''t let them get to you. So what if you''re not from a good family?


    That''s not why I''m dating you. And I don''t think you''re not worthy of me. I don''t care about what you can


    or cannot do. You''re the best girl for me, and nobody''s better than you are."


    Sonia was amused. "What are you talking about? Of course there''s somebody better than me. A lot of


    people are better than me."


    "But you''re still the best to me." He cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes seriously.


    Sonia felt her face burn from how serious he was. She couldn''t help it. He was praising her so much. It


    was embarrassing, but she felt a little happy too. I must be going mad.


    "I mean, you''re the best girl for me. You don''t have to care about what the public thinks. I know they


    won''t stop judging you, and I can''t stop them. I mean, I can, but I can''t do it for life. They won''t stop


    judging you, but that only stems from their envy. Why should you care about the opinions of the people


    who envy you? The more you care about what they say, the more you''ll feel insecure. You''ll start to feel


    insecure about our rtionship, and that''s what they''re waiting for."


    Sonia looked up at him. Yeah. Why haven''t I thought of that? All I thought about was how the public''s


    opinion made me uneasy. I started thinking that maybe a regr girl like myself isn''t worthy of Toby. I


    thought we can''t be happy, since there''s a big gap between us. I keep wondering if I''m a good match


    for him, but I never thought that they were only judging me out of envy.


    They''re just trying to bring my self-esteem down, and if I continued down that route, I''d leave Toby by


    myself without them even doing anything. They''re gonna call me stupid. They couldn''t get Toby no


    matter what they did, but I got him without doing anything, and I threw him away. Of course that''s


    stupid. Yeah. I''m stupid! Sonia smacked the back of her head.


    Toby was about to see if she had hurt her head, but Sonia pulled his hand down and looked at him.


    She finally relented. "Sorry. I''ve never thought of that. I¡ª"


    "I know," he interrupted her. "And that''s why you care so much about what they think. You never


    stopped to think why they judge you. Everyone on our level is bound to be attacked. It''s inevitable.


    Even someone like me gets judged a lot. The public kept telling me that I''d be worse than any regr


    guy if I hadn''t been born to the Fullers and inherited thepany. They said I''d be worse than they


    are."


    Sonia''s jaw dropped. "Someone actually said that about you?"


    "Yep." He nodded. "And all out of envy. Only guys who are on the bottom of society''sdder don''t get


    envied, so I never tried to stop them. I don''t care what they say either. They''ll just think they''re right if I


    gave a damn. You don''t have to care either. Don''t push yourself just to prove them wrong. They won''t


    stop. They''ll just think they hit you where it hurts most. They''ll think they have a chance at me."

 Chapter 1030

    Chapter 1030


    Sonia was silent for a while. "Yeah. Maybe I was too hung up on that. I was drowning in theirments


    for years. It has stopped now, but it left a mark. I just couldn''t bmsh it off."


    "And now you can." Toby patted her head.


    "Yeah, now I can. You talked me through it. If I still can''t brush it off, I might kill off our rtionship


    eventually."


    "Don''t say that." He frowned in displeasure and put his finger against her lips.


    She took his hand away in amusement. "Lighten up. It''s just a joke. Don''t be so uptight about it. I didn''t


    say anything that bad."


    "But you mentioned ''killing our rtionship''. That''s bad enough," he said solemnly. "It''s not a good


    word. I want us to be safe and sound." Thest time she fell down a cliff left a traumatic impression on


    him. He had thought he lost her. From then on, he refused to let her risk her life, or he might do


    something really drastic just to save her.


    "Alright, alright. I''ll stop." Sonia noticed how much he was frowning. She knew he cared a lot about this,


    and she wouldn''t challenge him. Going with the flow was the best thing to do now.


    He slowly stopped frowning after she stopped bringing that up. "It''s great that you''re brushing their


    opinions off. It''s the only way we can live our lives without any burden. We don''t need that negativity in


    our lives. It''s a sad life to live ording to someone else''s wishes. The only people who''ll be happy


    about it are them, and not us." He held her tightly, patting her head and kissing it.


    She leaned against his chest. Sonia said nothing, but she was listening to him.


    Toby eventually stopped, then he looked at her. "If you don''t care about the public''s opinion anymore,


    you won''t feel too much pressure asking for my help now, will you? I know you still won''t do that, since


    you have your reason to settle this yourself, but you know you don''t have the power to settle your


    problem yourself, don''t you?"


    Sonia looked at him again, and she was reminded of what Brian and Charles told her in the hotel. She


    shook her head. "I... Yeah, I know." She didn''t know much about the business world or how to survive


    in it. Sonia was just a newbie, and she had no organization to call her own, nor did she have any


    connections. They were important elements to survival in business, but she had none of it. There was


    no way she could solve anything on her own. She didn''t want to admit it, but that was the truth. She


    was in a bad condition. All she had was apany. She might be the boss of it, but that alone wasn''t


    enough to take her into the center of the business world. She couldn''t even deal with the D-listers of


    the business scene either.


    Toby cocked his eyebrow. He was surprised that she would admit her powerlessness so easily.


    Sonia caught that, and she pouted unhappily. "What? Surprised I''d say that?"


    Toby nodded. "Yes. You probably don''t know this, but you''re actually a stubborn woman who''d push


    herself to the limits. I thought you wouldn''t admit it, but..."


    She snorted. "Yeah, but I have to face reality. I can''t deal with it on my own, and that''s the truth."


    Toby smiled. "Why didn''t you tell me about it then? Why didn''t you ask for my help if you know you can''t


    settle it on your own? I know why you want to do it, and I support it, but you need to at least have


    enough strength and a big enough team to deal with your problems without my help. However, you still


    have some way to go before you can stand on your own, and yet you hide things from me. That''s just


    pushing yourself, and it''ll only make things worse, you know that?"


    Sonia lowered her eyes. "Yeah. Of course. I can''t deal with it on my own for now. I''ll only make it


    worse." Brian and Charles had told her that as well. She had taken some time to think it through and


    realized that it was true. That was the reason she admitted to that so easily.


    Toby was surprised she got over that so easily, but only for a moment. Since she could understand that


    she had nothing, it was natural she would think about the future. It was a good thing, as that meant she


    could ept what he had to say more easily. "Why didn''t you tell me then?" He pretended to look


    serious. "You''d rather ask Charles for help, but not me. Do you have any idea what that feels like? It


    feels like you don''t see me as your lover. It feels like you think Charles is more important than I am. Do


    you have any idea how it feels to be less to youpared to an outsider like Charles?"


    "That''s not what I meant." Sonia shook her head quickly. "I never asked Charles to help me. I never


    had any ns to do that."


    Toby froze for a moment. "Really?"


    "Yeah."


    "So how did he know about the case about the parts?"


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    "Did you forget? Charles is a director-in-name at Paradigm Co., and he was the one who hooked


    Paradigm Co. up with Dwells. Mypany''s guys would tell Charles that someone took the deal from


    us, and that''s how he found out," Sonia exined. Toby was getting angry, and she had to defuse him.


    Oh, that''s one question answered. I see. He had no idea this happened. "So you didn''t ask for his


    help?" he asked, pursing his lips.


    She nodded. "Of course. He came to Paradigm Co. after he found out about it. He asked me if I could


    handle this. I couldn''t, so he gave me a suggestion."


    "What kind of suggestion?" Toby squinted.


    She rubbed her head against his chest. "He suggested that I use coteral to get a loan from the bank


    and throw money at the problem. I epted his suggestion and used the Reed Residence''s deed as


    coteral. I called Brian, the president of Bank of Caruna''s Seafield branch."


    "So you went to see Brian after you had lunch with Charles?" He looked at her.


    "Yes." She nodded. "And he approved the loan. I got it half an hour ago. I was about to give it all to


    Daphne and have her handle everything about the missing parts, but you got the parts back for me


    before the loan was approved. So I guess this is extra money." She smiled. Sonia looked like she was


    happy to get the money, as if it was a windfall.

 Chapter 1031

    Chapter 1031


    Toby frowned and fell silent. A long whileter, he suddenly tightened his hug. "No wonder you weren''t


    worried even after the parts went missing for three days. I wouldn''t have known that yourpany was


    in trouble if my guys didn''t find out that Julie went to Dwells. But do you have any idea what it means to


    mortgage your mansion? It means a lot to you. Are you..."


    He didn''t finish his sentence, but she knew what he was trying to say. She looked up at him again,


    smiling. "It''s fine. The mansion is just another regr house for me. It means nothing to me."


    "What?" Toby was surprised that she would say that. "It doesn''t mean anything to you? But it''s your


    home."


    Sonia smiled. "It used to be. But some guys corrupted it. The house reeks of them. It''s no longer the


    ce I call home, so it might look like the same house I lived in, but it''s no longer my home. I don''t


    mind mortgaging it. It''s better that way. I think my mom would support me if she was here."


    I see. Those women lived in that mansion for twenty years. It''s no longer the same house Lina used to


    stay in. The mansion means nothing to Sonia now. "So you didn''t ask Charles to help you out?" He


    wasn''t upset anymore, but he just had to ask her again.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "No. How many times do I have to tell you that? If you still don''t believe me, then


    I have nothing more to say." She shrugged.


    Toby held her shoulders. "I trust you, but..."


    "But?" The corner of her lips twitched. She was starting to get tired of answering his questions.


    Toby said, "You asked Brian for help. He''s even more of an outsider than Charles is." So I mean less to


    you than an outsider?


    Sonia was speechless. He just has to make things really clear, huh? Is he gonna throw another tantrum


    if I work with someone else instead of him in the future? She held her forehead. "If I can''t get a loan


    from him, then who should I get it from? You?"


    Toby was about to say yes, but Sonia quickly said, "No way I can do that. At least not back then."


    Toby couldn''t argue with that.


    She looked at him. "And I didn''t say you didn''t help me out."


    "What do you mean?" He squinted at her. "Did you actually ask for my help?" As if. You wouldn''t even


    tell me about it. There''s no way you asked for my help.


    "Nope." She shook her head. "I didn''t do that, but you did help me. Brian told me that. With the situation


    Paradigm Co. and I are in right now, he wouldn''t have even spoken to me, but he did, and he only did it


    because of you. Because you''re my boyfriend. He even wanted to know if we''re doing well before he


    would approve my loan. I got to meet him and get the loan all thanks to you. I couldn''t even see Brian if


    it weren''t for you, let alone get that loan. There. Happy now?" She poked his chest.


    That dide as a surprise, but it was a wee one. He wouldn''t make his happiness too obvious


    though, so he said calmly, "Not really."


    Sonia shook her head in amusement. "Yeah right. I can see it in your eyes. You''re so smug about it."


    Toby touched his eyes. That obvious, huh? He coughed. "Alright, stop looking." He covered her eyes,


    obviously embarrassed she saw through him.


    Sonia let him cover her eyes, but she couldn''t stop smiling. "See? You did help me. You help me all the


    time, but you just don''t realize it. The dress, the loan, and the parts. You''re the key for all the sesses


    in all these cases. I didn''t say it out loud, but you''ve always been the one helping me out."


    Toby felt touched, and he was happy too. "But I''d prefer it if I can just show up and help you myself. At


    least until you can stand on your own two feet. I don''t want to just help you indirectly." He brushed his


    thumb across her forehead.


    Sonia smiled. "Well, it''s not toote to start now."


    Toby froze, and he looked at her in disbelief. "So you''re letting me help you out now?"


    Sonia shook her head. "You did say I have nothing now. Pushing it would make things worse instead of


    making it better. I need someone to support me, so who better for that than you? If I keep refusing,


    that''ll only tell everyone that an outsider is more important to me than you are. I don''t want that."


    That was what he wanted to hear, and he finally smiled. "d you finally realized it." I still got my


    touch. Getting through to her is easier than I thought. I thought this would take a long time, given how


    stubborn she is. However, what she said next wiped that smile off his face.


    She pushed her hair back and whispered, "I realized this thanks to Brian and Charles. They talked to


    me and made me see things I was blind to. I probably wouldn''t realize that not asking you for help


    would make our rtionship and the whole case worse."


    "They talked with you?" He frowned.


    Sonia nodded and told him about what happened in the hotel room.


    Toby wasn''t upset anymore after he heard that, and he had an approving look on his face. "Never


    thought they''d drill that into your head. But they did good. I''ll reward them."


    "You''ll reward them?" Sonia was amused. "You make them sound like yourckeys. Like they got a


    reward because they made their king happy."


    "Well, I am the king of everyone in Seafield." He looked up arrogantly.


    Sonia was amused, though she didn''t think he was being full of himself. He was rich and powerful


    enough to be the top dog in Seafield after all.


    Toby didn''t know what she was thinking. He held her hand and kissed it before saying, "They did help


    me out here. I should give them something in return. Gotta reward them for this."


    They had talked things through with Sonia and saved him a lot of time. He appreciated that, and a


    reward was in order. He could understand why Brian would persuade Sonia to ask for his help, but


    Charles doing the same thing was surprising. After all, Charles liked Sonia, and he would love it if their


    rtionship went wrong. Persuading her to ept his help was akin to making their rtionship better.


    I see he''s serious about giving her up.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 1032

    Chapter 1032


    He wouldn''t push the woman he loves away otherwise. I think I should stop being on guard around him


    now.


    "So how are you gonna reward them?" Sonia asked curiously, holding his hand.


    He patted her head. "That''ll be my business. Don''t worry. I''m not gonna be stingy on this."


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "Never said you would. You''re rich. I don''t think you''d be a scrooge about this."


    Toby smiled. "I should feel happy that you think so highly of me."


    "You should." She grinned.


    Toby flicked her forehead. "Right. The rewards are settled, so now''s the time for punishment."


    "Wait, punishment?" Sonia froze, and she looked at him in confusion. "Who''s getting punished?" Toby


    didn''t answer. Instead he gazed at her, and her heart sank. What? "Wait. Are you saying it''s me?" She


    pointed at herself.


    Toby didn''t give her a straight answer. "I''m upset that you hid things from me, so a punishment is in


    order. You''re spending the night with me," he whispered thest part into her ear and nibbled on her


    earlobe. Toby made it sound beguiling on purpose.


    Sonia shivered. She understood very well what he meant by ''spending the night with me''. Darn it. She


    blushed. "You really know how to work the system. You just have to get all the rewards you can, huh?"


    Toby chuckled. "Let''s go then." He bent over and carried her in his arms, then they went to the room.


    Sonia gasped in surprise. "Let me go. We haven''t finished dinner yet."


    "It''s fine. We''re almost done anyway."


    "Hey¡ª" Sonia tried to say something, but Toby pressed his lips against hers, then he closed the door.


    The living room fell into silence, and the only proof they were here a moment ago was the unfinished


    food on the table. A momentter, moans could be hearding from the bedroom. It was clear where


    the couple was.


    Just like what Sonia had said, Toby would try to get all the bonuses and reward every chance he got.


    He used the punishment as a pretext and finally got Sonia to try out the position she had refused so


    many times. It was hard to perform, and she could see herself tightening up really hard if she tried


    them. Toby had been raring to go but she had refused, until tonight.


    A few hourster, Sonia fell asleep out of exhaustion, while Toby leaned on the bed, looking down at


    the sleeping woman gently. He caressed her face, that which was blushing. He could see the


    exhaustion on her brows, and there were beads of sweat on her forehead. Even her hair was wet. It


    was obvious he did not go easy on her earlier.


    Toby was exhausted, and his face was red as well. Beads of sweat drenched his forehead and hair, but


    he looked satisfied and annoyingly smug. He emerged victorious from the battle, and he was satisfied


    by it. Toby didn''t stay on the bed for long, though. Once he had enough rest and started breathing fine


    again, he let Sonia go and got out of bed to go to the bathroom.


    It was already three in the morning when he was done bathing. Toby was in a white robe, and a towel


    hung around his neck. He came out of the bathroom, his hair sopping wet. Beads of water dripped


    down as he stepped into the room, but the towel absorbed them. He came to the coffee table and


    picked his phone up. First he went through his messages to see if his employees had sent him


    anything. There was none. He then called Tom.


    Tom was still working. It was nearly Christmas and almost time to take inventory. The Fuller Group was


    a juggernaut with hundreds of subsidiaries andpanies they had shares in. Taking inventory of so


    manypanies was a grand undertaking. Tom was still in thepany, ready to work through the


    night just to prepare for that enormous process. Fortunately, he wasn''t the only one working overtime.


    There were a lot of people there too, which made him feel a little better.


    He had just finished going through a file from a subsidiary and took a sip from his cold, cold coffee. It


    woke him up a little. He was about to work on the next file when his phone rang. Oh god. It''s the


    president. It was annoying, but he had to take it. "Hello, sir. What do you need?"


    Tom sounded weak. Toby realized that he was working overtime, and he fell silent. Hm, I wonder if it''s a


    bit too much if I want him to help me out now. He tossed away that slight bit of consideration a moment


    later. Nah. He''s awake and working anyway. This is just some errand. Nothing bad about it. Yep. I''m not


    a ve driver. This is what all bosses do. "Still working?" he asked calmly.


    Tom looked at the files before him. There weren''t many left. He massaged his forehead. "Yeah, I''m


    working through some files. I think I can finish them by five and tell everyone to start taking inventory


    tomorrow."


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "I see. Stay back at thepany once you''re done. Get to work in the afternoon tomorrow."


    Tom stopped massaging his forehead for a moment. He thought he was hearing things. I can start work


    in the afternoon? Is he serious? Is he finally starting to care for his poor little assistant? "Thank you


    very much, sir." Tom''s face was red with excitement.


    Toby pursed his lips. "But you''ll have to do one little errand before that."


    Tom''s smile froze, and it was reced by a sneer. I knew it. Well, but I''m used to it. It''s not every day I


    get to start work in the afternoon. I''ll take the offer. "Sure, sir. What do you need?" He was smiling, but


    he was cursing silently too.


    Toby sipped some tea. "If I''m right, Bank of Caruna''s Seafield branch needs a lot of cash, don''t they?"


    Tom wondered why he asked, but he nodded. "Yeah. Their main bank took 70% of their liquid assets,


    so they need a lot of cash now. Brian''s trying to get a lot ofpany bosses to put their money in the


    Bank of Caruna instead of stashing them overseas. If his branch can''t meet its target and starts having


    cash flow problems, he''ll be fired."

 Chapter 1033

    Chapter 1033


    Toby fell silent. He had no idea Brian was in such a precarious situation, and yet he still approved that


    twenty-nine-million-dor loan for Sonia. He could imagine how much he had to go through just for the


    main bank''s top brass to approve it. Toby suspected he had something in mind when he did this. He


    probably wants to get to me through Little Leaf.


    Toby knew Brian. Brian didn''t major in finance, but in psychology. In other words, he knew how people


    thought and behaved. He needs to find out if Sonia is getting along with me well before he can approve


    the loan? Yeah right. He said that to fool her into telling him the truth. He was just trying to find out if we


    were steady. He wanted to see if he could get what he really wanted.


    Of course he''d suspect our rtionship was getting rocky if she would rather take a loan to settle her


    problem instead of asking me to help her out. He had to find out if we''re doing well so he can achieve


    his goal, or all bets are off. He advised her to talk with me and approved her loan after he found out


    we''re getting along well and why Sonia wanted a loan instead of asking for my help. He wants her to be


    grateful to him, and he also wanted to guilt trip her a little.


    He majored in psychology, and he was a man. He would know how Toby would react if he found out his


    girlfriend asked someone else for help instead of him. That was why he persuaded her to talk with


    Toby. On top of that, he could see how she would react too. If he could see that she was feeling guilty


    about upsetting Toby because she asked for an outsider''s help instead of him, he could use that


    chance to convince Sonia to talk with him. If she took his suggestion, she would inevitably bring up the


    fact that Brian talked her into this, and that was his goal¡ªto gain Toby''s gratitude.


    Brian knew what made people tick, and he knew Toby well. He was clear Toby hated owing anyone


    favors. If Toby knew Brian was the one who talked her into spilling everything to him, Toby would owe


    him a favor and pay him back. The public also knew Toby treated everyone he liked generously. He


    wouldn''t hold back in rewarding those who helped him out either. It was always the very thing they


    wanted the most.


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    If Brian wanted to keep his position, he would need a lot of cash in his branch to hit his target. Toby


    was the only one in Seafield who had enough money for that cause, making him the only person who


    could help. He had to use Sonia, and through her, have Toby owe him a favor. He would cash in on that


    favor and keep his position. Huh. Nice n. Beautifully executed. No wonder he was able to climb his


    way up from a regr banker to a branch president in just ten years.


    His n, schemes, and masterful level of reading the people around him impressed Toby. Man. I''d love


    to hire him. Still, Toby was displeased that Brian roped him into his little scheme. Almost nobody had


    the guts to drag Toby into any of their schemes. However, Toby let it slide, since his scheme did help


    Sonia and changed their rtionship for the better. Toby put his ss down and told Tom, "Citybank''s


    interest rate is lower this yearpared to thest, isn''t it?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded. "They''re having a slight financial crisis overseas, so they lowered their interest


    rate, but it''ll bounce back to normal soon. Citybank will give you the money you lost this year. Don''t


    worry about it." Mr. Fuller is one of Citybank''s biggest clients. They aren''t gonna get on his bad side.


    "I see." Toby then ordered, "It''s daytime on their side, isn''t it? Tell them to transfer a hundred million


    Euros to Brian''s bank. And put it in my savings ount."


    "Sorry?" Tom was bbergasted. The order was a bit confusing. "Why are you transferring so much


    money to a bank in Caruna? The interest isn''t that high anyway." And not to the main bank too. Just the


    Seafield main branch? What is Mr. Fuller thinking? Tom shook his head. He couldn''t understand why


    Toby was doing this. 100 million Euros. Not much for Mr. Fuller, but I can''t make that amount of money


    even if I work my whole life. That''s 100 million dors too. 100 million dors injected into Brian''s bank?


    Forget keeping his position. He''s getting promoted.


    "I know." Toby held his phone with one hand and grabbed the towel on his neck with the other. He tilted


    his head and dried his hair while saying coldly, "I don''t care about the difference in the interest rates."


    Tom had nothing to say. Wow, he makes it sound like it''s nothing. Well, he is rich. The interest rate


    doesn''t bother him. Guess I need to expand my horizons. The corner of Tom''s lips twitched. He said


    nothing except he would do what Toby asked.


    Toby continued, "The Lanes are trying to find a partner to work on amerce port, aren''t they? Send


    someone over to theirpany tomorrow and offer them the port in the free-trade zone. And give them


    the bigger part of the profit."


    Tom was confused once more. He had no idea what Toby was trying to do. Transferring 100 million


    Euros into Brian''s bank and disregarding the difference in interest rates is weird enough. Now he wants


    to work with the Lanes on themerce port in the free-trade zone and give them a bigger part of the


    profit? Why is he helping Brian and the Lanes? What did they do for the boss to reward them with this?


    He had questions, but Tom was smart enough not to probe. It''s not like the boss is going to tell me


    anything even if I asked. I should just keep quiet and do my job. "I understand, sir. I''ll deal with the


    transfer shortly, and I''ll handle the case with the Lanes before I get off work. I''ll try my best to get


    someone to talk to them in the morning." Tom adjusted his sses.


    Toby grunted his acknowledgement and hung up.


    Oh. He''s not talking anymore. Call ended. He put his phone down and looked at the screen. Tom


    heaved a sigh and made an international call.


    It was nearly four in the morning, but Bank of Caruna''s Seafield main branch''s conference room was


    packed. Everyone was silent, but they were all looking at Brian, who was in the main seat. Some had


    expectations in their eyes, some had suspicion, some disdain, and some mockery.

 Chapter 1034

    Chapter 1034


    The conference room''s air was fraught with tension. Brian was in the main seat, staring at hisptop


    calmly. He ignored the people in the room and the looks they were giving him, as if they didn''t exist, but


    that was just a fa


    A middle-aged man in a suit suddenly stood up and broke the eerie silence in the room. "President."


    Everyone looked at him in surprise, including Brian. He knew he had to finally face the music when the


    guy called out to him. Silence was not a solution. Brian sighed silently and held his mouse, then he


    looked up at the man calmly. "What is it?"


    "Sir, you told us Mr. Fuller will help us out because we helped Miss Reed. You promised he''d make


    sure we can stay. We trusted you, so we agreed to the loan even though the reserves are drying up.


    What now? We''ve been waiting since morning, but the Fuller Group isn''t doing anything to help." The


    man pointed at Brian angrily, demanding an exnation.


    Everyone nodded. They agreed with what the man was saying.


    "Yeah, president. You promised that Mr. Fuller is going to help us, but hispany is doing nothing


    until now. How are we supposed to trust you?"


    "Yeah," someone else agreed as well. "If the Fuller Group isn''t helping us, that loan we approved is


    gonna be thest straw that breaks the camel''s back. Can you handle the repercussions then, sir? You


    wanted to loan the money out in the first ce."


    Everyone gave Brian sharp looks of interrogation.


    Brian had many years of working experience under his belt, but even he felt nervous when everyone


    was looking at him that way. He wondered if he had miscalcted. The main bank had taken a lot of


    their liquid assetstely, and since they were the main branch, their target for all savings amounts was


    at least ten times higher than the other branches. He had to hit that target to keep working as the


    president. Everyone had to make sure the target was hit, or they would be demoted into the other


    branches. The problem was all the rich guys were disinclined to put their money in local banks. They


    preferred overseas banks. Because of that, they still hadn''t hit their target for the year.


    It was nearly Christmas, but they were still a long way away from their target. He could feel a mountain


    of pressure on his shoulders. He would talk to Seafield''s entrepreneurs every day, trying to convince


    them to put their money in the Bank of Caruna, but they adamantly refused. He was getting bald from


    the stress. Just when he was starting to run out of ideas, he got a call from Sonia, the boss of


    Paradigm Co. as well as Toby''s girlfriend.


    When he found out that Sonia was taking out a big loan, he realized Paradigm Co. must be in trouble.


    That was his chance, so he agreed to see her. He only did that just to confirm if he had a chance to


    turn things around. He majored in psychology back in college. All he had to do was meet her, and he


    could confirm his chances of sess.


    So, he had met with Sonia one fine afternoon, and thanks to his professional knowledge, he could see


    the kind of woman Sonia was. She was egotistical and stubborn, but she had no self-awareness and


    was naive. Someone like her was easy to convince and use. The moment he saw her, he knew his n


    had mostly seeded.


    Sonia was egotistical and cared too much about what the public thought of her. She was worried the


    public might call her a useless woman who relied on men for her sess. She had self-esteem issues


    in the first ce, and she hid that behind a stubborn facade. She wanted to deal with everything


    herself, but she forgot shecked the ability to do that. In the end, she had to take out a loan. She


    could have asked Toby for help and everything would be settled, but she didn''t and instead, asked


    someone else for help. She was practically begging me to use her. She''s a fool for not using the


    resources avable to her.


    It was bad for her, but great for him. He wouldn''t have gotten this chance if she hadn''t stubbornly


    refused to ask Toby for any help. Brian was a guy. He knew how Toby would feel if he found out his


    girlfriend would rather ask someone else for help instead of him. He wasn''t sure if their rtionship was


    going swimmingly, but men loved their ego.


    As long as they were still together, Toby would be upset if Sonia asked someone else for help and


    neglected him, even if they were fighting. So, he persuaded Sonia to talk with Toby, pretending that he


    was doing it for the good of their rtionship. He was betting it on the chance that Sonia would tell


    Toby everything, including the fact that he helped her. And Toby will owe me one.


    He knew Toby would never owe any favors. He would repay his debt almost right away every time, and


    his return favor was always generous. What Brian did was a bet. If his n worked, he could keep his


    position as president, but if it didn''t...


    Brian hadn''t thought about the possibility of his n failing. He had a good eye for people, after all. He


    never did fail before either. His n was perfect, or so he thought. He was starting to doubt himself at


    this point. Am I going to finally fail this time?


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    Did Sonia brush my advice off and didn''t talk it out with Toby? If that''s the case, then Toby wouldn''t


    have known what I did. Or maybe she did tell him, and he knows I helped him out, but he didn''t think it


    was important enough. He might get mad that I roped him into this. Heck, he might be on his way to


    destroy me. I did use his girlfriend to get to him just so I can keep my position.


    Toby was a smart man. He could see through Brian''s n easily, and Brian knew that. Brian did think


    about the possibility of Toby getting mad after finding out about his n and getting back at him for this.


    Nobody liked being roped into someone else''s schemes, after all. He had no choice, however. This was


    his only chance. He had to throw caution to the wind and see if Toby would get mad about it.


    If he did get mad about what Brian did, then Brian would ept his fate. However, if he would brush it


    aside and take it as a favor, then that would be for the best. The problem was that he had no idea what


    Toby was thinking. So is he mad about what I did? Or is he gonna repay the favor?

 Chapter 1035

    Chapter 1035


    Such an unpredictable situation was indeed distressing.


    Brian removed the sses from his nose and kneaded his sore eyes to smother the anxiety in him.


    Next, he responded to their questions. "Okay, I understand that you''re worried, but it''s useless to say


    these right now. Silence."


    He raised his hands to disy a palm-down. After long years of being the bank governor, he carried


    immense prestige; the crowd dared not act recklessly upon hearing his words and hence the obedient


    silence. Even the midge man, who first voiced out the doubts, reseated himself.


    Watching their reactions, Brian heaved a silent sigh of relief before continuing, "Ladies and gentlemen,


    do not worry. Since I''ve approved the thirty million loan to Miss Reed, President Fuller will definitely


    help us. I''m not lying. However, it is still early for that. Perhaps, he doesn''t know that the loan has been


    approved yet."


    That was the only exnation he could give in order to appease the throng, yet some of them were


    unsatisfied.


    "Mr. Smith, you''ve said that we will be able to hear good news from President Fuller by tonight. That''s


    why we''ve been waiting in the conference room. Otherwise, we must have gone mad to spend the


    white night here."


    "Yeah! Mr. Smith, are you really sure that President Fuller will help us? What if he doesn''t¡ª"


    "Enough!" Brian mmed the table to interrupt the person as his patience wore thin. "Since I''ve


    proposed it and I am the one approving the loan, I will bear the responsibility if President Fuller doesn''t


    help. Are you satisfied with this answer?"


    Every one of them hung their head low without a word and the ire in him was slightly doused. Propping


    his hands on the edge of the table, he sat down again.


    Even so, instead of feeling relief upon repressing his subordinates, he was on tenterhooks. Every step


    of his was taken as nned and not even once had they fallen through.


    Now that Toby was his opponent, he was not that confident in winning the game. At this moment, he


    was rue to make the decision of setting Toby up just to retain his position.


    If Toby decides to settle this score with me, I''ll be done for this lifetime. A bitter smile appeared across


    his lips.


    He recalled what happened this afternoon. As much as he was happy to ry the news to everyone at


    that time, he felt silly. How could he blurt something that was not confirmed yet?


    Right when Brian dwelled on his foolishness, the door was pushed open with a loud thud. A young man


    in a suit dashed into the conference room with a phone in his hand.


    Due to the fast pace, he kept huffing and puffing when he arrived beside Brian. He tried to catch his


    breath while speaking, "Greetings... Mister.... Mr. Smith..."


    After a while, he failed to exin the reason for his arrival and a displeasure frown appeared on Brian''s


    forehead. "Anything can wait. Let''s wait until you catch your breath."


    Brian handed a ss of water to the youngster, who was so thirsty that he gulped it down in one-go


    without thanking Brian. After polishing it off, he breathed a long sigh and his body rxed atst.


    Although his breathing was still heavy, he could at least speak.


    "Mr. Smith, there''s good news," stated the excited man loudly while he looked at Brian.


    "Good news?" Brian was stunned momentarily. When something shed across his mind, his eyes


    widened and his countenance brightened up in excitement. "Are you saying¡ª"


    The young man nodded vigorously. "Yes. The Fuller Group contacted us to say that President Fuller is


    willing to transfer one billion euro from Citybank to our bank. Mr. Smith, we''re saved! We don''t have to


    dismiss our core members!"


    His face turned crimson due to excitement as he spoke. Even the others in the room stood up merrily in


    ones and twos.


    "Is it true?" they asked hurriedly while gazing at him.


    He nodded repeatedly. "It is. The money is in our bank now."


    "Mr. Smith, hurry and check it!" One of them urged, for the bank governor was the only person with the


    right to check the transfer for such a massive sum of money.


    It was not until then did Brian, who was so giddy with joy, pull back his senses and nodded. "Alright,


    alright. No rushing. I''ll check it right now."


    He tapped his keyboard to check Toby''s ount. The overly-vehement emotions rendered his tapping


    fingers tremble, so he made a few wrong entries for the master password.


    The surrounding onlookers were like cats on hot bricks. If he was not the governor, they would have


    pulled him away and taken his seat to check on their own.


    At longst, he managed to key in the right passwords to check on Toby''s personal ount in which


    the sight of the newly transferred amount made everyone draw a sharp breath.


    That was one billion euro! Even after the conversion, it was a staggering amount of money!


    It was their first time seeing such a huge sum of money in someone''s personal ount. Furthermore, it


    was not a fixed deposit, but a fluid capital which one could withdraw any time he fancied.


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    This was the life of a rich person. Although some had a lot of money in their bank ount, those were


    still only fixed deposits. They were not real money as those who possessed them were nothing but a


    fake rich. On the contrary, someone like Toby was actually rich.


    Most importantly, that amount was just the edge of the iceberg to Toby. No one could imagine how


    much he had in other international banks.


    The serial number could easily elicit jealousy in others. Why is there such a vast difference when we''re


    all human?!


    Everyone exchanged nces and saw the same helplessness and envy in their eyes. Still, putting their


    feelings aside, they were on cloud nine as the core members could remain in the headquarters.


    "Mr. Smith, you were right. President Fuller is helping us!"


    "Yeah, Mr. Smith. Isn''t it great?"


    "I know, I know." Brian nodded and a wave of relief washed over him whereas the burden was lifted in


    him.


    It is great and it is a relief. Didn''t I take the huge risk by using Miss Reed to set President Fuller up just


    for this moment?


    The reality proved him right; he took the chance on it and it was a win! Moreover, the fact that Toby was


    willing to repay his deeds indicated that he was safe. Thus, he need not have to put his guard up and


    watch out for Toby''s revenge.


    Brian kneaded his brows and finally let out a smile as he was all loosened up. Next, he grabbed his


    gadget and contacted the Fuller Group to convey his gratitude.


    He wished he could call Toby personally, but he did not have his contact number. Leaving with no


    choice, he could only give a call to thepany.


    In Fuller Group, Tom received the phone call from Brian and was not surprised one bit. As long as the


    other party was a thankful person, he would always express his gratitude through a call.


    "I understand. It is nothing, but President Fuller has mentioned that this is the first and will be thest


    time. If something simr happens again, he won''t let you get away with it," recounted Tom


    expressionlessly to the phone.


    Although he was not sure what Brian had done, he warned in a stern voice as Toby had told him to do


    so.

 Chapter 1036

    Chapter 1036


    On the other side of the line, Brian shuddered upon hearing Toni''s forewarning. His expression turned


    solemn and he nodded. "I understand. Don''t worry, Mr. Brown. Please inform President Fuller that there


    will be no second time."


    He was not that dull. Some things were meant to be done only once; repeating the same thing would


    be digging one''s own grave.


    "Okay. If there''s nothing else, I shall end the call." Tom hummed before hanging up the phone.


    Following that, he informed Toby about Brian''s thank-you call through text.


    In Bayside Residence, Toby was going to the room for a nap after drying his hair. Taking merely one


    step forward, he heard his phone ringing in the bathrobe pocket. He checked the message and replied


    ''Got it.'' before keeping it and heading toward the room.


    He stood beside the bed while looking at the woman, who was fast asleep with red cheeks. Smiling


    helplessly, he bent over to lightly pinch her nose. He muttered, "You heartless one. How could you fall


    asleep when someone is actually scheming against you instead of helping you?"


    "Hmph..." With her nose pinched, Sonia could not breathe and frowned while squirming.


    Noticing that she was going to wake up, he released his hand and patted her shoulder gently to lull her


    to dreand again. Soon, she stopped moving and was in a deep slumber.


    He let out a soft chuckle and lifted the nket to tuck himself in bed. After hugging her in his arms, he


    turned off the lights and closed his eyes.


    The next day, Sonia was dealing with some documents in her office when Charles rang her.


    "Sonia, what happened?" he questioned as soon as the line got through.


    "What?" The phone was propped on her shoulder and his indecipherable question floundered her.


    He massaged his cheek. "Themerce port. I arrived at thepany this morning and my father


    called me to his office saying that Toby has offered us cooperation with amerce port in a free-trade


    zone. Ourpany also has the lion share of the benefit."


    "For real?" The pen in her hand stopped as she sat upright instantly.


    He nodded. "Yeah. It happened this morning. A representative of Fuller Group came to ourpany to


    ry the news. Everyone was so shocked when I first found out about it. Is he out of his mind? Why is


    he consenting to work with us? It is a cooperation in themerce port and most of the benefits favor


    us! Has he gone mad? Why is he giving us free money for no reason?"


    Hearing his ther, she recalled how Toby mentioned that he was going to thank Charles and Brian.


    The puzzles fitted perfectly when she associated it with the news of themerce port cooperation


    between the Fuller Group and Lane Corporation.


    It seemed like it was Toby''s way of expressing his gratitude to Charles. Not only was he a man of his


    words, he was also fast in setting things into motion.


    Sonia shook her head with a smile. "Alright, Charles. I think I know what''s going on."


    "You know?" Charles, who reclined in his office chairnguidly with his legs crossed on the desk,


    immediately put down his feet and straightened his body. "Tell me. What exactly is going on? Did he


    lose some screws in his head? Why is he giving us free lunch out of the sudden? Isn''t he always fussy


    when ites to me? He must be crazy to do that."


    She found it hrious. "His brain is functioning fine. He''s doing it because of you."


    "Me?" He was slightly baffled and his brows creased in confusion. "What does it have to do with me?"


    "I told him about theponents." Instead of answering his question straightforwardly, she brought this


    up.


    There was a nuance in Charles'' expression. "What? You told him about it? Are you¡ª"


    "Don''t worry about it. I''m perfectly fine. At first, he was unhappy that I kept him in the dark and did not


    seek help from him for such a serious matter, but we managed to talk it out after I decided to listen to


    you and Mr. Smith''s advice. Plus, he''s grateful to you guys for advising me, hence the token of


    gratitude," Sonia narrated with a smile.


    "Gratitude?"


    "Yeah."


    He went silent for a moment before snorting as though heprehended something. "So, the


    cooperation is his way of thanking me?"


    "It should be." She nodded.


    He pursed his lips. "Who needs a ''thank you'' from him? I told you those for your sake and nothing else.


    He¡ª"


    "Charles." She sighed and interrupted him. "Don''t tell me that you''re turning down the offer."


    "I can''t ept it without any merit. So, why should I?" He pouted.


    With a smile, she shook her head. "Who says that you don''t have credits? The advice you gave me is


    the merit. You saved his time of persuading me and made me fully understand my situation. Otherwise,


    I could''ve ended up being a haughty person. It is all thanks to you. So, you should ept the offer from


    Toby. Besides, I heard that Lane Corporation needs amerce port to make international shipments,


    but you can''t find the suitable one just yet. Even if there is one, I''m sure that you won''t get much benefit


    from the cooperation. Since Toby has given you a suitable one, why don''t you just ept it?"


    He parted his lips, but nothing escaped through them.


    Sonia added, "Yesterday, you even told me that we should seek help from a backer if we have one.


    Now, I''m advising you to earn the money when there''s a chance before you. So, why shouldn''t you


    ept it? Even if you turn down the offer, he''ll make sure to repay your merit through other means.


    What''s the point of hesitating? You don''t have to confront him anymore after epting his favor this


    time. Isn''t it simple?"


    Charles smiled. "It is true that everythinges around. I was still advising you just yesterday and look


    how the tables have turned. Alright, you win. I''ll ept the offer, but do tell him that I won''t say ''thank


    you'' to him."


    With that being said, he terminated the call. Sonia looked at the screen which disyed the main menu


    and smiled while shaking her head.


    They''re all the same¡ªprideful yet warm on the inside.


    She kneaded her eyebrows before clicking on Messenger to send a text to Toby. "About themerce


    port cooperation with Lane Corporation, is it your way to show your gratitude?''


    Then, she set her phone down as she did not expect him to read the message right away. Since the


    new year was approaching, every bigpany should be busy with the annual assessment, let alone


    Fuller Group. Now was its peak period, so it was normal for him to not reply to messages immediately.


    However, to her surprise, her phone lit up as soon as she ced it aside. It was a video call invitation


    from him.


    Sonia raised her eyebrow. This man. I thought he''s busy, but he wasn''t. He gave a response so quickly


    and it''s a video call.


    Smiling, she picked up her gadget and epted the call. Toby''s handsome face appeared on the


    screen at the very next second with his office as the background.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "Aren''t you busy?" She took a sip of coffee before smiling at the man.


    He gave a light nod. "Tom worked overtimest night and most of the tasks are done. So, I''m not that


    busy."


    "I see." She nodded and gave him a sideway nce. "What a nice boss you are to have Mr. Brown pull


    an all-nighter."

 Chapter 1037

    Chapter 1037


    "I am a nice boss." Toby slightly raised his chin as he disyed a smug expression.


    The corner of Sonia''s lips twitched. "Hey hey hey. I am being sarcastic. Can''t you tell?"


    She knew he loved exploiting Tom, but she never expected him to go this far! It was as if Toby did not


    know what was wrong with doing so.


    "I can." He leaned against his chair and let out a light smile. He was not an idiot, so how could he not


    be able to read between the lines?


    "So, what''s with that proud face?" She gave the man an eye-roll.


    He smiled. "If he isn''t the one working overtime, then I will be the one. If so, I wouldn''t have the time to


    be with you. So, why not let him do the work? He''s single and has loads of time for it."


    His shameless yet reasonable words rendered Sonia speechless. Despite the frustration and funny


    feeling, her heart went out for Tom.


    What''s wrong with being single? Is it a reason to be exploited?


    Feeling helpless, she kneaded her forehead. "Think about it. If it weren''t for you, he would''ve the time


    to find himself a girlfriend."


    Toby fell into silence. That makes sense too.


    However, he would not admit to it; if he did, he would be the main cause for Tom being single. Thus, he


    would never admit to it, so it was not his fault.


    As an afterthought, he pursed his lips and coughed before replying nonchntly, "Him being single is


    not on me. He is the one at fault. He doesn''t want a girlfriend. If he does, he will spare the time to get


    one no matter how busy he is."


    In short, it was none of Toby''s business.


    How could Sonia not know that he was being stubborn and not admitting the truth? He was making up


    an excuse. She shook her head in helplessness. "Yeah, yeah. It''s none of your business. You care so


    much for your workers. How would his subordinates not have the time to find themselves a partner


    when they have such a nice boss, isn''t it?"


    Hearing that, Toby shamelessly hummed in response. Yeah, that''s right.


    The corner of Sonia''s lips twitched once again.


    This brazen man.


    She said that on purpose and yet, he epted it without a tad of guilt. Just what should she do with


    him?


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    "Fine. Regardless, don''t exploit him too much. You guys are still young and have to work together for


    another few decades. If you put too much pressure on him, it''ll take a toll on his health and what will


    you do in ten years time? Are you sure you''ll be able to find someone who has a good rapport with you


    and knows you as well as he does?" She gave an eye-roll.


    It took him a while before he reciprocated, "Little Leaf."


    "Hmm?" She cocked her head. "What''s wrong?"


    "You..." Toby pursed his lips and his voice trailed off. A couple of secondster, he finally continued, "I


    think you''re worse than I am. You push Tom more than I do."


    She was stunned. "What do you mean? How am I worse than you are?"


    Don''t frame me!


    "I admit that I have high expectations for Tom, but I never thought about keeping him with me for such


    a long run, whereas you''ve already nned his decades-long future for him. It seems like you wanna


    tie him to Fuller Group and serve thepany forever," he borated with a teasing glint in his eyes.


    When Sonia heard that, she floundered for a moment before her face turned crimson. She even began


    to stammer on her words. "I-I am not! I didn''t mean it that way. I-I''m just advising you not to push him


    too hard. I''m not saying that I want him to work for Fuller Group forever."


    Her voice trailed away and her head sunk lower and lower as the guilt grew in her. She could not help


    the feeling since she did not mean it that way. However, the way she put it did call for some


    misunderstandings.


    Hence, how could she not feel guilty? The way she said it was wrong at the beginning.


    Looking at her embarrassed and awkward expression through the screen, he smiled. If she was there


    with him, he would''ve hugged and kissed her so badly. He could not help the urge; she was way too


    adorable.


    She usually behaved maturely and her fashion sense was that of a career woman, hence the rare


    appearance of her demure side. It was a once in a blue moon chance to see her acting like that.


    What''s the popr inte ng again? Ah, I''m simping for her.


    After watching Sonia''s reaction, he could feel his heart pounding vigorously against his chest as there


    was a surge of sizzling sensation.


    I guess this is how it feels like to be lovestruck.


    "I know you don''t mean it that way. I was just joking." He turned sideways and propped his chin, looking


    at the woman in the video call in anguid yet manly manner.


    She red at Toby. "You''re always like this."


    He chuckled softly and his low voice was engaging. "Alright. I''ll stop."


    She snorted and decided to let him off the hook. Then, she stared at him curiously. "You said that


    you''re not nning to keep Mr. Brown by your side? What do you mean by that? Are you going to fire


    him?"


    He shook his head. "Of course not. He owns 0.2% of the initial public offering of ourpany. So, he''s


    not only my assistant, but also the shareholder of thepany. He''s forever tied to Fuller Group. I''m


    not nning to have him by my side for eternity because once the time is right, I''ll let him handle a


    subsidiary. Tom is a capable man. It''ll be a waste of his talent if he works as an assistant forever."


    "I see." Sonia nodded upon realizing the meaning behind his words. "I did hear that owners of big


    companies do let their confidants take over the subsidiaries. It is true."


    "Of course. The ones working close to me are basically trustworthy. To have them handle the


    subsidiaries is an acknowledgement of their capability. I won''t have to worry about traitors in the


    subsidiaries too." He narrowed his eyes.


    She caressed her chin. "I''ve learned something new again. All in all, you''ll do the same to Tom and the


    other secretaries and assistants. Am I right?"


    Toby hummed. "That''s right. I can''t have them work for me as my assistants and secretaries forever.


    They have the potential. It''s condescending to have them stuck in that position. The reason why I''m still


    keeping them by my side is to train them."


    "I understand." She tucked her hair behind her ear as she thought, I''ve learned something new again.


    If only Paradigm had such conditions, she would have put her knowledge to use. However, it was


    because Paradigm had yet to burgeon.


    Once thepany flourished, she could assign whoever to wherever she wished like Toby.


    She could not help but giggle at that notion. Looking at her smiling like a little squirrel with pine nuts, he


    became curious. "What are you smiling at?"


    "Nothing." She waved her hand, unwilling to tell him everything that was on her mind, for he was afraid


    that he wouldugh at her pipe dream.


    After all, the time for Paradigm to grow into apany as huge as his was imponderable. She was not


    even sure whether it was achievable in the least. Thus, she figured that it would be better not to tell him


    about it; it would be a secret of hers alone.

 Chapter 1038

    Chapter 1038


    Seeing how Sonia would not tell him, Toby raised his eyebrow and decided not to force her. Instead, he


    let out a faint smile. "Fine, let''s not talk about Tom anymore. I''ll be feeling ufortable if you mention


    another guy. Why did you call me?"


    She pouted. "Why are you so sure that something happens whenever I call you? What if I''m just bored


    and need someone to talk to?"


    He chuckled lightly. "Because I know that you''re not someone who will chat with me during working


    hours."


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    He pointed behind her through the screen. She turned her head to look at the book rack, which was


    behind her. He was implying that both of them were working at the moment.


    As he had mentioned, she would not call someone for something trivial or text someone else to ck


    off during office hours.


    Even Toby himself was not an exception. Therefore, there had to be a reason for her to contact him


    right now.


    She smiled. "Okay. Since you know me that well, I''ll¡ª"


    "Reward me?" he internipted.


    Sonia gave an eye-roll. "Don''t interrupt me. Who says I''m going to reward you?"


    "But I know you all too well. Don''t I deserve something?" He looked at her.


    She pouted. "If we put it that way, I know you very well too. Shouldn''t you reward me as well?"


    "Sure." He nodded without hesitation. "What do you want? As long as you want it, I''ll do anything for


    you."


    The way Toby stared at her was so serious that it made her shy. "Who needs a reward from you? Let''s


    get back to business. About themerce port cooperation with Lane Corporation, is it your way to


    show your gratitude to Charles?"


    "How did you know about it?" A dark glint shed across his eyes. "I didn''t tell you about it."


    She drank some water. "Charles told me. He phoned me a while ago to ask if I knew about it and the


    reason behind it. Then, I recalled what you saidst night, so I told him that it''s your way of showing


    your gratitude."


    He understood the situation and nodded. "It is me. I always repay people''s kindness, so I won''t be


    indebted. Lane Corporation happens to be needing it, so I offered them the cooperation."


    "He was reluctant to ept it at the beginning, but I persuaded him." She smiled.


    He imed, "Even if you didn''t do that, he will have to ept it in the end. His father won''t give in to his


    attitude. His father has always wanted to work with a suitablemerce port since it''s rted to Lane


    Corporation''s transition. So, he won''t let the chance slip through when I''ve proffered the deal. If Charles


    dares to turn down the offer, I reckon he won''t be able to see the daylight. He''ll be sabotaged by his


    father."


    Sonia covered her mouth as she burst intoughter. "Well, that''s possible. In other words, my advice


    saved Charles from trouble, didn''t it?"


    "More or less so." Toby lifted his chin.


    She giggled. "It seems like he owes me one."


    Just as he parted his lips in an attempt to say something, she heard a knock resounded from his side.


    His brows furrowed as he was displeased by how an outsider interrupted the conversation by knocking


    on the door. Nevertheless, he responded to the knock. "Come in."


    The door swung open and a secretary entered. "President Fuller, the guest who made an appointment


    yesterday, has arrived. He''s waiting for you in the drawing room."


    "Okay, I''ll be there in a minute. Please entertain the guest while I''m on my way." He nodded to


    acknowledge the notification while motioning the secretary to leave.


    The secretary reciprocated as his gaze swept across the phone in Toby''s hand before he left the office.


    After closing the door, he leaned against it and patted his chest in relief.


    It was no wonder he was weed by Toby''s unpleasant and murderous gaze the moment he entered


    the room. It was because he had interrupted the lovebirds'' video call.


    That was why his boss was pulling a sour face at him. It was really bad timing to enter the office. Still, it


    was fortunate that Toby did not punish him for his untimely arrival, albeit displeased. Otherwise, he


    would have lost his job.


    The secretary smiled bitterly. cing his hands down, he marched toward the lift. Reporting to the


    supervisors was never an easy job. It took a simple mistake to step on the timebomb and lose one''s


    job.


    Guess I should leave this kind of errands to Mr. Brown.


    He entered the lift while shaking his head.


    In the meantime, the crease on Toby''s forehead smoothened after the door closed. He averted his


    gaze upon the phone screen in the presidential office.


    Just as he was going to say something, Sonia suddenly smiled. "I heard you''ve got a guest."


    He hummed. "He''s a close friend of myte grandfather. We have some business going on together. It


    seems like he needs my help this time round."


    "Oh." She nodded. "Since it''s your grandfather''s close friend, you should get going. I called just to


    confirm about themerce port cooperation with Lane Corporation. That''s all. Now that I''ve


    confirmed, you should go ahead. We can talk at night if there''s anything."


    Now that she had put it that way, what else could he possibly say? Furthermore, he did not wish to


    keep Harry waiting. Not only was Harry a close friend of Toby''s grandfather, he was one of Toby''s


    teachers.


    Harry Lore was an economy professor when he was young. Toby''s knowledge pertaining to economy


    was basically taught by him. Thus, he was credited to Toby''s contemporary sess too.


    Plus, he was a great person. Aside from overindulging and being over protective of his granddaughter,


    he was a perfect man. Therefore, Toby should pay his homage by not keeping Harry in wait.


    "Okay, I''ll meet him now. I will introduce you to him during the business party." Toby gazed at Sonia.


    She nodded. "Alright."


    "I''ll hang up the call now."


    "Hmm, go ahead." She smiled.


    After looking at her for the onest time with a heavy heart, he terminated the video call. She looked at


    the screen disying the list of contacts in messenger while smiling. She then put her phone aside and


    got back to work.


    Suddenly, someone pushed open the door. Dapline entered the office frantically. Due to the fast pace,


    her face was flushing red.


    Sonia was taken aback to see her in this state. She blinked her eyes and questioned, "What''s the


    matter? Did something happen?"


    As the ever polite staff, Daphne always knocked on the door to seek Sonia''s permission before


    entering the office. It was not until something serious happened that she would barge in without


    reporting herself. Now that she was behaving this way, it had to be something serious happening.


    Daphne panted before looking at her. "President Reed, you''re involved in a scandal." It was as Sonia


    had expected¡ªa bad news.


    "What?" She was stunned for a moment before processing Dapline''s words. With a baffled expression,


    she reconfirmed, "Me? Scandal?"


    "Hmm." Daphne nodded.


    The corner of Sonia''s lips twitched. "Impossible. I''m not a celebrity. Why would I be involved in a


    scandal?"


    She then broke into a smile in an unbothered manner.


    Daphne hurriedly exined, "President Reed, you''re not a celebrity, but you''re a public figure. Please


    do not forget that you''re the president of Paradigm and President Fuller''s lover. These alone are


    enough to draw attention from the public. Not to mention the fact that you were trending on the Inte


    a few times previously. You''re as influential as the top celebrities. Manyizens pay attention to your


    activities online. Someone took a picture of you and a man into a hotel, and a scandal broke out."

 Chapter 1039

    Chapter 1039


    It was not until now did Soniaprehend the situation¡ªsomeone took a picture of her with a man


    going to a hotel and theizens were presuming that she was cheating with another man.


    F*ck! What kind of nonsense is this?


    Words failed her as her eyes hurt from all the eye-rolls. "Who did I go to the hotel with? Why didn''t I


    know anything?"


    Looking at her with mixed feelings, Daphne replied, "President Reed, have you forgotten that you and


    President Lane went to meet Mr. Smith in the hotel?"


    Sonia''s face darkened at that. "So, you mean someone took a picture of me and Charles going into a


    hotel, and they spread rumors about us? Is Charles the man involved?"


    "Yes." Daphne lowered her gaze onto the ground.


    Sonia smiled in vexed. "These people must be really free. Let me see theirments."


    Then, she threw away the pen in her hand and held the mouse. Turning on herputer, she saw her


    so-called scandal the moment she logged into the website.


    Due to the big banner on top of the website, she could not unsee it even if she wanted to. A striking


    topic was written on it with bold fonts.


    ''Shocking News! President Fuller¡¯s Girlfriend Went to a Hotel With Mystery Man! Is There a Good


    Reason for It? Or Is It a Moral Decadence?''


    Looking at the title, Sonia was utterly at a loss for words.


    Lunatic freak!


    One could easily tell that it was Squirrel Media''s style.


    She did not click on the banner advertising immediately. Instead, her eyes narrowed before she raised


    her head to look at Daphne. "Do you know which media outlet spread the rumor first?"


    The other main character of the scandal was Charles. Although Daphne mentioned that she was going


    to give up on him many times, it was not that easy to do so.


    She still loved him. Now that he was involved in a scandal, she would not turn a blind eye, let alone


    shrugging the matter off without looking into it.


    As Sonia had expected, Daphne gave a quick response to her answer. "It''s the Squirrel Media."


    "It is them." Sonia smirked. She could guess that it was their style from the title, but it was now verified


    that the first one to release the article was them as well.


    These squirrels are seriously getting on my nerves.


    "Besides them, other websites and media outlets shared the article soon after. The articles were


    scandalous and the news is sending everyone wild right now," Daphne added.


    Sonia nodded to acknowledge her as her cold eyes remained fixated on the exaggerated banner.


    Etching the word ''Squirrel Media'' into her head, she pursed her lips with a dark expression. Next, she


    grabbed the mouse to click onto the inted title on the banner.


    The Squirrel Media was considerably big as a mediapany, but they were an ant inparison to


    the Fuller Group. Thus, they would not have the audacity to release such articles to offend Toby.


    Even if there was something going on between Sonia and Charles, and they managed to take some


    pictures of them as evidence, the normal procedure should be meeting Toby personally in light of his


    identity. In doing so, showing him the content might earn them some hush money. They would never


    decide to release an article like this.


    Releasing the article like this meant trampling Toby''s dignity, which would lose themselves his favor.


    After all, everyone would find out that the president of Fuller Group, a man of such high status, was


    cheated on. No man would have the tolerance to put up with it; the media''s demise was inevitable.


    Sonia believed that the Squirrel Media understood that simple rule. However, they were willing to take


    the risk of offending Toby by dropping the bomb.


    Hence, this meant that they had a backer to shore them up, someone who might have the power to


    keep them safe. Thus, the daring media passed Toby and released the article on the Inte just like


    that.


    As an afterthought, her grip on the mouse tightened. She wondered what kind of content they wrote


    beneath the striking title after taking the risk of offending Toby. Sonia''s small face was so cold that even


    the air around her was chilly.


    Staring at her, Daphne could not help the surprised expression on her countenance.


    Since when has President Reed looked so intimidating before?


    It was as though she was looking at Toby. Although it was not as formidable as his, it was close.


    Seems like she has learned a lot from President Fuller.


    Oblivious of Daphne''s thoughts, Sonia was staring at the monitor. The disyed content almost had


    herughing.


    Squirrel Media''s article wrote, ''On 20th of January, a witness saw Miss Reed, the president of


    Paradigm, entering As Hotel with an anonymous man in the afternoon. A couple of hourster, both


    of them were having fun while talking intimately at the entrance. Once the car arrived, they looked at


    each other and smiled before leaving. The witness could not help but wonder about their rtionship.''


    Following the paragraph were a few pictures.


    One of them showed Sonia and Charles going into the hotel. Since they were talking, the close


    proximity made it seem like they were holding hands.


    The next one was them waiting for the cab at the hotel entrance upon bidding Brian goodbye. In the


    photo, her head hung low as she warmed her hands while Charles stood next to her to put his coat on


    her shoulders.


    In the third photo, she was wearing his coat while looking at him in shock. However, her cheeks were


    red. In addition to her surprised gaze, she appeared shy and it lent more reasons for one to


    misinterpret the situation.


    In actuality, her cheeks were red because of the cold weather. It was not the kind of bashful reaction as


    shown in the picture.


    As for her gaze, it was more ridiculous. She could easily tell that someone had brightened the picture to


    make her surprised expression seem to be that of a shy girl in love.


    Obviously, the Squirrel Media edited the photos on purpose to mislead theizens. In doing so, the


    netizens would assume that something was going on between Sonia and Charles.


    These wicked people.


    For the final picture, he was opening the car door for her whereas she smiled at him as a thank you.


    Even so, the content was misunderstood due to the camera angle. It became the intimate and


    affectionate smile as mentioned in the paragraph.


    In short, with those narrations and ambiguous photos, she would have mistaken that she had


    something going on with Charles if she was the third party. How would theizens respond when


    Sonia herself conceived such thoughts after reading it?


    The busybodyizens had always possessed a cognitive distortion of fanning the mes while


    watching themotion. Plus, putting Toby and her identities together was merely adding fuel to the


    me.


    Not that she was looking down upon them though. It was just the truth.Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 1040

    Chapter 1040


    Due to the unparalleled social status and life quality,izens usually bore resentful malice to influential


    people; instead of cheering for their sess, theizens preferred to watch them fall from their peaks.


    After the downfall, they would not pity but jibe the ones that were unreachable to them. They would


    gloat over the misfortune or even kick them while they were down.


    It was as if they could vent their anger, which was incurred by the unparalleled social status and life


    quality, by doing so. All in all, the scariest thing on earth was neither the spirits or ghosts, but humanity


    itself.


    Therefore, Sonia knew how bad thements were without having to look at them. The prevalent


    bandwagon effect amongst theizens resulted inck of critical thinking and ungrounded belief


    based by the media.


    Basically, they rarely question the credibility of the media and build their judgment based on what was


    presented in the articles. Of course, some of them were being reasonable and questioned the


    validation of the news.


    Yet, so what if they did?


    Even if the rational ones were doubting its credibility, they would rather buy it as the truth due to envy.


    They might even leave more destructivements and catastrophize thingspared to the ones


    who trusted the news.


    While the colossal thoughts whirred in her mind, Sonia scrolled down the website toward thement


    section. As she had foreseen, the appallingments revealed before her.


    ''Hahaha, I''m dying. They were just showing off their affection on the Inte a while ago. President


    Fuller made a love confession online and yet, she''s giving him a reality check so quickly. He''s been


    cheated on!''


    ''Oh my days, what have I just read? President Fuller is so handsome. I bet he''s more attractive than


    the man, whose face isn''t that clear in the picture. Look at the guy''s outfit. It''s too much. He seems like


    a pervert, dressing so thinly. He''s no less different from the gigolos in the nightclubs. Just one nce is


    enough to tell that he''s not a good person. What is this Sonia Reed thinking? Why did she fall for such


    a man and betray President Fuller? Just which part of this man is more charming than President


    Fuller?''


    ''Hey, up there. The grass is always greener. It doesn''t apply only to men but women too. So what if


    President Fuller is handsome and rolling in cash? He''s totally swarmed with work for handling such a


    bigpany and has no time for Sonia. Perhaps, she might''ve felt lonely and can''t put up with it.''


    ''I knew that Sonia Reed wasn''t a decent person from the very beginning. Think about it. The Reed


    Family''s downfall happened a few years ago while the Fuller Family has been posited as the wealthiest


    family of all. Let''s rewind to how she got married to him. Although she has exined it during the


    conference that President Fuller has married her as a token of gratitude for saving Miss Gray, aren''t


    money and resources a better option forpensation? It''s the Fuller Family we''re talking about! Why


    must it be a marriage? So, I guess there''s other reasons behind all this. Perhaps, Sonia Reed set


    President Fuller up by bearing his baby, so he had no choice but to marry her.''


    ''That makes sense. No wonder President Fuller didn''t favor her during those six years. This must be it!


    If I were him, I wouldn''t let her get away with it. There''s still something that bugs me. Didn''t President


    Fuller free himself by filing a divorce? Why did they reconcile, though?''


    ''Who knows? There''s gotta be some reasons that we don''t know of. Maybe she has something over his


    head? That''s why he has no choice but to reconcile and disy his affection on the Inte. If so,


    President Fuller is so pitiful! This woman is such a snake!''


    ''I know right. President Fuller may be treating her the same way he did before the marriage. It''s just


    that we don''t know about it. Then, she became resentful and found another guy to take revenge on


    President Fuller, but it was careless of her to have her picture taken.''


    ''That''ll be great if that''s the truth. That means President Fuller will break up with her then. If there''s a


    group chat waiting for their divorce, count me in!''


    ''Me too! If they really break up, it will be news worth celebrating.''


    Everyment was urging Toby to break up with Sonia and they were even pre-celebrating the


    asion. It was as though she was a snake that had something over Toby''s head to force themselves


    together as stated in thements.


    Furthermore, some of the maliciousments called her a sl*t for cheating on Toby because she could


    not stand the loneliness.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Thements incurred the wrath in Sonia as her cheeks were puffed and her eyes reddened. It was


    malice of them to throw destructivements on someone, who was a total stranger to them.


    "President Reed, are you alright?" Daphne, who stood before her, concernedly questioned while


    knowing the reasons for her ire.


    Sonia kneaded her temples. "I''m fine. Just a little stuffy around the chest."


    Daphne sighed. "Anyone will feel the same after looking at such hatefulments; it happens. I don''t


    think you should see more of them anymore. Let''s just exit the website."


    Sonia took a sip of coffee. "That''s not the point right now. Daphne, there''s something I gotta tell you."


    "Go ahead, President Reed." Daphne looked at her.


    She bit her lips. "Miss Daphne, about the scandal, it''s not true. You know why Charles and I went to the


    hotel. It was to meet Mr. Smith. We didn''t do anything. You¡ª"


    "I thought you''re going to say something else, President Reed." Daphne smiled. "So, you''re referring to


    this matter. Don''t worry about it. I know that there''s nothing going on between you and President Lane.


    You and President Fuller love each other so much, unlike what''s being spread on the Inte. You will


    never betray President Fuller by having something with President Lane. If it is so, it should''ve


    happened ages ago, not now."


    "But the photos¡ª"


    Daphne shook her head. "As for the photos, the people who know you well can tell that they''re fake;


    only the idiots will buy it. So, you don''t have to worry a thing. The scandal doesn''t bother me. I''ve said


    that I got over President Lane, so it doesn''t concern me at all. Besides, this is all fake."


    Hearing that, Sonia heaved a sigh as her jittery heart regained its tranquility. "It''s good to hear that


    you''re not overthinking about it. I''m just worried that you''ll feel ufortable from hearing the news."


    "Don''t worry, President Reed." Dapline gave her a reassuring smile.


    She hummed. "Okay."


    "But have you discovered that something is wrong with the pictures?" Daphne fixed her sses while


    inquiring.


    Sonia massaged her temples. "Yeah. As you''ve said, they''re fake. I know which parts of them are


    edited to make those normal pictures be suggestive."


    "No." Daphne shook her head. "I''m not talking about this, President Reed."


    "Then, what?" Sonia blinked her eyes.


    Daphne came forward and stood next to Sonia, who passed the mouse to her.


    She grabbed the mouse and scrolled downward with a solemn face. "Look at this picture. President


    Lane''s face is blurred out, but your face is shown clearly. It''s obvious that the Squirrel Media has


    blurred him out."


    Thud!


    Sonia mmed the desk in a fit of pique and her face was red. "F*cking squirrels."

 Chapter 1041

    Chapter 1041


    As everyone in Seafield knew, the Reed Family and the Lane Family were close as Sonia and Charles


    grew up together too.


    If the photos were revealed without editing, a number of people would not buy the story since everyone


    knew it was Sonia and Charles.


    Thus, the Squirrel Media edited the photos by blurring out Charles'' face so that the public would be


    hidden from the fact that it was him. They would perceive the guy in the picture as a garishly-dressed


    and untrammeled man at first nce. It was because such a man would lend credibility to the content.


    After all, such men were adept in winning women''s hearts, so it was highly possible for Sonia to lose


    her patience and betray Toby because of the man''s ''sweet nothings''.


    Realizing the Squirrel Media''s dirty y, Sonia felt her body trembling. She could not help the urge to


    rush into their outlet fully armed and annihte the wholepany.


    "Daphne, had you not reminded me that Charles'' face is blurred, I wouldn''t have noticed it." Her hands


    formed a fist. It took her a while to barely quell the fury in her.


    It was understandable since she was defamed by the Squirrel Media and angered by thements.


    Hence, she did not pay too much attention to the photos that the oddity went unnoticed to her. In short,


    had Daphne not reminded her of it, she would not have realized it at the moment.


    Daphne waved her hand. "It''s nothing, President Reed, but have you sensed something wrong?"


    "Tell me." Sonia looked at her.


    Daphne''s finger tapped on the screen at thement section. "Look at thesements. They''re


    either criticizing or adding fuel to the fire. In other words, neither of them are positive. I know that the


    netizens are quite harsh to public figures; a handful of them are so wicked that they wished the public


    figures had their career ended by having themselves canceled. Still, a part of thements should be


    kind. It shouldn''t be as negative as it is right now. There should at least be moderate ones no matter


    what¡ª"


    Pausing momentarily, she continued. "Plus, there''s a lot of fans shipping you and President Fuller.


    Even if some trusted the news and no longer supports you, there should be a number of them that truly


    supports you and President Fuller. They will always trust and support you guys. So, they should be


    leavingments to support you and clear your name, but there''s none in thement section. I can


    only see the negative ones. Something''s odd no matter how I see it. I think it''s the ghostwriters."


    Then, she clicked into one of the ounts that left a negativement. Looking at its main profile, she


    sniggered. "I knew it. Just click any of them and their main profile is empty. There''s no information at


    all. It''s obvious that it''s a newly registered ount.


    What else but ghostwriters? Someone''s setting you up on purpose, President Reed."


    She looked at Sonia, who was surprisingly calm. Not a smidgen of shock was shown on her expression


    upon hearing the truth from Daphne.


    Baffled, Daphne asked, "Have you seen thising, President Reed?"


    Sonia hummed. "Yeah, I got a hunch the moment I saw so many negativements. There are bad


    guys and good guys in this world. Same goes for thements. If there are bad ones, a part of them


    should be impartial and positive; it''s the never changing rule in this world. But, I see zero positive


    comments. Even if we do, it''ll be deleted a secondter. Apparently, the moderator only leaves the bad


    ones and removes the good ones."


    "I see. No wonder you''re not surprised at all." Daphne understood and raised her chin, yet her brows


    knitted together soon after that. "Do you have an idea about who''s behind this, President Reed?"


    Sonia shook her head. "I don''t."


    It happened all too suddenly, so she did not have the time to figure out the mastermind.


    "Could it be the one who snatched ourponents away?" Daphne guessed.


    Sonia gazed at her. "What makes you think so?"


    Daphne exined, "Because there''s only a few enemies you have. Jessica is in prison, so she doesn''t


    have the power to do so. I bet she doesn''t have the guts to do it anymore. She''s sent to prison after


    using and spreading rumors of you, right? Next will be the Gray Family, who is not likely to be the


    culprit. Recently, the authorities have announced that, in Seafield, the Department of Commerce will be


    investigating Triforce Enterprise. So, they''re hectic as ever to clean the underhanded evidence in order


    to sustain thepany. They don''t have the time to plot a scheme against you. And after crossing


    them out of the list, the only person left is the person who snatched ourponents away. President


    Fuller retrieved it back for us yesterday and that person might hold a grudge on it, hence the scandal."


    "Your guess could be right, but I don''t think that it''s him this time." Sonia shook her head.


    Daphne looked at her. "Why?"


    "I haven''t told you about this, but the person who took outponents is an old man in his fifties."


    "He''s an old man?" Dapline was stunned, for she had expected it to be a youngster instead of an old


    man.


    "Yeah. He''s old." Sonia nodded before pointing at the news article on the monitor. "Besides, don''t you


    know what they''re really after?"


    "Isn''t it to defame you?" Staring at the screen, she blurted her assumption with uncertainty.


    Sonia nodded and shook her head. "You''re almost there. This article is released to defame me, but


    that''s only one of the reasons. There''s a lot of ways to defame someone. Why choose a scandal? The


    culprit wants me to break up with Toby."


    "They want you to break up with President Fuller?" Daphne''s face fell.


    Sonia hummed. "That''s right. Think about it. What can''t men stand the most?"


    As though she had understood something, Daphne replied unconsciously, "Betrayal."


    A betrayal by his partner.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Sonia''s eyes remained downcast. "Yeah. A man can never stand his partner''s betrayal, especially a


    prideful and bossy person that has a high social status like Toby. If I betray him, he''ll choose to leave


    me no matter how much he loves me. So, the mastermind stirs up a scandal to defame my name


    because it could raise suspicions in Toby to make him break up with me. However, if that person


    merely wants to nder me, he can go for something wicked that''s more effective than a scandal, isn''t


    it?"


    "Now I see." Daphne stroked her chin. "That person doesn''t use dirtier means to ruin your reputation


    because they know that President Fuller will never give up on you as long as he knows that it''s not your


    fault. That''s why the culprit chose to spread rumors about you on the Inte."

 Chapter 1042

    Chapter 1042


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    "That''s right." Sonia nodded. "It''s as yon said."


    "Then, the one behind all this is a woman?" Dapline was wide-eyed.


    Nodding subtly, Sonia answered, "Yes." She was a hundred percent sure that a woman was behind all


    this.


    Naturally, there were men that loved her and wanted to see her and Toby break up, with some of them


    being Charles and Carl.


    However, as much as they would like that to happen someday, they would not have resorted to this


    kind of despicable method.


    After all, dirty tactics like this might allow them to achieve their aim, but their reputations would also be


    tarnished at the same time. As such, they could safely be excluded from the culprit list.


    Even if they wanted to bring someone down, they would only do it one-sidedly to Toby.


    Contradictorily, the inte now was awash with news of her ''cheating'' while Toby remained innocent.


    This made it obvious that the person''s target was Sonia whereas Toby got to maintain his image.


    With that, the answer revealed itself¡ªthe mastermind was a woman that fancied Toby.


    "Now you understand why I said the perpetrator wasn''t the person that stole ourponents, right?"


    Sonia looked at her secretary.


    Nodding, Dapline responded, "I understand, but who were the people that stole our parts?"


    "It was Connor from the Salzburg Family in Westsanshire." Now that they retrieved their parts back,


    Sonia did not hesitate to reveal the fact from her anymore, so she told her outright.


    Shocked, Dapline replied, "Him?"


    "That''s right." Sonia''s gaze turned cold. "The reason why he took our parts was because I turned her


    daughter in to the police. He wanted to use that to threaten me into dropping the charges."


    "His daughter..." As Daphne pondered for a while, she seemed to remember something before looking


    at her. "President Reed, if my memory serves me right, the one you reported was the person that


    fancied President Fuller and dug up some dirt of yours before demanding you to post an apology


    online, isn''t that right? She also messed up your dress. Isn''t that woman called... Anya Steinfield?


    She''s Connor''s daughter?"


    "Yup." Sonia confirmed her theory.


    Daphne had an eureka moment. "I didn''t think that they were father and daughter. President Reed, this


    might be the handiwork of Connor then. Since Anya fancied Toby and wanted to dig up dirt on you,


    Connor might have done it on behalf of his daughter. It''s only by separating you two does she have a


    shot."


    Amused by her deduction, Sonia replied, "If it were another person, you might have gotten it correct.


    But, for these two people, it''s impossible. After all, Connor and Toby are sworn enemies. So, why would


    he allow his daughter to get married to Toby? Isn''t that just sending her to her demise? By letting her


    marry him, he''s giving Toby the chance to use his daughter for him to get his revenge; only the insane


    would do that."


    Dumbfounded, Daphnemented, "I didn''t know that Connor and President Fuller had such a deep


    hatred for each other. If so, then Connor wouldn''t do it for his daughter. Also, she wouldn''t be able to do


    this herself too, seeing how she''s still locked up. It can only be another woman then. President Reed, is


    there a chance that a woman who likes President Fuller is jealous of you, so she wants you two to


    break up and have him all to herself?"


    Rubbing her temples, Sonia replied somewhat tiringly, "How will I know? The queue of the women that


    like Toby and want to rece me can run circles around the city. After all, his capabililities and looks


    are so outstanding. This is why there are so many potential suspects to begin with. It''d be like finding a


    needle in a haystack if we want to capture the culprit."


    "That''s true." Daphne nodded. "But in spite of that, didn''t you mention that he had dered a long time


    ago so that no women dares to approach him in fear of offending him and causing trouble for their


    families? Clearly, the mastermind has the guts to do this still. This means that the woman must have


    quite an influential family, which can at least rival the Fullers. That''s why she isn''t afraid of offending


    President Fuller. Even if she did do so, she wouldn''t have to worry about the consequences for herself


    or her family. They might even be capable of protecting Squirrel Media. Maybe that is the reason they


    were so bold. President Reed, I think we can start our investigation from this point."


    Sitting up straight, Sonia replied, "That reminded me of something. The families that are capable of


    doing this are countable on two hands."


    "Worst case scenario, I can call Squirrel Media and force it out of them using President Fuller''s name,"


    Daphne suggested.


    Soniaughed. "You mean to fake it till we make it?"


    "Sometimes, we have to use certain methods to get what we want. Besides, since President Fuller''s


    name is so powerful, why not do it?" Daphne smiled.


    Since Sonia saw that she became a lot more joyful after knowing about the pregnancy, she was


    relieved as she nodded. "Okay. I''ll try asking them."


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    "I''ll find their contact for you." Daphne bent over and used Sonia''sputer.


    Not stopping her, Sonia watched on.


    The moment Daphne found the number, Sonia picked her phone up and dialed it.


    Meanwhile, someone knocked on the door.


    Daphne signaled to Sonia, whose call was not answered yet, and went over to the door before opening


    it.


    There was an assistant standing outside.


    "Is there anything?" Daphne looked at the person.


    Not replying immediately, the assistant looked over Daphne''s shoulders and saw Sonia sitting behind


    the desk before she said, "Miss Daphne, there are a lot of reporters downstairs that want to interview


    President Reed."


    "What?" Daphne frowned.


    Sonia, who heard it too, was not surprised.


    This was because the paparazzis were like flies attracted to dung anytime anything happened.


    Even she had lost count of the number of times these paparazzis had tried to get a word out of her.


    "President Reed, how are we dealing with this?"


    Aware that Sonia heard what the person was saying, Dapline did not bother to convey the words as


    she asked for her thoughts instead.


    Still looking at the dialing screen, Sonia nonchntly said, "Don''t give them any attention and just


    chase them away."


    "Chase them away?" Daphne hesitated at her actions. "Don''t you want to send someone to clear this


    up and say that the news online is fake, stating that everything isn''t what Squirrel Media makes it out to


    be? There are a lot of controversies about you online, so it might affect your reputation if this drags on.


    Shouldn''t we make our statement clear with the media now?"


    "It''s useless." Sonia shook her head. "With someone behind the scenes, even if we tried to clear our


    names, I think the released content would differ from what we said. So, there''s no need to waste our


    time."


    "But, if we don''t send someone to deal with them, the journalists will assume that Squirrel Media have


    reported the truth and that you declined the interview out of guilt," Daphne persuaded.


    Smiling, Sonia stated, "Fine by me. Since we have to solve this anyway, I''ll let them run their mouths


    for now. Sooner orter, they will get pped in the face by reality. Besides, who knows if the reporters


    aren''t arranged by the mastermind? If they are, won''t I be in danger if I were to head down?"


    Daphne, who was shocked, seemed to think that she made sense.


    Hence, she stopped persuading her. "Okay. I''ll call security and chase them away."


    She was about to leave when Sonia called out to her, "Wait."


    Stopping in her tracks, Daphne turned around. "Do you have any other orders, President Reed?"

 Chapter 1043

    Chapter 1043


    "You don''t need to go. Just have your assistant chase them away. You''ll be going to the hotel I went to


    with Charles yesterday and get the whole surveince footage when we were there." Sonia peered at


    her.


    Hesitantly, Daphne replied, "President Reed, I doubt we can get the footage. The mastermind might


    have already destroyed the evidence to save you from using that."


    "I thought of what you''ve said, but no matter what, we have to try." Sonia rubbed her temples.


    Daphne, who agreed with her, nodded. "Okay. I''ll go there very soon. Still, shouldn''t we tell President


    Fuller about this?"


    Smiling, Sonia stated, "Now that this has gotten so out of proportion, he will know it eventually through


    his men even without my notice. As for why he hasn''t contacted me, it should be because he''s still


    busy. So, the people by his side haven''t had the chance to inform him yet. Don''t worry, when he knows,


    he''ll call me."


    "That''s a relief." Daphne puffed her chest. "It''s only by President Fuller knowing about this that things


    can be dealt with much easier."


    "You''re right. After all, this incident concerns him as well. We still need him if we want to catch the


    culprit." Sonia opened her arms up. "Go on, then. Remember to inform me ASAP about the situation


    even if you don''t get the footage."


    "Understood, President Reed." Daphne went down with the assistant.


    With that, Sonia was the only one left in the office.


    Looking at the monitor in front of her, she became angrier as she scrolled through thements. She


    then closed the webpage, seeing how she did not have any solution to it.


    Next, she picked up her phone and called Squirrel Media again.


    Earlier when she dialed the number, it said that the line was busy.


    She guessed that a lot of people must have called Squirrel Media to validate the truth of this story,


    causing the busy line.


    So, she hoped that the call would go through this time.


    Perhaps it was the heavens that heard her prayer, the call connected this time with a man''s voice


    coming from the speaker. "Who''s this?"


    "Sonia Reed," she replied with a cold tone.


    The person on the other side fell silent. After a while, she could hear heavy and rushed breathing


    coming from the other end.


    Obviously, the person panicked upon hearing her name.


    This made Sonia sneer.


    They really are a bunch of guilty squirrels.


    Otherwise, why would this man be so afraid to hear that it''s me?


    Meanwhile, the person who answered the call was regretting and wanted to beat himself up.


    Seriously, why did I have to enter the office at this time? If I didn''t, I wouldn''t have picked the call up.


    How unlucky!


    After shouting out miserably inside, the man took a deep breath and pretended nothing happened while


    replying to Sonia, "I''m sorry, Miss. We don''t know who you are. If there''s nothing else, I''ll be hanging up


    now. I wish you a good day. Goodbye."


    He was about to hang up after saying that.


    Yet, Sonia suddenly sneered loudly. "Hang up the call and I''ll tell Toby to shut yourpany down right


    now! Every single one of you can pack your bags home by the end of the day. Try me," she warned in a


    very dominating manner.


    With the coldness and arrogance in her tone, nobody dared to doubt if she was joking. At the very


    least, the man on the phone knew that Sonia would do as she said.


    Feeling like he would be better off dead, the man had a very somber expression as he begged, "I''m so


    sorry, Miss Reed. I''m just some random secretary, so..."


    "Enough." Sonia frowned and interrupted him. "Seeing how you called me ''Miss Reed'', you obviously


    recognize who I am, so you should know why I''m calling, right?"


    The silence of the man was taken as a ''yes''.


    Gripping her phone tightly, she continued, "Since you do, why don''t you give me an exnation now?"


    "But, Miss Reed, I''m just a secretary..." The man repeated his words in the hope that this would suffice.


    Sonia, who did not believe him, smirked. "Stop telling me that you''re just some secretary. I called the


    number of your chief editor, so you have to be at least someone to be able to pick up the call. I don''t


    care if you''re the secretary or the personal assistant of the chief editor, I know you have all the tea, so


    spill it!"All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    The man was on the verge of tears.


    Why is Miss Reed so smart?


    She was not giving him any chances.


    With a scrunched up expression, the man exined, "Miss Reed, I..."


    "Enough. Just spit it out now!" Sonia bellowed. "If you don''t, then don''t me me when I realize all the


    promises I''ve mentioned earlier. Not only can I make you all jobless, I can leave a special remark on


    your resumes. Good luck on getting a new job by then. Like I said, try me all you want."


    Shuddering, the man was frightened as he profusely nodded. "I''ll spill it out. I tell you whatever you


    want to know, Miss Reed."


    As he was no fool, he knew that he could not go head-to-head with a threat looming over him.


    This was because they all knew the news online was fake, as Sonia never did cheat on Toby in the first


    ce.


    Since this was all fabricated, this meant the couple still enjoyed a solid rtionship.


    Naturally, they would be enraged to see such a mediapany spreading audacious rumors of Sonia


    cheating on Toby.


    So, Toby would target theirpany sooner orter.


    Even though the person did tell their chief editor that theirpany would be safe, they did not


    guarantee the employees of thepany would stay employed.


    Although he was only a secretary, he was still a worker there. If Toby were to go to war with the person,


    there would be sacrifices no matter what.


    This was because no matter how influential the person was, they were still not a match for Toby. The


    person might be able to ensure the job of the chief editor and thepany''s safety, but they would not


    be able to keep these employees; eventually, they would only be the coteral whether they liked it or


    not.


    If that happened, it would not be a better fate than what Sonia described as they might even find


    themselves in a more dire situation.


    Hence, if he could save himself, why not just tell the truth?


    If this caused him to be fired and sued by thepany, at least his resume would be clean, meaning


    he could just seek another job out.


    On the other hand, if he kept his lips zipped now, his future would be as good as gone.


    Since there is a silver lining, I''ll just grab onto it for now.


    Thinking of this, the man looked around before confirming that he was the only one in the office. Not


    hesitating anymore, he covered his mouth with his other hand and said in a lowered voice, "Okay, Miss


    Reed. I''ll tell you everything that you want to know."


    Sonia knew that her threat worked upon hearing the person be docile.


    As expected, Toby''s name really is useful.


    Smiling, she maintained a cold tone. "Tell me, who ordered yourpany to tail me and take those


    photos?"


    This was because she did not tell anyone about her meeting up with Brian at the hotel.


    Therefore, no outsiders would have known about her whereabouts.


    Yet, the person had urately captured the moment she and Charles entered the hotel. This proved


    that someone was constantly following her. Otherwise, they would have never gotten that shot so


    precisely.


    I actually didn''t realize that I was followed for so long!


    Pursing her lips. Sonia had a face full of disdain for the mastermind.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1044

    Chapter 1044


    Using this chance, the mastermind must have understood her every move and sent someone to tail her


    from a long time ago.


    There might even be spies in mypany.


    On the other end of the call, the man, who did not know what Sonia was thinking, shrinked his neck


    upon hearing her question and replied softly, "Miss Reed, I''m really only a secretary, so I don''t know


    much. What I do know is a woman had our paparazzis tail you in secret in order to take any scandalous


    photos of you."


    As expected.


    Sonia peered through her eyes coldly.


    I am right. The person behind all this is a woman.


    By the look of things, this woman had nned everything for a long time.


    "When did your people start to tail me?" asked Sonia.


    Scratching his head, the secretary answered, "I''m not sure about the specific date, since it was the


    chief editor that personally contacted our paparazzi team and not through the secretaries. If I had to


    say, maybe a week ago."


    "A week ago, eh?" She snorted. "That''s longer than I thought."


    Gulping, the secretary continued, "This was because the chief editor was afraid that they wouldn''t be


    able toe up with an incriminating photo in a short timeframe, so he had them tail you from a week


    ago to capture all the photos they could."


    "Should I praise yourpany for being so far-sighted, then?" Sonia remarked sarcastically.


    The secretary smiled. "You jest, Miss Reed. This was the chief editor''s instructions. It has nothing to do


    with me. Besides, our people couldn''t find an opportunity to take the picture either, so our chief editor


    was unable to report to that woman. Due to this, the person even called the editor yesterday and ranted


    about how she wanted him to hurry up. If they couldn''t get the photos, then fabricate some, she said.


    Yet, before the chief editor could do that, the paparazzis called and said they got a photo of you


    entering a hotel with a man. You know the rest, Miss Reed."


    Sonia did not reply to him.


    After all, the motive was as clear as the sky. All the editor had to do was get a controversial photograph


    of Sonia and fulfill his duty to satisfy the mastermind. Then, the woman would order them to edit the


    photo before making up a fake article and publishing it.


    She did this all so to defame and nder me in order to make Toby break up with me.


    Too bad she didn''t calcte that Toby already knew about me and Charles meeting at the hotel


    beforehand!


    You want Toby to break up with me just like this? Dream on!


    With a cold gaze, Sonia asked, "Who is that woman?"


    The secretary shook his head. "Miss Reed, I am really just a random secretary that doesn''t know much.


    I told you all I knew just now. If I didn''t tell you the woman''s identity, that means that I really don''t know


    who she is. The reason is because from the start to the end, only our head editor has been dealing with


    that woman. I asked him out of curiosity, but he seemed to be very fearful of her and wouldn''t tell me.


    He only told me that she hails from a prominent family and that they seemed to have a bit of a rtion


    with the Fullers."


    Even though this did not reveal who the mastermind was, she still managed to glean some information


    from this.


    Biting her lips, she mumbled, "Someone who is rted to the Fullers..."


    She had deduced earlier with Daphne that since the person was not afraid of Toby, that meant that she


    should have a substantial backing.


    However, she never thought that they would be rted to the Fuller Family.


    What is their rtion though? Are they rtives? Or is it something else?


    "Yes. That''s what our chief editor said." The secretary nodded. "I even asked him before, saying that


    this would attract President Fuller''s ire by creating a fake scandal of you. Yet, he confidently told me


    that the woman would ensure the survival of ourpany. This is why our chief editor''s not afraid of


    President Fuller and published the scandal."


    "So I see. I understand now," Soniamented half-heartedly.


    This was because she had somewhat predicted all this. All the secretary did was confirm her


    spections.


    Laughing awkwardly, the secretary stated, "Miss Reed, I told you everything I know. If you want to take


    revenge, could you please let me off and just look for the chief editor? I''m just an employee after all.


    Besides, I didn''t take part in this. I only heard about it. Our chief editor is the perpetrator. I¡ª"


    "I understand what you''re getting at." Sonia pursed her lips and replied coldly, "I will look into this. If it''s


    true that you really didn''t have a hand in this and only knew about the proceedings, I will not do


    anything to you. However, if you lied, I apologize for what I have to do."


    "Yes, yes, yes. Please, Miss Reed. Go ahead and investigate it. If you need help, you can contact me


    anytime." The secretary patted himself on the chest happily.


    Even through the phone, Sonia could hear him breathing a sigh of relief.


    For now, it looks like this secretary is innocent.


    Hence, Sonia decided to be nicer. "I will. Send me your contactter. Also, feel out your chief editor and


    see if you can figure out the woman''s identity. Don''t worry, if you do as I say, even if Squirrel Media


    goes under, I can arrange another job for you. How does working at the Fuller Group sound?"


    Her voice had a hint of enticement in it.


    After hearing that he might be able to work at Fuller Group, the secretary''s eyes brightened as he


    quickly nodded. "Rest assured, Miss Reed. You can leave this to me. I will make sure to help you figure


    out the person''s identity! It''s as good as done!"


    "I''m entrusting it to you, then." Sonia smiled while saying this and ended the call.


    Leaning against the chair, she started to brainstorm.


    She was thinking which family was rted to the Fullers, who was also an influential family in their own


    right.


    Yet, after some careful pondering, she could not rte any family to the Fullers.


    This made her somewhat suspicious if the chief editor had lied to his secretary.


    It''s either that or the woman has lied to the chief editor.


    Regardless, I will find that woman!


    On the other side, the secretary ced the phone down and wiped his sweat while breathing out.


    Finally, he could somewhat rx.


    My word. I thought that Miss Reed was someone that had a gentle and a bit of a weak personality.


    I never thought that she would be so intense.


    The call had left him out of breath.


    Although Sonia spoke in a calm and collected manner throughout the conversation, it was still very


    pressuring for him.


    This proves just how capable President Fuller''s woman is.


    "Noah." Just as the secretary was deep in thought, the door to the office opened as a short but rotund


    middle aged man walked in.


    About five feet two in height, not only did he sport a big belly, he also had a big head with ears. The fat


    on his face had squished his eyes into a line while he only had a few hairs on his head that was still


    holding on for dear life.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Even when he looked like that, the person still wore a rtively expensive suit. It really was a sight to


    behold, in a negative way, of course.


    This person was the chief editor of Squirrel Media. His name was Mitch Adams.


    The person he was calling out to was the secretary that had just got off the phone with Sonia. Turning


    around in a hurry, he threw his thoughts aside and bowed down respectfully. "Hello, Mr Adams."


    "Hm. Brew me a cup of coffee, yeah?" pping his beer belly, Mitch sat down behind his desk and


    looked at Noah. "I told you to get a document. What were you doing, spending an eternity in my


    office?"

 Chapter 1045

    Chapter 1045


    After brewing the cup of coffee, Noah handed it over with both hands before stepping back and


    replying, "A call came in just now, Mr. Adams. The caller was Miss Reed of Paradigm Co."


    As soon as he said it, Mitch''s hand suddenly trembled, causing the coffee to spill out onto his hands


    and scalded him. He then quickly jumped from his chair and toss the cup away.


    Crack! A loudmotion ensued.


    The porcin cup was smashed into pieces.


    Not only was the coffee spilled everywhere, the ck stains of the coffee contrasting the white tiles


    made the scene look very dirty.


    However, all of this was not important. What was important was that Mitch was burnt.


    As the coffee was freshly brewed, it scalded his hand to the point where it reddened immediately.


    Feeling the pain of his flesh, Mitch started to tremble as his chubby face started to shake as well.


    Noah never thought that a sentence from him could scare a person to this point. After a moment of


    shock, he finally came around and quickly rushed over with an ice pack. "I''m so sorry, Mr. Adams. I


    forgot to remind you that the coffee was hot. Here''s an ice pack. Quick, apply that."


    Seeing the ice pack, Mitch snatched it over and ced it on his hand.


    With the help of the ice, he felt that his pain lessened a whole lot more with theyered muscles on his


    face slowly unclenched.


    His beady eyes, though, were still kept on Noah.


    If not for more important matters, he would have scolded him. He can''t even do such a simple thing.


    How stupid.


    Noah, who knew that this fatso had to be cursing him inside, pouted. Curse me all you want. I''m going


    to quit anyway. I don''t care if the woman will be able to keep thepany afloat, I won''t be staying


    here any longer.


    Of course, since he had not quit yet, he did not voice this out. Otherwise, this fatso might tamper with


    my resignation application and not let me go.


    "Mr. Adams, I''ll get some tools to clean the floor." Noah bowed subtly and turned around.


    Mitch stopped him. "Wait a minute; that can wait. Did you just say that Sonia Reed of Paradigm Co. just


    called?"


    Sitting down, Mitch became quite solemn.


    Now, he did look somewhat like a chief editor.


    "Yes." Noah straightened himself.


    Clenching the ice pack on his hand, Mitch asked, "She must have called for the scandal that was


    published. Maybe she''s already onto us. What did she say?"


    Noah looked up at him. "She asked us why we published this baseless scandal."


    "That''s it?" Mitch was in disbelief.


    Shaking his head, Noah continued, "Of course not. Miss Reed also asked who made us do it."


    This scared Mitch again as the fat on his face jiggled. "What? Did she really ask us that?"


    "I swear by it." Noah nodded.


    "How can that be?" He threw the ice pack aside and stood up to pace around the office table with a


    slightly hrious expression; it disyed signs of worry, anxiety, and fear all at once.


    While pacing around, he mumbled, "How did she know that we had someone instructing us?"


    Noah, who saw that he was not looking at him, tantly rolled his eyes at him. "Mr. Adams, Miss Reed


    is no fool. The news is fake and there aren''t any cracks in their rtionship. Us publishing this news


    when their rtionship is so solid is just tantly insulting them. And, what kind of small scale


    company like us would dare to offend President Fuller? Who knew, that was exactly what we did. This


    was no different than announcing to everybody that someone is backing us."


    Mitch stopped walking, for his face turned pale. "I didn''t think of this. What should we do now?"


    Looking at Noah, he wore a panicked expression. "If we''re only creating baseless rumors, that would


    still be fine; now that they know we did it for money, it would only get worse for us. If President Fuller


    really wants to target us, we won''t even have the slightest chance of resisting. We''re in deep trouble


    now!"


    Noah was smirking inside. Now, you''re afraid? Then, why did you do what you did?


    Even though he was thinking of it, Noah did not dare to say it as heforted Mitch, "What do you


    have to be afraid of, Mr. Adams? Didn''t you say that you did it because the woman was a capable one?


    She said that she would be able to keep thepany and you safe even when President Fuller is


    targeting us, didn''t she? So, what do you have to be worried about?"


    "Yeah, she did say that." Initially shocked, Mitch thenughed. "Oh my, I was frightened by your words


    earlier. This hadpletely slipped my mind. Yes, she did say that, so we don''t have to worry about


    anything."


    After that, Mitch sat back and let Noah pour him another cup of coffee.


    Doing that, Noah set the cup in front of him as his eyes glimmered before he asked, "Mr. Adams, now


    that we don''t have to worry about President Fuller, what about Miss Reed?"


    Mitch sipped on the coffee before sneering, "We''re not even worrying about the big guy, so why should


    we concern ourselves with the little wife? She''s just some princess from a fallen family. She''s nothing


    without President Fuller. Besides, she''ll be even less of a threat when President Fuller breaks up with


    her."


    Smiling, Noah kissed up to him. "You''re right, Mr. Adams, but how are you so sure that they will break


    up?"


    Mitch wiggled his plump finger while looking high and mighty. "This is something you don''t know. You


    haven''t been in a rtionship, right? Men care about their reputation. Even though the scandal is fake,


    Sonia did enter the hotel with that random Charles. Now that the surveince has been wiped, they


    can''t prove their innocence entirely. Also, with how trending this news is right now and the help of our


    people spreading the rumors online, almost everybody believes that Sonia cheated on President Fuller.


    So, even if he believes that Sonia did not do that, doubts would start to form in his mind. When a man


    has these kinds of doubts, he will not be able to erase them as these thoughts will only encroach upon


    his mind. Even if they won''t break up now, they will still do it sooner orter. Just sit back and watch."


    "So, I see. You''re really something else, Mr. Adams. You know so much." Noah gave him a thumbs up.


    In a good mood, Mitchughed heartily. "That''s nothing. Since I''ve lived twenty years more than you,


    it''s only natural that I know more than you. You''ll know more of these wisdoms when you get to my


    age."


    "I understand. I look up to you, Mr. Adams. You''re my role model," Noah said proudly.All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Mitch, who was slowly liking his words, started to admire him as well.


    Seeing this, Noah knew that the time was opportune, so he asked, "Mr. Adams, I''m still curious about


    something. Who is this woman? How does she actually have the ability to save ourpany from


    President Fuller''s attack? I''ve never heard of anydy from a prominent family that has such an


    influence."


    Thanks to his non-stop praises earlier, Mitch''s impression of Noah had improved a lot, so he did not


    bother to hide the truth from him this time.


    Taking another sip of his coffee, he said, "If you really wanna know, I don''t mind letting you in on that


    little secret."


    "Okay." With bright eyes, Noah stuck his hands into his suit pants.


    Ignoring his actions, Mitch ced his cup down and continued, "The reason why she can save our


    company from President Fuller is not because she has a prominent family backing her..."

 Chapter 1046

    Chapter 1046


    "She''s not?" Noah was shocked, as he did not believe his own ears.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    She could protect ourpany, but she isn''t actually relying on her family''s backing to do so!


    Even if he said this, nobody would believe him.


    "Does the woman have some special privilege that President Fuller has to amodate for?" Noah


    asked the chief editor.


    Waving his hand, Mitch replied, "Of course not. It''s because of her grandfather."


    "Grandfather?"


    "That''s right." Mitch nodded. "He''s a Lore, the old master, Harry Lore."


    "You mean the family who does online business? That Lore Family?" Noah rubbed his chin.


    Mitch grunted. "Yeah, that one. You might not know this, but Harry was once a professor in economics;


    he is also President Fuller''s mentor. So, you could say that Harry had a hand in President Fuller''s


    sess. As for Harry''s granddaughter, she''s almost the same age as President Fuller, so I guess that


    they are childhood friends. Even if his granddaughter did something wrong, President Fuller would still


    forgive her on ount of his teacher. Now, do you understand why I''m not afraid of Fuller''s revenge?"


    "That''s why." Noah nodded. As if he wanted to confirm something, he asked again, "Then Mr. Adams,


    is President Fuller close with Miss Lore?"


    Mitch grew hesitant due to his question. "I''m not too sure, but I don''t care either. Everything will be fme


    as long as we have Harry."


    "That''s right." Noah smiled and took his hands out of his pocket. "Mr. Adams, if there''s nothing else, I''m


    going to take some tools and clean this mess."


    "Go ahead." Mitch nodded.


    Noah turned around and walked out. The moment he closed the door, he immediately took his phone


    and called Sonia.


    Seeing the caller, Sonia had a hint of surprise in his eyes.


    She obviously did not think that the person would contact her this quickly.


    Did something happen?


    Without hesitation, she answered immediately, "Hello?"


    "Miss Reed, I got it. I found out everything you wanted." Clenching the phone, Noah could not hide his


    excitement.


    Sonia was stunned.


    Even though she had guessed the content, she still could not hide her excitement.


    "Really?" She straightened her back and said in an urging tone.


    He nodded profusely. "Yup."


    "That''s great. Quick, say who it is?" She had a face of ecstasy.


    Noah did not bother to withhold the information as he told her everything he heard from Mitch.


    After hearing it all, a stiff expression was painted on her face. "What did you say? It''s Mr. Lore''s


    granddaughter?"


    "That''s right."


    Frowning, Sonia stayed silent, for a torrent of emotions swirled inside her.


    It''s actually Mr. Lore''s granddaughter.


    Mr. Lore...


    If memories serve me right, Toby did mention about Mr. Lore in our video call this morning, didn''t he?


    I didn''t think that it would be so coincidental that the person who created the scandal between me and


    Charles in order to destroy my rtionship with Toby... was actually his granddaughter.


    Does Mr. Lore know about this?


    Also, if Toby knows that it is his granddaughter that did it, how will he deal with it?


    This was because before the video call ended, the person Toby was going to meet was Harry.


    When Toby mentioned him, he spoke of him in a very respectful tone, so it was clear what he thought


    about him.


    Yet, the person that was behind all this was his granddaughter. Even Sonia was not too sure about how


    Toby would react when he was stuck between her and Harry.


    At that point, numerous thoughts flooded her brain.


    She only thought that the person behind all this was someone that adored Toby and had an influential


    family.


    However, she did not expect that the perpetrator would have such a rtionship with Toby.


    No wonder she guaranteed the safety of thepany.


    At first, she thought that the culprit was just exaggerating. Now that she knew the truth, Sonia thought


    that she was too naive.


    With this kind of rtionship in mind, Toby would naturally spare Squirrel Media on ount of Harry.


    This was with the assumption that he regarded the Lore Family more important than her.


    Hence, she was not sure who Toby ced more importance on¡ªher or the Lore Family?


    She had no way ofparing as well.


    On the other side of the phone, Noah, who did not hear the reply from Sonia, called out to her, "Miss


    Reed? Miss Reed?"


    With a glimmer in her eyes, she snapped back to reality, "I''m still here."


    "Is everything alright, Miss Reed?"


    "It''s nothing." Sonia rubbed her temples and sighed somewhat tiringly. "I want to confirm something. Is


    Toby''s teacher from that Lore Family?"


    I hope not.


    Even though the possibility might be low.


    Noah, who did not know what Sonia was thinking of, nodded and replied, "He is indeed. I still have the


    recording from the chief editor. I recorded it for this purpose. If you want it, I can send it to you."


    "Okay." Sonia squeezed out a smile after a brief silence.


    "So, Miss Reed, about the job..." Noah rubbed his hands and smiled gleefully.


    Now, Sonia was not sure if she could arrange a job for him at Fuller Group, since it was something that


    concerned Toby and the Lores.


    If she was not as important as the Lore Family, then obviously Toby would not punish Lte.


    This would cause Sonia to be dissatisfied, in turn, creating an invisible barrier between them.


    If that happened, would she still have the cheek to ce him at the Fuller Group?


    I doubt so.


    So, she was uncertain.


    Still, revealing her hesitancy right now would only sound like she was lying to him in the first ce.


    Besides, she also did not know whether he would do anything rash after knowing that he assumed he


    was scammed.


    All in all, she felt a massive headacheing in.


    Yet, she could not think of any other way to go about it yet, so she could only word it ambiguously.


    "Don''t worry. I will arrange it for you. Let''s talk about that another time."


    Regardless of the circumstances, she had to please him first.


    I will just think of another way to make good on my promise.


    If I can''tnd him that job, I can reimburse him financially.


    This is all I can do for now.


    Hearing Sonia''s words, Noah nodded gratefully. "Okay. I''ll thank you in advance then, Miss Reed. I''ll


    send you the recording right now."


    "Okay," replied Sonia.


    Ending the call, she let out a fatigued sigh.


    The next second, her phone''s notification bell rang¡ªNoah had sent over a voice file.


    Sitting up straight, Sonia set aside the troublesome issues for now, as it was more important to listen to


    the recording.


    She opened the file and listened to it with a serious expression.


    After that, she closed her eyes.


    The content of the recording is the same as what Noah has described with minimal difference.


    It is confirmed that the mastermind behind this is Mr. Lore''s granddaughter.


    What was new to her was that Toby actually had a childhood friend.


    With that, Sonia formed an ambiguous smile.


    This was not because she was upset at Toby having a childhood friend.


    After all, she had one too, which is Charles.


    Hence, she told herself that she would not set up double standards on such affairs.


    She was only upset that he did not let on to her about his childhood friend and that the friend had such


    thoughts toward him.


    Just as she was pondering about this, the phone in her hand rang.


    Looking down, Sonia saw Toby''s name appear on the screen, making her heartbeat rise instantly.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1047

    Chapter 1047


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    Toby called at this precise moment. He was most likely aware of the scandal circting on the Inte.


    However, Sonia was unsure if he knew who was behind everything.


    What will he do if he finds out?


    Her heart was racing as she looked at Toby''s caller ID. It took her a while to answer with a weak voice.


    "Hello?"


    "Hello, Miss Reed." To her surprise, it was Tom on the other end of the phone, not Toby.


    "Miss Reed, this is Tom. I apologize. President Fuller is currently in a meeting with his client. I made the


    decision to call you using his mobile phone," Tom borated.


    Oh...


    Sonia''s red lips pressed together. Frankly, she was a little disappointed that it was not Toby who had


    called.


    "What''s the matter, Toby?" she asked in the midst of her mild headache.


    At that time, she was convinced that something was going on in her head that caused her uneasiness.


    "I heard about the issue on the Inte, Miss Reed. Are you alright?" Tom inquired, concerned.


    His words did not surprise Sonia.


    She had already deduced that he had called for this purpose and that he was simply asking for the


    sake of asking.


    "I''m fine," Sonia responded while shaking her head. She then narrowed her eyes and asked, "Tom,


    does Toby know about this?"


    "He doesn''t, yet. He''s still in a meeting with someone important, but don''t get the wrong idea¡ªthe


    client is Toby''s male teacher," he quickly exined because he was afraid she would be mistaken that


    Toby was meeting a woman.


    Sonia almost burst intoughter upon hearing his words.


    Tom mentioned that the individual was important to Toby, which made her nervous. It was not the fact


    that he had a teacher that made her ufortable but the existence of said teacher''s granddaughter.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Despite her difort, Sonia did not express it on her face. "I know. Toby told me about him. I''m okay,"


    she said while forcing a smile.


    "That''s great." Tom sighed with relief.


    "What about you, Tom? Do you believe what''s on the Inte to be true?" she asked, her eyes


    lowering.


    Instead, heughed as if he had heard a joke. "Miss Reed, aren''t you implying that my IQ is low? That


    kind of Inte nonsense appears to be fake at first nce. Furthermore, President Fuller informed me


    of the errand you both ran at the hotel yesterday. I even sent Mr. Smith a personal thank-you note."


    "Do you really believe everything on the Inte to be a hoax?" Sonia''s face gradually brightened.


    "Of course, not just me; I think President Fuller will not believe it when he sees it as well. After all, you


    have a close rtionship with him and would never do such a thing to him. Furthermore, despite the


    blurry photo, I immediately recognized the man as President Lane when I clicked on it. As a result, it''s


    even less likely that you''ll do something like that. You shouldn''t worry about President Fuller''s doubt


    toward you, Miss Reed. I''ll give him a detailed exnation after he finishes his meeting. He will never


    let go of the people who are using you and the Squirrel Media," Tom assured, nodding.


    The Squirrel Media dared to risk offending Toby by spreading such rumors, indicating that they were


    clearly acting on orders from outside sources.


    In other words, whoever dared to do such a thing would have to pay the price.


    "That''s very presumptuous of you to say." Sonia lowered her eyes, making it difficult to see theplex


    look in her eyes.


    Tom only said this because he was oblivious to who was spreading the rumors. Would he still be so


    confident that the mastermind will be captured if he''s aware?


    "What do you mean, Miss Reed?" Tom, who failed to understand what she was saying, inquired. He


    found her words suspicious.


    Sonia closed her eyes and concluded, "It''s okay, you''ll get it sooner orter."


    "Huh?" He was surprised.


    Refusing to exin further, she pinched the bridge of her nose before responding, "I''m a little tired. I''ll


    hang up first."


    "Okay, Miss Reed. Take a rest. Don''t worry, we''ll take care of it," Tom reassured.


    Sonia gave a light hum before hanging up the phone.


    Tom looked at the home screen of the phone and noticed something was off. Miss Reed''s reaction was


    unusual as if she''s full of thoughts.


    However, it was not something he should mull over as this was clearly Toby''s job scope.


    She was his darling after all.


    "Hey!" Tom eximed at the door after cing Toby''s phone on the table.


    "How may I assist you, Mr. Brown?" asked a man in a suit.


    "Please notify the public rtions department to suppress the Inte scandals, especially those vile


    comments. Have them all removed immediately. Please also investigate which spam groups are behind


    all of this. The news was also retweeted by major media and marketing ounts. Please summarize


    them and forward them to President Fuller for future action," Tom instructed with a nk expression.


    "Yes, sir." The man nodded.


    "In addition, please investigate the perpetrator who was spreading the false rumors and report it to me


    immediately," Tom added.


    "Roger that," the man said as he turned to leave.


    Tom cursed inside as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ah, give me a break. Why does trouble keep


    knocking on Miss Reed''s door? Now, who''s the jealousss this time?


    In actuality, Sonia was not the only one who had correctly guessed the perpetrator to be a woman as


    Tom was aware of it too.


    He believed that Sonia was most likely in a bad mood and spirit right now because she suspected the


    person behind the scenes to be a woman who fancied Toby, exining her uneasiness.


    As such, Toby''s poprity with women was to me. There were far too many women who were


    interested in him!


    However, Toby did warn the women to stop entangling him. Otherwise, he might be ruthless toward


    them. As a result, none of the women who were interested in Toby had approached him over the years


    thanks to his warning and clever tricks.


    This time round, a woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Perhaps the woman was in hibernation


    when Toby announced his warning at that time, or she thought that he had be gentler recently,


    making him an easier target now. Otherwise, what made her think she had a chance now?


    Regardless, this woman would only suffer.


    Tom readjusted his sses and picked up Toby''s phone before leaving the office. He then made his


    way to the conference room.


    Although he had no idea how long Toby would be speaking with Harry, he waited there so that he could


    inform Toby of the situation as soon as possible.


    When Tom entered the conference room, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar.


    Therefore, he could see Toby and Harry conversing.


    Harry was also dressed in a formal suit. Despite his head of white hair, his face was ruddy and


    energetic with no cane in sight. At first nce, he appeared to be an elderly man in good health who


    kept fit through constant exercise.


    Being a sharp one, Harry noticed Tom''s arrival almost immediately. "Toby, your assistant appears to


    have something to tell you," he notified with a smile.

 Chapter 1048

    Chapter 1048


    Facing against Tom, Toby turned around to find him standing outside the door with a tense expression


    on his face.


    Toby knew his assistant well; with an expression like this, he was sure something was wrong and it


    could not be minor.


    "I''m sorry, Harry. Please excuse me," Toby apologized to Harry, who sat across from him.


    Knowing what he was about to say, Harry picked up the teacup and smiled. "It''s fine. You can take care


    of your business first. I don''t mind waiting for you; I''m not in a hurry."


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    "All right, then. Please wait a moment, Harry." Toby nodded and waved to Tom outside the door.


    Tom walked over after noticing Toby''s gesture. "President Fuller."


    "What''s the matter?" Toby asked, his gaze fixed on Tom.


    Tom did not respond immediately, instead, he cast a nce at Harry, who was drinking tea across from


    Toby.


    "Harry is not an outsider, so it doesn''t matter," Toby assured when he saw this.


    "Okay." After hearing Toby''s words, Tom was naturally relieved. He nodded and turned to Toby.


    "President Fuller, something happened to Miss Reed."


    "What exactly happened?" Toby''s expression changed and his tone became tense.


    Tom''s lips parted and was about to respond when Harry, who was drinking tea, abruptly put down his


    cup and asked, "Is Miss Reed the woman you got back together with after your divorce?"


    "Yes." Toby gave a small nod.


    "Speaking of which, I haven''t seen her in a long time," Harry said as he touched the teacup, his smile


    widening.


    Toby did not notice anything wrong with Harry''s expression; he simply assumed he was intrigued by


    Sonia. As a result, he replied, "You will also attend the banquet in the mall soon. By then, I''ll introduce


    you to each other."


    "There''s no need to rush." Harry raised his hand, clearly indicating that he was not too keen to meet


    Sonia.


    To put it bluntly, he was not fond of her.


    "Harry, you seem to have some opinions about her, don''t you?" Toby''s shallow smile faded gradually.


    For a brief moment, Harry was taken aback because he had not expected to be exposed.


    Am I being too obvious?


    Though stunned, Harry was not embarrassed when Toby was aware of his dislike toward Sonia.


    Instead, his expression remained as calm as it had always been before he admitted it openly and


    graciously.


    "I actually do," Harry replied, nodding.


    His words made Toby frown.


    Tom, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. The old man just straight up stated that he dislikes Miss


    Reed. He really doesn''t hold back his words from President Fuller, does he?


    After all, no one can ept the person they like being disliked by others.


    Even if Harry has reservations toward Miss Reed, he should remain silent. Why does he have to air his


    dirtyundry?


    Point is, he is in President Fuller''s office right now. How ironic.


    "Harry, may I ask what the reason is?" Toby asked in a low voice with his thin lips pursed.


    Harry maintained a friendly smile on his face as if he could not understand Toby''s discontent. "It''s a


    simple reason, really. She''s just not good enough for you," he exined.


    Even Tom''s lips twitched when he heard Harry''s words, let alone Toby''s reaction.


    Not good enough?


    He sure is witty!


    No one else''s opinions matter as long as President Fuller likes Miss Reed. Not Old Mrs. Fuller has said


    such a bizarre thing. She even adores Miss Reed!


    As a result, Miss Reed was approved and weed into the Fuller Family wholeheartedly.


    Isn''t it ironic for an outsider to say something like that?


    "I''m sorry, Harry, but I must disagree with you. I believe she is the best match for me." Toby sat back,


    his face darkening.


    This time, Harry could not pretend that he had not noticed Toby''s displeasure in his tone.


    After all, Harry''s continued pretense would be seen as deliberate seeing that Toby had made his stance


    clear.


    "Am I not speaking the truth, Toby?" Looking at Toby, Harry inquired.


    Speechless, Toby''s face gave nothing away.


    Harry clenched his fist around the teacup as his first impression of Sonia worsened.


    His students, in his opinion, had always had the highest regard for him and they almost never


    disagreed with him.


    After being with Sonia now, Toby had a series of disagreements with him.


    She was clearly the one who had brought bad influence to his student.


    At that point, Harry''s face had lost its friendly expression before it turned gloomy and serious.


    "Toby, don''t you understand? You are the head of the Fullers and she is just a daughter from a fallen


    wealthy family. She is an adopted child unknown even to her biological parents. She has no


    outstanding family background and ability. How can such a woman be worthy of you? She can''t even


    assist you in any aspects. Don''t forget that your father was ridiculed for marrying a woman like her as


    well. Do you want to follow his footsteps?" questioned Harry.


    He was thoroughly upset because Toby had not turned out as he had hoped.


    "Harry, I''m with Sonia not because of her family background but my genuine feelings for her. I love her,


    so I want to be with her. Although she''s just a girl from an ordinary family, as long as I like her, she''s


    worthy of me. Furthermore, the Fuller Group is strong enough; an arranged marriage is no longer


    required, so I don''t need a wife with an outstanding family background and strong ability to help me


    strengthen mypany. I''m strong enough to keep the Fuller Group prosperous, so my wife can


    simply be who she is. I don''t need my wife to work her life away just to support me. She can simply


    bask in all the glory and riches under my protection," Toby rebuked with a deep frown.


    He paused for a while as his eyes narrowed slightly before adding, "As for my dad, I believe you''re


    cracking a joke here. It''s true that my father was mocked a lot, but that was because he had just


    inherited the Fuller Group and wasn''t strong enough then. He had not established his own business


    authority, but I am different here. I inherited the Fuller Group at a young age and brought it to its current


    position of strength and prosperity. I''m also a well-known and respected business figure, so no one


    dares to mock me or my wife. Trust me when I say I''ll skin them if they do so!" His demeanor was icy


    and threatening, especially when delivering thest sentence.


    Even if Harry did not think Toby was warning him, he could not help but be intimidated at this point as


    his face turned pale for a moment.


    However, the experienced old man quickly regained hisposure and sighed. "You truly are in love


    with her, huh? I see you''ve poured your heart out for her." He pointed at Toby.


    "I love her, so I must give her my heart. Otherwise, what''s love?" Toby pursed his lips.


    "You..." In rage. Harry choked on his words.


    Tom, who was standing next to Toby, lowered his head slightly while resisting the urge tough.


    Oh... Fuller. I never expected any less from you. With just a few words, you''ve managed to enrage this


    old man. Ha!

 Chapter 1049

    Chapter 1049


    Tom raised his head slightly and secretly cast a nce at Toby. He was overjoyed when he saw Harry''s


    expression as if he had just stepped on poop.


    Indeed, he was relieved to see that Toby''s words had defeated Harry as Tom never liked this old man


    to begin with.


    Harry, who was Toby''s teacher, always treated assistants like him rudely by exerting his seniority over


    them.


    For instance, Harry yelled at Toby''s assistants when Toby was not around and ordered them to serve


    him as if they were his own people; his granddaughter did the very same.


    Since Harry was Toby''s senior, Tom was unable to tell Toby about many things as he had to keep the


    issues hidden out of respect.


    I''m afraid President Fuller is still unaware that his teacher is far from being so kind and gentle when


    he''s around others.


    Harry is, in reality, a snobbish old man who despises the poor and kisses the wealthy''s *ss.


    Toby was unaware of Tom''s thoughts. As he observed Harry''s stunned and speechless expression, his


    attitude softened.


    After all, Harry was still his respected teacher.


    "I''m sorry, Harry. I went overboard earlier. Allow me to apologize to you. Please forgive my behavior,"


    Toby said as he leaned over and poured Harry a cup of tea before serving it to him.


    Harry''s darkplexion improved when he saw the tea that his student had poured for him. He sipped


    the tea as an indication that he had epted Toby''s apology.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    However, his dislike for Sonia had progressed from displeasure to mere disgust.


    He imed that Toby was siding with Sonia and refuting him because of her; if this continued, he would


    end his rtionship with Toby himself.


    No, I can''t let Sonia be with Toby because it will eventually hurt him.


    After some thought, Harry set the teacup down and frowned. "Toby, since you said that the Fullers don''t


    need any arranged marriages and that you don''t care about your wife''s background, then at this point, I


    don''t have much to say."


    Toby sipped his tea and was about to thank Harry for his patience when he heard Harry continue, "You


    can choose to not care about her family background or capabilities, but what about her attitude and


    etiquettes?"


    "What exactly do you mean?" Toby paused for a moment while holding the teacup, then raised his eyes


    and stared at the old man sitting across from him.


    Harry chuckled. "It''s simple. This girl is incapable and she ispletely unworthy of you. I won''t


    comment on her family''s ability, but I''m sure her well-being is not decent."


    Toby was wearing a frosty expression as he replied, "You''re going too far, don''t you think? You haven''t


    even met her, so how can you disrespect her as a person like that?"


    President Fuller is right. Tom nodded in agreement, mocking Harry in his heart.


    Neither President Fuller nor Old Mrs. Fuller thought Miss Reed is a bad person.


    It''s absurd enough that you, an old man, are pointing the finger here.


    Harry could see that Toby was unhappy once again as a result of his own words. He felt downcast for a


    while and was even more convinced that this was all Sonia''s fault.


    In the past, Toby had always obeyed his words and never dared to oppose them. Now, he disagreed


    with almost everything he said.


    Sonia is clearly to me!


    Harry inhaled deeply and temporarily suppressed his disgust for the woman. "I haven''t seen her, but


    I''ve always heard of her. I heard you were going to marry her when I was abroad and I disagreed at the


    time. However, you insisted. Tell me, what happened in the end? It didn''t go well, did it?" he asked


    solemnly, looking at Toby.


    Silent, Toby lowered his eyelids, leaving everyone wondering what he was thinking.


    Harry, on the other hand, took Toby''s silence as an agreement to his own words as he continued, "And


    then came the chaotic divorce, which I only knew you married in the first ce because she forced you.


    I can see how cunning she is from the way she threatens the head of an upper-ss family, but I didn''t


    expect you to reconcile after only a few months of divorce."


    Continuing with a sigh, "She must have done something for you two to reconcile, right? She was able


    to force you to marry her back then, so it''s not impossible for her to force you to get back together now.


    Overall, this woman..."


    "Harry," Toby interrupted his words by raising his head before looking at him with indifference.


    Intimidated by his cold expression, the old man''s face turned pale.


    Toby... He actually has the audacity to look me in the eyes this way just to protect an indecent woman


    like her!


    Harry was so enraged that his breathing became erratic. He quickly put down the teacup and patted his


    chest as if he was about to pass out from suffocation.


    Toby''s expression changed slightly as he noticed this before standing up abruptly. "Harry."


    "Harry," Tom called out as he approached the old man and helped him up.


    As much as Tom did not agree with Harry, he was Toby''s mentor after all. Therefore, he could not


    possibly ignore the old man in need of help. It would make things difficult for President Fuller if Harry


    dies in his office.


    Tom assisted Harry in getting up and allowing him to lean against the back of the couch. Harry''s


    breathing became more rapid and his face became increasingly pale.


    Not letting any seconds go to waste, Toby dashed forward, rummaging through Harry''s pockets before


    pulling out a small medicine bottle, which revealed two white pills.


    When Tom saw the pills, he forced open Harry''s mouth without Toby''s instruction so that Toby could


    feed Harry the medication.


    Tom hurriedly turned around after Toby ced the pills in Harry''s mouth, picked up the teacup on the


    coffee table, and fed Harry water, which flushed the pills into his stomach.


    Soon after the pills took effect, Harry''s breathing gradually calmed and his pale face flushed. Evidently,


    his condition had improved and he was no longer on the verge of a heart attack.


    Toby and Tom''s tightened chests finally were able to catch a breath of relieving air.


    Tom returned to his spot while Toby sat back down on the couch. Looking at his mentor, he inquired,


    "Harry, are you feeling better now? If there is any difort, I will request Tom to summon the doctor. "


    Though the old man had fully recovered at this point, he was still furious with Toby. Unimpressed by


    Toby''s concern, he snorted coldly at him. "Save it. You have yet to piss me off to death."


    "Harry, I don''t think I''m pissing you off," Toby responded with a nk expression.


    "Are you sure that you''re not pissing me off? You bore a piercing stare at me just to defend Sonia! You


    ¡ª" Harry was trembling with rage.


    "You''re the one who said the wrong things in the first ce. Of course, I''m upset with you," Tony argued


    as he raised his gaze.


    The implication was that if Harry''s words irritated Toby, Toby would adopt the same attitude and


    reciprocate it toward him. Who cared if he was his mentor?


    Once again, Harry became enraged after learning the meaning of Toby''s words.


    He would not be in good health right now had he not taken the medication; he might just be out of


    breath again.

 Chapter 1050

    Chapter 1050


    Harry approached Toby as if it were the first time they had met. He sighed in frustration after watching


    him for a while. "Okay. Since you said I was wrong, please, enlighten me."


    "You''re wrong from the beginning till the end." Toby folded his legs and looked at him calmly, adding,


    "You said that she married me because she was ckmailing me, making her a cunning person. But


    think about it; how could she have done that given my identity?


    Harry was silent upon hearing that as he was clearly taken aback. Obviously, he had not pondered over


    this. However, he quickly made another excuse as he rebutted, "Perhaps she''s after something else."


    His words made Toby chuckle. "Do you think your words make sense, Harry? Do you realize how many


    people are after me?


    There are so many smart individuals out there, but none of them is able to go against me, so how could


    she? Since you''re so aware of my personality, do you believe that I''ll keep the woman who threatens


    me around? I''ll make her disappear right away."


    Toby''s words froze Harry in his tracks, causing his face to flush.


    Tom, who was beside Toby, snickered and covered his lips.


    Toby is the only one who can get Harry to shut the heck up.


    "Then, tell me. Why did you insist on marrying her? Wasn''t the Gray Family girl the only woman you


    cared about at that time?" Harry refused to give in. He still believed their marriage to be orchestrated


    by Sonia.


    "I''ve never liked Miss Gray. Sonia is the only one who''s had my heart, but..." Toby arched his brow


    before continuing, "In short, as you are aware, I adore Sonia since day one. I want to marry her


    because I love her and there is no other reason."


    Despite being hypnotized at the time and was unable to recognize Sonia as Maple, he still had feelings


    for Sonia and cared about her subconsciously; otherwise, why would he agree without hesitation when


    she proposed marriage?


    As he previously stated, no one could ckmail him; even if they did, he would simply make them


    disappear.


    "You said you loved her, so why did you treat her so badly six years ago? Though I didn''t see for myself


    how you guys got along, I heard it somewhere else. Why hurt her when you love her, and why divorce


    her if you swear she''s the only one?" Harry questioned after listening to Toby''s response.


    "Everything happens for a reason. This is our privacy and I''m not going to tell you everything, Harry,"


    Toby responded quietly, his eyes lowered.


    "Okay, fair enough. If you don''t want to talk about it, that''s fine. Still, I stand on my ground that she''s not


    good enough for you. You can see how much trouble she''s caused after your divorce. How many times


    did you clean up the mess she made? Had she been a properdy with proper manners, she would


    have caused fewer problems and attracted less criticism! Hmph, I guess she did something bad again


    this time." Harry sneered at Tom while pointing at him.


    "You''re free to dislike Sonia, Harry. Everyone has their preferences and I cannot force you to like her. I


    won''t bring her to see you as well, but you should not smear and insult her. You''re disrespecting her


    and belittling me as your student," Toby said after he cast a nce at Tom.


    "When did I belittle you?" Harry''s face darkened.


    "Sonia is my love and I am happy with my choice. Your smearing of her simply belittles my perspective


    on people. Isn''t this belittling?" Toby averted his gaze to Harry; his eyes were unmistakably cold.


    At this point, Harry''s constant disparagement of Sonia clearly irritated Toby.


    "You''re also mistaken in one aspect, Harry." Toby rose to his feet, his hands in his trouser pockets as


    he said with a t voice, "It''s true that a lot has happened to her since the divorce, but not a single


    incident was initiated by her; it was all because others envied, resented, and harmed her. In addition, I


    did not resolve these issues for her. I only assisted her from behind. Only she has the ability to truly


    solve the issues. Don''t get me wrong, but she''s much better than you think."


    Tom was about to apud upon hearing Toby''s exnation. President Fuller speaks with the


    professionalism that is expected of him.


    "It is gettingte and I have other business to get to. I''ll take your coboration into consideration and


    send someone to notify you when I''ve made the decision. You should go first, Harry," Toby concluded.


    Undoubtedly, the old man''s face was pale and funny, his old eyes were wide and he stared at Toby in


    disbelief.


    He was shocked that Toby drove him away! This had never happened before...


    Harry, on the other hand, was well-aware that his repeated devaluation of Sonia had enraged Toby to


    the point where he had to chase him away.


    As such, Sonia appeared to have an utmost importance in Toby''s heart.


    Furthermore, her wooing strategy was more sessful than Harry had anticipated.


    Toby had be so enamored with her that he had driven his own mentor away.


    Not only that, he also did not immediately agree to the coboration n Harry had proposed.


    Inparison, Toby had previously agreed without hesitation to all of Harry''s cooperative ns. Now,


    he chased Harry away and dyed the approval of his ns simply because he criticized Sonia.


    Is this necessary?


    Toby has fallen head over heels for Sonia before they even remarried.


    If they remarry and Sonia is made aware of my criticisms for her, she will definitelyin to him.


    I''m afraid that Toby would no longer treat me as his respected mentor.


    No. I must do everything possible to keep Toby from spending his life with Sonia.


    As he considered it, Harry''s eyes shed a determined, fleeting look.


    Obviously, not right now.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby is enraged and dissatisfied with me right now. I''m afraid that if I mention Sonia again, I will


    inherently destroy my rtionship with Toby.


    In short, this is a long-term problem that must be addressed gradually.


    At the thought, Harry exhaled a breath. He calmed down and reverted to the kind and amiable man he


    once was. "All right. You can go ahead and settle your business. I''ll head back first," he said with a


    smile.


    "I''ll have someone send you off," Toby offered as he nodded at Tom.


    "This way, Harry." Tom made a gesture toward the door.


    Harry hummed as he exited the conference room.


    Staring at the vanished guest, Toby averted his gaze and sat down again. He then massaged his


    temples and his face was a little unsightly from the exhaustion.


    He had no idea that Harry would be so upset with Sonia and have such a negative opinion of her to the


    point of speaking disparagingly about her before him.

 Chapter 1051

    Chapter 1051


    Toby was not dull, so how could he have missed what Harry was trying to say to him? The old man


    wanted to smear Toby''s impression of Sonia in order to min their rtionship.


    It was just that Toby had not expected his teacher to still be hooked on the concept of social hierarchy.


    Sure, it was important for most of the rich and powerful families to marry within their social ss.


    However, it was not necessary for the Fullers and there was no need for arranged marriages as well.


    The Fuller Family''s development was now saturated and at its peak. Therefore, the country would not


    allow the Fullers to continue to expand.


    As a result, there would not be any problem for Toby to marry a woman from an ordinary family.


    Furthermore, he hadplete control over who he loved and who he wished to marry. After all, he was


    the only one who would spend his entire life with Sonia.


    No one had the authority to oppose their rtionship as long as they did not harm or trouble the others


    when they were together.


    Harry, on the other hand, waspletely ignorant of everything and even attempted to force him to


    end his rtionship with Sonia and marry some other wealthy woman.


    Ironically, Toby had predicted that Harry would like Sonia and nned to bring her to meet him


    someday. To his surprise, his teacher had such strong negative feelings for her. It appeared it was not a


    good idea for them to meet each other now to prevent Sonia from getting hurt.


    Harry is such a snob. I''m not sure if it''s because of his age or because of his personality. This is


    something I''ve never seen before.


    But, whatever it is, he shouldn''t even try to interfere with, let alone end my rtionship with Sonia.


    Toby''s expression went cold as he thought and a dim light shone in his eyes.


    At that moment, footsteps could be heard outside of the conference room.


    The next second, the footsteps came to a halt, followed by a knock on the door. "President Fuller." Tom


    had returned after sending off Harry.


    "Come in," Toby said as he collected his thoughts.


    Tom entered the room after hearing Toby''s instructions.


    "Has Harry left?" Toby poured himself another cup of tea.


    "Yes. I saw him get into his car and I only leave after his car disappears from my sight," Tom assured,


    nodding.


    Toby hummed to acknowledge him. He then sipped his tea and inquired, "Now tell me, what happened


    to Little Leaf?"


    "Yes," Tom replied before exining what had happened on the Inte.


    Toby''s face changed dramatically as he heard this and went silent.


    "Why did you only tell me such big news now?" he questioned Tom coldly.


    "President Fuller, I didn''t know about this matter until earlier. I was resting at home this morning and


    only arrived at the Fuller Group half an hour ago. I only learned about Miss Reed''s scandal through the


    group employee discussions. After that, I immediately called Miss Reed using your phone to assure


    her. Following that, I quickly requested that the public rtions department suppress the viral news on


    the Inte, delete all the negativements, and report the ounts and major media that spread


    the scandals. I immediately came to you after I finished that," Tom hurriedly exined.


    Toby realized he had misunderstood Tom after hearing his words. His sullen expression improved


    slightly, but his tense body remained. "Please hand me the phone."


    "All right," Tom said, quickly reaching into his suit pocket for Toby''s phone and handing it over.


    He grabbed it, hoping to find messages from Sonia, but his brows twisted when he saw that there were


    none from her. After recalling that Tom had phoned her, it could exin why she did not look for Toby


    after that.


    "How was Little Leafs mood at that time?" Toby clenched his phone and asked Tom.


    "It''s not very good," Tom replied, "and Miss Reed''s voice seemed a little dull. She must have suffered


    greatly as a result of this situation."


    Sonia was obviously just attending her own business with Charles and Brian, but she was


    photographed for no other reason than to cause Inte scandals.


    Nobody could stand such a heinous act.


    Toby''s heart tightened as he heard that Sonia was upset and his breath became quicker. "Did you find


    out who did it?" he asked.


    Tom had told him that the Squirrel Media was the first to report about the scandal.


    Still, the Squirrel Media was merely a rogue agency. There was no way they would do something like


    this without instructions from someone else. As a result, someone despicable must have forced


    Squirrel Media to do so.


    The person who spread such false rumors to smear Sonia was not only bullying his wife, but also


    ruining his reputation.


    Toby would do anything to capture the culprit behind this.


    "Not yet. I only just learned about this, so no order to investigate has been issued," Tom admitted


    before adding, "But what is certain is that the person behind the scenes is a woman."


    "A woman?" Toby was stunned.


    "Yes, the Squirrel Media photos and texts are intended to mislead everyone into believing Miss Reed is


    cheating, because cheating is the most uneptable thing for a couple. The perpetrator intends to use


    this to destroy your rtionship with Miss Reed. After all, there are numerous ways to destroy Miss


    Reed and this isn''t the only one. As a result, there''s an eighty percent chance that the culprit is a


    woman, and she..."


    Tom took a brief pause before raising his head and quietly looking at Toby. "The culprit is likely a


    woman who is interested in you, President Fuller." He coughed.


    After hearing this, Toby''s expression darkened.


    Tom added, "President Fuller, Miss Reed has already guessed this and she''s most likely in a foul mood


    because of that. Apart from the online criticisms, it''s most likely because of this. She is, after all, a


    woman. Having to see some other woman attacking her and stealing you away from her worsens her


    mood. You should give Miss Reed a call right away, coax her, and stop her from overthinking," he


    advised.


    "I know. There''s no need to go the formal route for the investigation," Toby responded calmly before


    shutting his eyes abruptly, temporarily restraining the blood in his eyes.


    He rose to his feet while his face was gloomy and chilling.


    "President Fuller, do you think¡ª" Tom asked as he noticed Toby''s expression.


    "Let the investigator head straight to Squirrel Media. Gather all the high-level executives and cross-


    examine them one by one. If no one says anything, knock out their teeth!" Toby''s eyes narrowed with


    murderous intent.


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    "Yes," Tom affirmed, standing tall and speaking clearly.


    He was well aware that Toby was enraged. No one would stand it when their own wife was bullied in


    this manner. If it were Tom, he would not want to waste time; instead, he would force the culprit to


    confess their wrongdoing.


    "I''ll pass your orders right away, President Fuller." After saying this, Tom left the room.


    Toby unlocked the phone, but did not dial Sonia''s number right away. Instead, he was checking out


    what''s going on online.


    He squeezed his phone tightly as if he wanted to crack it when he saw the various abusivements


    directed at Sonia.


    What''s going on?


    Tom, I believe, stated that he has directed the public rtions department to delete the negative


    comments.


    It stands to reason that it''s normal even if not all negativements are deleted. However, the Inte


    is still flooded with criticism and the number of likes and shares are growing. It''s as if nothing was


    removed...

 Chapter 1052

    Chapter 1052


    What''s going on?


    Toby squinted and dialed directly to the public rtions department.


    "Hello, President Fuller." The voice of the public rtions director came from the other side.


    Toby questioned, "Didn''t Tom authorize you to clear the negativements on the Inte? Did you go


    through with that?"


    The head of the public rtions department was taken aback by Toby''s inquiry, but he quickly reacted


    and responded, "Tom did send someone to instruct us. President Fuller. Wepleted the order as


    soon as we received it. After all, you and Miss Reed are involved. So how could we have slipped by


    unnoticed?"


    "Then, tell me what''s going on with thements!" Toby was not pleased with his response.


    "Comments?" asked the public rtions director, his face flushed with skepticism.


    He was clearly not aware of what was going on online at the moment.


    "Sorry, President Fuller, I''ll take a look; please wait a moment," the public rtions director said,


    cing the phone on his shoulders and tapping the keyboard with both hands.


    Two minutester, when the PR director saw the situation on the Inte, he eximed, "How is this


    possible?"


    "What''s the matter?" Toby asked.


    "President Fuller, I can assure you that our department has cleared the maliciousments on the


    Inte, but I''m not sure why the situation on the Inte has returned to its original state. We cleared


    everything, so this is simply not possible. After that, I even double-checked it and ensured all negative


    comments were deleted. President Fuller, please believe me. I did not lie," the PR director exined.


    On the other end of the line, the man was solemn.


    Toby could also tell that the PR director had not lied.


    However, the situation online was getting out of hand...


    "President Fuller!" the PR director eximed solemnly after a moment and added, "I suddenly thought


    of a possibility."


    "What is it?" Toby asked with his lips pursed together.


    "We did clear up thements on the Inte, but someone was able to make it return to the old


    state. There areworkpanies that specialize in this area. Other than that, hackers can easily


    aplish this," the PR director exined.


    Networkpanies...


    An image of Harry shed across Toby''s mind.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    The Lore Family was aworking expert.


    It appears, whenbined with Harry''s recent dislike and dismissal of Sonia...


    No!


    Toby shook his head.


    This is impossible!


    It¡¯s true that Harry dislikes Sonia, but he will never attack her in such a manner.


    After all, I know Harry enough that he will notmit such heinous crimes even though he hates


    someone.


    Therefore, this is not done by him.


    Moreover, Harry is an old man, so why should he do this?


    "Can you figure out whichwork provider or hacker did it?" Toby asked as he pressed his thin lips.


    "It might be a little difficult to investigate who the hackers are because they usedpromised devices


    to hide themselves. On the other hand, it should be possible to find out thework providerpany.


    Unlike hackers,work providerpanies are operated as a whole, so it''s rather difficult for them to


    hide. It would be better to delegate this task to thework technology division, which has professional


    talents that our departmentcks," the PR director said after some contemtion.


    Still though, Toby was aware of these from the beginning.


    "Please notify thework technology division," he said tly.


    "All right, President Fuller," said the PR director.


    Toby then hung up the phone, pinched his nose, and prepared to dial Sonia''s number to calm her


    down.


    He promised himself that he would take care of this issue.


    However, he received a call before he could dial Sonia''s phone number.


    Toby frowned as he saw the caller ID, clearly displeased.


    It was a call from Harry.


    Harry just departed from Toby''s office and he decided to call at this precise moment. Clearly, Toby was


    aware of his intentions.


    However, he respected Harry as his teacher and he could not simply hang up the phone. Therefore, he


    deliberately allowed the phone to ring longer as usual before answering it, "Hello, Harry."


    "Toby, you must know about the issue circting on the Inte by now, right?" On the other end of the


    phone, the old man sat in the back seat while holding his phone and smiled.


    "Oh, my bad! You should know because your assistant hade to you earlier that something


    happened to the girl. I guess he has told you about it," Harry added just as Toby was about to speak.


    Toby remained evasive.


    "Toby, look. I told you she is a woman with bad behavior and you still didn''t believe it. It''s fine that she


    caused troubles before, but now, she even cheated on you. Who knows what extreme things she might


    do in the future? So Toby, you should break up with her soon, she..."


    "All right, Harry," Toby interrupted him tly. "Let''s not jump to conclusions. This issue is between me


    and her, and we''ll solve it, so you don''t need to intervene. You''re an old man, so you should take care


    of your health. I will return to see you when I have time. Goodbye."


    He intended to end the call after he said that.


    Enraged, Harry abruptly stopped him by saying, "Wait!"


    "Do you have anything else to say, Harry? You should stop if you insist on criticizing her," Toby warned


    with an icy tone.


    Henry clenched the phone in his hand and he only calmed down after a few moments. "Of course. I''m


    not going to say things you don''t want to hear."


    Ugh! The news is spreading like wildfire on the Inte. It''s so obvious that Sonia has cheated on Toby,


    but he doesn''t believe it!


    This pisses me off!


    I''m not sure what that woman did to my gullible disciple to make him give her his entire heart. Toby just


    doesn''t want to ept the fact that Sonia has cheated on him.


    Harry gained a headache from this the more he thought about it. He wanted to crack open Toby''s skull


    to check if his brain was functioning well.


    "That''s right, Harry. We can still have a good and peaceful conversation so as long you don''t speak


    words that irritate me," Toby responded indifferently. He had no idea what Harry was thinking and it did


    not matter to him.


    However, Toby''s words made Harry sneered.


    A good and peaceful conversation?


    The moment I mention Sonia, he goes feral.


    How can I even have a normal conversation with him?


    Forget it! Toby is now obsessed with her. I''ll look for opportunities to persuade him in the future.


    "Okay. Let''s stop talking about this. Lte will be back in a few days and she hasn''t seen you in


    years, Toby. How about a dinner with us when she returns?" Harry invited Toby for dinner.


    "Sure," Toby agreed, nodding.


    Despite his disagreement with Harry''s displeasure with Sonia, he maintained the respect for his


    mentor.


    Of course, Toby could not possibly reject Harry''s invitation.


    When Harry learned that Toby had agreed, he eximed, "That''s great! Come early and bring Sonia


    over."


    If I cannot persuade Toby, I''ll persuade Sonia.


    I will personally make her leave Toby.


    Toby squinted his eyes and his expression sank again as if he understood Harry''s n. "No need,


    Harry. You don''t like her anyway, so I won''t bring her to see you. At the very least, you won''t be irritated


    and she doesn''t have to feel wronged. Alright now, I still have work to do, so I''ll stop here."


    After finishing his words, Toby hung up the phone without waiting for Harry''s response. His face was


    gloomy and ugly after that phone call.


    He was well aware that Harry was determined to keep him apart from Sonia.


    Still, it waspletely out of Toby''s expectation that his mentor would attack his Little Leaf.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1053

    Chapter 1053


    M Download the book on the App


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    Little Leaf has an inferiorityplex. She would take the initiative to end our rtionship if Harry told


    her she is unworthy of me.


    Even if she does not agree, this will scar her and she will begin to doubt her rtionship with me.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    After all, it is my respected teacher who dissuades her.


    Little Leaf will undoubtedly feel inferior if Harry deems us to be unfit.


    Toby massaged his temples.


    It appears I should prevent them from seeing each other.


    I should also visit him less frequently.


    Ugh, I hate to listen to his criticisms every time I see him.


    Toby sighed lightly before facetiming Sonia.


    Meanwhile, Sonia waspleting some paperwork. She took much longer than usual to process a


    document since she was suddenly dragged into a pool of Inte scandal out of nowhere. Had she not


    distracted herself with work, she would have been preupied with the online scandals instead.


    As such, the former seemed like a much better and healthier option to go on with the day. After all,


    what more could she do than to keep reading those self-destructivements online?


    Suddenly, her phone that had been set aside rang unexpectedly; it was a video call.


    Sonia set down her pen and turned to take a look at her phone screen, which shed with Toby''s invite


    to a video call.


    She assumed he was done with his meeting and Tom had informed him about what was going on,


    hence his phone call.


    She pursed her red lips andplicated her expression as she looked at Toby''s call ID on the screen.


    She had no intention of answering the phone; instead, she zoned out for a long time as the phone rang.


    When the FaceTime invitation was finally disconnected, she awoke in a trance to find that the video


    had been hung up.


    Sonia bit her lower lip as a guilty expression shed across her face.


    She was upset at herself that she spaced out and missed Toby''s video call.


    With that being said, she had no ns to call him back. As the anxious feelings stemmed from the


    uncertainty of the culprit''s rtionship with Toby, Sonia was concerned that once he had found out the


    identity of the mastermind, he would advise her to proceed in a low-profile manner instead.


    If so, she would be at a loss for how to deal with Toby and her feelings for him. It''s okay, I don''t need to


    take the call. At least I will be at peace of mind for a little while...


    "Miss Reed." Several knocks outside the door were followed by Daphne''s voice.


    Sonia looked up and saw Daphne standing at the door before getting up quickly, "You''re back."


    "Yes," Daphne nodded before approaching the president.


    "So?" Sonia asked worriedly.


    "Miss Reed, the surveince footage has been deleted, just as we suspected," Daphne said, shaking


    her head.


    Hearing Daphne''s words, Sonia''s anxiety faded.


    Am I disappointed?


    Yes, but not so much.


    After all, I''ve predicted it and I''m mentally prepared for it.


    The answer Daphne gave was a confirmation of Sonia''s initial guess.


    "What should we do now, Miss Reed? The identity of the person is obviously extraordinary given that


    they are able to enter arge hotel and delete the surveince footage," Daphne asked while looking at


    Sonia.


    "I know exactly who did this," Sonia piped up.


    "Really?" Daphne asked in surprise.


    "Yes."


    "That''s great. Now that you know the culprit, despite theirplicated identity, everything will be simple


    to discuss as long as you hand it over to President Fuller. That person will definitely obey his words.


    They will also unquestionably hand the surveince footage to him once President Fuller demands."


    Daphne gave a broad smile.


    Sonia, on the other hand, remained expressionless.


    When Daphne saw this, her cheerful mood abruptly froze. "What is the problem, Miss Reed? You don''t


    seem to be in a good mood."


    "How can I be? Do you have any idea who did this?"


    Daphne shook her head upon hearing this. She would not have asked if she knew.


    "The culprit is Harry''s granddaughter."


    "Harry?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded. "Harry is Toby''s mentor and his granddaughter is also Toby''s childhood


    sweetheart. Do you think such a rtionship makes me happy? "


    "How can this be? The culprit indeed has a strong backing!"


    Daphne was not referring to their family background, but the rtionship between the culprit and Toby.


    "If this happens, then you can''t guarantee President Fuller to seek justice for you, right?" Daphne


    asked as she looked at Sonia.


    "Yeah. Toby just Facetimed me, but I didn''t respond because I was afraid to hear that he wanted to


    settle this matter quickly and quietly. I''m still not sure who weighs more in his heart. Is it me or the


    Lores?" Sonia exined.


    "There is no way to quantify this. One is his teacher; the other is his lover. If President Fuller chooses


    you over Harry, outsiders will regard him as an ungrateful disciple; if he chooses Harry, he will be


    caught in the middle,plicating things even more." Dapline sighed.


    Her analysis was irrefutable. Toby had indeed be entangled in the crossfire.


    "Let''s see if President Fuller cane up with a better solution," Daphneforted.


    Still, Sonia remained deafeningly silent.


    "Ugh, what is going on? Had the culprit been just a random rich girl who has nothing to do with


    President Fuller, things would have been so much easier. Unfortunately, that''s not the case." Daphne


    pushed her sses up her nose bridge.


    "I know, right?" Soniaughed.


    "Miss Reed, if I''m not mistaken, Harry''s granddaughter should be a generation younger than President


    Fuller. On the other hand, President Fuller is Harry''s student, which means Harry''s granddaughter is


    President Fuller''s niece. A niece falling for her uncle is outrageous!" Daphne eximed.


    "They are not rted by blood anyway," Sonia said as she averted her gaze.


    "Even if they are not blood-rted, there exists seniority. All in all, Miss Lore is most likely not a good


    person," Dapline concluded.


    Not responding, Sonia had trailed after the voice in her thoughts.


    A good person?


    No good person will do such a thing.


    It''s obvious that Miss Lore is the same species as Tina and Anya.


    I''m sure there will be more emerging in the future, even if this problem is to be resolved now.


    Sonia took the coffee and sipped it, only to worsen her headache.


    "Miss Reed," Daphne called.


    "What''s the matter?" Sonia looked at her.


    "Miss Reed, we don''t know how President Fuller will resolve this matter now. Moreover, the footage at


    the hotel has also been destroyed, so there''s no way for the footage to rify the gossip on the


    Inte. How about we meet President Lane personally and let hime forward to rify? Perhaps


    that could be effective," suggested Daphne.


    "No. No one knows who the man in the photo is, so I don''t want to drag Charles into this. I''ll just have


    to deal with this on my own." Sonia sighed, shaking her head.


    "But..."


    The ringing of Sonia''s phone cut Daphne off in the middle of her speech.


    Sonia lowered her gaze and expected the caller to be Toby, but it was Zane.


    For thest two months, Zane had been traveling to the mountains and countryside to research the


    dweller''s conditions in various locations for his political exam; now, he must review the written portion


    of the exam.


    For this reason, Sonia had not kept in touch with Zane in a while. Frankly, she had almostpletely


    forgotten about his existence.


    Who knew he would call at this exact moment?


    "Wait a minute," Sonia told Daphne before swiping the screen and answering the call, "Hello?"


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1054

    Chapter 1054


    "Are you okay, Sonia?" She had just answered the phone when Zane''s loud voice sounded from the


    phone, which took her by surprise.


    Back then, even when Zane spoke in a light tone, the volume was just right and it was neither soft nor


    loud.


    So, why was he talking so loud now? He was practically yelling at the phone by the sound of it.


    "I''m fine," Sonia replied, rubbing her numb ears from Zane''s opera-esque voice.


    "Is everything okay? There''s a lot of chaos on the Inte now. I discovered it while researching in the


    countryside, so I quickly found a spot with a signal and called you. What''s going on?"


    Oh... So he''s in the countryside.


    Given the poor signal in the countryside, Zane''s voice was probably unusually loud to avoid being


    inaudible amidst the weak signal.


    She had initially suspected that he became rude and loud due to his frequent visits to the mountains


    and countryside for his research.


    "It''s like this..."


    She did not hide anything from Zane as she revealed what happened and who was to me.


    The only unanswered question was who exactly was behind it.


    After all, Zane and Toby were friends. If Zane knew, he would definitely tell Toby.


    In that case, her strategy would fail as she wanted to keep it a secret for the time being by not revealing


    the mastermind yet.


    She was nning to see Toby''s reaction and how he would handle the situation. All in all, she just


    hoped that she would not be disappointed.


    Otherwise, she would have to end the rtionship regardless of how much feelings and love she had


    for him.


    She reasoned that a man who rather wronged his wife for the sake of others might not be trustworthy.


    "What?" Zane''s tan handsome face tightened as he heard Sonia''s words. "It''s actually the work of the


    women who adore Toby? The audacity!"


    "She''s really brave, but someone gave her the confidence," Sonia sneered while arching her lips.


    Precisely! Miss Lore''s grandfather was none other than Toby''s teacher and she was only audacious


    enough to act rashly because of their rtionship. She must be very confident that Toby would not treat


    her terribly for the sake of Harry.


    "Who?" Zane inquired, patting the tree beside him. "You mentioned that someone gave her the


    confidence. Do you know who she is?"


    Sonia lowered her gaze and stated, "Almost, but not quite."


    "It doesn''t matter, just tell me and I''ll look into it," Zane offered as he assuredly patted his chest, adding.


    "I''ll find out for you soon."


    Sonia''s heart was moved and warmed as she listened to his initiative.


    After all, he was just her regr friend and not even closer to her at the very least.


    Seeing that he was one of the first to call when she was involved in a hurdle, it was enough to show


    how caring and helpful of a friend he was. Not only that, he had also offered his help without a second


    thought, which not many people were able to do for her.


    So of course, she was touched by his good deeds!


    "Thank you for offering to help me, but there is no need. We can solve this matter ourselves, so don''t


    you worry." Sonia smiled as he turned down Zane''s offer of assistance.


    Though he had foreseen her refusal, it still made him feel sad regardless.


    "Well, okay. I guess you have Toby, so you don''t really need our help," he responded gloomily as he sat


    on the grass, which he then grabbed and ced in his mouth, before lying down to chew it.


    Sonia did not give much thought as to why he was crestfallen, but simply felt that he was disappointed


    when he heard her rejection.


    "Don''t be sad. We''re still business partners and we need to bring down the Gray Family. Your


    assistance is much needed since the Grays are still standing strong! You don''t need to offer me


    assistance on things I can handle on my own," Sonia added as she shook her head.


    After hearing her words, Zane felt refreshed and stopped chewing the grass in his mouth. "You''re right!


    In this case, I''ll stop being so invested in this matter. I''ll let Toby take care of it. It''s reasonable for him to


    take action to solve the problem since he''s your man," he responded after nodding.


    "Yes, you''re right," she agreed with a smile.


    "By the way, I just asked my assistant to check the situation online. This happened very early in the


    morning and it''s already afternoon now. Why did Toby not suppress themotion and stop the


    criticism? Is it possible that he is still unaware of this?" Zane asked solemnly while frowning.Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "Toby didn''t know about it at first. It''s nearing the New Year, so there''s auditing going on at the Fuller


    Group. It''s natural for him to be unaware because he''s the busy president. However, he did video-call


    me, but I didn''t answer. I guess he should know by now and contacted me for this matter," Sonia


    responded.


    "I see. I can rest assured then. I hope everything will calm down as soon as possible, but when are you


    going to rify about it? You can''t just suppress the chaotic news and not respond, right? This is a sign


    of a guilty conscience in the eyes of the outside world," he mentioned while nodding.


    "We are going to respond, that''s for sure, but it depends on how Toby handles it," she uttered, lowering


    her gaze.


    She had yet to respond to the Inte rumors because she was curious how Toby would handle it now


    that she knew Harry''s granddaughter was the culprit.


    Will he ignore it by letting the heat die down, or will he make it public?


    She would be pleased with Toby if he did thetter.


    If it was the former, then she would definitely disagree with him. Why should I allow myself to be


    berated and bullied while unable to seek justice in the end?


    Toby''s attitude, in short, was the reason she held off from responding right now.


    Zane was unaware of Sonia''s thoughts as he had no idea who was the culprit, after all.


    "Since you have your ns, I''ll let you do your thing. If you need me, feel free to contact me. You can


    send an email if you can''t reach me and my assistant will notify me in time." After straightening his


    back, Zane regained his usualzy appearance, personality, and behavior. He did not appear to be the


    responsible man he had been two seconds before.


    Sonia recognized that while he appeared to be a handsome young man, he did not appear to be a


    CEO. In reality, he was the best candidate for the position of CEO because he was meticulous and


    powerful.


    "All right. I''ll give you a call if I ever need your help," she replied with a smile.


    "Okay. You must keep your words! I still have some errands to run and I have to visit a vige to collect


    some statistics about their situation, so I''m hanging up! I made time for this phone call. See, I''m treating


    you really well, right?" Zane joked as he patted his buttocks and rose from the ground.


    Do you want to break up with Toby and be with me instead?


    These are the words Zane kept unspoken in his heart.


    "You''re really nice to me. Thank you so much for your kindness. You should go ahead with your work


    now. I won''t bother you anymore. I believe you will be promoted when you return, right?"


    "That''s right! I''m doing well, so the promotion is certain."


    "That''s fantastic! Congrattions in advance, then," Sonia said while pumping her fist in the air.

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    Chapter 1055


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    Zane could imagine Sonia''s gesture on the other end of the phone even though he could not see it. "I


    ept your congrattions," he said cheerfully and added, "and don''t worry, if I get promoted, I''ll be


    your supporter when I return."


    He thumped his chest with a thud.


    Sonia could hear it clearly over the phone and her heart trembled. Don''t break your sternum, man.


    "Thank you!" she replied quickly, interrupting Zane''s thumping.


    He actually stopped hitting his chest. He then turned and walked toward his assistant, who was not far


    away. "Why are you thanking me? We''re friends. Okay, I need to hang up first because I don''t have any


    signal here. We''ll talk when I return. How about we get together for a meal?"


    "Sure!" Sonia nodded in agreement.


    The call was then disconnected.


    She hung up the phone and looked at the screen beforeughing while shaking her head.


    "Is that Mr. Coleman, Miss Reed?" Daphne, who was sitting across from Sonia, asked.


    "Yeah. He knew about the rumors on the Inte, so he called to check on me," Sonia exined while


    nodding.


    "Mr. Coleman is a wonderful man," Daphne stated as she rubbed her chin.


    "Yes, he is a good man." Sonia agreed with a smile before asking, "Oh, right! What are you talking


    about earlier?"


    Daphne''s lips moved and she was about to say something. However, the office door was pushed open


    the next second.


    Her words were cut off and strangled in her throat once more. Ugh... I''m speechless. It seems that


    even the universe is stopping me from telling her.


    Even Sonia was stunned as sheughed at the situation.


    The two of them could not stopughing the next second when Charles'' familiar voice came from


    outside the office door. "Hey, Sonny."


    When Dapline heard his voice, she became pale. Her pupils shrank and she asked Sonia for help.


    "Miss Reed..."


    Sonia was also nervous at the time.


    After all, none of them had expected Charles'' unexpected appearance.


    Even if Sonia wanted to help Daphne, she could not even hide her in her lounge.


    This was because Charles had already stepped inside.


    As she heard footsteps behind her, Daphne''s face turned pale while her body trembled before she


    lowered her head to the point where it was about to touch her chest.


    She was obviously terrified of Charles.


    Of course, there was more to it than fear; there was also a guilty conscience.


    Charles had no idea she was pregnant and she was afraid to tell him. That was why she was always


    afraid of meeting him; her main fear was that he would find out she was pregnant.


    Looking at Daphne''s cautious demeanor and Charles'' approaching figure, Sonia knew there was no


    way they could avoid each other and she sighed. That''s it; since they can''t flee, they should just meet


    calmly. As long as I keep Dapline''s pregnancy a secret...


    Sonia coughed lightly as she thought about it. When Daphne looked at her, she gave Daphne a quick


    look. Keep your cool, Daphne, and don''t put on such a guilty and nervous expression! Otherwise, it will


    be obvious to Charles.


    Daphne realized that it was pointless to be fearful. After receiving Sonia''s reminder, she quickly


    returned a grateful look, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and adjusted her mentality.


    At the very least, Daphne should conceal her guilty conscience, nervousness, and panic in front of the


    man.


    Facing Sonia, Daphne squeezed her palm, finally adjusted her emotions and mentality before reverting


    to the secretary who was calm andposed.


    In any case, she was a professionally trained secretary. Of course, she was best at self-regtion.


    With that, Sonia was relieved to see that Dapline''s mood had improved. Therefore, she became less


    anxious.


    As such, she did not pay Daphne much attention; she quickly averted her gaze and asked, "Charles,


    why are you here?"


    "I came to see you and discuss the rumors on the Inte." Charles came to a halt beside Daphne.


    The tense Daphne''s body could not help but contract, but she soon rxed.


    She secretly encouraged herself to keep her guilt hidden, then turned around and greeted calmly,


    "President Lane." She bowed to Charles with the usual attitude of treating him.


    Charles was aware of Daphne''s presence from the moment he walked through the door.


    However, he pretended not to notice Daphne and approached Sonia.


    Now that Dapline had greeted him, he could not pretend to not acknowledge her existence anymore.


    He was unsure why he was annoyed when he saw her stiffly greeting him.


    Clearly, there was no difference in her way of greeting inparison to before, while Charles also


    sensed nothing wrong with it.


    However, he did not understand why he hated the way she behaved in front of him.


    Still, he could not make out how he wanted to be treated either.


    At that moment, Charles was staring at Daphne without any response or hint of what he was thinking


    about.


    With such a peculiar response, Daphne''s heart was pounding and her body was tense.


    She could not figure out why Charles was staring at her.


    All she knew was that when he looked at her this way, she felt nervous and panicky. Miss Reed...


    Daphne raised her eyes and signaled Sonia for help.


    Sonia was perplexed as to what was wrong with Charles as he stared at Daphne. After shaking her


    aching head, Sonia was about to open her mouth to ease the awkwardness.


    It was then Charles piped up atst.


    "What? Aren''t you going to hide when you see me this time?" He directed the question at Daphne,


    crossing his arms.


    When these words were spoken, not only did Daphne''s face turn pale, but Sonia was also stunned.


    "Charles, you..."


    He immediately raised his hand, which was an indication to stop Sonia from interrupting him. He then


    looked at Daphne and added, "Do you think that I was unaware of the fact that you were hiding in


    Sonny''s lounge thest time I came here?"


    No doubt, Dapline''s face was now as pale as a white sheet.


    Sonia also took a deep breath at the rising tension surfacing in the room. I thought Charles was


    completely unaware of this. I never thought that he knew about it from the start. So, for Daphne''s


    pregnancy... No way! He is still most likely unaware of this. If he knew about this, he would have sought


    confirmation from Daphne at this point. In short, as long as Charles is still in the haze about the


    pregnancy, I can focus on resolving other issues.


    "I''m sorry, Charles. I didn''t hide on purpose," Daphne apologized, lowering her head and slightly biting


    her lower lip before adding, "but this time I didn''t expect you to arrive suddenly. I wouldn''t be here if I


    knew."


    Charles'' face darkened as he heard this and his anger grew stronger in his heart.


    "You really did hide yourself when I said that I didn''t want to see you. I didn''t expect you to be so


    obedient," he sneered.


    His words were odd, revealing a bitterness and anger that no one couldprehend.


    Daphne''s eyes glowed with resentment. "Of course, I must follow your orders. President Lane. After all,


    you are now my superior and I''m just a subordinate. Isn''t it reasonable to expect a subordinate to listen


    to his superior?"


    "Hmph!" Charles gave a cold snort and remained silent.


    Although he disagreed with her response, he had to admit that she was correct. As a result, he could


    not refute it and simply avoided continuing the conversation.


    "Okay. That''s enough. Daphne, please make President Lane a cup of coffee," Sonia instructed as she


    winked at Daphne.


    Daphne realized something and immediately sent Sonia a grateful smile before saying, "Okay, Miss


    Reed. I''ll get started now."


    She then turned around and left the room as soon as she finished speaking before her figure quickly


    disappeared.


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 Chapter 1056

    Chapter 1056


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    Charles'' gaze was drawn to Daphne throughout the conversation despite her figure having vanished


    outside the door for a long time as she never returned it.


    Sonia finally patted him on the shoulder, prompting him to retract his gaze and turn his head.


    "What''s wrong?" Charles inquired, his hand touching his shoulder.


    "I should be the one asking. Why are you staring at the direction Daphne left? I''ve called you twice, but


    you didn''t respond," Sonia said, crossing her arms and looking at the door behind him.


    "You''re mistaken. I wasn''t staring at her. I was just thinking about something." Charles was agitated and


    retorted quickly.


    His reaction made Sonia roll her eyes. "Alright! Whatever you say. Let me tell you, Charles. You can''t


    treat Dapline this way when youe to look for me next time. She''s my secretary and no longer


    yours, so it is inappropriate for you to act like this."


    As the president, Sonia had to protect her own secretary. She must ensure that Daphne was not bullied


    by Charles while under her care.


    "Okay, okay. I will ignore her in the future, okay? Anyway, I don''t think I bore any strange behavior


    toward her. Didn''t you see her expressionless face when she greeted me? I haven''t even had the time


    toin about her rude attitude. Why are you ming me instead?" he exined as he curled his


    lips and waved his hand.


    Sonia''s lips twitched upon hearing this. "Charles, your statement is a little unreasonable. Isn''t Daphne''s


    attitude toward you the same as it has been in the past? There is no change, so why are you


    comining that you cannot ept her attitude ever since she moved to mypany?"


    Charles was stunned and speechless.


    Yes, Daphne did greet me in the same way she has before.


    I never thought that there''s anything wrong with her.


    Why did I dislike her attitude now?


    Charles lowered his gaze as he felt an indescribable irritability in his heart.


    He drew out a chair and sat down after a while before waving his hand again, "Forget it, let''s not talk


    about this. It makes me upset."


    Sonia could not help but roll her eyes at him.


    Why is he upset?


    He''s the one who stared at Daphne andined about her attitude.


    Why is he agitated?


    Sonia, on the other hand, had always been respectful toward others'' boundaries. As such, she had


    stopped talking about it since Charles did not want to.


    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.


    An assistant, who appeared with a tray, knocked on the door and announced, "Miss Reed, your coffee


    is ready."


    "Pleasee in!" Sonia nodded with a smile.


    "Yes."


    The assistant hummed before entering the room with both hands on the tray. She then ced two cups


    of coffee in front of Sonia and Charles.


    After setting the cups down, the assistant turned around and left the room.


    At this point, Charles called after her, "Wait!"


    "Do you have any other orders, President Lane?" the assistant inquired as she came to a halt.


    "Where''s Dapline?" he asked, turning the cup of coffee in front of him; his tone was t and he was


    unable to express his feelings.


    Seated across from him, Sonia had no idea what he was trying to ask.


    "Miss Daphne is answering a call and she has to take care of some work, so she''s busy right now," the


    assistant exined, holding the tray vertically in her arms, recalling what Daphne had just instructed.


    Charles remained silent as his narrowed eyes fixed on the coffee cup while deep in thoughts.


    Presently, the meeting room abruptly fell silent.


    The assistant stood there, neither leaving nor staying, and had no choice but to seek assistance from


    the president.


    Sonia stroked her brow, feeling a headache as a result of Charles'' actions.


    "Charles..." Sonia was just about to open her mouth to speak when Charles sipped his coffee before


    tossing the cup against the table.


    Crack! The noise startled both Sonia and her assistant.


    "Is something wrong with her, or is she making up excuses to not send me my coffee? I believe you


    know the answer." His gaze was full of rage.


    The assistant was about to part her lips to speak when she decided to lower her head and remain


    silent.


    "Lexi, you may leave first." Sonia waved at the assistant as she was unable to bear it any longer.


    "Okay." When Lexi heard the president''s words, she immediately dashed to the door and left the office,


    as if granted amnesty.


    After Lexi had left, Sonia turned to face Charles, who was looking unhappy across from her.


    He was obviously upset by Daphne''s departure as he still had some unspoken words to deliver.


    "Charles, I was the one who asked Daphne to bring in the coffee through someone else, so you don''t


    have to me her for not doing it personally," Sonia exined quietly while looking at him.


    "Why did you do that?" Charles'' grip on the coffee cup became slightly tighter.


    "Why not?" Sonia pinched her brows and tiredly exined, "Have you noticed how much Daphne fears


    you, Charles? I''m not sure what happened between you two that makes her fear you so much; all I


    know is that I''m now her boss and it''s my responsibility to keep her safe. I''ll find a way to keep her from


    meeting you because she feels ufortable and scared whenever she sees you. I was right to


    protect her, wasn''t I?" She spread her arms.


    At the same time, she purposefully concealed the fact that she was already aware of what had


    happened between them.


    After the exnation, Charles was more concerned with her words than with her presence. He felt as if


    his heart had been ripped out when he heard Sonia say that Daphne was afraid of him.


    "Why is she afraid of me?" he inquired quietly as his lips moved slightly. The question was almost


    directed at both Sonia and himself.


    She then rolled her eyes at him. "Shouldn''t you be aware? Anyway, it is what it is."


    He squeezed the coffee cup again before going silent. Atst, he appeared toprehend why.


    After that night, I''ve said a lot of inappropriate things to Daphne.


    She is probably scared of me because of my words.


    Shouldn''t I be pleased with her fear and avoidance though?


    After all, this is what I wanted in the first ce...


    I''m filled with indescribable rage, now that I''ve seen her treat me this way.


    It also reveals to me that I... seem to dislike Dapline''s fear of me and the way she avoids me.


    Why?


    Charles'' eyes and expressions were muddled as he looked down at his hand.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Sonia had no idea what Charles was thinking when she looked at him, but it definitely had to do with


    Daphne.


    "All right, Charles. Enough about that. You don''t want to see her and she doesn''t want to bring you your


    coffee; isn''t this what you''re wishing for?" She knocked on the table and shook her head.


    Absolutely not!


    Charles had an unspoken desire to utter these two words.


    As he was about to speak, he reacted and realized this was something he should remain in his heart.


    As a result, he swallowed abruptly, nodded, and smiled. "You are correct. It''s a good thing to avoid


    meeting someone I don''t want to see." He picked up the coffee and drank it after speaking.


    The delicate coffee cup precisely blocked the corners of his sinking mouth, masking the fact that his


    expression was far from calm and happy when he said this.


    All in all, it was clear that he was not speaking his mind.


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    Chapter 1057


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    Dapline, who had been said to be busy with work, was actually not as she remained standing outside


    the office, listening to every move in the room.


    As she listened to what Charles had just said, her heart felt as if it was shed by a knife.


    Uncontrobly, her eyes turned bright red and she could feel her anger surging from within.


    It turns out that President Lane is overjoyed when he doesn''t see me.


    Ha. It appears that I''m a person who greatly irritates him.


    Lifting her head, she took a deep breath and covered half of her face before leaving Sonia''s office to


    return to the main secretary assistants'' office.


    Daphne trotted in with her head bowed and her eyes red when Lexi, who had just delivered the coffee,


    noticed her agitation. "Miss Daphne, what''s the matter with you?" she asked concernedly.


    "I''m alright." Daphne sat back down and shook her head at Lexi before wiping her eyes to force out a


    smile.


    "You''ve already cried. How is this all right?" Lexi frowned.


    Removing her sses, Daphne exined as she rubbed her eyes. "Thank you for your concern, Lexi.


    Don''t worry. I''m fine! I just had some sad thoughts and I couldn''t hold back all of a sudden."


    After she said that, she put on her sses again and smiled at Lexi.


    When Lexi noticed that Daphne was not as depressed as she had been when she first arrived, she


    nodded and said, "That''s good, then. I''ll head back to work first. If there''s anything you need help with,


    you must let us know and we''ll definitely help."


    Daphne nodded, her heart feeling warm. "Sure. I will!"


    Next door in the president''s office...


    Sonia and Charles were unaware that Daphne had just overheard their conversation, which had


    caused her to leave in distress.


    At that moment, Sonia cast a silent nce at Charles.


    Having delivered his words, he continued to drink coffee with his head down. Despite the coffee being


    so hot and bitter, it seemed that he was gulping it down.


    "Alright, alright," Sonia said as she noticed Charles'' coffee was about to run out. She quickly stopped


    him from drinking it all at once, "Stop drinking, Charles. It''s bad for your throat to dunk it down like this."


    As such, Charles took a breather. He had no choice because Sonia had grabbed his wrist and it would


    be weird for him to resist.


    After seeing that Charles had given up on his act and ced down his cup of coffee, she heaved a sigh


    of relief. "Your entire personality has changed ever since you came here and saw Daphne."


    "Did I?" He frowned, refusing to acknowledge it.


    "Alright, alright; you didn''t, how ''bout that? Let''s not discuss this and move on to the real deal. You just


    said you''re here to inquire about the rumors on the Inte?" Sonia shifted the topic after helplessly


    shaking her head.


    In contrast, Charles became solemn when it came to serious matters. It was as if his previous attitude


    was just an illusion.


    "Yes, I am. But damn, I didn''t expect you to be photographed by paparazzis when I went out to meet


    with you. Now, there are so many unfounded rumors on the Inte. Ugh, I''m so done with them,"


    Charlesined with a darkened expression.


    "Yeah, it''s quite annoying." Sonia casually nodded in agreement.


    "What are the Squirrel Media thinking? Are they not afraid of Toby''s retaliation?" Charles smacked his


    fist against the table.


    Charles had no idea that someone had been nning this for a long time. He simply believed that the


    Squirrel Media was just one of the mindless outlets that would do anything for poprity.


    "They''repletely fearless. They wouldn''t risk it if they were afraid," Sonia spoke with a sarcastic


    smile stered on her cheeks.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Charles paused for a few seconds before saying, "I know, right? At this point, I''m not sure if it''s


    appropriate to admire the squirrels'' bravery. They aren''t even giving a heck about their future for the


    sake of fame. It''s absolutely insane." He was stillpletely unaware of the conspiracy.


    Sonia wanted to exin the motive and goals of their rumors. However, she had an epiphany, so she


    swallowed her words once again.


    Forget it. Let''s move on.


    If the truth was revealed, Charles'' rage may lead him straight to the Lores.


    "Oh right, Sonny. Did Toby do you wrong? Does he not believe you?" he asked, clutching his palms


    and looking concernedly at her.


    In any case, Charles and Sonia were the central figures in the scandal.


    Though he was yet to be publicly identified as the mystery man in the photographs, he was still


    involved in a controversy with Sonia after all. As a result, he was worried that he would irritate Toby.


    On the other hand, women are frequently the ones getting the short end of the stick. It was always


    Sonia''s fault when she and Toby got into trouble, so Charles did not want to witness any further


    suffering from her.


    His concern warmed Sonia''s heart as she shook her head slightly. "Don''t worry, he didn''t."


    "Really?" Charles remained worried.


    She nodded and confirmed, "Yes."


    Although Sonia had yet to contact Toby, Tom realized right away that everything on the Inte was


    made up and that someone was manipting her behind her back. Therefore, it would be illogical for


    Toby to believe otherwise; if he did, he must have been blind at this point.


    It did not matter if Toby did not realize the rumor was false. The most important thing was his strategy


    for dealing with this situation.


    "That''s great news." Charles exhaled a sigh of relief as he patted his chest, adding, "Do you know that I


    almost destroyed my elerator from speeding all the way here? I rushed all the way here because I


    was worried that Toby would misunderstand you and dismiss you. It''s a huge relief that Toby didn''t let


    me down."


    "He''s not a moron. He knows what we did at the hotel that day. Besides, there''s no point in me being


    with him if he doesn''t even believe me," Sonia exined, smiling.


    "That''s correct, but why does he know what we''re doing at the hotel? Did you also tell him what Brian


    and I told youst night?" he asked.


    "Yeah. Both of you are right. I am yet strong enough to be on my own and I will inevitably ask him for


    assistance in the future. It is preferable to simplymunicate in this case," she said, tucking her hair


    behind her ear.


    "You''re doing fantastic. He won''t have any doubts about us at the hotel now that you''ve addressed it,


    but why haven''t you rified the rumors?"


    "As long as we show the hotel surveince footage and we each rify on the Inte, this matter can


    be solved very easily," Charles said, "but now things have been fermenting for so long, and the


    netizens are getting more and more chaotic, but you and Toby seem to have nothing to say. Do you


    have any other ns?"


    Initially, Charles wanted to stand up and rify when he saw the scandal on the Inte.


    His mother, however, stepped in. Rather than rifying, his mother instructed him to head to Paradigm


    Co. and inquire Sonia''s opinion first.


    On his way to meet her, Charles had a thousand thoughts. He was familiar with her personality and she


    did not appear to be a procrastinator.


    She did not seem to be the type to put off her exnations for such a scandal, which would damage


    her reputation and jeopardize her rtionship with Toby.


    The longer they wait to address and rify the rumors, the harsher the criticism will be.


    Even worse, if they did not show up for an extended period of time, everyone would believe the rumors


    because not showing up indicated a bad conscience.


    Dy, on the other hand, was detrimental to everyone in this case.

 Chapter 1058

    Chapter 1058


    As the smart person she was, there was no way Sonia would not know that; the same went for Toby as


    well.


    However, both of them had no intention to rify it, let alone averting the public''s attention from the


    news.


    Given the situation, the only exnation Charles coulde up with was that the couple was nning


    on something. Otherwise, why would they dy it for so long? It was especially so for Toby, whose


    loved one was the targeted victim of this scandal.


    He loved Sonia and would never turn a blind eye to the maliciousments thrown at her. Yet, he was


    not doing anything about it; something was definitely off.


    Mom must''ve seen through it. That''s why she stopped me from clearing up the misunderstanding and


    had me ask Sonia herself so that I won''t screw up her n.


    "Otherns..." muttered Sonia.


    Charles nodded. "Yeah. Otherwise, why aren''t you guys rifying to solve the issue?"


    She chuckled with mixed feelings. "There is, but it depends on Toby. This is also a test for him."


    Had she not known that the mastermind was Harry''s granddaughter, she would not have dragged it


    until today. Rather, she would have rified the issue. She wanted to watch Toby looking into the


    mastermind and see how he was going to deal with the matter. In short, it was the critical moment their


    rtionship was hanging on.


    "A test for Toby?" Charles could not follow. "Why are you testing him?"


    She pinched her nose bridge. "Now''s not the time yet. You''ll know soon. All you gotta remember is that


    I have my reasons."


    He then held his tongue while staring at her in silence. A couple of momentster, he sighed. "Fine.


    What can I say when you already have your n? Still, I think it''s better to settle it as soon as possible.


    You don''t deserve all the criticisms you''re receiving now, but... there''s something strange."


    "What?" She raised her head at him.


    Charles touched his chin. "Me. It is a scandal that involves the both of us, but no one recognizes that


    the man is me. That''s odd."


    Sonia lowered her gaze. "What''s odd about that? Society holds double standards for men and women.


    Women have to bear more than men do for the same mistake."


    "I cannot agree more. Should Ie forward and clear things up, then? I don''t care whether they will


    believe it, I can at least bear the criticisms with you. I can''t let you handle those alone, can I?" Charles


    gazed at her.


    She was not sure how to respond to that. "Wow, someone volunteering as a tribute for cyberbullying;


    that''s a first. Isn''t it fortunate that no one recognizes it''s you? Why must you expose yourself and call


    for criticisms? It won''t do good to you or Lane Corporation."


    "I know, but both of us are involved in this. I can''t let you take it upon yourself all alone." His brows


    creased.


    Sonia smiled. "Charles, I understand your intention, but it''s really fine. It''s best for one to take the hit


    instead of two, right? Don''t worry. I know that you''re trying to protect me. I feel the same too, but I don''t


    wanna see you in trouble. So, you don''t have to meddle in this. I can settle it on my own."


    "But¡ª" He intended to say something, yet someone pushed open the door at that moment. It was


    Toby, who strode into the office with his slender legs.


    She was stunned for a moment to see him after which she rose from her seat unconsciously. "Why are


    you here?"


    Meanwhile, Charles turned his head to see Toby, who made him snort. Despite his silence, he was


    displeased with the man.


    Even so, this was the man Sonia liked; hence, Charles could not be fussy like he did before no matter


    how annoyed he was. He should at least save Sonia''s face, right? Anyway, he could not snap at Toby,


    but it should be fine to not talk to the man in the very least.


    Toby nced over at Charles before averting his gaze and walking toward Sonia. He was baffled by


    Charles'' presence, but at the thought of the raging topic on the Inte, he had a vague guess of the


    reason behind Charles'' visit.


    Charles always had his sharp tongue ready whenever Toby was around, as if Toby did not know how to


    snap back at him.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Yet, shunning one was the deadliest blowpared to hurling sharp-tongued critics. Thus, Toby would


    only spare Charles a nce and never interact with him. It was as though he was an invisible man.


    "You didn''t ept my video call, so I was worried." He stood next to her while replying gently. So, he''s


    worried about my mood because I didn''t ept his call.


    A crumb of honey-sweet happiness surged in her chest as the concern about her future choice waned.


    After all, that was the future; at least he cared for her at the moment and she was delighted at that.


    "Have a seat." Sonia offered her office chair to him before taking another chair for herself.


    Toby epted her offer and sat down.


    "Were you busy on something? Why didn''t you ept my call?" He looked at the woman beside him.


    She masked her emotions with her downcast eyes and responded indifferently, "I was busy, so I didn''t


    ept your call."


    He pursed his lips as no one knew whether he was believing her words. Then, he said, "I know


    everything about the issue that''s going on the Inte. I''m sorry for making you handle it alone."


    Feeling the tingle on her nose tip, she shook her head lightly. "It''s nothing, but there''s something I


    wanna know. Do you... believe in it?"


    Charles was stunned at that. "Sonia, what are you talking about? You didn''t know whether Toby


    believes in it? But you¡ª"


    "No. I don''t trust those articles," Toby interrupted Charles'' squeaky mouth by answering her question


    with solemnity. "Theizens are silly to buy it, but I am not. I know you will never do such a thing.


    Besides, how will other shabby men be able to strike your fancy when you already have me?"


    His words were directed at Charles implicitly, causing the man to flip out. mming the table, he stood


    up and pointed at Toby''s nose. "Toby Fuller, who are you calling shabby? Are you trying to put on a


    fight?"


    He folded his sleeves up, totally geared up for a fight.


    Toby raised his gaze upon Charles and reciprocated nonchntly, "Do you think you stand a chance


    against me?"


    It was not a condescending question. Putting Charles'' loss in terms of height and figure, Toby learned


    combat sport; as such, going up against a few at a time was not a problem for him. On the other hand,


    judging from Charles'' small figure, he did not seem like he had taken such lessons.


    Charles'' aura unsurprisingly shrunk like a deted balloon at Toby''s question. After clenching his


    hands, he seated himself again in defeat. "Fine. I''m not your match. You win."


    Next, he turned his head sideways, trying not to upset himself by looking at Toby.


    In the meantime, their dispute amused Sonia as she actually giggled while covering her mouth. "Stop it,


    you guys."


    They''re in their thirties yet they fight like three-year-olds. They''re so childish and funny.


    Her smile smoothened the furrowed brows on Toby''s forehead, even the irritated Charles was slightly


    appeased by it.


    She looked at Charles apologetically. "Sorry, Charles. I lied. I didn''t ask Toby about it until now, but I


    knew that he wouldn''t believe it. That''s why I gave you that answer."

 Chapter 1059

    Chapter 1059


    After Sonia finished herment, Toby lifted his chin at Charles without masking his smug expression.


    Without words, hemunicated, ''Look how well Little Leaf knows me.''


    Charles folly understood Toby''s expression and the corner of his lips twitched as his body was


    trembling.


    This brat!


    Needless to say, she did not miss any of their little interactions, but she yed dumb since they would


    be childish whenever they were together. As long as it was not a physical fight, she might as well


    just let them be.


    "Fine, fine." Charles waved his hand helplessly. "Even if it''s a lie, I won''t do anything to you anyway."


    In other words, he did not me her for it.


    She smiled. "Thanks, Charles."


    Again, he waved his hand in reply before Toby said, "Little Leaf, I didn''t know that you have so much


    faith in me. I''m really happy to know that."


    Sonia did not ask him about it, yet she already believed that he would not buy the story. Of course, he


    should be jumping in excitement for such a solid couple''s trust!


    She then poured him a ss of water. "That''s because you know the entirety of the meeting. If you still


    couldn''t believe it despite that, clearly, I have overestimated you."


    "Don''t worry. Your man ain''t silly." He took over the ss. "Even if I know nothing, I won''t doubt your


    loyalty. I know what kind of person you are."


    She red at him, but a smile appeared across her lips. Evidently, she was pleased by his answer.


    "Right, Toby." Charles suddenlynded his gaze upon the man.


    Toby frowned. "What?"


    Charles crossed his legs. "What else? I just wanna know why you aren''t doing anything to dwindle the


    rage on the Inte? It''s been so long and you''re letting them criticize Sonia? Although she said there''s


    no need to rush since she''s testing you, that shouldn''t affect the test, right?"


    "Test?" Toby turned to face Sonia. "What test?"


    She had not expected Charles to be so outspoken by questioning Toby about the Inte rage as well


    as blurting the so-called test. She was in a bind, for it would be impossible to keep the truth from


    Charlester.


    "Don''t interrupt us." Although Charles was surprised by Toby''s oblivion about her test, he was


    desperate to know the reason behind Toby''s decision.


    To him, dwindling the rage would not influence the test in any way, since it was neither a rification


    nor a solution to the matter.


    Toby nced at her with an intense gaze for a moment before answering Charles'' question, "Who says


    that I''m doing nothing?"


    Both Sonia and Charles were put in a trance by that.


    "You''ve done something?" asked Charles in shock.


    Toby remained quiet while Sonia parted her lips to say something, but frowned soon after. She was not


    doubting Toby''s words as there was no reason for him to lie.


    But why is the issue still trending on the Inte?


    That exact question was then brought up by Charles.


    Toby''s countenance dimmed and in a frosty voice, he recounted, "It''s simple¡ªsomeone''s controlling it.


    Tom had the public rtion department take action once he found out about the issue. They did as they


    were told, but it went trending again very quickly. There''s aworkpany moderating it and I''ve


    confirmed it with thework engineers; they''re clearly trying to keep me out of the way. My


    subordinates are looking into it to find out whichworkpany it is. Once we get to the bottom of it,


    I''ll never let them get away that easily."


    That exins it.


    Sonia snickered as she had a vague guess of whichworkpany it was.


    Thework is the Lores'' forte. Since Miss Lore is one of them, there''s no way theirworkpany


    won''t listen to her orders¡ª in the case where she actually tries to stop them. Ha.


    "What? There''s aworkpany behind this?" Charles was taken aback once again. "It''s not the


    media trying to ride the wave by framing Sonia? I thought it''s just something simple. Why is there a


    networkpany behind this? Is it not as simple as I thought?"


    Toby looked at him as if he was an idiot. "Of course not. Do you think that an ordinary media would


    dare to frame my girlfriend without a backer?"


    "I know that, but I merely thought they''ve gone mad for money and attention, so..." Charles'' voice


    trailed off and he kept quiet in the end. It was because he realized how simple and foolish he was.


    Toby sniggered. "I wonder how you took over the position as the president of Lane Corporation. It''s


    been a decade since you''re in business, hasn''t it? Do you think someone would give their future away


    for a transience benefit?"


    Despite the reluctance to admit Toby''s words, Charles did not retort because it was true that he took it


    too simply.


    Inhaling a deep breath, he regained hisposure before gazing at Sonia with grievance. "Sonia, did


    you know that things aren''t that simple earlier on?"


    She avoided his gaze, but her reaction said it all. With that, Charles'' face scrunched up. "Sonia, you


    lied to me again."


    "I didn''t." She was feeling slightly awkward. "I just didn''t refute when you said that it''s the media riding


    the wave by spreading rumors."


    "I don''t care." He snorted. "You didn''t tell me the truth anyway. You lied."


    "Enough. Are you a kid?" Toby could not bear the sight of Charles'' behavior as he chided with a


    darkened expression, "She didn''t lie. You''re stupid for failing to figure it out. It''s simple."


    While his face disyed disdain, Charles was vexed. "Yeah, yeah. I''m stupid and you''re smart. So, tell


    me. Who''s the one behind this? Why are they stirring up a scandal between Sonia and I?"


    Toby looked at Sonia reflexively, but she yed dumb by facing front without sparing a nce at him.


    Seeing that, his heart sank at the drop of a hat.


    Dang it! So, she''s livid because she knows that the mastermind is my pursuer.


    "Little Leaf, trust me. I''ll find her, so don''t be angry." He looked at the ss before her after which he


    stood up to fill it with water gingerly.


    She alternated her gaze from the ss onto his jittery expression, which she found fonny. If the


    mastermind was not Lte and had nothing to do with him, the anger in Sonia would be cated by


    his cautious behavior; she would''ve just smiled and gotten over it.


    However, that person was someone rted to him and she did not know how he was going to settle it.


    In hindsight, she could not bring herself to smile.


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    She pushed the ss aside as she had no intention to drink it. At the same time, she was telling Toby


    that it would not be easy to quell the rage.


    His heart squeezed tighter. When he was at his wit''s end, Charles abruptly mmed the table. "What?


    It''s a woman?"


    He sprang to his feet and pointed at Toby. "Toby Fuller, is it your pursuer? Is she behind all this?"

 Chapter 1060

    Chapter 1060


    A flicker shone in Toby''s eyes as he remained silent and so did Sonia. Pin-drop silence filled the


    conference room.


    A momentter, Charles was being all jumpy due to frustration. "I guessed it right, didn''t I? The culprit


    is your pursuer! The criticisms and grievance Sonia''s suffering is all because of you, Toby. This is


    already the second time. Anya''s first and now another one. Is there going to be a third one? Huh?" he


    bellowed.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Toby frowned and rose to his feet. "It is true that everything happened because of me. I''ll put things


    right for Little Leaf."


    "Hmph. What for?" Charles sneered, "Keep a count on your pursuers. After it''s settled this time round,


    there''s gonna be another one showing up in future. Are you going to let Sonia suffer every single time?


    If I''d known this would happen, I would''ve stopped her from reconciling with you. You''re too much


    trouble to handle."


    Toby''s pupils shrank as his murderous gaze fixated upon Charles. "What did you say? Trouble?"


    "Am I wrong?" Charles met his eyes fearlessly. "Toby Fuller, ask yourself. Are you rted to every


    danger she''s in and threats she receives until today? Oh, bar one¡ªJessica Reed. Other than her, do


    you dare to im that others are none of your business? Tina Gray; the Gray Family; the Salzburg


    Family; and now, your pursuer. If this continues, Sonia might lose her life someday because of you!"


    Toby clenched his fists as he could not refute. Indeed, all of the predicaments cast upon Sonia¡ª


    besides Jessica''s incident¡ªwere rted to him. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was the


    cause for everything. Toby had evidently caused many troubles to Sonia.


    "Sonia." He closed his eyes before staring at her. "Do you think the same too? That I''ve caused you


    trouble?"


    Although he knew very well himself that he had brought her a lot of problems, he cared more about her


    stance. If she shared the same notion, he...


    No. No matter what she thinks, I''ll never break up with her and I''ll not let her leave my side. She


    belongs to me for this lifetime; and the next one; and for eternity!


    His eyes flickered a fleeting glint of red glow.


    "No." She finally looked at him in the eyes while shaking her head lightly. "They''re rted to you, but so


    am I. We can''t generalize that you''re the cause for their actions since you can''t control them. Don''t


    overthink it."


    His tight fists loosened up a little, yet Charles was displeased. "Sonia, why are you taking on his side


    when things are already out of control?"


    "Charles, I''m not taking his side. This is the fact and it''s notpletely on him." She sighed.


    Charles snorted. Since he was unable to receivemunion from her, he reckoned it was best to pick


    on Toby.


    "Although she said so, don''t get full of yourself. No matter what, you''re the one to me for everything


    that has happened. It''s your pursuer that brings the hate train to Sonia. So, if you don''t work it out, I''ll


    never agree to anything," warned Charles as he pointed a finger at Toby.


    In a same frosty voice, Toby reciprocated, "You''re telling me."


    Then, he looked at her. "Charles mentioned a test for me. What was that?"


    Charles focused his eyes on her and awaited her answer as he was equally curious. Facing the men''s


    gaze, she knew it was redundant to keep it a secret and sighed.


    "Before this, I have a few questions for you." Sonia''s gazended upon Toby.


    His eyes glinted in surprise, but it faded the next second. Regaining hisposure, he nodded lightly.


    "Go ahead. I''ll tell you everything I know."


    "Good." She feigned a smile.


    Meanwhile, Charles shuddered as he sensed something was wrong with her. If he was aware of it,


    Toby should have caught the whiff of it as well. It was then Toby''s gaze disyed a doubtful glint.


    "Before we ended the video call this morning, you said you were going to meet your teacher, right?"


    She lowered her gaze to stare at her red nails.


    He nodded.


    She continued, "What kind of person is he like?"


    "Why do you ask?" His eyes narrowed.


    She smiled in response as the expression remained insincere. "You just have to answer me."


    After gazing at her for a while, he replied, "He is a knowledgeable person, especially in economics.


    Although he no longer catches up with its fast development, he''s the first one who taught me


    everything I know. I respect him a lot."


    "You hold high regards for him."


    "In a way, yes," responded Toby sinctly.


    As long as Harry did not preach on him by exerting his superiority and seniority, he would always own


    Toby''s respect. Still, Sonia was oblivious of that fact. The only thing she knew was Toby had admitted


    that Harry carried a lot of importance to him.


    "What kind of person is he?" she questioned again.


    Charles alternated his gaze between her and Toby before he voiced out his curiosity, "Sonia, what does


    his teacher have to do with your test? Why are you asking this all of the sudden?"


    Toby wanted to know her reason as well.


    However, neither did she answer nor spare a nce at Charles. Her eyes zeroed in on Toby. "Answer


    me. What kind of person is he?"


    "What''s the matter?" Toby felt that she was behaving stranger than he thought.


    She took a deep breath in an attempt to smother the bubbling frustration in her before repeating


    herself. "Answer me and stop the questions. I really want to know."


    Now that things had turned out this way, he would be an idiot if he failed to realize that there was


    something bugging in her mind.


    "Okay. I''m not sure why you wanna know about him, but I''ll tell you if you wanna know." He finally gave


    in. "He''s a nice and patient person. He loves and cares for his juniors, but this is my impression of him


    a few years ago. I''m not sure about him right now since he has changed so much."


    Harry''s dislike toward Sonia was obvious today. Whenever she was mentioned, not a tad of gentleness


    appeared on his face and his temper wore thin. He did not even bother to listen to Toby''s refutes and


    almost fainted due to asthma.


    It was Toby''s first time seeing his teacher behaving in such a manner. Anyway, there was one thing he


    was sure of¡ªHarry was very different from before.


    "A few years ago?" Sonia pursed her lips. "Do you mean that it''s been years since youst met?"


    He hummed. "His granddaughter pursued her studies abroad and he left the country for treatment, so


    he had been living abroad. It hasn''t been long since he returned back to the country."


    She bit her lip. "Seems like you don''t know your teacher that well."


    "Maybe." He nodded and questioned back, "Can you tell me the reason now for asking these


    questions?"


    "There''s no need for the rush." She shook her head. "I''m not done with my questions yet. What do you


    think of his granddaughter?"

 Chapter 1061

    Chapter 1061


    "You mean Lte?" Toby raised his eyebrow.


    She''s asking about Harry and now his granddaughter? Just what is she up to?


    "So, that''s her name." She smiled lightly. "That''s a cute name, but you haven''t answered my question


    yet. What do you think of Miss Lore?"


    He contemted and a young face conjured in his mind. It was so blurry that he could barely make the


    outlines of her face. "Nothing."


    "Nothing?" His answer stupefied her for a moment.


    Given Toby''s reverence for Harry, she assumed that he would have a deep impression of the Lore


    Family. His response was beyond her expectations. Furthermore, she could tell that he was telling the


    truth.


    "Why so? Isn''t she the granddaughter of your teacher? You guys should be close. You''ve grown up


    together, right?" Sonia looked at the man with pursed lips.


    His brows furrowed deeply as he tapped her forehead. "I learned from my teacher, not his


    granddaughter. So, how am I supposed to be close with her? And what? Growing up together? You''re


    not the one to say that. Both of us are the one that has grown up together. You were ten when we


    became penpals, right?"


    Covering her forehead, she finally let out a genuine smile. "I thought you grew up with Miss Lore and


    that you''re close with her."


    It was true; never once had he told Sonia who he grew up with. It was merely her assumption upon the


    discovery of the mastermind''s identity¡ªLte. Since Lte was the granddaughter of Toby''s


    teacher, it was possible for them to get along. Still, Sonia had over-thought about it.


    Since Toby didn''t grow up with Miss Lore and he''s not close with her, I bet he won''t protect her after


    knowing she''s the mastermind of the whole scandal.


    As an afterthought, she thought of giving him a chance by testing him. She stared at him. "Do you have


    any feelings for Miss Lore?"


    Her question almost had himughing. "What sort of feelings should I have for her?"


    They were not close at all. He was Lte''s uncle at most and they barely met or spoke to each other.


    Other than that, there was nothing more between them.


    "Good." Sonia nodded. "But are you aware that Miss Lore likes you? Not in a familiar way, but


    romantically."


    Her words put Toby into a trance. The silent Charles realized something as his mouth gaped. "Sonia,


    do you think that Lte is the one behind all this? You''ve said that the mastermind is Toby''s pursuer


    and now you''re mentioning Lte''s feelings for Toby instead of anyone else. It''s obvious that you''re


    telling us it''s Lte all along."


    "Is it true?" Toby''s face darkened in a split second.


    She looked at him and nodded slowly. "Yeah. Charles is right. It is Miss Lore''s doing. I didn''t know


    about it at first, but I contacted Squirrel and bought off their editor''s secretary. The secretary dug into it


    from the editor."


    She fished out her phone and clicked the voice note sent by Noah for the men. ording to the voice


    note, Mitch¡ªthe editor¡ª clearly stated that the whole incident was Lte''s n.


    Lte bribed Mitch to have a paparazzi watch Sonia in her vicinity one week ago. All of this was to


    capture any titbits about her. Even if the paparazzi failed to do so, an intimate picture of her and a man


    would work since it only needed a little bit of editing to stir up a controversy on the Inte.


    Thus, the pictures of Sonia and Charles heading to a hotel was taken. Lte even reassured Mitch


    that she would protect him if Toby took revenge.


    After listening to the recording, Toby was shocked to the core. Never in his wildest dream had he


    expected his teacher''s granddaughter to set that up. He did not remember much about her, but she


    was a cheerful girl.


    Still, the girl, who he thought to be adorable, had feelings for him and was malice enough to set up his


    woman through such lowly means.


    It seemed like the seven years had not only changed Harry but Lte as well, except hers was a


    complete one-eighty.


    Words failed Toby as his countenance dimmed and the temperature around him dipped. Sonia was


    aware that it was a huge blow for him. She understood how he felt, for the culprit was none other than


    his teacher''s granddaughter.


    He had never imagined it to be Lte''s doing before this. Now that he knew of the truth, it was difficult


    toe to terms with it. Though Harry was a respectable person to him, it was foolproof that his


    granddaughter was a malicious one. It would still be an uneptable reality had it been anyone else in


    Toby''s shoes.


    Hence, Sonia kept quiet in order not to disturb him so that he could digest the whole situation. Even so,


    Charles was not as kind as she was. Knowing that the culprit was Lte, he jumped to his feet in fury


    before grabbing Toby by the cor and roaring, "Well, well. No wonder that woman and the squirrels


    are so daring. You''re backing them up! I can see why. She is your teacher''s granddaughter after all. I


    bet you listen to everything he says, huh? Otherwise, why is she so confident that she can protect that


    editor? She must''ve known that you''ll let her off to save your teacher''s face."


    A thought seeped into Charles'' mind as he took a glimpse of Sonia. "Now I understand why Sonia is


    not rifying the issue; it is a test for you. Sonia thinks the same¡ªshe figured that you''ll let Lte off


    the hook for the sake of your teacher."


    Toby''s eyes widened as he stared at Sonia with a serious expression. "Do you really think that I''ll take


    her side?"


    It took her a while to answer. "Charles is right. I am wondering whether you''ll do that. She''s your


    teacher''s granddaughter after all. I dare not jump to conclusions on what your choice will be. Besides, I


    know that it''s a difficult one to make since it''s between me and your teacher."


    He could not possibly remain unperturbed upon hearing her statement.


    So, she''s not trusting me a hundred percent. She doesn''t believe that I''ll be on her side forever.


    He was undeniably hurt by that.


    "One question¡ªif I choose to protect my teacher and straighten things out without gravity, what will you


    do?" Toby tightened his fists while zeroed in on her.


    Before the woman could say anything, Charles smirked. "What else can she do? She''ll break up with


    you for sure. If you choose your teacher and gloss over the issue, Sonia will be putting up against the


    criticisms for nothing! Moreover, there will always be a second time. If you choose your teacher, you''ll


    always stick to your choice and wrong Sonia. So, what''s the point of continuing the rtionship?"Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.

 Chapter 1062

    Chapter 1062


    Charles'' words were exactly what Sonia meant, so she decided to keep silent and admitted to it


    wordlessly.


    Toby clenched his fist once again and he did it so forcefully that there was an audible crack from his


    knuckles.


    "I won''t agree to us breaking up. I won''t even give you the chance to break up with me." Toby kept his


    eyes on Sonia as he enunciated each word carefully and firmly.


    She was the person he had been in love with for more than ten years; she was someone whom he had


    once shared his life with before losing her again; she was also someone whom he had rescued in


    exchange of his near-death experience. Therefore, he would never give her the chance to break up


    with him. There was no way on earth that it would ever happen.


    Sonia could tell from Toby''s eyes with what he intended to express and she was sincerely shocked by


    that. Finally, she moved her red lips and started to speak up, "So, it is me that you have chosen."


    Toby instantly took her into his arms right in front of Charles and ced a hand behind the back of her


    head as he spoke genuinely, "Yes, it will always be you."


    Although she had expected this, as soon as she heard Toby express it verbally in person, she could not


    contain her shocked expression.


    She slowly withdrew herself from Toby''s arms and lifted her head to look at the man in front of her. "Are


    you sure about this? You should be aware that the other person we''re talking about here is your


    esteemed mentor. Although this matter isn''t initiated by him but his granddaughter, I''m guessing that he


    wouldn''t want us to kick up a big fuss about this and just let bygones be bygones. Surely, he would


    want to save his granddaughter. If you refuse, would your mentor ept this graciously and let things


    be?"


    "You must be joking." Charles rolled his eyes. "I''ve met Mr. Lore twice and he''s just an idiotic old man


    who sides with the younger generation of his family quite unreasonably. His favorite granddaughter is


    Lte. There are too many sons in the Lore Family while Lte''s the only daughter, so obviously,


    she''s spoiled rotten in their family. Not only does everyone in the family dote on her, but Mr. Lore also


    spoils her to her core. He doesn''t even realize that his actions have turned her into a spoiled brat and


    seems to assume that this is just her childlike nature. Ha. I think he seems to be quite proud of that


    too."


    As soon as Charles mentioned that, he suddenly revealed a scoffing look. "Sonny, I don''t know whether


    you''ve heard of this story before, but eight years ago, I attended a dinner party and Mr. Lore and his


    family were in attendance too. The atmosphere at the dinner party was quite nice and peaceful, and


    everyone mingled around as they enjoyed some drinks, and chatted with each other. However, soon


    after that, a group of debutantes suddenly got into a fight. Guess why?"


    Sonia shook her head. "I don''t know. I wasn''t in attendance at the dinner party that you just mentioned."


    Eight years ago, her dad was still alive and he was the chairman of Paradigm Co. at that time.


    However, Paradigm Co. was gradually experiencing a downturn back then, so most of the organizers of


    dinner parties would skip the invitation to the Reed Family. Naturally, she did not get to attend that


    dinner party, so she wouldn''t have known what went on there.


    She turned to nce at Toby and there was a questioning look in her eyes. Do you know about this


    incident that Charlie just mentioned?


    Toby shook his head slightly. "No, I don''t know anything about that. I didn''t attend that dinner party. I


    usually get invited to a lot of functions and I don''t really have the time to attend every single one of


    them."


    At that point, Sonia grimaced slightly. She realized that he was not, in fact, trying to show off. After all, it


    was normal for him to receive countless invitations to dinner parties due to his status, but as she heard


    his words, she found herself quite envious of him.


    Truth be told, most people would resort to anything¡ªeven paying exorbitant amounts of money¡ªto


    obtain an invitation to a dinner party. The reason was so that they could join the dinner party and


    mingle with those people of higher social status. However, for Toby, he did not even have to ask for the


    things that others seemed to yearn so badly for and yet were out of reach for them. Furthermore, he


    generally attended those functions based on his mood. If he turned up, he would always be given a


    personal and warm wee by the host of the dinner party. Even if he did not turn up, no one would


    comment on that. That was just how much different it was for people of different social statuses.


    At that moment, she no longer wanted to speak to Toby to avoid being subconsciously unted. She


    quickly shifted her eyes and turned to Charles. "Charles, keep going, then. What was the reason for the


    row?"


    Charles grunted in response and continued his topic, "The reason was that one of the girls bought a


    dress that Lte missed out on, and out of anger, Lte sshed wine on that girl. The girl Lte


    sshed wine on was also doted upon by her family members, so she had quite a temper too.


    Subsequently, the two girls got into a fight and in the end, the other girls in their respective cliques got


    involved in the fight as well. The dinner party ended up in havoc. The family members of the girls finally


    heard about the fight and rushed over in a hurry."


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    "What happened next?" Sonia''s interest was piqued. "How did the matter get resolved?"


    Charlesughed derisively. "In the end, this matter ended after the girl who was sshed with wine


    apologized to Lte. Furthermore, the girl also had to provide a lot of gifts to Lte as


    compensation."


    "What?!" Sonia felt as if she was listening to the biggest joke ever as she revealed an exasperated


    smile. "That was too much! How on earth could a victim be expected to apologize and even provide


    compensation to the perpetrator? This is the first time ever that I''ve heard of such a ridiculous thing!"


    Sonia was not the only one who found the situation ludicrous. Even Toby, who was slightly connected


    to the perpetrator, found it ridiculous too. However, he linked the situation to his mentor''s protective


    stance toward his family members and at that point, Toby had a basic idea of how the matter got


    resolved.


    "You do find this quite ludicrous too, huh?" Charles looked at Toby, who was lost in thoughts, before


    frowning. "The person who caused all this was Lte''s grandfather¡ªToby''s mentor¡ªand he''s also


    the idiotic old man who sides with the younger generation of his family unreasonably like I mentioned


    before. After he was told the entire situation, not only did he not chastise his granddaughter, he even


    shifted the me to the other girl. From the words he spoke, he seemed to imply that the girl shouldn''t


    have worn that dress she had on and this incident would not have urred if she hadn''t had that


    dress. Ultimately, his granddaughter was the innocent one and the other girl was to be med for all


    this. The girl and her family members were angered beyond words by that, but there was nothing else


    they could do about the situation. After all, the Lore Family had the Fullers backing them."


    Charles continued to purse his lips. "There you go, it''s the Fuller Family here. The entire Seafield


    knows that Mr. Lore is Toby''s mentor and that Toby has always been very respectful toward him. As


    such, the girl''s family members were worried about offending the backers of the Lore Family¡ªa.k.a. the


    Fullers¡ªso they had no choice but to suffer the injustice despite their reluctance. They ended up


    making the first move to apologize to the Lores. Sonny, that''s why you should realize by now that that


    old Lore is an unreasonable and warped selfish man. He knew that his granddaughter was at fault, yet


    he purposely chose to overlook that part. Clearly, the Lores are despicable."


    As soon as Charles said that, Toby instantly shot him a stern look.


    However, Charles held his head high. "Why are you staring at me, huh? I hold the same stance


    regardless of how you feel and besides, I''m not ndering them! Your mentor is a despicable person. I


    can''t believe that someone like him is a professor! He''s just one without moralities. Besides, the entire


    Seaview knows about the Lores'' bad behaviors anyway!"


    At that point, Toby remained silent.


    Sonia nced at him. "Is everything that Charles has mentioned to be true? Is your mentor such an


    overly protective man?"


    Toby gave Charles the side-eye and gradually lifted his head. "My mentor is overly protective of his


    granddaughter. However, I didn''t know about the incident that Charles just mentioned and I''ve never


    heard of that either."


    "Though you''ve never heard of that, it doesn''t mean that it never happened." Charles crossed his arms


    and scoffed, "Besides, the reason why you''ve never heard of that is because the Lores would never


    bring that up in front of you. After all, they made use of your reputation to resolve the matter. If they


    took the initiative to bring it up in front of you, then you would have found out that they were behaving


    insolently outside by unting your name. As for why the others never mentioned it to you, well, it''s


    simply because they''re afraid that you would go after them unreasonably¡ªas the Lores did¡ªif you


    found out. That''s why, somehow, everyone seemed to have a mutual understanding to keep it a secret


    from you."

 Chapter 1063

    Chapter 1063


    Toby''s expression instantly turned thunderous and he seemed to be a second away from ring up


    anytime soon. Everyone present could not help but feel their hearts skip a beat.


    Had Charles not mentioned this incident, then Toby would have been blissfully unaware of everything.


    Of course, Toby had no doubts that Charles was telling the truth. After all, he could just easily


    investigate the matter to verify if he wanted to.


    On the other hand, Charles would be unbothered with Toby investigating it since he was telling the truth


    anyway.


    Toby had assumed that his mentor and Lte had a drastic change in their conduct over the past few


    years. In actuality, they had been adopting that poor conduct since eight years ago! No, perhaps they


    haven''t changed in their ways and it''s likely that they''ve been behaving this way their whole life; they


    were just yet to show their true colors before me. That was why he had been unaware of all this. In


    reality, they were just a bunch of ugly beings beneath their facade.


    "I''m sorry." Toby reached out to tug Sonia''s hand. "I knew that Harry was unfair and overprotective, but


    I didn''t expect him to behave so abominably in such a manner by taking advantage of my identity."


    Sonia lowered her head and remained silent.


    Charles pointed at Toby. "Sonny, look at him. He admitted that Mr. Lore''s an overprotective jack, so if


    Toby insists on pursuing this matter and seeking revenge from that man''s granddaughter, then it would


    be impossible for that old fogey to agree to that. He would surely bring up his identity as Toby''s mentor


    tomand him to stop pursuing the matter. I reckon Lte must also know that her grandfather


    would stand up for her, that''s why she''s so fearless."


    "I do agree with Charles on that." Sonia touched her cheeks and continued, "It''s because Miss Lore


    knows that her grandfather dotes on her and he would forsake his identity to do anything for her. That''s


    why she''s so reckless in her ways. Even for this incident this time, I believe that ultimately, your mentor


    would stand up for Miss Lore and request personally for you to forgive her. You¡ª"


    "I won''t forgive her," Toby responded at once.


    Though she was quite happy to hear that, she felt slightly apprehensive too. "What if Mr. Lore insists


    that you forgive her? You should remember that he''s your mentor and he has your respect. If he makes


    a demand as your mentor and requests that you let her granddaughter off the hook, and you reject him,


    aren''t you worried that he will reveal to the public that you''re a disrespectful and ungrateful student?"


    Toby nced at her and revealed a confident smile. "No, he won''t do that. The current two generations


    of the Lore Family are pretty much worthless, so none of them can stand on their own feet. That''s why


    the Lores are reliant on me for support to maintain their current status andvish lives. If they sever ties


    with me, then judging by the capabilities of those worthless Lore youngsters, their family would cease


    to exist in the upper echelons of society in no time at all. Although Harry is quitex with the upbringing


    of his younger generations, he''s not in denial of their faults, so he would never threaten me this way."


    "Are you sure about that?" Sonia sat up straighter than before.


    "Yes!" Toby quite naturally wrapped his hand around her waist. He found that it was rather easy to hold


    her on her slender waist. He unclenched hisrge hands and it was exactly the size of her slender


    waist, making it a pleasant sensation for him to hold her.


    At that moment, Toby''s eyes darkened significantly as he tightened his grip on her waist. He could not


    help himself and started to caress her waist.


    In response, Sonia red at him exasperatedly.


    If Charles was not present, she would definitely have pushed his hand aside. However, with a guest


    around, she was rather shy to do that because Charles would notice her range of motion.


    By then, when Charles realized that she and Toby were publicly disying their affection for each


    other, she would be the one feeling awkward.


    Unknown to the situation, Charles did not realize that the couple seated across from him had taken


    advantage of the work desk as a barrier to wrap their arms around each other. Still in discussion,


    Charles was still doubtful of Toby''s words, so he rebuked, "Even if he doesn''t use that method to


    threaten you, if you actually do take action against his granddaughter and he retaliates by denouncing


    you as his student, then you would end up with a tarnished reputation. The whole world would be


    specting on your actions. After all, you must have done something quite horrendous to be


    denounced by your mentor. Are you able to ept the spections of the public?"


    Charles reckoned that someone in a position like Toby would not be able to take that.


    Sonia kept her eyes on Toby too. It was not her intention to apply pressure on him, but she could not


    ept that anyone who had harmed her could just easily get away from punishment by ying with


    connections.


    After all, she did not even know Lte personally, so why did she have to experience being bullied by


    thetter just because she was in a rtionship with Toby?


    Besides, Sonia had sworn an oath to retaliate if she ever was wronged and she would not stand by and


    show mercy to those who did her dirty.


    Understandably, she wanted to know Toby''s attitude and find out who he would side with. She also


    wanted to find out whether he would choose to avoid the main issue and try to resolve the matter by


    taking the easy way out due to some specific reasons.


    All in all, regardless of his choice, she would not let this matter slide.


    From one point, she was happy that Toby sided with her and came to the same decision of making


    Lte pay the consequence for her actions.


    However, Sonia was not afraid either if it ever came a moment where Toby decided to heed his


    mentor''s words and let Lte off the hook; regardless whether the reason stemmed from his utmost


    respect toward Harry, or because he did not want to be denounced to the world as a heartless person.


    The reason being that she had two voice recordings on hand that were sufficient enough to bring


    Lte down by making her misdeeds known to the public.


    Hence, Sonia was rather rxed about the situation.


    However, she was interested to find out Toby''s decision right now.


    Naturally, Toby could tell what Sonia meant from the look that she gave him, so he heaved a faint sigh


    and silently nced over her head. "Can''t you just trust me more?"


    "If you give us a more definite answer, then we''ll trust you." Before Sonia could even respond to Toby''s


    words, Charles¡ªseated across from them¡ªtapped his foot and voiced out before her.


    Toby shot a cold look at Charles and without a doubt, it clearly meant, Shut up, you nosy guy!


    He rolled his eyes at Toby and snorted quite arrogantly. This is how nosy I am! Whatcha gon do, huh?


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    He lifted his chin and shot a provoking look at Toby.


    Meanwhile, Toby could not even be bothered to reciprocate that childish exchange.


    If he wasn''t the son of the Lanes and Little Leafs friend, I would not even give this guy the chance to


    show his arrogance in front of me!


    Ignoring Charles, Toby forgot about him as soon as he turned to look at Sonia. "Why wouldn''t I be able


    to ept the spections of the public? Even if they did specte, so what? Would they dare to say it


    in front of me? Besides, do you think that I care about the public''s opinion?"


    Sonia shook her head. "I don''t think so."


    "Of course not." Toby stroked her hair. "Right now, there are plenty of spections from the public


    about me, but I''ve never been bothered about that. I won''t be bothered about this either, be it now or in


    the future, so I''m not worried about my mentor denouncing me. My position here is how it is, so


    regardless whether I''m denounced or not, it wouldn''t affect me. Furthermore, my mentor would never


    denounce me, because doing so would indicate that they''ve cut off ties with me. Thus, the Lore Family


    would also end up in a rapid decline too."


    Ultimately, it was a close loop. Whatever it was, the Lores would definitely not sever ties with him


    unless they no longer cared about the great future of their family.


    As soon as Charles heard Toby''s words, he shifted his lips slightly and he seemed to be trying to cast


    doubt on Toby''s words. However, he could note up with any; that was because he understood


    Toby''s words and he knew that the Lore Family would never dare to offend Toby.


    "So, do you trust that I won''tpromise and give in to my mentor now?" Toby nced at Sonia and


    his lips curved into a smile.


    She grunted her approval. "Not bad. But even if your mentor won''t denounce you for refusing to let his


    granddaughter off the hook, he would definitely still me you and your mentor-mentee rtionship


    would¡ª"


    "It doesn''t matter." Toby toyed with her fingers.


    Her fingers were long, slender, soft, and porcin; her skin was silky-smooth too. Toby could not seem


    to keep his hands off her as he yed with her fingers. "I haven''t met Harry for quite a few years now,


    so we don''t really have a close rtionship anyway. Besides, he has been taking advantage of me and


    using my name to do a lot of things behind my back, so that''s something I''m quite displeased with.


    Besides, with this issue here, I don''t mind maintaining our mentor-mentee rtionship for the public


    eye if he''s willing to handle it fair and square. If he refuses to do so, then we might as well be strangers


    to each other."

 Chapter 1064

    Chapter 1064


    Toby spoke in such a definite tone that Sonia no longer coulde up with any words to rebuke that.


    However, she was quite pleased to know that she remained Toby''s first choice regardless of the


    situation. As such, she would not have to worry about him brushing off this matter because of Harry''s


    identity as his teacher.


    Still, she was not a heartless person and it was not her intention to force him into cutting ties with his


    mentor. After all, she was not intent on pursuing this matter relentlessly either and insisted on making


    Lte pay the price. However, she realized that if she relented this time and let the other party off the


    hook through connections, then not only would they not be appreciative, they would most likely find her


    weak and easily ovee. From then on, they would only behave worse than ever toward her


    because they assumed she would go easy on them for the sake of Toby.


    At that point, she realized that it was okay to not be unconditionally kind and considerate all the time.


    Who knew, one might just be digging their own pitfall when they allowed others to take advantage of


    their kindness. Besides, Toby was the one linked to the Lores, not her.


    There was a glint that shed across Sonia''s eyes that disappeared soon enough.


    Charles, who had been standing by the side while continuously doubting Toby''s words and going


    against everything that he said, was finally at a loss for words at that moment. After all, Toby had


    spoken and he would definitely seek justice for Sonia. He was also willing to cut off ties with the Lores,


    so there was nothing else that Charles coulde up with to refute that. In fact, Charles was


    impressed by Toby. Toby was an extremely logical man and he was also showcased as an emotionally


    stable person as he was not a wishy-washy person who would somehow be led by his emotions.


    Ultimately, he knew that as long as Toby maintained his sense of logic and level-headedness, then it


    would be quite unlikely for Sonia to encounter any unhappy situations. As such, Charles no longer shot


    his snide remarks at him, despite reserving some displeasure toward the man.


    Meanwhile, Toby was not interested to know what Charles thought about it. In fact, he did not even


    bother to cast eyes on that childish man. Toby ruffled Sonia''s hair and stood up as he spoke, "Since


    you''ve figured out the perpetrator behind this incident, you should just let me deal with the rest."


    Sonia moved her red lips slightly as she attempted to say something, but Toby''s phone suddenly went


    off and interrupted her words. With no other option, she kept her mouth shut and gestured at him to


    answer the phone first.


    Comprehending her gesture, Toby fished out his phone to nce at the screen. He noticed that it was a


    call from Tom, so he figured that it must be something urgent. Without any hesitation, he answered the


    phone and ced it next to his ears. "Yes?"


    "President Fuller, I just got back from Squirrel Media and I''ve found out the perpetrator behind this


    incident after interrogating the fatso, Mitch." On the other end of the phone, Tom walked out of the front


    doors of Squirrel Media and stood in front of the car as he turned back to nce at the building where


    Squirrel Media was located. At that moment, there was a somber look on his face.


    Toby heard Tom''s words and a dangerous look flickered in his eyes as he narrowed them slightly. "Go


    on."


    Tom knew that Toby wanted him to continue recounting what Tom found out, so he took a deep breath


    and collected himself from hisplicated feelings before slowly voicing out, "That fatso mentioned


    that... that..." Tom repeated himself several times, but he did not get to the main point.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    At that moment, Toby''s brows were furrowed tightly and there was an evident look of impatience on his


    face. "I''ll hang up if you don''t tell me what''s going on."


    "Okay, okay, I''ll exin things." Tom was quite worried that Toby would hang up on him, so he quickly


    responded and indicated that he would no longer behave hesitantly and stammer his words.


    Indeed, Toby took the phone and ced it next to his ears once again. "Hurry up and tell me."


    Tom responded affirmatively and at the same time, he seemed to have made up his mind too. He shut


    his eyes for a moment and after he opened them, there was no longer a lost look in his eyes. Instead, it


    was now a calm look in his eyes and he finally finished off the sentence that he could not continue


    earlier.


    "President Fuller, the fatso from Squirrel Media said that this incident was initiated by Miss Lte Lore


    and she instructed him to do so. One week ago. Miss Lore contacted the fatso by phone and told him


    to arrange for some tabloid reporters to tail Miss Reed in an attempt to take somepromising


    photos of Miss Reed with someone of the opposite gender. However, one week went by and the tabloid


    reporters didn''t manage to take any scandalous photos, so Squirrel Media then attempted toe up


    with some fake photos and target Miss Reed. However, before they proceeded with that, the sight of


    Miss Reed and Mr. Lane entering a hotel together was caught by a tabloid reporter tailing Miss Reed.


    So, that was how the scandal broke on the inte."


    Pausing momentarily, Tom continued as he did not get a response or an idea of what Toby was thinking


    about. "ording to him, Miss Lore did that because she is interested in you, President Fuller. That''s


    why she purposely created a scandal rting to Miss Reed to cause your breakup."


    "I know that." Toby nced at Sonia before responding in a cold voice.


    Meanwhile, Tom was quite stunned as he instantly eximed, "You already knew?! President Fuller,


    did you know it was her all this time, as well as her motive? "


    Toby grunted affirmatively.


    At that point, Tom gasped. This is impossible! I''ve juste out of Squirrel Media, so logically


    speaking, I should be the first to find out. How did President Fuller find out before me?


    "Little Leaf told me everything." Toby could seem to read Tom''s mind, so he recounted how he found


    out about everything.


    The proud woman revealed a slight smile upon hearing his words as she could guess from his words


    the details of their conversation.


    As for Charles, he already had his phone out and he was currently engrossed in a mobile game. After


    all, Toby was now aware of the matter and he had firmly expressed that he would stand by Sonia no


    matter what happened. As such, Charles had nothing to worry about and he decided to just leave


    everything to Toby.


    "Gosh, was Miss Reed the one who actually told you this?" Tom eximed in surprise and there was


    an incredulous look on his face. What''s going on? How did Miss Reed find out? I just found out about


    this not long ago, so how is she a step ahead of me? Since when did Miss Reed be so much


    more influential than President Fuller? Tom found the situation quite perplexing.


    Toby was clearly aware of what was running through Tom''s mind. At that moment, Toby had his eyes


    on Sonia and there was a proud look on them. "Just because we managed to dig the dirt directly from


    Squirrel Media doesn''t mean Little Leaf can''t either!"


    Meanwhile, Sonia felt slightly awkward under his intent look but at the same time, she found him quite


    sweet too. She did not think that she was as great as he portrayed her to be, so she was fairly


    surprised to see him be so proud of her. Nheless, she was happy that he felt so proud of her and


    he showed it by being so smug about the situation. This man... Sonia shook her head with a smile.


    On the other end of the phone call, Tom was rendered speechless by Toby''s words. Heh! I can tell that


    President Fuller''s mocking me for being idiotic and not realizing such a simple thing. Well, in fact, I


    didn¡¯t think of that, so I guess I am quite idiotic. At that moment, Tom felt quite crushed.


    However, Toby paid no heed to Tom''s current feelings and he slowly returned to his normal self as he


    made up his mind to admire Sonia in private. Subsequently, Toby went back to his cold, indifferent self.


    "How''s the editor doing?"


    As soon as Toby asked that, Sonia''s ears twitched slightly and she leaned closer to him. Evidently, she


    wanted to listen to their conversation. From Toby''s earlier statement about Sonia''s intelligence earlier,


    she could tell that Tom must have used simr means to find out about the truth too. The only


    differencey in that she had threatened the person working for the editor to betray him and get


    information. However, Toby must have gone straight to the source and interrogated the chief editor.


    Otherwise, Toby would not have asked how the editor was currently doing. Furthermore, based on her


    understanding of Toby''s personality, he must have used some strong-armed tactics during the


    interrogation process. Therefore, she was keen to find out the consequences of the chief editor too.

 Chapter 1065

    Chapter 1065


    Toby noticed Sonia''s little movements before joy shed across his eyes. Then, he pulled his phone


    away from his ears and put it on the loudspeaker.


    When she heard that his call was amplified, she knew that the man had found out she was


    eavesdropping, and she was immediately embarrassed.


    She felt that she was acting like a thief.


    However, it was a good thing that he noticed. Now, she didn''t have to continue eavesdropping, nor did


    she have to worry about not being able to hear the conversation.


    As she thought of this, Sonia straightened her body that was leaning to the side.


    After all, now that Toby had turned on the loudspeaker for her to listen in, she didn''t have to try so hard


    to eavesdrop since it was tiring.


    On the other end of the phone, Tom had no idea what was happening on Toby''s side. After hearing


    Toby''s question, Tom smiled and replied, "That idiot is really a coward. When I first went to look for him,


    I thought that he would put up a fight. Yet, as soon as I took out my wrench, the man dropped to his


    knees and confessed everything. President Fuller, it seems like the news of how you like to pull


    people''s teeth is well known in the circle."


    Toby remained expressionless, but this took Sonia by surprise. "What? Pull people''s teeth?"


    However, Charles, who was on the side, didn''t have a reaction. When he heard her exmation, he


    lowered the volume of her game a little before raising his head to exin, "Do you not know about that,


    Sonny? Pulling out teeth is one of the punishments this guy does to some people in the circle."


    He freed one hand and pointed at Toby.


    Toby nced at him lightly but did not refute. This was seen as a sign that Charles was right.


    She took a gulp of water and looked at him. "What is Charles saying? Can you borate?"


    Toby raised his chin. "You know very well that in my current position, I will naturally have a lot of


    enemies. Many people are jealous of me and want to pull the Fuller Group or me down. Therefore,


    these people will either try to nt moles in the Fuller Group or secretly plot against me. I can''t go too


    lightly against these people. Instead, I need to be ruthless. So, over time, I began to revert to a few


    common means to deal with them. Pulling their teeth is one of them. But that is just to deal with those


    hard- mouthed people. It''s not something I always do."


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    "I see." Sonia nodded suddenly. "You never told me about this."


    Then, he clenched his fist and ced it against his lips before letting out a light cough. "If I told you


    these, I''m afraid I''ll scare you away, and you''ll think I''m barbarous."


    "I won''t." Sonia smiled and shook her head. "Being in such a high position, you''d face all sorts of


    danger. If you don''t use some ruthless means to deal with them, you wouldn''t be able to protect


    yourself, your family, or thepany. So, it is understandable for you to do this. You also don''t have to


    worry about my thoughts of how barbarous you know. Although I am soft-hearted, I am still reasonable.


    I know when to be cruel and when to be empathetic."


    Wouldn''t she be considered a saint if she was always empathetic and kind?


    A saint was also often more likely to attract enemies and hurt the people around her.


    After hearing Sonia''s words, Toby nced at her and smiled. "I''m d you can think that way."


    However, she shot him an angry look. "All right now, hurry up and answer Tom."


    On the other end of the phone, Tom heard what she said, waved his hand, and quickly said, "It''s okay,


    Miss Reed. You and President Fuller can take your time. I can wait. You don''t have to feel like you''re


    dragging my time."


    Tom was afraid that Toby did not want to talk to him and that Toby wanted to hang up the phone to


    focus on talking to Sonia.


    Yet, she was pushing for him to talk to Tom, and this would definitely rile Toby up.


    Wouldn''t this just set Tom up for a scolding?


    "How can we keep you waiting? Wouldn''t it be better if you get this over with so you can do something


    else?" Sonia smiled at Toby''s phone before tugging him, motioning him to go back on the call with Tom.


    Toby pursed his thin lips, obviously reluctant. Yet, he didn''t want to oppose her as well, so he turned to


    his phone. "Even if he has confessed, we can''t let him off the hook so easily."


    When Tom heard the coldness in Toby''s voice, he smiled bitterly. Well, it seems like President Fuller is


    unhappy. Forget it. He is my boss at the end of the day. If my boss is angry, I''d have to endure it.


    Otherwise, I''d be too embarrassed to receive such a high sry and the 0.2% share dividend.


    "What do you mean, President Fuller?" Tom asked as he nudged his sses.


    Toby did not answer immediately. Instead, he nced at Sonia.


    However, she motioned him to continue. "You can decide for yourself. Don''t ask me. I wouldn''t know


    what to do if you did."


    This assured him.


    As kind as she was, she wasn''t blind. She knew those bad people should be punished.


    However, she might be able to ruthlessly punish them.


    So, this was where he should step in.


    He had no intention of forcing her. So, he looked down at the phone on the desk as coldness shed


    across his eyes. "Since she can so easily take the pay and fabricate news like this, I''m sure she has


    done more things. Collect all the evidence of her crimes, I''m sure there''s more. I''ll make sure she rots


    in prison!"


    A woman who dared to sell him out for her own benefits must be prepared to pay such a price.


    This was how he warned others.


    It was a warning to those who were plotting against his women; they should know better and stay away.


    Otherwise, he would not let a single one go.


    "Okay, President Fuller. I know what to do." Tom nodded.


    Then, Toby turned to Sonia. "What do you think?"


    She hummed. "I think that''s a good idea. As a victim of cyberbullying, any fake news will harm the


    parties involved. Throwing these minions in jail will also purify the Inte. In a way, you''re also taking


    revenge for those who had suffered cyberbullying because of him. At the same time, you''re also


    preventing others from experiencing it. I think you''ve done a good job."


    Sonia gave the man a thumbs up.


    This made his lips curled up. "Is that all?"


    "What?" She was stunned, obviously not understanding what the man meant.


    He then stretched out his hand and held her thumb in his palm, squeezing it lightly. "Isn''t this praise too


    simple? It''s just a thumbs up."


    Hearing this, she rolled her eyes. "Then, what do you want?"


    Toby bent down and pointed to his cheek.


    It was obvious what he wanted¡ªhe wanted a kiss.


    Suddenly, Sonia''s face was flushed red.


    When he noticed that she didn''t make a move, he urged, "Hurry up. This kind ofpliment is more


    convincing, which will make me really believe that you''re praising me. A thumbs up is too perfunctory."


    The corners of Sonia''s mouth twitched. Perfunctory? What is this man talking about?


    She did not think that it was perfunctory for her to give a thumbs up at all.


    It was obvious that this dirty dog wanted to get more from this.


    After all, this was something he would do very often, but back then, he would only do this when they


    were alone.


    Yet now, he had the courage to pull this stunt when there were people around.


    Sonia also knew that he did this on purpose. With Charles here, Toby was deliberately trying to provoke


    him.


    What Toby was trying to do was not only obvious to her, but Charles had also seen through it with a


    nce and sneered in his heart.


    Toby Fuller, you b*stard!


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1066

    Chapter 1066


    Did he think that by doing this. I''d be angry? I-I...


    Fine! I am angry!


    Charles was a little dispirited as he slouched and radiated a self-deprecating aura.


    He couldn''t do anything about these two people. One of them was the love of his life while the other


    was his rival.


    Now that they were together and publicly showing affection, he couldn''t go up and pull the two apart


    just because he felt ufortable.


    After all, they were already a couple, and he was just an outsider.


    Thinking of this, Charles took a deep breath before turning around to look away.


    When Toby noticed this, victory instantly shed across his eyes.


    It was true. He did it on purpose.


    He was deliberately trying to provoke Charles to the point of anger.


    Who told him to talk so much and tried to go against Toby?


    It would be out of character for him not to seek vengeance.


    Sonia wasn''t aware of what he was thinking, but when she saw Charles turning away because of them,


    she was filled with embarrassment.


    It was because this meant that all the flirting between her and Toby was seen by Charles.


    And the fact that Charles liked her, for her to flirt with another man in front of him, was undoubtedly like


    a stab in his heart.


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    Therefore, she needed to put an end to this now.


    She patted Toby''s arm while ring at him with feigned anger. "Okay, enough."


    As she said this, she gestured over at Charles, who was ying his game with his back facing them


    with a loud volume.


    This was her way of telling Toby that Charles was here and that they shouldn''t act like this.


    However, Toby did not care if Charles saw them being intimate or not and he even wished that Charles


    did.


    This was to show how good Toby and Sonia''s rtionship was.


    Toby was even more delighted, especially when he had the chance to prove it in front of Charles.


    But seeing that Sonia didn''t want to do it, he could only give in. Instead of teasing her further, he sat


    back down on his seat. "Okay, I will behave."


    On the other end of the phone, although Tom couldn''t see what was going on nor did he know what the


    two did, he could easily guess from what he had heard.


    There had to be other people around. Toby must have tried to be coquettish with Sonia, but was


    rejected by her because she was considerate of whoever was present.


    That should be the case.


    As for who the other person was, Tom had some guesses.


    The two protagonists in this incident were Sonia and Charles.


    Naturally, he would be the one at her ce.


    Tsk, tsk, tsk. It''s a battlefield over there.


    Tom was cing the puzzle pieces together in his mind when he heard Toby''s next instruction. "After


    collecting the evidence, find a goodwyer. I don''t want her to just sit in prison. I want her to lose all her


    wealth."


    Toby had entuated his words ordingly.


    Tom naturally understood what Toby meant as he pushed his sses up again. "All right, Mr. Fuller.


    Don''t worry, I will arrange it ordingly. But what about the fatso''s money? What are we going to do


    about it?"


    Then, Toby turned to Sonia.


    She lowered her eyes as she pondered before her eyes suddenly lit up, seeming like she had thought


    of something. "Since you''ve said that this person had taken advantage of others in the past,


    deliberately fabricated fake news, and destroyed the lives of many, distribute the money to those


    people that were harmed by him ording to the severity of the damage he had done. Treat it as


    compensation from Mitch. This is something he should pay for."


    Tom heard everything she said on the phone and praised her without hesitation, "Miss Reed, that''s an


    amazing idea."


    However, Toby snorted. "You don''t have to tell her that."


    When Tom heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched and he was instantly speechless.


    He had thrown his ttery without expecting anything.


    He just thought that her idea was good and was sincerely admiring her. That was why he


    subconsciously said those words.


    As a result, he didn''t know that he had robbed Toby of the opportunity to tter Sonia.


    Tom sighed; his heart was starting to hurt.


    Sonia immediately understood his silence and smiled. "Alright, Toby. Don''t scare Tom."


    He immediately started nodding again.


    Exactly! He was so worried that he was very cautious with his words, fearing that he might offend Toby.


    Seeing that she was helping Tom speak, Toby pursed his thin lips and lowered his gaze before saying


    in a lowered voice, "Okay, I won''t scare him anymore."


    Since Sonia had defended Tom, Toby wouldn''t take it out on him in front of her.


    However, Tom would need to watch his back after he returned to Fuller Group.


    Although Tom wasn''t aware of this, Toby had secretly made a note in his mind. Tom constantly thanked


    Sonia on the phone, "Thank you, Miss Reed. Thank you so much."


    If it weren''t for her help, who knew how a meticulous man like Toby would deal with Tom?


    "You don''t need to thank me. All right now, you two can get back to business." Sonia was embarrassed


    by the number of thanks she had received from Tom.


    She felt that she did not do much other than say a few words.


    Tom really did not have to thank her so much as she didn''t deserve it.


    "Okay, Miss Reed," Tom said before suppressing his emotions and returning to his serious business


    persona. "President Fuller, since we''re dealing with the fatso this way, what about Squirrel Media?"


    When Sonia heard this, she immediately looked at Toby. "Oh, by the way, I don''t care what you''re going


    to do to Squirrel Media, but Noah was the one who helped me get the recording. I promised him I


    would help him get a job in Fuller Group. I¡ª"


    "I got it." Toby nodded, then spoke into the phone, "Did you hear that?"


    "I did. Don''t worry, Miss Reed. I''ll take care of this," Tom replied with a smile.


    Seeing that her request had been agreed upon, she let out a sigh of relief. Then, she smiled with a little


    embarrassment at Toby. "Sorry, I was dead set on finding out who did this at that time, so I promised


    such a thing. I hope it will not cause you any trouble."


    Toby frowned when he heard this. "It''s just a trivial matter, so why would it trouble me? And like I said, I


    will never object to whatever you want to do. So, you don''t have to think that the things you do might


    trouble me. On the contrary, it bothers me that you think this way."


    Sonia understood what he meant as she smiled. "I''m sorry, I won''t think like this in the future anymore."


    "That''s right." He stroked her hair before his expression changed and spoke into the phone coldly,


    "Other than the secretary, those who are innocent will be transferred to anotherpany while those


    who yed a role in this will be fired."


    This implied that he had taken over Squirrel Media.


    Tom nodded immediately. "Okay, President Fuller."


    "Have you followed up on the others that had hopped onto the bandwagon and added fuel to the fire?"


    Toby asked again with narrowed eyes.


    Tom pushed his sses. "I''ve looked into it. There are a total of 12 mediapanies. These media


    aren''t a big deal. Seeing that we have not stepped in to deal with it since the morning, it might snowball


    into something bigger. So, thinking that you are really breaking up with Miss Reed, they all wanted a


    piece of the pie. However, there are media that are still silently watching and didn''t make a move."


    Hearing this, Toby snorted. "Take care of all these cacophony media. Whoever spreads the article


    means that they support the enemy. Since they have cast the spotlight on themselves, why not show


    them what we can do? This will show as a warning to those that are silently lurking in the shadows."


    "Okay," Tom replied.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1067

    Chapter 1067


    "Other than that, what about the trolls?" Toby thought about the cyber bullies on the Inte, and the


    air around him was so cold that it could freeze people.


    Even Tom could feel it across the phone and couldn''t help but shiver as he quickly replied, "Those trolls


    are included. They are all a part of Inte troll organizations. Three of the organizations are backed by


    companies while the other three are self-funded. Another two troll organizations were founded by the


    Gray Family and Connor. As for the remaining two... they belonged to Lore Communications."


    "Hmph, Lore Communications!" Toby sneered.


    Then, Tom added, "The suppression on ourwork technology department was also an order from


    Miss Lore on behalf of thepany. They must have thought that you would not do anything to her


    because of your rtionship with Mr. Lore. So, without even a second thought, he approached Miss


    Lore to do such a thing."


    "She really does not know her ce. My rtionship with the Lore Family is only limited to her


    grandfather, not her. Who does she think she is for me to let her go?" Toby''s face was expressionless


    as his voice turned even colder and even more ruthless.


    "Also, did you say that Titus and Connor were a part of it as well?" he asked coldly.


    When Sonia heard this, she immediately frowned in surprise.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Charles, who had his back turned to them, also turned around and eximed aloud, "What? Titus is


    actually a part of this?"


    When Tom heard this voice, his suspicion was confirmed.


    Indeed, Charles was over at Sonia''s ce.


    However, Tom quickly recollected himself, nodded, and answered the three of them in a serious tone,


    "Yes, both of them yed a part in this. Titus had a feud with Miss Reed while Connor always had


    grudges against President Fuller. Now that this incident has happened where both Miss Reed and


    President Fuller are involved, the two immediately took this opportunity to hop onto the bandwagon.


    However, they did not dare to do anything explicitly, so they could only secretly look for trolls to cause a


    scene."


    Although Charles couldn''t understand what Connor had against Toby, he was very clear about Titus.


    Suddenly, he mmed his hand on the table and stood up. His handsome face was distorted with


    anger. "That old guy is an annoying fly. He is everywhere. Why does he find the need to get involved in


    such a thing?"


    As for Sonia, she did not expect Connor and Titus to be a part of all these as well.


    However, it was not a surprise after she remembered their enmity with herself and Toby.


    "Since these two are involved, I''ll leave them to you. You know what to do!" Toby rested his fingers on


    his abdomen as his face darkened.


    Tom nodded. "Don''t worry, President Fuller. I know what to do."


    Then, Toby sighed. "As for those filthy trolls, there is no need to keep them. Kick them all out. As for the


    head of the trolls, look into them. If they are in the same situation as those in Squirrel Media, throw all


    of them into prison. Send out awsuit to those who were more vicious with their Inte remarks.


    Don''t let anyone go."


    "Understood." Tom nodded and asked, "What about Miss Lore and her family''spany?"


    Toby''s eyes flickered before answering, "Contact her father and tell him about it. I think he will know


    what to do. As for the rest of them, I will go to the Lore Family to seek justice myself."


    "All right," Tom replied. After that, the call was hung up.


    Then, Toby put away his phone and looked at Sonia. "You said earlier that the surveince footage at


    the hotel is tampered with, right?"


    "Mmlimm." She nodded.


    "It''s okay. I''ve asked my department to restore it to its original state. I think I will hear from them soon.


    You two can rify things online when that timees and leave the rest to me."


    Just as she was about to agree, Charles, on the opposite side, suddenly looked at Toby and said,


    "Once the surveince is restored, send it to me, and I will publish it. Sonny just has to tell the public


    that there is no such thing."


    "You?" Toby looked at Charles suspiciously.


    This made him disgruntled. "What about me? Why are you looking at me like that? I''m doing this to


    make sure that Sonny doesn''t have to take the stand by herself."


    "Charles, as I said, there''s no need for you to do this. I can do it myself¡ª"


    "I know." Charles turned to look at Sonia. "You don''t want to drag another person into the whole


    cyberbullying mess. You want to protect me, but that''s not necessary now. Didn''t Toby say that he


    would restore the surveince footage? We can prove our innocence as soon as the original footage


    comes out. That way, I wouldn''t be taking any cyberbullying. Instead, I would be able to give these


    inte trolls a p in the face. I will only be a target if Ie forward with no footage to back me up.


    With the original footage, I will be fine. You don''t have to worry about me."


    Toby raised his eyebrow when he heard this and looked at Charles with a hint of surprise. "I didn''t


    expect you to think this way!"


    "What are you trying to say? Are you saying I''m irresponsible?" Charles retorted.


    Hearing this, Toby let out a cold snort; that was obviously what he meant.


    This seemed to be thest straw for Charles as his violent temper was triggered. He began to roll up


    his sleeves and was going to grab Toby by his cor.


    When Sonia noticed that the two were about to fight, she quickly stretched out her hands to stop them.


    "What are the two of you doing?"


    The two men noticed her unhappiness and the arrogance between the two male immediately


    dissipated.


    Toby quickly sat down next to her and took her hand to y with it gently in an attempt to coax her, so


    that she would ignore what had happened earlier.


    Although Charles kept quiet, he smiled at her in the most ttering manner. Obviously, he had the


    same idea as Toby whereby he hoped that she wouldn''t be angry.


    Watching the two men carefully and secretly coaxing her like children to prevent her from being angry,


    she couldn''t help but find the whole situation funny despite her anger.


    As long as these two men were in the same room, they would get into a fight, making the people


    around them helpless and speechless.


    "I really can''t stand the two of you." Sonia shook her head in disbelief.


    When they noticed that she was not angry, both Toby and Charles breathed a sigh of relief


    simultaneously.


    However, Toby was more restrained with his sigh as his face was still stoic.


    As for Charles, he didn''t care about how he looked in front of his rival and let out a long sigh. "Sonny,


    what do you think about what I just said?"


    "It''s true that if youe forward with the surveince footage, you wouldn''t be scolded. But I still think


    it''s unnecessary. It''s the same thing if I use the footage to rify tilings," Sonia said.


    "Of course there''s a difference," Toby suddenly spoke up.


    Both Sonia and Charles turned their heads to look at him together.


    In the face of the two of them, Toby had an indifferent look. "Since the very beginning, there is no


    mention of who the man was. This kept the Inte guessing. If you rify things yourself and the man


    didn''te forward, it wouldn''t be a good look. It will only make people think that you really had


    something with him and you''re trying to protect him.


    Saying this, he turned to Charles and added, "Since that''s the case, it''s better for Charles toe


    forward as well. Him doing so will further prove your innocence, and that will be why he dares to stand


    up for himself. In addition to that, the Inte knows the two of you are friends, and once they find out


    that the man in the video is Charles, they will also begin to specte that the matter is not that simple


    and that someone is setting you up."


    "That''s right." Charles hurriedly nodded. "Toby is right, Sonny. Everyone knows that we are friends and


    we have a good rtionship with each other. It''s only when Ie forward and rify our innocence


    will everyone believe it. Also, the media that posted the scandal deliberately blocked my face to make


    the man look suspicious. Once theizens realize that the man in the photo is me, they will definitely


    know that they were tricked by someone. The people behind this will be ndered by theizens.


    That will be a good thing for us."

 Chapter 1068

    Chapter 1068


    This was known as leveraging.


    Lte had bought the media and arge number of trolls. She evennded her ownpany in hot


    water just to publicize this, making all theizens believe that Charles and Sonia had something going


    on.


    However, theizens knew that the two of them were friends and had a good rtionship. It was


    impossible for such a thing to happen at all.


    Therefore, as soon as he came forward, theizens would immediately feel that they had been tricked


    by the aristocrats.


    The aristocrats were trying to brainwash them into achieving their goals. Otherwise, why would they


    blur his face to prevent him from being recognized?


    Once theizens realized that they had been used and fooled by the aristocrats, they would naturally


    be furious and would double back.


    By then, Lore Communications and Lte would definitely suffer.


    Charles and Toby had clearly exined themselves, so Sonia would be a fool if she still didn''t


    understand.


    So, she nodded without hesitation and agreed with the two of them.


    "Toby, then we''d do as Charles said. Give him the surveince footage," she said as she turned to look


    at Toby.


    Toby nodded slightly. "Okay." After agreeing, he turned to look at Charles coldly. "Don''t screw this up."


    This made Charles snort coldly. "I''m sorry to disappoint you, but I won''t screw this up."


    "I hope so." After saying that, Toby turned away and went back to ignoring Charles.


    Just then, Toby''s phone rang again.


    It wasn''t a phone call this time, though. Thework technology department had sent something over;


    it was the surveince footage they were talking about.


    Once he saw the document on his phone, his thin lips twitched. "The footage has been restored, and


    they just sent it over."


    Then, he handed the phone over to Sonia, asking her to forward it to Charles.


    She took it with a smile. "That''s great."


    "Not only that; the news on the Inte is dying down as well," Toby added.


    This was what thework technology department told him.


    The department had tried to drop the heat twice, but Lte had managed to get Lore


    Communications to trend it back up.


    Now that he discovered it was done by Lore Communications, he sent Tom over as a warning.


    Because of this, they did not dare to take any more action.


    Therefore, it was easy for Toby''s team to clear the Inte trends.


    "Let me see." Once Charles heard this, he immediately turned off the game on his phone and checked


    the situation on the Inte.


    As soon as he went on the web, just as Toby said, the initial filthy site was now clean.


    Sonia did not take a look as she was upied with forwarding the footage to Charles.


    She didn''t need to see it, nor did she want to as she knew that Toby wouldn''t lie to her. If he said that


    everything had been removed, it had to be true.


    There was no need for her to double check.


    However, at this time, Charles looked at his phone and let out a scoff. "These people are really


    interesting. Once they discovered that the trend was taken down, they knew we''d taken action. So,


    they went to say something on your ount, Sonny, saying things like if you''re capable of doing such a


    thing, admit it. Don''t hire someone to take the trend down. I''m angry just by reading it!"


    These people were the reason why the world could never be at peace.


    But Sonia and Toby did not react to Charles'' anger.


    After giving back Toby''s phone to him, she looked at Charles and said lightly, "I knew it would be like


    this when Toby tried to take the trend down. After all, these people had been causing a scene on the


    Inte for so long. Now that the page is suddenly taken down, they lost their form of entertainment. Of


    course, they would be unhappy and naturally turn to anger. It''s normal for them to turn to my profile and


    attack me. What''s more, this isn''t the first time this happened. It has been like this the past few times


    when I was caught in a public opinion turmoil."


    She shrugged after saying that, letting him know that she was used to it.


    However, he still had a look of disgust on his face. "Theseizens really don''t learn their lessons. How


    many people have we sued in the past? Yet, after a while, they would show up again, yelling and


    cursing. They''re really unbeatable."


    At the same time, Toby picked up Sonia''s ss and turned it around slightly. When his gazended on


    the lipstick mark left on the cup, his eyes darkened. Then, he nted his thin lips on the same faint


    mark and took a sip. "For these people, a fine wouldn''t make them learn their lesson. The next time


    something simr happens, they would still hop onto it. This is a vicious cycle that cannot be broken."


    After saying that, he lowered the ss.


    Sonia red at the man angrily as the tip of her ears turned red.


    This guy had a ss of water before him yet he insisted on drinking from her cup. He even took a sip


    from the lipstick mark that she had left behind.


    Wasn''t this a deliberate action to show that he wanted to kiss her?


    However, Toby did not notice her gaze as he smiled at her tenderly. "Have you sent the surveince


    footage?"


    "I did." At the same time, she replied, she snatched the cup from the man''s hand and pushed his own


    cup toward him. "Drink from your own cup."


    He was speechless to see this. Huh, so we can''t share a cup now?


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Toby looked at the cup in her hand dejectedly.


    This was all caught by Charles, who was watching from the opposite side. "You deserved it," he


    rejoiced.


    This made Toby''s face sink. "Go and publish your post."


    Charles snorted and did not reply.


    At this moment, Sonia picked up her phone as well. "I should upload one too."


    "Me too," Toby said, picking up his phone.


    Although he wasn''t directly involved in the scandal, he was still somehow a part of it.


    After all, he was Sonia''s man, her official boyfriend.


    Since they were rifying this, as the boyfriend, if he were to keep quiet and just rely on Toby and


    Charles, it might still not be convincing enough to the outside world.


    If he didn''te forward and rify things, outsiders might think that the scandal was true.


    Therefore, it was natural for him to clear things up as well.


    For a while, the three people in the office were all on their phones, editing and rifying the scandal


    that had been put up on their respective profiles.


    The first post was made by Sonia, and the content was straightforward, with just a few words. "The


    scandal that was posted online about me finding a gigolo is fake. Don''t believe the fake news. I did not


    betray Toby Fuller. The man involved in the video is Charles Lane, and we were in the hotel together to


    discuss the loans with the head of Bank of Caruna of the Seafield branch. I was purely framed by Lore


    Communications and Squirrel Media. In regard to these two mastermindpanies, I will take legal


    measures to protect my own interest and will not ept any form of reconciliation. In addition to that,


    other mediapanies that helped spread the rumors andizens that added fire to the fuel will be


    sued one by one. I won''t let this go. I hope I made it clear."


    As soon as her rification post was up, it immediately made it on the trending list.


    This was an arrangement made by Toby.


    He had sent a message to thework technology department to boost the post into the trending list as


    soon as they saw a rification post.


    This was to make sure that everyone would see it.


    This was how Brian found out about the news.


    He had always been clueless about the Inte. Toby''s transferst night kept him in his ce, and his


    butt was starting to hurt. He had a lot of things to handle and did not have time to pay attention to the


    things on the Inte.


    It was his assistant that kept him in the loop of what was going on on the Inte. After all, Sonia had


    mentioned that he shouldn''te forward and say something.


    What''s more, he had just gotten the benefits of being under Toby, so he couldn''t pretend to ignore it.


    Thus, he immediately logged into his ount and forwarded Sonia''s post.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1069

    Chapter 1069


    Brian, who was the head of Bank of Caruna, also issued a statement. ''Miss Reed is right. I was in the


    hotel yesterday afternoon. The so-called news on the Inte is utter nonsense. I also ask for you all


    not to believe it. It is time to acknowledge your mistakes and apologize, lest you bring trouble to


    yourself.''


    When Sonia saw that her post was reposted by Brian, she was quite surprised.


    This microexpression of hers was caught by Toby and Charles as they both looked up at her together.


    "What''s wrong?" Toby was the first to ask.


    She handed the phone to him and gestured for him to look at it. "Mr. Smith helped to rify things as


    well."


    He raised his chin slightly and said, "As he should. After all, he has received so many benefits from


    me."


    Hearing this, she raised her eyebrow. "Right, I forgot to ask; since you''ve helped me get the parts back,


    you should know how the boss of Dwells breached the contract without authorization and gave the


    parts to Connor. Based on your identity, you''re not going to let him go easily, aren''t you?"


    In response, Toby curled up his lips nomittally.


    "Of course." Sonia looked at him and continued, "Then, what are you going to do about him?"


    "A tant breach of contract is no longer just a matter ofpensation because he has vited


    businessw. I''ve already sent him to prison," he replied lightly.


    However, she knew that things weren''t that simple.


    "Did you do anything to him before you sent him to prison?" She squinted at the man and asked.


    Toby smiled and did not answer, but the meaning was clear.


    Paul obviously had suffered a lot before getting thrown into prison.


    She nodded and asked again, "So, what will happen to Dwells now?"


    "As of now, Dwells is about to undergo a change of power, and I believe that the fight will be fierce. If


    you''re interested in Dwells, you can secretly buy their stocks when the contest is the strongest. At that


    time, the price of their stocks would be at its lowest. Although Dwells isn''t too big of apany, it still


    has its own strength. Acquiring its shares wouldn''t be a loss." Toby drummed his fingers on the table as


    he exined to Sonia.


    She thought about it for a moment before her eyes lit up. "All right, I just happen to have some money


    in hand right now. I''ll give it a try when the timees."


    "I''ll let you know when''s the best time to buy," he added after seeing that she had agreed to do it.


    "Okay," she hummed.


    Charles, who was listening from across from them, finally couldn''t hold himself back and asked, "Wait,


    Sonny, did you just say that he took the stolen parts back?"


    He pointed at Toby.


    This made Sonia smile. "Yeah, not long after we returned from the loan discussion with Mr. Smith


    yesterday, I received the news that Toby had taken the parts back."


    "Oh, I see." Charles nodded. Then, he looked at Toby and said unhappily, "Then, why didn''t you take it


    back earlier? If you did, we wouldn''t have to meet Mr. Smith and wouldn''t have been photographed like


    this. None of these would happen."


    Immediately, Toby frowned.


    The smile on Sonia''s face was immediately withdrawn as she turned to speak to Charles unhappily,


    "Charles, that''s not the case. Did you forget that I didn''t want to tell Toby that the parts were taken from


    me in the first ce? And when he helped to get the parts backter, it wasn''t me who told him about it.


    He just noticed it on his own, so we can''t me him for this."


    After she was done speaking, Toby raised his gaze and looked at Charles contemptuously. The


    meaning in his eyes was apparent. Did you hear her? You can''t put the me on me.


    Charles was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    Indeed, if Toby didn''t know about it, what Charles just used him of was a little unreasonable.


    Thus, he stopped talking and turned to the side angrily.


    Seeing this, Sonia shook her head helplessly before lowering her head to look at her phone again.


    It had been a few minutes since she issued the post to rify the situation, and with the help of Toby''s


    people to boost the poprity, herment area was active. In a blink of an eye, the number of


    comments that she had was up to five digits.


    In just a few minutes, she had so manyments that some stars in the entertainment industry were


    envious of her.


    After all, these werements from real people unlike theirs, where half of them were robots.


    Sonia had no idea how these stars felt. She swiped her thumb across the screen to roughly scroll


    through thements.


    About 80% of thesements were apologetic.


    They had so much fun berating her before this, yet they were now filled with shame as they apologized.


    After all, back when they were leavingments about the scandal, the parties involved were silent.


    Thus, they were naturally not afraid of anything.


    Now that the people involved hade forward to bluntly mention about the big mediapanies, the


    groups, and other activeizens, how could they just blow their trumpets? The only thing they could


    do after criticizing someone was to apologize.


    All of them were afraid of being sued.


    Although they had portrayed a loud persona online, they were all just ordinary people behind the


    screen.


    They were afraid of the effects brought by thewsuit; they might be fired from thepany and not be


    able to find a new job, receive strange stares from others, and get scoldings and disdainful looks from


    their family and friends.


    Perhaps, if this was recorded in the system, it might also affect their future generations.


    In short, thinking of these, how could anyone not be scared? How could they not give in?


    They did not doubt Sonia''s words at all. Even if they weren''t convinced, they had to ept the fact that


    they were just ordinary people who couldn''t fight with the aristocrats.


    For the aristocrats to bring upwsuits, it was definitely not a game and they were bound to die.


    Most importantly, Sonia''s appearance reminded them that this wasn''t the first time she had sued


    netizens.


    Those who had been sued were detained, fined, lost their jobs, or ridiculed by others...


    In conclusion, it was a miserable ending for them.


    It hadn''t even been that long, yet, they had forgotten what she could do and how tragic the ends were


    for those people.


    So, the more these trolls thought about it, the more afraid they became. They quickly deleted their


    comments and apologized, hoping that Sonia would take pity on them and let them go.


    As for whether it was working or not, they had no idea. For a while, they regretted it and wanted to give


    themselves a few ps on the face.


    Of course, as there wereizens that left crudements, there were naturally people who were just


    watching by the sidelines in the silence. There were alsoizens who believed that Sonia would never


    have done such a thing.


    This group ofizens was starting toe alive.


    ''Hahaha, I knew that this wouldn''t happen to my one true pairing. I''ve said it before, the person


    involved didn''t even speak up. You shouldn''t be so quick to judge, lest you bite your own tongue. As a


    result, the content couldn''t be released as it''s against the regtions, or if it manages to be posted, it


    will soon disappear. I''m not the only one that felt grievance.''


    When Sonia saw thisment, she instantly knew what was going on. Then, she clicked to reply,


    ''Thank you so much for your support and your trust in me. I am thrilled and moved. As for why the page


    that posted about me can''t keep posting or their posts are missing thereafter, I''d have to ask Lore


    Communications.''


    As soon as she replied that, there was an instant uproar.


    Thementer was even more excited when this happened. ''All! I''m going to pass out! She noticed


    me!''


    Sonia could only imagine the other party blushing excitedly and couldn''t help but shake her head as


    she chuckled.Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.

 Chapter 1070

    Chapter 1070


    At the same time, warmth filled her heart.


    It turned out that getting loved by fans was such a wonderful feeling.


    It was a new experience, and definitely a great one.


    Sonia''s lips curved into a slight smile as she replied to the fan again, "Thanks for liking me. And don''t


    worry, I''ll never let you down."


    Will I cheat on Toby?


    That''s impossible!


    We will only end our rtionship peacefully when the love we once had for each other no longer exists


    instead of betraying each other in such a way.


    The fan who received her promise on the other end held her phone to her chest, her face turning red


    from excitement.


    The otherizens and fans were envious when they saw Sonia''s reply to that fan.


    They wanted to get a reply from her too.


    All of them were shippers of Sonia and Toby, but they did not start shipping the two because they had


    any spectacr talents.


    After all, they were not celebrities.


    The fans started to ship Sonia and Toby together because of their looks, identities, as well as their love


    history.


    That was because their identities, and the fact that the two reconciled after their divorce, reminded the


    fans of the angst that was present in many fictional romance novels.


    Now that the stories in the books had turned into reality, the fans were excited and shipped them at first


    instance, but that was all to why they shipped Sonia and Toby together.


    However, when she replied to them personally, they suddenly realized that their idol was different from


    the main character of a book¡ªfictional and unapproachable.


    Their idol was someone living in the same world as them and she was an amazing girl.


    In the beginning, the fans had only shipped Sonia and Toby like they were the main characters of a


    book, but now, the fans shipped them as a couple in real life.


    Aspared to fictional characters, the fans actually loved shipping couples in real life more because


    they could only get closer to their idols this way.


    For instance, the fan got closer to her idol earlier when Sonia replied to her, didn''t she?


    Hence, the other fans followed suit and started toment as they wanted to receive a reply from


    Sonia.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    After she saw what was happening, she found that hrious.


    Yet, it was impossible for her to reply to everyone because that would be too exhausting for her. She


    still had time to reply to a few confused fans, though.


    For instance, a fan eximed, ''Oh my god! She rified the situation, but isn''t it toote? Why didn''t


    she do it earlier? Plus, how can she prove that the news is fake with just a few words?''


    Sonia replied quickly, ''We did not rify things in the beginning because we were collecting evidence.


    And now that we have all the evidence, we can prove our innocence. As for why I did not upload the


    evidence, that''s because it will be published by the other person involved in the rumors. Let me ask all


    of you a question. Aren''t you guys curious about why my face is the only one visible, and the man''s one


    is not, in the picture when that rumor involves the two of us? Also, have you guys ever wondered why


    there was no information about the man in Squirrel Media''s post?''


    All theizens were stunned upon reading her reply. That''s right. We were too shocked about how


    Sonia ''had an affair'', and were reading more updates about the rumor online. It seems that we did not


    realize that the man''s identity was not mentioned in the article and that the man''s face was unclear in


    the pictures. From the start, our attention was on Sonia and that she had an affair.


    Before this, none of them realized that the article was strange.


    Now that Sonia mentioned it, they finally noticed that there was a huge problem here.


    The rumor arose because of the supposed mistake made by two people, but they ignored the man and


    just med it all on the woman instead. There must be a reason why this situation happened.


    As for why...


    Theizens started to return to the news article and the few pictures posted by Squirrel Media.


    In the pictures, the man''s face was deliberately blurred while the article only criticized the woman and


    had no information about the man''s identity at all.


    With all that, anyone would neglect the man at first nce and me it all on the woman as only her


    face could be seen.


    Theizens realized they had been brainwashed at this moment!


    This was the power of the media.


    Suddenly, all theizens were angry.


    ''What the hell? This is too scary. I can''t believe I got brainwashed by a news article.''


    ''Exactly. This article was capable of leading me to think about certain things. I wouldn''t have believed


    this in the past and would only think that other people were just babbling nonsense, but now I do. Now


    that I think about it, I was probably influenced by the media into believing something was real in the


    past, but I just never realized it. Thank goodness that Miss Reed reminded us about this; otherwise, we


    wouldn''t have noticed anything.''


    ''You''re right. When I think about it, I understand certain things that I did not earlier. I know why Squirrel


    Media deliberately blurred the man''s face out as well as said nothing about his identity. That must be


    because we know the man, and we know that it''s impossible for Miss Reed to have an affair with him.


    Squirrel Media did this so that we won''t recognize the man and so we would believe that Miss Reed


    had an affair. This mediapany is nasty.''


    ''I agree. Now, I think I kind of know who the man is. It must be Lane Corporation''s president.''


    ''I have the same thoughts. If it''s him, then it''s nonsense that Miss Reed had an affair. From what I


    understand, the Reed and Lane Families have been family friends for a long time. Miss Reed and


    President Lane grew up together. They would''ve gotten together long ago if there was anything


    between them, but they did not in thest thirty years. This meant that they were too close to each


    other and only treat each other as families now. No matter what, I have no romantic feelings for the boy


    that I grew up with and only look at him as an older brother while he treats me like his younger sister.''


    ''Judging from that, this time, the man in the rumor is probably President Lane. Otherwise, why would


    Squirrel Media blur his face and not want us to identify him? That''s because they know it''s impossible


    for Miss Reed to have an affair with President Lane, so they blurred his face so we would believe


    whatever they posted. How shameless.''


    Sonia liked thisment as soon as it was posted, and it made theizens go wild once again.


    ''Holy sh*t! I got a like! Does that mean we''re right and that the man is really President Lane?''


    ''Yes, it''s Charles. He''ll post the evidence from his own ountter. Stay tuned,'' Sonia replied once


    again.


    ''I will!'' On the other end of the screen, theizen whom Sonia replied to nodded her head excitedly.


    When theizens saw that Sonia had confirmed the man''s identity and said that he would share the


    evidenceter, half of them went to visit his profile, waiting for the evidence to drop.


    As for those who stayed, they still had questions for Sonia.


    For instance, one of them went straight to the point and asked something everyone wanted to know,


    ''Miss Reed, there''s something I don''t understand. Why did Squirrel Media make up a rumor about you?


    As we all know, you''re with President Fuller, and everyone in the country knows how influential he is in


    Seafield. Since you''re with him, no one should be daring enough to offend you. Why did Squirrel Media


    do this without a care about the consequences they would face? Is there any bad blood between you


    and the higher management of Squirrel Media?''

 Chapter 1071

    Chapter 1071


    After seeing this question, all theizens who stayed on Sonia''s profile stopped typing their questions


    as they waited for her reply.


    They were afraid that they could not see her reply if they continued typing and made the feed refresh


    itself with all the new questions to drown this question.


    She smiled, then looked up to smile at Toby.


    When he sensed her gaze, he ced his phone down and looked back at her. "Just tell them the truth."


    That meant he saw thement and knew why she looked over at him.


    Sonia sucked in a deep breath. "Really? Are you okay with that?"


    "Yeah. You have the right to do this. After all, you''re the victim, so you don''t need to ask me about it. Do


    whatever you need to do."


    Toby''s words made her smile. "Okay, then I won''t ask you anymore."


    After saying that, her gazended back on her phone to reply to theizen, ''There''s nothing between


    Squirrel and me. As all of you know, money makes the world go round. With enough temptation, people


    would be daring to take certain risks.''


    Theizens went into an uproar at that.


    ''That''s actually true, but does that mean someone else is behind this and that the person in the dark is


    the one who wants to nder you, Miss Reed? This person gave Squirrel certain benefits, so Squirrel


    risked it all to make up a rumor to taint your name.''


    Sonia liked thatment and replied while tagging Toby in her response, ''You''re right. The person


    behind all of this is a woman who admires President Fuller, but what can we do? President Fuller is too


    charming, so that woman thought of this n, hoping that it would cause misunderstandings to arise


    between us to the point where President Fuller leaves me. She thought that she could get a chance


    with him when Pm not in the picture anymore. It''s unfortunate for her that my man, President Fuller,


    had never suspected that I cheated on him since the start, and here, I''d like to thank President Fuller


    for his trust.''


    Toby, who was tagged, instantly saw Sonia''s reply toward theizen.


    When he saw that she called her his man, he felt a fire burning within his chest. Even his gaze was


    burning with desire for her, and his breath became heavier as well.


    His stare made Sonia blush and think to herself. If Charles isn''t here right now. I''m sure he''s going to


    strip me with his gaze, or he might even do that for real. Jeez, stop looking at me!


    Sonia red at Toby with widened eyes and blushed cheeks.


    He smirked, then raised his phone as he pointed to the screen. "Well, I like the way you referred to me,


    but it''ll be even better if you could change that."


    Looking at the phrase he pointed to, she blinked and asked, "To what?"


    Slowly, Toby spoke, "Husband."


    That made her blush even harder. Her cheeks were now as red as a tomato.


    Charles, who was sitting opposite her, suppressed the bitterness in his heart and sneered. "Shameless.


    The both of you aren''t even married yet. How dare you ask Sonny to call you that!"


    Toby turned and shot Charles a cold nce. "It''s going to happen sooner orter. What? Are you


    jealous?"


    Charles merely scoffed and said nothing else. Jealous? Of course I am! How could I not be when she''s


    the woman I love?


    Seeing that he stopped talking, Toby retracted his gaze contemptuously and was now smiling


    victoriously because he had defeated Charles.


    Sonia found the situation to be hrious. Then, she looked back down at her phone, not wanting to deal


    with the two childish men anymore.


    There were now many replies under Sonia''s reply earlier and she was reading through them one by


    one.


    ''What? I can''t believe that''s the real reason behind this. I never expected that a mistress would create


    rumors about the man''s girlfriend because she wanted to steal someone else''s man. The audacity!''


    ''Let me correct you a little. We can''t regard the woman as a mistress yet because only a woman who


    has a rtionship with a taken man can be considered a mistress. President Fuller has no rtionship


    with her at all. At most, she''s just an obsessed admirer of his. But you''re right about her being


    audacious. I work at Fuller Group, and I''m sure every one of you knows that it''s normal for a woman to


    be interested in my boss because of his looks and family background, but have you guys ever


    wondered why my boss never had any scandals?


    ''That''s because my boss had informed all the families with daughters in his circle that their daughters


    should not have any feelings for him and that the families should not visit him to propose marriage with


    their daughters. If they disobey him, they will need to face the consequences. That is why we have


    never seen anydies from wealthy families visit my boss before. Now that a richdy has done this, I


    wonder if she doesn''t know the rules or whether she just wants to give it a shot. No matter what, I just


    want to apud her for her bravery.''


    ''Amazing. I was wondering why President Fuller never had any scandals. Look at those younger men


    in higher positions from the otherpanies, they would at least have scandals with a few women, and


    there would be women who pestered them too. It was strange that President Fuller, who is in an even


    higher position, did not have any. Your exnation cleared my doubts. s, the richer the man, the


    more loyal he is. It''s only those who are less rich inparison who love to fool around. President


    Fuller is such a good man, and I''m so envious of Miss Reed!''


    Sonia burst out inughter upon reading that.


    Toby looked up at her. "What are youughing at?"


    She covered her mouth and looked back at him with smiling eyes. "There''s aizen who praised you


    and said you''re a good man."


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    "Is he wrong?" he asked proudly, his chin raised up.


    Sonia couldn''t stand him and answered, "Yeah, he is right. You''re a good man. Happy now?" Oh man, I


    never knew he could be so narcissistic, but that''s quite adorable.


    ''Oh, right, did you guys notice that Miss Reed tagged two ounts in her reply when she was rifying


    the situation? One was Squirrel Media and the other was Lore Communications. Since Squirrel is the


    mediapany that''s spreading rumors, so is the mastermind Lore Communications?''


    ''I think it''s not Lore Communications, but Lte Lore, the daughter of the Lore Family instead. I


    realized this earlier, so I went to ask my friend who is working at Lore Communications. ording to


    her, their technical department received a call from Miss Lore today, asking them to control how the


    rumor would spread on the web today and to keep the topic trending. She called not only once, and I


    think everyone here knows why.''


    ''Finally, we know who the mastermind is. It''s Miss Lore, whose family owns Lore Communications.


    She''s indeed a filial daughter. Look at her putting her family and thepany into such a dire situation


    because of her own selfish interests. Now, I think she''s going to get an act of crazy revenge from


    President Fuller and Miss Reed.''


    Theizens discussed and managed to guess the mastermind behind the rumor.


    There were even a few of them who had asked Sonia how she nned to get back at the Lore Family,


    hoping that she would spill some information.


    Sonia did not respond to that as she did not have a n yet.


    Theizens did not get a reply from Sonia, but they paid no mind to that and visited the official


    website of Lore Communications to criticize them.


    Although Squirrel Media tried to gaslight them and took advantage of them to attack Sonia head-on,


    they knew that the mediapany was only an aplice because the mastermind was still the


    daughter of the Lore Family.


    Hence, theizens vented their anger on the Lore Family''spany and on Lte, who they


    guessed was the mastermind.


    Since Lte did not have an ount on any social media, her family''spany was receiving double


    the hit.


    Sure enough, Squirrel would not be forgotten by theizens and was now getting a taste of their own


    medicine.


    By now, Squirrel Media''s editor, Mitch, was not in the office anymore as he had already been sent by


    Tom to the police station. The fact that no one could lead the team at this time, on top of the criticisms


    the team was receiving on the inte, now made them anxious, and everyone was cursing Mitch in


    their hearts silently.

 Chapter 1072

    Chapter 1072


    After all, they did not know that Mitch had taken a bribe to create false rumors about Sonia.


    They had only thought that he did not want to miss this breaking news, but it turned out that he did it


    because he was ordered to do so.


    The nature of his action was so much more terrible than posting about scandals for poprity.


    They were sure that Toby was going to get back at theirpany in a much more ruthless way.


    Word had it that someone influential was preparing to buy over Squirrel Media and perform ayoff


    before recruiting new employees. Internally, it was already confirmed that the influential person had


    arranged for someone to get in contact with Squirrel Media.


    With that, it was probably true that Squirrel Media''s owner would change and that ayoff would be


    done.


    Now, they were most worried that their names were on the list of employees to beid off.


    Those people who were directly involved in the creation of the rumor, be it those who posted it, wrote


    the articles, or edited the photos were even more afraid of that. They hated Mitch for dragging them


    down the dirt road with him.


    Even if Mitch was already taken away by Toby''s man and sent to the police station, it was not enough


    to relieve the hatred they had for him.


    They knew that there was nothing they could do in this situation. The only thing they hoped for was that


    Mitch would get thrown into prison and that they would not beid off.


    Sonia did not know that the employees of Squirrel Media were panicking right now as she was still


    following up with how things were going on the inte.


    Seeing that theizens were attacking Lore Communications and Squirrel Media together, her lips


    curved into a smile.


    She did not think that it was wrong for her to gloat over other people''s misfortune now. After all, she


    was the victim who had been cyberbullied first.


    And these twopanies were the main culprits.


    Now, she was only exposing what they did. What she did was merely an eye for an eye.


    Since the twopanies dared to nder her this way without caring about her feelings or worrying if


    she mightmit suicide because she could not take the criticisms from theizens, that was enough


    to prove that theycked conscience.


    A goodpany and one with a conscience would not create a fake rumor of such just to reach their


    selfish goals.


    No matter what, the twopanies were getting their karma for their own irresponsible actions.


    Moreover, they should be prepared to face theizens'' wrath one day since they liked using such dirty


    means to deal with other people.


    Amidst her thoughts, she saw aizen post ament in surprise. ''Everyone! Let''s move to President


    Fuller''s feed! He posted a statement.''


    ''Really? I''ll head over right now.''


    ''Me too!''


    Soon, Sonia''s bustlingment section, which would receive over a few hundred newments per


    page refresh, became even more silent. When she refreshed the page, there were only a few dozen


    newments.


    That meant most of theizens left for Toby''s feed.


    Earlier, some had already left to wait for Charles'' post. She thought that those who stayed were her


    loyal fans.


    She did not expect that most of them would leave as soon as Toby posted his statement, leaving only a


    few people behind. Hence, only a minority among the group that stayed was actually her loyal fans


    while the majority were Toby''s fans.


    That could be proven true because most of them left her profile as soon as Toby posted his statement.


    Sonia found this situation hrious and looked over in his direction subconsciously.


    Seeing her helpless look, he blinked and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "It''s nothing. I''m just jealous of you, President Fuller. You have so many fans." She held her chin and


    said as she looked into his eyes.


    Yet, she felt that it was only right that he had a lot of fans. After all, he was charming, his build could be


    compared to one of a supermodel, he was so wealthy that the amount of money he had could not be


    fathomed by normal citizens, and finally, he exuded the aura of royalty.


    However, Toby was confused upon hearing what Sonia said. "Fans? What fans?


    That surprised her. "You don''t know about it?"


    Both of them had many shippers as well as individual fans on the Inte.


    To put it simply, both of them were not celebrities, but the number of fans they had could bepared


    to that of a celebrity.


    Even Sonia, who did not keep herself posted about the entertainment industry, knew about this.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    She could not believe that he knew nothing about it.


    Toby shook his head. "I don''t."


    She just stayed silent, knowing that he was telling the truth.


    He really did not know that they had fans on the inte.


    Well, it''s okay then. It''s fine if he doesn''t know.


    Since Toby cared even less about the entertainment news than she did, there was no use even if he


    knew about it.


    He could not interact with his fans daily as those celebrities did anyway.


    She could not imagine Toby doing that.


    "It''s fine if you don''t know. It''s not important anyway." Sonia waved her hand and then continued, "But


    as soon as you posted your statement, a lot ofizens went to your feed."


    He shook his phone slightly. "I saw that."


    "Let me see," she said.


    He was about to pass his phone over to her, but she pushed his hand back. "It''s okay. I''ll use my own


    phone. Just continue with whatever you are doing."


    She pointed to her own phone.


    Seeing that she was unwilling to use his phone, he just muttered an okay in a slightly upset tone.


    Toby was obviously disappointed that Sonia rejected him.


    At the sight of that, she shook her head with a smile, but she had no intention to coax him at all.


    She knew clearly that Toby was just pretending to be upset and that he wanted to make her change her


    mind with that pitiful look of his.


    As for why she was so certain, that was because simr situations had happened before.


    After getting tricked by him a few times, she learned her lesson.


    She pretended that she did not realize what he was doing and just continued staring at her phone.


    When Toby saw that Sonia was focusing her attention on her phone and spared no nces for him, he


    knew his n had been exposed and that he failed. It caused his gaze to turn gruesome for a moment.


    Naturally, Sonia realized what had happened in the background and had to squeeze her lips together to


    suppress herughter, but she was still ignoring him.


    Seeing that his new n failed too, he only sighed before looking back down on his phone.


    Yet, that did not stop him from exuding an aura that would make others know that he was upset.


    The scene made Charles roll his eyes. How scheming. You deserve to fail!


    Toby''s statement was simple. Simr to Sonia''s, it was all words and he did not show any evidence. No


    one would doubt whatever he said, nor did they dare to do so, though.


    At first, Sonia was stunned when she read Toby''s statement before she burst intoughter.


    That was how his statement went. ''I am Toby Fuller, and I have understood the situation about the


    rumor online. It is ridiculous and nonsensical. I believe anyone with brains would not believe it. Other


    than that, my woman is not blind, and I trust that she would not cheat on me for a man who could not


    compare to me in all aspects. Hence, I will not let anyone who was involved in the creation of this


    rumor go so easily, and I will take legal action against them. Thanks.''


    His serious words were enough to show everyone his determination to get the other party to pay for


    what they did.


    However, that was not important to theizens. What was important was that they were shocked and


    melted by his statement.


    ''Oh my God! I love the phrase, ''my woman is not blind, and I trust that she would not cheat on me for a


    man who could notpare to me in all aspects.'' If someone else said that, I would only mock him for


    being overconfident and that he should take a look in the mirror. But when it''s President Fuller, I did not


    think that he was being overly conceited. All I can think of is that he is a confident man.''


    ''Me too! I would think that any other man who said this is crazy. But when it came from President Fuller,


    it only melted my heart. Sure enough, he is the kind of man authors write about in books. The same


    words would not feel the same if anyone else were to say them. His words were so strong and


    dominant. I love it, and I must say that I''m once again envious of Miss Reed.''


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1073

    Chapter 1073


    ''Count me in. I''m jealous too... Sobs ...''


    ''You''re right. How could such a perfect man exist in this world?''


    ''Exactly. President Fuller''s words even managed to make us feel a sense of security. Just imagine how


    happy Miss Reed would feel every day.''


    ''It''s just not a sense of security. Did you guys realize that President Fuller is a little narcissistic too


    despite his cold appearance?''


    ''Me! I realized that, especially when he said, ''I trust that she would not cheat on me for a man who


    could notpare to me in all aspects.'' He was obviously praising himself here, but I could only agree


    with him. Aspared to President Fuller, President Lane is indeedcking in all aspects. As long as


    the woman is not dumb, I''m sure she would choose President Fuller and not President Lane. President


    Fuller was right. Anyone with brains would not believe the rumor blindly. Come on, let''s see who are the


    dumb*sses here.''


    ''I...'' One of theizens trailed off. ''I''m sorry, everyone. I''m one of those without brains who believed


    the rumor as soon as I saw it.''


    ''Me too. I am an idiot too.''


    ''Count me in...''


    Soon, manyizens admitted that they blindly believed the rumor in thement section and it made


    Sonia chuckle to see that.


    Although she was angry that theseizens criticized her without seeking the truth first, she was d


    that they were brave enough to admit to their mistakes.


    Regardless, she would not insist on punishing thoseizens brave enough to admit their mistakes if


    they did not cause much harm to her.


    After all, there were too many people to deal with if she wanted to punish everyone.


    She just had to capture those who led them into doing so.


    At the same time, somements were asking Toby about his ns to get back at Squirrel Media and


    Lte on his feed, other than thoseizens who admitted to their mistakes.


    They obviously had not gotten an answer from Sonia, so they came to Toby''s side to ask him instead.


    He saw their questions but had no intention to reply to them and just looked up at her. "What''s your


    n?"


    She knew what he meant and shook her head. "I''m not sure for the time being since I haven''t thought


    about it. I don''t really care about Squirrel, but I''m concerned about what I can do to the Lore Family


    since Mr. Lore is your teacher. Although I want to get back at them badly, he is your master and I need


    to be considerate of your rtionship with him too."


    Warmth filled Toby''s heart as he ced his hand on her back, slowly rubbing it as he said in a low


    voice, "It''s fine. We''ll just do as you say."


    "If I want the Lore Family to be bankrupt, will you be on board with that too?" Sonia looked at him.


    He was silent for a moment, seemingly hesitant, but still nodded in the end. "Sure. Anything to make


    you happy."


    Both Sonia and Charles were stunned upon hearing that.


    "Wow. You''re indeed a great student." Charles gave Toby a thumbs up and admired his bravery.


    He truly admired Toby at this moment. He is willing to make his teacher''s family go bankrupt for Sonny.


    Not everyone would be daring enough to do that because they would not be tough enough to do so.


    After all, that was his teacher.


    Any other people who did that would be poorly criticized by the entire country, and they would feel


    guilty themselves too.


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    If it were Charles, he probably could not be as decisive as Toby, who agreed to Sonia''s request after


    just a moment of hesitation.


    For the first time, Charles realized that Toby was better than him in terms ofpromising for his lover.


    It seemed to make sense to him now why Sonia fell in love with Toby again and how he was never


    Toby''spetition.


    Charles sighed. At the same time, a hint of self-mockery shed across his gaze, but he felt slightly


    more relieved.


    He was starting to ept the truth.


    On the other hand, Sonia was surprised that Toby had agreed to her n so quickly.


    It seemed to her that she was indeed more important than Toby''s teacher to him.


    "I was just saying for the sake of it. How can you agree to it so easily? You make me feel like I''m a


    vixen who seduced you," she said, looking at Toby.


    His gaze turned darker, and he held her tighter. "You are my vixen. I can do anything for you."


    "You''re making me embarrassed. Okay then, I''ll need to think carefully about how to get back at


    Lte. Although I want to make her life miserable, I don''t want to hear others saying that you''re


    ungrateful and don''t respect your teacher. You might not care about that, but I do," Sonia said seriously


    while looking at him.


    He was back at her and said nothing, but they understood what each other wanted to say through their


    locked gaze.


    The two just looked at each other as the atmosphere around them was serene and peaceful.


    When Charles looked at them, he could clearly feel that he was from a different world and that he could


    not enter their world.


    Soon, he shook his head and rolled his eyes before lowering his gaze, pretending that he saw nothing.


    Finally, he started to type on his feed.


    Sonia and Toby published their statements one after another.


    Charles, the man involved in the supposed ''affair'', should also no longer dy sharing his evidence.


    In the end, theizens did not get a reply from Toby, but as usual, they were not disappointed.


    That was because they never wished for him to reply to them. If he did, that would shock them to their


    cores.


    Theizens did not stay long on Toby''s feed. After knowing that Sonia''s supposed paramour, Charles


    had published his statement and the security footage, all theizens moved to his feed right away.


    After all, they did not dare to cause too muchmotion under Toby''s profile as he was an influential


    person in the country. Although they did not say anything bad, they were clear about his status and


    how he was known for being cruel to outsiders. That made them slightly afraid of him.


    Now that Charles'' evidence was published, all of them left right away.


    Soon, theizens saw Charles'' statement.


    Aspared to the statements of Sonia and Toby, Charles'' statement sounded more cheerful and


    lighthearted.


    ''Yes, I am the man who supposedly had an affair with Sonia, as all of you already know. I would like to


    thank Miss Lte Lore for giving me this identity and for allowing me to experience what it feels like to


    be a paramour for the first time. I have to say that it''s quite a fresh experience, but I don''t like it when


    others give me titles that do not belong to me. If you told me to act as a paramour, I might have been


    interested and agreed to help you because I''ve never been one before, and I have to say I''m curious


    about how it feels to be one. However, you did not tell me anything beforehand and just ndered me


    in such a way. This, I cannot ept. Don''t me me for exposing you. You''re the one at fault for doing


    such shameless things first.''


    All theizens burst out inughter upon seeing his statement.


    ''Oh my God, it turns out that President Lane is this kind of person. Inparison to how serious Miss


    Reed and President Fuller were, I actually prefer President Lane''s style more.''


    ''Me too! I couldn''t control myughter when I read the part where he said he was the paramour in this


    case.''


    ''Although President Lane looks to be a man who is not that smart and responsible, he is a domineering


    one. When he said, ''don''t me me for exposing you'', he was so freaking cool!''

 Chapter 1074

    Chapter 1074


    ''Why do you guys care if he sounds cool or not? Aren''t we here to get some evidence? Where''s the


    evidence?'' There were a lot ofizens who were fangirling over Charles, while some of them were


    more focused on the main point. That was why someizens reminded the rest that they were there


    searching for evidence. The rest of theizens quickly responded to this.


    ''That''s right. We were looking for evidence. How did we get distracted?'' someonemented. ''I can''t


    help it. President Lane is an entertainer¡ªhis presence attracted all of our attention. Shrug''


    ''Charles, Miss Reed said that the male lead of this matter will make a public statement about this.


    President Lane. Are you admitting that you''re the male lead of this whole gossip that''s going on?


    Where''s the evidence? Why aren''t you giving it to us?'' onement asked.


    ''Yeah,'' another one agreed. Charles saw thements he had been mentioned in and tapped on them


    to reply to theizens'' messages. ''Don''t worry. There''ll be nock of evidence. I was too furious


    earlier, so I only posted a bunch of words without providing the evidence. I''ll post it now, so you guys


    will just have to refresh my profile.''


    The moment Charles posted his reply, all of theizens twisted their faces into looks of exasperation.


    They were speechless. What? How could he forget such a thing? But theizens could tell that


    Charles was genuinely furious. They refreshed Charles'' page while chuckling at hisment. As


    promised, there was a new post the next time they refreshed it. The post''s content was simple and


    straightforward¡ªit was a single sentence and a video. ''Here''s the evidence you guys want,'' it said,


    along with a link to a video.


    All theizens clicked on the link to look at the evidence without hesitation. When they saw the video,


    they immediately knew that it was a copy of the CCTV footage. The footage showed Sonia and Charles


    getting out of the car and walking directly into the hotel. A bellboy stepped forward and led them into a


    room. Then, the footage switched to show another angle of them walking toward their room and


    entering it. s, since the CCTVs were located along the corridors, they couldn''t show the full view of


    the room.


    After the video showed Sonia and Charles entering the room, theizens realized that another person


    was already in the room. Of course, mostizens couldn''t recognize the person, but a few more


    knowledgeableizens immediately knew who the man in the room was. He was the man who had


    stepped forward to prove that the rumors were false¡ªhe was Brian, the governor of the Bank of


    Caruna''s headquarters in Seafield.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Soon after that, Sonia and Charles sat opposite the governor. The CCTV was fast-forwarded¡ªthe left


    corner of the video showed the time moving at a faster pace. The video went on for another five


    minutes before theizens saw Sonia and Charles getting to their feet. They shook hands with Brian


    before leaving the room. But theizens weren''t idiots¡ªthey knew that Sonia and Charles couldn''t


    have stayed in the room for just five minutes.


    The video had been fast-forwarded so that it seemed like Sonia and Charles were only in the room for


    five minutes, and this was done so that theizens would be able to watch the whole clip easily.


    Otherwise, they''d have to stare at their screens for a few hours! Either way, the video made it clear that


    Sonia and Charles hadn''t left the room when they entered it, so theizens didn''t care if they fast-


    forwarded the video.


    After Sonia and Charles left the room, the video returned to its original pace again. It showed them


    walking along the corridor into the elevator, then changed to show them departing the elevator and


    walking out of the hotel lobby. They walked out of the main entrance and stopped outside. They were


    clearly waiting for their ride. While waiting, Sonia shuddered in response to the cold weather and


    rubbed her arms to warm herself. Charles took his jacket off and put it over Sonia. After a while, he


    started to shiver, so Sonia returned the coat to him.


    This scene was familiar to mostizens as they had seen the pictures of the duo handing each other


    the jacket. The video continued for a while, and the car arrived in front of the hotel a bit after Sonia


    returned the jacket to Charles. Charles stepped forward and opened the door for Sonia to enter before


    he got in. Right after that, the car drove off, and the video came to an end. The scene where Charles


    opened the car door for Sonia had also been snapped in pictures.


    ''Woah. I was wondering why Squirrel Media only uploaded pictures and not videos to prove that Miss


    Reed and President Lane were sleeping with each other. After all, videos are more convincing, aren''t


    they? I knew they would have videos of Miss Reed and President Lane, yet they only uploaded images


    of them. Now I know why! They didn''t upload the videos because that would prove the innocence of


    these two people. If they posted the video, they would prove that they were just creating rumors! That


    was why Squirrel simply took pictures that made them seem like they were in love. Squirrel Media was


    just fooling us all along!


    They''re disgusting! Pfft!'' onement read.


    ''That''s right! I can''t believe Squirrel started rumors about them when they just went to the hotel to


    discuss work-rted matters. Wouldn''t everyone have to avoid having hotel meetings if that were the


    case?'' anotherment asked.


    ''Yeah. Since when did hotels get such a nasty image for themselves? Do people automatically


    associate hotels with the act of doing something immoral? I feel like I''m about to puke because of how


    gross these mediapanies are! Sure, some people may use hotels as a spot for their physiological


    needs, but some people go there for work and rxation purposes, right? But I''m curious... Miss Lore


    and Squirrel Media had the guts to start rumors about Miss Reed and President Lane when they were


    just there for work. Weren''t they afraid that Miss Reed and President Lane would pull the CCTV


    footage out to prove them wrong?''


    Charles immediately responded to thisment. ''Well, they destroyed the CCTV footage almost


    immediately after that. By the time we knew of these rumors, it was toote for us to retrieve the


    footage. We wouldn''t have taken so long to reveal the evidence otherwise. We had been trying to fix


    the footage before this. I bet Lte''s mad right now. She probably hadn''t expected us to fix the CCTV


    footage sessfully. Hahaha...'' Theizens could tell that Charles was pleased with himself just by


    looking at the way he made hisment.


    Even though manyizens were familiar with how hemunicated on the Inte, they were still


    speechless. But, of course, this didn''tst for long¡ªthey went back tomenting after a while. ''Oh,


    so they ruined the CCTV footage. That exins why they were so prepared to start these rumors. As


    President Lane said, they probably assumed that they couldn''t retrieve the CCTV footage,'' one


    comment wrote.


    ''Ah... It seems like Miss Lore and the people working with Squirrel Media are pretty dumb. I can''t


    believe they don''t know that CCTV footage can be recovered.'' Theizens started teasing the people


    who created the rumors. Amidst the friendly and yfulments were a few that sounded a little


    harsher.


    ''Am I the only one who wants to know why President Lane and Miss Reed have to meet and discuss


    work at a hotel? Can''t they do it somewhere else? Why did they have to pick a hotel out of all the


    ces? Isn''t that just rather puzzling?'' In other words, thisment implied that Charles and Sonia


    had ulterior motives for deciding to have a meeting in a hotel. The otherizens were infuriated by this


    comment and were about to attack this person when Charles responded with a long text.


    ''What''s so puzzling about it? If you''re dirty-minded, the whole world looks dirty to you. Let me tell you


    why we picked a hotel and not somewhere else. It''s because this hotel is the only seven-star hotel in


    our area. We wanted to ask Mr. Smith for some help, and we were the ones who invited him for a meet-


    up, so we naturally wanted a ce with a better environment. We wanted to show our sincerity to


    ensure we''d achieve our goals!''

 Chapter 1075

    Chapter 1075


    This wasn''t the end of thement. The tform that they used had a limit to the number of words in


    a statement, and Charles couldn''t finish his words all at once, so he had to split it into a fewments.


    His secondment came soon after his first.


    ''Even if we met other regr clients, we would still pick this hotel. As I said, this hotel is a high-ss


    ce that allows us the security and privacy to discuss our work-rted matters. I''m not the only one


    who does this. Anyone in the business industry would do the same. Oh, I forgot, you''re probably just a


    low-level worker who''s too far from our level. You probably haven''t attended a work meeting like this,


    which is why you don''t know how normal it is. Well, you should remember this now that I''ve exined it


    to you. I hope you don''t embarrass yourself again [smile]''.


    When theizens saw Charles revealing everything to the public, they were shocked for a moment


    before responding to their situation.''


    ''That''s cool. President Lane, you''re one of a kind¡ªno regr person can achieve your standards. I


    intended to help you out, but it seems like you don''t need us at all. You can do everything yourself¡ªit


    makes us feel like we''re useless. I bet the person whosement that triggered this is probably too


    furious to say anything now,'' onement said.


    ''Logically speaking, I should feel angry as I''m one of the low-level workers that President Lane


    mentioned in hisment. But for some reason, I don''t feel angry at all. If anything, I feel pretty good!''


    anotherment said.


    ''I agree! I''m the same. But I think I know why... President Lane is targeting that person, and as we


    watch the argument go on, we associate ourselves with President Lane, not that person or ourselves.


    That''s why we enjoy this,'' thement said in response,


    ''I see,'' the earliermenter replied. The person who had made the triggeringment read Charles''


    reply to him and all the otherizens'' sarcastic remarks toward him. His face was red with anger, but


    he didn''t dare to say much. He wanted to argue against Charles and curse at him, but as Charles said,


    he was nothing but a low-level worker while Charles was a big shot. He couldn''t afford to offend


    Charles, so he didn''t say anything in the end. All he could do was delete hisment before going


    offline.


    Theizens were keeping an eye on him. When they saw that hisment had disappeared, they


    knew that the person had been too embarrassed to stay. So theizens cheered when he left. That''s


    the way it should be! The CCTV footage made it clear that there''s nothing between Charles and Sonia.


    They were just there for business. So why did that person try so hard to prove their intelligence? Look


    at how that turned out. They deserved it! The otherizens thought.


    There was more than just one person who made such meanments. But after seeing how the first


    comment had been rebutted so harshly, many of the othermenters held themselves back. ''Hey,


    President Lane, how are you nning to go against Miss Lore and Squirrel Media?'' Thisment


    surfaced under Charles'' post after a while. Theizens hadn''t gotten an answer from Sonia and Toby,


    so they were clearly trying to dig some information from Charles. They figured that Charles wasn''t as


    serious and stern as Sonia and Toby¡ªHe''d probably answer us, right?


    In the end, they were right¡ªCharles did give them an answer. However, it wasn''t the answer that they


    were looking for. ''Hehe... I don''t know about this. After all, Sonia''s the victim more than I am. So, this


    will depend on what she wants to do. I''ll support her regardless of how she gets revenge against them,''


    Charlesmented.


    ''Ahh... This wasn''t the answer we wanted!'' Theizens were devastated. Are the three of them devils


    or what? Why are they so hard to deal with? Even Sonia was amused at thements. "Charles,


    you''re really¡ª" Sonia started.


    Charles held a finger up to stop her. "I know what you''re about to say. You''re going to say that I''m nasty


    because I messed around with theizens, right? But I''m not fooling around with them. I''m being


    honest. I''ll go ording to your will¡ªI''ll do whatever you need me to do in order to avenge you. But


    you didn''t tell me what to do, so what am I supposed to tell them?" he said.


    Sonia shook her head. She was speechless for a moment and was about to say something when a


    phone ringtone sounded. Both Sonia and Charles turned to see Toby''s phone ringing. With the both of


    them staring at him, Toby pulled his phone out. The moment he saw the caller ID, his face darkened,


    and the space between his brows narrowed. Finally, he slid his phone across the screen to end the call.


    When Sonia saw his actions, she could somehow guess who the caller was. "Was that Harry?"


    Toby shook his head. "No. It was Harry''s son and Lte''s father. He''s the head of the Lore Family and


    the CEO of Lore Communications."


    Sonia nodded to show that she heard what he had said. She didn''t question him further as she wasn''t


    interested in knowing more. Charles, on the other hand, seemed somewhat interested. "That guy''s


    calling you to talk about this, huh? I bet he saw your statement and knew that you''re searching for the


    person responsible for this matter. Perhaps that was why he contacted you. But that''s a pretty


    pretentious move, isn''t it?"


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    A disdainful look surfaced on Toby''s face. "I bet this guy already knew that his daughter was


    responsible for this. His daughter probably got Lore Communications to make her post go viral. I''m


    sure that this person is aware of this matter since he''s the CEO. After all, either the CEO or the


    president has to provide the passcode to boost the engagement of a post¡ªregr staff from other


    departments wouldn''t be able to do it. So, when Lte got Lore Communications to do this, she must


    have already told the CEO about it and gotten his approval beforehand."


    "Are you saying that this guy secretly allowed his daughter to ruin my reputation and frame me online?


    Are you saying he''s supporting his daughter''s behavior because he wants us to break up?" Sonia


    asked as she turned to look at Toby. Toby wore a grim expression on his face, and the air around him


    seemed to be a few degrees colder. His gloomy aura seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the room.


    He was clearly furious.


    "That''s right. That''s what Toby meant." Charles stuck his thumb up. "That''s why I think this guy is


    pretentious. Look. After ourpany announced his daughter as one of the people responsible for this


    matter, he never once called Toby to plead for forgiveness. But now that Toby had made a statement


    himself, he finally called Toby. Obviously, this guy thought Toby wouldn''t do anything to him at first¡ªhis


    beliefs only started getting shaky after he saw Toby''s post. That was why he decided to call and ask for


    forgiveness. But, no... Perhaps it''s not that... He seems like he''s just testing waters right now," Charles


    said.


    "Charles is right." Toby nodded in agreement. Sonia was quiet for a while before she let out augh.


    "That''s interesting. His daughter is interested in you, so he wants us to break up. As a father, this guy


    didn''t stop his daughter after seeing what she did; he even tried to help her out secretly. As I observe


    the way that both of them are, I can''t help but wonder... Could your teacher secretly be hoping for us to


    break up as well?"


    When Toby heard Sonia''s words, his pupils shrank in surprise. He couldn''t utter a single word for a


    while. Sonia''s heart sank when she saw his response, but she quickly spread her lips into a wider


    smile. "It seems like I was right. Your teacher doesn''t seem to fancy me."


    "Sh*t. All three generations of the Lore Family are waiting for you and Sonia to split up. That''s so


    weird." Charles was surprised and looked as if he had just heard the funniest joke of his life. Toby


    ignored his conunent as he stared at Sonia. He parted his lips and hesitated for a while before


    speaking. "I''m sorry. I didn''t know that my teacher..."


    "It''s not your fault." Sonia shook her head. "I''m not money; I can''t expect everyone to love me. So, I


    don''t really care whether your teacher likes me. What I care about is whether you''d get impacted by


    them. I''m afraid you might think of breaking up with me when you hear that they don''t like me or want


    you to break up with me..." she muttered.


    Toby let out augh before flicking his fingers against her forehead. "What nonsense is that? Why


    would I do such a thing? If I had such thoughts, it''d only show that I''m someone who can''t form my own


    opinions. Do I look like a puppet that''s being controlled by someone else? I haven''t told you this yet,


    but... My meeting with my teacher today went pretty bad."

 Chapter 1076

    Chapter 1076


    "What do you mean?" Sonia instinctively straightened her figure. Was there an argument during his


    meeting with Harry? That doesn''t make sense. After all, he''s Harry''s favorite student, and he has


    always respected Harry as a teacher. So, I don''t think they have a reason to be unhappy with one


    another. But after thinking about her conversation with Charles earlier, Sonia felt like she could guess


    Toby''s answer.


    "Did the conversation go bad because of me?" Sonia gazed at Toby as she parted her red lips to speak


    at a slow pace. Toby was silent for a while. "I knew it." The corner of Sonia''s lips curled oddly, and no


    one could tell if she was happy or sad. Her response sounded pretty neutral. After all, Harry was Toby''s


    teacher, not hers; Harry wasn''t rted to her in any way. So, she didn''t really care if Harry liked her.


    "What did you guys talk about?" Even though Sonia didn''t care about what Harry thought of her, she


    still wanted to know what she did, which led to their miserable conversation. Toby knitted his brows¡ªhe


    looked as if he didn''t want to answer her for a moment. Charles rolled his eyes at this. "Hey, Toby, why


    can''t you just be honest? What''s wrong with telling us these things? You should say it aloud, especially


    since this has to do with Sonia. How did she get your teacher mad? Your teacher wouldn''t dislike her


    for no reason, right?"


    Sonia didn''t say anything, but Toby could tell that she was curious, so he ended up telling her what he


    and Harry had talked about earlier that day. Toby didn''t tell her the whole story¡ªhe simply gave her a


    summary of what happened. He even changed how Harry phrased certain things to ensure that Sonia


    wouldn''t feel any difort after hearing his words. After all, Harry had been rather harsh with his


    words. Even though Toby was well-intentioned, the way he changed certain words made his whole


    story sound rather stiff and made-up. So, Sonia quickly realized that Toby hid parts of the story from


    her.


    Judging by the way he spoke and the guilty expression on his face, Sonia could easily guess that Harry


    had been talking badly about her. She curled her lips into a sarcastic smirk. "It''s such a hassle for


    someone as well-known as Harry to bother himself with some nobody like me. He didn''t just pay


    attention to me; he even developed a thorough understanding of me just to show that I''m no match for


    you at all. It must have been tiring for that old man to do so much work," she said in self-deprecation.


    Toby was unhappy after hearing the way that his girlfriend spoke of herself. He quickly reached his


    hands out to turn her face so that she was looking into his eyes. "Stop talking nonsense! There


    shouldn''t be anyparisons between the both of us. To me, we''re both on the same level. I''ve


    rified this to my teacher, so you don''t have to worry about what my teacher said. I''ll never take his


    words seriously," Toby uttered.


    "Hmph. How can we tell if you''re being honest?" Charles pursed his lips. Toby turned around to look at


    him with an icy re. If you say one more word, I''m going to kill you right here, Toby''s eyes said.


    Charles seemed to get the message from the hateful look in Toby''s eyes. Charles shrank away when


    he realized that his words had triggered Toby, and he no longer dared to say anything else after that.


    Toby let go of Charles after that. All along, Toby tolerated Charles'' provocative words only because of


    his rtionship with Sonia and the Lanes. However, Toby simply couldn''t allow Charles to target his


    rtionship with Sonia.


    Charles had every reason to be grateful right then. Thankfully, I spoke in a joking tone earlier. I''m d I


    wasn''t trying to stir a fight between Toby and Sonia. Toby wouldn''t have let me go so quickly otherwise!


    Naturally, Sonia noticed the hateful look that Toby shed at Charles. She understood the reason for


    Toby''s actions and sighed before shaking her head in Charles'' direction. You should watch your mouth


    in front of him, she mouthed to Charles. She understood why Toby was so triggered¡ªanyone would


    feel annoyed if there were another person around them who constantly went against their opinions.


    This was incredibly frustrating when one was trying to show his genuine love and care to the other part.


    So, it wasn''t surprising that Toby felt the urge to murder Charles right then.


    If Sonia had been in the same position, she would''ve gotten mad too. Instead, after receiving Sonia''s


    warning, Charles carefully drew his fingers across his lips as if to show that his mouth was zipped shut.


    Only then did Sonia turn her focus back to Toby.


    "Don¡¯t be mad. You know what Charles is like."


    Toby pressed his lips together. "I don¡¯t care about what other people think. I just want to know what you


    think¡ªdo you think I never brought this up with my teacher?"


    "Of course not." Sonia stared at the man earnestly. "I know you wouldn''t lie to me about such a thing,


    so I never suspected you at all. Charles was the only one who said that," she replied. Toby''s brows


    rxed a little upon hearing her words. "That''s good. I really told my teacher everything that I told you.


    After that, I told him to leave Fuller Group. Anyway, I just don''t want you to worry about this. No one''s


    ever going to tear us apart." Toby''s words were firm as he spoke. His eyes glinted with a mixture of


    determination and fury.


    When Sonia saw the look on his face, she knew Lte''s actions, and Harry''s words must have


    infuriated Toby. That was why Toby reassured her with an icy, hateful re in his eyes. Well, I guess I


    can understand how he feels. After all, it must be hard when the people around you consistently


    pressure you to break up with your partner. The people around him keep telling him that he chose the


    wrong person and that he''d break up eventually, Sonia thought. Well, I wouldn''t be able to handle it,


    either.


    "Toby." Right then, Charles, who had only been quiet for a while, spoke up again. Toby shot him an icy


    re. "What else do you want to say? If you''re going to make some odd statement, then I''d rather you


    keep your mouth shut."


    Charles spread his hands open in protest. "What makes you think I''m about to say something like that?


    I just wanted to say that your teacher has been telling you to leave Sonia, that Sonia''s not a good


    woman, that she''s not a good match for you... But have you considered who your teacher thinks is a


    good match for you?" he asked.


    Sonia raised an eyebrow upon hearing Charles'' words while Toby furrowed his brows once more. "No,"


    he parted his lips to reply. It was true¡ªToby had never considered this question in the past. Previously,


    all he did was argue against his teacher¡ªhe didn''t bother to think about anything else. He wasn''t


    interested in hearing the answer, anyway.


    "It''s Miss Lore, isn''t it?" Sonia said out of nowhere. Toby looked at her, and she met his gaze with a


    smile. "Your teacher probably wants to introduce his granddaughter to you so that you can be with her."


    "That''s right." Charles held his thumb up once more. "That''s what I was thinking, too. If Harry keeps


    insulting Sonia, iming that she''s not good enough for you and telling you to break up with her, then


    who does he expect you to be with? There''s only one answer¡ªhe wants you to be with his


    granddaughter. His granddaughter likes you, after all. Since his son knows about this, I''m sure he''s


    aware of this as well. So, Harry''s trying to get his granddaughter the man she fancies. As a


    grandfather, he''d certainly support her decision and wouldn''t wish to see his granddaughter sad or


    disappointed. He wouldn''t introduce any woman other than her, would he? Furthermore, if you dated


    his granddaughter, it wouldn¡¯t just make his granddaughter happy; it''d also improve the Lore Family''s


    reputation. This is a win-win situation for them. I bet Harry''s aware of this."


    Toby was speechless at this point. He lowered his gaze as he contemted the other man''s words.N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

 Chapter 1077

    Chapter 1077


    Toby didn''t argue against Charles'' statement¡ªdeep down, he clearly believed what Charles had said.


    However, Charles'' words reminded Toby of something that he hadn''t paid much attention to in the past.


    Now that I hear what Charles said, it seems like a possibility. Toby shut his eyes as he tried his best to


    contain his anger. When he next opened his eyes, his gaze had turned much darker than before.


    Everyone in the room knew that Toby wasn''t going to take the situation lightly. He simply concealed all


    of his emotions beneath his cold and empty gaze. "I got it. I''ll deal with this." Toby let go of Sonia''s face


    as he responded to Charles.


    "Well, don''t disappoint us," Charles uttered with a shrug. Toby ignored the other man and was about to


    speak to Sonia when his phone rang again. Ever since he ended the call earlier, he had left his phone


    on Sonia''s desk. So, once it started ringing, everyone could see who the call was from. It was from


    Tom. This time, Toby showed no intention of ignoring the call. "What is it?" he asked as he ced the


    phone against his ear.


    "President Fuller." Tom''s voice came from the other end of the line. "Mr. Lore just called me a while ago


    and said he couldn''t get to you. But, he wanted to know your whereabouts and whether you were


    upied."


    Toby''s face remained nk after hearing Tom''s words. Toby had clearly expected the Lore Family to


    contact Tom after they failed to contact him. "Well? How did you respond to him?" Toby asked as he


    narrowed his eyes. Through their call, Tom could tell from Toby''s voice that Toby wasn''t fond of the


    Lore Family. "I told him that I didn''t know where you were. I exined that I''m not the only assistant


    and that I don''t always know your whereabouts," Tom answered hastily.


    Toby nodded. "Go on."


    "I don''t think Mr. Lore believed what I said, but he no longer tried asking about you since he knew that


    he couldn¡¯t get anything from me. Regardless, he indirectly asked me about your responses to the


    incident online and your views on it," Tom added.


    "Ignore him." There wasn''t a hint of emotion on Toby''s face.


    Tom pushed his sses up the bridge of his nose as he replied. "I know what you mean, President


    Fuller. So, I simply responded with a few vague sentences just to get him off the call. He eventually


    ended the call with a rather annoyed tone, so I believe that he''ll try to contact you again," Tom


    exined.


    "I got it." Toby nodded. After that, he took a look at the woman who was sitting in front of him. "You


    don''t have to care about the Lore Family for now. I''ll deal with it in the future. But, for now, I need you to


    handle the ghostwriters and fake business ounts online. You''ll also need to deal with Titus and


    Connor," he ordered.


    "I''ve already sent someone to deal with Squirrel Media, and they should be in the midst of discussing


    some matters acquiring Squirrel Media. We managed to acquire theirpany this afternoon, but the


    workers in Squirrel Media... Except for that secretary that Sonia mentioned..." Tom replied.


    "We''ll have to do a background check on all workers. I want all the people involved or interested in this


    matter, and all the individuals who had ever produced fake news, to be fired instantly." Toby''s short


    statement had probably turned thousands of people jobless.


    Tom nodded. "Yeah. I''ve already gotten someone to deal with the other mediapanies involved this


    time. As you said, we gave their rivals a promotion instead of them, so the internal team is aplete


    mess now. I bet the Inte will be filled with the news regarding the significant changes in the media


    company¡¯s management team from tomorrow onward. Meanwhile, I''ve already collected the evidence


    for the business ounts and filed a court case. We can head to court to fool around with them for a


    while and get them to spit out the money they had earned illegally. I wanted to contact the


    cybersecurity department to deal with the ghostwriters, but I realized someone had already warned


    them before I did anything. The ghostwriting team has gone their separate ways now. Who do you think


    was the one who warned them, President Fuller?" Tom eyed his boss puzzledly.


    Toby narrowed his eyes as his expression turned grim. "Zane. He''s the only one who can do it."


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Sonia was shocked to hear this. Zane? Why are we talking about him all of a sudden? Meanwhile, on


    the other end of the call, Tom smacked his forehead as realization spread across his face. "Ah, I forgot


    about Mr. Coleman. He left for the vige nearly two months ago, yet he''s still keeping up with


    everything online. He''s truly one of the trendier ones."


    Toby frowned immediately. "Since you look up to him so much, should I hint to him that you''d like to go


    over? Why don''t you work for him instead?" Toby suggested.


    Tom''s expression fell as he immediately apologized. "D-Don''t do that, President Fuller. I made a


    mistake. I shouldn''t have said that." This was Tom''s fault¡ªhepletely forgot about how Zane and


    Toby were love rivals. Oops. I praised President Fuller''s enemy. No wonder he''s mad!


    Toby scoffed. "Alright. The country''s investigation team is looking into Triforce Enterprise. Even though


    Titus managed to get rid of a lot of the evidence, I''m sure there are still some clues and marks left


    behind. It all depends on whether we manage to find it. So, what I need you to do now is to tell the


    investigation team about the quarry that had been under Triforce Enterprise five years ago. He


    concealed the truth about the copse of the mine and didn''t reveal the exact number of people who


    died. This will be my way of getting back at him this time."


    Toby turned to Sonia after finishing his words. "Is that okay?" Sonia had always wanted to ruin the Gray


    Family and Triforce Enterprise on her own¡ªthat was why she didn''t want Toby to do anything. Yet, now


    that he wanted to target Titus, he felt he had to ask for her opinion first. Sonia nodded when she saw


    the hopeful look in his eyes. "Yeah."


    Titus had been messing around too much recently, so it was about time they got back at him. Of


    course, just revealing the news itself wouldn¡¯tpletely destroy the Gray Family and Titus, but it


    would cause some harm to their reputation and make it easier for Sonia and Toby to attack them in the


    future.


    The space between Toby''s brows was no longer wrinkled after he saw that Sonia had agreed to his


    idea. "When you''re providing information to the investigation team, try not to reveal your identity. It''d be


    best if the team had just happened to hear the news from some random person," Toby said into the


    phone.


    "I got it," Tom replied. Toby pressed his lips together as he continued. "And for Connor... He likes


    snatching things from others, right? So let''s give him a taste of his own medicine. Let''s see how he


    likes it when others snatch his things," he said viciously.


    "Alright." The call ended after that, and Toby massaged his temples as he lowered his phone. Sonia


    could tell that the man was rather tired, so she made him a cup of coffee. "By the way, you mentioned


    Zane''s name earlier. What was that about?"


    "It''s nothing. It was just a passing mention. Don''t worry about it," Toby said as he lifted his coffee cup to


    his lips and gave Sonia a warm smile. Unfortunately, his smile didn''t reach his eyes. I will not tell her


    that Zane''s also helping with this. I''d be making my love rival seem like a good person, right? Sonia


    didn''t ask much about it since Toby made no furtherments. She figured that it was probably some


    minor thing, so she didn''t see the need to ask anymore. She knew how envious Toby could sometimes


    get, anyway. The more I ask, the more I''d make him jealous, right?


    Charles was the only one who sat around and stared at them. When he looked at Toby, he felt like he


    could roll his eyes all the way back. Doesn''t Sonia know that this guy is doing all of this intentionally?


    Zane clearly did something for Sonia, and Toby''s undoubtedly hiding this for his own benefit. We''re all


    men, so we all know what it''s like, right?


    Even though Charles didn''t think highly of Toby, it never crossed his mind to expose Toby, either. After


    all, Charles knew how Zane felt toward Sonia, and Charles, too, didn''t want to make his love rival look


    like a good person.

 Chapter 1078

    Chapter 1078


    "Now, the media''s fake business ounts, their ghostwriters, Titus, and Connor will all pay for their


    actions. Next, what do you think we should do with the Lore Family?" Toby asked as he turned to look


    at Sonia.


    "I haven''t thought of this either," she replied while massaging her temples. He gazed at her firmly.


    "Have you not thought of it, or are you thinking on behalf of me?" he asked. Sonia''s act of massaging


    her temples came to a halt for a second. Her slight pause wasn''t noticeable, but the man noticed it


    anyway. The man immediately knew that his guess was correct.


    Sonia was lying when she said that she didn''t know how to get back at Lte¡ªafter all, it was easy to


    come up with ways to take revenge. Regardless, Sonia kept iming that she hadn''t thought of a way


    because she had other concerns on her mind. Toby sighed. "You don''t have to do that. You can just do


    what you think is best," he said.


    "I know," she replied while smiling at the man. "I know that you don''t want me to get bullied, but


    simrly, I don''t want others to think of you badly. You might not care about your reputation, but I can''t


    allow others to talk badly about you like that. Anyway, we shouldn''t be rash about this. At least


    everyone knows that this was just a false rumor and that Miss Lore was the one who was trying to


    mess with me behind my back. Her reputation has already been ruined, so there''s no rush for us to get


    revenge. Give me some time to think about this. Trust me, okay? I won''t allow myself to be stepped on


    like that." She slipped her arm around his as she gazed at him earnestly.


    Since she had made herself clear, Toby couldn''t say much else. He went along with her decision. After


    all, as she said, the situation was much clearer after they had rified things on their end, and no one


    was cursing at Sonia any longer. Right then, all of theizens'' fury was directed toward Lte. Sonia


    was innocent and free from criticism, so she could take all the time she wanted to figure out how she


    would get back at Lte. Toby didn''t mind giving Sonia the time she needed.


    Charles, who saw how Sonia was thinking for Toby and how Toby cared for Sonia, chuckled bitterly to


    himself. Both of them are clearly thinking for the other person. They genuinely love each other. There''s


    no way anyone can get between them. Fortunately, Carl is in Westsanshire now, and his alter ego is


    taking control of his body. Otherwise, he''d probably lose his mind if he saw how loving Sonia and Toby


    are to each other.


    "President Reed." All of a sudden, Daphne showed up at the door and rapped her knuckles against it


    while calling out for Sonia. As she uttered Sonia''s name, her gaze fell on Charles, who was standing


    opposite Sonia. However, Daphne quickly shifted her gaze away to fix it on Sonia, as if Sonia were the


    only person in the room. That way, Daphne could pretend that the other man didn''t exist. That was the


    only way she could ensure he didn''t impact her emotions.


    Still, Dapline didn''t notice how Charles had been sittingzily on the couch before she appeared and


    how he froze for a moment before slowly shifting into an upright position after hearing her voice. He


    even had the thought of turning his chair to face her. But after some contemtion, he decided against


    this idea. Nevertheless, his grip on the chair''s armrests was unyielding, and his head was tilted


    downward so that no one could see the look on his face.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    The moment Sonia saw Daphne, her first instinct was to look at Charles'' reaction. She watched him


    freeze and sit upright before tilting his head downward. When she noticed how tightly he gripped the


    chair, Sonia immediately knew he had intended to turn around to look at Daphne. He probably decided


    to hold himself back in the end, Sonia thought. Naturally, Toby also realized all of Charles'' subtle


    actions. It wasn''t that he enjoyed observing Charles¡ªToby simply noticed how Sonia was looking at


    Charles. Her gaze made him feel uneasy, so he also ended up watching Charles. That was how Toby


    saw all of Charles'' odd reactions to Daphne.


    Toby''s thoughts were a step farther from Sonia''s. Sonia figured that Charles was reacting to Daphne''s


    presence in such a manner because Charles didn''t like Daphne, but Toby''s assumptions differed. Toby


    looked at Daphne for a moment before turning to look at Charles. He narrowed his eyes, and some


    unidentifiable emotion shed across his gaze for a moment before disappearing. All of this happened


    in a split second, and Sonia didn''t even catch it at all.


    When Sonia saw Charles hanging his head low as if deep in thought, she let out a soft sigh before


    turning to the woman standing at her front door. "What is it?" Sonia asked as she spread her lips into a


    smile. Dapline used the corner of her eyes to gaze at the chair with its back turned against her. She


    couldn''t see much of the person sitting on the chair¡ªshe could only see the top of Charles'' head.


    When she saw that Charles had no intention of turning around, she felt a mixture of relief and


    disappointment.


    In the end, Daphne sighed and shook her head before looking away and returning to her usual stern


    self. "A few mediapanies called earlier, President Reed. They wanted to apologize and make it up


    to you. They hope that you would forgive their actions, and they sent some hampers over," she


    reported.


    "Are you saying that thesepanies brought gifts to apologize to me?" Sonia raised an eyebrow. "Are


    these mediapanies the ones who spread the rumors?"


    "Yes." Daphne nodded. Sonia immediately let out augh. "It seems like Tom was right. He said that


    the mediapanies would approach us, and they really did."


    "Hmph. Their positions are about to be threatened by their rivals. Of course, they would do such a


    thing." Toby rolled his eyes while speaking in a disdainful tone.


    "I have a hypothesis," Sonia said as she turned to look at Toby. He curled his lips into a smile. "I know


    what you''re thinking." She smiled in return before turning to look at Charles. "Charles, can you ask your


    "Sure. I''ll ask them about it." Charles kicked his leg up to rest it on his other knee as he pulled his


    phone out and made a call. Daphne quickly lowered her head when she heard Charles'' voice, as if


    lowering her head would reduce her presence in the room. Sonia sighed again upon noticing this.


    About two minutester, Charles got off the phone and shrugged. "I didn''t get anything," he replied.


    "I knew it." Sonia was surprised by Charles'' answer, but the smug look on her face seemed more


    evident than before. "Since we were the main targets of this rumor, it wouldn''t make sense for them to


    only apologize to one of us and not the other. Yet, these mediapanies deliberately chose to


    apologize only to one of us. This clearly shows that they have no remorse. In other words, they didn''t


    approach me with the intention of apologizing." She turned to look at Toby. "You were their target. They


    wanted to be affiliated with you through getting into my good books."


    Charles pped his thigh as he understood the situation. "I understand now. Sonia, are you saying that


    these mediapanies approached you to apologize because they hoped that you would put in a


    good word for them in front of Toby? Is that how they are trying to get Toby to let them off the hook?"


    Sonia agreed. "Yes. That''s what I mean."


    Charles'' chest heaved up and down as a surge of anger filled his insides. "F*ck! These guys are so


    rude. Do they really think they''d achieve their goals by doing such a thing?"


    "They had no option other than to try their luck, right?" Sonia wore an icy smirk on her lips as she


    spoke.


    Charles balled his fists. "You can''t allow yourself to fall for their trick, Sonia. You shouldn''t feel touched


    by their apologies and gifts."


    She rolled her eyes in response. "Do you think I''m such a pushover? Do I look that easy to be


    convinced? Furthermore, I already mentioned that I wouldn''t be touched by their apologies. So why


    should I care about their pretentious and nned apologies?"

 Chapter 1079

    Chapter 1079


    "That sounds more like it." Charles gave her a smile of relief, but he then pouted as he seemed to


    recall something. "Anyway, I''m speechless toward these people. If they wish to secure their positions


    by apologizing to you, they should at least do it more sincerely. I would feel more respect for them if


    they had at least perceived me as someone worthy of receiving an apology. But for the sake of


    achieving their goals, they chose to only apologize to you. Unfortunately, their actions reveal their true


    intentions.


    They are so dumb!"


    Then, Charles turned around to look at Toby. "I''m warning you, Toby; you shouldn''t go easy on them


    just because they stepped forward to apologize to Sonia."


    "You idiot." Toby gave Charles a look of disdain as he responded in a cold voice.


    Charles was furious. Did this guy just call me an idiot? He was about to roll his sleeves up to start a


    fight with Toby when Sonia quickly spread her arms out to gesture for them to calm down. "Alright. Stop


    messing around. Don''t worry, Charles. I won''t let a single one of them go, and Toby won''t do so either.


    So your concerns are unnecessary."


    As Charles mentioned, if the mediapanies were to genuinely apologize to them, Sonia might


    actually go easy on them since they recognized their mistakes. Nevertheless, these mediapanies


    thought that they were clever by apologizing just to Sonia while ignoring Charles. They were too


    confident that they would be forgiven if they had just apologized to Sonia, and they thought that Toby


    would let them off the hook. Hah! What a joke. I wonder who gave them this stupid idea, Sonia thought.


    "You can tell them their apologies are unappreciated and send the gifts back." Toby had already given


    Daphne his orders while Sonia was still scoffing about how dumb the mediapanies were. Daphne


    didn''t want to stay at the door for long, either. The longer she stayed, the more likely she would gaze in


    Charles'' direction. If that happened, Charles would eventually notice her, creating more unnecessary


    issues for her. So, Daphne was highly grateful to hear Toby''s orders, and she quickly nodded in


    response. "I got it, President Fuller. I''ll get that done immediately." She hurried off after that.


    Charles didn''t know what he felt as he heard the clicking sound of Daphne''s high heels disappearing


    down the corridor. At that moment, he realized that he was no longer holding himself back, so he


    turned his head around to peep in the direction of the office''s entrance. There was no one standing at


    the door by then, but Charles continued to stare in that direction. Sonia and Toby couldn''t read the


    expression on his face, so they simply stared at him.


    After looking at him for a while, Sonia used her eyes to send a message to Toby. Don''t you think


    Charles is weird? Toby''s eyes lit up as he responded with his gaze. Hasn''t he always been weird?


    Sonia twitched her lips in exasperation as she gave up onmunicating with Toby. At that moment,


    Sonia''s phone started ringing. The sound of her ringtone brought Charles back to reality, and he turned


    around with a frown on his face. There was a hint of frustration in his eyes. It seemed almost as if he


    was angry at himself for staring at the spot where Dapline had been standing.


    Toby gazed at the other man thoughtfully, and Charles finally sensed Toby''s gaze this time. "What are


    you looking at?" Charles looked up and red at Toby.


    "So... You haven''t sensed it," Toby taunted as he curled his lips into a smirk.


    Charles knitted his brows even more than before. "What do you mean? What did I not sense?"


    But Toby simply ignored Charles as he lowered his gaze and yed with one of Sonia''s pens. His


    actions made Charles extremely annoyed. This b*stard is acting all mysterious to make me curious.


    First, he makes a vague statement; then, he doesn''t borate on his meaning. He''s making me go


    crazy. Finally, Charles gave Toby a hateful re as if he wanted to use his eyes to burn two holes into


    Toby. I hate him so much!


    Sonia noticed the subtle exchanges between the two men, but she shook her head in resignation


    before picking up the phone. Well, these two guys are always like that when they''re in the same room,


    she thought. I''m used to it by now. So I''m fine as long as they don''t get into a fight with each other.


    "Hello. Sonia speaking." Sonia pressed her phone against her ear as she greeted the caller politely. It


    was an unknown local number, and she didn''t know to whom it belonged. However, she often received


    calls from different people, which wasn''t new to her. "Hello, Miss Reed. I''m calling from Star Media." An


    anxious voice sounded on the other end of the line. "We just received a response from your secretary,


    Miss Reed. We heard that you returned all of our gifts. I''m calling to ask if you''re not satisfied with the


    gifts or want something more. If you don''t like what we gave you, we can prepare something that fits


    your taste. If it''s not enough, we can buy you more gifts. Please give us a chance to show our remorse,


    Miss Reed..."


    Sonia let out an angry scoff after hearing the other person''s voice. I can''t believe they still don¡¯t


    understand why I rejected their apology and returned their gifts. If they don''t know why I''m doing this,


    that means that they still don''t understand how ridiculous their attempted apology is. They assume I''m


    rejecting them because their gifts weren''t enough. Sonia''s gaze was eerily stern as she spoke in a cold


    voice. "I''m sorry, Sir. I''m out for a factory inspection now, and the line is terrible, so I can''t hear what


    you''re saying. You can call me again in the future. Goodbye."


    Before waiting to hear what the other person had to say, Sonia simply ended the call with a nk look


    on her face. "What is it?" Toby pressed his brows together as he gave the woman a concerned look.


    Sonia shook her head before telling him what she heard on the phone. Toby''s expression was just as


    grim as Sonia''s after hearing what she said. It seems like I went too easy on these people. That''s why


    they still have the strength to fight back at this point. At that moment, Toby decided that he would have


    to create even more trouble for these mediapanies.


    He was thinking of a n when Sonia''s phone rang again. Her face darkened as she picked the call up


    without even looking at the caller ID. "If you still think that I''m rejecting your apology because I don''t like


    your gifts, then there''s nothing much for us to talk about¡ª"


    The person on the other end of the line interrupted her, and Sonia froze before she held her phone out


    to take a look at the caller ID. Her cheeks turned pink after she saw the name on her phone. "I''m so


    sorry," she uttered in embarrassment as she apologized to the person on the line. "I didn''t do that


    intentionally. I thought that you were some horrible mediapany calling... I''m sorry.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Alright. I''lle over right now."


    After she lowered the phone, Sonia patted her chest as she sighed. Well, that was awkward. I thought


    that it was a call from a mediapany, so I spoke in a really harsh tone. But once the other person


    started talking, I realized that I was the one who got it wrong. I embarrassed myself!


    "Who called?" Toby nced at Sonia''s phone while knitting his brows. Charles looked at her as well.


    Sonia took a sip of water to calm herself down before responding. "It was a call from the police. They


    want me to visit the police station," she exined.


    "The police station?" Charles tilted his head sideways. "What did you get yourself into this time,


    Sonia?"

 Chapter 1080

    Chapter 1080


    Sonia shot him an angry re. "Can''t you think any better of me?" Toby was just as furious, and


    Charles felt his hairs stand on end at the sight of Toby''s face. Charles quickly waved his hand as he


    grinned cheekily. "Oh, Sonia. I''m sorry. I was just kidding. Don''t be mad."


    "Hmph!" Sonia turned around and ignored him. Toby watched as she lowered her ss of water. "Is


    this rted to Anya?" he parted his lips to ask. Even though it was a question, his tone sounded


    rtively firm¡ªit was as if he already knew the answer. After all, the only thing that could involve a trip


    to the station was probably the incident with Anya. Sonia was the one who made the police report.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    Meanwhile, Toby was the one who filed the report against the bosses of Dwells and Squirrel Media, so


    the police would have contacted him and not Sonia. So, if the police called Sonia, it had to be rted to


    Anya. As expected, Sonia nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I made the report a while ago. Connor found a


    lawyer for Anya, so Anya hasn''t been prosecuted so far. Unfortunately, I''m not willing to give in on this


    matter, so the police are caught in the middle. They want me to go over to discuss how to deal with the


    remaining matters," she exined.


    Toby pressed his lips together as he knitted his brows while Charles ced his hands behind his head


    and let out a scoff. "In my opinion, they shouldn''t allow the criminal to hire awyer to argue for their


    case when all the evidence has already been produced. So even though the criminal will eventually


    have to pay for their acts, they get to enjoy their lives for a while more because the case is being


    dragged out. That''s so unfair," Charlesmented.


    Sonia shrugged. I know, right? The evidence is all on the table. She should be found guilty immediately.


    But thew states that the criminal has the right to find her ownwyer to plead for a lesser sentence.


    So while they''re fighting for their innocence, the criminal will only be kept in the station or the detention


    center. They won''t be sent to jail. The station and the detention center are both morefortable than


    the jail, Sonia thought. Come to think of it; it must feel pretty bad for the victims.


    "It''s fine." Right then, Toby stuck his hands into his pants before curling his lips into a bone-chilling


    smirk. "She''s going to suffer double the enjoyment she gets now once she goes to jail." In other words,


    Toby would get Anya into trouble once she got into jail. Sonia and Charles both understood what Toby


    meant. Sonia simply raised an eyebrow without saying anything while Charles pped his hands in


    excitement. "That''s a great idea. You''re finally doing something, Toby!"


    Toby narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Do you have a death wish?"


    "No." Charles held his hands up. "If you don''t, then you should shut up right now," Toby hissed icily.


    Then, he turned to look at Sonia. "Are you heading to the police station now?" he asked. "Yeah." Sonia


    stretched her limbs before standing up. "I told the police that I''d be there in an hour," she replied. "Let''s


    go, then. I''ll go with you." Toby raised his wrist to check his watch.


    Sonia smiled. "Sure."


    When Charles saw that the both of them had made ns, he stood up and yawned. "Alright. Since you


    guys are leaving, I guess there''s no reason for me to be here. You guys can go to the station; I won''t


    tag along anymore. I need to go back to my ownpany."


    "You should''ve left a long time ago." Toby tilted his head to give Charles an uninterested gaze. "Were


    you expecting to follow us? Aren''t you embarrassed for third-wheeling us all the time?"


    Toby''s words triggered Charles'' temper, and Charles pointed at Toby with a shaky finger. "Toby, you¡ª"


    "That''s enough." Sonia pressed her palm against her forehead as she interrupted Charles'' words. "You


    guys should stop. Were you guys enemies in your past lives? Is that why you guys fight all the time?


    Charles, you should stop too. You''re always making Toby mad when he''s not picking on you," she said.


    "Since when have I provoked him?" Charles widened his eyes as he disagreed with Sonia. Sonia


    ignored him before turning to look at Toby. "And you... Sometimes, Charles doesn''t provoke you either,


    yet you keep trying to trigger him and get him met. Am I wrong for saying that?"


    Toby froze before turning his head away. Sonia pointed her finger toward Charles then. Charles'' lips


    twitched in annoyance as he turned away too. Both the men didn''t respond to her. Sonia crossed her


    arms, and she gave both the men a side-eye. "What''s this? Why are you guys quiet? I was right, wasn''t


    I? You guys always have a way of triggering and making each other mad."


    Both Toby and Charles couldn''t argue against her words. Initially, they hadn''t realized what was going


    on, but now that Sonia had pointed it out, they realized that what she said was true. They knew the


    reason they were doing it¡ªthe reason was clear from the start. They both never liked each other, so


    they couldn''t bear it when the other person was at peace. Once the other person was at ease, they


    would try to say something to trigger the other person''s temper. They would feel good about


    themselves when they made the other party mad.


    When Sonia saw the two men lowering their heads like kids, she simultaneously felt annoyed and


    amused. "Alright. Let''s stop talking about this. You should head off, Charles. Thank you for today."


    Charles looked up and gave her a casual wave. "You don''t have to thank me. I didn''t do anything or


    help in any way. I''d feel bad if you thanked me."


    Sonia smiled. "You offered to help me, and you were worried for me. You helped mee up with an


    idea and made an announcement on my behalf. You helped in so many ways, so I should be thanking


    you. Don''t you think so, Toby?"


    Toby gave Charles an icy re without disagreeing with Sonia''s words. On the contrary, he clearly


    agreed with Sonia. "Well, that''s enough talk for today. Let''s go." Toby held onto Sonia''s hand.


    Sonia felt likeughing when she saw how eager the man was to leave. "Alright. We''ll leave now,


    Charles."


    "Go on." Charles waved at them. "I''ll have to wait for my assistant to pick me up. I drove your car to


    return it to you earlier, so I don''t have any transport for now."


    "Sure. You can wait in my office. Goodbye." Sonia waved at him as well. However, she barely got to bid


    goodbye before Toby held onto her wrist and pulled her hand down to stop her from waving. Charles


    rolled his eyes at Toby''s petty behavior. He doesn''t even allow Sonia to say goodbye to me. This guy is


    so overly possessive.


    Sonia was just as bothered by Toby''s actions, but she also found it amusing. After all, she knew how


    petty Toby could get, especially when it was with other men. It was as if Toby''s pettiness increased by a


    thousand times when it came to men. In the end, Toby dragged Sonia out of the office before driving


    her to the police station.


    While they were going to the station, Toby started a conversation with her. "Do you think Charles will go


    to your secretary while he''s waiting at your office?"


    Sonia had been scrolling through her phone, but she stopped and looked up when she heard his


    words. "Do you think Charles will go to Dapline?"


    Toby nodded.


    Sonia shook her head confusedly. "I don''t think so. Charles hates Dapline¡ªwhy would he go to her?


    Wouldn''t he be causing trouble for himself?" After all, someone would only look for the person they


    disliked if they were sick in their heads and wanted to make themselves mad.


    "Why would you ask about this?" Sonia blinked her eyes curiously.


    Toby curled his lips into a smirk without answering her question. "Did you just say that Charles hates


    your secretary?"

 Chapter 1081

    Chapter 1081


    "Yes." Sonia kept her phone in her bag before she casually leaned against the seat and stretched.


    Then, as if she were a furry cat, she curled up in the seat and responded softly, "But Charles and


    Daphne were university mates whoter worked together for a few years. Throughout that time, they


    remained purely subordinates. Daphne has never revealed her feelings for Charles, and all this while,


    he did not dislike her as well. It was after that incident that their rtionship changed dramatically, and


    his attitude toward her deteriorated."


    "Perhaps Charles doesn''t truly dislike your secretary. He is simply refusing to face his feelings for


    Daphne. As a result, he subconsciously changed his attitude toward her, as if doing so would allow his


    feelings to remain hidden and undiscovered by others," Toby said, his gaze fixed on the road ahead of


    him.


    Sonia was stunned by his words. "What do you mean?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" He came to aplete stop in front of a red light, giving him enough time to turn


    around and look at her.


    "Charles has nothing against your secretary. In fact, the opposite was true. He has feelings for her, but


    he is unaware of them. He subconsciously wants to care for her without realizing that this is his love for


    a woman. Instead, he assumed there was something wrong with him that was caused by Daphne.


    That''s why his attitude toward her changed."


    Toby''s words hit Sonia like a bomb, leaving her stunned for a few moments before she regained her


    senses and her voice. "W- What?! Charles has feelings for Daphne, but he is unaware of it?"


    Toby gave a nod. "That''s correct." He then saw the green light was on and resumed his journey.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was gripping her seatbelt tightly, her mouth wide open in shock. Her dazed


    expression indicated that she was still reeling from what Toby said. "How could this be possible?"


    Wasn''t she the one Charles adored?


    It wasn''t that she desired his love. Instead, Charles was the one who told her that he had loved her


    since he was a child, and that his feelings had not changed over the years.


    Furthermore, he was head over heels with her previously.


    And now, Toby said that Daphne, not Sonia, was the one Charles truly loved!


    Sonia almost didn''t believe it.


    "Why isn''t it possible?" Toby looked dashing as he steered the wheel with only one hand. "How else


    would you exin Charles''s concern for your secretary?"


    That almost choked Sonia.


    True. Charles seems to be overly concerned about Daphne. She could still recall Charles'' overreaction


    to Daphne earlier in the day at the office.


    "He is concerned about her; you''re right on that. But does that necessarily imply he has feelings for her,


    no?" Sonia was skeptical.


    While she spoke, Toby honked at the slow driver in front of him. "Indeed. But the thing is, he has said


    that he dislikes her. Would he be so concerned about her if he truly dislikes her? Will you?"


    "Of course not. I don''t even want to look at the person I disliked," she responded immediately.


    At the next instant, she froze, as if her moment of realization had arrived. She straightened her back


    and locked her gaze on Toby, her eyes wide open. "I know what you mean now. Charles would not


    have reacted this way to Daphne if he truly disliked her. It means that his so-called dislike for her isn''t


    true."


    "Exactly. No one will ever be concerned, or even pay attention to, someone he dislikes. But Charles,


    despite saying that he dislikes Daphne, remains concerned about her. Obviously, his dislike isn''t


    genuine, but his fondness of her is. It''s simr to how a young boy likes to bully the girl that he likes.


    His bullying of her doesn''t mean that he dislikes her; rather, it indicates that he likes her but does not


    know how to express it. As a result, he could only use such an attitude to catch her attention. Charles is


    probably the same way."


    Sonia couldn''t help but apud after hearing Toby''s analysis. The more he said, the more she believed


    what he said was true.


    However, she frowned in the next few minutes. "But since when does he have feelings for her?" she


    questioned.


    "How would I know if you didn''t even know?" Toby took advantage of the split second when he turned


    to cast a sidelong nce at her.


    She sighed at his response. "Forget it; it''s not important. What matters is that Charles is unaware that


    he likes Daphne and continues to believe he loves me. Do you think I should bring it up directly with


    him? Perhaps when he realizes his true love is Daphne, the two of them will reconcile, and even better,


    they will be a couple!" Sonia said as she stroked her chin, contemting the possibility that what


    she said would ur.


    Toby saw right through her. He stopped her, his brows furrowed. "You should throw that idea out."


    "Why?" Sonia asked, puzzled.


    He fixed his gaze in front of him, his expression solemn. "The reason Charles doesn''t realize his


    feelings is because he subconsciously doesn''t want to admit that he is no longer faithful to you.


    However, he also realizes that when his emotions are affected by Daphne every time; that is why he


    purposefully treated her badly, thinking that by doing so, his emotions would return to normal and he


    would no longer be affected by her. Do you think he''d ept it if you told him now that he''s affected by


    Daphne because he loves her? Would he then think that your secretary asked you to tell him that on


    purpose?"


    Sonia opened her mouth in response to Toby''s words, but she was unable to refute anything.


    Then, he went on, "He''d undoubtedly believe Daphne was the one who persuaded you to tell him that


    they should get together. All of his annoyance and frustration will be directed and vented toward her as


    a result."


    "Could things really get that serious?" Sonia went pale as she heard that.


    "Of course it will." Toby nodded assertively. "As I''ve said, his ignorance of his feelings is due to his


    refusal to admit that he now loves someone else. If you point it out to him, instead of being surprised,


    he will get angry instead, thinking that you and your secretary are conspiring to deceive him. While he


    may not do anything to you, I can''t say for sure that he won''t do anything to Daphne."


    "What should I do, then?" Sonia was anxious. "Do I just pretend to be ignorant and leave them alone?"


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    "Yes. Just don''t get involved," Toby agreed. "Directly pointing it out to him will only make matters worse.


    Therefore, it will be better for you to pretend to be unaware and wait for Charles to realize it himself. In


    this way, he would be more willing to ept his true feelings, because time may have passed before


    he realizes it, and they may have been through a lot of things together during that time, resulting in his


    attitude toward her may have changed by then. It would be easier for him to ept that he has feelings


    for her at that point."


    Sonia did not respond to Toby''s words. She lowered her head, pondering whether what he said was


    usible.


    After much thought, she concluded that Toby''s consideration was valid and even thoughtful in all


    aspects.


    "Perhaps you''re right." She felt relieved and nodded. "Fine. I''ll just pretend I don''t know anything."


    "Good move," Toby said, raising his chin.


    Sonia, on the other hand, squinted and looked at him with suspicion. "When did you be an expert


    in rtionships? Even I had no idea Charles had feelings for Daphne, but you did! You even


    considered the possible oues if I mentioned it to Charles. This is not at all like you! Pray tell, what


    causes you to act this way?"

 Chapter 1082

    Chapter 1082


    K Download the book on the App


    Home / Romance / Boss, Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Toby was a smart guy, but his intelligence was always focused on business rather than emotions.


    At the very least, he wasn''t the type to see through someone else''s fondness for another, let alone


    propose ideas.


    But now he could see through Charles'' feelings for Daphne, and he could also analyze what would


    happen if Sonia pointed it out to him directly.


    In the past, Sonia would never believe this.


    Hence, she reasoned that something must have happened to him that she was unaware of.


    Toby let out a light cough as he noticed Sonia pointing at himself and asking doubtfully. "I recently


    finished a few books. That''s why I''ve noticed Charles acting strangely when he''s with your secretary."


    "Books?" Sonia asked, her face filled with doubt. "What types of magical books are those?"


    "Books about rtionships," Toby muttered, returning his hand from his chin to the steering wheel.


    Sonia, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. "Why are you reading them all of a sudden?"


    She couldn''t understand his actions at all.


    Toby''s eyes twinkled. A rare desperate expression appeared on his face. "When I walked out of the


    conference room after a meeting a few days ago, I overheard a few female colleagues ranting about


    how they like romantic guys but that all of their husbands aren''t romantic. As a result, they''re fed up


    with their husbands."


    Hearing this, something struck Sonia. Her lips pursed while she responded, "So you also regard


    yourself as someone who isn''t romantic and is afraid that I''ll get sick of you, just like how they got sick


    of their husbands? That''s why you start reading those books in your attempt to be a romantic,


    right?


    "No," Toby responded calmly, his gaze fixed on the road in front of him. However, his flushed ears


    betrayed him.


    His voice trembled slightly as well, revealing his guilt in lying.


    That made Soniaugh. "Don''t try to hide it; you''ve already exposed yourself. How did I not realize you


    were such an insecure person before?"


    "Because I lost you once, and I''m afraid of losing you again."


    There were many things in this world that if they happened once, they would happen again and again


    indefinitely.


    Losing Sonia once was sufficient to crumble Toby.


    How could he endure losing her again?


    Sonia kept her smile and sighed deep down as she observed his solemn yet unconfident demeanor.


    "Don''t be concerned; that will not happen."


    While saying, she put her hand on his arm in an attempt to reassure him.


    In fact, she had never seen him with such ack of confidence before today.


    And he shouldn''t have such insecurities, being from the Fuller Family and aplishing at the age of


    30 what most people wouldn''t be able to aplish in their lifetimes.


    Such an emotion should never have entered his life.


    Toby should be a confident and a high-spirited person. Even if he became conceited, no one would


    regard that as wrong as he indeed had what it took to be that way.


    However, ack of confidence that should not have appeared on him surfaced as a result of his fear of


    losing her again.


    While Sonia felt all warm and fuzzy inside at that, she also felt her heart ache.


    She was the one who transformed this confident man, who was inplete control, into someone who


    felt insecure.


    It was as if she had dragged a high and mighty god from heaven and forced him to suffer in the human


    world.


    Deep down her heart, she was reproaching herself for this.


    She immediately lowered her gaze, attempting to conceal the guilt that was visible in her eyes from


    him.


    Knowing Toby, he would be worried if he found out, and he might even wonder if he did something


    wrong.


    He would apologize to her even if he had no idea if he was in the wrong.


    Remembering the times how he was anxious over her, Sonia felt a little amused.


    She looked at him and responded in the same solemn tone he had earlier, "Don''t worry. I won''t


    abandon you as long as you don''t betray me. No matter how many women outside want me to leave,


    as long as you haven''t done anything wrong, I will remain by your side."


    Hearing that, Toby immediately indicated his double signal and came to aplete stop on the road.


    Then, in front of her doubtful gaze, he unfastened his seatbelt.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    "What are you doing?! Why did you stop the car, Toby? We''re on the road! Aren''t you afraid that¡ª"


    Before Sonia could finish her sentence, Toby approached her and drew her into his embrace. His lips


    devoured hers as well, and he swallowed all of her unfinished words.


    Sonia was stunned and her eyes were wide open as she lost the ability to react.


    After all, she hadn''t expected him to do tliis out of the blue.


    Of course she didn''t expect tliis. After all, they were on the highway, surrounded by cars.


    How could he suddenly stop the car without thinking about the possibility of a collision?


    Within seconds, the honking from the cars behind her brought her back to reality. After regaining her


    composure, she pushed him away and anxiously checked the side mirror to see if there had been any


    idents.


    If there were really idents, the two of them would be in a lot of trouble.


    Fortunately, she didn''t see anything major happening behind her other than a long queue, and she


    heaved a long breath of relief at that.


    "Luckily there was no ident! We''d be in big trouble if that happened, and we''d feel terrible as well!"


    She shut the window, patted her own chest, and said to the man in the driver''s seat, who hadn''t started


    the car but was running his thumb over his lips, looking utterly satisfied.


    Toby lowered his hand and looked in the rearview mirror.


    All of the cars were urging him to move. The honking continued indefinitely, not pausing for a single


    second.


    He could only imagine how angry the drivers of the cars behind them were, and how irritated they were


    by Toby who blocked the path.


    However, none of them got out of their cars to confront or chastise him in person.


    This was because they could all see what a big shot Toby was, based on his car make and license


    te number. They didn''t dare to approach him¡ªhonking at him was already a brave act from them.


    "I''ve already indicated the double signal before I stop. If they still crash into us despite that, they only


    have their slow reaction to me," Toby said while restarting the car.


    His car continued on its way. When the Maybach began to move, all of the cars behind it began to


    move as well.


    Soon after, the main road resumed its normal traffic.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at Toby''s words. "How can you me it on them? You turned on the signal and


    stopped the car abruptly. Nobody could have predicted it! Furthermore, they were all kinds of drivers


    back there, both experienced and inexperienced. Those with experience may be able to react in time,


    but who can guarantee the amateurs will do the same? We are lucky to not have caused any ident,


    if not for their quick reactions. Anyway, just don''t do it again! If we cause a fatal ident, we''ll never be


    able to sleep well for the rest of our lives. Besides, there''s a chance they''ll crash into us and injure us


    as well!"


    Toby was so taken aback by her harsh words that he realized his actions earlier had truly terrified her.


    With that, he extended his hand and stroked her hair. "I''m sorry. It''s all my fault. I will never do it again,"


    he said softly.

 Chapter 1083

    Chapter 1083


    H Download the book on the App


    Home / Romance / Boss, Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Seeing that he had understood what she said and had admitted his mistake, Sonia let it go


    immediately.


    Waving her hand, she muttered, "It''s fine as long as you don''t do it again. But why did you do that just


    now?"


    "Because I''m overjoyed," Toby replied, his lips curved.


    "Overjoyed?" She casted a sidelong nce at him. "What are you overjoyed about?"


    "Your promise." The curve on his face widened. "You said you will not leave me as long as I do not


    betray you, regardless of the difficulties you face. That means you''ve promised not to leave me forever,


    as I will never do you wrong. That''s what makes me so happy."


    While saying this, he slightly puffed out his chest, appearing confident and even smug.


    If he wasn''t a human, Sonia could almost see his tail wagging behind him.


    Does that really make him so happy?


    She smiled and shook her head. "No matter how happy you are, you shouldn''t stop the car anywhere


    you like."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll hug and kiss you in a safe ce next time."


    That instantly made her blush. "I''m not referring to that! What I mean is that you must ensure your own


    safety. Safety. Not taking advantage of every opportunity to hug or kiss me!"


    Toby patronizingly nodded, but he clearly didn''t take it seriously.


    Of course he would pay attention to his safety.


    But hugging and kissing her was also a priority!


    After all, he had to fight for such opportunities.


    He couldn''t very well expect her to take the initiative, could he?


    Seeing his patronizing demeanor, Sonia knew what he was thinking and was amused by the man.


    Forget it. Let him think whatever he wants, she thought.


    He wouldn''t take anything she said seriously anyway.


    They conversed happily the rest of the way to the police station.


    Meanwhile, Titus and Connor were in deep trouble.


    Toby''s revenge had finally been exacted, and Titus was the first to experience it.


    Titus and the investigation team were leaving the conference room, and both parties stood at the door.


    Titus shook his hand with Chief Dup, the leader of the investigation team. With his sickly face and a


    warm smile, Titus said, "It''s been hard on you, Chief Dup."


    "Not at all," Chief Dup replied smilingly. "You''re the one having a hard time, President Gray. Thank


    you so much for bringing us around for the past few days despite your poor health. We''ll feel bad as if


    your physical condition deteriorates."


    "Don''t mention it at all," Titus courteously replied. "This is mypany. Of course, as the president, I


    have to show you around and brief you on the issues at hand. After all, I am in charge of Triforce


    Enterprise. The investigation will conclude tomorrow, and I will rest well after that. There''s nothing to be


    concerned about."


    "Thank you for saying so, President Gray. We''re all done for the day, and we''ll head back to our hotel


    first. Let us not disturb your rest any further." Chief Dup drew his hand back and continued, "You


    don''t have to send us off. President Gray. Goodbye."


    "Let me send you all downstairs," Titus said while gesturing them the way.


    At that, Chief Dup didn''t say anything further. He nodded and led the way, with Titus walking beside


    him.


    Their subordinates followed them from behind.


    The group then proceeded to the elevator.


    Just as they were about to enter the waiting area for the elevator, they heard a sound resonating from


    it.


    It was a shocked voice that said, "What? Our president once kept the copse of a mining cave a


    secret?"


    "Not the copse," another voice echoed, correcting the previous person. "What was hidden was the


    actual death toll. The copse of the mining cave was too major to be concealed. Hence, the only thing


    he could hide was the number of people who died as a result of the incident. I heard it from someone


    else too. ording to him, one of ourpany''s mining caves had long reached the standard for


    closure and should no longer be used for mining. But because our president refused to find another


    quarry for that, he broke the rules and continued to mine that cave. As a result, the cave was over-


    exploited, making it too hollow to sustain itself, and the entire mountain eventually copsed after a


    heavy rain, bringing the cave with it and killing arge number of people."


    "Oh my, is this true?"


    "Of course! Why would I joke about such a matter?"


    Titus, who was standing outside, couldn''t take it any longer and was about to charge in with his fists


    clenched to prevent the two of them from continuing their conversation.


    But just as he was about to move, someone tugged his arm.


    He turned around to see Chief Dup''s arm on his.


    "President Gray, what do you n to do?" Chief Dup questioned with a narrowed gaze as he looked


    at Titus. Though smiling, his smile did not reach his eyes. Currently, his gaze was tinged with coldness


    and scrutiny.


    Titus broke out in cold sweat when faced with Chief Dup''s question. He panicked, and his heart was


    pounding so hard that he felt pain.


    Even his subordinates behind him became uneasy and lowered their heads, as if they didn''t see Titus,


    however, didn''t realize his subordinates'' actions as he did not dare to look around under Chief Dup''s


    stare.


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    With that, he forced a smile, suppressed his panic deep within his heart and put on a calm front. "Chief


    Dup, my employees are talking gibberish. I need to put a stop to their nonsense. Could you..."


    He then lowered his head to look at Chief Dup''s grip on his arm.


    His intention was obvious; he wanted Chief Dup to let go of him.


    Chief Dup, on the other hand, pretended not to understand what Titus meant. The smile on his face


    remained as he said, "What are you anxious about, President Gray? Let us continue to hear them out


    before deciding whether what they say is gibberish."


    He had been in Seafield for quite some time, but he hadn''t found anything useful in Triforce Enterprise.


    The only thing he got were some minor blunders that the country could live with.


    Though he was a government official, he was still amoner.


    Wealth was idolized bymoners, and he was no exception. Chief Dup had always wanted to look


    into more problematicpanies for his own benefit, as well as to improve his work performance.


    But Triforce Enterprise was so clean that he couldn''t find anything. As a result, he couldn''t im any


    credit. This had already made him unhappy.


    Hence, now that he had finally learned something negative about thepany, he would not let


    anyone ruin it.


    He would not let anyone prevent him from achieving his expected performance.


    Titus had no idea what Chief Dup was contemting. However, from the coldness emanating from


    Chief Dup''s eyes, Titus could roughly guess what was on the man''s mind.


    He was determined to prevent Titus from interfering with the employees who were speaking.


    At this moment, anxiety and hatred filled Titus'' heart.


    He was anxious as to why the elevator wasn''t here yet. Once the elevator was here, the two


    employees would stop talking.


    And he hated them for bringing that matter up, among all other things.


    Most importantly, they did so right when Chief Dup was nearby.


    Aren''t they obviously putting me in trouble?


    Now that Chief Dup had heard about this, Titus would be in big trouble, as what the employees said


    was true. If Chief Dup decided to look into the incident, Titus would never be able to escape this


    unscathed.


    The more Titus thought about it, the paler his face became. He appeared as if he was about to pass


    out at any moment.


    In fact, he wished he could just pass out on the spot.


    Perhaps doing so would alert the two employees inside and cause them to stop talking.


    And he could probably get away with it.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1084

    Chapter 1084


    Titus'' mind was hoping for him to pass out, but his body was doing the opposite by keeping him sober,


    and he was forced to listen.


    On usual days, he would faint on trivial matters and be sent to the hospital immediately, but it looked


    like it wasn''t happening anytime soon when he was desperate at this time.


    He had never hated himself this much for his body condition, which was ruining things at bad times


    from time to time. It''s a nuisance.


    Chief Dup was studying Titus with a meaningful look, as Titus'' face turned pale and beads of sweat


    fell from his forehead.


    Titus'' reaction was a confirmation of his guess. The employees are speaking the truth, or else Titus


    won''t react with such nervousness and anxiety but get angry. After all, a person normally won''t bear


    others spreading rumors of him and ndering his name.


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    However, Titus'' expression was mixed with guilt and nervousness, other than anger. Therefore, Chief


    Dup couldn''t help but notice that and wondered, There must be something going on. He won''t have


    that look if he''s innocent.


    Meanwhile, the conversation between the two employees went on.


    "Simon, you mentioned many miners were killed in the mine copse. How many were they exactly?"


    "I don''t remember the numbers, but I''m sure more than ten died in the ident."


    "More than ten deaths?"


    "Yes. There''s aw in our country prohibiting thepany from continuing mining once there are more


    than ten deaths during the process. Besides, thepany must report the cases to the authorities. Our


    president indeed made the report, but thepany didn''t stop the mining back then. Obviously, not


    only did the president hide the truth that overexploitation was the cause of the mine copse in the first


    ce, he also lied about the number of deaths. He wanted to avoid the miners being prohibited to enter


    the cave, and continued to exploit the resources until he made the most value out of them."


    "Tsk! The president is crueler than I thought."


    "That''s amon trait of entrepreneurs, though. Enough of the topic. The elevator has arrived. Let''s


    go."


    Ending the conversation, the two men stepped into the elevator. The moment the elevator doors


    closed, the men turned to each other and exchanged a meaningful smile.


    The group turned around the corner and entered the lobby once the elevator began to descend.


    Chief Dup watched the number on the elevator floor disy decreasing before turning to Titus, who


    was clenching his fists tightly and deep in thought. Squinting his eyes, Chief Dup began coldly,


    "President Gray, I guess you heard everything, aren''t you? Do you have anything to tell me?"


    Titus'' eyes widened at that as he answered in panic, "Chief Dup, it''s not true. You shouldn''t listen to


    them. They''re merely trying to ruin my reputation. Please believe me. I''m telling the truth."


    He reached out his hand to grab the other man''s arm.


    Chief Dup was aware of Titus'' attempt as he lifted his arm to avoid Titus. Feigning a smile at Titus,


    he answered dismissively, "President Gray, I''ll find out whether the two were speaking the truth or not


    by myself, so stop wasting your energy in the attempt to earn my trust. Anything can wait until the


    investigation results are out. That''s all for today. I have to go."


    Once he finished his words, he stepped into another elevator, followed by his men.


    Titus didn''t try to follow and didn''t dare to do so at all. He could only stand there while watching the


    group leave. His body was stiff as he had goosebumps.


    As soon as the elevator door shut before him, the strength that had been supporting him left his body


    as his legs buckled and he fell backward.


    His subordinate shrieked before rushing over to help him stand.


    "President Gray! What happened? Are you okay?"


    "President Gray, I''ll help you up."


    Atst, Titus rose to his feet with his assistant''s help. As his limbs were still feeble and he was unable


    to stand firmly in such a condition, he leaned onto his assistant for bnce. The blood had drained


    from his face and he stared at the void, mumbling, "We''re doomed... We''re really doomed..."


    Hearing Titus'' mumbling on the side, the assistant could feel his stomach churning as his expression


    sank. He knew all of Titus'' dirty secrets being the man''s special assistant, including the mine copse


    in the two men''s discussion a moment ago.


    He was stuck in the same boat as Titus. If Titus was exposed and brought down by the authorities, the


    assistant''s oue would be the same, as he was Titus'' right-hand man. Therefore, he was panicking


    and anticipating his future, just as his superior did at the moment.


    However, the assistant''s priority for the moment was to calm Titus down. After all, Titus had to stay


    strong as the backbone of Triforce Enterprise. If Titus fell, the wholepany would fall too.


    Taking a deep breath, the assistant suppressed his emotions as he consoled, "President Gray, you


    don''t need to worry yourself even if Chief Dup intends to initiate an investigation. A long time has


    passed since the ident. We''ve made sure not to leave any traces back then, so Chief Dup


    wouldn''t find much evidence even if he tried. They can''t put us behind bars."


    Fortunately, the mine copse was an ident that happened a long time ago instead of a recent case.


    Or else, they wouldn''t have the time to clean up the scene. The authorities would find solid evidence of


    their crimes and send them to prison. At worst, they would be facing a death sentence.


    After all, it wasn''t about "more than ten deaths" as one of the men said. Fifteen people were killed in


    the mine copse.


    It was counted as a serious crime. Along with the overexploitation and continuation of mining, they no


    doubt would be sentenced to death once arrested.


    Once again, the burden was slightly lifted from the assistant''s mind as he was d that the ident


    was an old case. Besides, they had made sure to clear everything at the scene.


    Even if Chief Dup could find something to confirm his suspicions, he would never find conclusive


    evidence.


    In other words, they wouldn''t be arrested or face a death sentence, but they would need to spend a lot


    of money to pay the authorities to avoid the consequences. However, it was nothingpared to being


    put in prison or death.


    Those words managed to ease Titus'' mind as he thought, He''s right. We''ve taken care of the scene. No


    need to panic.


    Titus was feeling calmer thinking about it as he regained his strength. Even though he was still pale, he


    was better than a while ago, but his expression was cold when he ordered, "Find out the name of the


    two men who dared to mess with me. I don''t care about their motives, but I want them dead by today."


    As he finished his words, a shocked and frightened look shed across all of his subordinates'' faces,


    except the assistant. They lowered their heads immediately to avoid Titus taking his anger out on them.


    Oh, God. If I heard right and understood him correctly, is the president threatening to kill the two


    gossipers?


    Titus and his assistant couldn''t care less about the others'' thoughts.


    The assistant wasn''t surprised to receive such an order from his superior. After all, he wouldn''t spare


    the person who almost got him killed if he was in Titus'' shoes.


    "Right away, President Gray." The assistant nodded at Titus with a gloomy expression.


    As their businesses were all entwined, the assistant dared say the two employees had also


    endangered him. Therefore, he wouldn''t pity the two, but rather hoped they would die.


    "Hold on. Help me back to the office first." Titus extended his hand to hold the man''s arm with a tired


    look.


    The assistant did as told and sent Titus back to the office before leaving to investigate the identity of


    the two employees who had a conversation in the elevator lobby.


    About half an hourter, the assistant returned to the office just as Titus was about to fall asleep.


    Seeing the assistant pulling a long face, Titus could feel his stomach drop as the bad feeling dawned


    on him. "How is it? Do you find anything?"


    Sitting upright, he quickly shot a question at the assistant in anticipation without hiding the resentment


    he was holding toward the targets.


    The man stopped before Titus'' work desk and shook his head gloomily. "I''m afraid that I''ve let you


    down, sir. I can''t find anything about them because they aren''t even employees at Triforce Enterprise or


    any of our subsidiaries.

 Chapter 1085

    Chapter 1085


    "What? They aren''t our employees?" Titus was shocked, and he wasn''t ready to ept the bombshell


    from his assistant as thoughts ran through his mind. He had been going on long-term medication,


    which was the reason why his jowly face was now quivering unsightly.


    The assistant nodded. "Yes, I''ve got hold of their faces from the surveince cameras in the elevator


    lobby and searched for them in thepany''s employee database, but I found nothing. Thinking they


    might be temporary workers whose IDs aren''t entered in the system, I also asked around every


    department. The heads helped me to ask their subordinates, but none of them had ever seen those two


    around before. Therefore, the two must be spies."


    Titus'' face scrunched up in anger as he spoke through gritted teeth. "In other words, the two were sent


    into thepany by someone on purpose, which was to expose me in front of Chief Dup, so he


    would direct his focus on me."


    The assistant lowered his head. "I think so too. Other than that, I can''t think of why the non-employees


    would show up at the time and talk about the mine copse with Chief Dup around. Someone was


    probably setting us up. President, do you think it''s our opponents that did it? We''ve seeded in taking


    over a lot of business dealings recently. The others are not satisfied and might want to take revenge on


    us."


    Shaking his head at the assistant''s guess, Titus answered with a somber look, "It''s not them."


    "No?" A surprised look shed across the assistant''s gloomy face. "President, what do you mean?"


    "We didn''t make the fuss over the mine copse back then as I suppressed the news before it could


    get to many people. Not even the high-levels in Triforce know, let alone the otherpanies. Besides,


    the ident urred a long time ago. I''ve been getting rid of the insiders over the years. Therefore,


    we''re the only ones who know it besides Cadman of the nning Department.


    Despite disobeying me, he knows the seriousness of the matter and won''t tell others. After all, it isn''t


    only about me, but the wholepany. Even if he wants to bring me down, he won''t want anything to


    happen to thepany. There''s no use for him to take over an endangeredpany, or else he


    would''ve spread the news long ago."


    Rubbing his chin, the assistantmented, "You''re right. The otherpanies don''t have the


    connections to know this."


    Titus narrowed his slitted eyes and spoke in a low tone. "If I''m right, Toby Fuller is the man behind all of


    these."


    "President Fuller?" The assistant''s surprised expression turned to a shocked one. "He knows it?"


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "At first, Toby didn''t know anything. I asked extra men from him when I was understaffed to get rid of


    some evidence. That time, he was close to Tina. She was considered an important person to him even


    in a vegetative state, so he had been watching over the Gray Family and Triforce. He didn''t think twice


    when I sought help even if I didn''t tell him the use at that time. After that, he inquired about the story, so


    he''s another person who knows."


    "I see." The assistant nodded in understanding.


    Titus was clenching his fists on his sides. "He wants to get back at me, which is why he was exposing


    me to Chief Dup."


    The assistant stared at him. "Just because you paid the trolls to heckle and nder Sonia?"


    "Hmph! What else?" Titus harrumphed.


    The assistant pushed his sses with a finger. "Maybe it''s about Miss Tina? You and the Fuller Family


    or President Fuller himself aren''t holding grudges against each other. The worst matter by far was Miss


    Tina asked to hypnotize him and pretended to be his lover in the past. As President Fuller''s main target


    of retaliation, Miss Tina, has passed away, he could only unleash his fury on you since you''re her


    adoptive father."


    "That''s impossible." Titus shook his head. "Toby might be a vengeful man. He indeed will see us as


    another target to take his anger out ording to what happened between him and Tina. However, if he


    wants revenge, he would have done it a long time ago because he''s not the kind of person to wait


    without taking any action. On usual days, he treats me like I don''t exist at most, and has no interest in


    taking revenge on me. I can''t exactly understand his behavior. Therefore, I''m certain it has nothing to


    do with Tina. He''s doing it for Sonia this time."


    The assistant then spoke his opinion. "No matter his motives, as long as the both of you are rted to


    Miss Tina, there will always be a grudge between you. Even if he''s not bothering to take revenge on us


    right now, he would do it any time. I think he''s preparing for something."


    Titus sighed worriedly. "You''re right. Even if we have no idea what he is waiting for when he''s capable,


    we need to be prepared, or else we can''t react in time when he strikes. However, our top priority is to


    solve the immediate problems. We can''t do anything to stop Chief Dup from investigating the


    ident for the time being. Even though his findings won''t put the sentence on us, they will affect us


    nheless. We will need a huge amount of money to resolve it. Go see Cadman and discuss the


    funds with him. He won''t reject it for the sake of ourpany."


    "Alright, sir." Zaiden nodded and turned to work on his task, leaving Titus alone in the office.


    As he looked around the empty office, it was the first time Titus felt lonely in the ce which boosted


    his ego on usual days and he was used to giving orders.


    From the conversation a moment ago, Titus finally realized that Toby not confronting them any sooner


    wasn''t out of his past rtionship with Tina. It was because Toby had other ideas for them, so he was


    waiting for the time being.


    It was obvious that not one man could ever get over the fact his emotions and memories were


    intervened and manipted by someone else.


    Especially for a prideful man like Toby, being set up by others easily was a lifelong shame to him.


    There was no way Toby would let Tina and the Gray Family off.


    I wonder whether Tina''s dead or alive. Titus found outter that the body didn''t belong to Tina. Maybe


    she''s alive, but she might note back.


    As long as Tina wasn''t returning, the Gray Family would always be the one to bear Toby''s anger


    without knowing the time he would finally strike. Toby had no reason to let the Gray Family off easily if


    he was doing it for Sonia. He would even aid her in suppressing the Gray Family.


    Titus was confident that he wouldn''t be afraid if his opponent was only Sonia herself. After all, he was


    on the more experienced side while she was an inexperienced young woman, who did not hold much


    power.


    However, Titus would be helpless if Sonia had Toby to back her up. Aside from the two joining forces,


    Titus stood no chance even if he was only fighting against Toby.

 Chapter 1086

    Chapter 1086


    Therefore, his future, the Gray Family, and Triforce Enterprise were already foreseeable.


    In reality, he wasn''t afraid of death. After all, it was too unlikely for him to find a recement kidney as


    he suffered from such an illness. The only fate awaiting him was death, as he only had less than two


    years left to live.


    However, he was worried about Julia and Rina. What would happen to them after he died? At the


    moment, he could still stand his ground against Toby and Sonia with some difficulty, but no one would


    be able to protect Julia and Rina when he died.


    Though he felt that he was indebted to his wife, he owed too much to his daughter. The moment Rina


    came into being in Julia''s womb more than 20 years ago, he had vowed to do his best to protect the


    child regardless of whether it was a son or a daughter. s, he failed to keep his word after Rina was


    born, causing her to be abducted and thrown into the river by Henry. Although he didn''t know how she


    had survived in the end, he was still unable to forgive Henry''s actions, nor could he excuse his failure


    to protect his own daughter back then.


    Now that Rina had finally returned, he wanted to make it up to her initially, but he didn''t manage to do


    so in the end. Instead, he dragged Rina into the feud between the Gray Family and the Reeds, causing


    her to live in fear. All of this made him feel even more of a failure as a father.


    Titus pounded his chest in remorse. Regardless, a hint of determination flickered in his wrinkled eyes.


    No matter what would happen to the Gray Family in the end, he had to arrange for his wife and


    daughter''s escape before the day arrived. At the very least, he couldn''t let them fall into Sonia and


    Toby''s hands. Whatever it was, he''d take it on alone!


    Meanwhile, Connor, someone whom Toby was also dealing with, was also in trouble.


    Connor liked to listen to opera. Since he mostly stayed in the hotel, his only entertainment was to watch


    videos of past opera performances in the video room. Just when he was watching the opera in


    fascination, Xander came in hurriedly, saying, "Mr. Salzburg!"


    He opened his eyes with a gloomy expression. Then, he turned to look at Xander with a sinister and


    ferocious look in his eyes, and he said, "I told youst time not to barge in all of a sudden when I''m


    listening to opera. This is already your second timemitting the same mistake."


    Xander knew that his abrupt actions had angered his boss, so he quickly lowered his head in fear while


    apologizing, "Sorry, Mr. Salzburg, but something serious has happened this time."


    "What''s the big deal?" Connor asked unhurriedly while grabbing the walking stick next to him.


    Obviously, he didn''t think much of what Xander had said.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    When Xander saw this, he felt even more anxious. He promptly replied, "Mr. Salzburg, our goods in


    Westsanshire have been intercepted at customs."


    Connor immediately stopped rubbing his walking stick when he heard Xander''s words. The next


    instant, his face turned ghastly pale. Then, he stared at Xander intensely as he asked, "What did you


    say? You mean someone intercepted our goods?"


    "Yes, Mr. Salzburg." Xander nodded repeatedly. "Just half an hour ago, I got a phone call from our men


    stationed at the customs checkpoint. They said that a bunch of people had suddenly popped up and


    seized our goods."


    "Half an hour ago, huh..." Connor''s face contorted as he could no longer keep his gentle and indifferent


    expression; perhaps this was his true colors. "Who did it?" he asked in a chilly voice while clutching the


    dragon''s head on his walking stick with all his might. Finally, he continued, "I''m going to throw that


    person into the ocean to feed them to the sharks. How dare they mess with my goods? I bet they''re


    tired of living!"


    Xander shook his head as he continued his report. "Nobody knows who did it, but ording to our men


    at the customs checkpoint, a bunch of people arrived before the men we''d sent to receive the goods.


    Not only that, but instead of seizing the goods through illegal means, they openly took the goods away


    from the customs checkpoint with documents issued by the rted departments in their hands. Also,


    ording to our men, those documents were genuine, as they bore the official stamps of the rted


    departments. So, I think the person who intercepted our goods was definitely not an ordinary person."


    "Of course, they''re not." Connor looked ferocious. "If that person were so easy to deal with, how could


    they manage to seize the goods openly with documents that bore the official stamps of those


    departments? I don''t believe that the customs have no idea that the batch of goods is ours. Yet, despite


    knowing this, the customs and the rted departments dared to issue documents for that person to


    seize our goods. This only proves that the person has a powerful background and is on excellent terms


    with the higher- ups."


    "Who would it be, then? I don''t remember us having offended such a person before." Xander frowned


    in puzzlement. They were indeed audacious, but they had brains. Usually, they wouldn''t mess with


    such bigwigs on their own initiative, which was why he was confused about why such a figure would


    want to deal with them.


    Connor narrowed his eyes as he sneered. "Did you forget that we''d offended such a person before?


    Isn''t Toby such a person?"


    Xander gaped in shock. "Sorry, Mr. Salzburg. I forgot about him."


    "It''s not your fault. After all, none of us would''ve expected Toby to do such a thing." Connor''s


    expression was still gloomy. "What a surprise. I''ve always been the one who snatches things from


    others; no one has dared to snatch things from me. This is the first time my stuff has been taken away,


    but I can''t go to that person or even sort him out immediately. So this is how awful it feels to be unable


    to vent my anger or pour out my grievances, huh?" he said in self-deprecation, but his face gave no


    indication of that. It was apparent that he was only poking fun at himself.


    When Xander closely regarded Connor''s bloodshot eyes, he asked gingerly, "Mr. Salzburg, if this is


    really Toby''s doing, then what should we do about¡ª"


    Connor raised his hand to interrupt Xander. "Don''t overthink this matter. We can never get the batch of


    goods back. Toby can easily get back what he wants from us, but it''s almost impossible for us to get


    back our stuff once it falls into his hands. We''re not as powerful as he is, so we can''t go to him directly


    and warn him to return our stuff."


    Xander looked worried, though. "But that batch of goods is essential. We ordered it from a foreign


    supplier at a huge cost before the turn of this year. So now that goods are finally delivered only for such


    a thing to happen, we''ll have trouble with the factory."


    Connor looked up and shot an impassive nce at him. "What''s the use of saying these things right


    now? What''s happened has already happened, and we can never get back our stock. So what else can


    we do other than to solve this with money, as Paradigm Co. did? That being said, I''m much wealthier


    than Paradigm Co. So it''s not that I can''t afford to lose money for such things."


    Xander became less perturbed once he heard that Connor already had a solution for the problems. So,


    he pushed his sses up his nose as he looked at Connor, saying, "Say, Mr. Salzburg, do you think


    Toby is doing so to get back at us for intercepting Sonia''s goodsst time? After all, Toby intercepted


    our goods using the same trick this time."


    Connor rubbed the dragon''s head on his walking stick slightly before shaking his head slightly. "No, I


    don''t think so. He''s gotten his revenge after we got hospitalized during the previous incident, so he


    wouldn''t go so far as to get back at us twice for the same reason. It''s obvious that he''s not taking


    revenge for what happened previously, but what he''s doing this time is also for Sonia''s sake. Don''t


    forget what happened to her today."


    Xander realized what he meant. "Are you referring to how we hired trolls to spread rumors about her?"


    Connor didn''t give a definite answer. Instead, he added, "There''s nothing else other than this incident.


    However, this is a good thing since it can make us understand further how much Sonia matters to him.


    Of course, I can''t snatch the goods back, but it doesn''t mean that I''m willing to swallow this in silence to


    avoid further trouble. Call Toby''s menter and ask them if he has decided whether he still wants the


    item his mother left behind. I''ll give him one more day to think about it. If he doesn''t want it, then don''t


    me me for what I''m going to do." He smiled maliciously.

 Chapter 1087

    Chapter 1087


    Indeed, he didn''t have the capability to ask Toby to return the goods to him after thetter had seized


    them. However, he was never the kind of person who would keep his grievances to himself. He couldn''t


    fight against Toby openly as thetter was rich and powerful. Still, he could secretly put a spoke in


    Toby''s wheel to disgust him.


    A hint of excitement shed across Xander''s face when he realized what Connor meant. He


    immediately replied with a nod, "Yes, Mr. Salzburg. I''ll get it done right away."


    "Just go." Connor waved his hand.


    Xander left quickly to make the necessary arrangements.


    Connor picked up the remote control and reyed the paused video of the opera, upon which the video


    started ying again. Unfortunately, this time he was no longer in the pleasant mood he had been in as


    he rewatched the video.


    Toby was still unaware that Connor was already setting a trap for him. At this moment, he and Sonia


    arrived at the police station. He had just parked the car, unbuckled his seat belt, and was about to get


    out of the car when his phone rang. It was a phone call from Tom.


    Sonia released her grip on the car door handle when she saw that. "Answer it. We''ll get out of the car


    after you finish talking."


    "Give me a minute." Toby nodded slightly before swiping his thumb across the phone''s screen. Then,


    he held the phone to his ear as he spoke. "Hello?"


    Tom''s apparently excited voice sounded through the phone. "President Fuller, what we did to Triforce


    Enterprise was a sess. Chief Dup has heard the information disclosed by our men. After he left


    thepany, he went to the Mining Resources Bureau right away to check the files on the mine


    copse back then."


    "Uh-huh," Toby mumbled. "Got it."


    "It''s too bad that Titus did a clean job of destroying the evidence back then. Regrettably, the conclusive


    evidence is gone, or he''d absolutely be shot to death. How ironic that we can only make him pay an


    astronomicalpensation in retribution at the moment," Tom said with a sigh of regret.


    Toby pursed his lips before turning to look at Sonia. "I''m also to me for this. Titus went out of his way


    to borrow some of my men while getting rid of some of the evidence back then, which was why I knew


    about this. If I had been able to stop him from destroying the evidence, or if I had been able to get my


    hands on the evidence before he did, he wouldn''t have been so lucky right now."


    When Sonia noticed how the man med himself for how things had turned out this way, she patted


    his hand and reassured him with a smile, "What are you feeling sorry about? You were hypnotized into


    thinking you loved Tina back then. Titus is her father, so it was normal for you to help him. It''s just that I


    never thought you''d help him with this kind of thing."


    Toby replied with a frown, "I didn''t know Titus had borrowed my men to get rid of such evidence. I


    wouldn''t have lent my men to him if I had known about this. I shielded him at the time for Tina''s sake,


    but I wouldn''t be so unscrupulous. We''re talking about the lives of 15 people here." He thought nothing


    of people''s lives, nor did he care about the lives of others, but he wouldn''t act with no regard for human


    life as Titus did. Not only did thetter not stop after people were killed, but he even made a special


    effort to hide it and destroy the evidence.


    Sonia let out a disbelieving gasp when she heard the figure. "What? 15 lives, you say?"


    Toby nodded. "That''s right; there were 15 of them. I was also shocked upon learning about this. When


    Titus asked me to lend him my men back then, I didn''t know what he was trying to do, so I simply lent


    my men to him without asking him about it. It wasn''t until when my men came backter that I realized


    Titus had actually done such a thing. It was my mistake." As he had said, had he known earlier that


    Titus would do such a thing, he wouldn''t have lent him his men.


    "You''re not to me for this." Sonia looked at him with a smile. "After all, who would''ve known that


    Titus would do such a thing? Even if you asked him about it, I don''t think he''d tell you the truth either."


    Toby''s eyes were full of regret as he massaged his temples. "I just regret it. I could''ve helped you


    obtain the conclusive proof that could crush Titus, but I let it slip through my fingers just like that."


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ears. "You don''t have to me yourself for this. This is fate; no one


    knows what will happen in the future, and neither do you. You didn''t know at the time that the situation


    would turn out the way it does today, so you don''t have to think that this is your fault. Perhaps God


    doesn''t want us to crush him so easily. Well, there''s no way we could destroy him now, but we can at


    least weaken his influence. Then, when he goes to prison in the future, he''ll realize that not only has he


    ended up going to prison anyway, but he''s even spent a lot more money. Isn''t such an oue even


    better?" she said while covering her mouth with a chuckle.


    Toby stared at her for a while before ruffling her hair. "You''re right."


    Sonia raised her chin to signal Toby to look at his phone. "Alright, hurry and answer Tom''s phone call,


    or he''d still be waiting."


    The phone conversation with Tom was still ongoing. Toby pressed the phone against his ear again as


    he instructed, "Pay more attention to Titus'' side and help Chief Dup in secret as much as you can. If


    he pursues the case the wrong way, have someone correct him. I want Titus to lose a fortune this


    time." As he spoke, a cold glint flickered in his eyes.


    Tom replied with a nod, "Alright, President Fuller. By the way, things are going smoothly on Connor''s


    side. The goods have been intercepted; they''re all custom-made high-quality goods from abroad.


    Connor''s quite willing to spend the money."


    "He intended to use that batch of goods to open up the Lacralian market, so he had to get a batch of


    high-quality ones, of course. Nheless, this batch of goods is now ours," Toby replied as his thin lips


    curved into a smirk.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Tom scratched his head. "But, President Fuller, that batch of goods isn''t useful to us. Ourpany


    doesn''t do the processing of goods."


    Toby decided the goods'' destination at once. "Have them delivered to Paradigm Co."


    Sonia didn''t expect to be involved in this. Rather, she looked up in surprise, asking, "Why are you


    delivering the goods to Paradigm Co.?"


    Toby turned to look at him. "Isn''t Paradigm Co. specialized in the processing of goods?"


    Soniaughed. "Yes, it is, but we don''t do the routine processing of goods. We only do the processing


    of heavy industry spare parts. I''ve looked into the Salzburg Group before. Thepany mainly deals


    with processing electrical engines, so I can roughly guess that the goods you intercepted are chips or


    engine bearings. Even if I have these, I can''t process them."


    "You can use the batch of processing machines you ordered from Kosovo to process and assemble


    engines with a little modification. So, you can give it a try using this batch of goods first. If the


    processing of the engines ends up being a sess, Paradigm Co. will be able to develop a new line of


    business, which is good for thepany''s growth," Toby exined.


    Sonia was startled. "Is that possible?"


    Tom quickly chimed in over the phone, "Miss Reed, what President Fuller said is indeed true. The


    batch ofrge processing machines you ordered can indeed be modified to process sophisticated


    things like engines."


    Now that Tom had said the same thing, Sonia''s heartbeat quickened in anticipation. She was


    somewhat tempted, but she couldn''te to a decisive decision after pondering the matter. After all,


    reforming apany was no trifling matter, so she couldn''t rush into a decision.


    Still, when Toby saw how tempted and hesitant she was, he took her hand in his, brought it to his lips,


    and kissed it. "There''s no need to feel torn about it. All you have to do is give it a try. And besides,


    these goods are snatched from Connor; they''re a token of apology for how he snatched your goodsst


    time. They don''t cost money, so you won''t lose money by giving them a try. Moreover, such an


    opportunity is hard toe by, so there''s no harm in trying. If you miss out on it, it''s hard for such an


    opportunity to arise the second time."

 Chapter 1088

    Chapter 1088


    Now that Toby had persuaded her the second time, Sonia thought that she would let him down if she


    were to keep on hesitating. Besides, he did have a point. Some opportunities were hard toe


    across for the second time once she missed out on them; perhaps she''d nevere across these


    opportunities again. Naturally, she had to seize this golden opportunity. Moreover, these batches of


    goods were snatched from Connor by Toby. Even if her experiment with them turned out to be a failure,


    even if Paradigm Co. couldn''t modify parts of engines, it wouldn''t cause any losses to thepany.


    After all, she didn''t spend a single penny on the raw materials. She believed that thepany''s senior


    executives wouldn''t raise any objections upon learning about this.


    At the thought of this, she finally made up her mind and nodded in agreement. "Okay, I''ll give it a try,


    then. Thank you."


    "It''s nothing. I know that you''ve always wanted to be sessful as soon as possible, and I''m


    looking forward to it so that you won''t be stressed. Now that there''s an opportunity, I hope you can go


    after it fearlessly. I always have your back, you know," Toby encouraged while looking into her eyes.


    Sonia blushed a little. "Tom is still on the other end of the line. Don''t you worry that he''llugh at us


    after you say these things?"


    Tom instantly shuddered on the other end of the line. Therefore, he promptly replied. "Miss Reed, this


    isn''t something to be joked about. Why would Iugh at you two? Plus, I don''t have the guts to do so."


    "Did you hear that? He says he doesn''t dare to do so." Toby pointed at his phone. "So, why worry about


    him? Just say whatever we want to say."


    "Yeah, that''s right." Tom nodded repeatedly.


    Sonia covered her mouth as she chuckled. "Alright, cut it out. Just have the goods delivered to


    Paradigm Co. I''ll have Daphne arrange for somebody to wait downstairs and store the goods in the


    parking lot''s storeroom. Then, I''ll discuss what we''ll do about them at tomorrow''s meeting with the


    company''s shareholders."


    Toby lowered his eyes to look at the phone''s screen. "Did you hear that?" Obviously, the question was


    directed at Tom.


    Tom pushed his sses up his nose and said with a straight face. "Don''t worry, President Fuller. I''m not


    hard of hearing." So you don''t have to go out of your way to ask me this.


    "Since you''ve heard that, just do as she says," Toby said impassively as his thin lips parted. You may


    get lost now, he thought.


    Tom was only too eager to hang up the call. The instant Toby said that, he quickly bid his goodbyes,


    saying, "Goodbye, President Fuller." Then, he wasted no time in ending the call.


    This was Toby''s first time having his subordinate hang up on him, so he was involuntarily stunned for a


    moment. Then his handsome face darkened as he realized what had just happened. "How dare he


    hang up on me without my permission!" He clutched his phone as he looked at Sonia with a visible hint


    of disbelief in his eyes.


    His shocked appearance amused Sonia, so she merely patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, don''t be


    angry. Didn''t you tell Tom to get it done in the first ce? So, there''s nothing wrong with him doing so.


    You should feel lucky to have such a nice and obedient subordinate who does what you tell him to do


    right away."


    Toby replied with a snort, "Don''t think that I don''t know you''re making excuses for him because you


    don''t want me to take his behavior to heart."


    Sonia stuck out her tongue without saying anything to refute his words.


    Toby loosened his grip on his cell phone. "Never mind, I''ll forgive Tom''s transgression this time for your


    sake. I''ll have him thank you in person some other day."


    "Okay, I''ll be waiting for it, then," Sonia replied with a smile, but she didn''t take the man''s words to


    heart. She had only said those words casually, so she didn''t need Tom to thank her personally for it.


    Instead, she fished out her cell phone, saying, "Let me call Daphne to have her arrange for someone to


    receive the goods."


    Toby nodded slightly. "Just go ahead."


    Sonia gave him a smile before dialing Daphne''s number.


    While she was talking over the phone, Toby turned sideways and kept staring at her intently. Even if


    she wanted to, she couldn''t ignore it. It couldn''t be helped; the man was staring at her like a wolf staring


    at its prey. That was right¡ªshe was the prey, so how could she ignore such a look in his eyes?


    Sonia gave Daphne the instructions over the phone while suppressing the urge to beat Toby up and the


    sudden need to re daggers at him. After she finished giving her orders, she kept the phone away


    and took a deep breath. Then, she turned and red at him with big, round eyes. She wanted to use


    her most ferocious expression to teach him a lesson, letting him know that she''d feel ufortable


    when he kept staring at her like that.


    She thought she looked very ferocious at this moment, but her demeanor didn''t deter Toby at all.


    Instead, he felt that she looked very adorable. Finally, unable to restrain himself, he grabbed her wrist


    and forcibly pulled her into his arms before kissing her.


    Sonia was stunned, which resulted in her widening her eyes further, but the ferocious look in them was


    reced with a look of stupefaction. It seems like I''ve been pulled over and kissed by force again. But,


    no, that''s exactly what''s happening! The delicate touch on her lips snapped her out of her trance.


    Peeved, she kept pping his back in an attempt to make him let go of her.


    But why would Toby release her? He hadn''t had enough of kissing her on the way here before. Now


    that he had finally caught an opportunity to benefit himself, he wouldn''t let go of her until he had


    enough. At the thought of this, he tightened his arm around her waist.


    At first, Sonia still had room to struggle and p his back. Yet, now that he had tightened his arm


    around her, her body was pressed even closer against his, making her unable to struggle even if she


    wanted to. This dirty dog! She rolled her eyes angrily. Finally, she gave up as she slowly stopped


    struggling and responded to his kiss.


    A hint of smugness shed across Toby''s eyes when he sensed that she had submitted to him. As he


    gradually let down his guard, his arm slowly rxed around her waist.


    Naturally, Sonia noticed this subtle change, and her eyes gleamed shrewdly. Now''s the time! She


    narrowed her eyes as she held his shoulders and used the chance to push him away.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    The moment Toby was pushed away, he was totally stunned. He blinked at her, staring at Sonia in a


    daze as she checked her appearance. I have actually been pushed away! He was filled with disbelief.


    Nheless, even if he couldn''t believe it, it was useless. What had happened had already happened,


    and Sonia had indeed pushed him away. Thus, he lowered his eyes to conceal his astonishment as he


    regained hisposure and returned to his usual demeanor while regarding her with downcast eyes.


    Sonia felt somewhat guilty under his stare, so she stopped fixing her hair. Her eyes flickered as she


    asked, "Why are you looking at me like this?"


    Toby pursed his lips and uttered, "You yed dirty."


    Sonia''s lips twitched. "How did I y dirty?"


    "You purposely responded to my advances just now to let my guard down. But, then, you took the


    opportunity to push me away," Toby said while looking at her with an even more bitter look. "I didn''t


    know there would be such a calctive side to you." That''s right¡ªshe struggled whenever I kissed her


    all of a sudden in the past. Only when we slept together at night would she put up a token resistance


    before responding to my advances. At other times¡ªespecially outside, she''d only struggle without


    responding to me. I actually overlooked this and let her have her way just now. "I never thought there''d


    be such a cunning side to you!" He looked at her aggrievedly.


    Sonia looked at him smugly before saying slyly, "Even an idiot would''ve learned to be smarter after


    being attacked by surprise so many times, so you can''t me me for that. It''s your fault for kissing me


    again all of a sudden."

 Chapter 1089

    Chapter 1089


    "You''re too cute, so I couldn''t help myself," said Toby while rubbing his lips with his thumb.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him when she heard his shameless reasoning. "So, that''s why you have quite


    a few moments where you can''t help yourself in a day?"


    "Why? It''s not against thew," said Toby. Then, he tilted his head slightly and smiled at her¡ªa smile


    that seemed more like a sinister grin than a sweet one.


    Sonia couldn''t help but feel her cheeks flushing crimson as she stared at his devilish smile. If it''s an


    ordinary man who puts up such a smile on his face, then the smile probably looks greasy and


    disgusting. But when Toby makes the same smile, not only does he not give off the vibe of a greasy


    man at all, but it also has the capability to make one''s heart beat faster and one blush. Enchanter! I


    wonder who it is that says only women can tempt men with their alluring smile?! Please! Men can


    seduce women with their charming smiles too!


    Sonia instantly covered her face while saying to him, "Stop smiling like that, will you? Hurry up and


    control your expression!"


    When Toby saw her reaction, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why can''t I smile?"


    "Forget about the reason. Just do as I say. Hurry!" Sonia urged.


    Since Sonia was the woman he loved dearly, Toby naturally couldn''t bear to see her not getting her


    way. Therefore, he swiftly followed suit as soon as she pleaded with him.


    "Alright. Alright. I won''t smile like that. So, can you please stop covering your face? Don''t you feel it''s


    hard to breathe with you covering your face like that?" While he stopped smiling, he reached out to


    grab Sonia''s wrist and removed her hands from her face.


    However, Toby was startled when he took her hands off her face. "Why are you blushing?"


    "It''s none of your business!" Sonia snorted. Then, she opened the door and made her way toward the


    police station. As she walked, the embarrassed Sonia let out a silent scream and thought, I can''t


    believe a man''s charm will actually crimson my face. How embarrassing! And if that dirty dog knows I


    blushed because he enchanted me, he''s probably going to be tremendously pleased with himself. So, I


    must never tell him why I was blushing just now.


    Meanwhile, Toby couldn''t help but be surprised for a moment when he saw that Sonia had already left


    the vehicle and was walking hurriedly to the police station like someone was chasing after her.


    It didn''t take him very long as he soon figured out why she was behaving this way. She suddenly


    covered her face when I smiled at her just now. Later, when I held her hands covering her face, I saw


    her blushing deeply. It''s strange because I clearly remember that she was acting pretty normal before I


    smiled at her¡ªnot to mention that I saw no sign of flushing or embarrassment at all. In other words,


    was it because of my smile that she suddenly blushed and left in embarrassment? It should be,


    shouldn''t it? Otherwise, why didn''t she answer me when I asked her why she was blushing? But then


    again, I never saw her have such a reaction whenever I smiled at her on usual days. So, why does this


    smile alone make her react like this?


    Toby also got out of the car as he desperately wanted to learn what had made Sonia blush so terribly


    after seeing his smile. Then, he stood on the side of the car and bent down slightly to look at himself in


    the left rearview mirror. He smiled the same smile from before and observed his reflection in the mirror.


    Even so, no matter how much he stared at himself, smiling in the mirror, there was still a little confusion


    in Toby''s eyes. I still don''t understand what''s wrong with my smile that it actually has the effect of


    making Sonia blush sheepishly just now. Well, of course, it can also possibly be since I''m a man and


    feel differently about this smile from her. After all, men and women often view things differently. So


    perhaps the same smile that can make women''s hearts skip a beat may not have the same effect on


    men.


    As he thought of this, he stopped looking in the mirror. Finally, he stood up straight, put his hands in his


    trouser pockets, and sauntered to the police station. Regardless of why Sonia had such a reaction to


    his smile just now, Toby realized that he might be able to smile at her like that more often in the future


    just to see her so shy. Since she''ll feel shy from my smile, does this mean that she actually enjoys


    seeing me smile like this? If so, then surely I need to satisfy her. After all, isn''t it a man''s responsibility


    to satisfy his own woman?


    Afterward, he strolled into the hall of the police station with his head held high like a man who was


    proud of having mastered some kind of a secret code to wealth.


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who was already in the police station, could see the unconcealedcent look


    on Toby''s face from afar. Although she didn''t know what had gotten into him, she actually felt rather


    both amused and exasperated when she saw him acting like that.


    Toby came to Sonia and stood beside her. Sonia asked him curiously, "Look at you feeling so happy.


    Did something good happen?" In fact, he looks like he''s in seventh heaven.


    He smirked when he heard that, "It''s a secret, and I''m not telling you." If I tell her that I''m happy


    because I had discovered something that would make her show her shy side, she''ll definitely warn me


    not to smile at her like that in the future. So, there''s no way I''m going to tell her.


    "Secret?" Sonia was stunned for a moment when she heard Toby''s answer. Then, she looked at him


    with a great sense of disbelief and asked, "So, you''ve actually learned how to keep me guessing now,


    huh? Are you really not going to tell me?"


    "Yes, I can''t tell you," said Toby as he raised his chin slightly, showing his resolute demeanor.


    Sonia harrumphed derisively, "Fine! Forget it! Like I want to know."


    Afterward, she feigned displeasure, waiting for Toby to coax her and tell her the secret.


    After all, it was almost infallible whenever she did this. But, s, this time, Sonia''s n failed. Toby had


    no intention of coaxing her and told her the secret. In fact, he didn''t make any moves even after she


    looked away for a long while.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    When Sonia saw this, she realized that Toby was obviously determined not to tell her the secret. I know


    I shouldn''t get angry even after knowing he doesn''t want to tell me. After all, he has the right to decide


    if he wants to tell me or not. But still, I feel a little upset when I see he really doesn''t n to tell me.


    Perhaps I''m spoiled by him. He would hardly hide anything from me and would tell me what I wanted to


    know in the past. Now that he doesn''t tell me even just one thing, I actually can''t bear it instead. If this


    doesn''t count as spoiled or contentious, then what is?


    When her train of thought arrived at that conclusion, she inhaled deeply to calm herself, rubbed her


    face, and immediately regained herposure. I cannot behave this way anymore. Otherwise, I''ll


    be an irritating woman.


    Sonia couldn''t help feeling shivers run over her body whenever she thought about the possibility of her


    bing a vexatious woman. No, that''s too terrifying. I must not let myself end up like a vexatious


    woman. Such a woman is always crazy and unreasonable and quickly goes ballistic if she doesn''t get


    the desired oue. I think I better be a woman who''s constantly rational and calm. Such a woman


    won''t lose her cool and make a fool out of herself even if she can''t get what she wants. Hence, from


    now on, I have to make changes to my temper. I can''t lose myself and change my personality just


    because Toby usually pampers and tolerates me.


    At this thought, Sonia hadpletely adjusted her state of mind. When she looked at Toby again, the


    dissatisfaction she had felt earlier was gone. Instead, she looked at him and simply snorted, "Forget it if


    you don''t want to tell. You can always tell meter whenever you want to."


    "Okay." At that moment, Toby didn''t know what Sonia was thinking, but he could feel that her demeanor


    had changed a bit. A while ago, she was still agitated, yet right now, she has be cid. This


    shows that she can control her emotions very well now.


    Just as he was thinking about it, a police officer came over with a notebook. "Miss Reed. Mr. Fuller."


    Sonia smiled back, and Toby didn''t respond since he didn''t want to talk to other men.


    Yet, Toby''s rudeness didn''t anger the police officer.


    Since he was highly influential, and the case this time wasn''t a big deal, the police officer didn''t care


    about Toby''s rude attitude. Rather, it would genuinely make the police officer ttered if Toby greeted


    him politely.


    "Miss Reed, Mr. Fuller, pleasee with me. Our chief is already waiting for you both in the office," the


    police officer said as he made a gesture, implying that they could head to the chiefs office.


    Sonia smiled politely and nodded. "Sure. Please lead the way."


    "You''re too kind, Miss Reed," the police officer replied. After that, he walked in front and led the way.


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Toby followed behind while holding hands.


    While on their way to the chiefs office, Sonia asked the police officer some questions regarding Anya''s


    current situation, and he answered them one by one. When she heard that Anya had been detained in


    the detention center for so many days, and her mental state had be pretty bad, Sonia not only


    didn''t be soft-hearted about her situation, but she actually felt this was the best ending for


    someone as ill-hearted as Anya. In her opinion, Anya deserved such a punishment for her crimes.

 Chapter 1090

    Chapter 1090


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    Anya wouldn''t have thought how terrible my mental state would be when she stole and ruined my dress


    in the first ce. Simrly, I won''t be kind-hearted and feel sympathy for her worsening mental state


    now. It''s just tit for tat.


    Just as she was deep in her thoughts, the voice of the police officer sounded. "The chief is waiting for


    you two inside." It turned out that he had taken her and Toby to the office door. As soon as he escorted


    them to the destination, he turned and left.


    Once the police officer left, both Sonia and Toby didn''t enter right away. Instead, they stood outside the


    door and looked at each other. Eventually, it was Toby who raised his hand and knocked on the door.


    It didn''t take very long before a muffled voice rang from behind the door. "Pleasee in."


    They entered the office with the man''s permission.


    In the meantime, the person inside the office was sitting behind his desk and preupied with work.


    He paused in his work and raised his head when he heard the sound of footsteps walking into his


    office.


    The moment he saw Sonia and Toby, he quickly ced the file in his hand away and stood up with a


    smile. Then, he walked around his desk toward them and extended a hand in greeting. "President


    Fuller. Miss Reed. You''re finally here."


    Toby reached out and shook the police chiefs hand in greeting.


    Shortly after, the police chief extended his hand toward Sonia, wanting to greet Sonia as well.


    Unfortunately, as a possessive lover, Toby would never allow other men to touch Sonia, even if it was


    just a greeting out of courtesy.


    Hence, Toby once again shook hands with the police chief with a frown¡ªa hint of utter disgust was


    seen in his eyes like he was stepping on a deep pool of slush.


    Meanwhile, the police chief was stupefied when he saw Toby shake hands with him again, and this led


    him to instinctively think that Toby was reluctant to let go of his hand so much that he actually wanted to


    shake hands with him twice. So it looks like I have won the heart of this wealthiest man in Seafield. In


    that case, will he agree if I request his sponsorship?


    Just when the police chief was thinking about whether to draft a sponsorship list in the hope of helping


    the police station obtain sponsors, he suddenly heard bell-likeughter of amusement.


    The police officer instantly returned to his senses and found that it was Sonia who wasughing while


    covering her lips. Not only that, Sonia even looked at her hand that was held tightly by Toby''s when she


    chuckled in amusement.


    At once, a realization hit him, and the police chief finally understood the situation. Therefore, he looked


    up at Toby, only to see thetter staring at him with a stern, gloomy-looking face. Moreover, the police


    chief even saw the hint of disdain and a trace of warning in Toby''s eyes.


    At that moment, the police chief instantly understood that Toby didn''t admire him, nor did he win his


    heart. Otherwise, this wealthiest man in front of me won''t look at me with disgust. As for the warning


    hint in his eyes, I know what it means. After all, I used to be a criminal police officer working in the


    Criminal Investigation Department, so I know how to read people like a book. He intercepted halfway


    when I reached out to shake hands with Miss Reed, and the warning look in his eyes also only


    appeared right after that. In short, he''s very displeased with me wanting to shake hands with Miss


    Reed. As for his reason for displeasure, it rtes to the possessiveness and desires a man has for his


    woman. When a man loves a woman so dearly, he won''t allow any other men to touch her¡ªnot even a


    polite handshake. That''s why he interfered halfway through my handshake with Miss Reed. He did so


    to warn me not to touch his woman.


    After the police chief figured things out, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, instantly bing


    awkward and abashed.


    He felt ufortable because he had no other intention besides just intending to just shake Sonia''s


    hands out of courtesy. Yet, Toby mistook him for having indecent thoughts about Sonia, which made


    him feel deeply embarrassed.


    At the same time, he was abashed from thinking Toby favored him. There I was, having the audacity to


    still believe that this wealthiest man shook hands with me for the second time just now because he


    acknowledged and was touched by the greatness of us civil servants. What''s more embarrassing, I


    even thought of taking the opportunity to ask for his sponsorships. Fortunately, I didn''t immediately ask


    him anything about support at that time. Otherwise, I''ll be humiliated when I eventually receive a


    rejection.


    As Sonia stood by the sidelines, she naturally saw the strained expression on the police chiefs face.


    So, she had a general idea of what was wrong with him. Thus, she immediately hid her amusement


    and nodded shyly. "I''m sorry, Officer Chase. My lover values me quite a lot, so sometimes, he can get a


    little overboard with his protectiveness. Please forgive him."


    As she spoke, Sonia hugged Toby''s arm and pulled it slightly, motioning him to quickly let go of


    Freddie''s hand.


    Toby obeyed Sonia''s silent cue and finally let go of Freddie''s hand after giving him a hard look.


    Meanwhile, Freddie stared at his hand, which had reddened in pain due to Toby''s forceful grip.


    Although he gave a wry smile in his heart, outwardly, he still had to act as if nothing had happened. He


    maintained his calmposure as he withdrew his hand and ced it into his pants pockets. Then, he


    forced a smile and replied politely, "I''m fine, Miss Reed. On the contrary, I actually thought President


    Fuller was a very good man when I saw he cared so much about you. Miss Reed, I''m happy that you


    have found yourself such a good man."


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    I don''t need you to tell Sonia that I''m a good man. Toby nced up at Freddie contemptuously, and the


    gaze in his eyes seemed to be rying the thought he had in mind.


    Freddie noticed this, and he could feel the corners of his mouth twitch in uneasiness. I really didn''t


    expect that the legendary cold faced tyrant in the business world, as rumored by the outside world,


    actually has such a character.


    Of course, Sonia, too, saw the derisive look Toby had shot at Freddie. She immediately felt a migraine


    building as she regarded the scene before her.


    "That''s enough. What are you doing?!" Sonia red at Toby angrily. Then, she grabbed his man and


    pulled him to stand behind her, allowing herself the chance to face Freddie in a much more civilized


    conversation. Otherwise, I don''t know what other rude actions he will do to Officer Chaseter if I let


    him face the poor chief.


    Honestly speaking, Freddie actually felt relieved after he saw Sonia pull Toby to stand behind her.


    Finally! I don''t have to face an unpredictable person like President Fuller.


    As he thought of this, Freddie breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he resumed his serious demeanor as


    the chief of the police station. He turned his attention to Sonia as he asked, "Miss Reed, since you two


    are here, let''s not waste any more time and get straight into the matter, shall we?"


    "Sure." Sonia nodded lightly.


    Afterward, Freddie motioned for them to follow him as he brought them to take a seat on the couch on


    the side.


    Once Sonia and Toby were seated, Freddie poured them each a cup of tea before continuing. "Miss


    Reed, it''s been several days since the incident regarding the ruining of your dress. How''s your


    discussion with the suspect''s familying along? What is your course of action?"


    Before Sonia could speak, Toby, who was sitting next to her, spoke first. His tone of voice was chilly


    with a hint of mockery as he refuted, "Do you think we will choose to forgive her?"


    Sure enough, Freddie understood what Toby meant. He took off his police cap and set it aside with a


    smile. "I''m also undoubtedly aware that the two of you won''t choose to forgive the suspect, but please


    understand that I need to ask you these questions due to procedure. Although I am a police chief, I still


    need to abide by protocol while making a real-time recording of your statements."


    As soon as he said that, he pointed at the recorder pinned on the left side chest area''s pocket of his


    police uniform.


    Just like what he said, Freddie figured that these two wouldn''t choose to forgive Anya. First, if they


    wanted to pardon her, they wouldn''t have waited until now and would''ve done so as early as the first


    day when the suspect''s family came here. Secondly, they are both highly influential. Their influences


    and wealth are far beyond the suspect''s family, so they don''t need an apology in the form of


    compensation. Besides, there''s also no reason for them to fear that the suspect''s family will seek


    revenge on them. So naturally, they don''t need to pardon the suspect.


    "We understand." Sonia gave an understanding smile as she looked at the recorder pinned in Freddie''s


    pocket. "Still, for the sake of rification, my thoughts are the same as my lover''s. We are in


    agreement on not forgiving her actions."


    Freddie flipped his notebook open as he pulled out a pen and started jotting down every valuable detail


    for the entire duration of their conversation. This was also a protocol for taking down the victims''


    statements. So not only did he need to record the conversation with a police-issued recorder, but he


    also had to make notes of the conversation in case anything relevant popped up further down the line


    of investigation.


    As he wrote, he added, "I understand what the two of you mean, but I still have to ask on behalf of the


    suspect. Is there no room for negotiation?"


    Sonia and Toby remained silent in the face of that question, and their silence was their abject refusal to


    show any pity toward Anya.

 Chapter 1091

    Chapter 1091


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    "Okay, I understand. Later, I''ll convey your words to the suspect and the suspect''s family." Freddie


    nodded as he jotted down the details in his book.


    Afterward, he looked up at the two of them and asked, "Do you two have any ideas regarding the


    suspect''s subsequent conviction?"


    Even though the court would still be the one that determined the final sentence, as victims, Sonia and


    Toby, could put forward their suggestions regarding Anya''s sentence.


    Of course, the judge would definitely take into consideration that many victims'' ideas were more radical


    and far exceeded standard sentencing due to their personal stakes in the matter, so the judge generally


    wouldn''t adopt their suggestions when they were making the final conviction. Still, it was necessary for


    Freddie to follow the procedure and ask Sonia and Toby even if the judge wouldn''t use their ideas in


    the end.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "I don''t have any suggestions. I''ll just leave it to the court. I''m not someone who will disregard thew


    just for wanting to achieve my selfish desire," said Sonia. The smile on her face had faded at that


    query, and her expression became slightly serious when those words escaped her lips.


    Meanwhile, Toby, who was sitting cross-legged next to her, added, "Although we won''t interfere with the


    final sentencing by both your side and the court''s side, I can still plot against the suspect if I wish to


    after she has entered the prison, can''t I?" He looked up and stared at Freddie.


    Freddie avoided his stare. Then, he let out a cough while covering his lips. "Well, President Fuller, we


    can pretend we know nothing as long as you don''t go too far with your scheme."


    As he spoke, he smiled at Toby. I have no choice. I''m powerless against a big taxpayer like President


    Fuller and the contributions his ancestors make to the country. Never mind us. Even our superiors will


    turn a blind eye and overlook President Fuller''s small request. In that case, why should we even


    bother?


    "Then, please pretend like you guys never see anything when the timees," Toby smirked in


    satisfaction.


    Freddie couldn''t help that awkward cough bubbling up his throat as he replied lowly. "Yes, sir."


    As she paid half a mind to the conversation between the two men, she certainly knew what they were


    talking about. It''s nothing but wanting to give Anya a hard time in prison. I could stop Toby from cooking


    up such a scheme if Anya is just an ordinary person. After all, the crime that shemitted wasn''t as


    serious as murder or arson, so I''m okay with her having to serve a few years in prison. But¡ªshe is


    Connor''s daughter. The animosity between Connor and the Fuller Family alone would make it


    impossible for me to curtail Toby''s actions. But, even if I can, I still won''t stop Toby. Because first of all,


    he and I are on the same side, and secondly, I have ways to go before bing a part of the Fuller


    Family and am not qualified enough to intervene in Toby''s actions to seek revenge on Connor. For that


    reason, I will pretend to know nothing about such matters.


    Sonia flipped her hair over her shoulder as she looked at Freddie and asked out of curiosity, "By the


    way, based on Anya''s situation, how many years will she be sentenced?"


    Freddie pondered her query for a few seconds before giving her a detailed answer, "Since the two sets


    of dresses she had stolen are worth tens of millions, that alone is enough to let her be charged with


    robbery. Not to mention, she also deliberately ruined the dresses. So, that automatically makes her


    doubly guilty. The preliminary judgment shall be more than ten years for cases like these."


    Nevertheless, in Freddie''s mind, he spected Anya would serve more than ten years in prison once


    convicted. She had stolen items worth tens of millions and even destroyed them out of malicious intent.


    In my opinion, ten years are considered less for her. After all, many who had been involved in stealing


    items that cost more than 100,000 will be sentenced to eight years¡ªlet alone her, who stole tens of


    millions.


    "But of course, this is just my assumption. As for the specific details, we still have to wait for the court


    to make the final judgment," Freddie hurriedly added. "Since the two of you have chosen not to


    negotiate with the other party. We''ll immediately arrange for the trial application to be submitted after


    we have notified the suspect and her family."


    "I understand." Sonia nodded slightly and stopped asking further questions. Honestly, I''m satisfied that


    she''ll be sentenced to more than ten years in prison. Anya is currently twenty-seven years old, and if


    she''s sentenced to more than ten years in prison, she''ll be thirty-seven or forty years old. By the time


    Anya is out of jail, society probably has developed in a way I can''t imagine, and it''ll be impossible for


    her to start out again. After all, by that time, Toby''s vengeance would havee to fruition, and Connor


    would probably be long dead by then. Besides, without Connor''s backing, Anya is merely a lone person


    wandering around society after her release from prison. So perhaps there''s a high chance she can''t get


    on with her life. Come to think of it; her future ending does sound pretty tragic, doesn''t it?


    "Do let me know the time of trial in advance, and I''ll arrange for awyer to attend the trial." Toby''s cold


    voice resounded in the room.


    When Sonia heard his words, she turned to look at him. "Are you nning for us both not to be present


    for the trial when the dayes?"


    Toby gave her his full attention while exining the reason behind his arrangement, "We don''t have to


    waste our time by attending trial sessions for matters with solid evidence such as this."


    Suddenly, Sonia smiled, "You''re right. There''s indeed no need to waste our time on such a person like


    Anya. Just let thewyer attend to it, then."


    "I''ll hire Alfred Flingburt in the legal industry to be our attorney this time," Toby said with a calctive


    glint flickering in his eyes, which made whoever caught sight of it feel a sense of terror deep in their


    hearts.


    "Alfred Flingburt?" Sonia blinked in confusion. "Is he awyer from Fuller Group''s legal department?"


    Toby shook his head. "No, he''s not. Ourpany''s legal department dare not hire such a person."


    As soon as these words escaped Toby''s lips, Freddie, who stood from across him, inhaled sharply.


    "President Fuller, about thewyer you''d mentioned, is there a chance if it''s the samewyer who had


    established aw firm by himself and oversaw thepany''s entire operations?"


    Toby raised his chin slightly and made no furtherments.


    Finally, Freddie gasped once more and looked at Toby like he had seen a devil. As expected, this is the


    legendary Toby the Tyrant. Why did I think this man isn''t as fearful as rumored just because of his


    strong sense of possessiveness toward Miss Reed? What a slip-up!


    Meanwhile, as she observed Freddie''s reaction, Sonia''s expression became even more perplexed.


    Finally, unable to suppress her bafflement, she tugged on Toby''s sleeves and asked, "Is Mr. Flingburt


    that amazing? Otherwise, why would Freddie react in such a manner? He looks like he''s afraid of Mr.


    Flingburt."


    Toby curled his thin lips into a mysterious smile at her curiosity. Then, he instructed Freddie, "Tell her."


    Freddie gulped on his saliva and then nodded. "Yes, President Fuller."


    On the other hand, Sonia rolled her eyes at Toby when she saw that he decided to remain mysterious


    but pushed the matter to Freddie instead. Therefore, she redirected her attention toward Freddie and


    urged, "Officer Chase, please continue."


    "It''s like this." Freddie held up his teacup, took a sip of the tea, and finally calmed down. Then, he


    organized his thoughts in his mind before starting to introduce the notoriouswyer. "Miss Reed, the


    lawyer, Alfred Flingburt, he''s not as amazing as you had just assumed. On the contrary, he''s a terrible


    lawyer."


    "A crappywyer?" Sonia was slightly surprised. Crappy? Is he saying that thewyer has a poor


    quality of work? So, does this mean that Mr. Flingburt is ipetent and is neither excellent nor


    outstanding in whatever he does? But why would Officer Chase describe awyer Toby intended to hire


    as crappy? If he''s really so bad at his job, then why will Toby still want to hire him as our attorney?


    "So, are you saying thiswyer doesn''t have decent professional skill?" asked Sonia.


    As Freddie heard her conclusion, he nodded. "Yes."


    The moment he confirmed the doubts in her heart, Sonia frowned and nced at Toby. "In that case,


    why hire such awyer to be our attorney?"


    "Although he''s a crappywyer, he''s very lethal in court. So people in our social circle basically like to


    look for him regardingwsuits," replied Toby.


    "What? Why?" Sonia was even more astonished when she heard that piece of information.


    Freddie swiftly ced his teacup down and added, "What President Fuller said was true. The rich like


    to look for him whenever they''re involved in awsuit. Besides,wyers have the unfortunate tendency


    to offend people due to their line of work.


    Therefore, in order to allow Mr. Flingburt''s career to flourish in the legal industry, the rich will even


    protect him whenever they can."


    "Why is that so?" Sonia asked as she leaned forward in anticipation. At this point, her attention has


    beenpletely captured by this interestingwyer.


    Freddie continued exining the situation to her, "That''s because the man possesses an unnatural


    skill. Miss Reed, let me shed some light on the matter: there was a case, which was a verymon


    civil dispute, that took ce a few months ago. Due to both parties involved being unwilling to resolve


    their grievances privately, they naturally brought this case to court in the end. Mr.


    Flingburt was thewyer hired by Party A. Meanwhile, thewyer hired by the other party was a well-


    knownwyer in the legal industry too, and not to mention that they were the ones with solid proof. It


    was a case whereby the other party would win no matter how one looked at it. Unexpectedly, in the


    end, it was Party A who won the case with the help of Mr. Flingburt.


    Additionally, Party B was even sentenced to a few months in prison."

 Chapter 1092

    Chapter 1092


    "What?! The party who should''ve won the case ended up losing the case and was even sentenced to


    prison?!" Sonia was in disbelief and felt a little dizzy at such a reversal of events.


    Freddie nodded. "Yes. Mr. Flingburt could even make an ordinary civil dispute case end up receiving a


    sentence. Hence, one can imagine how lethal the man could be. Apart from this, there''s another case.


    This case involved fraud. Party B turned to Party A and loaned 100,000 bucks, but they didn''t repay the


    money within the stipted time. For that reason, Party A brought Party B to court in the name of fraud


    and also hired Mr. Flingburt to act as their attorney."


    "And then what? Did the party win thewsuit?" Sonia guessed.


    Unexpectedly, Freddie shook his head. In addition, Toby, who was beside her, even had a trace of a


    smile in his eyes.


    Sonia saw it, so she couldn''t help but urge, "Freddie, hurry up and tell me, please. I''m really curious."


    "Okay." Freddie stopped cing her on a cliffhanger and continued. "In thiswsuit, thewyer hired by


    Party B is just a traineewyer, plus they''re the ones who avoid paying their debts. So logically


    speaking, Party B is definitely on the losing side.


    However, for some reason, Party A eventually angered Mr. Flingburt, making him turn his coat and


    extend his help toward Party B. So in the end, not only did Party B not have to repay the 200,000 that


    they owed, but Party A also had to bear the cost of thewsuit."


    Sonia was utterly speechless by such a dramatic turn of events.


    She only regained her voice after a long while. "He could actually turn the table like this?"


    "That''s right." Freddie took another sip of tea. "In short, Mr. Flingburt has a splendid record not only in


    the legal industry but also in your business world. If you ask him for help in thewsuit and do not


    offend him, the final result will definitely satisfy you. Even if the judge''s verdict is in line with thews


    and regtions, Mr. Flingburt can even request the judge to resentence as long as you feel the


    conviction is light. The punishment after the re-sentence will be a lot heavier than the original sentence.


    Moreover, there was indeed a simr case that had taken ce before."


    "How so?" asked Sonia.


    Freddie nced at Sonia as he replied, "For example, in the past two years, the crimemitted by a


    criminal suspect wasn''t particrly malicious, and the suspect was eventually sentenced to ten years


    in prison ording to our country''sws and regtions. Nevertheless, the victim''s family wasn''t


    satisfied with the conviction and felt the punishment was too light. Thus, they hired Mr. Flingburt, and


    the final conviction was changed from ten years in prison to twenty years under his maniption.


    What''s more amazing was that the initial life sentence wasmuted to a death penalty."


    Sonia eximed in astonishment, "He''s so amazing. It''s no wonder that you all say that people in the


    social circle like to hire him when ites towsuits. With his undefeated record and his ability to


    achieve the employer''s wish and satisfy the employer fully, It''s no wonder that people in the circle are


    all protecting him. After all, it''s a loss tock such a talent."


    "That''s right." But, this time, it wasn''t Freddie who responded. Instead, it was Toby. "I thought about


    poaching him over to Fuller Group before, but he declined my offer."


    "What? He actually rejected an offer from the dignified President Fuller? Wow. He''s got quite a


    personality for doing what he wants to do without caring what others think." Sonia looked at Toby with a


    smile.


    "Yeah, he''s got quite a personality." Toby raised his chin, agreeing with Sonia''s statement.


    Sonia tilted her head as she inquired, "Were you not angry when he declined your offer?"


    Tobyughed softly before replying, "What''s there to be angry about? He''s talented, but that doesn''t


    mean I''m ipetent without such talent. That''s why I didn''t have the intention to force him to work for


    me when he rejected me in the first ce. Besides, everyone has the right to choose. I can choose to


    hire him, so naturally, he can also choose to work for me. Therefore, if he''s unwilling to work for me, it''s


    only normal that he would refuse to ept my offer. So, likewise, I won''t feel ashamed or annoyed by


    him about this matter."


    "President Fuller, your magnanimity truly impresses me," Freddie praised him sincerely as he looked at


    Toby. After all, one must know that the rich are people who are arrogant and have great pride. They''ve


    been standing in high positions for too long and are used to being ttered as well as fawned by others.


    Therefore, the word rejection definitely doesn''t exist in their dictionary. From their point of view, if they


    think highly of a certain someone and hire them to work for them, the other party should suck up to


    them and give their consent. In fact, they even expect the other party will gratefully ept their offers


    rather than refuse. Plus, if the other party refuses, they''ll think that the other party is looking down on


    them and even feel that the other party is making a fool out of them. So they''ll be enraged about it and


    may even attempt to destroy the other party''s career. It seems like only in this way can they vent the


    anger deep within them. I''m not making these nders out of thin air, though. They''re based on facts


    I''d often observed while working as a civil servant.


    For that reason, he felt utterly shocked when he heard Toby say that everyone had the right to choose,


    and it was very normal for the other party to reject him, as well as it was unnecessary to get angry


    about this matter.


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    A sense of admiration came shortly after such a shock. It''s no wonder President Fuller could


    outperform those bunch of old businessmen in the business world at a young age and bring Fuller


    Group to the pinnacle. His open-mindedness and magnanimity alone aren''t something that those


    narrow-minded wealthy people in the circle canpare.


    Truthfully, it wasn''t just Freddie who showed his respect for Toby at this moment; Sonia, too, gave Toby


    a thumbs up after she heard what he had said.


    As Toby looked at Sonia''s fair and soft thumb, the gaze in his eyes darkened. Suddenly, he reached


    out, put Sonia''s thumb on his lips, and kissed it. Well, she''s the one who presents it straight to me. It''ll


    be my loss if I don''t kiss it.


    Both Sonia and Freddie were struck dumb by Toby''s abrupt action.


    When Freddie returned to his senses shortly after, he immediately lowered his head, feeling too


    awkward to even look at the intimacy disyed by the couple sitting opposite him. Still, deep down, he


    was reprimanding them secretly. Oh,e on! What''s up with these two? How can they publicly show


    their affections in front of me when we''re discussing important matters now? Also, where do they think


    this ce is? We''re now at the police station, a ce with such a solemn atmosphere. How can they


    actually... actually...


    Although the expression on Freddie''s face became livid and pale at the same time, he didn''t dare to


    raise his voice at the two of them. I can''t help it. These two, they''re highly influential figures, and I can''t


    afford to offend either of them. So, what choice do I have? Well, I can just choose not to look.


    Meanwhile, on this side, Sonia also almost immediately snapped back to her senses as she quickly


    withdrew her hand from Toby''s grip and instinctively looked at Freddie.


    When Sonia saw Freddie lowering his head and ying with the teacup in his hand, pretending like he


    didn''t know or see anything¡ªa trace of embarrassment suddenly appeared on her face. It''s as clear as


    day that Officer Chase has seen everything. That''s why he''s pretending as if he sees nothing at this


    moment. Darn it! This makes me feel even more embarrassed! It''s all this dirty dog''s fault! He is always


    taking advantage of me whenever and wherever he can. I have asked him not to behave in such a


    manner in public or in front of others countless times. Does he know how embarrassing this feels? Yet,


    he never seems to listen to me. He just keeps doing it regardless of what I say. So now, I don''t even


    want to waste my breath on him any longer.


    After Sonia red at Toby, she forcefully kept a smile on her face and looked at Freddie. "Uh... Officer


    Chase."


    Freddie looked up when he heard his voice. Then, he let out a cough before saying, "Miss Reed, you


    two are done?"


    As he spoke, he looked at Sonia and then at Toby.


    The moment Sonia heard Freddie''s question, her face flushed even more as her embarrassment


    reached its peak.


    As for Toby, he shamelessly acted as if nothing had ever happened. He didn''t even respond after he


    gave Freddie a dispassionate nce.


    Sonia inhaled deeply as she resisted the urge of wanting to rub her heated cheeks and replied


    bashfully, "I''m so sorry, Officer Chase, for making a fool out of ourselves in front of you just now. We¡ª"


    "No, no, it''s fine." Freddie hurriedly waved his hands. "I understand that it''s normal for the two of you to


    have a good rtionship."


    "Then... thank you, Officer Chase, for your understanding." Sonia''s lips twitched in awkwardness.


    Freddie once again let out a dry cough against his fist. "Uhm... Let''s continue our discussion from


    earlier, Miss Reed, shall we? Where were we?"

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    Chapter 1093


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    "We''ve stopped discussing when my lover here mentioned his offer getting rejected by Mr. Flingburt,"


    Sonia recalled as she tilted her head and nced at Toby.


    At once, Freddie pped his thigh. "Oh, that''s right! We''ve stopped until there."


    "Speaking of which, Officer Chase, I have a question." Sonia retracted her gaze from Toby with slightly


    furrowed brows.


    Freddie motioned for her to continue. "Do ask, Miss Reed."


    "Actually, my question is pretty simple. Didn''t you guys say that Mr. Flingburt is a crappywyer? But


    from the stories you told me earlier, it looks like he had won every case he represented. And as for his


    failed case, that''s also because his employer had offended him that he purposely failed the case. If so,


    shouldn''t he be considered an outstandingwyer with a high sess rate? But why do you guys


    describe him as a crappywyer with little professionalpetency?"


    This time Freddie didn''t answer her immediately. Instead, he looked at Toby for his permission.


    After Toby nodded, he finally exined, "Well, since President Fuller had asked me to continue. I''ll


    discuss this frankly. Actually, Miss Reed, this matter isn''t as convoluted as it seems. Although Mr.


    Flingburt has aw degree, it didn''t change the fact that he barely passed his bar examination and


    obtained his Certificate in Legal Practice. In other words, Mr. Flingburt''s professional knowledge in the


    legal field is far less than that of prominentwyers. Nevertheless, he won all his cases based on his


    eloquence and quick responses under pressure in court."


    "Oh?" Sonia raised her eyebrow in disbelief.


    Freddie smiled at her incredulity. "When Mr. Flingburt went to trial, he didn''t like to use the methods


    commonly used by otherwyers, and he rarely usedwyers'' expertise. Rather, he prefers to use his


    higli emotional intelligence and eloquence to lure the other party into saying something that shouldn''t


    be said or doing something that shouldn''t be done so as to achieve the goal of making the other party


    fail. His style of defending his clients in court is like making top sales in the business world."


    "I understand now." Sonia pped her hands as a sudden realization hit her. "It''s like even though he''s


    awyer, he doesn''t apply methods that awyer should use. Instead, he relies on tactics a


    professional marketer uses to defend his clients by capturing the jury''s hearts and winning them in one


    fell swoop."


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    "Indeed." Freddie nodded in agreement.


    Sonia tapped her chin thoughtfully as she added, "In this case, he really doesn''t need much strong


    expertise inw and excellent test scores in legal practice to make a name for himself in the legal


    industry. He is using sales methods to win againstwsuits. That does make him different from other


    lawyers, indeed. He''s a true genius for being able to think and utilize such a tactic in court. Although


    he''s a crappywyer in terms of expertise, he''s a constant winner in terms of winningwsuits. It''s no


    wonder many would seek him to be their defense attorney."


    "Yes, and seeing that President Fuller intends to hire him as your attorney, I specte that he wants


    Anya to be sentenced to two more years. Am I right, President Fuller?" Freddie looked at Toby.


    Sonia also turned to look at Toby.


    When Toby heard what Freddie had said, his lips quirked into a slight smirk, but he didn''t admit to


    anything. Even so, they could clearly see that he was approving of such a suggestion at a nce.


    Freddie was correct with his guess because that was exactly what Toby had in mind.


    Freddie closed his notebook to signal that the interview had ended before he suddenly asked, "By the


    way, Miss Reed, do you want to take a look at Anya?"


    Before Sonia replied, she looked at Toby and inquired, "Do you want to see her?"


    A frowning Toby looked at Sonia like he was looking at a fool. "Are you asking me to see other women?


    Are you sure about this?"


    Sonia was momentarily rendered speechless by the words that escaped his lips, rolled her eyes, and


    replied, "I''m asking you to check on a prisoner. Not telling you to see your old lover."


    "Then, I''m not going either," Toby snorted. Then, he turned his head to the side and added, "I''m not


    interested in other women except you."


    Although what Toby said moved her, it also highly amused her.


    "Alright, then. Just wait for me here. I''ll go check on her." As she spoke, she rose to her feet.


    Nheless, Toby turned his head, grabbed her wrist, and said with a frown, "What''s there to check?


    You should be careful. What if she hurts you?"


    Freddie couldn''t help but cough lightly as he stood up and narrowed his gaze at Toby with apparent


    displeasure in his eyes. "President Fuller, she''s locked up. I can assure you that she can''t escape and


    hurt others. So don''t worry, Miss Reed won''t be harmed." Seriously? Why does he have to make it


    sound like we''re not vignt enough?


    Sure enough, Toby knew that Sonia wouldn''t be hurt. He just wanted to prevent Sonia from seeing


    Anya. After all, in his opinion, there was no point in visiting an evil woman like Anya.


    "Officer Chase is right. I won''t be hurt, so don''t worry. I''ll be back soon." Sonia patted Toby''s shoulder


    and motioned for him to release her.


    Toby finally let go when he saw that he couldn''t persuade her. "Return soon."


    "Okay." Sonia looked back and smiled.


    Finally, she followed Freddie, and soon, they arrived at the detention room.


    Yet, as soon as they reached the door, they heard a woman screaming in pain.


    Sonia immediately stopped in her tracks. "What''s going on?" It''s obviously Anya, the one who is


    shrieking in pain. Forget about the pain, and I can even hear the trembling and whimpering tone in her


    wails. This is clearly a situation that can only happen when someone is in severe pain. Could it be that


    the officers in the police station had done something to Anya?


    As she thought of this, Sonia looked at Freddie beside her.


    When Freddie noticed Sonia''s gaze, he knew what she meant. Therefore, he quickly exined to her


    by saying, "Miss Reed, please don''t misunderstand. It''s not what you think. Miss Anna Salzburg has


    been like this these few days."


    "She has been like this these few days?" Sonia blinked, thinking she had misheard things. "Why is she


    acting this way?"


    "ording to the doctor, she''s in pain because she has problems with her skeletal structure."


    "Skeletal structure? There''s something wrong with her bones?"


    "Yes." Freddie nodded. "It all happened a few days ago, the day after you and President Fuller left the


    police station, and we had just temporarily ced her in the detention center. Suddenly, she started


    screaming in pain. At first, we thought she was pretending to escape legal punishment. Despite that,


    weter saw that her face was pale, and she didn''t seem to be pretending, so we hurriedly sent her to


    the hospital. The doctor said she was in such a state because of the aftermath of the limb-lengthening


    surgery that she did."


    "Aftermath of the surgery," Sonia whispered to herself.


    Freddie pressed the brim of his cap as he continued. "The detailed information given by the doctor was


    that Anya has imnted an artificial bone made of new material into her femur so as to achieve the


    purpose of limb-lengthening. Unfortunately, since the material used for this artificial bone isn''t widely


    used in the medical market yet, hence it''s easy for Anya to show rejection of the artificial bone


    imnted in her body. She''s in so much pain because of this and the fact that she hasn''t taken her


    medicine to cope with the pain for a period of time."


    After she listened to his exnation, she nodded in realization. "So, that''s what it is. But, doesn''t Anya


    need to be hospitalized, judging from her painful state?"


    "Dr. Lancaster said it''s fine," Freddie replied.


    "Dr. Lancaster?" Sonia raised her brows, and an odd feeling instantly surged in her heart.


    "Officer Chase, is Dr. Lancaster that you''re talking about going by the name Tim Lancaster? The one


    who wears sses and looks very handsome yet a little cold?" Sonia described while gesturing to


    emphasize her point.


    Freddie repeatedly nodded at her description of the doctor. "That''s right. It''s him. He does look a little


    cold and not to mention quite unfriendly. But in addition to being cold, I also feel that there''s something


    wrong with him."


    "How so?"


    "Well, I can''t pinpoint much either. But based on my judgment from being a criminal police officer in the


    past, I can tell that this doctor doesn''t have the feelings that a human being should have," Freddie said


    with a frown.


    At once, Sonia felt a thud in her heart as she was shocked by Freddie''s statement. No way! Is it


    possible? Does Officer Chase truly have such a sharp observation that he actually sees through Tim''s


    true nature?


    Regardless, Sonia thought that she should help cover Tim up when she remembered that Tim was on


    her side.


    Therefore, with that in mind, Sonia smiled and said, "Perhaps the coldness disyed in his eyes was


    because, as a doctor, he has witnessed too many incidents such as births, old age, sickness, and


    death. I don''t think he''s heartless."


    "I guess you''re right, Miss Reed." Freddie nodded, thinking Sonia''s exnation sounded logical. After


    all, why would a heartless person be a doctor?

 Chapter 1094

    Chapter 1094


    Maybe after being exposed to so many life and death situations, Dr. Lancaster could seem very


    indifferent, just the same as being a criminal police officer. After they had witnessed all sorts of murder


    cases and all kinds of terrifying corpses, their heart would gradually turn numb from the repetition and


    exposure of these gory scenes.


    "Dr. Lancaster is so great," Freddie said with a sigh as he thought about it.


    Sonia smiled without continuing the conversation, but she heaved a huge sigh of relief inside. She


    couldn''t judge whether Tim was a great doctor or not because that was just how his personality was,


    and the reason he became a doctor wasn''t to save lives and help the injured.


    ording to himself, he became a doctor because he liked the feeling of performing surgery, as it gave


    him a great sense of pleasure and satisfaction.


    Although this was a very sick reason, it was undeniable that he had saved a lot of people. So, he could


    be considered excellent, in a way.


    However, the most important thing for her now was that the colossal stone weighing on her heart had


    been lifted. Fortunately, she could pull the wool over Freddie''s eyes so that he didn''t continue to


    assume that Tim was really a cold-blooded devil. If he did, he might start investigations on Tim.


    Even though she wasn''t sure if Tim had done anything malicious in the dark, she didn''t hear about


    them, at least. So, she could y on usible deniability.


    Therefore, as his friend, she couldn''t stand idly by when others were suspicious of him.


    Even if she was wrong in covering up for Tim, she was still a person with her own biases, not a totally


    impartial one.


    Since she had selfish desires, why shouldn''t she just act ording to her heart''s desires then?


    Sonia locked those thoughts away as she nced at Freddie and asked, "Officer Chase, was Dr.


    Lancaster the one who attended to Anya after you sent her to the hospital?"


    "No." He shook his head. "After we sent her there, the one who attended to her first was a general


    doctor. We have no idea what happened afterward, but that general doctor left halfway, saying he was


    busy. So, in the end, it was Dr. Lancaster who took over, and after he had given her a checkup, he


    prescribed her some immunosuppressant drugs and told us to take her back, saying that this was a


    normal situation. She''ll be in pain for a few days, but after taking some medication, she will be fine and


    doesn''t need to be hospitalized."


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "I see." The edges of her lips twitched as she tried to suppress the amusement in her heart.


    What does he mean by a normal situation, only oral medication is needed and no hospitalization? I


    think he''s clearly doing this on purpose, she reckoned.


    At least from what she had heard, once rejection happened after surgery, they had to be hospitalized


    for observation and treatment, and she had never heard of just taking the medication to suppress it.


    Furthermore, Tim was a surgeon, not an orthopedist. He wasn''t even in the correct department for such


    an ailment, so his credibility was naturally much lower.


    Despite this, she knew very well why he did what he had done¡ªto stand up for her.


    Tim was aware that Anya and Sonia had a dispute before, and when he happened to find out that the


    police had sent Anya to the hospital, he asked the general doctor to leave so he could take over. Then,


    he simply prescribed some medication to close the case.


    The reason he did that wasn''t to treat Anya but to prolong her suffering so he could vent out the


    frustrations on Sonia''s behalf. But, of course, Sonia wouldn''t say this out loud as this would cause


    trouble for him.


    After all, he did this for her, and it would be ungrateful on her part if she sold him out. So even if what


    he did was wrong, she wouldn''t snitch on him.


    "Please take me to visit Anya, Officer Chase," Sonia requested.


    No matter what, she was already here, and it wouldn''t be a bad idea to see how pathetic Anya was


    doing now. Otherwise, this would have been a wasted trip.


    "Sure, she''s right here," Officer Chase answered, pointing at the detention center.


    Sonia nodded and followed him through the main doors of the detention center. Regardless, she


    abruptly stopped in her tracks and didn''t want to enter any further.


    Freddie noticed her behavior as he stopped and stood beside her while she lifted her head and looked


    in the cell.


    The space inside was divided into two¡ªhalf had a table and chair while the other half had iron railings.


    Inside, there was a simple single bed with sheets.


    Right now, Anya was wearing an orange vest that the suspects were wearing andying on the single


    bed, wailing and rolling in pain.


    As the pain was too much for her to bear, her eyes were squeezed shut, and she gripped the sheets


    tightly. Her face twisted into an agonizing expression; she looked pale and was covered in so much


    cold sweat that her hair was drenched.


    Beside her, there were also two female police officers taking care of her¡ªone pressed her down and


    wanted to stuff a towel into her mouth lest she identally bit her own tongue, and another was bent


    over, dispensing the medication to her.


    Sonia felt her heart wrench when she saw Anya in such a state. Her face involuntarily cringed as she


    sped her hands tightly in front of her chest.


    She didn''t pity Anya, of course; she purely felt as though she could experience the pain Anya was


    feeling at such a sight.


    Sonia closed her eyes as she quickly turned around and walked away. After a few steps outside the


    detention center, she stopped and opened her eyes again, letting out a long breath.


    Now, she rather regretted the decision to visit her earlier because she could feel her own legs hurting


    just from recalling the imagery from before.


    While she was rubbing her temples, she heard Freddie''s voice from behind, asking, "Miss Reed, aren''t


    you going to greet Anya?"


    She spun around and smiled. "I don''t think so. I think it will only be more painful for her if I go in. After


    all, I''m the one who ced her there, and she''s in so much pain because she stopped her


    immunosuppressants. She must be hating me right now, so I''ll be a little kind and not go in to provoke


    her."


    Freddie''s facial muscles twitched at her excuse, and after a few seconds, he finally replied, "You''re so


    kind, Miss Reed."


    As though he couldn''t tell that she was secretly mocking Anya.


    Yet, Freddie had to agree that Anya would re up upon seeing Sonia and be even more violent.


    Once that happened, the ones to suffer would be the police officers, so it was better if she didn''t enter.


    "I''ll take you to President Fuller then, Miss Reed," Freddie said.


    She nodded. "Thank you."


    Halfway when they were walking toward the offices, she saw three people in the direction of the


    interrogation rooms. Just like Anya, one of them was wearing the orange vest that suspects wear, and


    his hands were cuffed as two officers held him.


    Clearly, this was another criminal who had broken thew and was just finished with interrogation.


    After she nced at him, she looked away and didn''t pay the man any mind as she continued to


    saunter towards the police chiefs office.


    Unexpectedly, the person being held away was stunned when he saw Sonia. Then, his beady eyes


    widened in surprise, and his slumped, stocky body suddenly straightened as he became incredibly


    agitated.


    The next second, he found a surge of strength and shoved to the left and right, shaking off the shackles


    from the two officers behind himself and dashed toward Sonia.


    This sudden change stunned everyone at the scene, and a female officer who passed by even yelped


    in shock.


    Immediately, Freddie stepped forward and ced Sonia behind himself. Then, he whisked out his


    baton and aimed it at the man lurching at her. With a severe expression, he shouted, "Hold it! I''m


    ordering you to stop right now. If you take another step, I will use my weapon on you."


    Behind him, Sonia realized this criminal wasing for her, and she was startled. Luckily Freddie had


    yanked her to the back, where she could breathe a huge sigh of relief and calm down from the scare.

 Chapter 1095

    Chapter 1095


    She had no idea why this criminal wasing at her. Maybe he was caught after he broke thew and


    felt unjustified, so he wanted to take it out on society and harm others as a form of catharsis?


    After all, there were countless people like this. Sometimes, she would read news on the Inte where


    she saw innocent victims and felt so sorry for them.


    Now, she had joined the club as one of the innocent victims, but fortunately, it was the police station


    here, and she had Freddie by his side. Or else, she would probably be in danger already.


    On the other side, the plump middle-aged man to whom Freddie pointed the baton didn''t dare to take


    another step forward as his expression changedpletely. Instead, he hurriedly came to a stop and


    raised his cuffed hands in the air to surrender.


    It didn''t ur to him that he would be threatened with a weapon when he just wanted to plead for


    mercy. What bad timing!


    The police officers quickly caught the fat man from behind, and one of them kicked him in the back of


    his knee.


    Caught off guard, he fell to his knees with a loud thud, and the officers pinned him to the ground,


    pressing his face against the floor and holding him firmly as though they were afraid that he would


    escape as he did earlier.


    "Stay still and don''t move!" the officers on top of him warned fiercely.


    The man couldn''t help the bitter smile on his face as he thought, Move? Can I even move when I''m in


    this state?


    Opposite him, Freddie rxed and kept his baton away when he saw that the officers had


    apprehended the criminal. Finally, he turned to the two officers and reprimanded stoically, "What were


    you two doing earlier? Can''t you even hold one person?"


    The officers hung their heads and didn''t answer, knowing they were in the wrong. What could they


    possibly say? It was their responsibility if a person slipped away while they were holding him.


    "This time, I''ll just give you a warning as punishment. If something like this happens again, don''t me


    me for transferring you to the traffic department!" Freddie chided, pointing a finger at them.


    The officers repeatedly nodded, indicating they wouldn''t make this mistake again. This wasn''t a


    perfunctory reply but a sincere one.


    As policemen, it was a p in their faces and a humiliation that a criminal was able to escape from their


    hands. At the end of the day, they would be aughingstock if they couldn''t even hold a criminal down.


    In order to clean up their act, they would be more alert and wouldn''t make the same mistake the


    second time.


    "You better not. Keep this in mind." Then, after he scolded them with a grim expression, he spun


    around and rxed his expression as he observed Sonia, asking in concern, "Are you alright, Miss


    Reed?"


    "I''m fine." She released her sped hands that were held nervously against her chest as she smiled


    and shook her head. "Luckily, you pulled me aside in time and avoided a tragedy from happening,


    Officer Chase. Thank you so much for earlier."


    "You''re wee, Miss Reed. This is the police station, so we must protect you when our criminal


    almost injures an innocent person. Even if it''s not the police station, as public officials, we have to


    protect the public anywhere we are," he said with a salute.


    Sonia smiled again and was about to say something when the middle-aged man on the floor suddenly


    started shouting, "Miss Reed! Please forgive me and ask Mr. Fuller to let me off, Miss Reed! I''m really


    sorry!"


    rmed by those yells, she looked down at the man in surprise. "Do you know me?" She was rtively


    sure that she had never seen this person before.


    The middle-aged man bobbed his head. "Yes, Miss Reed. I''m¡ª"


    Before he could finish, something popped up in Freddie''s mind, and he pped his hands together.


    Thus, he gestured at the man as he reminded her, "This person is somehow connected to you, Miss


    Reed. The police have also heard about the rumors on the Inte today, and this person is the chief


    editor of Squirrel Media who was sent here by President Fuller''s men."


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia immediately understood who he was as she stared at the middle-aged man on the floor, and her


    eyes were no longer confused but cold. "So, you''re Mitch Adams, chief editor of Squirrel Media?"


    "Yes, yes. That''s me." Mitch nodded in agitation when he saw that Sonia knew of him. "Miss Reed, I''m


    begging you. I realized my mistake in the matter this time. So please let me off, and I won''t ever do it


    again in the future. I can give you anything you want, but I really, really don''t want to go to jail," he said


    as he started to wriggle again in an attempt to break free once more and run toward Sonia.


    Unfortunately, the two police officers were on high alert now and wouldn''t allow him the chance to


    break free from their grasp. So, the moment Mitch struggled, they pressed down hard on him.


    The crisp sound of bones cracking echoed, and Mitch''s face wrinkled into a pained look as they pinned


    him harder onto the ground, and he couldn''t help but howl out in pain.


    A shocked Sonia inquired, "Is he alright?"


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed," Freddie assured. "Our men know their limits and won''t really break his limbs.


    At the most, he will just have a dislocated arm.


    "I see." Sonia nodded and didn''t ask anymore, but she turned to Mitch and looked at him sternly. "You


    want us to let you off, so you don''t have to go to jail?"


    The moment Mitch heard her, he couldn''t be bothered about his arm and raised half of his face with


    great difficulty, sweating profusely as he nodded. "Yes, that''s right, Miss Reed. But, please, I''m begging


    you. I don''t want to spend the rest of my life in jail. I''m almost fifty and have my mother and children to


    care for. They can''t do without me, Miss Reed..."


    At the mention of this, he actually started sobbing with snot and tears, looking very pathetic.


    Regrettably, Sonia was not the least soft-hearted to see him like this. But, in contrast, she was sick and


    disgusted as it made her sick to see a grown man crying so pathetically.


    She suppressed her urge to throw up, turned her head the other way, and refused to look at Mitch lest


    she really retched.


    "Since you know that you''ll be spending the rest of your life in jail, it shows that you''re well aware of the


    severity of your actions," she said without a single trace of emotion on her face. "I''m sorry, but I''m a


    good citizen who abides by thew. It''s the simplest of my duties to fight injustice and eliminate evil.


    Regardless, when ites to a criminal like you, I''m already showing mercy by not adding a few more


    years to your sentence, so how can I possibly forgive you and let you off?"


    After she said that, Mitch was dumbfounded, and his cries paused for a few seconds as his body


    became rigid on the floor.


    A good whileter, he became agitated again and started begging as he did before. "Miss Reed, I know


    I''ve done unforgivable things to you, but I have no other choice, too. Someone forced me into it, Miss


    Reed. For the sake that I did it against my own will, please show some mercy, and I won''t do it again in


    the future. I promise I won''t!"


    "Forced?" A sneer tinged the edge of her pink lips. "You know it very well whether you were forced or it


    was just greed. Don''t forget that we''re now living in a time where the police can thoroughly investigate


    every transaction. Do you expect anyone to believe you now that you''re telling me that you were


    forced? Furthermore, are you a person who could be forced so easily? Even if Miss Lore has a slight


    influence, she was in no position to order you around. After all, she''s not Toby Fuller, and if you''re not


    even afraid of the Young Master of the Harper Family, will you be afraid of Miss Lore?"

 Chapter 1096

    Chapter 1096


    The Harper Family was definitely one of Seafield''s wealthiest families and had a reputation in the area


    because of its links to the transportation industry.


    At least, they were more influential than the Lore Family.


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    Also, the Young Master of the Harper Family was also the second grandson who constantly made


    headlines for his ignorance and ipetence.


    Some of his actions were even against thew.


    Whenever there was anything that involved the young master''s breach of thew, the Harper Family


    would intervene and have a word with the media outlets to prevent them from releasing such news.


    Due to the influence of the Harper Family, most media outlets naturally agreed to their request and


    would instead actively suppress the news.


    Squirrel Media, on the other hand, was different; it would proceed to report the news with no


    consequences whatsoever.


    For that reason, if Squirrel was unafraid of the Harper Family, would they be frightened of the Lore


    Family, which shared a simr standing?


    Not to mention, the person in question was the family''s youngdy with no influence of her own.


    Who would believe such news?


    Mitch was on the ground in tears, but he was once again stunned after hearing Sonia''s words.


    He never expected that Sonia was aware of his situation to a tee.


    As a result, his earlier words had no credibility and merely sounded ridiculous.


    However, it did not mean that Nichs would throw in the towel.


    Now that Toby had a firm hold on him, he knew that it was impossible to make aeback and


    intended to admit defeat.


    Yet, who would have expected that he would run into Sonia at such a ce?


    Women would always be more soft-hearted than their male counterparts. As long as I have a chat with


    Sonia, maybe I might have a way out.


    So, no matter what, he did not want to lose this opportunity.


    As he thought about it, Mitch cheered for himself before he spoke, "Miss Reed, I know that you''d find it


    difficult to understand how I was convinced by the youngdy of the Lore Family to do what I did. I had


    no choice, though. The Lore Family and President Fuller have an extremely close rtionship, which


    was why I didn''t dare to ignore Miss Lore''s words. If you don''t believe me, Miss Reed, you can ask


    President Fuller about his rtionship with the Lore Family."


    He couldn''t care less; he had to give it his all.


    Sonia raised her hand. "I don''t have to ask. I''m aware that Toby and the Lore Family have a


    rtionship akin to a master and pupil. Miss Lore''s young enough to even be considered Toby''s niece."


    "Yes, that''s right. Miss Lore can be considered as Toby''s niece, which was why she threatened me. If I


    didn''t dare to do it and offended President Fuller. As a result, I¡ª"


    "But don''t you forget!" Sonia squatted and lowered her head to look at Mitch with a cold gaze. Then, as


    she cut him off mercilessly, she continued, "Lte Lore may be Toby''s niece, but I''m Toby''s lover. So


    if you dare not go against Lte for fear of offending Toby, yet you''re brave enough to help her attack


    his girlfriend? Don''t tell me you''re not worried about offending Toby?"


    Mitch''s expression changed as he broke out in cold sweat.


    Officer Chase and two policemen, who were all present at the scene, looked at him with contempt.


    "I-I... I never thought that f-far..." It took Mitch ages before he could stammer a reply with trembling lips.


    He was telling the truth; he had indeed never thought far.


    Back when Lte gave him a call and used her grandfather''s connection to Toby to plead with Mitch


    to help her with something, she even said that Mitch did not need to fear offending Toby. Her


    grandfather was Toby''s master, so she definitely could protect Mitch from the consequences. As long


    as Mitch agreed, she would then pay him five million.


    The idea of receiving five million greatly tempted Mitch, and since he had someone to back him up, it


    was a done deal.


    After that, he ignored the fact that Sonia was Toby''s girlfriend. He utterly forgot that messing with her


    was akin to offending Toby.


    As Sonia observed Mitch''s astonishment, she rose to her feet. "Did you forget that I''m someone


    important in Toby''s heart? My position is about the same as his master''s. That must be the reason why


    you did what you did. Still, it''s such a pity that you had the wrong idea. Compared to Mr. Lore, Toby


    cares more for me. You see, Toby had personally delivered you here, but no one from the Lore Family,


    especially Lte, came to save you from this mess. She didn''t even call you at all, which shows that


    she haspletely given up on you. Do you know why? It''s because Toby is about to go against the


    Lore Family. So, the Lore Family can''t afford to save you."


    Mitch''s eyes widened. "President Fuller wants to go against the Lore Family?"


    "That''s right. I believe you''ll see the news reports that Toby has taken action on the Lore Family in due


    course." There was a smile on Sonia''s face as she said those words gently.


    When he saw her smiling like that, he felt that he was seeing the devil. Her words that Toby wanted to


    go against the Lore Family kept ringing in his head.


    If Toby wanted to attack the Lore Family, it meant that they had stepped on his bottom line and angered


    the man himself.


    That was why he refused to let even his master''s family off the hook.


    In short, forget about Mitch; the entire Lore Family was in a precarious situation now.


    At this moment, Mitch panicked and waspletely terrified. His cries became even louder as he


    pleaded, "Miss Reed?"


    He continued shrilly, "I know I''m in the wrong, Miss Reed. As I have exined, it''s because that


    woman, Lte, fancies President Fuller and is jealous of you. So she asked me to secretly arrange


    for a reporter to be hot on your trail and take pictures that she could use to threaten you. We wanted to


    use it to create rumors and force you and President Fuller to break up. By doing so, Lte would


    have a shot at being with him."


    He huped as he kepting up with excuses for himself, "She even said that her grandfather is


    President Fuller''s master and someone he deeply respects. If there''s any problem, everything can be


    settled once her grandfather speaks to President Fuller. The five million that she gave me was my


    reward. Miss Reed, I know that I have screwed up and only cared for money. Since I have exined


    everything to you, including Lte''s calls, I can surrender the audio recording to you. Just let me go, I


    plead with you, Miss Reed. I¡ª"


    "Since she is the one who approached you, you should beg for mercy from her." A deep male voice


    answered even before Sonia could say anything. That voice came from someone from the crowd.


    Then, everyone turned to look at the source of the voice.


    Toby ced one hand in his sh pocket while gently swaying the other hand as he walked toward


    Sonia and Mitch without expression.


    The heels of his leather shoes made a clear sound, with each step leaving a soothing aftersound.


    Unfortunately, to Mitch, it was not melodious because such a sound meant that Hades was slowly but


    surely approaching him. Toby''s footsteps pounded on Mitch''s heart and left the man with an uneasy


    feeling.


    "P-President F-Fuller..." Mitch raised his head and looked at Toby, approaching with wide eyes. He was


    even quivering and couldn''t form a proper sentence.


    Officer Chase even made way by offering his spot to Toby.


    Finally, Toby stopped next to Sonia, who then asked him, "Why are you here?"


    "I noticed that you haven''t returned after so long and decided to see what''s up. But, of course, I never


    expected to hear those words just now," he replied. Then, he lowered his eyes to look at Mitch, who


    resembled a defenseless ant, and continued, "I heard what you and my girlfriend said just now,


    though."


    Toby hugged Sonia''s waist and exined, "What my lover said is correct. She has a higher position


    than my master in my heart. It''s because she''ll be the one with me for the rest of my life, whereas my


    master won''t. Yes, I respect my master, but if my master has gone overboard and is not as virtuous as I


    remembered, then I can just be as disrespectful to him. Since I can throw my master to the lion''s den,


    what makes you think my master''s granddaughter would be worthy enough for me to spare?"


    Mitch gaped at him and couldn''t speak. It was because Toby''s words were the final words announcing


    a tragic ending for him. That''s true, though. If he can choose to sacrifice his master, why would he care


    about his master''s granddaughter?

 Chapter 1097

    Chapter 1097


    Mitch was about to have a mental breakdown due to such a result as he was filled with deep remorse.


    He should not have been greedy back then. Instead, he should have thought more about the


    importance of Sonia''s position in Toby''s heart.


    If he had done so, maybe he wouldn''t be in such a situation today.


    "President Fuller, I''m pleading with you to let me go. I know I''m in the wrong. Sobs..." Mitch''s tears


    were extremely pitiful.


    It was so pitiful that people could cry along with him.


    Unfortunately, the person who suffered injustice was Sonia, so Toby couldn''t be softhearted.


    Sonia opened her red lips and coldly responded, "It''s only now that you realize your mistakes. Then,


    when you helped Lte to mess with me, have you ever thought about my ending if Toby didn''t know


    that I''ll never cheat on him? Oh, I''ve said it wrongly. It''s obvious you never thought about it because


    you were greedy and only cared for money. That was why you couldn''t care about the lives of others.


    Since that''s the case, then why should we care about you? It''s your own fault that you''re in such a


    situation. There''s no use in pleading with anyone, although you can beg the culprit who did this."


    "L-Lte Lore?" A name slipped out from Mitch''s hoarse throat.


    Toby was nomittal as he added, "Didn''t she say that she can protect you? Since you''re in such a


    situation, you should look for her. Come, let''s go." Once he said those words, he looked at the woman


    in his embrace.


    Sonia hummed in agreement.


    Both of them didn''t spare Mitch another nce as they turned to leave.


    On the other hand, Mitch did not continue to plead with them for mercy or forgiveness. Deep in his


    heart, he was aware that no matter how he begged them, they would never let him off the hook.


    Since that was the case, it was better to follow their suggestion and search for Lte instead.


    Lte, that b*tch, was the one who caused his downfall, so he couldn''t wait toy his hands on her.


    She even swore that nothing would go wrong and that I would be alright. Since something has indeed


    happened, she could still bail me out with her grandfather''s connections to President Fuller.


    As such, she should keep to her promise.


    Moreover, even if Toby attacked the Lore Family, they would still be more affluent than the average


    family. Will I have such an ability? Just you wait. When I''m released, I''ll definitely look for a way to get


    even with you, Lte Lore!


    As he thought about this, Mitch had a twisted expression as viciousness swam in his eyes. "I want to


    make a phone call," he requested as he lifted his jiggly neck to look at Officer Chase.


    Since Mitch was not an used awaiting trial, he still had the right tomunicate with the outside


    world.


    That was why Officer Chase epted Mitch''s request and made the necessary arrangements.


    Soon enough, Mitch was brought to the telephone at the precinct since he couldn''t use his own cell


    phone to contact anyone. He only had ess to the phone in the police station.


    Therefore, the police helped him to search for Lte''s phone number on his cell phone, after which he


    made the call.


    Although the phone call was connected, it took a while for a drowsy female voice to answer. "Hello?"


    There was still a trace of dissatisfaction and arrogance in her tone.


    Evidently, the woman grew up in a pampered environment, which led to her spoiled behavior.


    When Mitch heard Lte''s voice, his face twisted into a nasty snarl consumed by hate since he was


    held on remand and ran the risk of imprisonment.


    Yet, this woman was still enjoying her beauty sleep.


    The extreme imbnce of their situation caused his breathing to be heavier while his bloody


    eyes, the size of beans, shot open. It was enough to frighten those around him.


    Despite that, Mitch was from the media industry, so his ability to be crafty was on full disy via this


    phone call.


    Even if he had a distorted expression and held deep loathing for the woman, his voice didn''t reflect his


    feelings. "Miss Lore, it''s me."


    Officer Chase couldn''t help but salute the man for his talents when he heard Mitch''s tone.


    "You? Who?"


    On the other end of the phone line was someone abroad.


    At the moment, the sky was rather gloomy somewhere abroad, even though it was around 5.00AM to


    6.00AM.


    The woman dressed in her pajamas held her phone with one hand and raised the other hand to stretch


    herself. Then, she leaned on the headboard with a sigh and asked in dissatisfaction.


    She did not have a charming, mature look; instead, she had an adorable aura¡ªa round, chubby face, a


    pair of big eyes, a small nose bridge, and thin lips on top of a petite figure that even her sleepwear


    couldn''t hide.


    It was a typical description of a Lolita.


    Even though she looked petite, she resembled an underaged high school student.


    In actual fact, this woman was already past 25.


    She was the granddaughter of Harry¡ªLte Lore.


    Regrettably, that didn''t charm Mitch because when he noticed Lte couldn''t even recognize his


    voice, he gritted his teeth before adopting a colder tone. "Me, as in the editor of Squirrel Media."


    When she heard that it was Mitch, the yawning Lte finally remembered who he was. She was


    momentarily stunned before she became impatient. "It''s you? Why are you calling me? Don''t forget,


    and it''s not even sunrise here. Aren''t you worried that I''ll be angry at you for disturbing my sleep?"


    As she spoke, she was a living example of what it means to be prideful and self-centered.


    If it were in the past, Mitch would suppress his hatred for such arrogance and coax her instead.


    Back then, she was Harry''s granddaughter, and Harry hadn''t broken ties with Toby.


    It was a different situation now, though.


    Toby wanted to attack the Lore Family, which was indicative of his intention to sever ties with them.


    As for Mitch, he also did not need to bow down to this woman''s arrogance. After he thought about their


    current situation, he dropped the farce and roared, "Lte, you bloody b*tch. I don''t give a f*ck


    whether you are pleased or not. You better listen up. I''m not done with you!"


    Lte was shocked when she was faced with Mitch''s harsh scoldings and only regained her


    composure a whileter. Then, her adorable face flushed with fury while her eyes were moist with


    tears. Finally, she crossed her hips and retorted in a shrill voice, "H-How you dare to yell at me?!"


    A bloody b*tch!


    Throughout her whole life, she had never been insulted with such words by anyone, as everyone


    treated her like a jewel.


    Yet, this person dared to lecture her!


    S-She would not let this obese person off the hook!


    Lte bit her lip and was close to exploding with fury as her chest heaved in rage.


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    She might have had a bad temper and was arrogant, but she had received the education of the rich


    and famous since she was a child born with a silver spoon.


    So, it was unfortunate that shecked the ability to win a verbal fight!


    Even if she wanted to yell at her past self and Mitch, she just couldn''t swear as she only knew the


    word, b*stard.


    Therefore, Lte could only use that term to scream at Mitch.


    He snorted disdainfully because he had always known that these youngdies were too proud of


    themselves and thought it beneath them to learn slurs.


    When he heard her using such low-level ng to curse at him, he was scornful.


    Lte naturally realized that Mitch looked down on her, making her even more furious. But, since she


    didn''t know how to curse, she could only shriek at him as she mmed the phone on the quilt. "Adams,


    you had the guts to offend me, huh? Do you believe I''ll have a word with my grandpa and Toby and ask


    them to throw you out of Seaview City?"

 Chapter 1098

    Chapter 1098


    Mitch burst into a scornful guffaw as though he had just heard a cosmic joke. "You want to drive me out


    of Seafield?"


    Lte was irritated when she heard himughing like this. At the same time, however, her heart did a


    complete somersault. A bad feeling arose within her; she couldn''t help feeling that something was


    amiss. "W-What are youughing at?" Her lovely baby face contorted for a while as she pped her


    nket with her free hand in exasperation. She warned loudly, "Stopughing, Mitch! Did you hear me?


    I''m telling you to stopughing!"


    Mitch was stillughing without restraint on the other end of the line while ignoring her. Afterughing


    for a while, he finally managed to stop with his eyes full of derision. "Lte, had you said something


    like this before today, I''d probably still believe that you could indeed drive me out of Seafield. After all,


    your grandfather was President Fuller''s mentor. If you wanted to sort me out, your grandfather, who


    always covered up for you, would definitely side with you, and even if President Fuller learned about


    this, he wouldn''t care about a small fry like me. However, from today onward, people willugh their


    heads off if you say something like that."


    Lte instantly tightened her grip on the phone as the unease within her grew. "What do you mean?"


    Mitch''s lips curled into a sinister and wicked smile. "What do I mean? I mean your family is finished!


    Haha!" he said before bursting outughing again in schadenfreude. He was so pleased deep down


    that his face was flushed crimson with excitement. His eyes bulged as if they''d fall out of their sockets


    the next second, making him look very scary.


    When Lte heard his words on the other end of the line, she felt as though a p of thunder had just


    exploded over her head. Stunned, she felt like her head was going to explode. Did he just say my


    family is finished? How is that possible? My family is fine, and Grandpa is still alive. Even if the


    members of my family aren''t capable of anything, Toby will always have my family under his wing as


    long as Grandpa is still alive and their master-apprentice rtionship still stands. My family will always


    be ranked among the ten most distinguished families of Seafield, so how could my family be finished?


    Pulling herself together, she seethed with rage, thinking that it was sickening of Mitch to say such


    things on purpose to fool her. Clutching the phone tightly with both hands, she uttered between


    clenched teeth, "Mitch, how dare you curse my family? Just you wait; my family and I will never let you


    off for this!"


    "I don''t have to wait for that." Mitch sneered. "I''m not lying to you, Lte. It''s true that your family''s


    gonna be finished. You still don''t know about it, do you? Well, that''s understandable. It''s night over


    there, so you must have no idea what''s going on in the country."


    Lte bit her lower lip while almost being overwhelmed by the unease within her. "What the hell are


    you trying to say?"


    Mitch''s chubby face cracked into a smile full of malice. "I just want to tell you that your cover is blown.


    It''se to light that you bribed me with 5 million to have Sonia followed by paparazzi and to spread


    gossip to cause her breakup with Toby. Sonia and Toby both know that you were behind it! Haha!"


    Lte nched instantly as the phone dropped out of her hand and fell onto the nket. Even if she


    didn''t put the phone on speaker, Mitch''s heartyughter still sounded very clearly through the phone


    and reached her ears at this very moment, making her head buzz. What did this fatso just say? My


    cover''s blown? My n to cause Toby to break up with that Soniady hase to light? How is that


    possible?! That can''t be possible!


    Her eyes flickered before she quickly came to her senses. Grabbing the phone on the nket, she held


    it back to her ear and barked loudly, "Stop lying to me, Mitch! Do you think I''ll believe what you said? I


    wasn''t born yesterday!"


    "I''m lying to you?" Mitch rolled his eyes. "Lte, why would I lie to you? Has it ever crossed your mind


    why my attitude toward you would change so much? I was still respectful to you before today, but now I


    only wish you to die. Didn''t you ever think about the reason behind this? This is because President


    Fuller and Miss Reed have found out what we did behind the scenes! President Fuller caught me first


    since I''m in the country. Lte, I believe you don''t need me to remind you to know what would happen


    to me after I fell into President Fuller''s hands. So, how could I not hate you for putting me up to this and


    bringing me to such an end, Miss Lore?!" he said, almost growling toward the end of his speech.


    Upon being growled at, Lte shuddered involuntarily, and her face turned even paler. At this


    moment, she finally noticed what she hadn''t realized just now thanks to Mitch''s words. That''s right; this


    fatso has been so respectful to me before. He obsequiously called me Miss Lore because I''m the


    daughter of the Lore Family and my grandfather was Toby''s mentor. It''s because of this that I have the


    top standing among the rich youngdies. Who else would this fatso butter up if not me?


    And now, not only is this fatso calling me by my first name, but he even curses my family, saying that


    he only wishes for me to die. He wouldn''t have dared to do this in the past, but he dares to do this now.


    In other words, what he says is true: Toby has really learned that it was my doing.


    For a moment, she began to panic. What should I do? Toby has learned about it! Will he be angry with


    me? Will he hate me or even want to sort me out? No, no way! Grandpa was Toby''s mentor, so Toby


    won''t do anything to me for Grandpa''s sake. Yes, this must be the case. Toby and I have known each


    other for so many years. I don''t believe that I don''t matter to him more than a woman who got married


    to him by dirty means and then used dirty means to force him into getting back together with her after


    she was chased out of the Fuller Family.


    At the thought of this, Lte regained herposure, ignoring Mitch''s previous remark about the


    Lore Family''s impending doom. She curled her lips and replied scornfully, "So what if our cover is


    blown? There''s no need to panic. My grandpa was Toby''s mentor. Even if Toby is angry with me, he


    won''t really do anything to me. As for you, I said that I''d keep you safe. You¡ª"


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    "That''s b*llshit!" Mitch roared loudly, interrupting her before she could finish her sentence. His chubby


    face looked sullen and ferocious as he continued, "Lte, I''ve seen people who are stupid, but I''ve


    never seen a woman as stupid as you are. I''ve said clearly that your family is finished because


    President Fuller has learned that you were the one behind it. Turns out that after a long time, you still


    haven''t realized why your family is finished. Well, in that case, let me tell you the reason for mercy''s


    sake. You''re the one who brought the Lore Family to its end. You angered President Fuller by plotting


    against his girlfriend in a vain attempt to make him break up with her, so he''s going toy a hand on


    your family, you idiot!"


    Lte''s pupils instantly shrank to the size of needle tips; she felt like her head was going to explode


    again. "That''s not possible!" she growled in a shrill voice. "Even if Toby gets angry after knowing that I


    did such a thing behind his back, he''ll never do anything to my family! My grandpa was his mentor!"


    "So what if your grandpa was his mentor?" Mitch gave a snort of disdain. "Does his mentor matter to


    him more than his girlfriend does? President Fuller has said himself that his girlfriend is the one who''d


    keep himpany for life. In other words, your grandpa is much less important to him than Miss


    Reed!"

 Chapter 1099

    Chapter 1099


    "No, no way!" Lte yelled loudly with a look of disbelief while shaking her head vigorously. Grandpa


    isn''t as important to Toby as that Sonia woman is? No, this can''t be true. This isn''t true!


    It didn''t surprise Mitch that Lte was unwilling to ept this. After all, thisdy had always believed


    that her grandfather was very important to Toby. This was why she dared to act so high and mighty,


    saying that even if they''d make Toby angry by plotting against Sonia, she''d be able to protect him


    despite Toby''s revenge. Isn''t that a kind of baseless self-confidence? Well, what''s ridiculous is that I


    really believed this woman''s baloney in the past. "If you don''t believe it, I can''t do anything about it," he


    said with ridicule. "But it''s true that your grandpa isn''t as important to Toby as Sonia is. Moreover,


    you''re only your grandpa''s granddaughter. So, do you think Toby will let you off for what you did? Do


    you think your grandpa will still be able to save you?"


    Lte''s expression was zed as she couldn''t say a word. If Grandpa isn''t indispensable to Toby,


    Toby won''t let me off. Naturally, Grandpa won''t be able to save me. At the thought of this, she only felt


    as though the sky were falling down on her. Her breathing became rapid. Inwardly, she had started to


    be afraid, but she stubbornly insisted, "No way! This can''t be true. Toby won''t do anything to my


    family. He won''t!"


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    Hearing how she insisted on deluding herself, Mitch started to get impatient. "We''ll see whether he''ll do


    it or not. You''ll know the answer very soon. By then, however, your family will probably have ceased to


    exist, and you''re to me for all of this. Say, if the Lore Family really ceases to exist in the end, are


    your dad and grandpa still going to spoil you as they are now? I don''t think so."


    Lte couldn''t restrain herself anymore. Standing up from the bed right away, she held the phone


    before her and clutched it tightly with both hands. Then, with a ferocious look in her eyes, she yelled at


    the phone, "That''s nonsense, Mitch! You''re talking nonsense!"


    Mitch snorted coldly. "Since you insist that I''m talking nonsense, just think whatever you want. Your


    willingness to bury yourself in a world of make-believe without stepping out of it to face reality is your


    own business. However, you promised back then that if Toby and his people were to find out about this


    and wanted to deal with you, you''d be able to save me. So, Lte, now''s the time for you to fulfill your


    promise. I don''t care how you do it as long as you get me out of police custody! Do you hear that? I''m


    telling you, if you don''t do it, then don''t me me for disclosing all the filthy stuff you''ve done. Try it if


    you don''t believe me."


    Lte''s countenance changed again. "How dare you..." Just when she was about to say something,


    she saw that the call interface on her phone''s screen had been reced by the home screen.


    Mitch had hung up on her.


    Lte was so furious that she wanted to throw the phone away. The next instant, however, she


    recalled something and suppressed the urge to do so. Her face contorted as she mumbled through


    clenched teeth, "How dare you threaten me, Mitch? We''ll wait and see!" I grew up being spoiled rotten


    and fawned upon. Since Mitch is the first one who dares to threaten me, I''ll never let him off! Did he say


    just now that he was at the police station and wanted me to bail him out? Ha! As if! Not only will I not


    get him out of police custody, but I''ll make him spend the rest of his life in jail! We''ll see about that!


    However, this matter could be put off untilter. At the moment, the first priority was to find out whether


    what Mitch had said was true or false. Did the matter reallye to light? Was her grandfather really


    not that important to Toby? Was Toby really going to deal with the Lore Family? These were the


    questions to which she wanted to know the answers the most. As long as she didn''t know the answers


    to these questions, she''d feel uneasy.


    After taking a deep breath, she decided to go online first to check on the present situation in her home


    country. Before going to sleepst night, she had noticed that things had developed the way she


    desired on the inte, which was why she dared to go to sleep with ease of mind. However, little did


    she think that the situation would take a sudden and unfavorable turn in only a few hours. Therefore,


    she had to find out what was going on. Was her cover really blown, or did Mitch lie to her on purpose?


    After exhaling softly, she calmed down for the time being and got ready to go online.


    Just then, however, she suddenly saw her phone''s notifications showing a number of missed calls. She


    quickly opened the notifications, only for her heart to skip a beat when she saw the missed call


    notifications. There were actually so many missed calls from her father and her mother. Everyone had


    called her at least three times.


    As her phone was in silent mode, she had answered none of these phone calls. Instead, she had only


    answered Mitch''s phone call because she had gotten out of bed, gone to the toilet, ande back; she


    had justin down in bed when she saw her phone''s screen shing before she could close her eyes


    completely. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have been able to answer his phone call.


    However, there had been so many missed calls in one night, and everyone had called her several


    times. Such a situation was clearly abnormal. It was obvious that something serious had happened,


    causing her parents to call her so many times. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have contacted her at the


    same time.


    Despite her best efforts to calm down, Lte started to feel uneasy again when she saw these missed


    calls. Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the urge to go online and check the situation on the


    inte. Then, she called her father.


    Perhaps because the person on the other end of the line had been waiting for her phone call, the


    phone call was answered as soon as she called. "Hello? What were you doing, Lte? Why didn''t


    you answer the phone until now?" A middle-aged man''s displeased voice sounded on the other end of


    the line, calling her to ount in a somewhat agitated tone.


    Feeling displeased at once, Lte pouted her lips. At the same time, she felt a bit aggrieved. Like her


    grandfather, her father doted on her very much and had always spoken to her in a soft voice. He had


    never spoken to her in such a brusque tone as he did right now, let alone called her to ount. This


    made her very unhappy, for she felt that her father was no longer how he used to be. "What else could I


    have been doing? I was sleeping! I''m not in our home country. I''m abroad, and it''s night over here," she


    said impatiently to the middle-aged man on the other end of the line while stamping her feet.


    On the other hand, the middle-aged man wasn''t angry when he heard the way Lte spoke to him.


    After all, this wasn''t the first time his daughter had spoken to him in such a tone of voice. He even had


    to appease her whenever she spoke like this, and this time was no exception. "Sorry, Lte. I was too


    anxious, so I forgot that it''s night over there. Don''t be mad at me, okay?" he coaxed.


    Lte let out a snort. After forgiving the middle-aged man reluctantly, she finally asked, "What''s the


    matter, Dad? Why did you and Mom call me so many times and even forget that it''s night over here?


    Did something happen?"


    Hearing her question, the middle-aged man let out a sigh. "Lte, you''ve gotten into trouble this time."


    Lte''s heart clenched as she panicked atst. I''ve gotten into trouble? Could what that fatso said


    be... "D-Dad, how am I getting into trouble?" she asked in panic, holding the phone in one hand while


    clutching the clothes on her chest with the other.


    The middle-aged man gave another sigh. "Lte, your grandpa and I know that you like Toby, and we


    both support you two being together so that our family can keep on flourishing and prospering. But you


    shouldn''t have made a move by such means in such a hurry."

 Chapter 1100

    Chapter 1100


    "Why didn''t you talk to your grandfather and me before making any decisions?" The middle-aged man,


    known as Grayson Lore, kneaded his forehead in frustration. "Now, look at what you''ve done. Your n


    failed and they''ve found out that it''s you!


    Everyone knows what you did! The whole inte is criticizing us!"


    What?


    Lte''s head exploded as color drained from her face. "B-But how? I already stayed as low-profile as


    possible. How did they know that it was me?"


    Grayson lowered his hand from his forehead. "Low-profile? You contacted Squirrel''s main editor with


    your own phone number¡ª is this what you call low-profile? You''ve literally dug your own grave! Do you


    think that you can do whatever you want as the young mistress of the Lore Family? It''s not like they''re


    afraid of you."


    She parted her lips, but words failed her because that was exactly what she had thought.


    Since she had her grandfather, who had Toby''s backing, she assumed that she could order Mitch to do


    anything she fancied even if her identity was exposed. With such a strong backing, she thought Mitch


    would not have the guts to expose her!


    However...


    As fathers knew their daughters the best, Grayson knew what was going on in her mind, judging from


    her silence.


    He sighed again. "You thought too highly of yourself, Lte. The small fries are actually the scariest


    people because they have no one to back them up. They will do whatever they can to have a


    bargaining chip in their hands in order to save themselves. That way, they can turn the tables whenever


    they''re caught. That main editor is the same. You''ve contacted him with your contact number, so he will


    definitely leave some evidence of it after knowing who you are. When things go south, he can expose


    you immediately to extenuate his offenses."


    "So, you''re saying that Toby found out about me because that fatso sold me out?" Lte''s eyes


    reddened as she gritted her teeth.


    He nodded. "That should be it. Since you and that main editor nned it, and you''ve only contacted


    him, no one else knows that you''re behind it. Thus, there''s no other way to exin why you''re exposed


    aside from his betrayal."


    "That stupid fatso!" she yelped like a madwoman.


    The squeaky scream jarred into Grayson''s ear, so he ced the phone farther from his ear. "If only you


    were extra careful. You could''ve used another phone to call him and tweaked your voice so that he


    wouldn''t know that it was you. And even if he was caught, he couldn''t have done anything. Then, Toby


    wouldn''t have known that it was you nor gone against our family. Lte, you were being reckless this


    time. If you talked to me and your grandfather about it, we could''ve helped you and the main editor


    wouldn''t do anything to you either."


    "I just couldn''t wait any longer!" Lte pursed her lips. "You guys kept saying that Toby and Sonia


    reconciled because she forced him! I thought that they would break up sooner orter since it''s a


    loveless rtionship. That''s why I''ve been patient until I finished my studies without returning to the


    country. Now that I''ve finally graduated and I''m in thest stage of the travel procedures, there are a lot


    of articles reporting how close their rtionship is. How am I supposed to tolerate that? So, I¡ª"


    It pained Grayson to hear his daughter''s grief. "Lte, I understand how you feel, but you''ve put up


    with it for so long, so why couldn''t you behave for a few days? Look at the trouble you''ve caused. Your


    reputation is ruined and everyone is criticizing you. Even the Lore Family is involved in the whole


    turmoil. Ourpany''s stock price is falling too. The shareholders are super livid, and they''re


    requesting us to apologize to Toby and Sonia. However, we can''t contact Toby at all."


    Hisst sentence made her tense. "Dad, is Toby genuinely angry at us?"


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    Distress was clearly disyed on his visage. "Yeah. Otherwise, why won''t he pick up the call? I


    contacted his acquaintances, but they won''t help me. It''s obvious that they''re behaving this way as per


    his request. Think about it. Have we ever failed to contact him prior to this? It''s the first time this kind of


    situation has happened. He''s clearly mad at us!"


    Darkness loomed Lte''s vision as she recalled Mitch''s words when they talked over the phone, that


    her grandfather was not as important as Sonia to Toby and Toby would also not go easy on the Lore


    Family for Sonia''s sake.


    Previously, Mitch''s words did raise doubts and surprised Lte, but she did not believe in that all the


    while. However, it seemed like she had no choice but to face the truth right now.


    "Lte?" Grayson worriedly called out her name a few times due to the silence.


    Then, she came to her senses and cleared her throat. "Dad, I heard that Toby is going to do something


    about us. Is that true?"


    "Who told you that?" His face fell.


    She was stunned. "You didn''t know?"


    "I haven''t heard of it." His expression turned serious. "Lte, who told you that?"


    "Mr. Adams," she answered honestly.


    He frowned. "It''s him?"


    "Yeah. It''s him."


    "It might be a false rm."


    How can a mere chief of editor know what Toby''s thinking? It could be only his wild guess.


    As an afterthought, Grayson became slightly relieved and he tossed it to the back of his mind.


    "Regardless, it''s your fault, Lte. It''s reasonable for Toby to be exasperated."


    "My fault?" A pouting Lte was very displeased by her father''s statement.


    He nodded. "Yeah, it''s your fault for being too careless and self-conceited. If you''ve hidden your identity


    while doing it, the whole family wouldn''t have ended up in this tough position. You didn''t speak to us


    before taking action. It''s not only that¡ªyou didn''t consider the possibility of someone fixing the


    malfunctioning surveince cameras! If only you''vepletely destroyed the cameras, no one will trust


    anyone that attested Sonia''s innocence without evidence. Even though Toby believes in that for his


    pride, the seeds of suspicion would''ve grown in him and their rtionship would not havested long.


    It''s your miscalctions, Lte."


    She hung her head low. "I know, Dad. I was careless, but I promise you that there won''t be a next time.


    I will make sure to speak with you and Grandpa before making any decisions."


    Grayson was right about her impatience and excessive vanity; she acted rashly without considering the


    possible oues. Hence, the Lore Family had fallen into Toby''s bad books.


    But I won''t repeat the same mistake. I must seed next time without letting anyone know that I''m


    behind it.


    A determined glint flickered in her eyes.

 Chapter 1101

    Chapter 1101


    Grayson was oblivious of Lte''s thoughts; the only thing he knew was the fact that she had taken his


    advice, which relieved him. "That''s right. You should talk to us before you do anything. Just keep in


    mind that we are always on your side, and we wish for you and Toby to be together more than anyone


    else. Okay?"


    "Okay." She nodded before biting her lips and asked, "But what are we gonna do right now? Toby is


    angry at us and he doesn''t pick up our call. This is not a good sign. I don''t want him to hate me.


    Otherwise, I won''t be able to win his heart, will I?"


    He narrowed his eyes. "The fact that he''s angry at us is a bad thing for us, but don''t worry about it. You


    have your grandfather. Since it''s our fault, as long as we apologize in addition to your grandfather''s


    help, Toby will definitely forgive us. We should never take their rtionship lightly."


    All in all, Grayson did not think that Toby would cut ties with Harry for a woman. If that came to pass,


    Toby would be perceived as someone ungrateful.


    Hearing that Harry was going to help her, Lte was soon able to soothe her jittery heart. She had the


    exact same idea as well. Although Sonia was an important person to Toby, Harry was the same to him


    as well.


    Toby will never anger Grandpa for Sonia. He''ll get over it soon.


    Needless to say, the father and daughter''s mind had steered in the same direction.


    Lte collected her thoughts and questioned, "When will Grandpa meet Toby to straighten things


    out?"


    Grayson pinched his nose bridge. "You know your grandfather''s health. He''s not as healthy as he


    appears to be. He has to nap for a few hours in the afternoon. He''s still asleep, so he doesn''t know


    what you''ve done. I''ll inform him once he''s up so that he can meet Toby as soon as possible. But,


    Lte, it''ll be best for you to rebook the tickets and return to the country before tomorrow morning.


    Come to Seafield and apologize to that woman in person. You might be able to appease Toby''s anger


    that way."


    "What? Apologize to Sonia?" She raised her voice, which prated through the air. "Why should I


    apologize to her? Dad, you know that we''re love rivals. Are you telling me to say ''sorry'' to my love


    rival? There''s no way I''m gonna do that!"


    Understanding the reason behind her reaction, Grayson sighed. "Lte, I understand, but there''s


    nothing else we can do about it. They know that you''re the culprit. If your grandfather is the only one


    turning up, Toby might see it as an insincere apology. Even if he forgives us, he will still hold a grudge


    against you. Then, it''ll be more difficult for you to win his heart. It''s just an apology, not something that


    will tamper your pride. Or you can keep this apology in mind and return the ''favor'' in ten folds to Sonia


    once you date Toby. Isn''t that a perfect revenge?"


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    Lte wavered as her eyes brightened approvingly. "Got it, Dad. I''ll apologize to her as you told me.


    After tolerating it for some time, I''ll let her have a taste of her medicine."


    "That''s right." Grayson smiled delightfully.


    Their conversation was utterly reprehensible; not only did the father not stop his daughter from being


    the homewrecker, he even gave his support and suggestions.


    It could be said that the whole Lore Family were scoundrels and none of them were good guys.


    When the call ended, Grayson put down his phone and called his secretary into his office. "Have you


    contacted Toby?"


    The secretary shook his head. "No. Mr. Brown has been refusing our call. President Fuller''s assistants


    and secretaries won''t tell us his whereabouts either."


    "He''s genuinely angry this time. He''s going to teach us a lesson." Grayson sighed.


    The secretary looked at him worriedly. "President Lore, what if President Fuller takes action against our


    company because of what Miss has done?"


    He raised his hand firmly. "No, that won''t happen. My father''s around. Even if we lose Toby''s favor, he


    won''t do anything to us because of him. That would only happen after my father passed away."


    It was because of that exact reason that the Lore Family stayed in touch with Toby. Without his


    protection, they might face regression from their position as a wealthy family.


    Therefore, they had been hoping for Lte and Toby to form a special rtionship. That way, they


    would not need to worry about losing Toby''s help after Harry passed away.


    Grayson and Harry had been looking for a way to make sparks fly between the two youngsters. Harry


    returned to the country this time round to persuade Toby into breaking up with Sonia. Although it was a


    failure, they still had a faint chance.


    However, they never expected Lte to lose her patience and made moves without informing them,


    hence the repercussions.


    Forget about the matchmaking mission, he had toe up with an idea to maintain their rtionship


    with Toby first and foremost.


    Although he assumed that Toby would not go against the Lore Family because of such a trivial matter,


    Toby would distance himself from them for sure.


    Their petered-out rtionship would tell the whole world that they had lost the Fuller Family''s backing.


    Then, the rapacious people would find a way to push the Lore Family to downfall in order to obtain their


    personal advantages.


    Thus, they had to do something right away so as to retain their rtionship with Toby.


    Deeply absorbed in his thoughts, Grayson narrowed his eyes on the secretary. "Inform the public


    rtions team to release an official apology to Sonia and Toby through ourpany''s official ount.


    Exin that it''s a blunder made because of Lte''s immaturity and include that we will educate her so


    that there won''t be a next time. Seek for their forgiveness. Since everyone knows that Lte was


    behind this, we can''t just stand still and do nothing. We must apologize first. Not only to Sonia and


    Toby, but to theizens too. We have to stabilize the stock price. That couple might not let us get


    away with an apology statement, but we gotta please theizens first to stop the destructive


    comments."


    "Okay." The secretary nodded.


    Grayson motioned him to leave. "Go ahead."


    "Yes, Sir."


    After the secretary left, Grayson did not stay in his office for long as he took the car keys and left. He


    was going to drop by their old manor to check on Harry.


    If Harry was up, Grayson would inform him of the whole incident to think of a solution together, for they


    could not afford to cut ties with Toby no matter what happened.


    At the same time, time already struck 5.00PM when Sonia and Toby left the police station. Therefore,


    they drove back to Bayside Residence instead of returning to thepany.


    Along the way, Toby was driving whereas Sonia surfed the Inte in the passenger seat. Suddenly, a


    notification from her social media ount popped up as someone mentioned her, which intrigued her


    curiosity.


    Since her ount was especially disabled and ordinary ount users would not be able to tag her, her


    phone kept buzzing still.


    Hence, it was only possible for special ounts to tag her into something, like the official or verified


    ounts. What she had yet to find out was the type of ount that had mentioned her this time.

 Chapter 1102

    Chapter 1102


    A curious Sonia clicked on the notification to open her social media ount. As soon as she entered


    her ount, she could see the user that had mentioned her.


    Lore Communications? Interesting.


    The corner of her lips curved upward, for she wished to know why the Lore Communications official


    mentioned her.


    She tapped on the tag section at which she could read the posted contents by Lore Communications


    immediately. After perusing the text, she could not help butugh sarcastically.


    Since there were not many vehicles straight ahead, Toby took the chance to nce at her. "What''s so


    funny?"


    She lifted her head. "Know what? The Lore Family just tagged me."


    "They tagged you?" His brows knitted.


    She showed her phone screen to him. "Yeah. With their official ount."


    Possessing great dynamic visual acuity, he was able to read the content clearly although she swayed


    the phone before him for a moment. His expression darkened. "Is this their apology?"


    Honestly, he was dissatisfied because he could not discern a tinge of sincerity throughout the text.


    Sonia retracted her phone to read it again before sniggering, "Yup. It is an apology statement. What do


    you think?"


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "It''s just for show,"mented Toby sternly without saving his tutor''s face.


    She was content with that as she smiled. "True. If they genuinely wish to apologize after realizing their


    mistake, they could''vee to us in person first thing after I exposed them. However, they did nothing


    until now. People online are attacking Lore Communications and their stock price is dropping. That''s


    why they thought of apologizing. Funny thing is that they neither met us personally nor released a


    press conference for an apology. They chose to release a simple statement and mentioned our names.


    It''s my first time seeing this kind of apology."


    Sonia had a point. If one was genuinely sorry for their actions, they shoulde up to the victim in


    person topensate for their mistake in order to seek forgiveness.


    Otherwise, they could hold a press conference and apologize in front of billions of audiences. At least


    the public was aware that they could put down their pride to express their regrets.


    That would impress the audience, who would take it as their sincerity and deem them as a decent


    company.


    Consequently, they could restore their ruined reputation and save thepany! Which of those two


    alternatives appeared less sincere than releasing a sinct statement online? Anyone would agree


    that any of those two would be better.


    Yet, the Lore Family chose such a method rather than executing the other two ns to express their


    apology.


    They''re basically telling everyone that they''re not feeling sorry for their actions. It would''ve been better


    for them to stay silent.


    A cold glint shed across Sonia''s eyes. "By the way, do you know what they wrote? They mentioned


    that Lte acted like that because of immaturity. And what kind of people are immature? Kids. Little


    kids! They''re basically telling the world that she behaved that way because she''s still a kid, hence the


    mistake. How hrious. She''s already like what¡ªtwenty-six, twenty-seven? Yet, they call her a kid.


    What is she? A big baby?"


    Toby frowned while hearing her mockery. Not that she said it wrong, but he was displeased by the Lore


    Family''s actions.


    As Sonia had mentioned, he could tell what they were thinking. Clearly, they thought immaturity could


    understate matters, but it was utterly preposterous.


    "Just ignore them and pretend that we haven''t seen their apology," suggested Toby sternly as he drove


    the car.


    Sonia tapped on her phone. "Don''t worry about that. I think the same way too. I haven''t nned on


    entertaining them since the beginning. Besides, there''s a lot of smart people in this world. We''re not the


    only ones who can read between the lines. Theizens will be able to do the same. Look. Someone''s


    on the same boat as us."


    She showed the screen to him for a short while. "Many of them can see them through. They''re flooding


    thement section with taunts."


    His gaze swept across it. "Lore Communications has taken the public as fools. They have iting."


    "True." She withdrew her hand to look at theizens attacking Lore Communication. Her smile did not


    fade for one second.


    Toby hit bullseye; Lore Communication''s statement had basically turned the public as fools by


    assuming that no one could see through the true meanings behind the message.


    However, they were the ones who made a fool of themselves since they had tantly shown their true


    color. As long as one was not an idiot, people could see the ugly truth at one nce¡ªthe Lore Family


    was not feeling sorry for one bit.


    Ever since the beginning, Lte and Squirrel Media edited the pictures and released misleading


    articles to make the public believe that Sonia had cheated on Toby. Due to the way society was


    constructed to view women, Sonia was bombarded with shades as a result of that.


    Whenever men cheated on their partners, the ''magnanimity'' onlookers would deem it as the same


    mistake that every single man would make. Ridiculous!


    On the other side of the coin, if the cheater was a woman, everyone would reproach her bybeling her


    as a sinner of enormity. Everyone would tell her to go to hell in rage.


    That was why a lot of people hurled criticisms and shades at Sonia when the scandal broke out. They


    presumed that she had done such things without waiting for the person involved to release their side of


    the story.


    Aside from the inherent hate toward women, Lte and Squirrel Media did their part by throwing


    everyone off the scent too.


    After Sonia exposed their evil scheme, theizens were enraged to find out that they were being


    used, hence the attack against Lore Communications and Squirrel Media.


    Due to the stock market crash, Lore Communications reckoned that they could not stay still and do


    nothing anymore. That was why they released a hollow official statement as a means to appease the


    public''s wrath and stabilize the stock price.


    Still, Sonia did not expect them to be this stupid.


    If they intended to stave off the heat and save thepany, they could have added an apology


    directed to the public. Yet, they did not, as only Sonia and Toby were mentioned.


    Clearly, Lore Communications took the public lightly and even looked down upon them. Perceiving the


    people as ordinary beings, the superiorpany did not mention a word regarding the public at all.


    It was hrious to see how they ignored the public when they actually intended to rebound the stock


    price. Their thought of apologizing to Sonia and Toby was the same as apologizing to everyone.


    How should one think of them aside from being idiotic?

 Chapter 1103

    Chapter 1103


    Perchance, Lore Communications perceived theizens as a fool, who would take that official


    statement as an apology to them.


    It was possible for them to have that kind of idea.


    They assumed that theizens were ordinary citizens, who admired the strong and respected the


    powerful people. Thus, theizens would take that as an apology directed at them.


    Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    A part of theizens might think so, but unfortunately, the majority were indeed ordinary people.


    However, they did not feel so inferior to take an apology statement from the prestigiouspany as an


    apology toward them.


    All Sonia could say was that Lore Communications had taken theizens lightly by underestimating


    them.


    In fact, the destructivements were easy to deal with. The issue could have been settled if only


    Lore Communications apologized to them sincerely or mentioned them in the statement.


    In doing so, she believed that Lore Communications would be able to earn forgiveness since no one


    was silly enough to go against someone with power.


    Still, thepany did not do that as they might have forgotten about the fact that they were the


    instigator. Lte had enraged the public and stirred turmoil in the stock market, so it would not be


    wrong to say that Lore Communication used them first.


    When they were osted by bacshes, neither did they apologize nor mention theizens.


    Therefore, it was obvious that they thought lightly of theizens.


    How can the people not be angry and not attack them again? I bet they''re driven to the edge by now.


    Sonia smiled while wondering whose idea was it to release that statement. Was it the public rtions


    team or the Lore Family themselves?


    If it was the PR team, they could bid their job a sweet goodbye because nopany would want a


    troublemaker as their employees. If it was the Lore Family, they were destined to be done for.


    Great men''s sons hardly do well. I reckon the Lore Family would not be able to secure their status for


    any longer. It''s their shoring to have such a leader.


    Sonia shrugged her shoulders with a smile and backed out from Lore Communications'' page to her


    own page.


    Under hertest post, the number ofments proliferated almost over ten thousandpared to the


    time she left.


    Raising her eyebrow, she clicked on thement section to have a look of it. It was flooded with


    comments asking her to not forgive Lores.


    It seemed like they leftments on her page upon reading the infamous apology statement.


    Furthermore, there were even some of them who were worried that she might not decipher the implicit


    meaning behind that statement. So, they interpreted the content for her before tagging her in order to


    let her know about it. They were concerned that Sonia would take it as a sincere apology and forgive


    Lore Communications and Lte.


    Sonia was touched at that and giggled, prompting Toby to take a nce at her. Although he did not say


    anything, it was obvious that he was questioning why she wasughing.


    Without hiding anything, she waved her phone and exined, "It''s theizens. They''re cute."


    "Cute?" He frowned. "Have you forgotten how they criticized you?"


    "Those people are racking their brains to find a way to win thewsuit. They don''t have the guts to


    leave anyments here. So, thesements are basically from the good ones." Sonia stuck out her


    tongue.


    Then, she decided to reply to the most likedment. "Thank you for the reminder. Don''t worry. An


    empty apology doesn''t deserve to be forgiven, much less when they excuse a mistake made by an


    adult with immaturity. They should''ve sought agreement from the victim on whether to understate the


    issue first."


    Soon, people screenshotted and posted her reply, bringing it to the trending chart. After all, that reply


    from Sonia implied her attitude toward the Lore Family.


    She was not going to forgive them.


    Almost instantly, everyone rejoiced at her answer and mocked Lore Communications by leaving


    comments on their official page. Thepany''s stock price declined to rock bottom.


    The whole PR team was dumbfounded, except for their head department¡ªJoshua, who sat in front of


    hisputer with a cup of coffee. Looking at the data shown on the monitor, he calmly drank his


    coffee. "Told you so. The apology statement mustn''t be released. If President Lore held a live


    broadcast in person to apologize to Paradigm and the public, it would''ve been for the best, but you


    wouldn''t listen. Look. They''re not holding back with their words."


    Grayson''s secretary, Jack, stood behind the head department and saw the datas as well. The stock


    price decline made him anxious.


    "What else could I do? It''s President Lore''s orders and I''m just a secretary. How could I not obey his


    orders?" Jack scratched his head in frustration.


    Joshua looked at him. "Can''t you advise him? Frankly speaking, he doesn''t have what it takes to be a


    president. He''s meh. If it wasn''t for the Fuller Group''s help, thepany could''ve announced


    bankruptcy long ago. So, do you think that his idea is feasible?"


    "I am aware that it''s ridiculous, but you know how he is. He doesn''t listen. He''s full of himself. Even if


    his strategies are wrong, he won''t listen to others and thinks that his orders are right. We have to


    execute his orders or we''ll be asking for trouble. Do you think I would have been able to dissuade him


    in this kind of situation?" Jack smiled bitterly.


    Joshua sighed. "All of the Lore Family members are scoundrels."


    "What do you mean by that?" Jack lowered his head to look at him.


    Joshua blurted out, "Miss Lore contacted the technical department to make the issue trending so that


    President Fuller wouldn''t be able to appease the online rage. Mr. Whitlock¡ªhe works in the technical


    department¡ªknew that President Fuller was on the move to bring the issue down and tried to convince


    her to stop. Obviously, it won''t do anyone good if we offended him, but Miss Lte is the same as her


    father. She''s stubborn as a bull and just wouldn''t listen. She thought that Toby wouldn''t mind, since her


    grandfather was his tutor. Mr. Whitlock had no choice but to bear the pressure and do as he was told.


    Two hours ago, he resigned from his position. He''s afraid that it would be difficult for him to escape


    when President Fuller takes revenge."


    Jack heaved a sigh without saying anything.


    Joshua set down his cup. "It seems like I gotta think of an escape n too."


    "Are you going to resign?" Jack was shocked.


    Joshua kneaded his temples. "Yup. Look, President Fuller is genuinely livid and everyone is saying that


    he''s going to cut ties with ourpany. Otherpanies are waiting for the show to begin. Once


    President Fuller clearly states that it is true, they will join hands to take Lore Communications down.


    When the timees, it''ll be difficult for us to hunt for another job. Thus, it''s better to hand in our


    resignation letter ourselves. At least, we won''t be dragged into the fray before the war starts. Jack,


    we''ve been good friends for more than two years. I think you should give it a serious thought."


    Jack fell silent for a moment. "I''ll think about it, but I should report thetest news to President Lore for


    now. Let''s talk during dinner."


    "Sure. Go on." Joshua waved his hand.


    With his documents in hand, Jack walked out of the office and headed to the presidential office at the


    top floor. He reported theizens'' reaction to Grayson.


    Hearing that, Grayson asked in disbelief, "How did this happen?"

 Chapter 1104

    Chapter 1104


    Those small fries are still on it! But why?!


    Looking at Jack''s serious expression, Grayson had no choice but to ept the truth. His hands formed


    tight fists on his table while the wrinkles on his countenance rendered him appear older. His eyes


    spoke of helplessness. "What went wrong?"


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    I just don''t get it. We apologized! Why are they still making a fuss over it?


    Jack lowered his head as he saw through Grayson''s mind and a flicker of disdain shed across his


    eyes.


    Things have escted to this point and President Lore hasn''t realized his mistake yet. Geez. It seems


    like I gotta consider Joshua''s advice to resign from my position and look for a new job. If this continues,


    thepany will be led to its downfall by its very own incapable leader.


    In spite of that, Jack kept it to himself and wore a worried expression. "President Lore, what should we


    do now?"


    Grayson tightened his fists without uttering a word, for he was clueless as well. Previously, he returned


    to the old manor to discuss with Harry on how to retain the rtionship between their family and Toby.


    After that, he rushed back to thepany to appease the shareholders since he had to give them an


    exnation regarding the stock market crash.


    Who would have known that such things would happen right after he promised them that the stock


    price would rebound? Jack mentioned how the stock price dwindled profusely instead of going up after


    the apology statement was released.


    How could he ept the truth? It waspletely different from what he had thought of.


    With that statement, he assumed that Sonia and the unreasonableizens would stop the bacsh


    against his family andpany, as well as forgiving Lte.


    Sonia should''ve forgiven us instantly, that was what he thought at first. Considering Harry and Toby''s


    rtionship, she should''ve done that.


    Even if Toby was angry at the Lore Family, he would never turn his back against them. Instead, he


    would stay on good terms with them.


    Sonia should''ve thought of that and get over this issue. She should''ve forgiven Lte after our


    apology, but that woman did not do that! She even said that it''s an empty apology without sincerity!


    Indeed, they were not sincere with their apology; they were not willing to apologize to that kind of


    woman either.


    It was because the Lore Family did not perceive Sonia as the perfect match for Toby, but Lte was.


    If they offered their genuine apology, would it not imply how much they acknowledged Sonia as the


    perfect partner for Toby?


    If that happened, what would people say when Lte and Toby were together?


    Grayson could never allow that to happen, hence the apology statement released on purpose.


    Although they were mere empty words, they apologized nevertheless.


    Shouldn''t Sonia Reed ept it as it is? We''re going to reconcile with Toby anyway. When that time


    comes, isn''t she worried that we might speak bad of her in front of Toby and make him hate her? Sonia,


    oh, Sonia. What a stupid little girl. Why can''t you think of this?


    The self-conceited Grayson disyed contempt toward Sonia on his visage, yet he did not take Toby''s


    love for her into ount, which weighed much heavier than Toby''s perception of Lore Family. In


    actuality, Toby would not reconcile with them, let alone hate Sonia just because they drive a wedge


    between them.


    All and still, he overestimated the Lore Family''s position in Toby''s eyespared to Sonia. Grayson


    was the exact epitome of being doused by his own fantasy and blinded from the truth. As for the


    netizens, he was really displeased with them.


    To him, they were nothing but immature nobodies. In other words, how dare those small fries talk to


    someone of high status like Grayson?


    Isn''t it normal to not mention them in the statement? Why would someone sessful like me keep


    bringing up some nobodies? What is there that they can''t ept? We mentioned Sonia and Toby, but


    they should take it as an apology directed at them too! How dare they request me to apologize again!


    In their dreams! Who do they think they are? Morons. How dare they force us to do anything!


    The more he thought about it, the quicker his breathing became. However, he soon recollected himself


    and snorted coldly.


    Just let those idiots be, Grayson. Let''s see how far they can go. Think we''re going to fall just like that?


    Impossible!


    Anxious, he looked at Jack. "Just let them be and inform the staff to stabilize the stock price."


    Hearing that, Jack heaved a silent sigh while eximing how stupid his boss was. He never expected


    Grayson to be this incapable in saving thepany. It was indeed the Lore Family and the employee''s


    bad luck for having such a leader.


    Still, the boss remained the boss. He suppressed his thoughts while fixing his sses before asking,


    "President Lore, we can stabilize the stock price, but that won''t solve the issue. As long as theizens


    don''t stop, the stock price will decline no matter how many times we do it. It''ll be troublesome if it hits


    rock-bottom."


    One would realize that it was a useless n if they had the brain to think, but Grayson was not one of


    them. Instead of sensing something amiss with his n, he was displeased with Jack''s doubts. "What''s


    troublesome? I doubt theizens will lead us to bankruptcy. Enough, just do your job and stop running


    your mouth."


    From that impatient tone, Jack could tell how Grayson was oblivious of the gravity of the issue. As


    such, a wave of helplessness washed over him.


    Nevermind. I''ll think of what to write in my resignation letter after tonight. I should leave this hellish


    company and superior before things get any worse.


    He forsake the idea to persuade Grayson because it was redundant to do that to someone who was


    foolishly stubborn; he would rather not waste his precious time. After all, it was not hispany that


    was going bankrupt.


    As an afterthought, he nodded and left. "Okay, President Lore. I shall do that right away."


    Grayson''s phone rang the moment Jack left. It was a call from the shareholder, who insisted he head to


    the conference room, rendering him in distress.


    Just a moment ago, he promised to rebound the stock price, but things did not turn out as he wished


    and the stock price declined further. Thus, the displeased shareholders were eager to listen to his


    exnations.


    Grayson ced back the telephone and sighed in frustration. In the end, he stepped out of the office


    and strode to the conference room, admitting his fate.


    Despite being the president of Lore Communications, the shareholders actually possess most of the


    authority. That was why he could never turn a deaf ear to their requests.


    In the meantime, Sonia and Toby arrived at Bayside Residence.


    Yet, they did not enter the residence immediately as they went to a nearby posh grocery store hand-in-


    hand.

 Chapter 1105

    Chapter 1105


    Since there were no ingredients in the fridge, the two of them went to the premium grocery store to buy


    some.


    This was the first time he ever bought groceries.


    Although he cooked quite frequently, all the ingredients were prepared by Sonia in advance.


    Hence, whenever Toby cooked, he did not encounter a situation where hecked the ingredients.


    Seeing that this was his first time grocery shopping with Sonia, Toby thought that it was something new


    and refreshing.


    Walking into the premium supermarket, she found a cart.


    Just as she was about to push it, a pair of hands reached out and pulled the cart away instead.


    Sonia turned around and looked at him with arms left hanging in the air. "What''s wrong?"


    "I''ll push it," Toby replied with pursed lips as he used his jaw to motion her to look in front of her.


    Looking at the direction he pointed, she did not see anything special, which made her even more


    confused. "What do you want me to look at?"


    This made Toby sigh. "What I wanted you to see was the people that came here for grocery shopping.


    All the men are pushing the carts, so I should do it too. What those women have, you deserve them


    too. Besides, physical work like this should be helped out by men."


    Stating that, he gently tapped on the handle of the cart.


    Sonia, who was amused by his words, replied, "Okay, then. Since you put it this way, I''ll leave the cart


    up to you."


    "No problem!" Toby epted it willingly.


    A hint of slyness shed across her gaze. "Actually, even if you didn''t say anything, I would''ve still let


    you push the cart."


    "Oh?" He raised his eyebrows.


    Holding onto his arm, Sonia swung it and continued, "Look. All the couples here are doing the same, in


    that the men are all pushing the cart. If I didn''t let you do it, wouldn''t people look down on you?


    Wouldn''t that be embarrassing since a woman is pushing a cart for you?"


    Toby smirked. "Oh, is that so?"


    "Of course." Sonia nodded.


    Toby reached out and touched her forehead with his finger. "If I didn''t push the cart, those women might


    look down on me. Still, shouldn''t the men be envious of me instead?"


    "It''s up to them whether they want to be jealous or not, but as a man, could you bear to see your


    woman doing this?" She looked up at the man who was subtly smiling, seeming like she would give


    him a lesson if he dared to nod.


    Noticing this, the man felt more bemused. "Of course I can''t bear to see this happen. My woman only


    needs to spend the rest of her life in happiness. Alright, let''s go."


    With both hands on the handle, Toby was about to enter the supermarket with the cart.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Yet, Sonia called out to him, "Wait."


    "What''s wrong?" He stopped.


    She pointed at a couple who passed by them. "You saw that the man was pushing the cart, but did you


    not see the woman''s actions?"


    Raising his eyebrow, Toby observed the couple that walked by earlier.


    Now that he took a closer look, he understood what Sonia was getting at.


    Smirking, he lifted up his right arm slightly and looked toward her.


    Sonia, who smiled sweetly at him, held his arm.


    "I didn''t think that you would understand my hint." She hugged the man''s hands before they entered the


    grocery store.


    Since she was hugging him tightly, Toby could feel two mounds of flesh rubbing on his arms


    continuously.


    With a dark gaze, he could not stop himself from gulping as he said hoarsely, "Your husband is no fool,


    so how could I not understand?"


    "Who said that you''re my husband? Don''t speak too soon." Sonia red at him embarrassingly.


    Smirking, he replied, "I''ll be. Soon."


    "Hmph. We''ll see," a pouting Sonia muttered while her cheeks were bright red like a ripe apple.


    If not for the amount of people in the store, he would have pressed her against the wall and held her


    face to kiss her.


    As if she could see how passionate Toby''s gaze was, Sonia blushed even harder. pping the man on


    his arm, she warned him. "I''m telling you, don''t be rash."


    Toby replied in the same hoarse tone, "I won''t, for now. Can''t say the same when we''re home, though."


    The corners of Sonia''s mouth twitched.


    Seriously, this man... Whatever.


    She hugged his arm again while thinking that.


    Entering the grocery store, Toby saw the fully stocked shelves and raised his eyebrows.


    As she noticed his expression, she suddenly understood his thought andughed. "Is it your first time


    coming to a grocery store?"


    Toby could not deny it. "I''ve never had to buy groceries personally, as the things we require are always


    sent over on a scheduled basis. Since I never have to worry myself over it, I never came to a ce like


    this, but I did walk in markets before. They look quite simr to a grocery store."


    "Even though they are simr, they still have their differences." Sonia proceeded to ce a bunch of


    bananas into the cart.


    This was a high-end market, also known as a premium supermarket.


    The items avable here were the creme-de-creme of imported goods, so one could just pick any


    item when buying without having the need to see if it was rotten or not.


    This saved a lot of the customers'' time.


    Since the grocery store was located near Bayside Residence where millionaires resided, they were the


    main target of the store as well.


    Seeing how Sonia stopped after taking the bananas, Toby looked at the other fruits. "Are you not taking


    more?"


    She shook her head. "Nope. I don''t eat a lot of fruits anyway, so I can make do with banana sd."


    "No, no, no." Toby frowned before reaching out and began putting other fruits into the cart. "I''ve been


    too busytely and have forgotten about your diet. Now that I''ve noticed, I need to monitor you to eat


    more fruits."


    While stating that, he saw something and pushed the cart forward. Then, he took another ten or so


    premium fruits before putting it in.


    Soon, the cart was filled halfway with just fruits.


    Finding the sight to be hrious, Sonia said, "And how are we going to finish all these? Put it back."


    She walked over, attempting to return a few of the fruits into the crates.


    Seeing this, Toby reached out and stopped her. "You''re not allowed to do that. I''m buying all of them for


    you. What are you going to eat if you put it all back?"


    He gently nudged Sonia''s hand away before pushing the cart to his side so she could not reach it.


    Facepalming, Sonia exined, "Just a few are enough for me. If you buy so many at once, how long


    will it take me to finish them?"


    "If you can''t finish them, then put ''em in the fridge and finish slowly." Toby looked at her, not nning to


    remove any of the fruits.


    He did this for her, as the fruits he chose were all beneficial to women.


    Therefore, he could not permit her to put them back no matter what.


    Seeing how determined he was made Sonia feel helpless yet funny.


    At that moment, the sound of a shutter went off behind them; it was the sound of a camera.


    Since the scandal had only happened earlier that day, Sonia was still sensitive to the sound of a


    shutter.


    Knowing that someone was secretly taking pictures of them, she immediately stopped smiling and her


    expression became cold.


    After all, she assumed that the paparazzis must be taking pictures of her and Toby in preparation for


    another exclusive scoop.


    With this in mind, Sonia turned around, intending to warn that person. Yet, she saw no paparazzi.


    Instead, it was a girl who looked like a high-schooler. This stunned her.


    She doesn''t seem to be a paparazzi...


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1106

    Chapter 1106


    Sonia did not sense any malicious intent from the girl and only noticed that she was somewhat nervous


    and uneasy, which amused her. "I trust you, but I still want to know why you took those candid shots of


    us. Could you please answer me truthfully?"


    "I can!" The girl nodded profusely before fidgeting again. This time, she looked even more


    embarrassed. "Actually, I am a member of... Tonia."


    As she said that, the girl looked up shyly at Sonia before lowering her head again with an intense blush


    on her face, neck, and even ears.


    Sonia was in a daze.


    Tonia?


    Isn''t this our ship name?


    She knew that a lot of people were following their rtionship online. This was why they took their


    names andbined it, forming a ''ship name''¡ªTonia.


    The name was very apt, as it highlighted their names and showed an elegance to it. Hence, it left a


    deep impression on Sonia.


    Yet, she never thought that she would meet a fan of theirs in the flesh.


    Toby, who was selecting the fruits in the back, heard the girl introduce herself as he stopped his action


    and turned around.


    After all, he knew that there were people who were following their rtionship, so he was happy about


    it.


    Of course, that also meant that a lot of people supported them.


    Although the fans had weird thoughts about their rtionship, he did not feel repelled by it. Instead, he


    found himself able to tolerate it.


    It was all because they were in favor of their rtionship.


    With this in mind, Toby looked at the girl without any disdain in his gaze and even found her adorable.


    Not knowing what the man behind her was thinking, Sonia had snapped back to reality as she smiled at


    the girl. "I understand now. You''re a fan of us, right? Is that why you took a photo of us? Because you


    were excited?"


    If that was the case, then she could understand her intentions.


    After all, she was into celebrities when she was a teenager. Whenever she bumped into a celebrity she


    liked, she would snap pictures of them too.


    Her situation was exactly like the other fangirls.


    Hence, she did not feel any animosity toward the girl and decided to let this go.


    Facing her, the girl was exhrated to know that Sonia understood her thoughts, so she nodded


    excitedly. "You''re correct. I became a fan of Tonia upon seeing you and President Fuller reconcile. I''m


    very active in your fan club forum. I even stood up for you in yourtest incident. Take a look."


    Initially, she was wary of standing too close to Sonia, but now that she found out Sonia was actually


    very gentle and humble, she could not hold in her excitement. Therefore, with a renewed sense of


    courage, she took her phone and walked up to Sonia, handing it over to her.


    The passion of the girl stunned Sonia before she found it hrious.


    This girl is quite interesting.


    Sonia ran her fingers through her hair and looked down at the phone the girl handed over, confirming


    that the girl was telling the truth. She did help me stand up against the haters online.


    In her activity log, it showed that she was speaking up for her and rebuking all the haters.


    This made her feel warm inside.


    This girl really likes me.


    "I''m not lying, am I, Miss Reed? I''m a real fan of you and President Fuller." The girl looked at her with


    big expectant eyes.


    Unable to hold it in, Sonia reached out and patted the girl on her head. "Yes, you didn''t. Thank you, my


    adorable fan."


    The girl breathed in deeply, dazed once again.


    Oh my God, my Goddess just touched my hair!


    Am I dreaming?


    Reaching out absentmindedly, the girl touched the spot where Sonia''s hand was.


    There''s still a little warmth left. I am not dreaming!!! My idol actually touched me!!!


    I''m in heaven right now!


    The girl put her hands on her chest and wore a silly-looking smile while looking at Sonia.


    Also, Miss Reed is so gentle.


    She had always thought that a woman like Sonia, who managed a wholepany, must be cold and


    harsh, that a person like her would be uneasy to approach.


    Yet, she did not expect to be this gentle. After realizing that she was not a paparazzi, Sonia even


    apologized to her andforted her with a pat on the head.


    With such a gentle idol, Do meet your heroes! she thought.


    Besides, Miss Reed even called me her adorable fan.


    Seeing how the girl was smiling foolishly at her, Sonia found this even more amusing.


    This girl really is interesting.


    "Little girl, hello to earth?" Sonia smiled and waved in front of the girl, making her snap back to reality.


    The girl''s pupil trembled for a split second before she awoke from her thoughts, finding herself gazing


    into Sonia''s smiling eyes.


    Her eyes were so clear that the girl could see her own dazed look through the reflection. Blushing hard,


    she felt very embarrassed as she lowered her head and wanted to keep her phone.


    Yet, just as she was about to retrieve her phone fully, a giant hand snatched it away from her out of


    nowhere.


    The girl thought that she was being robbed and was about to shout for help when she realized that the


    person was Toby. Instantly, the cat got her tongue.


    W-What is President Fuller doing?


    Why did he take my phone?


    The girl blinked in confusion while she panicked inside.


    Although she did not have any dark secrets inside her phone, she was in panic to see Toby snatching


    her phone away like that.


    The feeling was akin to where she would be caught ying with her phone by the teacher in ss.


    All of a sudden, the girl bit her lower lip and froze on the spot as her anxiety manifested itself.


    Sonia, who was also caught off guard by the man''s actions, turned around and saw Toby checking the


    girl''s phone. "What are you doing? Why did you take her phone?"


    "I''m just looking." Toby moved his finger across the screen while replying.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia stated, "What is there to look around for? Girls normally have private


    information on their phones. It''s rude to snoop around her phone like that. Give it back to her."


    The girl nodded quickly.


    She''s right. Give it back to me.


    With one hand holding the phone, Toby ced his other hand on Sonia''s head and rubbed it gently just


    like how Sonia did to the girl. "Don''t worry. I''m not the kind of man without any principles. I won''t look at


    other things on her phone. I just want to see how she stood up for you."


    "That''s more like it." Sonia was relieved.


    She did not suspect that her man would lie to her. After all, why would he lie about something like this?


    Meanwhile, the girl did not think that a person of Toby''s stature would be interested in a normal girl''s


    phone like her either, so she heaved a sigh of relief inside.


    As long as President Fuller didn''t look at other things on my phone and only looked at how I stood up


    for Miss Reed, I have nothing to be nervous about.


    The girl breathed out as her stiff body loosened up. Then, she saw the hand that was gently rubbing


    Sonia''s head as the man smiled warmly.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1107

    Chapter 1107


    Oh my God. my ship is sailing right in front of me!! This is so romantic!


    Also, President Fuller is so gentle toward Miss Reed. He isn''t as cold to her as he did to me.


    This must be what they meant online when they said that he was only gentle toward one person.


    As expected, a man needs to be as caring as President Fuller so a girl can feel safe.


    I don''t like men that are too soft. Men like President Fuller are the most popr.


    With both hands on her cheeks, she looked at Toby and Sonia with an absentminded smile.


    Her obvious gaze made it hard for them to ignore it. As such, the two then looked at each before


    noticing the amusement in each other''s eyes.


    After that, Toby locked the phone and handed it back to the girl. "I''m sorry for taking your phone. Here."


    The girl epted it in a daze before replying timidly, "I-It''s fine."


    "You frightened her." Sonia pped the man''s arm.


    Toby frowned. "I didn''t."


    He did not do anything to the girl, so much as even nced at her coldly.


    Sonia is framing me.


    Pursing his lips, he looked at Sonia with a wronged gaze.


    The girl quickly waved her hands. "You''re mistaken, Miss Reed. President Fuller didn''t frighten me. I


    am afraid of him, so don''t me him."


    "Afraid of me?" Toby''s frown deepened. "I didn''t do anything to you, so why are you afraid of me?"


    The girl tucked her chin in and lowered her head without responding.


    On the other hand, Sonia smiled and exined on her behalf, "You don''t need to do anything. Just your


    presence alone can intimidate anyone."


    "What do you mean?" The man was upset at herment.


    She looked at him while smiling. "What do I mean? Look at how emotionless your expression and how


    sharp your gaze is. Anybody would think that you''re about to teach them a lesson."


    That''s right!


    The girl agreed with Sonia inside.


    Closing his eyes, Toby fell into self-doubt.


    Am I really so intimidating?


    "I''ll change from now on," Toby replied calmly.


    Yet, before Sonia could say no, the girl answered on her behalf, "No, President Fuller. You don''t have


    to change. You''re the best when you only treat Miss Reed like she''s the only one in your world. Who


    cares about how you treat others? They may be afraid of you, but it''s fine as long as Miss Reed isn''t.


    Right, Miss Reed?"


    The girl looked expectantly at Sonia with the words ''praise me'' written on her face.


    As a result, Sonia gave her a thumbs up satisfyingly.


    Seeing how she responded, the girl smiled so widely that her eyes became a slit.


    Meanwhile, Toby praised the girl too. "You''re right. Besides, you did a good job, rebuking those people


    online."


    The girl did not expect nor imagine that she would ever receive Toby''s praise. Naturally, she dove into a


    pool of disbelief and excitement upon hearing his words.


    Oh my world. President Fuller just praised me.


    Mom, this is the highlight of my life.


    Seeing how excited the girl was, Sonia smiled while shaking her head. "Are you really that happy?"


    "I am." The smile on the girl''s face was about to overflow. "I only came out here because I wanted to


    buy some snacks. Normally, I don''t ''cause I''m an introvert. I never thought that I would be so lucky to


    see you and President Fuller grocery shopping. Also, I saw how well you two were getting along. I think


    I''m the only fan to witness this. Atst, I even got praises from both of you, so of course, I''m happy!


    Overjoyed, even."


    The girl then jumped around excitedly with her phone in her hands.


    Then, she recalled something and stopped before looking at Toby and Sonia. "Miss Reed, do you and


    President Fuller live around here?"


    "Yup." Sonia nodded.


    The girls'' eyes shone. "You really live around here?"


    "We do." Sonia nodded.


    "But, with you and President Fuller''s stature, shouldn''t you be living in a wealthier area?" The girl


    pointed at Sonia before pointing at Toby.


    Although the neighborhood is touted as a ce for the rich to stay, the homeowners of Bayside


    Residence knew that this was for the well-off. as the truly rich would think of this ce as more like a


    slum.


    The truly wealthy all had vis and estates of their own, for they would not want to live in a


    neighborhood with so many people.


    This was why the girl was so shocked to know they resided here.


    "We''re only living here temporarily." Toby held Sonia''s hands and calmly stated, "We''ll move in the


    future."


    Sonia hugged the man''s arm and added, "That''s right. It''s my property, not his. He moved in with me


    for some time now."


    She gently tapped the man''s arm while stating that and Toby silently agreed with her.


    Nodding, the girl stated, "So, I see. Then, doesn''t that mean that I missed a lot of chances to bump into


    you guys?"


    The girl looked very forlorn all of a sudden.


    Seeing this, Soniaughed. "Now that you know we''re living here temporarily, that means that we might


    run into each other in the future."


    "That''s right." Her words offort made sense to the girl as she became happy again.


    Sonia pursed her lips and smiled.


    What a charming girl.


    Checking the time on her watch, Sonia noticed that the time was gettingte, so she let go of Toby''s


    arm and said, "Alright now, little girl. We still have things to buy, so let''s end here. We''ll talk if we see


    each other again. It''s my honor to be able to meet a fan such as yourself."


    Sonia extended her arm.


    The girl held her hand in shock. "O-Okay, Miss Reed. It''s my honor to be able to meet you and


    President Fuller. This is my luckiest day. I hope you two live a happy life."


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She then looked at Toby. "President Fuller, you must treat Miss Reed with all your heart and never let


    her down, especially the incident concerning that crazydy from the Lore Family. You should teach her


    a proper lesson. After all, she wronged Miss Reed. You can''t let her off the hook."


    Toby smiled. "I won''t."


    "That''s that, then." The girl was reluctant to let go of her hand.


    Toby nodded as a promise with the girl.


    Fidgeting her fingers, the girl started to draw circles with the tip of her foot as she became shy. "Also..."


    "Just say what you want. It''s okay," Sonia said gently.


    After hearing the encouragement, the girl calmed down and clenched her fists before voicing her


    thoughts, "Can I keep the picture I took earlier? I also want to upload it. I believe that the other fans will


    be green with envy when they see it. Miss Reed, President Fuller, may I?"


    She looked at them carefully with expectant eyes. At that moment, she looked like an adorable tiny


    animal.


    This sight made Sonia reluctant to reject her. Yet, she could not decide on her lonesome, so she turned


    and looked at the man.


    Toby nodded gently at her. "Do what you wish. You don''t need my permission."


    "If you say so. I''ll decide, then?" Sonia smiled.


    Toby nodded. "Okay."


    "Great." Sonia turned back and focused her gaze on the girl. "Keep it if you want; upload it if you wish.


    But, I have a request."


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1108

    Chapter 1108


    K Download the book on the App


    Home / Romance / Boss, Your Wife''s Asking for A Divorce, Again!


    Sonia extended her beautiful slender fingers.


    Seeing this, Toby reached out and held her hand before squeezing it gently with hints of teasing.


    Sonia, who noted what the man was doing, stared at him.


    This b*stard. Taking advantage of me whenever he can.


    Their actions were witnessed by the girl, who became excited again.


    Oh my, they''ve started again! They''ve started again!


    President Fuller and Miss Reed are being cute again!


    I feel so blessed today!


    Excited to the point of fainting, the girl felt giddy as she spoke in an unstable tone, "Miss Reed,


    regardless of your request, I''ll agree to it. I swear!"


    Scared that Sonia might not believe her, she even lifted her palm in the air, making an oath gesture.


    Laughing, Sonia shook her head. "It''s nothing big. It''s just a simple request. If you upload the picture


    and include a caption, then please write it as it is. Don''t exaggerate or twist the facts, got it?"


    "Got it." The girl nodded profusely like a chick. "I understand. Don''t worry, Miss Reed. I won''t do


    anything rash. That''s what those heartless paparazzis will do. I''m a kind person, so I won''t do that."


    "That''s good to know. I don''t have any other requests now. We''ll be leaving now. See you." Sonia was


    satisfied with her answer as she smiled even more warmly.


    The girl waved. "See you, Miss Reed, President Fuller."


    Toby did not reply whereas Sonia waved back to her. Then, she held his arm and walked toward the


    vegetables aisle.


    Standing at the same spot, the girl could still hear their conversation.


    Sonia was asking Toby why he bought so many fruits while he answered that he bought it for her sake


    since eating fruits was beneficial to her body.


    While hearing this, the girl showed a gentle smile with crossed arms and a lowered chin as she


    mumbled excitedly, "President Fuller is heads over heels for Miss Reed. They are so sweet. This can''t


    be done. I can''t just enjoy this by myself. I need others to know as well."


    The girlughed sheepishly before taking her phone out to write about her experience with Toby and


    Sonia. Then, she uploaded the photo of the two buying fruits together along with a caption.


    Since she was an active fan on the forum, she had about over ten thousand followers on her ount,


    who were indeed active and not bot ounts.


    Since it was an exclusive and personal post regarding bumping into Sonia and Toby, the fans


    immediately retweeted upon seeing it.


    Soon enough, the topic of Toby and Sonia grocery shopping trended before everyone knew about it.


    All of a sudden, everybody wasmenting about how sweet and in-love they looked together.


    On the other hand, Lte, who was abroad, blew her top when she saw the trending topic before she


    threw her phone at the wall opposite her.


    The phone bounced from the wall after it made contact. Flying backward, it crashed onto the ground


    and shattered into pieces. It waspletely out ofmission at this point.


    Still, it was not enough to quell the rage inside her as she sat on the couch and clutched the pillows


    while screaming loudly.


    After a moment of roaring, her hair and clothes became messed up as she sat there, hunched-back


    with bloodshot eyes that were staring at the phone on the floor.


    This is fake! It has to be!


    The post isn''t real!


    Toby will never like that woman! Never!


    They only married because that woman threatened Toby. Their reconcilement must be because Sonia


    ckmailed Toby again!


    So, there''s no way they have feelings for each other. The smile and gaze Toby has for her must have


    been faked. It must have been photoshopped.


    Sonia must have been the uploader. She must have found someone to take photos of them because of


    what happened earlier today and uploaded it. Her aim is just to confuse the masses and let them think


    that they have a solid rtionship.


    Right! That must have been the case!


    Lte clenched her teeth hard while brainwashing herself constantly since she could not bring herself


    to believe the reality in front of her, nor could she ept the fact that Toby really had feelings for Sonia.


    She had fancied Toby from a young age, but it was not until she grew older did she understand what


    romance was. From then, she came to understand that she did not treat Toby like a brother or uncle;


    instead, she liked him as a man.


    When she found out that she liked Toby, the only thing on her mind since then was to get married to


    him and be his wife.


    Yet, Toby did not feel the same way. Although she was disappointed, she did not force him to love her,


    as she thought that he did not like other women at that time, so she had ample time to further their


    rtionship.


    Unfortunately, before Toby could fall in love with her, he told her one day that he had a woman he liked


    and that the woman was his penpal. They had been exchanging letters for many years. He even said


    that he ''witnessed'' that woman grow up.


    At that moment, she felt as if her world crumbled. She never knew that Toby had a penpal and that he


    had fallen for the person; she could not ept this.


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    I have known Toby since we were little. We''ve known each other longer than that penpal of his. Why is


    it that the person who captured his heart is some penpal that came into his lifeter than me?


    It was then she swore that she would find that person and get rid of her from Toby''s life.


    Yet before she could dig her out, Toby actually brought his penpal to Lte. She was Tina from the


    Gray family.


    This shocked her back then, as she could not believe that that woman was Toby''s penpal. Tina was no


    saint, for she was crueler than Lte. Capable of harming the boyfriend she had been together with


    for three years, Lte could not figure out why this evil woman managed to charm Toby.


    Therefore, she went to Toby and told him that Tina was not as she seemed. However, he got angry,


    telling her not to spout nonsense before chasing her out from the Fuller Residence. Eventually, she


    became the butt of everyone''s joke.


    She did not pin this humiliation on Toby. Instead, she pinned it on Tina, who had caused him to treat


    her worse ever since Tina''s appearance, So, who could she me except for Tina?


    She wanted to expose her facade and let Toby know what kind of woman Tina really was. She wanted


    to let him know that that woman was undeserving of him, and that only her, Lte Lore, was the most


    suitable candidate to be at his side.


    However, she did not foresee that Tina was more twisted and terrifying than she predicted, for she


    nearly died in her hands.


    She even managed to grasp her weak point, so Lte could not act rashly. In the end, Tina


    threatened her to never appear in front of Toby again.


    Out of options, Lte could only ept the condition begrudgingly in fear that Tina would threaten


    her again. After that, she made up an excuse to study abroad, all in cover to escape and hide from Tina


    Gray.

 Chapter 1109

    Chapter 1109


    She really was afraid of Tina.


    Although she was no saint herself, she still could not bring herself to take a life.


    Yet, she found that Tina could do it effortlessly, seeing that she could kill her boyfriend of three years.


    Therefore, one could see how terrifying this woman was.


    Not only that, Lte almost died in her hands thest time she went to find Tina.


    She figured that if not for the rtionship she had with Toby, Tina would have killed her back then. If


    that had been the case, it would have prompted Harry to have Toby investigate her death. Otherwise,


    Lte might have really died in her hands.


    All in all, she was absolutely terrified of Tina since then. Thus, she could only escape abroad while still


    harboring the feelings she had for Toby, all because she could not win against Tina.


    However, she did not think that the universe was on her side until she heard that Tina had fallen into a


    vegetative state after getting into an ident not long after Lte settled down abroad. Back then,


    sheughed for a good ten minutes when she heard the news; she even celebrated this fact at a bar


    the same night.


    Since Tina was now in a vegetative state, this meant that there was nothing to fear, so she did not have


    to stay abroad any longer. She could return anytime and continue to be around Toby, in hopes that he


    would fall for her.


    Yet, before Lte could return, she heard that there was another woman called Sonia, who


    ckmailed Toby into marrying her as gratitude for saving Tina from the ident. The most absurd


    thing is that Toby actually agreed!


    When she came to know this, she was so utterly furious that she bought the flight tickets straight away,


    intending to return.


    However, the moment she arrived at the airport, her grandfather called her and stated that the genius


    doctor, Tim, had gone abroad to further study on neurosurgery and psychiatry in hopes of saving Tina.


    Tim was a world-renowned doctor. Although he was still young, his surgery sess rate was a


    hundred percent as he had never failed an operation so far.


    Old Master Fuller also informed her that before Tim went abroad, he had people check up on Tina''s


    condition. After the check-up, he was confident that there was a seventy percent chance of waking Tina


    up upon thepletion of his studies.


    This meant that Tina was destined to be healed. During this whole time where Tina was still in a


    vegetative state, Toby had people move her to a ce nobody knew of in order to protect her.


    At that moment, Lte was livid and jealous.


    Does Toby really love her this much? Even when she''s in a vegetative state now, he still wishes to


    protect her from any possible harm.


    Also, that genius doctor, Tim. He would actually further his studies just to rescue Tina.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    It was as if Tina was the daughter of some God.


    Knowing that Tina would eventually wake up, Lte¡ªalbeit reluctantly¡ªcould only give up returning


    home. Eventually, she tore the flight ticket and left the airport.


    Although she did not manage to get rid of Sonia who was then married to Toby, she was not in a hurry,


    for she thought that Sonia would be finished the moment Tina woke up.


    As expected, Tina woke up after six years. The instant she woke up, Toby divorced Sonia for Tina.


    Hearing this, Lte found herself happy and troubled at the same time.


    The happy thing was that the woman who threatened Toby was finally gone. The troublesome thing


    was that even though Sonia was gone, Tina was a headache inparison because she was a


    nightmare to deal with.


    Tina struck fear in Lte so much that she even wanted to give up on pursuing Toby, for she did not


    have confidence in winning against such a fearsome woman.


    Unexpectedly, Tina and Sonia started to fight just as she was contemting this.


    Her grandfather had been helping her to keep an eye on the two women. She then knew that Tina


    could not ept the fact that Sonia was married to Toby when she was in her vegetative state, so she


    repeatedly tried to harm Sonia to her demise.


    Catching wind of this made her overjoyed as she could not wait for the women to start fighting amongst


    themselves.


    Although she did not think that Sonia would be able to win against Tina, Lte knew that Sonia was


    not a simple woman, judging by how she could threaten Toby into marrying her. She thought that even


    if Sonia lost against Tina, she would still be able to hurt her somehow.


    Then, she might win if she struck right after Sonia defeated her.


    Therefore, Lte had the thought of remaining as a bystander while she held her hand and observed


    the two women.


    The reality was that Sonia was not an easy opponent either, for she could actually survive going


    against Tina. She even managed to retaliate, which inspired confidence in Lte, who thought that


    Sonia might even win.


    As expected, the women fought fiercely. Their ploys were all aimed at each other''s life. Though it was


    only Tina who wanted to kill Sonia with Sonia defending or retaliating, this proved that Sonia had some


    capability to be able to survive against Tina. In the end, she really did win against Tina and sessfully


    made Toby feel disgust toward her. Canceling the engagement, Toby even managed to find out


    evidence that Tina was not the real daughter of the Grays, resulting in her expulsion from the family.


    Tina, who waspletely defeated, not only lost Toby, but she also lost her status as a Gray and


    became a loner. In the end, she was convicted of her crimes and went insane in prison. Transferred to


    an asylum, shemitted suicide in the end. What a happy ending.


    Yet, just as she was feeling joyful of this, Lte also had chills running down her back. It was because


    of Sonia.


    If Sonia could even dominate such a terrifying opponent like Tina and corner her tomit suicide,


    how scary is she actually?


    If she could threaten Toby into marrying her, she might be able to coerce him into reconciliation since


    Tina is not an obstacle now.


    Once again, she was proven correct because not long after Tina''s death, she heard from her


    grandfather that it was Toby who was courting Sonia. He wanted to get back together with Sonia.


    That''s impossible!


    Although Toby did not love Tina in the end, he would never fall in love with Sonia.


    Otherwise, he would have fallen for her the six years they had been married and not after their divorce!


    Perhaps, there''s something nobody knows as to why Toby would court Sonia.


    Or, she might have threatened Toby again, forcing him to have no choice but to agree to the


    reconciliation.


    Or, she might even want him to court her due to the six years of cold shoulder he gave her. What a


    shameless hussy.


    Only she knew how much she wanted to go back and help Toby chase away Sonia so that he would


    not have to live under her oppression.


    Yet, this woman gave her pressure that surmounted that of Tina''s, causing her to retreat from causing


    any conflict.


    Thus, Lte decided to hold it in and observe the situation from abroad since Harry and Grayson also


    supported her, advising her to not be rash.


    Due to the time spent abroad, she grew innately frustrated, especially when she saw articles about


    what Toby and Sonia were up to. The affection they disyed for each other publicly made her green


    with envy.


    The more she read about it, the more jealous she became. In the end, the feeling of envy forced her


    hand.


    This was the first time she struck, and it was also a testrun for her.


    Since she had never gone up against Sonia, she could not gauge how difficult her opponent would be


    until they were in the battlefield.

 Chapter 1110

    Chapter 1110


    As such, Lte could only take the subtlest action to test Sonia''s response. This was also a way for


    her to figure out Sonia''s defense system and understand her better. As such, this would make things


    much easier for Lte in the future to go after Sonia.


    With the original assumption that her n was wless, Lte did not expect Toby to take action. Not


    only did hee forward to rify that the rumors were untrue, but he also mentioned that he had full


    confidence that Sonia would never betray him.


    This isn''t something that Toby would do! He would never be bothered about the rumors on the inte.


    However, this time, he actually did something, so there clearly is a problem here. It must be Sonia who


    forced him by coercion. She even forced him to cut off ties with my family and go after our family. She''s


    despicable! That Reed woman is much moreplicated to deal with than I thought! As Lte


    thought about this, she could not help her discontentment and her adorable face was distorted quite


    hideously.


    Subsequently, Lte shut her eyes and took a deep breath before finally calming down temporarily.


    Next, she got up from the couch and walked over to the phone that had been smashed to pieces. She


    picked up the phone and removed the sim card before turning around to walk off to her room. She took


    out a spare phone from the bedside table in her room and ced the sim card inside, then made a


    phone call. "How''s everything? Have you sorted out the necessary procedures to enter the country?"


    The person on the other end immediately replied, "Yes, everything''s sorted, Miss."


    "Alright. I''ll leave for the airport right away." Lte narrowed her eyes and responded to the person on


    the other end with a sinister-sounding voice.


    Finally, I''ll be able to head back! There was an unmistakable crazed and excited look in Lte''s eyes.


    Wait and see because this time, once I''m back, I''ll definitely help Toby escape Sonia''s evil clutches! I''ll


    definitely seed!


    Meanwhile, Sonia was not aware that trouble was about to befall as she was standing in front of the


    freezer with a pint of ice cream in her hands. She was currently in a tug-of-war with Toby.


    In fact, three minutes ago, this was what happened. They were grocery shopping and had already


    selected some vegetables and meat, so they were about to push their filled cart to the next aisle as


    they walked past arge freezer stored with an assortment of ice cream. Sonia was attracted by


    mango-vored ice cream and she stopped in her tracks to grab a pint of it. Then, she happily ced


    the ice cream into the cart. As soon as she did that, Toby stretched out his huge hand and removed the


    ice cream from the cart, then back into the freezer.


    Instantly, Sonia felt as if her world hade to a standstill and the ted expression on her face froze


    too. She nced at Toby for some time and she was stunned in ce.


    Finally, she came to her senses just as he reached out to drag her away from the ice cream section.


    She immediately retrieved her hands from his and pursed her lips tightly as she stared at him with red


    eyes. "Toby, how dare you remove my ice cream!"


    Though he saw her reddened eyes due to the anger, he was exceptionally calm. "You''re not allowed to


    have this."


    "Why not?" Sonia''s eyes widened and she found his words rather amusing. "If you can''te up with a


    reasonable excuse for me, then you can just take the couch tonight."


    As soon as he heard the word ''couch'', his eyes widened slightly and his expression turned solemn


    almost instantaneously. "You''re not allowed this for your own good. Have you forgotten that thest


    time you had something icy, you experienced stomach cramps for the entire night?"


    Back then, he had her in his arms and was just about to enjoy a pleasurable night with her when her


    expression suddenly turned and her countenance became as pale as a sheet. There was a sheen of


    cold sweat on her forehead and she clutched at her stomach whileining of pain. Startled by


    that, Toby found his urges dissipated as he took her into his arms and rushed out of the doors toward


    the medical center nearby. He was very worried that something bad was about to happen.


    Finally, the doctor gave him the diagnosis and her stomach pain was due to the icy stuff that she


    consumed. In other words, she would be fine after some pain relief and plenty of rest. As soon as he


    found out the oue, he heaved a strong relief and could finally feel at ease. From then on, he


    started to keep close control of her intake of cold stuff.


    Fortunately, she was not one who enjoyed icy food, so he did not have to keep tabs on her all the time.


    However, she suddenly ced a huge pint of ice cream into their shopping cart today right in front of


    his eyes. As soon as he recalled the torment she experienced during the previous episode of stomach


    ache, he naturally stepped forward to stop her from eating any ice cream. As such, he removed the ice


    cream she had added into the trolley without any hesitation and ced it back.


    However, he did not expect her to react so badly. Her eyes had turned red instantly and her rage was


    unmistakable. He started to doubt his actions and wondered whether he had gone too far. Of course,


    though, the self-doubt that he felt merelysted for several minutes before he suppressed it. After all,


    he was doing all this for her own good, so he was fine even if his actions were deemed excessive.


    Sonia was originally angry, but as soon as she realized that the reason he discarded her ice cream was


    because of her stomach ache incident thest time, her anger dissipated instantly.


    She was left with no other option because his reason was valid. Even if she was angry about it, she


    had no way of venting her anger. Furthermore, she found it ridiculous to rage at him as this would make


    her seem like an ungrateful brat. After all, he was doing all this for her own good. Nheless, she had


    a craving for ice cream, so she felt slightly upset to be denied it.


    Sonia looked at the ice cream, which had been ced back into the freezer, and spoke up earnestly, "I


    felt ufortable after the ice creamst time because I was due for my period, but this time, I''m not. I


    reckon some ice cream would be fine."


    "No, that''s uneptable." Toby maintained a cold expression and rejected her, "I don''t care whether


    you''re on your period or not. The weather''s too cold for ice cream anyway. Wait till summer arrives."


    "How much longer do I have to wait?" Sonia stretched out her hand. "Can you see this? I would have to


    wait for at least four to five more months."


    "Four to five months will pass by in a blink of an eye. Be patient." Toby grabbed her wrist and put down


    her hand.


    Sonia grimaced slightly. "Toby, you''re such a¡ª"


    "Hmm?" Toby lifted his brows.


    Meanwhile, she bit her lips in response and clung to his arms as she started to shake his arm while


    behaving coyly. "Toby, don''t be mean. Let me take one pint. Just one will be enough."


    As she spoke, she lifted one finger with a pleading look in her eyes. "I''ll honestly just take one pint. I


    won''t be greedy and ask for more. Besides, I wouldn''t finish this pint in one go. I would definitely take a


    while to go through this, so it would be alright even if the weather''s cold."


    "No." Toby took a look at the woman, who was clinging to his arms, behaving coyly. Despite his


    wavering heart, he maintained a stern front.


    He had to resist her wiles and avoid giving in to her coy behavior for her own good.


    Naturally, Toby felt slightly regretful because he secretly hoped that she could have shown her coy side


    to ask for something other than this. However, regretfully, this was what she was after.


    As soon as Sonia saw his unwavering look, for a moment there, she doubted her attractiveness. This


    man here is usually unable to resist my ways, but why is he so determined today? Hmph! I don''t


    believe that this is his actual self. I''ll wait and see whether he''s truly determined or merely putting up an


    act.


    Sonia''s eyes roved around before a glint shed across her eyes as she clung tighter to his arms. She


    inched closer and nuzzled his arm with her heaving chest. Not only did she increase her efforts to woo


    him, but she also spoke in a much more seductive voice than before, "Toby, please. It''s just a pint. We


    should get one, alright? Please, let''s just get one?"


    As she nuzzled against his arm, she lifted her head to look at him and fluttered her pretty eyes at him.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    At that point, he took a deep breath and pursed his lips tightly soon after that as the vein on his temple


    swelled and pulsated. The hand gripping on the cart handle tightened significantly and his veins


    protnided clearly.


    Evidently, this time, Sonia''s action of wooing him hadnded a huge impact on him to the point that he


    could no longer control himself. He could only force himself to draw upon his willpower and resist the


    temptation. As a result, the sweat pooled on his forehead as he resisted.

 Chapter 1111

    Chapter 1111


    She''s such a vixen! Toby lowered his dark eyes and could not help it as he stuck his tongue against the


    upper part of his mouth.


    He clearly did not expect her to act coyly just for ice cream. This time, she had actually behaved coyly


    in front of the public.


    He had always known that she was generally shy and reserved. Normally, when he gave her a peck in


    public, she would blush bright red for some time, so it was near impossible for her to behave coyly of


    her own ord.


    Of course, this did not mean that she had never shown her cute side in front of him. In fact, she had,


    but it was a rare urrence. Ever since they got back together, she had done that not more than three


    times as far as he could remember.


    Each time she did so, it was just a slight coy act and he had not even gotten the chance to enjoy it


    before it came to an end. Therefore, he was surprised that this time, she had persistently shown her


    coy side for such a long time. All that for the sake of a pint of ice cream!


    Doesn''t she realize that it''s hard for a man to resist such behavior? These are seductive actions here!


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    Toby''s grip on the handle of the cart tightened and rxed several times before he finally seeded in


    suppressing his urges. He nced at her with a smoldering look in his eyes and spoke in a hoarse


    voice, "Stop that. Stop swinging my arm."


    He was worried that if she kept this up, he would not be able to resist himself. After all, he always found


    that she was a weak spot of his and he could not seem to resist her.


    As soon as she heard his words and saw the look in his eyes, which resembled a wolf eyeing its prey,


    she felt a chill running down her spine if she was honest to herself.


    After all, she was not an idiot and she clearly knew the potential oue of her behavior. Besides, she


    was afraid that he would not be able to resist the temptation and take action right there and then. As


    such, as soon as he told her to stop, she eded to his words and stopped.


    Relieved, the man heaved a faint sigh. Subsequently, he let go of one hand from the cart and grabbed


    Sonia on her chin as he inched closer to speak hoarsely, "Little Leaf, I can''t believe that you would try


    seduction to make me give in to you, all for the sake of a pint of ice cream."


    "I-I didn''t seduce you!" Sonia refused to admit it, but she shiftily turned her eyes in the other direction.


    He chuckled in a low voice and hisughter came rumbling from his chest. The exceptionally low and


    melodious voice made Sonia shiver involuntarily as she felt her legs turn to jelly.


    Gosh, this man is such a...


    "Are you sure you didn''t?" Toby narrowed his long, almond-shaped eyes slightly. "Then, exin what


    you were doing before this."


    "I was just showing my affection," Sonia replied and quickly shot a look at him. Indeed, she was not


    lying and she was just showing her coy side earlier.


    Subsequently, he chuckled in a low voice. "This is the first time ever that I''ve seen someone nuzzle


    another with her body to show affection. Don''t you realize that you shouldn''t rub against a man that


    way? Not only would the man be unable to control his urges, it would also make the man think that


    you''re purposely seducing him. So, are you still going to insist that you weren''t trying to seduce me


    earlier? I can''t believe that you would actually stoop to this in order to get your way and have ice


    cream. Little Leaf, you''ve turned for the worse."


    Faced with his teasing eyes, she could not help blushing bright red.


    As soon as Toby saw that, hisughter deepened. "But I like it."


    At that moment, Sonia shot him an annoyed look. "You''ve benefited from this, so obviously you liked it."


    I know how he is!


    Toby lowered his head and smiled. "Yes, I''ve benefited from it and I enjoyed it very much too, but you


    were the one who initiated things this time for a pint of ice cream."


    He pointed at the ice cream. "I''ve just realized the extent that you would go to all for a pint of ice cream.


    Come on, tell me. What else is there that could make you resort to this? If I know that, then I could..."


    "Could what?" Sonia hurriedly cut him off. "To lead me into seducing you on my own ord?"


    Toby merely smiled silkily and his intentions were obvious.


    At that, Sonia harrumphed at him snappily. "You''re quite good at gaining something for yourself. So...


    About the ice cream. Are you going to buy it for me? I''ve already expressed my affections and you''ve


    also gotten your way. If you continue to refuse me, then in the future, I..." wont show my coy side to


    you, was what she wanted to say.


    Before she could finish her words, something popped up in front of her eyes.


    He grabbed a small pint of mango-vored ice cream. "Therger pint is too much for you, so you''re


    only allowed this small pint. We''ll each take a step back, alright? You should realize that I''m just doing


    this for your own good."


    Sonia took a look at the ice cream and then nced at Toby, who wore a half smile on his face. Finally,


    she snorted haughtily and reached out to grab the ice cream. "Okay, then. I''ll take into ount that this


    is for my own good and I''ll take the small pint. After all, I''m not a greedy person."


    After she said that, she nced at the ice cream in her hand and smiled contentedly.


    Toby reached out to ruffle her hair. "Let''s go and browse around to see what else we should get."


    "That''s enough. We won''t be able to carry the things back if we continue shopping." Sonia stuck her


    lips out and gestured to the cart. "You''ve bought too many fruits and healthy food. People might think


    that we''re here to stock up on our rations instead of grocery shopping."


    Toby lowered his head to nce at the cart in front of him and he noticed that it was filled to the brim.


    asionally, the other customers who walked past them and saw their cart could not contain


    themselves as they would reveal surprised looks. Evidently, he had gone overboard on shopping.


    "These are all items that''s good for you, so it''s definitely not too much. The store should offer delivery


    services, right? If they don''t, then I reckon this store would be reced by some other chain soon.


    There wouldn''t be any point in them continuing the business." As Toby spoke, he scanned the


    surroundings and gave hisments on whether the premium grocery store was likely to survive and


    thrive.


    As for Sonia, she was exasperated. "That''s enough. You''ve gone all work-mode on me again. You''re


    scrutinizing the ce from a business POV. Don''t worry. They definitely do offer delivery services. It


    didn''t ur to me earlier on, but I''ve recalled now that you asked."


    "That''s great. Let''s pay, then." Toby pushed the cart with one hand and held her hand with the other to


    lead her to the payment counter.


    As they queued up at the counter, several people recognized Toby and came over to greet them. After


    all, he was the chairman as well as the president of Fuller Group.


    The people who lived at Bayside Residence might be slightly well-to-do, but they were not exactly part


    of the wealthy. As such, the businesses they operated were on a smaller scale with smaller businesses


    that brought in an annual ie around the range of ten million. Compared to Fuller Group, which was


    arge consolidated group, their businesses were totally insignificant. It was as if one was making


    comparisons between an elephant and an ant.


    As such, the people in this area generally would not get the chance to encounter Toby in their daily


    lives. Needless to say, they clearly did not expect to see him here either.


    After all, there was a huge disparity in their backgrounds and they would not even be able to see


    someone like Grayson, what more to say Toby, who belonged to the tip of the pyramid. Toby was like a


    legend to them and he was not someone they could easily encounter.


    Nheless, this mighty man was now standing in front of their eyes like a wild dream. Furthermore,


    he was grocery shopping at the same store they went to and queueing up alongside them. This was


    way beyond their wildest dreams, so everyone thought that they were dreaming.


    Ultimately, they realized that Toby was physically there the entire time and he had not disappeared.


    Momentster, they finally regained their senses and realized that they were indeed looking at the


    legend.


    Subsequently, the crowd naturally mored around excitedly to greet him and attempted to get to know


    him so as to leave a good impression. Perhaps then, they would be able to foster a rtionship with


    Toby, who was such a well-connected man, and they might be able to rise above everyone.


    That was because everyone was clearly aware of what Toby represented¡ªwealth and stature.


    If only they were able to gain Toby''s approval and receive his support, then their tinypanies might


    even develop into major businesses and perhaps be listed on the stock market. By then, they


    would emerge as a nouveau riche. At the thought of bing one of the wealthy, they were excited


    beyond words.

 Chapter 1112

    Chapter 1112


    Still, Toby did ont enjoy being mobbed. Furthermore, these people moring around him were there


    with specific intentions.


    Their eyes were filled with ambition and sparkled with greed, which increased his disgust.


    He knew why these people came forward to greet him.


    After all, it was fine to have the intention to ascend the socialdder, but the problem was that these


    people werepletely ignorant to one''s mood and they could not seem to tell that he was fairly


    annoyed.


    How dare they continue to mob me and chatter incessantly!


    These people tried to introduce themselves or theirpany''s products to him to try and pique his


    interest so that he would invest in their products or coborate with them. They hoped to be able to


    make use of his influence to work their way up the socialdder. They''re too greedy!


    If he had encountered any of these people by chance any other day, he might have some interest in


    their elevator pitch.


    As the chairman and president of Fuller Group, he never looked down upon any person and he clearly


    knew that a lot of the smallerpanies had great potential. As such, he never refused the idea to


    coborate with any smallerpanies. After all, Fuller Group started out as a tiny workshop.


    As such, he found it normal for the bosses of such smallpanies to wish to foster ties with him and


    build up a connection, seeing that it was normal for them to wish to grab hold of an opportunity. This


    was essentially a chance for them to push for the development of theirpany. If he actually


    discovers anypany with potential, then he would be willing to give the other party a chance.


    Therefore, it would be a win-win situation for both parties.


    However, he disliked the fact that these people were bothering him during his personal time while he


    was trying to rest; they did not seem to possess basic decency either. Can''t they tell that I''m busy


    spending time with my wife?


    Despite his utter annoyance with these people, he did not re up at them nor get them to leave. This


    was Bayside Residence after all and it was Sonia''s property. It was also a present from Henry when


    Sonia turned eighteen. Even if Sonia would move away from here to stay somewhere else with him in


    the future, the apartment would still remain nevertheless. He was worried that if he took action against


    these people, they would carry a grudge and do something to Sonia''s apartment. After all, he could not


    exactly make sure that everything was well-sorted despite his capabilities, since he was notwless.


    As such, in order to ensure the good condition of Sonia''s apartment¡ªwhich was the final gift Henry left


    for Sonia¡ªhe had no choice but to stifle his frustrations and collect each of the name cards handed


    over by these people, despite his reluctance. Finally, it was their turn to pay at the counter, so he


    managed to get away from these people.


    Naturally, they utilized the delivery services of the grocery store to get their groceries delivered home,


    so they walked back to the apartment empty-handed.


    Well... They were not exactly empty-handed because they were holding onto each other''s hand.


    For Toby, just a simple act of holding her felt like he had the entire world in his hand.


    "Earlier on, you did that because of me, right?" Suddenly, Sonia lifted her head and asked as she kept


    her eyes on the stars in the sky.


    Toby paused momentarily and soon regained hisposure as he chuckled lightly in response. "What


    do you mean?"


    She turned to shoot a silent look from the side of her eyes at him. "Yeah, sure, keep up this facade.


    Just keep it up. Earlier on at the store, there were many people who recognized you and handed their


    name cards to you. You clearly looked annoyed and impatient, but you suppressed yourself and didn''t


    get them to leave. This isn''t how you normally behave."


    "Oh?" Toby chuckled slightly. "Then, how do I normally behave?"


    Sonia beamed and asked, "Is this a test for me?"


    He nodded slightly. "I just want to find out how well you know me."


    At that moment, she snorted. "Well, I reckon I know you very well. If you had behaved as the normal


    you, then you would have asked those people to leave impatiently. After all, you''re not the type to


    tolerate things silently. You would only do that when you have something you''re concerned about. Of


    course, you won''t be concerned about yourself because you''d have no qualms about getting them to


    leave and offending them. You wouldn''t be afraid that they''d seek revenge and take action against you


    because they wouldn''t have the guts to go after you anyway. Besides, they are no match for you. So, I


    would be the only reason for your concern. That''s because we''re the only two here. As for the second


    reason, well..."


    She casually lifted her hand and put up two fingers as she shook them.


    Her slender fingers appeared much fairer under the lit-up night scene and it looked much prettier.


    Toby could not take his eyes off her upon seeing her fingers and his Adam''s apple bobbed slightly as


    he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Continue on..."


    Sonia put down her hand and smiled. "Well, since you said that it was because of your concern for me


    that you didn''t ask those people to leave, then the second reason would be quite simple, of course.


    This is where I''m staying and you''re usually much busier than I am. Furthermore, there will be times


    when you''ll have to sleep at Fuller Group and not return, so I''d be the only one toe back here.


    You''re afraid that they would target me instead of you. After all, despite your capabilities, you wouldn''t


    be able to cover all the bases, so that''s why you chose to tolerate them."


    Toby''s expression mellowed as he reached out to ruffle her hair. "You''re smart. What would you like as


    a reward?"


    Sonia removed his hand from her head. "I don''t want a reward from you. It''s always the same old


    thing."


    At that moment, there was a glint across Toby''s eyes. "Oh? What do you mean by the same old thing?


    Why aren''t you being more specific?"


    Sonia noticed the wicked smile on his face and she could not help pulling a long face as she patted him


    lightly on his shoulders. "Toby, that''s enough there! You get what I mean! Why are you forcing me to


    say it out loud?"


    The man chuckled lightly and he was clearly in good spirits.


    He continued to smile and finally pursed his lips before coughing lightly. "Your deductions are spot on


    and I was indeed concerned about all those that you mentioned. That''s why I epted the name cards


    from those people. I could choose to ignore them, of course, and I wouldn''t be worried about offending


    them and facing the consequences of their revenge. However, it''s a different story if you were involved.


    If I was by your side, then they wouldn''t dare to do anything to you, but we''re two separate individuals


    and each of us has our own life. I can''t stay by your side at all times and I can''t bring you everywhere


    with me either. That''s why it would be the perfect opportunity for those men to target you if I wasn''t


    around. I will never underestimate anyone, especially small fries like them."


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    As soon as Toby mentioned that, his expression changed slightly. As he looked at the road in front, his


    expression turned more somber. "Small fries tend to scheme more than others of higher positions


    because those at a higher position tend to think highly of themselves, so they would turn their noses at


    using schemefill methods to achieve their goals. However, small fries usually start out from a lowly


    position and they would always use underhanded tactics to achieve their goal. This is how they


    survive."


    "I get that." Sonia nodded. "That''s because the resources are usually limited and are usually controlled


    by people at higher positions. Those people at a lower position would need to scheme and plot just to


    snatch the resources from the people at the higher pyramid."


    "Exactly. That''s why those small fries tend to be much harder to deal withpared to those with


    higher positions. Besides, they would very easily take an extreme stance when faced with people of


    higher positions. That''s because they realize that they might not have a chance of winning if they


    competed fairly. So most of the time, in order to vent their anger and seek revenge against the other


    party, the small fries would choose to sacrifice themselves to bring the other party down. That''s how a


    person without any care in the world would act."


    Sonia heaved a sigh. "It would be worthwhile for them if they managed to bring down someone of a


    higher position. That''s what I''ve heard in my social circles."


    "That''s why, for your safety, I would have to consider more and suppress myself," said Toby solemnly


    as he nced at Sonia.


    At that moment, Sonia felt a warm fuzzy feeling well up within her. At the same time, she felt slightly


    bad on his behalf. She tightened her grip on his hands slightly and nced at him. "I''m sorry."

 Chapter 1113

    Chapter 1113


    Toby was generally a proud man; he would never pay heed to anything at all and suppress himself from


    anything. However, ever since he had gotten together with her, it was fair to say that he had indeed


    changed a lot.


    His first concern was her regardless of what he did. As long as there was anything that could potentially


    bring trouble for her, then he would suppress himself and tolerate it even if that meant he would be


    frustrated by it. That was also why she apologized to him earlier.


    As Toby heard her speak, he gently flicked her forehead. "What are you on about? I''m fine with that


    and I feel happy."


    "How can you be happy?" Sonia touched her forehead at the spot where he had flicked her and she did


    not quiteprehend his words.


    There was a twinkle in his eyes as he affirmed, "Of course, I''m happy. I''ll only make changes or


    compromise if the person I love is with me. I''ll consider her before I carry out anything because


    otherwise, I might end up being forever alone, right?"


    She burst intoughter. "That is such a ridiculous excuse that only you coulde up with."


    "But these are my heartfelt words," said Toby as he looked at her.


    Sonia stretched out her other hand to cling to his arm. "Thanks, Toby."


    "You don''t have to thank me. It''s what I should do." Toby switched hands and took her hand with his


    other one and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders with the hand he was holding her earlier.


    The weather had gotten much colder than before, so Toby''s embrace felt very warm.


    Sonia tilted her head slightly to lean on his chest. "It doesn''t matter. You''ve done so much for me, so I


    need to thank you of course! You can''t stop me from doing so."


    As she spoke, she lifted her head to stare warningly at him, seemingly indicating that if he rebuked her


    words, she would definitely tell him off.


    He chuckled in a low voice resignedly. "Okay, fine. I won''t stop you. Is that fine with you then?"


    "That''s more like it."


    They continued to walk along hand-in-hand affectionately and every passerby could sense the blissful


    aura that surrounded the duo.


    Their blissful aura was infectious as the passersby who saw the affectionate couple could not help


    revealing knowing smiles.


    In this current busy world where love and people were fickle, Toby and Sonia clearly looked blissfully in


    love with each other and it was a rare sight to see. As such, the passersby sincerely hoped that the


    couple would be able to maintain their happiness.


    As soon as they returned to the apartment, Toby entered the house and took out the stack of name


    cards from the pocket of his coat. Subsequently, he flung them aside with disgust onto the shoe rack.


    Sonia was hunched over as she removed her shoes. After changing into the bedroom slippers, she


    caught sight of his action. She could not help asking with a chuckle. "Are you discarding them?"


    "They''re rubbish." Toby changed into his bedroom slippers and responded calmly as he shot a look at


    the name cards.


    Then, she reached out to flick through the name cards. "Perhaps there are some potentially great


    companies amongst this pile. How can you be so sure that they''re rubbish?"


    "I''ve taken a quick look at the information on the name cards when I took them and these tiny


    companies have included their products on their name cards too. I can tell what theirpanies are


    mainly doing and whether they have potential just by taking a quick look at their name cards," Toby


    replied and tucked both hands into his pocket.


    At that point, Sonia suddenly nodded and agreed. "Oh, alright. I get it. We can discard them with our


    trash tomorrow morning before we leave the house."


    "Yup." Tony nodded.


    The couple did not stay any longer at the foyer and headed off toward the living room.


    Tony poured himself a ss of water and drank it before heading into the bathroom to take a shower.


    Meanwhile, Sonia remained on the couch in the living room. She switched on the television as she


    waited for the groceries to be delivered from the grocery store.


    Sure enough, the delivery service was efficient and Sonia had not even had the television on for more


    than a few minutes when she heard the doorbell go off.


    She put down the remote control and headed over to the foyer to open the door. Two staff members of


    the store carried several bagged groceries and stood at the entrance with smiles on their faces. "Miss


    Reed, here are the items you and President Fuller purchased earlier on. He also requested for us to


    get you some dinner, right here."


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    The two staff members gestured to show therge shopping bags in their hands.


    "Okay. Please,e in." Sonia quickly pulled the door wide open and stepped aside to give them room


    to enter the house.


    With her permission, the two staff members entered the house with their shoes on and carried the


    groceries that they had bought into the room.


    The staff members put down the shopping bags in the living room and one of them ruffled through the


    bag to take out a delicate paper bag with exquisite wrapping. Next, he presented it to Sonia and said,


    "Miss Reed, this is the dinner for you and President Fuller."


    She then retrieved it with both hands. "Alright, thank you."


    "You''re wee. Miss Reed, we''ll be on our way then."


    "Thanks again."


    Sonia put down their dinner on the dining table and escorted the two staff members out of the door.


    Finally, she shut the door behind them and entered the house once they entered the elevator.


    She went back into the living room and she could not help shaking her head with a chuckle as she saw


    the food on the dining table.


    She had originally suggested going grocery shopping to get some ingredients to prepare dinner


    because they had run out of fresh supplies.


    However, they had spent too much time at the store and it was already over 8.00PM by the time they


    paid.


    It would take too long for them to prepare dinner at home and it would likely be past midnight for them


    to finish dinner.


    Therefore when Toby paid for the groceries, he requested for the store to get them dinner and to send it


    over along with their groceries.


    If it was anyone else who had made that same request, they would very likely have gotten a


    resounding ''no'' from the grocery store. Since it was Toby making that request, the store management


    agreed without any hesitations; instead, they were quite eager to please.


    Sonia was at a loss for what to say as she recalled the situation from earlier. Subsequently, she opened


    the bag andid out their dinner.


    She had justid out the food on the table when the bedroom door was opened from the inside and


    Toby came out wearing his bathrobe. He walked out while toweling dry his wet hair and he noticed the


    bags on the ground as well as the food on the dining table. He paused in his action and draped the


    towel he was holding around his neck before walking over to stand behind Sonia. Then, he wrapped his


    arms around her from behind and nuzzled her shoulders with his chin. His low voice sounded quite


    melodious. "When did you receive the items?"


    Sonia felt ticklish around her ear lobes as the warm air from his breath hit and she could not help but


    shrink backward. "It was just sent over not long ago. Let go of me. I feel ticklish."


    That dirty dog! He''s great at taking advantage of the situation and he always jumps at the chance as


    soon as he gets an opportunity! Here he is behaving indecently right after his shower.


    Yet, he pretended that he did not hear her words. Not only did he maintain his hold on her, but he even


    nibbled on her reddened ear lobes and was clearly being provocative.


    Sonia rolled her eyes and lowered her head to remove the arms he had wrapped around her waist.


    Subsequently, she turned around and lifted her head to re at him. "Toby, can you stop? We haven''t


    had dinner and yet you''re starting it again! Aren''t you hungry?"


    "I am hungry." He nodded and admitted to being hungry quite frankly.


    In response, Sonia grimaced slightly. "Since you''re hungry, then hurry up and eat. We can talk once


    we''ve had dinner."


    Toby''s eyes instantly sparkled as soon as he heard her words.


    He leaned his head forward slightly and ced his forehead against Sonia''s. His hoarse voice sounded


    very seductive. "Honey, do you mean to say that I can continue this after dinner?"


    At that moment, Sonia was perplexed by his question. "When did I say that?"


    "You just did." Toby pulled his lips into a smile. "You mentioned that we can continue the talk after


    dinner. That means I''m allowed to continue after dinner, right?"


    At this point, Sonia grimaced badly and was just about to exin her innocence. However, she could


    not quite voice out the words that were on her mind because her earlier statement seemed to imply


    what Toby hadprehended. As such, she was at a loss for what to do.

 Chapter 1114

    Chapter 1114


    Sonia heaved a sigh and waved at him. "Whatever. Let''s just have dinner. I''m hungry."


    "Then, after dinner, you''ll have to let me continue this." Toby cupped her face with both hands and


    looked at her. He was worried that she was going to change her mind.


    Sonia lifted her head with a resigned look in her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sure."


    She admitted defeat this time because she was the one who had said the wrong thing.


    If she denied things and refused to agree, he would definitely pester her incessantly until she gave in,


    based on his stubborn spirit. Therefore, she might as well go along with it.


    After all, she was no longer as shy and resistant as she used to be. She could now calmly agree to his


    request for pleasure.


    Furthermore, he was indeed skillful; though she would always end up with a sore back, she undeniably


    enjoyed it very much as it was a pleasurable experience.


    That was why even up till now, she was secretly tempted each time he requested some intimate time.


    Ahh! This is shameful! I should stop thinking about all this! At that point, Sonia flushed bright red.


    Toby, who was cupping her face, could feel the warmth of her face on his palms.


    He let go of her face and noticed that her face was indeed flushed bright red, so he could not help


    staring dumbfounded for a few seconds. "What''s going on in your mind? Why is your face so red?"


    Like I would tell you! I ain''t letting you get cheeky with it!


    She lowered her head and quickly turned to the other side as she dragged out a chair in front of her to


    take a seat. "It''s not important. Let''s eat. Why do you keep dragging things?"


    Although Sonia tried her best to mask her shyness and refused to tell him what was on her mind


    earlier, he knew that she must have blushed bright red because she had suddenly thought of


    something illicit. However, he was not sure of the extent of it.


    As Toby realized that, he walked over and took a seat across the room from her.


    Sonia heard his chuckle and she felt that he seemed to be aware of what was on her mind. Awkward,


    she quickly grabbed her utensils and tried to mask her emotions by stuffing herself.


    Toby''s smile deepened as soon as he noticed her reaction. He was just about to say something when


    his phone''s ringtone cut him off.


    With a frown, he clearly looked unhappy to get a phone call from someone at this moment.


    In the end, he put down his fork and knife and took the phone into his hands.


    As soon as he saw the name disyed on the caller ID, his eyes narrowed and the air around him


    seemed to turn still.


    As soon as Sonia saw that, she could no longer be bothered about her shyness or awkward feelings,


    so she put down the utensils in her hand and expressed concern, "Who''s on the line? Did something


    serious happen?" Why else would he suddenly reveal such a scary expression?


    Toby shook his head slightly. "Nothing major happened, but this is because of the person on the line."


    As he spoke, he handed over his phone to Sonia and showed her the identity of the other party.


    As soon as Sonia noticed the name assigned to the number, she noticed that it was ''Mr. Lore'' disyed


    on the screen, so she instantly understood why he had given such a huge reaction. The person on the


    line was Lte''s grandfather, Harry.


    "Your mentor must have called at this time of the day because of the situation on the inte. Take the


    call. I wanna know what he has to say about that." Sonia put down her utensils as she leaned back on


    her chair and looked at Toby.


    He shot a look at her with a frown on his face and he seemed to be hesitant whether to share the


    conversation with her.


    After all, Toby was not sure whether Harry would repeat the words that he had said to him at the office


    earlier. If Sonia heard those remarks...


    "Answer the phone," Sonia reminded him once again upon noticing that he had not reacted. "If you


    don''t answer the phone right now, then he''s going to hang up soon. Do you intend to return the call? If


    you do so, then he would definitely assume that you''re not bothered about the incident."


    That was true. If he ignored the other party and refused to make contact with them, then this would


    signify to the other party that he was indeed angry. However, if he chose to make contact with the other


    party, then that would be an indication that he was after a truce. As such, Harry would definitely behave


    even more presumptuously.


    "I won''t take the call, then." Toby kept his phone and rejected Harry''s phone call. "There are some


    things that don''t you don''t need to listen to because it would only make you upset."


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    "So, are you saying that Mr. Lore has been badmouthing me?" Sonia lifted her brows questioningly.


    Meanwhile, Toby put his phone aside. "Mr. Lore dotes on Lte very much. This incident was clearly


    intentional sabotage by her, but even if Mr. Lore knows that Lte''s at fault, he wouldn''t actually


    reproach her for that. He would just me you for exposing his granddaughter''s misdeeds, so this


    phone call here would definitely be to besmirch your name and ruin my good impression of you."


    "It looks like you know him quite well." Sonia smiled.


    Toby lowered his eyes. "Previously, I wasn''t too, but right now, I am totally familiar with his ways." He


    was serious about that as prior to today, Toby had always thought of his mentor as a kind and friendly


    old man.


    Yet after the conversation that he shared with Harry in the morning, as well as the incident on the


    inte, he finally realized that everything he assumed was merely an assumption on his part. In


    reality, his mentor was ugly and despicable. This was also a clear indication that Toby did not know his


    mentor well at all in the past. That was also why now Toby felt that there was a significant discrepancy


    upon seeing his true colors.


    "Come to think about it." Sonia leaned forward and put her elbows on the table as she supported her


    chin with her hands and looked at him. "How did you end up with Mr. Lore as your mentor? After all,


    you should realize that someone like Mr. Lore, who''s unfair and blindly supportive of his granddaughter,


    isn''t someone with great values. How did you end up picking someone like that as your mentor? I don''t


    get what was on your mind back then."


    "If I could turn back time to ten years ago, I obviously wouldn''t choose him as my mentor." Tony


    lowered his head and exined calmly, "I entered university when I was fifteen, and then I did my


    doctorate right after that."


    He was pretty nonchnt about tilings, but Sonia was ashamed of herself upon hearing his words. The


    stress is getting to me. He''s a doctorate student who gained a spot right after graduating. She was


    merely an undergraduate and she found it tough to even obtain a research position. However, this man


    in front of her not only held a doctorate, but he hadpleted several. There was a stark difference in


    their educational background.


    Sonia revealed a forced smile as she was secretly envious of his intelligence. "What happened after


    that?"


    "I joined university and had to inherit Fuller Group, so I then mastered the subject of economics. That''s


    why I went to the school of economics to seek an economics professor to be my mentor. Back then,


    there were two famous economics professors in the school; one of them was Professor Randall while


    the other was my current mentor. I actually chose Professor Randall to be my mentor, not Mr. Lore."


    "So how did Mr. Lore end up as your mentor then? There should have been a mutual agreement for


    both the mentor and the mentee to pick each other, right?" Sonia blinked her eyes out of curiosity.


    Toby took a sip of wine that he had just poured from a bottle. "Yes, there should''ve been a mutual


    agreement for both the mentor and mentee to pick each other. I met up with Professor Randall once to


    have a chat and we were both happy with each other. He had actually agreed to ept me as his


    protege and we even picked a date to officialize things. However, before wepleted the process,


    something bad happened to Professor Randall."


    "Something bad?" Sonia was in shock. "What happened?"


    "Professor Randall slipped on a banana peel on his way back to his office to get some documents. He


    hit his head on the ground and passed away on the spot. That''s why I didn''t manage to be


    Professor Randall''s mentee and ended up choosing the second option¡ªMr. Lore. Although Mr. Lore


    wasn''t my first choice, he had always been diligent and responsible while he was my mentor. I have to


    give him credit for the doctorate I obtained in economics, so that''s why I''ve always been very respectful


    toward him."

 Chapter 1115

    Chapter 1115


    "I see." Sonia nodded. Soon after that, her beautiful brows tightly furrowed. "Did you just say that


    Professor Randall slipped on a piece of banana peel outside his office and passed away immediately?


    Don''t you find this too much of a coincidence?"


    As soon as she mentioned that, Toby became stunned.


    Instantly, he came back to his senses and narrowed his eyes. "Keep going."


    She affirmed and continued, "Look, Professor Randall and Mr. Lore knew that you would most likely


    pick a mentor out of the two of them, but in fact, you only had Professor Randall in mind. Plus, you


    guys had already decided on a date to make it official. So, what are the odds that he''d slip on a random


    banana peel at the front of his office the day before the officialization? Most importantly, how did


    something like a banana peel appear in front of his office? Sure, bananas are everywhere, but how


    often do you see a banana peel lying around on the floor? A normal person wouldn''t randomly throw


    one on the ground. Furthermore, it was thrown at a university professor''s office door. Whatever it is, the


    situation seems fishy. Besides..."


    She took a look at his increasingly stern face and she paused for a few seconds before continuing her


    words, "There are even regr cleaners on the streets now, let alone a university professor''s office."


    "Are you trying to say that Professor Randall''s death was not an ident but an orchestrated one?"


    Toby gradually tightened his hands that were ced on the dining table.


    Sonia looked at his increasingly cold expression and she affirmed slowly, "That''s right. I do have such a


    suspicion. After all, the timing is too coincidental. He could have encountered trouble anytime at all, but


    then ultimately, he encountered the ident exactly the day before you officialize everything. Besides,


    there is the issue with the banana peel too. Anyway, I don''t think that the appearance of the banana


    peel is idental. Frankly, do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? This is very likely to be a plotted


    thing. Of course, though, these are just my deductions. Perhaps all this is just an ident."


    "No." As soon as Sonia finished her words, Toby suddenly shook his head. "Perhaps your deductions


    aren''t too far off from the truth. This could have been plotted."


    Sonia''s eyes widened at that point.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and exined, "Back then when Professor Randall encountered that ident,


    I wasn''t at school but Fuller Group. Furthermore, I didn''t get to know about the ident until the very


    next day. That was the day we were supposed to officialize everything, but I only found out that


    Professor Randall had passed away when I was on my way to his house. By then, Professor Randall''s


    body had already been cremated and the police had closed the case by deeming it an ident. Since


    it became a closed file officially, I never suspected that there could be another reason behind Professor


    Randall''s demise. I always thought of that as an ident and I never considered that there would be


    more behind all this, until you mentioned earlier that something was fishy with it. That was when I


    realized there might be more to this."


    As per Sonia''s deductions, it was strange that Professor Randall encountered the ident


    coincidentally on the day before the officialization. It could have happened any other day after all.


    Besides, it definitely was notmon to see a banana peel flung casually on the ground, especially at


    a university.


    His university was one of the top universities in the country and the students there were highly cultured,


    so they would not have littered all over the ce.


    On the other hand, the professors upying the office building would not have done so either.


    Besides, there would always be cleaners avable, so Sonia was right. Even the streets were kept


    clean at all times, so why would a prestigious university office not be? In fact, there would be cleaners


    inspecting each floor with their equipment in tow every half an hour on average.


    Since there would be renowned people from abroad and all over the country visiting his university


    regrly, the cleanliness of the ce was something that the university paid close attention to.


    Therefore, in general, it would be pretty much impossible for a banana peel to remain on the ground,


    especially right in front of an office entrance. Clearly, this situation was strange no matter how much


    one considered it.


    As soon as Sonia saw his slightly fluttering eyes, she considered the situation and asked, "Have you


    thought of something?"


    Toby lifted his head and was nonmittal. "I have indeed recalled another fishy part. Although I didn''t


    see for myself how Professor Randall fell, I did ask around about how the ident happened and how


    he fell. ording to the vice-chancellor of the university, there was a group of economics exchange


    students from an international university, and the exchange students were led by Professor Randall


    around the school. He and the leader of the exchange students got along very well. They were both


    renowned in the economics world, so they naturally had a lot ofmon topics to talk about.


    Furthermore, Professor Randall had been focused on a research topic regarding the future


    development of economics. Back then, the leader wasn''t involved in research work, but he had a


    unique insight on this topic, so the vice-chancellor mentioned that Professor Randall and the leader of


    the group were very enthusiastic as they discussed the topic. They were as thick as thieves."


    Sonia pursed her lips and smiled. "This is true. One would definitely develop a close rtionship with


    someone whom they could rte to. My dad loves to y chess, but he''s very bad at it, so his fellow


    chess buddies aren''t too enthusiastic to see him and they aren''t keen to y with him either. There was


    once, though, my dad encountered a person who''s equally as bad at chess as him, yet he enjoyed the


    game as much as he did. My dad also kept pestering the guy and tried to force the person into


    agreeing to swear a brotherly oath. As such, he would definitely have a partner to y chess with."Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Toby lifted his chin. "That''s right. That''s the exact mentality. Professor Randall and the leader of the


    group discussed the topic so naturally. Professor Randall wouldn''t be able to stop himself from showing


    his sessful research work to the person."


    "Is that why you mentioned that Professor Randall went back to his office to get some documents?"


    Sonia stroked her chin and made a guess.


    Toby nodded. "Yes. That was what he went back to get, but there''s something that I hadn''t exined


    properly to you and I just recalled that right now."


    "What is it?" Sonia nced at him.


    He clenched his fist tighter. "Professor Randall retrieved the documents and slipped on the banana


    peel only after he walked out of the door."


    As soon as Toby said that, Sonia mmed a hand on the table. "I get what you mean. You''re trying to


    say that Professor Randall was fine when he walked through the doors to retrieve the documents. So


    clearly, there was no banana peel in front of the entrance before he entered his office. After all, why


    wouldn''t he notice a filthy banana peel right in front of his office in the first ce?


    That means, the banana peel appeared at the entrance right after he entered his office."


    "Exactly." Toby nodded. "He wouldn''t have taken too long to retrieve the documents because he''d


    definitely know where he stored his belongings."


    "That''s for sure." Sonia shrugged. "One would definitely know where their belongings were stored¡ª


    especially something that he had been focused on researching¡ªso that item must have been ced


    somewhere easily essible and well-frequented by him. This ce would surely be his office desk.


    Based on my deductions, Professor Randall wouldn''t have taken too long to enter then leave: it would


    be at most two to three minutes at most. So, the banana peel would have appeared in that short span


    of time. This is an indication that someone was keeping a close eye and trailing after him. Otherwise, it


    would have been impossible for the person to randomly fling the banana peel in front of his office in


    such a short span of time without getting caught."

 Chapter 1116

    Chapter 1116


    "Little Leaf, you''re indeed very smart." The solemn look on Toby''s face mellowed slightly as he smiled


    at her.


    Meanwhile, Sonia snorted haughtily. "Of course, I''m smart! After all, I''m the first person to notice that


    there was something fishy going on with this incident."


    "Yes, you are. I''ll reward you handsomelyter on. What do you think about that?" Toby''s eyes


    darkened.


    Instantly, Sonia''s expression froze as she made a ''no'' gesture with her hands in front of her chest. "No


    way! Don''t even think about that!"


    Don''t even think about that? Toby was secretly scornful about that. I''ve already gone there, so how can


    I go back and change my mind? Since he had already made up his mind to reward her, he was not


    going to renege on his words. After all, he was not a fickle person.


    Still, his thoughts remained as thoughts as he did not express it to Sonia. Otherwise, she would surely


    come up with an excuse tonight to brush him off.


    As soon as Sonia noticed that he had stopped speaking, she thought that he had given up that notion,


    which rendered her relieved. Subsequently, she changed the topic and brought up the incident once


    again. "But then, how did you know that Professor Randall took a fall after retrieving the documents?


    You weren''t at the scene, right?"


    "This was ording to the vice-chancellor''s words; he had a good rtionship with Professor Randall.


    As soon as Professor Randall''s ident urred, the vice-chancellor rushed over immediately. He


    saw Professor Randall''s body, which was still clutching to the documents. Furthermore, the vice-


    chancellor confirmed with the leader of the exchange students that Professor Randall had indeed gone


    back to his office to retrieve the documents. I was the new mentee that Professor Randall was about to


    ept, so I naturally wanted to find out what happened to him. I went to the vice-chancellor and these


    were all reiterated to me personally by him. In fact, he''s actually distantly rted to Professor Randall.


    Also, the vice-chancellor''s chances of gaining the chancellor position after the current one retired would


    be dependent on Professor Randall''s achievements too because Professor Randall was considered to


    be working under the vice-chancellor. The vice-chancellor''s achievements in the research world would


    also be linked to Professor Randall''s research topic sesses. That''s how the vice-chancellor would


    be able to ascend to the position. So, I concluded that he would be thest person on earth to wish for


    misfortune to befall Professor Randall. Naturally, he would not lie to me about this matter."


    Sonia nodded approvingly. "Since the vice-chancellor knew that Professor Randall slipped when he


    came out of the room, then why didn''t the vice-chancellor suspect that his death was sabotage? After


    all, the sudden appearance of a banana peel on the ground''s just too out of the ordinary. Not only the


    vice-chancellor, but the police didn''t find this incident suspicious either. They even closed the case


    swiftly by deeming it an ident, so it just seems kinda odd. I don''t believe that the police didn''t


    consider the suspicious points that even I could identify. That''s why I have another hunch."


    "You mean that the police and the vice-chancellor were bribed afterward, and even though they


    realized that there were some suspicious points, they chose to overlook them. Is this what you''re trying


    to say?" Toby looked at her.


    Sonia affirmed twice, "Yes, exactly. That''s the suspicion that I have. This whole thing seems quite


    strange, isn''t it? It''s not normal for a death case to be investigated swiftly and then be a closed


    case so soon. Even if it was an idental death, there would at least be a seventy-two-hour


    investigation before the police requested for case closure. However, this case was concluded in a rush


    by the next day, so that''s abnormally fast. It feels more like someone bribed the police to close the case


    as soon as possible and conclude Professor Randall''s death as an ident so that no one would


    investigate the matter any further. By the way, does Professor Randall have any family members?" she


    asked while looking at him.


    He shook his head. "He had no family. His family members lost their lives ten years ago and he was the


    only survivor back then."


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    "That''s no wonder, then." Sonia pursed her red lips. "That makes sense. Since he didn''t have any


    family members, so even if the case was concluded hastily, no one would object to that. As for you,


    why didn''t you notice the suspicious part regarding the hasty conclusion of the case?"


    "I noticed that and made ns to relook into the case." Toby lowered his eyes. "However, before I


    could do so, I was hospitalized due to my heart disease, so this matter was overlooked."


    "Is that so?" Sonia averted her gaze to his chest. "Then, is your heart okay now? I heard that even after


    a heart transnt, it''s not your own organ after all, so there could be some issues. Over these years,


    have you experienced any difort in your heart?"


    She realized then that she had never asked him about this issue before.


    Taken aback by her question, he suddenly froze in response and stiffened slightly. "No, everything has


    been perfectly fine for me."


    As Toby replied, he lowered his eyes further to mask the emotions inside them.


    Not noticing the difference in his expression, she heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that his heart


    was fine. "That''s great."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll be fine. We''ve got a long life together ahead of us, so there''s no way I''d leave my heart


    issue unresolved." Toby reached out to ruffle her hair. "Trust me."


    Although he had already found an organ donor, the donor was still alive and Toby was not as evil as to


    seek a life using despicable methods just to survive. He did want to get a heart transnt as soon as


    possible, but he would not kill the donor beforehand to achieve his goal quicker. Furthermore, the donor


    was now on his finalp of life and his body could no longer sustain him for more than half a year.


    Therefore, Toby could well afford to wait for another half a year.


    "I trust you." Sonia looked at him and nodded with a smile.


    Toby retracted his hand. "Let''s continue our discussion. Who do you reckon is the mastermind behind


    Professor Randall''s ident?"


    "Is this a test?" She took a sip of soup.


    He smiled and said, "You could think of it that way."


    Sonia lifted her head and rolled her eyes at him. "The answer is so obvious and yet you''re testing me?


    Do you think that I''m an idiot?"


    "No." Toby shook his head frantically. He had no other option as he had noticed the dangerous look in


    her eyes.


    Sonia snorted with a pleased expression as soon as she realized that he was perceptive. "That sounds


    much better, but since you''ve asked me that question, I''ll give you an answer. My answer is quite


    simple actually. Whoever has the most to gain out of this would be the most suspicious person. Let me


    ask you this, who was it that epted Mr. Lore as his mentor after Professor Randall''s death?"


    "I did," Toby murmured as he moved his thin lips.


    Sonia nodded in response and said, "Then, I''ve got another question for you. After Professor Randall''s


    death, who became the person to head the student exchange team? I''m guessing that it was Mr. Lore


    too, right?"


    Toby curved his lips into a smile. "How did youe to that?"


    "It''s simple. You mentioned before that there were only two people you were interested to seek as your


    mentor¡ªeither Professor Randall or Mr. Lore. Evidently, these two men had a significant influence on


    the subject of economics studies and they''re the cream of the crop in the industry. The university


    assigned Professor Randall to lead the international exchange student program, so it''s obvious that the


    program was exclusive. Otherwise, how would Professor Randall have been selected to lead them?


    The university must have been critical in choosing who to lead them as that would be detrimental to the


    international ties between both countries. Although Professor Randall passed away before the program


    ended, they couldn''t possibly put a stop to the program, so it would surely proceed as usual. The


    university would naturally have to assign someone else to lead the group. Furthermore, that person


    would need to be of equal status to Professor Randall. The only person who fits that criteria is Mr.


    Lore."


    "You''re right. Little Leaf, you''re awesome!" Toby put down the red wine and praised her by giving her a


    thumbs up.


    ttered, she brushed him off while waving her hand. "Okay, okay. Stop fawning over me. I maintain


    my words; whoever has the most to gain out of these two things would very likely be the mastermind.


    After Professor Randall''s death, not only did Mr. Lore became your mentor, but he also seeded in


    leading the international exchange students and became the top economics professor in the country.


    There would no longer be anyone else capable enough to vie for the same position as him. This is


    entirely something that he benefited out of, regardless of how you look at the situation."

 Chapter 1117

    Chapter 1117


    Toby ced his interlocked fingers on the dining table without saying a word and he lowered his head


    as he considered the situation.


    As soon as Sonia saw that, she did not bother him as she held her fork and knife to continue her meal.


    After she had taken a few gulps of her food, he finally gave a reaction.


    He rxed both hands and gradually lifted his head. "I''ll get the police to reinvestigate the case and


    look into the matter once again."


    "What if the proper investigation reveals that Mr. Lore was the mastermind behind this? How would you


    deal with this?" Sonia stopped eating and ced down her utensils as she nced at him. This was a


    point that she was most interested in.


    He lifted his red wine ss and gulped it down. "I''ve chosen to forsake the Lore Family during this


    morning''s incident; if Mr. Lore ends up being the mastermind, then naturally, I would not let him get


    away with this. I will choose to seek justice for Professor Randall. After all, Professor Randall was the


    mentor I chose in the first ce."


    "I agree with that." Sonia stretched out her hand and ced it atop his. "No matter what happens, I''ll


    support your decision and I''ll definitely stand by your side just like how you''ve always stood by me and


    supported every single one of my decisions."


    Remaining silent, Toby turned his hand and held her hand in his palms as he gently gripped her hand


    to indicate his happy feelings at the moment.


    After some time, he let go of Sonia and stood up while holding onto his phone. "I''ll make a phone call."


    "Are you going to call the police now?" Sonia asked as she lifted her head.


    He nodded. "I''ll give the special forces a call. Both Professor Randall and Mr. Lore are civil servants


    and they''re enlisted in the government, so the usual cops would not be able to handle this matter. The


    investigation would have to be conducted by the higher-ups."


    "Okay. Go ahead, then. Make it quick though because the food is getting cold." Sonia pointed to the


    lavish spread on the table.


    Toby affirmed, "I''ll be back real soon. Start without me."


    After saying that, he strode off in his long legs and headed in the direction of the balcony.


    On the other end, Harry did not realize that he was the topic of Toby and Sonia''s suspicions, and that


    Toby had contacted the special forces to reinvestigate the death case from more than ten years ago.


    At that moment, Harry was inside a car with Grayson next to him.


    Grayson looked at the phone in Harry''s hand before turning to look at his wizened face, which was


    currently thunderous. He gulped before asking, "Dad, did Toby hang up on you?"


    His tone was full of trepidation as he sounded weak and feeble. He was apletely different person


    from his haughty self in front of his secretary in the morning.


    Indeed, every person had their weak spot regardless of how great they were. Grayson was afraid of the


    old man before him, who was his very own father. Therefore, he spoke gingerly when he was faced


    with Harry.


    "Haven''t you seen it with your own eyes? Why do you have to ask the obvious?" Clearly, Harry was


    annoyed by his son''s question as he shot him a disgusting look.


    Grayson shrunk back and muttered, "I was just expressing my concern."


    "Hah! Don''t worry. I am perfectly fine," Harry replied calmly and retracted his gaze.


    Grayson ran a hand through his hair. "But then Dad, Toby noticed that you were the one on the line, yet


    he hung up the phone. It looks like things are serious this time."


    At that moment, Grayson suddenly felt unsure of his assumptions. He had initially thought that even if


    Toby was angry about the matter and refused to talk to him, Toby would never ignore Harry. After all,


    Harry was Toby''s mentor. Perhaps all that was needed was for Harry to voice out and Toby would


    surely be mindful of Harry''s identity as his mentor and let things slide. Surely, he would never actually


    go after the Lore Family. However, at this point, Toby had rejected Harry''s call and Grayson suddenly


    lost confidence that Toby would let the Lore Family get away just because of Harry''s position.


    Harry looked at his phone and his dark eyes were unreadable. "Perhaps it''s not only this matter with


    Lte that made him refuse my call."


    "Was there something else that happened?" Grayson''s voice was raised all of a sudden.


    Harry heaved a sigh. "This morning, I went over to Fuller Group and met up with Toby, right?"


    "Yes, I know that." Grayson nodded.


    Harry leaned back slightly. "During our meeting today, I said a lot of nasty things about Sonia in front of


    Toby and he was very angry. He instantly escorted me out of Fuller Group. That''s why I reckon Toby


    refused my call not only because of Lte''s matter, but also because of the words I said to him this


    morning."


    "What should we do then?" Grayson panicked. "It''s no wonder that he would be so angry! These two


    matters added up are indeed a cause of anger. Dad, if we don''t patch things up with Toby as soon as


    possible, thepany will be in trouble. This afternoon, representatives from severalpanies called


    me and they probed about Toby''s attitude toward our family. If word gets out that Toby intends to sever


    ties with our family, then thesepanies will surelye together to attack us. After all, we did offend


    quite a fewpanies in the past."


    "I don''t need you to tell me all this. I''m aware." Harry red at his useless and panicky son while


    speaking in a low voice, "Don''t worry, I managed to gain such a great mentee back then, so there is no


    way I would allow our rtionship to deteriorate."


    As soon as Grayson heard Harry''s words, he calmed down significantly. However, he was still slightly


    apprehensive. "Toby refuses to answer our phone calls though, and he doesn''t want to see us at all.


    We can''t even locate him, so how are we going to patch things up with him?"


    Harry pinched his nose bridge. "Don''t worry about Toby for now. He''s still in a fit of anger from today''s


    incident, so we shouldn''t bother him. Let''s give him some time to calm down. Perhaps once he calms


    down, he will answer our call and meet up with us.


    By then, it would be much easier for us to talk to him."


    "So, are we supposed to do nothing now?" Grayson was discontented.


    Harry narrowed his eyes in response. "Of course not. We should give him some time to calm down, but


    that doesn''t mean we''re going to stand by and do nothing. Let''s go over to Fuller Residence first."


    Grayson''s eyes sparkled at the sound of that. "Dad, do you intend to talk to Old Mrs. Fuller and tackle


    the situation by winning her over?"


    Harry affirmed, "Right now, that seems to be the only thing we can do. Old Mrs. Fuller is an elder whom


    Toby cares the most about. Once Old Mrs. Fuller voices out, Toby would definitely agree to everything


    she says."


    "This sounds like a great idea, but..." Grayson scratched his head. "Dad, Old Mrs. Fuller has never


    been too enthusiastic toward our family members, so will we seed if we go over to see her?"


    "Well, we have to give it a try, don''t we?" Harry shot a look at Grayson from the side of his eyes before


    lowering his head and expressing calmly, "Plus, I''m not too sure why, but I keep having an uneasy


    feeling, so we''ve got to patch our rtionship with Toby as soon as possible. Otherwise, I''m afraid that


    if this persists, there will be much more terrible things to ur."


    "Okay. Let''s head over right now." Grayson nodded and instructed the driver to start the car.


    An hourter, they arrived at Fuller Residence and the duo alighted from the car to rify their


    identities to the security guards.


    The security guards knew that Harry was Toby''s mentor, so they took into ount Harry''s position and


    naturally did ont dare to dy the situation. As such, the guards reported the situation to the main


    house instantly.


    It was past 9.00PM and Rose had just gotten ready for bed with Mary''s help. She was just about to


    retire to bed when there was a knock on the door.


    Mary frowned in annoyance. "It''s sote. Why are the servants knocking on the door at this time of the


    night?"


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "There must be something urgent. Open the door, Mary," Rose spoke with a smile as she was not


    bothered at all.


    "That''s alright. They can wait. I''ll help you into bed first," said Mary as she helped Rose plump up her


    pillow.


    Mary was insistent, so Rose went along with Mary''s words and got into bed. After Rose made herself


    comfortable in bed, Mary tucked her under the nket before turning around to open the door.

 Chapter 1118

    Chapter 1118


    The door was opened and Mary was shocked to find not a servant outside but one of the security


    guards from the front gate.


    Taken aback as soon as she saw the man, she then asked solemnly, "What''s wrong?"


    Normally, the security guards would not enter the main house unless something had happened, so it


    was pretty much impossible for them to be directly knocking on Rose''s bedroom door, especially so


    late at night. As such, something major must have happened for the security guard to be here right


    now.


    "Mary, there are visitors at the door. It''s President Fuller''s mentor and he''s here to visit Old Mrs. Fuller.


    These are their details." The security guard handed over Harry''s name card to Mary.


    Mary reached out to take a look at it. As soon as she saw the name written on it, she scoffed, "They


    must be after something toe and visit Old Mrs. Fuller sote at night!"


    "Should we let them in? Or should we just tell them to leave? If you don''t want them toe in, then I''ll


    tell them off right now," asked the security guard as he looked at Mary.


    Mary folded the name card in her hand. "Hold on. I''ll consult Old Mrs. Fuller about this."


    "Okay." The security guard nodded respectfully.


    As such, Mary shut the door and turned around back into the room.


    Rose, who was originally lying down, was now sitting up in bed and had a book in her hands,


    seemingly engrossed in the book.


    At that sight, Mary immediately became unhappy. "Old Mrs. Fuller, why did you get up in bed and


    started to read? You were tucked into bed earlier!"


    Rose listened to Mary''s reproachful words; not only was she not upset by that, but she smiled


    cheerfully. "It''s okay, Mary. Don''t be upset. I had trouble falling asleep, so that''s why I sat up and did


    some reading. I''ll go to bed in a short while when I feel sleepy."


    "But you''re not supposed to stay up toote. It''s not good for your health." Mary walked over and


    attempted to remove the book from Rose''s hands and get Rose to lie down.


    However, Rose had already noticed what she was attempting to do. As soon as Mary reached out to


    grab the book, Rose shifted the book to the side and refused to let her get hold of it.


    At that point, Mary revealed an exasperated smile. "Old Mrs. Fuller, you..."


    "Mary, that''s enough." Rose maintained a smile on her face. "I realize that you''re worried about me, but


    my health is as you can see. So, how much worse can it get? Don''t worry. I''m well aware of my


    condition."


    Rose stubbornly insisted on getting some reading done before bed, so Mary had no other option for a


    moment there.


    At that moment, Rose suddenly noticed the card in Mary''s hand and she put her book aside to ask,


    "What''s that?"


    "Oh, this is a name card from the Lore Family." Mary suddenly recalled that as she handed over the


    card to Rose.


    Rose reached out to take it. "The Lore Family? Do you mean Toby''s mentor''s family?"


    "That''s them." Mary nodded. "They are at the front gates right now and they''re here to see you."


    "Here to see me?" Rose paused while holding onto the name card.


    Meanwhile, Mary smoothed over the nket that was over Rose. "Yes. I reckon that they must be here


    because of the incident on the inte this morning. Old Mrs. Fuller, you''ve heard of how Miss Lore


    framed Miss Reed. She''s trying to cause Young Master Toby to misunderstand Miss Reed and break


    up with Miss Reed so that she could take over Miss Reed''s position."


    By then, Rose was no longer interested to look at the name card as she folded it in half before casting


    it aside on her bedside table like it was a piece of rubbish. Rose sneered coldly, "I''m quite aware of


    what sort of personalities the Lore Family have and frankly speaking¡ªthough this may sound rude¡ª


    they are just a bunch of rogues. I''ve known from the start that their daughter''s interested in Toby. He


    was the only person oblivious to that."


    Mary chuckled in response. "Young Master Toby tends to be quite clueless in rtionship matters and I


    guess that''s a good thing too because he wouldn''t have to be burdened unnecessarily."


    Rose smiled as she turned to look at her. "Toby''s not clueless at all. If he waspletely clueless in


    such rtionship matters, then he wouldn''t have fallen in love with Sonny while they were exchanging


    letters without even meeting her. He just can''t be bothered by people he''s not interested in, so that''s


    why he didn''t realize that Miss Lore was interested in him."


    "Whatever it is, it''s a good thing that Young Master Toby isn''t aware of Miss Lore''s intentions." Mary


    poured a ss of milk for Rose.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    A warm cup of milk could be good to aid sleep. Since Rose was unable to fall asleep, then perhaps


    drinking some milk could put her to sleep soon enough.


    Yet, Rose was aware of Mary''s intention. With a smile, she did not object to Mary''s offer and took the


    ss of milk. "This time, Miss Lore spread rumors about Sonny on the inte because she must have


    been unable to contain herself any longer. She didn''t want to see Toby and Sonny maintain their


    rtionship ''cause she must be concerned that she wouldn''t be able to rece Sonny''s position after


    that."


    "Hmph! I really don''t get what''s going on in the minds of young women nowadays. They refuse to


    behave decently and use devious means to get their way. To think that shees from a distinguished


    family, she''s actually intent on being a homewrecker!" Mary was disdainful as she spilled her words.


    As for Rose, she took a sip of milk and the previously amiable look in her eyes was reced with


    coldness. It was exactly the same cold look that Toby wore when he dealt with strangers. Clearly, he


    had learned many of his ways directly from Rose.


    "A distinguished family?" Rose sneered coldly. "How can she be considered to be from a distinguished


    family? If it wasn''t because of her grandfather''s luck back then in bing Toby''s mentor, their family


    would have be history. They wouldn''t have been able to continue unting amongst the wealthy


    by taking advantage of Young Master Toby''s name."


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, since you''re aware that the Lore Family have been behaving badly and unting by


    making use of Young Master Toby''s name, why didn''t you convince Young Master Toby to warn them?"


    Mary nced at Rose with a perplexed expression.


    Rose brushed her off. "What''s the point in me telling him? Even if Toby trusts my words, there is no


    evidence at all, so he wouldn''t be able to sever ties with them. After all, the Lore Family yed a role in


    guiding him in his studies, so I can''tment too much seeing that we''re indebted to them. Otherwise,


    we might be criticized for being ungrateful. That''s why I chose to keep silent and watch them continue


    their clown show. No matter how hard they try to mask themselves, they would end up exposing


    themselves and Toby would have to see through their true colors sooner orter. By then, the Lore


    Family'' kindness granted to Toby in the past would have been worn off by their misdeeds, so he


    wouldn''t be caught in a tight position if he went after them."


    "Okay, I get it." Mary nodded and agreed that this was a great idea. "I heard that Lte''s action of


    framing Miss Reed this time has angered Young Master Toby and he seems to have made up his mind


    to sever ties with the Lore Family. Furthermore, it seems like he will be taking action against the Lore


    Family. I''m not too sure how true that is, Old Mrs. Fuller. Why don''t you ask Young Master Toby?"


    Rose shook her head. "That''s not necessary. The rumors you heard must be true. Sonny''s precious to


    Toby and he would never allow anyone to harm her. The Lore Family''s actions must have triggered


    Toby''s rage. I know him very well and clearly, he won''t let them get away with things lightly. That''s why


    even though I got to know this matter today, I don''t n on calling Toby or Sonny to ask about it. I''m not


    going to interfere and I''ll let him deal with this himself."


    "Yes, I agree that you shouldn''t get involved. You should be enjoying a rxing life." Mary smiled.


    Rose smiled as well. "You''re right about that."


    "However, Mr. Lore''s here to see you. Perhaps because he knew that Young Master Toby is nning to


    cut ties with the Lore Family and he can''t get hold of Young Master Toby. That''s why he came over to


    see you and try to target you to resolve the matter. Otherwise, he would never pay you a visit. I don''t


    think that he''s here to visit because he respects you." Mary shot a look at the card by the side with a


    scornful smile.


    Rose ced the ss of milk aside. "Yeah. If I''m not mistaken, Harry''s been back for quite some time


    now, huh?"


    "He''s been back for more than two weeks now," Mary replied.


    Meanwhile, Rose ced a wizened hand on her abdomen and patted it gently. "Yes. He''s been back


    for more than two weeks and yet he didn''t bother toe over and visit me throughout that period.


    Clearly, he couldn''t care less about me. Now that he''s encountered trouble, he''s finally thought of


    seeing me. Obviously, he''s trying to take advantage of me and I''m just a tool to him. Do you reckon that


    I should show him my temper?"

 Chapter 1119

    Chapter 1119


    "You should!" Mary pped and agreed.


    Subsequently, she looked at Rose and asked, "Then, Old Mrs. Fuller, what do you n to do next? Do


    you want to meet him?"


    "Since he''s here, then there''s no harm in meeting him." Rose uncovered the nket. "Besides, I won''t


    be alive for much longer. If he ns on making a tool out of me and I don''t meet him today to avenge


    myself, then I wouldn''t know when else I can do so."


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, what are you on about?" Mary helped Rose out of bed and expressed discontentedly,


    "What do you mean by you won''t live much longer? You''ll definitely still be around when Young Master


    Toby and Miss Reed get married again; you''ll be able to y with your great-grandchildren too.


    Perhaps, you''d be able to see Young Master Tyler get married as well! By the way, Young Master Tyler


    should being back soon. Their team should have made it to the finals by now."


    Rose chuckled happily. "That little brat, Tyler has been gone for a few months now. I do miss him very


    much."


    "If that''s the case, then I''ll give Young Master Tyler a call tomorrow morning and get him toe over


    immediately to see you once he''s back. How does that sound?" Mary helped Rose put on her jacket.


    Rose brushed Mary off. "That''s not necessary. If you ask Tyler toe over immediately once he


    arrives back and Jean finds out, then she might get jealous. Perhaps by then, she would me me for


    keeping them from seeing each other. I don''t want to be med for that. Anyway, Tyler would definitely


    pay me a visit once he''s back, so there is no need to take any unnecessary action."


    "Okay." Mary nodded. However, she could not helpining, "Come to think about it, Jean''s joined


    the family for so many years now, but she hasn''t improved at all. Back then, you even hired several


    teachers to guide her on etiquette and skills with the hopes that her uncouthness would rub off.


    However, not only did she not change in her ways at all, but the teachers had such a tough time with


    her. This was indeed something astonishing."


    "Forget about it. These are all matters of the past, so let''s not mention them. Fortunately, Jean''s


    terrified of Toby, so I won''t have to worry that she''ll create havoc once I die. Besides, Sonny has


    changed significantly too. Jean might even suffer in her hands," said Rose as she put on her final piece


    of clothing.


    Mary smiled. "You''re right."


    "Let''s go. Let''s meet Harry now." Rose took the cane handed over by Mary.


    Mary affirmed and helped Rose to the entrance by guiding her elbow.


    The door was once again opened and the security guard remained by the entrance.


    As soon as he saw the duo walk out, he quickly bowed. "Old Mrs. Fuller."


    Rose nodded. "Show them into the living room. I''ll meet them there."


    "Okay." The security guard nodded and followed the instructions as he turned around to leave


    subsequently.


    Mary helped Rose out of the room, then toward the direction of the living room.


    Along the way, Mary suddenly realized something and she asked while looking at Rose. "Old Mrs.


    Fuller, should we let Young Master Toby know that the Lore Family came over? I reckon Young Master


    Toby isn''t aware of this yet."


    "No, don''t inform him. If you let him know about this, he''s definitely going to worry and rush over at this


    time of the night. It''s dangerous to drive out at night, so let''s not bother him. Besides, do you think that


    Harry would dare to do anything to me?"


    "I''m sure he wouldn''t have the guts to do anything to you." Mary shook her head without hesitation.


    "Everything will be fine."


    Meanwhile at the gates to the Fuller Residence, the winter temperatures of Seafield were normally


    colder than elsewhere, especially at night. Furthermore, the wind was bitterly cold.


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    Harry and Grayson stood there shivering under the cold winter night as they huddled up, tempted to


    stick their heads into their down jackets.


    "Dad, why don''t we just wait in the car? The heater''s on and it''s much morefortable in there,"


    Grayson asked perplexedly as he looked at their car parked on the other side of the road.


    At the same time, he could not contain the slight jealousy that welled up within him. Indeed, he was


    jealous of his own driver. Harry and Grayson were the employers, yet they were standing here being


    subjected to the bitterly cold wind and freezing their pants off. Meanwhile, the driver remained inside


    the car while enjoying the heater insidefortably. Furthermore, the driver might even be thinking in


    his mind that Harry and Grayson were idiots who chose to stand under the cold winter night despite


    having ess to heating.


    Harry nced in the direction of the car and rubbed both hands together. "I know exactly what''s going


    on in your mind, but this time, we''re here to seek a favor, so we should show our sincerity. There''s no


    harm in suffering through some cold weather."


    "I get it! You''re trying to make her feel sorry for us, huh?" Grayson inched closer toward Harry.


    Harry remained speechless, but his silence was clearly an acquiescence. Indeed, he was nning to


    make Rose feel sorry for them. Perhaps, she would relent after seeing them stand for so long outside


    in such bitterly cold weather.


    "Dad, you''ve got all the bases covered indeed." Grayson reached out and gave Harry a thumbs-up


    gesture. He was sincerely impressed.


    Unimpressed, Harry shot him a look. "That''s enough. Stop fawning over me and stand up straight. Stop


    talking too because someone mighte out and hear what you said."


    "Okay." Grayson shrunk back and retreated to the side.


    Not long after that, the son could not help and inched over to Harry once again. "Dad, the security


    guard has gone inside for quite some time now. Why isn''t he back? Could it be that Old Mrs. Fuller


    doesn''t wish to see us, and she doesn''t want to reject us outright, so she''s just going to ignore us?"


    At that point, Harry was fazed as he wore a solemn look. He''s notpletely wrong.


    As soon as Grayson noticed his dad turn silent, his heart skipped a beat. "Oh my gosh, Dad. Do you


    think that it''s possible too?"


    "If Old Mrs. Fuller knew about the incident on the inte, then there is indeed such a possibility," Harry


    admitted with uncertainty.


    At that point, Grayson turned frantic. "Does that mean we''vee in vain? We''ve also stood here


    under the cold weather for nothing?"


    Harry''s expression froze slightly and he was about to say something when he noticed the door to the


    security room open up. Then, the security guard from earlier came out and walked over in their


    direction.


    As soon as Harry saw that, he instantly tugged his idiotic son''s arm. "Shut up. Someone''s here."


    Grayson instantly recollected himself upon hearing Harry''s words and he stood still without uttering a


    word.


    "Mr. Lore." The security guard came over and stood in front of Harry. "Old Mrs. Fuller has agreed to see


    you. You two cane with me."


    The security guard made a wee gesture and indicated the two of them to trail after him.


    Harry and Grayson exchanged looks with each other as both of them noted the relieved look in each


    other''s eyes.


    Fortunately, Old Mrs. Fuller agreed to meet up. It''s likely that she doesn''t mind the rumors on the


    inte. With that in mind, Harry and Grayson were much more confident to meet up with Rose.


    This was the first time ever that Grayson visited Fuller Residence.


    The building was a typical colonial-style design and it was massive.


    He had never seen a mansion this size but merely heard of them. Thergest simrly styled mansion


    he had ever seen was only half the size of this ce. It was the first experience ever for him to see


    such a humongous ce.


    Grayson scanned the surroundings as they walked inside. If one did not know his position as a


    president of apany, one would have assumed that he was a country bumpkin who hade to


    town for the first time.


    Yet, he was not the only one behaving this way as even Harry could not help studying the mansion


    secretly. Still, he was not as exaggerated as Grayson. After all, he had been here twice before, so he


    was not as astonished as Grayson by the ce.


    Nheless, the mansion was truly an impressive building. Although Harry had been here more than


    once, he was still in awe regardless, so Grayson''s reaction was practically normal.


    "Dad, Fuller Residence is so grand and impressive!" Grayson trailed not too far behind the security


    guard as he inched closer to Harry and eximed in a low voice.

 Chapter 1120

    Chapter 1120


    Harry nodded. "It would definitely be grand of course. This was one of the prehistoric castles from the


    past. After the war ended, this ce was granted to Old Mr. Fuller as a reward for the sacrifices he


    made for the country. Subsequently, the Fullers invested a lot of money into refurbishing the ce.


    They gradually did some renovations to the original building and finally, we have the Fuller Residence


    you see today."


    "Oh, so it used to be a prehistoric castle. No wonder it''s massive. The other prehistoric castles in the


    country have all been confiscated by the government and forcefully demolished. It''s quite rare to see


    this. It would be great if we had a prehistoric castle in the family, huh?" Grayson scanned the


    surroundings with an envious look in his eyes.


    Yet, Harry remained silent. He was, too, tempted to own a prehistoric castle, but they were neither


    influential nor rich enough to afford that.


    It was fine though, because once Lte joined the Fuller Family and after the demise of Old Mrs.


    Fuller, Lte would then be thedy of the mansion. By then, he might be able to move into this


    ce and there would be no difference whether he owned the ce or not. As for Jean, Harry


    conveniently disregarded her.


    The father and son duo chatted with each other and arrived at the main living room quite soon after


    that.


    As soon as they walked through the doors, Harry and Grayson noticed that Rose was sipping tea while


    sitting in the middle of the room.


    Hearing the iing footsteps, she put down her teacup and lifted her head to take a look at the father


    and son duo brought in by the security guard.


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, here they are." The security guard led the duo into the living room and stopped in front


    of Rose before gesturing to the two men behind him as he reported back to her.


    Rose put down her teacup and nodded. "Alright, back to your station. I''ll get you if there is anything


    important."


    "Sure, Old Mrs. Fuller." The security guard bowed and turned around to leave.


    As such, there were only Rose, Mary, Harry, and Grayson left in the room.


    Rose took a look at Harry and Grayson before giving instructions to Mary, who was behind her, by


    gesturing with her lips. "Mary, pour them some tea."


    "Sure, Old Mrs. Fuller." Mary stood up and affirmed before heading toward the father and son duo.


    After showing the two of them to their seats, she poured them some tea.


    Meanwhile, Rose pretended to be clueless about Harry and Grayson''s purpose of visit. Hence, she


    asked, "What brings you here at this time of the night?"


    Harry took the cup of tea poured by Mary and he smiled while saying, "I''m so sorry, Rosy. It''ste at


    night, yet I''m here to intrude on your rest time. I had no choice, though. I¡ª"


    At that point, Rose''s expression darkened and she immediately interrupted his words, "What did you


    just call me?" There was an unmistakable tone of anger in her voice.


    Stunned, Harry clearly did notprehend why she had suddenly red up at him. He thought about it


    and did not find that there was anything wrong with his words. However, Rose was not the only one


    with a thunderous expression as even Mary had a darkened look on her face; she clearly looked upset.


    As soon as Harry and Grayson saw that, their hearts skipped a beat.Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    Grayson instantly turned to look at Harry questioningly. Dad, what did you just say? Why are they so


    upset?


    Harry shook his head and indicated that he was as clueless as his son. If I knew what was going on,


    then I wouldn''t be so confused right now.


    After pouring tea for them, Mary turned around to head back and stand behind Rose. She looked at the


    two of them with an ashen look on her face. "Mr. Lore, please watch how you address Old Mrs. Fuller


    because if I''m not mistaken, she''s older than you. So, it''s quite rude of you to address her by her


    name."


    At that moment, Harry''s face flushed bright red. "I didn''t..."


    It was then he realized that the way he had addressed Rose angered both of them. He assumed that


    he had said something offensive to them, but he found them quite petty to kick up a fuss out of nothing.


    After all, it was just a term of address, so it was nor a big deal at all. Secretly annoyed by their action,


    he knew that he was on their turf, so he could not behave too rudely. As such, he reserved expressing


    his annoyance.


    On the contrary, he immediately mended his ways and admitted his mistake, "Old Mrs. Fuller, I really


    didn''t mean to be rude at all. I was just¡ª"


    "Mr. Lore, whatever that you intended to do, all I''m aware of is that Old Mrs. Fuller is one of the oldest


    in her social circle. Not only do I know that, but everyone in the same social circle realizes this too.


    After all, everyone got together herest year to celebrate Old Mrs. Fuller''s birthday, so I reckon that


    you must know Old Mrs. Fuller''s actual age quite well. Yet, you addressed her by her name and that''s


    tantly rude there. It looks like Young Master Toby has been too closely associated with you and the


    Lore Family over these years, so that''s why you and your entire family seem to have lost sight of your


    manners, huh? You seem to have gotten the wrong impression that you''re much more important than


    Old Mrs. Fuller in Young Master Toby''s mind. Is that why you''re behaving so rudely before her?"


    Mary''s words were scathing and intended to cause trouble. She did not leave Harry with any leeway at


    all and she purposely framed him as being intentional in trying to humiliate Rose.


    Angered beyond words, Harry could not stop trembling at this point as his bright red face flushed


    redder than before.


    Grayson, who was seated by the side, noticed that his father was wrongfully used by Mary, so he


    could not contain his anger too. He pointed at Mary andined to Rose, "Old Mrs. Fuller, the


    servant next to you is very rude. You haven''t said a word, yet she''s shot her mouth off and started to


    yell at your guest. By keeping such a servant by your side, aren''t you afraid that someday she''ll think of


    snatching your position?"


    As soon as Harry heard his son''s words, a glint shed across his eyes and he turned to look at Rose.


    However, Rose was unperturbed by Grayson''s usations and did not re up at all. Instead, she


    calmly took a sip of tea.


    After she finished drinking the tea, she put down the teacup and nced at Grayson and Harry, who


    looked agitated. Then, she sneered coldly, "Snatching my position? Well, I think you''re the one who


    seems to be trying to take my position. All of us here are your elders and we''re talking to each other, so


    how dare you interrupt our conversation!"


    As soon as Rose said that, her expression darkened. "Besides, how dare you refer to Mary as a


    servant! She''s not only my friend, but she''s also family to me. What''s wrong with a member of my


    family standing up for me? Besides, she isn''t wrong about how your dad here is trying to walk all over


    me!"


    Hearing that, Grayson''s face turned as red as Harry''s and he waspletely at a loss for words.


    At that pathetic sight, Rose continued to sneer coldly and disdainfully, "That''s enough. At least you''re


    right about something earlier on. You''re our guests, so as the host, I shouldn''t be rude. Therefore, I


    won''t pursue the matter earlier. Let''s leave things as it is. Now tell me, why are you here to see me at


    this time of the night?"


    She spoke in such a nonchnt voice that she did not sound enthusiastic at all. Everyone present


    could clearly tell that she was in fact disinterested in their purpose of visiting. The only reason she was


    willing to ask was out of courtesy. After all, they were here and she could not possibly cast them aside.


    Harryprehended the meaning behind Rose''s words and he was fairly angry. His face turned purple


    out of anger, but he had no other option. Although she was disinterested, he could not do anything else


    as he tried hard to suppress his anger.


    As such, he clenched his fist tightly and took several deep breaths before finally calming down. Then,


    he revealed a forced smile and said, "Old Mrs. Fuller, here''s the thing. I came here because of an


    incident that urred today. I''m not too sure whether you''re aware of it, though?" Harry asked


    probingly.


    Following his question, Rose rolled her eyes secretly and the impatient expression on her face


    deepened.


    As soon as Mary saw that, she instantly caught on to it and spoke coldly to Harry, "Mr. Lore, whatever it


    is, just be frank here. There''s no need to beat around the bush and probe Old Mrs. Fuller for


    information. She''s about to go to bed soon, so there''s no use in ying mind games with you here.


    Just be frank, got it?"

 Chapter 1121

    Chapter 1121


    Now that his scheme was exposed, Harry felt embarrassed as he sat there frozen.


    Rose, who saw that he was in a daze, smiled while patting the back of Mary''s hand. "Mr. Lore, Mary''s


    right. You should speak what''s on your mind instead of running in circles. I''m old now, so I don''t have


    the spirit to y this game with you. Wouldn''t that just be wasting our time?"


    Squeezing out a smile, Harry replied, "You''re right, Old Mrs. Fuller. If so, I''ll speak my mind then."


    "You should have," Rose calmly stated.


    Inhaling a deep breath in, Harry found himself in a difficult situation. He had gotten used to speaking in


    an indirect way, so diving straight into the topic was not his forte. To him, it felt like he would easily lose


    the dominant side of the situation.


    For so many years, he had always spoken like this, even to Toby, who did not seem to mind his way of


    speaking.


    Only this olddy has so many problems with it.


    Closing his eyes, Harry disguised his opinions against her and slowly opened his mouth. "There''s this


    thing that happened. It''s not major nor is it minor. It''s an incident that concerns Toby''s ex-wife."


    "I would like to correct something, Mr. Lore. She''s not Toby''s ex-wife. Miss Reed has always been his


    wife. They have just been separated for now and will remarry each other again. Since it''s been¡ªand


    always will be¡ªMiss Reed, then there is no such thing as an ''ex-wife'', is there?" Mary asked while


    smiling at Harry.


    Yet, this smile was only surface deep.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Since Harry was able to decipher her true intentions, he knew that she was warning him to not speak


    out of line. Panicking, he felt helpless as he maintained his smile and replied, "You''re right, Mary. I


    worded that wrongly. You won''t hear it again."


    Regardless, he was not about to admit that he said that on purpose.


    Naturally, Mary and Rose could hear how stubborn he was behaving. This was no surprise because


    they knew how he was like.


    "Since you know your mistake, Mr. Lore, please continue." Mary decided to not expose him while


    gesturing for him to continue.


    Taking another deep breath, Harry tried his best topose himself before continuing, "The scandal


    that concerned Miss Reed went like this. Apparently, she and her friend were discussing business at a


    hotel when a paparazzi took a photo of them. When it was uploaded online, the article stated that she


    betrayed Toby and had an affair with that friend of hers. It became a major topic online and everybody


    believed that was what she did. So, for a period of time, a lot of maliciousments were directed at


    Miss Reed until she managed to find evidence to prove herself innocent. Then, she exposed the real


    perpetrator, who happened to not be the mediapany. Rather, it was my granddaughter that


    ordered thepany to do it."


    "Oh, really?" Mary acted like she was hearing it for the first time.


    She was a capable actress as she had a lot of experience when dealing with her enemies. As soon as


    she decided to put on an act, not a lot of people could differentiate whether she was sincere or not. At


    the very least, Harry and Grayson could not tell, so they really thought that Rose was oblivious to this


    incident.


    Wait, she didn''t know? Phew! If so, I can control this situation even better.


    With this in mind, Harry started to look around as the ploys he was devising almost manifested


    themselves from his gaze.


    This made Rose and Mary look at each other and they noticed a visible disgust in their eyes.


    This old b*stard. He''s actually calcting how to trick us right in front of our eyes. How foolish.


    Unknowing that his inner thoughts had been exposed by them, Harry was still secretly jumping for joy.


    Coughing lightly, he then stated, "That''s the rough story. I feel very sorry that this happened. I really


    didn''t think that my granddaughter would do such a thing."


    With a guilty expression, he looked as fake as he could get.


    This was a person that did not know how to act, for he showed how immature his skills were.


    Without even batting an eye at him, Rose grew impatient. "Why did she do that?"


    Harry thought that Rose spoke in an upset manner due to what his granddaughter did. Not knowing


    that it was because of himself, he showed a guilty facade. "I also knew about this not long ago, hence


    my visit."


    "So, why did she do that?" Rose slowly took a sip of her tea. "If my memory serves me right, your


    granddaughter isn''t acquainted with Sonny, no? Why did she frame her like that? What did she have to


    gain from it?"


    She acted as if she was unaware how Lte felt about her grandson.


    Sighing, Harry replied, "Lte indeed doesn''t know Miss Reed, but Toby was my student, so he and


    Lte are considered childhood friends. As they are close enough to be considered siblings or niece


    and uncle, they always shared a close rtionship. Even though she had been abroad all this time, she


    had been keeping close tabs on what was going on here. After she knew that Toby had reconciled with


    Miss Reed, she became especially attentive. Since Toby was someone she cared about, she might


    have been too rash or misunderstood the situation. Either way, she thought that Miss Reed had let


    Toby down, so she had the media upload the article."


    "Does that mean that your granddaughter''s innocent? So, what you''re trying to say is that she did not


    plot against Sonny and she only wanted to help Toby, right?" Rosemented and closed her eyes.


    With a bright gaze, Harry nodded profusely. "Yes, yes. It''s as you said. Miss Reed is somewhat


    considered to be a sister-inw to Lte. If so, why would she frame her, seeing that they don''t have


    bad blood or know each other? The real reason is that she only wanted to stand up for Toby. She''s not


    a malicious person. She never thought that she would attract so much trouble for Miss Reed by


    uploading the article. After she calmed down, Lte actually regretted her actions a lot. Yet, it was


    already toote when she wanted to apologize to Miss Reed, as she had already publicly stated she


    won''t forgive her on the inte."


    "If it were me, I wouldn''t forgive her either." Rose scraped her cup gently against the coaster before


    commenting.


    This made Harry freeze up. "Old Mrs. Fuller, you¡ª"


    "Are you finding it hard to understand why I''d say that? Why I would stand on Sonny''s side?" Rose


    looked at him.


    Harry did not reply, for she had grasped his inner thoughts precisely.


    Sneering, Rose continued, "Why should I forgive her? Regardless if the other party intended it or not,


    the damage is done. This is the fact. As a victim, why should I forgive the perpetrator? Just because


    she stood up for someone? If she wanted to stand up for Toby, why didn''t she take this to Toby instead


    of uploading it? Her actions not only made Sonny be the target of everyone, it implicated Toby


    too, making him the butt of everyone''s joke. Her actions had hurt people, so why should Sonny forget


    and forgive her just because she apologized? Even an old woman like myself isn''t that magnanimous


    or forgivable. Sonny is very simr to me in this regard. So, I support her decision by choosing not to


    forgive Lte."


    After hearing Rose''s words, Harry found the reality hard to swallow. "Even so, Lte did it for Toby.


    Although she might have gone about it with the wrong method, she meant good. Now, not only does


    Miss Reed not forgive nor ept an apology from her, Toby even cklisted my family because of this.


    He didn''t even ept my call or a face-to-face talk, and I''m his teacher! I heard that he is going to cut


    all ties with my family. Isn''t this a bit overboard?"

 Chapter 1122

    Chapter 1122


    "Overboard?" As if she had heard something ridiculous, Rose mmed the table and sneered, "Mr.


    Lore, in your eyes, Toby and Sonny dealt with this a bit too seriously, didn''t they?"


    "Is that not the case?" Harry was visibly upset now. "Yes, Lte is in the wrong, but she didn''t mean it.


    Does Toby need to cut ties with my family just because of this? Isn''t it enough when we''ve


    apologized?"


    "So, this is your stance on this situation." Rose smirked. "In my opinion, I think they did the right thing. I


    don''t care if your granddaughter intended this or not, I only know that she did it without verifying the


    truth and concluded it one-sidedly. She was so sure that Sonny had betrayed Toby and uploaded the


    pictures. Her aim? To let Sonny suffer under the public''s criticism. Yet, have you ever thought about


    what would happen if Sonny was not tough enough to face the bacsh?"


    "I''m aware, Madam." Mary peered at Harry coldly. "Miss Reed might suffer from mental breakdown and


    commit suicide. Since this happens often, the number of people who die because of cyberbullying is


    actually quite high."


    "That''s right." Rose nodded. "That means that your granddaughter nearly killed Sonny. Toby loves her


    a lot. Since he nearly lost Sonny, what makes you think he won''t cut ties with you after the incident?


    Who told you to mess with the person he loves the most? This is why I''m in favor of their response."


    Harry was rendered speechless by their words.


    After a while, he finally replied, "But this isn''t as serious as you make it out to be. Isn''t Miss Reed fine?"


    "Sonny is fine, but that doesn''t mean that she should forgive your misdeeds." Rose snorted.


    Clenching his fist, Harry continued, "It is our fault. We are willing to apologize to Miss Reed. We are


    even willing topensate her, but she... Sigh. She doesn''t want to let this go and keeps wanting to


    argue this. She even brought Toby into this. He wasn''t like this in the past."


    "What''s with the suddenparison?" Rose''s expression darkened. "Are you implying that Toby was


    negatively influenced by Sonny?"


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Harry quickly waved his hands. "Oh no, I didn''t mean that. What I meant was that the reason Toby


    wouldn''t forgive us was because of Miss Reed too. Perhaps, she doesn''t want him to forgive us. I know


    that you like Miss Reed very much, Old Mrs. Fuller, so I implore you to not get angry at what I''m about


    to say. Think about it. Toby is my student. Our families are very close with the public knowing that Toby


    respects me alot. If the masses knew that he cut all ties with my family just because of a few words


    from Miss Reed, how would they view him? Wouldn''t they think that Toby turned on his teacher just for


    a mere woman? This would harm his reputation."


    "Oh?" Rose lowered her gaze and smiled mysteriously. "What is your suggestion, then?"


    Harry took a sip from the tea before continuing, "Old Mrs. Fuller, I don''t ask for much. I just request you


    to speak with Toby and persuade him as well as Miss Reed. Give Lte and my family a chance to


    apologize. Bad blood shouldn''t have to be stirred up just because of this. This wouldn''t benefit either of


    our families. This is also my aim ining here as I''m out of options as well. Toby wouldn''t ept our


    calls, much less see us. I only came here because I don''t know what else I can do. So, Old Mrs. Fuller


    "So all in all, you came to me because you wanted me to act as a mediator, helping your family build a


    rapport with Toby and Sonny, right? Oh¡ªwhat I meant was that you wanted me to order Toby and


    Sonny to forgive and reconcile with your family, am I right?" Rose interrupted and smiled at him curtly.


    Hearing that Rose had voiced out his genuine thoughts, Harry decided to get to the point and rubbed


    his palms together before saying, "Yes, this is what I meant. It''s not a major incident, since Lte only


    did a bad thing out of good intentions. Lte and the Lore Family are more than willing to apologize to


    Miss Reed and reimburse her as well. I think that Miss Reed shouldn''t have been so stubborn as to


    hold a grudge against us. After all, Lte did it to protect Toby; she didn''t want him to be kept in the


    dark. As Toby''s woman, she should understand and even ept thepensation and apology my


    family is willing to give out. Otherwise, Miss Reed would just be making it hard for Toby, who''s stuck


    between all of this. It is quite unbing for her to be acting like this as his partner. Besides..."


    Harry settled his tea down. "To summarize this, it''s just squabbles between the youngsters. An apology


    andpensation are supposed to be enough, but Miss Reed made it worse than it should. In the end,


    it caused our families'' rtionship to sour. This shows how narrow-minded she is. She isn''t a tolerating


    person! If she does reconcile with Toby in the future, I don''t think she can contribute much to him. I


    think that she might even distant Toby from the families he shares a close rtionship with. So, Old


    Mrs Fuller, I suggest you use this chance to lecture Miss Reed properly. Tell her to be more forgiving


    and not attract so much trouble for Toby. What do you think?"


    His words were directly hinting at Sonia being a homewrecker. Undoubtedly, this caused Rose and


    Mary''s expression to darken.


    Afraid that Rose might worsen her health due to anger, Mary patted her on the shoulder, hinting that


    she should calm down. Then, Marry stepped forward and smiled coldly at Harry.


    "Mr. Lore, only snakes speak like you did. Don''t think that we can''t tell you''re purposefully making Miss


    Reed look bad in front of Old Mrs. Fuller. You just want to make her feel disdain toward Miss Reed and


    let her separate Young Master Toby and Miss Reed. You sure did n ahead quite thoroughly. Too


    bad, Madam knows best what kind of person Miss Reed is like. So, don''t treat us as fools and assume


    we don''t see through you. We''ve seen countless people like you."


    "I''m not¡ª"


    "Enough." Rose showed her palm to him, breaking off what Harry was about to say, for she had lost all


    patience at this point. "Mr. Lore, I''m not sure if you are stupid or foolish. You came with the intention of


    wanting me to be the mediator, to persuade Toby and Sonny to ept the apology of your family and


    save the rtionship you share with him. Then, you should''ve praised Sonny in front of me instead of


    belittling her. After all, you already know that I like her a lot. If you had made me happy by praising her,


    I might even persuade them on your behalf. Yet, I didn''t think you''d be this dumb to cut your only option


    off like this."


    "That''s right." Mary, who saw that Rose wanted to get up, quickly bent over and helped her up. "Mr.


    Lore, do you think we''re clueless to what you''re trying to do? You''re just trying to belittle her to the point


    where Madam would separate her away from Young Master Toby! We know it all. We know that you''re


    using this awful tactic to help your granddaughter get married to him!"

 Chapter 1123

    Chapter 1123


    Her words changed Harry''s expression.


    After being chided by Rose, Grayson, who did not dare to open his mouth, became pale. Immediately,


    he looked at her with panic in his eyes.


    We''re finished. These two old women actually know how Lte feels about Toby!


    Although he was panicking, Harry was still someone that had lived a long and experienced life. As


    such, he quickly calmed down and clenched his fist before squeezing out a smile. "You jest, Mary. How


    can I have such thoughts?"


    "Enough. Since we''ve reached this stage, it''s pointless to keep pretending. We''ve known what that


    granddaughter of yours feels about Young Master Toby for a long time now. I mean, how can we not,


    seeing that your granddaughter practically glued her eyes to our young master everytime she sees


    him? Even the blind could tell." Mary rolled her eyes discriminately. "Besides, you, Mr. Lore, are famous


    for doting on your granddaughter, as you will do your best to satisfy her wants and needs. From this,


    anyone can tell that you''d naturally support your granddaughter when she loves Young Master Toby so


    much. Yet, since our young master and Miss Reed are together, you wanted to rile Madam up, using


    her to break them apart. If that happened, wouldn''t your granddaughter stand a chance to get what she


    wished for?"


    Although the father and son duo tried to speak, they found themselves unable to rebuke her.


    They thought they merely hit the bullseye based on their guesses. Yet, they never predicted that they


    actually knew Lte was in love with Toby for such a long time.


    If so, that meant whatever he uttered in front of thedies earlier was as ridiculous as one could be.


    Suddenly, Harry felt a sense of shame and regret as he thought he was acting too rash earlier.


    It was just as what Rose had mentioned. Their aim ining here was to persuade her so she could


    put in a few words on behalf of the Lore Family. The best tactic would be to sessfully persuade Toby


    and Sonia.


    What it also meant was that the more urgent ordeal would be to smooth over the issues with Toby first.


    As for breaking up Toby and Sonia, they were in no hurry to achieve that.


    Yet, he could not help but smear Sonia when he was talking, thinking that if Rose could persuade Toby


    into breaking up with her, would that not be perfect? What he did not foresee, however, was that Sonia


    actually mattered a lot to Rose.


    The more important thing was that Rose knew a long time ago that Lte fancied Toby, so not only


    did his words expose his intentions, he also left a very bad impression on Rose.


    I really f*cked up this time.


    Just as Harry was regretting his actions, Rose took the cane handed over by Mary and said, "Also, did


    you really think that I didn''t know what happened online?"


    What?


    Harry and Grayson fell into shock once again.


    Subsequently, Harry met with the sneering gaze of Rose. "I only pretended to not know, as I wanted to


    hear what you were going to say, you old fool. What did I hear? You, twisting the truth. I know about the


    whole incident very well. Don''t think that I''m just some old woman staying in her home all day. I have a


    very well-established informationwork. That granddaughter of yours was ndering Sonny online.


    She didn''t want to stand up for Toby. It was because she fancied him and wanted Toby to break up with


    Sonny, so she framed her and made it seem like she cheated on him, all that just to be with Toby. And


    you, you old fool, you actually twisted it so it looks like she was trying to stand up for him. What a joke!"


    "Not only is this ironic, he''s treating us as fools, Madam." Mary helped Rose along while looking at


    Harry with a disdainful gaze.


    With a pale and awful expression, Harry looked at them hopelessly. "You two knew, yet you pretended


    not to. Is it all just to see me make a fool out of myself?"


    Rose sneered, "See you make a fool out of yourself? I''m not that bored. I only wanted to see if you


    were honest. If you had been sincere right from the start, I might still have valued you higher, seeing


    that you came in person to make amends. But, you lied, and you even twisted the facts, treating us like


    fools. So, why should I care about what you think? Go back. I won''t agree to your request and


    persuade them to forgive you. I still have my conscience left."


    "That''s right." Mary rolled her eyes. "Besides, not even bringing a gift along when requesting a favor?


    This is how you do things? I think taking advantage is more apt for what you''re doing. You all are just


    snakes in disguise. The granddaughter wants to be a mistress while the grandfather not only did not


    chide her, he even supported this mess, like some pimp trying to find rich customers for her. What a


    disgusting family. We wish that the young master would quickly cut ties with your family. If we keep


    getting ourselves involved in your family''s matters, the young master might even be influenced


    negatively by you all sooner orter."


    "Y-You..Harry stood up and pointed at Mary while trembling out of anger.


    Mary then snorted. "Cat got your tongue? Servants, see our guests off!"


    "Understood." The servants standing by the entrance of the living room heard Mary''s order and walked


    over immediately before gesturing to the Lore Family to leave with them.


    Naturally, Harry was not willing to leave just like that, but he also dared not stay there shamelessly.


    After all, he still wanted to maintain the rtionship with Toby and not push him away even further.


    Despite his reluctance, he could only leave with Grayson. Soon, only Mary and Rose were left in the


    living room.


    Mary then smoothed out the wrinkles on Rose''s coat before stating unhappily, "These two thick-skinned


    scums finally left. Young Master Toby was also quite unfortunate to have found such a teacher."


    "It''s all because the teacher Toby was supposed to learn from passed away unexpectedly the day


    before it got officialized. Left with no choice, we could only ask if that old man wanted to teach him. If


    not for thepany''s urgency for Toby to seed in the position hurriedly, how could that old fool get


    the position if Toby had more time for other options?" said Rose while wearing her coat.


    Mary helped her along to the entrance of the living room. "No matter what, the young master is still


    somewhat indebted to that old man. Still, after so many years of Young Master Toby shielding the Lore


    Family, he has repaid his debts. It''s also a good thing to cut ties following this incident."


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "It is. We have his granddaughter to thank for this," Rose remarked.


    Laughing, Mary added, "True, but Miss Reed has indeed suffered through this."


    "Prepare some gifts and send them to Sonny tomorrow. Tell her to not think too much into this and say


    that the granddaughter of Harry''s has nothing to do with Toby, that they aren''t close at all," Rose


    ordered.


    Nodding, Mary replied, "Understood. I will prepare them, but I don''t think that Miss Reed will worry


    herself too much over this, since I''m sure that the young master would have exined everything to


    her."


    "It''s up to Toby how he resolves that issue. As her senior, we should show our support as well to boost


    Sonny''s confidence in that he did not lie to her."


    "That makes sense. I''ll send someone over with the gifts tomorrow morning."


    "Good," Rose affirmed.

 Chapter 1124

    Chapter 1124


    As the two elderly chatted while walking, they soon reached the room hand-in-hand.


    At this time, Rose was already tired to the point where she did not require reading a book to ease her


    to sleep.


    After Mary helped her back to the room, sheid her down on the bed. In the end, Rose fell asleep in


    less than two minutes. Seeing how she was asleep made Mary smile as she covered the nket for


    her and left.


    Exiting the room, Mary closed the door before taking her phone out. She then turned around to look at


    the shut door with a hesitant expression. Obviously, she was in a dilemma.


    Yet after a few seconds, the hesitation on her face disappeared, for it was reced with determination.


    Although Rose had mentioned earlier to refrain from telling Toby about the Lore Family'' visit, Mary


    thought that it would be best to inform him still.


    Otherwise, she was worried that Toby might be even more uneasy if he knew about it in the future.


    Thinking of this, Mary heaved out a breath before phoning Toby.


    On the other hand, Toby had just reached home from disposing of the garbage when he heard his


    phone ring in the direction of the living room.


    He set his shoes aside before walking toward it as the ringtone became gradually louder.


    Hearing the footsteps, Sonia put the remote down and looked over. "You''re back."


    Toby affirmed in response, "I''m back."


    ncing at the ringing phone, Sonia picked it up as he walked over after which she handed it to him.


    "It''s from Madam Mary."


    "Mary?" Toby frowned as he retrieved the phone. It really was Mary calling him.


    Subsequently, Sonia shifted aside to nudge a space for Toby, who then sat down.


    The moment he did, she felt that the couch was sinking down a lot.


    Nah, this is probably normal with his weight.


    "You should answer that quickly. Perhaps something has happened with Grandma, seeing that Madam


    Mary is calling you at this hour." Sonia, who saw that Toby was staring at the phone, nudged him in


    hopes for him to snap back to his senses.


    After regaining hisposure, the man looked at Sonia before swiping his finger across the screen to


    answer the call. "Mary?"


    Instead of cing the phone by his ear, Toby opened the speaker option and held the phone in his


    hand.


    By doing so, Sonia could hear their conversation as well.


    "Young Master Toby, I hope that I''m not disturbing you and the young mistress'' rest by calling sote."


    Mary''s gentle voice came from the speaker.


    Before he could say anything, Sonia closed in and said, "Good evening, Madam Mary."


    "Good evening, Miss Reed." Mary smiled upon hearing Sonia''s voice.


    Although Sonia could not physically see her, she could tell from her voice that she was surprised to


    hear her.


    "Miss Reed, I''m not interrupting your rest, am I?" Mary asked again.


    Shaking her head, Sonia replied, "Of course not. Toby and I had just finished dinner. We''re watching


    TV in the living room right now. We''re nightowls, so you''re not disturbing us."


    "That''s good to know." Mary nodded.


    Toby then hugged Sonia''s waist while asking, "Mary, is something wrong with Grandma? Why did you


    call at this hour?"


    With a rushed tone, he was clearly projecting his worries.


    Sonia held his hand with a simrly worried expression.


    Obviously, she had the same thought as Toby, thinking that something might have happened to Rose.


    On the phone, Mary, quickly shook her head upon hearing Toby''s question. "No, no. The madam''s


    health has been alright. I''m calling because of something else."


    As soon as they heard that Rose was fine, both Toby and Sonia breathed a sigh of relief at the same


    time.


    At the same time, he could feel her somewhat stiff body loosening up as well.


    "That''s good to know. Then, what made you call, Mary?" Toby''s hand, which was on Sonia''s waist,


    started to move around.


    Perhaps he knew that his grandmother was fine now, so he was in a good mood instead.


    Seeing how the hand was touching her all over her back, Sonia pped it in annoyance. Yet, her p


    waspletely ineffective.


    Not only did she fail to remove his hand, it only made Toby gripped onto her tighter.


    Had she not been worried that Mary might overhear them, Sonia would have bitten the man''s arm at


    this point.


    Seeing how hard the woman was fighting with his hand made Toby smile.


    She looked just like a cat that met a ball of yarn, which wrapped tightly around her, rendering her


    unable to move or escape from it. Still, the cat did not want to concede as it started to fight against the


    ball of yarn.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    Just like the cat, Sonia was trying her hardest to fight with his hand.


    While talking on the phone, Toby was teasing Sonia and smiling brightly.


    Mary did not know what they were doing, as they did this all in silence.


    Plus, her attention was on Rose right then, so she was not in the mood to think about other matters.


    Sighing, she replied, "It''s because the Lore Family came by earlier, Young Master Toby."


    "What?" As soon as he heard that, Toby stopped ying with Sonia.


    Even Sonia, who was fighting with his hand, did not care about that as she quickly gazed at the phone.


    "The Lore Family went to Grandma?"


    "Yes." Mary nodded.


    Toby''s expression instantly darkened. "Who went?"


    Not nning to hide anything, Mary answered, "Two people came. Your mentor, Harry, and his son,


    Grayson."


    Sonia patted the back of his hand upon seeing how grim his expression was, hinting at him to calm


    down before she asked, "Madam Mary, what''s their purpose of visiting? Is it because of what happened


    this morning?"


    She did not think that Rose would not know about what happened online, since this involved both Toby


    and herself.


    Still, even if Rose did not monitor what happened online, the servants who were active on social media


    would have told her about the incident.


    This was why she did not ask whether Mary was aware about what happened... because she knew that


    they did.


    As expected, Mary''s reply confirmed Sonia''s thoughts.


    "Yes. It was because of that." Mary nodded profusely. "Now that the Lore Family knew that Young


    Master Toby was really angry and wanted to cut ties with them, plus the fact that they could not contact


    him, they thought about confronting the madam. They hoped to persuade the madam into talking with


    Young Master Toby to let you two forgive them."


    "So, I see." Sonia, who understood the process, turned to look at the man beside him.


    The man had an even more awful expression as bloodlust seeped from his body.


    Obviously, he was very upset at the Lore Family'' actions of disturbing his grandmother.


    "Madam Mary, the Lore Family didn''t bully her, did they?" Sonia quickly asked.


    Her words made Toby stare at the phone.


    Although he knew that his own grandmother would never be pushed around, he was still worried in


    case the Lore Family agitated her with their words.


    "They did!" Mary replied coldly after hearing Sonia''s question.


    Surprised, Sonia stood up and answered shrilly, "What? They bullied Grandma?"


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1125

    Chapter 1125


    Toby tightened his grip on the phone. If not for the phone being sturdy enough, he might have crushed


    it!


    The Lore Family dared to push Grandma around in her own home? Seems like I''ve been too lenient


    toward them to the point where they don''t even respect Grandma anymore.


    Although Mary did not know what Toby was thinking, she knew that he was exasperated.


    "Exactly, Miss Reed. They came to the manor and tried to use Madam to achieve their goals. Now, isn''t


    that just bullying Madam?" Mary stated angrily.


    At this point, Toby finally piped up coldly, "What happened, Mary? Tell me everything that happened


    when the Lore Family met with Grandma."


    "Okay, Young Master Toby." Mary nodded before telling them truthfully what transpired when the Lore


    Family came.


    She did not add or twist anything as she retold everything as it was. After all, she was not one who


    would exaggerate the truth.


    Also, what the Lore Family said to Rose was awful enough, so she did not have to emphasize anything


    to make Toby learn the truth, that they were truly despicable.


    After hearing Mary''s words, both Toby and Sonia fell silent. They had never thought that the Lore


    Family would be this shameless to the point of using Rose as the mediator to smooth things over


    between them.


    Besides, not only did they not tell the truth when seeking help, they even twisted the facts! Time and


    again, they ndered Sonia in front of Rose.


    All of these things umted served to make them feel more hatred toward the Lore Family.


    "I understand. Just ignore the Lore Family for now, Mary. If theye again, don''t bother to meet them.


    I''ll handle things from now on," stated Toby with a dangerous gaze.


    Mary nodded. "Okay, Young Master Toby. Don''t worry. We know what to do."


    "Hm. How''s Grandma?" asked Toby.


    "Madam is fine. Even though the Lore Family acted and spoke shamelessly, I was there with her the


    whole time, so I rebuked them all the way on behalf of the madam. She was not agitated by them.


    She''s asleep now,"forted Mary while looking at the closed door behind her.


    It was then Toby and Sonia truly rxed.


    "It''s good that Grandma is fine." Sonia patted her chest. "Fortunately, you were there, Madam Mary.


    Otherwise, it would have been huge if Grandma was agitated by them."


    Toby could not deny that.


    She''s right. With Grandma''s current condition, she cannot take any form of emotional triggers.


    Otherwise, she might pass away on the spot.


    Thinking how the Lore Family nearly cost Rose her life tonight, Toby found himself despising them even


    more as the thought of cutting ties with them became even more solidified.


    "Young Master Toby and Miss Reed, since the Lore Family did not get what they wanted from this visit,


    they will not give up just like that. They will find another way to resolve the rift between you, Young


    Master Toby. After all, without your protection, the Lore Family will disappear from the upper echelons


    of society sooner orter, so you need to watch out for that. They will stir something up for sure," Mary


    advised them.


    Both of them nodded.


    "Don''t worry, Madam Mary. We''ll be on the lookout," stated Sonia.


    Although Toby kept quiet, Mary knew that he agreed with Sonia''s thoughts.


    "Good. Good." Mary rxed.


    The trio then chatted about other things before ending the call.


    Yet, Toby still wore a fairly grim expression.


    Pouring a cup of water for him, Sonia asked, "Are you still worried about Grandma?"


    Toby took over the cup. "No. I''m just feeling guilty."


    "Guilty?" Sonia blinked, not understanding what the man meant.


    Toby exined, "I always thought that since the Lore Family are the family of my mentor, I should help


    them out as I had the ability to do so. Plus, with them being financially unstable, it wasn''t that hard for


    me to help them along, since it would not bring much trouble for me either. So, whatever projects or


    coborations they needed, I almost never rejected them. Plus, during the first few years they started


    out, the Lore Family did act in line as they didn''t use my name to do anything. That was why I happily


    put them under my wing to grow. Also, the corporation became bigger yearster, so I became busier.


    In the long run, I didn''t keep up with how they were doing."Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "This is why the Lore Family are more tantly arrogant with you not keeping them in check. They


    started to think of themselves as above all people! In the end, Harry doesn''t even respect Grandma


    anymore, since he called her ''Rosy''," Sonia sneered.


    Of course, she did not take a jab at Toby. Rather, it was directed at the Lore Family.


    Most people knew that even amongst the elderly, Rose was the eldest. Yet, Harry actually called her


    ''Rosy''. If this was not considered disrespectful, then what was?


    The people who were unaware might think that Harry was Toby''s grandfather and that Rose was just


    somebody.


    "That''s right. The wrongfiilness that Grandma suffered through was because of me." Toby rubbed his


    eyebrows.


    Hugging his arm, Sonia ced her head on his shoulder. "Although you caused it, it wasn''t like you did


    it on purpose, did you? After all, who could predict the future? Nobody can fully grasp a human''s tme


    nature. So, you don''t need to feel so guilty. I believe that Grandma won''t me you either. If you really


    can''t get over this, then we can pay a visit to the old manor tomorrow and eat with Grandma before


    apologizing to her. How does that sound?"


    After hearing this, Toby stopped rubbing his tightened eyebrows as he carried Sonia and ced her on


    his leg.


    This frightened the woman, who subconsciously held onto his neck.


    Following that, she hit the man yfully. "What are you doing? You scared me."


    Tobyughed in a low tone while touching her forehead. "Nothing. I''m just happy. That''s why I couldn''t


    resist hugging you."


    "What''s there to be happy about?" Soniay in his embrace.


    The man touched her hair. "I''m happy that you''re willing to visit Grandma to apologize to her with me.


    Although I caused this myself. I''m happy that you''d want to share this burden with me."


    Hearing this, Sonia let out a smile. "Didn''t you say that we''re in this together? So naturally, whatever


    happens, we''ll face it together. If it were me, I don''t think you''ll let me face it alone, right?"


    Toby ced his jaw on top of her head, finding her quite right.


    "See. You can''t say no to that, so why wouldn''t I apany you?" Sonia hugged the man by his waist


    and closed her eyes. "Besides, if Grandma really got angry, I don''t think she would forgive you if you


    went alone. With me by your side, Grandma might forgive you on ount of me being there. I''m also


    doing this for you."


    Heughed subtly. "I''ll have to thank you then, Mrs. Fuller."


    Blushing, Sonia rebuked, "What do you mean? Don''t spout nonsense."


    He lifted her chin while gazing deeply into her eyes. "Hm? Am I? Don''t you want to be Mrs. Fuller?"


    "I..." Sonia found her answer stuck in her throat.


    Naturally, she wanted to say no, but she knew that the man would be angry.


    Yet, she found it embarrassing to say that she wanted to. I don''t wanna sound desperate to be his


    wife... Ugh. I''m on the fence!


    Seeing how the woman was silent, Toby knew what she was thinking of.


    Although he was happy that she did not deny this outright, he was also upset at her silence and


    embarrassment...


    Yes, she might be gorgeous with an embarrassed expression, but there were times when


    embarrassment would cause a headache¡ª like now.

 Chapter 1126

    Chapter 1126


    Toby knew Sonia was also willing to be his wife, but it was because of her shyness that she couldn''t


    say it out loud.


    Heavens knew how he wished she could be braver and audaciously tell him she wanted and was


    willing to be his Mrs. Fuller. However, he knew it was impossible for the time being, at least, for she


    would be bashful very easily.


    It seemed that he would have to do better and polish her more, see that her bashfulness would be


    alleviated. With the thought in mind, he narrowed his eyes and caressed her lips flirtatiously.


    A ticklish Sonia reflexively moved her head back only to have her head secured by Toby''s other hand.


    He had foreseen it, so he let go of her waist the second her head moved, stopping her from retreating.


    "What¡ª" Sonia looked at the man with wide eyes, and just as she wanted to question the man''s


    actions, she found the burning passion deep beneath his eyes.


    Shoot! Her heart skipped a beat that second. This dude isn''t going to do what I think he wants to do, is


    he?!


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    Sonia stiffened for a moment and wanted to leave Toby''sp the second she came to herself, or this


    man would surely not spare her.


    To her dismay, Toby narrowed his eyes the second she shifted her body as he leaned forward to pin


    her down on the couch.


    The corner of her lips twitched the moment she found herself immobile, sandwiched between the man


    and the couch. She knew she was a step toote and failed to escape. Perhaps, he had already


    noticed the second she thought about running away.


    Thus, he pinned her down on the couch the second she moved and severed her thoughts about


    leaving entirely.


    "T-Toby, can you let go of me first?" Sonia''s bent arms were pressed against Toby''s chest.


    Knowing she wouldn''t be able to escape by force, she decided to do things the easy way¡ªtalking.


    Hey, who knows? He might actually let me go¡ªthough the chances are slim, it''s worth the shot, no?


    "Why should I?" Sure enough, he refused her request the next second.


    He finally had her where he wanted, and she''d run away the second he let go. So, only an idiot would


    agree to her request. As much as she had expected the answer from him, she didn''t feel defeated


    either.


    She took a quick look around before smiling at Toby. "Then, maybe you can get up a little? You''re really


    pressing down on me; I''ll have a little difficulty breathing."


    She had decided to shove him away and make a run for it the second he moved, with no hesitation


    whatsoever. However, poor Sonia didn''t know she was an open book. Her thoughts were written


    evidently on her face, amusing Toby.


    "Don''t bother. I''ll guide you when to breathe. So no need to get up." With that, the man put one arm


    around her waist and lifted her up, causing their bodies to press against each other even more.


    Instantly, her face flushed crimson, for she was lying when she said she couldn''t breathe. But now, it


    was real.


    Sonia suddenly thought she had shot herself in the foot, and her smile had even stiffened further.


    With that, she took a deep breath and looked at the man. "As if I need you to guide me. You¡ª"


    "You''re not having second thoughts, are you?" Toby interrupted her before she could finish her words.


    "Sorry?" Sonia was rendered stumped, causing Toby to narrow his eyes. "Don''t remember?"


    She shook her head reflexively. "Why don''t you just tell it straight to me and not beat around the


    bushes?"


    At that, he caressed her face as he said, "Alright, I''ll tell it straight to you. You said we''d talk about this


    after the meal when we were eating, and now, it''s after the meal. That''s why I''m asking if you''re having


    second thoughts when you want me to get up."


    Sonia choked right at that, and she fell stupefied as well, clearly having forgotten about it.


    "Just say it if you''re having second thoughts because I won''t me you. This isn''t your first time


    anyway," he dered as his gaze dimmed, seeing how despondent she looked. At that, he drooped his


    eyelids, looking disappointed and aggrieved.


    Seeing how b*tchy he was behaving, Sonia hit the roof. "Toby Fuller, can you speak normally?! Who


    did you learn that b*tchy attitude from?! Also, when did I say I''m having second thoughts?! What do


    you mean by ''not my first time having second thoughts''?! When have I ever gone back on my words?!


    Howe I don''t know that?! When have I never fulfilled whatever I promised you?! Don''t you dare


    nder me!"


    Either way, she hated how the man used her and made her sound like she had never fulfilled her


    promises.


    A glimmer shed across Toby''s eyes as he looked at angry Sonia, and he looked at her with surprise.


    "So, you''re not going back on your words?"


    "Of course not." Sonia puffed up her chest and snorted with displeasure. "I never said I''m having


    second thoughts. You''re the one who jumped to conclusions."


    "That''s on me. I thought you didn''t want to." He looked at her with amusement in his eyes.


    Sonia was first stumped when she saw his smile and the ridicule hidden deep beneath his eyes, then a


    revtion hit her, and she widened her eyes. "Toby Fuller, you tricked me!"


    "How have I tricked you?" He blinked innocently, causing her to move her hand away from his chest


    and point angrily at the man, ring. "Admit it! You''ve pushed and provoked me, giving me no chance


    toe up with excuses to run away."


    Toby sniggered in response, only making her angrier. "Laughing, are we? So you admit it. You''re


    unbelievable, Fuller!"


    She made a move in displeasure and raised her leg to kick the man.


    However, it was as though the man had eyes on the back of his head as he pinned her leg down with


    his the second she lifted her leg.


    "It''s precisely I''m worried that you''ll go back on your words that deliberately I did so. Don''t get upset.


    Besides, you''ve long promised me this, no?" His gaze deepened as he looked at her.


    Sonia couldn''t refute him as she had indeed promised him.


    "That''s not my problem." She red at him. "I might not go back on my words if you hadn''t deliberately


    provoked me. But now that you have, I''ll show you what''s going back on my words."


    At that, she shoved the man, wanting to push him away. But would Toby be willing? Of course not. With


    just a little force, the strength Sonia exerted became useless.


    No matter how hard she pushed, the man wouldn''t budge. It was like he was a wall.


    s, after shoving him for some time, not only did he not move a bit, she was well spent and gasped


    as she slumped on the couch.


    Seeing so, Toby chuckled again. "C''mon, give it up. I won''t let you go back on your words."


    With that, he tilted his head slightly and lowered it, causing Sonia to close her eyes reflexively, knowing


    he was going to kiss her.


    She knew well that there was nothing she could do buty t and resign to fate when she couldn''t


    even budge.


    Wasn''t there a saying where if you can''t beat ''em, join ''em?


    After all, she wouldn''t be able to escapeter in bed even if she managed to do so now, so why not just


    comply?


    But lo and behold, the sound of the doorbell ringing came from the entryway just as Toby''s lips were


    about to touch Sonia''s.


    "Someone''s at the door." Sonia opened her eyes at once and pushed Toby away with ease. Who knew


    where she got the strength from? Perhaps the man was so focused on kissing her that he let his guard


    down.

 Chapter 1127

    Chapter 1127


    Resentment filled Toby as his back mmed against the couch. Of course, he wasn''t upset with Sonia


    but with the person who rang the doorbell when it was already thiste at night.


    Sonia, on the other hand, turned a blind eye to the man''s displeasure and hurriedly moved away from


    the couch. "Did you hear the doorbell just now?" she asked while fixing her disheveled hair and clothes.


    Toby, too, was fixing his clothes at this point. Compared to her fluster, he couldn''t be any more


    composed.


    Not even an unexpected visitor could make him lose hisposure.


    It wasn''t until he patted his sleeves and crossed his legs that he answered, "I heard it. It''s just a visitor.


    Why are you so panicked?"


    Then, as he watched the woman, who stood up to fix her pants, he smirked and continued, "Besides,


    this is our home. As owners, we''re panicking when there''s a visitor. Those oblivious might think we''re


    doing something bad in someone else''s ce."


    His words rendered Sonia stupefied, and she blinked dumbfoundedly.


    Yeah, this is my ce. Whatever Toby and I do here is justifiable, so why would I panic so badly just


    because there''s someone at the door?! Those oblivious might actually think we''vee to someone


    else''s ce to do bad things.


    At that, Sonia pped her forehead, ridiculed by her reaction. "I''ve reacted too dramatically, but hey,


    this is a reflex. After all, anyone would react like this when someone suddenlyes while they''re


    making out. No one wants anyone else to know they''re doing it, no?"


    Toby chuckled in response.


    "Alright, I''ll go and get the door." Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear while walking toward the


    entryway.


    "Together," said Toby as he held her hand.


    He''d like to see just who the hell decided to ruin his night bying at this time.


    I swear you better have serious business or... He narrowed his malicious eyes.


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, the visitor couldn''t help shuddering and rubbing his arms,


    feeling inexplicably cold.


    Just then, the door opened, and Sonia and Toby appeared.


    "Good evening, President Fuller, Miss Reed," greeted the visitor as he hurriedly put his arms down and


    stood straight when he saw the two.


    "Tom?" Sonia was pretty surprised when she learned who was behind the door.


    Toby, on the other hand, frowned. "What are you doing here?"


    "I¡ª" Tom had just answered when he saw his boss'' sub-zero countenance. "This better be serious, or


    you can pack up and head to Ibira to work tomorrow."


    "What?!" Tom couldn''t believe his ears, so dumbstruck that his sses slipped to the tip of his nose.


    What''s going on? What the heck?! What have I done? Why am I suddenly assigned to the Ibira


    expedition?


    Tom lookingpletely stupefied and questioning all existence made Sonia purse her lips and burst


    into a snigger.


    It was her snigger, too, that allowed Tom toe to himself. At that, he looked despondently at his


    boss, asking, "What have I done wrong, President? Why have you suddenly assigned me to the Ibira


    expedition?"


    "Do you even need a reason for it? Drop yourints and just do as you''re told."


    "But..."


    "Alright, Toby, cut it out." Sonia held Toby'' arm and giggled. "Don''t freak Tom out."


    She believed she knew why he would suddenly send Tom to Ibira. He must be mad at the poor


    assistant for suddenly interrupting him when they were just about to make out. Thus, he decided to get


    even with Tom, sending the poor guy to Ibira.


    Oh, she knew full well just how petty this man could get. Amused, Sonia shook her head with a


    chuckle.


    Meanwhile, Tom blinked with stupefaction. "Freak me out? What do you mean, Miss Reed? Are you


    guys ying some sort of game? Truth or dare? Is President Fuller doing this to me in a fit of anger


    because he lost?"


    The assistant might as well just tantly said his boss was a sore loser who would take his anger out


    on the innocent. But, of course, Toby got the implication, and he turned grim.


    Looks like I can really chuck this assistant away. It''s time I send him all the way to Ibira to prove his


    worth.


    Sonia didn''t expect Tom to be this oblivious either or have such a wild imagination at that. To think he''d


    assume they were ying truth or dare.


    Then again, she had to admit that he was pretty close to the right answer.


    Though they weren''t ying truth or dare, and Toby didn''t lose either, what they were ying had


    indeed upset Toby and caused him tosh out at Tom.


    "Fly straight to Ibira tomorrow morning at eight. You don''t have to pay for the ticket. It''s on the


    company," ordered Toby with a wave of a hand.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    "C''mon, President, you can''t do this!" Tom grew apprehensive. "You can''t take it out on me just


    because you lost a game. I''m innocent!"


    Sonia, on the other hand, tried so hard to hold herughter back that her shoulders were shaking. Ha,


    looks like the poor guy is convinced Toby wants to transfer him away because Toby lost a game.


    However, neither she nor Toby intended to rify to him. After all, how could someone tell anyone else


    what they were doing so tantly? So a misunderstanding it was then.


    "Alright, Tom, rx. Toby is just messing with you. He''s not really transferring you over to Ibira." Sonia


    reassured him with a smile, seeing how uneasy he was.


    "Really, Miss Reed?" Tom''s eyes lit up immediately. "President Fuller really won''t transfer me to Ibira?!"


    "Says who?" Toby bore into Tom icily, rendering the poor assistant stupefied once again.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at that and pped Toby'' arm in exasperation. "Alright, c''mon, cut it out. Stop


    scaring Tom. Where are you going to find another assistant that knows you so well on such short notice


    if you really send Tom to Ibira?"


    Exactly! Tom nodded his head like a bobblehead.


    Meanwhile, Toby pursed his lips as Sonia continued, "Besides, Tom didn''t do it on purpose."


    "He disrupted our moment." Toby pointed to his assistant with a frown.


    At that, Sonia shook her head helplessly. "So? It''s just a littleter. If it makes you feel better, we''ll


    continue after Tom leaves."


    The next second, the coldness surrounding Toby disappeared instantly, reced with joy and tion.


    Even an idiot could tell he was beside himself with joy right then.


    As the two whispered while leaning close to each other, Tom couldn''t tell what the two had talked


    about. But judging from how happy his boss was after hearing Sonia''s words, he couldn''t help having


    admiration for her.


    Man, you''ve got to hand it to Miss Reed. She can really turn an active grenade known as President


    Fuller into a sweet man with just a few words. Sure enough, everything has its vanquisher. If these two


    aren''t perfect examples, then I don''t know what else is.


    "So? Still upset?" Sonia nudged Toby, oblivious to Tom''s sassing about her and Toby in his mind.


    At that, Toby cleared his throat and said, "Not anymore."


    "In that case, don''t scare Tom anymore. What are you going to do if he''s terrified when he''s so


    committed to seeing to your affairs?" cajoled Sonia as she looked at Tom.


    "You''re the best, Miss Reed." Tom felt utterly grateful for her.


    At that, Sonia smiled and said, "You''re too kind, Tom. Don''t worry. Your boss won''t send you to Ibira


    anymore."


    "Is that true, President?" Tom looked expectantly at Toby, hoping to get an answer from him.

 Chapter 1128

    Chapter 1128


    However, Toby flipped out when he saw Tom acting covertly delighted, and he snorted disdainfully. "No


    mercy for you if you dare ruin my night without advance notice."


    In other words, he would overlook this night, but if this happened again, Tom would be sent to Ibira for


    sure. Tom, of course, was over the moon because being sent to Ibira would be unpleasant.


    "Got it, President. It will never h¡ª"


    He suddenly froze as a thought struck him. President Fuller said something about ruining his night,


    right? But how have I ruined it?


    Combining the time and how Toby looked resentfully at him, it very quickly dawned on him just what


    exactly his boss meant. What else could a pair of adults do at such ate night apart from that?!


    In other words, Toby hadn''t taken his anger out on him because Toby lost to Sonia in a game, but he


    had interrupted his boss'' fun time with her. That was why Toby was so livid with him and wanted to


    transfer him to Ibira.


    It would be justifiable if it was truly the case.


    At that, Tom smiled grimly. He didn''t think he would be as hapless as to so coincidentally show up just


    when they were making out.


    Hell, no way would he have rung the doorbell if he had the slightest clue!


    Sigh...


    "Shoot. Why did youe over at this time, and why didn''t you call beforehand?" Toby questioned


    grimly.


    To that, Tom scratched his head and exined, "I would''ve if I could, President. But I identally broke


    my phone on my way over. So I can onlye over personally."


    While speaking, he pulled his destroyed phone out of his pocket, leading Toby to purse his lips upon


    seeing it. "Alright, what''s up?¡±


    It was a no-brainer that it was something grave if Tom would deliberately show up at an ungodly hour


    instead of waiting until the morning.


    "It''s something really important, but..." Tom suddenly looked over to Sonia as he left his words hanging.


    Sonia quirked an eyebrow, then smiled, getting what he meant. "Okay, you guys go ahead. I''m going to


    go back inside because I happened to need to make a call as well."


    With that, she returned to the living room crisply. She wouldn''t get upset at all just because Tom


    wouldn''t let her listen to their conversation, as it wasn''t a big deal after all.


    Besides, even if she and Toby got back together, it didn''t mean that she could listen to their every


    conversation. As much as they were a couple, they were working in differentpanies.


    So, it was only right that she shouldn''t be present if the two were going to talk about trade secrets.


    Besides, she and Toby hadn''t remarried.


    Even if Toby didn''t mind, she couldn''t listen to their conversation without qualms. Thus, walking away


    would make things a lot easier for her.


    Meanwhile, Tom looked at Toby after Sonia left. "President, Miss Reed wouldn''t be mad at me, would


    she?"Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    He had deliberately stayed away from the topic while she was present precisely because he didn''t want


    her to hear about it. Hence, he worried that Sonia would get upset over it.


    Of course, he wouldn''t care if she was upset with him, but it would be troubling if she was upset with


    his boss. Hell, all of them at Fuller Group would be living in misery if their boss got upset!


    Toby looked over his shoulder in the direction Sonia left, then shook his head slightly. "No, she isn''t


    petty like that. She respects other people''s privacy and secrets very much. So she wouldn''t overthink


    because of this. Just say it; just what''s up?"


    "Well, in the afternoon, Connor Salzburg..."


    While the two men talked business, Sonia pulled out her phone and made a call out in the living room.


    The call connected pretty quickly, and a crisp, weary male voice came the next second. "Are you not


    worried that Toby will get upset when you''re calling me at this hour when you''re supposed to be


    asleep?"


    Embarrassed, Sonia rubbed her nose as she listened to his tease. "He''s talking business with his


    assistant right now, and he knows that I''m making a call."


    Well, he just doesn''t know who I''m calling.


    "Right, I haven''t bothered you with this call, have I?" she asked. "You sound pretty tired. Have you not


    rested? Are you still at the hospital?"


    On the other end of the line, Tim entered his office in green scrubs and walked straight to his desk after


    closing the door behind him. It wasn''t until he pulled the chair out, removed his sses, and rubbed his


    temples that he answered, "No, you haven''t bothered me. You called at perfect timing. If you were to


    call any minute sooner, I wouldn''t have been able to answer it. I''ve just finished an operation, and now


    my work for the day is done. I''ll be heading back in a bit."


    "Well, I''m d I''m not disturbing you." Sonia took a sip of water from the cup on the coffee table.


    Meanwhile, Tim put his sses back on. "What about you then? Why are you calling me at this hour?"


    "It''s nothing important. I just want to express my appreciation," said Sonia with a smile as she put the


    cup back onto the table.


    "Thank me?" Tim''s sses reflected light.


    "Yeah." Sonia nodded. "I only found out this afternoon. I got a call from the police station when I went


    down asking me to make a trip there. I happened to see Anya in excruciating pain because of her legs.


    When I asked Officer Chase if they had taken her to the hospital, he said, of course, they did. But Dr.


    Lancaster said Anya would be fine after taking some pills. She didn''t need to be hospitalized. So I


    immediately figured you''re the doctor, and it''s not that she didn''t need to be treated. But you''ve


    deliberately said so because you''re standing up for me. Am I right, Dr. Lancaster?"


    A hint of a smile shed across Tim''s eyes as he listened and very quickly returned to his aloof self.


    "You''re right. I have done it on purpose. I happened to bump into them when the police took the woman


    over, so I did it."


    "I knew it." Sonia chuckled. "Thanks, Dr. Lancaster."


    "There''s nothing to thank me for, so you didn''t have to call and thank me." After a momentary rest, Tim


    put the call on speaker and ced his phone on the desk, making his way to the coat rack aside to put


    his jacket on.


    When Sonia heard clothes rustling on the other end of the line, she knew he was getting ready to clock


    out. At that, she hurriedly said, "I should thank you. You stood up for me, after all. But it''s alreadyte at


    night. I shouldn''t keep you on the line, or I''ll hold you back from going home. How about this? Why


    don''t you let me know when you''re avable, and I''ll treat you to a meal? Speaking of which, I feel


    pretty bad that I haven''t treated you to a meal and given you a proper thanks when you''ve already


    helped me so many times."


    She lowered her head slightly and smiled apologetically.


    On the other end of the line, Tim picked his phone up and walked out of his office after throwing his


    green scrubs into the disinfection cab. "I never really bother myself with people''s thanks. But if you


    insist on thanking me, that''s fine. Forget about food. You''ll only end up losing your appetite if you eat


    with me. I don''t like eating the normal stuff, and what I like might not be to your taste. Do you know


    what I like eating?"


    "How would I know?" Sonia shook her head.


    "What I like isn''t cooked with normal seasoning," described Tim as he pressed the elevator button, "but


    cooked with edible chemical substances. So even if you want to treat me to a meal, you won''t be able


    to find the right restaurant for me."


    Food cooked with chemical substances?! Sonia shuddered just at the inchoate thought. That sounds


    absolutely scary.

 Chapter 1129

    Chapter 1129


    Are those things even edible? No doubt they taste bad. Either way, any sane person but him will stay


    far away from them surely.


    Sonia had to hand it to Tim.


    "Have you... always been eating this way?" She couldn''t help wanting to sate her curiosity.


    "Yeah." Tim didn''t deny it. "I''ve been eating like this since I started studying medicine."


    Sonia gasped in response. "That''s ten-plus years. You''re really something!"


    Tim chuckled lightly. "Everyone''s more or less peculiar in their own way. Using chemical substances in


    rece of seasoning happens to be a habit of mine."


    "Isn''t this Pica?" The corner of Sonia''s lips twitched.


    "You can put it that way," said Tim as he pushed his sses up.


    "But does it not damage your body for you to eat like this?" Sonia blinked, worried for the fellow


    doctor''s health.


    In any case, Tim often helped her out, so it was only fitting that she should worry about his well-being.


    While walking into the elevator, Tim answered, "No. I''m a doctor, so I naturally know if these


    substances will do any damage to my body. Besides, these excipients are used to treat illnesses. It


    won''t harm the body apart from making the food taste weird. Just imagine it as the very first meal


    someone who has never cooked his whole life made, non-lethal, horrible tasting food."


    While relieved after hearing his description, Sonia couldn''t help chuckling as well. "Well, they don''t do


    your body any harm. But looks like I really can''t treat you to a meal, huh? Do you have any requests,


    then? I''ll do it as long as it''s within my capability."


    "You really want to thank me?" Tim reconfirmed.


    "Of course." Sonia nodded. "I''ve never thanked you when you helped me so many times, so I feel


    terrible if I don''t give you a proper thanks. Just let me repay you, please?"


    She even mped her phone against her shoulder while putting her hands together, pleading.


    Though Tim couldn''t see her, he could somewhat visualize it. His sses reflected light as he said,


    "Alright then. I won''t ask for much. I heard a new museum has opened in the country, but it''s different


    from normal museums. The disys are all post-war human specimens."


    "What?! Human specimens?!" Sonia gasped, stupefied. "Why is there such a museum?"


    "Why not? Nearly every country has a museum like this. It''s to let people understand the cruelty of war.


    But barely any of them are disclosed or opened to the public. So only a small group will have heard


    about them."


    "I see." Sonia nodded in revtion. "So are you telling me this because you want to visit but don''t have


    a ticket and want me to get you one?"


    "That''s right." Tim wasn''t surprised that she got it pretty quickly. She was a smart one, after all.


    Ding! The elevator arrived.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    While Tim walked out of the elevator and headed to his car in the parking lot, he exined, "I''ve visited


    quite a few simr museums. As you know, I''m a doctor, and I''ve always been very interested in the


    human body. Visiting these museums will allow me to see many ways bodies aren''t normally


    presented, and I can devise a surgery n based on the wounds the bodies left at their death. So if I


    ever encounter simr patients, my surgery won''t fail and ruin my reputation because of myck of


    experience."


    A couple drops of sweat rolled down Sonia''s temple as she fell speechless. Sure, it was really awe-


    inspiring to hear that from him, but to an average Joe, it still sounded somewhat psychotic.


    "You''re not nning on visiting every single museum like this one, are you?" Sonia asked as she


    rubbed her temple.


    "More or less." Tim raised his chin. "After all, the disys in every museum are different, so naturally,


    every cause of death and wound presented on the bodies is unique. Hence, it''s only necessary that I


    visit all of them."


    "Touche." Sonia nodded slightly as she held her chin. "You said earlier that these museums aren''t open


    to the public, so who are they open to?"


    "Medical practitioners, military personnel, and politicians," answered Tim as he unlocked his car.


    At that, Sonia tilted her head with bafflement. "Since it''s open to medical practitioners, it should be a


    piece of cake for you to get a ticket when you''re so well-reputed in the medicalmunity, no?"


    "That being said, I''m quite busytely, so I have no time at all to get one. By the time I remembered,


    the guys in the medicalmunity had already booked it all, and the next avable reservation was in


    two months. I don''t want to wait until then, so here''s where youe in and help me out. Of course,


    you might not have thework to get a ticket, but your guy definitely has. Just ask for his help." Tim


    went into his car and started the engine while speaking.


    Rendered both amused and frustrated, Sonia jested, "Looks like I really can''t say no when you''ve even


    thought of a way for me to get the ticket for you."


    "You can still turn me down. I won''t force you," Tim said thoughtfully.


    "Don''t." Sonia waved her hand. "I said I wanted to repay you, so I won''t turn you down. I''ll talk to Toby


    about this."


    "Alright, I''ll wait for your good news then." Tim had driven out of the hospital parking lot at this point.


    After humming a response, she ended the call and put the phone down to stretch when she heard


    noises from aside.


    She turned in that direction to find Toby had returned. At that, she looked up at him and asked, "You


    guys are done?"


    Toby nodded in response.


    Upon seeing that he looked amiss¡ªglum and exuding grimness¡ªshe tucked her smile away. "What''s


    wrong? Is something up?"


    Or why would he look so awful? He waspletely fine when the two of them answered the door. So


    something must''ve happened for him to return like this.


    However, he said nothing but only took a gander at Sonia, who was even more certain that something


    was up from that nce.


    Apprehensive, she stood up and held his arm, leading him to sit on the couch. "C''mon, Toby, tell me.


    Just what exactly is going on? You''re making me worry. If it''s something major you have to deal with,


    then go ahead. Don''t dy it because you''re worried about me, understand?"


    At that, she looked apprehensively at Toby, who pulled her into his arms, speaking in a husky voice,


    "It''s nothing major, just that something repulsive happened."


    "What exactly is it then? Tell me." Sonia broke free from his arms.


    However, Toby wouldn''t say a word but only stared at her.


    Livid and helpless, she entreated, "When are you going to stop acting mute whenever something''s up?


    You''re making me¡ªMm!"


    Toby pulled her to him by the back of her head before she could finish her words and very urately


    seized her lips, forcing her to swallow the rest of her words.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was stupefied at first beforeing to herself and rolling her eyes


    speechlessly.


    I swear this b*stard... He''s so troubled and in a foul mood, yet it''s not enough to stop him from having


    sex. What can I say about him... Forget it; let him have his way. Who knows? He might finally say it


    after he''s sated and in a better mood.


    With that thought in mind, Sonia went soft and wrapped her arms around his neck while shutting her


    eyes.

 Chapter 1130

    Chapter 1130


    That night, Toby devoured Sonia like a ravenous beast. If it weren''t that her ability to withstand his


    manhandling was far better than before, she''d probably pass out from exhaustion like the other two


    times.


    That said, she was still so spent from their night that shey immobile in bed, so much so that she


    didn''t even want to lift a finger. She just looked at the warm chandelier on the ceiling with droopy eyes.


    Toby, on the other hand, stood next to the bed and leisurely put on a dressing gown, looking all sated


    and beyond refreshed.


    Seeing so, Sonia turned her head away from him in anger, not wanting to look at him.


    She had already begged for mercy so many times, and he would reply to her with st one'' every time.


    But what happened in the end?!


    Ptui! Men and their lies!


    Of course, Toby saw how upset she was with him and knew precisely why, so after tying his dressing


    gown, he chuckled under his breath and coaxed, "Open your eyes. I''ll carry you into the shower."


    However, Sonia kept her eyes closed but raised her arms, waving them limply. "Carry me like this. I''m


    spent. I don''t want to move."


    This wasn''t his first time giving her a shower anyway, so she could very well ept letting him carry


    her into the bathroom after their night.


    Seeing howzy his girl was, he tapped her nose and said nothing more but carried her into the


    bathroom.


    By the time they came out, it was already four in the wee hours, about two hours before the sun would


    rise. Toby lifted the covers and put Sonia back in bed before joining her.


    Sonia was a little more conscious when her body touched the soft mattress, and she finally opened her


    eyes. That said, they were still only half open.


    She blinked and looked at Toby, mumbling in a kittenish voice while yawning involuntarily, "What time is


    it?"


    "Four o''clock." Toby checked the time on his wristwatch.


    At that, she shut her eyes again after hearing it was still so early. "There''s still a few hours until the sun


    rises, and here I thought it''s already morning when you''re wide awake."


    "No, go ahead and sleep." As he tucked her in, she nuzzled in his arms. "Are you not going to sleep?


    There are still a few hours before we have to get up. Get some sleep. What if you get weary during


    work?"


    "I''m not tired. You go ahead and sleep. I''ll watch over you." Tobyy on his side with one hand propping


    his head up and the other patting her waist, coaxing her to sleep like she was a child.


    Very quickly, drowsiness crept up to her following his gentle pats, and she couldn''t help yawning again.


    "You really are a freak," she mumbled.


    "How am I a freak?" Toby quirked an eyebrow.


    "Are you not?" Sonia grabbed his cors with both hands. Her eyes were still closed as she


    comined, "I''m so tired every time after hours of intimacy, and yet you''re alive and kicking. You''re not


    even sleepy. Tell me you''re not a freak that won''t get weary."


    Toby chuckled under his breath, "Well, I''m sure you like this freak very much. After all¡ª"


    Sonia stirred at once, having a good idea what the man was about to say next. The second she opened


    her eyes, she hurriedly covered his lips. "Shush! Not another word or I''ll bite you!"


    She red daggers at Toby, warning him, looking absolutely vicious. However, to a certain someone,


    instead of feeling intimidated, he thought she looked absolutely adorable, like an angry toddler.


    At that, he stuck his tongue out and licked her palm. Tickled, Sonia withdrew her hand right away and


    shouted, "Toby Fuller!"


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Speaking." He blinked innocently.


    It was as though a bucket of water was doused on Sonia''s zing anger when she saw how innocently


    he acted, making her feel super ufortable.


    s, she could only bore into the man. However, her eyes turned dry and ufortable from all the


    ring before she managed to do anything to him.


    In the end, she raised a white g and admitted defeat.


    Forget it. Why fight this b*stard?! When have I ever defeated him?!


    A hint of a smile shed across Toby'' eyes when he saw her mope, and he ruffled her soft hair. "Alright,


    I won''t tease you anymore. Go on, sleep."


    "Sleep?" Sonia rolled her eyes at him. "How can I go back to sleep after what you''ve done?!"


    "Can''t sleep?" Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Sonia hummed a response, still oblivious to the impending danger.


    At that, Toby lifted the covers. "Since you can''t sleep, why don''t we continue till dawn?"


    While speaking, he turned over, looking like he intended to pin her down.


    Terrified, Sonia screeched, "I dare you, Toby! I''m going to get mad at you if you keep at this! I''m


    serious!"


    With that, she shut her eyes. However, nothing happened after a while.


    So she opened her eyes tentatively to see the man''s stunning face and teasing smiling eyes.


    It was only then a thought hit her, and she blushed. "You pranked me?!"


    Toby sniggered. Duh?


    At that, Sonia''s face flushed further, mortified, for Toby was just messing with her and didn''t really


    intend to have another go. But she thought he was serious about it...


    So she felt absolutely mortified as she met this teasing gaze, wishing she could just bury herself up.


    Ah! This is absolutely embarrassing!


    Hence, she pulled the covers over and wrapped herself up from head to toe, shutting the outside world


    out. It was as though by doing so, she could ward off all animosity in the world.


    Meanwhile, it instantly hit Toby that he had screwed up big time when his beloved had balled herself up


    beneath the covers.


    Sigh, what to do? Coax her, then what else?


    "Sonia, pull the covers down. You won''t be able to breathe." He tugged on the covers while coaxing.


    However, Sonia held a death grip on it, giving the man a hard time pulling the covers away for a


    moment.


    It stumped Toby for a second beforeing to himself and continued tugging on it.


    That said, he didn''t do it forcefully but deliberately yed a tug-of-war with her as only by doing so he


    wouldn''t freak her out, or he wouldn''t be soothing her but asking for a fight.


    "Sonia, baby, let go. I apologize, okay? That was on me. I shouldn''t have teased you. Don''t be mad at


    me anymore, please?" cooed Toby with all the patience in the world as he lowered his head to look at


    the young woman hidden beneath the covers.


    Meanwhile, Sonia felt better, seeing that he apologized.


    With that, she poked her head out, revealing a still-blushing face. "All you do is tease me." She snorted


    while looking at him.


    "No, I don''t. You''re just so cute that I can''t help myself." He cradled her in his arms, where she


    remained still.


    Great, I can forget about getting any sleep now, Sonia mused.


    "Do that again, and I''ll really ignore you." She looked up at him and gave him a warning punch.


    "Never again." Toby nuzzled his chin against the top of her head. "I was just messing with you. I really


    don''t intend to do anything."

 Chapter 1131

    Chapter 1131


    As eager as Tobias was to make love to Sonia, he wouldn''t insist on going another few rounds when


    she was thoroughly spent. Or what different would he be from a deranged perv?!


    Sonia softened up entirely when she saw that he really meant it, and she nuzzled further into his arms,


    stopping after finding a safe andfortable position like a baby.


    Tobias couldn''t help chuckling when he saw this side of her. "Alright, it''s still early. Get some sleep."


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    "I can''t anymore." She shook her head. "I''ll go to sleep when I feel sluggish again."


    He didn''t force her either but only tucked the covers on her and patted her back rhythmically. "Let''s chat


    for a while then."


    "Sure." She nodded. "What do you want to talk about?"


    "Anything." Tobias propped his head up. "But if there is really one thing, it would be that I want to know


    who you were talking to on the phone. I could even hear youughing from the entryway."


    Picking up the jealousy from his tone, Sonia chuckled helplessly while shaking her head. I swear this


    man...


    However, she didn''t hide it from him either, telling him who was on the other end of the line.


    Tobias quirked a brow when he heard she was talking to Tim, and he asked with bafflement. "Why did


    you call him all of a sudden?"


    "To thank him, of course. Though we were both at the police station, you didn''t see Anya, so you don''t


    know." With a yawn, she rted Anya''s situation at the police station, and it was only then Tobias


    realized what happened.


    "So I can''t act like I''m oblivious to it when Dr. Lancaster stood up for me," said Sonia as she ced a


    hand on his firm chest.


    Tobias said nothing more. After all, Tim had indeed helped out, so it wouldn''t be right to act like they


    were oblivious to it.


    "Why didn''t you tell me this sooner?" he asked while cradling her in his arms.


    Sonia''s gaze had turned hazy at this point, no longer looking as conscious as earlier.


    Clearly, the sandman had visited again, and Tobias couldn''t help feeling amused.


    Not sleepy, she said. It has only been, what? Minutes? And she''s feeling sleepy already.


    At that, he ruffled her hair dotingly. She popped one hand out of the covers and rubbed her eyes. Her


    words began dragging at this point. "I''ve forgotten. I only suddenly remembered when I had something


    to tell you before Tom arrived. So I called Dr. Lancaster to thank him. I had wanted to treat him to a


    meal, but do you know this? He doesn''t eat normal food!"


    "I know." Tobias lifted his chin for a second. "He has Pica."


    "You know?" Sonia''s eyes widened with incredulity.


    To that, he nodded. "It''s not a secret within the circle. Everyone had already learned about it a couple of


    decades ago, and because of this quirk, his parents, who already don''t like him, feel even more


    ashamed of him."


    "Don''t like him and feel ashamed of him?" Sonia looked up in surprise. "Why? Dr. Lancaster is a genius


    doctor. Shouldn''t they be proud of having a son like him? Why would they be ashamed?"


    She honestly couldn''t understand.


    "His parents are both talented medical practitioners and perfectionists. They couldn''t ept having a


    son with affective disorder, so Tim was the imperfection, the blemish, to their perfect life. Because


    birthing a freak meant that they weren''t as perfect as they believed themselves to be. So naturally, they


    didn''t like Tim, so much so that they still didn''t think much of him even when he demonstrated medical


    talents that surpassed far beyond the couple. They even never acknowledged Tim as their son to the


    public. Also, I heard the Lancaster couple even tried to send Tim to an orphanage when he was barely


    even a month old."


    "For real?" Sonia was reeled in shock.


    Tobias hummed a response. "Yes. But Old Mr. Lancaster was still alive at the time, so he brought Tim


    home from the orphanage as soon as he learned about it, or there wouldn''t be a Tim Lancaster now."


    It took Sonia a while to recover from Tobias'' words, and shemented, "To think Dr. Lancaster has a


    story like this beneath his morous life."


    "Everybody has a secret past," Tobiasmented as he stroked her hair.


    At that, she sighed. "What''s really shocking to me is his parents. How could they do that?! So what if


    Dr. Lancaster suffers from affective disorder? Didn''t it make him their child still? How could they


    abandon their child because of this reason?! Not even a lion would eat its cubs. The most ridiculous


    part was that they could still call themselves perfectionists with their behavior! Well, I''ve never met a


    perfectionist that didn''t need to eat, sleep, or excrete. Besides, shouldn''t a perfectionist know


    everything? Howe they don''t know anything but medicine? Perfectionist, my a*s. More like rabid!"


    Anyhow, to her, no one was perfect in this world.


    The so-called perfect people shouldn''t have to eat, sleep, excrete, and know everything, like turning the


    sea over and flying in the sky.


    Now, that would be the definition of perfect, and someone like that was a god.


    Were the Lancaster couple gods?


    They were as much as another carbon-based life that needed to eat, sleep, or excrete as anybody


    else. So Sonia thought it was ridiculous of them to call themselves perfectionists.


    Tobias thought his beloved looked super adorable the way she ranted about the Lancaster couple, and


    he couldn''t help pinching her cheek affectionately, which felt super soft to the touch.


    "They are indeed rabid," echoed Tobias with a nod as he pinched her cheek.


    After all, echoing to his wife was a mandatory lesson for him as an exemry loving husband.


    "Am I right, or am I right?" Sonia grew more confident in herment toward the Lancaster couple


    after hearing that Tobias agreed with her. She pursed her lips, then continued, "Also, they call Dr.


    Lancaster an emotionless monster? The way I see it, they''re the emotionless ones. Are they not


    emotionless to be able to abandon their son when they pursue perfection to such a sick and extreme


    degree? If they even had the slightest bit of emotion, how could they be able to do something so


    deranged?! So, the Lancaster couple''s genes must''ve caused Dr. Lancaster to be born without


    emotions. Anyhow, it''s a pity that Dr. Lancaster got those two as parents."


    "You''re right, dear." Tobias nodded. Either way, he''d just agree to every word she said. Besides, the


    Lancaster couple didn''t deserve to be parents either.


    "It''s only now that I know not all parents love their kids." Sonia quirked her lips. "The Lancaster couple


    are even beneath Titus and his wife. Taylor had parted with them for twenty-plus years; even if they


    were strangers and had no emotional attachments to each other, Titus and his wife could even treat


    Taylor well immediately. Sure Titus and his wife aren''t good fellows, but they''re definitely great parents.


    The Lancaster couple, on the other hand, tsk!"


    Sonia said nothing more after that, upied with disdain for the Lancaster couple, and because of this,


    she didn''t notice Tobias had stopped stroking her hair while his eyes filled with profoundness and


    complication.

 Chapter 1132

    Chapter 1132


    Sonia praised the Gray couple for being good parents... Indeed, they''re, as she put it, great parents.


    Titus and his wife had believed in thest 27 years that Henry had killed Rina Gray, and the girl was


    deemed dead to the couple all these years. However, never once had the couple ever forgotten their


    late daughter.


    Even to most parents, this was a nearly impossible task, for even when their child died, they were still


    living, and they had to look forward, eventually. They couldn''t follow the child to the afterlife just


    because the child died.


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    That was impossible. What was more, that child had passed 27 years.


    It would be surprising if a lot of parents had long forgotten about their child that had passed nearly


    three decades ago. Heavens, they might never even remember ever having that child. However, not


    Titus and his wife; they remembered even until now.


    On that alone, no one could criticize them for being bad parents.


    Secondly, when the daughter they thought was long dead suddenly appeared in front of them, not only


    had they not doubted whether this girl had some agenda, but they even epted her right away and


    doted her to no end, making up for the lost 27 years.


    And this also wasn''t something all parents could do, especially in elite families.


    The elites valued their family and personal dignity more than anything, and they had severe vanity as


    well. If they weren''t unting their family businesses, they''d be unting their significant other or even


    children.


    As long as there was one thing they lost to the other, they''d be a joke to thetter.


    When Taylor first appeared in front of the Gray couple, she was still a timid and unrefined, uncultured


    country bumpkin who knew no etiquette nor possessed any skills. But the Gray couple didn''t despise a


    daughter like her and even epted her immediately after they were certain she was indeed their


    daughter.


    They never worried if they would be aughing stock in the circle or if their rivals would take the


    chance to mock them for having such a humiliating daughter after taking her home.


    Toby had to admit that even he thought highly of Titus, who cared so much about his dignity, when he


    could go this far for his daughter.


    On the contrary, others in the circle would never do something like this. If anything, they might not even


    admit to having such a daughter, for they''d only think that bringing a daughter like Taylor home would


    only bring shame to themselves and their family. Unpresentable aside, they would be the


    laughingstock within the circle. So they could even as much as ruthlessly abandon their own flesh and


    blood.


    There was a real-life example within the circle¡ªthe Lestranges.


    The genuine and fake princess incident happened to the Lestranges a few years ago. A nanny had


    switched the daughter for her own at birth.


    Since then, the true Lestrange daughter lived a miserable life while the fake daughter lived the life of a


    princess, having goodmand in nearly every aspect, allowing her to be a notable talent within


    the circle and being pursued by many eligible young men.


    s, the switch was brought to light one day, and the genuine Lestrange daughter returned home.


    However, the fake Lestrange daughter never went back to hers and instead remained in the Lestrange


    Residence. Also, her name and status were retained.


    On the other hand, everything and nothing changed for the genuine Lestrange daughter, as the


    Lestranges wouldn''t admit she was their true progeny. Thus, instead of announcing to the public that


    she was the true daughter of the Lestrange Family, they told everyone they generously adopted her. As


    for the reason, what else other than not willing to ept the fact that their actual daughter was an


    ipetent, unpresentable country bumpkin? They thought having a daughter like she would bring


    shame to them and their family.


    On the contrary, the public might evenpliment them for their kindness if they told everyone they


    adopted her. As such, they didn''t have to worry their actual daughter would bring them shame after


    retrieving her, and they couldn''t also gain a favorable reputation. It was the best of both worlds.


    However, for the genuine Lestrange daughter, it was no fortune but that she had only been taken to a


    different hell.


    After returning to her actual family, not only that her parents wouldn''t disclose her true identity to the


    public, allowing them to assume she really was their adopted daughter, but the servants of the


    Lestrange family would bully her covertly and tantly because they were jealous of her.


    The fake Lestrange daughter, on the other hand, gradually believed that the genuine daughter was a


    ticking time bomb that threatened her status and thus began acting harmless to set her up in hopes


    that the Lestrange couple would hate the genuine daughter even more.


    Meanwhile, as parents of the two girls, the Lestrange couple turned a blind eye to their actual daughter


    from being ashamed of having such a daughter. Hence, even when they were well aware of the bullies


    and torments the girl suffered, they never did anything.


    Ultimately, the genuine Lestrange daughter had enough of such suffering and leaped from Lestrange


    Enterprise, making her way to the afterlife. Hence, Toby believed not every parent could be as good as


    Titus and his wife.


    They undoubtedly epted a daughter that hadn''t been in their lives for thest twenty-plus years,


    who came from a world different than theirs. Though the existence of their daughter could bring


    endless ridicule to their family, they didn''t bother about how others viewed them.


    He could even guarantee if the Gray couple knew Sonia was their real daughter, they would instantly


    bring her home and reunite as a family, even if Sonia loathed them to her core. To make up for Sonia


    and subside the hatred within her, they might even be willing to head to the afterlife.


    To the couple who loved their daughter more than anything, it was very usible for them to make such


    a move.


    By then, Sonia would end up being the most miserable one.


    She would think her revenge became the most ridiculous thing, and even because of her identity, she


    not only couldn''t decisively avenge the Reed Family, it would even be the very thing that ended


    her birth parents'' lives.


    By then, Sonia would fall into deep madness, and it was something he didn''t want to imagine.


    This was precisely why he had kept the truth of Sonia''s birth from her all this while. He wouldn''t have to


    keep his lips tightly sealed if the Gray couple didn''t love their child so deeply.


    Seeing that Toby fixed his gaze on her but said nothing for a long time, Sonia poked his chest gently.


    "Toby, what''s running through your mind?"


    A glimmer shed across Toby as he returned to reality, and he tightened his arms around her again


    before drooping his eyelids to cover up the darkness surging beneath them. "Nothing. Alright, let''s not


    talk about Tim''s parents anymore. It''s reallyte now; get some sleep."


    At that, he reached for the switch, but Sonia grabbed his arm. "Wait, I''m not done yet. I still need your


    help with something."


    "Oh?" His eyes lit up as he put his arm down, intrigued. "This is the first time you''re asking for my help.


    C''mon, tell me, your dear husband will help no matter what it is."


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him with a flushed face, for she thought the man was getting more audacious


    with their rtionship.


    "It''s actually nothing big. Tim asked me to get him a ticket, but you need a specificwork to get it. I


    don''t have ess to an officialwork, so I can only ask for your help."


    "What ticket is this that needs a specialwork?" Toby frowned.


    "Well..." Sonia didn''t keep it from him but recited Tim''s desire to visit the museum.


    Having gotten his answer, he patted her back. "Alright, got it. This is simple. I''ll have Tom see to itter


    and deliver the ticket right to him."


    "Thanks." Sonia beamed with tion.


    However, Toby'' gaze dimmed. "That''s all I''m getting? A verbal thank you? Are you not going to give me


    something else?"

 Chapter 1133

    Chapter 1133


    Sonia narrowed her eyes and became alerted at once. Clearly, this b*stard of a man is scheming


    something again!


    "Why are you looking at me like that?" Toby quirked a brow seeing how alert his beloved suddenly


    became.


    To that, Sonia snorted. "You know why I''m looking at you like this!"


    "I don''t!" He shook his head with bafflement, only leading her to roll her eyes at him. "Yeah, right? You


    know full well."


    "Do I? Why don''t you tell me what I should know then, hmm?" He smirked.


    She pursed her lips at that. "You know full well why I''m on guard! You want more than just a verbal


    thanks. Isn''t it obvious that you''re implying you want to take advantage of me?"


    Despite being caught red-handed, not only wasn''t Toby the slightest bit flustered, but he even chuckled.


    "Then are you willing to fulfill my wish?"


    Sonia had just parted her lips to retort when Toby interjected, exining, "Rx, I won''t really go as far


    as do anything to you when you''re like this. I just want you to give me a kiss."


    At that, he pointed at his face. Honestly, Sonia let her guard down after hearing his exnation.


    She had indeed assumed in the beginning that the guy found his chance to do the deed with her again,


    so she held her guard up against him immediately for fear that he would really do what she thought he


    would.


    After all, she really couldn''t take any more of his manhandling at the moment. If anything, it was even


    possible that she''d die right on the bed.


    Fortunately, it was proven in the end that she had let her imagination run wild, and Toby wasn''t so


    deranged. He just wanted a kiss from her.


    Compared to making love, a kiss was aplete piece of cake and a very easy wish to fulfill for her.


    In any case, she honestly wasn''t against giving him a kiss aspared to making love.


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    At that, she heaved a sigh of relief and leaned close, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Are we good


    now?"


    "Yeah, we''re good." Toby nodded contentedly while cradling her in his arms.


    Sonia snorted in response and entreated, "Well, go to sleep then. You have to sleep. As healthy as you


    are, you''re still human, and your body isn''t made of steel. Your body will one day fail you if you keep


    treating it carelessly. So, sleep."


    At that, she shut her eyes and went to sleep, bing an example for Toby.


    Joy spread across Toby'' eyes as he looked at Sonia, who was all ''I''m dead asleep'', and he felt loved.


    How could he not be when she was worried about his health?


    "Okay, sleep." With that, he reached for the switch and turned the lights off, and the room became pitch


    ck at once.


    Then, Tobyy back down, pulled Sonia into his arms, and gave her a kiss on the forehead before


    mumbling a good night.


    Sonia stiffened up in response but very quickly returned to normal, and it wasn''t until Toby closed his


    eyes and there were no more movements after some time that she, too, mumbled a good night.


    Toby opened his eyes and allowed a hint of glimmer to sh across his fathomless gaze as he


    tightened his hug on Sonia before closing his eyes back up.


    It was past seven in the morning when the couple stirred again, and they were woken up by the


    doorbell.


    Sonia reflexively frowned before reluctantly opening his eyes. It was evident that she hadn''t had


    enough sleep and was somewhat grumpy about it.


    Toby, on the other hand, woke up pretty briskly, with thest sliver of sleepiness gone as soon as he


    opened his eyes.


    He lifted the covers, sat up, and was amused when he turned to find a certain someone spacing out


    while staring dully at the ceiling.


    "What''s wrong? Still half asleep?" he asked while feeling her forehead.


    Sonia blinked in response. "Hmm... a little." Her kittenish voice wasced with absolute drowsiness,


    and it was like actual kitten ws were scratching at his heart non-stop, tickling him.


    If he hadn''t kept in mind that he had really worn her out the night before, he certainly wouldn''t be


    holding back at this moment and instead would be dragging her for a morning quickie, helping her


    wake up for good in the meantime.


    At that, his gaze dimmed. "Take a nap then. I''ll be quiet," he said in a hoarse voice after suppressing


    his burning desire.


    "Nah, forget it." Sonia shook her head and yawned. "I have a pretty important meetingter. What if I


    oversleep?"


    "Will you be able to stay awake then?" He looked at her worriedly, only to receive a dirty look from her.


    "Well, I''ll have to even if I can''t, and that''s no thanks to you. You couldn''t have restrained yourself even


    a little."


    Toby chuckled in response. "That''s on me. Then¡ª"


    "Stop!" Sonia put her hand out at once, stopping him from continuing his words. "Don''t tell me to take a


    day off again. Don''t worry. I''m not that fragile. I''ll be alive after a wash-up and breakfast. Rx."


    "Really?" He looked at her with worry still in his eyes.


    Sonia nodded in affirmation. "Really. Trust me. Now pull me up."


    She reached her arm toward Toby, who grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.


    After sitting up, she raised both arms into the air and stretched. "Ah! Much better, and my brain is


    beginning to work. Let''s go. Didn''t someone ring the doorbell?"


    Meanwhile, she put her arms down and looked at Toby, who no longer insisted that she rested, seeing


    that she was indeed much more spirited. After humming a response, he got out of bed and handed her


    her shirt as he stood by the bed. "You put on your clothes first. I''ll see who''s at the door."


    "Go ahead." She waved her hand after taking her shirt from him.


    Seeing how she urged him despising, he smiled helplessly and ruffled her hair vengefully, only


    withdrawing his hands after making her disheveled hair even messier. With that, he walked out of the


    room with a smirk.


    Even when he had closed the door behind him, he could hear Sonia''s furious roar, "Toby Fuller, you


    son of a b*stard!"


    At that, his smirk grew wider, and the smile in his eyes deepened; even the steps he took had a hint of


    joy to them.


    On the other side of the door, Tom froze, dumbfounded with incredulity, when he found his boss


    answering the door with a smile.


    What the heck? President Fuller is smiling! Is he smiling at me? But when had he ever been this happy


    to see me at the door?!


    Having trouble believing what he was seeing, Tom took his sses off and rubbed his eyes before


    putting them back on, focusing on Toby.


    The smile was still there, and it was evident that he hadn''t imagined it. To think the president was


    actually smiling at him!


    Tom''s brain had fried at this point, and he still found the moment surreal.


    Hell, when had his boss ever greeted him with a good mood whenever he came over bright and early?!


    He could already consider himself lucky when Toby didn''t answer the door grimly, let alone smile at


    him.


    Thus, Tom didn''t feel the slightest bit ttered when he saw Toby smiling at him, but that something


    was up. President Fuller must be colluding something!


    His sses reflected light as he put his guard up. "President, have you... have you met with some good


    news? You look to be in a good mood."


    "I am, indeed." Toby raised his chin slightly. "I''ve pissed a kitten off just now."


    Kitten? Tom quirked a brow. "You''ve gotten a cat, President?"

 Chapter 1134

    Chapter 1134


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    Toby frowned at once and looked at his assistant with contempt, causing the corner of Tom''s lips to


    twitch.


    Why is the president looking at me like I''m an idiot? Have I gotten something wrong?


    As the thought crossed his mind, he noticed something. There were bite marks and scratch marks on


    the exposed corbone beneath Toby'' slightly opened bathrobe cor.


    Tom might not be as experienced, but he was no naive little boy either. So he understood how those


    marks came to be and what they meant at once, and he couldn''t be any more mortified.


    Kitten and scratches? Clearly, the president was referring to a human rather than an actual cat. As for


    who specifically, who else other than Miss Reed?!


    In other words, Toby and Sonia probably had another round in the morning, and the man was so sated


    that he even answered the door with a smile.


    If that was the case, Toby'' smile wasn''t directed at him at all. In fact, it was because the president


    hadn''t managed to put it away, having just finished making love to Sonia. He encountered a rare


    asion where he saw Toby smiling.


    The most embarrassing part was that he had assumed his boss'' smile was directed at him, thinking


    Toby was happy to see him.


    What did I say? How is that possible?! Thank goodness I didn''t look touched, or things would get really


    awkward...


    As Tom thought mortifyingly, Toby'' monotonous voice came. "What are you here for?"


    Tom looked up only to find Toby'' smile had been reced with nothing but impassiveness and


    impatience, precisely like every other time he showed up at Toby'' door.


    Sure enough, this was the treatment a subordinate like him deserved. Everything that had happened


    earlier was just his imagination.


    While sneering in his heart, Tom pushed his sses and answered deferentially, "Have you forgotten,


    President? You asked me to bring the car over and also bring some breakfast over in the meantime."


    With that, he handed a bag to Toby, who quirked a brow, clearly having only remembered that he had


    indeed said so the day before.


    He took the take-out bag from Tom and wanted to shoo him away when the sound of footsteps came


    from behind him.


    Sonia hade out after putting her clothes on. "Good morning, Tom." She smiled at the assistant as


    she stood behind Toby.


    "Good morning, Miss Reed," Tom replied with a smile.


    "Have you had breakfast? Why don''t you join us if you haven''t?" she asked while wrapping her arms


    around Toby''.


    Toby instantly narrowed his eyes, looking menacingly at his assistant as though saying, ''I''ll mangle you


    if you dare say yes.''


    Because he did it covertly, Tom, who was only slightly shorter than Toby, noticed while Sonia was


    oblivious to it.


    Thus, she didn''t know she had put the poor assistant in danger either.


    However, Tom knew, and the smile on his face stiffened by the second, so terrified that sweat began


    gathering on his forehead while he cried on the inside.


    Ah, Miss Reed, do you even realize what you''re doing to me?!


    Though Tom knew Sonia wasn''t implying anything but only asking out of courtesy and didn''t know how


    upset Toby would get, he felt overwhelmed with stress right then. s, his boss was ring at him like


    he had murdered his boss'' father.


    C''mon, boss, really? Miss Reed is just asking if I want to join breakfast. Why do you make it look like


    I''m trying to steal her from you?!


    Tom snuck a nce from the corner of his eyes only to find Toby turning grimmer by the second. Then,


    he looked at the smiling Sonia and sighed inwardly before saying with a forcibly kept smile, "I''m good,


    Miss Reed. I''ve eaten beforeing over. You and President Fuller go ahead. No need to bother


    yourself with me."


    President Fuller won''t look at me like I''m his arch-nemesis anymore when I answer like this, right?


    At that, he snuck a second nce at Toby from the corner of his eyes, and sure enough, his boss''


    countenance turned much brighter, no longer as grim.


    With that, he heaved a long sigh of relief.


    On the other hand, Sonia, still oblivious to the two men''s silent interaction, wasn''t surprised at all that


    Tom turned her down.


    If anything, she''d be shocked if Tom actually agreed to her offer.


    "In that case, I won''t force you then," said Sonia as she tucked her hair behind her ear.


    Tom heaved a sigh of relief at once. "But I appreciate your offer, Miss Reed. Alright, I won''t keep you


    and the President from your breakfast any longer. I''ll be waiting in the parking lot."


    "See you." Sonia nodded with a smile.


    With that, Tom took another nce at Toby, only leaving with assurance when he saw that his boss


    was affirmatively no longer upset.


    After Tom left, Sonia closed the door and returned to the living room with her arm wrapped around


    Toby''. "Is it me, or is Tom spooked? Did you sense it?" she asked as she gazed at her beloved''s side


    profile while walking.


    Toby averted his gaze in response. No way would he admit that Tom was afraid of him just now, would


    he? At that, he coughed and answeredposedly, "No, I didn''t sense anything."


    Sonia didn''t concern herself with the abnormality either and just nodded. "Guess it''s just me, then. Oh,


    well. Let''s eat. I''m hungry."


    Toby hummed a response and put the bag on the table before pulling the chair out for her.


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    It was only after she sat down that he opened the bag and took the food out one by one.


    By the time they finished breakfast, it was already past eight, and Toby led Sonia out of the apartment,


    entered the elevator, and headed to the parking lot.


    However, right as they arrived at the parking lot, Toby stopped abruptly in his tracks.


    "What is it? Why are you stopping?" Sonia turned around to look at him.


    Toby let go of her hand and rubbed his temples. "I left the sh drive I used to copy some filesst


    night in the study. Wait for me in the car while I get it."


    "Alright, go on then." Sonia nodded in response.


    With that, he returned to the parking lot elevator and headed upstairs.


    Meanwhile, Sonia looked around and only strode over to Toby'' car after finding it.


    As soon as she got close, the car door opened, and Tom got out of the driver''s seat to open the


    backseat door for Sonia. "Please, Miss Sonia."


    "Thank you," said Sonia with a smile before entering.


    After closing the door, Tom returned to the driver''s seat, only to hear Sonia''s voice the next second.


    "Tom, can I ask you something?"


    Tom looked over his shoulder at Sonia at that. "Feel free to ask me anything, Miss Reed. I''ll definitely


    tell you anything I can."


    "Alright, I won''t keep you guessing then." Sonia smiled. "I want to know what you and Toby talked


    aboutst night. He acted pretty strangely when he came back inside. I tried asking him, but he


    wouldn''t tell me. Has something happened in Fuller Group?"


    "I, um..." Tom hesitated, for he hadn''t expected Sonia to ask about this.


    What am I supposed to say?


    Sonia pursed her lips when she saw Tom''s hesitation. "What''s wrong? Can''t you answer it?"


    "It''s not that..." He scratched his head.


    However, Sonia continued to stare at him. "Why won''t you answer me then? Is it confidentialpany


    stuff? If it is, you can pretend that I never asked. It''s fine."

 Chapter 1135

    Chapter 1135


    Sonia decided to take the door-in-the-face approach. If Tom took it, great, but if he didn''t, then she''d


    just take it that the two were talking about confidentialpany stuff and not ask any more questions.


    So now, it was down to Tom.


    Just like that, Sonia said nothing and only looked silently at Tom''s reflection in the rearview mirror.


    Maybe because she had been with Toby for some time, some of hismanding aurae rubbed off on


    her. So much so that chills ran down Tom''s spine, overwhelmed with stress, facing Sonia.


    No wonder they''re a couple. The intimidation is practically identical.


    At that, he scratched his head and sighed inwardly, ultimately yielding from their stalemate. He looked


    at Sonia through the rearview mirror and asked, "Did President Fully really behave strangelyst


    night?"


    "Why do you think I''d only choose to ask you when he''s not here?" Sonia retorted inly, making Tom


    wipe his face and say, "Alright, I won''t hide it from you then."


    A hint of joy shed across her eyes at that. Looks like I''ve won.


    On the surface, she patted her bag lightly and asked inly, "Alright, tell me then. What exactly


    happened? I''m sure nothing happened to Fuller Group, or you wouldn''t yield and tell me so easily."


    To that, Tom chuckled wryly and affirmed, "You''re right. We indeed weren''t talking about thepany


    but Salzburg."


    "Connor?" Sonia narrowed her eyes. "He''s still in Seafield and hasn''t returned to Westanshire, isn''t


    he?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded in affirmation. "You probably don''t know this, Miss Reed, but President Fuller had


    gone to meet Connor when he went to retrieve the parts for you."


    "What?" Sonia sat upright at once. "He met with Connor himself?"


    "That''s right." Tom decided to just unbuckle his seatbelt and turn around. It was easier to talk to Sonia


    like that. "The two of them spoke of many things. Apart from talking about the parts, they, of course,


    didn''t leave out the former generation''s issues, and the president has confirmed that Salzburg''s the one


    who murdered thete Old Master Fuller."


    "He''s confirmed it?" Sonia''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Yes." Tom nodded gravely. "Actually, the president had always believed that Salzburg was the one all


    these years, but he didn''t have the evidence to prove it. Plus, Salzburg doesn''te to Seafield, and


    even when President Fuller went to Westsanshire, Salzburg never stepped out of the Salzburg


    residence. So, all these years, the president can''t even say for sure that he was the murderer until this


    time. It probably dawned on Salzburg that some things couldn''t be kept a secret forever, so he admitted


    to it after being pressured by President Fuller. The guy even bragged that the president wouldn''t be


    able to do anything with him even if he found out the truth."


    "Why is that? Does Connor have some backer supporting him that he can confidently say something


    like that?" Sonia locked her brows into a tight furrow upon hearing so.


    Tom shook his head. "We don''t know the details yet, but that''s likely it. President Fuller has already


    ordered a covert investigation. Once we know who''s backing Salzburg, we''ll have nothing to fear


    anymore."


    Sonia nodded slowly. "True. But that''s probably not what you guys talked aboutst night, right? It


    happened two days ago, after all. There''s no reason for him to only get upset now."


    "That''s right." Tom pushed his sses up. "That''s not what I talked to the president aboutst night, but


    it has to do with it. After President Fuller retrieved the parts and confirmed Salzburg''s murder, he gave


    Salzburg a piece of his mind beforeing to you. But before leaving, he said something to President


    Fuller."


    At that, he looked at Sonia, who pursed her lips in response. "What is it? It has to do with me?"


    "Something like that." Tom sighed. "But it has to do with Anya. The reason Salzburg came to Seafield is


    to save her. He naturally will have to find another way when he can''t get through to you. So this time,


    he reached his hands toward President Fuller, threatening him to release Anya or he''d deal withte


    Madam Valerie''s belongings."


    "Toby'' mother''s belongings?" A hint of shockced her voice.


    Tom lifted his chin at that. "Yes. You know as well that President Fuller''s mother used to date Salzburg.


    So it''s not surprising that he''d have some ofte Madam Valerie''s belongings. But this became a way


    for him to threaten President Fuller."


    Sonia''s face flushed after she heard him, livid. "That old codger! Just how wicked can he get to


    threaten people with the dead''s belongings?!"


    To that, Tom sneered, "It''s nothing for someone like Salzburg to threaten people with whoever''s


    belongings as long as he can get whatever he wants, even if those belongings used to belong to


    someone he loved."


    With that, Sonia looked out the window toward the elevator as painced her eyes. "Toby must''ve been


    really sad at that time, huh?"


    "Sad? No." Tom shook his head. "But anger? Yes. I''m not sure why, either, but I noticed President


    Fuller no longer reacts as intensely as he used to when someone mentions thete Madam Valerie


    nowadays. So when Salzburg used thete madam''s belongings to threaten the president, I didn''t see


    much of any other feelings other than anger in him. Then again, it could also just be me."


    "Maybe it''s not you." Sonia smiled, causing Tom to widen his eyes slightly. "Do you know something,


    Miss Reed?"


    Sonia rubbed her temples. "I''ve only discovered thistely as well. Toby'' mother purposely molded his


    personality to Connor''s when he was a child. Toby had no clue about it until I noticed it some time ago


    and told him. Then, he verified it with his grandmother. So..."


    She left her words hanging at that, but it was enough for Tom to get a good picture, and he gasped. "So


    that''s why. To think there''s that. I didn''t know."


    "Toby didn''t tell you. and with liis charactertely, he''s not one to talk about this openly."


    Tom nodded in response. "I get it. No wonder President Fuller didn''t feel anything but anger when


    Salzburg mentioned thete Madam Valerie. So that''s why. But no matter how, she will always be


    President Fuller''s mother, and she loved him when he was a child at some point. So he''d be angry that


    Salzburg would use thete madam''s belongings as a threat and also upset for his mother to have


    fallen in love with someone like him."


    Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "You''re right." Sonia put her hand down as she asked, "So did Toby agree to it? To let Anya free."


    At that, Tom hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "Of course not. The president isn''t someone who''d


    yield to threats so easily. Besides, this has to do with you. Even if he wants to say yes, he''d definitely


    talk to you first and not call the shots himself."


    "So he said no?" Sonia held her chin.


    Tom waved his hand again. "Well, he didn''t do that either. He didn''t even give a d*mn about Salzburg''s


    threat and just walked away. But I got a call from Salzburg''s assistant yesterday, and they brought it up


    again, saying if President Fuller turns them down again, they''ll put thete Madam Valerie''s belongings


    up for auction. They even said surely many people would be interested in whateverte Madam Valerie


    used when she was still alive. If this isn''t tant humiliation to President Fuller and the Fuller Family, I


    don''t know what is!"


    "No wonder Toby was acting so..." Sonia bit her lip as pain enveloped her face.

 Chapter 1136

    Chapter 1136


    Needless to say, Tom was able to tell that Sonia felt sympathetic toward Toby as he was happy for his


    boss. After all, it was a sign that Sonia was deeply in love with Toby. Why else would Miss Reed be so


    concerned about Mr. Fuller?


    "Yeah, I''m shuddering at the thought of Mr. Fuller''s reaction when I told him about that matter.


    Thankfully, Mr. Fuller was still rational enough to keep his impulse from getting the better of himself, or


    he would have killed Connor back there." Tom wiped his sweat and sighed.


    In the meantime, Sonia could also feel her palms sweating. "Well, I bet the reason Connor had the guts


    to threaten Toby was because he had someone else bigger to back him up in the shadows. I wish we


    knew who that was."


    "It doesn''t matter who has Connor''s back; he is eventually going to suffer defeat at our hands." He


    squinted.


    Sonia smiled and replied, "You''re right. No matter who is backing Connor from behind, evil can never


    prevail over good. However, his action of threatening Toby mustn''t go unpunished. Did Toby say


    anything about our next move? What is it that Toby''s mother left behind?"


    Tom shook his head in confusion. "Well, Mr. Fuller hasn''t said anything thus far, but I''m sure he must be


    bothered at the moment, which is why I have a feeling he isn''t going to let things slide like that. As for


    the possession that Toby''ste mother left behind, Connor hasn''t revealed anything about it, so I have


    no idea what it is either. Nheless, if it''s something Connor could use to threaten Mr. Fuller, coupled


    with the fact that other people are interested in it, I believe it must be something personal to Madam


    White when she was still alive."


    He continued, "It might not necessarily be something valuable, and I don''t think Connor would have


    been able to threaten Mr. Fuller with anything like that. After all, my boss is loaded with money, and


    losing something valuable is probably not going to upset him. Instead, if something precious falls into


    the wrong hands, it''s going tond Mr. Fuller at a very disadvantageous position once it gets out."


    Sonia nodded in response. "You''re right. If it is really something personal that used to belong to Toby''s


    late mother, we should probably get it back, or it''s going to jeopardize Toby and the Fuller Family''s


    reputation should it fall into the wrong hands."


    "Exactly. s, I wish I could just read Mr. Fuller''s mind now." Tom scratched his head. "I just don''t have


    the courage to ask him what''s on his mind."


    "Don''t worry about that. I got you. Just leave it to me." She gazed at him with a smile.


    Tom was delighted. "Awesome, Miss Reed! I''ll be counting on you, then."


    "Sure thing." Sonia nodded.


    As soon as thedy finished her words, a silhouette showed up right in front of the car near the duo. It


    turned out that Toby had returned, so She immediately winked at Tom and said, "Alright, we''ll talk about


    thatter. He''s back."


    In that instant, Tom quickly turned around and saw Toby walking in their direction. Thus, he gratefully


    smiled at Sonia as he opened the car door and let her into the vehicle before Toby.


    Noticing the hard disc in the man''s hand, Sonia asked rhetorically with a smile, "Bet you got what you


    needed, didn''t you?"


    Toby replied confidently, "Yeah."


    "In that case, what are we waiting for? Let''s go." She took a look at her watch.


    "Sit tight. Let''s hit the road now," Toby responded with an affirmative hum and ordered Tom to start


    driving. The next second, Tom replied affirmatively and started the engine.


    They arrived at Paradigm Co. an hourter. Sonia nted a kiss on Toby''s face and said goodbye to


    him before heading toward the building. In the meantime, Toby remained seated in the backseat with


    his hand on his cheek where Sonia had kissed him, looking as though he was caught in a trance.


    After all, Sonia had never given him a kiss when they parted ways unless he told her to do so.


    Therefore, when she gave him a kiss without him asking, he was caught by surprise. Little did he know


    that Tom was secretly observing his reaction at the same time. Seeing Toby''s stunned look, Tom


    quickly knew the reason and chuckled. "What a boost early in the morning, Mr. Fuller! Congrattions!"


    After hearing his assistant, Toby put down his hand and kept his chest up, happily saying, "What''s the


    big deal? It was just a kiss. There''s nothing to congratte me about."


    Tom responded by rolling his eyes upward. Just a kiss? If it''s nothing worth celebrating, stop smiling


    and keep your cocky attitude in check then. You''re really funny, Mr. Fuller. Despite the thought of that,


    Tom didn''t dare to speak his mind, replying with a cold grunt before he kept his eyes back on the road


    in an annoyed manner. I''d better shut up. Their lovey-dovey interaction is hurting my eyes.


    However, Sonia, who just exited the vehicle, seemingly thought of something not long after she left the


    car. She then stopped in her tracks and doubled back toward the car. In the meantime, Toby saw Sonia


    returning and quickly ordered Tom to stop.


    Needless to say, Tom did as he was told and rolled down the window, sticking his head out to see


    whether Sonia wasing back.


    Soon, Sonia got to the car and was about to knock on the window, but Toby beat her to it and rolled it


    down before she could do so. With a bright smile on Toby''s handsome face, he turned around and


    looked at thedy.


    "Did you forget something?" Still engrossed in the surprising kiss Sonia just gave him, Toby sounded


    exhrated and high in spirits.


    She faked a cough and said, "Nothing. I just want to tell you something."


    "I''m listening." He jutted his chin.


    Sonia secretly peeked at Tom, noticing the nervous expression on his face. Soon, she took her eyes off


    him and smiled. "It''s gettingte now, so I should probably get going. I have a meetingter, after all.


    Maybe we''ll talk about it when we get home tonight."


    When Tom heard Sonia''s words, he heaved a sigh of relief. Needless to say, he knew what Sonia was


    going to say to Toby, believing she was about to ask him what his next move was just as they


    discussed. After all, she told Tom that she would talk to Toby and sound him out earlier. However, that


    was precisely why Tom was afraid; he was worried that Sonia would do that in his presence. By then,


    Toby would most likely lecture him for his big mouth while he''d have a hard time exining himself.


    On the other hand, if Sonia chose to talk about thatter that night, she could choose any approach


    she wanted to bring up the matter to Toby in his absence. Although Toby might still be mad at him for


    running his mouth off, he could not berate Tom right away. Besides, there was also a chance that Sonia


    might even dissuade Toby from giving him a hard time.


    In the meantime, Toby had no idea what his assistant was thinking as he couldn''t take his eyes off


    Sonia. Hearing thedy''s words, he raised his eyebrows, his eyes seemingly filled with ambiguous


    emotion. "Is there something important?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded without hesitation.


    "I''lle over and pick you upter in the afternoon." Toby agreed.


    "See you, then." Sonia waved her hand at the man, who said goodbye to her and rolled up the window.


    After that, Sonia continued to stand by the roadside and waved at the man until the car went out of her


    sight before she entered the building. At the same time, the couple''s lovey-dovey interaction was


    spotted by the employees around them as they couldn''t help feeling envious toward the love Sonia and


    Toby had for each other. Although Sonia noticed their reactions, she onlyughed it off and shook her


    head, greeting them as usual while walking toward the elevator.


    As soon as Sonia arrived in her office, she heard someone knocking on her door. Thinking it was


    Daphne, she put down her purse and took off her coat while responding to the person outside her office


    without looking up. "Come in."


    Hearing the rattling sound of high heels on the ground, Sonia paused for a second and looked up just


    when she was about to hang her coat. When she realized her secretary was someone else instead of


    Daphne, she asked in confusion, "Where is Dapline?"


    "Didn''t you know, Chairman Reed? Miss Daphne is on leave." The secretary stopped in front of Sonia''s


    desk and politely added, "Miss Daphne applied for leave yesterday afternoon, so from today onward,


    I''m going to fill in for her until shees back."


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "That''s right. I''m sorry, it totally slipped my mind." Sonia patted her forehead in frustration.

 Chapter 1137

    Chapter 1137


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    Sonia had received Daphne''s message to apply for leave when she returned to Bayside Residence


    with Toby the night before. In her message, she revealed that she was about to have her surgery soon


    and was nning to rest for about half a month. Sonia responded by giving her approval to her


    secretary, only to forget about it the next day, which was rather awkward.


    "Chairman Reed, this is your schedule for the day. Please have a look and see if there are any


    cancetions or postponements you would like to make for your agenda." The secretary passed the


    document in her arms to Sonia.


    Sonia flipped through the papers and pointed at two schedules. "Cancel these two. They are


    unnecessary, so let''s not waste our time on that."


    The secretary leaned closer to look at the events that Sonia was referring to. "Sure."


    "The rest will go on as nned." Sonia closed the file and gave it back to the secretary.


    The secretary then hugged the document back in her arms and replied, "By the way, there is one more


    thing. The machine that you ordered from Kosovo when you went there a few months ago has arrived


    at customs."


    "Wait, what? Has it arrived already?" Sonia''s eyes brightened up joyfully.


    The secretary nodded. "Yes, the customs agency is taking necessary actions to speed up the delivery


    process. Once it''s through, we can arrange for our people to collect the machine at the customs right


    away."


    "That''s awesome!" Sonia happily smiled, barely containing her excitement.


    In fact, Paradigm Co. had always relied on its cooperation with otherpanies to facilitate its


    manufacturing process until it was hit by a financial crisis so hard that the management had to sell off


    the nt and all manufacturing units to survive. However, not only did the management''s efforts fail to


    save thepany from falling apart, Sonia''s father also passed away in the end just as thepany''s


    shares were being acquired by outsiders.


    A few yearster, things finally took a turn for the better when Charles, Carl, and Leonard reacquired


    thepany bit by bit, although the Reed Family had still yet to regain full ownership over the


    company.


    At the same time, while Paradigm Co. was currently under Sonia''s possession, she was well aware of


    the fact that herpany still suffered from the absence of its own manufacturing nt and production


    units. After all, those equipment and fixed assets could not be reacquired as easily as thepany''s


    shares could since they could only be bought back from those who currently owned them.


    Furthermore, Sonia had a feeling that it would be hard to regain possession over those fixed assets


    from their new owners, thinking the reason they bought them in the first ce was because they


    wanted to maximize their capacity. Because of that, it seemed troublesome to her to repurchase those


    machines from the new owners, which was why she reckoned it was almost impossible to reacquire


    those machines that had been sold off earlier.


    Due to the circumstances, Paradigm Co. had no choice but to outsource its productionpanies like


    Dwells and Rentoor that specialized in manufacturing since it didn''t have its own production and


    manufacturing unit.


    However, Sonia quickly realized that it wasn''t wise for herpany to continue down that path,


    considering the limited leverage it had over the otherpanies, which could put thepany at a


    disadvantage one day.


    Her worst fear came true when the owner of Dwells vited the contract and secretly sold the parts to


    Connor behind her back. Because of that, she no longer felt secure to outsource herpany''s


    production, thinking it was safer for the production to be held in house.


    In fact, Sonia had been having that thought at the back of her mind as she began to take necessary


    actions to revamp and renovate herpany''s manufacturing nt, as well as order the machine her


    company needed from Kosovo.


    While the nt was still in the midst of repair and renovation, the ongoing assembly of the machine in


    Kosovo had forced Sonia to continue working with Dwells until the unpleasant incident happened


    despite their long-term partnership, much to her dismay.


    Now that the machines Sonia had ordered were at the customs, Paradigm Co. would no longer need to


    depend on the otherpanies to produce the spare parts and goods once they collected them. That


    way, I suppose it''s only a matter of time before Paradigm Co. will be listed on the share market once


    again.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    The more Sonia thought about it, the more tightly she clenched her fists. "Tell the logistics department


    to pay attention to the customs agency. I want the machine here as soon as possible. Make sure


    nothing goes wrong!"


    "Don''t worry about it, Chairman Reed. Miss Daphne walked me through it when she handed over her


    job to me." The secretary smiled in response.


    Sonia smiled and replied, "Even when she is sick, she still can''t get her mind off her job. I can''t help but


    pity that poordy."


    "Miss Daphne is indeed a responsible employee." The secretary nodded in agreement.


    "Is the construction of the manufacturing ntplete?" Sonia looked at her.


    With the files in her arms, the secretary replied, "It''s done, but there are still a few minor adjustments to


    be made, and we''ll only know what to do when the machines arrive. After all, the construction workers


    only have the drafts to refer to, which makes it hard for them to decide where to install the circuit box


    and venttion fans. Furthermore, they won''t know how big each circuit box should be and how much


    space each venttion fan would take up until they see the actual object."


    "I understand. I''m going to head over to the manufacturing nt to inspect their progress myself, but as


    for the minor adjustments, I suppose we''ll only talk about that when the machines arrive." Sonia sat


    down on her chair.


    The secretary nodded. "Alright."


    "Great. You may excuse yourself now. Please also tell our shareholders and the senior management


    about the meeting soon." Sonia waved her hand and made her instruction heard, whereupon the


    secretary nodded and excused herself.


    After that, Sonia continued to sit down in her office for the next few moments before she started to


    gather the documents she needed for the meetingter. Then, she left her office and headed for the


    meeting thatsted for almost three hours.


    When the meeting was over, it was almost 1.00PM. At that moment, Sonia could hear her stomach


    growling as she rubbed her belly and returned to her office with a pair of furrowed brows on her face.


    As soon as she got back to her office, she heard the telephone on her desk ringing before she could


    even ask her secretary to get her lunch. Because of that, she decided to send her secretary a text


    message and told her to buy her lunch, whereupon she put down her cell phone and answered the


    inte. "Hello?"


    "Greeting, Chairman Reed. I''m calling from the front desk." The receptionist''s polite voice was heard.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows, wondering why the receptionist would call her. Then, she started to suspect


    there might be something important she had to attend to by herself like a guest or some confidential


    parcel. Otherwise, the receptionist would''ve contacted her secretary or her assistant first instead of


    approaching her directly. At the thought of that, she put up with her hunger and sat up straight,


    speaking with a strict tone. "What''s the matter?"


    "There are two guests iming to be the president of Lore Communications and his assistant. They


    would like to meet you." The receptionist looked at Grayson and spoke over the phone.


    "The president of Lore Communications?" Sonia squinted.


    "Yes."


    Sonia pursed her lips, knowing the reason why Grayson was here. I can''t believe that someone from


    the Lore Family is here, but I never thought it would be the president of Lore Communications himself. I


    bet he must be here for Lte.


    "Chairman Reed, would you like to see them?" the receptionist asked once again.


    However, Sonia didn''t answer right away. Instead, she held the phone up with one hand while knocking


    on the table with the other, seemingly pondering about the receptionist''s question.


    On the other hand, the receptionist, who heard the knocking, didn''t dare to interfere with Sonia as she


    only kept the phone in her hands and apologetically smiled at Grayson, signaling the man to wait.


    Nevertheless, Grayson was extremely impatient by that, responding with a darkened look on his face.


    Deep down, he reckoned he should be respected by Sonia, deeming himself equally on par with Henry


    in terms of seniority. In fact, he also reckoned that he was older than Toby, which was all the more


    reason Sonia should show him some respect.


    Where is thisdy''s respect? She shoulde and receive me after learning about my arrival. Instead,


    she''s taking her time without giving me a proper response.

 Chapter 1138

    Chapter 1138


    At that moment, Grayson, who had a strong dislike toward Sonia, felt even more unhappy with her,


    thinking she was purposely stalling and making him wait.


    After all, Sonia was the only person who was daring enough to do that to him, which he assumed must


    be because she thought Toby had her back. How arrogant thisdy is! Why are you so cocky, Sonia?


    You''re nowhere close to Lte. What makes you think you''re a perfect match for Toby?


    As Grayson grew tired of waiting and was about to barge into the building, the receptionist suddenly put


    down the phone after saying something to Sonia on the inside and turned her attention to the man. "I''m


    sorry to have made you wait, Mr. Lore. Chairman Reed has agreed to see you now. Pleasee with


    me." She then extended her arm and showed the two men the way.


    Grayson lightened up a little when he heard her words, but he remained haughty and insolent. At the


    same time, he waved his hand and grunted. "Atst, she made the right move."


    When the receptionist heard the man''s words, she secretly rolled her eyes upward in disdain. What the


    hell is wrong with this man?! He is on someone else''s turf, yet he won''t keep his arrogance in check at


    all. I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised to see a man like him with a shameless daughter who wants


    nothing but to be a mistress! No wonder people say like father, like daughter!


    The receptionist''s mind was filled with disgust toward Grayson, but due to her status as an ordinary


    employee working at the front desk, she didn''t dare to express her disdain as she continued to lead


    Grayson and his assistant to the elevator. Nheless, she hoped that Sonia would teach them a


    lessonter.


    In the meantime, Grayson, who was following behind the receptionist, kept looking around the building.


    Noticing the old interior design, Grayson didn''t even bother to hide the contemptuous look on his face.


    In fact, he even wiped the elevator to degrade Sonia''spany, although there was barely any dust


    inside the elevator. Then, he blew his own hands and pped them like he was trying to dust his


    hands. At the same time, he went on to mock thepany by asking, "What''s with this design? I can''t


    believe Paradigm Co. is so old-fashioned."


    Meanwhile, the receptionist felt even more disgusted when she saw what Grayson did. After all, she


    worked at the front desk and hade across countless people day in and day out. Thus, she


    considered herself quite a keen judge of character and was able to see through Grayson''s ill intention


    behind his gestures.


    How cheap! This guy is just trying to make Paradigm Co. seem bad. As one of the employees of her


    company, she had to admit that Paradigm Co. was not in its best financial state at that moment.


    However, she was grateful that thepany had never forgotten the benefits that they deserved. At


    the same time, she was never worried about Paradigm Co.''s respect and her own future, considering


    the rtionship between Sonia and Toby.


    Because of that, every single employee had a strong sense of belonging in thepany. Thus, the


    receptionist could not stand it when she heard someone degrading herpany, but despite her


    displeasure, she wasn''t going to express it anyway because she was just an ordinary employee who


    worked at the front desk.


    Other than knitting her eyebrows and reacting with an indifferent attitude, there was only so much she


    could do. Nevertheless, she was determined deep down to tell Sonia what she saw, thinking her boss


    was in a better ce to refute Grayson than she was.


    Well, even if Chairman Reed can''t do anything, I''m sure Mr. Fuller can handle this guy. At the thought


    of that, the receptionist only kept her eyes on the elevator door without even bothering to look at


    Grayson. While she continued to smile, she answered nonchntly, "Paradigm Co. was built more than


    twenty years ago, so it''s not surprising that the interior design seems old school. Although it''s barely


    comparable to the trend right now, the design was one of the most popr ones back then."


    "No wonder." Grayson smiled nonchntly. "You may be right, but after more than two decades, don''t


    you think it''s time for yourpany to go through a makeover? After all, yourpany''s appearance is


    the most obvious factor that influences how people think of it. If your management won''t do anything to


    change it, it''ll only seem to others as if it hasn''t progressed at all without anything worth looking forward


    to." The man implied that Paradigm Co. was just like an outdated property, destined to be left forgotten.


    The receptionist clenched her fists and faked a smile. "I beg to differ, Mr. Lore. The reason the interior


    design in Paradigm Co. remains the same is not because we can''t afford to change, but because our


    leaders are nostalgic of the past. Furthermore, with the rtionship between Paradigm Co. and the


    Fuller Group, I''m sure it''s only a matter of time before they do something about changing the interior


    design. In fact, even if we don''t make any changes. I''m sure whoever works with ourpany will


    respect us due to our alliance with the Fuller Group. After all, no one is going to disrespect us just


    because of our outdated interior design, which is why I don''t think it''s that important of a matter to


    change the interior design. Moreover, Paradigm Co. is backed by the Fuller Group just as Chairman


    Reed is backed by Mr. Fuller."


    On the other hand, Grayson could also tell what the receptionist was insinuating, knowing she was


    trying to point out the fact that the Lore Family had gotten on the wrong side of Toby, making it even


    harder for them to align themselves with the Fuller Family again.


    In that instant, Grayson was overwhelmed with anger, yet there was nothing he could do to the


    receptionist. After all, he didn''t want to be embarrassed if word about him, a corporate president,


    messing around with an ordinary receptionist got out. Despite his frustration and annoyance with the


    receptionist''s reply, he couldn''t do anything except put up with her.Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Because of that, the elevator was shrouded in silence as Grayson fixed his cold gaze on the


    receptionist. Deep down, Grayson was annoyed about his failure to degrade Paradigm Co., but what


    irritated him even more was that his petty attempt to insult thepany ironically put him in an


    embarrassing position.


    Soon, the elevator arrived just as the door opened. Then, the receptionist stepped out of the elevator


    and heaved a sigh of relief, pretending as if nothing ever happened. At the same time, she extended


    her arm and politely invited Grayson and his assistant to step out of the elevator. "This way, Mr. Lore.


    We''re almost reaching Chairman Reed''s office."


    Grayson glimpsed the receptionist and grunted coldly, fixing his cor as he stepped out of the elevator


    with his assistant following right behind him closely.


    "We''re here," the receptionist said to Grayson and his assistant, whereupon she knocked on the door.


    Sonia''s voice could soon be heard from inside the door. "Come in."


    The receptionist soon opened the door. "Chairman Reed, Mr. Lore is here."


    Sonia then put down her pen and looked up, setting her eyes on the receptionist while nodding. "Let


    them in while you make us some tea."


    "Alright," the receptionist replied with an affirmative hum, showing Grayson and his assistant the way


    into Sonia''s office before she left to make them some tea.


    The next moment, Sonia stood up and walked closer to Grayson. "Mr. Lore, wee to Paradigm Co.


    Please take a seat." She pointed at the couch not far away from her, signaling Grayson to sit there.


    However, Grayson was seen with a disgusted look on his face when he saw the old-fashioned wooden


    couch. Thus, he directly approached the couch without responding to Sonia and sat down as if he was


    the boss who owned the ce.


    When Sonia saw that, she squinted with an indifferent look on her face. Just as she was about to say


    something, the receptionist, who was supposed to make some tea, peeked from the door and spoke.


    "Chairman Reed, I can''t find the tea leaves, so could you pleasee here?" The receptionist


    mustered her courage and waved her hand at Sonia.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows upon hearing the receptionist''s words. What? She can''t find the tea leaves?


    That''s impossible. They have always been in the same, obvious spot in the cab. She must have


    something she wants to talk to me about. Sonia was sure that the tea leaves should still be there, and


    she instantly saw through the receptionist''s intention of beckoning her over. Because of that, she


    nodded and said, "Alright, I''ll meet you in the pantry."


    In the meantime, the receptionist heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Sonia''s affirmative reply,


    whereupon she disappeared at the door.

 Chapter 1139

    Chapter 1139


    When Sonia saw her receptionist walking away, she looked back and turned her attention to Grayson,


    who was sitting on the couch like a boss. "Mr. Lore, it appears that my employee needs my help. I''m


    going to have to excuse myself now while you sit here until I return. I won''t take long." Sonia


    maintained the smile on her face but did so rather indifferently. After all, there was no way she could


    make herself treat the man with some enthusiasm because she never had any good impressions


    toward the Lore Family. I haven''t seen a guest who acts so arrogantly on someone else''s turf.


    "Go ahead then, but you''d better hurry up; I don''t have all day." Grayson raised his wrist and looked at


    his watch, behaving insolently while talking to Sonia. Apparently, he didn''t treat Sonia with respect but


    instead with contempt and disdain like she was his maid whom he could boss around.


    After that, Sonia squinted and kept her head down, hiding the nonchnce in her eyes. At the same


    time, she reacted with a faint smile before exiting the office. When she was gone, Grayson''s assistant,


    who had his eyes on the door, spoke to his boss in a concerned manner. "Mr. Lore, was it really


    necessary to be so mean to Miss Reed?"


    With his legs crossed, Grayson stopped shaking them and looked up, ring at his assistant unhappily.


    "What are you talking about? Are you on her side?"


    "No, of course not." The assistant shook his head and exined, "I''m not on Miss Reed''s side, Mr.


    Lore. I''m concerned about us. After all, the reason we''re here is to apologize and ask for Miss Reed''s


    forgiveness, but your attitude makes us seem like we''re... Here for trouble." Grayson''s assistant


    lowered his voice toward the end of his sentence, eventually even losing the courage to look his boss


    in the eye.


    "Are you saying that I''m here to seek trouble?" Grayson''s face darkened even more.


    "No, of course not." The assistant shook his head. "That''s not what I meant. Instead, I''m just saying


    that the attitude you just showed might not have been appropriate, considering our circumstances.


    Thus, I think we should be a little more polite. Who knows we may be able to achieve our goal in the


    end?" The assistant advised Grayson to adopt a more diplomatic approach.


    Grayson grunted coldly in response. "What are you talking about? Why should I be polite to her? Who


    does she think she is?"


    The man pointed in the direction in which Sonia just left and raised his voice. "She and I are on an


    equal footing in terms of status. In fact, I''m older than she is, which means she should ept it with


    grace even though I''m here to offer my apology. If she is smart enough, she''d suggest that we leave


    the past behind us before I even start talking. So, are you out of your mind telling me to be nice to her?


    She doesn''t deserve that!"


    As soon as Grayson''s assistant heard his words, he instantly felt helpless and puzzled. No wonder


    people are leaving thispany, especially from the secretary and public rtions department. When I


    first heard from them that thispany had no future, I didn''t believe them, but now, I guess I was


    wrong back then. With a dumb boss like this fe, it''d be a miracle if thepany survives for long.


    This guy came all the way here to apologize, but instead, he''s acting arrogantly and belligerently. Does


    he want hispany to go bankrupt sooner?


    Grayson''s assistant rolled his eyes upward as he decided to give up changing his boss'' mind. Deep


    down, he reckoned he should just stand on the sidelines and watch since Grayson was the one who


    owned and ran hispany. Because of that, Grayson''s assistant kept his head down in silence and


    said nothing more.


    On the other hand, Sonia arrived in the pantry and closed the door behind her. At that moment, the


    receptionist, who was filling the empty teapot with water, turned off the tap when she heard a sound.


    She then put down the teapot and wiped her hands on her skirt, acting in a reserved manner. "Here


    you are, Chairman Reed."


    Sensing the nervousness on the receptionist''s face, Sonia smiled gently and said, "Didn''t you tell me to


    come here? Anyway, just rx and organize your thoughts. I''m here and ready to listen, okay? I won''t


    bite, so take it easy."


    Upon hearing Sonia''sforting words, the receptionist was seen with a pair of blushed cheeks as she


    began to feel more and more rxed. "Here was what happened just now. Chairman Reed..." She then


    went on to tell Sonia everything that happened from the moment Grayson and his assistant came until


    they arrived in her office.


    After learning the story, Soniaughed in an amused manner. "Oh,e on! He is on my turf, yet he


    won''t keep his temper in check! Is he taking my kindness as ignorance?!"


    "Exactly! He must not be forgiven, Chairman Reed. You must do something about it." The receptionist


    clenched her fists and expressed her annoyance.


    Seeing how angry the receptionist was, Sonia lightened up and replied with a smile, "Don''t worry about


    that. I know what to do, but I''m grateful for your loyalty toward thepany."


    The receptionist scratched her head bashfully and said, "Well, I''m also a part of Paradigm Co., so of


    course I can''t just keep quiet and do nothing when someone degrades mypany."


    "Your bonus is going to double this month." Sonia smiled at her.


    The receptionist was stunned for a second before she looked Sonia in the eye and asked, "Really,


    Chairman Reed?''


    "Of course, I just told you that myself. Why would I lie to you?" Sonia smiled even brighter. "Just talk to


    the people from the finance departmentter and tell them it''s my idea. They will check with meter


    on."


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Thank you so much, Chairman Reed! Thank you so much!" The receptionist bowed to Sonia


    thankfully.


    Sonia smiled and shook her head, seizing the receptionist''s hand. "Alright, now please get the tea


    ready."


    "Alright, I''ll get it ready right now." The receptionist grabbed the teapot and began to fill the teacup with


    some tea. After that, she covered each of the teacups with a lid and ced them on a tray, which she


    was about to lift up.


    However, Sonia quickly took the tray and said, "I''ll take it from here and serve them the tea. When you


    go downstairs, please tell those security guards to wait outside my office. As soon as they hear me


    chasing Mr. Lore and his assistant away, they wille in and take the two of them out of this


    building."


    The receptionist nodded, her eyes brightening up after she heard Sonia''s words. "Alright, Chairman


    Reed. I''m going to do as you say."


    Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and carried the tray in her hands, making her way back to the


    office. Since her office was just beside the pantry, she could hear murmurs of conversation between


    Grayson and his assistant inside her office. When she heard her name being mentioned, she believed


    Grayson was talking behind her back to his assistant. Thus, she pursed her lips and kicked the door to


    create some noise, intentionally alerting the two men in her office.


    When the two men heard the knock on the door, they knew Sonia was back and quickly stopped


    talking. At the same time, Grayson was left tongue-tied despite his arrogant attitude and all the mean


    things he was saying about Sonia. Look at yourself, Mr. Lore! Where is all your confidence?!


    Meanwhile, his assistant''s face was filled with contempt. Is that all you got? Come on, you''re going to


    have to do better! I guess that''s not surprising for a b*stard like you!


    "I''m sorry for making you wait, Mr. Lore." Sonia pretended as if she didn''t hear what they were talking


    about while approaching them with the teacups, which she ced right in front of Grayson and his


    assistant.


    While Grayson only glimpsed the teacup without saying a word, his assistant standing right behind him


    politely thanked Sonia for the tea. For that, Sonia raised her eyebrows in surprise and gazed at


    Grayson''s assistant, seeing the sincerity in his eyes as she was surprised to find that.


    After all, she thought Grayson''s subordinate was just as unreasonable as he was, thinking everyone


    around him was nothing much different from himself. Mr. Lore''s assistant is quite a decent man, but it''s


    too bad that he works for someone who doesn''t deserve him.


    Sonia thought about that regrettably but quickly put that behind her. She then sat down opposite


    Grayson and smiled at him indifferently. "Try the tea, Mr. Lore. I hope you''ll like it."

 Chapter 1140

    Chapter 1140


    Only did Grayson look at Sonia when he heard her words. Then, he looked at the teacup in front of


    him, but he then frowned as he looked at the tea inside it. "What variety of tea is this?" he asked.


    "Don''t worry, Mr. Lore. I won''t serve you any premium tea. This is just a normal cup of green tea."


    Sonia crossed her legs and smiled.


    When Grayson heard her words, he had a grim expression. "A normal cup of green tea? Is this how


    Paradigm Co. treats their guests?"


    While listening to his words, Sonia sipped her tea and said faintly, "I can''t do anything about this. My


    company is small, and I can''t even change the furniture that I have been using for twenty years. What


    makes you think I can serve you premium tea? A normal cup of tea is all I can do for you, so bear with


    it. After all, I still see you as a guest. Otherwise, I would''ve simply handed you a cup of water." As she


    spoke, she emphasized the twenty years of furnishing.


    Although Grayson didn''t have any outstanding abilities in business, he was not a fool. When he heard


    her words, he knew that the receptionist had told her about what he said in the elevator. Thus, Sonia


    was using this as a chance to treat him offhandedly by serving him an average cup of tea. With that


    thought in mind, he was fuming in anger.


    "Do you even serve just water?" Grayson squinted his eyes at her. "Aren''t you Toby''s girlfriend?


    Considering the years that you have been with him, I don''t believe that you haven''t taken anything from


    him. Does he dislike you? Is that why he isn''t even willing to buy you premium tea brands? That''s


    probably why yourpany only has this kind of cheap stuff."


    Sonia didn''t get mad and was still grinning when she heard his remarks. "You must have


    underestimated me, Mr. Lore. Toby did give me a lot of good stuff, including premium tea. However, I


    don''t want to serve it to you. I only serve good tea to people who are polite and respectful, not some


    arrogant man like you. People like you should only be amodated with regr tea. It''s even


    ridiculous that you said Toby dislikes me. If so, he wouldn''t have disassociated himself from the Lore


    Family. Don''t you think so?"


    "You..." Grayson was furious at her words that he couldn''t even make out a sentence.


    ording to her words, she''s implying that my family isn''t worth drinking premium tea and can only be


    served cheap, regr tea. Not only that, she''s also boasting about the fact that Toby chose her over


    my family. This is just... just... As Grayson thought about it, he was breathing heavily from frustration. At


    that moment, he couldn''t think of anything to criticize Sonia.


    Seeing that he was furious to this point, Sonia furrowed her eyebrows as she was afraid he wouldn''t be


    able to handle his emotions. She restrained herself and put down the cup, asking coldly, "Alright, Mr.


    Lore. I was only joking, so please excuse me for it. After all, you do know that we youngsters like to


    joke about everything. I''m sure you don''t mind it, do you?" She smiled at him.


    When he heard her words, Grayson was even more furious. There was nothing else he could say since


    she had put it that way. He couldn''t possibly say that he didn''t think it was a joke, for it would make him


    seem like a killjoy. However, he couldn''t let himself agree with her words either as he would need to


    endure it. Moreover, he knew that she was not joking. She was clearly provoking him and being


    boastful about it!


    When Sonia saw Grayson shaking from anger, she sighed inwardly. To think that such an impatient


    man is the boss of apany. He is even worse than a newbie like me.


    A hint of mockery shed across her eyes as she thought about it. "Enough with all the talking now, Mr.


    Lore. Why don''t we talk about business? If I remember clearly, there aren''t any intersections between


    your family and me. Is there a reason for your visit today?" she asked.


    As Grayson''s assistant soothed him, he slowly calmed down and regained hisposure, but he still


    had a grim expression. He looked at her coldly and said, "I don''t think we have to beat around the


    bushes, Sonia. I believe that you know why I am here."


    "I''m sorry, but I don''t have a clue. Why don''t you just say it? I''m not fond of guessing things." Sonia


    smiled, implying that she wanted him to say for himself rather than admit she knew what exactly


    happened.


    When Grayson heard it, he was furious as he didn''t expect her to be such a cunning person.


    He was here to apologize to her, but he didn''t want to take the initiative and say it. After all, he would


    not be in control of the situation if he were to say it first. Initially, he was nning to let Sonia ask about


    it. That way, it would be easier for him to express his words. However, his n was now in vain since


    Sonia insisted on him saying it. If it weren''t for Harry''s orders, Grayson believed he would have just left


    on the spot. After all, he had never been in such a situation with any youngsters other than Toby.


    Seeing how Grayson''s expression changed, Sonia shrugged and said, "Since you are not going to say


    anything, I guess this will be the end of our conversation. You can alwayse to me when you''ve


    carefully thought about what you want to say. However, I can''t promise that I will still have the time for


    you."


    As soon as she finished her words, she stood up and shouted in the direction of the door. "Security,


    take him away!"


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "Wait!" Grayson didn''t expect her to kick him out without saying anything. He quickly stood up and


    stopped her. "There''s no need to kick me out now, Miss Reed. I''ll say it, okay?"


    When Sonia heard his words, a glint shed across her eyes as she smiled. "I''m listening, Mr. Lore.


    Please have a seat." Then, she motioned for him to have a seat.


    "I didn''t expect you to be such a difficult person, Miss Reed." He looked at her gloomily as he sat down.


    Sonia flipped her hair and sat back down. "You tter me, Mr. Lore. We should always have some


    tricks up our sleeves when doing business, right? Now, please begin your speech, Mr. Lore. I''ll give you


    thirty minutes to say it, for I''m going to have lunch afterward." She looked at her watch and motioned


    him to start talking.


    However, her gesture was as if she was signaling him to start putting on a show rather than speaking.


    She is treating me like a clown! he thought.


    Although Grayson was trembling in rage, he couldn''t do anything. So, he took a deep breath to surpass


    his anger and said slowly, "Miss Reed, I''m here to apologize to you. I''m sorry that my daughter,


    Lte, caused you trouble yesterday. As such, I''m sorry for not educating her well enough. Please


    excuse her for her behavior, Miss Reed."


    The smile on Sonia''s face turned into a sneer as she heard his words. "You are here to apologize on


    Lte''s behalf," she said.


    "Yes," he replied.


    Then, Sonia shifted in her seat. Her sneer was even more visible, and her eyes were icy cold as she


    spoke. "However, with all due respect, this is the first time I have seen such an apology."


    As Grayson heard her words, the expression on his face stiffened. "What do you mean by this, Miss


    Reed?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Sonia shrugged. "When people apologize, they bring the instigator over and some


    apology gifts. Not only that, they are typically well-mannered as they bow and ask for forgiveness.


    However, I don''t see that in you, Mr. Lore."

 Chapter 1141

    Chapter 1141


    Chapter


    Sonia nced at Grayson coldly as she spoke. "Although you said you were here to apologize, I don''t


    see you bringing Lte, let alone some apology gifts. Moreover, you are ill-mannered. Is this how you


    apologize to someone? If I didn''t know better, I would have thought you were here to ask for a


    protection racket."


    At this moment, Grayson''s assistant, who stood behind him, subconsciously nodded. That''s right. I


    knew this would not end well when I saw Mr. Loreing out empty-handed earlier. I advised him to


    bring some gifts along, but he just wouldn''t listen, and there was nothing I could do about it. Mr. Lore


    deserves to be scolded by Miss Reed.


    However, despite the fact that Grayson''s assistant sided with Sonia''s words, Grayson himself was


    unhappy with it. He squinted his eyes at her and said darkly, "Apology gifts? From your perspective, am


    I asking for a protection racket instead of apologizing to you?"


    Sonia smiled faintly and said, "Although you are not, your attitude makes it seems like it. With all due


    respect, I don''t see how you are apologizing, Mr. Lore. I still stand by my words; apologize like you


    mean it. You are here because Toby dissociated himself from your family, right?"


    As he listened to her words, Grayson gripped his knuckles and didn''t say anything. However, his


    expression said otherwise.


    "I guess so." Sonia crossed her legs and leaned against the armrest. "It has been forty-eight hours


    since this matter happened. However, you guys never contacted me to apologize. It was only when


    Toby kept clear with your family that you decided toe and apologize. This shows that you are here


    by force. Not only that, your attitude is terrible, and there aren''t any apology gifts. I can see that you are


    not being sincere."


    When she spoke, her tone was calm as if she was talking about the weather. However, her sarcastic


    words were like needles piercing into Grayson''s heart, exposing his true thoughts out in the open.


    At that moment, Grayson''s expression was ugly, and he gripped the armrest even tighter. If it weren''t


    that he was still rational and knew that he hadn''t made his point, he would have stood up and left.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    To him, even if he was thinking about it, no one should ever say it aloud. Sonia should have pretended


    not to know and epted his apology. After all, he was an elder to her! It was so frustrating since she


    wouldn''t oblige him.


    While Grayson was trembling from either frustration or embarrassment, there was a hint of mockery in


    Sonia''s eyes as she looked at him.


    Then, she opened her mouth and said, "I''m only an ordinary person, Mr. Lore. I like to be more realistic.


    Since you are here to apologize, I would advise you to bring Lte over and ask her to apologize to


    me in person while you prepare some gifts that will satisfy me. Lastly, I hope you two can be well-


    mannered and bow to me. By then, perhaps I''ll look over the part where you guys made a mistake and


    had not disciplined Lte well. Simply put, I will not ept your apology this time. Pleasee by


    again when you are all set." Then, she picked up her cup, asking him to leave.


    When Grayson heard her request for gifts and bows, he was red from anger. "You''re being greedy,


    Sonia. Your desire is hideous for asking for gifts, our bows, and wanting Lte to apologize in


    person," he snapped.


    "My desire is hideous?" Sonia frowned and sneered. "Don''t get me wrong, Mr. Lore. The Lore Family


    are the ones who are supposed to apologize to me, not the other way around; I''m not the one begging


    for your forgiveness. Since it''s an apology, you should make it seem that way. Don''te here alone,


    empty-handed, and be arrogant about it. Also, don''t tell me to let you guys off the hook after such a


    lackluster apology. With that being said, you are causing trouble here rather than apologizing. I haven''t


    seen anyone apologize in this manner before. If I were you, I would have called the person firsthand


    and apologized to them for my mistake. If they don''t ept it, I would go to their doorstep with gifts and


    repeatedly apologize until they forgive me. This is the way to apologize to someone. I cannot say the


    same for you, though."


    Sonia lifted her chin and looked at him in disdain. "How shameless of you toe here empty-handed


    and tell me to let go of this matter. I wonder where you got the confidence from, assuming I will forgive


    you when you have brought nothing and only said sorry."


    When Grayson heard her reprimand him, there was a hint of guilt in his eyes.


    Sonia put down her legs and stood up, closing into him. "Tell me, Mr. Lore. Why are you so confident


    about this matter?" she asked again.


    Under these circumstances, Grayson''s ego probably couldn''t take it anymore, and he decided to go all


    out. The man took a deep breath and stared at her. "What else? I am an elder to you. Given the


    rtionship between the Lore Family and the Fullers, you should forgive Lte''s behavior and put in


    a good word for us to Toby."


    "What?" Sonia was startled upon hearing his reply. When she snapped back to her senses, she was


    furious. "An elder? Your rtionship with the Fuller Family?"


    "That''s right." Grayson raised his chin and looked proud of himself.


    When Sonia saw his reaction, the smile on her face vanished. "What kind of elder are you to me?


    Moreover, it''s none of my business about your family''s rtionship with the Fullers. Why should I


    endure this and forgive you guys, even putting in a good word for the Lore Family to Toby?"


    "Who says I''m not? Don''t forget that I am the same age as your father, Henry. Of course, I am also your


    elder. You should call me uncle. Even if you don''t, you should call me your senior as I have been in the


    business world twenty years earlier than you." As he spoke, he was getting more proud.


    "Secondly, Toby is my father''s student. A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. As such, my family


    can be considered as Toby''s family. If you want to be with him, it''s only fair that you tter us.


    Otherwise, we will cause trouble for you, damaging your rtionship with Toby." At that moment, he


    looked at Sonia with excitement and madness.


    Listening to his words, Soniaughed. In fact, she burst into a fit ofughter while clutching her


    stomach.


    When Grayson saw herughing, his heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling in his gut.


    "Why are youughing?" he asked while gritting his teeth.


    Afterughing for a moment, Sonia wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "I see! Just when I was


    wondering why you were so confident, I finally figured out why. In terms of seniority, you are indeed my


    elder. However, as long as I refuse to admit it, you are nothing to me. Furthermore, we are not blood-


    rted. Yet, you tried to make mepromise with your age. Have some shame, Mr. Lore."

 Chapter 1142

    Chapter 1142


    Sonia''s words were straightforward, making Grayson furious when he heard it.


    However, Sonia continued, "As for your saying that I should tter you and your family in order to be


    together with Toby because of the connections with the Lore Family and the Fullers, I think that is just


    hrious. I mean, Lte framed me just to make me break up with Toby when we do not have any


    grudges against each other. I suppose I don''t need to specify why¡ªshe likes Toby, so she wants to


    rece me."


    Listening to her words, Grayson turned his face to the side awkwardly as he didn''t expect Sonia to


    know about this.


    Seeing his reaction, Sonia scoffed and continued, "Moreover, even if I were to tter you and forgive


    you like a simp, telling Toby how good your family is. Will you guys really let me be with him? My guess


    is no. Harry, who is also Toby''s teacher, talked sh*t about me to Toby before knowing what Lte did


    online. He told Toby I was ipatible with him and that we should break up. This proves that no


    matter what I do, you guys will never let me be with him because Lte would not have a chance.


    Thus, your words are pointless and ridiculous, Mr. Lore."


    At that moment, Grayson felt that Sonia had exposed him. He felt awkward as he stood on the spot,


    unable to say anything. Even his assistant wanted to bury himself in a hole.


    This was just embarrassing.


    However, Sonia seemed to have not noticed his embarrassment as she put down the teacup and


    smiled, saying, "Moreover, even if Harry doesn''t do anything, you guys can''t rece me with Lte.


    Thus, there''s no need for me to tter you guys."


    "What do you mean by that?" Grayson looked at her angrily.


    Sonia flipped her hair and said, "It''s simple. Why should I tter you guys when we are not blood-


    rted? Will you guys help me strengthen my rtionship with Toby if I were to tter you guys? I don''t


    think so. Moreover, this is my matter with Toby. What does this have to do with anyone else? Why


    would I need the help of someone? Lastly, the words I''m about to say are not going to be to your liking,


    but I''m afraid that I''m more important than the Lore Family in Toby''s heart. Not even Harry, his teacher,


    can change that. Didn''t you see how he steered away from your family when you guys offended me?"


    At that moment, Sonia probably stepped on a nerve as Grayson jumped and roared at her. "So what if


    Toby prioritizes you? That doesn''t mean that you are more important than us. He is just angry that we


    have done something wrong. He wouldn''t steer clear of us. Never!"


    Seeing that he was still refusing to admit it, Sonia didn''t get mad and just smiled. "If that''s the case,


    then why are you here? You''re here because you want me to forgive you and say good things about


    your family to Toby. Unfortunately, you guys are wrong.


    How do you expect me to forgive you and help you when you are not being sincere with your apology?


    This is just insane."


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    "You..." Grayson pointed at her with trembling fingers as he was too angry to speak.


    Sonia waved her hand at him, saying, "Stop stuttering, Mr. Lore. Since you are unwilling to admit the


    truth, you shouldn''t be here and should be maintaining the pride of your family instead. We''ll see if Toby


    will pay any attention to it. However, since you are here, this proves that someone in your family knows


    what is happening. What a pity, though. Even if they know it, it will still be a waste if you don''t apologize


    sincerely. With that, I still stand my ground¡ªI won''t forgive the Lore Family. To have my forgiveness,


    you must apologize sincerely. Otherwise, I won''t ept it. Don''t tell me that I should tter you


    because of your rtionship with The Fullers. Moreover, you and your family should be the ones


    buttering up to me."


    "What nonsense are you talking about? We, the Lore Family, tter you?" said Grayson as he looked at


    Sonia scornfully.


    Meanwhile, Sonia remained her expression unchanged and looked at him nonchntly.


    Laugh all you want now. You won''t be able toughter on, she thought.


    "Nonsense?" Sonia shrugged. "I don''t think I''m speaking nonsense. As I said, I''m more important than


    the Lore Family in Toby''s heart. After all, he could steer clear of your family because of me. This proves


    that you and your family are not of much importance to him and can be easily ignored. However, if your


    family wants to keep in touch with him, you should find the perfect solution for it, and that happens to


    be me. Thus, the Lore Family should please and tter me rather than offend me, because if I''m


    satisfied, I will praise your family in front of Toby. That way, you guys can continue to keep in touch with


    him."


    As she spoke, she wiggled her fingers. "If you guys offend me, I will be very unhappy. I will then say


    bad things about your family, giving him a bad impression on the Lore Family. Moreover, I can give him


    a pillow talk to ruin any chance of the Lore Family ever getting in touch with him again. You know how


    powerful pillow talk is, don''t you, Mr. Lore?"


    At that moment, Grayson''s expression changed. He widened his eyes as he looked at her. After a


    while, he said, "You... You are such a vicious woman..."


    "Vicious?" Sonia huffed. "I''m nothingpared to Lte. You guys provoked me first. Since you guys


    want me dead, don''t me me for my heartlessness. Lastly, I advise you to know your ce. Don''t


    assume that everyone should obey you just because you are in the high-ups for a long time. Alright,


    that''s enough talking for today. It will be meaningless if I go on. Please leave!" She pointed at the door.


    "I''m not leaving!" Grayson gripped his knuckles and said.


    How could he leave when he hadn''t aplished his purpose? Before he came here, he had


    reassured Harry that he would make her forgive them and promise to tter them in front of Toby. Now


    that none of these had been done, he was unwilling to leave.


    Seeing that he was persistent, Sonia sneered. "Not leaving? Fine, I''ll make you. Security!"


    As her words fell, the door swung open to reveal four security guards.


    The lead of the security guards looked at Grayson before back at Sonia. "Miss Reed, are you referring


    to these two?" he asked.


    "Yes. I''ll leave you guys to it." Sonia nodded.


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. We will send them out." The security guard nodded and walked toward


    Grayson and his assistant.


    "How dare you use force, Sonia?" Grayson roared in disbelief.

 Chapter 1143

    Chapter 1143


    Hearing his words, Sonia nced at him and said, "Why won''t I fight back when you are being arrogant


    in my territory? Security, take them away!" Then, she waved her hand and ordered impatiently.


    The security guards hummed in response and dragged Grayson and his assistant away. While the


    assistant obliged and followed the security guards quietly, Grayson fought back as this was his first


    time encountering such a thing. To him, this was a disgrace.


    Being born into the Lore Family meant that he was loved and cared for by everyone; he had never


    known the feeling of being wronged. When Harry became Toby''s teacher and the Lore Family had


    contact with the Fullers, his family''s status went up. Everyone was fawning over him, and no one dared


    to disrespect him. Ever since the Lore Family and the Fullers had connections, Grayson could do


    anything he wanted, and no one would stop him.


    Despite that, he was being treated like a clown by Sonia right now. How dare she ask the guards to


    throw me out? he thought.


    As Grayson struggled, he looked back at Sonia angrily while screaming, "How dare you treat me like


    this, Sonia? Aren''t you scared that I will tell Toby what kind of person you are? I''m going to tell him how


    you treated me today. By then, he will hate you and break up with you!"


    Listening to his words, Sonia rolled her eyes. Why do I think that he is an idiot? He doesn''t seem to


    understand what I just said. I just told him that he should make up with me and not threaten me if his


    family wants to earn Toby''s forgiveness since I resent them. However, it seems like he''s ignoring my


    words while being ignorant, even going as far as threatening me. What else is there to say other than


    him being a fool? The Lore Family is miserable for having such an heir. To think that Toby would help


    his family regardless and that he can look down on everyone just because Toby is his father''s student.


    What a pathetic creature, she thought.


    As she heard Grayson''s threatening words, she smiled bravely. "Let''s see if you will be able to do it,


    then." With that, she waved him off.


    The security guards continued to drag Grayson away after receiving Sonia''s order. This time, they were


    rough with him, making him howl in pain while cursing Sonia. His cursed words were even more awful


    than women who talked behind others'' backs. At this moment, he didn''t look like someone from a noble


    family. One would be in disbelief if they saw him in this state.


    Along the way, everyone in Paradigm Co. saw how Grayson acted like a madman. They were baffled


    as they had never seen such a vulgar rich man. Usually, people from the wealthy presented


    themselves as elegant and poised; even Asher would never do such a thing as he had his ego.


    However, Grayson was unlike any other wealthy person they had ever met.


    While they were in astonishment, they couldn''t help but take out their phones and record the whole part


    where the security guards dragged Grayson out. Then, someone posted the video online.


    Soon, the video of Grayson being unreasonable, cursing Sonia out, and being forcefully dragged away


    by the security guards quickly went viral online. In an instant, everyone knew about this matter.


    Initially, Sonia and Lte''s grudges were all over the news. Although it had been rified, the issue


    didn''t die down as manyizens were still paying close attention to this matter. They wanted to know


    how it ended between them and whether Sonia would forgive the Lore Family.


    As theizens were extremely curious about it, they would click into the ounts of Paradigm Co.,


    Sonia, and the other personal ounts of the sixpanies. That way, they would get first-hand news.


    That was why theizens had noticed the video posted by an employee of Paradigm Co. just as they


    visited the ount.


    The video went viral as soon as people saw the nasty things that Grayson cursed and the description


    written by the employee. At that moment, everyone looked at the Lore Family like they were clowns.


    After all, this was the first time they had seen an upper-ss person like Grayson being kicked out of a


    ce without any image. Thus, they found it interesting and even apuded Sonia for it.


    It could be said that mostizens hated the rich. Although some were clueless while some hated to


    admit it, they were envious of anyone who was rich or of high status. Thus, when anything happened to


    the rich, they would feel happy and cheered about it.


    At this moment, theizens were cheering for Sonia, saying that she did great. On the other hand,


    they were saying that Grayson was like a dog being dragged on a leash.


    Of course, someizens were rational. After reading about what happened based on what the


    Paradigm Co. employee wrote, they scolded Grayson to a certain extent instead of joking about him


    without any limitations.


    "Damn, it serves him right to be kicked out by Miss Reed. Not only did he not bring the litigant and


    apology gifts, he even acted arrogantly. This is the first time I have ever seen such a thing."


    "Yeah, I would have done the same as Miss Reed if anyone treated me like this. Moreover, I will beat


    them with a broom. I must say that Miss Reed is being soft-hearted."


    "Don''t the rich have better education than us? Why don''t they know how to apologize to others? Even


    we, as normal people, know that we should have a good attitude when apologizing to others while


    bringing them a token of apology. However, they went empty-handed. Is this because they are more


    powerful than us?"


    "Hey, don''t throw every rich person under the bus. Some of them are well educated, just like our boss.


    He is very humble and will apologize if he does anything wrong¡ªeven when faced with the lowest-


    ranking employee, there will be a token of apology. So, it''s the Lore Family who have failed to educate


    their own family members. Otherwise, why are other rich people reputable while they are aughing


    stock? Lte wants to be a third-wheeler, whereas Grayson is arrogant. It seems that the Lore Family


    is a mess. I advise those who are working with the Lore Family to be cautious of your well-being."


    When thisment was posted, it was agreed upon by many people.


    At that moment, the reputation of the Lore Family had fallen again.


    The reputation of the Lore Family wasn''t high to begin with. As a youngdy from wealth, Lte


    actually wanted to be a third-wheeler. To achieve her goal, she used theizen''s hatred for the


    third-wheeler to attack Sonia, which angered theizens.


    However, they were not angry because they had attacked an innocent woman but were furious


    because they had been used. Thus, theizens had a bad impression of Lte and the Lore Family.


    Now that Grayson made another mess, they noticed that the riches'' manners were worse than an


    ordinary person''s.


    Their actions were unforgivable as they were undoubtedly rich and had ess to most educational


    resources in the world. It would be better if they gave these resources to the citizens.


    Since theizens were jealous of them, their hatred for the Lore Family grew. At that moment, the


    stock market of the Lore Family, which had just stabilized, began to crumble again. This caused the


    Inventory Control Department employees to curse aloud while smashing their keyboards.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    When the department chief saw Grayson being thrown out of Paradigm Co. from theputer, his face


    darkened. He took his phone out and called Harry as he was ready to file aint.

 Chapter 1144

    Chapter 1144


    How can I notin about this matter? I knew that Grayson was going to Paradigm Co. as well as


    the reason why. After all, the three of us¡ªGrayson, Harry, and I¡ªhad a meeting. Before he set off to


    meet her, we discussed how to earn Sonia''s forgiveness and let her talk good things about us in front


    of Toby. When Grayson left, he reassured us that he wouldplete the mission with flying colors.


    However, Sonia ended up throwing him out because of his ill-mannered and insincere apology! Did he


    forget everything that we talked about during the meeting? He is going to be the death of me.


    The call was picked up just as the department chief was thinking about it.


    "Hello." Harry''s old but high-spirited voice came through the phone.


    "President Lore, there''s something that I need to tell you. It''s about Mr. Lore," the chief said as he sat


    straight.


    On the other side of the phone, Harry wore white sportswear as he stood in the vi''s garden. There


    was a sword that was made for exercise beside him. This proved that Harry was exercising before the


    chief had called.


    He took the towel that the housekeeper gave him and wiped the sweat off his face. Then, he walked


    toward the gazebo and asked, "What''s the matter? Is he back from Paradigm Co. yet?"


    The chief shook his head and said, "He''s not back yet, but he will be soon."


    "How did it go? Did Sonia¡ª" Before Harry could finish his words, he was cut off by the chiefs deep


    sigh. "I''m sorry, President Lore. Mr. Lore failed toplete the mission," he said.


    At that moment, Harry stopped what he was doing abruptly. His face, which was red from exercise,


    darkened instantly.


    "What? He failed?" he asked.


    "Yes."


    Listening to the chiefs words, Harry squinted his eyes and wondered how he could''ve possibly failed.


    "Is it because Sonia made things difficult for him? Did she request other things as she felt that it was


    not enough?" Harry gritted his teeth and guessed, his tone gloomy.


    The chief didn''t know what to say when Harry used Sonia of doing all that. Never did he think that


    the problemy with Grayson.


    To be honest, I believed that Harry knew what type of person Grayson was, but he was brainlessly


    protecting Grayson. He always med others and never realized that perhaps Grayson might be the


    person at fault. No wonder Grayson has this kind of personality.


    Although the chief was thinking about it, he didn''t say it aloud. He lowered his eyes and replied,


    "Certainly not. The reason why it failed was because of Mr. Lore himself."


    "What do you mean by that?" Harry frowned. "Are you saying that it''s Grayson''s fault?"


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "Yes." The chief nodded. "During the meeting, we talked about letting Grayson apologize to Sonia on


    Lte''s behalf. Although Sonia didn''t meet the instigator who caused this matter, she would be soft-


    hearted and let this matter off the hook if he had apologized sincerely to her and given her a token of


    apology. However..." the chief trailed off.


    Listening to his words, Harry gripped his phone in annoyance and said, "Hurry up and say it."


    "Yes," the chief replied without hesitation. "Grayson had agreed to it at first and we prepared the gift,


    but he changed his mind at thest minute. He went to Paradigm Co. with only his assistant and no


    gifts. Not only that, he was ill-mannered too. Not only did he not apologize, he even aroused the conflict


    between Miss Reed and himself. In the end, Miss Reed''s security guards kicked him out."


    Bang!


    At that moment, Harry swept everything that was on the stone table off. He was fuming in anger while


    he breathed heavily. "That sc*mbag! How dare he go against my order and mess things up?!"


    After he had gone to the Fuller Residence and seen Rose, he also realized that it was inappropriate to


    be at someone''s doorstep while empty-handed. However, he was excusable as he had visited her on a


    short notice. Plus, he felt that he had a good rtionship with the Fullers, so perhaps it wasn''t that


    important to bring a gift.


    Never did he expect that Rose did not feel that they were on good terms and valued the importance of


    a door gift. Although he was unhappy about it, it made him realize that the Fullers would only notice


    those they had kept connections with if they were to prepare door gifts when visiting, which was also


    the case for Sonia.


    Since a gift should be prepared when visiting, it was more appropriate to prepare it when apologizing to


    someone. Hence, even though he was unwilling to spend his money on it, he would still endure it and


    prepare a generous gift as he would earn the money back as long as Toby was still willing to keep in


    contact with them. Thus, he shouldn''t hold a grudge against this matter. However, he never expected


    Grayson to ruin all his ns, which frustrated him to no end.


    "President Lore? Are you there, President Lore?" the chief asked him worriedly.


    Hearing his words, Harry took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then, he pinched the bridge of his


    nose and said, "I''m alright.


    I will teach Grayson a lesson now that I know about this matter."


    "Yes." The chief nodded and asked again, "About that matter with Sonia... I assume that she wants


    Miss Lte to apologize in person. So..."


    Harry frowned deeply as he cared for Lte very much, but he suppressed his heartache when he


    thought about the rtionship between the Lore Family and the Fullers.


    "I''ll handle Lte''s part. Once she gets over her jetg, I will bring her to Sonia," Harry said as he


    waved his hand.


    When the chief heard that Harry was finally willing to let Lte apologize, he sighed in relief. "Okay. In


    that case, I will stop disturbing you now. The video of Grayson being kicked out has been posted


    online, and everyone isughing at us. It seems that the stock market has been affected as well. I''ll be


    going to look at it."


    "Okay." Harry hummed in response.


    After the call ended, Harry squinted his eyes and cursed before dialing a number.


    On the other hand, Grayson was on his way back to Lore Communications. At this moment, he was


    sitting in the car and cursing Sonia with nasty words. His words were so unpleasant that the assistant,


    who was driving, felt ridiculous.


    It is obviously Mr. Lore''s fault and not Miss Reed''s. Yet, he doesn''t think that he''s done anything wrong


    and is ming it all on Miss Reed, blistering her. How absurd, he thought.


    At this moment, Grayson''s phone rang, cutting his words off. The car had finally quieted down as he


    stopped scolding, and the assistant felt like his ears had been saved while being grateful that


    Grayson''s phone had rung.


    Hearing his phone ring, Grayson loosened his tie and took his phone out. "Dad?" When he saw the


    caller ID, his angered expression turned to shock and nervousness.


    For some unknown reason, he had a bad feeling in his gut when he saw the caller. Should I answer it?


    I''m afraid of picking it up, though. If I don''t, he will surely punish me when I return. It looks like I have to


    answer the call no matter what, he thought.


    Thinking about it, Grayson gripped his phone and hesitated for a moment. Then, he gritted his teeth


    and picked it up. Putting the phone by his ear, he then called out cautiously, "Dad?"

 Chapter 1145

    Chapter 1145


    When Harry heard Grayson''s voice, he put down the elegance in him as he gripped his phone tightly


    while he roared, "Don''t call me dad! I don''t have such a dumb son!"


    At that moment, he was in the same state as Grayson when he was being unreasonable in Sonia''s


    office. Like father, like son¡ª not only did they look alike, but their behaviors were identical.


    Just as Grayson was expecting Harry''s tone to be calm, he was met with a roar when he picked up the


    phone. It startled him, and he winced while putting the phone away from him.


    While covering one of his ears, Grayson mumbled into the phone. "What are you doing, Dad? I''m in the


    car with my assistant, so don''t embarrass me in front of him. Dumb is such a harsh word, you know."


    Harry sneered upon hearing his words and said, "Why should I avoid embarrassing you when you have


    done something foolish? Who do you think you are?"


    "What foolish thing did I do, Dad?" Grayson retorted.


    "What did you do?" Harry sneered. "You''ll know what you''ve der on. Now, hurry up and get back


    here. I''ll give you thirty minutes for this. If you are not back by then, I''ll teach you a lesson." With that,


    he hung up the phone.


    Grayson only noticed the call had been disconnected when he looked at it after hearing no sound when


    he had been calling Harry. Then, he threw his phone aside and said bitterly, "What''s wrong with him?


    Why is he so angry?"


    When the assistant saw how confused Grayson was, he rolled his eyes in secret. Although my dumb


    boss might not know why President Lore is furious, I know it has to do with apologizing to Miss Reed.


    Since he has messed up the apology, it would only be expected for President Lore to be mad.


    As the assistant thought about it, he didn''t tell Grayson. After all, it would be a waste of time to say


    such a thing to a foolish person. I''m better off driving back to thepany in silence, he thought calmly


    while turning the steering wheel.


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    At the same time, Toby was just done meeting a client in the Fuller Group. When he left the drawing


    room, he saw Tom walking toward him with a stern face.


    "What''s wrong?" Toby stopped walking and asked.


    "President Fuller, something happened to Miss Reed," said Tom as he stood in front of Toby.


    "Again?" Toby''s expression changed, and he had an intimidating presence.


    Noticing Toby''s change in countenance, Tom quickly pushed his sses andforted him. "Calm


    down, President Fuller. It''s not a big deal. It''s just that the Lore Family went to Paradigm Co. to meet


    Miss Reed," he said.


    When Toby heard that it was the Lore Family who had gone to find Sonia, his expression became even


    colder. "Which one of the Lore Family?" he asked.


    The Lore Family disliked Sonia and treated her unruly. As such, when he heard that they had met with


    Sonia, his first reaction was that they would cause trouble for her. That was why he was in a bad mood.


    When he saw Toby walking away, Tom quickly trailed behind him while saying, "It''s Grayson."


    "Him?" Toby squinted his eyes. "Did you find out why they are looking for her?"


    Tom shook his head and replied, "I didn''t ask. However, Paradigm Co.''s employee recorded a video


    when he went there and posted it online. Then, they wrote that he was there to apologize to Sonia for


    what happened yesterday."


    When Toby heard his words, his lips curled into a sneer as if he had listened to a joke. "An apology? I


    didn''t know that he could apologize," he said.


    "That''s why it didn''t end well," Tom smiled and replied.


    Hearing his words, Toby pursed his lips. "What happened?" he asked.


    "I don''t know the details of it as I didn''t see it for myself, but from the video that the employee posted, it


    seemed like Grayson was insincere with his apology. Not only did he not bring Lte, he also went


    there empty-handed and was ill-mannered. As such, Sonia told the security guards to kick him out,"


    Tom exined.


    When Toby heard this, he stopped in his tracks. "What did you just say? He was kicked out of


    Paradigm Co.?"


    "Yes."


    "Did Sonia do this?"


    "The employee who posted said that it was Sonia. She ordered four security guards to drag Grayson


    and his assistant to thepany''s door forcefully and throw them out. To that, Grayson even fell by the


    company''s door. If you want to see it, the video is still online." With that, Tom took out his phone and


    pressed a few buttons before showing it to Toby. "Look, President Fuller," he said.


    Toby took over the phone and looked at it. He saw Grayson and his assistant being dragged out of the


    elevator and thrown out of the door. Seeing this, he smiled. "Sonia did a great job. People like this


    should be treated this way. However, Grayson has a filthy mouth," Toby said darkly as he returned the


    phone.


    Listening to his words, Tom took back his phone and looked at him. "Should I send someone to wash


    his mouth, President Fuller?" he asked.


    "What do you think?" Toby nced at him.


    Then, Tom pushed his sses and smiled, saying, "I understand. Don''t worry, I will clean his mouth


    thoroughly. I won''t disappoint you."


    Hearing his words, Toby hummed in response and pushed the office''s door open. As he entered the


    room, he took out his phone and called Sonia.


    When Tom entered the room, he closed the door behind him. Then, he stood at the opposite side of


    Toby''s table without moving as he waited for Toby to finish talking on the phone before he could report


    other matters to him.


    The call was quickly picked up. "Hello?" Sonia''s pleasant voice came through the line.


    "Did Grayson do anything to you?" Toby sat down and went straight to the point.


    On the other side of the phone, Sonia put down the ballpen she was holding and leaned back against


    the chair. "No, he didn''t. I knew that you were going to call me. Don''t worry, for he didn''t do anything to


    me. Moreover, I''m not the type to let people step over me," she replied while smiling.


    Hearing the smile in her voice, Toby knew that she was indeed fine. With that thought, he was slightly


    at ease. "That''s good. Sorry, I didn''t know they woulde to look for you," he said.


    Noticing that he had put the me on himself, Sonia shook her head and smiled. "Why are you


    apologizing to me? They have legs on their own. You can''t stop them from going somewhere. To be


    honest, I didn''t expect them to find me, but I realized that they would need to maintain the honor of their


    family from you. Since they couldn''t get to you, they had to choose another solution. With that being


    said, Grandma and I are the best solutions they can find. That''s why they came to me. Furthermore,


    yesterday''s incident impacted the rtionship between you and the Lore Family. To earn your


    forgiveness, they came to apologize to me."


    "If they meant it, they would have apologized by yesterday. They only came to look for you after


    confirming that I wanted to steer clear from them, and Grandma refused to ept their apology. This


    proves that they have yet to realize their wrongdoings and have not considered you. You aren''t their


    first choice when they want to mend their rtionship with me. How hypocritical of them." As Toby


    spoke, his face was filled with disdain toward the Lore Family.


    Listening to his words, Sonia smiled and said, "Indeed. Didn''t Mary call you yesterday and say that they


    had gone to find Grandma, wanting to mend their rtionship with you through her? However, they


    didn''t bring anything with them when they visited. How ridiculous. It was also the same thing when they


    came to me."


    "I know. I saw the video." Toby nodded.


    Sonia stretched her neck, which was slightly sore, and said, "Since you have seen it, I won''t borate


    any further. I want to say that it is their attitude that I want, not the gifts."

 Chapter 1146

    Chapter 1146


    "Got it," Toby answered.


    "Although they were sincere at offering their apology, I wouldn''t have forgiven them because of that. If


    they were polite, I would have changed my mind about them; if they showed that they were remorseful


    about what they had done and not me their faults on me in future, I wouldn''t be bothered by them.


    However, they weren''t even able to show basic respect, yet they expected me to forgive them and put


    in a good word for them. It was just ridiculous!" Sonia rubbed her temples as she spoke.


    "I''ve been too forgiving toward them in the past and never really monitored them, subsequently


    encouraging their arrogant behavior. They assume they''re able to do whatever they want just by using


    my name. As such, I''m responsible for this," Toby responded.


    After all, he was the one who had brought the Lore Family under his protection. Therefore, he was


    correspondingly responsible for how the Lore Family would behave in the future. On top of that, Toby


    would have to teach them a lesson for the mistakes they had made. However, he wasn''t familiar with


    the character of the Lore Family and assumed that they were reasonable people and wouldn''t act


    beyond measure. Because of this, he rarely questioned nor restricted them with the belief that they


    wouldn''t cause trouble, so much so that his connivance gave the Lore Family the audacity to cause


    trouble. They even believed that they didn''t have to pay the price for offending Sonia, the woman Toby


    loved. This was why he felt sorry toward the woman.


    Hearing that, she sighed and uttered, "It''s fine. I know that no matter what I tell you, you would still think


    that it''s your fault. Since that''s the case, I shall not get involved in the matters that would follow. You''ll


    be in charge of taking care of the matter regarding the Lore Family, and I hope that you won''t let me


    down."


    She thought that they would stoping to see her since she refused to help them out. Moreover, she


    couldn''t stand to speak to the brainless Lore Family and had decided to pass the task over to Toby,


    who was the most suitable candidate for the job.


    However, Toby knew that Sonia was doing this so that he could have a chance to make it up to her,


    which warmed his heart. He was determined about it and answered confidently, "Alright, I will not let


    you down."


    "That''s good. Have you eaten?" Sonia asked after letting out augh.


    "Not yet. My meeting with one of the foreign investors just ended, so I haven''t had time to have my


    meal." He pinched his be.


    "It''s way past your lunch time." Sonia frowned and was unhappy about it. "This won''t do. Go and get


    Tom to prepare something for you to eat now so that you can at least fill your stomach. You shouldn''t


    let yourself starve." Toby chucked when he heard how concerned she was. "What are youughing at?


    Let''s end the call so that you can get Toby to buy some food for you. We can still talk when we get


    home tonight."


    "Sure." Toby nodded and answered with a smile before looking over at Tom. "Did you hear what Sonia


    said?" he asked.


    "Yes, President Fuller. I''ll get it arranged." Tom nodded.


    With that, he immediately took his phone out and sent out a text. Tom admitted that he had overlooked


    it as he had nned to prepare Toby''s lunch after he was done with his work like how he usually did.


    He never expected Sonia to check in on them this time round. Given the situation, he decided that


    regardless of whether Toby was upied with work, he would still prepare lunch in advance in order to


    appease Sonia. Toby would definitely be d if she was happy, and Toby might raise his bonus


    because of that. Tom''s eyes lit up at the thought of that.


    Toby, who was unaware of Tom''s thoughts, ended the call with Sonia. As he was about to say


    something after putting his phone down, someone knocked on the door.


    Hearing that, Tom looked at the door and responded, "I''ll go get it, President Fuller."


    Toby signaled Tom to open the door by waving at him. Tom then carefully kept his phone before


    walking over to the door and opened it. A well-dressed man in a suit was seen standing outside.


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    "Mr. Brown, is President Fuller in?" the man asked politely.


    "What is it about?" Tom asked the secretary who was standing outside.


    The secretary didn''t beat around the bush and immediately flipped open the file that was ced in


    between his armpits before pulling out a gold and purple invitation card. He handed it over to Tom and


    said, "This is an invitation for President Fuller from the Lore Family."


    "What?" Tom picked at his ear, thinking that he had misheard the man''s words. "Did you say that it is


    from the Lore Family?"


    "Yes." The man nodded. "It''s from the Lore Family that you know of."


    Oh, great. Tom rolled his eyes and uttered, "Why are they suddenly sending out invites? What are they


    up to now?"


    Hearing that, the secretary smiled and replied, "This invitation was passed to us by the butler of the


    Lore Family. We were told that they were hosting a weing back party for Miss Lore as she would


    be returning from overseas. This party is hosted in order to introduce Miss Lore to everyone, which is


    why they are handing out invites. They''re hoping you''d attend the party with Miss Reed."


    Hearing that, Tom smiled and muttered, "So it''s a debutante for Lte." He then patted the invitation


    card and ridiculed, "Why are they making such a big fuss about her returning to the country? Everyone


    in the circle was aware that Lte is from the Lore Family. Do they have to purposely host a


    debutante for her? It''s obvious they''re justing up with a reason to meet President Fuller in order to


    smooth things out with him. Alright, I got it. You can get going. I''ll pass this to the president."


    "Alright, Mr. Brown." The secretary nodded and left.


    After Tom closed the door, he walked toward Toby and passed him the invitation card without saying a


    word. Although Toby didn''t speak to the secretary, he had heard Tom''s entire conversation moments


    ago. Toby furrowed his brows after taking a look at it and stuffed it into his drawer, uninterested.


    Seeing that, Tom asked, "President Fuller, will you be attending?"


    "Nope," answered Toby as he closed the drawer impassively.


    Even so, Tom wasn''t surprised at the way Toby stuffed the card into his drawer, showing that he was


    uninterested in attending. Thus, he stopped asking about it.


    "Go and check when Lte will being back." Toby suddenly spoke.


    "Got it." Tom nodded and turned around before walking out.


    After he left, Toby leaned on his chair with his arms folded while deep in thought as he narrowed his


    gaze. Meanwhile, Sonia had been busy with work after she ended the call with Toby. Not longter,


    Charles suddenly turned up at her office.


    She was surprised to see him carrying a big basket into her room. "What brings you here?" She stood


    up and asked."


    "My mom visited my maternal grandmother yesterday and brought back some dried porcini


    mushrooms. She knows that you love them, so she got me to send some over to you. Here you go."


    With that, he passed the basket to her.


    "That''s a lot!" She pointed at the basket and eximed.


    "Is it?" He looked at it.


    "This is a huge basket. I think it weighs almost ten pounds." She covered her mouth with her hand.

 Chapter 1147

    Chapter 1147


    Sonia frowned upon receiving the basket from him as it was so heavy that she was certain it weighed


    more than ten pounds.


    Charles helped her to ce the basket on her desk and exined, "This is nothing. Since you like


    them so much, my mom purposely brought more back and got me to bring them to you since she rarely


    visits my grandmother. She''s not sure when her next visit will be, which is why she brought more back


    for you so that these willst you until her next visit."


    "It sounded like your mother went to visit your grandmother just to bring some of the local produce


    back. It makes me feel bad." Soniaughed.


    "Don''t be." Charles reached over and took an apple from the fruit tray on the table and munched on it


    as he sat on the side of her desk. "Since my mom sees you as her own daughter, she bought a lot of it


    knowing that they are your favorite. Isn''t it normal? After all, mothers would want their daughters'' to be


    able to eat their favorite food."


    "Even so, Mrs. Lane has bought me a lot of my favorite food all these while, but I rarely buy her


    anything. It makes me feel bad," Sonia said as she patted the basket.


    "If you feel bad, you can visit her often if you have the time. You don''t have to buy her anything since


    she doesn''t really need anything else. Moreover, you don''t have a hometown that you can go back to,


    so it would be hard for you to get local produce for her. She''d be happier if you go and visit her."


    Charles spoke with his mouth full as he chomped on the apple.


    "You''re right. Sure, I''ll go visit her when I''m free." Sonia then took the basket from the table and ced


    it on the side. "I shall ept these then. Please thank Mrs. Lane for me."


    "No worries, it''s just some dried mushroom that doesn''t cost much." Charles waved his hand at her as


    he spoke. Soon, he suddenly recalled something and pointed at the basket before saying, "Right, my


    mom also got something for Toby. She wants me to remind you to cook it and let him eat it."


    "She wants me to cook it for Toby?" Sonia paused and looked to the direction of the basket before


    continuing, "What did Mrs. Lane get for Toby that I have to cook for him?"


    Could it be some aphrodisiac food? From her memory, elders would normally prepare such food for


    their sons or son-inws. Sonia was thinking whether Grace was hinting at her and Toby to get married


    soon and have children. She felt embarrassed by such a thought and blushed at once.


    Charles, who was unaware of what she was thinking, didn''t notice the look on her face. After he


    finished chomping on the apple, he threw the core into the bin and patted his hands. "I''m not exactly


    sure what it is, but my mom told her that it helps bone to heal faster."


    "It heals the bones?" Sonia was surprised that it wasn''t an aphrodisiac. She blinked while in a daze.


    "Sonny, what''s wrong?" Charles noticed the distracted Sonia and waved his hand in front of her.


    Noticing that, Sonia snapped out of it and grabbed onto his hand before giving him an awkward smile.


    "Nothing, I just recalled something."


    "What is it?" Charles asked.


    "Nothing much. Just tell me why your mom got Toby food with bone healing properties and stop asking


    me about anything else," said Sonia while looking at him.


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She would be embarrassed if he probed her about it, and she wouldn''t be able to answer him about


    what she was thinking since it was something embarrassing. She couldn''t believe that she actually


    thought that it was some aphrodisiac. She patted her hot, flushed face and was in disbelief that she


    actually had such thoughts.


    It must be Toby. Yeah, it must be him. His head is full of such things, and it has influenced my thoughts,


    which is why I rted it to something like that. That must be it. She pursed her lips and convinced


    herself.


    "Well, the reason is simple. Didn''t Toby break his arm before this when he was trying to save you? My


    mom wasn''t aware of how it happened, but she knew that he got hurt in order to save you. Thus, she


    did some research about food that is good for bone healing before visiting my grandmother. It''s her way


    of thanking Toby for saving your life and helping you lighten your heavy heart." Charles got down from


    the table and spoke.


    "I see." Sonia finally understood after listening to his exnation and nodded. She felt warmth in her


    heart and couldn''t help cing her palm on her chest as she eximed, "Mrs. Lane has been really


    good to me, so much that I don''t know how I should repay her."


    "If you want to repay her, like I said, you could visit her more often when you''re free. She has always


    wanted to have a daughter all her life, and she constantly grumbled about how she only gave birth to a


    son whenever she looked at me. This shows that she likes you more than me." Charles pursed his lips


    and seemed to have a trace of resentment on his face.


    Seeing that, Sonia smiled. "Are you being jealous of me?"


    "I''m not. It''s just that it makes me upset when she keeps bringing that up since I''m not the one who


    decided my gender. She should say those words to my father since his genes were the ones who


    decided the gender of their children. It''s not my fault that they gave birth to a boy. However, she


    couldn''t bring herself toin to my dad and instead directed it at me. I''m innocent!" He sighed


    resignedly.


    "Well, you have no choice since you''re his son. You''ll just have to bear with it." She beamed and patted


    his shoulder. Hearing that, he stuck his tongue out and stopped talking.


    "Right, Charles¡ªI need your help with something." She retracted her hand.


    "What is it?" He seemed serious when she heard that she needed her help and was all ears.


    "Charles, I need you to help me get a few people," she said solemnly.


    "You want me to get a few people?"


    "Yes, a few thugs." She nodded.


    "What?" He was startled by her request and raised his voice while looking at her wide-eyed. "Sonny,


    what are you trying to do? Don''t ever think of messing around."


    Sonia couldn''t help but roll her eyes at him when she saw how worked up he was. "Who said that I''m


    going to mess around?"


    "In that case, why would you want to get associated with thugs?" Charles asked concernedly.


    "I''d like to teach someone a lesson," she said after taking a seat.


    "Teach someone a lesson?" Charles was surprised and went up to her before asking, "Who are you


    going to teach a lesson?"


    The next moment, she leaned backward to distance herself from him, for he had leaned in too close to


    her. "Connor Salzburg," she answered.


    "He''s the head of the zburg Family, Anya''s father, as well as the one who holds a grudge against


    Toby?" Charles blinked his eyes as he asked.


    "Yes."


    "Is he back at Westsanshire already?"


    "Not yet." She shook her head. "Which is why I want to look for someone to beat him up. I won''t be


    able to do so once he''s back at Westsanshire since it''s his territory."


    "You have a point," said Charles while scratching his chin.


    "From what I remember, you were the school bully at one point when you were in high school, and you


    even hung out with some thugs at that time. You seemed to be able to blend in well, and you were also


    their leader. It shouldn''t be hard for you to look for a few thugs, right? Even if you have not kept in


    touch with them in many years, I''m sure that you still have their contact, don''t you?"

 Chapter 1148

    Chapter 1148


    "I do keep in touch with them." Charles touched his nose sheepishly. "Well, you know him too. His


    name is Lance Walters, and he used to be my subordinate while in high school."


    "I know. He seemed silly, but he was righteous and a pretty strong guy too." Sonia nodded.


    "That''s right. After I was reprimanded by my dad, I had to leave the gang and entrusted the gang to


    Lance. He wasn''t good in his studies, but he was street smart and was able to lead the gang well. On


    top of that, he had great strength¡ªthat was why all of the members below him didn''t dare to go against


    him. Although I haven''t asked about how the gang has been doing all these years, I do keep in contact


    with Lance, so I''m still aware of a thing or two about them. Although they aren''t the biggest gang within


    Seafield, they are considered notable locally, so it wouldn''t be an issue to ask for their help," said


    Charles reassuringly.


    Hearing that, Sonia responded, "In that case, it shouldn''t be an issue. I''d like to get a few people to put


    a sack over his head and beat him up. That would be satisfying."


    "Sonny, I see that you have gone astray," he said teasingly while staring at her.


    "I don''t have a choice; what he did was frustrating." She coughed embarrassedly when she noticed his


    gaze.


    "I can tell. If not, someone as docile and kind hearted as you wouldn''t have resorted to doing this. It just


    proves that Connor must have done something unforgivable." He threw his hands up and continued,


    "Sonny, what did he actually do to make you want to teach him a lesson in such a way?"


    "I won''t reveal to you about what he''s done, but I can tell you that he has done bad things to Toby,


    which is why I want to teach him a lesson on Toby''s behalf. All this while, Toby has been helping me


    out a lot, but I never got to do much for him. Since my abilities are limited, there''s only so much I can


    do for him, so every little thing counts." Sonia chuckled.


    Hearing that, Charles pursed his lips and responded sourly, "So you''re doing this just for Toby? I


    thought Connor offended you again."


    "Alright, so would you be willing to help me out?" Sheughed as she patted his shoulder.


    "How could I reject you when you''ve already asked for my help?" He nced at her before adding, "It''s


    not a big deal, so Lance would agree to help out if I ask him to."


    "Thank you." Sonia raised her tea cup at him in ce of wine.


    Noticing that, he raised his tea cup and clinked it with hers. "There''s no need to thank me."


    "I should be thanking you since there''s a risk for doing this." Sonia took a sip of tea and ced the cup


    down before raising her concern, saying, "Since Connor is the head of the Salzburg Family, he is


    powerful enough to find out who''s behind it. By then, it mightplicate Lance ..."


    "Don''t worry." Charles knew what she wanted to say and waved his hand nonchntly. "Lance has


    proven to be highly capable, for he has managed to stay in the gang up until today. Don''t you think it''s


    unusual that he hasn''t been removed by the authorities until now?"


    "Unusual?" Sonia was surprised, but she soon figured it out. Her eyes lit up as she pointed upward.


    "Are you saying that Lance is associated with the authorities?"


    "That''s right." He nodded and lightly patted the top of her head. "Sonny, you''re so smart to be able to


    figure this out in no time."


    "Enough with the ttery." She pped his hand away and red at him.


    Charlesughed and responded, "Fine. I''ll stop patting your head, but you''re indeed smart to be able to


    figure it out that quickly. Although Lance is involved with the gang, he is an ethical person; the gang


    didn''t end up being vicious like the other gangs under his leadership. Most importantly, he would assist


    the authorities by reporting other gangs to them. He has been immensely helpful and has saved them a


    lot of problems. Hence, Lance''s gang is technically associated with the authorities. As long as he


    doesn''t go overboard with whatever he does, the authorities would typically close a blind eye and even


    help him clean his mess. It wouldn''t be good news to the authorities if Lance is gone, for no one would


    be able to manage the gang and it would soon deteriorate."


    "I understand." Sonia scratched her cheek with her index finger. "Lance''s existence is like a pawn,


    where he is used to suppress other dark organizations. As long as he lives and doesn''t turn vile, the


    other organizations will be fearful of him. Since they won''t be arrogant enough to cause trouble, the


    crime rate will be greatly reduced, and the authorities can also take a break."


    "That''s right." Charles snapped his fingers. "That''s what I meant. Simply put, there won''t be any


    problems if we ask Lance to get some men to beat Connor up. Even if the authorities know about it,


    they won''t care. Even if Connor finds out in the end, he can''t take his revenge that easily. After all,


    Lance''s gang is backed by the authorities to bnce the underground forces, so they won''t allow


    Connor to be involved and break this bnce."


    "If that''s the case, then I''m relieved." Sonia let out a sigh of relief and smiled.


    "When do you want to teach Connor a lesson? Where do you want to do that?" Charles raised his fists


    and stretched them.


    "When?" Sonia lowered her gaze and thought for a while. "Of course, the sooner the better as I don''t


    know when he will leave Seafield. Well, as for the location, you can let Lance make the arrangements.


    He must have the most suitable ce in mind where his men can easily escape after doing the deed.


    Anyway, I just want to see the result."


    "Okay, I''ll contact him in a moment. Is there anything else?"


    "No." Sonia shook her head.


    "Alright then, I''ll take my leave. I''ll inform you immediately when it''s done." Charles stood up.


    "Alright." Sonia smiled and walked him to the door.


    When they got to the door, Sonia opened it and wanted to walk him to the elevator, but he pressed on


    her shoulders and said, "Just stay here. I can go out by myself."


    "Alright then, drive safe." She paused her footsteps and smiled at him.


    "Got it. Okay, I''m leaving." He yawned.


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    "Sure." She nodded and watched him walk out.


    After he left, she closed the office door and walked back to the desk. Meanwhile, Charles hummed a


    song while walking briskly. He had his hands in the pockets of his pink suit trousers. He would


    dashingly twirl, hop, and dance over to the elevator.


    When he passed by the door of the secretary''s office, a sudden exmation came from the inside.


    "What? You''re saying that Daphne might be pregnant?"


    Charles immediately paused his footsteps and turned to look at the secretary''s office as he narrowed


    his gaze. What did I just hear? Is Dapline pregnant? That can''t be! The hands in his trouser pockets


    clenched into fists at this moment, and his expression was grave.

 Chapter 1149

    Chapter 1149


    He couldn''t think straight as his head was muddled. He never expected to hear such shocking news


    when he walked past. It''s not true, isn''t it? It mustn''t be true. How could Daphne... Be pregnant? Even if


    she is pregnant, who''s child is it? Is it the child of another man, or...


    The thought of it was unbearable for him.


    Just then, another voice rang from inside the room. Another person started talking and was surprised to


    hear the news. "Is that true? Is Daphne really pregnant?"


    "Yeah, how is that possible? Are you lying to us?" asked another person.


    Their questions happened to be what Charles was eager to find out about. He held his breath, tiptoed


    over to the entrance of the office, and stopped by the wall before lowering his gaze as he paid attention


    to their conversation. He frowned as his gaze darkened.


    Meanwhile in the office, a few of the secretaries paused their work and huddled together as if they were


    having a secret meeting to talk about Daphne''s scandal.


    The one standing in the middle saw how eager the others were and spoke proudly. "I''m not lying. I''m


    eighty-percent sure that Daphne is pregnant."


    Eighty-percent? Charles'' expression turned dark as it seemed like the probability of Daphne being


    pregnant was high.


    "Why are you so sure about that? Tell us, quick! Stop beating around the bush."


    "Yeah, we are getting impatient. Stop making us guess. How did you find out about her pregnancy?"


    "That''s right, spill it."


    The person standing in the middle knew that the others would get impatient if she kept beating around


    the bush. She then signaled them to calm down before saying, "Actually, I just found out about it not


    long ago¡ªno, I should say that I just confirmed my suspicions recently. Do you all know that Daphne


    would suddenly go to the washroom and throw up during working hours?"


    "Yes, we are aware. We thought that she was ill, but she told us that she wasn''t sick and was just


    having a bad stomach. That''s why we didn''t give much thought to it. Bute to think of it, this could


    seem to prove that she is pregnant."


    "Well, it seems like it."


    Hearing that, this secretary suddenly smiled and said, "All of you didn''t rte it to her being pregnant


    because all of you aren''t married and haven''t had children yet. This exins why you aren''t aware of


    such symptoms during the early stages of her pregnancy. I''m married and have the experience of


    bearing a child, so I suspected Daphne of being pregnant earlier on. The first time I saw her being


    unwell, I believed that she was just unwell when she told me so, but after a while, it started to seem off


    as a normal person would have it treated at a hospital instead of going through the torment of vomiting


    every few days."


    "She''s definitely pregnant." Someone blurted out.


    "That''s right." The secretary pped the handle of the chair. "Pregnant women who feel nauseous from


    time to time wouldn''t be worried if they vomit every now and then since they know they aren''t sick or


    anything; they''re just pregnant. It was not until two days ago when I saw her vomiting in the washroom


    that I couldn''t help but ask whether she was pregnant."


    "Did she admit to it?" Several of them spoke at the same time.Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    Charles furrowed his brows and gripped onto the wall.


    That secretary shook her head and answered, "She didn''t, but she did look nervous and wasn''t calm


    like she used to be during work. She simply responded to the query and left, which is why I''m sure that


    she''s pregnant."


    "From what you said, Daphne seems to really be pregnant."


    "I think so too. If not, she wouldn''t have been that nervous."


    "What I don''t understand is why she would try to hide it from everyone. Since all of us are adults, it''s no


    big deal for her to be pregnant."


    "It''s probably because she became pregnant before getting married. After all, I''ve never heard her


    talking about being wedded." One of them guessed.


    "I''ve not even heard that she has a boyfriend. How did she get pregnant then? Who is the child''s


    father?"


    All of them looked at each other, but no one was able to answer it. Although they were Daphne''s


    colleagues, they hadn''t been working together for long, so they didn''t know much about her private


    matters.


    "Could she have been... harassed? Is that why she doesn''t want anyone to know that she''s pregnant?"


    Just then, one of them bit her lips as she spected. "This can only exin why Dapline, who is single,


    got pregnant and is reluctant to let anyone know about it. Getting pregnant after being harassed isn''t


    something to be proud of, and based on my knowledge, society is malicious toward women. Even if the


    criminal is at fault, the victim would usually be med and suffer from verbal violence. Daphne''s


    probably choosing to hide it because she''s afraid she would be seen differently and be criticized."


    "What you said seems possible. After all, in today''s society, having a child out of wedlock is disgraceful,


    but it will not be prejudiced against like how it used to be back in the day. If Daphne got pregnant after


    a one night stand or is pregnant with her boyfriend''s child, I don''t think there''s any reason to hide it. As


    an adult, it''s normal to get pregnant, and she can just admit to it generously. No one willugh at her


    since there are many yers within ourpany. Thus, it is reasonable that those who get pregnant


    after being harassed wouldn''t admit to their pregnancy. It''s normal for Daphne to not admit to it."


    All of them sighed aftering to the conclusion. "If that''s really the case, Daphne is indeed pitiful."


    "Maybe both of you are right." The secretary who mentioned that Daphne was pregnant earlier on


    looked at all of them and said. Hearing that, everyone was stunned. "Rita, what do you mean? Is


    Daphne really pregnant because she was..."


    "I''m not sure, but I suspect so. Since I was on duty yesterday, I had to stay back to clean the office after


    everyone got off work. When I was throwing the trash out, I noticed a document about an appointment


    for abortion in Dapline''s bin. Because of this, I was sure that she was pregnant. However, I didn''t give


    much thought to why she decided to get an abortion until I heard you guys said that she might be


    harassed. That exins why she opted for abortion!"


    Before any of them could react to Rita''s remarks, the office door suddenly flung open, startling


    everyone.


    "Who is it?" Rita frowned and red at the direction of the door.


    The next moment, Charles stepped into the office and lifted his gaze while speaking with a grave


    expression, "It''s me."


    "President Lane?" Everyone was surprised and quickly stood up. "Why are you here? Is there anything


    we can help you with?"


    "Is everything that you said earlier true?" He ignored their question and walked toward them before


    stopping in front of Rita as he clenched his fists.

 Chapter 1150

    Chapter 1150


    "W-What?" She looked at him puzzledly. However, she shouldn''t be med for being confused since


    Charles was the one who suddenly barged in and questioned her furiously. Meanwhile, the other


    secretaries looked at each other as they tried to make sense of the situation. They didn''t know why


    Charles was suddenly mad.


    "Is what you said about Daphne''s pregnancy true?" He clenched his fists and questioned her while


    trying to suppress his anger.


    Hearing that, Rita finally understood what he meant and responded, "Oh, you''re referring to that. Yes,


    it''s true that Daphne is pregnant."


    His gaze darkened upon hearing that. Although he had heard about it from their conversation while he


    was standing outside the door, he was overwhelmed by emotions when he heard Rita reiterated about


    Daphne''s pregnancy. Daphne really is pregnant!


    "President Lane, what''s wrong?" Rita was confused when she saw Charles'' unusual reaction.


    "Was the appointment for abortion that you mentioned about earlier true as well?" He stared at her with


    bloodshot eyes and asked.


    "Of course. How could we joke around about things like these?" She nodded.


    The others nodded as well. Indeed, it was no joking matter as making fun about such matters was


    immoral. Even worse, it would bring trouble and inconvenience to Daphne. Since Daphne was an


    experienced senior at work, there were a lot of things that they had to refer to her. Besides, she was a


    kind and lovely person who was generous in sharing her knowledge and helping them when they were


    in need. Thus, they shouldn''t spread rumors that would hurt Daphne as it would be ungrateful of them


    to do so.


    Even though they were discussing Daphne''s pregnancy among themselves, they weren''t nning to


    tell anyone else about it as it would be troublesome if others found out about that. When Charles saw


    how serious Rita and the other secretaries looked, his chest felt tight as if a hand was gripping on it,


    and he almost couldn''t breathe because of it.


    He couldn''t understand why he was experiencing such feelings, but one thing he was sure about was


    how furious he was at Daphne for not telling him that she was pregnant. He was angry at her for


    deciding for an abortion all by herself. Since the child could be his as well, she didn''t have the final say


    on whether to keep the child or not.


    The thought of it made his chest feel tight as he experienced shortness of breath. His handsome face


    was flushed red with anger, and the veins on his temples were popping out as his blood boiled.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Rita and her colleagues were startled when they saw his expression, and they didn''t know what


    triggered him.


    "President Fuller, are you alright?" Rita asked worriedly.


    Hearing that, he sluggishly waved his hand and asked in a hoarse voice, "I''m fine. Did you manage to


    see what time the appointment for the abortion was?" He was dying to know when the procedure would


    take ce!


    "Yes. If I''m not mistaken, it''s this afternoon." Rita recalled as she lowered her gaze.


    "This afternoon?" It felt as if something in his head had exploded, for the answer came to him as a


    surprise.


    "That''s right. It''s at 4.00PM." She nodded.


    "Are you sure?" Charles red at her with bloodshot eyes, and it seemed like he was going to break


    her neck if she gave the wrong information.


    His grave expression was enough to make her tremble, but she remained calm and nodded. "I''m very


    sure of this. I was surprised to see it in Daphne''s trash bin, so I deliberately took a closer look at it."


    "Which hospital?"


    "First World Hospital."


    Hearing that, Charles left the office without saying another word. Rita and her colleagues were


    confused at how he suddenly turned up announced and left without saying a word.


    "What was that? What''s with President Fuller''s reaction? The look on his face was so terrifying that it


    scared me. I''ve met him many times, but this is the first time I''ve seen him so angry. I noticed that there


    seemed to be another underlying emotion besides anger."


    "I have no idea. It''s my first time seeing him being that mad too. He''s normally happy and cheerful,


    which gives me a feeling that he has a good temper. He''s normally polite when he speaks to us, but it


    seems like he can get this scary when he''s furious. Why was he that angry, though?"


    "It seems to be because of Daphne''s pregnancy."


    "Dapline''s pregnancy?"


    "Yeah. If you noticed his expression just now, it''s obvious that he overheard our conversation from


    outside before barging in. When he came in, the first thing that he asked was about Daphne''s


    pregnancy, and his expression darkened when he heard what we said. So, it''s apparent that he''s mad


    about this."


    "You have a point, but why would he get so worked up about it?"


    "I guess it''s because he felt that she was being ill treated. If you think about it, before Dapline started


    working at Paradigm Co., she used to be President Lane''s secretary. On top of that, they attended the


    same university and were very close to each other. He was probably furious after finding out that


    Daphne got pregnant after being harassed. I would be angry too if my friend was going through the


    same situation."


    "Sounds reasonable. Rita, do you see it that way too?" A few of them noticed that Rita had been quiet


    and she was staring at the direction of the door.


    Hearing that, she snapped out of her thoughts and smiled as she shook her head. "Probably, but I don''t


    think it''s as simple as that."


    "Rita, what do you mean by that?"


    She merely shook her head as she kept quiet. She didn''tment further as it was just her


    spection, and things would get awkward if it wasn''t like what she had in mind.


    Meanwhile, Charles rushed out of the elevator and he hurried over to his car before unlocking his


    vehicle and getting into his car. He sped out of the parking lot without fastening his seatbelt. He was


    speeding so quickly that it startled the other drivers, and they had to stop their car. Some of them even


    wound down their windows and cursed at him. Even though Charles heard them, he couldn''t be


    bothered by it and stared at the road in front of him as he floored the elerator.


    He had to rush to the hospital as soon as possible and ask Dapline whose child that was. If it was


    someone else''s, he wanted to know exactly when she had met another man. But if it was his... His grip


    on the steering wheel tightened, and his expression was grim.


    If the child was his, he wanted to know why she kept the pregnancy to herself. Back when he asked


    whether she had taken contraceptives, she answered that she had been taking them. If she really was


    on contraceptives, she shouldn''t have gotten pregnant. This was enough to prove that she was lying to


    him.


    He wanted to know what her intention was for doing so. Was she nning to get ahead after being


    pregnant with his child?

 Chapter 1151

    Chapter 1151


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    If that was the case, then he''d tell her to dream on.


    He never reciprocated her feelings, so no matter what she did, he would never let her have her way


    even if she used the child in her belly to threaten him.


    The kind of people he hated most were those who threatened him.


    Right then, Charles couldn''t not think that Daphne was scheming something using her pregnancy.


    He wasn''t entirely to me, for Daphne''s pregnancy came way too coincidentally.


    She affirmed that she had taken contraceptives, so why would there be a bun in the oven when she


    did?


    Thus, he could only assume she didn''t take the contraceptives and lied to him so that he wouldn''t


    suspect a thing. That way, she''d have plenty of time to get pregnant without worry.


    Once she managed to get pregnant, she''d be able to use the child in her belly to hold him ountable


    for her.


    Yes, that must be it.


    Charles grew more certain the more he thought about it, not changing the notion even when he knew


    Daphne had already made an abortion appointment.


    Something must be wrong with the child for her to abort it, or why would she do so when she wanted to


    use the child to move up thedder?


    However, no matter the circumstances, he would make her sorry when she dared lie to him, hide her


    pregnancy from him, and even selfishly drop the baby.


    To think he would one day let a woman wrap him around her little finger. I swear I won''t be Charles


    Lane if I don''t retaliate.


    "Daphne Robinson!" Charles snarled through gnashed teeth as he red grimly at the road ahead like


    Daphne was standing right there. His voice was filled with nothing but anger and hatred as though he


    wanted to mangle her.


    There was desperation he didn''t even realize interwoven in his voice.


    Desperate for what, exactly? Perhaps only he knew.


    However, all of that was oblivious to Sonia at the moment, for she went back to her long and dull work


    after seeing Charles away.


    It wasn''t until Toby called in the afternoon that she put the pen down, stretched, and rxed that she


    answered it with a smile. "Hello?"


    Her voice was kittenish andced with a hint of fatigue, causing Toby to frown as he sat in the car. "Do


    you have a lot of work to do?¡±


    "Not really. Why do you ask?" she asked with a smile while curling up in the chair.


    Toby had parked his car on the side of the road beneath Paradigm Tower, and he rolled the window


    down and looked toward a window on the top floor of the building. Behind it happened to be Sonia''s


    office.


    "You sounded tired," he exined.


    She smiled in response. "Do I? Well, I am a little. I have to look at more and more papers now, and it


    has only been months since I joined in the first ce. With more and more papers to look at, the more


    strenuous it is for me to go through them. After all, there are a lot of things that I still don''t know. I even


    have to find out what a technical term means whenever I encounter them, or I won''t know what the


    paper is talking about as a whole. Imagine the consequences I''ll have to bear if I sign it blindly. I''d


    sometimes encounter some papers that, although I understand, I don''t know the actual situation. I''ll


    then have to call the guys for verification before I can sign the papers assuredly. Hence, I''d end up


    woozy at the end of the day. I''m not just tired physically but mentally as well."


    "It''s normal that you don''t know a lot of things when you never systematically learned how to manage a


    company. You''ve moved up the position very suddenly, after all. You can only grasp some skills while


    exploring during work. Simply put, you won''t be able to learn everything at all like this," said Toby as he


    rested his hand on the window while tapping it.


    "Yeah," Sonia affirmed. "But as a newbie, I still haven''t made a mistake after looking through so many


    papers. This proves that I actually have talent in business, doesn''t it?"


    "Of course." Toby acknowledged her talent without hesitation, making her giggle with pursed lips,


    feeling joyous.


    Toby smiled upon hearing herughter as well. "But you can''t go on like this forever. It''s still too slow if


    you learn and explore by yourself from practical work. You won''t be able to catch up when Paradigm


    grows stronger when you don''t have basic professional knowledge."


    "I know, but..."


    "What do you say to studying abroad after the holidays?" Toby interrupted her with his suggestion.


    The suggestion stumped Sonia so much that she straightened her back subconsciously. "What did you


    say? Study abroad?"


    "You heard me. You have to study professional knowledge in a college to make up for yourck of


    groundwork. Only then can you manage Paradigm with ease in the future."


    "I know I should further my studies, but what school should I go to, and how do I get into one?" She


    scratched her head glumly.


    This was where she hesitated.


    Toby chuckled under his breath at that. "You don''t have to worry about that. I will rmend a college


    that suits you best. As for how to enter, you can rest entirely assured. I¡ª"


    "Stop!" Sonia hurriedly interjected as she gestured a stop, looking grave. "Don''t tell me you want to


    help me enter a school through the back door. I won''t agree to it even if you want to do it. I''d rather not


    go than enter through the back door. Do you know how humiliating that sounds?"


    Toby knew she would certainly take it the wrong way as soon as she interrupted him, and sure enough,


    with the way she put it, this was a pretty big misunderstanding.


    He held his forehead helplessly. However, despite the helplessness, his eyes were filled with adoration


    for her. "Who said I''m getting you into a college through the back door? I just wanted to tell you the


    college I''m rmending has a global admission next year around the early second half of the year. I


    have connections, and I can get you an application to the entrance exam."


    It was precisely because he knew she wouldn''t ept his arrangements for her to enter a school


    directly that he didn''t even think of doing so from the beginning but rather had her prepare for an


    entrance exam.


    Knowing her pride, this was the best arrangement.


    Sure enough, Sonia calmed down after hearing his exnation, and she chuckled somewhat


    embarrassingly. "Is that so? Sorry, I thought..."


    "Don''t worry about it. I should''ve made it concise. Well? What do you think?" Toby asked as he


    propped his head up with a bent arm against the window.


    Sonia bit her lip and pondered with a lowered head instead of giving him her answer immediately.


    She was tempted, but furthering her studies abroad was no small issue, for she didn''t know when she''d


    be able to return after she left and whose care she should leave Paradigm Co. with.


    These were all things she needed to mull over.


    Toby knew her concerns as well, so he didn''t rush her for an answer but waited patiently.


    It wasn''t until a couple of minutester that Sonia sighed as she rubbed her temples. "You said the


    school is taking in students in the second half of next year. In other words, I have less than half a year


    to get ready for the exam, am I right?"


    "Yes." He nodded in affirmation.


    At that, she bit her lip. "Will I be able to pass when I have zero basic knowledge and at such short


    notice?"


    She didn''t have the slightest confidence in herself.


    However, Toby thought otherwise, and he soothed her with a chuckle. "Don''t worry. Have you forgotten


    that you have me? I''ll be your teacher for the next half a year and guide you with dedication. I''m sure


    that you''ll inevitably pass with my guidance."


    Sonia chuckled at that. "Is it me, or are you ttering yourself?"


    Toby smirked in response. "Do you not have confidence in me, then?"


    At that, Sonia stuck her tongue out. "How can I not have confidence in you when you have a few


    doctorate degrees under your belt, great President Fuller? I''m just not confident in myself. I don''t even


    know how well my brain functions. What if I can''t do it?"


    "You won''t. Have faith in yourself. Also, you have to and need to do it for Paradigm Co. You have to get


    into this college, got it?" Seriousness enveloped Toby'' face at this point.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 1152

    Chapter 1152


    Sonia also knew just how important it was that she furthered her studies abroad, so she naturally didn''t


    refute him.


    "But..." She bit her lip, stuck in a tough position. "Who can I leave Paradigm with after leaving?"


    This was her biggest issue right then.


    Toby chuckled at that. "You can hire a professional manager, or I can send someone to look after it for


    you. How about I let Tom do it?¡±


    Sonia chuckled in turn. "Aren''t you transferring him to a techpany in Fredburg to be their CEO next


    year? Besides, that tech subsidiary of yours is also a listedpany. Don''t you think it''s overkill to


    have Tom, who was originally supposed to manage a listedpany,e and manage my small


    firm? Even if Tom doesn''t mind, I feel bad for him. He deserves more than this with the skill he has."


    "So you''re saying you''re more inclined to hire a professional manager?" Toby quirked a brow.


    She hummed a response. "That''s our only option so far. I don''t really feel safe leaving Paradigm Co. to


    just any professional manager, but I''ve never engaged with people in this profession. Why don''t you


    find one for me instead?"


    "This is nothing. Alright, I''ll sort it out for you. Have you made up your mind yet?" he asked.


    At that, Sonia took a deep breath. "I''ll take the exam. You''re right. Be it for Paradigm Co. or for myself, I


    have to further my studies. Since I don''t have to worry about having no one to look after thepany


    after I''m gone, I''m all set to focus on preparing for the test. But like I said, I have zero foundation, so I''ll


    have to study from page one. Professor Fuller, I''ll be in your care for the next half a year."


    A hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.


    "Professor Fuller?" Toby quirked his brow again.


    "Yeah, didn''t you say you''re going to teach me? It''s only right that I call you Professor Fuller, no?"


    Sonia chuckled with a hand over her lips.


    Toby rubbed his thumb as a hint of glimmer shed across his eyes. "I like the salutation, but I''d like it


    even more if you call me that somewhere else."


    "Somewhere else? Why?" His words baffled her.


    Meanwhile, Toby smirked. "It''ll add a bit of re."


    Sonia got him at once, and her face flushed, livid yet amused. "What are you smoking, Toby? Honestly,


    can you not make blue jokes all the time?!"


    He chuckled in response.


    "Alright, cut it out. Any more, and I''m going to flip on you. I''m being serious here, yet you always goof


    around."


    "It''s on me."


    "Of course, it''s on you. Anyhow, I''ll really have to trouble you for the next half a year. I might have a


    tough time learning when I have zero basic knowledge. Promise me you won''t get mad at me," Sonia


    said with worry.


    At that, Toby'' gaze softened. "I won''t. A teacher who would get mad at their student is no qualified


    teacher. A qualified one would find the best method to guide their student. Rx, I won''t get mad at


    you. I''ll only use the best method to help you grasp the knowledge and get you into college."


    Not only was Sonia no longer worried after receiving his guarantee, she was even confident that she


    could really ace the exam.


    After all, as timorous as she was toward herself, she had to have some confidence in her beloved, no?


    "Alright, enough about that. Are you done with work?" asked Toby as he withdrew his hand from the


    window and sat straight.


    She rubbed her eyes while saying, "Almost."


    "Come down, then. I''m right downstairs."


    "You''re already here?" Sonia was slightly surprised.


    "Yeah," he answered. "I just arrived."


    "Alright, I''lle down right away. Give me a second." She hurriedly got up from her chair while


    speaking.


    She was in such a hurry to pack up that Toby could even hear the chair rolling away when she got up.


    At that, he cooed, "Rx, take your time. I''ll give Tom a callter and have him prepare the application


    and study materials. I''ll teach you for two hours every night once he has them ready."


    "Sounds good." She nodded joyously.


    Then, Toby continued, "Two hours might be short, but everything I''m teaching you will be sufficient to


    pass the exam. Half a year is too short, after all. It''s impractical for me to teach you everything in such


    a short time. Besides, you won''t be able to take everything in either. I will teach you what you need to


    pass the exam for now. As for the rest, you''ll have to work hard after you''re enrolled."


    Sonia felt absolutely touched, and her face looked uber-gentle. "I know. This is the best arrangement


    for a newbie like me. It''s a well-thought-out n. Thank you, Toby."


    "There''s no need for thanks between you and me. Come on down. I''ll wait for you."


    "Alright." Sonia nodded.


    After hanging up, she held the phone to her chest and smiled, then grabbed her bag and headed out of


    her office.


    Sonia rode the elevator down with a secretary, who had a hunch as to why Sonia was glowing. "Miss


    Reed, are you smiling so brightly because President Fuller is here to pick you up?"


    "How do you know?" Sonia looked at her with surprise.


    "Well, your smile''s a dead giveaway." The secretary giggled.


    "Yeah, he''s downstairs." Sonia put her hair back somewhat bashfully.


    "No wonder. You and President Fuller are such a sweet couple."


    "For now, but who knows how long it will stay that way." Sonia shook her head with a chuckle.


    The secretary shrugged in response. "Who can tell what the future holds for anybody. At least you''re


    happy now. As for the future, well, we''ll leave it until that dayes, no, Miss Reed?"


    "You''re right. The most important thing is to live in the present. I should appreciate the happiness I


    have now and leave what wille in the future until then."


    The next second, a ding came, indicating they had arrived at the lobby.


    At that, Sonia lifted the bag strap on her shoulder. "Alright, here we are. I''m going to make a move.


    Drive safe. See you tomorrow."


    "See you tomorrow, Miss Reed." The secretary waved Sonia goodbye from inside the elevator, having


    no intention of leaving with Sonia.


    After all, it wasn''t right for an employee to head out with their boss, no?


    Of course, she''d wait until her boss left before walking out by herself.


    Sonia got the secretary''s idea as well, so she didn''t force thetter since she knew the secretary would


    only leave after she left.


    She exited the elevator hurriedly, sparing some time for the secretary.


    Sure enough, the secretary left the elevator after Sonia had walked a distance away. After bidding


    Sonia goodbye, she headed toward the exit in the opposite direction.


    After smiling in the direction the secretary left, she headed toward the main door.


    But lo and behold, she had just taken a few steps when a group of middle-aged men in suits entered


    through the main door. The person walking in front was none other than the CEO of Paradigm Co.,


    Asher.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Sonia frowned slightly upon seeing the man and thought how unlucky she was to run into him in the


    lobby.


    For some reason, Asher had constantly been out of thepanytely.


    However, as curious as she was, she didn''t ask for Asher''s whereabouts. One, she wasn''t interested,


    and two, she might not get an answer even if she asked. Thus, she might as well not say a thing and


    let him be.


    No matter what he was nning, she''d just keep an eye out for it.


    Then again, who''d have thought Asher would appear at this time when he had disappeared for a while?


    Asher noticed Sonia too, and a thought seemed to havee to him. Perhaps because he hated


    Sonia in the first ce, his originally grim face became grimmer by the second.


    He stopped in his tracks and stared maliciously at Sonia.


    The others behind Asher naturally followed after him, stopping and looking toward the woman as well.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1153

    Chapter 1153


    Sonia naturally felt the animositying from Asher.


    After all, the feeling wasn''t inchoate but a long-existing one.


    Thus, she made no reaction toward his hatred-filled stare but only looked straight ahead as though she


    hadn''t noticed it and walked right past Asher, going out of the building.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    Asher, on the other hand, was so livid that his clenched fists trembled when Sonia disregarded him


    entirely.


    Standing behind him, his crony even more so stirred his anger by huffmg, "Look at how arrogant that


    woman is, President. Even if she''s the chairman, she''s still your junior. How can she be so rude as to


    not even say hi to you?!"


    To that, Asher sneered. "How can she not be when she has Toby backing her? But one day, I''ll see that


    she can never be arrogant again."


    "Ain''t that the truth, President." The crony very much agreed with him and was confident Asher would


    seed.


    "Alright, enough ttery. Let''s go." After taking a gander in the direction Sonia left, he withdrew his gaze


    and barely calmed down as he made his way to the elevator.


    Of course, Sonia had no clue what Asher and his cronies talked about behind her back, but she didn''t


    want to know, nor was she interested in knowing. Right after seeing Toby'' car, she waved and jogged


    over to it with a smile.


    Toby, on the other hand, hurriedly got out of the car and spread his arms wide apart upon seeing so.


    The next second, Sonia fell into his arms,pletely wrapped in his embrace.


    "What are you running so fast for? What if you fall?" Toby put an arm around Sonia''s back while ruffling


    her hair with the other.


    "But I don''t want you to wait for too long." She looked up at him.


    "You can''t do that even so. If you really fall, both of us will be in pain. Besides, I never think waiting for


    you is a nuisance. I''m more than happy to wait," said Toby as he nted a kiss on her forehead.


    Sonia noticed some passersby smiling affectionately toward their canoodling and immediately felt


    abashed, her face flushing crimson.


    "Okay, I got it. Let go of me and get into the car. There are a lot of people here, and everyone walking


    by is looking at us. It''s pretty embarrassing." She patted Toby'' chest.


    Knowing she was bashful and didn''t like other people seeing them being intimate, he ruffled her hair


    affectionately and let go of her, respecting her wish. "Alright, get in."


    With that, he held her hand, led her around the front of the car to the front passenger seat, and opened


    the door for her.


    After entering the car, Sonia put the handbag on her shoulder on herp before handing another bag to


    Toby. "Put this in the back seat, will you? There''s not enough space here."


    "What''s this?" Toby looked into the bag after taking it, but the contents were well-concealed with


    different other stic bags, so he couldn''t make anything out.


    "We''re visiting Grandmater, no? I can''t go empty-handed, can I? But then I didn''t have time to


    prepare anything during the day, and Charles happened to havee over in the afternoon with some


    expensive dried goods from Mrs. Lane''s hometown. I thought these things would be good for Grandma,


    so I thought I should give some to her," answered Sonia while pulling on the seatbelt.


    "Charles got them for you?" Toby frowned at once.


    Sonia knew at once that he was jealous for assuming they were gifts from a love rival, and she couldn''t


    help shaking her head, amused. "Not from Charles. Mrs. Lane deliberately got them from me when she


    visited her family. She knows I like this stuff, so these are from Mrs. Lane. She just had Charles bring


    them over to me here at Paradigm. He barely has much to do with this. Well, my dear husband? Are


    you feeling better?"


    ''My dear husband'' was all it took to dampen Toby''s jealousy and brighten his mood.


    At that, he raised his chin slightly. Despite still looking somewhat aloof, a hint of a smile and


    contentment could already be seenced within his eyes. "Better. I''ll thank Mrs. Lane on behalf of my


    grandmother."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll give Mrs. Lane your thanks. Alright, let''s go, or we''re going to bete," Sonia urged as


    she fastened her seatbelt.


    With that, Toby put the bag in the back seat and closed the door before saying, "Let''s go."


    Then, he walked around the back of the car to the driver''s seat and headed to the Fuller Residence.


    Meanwhile, at the Lore Residence, Lte returned home in the afternoon. She was so tired that she


    retired as soon as she came home and had only awoken at this time.


    The moment she went downstairs, she heard her grandfather and father arguing as well as her mother


    mollifying the situation, causing her to instinctively walk down the stairs slowly and lightly while holding


    the handrail.


    As she moved further downward, her elders'' voices became clearer.


    First came her father''s lowly, cowardly apology. "Dad, please stop yelling at me. I already know my


    mistake. Are you not done when you''ve already yelled at me all afternoon? Besides, even if you yell at


    me, I can''t change anything anymore. As if things will turn around after you yell at me when it''s


    screwed!"


    "Grayson''s right, Dad. Please don''t be mad anymore." Grayson''s wife, Amelia, poured some tea for the


    father and son while soothing Harry as she sat next to her husband.


    Harry looked disappointingly angry at the couple as he took the cup of tea from her. "You''re a fine one


    to talk."


    He put the cup down angrily and pointed at Grayson with trembling fingers. "I''ve already warned you


    time and time again before you head off to be nice, give a decent apology gift, and apologize properly


    to that woman. Sonia Reed is a daughter of a lost affluent family. She''s surely vain deep down, or why


    would she keeptching onto Toby again and again? Once we appease her and promise that we''ll think


    of her whenever we gain any advantages, she might go soft and put in a good word for us in front of


    Toby, and who knows? He might just forgive us. You''ve also given me your word that you''d do just that,


    but look what happened! What did you actually do?! Not only did you not bring her a gift, you even


    behaved insolently. I swear you''re doing this to piss me off!"


    At that, he flew into a rage. "Forget about Sonia. Even I would kick the person out when hees


    begging me without a gift and an insolent attitude."


    Grayson couldn''t help tucking his neck as he listened to Harry''s scolding. "Well, I didn''t think that


    woman was so pragmatic, did I? Yes, I agreed to get her a gift and apologize nicely, but then I gave it a


    second thought and thought, why should I?! Who are we to Toby?! Even if we''re in the wrong, she''s


    nothing but an outsider. She should forgive us and intercede for us to Toby without having us


    apologize. After all, you''re Toby''s teacher, and our family is close with the Fullers. If she doesn''t do so,


    she can''t me us for opposing her rtionship with Toby. A little finagle is all we need to break her


    and Toby up. So..."


    "So you threw my adjure out the window just like that?!"


    Grayson lowered his head silently at that.


    Livid with rage, Harry pointed at his son''s nose and yelled, "You... Just how stupid can you get?! No


    wonder so many in the office say you''re useless and hopeless, and thepany will go out of business


    sooner orter if it''s in your hands!"


    "Who? Who dares say so?! I''ll fire him!" Grayson shot up in anger.

 Chapter 1154

    Chapter 1154


    Seeing so, Amelia hurriedly dragged him back onto his seat.


    Harry, on the other hand, sneered at the sight of Grayson''s fury. "You? Fire them? Can you even fire


    them all?! Don''t go around thinking I don''t know what you''re like in the office. It''s only because we have


    competent employees and Fuller Group''s aid that I don''t bother ranting about your ipetence,


    turning a blind eye to those who call you useless. After all, you are very much useless, and now you


    want to fire them?! Well, I''ll have you know that there''ll be at least half of them who have to go if you


    want to fire them! What do you think you can aplish alone with an emptypany, huh?!"


    "Come on, Dad, I''m not that useless." Grayson moped.


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Hmph, you''re more useless than that. You just don''t want to admit it," Harry exasperated. "You threw


    my adjure out the window minutes after I told you and did things ording to your idea, but you ended


    up screwing it. Now, tell me that''spetent!"


    "How can that prove that I''m ipetent?! I just did things ording to regr thinking and logic. But


    who knew Sonia wouldn''t buy it and wouldn''t do things ording to my envisage?! That''s only why


    things screwed up. I swear, nothing can get through to that woman! If it were other women, they''d have


    long sucked up to us when we''re family friends with the Fullers, paired with the fact that you''re Toby''s


    teacher. Also, they''d tactfully know to forgive us without even us saying a thing and even intercede for


    us to Toby. Only she would remain indifferent," Grayson said with absolute resentment.


    Evidently, he didn''t think even in the slightest bit that they were the ones at fault. The others wouldn''t


    even need to forgive them because of who the Lore Family were or what they had.


    After all, no one owed them, and they weren''t influential to the degree where everyone needed to suck


    up to them.


    However, in Grayson''s opinion, it was entirely Sonia''s fault that she didn''t suck up to them or choose to


    tacitly forgive them. Sonia had absolutely and undisputedly done a heinous misdeed.


    Grayson aside, even Harry thought Sonia should tacitly forgive them. However, he had ultimately lived


    in this world a few decades more than Grayson, so he would consider things more thoroughly than


    Grayson would.


    Thus, even when Harry thought so, he wouldn''t say it out loud but only narrowed his eyes and said icily,


    "Of course, she can be indifferent. Before what Lte did was exposed, she didn''t know if she or I


    meant more to Toby, so she would still be nice to us. But after Lte was found out, Toby stood by


    Sonia without a doubt and distanced himself from us entirely. That means she clearly means more to


    Toby than me. After realizing that fact, she naturally won''t have to give a d*mn about us anymore and


    act more arrogantly."


    "I bet Toby doesn''t truly love that woman. She must have something on him that forced him to side with


    her and distance himself from us," Grayson growled, refusing to believe that Toby would side with


    Sonia because he loved her.


    Even Lte, who eavesdropped at the stairs, nodded at once.


    Yes, Dad''s right. Toby would never love that woman. Tina was the only woman he ever loved.


    Though Tina has died, Toby wouldn''t fall in love with Sonia either. Only I can get Toby to open his heart


    again!


    As the thought crossed her mind, her grip on the handrail tightened, and a harsh, ear-piercing sound


    came from her long, bejeweled nails scratching against it.


    Meanwhile, the conversation downstairs was still continuing.


    "No matter what reason Toby is siding with Sonia for, the fact that he sided with her and distanced


    himself from us is still a fact. Sonia refusing to respect us based on that is also a fact. After all, with


    Toby on her side, she can do so without fear, or would she have to worry that we''ll do anything to her.


    After all, she has Toby on her side. She can have Toby hate us even more if we even as much asy a


    finger on her. By then, we''d still be the ones losing out. Also, we can''t actually sever our ties with Toby


    and the Fullers. I''m sure you know what will happen to our family once our connection is severed."


    Harry bore into Grayson.


    Knowing he was in the wrong, Grayson lowered his head. "I know. It''s my fault. I screwed it up. Shall I


    pay her another visit? I''ll apologize nicely this time. She said if I apologize with a better attitude, bring a


    gift and Lte with me, she might¡ª"


    "No!" Lte ran down the stairs and interrupted him before he could finish his words, not wanting to


    hear any more. "I won''t go! I will never apologize to that woman!"


    "Lte, you''re awake." Harry turned from grim to amiable the second he saw his beloved


    granddaughter, and the same went for Grayson and Amelia.


    Amelia, even more so, pulled Lte over to her, having her sit in between her and Grayson. "Did you


    sleep well?"


    However, Lte ignored her mother and pushed her hand that was stroking her hair away. She


    clenched her fists and looked straight into Harry''s eyes while protesting, "Grandpa, I don''t want to


    apologize to that woman. You all know I love Toby, and I''m shouldering the responsibility of marrying


    him. If I apologize to her at this time, that would mean that I''m beneath her. That way, even if I defeat


    her and marry Toby, I''d still feel that I''m beneath her. Besides, I''m the daughter of the affluent Lore


    Family. Am I not nobler than an adopted child of the Reed Family?! She doesn''t deserve my apology at


    all!"


    "Yeah, Dad. Wouldn''t having Lte apologize to that woman humiliate Lte and also disgrace our


    family''s name?!" Amelia looked anxiously at Harry.


    Grayson nodded in agreement as well. "Even I can''t bear to scold Lte. Forget about even asking


    Lte to apologize to someone else."


    At that, Harry rubbed his temples. "Rx. I naturally won''t force my own granddaughter to apologize


    against her will. Just as Lte said, she has the task of bringing our family and the Fullers together. In


    other words, she must marry Toby in the future. Naturally, I won''t let her apologize to Sonia even more


    so. Once she apologizes, it would mean that Lte has lost to that woman and would be beneath her.


    Imagine how other people will ridicule Lte and our family after she marries Toby."


    "So, I don''t have to apologize, right, Grandpa?" Lte squealed with joy.


    "That''s right." Harry nodded in affirmation.


    "But if Lte doesn''t apologize, wouldn''t that mean we can''t get through to Sonia?" Grayson grew


    worried again.


    At that, Harry shot him a side-eyed nce. "I''ve thought about this. I never intended to have Lte


    apologize in the first ce. As such, I''ve long given up on Sonia, hoping that she would intercede for


    us."


    "Does that mean you''ve alreadye up with another solution, Grandpa?" Lte''s eyes lit up after


    hearing so.


    Harry was beyond proud of his dear granddaughter seeing that she understood him immediately. My


    dear Lte sure is smart.


    "That''s right. I intend to set up a banquet for you, one that announces your return to the circle. I already


    had people send the invitations out in the afternoon," he responded with narrowed eyes.

 Chapter 1155

    Chapter 1155


    Lte was indeed smart, as she knew exactly what Harry was talking about right when she heard it.


    Then, she smiled excitedly at him, saying, "What you are saying is that we can use this party''s


    opportunity to invite Toby over. That way, we will have a chance to meet him and mend our rtionship,


    unlike now when we can''t do anything or see him in person."


    "Yes, Lte. That''s what I meant," said Harry as he looked at her proudly.


    To him, Lte was perfect in everything. There was nothing she could do wrong.


    However, Grayson, who was beside them, frowned and said, "Dad, what if Toby decides not toe to


    the party? If that''s the case, can we still see him?"


    When Lte heard his words, she was also worried too. "That''s right, Grandpa. What if Toby isn''t


    there? It''s been seven years since Ist saw him. I..."


    "Calm down, Lte. I will let you see him, so don''t worry," said Harry while squinting his sharp eyes.


    When Lte heard his words, her eyes brightened up in delight. "Do you have something in mind,


    Grandpa?"


    Harry nodded and said, "Yes. Toby will definitelye. When that timees, I will need you to do


    something in order to boost your rtionship with him. Although you might need to sacrifice something,


    for the sake of you being with Toby and making our family affinity with theirs, you must do this. Do you


    understand me, Lte?" With that, he looked at her.


    At that moment, Grayson and Amelia were looking at them in confusion.


    "Dad, what are you trying to make Lte do? Don''t do anything stupid."


    "That''s right. Dad."


    They were worried for their daughter''s well-being at this moment. However, neither Harry nor Lte


    acknowledged them. At this moment, Lte could only see Harry in her eyes and his words in her


    mind. Since she was smarter than her parents, she immediately knew what Harry meant by his words


    and understood what she would sacrifice. Thinking about it, Lte could feel her heart thumping


    wildly.


    Then, she put her hands on her knees, gripping them to surpass the excitement in her as she looked at


    Harry. "I understand what you mean, Grandpa. Don''t worry. I won''t let you down," she said.


    Seeing that she understood what he was implying, Harry smiled in relief. "That''s my granddaughter.


    Alright, it''s gettingte. Come, apany me to dinner, Lte."


    "Okay." Lte stood up and linked her arms with Harry''s as they walked toward the dining room


    together.


    As for Grayson and Amelia, they were being ignored by Lte and Harry. The couple stood up and


    looked at each other after watching them leave.


    "Honey, what were they saying just now? Do you understand?" Amelia said as she furrowed her


    eyebrow, looking worried.


    "No." Grayson shook his head.


    In this house, Grayson knew his ce. He knew that he wasn''t intelligent like Harry and Lte. Most


    of the time, Lte could immediately understand what Harry was talking about, but he had to ponder


    it for a long time. Due to this, they would discuss it on their own and leave him out of it like what


    happened just now. After it happened a few times, Grayson was used to it.


    That''s enough thinking. It''s fine as long as they know what they are doing. With that thought, Grayson


    held Amelia''s hand and said, "Come on, let''s eat."


    However, Amelia was still worried about them. "I hope they know what they are doing. The situation is


    already a mess, and it will be troublesome if it gets any worse," she said.


    "It won''t," Grayson said promisingly.


    Hearing his words, Amelia managed to put up a smile and said nothing.


    During dinner, Lte was talking happily with Harry. The atmosphere in the house was rxing as


    they thought that maybe everything would be solved after the party. With that thought in mind, they


    were not nervous and worried like they used to be when they first realized that Toby was keeping his


    distance from them.


    During dinner, Harry, Grayson, and Amelia told Lte what had happened during these years. Due to


    this, Lte knew more clearly about the rtionship between Toby and Sonia. However, she still


    believed that the reason Toby got back together with Sonia wasn''t because of love, and it was only


    because Sonia had evidence against Toby, so he had no other choice but to be with her. She wasn''t


    the only one who had this thought, for the others felt the same.


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    From their perspective, Toby would never fall in love with someone like Sonia, who didn''t have a good


    family background and was an orphan. With that thought, they assumed that Toby didn''t love Sonia. In


    that case, they would find a way to help Toby escape Sonia''s control. At that moment, surely Toby


    would be grateful for their help.


    After finishing dinner, Lte was about to head back to her room. Just as she was about to walk up


    the stairs, Amelia suddenly pulled her. "Lte," she said.


    "What''s the matter, Mom?" Lte turned around and looked at Amelia. Her cute, doll-like face was


    filled with confusion.


    "Lte, I just want to tell you that aside from Sonia, there is another woman from the Acree Family


    that would get in your way if you want to be with Toby."


    "A woman from the Acree Family?" Lte''s face turned dark as she spoke. "Do you mean the family


    in the seafood business, Mom?"


    "That''s right." Amelia nodded. "Recently, business hasn''t been going great for them, and they''ve been


    trying toe in contact with the noble family. With that, they had their eyes on Toby. I heard that


    they''ve been asking around for the banquet''s invitation cards since Toby would be there. Although I''m


    not sure why Toby would be there, the Acrees have been finding ways to enter the banquet after


    knowing about this matter. The reason is to seek connections with Toby and introduce their daughter to


    him."


    When Lte heard her words, she smiled in disdain, saying, "How dare she, someone who reeks of


    fish, try to get her hands on Toby? That''s impossible. Do they have the invitation, Mom?"


    "Yes." Amelia nodded. "I heard they got it from someone by giving them a timeslot for a dock."


    "What?" At that moment, Lte''s face was gloomy. "They actually got it? If that''s the case, won''t they


    be able to get in touch with Toby? No, I can''t have anotherpetitor. Having Sonia alone is


    unbearable, let alone two. Does our family have the invitation, Mom?"


    "No. The host of the banquet didn''t send us an invitation. There are two reasons behind it. Firstly, our


    business''s genre has nothing to do with them, so it would be a waste of time to invite us over.


    Secondly, our status is lower than theirs, so they didn''t give us one since they look down on us." As


    Amelia spoke, she had a grim expression.


    Hearing her words, Lte gritted her teeth and said, "Don''t they know that Grandpa is Toby''s teacher?


    They should give it to us because of this."


    "So what if Grandpa is Toby''s teacher? Although they can''tpare themselves to the Fuller Family,


    they don''t need to invite us just because of Toby. Moreover, Toby will not have anything against them


    over such a small matter. After all, it''s their choice to invite whoever they want."


    "Are you saying that we can''t join the banquet to stop the Acree Family?" Lte''s face scrunched up


    in anger. Her doll face was twisted angrily, seemingly like an eerie puppet from a horror movie.

 Chapter 1156

    Chapter 1156


    Chapter


    "No. I can''t let them have their way." Lte gripped her knuckles while viciousness filled her eyes.


    "Although I can''t do anything to Sonia, I don''t need to worry about the consequences if it is the Acree


    Family."


    Listening to her words, Amelia looked at her in horror. "What are you trying to do, Lte?"


    "Don''t worry, Mom. Don''t the Acrees want to be inws with Toby''s family? Well then, I will make them


    give up on this thought. Toby is mine, and no one can take him away from him. Just wait, Mom. On the


    banquet day, the Acrees won''t dare do anything." Lte smiled wickedly.


    After finishing her words, she ignored Amelia and went up the stairs.


    Then, she immediately took out her phone and searched for a phone number. It was a set of numbers


    that she had always seen when she was aboard, and she had engraved it in her soul. As she found the


    phone number, she swiped it gently before taking a deep breath and dialing it.


    While waiting for the call to be picked up, her heart was thumping wildly, and her face was red. At this


    moment, her face was not eerie anymore, and she looked cute and shy.


    Right now, Lte looked shy and nervous as if she was calling the person she loved in secret.


    In fact, she was indeed calling the person she loved. It had been seven years since shest saw her


    sweetheart, so she was subconsciously nervous when contacting him now. Moreover, she was slightly


    timid and afraid. How am I going to tell Toby about this? Will he even answer my call?


    As she thought about it, she bit her lips, her heart filled with nervousness.


    On the other hand, Toby had driven Sonia to the Fuller Residence.


    As soon as he parked the car, his phone rang in his pocket. Then, Toby unfastened his seatbelt and


    reached out for his phone. When he saw who was calling him, his expression changed, and the


    atmosphere around him felt heavy.


    Sensing the changes in Toby, Sonia unfastened her seatbelt and looked at him. "What''s wrong? Who''s


    calling?" she asked.


    "It''s Lte." Toby didn''t hide it from her and handed his phone to her to have a look.


    When Sonia saw Lte''s name on the screen, she couldn''t help but frown. "How shocking that she''s


    calling you. Are you going to pick up the call?"


    "No. This is just a scam." With that, Toby denied the call without any hesitation. Not only that, but after


    denying the call, he blocked Lte''s number, doing it all in one shot.


    When Sonia saw his actions, she burst intoughter. "She likes you. Aren''t you afraid that you will


    break her heart if you do this?"


    After closing his phone, Toby said faintly, "That''s none of my business. I only care about your feelings. I


    don''t have to care for others. Besides, don''t you feel happy about what I just did?"


    Listening to his words, Sonia blushed and huffed, "Alright, let''s get inside the house. Grandma had


    called and asked where we were when we were on the road. Let''s go." Then, she opened the door and


    left the car hurriedly.


    Seeing that she had run away from embarrassment again, Toby couldn''t help but smile. Then, he got


    out of the car too.


    On the other side, Lte was waiting for Toby to pick up her call expectantly when she heard the call


    hanging up. At that moment, she was in disbelief.


    Did Toby just hang up on me? Lte widened her eyes in disbelief as she assumed that Toby would


    answer her call since they had not seen each other for seven years. Shouldn''t he be excited that I''m


    calling him? Why did he hang up on me?


    Thinking about it, Lte bit her lips as tears brimmed her eyes.


    No, I have to call him again. Maybe he just hung up on ident. He didn''t deny my call on purpose.


    Yes, that should be it!


    Lte was deep in her trance as she called Toby again. However, the call didn''t pop up on the screen.


    Instead, a cold, robotic woman''s voice said, "Hello. The person you are calling is on the line. Please


    wait¡ª"


    Before the robotic voice could finish its words, Lte screamed and threw her phone away in anger.


    I''m being cklisted! Toby blocked me! she thought. There was no way she would believe that


    someone had called Toby at this moment. After all, her call had gone through the first time. However, it


    was on the line at this moment. There was no way such a coincidence would happen, and it only


    proved that Toby had cklisted her.


    At that moment, Lte couldn''t hold back any longer. She curled into a ball on the bed while hugging


    her knees as she sobbed.


    All this was unknown to Sonia and Toby, but even if they knew about it, they would have ignored it. To


    them, Lte was just a stranger, and there was no need to be mindful of her. Moreover, she had


    offended them, so it would only be natural if they ignored her.


    "Oh my, Young Master Toby and Miss Reed. You guys have finally arrived." As Toby and Sonia linked


    their arms together and walked into the building, they were met with an excited Mary. When Mary


    walked toward them, she beamed happily as she saw their interactions. "Old Mrs. Fuller was asking for


    your arrival, so she asked me to take a look. I never expected that you guys would be here right when I


    walked out. This is just perfect," she said.


    "Sorry, Madam Mary. We were stuck in traffic, so we couldn''t arrive here on time. I''m sorry that you and


    Grandma had to wait for us. Thank you foring out to escort us." Sonia smiled at Mary.


    "It''s nothing. Now, let''s go inside, Young Master Toby and Miss Reed. Dinner is ready, and Old Mrs.


    Fuller is waiting," urged Mary.


    Then, Toby held Sonia''s hands as they trailed behind Mary. Soon, they arrived at the dining room.


    When they entered, they saw Rose sitting on the main seat while waiting for them. The moment she


    saw them, she smiled, stood up, and walked toward Sonia.


    At that moment, Sonia let go of Toby''s hand and went to Rose. "Grandma, what are you doing? I won''t


    leave since I have just arrived. You don''t have to walk over here. What if you fall?" As she spoke, she


    led Rose back to her seat.


    "It''s fine. I haven''t left this house for quite a long time. I can see even with my eyes closed, so I won''t


    fall. I''m just happy to see you after a long time, Sonny."


    "Me too, Grandma. I haven''t seen you for a long time. I''m thrilled today," Sonia replied as she helped


    Rose to sit down.


    When Rose sat, she patted the spot beside her. "Sit here, Sonny. Tell me, how have you been?"


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    "Sure." Sonia didn''t refuse and sat down beside Rose. While pouring a ss of water for her, Sonia


    told her about her recent doings. At that moment, Rose was smiling at her while listening attentively.


    The atmosphere between them was harmonious.


    On the other hand, Toby was standing by the door. He couldn''t help but twitch his lips when he looked


    at them speechlessly as they seemed to have forgotten about him.


    Have they really forgotten about me? Grandma, with that kind look on your face while you look at


    Sonia, do you still remember that I am the one who is your grandchild? he thought.

 Chapter 1157

    Chapter 1157


    Although Toby looked as if he was jealous when his eyes were on Rose and Sonia, he was smiling on


    the inside. All this jealousy was only for show.


    "Young Master Toby, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and take a seat." After Mary had


    prepared dinner for Rose and Sonia, she saw that Toby was still standing by the door. As such, she


    quickly called him over.


    Her call had attracted Rose and Sonia''s attention. Then, they all looked at Toby.


    Seeing that Toby was still standing there, Sonia realized she had forgotten him while talking to Rose. At


    that moment, she felt embarrassed and stood up, wanting to go over to hold Toby''s hand. "I''m sorry, I


    forgot about you. You..."


    Before she could finish her words, Rose grabbed hold of her and sat her back down. "Don''t go. Sonny."


    Then, her face turned gloomy as she looked at Toby in disdain. "He is already a grown-up. There''s no


    need for you to lead him over. Doesn''t he have legs on his own?"


    Hearing her words, Toby was speechless. He looked at Rose and sighed. "Grandma..."


    "Enough, stop it. Hurry up ande over. You are already an adult, yet you still look like an immature


    child. Do you really have to get everyone''s attention?" Rose''s expression was still in disdain as she


    spoke.


    "I''m not," said Toby while rubbing his temples.


    "I don''t care. Hurry up and eat. Don''t you feel ashamed that we are all waiting for you?" Rose red at


    him.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby''s lips twitched, and he didn''t say anything as he knew that whatever he said right now was


    inappropriate. Then, he walked toward them in silence. When he sat beside Sonia, she turned to him


    and snickered, her eyes filled with mischievousness.


    See? I told you that Grandma would scold you.


    Looking into her eyes, Toby realized that she was gloating at him. His eyes darkened, and he reached


    his hands under the table, tickling Sonia''s armpit gently.


    At that moment, Sonia''s whole body stiffened, and so did her smile. Her expression looked weird.


    Rose was going to take a sip of the soup Mary had given her when she saw Sonia sitting there stiffly.


    Seeing how dumbfounded she looked, Rose quickly put down the spoon she was holding and asked,


    "What''s wrong, Sonny? Are the dishes not to your taste?"


    Mary was getting food for Rose when she heard thetter''s words. Then, she said hurriedly, "Yes, Miss


    Reed. If you don''t like these dishes, I''ll ask the cook to prepare some other dishes. There''s no need to


    be formal here. Make yourself at home."


    Listening to theirforting words, Sonia felt warm in her heart. Then, she regained herposure


    and shook her head, saying, "I''m fine. There''s nothing wrong with the dishes. They taste good. I can


    tell that it''s Olivia''s cooking. She always makes the most delicious delicacies." Sonia put a thumbs up


    and said, "I just feel like something has bitten me. It could be a bug or something. That''s why I was not


    paying attention just now."


    A bug? Toby raised his eyebrows and smiled. He knew that Sonia was secretly calling him a bug as


    revenge for what he had just done.


    "There''s a bug?" Rose and Mary didn''t know about their secret interaction, so they believed Sonia''s


    words when they heard them.


    "How can there be bugs in here?" Rose was confused.


    "That''s right. Although there are many insects since there is a garden outside the old manor, the


    servants have been doing all kinds of deworming daily. Logically speaking, there shouldn''t be any


    bugs." Mary was surprised too.


    Hearing their words, Sonia turned her head and red at Toby, who was smiling even more. She


    coughed and said, "Maybe some of the bugs have gotten away. After all, it''s not impossible for them to


    escape."


    Just like the man beside me, she thought. All I did was justugh at him. Does he have to be so


    narrow-minded and tickle me? Isn''t he afraid that I would make a fool in front of Grandma and Mary if I


    had a bigger reaction?


    However, Rose and Mary didn''t understand the hidden meaning in her words and nodded.


    "Sonny''s right. There could be some bugs that are not afraid of repellent. Tell the servants to deworm


    the whole ce even more starting from tomorrow." Rose looked at Mary and ordered.


    Mary smiled and said, "Don''t worry, Old Mrs. Fuller. I will arrange it. However, at this moment..."


    Hearing her words, Sonny knew what Mary was going to say. "It''s okay, Madam Mary. There was just a


    small bug that came in and stung me. It''s gone now. We''ll talk about it tomorrow morning. Let''s eat first.


    Grandma has been waiting for us for so long that it''s now past her dinner time. Let''s not fret about


    anything else," she said while waving her hands.


    Hearing her words, Rose felt happy. She held onto Sonia''s hands and looked at her adoringly, saying,


    "You are the best, Sonia. You care about me the most."


    "That''s right. Girls are the most thoughtful people no matter what." Mary beamed at Sonia as she


    agreed with Rose.


    "That''s right. It''s such a pity that I have no chance of having a daughter or a granddaughter. I only have


    a son, and he gave me two grandsons. Other grandmas can have the blessing of a granddaughter,


    while I can only be faced with two grandsons with terrible attitudes. Moreover, they don''te back


    often or even care about me. Lord, what''s the use of them?" As Rose spoke, her gaze slowly went


    toward Toby disdainfully, who couldn''t get a word in this conversation.


    Noticing her gaze, Toby rubbed his temples and smiled resignedly. Did they just ignore the usual


    greeting I gave to Grandma? Or are my words less valuable than Sonia''s since I''m a boy?


    When Sonia caught a glimpse of Toby''s dismal, she was delighted when she thought of him tickling her.


    Then, she grabbed Rose''s hands and said, "You can have a granddaughter too, Grandma. Since I call


    you Grandma, you can treat me like your granddaughter too!"


    When Rose heard her words, her eyes brightened up. Just as she was going to agree with Sonia''s


    words, Toby mmed the table and cut her off. "No!"


    At that moment, Sonia, Rose, and Mary turned their gazes toward him.


    "Why not?" Rose asked while frowning.


    Staring at Rose with a grim expression, Toby sighed and said, "Grandma, Sonia is my wife. If she


    bes your granddaughter, what will she mean to me? A sister?"


    As his words fell, the women were startled.


    After a moment, Rose smiled awkwardly and said, "Now that I think of it, it might not be suitable."


    Although she wanted Sonia to be her granddaughter, she didn''t want Toby to lose his wife.


    "Oh my, it looks like I indeed don''t have a chance of having a granddaughter." Rose sighed in


    disappointment.


    When Toby saw Rose had second thoughts about making Sonia her granddaughter, Toby sighed in


    relief while a smile reappeared on his face. He did not care if Rose had any fate with a granddaughter


    and knew that he had kept Sonia''s title.

 Chapter 1158

    Chapter 1158


    When Sonia saw the smug expression on Toby''s face after he had achieved his n, she turned to


    look at Rose. Seeing that she was sighing in sadness, Sonia felt upset. She red at Toby and gently


    patted Rose''s hand, saying, "Don''t listen to him, Grandma. Although I can''t be your granddaughter, you


    can still treat me like one. This doesn''t have anything to do with my rtionship with Toby. Some treat


    their daughter-inw like their own, and it wouldn''t affect the rtionship between the inw and their


    son.


    After all, you are treating me like your granddaughter and not iming me as one."


    Listening to her words, Mary noticed that they made sense. "Yes, Old Mrs. Fuller. Miss Reed is right.


    There won''t be a conflict against their rtionship." Sheforted Rose.


    Hearing their words, Rose agreed to it too. Looking at Mary and back at Sonia, Rose became lively


    again. She smiled and said, "Okay, it''s settled then."


    "Yes." Sonia nodded and sighed in relief. At the same time, she red at Toby.


    Grandma is in this state because of him. She was in such a good mood, talking to her about this. Yet,


    Toby had to ruin it all just because he couldn''t take a joke. Fortunately, I made Grandma happy again.


    Otherwise, he would be doomed, she thought.


    Naturally, Toby sensed her dissatisfaction, and he scratched his nose in guilt as he also realized that he


    had made Rose sad. However, he couldn''t help it. If he didn''t say anything back then, Sonia would be


    his sister. When that time came, he would be the one who was depressed!


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Rose and Mary saw the interactions between them. Seeing that Sonia was teaching Toby a lesson and


    that he obliged, they felt shocked and found it fanny. They were shocked that Sonia could discipline


    Toby, and he was willing to ept it. On the other hand, they felt fanny that Toby, an insufferable,


    arrogant person, would be silent under her control.


    Mary bent down and leaned closer to Rose as she lowered her voice and said, "Are you seeing this,


    Old Mrs. Fuller? This is the first time I have seen Young Master Toby in this state. This is such an


    interesting scene."


    "Indeed. I used to wonder who would be able to discipline him. Now that I see Sonia, I know that she is


    the one who can hold Toby back," Rose replied.


    "She isn''t dealing with him; rather, they are perfect for each other. Young Master Toby loves Miss Reed,


    so he is willing to be disciplined by her. Miss Reed also loves him too. That''s why she wants to


    discipline him. Otherwise, why would she care so much?" Mary said.


    "You have a point." Rose smiled as she nodded.


    It was a long meal as they talked for hours, but it was a heartwarming process as it was filled with


    laughter. Most of the time, the three women¡ªSonia, Rose, and Mary¡ªwere talking, and Toby didn''t


    say anything, but he was grabbing food for them as he cared for them and was afraid that they wouldn''t


    eat anything. So, the three women were fall at the end of the dinner, while Toby didn''t eat much.


    However, he didn''t mind as long as they were content.


    After dinner, Toby got a call from Tom and headed to the study room to finish his work. While he was


    busy, Sonia helped Rose to her room with Mary.


    As they were walking, Sonia told Rose about the matter where the Lore Family hade to Paradigm


    Co.


    After listening to her words, Rose sneered and said, "I knew it. The Lore Family members are as


    shameless as ever. Yesterday, they also came to me empty-handed. Not only that, but they were also


    ill-mannered, especially Harry. How dare he assume he could be in the same status as me just


    because he has been Toby''s teacher for a few years? Due to that, he spoke arrogantly toward me and


    asked me to advise Toby to forgive them. How ridiculous! I would have guessed that they would find


    you after leaving my ce, but never did I expect that they would have the same attitude after looking


    for you."


    "That''s right. I was baffled when I saw Grayson and listened to his arrogant words. Who do they think


    they are to say that I must forgive them? They even told me that as someone who was going to be


    married to Toby, I should tter them, take the initiative to forgive them, and say good things about


    them since they are his teacher''s family, which meant that they were also Toby''s family. If I don''t do as


    they say, they will not let me be with him. How ridiculous of them, Grandma."


    After helping Rose walk over the threshold with caution, Sonia continued, "It seems like they think


    they''re a part of the Fuller Family. Thus, they could order me around with the identity of the Fullers."


    When Mary listened to her words, she couldn''t help but curse, "I have never seen such shameless


    people before."


    "Speaking of which, they only dare to do so because of Toby. He helped the Lore Family because Harry


    is his teacher. As long as they don''t step over his boundaries, he will not refuse to help them. For the


    first two years, he watched them and prevented them from stirring trouble under the care of the Fuller


    Family. However, they became bolder as Toby got busier and had no time to watch them. This caused


    them to forget that they were the Lore Family, not the Fullers. When Harry came yesterday, he acted as


    if he was the boss of the Fullers. That''s why Grayson would have told you those kinds of words."


    Rose''s expression was cold.


    "Those who can''t know their ces will eventually perish," Sonia said as she walked Rose toward the


    Victorian bed.


    "Yes, the Lore Family are in this state right now." Rose took the teacup from Mary and took a sip.


    "Throughout these years, they''ve caused a lot of trouble while relying on the Fullers and Toby''s


    endurance. They thought they wouldn''t have to pay the price, but I knew everything. When the Fullers


    gave up on the Lore Family, those that they had offended would tear them into pieces. Just wait and


    see." Then, she gave the teacup back to Mary.


    Sonia helped Rose lie on the bed and said, "I remember that the Lore Family was just an ordinary


    family back then. They only became wealthy after Harry had be Toby''s teacher. They are lost in


    their worlds when they have the power and money. This is what an upstart would do."


    "That''s right." As Rosey on the pillow that Sonia handed her, she feltfortable. "It''s fortunate that


    you have not forgiven those b*stards and promised to say good things about them in front of Toby after


    being threatened by them in the morning, Sonny."


    Hearing her words, Sonia smiled and sat by the bed. "I''m not that stupid or a coward, Grandma. After


    all, I am the president of apany. Although I''m still a newbie, I''m more courageous than before. How


    can I surrender easily after being threatened by someone else?"

 Chapter 1159

    Chapter 1159


    Chapter


    "I also did the exact same thing as you. I asked someone to kick Grayson out." As Sonia spoke, she


    covered her mouth and giggled.


    Listening to her words, Rose and Mary were shocked.


    "You kicked him out?" Rose looked at Sonia. "Is this true?"


    "Yes!" Sonia nodded. Then, she thought of something and took out her phone. After pressing some


    buttons, she handed Rose her phone with the video on. "Take a look at it, Grandma."


    "Let me see." Rose took the phone.


    Mary quickly handed Rose''s sses to her. After putting on the sses, she looked at the screen.


    When she saw Grayson being dragged out forcefully by two security guards, sheughed happily,


    "Good job, Sonny. You''ve done well. This is how you treat people like this!"


    Mary agreed too as she was also looking at the video with Rose. "That''s right. The more shameless the


    person is, the more force you must put on them. Otherwise, they will step over you," she said.


    "Yes, I thought so too. That''s why I told the guards to throw them out." Seeing that they agreed to her


    actions, Sonia couldn''t help but feel proud. After all, anyone would be proud if they were being praised


    by the elders they cared for.


    "However, you''ve shocked me, Sonny," said Rose as she returned the phone to Sonia.


    Listening to her words, Sonia blinked and asked, "Why is that so, Grandma?"


    "After all this time, I have always thought that you are a gentlewoman, not someone who is strong


    enough to kick someone out. That''s why I was baffled when I saw the video. However, I am grateful


    that you have grown up. I like you better now than before. Of course, I''m not saying that you weren''t


    good in the past. It''s just that I was worried about you back then as you couldn''t protect yourself.


    However, now that you can protect yourself, I''m not worried that you will be bullied by others and don''t


    know how to fight back even if I''m no longer here. So, I''m delighted by your growth."


    Listening to her words, Sonia felt like she was going to cry. She lunged into Rose''s embrace and


    hugged her tightly, feeling sad inside. "Don''t say this kind of thing, Grandma. You will live for a long


    time. Moreover, don''t you want to see me remarry Toby and have a child?"


    Although she knew that Rose might only live for about two years, she still couldn''t ept it when she


    heard her words. She couldn''t imagine how she would react if Rose, the person who cared for her and


    cherished her, was gone.


    Seeing that Sonia was devastated, Rose and Mary looked at each other. Rose knew the reason for


    Sonia''s behavior and was eased by it. After all, she always knew that life and death were destined, and


    it was almost her time since she was already at this age. So, she was never afraid nor worried about


    her death. However, seeing that someone was worried and fearful of her departure, she felt warmth in


    her heart.


    On the other hand, Mary had the same feelings as Sonia. When she saw Rose was quickly adjusted


    when facing death, she was in distress. Thinking about it, she felt that she was about to cry. Thus, she


    turned her head to the side, not looking at Rose.


    Seeing that both of them were sad, Rose sighed and patted Soniafortingly. "It''s alright, Sonny.


    Don''t be upset. I won''t talk about these anymore. I will live a long life like you said, okay?" she cooed.


    "Really?" Sonia lifted her head and looked at Rose with her red and puffy eyes. She looked like a baby


    rabbit.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    Rose couldn''t help but chuckle as she saw Sonia''s appearance. She raised her hand and wiped


    Sonia''s tears away while replying to her, "Yes."


    "Okay then. Let''s make a promise. Otherwise, I will never forgive you, and I mean it." Sonia raised her


    chest and looked at her seriously.


    "Yes. I promise you." Rose nodded.


    However, all of them knew that this wasn''t true. Even if Rose promised that she would live a long life,


    would she really be able to? Sonia knew this too. She knew that there was no way Rose would live for


    a long time when she only had two years to live. However, she had no other choice but to trick herself.


    Not only her but so was Mary, as she told herself that Rose would keep her promise. Aside from them,


    Rose was also lying. However, she was not lying to herself but to Sonia and Mary. Since they knew that


    she wouldn''t be able to live for long, she was willing to make a white lie for them to be at ease for a


    while.


    Rose handed a tissue to Sonia and said, "Alright, enough of this conversation. Don''t you worry about


    the Lore Family, Sonny. It''s for sure that Toby hates them. No matter what they do, just ignore them and


    let Tony handle it. After all, this happened because he attracted those women."


    Listening to her words, Sonia smiled and said, "Well, that is because you and Grandpa have good


    genes. Otherwise, how can other women be attracted to Toby?"


    "What a sweet talker you are, Miss Reed," said Mary while smiling.


    "Sonny is beautiful too. I can foresee that your child with Toby will look stunning." Rose smiled.


    Hearing their words, Sonia blushed and said, "It''s too soon for that." However, she was beginning to


    have expectations from Rose''s words. I wonder what our child would look like, she thought.


    Her eyes darkened as she thought about it, and there was sadness in her.


    This conversation made her remember the child she used to have. She used to be pregnant with


    Toby''s child, but it was gone for various reasons. However, she would never forget about that unborn


    child.


    Just as she was thinking about it, there was a knock on Rose''s door. "Grandma." Toby''s voice sounded


    from the other side of the door.


    "Oh my, it''s Young Master Toby. He is here to get Miss Reed to bed." Mary looked at the door and


    smiled.


    Sonia blushed as she heard Mary''s teasing words. Her face was red from embarrassment, and she


    looked alluring.


    Looking at Sonia''s blushing face, Rose smiled happily, "Now, now, Mary. Let''s stop teasing Sonny. With


    her red face, she might run away from embarrassment."


    "I''m not blushing. Stop saying nonsense, Grandma," said Sonia while covering her face.


    Her reaction made Mary and Roseugh heartily.


    After a moment, Rose looked at Mary and said, "Go and open the door for Toby, Mary. Let him take his


    wife back. Otherwise, he would say that I''m keeping him away from her. Since it''s gettingte, I will not


    say anything more. You guys should rest too."


    "Okay. I''ll be going, then." Mary looked at Sonia teasingly before walking toward the door.


    "Grandma..." Sonia whined and stomped her feet.


    "Alright, alright, I''m done joking with you." Rose waved her hands at Sonia.


    "Hmph!" Sonia huffed and turned away from her.


    Seeing that she was red in her ears, Rose smiled as she shook her head.


    Soon, Mary led Toby into the room. When Toby entered, his eyesnded on Sonia. Seeing that Sonia


    was still red in the face, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes darkened, and he gulped secretly.


    Does she know she looks alluring right now? Under the lights, she looks like a bombshell. What


    happened in Grandma''s bedroom? Why is she so red in the face?

 Chapter 1160

    Chapter 1160


    It was hard to ignore Toby when he was staring at Sonia without averting his gaze.


    "Look, Old Mrs. Fuller¡ªYoung Master Toby only had his eyes on Miss Reed as soon as he entered the


    room. He didn''t even look at us. It looks like we are not eye-catching to him," said Mary teasingly.


    "Yes, but that''s normal. One would have guessed who he would look at as one is his wife, who is young


    and beautiful, while we, on the other hand, are two old people." Rose held the teacup while smiling as


    she looked at the perfect match in front of her.


    As Sonia listened to their words, her face was beginning to turn red again. She couldn''t help but cover


    her face as she lowered her head.


    Looking at Sonia''s red ears and the elderly who were teasing her, Toby guessed why she was blushing


    so hard when he came in. He assumed that Rose and Mary must have been teasing her before he


    entered the room. If only I hade sooner, then I would have known what they teased her about, he


    thought pitifully.


    "That''s enough now. Grandma and Mary. If you guys continue any longer, Sonia is going to be upset,"


    Toby said as he looked at them while putting his arm around Sonia.


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    As the elderly watched Toby''s reaction, they smiled while shaking their heads.


    "Okay, I won''t say it anymore. Hurry up and take your wife back. I''m going to rest soon," urged Rose as


    she waved them off, seemingly to get them to leave quickly.


    Toby had the same idea in his mind as well. He held Sonia''s hand and said, "Okay. We''ll not be


    disturbing you then. We''ll be leaving."


    "Hurry up and go." Rose waved them off once again.


    Seeing her action, Toby chuckled and led Sonia out of the room.


    As they both walked on the corridor, the cold wind blew over, soothing the burning heat on Sonia''s


    face. At this moment, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.


    Gosh, I never knew that Grandma and Madam Mary liked to tease and joke about me. Moreover, it


    wasn''t some typical jokes that they teased me with, but those dirty jokes. I couldn''t even reply to them


    and was embarrassed too. If it was Toby, I would not be embarrassed like just now and would give him


    some remarks. However, it was Grandma and Madam Mary who were telling these jokes. They are my


    elders, and I can''t be calm and talk to them about such things. All I could do was just endure it. Oh,


    how I wished that I could escape from the ce. Luckily, Toby arrived and took me away before I was


    about to lose my mind.


    As she was deep in thought, Toby asked, "What did they say to you just now? You were blushing red


    when I walked into the room."


    Hearing his words, Sonia stopped in her tracks and looked at him bitterly.


    This darn man. Is he doing it on purpose? I was just about to forget what Grandma and Madam Mary


    told me, yet he''s asking about it now. How am I supposed to forget their remarks now?she thought.


    Seeing that she was staring at him silently, Toby blinked his eyes in confusion as if he didn''t know what


    he had done wrong. "What''s wrong?" he asked.


    Hearing his words, Sonia huffed and retrieved her gaze. "It''s nothing. I''m not going to tell you," she


    said.


    Judging from his shamelessness, she felt that if he had known that Rose and Mary were talking about


    their children, he would surely invite her for a steamy, hot night. She was not overreacting as he would


    absolutely do this kind of thing.


    "Are you sure you can''t tell me?" Toby pursed his lips.


    Sonia huffed and said, "Yes."


    Then, she quickened her pace as if she was afraid that he would grab her and asked again if she were


    any slower.


    Seeing that she was walking rapidly, Toby sighed dismally as he stood on the spot.


    It looks like she is not going to tell me. Fine, I guess I have to ask Grandma tomorrow. Grandma and


    Mary will surely tell me about it, he thought.


    As he thought about it, he smiled and chased after Sonia. However, right at this moment, Sonia


    suddenly stopped and turned around. As Toby was chasing behind her, he didn''t expect her to stop and


    turn around, so Sonia bumped into his embrace.


    At that moment, Toby was startled, but then his smile widened. He took his hands out of his pocket and


    hugged her. If this was what she intended, then he''d be happy to oblige.


    "Do you love me that much? Is that why you are so needy for my hug?" Toby said in a deep and


    seductive voice as he looked at her, who was dumbfounded.


    At this moment, Sonia regained her senses and looked at him awkwardly. "I''m not needy for your hug.


    This is an ident, okay?" She tried to push him away.


    However, Toby hugged her tightly, not giving her the chance to push him away. "It''s okay. We''ll just


    think of it as an ident. I will not say that you identally hugged me because you can''t stand being


    apart from me."


    As Toby spoke, his face was serious. If Sonia didn''t know him any better, she would have thought that


    what he said was true.


    "What are you talking about, Toby? You are making it worse. Are you saying that I intended to lunge


    into your embrace?" Sonia red at him and tried to push him away.


    However, Toby would not let her get away that easily as this was the first time she had ''taken the


    initiative'' to hug him. He wouldn''t let her go until he was satisfied.


    With that thought, he hugged her even tighter and didn''t budge. "Okay. I know you didn''t do it on


    purpose. I''m the one who can''t stand being away from you; I was the one who hugged you. Are you


    satisfied with this answer?" He lowered his eyes and looked at her affectionately.


    Hearing his words, Sonia was mad. Is he implying that I did it on purpose? However, I didn''t want to


    admit it, so he let me off the hook and said it was him. This man...


    The more she thought about it, the angrier she was. Her face was red from anger, and she was


    breathing heavily.


    However, Toby could feel her chest rising up and down when she breathed because she was in his


    arms.


    Although it was winter and they were wearing heavy clothes, he could still feel the softness of her


    bosom.


    Toby''s eyes darkened when he noticed it, and his gaze went toward her chest.


    It seems like she has gotten bigger here, he thought.


    Toby was sure he wasn''t mistaken and could confirm that her chest had gotten bigger after having an


    intimate rtionship with him. That meant that this was his credit!


    Initially, Sonia didn''t know where he was looking. However, as his gaze got darker and hotter, she


    couldn''t ignore his stare any longer. Thus, she followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at her


    chest. At that moment, her mind went nk, and she was a blushing mess.


    This man...


    Sonia was angry and embarrassed at the same time. She hugged her chest and shouted, "Where are


    you looking at, Toby Fuller?"

 Chapter 1161

    Chapter 1161


    "I didn''t see anything!" Toby replied through slightly parted thin lips, but his eyes didn''t move away from


    the woman''s softness.


    Sonia immediately felt her temper re at his reply.


    Shameless prick! Why are you not moving your eyes away from me, then?!


    Not only are you not looking away, you are tantly staring at me! And it will probably be fine if you are


    looking, but you are lying through your teeth with your eyes wide open! What are you if you are not


    shameless?!


    "Toby Fuller!" Her voice became louder as she yelled the man''s name.


    Hearing that, he only blinked and asked, "What is the matter?"


    The corner of her mouth twitched. What is the matter? Is this dirty dog really asking her that?!


    "Get your eyes away from me, and stop looking as you please!" she yelled, her face flushed.


    A hint of humor shed across his eyes at that. "I am not looking as I please, though."


    "Are you really saying that?! If that is so, where are you looking at now?" Her arms wrapped tighter


    across her chest.


    He smiled and retorted, "You are my woman. It is normal for me to look at you, so I am not really


    looking ''as I please'', am I? I can only look ''as I please'' if I was looking at some other women.


    Understood?"


    Sonia was so angry she was at a loss for words, and she only found her voice again after a long


    minute. "Toby Fuller, you and yourme arguments and perverted logic! That is just nonsense!"


    "It can''t be helped." He chuckled in a low voice. "It is my wife''s fault for being attractive. I couldn''t help


    but steal another nce. Surely you won''t me me for it? You are the one who has tickled my fancy


    after all!"


    He kept gazing at her with his deep eyes.


    As Sonia listened to the coquettish wordsing out of the innocent-looking man, she felt her eyelids


    twitch. "Don''t give me that. You are saying it is my fault even though you are the one who is looking at


    me with those perverted eyes. Are you going to say that I seduced you?"


    "Nope." Toby shook his head. "It is because you are overwhelmingly charming. That is why I couldn''t


    help but look at you."


    "You could have just looked at my face then! Why did you look... there?!" Her face was so flushed it


    looked as though blood could seep through her skin any second now.


    Toby''s arms only tightened around her waist as hemented without hesitation, "I couldn''t help it.


    Also, don''t you think you have gotten bigger there?"


    "You¡ª" Her pupils dted and a surprised look appeared on her face.


    He actually noticed as well!


    Sonia was quite pleased when she realized that she had grown a little bit there.


    However, she wasn''t so happy as to let him notice it as well.


    Sonia knew that she wouldn''t be the one who was happy as once Toby realized it, he would be the one


    who was delighted instead.


    Seeing her turn quiet as she flushed red, he seemed to have understood her thoughts as the smile in


    his eyes almost overflowed. "You must have noticed it as well. Well, it is your body after all. You should


    be the first one to be aware of it. But, my Little Leaf, haven''t you thought about why you got bigger


    there?"


    She shrank back warily. "What are you trying to do? I am telling you, Toby, no matter what the reason is


    for them to grow, it has nothing to do with you, so let me go. I am going back."


    She began to struggle against his hold as she spoke.


    However, she couldn''t possibly get out of his iron grip.


    Not only did she not free herself from him after what seemed like an eternity of squirming, she had


    ended up tiring herself out.


    "We are not returning to the Bayside Residence tonight. Let''s just stay here in the old manor," he


    informed her while still keeping his arms around her.


    His words made her stop. "What? We are not going home?"


    "Mhm." He nodded. "Grandma already had Madam Mary prepare a room for us before we came here.


    It would disappoint Grandma if we didn''t stay and left instead. She is hoping we will stay and have


    breakfast with her tomorrow."


    "Why didn''t I know about this?" Sonia asked, confused.


    "Grandma decided it is too small an issue to tell you. She wanted to have someone bring us over when


    it is time to rest. Also, it iste. She wouldn''t feel at ease about letting us go on the road. Little Leaf,


    you won''t let Grandma down, will you?" Toby looked at Sonia with narrowed eyes.


    Pressing her red lips together, she finally let out a huff. "I am doing this for Grandma, okay? I wouldn''t


    even bother listening if you were the one who wanted to stay."


    "I knew just how filial you are, Little Leaf. It just so happens that the room is ready. Let''s go over there. I


    will take the chance to tell you why you have gotten bigger ''here'' as well."


    After Toby said that, he didn''t even wait for Sonia to respond before he bent his knees and picked her


    up like a bride, thereafter walking forward to the bedroom that was just ahead.


    She only came to her senses after he took a few steps. Eyes wide, she gasped, "Toby! What are you


    doing?! Let me down!"


    "No can do. How can I let you go so easily after I have finally picked you up?" He held her with firm


    arms and continued to walk forward with steady steps. Neither his stance nor steps were affected


    because of her struggle.


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    Obviously, for him, she couldn''t faze him no matter how hard she squirmed against him. He could still


    hold her firmly in his arms.


    As for Sonia, she would have felt the safest in Toby''s embrace like this if it wasn''t because he was


    bringing her to do the deed with him.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t feel any sense of security at this exact moment¡ªshe was only filled with


    panic.


    "Toby Fuller, I am warning you. You had better stop. I¡ª"


    She hadn''t even finished her sentence when she felt her back hit a soft surface.


    Subconsciously, Sonia turned her head, only to see that the man had carried her into the bedroom


    when she was in the midst of struggling and she had now been ced on the soft, big bed.


    All this had happened so quickly she didn''t even notice a thing.


    It was only now that she had realized how close the bedroom was to the corridor they were in


    previously.


    When Toby saw her freeze suddenly, he leaned over to hover over her and gently yed with her hair,


    his voice gruff and sensual. "What is on your mind?" he purred.


    She swiftly snapped back to reality, where she happened to stare right into the man''s zoomed in,


    handsome face.


    As her body tensed up, Sonia instinctively tried to sink into the bed.


    However, there already was a velvety quilt behind her that stopped her from shrinking back. She only


    continued to stay in his arms.


    "I-It is nothing. Quickly get up, Toby. I definitely won''t do ''that'' with you tonight!" She ced her palms


    on his chest and gave him a light push.


    Hearing that, he lowered his gaze and looked back at her. "Why not? I haven''t ''mingled'' with you¡ª"


    "Stop!" She immediately covered his mouth. "Who told you I want to mingle with you? And I don''t want


    to know how I got bigger there. Anyway, get up! We are at the old manor. Grandma will know if we do


    something like that here! It will be so embarrassing!"


    Even though Toby didn''t seem all that ashamed about it, Sonia definitely was worried that Rose would


    make fun of her for it.


    "What is there to be embarrassed about?" he nonchntly asked as he slid his arms around her waist.


    Not only did he not get up, he no longer half-supported his weight, and had pressed his torso against


    hers.


    Needless to say, Toby putting all his weight on Sonia had added so much pressure on her that she


    almost couldn''t catch a breath.


    "Toby, you¡ª"


    "Little Leaf, why don''t you guess the reason Grandma only gave us a room for the both of us instead of


    one room each?" He cut her off while she was about toin by asking her the question with a half-


    smile.


    His words caught her off-guard as Sonia came to the realization that Rose indeed didn''t get them two


    rooms.


    It wasn''t like Toby and Sonia hadn''t stayed overnight at the old manor before.


    And even back then, they seemed to have stayed in one bedroom together as well.


    The only difference between then and now was that they didn''t have anything going on between them


    last time, which was also why Sonia didn''t think there was any problem with the arrangement.


    Is this the seque of me getting used to sleeping with him? she quietlymented.


    Sonia was so used to it to the point where everyone, herself included, thought it wasn''t a problem for


    them to stay in the same room even though they hadn''t remarried each other.


    Not only that, it seemed like it was only natural for them to do what they did in the bedroom.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1162

    Chapter 1162


    When Toby saw the glint in Sonia''s eyes as she stayed quiet, he lightly nibbled her ear. "It seems like


    you have finally understood, baby."


    She grumpily turned her head sideways. "So what? Even if Grandma and the rest of them don''t mind


    us doing... that here, I won''t agree to it no matter what."


    "And why is that?" He looked at her with a frown.


    Her red lips were tightly pressed together before she replied, "This isn''t my territory, after all. I am still


    going to feel embarrassed about it."


    So that is why. Toby chuckled. "How is this not your territory? You are the future wife of the Fuller


    Family''s head of household, and the old manor''s next mistress. This is definitely your territory. And


    since it is your territory, what could you possibly be worried about? Are you saying that other married


    couples don''t do the nasty if they live with the rest of their family?"


    "This sounds like a straw man facy to me," she remarked, the corners of her mouth twitched.


    "Not at all." He solemnly shook his head. "I am just stating the facts."


    Sonia scoffed in response. "Aren''t you saying all this just because you want to do it?"


    "So, baby..." Toby chuckled without giving a straightforward answer. "Are we doing it?"


    "No¡ª"


    Sonia had just uttered one word when her lips were lightly pecked by the man.


    As her eyes went wide, Toby caressed her face and teased, "I am sure Grandma wants us to be lovey-


    dovey by arranging for us to stay in the same room. She will be disappointed if we don''t do anything."


    His words earned him an eye roll. "Enough, Toby. Don''t try to use Grandma as your token of authority.


    Even if she did make us stay in the same room, she wouldn''t concern herself about what we do in the


    room, and she definitely wouldn''t be disappointed. After all, why would she be disappointed about


    something like this? You are just bringing Grandma into the conversation so that Ipromise."


    There was no way Sonia didn''t know the kind of person Toby was.


    Despite his thoughts being exposed, he refused to give up as he let out anotherugh. "Fine, I did


    intentionally bring up Grandma. She wishes for us to be sweet to one another, and she wouldn''t ask


    even if we didn''t do anything. However, there is one thing I know for sure."


    "What is it?" Sonia blinked curiously.


    His gaze suddenly became deeper as he looked at her. "That is, if we really don''t do anything,


    Grandma will surely doubt if I can get the deed done when tomorrowes. So tell me, Little Leaf¡ªdo


    you want people to doubt your man''s abilities?"


    She first froze at his answer, and she swiftly giggled. "You think too much. Grandma wouldn''t possibly


    ¡ª"


    Toby cut her off before she finished her words again. "Of course Grandma would, which is why we


    shouldn''t give her the chance to make fun of your man by proving that I can do it well, hmm?"


    After he threw that out, he pulled the quilt over their bodies.


    Sonia only saw her vision turn ck before she stopped seeing anything. Subconsciously, she pushed


    the man on her. "Toby Fuller, you¡ªmmph!"


    However, he had already made up his mind to shake the sheets with her, so how could he give her the


    chance to continue whining for him to let go of her?


    The moment Sonia opened her mouth, Toby took the chance to steal a kiss, and swallowed all the


    words that were about to leave her lips.


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    Indeed, he had no intention of letting her off easy tonight.


    He wouldn''t let her go no matter what she did.


    Toby had decided from the moment he entered Rose''s bedroom and saw Sonia''s alluring face that he


    was going to gobble her all up tonight.


    After all, her being so deliciously coquettish was a rare sight for him. He didn''t even know when was


    the next time he could see her behaving this way again.


    They proceeded to spend the night getting tangled up with each other.


    Sonia was reluctant at first. She couldn''t ignore the pressure of doing something like this with Toby at


    the old manor.


    However, heryers of defense were gradually lowered after he slowly approached her. She was finally


    under him by the end of it. It felt as though she was so lost in the pleasure the man brought her she


    couldn''t get out of it anymore.


    It went on until the second half of the night when she couldn''t even seem to recall where she was. All


    that Sonia had in her head was Toby and the sensations he made her feel.


    She had to admit that he had good skills.


    In fact, it was so good she could do nothing but enjoy it. She didn''t even have the energy or sense to


    care about anything else.


    It was a long, long night.


    Sonia had passed out and woke up more times than she could remember.


    The only thing that she knew was that the man was still not done whenever she woke up.


    Even though she had begged him to let her go, he would always reassure her in that gentle voice of his


    that it was going to be thest round.


    But then...


    "You liar!" She could no longer hold on this time. With herst ounce of strength left, she squeezed


    those two words out before shepletely lost consciousness.


    Toby only raised his eyebrows as his eyes showed a contented smile.


    He admitted that he was a liar.


    Because if he didn''t lie, he wouldn''t have gotten to enjoy all the benefits that he had from lying.


    So yes, he was proud to be a liar in this case.


    Looking at the sleeping woman, he took pity on her while he pressed a kiss on her sweat-drenched


    forehead. "Sleep tight," he breathed. "This really is thest time."


    With that, he sunk his body onto hers again...


    At 8.00AM the next day, Mary helped Rose out of the room and into the dining hall to enjoy the day''s


    breakfast.


    By the time Rose took her seat, the dining table was already filled with a variety of food. It almost


    seemed enough for them to open a small breakfast shop.


    After Rose took the chamomile tea Mary brought for her and took a sip, she let out a contented smile


    while looking at the table of breakfast. "Not bad. Zara''s cooking skills have improved yet again."


    "Indeed. She is from the south, and she is good at making southern-style breakfast. But now she is


    also good at making pastries from the north." Mary then continued, "We have so many types of food


    prepared. Miss Reed will be happy when she sees thister. I am sure she will also be moved that you


    specially asked the kitchen to prepare these for her. Old Mrs. Fuller."


    "Sonny and Toby have been divorced for half a year. She and I seldom eat together as well. On top of


    that, her temperament has changed a lot, so I guess her taste has also changed. Since I don''t know


    what kind of breakfast she likes, I went ahead and asked the chef to make a portion of the most famous


    breakfast in the north and south. We won''t have to worry then. Sonny can eat whatever she wants,"


    Rose said with a smile.


    Seeing her smile made Mary let out a smile of her own as well. "Right, but this seems a tad too much.


    What are we going to do if we can''t finish it all?"


    "We will just eat as much as we can, and wrap up the clean leftovers for the strays out on the streets.


    We are not being wasteful that way." Rose proceeded to put down her tea cup. She had had everything


    nned out.


    "Sounds good." Mary nodded in agreement.


    As the elderly women chatted, their conversation only revolved around how they prepared the


    breakfast for Sonia. They hadn''t mentioned Toby from the beginning until the end.


    In other words, Toby, much to his pleasant surprise, had been forgotten by his own grandmother again.


    At this point, she might not even have tried to prepare something Toby liked even if she hadn''t forgotten


    about him.


    To Rose, Toby was but a punk who could get by just eating whatever. There was no need for her to


    specially prepare anything for him.


    She couldn''t possibly pamper him!


    "Oh, it is almost 9.00AM, but Young Master Toby and Miss Reed are still in their room." After cing


    the teapot back on the table, Mary nced at the time before looking at Rose to ask, "Old Mrs. Fuller,


    should I get them toe down for breakfast?"


    Rose swiftly grabbed her hand as a knowing smile lingered on her face. "There''s no need for that. They


    probably are still asleep. The youngsters are always so vigorous. I am sure they are tired. We will let


    them sleep longer."

 Chapter 1163

    Chapter 1163


    These words sessfully made Mary halt andugh. "Yes, yes. This poor memory of mine! I forgot that


    the young couple stayed togetherst night. They must have been too tired for them to note down


    after so long."


    "Which is why we should let them sleep," Rose replied while releasing her grip on Mary.


    Still, Mary sighed regretfully. "You were quite happy yesterday about having breakfast with the young


    master and Miss Reed today, but..."


    "It is no big deal." Rose waved nonchntly. "Even though they aren''t joining me for breakfast, they


    can have lunch with me instead. If we went ording to the initial n, they would leave right after we


    have breakfast together. At least they can stay with me until noon now. I am still the one who is gaining


    from this."


    Mary covered her mouth and let out a chuckle. "You sure are a deviser, Old Mrs. Fuller."


    "Right?" Rose proudly lifted her chin.


    Mary finally felt more relieved when she saw how happy Rose was instead of feeling down because


    Toby and Sonia hadn''t joined her for breakfast.


    "Enough with that. Let''s not concern ourselves with anything else. Come, Mary. Sit down, and we shall


    start with breakfast." Rose patted the seat beside her.


    Mary responded with a hum as she unhesitantly sat on the chair that Rose indicated her to sit on.


    Rose and Mary had surpassed the mistress-servant rtionship a long time ago. They were now best


    friends, or even family.


    That was why they often had meals together.


    Mary naturally wouldn''t reject Rose''s offer after thetter had invited her to sit down and have


    breakfast.


    As the elderly women happily chatted while they enjoyed their breakfast, Toby and Sonia, on the other


    hand, were still lying in bed, sound asleep in each other''s arms.


    Sonia was so worn out fromst night that she didn''t wake up despite thete hour.


    As for Toby, he was still asleep now because he slepttest night.


    They didn''t seem like they would wake up before the afternoon.


    After breakfast, Mary helped Rose as they took a stroll in the garden to help with their digestion.


    It was already 9.30AM now.


    Mary seemed to think about something before she turned to Rose and suggested, "Old Mrs. Fuller,


    should I get the chef to cook some rejuvenating soup for Young Master Toby?"


    "Oh?" Hearing that, Rose raised her eyebrows quizzically.


    Mary then continued, "Think about it. They must have had a wild night for them to still be asleep now.


    Although it is normal for young people to not hold themselves back, I am afraid it will be hard on their


    body if this goes on, so I was thinking of making some healthy soup for the young master."


    "Makes sense." Rose nodded. "Toby is 30 years old now. He is not that young anymore. It is about time


    he takes healthier food. Sonny will be the one who suffers if he doesn''t."


    The corners of Mary''s lips twitched at that.


    How is Miss Reed the one who is going to suffer? she mused.


    Isn''t it going to be harder on Young Master Fuller?


    Having a physical ''disability'' was a fatal blow to any man.


    It was something that could make men feel inferior and depressed.


    Of course, Mary might think that, but she didn''t say it out loud and only nodded. "Then let''s have the


    chef cook some soup suitable for men for the young master, and another healthy soup for Miss Reed.


    Since the children don''t know how to control themselves, we, the elderly, should do something for


    them."


    "That is true. As long as they are in good health, it won''t be long before they give me grandkids!" Rose


    giggled.


    Mary also happily agreed with her words, but she soon let out a regretful sigh when she thought of


    something. "It was unfortunate that Miss Reed had a miscarriage. Otherwise, that child would have


    been born in about three or four months."


    Hearing this. Rose alsomented as the smile on her face faded slightly. "So is life. Toby hadn''t gotten


    out of the hypnosis then, and he didn''t know that the person he really loved was Sonny. Sonny was


    also so disappointed in him that she no longer loved him. Even though she identally conceived,


    there was no way she would want to keep that child in that situation."


    Rose didn''t know that the child Sonia was pregnant with was aborted because Sonia had been


    poisoned by Carl.


    The elderly woman really thought that Sonia had aborted the baby at her own discretion.


    Even though she never once med Sonia for it and even understood why Sonia did it, Rose still


    couldn''t help thinking it was a pity.


    If the child had been born, Rose might actually be able to see the fourth generation of the Fuller Family


    before she herself passed on.


    She could have described to her husband about the child''s appearance when she arrived in the


    afterworld.


    But just like she said, so was life.


    It was a pity that an olddy like her might be fated to never see what she wanted to see.


    "It is all that damn Tina Gray''s fault. Young Master Toby and Miss Reed wouldn''t have to go through all


    those hardships if it wasn''t for her. They might even have several children by now," Mary spat angrily.


    Hearing that, Rose lightly patted Mary on the back of her hands and forced a smile. "Alright, alright.


    Let''s not talk about this. Tell the chef to cook soup for the two of them so that they can have some right


    after they wake up."


    "Aye, I am going to inform the chef now." Mary nodded. "Please sit here for a moment, Old Mrs. Fuller. I


    will be back in a jiffy."


    Rose proceeded to wave her away and teased, "Go on. This is my own house. Don''t tell me you don''t


    feel safe about letting me sit by myself in my house."


    "How can I not worry? I am just..."


    Worried that your body has been getting weaker with age. What if you fall down after I leave?


    Mary parted her lips, but she didn''t say the words she was going to tell Rose.


    It was too heart-wrenching for her.


    However, Rose and Mary had been each other''spanion for decades now. They could easily tell


    what each other was thinking with just a look.


    Even if Mary didn''t finish her sentence. Rose still figured out what she had in mind. Quietly sighing, she


    reassured Mary, "Okay, okay. Off you go."


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    Mary looked at her with a worried gaze for a moment, but she finally nodded and left.


    She walked away with wide strides, and it didn''t take long before her walk turned into a jog.


    Not knowing how to feel about the sight, Rose muttered softly, "Oh, Mary..."


    "Old Mrs. Fuller." Just as she was chuckling to herself, another servant approached her.


    Rose then turned toward the servant when she heard the servant call out to her. "What''s the matter?"


    she asked.


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, Madam White is here." The servant was standing outside the gazebo in the garden


    reporting to Rose, in which Rose immediately pulled a frown. "What is she doing here?"


    "Madam White didn''t borate on that." The servant shook her head. "But she said that she came for


    you, Old Mrs. Fuller. She seems to have something to talk to you about."


    Rose pouted in disdain. "Got it. Let here here."


    "Yes, ma''am." The servant then turned around and left.


    Rose''s mood instantly turned right then.


    She had lived a long life where there were a lot of people she disliked, and somehow Jean was the


    only one that she hated to the point of not wanting to speak to her.


    Of course, her ''hatred'' wasn''t the conventional kind of hatred. It was more like Rose had a distaste for


    Jean.


    After all, Jean was her inw no matter what. Furthermore, Jean wasn''t a third-party that got in


    between Rose''s son and her previous daughter-inw in the real sense.


    In other words, Rose didn''t hate Jean. She merely found it disdainful how thetter was a vulgar,


    idiotic, and snobbish woman.


    It wasn''t as though Rose didn''t try to teach Jean to be a true noble and wealthydy back when


    Jean had just entered the Fuller household.


    Somehow, Rose, who had led a smooth-sailing life, first had a taste of failure when she tried to deal


    with Jean.


    It was all Jean''s fault for being someone who was better kept hidden than shown to the public.


    Not only that, she was also a blockhead who waspletely impossible to teach.


    Rose could swear that she had hired more than 10 teachers in order to train and change Jean so that


    she would leave her vulgarity and bad habits behind.


    For some reason, none of those teachers could teach Jean into bing a proper human being. It


    was astoundingly perplexing to Rose how someone as bone-headed as Jean existed.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1164

    Chapter 1164


    It Download the book on the App


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    It was probably because Rose saw clearly how Jean was impossible to teach as time went by that she


    eventually gave up on the idea of disciplining and teaching Jean well into behaving like a real wealthy


    lady.


    Rose would be able to put up with anything else as long as Jean didn''t cause trouble and make the


    Fuller Family a joke.


    However, even this small wish of hers couldn''t be fulfilled.


    A person with a personality like Jean''s was destined to never stay put peacefully.


    Sure enough, Rose would asionally hear all kinds of news about how Jean was making trouble or a


    joke out of herself outside, or how she was spending a lot of money on nonsense, and so on.


    All in all, Rose''s health had probably deteriorated because of the constant headache she had from


    Jean''s antics in the past 10 years.


    It was also because of this that her dislike for Jean continued to grow.


    Rose couldn''t understand how a species as rare as Jean existed on the surface of earth.


    And it was exactly this woman who had caught the fancy of Rose''s son.


    Right when Rose was still deep in her thoughts, she heard a burst of hurried footsteps before Jean''s


    voice came from behind, sounding as if she was trying to butter up Rose. "Good morning, Mother."


    Rose''s face was dark when she turned around. She was suddenly extremely upset when she saw how


    chubby Jean was.


    "You seemed to have put on a lot of weight," shemented as her eyes scrutinized Jean.


    Indeed, Jean did put on a lot of weight.


    Thest time Rose and Jean met was about two months ago.


    Even though Jean had always been on the heavier side, at least she could stillpletely open her


    eyes then. This time, however, the most she could do was bring her eyes to half their size.


    Rose could see how ridiculously chubbier Jean was in just a matter of two months.


    Putting her weight aside, what the heck is up with her outfit?! Rose grumbled to herself.


    Jean was chubby from head to toe, and yet she was wearing tight-fitting clothes that put heryers of


    fat on full disy. It was as if she was afraid that people couldn''t see how meaty she was.


    Again, putting the form-fitting clothes aside, what in the world is that horrendous colorbination she


    has on?!


    Jean had a total of at least six or seven colors from head to toe, and she paired her outfit with a mink


    coat.


    It was a wonder how she could wear something so painful to look at in the public.


    Oblivious to the disdain andints Rose had about her, Jean let out a bashful smile when she


    heard Rosement about how she had gotten plumper. "It is... just a minor weight gain."


    "Minor?!" Rose was stunned by her shamelessness. "Look at the meat on your face. It jiggles when you


    speak. I fear I won''t be able to even see your eyes if you keep putting on weight!"


    "Surely you are exaggerating, Mother?" Jean lowered her head to look at herself.


    She admitted that she has indeed gained weight recently, but she won''t get that fat!


    Anyway, Jean had faith that she wouldn''t put on that much weight.


    "Fine, if you say so. I can''t tell you what to do anyway. Do as you please. Just don''t whine about how


    you regret your life choices in the end when you have high blood sugar, or high lipids or high blood


    pressure. And don''t go looking for Toby. Don''t think I don''t know how he has been urging you to lose


    weight and go for check-ups regrly with the medical team and weight loss team he arranged for you.


    You, on the other hand, are going against his words behind his back. You actually dismissed everyone


    after he moved out of the Fuller Residence since he can''t keep an eye on you!" Rose huffed coldly.


    Upon hearing that, Jean lowered her head out of guilt. "I... I didn''t want to do that either. After all, Toby


    did that because he is filial. But Mother, if only you knew that kind of weight loss n those demons


    customized for me! They really do try their absolute best to keep any food that has taste out of my


    meals! My energy was depleted after I ate that for three days. Also, the medical team kept making me


    do yoga every day, so much so that my bones were almost bent! That was why I¡ª"


    "Enough." Rose impatiently waved to cut her off. "You always have a reason. It is your body after all.


    Why should an olddy like me who is going to die anytime now care if you don''t even care about your


    own body? I would rather you tell me about what is up with your outfit today. Is this what your fashion


    coordinator put together for you?"


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    Rose was curious to see who it was that was so irresponsible to coordinate such an uglybination


    of clothes together.


    She was going to have that person fired straight away after she knew who it was.


    Jean would be nothing but a joke to the public if people were to see her clothes.


    Rose even had suspicions that the fashion coordinator was a spy for someone else.


    In a way, this daughter-inw of hers was the target of envy of many women within the circle. After all,


    Jean, who married into the Fuller Family with that background of hers and had a filial stepson, was


    considered a winner in life.


    Therefore, Rose had always known that there were many younger women within the circle who


    harassed Jean both openly and behind her back throughout all these years.


    Jean''s existence caused an emotional imbnce within these juniors, as they thought that even


    daughters of wealthy families like that couldn''tpete with a vulgar, poor woman.


    That was why it was possible that it was those juniors who had arranged the fashion coordinator for


    Jean to deliberately make the woman wear ugly clothes so that she would be the butt of the joke.


    Jean touched the mink vest on her shoulders, but she didn''t seem to understand what Rose meant.


    Thinking that Rose wasplimenting her outfit today, she giggled cheerfully. "This wasn''t done by a


    fashion coordinator. I did this myself. It is pretty nice, don''t you think so, Mother?"


    Rose was about to faint from the blood that rushed to her head. "You did this yourself?" she repeated.


    "Mhm!" Jean still hadn''t noticed the severity of the issue as she straightened her chubby body, a proud


    expression appearing on her face.


    Rose could only hear the buzzing in her ears at this point.


    Fine, she sighed. I unfairly judged those juniors with my own wicked eyes.


    They are much kinder than I imagined them to be. They didn''t nt a spy this time.


    Jean is probably the one who is a spy of the Fuller Family.


    Seeing how Rose suddenly fell silent and brought a hand up to hold her forehead in difort, Jean


    quickly stepped forward and panickedly asked, "Mother? What''s wrong?"


    Even though Jean didn''t like her mother-inw very much, Rose had never treated her ill, and would


    always leave her be. Despite not liking her, Jean was still willing to care about Rose.


    "Don''te over!" As though she had seen a ghost, Rose quickly stretched out a hand to stop her


    when she saw Jean walk toward her.


    Jean subconsciously stopped in her tracks upon hearing that. "What is the matter?"


    "Your outfit. It is hard on the eyes. You are a little too close, so step back. My eyes hurt." Rose


    disdainfully waved her off.


    Jean then dropped her head to look at her clothes before her expression turned gloomy.


    My outfit looks great, though. Why would it be hard on the eyes?


    Even though she was unhappy, she still obediently took a few steps back.


    They were in the old manor now. She wouldn''t be able to prove herself innocent if something were to


    happen to Rose.


    Rose finally heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Jean obediently back off. She then frowned and


    asked in a solemn voice, "Who said you can match this outfit yourself? It is fine if you wear it, but you


    are wearing it outside of home! Are you not satisfied yet with how much of a joke you have made out of


    the Fuller name?"


    Jean immediately got upset after hearing those words. "What is wrong with my outfit, Mother? What is


    so funny about this? I look amazing! Also, I am Mrs. Fuller, after all. Who would dare joke about me?"


    "Who would dare joke about you, you say?" Rose sneered. "Let me tell you¡ªthere are way too many


    who haveughed at you. They only don''t do it in your face because of your status. They talk about


    everything behind your back. As for your outfit, how is that ''amazing''?! It is so ugly it will break the


    ugliness meter if there was one. And what are you thinking by coordinating your outfit yourself when


    you have a fashion coordinator?"

 Chapter 1165

    Chapter 1165


    Rose''s hand was shaking as she pointed at Jean angrily.


    Jean, on the other hand, was still indignant about Rose''sment.


    She thought her outfit today looked absolutely ravishing.


    However, much to her disappointment, Rose actually thought that it was an outfit so much of an


    eyesore it was bad enough to embarrass the Fuller name.


    Just like that, her pride and confidence were shattered in that instant.


    Rose could already guess what Jean was thinking when she fell quiet.


    Massaging her temples to soothe her headache, Rose muttered, "Alright, enough of this. I don''t care


    what you think about this outfit. After you go back, you had better change out of this outfit immediately.


    You are not allowed to wear it ever again, let alone match your outfit by yourself. Don''t bite off more


    than you can chew if you don''t have the skills. How shameless of you! Jean, I am saying it now, but if I


    find out that you secretly match your own clothes and make a fool out of yourself in public, don''t me


    me for giving you corporal punishment the Fuller way. Do you hear me?!"


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Corporal punishment?


    Jean opened her eyes in disbelief.


    She could only open her eyes halfway at first, and it was probably because of the fright she had upon


    hearing Rose''s words that her eyes actually opened all the way.


    However, it was precisely because they were fully opened that the fat on her face tensed up, making it


    look as though her facial features had shifted. Pairing her face with her outfit, she was the epitome of


    an eyesore.


    Seeing this, Rose looked away in disgust. "Jean White, did you hear what I said?"


    "I-I heard you," Jean stammered as her body trembled.


    She knew that Rose was not the kind of person who liked to joke around.


    Even though Jean hadn''t personally experienced the corporal punishment, she had seen how Homer


    had been caned in order to marry her. She had also seen how Toby was caned because of Sonia.


    Having the skin split open was the lightest injury they had.


    She could even lose her life if she wasn''t strong enough to put up with it.


    With her life on the line, Jean could only listen to Rose as she wasn''t brave enough to go against her.


    Rose''s expression only returned to normal when Jean listened to her. "That is good. Also, go back to


    Fuller Residence right away after you leave. You are not allowed to wander around. If you dare let


    anyone see your outfit, just you wait and see what happens."


    "I wouldn''t dare do that!" Jean immediately blurted out while shaking her head.


    "Hmph. That is that, then. Now what is the reason you came here for me? You don''t usuallye for


    months. It must be something important for you toe now, huh?"


    Upon hearing that, Jean let out an embarrassed giggle before she walked toward Rose and sat down in


    front of her. "Mother, the thing is, the Lore Family called right after I woke up this morning."


    "What did you say?" Rose frowned as she came to a pause in the midst of drinking her tea. "The


    Logans?"


    Failing to notice how Rose''s expression gradually became cold, Jean swiftly answered, "Yup. Amelia


    Lestrange from the Lore Family."


    Amelia Lestrange was Lte''s mother''s full name.


    Rose scoffed when she heard those words. "Did Mrs. Lore call you to have you plead for Toby''s mercy


    on their behalf?"


    Jean immediately spotted a surprised look on her face. "How did you know that, Mother?"


    "How can I not know?" Rose heavily ced the teacup on the stone table, the solemnity making Jean


    shudder.


    Staring at Jean with a deep gaze, Rose continued, "The Inte was abuzz with the news the day


    before yesterday. The daughter of the Lore Family deliberately created a scandal about Sonny to make


    Toby misunderstand Sonny and break up with her so that she herself had the chance to get together


    with Toby. Even though Toby and Sonny resolved this issue quickly, the impact is still there. Based on


    Toby''s feelings for Sonny, there is no way he could tolerate anyone who treated her this way. As


    expected, he immediately chose to break ties with the Lore Family, but the Lore Family have always


    depended on our family and Toby to survive. I am sure even someone as dumb as you can guess what


    would happen to the Lore Family if Toby parted ways with them. Of course they would try their best to


    recover their rtionship with Toby. Since they can''t get through to Toby, they want to start with the


    people around instead. I was the first person they came to."


    "What?!" Jean eximed in shock. "I wasn''t the first one they contacted? I am the second one?"


    "No, you are not even the second one," Rose threw out.


    Jean''s face quickly froze. "Huh? I am not even the second one?"


    Seeing Rose nonchntly raise her chin, Jean had a feeling of impending doom as she blinked her


    pea-sized eyes. "Mother, who is the second person, then?"


    It can''t be that woman, can it?"


    Gulping, she unwillingly made a guess.


    Rose looked at her with a half smile. "Don''t you already know the answer? Why are you asking me


    that?"


    "It is Sonia Reed, isn''t it?!" Jean sucked in a cold mouthful of air.


    "Mm," Rose replied. "That is right. Sonny was the second person."


    With that, Jean was so enraged her chubby cheeks almost turned green.


    Oh, I am so, so mad!


    The Lore Family actually contacted Sonia Reed?!


    I have nothing to say if they looked for Mother. After all, she is Toby''s grandmother. She is the one with


    the highest authority in the Fuller Family.


    It makes sense for them to contact Mother.


    But why Sonia Reed of all people?!


    It was fine that the Lore Family contacted Sonia, but they actually contacted Sonia right under Jean''s


    nose! That could only mean one thing¡ªto the Lore Family, Jean, the legal wife of one of the Fullers'',


    wasn''t even on the same level as the woman who wasn''t even officially a part of the family.


    The Lore Family was tantly humiliating Jean!


    Rose, on the other hand, was in a great mood when she saw how Jean''s face had twisted from anger.


    "What is wrong? You''re mad?"


    Jean had her fists clenched when she spat, "Of course I am mad! The Lore Family have gone


    overboard. They think I am below Sonia Reed!"


    "You are indeed less important to Toby than Sonny is to him. Didn''t you already know that?" As Rose


    kept rubbing salt on Jean''s wound, the younger woman stomped angrily and cried, "Mother!"


    "Gosh, stop calling me that. You scurrying here means that you have promised the Lore Family to beg


    for Toby''s mercy, no?" Rose nced at her with cold eyes.


    Seeing Rose''s gaze immediately made Jean lower her head as shame washed over her. "Um..."


    "Since they can make you agree to make this trip with a single phone call, it must mean that the Lore


    Family are very important to you. If you treat them with such importance, you shouldn''t get angry about


    how they treat you. After all, you did ask for it," Rose mocked.


    Jean looked as though she was ufortable with Rose''s words. "The Lore Family is important to me


    because they are the family of Toby''s teacher. I wouldn''t have agreed otherwise. I just never thought


    that they would treat me this way despite how much I respect them. They didn''t even contact me first


    before contacting Sonia. I am not even as important as an outsider like Sonia is to them."


    Jean wouldn''t have agreed in the first ce if she had known that the Lore Family would behave this


    way.


    As Rose looked at Jean blowing her top, the former didn''t sympathize with her, and even thought that


    Jean deserved it. "You reap what you sow. The Lore Family had only taken your enthusiasm to help


    them all this while for granted. Do you see the consequences of your actions now?"


    When Jean didn''t utter a reply, Rose huffed again. "Also, Sonny isn''t an outsider. She is the future wife


    of the head of the household. She is higher than you in terms of status and identity. This is a fact that


    you can''t deny. And another thing¡ªI advise you not to try anything with Sonny again. You have to know


    that you and your son''s survival will be dependent on Toby and Sonny. You should be trying to get on


    Sonny''s good side instead if you want a good life. Treat her well, and she will let go of what you did to


    her for the sake of your care for Toby in the past. She will also take good care of you. But if you keep


    trying to butt heads with her, I assure you that you won''t be living that cozy a life for the remaining time


    you have. You could also get your son in trouble. Do you understand me?"

 Chapter 1166

    Chapter 1166


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    The one person Jean cared about most was her youngest son.


    The moment she heard that Sonia might treat her son badly in the future, Jean immediately became


    anxious as she pped the table and barked, "How dare she?! I am Toby''s mother. She will be


    criticized behind her back if she dares try anything with me or Tyler!"


    Rose looked at her with a sneer. "You are not Toby''s birth mother. You are only the stepmother. You did


    take care of him and love him as a mother should, but you have never shown Sonny you cared about


    her. Why would she treat you well like you are her mother? Imagine yourself in her shoes. Would you


    get along with your mother-inw if she made your life a living hell for six years?"


    "Of course I won''t¡ª"


    As Jean suddenly came to realization halfway through her words, she suddenly became speechless as


    she flushed red out of embarrassment.


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    She even felt the burning pain on her cheeks.


    Seeing her reaction brought a glint of joy to Rose''s eyes before the older woman added, "See? If you


    can''t forgive someone who has been bullying you, what gives you the right to hope for her forgiveness?


    I won''t look into how you treated her in the past. She probably doesn''t want to bring that up again since


    you treat Toby well, so you can rx and forget about that. Toby and Sonny will definitely take care of


    you even when you are old as long as you stay out of trouble and don''t interfere in their affairs. Tyler


    can also livefortably for the rest of his life being supported by his brother and sister-inw.


    However, if you still stay so blind to everything and keep trying to go against Sonny, I am afraid you


    having regrets is thest thing you should be concerned about.


    "Mother." Jean lowered her head. "Will Sonia really do as you say and won''t make my life hard?"


    "Sonny isn''t narrow-minded like you are," Rose mocked. "Don''t worry. I will make it clear to her.


    Anyway, as long as you stay put, live your life honestly, act like a person your position should and


    correct your attitude, Sonny won''t hold any grudges toward you. She will only treat you like a stranger.


    It is not like you and her can truly live harmoniously like a family with the history between the two of


    you. The best rtionship for you both would be to stay strangers; you will neither be too close or


    distant.


    This is also myst piece of advice for you as your mother-inw. Don''t me me for not reminding


    you in the future if you don''t listen."


    Jean didn''t reply after hearing that.


    Even though she was a bit dull-witted, she wasn''t really an idiot.


    Even she knew that she could neverpare to Sonia in terms of importance to Toby.


    Toby had also once mentioned that he would choose Sonia if something were to happen between


    Sonia and Jean.


    That alone was enough proof that Jean couldn''t even begin topete with Sonia.


    Moreover, Tyler had no talent for business. Only a small part of Homer''s property went to Tyler after


    Homer''s death, whereas most of it belonged to Toby.


    After all, that portion was already intended for Toby before Jean got married to Homer. She couldn''t ask


    for more on Tyler''s behalf even if she wanted to.


    In other words, Tyler did have to rely on Toby to live.


    It just so happened that Toby only cared about Sonia. She would definitely say a thing or two to Toby if


    Jean were to continue picking on her.


    As fellow women, Jean knew how powerful rumors could be for men.


    She couldn''t help but worry that Sonia would utter nonsense to Toby and chase Tyler out of the Fuller


    Residence.


    With how much Toby adored Sonia, it wouldn''te as a surprise that he would do exactly that.


    Jean couldn''t even begin to imagine how terrible Tyler''s life would be if he were kicked out of the


    house.


    Simply put, Jean had to swallow her pride, and not have any opinion or be biased against Sonia.


    Because if Jean didn''t do as she was supposed to, she and Tyler were doomed to live a miserable life


    ahead.


    Jean''s eyes gradually turned red as she thought about this. Despite how reluctant and upset this was


    making her, she had no choice but to surrender to fate.


    "I understand, Mother. I won''t pick on Sonia anymore." She squeezed her fists, and after doing that a


    few times, she finally unclenched her hands. "Toby did say that they will move out of the Fuller


    Residence and live elsewhere. That is probably for the best. It is not like I want to see her. The sight of


    her hovering around will only piss me off."


    Rose could tell that Jean was putting up a tough front by uttering those words because she refused to


    admit defeat to Sonia. As such, she believed that Jean deserved to suffer this way because she


    wanted to hang on to her pride.


    However, Rose could understand Jean''s feelings at this moment.


    After all, she was forced to ept someone she didn''t like.


    But in order to maintain her dignity, she had no choice but to scavenge for whatever pride she could


    find elsewhere.


    Still, Rose was going to turn a blind eye as long as Jean listened to her, and did as she was told.


    "Alright. Now that you know you can''t do anything to Sonny anymore, you have to do what you


    promised. I don''t want you to obediently say yes now, just to go back on your wordter. Sonny is no


    longer the girl who wouldn''t make a peep despite being harassed by you. I dare say that she will p


    you in return immediately after you bully her. She wouldn''t care that you are Toby''s mother. She


    wouldn''t care as long as it is not her mother. And don''t think that Toby will me her for doing that.


    Sonny has a clear head now. She can break up with Toby the moment he treats her badly."


    Hearing that made Jean open her eyes wide in shock. "Really?! She... would actually leave Toby?"


    "Do I look like I am joking?" Rose gave her a contemptuous look. "I don''t have the time to joke around


    with you. Everything I am saying is the truth. Anyhow, whatever happens to Toby and Sonny in the


    future is their own responsibility. Don''t stick your nose into their business. You are not allowed to


    intervene, let alone appear in front of them for no reason. Take this issue with the Lore Family for


    example. You shouldn''t have agreed to help them when it is between the children and the Lore Family.


    What are you doing,ing all the way here to interfere? Aren''t you worried Sonny is going to pick a


    bone with you for helping the Lore Family beg for mercy?"


    After all, Jean choosing to do this was equivalent to her picking to stand on the Lore Family''s side.


    It would be weirder if Sonia was happy about it.


    Jean shrank back. "I only did it because Mr. Lore was Toby''s teacher. And considering how close the


    two families are, surely there is no overnight grudge. And¡ª"


    "And they happened to give you a present that you liked, which was why you were so eager to say yes


    to them?" Rose suggested, seemingly having seen through her.


    Jean''s jaw immediately fell to the floor as she gaped at Rose in shock. "How did you know that,


    Mother?"


    "I knew it." Rose''s expression dimmed before she snorted coldly. "How could I not know the kind of


    person you are? You don''t do things that don''t benefit you. You wouldn''t have agreed so easily if the


    Lore Family only gave a call to ask for your help, so they have definitely given you a present. In


    addition, the Lore Family didn''t give Sonny and I any presents when they came to us. They would be


    really stupid if they still hadn''t learned their lesson after we kicked them out. That is why they would


    definitely give you a gift when they contacted you. See how you are here after you got their present?


    But you are somewhat smart foring here to get me to persuade Toby instead of you going directly


    to him. Otherwise, I can guarantee that he will be very disappointed in you."


    Jean let out a giggle then. "It is because the Lore Family told me that Toby was angry at them when


    they called me. And since he was angry, I knew it wouldn''t work if I went to him. And that was why I


    came to you, Mother. He can get angry at his stepmother, but he definitely will not get angry at you."


    "You can be clever at times, huh?" Rosemented while looking at her.

 Chapter 1167

    Chapter 1167


    Jean''s meaty face had pride written all over it as she boasted, "It has been so many years, after all. It is


    only expected that I learn things such as watching others'' every mood and emotion."


    "Not bad. Keep it up." Rose finally stopped showing disdain for a second there.


    Jean, on the other hand, immediately let out a touched expression when she heard Rose''s words of


    approval.


    "Mother, this is the first time in so many years that you haveplimented me!"


    She was so overwhelmed she could shed tears right this instant.


    As Rose looked at the woman, the tiny bit of satisfaction that arose disappeared in a puff of smoke, and


    she quickly resumed feeling disgusted by Jean. "How was I supposed topliment you after you did


    all those stupid things in the past? Enough, now. Stop crying. You look horrible. You already looked bad


    to begin with, and now you are only making it worse."


    Hearing that, Jean sniffled a few times and immediately stopped her sobs.


    It was only then that Rose continued, "Do you know why Toby is so angry at the Lore Family this time?


    He kept quiet even though he has always known how much the Lore Family have gained and caused


    trouble in his name because Mr. Lore was his teacher. Take a guess why he haspletely lost his


    temper and cut ties with the Lore Family because of a single rumor."


    "Isn''t he trying to even the score on Sonia''s behalf?" Jean grumbled, her lips pursed.


    Rose nodded at that. "That is only one of the reasons. The main reason Toby is so angry with the Lore


    Family is because they bullied his lover, and they wanted to ruin his rtionship with Sonny. They have


    crossed his limits. After all, Sonny was the treasure that Toby had to pursue with great difficulty. Now


    that the Lore Family want to take his treasure away from him again, it is to be expected that he would


    get angry and decide to cut off his rtionship with the Lore Family. And you, as Toby''s stepmother, are


    supposed to be on Toby and Sonny''s side. But you chose to speak on behalf of the Lore Family. What


    do you think Toby will do to you if he finds out about this?"


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    Rose''s cold gaze then drifted over, only to see how pale Jean had suddenly gotten.


    What will Toby do to me? Jean mused.


    I don''t know!


    After all, she hadn''t thought about it.


    However, there was a small voice inside her that told her that whatever Toby was going to do, it wasn''t


    going to be something good.


    As she pondered over it, she was suddenly riddled with panic, and she quickly grabbed Rose''s sleeve


    to beg for mercy. "Mother, I understand now. I didn''t think things would get so bad. I was just... just...


    Mother, please, don''t tell Toby about this. I beg of you.


    I am dead if you tell him..."


    Jean started crying again as she spoke.


    However, it was tears of fear that came out this time.


    The only simrity was how ugly she looked still.


    Seeing this, Rose couldn''t help but shift her gaze away again. "Alright, stop crying. When did I say I will


    tell Toby?"


    Jean''s sadness swiftly turned into joy when she heard those words. "You won''t tell Toby, will you,


    Mother? Haha! Thank you, Mother! You are the best. I... I am so happy."


    Rose felt utterly exhausted looking at Jean''s ugly mug crying andughing at the same time. "I choose


    to not tell Toby because you are nice to him, but know that I won''t forgive you if you try anything with


    him in the future even if you are the woman Homer loved."


    "Thank you, Mother." When Jean heard Homer''s name, the expression on her face finally returned to


    normal, and she gave her thanks more sincerely.


    Rose waved her hand. "No more next time. Don''t promise people you would do things for them just


    because they reward you with a little something. You are lucky you were thoughtful enough this time to


    not go to Toby directly, and came to me instead. You would be doomed otherwise. Also, don''t interfere,


    especially when ites to Toby and Sonny''s business. There are things you can''t stick your nose


    into. Your interference might make things worse, and make the children hate you. Do you understand


    me?"


    Jean nodded like a chick pecking at grains of rice when she heard that. "Understood. I really, really


    won''t bother myself with anything from now on no matter what. I will close myself off and live my life. I


    won''t ask anyone about anything too much."


    "Now that is better. Alright, then. You can go if there is nothing else. This olddy needs to rest," Rose


    chased her off while she tiredly massaged her temples.


    "Okay, Mother." Jean stood up. "I will be leaving now. I will go back and teach Amelia Lestrange a


    lesson for almost getting me in trouble."


    After saying that, she stormed out of the gazebo, looking like she was going to fight someone.


    Seeing this, Rose could only resignedly shake her head and let Jean do as she willed. The elderly


    woman had no intention of stopping Jean.


    It was obvious that Rose was supportive of Jean''s wanting to rush over to the Lore Family'' to pick a


    bone with them.


    The Lore Family were truly disgusting people. She should probably let someone as wicked as Jean go


    teach them a lesson so that they knew that the Fuller Family was their master who was merely


    protecting the Lore Family. The Fullers did not, by any means, be the Lore Family'' ves just


    because they had their backs long enough.


    Rose lowered her cold, fatigued eyes to look at the teacup in her hands.


    On the other hand, Jean had scurried all the way to the entrance of the old manor.


    She was still walking when she bumped into two people holding each other''s hands while walking in


    her direction.


    Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the duo.


    Toby and Sonia?


    As Jean subconsciously stopped in her tracks, she stared at the couple with a shocked gaze.


    They were still some distance away from her as they happily chatted while holding hands. They hadn''t


    noticed Jean at this point.


    With their beautiful looks, the couple looked like a match made in heaven, appearance-wise.


    Even if Jean didn''t like Sonia, she had to admit that thetter and Toby looked perfect standing


    together at this exact moment.


    However, this wasn''t as important as the reason they were here at the old manor.


    As she was still deep in her thoughts, the couple had already reached her from the opposite side.


    Toby was the first one to notice Jean standing there. His eyes had a hint of surprise when he saw her.


    He knew that Jean avoideding to the old manor like it was the gue because of how much she


    feared Rose.


    That was why he didn''t think he would see Jean at the old manor now.


    His odd reaction didn''t go unnoticed by the woman beside him.


    "What''s the matter?" Sonia asked before following his gaze.


    The smile on her face gradually disappeared when she saw Jean standing not too far away. Even


    Sonia''s great mood this morning seemed to have gone down the drain now.


    It wasn''t like she could help it. Anyone would be in a bad mood if they saw someone they didn''t want to


    see so early in the morning.


    Naturally, Toby noticed Sonia''s reaction.


    He proceeded to gently tuck her hair behind her ear as he reassured her in a soft voice, "Don''t be


    scared. I''m here. I won''t let anyone wrong you."


    His words made her smile. "Alrighty. I will be leaving it to you, then. If I feel upset in any way, you will


    be sleeping in the living room the whole of next month."


    Toby''s eyes immediately narrowed.


    Sleep in the living room?


    I can''t let that happen!


    To him, being told to sleep in the living room was way worse than the worst punishments in the history


    of mankind.


    In order to not sleep in the living room, he had to make sure he protected Sonia so well that no harm


    befell her.


    Thinking of this, Toby took Sonia''s hand and walked to Jean before he automatically stood in front of


    Sonia,pletely blocking her behind him.


    He knew that Jean didn''t like Sonia. Even though Jean wouldn''t dare do anything to Sonia with him


    here, Toby couldn''t guarantee that Jean wouldn''t roll her eyes or express her dislike for Sonia in some


    other way.


    Just rolling her eyes was a form of bullying as well.


    And so, even though Sonia might not allow herself to be harassed, Toby still covered her behind him so


    that Jean wouldn''t have the chance to bully Sonia even in the slightest.


    It was his responsibility as a man to protect her. He couldn''t not do anything just because she had the


    means to protect herself.


    Because if he stayed idle, could he even still call himself a man?


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1168

    Chapter 1168


    Jean felt her jealousy and rage bubble up when she saw Toby shielding Sonia behind him in such an


    overprotective way.


    She was jealous about the fact that even she, Toby''s own mother, had never been protected like this by


    him.


    And she was angry about the way Toby reacted. Jean hadn''t even done anything to Sonia and yet,


    Toby already was acting as though Jean was going toy her hands on Sonia.


    His distrust for his own mother truly hurt Jean.


    As she thought about this, her gaze on Toby suddenly turned resentful.


    Toby didn''t know what Jean was upset about, and he had a small frown when he asked, "Why did you


    come to the old manor, Mom? When did you get here?"


    "I have only gotten here a while ago," she grumbled. "I came to see your Grandma. I am leaving now."


    "Grandma?" He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.


    It wasn''t as though he didn''t know the kind of person Jean was. Even though she wasn''t unfilial, she


    definitely didn''t like Rose all that much.


    After all, Rose didn''t like Jean a lot either.


    Because of that, Jean wouldn''t usually drop by to pay Rose a visit if she didn''t need to. Why would she


    voluntarilye anyway if she was going to get nitpicked whenever she came here?


    It was obvious that Jean was now here for Rose because of something.


    However, Toby didn''t pry into it since Jean wasn''t bringing it up herself.


    "Alright. Be safe on the road." Holding Sonia''s hand, Toby guided Sonia aside to make way for Jean.


    Jean only hummed in reply before she lowered her head and walked past the couple.


    Right from the start, Jean hadn''t spared Sonia even one nce¡ªit was as though she thought Sonia


    wouldn''t notice.


    Indeed, she did this intentionally.


    Jean might have promised Rose that she wouldn''t go against Sonia anymore and she wouldn''t treat


    her badly, but Jean didn''t say that she would pretend like she was fine with Sonia when they met.


    No matter what, Toby''s stepmother was still his mother and elder.


    As long as she didn''t go against Sonia or give her an attitude, Jean simply ignoring Sonia couldn''t


    count as her trying to pick a fight with the younger woman.


    It wasn''t like they could point out Jean''s mistake and tell her that she was wrong.


    After all, the women had never gotten along in the first ce. Them ignoring each other was probably


    the best way they could coexist without getting into fights.


    Furthermore, Sonia would be the one who was narrow-minded and petty if she was mad at Jean for


    ignoring her.


    The only person they could me then was Sonia.


    That''s right. Sonia is the one to me.


    The more Jean thought about it, the straighter her gait became.


    Even Sonia could tell how haughty Jean was at this moment even without looking at her face and just


    seeing her from behind.


    She just didn''t know what Jean was feeling so proud about.


    However, Sonia wasn''t interested to know about that. Instead, she was more curious about Jean''s


    earlier attitude.


    She looked away before continuing ahead with Toby. "Did you see your stepmother''s reaction earlier?"


    she asked as she walked.


    "Sure did." He nodded truthfully with a hint of surprise in his eyes.


    "I thought that she wouldin about me when she saw me. After all, she has always wanted to


    argue with me over something whenever we met in the past. I thought that it would be the same this


    time as well. But instead of doing that, she pretended not to see me and just left," shemented with


    her arm hooked around his.


    He nodded in agreement at her words. "It was pretty surprising."


    Toby was aware of how much his stepmother hated the sight of Sonia, and he also knew that the two


    would quarrel every time they met.


    Of course, Jean was always the one who started the arguments, and Sonia was merely defending


    herself. However, them having fights was an undeniable truth.


    He had protected Sonia behind him because he, too, expected Jean to react the same way this time.


    He wanted to get the women out of each other''s sight to prevent them from starting something again.


    To the couple''s surprise, not only did Jean not have the slightest intention to quarrel, she had left right


    after having a brief conversation with him.


    Her sudden change was truly surprising even to Toby.


    "This might be better. I never wanted to argue with her and make things awkward by being between


    you and her. It is great that she is finally realizing this." Sonia smiled.


    However, Toby still had his lips pursed as he protested, "But she still intentionally ignored you. That


    was rude."


    "It is nothing." She shrugged. "I could kill to have her ignore me like she did. Because other than that,


    she would always bare her fangs and re at me, or chew my head off for some reason. Compared to


    that, I would rather have her treat me like I am thin air. It is not like I want to talk to her anyway."


    As Sonia spoke, she suddenly lifted her chin and peered at him tentatively. "Do you think that I am


    mean to you mother?"


    The man patted her on the head and smiled helplessly. "Of course not. I have never thought about


    wanting you and her to get along well. Some people are born to never be on good terms with one


    another. This is actually great. It is better to ignore and stay out of each other''s way than kicking up a


    fuss every time you meet."


    "Now that''s better." Sonia shifted her gaze away and let out a smile again. "I am quitting as your


    girlfriend if you think I am wrong for doing this."


    The man looked at her tenderly and murmured, "Did you forget what I said? Between you and her, I will


    unhesitantly choose you. Why would I think it is bad for you to think this way?"


    Hearing that, Sonia tightened her hold around his arm before slightly tilting her head to the right to rest


    it on his shoulder. She conveyed to him through bodynguage that she was happy to hear his words.


    Toby looked at how affectionately clingy she was being, and he couldn''t help the overflowing


    tenderness that appeared in his eyes.


    Rose and Mary were sitting in the gazebo when they saw the couple walking toward them from afar.


    The moment Mary saw them, she pointed at the couple andmented, "Look, Old Mrs. Fuller. Young


    Master Toby and Miss Reed''s rtionship has been getting better. They are even sticking to each other


    when they walk."


    "Indeed." Rose''s face was full of smiles as well. "Just look at how lovey-dovey Sonny is toward Toby.


    He is so happy I feel embarrassed looking at him."


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    "Young Master Toby is beaming." Mary giggled with her hand over her mouth.


    Rose then gently flicked the bubbles floating on the surface of her tea with the teacup''s lid and took a


    sip of tea. She seemed rather impatient as she mused, "It seems like it won''t be long before we hear


    good news from them."


    "If Young Master Toby and Miss Reed are going to keep sticking to each other like that, they surely will


    have a child before long." Mary nodded in agreement.


    "Mary." Rose put down her teacup. "Tell the servants to bring the food and soups here. Now that the


    children are awake, we should quickly feed them so they don''t starve."


    "Alright, I''ll be back soon." Mary left the gazebo after replying to her instruction.


    She had just walked out of the building when she came across Toby and Sonia.


    Sonia quickly came to a stop before she smilingly greeted Mary. "Good morning, Madam Mary."


    Toby, too, gave a small nod in acknowledgement.


    Mary had a half smile on her face when she greeted them in return. "Good morning, Young Master


    Toby and Miss Reed. Please head into the gazebo where Old Mrs. Fuller is resting in. I am on my way


    to have your breakfast brought out. You must be tired after that tiring night you both spent together."


    After saying that, Mary walked past them with a teasing smile on her face, leaving behind a flushed


    Sonia and a thick-skinned Toby who had his eyebrows slightly raised.


    Sonia was no fool, so of course she immediately knew what Mary meant.


    A tiring night, she said.


    The only reason she would say that was clearly because she knew what the couple did togetherst


    night.


    Even though Sonia had mentally prepared herself for Rose and Mary''s teasing after she woke up this


    morning, she didn''t think Mary woulde to her at full force the moment they met. She might have


    prepared herself, but this was enough to make her so embarrassed and awkward she didn''t want to


    see anyone else.


    As her embarrassment took over her, she couldn''t help releasing her hold on Toby''s arm and lowering


    her head. With her face covered in both palms, her red ears were proof of how mortified she was now.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1169

    Chapter 1169


    S Download the book on the App


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    When he saw her behaving in such a way, he couldn''t help but ask, "What happened?"


    Sonia immediately pursed her lips, which were covered, when she heard that.


    What happened?


    How dare this jerk ask what happened!


    After receiving no response from her, he reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist, attempting to


    move her hand away from her face. "Why are you covering your face? It''s difficult to breathe that way.


    Put down your hands and stop covering yourself."


    Sonia, on the other hand, refused.


    Her hands remained covering her face as she struggled to keep Toby''s hand from removing them.


    However, her strength could not bepared to his.


    Hence, he could easily take her hands away, revealing her face, which was as red as if blood was


    about to spill out the next second.


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby blinked when he saw that. He felt like he was looking at a freshly washed apple with water


    droplets on it, making him drool.


    It was a pity that they were in an inappropriate location, where Rose, who was sitting in a pavilion not


    far behind, could clearly see what was going on here.


    Otherwise, he would certainly hold her face and kiss her passionately.


    After all, such an opportunity was rare.


    A tinge of regret shed through Toby''s eyes as a light sigh escaped his thin lips.


    Such a pity.


    Then he released her hands, stroked her warm cheeks, and inquired, "Why are you blushing? What


    happened?"


    Sonia red at him when she heard that. "What happened, you ask? Didn''t you hear what Mary said


    earlier?"


    Toby realized immediately why she was blushing the moment she said this. "That''s nothing. Everyone


    knows about it anyway; there is nothing to be shy about," he said with augh.


    He had initially thought that there was something serious causing Sonia to blush to this extent, but it


    turned out that it was just due to Mary''s teasing.


    Toby was even startled at first, thinking she was sick.


    "Of course, there''s nothing to be shy about for you; you''ve always had a thick skin. However, I don''t!"


    She sneered and red at him.


    To that, he simply caressed her head and responded, "Okay, you''re right. I have thick skin. But what


    happened happened, and you have to face it. You can''t be shy all the time. What if Grandma teases


    youter as well? Are you going to be shy and blush once more?"


    Sonia pursed her lips and said nothing in response, but she knew what Toby said was true.


    But still, she was certain that would be the caseter.


    Regardless of who teased her about it, she would be embarrassed.


    If Rose teased her over the same thingter, Sonia would still act the same way.


    But even if that would be the case, she knew she had to face it.


    She couldn''t possibly leave without greeting Rose simply for the sake of avoiding the awkwardness.


    That would be really rude.


    With this in her mind, Sonia took a deep, long breath to calm herself down before taking Toby''s hand


    and forcing a smile at him. "Let us not think about it. I have to see Grandma, whether she teases me or


    not, so there''s no point in worrying about it now. Let''s go see her right now."


    Following her words, Sonia tugged Toby along and led him to the pavilion.


    Her stiff back figure, rigid steps, and forced, stiff smile all revealed that Sonia wasn''t willing to see


    Rose. Instead, the former appeared to be under a threat from someone.


    Toby was amused by her demeanor. Seeing her behaving in this manner, he teasingly tickled her palm.


    That itched her. At this instant, all her mind was so focused on what he did that she couldn''t think about


    how to deal with Rose''s teasingter.


    "What are you doing?" A dissatisfied Sonia stiffened her fingers and looked at him.


    When he noticed she wasn''t nervous anymore and her eyes filled with her dissatisfaction and


    comints for him, he couldn''t help but find her amusing.


    Such an ungrateful girl. I''m doing this for you!


    Toby purposefully tickled Sonia to divert her attention in order to relieve her nervousness, and to stop


    her from imagining something serious was set to happenter.


    But she responded in such an unappreciative manner, ring at him fiercely without even a second''s


    hesitation.


    Well, what could he do? He was the one who spoiled her.


    He could only suffer by himself now.


    Despite his pitiful feelings, Toby''s eyes were filled with pampering and loving tenderness. Smilingly, he


    shook his head and murmured, "I''m sorry. That was unintentional. Perhaps you could tickle me back?"


    Sonia merely snorted at that. "I''m not that petty to seek revenge."


    She then turned around and continued leading him inside with his hand in hers.


    Soon, both of them walked into the pavilion.


    Sonia heaved a deep breath, braced herself, and greeted Rose. "Grandma."


    Instead of looking at Rose when she greeted the older woman, Sonia lowered her gaze.


    She was afraid of seeing an expression like Mary''s that she had seen earlier outside the pavilion.


    That would be extremely awkward for Sonia.


    Rose, on the other hand, couldn''t stop smiling when she saw Toby and Sonia still holding hands even


    though they were standing in front of her. "Finally, you both are here. What were you talking about


    outside earlier that you took so long toe in?"


    Hearing that Rose did not tease Toby and her, Sonia was relieved.


    Then, Toby pulled Sonia to sit right in front of his grandmother. "Nothing much. We were just whispering


    sweet nothings to each other. Don''t get into it, Grandma."


    "Fine. Since it''s between you two, I won''t ask anymore," Rose responded straightforwardly.


    Her gaze was then drawn to Sonia''s face, which was still slightly red. When Rose saw that, she broke


    out in a profound smile.


    Just as she was about to say something, Toby clenched his fist and casually let out a light cough.


    Rose looked at him as he raised his gaze.


    They then both looked each other in the eye, as ifmunicating through their gazes.


    A few secondster, the elderly was the first to retract her gaze. She then turned to Sonia and smiled


    subtly.


    Since her grandson had openly reminded her, she decided not to make fun of Sonia.


    Otherwise, if Sonia was so embarrassed that she fled after being teased, it would be all Rose''s fault.


    "By the way, Grandma, I saw Mom leaving the old manor on my way here with Little Leaf." Toby


    abruptly changed the subject of the conversation and brought up Jean.


    That stunned Rose for a moment. "You bumped into Jean?"


    "Yes." Toby raised his head, stood up and took the teapot to pour some tea for Sonia and himself.


    He then handed to Sonia one of the cups he''d poured the tea into and continued, "Why did shee


    look for you here?"


    Instead of answering his question, Rose countered, "Didn''t you ask her?"


    Sonia, who was sitting by the side, was relieved of her nervousness when she saw Toby and Rose


    talking about Jean. As she rxed her tense body, the redness on her face faded. She then took the


    cup of tea that Toby served her and began to sip it quietly while listening to the conversation between


    the grandmother and grandson.


    They were discussing Jean, and Sonia was not interested in getting involved.


    "I asked, but she didn''t say anything. She left after saying hi to me," Toby casually replied.


    Rose nodded at that. "It''s nothing, actually. What other reason could she have for looking for an old


    woman like me? She simply wants me to persuade Tyler to devote more time to his studies after


    returning to the country and less time to basketball. I patronized her and sent her away."


    Since Rose had promised Jean to keep her reason foring from Toby, the elderly woman would


    abide by her promise.


    After all, Jean treated Toby genuinely. Rose did not want to see them drifting apart just because of the


    Logan Family. It wasn''t worth it.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1170

    Chapter 1170


    "Is that so?" Toby studied Rose''s expression intensely for a while. He had a feeling that she wasn''t


    telling him the whole story, and was hiding the truth from him.


    However, he wouldn''t force her to speak if she wasn''t feeling about it, as long as his stepmother wasn''t


    coming over to the old manor for a matter regarding him and Sonia.


    "By the way, Sonny." Recalling something all of a sudden, Rose turned her head and looked at Sonia.


    Sonia, who was enjoying the tea, immediately raised her head and asked, "What is it, Grandma?"


    Her heart began to hammer inside her chest.


    No way! Please tell me that I''m imagining things. I thought I''m safe! Should I watch out for the iing


    tease?


    As Sonia waited anxiously for Rose''s words, the elderly woman continued, "I suppose you and Toby


    have seen Jean on her way out of the manor. Did she create any difficulty for you?"


    Listening to Rose asking such a question instead of what she had in her mind, Sonia let out a sigh and


    smiled in relief. "Don''t worry, Grandma. She did nothing. Besides, Toby even stood in front of me to


    protect me in case she would cause trouble. However, she didn''t try anything this time. Instead, she


    ignored me and talked to him for a moment before she left hastily."


    "I see. That''s good." Rose nodded as she was relieved to hear such an answer.


    It seems like my idiotic daughter-inw finally listened to my advice this time.


    Patting Toby''s shoulder, Sonia added, "Maybe she decided to back off after she saw his bravery to


    defend me."


    Rose cast her a relieved smile. "He''s your significant other, so he has the responsibility and obligation


    to keep you safe. If he can''t even protect you, he has no right to be with you. Even if you''re reluctant to


    break up with him, I''ll force you, or else he''ll be a burden to you."


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    Toby sighed as the tingling pain in his temples aggravated. "Grandma, I''m your grandson, after all. Am I


    really that ipetent in your eyes?"


    "It''s just an example." She cast him an expressionless look.


    He sighed in defeat and no longer protested.


    Sonia seldom saw Toby in such a discouraging situation, and it caused her to giggle out at his


    embarrassment. Even though she covered her mouth, her muffledughter could still be heard.


    Seeing her experiencing a joyful moment, Toby''s expression softened and he showed a hint of


    happiness as he indulged her at the moment.


    The interaction between the young ones didn''t go unnoticed by Rose.


    She was pleased and was rest assured after seeing them having a close rtionship.


    For now, she could finally stop worrying about the matter of their rtionship.


    She held a firm belief that even after she passed away in the future, these young ones would always


    remain by each other''s side.


    "Madam." At that moment, Mary returned with the servants behind her, who were carrying various


    foods on the trays.


    Rose snapped out of her thoughts and waved them over. "Come here."


    Mary nodded before she ordered the servants to go into the pavilion and ced the dishes on the


    stone table.


    There was plenty of food on the table, and the smell was already making the onlookers drool.


    Sonia was already craving food at the moment, so the various foods managed to trigger a reaction in


    her when she saw them, as almost everyone could hear her stomach growling.


    Embarrassed by the honest reaction of her body, she immediately covered her belly as her cheeks


    flushed, and she attempted to apologize. "I¡ª"


    Rose chuckled. "You must be hungry. They''re just in time to serve us food. Go on. Don''t starve


    yourself."


    "She''s right, Miss Reed." Mary handed over the silverware to Sonia with a smile.


    Blushing, Sonia took them and whispered quietly. "Grandma, I''m sorry about you having to see me in


    such a state. I didn''t expect my stomach would suddenly make a sound."


    Rose waved away her worries happily. "There''s no need to feel bad. It''s somethingmon when


    you''re hungry. Enough with the apology and begin the meal instead. Toby, serve Sonny some food."


    "I will." Toby used the serving spoon to grab some food and put them on Sonia''s te before he spoke


    gently. "Let''s eat."


    She hummed a response and nodded before she grabbed the silverware and began her lunch.


    Toby, who was also hungry, joined her too.


    Sitting in front of them, the two elderly women watched them eat with a look full of affection. At the


    same time, they would seize the opportunity to serve the food to the couple themselves and urge them


    to eat more.


    Sonia and Toby were both uninterested and reluctant to dismiss their kind gesture. Thus, they ate


    everything the two women served on their tes.


    At one moment, Sonia suddenly recalled something. She looked at Rose and asked, "Grandma, are


    you not eating?"


    Rose only shook her head. "I had breakfast and It''s still early for me to have lunch. But you hadn''t, so


    these are specially prepared for you. I''m happy to watch you on the side."


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. You must''ve missed the fact that Madam is following a strict schedule to have


    her meals every day for the good of her body. Madam usually won''t eat unless it''s within the fixed time,"


    Mary added.


    Sonia nodded in understanding and had given up the thought of suggesting Rose join them for food,


    otherwise her consideration would eventually do more harm than good.


    And so, Sonia stopped worrying about the others as she enjoyed the brunch with Toby.


    After the meal, the servants cleared up the stone table. Following that, Sonia watched Mary pick up a


    tray from another servant''s hands.


    There were two bowls on the tray, but she couldn''t see their content from her seat. Judging from the


    steam and the aroma, she assumed it was soup.


    Sonia had the chance to see what inside the bowls were after Mary put the tray on the cleaned stone


    table. It was none other than soup, and was even a soup to nourish the body.


    She could see a drumstick in one of the bowls,bined with various herbs. As for the other bowl, she


    couldn''t tell its contents from its dark surface andck of ingredients, other than assuming it was some


    kind of herbal soup.


    However, the aroma of the soup was telling her a different answer. Thus, Sonia guessed it was a soup


    intended to nourish the body like the other one.


    However, the bowl of soup had an odd smell and it wasn''t particrly pleasant. As such, Sonia


    wondered what the ingredients were that made up the soup.


    These two bowls of soup must be for Grandma and Madam Mary. After all, they should take care of


    their health as they''re aging.


    Sonia wasn''t the only one who had the thought, as even Toby thought so. The idea of the two bowls of


    nourishing soup was made especially for him and Sonia never urred to him for once.


    The idea only popped into his mind that the soup was for them when Mary put the bowls in front of him


    and Sonia respectively.


    It wouldn''t be a problem if the soup were for both of them. However, the difference between the two


    bowls of soup was troubling Toby.


    Sonia''s serving was a chicken broth made with various ingredients. Moreover, she had a drumstick all


    to herself, which she could eat after she finished the soup. Meanwhile, Toby only had a bowl of soup,


    and he couldn''t see anything else inside. Besides, the soup was giving off an odd smell, and he


    couldn''t help but doubt whether it was edible.


    Toby''s expression sank at the discrimination.


    Staring at the bowl in front of her in surprise, Sonia took a while toe back to her senses before she


    looked at Rose and Mary for an answer. "Are these for us?"


    Rose and Mary nodded at them with kind smiles.


    "That''s right. Miss Reed. These soups are made for you and Young Master Toby." Mary borated.


    Sonia could feel a twitch on the corner of her lips. "Is that so? Thank you, Grandma and Madam Mary. I


    thought these are for you instead of us. However, we''re satiated after the meal."


    She had a full stomach and didn''t feel like she could drink the soup. Moreover, there was a drumstick


    too.


    Waving away the younger woman''s worries. Rose added in dismissal, "It''s fine. You can take it slow.


    Don''t worry about rushing it."


    Sonia grimaced at the older woman''s gesture. "Grandma, can we not drink this?"


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1171

    Chapter 1171


    Sonia didn''t think she could finish the soup.


    Toby, who was beside her, remained silent. However, he was holding the bowl in his hands as he


    watched Rose with a look simr to Sonia, quietly protesting.


    Not only had he a full stomach, he also found the soup disgusting as he studied it. Even more, it was


    giving him an impression of sewage water instead of soup.


    "I''m not taking no for an answer. You must drink them." Rose''s smile dropped from her face, and a


    serious and stern expression reced it as she watched them. "These soups are made for you. You


    can take it slow if you''re full. You don''t have to rush, but you must finish them."


    Mary nodded as she agreed with Rose, "That''s the point, Miss Reed. This is for your good. Drinking the


    soup can nourish your body."


    "I don''t doubt the benefits. However, I want to know why you made the soup for us all of a sudden?"


    Sonia asked in resignation.


    Toby nodded, eager to learn the truth as well.


    To that, Rose answered, "Both of you went overboardst night. I understand if young ones like you


    can''t keep yourselves away from each other for more than one minute, but you need to do it in


    moderation. You can''t risk your health just because you''re young. Have you ever thought about your


    older days? Elders like us are hurt to see the young ones not paying attention to their health, so we


    decided to step in. That''s why we asked the chef to make the soup to nourish your body."


    As Rose finished her words, Sonia could feel her mind go nk in a second as her cheeks flushed and


    her body heated up.


    She thought everything was water under the bridge, and both Rose and Mary would spare her the


    tease.


    The two women indeed didn''t tease them with words, and they began to worry about Sonia and Toby''s


    health instead.


    Moreover, the elderly women even made Sonia and Toby the nourishing soup and urged the duo to


    finish the soup.


    Their considerate gesture was causing a bigger impact on Sonia than a tease, as she felt embarrassed


    and shy regarding this matter.


    At that moment, Sonia grabbed the bowl in her hands as she lowered her head to hide her face. She


    sat there with a flushed face, but she couldn''t even form a reply due to the embarrassment.


    Toby raised his brows out of surprise as the corner of his thin lips twitched in disbelief.


    Before this, he cast a look at his grandmother to remind her not to mention the matter in front of Sonia,


    or else the younger woman would be embarrassed.


    To his surprise, even though Rose didn''t tease them at first, she couldn''t help but talk about it when she


    exined the purpose of the nourishing soup to them.


    Toby turned to the woman on his side, who was hiding her face from the others, and a look of


    resignation emerged on his face.


    He wasn''t the one to me in this situation as he already reminded Rose to not mention the topic.


    Never would he know that she asked the chef to prepare the nourishing soup for them.


    His serving of soup kept bothering him, so he lowered his head to study the bowl of soup with an odd


    smell in front of him. Then, he shifted his attention back to the two elderly women on the other side and


    began with a low tone, "Grandma, I understand the need to make soup for Little Leaf. After all, she''s a


    woman, and has a physically weaker body."


    As he finished his words, Sonia immediately rolled her eyes at him.


    Pretending to not notice her, Toby continued as he looked at Rose. "I''m a man, but you still made the


    soup for me. Do you think I have a weak body?"


    In short, he found the existence of the soup before him unpleasant. The nourishing soup was nothing


    more than a symbol of humiliation to him.


    I''m a man! A healthy man, alright? Why would I need this?


    To Toby, the soup implied that he was a man with a deceiving appearance in others'' eyes. It told the


    story that he was a strong and tall man by appearance but in fact was physically weak inside.


    Moreover, it was indicating that his ability to function as a man was being looked down upon.


    No matter what the intention was, Toby wasn''t pleased to have the bowl of soup to himself.


    If the soup wasn''t given to him by Rose but by somebody else, he would think that person had a death


    wish.


    "I didn''t say anything, did I?" Judging from the gloomy look on his face, Rose could tell what thoughts


    were running through his mind without even asking.


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    After all, Toby''s grandfather had asked her about the same thing back when they were younger.


    In their younger days, she made the same soup for her husband, but he didn''t appreciate the gesture


    as he thought she was implying that hecked certain abilities as a man.


    She could still remember her husband''s expression until today, and it was no differentpared to her


    grandson''s expression at the moment.


    Thus, it only took one nce for Rose to understand Toby''s displeasure. Sipping her tea in a calm


    manner, she continued, "You can nourish your body without being physically weak. You shouldn''t think


    that your health doesn''t matter and doesn''t need any nourishment just because you''re still young and


    healthy. Once you age, you''ll no doubt get weaker. I''m doing this for your good. Who else do you


    think?"


    Toby wasn''t pleased to listen to the words "weak" and he got more ufortable.


    Even though he knew Rose made the soup for him out of the purpose to strengthen his body and


    maintain its health instead of thinking he was weak, hecked the spirit to ept her gesture.


    Due to the men beingpetitive and holding their egos in this kind of matter, as long as there was a


    suggestion to nourish the body, the men would involuntarily rte them to the implication of their


    ipetence as a man.


    Even after the men learned that the other party had good intentions, they would still feel difort.


    Toby was sharing those same thoughts, just like any other man would have at the moment. Watching


    the soup in front of him, he found it especially irritating and couldn''t wait to pour it away.


    Meanwhile, as Sonia was a woman, she didn''t see someone making the soup as an implication of her


    ipetence as a woman. She was merely embarrassed by the gesture.


    Seeing the young ones in front of her not making a move to have the soup at all, Rose could feel a


    headacheing on.


    She massaged her temples to ease the pain. "What are you waiting for? Drink it, Sonny. Last night was


    too much for you, so you need to drink more to nourish your body. Remember that you''re a girl, that


    kind of thing would bring more burden to your body, so you must drink the soup for your health. There''s


    no need to be embarrassed at all. It''smon among women, and all of us have experienced the


    same feeling. In my younger days, my mother-inw also made me soup. I didn''t even feel


    embarrassed as a woman from the previous era, so there''s no point in feeling shy as a modern


    woman."


    Sonia reflected on Rose''s words as she began to think she was indeed conservative and easily got


    embarrassed.


    After all, the people around her were well aware of what happened between her and Tobyst night.


    Sonia saw no point in shyly avoiding it. Instead, she should face it by taking a direct approach.


    Besides, Toby had never got shy about it. It was basically about her blushing the whole time in this kind


    of situation while he didn''t even give a care in the world.


    Thus, Sonia made a mental note to learn about his optimism from time to time, so she could have less


    pressure in her daily life.


    As she finished the thought, she took a deep breath and raised her head before she cast a smile at


    Rose. "You''re right, Grandma. Thank you for your consideration in asking them to make the soup for


    me."


    "That''s the spirit! And you don''t have to thank me. I''m your grandmother, too. We''re family. This is what


    I should do for you as your grandmother. Come on; drink it." Rose chuckled.


    Sonia hummed before she used the spoon to drink the soup.


    Drinking the hot chicken soup, she wondered whether it was her mind affecting her thoughts, but she


    indeed felt the effect.


    The warmth spread through her exhausted body. As the tiredness was lifted from her body, she couldn''t


    help but drink more.


    Rose was watching Sonia enjoying the soup the whole time. However, the former slowly steered her


    attention to Toby after some time.


    He wasn''t drinking the soup like Sonia. Instead, he pursed his thin lips and furrowed his brows, pulling


    a long face at the soup in front of him. Noticing he looked at the soup as if he was facing his enemy,


    Rose almost rolled her eyes at him.


    "What now? Do you think I''ll poison you? Are you going to keep staring at it?" Rose muttered, intending


    to embarrass him.

 Chapter 1172

    Chapter 1172


    Sonia put her spoon down and turned to Toby.


    Pursing his thin lips in conflict, he spoke after a while. "It''s not like that."


    "If so, why do you keep staring at it and not drinking?" The smile dropped from Rose''s face, to which


    he replied in resignation, "Grandma, does the soup look edible to you?"


    He pointed to the bowl in front of him.


    Rose, however, only replied in dismissal, "The soup is made for you, so what do you think?"


    Toby took a deep breath upon hearing that. "If it is as you say, then why is my soup different from Little


    Leafs?"


    "He''s right, Grandma." Sonia nodded. "It is obvious that mine is chicken soup, but I can''t tell what his


    soup is, and it''s weird. Why can''t we get the same soup?"


    Judging by its smell, Sonia could tell it must have a terrible taste without drinking it. Besides, it had an


    unnatural color.


    I wonder why Grandma made Toby this kind of soup. I doubt it is useful to the body. Sonia was utterly


    suspicious about the soup.


    Hearing Sonia take his side, Toby was touched.


    That''s my wife! She''s showing consideration for me the whole time, unlike Grandma.


    Watching the soup in the bowl, Toby felt his stomach churn.


    He doubted that Rose wanted to help him nourish his body. Instead, he was sure she wanted to poison


    him.


    Taking note of the young ones'' suspicion and confusion, Rose sighed. "You''re good at imagining things.


    I didn''t give you the same soup because they have different effects. Sonny is a woman, and a female''s


    body is different from a man''s, which is why she''s drinking the chicken soup. It was good to have the


    chicken soup after the menstruation phase or exhaustion. You, being a man, have no need to drink it."


    As she finished her words, Rose rolled her eyes at him.


    Toby pursed his thin lips before he muttered, "I don''t mind what hers is. What I''m curious about is mine.


    Did I get served the water to wash the pot that cooked the chicken soup?"


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    Sonia choked at his words before she coughed heavily until her cheeks flushed and tears hung on her


    eyshes, which made others worried about her.


    "What''s wrong, Sonny?" Feeling worried, Rose put her cup aside before she attempted to rise to her


    feet and check on Sonia.


    However, Mary was more worried about Rose. As thetter stood, Mary pressed Rose''s shoulder to put


    her back in the seat. "Don''t worry, Madam. Just sit here. I''ll check on her."


    At that, Mary walked toward Sonia.


    On her side, Sonia''s well-being upied Toby''s mind. As soon as she coughed, he left his seat and


    embraced her in his arms. He patted her back to help her with her breathing.


    After a moment, Sonia''s breath finally calmed down, and rxed with his help.


    At that moment, Mary handed over something to her. "Here you go, Miss Reed. Have this."


    "What is this?" As he released her, Sonia sat upright in her seat to look at Mary''s eyes.


    After coughing, she had a raspy voice, and it sounded pitiful to the onlookers.


    Mary stared at her with a distressed look and replied, "This is a medicine effective for a sudden cough.


    Miss Reed, you must feel the difort of your lungs after the cough a moment ago. This pill will help


    you to get better soon."


    Sonia smiled at Mary''s words. "Thank you, Madam Mary. That''s exactly what I need right now."


    "Here, you go, then" Mary''s smile grew wider.


    Sonia hummed before she took the pill from Mary and put it in her mouth as she raised her chin. Toby


    passed her a ss of water.


    Shooting daggers at him, Sonia took the ss and drank the pill with water.


    Scratching the bridge of his nose, Toby shifted his eyes away in guilt as he knew the reason why she


    choked. Thus, he was avoiding her.


    Noticing his guilty look, Rose scoffed in disdain. "You should''ve minded your words. What do you mean


    by ''the water to wash pot''? That''s nonsense! Look what you''ve done to Sonny."


    Sonia nodded hastily in agreement. "That''s right! Don''t you think you''re too creative?"


    Goodness knows how astonished she was when she heard Toby''s description of the soup.


    At first, she never thought about that. However, his words were echoing in her mind, and the


    impression of the soup was a bowl of water to wash the pot popped up in her mind.


    As such, Sonia had no idea about what her response should be.


    On the side, Toby cast her a nce before he turned back to Rose. "Don''t tell me you don''t think they


    look the same."


    "They don''t." Rose''s expression sank at his words. "Mary helped me to ask the family chef to prepare


    this. How dare you degrade it? It is made with various ingredients and hard work."


    "Oh?" Toby raised his brows. "Grandma, what was the wate¡ªI mean, nourishing soup made of, pray


    tell? Why does it smell odd?"


    "Well, the soup¡ª"


    Before Mary could finish, Rose tugged her pants under the stone table to stop her.


    The gesture was telling her something. Mary''s eyes shifted quick-wittedly before she smiled. "There are


    basic ingredients for soup, but we added some animal organs. They have high calories, and are good


    for men."


    "Mary is right. Enough with your nonsense; just drink it. " Rose scowled, impatiently urging Toby and


    sounding as if she would feed him the whole bowl of soup in one gulp if he hesitated longer.


    Sonia then turned to Toby and tugged his sleeve. "Why don''t you just drink it? Indeed, it has an odd


    smell, and I don''t think its taste would be any better. However, it certainly won''t be the water that


    cleaned the pot. You''re Grandma''s grandson, and she won''t harm you."


    Nodding in agreement, Mary chimed in, "Miss Reed is right. Young Master Toby, you should drink it. It''s


    good for your health."


    Rose didn''t speak, but her eyes were staring at Toby intensely.


    Facing the three pairs of eyes watching them, Toby had no choice but topromise. He grabbed the


    bowl with furrowed brows, taking a breath before he shut his eyes and took the first sip.


    He decided to take the risk. After all, no matter the appearance, the soup was a kind gesture from his


    grandmother. Thus, he must drink it, regardless of the ingredients of the soup.


    When Toby was drinking the soup, the three women were watching him with intensifying nces.


    Contrary to Rose and Mary''s relieved faces, Sonia was worried about him.


    Truth be told, she was worried that the unidentified liquid would cause harm to him.


    I hope I''m wrong about that. Tightening her grip on the spoon, she watched in anticipation.


    As the thought urred in her mind, she heard him making a sound and spitting out the soup.


    She was surprised to see him in such a state.


    "What''s wrong?" Sonia leaned forward to check on him.


    Toby''s body was half turned to her while he had one hand around his throat and another one to grab


    the side of the table. He was spitting out the contents from his stomach, and the difort flushed his


    handsome face, indicating his struggle.


    Sonia could see his fingers tightening around the table with force as the veins on the back of his hand


    popped up, showing that he wasn''t in his best state.


    Other than Sonia, Rose and Mary were also taken aback by his reaction.


    "Young Master Toby, are you all right?" Mary walked over and asked in concern.


    Even though Rose wasn''t speaking, her eyes betrayed her worries. After all, he was her eldest


    grandson, and she wasn''t that heartless to see him suffer.


    However, Toby was not feeling well at the moment and had no scope to answer their questions.


    Watching his face contorted in pain, Sonia felt bad for him. She stood at his side and patted his back,


    just like he did a moment ago.


    Watching the scene unfold, Rose and Mary looked at each other.


    "Madam, we made a mistake, haven''t we?" Mary began with mixed feelings.


    Next Chapter

 Chapter 1173

    Chapter 1173


    Rose and Mary made the stew for Toby because they figured that it was nutritious and good for him,


    but they forgot to consider that he might not want any of it.


    It wasn''t until Toby directly puked and grimaced in disgust that she realized not everyone could


    stomach the stew. In fact, now that she thought about it, Toby liked his food mild, but the stew had a


    strong gamey vor.


    Rose felt a little rueful when she watched Toby retching. So, she lowered her voice and mumbled,


    "Well, the stew is good for him, so I wanted him to drink it. That''s why I stopped you from letting him


    know the stew''s ingredients."


    "But he can''t have any even though he doesn''t know the ingredients." Mary felt sorry for Toby.


    Rose pursed her lips, slightly guilty. Then, after a while of silence, she sighed. "I might have


    overestimated him, but s... He can''t even drink a mouthful of the stew."


    Mary''s lips twitched slightly, but she didn''tment.


    Although she was Mary''s best friend, she was not a part of her family, so she couldn''t concur when


    Mary turned her nose up at Toby.


    Moreover, she could guess how awful the stew was, although she didn''t drink it. She bet that others


    would spit the stew out, too, when they drank it, so it was honestly not Toby''s fault that he had such a


    severe reaction.


    Meanwhile, Toby couldn''t be bothered with the conversation between Rose and Mary. All he cared


    about was getting rid of the awful taste in his mouth. He even considered cutting off his tongue


    momentarily before his rationality took hold of his brain again.


    He felt like the ''thing'' he drank wasn''t stew but some rotten mush. The taste and smell of the so-called


    stew were so vile and horrendous that he couldn''t even bring himself to swallow it.


    He could feel the stench lingering in his mouth even after throwing up. To make matters worse, he


    could taste the rotting taste. There were just some things that weren''t meant to be tasted by the human


    mouth.


    Due to the rancid smell filling his nostrils with extreme prejudice, the disgusting stench made him feel


    dizzy. He knew he wasn''t suffocating, but frankly, he''d rather beunched into the sun right about now


    so that he could stop feeling the sour taste in his throat.


    What kind of stew is this?! D*mn!


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby was in unspeakable distress and felt like crawling out of his skin and abandoning his human shell.


    Sonia could feel his torment when she observed his expression, which worsened her anxiety. She


    handed him a ss of water when he stopped gagging over the stew. "Here. Drink some water and


    rinse your mouth."


    in water was what Toby needed the most right now. Life water! He took the ss of water and


    began to gargle, wanting to flush the disgusting taste out of his mouth.


    Soon, he finished the ss of water, and the taste in his mouth did wash down a little, but he could feel


    that arge part of the residue still lingered in his mouth.


    The stench would even be emitted whenever he opened his mouth, so he covered his mouth when he


    spoke, "Grandma, what is in this stew?! Please tell me honestly."


    He red at Rose and Mary with red-rimmed eyes and a grim expression.


    Sonia also looked at Rose and Mary curiously. She wanted to know what ingredients they used in that


    stew that caused Toby so much misery.


    Rose and Mary were taken aback by the couple''s curious and indignant nces. They exchanged


    slightly guilty nces when they saw that the stew was so terribly received.


    Mary tugged at Rose''s sleeve and silently inquired if she should tell them the truth.


    Rose''s eyes darted around anxiously, and she refused to look at the couple.


    Tell them the truth? How? If I tell them the truth, Toby will definitely be pissed, so no! I can''t say it!


    Rose suddenly touched her forehead, and her face twisted in a painful grimace at the thought of this.


    She mumbled weakly, "Gosh! Why does my head hurt? It must be because I stayed in the pavilion for


    too long. The wind is quite cold today, and I feel chilly. I have to go back to my room to rest. Mary, help


    me up. Let''s go back to my room."


    With that, she winked at Mary and extended her hand toward her.


    Mary instantly understood her intention. She immediately looked concerned, held Rose''s hand, and


    helped her up. "Are you okay? Oh dear, you look so pale. I''ll help you to your room. Walk slowly."


    As she urged, she helped Rose to walk out of the gazebo.


    Sonia and Toby sat there and quietly watched the two olddies putting on an act.


    Their acting skills were so lousy that no one would believe them.


    Sonia shook her head in amusement and did not expose their lies, but Toby, who was determined to


    know what he was forced to take, was not so lenient.


    "Stop right there!" He lifted his gaze, and his deep, clear voice resonated through the gazebo.


    Rose and Mary instinctively stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard him.


    Toby stood up with one hand in his pocket and the other on the stone table. He red at the backs of


    the olddies and hissed, "Do you think you can just get away with it after ying a prank on me?


    Grandma, Mary, do you think I''ll let you off the hook just because you pretend to be sick?"


    Rose and Mary donned uneasy expressions when Sonia and Toby couldn''t see their faces.


    When they turned around, they immediately hid their uneasiness, and both looked utterly innocent and


    bewildered at his usation.


    "Toby, what are you talking about? Feigning illness? I don''t understand." Rose''s eyes flickered around


    as she refused to look Toby in the eyes.


    Mary was always on Rose''s side, so she quickly nodded and echoed, "Young Master, how can you


    use Old Madam of pretending to be sick? She is weak, to begin with, and the cold wind isn''t


    conducive to her health. You know about her condition, so how can you say that she is pretending to be


    sick?"


    "Oh, Toby, you break my heart by saying that. Argh, ugh, my head is hurting again. Mary, let''s go."


    Rose rested her head on Mary''s shoulder and urged Mary to leave.


    Mary did not want to stay here any longer, too, because she was worried that Toby would pursue the


    matter seriously. She quickly nodded, held Rose''s hand, and practically scurried away.


    The two olddies'' shenanigans amused Sonia so much that she covered her lips as she giggled softly.


    This was the first time she had seen them so cheeky and funny.


    She had never expected the two olddies to pull such a childish act, such as pretending to be sick in


    order to get away from trouble.


    An elderly could bring joy to the family, and it just so happened that they had two elders in the house.


    Sonia muffled her giggles while turning to look at Toby beside her. Just as she had expected, Toby was


    even more grumpy at being the butt of the joke.


    She was supposed to feel agitated when on behalf of Toby, but the whole thing was too hrious that


    she could barely keep a straight face.


    After all, not many people in this world could upset Toby like this. But, more importantly, he couldn''t


    even do anything about this since their intentions were good.


    At this moment, Toby looked like a pushover after being bullied.


    Sonia''s amused expression was imprinted in Toby''s eyes and mind, and a dark gleam shed across


    his eyes.


    Alright, just you wait! I''ll deal with you after I finish dealing with Grandma and Mary. I want you to know


    that your actiones at a price! Serves you right forughing at me!


    Toby swiftly regained hisposure, and when he returned his attention to Rose and Mary, who tried


    to scramble away as fast as they could, he curled his thin lips into a cold smirk.


    This time, he vowed to find out just what they were up to, so he would not let them off the hook that


    easily.


    Don''t even think about getting out of this!


    "Grandma, since you''re dizzy, I''ll call the doctor over and check on you. You won''t get better if you


    simply rest in your room. I''ll be worried sick. What do you think, Grandma?" Toby narrowed his eyes,


    and his eerie voice that carried a hint of threat wormed into Rose''s and Mary''s ears.

 Chapter 1174

    Chapter 1174


    Toby''s words sent a chill down Rose''s spine. Still, she tried to wriggle her way out of this mess as she


    smiled sheepishly and shook her head. "No, you don''t have to call a doctor. It''s not a big deal. I just feel


    dizzy, and I''ll be fine after a nap. I always feel dizzy, and I know how to make myself better. So you


    don''t have to call the doctor over. It''s quite troublesome."


    D*mn, if you call the doctor over, you''ll know that I''m faking it! No way! Rose muttered in her heart.


    The smirk on Toby''s face turned shaper. He walked forward and stopped behind Mary and Rose. "It is


    not troublesome at all. We pay for the live-in doctor to be at our beck and all. If he thinks that a few


    minutes of walking is a great deal of trouble, we should just fire him! Since we pay him, he is obliged to


    treat his patients at any time, in any ce, and under any circumstances, or it is a dereliction of his


    duty, and I have the right to fire him. Grandma, do you want him to get fired?"


    "Of course. I¡ª"


    "If I''m not mistaken, the doctor we hire to care for your condition is Mary''s close rtive." He knew just


    what Rose was going to say, so he interjected as soon as she opened her mouth and then looked at


    Mary.


    In the face of Toby''s fearsome re, Mary lowered her head guiltily.


    She knew precisely why Toby brought up the family doctor and her rtionship with the doctor at this


    moment. Toby wanted to force both of them toe clean about the stew''s ingredients by threatening


    them with the doctor''s employment.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Yikes, no wonder Young Master Toby is known as the Demon of the Business World. He will strike at


    his opponent''s weaknesses in order to achieve his goals. The Fuller Family and Fuller Group are lucky


    to have him as the head of the family and thepany, but it is unfortunate for us to be under his reign


    right now. Marymented bitterly in her heart.


    Rose, on the other hand, was enraged. She turned around, poked Toby''s nose, and growled, "Hey,


    b*stard, how dare you say such a thing?! What the hell are you thinking? Are you trying to break Mary''s


    heart?"


    Toby shrugged innocently. "What are you talking about, Grandma? No, I''m not trying to break Mary''s


    heart. I just think maybe it''s time to give the doctor a new job."


    "You''re bluffing! You know better than anyone what you''re implying." Rose snorted coldly, refusing to


    believe his nonsense.


    Sonia also felt that Toby had gone too far, so she stood up and wanted to dissuade him, but before she


    could say anything, Toby changed his tone, "Alright, Grandma. I was just joking. I didn''t actually want to


    fire the doctor, but I need to reconsider his employment and trustworthiness in the future. You do know


    that I hate being deceived the most. So, do you want to tell me what the stew is or not?"


    Rose was about to refute him grumpily when Mary stopped her.


    Finally, she sighed and looked at Toby, "Okay, I''ll tell you, but promise me that you won''t get angry."


    Toby''s expression softened slightly at her cooperation. "Alright, I promise I won''t get angry, and I''m


    sorry for threatening you just now, but I hope you understand that it doesn''t feel good to be kept in the


    dark."


    Mary waved him off. "Yes, I understand, Young Master, and I''m not angry about that. I know that you


    won''t do anything to the doctor and will not fire him even if I refuse to tell you the truth in the end. After


    all, I kept you in the dark, not them, and you wouldn''t punish them for something they didn''t do. I raised


    you, so I know you very well. Since I''m well aware of this, I know you''re just trying to scare me."


    Toby chuckled. "Wow, you saw through my tricks."


    Both Rose and Sonia breathed a sigh of relief, especially Rose, who thought that Toby would actually


    go through with his threat so that he could get his hands on the ingredients behind the stew.


    Mary was Rose''s best friend for decades, so much so that Rose had regarded Mary as family.


    Toby''s threat to Mary would not only humiliate Rose but also break Mary''s heart.


    She was worried that this incident would break Toby''s rtionship with herself and Mary.


    Fortunately, it was just a scare.


    Rose sighed lightly and sat down.


    Nevertheless, Rose was still a little upset with Toby''s attitude, although she knew that he simply


    threatened them and did not intend to walk the talk.


    Judging from Rose''s expression, Mary knew that she was unhappy with Toby, so she chuckled and


    reassured her, "Old Madam, please don''t me him. After all, it''s our fault. Although we made the stew


    for his sake, we never considered if he would like the stew, and we did not tell him the truth about the


    stew''s ingredients simply because we didn''t want to upset him. It''s our fault, to begin with, so we should


    take his threat as our penalty. Let''s call it even."


    "You''re always siding with him!" Rose huffed and nced at Mary in exasperation.


    Mary smiled lightly before looking back at Toby. "Actually, the stew is good for you. The ingredients


    have aphrodisiac effects."


    "A-Aphrodisiac effects?!" Toby''s lips and eyes widened in disbelief.


    Mary nodded. "Yup."


    At this moment, Toby began to feel a headache. "Mary, do you think I need that? Or do you and


    Grandma think I''m that frail?"


    Do they really think I''m impotent, so they made me a stew with aphrodisiac ingredients?! Toby thought


    in shock.


    Sonia, who stood behind them, couldn''t help but burst out inughter because she never expected that


    this was the effect of the disgusting stew. Regardless, she felt that her abruptughter was rude and


    would hurt Toby''s ego, so after augh, she quickly muffled her mouth and only revealed her smiling


    eyes. However, her actions did not dissuade her from watching the hrious interaction.


    She simply tried to keep a straight face and force her bubblingughter down her throat.


    Toby could hear her giggling, and he felt a little dismayed. Only after clenching and loosening his fist in


    his pocket several times did he force himself not to turn back and re at Sonia in frustration.


    Mary didn''t exactly know what Toby felt right now, but judging from his grumpy expression, she could


    tell that he was up in arms.


    Even Rose also pursed her lips sheepishly and began to think that she might have arrived at the wrong


    conclusions.


    "Uhm, please don''t misunderstand, Young Master. We have never thought that you are impotent, but


    we just want to give you supplements. We''re just worried that your health is declining since you''re


    getting older. Also, why must we take supplements when we''re not healthy? We must take


    supplements all the time. If we only take supplements when we''re sick, it may not work as effectively,"


    Mary exined.


    Sonia covered her mouth and nodded with a smile, totally agreeing with Mary''s words. Yup, she''s right!


    Tobe took a few deep breaths in order to suppress the urge to shout at them. He looked at Mary and


    Rose and said with a stic smile, "Oh, thanks a lot for your concern then."


    Mary waved him off with a rtively small smile. "You''re wee. We¡ª"


    "It''s good that you know we care about you." Rose tugged at Mary''s arm and epted Toby''s thanks.

 Chapter 1175

    Chapter 1175


    Rose thought matter-of-factly. Why shouldn''t we ept his gratitude? We truly care about him! He may


    not like how we show our concern, but our concern is genuine and sincere. So, he should thank us,


    shouldn''t he? So, it''s reasonable for me to ept his thanks, isn''t it? In that case, I can and will do so!


    However, Mary nced at Rose uneasily andmunicated to her through her eyes, Old Madam, can


    you not hear the sarcasm in Toby''s tone when he thanked us? No one says thank you with gritted


    teeth! So it''s apparent that he is mocking us!


    Rose blinked at her andmunicated through her gaze, I don''t care if it''s sarcasm. The point is he


    thanked us, so we should assume that he is sincere and ept his thanks graciously.


    Mary hummed awkwardly and was rendered speechless by Rose''s logic. Therefore, she could only


    smile awkwardly at Toby.


    Toby observed their interactions closely and knew just what they were thinking.


    To be honest, he was a little amazed at Rose''s cheekiness.


    He deliberately thanked them sarcastically, but to his bewilderment, Rose epted his gratitude


    without hesitation. However, it made him feel like he was talking to a wall. Not only could he not get any


    response from the wall, but he also felt defeated by theck of response.


    He wanted to say something more, but at this point, he didn''t know where to begin.


    Sonia, standing behind him, raised her eyebrows because she knew Rose did that on purpose.


    She seemed to realize why Toby was so cheeky and bold. From the looks of it, she felt that these must


    be inherited traits.


    Sonia touched her forehead and shook her head in amusement.


    "Forget it. I don''t want to talk about other things. I want to know what is in that stew." Toby massaged


    his temples, feeling a headache building the further this conversation dragged on.


    Mary opened her mouth and seemed hesitant. Then, she remembered that she had promised to tell


    him the truth, so she took a deep breath and mumbled timidly, "Uh, we didn''t use any strange


    materials. They are mainly a deer antler and a bull''s penis..."


    When Mary said the words ''a bull''s penis''", her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. Toby was


    confident that she attempted to mumble the words because she didn''t want him to know the exact


    ingredient. Still, he had to know, or he would eventually drive himself up the wall trying to figure out just


    what was in that stew had seeded in driving his faith in humanity to a new low.


    "A bull''s what, Mary? Please say it clearly," Toby frowned as he urged impatiently.


    Mary nced at Toby and then at the curious Sonia. Eventually, she caved as she closed her eyes and


    yelled, "A BULL''S PENIS! Old Madam, let''s go, NOW!"


    With that, she grabbed Rose''s hand, and both ran away as fast as lightning while Toby and Sonia were


    left dumbfounded as they stared at their retreating figures.


    Sonia was the first to regain herposure. When sheid her gaze on Toby, who was still wholly


    bbergasted by the reveal, she couldn''t help butugh out loud.


    It was just too hrious, and there was no way she could keep a straight face after this!


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    A bull''s penis! Oh my gosh, a bull''s penis!


    Toby actually drank a stew made of a bull''s penis! This was probably the first andst time he would


    ever drink such a thing.


    "Hahaha!" Sonia doubled over inughter until her eyes turned teary.


    Herughter pulled Toby back to his senses. His handsome face turned pale and red in humiliation,


    which made the whole thing even funnier.


    He turned around and asked Sonia, who was sitting on the bench and couldn''t stop howling inughter,


    in a dangerous, "What''s so funny?"


    Don''t you know why?! Sonia wasughing so hard that her stomach began to hurt. She knew that she


    should probably stop, or the pain would worsen. But when she looked at his face, that was a cross


    between ashamed and angered; she just couldn''t help herself. "N-Nothing. Hahaha! No, it''s nothing. I''m


    notughing because you d-drank that stew. I''mughing because... because...


    Haha!"


    Oh gosh, I surrender! I can''t make anything up right now! It gets funnier the more I think about it!


    Toby felt enraged again when he watched Sonia chortling at him and heard the words ''a bull''s penis''


    from her mouth.


    When he thought of the bowl of stew, he knew it would be nasty due to its strange stench, but it had


    never crossed his mind that they used a bull''s penis to make the d*mned thing!


    No wonder there was a gamey smell in the stew. How could it not smell gamey?!


    Toby tried to suppress his rage by taking several deep breaths, but when he thought of the ingredients


    in the stew, he could feel his blood boiling.


    He could forgive Mary and Rose for suspecting that he was impotent and intending to give him


    supplements in this regard.


    What else could he do otherwise? He couldn''t punish them, could he?


    They did this because they genuinely cared about him.


    But why couldn''t they use other ingredients? There were so many ingredients in the world that had


    aphrodisiac effects, so why did they have to choose such a disgusting one?!


    His mouth was filled with that awful stench right now, and he couldn''t forget that he drank the stew


    made from a bull''s penis!


    Because of this matter, he was traumatized, and he estimated that it would take a long time before he


    could look at a bowl of stew without thinking about that horrid crime to humanity.


    "Stopughing." Toby was furious and resigned when he looked at Sonia, who was stillughing.


    He was frustrated because she didn''t feel sorry for him, and he was resigned because he loved her


    and couldn''t bear to reprimand her forughing at him.


    Naturally, Sonia knew just how he felt based on his expression, and she felt a little guilty forughing at


    him, but she couldn''t help it. The matter was so funny that another round of giggles would start


    whenever she thought of it.


    "Sorry, sorry... I''m so sorry... I-I can''t help it. I''ve heard of people eating this stuff out of curiosity or for


    the aphrodisiac purpose, but I never thought that you would be one of them, though unintentionally.


    Seriously, I didn''t think you would ever encounter such a thing in your life, but thanks to Mary and


    Rose, you gained such an experience! Oh gosh, it''s so funny. How do you feel right now?" Sonia wiped


    the tears at the corners of her eyes and took several deep breaths. Finally, she managed to quell her


    laughter.


    She would giggle from time to time, but it was indeed much better than the uncontrolledughter


    earlier.


    Toby looked in askance at her. "How do I feel? What do you think? Do you think I''ll feel good?!"


    Other than those who loved to eat this kind of food, anyone would feel their stomach turning when they


    found out that they had unintentionally eaten such a thing, right?


    This was exactly what he felt right now. He felt utterly disgusted. In fact, the smell still lingered in his


    mouth, and it made him want to puke again.


    When she saw his tight frown and the grumpy and disgusted grimace on his face, she couldn''t help but


    laugh out loud again, and her incessantughter irritated Toby.


    Toby''s re darkened, and he stared at her. "How could you stillugh?"


    "No, no... I''ll stop now." Sonia waved her hands. "It''s just that... Hah! Oops, I''m sorry, I can''t help it.


    Give me a minute. Let me calm down. I''ll stopughing altogether when I calm down."


    After she said that, she raised her hands in surrender and began to take deep breaths.


    When she was doing so, he kept staring at her with that deep gaze. He looked like a wolf who had just


    locked his eye on his prey.


    Sonia stopped her actions, swallowed nervously, and muttered, "Uh, can you please don''t look at me


    like that? I''ll stopughing at you, I promise."


    s, Toby remained unmoved, and he focused his gaze on her intently.

 Chapter 1176

    Chapter 1176


    Toby''s re was threatening enough that Sonia could feel her scalp numb under his prating gaze.


    She rubbed her nose awkwardly and mumbled, "Uhm, are you worried that I''ll tell others about this?


    Don''t worry. My lips are sealed. This is our secret. Also, you''re mine. When they mock you, they''re


    mocking me too, so I won''t tell anyone, I promise. You can trust me on this."


    Toby remained silent.


    Sonia didn''t know what he was thinking about at this point. She blinked and huffed, "Are you still not


    satisfied? What else do you want me to do? I know that you feel awful after drinking such a thing, and


    perhaps, you are traumatized, but it''s not really a big deal. Grandma and Madam Mary kinda tricked


    you into drinking it. It''s not like you drank it on purpose. Just let it go. You''ll forget about it soon. You¡ª"


    Before she could finish her sentence, he suddenly marched forward, grabbed her wrist, tugged her to


    him harshly, and pulled her into his embrace. Then, he lowered his head and kissed her, forcing her to


    swallow her tirade.


    Sonia clearly did not expect Toby to kiss her suddenly. She froze on the spot, and her eyes widened in


    shock. She was in a daze until he pried open her teeth with his tongue and stuck his tongue into her


    mouth. When he did this, she smelled the strange stench from his mouth. Only then did she jolt awake


    and retched in disgust. Her face turned ghastly pale as a result. She nudged his chest with all her


    might, trying to shove him away.


    She had to keep her distance from him because his mouth was really gross at the moment.


    Of course, she knew that it was not his bad breath. She had smelled the stew before, so she could


    immediately recognize the stench in his mouth.


    Yet, she didn''t expect the stench''s residue to remain in his mouth for so long. It showed how awful the


    stench of that stew was and how long the stenchsted.


    At this moment, all Sonia could smell was the stench of the stew. She felt disgusted and wanted to


    puke, but Toby kept kissing her and refused to release her. Because of his kiss, she had to endure her


    urge to vomit. Her face was pallid, and her eyes turned watery under such torment.


    In her honest opinion, they kissed for far too long until she finally got used to the stench. It was only


    then that Toby released her as if he felt sorry for her.


    As soon as she broke free from his embrace, she immediately pushed him away, bent down, pressed


    one hand on the table, and proceeded to throw up. The sound of her vomiting echoed across the yard.


    It was easy to tell that she felt thoroughly grossed out.


    Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Toby stood beside her and wiped the saliva on the corner of her mouth with his thumb. He felt


    distressed to see her in such a state. Then, he grabbed the ss of water and handed it to her. "Here,


    rinse your mouth."


    Sonia red at the ss of water in his hand and then at the concerned-looking Toby with redrimmed


    eyes. Then, she snatched the ss of water indignantly and rolled her eyes at him.


    Toby knew from her reaction that she was pissed. Yet, all he could do was smile at her,


    D*mn, I''m so pissed! I have never met such a horrible b*stard! Why did he kiss me when his mouth


    stinks?! Now, even my mouth stinks! Oh dear, my mouth is full of the stench. I can even smell it when I


    open my mouth. Argh, it''s so disgusting!


    At the thought of this, she began to feel her stomach roiling in disagreement, and she wanted to throw


    up again. Thus, she hurriedly raised her head to drink the water and rinse her mouth again, utterly


    ignoring Toby''s presence.


    Toby stood beside her and patted her back gently to ease her difort.


    When she was rinsing her mouth and gargling, she was pretty surprised that water worked wonders. As


    she finished the ss of water, the stench in her mouth faded considerably, and she felt less disgusting


    now, but¡ª


    Sonia cupped her palms over her mouth and exhaled. Then, she smelled the breath she exhaled and


    began to hurl again.


    Indeed, the smell did notpletely disappear. It only faded.


    Sonia wanted to cry in anguish right now. Therefore, she turned and red at Toby. "It''s all your fault!


    My mouth stinks now!"


    "I know." Toby covered his lips and coughed sheepishly. "I kissed you on purpose."


    Sonia widened her eyes in utter disbelief. "What the hell did you say?! Y-You kissed me on purpose?!


    You purposely wanted to infect me with this?!"


    His eyes darted elsewhere, refusing to meet her infuriated gaze.


    Sonia''s whole body trembled in rage. "Hey, don''t look elsewhere. Look at me! Tell me, why did you kiss


    me?!"


    Toby looked at her and confessed candidly, "It''s simple. Youughed at me, so I wanted you to get a


    taste of this. In this way, I drank the stew physically, and you drank it indirectly, so you can no longer


    tease me."


    Sonia was rendered speechless as she didn''t expect such a simple reason to be the reason for her


    current predicament. Just because sheughed at him, he retaliated against her out of anger and made


    her mouth stink too.


    What the heck...


    "You''re such a nasty b*stard. Why didn''t I know that you''re so petty?" Sonia was so angered that she


    lashed out.


    Toby sheepishly scratched his nose and didn''t say a word.


    Sonia was huffing and puffing indignantly. "Alright, I''ll remember what you did to me. You''re not allowed


    in my room tonight. Go and sleep on the couch."


    "What?!" Toby was aghast. He couldn''t believe his ears.


    What did she just say? Did she ask me to sleep on the couch tonight? Did she literally kick me out of


    the room tonight to sleep on the couch? No way!


    "Little Leaf¡ª" He wanted to exin, hoping that she could change her mind, but Sonia raised her hand


    and silenced him. "Don''t call me by my nickname. I don''t want to hear it. You retaliated against me for


    laughing at you, so now this is my revenge against you. So there!"


    After she said that, she stormed out of the gaze in annoyance.


    She wanted to desperately brush her teeth to get rid of the stench in her mouth. It was so gross.


    It was all the petty Toby''s fault! She justughed at him a little, but how could he do this to her?!


    She was determined to refuse him entry into the bedroom, nor would she give in. Argh, I''m so pissed!


    Sonia quickened her pace with reddened eyes due to fury this time.


    Toby followed after her, trying to think of something so he could get back into her good graces again.


    He could sense her aggravation even if he could not see her face right now.


    He admitted that he had gone a bit too far, but he didn''t regret it.


    If he didn''t do such a thing, he would be the only one who drank the awful stew, and she would have


    the chance to mock him forever.


    In order to put an end to this situation, he had to drag her down with him. Both of them had to drink the


    stew, and they had to experience this... Horror together. Only by doing so would she stop mocking him


    about this matter.


    At the thought of this, Toby curled his lips into a faint smile and was obviously in a better mood. In fact,


    he could somewhat ept the fact that the stench still lingered in his mouth.


    He also anticipated her annoyance before kissing her, so he was not worried. He would attempt to coax


    herter, so whether or not he would sleep on the couch tonight was still up in the air.


    He shrugged nonchntly and followed behind her leisurely, kicking pebbles from time to time.


    On the other hand, Sonia knew that Toby was following her, although she kept walking at a fast pace.


    After all, his footsteps were loud, and she could hear them clearly.


    At first, she assumed that Toby followed her because he knew that she was pissed, so he wanted to


    coax her and apologize for what he had done just now.


    Because of this assumption, she slowed down a little, allowing him to catch up with her. Yet, after she


    slowed her pace, he didn''t even chase after her, which was very strange.


    Toby had long legs, and he usually wasn''t one to amble. So, she knew he could catch up to her quickly


    if he wanted.

 Chapter 1177

    Chapter 1177


    Despite Sonia''s efforts, Toby still didn''t catch up to her.


    She couldn''t help but turn her head back slightly to see what he was up to, but she was even more


    annoyed by what she saw.


    He was actually taking his own sweet time and strolling as if he was sightseeing. He was obviously not


    trying to catch up with her by walking at such a pace!


    If he had wanted to apologize to her, he would have caught up with her. He wouldn''t have been walking


    at such a leisurely speed.


    Apparently, he did not intend to apologize to her or coax her! What the heck?!


    Sonia was so furious that she stomped her feet.


    She had wanted to give him a chance to apologize and even slowed her pace to wait for him, yet it was


    just her wishful thinking! He had no intention of cheering her up at all!


    Alright then, I won''t give you a chance again! So go and cuddle yourself on the couch tonight!


    At the thought of this, Sonia retracted her gaze. Instead of slowing down to wait for Toby, she


    elerated her pace and stormed off.


    When Toby saw her suddenly picking up speed, he was puzzled and wondered what she was thinking.


    He couldn''t read her mind, so he decided to stop guessing her thoughts and just chase after her. He


    caught up with her this time, but she scowled at him.


    She had just given him a chance to repent his sin, but he didn''t cherish it, so what was the point of


    catching up with her now?


    She was annoyed by his behavior, so she didn''t want to talk to him. So, Sonia pretended as if Toby was


    invisible. She wasn''t in the mood to look or even speak to him.


    Her actions gave Toby a headache.


    He nned to cheer her up so that she would stop being angry with him, but she was treating him as


    though he was air at the moment. He figured she wouldn''t even listen if he tried to talk to her now.


    What should I do?


    Toby massaged his temples as his head began to throb in pain.


    There was no answer to his answer right now, nor could anyone give him the answer.


    Sonia''s one-sided silent treatment against himsted until noon when Rose and Mary reappeared.


    When Rose nced at Sonia and then at the agitated Toby, she couldn''t help but ask, "Sonny, did you


    and Toby fight?"


    She didn''t want to get involved in their disputes at first because she figured it would be best to stay out


    of it and let them solve their own problems, lest things worsen. However, she couldn''t bear to see


    Toby''s helpless look and Sonia ignoring Tobypletely. Therefore, she went against her principles


    and decided to meddle.


    If they really fought, she could try to ease the tension between them. She could even help them


    mediate the misunderstandings.


    No matter what, she didn''t want them to have a big fight over something trivial because they had finally


    gotten back together after so long.


    When Sonia heard Rose''s concerns, she realized that her anger toward Toby was so obvious that even


    Rose and Mary were picking up on it.


    In fact, she was a little embarrassed when she heard Rose''s question.


    After all, this was Rose''s house. Not only was she angry with Toby¡ªRose''s grandson, but even Rose


    noticed it and asked her about it. As an outsider in the house, she felt somewhat awkward and uneasy.


    She also wondered if Rose would be displeased with her.


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear and quickly reassured her, "No, Grandma, we didn''t fight."


    Indeed, we did not fight. I simply don''t want to talk to Toby because he''s a j*rk.


    "Is that so?" An unconvinced Rose turned her gaze to Toby.


    "Yes," Toby muttered.


    Rose frowned in confusion. "Since you didn''t fight, why¡ª"


    Sonia looked away and remained silent.


    Toby cleared his throat and exined, "It''s my fault. I¡ª" He briefly told Rose how he infuriated Sonia.


    It finally dawned upon Rose after hearing Toby''s story, and she red at him disdainfully. "Serves you


    right! How could you do that to her?! Even I want to spank you."


    Mary nodded approvingly. She had never heard of such retaliation.


    Just because Soniaughed at him, he took revenge on her by kissing her so that both of them would


    have to experience the stew.


    It was also surprising that Toby made such a childish move! Mary would not have believed it if it had


    been in the past.


    Toby lowered his head, so Rose could not see his expression. She scoffed at him and immediately


    beamed at Sonia, "Sonny, calm down. Toby wasn''t thinking straight this time. Just take it as he was out


    of his mind. It''s not good for your health to be angry all the time."


    "I know." Sonia smiled back at her. "I''m not angry anymore."


    "Good girl." Rose took her hand and patted it gently. "Sonny, you''re such a sweetheart. That brat, on


    the other hand, is so hopelessly childish! He''s thirty years old now, but he still behaves in such a silly


    way. I wonder who he learned it from. Sonny, he''s silly, so just ignore his behavior and forgive him,


    okay? You don''t have to stoop to his level and get so upset, right? There''s no point in doing so. What


    do you say?"


    Sonia smiled. Although Rose was berating Toby by saying that he was childish and silly, she was


    actually persuading her on Toby''s behalf to forgive him. Rose was indeed a considerate grandmother


    who cared about her grandson.


    Sonia nced at Toby enviously. She envied him for having such a lovely grandmother, but she was an


    orphan.


    Her biological parents abandoned her after birth.


    She was fortunate to be adopted by her father and loved by her adoptive parents, but unfortunately, her


    mother died when she was young, and a few yearster, her father passed away as well.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She had a maternal grandfather, but they rarely met or contacted each other because of work.


    Technically speaking, she had no family.


    Hence, she envied Toby for having a grandmother who genuinely cared about him.


    It must feel so nice.


    "Okay, I won''t be angry with him anymore. Actually, I wasn''t angry with him. I was just upset. Now that


    you have persuaded me, I can''t be willful, right?" Sonia ced her other hand on Rose''s hand and


    smiled sweetly.


    Rose was relieved when Sonia said that she was no longer furious with Toby.


    Finally, they had made up. They wouldn''t fight again, right?


    Rose looked at Toby and frowned in puzzlement when she saw Toby staring nkly at Sonia,


    seemingly lost in thought.


    What is up with him? Doesn''t he hear that Sonny is no longer angry with him? He shoulde over


    quickly and cheer her up! What is he doing there in a daze?


    Her grandson was a hopeless fool.


    Rose exasperatedly raised her feet and kicked Toby under the table.


    The abrupt attack snapped Toby back to his senses. He extended his arm and pulled Sonia into his


    embrace.


    Not only Sonia but Rose and Mary were also shocked by his actions.


    What is going on? Mary thought. Why is Toby suddenly hugging Sonia?


    In contrast to Mary''s puzzlement, Rose smiled in relief.


    Not bad. Not bad at all. As expected of my grandson, he is still smart and slick as ever.

 Chapter 1178

    Chapter 1178


    Rose wanted to knock some sense into Toby''s head so that he could swoop in andpletely cheer


    Sonia up immediately.


    When Toby regained hisposure after Rose''s reminder, she assumed that he would humor Sonia


    with some sweet talk. Still, to her pleasant surprise, he immediately embraced Sonia, which exceeded


    her expectations.


    A hug was far more effective than sweet talks.


    Indeed, she was now old, so her ideas were somewhat conservative, but it didn''t matter as long as


    Toby was bold and straightforward.


    Rose grinned from ear to ear when she looked at the couple hugging each other.


    Mary noticed the delightful smile on Rose''s face. Although she didn''t know why Rose was so happy,


    she felt relieved and reassured.


    On the other hand, Sonia finally came to her senses in Toby''s arms. She raised her arms and nudged


    Toby, attempting to push him away, but unlike her shove when he kissed her earlier, she pushed him


    very gently this time.


    After all, Rose and Mary were watching them, and she couldn''t push Toby away with all her might.


    Hence, she patted his back lightly with a flushed face, signaling him to release her.


    Frankly speaking, she was quite embarrassed when he decided to shower her with affection with an


    audience.


    However, Toby had no intention of letting go of Sonia, although he sensed the silent implication behind


    her actions. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and snuggled her close.


    Sonia''s body stiffened. Then, she sighed in resignation, leaned over, and whispered, "Toby, what are


    you doing? Let me go. Mary and Grandma are watching."


    "No, I don''t want to let you go." Toby wrapped one arm around her waist and stroked her hair gently


    with the other hand. "You don''t have to envy me. You have a family too. I''m your family, so my family is


    yours too. You told Grandma that you wished she could treat you as her own granddaughter. Have you


    forgotten? So, we are your family, and you can treat her as your grandmother too."


    Sonia suddenly froze when she heard his remark, and her hand suspended mid-motion.


    "C-Can you read minds?" Her slightly widened eyes were full of astonishment.


    Toby chuckled. "I knew what you were thinking just by looking at your eyes. Also, the way you looked at


    me carried such an obvious longing, so it was only natural for me to be able to guess what you were


    thinking."


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia leaned her head on his shoulder and chuckled. "You know me so well. I feel like I can''t hide any


    secrets from you."


    "That''s about right. It shows that we can be honest with each other, isn''t it?" Toby ran his fingers


    through her smooth and silky hair lovingly.


    "You''re right." Sonia smiled happily. At this moment, shepletely forgot about Rose and Mary.


    When Toby hugged her, she was flustered because she didn''t expect Toby to be so affectionate in front


    of Rose and Mary. Nevertheless, she was touched when she heard Toby''s warm reassurance and


    wholly ignored her surroundings. All she could feel right now was the man hugging her and the


    tenderness she held for him in her heart.


    Meanwhile, Rose and Mary were amused to see the couple snuggling up to each other.


    "Mary, do you see how touched Sonny is? I wonder what Toby said to her to make her feel that way,"


    Rose looked up and asked Mary, who was standing beside her.


    Mary shook her head. "How should I know, Old Madam? But I guess it''s some romantic words that can


    instantly cheer Miss Reed up."


    "Perhaps." Rose nodded.


    "Old Madam." At this moment, a servant walked in from the living hall.


    Sonia recognized the person immediately. It was none other than Olivia, whom Toby had specially


    assigned to take care of her when she lost her sight.


    Olivia walked in and greeted Rose first before turning toward Toby and Sonia and smiling at them.


    The arrival of Olivia finally made her aware of her surroundings. Sonia reflexively looked at Rose and


    Mary, who looked at her with teasing eyes. Her face turned beet red in embarrassment, and she


    immediately pushed Toby away and sat back down.


    Toby was still immersed in theforts of holding a loved one in his embrace. So, he pouted as soon


    as she pushed him away. I''m still not done hugging you!


    "Olivia, is lunch ready?" Rose asked Olivia with a smile.


    "Yes, Old Madam." Olivia nodded. "Lunch is ready."


    "Wonderful. Set up the table. We''ll be right there," Rose instructed.


    Olivia nodded and left.


    Mary helped Rose up from the chair. "Sonny, let''s go and have lunch with me." As she spoke, she


    offered Sonia her hand.


    Sonia hastily got up and held Rose''s hand, and the threedies walked out of the living room side by


    side toward the dining room. They didn''t even ask Toby toe along, as if they tacitly ignored him.


    Toby had reasons to suspect that they were deliberately ignoring him.


    Still, he shook his head with an amused smile on his face, shoved his hand in his pockets, and followed


    after them.


    After lunch, Sonia formally said goodbye to Rose and left with Toby to the office. They had work to do,


    so they couldn''t stay here all the time. Regardless, they could stay a few hours more at home because


    they purposely postponed their work to make time for family.


    Despite Rose''s reluctance, she knew that they were busy, so she urged them to leave for work. Only


    after Sonia promised toe over and see her often did she beam in joy.


    Tom had been waiting for Sonia and Toby at the entrance of the old manor, and Toby''s customized


    Mayback was parked behind him.


    When he caught sight of the two walking out of the old manor, he greeted them and then opened the


    back seat door. Sonia got into the car first, followed by Toby.


    After the two took their seats, Tom got into the driver''s seat and closed the door. While he was


    fastening his seat belt, he gushed at Toby with an excited smile on his face, "Mr. Fuller, there is good


    news."


    "What is it?" Toby tidied his cuffs, sounding somewhat uninterested.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was intrigued. She put her handbag beside her and stared curiously at Tom.


    Perhaps Tom felt that it was impolite and inconvenient to speak to them without facing that, plus Toby


    did not urge him to drive, so Tom unbuckled his seat belt and turned around to face them.


    "The men we sent over to keep an eye on Connor have sent word that someone covered Connor with


    a sack and beat him up!" At this point, Tom''s face grinning in glee, and even his eyes lit up with obvious


    delight. "They didn''t know what Connor had done and who he had offended that the other party


    retaliated in this way. The retaliation was a bit of child''s y, but it was practical and straightforward.


    He was beaten up! I bet that Connor must have felt so humiliated this time. He has never been treated


    like this before. This was a personal insult to him. It serves him right, haha! I must say that the person


    who did this is a genius!"


    He was so thrilled when he spoke of this that he even pped his legs andughed.


    Sonia assumed that the good news that Tom was referring to was something else, but this news wasn''t


    in line with her thoughts. She felt a little conflicted about Tom''spliment because he was actually


    praising her and mocking her simultaneously.


    How can he say that her method of covering Connor up with a sack and beating him up is child''s y?!


    It''s absolute genius!


    Sonia couldn''t help but pout in dismay.


    Toby narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed Sonia''s displeasure, and a hint of something shed


    across his eyes. Then, he turned his attention to Tom and asked, "What did you say? Someone


    wrapped Connor up in a sack and beat him up?"


    "Yup!" Tom, who was so excited that his face was flushed, nodded profusely. "When I received the


    news, I couldn''t believe it and thought I had misheard it until the men sent me the photos of Conner''s


    condition. Only then did I finally believe that he was roughed up. Of course, they didn''t know who did it,


    but it is good news for us. It''s a great pleasure to see how miserable Connor is after such an ordeal.


    Mr. Fuller, do you want to look at the photos?"

 Chapter 1179

    Chapter 1179


    Before Toby could say anything, Sonia had already stretched her hand toward Tom. "Show me! I want


    to see the photos."


    She wanted to know how Charles and his men beat Connor up and were extremely curious about the


    oue.


    Toby took another nce at the eager Sonia and finally nodded. "Show us."


    "Alright," Tom answered, reached into his pocket, and grabbed his phone. Then, he tapped on the


    screen twice, turned the phone around, and showed the screen to Toby and Sonia.


    Sonia and Toby leaned forward slightly so they could get a better look at the photos, and sure enough,


    Sonia saw the image on the screen.


    The photo was not very clear because it was zoomed in. In fact, it was a little blurred, but they could


    see the content quite well.


    In the photo, Connor was leaning against the crumbling wall. His face was severely bruised; it was ugly


    enough that it was only a face a mother could love. His nose was bleeding, and there was blood at the


    corner of his mouth. One of his eyes was swollen, so much so that he had a slit for an eye.


    Not only that, but he also looked utterly disheveled. Of course, his face was a mess, but even his


    usually coiffed hair was in disarray. He no longer looked dignified and wise like she used to see him in


    the past.


    Connor, in the photo, looked as pathetic and miserable as a beggar.


    The brown sack covering the lower half of his body was eye-catching.


    It was evident that the other party had just released Connor from the sack, revealing only his head and


    upper body. His lower body was still in the sack.


    "Wow, he looks terrible." Sonia leaned back on the seat and clicked her tongue lightly.


    Toby raised his eyebrows and leaned back without ament.


    Tom kept the phone away and quipped, "Yes. Judging from the bruises on his face, I can immediately


    tell that the people who beat him up targeted his face as they gave him a good beating. I estimated that


    his body was bruised too, but our men could only take photos from a distance for fear of being


    discovered, which was why the photos weren''t in high definition. Otherwise, we may be able to see his


    condition clearly."


    "It''s not a big deal. Just find out which hospital Connor went to and get the report. It''s that simple, isn''t


    it?" Toby curled his lips slightly and suggested.


    Tom pped his thigh again. "You''re right! How could I forget? Okay, I''ll ask our men to investigate this


    matter."


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    After that, Tom lowered his head and began to draft the message, saying, "I wonder who Connor has


    offended this time that resulted in such a beating. Maybe, we can take the initiative to be allies.


    After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe they know something about Connor that we


    don''t. Then, we can exchange information, and it''ll be easier if we want to move against him in the


    future."


    Sonia shook her head, indicating that she didn''t know much about Connor. In fact, she didn''t know as


    much about Connor as they did.


    Toby noticed Sonia''s reaction again and chuckled because that confirmed his spection. "You''re


    going to be disappointed. The people who beat Connor up don''t know much about Connor, so you


    won''t get what you want."


    As soon as he finished speaking. Tom and Sonia turned and looked at him simultaneously.


    "How can you be so sure, Mr. Fuller?" Tom asked. Sonia was curious to know the answer to the


    question too.


    Toby disregarded Tom and smirked at Sonia. "You had someone beat up Connor, didn''t you?"


    Sonia''s eyes widened in shock, and she was dumbstruck.


    Tom was even more bewildered, so much so that he looked at Sonia in disbelief and shrieked shrilly,


    "What?! Miss Reed, did you order someone to beat him up?!"


    Sonia looked at the astonished Tom and then at Toby, who looked like everything was within his


    calctions. Eventually, she sighed. "Yup. I did it, but how did you find out? I didn''t say anything, nor


    did I want to tell you about it."


    Toby took her hand and yed with it. "It wasn''t hard for me to find out. It''s true that you didn''t say


    anything about being the mastermind behind Connor''s beating, but your reaction and expression


    exposed you."


    "My reaction and expression?" Sonia blinked in bewilderment, obviously not realizing what kind of


    response she had made that exposed herself.


    Toby took her hand to his lips and kissed it gently before revealing the truth, "When Tom told us that


    someone covered Connor with a sack and beat him up, the first reaction for those who didn''t know the


    truth should be surprised. I was surprised because not only did I not expect Connor to be beaten, but


    also the way he was roughed up."


    "Yes, you''re right!" Tom nodded profusely. "As I said, when I first heard the news, I thought that I


    misheard it or our men were joking. Anyway, I couldn''t believe that someone actually beat Connor ck


    and blue until I saw the photos."


    Toby didn''t respond to Tom''s remark. He raised his chin slightly and continued, "But, Little Leaf, you


    were not surprised at all when you heard the news. In fact, you smiled. It was not the kind of delightful


    smile when your enemy was beaten, but it was the smug smile after you achieved your purpose. How


    could a person not be surprised and smile when learning about this? This would only happen when you


    were the one who arranged this and knew about his beating. So¡ª"


    Toby stopped without finishing his sentence, but Sonia and Tom knew what he meant.


    Sonia shrugged in resignation. "Oh, I see. I thought that as long as my lips were sealed, you would not


    know that I was the mastermind, but I didn''t expect that my reaction would betray me. What is more


    shocking is that you paid attention to my reaction when you learned that Connor was beaten up and


    could evene to such a conclusion within minutes. You''re so scary because no one can hide


    anything from you. I suddenly have more sympathy for your enemies."


    Toby kissed her fingers and smiled enchantingly. "Thank you for thepliment, Little Leaf. I feel very


    honored."


    "Hah!" Sonia red at him and withdrew her hand. "It wasn''t apliment."


    Toby chuckled and didn''t say anything.


    Tom swallowed nervously, and his eyes were full of shock as he looked at Sonia as if seeing her under


    a new light. "Miss Reed, did you really do it?"


    "Yup." Sonia chuckled shyly.


    "D*mn!" Tom gasped in surprise. "I would never have thought that you could do something like this!"


    Sonia waved him off and chuckled in embarrassment.


    Toby crossed his legs elegantly and regarded her curiously. "So, why did you do it?"


    Tom also looked at Sonia with glowing eyes because he was intrigued as well.


    Sonia stuck her tongue out cheekily. "Well... I''m trying to help you out."


    "Help me out?" Toby was shocked at first, and then his eyes and voice turned gentle and tender as he


    said, "Why do you want to help me out?"


    Toby''s voice was so different than usual that Tom felt goosebumps and rubbed his arms in difort.

 Chapter 1180

    Chapter 1180


    Toby assumed that the beating was not because Connor murdered his father, broke his mother''s heart,


    and made him lose both parents since he was young.


    Toby''s resentment toward Connor was so massive that a simple beating would not be able to relieve


    his rage at all.


    Sonia knew about this matter, so she wouldn''t have made up her mind to help him out because of this.


    Therefore, he presumed that what Sonia meant by helping him out was a slight grudge that was much


    milder than his father''s murder and his mother''s heartbreak.


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear and nced at Tom before saying, "Do you remember when I told


    you yesterday morning that I wanted to talk to you?"


    "Yes, I do." Toby nodded.


    Sonia sighed. "But we spent the night in the old manorst night, and we¡ª"


    At this point, she suddenly realized something and blushed. She nced at Tom, who was looking


    back at her curiously, and quickly blurted, "Anyway, we didn''t manage to have that talkst night."


    "So, did you n to tell me about you beating up Connor?" Toby asked.


    "Yes." Sonia nodded. "Tom went to see you at Bayside Residence the night before when you came


    home, didn''t he? You guys talked for a while. I didn''t know what you were talking about, but you looked


    quite upset when he left. Obviously, something had happened, but when I asked you about it, you


    refused to tell me and even said that you were fine. But, of course, I knew you weren''t okay, and you


    weren''t telling me because you didn''t want me to be worried, so you decided to keep me in the dark.


    But how could you not know that I would still be concerned over this even if you didn''t tell me anything?


    I didn''t sleep well that night because of this."


    "I''m so sorry." Toby''s eyshes fluttered as he gently embraced her. "I didn''t know about that."


    Indeed, he didn''t want her to be worried because of that incident, so he decided not to tell her, but he


    never thought that she would be so concerned that it disrupted her sleep. So it was his fault for not


    thinking things through.


    As for Tom, who was in the driver''s seat, he lowered his head sheepishly and turned around quietly


    after hearing what Sonia said. So he understood Sonia''s decision.


    Oh gosh, it''s my unlucky day. Miss Reed will definitely tell Mr. Fuller that I was the one who told her


    about this.


    At first, he thought that they had talked things outst night, but he didn''t know that they didn''t discuss


    the matter at all.


    Why didn''t they talk?! If Miss Reed talked to Mr. Fullerst night, and she told him that I was the one


    who told her about it, Mr. Fuller couldn''t do anything to me because I wasn''t there! But it seems that I


    have run out of luck. I didn¡¯t expect them to talk about this when I''m right here! Under such


    circumstances, Miss Reed will undoubtedly reveal the truth, and I can''t escape if Mr. Fuller wants to


    beat the cr*p out of me!


    Oh dear... Tom prayed for Toby to be merciful.


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia had no idea that Tom was on pins and needles now. She made herselffortable in Toby''s


    arms, nudged his shoulder gently with her chin, and smiled as she looked out the window. "No, you


    didn''t do anything wrong. You didn''t want to tell me because you didn''t want me to worry. I can


    understand your concern, and it wasn''t your fault. So, the next day, when you returned home to take


    the USB drive, I asked Tom what he said to youst night."


    At this point, Toby could hazard a guess about what had happened. So, he narrowed his eyes and


    swept his gaze at the driver''s seat.


    Although Tom had already turned back and sat properly in his seat, Toby''s re sent a chill down


    Tom''s spine, and he shivered in fright.


    Toby''s re was so fearsome that it could scare him even if he didn''t meet his eyes directly.


    "Did he tell you everything?" Although it was a question, it sounded more like a statement.


    Sonia nodded. "Yes, he told me, but it was only because he was worried about you after I described


    your mood after the meeting. He knew that he couldn''t persuade you, nor would you listen to his


    advice, so he suggested that Ifort you. At the very least, you would listen to me."


    Tom, who was sitting in the driver''s seat, was touched.


    Miss Reed, you''re the best! He knew that Sonia intended to tell Toby that he didn''t mean to spill the


    beans, and she hoped that Toby would not me him for this.


    Toby pursed his thin lips before saying, "Don''t do it again."


    Tom knew that Toby was referring to him, so he nodded repeatedly. "Got it, Mr. Fuller. I won''t do it


    again."


    Tom heaved a sigh of relief.


    He was over the moon because thisment indicated that Toby forgave him and would not punish


    him, and it was all thanks to Sonia.


    On the other hand, Sonia was upset, and her expression sank. "What do you mean by that? What if


    you encounter a simr situation next time? Will you keep me in the dark again? Do you want me to be


    worried again?"


    She wanted Toby and Tom to know they didn''t consider her feelings.


    Tom gave Toby a helpless nce before turning his head again as if he had nothing to do with it.


    Actually, it was indeed none of his business. They were a couple, and Toby was the one who


    misspoken, so he should own up to his mistakes and handle the problem.


    As his subordinate, Tom decided to be one with the background and provide mental support from afar.


    Tom''s action infuriated Toby, and his face darkened, but what could he do? Could he shake Tom down?


    Of course not. His priority now was to coax the angry Sonia and cheer her up.


    Toby massaged his temples and looked at Sonia apologetically. "I''m sorry. I didn''t think it through. I


    promise I won''t keep you in the dark again, okay? This will never happen again, and I''ll tell you


    everything, okay?"


    Sonia side-eyed him and huffed. "That''s more like it."


    When he noticed the slight curl of her lips, he heaved a sigh of relief. Phew, she''s happy now.


    Sonia was amused and slightly annoyed when she heard his sigh.


    D*mn it, does he think that I''m so obnoxious and illogical? Why does he look like it takes a lot of effort


    to cheer me up?!


    After she rolled her eyes at him, she cleared her throat and continued where she left off, "When I found


    out from Tom that you were upset because Connor had threatened you with your mother''s relic, I was


    pissed by the fact that such a disgusting person like Connor actually existed in this world. They dated


    once, for goodness'' sake. Even if he didn''t love her anymore, he shouldn''t drag her into this for the


    sake of their past rtionship, not to mention that your mother is dead. But he''s so awful. He


    threatened you with a deceased person''s relic just to save his illegitimate daughter. This was just too


    much! So, I decided to teach that p*nk a lesson."


    "So, you asked someone to wrap him up in a sack and beat him?" Toby looked at her in amusement.


    Sonia giggled sheepishly. "Yes. You know that my power is limited. I can''t do anything to do much, so I


    could only use such a childish and direct method."

 Chapter 1181

    Chapter 1181


    "Yes." Sonia kept her phone in her bag before she casually leaned against the seat and stretched.


    Then, as if she were a furry cat, she curled up in the seat and responded softly, "But Charles and


    Daphne were university mates whoter worked together for a few years. Throughout that time, they


    remained purely subordinates. Daphne has never revealed her feelings for Charles, and all this while,


    he did not dislike her as well. It was after that incident that their rtionship changed dramatically, and


    his attitude toward her deteriorated."


    "Perhaps Charles doesn''t truly dislike your secretary. He is simply refusing to face his feelings for


    Daphne. As a result, he subconsciously changed his attitude toward her, as if doing so would allow his


    feelings to remain hidden and undiscovered by others," Toby said, his gaze fixed on the road ahead of


    him.


    Sonia was stunned by his words. "What do you mean?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" He came to aplete stop in front of a red light, giving him enough time to turn


    around and look at her. "Charles has nothing against your secretary. In fact, the opposite was true. He


    has feelings for her, but he is unaware of them. He subconsciously wants to care for her without


    realizing that this is his love for a woman. Instead, he assumed there was something wrong with him


    that was caused by Daphne. That''s why his attitude toward her changed."


    Toby''s words hit Sonia like a bomb, leaving her stunned for a few moments before she regained her


    senses and her voice. "W-What?! Charles has feelings for Daphne, but he is unaware of it?"


    Toby gave a nod. "That''s correct." He then saw the green light was on and resumed his journey.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was gripping her seatbelt tightly, her mouth wide open in shock. Her dazed


    expression indicated that she was still reeling from what Toby said. "How could this be possible?"


    Wasn''t she the one Charles adored?


    It wasn''t that she desired his love. Instead, Charles was the one who told her that he had loved her


    since he was a child, and that his feelings had not changed over the years.


    Furthermore, he was head over heels with her previously.


    And now, Toby said that Daphne, not Sonia, was the one Charles truly loved!


    Sonia almost didn''t believe it.


    "Why isn''t it possible?" Toby looked dashing as he steered the wheel with only one hand. "How else


    would you exin Charles''s concern for your secretary?"


    That almost choked Sonia.


    True. Charles seems to be overly concerned about Daphne. She could still recall Charles'' overreaction


    to Daphne earlier in the day at the office.


    "He is concerned about her; you''re right on that. But does that necessarily imply he has feelings for her,


    no?" Sonia was skeptical.


    While she spoke, Toby honked at the slow driver in front of him. "Indeed. But the thing is, he has said


    that he dislikes her. Would he be so concerned about her if he truly dislikes her? Will you?"


    "Of course not. I don''t even want to look at the person I disliked," she responded immediately.


    At the next instant, she froze, as if her moment of realization had arrived. She straightened her back


    and locked her gaze on Toby, her eyes wide open. "I know what you mean now. Charles would not


    have reacted this way to Daphne if he truly disliked her. It means that his so-called dislike for her isn''t


    true."


    "Exactly. No one will ever be concerned, or even pay attention to, someone he dislikes. But Charles,


    despite saying that he dislikes Daphne, remains concerned about her. Obviously, his dislike isn''t


    genuine, but his fondness of her is. It''s simr to how a young boy likes to bully the girl that he likes.


    His bullying of her doesn''t mean that he dislikes her; rather, it indicates that he likes her but does not


    know how to express it. As a result, he could only use such an attitude to catch her attention. Charles is


    probably the same way."


    Sonia couldn''t help but apud after hearing Toby''s analysis. The more he said, the more she believed


    what he said was true.


    However, she frowned in the next few minutes. "But since when does he have feelings for her?" she


    questioned.


    "How would I know if you didn''t even know?" Toby took advantage of the split second when he turned


    to cast a sidelong nce at her.


    She sighed at his response. "Forget it; it''s not important. What matters is that Charles is unaware that


    he likes Daphne and continues to believe he loves me. Do you think I should bring it up directly with


    him? Perhaps when he realizes his true love is Daphne, the two of them will reconcile, and even better,


    they will be a couple!" Sonia said as she stroked her chin, contemting the possibility that what


    she said would ur.


    Toby saw right through her. He stopped her, his brows furrowed. "You should throw that idea out."


    "Why?" Sonia asked, puzzled.


    He fixed his gaze in front of him, his expression solemn. "The reason Charles doesn''t realize his


    feelings is because he subconsciously doesn''t want to admit that he is no longer faithful to you.


    However, he also realizes that when his emotions are affected by Daphne every time; that is why he


    purposefully treated her badly, thinking that by doing so, his emotions would return to normal and he


    would no longer be affected by her. Do you think he''d ept it if you told him now that he''s affected by


    Daphne because he loves her? Would he then think that your secretary asked you to tell him that on


    purpose?"


    Sonia opened her mouth in response to Toby''s words, but she was unable to refute anything.


    Then, he went on, "He''d undoubtedly believe Daphne was the one who persuaded you to tell him that


    they should get together. All of his annoyance and frustration will be directed and vented toward her as


    a result."


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "Could things really get that serious?" Sonia went pale as she heard that.


    "Of course it will." Toby nodded assertively. "As I''ve said, his ignorance of his feelings is due to his


    refusal to admit that he now loves someone else. If you point it out to him, instead of being surprised,


    he will get angry instead, thinking that you and your secretary are conspiring to deceive him. While he


    may not do anything to you, I can''t say for sure that he won''t do anything to Daphne."


    "What should I do, then?" Sonia was anxious. "Do I just pretend to be ignorant and leave them alone?"


    "Yes. Just don''t get involved," Toby agreed. "Directly pointing it out to him will only make matters worse.


    Therefore, it will be better for you to pretend to be unaware and wait for Charles to realize it himself. In


    this way, he would be more willing to ept his true feelings, because time may have passed before


    he realizes it, and they may have been through a lot of things together during that time, resulting in his


    attitude toward her may have changed by then. It would be easier for him to ept that he has feelings


    for her at that point."


    Sonia did not respond to Toby''s words. She lowered her head, pondering whether what he said was


    usible.


    After much thought, she concluded that Toby''s consideration was valid and even thoughtful in all


    aspects.


    "Perhaps you''re right." She felt relieved and nodded. "Fine. I''ll just pretend I don''t know anything."


    "Good move," Toby said, raising his chin.


    Sonia, on the other hand, squinted and looked at him with suspicion. "When did you be an expert


    in rtionships? Even I had no idea Charles had feelings for Daphne, but you did! You even


    considered the possible oues if I mentioned it to Charles. This is not at all like you! Pray tell, what


    causes you to act this way?"

 Chapter 1182

    Chapter 1182


    Toby was a smart guy, but his intelligence was always focused on business rather than emotions.


    At the very least, he wasn''t the type to see through someone else''s fondness for another, let alone


    propose ideas.


    But now he could see through Charles'' feelings for Daphne, and he could also analyze what would


    happen if Sonia pointed it out to him directly.


    In the past, Sonia would never believe this.


    Hence, she reasoned that something must have happened to him that she was unaware of.


    Toby let out a light cough as he noticed Sonia pointing at himself and asking doubtfully. "I recently


    finished a few books. That''s why I''ve noticed Charles acting strangely when he''s with your secretary."


    "Books?" Sonia asked, her face filled with doubt. "What types of magical books are those?"


    "Books about rtionships," Toby muttered, returning his hand from his chin to the steering wheel.


    Sonia, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. "Why are you reading them all of a sudden?"


    She couldn''t understand his actions at all.


    Toby''s eyes twinkled. A rare desperate expression appeared on his face. "When I walked out of the


    conference room after a meeting a few days ago, I overheard a few female colleagues ranting about


    how they like romantic guys but that all of their husbands aren''t romantic. As a result, they''re fed up


    with their husbands."


    Hearing this, something struck Sonia. Her lips pursed while she responded, "So you also regard


    yourself as someone who isn''t romantic and is afraid that I''ll get sick of you, just like how they got sick


    of their husbands? That''s why you start reading those books in your attempt to be a romantic,


    right?


    "No," Toby responded calmly, his gaze fixed on the road in front of him. However, his flushed ears


    betrayed him.


    His voice trembled slightly as well, revealing his guilt in lying.


    That made Soniaugh. "Don''t try to hide it; you''ve already exposed yourself. How did I not realize you


    were such an insecure person before?"


    "Because I lost you once, and I''m afraid of losing you again."


    There were many things in this world that if they happened once, they would happen again and again


    indefinitely.


    Losing Sonia once was sufficient to crumble Toby.


    How could he endure losing her again?


    Sonia kept her smile and sighed deep down as she observed his solemn yet unconfident demeanor.


    "Don''t be concerned; that will not happen."


    While saying, she put her hand on his arm in an attempt to reassure him.


    In fact, she had never seen him with such ack of confidence before today.


    And he shouldn''t have such insecurities, being from the Fuller Family and aplishing at the age of


    30 what most people wouldn''t be able to aplish in their lifetimes.


    Such an emotion should never have entered his life.


    Toby should be a confident and a high-spirited person. Even if he became conceited, no one would


    regard that as wrong as he indeed had what it took to be that way.


    However, ack of confidence that should not have appeared on him surfaced as a result of his fear of


    losing her again.


    While Sonia felt all warm and fuzzy inside at that, she also felt her heart ache.


    She was the one who transformed this confident man, who was inplete control, into someone who


    felt insecure.


    It was as if she had dragged a high and mighty god from heaven and forced him to suffer in the human


    world.


    Deep down her heart, she was reproaching herself for this.


    She immediately lowered her gaze, attempting to conceal the guilt that was visible in her eyes from


    him.


    Knowing Toby, he would be worried if he found out, and he might even wonder if he did something


    wrong.


    He would apologize to her even if he had no idea if he was in the wrong.


    Remembering the times how he was anxious over her, Sonia felt a little amused.


    She looked at him and responded in the same solemn tone he had earlier, "Don''t worry. I won''t


    abandon you as long as you don''t betray me. No matter how many women outside want me to leave,


    as long as you haven''t done anything wrong, I will remain by your side."


    Hearing that, Toby immediately indicated his double signal and came to aplete stop on the road.


    Then, in front of her doubtful gaze, he unfastened his seatbelt.


    "What are you doing?! Why did you stop the car, Toby? We''re on the road! Aren''t you afraid that¡ª"


    Before Sonia could finish her sentence, Toby approached her and drew her into his embrace. His lips


    devoured hers as well, and he swallowed all of her unfinished words.


    Sonia was stunned and her eyes were wide open as she lost the ability to react.


    After all, she hadn''t expected him to do this out of the blue.


    Of course she didn''t expect this. After all, they were on the highway, surrounded by cars.


    How could he suddenly stop the car without thinking about the possibility of a collision?


    Within seconds, the honking from the cars behind her brought her back to reality. After regaining her


    composure, she pushed him away and anxiously checked the side mirror to see if there had been any


    idents.


    If there were really idents, the two of them would be in a lot of trouble.


    Fortunately, she didn''t see anything major happening behind her other than a long queue, and she


    heaved a long breath of relief at that.


    "Luckily there was no ident! We''d be in big trouble if that happened, and we''d feel terrible as well!"


    She shut the window, patted her own chest, and said to the man in the driver''s seat, who hadn''t started


    the car but was running his thumb over his lips, looking utterly satisfied.


    Toby lowered his hand and looked in the rearview mirror.


    All of the cars were urging him to move. The honking continued indefinitely, not pausing for a single


    second.


    He could only imagine how angry the drivers of the cars behind them were, and how irritated they were


    by Toby who blocked the path.


    However, none of them got out of their cars to confront or chastise him in person. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    This was because they could all see what a big shot Toby was, based on his car make and license


    te number. They didn''t dare to approach him¡ªhonking at him was already a brave act from them.


    "I''ve already indicated the double signal before I stop. If they still crash into us despite that, they only


    have their slow reaction to me," Toby said while restarting the car.


    His car continued on its way. When the Maybach began to move, all of the cars behind it began to


    move as well.


    Soon after, the main road resumed its normal traffic.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at Toby''s words. "How can you me it on them? You turned on the signal and


    stopped the car abruptly. Nobody could have predicted it! Furthermore, they were all kinds of drivers


    back there, both experienced and inexperienced. Those with experience may be able to react in time,


    but who can guarantee the amateurs will do the same? We are lucky to not have caused any ident,


    if not for their quick reactions. Anyway, just don''t do it again! If we cause a fatal ident, we''ll never be


    able to sleep well for the rest of our lives. Besides, there''s a chance they''ll crash into us and injure us


    as well!"


    Toby was so taken aback by her harsh words that he realized his actions earlier had truly terrified her.


    With that, he extended his hand and stroked her hair. "I''m sorry. It''s all my fault. I will never do it again,"


    he said softly.

 Chapter 1183

    Chapter 1183


    Seeing that he had understood what she said and had admitted his mistake, Sonia let it go


    immediately.


    Waving her hand, she muttered, "It''s fine as long as you don''t do it again. But why did you do that just


    now?"


    "Because I''m overjoyed," Toby replied, his lips curved.


    "Overjoyed?" She casted a sidelong nce at him. "What are you overjoyed about?"


    "Your promise." The curve on his face widened. "You said you will not leave me as long as I do not


    betray you, regardless of the difficulties you face. That means you''ve promised not to leave me forever,


    as I will never do you wrong. That''s what makes me so happy."


    While saying this, he slightly puffed out his chest, appearing confident and even smug.


    If he wasn''t a human, Sonia could almost see his tail wagging behind him.


    Does that really make him so happy?


    She smiled and shook her head. "No matter how happy you are, you shouldn''t stop the car anywhere


    you like."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll hug and kiss you in a safe ce next time."


    That instantly made her blush. "I''m not referring to that! What I mean is that you must ensure your own


    safety. Safety. Not taking advantage of every opportunity to hug or kiss me!"


    Toby patronizingly nodded, but he clearly didn''t take it seriously.


    Of course he would pay attention to his safety.


    But hugging and kissing her was also a priority!


    After all, he had to fight for such opportunities.


    He couldn''t very well expect her to take the initiative, could he?


    Seeing his patronizing demeanor, Sonia knew what he was thinking and was amused by the man.


    Forget it. Let him think whatever he wants, she thought.


    He wouldn''t take anything she said seriously anyway.


    They conversed happily the rest of the way to the police station.


    Meanwhile, Titus and Connor were in deep trouble.


    Toby''s revenge had finally been exacted, and Titus was the first to experience it.


    Titus and the investigation team were leaving the conference room, and both parties stood at the door.


    Titus shook his hand with Chief Dup, the leader of the investigation team. With his sickly face and a


    warm smile, Titus said, "It''s been hard on you, Chief Dup."


    "Not at all," Chief Dup replied smilingly. "You''re the one having a hard time, President Gray. Thank


    you so much for bringing us around for the past few days despite your poor health. We''ll feel bad as if


    your physical condition deteriorates."


    "Don''t mention it at all," Titus courteously replied. "This is mypany. Of course, as the president, I


    have to show you around and brief you on the issues at hand. After all, I am in charge of Triforce


    Enterprise. The investigation will conclude tomorrow, and I will rest well after that. There''s nothing to be


    concerned about."


    "Thank you for saying so, President Gray. We''re all done for the day, and we''ll head back to our hotel


    first. Let us not disturb your rest any further." Chief Dup drew his hand back and continued, "You


    don''t have to send us off. President Gray. Goodbye."


    "Let me send you all downstairs," Titus said while gesturing them the way.


    At that, Chief Dup didn''t say anything further. He nodded and led the way, with Titus walking beside


    him.


    Their subordinates followed them from behind.


    The group then proceeded to the elevator.


    Just as they were about to enter the waiting area for the elevator, they heard a sound resonating from


    it.


    It was a shocked voice that said, "What? Our president once kept the copse of a mining cave a


    secret?"


    "Not the copse," another voice echoed, correcting the previous person. "What was hidden was the


    actual death toll. The copse of the mining cave was too major to be concealed. Hence, the only thing


    he could hide was the number of people who died as a result of the incident. I heard it from someone


    else too. ording to him, one of ourpany''s mining caves had long reached the standard for


    closure and should no longer be used for mining. But because our president refused to find another


    quarry for that, he broke the rules and continued to mine that cave. As a result, the cave was over-


    exploited, making it too hollow to sustain itself, and the entire mountain eventually copsed after a


    heavy rain, bringing the cave with it and killing arge number of people."


    "Oh my, is this true?"


    "Of course! Why would I joke about such a matter?"


    Titus, who was standing outside, couldn''t take it any longer and was about to charge in with his fists


    clenched to prevent the two of them from continuing their conversation.


    But just as he was about to move, someone tugged his arm.


    He turned around to see Chief Dup''s arm on his.


    "President Gray, what do you n to do?" Chief Dup questioned with a narrowed gaze as he looked


    at Titus. Though smiling, his smile did not reach his eyes. Currently, his gaze was tinged with coldness


    and scrutiny.


    Titus broke out in cold sweat when faced with Chief Dup''s question. He panicked, and his heart was


    pounding so hard that he felt pain.


    Even his subordinates behind him became uneasy and lowered their heads, as if they didn''t see Titus,


    however, didn''t realize his subordinates'' actions as he did not dare to look around under Chief Dup''s


    stare.


    With that, he forced a smile, suppressed his panic deep within his heart and put on a calm front. "Chief


    Dup, my employees are talking gibberish. I need to put a stop to their nonsense. Could you¡­"


    He then lowered his head to look at Chief Dup''s grip on his arm.


    His intention was obvious; he wanted Chief Dup to let go of him.


    Chief Dup, on the other hand, pretended not to understand what Titus meant. The smile on his face


    remained as he said, "What are you anxious about, President Gray? Let us continue to hear them out


    before deciding whether what they say is gibberish."


    He had been in Seafield for quite some time, but he hadn''t found anything useful in Triforce Enterprise.


    The only thing he got were some minor blunders that the country could live with.


    Though he was a government official, he was still amoner.


    Wealth was idolized bymoners, and he was no exception. Chief Dup had always wanted to look


    into more problematicpanies for his own benefit, as well as to improve his work performance.


    But Triforce Enterprise was so clean that he couldn''t find anything. As a result, he couldn''t im any


    credit. This had already made him unhappy.


    Hence, now that he had finally learned something negative about thepany, he would not let


    anyone ruin it.


    He would not let anyone prevent him from achieving his expected performance.


    Titus had no idea what Chief Dup was contemting. However, from the coldness emanating from


    Chief Dup''s eyes, Titus could roughly guess what was on the man''s mind.


    He was determined to prevent Titus from interfering with the employees who were speaking.


    At this moment, anxiety and hatred filled Titus'' heart.


    He was anxious as to why the elevator wasn''t here yet. Once the elevator was here, the two


    employees would stop talking.


    And he hated them for bringing that matter up, among all other things.


    Most importantly, they did so right when Chief Dup was nearby.


    Aren''t they obviously putting me in trouble?


    Now that Chief Dup had heard about this, Titus would be in big trouble, as what the employees said


    was true. If Chief Dup decided to look into the incident, Titus would never be able to escape this


    unscathed.


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    The more Titus thought about it, the paler his face became. He appeared as if he was about to pass


    out at any moment.


    In fact, he wished he could just pass out on the spot.


    Perhaps doing so would alert the two employees inside and cause them to stop talking.


    And he could probably get away with it.

 Chapter 1184

    Chapter 1184


    Titus'' mind was hoping for him to pass out, but his body was doing the opposite by keeping him sober,


    and he was forced to listen.


    On usual days, he would faint on trivial matters and be sent to the hospital immediately, but it looked


    like it wasn''t happening anytime soon when he was desperate at this time.


    He had never hated himself this much for his body condition, which was ruining things at bad times


    from time to time. It''s a nuisance.


    Chief Dup was studying Titus with a meaningful look, as Titus'' face turned pale and beads of sweat


    fell from his forehead.


    Titus'' reaction was a confirmation of his guess. The employees are speaking the truth, or else Titus


    won''t react with such nervousness and anxiety but get angry. After all, a person normally won''t bear


    others spreading rumors of him and ndering his name.


    However, Titus'' expression was mixed with guilt and nervousness, other than anger. Therefore, Chief


    Dup couldn''t help but notice that and wondered, There must be something going on. He won''t have


    that look if he''s innocent.


    Meanwhile, the conversation between the two employees went on.


    "Simon, you mentioned many miners were killed in the mine copse. How many were they exactly?"


    "I don''t remember the numbers, but I''m sure more than ten died in the ident."


    "More than ten deaths?"


    "Yes. There''s aw in our country prohibiting thepany from continuing mining once there are more


    than ten deaths during the process. Besides, thepany must report the cases to the authorities. Our


    president indeed made the report, but thepany didn''t stop the mining back then. Obviously, not


    only did the president hide the truth that overexploitation was the cause of the mine copse in the first


    ce, he also lied about the number of deaths. He wanted to avoid the miners being prohibited to enter


    the cave, and continued to exploit the resources until he made the most value out of them."


    "Tsk! The president is crueler than I thought."


    "That''s amon trait of entrepreneurs, though. Enough of the topic. The elevator has arrived. Let''s


    go."


    Ending the conversation, the two men stepped into the elevator. The moment the elevator doors


    closed, the men turned to each other and exchanged a meaningful smile.


    The group turned around the corner and entered the lobby once the elevator began to descend.


    Chief Dup watched the number on the elevator floor disy decreasing before turning to Titus, who


    was clenching his fists tightly and deep in thought. Squinting his eyes, Chief Dup began coldly,


    "President Gray, I guess you heard everything, aren''t you? Do you have anything to tell me?"


    Titus'' eyes widened at that as he answered in panic, "Chief Dup, it''s not true. You shouldn''t listen to


    them. They''re merely trying to ruin my reputation. Please believe me. I''m telling the truth."


    He reached out his hand to grab the other man''s arm.


    Chief Dup was aware of Titus'' attempt as he lifted his arm to avoid Titus. Feigning a smile at Titus,


    he answered dismissively, "President Gray, I''ll find out whether the two were speaking the truth or not


    by myself, so stop wasting your energy in the attempt to earn my trust. Anything can wait until the


    investigation results are out. That''s all for today. I have to go."


    Once he finished his words, he stepped into another elevator, followed by his men.


    Titus didn''t try to follow and didn''t dare to do so at all. He could only stand there while watching the


    group leave. His body was stiff as he had goosebumps.


    As soon as the elevator door shut before him, the strength that had been supporting him left his body


    as his legs buckled and he fell backward.


    His subordinate shrieked before rushing over to help him stand.


    "President Gray! What happened? Are you okay?"


    "President Gray, I''ll help you up."


    Atst, Titus rose to his feet with his assistant''s help. As his limbs were still feeble and he was unable


    to stand firmly in such a condition, he leaned onto his assistant for bnce. The blood had drained


    from his face and he stared at the void, mumbling, "We''re doomed... We''re really doomed¡­"


    Hearing Titus'' mumbling on the side, the assistant could feel his stomach churning as his expression


    sank. He knew all of Titus'' dirty secrets being the man''s special assistant, including the mine copse


    in the two men''s discussion a moment ago.


    He was stuck in the same boat as Titus. If Titus was exposed and brought down by the authorities, the


    assistant''s oue would be the same, as he was Titus'' right-hand man. Therefore, he was panicking


    and anticipating his future, just as his superior did at the moment.


    However, the assistant''s priority for the moment was to calm Titus down. After all, Titus had to stay


    strong as the backbone of Triforce Enterprise. If Titus fell, the wholepany would fall too.


    Taking a deep breath, the assistant suppressed his emotions as he consoled, "President Gray, you


    don''t need to worry yourself even if Chief Dup intends to initiate an investigation. A long time has


    passed since the ident. We''ve made sure not to leave any traces back then, so Chief Dup


    wouldn''t find much evidence even if he tried. They can''t put us behind bars."


    Fortunately, the mine copse was an ident that happened a long time ago instead of a recent case.


    Or else, they wouldn''t have the time to clean up the scene. The authorities would find solid evidence of


    their crimes and send them to prison. At worst, they would be facing a death sentence.


    After all, it wasn''t about "more than ten deaths" as one of the men said. Fifteen people were killed in


    the mine copse.


    It was counted as a serious crime. Along with the overexploitation and continuation of mining, they no


    doubt would be sentenced to death once arrested.


    Once again, the burden was slightly lifted from the assistant''s mind as he was d that the ident


    was an old case. Besides, they had made sure to clear everything at the scene.


    Even if Chief Dup could find something to confirm his suspicions, he would never find conclusive


    evidence.


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    In other words, they wouldn''t be arrested or face a death sentence, but they would need to spend a lot


    of money to pay the authorities to avoid the consequences. However, it was nothingpared to being


    put in prison or death.


    Those words managed to ease Titus'' mind as he thought, He''s right. We''ve taken care of the scene. No


    need to panic.


    Titus was feeling calmer thinking about it as he regained his strength. Even though he was still pale, he


    was better than a while ago, but his expression was cold when he ordered, "Find out the name of the


    two men who dared to mess with me. I don''t care about their motives, but I want them dead by today."


    As he finished his words, a shocked and frightened look shed across all of his subordinates'' faces,


    except the assistant. They lowered their heads immediately to avoid Titus taking his anger out on them.


    Oh, God. If I heard right and understood him correctly, is the president threatening to kill the two


    gossipers?


    Titus and his assistant couldn''t care less about the others'' thoughts.


    The assistant wasn''t surprised to receive such an order from his superior. After all, he wouldn''t spare


    the person who almost got him killed if he was in Titus'' shoes.


    "Right away, President Gray." The assistant nodded at Titus with a gloomy expression.


    As their businesses were all entwined, the assistant dared say the two employees had also


    endangered him. Therefore, he wouldn''t pity the two, but rather hoped they would die.


    "Hold on. Help me back to the office first." Titus extended his hand to hold the man''s arm with a tired


    look.


    The assistant did as told and sent Titus back to the office before leaving to investigate the identity of


    the two employees who had a conversation in the elevator lobby.


    About half an hourter, the assistant returned to the office just as Titus was about to fall asleep.


    Seeing the assistant pulling a long face, Titus could feel his stomach drop as the bad feeling dawned


    on him. "How is it? Do you find anything?"


    Sitting upright, he quickly shot a question at the assistant in anticipation without hiding the resentment


    he was holding toward the targets.


    The man stopped before Titus'' work desk and shook his head gloomily. "I''m afraid that I''ve let you


    down, sir. I can''t find anything about them because they aren''t even employees at Triforce Enterprise or


    any of our subsidiaries.

 Chapter 1185

    Chapter 1185


    "What? They aren''t our employees?" Titus was shocked, and he wasn''t ready to ept the bombshell


    from his assistant as thoughts ran through his mind. He had been going on long-term medication,


    which was the reason why his jowly face was now quivering unsightly.


    The assistant nodded. "Yes, I''ve got hold of their faces from the surveince cameras in the elevator


    lobby and searched for them in thepany''s employee database, but I found nothing. Thinking they


    might be temporary workers whose IDs aren''t entered in the system, I also asked around every


    department. The heads helped me to ask their subordinates, but none of them had ever seen those two


    around before. Therefore, the two must be spies."


    Titus'' face scrunched up in anger as he spoke through gritted teeth. "In other words, the two were sent


    into thepany by someone on purpose, which was to expose me in front of Chief Dup, so he


    would direct his focus on me."


    The assistant lowered his head. "I think so too. Other than that, I can''t think of why the non-employees


    would show up at the time and talk about the mine copse with Chief Dup around. Someone was


    probably setting us up. President, do you think it''s our opponents that did it? We''ve seeded in taking


    over a lot of business dealings recently. The others are not satisfied and might want to take revenge on


    us."


    Shaking his head at the assistant''s guess, Titus answered with a somber look, "It''s not them."


    "No?" A surprised look shed across the assistant''s gloomy face. "President, what do you mean?"


    "We didn''t make the fuss over the mine copse back then as I suppressed the news before it could


    get to many people. Not even the high-levels in Triforce know, let alone the otherpanies. Besides,


    the ident urred a long time ago. I''ve been getting rid of the insiders over the years. Therefore,


    we''re the only ones who know it besides Cadman of the nning Department. Despite disobeying me,


    he knows the seriousness of the matter and won''t tell others. After all, it isn''t only about me, but the


    wholepany. Even if he wants to bring me down, he won''t want anything to happen to thepany.


    There''s no use for him to take over an endangeredpany, or else he would''ve spread the news long


    ago."


    Rubbing his chin, the assistantmented, "You''re right. The otherpanies don''t have the


    connections to know this."


    Titus narrowed his slitted eyes and spoke in a low tone. "If I''m right, Toby Fuller is the man behind all of


    these."


    "President Fuller?" The assistant''s surprised expression turned to a shocked one. "He knows it?"


    "At first, Toby didn''t know anything. I asked extra men from him when I was understaffed to get rid of


    some evidence. That time, he was close to Tina. She was considered an important person to him even


    in a vegetative state, so he had been watching over the Gray Family and Triforce. He didn''t think twice


    when I sought help even if I didn''t tell him the use at that time. After that, he inquired about the story, so


    he''s another person who knows."


    "I see." The assistant nodded in understanding.


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    Titus was clenching his fists on his sides. "He wants to get back at me, which is why he was exposing


    me to Chief Dup."


    The assistant stared at him. "Just because you paid the trolls to heckle and nder Sonia?"


    "Hmph! What else?" Titus harrumphed.


    The assistant pushed his sses with a finger. "Maybe it''s about Miss Tina? You and the Fuller Family


    or President Fuller himself aren''t holding grudges against each other. The worst matter by far was Miss


    Tina asked to hypnotize him and pretended to be his lover in the past. As President Fuller''s main target


    of retaliation, Miss Tina, has passed away, he could only unleash his fury on you since you''re her


    adoptive father."


    "That''s impossible." Titus shook his head. "Toby might be a vengeful man. He indeed will see us as


    another target to take his anger out ording to what happened between him and Tina. However, if he


    wants revenge, he would have done it a long time ago because he''s not the kind of person to wait


    without taking any action. On usual days, he treats me like I don''t exist at most, and has no interest in


    taking revenge on me. I can''t exactly understand his behavior. Therefore, I''m certain it has nothing to


    do with Tina. He''s doing it for Sonia this time."


    The assistant then spoke his opinion. "No matter his motives, as long as the both of you are rted to


    Miss Tina, there will always be a grudge between you. Even if he''s not bothering to take revenge on us


    right now, he would do it any time. I think he''s preparing for something."


    Titus sighed worriedly. "You''re right. Even if we have no idea what he is waiting for when he''s capable,


    we need to be prepared, or else we can''t react in time when he strikes. However, our top priority is to


    solve the immediate problems. We can''t do anything to stop Chief Dup from investigating the


    ident for the time being. Even though his findings won''t put the sentence on us, they will affect us


    nheless. We will need a huge amount of money to resolve it. Go see Cadman and discuss the


    funds with him. He won''t reject it for the sake of ourpany."


    "Alright, sir." Zaiden nodded and turned to work on his task, leaving Titus alone in the office.


    As he looked around the empty office, it was the first time Titus felt lonely in the ce which boosted


    his ego on usual days and he was used to giving orders.


    From the conversation a moment ago, Titus finally realized that Toby not confronting them any sooner


    wasn''t out of his past rtionship with Tina. It was because Toby had other ideas for them, so he was


    waiting for the time being.


    It was obvious that not one man could ever get over the fact his emotions and memories were


    intervened and manipted by someone else.


    Especially for a prideful man like Toby, being set up by others easily was a lifelong shame to him.


    There was no way Toby would let Tina and the Gray Family off.


    I wonder whether Tina''s dead or alive. Titus found outter that the body didn''t belong to Tina. Maybe


    she''s alive, but she might note back.


    As long as Tina wasn''t returning, the Gray Family would always be the one to bear Toby''s anger


    without knowing the time he would finally strike. Toby had no reason to let the Gray Family off easily if


    he was doing it for Sonia. He would even aid her in suppressing the Gray Family.


    Titus was confident that he wouldn''t be afraid if his opponent was only Sonia herself. After all, he was


    on the more experienced side while she was an inexperienced young woman, who did not hold much


    power.


    However, Titus would be helpless if Sonia had Toby to back her up. Aside from the two joining forces,


    Titus stood no chance even if he was only fighting against Toby.

 Chapter 1186

    Chapter 1186


    Therefore, his future, the Gray Family, and Triforce Enterprise were already foreseeable.


    In reality, he wasn''t afraid of death. After all, it was too unlikely for him to find a recement kidney as


    he suffered from such an illness. The only fate awaiting him was death, as he only had less than two


    years left to live.


    However, he was worried about Julia and Rina. What would happen to them after he died? At the


    moment, he could still stand his ground against Toby and Sonia with some difficulty, but no one would


    be able to protect Julia and Rina when he died.


    Though he felt that he was indebted to his wife, he owed too much to his daughter. The moment Rina


    came into being in Julia''s womb more than 20 years ago, he had vowed to do his best to protect the


    child regardless of whether it was a son or a daughter. s, he failed to keep his word after Rina was


    born, causing her to be abducted and thrown into the river by Henry. Although he didn''t know how she


    had survived in the end, he was still unable to forgive Henry''s actions, nor could he excuse his failure


    to protect his own daughter back then.


    Now that Rina had finally returned, he wanted to make it up to her initially, but he didn''t manage to do


    so in the end. Instead, he dragged Rina into the feud between the Gray Family and the Reeds, causing


    her to live in fear. All of this made him feel even more of a failure as a father.


    Titus pounded his chest in remorse. Regardless, a hint of determination flickered in his wrinkled eyes.


    No matter what would happen to the Gray Family in the end, he had to arrange for his wife and


    daughter''s escape before the day arrived. At the very least, he couldn''t let them fall into Sonia and


    Toby''s hands. Whatever it was, he''d take it on alone!


    Meanwhile, Connor, someone whom Toby was also dealing with, was also in trouble.


    Connor liked to listen to opera. Since he mostly stayed in the hotel, his only entertainment was to watch


    videos of past opera performances in the video room. Just when he was watching the opera in


    fascination, Xander came in hurriedly, saying, "Mr. Salzburg!"


    He opened his eyes with a gloomy expression. Then, he turned to look at Xander with a sinister and


    ferocious look in his eyes, and he said, "I told youst time not to barge in all of a sudden when I''m


    listening to opera. This is already your second timemitting the same mistake."


    Xander knew that his abrupt actions had angered his boss, so he quickly lowered his head in fear while


    apologizing, "Sorry, Mr. Salzburg, but something serious has happened this time."


    "What''s the big deal?" Connor asked unhurriedly while grabbing the walking stick next to him.


    Obviously, he didn''t think much of what Xander had said.


    When Xander saw this, he felt even more anxious. He promptly replied, "Mr. Salzburg, our goods in


    Westsanshire have been intercepted at customs."


    Connor immediately stopped rubbing his walking stick when he heard Xander''s words. The next


    instant, his face turned ghastly pale. Then, he stared at Xander intensely as he asked, "What did you


    say? You mean someone intercepted our goods?"


    "Yes, Mr. Salzburg." Xander nodded repeatedly. "Just half an hour ago, I got a phone call from our men


    stationed at the customs checkpoint. They said that a bunch of people had suddenly popped up and


    seized our goods."


    "Half an hour ago, huh¡­" Connor''s face contorted as he could no longer keep his gentle and indifferent


    expression; perhaps this was his true colors. "Who did it?" he asked in a chilly voice while clutching the


    dragon''s head on his walking stick with all his might. Finally, he continued, "I''m going to throw that


    person into the ocean to feed them to the sharks. How dare they mess with my goods? I bet they''re


    tired of living!"


    Xander shook his head as he continued his report. "Nobody knows who did it, but ording to our men


    at the customs checkpoint, a bunch of people arrived before the men we''d sent to receive the goods.


    Not only that, but instead of seizing the goods through illegal means, they openly took the goods away


    from the customs checkpoint with documents issued by the rted departments in their hands. Also,


    ording to our men, those documents were genuine, as they bore the official stamps of the rted


    departments. So, I think the person who intercepted our goods was definitely not an ordinary person."


    "Of course, they''re not." Connor looked ferocious. "If that person were so easy to deal with, how could


    they manage to seize the goods openly with documents that bore the official stamps of those


    departments? I don''t believe that the customs have no idea that the batch of goods is ours. Yet, despite


    knowing this, the customs and the rted departments dared to issue documents for that person to


    seize our goods. This only proves that the person has a powerful background and is on excellent terms


    with the higher-ups."


    "Who would it be, then? I don''t remember us having offended such a person before." Xander frowned


    in puzzlement. They were indeed audacious, but they had brains. Usually, they wouldn''t mess with


    such bigwigs on their own initiative, which was why he was confused about why such a figure would


    want to deal with them. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Connor narrowed his eyes as he sneered. "Did you forget that we''d offended such a person before?


    Isn''t Toby such a person?"


    Xander gaped in shock. "Sorry, Mr. Salzburg. I forgot about him."


    "It''s not your fault. After all, none of us would''ve expected Toby to do such a thing." Connor''s


    expression was still gloomy. "What a surprise. I''ve always been the one who snatches things from


    others; no one has dared to snatch things from me. This is the first time my stuff has been taken away,


    but I can''t go to that person or even sort him out immediately. So this is how awful it feels to be unable


    to vent my anger or pour out my grievances, huh?" he said in self-deprecation, but his face gave no


    indication of that. It was apparent that he was only poking fun at himself.


    When Xander closely regarded Connor''s bloodshot eyes, he asked gingerly, "Mr. Salzburg, if this is


    really Toby''s doing, then what should we do about¡ª"


    Connor raised his hand to interrupt Xander. "Don''t overthink this matter. We can never get the batch of


    goods back. Toby can easily get back what he wants from us, but it''s almost impossible for us to get


    back our stuff once it falls into his hands. We''re not as powerful as he is, so we can''t go to him directly


    and warn him to return our stuff."


    Xander looked worried, though. "But that batch of goods is essential. We ordered it from a foreign


    supplier at a huge cost before the turn of this year. So now that goods are finally delivered only for such


    a thing to happen, we''ll have trouble with the factory."


    Connor looked up and shot an impassive nce at him. "What''s the use of saying these things right


    now? What''s happened has already happened, and we can never get back our stock. So what else can


    we do other than to solve this with money, as Paradigm Co. did? That being said, I''m much wealthier


    than Paradigm Co. So it''s not that I can''t afford to lose money for such things."


    Xander became less perturbed once he heard that Connor already had a solution for the problems. So,


    he pushed his sses up his nose as he looked at Connor, saying, "Say, Mr. Salzburg, do you think


    Toby is doing so to get back at us for intercepting Sonia''s goodsst time? After all, Toby intercepted


    our goods using the same trick this time."


    Connor rubbed the dragon''s head on his walking stick slightly before shaking his head slightly. "No, I


    don''t think so. He''s gotten his revenge after we got hospitalized during the previous incident, so he


    wouldn''t go so far as to get back at us twice for the same reason. It''s obvious that he''s not taking


    revenge for what happened previously, but what he''s doing this time is also for Sonia''s sake. Don''t


    forget what happened to her today."


    Xander realized what he meant. "Are you referring to how we hired trolls to spread rumors about her?"


    Connor didn''t give a definite answer. Instead, he added, "There''s nothing else other than this incident.


    However, this is a good thing since it can make us understand further how much Sonia matters to him.


    Of course, I can''t snatch the goods back, but it doesn''t mean that I''m willing to swallow this in silence to


    avoid further trouble. Call Toby''s menter and ask them if he has decided whether he still wants the


    item his mother left behind. I''ll give him one more day to think about it. If he doesn''t want it, then don''t


    me me for what I''m going to do." He smiled maliciously.

 Chapter 1187

    Chapter 1187


    Indeed, he didn''t have the capability to ask Toby to return the goods to him after thetter had seized


    them. However, he was never the kind of person who would keep his grievances to himself. He couldn''t


    fight against Toby openly as thetter was rich and powerful. Still, he could secretly put a spoke in


    Toby''s wheel to disgust him.


    A hint of excitement shed across Xander''s face when he realized what Connor meant. He


    immediately replied with a nod, "Yes, Mr. Salzburg. I''ll get it done right away."


    "Just go." Connor waved his hand.


    Xander left quickly to make the necessary arrangements.


    Connor picked up the remote control and reyed the paused video of the opera, upon which the video


    started ying again. Unfortunately, this time he was no longer in the pleasant mood he had been in as


    he rewatched the video.


    Toby was still unaware that Connor was already setting a trap for him. At this moment, he and Sonia


    arrived at the police station. He had just parked the car, unbuckled his seat belt, and was about to get


    out of the car when his phone rang. It was a phone call from Tom.


    Sonia released her grip on the car door handle when she saw that. "Answer it. We''ll get out of the car


    after you finish talking."


    "Give me a minute." Toby nodded slightly before swiping his thumb across the phone''s screen. Then,


    he held the phone to his ear as he spoke. "Hello?"


    Tom''s apparently excited voice sounded through the phone. "President Fuller, what we did to Triforce


    Enterprise was a sess. Chief Dup has heard the information disclosed by our men. After he left


    thepany, he went to the Mining Resources Bureau right away to check the files on the mine


    copse back then."


    "Uh-huh," Toby mumbled. "Got it."


    "It''s too bad that Titus did a clean job of destroying the evidence back then. Regrettably, the conclusive


    evidence is gone, or he''d absolutely be shot to death. How ironic that we can only make him pay an


    astronomicalpensation in retribution at the moment," Tom said with a sigh of regret.


    Toby pursed his lips before turning to look at Sonia. "I''m also to me for this. Titus went out of his way


    to borrow some of my men while getting rid of some of the evidence back then, which was why I knew


    about this. If I had been able to stop him from destroying the evidence, or if I had been able to get my


    hands on the evidence before he did, he wouldn''t have been so lucky right now."


    When Sonia noticed how the man med himself for how things had turned out this way, she patted


    his hand and reassured him with a smile, "What are you feeling sorry about? You were hypnotized into


    thinking you loved Tina back then. Titus is her father, so it was normal for you to help him. It''s just that I


    never thought you''d help him with this kind of thing."


    Toby replied with a frown, "I didn''t know Titus had borrowed my men to get rid of such evidence. I


    wouldn''t have lent my men to him if I had known about this. I shielded him at the time for Tina''s sake,


    but I wouldn''t be so unscrupulous. We''re talking about the lives of 15 people here." He thought nothing


    of people''s lives, nor did he care about the lives of others, but he wouldn''t act with no regard for human


    life as Titus did. Not only did thetter not stop after people were killed, but he even made a special


    effort to hide it and destroy the evidence.


    Sonia let out a disbelieving gasp when she heard the figure. "What? 15 lives, you say?"


    Toby nodded. "That''s right; there were 15 of them. I was also shocked upon learning about this. When


    Titus asked me to lend him my men back then, I didn''t know what he was trying to do, so I simply lent


    my men to him without asking him about it. It wasn''t until when my men came backter that I realized


    Titus had actually done such a thing. It was my mistake." As he had said, had he known earlier that


    Titus would do such a thing, he wouldn''t have lent him his men.


    "You''re not to me for this." Sonia looked at him with a smile. "After all, who would''ve known that


    Titus would do such a thing? Even if you asked him about it, I don''t think he''d tell you the truth either."


    Toby''s eyes were full of regret as he massaged his temples. "I just regret it. I could''ve helped you


    obtain the conclusive proof that could crush Titus, but I let it slip through my fingers just like that."


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ears. "You don''t have to me yourself for this. This is fate; no one


    knows what will happen in the future, and neither do you. You didn''t know at the time that the situation


    would turn out the way it does today, so you don''t have to think that this is your fault. Perhaps God


    doesn''t want us to crush him so easily. Well, there''s no way we could destroy him now, but we can at


    least weaken his influence. Then, when he goes to prison in the future, he''ll realize that not only has he


    ended up going to prison anyway, but he''s even spent a lot more money. Isn''t such an oue even


    better?" she said while covering her mouth with a chuckle.


    Toby stared at her for a while before ruffling her hair. "You''re right."


    Sonia raised her chin to signal Toby to look at his phone. "Alright, hurry and answer Tom''s phone call,


    or he''d still be waiting."


    The phone conversation with Tom was still ongoing. Toby pressed the phone against his ear again as


    he instructed, "Pay more attention to Titus'' side and help Chief Dup in secret as much as you can. If


    he pursues the case the wrong way, have someone correct him. I want Titus to lose a fortune this


    time." As he spoke, a cold glint flickered in his eyes.


    Tom replied with a nod, "Alright, President Fuller. By the way, things are going smoothly on Connor''s


    side. The goods have been intercepted; they''re all custom-made high-quality goods from abroad.


    Connor''s quite willing to spend the money."


    "He intended to use that batch of goods to open up the Lacralian market, so he had to get a batch of


    high-quality ones, of course. Nheless, this batch of goods is now ours," Toby replied as his thin lips


    curved into a smirk.


    Tom scratched his head. "But, President Fuller, that batch of goods isn''t useful to us. Ourpany


    doesn''t do the processing of goods."


    Toby decided the goods'' destination at once. "Have them delivered to Paradigm Co."


    Sonia didn''t expect to be involved in this. Rather, she looked up in surprise, asking, "Why are you


    delivering the goods to Paradigm Co.?"


    Toby turned to look at him. "Isn''t Paradigm Co. specialized in the processing of goods?"


    Soniaughed. "Yes, it is, but we don''t do the routine processing of goods. We only do the processing


    of heavy industry spare parts. I''ve looked into the Salzburg Group before. Thepany mainly deals


    with processing electrical engines, so I can roughly guess that the goods you intercepted are chips or


    engine bearings. Even if I have these, I can''t process them."


    "You can use the batch of processing machines you ordered from Kosovo to process and assemble


    engines with a little modification. So, you can give it a try using this batch of goods first. If the


    processing of the engines ends up being a sess, Paradigm Co. will be able to develop a new line of


    business, which is good for thepany''s growth," Toby exined.


    Sonia was startled. "Is that possible?"


    Tom quickly chimed in over the phone, "Miss Reed, what President Fuller said is indeed true. The


    batch ofrge processing machines you ordered can indeed be modified to process sophisticated


    things like engines."


    Now that Tom had said the same thing, Sonia''s heartbeat quickened in anticipation. She was


    somewhat tempted, but she couldn''te to a decisive decision after pondering the matter. After all,


    reforming apany was no trifling matter, so she couldn''t rush into a decision.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Still, when Toby saw how tempted and hesitant she was, he took her hand in his, brought it to his lips,


    and kissed it. "There''s no need to feel torn about it. All you have to do is give it a try. And besides,


    these goods are snatched from Connor; they''re a token of apology for how he snatched your goodsst


    time. They don''t cost money, so you won''t lose money by giving them a try. Moreover, such an


    opportunity is hard toe by, so there''s no harm in trying. If you miss out on it, it''s hard for such an


    opportunity to arise the second time."

 Chapter 1188

    Chapter 1188


    Now that Toby had persuaded her the second time, Sonia thought that she would let him down if she


    were to keep on hesitating. Besides, he did have a point. Some opportunities were hard toe


    across for the second time once she missed out on them; perhaps she''d nevere across these


    opportunities again. Naturally, she had to seize this golden opportunity. Moreover, these batches of


    goods were snatched from Connor by Toby. Even if her experiment with them turned out to be a failure,


    even if Paradigm Co. couldn''t modify parts of engines, it wouldn''t cause any losses to thepany.


    After all, she didn''t spend a single penny on the raw materials. She believed that thepany''s senior


    executives wouldn''t raise any objections upon learning about this.


    At the thought of this, she finally made up her mind and nodded in agreement. "Okay, I''ll give it a try,


    then. Thank you."


    "It''s nothing. I know that you''ve always wanted to be sessful as soon as possible, and I''m


    looking forward to it so that you won''t be stressed. Now that there''s an opportunity, I hope you can go


    after it fearlessly. I always have your back, you know," Toby encouraged while looking into her eyes.


    Sonia blushed a little. "Tom is still on the other end of the line. Don''t you worry that he''llugh at us


    after you say these things?"


    Tom instantly shuddered on the other end of the line. Therefore, he promptly replied, "Miss Reed. this


    isn''t something to be joked about. Why would Iugh at you two? Plus, I don''t have the guts to do so."


    "Did you hear that? He says he doesn''t dare to do so." Toby pointed at his phone. "So, why worry about


    him? Just say whatever we want to say."


    "Yeah, that''s right." Tom nodded repeatedly.


    Sonia covered her mouth as she chuckled. "Alright, cut it out. Just have the goods delivered to


    Paradigm Co. I''ll have Daphne arrange for somebody to wait downstairs and store the goods in the


    parking lot''s storeroom. Then, I''ll discuss what we''ll do about them at tomorrow''s meeting with the


    company''s shareholders."


    Toby lowered his eyes to look at the phone''s screen. "Did you hear that?" Obviously, the question was


    directed at Tom.


    Tom pushed his sses up his nose and said with a straight face. "Don''t worry, President Fuller. I''m not


    hard of hearing." So you don''t have to go out of your way to ask me this.


    "Since you''ve heard that, just do as she says," Toby said impassively as his thin lips parted. You may


    get lost now, he thought.


    Tom was only too eager to hang up the call. The instant Toby said that, he quickly bid his goodbyes,


    saying, "Goodbye, President Fuller." Then, he wasted no time in ending the call.


    This was Toby''s first time having his subordinate hang up on him, so he was involuntarily stunned for a


    moment. Then his handsome face darkened as he realized what had just happened. "How dare he


    hang up on me without my permission!" He clutched his phone as he looked at Sonia with a visible hint


    of disbelief in his eyes.


    His shocked appearance amused Sonia, so she merely patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, don''t be


    angry. Didn''t you tell Tom to get it done in the first ce? So, there''s nothing wrong with him doing so.


    You should feel lucky to have such a nice and obedient subordinate who does what you tell him to do


    right away."


    Toby replied with a snort, "Don''t think that I don''t know you''re making excuses for him because you


    don''t want me to take his behavior to heart."


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    Sonia stuck out her tongue without saying anything to refute his words.


    Toby loosened his grip on his cell phone. "Never mind, I''ll forgive Tom''s transgression this time for your


    sake. I''ll have him thank you in person some other day."


    "Okay, I''ll be waiting for it, then," Sonia replied with a smile, but she didn''t take the man''s words to


    heart. She had only said those words casually, so she didn''t need Tom to thank her personally for it.


    Instead, she fished out her cell phone, saying, "Let me call Daphne to have her arrange for someone to


    receive the goods."


    Toby nodded slightly. "Just go ahead."


    Sonia gave him a smile before dialing Daphne''s number.


    While she was talking over the phone, Toby turned sideways and kept staring at her intently. Even if


    she wanted to, she couldn''t ignore it. It couldn''t be helped; the man was staring at her like a wolf staring


    at its prey. That was right¡ªshe was the prey, so how could she ignore such a look in his eyes?


    Sonia gave Daphne the instructions over the phone while suppressing the urge to beat Toby up and the


    sudden need to re daggers at him. After she finished giving her orders, she kept the phone away


    and took a deep breath. Then, she turned and red at him with big, round eyes. She wanted to use


    her most ferocious expression to teach him a lesson, letting him know that she''d feel ufortable


    when he kept staring at her like that.


    She thought she looked very ferocious at this moment, but her demeanor didn''t deter Toby at all.


    Instead, he felt that she looked very adorable. Finally, unable to restrain himself, he grabbed her wrist


    and forcibly pulled her into his arms before kissing her.


    Sonia was stunned, which resulted in her widening her eyes further, but the ferocious look in them was


    reced with a look of stupefaction. It seems like I''ve been pulled over and kissed by force again. But,


    no, that''s exactly what''s happening! The delicate touch on her lips snapped her out of her trance.


    Peeved, she kept pping his back in an attempt to make him let go of her.


    But why would Toby release her? He hadn''t had enough of kissing her on the way here before. Now


    that he had finally caught an opportunity to benefit himself, he wouldn''t let go of her until he had


    enough. At the thought of this, he tightened his arm around her waist.


    At first, Sonia still had room to struggle and p his back. Yet, now that he had tightened his arm


    around her, her body was pressed even closer against his, making her unable to struggle even if she


    wanted to. This dirty dog! She rolled her eyes angrily. Finally, she gave up as she slowly stopped


    struggling and responded to his kiss.


    A hint of smugness shed across Toby''s eyes when he sensed that she had submitted to him. As he


    gradually let down his guard, his arm slowly rxed around her waist.


    Naturally, Sonia noticed this subtle change, and her eyes gleamed shrewdly. Now''s the time! She


    narrowed her eyes as she held his shoulders and used the chance to push him away.


    The moment Toby was pushed away, he was totally stunned. He blinked at her, staring at Sonia in a


    daze as she checked her appearance. I have actually been pushed away! He was filled with disbelief.


    Nheless, even if he couldn''t believe it, it was useless. What had happened had already happened,


    and Sonia had indeed pushed him away. Thus, he lowered his eyes to conceal his astonishment as he


    regained hisposure and returned to his usual demeanor while regarding her with downcast eyes.


    Sonia felt somewhat guilty under his stare, so she stopped fixing her hair. Her eyes flickered as she


    asked, "Why are you looking at me like this?"


    Toby pursed his lips and uttered, "You yed dirty."


    Sonia''s lips twitched. "How did I y dirty?"


    "You purposely responded to my advances just now to let my guard down. But, then, you took the


    opportunity to push me away," Toby said while looking at her with an even more bitter look. "I didn''t


    know there would be such a calctive side to you." That''s right¡ªshe struggled whenever I kissed her


    all of a sudden in the past. Only when we slept together at night would she put up a token resistance


    before responding to my advances. At other times¡ªespecially outside, she''d only struggle without


    responding to me. I actually overlooked this and let her have her way just now. "I never thought there''d


    be such a cunning side to you!" He looked at her aggrievedly.


    Sonia looked at him smugly before saying slyly, "Even an idiot would''ve learned to be smarter after


    being attacked by surprise so many times, so you can''t me me for that. It''s your fault for kissing me


    again all of a sudden."

 Chapter 1189

    Chapter 1189


    "You''re too cute, so I couldn''t help myself," said Toby while rubbing his lips with his thumb.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him when she heard his shameless reasoning. "So, that''s why you have quite


    a few moments where you can''t help yourself in a day?"


    "Why? It''s not against thew," said Toby. Then, he tilted his head slightly and smiled at her¡ªa smile


    that seemed more like a sinister grin than a sweet one.


    Sonia couldn''t help but feel her cheeks flushing crimson as she stared at his devilish smile. If it''s an


    ordinary man who puts up such a smile on his face, then the smile probably looks greasy and


    disgusting. But when Toby makes the same smile, not only does he not give off the vibe of a greasy


    man at all, but it also has the capability to make one''s heart beat faster and one blush. Enchanter! I


    wonder who it is that says only women can tempt men with their alluring smile?! Please! Men can


    seduce women with their charming smiles too!


    Sonia instantly covered her face while saying to him, "Stop smiling like that, will you? Hurry up and


    control your expression!"


    When Toby saw her reaction, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why can''t I smile?"


    "Forget about the reason. Just do as I say. Hurry!" Sonia urged.


    Since Sonia was the woman he loved dearly, Toby naturally couldn''t bear to see her not getting her


    way. Therefore, he swiftly followed suit as soon as she pleaded with him.


    "Alright. Alright. I won''t smile like that. So, can you please stop covering your face? Don''t you feel it''s


    hard to breathe with you covering your face like that?" While he stopped smiling, he reached out to


    grab Sonia''s wrist and removed her hands from her face.


    However, Toby was startled when he took her hands off her face. "Why are you blushing?"


    "It''s none of your business!" Sonia snorted. Then, she opened the door and made her way toward the


    police station. As she walked, the embarrassed Sonia let out a silent scream and thought, I can''t


    believe a man''s charm will actually crimson my face. How embarrassing! And if that dirty dog knows I


    blushed because he enchanted me, he''s probably going to be tremendously pleased with himself. So, I


    must never tell him why I was blushing just now.


    Meanwhile, Toby couldn''t help but be surprised for a moment when he saw that Sonia had already left


    the vehicle and was walking hurriedly to the police station like someone was chasing after her.


    It didn''t take him very long as he soon figured out why she was behaving this way. She suddenly


    covered her face when I smiled at her just now. Later, when I held her hands covering her face, I saw


    her blushing deeply. It''s strange because I clearly remember that she was acting pretty normal before I


    smiled at her¡ªnot to mention that I saw no sign of flushing or embarrassment at all. In other words,


    was it because of my smile that she suddenly blushed and left in embarrassment? It should be,


    shouldn''t it? Otherwise, why didn''t she answer me when I asked her why she was blushing? But then


    again, I never saw her have such a reaction whenever I smiled at her on usual days. So, why does this


    smile alone make her react like this?


    Toby also got out of the car as he desperately wanted to learn what had made Sonia blush so terribly


    after seeing his smile. Then, he stood on the side of the car and bent down slightly to look at himself in


    the left rearview mirror. He smiled the same smile from before and observed his reflection in the mirror.


    Even so, no matter how much he stared at himself, smiling in the mirror, there was still a little confusion


    in Toby''s eyes. I still don''t understand what''s wrong with my smile that it actually has the effect of


    making Sonia blush sheepishly just now. Well, of course, it can also possibly be since I''m a man and


    feel differently about this smile from her. After all, men and women often view things differently. So


    perhaps the same smile that can make women''s hearts skip a beat may not have the same effect on


    men.


    As he thought of this, he stopped looking in the mirror. Finally, he stood up straight, put his hands in his


    trouser pockets, and sauntered to the police station. Regardless of why Sonia had such a reaction to


    his smile just now, Toby realized that he might be able to smile at her like that more often in the future


    just to see her so shy. Since she''ll feel shy from my smile, does this mean that she actually enjoys


    seeing me smile like this? If so, then surely I need to satisfy her. After all, isn''t it a man''s responsibility


    to satisfy his own woman?


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Afterward, he strolled into the hall of the police station with his head held high like a man who was


    proud of having mastered some kind of a secret code to wealth.


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who was already in the police station, could see the unconcealedcent look


    on Toby''s face from afar. Although she didn''t know what had gotten into him, she actually felt rather


    both amused and exasperated when she saw him acting like that.


    Toby came to Sonia and stood beside her. Sonia asked him curiously, "Look at you feeling so happy.


    Did something good happen?" In fact, he looks like he''s in seventh heaven.


    He smirked when he heard that, "It''s a secret, and I''m not telling you." If I tell her that I''m happy


    because I had discovered something that would make her show her shy side, she''ll definitely warn me


    not to smile at her like that in the future. So, there''s no way I''m going to tell her.


    "Secret?" Sonia was stunned for a moment when she heard Toby''s answer. Then, she looked at him


    with a great sense of disbelief and asked, "So, you''ve actually learned how to keep me guessing now,


    huh? Are you really not going to tell me?"


    "Yes, I can''t tell you," said Toby as he raised his chin slightly, showing his resolute demeanor.


    Sonia harrumphed derisively, "Fine! Forget it! Like I want to know."


    Afterward, she feigned displeasure, waiting for Toby to coax her and tell her the secret.


    After all, it was almost infallible whenever she did this. But, s, this time, Sonia''s n failed. Toby had


    no intention of coaxing her and told her the secret. In fact, he didn''t make any moves even after she


    looked away for a long while.


    When Sonia saw this, she realized that Toby was obviously determined not to tell her the secret. I know


    I shouldn''t get angry even after knowing he doesn''t want to tell me. After all, he has the right to decide


    if he wants to tell me or not. But still, I feel a little upset when I see he really doesn''t n to tell me.


    Perhaps I''m spoiled by him. He would hardly hide anything from me and would tell me what I wanted to


    know in the past. Now that he doesn''t tell me even just one thing, I actually can''t bear it instead. If this


    doesn''t count as spoiled or contentious, then what is?


    When her train of thought arrived at that conclusion, she inhaled deeply to calm herself, rubbed her


    face, and immediately regained herposure. I cannot behave this way anymore. Otherwise, I''ll


    be an irritating woman.


    Sonia couldn''t help feeling shivers run over her body whenever she thought about the possibility of her


    bing a vexatious woman. No, that''s too terrifying. I must not let myself end up like a vexatious


    woman. Such a woman is always crazy and unreasonable and quickly goes ballistic if she doesn''t get


    the desired oue. I think I better be a woman who''s constantly rational and calm. Such a woman


    won''t lose her cool and make a fool out of herself even if she can''t get what she wants. Hence, from


    now on, I have to make changes to my temper. I can''t lose myself and change my personality just


    because Toby usually pampers and tolerates me.


    At this thought, Sonia hadpletely adjusted her state of mind. When she looked at Toby again, the


    dissatisfaction she had felt earlier was gone. Instead, she looked at him and simply snorted, "Forget it if


    you don''t want to tell. You can always tell meter whenever you want to."


    "Okay." At that moment, Toby didn''t know what Sonia was thinking, but he could feel that her demeanor


    had changed a bit. A while ago, she was still agitated, yet right now, she has be cid. This


    shows that she can control her emotions very well now.


    Just as he was thinking about it, a police officer came over with a notebook. "Miss Reed. Mr. Fuller."


    Sonia smiled back, and Toby didn''t respond since he didn''t want to talk to other men.


    Yet, Toby''s rudeness didn''t anger the police officer.


    Since he was highly influential, and the case this time wasn''t a big deal, the police officer didn''t care


    about Toby''s rude attitude. Rather, it would genuinely make the police officer ttered if Toby greeted


    him politely.


    "Miss Reed, Mr. Fuller, pleasee with me. Our chief is already waiting for you both in the office," the


    police officer said as he made a gesture, implying that they could head to the chief''s office.


    Sonia smiled politely and nodded. "Sure. Please lead the way."


    "You''re too kind, Miss Reed," the police officer replied. After that, he walked in front and led the way.


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Toby followed behind while holding hands.


    While on their way to the chief''s office, Sonia asked the police officer some questions regarding Anya''s


    current situation, and he answered them one by one. When she heard that Anya had been detained in


    the detention center for so many days, and her mental state had be pretty bad, Sonia not only


    didn''t be soft-hearted about her situation, but she actually felt this was the best ending for


    someone as ill-hearted as Anya. In her opinion, Anya deserved such a punishment for her crimes.

 Chapter 1190

    Chapter 1190


    Anya wouldn''t have thought how terrible my mental state would be when she stole and ruined my dress


    in the first ce. Simrly, I won''t be kind-hearted and feel sympathy for her worsening mental state


    now. It''s just tit for tat.


    Just as she was deep in her thoughts, the voice of the police officer sounded. "The chief is waiting for


    you two inside." It turned out that he had taken her and Toby to the office door. As soon as he escorted


    them to the destination, he turned and left.


    Once the police officer left, both Sonia and Toby didn''t enter right away. Instead, they stood outside the


    door and looked at each other. Eventually, it was Toby who raised his hand and knocked on the door.


    It didn''t take very long before a muffled voice rang from behind the door. "Pleasee in."


    They entered the office with the man''s permission.


    In the meantime, the person inside the office was sitting behind his desk and preupied with work.


    He paused in his work and raised his head when he heard the sound of footsteps walking into his


    office.


    The moment he saw Sonia and Toby, he quickly ced the file in his hand away and stood up with a


    smile. Then, he walked around his desk toward them and extended a hand in greeting. "President


    Fuller. Miss Reed. You''re finally here."


    Toby reached out and shook the police chief''s hand in greeting.


    Shortly after, the police chief extended his hand toward Sonia, wanting to greet Sonia as well.


    Unfortunately, as a possessive lover, Toby would never allow other men to touch Sonia, even if it was


    just a greeting out of courtesy.


    Hence, Toby once again shook hands with the police chief with a frown¡ªa hint of utter disgust was


    seen in his eyes like he was stepping on a deep pool of slush.


    Meanwhile, the police chief was stupefied when he saw Toby shake hands with him again, and this led


    him to instinctively think that Toby was reluctant to let go of his hand so much that he actually wanted to


    shake hands with him twice. So it looks like I have won the heart of this wealthiest man in Seafield. In


    that case, will he agree if I request his sponsorship?


    Just when the police chief was thinking about whether to draft a sponsorship list in the hope of helping


    the police station obtain sponsors, he suddenly heard bell-likeughter of amusement.


    The police officer instantly returned to his senses and found that it was Sonia who wasughing while


    covering her lips. Not only that, Sonia even looked at her hand that was held tightly by Toby''s when she


    chuckled in amusement.


    At once, a realization hit him, and the police chief finally understood the situation. Therefore, he looked


    up at Toby, only to see thetter staring at him with a stern, gloomy-looking face. Moreover, the police


    chief even saw the hint of disdain and a trace of warning in Toby''s eyes.


    At that moment, the police chief instantly understood that Toby didn''t admire him, nor did he win his


    heart. Otherwise, this wealthiest man in front of me won''t look at me with disgust. As for the warning


    hint in his eyes, I know what it means. After all, I used to be a criminal police officer working in the


    Criminal Investigation Department, so I know how to read people like a book. He intercepted halfway


    when I reached out to shake hands with Miss Reed, and the warning look in his eyes also only


    appeared right after that. In short, he''s very displeased with me wanting to shake hands with Miss


    Reed. As for his reason for displeasure, it rtes to the possessiveness and desires a man has for his


    woman. When a man loves a woman so dearly, he won''t allow any other men to touch her¡ªnot even a


    polite handshake. That''s why he interfered halfway through my handshake with Miss Reed. He did so


    to warn me not to touch his woman.


    After the police chief figured things out, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, instantly bing


    awkward and abashed.


    He felt ufortable because he had no other intention besides just intending to just shake Sonia''s


    hands out of courtesy. Yet, Toby mistook him for having indecent thoughts about Sonia, which made


    him feel deeply embarrassed.


    At the same time, he was abashed from thinking Toby favored him. There I was, having the audacity to


    still believe that this wealthiest man shook hands with me for the second time just now because he


    acknowledged and was touched by the greatness of us civil servants. What''s more embarrassing, I


    even thought of taking the opportunity to ask for his sponsorships. Fortunately, I didn''t immediately ask


    him anything about support at that time. Otherwise, I''ll be humiliated when I eventually receive a


    rejection.


    As Sonia stood by the sidelines, she naturally saw the strained expression on the police chief''s face.


    So, she had a general idea of what was wrong with him. Thus, she immediately hid her amusement


    and nodded shyly. "I''m sorry, Officer Chase. My lover values me quite a lot, so sometimes, he can get a


    little overboard with his protectiveness. Please forgive him."


    As she spoke, Sonia hugged Toby''s arm and pulled it slightly, motioning him to quickly let go of


    Freddie''s hand.


    Toby obeyed Sonia''s silent cue and finally let go of Freddie''s hand after giving him a hard look.


    Meanwhile, Freddie stared at his hand, which had reddened in pain due to Toby''s forceful grip.


    Although he gave a wry smile in his heart, outwardly, he still had to act as if nothing had happened. He


    maintained his calmposure as he withdrew his hand and ced it into his pants pockets. Then, he


    forced a smile and replied politely, "I''m fine, Miss Reed. On the contrary, I actually thought President


    Fuller was a very good man when I saw he cared so much about you. Miss Reed, I''m happy that you


    have found yourself such a good man."


    I don''t need you to tell Sonia that I''m a good man. Toby nced up at Freddie contemptuously, and the


    gaze in his eyes seemed to be rying the thought he had in mind.


    Freddie noticed this, and he could feel the corners of his mouth twitch in uneasiness. I really didn''t


    expect that the legendary cold-faced tyrant in the business world, as rumored by the outside world,


    actually has such a character.


    Of course, Sonia, too, saw the derisive look Toby had shot at Freddie. She immediately felt a migraine


    building as she regarded the scene before her.


    "That''s enough. What are you doing?!" Sonia red at Toby angrily. Then, she grabbed his man and


    pulled him to stand behind her, allowing herself the chance to face Freddie in a much more civilized


    conversation. Otherwise, I don''t know what other rude actions he will do to Officer Chaseter if I let


    him face the poor chief.


    Honestly speaking, Freddie actually felt relieved after he saw Sonia pull Toby to stand behind her.


    Finally! I don''t have to face an unpredictable person like President Fuller.


    As he thought of this, Freddie breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he resumed his serious demeanor as


    the chief of the police station. He turned his attention to Sonia as he asked, "Miss Reed, since you two


    are here, let''s not waste any more time and get straight into the matter, shall we?"


    "Sure." Sonia nodded lightly.


    Afterward, Freddie motioned for them to follow him as he brought them to take a seat on the couch on


    the side.


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    Once Sonia and Toby were seated, Freddie poured them each a cup of tea before continuing. "Miss


    Reed, it''s been several days since the incident regarding the ruining of your dress. How''s your


    discussion with the suspect''s familying along? What is your course of action?"


    Before Sonia could speak, Toby, who was sitting next to her, spoke first. His tone of voice was chilly


    with a hint of mockery as he refuted, "Do you think we will choose to forgive her?"


    Sure enough, Freddie understood what Toby meant. He took off his police cap and set it aside with a


    smile. "I''m also undoubtedly aware that the two of you won''t choose to forgive the suspect, but please


    understand that I need to ask you these questions due to procedure. Although I am a police chief, I still


    need to abide by protocol while making a real-time recording of your statements."


    As soon as he said that, he pointed at the recorder pinned on the left side chest area''s pocket of his


    police uniform.


    Just like what he said, Freddie figured that these two wouldn''t choose to forgive Anya. First, if they


    wanted to pardon her, they wouldn''t have waited until now and would''ve done so as early as the first


    day when the suspect''s family came here. Secondly, they are both highly influential. Their influences


    and wealth are far beyond the suspect''s family, so they don''t need an apology in the form of


    compensation. Besides, there''s also no reason for them to fear that the suspect''s family will seek


    revenge on them. So naturally, they don''t need to pardon the suspect.


    "We understand." Sonia gave an understanding smile as she looked at the recorder pinned in Freddie''s


    pocket. "Still, for the sake of rification, my thoughts are the same as my lover''s. We are in


    agreement on not forgiving her actions."


    Freddie flipped his notebook open as he pulled out a pen and started jotting down every valuable detail


    for the entire duration of their conversation. This was also a protocol for taking down the victims''


    statements. So not only did he need to record the conversation with a police-issued recorder, but he


    also had to make notes of the conversation in case anything relevant popped up further down the line


    of investigation.


    As he wrote, he added, "I understand what the two of you mean, but I still have to ask on behalf of the


    suspect. Is there no room for negotiation?"


    Sonia and Toby remained silent in the face of that question, and their silence was their abject refusal to


    show any pity toward Anya.

 Chapter 1191

    Chapter 1191


    "Okay, I understand. Later, I''ll convey your words to the suspect and the suspect''s family." Freddie


    nodded as he jotted down the details in his book.


    Afterward, he looked up at the two of them and asked, "Do you two have any ideas regarding the


    suspect''s subsequent conviction?"


    Even though the court would still be the one that determined the final sentence, as victims, Sonia and


    Toby, could put forward their suggestions regarding Anya''s sentence.


    Of course, the judge would definitely take into consideration that many victims'' ideas were more radical


    and far exceeded standard sentencing due to their personal stakes in the matter, so the judge generally


    wouldn''t adopt their suggestions when they were making the final conviction. Still, it was necessary for


    Freddie to follow the procedure and ask Sonia and Toby even if the judge wouldn''t use their ideas in


    the end.


    "I don''t have any suggestions. I''ll just leave it to the court. I''m not someone who will disregard thew


    just for wanting to achieve my selfish desire," said Sonia. The smile on her face had faded at that


    query, and her expression became slightly serious when those words escaped her lips.


    Meanwhile, Toby, who was sitting cross-legged next to her, added, "Although we won''t interfere with the


    final sentencing by both your side and the court''s side, I can still plot against the suspect if I wish to


    after she has entered the prison, can''t I?" He looked up and stared at Freddie.


    Freddie avoided his stare. Then, he let out a cough while covering his lips. "Well, President Fuller, we


    can pretend we know nothing as long as you don''t go too far with your scheme."


    As he spoke, he smiled at Toby. I have no choice. I''m powerless against a big taxpayer like President


    Fuller and the contributions his ancestors make to the country. Never mind us. Even our superiors will


    turn a blind eye and overlook President Fuller''s small request. In that case, why should we even


    bother?


    "Then, please pretend like you guys never see anything when the timees," Toby smirked in


    satisfaction.


    Freddie couldn''t help that awkward cough bubbling up his throat as he replied lowly. "Yes, sir."


    As she paid half a mind to the conversation between the two men, she certainly knew what they were


    talking about. It''s nothing but wanting to give Anya a hard time in prison. I could stop Toby from cooking


    up such a scheme if Anya is just an ordinary person. After all, the crime that shemitted wasn''t as


    serious as murder or arson, so I''m okay with her having to serve a few years in prison. But¡ªshe is


    Connor''s daughter. The animosity between Connor and the Fuller Family alone would make it


    impossible for me to curtail Toby''s actions. But, even if I can, I still won''t stop Toby. Because first of all,


    he and I are on the same side, and secondly, I have ways to go before bing a part of the Fuller


    Family and am not qualified enough to intervene in Toby''s actions to seek revenge on Connor. For that


    reason, I will pretend to know nothing about such matters.


    Sonia flipped her hair over her shoulder as she looked at Freddie and asked out of curiosity, "By the


    way, based on Anya''s situation, how many years will she be sentenced?"


    Freddie pondered her query for a few seconds before giving her a detailed answer, "Since the two sets


    of dresses she had stolen are worth tens of millions, that alone is enough to let her be charged with


    robbery. Not to mention, she also deliberately ruined the dresses. So, that automatically makes her


    doubly guilty. The preliminary judgment shall be more than ten years for cases like these."


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    Nevertheless, in Freddie''s mind, he spected Anya would serve more than ten years in prison once


    convicted. She had stolen items worth tens of millions and even destroyed them out of malicious intent.


    In my opinion, ten years are considered less for her. After all, many who had been involved in stealing


    items that cost more than 100,000 will be sentenced to eight years¡ªlet alone her, who stole tens of


    millions.


    "But of course, this is just my assumption. As for the specific details, we still have to wait for the court


    to make the final judgment," Freddie hurriedly added. "Since the two of you have chosen not to


    negotiate with the other party. We''ll immediately arrange for the trial application to be submitted after


    we have notified the suspect and her family."


    "I understand." Sonia nodded slightly and stopped asking further questions. Honestly, I''m satisfied that


    she''ll be sentenced to more than ten years in prison. Anya is currently twenty-seven years old, and if


    she''s sentenced to more than ten years in prison, she''ll be thirty-seven or forty years old. By the time


    Anya is out of jail, society probably has developed in a way I can''t imagine, and it''ll be impossible for


    her to start out again. After all, by that time, Toby''s vengeance would havee to fruition, and Connor


    would probably be long dead by then. Besides, without Connor''s backing, Anya is merely a lone person


    wandering around society after her release from prison. So perhaps there''s a high chance she can''t get


    on with her life. Come to think of it; her future ending does sound pretty tragic, doesn''t it?


    "Do let me know the time of trial in advance, and I''ll arrange for awyer to attend the trial." Toby''s cold


    voice resounded in the room.


    When Sonia heard his words, she turned to look at him. "Are you nning for us both not to be present


    for the trial when the dayes?"


    Toby gave her his full attention while exining the reason behind his arrangement, "We don''t have to


    waste our time by attending trial sessions for matters with solid evidence such as this."


    Suddenly, Sonia smiled, "You''re right. There''s indeed no need to waste our time on such a person like


    Anya. Just let thewyer attend to it, then."


    "I''ll hire Alfred Flingburt in the legal industry to be our attorney this time," Toby said with a calctive


    glint flickering in his eyes, which made whoever caught sight of it feel a sense of terror deep in their


    hearts.


    "Alfred Flingburt?" Sonia blinked in confusion. "Is he awyer from Fuller Group''s legal department?"


    Toby shook his head. "No, he''s not. Ourpany''s legal department dare not hire such a person."


    As soon as these words escaped Toby''s lips, Freddie, who stood from across him, inhaled sharply.


    "President Fuller, about thewyer you''d mentioned, is there a chance if it''s the samewyer who had


    established aw firm by himself and oversaw thepany''s entire operations?"


    Toby raised his chin slightly and made no furtherments.


    Finally, Freddie gasped once more and looked at Toby like he had seen a devil. As expected, this is the


    legendary Toby the Tyrant. Why did I think this man isn''t as fearful as rumored just because of his


    strong sense of possessiveness toward Miss Reed? What a slip-up!


    Meanwhile, as she observed Freddie''s reaction, Sonia''s expression became even more perplexed.


    Finally, unable to suppress her bafflement, she tugged on Toby''s sleeves and asked, "Is Mr. Flingburt


    that amazing? Otherwise, why would Freddie react in such a manner? He looks like he''s afraid of Mr.


    Flingburt."


    Toby curled his thin lips into a mysterious smile at her curiosity. Then, he instructed Freddie, "Tell her."


    Freddie gulped on his saliva and then nodded. "Yes, President Fuller."


    On the other hand, Sonia rolled her eyes at Toby when she saw that he decided to remain mysterious


    but pushed the matter to Freddie instead. Therefore, she redirected her attention toward Freddie and


    urged, "Officer Chase, please continue."


    "It''s like this." Freddie held up his teacup, took a sip of the tea, and finally calmed down. Then, he


    organized his thoughts in his mind before starting to introduce the notoriouswyer. "Miss Reed, the


    lawyer, Alfred Flingburt, he''s not as amazing as you had just assumed. On the contrary, he''s a terrible


    lawyer."


    "A crappywyer?" Sonia was slightly surprised. Crappy? Is he saying that thewyer has a poor


    quality of work? So, does this mean that Mr. Flingburt is ipetent and is neither excellent nor


    outstanding in whatever he does? But why would Officer Chase describe awyer Toby intended to hire


    as crappy? If he''s really so bad at his job, then why will Toby still want to hire him as our attorney?


    "So, are you saying thiswyer doesn''t have decent professional skill?" asked Sonia.


    As Freddie heard her conclusion, he nodded. "Yes."


    The moment he confirmed the doubts in her heart, Sonia frowned and nced at Toby. "In that case,


    why hire such awyer to be our attorney?"


    "Although he''s a crappywyer, he''s very lethal in court. So people in our social circle basically like to


    look for him regardingwsuits," replied Toby.


    "What? Why?" Sonia was even more astonished when she heard that piece of information.


    Freddie swiftly ced his teacup down and added, "What President Fuller said was true. The rich like


    to look for him whenever they''re involved in awsuit. Besides,wyers have the unfortunate tendency


    to offend people due to their line of work. Therefore, in order to allow Mr. Flingburt''s career to flourish in


    the legal industry, the rich will even protect him whenever they can."


    "Why is that so?" Sonia asked as she leaned forward in anticipation. At this point, her attention has


    beenpletely captured by this interestingwyer.


    Freddie continued exining the situation to her, "That''s because the man possesses an unnatural


    skill. Miss Reed, let me shed some light on the matter: there was a case, which was a verymon


    civil dispute, that took ce a few months ago. Due to both parties involved being unwilling to resolve


    their grievances privately, they naturally brought this case to court in the end. Mr. Flingburt was the


    lawyer hired by Party A. Meanwhile, thewyer hired by the other party was a well-knownwyer in the


    legal industry too, and not to mention that they were the ones with solid proof. It was a case whereby


    the other party would win no matter how one looked at it. Unexpectedly, in the end, it was Party A who


    won the case with the help of Mr. Flingburt. Additionally, Party B was even sentenced to a few months


    in prison."

 Chapter 1192

    Chapter 1192


    "What?! The party who should''ve won the case ended up losing the case and was even sentenced to


    prison?!" Sonia was in disbelief and felt a little dizzy at such a reversal of events.


    Freddie nodded. "Yes. Mr. Flingburt could even make an ordinary civil dispute case end up receiving a


    sentence. Hence, one can imagine how lethal the man could be. Apart from this, there''s another case.


    This case involved fraud. Party B turned to Party A and loaned 100,000 bucks, but they didn''t repay the


    money within the stipted time. For that reason, Party A brought Party B to court in the name of fraud


    and also hired Mr. Flingburt to act as their attorney."


    "And then what? Did the party win thewsuit?" Sonia guessed.


    Unexpectedly, Freddie shook his head. In addition, Toby, who was beside her, even had a trace of a


    smile in his eyes.


    Sonia saw it, so she couldn''t help but urge, "Freddie, hurry up and tell me, please. I''m really curious."


    "Okay." Freddie stopped cing her on a cliffhanger and continued. "In thiswsuit, thewyer hired by


    Party B is just a traineewyer, plus they''re the ones who avoid paying their debts. So logically


    speaking, Party B is definitely on the losing side. However, for some reason, Party A eventually


    angered Mr. Flingburt, making him turn his coat and extend his help toward Party B. So in the end, not


    only did Party B not have to repay the 200,000 that they owed, but Party A also had to bear the cost of


    thewsuit."


    Sonia was utterly speechless by such a dramatic turn of events.


    She only regained her voice after a long while. "He could actually turn the table like this?"


    "That''s right." Freddie took another sip of tea. "In short, Mr. Flingburt has a splendid record not only in


    the legal industry but also in your business world. If you ask him for help in thewsuit and do not


    offend him, the final result will definitely satisfy you. Even if the judge''s verdict is in line with thews


    and regtions, Mr. Flingburt can even request the judge to resentence as long as you feel the


    conviction is light. The punishment after the re-sentence will be a lot heavier than the original sentence.


    Moreover, there was indeed a simr case that had taken ce before."


    "How so?" asked Sonia.


    Freddie nced at Sonia as he replied, "For example, in the past two years, the crimemitted by a


    criminal suspect wasn''t particrly malicious, and the suspect was eventually sentenced to ten years


    in prison ording to our country''sws and regtions. Nevertheless, the victim''s family wasn''t


    satisfied with the conviction and felt the punishment was too light. Thus, they hired Mr. Flingburt, and


    the final conviction was changed from ten years in prison to twenty years under his maniption.


    What''s more amazing was that the initial life sentence wasmuted to a death penalty."


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia eximed in astonishment, "He''s so amazing. It''s no wonder that you all say that people in the


    social circle like to hire him when ites towsuits. With his undefeated record and his ability to


    achieve the employer''s wish and satisfy the employer fully, It''s no wonder that people in the circle are


    all protecting him. After all, it''s a loss tock such a talent."


    "That''s right." But, this time, it wasn''t Freddie who responded. Instead, it was Toby. "I thought about


    poaching him over to Fuller Group before, but he declined my offer."


    "What? He actually rejected an offer from the dignified President Fuller? Wow. He''s got quite a


    personality for doing what he wants to do without caring what others think." Sonia looked at Toby with a


    smile.


    "Yeah, he''s got quite a personality." Toby raised his chin, agreeing with Sonia''s statement.


    Sonia tilted her head as she inquired, "Were you not angry when he declined your offer?"


    Tobyughed softly before replying, "What''s there to be angry about? He''s talented, but that doesn''t


    mean I''m ipetent without such talent. That''s why I didn''t have the intention to force him to work for


    me when he rejected me in the first ce. Besides, everyone has the right to choose. I can choose to


    hire him, so naturally, he can also choose to work for me. Therefore, if he''s unwilling to work for me, it''s


    only normal that he would refuse to ept my offer. So, likewise, I won''t feel ashamed or annoyed by


    him about this matter."


    "President Fuller, your magnanimity truly impresses me," Freddie praised him sincerely as he looked at


    Toby. After all, one must know that the rich are people who are arrogant and have great pride. They''ve


    been standing in high positions for too long and are used to being ttered as well as fawned by others.


    Therefore, the word rejection definitely doesn''t exist in their dictionary. From their point of view, if they


    think highly of a certain someone and hire them to work for them, the other party should suck up to


    them and give their consent. In fact, they even expect the other party will gratefully ept their offers


    rather than refuse. Plus, if the other party refuses, they''ll think that the other party is looking down on


    them and even feel that the other party is making a fool out of them. So they''ll be enraged about it and


    may even attempt to destroy the other party''s career. It seems like only in this way can they vent the


    anger deep within them. I''m not making these nders out of thin air, though. They''re based on facts


    I''d often observed while working as a civil servant.


    For that reason, he felt utterly shocked when he heard Toby say that everyone had the right to choose,


    and it was very normal for the other party to reject him, as well as it was unnecessary to get angry


    about this matter.


    A sense of admiration came shortly after such a shock. It''s no wonder President Fuller could


    outperform those bunch of old businessmen in the business world at a young age and bring Fuller


    Group to the pinnacle. His open-mindedness and magnanimity alone aren''t something that those


    narrow-minded wealthy people in the circle canpare.


    Truthfully, it wasn''t just Freddie who showed his respect for Toby at this moment; Sonia, too, gave Toby


    a thumbs up after she heard what he had said.


    As Toby looked at Sonia''s fair and soft thumb, the gaze in his eyes darkened. Suddenly, he reached


    out, put Sonia''s thumb on his lips, and kissed it. Well, she''s the one who presents it straight to me. It''ll


    be my loss if I don''t kiss it.


    Both Sonia and Freddie were struck dumb by Toby''s abrupt action.


    When Freddie returned to his senses shortly after, he immediately lowered his head, feeling too


    awkward to even look at the intimacy disyed by the couple sitting opposite him. Still, deep down, he


    was reprimanding them secretly. Oh,e on! What''s up with these two? How can they publicly show


    their affections in front of me when we''re discussing important matters now? Also, where do they think


    this ce is? We''re now at the police station, a ce with such a solemn atmosphere. How can they


    actually¡­ actually¡­


    Although the expression on Freddie''s face became livid and pale at the same time, he didn''t dare to


    raise his voice at the two of them. I can''t help it. These two, they''re highly influential figures, and I can''t


    afford to offend either of them. So, what choice do I have? Well, I can just choose not to look.


    Meanwhile, on this side, Sonia also almost immediately snapped back to her senses as she quickly


    withdrew her hand from Toby''s grip and instinctively looked at Freddie.


    When Sonia saw Freddie lowering his head and ying with the teacup in his hand, pretending like he


    didn''t know or see anything¡ªa trace of embarrassment suddenly appeared on her face. It''s as clear as


    day that Officer Chase has seen everything. That''s why he''s pretending as if he sees nothing at this


    moment. Darn it! This makes me feel even more embarrassed! It''s all this dirty dog''s fault! He is always


    taking advantage of me whenever and wherever he can. I have asked him not to behave in such a


    manner in public or in front of others countless times. Does he know how embarrassing this feels? Yet,


    he never seems to listen to me. He just keeps doing it regardless of what I say. So now, I don''t even


    want to waste my breath on him any longer.


    After Sonia red at Toby, she forcefully kept a smile on her face and looked at Freddie. "Uh¡­ Officer


    Chase."


    Freddie looked up when he heard his voice. Then, he let out a cough before saying, "Miss Reed, you


    two are done?"


    As he spoke, he looked at Sonia and then at Toby.


    The moment Sonia heard Freddie''s question, her face flushed even more as her embarrassment


    reached its peak.


    As for Toby, he shamelessly acted as if nothing had ever happened. He didn''t even respond after he


    gave Freddie a dispassionate nce.


    Sonia inhaled deeply as she resisted the urge of wanting to rub her heated cheeks and replied


    bashfully, "I''m so sorry, Officer Chase, for making a fool out of ourselves in front of you just now. We¡ª"


    "No, no, it''s fine." Freddie hurriedly waved his hands. "I understand that it''s normal for the two of you to


    have a good rtionship."


    "Then¡­ thank you, Officer Chase, for your understanding." Sonia''s lips twitched in awkwardness.


    Freddie once again let out a dry cough against his fist. "Uhm¡­ Let''s continue our discussion from


    earlier, Miss Reed, shall we? Where were we?"

 Chapter 1193

    Chapter 1193


    "We''ve stopped discussing when my lover here mentioned his offer getting rejected by Mr. Flingburt,"


    Sonia recalled as she tilted her head and nced at Toby.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    At once, Freddie pped his thigh. "Oh, that''s right! We''ve stopped until there."


    "Speaking of which, Officer Chase, I have a question." Sonia retracted her gaze from Toby with slightly


    furrowed brows.


    Freddie motioned for her to continue. "Do ask, Miss Reed."


    "Actually, my question is pretty simple. Didn''t you guys say that Mr. Flingburt is a crappywyer? But


    from the stories you told me earlier, it looks like he had won every case he represented. And as for his


    failed case, that''s also because his employer had offended him that he purposely failed the case. If so,


    shouldn''t he be considered an outstandingwyer with a high sess rate? But why do you guys


    describe him as a crappywyer with little professionalpetency?"


    This time Freddie didn''t answer her immediately. Instead, he looked at Toby for his permission.


    After Toby nodded, he finally exined, "Well, since President Fuller had asked me to continue, I''ll


    discuss this frankly. Actually, Miss Reed, this matter isn''t as convoluted as it seems. Although Mr.


    Flingburt has aw degree, it didn''t change the fact that he barely passed his bar examination and


    obtained his Certificate in Legal Practice. In other words, Mr. Flingburt''s professional knowledge in the


    legal field is far less than that of prominentwyers. Nevertheless, he won all his cases based on his


    eloquence and quick responses under pressure in court."


    "Oh?" Sonia raised her eyebrow in disbelief.


    Freddie smiled at her incredulity. "When Mr. Flingburt went to trial, he didn''t like to use the methods


    commonly used by otherwyers, and he rarely usedwyers'' expertise. Rather, he prefers to use his


    high emotional intelligence and eloquence to lure the other party into saying something that shouldn''t


    be said or doing something that shouldn''t be done so as to achieve the goal of making the other party


    fail. His style of defending his clients in court is like making top sales in the business world."


    "I understand now." Sonia pped her hands as a sudden realization hit her. "It''s like even though he''s


    awyer, he doesn''t apply methods that awyer should use. Instead, he relies on tactics a


    professional marketer uses to defend his clients by capturing the jury''s hearts and winning them in one


    fell swoop."


    "Indeed." Freddie nodded in agreement.


    Sonia tapped her chin thoughtfully as she added, "In this case, he really doesn''t need much strong


    expertise inw and excellent test scores in legal practice to make a name for himself in the legal


    industry. He is using sales methods to win againstwsuits. That does make him different from other


    lawyers, indeed. He''s a true genius for being able to think and utilize such a tactic in court. Although


    he''s a crappywyer in terms of expertise, he''s a constant winner in terms of winningwsuits. It''s no


    wonder many would seek him to be their defense attorney."


    "Yes, and seeing that President Fuller intends to hire him as your attorney, I specte that he wants


    Anya to be sentenced to two more years. Am I right, President Fuller?" Freddie looked at Toby.


    Sonia also turned to look at Toby.


    When Toby heard what Freddie had said, his lips quirked into a slight smirk, but he didn''t admit to


    anything. Even so, they could clearly see that he was approving of such a suggestion at a nce.


    Freddie was correct with his guess because that was exactly what Toby had in mind.


    Freddie closed his notebook to signal that the interview had ended before he suddenly asked, "By the


    way, Miss Reed, do you want to take a look at Anya?"


    Before Sonia replied, she looked at Toby and inquired, "Do you want to see her?"


    A frowning Toby looked at Sonia like he was looking at a fool. "Are you asking me to see other women?


    Are you sure about this?"


    Sonia was momentarily rendered speechless by the words that escaped his lips, rolled her eyes, and


    replied, "I''m asking you to check on a prisoner. Not telling you to see your old lover."


    "Then, I''m not going either," Toby snorted. Then, he turned his head to the side and added, "I''m not


    interested in other women except you."


    Although what Toby said moved her, it also highly amused her.


    "Alright, then. Just wait for me here. I''ll go check on her." As she spoke, she rose to her feet.


    Nheless, Toby turned his head, grabbed her wrist, and said with a frown, "What''s there to check?


    You should be careful. What if she hurts you?"


    Freddie couldn''t help but cough lightly as he stood up and narrowed his gaze at Toby with apparent


    displeasure in his eyes. "President Fuller, she''s locked up. I can assure you that she can''t escape and


    hurt others. So don''t worry, Miss Reed won''t be harmed." Seriously? Why does he have to make it


    sound like we''re not vignt enough?


    Sure enough, Toby knew that Sonia wouldn''t be hurt. He just wanted to prevent Sonia from seeing


    Anya. After all, in his opinion, there was no point in visiting an evil woman like Anya.


    "Officer Chase is right. I won''t be hurt, so don''t worry. I''ll be back soon." Sonia patted Toby''s shoulder


    and motioned for him to release her.


    Toby finally let go when he saw that he couldn''t persuade her. "Return soon."


    "Okay." Sonia looked back and smiled.


    Finally, she followed Freddie, and soon, they arrived at the detention room.


    Yet, as soon as they reached the door, they heard a woman screaming in pain.


    Sonia immediately stopped in her tracks. "What''s going on?" It''s obviously Anya, the one who is


    shrieking in pain. Forget about the pain, and I can even hear the trembling and whimpering tone in her


    wails. This is clearly a situation that can only happen when someone is in severe pain. Could it be that


    the officers in the police station had done something to Anya?


    As she thought of this, Sonia looked at Freddie beside her.


    When Freddie noticed Sonia''s gaze, he knew what she meant. Therefore, he quickly exined to her


    by saying, "Miss Reed, please don''t misunderstand. It''s not what you think. Miss Anna Salzburg has


    been like this these few days."


    "She has been like this these few days?" Sonia blinked, thinking she had misheard things. "Why is she


    acting this way?"


    "ording to the doctor, she''s in pain because she has problems with her skeletal structure."


    "Skeletal structure? There''s something wrong with her bones?"


    "Yes." Freddie nodded. "It all happened a few days ago, the day after you and President Fuller left the


    police station, and we had just temporarily ced her in the detention center. Suddenly, she started


    screaming in pain. At first, we thought she was pretending to escape legal punishment. Despite that,


    weter saw that her face was pale, and she didn''t seem to be pretending, so we hurriedly sent her to


    the hospital. The doctor said she was in such a state because of the aftermath of the limb-lengthening


    surgery that she did."


    "Aftermath of the surgery," Sonia whispered to herself.


    Freddie pressed the brim of his cap as he continued. "The detailed information given by the doctor was


    that Anya has imnted an artificial bone made of new material into her femur so as to achieve the


    purpose of limb-lengthening. Unfortunately, since the material used for this artificial bone isn''t widely


    used in the medical market yet, hence it''s easy for Anya to show rejection of the artificial bone


    imnted in her body. She''s in so much pain because of this and the fact that she hasn''t taken her


    medicine to cope with the pain for a period of time."


    After she listened to his exnation, she nodded in realization. "So, that''s what it is. But, doesn''t Anya


    need to be hospitalized, judging from her painful state?"


    "Dr. Lancaster said it''s fine," Freddie replied.


    "Dr. Lancaster?" Sonia raised her brows, and an odd feeling instantly surged in her heart.


    "Officer Chase, is Dr. Lancaster that you''re talking about going by the name Tim Lancaster? The one


    who wears sses and looks very handsome yet a little cold?" Sonia described while gesturing to


    emphasize her point.


    Freddie repeatedly nodded at her description of the doctor. "That''s right. It''s him. He does look a little


    cold and not to mention quite unfriendly. But in addition to being cold, I also feel that there''s something


    wrong with him."


    "How so?"


    "Well, I can''t pinpoint much either. But based on my judgment from being a criminal police officer in the


    past, I can tell that this doctor doesn''t have the feelings that a human being should have," Freddie said


    with a frown.


    At once, Sonia felt a thud in her heart as she was shocked by Freddie''s statement. No way! Is it


    possible? Does Officer Chase truly have such a sharp observation that he actually sees through Tim''s


    true nature?


    Regardless, Sonia thought that she should help cover Tim up when she remembered that Tim was on


    her side.


    Therefore, with that in mind, Sonia smiled and said, "Perhaps the coldness disyed in his eyes was


    because, as a doctor, he has witnessed too many incidents such as births, old age, sickness, and


    death. I don''t think he''s heartless."


    "I guess you''re right, Miss Reed." Freddie nodded, thinking Sonia''s exnation sounded logical. After


    all, why would a heartless person be a doctor?

 Chapter 1194

    Chapter 1194


    Maybe after being exposed to so many life and death situations, Dr. Lancaster could seem very


    indifferent, just the same as being a criminal police officer. After they had witnessed all sorts of murder


    cases and all kinds of terrifying corpses, their heart would gradually turn numb from the repetition and


    exposure of these gory scenes.


    "Dr. Lancaster is so great," Freddie said with a sigh as he thought about it.


    Sonia smiled without continuing the conversation, but she heaved a huge sigh of relief inside. She


    couldn''t judge whether Tim was a great doctor or not because that was just how his personality was,


    and the reason he became a doctor wasn''t to save lives and help the injured.


    ording to himself, he became a doctor because he liked the feeling of performing surgery, as it gave


    him a great sense of pleasure and satisfaction.


    Although this was a very sick reason, it was undeniable that he had saved a lot of people. So, he could


    be considered excellent, in a way.


    However, the most important thing for her now was that the colossal stone weighing on her heart had


    been lifted. Fortunately, she could pull the wool over Freddie''s eyes so that he didn''t continue to


    assume that Tim was really a cold-blooded devil. If he did, he might start investigations on Tim.


    Even though she wasn''t sure if Tim had done anything malicious in the dark, she didn''t hear about


    them, at least. So, she could y on usible deniability.


    Therefore, as his friend, she couldn''t stand idly by when others were suspicious of him.


    Even if she was wrong in covering up for Tim, she was still a person with her own biases, not a totally


    impartial one.


    Since she had selfish desires, why shouldn''t she just act ording to her heart''s desires then?


    Sonia locked those thoughts away as she nced at Freddie and asked, "Officer Chase, was Dr.


    Lancaster the one who attended to Anya after you sent her to the hospital?"


    "No." He shook his head. "After we sent her there, the one who attended to her first was a general


    doctor. We have no idea what happened afterward, but that general doctor left halfway, saying he was


    busy. So, in the end, it was Dr. Lancaster who took over, and after he had given her a checkup, he


    prescribed her some immunosuppressant drugs and told us to take her back, saying that this was a


    normal situation. She''ll be in pain for a few days, but after taking some medication, she will be fine and


    doesn''t need to be hospitalized."


    "I see." The edges of her lips twitched as she tried to suppress the amusement in her heart.


    What does he mean by a normal situation, only oral medication is needed and no hospitalization? I


    think he''s clearly doing this on purpose, she reckoned.


    At least from what she had heard, once rejection happened after surgery, they had to be hospitalized


    for observation and treatment, and she had never heard of just taking the medication to suppress it.


    Furthermore, Tim was a surgeon, not an orthopedist. He wasn''t even in the correct department for such


    an ailment, so his credibility was naturally much lower.


    Despite this, she knew very well why he did what he had done¡ªto stand up for her.


    Tim was aware that Anya and Sonia had a dispute before, and when he happened to find out that the


    police had sent Anya to the hospital, he asked the general doctor to leave so he could take over. Then,


    he simply prescribed some medication to close the case.


    The reason he did that wasn''t to treat Anya but to prolong her suffering so he could vent out the


    frustrations on Sonia''s behalf. But, of course, Sonia wouldn''t say this out loud as this would cause


    trouble for him.


    After all, he did this for her, and it would be ungrateful on her part if she sold him out. So even if what


    he did was wrong, she wouldn''t snitch on him.


    "Please take me to visit Anya, Officer Chase," Sonia requested.


    No matter what, she was already here, and it wouldn''t be a bad idea to see how pathetic Anya was


    doing now. Otherwise, this would have been a wasted trip.


    "Sure, she''s right here," Officer Chase answered, pointing at the detention center.


    Sonia nodded and followed him through the main doors of the detention center. Regardless, she


    abruptly stopped in her tracks and didn''t want to enter any further.


    Freddie noticed her behavior as he stopped and stood beside her while she lifted her head and looked


    in the cell.


    The space inside was divided into two¡ªhalf had a table and chair while the other half had iron railings.


    Inside, there was a simple single bed with sheets.


    Right now, Anya was wearing an orange vest that the suspects were wearing andying on the single


    bed, wailing and rolling in pain.


    As the pain was too much for her to bear, her eyes were squeezed shut, and she gripped the sheets


    tightly. Her face twisted into an agonizing expression; she looked pale and was covered in so much


    cold sweat that her hair was drenched.


    Beside her, there were also two female police officers taking care of her¡ªone pressed her down and


    wanted to stuff a towel into her mouth lest she identally bit her own tongue, and another was bent


    over, dispensing the medication to her.


    Sonia felt her heart wrench when she saw Anya in such a state. Her face involuntarily cringed as she


    sped her hands tightly in front of her chest.


    She didn''t pity Anya, of course; she purely felt as though she could experience the pain Anya was


    feeling at such a sight.


    Sonia closed her eyes as she quickly turned around and walked away. After a few steps outside the


    detention center, she stopped and opened her eyes again, letting out a long breath.


    Now, she rather regretted the decision to visit her earlier because she could feel her own legs hurting


    just from recalling the imagery from before.


    While she was rubbing her temples, she heard Freddie''s voice from behind, asking, "Miss Reed, aren''t


    you going to greet Anya?"


    She spun around and smiled. "I don''t think so. I think it will only be more painful for her if I go in. After


    all, I''m the one who ced her there, and she''s in so much pain because she stopped her


    immunosuppressants. She must be hating me right now, so I''ll be a little kind and not go in to provoke


    her."


    Freddie''s facial muscles twitched at her excuse, and after a few seconds, he finally replied, "You''re so


    kind, Miss Reed."


    As though he couldn''t tell that she was secretly mocking Anya.


    Yet, Freddie had to agree that Anya would re up upon seeing Sonia and be even more violent.


    Once that happened, the ones to suffer would be the police officers, so it was better if she didn''t enter.


    "I''ll take you to President Fuller then, Miss Reed," Freddie said.


    She nodded. "Thank you."


    Halfway when they were walking toward the offices, she saw three people in the direction of the


    interrogation rooms. Just like Anya, one of them was wearing the orange vest that suspects wear, and


    his hands were cuffed as two officers held him.


    Clearly, this was another criminal who had broken thew and was just finished with interrogation.


    After she nced at him, she looked away and didn''t pay the man any mind as she continued to


    saunter towards the police chief''s office.


    Unexpectedly, the person being held away was stunned when he saw Sonia. Then, his beady eyes


    widened in surprise, and his slumped, stocky body suddenly straightened as he became incredibly


    agitated.


    The next second, he found a surge of strength and shoved to the left and right, shaking off the shackles


    from the two officers behind himself and dashed toward Sonia.


    This sudden change stunned everyone at the scene, and a female officer who passed by even yelped


    in shock.


    Immediately, Freddie stepped forward and ced Sonia behind himself. Then, he whisked out his


    baton and aimed it at the man lurching at her. With a severe expression, he shouted, "Hold it! I''m


    ordering you to stop right now. If you take another step, I will use my weapon on you."


    Behind him, Sonia realized this criminal wasing for her, and she was startled. Luckily Freddie had


    yanked her to the back, where she could breathe a huge sigh of relief and calm down from the scare. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 1195

    Chapter 1195


    She had no idea why this criminal wasing at her. Maybe he was caught after he broke thew and


    felt unjustified, so he wanted to take it out on society and harm others as a form of catharsis?


    After all, there were countless people like this. Sometimes, she would read news on the Inte where


    she saw innocent victims and felt so sorry for them.


    Now, she had joined the club as one of the innocent victims, but fortunately, it was the police station


    here, and she had Freddie by his side. Or else, she would probably be in danger already.


    On the other side, the plump middle-aged man to whom Freddie pointed the baton didn''t dare to take


    another step forward as his expression changedpletely. Instead, he hurriedly came to a stop and


    raised his cuffed hands in the air to surrender.


    It didn''t ur to him that he would be threatened with a weapon when he just wanted to plead for


    mercy. What bad timing!


    The police officers quickly caught the fat man from behind, and one of them kicked him in the back of


    his knee.


    Caught off guard, he fell to his knees with a loud thud, and the officers pinned him to the ground,


    pressing his face against the floor and holding him firmly as though they were afraid that he would


    escape as he did earlier.


    "Stay still and don''t move!" the officers on top of him warned fiercely.


    The man couldn''t help the bitter smile on his face as he thought, Move? Can I even move when I''m in


    this state?


    Opposite him, Freddie rxed and kept his baton away when he saw that the officers had


    apprehended the criminal. Finally, he turned to the two officers and reprimanded stoically, "What were


    you two doing earlier? Can''t you even hold one person?"


    The officers hung their heads and didn''t answer, knowing they were in the wrong. What could they


    possibly say? It was their responsibility if a person slipped away while they were holding him.


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "This time, I''ll just give you a warning as punishment. If something like this happens again, don''t me


    me for transferring you to the traffic department!" Freddie chided, pointing a finger at them.


    The officers repeatedly nodded, indicating they wouldn''t make this mistake again. This wasn''t a


    perfunctory reply but a sincere one.


    As policemen, it was a p in their faces and a humiliation that a criminal was able to escape from their


    hands. At the end of the day, they would be aughingstock if they couldn''t even hold a criminal down.


    In order to clean up their act, they would be more alert and wouldn''t make the same mistake the


    second time.


    "You better not. Keep this in mind." Then, after he scolded them with a grim expression, he spun


    around and rxed his expression as he observed Sonia, asking in concern, "Are you alright, Miss


    Reed?"


    "I''m fine." She released her sped hands that were held nervously against her chest as she smiled


    and shook her head. "Luckily, you pulled me aside in time and avoided a tragedy from happening,


    Officer Chase. Thank you so much for earlier."


    "You''re wee, Miss Reed. This is the police station, so we must protect you when our criminal


    almost injures an innocent person. Even if it''s not the police station, as public officials, we have to


    protect the public anywhere we are," he said with a salute.


    Sonia smiled again and was about to say something when the middle-aged man on the floor suddenly


    started shouting, "Miss Reed! Please forgive me and ask Mr. Fuller to let me off, Miss Reed! I''m really


    sorry!"


    rmed by those yells, she looked down at the man in surprise. "Do you know me?" She was rtively


    sure that she had never seen this person before.


    The middle-aged man bobbed his head. "Yes, Miss Reed. I''m¡ª"


    Before he could finish, something popped up in Freddie''s mind, and he pped his hands together.


    Thus, he gestured at the man as he reminded her, "This person is somehow connected to you, Miss


    Reed. The police have also heard about the rumors on the Inte today, and this person is the chief


    editor of Squirrel Media who was sent here by President Fuller''s men."


    Sonia immediately understood who he was as she stared at the middle-aged man on the floor, and her


    eyes were no longer confused but cold. "So, you''re Mitch Adams, chief editor of Squirrel Media?"


    "Yes, yes. That''s me." Mitch nodded in agitation when he saw that Sonia knew of him. "Miss Reed, I''m


    begging you. I realized my mistake in the matter this time. So please let me off, and I won''t ever do it


    again in the future. I can give you anything you want, but I really, really don''t want to go to jail," he said


    as he started to wriggle again in an attempt to break free once more and run toward Sonia.


    Unfortunately, the two police officers were on high alert now and wouldn''t allow him the chance to


    break free from their grasp. So, the moment Mitch struggled, they pressed down hard on him.


    The crisp sound of bones cracking echoed, and Mitch''s face wrinkled into a pained look as they pinned


    him harder onto the ground, and he couldn''t help but howl out in pain.


    A shocked Sonia inquired, "Is he alright?"


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed," Freddie assured. "Our men know their limits and won''t really break his limbs.


    At the most, he will just have a dislocated arm.


    "I see." Sonia nodded and didn''t ask anymore, but she turned to Mitch and looked at him sternly. "You


    want us to let you off, so you don''t have to go to jail?"


    The moment Mitch heard her, he couldn''t be bothered about his arm and raised half of his face with


    great difficulty, sweating profusely as he nodded. "Yes, that''s right, Miss Reed. But, please, I''m begging


    you. I don''t want to spend the rest of my life in jail. I''m almost fifty and have my mother and children to


    care for. They can''t do without me, Miss Reed¡­"


    At the mention of this, he actually started sobbing with snot and tears, looking very pathetic.


    Regrettably, Sonia was not the least soft-hearted to see him like this. But, in contrast, she was sick and


    disgusted as it made her sick to see a grown man crying so pathetically.


    She suppressed her urge to throw up, turned her head the other way, and refused to look at Mitch lest


    she really retched.


    "Since you know that you''ll be spending the rest of your life in jail, it shows that you''re well aware of the


    severity of your actions," she said without a single trace of emotion on her face. "I''m sorry, but I''m a


    good citizen who abides by thew. It''s the simplest of my duties to fight injustice and eliminate evil.


    Regardless, when ites to a criminal like you, I''m already showing mercy by not adding a few more


    years to your sentence, so how can I possibly forgive you and let you off?"


    After she said that, Mitch was dumbfounded, and his cries paused for a few seconds as his body


    became rigid on the floor.


    A good whileter, he became agitated again and started begging as he did before. "Miss Reed, I know


    I''ve done unforgivable things to you, but I have no other choice, too. Someone forced me into it, Miss


    Reed. For the sake that I did it against my own will, please show some mercy, and I won''t do it again in


    the future. I promise I won''t!"


    "Forced?" A sneer tinged the edge of her pink lips. "You know it very well whether you were forced or it


    was just greed. Don''t forget that we''re now living in a time where the police can thoroughly investigate


    every transaction. Do you expect anyone to believe you now that you''re telling me that you were


    forced? Furthermore, are you a person who could be forced so easily? Even if Miss Lore has a slight


    influence, she was in no position to order you around. After all, she''s not Toby Fuller, and if you''re not


    even afraid of the Young Master of the Harper Family, will you be afraid of Miss Lore?"

 Chapter 1196

    Chapter 1196


    The Harper Family was definitely one of Seafield''s wealthiest families and had a reputation in the area


    because of its links to the transportation industry.


    At least, they were more influential than the Lore Family.


    Also, the Young Master of the Harper Family was also the second grandson who constantly made


    headlines for his ignorance and ipetence.


    Some of his actions were even against thew.


    Whenever there was anything that involved the young master''s breach of thew, the Harper Family


    would intervene and have a word with the media outlets to prevent them from releasing such news.


    Due to the influence of the Harper Family, most media outlets naturally agreed to their request and


    would instead actively suppress the news.


    Squirrel Media, on the other hand, was different; it would proceed to report the news with no


    consequences whatsoever.


    For that reason, if Squirrel was unafraid of the Harper Family, would they be frightened of the Lore


    Family, which shared a simr standing?


    Not to mention, the person in question was the family''s youngdy with no influence of her own.


    Who would believe such news?


    Mitch was on the ground in tears, but he was once again stunned after hearing Sonia''s words.


    He never expected that Sonia was aware of his situation to a tee.


    As a result, his earlier words had no credibility and merely sounded ridiculous.


    However, it did not mean that Nichs would throw in the towel.


    Now that Toby had a firm hold on him, he knew that it was impossible to make aeback and


    intended to admit defeat.


    Yet, who would have expected that he would run into Sonia at such a ce?


    Women would always be more soft-hearted than their male counterparts. As long as I have a chat with


    Sonia, maybe I might have a way out.


    So, no matter what, he did not want to lose this opportunity.


    As he thought about it, Mitch cheered for himself before he spoke, "Miss Reed, I know that you''d find it


    difficult to understand how I was convinced by the youngdy of the Lore Family to do what I did. I had


    no choice, though. The Lore Family and President Fuller have an extremely close rtionship, which


    was why I didn''t dare to ignore Miss Lore''s words. If you don''t believe me, Miss Reed, you can ask


    President Fuller about his rtionship with the Lore Family."


    He couldn''t care less; he had to give it his all.


    Sonia raised her hand. "I don''t have to ask. I''m aware that Toby and the Lore Family have a


    rtionship akin to a master and pupil. Miss Lore''s young enough to even be considered Toby''s niece."


    "Yes, that''s right. Miss Lore can be considered as Toby''s niece, which was why she threatened me. If I


    didn''t dare to do it and offended President Fuller. As a result, I¡ª"


    "But don''t you forget!" Sonia squatted and lowered her head to look at Mitch with a cold gaze. Then, as


    she cut him off mercilessly, she continued, "Lte Lore may be Toby''s niece, but I''m Toby''s lover. So


    if you dare not go against Lte for fear of offending Toby, yet you''re brave enough to help her attack


    his girlfriend? Don''t tell me you''re not worried about offending Toby?"


    Mitch''s expression changed as he broke out in cold sweat.


    Officer Chase and two policemen, who were all present at the scene, looked at him with contempt.


    "I-I¡­ I never thought that f-far¡­" It took Mitch ages before he could stammer a reply with trembling


    lips.


    He was telling the truth; he had indeed never thought far.


    Back when Lte gave him a call and used her grandfather''s connection to Toby to plead with Mitch


    to help her with something, she even said that Mitch did not need to fear offending Toby. Her


    grandfather was Toby''s master, so she definitely could protect Mitch from the consequences. As long


    as Mitch agreed, she would then pay him five million.


    The idea of receiving five million greatly tempted Mitch, and since he had someone to back him up, it


    was a done deal.


    After that, he ignored the fact that Sonia was Toby''s girlfriend. He utterly forgot that messing with her


    was akin to offending Toby.


    As Sonia observed Mitch''s astonishment, she rose to her feet. "Did you forget that I''m someone


    important in Toby''s heart? My position is about the same as his master''s. That must be the reason why


    you did what you did. Still, it''s such a pity that you had the wrong idea. Compared to Mr. Lore, Toby


    cares more for me. You see, Toby had personally delivered you here, but no one from the Lore Family,


    especially Lte, came to save you from this mess. She didn''t even call you at all, which shows that


    she haspletely given up on you. Do you know why? It''s because Toby is about to go against the


    Lore Family. So, the Lore Family can''t afford to save you."


    Mitch''s eyes widened. "President Fuller wants to go against the Lore Family?"


    "That''s right. I believe you''ll see the news reports that Toby has taken action on the Lore Family in due


    course." There was a smile on Sonia''s face as she said those words gently.


    When he saw her smiling like that, he felt that he was seeing the devil. Her words that Toby wanted to


    go against the Lore Family kept ringing in his head.


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    If Toby wanted to attack the Lore Family, it meant that they had stepped on his bottom line and angered


    the man himself.


    That was why he refused to let even his master''s family off the hook.


    In short, forget about Mitch; the entire Lore Family was in a precarious situation now.


    At this moment, Mitch panicked and waspletely terrified. His cries became even louder as he


    pleaded, "Miss Reed?"


    He continued shrilly, "I know I''m in the wrong, Miss Reed. As I have exined, it''s because that


    woman, Lte, fancies President Fuller and is jealous of you. So she asked me to secretly arrange


    for a reporter to be hot on your trail and take pictures that she could use to threaten you. We wanted to


    use it to create rumors and force you and President Fuller to break up. By doing so, Lte would


    have a shot at being with him.''''


    He huped as he kepting up with excuses for himself, "She even said that her grandfather is


    President Fuller''s master and someone he deeply respects. If there''s any problem, everything can be


    settled once her grandfather speaks to President Fuller. The five million that she gave me was my


    reward. Miss Reed, I know that I have screwed up and only cared for money. Since I have exined


    everything to you, including Lte''s calls, I can surrender the audio recording to you. Just let me go, I


    plead with you, Miss Reed. I¡ª"


    "Since she is the one who approached you, you should beg for mercy from her." A deep male voice


    answered even before Sonia could say anything. That voice came from someone from the crowd.


    Then, everyone turned to look at the source of the voice.


    Toby ced one hand in his sh pocket while gently swaying the other hand as he walked toward


    Sonia and Mitch without expression.


    The heels of his leather shoes made a clear sound, with each step leaving a soothing aftersound.


    Unfortunately, to Mitch, it was not melodious because such a sound meant that Hades was slowly but


    surely approaching him. Toby''s footsteps pounded on Mitch''s heart and left the man with an uneasy


    feeling.


    "P-President F-Fuller¡­" Mitch raised his head and looked at Toby, approaching with wide eyes. He


    was even quivering and couldn''t form a proper sentence.


    Officer Chase even made way by offering his spot to Toby.


    Finally, Toby stopped next to Sonia, who then asked him, "Why are you here?"


    "I noticed that you haven''t returned after so long and decided to see what''s up. But, of course, I never


    expected to hear those words just now," he replied. Then, he lowered his eyes to look at Mitch, who


    resembled a defenseless ant, and continued, "I heard what you and my girlfriend said just now,


    though."


    Toby hugged Sonia''s waist and exined, "What my lover said is correct. She has a higher position


    than my master in my heart. It''s because she''ll be the one with me for the rest of my life, whereas my


    master won''t. Yes, I respect my master, but if my master has gone overboard and is not as virtuous as I


    remembered, then I can just be as disrespectful to him. Since I can throw my master to the lion''s den,


    what makes you think my master''s granddaughter would be worthy enough for me to spare?"


    Mitch gaped at him and couldn''t speak. It was because Toby''s words were the final words announcing


    a tragic ending for him. That''s true, though. If he can choose to sacrifice his master, why would he care


    about his master''s granddaughter?

 Chapter 1197

    Chapter 1197


    Mitch was about to have a mental breakdown due to such a result as he was filled with deep remorse.


    He should not have been greedy back then. Instead, he should have thought more about the


    importance of Sonia''s position in Toby''s heart.


    If he had done so, maybe he wouldn''t be in such a situation today.


    "President Fuller, I''m pleading with you to let me go. I know I''m in the wrong. Sobs¡­" Mitch''s tears


    were extremely pitiful.


    It was so pitiful that people could cry along with him.


    Unfortunately, the person who suffered injustice was Sonia, so Toby couldn''t be softhearted.


    Sonia opened her red lips and coldly responded, "It''s only now that you realize your mistakes. Then,


    when you helped Lte to mess with me, have you ever thought about my ending if Toby didn''t know


    that I''ll never cheat on him? Oh, I''ve said it wrongly. It''s obvious you never thought about it because


    you were greedy and only cared for money. That was why you couldn''t care about the lives of others.


    Since that''s the case, then why should we care about you? It''s your own fault that you''re in such a


    situation. There''s no use in pleading with anyone, although you can beg the culprit who did this."


    "L-Lte Lore?" A name slipped out from Mitch''s hoarse throat.


    Toby was nomittal as he added, "Didn''t she say that she can protect you? Since you''re in such a


    situation, you should look for her. Come, let''s go." Once he said those words, he looked at the woman


    in his embrace.


    Sonia hummed in agreement.


    Both of them didn''t spare Mitch another nce as they turned to leave.


    On the other hand, Mitch did not continue to plead with them for mercy or forgiveness. Deep in his


    heart, he was aware that no matter how he begged them, they would never let him off the hook.


    Since that was the case, it was better to follow their suggestion and search for Lte instead.


    Lte, that b*tch, was the one who caused his downfall, so he couldn''t wait toy his hands on her.


    She even swore that nothing would go wrong and that I would be alright. Since something has indeed


    happened, she could still bail me out with her grandfather''s connections to President Fuller.


    As such, she should keep to her promise.


    Moreover, even if Toby attacked the Lore Family, they would still be more affluent than the average


    family. Will I have such an ability? Just you wait. When I''m released, I''ll definitely look for a way to get


    even with you, Lte Lore!


    As he thought about this, Mitch had a twisted expression as viciousness swam in his eyes. "I want to


    make a phone call," he requested as he lifted his jiggly neck to look at Officer Chase.


    Since Mitch was not an used awaiting trial, he still had the right tomunicate with the outside


    world.


    That was why Officer Chase epted Mitch''s request and made the necessary arrangements.


    Soon enough, Mitch was brought to the telephone at the precinct since he couldn''t use his own cell


    phone to contact anyone. He only had ess to the phone in the police station.


    Therefore, the police helped him to search for Lte''s phone number on his cell phone, after which he


    made the call.


    Although the phone call was connected, it took a while for a drowsy female voice to answer. "Hello?"


    There was still a trace of dissatisfaction and arrogance in her tone.


    Evidently, the woman grew up in a pampered environment, which led to her spoiled behavior.


    When Mitch heard Lte''s voice, his face twisted into a nasty snarl consumed by hate since he was


    held on remand and ran the risk of imprisonment.


    Yet, this woman was still enjoying her beauty sleep.


    The extreme imbnce of their situation caused his breathing to be heavier while his bloody


    eyes, the size of beans, shot open. It was enough to frighten those around him.


    Despite that, Mitch was from the media industry, so his ability to be crafty was on full disy via this


    phone call.


    Even if he had a distorted expression and held deep loathing for the woman, his voice didn''t reflect his


    feelings. "Miss Lore, it''s me."


    Officer Chase couldn''t help but salute the man for his talents when he heard Mitch''s tone.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    "You? Who?"


    On the other end of the phone line was someone abroad.


    At the moment, the sky was rather gloomy somewhere abroad, even though it was around 5.00AM to


    6.00AM.


    The woman dressed in her pajamas held her phone with one hand and raised the other hand to stretch


    herself. Then, she leaned on the headboard with a sigh and asked in dissatisfaction.


    She did not have a charming, mature look; instead, she had an adorable aura¡ªa round, chubby face, a


    pair of big eyes, a small nose bridge, and thin lips on top of a petite figure that even her sleepwear


    couldn''t hide.


    It was a typical description of a Lolita.


    Even though she looked petite, she resembled an underaged high school student.


    In actual fact, this woman was already past 25.


    She was the granddaughter of Harry¡ªLte Lore.


    Regrettably, that didn''t charm Mitch because when he noticed Lte couldn''t even recognize his


    voice, he gritted his teeth before adopting a colder tone. "Me, as in the editor of Squirrel Media."


    When she heard that it was Mitch, the yawning Lte finally remembered who he was. She was


    momentarily stunned before she became impatient. "It''s you? Why are you calling me? Don''t forget,


    and it''s not even sunrise here. Aren''t you worried that I''ll be angry at you for disturbing my sleep?"


    As she spoke, she was a living example of what it means to be prideful and self-centered.


    If it were in the past, Mitch would suppress his hatred for such arrogance and coax her instead.


    Back then, she was Harry''s granddaughter, and Harry hadn''t broken ties with Toby.


    It was a different situation now, though.


    Toby wanted to attack the Lore Family, which was indicative of his intention to sever ties with them.


    As for Mitch, he also did not need to bow down to this woman''s arrogance. After he thought about their


    current situation, he dropped the farce and roared, "Lte, you bloody b*tch. I don''t give a f*ck


    whether you are pleased or not. You better listen up. I''m not done with you!"


    Lte was shocked when she was faced with Mitch''s harsh scoldings and only regained her


    composure a whileter. Then, her adorable face flushed with fury while her eyes were moist with


    tears. Finally, she crossed her hips and retorted in a shrill voice, "H-How you dare to yell at me?!"


    A bloody b*tch!


    Throughout her whole life, she had never been insulted with such words by anyone, as everyone


    treated her like a jewel.


    Yet, this person dared to lecture her!


    S-She would not let this obese person off the hook!


    Lte bit her lip and was close to exploding with fury as her chest heaved in rage.


    She might have had a bad temper and was arrogant, but she had received the education of the rich


    and famous since she was a child born with a silver spoon.


    So, it was unfortunate that shecked the ability to win a verbal fight!


    Even if she wanted to yell at her past self and Mitch, she just couldn''t swear as she only knew the


    word, b*stard.


    Therefore, Lte could only use that term to scream at Mitch.


    He snorted disdainfully because he had always known that these youngdies were too proud of


    themselves and thought it beneath them to learn slurs.


    When he heard her using such low-level ng to curse at him, he was scornful.


    Lte naturally realized that Mitch looked down on her, making her even more furious. But, since she


    didn''t know how to curse, she could only shriek at him as she mmed the phone on the quilt. "Adams,


    you had the guts to offend me, huh? Do you believe I''ll have a word with my grandpa and Toby and ask


    them to throw you out of Seaview City?"

 Chapter 1198

    Chapter 1198


    Mitch burst into a scornful guffaw as though he had just heard a cosmic joke. "You want to drive me out


    of Seafield?"


    Lte was irritated when she heard himughing like this. At the same time, however, her heart did a


    complete somersault. A bad feeling arose within her; she couldn''t help feeling that something was


    amiss. "W-What are youughing at?" Her lovely baby face contorted for a while as she pped her


    nket with her free hand in exasperation. She warned loudly, "Stopughing, Mitch! Did you hear me?


    I''m telling you to stopughing!"


    Mitch was stillughing without restraint on the other end of the line while ignoring her. Afterughing


    for a while, he finally managed to stop with his eyes full of derision. "Lte, had you said something


    like this before today, I''d probably still believe that you could indeed drive me out of Seafield. After all,


    your grandfather was President Fuller''s mentor. If you wanted to sort me out, your grandfather, who


    always covered up for you, would definitely side with you, and even if President Fuller learned about


    this, he wouldn''t care about a small fry like me. However, from today onward, people willugh their


    heads off if you say something like that."


    Lte instantly tightened her grip on the phone as the unease within her grew. "What do you mean?"


    Mitch''s lips curled into a sinister and wicked smile. "What do I mean? I mean your family is finished!


    Haha!" he said before bursting outughing again in schadenfreude. He was so pleased deep down


    that his face was flushed crimson with excitement. His eyes bulged as if they''d fall out of their sockets


    the next second, making him look very scary.


    When Lte heard his words on the other end of the line, she felt as though a p of thunder had just


    exploded over her head. Stunned, she felt like her head was going to explode. Did he just say my


    family is finished? How is that possible? My family is fine, and Grandpa is still alive. Even if the


    members of my family aren''t capable of anything, Toby will always have my family under his wing as


    long as Grandpa is still alive and their master-apprentice rtionship still stands. My family will always


    be ranked among the ten most distinguished families of Seafield, so how could my family be finished?


    Pulling herself together, she seethed with rage, thinking that it was sickening of Mitch to say such


    things on purpose to fool her. Clutching the phone tightly with both hands, she uttered between


    clenched teeth, "Mitch, how dare you curse my family? Just you wait; my family and I will never let you


    off for this!"


    "I don''t have to wait for that." Mitch sneered. "I''m not lying to you, Lte. It''s true that your family''s


    gonna be finished. You still don''t know about it, do you? Well, that''s understandable. It''s night over


    there, so you must have no idea what''s going on in the country."


    Lte bit her lower lip while almost being overwhelmed by the unease within her. "What the hell are


    you trying to say?"


    Mitch''s chubby face cracked into a smile full of malice. "I just want to tell you that your cover is blown.


    It''se to light that you bribed me with 5 million to have Sonia followed by paparazzi and to spread


    gossip to cause her breakup with Toby. Sonia and Toby both know that you were behind it! Haha!"


    Lte nched instantly as the phone dropped out of her hand and fell onto the nket. Even if she


    didn''t put the phone on speaker, Mitch''s heartyughter still sounded very clearly through the phone


    and reached her ears at this very moment, making her head buzz. What did this fatso just say? My


    cover''s blown? My n to cause Toby to break up with that Soniady hase to light? How is that


    possible?! That can''t be possible!


    Her eyes flickered before she quickly came to her senses. Grabbing the phone on the nket, she held


    it back to her ear and barked loudly, "Stop lying to me, Mitch! Do you think I''ll believe what you said? I


    wasn''t born yesterday!"


    "I''m lying to you?" Mitch rolled his eyes. "Lte, why would I lie to you? Has it ever crossed your mind


    why my attitude toward you would change so much? I was still respectful to you before today, but now I


    only wish you to die. Didn''t you ever think about the reason behind this? This is because President


    Fuller and Miss Reed have found out what we did behind the scenes! President Fuller caught me first


    since I''m in the country. Lte, I believe you don''t need me to remind you to know what would happen


    to me after I fell into President Fuller''s hands. So, how could I not hate you for putting me up to this and


    bringing me to such an end, Miss Lore?!" he said, almost growling toward the end of his speech.


    Upon being growled at, Lte shuddered involuntarily, and her face turned even paler. At this


    moment, she finally noticed what she hadn''t realized just now thanks to Mitch''s words. That''s right; this


    fatso has been so respectful to me before. He obsequiously called me Miss Lore because I''m the


    daughter of the Lore Family and my grandfather was Toby''s mentor. It''s because of this that I have the


    top standing among the rich youngdies. Who else would this fatso butter up if not me?


    And now, not only is this fatso calling me by my first name, but he even curses my family, saying that


    he only wishes for me to die. He wouldn''t have dared to do this in the past, but he dares to do this now.


    In other words, what he says is true: Toby has really learned that it was my doing.


    For a moment, she began to panic. What should I do? Toby has learned about it! Will he be angry with


    me? Will he hate me or even want to sort me out? No, no way! Grandpa was Toby''s mentor, so TobyThis content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    won''t do anything to me for Grandpa''s sake. Yes, this must be the case. Toby and I have known each


    other for so many years. I don''t believe that I don''t matter to him more than a woman who got married


    to him by dirty means and then used dirty means to force him into getting back together with her after


    she was chased out of the Fuller Family.


    At the thought of this, Lte regained herposure, ignoring Mitch''s previous remark about the


    Lore Family''s impending doom. She curled her lips and replied scornfully, "So what if our cover is


    blown? There''s no need to panic. My grandpa was Toby''s mentor. Even if Toby is angry with me, he


    won''t really do anything to me. As for you, I said that I''d keep you safe. You¡ª"


    "That''s b*llshit!" Mitch roared loudly, interrupting her before she could finish her sentence. His chubby


    face looked sullen and ferocious as he continued, "Lte, I''ve seen people who are stupid, but I''ve


    never seen a woman as stupid as you are. I''ve said clearly that your family is finished because


    President Fuller has learned that you were the one behind it. Turns out that after a long time, you still


    haven''t realized why your family is finished. Well, in that case, let me tell you the reason for mercy''s


    sake. You''re the one who brought the Lore Family to its end. You angered President Fuller by plotting


    against his girlfriend in a vain attempt to make him break up with her, so he''s going toy a hand on


    your family, you idiot!"


    Lte''s pupils instantly shrank to the size of needle tips; she felt like her head was going to explode


    again. "That''s not possible!" she growled in a shrill voice. "Even if Toby gets angry after knowing that I


    did such a thing behind his back, he''ll never do anything to my family! My grandpa was his mentor!"


    "So what if your grandpa was his mentor?" Mitch gave a snort of disdain. "Does his mentor matter to


    him more than his girlfriend does? President Fuller has said himself that his girlfriend is the one who''d


    keep himpany for life. In other words, your grandpa is much less important to him than Miss


    Reed!"

 Chapter 1199

    Chapter 1199


    "No, no way!" Lte yelled loudly with a look of disbelief while shaking her head vigorously. Grandpa


    isn''t as important to Toby as that Sonia woman is? No, this can''t be true. This isn''t true!


    It didn''t surprise Mitch that Lte was unwilling to ept this. After all, thisdy had always believed


    that her grandfather was very important to Toby. This was why she dared to act so high and mighty,


    saying that even if they''d make Toby angry by plotting against Sonia, she''d be able to protect him


    despite Toby''s revenge. Isn''t that a kind of baseless self-confidence? Well, what''s ridiculous is that I


    really believed this woman''s baloney in the past. "If you don''t believe it, I can''t do anything about it," he


    said with ridicule. "But it''s true that your grandpa isn''t as important to Toby as Sonia is. Moreover,


    you''re only your grandpa''s granddaughter. So, do you think Toby will let you off for what you did? Do


    you think your grandpa will still be able to save you?"


    Lte''s expression was zed as she couldn''t say a word. If Grandpa isn''t indispensable to Toby,


    Toby won''t let me off. Naturally, Grandpa won''t be able to save me. At the thought of this, she only felt


    as though the sky were falling down on her. Her breathing became rapid. Inwardly, she had started to


    be afraid, but she stubbornly insisted, "No way! This can''t be true. Toby won''t do anything to my


    family. He won''t!"


    Hearing how she insisted on deluding herself, Mitch started to get impatient. "We''ll see whether he''ll do


    it or not. You''ll know the answer very soon. By then, however, your family will probably have ceased to


    exist, and you''re to me for all of this. Say, if the Lore Family really ceases to exist in the end, are


    your dad and grandpa still going to spoil you as they are now? I don''t think so."


    Lte couldn''t restrain herself anymore. Standing up from the bed right away, she held the phone


    before her and clutched it tightly with both hands. Then, with a ferocious look in her eyes, she yelled at


    the phone, "That''s nonsense, Mitch! You''re talking nonsense!"


    Mitch snorted coldly. "Since you insist that I''m talking nonsense, just think whatever you want. Your


    willingness to bury yourself in a world of make-believe without stepping out of it to face reality is your


    own business. However, you promised back then that if Toby and his people were to find out about this


    and wanted to deal with you, you''d be able to save me. So, Lte, now''s the time for you to fulfill your


    promise. I don''t care how you do it as long as you get me out of police custody! Do you hear that? I''m


    telling you, if you don''t do it, then don''t me me for disclosing all the filthy stuff you''ve done. Try it if


    you don''t believe me."


    Lte''s countenance changed again. "How dare you¡­" Just when she was about to say something,


    she saw that the call interface on her phone''s screen had been reced by the home screen.


    Mitch had hung up on her.


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Lte was so furious that she wanted to throw the phone away. The next instant, however, she


    recalled something and suppressed the urge to do so. Her face contorted as she mumbled through


    clenched teeth, "How dare you threaten me, Mitch? We''ll wait and see!" I grew up being spoiled rotten


    and fawned upon. Since Mitch is the first one who dares to threaten me, I''ll never let him off! Did he say


    just now that he was at the police station and wanted me to bail him out? Ha! As if! Not only will I not


    get him out of police custody, but I''ll make him spend the rest of his life in jail! We''ll see about that!


    However, this matter could be put off untilter. At the moment, the first priority was to find out whether


    what Mitch had said was true or false. Did the matter reallye to light? Was her grandfather really


    not that important to Toby? Was Toby really going to deal with the Lore Family? These were the


    questions to which she wanted to know the answers the most. As long as she didn''t know the answers


    to these questions, she''d feel uneasy.


    After taking a deep breath, she decided to go online first to check on the present situation in her home


    country. Before going to sleepst night, she had noticed that things had developed the way she


    desired on the inte, which was why she dared to go to sleep with ease of mind. However, little did


    she think that the situation would take a sudden and unfavorable turn in only a few hours. Therefore,


    she had to find out what was going on. Was her cover really blown, or did Mitch lie to her on purpose?


    After exhaling softly, she calmed down for the time being and got ready to go online.


    Just then, however, she suddenly saw her phone''s notifications showing a number of missed calls. She


    quickly opened the notifications, only for her heart to skip a beat when she saw the missed call


    notifications. There were actually so many missed calls from her father and her mother. Everyone had


    called her at least three times.


    As her phone was in silent mode, she had answered none of these phone calls. Instead, she had only


    answered Mitch''s phone call because she had gotten out of bed, gone to the toilet, ande back; she


    had justin down in bed when she saw her phone''s screen shing before she could close her eyes


    completely. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have been able to answer his phone call.


    However, there had been so many missed calls in one night, and everyone had called her several


    times. Such a situation was clearly abnormal. It was obvious that something serious had happened,


    causing her parents to call her so many times. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have contacted her at the


    same time.


    Despite her best efforts to calm down, Lte started to feel uneasy again when she saw these missed


    calls. Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the urge to go online and check the situation on the


    inte. Then, she called her father.


    Perhaps because the person on the other end of the line had been waiting for her phone call, the


    phone call was answered as soon as she called. "Hello? What were you doing, Lte? Why didn''t


    you answer the phone until now?" A middle-aged man''s displeased voice sounded on the other end of


    the line, calling her to ount in a somewhat agitated tone.


    Feeling displeased at once, Lte pouted her lips. At the same time, she felt a bit aggrieved. Like her


    grandfather, her father doted on her very much and had always spoken to her in a soft voice. He had


    never spoken to her in such a brusque tone as he did right now, let alone called her to ount. This


    made her very unhappy, for she felt that her father was no longer how he used to be. "What else could I


    have been doing? I was sleeping! I''m not in our home country. I''m abroad, and it''s night over here," she


    said impatiently to the middle-aged man on the other end of the line while stamping her feet.


    On the other hand, the middle-aged man wasn''t angry when he heard the way Lte spoke to him.


    After all, this wasn''t the first time his daughter had spoken to him in such a tone of voice. He even had


    to appease her whenever she spoke like this, and this time was no exception. "Sorry, Lte. I was too


    anxious, so I forgot that it''s night over there. Don''t be mad at me, okay?" he coaxed.


    Lte let out a snort. After forgiving the middle-aged man reluctantly, she finally asked, "What''s the


    matter, Dad? Why did you and Mom call me so many times and even forget that it''s night over here?


    Did something happen?"


    Hearing her question, the middle-aged man let out a sigh. "Lte, you''ve gotten into trouble this time."


    Lte''s heart clenched as she panicked atst. I''ve gotten into trouble? Could what that fatso said


    be¡­ "D-Dad, how am I getting into trouble?" she asked in panic, holding the phone in one hand while


    clutching the clothes on her chest with the other.


    The middle-aged man gave another sigh. "Lte, your grandpa and I know that you like Toby, and we


    both support you two being together so that our family can keep on flourishing and prospering. But you


    shouldn''t have made a move by such means in such a hurry."

 Chapter 1200

    Chapter 1200


    "Why didn''t you talk to your grandfather and me before making any decisions?" The middle-aged man,


    known as Grayson Lore, kneaded his forehead in frustration. "Now, look at what you''ve done. Your n


    failed and they''ve found out that it''s you! Everyone knows what you did! The whole inte is criticizing


    us!"


    What?


    Lte''s head exploded as color drained from her face. "B-But how? I already stayed as low-profile as


    possible. How did they know that it was me?"


    Grayson lowered his hand from his forehead. "Low-profile? You contacted Squirrel''s main editor with


    your own phone number¡ªis this what you call low-profile? You''ve literally dug your own grave! Do you


    think that you can do whatever you want as the young mistress of the Lore Family? It''s not like they''re


    afraid of you."


    She parted her lips, but words failed her because that was exactly what she had thought.


    Since she had her grandfather, who had Toby''s backing, she assumed that she could order Mitch to do


    anything she fancied even if her identity was exposed. With such a strong backing, she thought Mitch


    would not have the guts to expose her!


    However¡­


    As fathers knew their daughters the best, Grayson knew what was going on in her mind, judging from


    her silence.


    He sighed again. "You thought too highly of yourself, Lte. The small fries are actually the scariest


    people because they have no one to back them up. They will do whatever they can to have a


    bargaining chip in their hands in order to save themselves. That way, they can turn the tables whenever


    they''re caught. That main editor is the same. You''ve contacted him with your contact number, so he will


    definitely leave some evidence of it after knowing who you are. When things go south, he can expose


    you immediately to extenuate his offenses."


    "So, you''re saying that Toby found out about me because that fatso sold me out?" Lte''s eyes


    reddened as she gritted her teeth.


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    He nodded. "That should be it. Since you and that main editor nned it, and you''ve only contacted


    him, no one else knows that you''re behind it. Thus, there''s no other way to exin why you''re exposed


    aside from his betrayal."


    "That stupid fatso!" she yelped like a madwoman.


    The squeaky scream jarred into Grayson''s ear, so he ced the phone farther from his ear. "If only you


    were extra careful. You could''ve used another phone to call him and tweaked your voice so that he


    wouldn''t know that it was you. And even if he was caught, he couldn''t have done anything. Then, Toby


    wouldn''t have known that it was you nor gone against our family. Lte, you were being reckless this


    time. If you talked to me and your grandfather about it, we could''ve helped you and the main editor


    wouldn''t do anything to you either."


    "I just couldn''t wait any longer!" Lte pursed her lips. "You guys kept saying that Toby and Sonia


    reconciled because she forced him! I thought that they would break up sooner orter since it''s a


    loveless rtionship. That''s why I''ve been patient until I finished my studies without returning to the


    country. Now that I''ve finally graduated and I''m in thest stage of the travel procedures, there are a lot


    of articles reporting how close their rtionship is. How am I supposed to tolerate that? So, I¡ª"


    It pained Grayson to hear his daughter''s grief. "Lte, I understand how you feel, but you''ve put up


    with it for so long, so why couldn''t you behave for a few days? Look at the trouble you''ve caused. Your


    reputation is ruined and everyone is criticizing you. Even the Lore Family is involved in the whole


    turmoil. Ourpany''s stock price is falling too. The shareholders are super livid, and they''re


    requesting us to apologize to Toby and Sonia. However, we can''t contact Toby at all."


    Hisst sentence made her tense. "Dad, is Toby genuinely angry at us?"


    Distress was clearly disyed on his visage. "Yeah. Otherwise, why won''t he pick up the call? I


    contacted his acquaintances, but they won''t help me. It''s obvious that they''re behaving this way as per


    his request. Think about it. Have we ever failed to contact him prior to this? It''s the first time this kind of


    situation has happened. He''s clearly mad at us!"


    Darkness loomed Lte''s vision as she recalled Mitch''s words when they talked over the phone, that


    her grandfather was not as important as Sonia to Toby and Toby would also not go easy on the Lore


    Family for Sonia''s sake.


    Previously, Mitch''s words did raise doubts and surprised Lte, but she did not believe in that all the


    while. However, it seemed like she had no choice but to face the truth right now.


    "Lte?" Grayson worriedly called out her name a few times due to the silence.


    Then, she came to her senses and cleared her throat. "Dad, I heard that Toby is going to do something


    about us. Is that true?"


    "Who told you that?" His face fell.


    She was stunned. "You didn''t know?"


    "I haven''t heard of it." His expression turned serious. "Lte, who told you that?"


    "Mr. Adams," she answered honestly.


    He frowned. "It''s him?"


    "Yeah. It''s him."


    "It might be a false rm."


    How can a mere chief of editor know what Toby''s thinking? It could be only his wild guess.


    As an afterthought, Grayson became slightly relieved and he tossed it to the back of his mind.


    "Regardless, it''s your fault, Lte. It''s reasonable for Toby to be exasperated."


    "My fault?" A pouting Lte was very displeased by her father''s statement.


    He nodded. "Yeah, it''s your fault for being too careless and self-conceited. If you''ve hidden your identity


    while doing it, the whole family wouldn''t have ended up in this tough position. You didn''t speak to us


    before taking action. It''s not only that¡ªyou didn''t consider the possibility of someone fixing the


    malfunctioning surveince cameras! If only you''vepletely destroyed the cameras, no one will trust


    anyone that attested Sonia''s innocence without evidence. Even though Toby believes in that for his


    pride, the seeds of suspicion would''ve grown in him and their rtionship would not havested long.


    It''s your miscalctions, Lte."


    She hung her head low. "I know, Dad. I was careless, but I promise you that there won''t be a next time.


    I will make sure to speak with you and Grandpa before making any decisions."


    Grayson was right about her impatience and excessive vanity; she acted rashly without considering the


    possible oues. Hence, the Lore Family had fallen into Toby''s bad books.


    But I won''t repeat the same mistake. I must seed next time without letting anyone know that I''m


    behind it.


    A determined glint flickered in her eyes.

 Chapter 1201

    Chapter 1201


    Grayson was oblivious of Lte''s thoughts; the only thing he knew was the fact that she had taken his


    advice, which relieved him. "That''s right. You should talk to us before you do anything. Just keep in


    mind that we are always on your side, and we wish for you and Toby to be together more than anyone


    else. Okay?"


    "Okay." She nodded before biting her lips and asked, "But what are we gonna do right now? Toby is


    angry at us and he doesn''t pick up our call. This is not a good sign. I don''t want him to hate me.


    Otherwise, I won''t be able to win his heart, will I?"


    He narrowed his eyes. "The fact that he''s angry at us is a bad thing for us, but don''t worry about it. You


    have your grandfather. Since it''s our fault, as long as we apologize in addition to your grandfather''s


    help, Toby will definitely forgive us. We should never take their rtionship lightly."


    All in all, Grayson did not think that Toby would cut ties with Harry for a woman. If that came to pass,


    Toby would be perceived as someone ungrateful.


    Hearing that Harry was going to help her, Lte was soon able to soothe her jittery heart. She had the


    exact same idea as well. Although Sonia was an important person to Toby, Harry was the same to him


    as well.


    Toby will never anger Grandpa for Sonia. He''ll get over it soon.


    Needless to say, the father and daughter''s mind had steered in the same direction.


    Lte collected her thoughts and questioned, "When will Grandpa meet Toby to straighten things


    out?"


    Grayson pinched his nose bridge. "You know your grandfather''s health. He''s not as healthy as he


    appears to be. He has to nap for a few hours in the afternoon. He''s still asleep, so he doesn''t know


    what you''ve done. I''ll inform him once he''s up so that he can meet Toby as soon as possible. But,


    Lte, it''ll be best for you to rebook the tickets and return to the country before tomorrow morning.


    Come to Seafield and apologize to that woman in person. You might be able to appease Toby''s anger


    that way."


    "What? Apologize to Sonia?" She raised her voice, which prated through the air. "Why should I


    apologize to her? Dad, you know that we''re love rivals. Are you telling me to say ''sorry'' to my love


    rival? There''s no way I''m gonna do that!"


    Understanding the reason behind her reaction, Grayson sighed. "Lte, I understand, but there''s


    nothing else we can do about it. They know that you''re the culprit. If your grandfather is the only one


    turning up, Toby might see it as an insincere apology. Even if he forgives us, he will still hold a grudge


    against you. Then, it''ll be more difficult for you to win his heart. It''s just an apology, not something that


    will tamper your pride. Or you can keep this apology in mind and return the ''favor'' in ten folds to Sonia


    once you date Toby. Isn''t that a perfect revenge?"


    Lte wavered as her eyes brightened approvingly. "Got it, Dad. I''ll apologize to her as you told me.


    After tolerating it for some time, I''ll let her have a taste of her medicine."


    "That''s right." Grayson smiled delightfully.


    Their conversation was utterly reprehensible; not only did the father not stop his daughter from being


    the homewrecker, he even gave his support and suggestions.


    It could be said that the whole Lore Family were scoundrels and none of them were good guys.


    When the call ended, Grayson put down his phone and called his secretary into his office. "Have you


    contacted Toby?"


    The secretary shook his head. "No. Mr. Brown has been refusing our call. President Fuller''s assistants


    and secretaries won''t tell us his whereabouts either."


    "He''s genuinely angry this time. He''s going to teach us a lesson." Grayson sighed.


    The secretary looked at him worriedly. "President Lore, what if President Fuller takes action against our


    company because of what Miss has done?"


    He raised his hand firmly. "No, that won''t happen. My father''s around. Even if we lose Toby''s favor, he


    won''t do anything to us because of him. That would only happen after my father passed away."


    It was because of that exact reason that the Lore Family stayed in touch with Toby. Without his


    protection, they might face regression from their position as a wealthy family.


    Therefore, they had been hoping for Lte and Toby to form a special rtionship. That way, they


    would not need to worry about losing Toby''s help after Harry passed away.


    Grayson and Harry had been looking for a way to make sparks fly between the two youngsters. Harry


    returned to the country this time round to persuade Toby into breaking up with Sonia. Although it was a


    failure, they still had a faint chance.


    However, they never expected Lte to lose her patience and made moves without informing them,


    hence the repercussions.


    Forget about the matchmaking mission, he had toe up with an idea to maintain their rtionship


    with Toby first and foremost.


    Although he assumed that Toby would not go against the Lore Family because of such a trivial matter,


    Toby would distance himself from them for sure.


    Their petered-out rtionship would tell the whole world that they had lost the Fuller Family''s backing.


    Then, the rapacious people would find a way to push the Lore Family to downfall in order to obtain their


    personal advantages.


    Thus, they had to do something right away so as to retain their rtionship with Toby.


    Deeply absorbed in his thoughts, Grayson narrowed his eyes on the secretary. "Inform the public


    rtions team to release an official apology to Sonia and Toby through ourpany''s official ount.


    Exin that it''s a blunder made because of Lte''s immaturity and include that we will educate her so


    that there won''t be a next time. Seek for their forgiveness. Since everyone knows that Lte was


    behind this, we can''t just stand still and do nothing. We must apologize first. Not only to Sonia and


    Toby, but to theizens too. We have to stabilize the stock price. That couple might not let us get


    away with an apology statement, but we gotta please theizens first to stop the destructive


    comments."


    "Okay." The secretary nodded.


    Grayson motioned him to leave. "Go ahead."


    "Yes, Sir."


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    After the secretary left, Grayson did not stay in his office for long as he took the car keys and left. He


    was going to drop by their old manor to check on Harry.


    If Harry was up, Grayson would inform him of the whole incident to think of a solution together, for they


    could not afford to cut ties with Toby no matter what happened.


    At the same time, time already struck 5.00PM when Sonia and Toby left the police station. Therefore,


    they drove back to Bayside Residence instead of returning to thepany.


    Along the way, Toby was driving whereas Sonia surfed the Inte in the passenger seat. Suddenly, a


    notification from her social media ount popped up as someone mentioned her, which intrigued her


    curiosity.


    Since her ount was especially disabled and ordinary ount users would not be able to tag her, her


    phone kept buzzing still.


    Hence, it was only possible for special ounts to tag her into something, like the official or verified


    ounts. What she had yet to find out was the type of ount that had mentioned her this time.

 Chapter 1202

    Chapter 1202


    A curious Sonia clicked on the notification to open her social media ount. As soon as she entered


    her ount, she could see the user that had mentioned her.


    Lore Communications? Interesting.


    The corner of her lips curved upward, for she wished to know why the Lore Communications official


    mentioned her.


    She tapped on the tag section at which she could read the posted contents by Lore Communications


    immediately. After perusing the text, she could not help butugh sarcastically.


    Since there were not many vehicles straight ahead, Toby took the chance to nce at her. "What''s so


    funny?"


    She lifted her head. "Know what? The Lore Family just tagged me."


    "They tagged you?" His brows knitted.


    She showed her phone screen to him. "Yeah. With their official ount."


    Possessing great dynamic visual acuity, he was able to read the content clearly although she swayed


    the phone before him for a moment. His expression darkened. "Is this their apology?"


    Honestly, he was dissatisfied because he could not discern a tinge of sincerity throughout the text.


    Sonia retracted her phone to read it again before sniggering, "Yup. It is an apology statement. What do


    you think?"


    "It''s just for show,"mented Toby sternly without saving his tutor''s face.


    She was content with that as she smiled. "True. If they genuinely wish to apologize after realizing their


    mistake, they could''vee to us in person first thing after I exposed them. However, they did nothing


    until now. People online are attacking Lore Communications and their stock price is dropping. That''s


    why they thought of apologizing. Funny thing is that they neither met us personally nor released a


    press conference for an apology. They chose to release a simple statement and mentioned our names.


    It''s my first time seeing this kind of apology."


    Sonia had a point. If one was genuinely sorry for their actions, they shoulde up to the victim in


    person topensate for their mistake in order to seek forgiveness.


    Otherwise, they could hold a press conference and apologize in front of billions of audiences. At least


    the public was aware that they could put down their pride to express their regrets.


    That would impress the audience, who would take it as their sincerity and deem them as a decent


    company. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Consequently, they could restore their ruined reputation and save thepany! Which of those two


    alternatives appeared less sincere than releasing a sinct statement online? Anyone would agree


    that any of those two would be better.


    Yet, the Lore Family chose such a method rather than executing the other two ns to express their


    apology.


    They''re basically telling everyone that they''re not feeling sorry for their actions. It would''ve been better


    for them to stay silent.


    A cold glint shed across Sonia''s eyes. "By the way, do you know what they wrote? They mentioned


    that Lte acted like that because of immaturity. And what kind of people are immature? Kids. Little


    kids! They''re basically telling the world that she behaved that way because she''s still a kid, hence the


    mistake. How hrious. She''s already like what¡ªtwenty-six, twenty-seven? Yet, they call her a kid.


    What is she? A big baby?"


    Toby frowned while hearing her mockery. Not that she said it wrong, but he was displeased by the Lore


    Family''s actions.


    As Sonia had mentioned, he could tell what they were thinking. Clearly, they thought immaturity could


    understate matters, but it was utterly preposterous.


    "Just ignore them and pretend that we haven''t seen their apology," suggested Toby sternly as he drove


    the car.


    Sonia tapped on her phone. "Don''t worry about that. I think the same way too. I haven''t nned on


    entertaining them since the beginning. Besides, there''s a lot of smart people in this world. We''re not the


    only ones who can read between the lines. Theizens will be able to do the same. Look. Someone''s


    on the same boat as us."


    She showed the screen to him for a short while. "Many of them can see them through. They''re flooding


    thement section with taunts."


    His gaze swept across it. "Lore Communications has taken the public as fools. They have iting."


    "True." She withdrew her hand to look at theizens attacking Lore Communication. Her smile did not


    fade for one second.


    Toby hit bullseye; Lore Communication''s statement had basically turned the public as fools by


    assuming that no one could see through the true meanings behind the message.


    However, they were the ones who made a fool of themselves since they had tantly shown their true


    color. As long as one was not an idiot, people could see the ugly truth at one nce¡ªthe Lore Family


    was not feeling sorry for one bit.


    Ever since the beginning, Lte and Squirrel Media edited the pictures and released misleading


    articles to make the public believe that Sonia had cheated on Toby. Due to the way society was


    constructed to view women, Sonia was bombarded with shades as a result of that.


    Whenever men cheated on their partners, the ''magnanimity'' onlookers would deem it as the same


    mistake that every single man would make. Ridiculous!


    On the other side of the coin, if the cheater was a woman, everyone would reproach her bybeling her


    as a sinner of enormity. Everyone would tell her to go to hell in rage.


    That was why a lot of people hurled criticisms and shades at Sonia when the scandal broke out. They


    presumed that she had done such things without waiting for the person involved to release their side of


    the story.


    Aside from the inherent hate toward women, Lte and Squirrel Media did their part by throwing


    everyone off the scent too.


    After Sonia exposed their evil scheme, theizens were enraged to find out that they were being


    used, hence the attack against Lore Communications and Squirrel Media.


    Due to the stock market crash, Lore Communications reckoned that they could not stay still and do


    nothing anymore. That was why they released a hollow official statement as a means to appease the


    public''s wrath and stabilize the stock price.


    Still, Sonia did not expect them to be this stupid.


    If they intended to stave off the heat and save thepany, they could have added an apology


    directed to the public. Yet, they did not, as only Sonia and Toby were mentioned.


    Clearly, Lore Communications took the public lightly and even looked down upon them. Perceiving the


    people as ordinary beings, the superiorpany did not mention a word regarding the public at all.


    It was hrious to see how they ignored the public when they actually intended to rebound the stock


    price. Their thought of apologizing to Sonia and Toby was the same as apologizing to everyone.


    How should one think of them aside from being idiotic?

 Chapter 1203

    Chapter 1203


    Perchance, Lore Communications perceived theizens as a fool, who would take that official


    statement as an apology to them.


    It was possible for them to have that kind of idea.


    They assumed that theizens were ordinary citizens, who admired the strong and respected the


    powerful people. Thus, theizens would take that as an apology directed at them.


    A part of theizens might think so, but unfortunately, the majority were indeed ordinary people.


    However, they did not feel so inferior to take an apology statement from the prestigiouspany as an


    apology toward them.


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    All Sonia could say was that Lore Communications had taken theizens lightly by underestimating


    them.


    In fact, the destructivements were easy to deal with. The issue could have been settled if only


    Lore Communications apologized to them sincerely or mentioned them in the statement.


    In doing so, she believed that Lore Communications would be able to earn forgiveness since no one


    was silly enough to go against someone with power.


    Still, thepany did not do that as they might have forgotten about the fact that they were the


    instigator. Lte had enraged the public and stirred turmoil in the stock market, so it would not be


    wrong to say that Lore Communication used them first.


    When they were osted by bacshes, neither did they apologize nor mention theizens.


    Therefore, it was obvious that they thought lightly of theizens.


    How can the people not be angry and not attack them again? I bet they''re driven to the edge by now.


    Sonia smiled while wondering whose idea was it to release that statement. Was it the public rtions


    team or the Lore Family themselves?


    If it was the PR team, they could bid their job a sweet goodbye because nopany would want a


    troublemaker as their employees. If it was the Lore Family, they were destined to be done for.


    Great men''s sons hardly do well. I reckon the Lore Family would not be able to secure their status for


    any longer. It''s their shoring to have such a leader.


    Sonia shrugged her shoulders with a smile and backed out from Lore Communications'' page to her


    own page.


    Under hertest post, the number ofments proliferated almost over ten thousandpared to the


    time she left.


    Raising her eyebrow, she clicked on thement section to have a look of it. It was flooded with


    comments asking her to not forgive Lores.


    It seemed like they leftments on her page upon reading the infamous apology statement.


    Furthermore, there were even some of them who were worried that she might not decipher the implicit


    meaning behind that statement. So, they interpreted the content for her before tagging her in order to


    let her know about it. They were concerned that Sonia would take it as a sincere apology and forgive


    Lore Communications and Lte.


    Sonia was touched at that and giggled, prompting Toby to take a nce at her. Although he did not say


    anything, it was obvious that he was questioning why she wasughing.


    Without hiding anything, she waved her phone and exined, "It''s theizens. They''re cute."


    "Cute?" He frowned. "Have you forgotten how they criticized you?"


    "Those people are racking their brains to find a way to win thewsuit. They don''t have the guts to


    leave anyments here. So, thesements are basically from the good ones." Sonia stuck out her


    tongue.


    Then, she decided to reply to the most likedment. "Thank you for the reminder. Don''t worry. An


    empty apology doesn''t deserve to be forgiven, much less when they excuse a mistake made by an


    adult with immaturity. They should''ve sought agreement from the victim on whether to understate the


    issue first."


    Soon, people screenshotted and posted her reply, bringing it to the trending chart. After all, that reply


    from Sonia implied her attitude toward the Lore Family.


    She was not going to forgive them.


    Almost instantly, everyone rejoiced at her answer and mocked Lore Communications by leaving


    comments on their official page. Thepany''s stock price declined to rock bottom.


    The whole PR team was dumbfounded, except for their head department¡ªJoshua, who sat in front of


    hisputer with a cup of coffee. Looking at the data shown on the monitor, he calmly drank his


    coffee. "Told you so. The apology statement mustn''t be released. If President Lore held a live


    broadcast in person to apologize to Paradigm and the public, it would''ve been for the best, but you


    wouldn''t listen. Look. They''re not holding back with their words."


    Grayson''s secretary, Jack, stood behind the head department and saw the datas as well. The stock


    price decline made him anxious.


    "What else could I do? It''s President Lore''s orders and I''m just a secretary. How could I not obey his


    orders?" Jack scratched his head in frustration.


    Joshua looked at him. "Can''t you advise him? Frankly speaking, he doesn''t have what it takes to be a


    president. He''s meh. If it wasn''t for the Fuller Group''s help, thepany could''ve announced


    bankruptcy long ago. So, do you think that his idea is feasible?"


    "I am aware that it''s ridiculous, but you know how he is. He doesn''t listen. He''s full of himself. Even if


    his strategies are wrong, he won''t listen to others and thinks that his orders are right. We have to


    execute his orders or we''ll be asking for trouble. Do you think I would have been able to dissuade him


    in this kind of situation?" Jack smiled bitterly.


    Joshua sighed. "All of the Lore Family members are scoundrels."


    "What do you mean by that?" Jack lowered his head to look at him.


    Joshua blurted out, "Miss Lore contacted the technical department to make the issue trending so that


    President Fuller wouldn''t be able to appease the online rage. Mr. Whitlock¡ªhe works in the technical


    department¡ªknew that President Fuller was on the move to bring the issue down and tried to convince


    her to stop. Obviously, it won''t do anyone good if we offended him, but Miss Lte is the same as her


    father. She''s stubborn as a bull and just wouldn''t listen. She thought that Toby wouldn''t mind, since her


    grandfather was his tutor. Mr. Whitlock had no choice but to bear the pressure and do as he was told.


    Two hours ago, he resigned from his position. He''s afraid that it would be difficult for him to escape


    when President Fuller takes revenge."


    Jack heaved a sigh without saying anything.


    Joshua set down his cup. "It seems like I gotta think of an escape n too."


    "Are you going to resign?" Jack was shocked.


    Joshua kneaded his temples. "Yup. Look, President Fuller is genuinely livid and everyone is saying that


    he''s going to cut ties with ourpany. Otherpanies are waiting for the show to begin. Once


    President Fuller clearly states that it is true, they will join hands to take Lore Communications down.


    When the timees, it''ll be difficult for us to hunt for another job. Thus, it''s better to hand in our


    resignation letter ourselves. At least, we won''t be dragged into the fray before the war starts. Jack,


    we''ve been good friends for more than two years. I think you should give it a serious thought."


    Jack fell silent for a moment. "I''ll think about it, but I should report thetest news to President Lore for


    now. Let''s talk during dinner."


    "Sure. Go on." Joshua waved his hand.


    With his documents in hand, Jack walked out of the office and headed to the presidential office at the


    top floor. He reported theizens'' reaction to Grayson.


    Hearing that, Grayson asked in disbelief, "How did this happen?"

 Chapter 1204

    Chapter 1204


    Those small fries are still on it! But why?!


    Looking at Jack''s serious expression, Grayson had no choice but to ept the truth. His hands formed


    tight fists on his table while the wrinkles on his countenance rendered him appear older. His eyes


    spoke of helplessness. "What went wrong?"


    I just don''t get it. We apologized! Why are they still making a fuss over it?


    Jack lowered his head as he saw through Grayson''s mind and a flicker of disdain shed across his


    eyes.


    Things have escted to this point and President Lore hasn''t realized his mistake yet. Geez. It seems


    like I gotta consider Joshua''s advice to resign from my position and look for a new job. If this continues,


    thepany will be led to its downfall by its very own incapable leader.


    In spite of that, Jack kept it to himself and wore a worried expression. "President Lore, what should we


    do now?"


    Grayson tightened his fists without uttering a word, for he was clueless as well. Previously, he returned


    to the old manor to discuss with Harry on how to retain the rtionship between their family and Toby.


    After that, he rushed back to thepany to appease the shareholders since he had to give them an


    exnation regarding the stock market crash.


    Who would have known that such things would happen right after he promised them that the stock


    price would rebound? Jack mentioned how the stock price dwindled profusely instead of going up after


    the apology statement was released.


    How could he ept the truth? It waspletely different from what he had thought of.


    With that statement, he assumed that Sonia and the unreasonableizens would stop the bacsh


    against his family andpany, as well as forgiving Lte.


    Sonia should''ve forgiven us instantly, that was what he thought at first. Considering Harry and Toby''s


    rtionship, she should''ve done that.


    Even if Toby was angry at the Lore Family, he would never turn his back against them. Instead, he


    would stay on good terms with them.


    Sonia should''ve thought of that and get over this issue. She should''ve forgiven Lte after our


    apology, but that woman did not do that! She even said that it''s an empty apology without sincerity!


    Indeed, they were not sincere with their apology; they were not willing to apologize to that kind of


    woman either.


    It was because the Lore Family did not perceive Sonia as the perfect match for Toby, but Lte was.


    If they offered their genuine apology, would it not imply how much they acknowledged Sonia as the


    perfect partner for Toby?


    If that happened, what would people say when Lte and Toby were together?


    Grayson could never allow that to happen, hence the apology statement released on purpose.


    Although they were mere empty words, they apologized nevertheless.


    Shouldn''t Sonia Reed ept it as it is? We''re going to reconcile with Toby anyway. When that time


    comes, isn''t she worried that we might speak bad of her in front of Toby and make him hate her? Sonia,


    oh, Sonia. What a stupid little girl. Why can''t you think of this?


    The self-conceited Grayson disyed contempt toward Sonia on his visage, yet he did not take Toby''s


    love for her into ount, which weighed much heavier than Toby''s perception of Lore Family. In


    actuality, Toby would not reconcile with them, let alone hate Sonia just because they drive a wedge


    between them.


    All and still, he overestimated the Lore Family''s position in Toby''s eyespared to Sonia. Grayson


    was the exact epitome of being doused by his own fantasy and blinded from the truth. As for the


    netizens, he was really displeased with them.


    To him, they were nothing but immature nobodies. In other words, how dare those small fries talk to


    someone of high status like Grayson?


    Isn''t it normal to not mention them in the statement? Why would someone sessful like me keep


    bringing up some nobodies? What is there that they can''t ept? We mentioned Sonia and Toby, but


    they should take it as an apology directed at them too! How dare they request me to apologize again!


    In their dreams! Who do they think they are? Morons. How dare they force us to do anything!


    The more he thought about it, the quicker his breathing became. However, he soon recollected himself


    and snorted coldly. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Just let those idiots be, Grayson. Let''s see how far they can go. Think we''re going to fall just like that?


    Impossible!


    Anxious, he looked at Jack. "Just let them be and inform the staff to stabilize the stock price."


    Hearing that, Jack heaved a silent sigh while eximing how stupid his boss was. He never expected


    Grayson to be this incapable in saving thepany. It was indeed the Lore Family and the employee''s


    bad luck for having such a leader.


    Still, the boss remained the boss. He suppressed his thoughts while fixing his sses before asking,


    "President Lore, we can stabilize the stock price, but that won''t solve the issue. As long as theizens


    don''t stop, the stock price will decline no matter how many times we do it. It''ll be troublesome if it hits


    rock-bottom."


    One would realize that it was a useless n if they had the brain to think, but Grayson was not one of


    them. Instead of sensing something amiss with his n, he was displeased with Jack''s doubts. "What''s


    troublesome? I doubt theizens will lead us to bankruptcy. Enough, just do your job and stop running


    your mouth."


    From that impatient tone, Jack could tell how Grayson was oblivious of the gravity of the issue. As


    such, a wave of helplessness washed over him.


    Nevermind. I''ll think of what to write in my resignation letter after tonight. I should leave this hellish


    company and superior before things get any worse.


    He forsake the idea to persuade Grayson because it was redundant to do that to someone who was


    foolishly stubborn; he would rather not waste his precious time. After all, it was not hispany that


    was going bankrupt.


    As an afterthought, he nodded and left. "Okay, President Lore. I shall do that right away."


    Grayson''s phone rang the moment Jack left. It was a call from the shareholder, who insisted he head to


    the conference room, rendering him in distress.


    Just a moment ago, he promised to rebound the stock price, but things did not turn out as he wished


    and the stock price declined further. Thus, the displeased shareholders were eager to listen to his


    exnations.


    Grayson ced back the telephone and sighed in frustration. In the end, he stepped out of the office


    and strode to the conference room, admitting his fate.


    Despite being the president of Lore Communications, the shareholders actually possess most of the


    authority. That was why he could never turn a deaf ear to their requests.


    In the meantime, Sonia and Toby arrived at Bayside Residence.


    Yet, they did not enter the residence immediately as they went to a nearby posh grocery store hand-in-


    hand.

 Chapter 1205

    Chapter 1205


    Since there were no ingredients in the fridge, the two of them went to the premium grocery store to buy


    some.


    This was the first time he ever bought groceries.


    Although he cooked quite frequently, all the ingredients were prepared by Sonia in advance.


    Hence, whenever Toby cooked, he did not encounter a situation where hecked the ingredients.


    Seeing that this was his first time grocery shopping with Sonia, Toby thought that it was something new


    and refreshing.


    Walking into the premium supermarket, she found a cart.


    Just as she was about to push it, a pair of hands reached out and pulled the cart away instead.


    Sonia turned around and looked at him with arms left hanging in the air. "What''s wrong?"


    "I''ll push it," Toby replied with pursed lips as he used his jaw to motion her to look in front of her.


    Looking at the direction he pointed, she did not see anything special, which made her even more


    confused. "What do you want me to look at?"


    This made Toby sigh. "What I wanted you to see was the people that came here for grocery shopping.


    All the men are pushing the carts, so I should do it too. What those women have, you deserve them


    too. Besides, physical work like this should be helped out by men."


    Stating that, he gently tapped on the handle of the cart.


    Sonia, who was amused by his words, replied, "Okay, then. Since you put it this way, I''ll leave the cart


    up to you."


    "No problem!" Toby epted it willingly.


    A hint of slyness shed across her gaze. "Actually, even if you didn''t say anything, I would''ve still let


    you push the cart."


    "Oh?" He raised his eyebrows.


    Holding onto his arm, Sonia swung it and continued, "Look. All the couples here are doing the same, in


    that the men are all pushing the cart. If I didn''t let you do it, wouldn''t people look down on you?


    Wouldn''t that be embarrassing since a woman is pushing a cart for you?"


    Toby smirked. "Oh, is that so?"


    "Of course." Sonia nodded.


    Toby reached out and touched her forehead with his finger. "If I didn''t push the cart, those women might


    look down on me. Still, shouldn''t the men be envious of me instead?"


    "It''s up to them whether they want to be jealous or not, but as a man, could you bear to see your


    woman doing this?" She looked up at the man who was subtly smiling, seeming like she would give


    him a lesson if he dared to nod.


    Noticing this, the man felt more bemused. "Of course I can''t bear to see this happen. My woman only


    needs to spend the rest of her life in happiness. Alright, let''s go."


    With both hands on the handle, Toby was about to enter the supermarket with the cart.


    Yet, Sonia called out to him, "Wait."


    "What''s wrong?" He stopped.


    She pointed at a couple who passed by them. "You saw that the man was pushing the cart, but did you


    not see the woman''s actions?"


    Raising his eyebrow, Toby observed the couple that walked by earlier.


    Now that he took a closer look, he understood what Sonia was getting at.


    Smirking, he lifted up his right arm slightly and looked toward her.


    Sonia, who smiled sweetly at him, held his arm.


    "I didn''t think that you would understand my hint." She hugged the man''s hands before they entered the


    grocery store.


    Since she was hugging him tightly, Toby could feel two mounds of flesh rubbing on his arms


    continuously.


    With a dark gaze, he could not stop himself from gulping as he said hoarsely, "Your husband is no fool,


    so how could I not understand?"


    "Who said that you''re my husband? Don''t speak too soon." Sonia red at him embarrassingly.


    Smirking, he replied, "I''ll be. Soon."


    "Hmph. We''ll see," a pouting Sonia muttered while her cheeks were bright red like a ripe apple.


    If not for the amount of people in the store, he would have pressed her against the wall and held her


    face to kiss her.


    As if she could see how passionate Toby''s gaze was, Sonia blushed even harder. pping the man on


    his arm, she warned him. "I''m telling you, don''t be rash."


    Toby replied in the same hoarse tone, "I won''t, for now. Can''t say the same when we''re home, though."


    The corners of Sonia''s mouth twitched.


    Seriously, this man¡­ Whatever.


    She hugged his arm again while thinking that.


    Entering the grocery store, Toby saw the fully stocked shelves and raised his eyebrows.


    As she noticed his expression, she suddenly understood his thought andughed. "Is it your first time


    Toby could not deny it. "I''ve never had to buy groceries personally, as the things we require are always


    sent over on a scheduled basis. Since I never have to worry myself over it, I never came to a ce like


    this, but I did walk in markets before. They look quite simr to a grocery store."


    "Even though they are simr, they still have their differences." Sonia proceeded to ce a bunch of


    bananas into the cart.


    This was a high-end market, also known as a premium supermarket.


    The items avable here were the creme-de-creme of imported goods, so one could just pick any


    item when buying without having the need to see if it was rotten or not.


    This saved a lot of the customers'' time.


    Since the grocery store was located near Bayside Residence where millionaires resided, they were the


    main target of the store as well.


    Seeing how Sonia stopped after taking the bananas, Toby looked at the other fruits. "Are you not taking


    more?"


    She shook her head. "Nope. I don''t eat a lot of fruits anyway, so I can make do with banana sd."


    "No, no, no." Toby frowned before reaching out and began putting other fruits into the cart. "I''ve been


    too busytely and have forgotten about your diet. Now that I''ve noticed, I need to monitor you to eat


    more fruits."


    While stating that, he saw something and pushed the cart forward. Then, he took another ten or so


    premium fruits before putting it in.


    Soon, the cart was filled halfway with just fruits.


    Finding the sight to be hrious, Sonia said, "And how are we going to finish all these? Put it back."


    She walked over, attempting to return a few of the fruits into the crates.


    Seeing this, Toby reached out and stopped her. "You''re not allowed to do that. I''m buying all of them for


    you. What are you going to eat if you put it all back?"


    He gently nudged Sonia''s hand away before pushing the cart to his side so she could not reach it.


    Facepalming, Sonia exined, "Just a few are enough for me. If you buy so many at once, how long


    will it take me to finish them?"


    "If you can''t finish them, then put ''em in the fridge and finish slowly." Toby looked at her, not nning to


    remove any of the fruits.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    He did this for her, as the fruits he chose were all beneficial to women.


    Therefore, he could not permit her to put them back no matter what.


    Seeing how determined he was made Sonia feel helpless yet funny.


    At that moment, the sound of a shutter went off behind them; it was the sound of a camera.


    Since the scandal had only happened earlier that day, Sonia was still sensitive to the sound of a


    shutter.


    Knowing that someone was secretly taking pictures of them, she immediately stopped smiling and her


    expression became cold.


    After all, she assumed that the paparazzis must be taking pictures of her and Toby in preparation for


    another exclusive scoop.


    With this in mind, Sonia turned around, intending to warn that person. Yet, she saw no paparazzi.


    Instead, it was a girl who looked like a high-schooler. This stunned her.


    She doesn''t seem to be a paparazzi¡­

 Chapter 1206

    Chapter 1206


    Sonia did not sense any malicious intent from the girl and only noticed that she was somewhat nervous


    and uneasy, which amused her. "I trust you, but I still want to know why you took those candid shots of


    us. Could you please answer me truthfully?"


    "I can!" The girl nodded profusely before fidgeting again. This time, she looked even more


    embarrassed. "Actually, I am a member of¡­ Tonia."


    As she said that, the girl looked up shyly at Sonia before lowering her head again with an intense blush


    on her face, neck, and even ears.


    Sonia was in a daze.


    Tonia?


    Isn''t this our ship name?


    She knew that a lot of people were following their rtionship online. This was why they took their


    names andbined it, forming a ''ship name''¡ªTonia.


    The name was very apt, as it highlighted their names and showed an elegance to it. Hence, it left a


    deep impression on Sonia.


    Yet, she never thought that she would meet a fan of theirs in the flesh.


    Toby, who was selecting the fruits in the back, heard the girl introduce herself as he stopped his action


    and turned around.


    After all, he knew that there were people who were following their rtionship, so he was happy about


    it.


    Of course, that also meant that a lot of people supported them.


    Although the fans had weird thoughts about their rtionship, he did not feel repelled by it. Instead, he


    found himself able to tolerate it.


    It was all because they were in favor of their rtionship.


    With this in mind, Toby looked at the girl without any disdain in his gaze and even found her adorable.


    Not knowing what the man behind her was thinking, Sonia had snapped back to reality as she smiled at


    the girl. "I understand now. You''re a fan of us, right? Is that why you took a photo of us? Because you


    were excited?"


    If that was the case, then she could understand her intentions.


    After all, she was into celebrities when she was a teenager. Whenever she bumped into a celebrity she


    liked, she would snap pictures of them too.


    Her situation was exactly like the other fangirls.


    Hence, she did not feel any animosity toward the girl and decided to let this go.


    Facing her, the girl was exhrated to know that Sonia understood her thoughts, so she nodded


    excitedly. "You''re correct. I became a fan of Tonia upon seeing you and President Fuller reconcile. I''m


    very active in your fan club forum. I even stood up for you in yourtest incident. Take a look."


    Initially, she was wary of standing too close to Sonia, but now that she found out Sonia was actually


    very gentle and humble, she could not hold in her excitement. Therefore, with a renewed sense of


    courage, she took her phone and walked up to Sonia, handing it over to her.


    The passion of the girl stunned Sonia before she found it hrious.


    This girl is quite interesting.


    Sonia ran her fingers through her hair and looked down at the phone the girl handed over, confirming


    that the girl was telling the truth. She did help me stand up against the haters online.


    In her activity log, it showed that she was speaking up for her and rebuking all the haters.


    This made her feel warm inside.


    This girl really likes me.


    "I''m not lying, am I, Miss Reed? I''m a real fan of you and President Fuller." The girl looked at her with


    big expectant eyes.


    Unable to hold it in, Sonia reached out and patted the girl on her head. "Yes, you didn''t. Thank you, my


    adorable fan."


    The girl breathed in deeply, dazed once again.


    Oh my God, my Goddess just touched my hair!


    Am I dreaming?


    Reaching out absentmindedly, the girl touched the spot where Sonia''s hand was.


    There''s still a little warmth left. I am not dreaming!!! My idol actually touched me!!!


    I''m in heaven right now!


    The girl put her hands on her chest and wore a silly-looking smile while looking at Sonia.


    Also, Miss Reed is so gentle.


    She had always thought that a woman like Sonia, who managed a wholepany, must be cold and


    harsh, that a person like her would be uneasy to approach.


    Yet, she did not expect to be this gentle. After realizing that she was not a paparazzi, Sonia even


    apologized to her andforted her with a pat on the head.


    With such a gentle idol, Do meet your heroes! she thought.


    Besides, Miss Reed even called me her adorable fan.


    Seeing how the girl was smiling foolishly at her, Sonia found this even more amusing.


    This girl really is interesting.


    "Little girl, hello to earth?" Sonia smiled and waved in front of the girl, making her snap back to reality.


    The girl''s pupil trembled for a split second before she awoke from her thoughts, finding herself gazing


    into Sonia''s smiling eyes.


    Her eyes were so clear that the girl could see her own dazed look through the reflection. Blushing hard,


    she felt very embarrassed as she lowered her head and wanted to keep her phone.


    Yet, just as she was about to retrieve her phone fully, a giant hand snatched it away from her out of


    nowhere.


    The girl thought that she was being robbed and was about to shout for help when she realized that the


    person was Toby. Instantly, the cat got her tongue.


    W-What is President Fuller doing?


    Why did he take my phone?


    The girl blinked in confusion while she panicked inside.


    Although she did not have any dark secrets inside her phone, she was in panic to see Toby snatching


    her phone away like that.


    The feeling was akin to where she would be caught ying with her phone by the teacher in ss. Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    All of a sudden, the girl bit her lower lip and froze on the spot as her anxiety manifested itself.


    Sonia, who was also caught off guard by the man''s actions, turned around and saw Toby checking the


    girl''s phone. "What are you doing? Why did you take her phone?"


    "I''m just looking." Toby moved his finger across the screen while replying.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia stated, "What is there to look around for? Girls normally have private


    information on their phones. It''s rude to snoop around her phone like that. Give it back to her."


    The girl nodded quickly.


    She''s right. Give it back to me.


    With one hand holding the phone, Toby ced his other hand on Sonia''s head and rubbed it gently just


    like how Sonia did to the girl. "Don''t worry. I''m not the kind of man without any principles. I won''t look at


    other things on her phone. I just want to see how she stood up for you."


    "That''s more like it." Sonia was relieved.


    She did not suspect that her man would lie to her. After all, why would he lie about something like this?


    Meanwhile, the girl did not think that a person of Toby''s stature would be interested in a normal girl''s


    phone like her either, so she heaved a sigh of relief inside.


    As long as President Fuller didn''t look at other things on my phone and only looked at how I stood up


    for Miss Reed, I have nothing to be nervous about.


    The girl breathed out as her stiff body loosened up. Then, she saw the hand that was gently rubbing


    Sonia''s head as the man smiled warmly.

 Chapter 1207

    Chapter 1207


    Oh my God, my ship is sailing right in front of me!! This is so romantic!


    Also, President Fuller is so gentle toward Miss Reed. He isn''t as cold to her as he did to me.


    This must be what they meant online when they said that he was only gentle toward one person.


    As expected, a man needs to be as caring as President Fuller so a girl can feel safe.


    I don''t like men that are too soft. Men like President Fuller are the most popr.


    With both hands on her cheeks, she looked at Toby and Sonia with an absentminded smile.


    Her obvious gaze made it hard for them to ignore it. As such, the two then looked at each before


    noticing the amusement in each other''s eyes.


    After that, Toby locked the phone and handed it back to the girl. "I''m sorry for taking your phone. Here."


    The girl epted it in a daze before replying timidly, "I-It''s fine."


    "You frightened her." Sonia pped the man''s arm.


    Toby frowned. "I didn''t."


    He did not do anything to the girl, so much as even nced at her coldly.


    Sonia is framing me.


    Pursing his lips, he looked at Sonia with a wronged gaze.


    The girl quickly waved her hands. "You''re mistaken, Miss Reed. President Fuller didn''t frighten me. I


    am afraid of him, so don''t me him."


    "Afraid of me?" Toby''s frown deepened. "I didn''t do anything to you, so why are you afraid of me?"


    The girl tucked her chin in and lowered her head without responding.


    On the other hand, Sonia smiled and exined on her behalf, "You don''t need to do anything. Just your


    presence alone can intimidate anyone."


    "What do you mean?" The man was upset at herment.


    She looked at him while smiling. "What do I mean? Look at how emotionless your expression and how


    sharp your gaze is. Anybody would think that you''re about to teach them a lesson."


    That''s right!


    The girl agreed with Sonia inside.


    Closing his eyes, Toby fell into self-doubt.


    Am I really so intimidating?


    "I''ll change from now on," Toby replied calmly.


    Yet, before Sonia could say no, the girl answered on her behalf, "No, President Fuller. You don''t have


    to change. You''re the best when you only treat Miss Reed like she''s the only one in your world. Who


    cares about how you treat others? They may be afraid of you, but it''s fine as long as Miss Reed isn''t.


    Right, Miss Reed?"


    The girl looked expectantly at Sonia with the words ''praise me'' written on her face.


    As a result, Sonia gave her a thumbs up satisfyingly.


    Seeing how she responded, the girl smiled so widely that her eyes became a slit.


    Meanwhile, Toby praised the girl too. "You''re right. Besides, you did a good job, rebuking those people


    online."


    The girl did not expect nor imagine that she would ever receive Toby''s praise. Naturally, she dove into a


    pool of disbelief and excitement upon hearing his words.


    Oh my world. President Fuller just praised me.


    Mom, this is the highlight of my life.


    Seeing how excited the girl was, Sonia smiled while shaking her head. "Are you really that happy?"


    "I am." The smile on the girl''s face was about to overflow. "I only came out here because I wanted to


    buy some snacks. Normally, I don''t ''cause I''m an introvert. I never thought that I would be so lucky to


    see you and President Fuller grocery shopping. Also, I saw how well you two were getting along. I think


    I''m the only fan to witness this. Atst, I even got praises from both of you, so of course, I''m happy!


    Overjoyed, even."


    The girl then jumped around excitedly with her phone in her hands.


    Then, she recalled something and stopped before looking at Toby and Sonia. "Miss Reed, do you and


    President Fuller live around here?" This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    "Yup." Sonia nodded.


    The girls'' eyes shone. "You really live around here?"


    "We do." Sonia nodded.


    "But, with you and President Fuller''s stature, shouldn''t you be living in a wealthier area?" The girl


    pointed at Sonia before pointing at Toby.


    Although the neighborhood is touted as a ce for the rich to stay, the homeowners of Bayside


    Residence knew that this was for the well-off, as the truly rich would think of this ce as more like a


    slum.


    The truly wealthy all had vis and estates of their own, for they would not want to live in a


    neighborhood with so many people.


    This was why the girl was so shocked to know they resided here.


    "We''re only living here temporarily." Toby held Sonia''s hands and calmly stated, "We''ll move in the


    future."


    Sonia hugged the man''s arm and added, "That''s right. It''s my property, not his. He moved in with me


    for some time now."


    She gently tapped the man''s arm while stating that and Toby silently agreed with her.


    Nodding, the girl stated, "So, I see. Then, doesn''t that mean that I missed a lot of chances to bump into


    you guys?"


    The girl looked very forlorn all of a sudden.


    Seeing this, Soniaughed. "Now that you know we''re living here temporarily, that means that we might


    run into each other in the future."


    "That''s right." Her words offort made sense to the girl as she became happy again.


    Sonia pursed her lips and smiled.


    What a charming girl.


    Checking the time on her watch, Sonia noticed that the time was gettingte, so she let go of Toby''s


    arm and said, "Alright now, little girl. We still have things to buy, so let''s end here. We''ll talk if we see


    each other again. It''s my honor to be able to meet a fan such as yourself."


    Sonia extended her arm.


    The girl held her hand in shock. "O-Okay, Miss Reed. It''s my honor to be able to meet you and


    President Fuller. This is my luckiest day. I hope you two live a happy life."


    She then looked at Toby. "President Fuller, you must treat Miss Reed with all your heart and never let


    her down, especially the incident concerning that crazydy from the Lore Family. You should teach her


    a proper lesson. After all, she wronged Miss Reed. You can''t let her off the hook."


    Toby smiled. "I won''t."


    "That''s that, then." The girl was reluctant to let go of her hand.


    Toby nodded as a promise with the girl.


    Fidgeting her fingers, the girl started to draw circles with the tip of her foot as she became shy. "Also¡­"


    "Just say what you want. It''s okay," Sonia said gently.


    After hearing the encouragement, the girl calmed down and clenched her fists before voicing her


    thoughts, "Can I keep the picture I took earlier? I also want to upload it. I believe that the other fans will


    be green with envy when they see it. Miss Reed, President Fuller, may I?"


    She looked at them carefully with expectant eyes. At that moment, she looked like an adorable tiny


    animal.


    This sight made Sonia reluctant to reject her. Yet, she could not decide on her lonesome, so she turned


    and looked at the man.


    Toby nodded gently at her. "Do what you wish. You don''t need my permission."


    "If you say so. I''ll decide, then?" Sonia smiled.


    Toby nodded. "Okay."


    "Great." Sonia turned back and focused her gaze on the girl. "Keep it if you want; upload it if you wish.


    But, I have a request."

 Chapter 1208

    Chapter 1208


    Sonia extended her beautiful slender fingers.


    Seeing this, Toby reached out and held her hand before squeezing it gently with hints of teasing.


    Sonia, who noted what the man was doing, stared at him.


    This b*stard. Taking advantage of me whenever he can.


    Their actions were witnessed by the girl, who became excited again.


    Oh my, they''ve started again! They''ve started again!


    President Fuller and Miss Reed are being cute again!


    I feel so blessed today!


    Excited to the point of fainting, the girl felt giddy as she spoke in an unstable tone, "Miss Reed,


    regardless of your request, I''ll agree to it. I swear!"


    Scared that Sonia might not believe her, she even lifted her palm in the air, making an oath gesture.


    Laughing, Sonia shook her head. "It''s nothing big. It''s just a simple request. If you upload the picture


    and include a caption, then please write it as it is. Don''t exaggerate or twist the facts, got it?"


    "Got it." The girl nodded profusely like a chick. "I understand. Don''t worry, Miss Reed. I won''t do


    anything rash. That''s what those heartless paparazzis will do. I''m a kind person, so I won''t do that."


    "That''s good to know. I don''t have any other requests now. We''ll be leaving now. See you." Sonia was


    satisfied with her answer as she smiled even more warmly.


    The girl waved. "See you, Miss Reed, President Fuller."


    Toby did not reply whereas Sonia waved back to her. Then, she held his arm and walked toward the


    vegetables aisle.


    Standing at the same spot, the girl could still hear their conversation.


    Sonia was asking Toby why he bought so many fruits while he answered that he bought it for her sake


    since eating fruits was beneficial to her body.


    While hearing this, the girl showed a gentle smile with crossed arms and a lowered chin as she


    mumbled excitedly, "President Fuller is heads over heels for Miss Reed. They are so sweet. This can''t


    be done. I can''t just enjoy this by myself. I need others to know as well."


    The girlughed sheepishly before taking her phone out to write about her experience with Toby and


    Sonia. Then, she uploaded the photo of the two buying fruits together along with a caption.


    Since she was an active fan on the forum, she had about over ten thousand followers on her ount,


    who were indeed active and not bot ounts.


    Since it was an exclusive and personal post regarding bumping into Sonia and Toby, the fans


    immediately retweeted upon seeing it.


    Soon enough, the topic of Toby and Sonia grocery shopping trended before everyone knew about it.


    All of a sudden, everybody wasmenting about how sweet and in-love they looked together.


    On the other hand, Lte, who was abroad, blew her top when she saw the trending topic before she


    threw her phone at the wall opposite her.


    The phone bounced from the wall after it made contact. Flying backward, it crashed onto the ground


    and shattered into pieces. It waspletely out ofmission at this point.


    Still, it was not enough to quell the rage inside her as she sat on the couch and clutched the pillows


    while screaming loudly.


    After a moment of roaring, her hair and clothes became messed up as she sat there, hunched-back


    with bloodshot eyes that were staring at the phone on the floor.


    This is fake! It has to be!


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    The post isn''t real!


    Toby will never like that woman! Never!


    They only married because that woman threatened Toby. Their reconcilement must be because Sonia


    ckmailed Toby again!


    So, there''s no way they have feelings for each other. The smile and gaze Toby has for her must have


    been faked. It must have been photoshopped.


    Sonia must have been the uploader. She must have found someone to take photos of them because of


    what happened earlier today and uploaded it. Her aim is just to confuse the masses and let them think


    that they have a solid rtionship.


    Right! That must have been the case!


    Lte clenched her teeth hard while brainwashing herself constantly since she could not bring herself


    to believe the reality in front of her, nor could she ept the fact that Toby really had feelings for Sonia.


    She had fancied Toby from a young age, but it was not until she grew older did she understand what


    romance was. From then, she came to understand that she did not treat Toby like a brother or uncle;


    instead, she liked him as a man.


    When she found out that she liked Toby, the only thing on her mind since then was to get married to


    him and be his wife.


    Yet, Toby did not feel the same way. Although she was disappointed, she did not force him to love her,


    as she thought that he did not like other women at that time, so she had ample time to further their


    rtionship.


    Unfortunately, before Toby could fall in love with her, he told her one day that he had a woman he liked


    and that the woman was his penpal. They had been exchanging letters for many years. He even said


    that he ''witnessed'' that woman grow up.


    At that moment, she felt as if her world crumbled. She never knew that Toby had a penpal and that he


    had fallen for the person; she could not ept this.


    I have known Toby since we were little. We''ve known each other longer than that penpal of his. Why is


    it that the person who captured his heart is some penpal that came into his lifeter than me?


    It was then she swore that she would find that person and get rid of her from Toby''s life.


    Yet before she could dig her out, Toby actually brought his penpal to Lte. She was Tina from the


    Gray family.


    This shocked her back then, as she could not believe that that woman was Toby''s penpal. Tina was no


    saint, for she was crueler than Lte. Capable of harming the boyfriend she had been together with


    for three years, Lte could not figure out why this evil woman managed to charm Toby.


    Therefore, she went to Toby and told him that Tina was not as she seemed. However, he got angry,


    telling her not to spout nonsense before chasing her out from the Fuller Residence. Eventually, she


    became the butt of everyone''s joke.


    She did not pin this humiliation on Toby. Instead, she pinned it on Tina, who had caused him to treat


    her worse ever since Tina''s appearance, So, who could she me except for Tina?


    She wanted to expose her facade and let Toby know what kind of woman Tina really was. She wanted


    to let him know that that woman was undeserving of him, and that only her, Lte Lore, was the most


    suitable candidate to be at his side.


    However, she did not foresee that Tina was more twisted and terrifying than she predicted, for she


    nearly died in her hands.


    She even managed to grasp her weak point, so Lte could not act rashly. In the end, Tina


    threatened her to never appear in front of Toby again.


    Out of options, Lte could only ept the condition begrudgingly in fear that Tina would threaten


    her again. After that, she made up an excuse to study abroad, all in cover to escape and hide from Tina


    Gray.

 Chapter 1209

    Chapter 1209


    She really was afraid of Tina.


    Although she was no saint herself, she still could not bring herself to take a life.


    Yet, she found that Tina could do it effortlessly, seeing that she could kill her boyfriend of three years.


    Therefore, one could see how terrifying this woman was.


    Not only that, Lte almost died in her hands thest time she went to find Tina.


    She figured that if not for the rtionship she had with Toby, Tina would have killed her back then. If


    that had been the case, it would have prompted Harry to have Toby investigate her death. Otherwise,


    Lte might have really died in her hands.


    All in all, she was absolutely terrified of Tina since then. Thus, she could only escape abroad while still


    harboring the feelings she had for Toby, all because she could not win against Tina.


    However, she did not think that the universe was on her side until she heard that Tina had fallen into a


    vegetative state after getting into an ident not long after Lte settled down abroad. Back then,


    sheughed for a good ten minutes when she heard the news; she even celebrated this fact at a bar


    the same night.


    Since Tina was now in a vegetative state, this meant that there was nothing to fear, so she did not have


    to stay abroad any longer. She could return anytime and continue to be around Toby, in hopes that he


    would fall for her.


    Yet, before Lte could return, she heard that there was another woman called Sonia, who


    ckmailed Toby into marrying her as gratitude for saving Tina from the ident. The most absurd


    thing is that Toby actually agreed!


    When she came to know this, she was so utterly furious that she bought the flight tickets straight away,


    intending to return.


    However, the moment she arrived at the airport, her grandfather called her and stated that the genius


    doctor, Tim, had gone abroad to further study on neurosurgery and psychiatry in hopes of saving Tina.


    Tim was a world-renowned doctor. Although he was still young, his surgery sess rate was a


    hundred percent as he had never failed an operation so far.


    Old Master Fuller also informed her that before Tim went abroad, he had people check up on Tina''s


    condition. After the check-up, he was confident that there was a seventy percent chance of waking Tina


    up upon thepletion of his studies.


    This meant that Tina was destined to be healed. During this whole time where Tina was still in a


    vegetative state, Toby had people move her to a ce nobody knew of in order to protect her.


    At that moment, Lte was livid and jealous.


    Does Toby really love her this much? Even when she''s in a vegetative state now, he still wishes to


    protect her from any possible harm.


    Also, that genius doctor, Tim. He would actually further his studies just to rescue Tina.


    It was as if Tina was the daughter of some God.


    Knowing that Tina would eventually wake up, Lte¡ªalbeit reluctantly¡ªcould only give up returning


    home. Eventually, she tore the flight ticket and left the airport.


    Although she did not manage to get rid of Sonia who was then married to Toby, she was not in a hurry,


    for she thought that Sonia would be finished the moment Tina woke up.


    As expected, Tina woke up after six years. The instant she woke up, Toby divorced Sonia for Tina.


    Hearing this, Lte found herself happy and troubled at the same time.


    The happy thing was that the woman who threatened Toby was finally gone. The troublesome thing


    was that even though Sonia was gone, Tina was a headache inparison because she was a


    nightmare to deal with.


    Tina struck fear in Lte so much that she even wanted to give up on pursuing Toby, for she did not


    have confidence in winning against such a fearsome woman.


    Unexpectedly, Tina and Sonia started to fight just as she was contemting this.


    Her grandfather had been helping her to keep an eye on the two women. She then knew that Tina


    could not ept the fact that Sonia was married to Toby when she was in her vegetative state, so she


    repeatedly tried to harm Sonia to her demise.


    Catching wind of this made her overjoyed as she could not wait for the women to start fighting amongst


    themselves.


    Although she did not think that Sonia would be able to win against Tina, Lte knew that Sonia was


    not a simple woman, judging by how she could threaten Toby into marrying her. She thought that even


    if Sonia lost against Tina, she would still be able to hurt her somehow.


    Then, she might win if she struck right after Sonia defeated her.


    Therefore, Lte had the thought of remaining as a bystander while she held her hand and observed


    the two women.


    The reality was that Sonia was not an easy opponent either, for she could actually survive going


    against Tina. She even managed to retaliate, which inspired confidence in Lte, who thought that


    Sonia might even win.


    As expected, the women fought fiercely. Their ploys were all aimed at each other''s life. Though it was


    only Tina who wanted to kill Sonia with Sonia defending or retaliating, this proved that Sonia had some


    capability to be able to survive against Tina. In the end, she really did win against Tina and sessfully


    made Toby feel disgust toward her. Canceling the engagement, Toby even managed to find out


    evidence that Tina was not the real daughter of the Grays, resulting in her expulsion from the family.


    Tina, who waspletely defeated, not only lost Toby, but she also lost her status as a Gray and


    became a loner. In the end, she was convicted of her crimes and went insane in prison. Transferred to


    an asylum, shemitted suicide in the end. What a happy ending.


    Yet, just as she was feeling joyful of this, Lte also had chills running down her back. It was because


    of Sonia.


    If Sonia could even dominate such a terrifying opponent like Tina and corner her tomit suicide,


    how scary is she actually?


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    If she could threaten Toby into marrying her, she might be able to coerce him into reconciliation since


    Tina is not an obstacle now.


    Once again, she was proven correct because not long after Tina''s death, she heard from her


    grandfather that it was Toby who was courting Sonia. He wanted to get back together with Sonia.


    That''s impossible!


    Although Toby did not love Tina in the end, he would never fall in love with Sonia.


    Otherwise, he would have fallen for her the six years they had been married and not after their divorce!


    Perhaps, there''s something nobody knows as to why Toby would court Sonia.


    Or, she might have threatened Toby again, forcing him to have no choice but to agree to the


    reconciliation.


    Or, she might even want him to court her due to the six years of cold shoulder he gave her. What a


    shameless hussy.


    Only she knew how much she wanted to go back and help Toby chase away Sonia so that he would


    not have to live under her oppression.


    Yet, this woman gave her pressure that surmounted that of Tina''s, causing her to retreat from causing


    any conflict.


    Thus, Lte decided to hold it in and observe the situation from abroad since Harry and Grayson also


    supported her, advising her to not be rash.


    Due to the time spent abroad, she grew innately frustrated, especially when she saw articles about


    what Toby and Sonia were up to. The affection they disyed for each other publicly made her green


    with envy.


    The more she read about it, the more jealous she became. In the end, the feeling of envy forced her


    hand.


    This was the first time she struck, and it was also a testrun for her.


    Since she had never gone up against Sonia, she could not gauge how difficult her opponent would be


    until they were in the battlefield.

 Chapter 1210

    Chapter 1210


    As such, Lte could only take the subtlest action to test Sonia''s response. This was also a way for


    her to figure out Sonia''s defense system and understand her better. As such, this would make things


    much easier for Lte in the future to go after Sonia.


    With the original assumption that her n was wless, Lte did not expect Toby to take action. Not


    only did hee forward to rify that the rumors were untrue, but he also mentioned that he had full


    confidence that Sonia would never betray him.


    This isn''t something that Toby would do! He would never be bothered about the rumors on the inte.


    However, this time, he actually did something, so there clearly is a problem here. It must be Sonia who


    forced him by coercion. She even forced him to cut off ties with my family and go after our family. She''s


    despicable! That Reed woman is much moreplicated to deal with than I thought! As Lte


    thought about this, she could not help her discontentment and her adorable face was distorted quite


    hideously.


    Subsequently, Lte shut her eyes and took a deep breath before finally calming down temporarily.


    Next, she got up from the couch and walked over to the phone that had been smashed to pieces. She


    picked up the phone and removed the sim card before turning around to walk off to her room. She took


    out a spare phone from the bedside table in her room and ced the sim card inside, then made a


    phone call. "How''s everything? Have you sorted out the necessary procedures to enter the country?"


    The person on the other end immediately replied, "Yes, everything''s sorted, Miss."


    "Alright. I''ll leave for the airport right away." Lte narrowed her eyes and responded to the person on


    the other end with a sinister-sounding voice.


    Finally, I''ll be able to head back! There was an unmistakable crazed and excited look in Lte''s eyes.


    Wait and see because this time, once I''m back, I''ll definitely help Toby escape Sonia''s evil clutches! I''ll


    definitely seed!


    Meanwhile, Sonia was not aware that trouble was about to befall as she was standing in front of the


    freezer with a pint of ice cream in her hands. She was currently in a tug-of-war with Toby.


    In fact, three minutes ago, this was what happened. They were grocery shopping and had already


    selected some vegetables and meat, so they were about to push their filled cart to the next aisle as


    they walked past arge freezer stored with an assortment of ice cream. Sonia was attracted by


    mango-vored ice cream and she stopped in her tracks to grab a pint of it. Then, she happily ced


    the ice cream into the cart. As soon as she did that, Toby stretched out his huge hand and removed the


    ice cream from the cart, then back into the freezer.


    Instantly, Sonia felt as if her world hade to a standstill and the ted expression on her face froze


    too. She nced at Toby for some time and she was stunned in ce.


    Finally, she came to her senses just as he reached out to drag her away from the ice cream section.


    She immediately retrieved her hands from his and pursed her lips tightly as she stared at him with red


    eyes. "Toby, how dare you remove my ice cream!" Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Though he saw her reddened eyes due to the anger, he was exceptionally calm. "You''re not allowed to


    have this."


    "Why not?" Sonia''s eyes widened and she found his words rather amusing. "If you can''te up with a


    reasonable excuse for me, then you can just take the couch tonight."


    As soon as he heard the word ''couch'', his eyes widened slightly and his expression turned solemn


    almost instantaneously. "You''re not allowed this for your own good. Have you forgotten that thest


    time you had something icy, you experienced stomach cramps for the entire night?"


    Back then, he had her in his arms and was just about to enjoy a pleasurable night with her when her


    expression suddenly turned and her countenance became as pale as a sheet. There was a sheen of


    cold sweat on her forehead and she clutched at her stomach whileining of pain. Startled by


    that, Toby found his urges dissipated as he took her into his arms and rushed out of the doors toward


    the medical center nearby. He was very worried that something bad was about to happen.


    Finally, the doctor gave him the diagnosis and her stomach pain was due to the icy stuff that she


    consumed. In other words, she would be fine after some pain relief and plenty of rest. As soon as he


    found out the oue, he heaved a strong relief and could finally feel at ease. From then on, he


    started to keep close control of her intake of cold stuff.


    Fortunately, she was not one who enjoyed icy food, so he did not have to keep tabs on her all the time.


    However, she suddenly ced a huge pint of ice cream into their shopping cart today right in front of


    his eyes. As soon as he recalled the torment she experienced during the previous episode of stomach


    ache, he naturally stepped forward to stop her from eating any ice cream. As such, he removed the ice


    cream she had added into the trolley without any hesitation and ced it back.


    However, he did not expect her to react so badly. Her eyes had turned red instantly and her rage was


    unmistakable. He started to doubt his actions and wondered whether he had gone too far. Of course,


    though, the self-doubt that he felt merelysted for several minutes before he suppressed it. After all,


    he was doing all this for her own good, so he was fine even if his actions were deemed excessive.


    Sonia was originally angry, but as soon as she realized that the reason he discarded her ice cream was


    because of her stomach ache incident thest time, her anger dissipated instantly.


    She was left with no other option because his reason was valid. Even if she was angry about it, she


    had no way of venting her anger. Furthermore, she found it ridiculous to rage at him as this would make


    her seem like an ungrateful brat. After all, he was doing all this for her own good. Nheless, she had


    a craving for ice cream, so she felt slightly upset to be denied it.


    Sonia looked at the ice cream, which had been ced back into the freezer, and spoke up earnestly, "I


    felt ufortable after the ice creamst time because I was due for my period, but this time, I''m not. I


    reckon some ice cream would be fine."


    "No, that''s uneptable." Toby maintained a cold expression and rejected her, "I don''t care whether


    you''re on your period or not. The weather''s too cold for ice cream anyway. Wait till summer arrives."


    "How much longer do I have to wait?" Sonia stretched out her hand. "Can you see this? I would have to


    wait for at least four to five more months."


    "Four to five months will pass by in a blink of an eye. Be patient." Toby grabbed her wrist and put down


    her hand.


    Sonia grimaced slightly. "Toby, you''re such a¡ª"


    "Hmm?" Toby lifted his brows.


    Meanwhile, she bit her lips in response and clung to his arms as she started to shake his arm while


    behaving coyly. "Toby, don''t be mean. Let me take one pint. Just one will be enough."


    As she spoke, she lifted one finger with a pleading look in her eyes. "I''ll honestly just take one pint. I


    won''t be greedy and ask for more. Besides, I wouldn''t finish this pint in one go. I would definitely take a


    while to go through this, so it would be alright even if the weather''s cold."


    "No." Toby took a look at the woman, who was clinging to his arms, behaving coyly. Despite his


    wavering heart, he maintained a stern front.


    He had to resist her wiles and avoid giving in to her coy behavior for her own good.


    Naturally, Toby felt slightly regretful because he secretly hoped that she could have shown her coy side


    to ask for something other than this. However, regretfully, this was what she was after.


    As soon as Sonia saw his unwavering look, for a moment there, she doubted her attractiveness. This


    man here is usually unable to resist my ways, but why is he so determined today? Hmph! I don''t


    believe that this is his actual self. I''ll wait and see whether he''s truly determined or merely putting up an


    act.


    Sonia''s eyes roved around before a glint shed across her eyes as she clung tighter to his arms. She


    inched closer and nuzzled his arm with her heaving chest. Not only did she increase her efforts to woo


    him, but she also spoke in a much more seductive voice than before, "Toby, please. It''s just a pint. We


    should get one, alright? Please, let''s just get one?"


    As she nuzzled against his arm, she lifted her head to look at him and fluttered her pretty eyes at him.


    At that point, he took a deep breath and pursed his lips tightly soon after that as the vein on his temple


    swelled and pulsated. The hand gripping on the cart handle tightened significantly and his veins


    protruded clearly.


    Evidently, this time, Sonia''s action of wooing him hadnded a huge impact on him to the point that he


    could no longer control himself. He could only force himself to draw upon his willpower and resist the


    temptation. As a result, the sweat pooled on his forehead as he resisted.

 Chapter 1211

    Chapter 1211


    She''s such a vixen! Toby lowered his dark eyes and could not help it as he stuck his tongue against the


    upper part of his mouth.


    He clearly did not expect her to act coyly just for ice cream. This time, she had actually behaved coyly


    in front of the public.


    He had always known that she was generally shy and reserved. Normally, when he gave her a peck in


    public, she would blush bright red for some time, so it was near impossible for her to behave coyly of


    her own ord.


    Of course, this did not mean that she had never shown her cute side in front of him. In fact, she had,


    but it was a rare urrence. Ever since they got back together, she had done that not more than three


    times as far as he could remember.


    Each time she did so, it was just a slight coy act and he had not even gotten the chance to enjoy it


    before it came to an end. Therefore, he was surprised that this time, she had persistently shown her


    coy side for such a long time. All that for the sake of a pint of ice cream!


    Doesn''t she realize that it''s hard for a man to resist such behavior? These are seductive actions here!


    Toby''s grip on the handle of the cart tightened and rxed several times before he finally seeded in


    suppressing his urges. He nced at her with a smoldering look in his eyes and spoke in a hoarse


    voice, "Stop that. Stop swinging my arm."


    He was worried that if she kept this up, he would not be able to resist himself. After all, he always found


    that she was a weak spot of his and he could not seem to resist her.


    As soon as she heard his words and saw the look in his eyes, which resembled a wolf eyeing its prey,


    she felt a chill running down her spine if she was honest to herself.


    After all, she was not an idiot and she clearly knew the potential oue of her behavior. Besides, she


    was afraid that he would not be able to resist the temptation and take action right there and then. As


    such, as soon as he told her to stop, she eded to his words and stopped.


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    Relieved, the man heaved a faint sigh. Subsequently, he let go of one hand from the cart and grabbed


    Sonia on her chin as he inched closer to speak hoarsely, "Little Leaf, I can''t believe that you would try


    seduction to make me give in to you, all for the sake of a pint of ice cream."


    "I-I didn''t seduce you!" Sonia refused to admit it, but she shiftily turned her eyes in the other direction.


    He chuckled in a low voice and hisughter came rumbling from his chest. The exceptionally low and


    melodious voice made Sonia shiver involuntarily as she felt her legs turn to jelly.


    Gosh, this man is such a¡­


    "Are you sure you didn''t?" Toby narrowed his long, almond-shaped eyes slightly. "Then, exin what


    you were doing before this."


    "I was just showing my affection," Sonia replied and quickly shot a look at him. Indeed, she was not


    lying and she was just showing her coy side earlier.


    Subsequently, he chuckled in a low voice. "This is the first time ever that I''ve seen someone nuzzle


    another with her body to show affection. Don''t you realize that you shouldn''t rub against a man that


    way? Not only would the man be unable to control his urges, it would also make the man think that


    you''re purposely seducing him. So, are you still going to insist that you weren''t trying to seduce me


    earlier? I can''t believe that you would actually stoop to this in order to get your way and have ice


    cream. Little Leaf, you''ve turned for the worse."


    Faced with his teasing eyes, she could not help blushing bright red.


    As soon as Toby saw that, hisughter deepened. "But I like it."


    At that moment, Sonia shot him an annoyed look. "You''ve benefited from this, so obviously you liked it."


    I know how he is!


    Toby lowered his head and smiled. "Yes, I''ve benefited from it and I enjoyed it very much too, but you


    were the one who initiated things this time for a pint of ice cream."


    He pointed at the ice cream. "I''ve just realized the extent that you would go to all for a pint of ice cream.


    Come on, tell me. What else is there that could make you resort to this? If I know that, then I could¡­"


    "Could what?" Sonia hurriedly cut him off. "To lead me into seducing you on my own ord?"


    Toby merely smiled silkily and his intentions were obvious.


    At that, Sonia harrumphed at him snappily. "You''re quite good at gaining something for yourself. So¡­


    About the ice cream. Are you going to buy it for me? I''ve already expressed my affections and you''ve


    also gotten your way. If you continue to refuse me, then in the future, I¡­" wont show my coy side to


    you, was what she wanted to say.


    Before she could finish her words, something popped up in front of her eyes.


    He grabbed a small pint of mango-vored ice cream. "Therger pint is too much for you, so you''re


    only allowed this small pint. We''ll each take a step back, alright? You should realize that I''m just doing


    this for your own good."


    Sonia took a look at the ice cream and then nced at Toby, who wore a half smile on his face. Finally,


    she snorted haughtily and reached out to grab the ice cream. "Okay, then. I''ll take into ount that this


    is for my own good and I''ll take the small pint. After all, I''m not a greedy person."


    After she said that, she nced at the ice cream in her hand and smiled contentedly.


    Toby reached out to ruffle her hair. "Let''s go and browse around to see what else we should get."


    "That''s enough. We won''t be able to carry the things back if we continue shopping." Sonia stuck her


    lips out and gestured to the cart. "You''ve bought too many fruits and healthy food. People might think


    that we''re here to stock up on our rations instead of grocery shopping."


    Toby lowered his head to nce at the cart in front of him and he noticed that it was filled to the brim.


    asionally, the other customers who walked past them and saw their cart could not contain


    themselves as they would reveal surprised looks. Evidently, he had gone overboard on shopping.


    "These are all items that''s good for you, so it''s definitely not too much. The store should offer delivery


    services, right? If they don''t, then I reckon this store would be reced by some other chain soon.


    There wouldn''t be any point in them continuing the business." As Toby spoke, he scanned the


    surroundings and gave hisments on whether the premium grocery store was likely to survive and


    thrive.


    As for Sonia, she was exasperated. "That''s enough. You''ve gone all work-mode on me again. You''re


    scrutinizing the ce from a business POV. Don''t worry. They definitely do offer delivery services. It


    didn''t ur to me earlier on, but I''ve recalled now that you asked."


    "That''s great. Let''s pay, then." Toby pushed the cart with one hand and held her hand with the other to


    lead her to the payment counter.


    As they queued up at the counter, several people recognized Toby and came over to greet them. After


    all, he was the chairman as well as the president of Fuller Group.


    The people who lived at Bayside Residence might be slightly well-to-do, but they were not exactly part


    of the wealthy. As such, the businesses they operated were on a smaller scale with smaller businesses


    that brought in an annual ie around the range of ten million. Compared to Fuller Group, which was


    arge consolidated group, their businesses were totally insignificant. It was as if one was making


    comparisons between an elephant and an ant.


    As such, the people in this area generally would not get the chance to encounter Toby in their daily


    lives. Needless to say, they clearly did not expect to see him here either.


    After all, there was a huge disparity in their backgrounds and they would not even be able to see


    someone like Grayson, what more to say Toby, who belonged to the tip of the pyramid. Toby was like a


    legend to them and he was not someone they could easily encounter.


    Nheless, this mighty man was now standing in front of their eyes like a wild dream. Furthermore,


    he was grocery shopping at the same store they went to and queueing up alongside them. This was


    way beyond their wildest dreams, so everyone thought that they were dreaming.


    Ultimately, they realized that Toby was physically there the entire time and he had not disappeared.


    Momentster, they finally regained their senses and realized that they were indeed looking at the


    legend.


    Subsequently, the crowd naturally mored around excitedly to greet him and attempted to get to know


    him so as to leave a good impression. Perhaps then, they would be able to foster a rtionship with


    Toby, who was such a well-connected man, and they might be able to rise above everyone.


    That was because everyone was clearly aware of what Toby represented¡ªwealth and stature.


    If only they were able to gain Toby''s approval and receive his support, then their tinypanies might


    even develop into major businesses and perhaps be listed on the stock market. By then, they


    would emerge as a nouveau riche. At the thought of bing one of the wealthy, they were excited


    beyond words.

 Chapter 1212

    Chapter 1212


    Still, Toby did ont enjoy being mobbed. Furthermore, these people moring around him were there


    with specific intentions.


    Their eyes were filled with ambition and sparkled with greed, which increased his disgust.


    He knew why these people came forward to greet him.


    After all, it was fine to have the intention to ascend the socialdder, but the problem was that these


    people werepletely ignorant to one''s mood and they could not seem to tell that he was fairly


    annoyed.


    How dare they continue to mob me and chatter incessantly!


    These people tried to introduce themselves or theirpany''s products to him to try and pique his


    interest so that he would invest in their products or coborate with them. They hoped to be able to


    make use of his influence to work their way up the socialdder. They''re too greedy!


    If he had encountered any of these people by chance any other day, he might have some interest in


    their elevator pitch.


    As the chairman and president of Fuller Group, he never looked down upon any person and he clearly


    knew that a lot of the smallerpanies had great potential. As such, he never refused the idea to


    coborate with any smallerpanies. After all, Fuller Group started out as a tiny workshop.


    As such, he found it normal for the bosses of such smallpanies to wish to foster ties with him and


    build up a connection, seeing that it was normal for them to wish to grab hold of an opportunity. This


    was essentially a chance for them to push for the development of theirpany. If he actually


    discovers anypany with potential, then he would be willing to give the other party a chance.


    Therefore, it would be a win-win situation for both parties.


    However, he disliked the fact that these people were bothering him during his personal time while he


    was trying to rest; they did not seem to possess basic decency either. Can''t they tell that I''m busy


    spending time with my wife?


    Despite his utter annoyance with these people, he did not re up at them nor get them to leave. This


    was Bayside Residence after all and it was Sonia''s property. It was also a present from Henry when


    Sonia turned eighteen. Even if Sonia would move away from here to stay somewhere else with him in


    the future, the apartment would still remain nevertheless. He was worried that if he took action against


    these people, they would carry a grudge and do something to Sonia''s apartment. After all, he could not


    exactly make sure that everything was well-sorted despite his capabilities, since he was notwless.


    As such, in order to ensure the good condition of Sonia''s apartment¡ªwhich was the final gift Henry left


    for Sonia¡ªhe had no choice but to stifle his frustrations and collect each of the name cards handed


    over by these people, despite his reluctance. Finally, it was their turn to pay at the counter, so he


    managed to get away from these people.


    Naturally, they utilized the delivery services of the grocery store to get their groceries delivered home,


    so they walked back to the apartment empty-handed.


    Well¡­ They were not exactly empty-handed because they were holding onto each other''s hand.


    For Toby, just a simple act of holding her felt like he had the entire world in his hand.


    "Earlier on, you did that because of me, right?" Suddenly, Sonia lifted her head and asked as she kept


    her eyes on the stars in the sky.


    Toby paused momentarily and soon regained hisposure as he chuckled lightly in response. "What


    do you mean?"


    She turned to shoot a silent look from the side of her eyes at him. "Yeah, sure, keep up this facade.


    Just keep it up. Earlier on at the store, there were many people who recognized you and handed their


    name cards to you. You clearly looked annoyed and impatient, but you suppressed yourself and didn''t


    get them to leave. This isn''t how you normally behave."


    "Oh?" Toby chuckled slightly. "Then, how do I normally behave?"


    Sonia beamed and asked, "Is this a test for me?"


    He nodded slightly. "I just want to find out how well you know me."


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    At that moment, she snorted. "Well, I reckon I know you very well. If you had behaved as the normal


    you, then you would have asked those people to leave impatiently. After all, you''re not the type to


    tolerate things silently. You would only do that when you have something you''re concerned about. Of


    course, you won''t be concerned about yourself because you''d have no qualms about getting them to


    leave and offending them. You wouldn''t be afraid that they''d seek revenge and take action against you


    because they wouldn''t have the guts to go after you anyway. Besides, they are no match for you. So, I


    would be the only reason for your concern. That''s because we''re the only two here. As for the second


    reason, well¡­"


    She casually lifted her hand and put up two fingers as she shook them.


    Her slender fingers appeared much fairer under the lit-up night scene and it looked much prettier.


    Toby could not take his eyes off her upon seeing her fingers and his Adam''s apple bobbed slightly as


    he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Continue on¡­"


    Sonia put down her hand and smiled. "Well, since you said that it was because of your concern for me


    that you didn''t ask those people to leave, then the second reason would be quite simple, of course.


    This is where I''m staying and you''re usually much busier than I am. Furthermore, there will be times


    when you''ll have to sleep at Fuller Group and not return, so I''d be the only one toe back here.


    You''re afraid that they would target me instead of you. After all, despite your capabilities, you wouldn''t


    be able to cover all the bases, so that''s why you chose to tolerate them."


    Toby''s expression mellowed as he reached out to ruffle her hair. "You''re smart. What would you like as


    a reward?"


    Sonia removed his hand from her head. "I don''t want a reward from you. It''s always the same old


    thing."


    At that moment, there was a glint across Toby''s eyes. "Oh? What do you mean by the same old thing?


    Why aren''t you being more specific?"


    Sonia noticed the wicked smile on his face and she could not help pulling a long face as she patted him


    lightly on his shoulders. "Toby, that''s enough there! You get what I mean! Why are you forcing me to


    say it out loud?"


    The man chuckled lightly and he was clearly in good spirits.


    He continued to smile and finally pursed his lips before coughing lightly. "Your deductions are spot on


    and I was indeed concerned about all those that you mentioned. That''s why I epted the name cards


    from those people. I could choose to ignore them, of course, and I wouldn''t be worried about offending


    them and facing the consequences of their revenge. However, it''s a different story if you were involved.


    If I was by your side, then they wouldn''t dare to do anything to you, but we''re two separate individuals


    and each of us has our own life. I can''t stay by your side at all times and I can''t bring you everywhere


    with me either. That''s why it would be the perfect opportunity for those men to target you if I wasn''t


    around. I will never underestimate anyone, especially small fries like them."


    As soon as Toby mentioned that, his expression changed slightly. As he looked at the road in front, his


    expression turned more somber. "Small fries tend to scheme more than others of higher positions


    because those at a higher position tend to think highly of themselves, so they would turn their noses at


    using schemeful methods to achieve their goals. However, small fries usually start out from a lowly


    position and they would always use underhanded tactics to achieve their goal. This is how they


    survive."


    "I get that." Sonia nodded. "That''s because the resources are usually limited and are usually controlled


    by people at higher positions. Those people at a lower position would need to scheme and plot just to


    snatch the resources from the people at the higher pyramid."


    "Exactly. That''s why those small fries tend to be much harder to deal withpared to those with


    higher positions. Besides, they would very easily take an extreme stance when faced with people of


    higher positions. That''s because they realize that they might not have a chance of winning if they


    competed fairly. So most of the time, in order to vent their anger and seek revenge against the other


    party, the small fries would choose to sacrifice themselves to bring the other party down. That''s how a


    person without any care in the world would act."


    Sonia heaved a sigh. "It would be worthwhile for them if they managed to bring down someone of a


    higher position. That''s what I''ve heard in my social circles."


    "That''s why, for your safety, I would have to consider more and suppress myself," said Toby solemnly


    as he nced at Sonia.


    At that moment, Sonia felt a warm fuzzy feeling well up within her. At the same time, she felt slightly


    bad on his behalf. She tightened her grip on his hands slightly and nced at him. "I''m sorry."

 Chapter 1213

    Chapter 1213


    Toby was generally a proud man; he would never pay heed to anything at all and suppress himself from


    anything. However, ever since he had gotten together with her, it was fair to say that he had indeed


    changed a lot.


    His first concern was her regardless of what he did. As long as there was anything that could potentially


    bring trouble for her, then he would suppress himself and tolerate it even if that meant he would be


    frustrated by it. That was also why she apologized to him earlier.


    As Toby heard her speak, he gently flicked her forehead. "What are you on about? I''m fine with that


    and I feel happy."


    "How can you be happy?" Sonia touched her forehead at the spot where he had flicked her and she did


    not quiteprehend his words.


    There was a twinkle in his eyes as he affirmed, "Of course, I''m happy. I''ll only make changes or


    compromise if the person I love is with me. I''ll consider her before I carry out anything because


    otherwise, I might end up being forever alone, right?"


    She burst intoughter. "That is such a ridiculous excuse that only you coulde up with."


    "But these are my heartfelt words," said Toby as he looked at her.


    Sonia stretched out her other hand to cling to his arm. "Thanks, Toby."


    "You don''t have to thank me. It''s what I should do." Toby switched hands and took her hand with his


    other one and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders with the hand he was holding her earlier.


    The weather had gotten much colder than before, so Toby''s embrace felt very warm.


    Sonia tilted her head slightly to lean on his chest. "It doesn''t matter. You''ve done so much for me, so I


    need to thank you of course! You can''t stop me from doing so."


    As she spoke, she lifted her head to stare warningly at him, seemingly indicating that if he rebuked her


    words, she would definitely tell him off.


    He chuckled in a low voice resignedly. "Okay, fine. I won''t stop you. Is that fine with you then?"


    "That''s more like it."


    They continued to walk along hand-in-hand affectionately and every passerby could sense the blissful


    aura that surrounded the duo.


    Their blissful aura was infectious as the passersby who saw the affectionate couple could not help


    revealing knowing smiles.


    In this current busy world where love and people were fickle, Toby and Sonia clearly looked blissfully in


    love with each other and it was a rare sight to see. As such, the passersby sincerely hoped that the


    couple would be able to maintain their happiness.


    As soon as they returned to the apartment, Toby entered the house and took out the stack of name


    cards from the pocket of his coat. Subsequently, he flung them aside with disgust onto the shoe rack.


    Sonia was hunched over as she removed her shoes. After changing into the bedroom slippers, she


    caught sight of his action. She could not help asking with a chuckle. "Are you discarding them?"


    "They''re rubbish." Toby changed into his bedroom slippers and responded calmly as he shot a look at


    the name cards.


    Then, she reached out to flick through the name cards. "Perhaps there are some potentially great


    companies amongst this pile. How can you be so sure that they''re rubbish?"


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    "I''ve taken a quick look at the information on the name cards when I took them and these tiny


    At that point, Sonia suddenly nodded and agreed. "Oh, alright. I get it. We can discard them with our


    trash tomorrow morning before we leave the house."


    "Yup." Tony nodded.


    The couple did not stay any longer at the foyer and headed off toward the living room.


    Tony poured himself a ss of water and drank it before heading into the bathroom to take a shower.


    Meanwhile, Sonia remained on the couch in the living room. She switched on the television as she


    waited for the groceries to be delivered from the grocery store.


    Sure enough, the delivery service was efficient and Sonia had not even had the television on for more


    than a few minutes when she heard the doorbell go off.


    She put down the remote control and headed over to the foyer to open the door. Two staff members of


    the store carried several bagged groceries and stood at the entrance with smiles on their faces. "Miss


    Reed, here are the items you and President Fuller purchased earlier on. He also requested for us to


    get you some dinner, right here."


    The two staff members gestured to show therge shopping bags in their hands.


    "Okay. Please,e in." Sonia quickly pulled the door wide open and stepped aside to give them room


    to enter the house.


    With her permission, the two staff members entered the house with their shoes on and carried the


    groceries that they had bought into the room.


    The staff members put down the shopping bags in the living room and one of them ruffled through the


    bag to take out a delicate paper bag with exquisite wrapping. Next, he presented it to Sonia and said,


    "Miss Reed, this is the dinner for you and President Fuller."


    She then retrieved it with both hands. "Alright, thank you."


    "You''re wee. Miss Reed, we''ll be on our way then."


    "Thanks again."


    Sonia put down their dinner on the dining table and escorted the two staff members out of the door.


    Finally, she shut the door behind them and entered the house once they entered the elevator.


    She went back into the living room and she could not help shaking her head with a chuckle as she saw


    the food on the dining table.


    She had originally suggested going grocery shopping to get some ingredients to prepare dinner


    because they had run out of fresh supplies.


    However, they had spent too much time at the store and it was already over 8.00PM by the time they


    paid.


    It would take too long for them to prepare dinner at home and it would likely be past midnight for them


    to finish dinner.


    Therefore when Toby paid for the groceries, he requested for the store to get them dinner and to send it


    over along with their groceries.


    If it was anyone else who had made that same request, they would very likely have gotten a


    resounding ''no'' from the grocery store. Since it was Toby making that request, the store management


    agreed without any hesitations; instead, they were quite eager to please.


    Sonia was at a loss for what to say as she recalled the situation from earlier. Subsequently, she opened


    the bag andid out their dinner.


    She had justid out the food on the table when the bedroom door was opened from the inside and


    Toby came out wearing his bathrobe. He walked out while toweling dry his wet hair and he noticed the


    bags on the ground as well as the food on the dining table. He paused in his action and draped the


    towel he was holding around his neck before walking over to stand behind Sonia. Then, he wrapped his


    arms around her from behind and nuzzled her shoulders with his chin. His low voice sounded quite


    melodious. "When did you receive the items?"


    Sonia felt ticklish around her ear lobes as the warm air from his breath hit and she could not help but


    shrink backward. "It was just sent over not long ago. Let go of me. I feel ticklish."


    That dirty dog! He''s great at taking advantage of the situation and he always jumps at the chance as


    soon as he gets an opportunity! Here he is behaving indecently right after his shower.


    Yet, he pretended that he did not hear her words. Not only did he maintain his hold on her, but he even


    nibbled on her reddened ear lobes and was clearly being provocative.


    Sonia rolled her eyes and lowered her head to remove the arms he had wrapped around her waist.


    Subsequently, she turned around and lifted her head to re at him. "Toby, can you stop? We haven''t


    had dinner and yet you''re starting it again! Aren''t you hungry?"


    "I am hungry." He nodded and admitted to being hungry quite frankly.


    In response, Sonia grimaced slightly. "Since you''re hungry, then hurry up and eat. We can talk once


    we''ve had dinner."


    Toby''s eyes instantly sparkled as soon as he heard her words.


    He leaned his head forward slightly and ced his forehead against Sonia''s. His hoarse voice sounded


    very seductive. "Honey, do you mean to say that I can continue this after dinner?"


    At that moment, Sonia was perplexed by his question. "When did I say that?"


    "You just did." Toby pulled his lips into a smile. "You mentioned that we can continue the talk after


    dinner. That means I''m allowed to continue after dinner, right?"


    At this point, Sonia grimaced badly and was just about to exin her innocence. However, she could


    not quite voice out the words that were on her mind because her earlier statement seemed to imply


    what Toby hadprehended. As such, she was at a loss for what to do.

 Chapter 1214

    Chapter 1214


    Sonia heaved a sigh and waved at him. "Whatever. Let''s just have dinner. I''m hungry."


    "Then, after dinner, you''ll have to let me continue this." Toby cupped her face with both hands and


    looked at her. He was worried that she was going to change her mind.


    Sonia lifted her head with a resigned look in her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sure."


    She admitted defeat this time because she was the one who had said the wrong thing.


    If she denied things and refused to agree, he would definitely pester her incessantly until she gave in,


    based on his stubborn spirit. Therefore, she might as well go along with it.


    After all, she was no longer as shy and resistant as she used to be. She could now calmly agree to his


    request for pleasure.


    Furthermore, he was indeed skillful; though she would always end up with a sore back, she undeniably


    enjoyed it very much as it was a pleasurable experience.


    That was why even up till now, she was secretly tempted each time he requested some intimate time.


    Ahh! This is shameful! I should stop thinking about all this! At that point, Sonia flushed bright red.


    Toby, who was cupping her face, could feel the warmth of her face on his palms.


    He let go of her face and noticed that her face was indeed flushed bright red, so he could not help


    staring dumbfounded for a few seconds. "What''s going on in your mind? Why is your face so red?"


    Like I would tell you! I ain''t letting you get cheeky with it!


    She lowered her head and quickly turned to the other side as she dragged out a chair in front of her to


    take a seat. "It''s not important. Let''s eat. Why do you keep dragging things?"


    Although Sonia tried her best to mask her shyness and refused to tell him what was on her mind


    earlier, he knew that she must have blushed bright red because she had suddenly thought of


    something illicit. However, he was not sure of the extent of it.


    As Toby realized that, he walked over and took a seat across the room from her.


    Sonia heard his chuckle and she felt that he seemed to be aware of what was on her mind. Awkward,


    she quickly grabbed her utensils and tried to mask her emotions by stuffing herself.


    Toby''s smile deepened as soon as he noticed her reaction. He was just about to say something when


    his phone''s ringtone cut him off.


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    With a frown, he clearly looked unhappy to get a phone call from someone at this moment.


    In the end, he put down his fork and knife and took the phone into his hands.


    As soon as he saw the name disyed on the caller ID, his eyes narrowed and the air around him


    seemed to turn still.


    As soon as Sonia saw that, she could no longer be bothered about her shyness or awkward feelings,


    so she put down the utensils in her hand and expressed concern, "Who''s on the line? Did something


    serious happen?" Why else would he suddenly reveal such a scary expression?


    Toby shook his head slightly. "Nothing major happened, but this is because of the person on the line."


    As he spoke, he handed over his phone to Sonia and showed her the identity of the other party.


    As soon as Sonia noticed the name assigned to the number, she noticed that it was ''Mr. Lore'' disyed


    on the screen, so she instantly understood why he had given such a huge reaction. The person on the


    line was Lte''s grandfather, Harry.


    "Your mentor must have called at this time of the day because of the situation on the inte. Take the


    call. I wanna know what he has to say about that." Sonia put down her utensils as she leaned back on


    her chair and looked at Toby.


    He shot a look at her with a frown on his face and he seemed to be hesitant whether to share the


    conversation with her.


    After all, Toby was not sure whether Harry would repeat the words that he had said to him at the office


    earlier. If Sonia heard those remarks¡­


    "Answer the phone," Sonia reminded him once again upon noticing that he had not reacted. "If you


    don''t answer the phone right now, then he''s going to hang up soon. Do you intend to return the call? If


    you do so, then he would definitely assume that you''re not bothered about the incident."


    That was true. If he ignored the other party and refused to make contact with them, then this would


    signify to the other party that he was indeed angry. However, if he chose to make contact with the other


    party, then that would be an indication that he was after a truce. As such, Harry would definitely behave


    even more presumptuously.


    "I won''t take the call, then." Toby kept his phone and rejected Harry''s phone call. "There are some


    things that don''t you don''t need to listen to because it would only make you upset."


    "So, are you saying that Mr. Lore has been badmouthing me?" Sonia lifted her brows questioningly.


    Meanwhile, Toby put his phone aside. "Mr. Lore dotes on Lte very much. This incident was clearly


    intentional sabotage by her, but even if Mr. Lore knows that Lte''s at fault, he wouldn''t actually


    reproach her for that. He would just me you for exposing his granddaughter''s misdeeds, so this


    phone call here would definitely be to besmirch your name and ruin my good impression of you."


    "It looks like you know him quite well." Sonia smiled.


    Toby lowered his eyes. "Previously, I wasn''t too, but right now, I am totally familiar with his ways." He


    was serious about that as prior to today, Toby had always thought of his mentor as a kind and friendly


    old man.


    Yet after the conversation that he shared with Harry in the morning, as well as the incident on the


    inte, he finally realized that everything he assumed was merely an assumption on his part. In


    reality, his mentor was ugly and despicable. This was also a clear indication that Toby did not know his


    mentor well at all in the past. That was also why now Toby felt that there was a significant discrepancy


    upon seeing his true colors.


    "Come to think about it." Sonia leaned forward and put her elbows on the table as she supported her


    chin with her hands and looked at him. "How did you end up with Mr. Lore as your mentor? After all,


    you should realize that someone like Mr. Lore, who''s unfair and blindly supportive of his granddaughter,


    isn''t someone with great values. How did you end up picking someone like that as your mentor? I don''t


    get what was on your mind back then."


    "If I could turn back time to ten years ago, I obviously wouldn''t choose him as my mentor." Tony


    lowered his head and exined calmly, "I entered university when I was fifteen, and then I did my


    doctorate right after that."


    He was pretty nonchnt about things, but Sonia was ashamed of herself upon hearing his words. The


    stress is getting to me. He''s a doctorate student who gained a spot right after graduating. She was


    merely an undergraduate and she found it tough to even obtain a research position. However, this man


    in front of her not only held a doctorate, but he hadpleted several. There was a stark difference in


    their educational background.


    Sonia revealed a forced smile as she was secretly envious of his intelligence. "What happened after


    that?"


    "I joined university and had to inherit Fuller Group, so I then mastered the subject of economics. That''s


    why I went to the school of economics to seek an economics professor to be my mentor. Back then,


    there were two famous economics professors in the school; one of them was Professor Randall while


    the other was my current mentor. I actually chose Professor Randall to be my mentor, not Mr. Lore."


    "So how did Mr. Lore end up as your mentor then? There should have been a mutual agreement for


    both the mentor and the mentee to pick each other, right?" Sonia blinked her eyes out of curiosity.


    Toby took a sip of wine that he had just poured from a bottle. "Yes, there should''ve been a mutual


    agreement for both the mentor and mentee to pick each other. I met up with Professor Randall once to


    have a chat and we were both happy with each other. He had actually agreed to ept me as his


    prot¨¦g¨¦ and we even picked a date to officialize things. However, before wepleted the process,


    something bad happened to Professor Randall."


    "Something bad?" Sonia was in shock. "What happened?"


    "Professor Randall slipped on a banana peel on his way back to his office to get some documents. He


    hit his head on the ground and passed away on the spot. That''s why I didn''t manage to be


    Professor Randall''s mentee and ended up choosing the second option¡ªMr. Lore. Although Mr. Lore


    wasn''t my first choice, he had always been diligent and responsible while he was my mentor. I have to


    give him credit for the doctorate I obtained in economics, so that''s why I''ve always been very respectful


    toward him."

 Chapter 1215

    Chapter 1215


    "I see." Sonia nodded. Soon after that, her beautiful brows tightly furrowed. "Did you just say that


    Professor Randall slipped on a piece of banana peel outside his office and passed away immediately?


    Don''t you find this too much of a coincidence?"


    As soon as she mentioned that, Toby became stunned.


    Instantly, he came back to his senses and narrowed his eyes. "Keep going."


    She affirmed and continued, "Look, Professor Randall and Mr. Lore knew that you would most likely


    pick a mentor out of the two of them, but in fact, you only had Professor Randall in mind. Plus, you


    guys had already decided on a date to make it official. So, what are the odds that he''d slip on a random


    banana peel at the front of his office the day before the officialization? Most importantly, how did


    something like a banana peel appear in front of his office? Sure, bananas are everywhere, but how


    often do you see a banana peel lying around on the floor? A normal person wouldn''t randomly throw


    one on the ground. Furthermore, it was thrown at a university professor''s office door. Whatever it is, the


    situation seems fishy. Besides¡­"


    She took a look at his increasingly stern face and she paused for a few seconds before continuing her


    words, "There are even regr cleaners on the streets now, let alone a university professor''s office."


    "Are you trying to say that Professor Randall''s death was not an ident but an orchestrated one?"


    Toby gradually tightened his hands that were ced on the dining table.


    Sonia looked at his increasingly cold expression and she affirmed slowly, "That''s right. I do have such a


    suspicion. After all, the timing is too coincidental. He could have encountered trouble anytime at all, but


    then ultimately, he encountered the ident exactly the day before you officialize everything. Besides,


    there is the issue with the banana peel too. Anyway, I don''t think that the appearance of the banana


    peel is idental. Frankly, do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? This is very likely to be a plotted


    thing. Of course, though, these are just my deductions. Perhaps all this is just an ident."


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    "No." As soon as Sonia finished her words, Toby suddenly shook his head. "Perhaps your deductions


    aren''t too far off from the truth. This could have been plotted."


    Sonia''s eyes widened at that point.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and exined, "Back then when Professor Randall encountered that ident,


    I wasn''t at school but Fuller Group. Furthermore, I didn''t get to know about the ident until the very


    next day. That was the day we were supposed to officialize everything, but I only found out that


    Professor Randall had passed away when I was on my way to his house. By then, Professor Randall''s


    body had already been cremated and the police had closed the case by deeming it an ident. Since


    it became a closed file officially, I never suspected that there could be another reason behind Professor


    Randall''s demise. I always thought of that as an ident and I never considered that there would be


    more behind all this, until you mentioned earlier that something was fishy with it. That was when I


    realized there might be more to this."


    As per Sonia''s deductions, it was strange that Professor Randall encountered the ident


    coincidentally on the day before the officialization. It could have happened any other day after all.


    Besides, it definitely was notmon to see a banana peel flung casually on the ground, especially at


    a university.


    His university was one of the top universities in the country and the students there were highly cultured,


    so they would not have littered all over the ce.


    On the other hand, the professors upying the office building would not have done so either.


    Besides, there would always be cleaners avable, so Sonia was right. Even the streets were kept


    clean at all times, so why would a prestigious university office not be? In fact, there would be cleaners


    inspecting each floor with their equipment in tow every half an hour on average.


    Since there would be renowned people from abroad and all over the country visiting his university


    regrly, the cleanliness of the ce was something that the university paid close attention to.


    Therefore, in general, it would be pretty much impossible for a banana peel to remain on the ground,


    especially right in front of an office entrance. Clearly, this situation was strange no matter how much


    one considered it.


    As soon as Sonia saw his slightly fluttering eyes, she considered the situation and asked, "Have you


    thought of something?"


    Toby lifted his head and was nonmittal. "I have indeed recalled another fishy part. Although I didn''t


    see for myself how Professor Randall fell, I did ask around about how the ident happened and how


    he fell. ording to the vice-chancellor of the university, there was a group of economics exchange


    students from an international university, and the exchange students were led by Professor Randall


    around the school. He and the leader of the exchange students got along very well. They were both


    renowned in the economics world, so they naturally had a lot ofmon topics to talk about.


    Furthermore, Professor Randall had been focused on a research topic regarding the future


    development of economics. Back then, the leader wasn''t involved in research work, but he had a


    unique insight on this topic, so the vice-chancellor mentioned that Professor Randall and the leader of


    the group were very enthusiastic as they discussed the topic. They were as thick as thieves."


    Sonia pursed her lips and smiled. "This is true. One would definitely develop a close rtionship with


    someone whom they could rte to. My dad loves to y chess, but he''s very bad at it, so his fellow


    chess buddies aren''t too enthusiastic to see him and they aren''t keen to y with him either. There was


    once, though, my dad encountered a person who''s equally as bad at chess as him, yet he enjoyed the


    game as much as he did. My dad also kept pestering the guy and tried to force the person into


    agreeing to swear a brotherly oath. As such, he would definitely have a partner to y chess with."


    Toby lifted his chin. "That''s right. That''s the exact mentality. Professor Randall and the leader of the


    group discussed the topic so naturally, Professor Randall wouldn''t be able to stop himself from showing


    his sessful research work to the person."


    "Is that why you mentioned that Professor Randall went back to his office to get some documents?"


    Sonia stroked her chin and made a guess.


    Toby nodded. "Yes. That was what he went back to get, but there''s something that I hadn''t exined


    properly to you and I just recalled that right now."


    "What is it?" Sonia nced at him.


    He clenched his fist tighter. "Professor Randall retrieved the documents and slipped on the banana


    peel only after he walked out of the door."


    As soon as Toby said that, Sonia mmed a hand on the table. "I get what you mean. You''re trying to


    say that Professor Randall was fine when he walked through the doors to retrieve the documents. So


    clearly, there was no banana peel in front of the entrance before he entered his office. After all, why


    wouldn''t he notice a filthy banana peel right in front of his office in the first ce? That means, the


    banana peel appeared at the entrance right after he entered his office."


    "Exactly." Toby nodded. "He wouldn''t have taken too long to retrieve the documents because he''d


    definitely know where he stored his belongings."


    "That''s for sure." Sonia shrugged. "One would definitely know where their belongings were stored¡ª


    especially something that he had been focused on researching¡ªso that item must have been ced


    somewhere easily essible and well-frequented by him. This ce would surely be his office desk.


    Based on my deductions, Professor Randall wouldn''t have taken too long to enter then leave: it would


    be at most two to three minutes at most. So, the banana peel would have appeared in that short span


    of time. This is an indication that someone was keeping a close eye and trailing after him. Otherwise, it


    would have been impossible for the person to randomly fling the banana peel in front of his office in


    such a short span of time without getting caught."

 Chapter 1216

    Chapter 1216


    "Little Leaf, you''re indeed very smart." The solemn look on Toby''s face mellowed slightly as he smiled


    at her.


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    Meanwhile, Sonia snorted haughtily. "Of course, I''m smart! After all, I''m the first person to notice that


    there was something fishy going on with this incident."


    "Yes, you are. I''ll reward you handsomelyter on. What do you think about that?" Toby''s eyes


    darkened.


    Instantly, Sonia''s expression froze as she made a ''no'' gesture with her hands in front of her chest. "No


    way! Don''t even think about that!"


    Don''t even think about that? Toby was secretly scornful about that. I''ve already gone there, so how can


    I go back and change my mind? Since he had already made up his mind to reward her, he was not


    going to renege on his words. After all, he was not a fickle person.


    Still, his thoughts remained as thoughts as he did not express it to Sonia. Otherwise, she would surely


    come up with an excuse tonight to brush him off.


    As soon as Sonia noticed that he had stopped speaking, she thought that he had given up that notion,


    which rendered her relieved. Subsequently, she changed the topic and brought up the incident once


    again. "But then, how did you know that Professor Randall took a fall after retrieving the documents?


    You weren''t at the scene, right?"


    "This was ording to the vice-chancellor''s words; he had a good rtionship with Professor Randall.


    As soon as Professor Randall''s ident urred, the vice-chancellor rushed over immediately. He


    saw Professor Randall''s body, which was still clutching to the documents. Furthermore, the vice-


    chancellor confirmed with the leader of the exchange students that Professor Randall had indeed gone


    back to his office to retrieve the documents. I was the new mentee that Professor Randall was about to


    ept, so I naturally wanted to find out what happened to him. I went to the vice-chancellor and these


    were all reiterated to me personally by him. In fact, he''s actually distantly rted to Professor Randall.


    Also, the vice-chancellor''s chances of gaining the chancellor position after the current one retired would


    be dependent on Professor Randall''s achievements too because Professor Randall was considered to


    be working under the vice-chancellor. The vice-chancellor''s achievements in the research world would


    also be linked to Professor Randall''s research topic sesses. That''s how the vice-chancellor would


    be able to ascend to the position. So, I concluded that he would be thest person on earth to wish for


    misfortune to befall Professor Randall. Naturally, he would not lie to me about this matter."


    Sonia nodded approvingly. "Since the vice-chancellor knew that Professor Randall slipped when he


    came out of the room, then why didn''t the vice-chancellor suspect that his death was sabotage? After


    all, the sudden appearance of a banana peel on the ground''s just too out of the ordinary. Not only the


    vice-chancellor, but the police didn''t find this incident suspicious either. They even closed the case


    swiftly by deeming it an ident, so it just seems kinda odd. I don''t believe that the police didn''t


    consider the suspicious points that even I could identify. That''s why I have another hunch."


    "You mean that the police and the vice-chancellor were bribed afterward, and even though they


    realized that there were some suspicious points, they chose to overlook them. Is this what you''re trying


    to say?" Toby looked at her.


    Sonia affirmed twice, "Yes, exactly. That''s the suspicion that I have. This whole thing seems quite


    strange, isn''t it? It''s not normal for a death case to be investigated swiftly and then be a closed


    case so soon. Even if it was an idental death, there would at least be a seventy-two-hour


    investigation before the police requested for case closure. However, this case was concluded in a rush


    by the next day, so that''s abnormally fast. It feels more like someone bribed the police to close the case


    as soon as possible and conclude Professor Randall''s death as an ident so that no one would


    investigate the matter any further. By the way, does Professor Randall have any family members?" she


    asked while looking at him.


    He shook his head. "He had no family. His family members lost their lives ten years ago and he was the


    only survivor back then."


    "That''s no wonder, then." Sonia pursed her red lips. "That makes sense. Since he didn''t have any


    family members, so even if the case was concluded hastily, no one would object to that. As for you,


    why didn''t you notice the suspicious part regarding the hasty conclusion of the case?"


    "I noticed that and made ns to relook into the case." Toby lowered his eyes. "However, before I


    could do so, I was hospitalized due to my heart disease, so this matter was overlooked."


    "Is that so?" Sonia averted her gaze to his chest. "Then, is your heart okay now? I heard that even after


    a heart transnt, it''s not your own organ after all, so there could be some issues. Over these years,


    have you experienced any difort in your heart?"


    She realized then that she had never asked him about this issue before.


    Taken aback by her question, he suddenly froze in response and stiffened slightly. "No, everything has


    been perfectly fine for me."


    As Toby replied, he lowered his eyes further to mask the emotions inside them.


    Not noticing the difference in his expression, she heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that his heart


    was fine. "That''s great."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll be fine. We''ve got a long life together ahead of us, so there''s no way I''d leave my heart


    issue unresolved." Toby reached out to ruffle her hair. "Trust me."


    Although he had already found an organ donor, the donor was still alive and Toby was not as evil as to


    seek a life using despicable methods just to survive. He did want to get a heart transnt as soon as


    possible, but he would not kill the donor beforehand to achieve his goal quicker. Furthermore, the donor


    was now on his finalp of life and his body could no longer sustain him for more than half a year.


    Therefore, Toby could well afford to wait for another half a year.


    "I trust you." Sonia looked at him and nodded with a smile.


    Toby retracted his hand. "Let''s continue our discussion. Who do you reckon is the mastermind behind


    Professor Randall''s ident?"


    "Is this a test?" She took a sip of soup.


    He smiled and said, "You could think of it that way."


    Sonia lifted her head and rolled her eyes at him. "The answer is so obvious and yet you''re testing me?


    Do you think that I''m an idiot?"


    "No." Toby shook his head frantically. He had no other option as he had noticed the dangerous look in


    her eyes.


    Sonia snorted with a pleased expression as soon as she realized that he was perceptive. "That sounds


    much better, but since you''ve asked me that question, I''ll give you an answer. My answer is quite


    simple actually. Whoever has the most to gain out of this would be the most suspicious person. Let me


    ask you this, who was it that epted Mr. Lore as his mentor after Professor Randall''s death?"


    "I did," Toby murmured as he moved his thin lips.


    Sonia nodded in response and said, "Then, I''ve got another question for you. After Professor Randall''s


    death, who became the person to head the student exchange team? I''m guessing that it was Mr. Lore


    too, right?"


    Toby curved his lips into a smile. "How did youe to that?"


    "It''s simple. You mentioned before that there were only two people you were interested to seek as your


    mentor¡ªeither Professor Randall or Mr. Lore. Evidently, these two men had a significant influence on


    the subject of economics studies and they''re the cream of the crop in the industry. The university


    assigned Professor Randall to lead the international exchange student program, so it''s obvious that the


    program was exclusive. Otherwise, how would Professor Randall have been selected to lead them?


    The university must have been critical in choosing who to lead them as that would be detrimental to the


    international ties between both countries. Although Professor Randall passed away before the program


    ended, they couldn''t possibly put a stop to the program, so it would surely proceed as usual. The


    university would naturally have to assign someone else to lead the group. Furthermore, that person


    would need to be of equal status to Professor Randall. The only person who fits that criteria is Mr.


    Lore."


    "You''re right. Little Leaf, you''re awesome!" Toby put down the red wine and praised her by giving her a


    thumbs up.


    ttered, she brushed him off while waving her hand. "Okay, okay. Stop fawning over me. I maintain


    my words; whoever has the most to gain out of these two things would very likely be the mastermind.


    After Professor Randall''s death, not only did Mr. Lore became your mentor, but he also seeded in


    leading the international exchange students and became the top economics professor in the country.


    There would no longer be anyone else capable enough to vie for the same position as him. This is


    entirely something that he benefited out of, regardless of how you look at the situation."

 Chapter 1217

    Chapter 1217


    Toby ced his interlocked fingers on the dining table without saying a word and he lowered his head


    as he considered the situation.


    As soon as Sonia saw that, she did not bother him as she held her fork and knife to continue her meal.


    After she had taken a few gulps of her food, he finally gave a reaction.


    He rxed both hands and gradually lifted his head. "I''ll get the police to reinvestigate the case and


    look into the matter once again."


    "What if the proper investigation reveals that Mr. Lore was the mastermind behind this? How would you


    deal with this?" Sonia stopped eating and ced down her utensils as she nced at him. This was a


    point that she was most interested in.


    He lifted his red wine ss and gulped it down. "I''ve chosen to forsake the Lore Family during this


    morning''s incident; if Mr. Lore ends up being the mastermind, then naturally, I would not let him get


    away with this. I will choose to seek justice for Professor Randall. After all, Professor Randall was the


    mentor I chose in the first ce."


    "I agree with that." Sonia stretched out her hand and ced it atop his. "No matter what happens, I''ll


    support your decision and I''ll definitely stand by your side just like how you''ve always stood by me and


    supported every single one of my decisions."


    Remaining silent, Toby turned his hand and held her hand in his palms as he gently gripped her handProperty ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    to indicate his happy feelings at the moment.


    After some time, he let go of Sonia and stood up while holding onto his phone. "I''ll make a phone call."


    "Are you going to call the police now?" Sonia asked as she lifted her head.


    He nodded. "I''ll give the special forces a call. Both Professor Randall and Mr. Lore are civil servants


    and they''re enlisted in the government, so the usual cops would not be able to handle this matter. The


    investigation would have to be conducted by the higher-ups."


    "Okay. Go ahead, then. Make it quick though because the food is getting cold." Sonia pointed to the


    lavish spread on the table.


    Toby affirmed, "I''ll be back real soon. Start without me."


    After saying that, he strode off in his long legs and headed in the direction of the balcony.


    On the other end, Harry did not realize that he was the topic of Toby and Sonia''s suspicions, and that


    Toby had contacted the special forces to reinvestigate the death case from more than ten years ago.


    At that moment, Harry was inside a car with Grayson next to him.


    Grayson looked at the phone in Harry''s hand before turning to look at his wizened face, which was


    currently thunderous. He gulped before asking, "Dad, did Toby hang up on you?"


    His tone was full of trepidation as he sounded weak and feeble. He was apletely different person


    from his haughty self in front of his secretary in the morning.


    Indeed, every person had their weak spot regardless of how great they were. Grayson was afraid of the


    old man before him, who was his very own father. Therefore, he spoke gingerly when he was faced


    with Harry.


    "Haven''t you seen it with your own eyes? Why do you have to ask the obvious?" Clearly, Harry was


    annoyed by his son''s question as he shot him a disgusting look.


    Grayson shrunk back and muttered, "I was just expressing my concern."


    "Hah! Don''t worry. I am perfectly fine," Harry replied calmly and retracted his gaze.


    Grayson ran a hand through his hair. "But then Dad, Toby noticed that you were the one on the line, yet


    he hung up the phone. It looks like things are serious this time."


    At that moment, Grayson suddenly felt unsure of his assumptions. He had initially thought that even if


    Toby was angry about the matter and refused to talk to him, Toby would never ignore Harry. After all,


    Harry was Toby''s mentor. Perhaps all that was needed was for Harry to voice out and Toby would


    surely be mindful of Harry''s identity as his mentor and let things slide. Surely, he would never actually


    go after the Lore Family. However, at this point, Toby had rejected Harry''s call and Grayson suddenly


    lost confidence that Toby would let the Lore Family get away just because of Harry''s position.


    Harry looked at his phone and his dark eyes were unreadable. "Perhaps it''s not only this matter with


    Lte that made him refuse my call."


    "Was there something else that happened?" Grayson''s voice was raised all of a sudden.


    Harry heaved a sigh. "This morning, I went over to Fuller Group and met up with Toby, right?"


    "Yes, I know that." Grayson nodded.


    Harry leaned back slightly. "During our meeting today, I said a lot of nasty things about Sonia in front of


    Toby and he was very angry. He instantly escorted me out of Fuller Group. That''s why I reckon Toby


    refused my call not only because of Lte''s matter, but also because of the words I said to him this


    morning."


    "What should we do then?" Grayson panicked. "It''s no wonder that he would be so angry! These two


    matters added up are indeed a cause of anger. Dad, if we don''t patch things up with Toby as soon as


    possible, thepany will be in trouble. This afternoon, representatives from severalpanies called


    me and they probed about Toby''s attitude toward our family. If word gets out that Toby intends to sever


    ties with our family, then thesepanies will surelye together to attack us. After all, we did offend


    quite a fewpanies in the past."


    "I don''t need you to tell me all this. I''m aware." Harry red at his useless and panicky son while


    speaking in a low voice, "Don''t worry, I managed to gain such a great mentee back then, so there is no


    way I would allow our rtionship to deteriorate."


    As soon as Grayson heard Harry''s words, he calmed down significantly. However, he was still slightly


    apprehensive. "Toby refuses to answer our phone calls though, and he doesn''t want to see us at all.


    We can''t even locate him, so how are we going to patch things up with him?"


    Harry pinched his nose bridge. "Don''t worry about Toby for now. He''s still in a fit of anger from today''s


    incident, so we shouldn''t bother him. Let''s give him some time to calm down. Perhaps once he calms


    down, he will answer our call and meet up with us. By then, it would be much easier for us to talk to


    him."


    "So, are we supposed to do nothing now?" Grayson was discontented.


    Harry narrowed his eyes in response. "Of course not. We should give him some time to calm down, but


    that doesn''t mean we''re going to stand by and do nothing. Let''s go over to Fuller Residence first."


    Grayson''s eyes sparkled at the sound of that. "Dad, do you intend to talk to Old Mrs. Fuller and tackle


    the situation by winning her over?"


    Harry affirmed, "Right now, that seems to be the only thing we can do. Old Mrs. Fuller is an elder whom


    Toby cares the most about. Once Old Mrs. Fuller voices out, Toby would definitely agree to everything


    she says."


    "This sounds like a great idea, but¡­" Grayson scratched his head. "Dad, Old Mrs. Fuller has never


    been too enthusiastic toward our family members, so will we seed if we go over to see her?"


    "Well, we have to give it a try, don''t we?" Harry shot a look at Grayson from the side of his eyes before


    lowering his head and expressing calmly, "Plus, I''m not too sure why, but I keep having an uneasy


    feeling, so we''ve got to patch our rtionship with Toby as soon as possible. Otherwise, I''m afraid that


    if this persists, there will be much more terrible things to ur."


    "Okay. Let''s head over right now." Grayson nodded and instructed the driver to start the car.


    An hourter, they arrived at Fuller Residence and the duo alighted from the car to rify their


    identities to the security guards.


    The security guards knew that Harry was Toby''s mentor, so they took into ount Harry''s position and


    naturally did ont dare to dy the situation. As such, the guards reported the situation to the main


    house instantly.


    It was past 9.00PM and Rose had just gotten ready for bed with Mary''s help. She was just about to


    retire to bed when there was a knock on the door.


    Mary frowned in annoyance. "It''s sote. Why are the servants knocking on the door at this time of the


    night?"


    "There must be something urgent. Open the door, Mary," Rose spoke with a smile as she was not


    bothered at all.


    "That''s alright. They can wait. I''ll help you into bed first," said Mary as she helped Rose plump up her


    pillow.


    Mary was insistent, so Rose went along with Mary''s words and got into bed. After Rose made herself


    comfortable in bed, Mary tucked her under the nket before turning around to open the door.

 Chapter 1218

    Chapter 1218


    The door was opened and Mary was shocked to find not a servant outside but one of the security


    guards from the front gate.


    Taken aback as soon as she saw the man, she then asked solemnly, "What''s wrong?"


    Normally, the security guards would not enter the main house unless something had happened, so it


    was pretty much impossible for them to be directly knocking on Rose''s bedroom door, especially so


    late at night. As such, something major must have happened for the security guard to be here right


    now.


    "Mary, there are visitors at the door. It''s President Fuller''s mentor and he''s here to visit Old Mrs. Fuller.


    These are their details." The security guard handed over Harry''s name card to Mary.


    Mary reached out to take a look at it. As soon as she saw the name written on it, she scoffed, "They


    must be after something toe and visit Old Mrs. Fuller sote at night!"


    "Should we let them in? Or should we just tell them to leave? If you don''t want them toe in, then I''ll


    tell them off right now," asked the security guard as he looked at Mary.


    Mary folded the name card in her hand. "Hold on. I''ll consult Old Mrs. Fuller about this."


    "Okay." The security guard nodded respectfully.


    As such, Mary shut the door and turned around back into the room.


    Rose, who was originally lying down, was now sitting up in bed and had a book in her hands,


    seemingly engrossed in the book.


    At that sight, Mary immediately became unhappy. "Old Mrs. Fuller, why did you get up in bed and


    started to read? You were tucked into bed earlier!"


    Rose listened to Mary''s reproachful words; not only was she not upset by that, but she smiled


    cheerfully. "It''s okay, Mary. Don''t be upset. I had trouble falling asleep, so that''s why I sat up and did


    some reading. I''ll go to bed in a short while when I feel sleepy."


    "But you''re not supposed to stay up toote. It''s not good for your health." Mary walked over and


    attempted to remove the book from Rose''s hands and get Rose to lie down.


    However, Rose had already noticed what she was attempting to do. As soon as Mary reached out to


    grab the book, Rose shifted the book to the side and refused to let her get hold of it.


    At that point, Mary revealed an exasperated smile. "Old Mrs. Fuller, you¡­"


    "Mary, that''s enough." Rose maintained a smile on her face. "I realize that you''re worried about me, but


    my health is as you can see. So, how much worse can it get? Don''t worry. I''m well aware of my


    condition."


    Rose stubbornly insisted on getting some reading done before bed, so Mary had no other option for a


    moment there.


    At that moment, Rose suddenly noticed the card in Mary''s hand and she put her book aside to ask,


    "What''s that?"


    "Oh, this is a name card from the Lore Family." Mary suddenly recalled that as she handed over the


    card to Rose.


    Rose reached out to take it. "The Lore Family? Do you mean Toby''s mentor''s family?"


    "That''s them." Mary nodded. "They are at the front gates right now and they''re here to see you."


    "Here to see me?" Rose paused while holding onto the name card.


    Meanwhile, Mary smoothed over the nket that was over Rose. "Yes. I reckon that they must be here


    because of the incident on the inte this morning. Old Mrs. Fuller, you''ve heard of how Miss Lore


    framed Miss Reed. She''s trying to cause Young Master Toby to misunderstand Miss Reed and break


    up with Miss Reed so that she could take over Miss Reed''s position."


    By then, Rose was no longer interested to look at the name card as she folded it in half before casting


    it aside on her bedside table like it was a piece of rubbish. Rose sneered coldly, "I''m quite aware of


    what sort of personalities the Lore Family have and frankly speaking¡ªthough this may sound rude¡ª


    they are just a bunch of rogues. I''ve known from the start that their daughter''s interested in Toby. He


    was the only person oblivious to that."


    Mary chuckled in response. "Young Master Toby tends to be quite clueless in rtionship matters and I


    guess that''s a good thing too because he wouldn''t have to be burdened unnecessarily."


    Rose smiled as she turned to look at her. "Toby''s not clueless at all. If he waspletely clueless in


    such rtionship matters, then he wouldn''t have fallen in love with Sonny while they were exchanging


    letters without even meeting her. He just can''t be bothered by people he''s not interested in, so that''s


    why he didn''t realize that Miss Lore was interested in him."


    "Whatever it is, it''s a good thing that Young Master Toby isn''t aware of Miss Lore''s intentions." Mary


    poured a ss of milk for Rose.


    A warm cup of milk could be good to aid sleep. Since Rose was unable to fall asleep, then perhaps


    drinking some milk could put her to sleep soon enough.


    Yet, Rose was aware of Mary''s intention. With a smile, she did not object to Mary''s offer and took the


    ss of milk. "This time, Miss Lore spread rumors about Sonny on the inte because she must have


    been unable to contain herself any longer. She didn''t want to see Toby and Sonny maintain their


    rtionship ''cause she must be concerned that she wouldn''t be able to rece Sonny''s position after


    that."


    "Hmph! I really don''t get what''s going on in the minds of young women nowadays. They refuse to


    behave decently and use devious means to get their way. To think that shees from a distinguished


    family, she''s actually intent on being a homewrecker!" Mary was disdainful as she spilled her words.


    As for Rose, she took a sip of milk and the previously amiable look in her eyes was reced with


    coldness. It was exactly the same cold look that Toby wore when he dealt with strangers. Clearly, he


    had learned many of his ways directly from Rose.


    "A distinguished family?" Rose sneered coldly. "How can she be considered to be from a distinguished


    family? If it wasn''t because of her grandfather''s luck back then in bing Toby''s mentor, their family


    would have be history. They wouldn''t have been able to continue unting amongst the wealthy


    by taking advantage of Young Master Toby''s name."


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, since you''re aware that the Lore Family have been behaving badly and unting by


    making use of Young Master Toby''s name, why didn''t you convince Young Master Toby to warn them?"


    Mary nced at Rose with a perplexed expression.


    Rose brushed her off. "What''s the point in me telling him? Even if Toby trusts my words, there is no


    evidence at all, so he wouldn''t be able to sever ties with them. After all, the Lore Family yed a role in


    guiding him in his studies, so I can''tment too much seeing that we''re indebted to them. Otherwise,


    we might be criticized for being ungrateful. That''s why I chose to keep silent and watch them continue


    their clown show. No matter how hard they try to mask themselves, they would end up exposing


    themselves and Toby would have to see through their true colors sooner orter. By then, the Lore


    Family'' kindness granted to Toby in the past would have been worn off by their misdeeds, so he


    wouldn''t be caught in a tight position if he went after them."


    "Okay, I get it." Mary nodded and agreed that this was a great idea. "I heard that Lte''s action of


    framing Miss Reed this time has angered Young Master Toby and he seems to have made up his mind


    to sever ties with the Lore Family. Furthermore, it seems like he will be taking action against the Lore


    Family. I''m not too sure how true that is, Old Mrs. Fuller. Why don''t you ask Young Master Toby?"


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    Rose shook her head. "That''s not necessary. The rumors you heard must be true. Sonny''s precious to


    Toby and he would never allow anyone to harm her. The Lore Family''s actions must have triggered


    Toby''s rage. I know him very well and clearly, he won''t let them get away with things lightly. That''s why


    even though I got to know this matter today, I don''t n on calling Toby or Sonny to ask about it. I''m not


    going to interfere and I''ll let him deal with this himself."


    "Yes, I agree that you shouldn''t get involved. You should be enjoying a rxing life." Mary smiled.


    Rose smiled as well. "You''re right about that."


    "However, Mr. Lore''s here to see you. Perhaps because he knew that Young Master Toby is nning to


    cut ties with the Lore Family and he can''t get hold of Young Master Toby. That''s why he came over to


    see you and try to target you to resolve the matter. Otherwise, he would never pay you a visit. I don''t


    think that he''s here to visit because he respects you." Mary shot a look at the card by the side with a


    scornful smile.


    Rose ced the ss of milk aside. "Yeah. If I''m not mistaken, Harry''s been back for quite some time


    now, huh?"


    "He''s been back for more than two weeks now," Mary replied.


    Meanwhile, Rose ced a wizened hand on her abdomen and patted it gently. "Yes. He''s been back


    for more than two weeks and yet he didn''t bother toe over and visit me throughout that period.


    Clearly, he couldn''t care less about me. Now that he''s encountered trouble, he''s finally thought of


    seeing me. Obviously, he''s trying to take advantage of me and I''m just a tool to him. Do you reckon that


    I should show him my temper?"

 Chapter 1219

    Chapter 1219


    "You should!" Mary pped and agreed.


    Subsequently, she looked at Rose and asked, "Then, Old Mrs. Fuller, what do you n to do next? Do


    you want to meet him?"


    "Since he''s here, then there''s no harm in meeting him." Rose uncovered the nket. "Besides, I won''t


    be alive for much longer. If he ns on making a tool out of me and I don''t meet him today to avenge


    myself, then I wouldn''t know when else I can do so."


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, what are you on about?" Mary helped Rose out of bed and expressed discontentedly,


    "What do you mean by you won''t live much longer? You''ll definitely still be around when Young Master


    Toby and Miss Reed get married again; you''ll be able to y with your great-grandchildren too.


    Perhaps, you''d be able to see Young Master Tyler get married as well! By the way, Young Master Tyler


    should being back soon. Their team should have made it to the finals by now."


    Rose chuckled happily. "That little brat, Tyler has been gone for a few months now. I do miss him very


    much."


    "If that''s the case, then I''ll give Young Master Tyler a call tomorrow morning and get him toe over


    immediately to see you once he''s back. How does that sound?" Mary helped Rose put on her jacket.


    Rose brushed Mary off. "That''s not necessary. If you ask Tyler toe over immediately once he


    arrives back and Jean finds out, then she might get jealous. Perhaps by then, she would me me for


    keeping them from seeing each other. I don''t want to be med for that. Anyway, Tyler would definitely


    pay me a visit once he''s back, so there is no need to take any unnecessary action."


    "Okay." Mary nodded. However, she could not helpining, "Come to think about it, Jean''s joined


    the family for so many years now, but she hasn''t improved at all. Back then, you even hired several


    teachers to guide her on etiquette and skills with the hopes that her uncouthness would rub off.


    However, not only did she not change in her ways at all, but the teachers had such a tough time with


    her. This was indeed something astonishing."


    "Forget about it. These are all matters of the past, so let''s not mention them. Fortunately, Jean''s


    terrified of Toby, so I won''t have to worry that she''ll create havoc once I die. Besides, Sonny has


    changed significantly too. Jean might even suffer in her hands," said Rose as she put on her final piece


    of clothing.


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Mary smiled. "You''re right."


    "Let''s go. Let''s meet Harry now." Rose took the cane handed over by Mary.


    Mary affirmed and helped Rose to the entrance by guiding her elbow.


    The door was once again opened and the security guard remained by the entrance.


    As soon as he saw the duo walk out, he quickly bowed. "Old Mrs. Fuller."


    Rose nodded. "Show them into the living room. I''ll meet them there."


    "Okay." The security guard nodded and followed the instructions as he turned around to leave


    subsequently.


    Mary helped Rose out of the room, then toward the direction of the living room.


    Along the way, Mary suddenly realized something and she asked while looking at Rose. "Old Mrs.


    Fuller, should we let Young Master Toby know that the Lore Family came over? I reckon Young Master


    Toby isn''t aware of this yet."


    "No, don''t inform him. If you let him know about this, he''s definitely going to worry and rush over at this


    time of the night. It''s dangerous to drive out at night, so let''s not bother him. Besides, do you think that


    Harry would dare to do anything to me?"


    "I''m sure he wouldn''t have the guts to do anything to you." Mary shook her head without hesitation.


    "Everything will be fine."


    Meanwhile at the gates to the Fuller Residence, the winter temperatures of Seafield were normally


    colder than elsewhere, especially at night. Furthermore, the wind was bitterly cold.


    Harry and Grayson stood there shivering under the cold winter night as they huddled up, tempted to


    stick their heads into their down jackets.


    "Dad, why don''t we just wait in the car? The heater''s on and it''s much morefortable in there,"


    Grayson asked perplexedly as he looked at their car parked on the other side of the road.


    At the same time, he could not contain the slight jealousy that welled up within him. Indeed, he was


    jealous of his own driver. Harry and Grayson were the employers, yet they were standing here being


    subjected to the bitterly cold wind and freezing their pants off. Meanwhile, the driver remained inside


    the car while enjoying the heater insidefortably. Furthermore, the driver might even be thinking in


    his mind that Harry and Grayson were idiots who chose to stand under the cold winter night despite


    having ess to heating.


    Harry nced in the direction of the car and rubbed both hands together. "I know exactly what''s going


    on in your mind, but this time, we''re here to seek a favor, so we should show our sincerity. There''s no


    harm in suffering through some cold weather."


    "I get it! You''re trying to make her feel sorry for us, huh?" Grayson inched closer toward Harry.


    Harry remained speechless, but his silence was clearly an acquiescence. Indeed, he was nning to


    make Rose feel sorry for them. Perhaps, she would relent after seeing them stand for so long outside


    in such bitterly cold weather.


    "Dad, you''ve got all the bases covered indeed." Grayson reached out and gave Harry a thumbs-up


    gesture. He was sincerely impressed.


    Unimpressed, Harry shot him a look. "That''s enough. Stop fawning over me and stand up straight. Stop


    talking too because someone mighte out and hear what you said."


    "Okay." Grayson shrunk back and retreated to the side.


    Not long after that, the son could not help and inched over to Harry once again. "Dad, the security


    guard has gone inside for quite some time now. Why isn''t he back? Could it be that Old Mrs. Fuller


    doesn''t wish to see us, and she doesn''t want to reject us outright, so she''s just going to ignore us?"


    At that point, Harry was fazed as he wore a solemn look. He''s notpletely wrong.


    As soon as Grayson noticed his dad turn silent, his heart skipped a beat. "Oh my gosh, Dad. Do you


    think that it''s possible too?"


    "If Old Mrs. Fuller knew about the incident on the inte, then there is indeed such a possibility," Harry


    admitted with uncertainty.


    At that point, Grayson turned frantic. "Does that mean we''vee in vain? We''ve also stood here


    under the cold weather for nothing?"


    Harry''s expression froze slightly and he was about to say something when he noticed the door to the


    security room open up. Then, the security guard from earlier came out and walked over in their


    direction.


    As soon as Harry saw that, he instantly tugged his idiotic son''s arm. "Shut up. Someone''s here."


    Grayson instantly recollected himself upon hearing Harry''s words and he stood still without uttering a


    word.


    "Mr. Lore." The security guard came over and stood in front of Harry. "Old Mrs. Fuller has agreed to see


    you. You two cane with me."


    The security guard made a wee gesture and indicated the two of them to trail after him.


    Harry and Grayson exchanged looks with each other as both of them noted the relieved look in each


    other''s eyes.


    Fortunately, Old Mrs. Fuller agreed to meet up. It''s likely that she doesn''t mind the rumors on the


    inte. With that in mind, Harry and Grayson were much more confident to meet up with Rose.


    This was the first time ever that Grayson visited Fuller Residence.


    The building was a typical colonial-style design and it was massive.


    He had never seen a mansion this size but merely heard of them. Thergest simrly styled mansion


    he had ever seen was only half the size of this ce. It was the first experience ever for him to see


    such a humongous ce.


    Grayson scanned the surroundings as they walked inside. If one did not know his position as a


    president of apany, one would have assumed that he was a country bumpkin who hade to


    town for the first time.


    Yet, he was not the only one behaving this way as even Harry could not help studying the mansion


    secretly. Still, he was not as exaggerated as Grayson. After all, he had been here twice before, so he


    was not as astonished as Grayson by the ce.


    Nheless, the mansion was truly an impressive building. Although Harry had been here more than


    once, he was still in awe regardless, so Grayson''s reaction was practically normal.


    "Dad, Fuller Residence is so grand and impressive!" Grayson trailed not too far behind the security


    guard as he inched closer to Harry and eximed in a low voice.

 Chapter 1220

    Chapter 1220


    Harry nodded. "It would definitely be grand of course. This was one of the prehistoric castles from the


    past. After the war ended, this ce was granted to Old Mr. Fuller as a reward for the sacrifices he


    made for the country. Subsequently, the Fullers invested a lot of money into refurbishing the ce.


    They gradually did some renovations to the original building and finally, we have the Fuller Residence


    you see today."


    "Oh, so it used to be a prehistoric castle. No wonder it''s massive. The other prehistoric castles in the


    country have all been confiscated by the government and forcefully demolished. It''s quite rare to see


    this. It would be great if we had a prehistoric castle in the family, huh?" Grayson scanned the


    surroundings with an envious look in his eyes.


    Yet, Harry remained silent. He was, too, tempted to own a prehistoric castle, but they were neither


    influential nor rich enough to afford that.


    It was fine though, because once Lte joined the Fuller Family and after the demise of Old Mrs.


    Fuller, Lte would then be thedy of the mansion. By then, he might be able to move into this


    ce and there would be no difference whether he owned the ce or not. As for Jean, Harry


    conveniently disregarded her.


    The father and son duo chatted with each other and arrived at the main living room quite soon after


    that.


    As soon as they walked through the doors, Harry and Grayson noticed that Rose was sipping tea while


    sitting in the middle of the room.


    Hearing the iing footsteps, she put down her teacup and lifted her head to take a look at the father


    and son duo brought in by the security guard.


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, here they are." The security guard led the duo into the living room and stopped in front


    of Rose before gesturing to the two men behind him as he reported back to her.


    Rose put down her teacup and nodded. "Alright, back to your station. I''ll get you if there is anything


    important."


    "Sure, Old Mrs. Fuller." The security guard bowed and turned around to leave.


    As such, there were only Rose, Mary, Harry, and Grayson left in the room.


    Rose took a look at Harry and Grayson before giving instructions to Mary, who was behind her, by


    gesturing with her lips. "Mary, pour them some tea."


    "Sure, Old Mrs. Fuller." Mary stood up and affirmed before heading toward the father and son duo.


    After showing the two of them to their seats, she poured them some tea.


    Meanwhile, Rose pretended to be clueless about Harry and Grayson''s purpose of visit. Hence, she


    asked, "What brings you here at this time of the night?"


    Harry took the cup of tea poured by Mary and he smiled while saying, "I''m so sorry, Rosy. It''ste at


    night, yet I''m here to intrude on your rest time. I had no choice, though. I¡ª"


    At that point, Rose''s expression darkened and she immediately interrupted his words, "What did you


    just call me?" There was an unmistakable tone of anger in her voice.


    Stunned, Harry clearly did notprehend why she had suddenly red up at him. He thought about it


    and did not find that there was anything wrong with his words. However, Rose was not the only one


    with a thunderous expression as even Mary had a darkened look on her face; she clearly looked upset.


    As soon as Harry and Grayson saw that, their hearts skipped a beat.


    Grayson instantly turned to look at Harry questioningly. Dad, what did you just say? Why are they so


    upset?


    Harry shook his head and indicated that he was as clueless as his son. If I knew what was going on,


    then I wouldn''t be so confused right now.


    After pouring tea for them, Mary turned around to head back and stand behind Rose. She looked at the


    two of them with an ashen look on her face. "Mr. Lore, please watch how you address Old Mrs. Fuller


    because if I''m not mistaken, she''s older than you. So, it''s quite rude of you to address her by her


    name."


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    At that moment, Harry''s face flushed bright red. "I didn''t¡­"


    It was then he realized that the way he had addressed Rose angered both of them. He assumed that


    he had said something offensive to them, but he found them quite petty to kick up a fuss out of nothing.


    After all, it was just a term of address, so it was nor a big deal at all. Secretly annoyed by their action,


    he knew that he was on their turf, so he could not behave too rudely. As such, he reserved expressing


    his annoyance.


    On the contrary, he immediately mended his ways and admitted his mistake, "Old Mrs. Fuller, I really


    didn''t mean to be rude at all. I was just¡ª"


    "Mr. Lore, whatever that you intended to do, all I''m aware of is that Old Mrs. Fuller is one of the oldest


    in her social circle. Not only do I know that, but everyone in the same social circle realizes this too.


    After all, everyone got together herest year to celebrate Old Mrs. Fuller''s birthday, so I reckon that


    you must know Old Mrs. Fuller''s actual age quite well. Yet, you addressed her by her name and that''s


    tantly rude there. It looks like Young Master Toby has been too closely associated with you and the


    Lore Family over these years, so that''s why you and your entire family seem to have lost sight of your


    manners, huh? You seem to have gotten the wrong impression that you''re much more important than


    Old Mrs. Fuller in Young Master Toby''s mind. Is that why you''re behaving so rudely before her?"


    Mary''s words were scathing and intended to cause trouble. She did not leave Harry with any leeway at


    all and she purposely framed him as being intentional in trying to humiliate Rose.


    Angered beyond words, Harry could not stop trembling at this point as his bright red face flushed


    redder than before.


    Grayson, who was seated by the side, noticed that his father was wrongfully used by Mary, so he


    could not contain his anger too. He pointed at Mary andined to Rose, "Old Mrs. Fuller, the


    servant next to you is very rude. You haven''t said a word, yet she''s shot her mouth off and started to


    yell at your guest. By keeping such a servant by your side, aren''t you afraid that someday she''ll think of


    snatching your position?"


    As soon as Harry heard his son''s words, a glint shed across his eyes and he turned to look at Rose.


    However, Rose was unperturbed by Grayson''s usations and did not re up at all. Instead, she


    calmly took a sip of tea.


    After she finished drinking the tea, she put down the teacup and nced at Grayson and Harry, who


    looked agitated. Then, she sneered coldly, "Snatching my position? Well, I think you''re the one who


    seems to be trying to take my position. All of us here are your elders and we''re talking to each other, so


    how dare you interrupt our conversation!"


    As soon as Rose said that, her expression darkened. "Besides, how dare you refer to Mary as a


    servant! She''s not only my friend, but she''s also family to me. What''s wrong with a member of my


    family standing up for me? Besides, she isn''t wrong about how your dad here is trying to walk all over


    me!"


    Hearing that, Grayson''s face turned as red as Harry''s and he waspletely at a loss for words.


    At that pathetic sight, Rose continued to sneer coldly and disdainfully, "That''s enough. At least you''re


    right about something earlier on. You''re our guests, so as the host, I shouldn''t be rude. Therefore, I


    won''t pursue the matter earlier. Let''s leave things as it is. Now tell me, why are you here to see me at


    this time of the night?"


    She spoke in such a nonchnt voice that she did not sound enthusiastic at all. Everyone present


    could clearly tell that she was in fact disinterested in their purpose of visiting. The only reason she was


    willing to ask was out of courtesy. After all, they were here and she could not possibly cast them aside.


    Harryprehended the meaning behind Rose''s words and he was fairly angry. His face turned purple


    out of anger, but he had no other option. Although she was disinterested, he could not do anything else


    as he tried hard to suppress his anger.


    As such, he clenched his fist tightly and took several deep breaths before finally calming down. Then,


    he revealed a forced smile and said, "Old Mrs. Fuller, here''s the thing. I came here because of an


    incident that urred today. I''m not too sure whether you''re aware of it, though?" Harry asked


    probingly.


    Following his question, Rose rolled her eyes secretly and the impatient expression on her face


    deepened.


    As soon as Mary saw that, she instantly caught on to it and spoke coldly to Harry, "Mr. Lore, whatever it


    is, just be frank here. There''s no need to beat around the bush and probe Old Mrs. Fuller for


    information. She''s about to go to bed soon, so there''s no use in ying mind games with you here.


    Just be frank, got it?"

 Chapter 1221

    Chapter 1221


    Now that his scheme was exposed, Harry felt embarrassed as he sat there frozen.


    Rose, who saw that he was in a daze, smiled while patting the back of Mary''s hand. "Mr. Lore, Mary''s


    right. You should speak what''s on your mind instead of running in circles. I''m old now, so I don''t have


    the spirit to y this game with you. Wouldn''t that just be wasting our time?"


    Squeezing out a smile, Harry replied, "You''re right, Old Mrs. Fuller. If so, I''ll speak my mind then."


    "You should have," Rose calmly stated.


    Inhaling a deep breath in, Harry found himself in a difficult situation. He had gotten used to speaking in


    an indirect way, so diving straight into the topic was not his forte. To him, it felt like he would easily lose


    the dominant side of the situation.


    For so many years, he had always spoken like this, even to Toby, who did not seem to mind his way of


    speaking.


    Only this olddy has so many problems with it.


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    Closing his eyes, Harry disguised his opinions against her and slowly opened his mouth. "There''s this


    thing that happened. It''s not major nor is it minor. It''s an incident that concerns Toby''s ex-wife."


    "I would like to correct something, Mr. Lore. She''s not Toby''s ex-wife. Miss Reed has always been his


    wife. They have just been separated for now and will remarry each other again. Since it''s been¡ªand


    always will be¡ªMiss Reed, then there is no such thing as an ''ex-wife'', is there?" Mary asked while


    smiling at Harry.


    Yet, this smile was only surface deep.


    Since Harry was able to decipher her true intentions, he knew that she was warning him to not speak


    out of line. Panicking, he felt helpless as he maintained his smile and replied, "You''re right, Mary. I


    worded that wrongly. You won''t hear it again."


    Regardless, he was not about to admit that he said that on purpose.


    Naturally, Mary and Rose could hear how stubborn he was behaving. This was no surprise because


    they knew how he was like.


    "Since you know your mistake, Mr. Lore, please continue." Mary decided to not expose him while


    gesturing for him to continue.


    Taking another deep breath, Harry tried his best topose himself before continuing, "The scandal


    that concerned Miss Reed went like this. Apparently, she and her friend were discussing business at a


    hotel when a paparazzi took a photo of them. When it was uploaded online, the article stated that she


    betrayed Toby and had an affair with that friend of hers. It became a major topic online and everybody


    believed that was what she did. So, for a period of time, a lot of maliciousments were directed at


    Miss Reed until she managed to find evidence to prove herself innocent. Then, she exposed the real


    perpetrator, who happened to not be the mediapany. Rather, it was my granddaughter that


    ordered thepany to do it."


    "Oh, really?" Mary acted like she was hearing it for the first time.


    She was a capable actress as she had a lot of experience when dealing with her enemies. As soon as


    she decided to put on an act, not a lot of people could differentiate whether she was sincere or not. At


    the very least, Harry and Grayson could not tell, so they really thought that Rose was oblivious to this


    incident.


    Wait, she didn''t know? Phew! If so, I can control this situation even better.


    With this in mind, Harry started to look around as the ploys he was devising almost manifested


    themselves from his gaze.


    This made Rose and Mary look at each other and they noticed a visible disgust in their eyes.


    This old b*stard. He''s actually calcting how to trick us right in front of our eyes. How foolish.


    Unknowing that his inner thoughts had been exposed by them, Harry was still secretly jumping for joy.


    Coughing lightly, he then stated, "That''s the rough story. I feel very sorry that this happened. I really


    didn''t think that my granddaughter would do such a thing."


    With a guilty expression, he looked as fake as he could get.


    This was a person that did not know how to act, for he showed how immature his skills were.


    Without even batting an eye at him, Rose grew impatient. "Why did she do that?"


    Harry thought that Rose spoke in an upset manner due to what his granddaughter did. Not knowing


    that it was because of himself, he showed a guilty facade. "I also knew about this not long ago, hence


    my visit."


    "So, why did she do that?" Rose slowly took a sip of her tea. "If my memory serves me right, your


    granddaughter isn''t acquainted with Sonny, no? Why did she frame her like that? What did she have to


    gain from it?"


    She acted as if she was unaware how Lte felt about her grandson.


    Sighing, Harry replied, "Lte indeed doesn''t know Miss Reed, but Toby was my student, so he and


    Lte are considered childhood friends. As they are close enough to be considered siblings or niece


    and uncle, they always shared a close rtionship. Even though she had been abroad all this time, she


    had been keeping close tabs on what was going on here. After she knew that Toby had reconciled with


    Miss Reed, she became especially attentive. Since Toby was someone she cared about, she might


    have been too rash or misunderstood the situation. Either way, she thought that Miss Reed had let


    Toby down, so she had the media upload the article."


    "Does that mean that your granddaughter''s innocent? So, what you''re trying to say is that she did not


    plot against Sonny and she only wanted to help Toby, right?" Rosemented and closed her eyes.


    With a bright gaze, Harry nodded profusely. "Yes, yes. It''s as you said. Miss Reed is somewhat


    considered to be a sister-inw to Lte. If so, why would she frame her, seeing that they don''t have


    bad blood or know each other? The real reason is that she only wanted to stand up for Toby. She''s not


    a malicious person. She never thought that she would attract so much trouble for Miss Reed by


    uploading the article. After she calmed down, Lte actually regretted her actions a lot. Yet, it was


    already toote when she wanted to apologize to Miss Reed, as she had already publicly stated she


    won''t forgive her on the inte."


    "If it were me, I wouldn''t forgive her either." Rose scraped her cup gently against the coaster before


    commenting.


    This made Harry freeze up. "Old Mrs. Fuller, you¡ª"


    "Are you finding it hard to understand why I''d say that? Why I would stand on Sonny''s side?" Rose


    looked at him.


    Harry did not reply, for she had grasped his inner thoughts precisely.


    Sneering, Rose continued, "Why should I forgive her? Regardless if the other party intended it or not,


    the damage is done. This is the fact. As a victim, why should I forgive the perpetrator? Just because


    she stood up for someone? If she wanted to stand up for Toby, why didn''t she take this to Toby instead


    of uploading it? Her actions not only made Sonny be the target of everyone, it implicated Toby


    too, making him the butt of everyone''s joke. Her actions had hurt people, so why should Sonny forget


    and forgive her just because she apologized? Even an old woman like myself isn''t that magnanimous


    or forgivable. Sonny is very simr to me in this regard. So, I support her decision by choosing not to


    forgive Lte."


    After hearing Rose''s words, Harry found the reality hard to swallow. "Even so, Lte did it for Toby.


    Although she might have gone about it with the wrong method, she meant good. Now, not only does


    Miss Reed not forgive nor ept an apology from her, Toby even cklisted my family because of this.


    He didn''t even ept my call or a face-to-face talk, and I''m his teacher! I heard that he is going to cut


    all ties with my family. Isn''t this a bit overboard?"

 Chapter 1222

    Chapter 1222


    "Overboard?" As if she had heard something ridiculous, Rose mmed the table and sneered, "Mr.


    Lore, in your eyes, Toby and Sonny dealt with this a bit too seriously, didn''t they?"


    "Is that not the case?" Harry was visibly upset now. "Yes, Lte is in the wrong, but she didn''t mean it.


    Does Toby need to cut ties with my family just because of this? Isn''t it enough when we''ve


    apologized?"


    "So, this is your stance on this situation." Rose smirked. "In my opinion, I think they did the right thing. I


    don''t care if your granddaughter intended this or not, I only know that she did it without verifying the


    truth and concluded it one-sidedly. She was so sure that Sonny had betrayed Toby and uploaded the


    pictures. Her aim? To let Sonny suffer under the public''s criticism. Yet, have you ever thought about


    what would happen if Sonny was not tough enough to face the bacsh?"


    "I''m aware, Madam." Mary peered at Harry coldly. "Miss Reed might suffer from mental breakdown and


    commit suicide. Since this happens often, the number of people who die because of cyberbullying is


    actually quite high."


    "That''s right." Rose nodded. "That means that your granddaughter nearly killed Sonny. Toby loves her


    a lot. Since he nearly lost Sonny, what makes you think he won''t cut ties with you after the incident?


    Who told you to mess with the person he loves the most? This is why I''m in favor of their response."


    Harry was rendered speechless by their words.


    After a while, he finally replied, "But this isn''t as serious as you make it out to be. Isn''t Miss Reed fine?"


    "Sonny is fine, but that doesn''t mean that she should forgive your misdeeds." Rose snorted.


    Clenching his fist, Harry continued, "It is our fault. We are willing to apologize to Miss Reed. We are


    even willing topensate her, but she¡­ Sigh. She doesn''t want to let this go and keeps wanting to


    argue this. She even brought Toby into this. He wasn''t like this in the past."


    "What''s with the suddenparison?" Rose''s expression darkened. "Are you implying that Toby was


    negatively influenced by Sonny?"


    Harry quickly waved his hands. "Oh no, I didn''t mean that. What I meant was that the reason Toby


    wouldn''t forgive us was because of Miss Reed too. Perhaps, she doesn''t want him to forgive us. I know


    that you like Miss Reed very much, Old Mrs. Fuller, so I implore you to not get angry at what I''m about


    to say. Think about it. Toby is my student. Our families are very close with the public knowing that Toby


    respects me alot. If the masses knew that he cut all ties with my family just because of a few words


    from Miss Reed, how would they view him? Wouldn''t they think that Toby turned on his teacher just for


    a mere woman? This would harm his reputation."


    "Oh?" Rose lowered her gaze and smiled mysteriously. "What is your suggestion, then?"


    Harry took a sip from the tea before continuing, "Old Mrs. Fuller, I don''t ask for much. I just request you


    to speak with Toby and persuade him as well as Miss Reed. Give Lte and my family a chance to


    apologize. Bad blood shouldn''t have to be stirred up just because of this. This wouldn''t benefit either of


    our families. This is also my aim ining here as I''m out of options as well. Toby wouldn''t ept our


    calls, much less see us. I only came here because I don''t know what else I can do. So, Old Mrs. Fuller


    ¡ª"


    "So all in all, you came to me because you wanted me to act as a mediator, helping your family build a


    rapport with Toby and Sonny, right? Oh¡ªwhat I meant was that you wanted me to order Toby and


    Sonny to forgive and reconcile with your family, am I right?" Rose interrupted and smiled at him curtly.


    Hearing that Rose had voiced out his genuine thoughts, Harry decided to get to the point and rubbed


    his palms together before saying, "Yes, this is what I meant. It''s not a major incident, since Lte only


    did a bad thing out of good intentions. Lte and the Lore Family are more than willing to apologize to


    Miss Reed and reimburse her as well. I think that Miss Reed shouldn''t have been so stubborn as to


    hold a grudge against us. After all, Lte did it to protect Toby; she didn''t want him to be kept in the


    dark. As Toby''s woman, she should understand and even ept thepensation and apology my


    family is willing to give out. Otherwise, Miss Reed would just be making it hard for Toby, who''s stuck


    between all of this. It is quite unbing for her to be acting like this as his partner. Besides¡­"


    Harry settled his tea down. "To summarize this, it''s just squabbles between the youngsters. An apology


    andpensation are supposed to be enough, but Miss Reed made it worse than it should. In the end,


    it caused our families'' rtionship to sour. This shows how narrow-minded she is. She isn''t a tolerating


    person! If she does reconcile with Toby in the future, I don''t think she can contribute much to him. I


    think that she might even distant Toby from the families he shares a close rtionship with. So, Old


    Mrs Fuller, I suggest you use this chance to lecture Miss Reed properly. Tell her to be more forgiving


    and not attract so much trouble for Toby. What do you think?"


    His words were directly hinting at Sonia being a homewrecker. Undoubtedly, this caused Rose and


    Mary''s expression to darken.


    Afraid that Rose might worsen her health due to anger, Mary patted her on the shoulder, hinting that


    she should calm down. Then, Marry stepped forward and smiled coldly at Harry.


    "Mr. Lore, only snakes speak like you did. Don''t think that we can''t tell you''re purposefully making Miss


    Reed look bad in front of Old Mrs. Fuller. You just want to make her feel disdain toward Miss Reed and


    let her separate Young Master Toby and Miss Reed. You sure did n ahead quite thoroughly. Too


    bad, Madam knows best what kind of person Miss Reed is like. So, don''t treat us as fools and assume


    we don''t see through you. We''ve seen countless people like you."


    "I''m not¡ª"


    "Enough." Rose showed her palm to him, breaking off what Harry was about to say, for she had lost all


    patience at this point. "Mr. Lore, I''m not sure if you are stupid or foolish. You came with the intention of


    wanting me to be the mediator, to persuade Toby and Sonny to ept the apology of your family and


    save the rtionship you share with him. Then, you should''ve praised Sonny in front of me instead of


    belittling her. After all, you already know that I like her a lot. If you had made me happy by praising her,


    I might even persuade them on your behalf. Yet, I didn''t think you''d be this dumb to cut your only option


    off like this."


    Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    "That''s right." Mary, who saw that Rose wanted to get up, quickly bent over and helped her up. "Mr.


    Lore, do you think we''re clueless to what you''re trying to do? You''re just trying to belittle her to the point


    where Madam would separate her away from Young Master Toby! We know it all. We know that you''re


    using this awful tactic to help your granddaughter get married to him!"

 Chapter 1223

    Chapter 1223


    Her words changed Harry''s expression.


    After being chided by Rose, Grayson, who did not dare to open his mouth, became pale. Immediately,


    he looked at her with panic in his eyes.


    We''re finished. These two old women actually know how Lte feels about Toby!


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Although he was panicking, Harry was still someone that had lived a long and experienced life. As


    such, he quickly calmed down and clenched his fist before squeezing out a smile. "You jest, Mary. How


    can I have such thoughts?"


    "Enough. Since we''ve reached this stage, it''s pointless to keep pretending. We''ve known what that


    granddaughter of yours feels about Young Master Toby for a long time now. I mean, how can we not,


    seeing that your granddaughter practically glued her eyes to our young master everytime she sees


    him? Even the blind could tell." Mary rolled her eyes discriminately. "Besides, you, Mr. Lore, are famous


    for doting on your granddaughter, as you will do your best to satisfy her wants and needs. From this,


    anyone can tell that you''d naturally support your granddaughter when she loves Young Master Toby so


    much. Yet, since our young master and Miss Reed are together, you wanted to rile Madam up, using


    her to break them apart. If that happened, wouldn''t your granddaughter stand a chance to get what she


    wished for?"


    Although the father and son duo tried to speak, they found themselves unable to rebuke her.


    They thought they merely hit the bullseye based on their guesses. Yet, they never predicted that they


    actually knew Lte was in love with Toby for such a long time.


    If so, that meant whatever he uttered in front of thedies earlier was as ridiculous as one could be.


    Suddenly, Harry felt a sense of shame and regret as he thought he was acting too rash earlier.


    It was just as what Rose had mentioned. Their aim ining here was to persuade her so she could


    put in a few words on behalf of the Lore Family. The best tactic would be to sessfully persuade Toby


    and Sonia.


    What it also meant was that the more urgent ordeal would be to smooth over the issues with Toby first.


    As for breaking up Toby and Sonia, they were in no hurry to achieve that.


    Yet, he could not help but smear Sonia when he was talking, thinking that if Rose could persuade Toby


    into breaking up with her, would that not be perfect? What he did not foresee, however, was that Sonia


    actually mattered a lot to Rose.


    The more important thing was that Rose knew a long time ago that Lte fancied Toby, so not only


    did his words expose his intentions, he also left a very bad impression on Rose.


    I really f*cked up this time.


    Just as Harry was regretting his actions, Rose took the cane handed over by Mary and said, "Also, did


    you really think that I didn''t know what happened online?"


    What?


    Harry and Grayson fell into shock once again.


    Subsequently, Harry met with the sneering gaze of Rose. "I only pretended to not know, as I wanted to


    hear what you were going to say, you old fool. What did I hear? You, twisting the truth. I know about the


    whole incident very well. Don''t think that I''m just some old woman staying in her home all day. I have a


    very well-established informationwork. That granddaughter of yours was ndering Sonny online.


    She didn''t want to stand up for Toby. It was because she fancied him and wanted Toby to break up with


    Sonny, so she framed her and made it seem like she cheated on him, all that just to be with Toby. And


    you, you old fool, you actually twisted it so it looks like she was trying to stand up for him. What a joke!"


    "Not only is this ironic, he''s treating us as fools, Madam." Mary helped Rose along while looking at


    Harry with a disdainful gaze.


    With a pale and awful expression, Harry looked at them hopelessly. "You two knew, yet you pretended


    not to. Is it all just to see me make a fool out of myself?"


    Rose sneered, "See you make a fool out of yourself? I''m not that bored. I only wanted to see if you


    were honest. If you had been sincere right from the start, I might still have valued you higher, seeing


    that you came in person to make amends. But, you lied, and you even twisted the facts, treating us like


    fools. So, why should I care about what you think? Go back. I won''t agree to your request and


    persuade them to forgive you. I still have my conscience left."


    "That''s right." Mary rolled her eyes. "Besides, not even bringing a gift along when requesting a favor?


    This is how you do things? I think taking advantage is more apt for what you''re doing. You all are just


    snakes in disguise. The granddaughter wants to be a mistress while the grandfather not only did not


    chide her, he even supported this mess, like some pimp trying to find rich customers for her. What a


    disgusting family. We wish that the young master would quickly cut ties with your family. If we keep


    getting ourselves involved in your family''s matters, the young master might even be influenced


    negatively by you all sooner orter."


    "Y-You¡­" Harry stood up and pointed at Mary while trembling out of anger.


    Mary then snorted. "Cat got your tongue? Servants, see our guests off!"


    "Understood." The servants standing by the entrance of the living room heard Mary''s order and walked


    over immediately before gesturing to the Lore Family to leave with them.


    Naturally, Harry was not willing to leave just like that, but he also dared not stay there shamelessly.


    After all, he still wanted to maintain the rtionship with Toby and not push him away even further.


    Despite his reluctance, he could only leave with Grayson. Soon, only Mary and Rose were left in the


    living room.


    Mary then smoothed out the wrinkles on Rose''s coat before stating unhappily, "These two thick-skinned


    scums finally left. Young Master Toby was also quite unfortunate to have found such a teacher."


    "It''s all because the teacher Toby was supposed to learn from passed away unexpectedly the day


    before it got officialized. Left with no choice, we could only ask if that old man wanted to teach him. If


    not for thepany''s urgency for Toby to seed in the position hurriedly, how could that old fool get


    the position if Toby had more time for other options?" said Rose while wearing her coat.


    Mary helped her along to the entrance of the living room. "No matter what, the young master is still


    somewhat indebted to that old man. Still, after so many years of Young Master Toby shielding the Lore


    Family, he has repaid his debts. It''s also a good thing to cut ties following this incident."


    "It is. We have his granddaughter to thank for this," Rose remarked.


    Laughing, Mary added, "True, but Miss Reed has indeed suffered through this."


    "Prepare some gifts and send them to Sonny tomorrow. Tell her to not think too much into this and say


    that the granddaughter of Harry''s has nothing to do with Toby, that they aren''t close at all," Rose


    ordered.


    Nodding, Mary replied, "Understood. I will prepare them, but I don''t think that Miss Reed will worry


    herself too much over this, since I''m sure that the young master would have exined everything to


    her."


    "It''s up to Toby how he resolves that issue. As her senior, we should show our support as well to boost


    Sonny''s confidence in that he did not lie to her."


    "That makes sense. I''ll send someone over with the gifts tomorrow morning."


    "Good," Rose affirmed.

 Chapter 1224

    Chapter 1224


    As the two elderly chatted while walking, they soon reached the room hand-in-hand.


    At this time, Rose was already tired to the point where she did not require reading a book to ease her


    to sleep.


    After Mary helped her back to the room, sheid her down on the bed. In the end, Rose fell asleep in


    less than two minutes. Seeing how she was asleep made Mary smile as she covered the nket for


    her and left.


    Exiting the room, Mary closed the door before taking her phone out. She then turned around to look at


    the shut door with a hesitant expression. Obviously, she was in a dilemma.


    Yet after a few seconds, the hesitation on her face disappeared, for it was reced with determination.


    Although Rose had mentioned earlier to refrain from telling Toby about the Lore Family'' visit, Mary


    thought that it would be best to inform him still.


    Otherwise, she was worried that Toby might be even more uneasy if he knew about it in the future.


    Thinking of this, Mary heaved out a breath before phoning Toby.


    On the other hand, Toby had just reached home from disposing of the garbage when he heard his


    phone ring in the direction of the living room.


    He set his shoes aside before walking toward it as the ringtone became gradually louder.


    Hearing the footsteps, Sonia put the remote down and looked over. "You''re back."


    Toby affirmed in response, "I''m back."


    ncing at the ringing phone, Sonia picked it up as he walked over after which she handed it to him.


    "It''s from Madam Mary."


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    "Mary?" Toby frowned as he retrieved the phone. It really was Mary calling him.


    Subsequently, Sonia shifted aside to nudge a space for Toby, who then sat down.


    The moment he did, she felt that the couch was sinking down a lot.


    Nah, this is probably normal with his weight.


    "You should answer that quickly. Perhaps something has happened with Grandma, seeing that Madam


    Mary is calling you at this hour." Sonia, who saw that Toby was staring at the phone, nudged him in


    hopes for him to snap back to his senses.


    After regaining hisposure, the man looked at Sonia before swiping his finger across the screen to


    answer the call. "Mary?"


    Instead of cing the phone by his ear, Toby opened the speaker option and held the phone in his


    hand.


    By doing so, Sonia could hear their conversation as well.


    "Young Master Toby, I hope that I''m not disturbing you and the young mistress'' rest by calling sote."


    Mary''s gentle voice came from the speaker.


    Before he could say anything, Sonia closed in and said, "Good evening, Madam Mary."


    "Good evening, Miss Reed." Mary smiled upon hearing Sonia''s voice.


    Although Sonia could not physically see her, she could tell from her voice that she was surprised to


    hear her.


    "Miss Reed, I''m not interrupting your rest, am I?" Mary asked again.


    Shaking her head, Sonia replied, "Of course not. Toby and I had just finished dinner. We''re watching


    TV in the living room right now. We''re nightowls, so you''re not disturbing us."


    "That''s good to know." Mary nodded.


    Toby then hugged Sonia''s waist while asking, "Mary, is something wrong with Grandma? Why did you


    call at this hour?"


    With a rushed tone, he was clearly projecting his worries.


    Sonia held his hand with a simrly worried expression.


    Obviously, she had the same thought as Toby, thinking that something might have happened to Rose.


    On the phone, Mary, quickly shook her head upon hearing Toby''s question. "No, no. The madam''s


    health has been alright. I''m calling because of something else."


    As soon as they heard that Rose was fine, both Toby and Sonia breathed a sigh of relief at the same


    time.


    At the same time, he could feel her somewhat stiff body loosening up as well.


    "That''s good to know. Then, what made you call, Mary?" Toby''s hand, which was on Sonia''s waist,


    started to move around.


    Perhaps he knew that his grandmother was fine now, so he was in a good mood instead.


    Seeing how the hand was touching her all over her back, Sonia pped it in annoyance. Yet, her p


    waspletely ineffective.


    Not only did she fail to remove his hand, it only made Toby gripped onto her tighter.


    Had she not been worried that Mary might overhear them, Sonia would have bitten the man''s arm at


    this point.


    Seeing how hard the woman was fighting with his hand made Toby smile.


    She looked just like a cat that met a ball of yarn, which wrapped tightly around her, rendering her


    unable to move or escape from it. Still, the cat did not want to concede as it started to fight against the


    ball of yarn.


    Just like the cat, Sonia was trying her hardest to fight with his hand.


    While talking on the phone, Toby was teasing Sonia and smiling brightly.


    Mary did not know what they were doing, as they did this all in silence.


    Plus, her attention was on Rose right then, so she was not in the mood to think about other matters.


    Sighing, she replied, "It''s because the Lore Family came by earlier, Young Master Toby."


    "What?" As soon as he heard that, Toby stopped ying with Sonia.


    Even Sonia, who was fighting with his hand, did not care about that as she quickly gazed at the phone.


    "The Lore Family went to Grandma?"


    "Yes." Mary nodded.


    Toby''s expression instantly darkened. "Who went?"


    Not nning to hide anything, Mary answered, "Two people came. Your mentor, Harry, and his son,


    Grayson."


    Sonia patted the back of his hand upon seeing how grim his expression was, hinting at him to calm


    down before she asked, "Madam Mary, what''s their purpose of visiting? Is it because of what happened


    this morning?"


    She did not think that Rose would not know about what happened online, since this involved both Toby


    and herself.


    Still, even if Rose did not monitor what happened online, the servants who were active on social media


    would have told her about the incident.


    This was why she did not ask whether Mary was aware about what happened¡­ because she knew


    that they did.


    As expected, Mary''s reply confirmed Sonia''s thoughts.


    "Yes. It was because of that." Mary nodded profusely. "Now that the Lore Family knew that Young


    Master Toby was really angry and wanted to cut ties with them, plus the fact that they could not contact


    him, they thought about confronting the madam. They hoped to persuade the madam into talking with


    Young Master Toby to let you two forgive them."


    "So, I see." Sonia, who understood the process, turned to look at the man beside him.


    The man had an even more awful expression as bloodlust seeped from his body.


    Obviously, he was very upset at the Lore Family'' actions of disturbing his grandmother.


    "Madam Mary, the Lore Family didn''t bully her, did they?" Sonia quickly asked.


    Her words made Toby stare at the phone.


    Although he knew that his own grandmother would never be pushed around, he was still worried in


    case the Lore Family agitated her with their words.


    "They did!" Mary replied coldly after hearing Sonia''s question.


    Surprised, Sonia stood up and answered shrilly, "What? They bullied Grandma?"

 Chapter 1225

    Chapter 1225


    Toby tightened his grip on the phone. If not for the phone being sturdy enough, he might have crushed


    it!


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    The Lore Family dared to push Grandma around in her own home? Seems like I''ve been too lenient


    toward them to the point where they don''t even respect Grandma anymore.


    Although Mary did not know what Toby was thinking, she knew that he was exasperated.


    "Exactly, Miss Reed. They came to the manor and tried to use Madam to achieve their goals. Now, isn''t


    that just bullying Madam?" Mary stated angrily.


    At this point, Toby finally piped up coldly, "What happened, Mary? Tell me everything that happened


    when the Lore Family met with Grandma."


    "Okay, Young Master Toby." Mary nodded before telling them truthfully what transpired when the Lore


    Family came.


    She did not add or twist anything as she retold everything as it was. After all, she was not one who


    would exaggerate the truth.


    Also, what the Lore Family said to Rose was awful enough, so she did not have to emphasize anything


    to make Toby learn the truth, that they were truly despicable.


    After hearing Mary''s words, both Toby and Sonia fell silent. They had never thought that the Lore


    Family would be this shameless to the point of using Rose as the mediator to smooth things over


    between them.


    Besides, not only did they not tell the truth when seeking help, they even twisted the facts! Time and


    again, they ndered Sonia in front of Rose.


    All of these things umted served to make them feel more hatred toward the Lore Family.


    "I understand. Just ignore the Lore Family for now, Mary. If theye again, don''t bother to meet them.


    I''ll handle things from now on," stated Toby with a dangerous gaze.


    Mary nodded. "Okay, Young Master Toby. Don''t worry. We know what to do."


    "Hm. How''s Grandma?" asked Toby.


    "Madam is fine. Even though the Lore Family acted and spoke shamelessly, I was there with her the


    whole time, so I rebuked them all the way on behalf of the madam. She was not agitated by them.


    She''s asleep now,"forted Mary while looking at the closed door behind her.


    It was then Toby and Sonia truly rxed.


    "It''s good that Grandma is fine." Sonia patted her chest. "Fortunately, you were there, Madam Mary.


    Otherwise, it would have been huge if Grandma was agitated by them."


    Toby could not deny that.


    She''s right. With Grandma''s current condition, she cannot take any form of emotional triggers.


    Otherwise, she might pass away on the spot.


    Thinking how the Lore Family nearly cost Rose her life tonight, Toby found himself despising them even


    more as the thought of cutting ties with them became even more solidified.


    "Young Master Toby and Miss Reed, since the Lore Family did not get what they wanted from this visit,


    they will not give up just like that. They will find another way to resolve the rift between you, Young


    Master Toby. After all, without your protection, the Lore Family will disappear from the upper echelons


    of society sooner orter, so you need to watch out for that. They will stir something up for sure," Mary


    advised them.


    Both of them nodded.


    "Don''t worry, Madam Mary. We''ll be on the lookout," stated Sonia.


    Although Toby kept quiet, Mary knew that he agreed with Sonia''s thoughts.


    "Good. Good." Mary rxed.


    The trio then chatted about other things before ending the call.


    Yet, Toby still wore a fairly grim expression.


    Pouring a cup of water for him, Sonia asked, "Are you still worried about Grandma?"


    Toby took over the cup. "No. I''m just feeling guilty."


    "Guilty?" Sonia blinked, not understanding what the man meant.


    Toby exined, "I always thought that since the Lore Family are the family of my mentor, I should help


    them out as I had the ability to do so. Plus, with them being financially unstable, it wasn''t that hard for


    me to help them along, since it would not bring much trouble for me either. So, whatever projects or


    coborations they needed, I almost never rejected them. Plus, during the first few years they started


    out, the Lore Family did act in line as they didn''t use my name to do anything. That was why I happily


    put them under my wing to grow. Also, the corporation became bigger yearster, so I became busier.


    In the long run, I didn''t keep up with how they were doing."


    "This is why the Lore Family are more tantly arrogant with you not keeping them in check. They


    started to think of themselves as above all people! In the end, Harry doesn''t even respect Grandma


    anymore, since he called her ''Rosy''," Sonia sneered.


    Of course, she did not take a jab at Toby. Rather, it was directed at the Lore Family.


    Most people knew that even amongst the elderly, Rose was the eldest. Yet, Harry actually called her


    ''Rosy''. If this was not considered disrespectful, then what was?


    The people who were unaware might think that Harry was Toby''s grandfather and that Rose was just


    somebody.


    "That''s right. The wrongfulness that Grandma suffered through was because of me." Toby rubbed his


    eyebrows.


    Hugging his arm, Sonia ced her head on his shoulder. "Although you caused it, it wasn''t like you did


    it on purpose, did you? After all, who could predict the future? Nobody can fully grasp a human''s true


    nature. So, you don''t need to feel so guilty. I believe that Grandma won''t me you either. If you really


    can''t get over this, then we can pay a visit to the old manor tomorrow and eat with Grandma before


    apologizing to her. How does that sound?"


    After hearing this, Toby stopped rubbing his tightened eyebrows as he carried Sonia and ced her on


    his leg.


    This frightened the woman, who subconsciously held onto his neck.


    Following that, she hit the man yfully. "What are you doing? You scared me."


    Tobyughed in a low tone while touching her forehead. "Nothing. I''m just happy. That''s why I couldn''t


    resist hugging you."


    "What''s there to be happy about?" Soniay in his embrace.


    The man touched her hair. "I''m happy that you''re willing to visit Grandma to apologize to her with me.


    Although I caused this myself, I''m happy that you''d want to share this burden with me."


    Hearing this, Sonia let out a smile. "Didn''t you say that we''re in this together? So naturally, whatever


    happens, we''ll face it together. If it were me, I don''t think you''ll let me face it alone, right?"


    Toby ced his jaw on top of her head, finding her quite right.


    "See. You can''t say no to that, so why wouldn''t I apany you?" Sonia hugged the man by his waist


    and closed her eyes. "Besides, if Grandma really got angry, I don''t think she would forgive you if you


    went alone. With me by your side, Grandma might forgive you on ount of me being there. I''m also


    doing this for you."


    Heughed subtly. "I''ll have to thank you then, Mrs. Fuller."


    Blushing, Sonia rebuked, "What do you mean? Don''t spout nonsense."


    He lifted her chin while gazing deeply into her eyes. "Hm? Am I? Don''t you want to be Mrs. Fuller?"


    "I¡­" Sonia found her answer stuck in her throat.


    Naturally, she wanted to say no, but she knew that the man would be angry.


    Yet, she found it embarrassing to say that she wanted to. I don''t wanna sound desperate to be his


    wife¡­ Ugh. I''m on the fence!


    Seeing how the woman was silent, Toby knew what she was thinking of.


    Although he was happy that she did not deny this outright, he was also upset at her silence and


    embarrassment¡­


    Yes, she might be gorgeous with an embarrassed expression, but there were times when


    embarrassment would cause a headache¡ªlike now.

 Chapter 1226

    Chapter 1226


    Toby knew Sonia was also willing to be his wife, but it was because of her shyness that she couldn''t


    say it out loud.


    Heavens knew how he wished she could be braver and audaciously tell him she wanted and was


    willing to be his Mrs. Fuller. However, he knew it was impossible for the time being, at least, for she


    would be bashful very easily.


    It seemed that he would have to do better and polish her more, see that her bashfulness would be


    alleviated. With the thought in mind, he narrowed his eyes and caressed her lips flirtatiously.


    A ticklish Sonia reflexively moved her head back only to have her head secured by Toby''s other hand.


    He had foreseen it, so he let go of her waist the second her head moved, stopping her from retreating.


    "What¡ª" Sonia looked at the man with wide eyes, and just as she wanted to question the man''s


    actions, she found the burning passion deep beneath his eyes.


    Shoot! Her heart skipped a beat that second. This dude isn''t going to do what I think he wants to do, is


    he?!


    Sonia stiffened for a moment and wanted to leave Toby''sp the second she came to herself, or this


    man would surely not spare her.


    To her dismay, Toby narrowed his eyes the second she shifted her body as he leaned forward to pin


    her down on the couch.


    The corner of her lips twitched the moment she found herself immobile, sandwiched between the man


    and the couch. She knew she was a step toote and failed to escape. Perhaps, he had already


    noticed the second she thought about running away.


    Thus, he pinned her down on the couch the second she moved and severed her thoughts about


    leaving entirely.


    "T-Toby, can you let go of me first?" Sonia''s bent arms were pressed against Toby''s chest.


    Knowing she wouldn''t be able to escape by force, she decided to do things the easy way¡ªtalking.


    Hey, who knows? He might actually let me go¡ªthough the chances are slim, it''s worth the shot, no?


    "Why should I?" Sure enough, he refused her request the next second.


    He finally had her where he wanted, and she''d run away the second he let go. So, only an idiot would


    agree to her request. As much as she had expected the answer from him, she didn''t feel defeated


    either.


    She took a quick look around before smiling at Toby. "Then, maybe you can get up a little? You''re really


    pressing down on me; I''ll have a little difficulty breathing."


    She had decided to shove him away and make a run for it the second he moved, with no hesitation


    whatsoever. However, poor Sonia didn''t know she was an open book. Her thoughts were written


    evidently on her face, amusing Toby.


    "Don''t bother. I''ll guide you when to breathe. So no need to get up." With that, the man put one arm


    around her waist and lifted her up, causing their bodies to press against each other even more.


    Instantly, her face flushed crimson, for she was lying when she said she couldn''t breathe. But now, it


    was real.


    Sonia suddenly thought she had shot herself in the foot, and her smile had even stiffened further.


    With that, she took a deep breath and looked at the man. "As if I need you to guide me. You¡ª"


    "You''re not having second thoughts, are you?" Toby interrupted her before she could finish her words.


    "Sorry?" Sonia was rendered stumped, causing Toby to narrow his eyes. "Don''t remember?"


    She shook her head reflexively. "Why don''t you just tell it straight to me and not beat around the


    bushes?"


    At that, he caressed her face as he said, "Alright, I''ll tell it straight to you. You said we''d talk about this


    after the meal when we were eating, and now, it''s after the meal. That''s why I''m asking if you''re having


    second thoughts when you want me to get up."


    Sonia choked right at that, and she fell stupefied as well, clearly having forgotten about it.


    "Just say it if you''re having second thoughts because I won''t me you. This isn''t your first time


    anyway," he dered as his gaze dimmed, seeing how despondent she looked. At that, he drooped his


    eyelids, looking disappointed and aggrieved.


    Seeing how b*tchy he was behaving, Sonia hit the roof. "Toby Fuller, can you speak normally?! Who


    did you learn that b*tchy attitude from?! Also, when did I say I''m having second thoughts?! What do


    you mean by ''not my first time having second thoughts''?! When have I ever gone back on my words?!


    Howe I don''t know that?! When have I never fulfilled whatever I promised you?! Don''t you dare


    nder me!"


    Either way, she hated how the man used her and made her sound like she had never fulfilled her


    promises.


    A glimmer shed across Toby''s eyes as he looked at angry Sonia, and he looked at her with surprise.


    "So, you''re not going back on your words?"


    "Of course not." Sonia puffed up her chest and snorted with displeasure. "I never said I''m having


    second thoughts. You''re the one who jumped to conclusions."


    "That''s on me. I thought you didn''t want to." He looked at her with amusement in his eyes.


    Sonia was first stumped when she saw his smile and the ridicule hidden deep beneath his eyes, then a


    revtion hit her, and she widened her eyes. "Toby Fuller, you tricked me!"


    "How have I tricked you?" He blinked innocently, causing her to move her hand away from his chest


    and point angrily at the man, ring. "Admit it! You''ve pushed and provoked me, giving me no chance


    toe up with excuses to run away."


    Toby sniggered in response, only making her angrier. "Laughing, are we? So you admit it. You''re


    unbelievable, Fuller!"


    She made a move in displeasure and raised her leg to kick the man.


    However, it was as though the man had eyes on the back of his head as he pinned her leg down with


    his the second she lifted her leg.


    "It''s precisely I''m worried that you''ll go back on your words that deliberately I did so. Don''t get upset.


    Besides, you''ve long promised me this, no?" His gaze deepened as he looked at her.


    Sonia couldn''t refute him as she had indeed promised him.


    "That''s not my problem." She red at him. "I might not go back on my words if you hadn''t deliberately


    provoked me. But now that you have, I''ll show you what''s going back on my words."


    At that, she shoved the man, wanting to push him away. But would Toby be willing? Of course not. With


    just a little force, the strength Sonia exerted became useless.


    No matter how hard she pushed, the man wouldn''t budge. It was like he was a wall.


    s, after shoving him for some time, not only did he not move a bit, she was well spent and gasped


    as she slumped on the couch.


    Seeing so, Toby chuckled again. "C''mon, give it up. I won''t let you go back on your words."


    With that, he tilted his head slightly and lowered it, causing Sonia to close her eyes reflexively, knowing


    he was going to kiss her.


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    She knew well that there was nothing she could do buty t and resign to fate when she couldn''t


    even budge.


    Wasn''t there a saying where if you can''t beat ''em, join ''em?


    After all, she wouldn''t be able to escapeter in bed even if she managed to do so now, so why not just


    comply?


    But lo and behold, the sound of the doorbell ringing came from the entryway just as Toby''s lips were


    about to touch Sonia''s.


    "Someone''s at the door." Sonia opened her eyes at once and pushed Toby away with ease. Who knew


    where she got the strength from? Perhaps the man was so focused on kissing her that he let his guard


    down.

 Chapter 1227

    Chapter 1227


    Resentment filled Toby as his back mmed against the couch. Of course, he wasn''t upset with Sonia


    but with the person who rang the doorbell when it was already thiste at night.


    Sonia, on the other hand, turned a blind eye to the man''s displeasure and hurriedly moved away from


    the couch. "Did you hear the doorbell just now?" she asked while fixing her disheveled hair and clothes.


    Toby, too, was fixing his clothes at this point. Compared to her fluster, he couldn''t be any more


    composed.


    Not even an unexpected visitor could make him lose hisposure.


    It wasn''t until he patted his sleeves and crossed his legs that he answered, "I heard it. It''s just a visitor.


    Why are you so panicked?"


    Then, as he watched the woman, who stood up to fix her pants, he smirked and continued, "Besides,


    this is our home. As owners, we''re panicking when there''s a visitor. Those oblivious might think we''re


    doing something bad in someone else''s ce."


    His words rendered Sonia stupefied, and she blinked dumbfoundedly.


    Yeah, this is my ce. Whatever Toby and I do here is justifiable, so why would I panic so badly just


    because there''s someone at the door?! Those oblivious might actually think we''vee to someone


    else''s ce to do bad things.


    At that, Sonia pped her forehead, ridiculed by her reaction. "I''ve reacted too dramatically, but hey,


    this is a reflex. After all, anyone would react like this when someone suddenlyes while they''re


    making out. No one wants anyone else to know they''re doing it, no?"


    Toby chuckled in response.


    "Alright, I''ll go and get the door." Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear while walking toward the


    entryway.


    "Together," said Toby as he held her hand.


    He''d like to see just who the hell decided to ruin his night bying at this time.


    I swear you better have serious business or¡­ He narrowed his malicious eyes.


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, the visitor couldn''t help shuddering and rubbing his arms,


    feeling inexplicably cold.


    Just then, the door opened, and Sonia and Toby appeared.


    "Good evening, President Fuller, Miss Reed," greeted the visitor as he hurriedly put his arms down and


    stood straight when he saw the two.


    "Tom?" Sonia was pretty surprised when she learned who was behind the door.


    Toby, on the other hand, frowned. "What are you doing here?"


    "I¡ª" Tom had just answered when he saw his boss'' sub-zero countenance. "This better be serious, or


    you can pack up and head to Ibira to work tomorrow."


    "What?!" Tom couldn''t believe his ears, so dumbstruck that his sses slipped to the tip of his nose.


    What''s going on? What the heck?! What have I done? Why am I suddenly assigned to the Ibira


    expedition?


    Tom lookingpletely stupefied and questioning all existence made Sonia purse her lips and burst


    into a snigger.


    It was her snigger, too, that allowed Tom toe to himself. At that, he looked despondently at his


    boss, asking, "What have I done wrong, President? Why have you suddenly assigned me to the Ibira


    expedition?"


    "Do you even need a reason for it? Drop yourints and just do as you''re told."


    "But¡­"


    "Alright, Toby, cut it out." Sonia held Toby'' arm and giggled. "Don''t freak Tom out."


    She believed she knew why he would suddenly send Tom to Ibira. He must be mad at the poor


    assistant for suddenly interrupting him when they were just about to make out. Thus, he decided to get


    even with Tom, sending the poor guy to Ibira.


    Oh, she knew full well just how petty this man could get. Amused, Sonia shook her head with a


    chuckle.


    Meanwhile, Tom blinked with stupefaction. "Freak me out? What do you mean, Miss Reed? Are you


    guys ying some sort of game? Truth or dare? Is President Fuller doing this to me in a fit of anger


    because he lost?"


    The assistant might as well just tantly said his boss was a sore loser who would take his anger out


    on the innocent. But, of course, Toby got the implication, and he turned grim.


    Looks like I can really chuck this assistant away. It''s time I send him all the way to Ibira to prove his


    worth.


    Sonia didn''t expect Tom to be this oblivious either or have such a wild imagination at that. To think he''d


    assume they were ying truth or dare.


    Then again, she had to admit that he was pretty close to the right answer.


    Though they weren''t ying truth or dare, and Toby didn''t lose either, what they were ying had


    indeed upset Toby and caused him tosh out at Tom.


    "Fly straight to Ibira tomorrow morning at eight. You don''t have to pay for the ticket. It''s on the


    company," ordered Toby with a wave of a hand.


    "C''mon, President, you can''t do this!" Tom grew apprehensive. "You can''t take it out on me just


    because you lost a game. I''m innocent!" Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia, on the other hand, tried so hard to hold herughter back that her shoulders were shaking. Ha,


    looks like the poor guy is convinced Toby wants to transfer him away because Toby lost a game.


    However, neither she nor Toby intended to rify to him. After all, how could someone tell anyone else


    what they were doing so tantly? So a misunderstanding it was then.


    "Alright, Tom, rx. Toby is just messing with you. He''s not really transferring you over to Ibira." Sonia


    reassured him with a smile, seeing how uneasy he was.


    "Really, Miss Reed?" Tom''s eyes lit up immediately. "President Fuller really won''t transfer me to Ibira?!"


    "Says who?" Toby bore into Tom icily, rendering the poor assistant stupefied once again.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at that and pped Toby'' arm in exasperation. "Alright, c''mon, cut it out. Stop


    scaring Tom. Where are you going to find another assistant that knows you so well on such short notice


    if you really send Tom to Ibira?"


    Exactly! Tom nodded his head like a bobblehead.


    Meanwhile, Toby pursed his lips as Sonia continued, "Besides, Tom didn''t do it on purpose."


    "He disrupted our moment." Toby pointed to his assistant with a frown.


    At that, Sonia shook her head helplessly. "So? It''s just a littleter. If it makes you feel better, we''ll


    continue after Tom leaves."


    The next second, the coldness surrounding Toby disappeared instantly, reced with joy and tion.


    Even an idiot could tell he was beside himself with joy right then.


    As the two whispered while leaning close to each other, Tom couldn''t tell what the two had talked


    about. But judging from how happy his boss was after hearing Sonia''s words, he couldn''t help having


    admiration for her.


    Man, you''ve got to hand it to Miss Reed. She can really turn an active grenade known as President


    Fuller into a sweet man with just a few words. Sure enough, everything has its vanquisher. If these two


    aren''t perfect examples, then I don''t know what else is.


    "So? Still upset?" Sonia nudged Toby, oblivious to Tom''s sassing about her and Toby in his mind.


    At that, Toby cleared his throat and said, "Not anymore."


    "In that case, don''t scare Tom anymore. What are you going to do if he''s terrified when he''s so


    committed to seeing to your affairs?" cajoled Sonia as she looked at Tom.


    "You''re the best, Miss Reed." Tom felt utterly grateful for her.


    At that, Sonia smiled and said, "You''re too kind, Tom. Don''t worry. Your boss won''t send you to Ibira


    anymore."


    "Is that true, President?" Tom looked expectantly at Toby, hoping to get an answer from him.

 Chapter 1228

    Chapter 1228


    However, Toby flipped out when he saw Tom acting covertly delighted, and he snorted disdainfully. "No


    mercy for you if you dare ruin my night without advance notice."


    In other words, he would overlook this night, but if this happened again, Tom would be sent to Ibira for


    sure. Tom, of course, was over the moon because being sent to Ibira would be unpleasant.


    "Got it, President. It will never h¡ª"


    He suddenly froze as a thought struck him. President Fuller said something about ruining his night,


    right? But how have I ruined it?


    Combining the time and how Toby looked resentfully at him, it very quickly dawned on him just what


    exactly his boss meant. What else could a pair of adults do at such ate night apart from that?!


    In other words, Toby hadn''t taken his anger out on him because Toby lost to Sonia in a game, but he


    had interrupted his boss'' fun time with her. That was why Toby was so livid with him and wanted to


    transfer him to Ibira.


    It would be justifiable if it was truly the case.


    At that, Tom smiled grimly. He didn''t think he would be as hapless as to so coincidentally show up just


    when they were making out.


    Hell, no way would he have rung the doorbell if he had the slightest clue!


    Sigh¡­


    "Shoot. Why did youe over at this time, and why didn''t you call beforehand?" Toby questioned


    grimly.


    To that, Tom scratched his head and exined, "I would''ve if I could, President. But I identally broke


    my phone on my way over. So I can onlye over personally."


    While speaking, he pulled his destroyed phone out of his pocket, leading Toby to purse his lips upon


    seeing it. "Alright, what''s up?"


    It was a no-brainer that it was something grave if Tom would deliberately show up at an ungodly hour


    instead of waiting until the morning.


    "It''s something really important, but¡­" Tom suddenly looked over to Sonia as he left his words


    hanging.


    Sonia quirked an eyebrow, then smiled, getting what he meant. "Okay, you guys go ahead. I''m going to


    go back inside because I happened to need to make a call as well."


    With that, she returned to the living room crisply. She wouldn''t get upset at all just because Tom


    wouldn''t let her listen to their conversation, as it wasn''t a big deal after all.


    Besides, even if she and Toby got back together, it didn''t mean that she could listen to their every


    conversation. As much as they were a couple, they were working in differentpanies.


    So, it was only right that she shouldn''t be present if the two were going to talk about trade secrets.


    Besides, she and Toby hadn''t remarried.


    Even if Toby didn''t mind, she couldn''t listen to their conversation without qualms. Thus, walking away


    would make things a lot easier for her.


    Meanwhile, Tom looked at Toby after Sonia left. "President, Miss Reed wouldn''t be mad at me, would


    she?"


    He had deliberately stayed away from the topic while she was present precisely because he didn''t want


    her to hear about it. Hence, he worried that Sonia would get upset over it.


    Of course, he wouldn''t care if she was upset with him, but it would be troubling if she was upset with


    his boss. Hell, all of them at Fuller Group would be living in misery if their boss got upset!


    Toby looked over his shoulder in the direction Sonia left, then shook his head slightly. "No, she isn''t


    petty like that. She respects other people''s privacy and secrets very much. So she wouldn''t overthink


    because of this. Just say it; just what''s up?"


    "Well, in the afternoon, Connor Salzburg¡­"


    While the two men talked business, Sonia pulled out her phone and made a call out in the living room.


    The call connected pretty quickly, and a crisp, weary male voice came the next second. "Are you not


    worried that Toby will get upset when you''re calling me at this hour when you''re supposed to be


    asleep?"


    Embarrassed, Sonia rubbed her nose as she listened to his tease. "He''s talking business with his


    assistant right now, and he knows that I''m making a call."


    Well, he just doesn''t know who I''m calling.


    "Right, I haven''t bothered you with this call, have I?" she asked. "You sound pretty tired. Have you not


    rested? Are you still at the hospital?"


    On the other end of the line, Tim entered his office in green scrubs and walked straight to his desk after


    closing the door behind him. It wasn''t until he pulled the chair out, removed his sses, and rubbed his


    temples that he answered, "No, you haven''t bothered me. You called at perfect timing. If you were to


    call any minute sooner, I wouldn''t have been able to answer it. I''ve just finished an operation, and now


    my work for the day is done. I''ll be heading back in a bit."


    "Well, I''m d I''m not disturbing you." Sonia took a sip of water from the cup on the coffee table.


    Meanwhile, Tim put his sses back on. "What about you then? Why are you calling me at this hour?"


    "It''s nothing important. I just want to express my appreciation," said Sonia with a smile as she put the


    cup back onto the table.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    "Thank me?" Tim''s sses reflected light.


    "Yeah." Sonia nodded. "I only found out this afternoon. I got a call from the police station when I went


    down asking me to make a trip there. I happened to see Anya in excruciating pain because of her legs.


    When I asked Officer Chase if they had taken her to the hospital, he said, of course, they did. But Dr.


    Lancaster said Anya would be fine after taking some pills. She didn''t need to be hospitalized. So I


    immediately figured you''re the doctor, and it''s not that she didn''t need to be treated. But you''ve


    deliberately said so because you''re standing up for me. Am I right, Dr. Lancaster?"


    A hint of a smile shed across Tim''s eyes as he listened and very quickly returned to his aloof self.


    "You''re right. I have done it on purpose. I happened to bump into them when the police took the woman


    over, so I did it."


    "I knew it." Sonia chuckled. "Thanks, Dr. Lancaster."


    "There''s nothing to thank me for, so you didn''t have to call and thank me." After a momentary rest, Tim


    put the call on speaker and ced his phone on the desk, making his way to the coat rack aside to put


    his jacket on.


    When Sonia heard clothes rustling on the other end of the line, she knew he was getting ready to clock


    out. At that, she hurriedly said, "I should thank you. You stood up for me, after all. But it''s alreadyte at


    night. I shouldn''t keep you on the line, or I''ll hold you back from going home. How about this? Why


    don''t you let me know when you''re avable, and I''ll treat you to a meal? Speaking of which, I feel


    pretty bad that I haven''t treated you to a meal and given you a proper thanks when you''ve already


    helped me so many times."


    She lowered her head slightly and smiled apologetically.


    On the other end of the line, Tim picked his phone up and walked out of his office after throwing his


    green scrubs into the disinfection cab. "I never really bother myself with people''s thanks. But if you


    insist on thanking me, that''s fine. Forget about food. You''ll only end up losing your appetite if you eat


    with me. I don''t like eating the normal stuff, and what I like might not be to your taste. Do you know


    what I like eating?"


    "How would I know?" Sonia shook her head.


    "What I like isn''t cooked with normal seasoning," described Tim as he pressed the elevator button, "but


    cooked with edible chemical substances. So even if you want to treat me to a meal, you won''t be able


    to find the right restaurant for me."


    Food cooked with chemical substances?! Sonia shuddered just at the inchoate thought. That sounds


    absolutely scary.

 Chapter 1229

    Chapter 1229


    Are those things even edible? No doubt they taste bad. Either way, any sane person but him will stay


    far away from them surely.


    Sonia had to hand it to Tim.


    "Have you¡­ always been eating this way?" She couldn''t help wanting to sate her curiosity.


    "Yeah." Tim didn''t deny it. "I''ve been eating like this since I started studying medicine."


    Sonia gasped in response. "That''s ten-plus years. You''re really something!"


    Tim chuckled lightly. "Everyone''s more or less peculiar in their own way. Using chemical substances in


    rece of seasoning happens to be a habit of mine."


    "Isn''t this Pica?" The corner of Sonia''s lips twitched.


    "You can put it that way," said Tim as he pushed his sses up.


    "But does it not damage your body for you to eat like this?" Sonia blinked, worried for the fellow


    doctor''s health.


    In any case, Tim often helped her out, so it was only fitting that she should worry about his well-being.


    While walking into the elevator, Tim answered, "No. I''m a doctor, so I naturally know if these


    substances will do any damage to my body. Besides, these excipients are used to treat illnesses. It


    won''t harm the body apart from making the food taste weird. Just imagine it as the very first meal


    someone who has never cooked his whole life made, non-lethal, horrible tasting food."


    While relieved after hearing his description, Sonia couldn''t help chuckling as well. "Well, they don''t do


    your body any harm. But looks like I really can''t treat you to a meal, huh? Do you have any requests,


    then? I''ll do it as long as it''s within my capability."


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "You really want to thank me?" Tim reconfirmed.


    "Of course." Sonia nodded. "I''ve never thanked you when you helped me so many times, so I feel


    terrible if I don''t give you a proper thanks. Just let me repay you, please?"


    She even mped her phone against her shoulder while putting her hands together, pleading.


    Though Tim couldn''t see her, he could somewhat visualize it. His sses reflected light as he said,


    "Alright then. I won''t ask for much. I heard a new museum has opened in the country, but it''s different


    from normal museums. The disys are all post-war human specimens."


    "What?! Human specimens?!" Sonia gasped, stupefied. "Why is there such a museum?"


    "Why not? Nearly every country has a museum like this. It''s to let people understand the cruelty of war.


    But barely any of them are disclosed or opened to the public. So only a small group will have heard


    about them."


    "I see." Sonia nodded in revtion. "So are you telling me this because you want to visit but don''t have


    a ticket and want me to get you one?"


    "That''s right." Tim wasn''t surprised that she got it pretty quickly. She was a smart one, after all.


    Ding! The elevator arrived.


    While Tim walked out of the elevator and headed to his car in the parking lot, he exined, "I''ve visited


    quite a few simr museums. As you know, I''m a doctor, and I''ve always been very interested in the


    human body. Visiting these museums will allow me to see many ways bodies aren''t normally


    presented, and I can devise a surgery n based on the wounds the bodies left at their death. So if I


    ever encounter simr patients, my surgery won''t fail and ruin my reputation because of myck of


    experience."


    A couple drops of sweat rolled down Sonia''s temple as she fell speechless. Sure, it was really awe-


    inspiring to hear that from him, but to an average Joe, it still sounded somewhat psychotic.


    "You''re not nning on visiting every single museum like this one, are you?" Sonia asked as she


    rubbed her temple.


    "More or less." Tim raised his chin. "After all, the disys in every museum are different, so naturally,


    every cause of death and wound presented on the bodies is unique. Hence, it''s only necessary that I


    visit all of them."


    "Touch¨¦." Sonia nodded slightly as she held her chin. "You said earlier that these museums aren''t open


    to the public, so who are they open to?"


    "Medical practitioners, military personnel, and politicians," answered Tim as he unlocked his car.


    At that, Sonia tilted her head with bafflement. "Since it''s open to medical practitioners, it should be a


    piece of cake for you to get a ticket when you''re so well-reputed in the medicalmunity, no?"


    "That being said, I''m quite busytely, so I have no time at all to get one. By the time I remembered,


    the guys in the medicalmunity had already booked it all, and the next avable reservation was in


    two months. I don''t want to wait until then, so here''s where youe in and help me out. Of course,


    you might not have thework to get a ticket, but your guy definitely has. Just ask for his help." Tim


    went into his car and started the engine while speaking.


    Rendered both amused and frustrated, Sonia jested, "Looks like I really can''t say no when you''ve even


    thought of a way for me to get the ticket for you."


    "You can still turn me down. I won''t force you," Tim said thoughtfully.


    "Don''t." Sonia waved her hand. "I said I wanted to repay you, so I won''t turn you down. I''ll talk to Toby


    about this."


    "Alright, I''ll wait for your good news then." Tim had driven out of the hospital parking lot at this point.


    After humming a response, she ended the call and put the phone down to stretch when she heard


    noises from aside.


    She turned in that direction to find Toby had returned. At that, she looked up at him and asked, "You


    guys are done?"


    Toby nodded in response.


    Upon seeing that he looked amiss¡ªglum and exuding grimness¡ªshe tucked her smile away. "What''s


    wrong? Is something up?"


    Or why would he look so awful? He waspletely fine when the two of them answered the door. So


    something must''ve happened for him to return like this.


    However, he said nothing but only took a gander at Sonia, who was even more certain that something


    was up from that nce.


    Apprehensive, she stood up and held his arm, leading him to sit on the couch. "C''mon, Toby, tell me.


    Just what exactly is going on? You''re making me worry. If it''s something major you have to deal with,


    then go ahead. Don''t dy it because you''re worried about me, understand?"


    At that, she looked apprehensively at Toby, who pulled her into his arms, speaking in a husky voice,


    "It''s nothing major, just that something repulsive happened."


    "What exactly is it then? Tell me." Sonia broke free from his arms.


    However, Toby wouldn''t say a word but only stared at her.


    Livid and helpless, she entreated, "When are you going to stop acting mute whenever something''s up?


    You''re making me¡ªMm!"


    Toby pulled her to him by the back of her head before she could finish her words and very urately


    seized her lips, forcing her to swallow the rest of her words.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was stupefied at first beforeing to herself and rolling her eyes


    speechlessly.


    I swear this b*stard¡­ He''s so troubled and in a foul mood, yet it''s not enough to stop him from having


    sex. What can I say about him¡­ Forget it; let him have his way. Who knows? He might finally say it


    after he''s sated and in a better mood.


    With that thought in mind, Sonia went soft and wrapped her arms around his neck while shutting her


    eyes.

 Chapter 1230

    Chapter 1230


    That night, Toby devoured Sonia like a ravenous beast. If it weren''t that her ability to withstand his


    manhandling was far better than before, she''d probably pass out from exhaustion like the other two


    times.


    That said, she was still so spent from their night that shey immobile in bed, so much so that she


    didn''t even want to lift a finger. She just looked at the warm chandelier on the ceiling with droopy eyes.


    Toby, on the other hand, stood next to the bed and leisurely put on a dressing gown, looking all sated


    and beyond refreshed. Seeing so, Sonia turned her head away from him in anger, not wanting to look


    at him.


    She had already begged for mercy so many times, and he would reply to her with st one'' every time.


    But what happened in the end?!


    Ptui! Men and their lies!


    Of course, Toby saw how upset she was with him and knew precisely why, so after tying his dressing


    gown, he chuckled under his breath and coaxed, "Open your eyes. I''ll carry you into the shower."


    However, Sonia kept her eyes closed but raised her arms, waving them limply. "Carry me like this. I''m


    spent. I don''t want to move."


    This wasn''t his first time giving her a shower anyway, so she could very well ept letting him carry


    her into the bathroom after their night.


    Seeing howzy his girl was, he tapped her nose and said nothing more but carried her into the


    bathroom.


    By the time they came out, it was already four in the wee hours, about two hours before the sun would


    rise. Toby lifted the covers and put Sonia back in bed before joining her.


    Sonia was a little more conscious when her body touched the soft mattress, and she finally opened her


    eyes. That said, they were still only half open.


    She blinked and looked at Toby, mumbling in a kittenish voice while yawning involuntarily, "What time is


    it?"


    "Four o''clock." Toby checked the time on his wristwatch.


    At that, she shut her eyes again after hearing it was still so early. "There''s still a few hours until the sun


    rises, and here I thought it''s already morning when you''re wide awake."


    "No, go ahead and sleep." As he tucked her in, she nuzzled in his arms. "Are you not going to sleep?


    There are still a few hours before we have to get up. Get some sleep. What if you get weary during


    work?"


    "I''m not tired. You go ahead and sleep. I''ll watch over you." Tobyy on his side with one hand propping


    his head up and the other patting her waist, coaxing her to sleep like she was a child. N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Very quickly, drowsiness crept up to her following his gentle pats, and she couldn''t help yawning again.


    "You really are a freak," she mumbled.


    "How am I a freak?" Toby quirked an eyebrow.


    "Are you not?" Sonia grabbed his cors with both hands. Her eyes were still closed as she


    comined, "I''m so tired every time after hours of intimacy, and yet you''re alive and kicking. You''re not


    even sleepy. Tell me you''re not a freak that won''t get weary."


    Toby chuckled under his breath, "Well, I''m sure you like this freak very much. After all¡ª"


    Sonia stirred at once, having a good idea what the man was about to say next. The second she opened


    her eyes, she hurriedly covered his lips. "Shush! Not another word or I''ll bite you!"


    She red daggers at Toby, warning him, looking absolutely vicious. However, to a certain someone,


    instead of feeling intimidated, he thought she looked absolutely adorable, like an angry toddler.


    At that, he stuck his tongue out and licked her palm. Tickled, Sonia withdrew her hand right away and


    shouted, "Toby Fuller!"


    "Speaking." He blinked innocently.


    It was as though a bucket of water was doused on Sonia''s zing anger when she saw how innocently


    he acted, making her feel super ufortable.


    s, she could only bore into the man. However, her eyes turned dry and ufortable from all the


    ring before she managed to do anything to him.


    In the end, she raised a white g and admitted defeat.


    Forget it. Why fight this b*stard?! When have I ever defeated him?!


    A hint of a smile shed across Toby'' eyes when he saw her mope, and he ruffled her soft hair. "Alright,


    I won''t tease you anymore. Go on, sleep."


    "Sleep?" Sonia rolled her eyes at him. "How can I go back to sleep after what you''ve done?!"


    "Can''t sleep?" Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Sonia hummed a response, still oblivious to the impending danger.


    At that, Toby lifted the covers. "Since you can''t sleep, why don''t we continue till dawn?"


    While speaking, he turned over, looking like he intended to pin her down.


    Terrified, Sonia screeched, "I dare you, Toby! I''m going to get mad at you if you keep at this! I''m


    serious!"


    With that, she shut her eyes. However, nothing happened after a while.


    So she opened her eyes tentatively to see the man''s stunning face and teasing smiling eyes.


    It was only then a thought hit her, and she blushed. "You pranked me?!"


    Toby sniggered. Duh?


    At that, Sonia''s face flushed further, mortified, for Toby was just messing with her and didn''t really


    intend to have another go. But she thought he was serious about it¡­


    So she felt absolutely mortified as she met this teasing gaze, wishing she could just bury herself up.


    Ah! This is absolutely embarrassing!


    Hence, she pulled the covers over and wrapped herself up from head to toe, shutting the outside world


    out. It was as though by doing so, she could ward off all animosity in the world.


    Meanwhile, it instantly hit Toby that he had screwed up big time when his beloved had balled herself up


    beneath the covers.


    Sigh, what to do? Coax her, then what else?


    "Sonia, pull the covers down. You won''t be able to breathe." He tugged on the covers while coaxing.


    However, Sonia held a death grip on it, giving the man a hard time pulling the covers away for a


    moment.


    It stumped Toby for a second beforeing to himself and continued tugging on it.


    That said, he didn''t do it forcefully but deliberately yed a tug-of-war with her as only by doing so he


    wouldn''t freak her out, or he wouldn''t be soothing her but asking for a fight.


    "Sonia, baby, let go. I apologize, okay? That was on me. I shouldn''t have teased you. Don''t be mad at


    me anymore, please?" cooed Toby with all the patience in the world as he lowered his head to look at


    the young woman hidden beneath the covers.


    Meanwhile, Sonia felt better, seeing that he apologized.


    With that, she poked her head out, revealing a still-blushing face. "All you do is tease me." She snorted


    while looking at him.


    "No, I don''t. You''re just so cute that I can''t help myself." He cradled her in his arms, where she


    remained still.


    Great, I can forget about getting any sleep now, Sonia mused.


    "Do that again, and I''ll really ignore you." She looked up at him and gave him a warning punch.


    "Never again." Toby nuzzled his chin against the top of her head. "I was just messing with you. I really


    don''t intend to do anything."

 Chapter 1231

    Chapter 1231


    As eager as Tobias was to make love to Sonia, he wouldn''t insist on going another few rounds when


    she was thoroughly spent. Or what different would he be from a deranged perv?!


    Sonia softened up entirely when she saw that he really meant it, and she nuzzled further into his arms,


    stopping after finding a safe andfortable position like a baby.


    Tobias couldn''t help chuckling when he saw this side of her. "Alright, it''s still early. Get some sleep."


    "I can''t anymore." She shook her head. "I''ll go to sleep when I feel sluggish again."


    He didn''t force her either but only tucked the covers on her and patted her back rhythmically. "Let''s chat


    for a while then."


    "Sure." She nodded. "What do you want to talk about?"


    "Anything." Tobias propped his head up. "But if there is really one thing, it would be that I want to know


    who you were talking to on the phone. I could even hear youughing from the entryway."


    Picking up the jealousy from his tone, Sonia chuckled helplessly while shaking her head. I swear this


    man¡­


    However, she didn''t hide it from him either, telling him who was on the other end of the line.


    Tobias quirked a brow when he heard she was talking to Tim, and he asked with bafflement. "Why did


    you call him all of a sudden?"


    "To thank him, of course. Though we were both at the police station, you didn''t see Anya, so you don''t


    know." With a yawn, she rted Anya''s situation at the police station, and it was only then Tobias


    realized what happened.


    "So I can''t act like I''m oblivious to it when Dr. Lancaster stood up for me," said Sonia as she ced a


    hand on his firm chest.


    Tobias said nothing more. After all, Tim had indeed helped out, so it wouldn''t be right to act like they


    were oblivious to it.


    "Why didn''t you tell me this sooner?" he asked while cradling her in his arms.


    Sonia''s gaze had turned hazy at this point, no longer looking as conscious as earlier.


    Clearly, the sandman had visited again, and Tobias couldn''t help feeling amused.


    Not sleepy, she said. It has only been, what? Minutes? And she''s feeling sleepy already.


    At that, he ruffled her hair dotingly. She popped one hand out of the covers and rubbed her eyes. Her


    words began dragging at this point. "I''ve forgotten. I only suddenly remembered when I had something


    to tell you before Tom arrived. So I called Dr. Lancaster to thank him. I had wanted to treat him to a


    meal, but do you know this? He doesn''t eat normal food!"


    "I know." Tobias lifted his chin for a second. "He has Pica."


    "You know?" Sonia''s eyes widened with incredulity.


    To that, he nodded. "It''s not a secret within the circle. Everyone had already learned about it a couple of


    decades ago, and because of this quirk, his parents, who already don''t like him, feel even more


    ashamed of him."


    "Don''t like him and feel ashamed of him?" Sonia looked up in surprise. "Why? Dr. Lancaster is a genius


    doctor. Shouldn''t they be proud of having a son like him? Why would they be ashamed?"


    She honestly couldn''t understand.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "His parents are both talented medical practitioners and perfectionists. They couldn''t ept having a


    son with affective disorder, so Tim was the imperfection, the blemish, to their perfect life. Because


    birthing a freak meant that they weren''t as perfect as they believed themselves to be. So naturally, they


    didn''t like Tim, so much so that they still didn''t think much of him even when he demonstrated medical


    talents that surpassed far beyond the couple. They even never acknowledged Tim as their son to the


    public. Also, I heard the Lancaster couple even tried to send Tim to an orphanage when he was barely


    even a month old."


    "For real?" Sonia was reeled in shock.


    Tobias hummed a response. "Yes. But Old Mr. Lancaster was still alive at the time, so he brought Tim


    home from the orphanage as soon as he learned about it, or there wouldn''t be a Tim Lancaster now."


    It took Sonia a while to recover from Tobias'' words, and shemented, "To think Dr. Lancaster has a


    story like this beneath his morous life."


    "Everybody has a secret past," Tobiasmented as he stroked her hair.


    At that, she sighed. "What''s really shocking to me is his parents. How could they do that?! So what if


    Dr. Lancaster suffers from affective disorder? Didn''t it make him their child still? How could they


    abandon their child because of this reason?! Not even a lion would eat its cubs. The most ridiculous


    part was that they could still call themselves perfectionists with their behavior! Well, I''ve never met a


    perfectionist that didn''t need to eat, sleep, or excrete. Besides, shouldn''t a perfectionist know


    everything? Howe they don''t know anything but medicine? Perfectionist, my a*s. More like rabid!"


    Anyhow, to her, no one was perfect in this world.


    The so-called perfect people shouldn''t have to eat, sleep, excrete, and know everything, like turning the


    sea over and flying in the sky.


    Now, that would be the definition of perfect, and someone like that was a god.


    Were the Lancaster couple gods?


    They were as much as another carbon-based life that needed to eat, sleep, or excrete as anybody


    else. So Sonia thought it was ridiculous of them to call themselves perfectionists.


    Tobias thought his beloved looked super adorable the way she ranted about the Lancaster couple, and


    he couldn''t help pinching her cheek affectionately, which felt super soft to the touch.


    "They are indeed rabid," echoed Tobias with a nod as he pinched her cheek.


    After all, echoing to his wife was a mandatory lesson for him as an exemry loving husband.


    "Am I right, or am I right?" Sonia grew more confident in herment toward the Lancaster couple


    after hearing that Tobias agreed with her. She pursed her lips, then continued, "Also, they call Dr.


    Lancaster an emotionless monster? The way I see it, they''re the emotionless ones. Are they not


    emotionless to be able to abandon their son when they pursue perfection to such a sick and extreme


    degree? If they even had the slightest bit of emotion, how could they be able to do something so


    deranged?! So, the Lancaster couple''s genes must''ve caused Dr. Lancaster to be born without


    emotions. Anyhow, it''s a pity that Dr. Lancaster got those two as parents."


    "You''re right, dear." Tobias nodded. Either way, he''d just agree to every word she said. Besides, the


    Lancaster couple didn''t deserve to be parents either.


    "It''s only now that I know not all parents love their kids." Sonia quirked her lips. "The Lancaster couple


    are even beneath Titus and his wife. Taylor had parted with them for twenty-plus years; even if they


    were strangers and had no emotional attachments to each other, Titus and his wife could even treat


    Taylor well immediately. Sure Titus and his wife aren''t good fellows, but they''re definitely great parents.


    The Lancaster couple, on the other hand, tsk!"


    Sonia said nothing more after that, upied with disdain for the Lancaster couple, and because of this,


    she didn''t notice Tobias had stopped stroking her hair while his eyes filled with profoundness and


    complication.

 Chapter 1232

    Chapter 1232


    Sonia praised the Gray couple for being good parents¡­ Indeed, they''re, as she put it, great parents.


    Titus and his wife had believed in thest 27 years that Henry had killed Rina Gray, and the girl was


    deemed dead to the couple all these years. However, never once had the couple ever forgotten their


    late daughter.


    Even to most parents, this was a nearly impossible task, for even when their child died, they were still


    living, and they had to look forward, eventually. They couldn''t follow the child to the afterlife just


    because the child died.


    That was impossible. What was more, that child had passed 27 years.


    It would be surprising if a lot of parents had long forgotten about their child that had passed nearly


    three decades ago. Heavens, they might never even remember ever having that child. However, not


    Titus and his wife; they remembered even until now.


    On that alone, no one could criticize them for being bad parents.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Secondly, when the daughter they thought was long dead suddenly appeared in front of them, not only


    had they not doubted whether this girl had some agenda, but they even epted her right away and


    doted her to no end, making up for the lost 27 years.


    And this also wasn''t something all parents could do, especially in elite families.


    The elites valued their family and personal dignity more than anything, and they had severe vanity as


    well. If they weren''t unting their family businesses, they''d be unting their significant other or even


    children.


    As long as there was one thing they lost to the other, they''d be a joke to thetter.


    When Taylor first appeared in front of the Gray couple, she was still a timid and unrefined, uncultured


    country bumpkin who knew no etiquette nor possessed any skills. But the Gray couple didn''t despise a


    daughter like her and even epted her immediately after they were certain she was indeed their


    daughter.


    They never worried if they would be aughing stock in the circle or if their rivals would take the


    chance to mock them for having such a humiliating daughter after taking her home.


    Toby had to admit that even he thought highly of Titus, who cared so much about his dignity, when he


    could go this far for his daughter.


    On the contrary, others in the circle would never do something like this. If anything, they might not even


    admit to having such a daughter, for they''d only think that bringing a daughter like Taylor home would


    only bring shame to themselves and their family. Unpresentable aside, they would be the


    laughingstock within the circle. So they could even as much as ruthlessly abandon their own flesh and


    blood.


    There was a real-life example within the circle¡ªthe Lestranges.


    The genuine and fake princess incident happened to the Lestranges a few years ago. A nanny had


    switched the daughter for her own at birth.


    Since then, the true Lestrange daughter lived a miserable life while the fake daughter lived the life of a


    princess, having goodmand in nearly every aspect, allowing her to be a notable talent within


    the circle and being pursued by many eligible young men.


    s, the switch was brought to light one day, and the genuine Lestrange daughter returned home.


    However, the fake Lestrange daughter never went back to hers and instead remained in the Lestrange


    Residence. Also, her name and status were retained.


    On the other hand, everything and nothing changed for the genuine Lestrange daughter, as the


    Lestranges wouldn''t admit she was their true progeny. Thus, instead of announcing to the public that


    she was the true daughter of the Lestrange Family, they told everyone they generously adopted her. As


    for the reason, what else other than not willing to ept the fact that their actual daughter was an


    ipetent, unpresentable country bumpkin? They thought having a daughter like she would bring


    shame to them and their family.


    On the contrary, the public might evenpliment them for their kindness if they told everyone they


    adopted her. As such, they didn''t have to worry their actual daughter would bring them shame after


    retrieving her, and they couldn''t also gain a favorable reputation. It was the best of both worlds.


    However, for the genuine Lestrange daughter, it was no fortune but that she had only been taken to a


    different hell.


    After returning to her actual family, not only that her parents wouldn''t disclose her true identity to the


    public, allowing them to assume she really was their adopted daughter, but the servants of the


    Lestrange family would bully her covertly and tantly because they were jealous of her.


    The fake Lestrange daughter, on the other hand, gradually believed that the genuine daughter was a


    ticking time bomb that threatened her status and thus began acting harmless to set her up in hopes


    that the Lestrange couple would hate the genuine daughter even more.


    Meanwhile, as parents of the two girls, the Lestrange couple turned a blind eye to their actual daughter


    from being ashamed of having such a daughter. Hence, even when they were well aware of the bullies


    and torments the girl suffered, they never did anything.


    Ultimately, the genuine Lestrange daughter had enough of such suffering and leaped from Lestrange


    Enterprise, making her way to the afterlife. Hence, Toby believed not every parent could be as good as


    Titus and his wife.


    They undoubtedly epted a daughter that hadn''t been in their lives for thest twenty-plus years,


    who came from a world different than theirs. Though the existence of their daughter could bring


    endless ridicule to their family, they didn''t bother about how others viewed them.


    He could even guarantee if the Gray couple knew Sonia was their real daughter, they would instantly


    bring her home and reunite as a family, even if Sonia loathed them to her core. To make up for Sonia


    and subside the hatred within her, they might even be willing to head to the afterlife.


    To the couple who loved their daughter more than anything, it was very usible for them to make such


    a move.


    By then, Sonia would end up being the most miserable one.


    She would think her revenge became the most ridiculous thing, and even because of her identity, she


    not only couldn''t decisively avenge the Reed Family, it would even be the very thing that ended


    her birth parents'' lives.


    By then, Sonia would fall into deep madness, and it was something he didn''t want to imagine.


    This was precisely why he had kept the truth of Sonia''s birth from her all this while. He wouldn''t have to


    keep his lips tightly sealed if the Gray couple didn''t love their child so deeply.


    Seeing that Toby fixed his gaze on her but said nothing for a long time, Sonia poked his chest gently.


    "Toby, what''s running through your mind?"


    A glimmer shed across Toby as he returned to reality, and he tightened his arms around her again


    before drooping his eyelids to cover up the darkness surging beneath them. "Nothing. Alright, let''s not


    talk about Tim''s parents anymore. It''s reallyte now; get some sleep."


    At that, he reached for the switch, but Sonia grabbed his arm. "Wait, I''m not done yet. I still need your


    help with something."


    "Oh?" His eyes lit up as he put his arm down, intrigued. "This is the first time you''re asking for my help.


    C''mon, tell me, your dear husband will help no matter what it is."


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him with a flushed face, for she thought the man was getting more audacious


    with their rtionship.


    "It''s actually nothing big. Tim asked me to get him a ticket, but you need a specificwork to get it. I


    don''t have ess to an officialwork, so I can only ask for your help."


    "What ticket is this that needs a specialwork?" Toby frowned.


    "Well¡­" Sonia didn''t keep it from him but recited Tim''s desire to visit the museum.


    Having gotten his answer, he patted her back. "Alright, got it. This is simple. I''ll have Tom see to itter


    and deliver the ticket right to him."


    "Thanks." Sonia beamed with tion.


    However, Toby'' gaze dimmed. "That''s all I''m getting? A verbal thank you? Are you not going to give me


    something else?"

 Chapter 1233

    Chapter 1233


    Sonia narrowed her eyes and became alerted at once. Clearly, this b*stard of a man is scheming


    something again!


    "Why are you looking at me like that?" Toby quirked a brow seeing how alert his beloved suddenly


    became.


    To that, Sonia snorted. "You know why I''m looking at you like this!"


    "I don''t!" He shook his head with bafflement, only leading her to roll her eyes at him. "Yeah, right? You


    know full well."


    "Do I? Why don''t you tell me what I should know then, hmm?" He smirked.


    She pursed her lips at that. "You know full well why I''m on guard! You want more than just a verbal


    thanks. Isn''t it obvious that you''re implying you want to take advantage of me?"


    Despite being caught red-handed, not only wasn''t Toby the slightest bit flustered, but he even chuckled.


    "Then are you willing to fulfill my wish?"


    Sonia had just parted her lips to retort when Toby interjected, exining, "Rx, I won''t really go as far


    as do anything to you when you''re like this. I just want you to give me a kiss."


    At that, he pointed at his face. Honestly, Sonia let her guard down after hearing his exnation.


    She had indeed assumed in the beginning that the guy found his chance to do the deed with her again,


    so she held her guard up against him immediately for fear that he would really do what she thought he


    would.


    After all, she really couldn''t take any more of his manhandling at the moment. If anything, it was even


    possible that she''d die right on the bed.


    Fortunately, it was proven in the end that she had let her imagination run wild, and Toby wasn''t so


    deranged. He just wanted a kiss from her.


    Compared to making love, a kiss was aplete piece of cake and a very easy wish to fulfill for her.


    In any case, she honestly wasn''t against giving him a kiss aspared to making love.


    At that, she heaved a sigh of relief and leaned close, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Are we good


    now?"


    "Yeah, we''re good." Toby nodded contentedly while cradling her in his arms.


    Sonia snorted in response and entreated, "Well, go to sleep then. You have to sleep. As healthy as you


    are, you''re still human, and your body isn''t made of steel. Your body will one day fail you if you keep


    treating it carelessly. So, sleep."


    At that, she shut her eyes and went to sleep, bing an example for Toby.


    Joy spread across Toby'' eyes as he looked at Sonia, who was all ''I''m dead asleep'', and he felt loved.


    How could he not be when she was worried about his health?


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "Okay, sleep." With that, he reached for the switch and turned the lights off, and the room became pitch


    ck at once.


    Then, Tobyy back down, pulled Sonia into his arms, and gave her a kiss on the forehead before


    mumbling a good night.


    Sonia stiffened up in response but very quickly returned to normal, and it wasn''t until Toby closed his


    eyes and there were no more movements after some time that she, too, mumbled a good night.


    Toby opened his eyes and allowed a hint of glimmer to sh across his fathomless gaze as he


    tightened his hug on Sonia before closing his eyes back up.


    It was past seven in the morning when the couple stirred again, and they were woken up by the


    doorbell.


    Sonia reflexively frowned before reluctantly opening his eyes. It was evident that she hadn''t had


    enough sleep and was somewhat grumpy about it.


    Toby, on the other hand, woke up pretty briskly, with thest sliver of sleepiness gone as soon as he


    opened his eyes.


    He lifted the covers, sat up, and was amused when he turned to find a certain someone spacing out


    while staring dully at the ceiling.


    "What''s wrong? Still half asleep?" he asked while feeling her forehead.


    Sonia blinked in response. "Hmm¡­ a little." Her kittenish voice wasced with absolute drowsiness,


    and it was like actual kitten ws were scratching at his heart non-stop, tickling him.


    If he hadn''t kept in mind that he had really worn her out the night before, he certainly wouldn''t be


    holding back at this moment and instead would be dragging her for a morning quickie, helping her


    wake up for good in the meantime.


    At that, his gaze dimmed. "Take a nap then. I''ll be quiet," he said in a hoarse voice after suppressing


    his burning desire.


    "Nah, forget it." Sonia shook her head and yawned. "I have a pretty important meetingter. What if I


    oversleep?"


    "Will you be able to stay awake then?" He looked at her worriedly, only to receive a dirty look from her.


    "Well, I''ll have to even if I can''t, and that''s no thanks to you. You couldn''t have restrained yourself even


    a little."


    Toby chuckled in response. "That''s on me. Then¡ª"


    "Stop!" Sonia put her hand out at once, stopping him from continuing his words. "Don''t tell me to take a


    day off again. Don''t worry. I''m not that fragile. I''ll be alive after a wash-up and breakfast. Rx."


    "Really?" He looked at her with worry still in his eyes.


    Sonia nodded in affirmation. "Really. Trust me. Now pull me up."


    She reached her arm toward Toby, who grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.


    After sitting up, she raised both arms into the air and stretched. "Ah! Much better, and my brain is


    beginning to work. Let''s go. Didn''t someone ring the doorbell?"


    Meanwhile, she put her arms down and looked at Toby, who no longer insisted that she rested, seeing


    that she was indeed much more spirited. After humming a response, he got out of bed and handed her


    her shirt as he stood by the bed. "You put on your clothes first. I''ll see who''s at the door."


    "Go ahead." She waved her hand after taking her shirt from him.


    Seeing how she urged him despising, he smiled helplessly and ruffled her hair vengefully, only


    withdrawing his hands after making her disheveled hair even messier. With that, he walked out of the


    room with a smirk.


    Even when he had closed the door behind him, he could hear Sonia''s furious roar, "Toby Fuller, you


    son of a b*stard!"


    At that, his smirk grew wider, and the smile in his eyes deepened; even the steps he took had a hint of


    joy to them.


    On the other side of the door, Tom froze, dumbfounded with incredulity, when he found his boss


    answering the door with a smile.


    What the heck? President Fuller is smiling! Is he smiling at me? But when had he ever been this happy


    to see me at the door?!


    Having trouble believing what he was seeing, Tom took his sses off and rubbed his eyes before


    putting them back on, focusing on Toby.


    The smile was still there, and it was evident that he hadn''t imagined it. To think the president was


    actually smiling at him!


    Tom''s brain had fried at this point, and he still found the moment surreal.


    Hell, when had his boss ever greeted him with a good mood whenever he came over bright and early?!


    He could already consider himself lucky when Toby didn''t answer the door grimly, let alone smile at


    him.


    Thus, Tom didn''t feel the slightest bit ttered when he saw Toby smiling at him, but that something


    was up. President Fuller must be colluding something!


    His sses reflected light as he put his guard up. "President, have you¡­ have you met with some


    good news? You look to be in a good mood."


    "I am, indeed." Toby raised his chin slightly. "I''ve pissed a kitten off just now."


    Kitten? Tom quirked a brow. "You''ve gotten a cat, President?"

 Chapter 1234

    Chapter 1234


    Toby frowned at once and looked at his assistant with contempt, causing the corner of Tom''s lips to


    twitch.


    Why is the president looking at me like I''m an idiot? Have I gotten something wrong?


    As the thought crossed his mind, he noticed something. There were bite marks and scratch marks on


    the exposed corbone beneath Toby'' slightly opened bathrobe cor.


    Tom might not be as experienced, but he was no naive little boy either. So he understood how those


    marks came to be and what they meant at once, and he couldn''t be any more mortified.


    Kitten and scratches? Clearly, the president was referring to a human rather than an actual cat. As for


    who specifically, who else other than Miss Reed?!


    In other words, Toby and Sonia probably had another round in the morning, and the man was so sated


    that he even answered the door with a smile.


    If that was the case, Toby'' smile wasn''t directed at him at all. In fact, it was because the president


    hadn''t managed to put it away, having just finished making love to Sonia. He encountered a rare


    asion where he saw Toby smiling.


    The most embarrassing part was that he had assumed his boss'' smile was directed at him, thinking


    Toby was happy to see him.


    What did I say? How is that possible?! Thank goodness I didn''t look touched, or things would get really


    awkward¡­


    As Tom thought mortifyingly, Toby'' monotonous voice came. "What are you here for?"


    Tom looked up only to find Toby'' smile had been reced with nothing but impassiveness and


    impatience, precisely like every other time he showed up at Toby'' door.


    Sure enough, this was the treatment a subordinate like him deserved. Everything that had happened


    earlier was just his imagination.


    While sneering in his heart, Tom pushed his sses and answered deferentially, "Have you forgotten,


    President? You asked me to bring the car over and also bring some breakfast over in the meantime."


    With that, he handed a bag to Toby, who quirked a brow, clearly having only remembered that he had


    indeed said so the day before.


    He took the take-out bag from Tom and wanted to shoo him away when the sound of footsteps came


    from behind him.


    Sonia hade out after putting her clothes on. "Good morning, Tom." She smiled at the assistant as


    she stood behind Toby.


    "Good morning, Miss Reed," Tom replied with a smile.


    "Have you had breakfast? Why don''t you join us if you haven''t?" she asked while wrapping her arms


    around Toby''.


    Toby instantly narrowed his eyes, looking menacingly at his assistant as though saying, ''I''ll mangle you


    if you dare say yes.''


    Because he did it covertly, Tom, who was only slightly shorter than Toby, noticed while Sonia was


    oblivious to it.


    Thus, she didn''t know she had put the poor assistant in danger either.


    However, Tom knew, and the smile on his face stiffened by the second, so terrified that sweat began


    gathering on his forehead while he cried on the inside.


    Ah, Miss Reed, do you even realize what you''re doing to me?!


    Though Tom knew Sonia wasn''t implying anything but only asking out of courtesy and didn''t know how


    upset Toby would get, he felt overwhelmed with stress right then. s, his boss was ring at him like


    he had murdered his boss'' father.


    C''mon, boss, really? Miss Reed is just asking if I want to join breakfast. Why do you make it look like


    I''m trying to steal her from you?!


    Tom snuck a nce from the corner of his eyes only to find Toby turning grimmer by the second. Then,


    he looked at the smiling Sonia and sighed inwardly before saying with a forcibly kept smile, "I''m good,


    Miss Reed. I''ve eaten beforeing over. You and President Fuller go ahead. No need to bother


    yourself with me."


    President Fuller won''t look at me like I''m his arch-nemesis anymore when I answer like this, right?


    At that, he snuck a second nce at Toby from the corner of his eyes, and sure enough, his boss''


    countenance turned much brighter, no longer as grim.


    With that, he heaved a long sigh of relief.


    On the other hand, Sonia, still oblivious to the two men''s silent interaction, wasn''t surprised at all that


    Tom turned her down.


    If anything, she''d be shocked if Tom actually agreed to her offer.


    "In that case, I won''t force you then," said Sonia as she tucked her hair behind her ear.


    Tom heaved a sigh of relief at once. "But I appreciate your offer, Miss Reed. Alright, I won''t keep you


    and the President from your breakfast any longer. I''ll be waiting in the parking lot."


    "See you." Sonia nodded with a smile.


    With that, Tom took another nce at Toby, only leaving with assurance when he saw that his boss


    was affirmatively no longer upset.


    After Tom left, Sonia closed the door and returned to the living room with her arm wrapped around


    Toby''. "Is it me, or is Tom spooked? Did you sense it?" she asked as she gazed at her beloved''s side


    profile while walking.


    Toby averted his gaze in response. No way would he admit that Tom was afraid of him just now, would


    he? At that, he coughed and answeredposedly, "No, I didn''t sense anything."


    Sonia didn''t concern herself with the abnormality either and just nodded. "Guess it''s just me, then. Oh,


    well. Let''s eat. I''m hungry."


    Toby hummed a response and put the bag on the table before pulling the chair out for her.


    It was only after she sat down that he opened the bag and took the food out one by one.


    By the time they finished breakfast, it was already past eight, and Toby led Sonia out of the apartment,


    entered the elevator, and headed to the parking lot.


    However, right as they arrived at the parking lot, Toby stopped abruptly in his tracks.


    "What is it? Why are you stopping?" Sonia turned around to look at him.


    Toby let go of her hand and rubbed his temples. "I left the sh drive I used to copy some filesst


    night in the study. Wait for me in the car while I get it."


    "Alright, go on then." Sonia nodded in response.


    With that, he returned to the parking lot elevator and headed upstairs.


    Meanwhile, Sonia looked around and only strode over to Toby'' car after finding it.


    As soon as she got close, the car door opened, and Tom got out of the driver''s seat to open the


    backseat door for Sonia. "Please, Miss Sonia."


    "Thank you," said Sonia with a smile before entering.


    After closing the door, Tom returned to the driver''s seat, only to hear Sonia''s voice the next second.


    "Tom, can I ask you something?"


    Tom looked over his shoulder at Sonia at that. "Feel free to ask me anything, Miss Reed. I''ll definitely


    tell you anything I can."


    "Alright, I won''t keep you guessing then." Sonia smiled. "I want to know what you and Toby talked


    aboutst night. He acted pretty strangely when he came back inside. I tried asking him, but he


    wouldn''t tell me. Has something happened in Fuller Group?"


    "I, um¡­" Tom hesitated, for he hadn''t expected Sonia to ask about this.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    What am I supposed to say?


    Sonia pursed her lips when she saw Tom''s hesitation. "What''s wrong? Can''t you answer it?"


    "It''s not that¡­" He scratched his head.


    However, Sonia continued to stare at him. "Why won''t you answer me then? Is it confidentialpany


    stuff? If it is, you can pretend that I never asked. It''s fine."

 Chapter 1235

    Chapter 1235


    Sonia decided to take the door-in-the-face approach. If Tom took it, great, but if he didn''t, then she''d


    just take it that the two were talking about confidentialpany stuff and not ask any more questions.


    So now, it was down to Tom.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Just like that, Sonia said nothing and only looked silently at Tom''s reflection in the rearview mirror.


    Maybe because she had been with Toby for some time, some of hismanding aurae rubbed off on


    her. So much so that chills ran down Tom''s spine, overwhelmed with stress, facing Sonia.


    No wonder they''re a couple. The intimidation is practically identical.


    At that, he scratched his head and sighed inwardly, ultimately yielding from their stalemate. He looked


    at Sonia through the rearview mirror and asked, "Did President Fully really behave strangelyst


    night?"


    "Why do you think I''d only choose to ask you when he''s not here?" Sonia retorted inly, making Tom


    wipe his face and say, "Alright, I won''t hide it from you then."


    A hint of joy shed across her eyes at that. Looks like I''ve won.


    On the surface, she patted her bag lightly and asked inly, "Alright, tell me then. What exactly


    happened? I''m sure nothing happened to Fuller Group, or you wouldn''t yield and tell me so easily."


    To that, Tom chuckled wryly and affirmed, "You''re right. We indeed weren''t talking about thepany


    but Salzburg."


    "Connor?" Sonia narrowed her eyes. "He''s still in Seafield and hasn''t returned to Westanshire, isn''t


    he?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded in affirmation. "You probably don''t know this, Miss Reed, but President Fuller had


    gone to meet Connor when he went to retrieve the parts for you."


    "What?" Sonia sat upright at once. "He met with Connor himself?"


    "That''s right." Tom decided to just unbuckle his seatbelt and turn around. It was easier to talk to Sonia


    like that. "The two of them spoke of many things. Apart from talking about the parts, they, of course,


    didn''t leave out the former generation''s issues, and the president has confirmed that Salzburg''s the one


    who murdered thete Old Master Fuller."


    "He''s confirmed it?" Sonia''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Yes." Tom nodded gravely. "Actually, the president had always believed that Salzburg was the one all


    these years, but he didn''t have the evidence to prove it. Plus, Salzburg doesn''te to Seafield, and


    even when President Fuller went to Westsanshire, Salzburg never stepped out of the Salzburg


    residence. So, all these years, the president can''t even say for sure that he was the murderer until this


    time. It probably dawned on Salzburg that some things couldn''t be kept a secret forever, so he admitted


    to it after being pressured by President Fuller. The guy even bragged that the president wouldn''t be


    able to do anything with him even if he found out the truth."


    "Why is that? Does Connor have some backer supporting him that he can confidently say something


    like that?" Sonia locked her brows into a tight furrow upon hearing so.


    Tom shook his head. "We don''t know the details yet, but that''s likely it. President Fuller has already


    ordered a covert investigation. Once we know who''s backing Salzburg, we''ll have nothing to fear


    anymore."


    Sonia nodded slowly. "True. But that''s probably not what you guys talked aboutst night, right? It


    happened two days ago, after all. There''s no reason for him to only get upset now."


    "That''s right." Tom pushed his sses up. "That''s not what I talked to the president aboutst night, but


    it has to do with it. After President Fuller retrieved the parts and confirmed Salzburg''s murder, he gave


    Salzburg a piece of his mind beforeing to you. But before leaving, he said something to President


    Fuller."


    At that, he looked at Sonia, who pursed her lips in response. "What is it? It has to do with me?"


    "Something like that." Tom sighed. "But it has to do with Anya. The reason Salzburg came to Seafield is


    to save her. He naturally will have to find another way when he can''t get through to you. So this time,


    he reached his hands toward President Fuller, threatening him to release Anya or he''d deal withte


    Madam Valerie''s belongings."


    "Toby'' mother''s belongings?" A hint of shockced her voice.


    Tom lifted his chin at that. "Yes. You know as well that President Fuller''s mother used to date Salzburg.


    So it''s not surprising that he''d have some ofte Madam Valerie''s belongings. But this became a way


    for him to threaten President Fuller."


    Sonia''s face flushed after she heard him, livid. "That old codger! Just how wicked can he get to


    threaten people with the dead''s belongings?!"


    To that, Tom sneered, "It''s nothing for someone like Salzburg to threaten people with whoever''s


    belongings as long as he can get whatever he wants, even if those belongings used to belong to


    someone he loved."


    With that, Sonia looked out the window toward the elevator as painced her eyes. "Toby must''ve been


    really sad at that time, huh?"


    "Sad? No." Tom shook his head. "But anger? Yes. I''m not sure why, either, but I noticed President


    Fuller no longer reacts as intensely as he used to when someone mentions thete Madam Valerie


    nowadays. So when Salzburg used thete madam''s belongings to threaten the president, I didn''t see


    much of any other feelings other than anger in him. Then again, it could also just be me."


    "Maybe it''s not you." Sonia smiled, causing Tom to widen his eyes slightly. "Do you know something,


    Miss Reed?"


    Sonia rubbed her temples. "I''ve only discovered thistely as well. Toby'' mother purposely molded his


    personality to Connor''s when he was a child. Toby had no clue about it until I noticed it some time ago


    and told him. Then, he verified it with his grandmother. So¡­"


    She left her words hanging at that, but it was enough for Tom to get a good picture, and he gasped. "So


    that''s why. To think there''s that. I didn''t know."


    "Toby didn''t tell you, and with his charactertely, he''s not one to talk about this openly."


    Tom nodded in response. "I get it. No wonder President Fuller didn''t feel anything but anger when


    Salzburg mentioned thete Madam Valerie. So that''s why. But no matter how, she will always be


    President Fuller''s mother, and she loved him when he was a child at some point. So he''d be angry that


    Salzburg would use thete madam''s belongings as a threat and also upset for his mother to have


    fallen in love with someone like him."


    "You''re right." Sonia put her hand down as she asked, "So did Toby agree to it? To let Anya free."


    At that, Tom hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "Of course not. The president isn''t someone who''d


    yield to threats so easily. Besides, this has to do with you. Even if he wants to say yes, he''d definitely


    talk to you first and not call the shots himself."


    "So he said no?" Sonia held her chin.


    Tom waved his hand again. "Well, he didn''t do that either. He didn''t even give a d*mn about Salzburg''s


    threat and just walked away. But I got a call from Salzburg''s assistant yesterday, and they brought it up


    again, saying if President Fuller turns them down again, they''ll put thete Madam Valerie''s belongings


    up for auction. They even said surely many people would be interested in whateverte Madam Valerie


    used when she was still alive. If this isn''t tant humiliation to President Fuller and the Fuller Family, I


    don''t know what is!"


    "No wonder Toby was acting so¡­" Sonia bit her lip as pain enveloped her face.

 Chapter 1236

    Chapter 1236


    Needless to say, Tom was able to tell that Sonia felt sympathetic toward Toby as he was happy for his


    boss. After all, it was a sign that Sonia was deeply in love with Toby. Why else would Miss Reed be so


    concerned about Mr. Fuller?


    "Yeah, I''m shuddering at the thought of Mr. Fuller''s reaction when I told him about that matter.


    Thankfully, Mr. Fuller was still rational enough to keep his impulse from getting the better of himself, or


    he would have killed Connor back there." Tom wiped his sweat and sighed.


    In the meantime, Sonia could also feel her palms sweating. "Well, I bet the reason Connor had the guts


    to threaten Toby was because he had someone else bigger to back him up in the shadows. I wish we


    knew who that was."


    "It doesn''t matter who has Connor''s back; he is eventually going to suffer defeat at our hands." He


    squinted.


    Sonia smiled and replied, "You''re right. No matter who is backing Connor from behind, evil can never


    prevail over good. However, his action of threatening Toby mustn''t go unpunished. Did Toby say


    anything about our next move? What is it that Toby''s mother left behind?"


    Tom shook his head in confusion. "Well, Mr. Fuller hasn''t said anything thus far, but I''m sure he must be


    bothered at the moment, which is why I have a feeling he isn''t going to let things slide like that. As for


    the possession that Toby''ste mother left behind, Connor hasn''t revealed anything about it, so I have


    no idea what it is either. Nheless, if it''s something Connor could use to threaten Mr. Fuller, coupled


    with the fact that other people are interested in it, I believe it must be something personal to Madam


    White when she was still alive."


    He continued, "It might not necessarily be something valuable, and I don''t think Connor would have


    been able to threaten Mr. Fuller with anything like that. After all, my boss is loaded with money, and


    losing something valuable is probably not going to upset him. Instead, if something precious falls into


    the wrong hands, it''s going tond Mr. Fuller at a very disadvantageous position once it gets out."


    Sonia nodded in response. "You''re right. If it is really something personal that used to belong to Toby''s


    late mother, we should probably get it back, or it''s going to jeopardize Toby and the Fuller Family''s


    reputation should it fall into the wrong hands."


    "Exactly. s, I wish I could just read Mr. Fuller''s mind now." Tom scratched his head. "I just don''t have


    the courage to ask him what''s on his mind."


    "Don''t worry about that. I got you. Just leave it to me." She gazed at him with a smile.


    Tom was delighted. "Awesome, Miss Reed! I''ll be counting on you, then."


    "Sure thing." Sonia nodded.


    As soon as thedy finished her words, a silhouette showed up right in front of the car near the duo. It


    turned out that Toby had returned, so She immediately winked at Tom and said, "Alright, we''ll talk about


    thatter. He''s back."


    In that instant, Tom quickly turned around and saw Toby walking in their direction. Thus, he gratefully


    smiled at Sonia as he opened the car door and let her into the vehicle before Toby.


    Noticing the hard disc in the man''s hand, Sonia asked rhetorically with a smile, "Bet you got what you


    needed, didn''t you?"


    Toby replied confidently, "Yeah."


    "In that case, what are we waiting for? Let''s go." She took a look at her watch.


    "Sit tight. Let''s hit the road now," Toby responded with an affirmative hum and ordered Tom to start


    driving. The next second, Tom replied affirmatively and started the engine.


    They arrived at Paradigm Co. an hourter. Sonia nted a kiss on Toby''s face and said goodbye to


    him before heading toward the building. In the meantime, Toby remained seated in the backseat with


    his hand on his cheek where Sonia had kissed him, looking as though he was caught in a trance.


    After all, Sonia had never given him a kiss when they parted ways unless he told her to do so.


    Therefore, when she gave him a kiss without him asking, he was caught by surprise. Little did he know


    that Tom was secretly observing his reaction at the same time. Seeing Toby''s stunned look, Tom


    quickly knew the reason and chuckled. "What a boost early in the morning, Mr. Fuller! Congrattions!"


    After hearing his assistant, Toby put down his hand and kept his chest up, happily saying, "What''s the


    big deal? It was just a kiss. There''s nothing to congratte me about."


    Tom responded by rolling his eyes upward. Just a kiss? If it''s nothing worth celebrating, stop smiling


    and keep your cocky attitude in check then. You''re really funny, Mr. Fuller. Despite the thought of that,


    Tom didn''t dare to speak his mind, replying with a cold grunt before he kept his eyes back on the road


    in an annoyed manner. I''d better shut up. Their lovey-dovey interaction is hurting my eyes.


    However, Sonia, who just exited the vehicle, seemingly thought of something not long after she left the


    car. She then stopped in her tracks and doubled back toward the car. In the meantime, Toby saw Sonia


    returning and quickly ordered Tom to stop. Needless to say, Tom did as he was told and rolled down


    the window, sticking his head out to see whether Sonia wasing back.


    Soon, Sonia got to the car and was about to knock on the window, but Toby beat her to it and rolled it


    down before she could do so. With a bright smile on Toby''s handsome face, he turned around and


    looked at thedy.


    "Did you forget something?" Still engrossed in the surprising kiss Sonia just gave him, Toby sounded


    exhrated and high in spirits.


    She faked a cough and said, "Nothing. I just want to tell you something."


    "I''m listening." He jutted his chin.


    Sonia secretly peeked at Tom, noticing the nervous expression on his face. Soon, she took her eyes off


    him and smiled. "It''s gettingte now, so I should probably get going. I have a meetingter, after all.


    Maybe we''ll talk about it when we get home tonight." N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    When Tom heard Sonia''s words, he heaved a sigh of relief. Needless to say, he knew what Sonia was


    going to say to Toby, believing she was about to ask him what his next move was just as they


    discussed. After all, she told Tom that she would talk to Toby and sound him out earlier. However, that


    was precisely why Tom was afraid; he was worried that Sonia would do that in his presence. By then,


    Toby would most likely lecture him for his big mouth while he''d have a hard time exining himself.


    On the other hand, if Sonia chose to talk about thatter that night, she could choose any approach


    she wanted to bring up the matter to Toby in his absence. Although Toby might still be mad at him for


    running his mouth off, he could not berate Tom right away. Besides, there was also a chance that Sonia


    might even dissuade Toby from giving him a hard time.


    In the meantime, Toby had no idea what his assistant was thinking as he couldn''t take his eyes off


    Sonia. Hearing thedy''s words, he raised his eyebrows, his eyes seemingly filled with ambiguous


    emotion. "Is there something important?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded without hesitation.


    "I''lle over and pick you upter in the afternoon." Toby agreed.


    "See you, then." Sonia waved her hand at the man, who said goodbye to her and rolled up the window.


    After that, Sonia continued to stand by the roadside and waved at the man until the car went out of her


    sight before she entered the building. At the same time, the couple''s lovey-dovey interaction was


    spotted by the employees around them as they couldn''t help feeling envious toward the love Sonia and


    Toby had for each other. Although Sonia noticed their reactions, she onlyughed it off and shook her


    head, greeting them as usual while walking toward the elevator.


    As soon as Sonia arrived in her office, she heard someone knocking on her door. Thinking it was


    Daphne, she put down her purse and took off her coat while responding to the person outside her office


    without looking up. "Come in."


    Hearing the rattling sound of high heels on the ground, Sonia paused for a second and looked up just


    when she was about to hang her coat. When she realized her secretary was someone else instead of


    Daphne, she asked in confusion, "Where is Daphne?"


    "Didn''t you know, Chairman Reed? Miss Daphne is on leave." The secretary stopped in front of Sonia''s


    desk and politely added, "Miss Daphne applied for leave yesterday afternoon, so from today onward,


    I''m going to fill in for her until shees back."


    "That''s right. I''m sorry, it totally slipped my mind." Sonia patted her forehead in frustration.

 Chapter 1237

    Chapter 1237


    Sonia had received Daphne''s message to apply for leave when she returned to Bayside Residence


    with Toby the night before. In her message, she revealed that she was about to have her surgery soon


    and was nning to rest for about half a month. Sonia responded by giving her approval to her


    secretary, only to forget about it the next day, which was rather awkward.


    "Chairman Reed, this is your schedule for the day. Please have a look and see if there are any


    cancetions or postponements you would like to make for your agenda." The secretary passed the


    document in her arms to Sonia.


    Sonia flipped through the papers and pointed at two schedules. "Cancel these two. They are


    unnecessary, so let''s not waste our time on that."


    The secretary leaned closer to look at the events that Sonia was referring to. "Sure."


    "The rest will go on as nned." Sonia closed the file and gave it back to the secretary.


    The secretary then hugged the document back in her arms and replied, "By the way, there is one more


    thing. The machine that you ordered from Kosovo when you went there a few months ago has arrived


    at customs."


    "Wait, what? Has it arrived already?" Sonia''s eyes brightened up joyfully.


    The secretary nodded. "Yes, the customs agency is taking necessary actions to speed up the delivery


    process. Once it''s through, we can arrange for our people to collect the machine at the customs right


    away."


    "That''s awesome!" Sonia happily smiled, barely containing her excitement.


    In fact, Paradigm Co. had always relied on its cooperation with otherpanies to facilitate its


    manufacturing process until it was hit by a financial crisis so hard that the management had to sell off


    the nt and all manufacturing units to survive. However, not only did the management''s efforts fail to


    save thepany from falling apart, Sonia''s father also passed away in the end just as thepany''s


    shares were being acquired by outsiders.


    A few yearster, things finally took a turn for the better when Charles, Carl, and Leonard reacquired


    thepany bit by bit, although the Reed Family had still yet to regain full ownership over the


    company.


    At the same time, while Paradigm Co. was currently under Sonia''s possession, she was well aware of


    the fact that herpany still suffered from the absence of its own manufacturing nt and production


    units. After all, those equipment and fixed assets could not be reacquired as easily as thepany''s


    shares could since they could only be bought back from those who currently owned them.


    Furthermore, Sonia had a feeling that it would be hard to regain possession over those fixed assets


    from their new owners, thinking the reason they bought them in the first ce was because they


    wanted to maximize their capacity. Because of that, it seemed troublesome to her to repurchase those


    machines from the new owners, which was why she reckoned it was almost impossible to reacquire


    those machines that had been sold off earlier.


    Due to the circumstances, Paradigm Co. had no choice but to outsource its productionpanies like


    Dwells and Rentoor that specialized in manufacturing since it didn''t have its own production and


    manufacturing unit.


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    However, Sonia quickly realized that it wasn''t wise for herpany to continue down that path,


    considering the limited leverage it had over the otherpanies, which could put thepany at a


    disadvantage one day.


    Her worst fear came true when the owner of Dwells vited the contract and secretly sold the parts to


    Connor behind her back. Because of that, she no longer felt secure to outsource herpany''s


    production, thinking it was safer for the production to be held in house.


    In fact, Sonia had been having that thought at the back of her mind as she began to take necessary


    actions to revamp and renovate herpany''s manufacturing nt, as well as order the machine her


    company needed from Kosovo.


    While the nt was still in the midst of repair and renovation, the ongoing assembly of the machine in


    Kosovo had forced Sonia to continue working with Dwells until the unpleasant incident happened


    despite their long-term partnership, much to her dismay.


    Now that the machines Sonia had ordered were at the customs, Paradigm Co. would no longer need to


    depend on the otherpanies to produce the spare parts and goods once they collected them. That


    way, I suppose it''s only a matter of time before Paradigm Co. will be listed on the share market once


    again.


    The more Sonia thought about it, the more tightly she clenched her fists. "Tell the logistics department


    to pay attention to the customs agency. I want the machine here as soon as possible. Make sure


    nothing goes wrong!"


    "Don''t worry about it, Chairman Reed. Miss Daphne walked me through it when she handed over her


    job to me." The secretary smiled in response.


    Sonia smiled and replied, "Even when she is sick, she still can''t get her mind off her job. I can''t help but


    pity that poordy."


    "Miss Daphne is indeed a responsible employee." The secretary nodded in agreement.


    "Is the construction of the manufacturing ntplete?" Sonia looked at her.


    With the files in her arms, the secretary replied, "It''s done, but there are still a few minor adjustments to


    be made, and we''ll only know what to do when the machines arrive. After all, the construction workers


    only have the drafts to refer to, which makes it hard for them to decide where to install the circuit box


    and venttion fans. Furthermore, they won''t know how big each circuit box should be and how much


    space each venttion fan would take up until they see the actual object."


    "I understand. I''m going to head over to the manufacturing nt to inspect their progress myself, but as


    for the minor adjustments, I suppose we''ll only talk about that when the machines arrive." Sonia sat


    down on her chair.


    The secretary nodded. "Alright."


    "Great. You may excuse yourself now. Please also tell our shareholders and the senior management


    about the meeting soon." Sonia waved her hand and made her instruction heard, whereupon the


    secretary nodded and excused herself.


    After that, Sonia continued to sit down in her office for the next few moments before she started to


    gather the documents she needed for the meetingter. Then, she left her office and headed for the


    meeting thatsted for almost three hours.


    When the meeting was over, it was almost 1.00PM. At that moment, Sonia could hear her stomach


    growling as she rubbed her belly and returned to her office with a pair of furrowed brows on her face.


    As soon as she got back to her office, she heard the telephone on her desk ringing before she could


    even ask her secretary to get her lunch. Because of that, she decided to send her secretary a text


    message and told her to buy her lunch, whereupon she put down her cell phone and answered the


    inte. "Hello?"


    "Greeting, Chairman Reed. I''m calling from the front desk." The receptionist''s polite voice was heard.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows, wondering why the receptionist would call her. Then, she started to suspect


    there might be something important she had to attend to by herself like a guest or some confidential


    parcel. Otherwise, the receptionist would''ve contacted her secretary or her assistant first instead of


    approaching her directly. At the thought of that, she put up with her hunger and sat up straight,


    speaking with a strict tone. "What''s the matter?"


    "There are two guests iming to be the president of Lore Communications and his assistant. They


    would like to meet you." The receptionist looked at Grayson and spoke over the phone.


    "The president of Lore Communications?" Sonia squinted.


    "Yes."


    Sonia pursed her lips, knowing the reason why Grayson was here. I can''t believe that someone from


    the Lore Family is here, but I never thought it would be the president of Lore Communications himself. I


    bet he must be here for Lte.


    "Chairman Reed, would you like to see them?" the receptionist asked once again.


    However, Sonia didn''t answer right away. Instead, she held the phone up with one hand while knocking


    on the table with the other, seemingly pondering about the receptionist''s question.


    On the other hand, the receptionist, who heard the knocking, didn''t dare to interfere with Sonia as she


    only kept the phone in her hands and apologetically smiled at Grayson, signaling the man to wait.


    Nevertheless, Grayson was extremely impatient by that, responding with a darkened look on his face.


    Deep down, he reckoned he should be respected by Sonia, deeming himself equally on par with Henry


    in terms of seniority. In fact, he also reckoned that he was older than Toby, which was all the more


    reason Sonia should show him some respect.


    Where is thisdy''s respect? She shoulde and receive me after learning about my arrival. Instead,


    she''s taking her time without giving me a proper response.

 Chapter 1238

    Chapter 1238


    At that moment, Grayson, who had a strong dislike toward Sonia, felt even more unhappy with her,


    thinking she was purposely stalling and making him wait.


    After all, Sonia was the only person who was daring enough to do that to him, which he assumed must


    be because she thought Toby had her back. How arrogant thisdy is! Why are you so cocky, Sonia?


    You''re nowhere close to Lte. What makes you think you''re a perfect match for Toby?


    As Grayson grew tired of waiting and was about to barge into the building, the receptionist suddenly put


    down the phone after saying something to Sonia on the inside and turned her attention to the man. "I''m


    sorry to have made you wait, Mr. Lore. Chairman Reed has agreed to see you now. Pleasee with


    me." She then extended her arm and showed the two men the way.


    Grayson lightened up a little when he heard her words, but he remained haughty and insolent. At the


    same time, he waved his hand and grunted. "Atst, she made the right move."


    When the receptionist heard the man''s words, she secretly rolled her eyes upward in disdain. What the


    hell is wrong with this man?! He is on someone else''s turf, yet he won''t keep his arrogance in check at


    all. I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised to see a man like him with a shameless daughter who wants


    nothing but to be a mistress! No wonder people say like father, like daughter!


    The receptionist''s mind was filled with disgust toward Grayson, but due to her status as an ordinary


    employee working at the front desk, she didn''t dare to express her disdain as she continued to lead


    Grayson and his assistant to the elevator. Nheless, she hoped that Sonia would teach them a


    lessonter.


    In the meantime, Grayson, who was following behind the receptionist, kept looking around the building.


    Noticing the old interior design, Grayson didn''t even bother to hide the contemptuous look on his face.


    In fact, he even wiped the elevator to degrade Sonia''spany, although there was barely any dust


    inside the elevator. Then, he blew his own hands and pped them like he was trying to dust his


    hands. At the same time, he went on to mock thepany by asking, "What''s with this design? I can''t


    believe Paradigm Co. is so old-fashioned."


    Meanwhile, the receptionist felt even more disgusted when she saw what Grayson did. After all, she


    worked at the front desk and hade across countless people day in and day out. Thus, she


    considered herself quite a keen judge of character and was able to see through Grayson''s ill intention


    behind his gestures.


    How cheap! This guy is just trying to make Paradigm Co. seem bad. As one of the employees of her


    company, she had to admit that Paradigm Co. was not in its best financial state at that moment.


    However, she was grateful that thepany had never forgotten the benefits that they deserved. At


    the same time, she was never worried about Paradigm Co.''s respect and her own future, considering


    the rtionship between Sonia and Toby.


    Because of that, every single employee had a strong sense of belonging in thepany. Thus, the


    receptionist could not stand it when she heard someone degrading herpany, but despite her


    displeasure, she wasn''t going to express it anyway because she was just an ordinary employee who


    worked at the front desk.


    Other than knitting her eyebrows and reacting with an indifferent attitude, there was only so much she


    could do. Nevertheless, she was determined deep down to tell Sonia what she saw, thinking her boss


    was in a better ce to refute Grayson than she was.


    Well, even if Chairman Reed can''t do anything, I''m sure Mr. Fuller can handle this guy. At the thought


    of that, the receptionist only kept her eyes on the elevator door without even bothering to look at


    Grayson. While she continued to smile, she answered nonchntly, "Paradigm Co. was built more than


    twenty years ago, so it''s not surprising that the interior design seems old school. Although it''s barely


    comparable to the trend right now, the design was one of the most popr ones back then."


    "No wonder." Grayson smiled nonchntly. "You may be right, but after more than two decades, don''t


    you think it''s time for yourpany to go through a makeover? After all, yourpany''s appearance is


    the most obvious factor that influences how people think of it. If your management won''t do anything to


    change it, it''ll only seem to others as if it hasn''t progressed at all without anything worth looking forward


    to." The man implied that Paradigm Co. was just like an outdated property, destined to be left forgotten.


    The receptionist clenched her fists and faked a smile. "I beg to differ, Mr. Lore. The reason the interior


    design in Paradigm Co. remains the same is not because we can''t afford to change, but because our


    leaders are nostalgic of the past. Furthermore, with the rtionship between Paradigm Co. and the


    Fuller Group, I''m sure it''s only a matter of time before they do something about changing the interior


    design. In fact, even if we don''t make any changes, I''m sure whoever works with ourpany will


    respect us due to our alliance with the Fuller Group. After all, no one is going to disrespect us just


    because of our outdated interior design, which is why I don''t think it''s that important of a matter to


    change the interior design. Moreover, Paradigm Co. is backed by the Fuller Group just as Chairman


    Reed is backed by Mr. Fuller."


    On the other hand, Grayson could also tell what the receptionist was insinuating, knowing she was


    trying to point out the fact that the Lore Family had gotten on the wrong side of Toby, making it even


    harder for them to align themselves with the Fuller Family again.


    In that instant, Grayson was overwhelmed with anger, yet there was nothing he could do to the


    receptionist. After all, he didn''t want to be embarrassed if word about him, a corporate president,


    messing around with an ordinary receptionist got out. Despite his frustration and annoyance with the


    receptionist''s reply, he couldn''t do anything except put up with her.


    Because of that, the elevator was shrouded in silence as Grayson fixed his cold gaze on the


    receptionist. Deep down, Grayson was annoyed about his failure to degrade Paradigm Co., but what


    irritated him even more was that his petty attempt to insult thepany ironically put him in an


    embarrassing position.


    Soon, the elevator arrived just as the door opened. Then, the receptionist stepped out of the elevator


    and heaved a sigh of relief, pretending as if nothing ever happened. At the same time, she extended


    her arm and politely invited Grayson and his assistant to step out of the elevator. "This way, Mr. Lore.


    We''re almost reaching Chairman Reed''s office."


    Grayson glimpsed the receptionist and grunted coldly, fixing his cor as he stepped out of the elevator


    with his assistant following right behind him closely.


    "We''re here," the receptionist said to Grayson and his assistant, whereupon she knocked on the door.


    Sonia''s voice could soon be heard from inside the door. "Come in."


    The receptionist soon opened the door. "Chairman Reed, Mr. Lore is here."


    Sonia then put down her pen and looked up, setting her eyes on the receptionist while nodding. "Let


    them in while you make us some tea." This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    "Alright," the receptionist replied with an affirmative hum, showing Grayson and his assistant the way


    into Sonia''s office before she left to make them some tea.


    The next moment, Sonia stood up and walked closer to Grayson. "Mr. Lore, wee to Paradigm Co.


    Please take a seat." She pointed at the couch not far away from her, signaling Grayson to sit there.


    However, Grayson was seen with a disgusted look on his face when he saw the old-fashioned wooden


    couch. Thus, he directly approached the couch without responding to Sonia and sat down as if he was


    the boss who owned the ce.


    When Sonia saw that, she squinted with an indifferent look on her face. Just as she was about to say


    something, the receptionist, who was supposed to make some tea, peeked from the door and spoke.


    "Chairman Reed, I can''t find the tea leaves, so could you pleasee here?" The receptionist


    mustered her courage and waved her hand at Sonia.


    Sonia raised her eyebrows upon hearing the receptionist''s words. What? She can''t find the tea leaves?


    That''s impossible. They have always been in the same, obvious spot in the cab. She must have


    something she wants to talk to me about. Sonia was sure that the tea leaves should still be there, and


    she instantly saw through the receptionist''s intention of beckoning her over. Because of that, she


    nodded and said, "Alright, I''ll meet you in the pantry."


    In the meantime, the receptionist heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Sonia''s affirmative reply,


    whereupon she disappeared at the door.

 Chapter 1239

    Chapter 1239


    When Sonia saw her receptionist walking away, she looked back and turned her attention to Grayson,


    who was sitting on the couch like a boss. "Mr. Lore, it appears that my employee needs my help. I''m


    going to have to excuse myself now while you sit here until I return. I won''t take long." Sonia


    maintained the smile on her face but did so rather indifferently. After all, there was no way she could


    make herself treat the man with some enthusiasm because she never had any good impressions


    toward the Lore Family. I haven''t seen a guest who acts so arrogantly on someone else''s turf.


    "Go ahead then, but you''d better hurry up; I don''t have all day." Grayson raised his wrist and looked at


    his watch, behaving insolently while talking to Sonia. Apparently, he didn''t treat Sonia with respect but


    instead with contempt and disdain like she was his maid whom he could boss around.


    After that, Sonia squinted and kept her head down, hiding the nonchnce in her eyes. At the same


    time, she reacted with a faint smile before exiting the office. When she was gone, Grayson''s assistant,


    who had his eyes on the door, spoke to his boss in a concerned manner. "Mr. Lore, was it really


    necessary to be so mean to Miss Reed?"


    With his legs crossed, Grayson stopped shaking them and looked up, ring at his assistant unhappily.


    "What are you talking about? Are you on her side?"


    "No, of course not." The assistant shook his head and exined, "I''m not on Miss Reed''s side, Mr.


    Lore. I''m concerned about us. After all, the reason we''re here is to apologize and ask for Miss Reed''s


    forgiveness, but your attitude makes us seem like we''re¡­ Here for trouble." Grayson''s assistant


    lowered his voice toward the end of his sentence, eventually even losing the courage to look his boss


    in the eye.


    "Are you saying that I''m here to seek trouble?" Grayson''s face darkened even more.


    "No, of course not." The assistant shook his head. "That''s not what I meant. Instead, I''m just saying


    that the attitude you just showed might not have been appropriate, considering our circumstances.


    Thus, I think we should be a little more polite. Who knows we may be able to achieve our goal in the


    end?" The assistant advised Grayson to adopt a more diplomatic approach.


    Grayson grunted coldly in response. "What are you talking about? Why should I be polite to her? Who


    does she think she is?"


    The man pointed in the direction in which Sonia just left and raised his voice. "She and I are on an


    equal footing in terms of status. In fact, I''m older than she is, which means she should ept it with


    grace even though I''m here to offer my apology. If she is smart enough, she''d suggest that we leave


    the past behind us before I even start talking. So, are you out of your mind telling me to be nice to her?


    She doesn''t deserve that!"


    As soon as Grayson''s assistant heard his words, he instantly felt helpless and puzzled. No wonder


    people are leaving thispany, especially from the secretary and public rtions department. When I


    first heard from them that thispany had no future, I didn''t believe them, but now, I guess I was


    wrong back then. With a dumb boss like this fe, it''d be a miracle if thepany survives for long.


    This guy came all the way here to apologize, but instead, he''s acting arrogantly and belligerently. Does


    he want hispany to go bankrupt sooner?


    Grayson''s assistant rolled his eyes upward as he decided to give up changing his boss'' mind. Deep


    down, he reckoned he should just stand on the sidelines and watch since Grayson was the one who


    owned and ran hispany. Because of that, Grayson''s assistant kept his head down in silence and


    said nothing more.


    On the other hand, Sonia arrived in the pantry and closed the door behind her. At that moment, the


    receptionist, who was filling the empty teapot with water, turned off the tap when she heard a sound.


    She then put down the teapot and wiped her hands on her skirt, acting in a reserved manner. "Here


    you are, Chairman Reed."


    Sensing the nervousness on the receptionist''s face, Sonia smiled gently and said, "Didn''t you tell me to


    come here? Anyway, just rx and organize your thoughts. I''m here and ready to listen, okay? I won''t


    bite, so take it easy."


    Upon hearing Sonia''sforting words, the receptionist was seen with a pair of blushed cheeks as she


    began to feel more and more rxed. "Here was what happened just now, Chairman Reed¡­" She


    then went on to tell Sonia everything that happened from the moment Grayson and his assistant came


    until they arrived in her office.


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    After learning the story, Soniaughed in an amused manner. "Oh,e on! He is on my turf, yet he


    won''t keep his temper in check! Is he taking my kindness as ignorance?!"


    "Exactly! He must not be forgiven, Chairman Reed. You must do something about it." The receptionist


    clenched her fists and expressed her annoyance.


    Seeing how angry the receptionist was, Sonia lightened up and replied with a smile, "Don''t worry about


    that. I know what to do, but I''m grateful for your loyalty toward thepany."


    The receptionist scratched her head bashfully and said, "Well, I''m also a part of Paradigm Co., so of


    course I can''t just keep quiet and do nothing when someone degrades mypany."


    "Your bonus is going to double this month." Sonia smiled at her.


    The receptionist was stunned for a second before she looked Sonia in the eye and asked, "Really,


    Chairman Reed?''


    "Of course, I just told you that myself. Why would I lie to you?" Sonia smiled even brighter. "Just talk to


    the people from the finance departmentter and tell them it''s my idea. They will check with meter


    on."


    "Thank you so much, Chairman Reed! Thank you so much!" The receptionist bowed to Sonia


    thankfully.


    Sonia smiled and shook her head, seizing the receptionist''s hand. "Alright, now please get the tea


    ready."


    "Alright, I''ll get it ready right now." The receptionist grabbed the teapot and began to fill the teacup with


    some tea. After that, she covered each of the teacups with a lid and ced them on a tray, which she


    was about to lift up.


    However, Sonia quickly took the tray and said, "I''ll take it from here and serve them the tea. When you


    go downstairs, please tell those security guards to wait outside my office. As soon as they hear me


    chasing Mr. Lore and his assistant away, they wille in and take the two of them out of this


    building."


    The receptionist nodded, her eyes brightening up after she heard Sonia''s words. "Alright, Chairman


    Reed. I''m going to do as you say."


    Sonia responded with an affirmative hum and carried the tray in her hands, making her way back to the


    office. Since her office was just beside the pantry, she could hear murmurs of conversation between


    Grayson and his assistant inside her office. When she heard her name being mentioned, she believed


    Grayson was talking behind her back to his assistant. Thus, she pursed her lips and kicked the door to


    create some noise, intentionally alerting the two men in her office.


    When the two men heard the knock on the door, they knew Sonia was back and quickly stopped


    talking. At the same time, Grayson was left tongue-tied despite his arrogant attitude and all the mean


    things he was saying about Sonia. Look at yourself, Mr. Lore! Where is all your confidence?!


    Meanwhile, his assistant''s face was filled with contempt. Is that all you got? Come on, you''re going to


    have to do better! I guess that''s not surprising for a b*stard like you!


    "I''m sorry for making you wait, Mr. Lore." Sonia pretended as if she didn''t hear what they were talking


    about while approaching them with the teacups, which she ced right in front of Grayson and his


    assistant.


    While Grayson only glimpsed the teacup without saying a word, his assistant standing right behind him


    politely thanked Sonia for the tea. For that, Sonia raised her eyebrows in surprise and gazed at


    Grayson''s assistant, seeing the sincerity in his eyes as she was surprised to find that.


    After all, she thought Grayson''s subordinate was just as unreasonable as he was, thinking everyone


    around him was nothing much different from himself. Mr. Lore''s assistant is quite a decent man, but it''s


    too bad that he works for someone who doesn''t deserve him.


    Sonia thought about that regrettably but quickly put that behind her. She then sat down opposite


    Grayson and smiled at him indifferently. "Try the tea, Mr. Lore. I hope you''ll like it."

 Chapter 1240

    Chapter 1240


    Only did Grayson look at Sonia when he heard her words. Then, he looked at the teacup in front of


    him, but he then frowned as he looked at the tea inside it. "What variety of tea is this?" he asked.


    "Don''t worry, Mr. Lore. I won''t serve you any premium tea. This is just a normal cup of green tea."


    Sonia crossed her legs and smiled.


    When Grayson heard her words, he had a grim expression. "A normal cup of green tea? Is this how


    Paradigm Co. treats their guests?"


    While listening to his words, Sonia sipped her tea and said faintly, "I can''t do anything about this. My


    company is small, and I can''t even change the furniture that I have been using for twenty years. What


    makes you think I can serve you premium tea? A normal cup of tea is all I can do for you, so bear with


    it. After all, I still see you as a guest. Otherwise, I would''ve simply handed you a cup of water." As she


    spoke, she emphasized the twenty years of furnishing.


    Although Grayson didn''t have any outstanding abilities in business, he was not a fool. When he heard


    her words, he knew that the receptionist had told her about what he said in the elevator. Thus, Sonia


    was using this as a chance to treat him offhandedly by serving him an average cup of tea. With that


    thought in mind, he was fuming in anger.


    "Do you even serve just water?" Grayson squinted his eyes at her. "Aren''t you Toby''s girlfriend?


    Considering the years that you have been with him, I don''t believe that you haven''t taken anything from


    him. Does he dislike you? Is that why he isn''t even willing to buy you premium tea brands? That''s


    probably why yourpany only has this kind of cheap stuff."


    Sonia didn''t get mad and was still grinning when she heard his remarks. "You must have


    underestimated me, Mr. Lore. Toby did give me a lot of good stuff, including premium tea. However, I


    don''t want to serve it to you. I only serve good tea to people who are polite and respectful, not some


    arrogant man like you. People like you should only be amodated with regr tea. It''s even


    ridiculous that you said Toby dislikes me. If so, he wouldn''t have disassociated himself from the Lore


    Family. Don''t you think so?"


    "You¡­" Grayson was furious at her words that he couldn''t even make out a sentence.


    ording to her words, she''s implying that my family isn''t worth drinking premium tea and can only be


    served cheap, regr tea. Not only that, she''s also boasting about the fact that Toby chose her over


    my family. This is just¡­ just¡­ As Grayson thought about it, he was breathing heavily from frustration.


    At that moment, he couldn''t think of anything to criticize Sonia.


    Seeing that he was furious to this point, Sonia furrowed her eyebrows as she was afraid he wouldn''t be


    able to handle his emotions. She restrained herself and put down the cup, asking coldly, "Alright, Mr.


    Lore. I was only joking, so please excuse me for it. After all, you do know that we youngsters like to


    joke about everything. I''m sure you don''t mind it, do you?" She smiled at him.


    When he heard her words, Grayson was even more furious. There was nothing else he could say since


    she had put it that way. He couldn''t possibly say that he didn''t think it was a joke, for it would make him


    seem like a killjoy. However, he couldn''t let himself agree with her words either as he would need to


    endure it. Moreover, he knew that she was not joking. She was clearly provoking him and being


    boastful about it!


    When Sonia saw Grayson shaking from anger, she sighed inwardly. To think that such an impatient


    man is the boss of apany. He is even worse than a newbie like me.


    A hint of mockery shed across her eyes as she thought about it. "Enough with all the talking now, Mr.


    Lore. Why don''t we talk about business? If I remember clearly, there aren''t any intersections between


    your family and me. Is there a reason for your visit today?" she asked.


    As Grayson''s assistant soothed him, he slowly calmed down and regained hisposure, but he still


    had a grim expression. He looked at her coldly and said, "I don''t think we have to beat around the


    bushes, Sonia. I believe that you know why I am here."


    "I''m sorry, but I don''t have a clue. Why don''t you just say it? I''m not fond of guessing things." Sonia


    smiled, implying that she wanted him to say for himself rather than admit she knew what exactly


    happened.


    When Grayson heard it, he was furious as he didn''t expect her to be such a cunning person.


    He was here to apologize to her, but he didn''t want to take the initiative and say it. After all, he would


    not be in control of the situation if he were to say it first. Initially, he was nning to let Sonia ask about


    it. That way, it would be easier for him to express his words. However, his n was now in vain since


    Sonia insisted on him saying it. If it weren''t for Harry''s orders, Grayson believed he would have just left


    on the spot. After all, he had never been in such a situation with any youngsters other than Toby.


    Seeing how Grayson''s expression changed, Sonia shrugged and said, "Since you are not going to say


    anything, I guess this will be the end of our conversation. You can alwayse to me when you''ve


    carefully thought about what you want to say. However, I can''t promise that I will still have the time for


    you."


    As soon as she finished her words, she stood up and shouted in the direction of the door. "Security,


    take him away!"


    "Wait!" Grayson didn''t expect her to kick him out without saying anything. He quickly stood up and


    stopped her. "There''s no need to kick me out now, Miss Reed. I''ll say it, okay?"


    When Sonia heard his words, a glint shed across her eyes as she smiled. "I''m listening, Mr. Lore.


    Please have a seat." Then, she motioned for him to have a seat.


    "I didn''t expect you to be such a difficult person, Miss Reed." He looked at her gloomily as he sat down.


    Sonia flipped her hair and sat back down. "You tter me, Mr. Lore. We should always have some


    tricks up our sleeves when doing business, right? Now, please begin your speech, Mr. Lore. I''ll give you


    thirty minutes to say it, for I''m going to have lunch afterward." She looked at her watch and motioned


    him to start talking.


    However, her gesture was as if she was signaling him to start putting on a show rather than speaking.


    She is treating me like a clown! he thought.


    Although Grayson was trembling in rage, he couldn''t do anything. So, he took a deep breath to surpass


    his anger and said slowly, "Miss Reed, I''m here to apologize to you. I''m sorry that my daughter,


    Lte, caused you trouble yesterday. As such, I''m sorry for not educating her well enough. Please


    excuse her for her behavior, Miss Reed."


    The smile on Sonia''s face turned into a sneer as she heard his words. "You are here to apologize on


    Lte''s behalf," she said. Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    "Yes," he replied.


    Then, Sonia shifted in her seat. Her sneer was even more visible, and her eyes were icy cold as she


    spoke. "However, with all due respect, this is the first time I have seen such an apology."


    As Grayson heard her words, the expression on his face stiffened. "What do you mean by this, Miss


    Reed?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Sonia shrugged. "When people apologize, they bring the instigator over and some


    apology gifts. Not only that, they are typically well-mannered as they bow and ask for forgiveness.


    However, I don''t see that in you, Mr. Lore."

 Chapter 1241

    Chapter 1241


    Chapter


    Sonia nced at Grayson coldly as she spoke. "Although you said you were here to apologize, I don''t


    see you bringing Lte, let alone some apology gifts. Moreover, you are ill-mannered. Is this how you


    apologize to someone? If I didn''t know better, I would have thought you were here to ask for a


    protection racket."


    At this moment, Grayson''s assistant, who stood behind him, subconsciously nodded. That''s right. I


    knew this would not end well when I saw Mr. Loreing out empty-handed earlier. I advised him to


    bring some gifts along, but he just wouldn''t listen, and there was nothing I could do about it. Mr. Lore


    deserves to be scolded by Miss Reed.


    However, despite the fact that Grayson''s assistant sided with Sonia''s words, Grayson himself was


    unhappy with it. He squinted his eyes at her and said darkly, "Apology gifts? From your perspective, am


    I asking for a protection racket instead of apologizing to you?"


    Sonia smiled faintly and said, "Although you are not, your attitude makes it seems like it. With all due


    respect, I don''t see how you are apologizing, Mr. Lore. I still stand by my words; apologize like you


    mean it. You are here because Toby dissociated himself from your family, right?"


    As he listened to her words, Grayson gripped his knuckles and didn''t say anything. However, his


    expression said otherwise.


    "I guess so." Sonia crossed her legs and leaned against the armrest. "It has been forty-eight hours


    since this matter happened. However, you guys never contacted me to apologize. It was only when


    Toby kept clear with your family that you decided toe and apologize. This shows that you are here


    by force. Not only that, your attitude is terrible, and there aren''t any apology gifts. I can see that you are


    not being sincere."


    When she spoke, her tone was calm as if she was talking about the weather. However, her sarcastic


    words were like needles piercing into Grayson''s heart, exposing his true thoughts out in the open.


    At that moment, Grayson''s expression was ugly, and he gripped the armrest even tighter. If it weren''t


    that he was still rational and knew that he hadn''t made his point, he would have stood up and left.


    To him, even if he was thinking about it, no one should ever say it aloud. Sonia should have pretended


    not to know and epted his apology. After all, he was an elder to her! It was so frustrating since she


    wouldn''t oblige him.


    While Grayson was trembling from either frustration or embarrassment, there was a hint of mockery in


    Sonia''s eyes as she looked at him.


    Then, she opened her mouth and said, "I''m only an ordinary person, Mr. Lore. I like to be more realistic.


    Since you are here to apologize, I would advise you to bring Lte over and ask her to apologize to


    me in person while you prepare some gifts that will satisfy me. Lastly, I hope you two can be well-


    mannered and bow to me. By then, perhaps I''ll look over the part where you guys made a mistake and


    had not disciplined Lte well. Simply put, I will not ept your apology this time. Pleasee by


    again when you are all set." Then, she picked up her cup, asking him to leave.


    When Grayson heard her request for gifts and bows, he was red from anger. "You''re being greedy,


    Sonia. Your desire is hideous for asking for gifts, our bows, and wanting Lte to apologize in


    person," he snapped.


    "My desire is hideous?" Sonia frowned and sneered. "Don''t get me wrong, Mr. Lore. The Lore Family


    are the ones who are supposed to apologize to me, not the other way around; I''m not the one begging


    for your forgiveness. Since it''s an apology, you should make it seem that way. Don''te here alone,


    empty-handed, and be arrogant about it. Also, don''t tell me to let you guys off the hook after such a


    lackluster apology. With that being said, you are causing trouble here rather than apologizing. I haven''t


    seen anyone apologize in this manner before. If I were you, I would have called the person firsthand


    and apologized to them for my mistake. If they don''t ept it, I would go to their doorstep with gifts and


    repeatedly apologize until they forgive me. This is the way to apologize to someone. I cannot say the


    same for you, though."


    Sonia lifted her chin and looked at him in disdain. "How shameless of you toe here empty-handed


    and tell me to let go of this matter. I wonder where you got the confidence from, assuming I will forgive


    you when you have brought nothing and only said sorry."


    When Grayson heard her reprimand him, there was a hint of guilt in his eyes.


    Sonia put down her legs and stood up, closing into him. "Tell me, Mr. Lore. Why are you so confident


    about this matter?" she asked again.


    Under these circumstances, Grayson''s ego probably couldn''t take it anymore, and he decided to go all


    out. The man took a deep breath and stared at her. "What else? I am an elder to you. Given the


    rtionship between the Lore Family and the Fullers, you should forgive Lte''s behavior and put in


    a good word for us to Toby."


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "What?" Sonia was startled upon hearing his reply. When she snapped back to her senses, she was


    furious. "An elder? Your rtionship with the Fuller Family?"


    "That''s right." Grayson raised his chin and looked proud of himself.


    When Sonia saw his reaction, the smile on her face vanished. "What kind of elder are you to me?


    Moreover, it''s none of my business about your family''s rtionship with the Fullers. Why should I


    endure this and forgive you guys, even putting in a good word for the Lore Family to Toby?"


    "Who says I''m not? Don''t forget that I am the same age as your father, Henry. Of course, I am also your


    elder. You should call me uncle. Even if you don''t, you should call me your senior as I have been in the


    business world twenty years earlier than you." As he spoke, he was getting more proud.


    "Secondly, Toby is my father''s student. A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. As such, my family


    can be considered as Toby''s family. If you want to be with him, it''s only fair that you tter us.


    Otherwise, we will cause trouble for you, damaging your rtionship with Toby." At that moment, he


    looked at Sonia with excitement and madness.


    Listening to his words, Soniaughed. In fact, she burst into a fit ofughter while clutching her


    stomach.


    When Grayson saw herughing, his heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling in his gut.


    "Why are youughing?" he asked while gritting his teeth.


    Afterughing for a moment, Sonia wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "I see! Just when I was


    wondering why you were so confident, I finally figured out why. In terms of seniority, you are indeed my


    elder. However, as long as I refuse to admit it, you are nothing to me. Furthermore, we are not blood-


    rted. Yet, you tried to make mepromise with your age. Have some shame, Mr. Lore."

 Chapter 1242

    Chapter 1242


    Sonia''s words were straightforward, making Grayson furious when he heard it.


    However, Sonia continued, "As for your saying that I should tter you and your family in order to be


    together with Toby because of the connections with the Lore Family and the Fullers, I think that is just


    hrious. I mean, Lte framed me just to make me break up with Toby when we do not have any


    grudges against each other. I suppose I don''t need to specify why¡ªshe likes Toby, so she wants to


    rece me."


    Listening to her words, Grayson turned his face to the side awkwardly as he didn''t expect Sonia to


    know about this.


    Seeing his reaction, Sonia scoffed and continued, "Moreover, even if I were to tter you and forgive


    you like a simp, telling Toby how good your family is. Will you guys really let me be with him? My guess


    is no. Harry, who is also Toby''s teacher, talked sh*t about me to Toby before knowing what Lte did


    online. He told Toby I was ipatible with him and that we should break up. This proves that no


    matter what I do, you guys will never let me be with him because Lte would not have a chance.


    Thus, your words are pointless and ridiculous, Mr. Lore."


    At that moment, Grayson felt that Sonia had exposed him. He felt awkward as he stood on the spot,


    unable to say anything. Even his assistant wanted to bury himself in a hole.


    This was just embarrassing.


    However, Sonia seemed to have not noticed his embarrassment as she put down the teacup and


    smiled, saying, "Moreover, even if Harry doesn''t do anything, you guys can''t rece me with Lte.


    Thus, there''s no need for me to tter you guys."


    "What do you mean by that?" Grayson looked at her angrily.


    Sonia flipped her hair and said, "It''s simple. Why should I tter you guys when we are not blood-


    rted? Will you guys help me strengthen my rtionship with Toby if I were to tter you guys? I don''t


    think so. Moreover, this is my matter with Toby. What does this have to do with anyone else? Why


    would I need the help of someone? Lastly, the words I''m about to say are not going to be to your liking,


    but I''m afraid that I''m more important than the Lore Family in Toby''s heart. Not even Harry, his teacher,


    can change that. Didn''t you see how he steered away from your family when you guys offended me?"


    At that moment, Sonia probably stepped on a nerve as Grayson jumped and roared at her. "So what if


    Toby prioritizes you? That doesn''t mean that you are more important than us. He is just angry that we


    have done something wrong. He wouldn''t steer clear of us. Never!"


    Seeing that he was still refusing to admit it, Sonia didn''t get mad and just smiled. "If that''s the case,


    then why are you here? You''re here because you want me to forgive you and say good things about


    your family to Toby. Unfortunately, you guys are wrong. How do you expect me to forgive you and help


    you when you are not being sincere with your apology? This is just insane."


    "You¡­" Grayson pointed at her with trembling fingers as he was too angry to speak.


    Sonia waved her hand at him, saying, "Stop stuttering, Mr. Lore. Since you are unwilling to admit the


    truth, you shouldn''t be here and should be maintaining the pride of your family instead. We''ll see if Toby


    will pay any attention to it. However, since you are here, this proves that someone in your family knows


    what is happening. What a pity, though. Even if they know it, it will still be a waste if you don''t apologize


    sincerely. With that, I still stand my ground¡ªI won''t forgive the Lore Family. To have my forgiveness,


    you must apologize sincerely. Otherwise, I won''t ept it. Don''t tell me that I should tter you


    because of your rtionship with The Fullers. Moreover, you and your family should be the ones


    buttering up to me."


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "What nonsense are you talking about? We, the Lore Family, tter you?" said Grayson as he looked at


    Sonia scornfully.


    Meanwhile, Sonia remained her expression unchanged and looked at him nonchntly.


    Laugh all you want now. You won''t be able toughter on, she thought.


    "Nonsense?" Sonia shrugged. "I don''t think I''m speaking nonsense. As I said, I''m more important than


    the Lore Family in Toby''s heart. After all, he could steer clear of your family because of me. This proves


    that you and your family are not of much importance to him and can be easily ignored. However, if your


    family wants to keep in touch with him, you should find the perfect solution for it, and that happens to


    be me. Thus, the Lore Family should please and tter me rather than offend me, because if I''m


    satisfied, I will praise your family in front of Toby. That way, you guys can continue to keep in touch with


    him."


    As she spoke, she wiggled her fingers. "If you guys offend me, I will be very unhappy. I will then say


    bad things about your family, giving him a bad impression on the Lore Family. Moreover, I can give him


    a pillow talk to ruin any chance of the Lore Family ever getting in touch with him again. You know how


    powerful pillow talk is, don''t you, Mr. Lore?"


    At that moment, Grayson''s expression changed. He widened his eyes as he looked at her. After a


    while, he said, "You¡­ You are such a vicious woman¡­"


    "Vicious?" Sonia huffed. "I''m nothingpared to Lte. You guys provoked me first. Since you guys


    want me dead, don''t me me for my heartlessness. Lastly, I advise you to know your ce. Don''t


    assume that everyone should obey you just because you are in the high-ups for a long time. Alright,


    that''s enough talking for today. It will be meaningless if I go on. Please leave!" She pointed at the door.


    "I''m not leaving!" Grayson gripped his knuckles and said.


    How could he leave when he hadn''t aplished his purpose? Before he came here, he had


    reassured Harry that he would make her forgive them and promise to tter them in front of Toby. Now


    that none of these had been done, he was unwilling to leave.


    Seeing that he was persistent, Sonia sneered. "Not leaving? Fine, I''ll make you. Security!"


    As her words fell, the door swung open to reveal four security guards.


    The lead of the security guards looked at Grayson before back at Sonia. "Miss Reed, are you referring


    to these two?" he asked.


    "Yes. I''ll leave you guys to it." Sonia nodded.


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. We will send them out." The security guard nodded and walked toward


    Grayson and his assistant.


    "How dare you use force, Sonia?" Grayson roared in disbelief.

 Chapter 1243

    Chapter 1243


    Hearing his words, Sonia nced at him and said, "Why won''t I fight back when you are being arrogant


    in my territory? Security, take them away!" Then, she waved her hand and ordered impatiently.


    The security guards hummed in response and dragged Grayson and his assistant away. While the


    assistant obliged and followed the security guards quietly, Grayson fought back as this was his first


    time encountering such a thing. To him, this was a disgrace.


    Being born into the Lore Family meant that he was loved and cared for by everyone; he had never


    known the feeling of being wronged. When Harry became Toby''s teacher and the Lore Family had


    contact with the Fullers, his family''s status went up. Everyone was fawning over him, and no one dared


    to disrespect him. Ever since the Lore Family and the Fullers had connections, Grayson could do


    anything he wanted, and no one would stop him.


    Despite that, he was being treated like a clown by Sonia right now. How dare she ask the guards to


    throw me out? he thought.


    As Grayson struggled, he looked back at Sonia angrily while screaming, "How dare you treat me like


    this, Sonia? Aren''t you scared that I will tell Toby what kind of person you are? I''m going to tell him how


    you treated me today. By then, he will hate you and break up with you!"


    Listening to his words, Sonia rolled her eyes. Why do I think that he is an idiot? He doesn''t seem to


    understand what I just said. I just told him that he should make up with me and not threaten me if his


    family wants to earn Toby''s forgiveness since I resent them. However, it seems like he''s ignoring my


    words while being ignorant, even going as far as threatening me. What else is there to say other than


    him being a fool? The Lore Family is miserable for having such an heir. To think that Toby would help


    his family regardless and that he can look down on everyone just because Toby is his father''s student.


    What a pathetic creature, she thought.


    As she heard Grayson''s threatening words, she smiled bravely. "Let''s see if you will be able to do it,


    then." With that, she waved him off.


    The security guards continued to drag Grayson away after receiving Sonia''s order. This time, they were


    rough with him, making him howl in pain while cursing Sonia. His cursed words were even more awful


    than women who talked behind others'' backs. At this moment, he didn''t look like someone from a noble


    family. One would be in disbelief if they saw him in this state.


    Along the way, everyone in Paradigm Co. saw how Grayson acted like a madman. They were baffled


    as they had never seen such a vulgar rich man. Usually, people from the wealthy presented


    themselves as elegant and poised; even Asher would never do such a thing as he had his ego.


    However, Grayson was unlike any other wealthy person they had ever met.


    While they were in astonishment, they couldn''t help but take out their phones and record the whole part


    where the security guards dragged Grayson out. Then, someone posted the video online.


    Soon, the video of Grayson being unreasonable, cursing Sonia out, and being forcefully dragged away


    by the security guards quickly went viral online. In an instant, everyone knew about this matter.


    Initially, Sonia and Lte''s grudges were all over the news. Although it had been rified, the issue


    didn''t die down as manyizens were still paying close attention to this matter. They wanted to know


    how it ended between them and whether Sonia would forgive the Lore Family.


    As theizens were extremely curious about it, they would click into the ounts of Paradigm Co.,


    Sonia, and the other personal ounts of the sixpanies. That way, they would get first-hand news.


    That was why theizens had noticed the video posted by an employee of Paradigm Co. just as they


    visited the ount.


    The video went viral as soon as people saw the nasty things that Grayson cursed and the description


    written by the employee. At that moment, everyone looked at the Lore Family like they were clowns.


    After all, this was the first time they had seen an upper-ss person like Grayson being kicked out of a


    ce without any image. Thus, they found it interesting and even apuded Sonia for it.


    It could be said that mostizens hated the rich. Although some were clueless while some hated to


    admit it, they were envious of anyone who was rich or of high status. Thus, when anything happened to


    the rich, they would feel happy and cheered about it.


    At this moment, theizens were cheering for Sonia, saying that she did great. On the other hand,


    they were saying that Grayson was like a dog being dragged on a leash.


    Of course, someizens were rational. After reading about what happened based on what the


    Paradigm Co. employee wrote, they scolded Grayson to a certain extent instead of joking about him


    without any limitations.


    "Damn, it serves him right to be kicked out by Miss Reed. Not only did he not bring the litigant and


    apology gifts, he even acted arrogantly. This is the first time I have ever seen such a thing."


    "Yeah, I would have done the same as Miss Reed if anyone treated me like this. Moreover, I will beat


    them with a broom. I must say that Miss Reed is being soft-hearted."


    "Don''t the rich have better education than us? Why don''t they know how to apologize to others? Even


    we, as normal people, know that we should have a good attitude when apologizing to others while


    bringing them a token of apology. However, they went empty-handed. Is this because they are more


    powerful than us?"


    "Hey, don''t throw every rich person under the bus. Some of them are well educated, just like our boss.


    He is very humble and will apologize if he does anything wrong¡ªeven when faced with the lowest-


    ranking employee, there will be a token of apology. So, it''s the Lore Family who have failed to educate


    their own family members. Otherwise, why are other rich people reputable while they are aughing


    stock? Lte wants to be a third-wheeler, whereas Grayson is arrogant. It seems that the Lore Family


    is a mess. I advise those who are working with the Lore Family to be cautious of your well-being."


    When thisment was posted, it was agreed upon by many people.


    At that moment, the reputation of the Lore Family had fallen again.


    The reputation of the Lore Family wasn''t high to begin with. As a youngdy from wealth, Lte


    actually wanted to be a third-wheeler. To achieve her goal, she used theizen''s hatred for the


    third-wheeler to attack Sonia, which angered theizens.


    However, they were not angry because they had attacked an innocent woman but were furious


    because they had been used. Thus, theizens had a bad impression of Lte and the Lore Family.


    Now that Grayson made another mess, they noticed that the riches'' manners were worse than an


    ordinary person''s.


    Their actions were unforgivable as they were undoubtedly rich and had ess to most educational


    resources in the world. It would be better if they gave these resources to the citizens.


    Since theizens were jealous of them, their hatred for the Lore Family grew. At that moment, the


    stock market of the Lore Family, which had just stabilized, began to crumble again. This caused the


    Inventory Control Department employees to curse aloud while smashing their keyboards.


    When the department chief saw Grayson being thrown out of Paradigm Co. from theputer, his face


    darkened. He took his phone out and called Harry as he was ready to file aint. Owned by N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 1244

    Chapter 1244


    How can I notin about this matter? I knew that Grayson was going to Paradigm Co. as well as


    the reason why. After all, the three of us¡ªGrayson, Harry, and I¡ªhad a meeting. Before he set off to


    meet her, we discussed how to earn Sonia''s forgiveness and let her talk good things about us in front


    of Toby. When Grayson left, he reassured us that he wouldplete the mission with flying colors.


    However, Sonia ended up throwing him out because of his ill-mannered and insincere apology! Did he


    forget everything that we talked about during the meeting? He is going to be the death of me.


    The call was picked up just as the department chief was thinking about it.


    "Hello." Harry''s old but high-spirited voice came through the phone.


    "President Lore, there''s something that I need to tell you. It''s about Mr. Lore," the chief said as he sat


    straight.


    On the other side of the phone, Harry wore white sportswear as he stood in the vi''s garden. There


    was a sword that was made for exercise beside him. This proved that Harry was exercising before the


    chief had called.


    He took the towel that the housekeeper gave him and wiped the sweat off his face. Then, he walked


    toward the gazebo and asked, "What''s the matter? Is he back from Paradigm Co. yet?"


    The chief shook his head and said, "He''s not back yet, but he will be soon."


    "How did it go? Did Sonia¡ª" Before Harry could finish his words, he was cut off by the chief''s deep


    sigh. "I''m sorry, President Lore. Mr. Lore failed toplete the mission," he said.


    At that moment, Harry stopped what he was doing abruptly. His face, which was red from exercise,


    darkened instantly.


    "What? He failed?" he asked.


    "Yes."


    Listening to the chief''s words, Harry squinted his eyes and wondered how he could''ve possibly failed.


    "Is it because Sonia made things difficult for him? Did she request other things as she felt that it was


    not enough?" Harry gritted his teeth and guessed, his tone gloomy.


    The chief didn''t know what to say when Harry used Sonia of doing all that. Never did he think that


    the problemy with Grayson.


    To be honest, I believed that Harry knew what type of person Grayson was, but he was brainlessly


    protecting Grayson. He always med others and never realized that perhaps Grayson might be the


    person at fault. No wonder Grayson has this kind of personality.


    Although the chief was thinking about it, he didn''t say it aloud. He lowered his eyes and replied,


    "Certainly not. The reason why it failed was because of Mr. Lore himself."


    "What do you mean by that?" Harry frowned. "Are you saying that it''s Grayson''s fault?"


    "Yes." The chief nodded. "During the meeting, we talked about letting Grayson apologize to Sonia on


    Lte''s behalf. Although Sonia didn''t meet the instigator who caused this matter, she would be soft-


    hearted and let this matter off the hook if he had apologized sincerely to her and given her a token of


    apology. However¡­" the chief trailed off.


    Listening to his words, Harry gripped his phone in annoyance and said, "Hurry up and say it."


    "Yes," the chief replied without hesitation. "Grayson had agreed to it at first and we prepared the gift,


    but he changed his mind at thest minute. He went to Paradigm Co. with only his assistant and no


    gifts. Not only that, he was ill-mannered too. Not only did he not apologize, he even aroused the conflict


    between Miss Reed and himself. In the end, Miss Reed''s security guards kicked him out."


    Bang!


    At that moment, Harry swept everything that was on the stone table off. He was fuming in anger while


    he breathed heavily. "That sc*mbag! How dare he go against my order and mess things up?!"


    After he had gone to the Fuller Residence and seen Rose, he also realized that it was inappropriate to


    be at someone''s doorstep while empty-handed. However, he was excusable as he had visited her on a


    short notice. Plus, he felt that he had a good rtionship with the Fullers, so perhaps it wasn''t that


    important to bring a gift.


    Never did he expect that Rose did not feel that they were on good terms and valued the importance of


    a door gift. Although he was unhappy about it, it made him realize that the Fullers would only notice


    those they had kept connections with if they were to prepare door gifts when visiting, which was also


    the case for Sonia. N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Since a gift should be prepared when visiting, it was more appropriate to prepare it when apologizing to


    someone. Hence, even though he was unwilling to spend his money on it, he would still endure it and


    prepare a generous gift as he would earn the money back as long as Toby was still willing to keep in


    contact with them. Thus, he shouldn''t hold a grudge against this matter. However, he never expected


    Grayson to ruin all his ns, which frustrated him to no end.


    "President Lore? Are you there, President Lore?" the chief asked him worriedly.


    Hearing his words, Harry took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then, he pinched the bridge of his


    nose and said, "I''m alright. I will teach Grayson a lesson now that I know about this matter."


    "Yes." The chief nodded and asked again, "About that matter with Sonia¡­ I assume that she wants


    Miss Lte to apologize in person. So¡­"


    Harry frowned deeply as he cared for Lte very much, but he suppressed his heartache when he


    thought about the rtionship between the Lore Family and the Fullers.


    "I''ll handle Lte''s part. Once she gets over her jetg, I will bring her to Sonia," Harry said as he


    waved his hand.


    When the chief heard that Harry was finally willing to let Lte apologize, he sighed in relief. "Okay. In


    that case, I will stop disturbing you now. The video of Grayson being kicked out has been posted


    online, and everyone isughing at us. It seems that the stock market has been affected as well. I''ll be


    going to look at it."


    "Okay." Harry hummed in response.


    After the call ended, Harry squinted his eyes and cursed before dialing a number.


    On the other hand, Grayson was on his way back to Lore Communications. At this moment, he was


    sitting in the car and cursing Sonia with nasty words. His words were so unpleasant that the assistant,


    who was driving, felt ridiculous.


    It is obviously Mr. Lore''s fault and not Miss Reed''s. Yet, he doesn''t think that he''s done anything wrong


    and is ming it all on Miss Reed, blistering her. How absurd, he thought.


    At this moment, Grayson''s phone rang, cutting his words off. The car had finally quieted down as he


    stopped scolding, and the assistant felt like his ears had been saved while being grateful that


    Grayson''s phone had rung.


    Hearing his phone ring, Grayson loosened his tie and took his phone out. "Dad?" When he saw the


    caller ID, his angered expression turned to shock and nervousness.


    For some unknown reason, he had a bad feeling in his gut when he saw the caller. Should I answer it?


    I''m afraid of picking it up, though. If I don''t, he will surely punish me when I return. It looks like I have to


    answer the call no matter what, he thought.


    Thinking about it, Grayson gripped his phone and hesitated for a moment. Then, he gritted his teeth


    and picked it up. Putting the phone by his ear, he then called out cautiously, "Dad?"

 Chapter 1245

    Chapter 1245


    When Harry heard Grayson''s voice, he put down the elegance in him as he gripped his phone tightly


    while he roared, "Don''t call me dad! I don''t have such a dumb son!"


    At that moment, he was in the same state as Grayson when he was being unreasonable in Sonia''s


    office. Like father, like son¡ª not only did they look alike, but their behaviors were identical.


    Just as Grayson was expecting Harry''s tone to be calm, he was met with a roar when he picked up the


    phone. It startled him, and he winced while putting the phone away from him.


    While covering one of his ears, Grayson mumbled into the phone. "What are you doing, Dad? I''m in the


    car with my assistant, so don''t embarrass me in front of him. Dumb is such a harsh word, you know."


    Harry sneered upon hearing his words and said, "Why should I avoid embarrassing you when you have


    done something foolish? Who do you think you are?"


    "What foolish thing did I do, Dad?" Grayson retorted.


    "What did you do?" Harry sneered. "You''ll know what you''ve der on. Now, hurry up and get back


    here. I''ll give you thirty minutes for this. If you are not back by then, I''ll teach you a lesson." With that,


    he hung up the phone.


    Grayson only noticed the call had been disconnected when he looked at it after hearing no sound when


    he had been calling Harry. Then, he threw his phone aside and said bitterly, "What''s wrong with him?


    Why is he so angry?" Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    When the assistant saw how confused Grayson was, he rolled his eyes in secret. Although my dumb


    boss might not know why President Lore is furious, I know it has to do with apologizing to Miss Reed.


    Since he has messed up the apology, it would only be expected for President Lore to be mad.


    As the assistant thought about it, he didn''t tell Grayson. After all, it would be a waste of time to say


    such a thing to a foolish person. I''m better off driving back to thepany in silence, he thought calmly


    while turning the steering wheel.


    At the same time, Toby was just done meeting a client in the Fuller Group. When he left the drawing


    room, he saw Tom walking toward him with a stern face.


    "What''s wrong?" Toby stopped walking and asked.


    "President Fuller, something happened to Miss Reed," said Tom as he stood in front of Toby.


    "Again?" Toby''s expression changed, and he had an intimidating presence.


    Noticing Toby''s change in countenance, Tom quickly pushed his sses andforted him. "Calm


    down, President Fuller. It''s not a big deal. It''s just that the Lore Family went to Paradigm Co. to meet


    Miss Reed," he said.


    When Toby heard that it was the Lore Family who had gone to find Sonia, his expression became even


    colder. "Which one of the Lore Family?" he asked.


    The Lore Family disliked Sonia and treated her unruly. As such, when he heard that they had met with


    Sonia, his first reaction was that they would cause trouble for her. That was why he was in a bad mood.


    When he saw Toby walking away, Tom quickly trailed behind him while saying, "It''s Grayson."


    "Him?" Toby squinted his eyes. "Did you find out why they are looking for her?"


    Tom shook his head and replied, "I didn''t ask. However, Paradigm Co.''s employee recorded a video


    when he went there and posted it online. Then, they wrote that he was there to apologize to Sonia for


    what happened yesterday."


    When Toby heard his words, his lips curled into a sneer as if he had listened to a joke. "An apology? I


    didn''t know that he could apologize," he said.


    "That''s why it didn''t end well," Tom smiled and replied.


    Hearing his words, Toby pursed his lips. "What happened?" he asked.


    "I don''t know the details of it as I didn''t see it for myself, but from the video that the employee posted, it


    seemed like Grayson was insincere with his apology. Not only did he not bring Lte, he also went


    there empty-handed and was ill-mannered. As such, Sonia told the security guards to kick him out,"


    Tom exined.


    When Toby heard this, he stopped in his tracks. "What did you just say? He was kicked out of


    Paradigm Co.?"


    "Yes."


    "Did Sonia do this?"


    "The employee who posted said that it was Sonia. She ordered four security guards to drag Grayson


    and his assistant to thepany''s door forcefully and throw them out. To that, Grayson even fell by the


    company''s door. If you want to see it, the video is still online." With that, Tom took out his phone and


    pressed a few buttons before showing it to Toby. "Look, President Fuller," he said.


    Toby took over the phone and looked at it. He saw Grayson and his assistant being dragged out of the


    elevator and thrown out of the door. Seeing this, he smiled. "Sonia did a great job. People like this


    should be treated this way. However, Grayson has a filthy mouth," Toby said darkly as he returned the


    phone.


    Listening to his words, Tom took back his phone and looked at him. "Should I send someone to wash


    his mouth, President Fuller?" he asked.


    "What do you think?" Toby nced at him.


    Then, Tom pushed his sses and smiled, saying, "I understand. Don''t worry, I will clean his mouth


    thoroughly. I won''t disappoint you."


    Hearing his words, Toby hummed in response and pushed the office''s door open. As he entered the


    room, he took out his phone and called Sonia.


    When Tom entered the room, he closed the door behind him. Then, he stood at the opposite side of


    Toby''s table without moving as he waited for Toby to finish talking on the phone before he could report


    other matters to him.


    The call was quickly picked up. "Hello?" Sonia''s pleasant voice came through the line.


    "Did Grayson do anything to you?" Toby sat down and went straight to the point.


    On the other side of the phone, Sonia put down the ballpen she was holding and leaned back against


    the chair. "No, he didn''t. I knew that you were going to call me. Don''t worry, for he didn''t do anything to


    me. Moreover, I''m not the type to let people step over me," she replied while smiling.


    Hearing the smile in her voice, Toby knew that she was indeed fine. With that thought, he was slightly


    at ease. "That''s good. Sorry, I didn''t know they woulde to look for you," he said.


    Noticing that he had put the me on himself, Sonia shook her head and smiled. "Why are you


    apologizing to me? They have legs on their own. You can''t stop them from going somewhere. To be


    honest, I didn''t expect them to find me, but I realized that they would need to maintain the honor of their


    family from you. Since they couldn''t get to you, they had to choose another solution. With that being


    said, Grandma and I are the best solutions they can find. That''s why they came to me. Furthermore,


    yesterday''s incident impacted the rtionship between you and the Lore Family. To earn your


    forgiveness, they came to apologize to me."


    "If they meant it, they would have apologized by yesterday. They only came to look for you after


    confirming that I wanted to steer clear from them, and Grandma refused to ept their apology. This


    proves that they have yet to realize their wrongdoings and have not considered you. You aren''t their


    first choice when they want to mend their rtionship with me. How hypocritical of them." As Toby


    spoke, his face was filled with disdain toward the Lore Family.


    Listening to his words, Sonia smiled and said, "Indeed. Didn''t Mary call you yesterday and say that they


    had gone to find Grandma, wanting to mend their rtionship with you through her? However, they


    didn''t bring anything with them when they visited. How ridiculous. It was also the same thing when they


    came to me."


    "I know. I saw the video." Toby nodded.


    Sonia stretched her neck, which was slightly sore, and said, "Since you have seen it, I won''t borate


    any further. I want to say that it is their attitude that I want, not the gifts."

 Chapter 1246

    Chapter 1246


    "Got it," Toby answered.


    "Although they were sincere at offering their apology, I wouldn''t have forgiven them because of that. If


    they were polite, I would have changed my mind about them; if they showed that they were remorseful


    about what they had done and not me their faults on me in future, I wouldn''t be bothered by them.


    However, they weren''t even able to show basic respect, yet they expected me to forgive them and put


    in a good word for them. It was just ridiculous!" Sonia rubbed her temples as she spoke.


    "I''ve been too forgiving toward them in the past and never really monitored them, subsequently


    encouraging their arrogant behavior. They assume they''re able to do whatever they want just by using


    my name. As such, I''m responsible for this," Toby responded.


    After all, he was the one who had brought the Lore Family under his protection. Therefore, he was


    correspondingly responsible for how the Lore Family would behave in the future. On top of that, Toby


    would have to teach them a lesson for the mistakes they had made. However, he wasn''t familiar with


    the character of the Lore Family and assumed that they were reasonable people and wouldn''t act


    beyond measure. Because of this, he rarely questioned nor restricted them with the belief that they


    wouldn''t cause trouble, so much so that his connivance gave the Lore Family the audacity to cause


    trouble. They even believed that they didn''t have to pay the price for offending Sonia, the woman Toby


    loved. This was why he felt sorry toward the woman.


    Hearing that, she sighed and uttered, "It''s fine. I know that no matter what I tell you, you would still think


    that it''s your fault. Since that''s the case, I shall not get involved in the matters that would follow. You''ll


    be in charge of taking care of the matter regarding the Lore Family, and I hope that you won''t let me


    down."


    She thought that they would stoping to see her since she refused to help them out. Moreover, she


    couldn''t stand to speak to the brainless Lore Family and had decided to pass the task over to Toby,


    who was the most suitable candidate for the job. However, Toby knew that Sonia was doing this so that


    he could have a chance to make it up to her, which warmed his heart. He was determined about it and


    answered confidently, "Alright, I will not let you down."


    "That''s good. Have you eaten?" Sonia asked after letting out augh.


    "Not yet. My meeting with one of the foreign investors just ended, so I haven''t had time to have my


    meal." He pinched his be.


    "It''s way past your lunch time." Sonia frowned and was unhappy about it. "This won''t do. Go and get


    Tom to prepare something for you to eat now so that you can at least fill your stomach. You shouldn''t


    let yourself starve." Toby chucked when he heard how concerned she was. "What are youughing at?


    Let''s end the call so that you can get Toby to buy some food for you. We can still talk when we get


    home tonight."


    "Sure." Toby nodded and answered with a smile before looking over at Tom. "Did you hear what Sonia


    said?" he asked.


    "Yes, President Fuller. I''ll get it arranged." Tom nodded.


    With that, he immediately took his phone out and sent out a text. Tom admitted that he had overlooked


    it as he had nned to prepare Toby''s lunch after he was done with his work like how he usually did.


    He never expected Sonia to check in on them this time round. Given the situation, he decided that


    regardless of whether Toby was upied with work, he would still prepare lunch in advance in order to


    appease Sonia. Toby would definitely be d if she was happy, and Toby might raise his bonus


    because of that. Tom''s eyes lit up at the thought of that.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Toby, who was unaware of Tom''s thoughts, ended the call with Sonia. As he was about to say


    something after putting his phone down, someone knocked on the door.


    Hearing that, Tom looked at the door and responded, "I''ll go get it, President Fuller."


    Toby signaled Tom to open the door by waving at him. Tom then carefully kept his phone before


    walking over to the door and opened it. A well-dressed man in a suit was seen standing outside.


    "Mr. Brown, is President Fuller in?" the man asked politely.


    "What is it about?" Tom asked the secretary who was standing outside.


    The secretary didn''t beat around the bush and immediately flipped open the file that was ced in


    between his armpits before pulling out a gold and purple invitation card. He handed it over to Tom and


    said, "This is an invitation for President Fuller from the Lore Family."


    "What?" Tom picked at his ear, thinking that he had misheard the man''s words. "Did you say that it is


    from the Lore Family?"


    "Yes." The man nodded. "It''s from the Lore Family that you know of."


    Oh, great. Tom rolled his eyes and uttered, "Why are they suddenly sending out invites? What are they


    up to now?"


    Hearing that, the secretary smiled and replied, "This invitation was passed to us by the butler of the


    Lore Family. We were told that they were hosting a weing back party for Miss Lore as she would


    be returning from overseas. This party is hosted in order to introduce Miss Lore to everyone, which is


    why they are handing out invites. They''re hoping you''d attend the party with Miss Reed."


    Hearing that, Tom smiled and muttered, "So it''s a debutante for Lte." He then patted the invitation


    card and ridiculed, "Why are they making such a big fuss about her returning to the country? Everyone


    in the circle was aware that Lte is from the Lore Family. Do they have to purposely host a


    debutante for her? It''s obvious they''re justing up with a reason to meet President Fuller in order to


    smooth things out with him. Alright, I got it. You can get going. I''ll pass this to the president."


    "Alright, Mr. Brown." The secretary nodded and left.


    After Tom closed the door, he walked toward Toby and passed him the invitation card without saying a


    word. Although Toby didn''t speak to the secretary, he had heard Tom''s entire conversation moments


    ago. Toby furrowed his brows after taking a look at it and stuffed it into his drawer, uninterested.


    Seeing that, Tom asked, "President Fuller, will you be attending?"


    "Nope," answered Toby as he closed the drawer impassively.


    Even so, Tom wasn''t surprised at the way Toby stuffed the card into his drawer, showing that he was


    uninterested in attending. Thus, he stopped asking about it.


    "Go and check when Lte will being back." Toby suddenly spoke.


    "Got it." Tom nodded and turned around before walking out.


    After he left, Toby leaned on his chair with his arms folded while deep in thought as he narrowed his


    gaze. Meanwhile, Sonia had been busy with work after she ended the call with Toby. Not longter,


    Charles suddenly turned up at her office.


    She was surprised to see him carrying a big basket into her room. "What brings you here?" She stood


    up and asked."


    "My mom visited my maternal grandmother yesterday and brought back some dried porcini


    mushrooms. She knows that you love them, so she got me to send some over to you. Here you go."


    With that, he passed the basket to her.


    "That''s a lot!" She pointed at the basket and eximed.


    "Is it?" He looked at it.


    "This is a huge basket. I think it weighs almost ten pounds." She covered her mouth with her hand.

 Chapter 1247

    Chapter 1247


    Sonia frowned upon receiving the basket from him as it was so heavy that she was certain it weighed


    more than ten pounds.


    Charles helped her to ce the basket on her desk and exined, "This is nothing. Since you like


    them so much, my mom purposely brought more back and got me to bring them to you since she rarely


    visits my grandmother. She''s not sure when her next visit will be, which is why she brought more back


    for you so that these willst you until her next visit."


    "It sounded like your mother went to visit your grandmother just to bring some of the local produce


    back. It makes me feel bad." Soniaughed.


    "Don''t be." Charles reached over and took an apple from the fruit tray on the table and munched on it


    as he sat on the side of her desk. "Since my mom sees you as her own daughter, she bought a lot of it


    knowing that they are your favorite. Isn''t it normal? After all, mothers would want their daughters'' to be


    able to eat their favorite food."


    "Even so, Mrs. Lane has bought me a lot of my favorite food all these while, but I rarely buy her


    anything. It makes me feel bad," Sonia said as she patted the basket.


    "If you feel bad, you can visit her often if you have the time. You don''t have to buy her anything since


    she doesn''t really need anything else. Moreover, you don''t have a hometown that you can go back to,


    so it would be hard for you to get local produce for her. She''d be happier if you go and visit her."


    Charles spoke with his mouth full as he chomped on the apple.


    "You''re right. Sure, I''ll go visit her when I''m free." Sonia then took the basket from the table and ced


    it on the side. "I shall ept these then. Please thank Mrs. Lane for me."


    "No worries, it''s just some dried mushroom that doesn''t cost much." Charles waved his hand at her as


    he spoke. Soon, he suddenly recalled something and pointed at the basket before saying, "Right, my


    mom also got something for Toby. She wants me to remind you to cook it and let him eat it."


    "She wants me to cook it for Toby?" Sonia paused and looked to the direction of the basket before


    continuing, "What did Mrs. Lane get for Toby that I have to cook for him?"


    Could it be some aphrodisiac food? From her memory, elders would normally prepare such food for


    their sons or son-inws. Sonia was thinking whether Grace was hinting at her and Toby to get married


    soon and have children. She felt embarrassed by such a thought and blushed at once.


    Charles, who was unaware of what she was thinking, didn''t notice the look on her face. After he


    finished chomping on the apple, he threw the core into the bin and patted his hands. "I''m not exactly


    sure what it is, but my mom told her that it helps bone to heal faster."


    "It heals the bones?" Sonia was surprised that it wasn''t an aphrodisiac. She blinked while in a daze.


    "Sonny, what''s wrong?" Charles noticed the distracted Sonia and waved his hand in front of her.


    Noticing that, Sonia snapped out of it and grabbed onto his hand before giving him an awkward smile.


    "Nothing, I just recalled something."


    "What is it?" Charles asked.


    "Nothing much. Just tell me why your mom got Toby food with bone healing properties and stop asking


    me about anything else," said Sonia while looking at him.


    She would be embarrassed if he probed her about it, and she wouldn''t be able to answer him about


    what she was thinking since it was something embarrassing. She couldn''t believe that she actually


    thought that it was some aphrodisiac. She patted her hot, flushed face and was in disbelief that she


    actually had such thoughts.


    It must be Toby. Yeah, it must be him. His head is full of such things, and it has influenced my thoughts,


    which is why I rted it to something like that. That must be it. She pursed her lips and convinced


    herself.


    "Well, the reason is simple. Didn''t Toby break his arm before this when he was trying to save you? My


    mom wasn''t aware of how it happened, but she knew that he got hurt in order to save you. Thus, she


    did some research about food that is good for bone healing before visiting my grandmother. It''s her way


    of thanking Toby for saving your life and helping you lighten your heavy heart." Charles got down from


    the table and spoke.


    "I see." Sonia finally understood after listening to his exnation and nodded. She felt warmth in her


    heart and couldn''t help cing her palm on her chest as she eximed, "Mrs. Lane has been really


    good to me, so much that I don''t know how I should repay her."


    "If you want to repay her, like I said, you could visit her more often when you''re free. She has always


    wanted to have a daughter all her life, and she constantly grumbled about how she only gave birth to a


    son whenever she looked at me. This shows that she likes you more than me." Charles pursed his lips


    and seemed to have a trace of resentment on his face.


    Seeing that, Sonia smiled. "Are you being jealous of me?"


    "I''m not. It''s just that it makes me upset when she keeps bringing that up since I''m not the one who


    decided my gender. She should say those words to my father since his genes were the ones who


    decided the gender of their children. It''s not my fault that they gave birth to a boy. However, she


    couldn''t bring herself toin to my dad and instead directed it at me. I''m innocent!" He sighed


    resignedly.


    "Well, you have no choice since you''re his son. You''ll just have to bear with it." She beamed and patted


    his shoulder. Hearing that, he stuck his tongue out and stopped talking.


    "Right, Charles¡ªI need your help with something." She retracted her hand.


    "What is it?" He seemed serious when she heard that she needed her help and was all ears.


    "Charles, I need you to help me get a few people," she said solemnly.


    "You want me to get a few people?"


    "Yes, a few thugs." She nodded.


    "What?" He was startled by her request and raised his voice while looking at her wide-eyed. "Sonny,


    what are you trying to do? Don''t ever think of messing around."


    Sonia couldn''t help but roll her eyes at him when she saw how worked up he was. "Who said that I''m


    going to mess around?"


    "In that case, why would you want to get associated with thugs?" Charles asked concernedly.


    "I''d like to teach someone a lesson," she said after taking a seat.


    "Teach someone a lesson?" Charles was surprised and went up to her before asking, "Who are you


    going to teach a lesson?"


    The next moment, she leaned backward to distance herself from him, for he had leaned in too close to


    her. "Connor Salzburg," she answered.


    "He''s the head of the zburg Family, Anya''s father, as well as the one who holds a grudge against


    Toby?" Charles blinked his eyes as he asked.


    "Yes."


    "Is he back at Westsanshire already?"


    "Not yet." She shook her head. "Which is why I want to look for someone to beat him up. I won''t be


    able to do so once he''s back at Westsanshire since it''s his territory."


    "You have a point," said Charles while scratching his chin.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "From what I remember, you were the school bully at one point when you were in high school, and you


    even hung out with some thugs at that time. You seemed to be able to blend in well, and you were also


    their leader. It shouldn''t be hard for you to look for a few thugs, right? Even if you have not kept in


    touch with them in many years, I''m sure that you still have their contact, don''t you?"

 Chapter 1248

    Chapter 1248


    "I do keep in touch with them." Charles touched his nose sheepishly. "Well, you know him too. His


    name is Lance Walters, and he used to be my subordinate while in high school."


    "I know. He seemed silly, but he was righteous and a pretty strong guy too." Sonia nodded.


    "That''s right. After I was reprimanded by my dad, I had to leave the gang and entrusted the gang to


    Lance. He wasn''t good in his studies, but he was street smart and was able to lead the gang well. On


    top of that, he had great strength¡ªthat was why all of the members below him didn''t dare to go against


    him. Although I haven''t asked about how the gang has been doing all these years, I do keep in contact


    with Lance, so I''m still aware of a thing or two about them. Although they aren''t the biggest gang within


    Seafield, they are considered notable locally, so it wouldn''t be an issue to ask for their help," said


    Charles reassuringly.


    Hearing that, Sonia responded, "In that case, it shouldn''t be an issue. I''d like to get a few people to put


    a sack over his head and beat him up. That would be satisfying."


    "Sonny, I see that you have gone astray," he said teasingly while staring at her.


    "I don''t have a choice; what he did was frustrating." She coughed embarrassedly when she noticed his


    gaze.


    "I can tell. If not, someone as docile and kind hearted as you wouldn''t have resorted to doing this. It just


    proves that Connor must have done something unforgivable." He threw his hands up and continued,


    "Sonny, what did he actually do to make you want to teach him a lesson in such a way?"


    "I won''t reveal to you about what he''s done, but I can tell you that he has done bad things to Toby,


    which is why I want to teach him a lesson on Toby''s behalf. All this while, Toby has been helping me


    out a lot, but I never got to do much for him. Since my abilities are limited, there''s only so much I can


    do for him, so every little thing counts." Sonia chuckled.


    Hearing that, Charles pursed his lips and responded sourly, "So you''re doing this just for Toby? I


    thought Connor offended you again."


    "Alright, so would you be willing to help me out?" Sheughed as she patted his shoulder.


    "How could I reject you when you''ve already asked for my help?" He nced at her before adding, "It''s


    not a big deal, so Lance would agree to help out if I ask him to."


    "Thank you." Sonia raised her tea cup at him in ce of wine.


    Noticing that, he raised his tea cup and clinked it with hers. "There''s no need to thank me."


    "I should be thanking you since there''s a risk for doing this." Sonia took a sip of tea and ced the cup


    down before raising her concern, saying, "Since Connor is the head of the Salzburg Family, he is


    powerful enough to find out who''s behind it. By then, it mightplicate Lance ¡­"


    "Don''t worry." Charles knew what she wanted to say and waved his hand nonchntly. "Lance has


    proven to be highly capable, for he has managed to stay in the gang up until today. Don''t you think it''s


    unusual that he hasn''t been removed by the authorities until now?"


    "Unusual?" Sonia was surprised, but she soon figured it out. Her eyes lit up as she pointed upward.


    "Are you saying that Lance is associated with the authorities?"


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "That''s right." He nodded and lightly patted the top of her head. "Sonny, you''re so smart to be able to


    figure this out in no time."


    "Enough with the ttery." She pped his hand away and red at him.


    Charlesughed and responded, "Fine. I''ll stop patting your head, but you''re indeed smart to be able to


    figure it out that quickly. Although Lance is involved with the gang, he is an ethical person; the gang


    didn''t end up being vicious like the other gangs under his leadership. Most importantly, he would assist


    the authorities by reporting other gangs to them. He has been immensely helpful and has saved them a


    lot of problems. Hence, Lance''s gang is technically associated with the authorities. As long as he


    doesn''t go overboard with whatever he does, the authorities would typically close a blind eye and even


    help him clean his mess. It wouldn''t be good news to the authorities if Lance is gone, for no one would


    be able to manage the gang and it would soon deteriorate."


    "I understand." Sonia scratched her cheek with her index finger. "Lance''s existence is like a pawn,


    where he is used to suppress other dark organizations. As long as he lives and doesn''t turn vile, the


    other organizations will be fearful of him. Since they won''t be arrogant enough to cause trouble, the


    crime rate will be greatly reduced, and the authorities can also take a break."


    "That''s right." Charles snapped his fingers. "That''s what I meant. Simply put, there won''t be any


    problems if we ask Lance to get some men to beat Connor up. Even if the authorities know about it,


    they won''t care. Even if Connor finds out in the end, he can''t take his revenge that easily. After all,


    Lance''s gang is backed by the authorities to bnce the underground forces, so they won''t allow


    Connor to be involved and break this bnce."


    "If that''s the case, then I''m relieved." Sonia let out a sigh of relief and smiled.


    "When do you want to teach Connor a lesson? Where do you want to do that?" Charles raised his fists


    and stretched them.


    "When?" Sonia lowered her gaze and thought for a while. "Of course, the sooner the better as I don''t


    know when he will leave Seafield. Well, as for the location, you can let Lance make the arrangements.


    He must have the most suitable ce in mind where his men can easily escape after doing the deed.


    Anyway, I just want to see the result. "


    "Okay, I''ll contact him in a moment. Is there anything else?"


    "No." Sonia shook her head.


    "Alright then, I''ll take my leave. I''ll inform you immediately when it''s done." Charles stood up.


    "Alright." Sonia smiled and walked him to the door.


    When they got to the door, Sonia opened it and wanted to walk him to the elevator, but he pressed on


    her shoulders and said, "Just stay here. I can go out by myself."


    "Alright then, drive safe." She paused her footsteps and smiled at him.


    "Got it. Okay, I''m leaving." He yawned.


    "Sure." She nodded and watched him walk out.


    After he left, she closed the office door and walked back to the desk. Meanwhile, Charles hummed a


    song while walking briskly. He had his hands in the pockets of his pink suit trousers. He would


    dashingly twirl, hop, and dance over to the elevator.


    When he passed by the door of the secretary''s office, a sudden exmation came from the inside.


    "What? You''re saying that Daphne might be pregnant?"


    Charles immediately paused his footsteps and turned to look at the secretary''s office as he narrowed


    his gaze. What did I just hear? Is Daphne pregnant? That can''t be! The hands in his trouser pockets


    clenched into fists at this moment, and his expression was grave.

 Chapter 1249

    Chapter 1249


    He couldn''t think straight as his head was muddled. He never expected to hear such shocking news


    when he walked past. It''s not true, isn''t it? It mustn''t be true. How could Daphne¡­ Be pregnant? Even


    if she is pregnant, who''s child is it? Is it the child of another man, or¡­


    The thought of it was unbearable for him.


    Just then, another voice rang from inside the room. Another person started talking and was surprised to


    hear the news. "Is that true? Is Daphne really pregnant?"


    "Yeah, how is that possible? Are you lying to us?" asked another person.


    Their questions happened to be what Charles was eager to find out about. He held his breath, tiptoed


    over to the entrance of the office, and stopped by the wall before lowering his gaze as he paid attention


    to their conversation. He frowned as his gaze darkened.


    Meanwhile in the office, a few of the secretaries paused their work and huddled together as if they were


    having a secret meeting to talk about Daphne''s scandal.


    The one standing in the middle saw how eager the others were and spoke proudly. "I''m not lying. I''m


    eighty-percent sure that Daphne is pregnant."


    Eighty-percent? Charles'' expression turned dark as it seemed like the probability of Daphne being


    pregnant was high.


    "Why are you so sure about that? Tell us, quick! Stop beating around the bush."


    "Yeah, we are getting impatient. Stop making us guess. How did you find out about her pregnancy?"


    "That''s right, spill it."


    The person standing in the middle knew that the others would get impatient if she kept beating around


    the bush. She then signaled them to calm down before saying, "Actually, I just found out about it not


    long ago¡ªno, I should say that I just confirmed my suspicions recently. Do you all know that Daphne


    would suddenly go to the washroom and throw up during working hours?"


    "Yes, we are aware. We thought that she was ill, but she told us that she wasn''t sick and was just


    having a bad stomach. That''s why we didn''t give much thought to it. Bute to think of it, this could


    seem to prove that she is pregnant."


    "Well, it seems like it."


    Hearing that, this secretary suddenly smiled and said, "All of you didn''t rte it to her being pregnant


    because all of you aren''t married and haven''t had children yet. This exins why you aren''t aware of


    such symptoms during the early stages of her pregnancy. I''m married and have the experience of


    bearing a child, so I suspected Daphne of being pregnant earlier on. The first time I saw her being


    unwell, I believed that she was just unwell when she told me so, but after a while, it started to seem off


    as a normal person would have it treated at a hospital instead of going through the torment of vomiting


    every few days."


    "She''s definitely pregnant." Someone blurted out.


    "That''s right." The secretary pped the handle of the chair. "Pregnant women who feel nauseous from


    time to time wouldn''t be worried if they vomit every now and then since they know they aren''t sick or


    anything; they''re just pregnant. It was not until two days ago when I saw her vomiting in the washroom


    that I couldn''t help but ask whether she was pregnant."


    "Did she admit to it?" Several of them spoke at the same time.


    Charles furrowed his brows and gripped onto the wall.


    That secretary shook her head and answered, "She didn''t, but she did look nervous and wasn''t calm


    like she used to be during work. She simply responded to the query and left, which is why I''m sure that


    she''s pregnant."


    "From what you said, Daphne seems to really be pregnant."


    "I think so too. If not, she wouldn''t have been that nervous."


    "What I don''t understand is why she would try to hide it from everyone. Since all of us are adults, it''s no


    big deal for her to be pregnant."


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "It''s probably because she became pregnant before getting married. After all, I''ve never heard her


    talking about being wedded." One of them guessed.


    "I''ve not even heard that she has a boyfriend. How did she get pregnant then? Who is the child''s


    father?"


    All of them looked at each other, but no one was able to answer it. Although they were Daphne''s


    colleagues, they hadn''t been working together for long, so they didn''t know much about her private


    matters.


    "Could she have been¡­ harassed? Is that why she doesn''t want anyone to know that she''s pregnant?"


    Just then, one of them bit her lips as she spected. "This can only exin why Daphne, who is


    single, got pregnant and is reluctant to let anyone know about it. Getting pregnant after being harassed


    isn''t something to be proud of, and based on my knowledge, society is malicious toward women. Even


    if the criminal is at fault, the victim would usually be med and suffer from verbal violence. Daphne''s


    probably choosing to hide it because she''s afraid she would be seen differently and be criticized."


    "What you said seems possible. After all, in today''s society, having a child out of wedlock is disgraceful,


    but it will not be prejudiced against like how it used to be back in the day. If Daphne got pregnant after


    a one night stand or is pregnant with her boyfriend''s child, I don''t think there''s any reason to hide it. As


    an adult, it''s normal to get pregnant, and she can just admit to it generously. No one willugh at her


    since there are many yers within ourpany. Thus, it is reasonable that those who get pregnant


    after being harassed wouldn''t admit to their pregnancy. It''s normal for Daphne to not admit to it."


    All of them sighed aftering to the conclusion. "If that''s really the case, Daphne is indeed pitiful."


    "Maybe both of you are right." The secretary who mentioned that Daphne was pregnant earlier on


    looked at all of them and said. Hearing that, everyone was stunned. "Rita, what do you mean? Is


    Daphne really pregnant because she was¡­"


    "I''m not sure, but I suspect so. Since I was on duty yesterday, I had to stay back to clean the office after


    everyone got off work. When I was throwing the trash out, I noticed a document about an appointment


    for abortion in Daphne''s bin. Because of this, I was sure that she was pregnant. However, I didn''t give


    much thought to why she decided to get an abortion until I heard you guys said that she might be


    harassed. That exins why she opted for abortion!"


    Before any of them could react to Rita''s remarks, the office door suddenly flung open, startling


    everyone.


    "Who is it?" Rita frowned and red at the direction of the door.


    The next moment, Charles stepped into the office and lifted his gaze while speaking with a grave


    expression, "It''s me."


    "President Lane?" Everyone was surprised and quickly stood up. "Why are you here? Is there anything


    we can help you with?"


    "Is everything that you said earlier true?" He ignored their question and walked toward them before


    stopping in front of Rita as he clenched his fists.

 Chapter 1250

    Chapter 1250


    "W-What?" She looked at him puzzledly. However, she shouldn''t be med for being confused since


    Charles was the one who suddenly barged in and questioned her furiously. Meanwhile, the other


    secretaries looked at each other as they tried to make sense of the situation. They didn''t know why


    Charles was suddenly mad.


    "Is what you said about Daphne''s pregnancy true?" He clenched his fists and questioned her while


    trying to suppress his anger.


    Hearing that, Rita finally understood what he meant and responded, "Oh, you''re referring to that. Yes,


    it''s true that Daphne is pregnant."


    His gaze darkened upon hearing that. Although he had heard about it from their conversation while he


    was standing outside the door, he was overwhelmed by emotions when he heard Rita reiterated about


    Daphne''s pregnancy. Daphne really is pregnant!


    "President Lane, what''s wrong?" Rita was confused when she saw Charles'' unusual reaction.


    "Was the appointment for abortion that you mentioned about earlier true as well?" He stared at her with


    bloodshot eyes and asked.


    "Of course. How could we joke around about things like these?" She nodded.


    The others nodded as well. Indeed, it was no joking matter as making fun about such matters was


    immoral. Even worse, it would bring trouble and inconvenience to Daphne. Since Daphne was an


    experienced senior at work, there were a lot of things that they had to refer to her. Besides, she was a


    kind and lovely person who was generous in sharing her knowledge and helping them when they were


    in need. Thus, they shouldn''t spread rumors that would hurt Daphne as it would be ungrateful of them


    to do so.


    Even though they were discussing Daphne''s pregnancy among themselves, they weren''t nning to


    tell anyone else about it as it would be troublesome if others found out about that. When Charles saw


    how serious Rita and the other secretaries looked, his chest felt tight as if a hand was gripping on it,


    and he almost couldn''t breathe because of it.


    He couldn''t understand why he was experiencing such feelings, but one thing he was sure about was


    how furious he was at Daphne for not telling him that she was pregnant. He was angry at her for


    deciding for an abortion all by herself. Since the child could be his as well, she didn''t have the final say


    on whether to keep the child or not.


    The thought of it made his chest feel tight as he experienced shortness of breath. His handsome face


    was flushed red with anger, and the veins on his temples were popping out as his blood boiled.


    Rita and her colleagues were startled when they saw his expression, and they didn''t know what


    triggered him.


    "President Fuller, are you alright?" Rita asked worriedly.


    Hearing that, he sluggishly waved his hand and asked in a hoarse voice, "I''m fine. Did you manage to


    see what time the appointment for the abortion was?" He was dying to know when the procedure would


    take ce!


    "Yes. If I''m not mistaken, it''s this afternoon." Rita recalled as she lowered her gaze.


    "This afternoon?" It felt as if something in his head had exploded, for the answer came to him as a


    surprise.


    "That''s right. It''s at 4.00PM." She nodded.


    "Are you sure?" Charles red at her with bloodshot eyes, and it seemed like he was going to break


    her neck if she gave the wrong information.


    His grave expression was enough to make her tremble, but she remained calm and nodded. "I''m very


    sure of this. I was surprised to see it in Daphne''s trash bin, so I deliberately took a closer look at it."


    "Which hospital?"


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "First World Hospital."


    Hearing that, Charles left the office without saying another word. Rita and her colleagues were


    confused at how he suddenly turned up announced and left without saying a word.


    "What was that? What''s with President Fuller''s reaction? The look on his face was so terrifying that it


    scared me. I''ve met him many times, but this is the first time I''ve seen him so angry. I noticed that there


    seemed to be another underlying emotion besides anger."


    "I have no idea. It''s my first time seeing him being that mad too. He''s normally happy and cheerful,


    which gives me a feeling that he has a good temper. He''s normally polite when he speaks to us, but it


    seems like he can get this scary when he''s furious. Why was he that angry, though?"


    "It seems to be because of Daphne''s pregnancy."


    "Daphne''s pregnancy?"


    "Yeah. If you noticed his expression just now, it''s obvious that he overheard our conversation from


    outside before barging in. When he came in, the first thing that he asked was about Daphne''s


    pregnancy, and his expression darkened when he heard what we said. So, it''s apparent that he''s mad


    about this."


    "You have a point, but why would he get so worked up about it?"


    "I guess it''s because he felt that she was being ill treated. If you think about it, before Daphne started


    working at Paradigm Co., she used to be President Lane''s secretary. On top of that, they attended the


    same university and were very close to each other. He was probably furious after finding out that


    Daphne got pregnant after being harassed. I would be angry too if my friend was going through the


    same situation."


    "Sounds reasonable. Rita, do you see it that way too?" A few of them noticed that Rita had been quiet


    and she was staring at the direction of the door.


    Hearing that, she snapped out of her thoughts and smiled as she shook her head. "Probably, but I don''t


    think it''s as simple as that."


    "Rita, what do you mean by that?"


    She merely shook her head as she kept quiet. She didn''tment further as it was just her


    spection, and things would get awkward if it wasn''t like what she had in mind.


    Meanwhile, Charles rushed out of the elevator and he hurried over to his car before unlocking his


    vehicle and getting into his car. He sped out of the parking lot without fastening his seatbelt. He was


    speeding so quickly that it startled the other drivers, and they had to stop their car. Some of them even


    wound down their windows and cursed at him. Even though Charles heard them, he couldn''t be


    bothered by it and stared at the road in front of him as he floored the elerator.


    He had to rush to the hospital as soon as possible and ask Daphne whose child that was. If it was


    someone else''s, he wanted to know exactly when she had met another man. But if it was his¡­ His grip


    on the steering wheel tightened, and his expression was grim.


    If the child was his, he wanted to know why she kept the pregnancy to herself. Back when he asked


    whether she had taken contraceptives, she answered that she had been taking them. If she really was


    on contraceptives, she shouldn''t have gotten pregnant. This was enough to prove that she was lying to


    him.


    He wanted to know what her intention was for doing so. Was she nning to get ahead after being


    pregnant with his child?

 Chapter 1251

    Chapter 1251


    If that was the case, then he''d tell her to dream on.


    He never reciprocated her feelings, so no matter what she did, he would never let her have her way


    even if she used the child in her belly to threaten him.


    The kind of people he hated most were those who threatened him.


    Right then, Charles couldn''t not think that Daphne was scheming something using her pregnancy.


    He wasn''t entirely to me, for Daphne''s pregnancy came way too coincidentally.


    She affirmed that she had taken contraceptives, so why would there be a bun in the oven when she


    did?


    Thus, he could only assume she didn''t take the contraceptives and lied to him so that he wouldn''t


    suspect a thing. That way, she''d have plenty of time to get pregnant without worry.


    Once she managed to get pregnant, she''d be able to use the child in her belly to hold him ountable


    for her.


    Yes, that must be it.


    Charles grew more certain the more he thought about it, not changing the notion even when he knew


    Daphne had already made an abortion appointment.


    Something must be wrong with the child for her to abort it, or why would she do so when she wanted to


    use the child to move up thedder?


    However, no matter the circumstances, he would make her sorry when she dared lie to him, hide her


    pregnancy from him, and even selfishly drop the baby.


    To think he would one day let a woman wrap him around her little finger. I swear I won''t be Charles


    Lane if I don''t retaliate.


    "Daphne Robinson!" Charles snarled through gnashed teeth as he red grimly at the road ahead like


    Daphne was standing right there. His voice was filled with nothing but anger and hatred as though he


    wanted to mangle her.


    There was desperation he didn''t even realize interwoven in his voice.


    Desperate for what, exactly? Perhaps only he knew.


    However, all of that was oblivious to Sonia at the moment, for she went back to her long and dull work


    after seeing Charles away.


    It wasn''t until Toby called in the afternoon that she put the pen down, stretched, and rxed that she


    answered it with a smile. "Hello?"


    Her voice was kittenish andced with a hint of fatigue, causing Toby to frown as he sat in the car. "Do


    you have a lot of work to do?"


    "Not really. Why do you ask?" she asked with a smile while curling up in the chair.


    Toby had parked his car on the side of the road beneath Paradigm Tower, and he rolled the window


    down and looked toward a window on the top floor of the building. Behind it happened to be Sonia''s


    office.


    "You sounded tired," he exined.


    She smiled in response. "Do I? Well, I am a little. I have to look at more and more papers now, and it


    has only been months since I joined in the first ce. With more and more papers to look at, the more


    strenuous it is for me to go through them. After all, there are a lot of things that I still don''t know. I even


    have to find out what a technical term means whenever I encounter them, or I won''t know what the


    paper is talking about as a whole. Imagine the consequences I''ll have to bear if I sign it blindly. I''d


    sometimes encounter some papers that, although I understand, I don''t know the actual situation. I''ll


    then have to call the guys for verification before I can sign the papers assuredly. Hence, I''d end up


    woozy at the end of the day. I''m not just tired physically but mentally as well."


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    "It''s normal that you don''t know a lot of things when you never systematically learned how to manage a


    company. You''ve moved up the position very suddenly, after all. You can only grasp some skills while


    exploring during work. Simply put, you won''t be able to learn everything at all like this," said Toby as he


    rested his hand on the window while tapping it.


    "Yeah," Sonia affirmed. "But as a newbie, I still haven''t made a mistake after looking through so many


    papers. This proves that I actually have talent in business, doesn''t it?"


    "Of course." Toby acknowledged her talent without hesitation, making her giggle with pursed lips,


    feeling joyous.


    Toby smiled upon hearing herughter as well. "But you can''t go on like this forever. It''s still too slow if


    you learn and explore by yourself from practical work. You won''t be able to catch up when Paradigm


    grows stronger when you don''t have basic professional knowledge."


    "I know, but¡­"


    "What do you say to studying abroad after the holidays?" Toby interrupted her with his suggestion.


    The suggestion stumped Sonia so much that she straightened her back subconsciously. "What did you


    say? Study abroad?"


    "You heard me. You have to study professional knowledge in a college to make up for yourck of


    groundwork. Only then can you manage Paradigm with ease in the future."


    "I know I should further my studies, but what school should I go to, and how do I get into one?" She


    scratched her head glumly.


    This was where she hesitated.


    Toby chuckled under his breath at that. "You don''t have to worry about that. I will rmend a college


    that suits you best. As for how to enter, you can rest entirely assured. I¡ª"


    "Stop!" Sonia hurriedly interjected as she gestured a stop, looking grave. "Don''t tell me you want to


    help me enter a school through the back door. I won''t agree to it even if you want to do it. I''d rather not


    go than enter through the back door. Do you know how humiliating that sounds?"


    Toby knew she would certainly take it the wrong way as soon as she interrupted him, and sure enough,


    with the way she put it, this was a pretty big misunderstanding.


    He held his forehead helplessly. However, despite the helplessness, his eyes were filled with adoration


    for her. "Who said I''m getting you into a college through the back door? I just wanted to tell you the


    college I''m rmending has a global admission next year around the early second half of the year. I


    have connections, and I can get you an application to the entrance exam."


    It was precisely because he knew she wouldn''t ept his arrangements for her to enter a school


    directly that he didn''t even think of doing so from the beginning but rather had her prepare for an


    entrance exam.


    Knowing her pride, this was the best arrangement.


    Sure enough, Sonia calmed down after hearing his exnation, and she chuckled somewhat


    embarrassingly. "Is that so? Sorry, I thought¡­"


    "Don''t worry about it. I should''ve made it concise. Well? What do you think?" Toby asked as he


    propped his head up with a bent arm against the window.


    Sonia bit her lip and pondered with a lowered head instead of giving him her answer immediately.


    She was tempted, but furthering her studies abroad was no small issue, for she didn''t know when she''d


    be able to return after she left and whose care she should leave Paradigm Co. with.


    These were all things she needed to mull over.


    Toby knew her concerns as well, so he didn''t rush her for an answer but waited patiently.


    It wasn''t until a couple of minutester that Sonia sighed as she rubbed her temples. "You said the


    school is taking in students in the second half of next year. In other words, I have less than half a year


    to get ready for the exam, am I right?"


    "Yes." He nodded in affirmation.


    At that, she bit her lip. "Will I be able to pass when I have zero basic knowledge and at such short


    notice?"


    She didn''t have the slightest confidence in herself.


    However, Toby thought otherwise, and he soothed her with a chuckle. "Don''t worry. Have you forgotten


    that you have me? I''ll be your teacher for the next half a year and guide you with dedication. I''m sure


    that you''ll inevitably pass with my guidance."


    Sonia chuckled at that. "Is it me, or are you ttering yourself?"


    Toby smirked in response. "Do you not have confidence in me, then?"


    At that, Sonia stuck her tongue out. "How can I not have confidence in you when you have a few


    doctorate degrees under your belt, great President Fuller? I''m just not confident in myself. I don''t even


    know how well my brain functions. What if I can''t do it?"


    "You won''t. Have faith in yourself. Also, you have to and need to do it for Paradigm Co. You have to get


    into this college, got it?" Seriousness enveloped Toby'' face at this point.

 Chapter 1252

    Chapter 1252


    Sonia also knew just how important it was that she furthered her studies abroad, so she naturally didn''t


    refute him.


    "But¡­" She bit her lip, stuck in a tough position. "Who can I leave Paradigm with after leaving?"


    This was her biggest issue right then.


    Toby chuckled at that. "You can hire a professional manager, or I can send someone to look after it for


    you. How about I let Tom do it?"


    Sonia chuckled in turn. "Aren''t you transferring him to a techpany in Fredburg to be their CEO next


    year? Besides, that tech subsidiary of yours is also a listedpany. Don''t you think it''s overkill to


    have Tom, who was originally supposed to manage a listedpany,e and manage my small


    firm? Even if Tom doesn''t mind, I feel bad for him. He deserves more than this with the skill he has."


    "So you''re saying you''re more inclined to hire a professional manager?" Toby quirked a brow.


    She hummed a response. "That''s our only option so far. I don''t really feel safe leaving Paradigm Co. to


    just any professional manager, but I''ve never engaged with people in this profession. Why don''t you


    find one for me instead?"


    "This is nothing. Alright, I''ll sort it out for you. Have you made up your mind yet?" he asked.


    At that, Sonia took a deep breath. "I''ll take the exam. You''re right. Be it for Paradigm Co. or for myself, I


    have to further my studies. Since I don''t have to worry about having no one to look after thepany


    after I''m gone, I''m all set to focus on preparing for the test. But like I said, I have zero foundation, so I''ll


    have to study from page one. Professor Fuller, I''ll be in your care for the next half a year."


    A hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.


    "Professor Fuller?" Toby quirked his brow again.


    "Yeah, didn''t you say you''re going to teach me? It''s only right that I call you Professor Fuller, no?"


    Sonia chuckled with a hand over her lips.


    Toby rubbed his thumb as a hint of glimmer shed across his eyes. "I like the salutation, but I''d like it


    even more if you call me that somewhere else."


    "Somewhere else? Why?" His words baffled her.


    Meanwhile, Toby smirked. "It''ll add a bit of re."


    Sonia got him at once, and her face flushed, livid yet amused. "What are you smoking, Toby? Honestly,


    can you not make blue jokes all the time?!"


    He chuckled in response.


    "Alright, cut it out. Any more, and I''m going to flip on you. I''m being serious here, yet you always goof


    around."


    "It''s on me."


    "Of course, it''s on you. Anyhow, I''ll really have to trouble you for the next half a year. I might have a


    tough time learning when I have zero basic knowledge. Promise me you won''t get mad at me," Sonia


    said with worry.


    At that, Toby'' gaze softened. "I won''t. A teacher who would get mad at their student is no qualified


    teacher. A qualified one would find the best method to guide their student. Rx, I won''t get mad at


    you. I''ll only use the best method to help you grasp the knowledge and get you into college."


    Not only was Sonia no longer worried after receiving his guarantee, she was even confident that she


    could really ace the exam.


    After all, as timorous as she was toward herself, she had to have some confidence in her beloved, no?


    "Alright, enough about that. Are you done with work?" asked Toby as he withdrew his hand from the


    window and sat straight.


    She rubbed her eyes while saying, "Almost."


    "Come down, then. I''m right downstairs."


    "You''re already here?" Sonia was slightly surprised.


    "Yeah," he answered. "I just arrived."


    "Alright, I''lle down right away. Give me a second." She hurriedly got up from her chair while


    speaking.


    She was in such a hurry to pack up that Toby could even hear the chair rolling away when she got up.


    At that, he cooed, "Rx, take your time. I''ll give Tom a callter and have him prepare the application


    and study materials. I''ll teach you for two hours every night once he has them ready."


    "Sounds good." She nodded joyously.


    Then, Toby continued, "Two hours might be short, but everything I''m teaching you will be sufficient to


    pass the exam. Half a year is too short, after all. It''s impractical for me to teach you everything in such


    a short time. Besides, you won''t be able to take everything in either. I will teach you what you need to


    pass the exam for now. As for the rest, you''ll have to work hard after you''re enrolled."


    Sonia felt absolutely touched, and her face looked uber-gentle. "I know. This is the best arrangement


    for a newbie like me. It''s a well-thought-out n. Thank you, Toby."


    "There''s no need for thanks between you and me. Come on down. I''ll wait for you."


    "Alright." Sonia nodded.


    After hanging up, she held the phone to her chest and smiled, then grabbed her bag and headed out of


    her office.


    Sonia rode the elevator down with a secretary, who had a hunch as to why Sonia was glowing. "Miss


    Reed, are you smiling so brightly because President Fuller is here to pick you up?"


    "How do you know?" Sonia looked at her with surprise.


    "Well, your smile''s a dead giveaway." The secretary giggled.


    "Yeah, he''s downstairs." Sonia put her hair back somewhat bashfully.


    "No wonder. You and President Fuller are such a sweet couple."


    "For now, but who knows how long it will stay that way." Sonia shook her head with a chuckle.


    The secretary shrugged in response. "Who can tell what the future holds for anybody. At least you''re


    happy now. As for the future, well, we''ll leave it until that dayes, no, Miss Reed?"


    "You''re right. The most important thing is to live in the present. I should appreciate the happiness I


    have now and leave what wille in the future until then."


    The next second, a ding came, indicating they had arrived at the lobby.


    At that, Sonia lifted the bag strap on her shoulder. "Alright, here we are. I''m going to make a move.


    Drive safe. See you tomorrow."


    "See you tomorrow, Miss Reed." The secretary waved Sonia goodbye from inside the elevator, having


    no intention of leaving with Sonia.


    After all, it wasn''t right for an employee to head out with their boss, no?


    Of course, she''d wait until her boss left before walking out by herself.


    Sonia got the secretary''s idea as well, so she didn''t force thetter since she knew the secretary would


    only leave after she left. She exited the elevator hurriedly, sparing some time for the secretary.


    Sure enough, the secretary left the elevator after Sonia had walked a distance away. After bidding


    Sonia goodbye, she headed toward the exit in the opposite direction.


    After smiling in the direction the secretary left, she headed toward the main door.


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    But lo and behold, she had just taken a few steps when a group of middle-aged men in suits entered


    through the main door. The person walking in front was none other than the CEO of Paradigm Co.,


    Asher.


    Sonia frowned slightly upon seeing the man and thought how unlucky she was to run into him in the


    lobby.


    For some reason, Asher had constantly been out of thepanytely.


    However, as curious as she was, she didn''t ask for Asher''s whereabouts. One, she wasn''t interested,


    and two, she might not get an answer even if she asked. Thus, she might as well not say a thing and


    let him be.


    No matter what he was nning, she''d just keep an eye out for it.


    Then again, who''d have thought Asher would appear at this time when he had disappeared for a while?


    Asher noticed Sonia too, and a thought seemed to havee to him. Perhaps because he hated


    Sonia in the first ce, his originally grim face became grimmer by the second.


    He stopped in his tracks and stared maliciously at Sonia.


    The others behind Asher naturally followed after him, stopping and looking toward the woman as well.

 Chapter 1253

    Chapter 1253


    Sonia naturally felt the animositying from Asher.


    After all, the feeling wasn''t inchoate but a long-existing one.


    Thus, she made no reaction toward his hatred-filled stare but only looked straight ahead as though she


    hadn''t noticed it and walked right past Asher, going out of the building.


    Asher, on the other hand, was so livid that his clenched fists trembled when Sonia disregarded him


    entirely.


    Standing behind him, his crony even more so stirred his anger by huffing, "Look at how arrogant that


    woman is, President. Even if she''s the chairman, she''s still your junior. How can she be so rude as to


    not even say hi to you?!"


    To that, Asher sneered. "How can she not be when she has Toby backing her? But one day, I''ll see that


    she can never be arrogant again."


    "Ain''t that the truth, President." The crony very much agreed with him and was confident Asher would


    seed.


    "Alright, enough ttery. Let''s go." After taking a gander in the direction Sonia left, he withdrew his gaze


    and barely calmed down as he made his way to the elevator.


    Of course, Sonia had no clue what Asher and his cronies talked about behind her back, but she didn''t


    want to know, nor was she interested in knowing. Right after seeing Toby'' car, she waved and jogged


    over to it with a smile.


    Toby, on the other hand, hurriedly got out of the car and spread his arms wide apart upon seeing so.


    The next second, Sonia fell into his arms,pletely wrapped in his embrace.


    "What are you running so fast for? What if you fall?" Toby put an arm around Sonia''s back while ruffling


    her hair with the other.


    "But I don''t want you to wait for too long." She looked up at him.


    "You can''t do that even so. If you really fall, both of us will be in pain. Besides, I never think waiting for


    you is a nuisance. I''m more than happy to wait," said Toby as he nted a kiss on her forehead.


    Sonia noticed some passersby smiling affectionately toward their canoodling and immediately felt


    abashed, her face flushing crimson.


    "Okay, I got it. Let go of me and get into the car. There are a lot of people here, and everyone walking


    by is looking at us. It''s pretty embarrassing." She patted Toby'' chest.


    Knowing she was bashful and didn''t like other people seeing them being intimate, he ruffled her hair


    affectionately and let go of her, respecting her wish. "Alright, get in."


    With that, he held her hand, led her around the front of the car to the front passenger seat, and opened


    the door for her.


    After entering the car, Sonia put the handbag on her shoulder on herp before handing another bag to


    Toby. "Put this in the back seat, will you? There''s not enough space here."


    "What''s this?" Toby looked into the bag after taking it, but the contents were well-concealed with


    different other stic bags, so he couldn''t make anything out.


    "We''re visiting Grandmater, no? I can''t go empty-handed, can I? But then I didn''t have time to


    prepare anything during the day, and Charles happened to havee over in the afternoon with some


    expensive dried goods from Mrs. Lane''s hometown. I thought these things would be good for Grandma,


    so I thought I should give some to her," answered Sonia while pulling on the seatbelt.


    "Charles got them for you?" Toby frowned at once.


    Sonia knew at once that he was jealous for assuming they were gifts from a love rival, and she couldn''t


    help shaking her head, amused. "Not from Charles. Mrs. Lane deliberately got them from me when she


    visited her family. She knows I like this stuff, so these are from Mrs. Lane. She just had Charles bring


    them over to me here at Paradigm. He barely has much to do with this. Well, my dear husband? Are


    you feeling better?"


    ''My dear husband'' was all it took to dampen Toby''s jealousy and brighten his mood.


    At that, he raised his chin slightly. Despite still looking somewhat aloof, a hint of a smile and


    contentment could already be seenced within his eyes. "Better. I''ll thank Mrs. Lane on behalf of my


    grandmother."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll give Mrs. Lane your thanks. Alright, let''s go, or we''re going to bete," Sonia urged as


    she fastened her seatbelt.


    With that, Toby put the bag in the back seat and closed the door before saying, "Let''s go."


    Then, he walked around the back of the car to the driver''s seat and headed to the Fuller Residence.


    Meanwhile, at the Lore Residence, Lte returned home in the afternoon. She was so tired that she


    retired as soon as she came home and had only awoken at this time.


    The moment she went downstairs, she heard her grandfather and father arguing as well as her mother


    mollifying the situation, causing her to instinctively walk down the stairs slowly and lightly while holding


    the handrail.


    As she moved further downward, her elders'' voices became clearer.


    First came her father''s lowly, cowardly apology. "Dad, please stop yelling at me. I already know my


    mistake. Are you not done when you''ve already yelled at me all afternoon? Besides, even if you yell at


    me, I can''t change anything anymore. As if things will turn around after you yell at me when it''s


    screwed!"


    "Grayson''s right, Dad. Please don''t be mad anymore." Grayson''s wife, Amelia, poured some tea for the


    father and son while soothing Harry as she sat next to her husband.


    Harry looked disappointingly angry at the couple as he took the cup of tea from her. "You''re a fine one


    to talk."


    He put the cup down angrily and pointed at Grayson with trembling fingers. "I''ve already warned you


    time and time again before you head off to be nice, give a decent apology gift, and apologize properly


    to that woman. Sonia Reed is a daughter of a lost affluent family. She''s surely vain deep down, or why


    would she keeptching onto Toby again and again? Once we appease her and promise that we''ll think


    of her whenever we gain any advantages, she might go soft and put in a good word for us in front of


    Toby, and who knows? He might just forgive us. You''ve also given me your word that you''d do just that,


    but look what happened! What did you actually do?! Not only did you not bring her a gift, you even


    behaved insolently. I swear you''re doing this to piss me off!"


    At that, he flew into a rage. "Forget about Sonia. Even I would kick the person out when hees


    begging me without a gift and an insolent attitude."


    Grayson couldn''t help tucking his neck as he listened to Harry''s scolding. "Well, I didn''t think that


    woman was so pragmatic, did I? Yes, I agreed to get her a gift and apologize nicely, but then I gave it a


    second thought and thought, why should I?! Who are we to Toby?! Even if we''re in the wrong, she''s


    nothing but an outsider. She should forgive us and intercede for us to Toby without having us


    apologize. After all, you''re Toby''s teacher, and our family is close with the Fullers. If she doesn''t do so,


    she can''t me us for opposing her rtionship with Toby. A little finagle is all we need to break her


    and Toby up. So¡­"


    "So you threw my adjure out the window just like that?!"


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Grayson lowered his head silently at that.


    Livid with rage, Harry pointed at his son''s nose and yelled, "You¡­ Just how stupid can you get?! No


    wonder so many in the office say you''re useless and hopeless, and thepany will go out of business


    sooner orter if it''s in your hands!"


    "Who? Who dares say so?! I''ll fire him!" Grayson shot up in anger.

 Chapter 1254

    Chapter 1254


    Seeing so, Amelia hurriedly dragged him back onto his seat.


    Harry, on the other hand, sneered at the sight of Grayson''s fury. "You? Fire them? Can you even fire


    them all?! Don''t go around thinking I don''t know what you''re like in the office. It''s only because we have


    competent employees and Fuller Group''s aid that I don''t bother ranting about your ipetence,


    turning a blind eye to those who call you useless. After all, you are very much useless, and now you


    want to fire them?! Well, I''ll have you know that there''ll be at least half of them who have to go if you


    want to fire them! What do you think you can aplish alone with an emptypany, huh?!"


    "Come on, Dad, I''m not that useless." Grayson moped.


    "Hmph, you''re more useless than that. You just don''t want to admit it," Harry exasperated. "You threw


    my adjure out the window minutes after I told you and did things ording to your idea, but you ended


    up screwing it. Now, tell me that''spetent!"


    "How can that prove that I''m ipetent?! I just did things ording to regr thinking and logic. But


    who knew Sonia wouldn''t buy it and wouldn''t do things ording to my envisage?! That''s only why


    things screwed up. I swear, nothing can get through to that woman! If it were other women, they''d have


    long sucked up to us when we''re family friends with the Fullers, paired with the fact that you''re Toby''s


    teacher. Also, they''d tactfully know to forgive us without even us saying a thing and even intercede for


    us to Toby. Only she would remain indifferent," Grayson said with absolute resentment.


    Evidently, he didn''t think even in the slightest bit that they were the ones at fault. The others wouldn''t


    even need to forgive them because of who the Lore Family were or what they had.


    After all, no one owed them, and they weren''t influential to the degree where everyone needed to suck


    up to them.


    However, in Grayson''s opinion, it was entirely Sonia''s fault that she didn''t suck up to them or choose to


    tacitly forgive them. Sonia had absolutely and undisputedly done a heinous misdeed.


    Grayson aside, even Harry thought Sonia should tacitly forgive them. However, he had ultimately lived


    in this world a few decades more than Grayson, so he would consider things more thoroughly than


    Grayson would.


    Thus, even when Harry thought so, he wouldn''t say it out loud but only narrowed his eyes and said icily,


    "Of course, she can be indifferent. Before what Lte did was exposed, she didn''t know if she or I


    meant more to Toby, so she would still be nice to us. But after Lte was found out, Toby stood by


    Sonia without a doubt and distanced himself from us entirely. That means she clearly means more to


    Toby than me. After realizing that fact, she naturally won''t have to give a d*mn about us anymore and


    act more arrogantly."


    "I bet Toby doesn''t truly love that woman. She must have something on him that forced him to side with


    her and distance himself from us," Grayson growled, refusing to believe that Toby would side with


    Sonia because he loved her.


    Even Lte, who eavesdropped at the stairs, nodded at once.


    Yes, Dad''s right. Toby would never love that woman. Tina was the only woman he ever loved.


    Though Tina has died, Toby wouldn''t fall in love with Sonia either. Only I can get Toby to open his heart


    again!


    As the thought crossed her mind, her grip on the handrail tightened, and a harsh, ear-piercing sound


    came from her long, bejeweled nails scratching against it.


    Meanwhile, the conversation downstairs was still continuing.


    "No matter what reason Toby is siding with Sonia for, the fact that he sided with her and distanced


    himself from us is still a fact. Sonia refusing to respect us based on that is also a fact. After all, with


    Toby on her side, she can do so without fear, or would she have to worry that we''ll do anything to her.


    After all, she has Toby on her side. She can have Toby hate us even more if we even as much asy a


    finger on her. By then, we''d still be the ones losing out. Also, we can''t actually sever our ties with Toby


    and the Fullers. I''m sure you know what will happen to our family once our connection is severed."


    Harry bore into Grayson.


    Knowing he was in the wrong, Grayson lowered his head. "I know. It''s my fault. I screwed it up. Shall I


    pay her another visit? I''ll apologize nicely this time. She said if I apologize with a better attitude, bring a


    gift and Lte with me, she might¡ª"


    "No!" Lte ran down the stairs and interrupted him before he could finish his words, not wanting to


    hear any more. "I won''t go! I will never apologize to that woman!"


    "Lte, you''re awake." Harry turned from grim to amiable the second he saw his beloved


    granddaughter, and the same went for Grayson and Amelia.


    Amelia, even more so, pulled Lte over to her, having her sit in between her and Grayson. "Did you


    sleep well?"


    However, Lte ignored her mother and pushed her hand that was stroking her hair away. She


    clenched her fists and looked straight into Harry''s eyes while protesting, "Grandpa, I don''t want to


    apologize to that woman. You all know I love Toby, and I''m shouldering the responsibility of marrying


    him. If I apologize to her at this time, that would mean that I''m beneath her. That way, even if I defeat


    her and marry Toby, I''d still feel that I''m beneath her. Besides, I''m the daughter of the affluent Lore


    Family. Am I not nobler than an adopted child of the Reed Family?! She doesn''t deserve my apology at


    all!"


    "Yeah, Dad. Wouldn''t having Lte apologize to that woman humiliate Lte and also disgrace our


    family''s name?!" Amelia looked anxiously at Harry.


    Grayson nodded in agreement as well. "Even I can''t bear to scold Lte. Forget about even asking


    Lte to apologize to someone else."


    At that, Harry rubbed his temples. "Rx. I naturally won''t force my own granddaughter to apologize


    against her will. Just as Lte said, she has the task of bringing our family and the Fullers together. In


    other words, she must marry Toby in the future. Naturally, I won''t let her apologize to Sonia even more


    so. Once she apologizes, it would mean that Lte has lost to that woman and would be beneath her.


    Imagine how other people will ridicule Lte and our family after she marries Toby."


    "So, I don''t have to apologize, right, Grandpa?" Lte squealed with joy.


    "That''s right." Harry nodded in affirmation.


    "But if Lte doesn''t apologize, wouldn''t that mean we can''t get through to Sonia?" Grayson grewN?velDrama.Org content rights.


    worried again.


    At that, Harry shot him a side-eyed nce. "I''ve thought about this. I never intended to have Lte


    apologize in the first ce. As such, I''ve long given up on Sonia, hoping that she would intercede for


    us."


    "Does that mean you''ve alreadye up with another solution, Grandpa?" Lte''s eyes lit up after


    hearing so.


    Harry was beyond proud of his dear granddaughter seeing that she understood him immediately. My


    dear Lte sure is smart.


    "That''s right. I intend to set up a banquet for you, one that announces your return to the circle. I already


    had people send the invitations out in the afternoon," he responded with narrowed eyes.

 Chapter 1255

    Chapter 1255


    Lte was indeed smart, as she knew exactly what Harry was talking about right when she heard it.


    Then, she smiled excitedly at him, saying, "What you are saying is that we can use this party''s


    opportunity to invite Toby over. That way, we will have a chance to meet him and mend our rtionship,


    unlike now when we can''t do anything or see him in person."


    "Yes, Lte. That''s what I meant," said Harry as he looked at her proudly.


    To him, Lte was perfect in everything. There was nothing she could do wrong.


    However, Grayson, who was beside them, frowned and said, "Dad, what if Toby decides not toe to


    the party? If that''s the case, can we still see him?"


    When Lte heard his words, she was also worried too. "That''s right, Grandpa. What if Toby isn''t


    there? It''s been seven years since Ist saw him. I¡­"


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "Calm down, Lte. I will let you see him, so don''t worry," said Harry while squinting his sharp eyes.


    When Lte heard his words, her eyes brightened up in delight. "Do you have something in mind,


    Grandpa?"


    Harry nodded and said, "Yes. Toby will definitelye. When that timees, I will need you to do


    something in order to boost your rtionship with him. Although you might need to sacrifice something,


    for the sake of you being with Toby and making our family affinity with theirs, you must do this. Do you


    understand me, Lte?" With that, he looked at her.


    At that moment, Grayson and Amelia were looking at them in confusion.


    "Dad, what are you trying to make Lte do? Don''t do anything stupid."


    "That''s right, Dad."


    They were worried for their daughter''s well-being at this moment. However, neither Harry nor Lte


    acknowledged them. At this moment, Lte could only see Harry in her eyes and his words in her


    mind. Since she was smarter than her parents, she immediately knew what Harry meant by his words


    and understood what she would sacrifice. Thinking about it, Lte could feel her heart thumping


    wildly.


    Then, she put her hands on her knees, gripping them to surpass the excitement in her as she looked at


    Harry. "I understand what you mean, Grandpa. Don''t worry. I won''t let you down," she said.


    Seeing that she understood what he was implying, Harry smiled in relief. "That''s my granddaughter.


    Alright, it''s gettingte. Come, apany me to dinner, Lte."


    "Okay." Lte stood up and linked her arms with Harry''s as they walked toward the dining room


    together.


    As for Grayson and Amelia, they were being ignored by Lte and Harry. The couple stood up and


    looked at each other after watching them leave.


    "Honey, what were they saying just now? Do you understand?" Amelia said as she furrowed her


    eyebrow, looking worried.


    "No." Grayson shook his head.


    In this house, Grayson knew his ce. He knew that he wasn''t intelligent like Harry and Lte. Most


    of the time, Lte could immediately understand what Harry was talking about, but he had to ponder


    it for a long time. Due to this, they would discuss it on their own and leave him out of it like what


    happened just now. After it happened a few times, Grayson was used to it.


    That''s enough thinking. It''s fine as long as they know what they are doing. With that thought, Grayson


    held Amelia''s hand and said, "Come on, let''s eat."


    However, Amelia was still worried about them. "I hope they know what they are doing. The situation is


    already a mess, and it will be troublesome if it gets any worse," she said.


    "It won''t," Grayson said promisingly.


    Hearing his words, Amelia managed to put up a smile and said nothing.


    During dinner, Lte was talking happily with Harry. The atmosphere in the house was rxing as


    they thought that maybe everything would be solved after the party. With that thought in mind, they


    were not nervous and worried like they used to be when they first realized that Toby was keeping his


    distance from them.


    During dinner, Harry, Grayson, and Amelia told Lte what had happened during these years. Due to


    this, Lte knew more clearly about the rtionship between Toby and Sonia. However, she still


    believed that the reason Toby got back together with Sonia wasn''t because of love, and it was only


    because Sonia had evidence against Toby, so he had no other choice but to be with her. She wasn''t


    the only one who had this thought, for the others felt the same.


    From their perspective, Toby would never fall in love with someone like Sonia, who didn''t have a good


    family background and was an orphan. With that thought, they assumed that Toby didn''t love Sonia. In


    that case, they would find a way to help Toby escape Sonia''s control. At that moment, surely Toby


    would be grateful for their help.


    After finishing dinner, Lte was about to head back to her room. Just as she was about to walk up


    the stairs, Amelia suddenly pulled her. "Lte," she said.


    "What''s the matter, Mom?" Lte turned around and looked at Amelia. Her cute, doll-like face was


    filled with confusion.


    "Lte, I just want to tell you that aside from Sonia, there is another woman from the Acree Family


    that would get in your way if you want to be with Toby."


    "A woman from the Acree Family?" Lte''s face turned dark as she spoke. "Do you mean the family


    in the seafood business, Mom?"


    "That''s right." Amelia nodded. "Recently, business hasn''t been going great for them, and they''ve been


    trying toe in contact with the noble family. With that, they had their eyes on Toby. I heard that


    they''ve been asking around for the banquet''s invitation cards since Toby would be there. Although I''m


    not sure why Toby would be there, the Acrees have been finding ways to enter the banquet after


    knowing about this matter. The reason is to seek connections with Toby and introduce their daughter to


    him."


    When Lte heard her words, she smiled in disdain, saying, "How dare she, someone who reeks of


    fish, try to get her hands on Toby? That''s impossible. Do they have the invitation, Mom?"


    "Yes." Amelia nodded. "I heard they got it from someone by giving them a timeslot for a dock."


    "What?" At that moment, Lte''s face was gloomy. "They actually got it? If that''s the case, won''t they


    be able to get in touch with Toby? No, I can''t have anotherpetitor. Having Sonia alone is


    unbearable, let alone two. Does our family have the invitation, Mom?"


    "No. The host of the banquet didn''t send us an invitation. There are two reasons behind it. Firstly, our


    business''s genre has nothing to do with them, so it would be a waste of time to invite us over.


    Secondly, our status is lower than theirs, so they didn''t give us one since they look down on us." As


    Amelia spoke, she had a grim expression.


    Hearing her words, Lte gritted her teeth and said, "Don''t they know that Grandpa is Toby''s teacher?


    They should give it to us because of this."


    "So what if Grandpa is Toby''s teacher? Although they can''tpare themselves to the Fuller Family,


    they don''t need to invite us just because of Toby. Moreover, Toby will not have anything against them


    over such a small matter. After all, it''s their choice to invite whoever they want."


    "Are you saying that we can''t join the banquet to stop the Acree Family?" Lte''s face scrunched up


    in anger. Her doll face was twisted angrily, seemingly like an eerie puppet from a horror movie.

 Chapter 1256

    Chapter 1256


    Chapter


    "No. I can''t let them have their way." Lte gripped her knuckles while viciousness filled her eyes.


    "Although I can''t do anything to Sonia, I don''t need to worry about the consequences if it is the Acree


    Family."


    Listening to her words, Amelia looked at her in horror. "What are you trying to do, Lte?"


    "Don''t worry, Mom. Don''t the Acrees want to be inws with Toby''s family? Well then, I will make them


    give up on this thought. Toby is mine, and no one can take him away from him. Just wait, Mom. On the


    banquet day, the Acrees won''t dare do anything." Lte smiled wickedly.


    After finishing her words, she ignored Amelia and went up the stairs.


    Then, she immediately took out her phone and searched for a phone number. It was a set of numbers


    that she had always seen when she was aboard, and she had engraved it in her soul. As she found the


    phone number, she swiped it gently before taking a deep breath and dialing it.


    While waiting for the call to be picked up, her heart was thumping wildly, and her face was red. At this


    moment, her face was not eerie anymore, and she looked cute and shy.


    Right now, Lte looked shy and nervous as if she was calling the person she loved in secret.


    In fact, she was indeed calling the person she loved. It had been seven years since shest saw her


    sweetheart, so she was subconsciously nervous when contacting him now. Moreover, she was slightly


    timid and afraid. How am I going to tell Toby about this? Will he even answer my call?


    As she thought about it, she bit her lips, her heart filled with nervousness.


    On the other hand, Toby had driven Sonia to the Fuller Residence.


    As soon as he parked the car, his phone rang in his pocket. Then, Toby unfastened his seatbelt and


    reached out for his phone. When he saw who was calling him, his expression changed, and the


    atmosphere around him felt heavy.


    Sensing the changes in Toby, Sonia unfastened her seatbelt and looked at him. "What''s wrong? Who''s


    calling?" she asked.


    "It''s Lte." Toby didn''t hide it from her and handed his phone to her to have a look.


    When Sonia saw Lte''s name on the screen, she couldn''t help but frown. "How shocking that she''s


    calling you. Are you going to pick up the call?"


    "No. This is just a scam." With that, Toby denied the call without any hesitation. Not only that, but after


    denying the call, he blocked Lte''s number, doing it all in one shot.


    When Sonia saw his actions, she burst intoughter. "She likes you. Aren''t you afraid that you will


    break her heart if you do this?"


    After closing his phone, Toby said faintly, "That''s none of my business. I only care about your feelings. I


    don''t have to care for others. Besides, don''t you feel happy about what I just did?"


    Listening to his words, Sonia blushed and huffed, "Alright, let''s get inside the house. Grandma had


    called and asked where we were when we were on the road. Let''s go." Then, she opened the door and


    left the car hurriedly.


    Seeing that she had run away from embarrassment again, Toby couldn''t help but smile. Then, he got


    out of the car too.


    On the other side, Lte was waiting for Toby to pick up her call expectantly when she heard the call


    hanging up. At that moment, she was in disbelief.


    Did Toby just hang up on me? Lte widened her eyes in disbelief as she assumed that Toby would


    answer her call since they had not seen each other for seven years. Shouldn''t he be excited that I''m


    calling him? Why did he hang up on me?


    Thinking about it, Lte bit her lips as tears brimmed her eyes.


    No, I have to call him again. Maybe he just hung up on ident. He didn''t deny my call on purpose.


    Yes, that should be it!


    Lte was deep in her trance as she called Toby again. However, the call didn''t pop up on the screen.


    Instead, a cold, robotic woman''s voice said, "Hello. The person you are calling is on the line. Please


    wait¡ª"


    Before the robotic voice could finish its words, Lte screamed and threw her phone away in anger.


    I''m being cklisted! Toby blocked me! she thought. There was no way she would believe that


    someone had called Toby at this moment. After all, her call had gone through the first time. However, it


    was on the line at this moment. There was no way such a coincidence would happen, and it only


    proved that Toby had cklisted her.


    At that moment, Lte couldn''t hold back any longer. She curled into a ball on the bed while hugging


    her knees as she sobbed.


    All this was unknown to Sonia and Toby, but even if they knew about it, they would have ignored it. To


    them, Lte was just a stranger, and there was no need to be mindful of her. Moreover, she had


    offended them, so it would only be natural if they ignored her.


    "Oh my, Young Master Toby and Miss Reed. You guys have finally arrived." As Toby and Sonia linked


    their arms together and walked into the building, they were met with an excited Mary. When Mary


    walked toward them, she beamed happily as she saw their interactions. "Old Mrs. Fuller was asking for


    your arrival, so she asked me to take a look. I never expected that you guys would be here right when I


    walked out. This is just perfect," she said.


    "Sorry, Madam Mary. We were stuck in traffic, so we couldn''t arrive here on time. I''m sorry that you and


    Grandma had to wait for us. Thank you foring out to escort us." Sonia smiled at Mary.


    "It''s nothing. Now, let''s go inside, Young Master Toby and Miss Reed. Dinner is ready, and Old Mrs.


    Fuller is waiting," urged Mary.


    Then, Toby held Sonia''s hands as they trailed behind Mary. Soon, they arrived at the dining room.


    When they entered, they saw Rose sitting on the main seat while waiting for them. The moment she


    saw them, she smiled, stood up, and walked toward Sonia.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    At that moment, Sonia let go of Toby''s hand and went to Rose. "Grandma, what are you doing? I won''t


    leave since I have just arrived. You don''t have to walk over here. What if you fall?" As she spoke, she


    led Rose back to her seat.


    "It''s fine. I haven''t left this house for quite a long time. I can see even with my eyes closed, so I won''t


    fall. I''m just happy to see you after a long time, Sonny."


    "Me too, Grandma. I haven''t seen you for a long time. I''m thrilled today," Sonia replied as she helped


    Rose to sit down.


    When Rose sat, she patted the spot beside her. "Sit here, Sonny. Tell me, how have you been?"


    "Sure." Sonia didn''t refuse and sat down beside Rose. While pouring a ss of water for her, Sonia


    told her about her recent doings. At that moment, Rose was smiling at her while listening attentively.


    The atmosphere between them was harmonious.


    On the other hand, Toby was standing by the door. He couldn''t help but twitch his lips when he looked


    at them speechlessly as they seemed to have forgotten about him.


    Have they really forgotten about me? Grandma, with that kind look on your face while you look at


    Sonia, do you still remember that I am the one who is your grandchild? he thought.

 Chapter 1257

    Chapter 1257


    Although Toby looked as if he was jealous when his eyes were on Rose and Sonia, he was smiling on


    the inside. All this jealousy was only for show.


    "Young Master Toby, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and take a seat." After Mary had


    prepared dinner for Rose and Sonia, she saw that Toby was still standing by the door. As such, she


    quickly called him over.


    Her call had attracted Rose and Sonia''s attention. Then, they all looked at Toby.


    Seeing that Toby was still standing there, Sonia realized she had forgotten him while talking to Rose. At


    that moment, she felt embarrassed and stood up, wanting to go over to hold Toby''s hand. "I''m sorry, I


    forgot about you. You¡­"


    Before she could finish her words, Rose grabbed hold of her and sat her back down. "Don''t go, Sonny."


    Then, her face turned gloomy as she looked at Toby in disdain. "He is already a grown-up. There''s no


    need for you to lead him over. Doesn''t he have legs on his own?"


    Hearing her words, Toby was speechless. He looked at Rose and sighed. "Grandma¡­"


    "Enough, stop it. Hurry up ande over. You are already an adult, yet you still look like an immature


    child. Do you really have to get everyone''s attention?" Rose''s expression was still in disdain as she


    spoke.


    "I''m not," said Toby while rubbing his temples.


    "I don''t care. Hurry up and eat. Don''t you feel ashamed that we are all waiting for you?" Rose red at


    him.


    Toby''s lips twitched, and he didn''t say anything as he knew that whatever he said right now was


    inappropriate. Then, he walked toward them in silence. When he sat beside Sonia, she turned to him


    and snickered, her eyes filled with mischievousness.


    See? I told you that Grandma would scold you.


    Looking into her eyes, Toby realized that she was gloating at him. His eyes darkened, and he reached


    his hands under the table, tickling Sonia''s armpit gently.


    At that moment, Sonia''s whole body stiffened, and so did her smile. Her expression looked weird.


    Rose was going to take a sip of the soup Mary had given her when she saw Sonia sitting there stiffly.


    Seeing how dumbfounded she looked, Rose quickly put down the spoon she was holding and asked,


    "What''s wrong, Sonny? Are the dishes not to your taste?"


    Mary was getting food for Rose when she heard thetter''s words. Then, she said hurriedly, "Yes, Miss


    Reed. If you don''t like these dishes, I''ll ask the cook to prepare some other dishes. There''s no need to


    be formal here. Make yourself at home."


    Listening to theirforting words, Sonia felt warm in her heart. Then, she regained herposure


    and shook her head, saying, "I''m fine. There''s nothing wrong with the dishes. They taste good. I can


    tell that it''s Olivia''s cooking. She always makes the most delicious delicacies." Sonia put a thumbs up


    and said, "I just feel like something has bitten me. It could be a bug or something. That''s why I was not


    paying attention just now."


    A bug? Toby raised his eyebrows and smiled. He knew that Sonia was secretly calling him a bug as


    revenge for what he had just done.


    "There''s a bug?" Rose and Mary didn''t know about their secret interaction, so they believed Sonia''s


    words when they heard them.


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    "How can there be bugs in here?" Rose was confused.


    "That''s right. Although there are many insects since there is a garden outside the old manor, the


    servants have been doing all kinds of deworming daily. Logically speaking, there shouldn''t be any


    bugs." Mary was surprised too.


    Hearing their words, Sonia turned her head and red at Toby, who was smiling even more. She


    coughed and said, "Maybe some of the bugs have gotten away. After all, it''s not impossible for them to


    escape."


    Just like the man beside me, she thought. All I did was justugh at him. Does he have to be so


    narrow-minded and tickle me? Isn''t he afraid that I would make a fool in front of Grandma and Mary if I


    had a bigger reaction?


    However, Rose and Mary didn''t understand the hidden meaning in her words and nodded.


    "Sonny''s right. There could be some bugs that are not afraid of repellent. Tell the servants to deworm


    the whole ce even more starting from tomorrow." Rose looked at Mary and ordered.


    Mary smiled and said, "Don''t worry, Old Mrs. Fuller. I will arrange it. However, at this moment¡­"


    Hearing her words, Sonny knew what Mary was going to say. "It''s okay, Madam Mary. There was just a


    small bug that came in and stung me. It''s gone now. We''ll talk about it tomorrow morning. Let''s eat first.


    Grandma has been waiting for us for so long that it''s now past her dinner time. Let''s not fret about


    anything else," she said while waving her hands.


    Hearing her words, Rose felt happy. She held onto Sonia''s hands and looked at her adoringly, saying,


    "You are the best, Sonia. You care about me the most."


    "That''s right. Girls are the most thoughtful people no matter what." Mary beamed at Sonia as she


    agreed with Rose.


    "That''s right. It''s such a pity that I have no chance of having a daughter or a granddaughter. I only have


    a son, and he gave me two grandsons. Other grandmas can have the blessing of a granddaughter,


    while I can only be faced with two grandsons with terrible attitudes. Moreover, they don''te back


    often or even care about me. Lord, what''s the use of them?" As Rose spoke, her gaze slowly went


    toward Toby disdainfully, who couldn''t get a word in this conversation.


    Noticing her gaze, Toby rubbed his temples and smiled resignedly. Did they just ignore the usual


    greeting I gave to Grandma? Or are my words less valuable than Sonia''s since I''m a boy?


    When Sonia caught a glimpse of Toby''s dismal, she was delighted when she thought of him tickling her.


    Then, she grabbed Rose''s hands and said, "You can have a granddaughter too, Grandma. Since I call


    you Grandma, you can treat me like your granddaughter too!"


    When Rose heard her words, her eyes brightened up. Just as she was going to agree with Sonia''s


    words, Toby mmed the table and cut her off. "No!"


    At that moment, Sonia, Rose, and Mary turned their gazes toward him.


    "Why not?" Rose asked while frowning.


    Staring at Rose with a grim expression, Toby sighed and said, "Grandma, Sonia is my wife. If she


    bes your granddaughter, what will she mean to me? A sister?"


    As his words fell, the women were startled.


    After a moment, Rose smiled awkwardly and said, "Now that I think of it, it might not be suitable."


    Although she wanted Sonia to be her granddaughter, she didn''t want Toby to lose his wife.


    "Oh my, it looks like I indeed don''t have a chance of having a granddaughter." Rose sighed in


    disappointment.


    When Toby saw Rose had second thoughts about making Sonia her granddaughter, Toby sighed in


    relief while a smile reappeared on his face. He did not care if Rose had any fate with a granddaughter


    and knew that he had kept Sonia''s title.

 Chapter 1258

    Chapter 1258


    When Sonia saw the smug expression on Toby''s face after he had achieved his n, she turned to


    look at Rose. Seeing that she was sighing in sadness, Sonia felt upset. She red at Toby and gently


    patted Rose''s hand, saying, "Don''t listen to him, Grandma. Although I can''t be your granddaughter, you


    can still treat me like one. This doesn''t have anything to do with my rtionship with Toby. Some treat


    their daughter-inw like their own, and it wouldn''t affect the rtionship between the inw and their


    son. After all, you are treating me like your granddaughter and not iming me as one."


    Listening to her words, Mary noticed that they made sense. "Yes, Old Mrs. Fuller. Miss Reed is right.


    There won''t be a conflict against their rtionship." Sheforted Rose.


    Hearing their words, Rose agreed to it too. Looking at Mary and back at Sonia, Rose became lively


    again. She smiled and said, "Okay, it''s settled then."


    "Yes." Sonia nodded and sighed in relief. At the same time, she red at Toby.


    Grandma is in this state because of him. She was in such a good mood, talking to her about this. Yet,


    Toby had to ruin it all just because he couldn''t take a joke. Fortunately, I made Grandma happy again.


    Otherwise, he would be doomed, she thought.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Naturally, Toby sensed her dissatisfaction, and he scratched his nose in guilt as he also realized that he


    had made Rose sad. However, he couldn''t help it. If he didn''t say anything back then, Sonia would be


    his sister. When that time came, he would be the one who was depressed!


    Rose and Mary saw the interactions between them. Seeing that Sonia was teaching Toby a lesson and


    that he obliged, they felt shocked and found it funny. They were shocked that Sonia could discipline


    Toby, and he was willing to ept it. On the other hand, they felt funny that Toby, an insufferable,


    arrogant person, would be silent under her control.


    Mary bent down and leaned closer to Rose as she lowered her voice and said, "Are you seeing this,


    Old Mrs. Fuller? This is the first time I have seen Young Master Toby in this state. This is such an


    interesting scene."


    "Indeed. I used to wonder who would be able to discipline him. Now that I see Sonia, I know that she is


    the one who can hold Toby back," Rose replied.


    "She isn''t dealing with him; rather, they are perfect for each other. Young Master Toby loves Miss Reed,


    so he is willing to be disciplined by her. Miss Reed also loves him too. That''s why she wants to


    discipline him. Otherwise, why would she care so much?" Mary said.


    "You have a point." Rose smiled as she nodded.


    It was a long meal as they talked for hours, but it was a heartwarming process as it was filled with


    laughter. Most of the time, the three women¡ªSonia, Rose, and Mary¡ªwere talking, and Toby didn''t


    say anything, but he was grabbing food for them as he cared for them and was afraid that they wouldn''t


    eat anything. So, the three women were full at the end of the dinner, while Toby didn''t eat much.


    However, he didn''t mind as long as they were content.


    After dinner, Toby got a call from Tom and headed to the study room to finish his work. While he was


    busy, Sonia helped Rose to her room with Mary.


    As they were walking, Sonia told Rose about the matter where the Lore Family hade to Paradigm


    Co.


    After listening to her words, Rose sneered and said, "I knew it. The Lore Family members are as


    shameless as ever. Yesterday, they also came to me empty-handed. Not only that, but they were also


    ill-mannered, especially Harry. How dare he assume he could be in the same status as me just


    because he has been Toby''s teacher for a few years? Due to that, he spoke arrogantly toward me and


    asked me to advise Toby to forgive them. How ridiculous! I would have guessed that they would find


    you after leaving my ce, but never did I expect that they would have the same attitude after looking


    for you."


    "That''s right. I was baffled when I saw Grayson and listened to his arrogant words. Who do they think


    they are to say that I must forgive them? They even told me that as someone who was going to be


    married to Toby, I should tter them, take the initiative to forgive them, and say good things about


    them since they are his teacher''s family, which meant that they were also Toby''s family. If I don''t do as


    they say, they will not let me be with him. How ridiculous of them, Grandma."


    After helping Rose walk over the threshold with caution, Sonia continued, "It seems like they think


    they''re a part of the Fuller Family. Thus, they could order me around with the identity of the Fullers."


    When Mary listened to her words, she couldn''t help but curse, "I have never seen such shameless


    people before."


    "Speaking of which, they only dare to do so because of Toby. He helped the Lore Family because Harry


    is his teacher. As long as they don''t step over his boundaries, he will not refuse to help them. For the


    first two years, he watched them and prevented them from stirring trouble under the care of the Fuller


    Family. However, they became bolder as Toby got busier and had no time to watch them. This caused


    them to forget that they were the Lore Family, not the Fullers. When Harry came yesterday, he acted as


    if he was the boss of the Fullers. That''s why Grayson would have told you those kinds of words."


    Rose''s expression was cold.


    "Those who can''t know their ces will eventually perish," Sonia said as she walked Rose toward the


    Victorian bed.


    "Yes, the Lore Family are in this state right now." Rose took the teacup from Mary and took a sip.


    "Throughout these years, they''ve caused a lot of trouble while relying on the Fullers and Toby''s


    endurance. They thought they wouldn''t have to pay the price, but I knew everything. When the Fullers


    gave up on the Lore Family, those that they had offended would tear them into pieces. Just wait and


    see." Then, she gave the teacup back to Mary.


    Sonia helped Rose lie on the bed and said, "I remember that the Lore Family was just an ordinary


    family back then. They only became wealthy after Harry had be Toby''s teacher. They are lost in


    their worlds when they have the power and money. This is what an upstart would do."


    "That''s right." As Rosey on the pillow that Sonia handed her, she feltfortable. "It''s fortunate that


    you have not forgiven those b*stards and promised to say good things about them in front of Toby after


    being threatened by them in the morning, Sonny."


    Hearing her words, Sonia smiled and sat by the bed. "I''m not that stupid or a coward, Grandma. After


    all, I am the president of apany. Although I''m still a newbie, I''m more courageous than before. How


    can I surrender easily after being threatened by someone else?"

 Chapter 1259

    Chapter 1259


    Chapter


    "I also did the exact same thing as you. I asked someone to kick Grayson out." As Sonia spoke, she


    covered her mouth and giggled.


    Listening to her words, Rose and Mary were shocked.


    "You kicked him out?" Rose looked at Sonia. "Is this true?"


    "Yes!" Sonia nodded. Then, she thought of something and took out her phone. After pressing some


    buttons, she handed Rose her phone with the video on. "Take a look at it, Grandma."


    "Let me see." Rose took the phone.


    Mary quickly handed Rose''s sses to her. After putting on the sses, she looked at the screen.


    When she saw Grayson being dragged out forcefully by two security guards, sheughed happily,


    "Good job, Sonny. You''ve done well. This is how you treat people like this!"


    Mary agreed too as she was also looking at the video with Rose. "That''s right. The more shameless the


    person is, the more force you must put on them. Otherwise, they will step over you," she said.


    "Yes, I thought so too. That''s why I told the guards to throw them out." Seeing that they agreed to her


    actions, Sonia couldn''t help but feel proud. After all, anyone would be proud if they were being praised


    by the elders they cared for.


    "However, you''ve shocked me, Sonny," said Rose as she returned the phone to Sonia.


    Listening to her words, Sonia blinked and asked, "Why is that so, Grandma?"


    "After all this time, I have always thought that you are a gentlewoman, not someone who is strong


    enough to kick someone out. That''s why I was baffled when I saw the video. However, I am grateful


    that you have grown up. I like you better now than before. Of course, I''m not saying that you weren''t


    good in the past. It''s just that I was worried about you back then as you couldn''t protect yourself.


    However, now that you can protect yourself, I''m not worried that you will be bullied by others and don''t


    know how to fight back even if I''m no longer here. So, I''m delighted by your growth."


    Listening to her words, Sonia felt like she was going to cry. She lunged into Rose''s embrace and


    hugged her tightly, feeling sad inside. "Don''t say this kind of thing, Grandma. You will live for a long


    time. Moreover, don''t you want to see me remarry Toby and have a child?"


    Although she knew that Rose might only live for about two years, she still couldn''t ept it when she


    heard her words. She couldn''t imagine how she would react if Rose, the person who cared for her and


    cherished her, was gone.


    Seeing that Sonia was devastated, Rose and Mary looked at each other. Rose knew the reason for


    Sonia''s behavior and was eased by it. After all, she always knew that life and death were destined, and


    it was almost her time since she was already at this age. So, she was never afraid nor worried about


    her death. However, seeing that someone was worried and fearful of her departure, she felt warmth in


    her heart.


    On the other hand, Mary had the same feelings as Sonia. When she saw Rose was quickly adjusted


    when facing death, she was in distress. Thinking about it, she felt that she was about to cry. Thus, sheOwned by N?velDrama.Org.


    turned her head to the side, not looking at Rose.


    Seeing that both of them were sad, Rose sighed and patted Soniafortingly. "It''s alright, Sonny.


    Don''t be upset. I won''t talk about these anymore. I will live a long life like you said, okay?" she cooed.


    "Really?" Sonia lifted her head and looked at Rose with her red and puffy eyes. She looked like a baby


    rabbit.


    Rose couldn''t help but chuckle as she saw Sonia''s appearance. She raised her hand and wiped


    Sonia''s tears away while replying to her, "Yes."


    "Okay then. Let''s make a promise. Otherwise, I will never forgive you, and I mean it." Sonia raised her


    chest and looked at her seriously.


    "Yes. I promise you." Rose nodded.


    However, all of them knew that this wasn''t true. Even if Rose promised that she would live a long life,


    would she really be able to? Sonia knew this too. She knew that there was no way Rose would live for


    a long time when she only had two years to live. However, she had no other choice but to trick herself.


    Not only her but so was Mary, as she told herself that Rose would keep her promise. Aside from them,


    Rose was also lying. However, she was not lying to herself but to Sonia and Mary. Since they knew that


    she wouldn''t be able to live for long, she was willing to make a white lie for them to be at ease for a


    while.


    Rose handed a tissue to Sonia and said, "Alright, enough of this conversation. Don''t you worry about


    the Lore Family, Sonny. It''s for sure that Toby hates them. No matter what they do, just ignore them and


    let Tony handle it. After all, this happened because he attracted those women."


    Listening to her words, Sonia smiled and said, "Well, that is because you and Grandpa have good


    genes. Otherwise, how can other women be attracted to Toby?"


    "What a sweet talker you are, Miss Reed," said Mary while smiling.


    "Sonny is beautiful too. I can foresee that your child with Toby will look stunning." Rose smiled.


    Hearing their words, Sonia blushed and said, "It''s too soon for that." However, she was beginning to


    have expectations from Rose''s words. I wonder what our child would look like, she thought.


    Her eyes darkened as she thought about it, and there was sadness in her.


    This conversation made her remember the child she used to have. She used to be pregnant with


    Toby''s child, but it was gone for various reasons. However, she would never forget about that unborn


    child.


    Just as she was thinking about it, there was a knock on Rose''s door. "Grandma." Toby''s voice sounded


    from the other side of the door.


    "Oh my, it''s Young Master Toby. He is here to get Miss Reed to bed." Mary looked at the door and


    smiled.


    Sonia blushed as she heard Mary''s teasing words. Her face was red from embarrassment, and she


    looked alluring.


    Looking at Sonia''s blushing face, Rose smiled happily, "Now, now, Mary. Let''s stop teasing Sonny. With


    her red face, she might run away from embarrassment."


    "I''m not blushing. Stop saying nonsense, Grandma," said Sonia while covering her face.


    Her reaction made Mary and Roseugh heartily.


    After a moment, Rose looked at Mary and said, "Go and open the door for Toby, Mary. Let him take his


    wife back. Otherwise, he would say that I''m keeping him away from her. Since it''s gettingte, I will not


    say anything more. You guys should rest too."


    "Okay. I''ll be going, then." Mary looked at Sonia teasingly before walking toward the door.


    "Grandma¡­" Sonia whined and stomped her feet.


    "Alright, alright, I''m done joking with you." Rose waved her hands at Sonia.


    "Hmph!" Sonia huffed and turned away from her.


    Seeing that she was red in her ears, Rose smiled as she shook her head.


    Soon, Mary led Toby into the room. When Toby entered, his eyesnded on Sonia. Seeing that Sonia


    was still red in the face, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes darkened, and he gulped secretly.


    Does she know she looks alluring right now? Under the lights, she looks like a bombshell. What


    happened in Grandma''s bedroom? Why is she so red in the face?

 Chapter 1260

    Chapter 1260


    It was hard to ignore Toby when he was staring at Sonia without averting his gaze.


    "Look, Old Mrs. Fuller¡ªYoung Master Toby only had his eyes on Miss Reed as soon as he entered the


    room. He didn''t even look at us. It looks like we are not eye-catching to him," said Mary teasingly.


    "Yes, but that''s normal. One would have guessed who he would look at as one is his wife, who is young


    and beautiful, while we, on the other hand, are two old people." Rose held the teacup while smiling as


    she looked at the perfect match in front of her.


    As Sonia listened to their words, her face was beginning to turn red again. She couldn''t help but cover


    her face as she lowered her head.


    Looking at Sonia''s red ears and the elderly who were teasing her, Toby guessed why she was blushing


    so hard when he came in. He assumed that Rose and Mary must have been teasing her before he


    entered the room. If only I hade sooner, then I would have known what they teased her about, he


    thought pitifully.


    "That''s enough now, Grandma and Mary. If you guys continue any longer, Sonia is going to be upset,"


    Toby said as he looked at them while putting his arm around Sonia.


    As the elderly watched Toby''s reaction, they smiled while shaking their heads.


    "Okay, I won''t say it anymore. Hurry up and take your wife back. I''m going to rest soon," urged Rose as


    she waved them off, seemingly to get them to leave quickly.


    Toby had the same idea in his mind as well. He held Sonia''s hand and said, "Okay. We''ll not be


    disturbing you then. We''ll be leaving."


    "Hurry up and go." Rose waved them off once again.


    Seeing her action, Toby chuckled and led Sonia out of the room.


    As they both walked on the corridor, the cold wind blew over, soothing the burning heat on Sonia''s


    face. At this moment, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.


    Gosh, I never knew that Grandma and Madam Mary liked to tease and joke about me. Moreover, it


    wasn''t some typical jokes that they teased me with, but those dirty jokes. I couldn''t even reply to them


    and was embarrassed too. If it was Toby, I would not be embarrassed like just now and would give him


    some remarks. However, it was Grandma and Madam Mary who were telling these jokes. They are my


    elders, and I can''t be calm and talk to them about such things. All I could do was just endure it. Oh,


    how I wished that I could escape from the ce. Luckily, Toby arrived and took me away before I was


    about to lose my mind.


    As she was deep in thought, Toby asked, "What did they say to you just now? You were blushing red


    when I walked into the room."


    Hearing his words, Sonia stopped in her tracks and looked at him bitterly.


    This darn man. Is he doing it on purpose? I was just about to forget what Grandma and Madam Mary


    told me, yet he''s asking about it now. How am I supposed to forget their remarks now?she thought.


    Seeing that she was staring at him silently, Toby blinked his eyes in confusion as if he didn''t know what


    he had done wrong. "What''s wrong?" he asked.


    Hearing his words, Sonia huffed and retrieved her gaze. "It''s nothing. I''m not going to tell you," she


    said.


    Judging from his shamelessness, she felt that if he had known that Rose and Mary were talking about


    their children, he would surely invite her for a steamy, hot night. She was not overreacting as he would


    absolutely do this kind of thing.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "Are you sure you can''t tell me?" Toby pursed his lips.


    Sonia huffed and said, "Yes."


    Then, she quickened her pace as if she was afraid that he would grab her and asked again if she were


    any slower.


    Seeing that she was walking rapidly, Toby sighed dismally as he stood on the spot.


    It looks like she is not going to tell me. Fine, I guess I have to ask Grandma tomorrow. Grandma and


    Mary will surely tell me about it, he thought.


    As he thought about it, he smiled and chased after Sonia. However, right at this moment, Sonia


    suddenly stopped and turned around. As Toby was chasing behind her, he didn''t expect her to stop and


    turn around, so Sonia bumped into his embrace.


    At that moment, Toby was startled, but then his smile widened. He took his hands out of his pocket and


    hugged her. If this was what she intended, then he''d be happy to oblige.


    "Do you love me that much? Is that why you are so needy for my hug?" Toby said in a deep and


    seductive voice as he looked at her, who was dumbfounded.


    At this moment, Sonia regained her senses and looked at him awkwardly. "I''m not needy for your hug.


    This is an ident, okay?" She tried to push him away.


    However, Toby hugged her tightly, not giving her the chance to push him away. "It''s okay. We''ll just


    think of it as an ident. I will not say that you identally hugged me because you can''t stand being


    apart from me."


    As Toby spoke, his face was serious. If Sonia didn''t know him any better, she would have thought that


    what he said was true.


    "What are you talking about, Toby? You are making it worse. Are you saying that I intended to lunge


    into your embrace?" Sonia red at him and tried to push him away.


    However, Toby would not let her get away that easily as this was the first time she had ''taken the


    initiative'' to hug him. He wouldn''t let her go until he was satisfied.


    With that thought, he hugged her even tighter and didn''t budge. "Okay. I know you didn''t do it on


    purpose. I''m the one who can''t stand being away from you; I was the one who hugged you. Are you


    satisfied with this answer?" He lowered his eyes and looked at her affectionately.


    Hearing his words, Sonia was mad. Is he implying that I did it on purpose? However, I didn''t want to


    admit it, so he let me off the hook and said it was him. This man¡­


    The more she thought about it, the angrier she was. Her face was red from anger, and she was


    breathing heavily.


    However, Toby could feel her chest rising up and down when she breathed because she was in his


    arms.


    Although it was winter and they were wearing heavy clothes, he could still feel the softness of her


    bosom.


    Toby''s eyes darkened when he noticed it, and his gaze went toward her chest.


    It seems like she has gotten bigger here, he thought.


    Toby was sure he wasn''t mistaken and could confirm that her chest had gotten bigger after having an


    intimate rtionship with him. That meant that this was his credit!


    Initially, Sonia didn''t know where he was looking. However, as his gaze got darker and hotter, she


    couldn''t ignore his stare any longer. Thus, she followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at her


    chest. At that moment, her mind went nk, and she was a blushing mess.


    This man¡­


    Sonia was angry and embarrassed at the same time. She hugged her chest and shouted, "Where are


    you looking at, Toby Fuller?"

 Chapter 1261

    Chapter 1261


    "I didn''t see anything!" Toby replied through slightly parted thin lips, but his eyes didn''t move away from


    the woman''s softness.


    Sonia immediately felt her temper re at his reply.


    Shameless prick! Why are you not moving your eyes away from me, then?!


    Not only are you not looking away, you are tantly staring at me! And it will probably be fine if you are


    looking, but you are lying through your teeth with your eyes wide open! What are you if you are not


    shameless?!


    "Toby Fuller!" Her voice became louder as she yelled the man''s name.


    Hearing that, he only blinked and asked, "What is the matter?"


    The corner of her mouth twitched. What is the matter? Is this dirty dog really asking her that?!


    "Get your eyes away from me, and stop looking as you please!" she yelled, her face flushed.


    A hint of humor shed across his eyes at that. "I am not looking as I please, though."


    "Are you really saying that?! If that is so, where are you looking at now?" Her arms wrapped tighter


    across her chest.


    He smiled and retorted, "You are my woman. It is normal for me to look at you, so I am not really


    looking ''as I please'', am I? I can only look ''as I please'' if I was looking at some other women.


    Understood?"


    Sonia was so angry she was at a loss for words, and she only found her voice again after a long


    minute. "Toby Fuller, you and yourme arguments and perverted logic! That is just nonsense!"


    "It can''t be helped." He chuckled in a low voice. "It is my wife''s fault for being attractive. I couldn''t help


    but steal another nce. Surely you won''t me me for it? You are the one who has tickled my fancy


    after all!"


    He kept gazing at her with his deep eyes.


    As Sonia listened to the coquettish wordsing out of the innocent-looking man, she felt her eyelids


    twitch. "Don''t give me that. You are saying it is my fault even though you are the one who is looking at


    me with those perverted eyes. Are you going to say that I seduced you?"


    "Nope." Toby shook his head. "It is because you are overwhelmingly charming. That is why I couldn''t


    help but look at you."


    "You could have just looked at my face then! Why did you look¡­ there?!" Her face was so flushed it


    looked as though blood could seep through her skin any second now.


    Toby''s arms only tightened around her waist as hemented without hesitation, "I couldn''t help it.


    Also, don''t you think you have gotten bigger there?"


    "You¡ª" Her pupils dted and a surprised look appeared on her face.


    He actually noticed as well!


    Sonia was quite pleased when she realized that she had grown a little bit there.


    However, she wasn''t so happy as to let him notice it as well.


    Sonia knew that she wouldn''t be the one who was happy as once Toby realized it, he would be the one


    who was delighted instead.


    Seeing her turn quiet as she flushed red, he seemed to have understood her thoughts as the smile in


    his eyes almost overflowed. "You must have noticed it as well. Well, it is your body after all. You should


    be the first one to be aware of it. But, my Little Leaf, haven''t you thought about why you got bigger


    there?"


    She shrank back warily. "What are you trying to do? I am telling you, Toby, no matter what the reason is


    for them to grow, it has nothing to do with you, so let me go. I am going back."


    She began to struggle against his hold as she spoke.


    However, she couldn''t possibly get out of his iron grip.


    Not only did she not free herself from him after what seemed like an eternity of squirming, she had


    ended up tiring herself out.


    "We are not returning to the Bayside Residence tonight. Let''s just stay here in the old manor," he


    informed her while still keeping his arms around her.


    His words made her stop. "What? We are not going home?"


    "Mhm." He nodded. "Grandma already had Madam Mary prepare a room for us before we came here.


    It would disappoint Grandma if we didn''t stay and left instead. She is hoping we will stay and have


    breakfast with her tomorrow."


    "Why didn''t I know about this?" Sonia asked, confused.


    "Grandma decided it is too small an issue to tell you. She wanted to have someone bring us over when


    it is time to rest. Also, it iste. She wouldn''t feel at ease about letting us go on the road. Little Leaf,


    you won''t let Grandma down, will you?" Toby looked at Sonia with narrowed eyes.


    Pressing her red lips together, she finally let out a huff. "I am doing this for Grandma, okay? I wouldn''t


    even bother listening if you were the one who wanted to stay."


    "I knew just how filial you are, Little Leaf. It just so happens that the room is ready. Let''s go over there. I


    will take the chance to tell you why you have gotten bigger ''here'' as well."


    After Toby said that, he didn''t even wait for Sonia to respond before he bent his knees and picked her


    up like a bride, thereafter walking forward to the bedroom that was just ahead.


    She only came to her senses after he took a few steps. Eyes wide, she gasped, "Toby! What are you


    doing?! Let me down!"


    "No can do. How can I let you go so easily after I have finally picked you up?" He held her with firm


    arms and continued to walk forward with steady steps. Neither his stance nor steps were affected


    because of her struggle.


    Obviously, for him, she couldn''t faze him no matter how hard she squirmed against him. He could still


    hold her firmly in his arms.


    As for Sonia, she would have felt the safest in Toby''s embrace like this if it wasn''t because he was


    bringing her to do the deed with him.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t feel any sense of security at this exact moment¡ªshe was only filled with


    panic.


    "Toby Fuller, I am warning you. You had better stop. I¡ª"


    She hadn''t even finished her sentence when she felt her back hit a soft surface.


    Subconsciously, Sonia turned her head, only to see that the man had carried her into the bedroom


    when she was in the midst of struggling and she had now been ced on the soft, big bed.


    All this had happened so quickly she didn''t even notice a thing.


    It was only now that she had realized how close the bedroom was to the corridor they were in


    previously.


    When Toby saw her freeze suddenly, he leaned over to hover over her and gently yed with her hair,


    his voice gruff and sensual. "What is on your mind?" he purred.


    She swiftly snapped back to reality, where she happened to stare right into the man''s zoomed in,


    handsome face.


    As her body tensed up, Sonia instinctively tried to sink into the bed.


    However, there already was a velvety quilt behind her that stopped her from shrinking back. She only


    continued to stay in his arms.


    "I-It is nothing. Quickly get up, Toby. I definitely won''t do ''that'' with you tonight!" She ced her palms


    on his chest and gave him a light push.


    Hearing that, he lowered his gaze and looked back at her. "Why not? I haven''t ''mingled'' with you¡ª"


    "Stop!" She immediately covered his mouth. "Who told you I want to mingle with you? And I don''t want


    to know how I got bigger there. Anyway, get up! We are at the old manor. Grandma will know if we do


    something like that here! It will be so embarrassing!"


    Even though Toby didn''t seem all that ashamed about it, Sonia definitely was worried that Rose would


    make fun of her for it.


    "What is there to be embarrassed about?" he nonchntly asked as he slid his arms around her waist.


    Not only did he not get up, he no longer half-supported his weight, and had pressed his torso against


    hers.


    Needless to say, Toby putting all his weight on Sonia had added so much pressure on her that she


    almost couldn''t catch a breath.


    "Toby, you¡ª"


    "Little Leaf, why don''t you guess the reason Grandma only gave us a room for the both of us instead of


    one room each?" He cut her off while she was about toin by asking her the question with a half-


    smile.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    His words caught her off-guard as Sonia came to the realization that Rose indeed didn''t get them two


    rooms.


    It wasn''t like Toby and Sonia hadn''t stayed overnight at the old manor before.


    And even back then, they seemed to have stayed in one bedroom together as well.


    The only difference between then and now was that they didn''t have anything going on between them


    last time, which was also why Sonia didn''t think there was any problem with the arrangement.


    Is this the seque of me getting used to sleeping with him? she quietlymented.


    Sonia was so used to it to the point where everyone, herself included, thought it wasn''t a problem for


    them to stay in the same room even though they hadn''t remarried each other.


    Not only that, it seemed like it was only natural for them to do what they did in the bedroom.

 Chapter 1262

    Chapter 1262


    When Toby saw the glint in Sonia''s eyes as she stayed quiet, he lightly nibbled her ear. "It seems like


    you have finally understood, baby."


    She grumpily turned her head sideways. "So what? Even if Grandma and the rest of them don''t mind


    us doing¡­ that here, I won''t agree to it no matter what."


    "And why is that?" He looked at her with a frown.


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Her red lips were tightly pressed together before she replied, "This isn''t my territory, after all. I am still


    going to feel embarrassed about it."


    So that is why. Toby chuckled. "How is this not your territory? You are the future wife of the Fuller


    Family''s head of household, and the old manor''s next mistress. This is definitely your territory. And


    since it is your territory, what could you possibly be worried about? Are you saying that other married


    couples don''t do the nasty if they live with the rest of their family?"


    "This sounds like a straw man facy to me," she remarked, the corners of her mouth twitched.


    "Not at all." He solemnly shook his head. "I am just stating the facts."


    Sonia scoffed in response. "Aren''t you saying all this just because you want to do it?"


    "So, baby¡­" Toby chuckled without giving a straightforward answer. "Are we doing it?"


    "No¡ª"


    Sonia had just uttered one word when her lips were lightly pecked by the man.


    As her eyes went wide, Toby caressed her face and teased, "I am sure Grandma wants us to be lovey-


    dovey by arranging for us to stay in the same room. She will be disappointed if we don''t do anything."


    His words earned him an eye roll. "Enough, Toby. Don''t try to use Grandma as your token of authority.


    Even if she did make us stay in the same room, she wouldn''t concern herself about what we do in the


    room, and she definitely wouldn''t be disappointed. After all, why would she be disappointed about


    something like this? You are just bringing Grandma into the conversation so that Ipromise."


    There was no way Sonia didn''t know the kind of person Toby was.


    Despite his thoughts being exposed, he refused to give up as he let out anotherugh. "Fine, I did


    intentionally bring up Grandma. She wishes for us to be sweet to one another, and she wouldn''t ask


    even if we didn''t do anything. However, there is one thing I know for sure."


    "What is it?" Sonia blinked curiously.


    His gaze suddenly became deeper as he looked at her. "That is, if we really don''t do anything,


    Grandma will surely doubt if I can get the deed done when tomorrowes. So tell me, Little Leaf¡ªdo


    you want people to doubt your man''s abilities?"


    She first froze at his answer, and she swiftly giggled. "You think too much. Grandma wouldn''t possibly


    ¡ª"


    Toby cut her off before she finished her words again. "Of course Grandma would, which is why we


    shouldn''t give her the chance to make fun of your man by proving that I can do it well, hmm?"


    After he threw that out, he pulled the quilt over their bodies.


    Sonia only saw her vision turn ck before she stopped seeing anything. Subconsciously, she pushed


    the man on her. "Toby Fuller, you¡ªmmph!"


    However, he had already made up his mind to shake the sheets with her, so how could he give her the


    chance to continue whining for him to let go of her?


    The moment Sonia opened her mouth, Toby took the chance to steal a kiss, and swallowed all the


    words that were about to leave her lips.


    Indeed, he had no intention of letting her off easy tonight.


    He wouldn''t let her go no matter what she did.


    Toby had decided from the moment he entered Rose''s bedroom and saw Sonia''s alluring face that he


    was going to gobble her all up tonight.


    After all, her being so deliciously coquettish was a rare sight for him. He didn''t even know when was


    the next time he could see her behaving this way again.


    They proceeded to spend the night getting tangled up with each other.


    Sonia was reluctant at first. She couldn''t ignore the pressure of doing something like this with Toby at


    the old manor.


    However, heryers of defense were gradually lowered after he slowly approached her. She was finally


    under him by the end of it. It felt as though she was so lost in the pleasure the man brought her she


    couldn''t get out of it anymore.


    It went on until the second half of the night when she couldn''t even seem to recall where she was. All


    that Sonia had in her head was Toby and the sensations he made her feel.


    She had to admit that he had good skills.


    In fact, it was so good she could do nothing but enjoy it. She didn''t even have the energy or sense to


    care about anything else.


    It was a long, long night.


    Sonia had passed out and woke up more times than she could remember.


    The only thing that she knew was that the man was still not done whenever she woke up.


    Even though she had begged him to let her go, he would always reassure her in that gentle voice of his


    that it was going to be thest round.


    But then¡­


    "You liar!" She could no longer hold on this time. With herst ounce of strength left, she squeezed


    those two words out before shepletely lost consciousness.


    Toby only raised his eyebrows as his eyes showed a contented smile.


    He admitted that he was a liar.


    Because if he didn''t lie, he wouldn''t have gotten to enjoy all the benefits that he had from lying.


    So yes, he was proud to be a liar in this case.


    Looking at the sleeping woman, he took pity on her while he pressed a kiss on her sweat-drenched


    forehead. "Sleep tight," he breathed. "This really is thest time."


    With that, he sunk his body onto hers again¡­


    At 8.00AM the next day, Mary helped Rose out of the room and into the dining hall to enjoy the day''s


    breakfast.


    By the time Rose took her seat, the dining table was already filled with a variety of food. It almost


    seemed enough for them to open a small breakfast shop.


    After Rose took the chamomile tea Mary brought for her and took a sip, she let out a contented smile


    while looking at the table of breakfast. "Not bad. Zara''s cooking skills have improved yet again."


    "Indeed. She is from the south, and she is good at making southern-style breakfast. But now she is


    also good at making pastries from the north." Mary then continued, "We have so many types of food


    prepared. Miss Reed will be happy when she sees thister. I am sure she will also be moved that you


    specially asked the kitchen to prepare these for her, Old Mrs. Fuller."


    "Sonny and Toby have been divorced for half a year. She and I seldom eat together as well. On top of


    that, her temperament has changed a lot, so I guess her taste has also changed. Since I don''t know


    what kind of breakfast she likes, I went ahead and asked the chef to make a portion of the most famous


    breakfast in the north and south. We won''t have to worry then. Sonny can eat whatever she wants,"


    Rose said with a smile.


    Seeing her smile made Mary let out a smile of her own as well. "Right, but this seems a tad too much.


    What are we going to do if we can''t finish it all?"


    "We will just eat as much as we can, and wrap up the clean leftovers for the strays out on the streets.


    We are not being wasteful that way." Rose proceeded to put down her tea cup. She had had everything


    nned out.


    "Sounds good." Mary nodded in agreement.


    As the elderly women chatted, their conversation only revolved around how they prepared the


    breakfast for Sonia. They hadn''t mentioned Toby from the beginning until the end.


    In other words, Toby, much to his pleasant surprise, had been forgotten by his own grandmother again.


    At this point, she might not even have tried to prepare something Toby liked even if she hadn''t forgotten


    about him.


    To Rose, Toby was but a punk who could get by just eating whatever. There was no need for her to


    specially prepare anything for him.


    She couldn''t possibly pamper him!


    "Oh, it is almost 9.00AM, but Young Master Toby and Miss Reed are still in their room." After cing


    the teapot back on the table, Mary nced at the time before looking at Rose to ask, "Old Mrs. Fuller,


    should I get them toe down for breakfast?"


    Rose swiftly grabbed her hand as a knowing smile lingered on her face. "There''s no need for that. They


    probably are still asleep. The youngsters are always so vigorous. I am sure they are tired. We will let


    them sleep longer."

 Chapter 1263

    Chapter 1263


    These words sessfully made Mary halt andugh. "Yes, yes. This poor memory of mine! I forgot that


    the young couple stayed togetherst night. They must have been too tired for them to note down


    after so long."


    "Which is why we should let them sleep," Rose replied while releasing her grip on Mary.


    Still, Mary sighed regretfully. "You were quite happy yesterday about having breakfast with the young


    master and Miss Reed today, but..."


    "It is no big deal." Rose waved nonchntly. "Even though they aren''t joining me for breakfast, they


    can have lunch with me instead. If we went ording to the initial n, they would leave right after we


    have breakfast together. At least they can stay with me until noon now. I am still the one who is gaining


    from this."


    Mary covered her mouth and let out a chuckle. "You sure are a deviser, Old Mrs. Fuller."


    "Right?" Rose proudly lifted her chin.


    Mary finally felt more relieved when she saw how happy Rose was instead of feeling down because


    Toby and Sonia hadn''t joined her for breakfast.


    "Enough with that. Let''s not concern ourselves with anything else. Come, Mary. Sit down, and we shall


    start with breakfast." Rose patted the seat beside her.


    Mary responded with a hum as she unhesitantly sat on the chair that Rose indicated her to sit on.


    Rose and Mary had surpassed the mistress-servant rtionship a long time ago. They were now best


    friends, or even family.


    That was why they often had meals together.


    Mary naturally wouldn''t reject Rose''s offer after thetter had invited her to sit down and have


    breakfast.


    As the elderly women happily chatted while they enjoyed their breakfast, Toby and Sonia, on the other


    hand, were still lying in bed, sound asleep in each other''s arms.


    Sonia was so worn out fromst night that she didn''t wake up despite thete hour.


    As for Toby, he was still asleep now because he slepttest night.


    They didn''t seem like they would wake up before the afternoon.


    After breakfast, Mary helped Rose as they took a stroll in the garden to help with their digestion.


    It was already 9.30AM now.


    Mary seemed to think about something before she turned to Rose and suggested, "Old Mrs. Fuller,


    should I get the chef to cook some rejuvenating soup for Young Master Toby?"


    "Oh?" Hearing that, Rose raised her eyebrows quizzically.


    Mary then continued, "Think about it. They must have had a wild night for them to still be asleep now.


    Although it is normal for young people to not hold themselves back, I am afraid it will be hard on their


    body if this goes on, so I was thinking of making some healthy soup for the young master."


    "Makes sense." Rose nodded. "Toby is 30 years old now. He is not that young anymore. It is about time


    he takes healthier food. Sonny will be the one who suffers if he doesn''t."


    The corners of Mary''s lips twitched at that.


    How is Miss Reed the one who is going to suffer? she mused.


    Isn''t it going to be harder on Young Master Fuller?


    Having a physical ''disability'' was a fatal blow to any man.


    It was something that could make men feel inferior and depressed.


    Of course, Mary might think that, but she didn''t say it out loud and only nodded. "Then let''s have the


    chef cook some soup suitable for men for the young master, and another healthy soup for Miss Reed.


    Since the children don''t know how to control themselves, we, the elderly, should do something for


    them."


    "That is true. As long as they are in good health, it won''t be long before they give me grandkids!" Rose


    giggled.


    Mary also happily agreed with her words, but she soon let out a regretful sigh when she thought of


    something. "It was unfortunate that Miss Reed had a miscarriage. Otherwise, that child would have


    been born in about three or four months."


    Hearing this, Rose alsomented as the smile on her face faded slightly. "So is life. Toby hadn''t gotten


    out of the hypnosis then, and he didn''t know that the person he really loved was Sonny. Sonny was


    also so disappointed in him that she no longer loved him. Even though she identally conceived,


    there was no way she would want to keep that child in that situation."


    Rose didn''t know that the child Sonia was pregnant with was aborted because Sonia had been


    poisoned by Carl.


    The elderly woman really thought that Sonia had aborted the baby at her own discretion.


    Even though she never once med Sonia for it and even understood why Sonia did it, Rose still


    couldn''t help thinking it was a pity.


    If the child had been born, Rose might actually be able to see the fourth generation of the Fuller Family


    before she herself passed on.


    She could have described to her husband about the child''s appearance when she arrived in the


    afterworld.


    But just like she said, so was life.


    It was a pity that an olddy like her might be fated to never see what she wanted to see.


    "It is all that damn Tina Gray''s fault. Young Master Toby and Miss Reed wouldn''t have to go through all


    those hardships if it wasn''t for her. They might even have several children by now," Mary spat angrily.


    Hearing that, Rose lightly patted Mary on the back of her hands and forced a smile. "Alright, alright.


    Let''s not talk about this. Tell the chef to cook soup for the two of them so that they can have some right


    after they wake up."


    "Aye, I am going to inform the chef now." Mary nodded. "Please sit here for a moment, Old Mrs. Fuller. I


    will be back in a jiffy."


    Rose proceeded to wave her away and teased, "Go on. This is my own house. Don''t tell me you don''t


    feel safe about letting me sit by myself in my house."


    "How can I not worry? I am just¡­"


    Worried that your body has been getting weaker with age. What if you fall down after I leave?


    Mary parted her lips, but she didn''t say the words she was going to tell Rose.


    It was too heart-wrenching for her.


    However, Rose and Mary had been each other''spanion for decades now. They could easily tell


    what each other was thinking with just a look.


    Even if Mary didn''t finish her sentence, Rose still figured out what she had in mind. Quietly sighing, she


    reassured Mary, "Okay, okay. Off you go."


    Mary looked at her with a worried gaze for a moment, but she finally nodded and left.


    She walked away with wide strides, and it didn''t take long before her walk turned into a jog.


    Not knowing how to feel about the sight, Rose muttered softly, "Oh, Mary¡­"


    "Old Mrs. Fuller." Just as she was chuckling to herself, another servant approached her.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Rose then turned toward the servant when she heard the servant call out to her. "What''s the matter?"


    she asked.


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, Madam White is here." The servant was standing outside the gazebo in the garden


    reporting to Rose, in which Rose immediately pulled a frown. "What is she doing here?"


    "Madam White didn''t borate on that." The servant shook her head. "But she said that she came for


    you, Old Mrs. Fuller. She seems to have something to talk to you about."


    Rose pouted in disdain. "Got it. Let here here."


    "Yes, ma''am." The servant then turned around and left.


    Rose''s mood instantly turned right then.


    She had lived a long life where there were a lot of people she disliked, and somehow Jean was the


    only one that she hated to the point of not wanting to speak to her.


    Of course, her ''hatred'' wasn''t the conventional kind of hatred. It was more like Rose had a distaste for


    Jean.


    After all, Jean was her inw no matter what. Furthermore, Jean wasn''t a third-party that got in


    between Rose''s son and her previous daughter-inw in the real sense.


    In other words, Rose didn''t hate Jean. She merely found it disdainful how thetter was a vulgar,


    idiotic, and snobbish woman.


    It wasn''t as though Rose didn''t try to teach Jean to be a true noble and wealthydy back when


    Jean had just entered the Fuller household.


    Somehow, Rose, who had led a smooth-sailing life, first had a taste of failure when she tried to deal


    with Jean.


    It was all Jean''s fault for being someone who was better kept hidden than shown to the public.


    Not only that, she was also a blockhead who waspletely impossible to teach.


    Rose could swear that she had hired more than 10 teachers in order to train and change Jean so that


    she would leave her vulgarity and bad habits behind.


    For some reason, none of those teachers could teach Jean into bing a proper human being. It


    was astoundingly perplexing to Rose how someone as bone-headed as Jean existed.

 Chapter 1264

    Chapter 1264


    It was probably because Rose saw clearly how Jean was impossible to teach as time went by that she


    eventually gave up on the idea of     disciplining and teaching Jean well into behaving like a real wealthy


    lady.


    Rose would be able to put up with anything else as long as Jean didn''t cause trouble and make the


    Fuller Family a joke.


    However, even this small wish of hers couldn''t be fulfilled.


    A person with a personality like Jean''s was destined to never stay put peacefully.


    Sure enough, Rose would asionally hear all kinds of news about how Jean was making trouble or a


    joke out of herself outside, or how she was spending a lot of money on nonsense, and so on.


    All in all, Rose''s health had probably deteriorated because of the constant headache she had from


    Jean''s antics in the past 10 years.


    It was also because of this that her dislike for Jean continued to grow.


    Rose couldn''t understand how a species as rare as Jean existed on the surface of earth.


    And it was exactly this woman who had caught the fancy of Rose''s son.


    Right when Rose was still deep in her thoughts, she heard a burst of hurried footsteps before Jean''s


    voice came from behind, sounding as if she was trying to butter up Rose. "Good morning, Mother."


    Rose''s face was dark when she turned around. She was suddenly extremely upset when she saw how


    chubby Jean was.


    "You seemed to have put on a lot of weight," shemented as her eyes scrutinized Jean.


    Indeed, Jean did put on a lot of weight.


    Thest time Rose and Jean met was about two months ago.


    Even though Jean had always been on the heavier side, at least she could stillpletely open her


    eyes then. This time, however, the most she could do was bring her eyes to half their size.


    Rose could see how ridiculously chubbier Jean was in just a matter of two months.


    Putting her weight aside, what the heck is up with her outfit?! Rose grumbled to herself.


    Jean was chubby from head to toe, and yet she was wearing tight-fitting clothes that put heryers of


    fat on full disy. It was as if she was afraid that people couldn''t see how meaty she was.


    Again, putting the form-fitting clothes aside, what in the world is that horrendous colorbination she


    has on?!


    Jean had a total of at least six or seven colors from head to toe, and she paired her outfit with a mink


    coat.


    It was a wonder how she could wear something so painful to look at in the public.


    Oblivious to the disdain andints Rose had about her, Jean let out a bashful smile when she


    heard Rosement about how she had gotten plumper. "It is¡­ just a minor weight gain."


    "Minor?!" Rose was stunned by her shamelessness. "Look at the meat on your face. It jiggles when you


    speak. I fear I won''t be able to even see your eyes if you keep putting on weight!"


    "Surely you are exaggerating, Mother?" Jean lowered her head to look at herself.


    She admitted that she has indeed gained weight recently, but she won''t get that fat!


    Anyway, Jean had faith that she wouldn''t put on that much weight.


    "Fine, if you say so. I can''t tell you what to do anyway. Do as you please. Just don''t whine about how


    you regret your life choices in the end when you have high blood sugar, or high lipids or high blood


    pressure. And don''t go looking for Toby. Don''t think I don''t know how he has been urging you to lose


    weight and go for check-ups regrly with the medical team and weight loss team he arranged for you.


    You, on the other hand, are going against his words behind his back. You actually dismissed everyone


    after he moved out of the Fuller Residence since he can''t keep an eye on you!" Rose huffed coldly.


    Upon hearing that, Jean lowered her head out of guilt. "I¡­ I didn''t want to do that either. After all, Toby


    did that because he is filial. But Mother, if only you knew that kind of weight loss n those demons


    customized for me! They really do try their absolute best to keep any food that has taste out of my


    meals! My energy was depleted after I ate that for three days. Also, the medical team kept making me


    do yoga every day, so much so that my bones were almost bent! That was why I¡ª"


    "Enough." Rose impatiently waved to cut her off. "You always have a reason. It is your body after all.


    Why should an olddy like me who is going to die anytime now care if you don''t even care about your


    own body? I would rather you tell me about what is up with your outfit today. Is this what your fashion


    coordinator put together for you?"


    Rose was curious to see who it was that was so irresponsible to coordinate such an uglybination


    of clothes together.


    She was going to have that person fired straight away after she knew who it was.


    Jean would be nothing but a joke to the public if people were to see her clothes.


    Rose even had suspicions that the fashion coordinator was a spy for someone else.


    In a way, this daughter-inw of hers was the target of envy of many women within the circle. After all,


    Jean, who married into the Fuller Family with that background of hers and had a filial stepson, was


    considered a winner in life.


    Therefore, Rose had always known that there were many younger women within the circle who


    harassed Jean both openly and behind her back throughout all these years.


    Jean''s existence caused an emotional imbnce within these juniors, as they thought that even


    daughters of wealthy families like that couldn''tpete with a vulgar, poor woman.


    That was why it was possible that it was those juniors who had arranged the fashion coordinator for


    Jean to deliberately make the woman wear ugly clothes so that she would be the butt of the joke.


    Jean touched the mink vest on her shoulders, but she didn''t seem to understand what Rose meant.


    Thinking that Rose wasplimenting her outfit today, she giggled cheerfully. "This wasn''t done by a


    fashion coordinator. I did this myself. It is pretty nice, don''t you think so, Mother?"


    Rose was about to faint from the blood that rushed to her head. "You did this yourself?" she repeated.


    "Mhm!" Jean still hadn''t noticed the severity of the issue as she straightened her chubby body, a proud


    expression appearing on her face.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Rose could only hear the buzzing in her ears at this point.


    Fine, she sighed. I unfairly judged those juniors with my own wicked eyes.


    They are much kinder than I imagined them to be. They didn''t nt a spy this time.


    Jean is probably the one who is a spy of the Fuller Family.


    Seeing how Rose suddenly fell silent and brought a hand up to hold her forehead in difort, Jean


    quickly stepped forward and panickedly asked, "Mother? What''s wrong?"


    Even though Jean didn''t like her mother-inw very much, Rose had never treated her ill, and would


    always leave her be. Despite not liking her, Jean was still willing to care about Rose.


    "Don''te over!" As though she had seen a ghost, Rose quickly stretched out a hand to stop her


    when she saw Jean walk toward her.


    Jean subconsciously stopped in her tracks upon hearing that. "What is the matter?"


    "Your outfit. It is hard on the eyes. You are a little too close, so step back. My eyes hurt." Rose


    disdainfully waved her off.


    Jean then dropped her head to look at her clothes before her expression turned gloomy.


    My outfit looks great, though. Why would it be hard on the eyes?


    Even though she was unhappy, she still obediently took a few steps back.


    They were in the old manor now. She wouldn''t be able to prove herself innocent if something were to


    happen to Rose.


    Rose finally heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Jean obediently back off. She then frowned and


    asked in a solemn voice, "Who said you can match this outfit yourself? It is fine if you wear it, but you


    are wearing it outside of home! Are you not satisfied yet with how much of a joke you have made out of


    the Fuller name?"


    Jean immediately got upset after hearing those words. "What is wrong with my outfit, Mother? What is


    so funny about this? I look amazing! Also, I am Mrs. Fuller, after all. Who would dare joke about me?"


    "Who would dare joke about you, you say?" Rose sneered. "Let me tell you¡ªthere are way too many


    who haveughed at you. They only don''t do it in your face because of your status. They talk about


    everything behind your back. As for your outfit, how is that ''amazing''?! It is so ugly it will break the


    ugliness meter if there was one. And what are you thinking by coordinating your outfit yourself when


    you have a fashion coordinator?"

 Chapter 1265

    Chapter 1265


    Rose''s hand was shaking as she pointed at Jean angrily.


    Jean, on the other hand, was still indignant about Rose''sment.


    She thought her outfit today looked absolutely ravishing.


    However, much to her disappointment, Rose actually thought that it was an outfit so much of an


    eyesore it was bad enough to embarrass the Fuller name.


    Just like that, her pride and confidence were shattered in that instant.


    Rose could already guess what Jean was thinking when she fell quiet.


    Massaging her temples to soothe her headache, Rose muttered, "Alright, enough of this. I don''t care


    what you think about this outfit. After you go back, you had better change out of this outfit immediately.


    You are not allowed to wear it ever again, let alone match your outfit by yourself. Don''t bite off more


    than you can chew if you don''t have the skills. How shameless of you! Jean, I am saying it now, but if I


    find out that you secretly match your own clothes and make a fool out of yourself in public, don''t me


    me for giving you corporal punishment the Fuller way. Do you hear me?!"


    Corporal punishment?


    Jean opened her eyes in disbelief.


    She could only open her eyes halfway at first, and it was probably because of the fright she had upon


    hearing Rose''s words that her eyes actually opened all the way.


    However, it was precisely because they were fully opened that the fat on her face tensed up, making it


    look as though her facial features had shifted. Pairing her face with her outfit, she was the epitome of


    an eyesore.


    Seeing this, Rose looked away in disgust. "Jean White, did you hear what I said?"


    "I-I heard you," Jean stammered as her body trembled.


    She knew that Rose was not the kind of person who liked to joke around.


    Even though Jean hadn''t personally experienced the corporal punishment, she had seen how Homer


    had been caned in order to marry her. She had also seen how Toby was caned because of Sonia.


    Having the skin split open was the lightest injury they had.


    She could even lose her life if she wasn''t strong enough to put up with it.


    With her life on the line, Jean could only listen to Rose as she wasn''t brave enough to go against her.


    Rose''s expression only returned to normal when Jean listened to her. "That is good. Also, go back to


    Fuller Residence right away after you leave. You are not allowed to wander around. If you dare let


    anyone see your outfit, just you wait and see what happens."


    "I wouldn''t dare do that!" Jean immediately blurted out while shaking her head.


    "Hmph. That is that, then. Now what is the reason you came here for me? You don''t usuallye for


    months. It must be something important for you toe now, huh?"


    Upon hearing that, Jean let out an embarrassed giggle before she walked toward Rose and sat down in


    front of her. "Mother, the thing is, the Lore Family called right after I woke up this morning."


    "What did you say?" Rose frowned as she came to a pause in the midst of drinking her tea. "The


    Logans?"


    Failing to notice how Rose''s expression gradually became cold, Jean swiftly answered, "Yup. Amelia


    Lestrange from the Lore Family."


    Amelia Lestrange was Lte''s mother''s full name.


    Rose scoffed when she heard those words. "Did Mrs. Lore call you to have you plead for Toby''s mercy


    on their behalf?"


    Jean immediately spotted a surprised look on her face. "How did you know that, Mother?"


    "How can I not know?" Rose heavily ced the teacup on the stone table, the solemnity making Jean


    shudder.


    Staring at Jean with a deep gaze, Rose continued, "The Inte was abuzz with the news the day


    before yesterday. The daughter of the Lore Family deliberately created a scandal about Sonny to make


    Toby misunderstand Sonny and break up with her so that she herself had the chance to get togetherContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    with Toby. Even though Toby and Sonny resolved this issue quickly, the impact is still there. Based on


    Toby''s feelings for Sonny, there is no way he could tolerate anyone who treated her this way. As


    expected, he immediately chose to break ties with the Lore Family, but the Lore Family have always


    depended on our family and Toby to survive. I am sure even someone as dumb as you can guess what


    would happen to the Lore Family if Toby parted ways with them. Of course they would try their best to


    recover their rtionship with Toby. Since they can''t get through to Toby, they want to start with the


    people around instead. I was the first person they came to."


    "What?!" Jean eximed in shock. "I wasn''t the first one they contacted? I am the second one?"


    "No, you are not even the second one," Rose threw out.


    Jean''s face quickly froze. "Huh? I am not even the second one?"


    Seeing Rose nonchntly raise her chin, Jean had a feeling of impending doom as she blinked her


    pea-sized eyes. "Mother, who is the second person, then?"


    It can''t be that woman, can it?"


    Gulping, she unwillingly made a guess.


    Rose looked at her with a half smile. "Don''t you already know the answer? Why are you asking me


    that?"


    "It is Sonia Reed, isn''t it?!" Jean sucked in a cold mouthful of air.


    "Mm," Rose replied. "That is right. Sonny was the second person."


    With that, Jean was so enraged her chubby cheeks almost turned green.


    Oh, I am so, so mad!


    The Lore Family actually contacted Sonia Reed?!


    I have nothing to say if they looked for Mother. After all, she is Toby''s grandmother. She is the one with


    the highest authority in the Fuller Family.


    It makes sense for them to contact Mother.


    But why Sonia Reed of all people?!


    It was fine that the Lore Family contacted Sonia, but they actually contacted Sonia right under Jean''s


    nose! That could only mean one thing¡ªto the Lore Family, Jean, the legal wife of one of the Fullers'',


    wasn''t even on the same level as the woman who wasn''t even officially a part of the family.


    The Lore Family was tantly humiliating Jean!


    Rose, on the other hand, was in a great mood when she saw how Jean''s face had twisted from anger.


    "What is wrong? You''re mad?"


    Jean had her fists clenched when she spat, "Of course I am mad! The Lore Family have gone


    overboard. They think I am below Sonia Reed!"


    "You are indeed less important to Toby than Sonny is to him. Didn''t you already know that?" As Rose


    kept rubbing salt on Jean''s wound, the younger woman stomped angrily and cried, "Mother!"


    "Gosh, stop calling me that. You scurrying here means that you have promised the Lore Family to beg


    for Toby''s mercy, no?" Rose nced at her with cold eyes.


    Seeing Rose''s gaze immediately made Jean lower her head as shame washed over her. "Um¡­"


    "Since they can make you agree to make this trip with a single phone call, it must mean that the Lore


    Family are very important to you. If you treat them with such importance, you shouldn''t get angry about


    how they treat you. After all, you did ask for it," Rose mocked.


    Jean looked as though she was ufortable with Rose''s words. "The Lore Family is important to me


    because they are the family of Toby''s teacher. I wouldn''t have agreed otherwise. I just never thought


    that they would treat me this way despite how much I respect them. They didn''t even contact me first


    before contacting Sonia. I am not even as important as an outsider like Sonia is to them."


    Jean wouldn''t have agreed in the first ce if she had known that the Lore Family would behave this


    way.


    As Rose looked at Jean blowing her top, the former didn''t sympathize with her, and even thought that


    Jean deserved it. "You reap what you sow. The Lore Family had only taken your enthusiasm to help


    them all this while for granted. Do you see the consequences of your actions now?"


    When Jean didn''t utter a reply, Rose huffed again. "Also, Sonny isn''t an outsider. She is the future wife


    of the head of the household. She is higher than you in terms of status and identity. This is a fact that


    you can''t deny. And another thing¡ªI advise you not to try anything with Sonny again. You have to know


    that you and your son''s survival will be dependent on Toby and Sonny. You should be trying to get on


    Sonny''s good side instead if you want a good life. Treat her well, and she will let go of what you did to


    her for the sake of your care for Toby in the past. She will also take good care of you. But if you keep


    trying to butt heads with her, I assure you that you won''t be living that cozy a life for the remaining time


    you have. You could also get your son in trouble. Do you understand me?"

 Chapter 1266

    Chapter 1266


    The one person Jean cared about most was her youngest son.


    The moment she heard that Sonia might treat her son badly in the future, Jean immediately became


    anxious as she pped the table and barked, "How dare she?! I am Toby''s mother. She will be


    criticized behind her back if she dares try anything with me or Tyler!"


    Rose looked at her with a sneer. "You are not Toby''s birth mother. You are only the stepmother. You did


    take care of him and love him as a mother should, but you have never shown Sonny you cared about


    her. Why would she treat you well like you are her mother? Imagine yourself in her shoes. Would you


    get along with your mother-inw if she made your life a living hell for six years?"


    "Of course I won''t¡ª"


    As Jean suddenly came to realization halfway through her words, she suddenly became speechless as


    she flushed red out of embarrassment.


    She even felt the burning pain on her cheeks.


    Seeing her reaction brought a glint of joy to Rose''s eyes before the older woman added, "See? If you


    can''t forgive someone who has been bullying you, what gives you the right to hope for her forgiveness?


    I won''t look into how you treated her in the past. She probably doesn''t want to bring that up again since


    you treat Toby well, so you can rx and forget about that. Toby and Sonny will definitely take care of


    you even when you are old as long as you stay out of trouble and don''t interfere in their affairs. Tyler


    can also livefortably for the rest of his life being supported by his brother and sister-inw.


    However, if you still stay so blind to everything and keep trying to go against Sonny, I am afraid you


    having regrets is thest thing you should be concerned about. "


    "Mother." Jean lowered her head. "Will Sonia really do as you say and won''t make my life hard?"


    "Sonny isn''t narrow-minded like you are," Rose mocked. "Don''t worry. I will make it clear to her.


    Anyway, as long as you stay put, live your life honestly, act like a person your position should and


    correct your attitude, Sonny won''t hold any grudges toward you. She will only treat you like a stranger.


    It is not like you and her can truly live harmoniously like a family with the history between the two of


    you. The best rtionship for you both would be to stay strangers; you will neither be too close or


    distant. This is also myst piece of advice for you as your mother-inw. Don''t me me for not


    reminding you in the future if you don''t listen."


    Jean didn''t reply after hearing that.


    Even though she was a bit dull-witted, she wasn''t really an idiot.


    Even she knew that she could neverpare to Sonia in terms of importance to Toby.


    Toby had also once mentioned that he would choose Sonia if something were to happen between


    Sonia and Jean.


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    That alone was enough proof that Jean couldn''t even begin topete with Sonia.


    Moreover, Tyler had no talent for business. Only a small part of Homer''s property went to Tyler after


    Homer''s death, whereas most of it belonged to Toby.


    After all, that portion was already intended for Toby before Jean got married to Homer. She couldn''t ask


    for more on Tyler''s behalf even if she wanted to.


    In other words, Tyler did have to rely on Toby to live.


    It just so happened that Toby only cared about Sonia. She would definitely say a thing or two to Toby if


    Jean were to continue picking on her.


    As fellow women, Jean knew how powerful rumors could be for men.


    She couldn''t help but worry that Sonia would utter nonsense to Toby and chase Tyler out of the Fuller


    Residence.


    With how much Toby adored Sonia, it wouldn''te as a surprise that he would do exactly that.


    Jean couldn''t even begin to imagine how terrible Tyler''s life would be if he were kicked out of the


    house.


    Simply put, Jean had to swallow her pride, and not have any opinion or be biased against Sonia.


    Because if Jean didn''t do as she was supposed to, she and Tyler were doomed to live a miserable life


    ahead.


    Jean''s eyes gradually turned red as she thought about this. Despite how reluctant and upset this was


    making her, she had no choice but to surrender to fate.


    "I understand, Mother. I won''t pick on Sonia anymore." She squeezed her fists, and after doing that a


    few times, she finally unclenched her hands. "Toby did say that they will move out of the Fuller


    Residence and live elsewhere. That is probably for the best. It is not like I want to see her. The sight of


    her hovering around will only piss me off."


    Rose could tell that Jean was putting up a tough front by uttering those words because she refused to


    admit defeat to Sonia. As such, she believed that Jean deserved to suffer this way because she


    wanted to hang on to her pride.


    However, Rose could understand Jean''s feelings at this moment.


    After all, she was forced to ept someone she didn''t like.


    But in order to maintain her dignity, she had no choice but to scavenge for whatever pride she could


    find elsewhere.


    Still, Rose was going to turn a blind eye as long as Jean listened to her, and did as she was told.


    "Alright. Now that you know you can''t do anything to Sonny anymore, you have to do what you


    promised. I don''t want you to obediently say yes now, just to go back on your wordter. Sonny is no


    longer the girl who wouldn''t make a peep despite being harassed by you. I dare say that she will p


    you in return immediately after you bully her. She wouldn''t care that you are Toby''s mother. She


    wouldn''t care as long as it is not her mother. And don''t think that Toby will me her for doing that.


    Sonny has a clear head now. She can break up with Toby the moment he treats her badly."


    Hearing that made Jean open her eyes wide in shock. "Really?! She¡­ would actually leave Toby?"


    "Do I look like I am joking?" Rose gave her a contemptuous look. "I don''t have the time to joke around


    with you. Everything I am saying is the truth. Anyhow, whatever happens to Toby and Sonny in the


    future is their own responsibility. Don''t stick your nose into their business. You are not allowed to


    intervene, let alone appear in front of them for no reason. Take this issue with the Lore Family for


    example. You shouldn''t have agreed to help them when it is between the children and the Lore Family.


    What are you doing,ing all the way here to interfere? Aren''t you worried Sonny is going to pick a


    bone with you for helping the Lore Family beg for mercy?"


    After all, Jean choosing to do this was equivalent to her picking to stand on the Lore Family''s side.


    It would be weirder if Sonia was happy about it.


    Jean shrank back. "I only did it because Mr. Lore was Toby''s teacher. And considering how close the


    two families are, surely there is no overnight grudge. And¡ª"


    "And they happened to give you a present that you liked, which was why you were so eager to say yes


    to them?" Rose suggested, seemingly having seen through her.


    Jean''s jaw immediately fell to the floor as she gaped at Rose in shock. "How did you know that,


    Mother?"


    "I knew it." Rose''s expression dimmed before she snorted coldly. "How could I not know the kind of


    person you are? You don''t do things that don''t benefit you. You wouldn''t have agreed so easily if the


    Lore Family only gave a call to ask for your help, so they have definitely given you a present. In


    addition, the Lore Family didn''t give Sonny and I any presents when they came to us. They would be


    really stupid if they still hadn''t learned their lesson after we kicked them out. That is why they would


    definitely give you a gift when they contacted you. See how you are here after you got their present?


    But you are somewhat smart foring here to get me to persuade Toby instead of you going directly


    to him. Otherwise, I can guarantee that he will be very disappointed in you."


    Jean let out a giggle then. "It is because the Lore Family told me that Toby was angry at them when


    they called me. And since he was angry, I knew it wouldn''t work if I went to him. And that was why I


    came to you, Mother. He can get angry at his stepmother, but he definitely will not get angry at you."


    "You can be clever at times, huh?" Rosemented while looking at her.

 Chapter 1267

    Chapter 1267


    Jean''s meaty face had pride written all over it as she boasted, "It has been so many years, after all. It is


    only expected that I learn things such as watching others'' every mood and emotion."


    "Not bad. Keep it up." Rose finally stopped showing disdain for a second there.


    Jean, on the other hand, immediately let out a touched expression when she heard Rose''s words of


    approval.


    "Mother, this is the first time in so many years that you haveplimented me!"


    She was so overwhelmed she could shed tears right this instant.


    As Rose looked at the woman, the tiny bit of satisfaction that arose disappeared in a puff of smoke, and


    she quickly resumed feeling disgusted by Jean. "How was I supposed topliment you after you did


    all those stupid things in the past? Enough, now. Stop crying. You look horrible. You already looked bad


    to begin with, and now you are only making it worse."


    Hearing that, Jean sniffled a few times and immediately stopped her sobs.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    It was only then that Rose continued, "Do you know why Toby is so angry at the Lore Family this time?


    He kept quiet even though he has always known how much the Lore Family have gained and caused


    trouble in his name because Mr. Lore was his teacher. Take a guess why he haspletely lost his


    temper and cut ties with the Lore Family because of a single rumor."


    "Isn''t he trying to even the score on Sonia''s behalf?" Jean grumbled, her lips pursed.


    Rose nodded at that. "That is only one of the reasons. The main reason Toby is so angry with the Lore


    Family is because they bullied his lover, and they wanted to ruin his rtionship with Sonny. They have


    crossed his limits. After all, Sonny was the treasure that Toby had to pursue with great difficulty. Now


    that the Lore Family want to take his treasure away from him again, it is to be expected that he would


    get angry and decide to cut off his rtionship with the Lore Family. And you, as Toby''s stepmother, are


    supposed to be on Toby and Sonny''s side. But you chose to speak on behalf of the Lore Family. What


    do you think Toby will do to you if he finds out about this?"


    Rose''s cold gaze then drifted over, only to see how pale Jean had suddenly gotten.


    What will Toby do to me? Jean mused.


    I don''t know!


    After all, she hadn''t thought about it.


    However, there was a small voice inside her that told her that whatever Toby was going to do, it wasn''t


    going to be something good.


    As she pondered over it, she was suddenly riddled with panic, and she quickly grabbed Rose''s sleeve


    to beg for mercy. "Mother, I understand now. I didn''t think things would get so bad. I was just¡­ just¡­


    Mother, please, don''t tell Toby about this. I beg of you. I am dead if you tell him¡­"


    Jean started crying again as she spoke.


    However, it was tears of fear that came out this time.


    The only simrity was how ugly she looked still.


    Seeing this, Rose couldn''t help but shift her gaze away again. "Alright, stop crying. When did I say I will


    tell Toby?"


    Jean''s sadness swiftly turned into joy when she heard those words. "You won''t tell Toby, will you,


    Mother? Haha! Thank you, Mother! You are the best. I¡­ I am so happy."


    Rose felt utterly exhausted looking at Jean''s ugly mug crying andughing at the same time. "I choose


    to not tell Toby because you are nice to him, but know that I won''t forgive you if you try anything with


    him in the future even if you are the woman Homer loved."


    "Thank you, Mother." When Jean heard Homer''s name, the expression on her face finally returned to


    normal, and she gave her thanks more sincerely.


    Rose waved her hand. "No more next time. Don''t promise people you would do things for them just


    because they reward you with a little something. You are lucky you were thoughtful enough this time to


    not go to Toby directly, and came to me instead. You would be doomed otherwise. Also, don''t interfere,


    especially when ites to Toby and Sonny''s business. There are things you can''t stick your nose


    into. Your interference might make things worse, and make the children hate you. Do you understand


    me?"


    Jean nodded like a chick pecking at grains of rice when she heard that. "Understood. I really, really


    won''t bother myself with anything from now on no matter what. I will close myself off and live my life. I


    won''t ask anyone about anything too much."


    "Now that is better. Alright, then. You can go if there is nothing else. This olddy needs to rest," Rose


    chased her off while she tiredly massaged her temples.


    "Okay, Mother." Jean stood up. "I will be leaving now. I will go back and teach Amelia Lestrange a


    lesson for almost getting me in trouble."


    After saying that, she stormed out of the gazebo, looking like she was going to fight someone.


    Seeing this, Rose could only resignedly shake her head and let Jean do as she willed. The elderly


    woman had no intention of stopping Jean.


    It was obvious that Rose was supportive of Jean''s wanting to rush over to the Lore Family'' to pick a


    bone with them.


    The Lore Family were truly disgusting people. She should probably let someone as wicked as Jean go


    teach them a lesson so that they knew that the Fuller Family was their master who was merely


    protecting the Lore Family. The Fullers did not, by any means, be the Lore Family'' ves just


    because they had their backs long enough.


    Rose lowered her cold, fatigued eyes to look at the teacup in her hands.


    On the other hand, Jean had scurried all the way to the entrance of the old manor.


    She was still walking when she bumped into two people holding each other''s hands while walking in


    her direction.


    Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the duo.


    Toby and Sonia?


    As Jean subconsciously stopped in her tracks, she stared at the couple with a shocked gaze.


    They were still some distance away from her as they happily chatted while holding hands. They hadn''t


    noticed Jean at this point.


    With their beautiful looks, the couple looked like a match made in heaven, appearance-wise.


    Even if Jean didn''t like Sonia, she had to admit that thetter and Toby looked perfect standing


    together at this exact moment.


    However, this wasn''t as important as the reason they were here at the old manor.


    As she was still deep in her thoughts, the couple had already reached her from the opposite side.


    Toby was the first one to notice Jean standing there. His eyes had a hint of surprise when he saw her.


    He knew that Jean avoideding to the old manor like it was the gue because of how much she


    feared Rose.


    That was why he didn''t think he would see Jean at the old manor now.


    His odd reaction didn''t go unnoticed by the woman beside him.


    "What''s the matter?" Sonia asked before following his gaze.


    The smile on her face gradually disappeared when she saw Jean standing not too far away. Even


    Sonia''s great mood this morning seemed to have gone down the drain now.


    It wasn''t like she could help it. Anyone would be in a bad mood if they saw someone they didn''t want to


    see so early in the morning.


    Naturally, Toby noticed Sonia''s reaction.


    He proceeded to gently tuck her hair behind her ear as he reassured her in a soft voice, "Don''t be


    scared. I''m here. I won''t let anyone wrong you."


    His words made her smile. "Alrighty. I will be leaving it to you, then. If I feel upset in any way, you will


    be sleeping in the living room the whole of next month."


    Toby''s eyes immediately narrowed.


    Sleep in the living room?


    I can''t let that happen!


    To him, being told to sleep in the living room was way worse than the worst punishments in the history


    of mankind.


    In order to not sleep in the living room, he had to make sure he protected Sonia so well that no harm


    befell her.


    Thinking of this, Toby took Sonia''s hand and walked to Jean before he automatically stood in front of


    Sonia,pletely blocking her behind him.


    He knew that Jean didn''t like Sonia. Even though Jean wouldn''t dare do anything to Sonia with him


    here, Toby couldn''t guarantee that Jean wouldn''t roll her eyes or express her dislike for Sonia in some


    other way.


    Just rolling her eyes was a form of bullying as well.


    And so, even though Sonia might not allow herself to be harassed, Toby still covered her behind him so


    that Jean wouldn''t have the chance to bully Sonia even in the slightest.


    It was his responsibility as a man to protect her. He couldn''t not do anything just because she had the


    means to protect herself.


    Because if he stayed idle, could he even still call himself a man?

 Chapter 1268

    Chapter 1268


    Jean felt her jealousy and rage bubble up when she saw Toby shielding Sonia behind him in such an


    overprotective way.


    She was jealous about the fact that even she, Toby''s own mother, had never been protected like this by


    him.


    And she was angry about the way Toby reacted. Jean hadn''t even done anything to Sonia and yet,


    Toby already was acting as though Jean was going toy her hands on Sonia.


    His distrust for his own mother truly hurt Jean.


    As she thought about this, her gaze on Toby suddenly turned resentful.


    Toby didn''t know what Jean was upset about, and he had a small frown when he asked, "Why did you


    come to the old manor, Mom? When did you get here?"


    "I have only gotten here a while ago," she grumbled. "I came to see your Grandma. I am leaving now."


    "Grandma?" He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.


    It wasn''t as though he didn''t know the kind of person Jean was. Even though she wasn''t unfilial, she


    definitely didn''t like Rose all that much.


    After all, Rose didn''t like Jean a lot either.


    Because of that, Jean wouldn''t usually drop by to pay Rose a visit if she didn''t need to. Why would she


    voluntarilye anyway if she was going to get nitpicked whenever she came here?


    It was obvious that Jean was now here for Rose because of something.


    However, Toby didn''t pry into it since Jean wasn''t bringing it up herself.


    "Alright. Be safe on the road." Holding Sonia''s hand, Toby guided Sonia aside to make way for Jean.


    Jean only hummed in reply before she lowered her head and walked past the couple.


    Right from the start, Jean hadn''t spared Sonia even one nce¡ªit was as though she thought Sonia


    wouldn''t notice.


    Indeed, she did this intentionally.


    Jean might have promised Rose that she wouldn''t go against Sonia anymore and she wouldn''t treat


    her badly, but Jean didn''t say that she would pretend like she was fine with Sonia when they met.


    No matter what, Toby''s stepmother was still his mother and elder.


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    As long as she didn''t go against Sonia or give her an attitude, Jean simply ignoring Sonia couldn''t


    count as her trying to pick a fight with the younger woman.


    It wasn''t like they could point out Jean''s mistake and tell her that she was wrong.


    After all, the women had never gotten along in the first ce. Them ignoring each other was probably


    the best way they could coexist without getting into fights.


    Furthermore, Sonia would be the one who was narrow-minded and petty if she was mad at Jean for


    ignoring her.


    The only person they could me then was Sonia.


    That''s right. Sonia is the one to me.


    The more Jean thought about it, the straighter her gait became.


    Even Sonia could tell how haughty Jean was at this moment even without looking at her face and just


    seeing her from behind.


    She just didn''t know what Jean was feeling so proud about.


    However, Sonia wasn''t interested to know about that. Instead, she was more curious about Jean''s


    earlier attitude.


    She looked away before continuing ahead with Toby. "Did you see your stepmother''s reaction earlier?"


    she asked as she walked.


    "Sure did." He nodded truthfully with a hint of surprise in his eyes.


    "I thought that she wouldin about me when she saw me. After all, she has always wanted to


    argue with me over something whenever we met in the past. I thought that it would be the same this


    time as well. But instead of doing that, she pretended not to see me and just left," shemented with


    her arm hooked around his.


    He nodded in agreement at her words. "It was pretty surprising."


    Toby was aware of how much his stepmother hated the sight of Sonia, and he also knew that the two


    would quarrel every time they met.


    Of course, Jean was always the one who started the arguments, and Sonia was merely defending


    herself. However, them having fights was an undeniable truth.


    He had protected Sonia behind him because he, too, expected Jean to react the same way this time.


    He wanted to get the women out of each other''s sight to prevent them from starting something again.


    To the couple''s surprise, not only did Jean not have the slightest intention to quarrel, she had left right


    after having a brief conversation with him.


    Her sudden change was truly surprising even to Toby.


    "This might be better. I never wanted to argue with her and make things awkward by being between


    you and her. It is great that she is finally realizing this." Sonia smiled.


    However, Toby still had his lips pursed as he protested, "But she still intentionally ignored you. That


    was rude."


    "It is nothing." She shrugged. "I could kill to have her ignore me like she did. Because other than that,


    she would always bare her fangs and re at me, or chew my head off for some reason. Compared to


    that, I would rather have her treat me like I am thin air. It is not like I want to talk to her anyway."


    As Sonia spoke, she suddenly lifted her chin and peered at him tentatively. "Do you think that I am


    mean to you mother?"


    The man patted her on the head and smiled helplessly. "Of course not. I have never thought about


    wanting you and her to get along well. Some people are born to never be on good terms with one


    another. This is actually great. It is better to ignore and stay out of each other''s way than kicking up a


    fuss every time you meet."


    "Now that''s better." Sonia shifted her gaze away and let out a smile again. "I am quitting as your


    girlfriend if you think I am wrong for doing this."


    The man looked at her tenderly and murmured, "Did you forget what I said? Between you and her, I will


    unhesitantly choose you. Why would I think it is bad for you to think this way?"


    Hearing that, Sonia tightened her hold around his arm before slightly tilting her head to the right to rest


    it on his shoulder. She conveyed to him through bodynguage that she was happy to hear his words.


    Toby looked at how affectionately clingy she was being, and he couldn''t help the overflowing


    tenderness that appeared in his eyes.


    Rose and Mary were sitting in the gazebo when they saw the couple walking toward them from afar.


    The moment Mary saw them, she pointed at the couple andmented, "Look, Old Mrs. Fuller. Young


    Master Toby and Miss Reed''s rtionship has been getting better. They are even sticking to each other


    when they walk."


    "Indeed." Rose''s face was full of smiles as well. "Just look at how lovey-dovey Sonny is toward Toby.


    He is so happy I feel embarrassed looking at him."


    "Young Master Toby is beaming." Mary giggled with her hand over her mouth.


    Rose then gently flicked the bubbles floating on the surface of her tea with the teacup''s lid and took a


    sip of tea. She seemed rather impatient as she mused, "It seems like it won''t be long before we hear


    good news from them."


    "If Young Master Toby and Miss Reed are going to keep sticking to each other like that, they surely will


    have a child before long." Mary nodded in agreement.


    "Mary." Rose put down her teacup. "Tell the servants to bring the food and soups here. Now that the


    children are awake, we should quickly feed them so they don''t starve."


    "Alright, I''ll be back soon." Mary left the gazebo after replying to her instruction.


    She had just walked out of the building when she came across Toby and Sonia.


    Sonia quickly came to a stop before she smilingly greeted Mary. "Good morning, Madam Mary."


    Toby, too, gave a small nod in acknowledgement.


    Mary had a half smile on her face when she greeted them in return. "Good morning, Young Master


    Toby and Miss Reed. Please head into the gazebo where Old Mrs. Fuller is resting in. I am on my way


    to have your breakfast brought out. You must be tired after that tiring night you both spent together."


    After saying that, Mary walked past them with a teasing smile on her face, leaving behind a flushed


    Sonia and a thick-skinned Toby who had his eyebrows slightly raised.


    Sonia was no fool, so of course she immediately knew what Mary meant.


    A tiring night, she said.


    The only reason she would say that was clearly because she knew what the couple did togetherst


    night.


    Even though Sonia had mentally prepared herself for Rose and Mary''s teasing after she woke up this


    morning, she didn''t think Mary woulde to her at full force the moment they met. She might have


    prepared herself, but this was enough to make her so embarrassed and awkward she didn''t want to


    see anyone else.


    As her embarrassment took over her, she couldn''t help releasing her hold on Toby''s arm and lowering


    her head. With her face covered in both palms, her red ears were proof of how mortified she was now.

 Chapter 1269

    Chapter 1269


    When he saw her behaving in such a way, he couldn''t help but ask, "What happened?"


    Sonia immediately pursed her lips, which were covered, when she heard that.


    What happened?


    How dare this jerk ask what happened!


    After receiving no response from her, he reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist, attempting to


    move her hand away from her face. "Why are you covering your face? It''s difficult to breathe that way.


    Put down your hands and stop covering yourself."


    Sonia, on the other hand, refused.


    Her hands remained covering her face as she struggled to keep Toby''s hand from removing them.


    However, her strength could not bepared to his.


    Hence, he could easily take her hands away, revealing her face, which was as red as if blood was


    about to spill out the next second.


    Toby blinked when he saw that. He felt like he was looking at a freshly washed apple with water


    droplets on it, making him drool.


    It was a pity that they were in an inappropriate location, where Rose, who was sitting in a pavilion not


    far behind, could clearly see what was going on here.


    Otherwise, he would certainly hold her face and kiss her passionately.


    After all, such an opportunity was rare.


    A tinge of regret shed through Toby''s eyes as a light sigh escaped his thin lips.


    Such a pity.


    Then he released her hands, stroked her warm cheeks, and inquired, "Why are you blushing? What


    happened?"


    Sonia red at him when she heard that. "What happened, you ask? Didn''t you hear what Mary said


    earlier?"


    Toby realized immediately why she was blushing the moment she said this. "That''s nothing. Everyone


    knows about it anyway; there is nothing to be shy about," he said with augh.


    He had initially thought that there was something serious causing Sonia to blush to this extent, but it


    turned out that it was just due to Mary''s teasing.


    Toby was even startled at first, thinking she was sick.


    "Of course, there''s nothing to be shy about for you; you''ve always had a thick skin. However, I don''t!"


    She sneered and red at him.


    To that, he simply caressed her head and responded, "Okay, you''re right. I have thick skin. But what


    happened happened, and you have to face it. You can''t be shy all the time. What if Grandma teases


    youter as well? Are you going to be shy and blush once more?"


    Sonia pursed her lips and said nothing in response, but she knew what Toby said was true.


    But still, she was certain that would be the caseter.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Regardless of who teased her about it, she would be embarrassed.


    If Rose teased her over the same thingter, Sonia would still act the same way.


    But even if that would be the case, she knew she had to face it.


    She couldn''t possibly leave without greeting Rose simply for the sake of avoiding the awkwardness.


    That would be really rude.


    With this in her mind, Sonia took a deep, long breath to calm herself down before taking Toby''s hand


    and forcing a smile at him. "Let us not think about it. I have to see Grandma, whether she teases me or


    not, so there''s no point in worrying about it now. Let''s go see her right now."


    Following her words, Sonia tugged Toby along and led him to the pavilion.


    Her stiff back figure, rigid steps, and forced, stiff smile all revealed that Sonia wasn''t willing to see


    Rose. Instead, the former appeared to be under a threat from someone.


    Toby was amused by her demeanor. Seeing her behaving in this manner, he teasingly tickled her palm.


    That itched her. At this instant, all her mind was so focused on what he did that she couldn''t think about


    how to deal with Rose''s teasingter.


    "What are you doing?" A dissatisfied Sonia stiffened her fingers and looked at him.


    When he noticed she wasn''t nervous anymore and her eyes filled with her dissatisfaction and


    comints for him, he couldn''t help but find her amusing.


    Such an ungrateful girl. I''m doing this for you!


    Toby purposefully tickled Sonia to divert her attention in order to relieve her nervousness, and to stop


    her from imagining something serious was set to happenter.


    But she responded in such an unappreciative manner, ring at him fiercely without even a second''s


    hesitation.


    Well, what could he do? He was the one who spoiled her.


    He could only suffer by himself now.


    Despite his pitiful feelings, Toby''s eyes were filled with pampering and loving tenderness. Smilingly, he


    shook his head and murmured, "I''m sorry. That was unintentional. Perhaps you could tickle me back?"


    Sonia merely snorted at that. "I''m not that petty to seek revenge."


    She then turned around and continued leading him inside with his hand in hers.


    Soon, both of them walked into the pavilion.


    Sonia heaved a deep breath, braced herself, and greeted Rose. "Grandma."


    Instead of looking at Rose when she greeted the older woman, Sonia lowered her gaze.


    She was afraid of seeing an expression like Mary''s that she had seen earlier outside the pavilion.


    That would be extremely awkward for Sonia.


    Rose, on the other hand, couldn''t stop smiling when she saw Toby and Sonia still holding hands even


    though they were standing in front of her. "Finally, you both are here. What were you talking about


    outside earlier that you took so long toe in?"


    Hearing that Rose did not tease Toby and her, Sonia was relieved.


    Then, Toby pulled Sonia to sit right in front of his grandmother. "Nothing much. We were just whispering


    sweet nothings to each other. Don''t get into it, Grandma."


    "Fine. Since it''s between you two, I won''t ask anymore," Rose responded straightforwardly.


    Her gaze was then drawn to Sonia''s face, which was still slightly red. When Rose saw that, she broke


    out in a profound smile.


    Just as she was about to say something, Toby clenched his fist and casually let out a light cough.


    Rose looked at him as he raised his gaze.


    They then both looked each other in the eye, as ifmunicating through their gazes.


    A few secondster, the elderly was the first to retract her gaze. She then turned to Sonia and smiled


    subtly.


    Since her grandson had openly reminded her, she decided not to make fun of Sonia.


    Otherwise, if Sonia was so embarrassed that she fled after being teased, it would be all Rose''s fault.


    "By the way, Grandma, I saw Mom leaving the old manor on my way here with Little Leaf." Toby


    abruptly changed the subject of the conversation and brought up Jean.


    That stunned Rose for a moment. "You bumped into Jean?"


    "Yes." Toby raised his head, stood up and took the teapot to pour some tea for Sonia and himself.


    He then handed to Sonia one of the cups he''d poured the tea into and continued, "Why did shee


    look for you here?"


    Instead of answering his question, Rose countered, "Didn''t you ask her?"


    Sonia, who was sitting by the side, was relieved of her nervousness when she saw Toby and Rose


    talking about Jean. As she rxed her tense body, the redness on her face faded. She then took the


    cup of tea that Toby served her and began to sip it quietly while listening to the conversation between


    the grandmother and grandson.


    They were discussing Jean, and Sonia was not interested in getting involved.


    "I asked, but she didn''t say anything. She left after saying hi to me," Toby casually replied.


    Rose nodded at that. "It''s nothing, actually. What other reason could she have for looking for an old


    woman like me? She simply wants me to persuade Tyler to devote more time to his studies after


    returning to the country and less time to basketball. I patronized her and sent her away."


    Since Rose had promised Jean to keep her reason foring from Toby, the elderly woman would


    abide by her promise.


    After all, Jean treated Toby genuinely. Rose did not want to see them drifting apart just because of the


    Logan Family. It wasn''t worth it.

 Chapter 1270

    Chapter 1270


    "Is that so?" Toby studied Rose''s expression intensely for a while. He had a feeling that she wasn''t


    telling him the whole story, and was hiding the truth from him.


    However, he wouldn''t force her to speak if she wasn''t feeling about it, as long as his stepmother wasn''t


    coming over to the old manor for a matter regarding him and Sonia.


    "By the way, Sonny." Recalling something all of a sudden, Rose turned her head and looked at Sonia.


    Sonia, who was enjoying the tea, immediately raised her head and asked, "What is it, Grandma?"


    Her heart began to hammer inside her chest.


    No way! Please tell me that I''m imagining things. I thought I''m safe! Should I watch out for the iing


    tease?


    As Sonia waited anxiously for Rose''s words, the elderly woman continued, "I suppose you and Toby


    have seen Jean on her way out of the manor. Did she create any difficulty for you?"


    Listening to Rose asking such a question instead of what she had in her mind, Sonia let out a sigh and


    smiled in relief. "Don''t worry, Grandma. She did nothing. Besides, Toby even stood in front of me to


    protect me in case she would cause trouble. However, she didn''t try anything this time. Instead, she


    ignored me and talked to him for a moment before she left hastily."


    "I see. That''s good." Rose nodded as she was relieved to hear such an answer.


    It seems like my idiotic daughter-inw finally listened to my advice this time.


    Patting Toby''s shoulder, Sonia added, "Maybe she decided to back off after she saw his bravery to


    defend me."


    Rose cast her a relieved smile. "He''s your significant other, so he has the responsibility and obligation


    to keep you safe. If he can''t even protect you, he has no right to be with you. Even if you''re reluctant to


    break up with him, I''ll force you, or else he''ll be a burden to you."


    Toby sighed as the tingling pain in his temples aggravated. "Grandma, I''m your grandson, after all. Am I


    really that ipetent in your eyes?"


    "It''s just an example." She cast him an expressionless look.


    He sighed in defeat and no longer protested.


    Sonia seldom saw Toby in such a discouraging situation, and it caused her to giggle out at his


    embarrassment. Even though she covered her mouth, her muffledughter could still be heard.


    Seeing her experiencing a joyful moment, Toby''s expression softened and he showed a hint of


    happiness as he indulged her at the moment.


    The interaction between the young ones didn''t go unnoticed by Rose.


    She was pleased and was rest assured after seeing them having a close rtionship.


    For now, she could finally stop worrying about the matter of their rtionship.


    She held a firm belief that even after she passed away in the future, these young ones would always


    remain by each other''s side.


    "Madam." At that moment, Mary returned with the servants behind her, who were carrying various


    foods on the trays.


    Rose snapped out of her thoughts and waved them over. "Come here."


    Mary nodded before she ordered the servants to go into the pavilion and ced the dishes on the


    stone table.


    There was plenty of food on the table, and the smell was already making the onlookers drool.


    Sonia was already craving food at the moment, so the various foods managed to trigger a reaction in


    her when she saw them, as almost everyone could hear her stomach growling.


    Embarrassed by the honest reaction of her body, she immediately covered her belly as her cheeks


    flushed, and she attempted to apologize. "I¡ª"


    Rose chuckled. "You must be hungry. They''re just in time to serve us food. Go on. Don''t starve


    yourself."


    "She''s right, Miss Reed." Mary handed over the silverware to Sonia with a smile.


    Blushing, Sonia took them and whispered quietly. "Grandma, I''m sorry about you having to see me in


    such a state. I didn''t expect my stomach would suddenly make a sound."


    Rose waved away her worries happily. "There''s no need to feel bad. It''s somethingmon when


    you''re hungry. Enough with the apology and begin the meal instead. Toby, serve Sonny some food."


    "I will." Toby used the serving spoon to grab some food and put them on Sonia''s te before he spoke


    gently. "Let''s eat."


    She hummed a response and nodded before she grabbed the silverware and began her lunch.


    Toby, who was also hungry, joined her too.


    Sitting in front of them, the two elderly women watched them eat with a look full of affection. At the


    same time, they would seize the opportunity to serve the food to the couple themselves and urge them


    to eat more.


    Sonia and Toby were both uninterested and reluctant to dismiss their kind gesture. Thus, they ate


    everything the two women served on their tes.


    At one moment, Sonia suddenly recalled something. She looked at Rose and asked, "Grandma, are


    you not eating?"


    Rose only shook her head. "I had breakfast and It''s still early for me to have lunch. But you hadn''t, so


    these are specially prepared for you. I''m happy to watch you on the side."


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. You must''ve missed the fact that Madam is following a strict schedule to haveN?velDrama.Org content rights.


    her meals every day for the good of her body. Madam usually won''t eat unless it''s within the fixed time,"


    Mary added.


    Sonia nodded in understanding and had given up the thought of suggesting Rose join them for food,


    otherwise her consideration would eventually do more harm than good.


    And so, Sonia stopped worrying about the others as she enjoyed the brunch with Toby.


    After the meal, the servants cleared up the stone table. Following that, Sonia watched Mary pick up a


    tray from another servant''s hands.


    There were two bowls on the tray, but she couldn''t see their content from her seat. Judging from the


    steam and the aroma, she assumed it was soup.


    Sonia had the chance to see what inside the bowls were after Mary put the tray on the cleaned stone


    table. It was none other than soup, and was even a soup to nourish the body.


    She could see a drumstick in one of the bowls,bined with various herbs. As for the other bowl, she


    couldn''t tell its contents from its dark surface andck of ingredients, other than assuming it was some


    kind of herbal soup.


    However, the aroma of the soup was telling her a different answer. Thus, Sonia guessed it was a soup


    intended to nourish the body like the other one.


    However, the bowl of soup had an odd smell and it wasn''t particrly pleasant. As such, Sonia


    wondered what the ingredients were that made up the soup.


    These two bowls of soup must be for Grandma and Madam Mary. After all, they should take care of


    their health as they''re aging.


    Sonia wasn''t the only one who had the thought, as even Toby thought so. The idea of the two bowls of


    nourishing soup was made especially for him and Sonia never urred to him for once.


    The idea only popped into his mind that the soup was for them when Mary put the bowls in front of him


    and Sonia respectively.


    It wouldn''t be a problem if the soup were for both of them. However, the difference between the two


    bowls of soup was troubling Toby.


    Sonia''s serving was a chicken broth made with various ingredients. Moreover, she had a drumstick all


    to herself, which she could eat after she finished the soup. Meanwhile, Toby only had a bowl of soup,


    and he couldn''t see anything else inside. Besides, the soup was giving off an odd smell, and he


    couldn''t help but doubt whether it was edible.


    Toby''s expression sank at the discrimination.


    Staring at the bowl in front of her in surprise, Sonia took a while toe back to her senses before she


    looked at Rose and Mary for an answer. "Are these for us?"


    Rose and Mary nodded at them with kind smiles.


    "That''s right. Miss Reed. These soups are made for you and Young Master Toby." Mary borated.


    Sonia could feel a twitch on the corner of her lips. "Is that so? Thank you, Grandma and Madam Mary. I


    thought these are for you instead of us. However, we''re satiated after the meal."


    She had a full stomach and didn''t feel like she could drink the soup. Moreover, there was a drumstick


    too.


    Waving away the younger woman''s worries, Rose added in dismissal, "It''s fine. You can take it slow.


    Don''t worry about rushing it."


    Sonia grimaced at the older woman''s gesture. "Grandma, can we not drink this?"

 Chapter 1271

    Chapter 1271


    Sonia didn''t think she could finish the soup.


    Toby, who was beside her, remained silent. However, he was holding the bowl in his hands as he


    watched Rose with a look simr to Sonia, quietly protesting.


    Not only had he a full stomach, he also found the soup disgusting as he studied it. Even more, it was


    giving him an impression of sewage water instead of soup.


    "I''m not taking no for an answer. You must drink them." Rose''s smile dropped from her face, and a


    serious and stern expression reced it as she watched them. "These soups are made for you. You


    can take it slow if you''re full. You don''t have to rush, but you must finish them."


    Mary nodded as she agreed with Rose, "That''s the point, Miss Reed. This is for your good. Drinking the


    soup can nourish your body."


    "I don''t doubt the benefits. However, I want to know why you made the soup for us all of a sudden?"


    Sonia asked in resignation.


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Toby nodded, eager to learn the truth as well.


    To that, Rose answered, "Both of you went overboardst night. I understand if young ones like you


    can''t keep yourselves away from each other for more than one minute, but you need to do it in


    moderation. You can''t risk your health just because you''re young. Have you ever thought about your


    older days? Elders like us are hurt to see the young ones not paying attention to their health, so we


    decided to step in. That''s why we asked the chef to make the soup to nourish your body."


    As Rose finished her words, Sonia could feel her mind go nk in a second as her cheeks flushed and


    her body heated up.


    She thought everything was water under the bridge, and both Rose and Mary would spare her the


    tease.


    The two women indeed didn''t tease them with words, and they began to worry about Sonia and Toby''s


    health instead.


    Moreover, the elderly women even made Sonia and Toby the nourishing soup and urged the duo to


    finish the soup.


    Their considerate gesture was causing a bigger impact on Sonia than a tease, as she felt embarrassed


    and shy regarding this matter.


    At that moment, Sonia grabbed the bowl in her hands as she lowered her head to hide her face. She


    sat there with a flushed face, but she couldn''t even form a reply due to the embarrassment.


    Toby raised his brows out of surprise as the corner of his thin lips twitched in disbelief.


    Before this, he cast a look at his grandmother to remind her not to mention the matter in front of Sonia,


    or else the younger woman would be embarrassed.


    To his surprise, even though Rose didn''t tease them at first, she couldn''t help but talk about it when she


    exined the purpose of the nourishing soup to them.


    Toby turned to the woman on his side, who was hiding her face from the others, and a look of


    resignation emerged on his face.


    He wasn''t the one to me in this situation as he already reminded Rose to not mention the topic.


    Never would he know that she asked the chef to prepare the nourishing soup for them.


    His serving of soup kept bothering him, so he lowered his head to study the bowl of soup with an odd


    smell in front of him. Then, he shifted his attention back to the two elderly women on the other side and


    began with a low tone, "Grandma, I understand the need to make soup for Little Leaf. After all, she''s a


    woman, and has a physically weaker body."


    As he finished his words, Sonia immediately rolled her eyes at him.


    Pretending to not notice her, Toby continued as he looked at Rose. "I''m a man, but you still made the


    soup for me. Do you think I have a weak body?"


    In short, he found the existence of the soup before him unpleasant. The nourishing soup was nothing


    more than a symbol of humiliation to him.


    I''m a man! A healthy man, alright? Why would I need this?


    To Toby, the soup implied that he was a man with a deceiving appearance in others'' eyes. It told the


    story that he was a strong and tall man by appearance but in fact was physically weak inside.


    Moreover, it was indicating that his ability to function as a man was being looked down upon.


    No matter what the intention was, Toby wasn''t pleased to have the bowl of soup to himself.


    If the soup wasn''t given to him by Rose but by somebody else, he would think that person had a death


    wish.


    "I didn''t say anything, did I?" Judging from the gloomy look on his face, Rose could tell what thoughts


    were running through his mind without even asking.


    After all, Toby''s grandfather had asked her about the same thing back when they were younger.


    In their younger days, she made the same soup for her husband, but he didn''t appreciate the gesture


    as he thought she was implying that hecked certain abilities as a man.


    She could still remember her husband''s expression until today, and it was no differentpared to her


    grandson''s expression at the moment.


    Thus, it only took one nce for Rose to understand Toby''s displeasure. Sipping her tea in a calm


    manner, she continued, "You can nourish your body without being physically weak. You shouldn''t think


    that your health doesn''t matter and doesn''t need any nourishment just because you''re still young and


    healthy. Once you age, you''ll no doubt get weaker. I''m doing this for your good. Who else do you


    think?"


    Toby wasn''t pleased to listen to the words "weak" and he got more ufortable.


    Even though he knew Rose made the soup for him out of the purpose to strengthen his body and


    maintain its health instead of thinking he was weak, hecked the spirit to ept her gesture.


    Due to the men beingpetitive and holding their egos in this kind of matter, as long as there was a


    suggestion to nourish the body, the men would involuntarily rte them to the implication of their


    ipetence as a man.


    Even after the men learned that the other party had good intentions, they would still feel difort.


    Toby was sharing those same thoughts, just like any other man would have at the moment. Watching


    the soup in front of him, he found it especially irritating and couldn''t wait to pour it away.


    Meanwhile, as Sonia was a woman, she didn''t see someone making the soup as an implication of her


    ipetence as a woman. She was merely embarrassed by the gesture.


    Seeing the young ones in front of her not making a move to have the soup at all, Rose could feel a


    headacheing on.


    She massaged her temples to ease the pain. "What are you waiting for? Drink it, Sonny. Last night was


    too much for you, so you need to drink more to nourish your body. Remember that you''re a girl, that


    kind of thing would bring more burden to your body, so you must drink the soup for your health. There''s


    no need to be embarrassed at all. It''smon among women, and all of us have experienced the


    same feeling. In my younger days, my mother-inw also made me soup. I didn''t even feel


    embarrassed as a woman from the previous era, so there''s no point in feeling shy as a modern


    woman."


    Sonia reflected on Rose''s words as she began to think she was indeed conservative and easily got


    embarrassed.


    After all, the people around her were well aware of what happened between her and Tobyst night.


    Sonia saw no point in shyly avoiding it. Instead, she should face it by taking a direct approach.


    Besides, Toby had never got shy about it. It was basically about her blushing the whole time in this kind


    of situation while he didn''t even give a care in the world.


    Thus, Sonia made a mental note to learn about his optimism from time to time, so she could have less


    pressure in her daily life.


    As she finished the thought, she took a deep breath and raised her head before she cast a smile at


    Rose. "You''re right, Grandma. Thank you for your consideration in asking them to make the soup for


    me."


    "That''s the spirit! And you don''t have to thank me. I''m your grandmother, too. We''re family. This is what


    I should do for you as your grandmother. Come on; drink it." Rose chuckled.


    Sonia hummed before she used the spoon to drink the soup.


    Drinking the hot chicken soup, she wondered whether it was her mind affecting her thoughts, but she


    indeed felt the effect.


    The warmth spread through her exhausted body. As the tiredness was lifted from her body, she couldn''t


    help but drink more.


    Rose was watching Sonia enjoying the soup the whole time. However, the former slowly steered her


    attention to Toby after some time.


    He wasn''t drinking the soup like Sonia. Instead, he pursed his thin lips and furrowed his brows, pulling


    a long face at the soup in front of him. Noticing he looked at the soup as if he was facing his enemy,


    Rose almost rolled her eyes at him.


    "What now? Do you think I''ll poison you? Are you going to keep staring at it?" Rose muttered, intending


    to embarrass him.

 Chapter 1272

    Chapter 1272


    Sonia put her spoon down and turned to Toby.


    Pursing his thin lips in conflict, he spoke after a while. "It''s not like that."


    "If so, why do you keep staring at it and not drinking?" The smile dropped from Rose''s face, to which


    he replied in resignation, "Grandma, does the soup look edible to you?"


    He pointed to the bowl in front of him.


    Rose, however, only replied in dismissal, "The soup is made for you, so what do you think?"


    Toby took a deep breath upon hearing that. "If it is as you say, then why is my soup different from Little


    Leaf''s?"


    "He''s right, Grandma." Sonia nodded. "It is obvious that mine is chicken soup, but I can''t tell what his


    soup is, and it''s weird. Why can''t we get the same soup?"


    Judging by its smell, Sonia could tell it must have a terrible taste without drinking it. Besides, it had an


    unnatural color.


    I wonder why Grandma made Toby this kind of soup. I doubt it is useful to the body. Sonia was utterly


    suspicious about the soup.


    Hearing Sonia take his side, Toby was touched.


    That''s my wife! She''s showing consideration for me the whole time, unlike Grandma.


    Watching the soup in the bowl, Toby felt his stomach churn.


    He doubted that Rose wanted to help him nourish his body. Instead, he was sure she wanted to poison


    him.


    Taking note of the young ones'' suspicion and confusion, Rose sighed. "You''re good at imagining things.


    I didn''t give you the same soup because they have different effects. Sonny is a woman, and a female''s


    body is different from a man''s, which is why she''s drinking the chicken soup. It was good to have the


    chicken soup after the menstruation phase or exhaustion. You, being a man, have no need to drink it."


    As she finished her words, Rose rolled her eyes at him.


    Toby pursed his thin lips before he muttered, "I don''t mind what hers is. What I''m curious about is mine.


    Did I get served the water to wash the pot that cooked the chicken soup?"


    Sonia choked at his words before she coughed heavily until her cheeks flushed and tears hung on her


    eyshes, which made others worried about her.


    "What''s wrong, Sonny?" Feeling worried, Rose put her cup aside before she attempted to rise to her


    feet and check on Sonia.


    However, Mary was more worried about Rose. As thetter stood, Mary pressed Rose''s shoulder to put


    her back in the seat. "Don''t worry, Madam. Just sit here. I''ll check on her."


    At that, Mary walked toward Sonia.


    On her side, Sonia''s well-being upied Toby''s mind. As soon as she coughed, he left his seat and


    embraced her in his arms. He patted her back to help her with her breathing.


    After a moment, Sonia''s breath finally calmed down, and rxed with his help.


    At that moment, Mary handed over something to her. "Here you go, Miss Reed. Have this."


    "What is this?" As he released her, Sonia sat upright in her seat to look at Mary''s eyes.


    After coughing, she had a raspy voice, and it sounded pitiful to the onlookers.


    Mary stared at her with a distressed look and replied, "This is a medicine effective for a sudden cough.


    Miss Reed, you must feel the difort of your lungs after the cough a moment ago. This pill will help


    you to get better soon."


    Sonia smiled at Mary''s words. "Thank you, Madam Mary. That''s exactly what I need right now."


    "Here. you go, then" Mary''s smile grew wider.


    Sonia hummed before she took the pill from Mary and put it in her mouth as she raised her chin. Toby


    passed her a ss of water.


    Shooting daggers at him, Sonia took the ss and drank the pill with water.


    Scratching the bridge of his nose, Toby shifted his eyes away in guilt as he knew the reason why she


    choked. Thus, he was avoiding her.


    Noticing his guilty look, Rose scoffed in disdain. "You should''ve minded your words. What do you mean


    by ''the water to wash pot''? That''s nonsense! Look what you''ve done to Sonny."


    Sonia nodded hastily in agreement. "That''s right! Don''t you think you''re too creative?"


    Goodness knows how astonished she was when she heard Toby''s description of the soup.


    At first, she never thought about that. However, his words were echoing in her mind, and the


    impression of the soup was a bowl of water to wash the pot popped up in her mind.


    As such, Sonia had no idea about what her response should be.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    On the side, Toby cast her a nce before he turned back to Rose. "Don''t tell me you don''t think they


    look the same."


    "They don''t." Rose''s expression sank at his words. "Mary helped me to ask the family chef to prepare


    this. How dare you degrade it? It is made with various ingredients and hard work."


    "Oh?" Toby raised his brows. "Grandma, what was the wate¡ªI mean, nourishing soup made of, pray


    tell? Why does it smell odd?"


    "Well, the soup¡ª"


    Before Mary could finish, Rose tugged her pants under the stone table to stop her.


    The gesture was telling her something. Mary''s eyes shifted quick-wittedly before she smiled. "There are


    basic ingredients for soup, but we added some animal organs. They have high calories, and are good


    for men."


    "Mary is right. Enough with your nonsense; just drink it. " Rose scowled, impatiently urging Toby and


    sounding as if she would feed him the whole bowl of soup in one gulp if he hesitated longer.


    Sonia then turned to Toby and tugged his sleeve. "Why don''t you just drink it? Indeed, it has an odd


    smell, and I don''t think its taste would be any better. However, it certainly won''t be the water that


    cleaned the pot. You''re Grandma''s grandson, and she won''t harm you."


    Nodding in agreement, Mary chimed in, "Miss Reed is right. Young Master Toby, you should drink it. It''s


    good for your health."


    Rose didn''t speak, but her eyes were staring at Toby intensely.


    Facing the three pairs of eyes watching them, Toby had no choice but topromise. He grabbed the


    bowl with furrowed brows, taking a breath before he shut his eyes and took the first sip.


    He decided to take the risk. After all, no matter the appearance, the soup was a kind gesture from his


    grandmother. Thus, he must drink it, regardless of the ingredients of the soup.


    When Toby was drinking the soup, the three women were watching him with intensifying nces.


    Contrary to Rose and Mary''s relieved faces, Sonia was worried about him.


    Truth be told, she was worried that the unidentified liquid would cause harm to him.


    I hope I''m wrong about that. Tightening her grip on the spoon, she watched in anticipation.


    As the thought urred in her mind, she heard him making a sound and spitting out the soup.


    She was surprised to see him in such a state.


    "What''s wrong?" Sonia leaned forward to check on him.


    Toby''s body was half turned to her while he had one hand around his throat and another one to grab


    the side of the table. He was spitting out the contents from his stomach, and the difort flushed his


    handsome face, indicating his struggle.


    Sonia could see his fingers tightening around the table with force as the veins on the back of his hand


    popped up, showing that he wasn''t in his best state.


    Other than Sonia, Rose and Mary were also taken aback by his reaction.


    "Young Master Toby, are you all right?" Mary walked over and asked in concern.


    Even though Rose wasn''t speaking, her eyes betrayed her worries. After all, he was her eldest


    grandson, and she wasn''t that heartless to see him suffer.


    However, Toby was not feeling well at the moment and had no scope to answer their questions.


    Watching his face contorted in pain, Sonia felt bad for him. She stood at his side and patted his back,


    just like he did a moment ago.


    Watching the scene unfold, Rose and Mary looked at each other.


    "Madam, we made a mistake, haven''t we?" Mary began with mixed feelings.

 Chapter 1273

    Chapter 1273


    Rose and Mary made the stew for Toby because they figured that it was nutritious and good for him,


    but they forgot to consider that he might not want any of it.


    It wasn''t until Toby directly puked and grimaced in disgust that she realized not everyone could


    stomach the stew. In fact, now that she thought about it, Toby liked his food mild, but the stew had a


    strong gamey vor.


    Rose felt a little rueful when she watched Toby retching. So, she lowered her voice and mumbled,


    "Well, the stew is good for him, so I wanted him to drink it. That''s why I stopped you from letting him


    know the stew''s ingredients."


    "But he can''t have any even though he doesn''t know the ingredients." Mary felt sorry for Toby.


    Rose pursed her lips, slightly guilty. Then, after a while of silence, she sighed. "I might have


    overestimated him, but s... He can''t even drink a mouthful of the stew."


    Mary''s lips twitched slightly, but she didn''tment.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Although she was Mary''s best friend, she was not a part of her family, so she couldn''t concur when


    Mary turned her nose up at Toby.


    Moreover, she could guess how awful the stew was, although she didn''t drink it. She bet that others


    would spit the stew out, too, when they drank it, so it was honestly not Toby''s fault that he had such a


    severe reaction.


    Meanwhile, Toby couldn''t be bothered with the conversation between Rose and Mary. All he cared


    about was getting rid of the awful taste in his mouth. He even considered cutting off his tongue


    momentarily before his rationality took hold of his brain again.


    He felt like the ''thing'' he drank wasn''t stew but some rotten mush. The taste and smell of the so-called


    stew were so vile and horrendous that he couldn''t even bring himself to swallow it.


    He could feel the stench lingering in his mouth even after throwing up. To make matters worse, he


    could taste the rotting taste. There were just some things that weren''t meant to be tasted by the human


    mouth.


    Due to the rancid smell filling his nostrils with extreme prejudice, the disgusting stench made him feel


    dizzy. He knew he wasn''t suffocating, but frankly, he''d rather beunched into the sun right about now


    so that he could stop feeling the sour taste in his throat.


    What kind of stew is this?! D*mn!


    Toby was in unspeakable distress and felt like crawling out of his skin and abandoning his human shell.


    Sonia could feel his torment when she observed his expression, which worsened her anxiety. She


    handed him a ss of water when he stopped gagging over the stew. "Here. Drink some water and


    rinse your mouth."


    in water was what Toby needed the most right now. Life water! He took the ss of water and


    began to gargle, wanting to flush the disgusting taste out of his mouth.


    Soon, he finished the ss of water, and the taste in his mouth did wash down a little, but he could feel


    that arge part of the residue still lingered in his mouth.


    The stench would even be emitted whenever he opened his mouth, so he covered his mouth when he


    spoke, "Grandma, what is in this stew?! Please tell me honestly."


    He red at Rose and Mary with red-rimmed eyes and a grim expression.


    Sonia also looked at Rose and Mary curiously. She wanted to know what ingredients they used in that


    stew that caused Toby so much misery.


    Rose and Mary were taken aback by the couple''s curious and indignant nces. They exchanged


    slightly guilty nces when they saw that the stew was so terribly received.


    Mary tugged at Rose''s sleeve and silently inquired if she should tell them the truth.


    Rose''s eyes darted around anxiously, and she refused to look at the couple.


    Tell them the truth? How? If I tell them the truth, Toby will definitely be pissed, so no! I can''t say it!


    Rose suddenly touched her forehead, and her face twisted in a painful grimace at the thought of this.


    She mumbled weakly, "Gosh! Why does my head hurt? It must be because I stayed in the pavilion for


    too long. The wind is quite cold today, and I feel chilly. I have to go back to my room to rest. Mary, help


    me up. Let''s go back to my room."


    With that, she winked at Mary and extended her hand toward her.


    Mary instantly understood her intention. She immediately looked concerned, held Rose''s hand, and


    helped her up. "Are you okay? Oh dear, you look so pale. I''ll help you to your room. Walk slowly."


    As she urged, she helped Rose to walk out of the gazebo.


    Sonia and Toby sat there and quietly watched the two olddies putting on an act.


    Their acting skills were so lousy that no one would believe them.


    Sonia shook her head in amusement and did not expose their lies, but Toby, who was determined to


    know what he was forced to take, was not so lenient.


    "Stop right there!" He lifted his gaze, and his deep, clear voice resonated through the gazebo.


    Rose and Mary instinctively stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard him.


    Toby stood up with one hand in his pocket and the other on the stone table. He red at the backs of


    the olddies and hissed, "Do you think you can just get away with it after ying a prank on me?


    Grandma, Mary, do you think I''ll let you off the hook just because you pretend to be sick?"


    Rose and Mary donned uneasy expressions when Sonia and Toby couldn''t see their faces.


    When they turned around, they immediately hid their uneasiness, and both looked utterly innocent and


    bewildered at his usation.


    "Toby, what are you talking about? Feigning illness? I don''t understand." Rose''s eyes flickered around


    as she refused to look Toby in the eyes.


    Mary was always on Rose''s side, so she quickly nodded and echoed, "Young Master, how can you


    use Old Madam of pretending to be sick? She is weak, to begin with, and the cold wind isn''t


    conducive to her health. You know about her condition, so how can you say that she is pretending to be


    sick?"


    "Oh, Toby, you break my heart by saying that. Argh, ugh, my head is hurting again. Mary, let''s go."


    Rose rested her head on Mary''s shoulder and urged Mary to leave.


    Mary did not want to stay here any longer, too, because she was worried that Toby would pursue the


    matter seriously. She quickly nodded, held Rose''s hand, and practically scurried away.


    The two olddies'' shenanigans amused Sonia so much that she covered her lips as she giggled softly.


    This was the first time she had seen them so cheeky and funny.


    She had never expected the two olddies to pull such a childish act, such as pretending to be sick in


    order to get away from trouble.


    An elderly could bring joy to the family, and it just so happened that they had two elders in the house.


    Sonia muffled her giggles while turning to look at Toby beside her. Just as she had expected, Toby was


    even more grumpy at being the butt of the joke.


    She was supposed to feel agitated when on behalf of Toby, but the whole thing was too hrious that


    she could barely keep a straight face.


    After all, not many people in this world could upset Toby like this. But, more importantly, he couldn''t


    even do anything about this since their intentions were good.


    At this moment, Toby looked like a pushover after being bullied.


    Sonia''s amused expression was imprinted in Toby''s eyes and mind, and a dark gleam shed across


    his eyes.


    Alright, just you wait! I''ll deal with you after I finish dealing with Grandma and Mary. I want you to know


    that your actiones at a price! Serves you right forughing at me!


    Toby swiftly regained hisposure, and when he returned his attention to Rose and Mary, who tried


    to scramble away as fast as they could, he curled his thin lips into a cold smirk.


    This time, he vowed to find out just what they were up to, so he would not let them off the hook that


    easily.


    Don''t even think about getting out of this!


    "Grandma, since you''re dizzy, I''ll call the doctor over and check on you. You won''t get better if you


    simply rest in your room. I''ll be worried sick. What do you think, Grandma?" Toby narrowed his eyes,


    and his eerie voice that carried a hint of threat wormed into Rose''s and Mary''s ears.

 Chapter 1274

    Chapter 1274


    Toby''s words sent a chill down Rose''s spine. Still, she tried to wriggle her way out of this mess as she


    smiled sheepishly and shook her head. "No, you don''t have to call a doctor. It''s not a big deal. I just feel


    dizzy, and I''ll be fine after a nap. I always feel dizzy, and I know how to make myself better. So you


    don''t have to call the doctor over. It''s quite troublesome."


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    D*mn, if you call the doctor over, you''ll know that I''m faking it! No way! Rose muttered in her heart.


    The smirk on Toby''s face turned shaper. He walked forward and stopped behind Mary and Rose. "It is


    not troublesome at all. We pay for the live-in doctor to be at our beck and all. If he thinks that a few


    minutes of walking is a great deal of trouble, we should just fire him! Since we pay him, he is obliged to


    treat his patients at any time, in any ce, and under any circumstances, or it is a dereliction of his


    duty, and I have the right to fire him. Grandma, do you want him to get fired?"


    "Of course, I¡ª"


    "If I''m not mistaken, the doctor we hire to care for your condition is Mary''s close rtive." He knew just


    what Rose was going to say, so he interjected as soon as she opened her mouth and then looked at


    Mary.


    In the face of Toby''s fearsome re, Mary lowered her head guiltily.


    She knew precisely why Toby brought up the family doctor and her rtionship with the doctor at this


    moment. Toby wanted to force both of them toe clean about the stew''s ingredients by threatening


    them with the doctor''s employment.


    Yikes, no wonder Young Master Toby is known as the Demon of the Business World. He will strike at


    his opponent''s weaknesses in order to achieve his goals. The Fuller Family and Fuller Group are lucky


    to have him as the head of the family and thepany, but it is unfortunate for us to be under his reign


    right now. Marymented bitterly in her heart.


    Rose, on the other hand, was enraged. She turned around, poked Toby''s nose, and growled, "Hey,


    b*stard, how dare you say such a thing?! What the hell are you thinking? Are you trying to break Mary''s


    heart?"


    Toby shrugged innocently. "What are you talking about, Grandma? No, I''m not trying to break Mary''s


    heart. I just think maybe it''s time to give the doctor a new job."


    "You''re bluffing! You know better than anyone what you''re implying." Rose snorted coldly, refusing to


    believe his nonsense.


    Sonia also felt that Toby had gone too far, so she stood up and wanted to dissuade him, but before she


    could say anything, Toby changed his tone, "Alright, Grandma. I was just joking. I didn''t actually want to


    fire the doctor, but I need to reconsider his employment and trustworthiness in the future. You do know


    that I hate being deceived the most. So, do you want to tell me what the stew is or not?"


    Rose was about to refute him grumpily when Mary stopped her.


    Finally, she sighed and looked at Toby, "Okay, I''ll tell you, but promise me that you won''t get angry."


    Toby''s expression softened slightly at her cooperation. "Alright, I promise I won''t get angry, and I''m


    sorry for threatening you just now, but I hope you understand that it doesn''t feel good to be kept in the


    dark."


    Mary waved him off. "Yes, I understand, Young Master, and I''m not angry about that. I know that you


    won''t do anything to the doctor and will not fire him even if I refuse to tell you the truth in the end. After


    all, I kept you in the dark, not them, and you wouldn''t punish them for something they didn''t do. I raised


    you, so I know you very well. Since I''m well aware of this, I know you''re just trying to scare me."


    Toby chuckled. "Wow, you saw through my tricks."


    Both Rose and Sonia breathed a sigh of relief, especially Rose, who thought that Toby would actually


    go through with his threat so that he could get his hands on the ingredients behind the stew.


    Mary was Rose''s best friend for decades, so much so that Rose had regarded Mary as family.


    Toby''s threat to Mary would not only humiliate Rose but also break Mary''s heart.


    She was worried that this incident would break Toby''s rtionship with herself and Mary.


    Fortunately, it was just a scare.


    Rose sighed lightly and sat down.


    Nevertheless, Rose was still a little upset with Toby''s attitude, although she knew that he simply


    threatened them and did not intend to walk the talk.


    Judging from Rose''s expression, Mary knew that she was unhappy with Toby, so she chuckled and


    reassured her, "Old Madam, please don''t me him. After all, it''s our fault. Although we made the stew


    for his sake, we never considered if he would like the stew, and we did not tell him the truth about the


    stew''s ingredients simply because we didn''t want to upset him. It''s our fault, to begin with, so we should


    take his threat as our penalty. Let''s call it even."


    "You''re always siding with him!" Rose huffed and nced at Mary in exasperation.


    Mary smiled lightly before looking back at Toby. "Actually, the stew is good for you. The ingredients


    have aphrodisiac effects."


    "A-Aphrodisiac effects?!" Toby''s lips and eyes widened in disbelief.


    Mary nodded. "Yup."


    At this moment, Toby began to feel a headache. "Mary, do you think I need that? Or do you and


    Grandma think I''m that frail?"


    Do they really think I''m impotent, so they made me a stew with aphrodisiac ingredients?! Toby thought


    in shock.


    Sonia, who stood behind them, couldn''t help but burst out inughter because she never expected that


    this was the effect of the disgusting stew. Regardless, she felt that her abruptughter was rude and


    would hurt Toby''s ego, so after augh, she quickly muffled her mouth and only revealed her smiling


    eyes. However, her actions did not dissuade her from watching the hrious interaction.


    She simply tried to keep a straight face and force her bubblingughter down her throat.


    Toby could hear her giggling, and he felt a little dismayed. Only after clenching and loosening his fist in


    his pocket several times did he force himself not to turn back and re at Sonia in frustration.


    Mary didn''t exactly know what Toby felt right now, but judging from his grumpy expression, she could


    tell that he was up in arms.


    Even Rose also pursed her lips sheepishly and began to think that she might have arrived at the wrong


    conclusions.


    "Uhm, please don''t misunderstand, Young Master. We have never thought that you are impotent, but


    we just want to give you supplements. We''re just worried that your health is declining since you''re


    getting older. Also, why must we take supplements when we''re not healthy? We must take


    supplements all the time. If we only take supplements when we''re sick, it may not work as effectively,"


    Mary exined.


    Sonia covered her mouth and nodded with a smile, totally agreeing with Mary''s words. Yup, she''s right!


    Tobe took a few deep breaths in order to suppress the urge to shout at them. He looked at Mary and


    Rose and said with a stic smile, "Oh, thanks a lot for your concern then."


    Mary waved him off with a rtively small smile. "You''re wee. We¡ª"


    "It''s good that you know we care about you." Rose tugged at Mary''s arm and epted Toby''s thanks.

 Chapter 1275

    Chapter 1275


    Rose thought matter-of-factly, Why shouldn''t we ept his gratitude? We truly care about him! He may


    not like how we show our concern, but our concern is genuine and sincere. So, he should thank us,


    shouldn''t he? So, it''s reasonable for me to ept his thanks, isn''t it? In that case, I can and will do so!


    However, Mary nced at Rose uneasily andmunicated to her through her eyes, Old Madam, can


    you not hear the sarcasm in Toby''s tone when he thanked us? No one says thank you with gritted


    teeth! So it''s apparent that he is mocking us!


    Rose blinked at her andmunicated through her gaze, I don''t care if it''s sarcasm. The point is he


    thanked us, so we should assume that he is sincere and ept his thanks graciously.


    Mary hummed awkwardly and was rendered speechless by Rose''s logic. Therefore, she could only


    smile awkwardly at Toby.


    Toby observed their interactions closely and knew just what they were thinking.


    To be honest, he was a little amazed at Rose''s cheekiness.


    He deliberately thanked them sarcastically, but to his bewilderment, Rose epted his gratitude


    without hesitation. However, it made him feel like he was talking to a wall. Not only could he not get any


    response from the wall, but he also felt defeated by theck of response.


    He wanted to say something more, but at this point, he didn''t know where to begin.


    Sonia, standing behind him, raised her eyebrows because she knew Rose did that on purpose.


    She seemed to realize why Toby was so cheeky and bold. From the looks of it, she felt that these must


    be inherited traits.


    Sonia touched her forehead and shook her head in amusement.


    "Forget it. I don''t want to talk about other things. I want to know what is in that stew." Toby massaged


    his temples, feeling a headache building the further this conversation dragged on.


    Mary opened her mouth and seemed hesitant. Then, she remembered that she had promised to tell


    him the truth, so she took a deep breath and mumbled timidly, "Uh, we didn''t use any strange


    materials. They are mainly a deer antler and a bull''s penis..."


    When Mary said the words ''a bull''s penis"'', her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. Toby was


    confident that she attempted to mumble the words because she didn''t want him to know the exact


    ingredient. Still, he had to know, or he would eventually drive himself up the wall trying to figure out just


    what was in that stew had seeded in driving his faith in humanity to a new low.


    "A bull''s what, Mary? Please say it clearly," Toby frowned as he urged impatiently.


    Mary nced at Toby and then at the curious Sonia. Eventually, she caved as she closed her eyes and


    yelled, "A BULL''S PENIS! Old Madam, let''s go, NOW!"


    With that, she grabbed Rose''s hand, and both ran away as fast as lightning while Toby and Sonia were


    left dumbfounded as they stared at their retreating figures. N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Sonia was the first to regain herposure. When sheid her gaze on Toby, who was still wholly


    bbergasted by the reveal, she couldn''t help butugh out loud.


    It was just too hrious, and there was no way she could keep a straight face after this!


    A bull''s penis! Oh my gosh, a bull''s penis!


    Toby actually drank a stew made of a bull''s penis! This was probably the first andst time he would


    ever drink such a thing.


    "Hahaha!" Sonia doubled over inughter until her eyes turned teary.


    Herughter pulled Toby back to his senses. His handsome face turned pale and red in humiliation,


    which made the whole thing even funnier.


    He turned around and asked Sonia, who was sitting on the bench and couldn''t stop howling inughter,


    in a dangerous, "What''s so funny?"


    Don''t you know why?! Sonia wasughing so hard that her stomach began to hurt. She knew that she


    should probably stop, or the pain would worsen. But when she looked at his face, that was a cross


    between ashamed and angered; she just couldn''t help herself. "N-Nothing. Hahaha! No, it''s nothing. I''m


    notughing because you d-drank that stew. I''mughing because... because... Haha!"


    Oh gosh, I surrender! I can''t make anything up right now! It gets funnier the more I think about it!


    Toby felt enraged again when he watched Sonia chortling at him and heard the words ''a bull''s penis''


    from her mouth.


    When he thought of the bowl of stew, he knew it would be nasty due to its strange stench, but it had


    never crossed his mind that they used a bull''s penis to make the d*mned thing!


    No wonder there was a gamey smell in the stew. How could it not smell gamey?!


    Toby tried to suppress his rage by taking several deep breaths, but when he thought of the ingredients


    in the stew, he could feel his blood boiling.


    He could forgive Mary and Rose for suspecting that he was impotent and intending to give him


    supplements in this regard.


    What else could he do otherwise? He couldn''t punish them, could he?


    They did this because they genuinely cared about him.


    But why couldn''t they use other ingredients? There were so many ingredients in the world that had


    aphrodisiac effects, so why did they have to choose such a disgusting one?!


    His mouth was filled with that awful stench right now, and he couldn''t forget that he drank the stew


    made from a bull''s penis!


    Because of this matter, he was traumatized, and he estimated that it would take a long time before he


    could look at a bowl of stew without thinking about that horrid crime to humanity.


    "Stopughing." Toby was furious and resigned when he looked at Sonia, who was stillughing.


    He was frustrated because she didn''t feel sorry for him, and he was resigned because he loved her


    and couldn''t bear to reprimand her forughing at him.


    Naturally, Sonia knew just how he felt based on his expression, and she felt a little guilty forughing at


    him, but she couldn''t help it. The matter was so funny that another round of giggles would start


    whenever she thought of it.


    "Sorry, sorry... I''m so sorry... I-I can''t help it. I''ve heard of people eating this stuff out of curiosity or for


    the aphrodisiac purpose, but I never thought that you would be one of them, though unintentionally.


    Seriously, I didn''t think you would ever encounter such a thing in your life, but thanks to Mary and


    Rose, you gained such an experience! Oh gosh, it''s so funny. How do you feel right now?" Sonia wiped


    the tears at the corners of her eyes and took several deep breaths. Finally, she managed to quell her


    laughter.


    She would giggle from time to time, but it was indeed much better than the uncontrolledughter


    earlier.


    Toby looked in askance at her. "How do I feel? What do you think? Do you think I''ll feel good?!"


    Other than those who loved to eat this kind of food, anyone would feel their stomach turning when they


    found out that they had unintentionally eaten such a thing, right?


    This was exactly what he felt right now. He felt utterly disgusted. In fact, the smell still lingered in his


    mouth, and it made him want to puke again.


    When she saw his tight frown and the grumpy and disgusted grimace on his face, she couldn''t help but


    Toby''s re darkened, and he stared at her. "How could you stillugh?"


    "No, no... I''ll stop now." Sonia waved her hands. "It''s just that... Hah! Oops, I''m sorry, I can''t help it.


    Give me a minute. Let me calm down. I''ll stopughing altogether when I calm down."


    After she said that, she raised her hands in surrender and began to take deep breaths.


    When she was doing so, he kept staring at her with that deep gaze. He looked like a wolf who had just


    locked his eye on his prey.


    Sonia stopped her actions, swallowed nervously, and muttered, "Uh, can you please don''t look at me


    like that? I''ll stopughing at you, I promise."


    s, Toby remained unmoved, and he focused his gaze on her intently.

 Chapter 1276

    Chapter 1276


    Toby''s re was threatening enough that Sonia could feel her scalp numb under his prating gaze.


    She rubbed her nose awkwardly and mumbled, "Uhm, are you worried that I''ll tell others about this?


    Don''t worry. My lips are sealed. This is our secret. Also, you''re mine. When they mock you, they''re


    mocking me too, so I won''t tell anyone, I promise. You can trust me on this."


    Toby remained silent.


    Sonia didn''t know what he was thinking about at this point. She blinked and huffed, "Are you still not


    satisfied? What else do you want me to do? I know that you feel awful after drinking such a thing, and


    perhaps, you are traumatized, but it''s not really a big deal. Grandma and Madam Mary kinda tricked


    you into drinking it. It''s not like you drank it on purpose. Just let it go. You''ll forget about it soon. You¡ª"


    Before she could finish her sentence, he suddenly marched forward, grabbed her wrist, tugged her to


    him harshly, and pulled her into his embrace. Then, he lowered his head and kissed her, forcing her to


    swallow her tirade.


    Sonia clearly did not expect Toby to kiss her suddenly. She froze on the spot, and her eyes widened in


    shock. She was in a daze until he pried open her teeth with his tongue and stuck his tongue into her


    mouth. When he did this, she smelled the strange stench from his mouth. Only then did she jolt awake


    and retched in disgust. Her face turned ghastly pale as a result. She nudged his chest with all her


    might, trying to shove him away.


    She had to keep her distance from him because his mouth was really gross at the moment.


    Of course, she knew that it was not his bad breath. She had smelled the stew before, so she could


    immediately recognize the stench in his mouth.


    Yet, she didn''t expect the stench''s residue to remain in his mouth for so long. It showed how awful the


    stench of that stew was and how long the stenchsted.


    At this moment, all Sonia could smell was the stench of the stew. She felt disgusted and wanted to


    puke, but Toby kept kissing her and refused to release her. Because of his kiss, she had to endure her


    urge to vomit. Her face was pallid, and her eyes turned watery under such torment.


    In her honest opinion, they kissed for far too long until she finally got used to the stench. It was only


    then that Toby released her as if he felt sorry for her.


    As soon as she broke free from his embrace, she immediately pushed him away, bent down, pressed


    one hand on the table, and proceeded to throw up. The sound of her vomiting echoed across the yard.


    It was easy to tell that she felt thoroughly grossed out.


    Toby stood beside her and wiped the saliva on the corner of her mouth with his thumb. He felt


    distressed to see her in such a state. Then, he grabbed the ss of water and handed it to her. "Here,


    rinse your mouth."


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Sonia red at the ss of water in his hand and then at the concerned-looking Toby with redrimmed


    eyes. Then, she snatched the ss of water indignantly and rolled her eyes at him.


    Toby knew from her reaction that she was pissed. Yet, all he could do was smile at her,


    D*mn, I''m so pissed! I have never met such a horrible b*stard! Why did he kiss me when his mouth


    stinks?! Now, even my mouth stinks! Oh dear, my mouth is full of the stench. I can even smell it when I


    open my mouth. Argh, it''s so disgusting!


    At the thought of this, she began to feel her stomach roiling in disagreement, and she wanted to throw


    up again. Thus, she hurriedly raised her head to drink the water and rinse her mouth again, utterly


    ignoring Toby''s presence.


    Toby stood beside her and patted her back gently to ease her difort.


    When she was rinsing her mouth and gargling, she was pretty surprised that water worked wonders. As


    she finished the ss of water, the stench in her mouth faded considerably, and she felt less disgusting


    now, but¡ª


    Sonia cupped her palms over her mouth and exhaled. Then, she smelled the breath she exhaled and


    began to hurl again.


    Indeed, the smell did notpletely disappear. It only faded.


    Sonia wanted to cry in anguish right now. Therefore, she turned and red at Toby. "It''s all your fault!


    My mouth stinks now!"


    "I know." Toby covered his lips and coughed sheepishly. "I kissed you on purpose."


    Sonia widened her eyes in utter disbelief. "What the hell did you say?! Y-You kissed me on purpose?!


    You purposely wanted to infect me with this?!"


    His eyes darted elsewhere, refusing to meet her infuriated gaze.


    Sonia''s whole body trembled in rage. "Hey, don''t look elsewhere. Look at me! Tell me, why did you kiss


    me?!"


    Toby looked at her and confessed candidly, "It''s simple. Youughed at me, so I wanted you to get a


    taste of this. In this way, I drank the stew physically, and you drank it indirectly, so you can no longer


    tease me."


    Sonia was rendered speechless as she didn''t expect such a simple reason to be the reason for her


    current predicament. Just because sheughed at him, he retaliated against her out of anger and made


    her mouth stink too.


    What the heck...


    "You''re such a nasty b*stard. Why didn''t I know that you''re so petty?" Sonia was so angered that she


    lashed out.


    Toby sheepishly scratched his nose and didn''t say a word.


    Sonia was huffing and puffing indignantly. "Alright, I''ll remember what you did to me. You''re not allowed


    in my room tonight. Go and sleep on the couch."


    "What?!" Toby was aghast. He couldn''t believe his ears.


    What did she just say? Did she ask me to sleep on the couch tonight? Did she literally kick me out of


    the room tonight to sleep on the couch? No way!


    "Little Leaf¡ª" He wanted to exin, hoping that she could change her mind, but Sonia raised her hand


    and silenced him. "Don''t call me by my nickname. I don''t want to hear it. You retaliated against me for


    laughing at you, so now this is my revenge against you. So there!"


    After she said that, she stormed out of the gaze in annoyance.


    She wanted to desperately brush her teeth to get rid of the stench in her mouth. It was so gross.


    It was all the petty Toby''s fault! She justughed at him a little, but how could he do this to her?!


    She was determined to refuse him entry into the bedroom, nor would she give in. Argh, I''m so pissed!


    Sonia quickened her pace with reddened eyes due to fury this time.


    Toby followed after her, trying to think of something so he could get back into her good graces again.


    He could sense her aggravation even if he could not see her face right now.


    He admitted that he had gone a bit too far, but he didn''t regret it.


    If he didn''t do such a thing, he would be the only one who drank the awful stew, and she would have


    the chance to mock him forever.


    In order to put an end to this situation, he had to drag her down with him. Both of them had to drink the


    stew, and they had to experience this¡­ Horror together. Only by doing so would she stop mocking him


    about this matter.


    At the thought of this, Toby curled his lips into a faint smile and was obviously in a better mood. In fact,


    he could somewhat ept the fact that the stench still lingered in his mouth.


    He also anticipated her annoyance before kissing her, so he was not worried. He would attempt to coax


    herter, so whether or not he would sleep on the couch tonight was still up in the air.


    He shrugged nonchntly and followed behind her leisurely, kicking pebbles from time to time.


    On the other hand, Sonia knew that Toby was following her, although she kept walking at a fast pace.


    After all, his footsteps were loud, and she could hear them clearly.


    At first, she assumed that Toby followed her because he knew that she was pissed, so he wanted to


    coax her and apologize for what he had done just now.


    Because of this assumption, she slowed down a little, allowing him to catch up with her. Yet, after she


    slowed her pace, he didn''t even chase after her, which was very strange.


    Toby had long legs, and he usually wasn''t one to amble. So, she knew he could catch up to her quickly


    if he wanted.

 Chapter 1277

    Chapter 1277


    Despite Sonia''s efforts, Toby still didn''t catch up to her.


    She couldn''t help but turn her head back slightly to see what he was up to, but she was even more


    annoyed by what she saw.


    He was actually taking his own sweet time and strolling as if he was sightseeing. He was obviously not


    trying to catch up with her by walking at such a pace!


    If he had wanted to apologize to her, he would have caught up with her. He wouldn''t have been walking


    at such a leisurely speed.


    Apparently, he did not intend to apologize to her or coax her! What the heck?!


    Sonia was so furious that she stomped her feet.


    She had wanted to give him a chance to apologize and even slowed her pace to wait for him, yet it was


    just her wishful thinking! He had no intention of cheering her up at all!


    Alright then, I won''t give you a chance again! So go and cuddle yourself on the couch tonight!


    At the thought of this, Sonia retracted her gaze. Instead of slowing down to wait for Toby, she


    elerated her pace and stormed off.


    When Toby saw her suddenly picking up speed, he was puzzled and wondered what she was thinking.


    He couldn''t read her mind, so he decided to stop guessing her thoughts and just chase after her. He


    caught up with her this time, but she scowled at him.


    She had just given him a chance to repent his sin, but he didn''t cherish it, so what was the point of


    catching up with her now?


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    She was annoyed by his behavior, so she didn''t want to talk to him. So, Sonia pretended as if Toby was


    invisible. She wasn''t in the mood to look or even speak to him.


    Her actions gave Toby a headache.


    He nned to cheer her up so that she would stop being angry with him, but she was treating him as


    though he was air at the moment. He figured she wouldn''t even listen if he tried to talk to her now.


    What should I do?


    Toby massaged his temples as his head began to throb in pain.


    There was no answer to his answer right now, nor could anyone give him the answer.


    Sonia''s one-sided silent treatment against himsted until noon when Rose and Mary reappeared.


    When Rose nced at Sonia and then at the agitated Toby, she couldn''t help but ask, "Sonny, did you


    and Toby fight?"


    She didn''t want to get involved in their disputes at first because she figured it would be best to stay out


    of it and let them solve their own problems, lest things worsen. However, she couldn''t bear to see


    Toby''s helpless look and Sonia ignoring Tobypletely. Therefore, she went against her principles


    and decided to meddle.


    If they really fought, she could try to ease the tension between them. She could even help them


    mediate the misunderstandings.


    No matter what, she didn''t want them to have a big fight over something trivial because they had finally


    gotten back together after so long.


    When Sonia heard Rose''s concerns, she realized that her anger toward Toby was so obvious that even


    Rose and Mary were picking up on it.


    In fact, she was a little embarrassed when she heard Rose''s question.


    After all, this was Rose''s house. Not only was she angry with Toby¡ªRose''s grandson, but even Rose


    noticed it and asked her about it. As an outsider in the house, she felt somewhat awkward and uneasy.


    She also wondered if Rose would be displeased with her.


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear and quickly reassured her, "No, Grandma, we didn''t fight."


    Indeed, we did not fight. I simply don''t want to talk to Toby because he''s a j*rk.


    "Is that so?" An unconvinced Rose turned her gaze to Toby.


    "Yes," Toby muttered.


    Rose frowned in confusion. "Since you didn''t fight, why¡ª"


    Sonia looked away and remained silent.


    Toby cleared his throat and exined, "It''s my fault. I¡ª" He briefly told Rose how he infuriated Sonia.


    It finally dawned upon Rose after hearing Toby''s story, and she red at him disdainfully. "Serves you


    right! How could you do that to her?! Even I want to spank you."


    Mary nodded approvingly. She had never heard of such retaliation.


    Just because Soniaughed at him, he took revenge on her by kissing her so that both of them would


    have to experience the stew.


    It was also surprising that Toby made such a childish move! Mary would not have believed it if it had


    been in the past.


    Toby lowered his head, so Rose could not see his expression. She scoffed at him and immediately


    beamed at Sonia, "Sonny, calm down. Toby wasn''t thinking straight this time. Just take it as he was out


    of his mind. It''s not good for your health to be angry all the time."


    "I know." Sonia smiled back at her. "I''m not angry anymore."


    "Good girl." Rose took her hand and patted it gently. "Sonny, you''re such a sweetheart. That brat, on


    the other hand, is so hopelessly childish! He''s thirty years old now, but he still behaves in such a silly


    way. I wonder who he learned it from. Sonny, he''s silly, so just ignore his behavior and forgive him,


    okay? You don''t have to stoop to his level and get so upset, right? There''s no point in doing so. What


    do you say?"


    Sonia smiled. Although Rose was berating Toby by saying that he was childish and silly, she was


    actually persuading her on Toby''s behalf to forgive him. Rose was indeed a considerate grandmother


    who cared about her grandson.


    Sonia nced at Toby enviously. She envied him for having such a lovely grandmother, but she was an


    orphan.


    Her biological parents abandoned her after birth.


    She was fortunate to be adopted by her father and loved by her adoptive parents, but unfortunately, her


    mother died when she was young, and a few yearster, her father passed away as well.


    She had a maternal grandfather, but they rarely met or contacted each other because of work.


    Technically speaking, she had no family.


    Hence, she envied Toby for having a grandmother who genuinely cared about him.


    It must feel so nice.


    "Okay, I won''t be angry with him anymore. Actually, I wasn''t angry with him. I was just upset. Now that


    you have persuaded me, I can''t be willful, right?" Sonia ced her other hand on Rose''s hand and


    smiled sweetly.


    Rose was relieved when Sonia said that she was no longer furious with Toby.


    Finally, they had made up. They wouldn''t fight again, right?


    Rose looked at Toby and frowned in puzzlement when she saw Toby staring nkly at Sonia,


    seemingly lost in thought.


    What is up with him? Doesn''t he hear that Sonny is no longer angry with him? He shoulde over


    quickly and cheer her up! What is he doing there in a daze?


    Her grandson was a hopeless fool.


    Rose exasperatedly raised her feet and kicked Toby under the table.


    The abrupt attack snapped Toby back to his senses. He extended his arm and pulled Sonia into his


    embrace.


    Not only Sonia but Rose and Mary were also shocked by his actions.


    What is going on? Mary thought. Why is Toby suddenly hugging Sonia?


    In contrast to Mary''s puzzlement, Rose smiled in relief.


    Not bad. Not bad at all. As expected of my grandson, he is still smart and slick as ever.

 Chapter 1278

    Chapter 1278


    Rose wanted to knock some sense into Toby''s head so that he could swoop in andpletely cheer


    Sonia up immediately.


    When Toby regained hisposure after Rose''s reminder, she assumed that he would humor Sonia


    with some sweet talk. Still, to her pleasant surprise, he immediately embraced Sonia, which exceeded


    her expectations.


    A hug was far more effective than sweet talks.


    Indeed, she was now old, so her ideas were somewhat conservative, but it didn''t matter as long as


    Toby was bold and straightforward.


    Rose grinned from ear to ear when she looked at the couple hugging each other.


    Mary noticed the delightful smile on Rose''s face. Although she didn''t know why Rose was so happy,


    she felt relieved and reassured.


    On the other hand, Sonia finally came to her senses in Toby''s arms. She raised her arms and nudged


    Toby, attempting to push him away, but unlike her shove when he kissed her earlier, she pushed him


    very gently this time.


    After all, Rose and Mary were watching them, and she couldn''t push Toby away with all her might.


    Hence, she patted his back lightly with a flushed face, signaling him to release her.


    Frankly speaking, she was quite embarrassed when he decided to shower her with affection with an


    audience.


    However, Toby had no intention of letting go of Sonia, although he sensed the silent implication behind


    her actions. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and snuggled her close.


    Sonia''s body stiffened. Then, she sighed in resignation, leaned over, and whispered, "Toby, what are


    you doing? Let me go. Mary and Grandma are watching."


    "No, I don''t want to let you go." Toby wrapped one arm around her waist and stroked her hair gently


    with the other hand. "You don''t have to envy me. You have a family too. I''m your family, so my family is


    yours too. You told Grandma that you wished she could treat you as her own granddaughter. Have you


    forgotten? So, we are your family, and you can treat her as your grandmother too."


    Sonia suddenly froze when she heard his remark, and her hand suspended mid-motion.


    "C-Can you read minds?" Her slightly widened eyes were full of astonishment.


    Toby chuckled. "I knew what you were thinking just by looking at your eyes. Also, the way you looked at


    me carried such an obvious longing, so it was only natural for me to be able to guess what you were


    thinking."


    Sonia leaned her head on his shoulder and chuckled. "You know me so well. I feel like I can''t hide any


    secrets from you."


    "That''s about right. It shows that we can be honest with each other, isn''t it?" Toby ran his fingers


    through her smooth and silky hair lovingly.


    "You''re right." Sonia smiled happily. At this moment, shepletely forgot about Rose and Mary.


    When Toby hugged her, she was flustered because she didn''t expect Toby to be so affectionate in front


    of Rose and Mary. Nevertheless, she was touched when she heard Toby''s warm reassurance and


    wholly ignored her surroundings. All she could feel right now was the man hugging her and the


    tenderness she held for him in her heart.


    Meanwhile, Rose and Mary were amused to see the couple snuggling up to each other.


    "Mary, do you see how touched Sonny is? I wonder what Toby said to her to make her feel that way,"


    Rose looked up and asked Mary, who was standing beside her.


    Mary shook her head. "How should I know, Old Madam? But I guess it''s some romantic words that can


    instantly cheer Miss Reed up."


    "Perhaps." Rose nodded.


    "Old Madam." At this moment, a servant walked in from the living hall.


    Sonia recognized the person immediately. It was none other than Olivia, whom Toby had specially


    assigned to take care of her when she lost her sight.


    Olivia walked in and greeted Rose first before turning toward Toby and Sonia and smiling at them.


    The arrival of Olivia finally made her aware of her surroundings. Sonia reflexively looked at Rose and


    Mary, who looked at her with teasing eyes. Her face turned beet red in embarrassment, and she


    immediately pushed Toby away and sat back down.


    Toby was still immersed in theforts of holding a loved one in his embrace. So, he pouted as soon


    as she pushed him away. I''m still not done hugging you!


    "Olivia, is lunch ready?" Rose asked Olivia with a smile.


    "Yes, Old Madam." Olivia nodded. "Lunch is ready."


    "Wonderful. Set up the table. We''ll be right there," Rose instructed.


    Olivia nodded and left.


    Mary helped Rose up from the chair. "Sonny, let''s go and have lunch with me." As she spoke, she


    offered Sonia her hand.


    Sonia hastily got up and held Rose''s hand, and the threedies walked out of the living room side by


    side toward the dining room. They didn''t even ask Toby toe along, as if they tacitly ignored him.


    Toby had reasons to suspect that they were deliberately ignoring him.


    Still, he shook his head with an amused smile on his face, shoved his hand in his pockets, and followed


    after them.


    After lunch, Sonia formally said goodbye to Rose and left with Toby to the office. They had work to do,


    so they couldn''t stay here all the time. Regardless, they could stay a few hours more at home because


    they purposely postponed their work to make time for family.


    Despite Rose''s reluctance, she knew that they were busy, so she urged them to leave for work. Only


    after Sonia promised toe over and see her often did she beam in joy.


    Tom had been waiting for Sonia and Toby at the entrance of the old manor, and Toby''s customized


    Mayback was parked behind him.


    When he caught sight of the two walking out of the old manor, he greeted them and then opened the


    back seat door. Sonia got into the car first, followed by Toby.


    After the two took their seats, Tom got into the driver''s seat and closed the door. While he was


    fastening his seat belt, he gushed at Toby with an excited smile on his face, "Mr. Fuller, there is good


    news."


    "What is it?" Toby tidied his cuffs, sounding somewhat uninterested.


    Sonia, on the other hand, was intrigued. She put her handbag beside her and stared curiously at Tom.


    Perhaps Tom felt that it was impolite and inconvenient to speak to them without facing that, plus Toby


    did not urge him to drive, so Tom unbuckled his seat belt and turned around to face them.


    "The men we sent over to keep an eye on Connor have sent word that someone covered Connor with


    a sack and beat him up!" At this point, Tom''s face grinning in glee, and even his eyes lit up with obvious


    delight. "They didn''t know what Connor had done and who he had offended that the other party


    retaliated in this way. The retaliation was a bit of child''s y, but it was practical and straightforward.


    He was beaten up! I bet that Connor must have felt so humiliated this time. He has never been treated


    like this before. This was a personal insult to him. It serves him right, haha! I must say that the person


    who did this is a genius!"


    He was so thrilled when he spoke of this that he even pped his legs andughed.


    Sonia assumed that the good news that Tom was referring to was something else, but this news wasn''t


    in line with her thoughts. She felt a little conflicted about Tom''spliment because he was actually


    praising her and mocking her simultaneously.


    How can he say that her method of covering Connor up with a sack and beating him up is child''s y?!


    It''s absolute genius!


    Sonia couldn''t help but pout in dismay.


    Toby narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed Sonia''s displeasure, and a hint of something shed


    across his eyes. Then, he turned his attention to Tom and asked, "What did you say? Someone


    wrapped Connor up in a sack and beat him up?"


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "Yup!" Tom, who was so excited that his face was flushed, nodded profusely. "When I received the


    news, I couldn''t believe it and thought I had misheard it until the men sent me the photos of Conner''s


    condition. Only then did I finally believe that he was roughed up. Of course, they didn''t know who did it,


    but it is good news for us. It''s a great pleasure to see how miserable Connor is after such an ordeal.


    Mr. Fuller, do you want to look at the photos?"

 Chapter 1279

    Chapter 1279


    Before Toby could say anything, Sonia had already stretched her hand toward Tom. "Show me! I want


    to see the photos."


    She wanted to know how Charles and his men beat Connor up and were extremely curious about the


    oue.


    Toby took another nce at the eager Sonia and finally nodded. "Show us."


    "Alright," Tom answered, reached into his pocket, and grabbed his phone. Then, he tapped on the


    screen twice, turned the phone around, and showed the screen to Toby and Sonia.


    Sonia and Toby leaned forward slightly so they could get a better look at the photos, and sure enough,


    Sonia saw the image on the screen.


    The photo was not very clear because it was zoomed in. In fact, it was a little blurred, but they could


    see the content quite well.


    In the photo, Connor was leaning against the crumbling wall. His face was severely bruised; it was ugly


    enough that it was only a face a mother could love. His nose was bleeding, and there was blood at the


    corner of his mouth. One of his eyes was swollen, so much so that he had a slit for an eye.


    Not only that, but he also looked utterly disheveled. Of course, his face was a mess, but even his


    usually coiffed hair was in disarray. He no longer looked dignified and wise like she used to see him in


    the past.


    Connor, in the photo, looked as pathetic and miserable as a beggar.


    The brown sack covering the lower half of his body was eye-catching.


    It was evident that the other party had just released Connor from the sack, revealing only his head and


    upper body. His lower body was still in the sack.


    "Wow, he looks terrible." Sonia leaned back on the seat and clicked her tongue lightly.


    Toby raised his eyebrows and leaned back without ament.


    Tom kept the phone away and quipped, "Yes. Judging from the bruises on his face, I can immediately


    tell that the people who beat him up targeted his face as they gave him a good beating. I estimated that


    his body was bruised too, but our men could only take photos from a distance for fear of being


    discovered, which was why the photos weren''t in high definition. Otherwise, we may be able to see his


    condition clearly."


    "It''s not a big deal. Just find out which hospital Connor went to and get the report. It''s that simple, isn''t


    it?" Toby curled his lips slightly and suggested.


    Tom pped his thigh again. "You''re right! How could I forget? Okay, I''ll ask our men to investigate this


    matter."


    After that, Tom lowered his head and began to draft the message, saying, "I wonder who Connor has


    offended this time that resulted in such a beating. Maybe, we can take the initiative to be allies.


    After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe they know something about Connor that we


    don''t. Then, we can exchange information, and it''ll be easier if we want to move against him in the


    future."


    Sonia shook her head, indicating that she didn''t know much about Connor. In fact, she didn''t know as


    much about Connor as they did.


    Toby noticed Sonia''s reaction again and chuckled because that confirmed his spection. "You''re


    going to be disappointed. The people who beat Connor up don''t know much about Connor, so you


    won''t get what you want."


    As soon as he finished speaking, Tom and Sonia turned and looked at him simultaneously.


    "How can you be so sure, Mr. Fuller?" Tom asked. Sonia was curious to know the answer to the


    question too.


    Toby disregarded Tom and smirked at Sonia. "You had someone beat up Connor, didn''t you?"


    Sonia''s eyes widened in shock, and she was dumbstruck.


    Tom was even more bewildered, so much so that he looked at Sonia in disbelief and shrieked shrilly,


    "What?! Miss Reed, did you order someone to beat him up?!"


    Sonia looked at the astonished Tom and then at Toby, who looked like everything was within his


    calctions. Eventually, she sighed. "Yup, I did it, but how did you find out? I didn''t say anything, nor


    did I want to tell you about it."


    Toby took her hand and yed with it. "It wasn''t hard for me to find out. It''s true that you didn''t say


    anything about being the mastermind behind Connor''s beating, but your reaction and expression


    exposed you."


    "My reaction and expression?" Sonia blinked in bewilderment, obviously not realizing what kind of


    response she had made that exposed herself.


    Toby took her hand to his lips and kissed it gently before revealing the truth, "When Tom told us that


    someone covered Connor with a sack and beat him up, the first reaction for those who didn''t know the


    truth should be surprised. I was surprised because not only did I not expect Connor to be beaten, but


    also the way he was roughed up."


    "Yes, you''re right!" Tom nodded profusely. "As I said, when I first heard the news, I thought that I


    misheard it or our men were joking. Anyway, I couldn''t believe that someone actually beat Connor ck


    and blue until I saw the photos."


    Toby didn''t respond to Tom''s remark. He raised his chin slightly and continued, "But, Little Leaf, you


    were not surprised at all when you heard the news. In fact, you smiled. It was not the kind of delightful


    smile when your enemy was beaten, but it was the smug smile after you achieved your purpose. How


    could a person not be surprised and smile when learning about this? This would only happen when you


    were the one who arranged this and knew about his beating. So¡ª"


    Toby stopped without finishing his sentence, but Sonia and Tom knew what he meant.


    Sonia shrugged in resignation. "Oh, I see. I thought that as long as my lips were sealed, you would not


    know that I was the mastermind, but I didn''t expect that my reaction would betray me. What is more


    shocking is that you paid attention to my reaction when you learned that Connor was beaten up and


    could evene to such a conclusion within minutes. You''re so scary because no one can hide


    anything from you. I suddenly have more sympathy for your enemies."


    Toby kissed her fingers and smiled enchantingly. "Thank you for thepliment, Little Leaf. I feel very


    honored."


    "Hah!" Sonia red at him and withdrew her hand. "It wasn''t apliment."


    Toby chuckled and didn''t say anything.


    Tom swallowed nervously, and his eyes were full of shock as he looked at Sonia as if seeing her under


    a new light. "Miss Reed, did you really do it?"


    "Yup." Sonia chuckled shyly.


    "D*mn!" Tom gasped in surprise. "I would never have thought that you could do something like this!"


    Sonia waved him off and chuckled in embarrassment.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Toby crossed his legs elegantly and regarded her curiously. "So, why did you do it?"


    Tom also looked at Sonia with glowing eyes because he was intrigued as well.


    Sonia stuck her tongue out cheekily. "Well... I''m trying to help you out."


    "Help me out?" Toby was shocked at first, and then his eyes and voice turned gentle and tender as he


    said, "Why do you want to help me out?"


    Toby''s voice was so different than usual that Tom felt goosebumps and rubbed his arms in difort.

 Chapter 1280

    Chapter 1280


    Toby assumed that the beating was not because Connor murdered his father, broke his mother''s heart,


    and made him lose both parents since he was young.


    Toby''s resentment toward Connor was so massive that a simple beating would not be able to relieve


    his rage at all.


    Sonia knew about this matter, so she wouldn''t have made up her mind to help him out because of this.


    Therefore, he presumed that what Sonia meant by helping him out was a slight grudge that was much


    milder than his father''s murder and his mother''s heartbreak.


    Sonia tucked her hair behind her ear and nced at Tom before saying, "Do you remember when I told


    you yesterday morning that I wanted to talk to you?"


    "Yes, I do." Toby nodded.


    Sonia sighed. "But we spent the night in the old manorst night, and we¡ª"


    At this point, she suddenly realized something and blushed. She nced at Tom, who was looking


    back at her curiously, and quickly blurted, "Anyway, we didn''t manage to have that talkst night."


    "So, did you n to tell me about you beating up Connor?" Toby asked.


    "Yes." Sonia nodded. "Tom went to see you at Bayside Residence the night before when you came


    home, didn''t he? You guys talked for a while. I didn''t know what you were talking about, but you looked


    quite upset when he left. Obviously, something had happened, but when I asked you about it, you


    refused to tell me and even said that you were fine. But, of course, I knew you weren''t okay, and you


    weren''t telling me because you didn''t want me to be worried, so you decided to keep me in the dark.


    But how could you not know that I would still be concerned over this even if you didn''t tell me anything?


    I didn''t sleep well that night because of this."


    "I''m so sorry." Toby''s eyshes fluttered as he gently embraced her. "I didn''t know about that."


    Indeed, he didn''t want her to be worried because of that incident, so he decided not to tell her, but he


    never thought that she would be so concerned that it disrupted her sleep. So it was his fault for not


    thinking things through.


    As for Tom, who was in the driver''s seat, he lowered his head sheepishly and turned around quietly


    after hearing what Sonia said. So he understood Sonia''s decision.


    Oh gosh, it''s my unlucky day. Miss Reed will definitely tell Mr. Fuller that I was the one who told her


    about this.


    At first, he thought that they had talked things outst night, but he didn''t know that they didn''t discuss


    the matter at all.


    Why didn''t they talk?! If Miss Reed talked to Mr. Fullerst night, and she told him that I was the one


    who told her about it, Mr. Fuller couldn''t do anything to me because I wasn''t there! But it seems that I


    have run out of luck. I didn¡¯t expect them to talk about this when I''m right here! Under such


    circumstances, Miss Reed will undoubtedly reveal the truth, and I can''t escape if Mr. Fuller wants to


    beat the cr*p out of me! ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Oh dear... Tom prayed for Toby to be merciful.


    Sonia had no idea that Tom was on pins and needles now. She made herselffortable in Toby''s


    arms, nudged his shoulder gently with her chin, and smiled as she looked out the window. "No, you


    didn''t do anything wrong. You didn''t want to tell me because you didn''t want me to worry. I can


    understand your concern, and it wasn''t your fault. So, the next day, when you returned home to take


    the USB drive, I asked Tom what he said to youst night."


    At this point, Toby could hazard a guess about what had happened. So, he narrowed his eyes and


    swept his gaze at the driver''s seat.


    Although Tom had already turned back and sat properly in his seat, Toby''s re sent a chill down


    Tom''s spine, and he shivered in fright.


    Toby''s re was so fearsome that it could scare him even if he didn''t meet his eyes directly.


    "Did he tell you everything?" Although it was a question, it sounded more like a statement.


    Sonia nodded. "Yes, he told me, but it was only because he was worried about you after I described


    your mood after the meeting. He knew that he couldn''t persuade you, nor would you listen to his


    advice, so he suggested that Ifort you. At the very least, you would listen to me."


    Tom, who was sitting in the driver''s seat, was touched.


    Miss Reed, you''re the best! He knew that Sonia intended to tell Toby that he didn''t mean to spill the


    beans, and she hoped that Toby would not me him for this.


    Toby pursed his thin lips before saying, "Don''t do it again."


    Tom knew that Toby was referring to him, so he nodded repeatedly. "Got it, Mr. Fuller. I won''t do it


    again."


    Tom heaved a sigh of relief.


    He was over the moon because thisment indicated that Toby forgave him and would not punish


    him, and it was all thanks to Sonia.


    On the other hand, Sonia was upset, and her expression sank. "What do you mean by that? What if


    you encounter a simr situation next time? Will you keep me in the dark again? Do you want me to be


    worried again?"


    She wanted Toby and Tom to know they didn''t consider her feelings.


    Tom gave Toby a helpless nce before turning his head again as if he had nothing to do with it.


    Actually, it was indeed none of his business. They were a couple, and Toby was the one who


    misspoken, so he should own up to his mistakes and handle the problem.


    As his subordinate, Tom decided to be one with the background and provide mental support from afar.


    Tom''s action infuriated Toby, and his face darkened, but what could he do? Could he shake Tom down?


    Of course not. His priority now was to coax the angry Sonia and cheer her up.


    Toby massaged his temples and looked at Sonia apologetically. "I''m sorry. I didn''t think it through. I


    promise I won''t keep you in the dark again, okay? This will never happen again, and I''ll tell you


    everything, okay?"


    Sonia side-eyed him and huffed. "That''s more like it."


    When he noticed the slight curl of her lips, he heaved a sigh of relief. Phew, she''s happy now.


    Sonia was amused and slightly annoyed when she heard his sigh.


    D*mn it, does he think that I''m so obnoxious and illogical? Why does he look like it takes a lot of effort


    to cheer me up?!


    After she rolled her eyes at him, she cleared her throat and continued where she left off, "When I found


    out from Tom that you were upset because Connor had threatened you with your mother''s relic, I was


    pissed by the fact that such a disgusting person like Connor actually existed in this world. They dated


    once, for goodness'' sake. Even if he didn''t love her anymore, he shouldn''t drag her into this for the


    sake of their past rtionship, not to mention that your mother is dead. But he''s so awful. He


    threatened you with a deceased person''s relic just to save his illegitimate daughter. This was just too


    much! So, I decided to teach that p*nk a lesson."


    "So, you asked someone to wrap him up in a sack and beat him?" Toby looked at her in amusement.


    Sonia giggled sheepishly. "Yes. You know that my power is limited. I can''t do anything to do much, so I


    could only use such a childish and direct method."

 Chapter 1281

    Chapter 1281


    Sonia intentionally emphasized the words ''childish yet direct'' and looked toward the driver''s seat.


    Tom, who was behind the wheel, felt a chill down his spine and chuckled awkwardly. "I''m sorry, Miss


    Reed. I shouldn''t have used those words. I wouldn''t have said that if I had known that you were the


    mastermind behind Connor''s beating."


    Yikes, I didn''t know that Miss Reed could be so vindictive. Yes, I did say that the method of sacking


    Connor and beating him up is childish yet flimsy, but Iplimented her for doing a good job, didn''t I?


    She did beat the cr*p out of Connor.


    To his bewilderment, Sonia selectively remembered his ridicule but not his praise. It was an intended


    retaliation, wasn''t it?


    After she had been in Toby''spany for so long, she became as petty and vindictive as him now.


    Toby was truly one of the worst!


    She covered her lips and giggled when she noticed Tom''s bitter grimace. "I''m just kidding, Tom. I''m


    sorry. Don''t mind me."


    Tom rolled his eyes speechlessly. Miss Reed, do you know that your so-called joke can put me in a


    difficult situation?


    Toby, who was sitting next to Sonia, noticed the changes in Tom''s expressions too. However, he wasn''t


    as forgiving as he snorted, "Don''t apologize to him. It serves him right for spilling the beans, so he


    should be prepared for karma to hit him."


    Tom shook his head slightly. Mr. Fuller, how can you say that? I insulted many people in the past, but


    you always enabled me. Yet, now that it is Miss Reed, you choose to take her side. What a hypocrite.


    Do you think I don''t know that you are trying to tter her?


    Sonia hurriedly changed the subject when she observed Tom''s depressed state in order to prevent him


    from getting more discouraged. "But Tom is right about one thing. Although I couldn''t help you out with


    other things, this method could inflict direct pain on Connor, so it is a good way to avenge you."


    At this moment, Tom''s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and said, "Mr. Fuller, Miss Reed, it''s our


    men who I asked to keep an eye on Connor. I think they found out about Connor''s injury."


    "Answer it." Toby raised his chin.


    Sonia pricked up her ears, too, because she wanted to know how badly they had beaten Connor.


    Tom answered the call, nodded and talked to the person on the other end of the line, and ended the


    call. The whole duration was less than a minute.


    "They said that after Connor''s assistant found him, he rushed him to the nearest private hospital, and


    the diagnosis of his injury was out. He was seriously injured. Two teeth were knocked out, swollen left


    eye, one broken rib, sprained right ankle, and dislocated elbow. The doctor said that he would need to


    be hospitalized for a month," Tom reported excitedly.


    "What?" Sonia gasped in shock. "That''s quite serious."


    She only saw his bruised face from the photos and guessed that his body must be injured too, but the


    injuries might be superficial. She had underestimated her men''s strength.


    "Yes, it''s quite serious, but for a scum like Connor, we need to at least paralyze him. He''s lucky to


    escape that fate." Tom clicked his tongue.


    Sonia looked at the expressionless Toby and nodded. "You''re right."


    She did not feel a trace of guilt about Connor''s condition at all.


    Connor should have paid for what he had done with his life, so these injuries were nothing.


    "I''m sorry, but this is all I can do to Connor for your sake." Sonia held Toby''s hand regretfully.


    Toby held her hand back and smiled. "This is more than enough. I''m pleased. Thank you."


    Sonia had always been a gentle and mild-mannered woman and would never do such a thing.


    Nheless, she went against her principles and ordered someone to beat Connor up just to help him


    out. This action alone was enough to make him touched, and he was genuinely d.


    Sonia smiled with relief at his gratitude.


    At first, she wondered if she would upset Toby by doing so, but from the looks of it, she figured that her


    guess was off the mark.


    If he were truly upset, she would know by now.


    After all, she was doing this because of him. If he really thought that she was too impulsive by taking


    matters into her own hands, she would feel quite aggrieved as her efforts had gone to waste.


    Thankfully, Toby didn''t disappoint her.


    "Who did you contact to beat Connor up?" Toby hugged Sonia and asked. "Tell me honestly. Tom will


    handle the matter properly because I don''t want Connor to find out that you are the one behind this."


    Tom nodded too. "Mr. Fuller is right, Miss Reed. While Connor is hospitalized and has not yet started


    his investigation, I will clean up the loose ends as soon as possible."


    Sonia dismissed their worries with a wave of her hand. "No, you don''t have to. I got Charles'' friend to


    do it. I''m sure you''ve heard of his name. It''s Lance Walters."


    "Lance Walters?" Tom widened his eyes in awe. "Do you mean the Lance Walters?"


    "Yup, that''s him." Sonia nodded.


    Toby was equally surprised, but he quickly regained hisposure and asked, "Is he Charles'' friend?"


    "Charles was part of the mafia in high school, and Lance was hisckey. Technically speaking, the


    Lane Family supported Lance financially since he was a child, so Lance was very loyal to Charles.


    Later, Charles turned over a new leaf and became a nice person, so he handed over that small group


    to Lance. Even though Lance has gained a reputable status in the underworld, he still maintains a


    close friendship with Charles. So this time, Charles directly contacted him and requested to beat


    Connor up. Charles told me that because it was Lance''s job, Connor couldn''t do anything about it even


    if he found out the truth because the higher-ups would protect Lance. In other words, Connor was


    destined to suffer without being able to bite back. When he learns about Lance, he can''t proceed with


    his investigation, so you don''t have to worry that Connor will discover that I''m the mastermind and take


    his revenge."


    Sonia briefly conveyed Charles'' remarks to them.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Toby nodded slightly. "Charles is right. Connor can''t do anything about it. The connection between


    Brutus and the higher-ups is so solid that Connor can''t move against him. That''s alright then."


    Lance changed his name to Brutus Walters after he became the leader of his underworld group. It was


    because he felt the name Lance wasn''t dominant and aggressive enough.


    "Wow, I didn''t know that Mr. Lane is actually Brutus'' friend." Tom was mindblown.


    Toby was equally surprised, so he looked at Sonia and said, "Thankfully, you found Brutus. I would


    have been worried if you had hired others to do it."


    Sonia chuckled. "Well, I only wanted to teach Connor a lesson, and the consequence didn''t cross my


    mind. But then, I remembered that Charles used to join the underworld, and I wondered if he knew


    anyone that could help me with this, so I contacted him. It is a pleasant surprise that he and Lance are


    good friends, not to mention how well-off Lance is now. Perhaps, even the heavens were irritated by


    Connor''s nasty actions, so they gave me a perfect man to do the deed."

 Chapter 1282

    Chapter 1282


    "Miss Reed, you''re right." Tom nodded. "He sure got his retribution for what he had done, or I would


    doubt the existence of the heavens." There was a hint of ttery in his words.


    Sonia smiled. "Thank you for your words, Tom."


    "You''re wee, Miss Reed." Tom waved his hands shyly. "I''m just stating the facts, am I not, Mr.


    Fuller?"


    Toby remained silent.


    Sonia looked solemn again as she turned to Toby and asked, "By the way, do you know what Connor


    used to threaten you so that you could spare Anya?"


    Toby shook his head. "I don''t know. I asked him, but instead of telling me what it was, he said that he


    would put the relic at auction if I didn''tply with his request, and he emphasized that there would be


    many buyers interested. He even said that the person who bought it could¡ª" He clenched his fist


    tightly, and his expression became gloomy. "¡ªcatch a glimpse of my mother."


    "Catch a glimpse of her?" Sonia frowned. "What else can someone catch a glimpse of your mother


    other than photos, portraits, videos, and so on? Did he mean any of those things?"


    "I don''t know, but it''s highly likely." Toby''s gaze darkened. "I''m most worried that it was a video¡ª''that''


    kind of video."


    Any adult would know what Toby meant by ''that'' kind of video.


    Back then, Connor and Jean, Toby''s mother, were a couple, and it was normal for them to have a


    sexual rtionship.


    Moreover, many couples loved to take photos or videos when they were making love. Even if one of


    them did not like it or was resistant to the idea, the other party might secretly take photos or videos


    without their partner''s consent.


    Sonia didn''t know if this was what happened when Jean and Connor were dating or if the relic that


    Connor mentioned was the video she and Toby assumed it was.


    At this moment, the cabin was so silent that only the sound of heavy breathing echoed across the


    ce, which was quite depressing.


    After a while, Sonia squeezed Toby''s hand as if she had made up her mind and looked at him. "Toby,


    how about agreeing to his condition?"


    "What did you say?!" Toby and Tom stared at her in shock. Apart from being shocked, Toby''s face


    quickly became unreadable.


    Sonia took a deep breath and looked into Toby''s eyes calmly. "We don''t know what Connor has, and


    we can only hazard a guess, but that doesn''t matter because we can''t take the risk. She''s your mother.


    No matter how you feel about her now, she will always be your mother. We can''t let anyone exploit her


    like this and ruin her reputation even when she is dead. Toby, you should know the consequences if the


    worst-case scenarioes true and if someone buys it and publicizes it. Not only your mother but you,


    Rose, and your family will also suffer the bacsh. Yourpany will be attacked because of it. No


    matter how strong yourpany is, it will copse eventually if everyone gangs up on it."


    Toby and Tom did not refute it because all her points were logical.


    Sonia continued, "I don''t want to see you suffer from ridicule and mockery because of your mother, nor


    do I want to see Rose being disturbed at her age because of her daughter-inw. So I''d rather you


    agree to Connor''s conditions, spare Anya, and get the relic back."


    Toby moved his lips and wanted to say something, but the words did note out of his mouth


    because Sonia was absolutely right. Her points made sense, and she knew his main concerns if


    Connor used the relic against him.


    He didn''t care about his reputation or others'' mockery.


    What he cared about was Rose. He couldn''t let Rose be affected negatively because of his mother.


    Rose had only two years to live now.


    If the relic that Connor mentioned was the thing he assumed, someone might be interested and buy it,


    and they might publicize it.


    He didn''t mind if his family became the butt of everyone''s jokes, but it was highly likely that Rose would


    have a heart attack in a fit of rage and pass away. He couldn''t take such a risk.


    Therefore, when he heard Sonia''s exnation, he didn''t immediately start another argument and even


    showed traces of willingness topromise because he couldn''t afford to pay the price.


    "Won''t you feel upset if I spare Anya?" Toby finally asked in a hoarse voice after a long moment of


    silence.


    Sonia nodded, then shook her head. "A little. After all, Anya and I despise each other, and I really want


    her to be apprehended and punished, but it''s not as important as you, the Fullers, and Rose. Also, with


    Anya''s hatred for me, she will definitely attack me again, and I can deal with herter. The important


    thing to do now is to retrieve Jean''s relic and protect her dignity. Toby, you''re a smart man. You know


    which one is the right decision, don''t you?"


    Sonia looked at Toby nervously, fearing that he would refuse because he didn''t want her to be upset.


    Thankfully, he didn''t disappoint her as he hugged her tightly and mumbled against her neck, "I''m sorry!


    I''m so sorry for putting you through this."


    He would make it up to her.


    She graciously sacrificed herself for his sake, and he couldn''t take her sacrifice for granted, so he


    would definitely make it up to her.


    "No, you don''t have to apologize to me." Sonia returned his embrace. "I already said that I have all the


    time in the world to deal with Anya."


    "I know, but I can''t help feeling sorry for you. Anya bullied you, but you had to give up punishing her


    because of my family. I''m so sorry, but don''t worry. Yourpromise will not be in vain." There was a


    horrifying glint of darkness in Toby''s eyes which he concealed from Sonia.


    Sonia pushed him away and looked at him deeply. "W-What are you nning?"


    Toby stroked her hair. "You''ll know soon."


    Sonia knew that he would not say anything no matter how much she interrogated him, so she simply


    nodded. "Alright then. Hurry up to see Anya and get the relic back as soon as possible. We don''t want


    him to give him a chance to go back on his words."


    "I will." Toby lowered his eyes and hid the ruthlessness lurking within the depth of his eyes.


    Sonia leaned on his chest. "Well, this is what I want to tell you. Although I didn''t tell you immediately,


    it''s not toote."


    "Thank you." Toby ran his fingers through her hair gently.


    "You''re wee." Sonia giggled. "You''ve done so much for me all this time, but I didn''t do much for


    you. So, just consider this as me taking the chance to finally repay you, even if it isn''t much."


    "Miss Reed, you''re such a nice person," Tom praised her sincerely.


    "Thank you." Sonia smiled at him. Then, she poked Toby''s back with her finger, signaling him to


    release her.


    This time, he let her go without hesitation, unlike the previous times when he refused to do as she


    requested.


    "It''s gettingte. We should go to the office now. Remember to meet up with Connorter," SoniaN?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    advised as she regarded Toby seriously.


    "Yup, that''s what I n to do too." Toby nodded.


    "Let''s go then." Sonia made herselffortable.


    Toby nced at Tom and ordered, "Drive."


    Tom acquiesced immediately and started the car.

 Chapter 1283

    Chapter 1283


    Soon, they arrived at Paradigm Co.


    After Tom parked the car, he swiftly pressed a button and raised the partition between the front and


    back seats. He knew that Toby would part ways with Sonia today.


    Although they would only be separated for a few hours and meet again tonight, Toby, who enjoyed


    Sonia''spany very much, would still miss her terribly.


    Therefore, whenever they had to part ways, Toby would definitely take the chance to hug and kiss her.


    In order not to disturb them and avoid cing Sonia in an embarrassing situation, he quickly raised the


    partition to give them some privacy without any prompting.


    Well, Mr. Fuller should be delighted to see me so sensible, right? Not only that, but he will also give me


    a bonus, right? Tom rubbed his hands excitedly when he thought of this.


    Tom had been working with Toby for more than a decade now, so he knew Toby like the back of his


    hand.


    Sure enough, when Tom took the initiative to raise the partition, Toby was not dismayed at all. In fact,


    he was very satisfied. Good. I can give him a bonus.


    Toby nodded as he nced at the partition and then at Sonia, who was about to get out of the car. "I''ll


    come and pick you up after workter."


    "Come over when you''re done with your work, but if you''re busy, I can drive home. You don''t have to


    put your work aside just to pick me up. After all, you will be busier than me because you manage such


    a bigpany. If you put your work aside just to pick me up, you will end up working through the night.


    So, you don''t have to do that, okay?" Sonia looked at Toby and smiled.


    "Don''t worry." Toby nodded. "I know what I''m doing. You won''t be the malevolent mistress cing me in


    thrall and turning me into an incapable emperor."


    "Pfft!" Sonia burst outughing. "Malevolent mistress? Haha, do you really think of yourself as the


    emperor? I can''t believe you are capable of cracking such a joke. Have you watched those nonsense


    dramastely? Wait a minute that can''t be it. You only watch the news and never the dramas."


    Toby shrugged. "I didn''t watch the dramas before, but now, I asionally watch them. I have a


    girlfriend now, so I need to learn how to be romantic and know what to say when I mess up. Tom told


    me that we need to learn from examples in order to maintain our rtionship. Only by doing so can I


    always maintain the spark of our love, and our rtionship canst for a long time. I felt it made sense,


    so I have been watching romance movies and reading novels."


    It finally dawned upon Sonia. "No wonder you sometimes say and do something very tacky that is so


    utterly out of character for you. It never even crossed my mind that you actually picked them up from


    dramas! Sometimes your behavior confuses me so much that I''ve just chalked it up as men having


    some peculiar behaviors that women don''t understand. Now I''ve finally cracked the case."


    At this point, she chuckled in amusement as she covered her face in exasperation. "Oh my goodness!


    How can you listen to Tom''s advice? He''s single and teaching you how to maintain a rtionship?! Has


    it never crossed your mind that he''s simply bluffing?"


    It was truly a shame that they were so good at their jobs. Otherwise, they could consider joining the


    comedy industry. They were just too hrious!


    Toby fell into deep thought after hearing Sonia''s words. Then, he looked up at her and asked, "Is it


    bizarre to learn things from the movies and novels? Or is it that I shouldn''t learn from those things?"


    Sonia shook her head as she giggled merrily. "I think it''s so lovely that you''re willing to learn how to


    love and maintain a rtionship. The world nowadays is too restless and edgy. Most people choose to


    go with the flow and do not want to put effort into maintaining a long-term rtionship. They think that


    there are so many people in the world. If they break up now, they can always find another partner soon,


    so they don''t feel the need to go to great lengths to cherish their current partner. So, I think you''re


    amazing because you''re willing to put your heart and soul into maintaining our rtionship, and I''m


    touched by it, but I''m also surprised that you will do something like this. It doesn''t suit your


    temperament."


    "It means that you don''t know me that well." Toby held her hand gently in his. "I can do more and


    be better as long as it''s for you, so you''d better spend more time getting to know me too."


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Sonia nodded. "Okay, Mr. Fuller. In order not to let you down, I''ll work hard to peel youryers until you


    no longer have secrets. What do you think?"


    "I would be honored." Toby raised his chin in feigned arrogance.


    Sonia chuckled in amusement. "But you should really stop watching the dramas that Tom suggested to


    you. The more you watch those things, you will be easily affected by the characters and be tacky


    and sleazy."


    "Tacky? Sleazy?" Toby raised his eyebrows.


    Sonia nodded. "Yup. Don''t you feel that the behaviors of the protagonists in romance dramas and


    novels are very tacky and sleazy? Sometimes, they are quite corny, but it''s okay because it is quite


    heartwarming. But, on the other hand, their cheesiness is so foolish and stupid. Don''t you feel


    secondhand embarrassment when you watch dramas? Don''t you ever wonder if those people are off


    their rockers?"


    Toby was silent. When he first heard from Tom about learning how to maintain a rtionship and be


    romantic, he researched romance dramas and novels which he had never watched or read.


    He did feel those feelings that Sonia had stated when he first watched the dramas, but at that time, he


    assumed that it was because he wasn''t used to watching dramas of such genre, and he figured that he


    would get used to it over time.


    s, after so long, he was still not used to it, and he had the same feelings every time he watched


    them but to a different degree.


    It was only after hearing Sonia''s remarks that he realized that it was not because he was not used to


    them but because the dramas made people feel physically and mentally awkward.


    "Are you saying that I feel that way because of the characters'' strange behaviors?" Toby asked, his


    Adam''s apple bobbing.


    "Yup!" Sonia nodded. "That is because these characters are rather two-dimensional, and the plot is full


    of holes. It is supposed to be a romantic rtionship, yet their interactions look stiff and unnatural. They


    want the audience to think that they are very much in love, but it doesn''t invoke that feeling. On the


    contrary, when we watch them falling in love, it feels as if someone had forced them at gunpoint to fall


    in love, which is why they don''t look as loving or sweet when they interact romantically. On the contrary,


    they look awkward, stiff, and corny. So, how can someone learn anything from this kind of drama?


    Don''t get carried away and be like them."


    "Oh, I see." Toby nodded.


    No wonder he felt something was off when he watched those dramas. It clearly indicated that it was a


    romantic drama, but instead of feeling that the protagonists were in love, he felt as if someone had


    forced them to be together. He finally understood why he felt that way.

 Chapter 1284

    Chapter 1284


    At the thought of this, Toby suddenly reflected on some of the things he had learned from the dramas


    and novels in the past.


    He looked at Sonia beside him, his eyes flickering slightly, and his expression seemed a little strange.


    Then, he coughed lightly and muttered, "Little Leaf, were some of my previous actions very tacky,


    sleazy, and silly?"


    Sometimes, in the drama, the female protagonist would be very touched and happy when the male


    protagonist said or did something romantic, and she would feel that he was very handsome and


    charismatic.


    He was clueless at that time as he wondered if the male protagonist was really as romantic and


    handsome as the female protagonist had said, but he didn''t have an answer. Hence, he figured that it


    must be true because of the dramas.


    Because of this, he took note of what the male protagonist did and said, modified them slightly, and


    applied the same method to her.


    Previously, it had never crossed his mind that his words or actions would be tacky and sleazy, but after


    hearing Sonia''sments about these dramas and novels, he began to doubt himself. Now he couldn''t


    help but wonder if he was as tacky as she had described.


    If that were the case, it would be so awkward and embarrassing that he wished he could hide like an


    ostrich now.


    Sonia could tell what Toby was thinking by observing his flickering eyes and embarrassed face. She


    chuckled before saying, "Not really. You''re handsome and charming, to begin with, and your actions


    were not as exaggerated as the protagonists in the dramas, so they were not very sleazy, but maybe a


    little corny and puzzling."


    He was relieved after hearing herment, and his difort faded.


    Although he had made a fool of himself, it was not as bad as he had thought.


    He would rather be corny and puzzling than sleazy.


    He knew what sleazy meant. To him, sleazy was used to describe a middle-aged man who was fat and


    bald but still thought of himself as God''s gift to humanity. It might be a little different from what she


    meant, but it was not far off.


    "Exin corny and puzzling," he mumbled reluctantly.


    Although these two were better than sleazy, their definitions were only slightly better than sleazy.


    She winked at him and smiled. "Don''t worry. Yours is the cute kind of corny and puzzling."


    "Cute?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise.


    "Yup. Sometimes, I was confused when you said those cheesy words or did those corny actions, but


    you made me wonder why you would say or do such a thing, that''s all. I never felt that something was


    wrong with your¡ª" Sonia pointed at her head.


    Toby''s expression darkened instantly. So, should I be happy that you aren''t treating me like I''m a


    moron?


    When she noticed his grumpy expression, she squeezed his hand lightly and reassured him, "Alright,


    don''t overthink this. I said that you were cute, although you were a little cheesy and confusing, didn''t I?


    But I have to admit that you swept me off my feet with those words and actions. Also, as a man who is


    so cool and indifferent, you are more rtable when you do those things, so I didn''t say anything wrong


    when I used the word ''cute'' to describe you."


    Yes, it was attributed to his excellent appearance and temperament. However, his actions and words


    would not be cute if he looked ordinary. It would genuinely be sleazy, corny, and disgusting.


    Sonia didn''t say this out loud, but her expression betrayed her.


    Of course, the keen Toby could tell what she was thinking. He didn''t feel happy at all, but rather more


    depressed because it was all thanks to his good looks that he received a positivement from her.


    He touched his face, wondering if he should feel happy or angry.


    Well, he should be happy. At least it showed that she liked his face and would continue to love him


    because of how he looked.


    At the thought of this, he shook his head and smiled. "I won''t watch those dramas again."


    "Good." Sonia nodded. "There''s no benefit in watching those things. It will only challenge your


    intelligence."


    Her greatest fear was that one day, he would be carried away and transform himself from an excellent


    gentleman to a sleazy and domineering man. It would be so devastating that even his stunning looks


    wouldn''t be able to save him.


    After she pondered the matter for a moment, she said, "Anyway, I like just the way you are. Just be


    yourself. You don''t need to learn from others to maintain our rtionship. Do it your way, and follow


    your heart. Others have their own ways of maintaining their rtionship, and it doesn''t feel natural if


    you apply the same method to ours. It feels like we''re dating under someone else''s guidance. What do


    you think?"


    Toby looked at her and didn''t say anything, although he felt what she said made sense.


    Sonia wiggled to his side, wrapped her arms around his, and rested her head on his shoulder, "So,


    don''t just listen and take others'' advice about how to date someone, especially Tom''s. How does he


    know since he doesn''t even have a girlfriend? And you! How can you believe what he says?"


    Toby nced at the partition coldly as if he could see Tom through the partition.


    "Got it. I won''t take others'' advice and learn from their methods. We will do it our way. Although I will


    stumble and fall when I try to find my way, I''ll be more mature along the way, and we will


    appreciate and cherish the rtionship even more. Then, maybe, we will love each other more too." He


    tilted his head slightly and looked at her in his embrace, his gaze ever so loving and tender.


    She nodded firmly. "Good. Since you are working hard for the sake of our rtionship, I have a reward


    for you."


    A reward?


    His eyes lit up with delight. He swallowed nervously, and his voice became husky. "What reward? Will


    you not let me sleep on the couch tonight?"


    "Hah, right!" Sonia let go of his arm, sat straight, and pouted at him. "Don''t even think abouting


    back to the room. That''s for another time."


    He instantly lowered his head in disappointment.


    She felt amused when she looked at his beaten demeanor and shook her head with a helpless smile.


    Did he have to be so disappointed just because she didn''t let him sleep with her tonight?


    Then, she leaned forward slightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Here, this is the reward. Alright, I''m


    going to bete for work. You should hurry and get your mom''s relic back too. Don''t take too long, or


    Connor will auction the item because he assumes you don''t want it. It will be a big problem then. Hurry


    and go. I''ll see you tonight."


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    With that, she hastily got out of the car while Toby was in a daze. That was because she knew she


    wouldn''t be able to leave the vehicle if he came to his senses before she made her escape.

 Chapter 1285

    Chapter 1285


    Sonia knew Toby like the back of her hand. So, she knew that he loved to shower her with affection and


    then push his chances for something more.


    Now that she had kissed him, if she stayed put until he regained hisposure, he would definitely


    kiss her back and directly aim for her lips. Moreover, he would not let her go until he had enough.


    Therefore, she had to seize the chance and make her escape to freedom.


    Thus, she quickly opened the door, got out of the car, and closed the door. It took her less than a


    minute to do it, and the whole process was smooth and swift. She had always maintained the mantra


    ''slow and steady wins the race''. Hence, judging from her speedy actions, it just indicated how


    ''frightened'' she was about how he showed his affection.


    Still, after Sonia got out of the car, she looked through the window and waved with a smile. The window


    was tinted, and she couldn''t see him clearly, but it didn''t stop her from waving her goodbyes before


    walking around the back of the car and toward Paradigm Co.


    Toby, who was inside the vehicle, finally snapped back to his senses. He touched his cheek and looked


    at the empty seat beside him. Then, he abruptly turned to look out the window and saw Sonia''s figure


    rounding the rear of the car.


    He knew that she was walking to the office, so he quickly wound down his window.


    She happened to hear the sound of the window lowering, so she instinctively halted her movements


    and turned to look. Toby''s handsome face greeted her as their eyes met.


    "You escaped after you kissed me, huh?" Toby opened his lips and teased in a low and pleasant voice.


    "Of course!" Sonia grinned. "If I waited any longer, you might kiss me back and not let me leave, am I


    right?"


    A trace of guilt shed across his eyes because she was correct in her assumption. He coughed lightly


    and blurted, "No, I wouldn''t do that."


    "Yeah, right! Do you think I don''t know what you''re thinking?" Sonia crossed her arms and huffed.


    Then, she smiled brightly. "Hurry up and go. Goodbye! See you tonight." She waved at him again.


    Toby knew that it was impossible to ask her toe back and kiss her other cheek, let alone kiss her


    more passionately. He sighed under his breath, and the disappointment on his face was apparent.


    "Bye. See you tonight."


    She knew precisely why he was disappointed as she noticed the forlorn expression on his face. She


    rolled her eyes in exasperation and continued to saunter toward Paradigm Co.


    Toby did not roll up the window and ordered Tom to drive away. Instead, he kept looking at her as she


    strode forward. It wasn''t until she entered the Paradigm Co. building that he rolled up the window and


    knocked on the partition.


    Tom, who was behind the wheel, heard the knock and knew that it was Toby''s silent order for him to


    drive. He immediately started the car and lowered the partition with a grin. "Mr. Fuller, it took Miss Reed


    quite some time to get out of the car. I bet you guys spent a long time saying your goodbyes, huh?"


    Well, what he meant by ''saying goodbyes'' was the physical intimacy between a couple, such as


    kissing, hugging, and whatnot.


    However, Toby was not in the mood to respond to Tom''s teasing. Instead, he red at him with a cold


    expression and hissed, "Your bonus for this month is deducted by half."


    "What?!" Tom gasped in utter bewilderment, and his expression changed radically. "Why?"


    Wait a minute! Why does Mr. Fuller want to deduct my bonus?! He should give him an increment,


    shouldn''t he?


    After I parked the car, I raised the partition to give them privacy so they could spend lovey-dovey time


    together! I was so thoughtful and considerate, but instead of giving me a bonus, Mr. Fuller wants to


    deduct my bonus in half!


    Why?! This is so unfair!


    In his mind, Tom grumbled in great dismay.


    "Why?" Toby gave a derisive snort. "You suggested I watch those romantic dramas and novels, saying


    that I could learn a thing or two about how to be romantic and be a charismatic and irresistible


    man. Oh, yeah, I learned all of that, alright, but did you know what Little Leaf said?! She said that the


    characters in those dramas are sleazy, tacky, and not the slightest bit charming! She even said that if it


    hadn''t been for my good looks, she would have thought that I was a sleazy and tacky man too by doing


    all those weird things to her! I almost ended up being a tacky man because of your stupid suggestion!


    I''m already being merciful by not firing you! Yet you have the cheek toin about the bonus!"


    "Uh..." Tom''s mouth was agape in shock.


    He didn''t know what he had done wrong earlier, but this reason was not what he had expected at all.


    "That''s not right." Tom retorted doubtfully while driving, "Why does Miss Reed think those characters


    are tacky? All the femaleizens are those actors'' fanatic fans, cheering them on. They never say that


    those characters are tacky, but they say that they are so handsome and charming. That''s why I figured


    that Miss Reed would like them too, so I rmended you watch the dramas. I never expected that


    she wouldn''t like them."


    At this moment, Tom apparently did not realize that those fanatic fans who adored the actors in the


    dramas and novels were young girls in their teens orte teens. They were not emotionally mature, and


    their life experience was limited, so they took a fancy to these characters and did not find anything


    wrong with them. But, s, Sonia was a twenty-seven-year-old mature woman with different


    perspectives and preferences about men, which was why she found those characterscking.


    Therefore, Tom had identally treated Sonia as a young girl and assumed that all the girls loved


    those characters and wondered why Sonia didn''t like those men. Clearly, not every woman had the


    same taste in men.


    Toby didn''t know what Tom was thinking about, and he was indifferent as he listened to Tom''s


    exnation and thought of them as excuses.


    "What do you know? You don''t even have a girlfriend! I don''t know how you have the cheek to teach


    me about rtionships." Toby side-eyed him, and the disdain in his eyes was apparent.


    His re made Tom feel like countless daggers had stabbed his heart. The heartache was so intense


    that he almost suffocated. His hands, which were gripping the steering wheel, were trembling slightly.


    Argh, it hurts so much! Mr. Fuller, you''re so cruel! Yes, I don''t have a girlfriend. I''m single, so what?!


    Don''t I have a right to say anything? Can''t I teach another man about rtionships?


    I may not have a girlfriend, but I have a lot of theoretical knowledge, so why can''t I teach you?


    Speaking of which, when I gave you my suggestion, you didn''t say that my idea was lousy. You listened


    to me seriously and even did as I told you. Now that the results were not satisfactory, you med


    everything on me! You''re being ridiculous!


    I didn''t force you to take me seriously! You wanted to listen to my advice. Now that the n failed, you


    are ming everything on me instead of ming yourself! It makes no sense!


    Of course, Tom only dared to curse Toby in his mind but did not dare to voice hisints aloud. He


    didn''t even dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction toward Toby, for he was confident that Toby would


    send him to Ibira immediately.


    Therefore, not only did he have to take the me despite his dismay, but he also had to apologize to


    Toby.


    Well, this was the sorrow of a desk jockey.


    Tommented his fate, but at least his pay was above average. He may be a single pringle, but he


    wasn''t a broke single pringle! N?velDrama.Org (C) content.

 Chapter 1286

    Chapter 1286


    Tom donned an apologetic smile on his face and apologized as sincerely as he could, "I''m so sorry, Mr.


    Fuller. I didn''t mean to ruin the n, nor did I expect things to turn out this way."


    It didn''t matter whether or not he was at fault, and he still had to apologize and im it was. This was


    the only way to ease Toby''s anger. Otherwise, there was no telling how Toby would bite his head off if


    he didn''t soothe the angered dragon.


    Indeed, Tom knew Toby very well at this stage because things progressed just as he thought after he


    apologized.


    Toby was in a better mood when he heard Tom''s apology. "Don''t give me any lousy ideas again, or I''ll


    kick you to Ibira!"


    "Yes, Mr. Fuller. I won''t suggest anything else," Tom said with a ttering smile, but he was cursing


    Toby in his mind.


    Hah, do you think I like to give you my ideas?! It wasn''t my idea to rmend those dramas and


    novels in the first ce! I told you when you asked me how to be romantic around women.


    In short, I never volunteered to be your guidance and adviser to deepen Miss Reed''s feelings toward


    you, yet you seemed to me me for taking the initiative to teach you! What the heck?! You''re literally


    pushing the me on me!


    Hmph, just wait and see! When you fight with Miss Reed again, I will not tell you how to cheer her upContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    and coax her. Instead, I''ll let you fumble as you think of a way yourself! This is the price you have to


    pay for cing the me on me. Argh, I''m so pissed!


    Tom furiously cursed Toby in his mind while driving with a grumpy face.


    Toby had no time to ponder just what his subordinate was thinking, nor was he interested. He propped


    his head up and looked out the window with a deep gaze as several ns were brewing in his mind.


    Tom saw his posture from the rearview mirror and guessed that Toby must be thinking about something


    serious, so he cleared his thoughts and regained hisposure. He concentrated on driving and made


    sure that he drove as smoothly as possible so that Toby could focus more on his ideas.


    Soon, they arrived at their destination. It was a private hospital where Connor was staying.


    After Tom parked the car, he unbuckled his seat belt, turned to look at Toby, who was still immersed in


    his thoughts, and reminded, "Mr. Fuller, we''ve arrived."


    Toby''s eyes blinked several times as he took ount of his whereabouts. Then, he ced his hand


    down, spruced himself up, and nced out the car window. The words ''Lancaster Hospital'' reflected in


    his eyes.


    He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, it''s the Lancasters'' hospital."


    Tom nodded. "Yes. Connor didn''t want the news of him being beaten up to spread, so naturally, he


    would choose a private hospital to treat him in secret. Also, the Lancaster Family owns the hospital.


    Although their power and wealth are not greater than the Logan Family, their reputation and status in


    Seafield are still immense, so their hospital has a better credential than the other families'' private


    hospitals."


    Tim''s parents owned Lancaster Hospital.


    The members of the Lancaster Family were doctors, not businessmen, so they had a wide gap in terms


    of wealth aspared to other families that ventured into the business world. Despite that, the


    Lancasters owned many private hospitals throughout the metropolitan cities in the country.


    Tim''s parents were currently the president and director of Lancaster Hospital in Seafield, while Tim was


    the hospital''s young proprietor, but his parents had never acknowledged this.


    It would be an understatement to say that he and his parents did not get along. His parents even


    regarded him as a monster instead of their son. Despite having a prestigious reputation and status in


    the medical field today, so much so that his status was higher than his parents, his parents could not


    ept him as their son and even regarded him as a disgrace. He was the imperfect existence in their


    perfect life. They had also clearly stated that Tim would not be named the heir of their family.


    Fortunately, he didn''t feel as ordinary people do, so he did not feel sad or disappointed when his


    parents refused to regard him as their son.


    This was also why he chose to work at First World Hospital¡ªa government hospital¡ªrather than at


    Lancaster Hospital. He did not care for the Lancaster Family or their properties.


    Moreover, he had long since be the next heir to First World Hospital, which meant that their


    service and treatment would be even more top-notch and professional than the private hospitals. After


    all, Tim''s presence meant they would have a higher chance of survival if they went to First World


    Hospital for treatment.


    Frankly, Tom could not understand what was going through Tim''s parents'' minds when they refused to


    ept such an outstanding person as their son.


    Even if they couldn''t ept that Tim was diagnosed with difficulties processing emotions, he was their


    son, and they should take responsibility after giving birth to him. They should try to ept him and care


    about him. Maybe, with time, Tim would have been able to understand emotions.


    So what if they couldn''t cure him? They could at least pretend to be affectionate in public.


    After all, everyone was envious of them for having such an excellent son. So what if he had such a


    disorder? His ability and talent had shown that he was better than his disorder.


    Unfortunately, the idiots who were Tim''s parents didn''t share the same thought. No matter how


    excellent he was, they refused to ept him. At this point, people were mocking them for being


    lunatics and refusing to acknowledge Tim, who was talented and intelligent.


    Although, in some ways, Tim''s parents were quite admirable. Even when the people were looking down


    on them for being out of their minds, they adhered to their convictions and were unmoved by public


    opinion.


    Not everyone could have such persistence, which was why they were admirable.


    Despite his admiration for them, Tom didn''t approve of their behavior.


    If I have a son like Tim, I will be so proud that I will show off to others. So what if he has a disorder? A


    son like him would make me a proud father! But of course, I''m still young and do not have a son yet.


    Toby regarded the daydreaming Tom, who was pouting and shaking his head. From time to time, Tom


    would even look at the building disdainfully and sigh in regret. So, he couldn''t help wondering whether


    Tom had lost his mind.


    "What are you thinking about? You seem like someone has cast a spell on you, and you can''t move."


    He pursed his lips and stared at Tom impatiently.


    Tom abruptly returned to his senses and rubbed his nose with an awkward smile when he met with


    Toby''s contemptuous re. "Nothing. Let''s go, Mr. Fuller." He gestured and led the way.


    Toby was not really interested to know why Tom was in a daze and had no intention of asking since he


    didn''t seem like he wanted to talk about it. So, Toby looked ahead and sauntered toward the entrance


    of the hospital.


    After he left, Tom heaved a sigh, quickly wore his office persona, and followed after Toby.


    As soon as they entered the hospital, a man in ck came to greet them.


    "Mr. Fuller. Mr. Brown." The man stopped before Toby and greeted him with a respectful nod.


    Toby nodded slightly in response and asked, "Where is Connor?"


    "In Ward No. 5 on the VIP floor of the Inpatient Department," replied the man.


    "Lead the way." Toby pursed his lips.


    "Okay." The man nodded and guided them to the ward.


    He was the man that Toby had Tom sent over to keep an eye on Connor at all times.


    When the man was informed that Toby wasing, he had been waiting in the hospital lobby to lead


    the way.

 Chapter 1287

    Chapter 1287


    Toby and Tom followed the man to the VIP floor of Lancaster Hospital''s patient building.


    After they exited the elevator, the man stopped. "President Fuller, I won''t be apanying you for the


    rest of the way. That person is inside that ward. You have to go there on your own."


    "You may leave." While waving his hand, Toby told the man he could excuse himself.


    He also knew why that man did not want to bring him¡ªthe boss¡ªover to the ward.


    Since Connor would be staying in Seafield for a while, Toby would still want someone to keep an eye


    on Connor. If that man led Toby and Tom into Connor''s ward, Connor would see that man.


    Therefore, that man would not be able to stalk Connor anymore. That was why that man said he could


    not lead them to the ward.


    "Yes, President Fuller. I''ll be taking my leave now." The man bowed, turned around, and got back into


    the elevator to leave.


    Now that they knew which ward Connor was in, Tom self-consciously walked in front to lead Toby


    toward the ward.


    When they came to the entrance, Tom stopped. "President Fuller, we''re here."


    Meanwhile, Toby remained silent; instead, he stood before the door with narrowed eyes while staring at


    the tightly shut door.


    On the other side of the door was his biggest enemy of this lifetime.


    "Knock on the door." Toby parted his thin lips and ordered.


    Nodding, Tom did so with several loud bangs.


    His actions were hard and rough, which made loud thudding noises when knocking. It was better to


    describe his actions as trying to bring the door down rather than knocking.


    Such actions were naturally impolite.


    However, in Toby and Tom''s eyes, the person inside the room did not deserve their respect, and such a


    method of knocking was already considered respectful.


    Otherwise, they would have knocked down the door and barged in. After all, it was not like they could


    notpensate for it, nor were they afraid of the Lancasters.


    Inside the ward, Connor''s assistant was helping him reapply his bandages. As soon as they were done,


    they heard a loud banging on their door.


    The loud sound shocked Connor so much that he trembled in fear and identally pulled on his


    injuries, which caused him to hiss in pain. His already pale face lost more of its remaining color while


    there were even beads of cold sweat.


    When Xander noticed his boss'' condition, he asked, "Mr. Salzburg, are you alright?"


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Connor was in so much pain that he could not say anything. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and


    forced himself to endure the pain until it subsided.


    Seeing that he could not be of much help, Xander kept silent and stood at the side, afraid that he might


    anger his boss and be punished as a result.


    A whileter, Connor felt the pain in his body gradually subsiding. Although there was still some pain, it


    was much better than when he first pulled his injuries.


    At least the throbbing pain in his temples had died down and his furrowed eyebrows could finally rx.


    He opened his eyes and carefully leaned back onto the propped-up pillow at the head of the bed. Then,


    he looked grimly at the door while speaking viciously, "Go. Open the door. I wanna see who this


    disrespectful person who dared to bang on my door is. I''m gonna break their f*cking hand."


    "Yes, sir," Xander replied and immediately walked toward the door.


    He was just thinking of teaching that person a lesson when he opened the door.


    Yet, before he could voice his threats, he saw the people outside the door and was stunned. W-Why


    are they here?


    Looking at the emotionless Toby and the snickering Tom, Xander''s face fell and he even began to turn


    pale. The hand holding the door knob also subconsciously tightened.


    "You guys¡ª" Xander finally found his voice and was about to say something when he was cut off by


    Tom, who deliberately waved at him. "Hello."


    His attitude was so nice that he seemed more like a friend than an enemy.


    However, only Xander knew that under Tom''s smile was indifference and excitement for a good show.


    At the thought of that, Xander felt humiliation arising inside him as he remembered how he was


    previously beaten to the ground by these two at the hotel.


    He was able to be Connor''s assistant at such a young age, so there was barely anyone who


    would not show him any respect when seeing him.


    No one ever dared to look down on him, humiliate him, or even beat him up.


    Yet, ever since he came to Seafield, things that he had never experienced in the past had all happened


    to both him and his boss.


    The worst thing was, he had not even gotten the chance for revenge. This is so frustrating!


    Meanwhile, Tom seemed to have missed Xander''s angered expression because he continued to wear


    a friendly smile on his face; even his voice sounded polite and kind. "Mr. Little, where is Mr. Salzburg?"


    "Mr. Salzburg is tired, so he''s resting at the moment and isn''t free to meet you. Please leave." Xander''s


    eyes that were behind his sses looked down as he inhaled a deep breath to force down his


    resentment and fear for Toby. Then, he gestured for them to leave.


    There was no other choice; they were not people he could mess with, so he could not do anything to


    them. Moreover, he had to stop these two from meeting his boss at any cost.


    With Connor''s condition, he might not want to meet these two either, especially Toby, who was his


    enemy.


    Once Toby saw Connor, he would definitely mock him, and if Connor got angry, the people around him


    would be doomed.


    As such, his days would definitely be worse than death.


    Therefore, Xander had to get these two out of there and not let them inside the ward no matter what.


    He could care less if they came here because they knew what had happened to Connor. Even if they


    did, they did not see it with their own eyes, so the situation had not turned for the worse. He did not


    need to worry that they would mock Connor, nor did he have to worry about Connor venting his anger


    on him because he could not exact his revenge on these two.


    "Mr. Little, we came here to pay a visit to Mr. Salzburg because we heard he got beaten up by


    someone and President Fuller came all the way to see him. Don''t you think it''s a little inappropriate for


    you to chase us away before we even see him?" Although Tom was smiling, his smile did not reach his


    eyes and his voice also had an unconceble authority in it. "Or, is this how you Salzburgs treat your


    guests? By deliberately not weing us, refusing to let us inside, and using an insincere excuse to


    drive us away? If so, then we wouldn''t be happy. If that''s the case, we might think of doing something


    else and Mr. Salzburg''s injuries might worsen. By then, don''t me me for not warning you because


    you''re the one who refused to let us in."


    With eyes that were wide like saucers, Xander stammered, "A-Are you trying to threaten me? Are you


    saying that if I don''t let you in, you''d barge in regardless and beat up Mr. Salzburg?"


    Smiling, Tom protested, "I didn''t say that, but it''s fine if you want to interpret it that way. After all, there is


    no person President Fuller couldn''t meet, and no one dares to chase him out. Up till this moment, you


    Salzburgs are the first to do that. Since you''re so brave to do so, we naturally have to do something


    about it, right? Otherwise, how would we be able to repay you for what happened? Am I right, Mr.


    Little?"


    Hearing Tom''s crooked logic, Xander turned green as he pointed at Tom while trembling. "Y-You two¡­"


    "Alright. Cut the crap and push him away." Toby was getting impatient from all that waiting and gave out


    the order while furrowing his brows.

 Chapter 1288

    Chapter 1288


    Tom knew Toby was impatient to continue with this, so he stopped messing with Xander. His face fell


    and he put on an emotionless visage that looked identical to Toby''s.


    Following that, he walked forward and used his height to his advantage before bumping into Xander''s


    shoulder.


    As Xander was thin, weak, and shorter than Tom by half a head, he naturally could not stand up to


    Tom''s push.


    Therefore, Xander staggered from Tom''s push and took a step back. Then, he hit the wall behind him,


    which cleared a path for Toby and Tom.


    When the man who was on the bed inside the ward saw Connor crash into the wall, his face paled as


    he boomed, "What''s happening?"


    He ordered Xander to open the door to see who was banging on the door.


    Yet, it had been a long while without any report from him. Instead, what Connor saw was his little


    assistant retreating to the wall with a disbelieving expression while holding onto his shoulder.


    Only then did Connor understand that his assistant did not retreat but was shoved to the wall.


    As for who did it, Connor could not see anything yet, so he did not know who it was.


    However, there was one thing he was sure about. The intruders didn''te in peace!


    Connor was seriously injured and could not move; even the slightest movement could pull one of his


    injuries and he would sweat bullets in pain.


    Therefore, he could not budge an inch nor dare to get out of bed to see who it was.


    He could only sit in bed with his hands clenched while ring in the direction of the door with a vicious


    gaze, waiting for the intruder toe in.


    Since the intruder dared to bang on the door and push his assistant, that meant his assistant had tried


    to stop the intruder from entering, which was why the intruder pushed Xander.


    That also meant that the intruder would certainlye in and he would soon know who it was.


    Of course, before he knew who it was, he had to keep his guard. That was because he guessed that


    the personing in might be in the same group as the people that beat him up.


    Still, he did not know who beat him up. Although Xander had been investigating this matter, Seafield


    was not their turf and he did not bring many men with him, so it was nearly impossible to find out who


    beat him up in a short amount of time. In other words, it would take at least two to three days.


    So, it would not be too bad of a situation if the intruder was one of the people who beat him up back


    then and came here to finish the job.


    At least that way, he would be able to know who had beat him to a pulp! If they came out of this


    situation alive, he would get his revenge!


    As he thought of that, he heard two sets of clear footsteps. It was the sound of leather shoes tapping


    against the ground. It was also those sounds that interrupted the resentful thoughts in Connor''s mind


    and made him raise his head to look in the direction of the footsteps.


    When he saw who was walking over, he was first stunned. Then, he felt terrified and began to tremble.


    "Why are you here?"


    Never would he have expected that the intruders were Toby and his assistant, and not the people who


    beat him up.


    Wait.


    Why can''t his men be the ones who beat me up?


    Since his arrival at Seafield, he had almost never stepped a foot out of the hotel. Even if he did, it was


    all for personal matters and he did not contact anyone.


    Hence, he only had one enemy in the entire Seafield¡ªToby Fuller. If so, why could it not be Toby who


    ordered someone to beat him up?


    Thinking of that, Connor thought that there was a high possibility that his guess was right. Therefore,


    the gaze he was shooting at Toby became grimmer.


    "Toby Fuller! It was you!" With his good hand left pointed at Toby''s face, Connor used him.


    Toby stopped beside the hospital bed and narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"


    "Stop pretending." While putting down his hand, Connor screamed with a vicious expression, "Did you


    do this to me?!"


    Connor, at this moment, resembled a devil. His face was terrifying, and gone was the usual gentleness


    and elegance he had despite being elderly.


    It was clear how good he was at pretending.


    A real gentle and elegant person would be even more so as they aged. Their demeanor would


    be more subtle and their attitude would be better as well, which was the opposite of how


    Connor was. In reality, Connor would take off his amiable mask whenever something bad happened


    and reveal his true self, who was an aggressive and vicious man.


    I wonder if this old fellow ever felt tired of pretending for so many years. Tom stood behind Toby and


    wondered with pursed lips.


    Meanwhile, Toby did not answer Connor''s question and merely waved behind him.


    Nodding in acknowledgment, Tom looked around, found an empty chair, and went over to get it.


    Xander noticed Tom''s intentions and his sses reflected the light while a trace of wickedness shed


    across his eyes. Then, he went over and sat on the chair to stop Tom from taking it.


    Perhaps Xander was too confident in his n because he did not even try to hide his hostility.


    Seeming to have sensed Xander''s n, Tom sneered and slowly extended one of his legs.


    As Xander only had eyes on the chair, he did not notice Tom''s actions and where his feet were going.


    Therefore, his feet got caught by Tom''s legs and he fell t on the floor, hitting his head and letting out


    a painful howl.


    "What''s the matter?" Connor could not be bothered with Toby and quickly went to check on his


    assistant.


    What he saw was Xander rolling on the ground while having his hands around his head. His haggard


    appearance made Connor feel angry.


    Pathetic!


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    How can he act like that? Is he trying to humiliate me before Toby Fuller?


    Connor looked at his assistant without a trace of worry on his face; instead, he felt disgusted.


    Although he did not see how Xander fell, he knew that his assistant had made a fool of himself before


    his enemy. If that was it, was that not letting Toby have a chance to mock and humiliate him?


    The more Connor thought about it, the colder he gazed at Xander. His eyes were so icy that they


    seemed frozen, which was terrifying.


    Meanwhile, Toby watched Connor''s reaction from the side and looked at Xander, who was rolling on


    the ground in pain without noticing the disdainful gaze Connor was casting at him. An unnoticeable


    scheming glint appeared in his eyes, but it disappeared quickly.


    "Oh, my. Mr. Little, are you alright? How did you fall on your own? Looking at your forehead, I think it


    was quite a serious fall. Why else would you still be on the ground? Come, I''m a good samaritan, so let


    me help you to your feet." With a smile, Tom looked at Xander and held out his hand to help Xander up.


    Hearing the liesing from Tom''s mouth, Xander was so pissed that he almost passed out.


    What did he mean by falling on my own?


    It was he who stretched out his leg to trip me!!!


    Now that I fell to the ground, that Brown fellow twisted the truth and said I fell on my own.


    How could a person be that shameless?


    p!


    Xander pped Tom''s hand away while roaring, "Scram! Who wants your help? It was clearly you¡ª"


    "That''s enough!" Connor could not stand watching Xander''s dumb behaviour anymore. He stared at


    Xander with his vicious eyes and spoke in a voice that was as cold as ice, "You. Get out. Now!"


    He was afraid that if Xander stayed, he would do more embarrassing things and humiliate him with no


    limits!

 Chapter 1289

    Chapter 1289


    Seeing that his boss was furious, Xander wanted toin that he was tripped by Tom.


    Yet, just as he saw the grim look on Connor''s face, the words were stuck to his throat and he could not


    say anything.


    It seems like Mr. Salzburg is mad.


    But why?


    Xander could not figure it out, but he did not dare to ask his angry boss either. Therefore, he kept silent


    and only red at Tom before dashing out with his tail between his legs while cupping his sore head.


    It was still that same principle¡ªhe did not dare to go against his angry boss.


    After Xander left, Tom revealed a victorious smile before retrieving the chair to Toby and setting it down


    beside him. "President Fuller, please have a seat."


    With his chin slightly raised, Toby sat down slowly and crossed his legs. His actions looked so beautiful,


    which showed his nobility and elegance.


    "Mr. Salzburg, you were just asking me whether I did this to you. I''ll tell you now, it wasn''t me." Toby


    looked at Connor, who was still staring at the door with a grim expression, and finally answered his


    question.


    Connor turned to look at Toby. "It wasn''t you? Do you honestly think I''d believe that?"


    After sneering, he continued, "Toby Fuller, I only have one enemy in Seafield, and that''s you. If it wasn''t


    you, then tell me who it could be."


    "I don''t know who did it, but I can assure you that it is definitely not me. I''m right here; if I wanted to


    beat you up, I would do it out in the open and most probably by my own hands. Also, even if I did it, you


    wouldn''t be able to do anything about it either. So, why would I go through all that trouble and trick


    you?"


    Crossing his hands in front of his stomach, Toby looked at Connor as if he was looking at a clown, who


    was silent for a moment as he could not say anything. More urately, he could not find any words to


    refute Toby.


    Indeed, if Toby wanted to deal with him, he would not have to hide in the dark and do such dirty tricks.


    Even if Toby did it transparently and openly, Connor would not be able to do anything about it either.


    At least in Seafield, he did not have the means to.


    Thus, Toby did not need to go through all that trouble to deal with Connor.


    With that said, could Toby really have nothing to do with this matter?


    If it wasn''t him, then who could it be?


    As a result, Connor fell into deep thought as different faces appeared in his mind, all except Sonia.


    That was because to him, there was no way Sonia did that.


    Firstly, she was a woman. Secondly, what could she have aplished, giving her identity? Even if


    she had Toby backing her, she still might not be able to do anything to him.


    To put it bluntly, Connor had never suspected Sonia purely because he always looked down on women.


    He thought that women could never seed in anything, so he never took Sonia seriously. Therefore,


    he naturally skipped her in his list of suspects.


    Although Toby was not aware of Connor''s sexist view, he was not worried that he would suspect Sonia


    either.


    After all, she was only responsible for secret hiring and did not directly contact Brutus Walters; in fact, it


    was Charles who contacted her.


    Even if Connor got to the bottom of this, he would only find out about Brutus and halt the investigation,


    so Connor would not even be able to find out about Charles, let alone Sonia.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    "Mr. Salzburg, I didn''te here to discuss who did this to you. It''s your business if you want to find


    out who did this to you. You can think about it and investigate itter, but I don''t want to waste my time


    here," Toby stated coldly while raising his eyes.


    Connor could only stop thinking about it and look at Toby coldly. "Since you didn''te here tough


    at me because I got beaten up, then let me guess why you''re here. It must be because of the things


    your mother left behind, right? Does this mean you''ve made a decision and are willing to ept my


    conditions?"


    Pursing his lips, Toby negotiated, "I can promise to let Anya go, but you have to return all my mother''s


    belongings. You can''t leave anything behind, or else, I''ll do everything in my power to kill you. I think


    my grandfather wouldn''t mind if I used his merits to exchange for me and the Fuller Family''s exemption


    for crimes. What do you think?"


    When Connor heard that, his pupils dted and he was at a loss for words.


    What a lunatic!


    The reason why he so boldly threatened Toby and was not afraid that he might kill him in the first ce


    was because he knew that Toby was unwilling to use his grandfather''s merits in exchange for his


    safety.


    However, he forgot that willingness and likeliness were two different factors.


    Even if Toby said he was unwilling to do that, who could be sure whether he would change his mind


    later?


    At this moment, Connor finally realized that he could never truly have Toby in the palm of his hands.


    Although he was reluctant to admit that, it was still the cold, hard truth.


    Following that, he did not behave arrogantly anymore and became more modest.


    He even put his amiable mask back on and smiled at Toby. "Oh, Toby. Don''t worry. I might not be a


    good person, but I do keep my promises. Whatever I said counts, so as long as you give me a Letter of


    Understanding, I''ll return all your mother''s belongings. You don''t have to worry about that either


    because the thing your mother left behind is one whole item that can''t be broken apart. Therefore, you


    can rest assured that there won''t be a situation where I give you a part of it and hold some back. Once


    I give it to you, you will have everything."


    "Really?" Toby narrowed his eyes.


    If what he said was true, then they were not pictures or footage like what he and Little Leaf had


    guessed.


    After all, it was easy to keep copies of such things, but Connor said the item could not be broken apart,


    so it meant that it was impossible to make a copy of it. Thus, it would not be the items which he and


    Little Leaf had thought about.


    If this were true, it would be a good thing.


    Toby''s eyes dimmed, but they quickly returned to their usual state, which was unreadably dark.


    "How do I know if what you''re saying is true?" He looked directly into Connor''s eyes.


    Smiling, Connor taunted, "Don''t try and test me because you won''t be able to find out anything. What I


    said is the truth, and I can''t do anything if you don''t believe me. After all, you can take away my life at


    any moment, so I don''t have to be impulsive and trick you. I wouldn''t put my life in jeopardy."


    Toby pursed his lips and stayed silent.


    Truth be told, there was no need for Connor to lie at such a crucial moment because he knew he would


    not end well if he was exposed for lying.


    If Toby found out, he would do everything in his power to kill him at any moment.


    In other words, Connor''s life was actually in the palm of Toby''s hand. If Toby wanted Connor dead, he


    could take Connor''s life at any moment and avenge his father.


    Yet, the reason he did not do that was because he did not want to waste his grandfather''s merit.


    However, if he was unable to dig up any evidence of Connor''s crimes, then using this method might not


    be the worst idea.


    Thus, it could be said that Toby now controlled Connor''s fate and Connor knew that very well.


    If he wanted to retrieve his freedom from Toby, he had to stay alive to find a chance.


    As such, he could not let himself die too early nor could he lie to Toby at such a crucial moment.


    Thinking of that, Toby felt relieved and uncrossed his legs to get up. He walked toward Connor''s bed


    and looked down at him as if he was looking at an ant. "Good. I''ll believe you for now, but if you trick


    me and let me find out about it, I''ll twist your neck off myself. Try it if you dare."


    While he spoke, his eyesnded on Connor''s neck.

 Chapter 1290

    Chapter 1290


    Toby''s gaze was filled with so much viciousness that it made Connor realize Toby was not simply


    threatening with words.


    He was serious.


    If he lied to Toby and was found out, Toby would not hesitate to immediately twist his head off.


    Connor thought that if he had been younger, he would not have been so scared of death. However, as


    he grew older, experienced more things, and watched the people dear to him pass away, his courage


    gradually diminished and he became even more fearful of death.


    The older he grew, the more afraid he was of death; especially with his identity, he was even more


    afraid of death.


    Once he died, he would not have anything left¡ªhis position as the head of the Salzburg Family, his


    authority, and his money. In other words, he would not be able to enjoy any of that anymore because it


    would all fall into the hands of his rtives.


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    He was not willing to see that happen. He wanted to keep being the head of the Salzburg Family until


    he was a hundred years old while still keeping control over the lives of many.


    Therefore, I cannot die early. Never!


    Lowering his eyelids, Connor avoided Toby''s murderous gaze as that was the only way he could feel


    less terrified.


    "Don''t worry, Toby. I''ve promised that I didn''t lie to you, therefore, I wouldn''t. If you can give me a LoU, I


    will give you your mother''s belongings when I receive it," Connor said.


    Pursing his lips into a thin line, Toby was silent for a moment before responding, "Before 5.00PM, I''ll


    get someone to bring Anya over here. You''d better keep her in check because if she provokes my


    woman again, her oue wouldn''t be that pretty."


    "Don''t worry. I will." Connor raised his head and squeezed out a smile.


    Seeing that he had achieved what he came here to do, Toby did not want to stay here anymore, so he


    ced his hands in his pocket and left while Tom followed behind him.


    The two had just taken a few steps forward when Connor''s voice sounded from behind them.


    "Toby, I didn''t tell anyone about my situation, so the outside world is still unaware of what I''ve


    experienced. Since you''re able to find out about this so quickly, it means you have someone on your


    side watching me," Connor stated while looking at their backs.


    Toby stopped walking and so did Tom.


    "So, what? Do you still want to cause trouble for me?" A mocking smile appeared on Toby''s face, but


    he did turn around and only spoke at the door.


    Spite filled Connor''s eyes, but it instantly disappeared. "Of course not. You must be joking. Who in


    Seafield would dare to find trouble with you? Isn''t that the same as seeking death? I only wanted to ask


    you something. Since you have men watching me, they should have seen the people who attacked me,


    right?"


    "Oh?" With his eyebrows raised, Toby turned around and mocked, "So, you''re thinking of using my men


    to find out who attacked you?"


    Connor set down the nket and clenched his fist. "That''s right."


    "You have the wrong person." Toby sneered, "What rtionship do we have? How dare you think of


    finding clues from me! Do you think that''s possible? I''m telling you, it''s impossible. I won''t help you.


    Instead, I''d even help them cover their tracks. After all, an enemy''s enemy is my friend. You''re so naive


    to think that you can get something from me."


    After saying that, he turned back around and left the ward without stopping.


    At the sight of the leaving figure, Connor''s face was red yet pale and his chest was heaving as if he


    could pass out at any minute.


    Viins always lived till the end of the story and he currently looked weak as if he would die at any


    minute. However, in reality, it was these weak and sick people who lived for a long time that had the


    time to cause trouble for others.


    "Mr. Salzburg." At that moment, Xander ran in with a swollen forehead.


    After he called out to Connor, he closed the door, walked toward the hospital bed, and stopped before


    him.


    Tightly shutting his eyes, Connor used a long while to suppress the anger inside him before regaining


    hisposure. "Have you heard from the people you sent out to investigate this matter?"


    Xander lowered his head in embarrassment. "I''m sorry, Mr. Salzburg, but they haven''t found anything.


    You were attacked in an old alley with no surveince cameras. Also, I wasn''t with you back then, so I


    didn''t get a good look at your attackers. It''s quite difficult to catch whoever did it."


    Although Connor knew what Xander said was true, he was unwilling to ept the truth. At this point,


    he had no choice but to move on with it.


    Taking a deep breath, he tried not to lose his temper and waved his hand. "Continue on with the


    investigation."


    "Yes, sir." Xander secretly breathed a sigh of relief when Connor remained calm.


    As long as Mr. Salzburg doesn''t throw a fit, I wouldn''t have to worry about getting implicated.


    "Later, head to the police station and negotiate with them. Tell them that Toby has agreed to let go of


    this matter. Then, pay the bail in advance. Once Toby''s LoU has arrived, immediately bring it to the


    police station," Connor ordered.


    Xander bowed. "Yes. I''ll get on it immediately."


    After acknowledging Xander''s reply, Connor stopped talking and rested his eyes as though he fell


    asleep.


    Noticing the situation, Xander did not dare to disturb him, so he quietly left the room.


    Meanwhile, Toby and Tom ascended the car.


    Once inside, Toby massaged his temples and asked the same question, "What have you found about


    Anya and Connor''s rtionship?"


    After starting the car, Tom replied, "Since Connor rarely left the hotel, we couldn''t get inside his room,


    so no DNA to examine his rtionship with Anya. When he was attacked and hospitalized today, the


    doctors had shaved a portion of his hair to tend to his wound. Our men picked up some of the bloody


    hair from the trash and sent it for analysis. I''m sure it won''t be long before we can get the results."


    Now that he had heard some good news after a long while, Toby''s expression eased a little as he


    nodded. "Let''s go back to thepany."


    "Yes, sir." Tom nodded.


    Back at Paradigm Co., Sonia had just settled an expedited document and was leaning against the back


    of her chair while stretching to relieve her sore back and waist.


    Once she was done, she curled up in her chair and refused to move. She wanted to rest for a bit before


    starting on the other documents.


    "Chairman Reed." At that moment, the door to her office was knocked twice and a clear female voice


    sounded.


    Sonia looked over and saw that it was her secretary, Rita, standing outside.


    Rita was standing in for Daphne while she was recuperating from her operation.


    "Come in." With a smile, Sonia replied and quickly adjusted her posture.


    What else could she have done? Her subordinate was here and it would be embarrassing if she was


    still curled up in her chair.


    What if her subordinate thought that she did not seem like the chairman of thepany?


    "Alright." After responding, Rita withdrew her hand from the door, entered the office, and came toward


    Sonia''s desk. "Chairman Reed, you asked me toe over and get some documents¡­"


    "Over there." Sonia pointed at the stack of documents on her table. "Send them over to their respective


    departments. I don''t wanna keep them waiting."

 Chapter 1291

    Chapter 1291


    "Alright. I''ll send them over now." After affirming with a nod, Rita took the documents and said,


    "Chairman Reed, please excuse me."


    Sonia waved her hand. "Go ahead. Thank you for your hard work."


    "Chairman Reed, you''re too kind." With that, Rita smiled and turned to walk out the door.


    However, she suddenly thought of something and stopped in her tracks to turn back around. "Oh, right,


    Chairman Reed. There''s something I''m not sure whether I should say."


    "Go ahead." Sonia slightly raised her chin to signal Rita to continue.


    When Rita got her permission, she did not hesitate as she stood properly to exin, "Chairman Reed, I


    went to the Human Resources Department this afternoon. We, at the Secretary Department, were


    thinking of hiring a new assistant, so I went to the HR to ask if there were any suitable candidates."


    "Hmm. I heard about it." Sonia nodded. "What happened next?"


    She knew this was not the matter her secretary wanted to mention.


    As she expected, Rita took in a breath and continued, "Later, I heard someone from the Human


    Resources Department mention Daphne, saying that she called them this morning to ask them to


    prepare a letter of resignation and mail it to her."


    "What?" Sonia''s expression changed slightly. "If I heard it correctly, you said a letter of resignation,


    right? Daphne asked for a letter of resignation from the HR Department?"


    "Yes." Rita nodded to confirm Sonia''s words.


    Frowning, Sonia''s expression looked sullen. "Daphne wants to resign?"


    "ording to the current situation, it seems to be that. After I heard that, I went to ask one of the


    employees from HR for confirmation to make sure that the employees weren''t spreading fake news.


    Then, the employee told me that it was true and they did receive a call from her. ording to the


    director of human resources, he was shocked when he heard the news and wanted to notify you but


    was stopped by Daphne. She said to not tell you for the time being, so I was hesitant on whether to tell


    you. If I told you, I would be going against Daphne''s wishes, but if I don''t tell you, I''ll feel sorry for her


    because this is a strange time to resign. Also, Daphne has been with you for the longest and you both


    have a good rtionship. So, after I thought about it, I thought I should tell you because I also hope


    you could ask Daphne why she wanted to resign. All of us have a good rtionship with her and we


    don''t want her to resign. Moreover¡­"


    "Moreover, what?" Sonia looked at her.


    Biting her lips, Rita looked uncertain about something.


    A few secondster, she finally persuaded herself and clenched her hands before looking at Sonia.


    "Chairman Reed, it''s like this. I have a suspicion. I think Daphne''s sudden resignation means


    something has happened to her. ording to my understanding of her, she loves this job, so she


    wouldn''t resign without reason. She didn''t intend to resign when she was pregnant, and even after she


    wanted to abort the child, she still didn''t intend to leave. It was up until her surgery that she suddenly


    mentioned about resigning. I think something might have happened with her surgery, which caused her


    health to deteriorate and she couldn''t continue with this job."


    "Wait. How did you know Daphne was pregnant? And that she wanted to abort the child?" Sonia stood


    up in surprise and locked her gaze on Rita''s body.


    Meanwhile, Rita did not hide anything and immediately answered, "I found out about it on my own.


    Chairman Reed, you also know that I''m married and have children, so I understand pregnancy


    symptoms better than the unmarried employees in ourpany. I noticed that Daphne had been


    showing symptoms of early pregnancy recently. Though once or twice could mean she was sick, once


    it happened more frequently, I was sure that she''s pregnant and not sick. It was until I found a slip


    rted to abortion in Daphne''s trash can that I was certain that she was pregnant and didn''t intend on


    keeping the child."


    "So, that''s why." Sonia could not help but heave a sigh of relief. Then, she sat back on her chair. "I


    thought someone had told you about this."


    "No, no one told me. I figured it out myself." While shaking her head, Rita seemed to realize something


    and asked Sonia, "Chairman Reed, did you know about Daphne''s pregnancy?"


    Sonia did not intend to reveal anything initially, but upon looking at Rita and knowing that she was in on


    this, she decided to not hide it anymore and nodded. "That''s right. I knew from the beginning, which


    was why I was so shocked. Daphne had asked me to keep it a secret, so I didn''t tell you guys anything.


    That''s also why I got shocked when you mentioned her pregnancy ''cause I thought someone had


    overheard it and sold it.


    "No, I didn''t," Rita immediately shook her hand while speaking up guiltily, "but I have told the others


    from the department."


    "What?" Sonia was baffled.


    That made Rita feel even more guilty as she lowered her head to say, "I didn''t do it on purpose. It was


    on the second day where Daphne was absent from work. I was looking around her desk while


    muttering about whether she had gone through surgery. Then, someone from the office and her friends


    heard that. When they asked me about it, I couldn''t stand it anymore and told them."


    Meanwhile, Sonia felt her lips twitch as she felt resigned.


    What is this situation called?


    Is this blocking one side of the window while the other side is open?


    Seeing that Sonia was speechless, Rita immediately praised, "But Chairman Reed, I didn''t let the


    others spread the news. When Daphne hid her pregnancy from us, we knew that she wanted to keep it


    a secret, which was why I told my friends to zip their lips. I told them that this was a secret between us


    and it shouldn''t be spread to the public. The others agreed, and we''re all secretaries, so we have no


    problem with keeping a secret."


    Hearing that, Sonia felt relieved. "That''s good, but are you sure none of them told a soul about this, and


    that you really did find out about this yourself?"


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    "I''m positive. Anyway, I didn''t hear anyone beside us mention Daphne''s pregnancy, so the others


    definitely did not mention this to anyone else. Otherwise, with Daphne''s identity, everyone in the


    building might have already found out about this," Rita exined.


    Then, Sonia nodded lightly.


    That is true.


    It seems like no one has said a word.


    "That''s better. Since you guys are the only ones who know about this, remember to keep it sealed.


    Daphne doesn''t want anyone to know about this, so we can''t disappoint her. Also, this matter concerns


    her privacy," Sonia reminded Rita again.


    Nodding repeatedly, Rita promised, "Don''t worry, Chairman Reed. I''ll remind them after I head back to


    our office and guilt-trip them so that they won''t spread that news. We can''t let anyone know about this."


    Then, Rita''s mind suddenly went nk as she remembered that besides the others in her office, there


    seemed to be one outsider who knew about this.


    And that was President Lane.


    However, to Daphne and Chairman Reed, President Lane isn''t an outsider, right?


    Which means it doesn''t matter if he knows about this, right?


    Charles and Daphne were college ssmates. Not only did they have a few dozen years of


    subordinate-superior rtionship, but they were also friends. Thus, when something like this happened


    to Daphne, Charles would definitely take their rtionship into ount and not do anything to upset


    her.


    It seems like I have nothing to worry about.

 Chapter 1292

    Chapter 1292


    Rita nodded secretly and decided not to tell Sonia that Charles also knew about this matter. She


    thought there was no need to mention it.


    No matter what, President Lane would never hurt Daphne.


    Thinking of that, she felt more at ease and looked at Sonia. "Chairman Reed, do you think my guess


    about why Daphne''s resigning is right?"


    "I don''t know, but there is a possibility that you''re right." With her lips pursed, Sonia''s eyes were filled


    with worry for Daphne.


    Sonia did not have many female friends and the only two she had were Daphne and Reba.


    However, Reba had gone to Westsanshire with Carl and they had not contacted each other for


    months.


    Though Sonia did try to contact her a few times, Reba never picked up. Perhaps, she was caught


    up in her job as a bodyguard, or Carl might have transferred her away from his side and given her


    another assignment for which she could not freely contact other people.


    After all, thest time Sonia contacted Reba, she mentioned that Carl still did not trust her and


    forbade her from being near him.


    Ultimately, not being able to contact Reba meant Sonia had no idea of Carl''s current situation or


    Reba''s circumstances, which worried her. Still, there was no use worrying if she could not get a


    hold of Reba.


    As of now, the only woman by her side with whom she could share women''s secrets was Daphne.


    Therefore, if something happened to her, Sonia would not be able to be at peace.


    "Did you try to call Daphne when you found out she wanted to resign?" She looked at Rita and asked.


    Nodding, Rita replied, "Of course, I did, but I can''t get a hold of her."


    "Was the call disconnected?"


    "It''s not that." Rita shook her head while exining, "The call went through, but she hung up. It seems


    like she knows that someone will call her to ask about this, so she has no intention of picking up any


    calls."


    Has no intentions of picking up¡­


    Pulling her lips into a thin line, Sonia became even more worried and certain that Daphne''s resignation


    was not as simple as she thought.


    If she merely wanted to quit working here, why would she try to hide it and not tell anyone? Hence,


    Rita''s guess was correct. There was something wrong with Daphne''s decision to resign.


    Now, the biggest questiony in what had happened to her.


    "I understand. I''ll try to contact herter. Thank you for being so considerate, and thank you for telling


    me this. You did good." Sonia decided to put aside her worries and squeezed out a smile to thank Rita.


    Embarrassed, Rita waved. "Chairman Reed, you''re exaggerating. Daphne and I are like sisters, and


    this is what I should do. So, I''d have to trouble you for contacting Daphne. If there''s any news, I hope


    you can tell us because we''re also worried about her."


    "I will," Sonia agreed.


    "Alright, then. Chairman Reed, I''ll be heading out." With a slight bow, Rita turned around and exited the


    office.


    After Rita left, Sonia did not wait any longer and picked up her phone to call Daphne.


    Fortunately, the call went through, but she was worried that what came next would be the same as


    what Rita had described¡ªdeclining the call.


    If that happened, she would not be able to reach Daphne.


    So, please, God, Let Daphne pick up the call.


    While tightly clutching her phone, Sonia felt uncertain.


    Meanwhile, on the other end of the call¡­


    A ghastly-looking Daphne weakly leaned against the head of the bed while holding a delicate porcin


    bowl in her hand. Inside the bowl was a jet-ck, unknown liquid.


    She lowered her head to drink a mouthful of the liquid. The liquid was so bitter that she scrunched up


    her face as soon as she drank it.


    It was clear that the liquid did not taste good.


    After drinking a mouthful of it, she did not feel like drinking anymore, so she set down the bowl and


    looked toward the French window.


    Before the window stood a figure, and from the height of that figure, it seemed to be a man.


    However, since the man was standing under the sun, the sunlight shone down on him and covered his


    whole body in ayer of gold, which blurred his face and made others unable to recognize him.


    ording to the man''s figure and height, anyone could tell that his figure must be good and his


    appearance would not be too off either.


    "President Lane." At that moment, Daphne finally opened her mouth and called out to the person


    before the window.


    Finally, that mysterious figure moved. He did not stand still anymore and turned around to face her.


    As soon as he did so, his face finally emerged out of the sunlight and uncovered a handsome face,


    which belonged to none other than Charles.


    "What''s the matter?" he asked coldly as he looked at the person on the bed.


    Inparison, Charles had a different demeanor now than he usually had.


    He preferred to dress in mboyant attire. The more colorful they were, the more he liked them; he


    would also give others the impression that he was a sloppy person.


    Yet, that was also the truth. Wasn''t his usual impression that of a sloppy and immature person?


    Those who did not understand him well would assume that he was not a reliable person, based on his


    appearance. Instead, they would think that he was a yboy or a rascal.


    However, the Charles that was standing here not only dressed differently, but his personality also


    suddenly became solemn.


    He was no longer wearing the mboyant clothes that others despised but a ck suit that made him


    look mature. Even his hair wasbed neatly, which was the opposite of the messy and colorful hair


    he always had.


    Anyway, Charles was no longer the yboy others usually saw him as but a reliable and domineering


    company president. The outfit he was currently wearing was very simr to Toby''s.


    Truth be told, his friends and family would be shocked to see his current appearance and think that he


    might have been stimted by something. Otherwise, why would he suddenly change his style?


    Honestly, even Daphne was shocked when she saw him today, but she was afraid to ask him about it.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    "C-Can I not drink this bowl of tonic?" Her finger pointed at the bowl as she carefully asked him.


    Frowning, he did not even think about it before refusing, "No, you must."


    With a bitter expression, Daphne did not refute and raised the bowl again. Then, she endured the


    extreme bitterness and gulped down the liquid.


    She only intended to fight for herself once, not a second time.


    She knew that if she did not seed the first time, she would not seed no matter how many times


    she tried after that. Instead, she might even anger the man before her.


    Since she had expected it, why would she risk it?


    Meanwhile, Charles watched as Daphne obediently finished her tonic, but his eyebrows were


    scrunched together and his face fell.


    He should be happy to see her obedient side because he did not like it when she opposed him. Yet,


    now that he got his wish, he did not feel any excitement. Instead, he felt an unknown sense of irritation


    and rage.


    On the bed, Daphne could feel that Charles was not happy, so she stopped drinking her tonic and


    looked up at him.


    She saw his dark and cold face, and the grip she had on the bowl tightened a little as she could not


    figure out what had happened.


    Why is he mad?


    I don''t think I provoked him, did I?


    Although she was feeling anxious, she did not dare to ask because she was afraid that he would get


    even angrier after hearing her voice.


    Therefore, she lowered her head, pretended like nothing happened, and continued drinking her tonic.


    Seeing that his displeasure was noticed but unquestioned, Charles became even more frustrated.

 Chapter 1293

    Chapter 1293


    He wanted to ask her, Can''t you tell that I''m angry?


    However, the words were right by his lips, but he could not say anything.


    Feeling bothered, Charles grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and took one out before


    lighting it between his lips.


    Right before the me touched his cigarette, he suddenly thought of something, looked toward the bed


    at Daphne, who was not paying attention to him, and stopped his actions. Then, he put away his lighter


    and put the cigarette back into the packet.


    Forget it. I won''t smoke this.


    This cigarette isn''t nice either. I should remember to change to another brand.


    That''s right. I''m not smoking because this packet of cigarettes is not nice, not because of her.


    Tugging his lips into a thin line, Charles felt aplicated feeling.


    At that moment, a caller ringtone broke the silence.


    Daphne quickly finished her tonic in a few gulps and endured the bitterness in her mouth before cing


    the bowl down to finish the cup of water beside her. Atst, she felt better only after the bitter taste in


    her mouth faded.


    Charles could not help but reprimand her, "Isn''t it just drinking a bowl of tonic? Do you have to look so


    distressed?"


    She opened her mouth and whispered, "But¡­ This tonic is really bitter."


    It''s even more bitter than Americano with no sugar.


    After snorting, he retorted, "How bitter can it be? You''re just finding excuses to not drink it."


    Daphne did not reply.


    He''s right. I really don''t want to drink it.


    "I''m only asking you to drink some tonic, not do anything else. Why do you have to look so bitter?"


    Charles continued to agitate her.


    Biting her lips, Daphne argued, "It wasn''t intentional. I was only¡­"


    Suddenly, she found herself reluctant to exin any further.


    She realized that no matter how much she said or how reasonable she was, a person who disliked her


    would always find fault with it and continue to oppose her.


    If that was the truth, why did she still need to argue for herself?


    No matter how she exined herself, Charles would always assume she was wrong. Therefore, she


    did not want to argue anymore and decided to just let things run their course.


    "I''m sorry. I won''t do that again. I''ll finish everything obediently and won''t make that face anymore."


    While looking down, Daphne spoke self-mockingly.


    Hearing her depressing words, Charles felt bothered again.


    Yet, when he saw how she was not being herself, he wanted to reprimand her, but he could not say


    anything. He snorted and acted impatient. "It''d be best if you did as you said. Alright, alright. Your


    phone is still ringing. Check it, it''s so annoying."


    "I''m sorry. I''ll look at it now." After apologizing, she rubbed her face and reached for her phone.


    Once she saw the caller ID, she was first stunned before immediately sitting up and frantically looking


    at Charles. "President Lane, it''s Chairman Reed."


    Charles'' pupils dted as he asked, "Sonny?"


    "Yes." With a nod, Daphne asked, "Charles, should I answer it?"


    Then, he pursed his lips as if he was thinking about it.


    A few secondster, he waved his hand. "Answer it, but don''t tell her anything you shouldn''t. Or else¡­"


    Then, a vicious light shed across his eyes.


    Seeing how the man she loved was treating her, Daphne felt as if her heart was being pierced by


    needles. Helpless, she did not show her emotions and merely nodded. "I understand. I won''t tell her."


    "Good." He nodded his head in satisfaction and implied that she should answer the call.


    After taking a deep breath, Daphne slid her finger across the screen and ced her phone by her ear.


    "Chairman Reed."


    On the other end of the call, Sonia could hear the disappointment in her voice and was immediately


    sure that Rita had guessed correctly. She felt her heart sink as she quickly asked, "Daphne, are you


    alright?"


    However, Daphne did not know that Sonia was asking about her circumstances instead of her surgery.


    After all, Sonia knew why she took leave. Feeling a warm feeling surge inside her, she quickly replied,


    "I''m doing fine."


    "Really? Did the operation go smoothly?" Sonia asked with worry.


    Touching her belly, Daphne looked over to the French window and the man standing there with a


    complicated gaze. She then hummed a reply. "The operation¡­ went quite well."


    "Did it?" While narrowing her eyes, Sonia was obviously not convinced. "If the operation went well, why


    did you hesitate earlier? Daphne, I hope that you won''t lie to me. Besides being your superior, I''m also


    your friend and I''m worried about you. So, please don''t lie to me. Or else, I''ll be even more worried


    about you."


    Daphne could hear that Sonia was indeed worried for her and felt touched.


    She knew Sonia was a good person. That was why she was not jealous of her when she found out the


    person she liked was actually in love with her boss.


    After all, Sonia was such a good person, so what right did she have to be jealous of such a wonderful


    woman?


    Good people were never meant to be envied by others.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    "Chairman Reed, thank you for being concerned for me. Don''t worry. I''m fine and the operation went


    well. I hesitated earlier because I thought of something unrted to the operation. I don''t need to trick


    you on these matters. What''s more, didn''t you hear my voice? Don''t I sound energetic? If the operation


    had anyplications, I would''ve been weak right now, but my voice isn''t, so it means I''m not lying."


    After Daphne''s exnation, Sonia thought she made sense.


    Indeed, her voice did sound energetic. Besides sounding a little disappointed, she did not sound weak


    at all. More importantly, her voice sounded even more energetic than when Sonia had finished her


    abortion surgery.


    Back when she just finished her operation, the operation also went smoothly and she needed to stay at


    the hospital to recuperate. On top of that, she felt very weak, but her voice did not sound as energetic


    as Daphne''s.


    Frankly, she sounded like she never even went through a surgery.


    Of course, that would be impossible since she did not deny having the surgery.


    Perhaps the reason her voice sounded so lively was because of her physique.


    Regardless, her words of concern earlier were all genuine.


    "It''s good that your surgery went smoothly. It means your body didn''t suffer too much damage, right?"


    Sonia breathed a sigh of relief and felt rxed.


    Shaking her head, Daphne replied, "Of course not. My body is in good condition."


    Then, she looked down.


    Of course, my body is great. I didn''t even go through with the surgery.


    The second before she was pushed into the operation theater, Charles arrived just in time to stop them


    and he brought her here.


    She did not know why Charles refused to let her abort the child and let her give birth to it instead. Either


    way, the reason cannot be that he likes me.


    "Oh, right. Chairman Reed, why are you suddenly so concerned about my condition? Also, judging


    from your voice, you seem to be certain that the operation has damaged my body." Suddenly realizing


    this, she quickly asked.


    When Sonia heard that question, sheughed awkwardly. "I was guessing because I heard that you''re


    going to resign."


    Daphne''s face paled. "Chairman Reed¡­ How did you know? I remember I didn''t tell you about this,


    and the colleagues from the human resources department¡­"


    "The colleagues from the HR department also promised to keep it a secret, right?"


    Knowing what Daphne was about to say, Sonia finished the sentence for her.


    As a result, Daphne fell silent.

 Chapter 1294

    Chapter 1294


    Letting out a sigh, Sonia exined, "It wasn''t them. Rita just happened to go there and overheard this


    matter, so she told me."


    "So, that''s how you found out." Daphne understood the situation.


    It turns out it was Rita who told her.


    What a coincidence.


    It seems like even the heavens didn''t want me to hide this from Chairman Reed. Otherwise, why would


    Rita just happen to appear at the HR department at that moment?


    "So, it''s true that you''re resigning?" Sonia asked with pursed lips.


    Then, Daphne replied with a hum and replied, "Yes."


    After getting the confirmation from Daphne, Sonia felt her heart sink. "Why? There should be a reason,


    right? I don''t believe you''ve thought about this for a very long time. Whether it''s me or Rita, we didn''t


    hear any news about you wanting to resign before you took your leave, nor did we see any signs of you


    wanting to leave. So, when you took leave and suddenly mentioned you wanted to resign, we all didn''t


    believe you''d do so easily. Then, we guessed that maybe your body condition was weakened by the


    operation, so you wouldn''t want to continue with work. But now, I''m certain that your operation went


    well, and your body condition is still good. So, can you tell me why you wanna resign?"


    Hearing Sonia''s words, Daphne sighed and could not help but admire Sonia''s keen insight.


    She even guessed that I resigned on a whim and not because I had thought about it before.


    Chairman Reed is indeed a very intelligent person.


    "Daphne?" When Sonia did not hear Daphne''s response, she called out to her.


    Coming back to her senses, Daphne replied, "Yes, Chairman Reed. I''m still here."


    "Since you''re still there, then tell me. Why do you want to resign? Daphne, you know that I admire your


    talent and I''m already used to you being my secretary, so if you don''t have a suitable reason, I won''t


    approve of your resignation. Understand?" Sonia stated.


    Daphne bit her lips and felt bitter. "I understand."


    Actually, she did not want to resign.


    But¡­


    She gazed over at Charles again and her eyes were filled with all sorts ofplicated emotions.


    It was Charles who ordered her to resign, so she could not defy him.


    Not knowing what Daphne was looking at and thinking about, she massaged the middle of her


    eyebrows and persuaded, "Since you understand, you must give me a reasonable exnation. AfterN?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    all, I have to know what you''re going through. Don''t worry. If you''re facing any difficulties, you can tell


    me and I''ll help you solve it as best as I can. Even if I can''t help you, I can get Toby to help. There are


    no difficulties that can''t be solved, so there''s no need to resign."


    "Chairman Reed, nothing happened." Daphne barely managed to squeeze out a smile.


    In order not to let Sonia hear anything suspicious, Daphne tried her best to calm down her emotions


    and make her voice sound normal. "I decided to resign because I want to take some time to further my


    career abroad."


    "Further your career abroad?" Sonia was shocked. "But I didn''t hear you mention this before."


    Looking down to hide the emotions in her eyes, Daphne exined, "I didn''t have such thoughts before,


    even until I decided to take my leave. I only thought of this yesterday."


    "Oh? Yesterday?" Sonia asked.


    "Yes." The hand on her phone tightened as Daphne continued to lie.


    There was no other way because once a lie was made, she had to use several other lies to make up


    for it.


    Otherwise, she would get exposed.


    "Yesterday, when I finished my operation, I saw a recruitment notice from a foreign country on the


    Inte. The position being recruited matches my major, and throughout the two years, I have been


    thinking about taking examinations for different professions, but I don''t have any experience working


    abroad, so my application keeps getting rejected. At first, I thought I should forget it, but when I saw


    that recruitment notice, I was tempted to try again. Then, I wrote a thesisst night and sent it with my


    resume and it was quickly epted. Thepany there has decided to hire me, so I decided to resign


    and enter thatpany to further my career for a year. After a year, I''d be able to take examinations,"


    Daphne exined.


    However, no one saw the sarcasm on her face.


    She did not know if the sarcasm was directed at Charles, who asked her to lie, or at herself.


    Perhaps Daphne lied too naturally because Sonia did not seem to hear anything wrong with her words


    and believed her. "So, that''s the reason. I thought something had happened to your body, which made


    you want to resign. I feel much better knowing that it''s not rted to your body condition."


    "I''m sorry, Chairman Reed," she apologized.


    Meanwhile, Sonia waspletely relieved. When she heard Daphne''s apology, she smiled. "Why are


    you apologizing?"


    "Because I didn''t tell you in advance that I want to change jobs and waited until I got the offer to tell


    you. This is a taboo in the workce and I¡ª"


    "Alright. You don''t have to me yourself." Sonia waved her hands. "I don''t me you. Instead, I''m


    happy for you."


    "Happy for me?" Daphne was stunned.


    Sonia acknowledged her reply and continued, "Yes. Why wouldn''t I be happy for you if you want to


    further your career and be better? I''ve always liked watching others work hard for themselves, so


    I do support anyone who goes for what they want. As long as they work hard and don''t hinder or hurt


    others, I''ll help them however I can. More importantly, we''re friends. My friend wants to go to a further


    ce and be more excellent, so of course, I will support you."


    "I understand what you mean. Chairman Reed, you are such a good person. It''s no wonder why so


    many people like you, and why I like you."


    Still, she felt sorry toward Sonia.


    She lied to her because she was not going to further her career.


    Instead, she was going to hide somewhere and give birth to this child.


    From this moment on, she had betrayed Sonia''s trust.


    Suddenly, Daphne thought of herself as a despicable person.


    "Thank you for liking me, and I like you too." After hearing Daphne''s confession, Sonia felt happy and


    smilingly asked, "Oh, right. When are you leaving?"


    She meant when Daphne would leave abroad.


    Since Daphne was not really going abroad, she could not give a confirmed time, so she could only


    think on the whim. "The week after. This week, I need to get my visa and other documents."


    "Wouldn''t it be too much of a rush? One week might not be enough for you to get your visa."


    "No, it wouldn''t. I have a former ssmate working at the embassy there. He''ll help me rush my


    documents, so one week is enough." Daphne lied again.


    She had never lied, but today, in these short few minutes, she had told countless lies.


    The more she lied, the more embarrassed she became.


    However, Sonia did not know any of this. When she heard that Daphne had a friend over there, she felt


    at ease. "That''s good. So, you can submit your resignation application after you''re done and I''ll


    personally approve of it. If you''re willing toe back to this littlepany one yearter, I will happily


    wee you back."


    "Okay. Thank you, Chairman Reed. Thank you so much." Daphne felt a sore sensation at her nose and


    her eyes felt warm too.


    Smiling, Sonia said, "I won''t bother you anymore. Rest well, and I''ll send you off when you leave."


    "No need for that, Chairman Reed." The moment Sonia said she would send her off, Daphne became


    anxious and hurriedly refused while shaking her head. "You don''t have to send me off. I can leave on


    my own."


    "Why?" Sonia could not help but blink her eyes in confusion.


    Aren''t we friends?


    Shouldn''t friends send each other off when one of them is leaving?

 Chapter 1295

    Chapter 1295


    However, Daphne was anxious.


    Why?


    Of course, it''s because I don''t want to get exposed!


    She was not really going abroad, so how could she let Sonia send her off? If she did, would that not


    expose everything?


    With both hands tightly holding her phone, she quickly exined, "Because I booked my flight for


    11.00PM, so I don''t want to bother you at such ate hour. More importantly, President Fuller wouldn''t


    feel at ease with you going out at that hour."


    That makes sense.


    While touching her chin, Sonia asked, "But why did you book a flight for such ate hour?"


    Daphne continued to lie, "I especially bought it at that hour because I can catch up on some sleep on


    the ne and go straight to work when I get there."


    "Oh, alright then. I won''t see you off, but you have to send me a text before you get on the ne so


    that I know you''ve sessfully boarded. Then, I''ll feel more assured."


    Noticing that Sonia had given up the idea of sending her off, Daphne felt relieved. "Alright, Chairman


    Reed."


    "Alright. Then, I won''t bother you anymore. I''ll hang up now." After looking at the time, Sonia found that


    it was gettingte.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Daphne did not want to continue this conversation either; the more she spoke, the more she felt sorry


    toward Sonia.


    Until the end, she was afraid that she could not stand the guilt in her heart and blurted out the truth


    instead. Therefore, she also felt relieved when Sonia suggested they end the call.


    "Okay. Goodbye, Chairman Reed."


    "Goodbye."


    After hanging up, Daphne set down her phone and felt the heavy burden weighing on her heart return


    to its ce.


    Then, Charles came over and sat down beside the bed while smiling. "I didn''t expect you to be able to


    lie so well. You don''t even look flustered."


    Hearing the man''s sarcastic words, Daphneughed self-deprecatingly and stated, "This is what you


    asked me to do. You didn''t want Chairman Reed to know you brought me here, so you asked me to


    resign, and since I can''t tell her the truth, I can only lie."


    "Are you putting the me on me?" Charles asked with narrowed eyes.


    Turning her head away, she replied, "No. I''m ming myself."


    ming myself for why I didn''t push him away.


    ming myself for why I didn''t abort this child sooner.


    Otherwise, all of this wouldn''t have happened.


    However, she was curious about how Charles found out about her pregnancy and how he knew she


    wanted to abort their child.


    More importantly, how did he know the exact ce and time of her operation and arrived there just in


    time to stop her?


    Everything that happened made her curious.


    She did not know how he found out about these things, but she was certain that it was not Sonia, who


    had never asked her about Charles during the phone call. So, there was no way that Sonia would know


    anything about Charles'' involvement and acknowledgement regarding her pregnancy and abortion.


    Therefore, the mystery nowy in when and how he received such information.


    "What are you thinking about?" As he noticed the light shing across her eyes, Charles could not help


    but ask.


    Daphne avoided his gaze and answered, "Nothing."


    She had no intention of asking him how he found out. She knew she would not get an answer if she


    asked anyway.


    Of course, he wouldn''t tell me. Why should I ask? It''d probably be easier if I found it out myself sooner


    orter.


    As Charles sensed her reluctance to let on anything, his face fell as he got to his feet. "Fine, then. It''s


    gettingte and I have to go. You stay here, and someone wille over to take care of you. If there''s


    nothing important, don''t contact the outside world or try to leave. Otherwise, I don''t know what I might


    do. Do you understand?"


    Raising her head to reveal her pale face, Daphne asked, "President Lane, are you keeping me under


    house arrest?"


    After showing an unknown smile, he responded, "If you like it that way, I can make it possible."


    Daphne''s face became even paler.


    Who would like this?


    "That''s it. I''ll be leaving now. You can call me if there''s anything." Charles raised his hand and


    unconsciously patted her head.


    However, he then remembered that this person was Daphne and not Sonia, so his hand stopped midair


    and his face fell.


    He could not understand, Why do I feel like patting her head?


    This woman is clearly not Sonia and I have never patted any woman''s head.


    But with Daphne, I suddenly have the thought of doing that.


    Daphne is obviously different from Sonia.


    Then, Charles retracted his hand and looked down at it for a while as his face became even darker.


    He thought he had gone mad because he never saw Daphne as a sister, yet he wanted to pat her


    head. What could it be besides the possibility that he had gone mad?


    Putting down his hand, he looked at her with his dark eyes as if he wanted to find a reason.


    Yet, not only did he not find any clue after a while, it made him even more bothered the more he


    thought about it. Then, he snorted and left.


    Meanwhile, Daphne watched as he left furiously and found him confusing.


    I didn''t even provoke him, so why is he suddenly so angry?


    At that moment, she found that Charles'' temper had worsened. His temper had always been good


    before and he would never be as emotional as he was now, making the whole situation even more


    confusing.


    Perhaps it was because he was looking at the person he hated, right?


    Smiling bitterly, she raised her head to look at the ceiling and fell into a daze.


    On the other hand, Charles left the private vi and went back to his car.


    He was not in a hurry to leave, but he sat in the driver''s seat, leaned against his seat, and covered his


    eyes with one hand, seemingly exhausted.


    In actuality, he was not tired but frustrated. The feeling that was arising within him was something he


    did not know how to exin. It made him feel uneasy with a sense of losing control while his intuition


    was telling him that this feeling would stay for a very long time, and it would only get heavier as time


    passed.


    He also knew that he became this way because of Daphne. Otherwise, he would never behave like this


    when he was facing other people.


    Only when he was faced with Daphne that he became unlike himself.


    Under normal circumstances, he should distance himself from someone who could make him behave


    differently. Yet, for some reason, not only did he not do that, he even decided to keep this uncontrolled


    factor by his side. That was why he questioned his own sanity in the car.


    As he was pondering about this, the phone in his bag rang and it interrupted the dazed episode of


    Charles.


    He rubbed his face, not wanting to think about these bothersome things, and sat up straight before


    taking out his phone.


    When he saw who was calling, a smile appeared on his face as he answered the call, "Sonny."


    It was a call from Sonia.


    After she found out that Daphne''s situation was not like what she and Rita had thought, she felt


    assured.


    Following her call with Daphne, she remembered Tom''s words when she left the house that afternoon


    and decided to phone Charles.


    "Charles, are you busy?" she asked.


    As he looked out the window and toward the vi, Charles'' eyes shone as he replied, "No, I''m not.


    What''s the matter?"


    "It''s nothing. I just want to tell you that Connor was beaten up," she said.


    Surprised, he asked, "So soon? Lance is quite efficient now. He used to be a slow poke and had a slow


    tempo when doing what he was asked. I thought he''d take at least one to two days before proceeding


    with the n, but I didn''t expect he''d get someone to beat up Connor right after I told him about itst


    night. It doesn''t seem like him."


    He was shocked and happy as he spoke.

 Chapter 1296

    Chapter 1296


    Lance was one of Charles'' good friends and Charles thought he knew his friend well enough.


    To be able to make a slow poke act so quickly meant that he had a very important ce in Lance''s


    heart.


    Otherwise, he would not have put in so much effort to help a friend.


    Therefore, how could he not be excited and happy?


    As for Sonia, she did not know Lance that well and was unsure of what kind of person he was. It was


    not until she heard what Charles said that she finally knew. As such, she was grateful that such a slow


    person would be able to finish the job so quickly.


    "Maybe because you''re the one who found him. That''s why he''s so quick. Of course, it might be


    because he had been the leader for many years and changed his gentle attitude into a fiery one."


    Soniaughed while making a guess.


    Touching his chin, Charles nodded. "What you said makes sense, but no matter what, it''s good that


    Lance finished the job swiftly."


    "Yes. That''s why I called you. I wanna ask you to bring him a thank-you gift," Sonia said.


    "Thank-you gift?"


    "Yes."


    "For Lance?"


    "Who else could it be?" She shrugged. "He gave me a hand in teaching Connor a lesson, so of course,


    I have to give him something to thank him. I can''t just sit here and do nothing, can I? Wouldn''t that be


    taking things for granted? I can''t do that, so I must prepare a gift. Besides, other than thanking him, I


    don''t want to owe him anything either."


    While knocking his fingers on the steering wheel, Charles agreed, "You''re right. You and Lance aren''t


    familiar with each other, so it''s best not to owe each other anything."


    "That''s why I came to you. I need to know what he likes. Then, I can prepare the gift and have you


    send it over. Also, you would get a thank-you gift too," she added.


    Surprise filled his face again. "What? Me too?"


    "Of course! You''re the middleman who helped me get in contact with Lance. I can''t let you do all that


    work for nothing, right?"


    "Hehe. Then, I''ll thank you in advance." With excitement, he rubbed his hands together and continued,


    "Actually, you don''t have to give me anything and I''d still be willing to help you."


    "I know, but I can''t really do nothing, knowing that you did those things willingly, can I? If I did, what


    kind of person would I have be? Forget about that. Tell me what Lance likes. As for you, you don''t


    have to say it because I know." While rubbing her sore shoulders, Sonia urged Charles to speak.


    "Alright, so I won''t tell you what I like. You can just prepare anything you see fit. As for Lance, although


    he''s the leader of a gang, he can be a child at heart, probably because of his background. He grew up


    in an orphanage, and being able to have food to eat and clothes to wear were already considered a


    very happy thing for him, so he never had a toy. After he grew up, he liked to buy adult Lego toys, so


    you can prepare a limited edition Lego set for him. He will love it," Charles confirmed.


    Nodding slowly, she replied, "Sure. I''ll buy that for him. Thank you, Charles."


    "No worries." He waved his hand. "Is there anything else?"


    "Nope, but even if there is, I don''t think you''d want to hear it." She then leaned against her chair and


    propped up her head while speaking.


    That aroused Charles'' interest. "Really? What''s the thing you''re so certain I won''t like to hear?"


    "Daphne is leaving abroad to further her career. Do you think you''d want to hear about matters


    involving her?" Sonia asked tentatively.


    No matter what, Daphne is going to leave the country.


    I hope that Charles can put down his hatred for her.


    After all, it''s not just her fault that something like that urred.


    Charles also did something wrong.


    So, he can''t put all the me on her and ignore his wrongdoings.


    That is something Daphne can''t do alone.


    On the other side of the phone, Charles froze when he suddenly heard Sonia mention Daphne.


    He had no idea that this was actually about that woman.


    It is something I don''t want to hear!


    After noting that Charles kept quiet and did not speak, Sonia knew he was upset that she had


    mentioned Daphne, so she sighed. "Charles, did you know she''s going to leave the country?"


    Although she asked that, she felt that he might not know about it.


    Unexpectedly, his answer shocked her for a moment.


    "I did."


    "You did?" She was shocked.


    He replied with a hum. "She told me."


    Sonia opened her mouth, but it took her a while before she found her voice. "Daphne personally told


    you?"


    "Yes." He lied when he added, "She called to tell me."


    Yet, Sonia believed him. "So, that''s how you knew. I thought you still didn''t know about this."


    As she thought about it, it made sense; despite theirplicated rtionship and Charles'' terrifyingly


    cold attitude, he was the person she liked after all.


    So, she would want to tell him that she was leaving before she actually left, right?


    Perhaps, there had been an element of probing in this matter. She was probing to see if the person she


    liked would ask her to stay when hearing that she was leaving.


    However, Sonia thought Daphne might have been disappointed in the end.


    Judging from Charles'' attitude, it did not seem like he would try to hold on to her.


    "I know, but so what? She can leave if she wants to. Does she think I''ll stop her?" While leaning against


    the seat again, Charles turned to look at the vi. There was a sullen andplicated expression on


    his face that went even unnoticed by himself.


    Meanwhile, Sonia rubbed her temples. "Although that''s the truth, you both still had a rtionship. Do


    you really feel nothing after knowing that she is going to leave?"


    "What feeling should I have? I don''t know her that well, so how would I have any feelings for her?" he


    stubbornly replied.


    Feeling resigned, Sonia shook her head. "Oh, Charles. You''ve known each other for almost a decade.


    Now that she''s leaving the country, shouldn''t you at least send her off?"


    She wanted to help Daphne fight for a chance.


    She believed that Daphne would be happy if the person she liked went to see her off.


    Perhaps the reason she told Charles about her departure was not only to see if he would ask her to


    stay, but she might also have wished he could send her off.


    No matter what the oue was, Sonia wanted to help Daphne. Yet, she soon realized that she had


    underestimated Charles'' coldheartedness.


    As soon as he heard Sonia''s words, his eyes darkened. "No. I don''t even want to see her, let alone


    send her off. Alright then, Sonia. If you called to tell me these things and ask that I treat her better, then


    there''s no need to say anything else. I still have something to do, so I''ll hang up now."


    After saying that, he immediately ended the call without showing any mercy.


    Looking at the screen on her phone, which had returned to her homepage, Sonia resignedly shrugged.


    Great. My n to help Daphne has failed.


    Charles'' hatred for her is not as simple as I thought.


    It seems like it''s almost impossible for those two to make up.


    Maybe this is a good thing. Daphne has aborted the child and severed herst connection with


    Charles. It''s not a bad thing if they don''t meet each other. At least Daphne can leave without anything


    pulling her back.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    It''s good that she''s leaving; after she goes abroad, she won''t be missing him.


    Who knows? Perhaps she''ll be able to forget him sometimeter and find a man she loves there?


    Thinking of that, Sonia lightly sighed and put down her phone to continue with work. She busied herself


    until the afternoon when Toby appeared in her office. At that, she stood up smiling. "Why did youe


    all the way here?"

 Chapter 1297

    Chapter 1297


    Surprise filled Sonia''s eyes when she saw him.


    However, the man joked, "Why? Can''t Ie here?"


    "Of course, you can." She approached him, took his hand in hers, and smiled. "Whenever youe to


    Paradigm Co., the employees treat you better than they do to me, and I''m their chairman. Even if I told


    them not to let youe up here, they wouldn''t listen and would still let you in. So, do you think I can


    order them not to let you up here?"


    "No," he answered honestly.


    "Doesn''t this exin everything?" She pulled the man inside. "But I didn''t expect you toe so early. I


    thought you''d drop byter because you usuallye here around 6.00PM, and it''s only 5.00PM now."


    That was why she was shocked when he appeared.


    "I just happened to finish my work earlier, so I came early. How about you? Are you done?" Toby let her


    pull him inside and looked at her office desk while walking.


    At this moment, Sonia''s desk was a mess. Documents were everywhere, which made Toby, who was a


    minor neat freak, raise his eyebrows. "Are you swamped with work today?"


    Otherwise, her desk would not be this messy.


    Pulling Toby to her desk, Sonia finally let go of his hand, sighed, and exined in exhaustion, "Yes, it''s


    been quite a hectic day. The factory has been fully renovated, and the equipment from Kosovo has


    arrived and is waiting to be installed. Once that''s done, our factory can finally begin production, so I''ve


    been busy contacting all our business partners to discuss our contract signing. At the same time, I have


    to contact the other departments and prepare to apply for all kinds of permits for opening a factory.


    Then, there''s the matter of hiring personnel to work at the factory. Besides all of this, I still have to settle


    all kinds of misceneous documents. I''m so swamped that I don''t even have the time to arrange all


    these documents. I can only wait until I finish all of that to clean up this mess. Up until now, I still have


    some documents left to finish."


    With a bitter face, she pointed at the pile of documents that were obviously piled up at the upper right


    corner of the desk.


    "Is there any problem with those documents?" asked Toby.


    He knew of her habits when cing things.


    The books that she disliked, could not understand, or could understand but still felt doubtful about,


    would be habitually ced far away. Only after she finished books that she could understand would


    she then start on the unfinished ones and do some research on them.


    ording to that habit, the documents that were ced far away and left untouched should be the


    ones she found difficulty with, or at least documents she was not able to deal with at the moment


    because it required lots of research or phone-callings to the other departments.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    However, if that was true, it would be time-consuming. Maybe before she even finished that pile, the


    easier documents would have piled up again and she would not have had time to deal with the entirety


    of them.


    Therefore, it was clever of her to finish the easier documents and keep the harder ones aside first.


    When Sonia heard Toby''s question, she massaged her temples. "There are so many problems with


    them. I''ve flipped through them and found that they contain a lot of professional information about this


    industry, but I''ve only just started to get involved in it, so there''s a lot that I don''t understand and don''t


    know how to deal with. I don''t want to just sign and get trickedter on, so I can only set them aside


    and think about themter."


    "Do you need to settle them right away?" Toby approached the pile and picked up the topmost file.


    "Can I take a look at this?"


    He turned around to ask her.


    Sonia shook her head but then nodded. "No, these aren''t expedited documents. Sure, you can take a


    look. They aren''t top-secret documents. My smallpany can''t evenpare with yourpany''s


    subsidiarypanies, so no matter how secretive these documents are, they are worthless to you. So,


    just look at them as much as you want."


    To be honest, Paradigm Co. was really nothing before Toby.


    Still, his effort to ask for permission before looking at those documents touched Sonia. He did not take


    advantage of their rtionship and took the liberty to look through those documents.


    Such an effort not only showed his respect for her but also for Paradigm Co.. It also showed her that he


    did not belittle Paradigm Co. because it was a smallpany.


    Although Toby did not know what Sonia was thinking, he could not help butugh quietly when hearing


    her reply. "Who told you these are worthless to me? You''re here in thispany, so thispany is


    the most important in my eyes."


    The sudden confession made Sonia blush and she shyly pushed him. "Alright. Go and look at them if


    you want. Stop talking nonsense. We can get off work after you finish."


    "Okay." He affectionately rubbed her head and opened one of the documents to start reading.


    After looking through the first page, he slightly raised his chin to say, "These documents are indeed


    quite difficult for you, but that''s fine. I can teach you."


    "You''re going to teach me?" She was stunned.


    Closing the file, Toby asked, "What''s the matter? Don''t you want a free tutor?"


    "Of course, I do!" Sonia quickly nodded and agreed. As if she was afraid that he would regret his


    decision, she hurriedly tidied up her desk while looking at him with fiery eyes. "I would be stupid to


    reject such a capable tutor to teach me. More importantly, this tutor is free of charge."


    Looking at her cute actions, heughed. His voice was low, yet pleasant to the ear.


    Sonia thought this might be what theizens described as an ''eargasm''.


    "So, the word ''free'' is the most important thing, am I right?" Toby gently pinched Sonia''s cheeks while


    speaking.


    Pouting, she said, "That''s not important. The most important thing is that you''re willing to tutor me."


    Then, she patted her office chair. "You sit here."


    "Where would you sit?" He did not immediately sit down but looked at her and asked.


    He had to make sure she also had a ce to sit before he did, or else, he would not feel at ease.


    Of course, it''s fine if she doesn''t have a ce to sit but insists that I sit down. She can sit on myp and


    I can have her in my arms while tutoring her, which might be quite exciting.


    As he thought of that, his eyes that were looking at her gradually darkened.


    His gaze made Sonia feel goosebumps and she subconsciously tensed up while looking sideways at


    him. "What are you looking at me for?"


    "Nothing." He coughed.


    Toby did not dare tell her he wanted her to sit on hisp.


    That might cause her to re up.


    Moreover, she might really sit on hisp if he just kept his mouth shut; if he mentioned that, that would


    kill all chances.


    Therefore, a smart person would not say their desire out loud.


    Although Sonia thought he was acting strange, she could guess, judging by his gaze, that he was up to


    no good. However, seeing that he quickly withdrew his gaze, she did not bother to question him about


    what his gaze meant. She pulled the chair opposite her desk over and ced it along with her office


    chair before patting it. "I can sit here."


    Slightly frowning, Toby looked disdainfully at the chair she pulled over. "This chair isn''t asfortable


    as mine. Let''s change seats. I''ll sit on that."


    While he spoke, he was about to switch the two chairs.


    However, Sonia stopped him by tugging on his arm. "No need. You''re the teacher and you came here


    to teach me, so I can''t just let you contribute your knowledge and sit ufortably. So, you sit on my


    office chair and I''ll sit on this one. Moreover, I''m your student and I''m the one asking for your help. I


    can''t take all the benefits and let you, the person helping me, not get anything in return. That''s not how


    things work. So, listen to me and sit here. If you don''t agree, then don''t teach me. Also, not only this


    time. You also can''t tutor me on the courses I''m going to take when I take my career course as well.


    Otherwise, I won''t be at ease when receiving your tutoring."

 Chapter 1298

    Chapter 1298


    Then, Toby saw her serious face as she spoke.


    It was then that he knew that if he did not follow what she said, she would do whatever she said


    because this was Sonia''s personality at its core.


    Despite their current rtionship, she was still unwilling to take advantage of him.


    "Gosh. What should I do with you?" As he shook his head resignedly, he pulled her office chair over to


    him and sat down. "Is this better?"


    Nodding in satisfaction, Sonia said, "Yes."


    After she said that, she pulled the lessfortable chair closer and sat down as well. "Toby, don''t just


    think that I''m being stubborn and refusing to ept your kindness. I know you want to do more things


    for me and want me to sit morefortably. I''m grateful and I ept your kind gesture, but such


    actions will only make me greedy. In the end, I might even take your kindness for granted and gradually


    forget that I should repay your kindness and do something for you too. Then, I''ll be someone who


    only knows how to enjoy your efforts without reciprocating. A person like that is selfish, and someday


    when you mistreat me or neglect me for the slightest bit, I won''t be able to ept that and might even


    throw a fit. So, Toby..."


    She looked up at him. "You will only pamper me too much by doing so. I think you don''t want me to


    be apletely different person from how I am now, right? Because that wouldn''t be me


    anymore."


    While gazing into her eyes for a while, Toby sighed and rxed. "I understand. I''ll think more carefully


    about the consequences when considering doing something for you in the future and make a more


    well-rounded decision. You''re right. Overindulging someone will change them and turn them into


    someone they weren''t in the beginning. It''s my fault for not thinking of this."


    "Very good. Alright, let''s start our tutoring session. The earlier we finish this pile, the earlier we can go


    home. Then, I can make you some soup." Sonia then brought the stack of documents over and set


    them in front of Toby.


    Meanwhile, the man felt his eyelids twitching. "Soup?"


    At that moment, the scene of him drinking soup at the old manor that afternoon reappeared in his mind


    and his face was full of reluctance.


    "Please don''t. I''ve had enough soup for a while." He then picked up the topmost file while expressing


    with a tense voice.


    Even his face showed a terrified expression.


    Clearly, that particr soup was so terrifying to him that it made him fear out of instinct.


    It was the first time Sonia saw fear in the man before her.


    In her memory, Toby was an omnipotent person; there was nothing that could scare him. It was as if he


    were born without such emotions and they would never appear on his face. So, she was intrigued when


    an emotion that should not have been on his face suddenly appeared. Of course, she also knew why


    he would give such an expression.


    That soup appeared to have given him some sort of ''trauma''. Thinking of that, Sonia could not help but


    laugh. However, that soup also gave her the same feeling as well¡ªfear.


    Yet, inparison to Toby who drank the soup, her fear was nothing. As she thought about it, she felt


    more defeated than terrified.


    "Don''t worry. It''s not the strange soup Grandma and Madam Mary made. It''s just a in bone broth that


    Mrs. Lane specially prepared and asked me to make for you. She said it''s beneficial to your arm


    because it hasn''t fully recovered yet. Although it looks like everything''s good, you still can''t carry heavy


    things or makerge movements. Since she''s aware of your condition, she went back to her parent''s


    house and specifically sought out thergest beef bone she could find."


    When Charles brought it to her yesterday, she did not know exactly what Grace had made for Toby or


    why Grace had her make it for him either.


    It was not until Charles left and she was separating the gifts for Grandma that she discovered it was


    beef short ribs.


    "Are you referring to Charles'' mother?" Toby was shocked.


    Nodding, she replied, "Yes. Which other Mrs. Lane do you know besides her?"


    "She went to the old manor yesterday. I know she prepared a lot of local specialties and you gave


    some to Grandma, but I didn''t hear about her preparing anything for me," replied Toby.


    Soniaughed. "I forgot to tell you, but maybe because I thought I wouldn''t be bringing it back to the old


    manor, so I didn''t think to mention it."


    Hearing that, Toby poked her forehead as if saying, How can you forget such a thing?


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    "What kind of beef bone is that? Why did Mrs. Lane have to head back to her parents'' home to get


    them? Can''t she just tell us and let us buy them here?" Toby twirled the pen with his long, slender


    fingers while asking.


    Could it be bones from a wild animal?


    He was doubtful, as he thought that possibility might be high.


    Seeing the serious look on his face, Sonia could guess what he was thinking.


    She also had such a thought before and even messaged Grace to ask her. Then, Grace told her that it


    was not like what she had imagined and that they were just beef bones from an actual cow.


    Also, it was because the cows from Grace''s hometown were raised on grass and feed, so they were


    better than the cows in the city that were raised on only feed. Also, the broth made from those cows


    was more fragrant and had better effects. That was why Grace went all the way there to retrieve those


    bones instead of buying them in the city.


    After finding out the truth, Sonia felt at ease. Otherwise, she would be worried that she had fallen into


    someone''s trap.


    "Don''t worry. They''re just normal pork short ribs. Mrs. Lane didn''t want us to buy them because we


    couldn''t buy good ones in the city. They''re difficult to obtain not only in the city but also in farms abroad.


    Almost everyone in Mrs. Lane''s hometown grows medicinal herbs and it has thergest medicinal herb


    nting base in the country, so all of the animals there are raised on these herbs. Drinking soup made


    from these bones is the best for you." Sonia''s exnation was a mix of the truth and lies.


    The fake part was that they were pork bones and not beef bones.


    She had no choice because Toby had just drunk the soup made from that part of the cow this morning,


    so he might not want to hear anything about cows for now.


    If he knew that she would be making bone broth from beef bones for him, he would not drink it no


    matter what.


    Therefore, it was better if she did not mention that specific animal.


    As she expected, after hearing that they were pork short ribs, he did not refuse anymore and was even


    feeling grateful. "Please thank Mrs. Lane for me. I''ll prepare a gift for herter."


    "Don''t worry. I''ve already thanked her. As for the gift," she cautioned, "don''t make anything too


    valuable, or she won''t ept it."


    Nodding in acknowledgment, he replied, "Got it."


    "Come to think of it, Mrs. Lane treats you so well. When Charles brought them over yesterday and told


    me about this, he looked so jealous," Sonia joked with him.


    Toby raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Really? That''s something good to hear."


    Anyway, he felt happy knowing that Charles was not happy.


    Of course, Sonia knew what he was thinking, so she shook her head in defeat. "Oh, you¡­ Alright. It''s


    getting dark soon, so hurry up and teach me. I need to settle these before going home."


    Toby nodded. "Come closer."


    "Okay," she agreed as she brought her chair closer to him.


    Following that, the two sat together with their heads together and immersed themselves in studying and


    working.


    Toby was a man with a cold personality; whoever saw him would think that he was an impatient person.


    Besides, he did not look like someone who would tutor others because the person he was tutoring


    would be trembling in fear the whole time, let alone learn anything from the session.


    Sure, even if the tutee could learn something, they would have to wonder if they were learning the right


    things or learning fast enough because if Toby was not satisfied with them, he would expel them.


    All in all, anyone facing a teacher like Toby should be feeling very stressed, right?

 Chapter 1299

    Chapter 1299


    That point was certain.


    Those assumptions, however, were based on the fact that those tutees were not Sonia.


    For Toby, Sonia was always an exception.


    When facing her, he was always a gentle person. Even when his current identity was her teacher, he


    still taught her gently and patiently.


    At first, Sonia was worried that he would think she was stupid if she could not understand what he was


    teaching before gradually losing his patience. After all, the man before her was not a patient person


    and she was very clear about that. Therefore, she had been feeling uneasy and was listening


    apprehensively throughout the session because she was afraid that he would think of her as


    unteachable and ended up giving up the whole tutoring session altogether.


    She could deal with the awkwardness, but it would be difficult for her to further her studies as she


    would have to find another tutor.


    However, she was proven wrong in the end. That was just my overthinking.


    In reality, Toby was very patient with her. Whenever she failed to understand something, he would not


    get impatient with her. Instead, he would exin it to her repeatedly, break up the topic into subtopics,


    and exin everything to her until she understood. What shocked her was that he did not even show


    any signs of anger.


    Gradually, Sonia realized that he would never think that she was stupid or be impatient with her, so the


    apprehension she felt slowly dissipated.


    Perhaps, she felt more rxed because those emotions had dissipated, and she even found it easier to


    learn those facts. She also found that after his exnation, she could understand some parts of those


    points she did not understand in the beginning.


    After that, Toby picked up the pace and Sonia learned many new things she did not know before.


    In conclusion, Toby was a good teacher and she could understand what he taught.


    She was grateful to him.


    Today''s session also made Sonia feel more at ease about the private tutoring sessions that would be


    happening in the next half of the year.


    When she decided to further her studies and thought of taking the entrance exam half a yearter, she


    epted Toby''s suggestion to find a private tutor.


    Although she epted his suggestion, she still felt uneasy about the tutoring session that was going to


    happen. She was not worried about Toby''s capability. On the contrary, she had never doubted his


    professional capabilities in this field. After all, all his doctorates were not just for show. Once she fully


    became his tutee, he would definitely seed as a tutor.


    Yet, the one she was worried about was herself.


    She had never learned anything about managing apany; whatever knowledge she had now was


    knowledge she learned herself after managing Paradigm Co. for a few months. In other words, she was


    not even a qualified newbie but merely a person who knew bits and pieces about this industry and


    could handle a few easy documents.


    As for those more difficult documents, like what Toby was currently teaching her, she would not be able


    to handle them on her own. She would have to consume a lot of time and ask many questions to be


    able to deal with them.


    To put it frankly, she could not deal with them on her own, and that could be a very fatal w for any


    chairman of apany.


    She got so far because she was lucky that no one had tried to deceive her. Although she had not done


    anything wrong with those documents, if she had, Asher would have grabbed the chance and done


    everything he could to suppress her.


    If that had happened, her employees would not have stood by her side and spoken up for her because


    those documents involved arge amount of capital, and these capitals were their sries. Therefore,


    they would not be able to ept a chairman who could not deal withpany affairs.


    It was the same for Sonia as well because she would also wonder if thepany would copse,


    thanks to such an unreliable leader.


    She believed that many of the employees had that doubt in their minds. Even she felt that thepany


    could still stand to this day because the heavens pitied her. Otherwise, with a leader like her managing


    thispany, it would have been long gone.


    So, she had to learn, further her studies, and be stronger and better. This was not only being


    responsible for herself but also for Paradigm Co. and the hundreds of thousands of employees.


    Otherwise, if Paradigm Co. copsed, what would happen to those employees who had to provide for


    their families and survive?


    That was why she did not refuse Toby''s suggestion but was very grateful and excited instead.


    After all, with someone like him as her tutor, she might even wake up smiling because this was


    something others could only dream of.


    Moreover, his assistance would greatly increase her chances of being able to attend business school.


    She would not be exaggerating if she said that she had already been given the chance to be a student


    at that point.


    Of course, in the midst of her happiness, there were hints of uneasiness.


    She was afraid that if she did not know anything, then it would be difficult for her to pick up her learning


    pace, which would make teaching her a difficult task for Toby. Subsequently, he might think she was


    stupid for not understanding anything he taught her and eventually give up on her.


    However, after the short session they had earlier, she found that she had been overthinking everything.


    She was not that stupid nor was he like what she had imagined. He did not think she was dumb or


    became impatient to keep teaching her.


    On the contrary, he taught her very seriously, carefully, and patiently.


    Regardless of the repeated exnations in the beginning, he would not get frustrated with her. Instead,


    he would consider if his method of teaching was wrong, then change to one that would work. After


    doing so, she was able to understand what he was teaching and a sh of realization would appear in


    his eyes.


    It was as if he was certain that there was a problem with his teaching method. Ultimately, she was not


    afraid of letting him teach her in the future.


    As she thought of that, she lightly exhaled and a smile appeared on her face.


    Meanwhile, Toby was busy organizing the documents they had been dealing with earlier when he


    noticed her sudden smile. He raised an eyebrow and gently tapped her head while asking, "What are


    you thinking about? You''re smiling so happily."


    Although she did not feel any pain from the tap, she subconsciously covered the ce he tapped


    before turning to him with a smile. "Nothing. I just think that you''re such a good teacher. I was worried I


    might be too dumb and you''d be frustrated."


    "Why would I?" He organized the documents into a stack by the side. "Why do you think I''ll get


    frustrated because you''re inexperienced?"


    "It was just a thought. I couldn''t understand anything in the beginning and you had to repeat it many


    times before I got the gist of it. Even I think of myself as a dumb person, let alone other people. So, not


    getting frustrated while teaching me already takes a lot of patience. After all, that was the situation


    students who were bad at studying faced back in school, and I was worried I might face the same


    situation, but unexpectedly, you didn''t treat me like that. So, of course, I''m smiling happily."


    As she spoke, she looked up at him with eyes that were filled with gratitude.


    Yes, gratitude.


    She was grateful that he did not treat her like her teachers had treated the weaker students at her


    school.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Otherwise, she would have felt embarrassed and it would have made her feel like she was useless.


    "Don''t worry. Even if I treat others that way, I will never treat you like that. Moreover, I think that there is


    no such thing as a dumb student. If students don''t understand something, it''s not because they are


    stupid but because the method of teaching isn''t suitable for them. So, if someone is really stupid, it


    must be the teacher and not the student. The teacher can''t even find a method of teaching that suits


    the students, so what else could the teacher be besides being stupid? That''s why I kept finding the


    problem in myself and not in you when you can''t understand what I was teaching. Therefore, you can


    rest assured that what you fear will never happen." He touched her head while looking at her with his


    most reassuring gaze.

 Chapter 1300

    Chapter 1300


    When faced with Toby''s gaze, Sonia felt reassured, so she smiled at him and nodded heavily. "I believe


    you, but your words made me think that if you don''t stay as the president of Fuller Group and be a


    teacher instead, you''d be the most likable teacher in school. Don''t you know that students adore


    teachers like you, who don''t find fault in them but in themselves?"


    While rubbing her head, he answered, "But I don''t like being other people''s teacher. I only enjoy being


    your teacher and teaching you. As for the others, they are not worthy of my time!"


    That made herugh and she instinctively pped his chest. "Double-standards."


    "Don''t you like me for that?" He raised an eyebrow and fixed his gaze on her.


    Blushing from his gaze, Sonia snorted. "I don''t want to be bothered with you now. Alright, it''s getting


    late. Since all these documents are settled, let''s go back. I''m starving."


    She touched her belly.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Of course, the man knew that she was deliberately changing the topic and did not want to answer his


    question.


    Thus, he could only shake his head in defeat.


    She''s so easily embarrassed still.


    "Sure. Let''s head home first. I have something else to tell you. Then, he got up and moved his neck.


    In the meantime, Sonia was also easing her aching shoulders and legs when she heard that. She


    immediately turned to look at him. "What do you want to tell me?"


    "I had Tom prepare all the information needed for our uing tutoring sessions. They''re all inside my


    car. From today onward, I will officially be your homeschool teacher."


    "So fast?" Shocked, she continued, "Didn''t you say you needed to get that information from other


    schools abroad since that''d be easier for targeted teachings and I''d be able to better cope with the


    entrance examination? I thought it might take days to gather that information. Who would have thought


    you did it in one day?"


    Nodding, Toby exined, "One of the assistant lecturers at that school is my former college ssmate.


    I had himpile those documents and courier them over, so of course, it would greatly shorten the


    time."


    "So, that''s why." As Sonia nodded in realization, she then looked at him with a serious expression.


    "Since those teaching materials have arrived, please take better care of me beginning tonight,


    Professor Fuller."


    Following that, she reached out her hand at him.


    "Professor Fuller¡­" he called out that title softly.


    His voice was low and sexy, which made those two words feel extra charming. It made others tingle


    and feel a sense of desire arise in them.


    Sonia''s cheeks were already feeling warm; they began to warm up and even turn pink at this point.


    While ring at Toby, sheined, "Toby Fuller, why do you have to recite that name in this


    manner? Now, you''re making it sound weird."


    A teasing smile appeared on his face. "I didn''t. It was you who said it, but I have to remind you that


    calling a man like that is indeed a little inappropriate in some aspects."


    As for what aspect it was, those who knew would definitely understand.


    This time, Sonia was indeed blushing while stomping her feet. "Why are you¡­ If I had known it would


    turn out like this, I wouldn''t have called you Professor Fuller."


    This b*stard doesn''t deserve that title!


    "Hey, stop." Toby tugged on Sonia''s arm. "Since I''ve promised you, I''ll definitely teach you how to cope


    with the exam. As for how you address me, I really like it. Not only can I teach you the knowledge you


    want to know, but I can also teach you new positions."


    A new position?


    Now, not only were Sonia''s cheeks blushing, but even the roots of her ears were bright red.


    What positions are he talking about?


    Of course, it was that thing again!


    This b*stard can really render someone speechless.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was as regretful as she could be. If she had known that calling Toby ''Professor


    Fuller'' could cause him to think of such lewd things, she would not have done so.


    This is such a pain in the *ss.


    Also, whoever asked the female protagonists in those movies to address their men as professors was


    also a pain in the *ss.


    If it had not been for those people, all of this would not have happened.


    Even if it was Sonia''s clear intention to use the title ''professor'' as a means of an actual teacher, she


    was now frustrated by the fact that the title had been polluted.


    "That''s enough, Toby. I''ll ignore you if you continue acting like that." Frustrated, she stepped on his feet


    and left a cute footprint on his leather shoes. At the same time, she also red at him to tell him not to


    say any inappropriate things.


    Otherwise, she would beat him up.


    Following that, she raised her fist and put on her fiercest expression.


    What she did not realize was that in Toby''s eyes, her current expression did not show any authority and


    there was only cuteness.


    This is probably what they describe as ''angry yet cuddly.''


    Nodding, he tried to conceal his smile while saying, "Alright. I won''t say it anymore, but starting today,


    you can call me Professor Fuller whenever we''re having our sessions. I like it."


    While he was giving her pointers to cope with her examinations, he was considered a glorified purveyor


    of knowledge.


    Of course, if she had called him Professor Fuller in bed, things would have escted differently.


    Besides all that, there was also an exciting feeling when he thought about the taboo rtionship


    between a teacher and a student.


    Toby''s eyes shone brightly while the smile on his face becamerger.


    Perhaps, I can try that with her tonight.


    He looked at her while thinking of that.


    When Sonia met his gaze, she felt her heart skip a beat and a bad feeling suddenly rushed at her.


    What''s wrong with his gaze?


    Why do I feel like he wants to eat me?


    While pulling her lips into a thin line, she narrowed her beautiful almond-shaped eyes and cast him a


    warning stare.


    That guy must not be thinking about anything good.


    Otherwise, why would he be looking at me like that?


    "Toby, that''s enough. Stop looking at me like that! What do you want?" she asked while having her


    hands on her hips.


    Toby gulped as he tried to suppress his urge for a while to prevent himself from uttering those lewd


    words. "It''s nothing. Let''s go. Didn''t you say you''re hungry?"


    He held his hand out to take hers.


    After staying silent for a few seconds, Sonia did not refuse and allowed Toby to hold her hand.


    No matter what, that b*stard''s gaze was impolite.


    However, she secretly felt a little excited.


    After all, it meant that he was attracted to her, which was why he was looking at her like that.


    Otherwise, why would he look at her that way?


    Hence, seeing that he was so attracted to her, she decided not to refuse him. What could she do if she


    made him sad?


    With their hands intertwined, the two left Paradigm Co. together as usual and ascended the car under


    the employees'' envious gazes.


    Once they entered the car, Toby leaned in to help Sonia with her seat belt.


    Meanwhile, she inclined obediently against the seat and let him help her fasten her seat belt.


    Since he liked doing it, she would let him do all he wanted.


    If she rejected him, he would definitely look at her with resentment in his eyes. Then, she would feel


    guilty and wonder if she had really done something wrong.


    Therefore, she just let him do whatever he wanted.


    After all, it felt good to have someone serve her while she enjoyed herself, so why should she reject it?


    After he fastened her seat belt, he sat back in the driver''s seat and wore his seat belt before driving


    away from Paradigm Co..


    On the way home, Sonia suddenly thought of something and asked the man who was focused on the


    road. "Oh, right. Toby, you went to Connor this afternoon, right? How was it?"


    "It''s all settled. He''ll return my mother''s belongings and I''ll agree to sign a Letter of Understanding.


    When I came to you, I''d already sent Tom to bring the letter over to him," Toby said while turning the


    steering wheel.

 Chapter 1301

    Chapter 1301


    When Sonia heard Toby say that the matter was being solved, she nodded while being at ease. "That''s


    good to hear," she said.


    At this moment, Toby squinted his eyes andmented, "We have been guessing it wrong all along."


    "Huh?" Sonia was confused when she heard his words. Hence, she asked, "Which guess was it?"


    "The relic," he replied as he pursed his lips. "In the beginning, we thought Connor was talking about


    photos or videos as relics. However, after I met him in the afternoon and heard what he had to say, it


    seemed that the relic wasn''t what we expected it to be. It''s actually something else."


    Hearing his words, she sat straight up in shock and eximed, "Something else? Can you be specific?"


    However, Toby shook his head and admitted, "I don''t know since Connor did not reveal it. However,


    one thing we know for sure is that it isn''t anything we''ve guessed."


    "It''s better that way." Sonia leaned back against her seat as she spoke. "If it isn''t those things, we won''t


    have to worry about the possibility of it being exposed."


    Listening to her words, he hummed in agreement and said, "Despite that, it still makes me upset


    because I feel like I was being tricked."


    Toby had a point, though. After all, he and Sonia had no choice but to ept Connor''s condition, which


    was to release Anya, as they thought it was some kind of photo or video. However, since they had


    discovered it wasn''t, it would be an unfair treaty for them if they released Anya. Thus, it was true to say


    that Connor had tricked them.


    As Sonia thought about it, she sighed and said, "It is indeed upsetting how Connor used our care to


    protect your mom''s reputation. After all, we would have seen through his lies rather than being lured


    into thinking such things by him if it weren''t for it."


    "That''s why I''m going to remember this and make him pay the priceter on," he said sinisterly as his


    face was grim.


    "You should," she responded while nodding her head.


    Just as they were talking, Toby''s phone rang in his pocket. Then, he nced at Sonia, who was sitting


    by the passenger seat and said, "Come and help me answer the phone. I''m preupied."


    However, Sonia didn''t agree to help him immediately and asked him while looking at him, "What if it is


    someone from thepany wanting to speak to you about business?"


    "Even so, that''s fine. After all, you are not an outsider. So, pick it up and put it on speaker," Toby


    replied.


    "Okay." Sonia hummed in response and reached out her hand into his pocket to grab his phone. When


    she saw the caller ID, she put the phone in front of him and quickly took it back after a nce. After all,


    Toby was driving. Hence, he would only be able to look at it for a short time.


    "It''s Tom," said Sonia.


    Listening to her words, Toby lifted his chin slightly and said, "Answer it. It must be about the relic."


    When Sonia heard his words, she didn''t dare to dy further and quickly answered the call. "Hello?"


    On the other end of the phone, Tom was startled momentarily when he heard her voice, but he quickly


    regained hisposure. "Miss Reed, is President Fuller with you?"


    Maybe President Fuller isn''t beside her. Otherwise, why would Miss Reed answer the phone? Tom


    thought. However, just as he had this assumption, Sonia shattered it.


    "Yes, he is driving," Sonia replied while looking at Toby. Then, she put the call on speaker.


    Listening to her words, Tom twitched his lips and said, "Okay."


    I looked too much into it and assumed that President Fuller is not around. How can I forget? They


    would be arm-to-arm with each other whenever they are together. How can President Fuller not be


    around Miss Reed''s side? Moreover, there isn''t a rule saying that she can only help President Fuller


    pick up the phone if she isn''t by his side. Hence, she can answer the call for him even if he is around.


    After all, what if it''s because President Fuller is toozy to answer the call? Hmm¡­ It looks like I have


    to think outside the box, or else I will be eating crow again. I shouldn''t just assume things, especially


    when ites to them, Tom thought while rubbing his chin.


    On the other end of the phone, Sonia didn''t know what he was thinking and ced the phone by the


    gear, saying, "President Fuller is just beside me, Tom. Since I have put you on speaker, you can say


    anything you want to him. He will hear you."


    Listening to her words, Tom snapped out of his trance and said gratefully, "Okay. Thank you, Miss


    Reed."


    "You are wee," Sonia replied with a smile.


    Although they both couldn''t see each other, a matter of etiquette was still a must.


    "President Fuller, I have sent the letter of understanding to Connor, and I have the relic now." On the


    other end of the phone, Tom was sitting in the car, looking at the old box that was ced in the


    passenger seat.


    The box was small and was the size of a man''s palm. It was glowing in pitch ck and had various


    carvings around the box. The carvings gave off a mysterious feeling and made people feel that the


    meaning behind them was something important.


    As a matter of fact, it was something extraordinary. Hundreds of years ago, the Johanns were also a


    noble family. At that moment, the country was still in a medieval state, and the ancestors of the


    Johanns were first-rank officials. Thus, the Johann Family had a glorious future. However, due to the


    fact that the Johanns had fewer people and the emergence of a new country, their family slowly began


    to perish.


    Nheless, they were still superior to ordinary people. Even if the Johann Family had dwindled and


    others had destroyed their rules and property, many treasures were still hidden. It was after the


    revolution that the hidden treasures were discovered again.


    One of them was this ck box and the object inside. The box was made out of dalbergia odorifera,


    which was an expensive wood, and was even more priceless when it had been in the world for


    hundreds of years. The box itself was already valuable, let alone the object inside.


    It''s quite a shock that Valerie would give such a valuable possession to Connor, Tom thought.


    When Toby heard that the relic had been retrieved, his furrowed eyebrows rxed in ease, and so did


    Sonia''s heart. God knew they were nervous when Tom said that he had sent over the letter because


    they feared that Connor would trick them again and they would not have the relic. Fortunately, Connor


    kept his promise this time.


    N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    As Toby saw the red lights, he stopped his car and finally had the chance to look at his phone. Then, he


    asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"


    Hearing his words, Sonia was also staring at the phone, waiting for Tom''s answer.


    At that moment, Tom decided to video call them. Seeing his intention, Sonia picked up the phone and


    ced it between her and Toby for convenience.


    Tom reached over the passenger seat, grabbed the box, and leveled it toward the phone''s camera.


    "This is it," he said.


    Looking at the box, Sonia blinked and said, "This box looks valuable. Is it an antique?"


    Toby nodded and exined, "It is made out of dalbergia odorifera. By the looks of the box, I would say


    it had been kept for over a hundred years. Thus, this isn''t an antique and more of a cultural relic. It is


    indeed somewhat valuable, but it only costs several hundred million."


    When she heard his words, she took a sharp breath and eximed, "Did you just say that hundreds of


    millions are somewhat valuable? Do you have any misunderstanding about the term somewhat


    valuable?"


    Listening to her words, he raised his head and looked at her with confusion. "Huh?" he said. It was


    clear that he didn''t understand her words.

 Chapter 1302

    Chapter 1302


    Sonia found it absurd as she facepalmed and said, "My bad. I just realized that you might think


    hundreds of millions is a small amount of money since you are filthy rich. That''s why you would say that


    this box is only somewhat valuable."


    To him, having a few dors is equivalent to having hundreds of millions. However, this is an enormous


    amount for me, she thought.


    Hearing her words, Toby averted his gaze and looked at the screen again. "Do you like this box?" he


    asked.


    "No." Sonia shook her head hastily. "Although this box is quite valuable to me, it also scares me."


    "It scares you?" Toby raised his eyebrow, unsure why she would be afraid of a box.


    Hence, Sonia exined to him. "This box has been in the world for quite some time, and by the looks


    of the carvings, it seems mysterious. Looking at it, I can''t help but recall specific scenes from horror


    movies. There are many antique objects like this in horror movies. It gives me an eerie feeling, so I


    don''t like it."


    When Toby heard her words, heughed because he didn''t expect this to be the reason she was afraid.


    Only now did he know that she was scared of this.


    "I was just thinking of giving it to you if you like it." He chuckled deeply. "It looks like I can''t do that now."


    Hearing his words, Sonia quickly declined and said, "Don''t give it to me. I think I''m going to have


    nightmares from having it. Why don''t you just keep it?"


    "I won''t give it to you if you dislike it," said Toby as he nodded.


    Only then did Sonia sigh a breath of relief. Then, she looked at the box curiously and asked, "That''s


    great. What''s in the box, though?"


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    When Tom heard her words, he ced his phone on a stand. Then, he held the box with one hand and


    opened it with another. At that moment, the thing inside the box was revealed and exposed under the


    camera. It was an emerald jade without any impurities. No wonder it was being kept in such an


    expensive box. After all, the jade was more expensive than the box.


    When Sonia saw the jade, she couldn''t help but exim as she covered her mouth, "It''s beautiful."


    The jade was carved into the shape of a plum, and the petals and buds of the plum were ethereal. If it


    weren''t an emerald green jade, it looked just like a real plum, which was mesmerizing enough.


    Although Sonia had no knowledge about jade, she also knew it would be pricey. Not only that, even


    someone as amateur as her could tell that an expert did the carving. When such top-level carving and


    rare jade werebined, the price of the jade would be exorbitant. If she guessed it correctly, the


    jade''s price would be a few thousand million.


    Unlike Sonia, who was astonished by the jade, Toby frowned when he looked at it. There was a hint of


    shock shed across his eyes. "I can''t believe this is the relic," he said.


    When Sonia heard his words, she looked at him curiously and asked, "Do you recognize this jade? No,


    that can''t be it. This jade was given to Connor by your mother when they were dating. How would you


    recognize it when you hadn''t even been born yet?"


    When Valerie was dating Connor, she was not married to Homer yet. Thus, Toby was not born. That


    meant that he shouldn''t have known about the existence of the jade. As a woman, Sonia didn''t feel that


    Valerie would tell Homer and Toby about something she had given to her first love.


    However, Toby slowly nodded as Sonia looked at him. "I know about this," he said.


    "You do?" Sonia was shocked by his words.


    When Tom heard their conversation, he was also shocked, but then he assumed that Valerie had told


    Toby about it.


    From the looks of it, one could tell that there was a difference between a man and a woman''s mindset.


    While Sonia thought Valerie wouldn''t tell Toby about this, Tom assumed she would. This was the


    difference between a man and a woman''s way of thinking.


    When Toby saw that the red lights had turned green, he started the car and drove as he spoke. "The


    Johann Family used to be big and ancient. In fact, its history is older than the Fullers."


    "Even older than Fuller Family?" Sonia was in disbelief.


    "Yes." Toby nodded.


    Hearing his words, Sonia eximed, "I thought that the Johann Family was just a family that stayed for


    about tens of years. I didn''t expect it to be so ancient."


    The Johann Family was also a family from Westsanshire, but it was a low-ranked family. Right now, the


    Johanns could only squeeze their way to the line of a top-ranked family, but they were due to fall out


    from it any time.


    After all, the heir of the Johann Family was a coteral branch from the Johann Family and not the


    same as Valerie''s family branch. Hence, the heir had nothing to do with Toby other than bloodline. The


    Johanns also knew that Toby would ignore them. Therefore, they didn''t ask for help even if the family


    would fall any time soon.


    Considering this matter, Sonia felt they knew their ce, but she had always thought that the Johann


    Family was the same as the Fuller Family, which started from Valerie''s grandfather. Never did she


    expect that the Johann Family''s history was longer than the Fullers.


    "The current Johann Family isn''t the same branch of the family as it used to be. That''s why many past


    events of the family have been buried deep down and were unknown. Thus, it''s normal if you don''t


    know about it," Toby exined softly.


    Hearing his words, Sonia nodded and said, "So, what''s going on with that jade?"


    After turning the steering wheel, Toby said, "The ancestors of the Johanns were first-rank officials, but


    they were corrupted and had taken money from the citizens. When the dynasty perished, the Johanns


    hoarded many treasures from the pce. At that time, the Johann Family was the strongest out there.


    However, everything has an end. After some time, the generations of the Johann Family became


    ordinary. They couldn''t earn back their money other than spending it, which was why their family had


    be a middle-rank family after about three generations. Even half of the possessions that their


    ancestors hoarded had been spent."


    When Sonia heard his words, she sighed and said, "I guess it''s true that a big familypany would


    not be able to stand being spent if the generations are not hard-working enough."


    Toby didn''tment on her opinion and continued, "During that decade, the Johanns became the most


    impacted family, and their properties were being snatched. However, some of them were smart enough


    to secretly hide a part of their possessions, which became the startup of the Johann Family. This jade


    is one of the possessions that had been hidden. Due to its cost, the heir of the Johann Family, which


    was also my grandfather, didn''t sell the jade and gave it to my mother. As the representative of the


    Johanns, my grandfather was an ambitious man. He tried to turn the family into what it used to be, so


    he kept the rule of having a token representing that family member. I know this because my grandfather


    told me about it."


    "I see." Sonia raised her chin in realization. I knew it. There''s no way he would''ve known about the


    jade''s origin from his mother, she thought.


    On the other end of the phone, realization struck Tom when he heard Toby''s words. It looks like I have


    guessed it wrong again, he thought.


    At this moment, Sonia suddenly remembered something and looked at Toby. "I remember that Toby


    Fuller wasn''t always your actual name, right?" she asked.

 Chapter 1303

    Chapter 1303


    Listening to her words, Toby nodded and said, "It was Zonny Hohann, which is also the short form of


    my name on Messenger. I''ve told you about that before."


    Sonia hummed in response and said, "I remember. You told me that you had followed your mother''s


    surname. You only changed your name after that."


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    "Before my father met my stepmom, he had always been in love with my mother. Moreover, since my


    mother is the only daughter that my grandfather had, my father intended to have two kids with her. One


    of their kids would be named after my mother''s surname and be the heir of the Johann Family to


    prevent the family from being in the hands of the coteral branch. Vice versa, the other will be named


    after my father''s surname and be the heir of the Fuller Family. That was why I was named John Johann


    when I was born. At that time, my father didn''t know that she did not intend to have another child with


    him," Toby exined.


    "I know what you mean. It''s the best your mother can do to give birth to a child for the Fuller Family


    when she always loved Connor." Sonia sighed.


    As a woman, she understood what Valerie was thinking. After all, she was at her limits when she bore


    the child of a man she didn''t love. So, how would she want another child?


    "That''s right." Toby nodded as he agreed with Sonia''s words. "To be honest, they made an agreement


    when they were married. When my mother had given birth to the Fuller Family''s heir, my father would


    let her have her freedom. However, he loved her unconditionally back then. Even if he couldn''t agree


    with it when he heard her words, it was hard for him to be mad at her simultaneously. Hence, he could


    only endure it and ept my mother''s agreement. Nevertheless, he had his motives too. After all, my


    mother only said to leave once she had given an heir to the Fullers, but she didn''t specify how many


    children. So, my father took this as an opportunity and told her that the first child would be named after


    the Johanns and not the Fullers."


    Hearing his words, Sonia rubbed her chin and said aloud of Homer''s intention, "Your father dragged the


    time. He did it on purpose to make her stay longer."


    Toby nodded and said, "You''re right. It was true that my father had such a n. As long as my mother''s


    first child wasn''t part of the Fullers, he would then have a reason to make her give birth to another one.


    That way, he could make her stay by his side and at the Fullers for a long time. Moreover, he would


    also have the time to bond their rtionship. It was a good n since he felt the rtionship was


    bonded by spending time together. Even if my mother was in love with Connor, they couldn''t see each


    other much as one was in Seafield while the other was in Westsanshire. Plus, the technology back then


    was not developed. So, my father thought she would love him and forget about Connor as time passed.


    In the end, perhaps she would love him."


    "Unfortunately, your father''s n didn''t make it. He didn''t think things through and underestimated the


    feelings that your mother had for Connor." As Sonia spoke, she looked at Toby dishearteningly.


    However, Toby was expressionless and said, "You''re right. My father didn''t overthink it. He just thought


    she would give up on Connor and love him if given enough time. However, my mother was not a fool


    either. Although she had seen through my father''s n, she didn''t expose him and waited until she was


    pregnant with me through IVF. After giving birth to me, she listened to my father and named me after


    the Johanns. At that moment, my father was delighted when he saw that my mother was not reluctant


    to do so. He thought that she was starting to have feelings for him and was willing to stay by his side.


    Little did he know what my mother was thinking."


    "I could guess it. Ever since the beginning, your mother did not intend to let you be the heir of the


    Johann Family and did not intend to have another child. So, she didn''t care who you were named after,


    right?" Sonia looked at Toby as she spoke.


    While listening to her words, Toby didn''t look at her and was focused on the road ahead. All he did was


    hum slightly and say, "Exactly. My mother''s thought was that she would only give birth to me regardless


    of which surname I was named after. In the end, I could still be the heir of the Fuller Family and the


    Johann Family, connecting both families. After all, she didn''t care about the Johanns'' future. To her,


    nothing was more important than her love for Connor." As Toby spoke, a hint of mockery shed across


    his face.


    When Sonia saw it, she sighed deeply in her head and thought, Valerie was hopelessly in love. She''s


    the most hopeless romantic woman I have ever seen in my life. Although Sonia knew that she was also


    kind of a hopelessly romantic person when she couldn''t forget about Toby for the past six years, she


    was not as hopeless as Valerie.


    After all, she became aware of her condition and made a stop to it, reducing her losses. However,


    Valerie was the opposite. She was madly in love with Connor and killed herself in the end. She was a


    pitiful woman but hateful at the same time.


    Valerie was a suitable partner and a loyal simp to Connor. However, she was never a good wife or


    mother to Homer and Toby. Even if she indeed loved Toby, she treated him as a recement for


    Connor in her ownfort, which meant that her maternal love was impure.


    "In the end, it''s good that your father is not in love with your mother anymore. Otherwise, if this went


    on, your father would''ve been another copy of her." Sonia flipped her hair and sighed softly.


    It was fortunate that Homer had realization struck upon him in the end, and he fell in love with Jean.


    Otherwise, he would also have killed himself if he had fallen for her deeply and seen that Valerie had


    left.


    At that moment, Toby gripped the steering wheel tightly and said deeply, "My father loved my mother


    deeply from the start. Ever since I was born, and she didn''t refuse to name me after her family, my


    father really thought that she had feelings for him. However, as my mother slowly recovered, she


    became cold toward my father and was unwilling to sleep with him, insisting that they sleep in separate


    rooms. It was then my father realized that she had never loved or epted him, even if they had a


    child. At that moment, something in my father snapped. Not only did he act cold toward her, his


    behavior also changed drastically. He became a man of few words and was gloomy, which was


    different from what he used to be¡ªa talkative and positive man. At the same time, he started to smoke


    and drink. He never did such things before, and he always made himself pass out."


    When Sonia heard his words, she opened her mouth slightly and said, "It¡­ It must have been a


    heartbroken sight for Grandma to watch, right? To see her son in such a state¡­"


    "Yes, Grandma was indeed devastated. After all, her son, whom she had poured her heart out and


    cared for many years, had changed drastically. As a mother, she was the one who took it the worst.


    Although I was young then, I could still remember seeing my father getting drunk while Grandma wept


    in tears," Toby said as he frowned.


    Looking at him, Sonia asked, "What about your mother?"


    When Toby heard her words, he pursed his lips into a thin line. "My mother? She did nothing. My father


    was just a man that she didn''t love. So, she wouldn''t have cared for him no matter what he became. As


    long as it did not stop her from leaving and affect her life, she did not care."


    "All of a sudden, I feel like she is too cold-blooded." Sonia sighed.

 Chapter 1304

    Chapter 1304


    No matter what, Homer would always be Valerie''s husband. Even if she didn''t love him, the least she


    could do was care for him. Moreover, Homer was in this state because of her. Hence, she had half of


    the responsibility for this. However, Valerie didn''t do anything, which was cold-blooded.


    "She is indeed a cold-blooded woman. Sometimes, I wonder if I got it from her when I act cold toward


    others." As Toby spoke, he curled his lips in mockery.


    Listening to his words, Sonia put her hand on his arm and gently squeezed it, saying, "Don''t have that


    kind of thought. You and your mother are not the same. Even if both of you are mother and son, you


    are an individual. So, don''t be affected by her."


    As Toby heard her words, he took the opportunity and turned to look at her softly. "Okay, I''ll listen to


    you."


    When Sonia heard his words, she hummed and retrieved her hand. Otherwise, she would have


    prevented him from driving.


    On the other end of the phone, Tom was silent throughout, listening to their whole conversation. When


    he heard Toby''s unheard past, he sighed deeply.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    President Fuller has such a tragic childhood. Old Mrs. Fuller had put a lot of effort into him to prevent


    him from being inadequate when he had been between his parents, watching them torment each other,


    Tom thought.


    "In the end, how did your father fall in love with Jean?" Sonia asked.


    She wished to know this, especially when Jean was a vulgar woman. She wondered how Homer, a


    nobleman, fell in love with her. Moreover, she couldn''t pinpoint why Homer was willing to ept the


    family''s punishment in order to marry her. It wasn''t that she wanted to disgrace Jean, who was also a


    woman like her. It was just that Jean was a person that both men and women hated. That was why


    everyone was shocked when Homer fell in love with her, and they all wanted to know why.


    "I don''t know why my father fell in love with my stepmom. At that moment, I was living with Grandma at


    the old manor and rarely went back to the Fuller Residence," said Toby.


    Hearing his words, Sonia nodded in understanding and said, "I''m sure Grandma found out that your


    mother was making you into the smaller version of Connor. Thus, she needed to get you out of the


    house. Other than that, it would affect your mental and physical health to live with your parents when


    they were in such a state."


    Listening to her words, Toby smiled and said, "You guessed it right. This was why Grandma took me


    back to the old manor and raised me herself. At the same time, she was intentionally preventing me


    from contacting my parents. At that time, my father had met Jean and became a couple. They didn''t


    hide it from my mother, which you probably know why. After all, she wanted him to find someone new


    so she could be free. When I found out about this, my father was punished by marrying Jean."


    "So that was what happened." Sonia looked in front with sorrow. "Didn''t you say anything when you


    knew that your father had given you a stepmom?"


    "Why would I?" Toby chuckled deeply. "It wasn''t my business as to who he wanted to marry. As his son,


    it was not my ce to ask him or intervene."


    "Even so, you were just around the age of ten. Weren''t you scared that Jean would abuse you? After


    all, you were the reason that was stopping her son from bing the heir of the Fuller Family," said


    Sonia.


    When Toby heard her words, his smile deepened as he said, "I won''t deny the fact that there are many


    people like Jean in this society, but I''m not concerned about it. First and foremost, Grandma was in


    charge of the Fuller Family back then, and my father was just an entitled president. When my father


    was an alcoholic, Grandma was worried about him handling the family. She continued being in charge,


    which my father didn''t have any objection to. That''s why I was not worried if Jean was a terrible


    stepmom and would abuse me when I had grandma behind my back supporting me. Secondly,


    although I was young, I was not to be messed with. If Jean ever tried to hurt me, I had my ways, and


    even my father couldn''t have stopped me. Fortunately, Jean wasn''t that kind of person. Although she


    was a fool and rude, she wasn''t a bad person. When my mother died, she gave me maternal love.


    Although she did it because she felt guilty that my mother had died, she still gave me love."


    Listening to his words, Sonia huffed and said, "I know that she wasn''t a bad person. That''s why I didn''t


    do anything terrible to her and just taught her a few lessons. With my personality, I would have taken


    vengeance on her for all those things she did to me. Even if you stopped me, I still wouldn''t have let her


    off the hook."


    When Toby heard her words, he raised his eyebrow and smiled. "Sorry, my bad."


    "It''s good that you know you are wrong." Sonia huffed again.


    Seeing her reaction, Toby couldn''t help but smile even wider. "I always know and keep that in mind.


    Don''t worry, I will be extra good to you as an apology for her doings."


    Although Sonia red at him when she heard his words, her heart still felt warm and happy.


    "Alright, we have gone too far. Let''s discuss this jade," said Sonia as she pointed at the screen.


    Hearing her words, Tom raised the box higher, ensuring that Sonia could point at the jade in the box


    more urately.


    "I remember you saying that your grandfather made this jade specifically to prove if someone was a


    Johann. It is a token to prove your identity. Since you used to be a Johann, everyone will think that you


    will be the next heir of the Johann Family. In that case, this jade should be in your hands, right?"


    "Yes." Toby nodded. "This is also why grandfather told me about the jade. Back then, he didn''t know


    that my mother had given the jade to Connor as a love token and thought it was still in her possession.


    When I was six, my grandfather visited my mother and me at Seafield. When he saw that my mother


    had not given me the jade, he urged her to give it to me, but she said that she had lost it, which almost


    made grandfather faint from anger. To calm him down, I asked about the jade, and my grandfather told


    me about it. That was why I recognized the jade as soon as I saw it. It was also then that I knew that


    my mother had lied. She didn''t lose the jade but had given it to Connor instead." There was a hint of


    hatred as Toby looked at the jade.


    When Sonia saw the emotion in his eyes and heard his words, she didn''t know what to say other than a


    sigh. She was fed up with Valerie''s hopelessly romantic state when Valerie had given Connor such an


    essential thing as a love token. It was fortunate that Connor was rich and hadn''t sold the jade.


    After all, they wouldn''t have been able to find the jade if Connor was a poor man. If that happened, the


    jade would long be in a collector''s possession, and they would never be able to find it again.


    "Don''t overthink it. Why don''t we try to look on the bright side? At least the jade is now back in your


    hands." Sonia looked at Toby andforted him. "Don''t hate the jade when you realize it has been by


    Connor''s side for a long time. After all, this jade was given to you by your grandfather and not your


    mother. Think about your grandfather, and you won''t hate the jade."


    On the other side of the phone, Tom also nodded hastily, agreeing with Sonia''s words.


    As Toby looked at the jade and back to Sonia, who was staring at him and encouraging him, he nodded


    slightly and said, "I won''t have any grudges toward this jade, but I won''t be keeping it either."


    When Sonia heard his words, she wasn''t even surprised. Even if Toby had nothing against it, he would


    still feel nauseous thinking about it. Thus, she didn''t feel anything wrong with his words.


    "What are you going to do with it, though?" Sonia pointed at the jade and asked.


    Hearing her words, Tom was also curious. He looked at Toby and asked, "Yeah, President Fuller. What


    are you going to do about this?"

 Chapter 1305

    Chapter 1305


    After pondering for a few seconds, Toby made his final decision and said, "I''ll give it to Emily."


    "Emily?" Sonia was stunned when she heard his words. Then, a woman''s face shed across her


    mind, and she pped her thigh in realization. "Is Emily the woman who danced with you at the


    banquet a few months ago? The one who is tall and looks like a foreigner," she asked.


    "Yes." Toby nodded. "Her grandfather is my grandfather''s brother. Hence, their family is on good terms


    with my grandfather. When I was young, Emily took great care of me, so we both have a pretty good


    rtionship. However, she stayed abroad as her mother was a foreigner. When my grandfather died,


    their family left and stayed with her mother. They only return when there are matters that they need to


    attend here."


    Listening to his words, Sonia understood what he meant. "I see¡­ It''s also best if Emily has the jade


    since she is also from the Johann Family. With that, the jade will be in the righteous hand of the


    Johanns again."


    "That''s exactly how I n it to be." Toby nodded and looked at the phone that she was holding. "Tom,


    find time to talk to Emily about this and send the jade to her. I believe that Old Mr. Johann would be


    happy if he knew about this."


    Old Mr. Johann was the younger brother of Toby''s grandfather. He had stayed abroad for a long time


    and never came back. Thus, he and Toby weren''t exactly close, and they only knew about each other''s


    existence. N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    "Yes, President Fuller." Tom nodded and obliged. Then, he closed the box and put it on the passenger


    seat.


    At the same time, Toby raised one of his hands and rubbed his temples. "Is there anything else?" he


    asked faintly.


    Initially, Tom was going to end the conversation, but he couldn''t help butugh when he remembered


    something. "There''s another thing I must say. We were just saying that Mr. Lore had gone to the


    hospital to check his mouth early in the morning. I heard that his lips are severely swollen. At the very


    least, he wouldn''t be able to open his mouth widely and eat for a few days. He can only stay in the


    hospital and take nutrient solutions."


    "Is that so? Good job." As Toby spoke, he smiled while a hint of satisfaction shed across his eyes.


    When Sonia heard their conversation, she suddenly realized something and squinted her eyes as she


    looked at Toby. "Judging by the meaning of your conversation, don''t tell me that you guys have done


    something to Mr. Lore?"


    "Yes." Toby did not intend to hide it and admitted it straightforwardly, indicating that they had indeed


    done something to Grayson.


    Seeing his reaction, Sonia inhaled sharply and said, "You guys actually did it. I heard Tom say that Mr.


    Lore''s lips were swollen. Did you guys hire someone to p him?"


    "Bingo, Miss Reed. You are such a smart person for guessing it correctly right away." On the other end


    of the phone, Tom gave Sonia a thumbs up and praised her without hesitation.


    Hearing his words, Sonia twitched her lips and said, "Did you really do it?"


    However, Toby didn''t reply to her and raised his chin as he spoke. "He was being rude to you. It is only


    fair for him to be taught a lesson for having such a foul mouth. After this, he would learn to speak on


    the proper asion." As he spoke, his expression was gloomy.


    "That''s right, Miss Reed." Tom nodded hastily and said, "You also know how awful his words were


    when you kicked him out of Paradigm Co., so how could President Fuller possibly hold back when he


    saw the video your employee posted online? When he saw the clip, he immediately asked me to tell


    them to teach him a lesson. I felt that he wouldn''t regret his decision if I simply punished him. Since he


    has a foul mouth, I asked someone to p him, which it''s the origin of his misdoings. Other than feeling


    pain, he will understand why he was being beaten. With that, I believe that he will feel humiliated."


    When Sonia heard Tom''s exnation, she looked at Toby and felt fuzzy inside. "So you guys taught


    him a lesson because he caused me trouble at Paradigm Co. yesterday. Thank you, Toby," said Sonia


    as she smiled, feeling touched.


    Again, Toby reached out and ruffled her hair. Although he didn''t utter a word, his movements had once


    again told Sonia that he would not let her be wronged. Those who deceived her would be hearing from


    him.


    When Toby retrieved his hand, Sonia rubbed her cheeks to calm herself down. After regaining her


    composure, she looked at Tom and asked, "Tom, do you have any pictures of Mr. Lore? I want to see


    how swollen his lips are."


    Hearing her words, Tom shook his head and said, "I''m sorry, Miss Reed. I don''t have any pictures of


    him now, but if you want to, I can ask someone to take it from the hospital''s surveince camera and


    send it to you."


    "That''ll do. Thank you." Sonia smiled and thanked him.


    "You''re wee, Miss Reed. It''s not a big deal." Then, he looked at Toby, who was driving the car.


    "President Fuller, there isn''t anything left to say. However, I will go to the police station to prove that the


    letter of understanding had your approval," he said.


    After listening to his words, Toby hummed in response and said, "Go ahead."


    With that, the video call ended. When Sonia put the phone down, she said, "Did you ask your men to


    hide their identities when they beat him up? If not, won''t the Lore Family know that it was you who did


    it?"


    "I didn''t do it in secret. I assume they already know it was me who had done it," Toby replied while


    driving.


    Hearing his words, Sonia sighed and said, "If that''s the case, your rtionship with them can''t be


    fixed."


    "I wasn''t nning on easing our rtionship. Secondly, I am telling them that I insisted on not fixing our


    rtionship with this method," Toby said softly.


    Toby was faithful to his words. Before Grayson caused trouble for Sonia, he wanted to ignore the


    Lores. Now that he had hurt Grayson, he indicated that he didn''t want to ease up the tension in their


    rtionship.


    "Even still, I don''t think they will be willing to ept the truth. Even if you had beaten them, they would


    hate me more than you. After all, I am the reason Grayson got beaten up. Thus, they will still treat you


    fairly, wanting to fix the rtionship. Otherwise, why didn''t they call and interrogate you when you had


    hurt someone from their family? They aren''t the ones to be quiet about it." As Sonia spoke, she looked


    at Toby with a smile.


    At that moment, Toby curled his lips in mockery and said, "Let them do whatever they want. Everything


    they do will be useless if I stand by my words. Also, ignore their thoughts about you. I won''t let them


    hurt you."


    Hearing his words, Sonia smiled and said, "I trust you."


    Soon, they arrived at Bayside Residence. After parking his car, Toby unfastened his seatbelt and left


    the car, walking to Sonia''s side of the vehicle. Then, he opened the door and reached out his hand to


    her. When Sonia saw it, she smiled and ced her hand in his. As Toby grabbed her hand, he


    caressed her hand gently before helping her out of the car. His actions were so gentlemanly.


    After Sonia got out of the car, Toby didn''t release her hand immediately. Instead, he lowered his head


    and gently kissed the back of her hand. At that moment, those parking their cars nearby saw his


    actions. Immediately, it caused cheers and excitement among them.


    Seeing that the neighbors were teasing them, Sonia felt awkward and embarrassed. Then, she quickly


    eyed Toby, urging him to let go of her. However, Toby didn''t feel the need to be embarrassed. Why


    would he be embarrassed, though? He didn''t even squirm when they were seen kissing, let alone that


    he only kissed her hand. So, he was still holding her hand tightly as he gave her a faint smile.


    At that moment, one of the residents closest to them came out of his car. Then, he smiled and greeted


    Toby, saying, "When I heard that President Fuller was staying here, I was still skeptical about it.


    However, I know that it is true now since you are here. It''s a pleasure meeting you, President Fuller."

 Chapter 1306

    Chapter 1306


    Although the owner seemed to be talking to Toby in a casual manner, he was actually nervous deep


    down.


    To ordinary people, Bayside Residence was a ce where wealthy people lived. The social status of


    those who lived here was worth millions and billions. However, the truth was that they were not filthy


    rich. In the eyes of the filthy rich, they were also just ordinary people. That was why they dreamt of


    associating with the rich. When that time came, they would take the opportunity and elevate their status


    to be even richer.


    However, with their social status now, none of the riches would acknowledge them. The riches would


    look down upon them and refuse to associate with them, making them at a loss for how to interact with


    them.


    Since they couldn''t evene in contact with the lowest-ranked of the wealthy families, there was no


    way they could meet someone like Toby, who was from a high-ranked family.


    Thus, when the proprietor saw Toby, he didn''t want to miss out on the opportunity to meet thetter.


    After gathering up some courage, the owner got out of the car and took the initiative to talk to Toby.


    Although he looked calm on the outside, he was panicking on the inside. Moreover, he started to regret


    his decision to speak with Toby.


    What if President Fuller ignores me? That would be so embarrassing in front of everyone. Well, it''s fine


    if I''m embarrassed, but what if President Fuller gets upset because I interrupted him? If that''s the case,


    mypany will be¡­


    As the man thought about it, he couldn''t help but gulp nervously, and the smile on his face stiffened.


    Cold sweat even started forming on his forehead.


    I''m being too impulsive, he thought bitterly, especially when he noticed how Toby ignored him after he


    had finished his words. When he saw that Toby did not even look at him, he was even more nervous.


    At that point, he felt that everyone was waiting for him to make a fool out of himself.


    At that moment, the man was so embarrassed that he wished the ground beneath him would swallow


    him up since he couldn''t move.


    Luckily, Sonia noticed his awkward situation and patted Toby''s hand softly, saying, "Someone wants to


    talk to you, Toby."


    When the man heard Sonia''s words, his eyes lit up, and he looked at her gratefully. He even bowed to


    her since not only was Sonia helping him to get Toby''s attention by reminding Toby, but she was also


    getting him out of this awkward situation.


    However, Toby continued ignoring the man while looking at Sonia. Holding her hands, he said softly,


    "There''s no need to mind them since they are unimportant. Come on, let''s go home." As he spoke, he


    stroked Sonia''s hair gently.


    Hearing his words, Sonia smiled apologetically to the man and was about to leave with Toby. However,


    the man looked at them in a daze, seemingly thinking of something. After two seconds, he snapped out


    of his trance and smiled. At that moment, the nervousness on his face was reced with confidence.


    Then, he gripped his knuckles and looked at the duo as he spoke with confidence. "It seems that you


    and Miss Reed are deeply in love with each other. Here I was, wondering why you would stay in such a


    ce. Now the answer is clear¡ªyou are here for Miss Reed. It''s nothing to be surprised by since she


    is a beautiful woman with good personality traits. No wonder you love her so much. Miss Reed is worth


    loving, and I hope the two of you will forever be happy."


    As the man spoke, Toby stopped in his tracks. Sonia also stopped walking and tilted her head, looking


    at Toby. However, she couldn''t see his expression or what he thought since he had lowered his head.


    At the same time, the man was also staring at Toby, and his heart was racing.


    President Fuller will surely acknowledge me now, right? Will he give me a chance to associate with


    him? I will surely be sessful if I am on good terms with him. God help me that I was right about my


    assumption, the man thought nervously.


    At the next moment, the man saw Toby turn around. Although Toby did not walk toward him, his gaze


    was already on him. "What''s your name?" he asked.


    When the man heard his words, he widened his eyes in disbelief and was stunned.


    Seeing his reaction, Toby frowned in dissatisfaction and repeated his words. "I''m talking to you. What is


    your name?"


    "Hurry up and say it." Sonia wrapped her arms around Toby''s and looked at the man. "There won''t be a


    second chance if you miss this one."


    When the man heard her words, he quickly regained his senses and was thrilled. His face was red from


    excitement, and he quickly said, "M-My name is Francis McCray. Excuse me, President Fuller, I''m just


    so excited. Here, this is my name card." As Francis spoke, he quickly searched his pocket for a name


    card. Due to his excitement, he tried multiple times before sessfully grabbing the name card and


    handing it to Toby with both hands.


    Then, Toby took it with one hand and looked at it. When he saw thepany''s introduction, a glint


    shed across his eyes. Then, he looked at the man and asked, "You are working in thework


    industry, eh?"


    Hearing his question, Francis didn''t dare to dy and nodded hastily. "Yes. I established my own


    company when I was in college. After that, I have been researching a type ofwork system, but


    neither the investmentpanies nor capitalists believed that a smallpany like ours could develop


    it sessfully as the system is beyond the currentwork system by years. That is why I didn''t have


    any money to do the research and onlypleted one-third of it rather than developing the whole


    system after so many years," he said while giving Toby a bitter smile.


    When Toby heard his words, he squinted his eyes and stared at Francis, saying, "You''re telling me that


    the system yourpany is researching has exceeded the currentwork by years? Is that true? Can


    you give me a specific answer?"


    Listening to his words, Francis knew that Toby was testing him, and this was his only chance. After


    taking a deep breath, he replied with a serious expression, "Yes. I can assure you that if this works, the


    system would outrun the entirework system. I can guarantee this with my honor."


    "If that''s the case, are you sure that you will be able to develop it?"


    "Yes. If I''m given enough money to support my research, I will definitely make it work. After all, I already


    have the concept in my mind, and many of my professors said that it would work," said Francis as he


    nodded his head.


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Listening to his words, Toby hummed in response and said, "Good, I''ll give you a chance then. Bring


    your concept and research progress to Fuller Group tomorrow morning. If what you said is true, I will


    support you financially without any limitations."


    Hearing his words, Francis was overjoyed. "Thank you, President Fuller." He quickly bowed multiple


    times to him, suppressing his excitement. Then, he said with a grin, "Don''t worry, President Fuller. I


    won''t let you down."


    "I hope so," said Toby as he nodded. Then, his expression softened when he looked at Sonia. "Let''s


    go."


    "Okay." Sonia smiled and nodded before heading toward the elevator with him.


    Behind them, Francis watched them leave until they entered the elevator. At that moment, he still


    bowed toward them until the elevator door was shut. Only then did he straighten his back and grip his


    fists excitedly. "Yes!" he eximed.


    It was true that chance favored the prepared mind. As long as one could brave themselves and take


    risks, there was a fifty percent chance of failure and sess. If one did not take the risk, the chances


    of them seeding would be zero, and one would definitely fail. If that was the case, why not try and


    take the risk?

 Chapter 1307

    Chapter 1307


    The fact proved that it was right for Francis to pluck up his courage to fight for it; he really seeded.


    He had sessfully gotten to know Toby and became associated with him.


    As long as Toby recognized his research results, he would definitely have a bright future ahead of him.


    The more he thought about it, the more excited he was, and his heart pounded even faster.


    At first, he was a little worried and afraid that he wouldn''t get to know Toby and might even be disliked


    by him.


    After all, Toby was with Sonia at that time. If he suddenly spoke, he would disturb the two of them.


    In fact, that was the case as well. Toby didn''t like him at that time, and he had no intention of jumping


    into a conversation with him either.


    Sonia was the one who helped him out and spoke for him. Only then did Toby let it go and was ready to


    leave with Sonia.


    At that, Francis saw that Toby was extra gentle toward Sonia, and his eyes while looking at her were


    extremely affectionate.


    From there, he realized that perhaps talking to Toby would not work. Sonia was the true path he should


    be taking.


    Maybe if he praised Sonia andplimented them about their rtionship, it would make Toby happy,


    and he might be willing to talk to him.


    At that thought, he went straight into action. After heplimented Sonia, he actually seeded; Toby


    was willing to give him a chance.


    This was the reason why, at some point, courage was not the only thing a person needed. One would


    also need to be discerning.


    As long as the person was able to act quickly ording to the circumstances, there would be no need


    for him to be afraid that he wouldn''t seed.


    At this moment, Francis was extremely grateful to his parents for teaching him to be discerning since


    he was young. Otherwise, he might not have achieved what he wanted.


    This also made him understand how much Toby loved Sonia. He loved her so much that he would be


    happy to provide an opportunity for people to move their way up after they gave her some


    compliments.


    Miss Reed is really my lucky star. He smiled happily.


    When the other business owners saw him like this, they felt envious and jealous.


    Countless people wanted to associate themselves with Toby, and they were one of them too. However,


    they didn''t dare do so. They knew that even if they went up to Toby, he would ignore them as well.


    In fact, when Francis went up to Toby blindly at first, Toby couldn''t care less about him as well.


    At that time, they were stillughing at Francis for overestimating himself. He''s actually trying to


    associate with a big shot like President Fuller, eh?


    As such, they were extremely joyful when they saw Toby not talking to Francis.


    This was how a person''s mind worked. They knew very well that they wouldn''t be able to associate with


    a big shot, but they would still be jealous and resent those people who were willing to pluck up their


    courage to try to associate even when they knew the result very well.


    All this while, they thought that their starting lines were all the same, but all of a sudden, they realized


    that that was not true. At least a small portion of people among them had the courage that the others


    didn''t have.


    They were fine with people having a worse life than them, or people who lived the same good life as


    them, but they couldn''t ept a person among them who suddenly surpassed the rest and had a


    better life than them.


    This was definitely describing Francis. He had sessfully associated with Toby, which meant that his


    status between them was going to be distant in the future. He was going to work his way up to a higher


    level, but they would still be staying in the same position.


    This person was no doubt a traitor among them.


    At first, they didn''t know that Francis would sessfully associate with Toby. They were thinking about


    having a goodugh at this man for overestimating himself after Toby left. Yet, who would have


    expected this result?


    Francis sessfully connected with Toby, and they couldn''tugh at him anymore. What if he searched


    for them for trouble if he was able to climb up to a ce where they could only look up to see him in the


    future?


    So, not only could they notugh, but they still needed to bite the bullet and congratte him. This was


    no doubt tough for them, but they had no other choice but to do so.


    In the end, Francis heard congrattory messages one after another in the next few minutes.


    Some of the congrattory messages sounded jealous, while others were genuinely happy for him.


    However, there were more unwilling and insincere, jealous congrattory messages.


    When receiving these messages full of jealousy, Francis just smiled without being bothered by them.


    Go ahead and be jealous as much as you want. Those who do not make others envious of them are


    merely mediocre. They being jealous of me means that I''m better than them!


    On the other hand, in the elevator, Sonia suddenly chuckled as she linked arms with Toby.


    Hearing that, he turned around to look at her before saying gently, "Why are youughing?"


    "I''mughing at you," she replied to him with a smile as he raised her head to look at him.


    Toby raised his brows. "Laughing at me? Is there anything on my face?"


    "No, that''s not it." She shook her head. "I''mughing at your attitude just now. I can tell that you didn''tExclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    want to be bothered by that person at first, but after heplimented me, you changed your mind right


    away and gave him a chance to talk to you. Fickling so quickly is not like you. That''s why I find it funny."


    As he fondled her soft hand, he chuckled. "I didn''t want to act like that too, but that man is really


    discerning. He could tell that going straight at me wouldn''t work, so he changed his mind right away


    and went for you instead. You also know that you''re the most important person to me. Of course, I''ll be


    happy if someone praises you and wishes us well in our rtionship. Once I feel good, I''d be willing to


    give this person a chance. After all, he''s saying things I love to hear."


    At this moment, Sonia red at him coquettishly and felt hrious inside. "People praising me a little


    makes you so happy that you ignore your principles. Aren''t you afraid that people will say that you''re a


    fatuous president who doesn''t know what he''s doing because he''s charmed by a coquette?"


    "Do you think I will be afraid?" Toby looked at her affectionately.


    From his gaze, she could see his affection. So, she shook her head with a flushed face. "You''re not that


    kind of person who''d be afraid of anything."


    "That''s right, so we don''t need to care about what others think. As for the man just now, the reason why


    I''m willing to give him a chance is not only because he knew what to say. There are other reasons too."


    His expression turned much more serious at this moment.


    "Really? What''s the reason?" She blinked a few times.


    "His startup is a webpany, just like the Lore Family''s. Theirwork system is just the same as any


    otherwork system on the market, and there''s nothing special about it. The reason they can still be


    at the top of the industry is that my family is supporting them from behind," Toby exined.


    When Sonia heard that, she suddenly understood something. "Are you thinking about supporting Mr.


    McCray to rece the Lore Family?"


    At this moment, he raised his chin obscurely. "The Lore Family''swork system is mediocre, anyway.


    If that''s the case, when there''s a betterwork system, why not choose to support the better one?


    After all, I''m a businessman, not a phnthropist. Throughout the years of supporting the Lore Family,


    Fuller Group didn''t earn anything, but we''ve given them a lot. Before I parted ways with them, I didn''t


    care about the money I invested. Now, since I''ve broken off with them, I won''t let my money flow


    outside without any benefits. Instead, why not support another webpany to rece them? At least


    I can earn a little something."


    "That''s true." Sonia smiled.


    If the Lore Family knew about this, they would be crying right now.


    "Also, I''m actually quite interested in thework system the person has invented. If I invest in him now


    and take some of the shares, I can earn much more if he seeds in the future. I''m a businessman,


    and profits alwayse first. Since I''ve met someone who can earn money for me and is interested in


    finding an investor, plus the fact that I''m interested in letting him earn for me, I wouldn''t let him go." A


    smile tugged on his lips as a scheming gaze shed in his eyes.

 Chapter 1308

    Chapter 1308


    Sonia smiled. "You''re really a benefit-first businessman. I''m really bad at it whenpared to you."


    As Toby stroked her hair, heforted her. "You''ve just taken the first step. When you stay in the


    industry longer and be a veteran in business, you''ll be like this too, but it''s not a bad thing. Don''t


    think that it''s bad. After all, we''re businessmen, so we should do what a businessman would do. Also,


    even if I was scheming that man just now, wasn''t he doing the same thing to me too? He even used


    you to do so."


    "I know, but you look as though you like what he plotted against you just now." She lifted her head and


    looked at him with a nonchnt smile.


    At the same time, a smile tugged on his lips. "That''s true. I like what he did. After all, he was praising


    you, so I''m happy to throw myself into plots like that."


    "Hmph! How loquacious." The sweet smile on her face couldn''t be hidden.


    Before long, the elevator reached their floor, and both of them left the elevator to return to the


    condominium.


    After Sonia changed her shoes, she hung her handbag on the side and looked at the man who was still


    bending down and changing his shoes. "You should shower first. I''ll make broth for you," she said.


    When Toby heard the word ''broth'', his heart missed a beat, but after he made his mind clear that this


    broth was not the same broth as that, he took a deep breath to suppress the disgusted feeling before


    nodding gently. "Okay, I''ll go shower first then. I''ll fill the tub for youter."


    "Okay," she answered him before grabbing the apron and heading into the kitchen.


    Meanwhile, Toby stood at the same ce and watched her go in. Only after that did he turn around and


    head in the opposite direction.


    In the kitchen, Sonia opened the refrigerator and took out the beef short ribs that she asked her


    assistant to send over yesterday. After taking out some dried mushrooms, she washed her hands and


    started to work on the broth.


    Grace was very considerate, for all the ribs that she sent over were all cut into pieces. It might be


    because she considered the fact that Sonia didn''t have any tools to cut the ribs here. This made it


    easier for Sonia to make the broth.


    After she washed the ribs, she put them in a pot and covered them up before heating the pot on


    medium heat. Then, she soaked the dry mushrooms in hot water and pped her hands as she had


    completed the first stage of making the broth.


    When the mushrooms were about done soaking, she put them in the pot and boiled them with the ribs.


    After three hours, the broth would be done.


    Sonia had only put the bone in the water for a while, but she could already smell a faint aroma. When


    the broth is der, I''m sure it''s going to be super nice.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    She went nearer to the pot and inhaled deeply before putting on a satisfied smile. After that, she took


    out the apron around her waist and was ready to leave the kitchen to wait for the broth to boil.


    However, just as she turned around, she bumped into a hard wall of skin.


    The wall was wet, hot, and even had a fresh minty scent, making it smell good.


    After Sonia lifted her head, her eyes met Toby''s handsome face and his dark eyes. All of a sudden, she


    said irritably, "Why did you walk without making any sound and suddenly appear behind me? You


    scared me! "


    It turned out that the wall of skin just now was Toby''s chest.


    When Toby heard her usation, he pressed his lips together innocently. "I made noise when I walked.


    You''re the one who was too focused and didn''t hear it. I didn''t dare call your name either. I was scared


    that you''d be shocked and get burned, after all." His tone was a little sulky.


    After Sonia saw that, she swallowed the words that she thought of to scold him and was embarrassed


    to say anything as well.


    After all, seeing him act like this made her relent at once. All the tough words that she thought of


    couldn''te out of her throat all of a sudden.


    This b*stard¡­ I''m really in the palm of his hand. He knows my weaknesses, so he purposely gives me


    that look, making me lose. Sigh¡­ Sonia felt resigned, but at the same time, she found it hrious as


    well.


    At this moment, Toby suddenly put his hand on her forehead. "Did it hurt from just now?"


    She shook her head. "No. Although your chest is a little firm, it is still human skin. How painful can it


    be? Did I hurt you, though?" She lifted her head and looked at him with her eyes full of concern.


    Toby shook his head with a smile. "No."


    "Good, but¡­" Sonia narrowed her eyes as she looked at his exposed chest, and the corners of her


    mouth were twitching. "Toby, can''t you wear your nightgown properly? I purposely bought this for you.


    It''s a normal nightgown that won''t expose your chest. Why did you tie the belt so loosely, exposing your


    chest? What are you trying to do? Even though the heater is on and it isn''t particrly cold, it is still


    winter. Aren''t you afraid that you''ll catch a cold?"


    Hearing that, he lowered his head to look at his chest, and a devilish gaze shed in his eyes. With an


    evil smile, he replied, "I won''t catch a cold. As to why I''m wearing it like this, can''t you tell?"


    "Tell what?" She raised her head and looked into his eyes. Just then, she caught sight of the passion


    and amorousness in his eyes.


    At this moment, her heart started pounding faster. What is this b*stard trying to do? Why is he looking


    at me like that?


    Sonia took a step back subconsciously and had the urge to run away.


    At the same time, when Toby noticed her actions, he reached out his hand and wrapped his arm


    around her waist right away, embracing her. With a low and husky voice, he said, "I''m wearing it like


    this to show you. It''s a service to you."


    I knew it! After she heard what he said, these three words popped into her mind. She knew that this


    was what his gaze meant.


    Sigh, this b*stard gets horny anytime and anywhere, trying to seduce me and wanting me to sleep with


    him. Is that all on his mind when he has some private time? She stared at him and suspected it.


    She used both her arms to prop on his shoulders as she leaned her upper body backward, attempting


    to distance herself from him.


    She had no choice because he had his arm wrapped around her waist and she wasn''t strong enough


    to push him away. As such, she could only use this way to distance herself from him.


    "No one wants your service. Be serious, Toby." Sonia turned her head to the side, trying not to look at


    him.


    Meanwhile, Toby chuckled softly when he saw her face flushing; even her ears were red.


    His chuckle sounded deep and erotic, just like the sound of a vi. It was a feast to the ears, making


    her feel like her body had been struck by lightning.


    "How am I not serious? I''m always serious." Toby looked her in the eyes. "I''m very serious."


    Hearing that, Sonia rolled her eyes. "What? You''re serious? Do you call this serious? Deliberately


    wearing your robe like this to¡­ to¡­"


    "To?" he asked as an evil gaze shed in his eyes.


    How could she say that he was seducing her? If she said that, he would definitely ask her if she had


    been seduced. How am I going to answer by then?


    If she answered no, would he be crazier and think of other ways to seduce her?


    What if she answered yes? Would he take this advantage to take things to the next level?


    There''s no correct answer at all. At this thought, she closed her eyes in frustration. "Nothing. Let go of


    me, Toby. I want to go take a shower already."


    Just now, when she was making the broth, her shirt was stained with some oil. She needed to change


    her shirt and shower as soon as possible; otherwise, she would find it unbearable. Somehow, she felt


    very ufortable when her shirt was dirty.


    However, he wouldn''t be Toby Fuller if he was so obedient; he was still hugging Sonia tightly around


    her waist. He lowered his head and touched her forehead with his before asking in his deep voice, "You


    still haven''t answered me yet. To what?"


    She pushed him away. "Why do you want to know so badly? Also, I''ve already forgotten what I wanted


    to say just now, so don''t ask me anymore. You won''t get the answer you want."


    No matter what, she was not going to tell him.


    Yet, Toby saw through her and sighed with sadness. How I wish she can be a little more straightforward


    and just tell me what''s on her mind.


    He smiled resignedly and said, "Okay, I won''t ask you anymore. I''ll let go if you want me to, but you


    need to answer me first. Do you not like what I''m doing?"

 Chapter 1309

    Chapter 1309


    "I don''t like it," Sonia replied to Toby without any hesitation, but that was not what was on her mind. I


    don''t like it? How can I not like it?!


    Men liked women''s beauty, but in fact, women liked men''s bodies too. Men favored women''s breasts


    and waists, while women favored men''s chests and abs.


    Sonia was just an ordinary woman, after all. Of course, she was not an exception to this principle¡ªshe


    liked the chests and abs of men too.


    It was especially so for Toby''s. They were so perfect, so she liked them even more.


    Everytime when they were having intimate moments, her hands would touch his chest and abs


    habitually. In fact, it felt smooth to touch.


    However, even though she liked it, she couldn''t admit it in front of him. Otherwise, he would be overly


    proud.


    When Toby heard Sonia answering his question so quickly, the smile on his face froze for a second.


    She doesn''t like it? How is that possible?! She always likes to touch my chest and abs. I can tell that


    she''s very satisfied with them.


    For that, everytime after he showered, he would widen his nightgown a little to seduce her on purpose.


    Yet, she was telling him that she didn''t like it now.


    This can''t be it. She''s definitely lying! He pressed his lips together and stared at her. He asked her once


    more in his deep voice, "Do you really not like it?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded hastily.


    Hearing that, Toby pressed his lips together even tighter.


    Pfft. Is she still not admitting to it? Don''t think that I can''t see the guilt in your eyes. Never mind, I have


    many other ways to make you like it. Not now, butter after dinner, in the room, on the bed. I''ll make


    you say that you love it with your mouth.


    At this thought, his eyes sparkled, and he let go of Sonia. "Okay, I''ll let you go if you don''t like it. It


    seems like I haven''t trained my body well enough. Wait until I train my figure better." I''ll have a good


    training session tonight.


    As he was thinking about that, he looked down and hid the gaze in his eyes, not wanting her to find out.


    In fact, she didn''t see anything strange about him, but after she heard what he said, she was


    completely stunned.


    What''s going on? Does he know what he is talking about? He really said to let me go if I don''t like it?!


    H-How is that possible?! This b*stard really said such a thing?


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Her gaze at Toby was filled with disbelief, and her expression showed her shock as well since he was


    not a person who would give up easily.


    Previously, he would show off his charms in front of her like a peacock and ask her if she liked it. If her


    answer was not what he wanted, he would never give up. He would try everything he could to make her


    change her answer until he heard one that he was happy with.


    In fact, Sonia thought that this time would be the same as well, so she had already prepared herself


    mentally. She wanted to see how he was going to force her to change her answer, but he didn''t follow


    the script!


    He really let it go just like that?! Is this really him?


    Sonia stared at Toby and was lost in her thoughts for quite some time. Her gaze at him was as if she


    were looking at a stranger.


    Seeing that, Toby flicked her forehead gently. "Why are you daydreaming? Aren''t you going to shower?


    Go ahead. I''ve already filled the tub for you."


    "Y-You''re not going to force me?" she asked nkly after parting her red lips.


    Hearing that, he raised his brows. "Force you to do what?"


    Subconsciously, she told him everything on her mind just now.


    After he heard that, he went closer to her. "Hmm? So you''re saying that you were looking forward to me


    doing so? I can satisfy you if you want." After saying that, he lowered his head, wanting to kiss her.


    At this moment, Sonia widened her eyes and pushed him away before running to the entrance of the


    kitchen with a flushed face.


    When she ran out of the kitchen, only then did her actionse to a halt. Then, she turned around to


    look at him. "No one''s looking forward to anything. Don''t talk gibberish. I''m not looking forward to it. I


    just felt that this isn''t anything like you. I thought you''re not someone who would give up so easily.


    That''s why I felt strange."


    At this moment, his eyes sparkled. It was out of his expectation that she would be this cautious.


    When Sonia saw that Toby wasn''t talking, she narrowed her gorgeous eyes. "Toby, are you having


    some wicked ideas?"


    "No." With a serious face, he quickly shook his head.


    "Really?" She side-nced at him, showing that she didn''t really believe him.


    However, he nodded with a serious face. "Really. You''re overthinking things. Go shower already. The


    water is turning cold."


    He waved his hand, hastening her to quickly leave and stop asking. Otherwise, if he exposed himself


    later, he would be the one suffering the loss tonight. So, it was best for him to quickly brush her off.


    After looking at him suspiciously, she still didn''t find anything strange with his expression, so she


    couldn''t help but question herself. Am I really overthinking things?


    She pouted and pushed her doubt back to the back of her mind before saying, "Okay, then. I''ll go take


    a shower, but you need to pay attention to the broth. Don''t let it overflow."


    "Okay, don''t worry. Just go." Toby nodded.


    He knew how to cook. In fact, he could cook many dishes better than her, so she could pass him these


    jobs without any worry.


    That was why when she heard him ask her to go without any worry, she didn''t say anything more. She


    turned around and returned to the bedroom to take a shower.


    After she left, Toby opened the lid of the pot.


    As soon as she took the lid off, he was weed with a strong aroma and a faint fishy smell.


    He took a step back and waited until the water vapor dissipated. Only then did he go closer to the pot


    again and took a soupdle to stir the broth in the pot. Then, he scooped up the ribs to take a closer


    look.


    After he looked closely, he chuckled resignedly.


    "Silly girl. She really thought she could deceive me, huh?" he said softly.


    If he hadn''t learned to look before this, he might be deceived by her and believe that this was pork


    short ribs. After all, he didn''t know the difference between a pork bone and a beef bone.


    However, he had already learned to cook many dishes, and there were many of them that used beef or


    beef bones as ingredients, so naturally, from first nce, he could tell that the bone in the pot was


    definitely not a pork bone, but a beef bone instead.


    Also, he smelt a fishy smell just now. The fishy smell of pork ribs would not be as strong as that of beef


    ones.


    Even if he didn''t look, he''d be able to tellter when she served the soup to him even if she


    purposefully removed the bones from the broth. He could tell it from the smell and taste of it.


    Wasn''t she being rather silly?


    Toby put the soupdle back and covered the pot before washing his hands and leaving the kitchen.


    He could roughly guess the reason why Sonia wanted to hide the fact that this was beef short ribs. It


    must be because of that bowl of broth he drank in the morning in the Fuller Residence.


    That broth traumatized him, and it was made from a cow''s part. So, she was worried that if he knew


    that this broth was made from a part of a cow, he would recall the fear of being dominated by the broth


    in the morning. That was why she purposely lied to him and said that this was pork bone.


    This silly girl really thinks that I''m that weak.


    Although the morning broth had traumatized him, he would not be afraid of other parts of cows. Thus,


    Sonia''s worry was quite unnecessary.


    However, it was her kindness to consider so much for him. Naturally, he wouldn''t disappoint her. Since


    she said that this is pork short ribs, I''ll take it as it is. As long as she has peace of mind.


    Toby chuckled and sat on a couch before taking out his phone.


    As soon as he took out his phone, the screen lit up with a message from Tom.

 Chapter 1310

    Chapter 1310


    Toby crossed his legs elegantly as he put one of his arms sluggishly on the backrest of the couch. With


    his other hand holding the phone, he tapped open Tom''s message unhurriedly.


    The content was simple with just one sentence. ''President Fuller, this is the photo that Miss Reed


    wants to see. I''ve sent it to you. Please forward it to her.''


    It had a ''thank you'' sticker at the end, and above the sticker and text were two photos.


    As he studied the photos, he saw that they were photos of Grayson seeking medical treatment from a


    doctor in a hospital.


    In the photos, Grayson''s mouth was seriously swollen as though they were two sausages. On top of


    that, he had a furious expression, which made him look extremely hrious.


    Seeing that, Toby knitted his brows together and closed the photo in slight disgust. After that, he tapped


    on the forward button and sent it to Sonia.


    At this moment, Sonia''s phone was on the tea table in the living room, which was just in front of Toby.


    After he sent them over, her phone vibrated right away, and the screen lit up as well.


    When he saw that, only then did he turn off his phone and throw it onto the tea table. Then, he picked


    up the remote control to turn on the television and watched the news of the day.


    At the same time, at the Lore Residence, Grayson was sitting on a couch as well. He had a well-folded


    towel in his hand and was using it to ice his mouth. He kept groaning in pain as he was doing that.


    Amelia, who was sitting beside him, felt so bad for her husband when she saw him like this. Her eyes


    were red, and teardrops were rolling down her cheeks. "How are you feeling, honey? Does it hurt a


    lot?"


    When Grayson heard that, he red at her irritably. "What do you think? Will I groan like this if it''s not


    painful?"


    Since his mouth was very swollen and he was in a lot of pain, he couldn''t part his mouth as he wished.


    So, he was slurring his words, which sounded quite hrious.


    After Amelia was scolded by Grayson, not only did she not feel sulky, she felt worse for him as more


    tears streamed down her face. "How can Toby be like this? How can he hit you like this? After all,


    you''re older than him. He''s really outrageous, treating you so mercilessly."


    Grayson nodded his head in agreement as his eyes were filled with resentment. "I know, right? I didn''t


    know that he''d hit me so hard. He dared to treat me like this just for a woman? This is such a


    humiliation to me!"


    Since he was born, other than being beaten by his father when he was young, no one else had dared


    toy a hand on him. Even when the Lore Family''s statusst time was nothing like it was now, no one


    dared to hit him either.


    Yet, Toby actually asked people toy their hands on him and even pped him silly. It was already far


    from just physical punishment, but more like humiliation. If this got out, how was he going to continue to


    stay in the circle in the future? How was he going to meet anyone?


    At this moment, Amelia took over Grayson''s towel, which was pressed against his mouth. When she


    saw that the ice in the towel had already melted, she added some ice cubes into it while crying and


    folded it back confidently before gently putting it back on his lips.


    Probably because the ice was newly added, the towel was much colder than it was earlier. As soon as


    it touched his mouth, he was shocked by the cold at once, and his body trembled a little.


    This tremble made his swollen mouth rub against the towel. It hurt him so much that he jumped up and


    threw the towel at Amelia furiously. With an exasperated face, he bellowed, "What are you doing?!


    Can''t you be a little more careful? Do you think that I''m still not hurt enough, huh?"


    Although her back was in pain from his actions, she didn''t dare resent him and wasn''t willing to do so


    either. She quickly picked up the towel and stood up before apologizing to him with her face covered in


    guilt. "I''m sorry, honey. I didn''t do it on purpose. Are you okay? Let me see¡­"


    She reached out her hand to check him out, but he swatted her hand away in annoyance.


    p. The back of her hand was red from Grayson''s p.


    Amelia''s annoyance started to grow deeper. She lowered her head and kept quiet as her resentment


    for Sonia grew inside her.


    From her perspective, if it wasn''t for Sonia, her husband wouldn''t treat her this way.


    If Sonia didn''t appear within Toby''s sight and didn''t use those dirty tricks to threaten him to get back


    with her, he would''ve already been Lte''s. Their Lore Family and the Fuller Family would have the


    best rtionship as inws. It would be nothing like now¡ªLte couldn''t be in love and was


    depressed every day while the Lore Family was at the edge of bankruptcy because of Sonia, which


    made her husband vent his frustration and dissatisfaction out on her.


    This is all Sonia''s fault. Amelia squeezed the towel in her hand as she thought about that with her face


    twisted with resentment.


    Just then, two different sounds of footsteps resonated from the stairs in the house, along with a gravelly


    voiceining, "What are you two shouting about?"


    As soon as Grayson and Amelia heard Harry''s voice, their expressions turned serious, and they turned


    around in synchronization.


    At this moment, Lte was holding Harry on his arm with a lovable expression as he came down the


    stairs with a darkened face.


    "Dad." Grayson and Amelia quickly greeted Harry.


    After Harry and Lte came down the stairs, they walked slowly to the opposite side of the married


    couple and sat across from them.


    The couple turned their bodies along with the two''s movements. In the end, they sat down after seeing


    Harry and Lte do so.


    "Dad, why have youe down?" Grayson asked with a wry smile on his swollen lips.


    On the other hand, Amelia poured a cup of tea quietly at the side. "Have some tea, Dad."


    After Harry took over the teacup that she handed him and took a sip, only then did he scoff and say,


    "You two were so loud downstairs that I could hear you from upstairs. How can I note down to see


    what is going on? Now, tell me. What were you two talking about?"


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    "Yeah, you guys were so loud down here that Grandpa and I couldn''t discuss things at ease. We


    thought that something happened to you two, so we rushed down to find out what happened." Lte


    pouted her mouth and looked at her parents across from her with a worried expression.


    However, if they took a closer look, they would be able to see that other than her words and


    expression, which were showing her worry to them, her eyes were actually showing none. What was in


    her eyes was actually dissatisfaction. Especially after seeing Grayson''s lips and Amelia''s rubber-


    stamped expression, she secretly despised them deep down.


    Although her parents pampered her and loved her so much that they could even give her the moon,


    she still looked down on them secretly.


    The father that she wanted was a strong and fearless figure, and the mother she wished for was an


    elegant and gentle one. They were nothing like this couple in front of her; an idiotic father who would


    only embarrass her and a timid mother whom she was embarrassed to talk about. Having them as her


    parents was the biggest failure of her life.


    Of course, even when that was what Lte thought, she wouldn''t show it on her face. After all, she


    still needed her parents'' unconditional love for her, and she needed them to fight on the front lines for


    her so she could hide in the back and n. She wouldn''t need to do anything with her own hands.


    If she showed her dislike toward them, they would feel bothered even when they still treated her well. If


    that happened, when she wanted them to do something for her, they would consider many things first


    and not agree with her right away.


    Grayson and Amelia knew nothing about what was in Lte''s mind and thought that she was


    genuinely worried about them. They were so touched, and it warmed their hearts.


    "Nothing happened. You''re just being paranoid, baby. Nothing happened to me and your mom. We just


    argued a little. Don''t worry about it," Grayson said as he looked at Lte and smiled stupidly.


    Amelia quickly nodded as well and replied gently, "Yeah, Lte. Your dad''s right. We''re fine."


    "That''s good to hear. Grandpa and I can finally let our guard down." Lte patted her chest and


    breathed out from her mouth, looking as though she was finally rxed.

 Chapter 1311

    Chapter 1311


    Seeing how caring their daughter was to them, Grayson and Amelia were truly moved.


    She really is our angel, they thought.


    "Enough." Harry was getting tired of how dazed his son and daughter-inw were acting. "Say it. What


    was the argument about earlier?"


    Since his father was questioning him, Grayson dared not remain silent. "It''s all because of this woman.


    She couldn''t even dress my wounds properly. It hurt me so much that I got angry and scolded her."


    Amelia, who did not have the courage to look at Harry, could only apologize profusely, "It''s my fault. I


    made a mistake. I''ll pay more attention in the future."


    Her mother''s self-abased behavior made Lte think lower of her as she snorted and turned her head


    to the other side, seemingly not wanting to speak up for her.


    Harry caught Lte''s expression and said, "Stop this. It''s nothing major. Arguing in such a loud


    manner¡­ I thought something had happened. In the future, don''t fight over such a minor issue."


    "Understood," the husband and wife replied.


    Then, Harry looked at his son''s thick lips. "But, your lips really are quite serious. Seems like Toby was


    ruthless. He didn''t bother to save the slightest respect for me."


    There was a heightened sense of fear toward Toby on top of the dissatisfaction at this point in Harry''s


    heart.


    Although Toby had ignored Harry''s family for the past few days, which caused Harry to feel awkward,


    that action didn''t create any fear in him.


    After all, Toby had said that he was severing all ties with the Lores, but did not really act on his words.


    More importantly, he did not even nullify their contracts.


    This was why he thought that Toby''s so-called ''cutting all ties'' was just something he said out of anger.


    Perhaps, he merely wanted to warn us for using his family''s name all these years. Otherwise, why


    would Toby not cancel all our coborations and announce he would have nothing to do with us to the


    public?


    This was why Harry stayed calm throughout the whole process while still trying to find ways to mend


    their rtionship.


    Yet, Toby''s actions against his son now made his thoughts waver. Perhaps, this really is wishful


    thinking. Toby really wants to cut all ties with us and this was not just a simple warning.


    Due to this, he really started to panic and felt a sense of impending doom.


    "That''s right, Grandpa. Toby really went overboard this time. Look at Dad''s lips. It''ll take a long time for


    it to fully heal. How could he do this?" Lte held Harry''s arm with a sad expression.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Her expression was not fake as she felt wronged inside. Sadly, this was not directed at her father''s


    injury, but toward herself instead because she felt wrong.


    Although she really looked down upon her father, no matter what, Grayson was still her father.


    Seeing how Toby hurt her father, she knew that he was telling the Lores he did not want to see


    Grayson, let alone that daughter of his.


    Does Toby really detest me?


    She knew that if Toby had the slightest of feelings for her, he would not have assaulted Grayson. This


    was because hitting her father was akin to striking her dignity!


    At that moment, Lte felt wronged and sad. She felt dejected that her true feelings only amounted to


    so little in his eyes.


    Harry, who felt his granddaughter''s feelings, patted her headfortingly. "Alright now, Lte, don''t


    be sad. It''ll get better. In the future, Toby will listen to our family."


    "Really, Grandpa?" Lte looked at Harry, teary-eyed.


    He peered through his eyes and nodded assuredly. "Yes. Don''t worry. I know Toby very well. Once you


    get together with him and he falls in love with you, he''ll do anything for our family. He''s a very


    sentimental and protective man."


    Harry''s words made Lte clench her fists. "I believe you, Grandpa. Rest assured, I will get Toby''s


    heart. Not only for myself, but also for our family. I will make him mine. If I seed, I will make him fall


    in love with me, even if it means resorting to hypnosis."


    The reason she said this was because there was a rumor that Toby was only together with Tina


    because she hypnotized him.


    Although she did not know whether this was verified or not, it did give her an idea.


    What if I can use this?


    Lte let out a crazy gaze, prompting Harry¡ªsomeone who had experienced the world¡ªto be


    shocked at his granddaughter''s expression, all while feeling a bad premonition inside.


    His instincts told him that Lte''s gaze was something bad, for it might bring them even bigger


    trouble.


    Yet, his sensibility lost against the riches that they mighte across.


    Against the future development of our family, what harm is there in taking a more extreme route?


    With that in mind, Harry thoroughly erased that thought. What reced it was gratification and approval


    at Lte''s idea. "Not bad. As expected of my granddaughter."


    Hearing his approval, she felt more determined that her actions were correct and her smile widened.


    Opposite them, Grayson, who did not understand what his daughter and father were getting at, gave up


    on asking.


    His brain was full of the humiliation and beating he had received. He said with swollen lips, "Dad, the


    reason that I''m treated like this by Toby must be because of that woman, Sonia, who added fuel to the


    fire. As I was being beaten, I heard the person hitting me that my mouth was unclean, for I insulted that


    woman, which made Toby take action. This is why I''m sure that woman knew I insulted her and


    instructed Toby to do this. Otherwise, Toby wouldn''t treat me like this."


    Beside him, Amelia added, "That''s right, Dad. No matter what, you''re still Toby''s mentor and Grayson is


    his senior. Even if Toby was angry at us because of Lte''s actions toward Sonia, I don''t think he''ll


    cut ties, considering your rtionship. He also wouldn''t be so cruel as to strike his own senior. I think


    Sonia must have egged him on. Or, she must have something on him that forced his hand."


    "If it''s true, then this woman is truly evil." Lte bit her lower lip and said, "Grandpa, we need to


    quickly save Toby from the clutches of this evil woman. We cannot just let her get her way like this."


    She looked at Harry.


    At that moment, Harry had his eyes shut as his hands pped his own knees from time to time,


    seemingly thinking about something.


    It was after a while that he finally piped up, "Don''t worry. We won''t let her off just like that. As for Toby,


    we''ll naturally help him retrieve whatever dirt she has on him."


    "That''s great." Lte was happy to hear this.


    Yet, Grayson pointed at his own mouth. "Dad, before we do that, we need to take revenge for the


    humiliation and pain I felt and return it to that woman!"


    Although he hated Toby, who hit him, he hated Sonia even more.


    After all, he remembered clearly what Toby meant to their family, so he ced all his hatred on Sonia.


    I did insult her, but it was only a few words. It was not as if it hurt. She actually let Toby act so heavy-


    handedly. I will never let her off the hook.

 Chapter 1312

    Chapter 1312


    Even when things had gotten to this point, Grayson still felt that he had done nothing wrong.


    Stubbornly, he thought that the beating he got was not because of his actions. Rather, it was because


    Sonia was being petty. It was just a few words. To think she would get so angry. She really is petty.


    How could such a woman be deserving of Toby?


    Including Harry, the other Lores also thought the same, especially Lte.


    She did dislike this father of hers, but no matter what, he was still her father. Sonia, who instigated the


    beating, made her lose face and dignity.


    As such, she decided that she would punish her thoroughly.


    Lte then tightened the hold on Harry with spite growing in her eyes.


    This shocked Harry again, but he did not say anything about it nor reprimand her.


    In his eyes, it was good that his granddaughter was acting like this. After all, if one doesn''t act a bit


    more cruelly, how could they achieve greatness?


    Just like me. If I didn''t do something about it, how would Toby be my student?


    My family would''ve be obsolete by now.


    "Worry not. We''ll deal with that woman, Sonia, but not now. We''re on Toby''s bad side now, so things


    would only get worse if we take actions against her. This is why we must hold it in, even if we have an


    idea of how to dispose of her. When we reconcile with Toby, then we can take our time in dealing with


    her." As Harry was saying this, he shot a warning nce at his son, hinting at him to stay quiet for now.


    Sensing his father''s gaze, Grayson lowered his head and kept silent.


    Harry only looked elsewhere upon seeing this. "You too, Lte. Don''t go against that woman for now.


    Just observe the situation."


    Yet, Harry was very gentle when he said this to her and it was apletely different attitude from


    earlier.


    Even if Grayson tried to ignore this, he still felt sour inside.


    My dear father sure is biased.


    "Don''t worry, Grandpa. I know what to do." Lte looked at Harry and nodded earnestly.


    Harry patted her on the shoulder. "Okay, I believe in you. Let''s observe the situation for now. That


    woman doesn''t only have us as enemies, but the Grays also have their eyes on her. Although I''m not


    sure why they haven''t made a move these few months on her, I believe that one day, either the Grays


    or the woman will suffer heavy losses when they fight. When that happens, we can strike and


    thoroughly exterminate her, ensuring that she''ll never get in your way again."


    After hearing Harry''s words, Lte smiled brightly. "You''re right, Grandpa. Revenge is a dish best


    served cold."


    She then looked ahead with determined eyes.


    Just you wait! Toby will be mine! He can only be mine!


    Sonia did not know that just mere miles away, the Lores were discussing how to deal with her.


    She had just finished showering and came out from the room when the smell of soup entranced her.


    Unable to hold in her desire, she put down the towel in her hand and walked toward the kitchen.


    Reaching the doorway to the kitchen, she saw the man standing in front of the counter with a spoon in


    his hand, mixing the pot.


    After mixing, he set thedle down and put some onions into the pot.


    Then, he covered it as he took the wet tissue and wiped his hands while turning around.


    Yet, just as he did that, he saw the woman smiling at him. Slightly surprised, the man then returned a


    smile subtly. "Have you finished bathing?"


    "Yup. I was just done. I noticed that you weren''t in the living room, so I knew that you were here upon


    smelling the aroma. As expected, you are standing right here." Sonia smiled.


    Toby came over and held her hand while walking. "Didn''t you want me to keep an eye on the soup?


    This is why I kept going in and out. I''ve just put in the onions and other ingredients you''ve chopped."


    "I saw it." Sonia nodded before recalling something. Stopping in her footsteps, she looked at the man


    with an unsure gaze. "Did you¡­ recognize what bone was inside the soup?"


    Hearing her cautiousness made the man smile, but he acted as if he was oblivious to it. "Are you


    referring to what type of animal bone it is?"


    Just as Sonia was about to answer, the man said, "Didn''t you say pork bone? Why are you asking that


    now? Is it not pork bone?"


    He lowered his gaze and fixed his eyes on the woman.


    Afraid of getting exposed, Sonia quickly looked away. "Of course, it''s pork. What else could it be? I


    should phrase it differently. I was going to ask you if you could recognize what part it came from. Yes,


    that was what I was going to ask. Don''t overthink it."


    Seeing how panicked Sonia was acting made Toby smile wider.


    He then covered his lips and coughed lightly to hide his upturned mouth. "I didn''t really think about it,


    since the bone had been hacked into pieces. So, how could I tell which part it came from? I''m not Tim.


    Plus, I don''t think even him will be able to tell. I think he knows about humans'' bones better than


    animals."


    "Haha, you''re right." Sonia chuckled while breathing a sigh of relief inside.


    Luckily, he did not recognize it.


    Otherwise, she did not know how to get past him. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Seeing that she had rxed, Tobyughed in a deep tone while caressing her hair. "Let''s go to the


    living room."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded and resumed her walk as they went to the living room.


    Just as they sat down, her phone rang.


    Looking at the caller ID, she realized that it was an unsaved number. However, it was a local number,


    so she answered the call, "Hello, it''s Sonia. Who is this?"


    Nobody replied on the other side, yet she could hear something. It was the sound of breathing.


    She could make out that the breathing was a bit ragged and frequent. It sounded like the kind of


    breathing one would have when they were excited.


    It was either that or the caller was in extreme anger.


    No matter what, she was a little scared to encounter this, as she felt like the protagonist of a horror


    movie that received a call from a vengeful spirit.


    This caused chills to run through her back.


    At that moment, the man was sitting beside her while brewing some coffee. Seeing her reaction, Toby


    stopped what he was doing and asked, "What is it? Are you cold?"


    Sonia shook her head. "I''m not cold. It''s just that I remembered something frightening, so I shivered."


    "Something frightening?" Toby put out the fire and sat down beside her, holding her hand.


    It was then he found out how cold her hands were, which made him frown. "Why are your hands so


    cold?"


    "It''s nothing. It''s just that I was shocked upon recalling that. I''ll be fine after a while." Sonia breathed out


    lightly.


    Toby then rubbed her hands before cing it on his chest. "Hang up and warm up your hands."


    Nodding, Sonia ced her attention back onto the call.


    For some reason, the breathing in the call grew even more ragged and she could tell that a mix of


    jealousy and hatred was in it.


    What is happening?


    Resisting her fear, Sonia said, "Hello, I''m not sure if this is a prank to scare, but whatever. Please don''t


    call me again."


    She then hung up and blocked the number.

 Chapter 1313

    Chapter 1313


    It was then the person on the other side of the phone finally spoke, "Sonia!"


    It was a woman.


    Although her voice was hoarse beyond belief and sounded more like a leaky vent, it was a woman


    indeed. Also, Sonia immediately recognized whose voice it belonged to.


    It was Anya!


    "Anya?" Sonia stood up in shock.


    Toby peered at her with a dangerous look.


    Naturally, he was just as shocked as Sonia, for he did not expect she would call.


    On the phone, Anya sat on the hospital bed,ughing maniacally. "Yes, it''s me. Didn''t expect this, did


    you?"


    Sonia did not ask how she got her number, since it would seem pointless.


    After all, she was Connor''s daughter, so it was a piece of cake to obtain her contact. This was why she


    did not bother to ask. Still, she was interested to know why she called.


    "I certainly didn''t expect this. So? What do you want to tell me?"


    Toby put his arm around her shoulder, somewhat hugging her while listening to the call together.


    On the other side, Anya was clutching her phone very hard. Due to her hatred, she was grinding her


    teeth to dust. "Sonia, you didn''t think that I would get out, did you?"


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Raising her eyebrows, Sonia replied, "Did you call me just to tell me that you got out?"


    She then snorted. "If so, then I think you could''ve saved your breath. I knew how you got out. It was


    Toby and I who signed the documents for you to get released. So, isn''t it a bit ironic that you''re showing


    off to me?"


    This made Anya freeze up, as she was caught speechless.


    Obviously, she did not expect that Sonia knew about the fact that she got out. Even more than that, it


    was thanks to her that she regained her freedom!


    She had thought it was due to Connor and Toby that she could get out, and that Toby did it behind


    Sonia''s back.


    After all, she ruined her wedding dress, so she knew how much Sonia loathed her. She thought that


    Sonia would never let her see the light of day. This was why it never crossed her mind that Sonia had a


    hand in this because all she could think about was Toby.


    Assuming that Sonia would not want her out, Anya naturally did not think that Sonia would have signed


    the document. So, her conclusion was that Toby had signed it behind her back.


    With this on her mind, she called to mock Sonia, intending to sneer at her with the dialogue that went


    something like, So what if you''re with Toby? In the end, he''s still hiding something from you.


    She thought that Sonia would be deeply hurt upon hearing this. If that happened, then all the suffering


    and pain she endured these ten few days would be repaid somewhat.


    Yet, it waspletely different than what she had thought, for Toby did not do this behind her back.


    Rather, they did it together. Here she was, foolishly thinking that Sonia was oblivious to this and that


    she got the chance to finally mock.


    In the end, she was mocked by Sonia instead.


    This was akin to being pped on the face. Not only did her cheeks hurt, she felt humiliated as well.


    Freshly released from the police station, she got mocked by Sonia shortly after, making her feel like the


    stupidest person on earth.


    The more she thought about it, the angrier she got; her breathing got ragged again, making Sonia a bit


    scared.


    "Okay now, Anya, since you''ve finished showing off, I''ll congratte you on being released. Now that


    you''re a free woman again, you should act like a changed person. I''ll hang up now."


    Then, she quickly hung up.


    She did not want Anya to get overly angry during the call, otherwise, it would end up being her fault


    again.


    This was something she did want to take the fall for.


    Besides, Sonia did not know whether Anya did this purpose, for she always had a weak body. What if


    she intentionally called me to be angered, so I would be med?


    No matter what, I don''t want to talk to her for too long.


    Sonia was also satisfied that she managed to one up her.


    Smiling, she set her phone down and turned around, ready to tell Toby. Yet, as soon as she tried to do


    so, her lips made contact with his.


    Stunned, Sonia immediately reacted and wanted to jerk her head back. Otherwise, she would not make


    it. Unfortunately for her, though, she underestimated the man''s speed.


    Just as she wanted to avoid the kiss, Toby instantly held the back of her head and cut her retreat short


    before deeply kissing her.


    The moment she felt her lips pried apart by the man, Sonia rolled her eyes, thinking that she should


    have predicted this.


    If I react too slowly, this b*stard would always find a chance to kiss me.


    The facts proved her right.


    Although she was correct, she still could not avoid it as Toby managed to catch her.


    Sighing, Sonia did not push the man away. She knew that men were all dominating by nature and also


    really greedy.


    If she was in a hurry to push him away, then not only would Toby not let her go, he would only kiss her


    until she was out of breath.


    Yet, if she was to let him kiss herself freely, then he would let go in satisfaction after a short while.


    As expected, it was just like what Sonia had thought. Until the guise of her not resisting, the man


    quickly got his fill and let go of her slowly.


    Toby wiped his lips with his fingers while looking at the flushed woman with contentment on his face.


    "Honey, I didn''t think you would be so proactive."


    His words made Sonia roll her eyes in response. "I''m the proactive one? It was you that closed in first,


    causing me to¡­ Anyway, it''s your fault. Who told you to lean so close to me?"


    If she had known Toby would be so close, she would not have turned around immediately and let


    herself get taken advantage of.


    The manughed in a low tone. "I didn''t think you would turn around so suddenly, but I like it, though.


    Not bad."


    Of course, you like it.


    Sonia rolled her eyes again before waving her hands. "Okay, okay, enough of this. Did you hear our


    conversations earlier?"


    "A bit." Toby folded his legs elegantly.


    Sonia then smirked. "Anya thought that I didn''t know she was already free, so she wanted to show off


    to me, but it turned out that I knew about it. After she knew that I had a hand in it, she was caught


    speechless. Even though I could not see her expression, I could imagine how awful her face must be. If


    I wasn''t afraid of driving her to an early grave through anger¡ªwhich would''ve implicated me¡ªI


    wouldn''t have hung up so quickly. I would''ve angered her even more."


    Seeing how happy the woman was smiling, Toby touched her hair and smiled too.


    He was just happy that she was happy.


    "You did a good job," the man stated gently.


    Sonia leaned on his shoulder. "I didn''t think that Anya would be so arrogant and try to mock me as


    soon as she got out. In the end, she still lost to me. I think that in the foreseeable future, she will be


    haunted by this."


    She was truly smiling.


    On the other hand, Toby, who was hugging her, had a cold expression.

 Chapter 1314

    Chapter 1314


    "Although you''ve managed to irritate her, you''ll need to be careful from now on," the man stated sternly.


    Looking up, Sonia looked at Toby. "You mean¡­"


    "Her call wasn''t just to mock you. It''s also a deration of war." Toby peered through his eyes.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia repeated, "Deration of war?"


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    The man nodded. "Since she was mocking you as soon as she got out, she was stating that she wasn''t


    going to move on from what happened to her. She will seek revenge."


    This made Sonia snort. "She still has the cheek to want to seek revenge from me? Each time, it was


    always her that picked a fight with me. Even though it was always her fault, she had never reflected on


    herself and thought that I shouldn''t have retaliated and treated her like that. Revenge against me? How


    utterly foolish."


    Toby only patted her shoulders. "Don''t drop your guard. She isn''t hard to deal with, but Connor, who is


    backing her, is."


    "I know. Don''t worry, I''ll be extra careful." Sonia showed aforting smile to Toby, hinting that he


    should not be too worried.


    Yet, how could he not be? He just did not express it then.


    Although in his mind, he had already decided tond Anya back into jail again.


    With Connor down one person on his team, we''ll have one less enemy to worry about. In the future, it''ll


    be much easier to deal with him.


    This was his first time actively dealing with a woman.


    As a man, he had been taught not to hit a woman nor scheme against them, but this time, he would


    make an exception.


    For Sonia''s safety and to better deal with Connor, he did not want to adhere to his strict principles. After


    all, such morals would only be weighing him down in this situation. The second reason was that he


    thought such a woman like Anya was not deserving of his respect and principles.


    Toby hugged Sonia gently and secretly wore a cold gaze. Naturally, Sonia could not feel this, since the


    coldness was not directed at her. All she could feel was the warmth that the man was providing her.


    Snuggling in his embrace, she was listening to his heartbeat, making her extremely calm.


    It was then the electric stove beeped three times after which it stoppedpletely.


    Sonia quickly withdrew herself from his embrace. "The time''s up. The soup should be ready now. I''ll go


    prepare two dishes for dinner."


    She was about to stand up when her shoulders were pressed down by Toby.


    The man rose to his feet under her confused gaze. "What''s wrong?"


    "You just sit down and dry your hair. I''ll go make the dishes." Toby then caressed her somewhat wet


    hair before walking to the kitchen.


    Sonia smiled while touching the spot where he touched and went to fetch the hair dryer.


    When she finished drying her hair, Toby had already prepared dinner.


    Walking up to the dining table, Sonia leaned over and took a sniff before giving the man a thumbs up.


    "Not bad, Toby. Your cooking is improving."


    "If one practices, they would definitely get better at it. Eat up." Toby then gave her a pair of cutlery.


    Sitting down, she saw the man was about to eat when she thought of something and stopped him.


    "Wait."


    The man''s action came to a pause and he looked at her. "Yes?"


    "Don''t eat first. Try the soup." She then took a bowl and started filling it with soup.


    Seeing how happily she was filling the bowl with soup made Toby''s lips twitch.


    Seems like I''ll have to drink the soup.


    Putting the bowl down from his hands, he ced his hand on his forehead and smiled.


    Nevermind. Since I can''t avoid it, I''ll just face it then.


    Since he could also ept the weird concoctions that his grandma always made for him, this was also


    a sign of goodwill from Grace.


    Sonia treats Mrs. Lane as her real mother, so naturally, I should treat her as my mother-inw.


    How dare a son-inw defy his mother-inw''s words?


    What if she doesn''t permit me to marry her?


    As he was thinking of this, a bowl of soup was soon ced in front of him by a pair of slender hands.


    Looking at it, he saw that the brownish soup had some fried onions in it. It did look quite appetizing.


    "Try it." Sonia sat back down and propped her chin with her hands, gazing expectantly at the man.


    Under her watchful gaze, Toby picked up the spoon and scooped a mouthful of soup before slowly


    drinking it without a change in expression.


    "How is it?" Sonia could not tell if the soup was good or not, for the man''s expression was too calm.


    She thought that it was tasty since the smell alone was enough to make her salivate after she finished


    bathing. This was why she thought that the taste should be nice.


    Yet, she also knew that Toby had higher tastes for his food, so she did not know if the soup she thought


    was good was good enough for him.


    Besides that, she was worried that the ingredients of the soup might leave a weird aftertaste.


    After all, the gaminess of beef bone was much stronger than pork bone.


    What if Toby smelled the gaminess and knew that the soup wasn''t cooked from pork bone but beef


    bone instead? Then, wouldn''t my lie be exposed?


    At that moment, Toby caught the panicking woman''s actions as he smiled subtly. "Not bad. It tastes


    alright."


    "Really?" Sonia bit her lower lip and nervously asked, "Aren''t there any weird tastes like gaminess?"


    Toby, who knew what she was worrying about, smiled even wider while he scooped some soup and


    ced it in front of Sonia. "Try it."


    Looking at the spoon, she opened her mouth.


    Let''s try it, then.


    If I don''t, I''ll never know if he''s lying or not. So, I should just try it to let myself be at ease.


    The moment she drank the soup, her eyes lit up. "It''s so good!"


    Her face lit up as she looked at the soup joyfully. "I never thought that it''d be this good!"


    Originally, she was still worried that a bit of gaminess might remain. This was because when she first


    started cooking the soup, the gaminess seeped out from the bone and she failed to get rid of it no


    matter what.


    Hence, she was worried that Toby might not eat it if he smelled how gamy it was.


    She never thought that she had over-thought about it.


    Seeing how Sonia looked like she had discovered some lost treasures while staring at the bowl of


    soup, Toby felt like his heart had been pierced, as she was so adorable that it made him unable to


    breathe.


    How can she be so cute?


    Gulping, Toby asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Do you want some?"


    "Sure," Sonia agreed without even thinking.


    The man then took her empty bowl and was about to fill it with some soup when she grabbed his wrist.


    "Wait. I think I''ll pass."


    "Why?" The man frowned.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia replied, "The soup was meant for you, so I won''t have it. You can go ahead."


    Although she stated that, her field of vision never left the bowl of soup.


    Seeing how she did not mean what she said, Tobyughed. "How can I finish so much soup? Besides,


    Mrs. Lane won''t know if you have it, will she? So, how about you help me out here, hm?"

 Chapter 1315

    Chapter 1315


    Sonia nced at the soup handed over by the man, then another look at his pleading eyes. Finally, she


    made up her mind and nodded in agreement. "Okay, since you''ve said so, then I''ll help you with some


    of this despite my reluctance."


    She reluctantly took the bowl from him and obtained a soup spoon from the side before scooping some


    to taste it. Instantly, she revealed a contented expression as she shut her eyes.


    This is delicious!


    The man shook his head with a smile upon seeing her happy look as she tasted the soup. "Yes.


    Thanks for your help, Little Leaf."


    Sonia heard his expression of gratitude and could not help feeling slightly abashed. At that point, the tip


    of her ears was reddened, but on the surface, she maintained a nonchnt expression as she said,


    "It''s not a big deal. I didn''t want the food to go to waste too. Here you go. Finish the soup."


    After she had said that, she lowered her head and continued to enjoy the soup as she tried to mask her


    embarrassment.


    Indeed, she felt embarrassed. In fact, she knew that he purposely said that to let her taste the soup


    while maintaining her pride at the same time.


    As for her, she did not want to seem too quick to say yes, so she purposely mentioned that she would


    do so, albeit reluctantly. In actuality, both of them knew quite clearly that he could finish it and she was


    not reluctant at all. It was purely because he wanted to let her try some of it whereas she wanted to


    taste it but was shy to reveal her intentions. That was why this debacle came about. Since she was a


    shy one, naturally, she felt rather embarrassed by this.


    He noticed her enjoying the soup one spoonful after the other and could not help revealing a doting


    smile.


    He clearly knew that she finished the soup quickly on her own ord because she was trying to mask


    her awkwardness and guilt. Since she was intent on hiding her feelings, he decided not to expose her.


    After all, he found her behavior quite adorable too. Subsequently, they finished their meal in silence.


    Sonia cleared the table and put the dishes and utensils into the dishwasher before washing her hands


    and walking out of the kitchen.


    As soon as she came out, he suddenly stood in front of her with slightly bent knees after which he


    swept her into his arms.


    She felt herself lose bnce as she was lifted into the air all of a sudden without being forewarned, so


    she yelped in fright and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck to avoid falling.


    He noticed her face turn as pale as a sheet out of fright and it was amusing to him. At that, he could not


    help chuckling in response.


    The sound he made was maic and melodious. Meanwhile, Sonia came back to her senses upon


    hearing his chuckle and she realized that he had taken her into his arms. In other words, she had not


    encountered a paranormal event and there was no need for her to kick up a fuss.


    As soon as she realized this, she heaved a sigh of relief and released her grip on Toby''s neck.


    Subsequently, she nced exasperatedly at the man who had her in his embrace. "Toby, what are you


    doing? You''ve given me such a fright!"


    In response, he lowered his head and smiled at her without saying anything.


    Sonia found his smile to be sinister, so she suddenly had a bad feeling and patted her chest. "Why are


    you smiling? Put me down!"


    "No." He shook his head and responded immediately.


    At that point, the uneasy feeling within Sonia grew stronger as she gulped before asking, "What are


    you nning to do again? I''m warning you, don''t do anything stupid."


    Meanwhile, he curled his thin lips into a smile. "I''m not going to do anything stupid. I just want to invite


    you to exercise with me."


    "Exercise?" Sonia was taken aback initially. Subsequently, she lifted her head and looked at him much


    more warily. "What sort of exercise do you have in mind?" Could it be¡­ that?!


    He seemed to be able to read her mind and the smile on his face deepened. There was essentially no


    need to say a thing and his intentions were quite clear.


    Sonia''s eyes widened in response as she thought, He is thinking about that! No way! That''s not an


    option at all!


    She hastily shook her head and struggled to get out of his arms. "Toby, don''t even think about that! Last


    night, I only kept youpany at the old manor, so that''s all. I don''t want to do it tonight. Besides, you


    left me with a bad taste in my mouth for hours this morning at the old manor and I warned you that


    you''d be banned from the bedroom tonight. Your spot for the night is on the couch in the living room.


    There is no way you''re getting your way tonight! Let me down right now! Did you hear that?!"


    However, he ignored her insistence for him to put her down. "You did mention that, but I never agreed


    at all from the start. I definitely won''t take the couch tonight. Oh, by the way, I forgot to inform you, but


    the nutritious soup that Grandma got the servants to make was very effective. Although I didn''t


    consume too much of it, the effects are quite obvious, so¡ª"


    "Toby, you must be joking." Soni cut him off in a huff. At the same time, she could not help rolling her


    eyes at him. "How long has it been since you consumed that soup? That was in the morning and it''s


    nowte at night. Even if it''s effective, it wouldn''t just show its effects right now so coincidentally! I don''t


    believe that the soup has dyed effects that would only appear for such a long time after


    consumption. You''d better not take me for a fool!"


    Meanwhile, Toby maintained his silence. Alright, I didn''t consider this carefully. Evidently, no one would


    believe that.


    As soon as Sonia noticed that he was rendered speechless by her retort, she revealed a smug smile


    and patted him on his shoulders. "Hurry up and let me down. I would''ve just leaped out of your arms


    without any hesitation if I wasn''t considerate of your broken arm that hasn''t properly recovered."


    Toby chuckled slightly. "I know that you have my best interest at heart, but I won''t let you off the hook


    lightly regardless. You''re right. I consumed the soup in the morning, so it wouldn''t have any effect at


    this point, but don''t forget that I had some soup earlier on too."


    Sonia''s heart sank. "The soup earlier on? W-What do you mean by that?"


    He noticed her flustered look and the smile on his face deepened. Inconspicuously, he gave out a


    slightly charming air. "I mean, do you honestly think I couldn''t tell that the soup tonight was made using


    beef broth instead of pork broth?"


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Sonia''s eyes widened all of a sudden. "You¡­ found out?"


    He appeared to be quite smug without saying a word.


    Meanwhile, her mouth was agape and it took her some time before she came up with the words to say,


    "W-When did you find out?"


    "I took a look into the pot when you went to take a shower. I might not have realized what sort of bones


    you used for the broth if I wasn''t familiar with cooking, but you miscalcted because I am, so I could


    easily tell the difference. Even if I couldn''t tell from looking, I could also differentiate the two from the


    smell because beef and pork smell distinctly different from each other. Unless there''s something wrong


    with my nose, I would be a fool to be confused by the two otherwise."


    At that point, Sonia grimaced at his words. From his words, is he implying that I''m a fool?


    After all, she was familiar with cooking too, but she somehow forgot that someone with simr skills


    would be able to differentiate beef and pork through eyes, as well as from their distinct scent.


    Despite that, not only did she not identify such an evident issue, she even tantly lied and said to him


    that it was beef broth. So, clearly, he was referring to her as a fool.


    She covered her face out of mortification. "Gosh¡­ This is so embarrassing. Since you''ve identified it


    earlier on, then why did you pretend to go along with my words and believe that it was pork broth


    despite my repeated bluffs earlier? Did you really want to watch me make a fool of myself?"


    Her eyes bulged out as she red at him furiously with an using look in her eyes.


    In response, he chuckled. "No, I just didn''t want you to worry unnecessarily. I knew that you chose to


    keep it from me because you were worried that I would reject any soup made out of beef bones after


    the incident this morning. As such, you intentionally chose to hide it from me. Meanwhile, I didn''t want


    to let your efforts be in vain, so I pretended not to realize."


    "Hmph. You''re such a smooth talker. How would I know whether you''ve been mocking me silently when


    I probed you repeatedly?" Sonia pouted unhappily and snorted.


    As soon as he saw that, he lowered his head and pecked her on her red lips.


    "You¡­" Sonia looked at him in disbelief. "You''ve taken advantage of me once again!"


    He licked his lips with a jovial note in his voice. "I didn''t mock you. On the contrary, I really enjoyed


    putting on an act alongside you. It was quite fun."


    "I don''t see the fun of it. You must''ve intentionally wanted to see me make a fool of myself." Sonia


    patted his chest with a resentful expression as she muttered under her breath.

 Chapter 1316

    Chapter 1316


    "No, I didn''t." He shook his head. "I honestly just didn''t want to put you in a difficult position. Trust me."


    He made her look into his eyes.


    At that moment, Sonia noticed the serious look in his eyes and she found herself believing his words.


    However, she refused to admit it and merely snorted twice.


    Subsequently, he headed toward the direction of the bedroom with her in his arms.


    Sonia''s body instantly stiffened. "Toby, I''m ordering you to stop right now!"


    Evidently, he did not pay heed to her words and stopped. He continued to carry her toward the room. "I


    told you that the soup tonight triggered the effect of the soup this morning, so darling, I can''t stop."


    As soon as his words fell, he kicked the door before it was thrown open.


    Sonia yelled out, "Toby, I don''t trust a single word of yours! This is just an excuse! I have never heard of


    the effects of tonic soup lingering in one''s body before it gets triggered by something else!"


    He chuckled deeply. "Well, now you have. Anyway, I''m not going to let go."


    "Toby!" Sonia hollered at him.


    However, this time, her hollers were soon muffled by the shut bedroom door.


    That night, Sonia experienced his exceptional prowess simr to the night before and she ended up


    fast asleep in his arms out of exhaustion.


    She tried several times to get him to stop as she could no longer withstand it. She did not want to


    continue any longer, but he imed that there was no way of stopping as the effects of the soup


    lingered on, so he had to keep going. Ha. This is all bullsh*t. This is all just his excuse! Pfft!


    Before Sonia fell asleep, she could not help but scoff at him. He really is the devil.


    Despite her reaction, he refused to let her off the hook and the tryst did not end even as she fell asleep.


    Half an hourter, he finally achieved satisfaction and stopped his actions before carrying her into the


    bathroom.


    He ced her into the bath he had run earlier and took a quick shower under the shower unit.


    Perhaps the water temperature in the bathtub was toofortable, so despite her being fast asleep,


    she could not help revealing a contented smile on her lips. Her head lolled by the side of the bathtub


    and she fell into a deep sleep.


    Toby shot a look at her and noticed her red face while fast asleep. There was a tender look that shed


    across his eyes as he continued to shower.


    Having ced Sonia into the bathtub as he showered, he needed not to worry at all about her sliding


    into the bathtub and choking on water because the bathtub was custom-made with the function of


    supporting the body. Even if one fell asleep, one would not slide deeper into the bathtub. That was also


    why Toby had no concerns at all about putting Sonia into the bathtub as he showered.


    After he cleaned himself, he was in no hurry to help Sonia take a shower. Instead, he put on a bathrobe


    before striding out of the bathroom to head back to the bedroom.


    He stood by the bed and bent down to remove all of the bedsheets and pillowcases before flinging


    them to the ground. Subsequently, he stood in front of the wardrobe and opened a drawer to retrieve


    some clean bedsheets and pillowcases from inside before making the bed.


    After Toby did all that, he finally got up and collected the dirty linen on the ground before bringing them


    to theundry room. Then, he put the dirty linen into the washing machine and put it to start. Finally, he


    went back into the bathroom and squatted next to the bathtub to clean Sonia up.


    During the process, he was very patient and gentle in his ways. It felt as if he was handling a priceless


    treasure as he did everything gingerly to avoid hurting her.


    Once he had done wiping Sonia down, he carried her back into the bedroom. By then, it was already


    4.00AM.


    He ced her gently onto the bed and tucked her under the nket before finally finding the time to


    take a look at his phone.


    As soon as he switched it on, a message popped out on his screen prominently. It was a message sent


    from Tom three hours ago¡ªapproximately around midnight.


    Knowing Tom''s personality well, Toby knew that he would never text him sote at night unless it was


    an emergency. Clearly, he must have something major to report in the message.


    Toby stood by the bedside and held a white towel in his hand as he dried his wet hair. At the same


    time, he held his phone in one hand and unlocked it.


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    The room was lit up dimly, so the sudden brightness from the phone screen seemed to appear rather


    ring.


    The brightness from the phone screen shone on his handsome face and there appeared to be a


    mysterious air that surrounded him under the dark surroundings. He looked more dazzling than ever.


    Yet the next second, his expression took a sudden turn as there was a dark look in his eyes and his


    eyebrows became tightly furrowed.


    That was because the content on the message said, ''President Fuller, the DNA results are out. Anya


    and Connor aren''t biologically rted.''


    Earlier on during the day, Tom mentioned that he had obtained Connor''s DNA sample so he could run


    that against Anya''s to determine whether the two were biologically rted. Right now, the results were


    out and they indicated that the two of them were, in fact, not blood-rted at all.


    As soon as Toby saw this result, it was clear that he was unfazed through his nonchnt expression.


    Frankly, he already knew the answer in his mind and deduced that the two were not biologically rted


    from the start. Nheless, he had never verified that information until now.


    Now that it was, he merely epted the truth and did not bore any other feelings. After all, he had


    already sensed from the duo''s interaction at the police station that they could not possibly be rted. If


    Anya was indeed Connor''s daughter, then it would not be possible for him to treat her so coldly.


    Simrly, it was ridiculous for Anya to be afraid of Connor as well.


    Even if Anya was his illegitimate daughter, she was still his daughter and his only descendant after all.


    Despite Connor''s ruthlessness, it was impossible for him to behave so coldly toward his only


    descendant. As a result, Toby considered it and reckoned that the two were definitely not rted.


    Indeed, the DNA results proved so.


    Even so, Toby was not the least bit happy at all for his mother''s sake. Although Connor did not have an


    illegitimate daughter, he had still broken his vow to Jean and cheated on her behind her back. As such,


    regardless of whether Connor had an illegitimate daughter, he was still a despicable man.


    The reason Toby wanted to confirm whether the two of them were rted was not because of his


    mother, since it would be pointless and unnecessary.


    Instead, he wanted to find out why Connor had Anya to act as his daughter and their motives behind


    that.


    Toby pursed his thin lips and remained deep in thought for a moment before finally stepping out of the


    room light-footedly. He shut the door gently behind him and stepped out to the balcony in the living


    room. At that point, he dialed Tom''s number.


    The phone rang for less than two seconds before Tom answered the call. It appeared that he was


    waiting for Toby''s call all night, so there was an obvious hint of weariness over the call. "President


    Fuller."


    This is great! President Fuller has finally seen the message and called me. Oh gosh. I''m so happy that


    I finally don''t have to wait any longer! Tom originally thought that he would have to lose sleep tonight


    since the chances were high for him to wait till dawn. Fortunately for me, I''m blessed and didn''t get


    subjected to too much torture. Yay!


    On the other end of the line, Toby naturally heard the weary note and tiredness in Tom''s voice. After a


    moment of silence, Toby coughed and said, "I''m sorry for making you stay up for so long. From now on,


    you don''t have to wait for a call back unless something bad happens to thepany or it''s anything


    rted to Little Leaf. Next time, you can go to bed."


    As soon as Tom heard Toby''s calm words, he widened his eyes incredulously and was stunned in


    ce. What''s going on? Is President Fuller possessed?

 Chapter 1317

    Chapter 1317


    Tom gulped incredulously and he could not quite believe his ears at all.


    Did President Fuller actually say that from now on, I don''t need to wait for his phone call and I can go to


    bed for anything else other than matters regarding Miss Reed or thepany?! Gosh, is this for real?!


    Is this a dream? Since when did President Fuller be such a considerate person and start to show


    concern for me?


    In the past, President Fuller would never be concerned at all about how long I had to wait for him or


    whether I was tired from the wait.


    At times, even if Toby realized that Tom was exhausted, he would not be bothered about that either. In


    other words, Toby was akin to an unfeeling person.


    President Fuller is considerate of my feelings. Gosh. I''m so touched by that. This is definitely Miss


    Reed''s efforts. Since President Fuller got together officially with Miss Reed, he started to change and


    show concern for his subordinates. I''m so grateful to Miss Reed.


    Tom could not stem his excitement as he thought about the situation, but he maintained a calm front


    still. After all, he was a professional personal assistant and he would never allow himself to reveal any


    hint of emotion especially when he was discussing serious matters with his boss.


    "Okay. I got it, President Fuller." Tom nodded and adhered to Toby''s instructions.


    Toby affirmed calmly and narrowed his eyes subsequently. "In regards to the information you sent me a


    couple of hours ago, how legitimate is it?"


    Tom shifted his gold-rimmed sses perched on his nose bridge. "President Fuller, I personally waited


    there for the DNA result to be produced, so it is definitely legitimate. Anya and Connor aren''t rted


    biologically."


    In fact, Tom had been stunned into oblivion upon finding out the result. Even when Toby had instructed


    him to find a way to obtain DNA samples of the two individuals to run a DNA test on them back then,


    Tom was not as surprised as he was when the results came out. In fact, Tom had suspected back then


    that Anya and Connor might not have been rted because Toby would not have asked him to


    investigate the matter if he was not certain about it. Tom had always trusted Toby, so it was likely that


    the duo were not rted biologically if Toby had such suspicion.


    As such, Tom had been mentally prepared for the result. Nheless, despite his mental preparation,


    the moment he saw the result, the shock he received was way beyond his expectations.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    As soon as Tom recalled this, he took a deep breath before asking, "President Fuller, do you think that


    Connor is aware that Anya''s not his biological daughter?"


    "What do you reckon?" Toby spoke nonchntly.


    Meanwhile, Tom maintained his silence. That was a stupid question. Connor definitely knows!


    In fact, as soon as Tom asked that, he realized immediately that it was a very foolish question.


    Connor was a cunning and schemeful individual. He was a ruthless man used to plotting against others


    without getting implicated and there was no way he would not have known whether he had a daughter


    or not.


    If Anya had actually been an imposter iming to be Connor''s daughter, there was no way he would let


    her get away with things.


    After all, if she imed to be Connor''s daughter when she actually was not, that would indicate that she


    was making a fool out of him by scheming against him. Someone as ruthless as Connor would


    definitely not let Anya get away with this.


    Furthermore, the first thing one would do when someone came forward iming rtions with one was


    to get their DNA tested. As such, if Anya actually dared to fake herself as Connor''s daughter, then


    there was no way she would be able to pass the DNA test and remain living and well up to this day.


    Right now, the results verified that the duo was not father-daughter, but Connor had actually gone and


    announced to the public that Anya was his own. The only way to exin that would be Connor feigning


    ignorance as he waited to see what her fake daughter was plotting against him.


    Otherwise, this could all be Connor''s plot from the start and he sought out Anya to im that she was


    his daughter. Perhaps, he had lied to her in an aim to achieve some of his specific goals.


    At this point, Tom was much more inclined to go along with the second possibility.


    After all, if Connor intended to find out the reason Anya faked her profile and imed to be his


    daughter, then he would not have to send her all the way to Seafield. Instead, he could have just kept


    her at Westsanshire and assigned some men to keep an eye on her. Yet, could he have brought her all


    the way to Seafield just to keep a close eye on her? That would be ridiculous, though.


    Connor was one who treasured his life and would never ce someone with unknown intentions by his


    side. Who knew if he had kept someone, whose intention was to assassinate him? Therefore, if she


    was ced by his side, then he was basically courting death. Clearly, the first option did not make


    sense at all, so it was surely the second option.


    He must have sought Anya and lied to her about her being his daughter. Perhaps, he might have been


    forthright to Anya with his request to pose as his daughter. As for the reason to do so¡­


    Tom lowered his eyes and remained deep in thought. He thought of the feud between Connor and the


    Fuller Family, then he suddenly gasped. "President Fuller, I think Connor sought Anya out to pose as


    his daughter because his target is you."


    Toby lifted his brows slightly upon hearing Tom''s deduction. Frankly, he was not the least bit surprised


    at all. On the contrary, there was a calm look on Toby''s face. "Keep going."


    "Okay." Tom nodded. "Consider this. Connor is usually based in Westsanshire and he has never


    stepped foot into Seaview for over thirty years."


    "Your information isn''t urate. He came here three months ago." Toby pursed his lips and corrected


    Tom.


    At that instance, Tom was caught by surprise, but he swiftly caught on to Toby''s words and smacked


    his forehead in realization. "Yes, that''s right. I forgot that he was the one behind your car ident three


    months ago. He dide to Seaview then and stayed in an obscure motel. Although we managed to


    locate the motel he stayed at previously, he was gone the moment we arrived and we merely found a


    photo of Madam White left behind."


    Toby was convinced upon seeing that photo that the person who had orchestrated the ident was


    most likely the person who killed Old Master Fuller too. However, Toby could not confirm that Connor


    was the mastermind back then. Now that he could, he also naturally figured out the mastermind behind


    his ident. Both incidents were orchestrated by the same person¡ªConnor.


    "Keep going." Toby moved his lips slightly and reminded Tom.


    Tom affirmed and continued, "Connor has barely visited Seafield over the past thirty years. Besides, the


    Salzburg Family mainly deals in the jewelry and antique business, so they don''t have any business


    dealings with any of the corporations in Seafield. That''s why they don''t have any enemies in Seafield


    and their only enemy would be the Fullers."


    As soon as Tom mentioned this, he paused for a moment to find out Toby''s reaction.


    However, Tom noticed that Toby remained silent for quite some time, so he piped up again, "That''s why


    Anya''s presence in Seafield would not be a coincidence. It''s very likely that Connor sent her here to


    scout the situation and to transmit information on the Fuller Family readily. Otherwise, why didn''t he just


    leave Anya in Westsanshire? After all, it''d be logical for his daughter to remain in Westsanshire by his


    side. Why would she suddenly appear in Seafield, then? That''s why Anya''s presence in Seafield must


    be because she was assigned to monitor the Fuller Family. However, there could be another possibility


    as well."


    "Just be frank." Toby frowned impatiently.


    At that moment, Tom shrank back as he knew that the suspenseful air he tried to create had triggered


    Toby''s displeasure, so he stopped wasting time and continued, "Anya could have been intentionally


    sent by Connor to approach you and dazzle you."


    Toby was dumbfounded by that revtion. "Do you mean by seduction?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded. "I must say that you''re quite attractive, President Fuller, but I reckon that not every


    woman would fall for you at the sight of you. Even if she did fall in love with you at first sight, it wouldn''t


    make sense for her to be so infatuated to the point where she didn''t even bother to find out about the


    extent of your rtionship with Miss Reed and chose to take action against Miss Reed to clear the path


    for herself. That would be a very foolish move, so I reckon that Anya isn''t actually in love with you,


    President Fuller.


    "Her infatuation is basically just an act that she created in order for her to have a valid reason to stay in


    Seafield and approach you. Moreover, right now, I suspect that she went through stic surgery purely


    for this purpose. She used to be below average, so she went through some transformative stic


    surgery to gain her current beauty. Besides that, President Fuller, didn''t you realize something?"

 Chapter 1318

    Chapter 1318


    "Realize what?"


    Tom gulped before continuing, "Anya''s features closely resemble Miss Reed after going through stic


    surgery."


    As soon as Tom said that, Toby''s expression instantly darkened. "Close resemnce?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded. "I''m aware that you don''t generally pay attention to the opposite gender, President


    Fuller, so you might not have realized. However, I was quite curious about stic surgery, so I paid


    close attention to Anya''s features before and found that her features did closely resemble Miss Reed.


    Back then, I never suspected Anya''s motive foring to Seafield, so I never brought this up to you.


    Now that we''vee to the realization that Anya''s presence in Seafield could be because she was


    assigned by Connor to spy on you or seduce you, I then recalled this. I suspect that Anya purposely


    went through stic surgery and chose features simr to Miss Reed''s so that there''d be a higher


    chance of you being attracted to her. Therefore, her chances of winning your affections would increase


    subsequently."


    However, Anya and Connor clearly didn''t expect that President Fuller would only have eyes for Miss


    Reed and no one else. That''s why even though Anya has been in Seafield for quite some time now,


    President Fuller hasn''t taken a close look at her features. Anya and Connor would be enraged to find


    out! As Tom thought about this, he could not helpughing mockingly.


    Meanwhile, Toby remained silent and he seemed to be considering Tom''s words about how Anya


    wanted to clone herself like his precious Sonia. Indeed, he had never taken a good look at that woman,


    so he had no idea exactly what she looked like. However, he did not doubt Tom''s words because Tom


    was not one to joke about something like this.


    As Toby considered the situation, Tom brought up something else. "President Fuller, right now, I''m


    suspecting that Anya''s appearance in front of our car that night wasn''t by chance and she must''ve


    nned that. Otherwise, how on earth could she possibly have appeared in front of our car at that


    exact timing? There were other cars there, but she somehow ended up hitting our car. I reckon that


    Connor must have made Anya to look like Miss Reed and then he sent her to Seafield to try to seduce


    you. She''s just a pawn to him."


    Toby pursed his lips and sneered coldly, "I don''t care what she''s after, but right now, we need to focus


    our investigation on finding out Anya''s true identity. It''d be best if we could get a photo of her before her


    stic surgery."


    Instinctively, he felt that Anya was aplicated individual too and she might not entirely be just


    Connor''s pawn; she seemed to be hiding a different identity. As such, he had to find out exactly who


    this woman was, just in case.


    "Sure." Tom was not surprised by Toby''s instructions and he nodded instantly.


    "By the way, send me a photo of Anya after her surgery too," Toby requested.


    Tom knew what Toby intended to do. As soon as he hung up the phone, he instantly sent the photo to


    his boss. Previously, while investigating Anya, Tom had saved her photo on his phone and he had not


    gotten to delete it, so he could get good use out of it right now.


    Toby walked away from the balcony and went back into the living room. He sat on the couch and


    poured himself a ss of water before checking out the photo that Tom had just sent over to him.


    The woman in the photo looked fascinating, and although she had undergone stic surgery, there


    was not a hint of knife on her face; her features looked very natural. There was not a single hint of


    stiffness or unnatural look on her features, as generally seen on those who underwent stic surgery.


    Instead, she looked as if she had been born with that face. Evidently, the woman in the photo had


    spent a fortune on her surgery. Otherwise, how else could she have possibly gained such natural


    features from the surgery?


    Of course, though, as soon as Toby found out that Anya had undergone stic surgery, he had been


    curious as to how an ordinary woman like her could have that much money to spend on the surgery.


    Not only did she go through stic surgery, but she also had surgery to increase her height. The cost


    of all these added up was definitely millions and more. After finding out that Anya was Connor''s


    illegitimate daughter, his suspicions were finally dispelled. However, it appeared that Connor was


    generous enough to be willing to spend that much money on stic surgery for a woman who was not


    even rted to him.


    At that moment, he started to believe that Tom''s deductions were right. Anya must be Connor''s spy


    ced in Seafield and she had done stic surgery in ordance with Little Leaf''s features to appear


    in front of him.


    "Ha! You''ve underestimated me!" Toby deleted Anya''s photo. His handsome face was currently


    adorned with an icy cold sneer and a murderous look in his eyes.


    Do they really think that I''m just like other men? Seduced by beauty?


    Most men might twitch and go along as soon as a woman signaled with her fingers, but he was the


    contrary. His upbringing, values, pride, and the feelings he had for Sonia were ultimately the reason


    why he would never do anything to betray her.


    He would be scornful of himself if he could be so easily seduced by any woman. Besides, someone like


    him would hardly be attracted to an imposter.


    As such, that was why he said that Anya and Connor had underestimated him by assuming that he


    would behave ording to most men and be unable to resist seduction from a woman. That was also


    why they had purposely created an imposter simr to Sonia in an aim to seduce him. They simply


    assumed that he would be attracted, but theirughable actions were just too foolishly naive in


    hindsight.


    Nheless, Anya''s features were indeed simr to Sonia, so he did not feel toofortable about


    that. He felt that Sonia would be disturbed by that too if she noticed, so he decided that it would be best


    for Anya to be disfigured.


    Toby clutched his phone tightly and exuded an oppressive sense of indifference.


    ¡­


    As soon as the initial rays of sunlight streamed through the French windows and hit Sonia''s eyes the


    next morning, her eyelids finally fluttered slightly and she showed signs of rousing. Shortly after that,


    her eyes started to roll beneath her eyelids after which she slowly opened them.


    However, the rays were too ring to her eyes. She had barely let in a slit into her sight when she was


    overpowered by the light, so instinctively, she was about to shut them again.


    Before she could do so, a pale, slender hand reached out from the top of her head and gently shielded


    her eyes to form a shade against the sun''s rays. "It''s fine now. You can open your eyes." His low and


    melodious voice rang out in her ears.


    At that moment, Sonia opened her eyes wide and saw his palm right in front of her eyes. No wonder I


    felt darkness in front of me and it was no longer that ring. It''s because he shielded me from the


    sunray with his hands.


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    "Good morning." Sonia turned her head and nced in the direction of the man next to her.


    She was not sure when he woke up as he was currently dressed in a crisp suit, seated by the side of


    the bed while shielding her from the sun.


    "Good morning." Toby noticed that her eyes had finally gotten used to the surroundings, so he retracted


    his hand and handed over the set of clothes beside her. "I''ve selected your outfit for today. Try it on."


    She sat up in bed and took the clothes from him. "You''ve generally got good taste, so I''m sure that the


    outfit you''ve put together for me would be great."


    She ced the clothes on herp, but she did not change into them immediately. Meanwhile, she


    stretchedzily and yawned. "What''s the time right now?"


    "It''s 8.30AM." Toby lifted his hand and took a look at his watch.


    Sonia blinked in response. "No wonder it''s so bright out there. How long ago did you wake up?"


    "I''ve been up for quite some time now. Come on and get changed. Breakfast''s ready. If you don''t wish


    to move a finger, I don''t mind helping you get changed." As he spoke, his eyes went to the clothes on


    herp and the eagerness in his eyes was evident.


    Sonia chuckled at that and hastily tightened her grip on her clothes. "No, I can''t trust you and you might


    try something funny if you helped me. That''s alright. Go out now and don''t be in my way as I change.


    Just leave." She waved her hands in the air repeatedly to shoo him out of the room.


    She knew that if he helped her get changed, then it would be noon by the time she was done changing.


    After all, this despicable man would definitely take advantage of the situation on the pretext of helping


    her get changed.

 Chapter 1319

    Chapter 1319


    Sonia kept urging Toby to leave because she was reluctant to let him help her with the clothes. As a


    regretful glint fleeted across his eyes, he stood up while staring at her before taking his leave. His back


    seemed so lonely and regretful that she found it hrious.


    "Pervert," she murmured under her breath. Thinking about the man''s disappointed expression when he


    left, she could not help but burst intoughter.


    If this were a few months back, she could never imagine Toby to be this expressive; he seemed just


    like an ordinary person right now. The emotionless, icy man with an expressionless face was long


    gone.


    Without thinking much, she quickly lifted the nket to put on her clothes after the man shut the door.


    Of course, she checked on herself from head to toe before wearing them.


    Last night was another intense night. Nevermind the fatigueness and pain that hit her whole body as


    well as the sore private part, the hickeys on her body alone were enough to make one flush.


    Looking at the puny andrge marks left by the man, Sonia felt her face burning. It seemed like leaving


    his marks on her was his fetish since he kept doing it.


    Had she not warned him to not do it on her neck¡ªbecause it would be embarrassing¡ªshe was sure


    that he would not leave any part of her body unmarked.


    Those marks elicited a helpless sigh from her. Sonia could still see the marks he left two days ago and


    yet there were new ones fromst night. If this went on, Toby might bite the same old spots and they


    would never disappear.


    Gotta figure a way to change that habit of his. I heard that it''s bad to leave these kinds of marks on the


    body since the capiries might rupture¡­ Okay. I''ve made up my mind. I''m gonna bring up this


    problem to him. He might change after knowing the facts. Or else!


    She narrowed her alluring eyes as she sniggered coldly.


    He better not me me for hurting his member.


    Meanwhile, Toby was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed elegantly in the living room. He


    suddenly felt the chill on his back while his fingers, which were holding a cup of coffee, trembled. A


    sense of doom dawned upon him.


    What''s this? Why do I feel like someone''s setting me up?


    Pursing his lips, he eventually set down the cup and trod to the balcony in which he looked over the


    area to look for any suspicious figure.


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    Toby''s hunch was mostly right, especially when he was at his current position, where his numerous


    enemies stayed. Many of them went against him before and he managed to extricate from danger


    many times, thanks to his guts.


    Thus, the foreboding was not of ungrounded instincts, Toby believed. He was certain that someone


    was up to no good and he was the very target. The problem was¡ªwho would be the threat when he


    was at home?


    There were only Sonia and him in the house. She was out of the question, so he wished to find some


    sort of clue downstairs by watching from the balcony.


    His gazended onto a man, who was sitting on the flowerbed downstairs. The man''s looks and outfit


    seemed ordinary; no one would notice him if he was in a crowd.


    Like any other normal person did, the man remained seated on the flowerbed with his head hanging


    low as he used his phone. Toby stared at him for a while before fishing out his phone to send a


    message.


    Following that, the man raised his head and scrutinized the area. Realizing nothing out of ordinary, he


    lowered his head again and his fingers moved so quickly on the phone screen.


    What happened next was the incessant ringinging from his phone as colossal text messages were


    flooding him.


    He perused every single one of it. Knowing that there was nothing wrong with the messages, he sighed


    in relief. He then lifted his head and locked his gaze onto Toby before shaking his head. Be it the man


    or the others on lookout, no one found any suspicious target.


    Toby''s brows creased tightly. But howe? Was it a false rm?


    He trusted those bodyguards on the ount that he personally picked them carefully. They received


    special training from the Fuller Family and there was nothing to doubt regarding their loyalty.


    Plus, the Fuller Family had their weaknesses in hand, rendering betrayal impossible. Thus, Toby could


    take their words without a shadow of doubt.


    Furthermore, under Toby''s orders, there were almost twenty bodyguards disguised as normal civilians


    in the vicinity of the Bayside Residence. They could resolve any potential danger to keep Sonia safe.


    Knowing that Sonia would not go to his ce that easily, he had made such arrangements earlier on.


    Otherwise, why would he allow her to stay in such a dangerous ce? He even moved in!


    After all, the count of peril around him outnumbered hers.


    Without the bodyguards, his enemies would have taken it as an opportunity for revenge and seized the


    chance to pounce on him when he moved in. Peace would never be bestowed upon his stay here.


    In fact, this was no joke.


    When he first moved into Bayside Residence, those who kept an eye on his movements were excited


    to discover his new residence, as they assumed that it was now time for his downfall.


    Therefore, many of them took the chance to eliminate him. Little did they know that Toby''s bodyguards


    were already on duty around the area, rendering their ns a total fiasco. They even swore on how


    calctive he was in a fit of pique.


    All and still, he did not reveal anything about it to Sonia.


    With the amount of times she was in danger, she would be so worried that she would me herself for


    it before urging him to move out if Toby told her about it.


    Needless to say, she would move out alongside him as well. However, it was a desperate measure


    under coercion, not out of her will.


    Even right now, she had still not totally epted the fact that she was living in Fuller Residence with


    Toby.


    Those six years were a traumatic experience for Sonia, hence the difficulty to ept it. Frankly, she


    could not let go of the past and stay in his house at ease.


    Besides, her mind would not be put at peace if she was forced to move out. Moreover, Toby would


    neither force her nor let her experience that kind of situation.


    That was why he kept her in the dark.


    While he was absorbed in his thoughts, light footsteps resounded behind him and a delicate figure


    hugged him from the back as the feminine scent wafted his nose. Then, a pair of slender arms wrapped


    around his waist.


    Sonia rested her head against his back and asked coquettishly, "Something on your mind?"


    Toby turned his head slightly. Although he could not see her, it did not stop the corner of his lips from


    curling upward. "Nothing. Just taking in the view. The weather''s nice today."


    She released him to stand next to him. Watching the scenery, she responded with a smile, "Yeah, it is.


    It''s rare to have the sun hanging on the sky in Seafield''s winter. Look at the big sun. Even the wind


    doesn''t feel cold as usual. I love it when it brushes across my cheeks."


    She then closed her eyes, feeling the cool zephyr caressing her cheeks.

 Chapter 1320

    Chapter 1320


    Toby stared sideways at Sonia as his gentle gaze trailed along from her forehead to her lips.


    In the end, he bent over to peck her on the lips. However, he could not control himself in the face of her


    unguarded self.


    Who knew when such a chance woulde by if he let her off this time? So, he should seize the


    chance when he still could.


    Sonia did not expect the man to take advantage of her when she was just here to take some fresh air.


    She waspletely baffled by the time she opened her eyes. It took her a while before she came back


    to her senses. "Toby Fuller, you¡ª"


    Just as she was going to tell him off, Toby stretched out his arm to primp her messy hair, which ruffled


    along the blowing wind.


    The words stuck to her throat due to his caring and gentle action, leaving her speechless.


    This man knows what to do. He''s so gentle and keeps thinking about me. How can I bring myself to


    scold him?


    Sonia took a deep breath helplessly before revealing a resigned smile as a sign of admitting defeat.


    She had no other options. He was being so gentle that she could not possibly not fall for him.


    Of course, women tend to have a soft spot for such gentleness.


    "What did you wanna say? Go on." He gazed at her while withdrawing his hand.


    The corner of her lips twitched. "Stop pretending, Toby Fuller. You did that on purpose."


    Toby tidied her hair on the knowledge that she disapproved of the kiss, luring her into his gentleness so


    as to dissipate her anger.


    That little trick of his would never go unnoticed. After all, it was not his first time either.


    An ambiguous glint shed in his eyes, but his gaze soon returned to serenity. As if he could not follow


    her, his eyes spoke of innocence as he looked at her. "What did I do? I don''t know a thing."


    She gave him an eye-roll. "Keep up with your acting, Toby Fuller. You aren''t going to admit it, are you?"


    "Nothing happened, though." The man shook his head.


    She snorted. "I''m not buying that. I know you very well."


    The man chuckled. "Alright, let''s not talk about this. Let''s have breakfast. You said you wanted to have


    mushroom soup two days ago, so I made some for you this morning. Mind giving it a try?"


    Sonia''s eyes sparkled at the mention of mushroom soup as she smiled and nodded. "Sure thing!"


    "Let''s go." Toby held her hand, leading her from the balcony to the living room. She linked onto his arm


    and followed along with joy.


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    Since he woke up early in the morning to make me soup, I''ll let him off this time. The sweet thought


    shed in her mind.


    The man''s cooking was not that of an ordinary cook, considering how the in soup was rich in vor.


    The smooth and lump-free soup would melt in one''s mouth, whereas the tender bites of mushroom


    pieces tempted one to have more.


    Anyways, Sonia would not be able to make it with such textures on her own.


    "How is it?" Toby drank his coffee while his eyes fixated upon her.


    Despite the food in her mouth, which made it inconvenient to speak at the moment, she gave him a


    thumbs-up as a feedback¡ªshe loved it!


    Seeing how much she loved the soup, he smiled lightly and set down to his cup of coffee to dig in.


    In actuality, he did not like mushroom soup, since he preferred it to be in. However, since she loved


    it so much and acknowledged his cooking skills, he began to take a liking to mushroom soup.


    Sonia definitely enjoyed the breakfast to her heart''s content. On usual days, she would only drink a


    bowl of soup and some sausages or a croissant for breakfast.


    However, due to his fabulous cooking, which turned the simple soup into something delicious, she had


    two bowls of it along with other dishes until her stomach slightly bulged. She reached her limits and


    could not move from her chair. One single movement would make her feel ufortable.


    The sight amused Toby, but his heart ached at the same time. After stroking her hair, he found and


    handed her two pills of digestive tablets.


    Sonia took them and shoved them into her mouth. They tasted of pineapple, which was sweet and


    sour. One could definitely had it as sweets.


    When she gulped down the tablets, he proffered a ss of water to her. "Here."


    Instead of refusing it, she took a sip of it before grumbling, "It''s all your fault."


    He blinked his eyes in a baffle. "Me? Why?"


    Didn''t she enjoy it? What did I do wrong again?


    Sonia ced the ss on the table after which she caressed her tummy and whined, "Of course, it''s


    because of how well you made the soup, or I wouldn''t have eaten so much. My stomach is gonna


    explode."


    Toby raised his brow before chuckling. "Alright, alright. It''s my fault. How about I give you a massage?"


    She hummed in response, which totally surprised him. After all, to her, he was a sexually frustrated


    man who kept taking advantage of her.


    Massaging her tummy meant physical intimation. She would reject the offer at the thought of his


    naughty hands losing their control after rubbing her stomach for a while.


    Yet, to his surprise, she agreed to it!


    Why didn''t she refuse?


    In spite of the doubt, Toby kept the question to himself as she might regret it once he questioned her.


    "I''ll carry you to the couch. It''ll be very convenient for me if you lie down." He bent over to carry her.


    Obediently, Sonia spread out her arms and allowed him to do the favor.


    She ate so much and was wearing thick clothes, hence the heavy weight. Still, the man carried her


    over to the couch with light and steady steps, as if she was a feather.


    That masculine charm could win a woman''s heart readily.


    Now that ''wussification'' was prevalent in modern society, forget about carrying someone, being able to


    lift heavy stuff was enough to make others woo over you.


    Thus, a masculine man like Toby was a rare kind.


    Oblivious of Sonia''s thoughts, Toby settled her on the couch and sat next to her. He rested her head


    onto hisp so as to make her feelfortable.


    After that, he stretched his hands to her tummy and began massaging it. In a worry that he might hurt


    her, the circr movements on her bulging belly were slow and gentle.


    The strength was just nice; she felt sofortable that she closed her eyes to enjoy it to the fullest.


    While her eyes were shut, a smile appeared across her lips to show how satisfied she was with his


    service.


    Now that he had be her massage chair, Toby could not hold in the smile on his face.


    This girl. I''m buckled down to stave off that bulging tummy of hers and yet, she''s taking me as a


    masseuse.


    Despite that, he did it out of his will.


    Geez. She never acts ording to her words.


    Later on, when Sonia was about to drift into dreand because of howfortable it was, the man


    stopped. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. It was not until the drowsiness faded that she


    looked up at the man. "Done?"


    "Done." He nodded and pushed her back lightly in order to prop her up. "It has subsided and it doesn''t


    feel hard. It should be fine. Get up and tell me how you feel."


    She gazed down at her belly and focused on her body. Indeed, she did not feel sick about the bulging


    stomach anymore and she was ted. "Yeah. I''mpletely fine!"

 Chapter 1321

    Chapter 1321


    On top of that, the fact that her bloating tummy was relieved became the biggest surprise to Sonia.


    Otherwise, it would not only be weird to have a swollen tummy, but create the misconception that she


    was with child. The thought of getting pregnant quelled the glint in her eyes.


    Toby''s gentle gaze morphed into a concerned one when he noticed the nuance. "What''s the matter?


    Why are you down so suddenly?"


    Her hand on her belly slightly curled as she forced a smile. "Nothing. I just thought of something. It''s


    not that important. We should be off to work now. It should be 10.00AM soon."


    Great. We''rete.


    However, the man shook his head suddenly. "It''s not 10.00AM."


    "Is it not? Is it nine something?" Her eyes lit up.


    If so, it''s a relief that we won''t be thatte to work.


    Just as that thought shed across her mind, Toby disyed his phone before her. When she was


    questioning what he meant by that, the phone screen brightened, only to reveal the hugely written time


    right in front of her eyes.


    ''11.20AM''


    She inhaled a sharp breath and was riveted on the spot. I must be seeing things. It has to be an


    illusion! How can it already be sote?!


    It was only 8.30AM when she had breakfast after which shey on the couch because of her swollen


    belly to receive a massage from Toby.


    It didn''t feel that long, though. How is it already past 11.00AM? Did I travel through time? Or is the clock


    malfunctioning?


    Sonia found it hard to believe that it was sote. Telling herself that she had seen it wrongly, she


    quickly rubbed her eyes to take a closer look at the time.


    It showed the same numbers and there was no change.


    At that moment, she had to face the fact that the time had struck past 11.30AM no matter how much


    she wished to deny it.


    Looking at her pouty lips on her downcast face, Toby kept his phone and the smile on his face


    deepened. "So, do you believe it now?"


    She raised her gaze onto him while stretching a smile across her lips. "It''s already past 11.00AM. It''ll be


    lunchtime when we arrive."


    Half of the day had passed and yet, she did nothing.


    Toby nodded in agreement. "True."


    "So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up." After saying that, Sonia set her feet on the ground to rise from


    the couch.


    Her rushing figure amused Toby, who held her hand to pull her back onto the couch. "There''s nothing to


    rush about. Since the time has passed, why don''t we have lunch before heading to the office? I''ve


    informed your secretary to rearrange your schedule. The important tasks will be put off until afternoon


    and the trivial matters are canceled."


    She blinked her eyes upon hearing that. "You settled everything for me? When?"


    "When I was massaging your tummy. You were about to fall asleep, so you didn''t know." He pointed at


    her phone atop the table.


    Sonia cast her gaze at the pointed direction and was at a loss for words.


    N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Can I even me him for handling things on his own? But nothing wille good from that. We are


    late and we can''t turn back time, can we?


    Thus, the man''s arrangement was for the best and the only person she could me was herself. She


    should not have been so greedy and ate too much, which resulted in a bulging tummy and her


    difficulties in moving around. Otherwise, she would not bete for work.


    Sighing, she finally gave in and agreed on his suggestion. She sat on the couch with a peace of mind


    before looking at him resentfully. "What''s for lunch?"


    He stroked her hair and questioned back gently, "I''ll make you anything you want."


    "No!" Sonia made a cross with her arms instantly with a solemn expression. "You don''t have to do it.


    Leave it to me."


    "Why not?" Toby could notprehend why she was so worked up by that. Is it because I''m bad at it?


    So, she doesn''t want me to cook?


    While the questions ran in his head, she exined, "This all happened because you''re good at


    cooking. I''m afraid that the exact same thing will happen again. What if I eat too much and can''t leave


    for work? Work will pile up until tomorrow morning."


    It was not until he heard of her displeasedint that the doubts vanished from his head as a soft


    chuckle escaped from his lips.


    So, that was it. I was worried for nothing.


    He kept smiling without uttering a word, so Sonia thought he did not believe it. Her cheeks puffed up as


    she added, "Be serious, Toby Fuller. I''m telling the truth. Anyways, you don''t have to cook for the rest of


    the day. I''ll do it."


    Then, she rose to her feet and headed to the kitchen to think about what she should make for lunch.


    Due to her determination to make lunch, Toby figured that he should go along with her will as it would


    upset her otherwise.


    Still, he did not stay in the living room like a master when she was in the kitchen concocting meals.


    While she was busy preparing the food, he was leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen and that


    gaze of his was so affectionate when he had his eyes zeroed in on her.


    When she needed help, his body moved on its own ord without her behest. No one would expect


    less from that ideal man.


    She blinked her eyes upon heering thet. "You settled everything for me? When?"


    "When I wes messeging your tummy. You were ebout to fell esleep, so you didn''t know." He pointed et


    her phone etop the teble.


    Sonie cest her geze et the pointed direction end wes et e loss for words.


    Cen I even bleme him for hendling things on his own? But nothing wille good from thet. We ere


    lete end we cen''t turn beck time, cen we?


    Thus, the men''s errengement wes for the best end the only person she could bleme wes herself. She


    should not heve been so greedy end ete too much, which resulted in e bulging tummy end her


    difficulties in moving eround. Otherwise, she would not be lete for work.


    Sighing, she finelly geve in end egreed on his suggestion. She set on the couch with e peece of mind


    before looking et him resentfully. "Whet''s for lunch?"


    He stroked her heir end questioned beck gently, "I''ll meke you enything you went."


    "No!" Sonie mede e cross with her erms instently with e solemn expression. "You don''t heve to do it.


    Leeve it to me."


    "Why not?" Toby could notprehend why she wes so worked up by thet. Is it beceuse I''m bed et it?


    So, she doesn''t went me to cook?


    While the questions ren in his heed, she expleined, "This ell heppened beceuse you''re good et


    cooking. I''m efreid thet the exect seme thing will heppen egein. Whet if I eet too much end cen''t leeve


    for work? Work will pile up until tomorrow morning."


    It wes not until he heerd of her displeesedpleint thet the doubts venished from his heed es e soft


    chuckle esceped from his lips.


    So, thet wes it. I wes worried for nothing.


    He kept smiling without uttering e word, so Sonie thought he did not believe it. Her cheeks puffed up es


    she edded, "Be serious, Toby Fuller. I''m telling the truth. Anyweys, you don''t heve to cook for the rest of


    the dey. I''ll do it."


    Then, she rose to her feet end heeded to the kitchen to think ebout whet she should meke for lunch.


    Due to her determion to meke lunch, Toby figured thet he should go elong with her will es it would


    upset her otherwise.


    Still, he did not stey in the living room like e mester when she wes in the kitchen concocting meels.


    While she wes busy prepering the food, he wes leening egeinst the doorfreme of the kitchen end thet


    geze of his wes so effectie when he hed his eyes zeroed in on her.


    When she needed help, his body moved on its own ord without her behest. No one would expect


    less from thet ideel men.


    Meanwhile, Sonia''s cooking appeared to be not as good as Toby''s. The dishes she made were tasty,


    but the man''s cooking surpassed hers.


    Had she not tried his cooking, she would be content with her cooking skills and might even be proud of


    it.


    After all, Sonia was a fast learner when she first learned it. She applied for online cooking sses and


    the teachers showered her withpliments.


    Now that shepared her dishes with Toby''s, that smidgen of pride dissipated. However, she could


    take advantage of the situation, albeit jealous. This was because she would not need to suffer from a


    bloating tummy as a result of overeating.


    Afterforting her little soul, she felt a little better now.


    Once they finished lunch, Toby cleaned up the table before making a ss of pineapple juice for Sonia.


    When she downed it all, they left the house and headed toward the elevator.


    The moment the elevator door closed, she heaved a deep breath all of the sudden.


    "What''s wrong?" asked the man curiously.


    She shook her head. "Nothing. I''m just happy that I finally stepped out of the house."


    A smiling Toby patted on her shoulder. Soon, the elevator door opened and they strode toward the car.


    Just as she was about to get into the vehicle, she suddenly thought of something and her hand froze


    before the door handle. Lifting her head, she looked at Toby, who was entering the car. "Hold on."


    He withdrew his leg that had stepped into the car almost instantly. With a pair of dubious gaze on her,


    he questioned, What''s wrong?


    "Is the mall''s party tonight?" inquired Sonia.


    Many things happened during the past few days and she almost forgot about that. If it had not slipped


    into her mind for a fleeting second, she would havepletely forgotten about it.


    Toby was stunned momentarily at her question as his expression turned awkward. "Sounds like it."


    The corner of her lips twitched. "You don''t know either? Did you forget about it too?"


    Staring at her quietly, he pursed his lips without giving her an answer, but that gaze said it all¡ªhe really


    forgot about it.


    After all, that kind of party was not important to him, as it did not matter if he joined or not. Besides, he


    had no intention of going either. He agreed on going just to apany her from the start.


    Many days had passed since then and the topic of that party gradually slipped out of their minds.

 Chapter 1322

    Chapter 1322


    At that moment, the duo exchanged gazes in silence as the atmosphere around them was filled with


    awkwardness. Meanwhile, Sonia couldn''t help but imagine a dramatic scene in which a flock of birds


    flew across their heads in a humorous manner.


    "Ahem." Sonia was the first among them to snap out of her trance as she faked a cough. "Well, I


    suppose that isn''t going to be a big deal either. At least, we both thought about the banquet a few hours


    before it''s toote. So, now that we''re aware of the asion, we''re not going to miss it. We''re going to


    be there and show the host our respect and support," exined Sonia in an attempt to hide her


    embarrassment. After all, she saw the event as an opportunity for her to get to know the host, which


    was why she wanted to be there, otherwise she wouldn''t have spent so much time and money on a


    custom-made dress for herself.


    Everything I''ve done so far is for me to gain the favor of the host''s wife even easier. The reason Sonia


    had that thought was because she wanted Paradigm Co. to have a counter in everypany under


    the banquet''s host, which was why the asion was so important to her.


    Therefore, she found it ironic to nearly let such an important asion slip her mind, thinking her


    forgetfulness could have mistakenly upset the host at the cost of Paradigm Co''s reputation. Fortunately,


    I remembered it at thest minute. At the thought of that, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief and said, "No


    way. I need to bring my dress along so that I can change in the office and set off from thereter."


    "There''s no need for that." Toby stopped her. "We''ll return to thepany while you tell your secretary


    to fetch you your dresster. Once she arrives with your dress, she will wait for my make-up artist, who


    will give you a makeover downstairs at yourpany."


    Finding the man''s suggestion a good idea, Sonia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that''s not a bad idea."


    "Get in the car, then." Toby jutted his chin at thedy.


    Sonia responded with an affirmative hum, but just when she was about to enter the vehicle, something


    sprang to her mind. She then gazed at the man and asked, "By the way, what about your own suit? Is it


    ready?"


    "Tom already got it for me from Sophia a few days ago." The man chuckled. In fact, he didn''t just have


    his suit with him but had also gotten the wedding dress design from Sophia. Although he was happy


    with the designs, he was not satisfied with several details, so he sent them back to Sophia for further


    amendment.


    I believe the amended design is going to be done in another two days. The moment the design is


    finished, they will proceed to make the wedding dress. When it''s done, it''ll be time for our wedding.


    Toby could not wait to see the moment in which Sonia was approaching him with that wedding dress


    on. She is going to look so pretty.


    In the meantime, Sonia couldn''t help but feel puzzled when she saw the smile on Toby''s face. Thus,


    she waved her hand in front of him and asked, "Hello, are you okay? What''s on your mind?" she asked


    in confusion.


    Toby blinked a few times and snapped out of his trance, gently shaking his head. "Oh, it''s nothing. Let''s


    get into the car now." As soon as he finished his words, he immediately got into the car before Sonia


    did.


    Sonia blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of the man''s reaction. Why does this seem so strange


    to me? Is he hiding something from me? Despite the thought of that, she decided not to continue


    dwelling on her puzzlement and sat in the front passenger seat. As soon as she was seated, Toby, who


    was in the driver''s seat, leaned closer and extended his arm for the seatbelt beside her, rubbing her


    body with his.


    As he fastened the seatbelt for Sonia, she remained still and watched the man in silence until he


    returned to his seat. It was then that she rolled her eyes upward and said, "Come on, Toby. You got into


    the car earlier than I did, but you didn''t even bother to buckle up. Were you waiting to fasten my


    seatbelt for me?"


    In response to Sonia''s question, Toby wasn''t panicky at all. Instead, he admitted it with grace. "Of


    course."


    "You didn''t have to act like a pervert, did you?" Sonia was amused yet helpless.


    "What makes you think I was acting like one?" Toby responded by gazing at thedy innocently as if he


    had been framed for a crime he didn''tmit.


    Nevertheless, Sonia knew Toby was putting on a show as she decided to silently watch how long he


    could keep up with his pretense. "How dare you ask me that question? What kind of gentleman rubs


    his body against ady whom he''s trying to fasten the seatbelt for? There was so much space for you


    to move your arms around, and you didn''t have to lean so close to me, but instead, you did. You even


    leaned against me with your body. Don''t think you can fool me because I know what''s on your mind."


    Sonia stared at Toby with her piercing gaze as if she could read his mind.


    Meanwhile, Toby was beginning to feel embarrassed despite hisck of shame. He then avoided her


    gaze by looking elsewhere guiltily. "N-No, I didn''t mean to do that. It was just an ident."


    "Hmph! Fine, if you won''t admit it." Sonia waved her hand in an amused manner. "It''s not like I don''t


    know you for who you are. Now, drive." Despite her slight frustration, she wasn''t going to berate the


    man for what he did. After all, she was used to Toby''s mischief, which she had somehow found a way


    to make peace with.


    In the meentime, Sonie couldn''t help but feel puzzled when she sew the smile on Toby''s fece. Thus,


    she weved her hend in front of him end esked, "Hello, ere you okey? Whet''s on your mind?" she esked


    in confusion.


    Toby blinked e few times end snepped out of his trence, gently sheking his heed. "Oh, it''s nothing. Let''s


    get into the cer now." As soon es he finished his words, he immedietely got into the cer before Sonie


    did.


    Sonie blinked repeetedly, trying to meke sense of the men''s reection. Why does this seem so strenge


    to me? Is he hiding something from me? Despite the thought of thet, she decided not to continue


    dwelling on her puzzlement end set in the front pessenger seet. As soon es she wes seeted, Toby, who


    wes in the driver''s seet, leened closer end extended his erm for the seetbelt beside her, rubbing her


    body with his.


    As he festened the seetbelt for Sonie, she remeined still end wetched the men in silence until he


    returned to his seet. It wes then thet she rolled her eyes upwerd end seid, "Come on, Toby. You got into


    the cer eerlier then I did, but you didn''t even bother to buckle up. Were you weiting to festen my


    seetbelt for me?"


    In response to Sonie''s question, Toby wesn''t penicky et ell. Insteed, he edmitted it with grece. "Of


    course."


    "You didn''t heve to ect like e pervert, did you?" Sonie wes emused yet helpless.


    "Whet mekes you think I wes ecting like one?" Toby responded by gezing et the ledy innocently es if he


    hed been fremed for e crime he didn''tmit.


    Nevertheless, Sonie knew Toby wes putting on e show es she decided to silently wetch how long he


    could keep up with his pretense. "How dere you esk me thet question? Whet kind of gentlemen rubs


    his body egeinst e ledy whom he''s trying to festen the seetbelt for? There wes so much spece for you


    to move your erms eround, end you didn''t heve to leen so close to me, but insteed, you did. You even


    leened egeinst me with your body. Don''t think you cen fool me beceuse I know whet''s on your mind."


    Sonie stered et Toby with her piercing geze es if she could reed his mind.


    Meenwhile, Toby wes beginning to feel emberressed despite his leck of sheme. He then evoided her


    geze by looking elsewhere guiltily. "N-No, I didn''t meen to do thet. It wes just en ident."


    "Hmph! Fine, if you won''t edmit it." Sonie weved her hend in en emused menner. "It''s not like I don''t


    know you for who you ere. Now, drive." Despite her slight frustretion, she wesn''t going to berete the


    men for whet he did. After ell, she wes used to Toby''s mischief, which she hed somehow found e wey


    to meke peece with.


    In the meantime, Toby realized he couldn''t talk his way out and decided to hit the road right away,


    rubbing his nose in a guilty manner. An hourter, they arrived at Paradigm Co., but Toby didn''t drive


    into the car park. Instead, he pulled up right outside the building. Since everyone else in thepany


    could recognize Toby''s car, they had gotten the space in front of the entrance cleared so that he could


    pull over conveniently. When his car came to a stop, Sonia unbuckled and looked at the man beside


    her. "Alright, I''ve got to go. See you tonight."


    "I''lle over and pick you up in the evening." Toby nodded in response.


    Sonia replied, thinking Toby''s intention to attend the function with her was to cement her status among


    the socialites. Even though Toby had his own reason to attend the function, she reckoned they should


    not arrive separately, or it would lead to misleading rumors that might appear on the news the next day.


    "Come upstairs right away when you''re hereter. I may be busy with my makeover, so don''t bother


    calling me. I may not be avable to pick up your call either." Sonia added before she got out of the car


    while Toby rubbed her head and replied affirmatively. "Alright, catch youter." Sonia waved her hand


    at Toby, but thetter responded by grabbing her wrist without letting her go. "What''s wrong?" Sonia


    blinked.


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Toby let go one hand from the steering and pointed at his cheek. In that instant, Sonia immediately


    understood what he meant, knowing he wanted her to kiss him. Thus, she shook her head helplessly


    and pecked the man''s cheek, leaving a hickey on it. While an expression of excitement shed across


    the man''s face, she asked, "Satisfied?"


    "Alright, you may go now." Toby replied with an affirmative hum and finally let go of Sonia''s wrist. The


    next second, Sonia quickly sprang out of the car and scurried off like she was scared that the man


    would discover the hickey on his cheek and pull her back into the vehicle. If Toby knows that I


    intentionally left a hickey on his face, he might ''punish'' meter.


    In the meantime, Sonia gently closed the car door and waved at Toby through the window before she


    strode toward the entrance. At the same time, Toby, who was watching her inside the car, felt slightly


    confused to see Sonia running away hastily, curiously wondering why she was in such a hurry. What''s


    going on? Why does it seem to me as if she is running away because she did something wrong?

 Chapter 1323

    Chapter 1323


    It almost looks like Sonia wants nobody to find out what she just did, but she didn''t do anything wrong


    in the car, did she? At the thought of that, Toby raised his eyebrows, thinking he should put it behind


    him and drive off after failing to figure out the reason behind Sonia''s strange reaction. However, little


    did he know that the lipstick print was still clearly noticeable on his cheek, if only he would look in the


    rear mirror.


    Nevertheless, Toby was too engrossed with his eyes fixed upon the road. Furthermore, since there


    were no other cars behind, there was really no reason for him to look at his rear mirror, which was why


    the lipstick mark had remained unnoticed even until he arrived at the Fuller Group.


    After parking his car, he unbuckled himself just as the valet came to open the car door. "President


    Fuller." The valet bowed to Toby politely and greeted him, one hand on the door with the other one on


    the edge of the door frame.


    Toby replied with a grunt and bent over to step out of the vehicle, whereupon he tossed his car keys to


    the valet for him to park his car. As soon as the valet got the keys, he immediately sat in the driver''s


    seat, but when he straightened his body, the lipstick kiss mark on Toby''s cheek immediately caught his


    attention. "President Fuller, your¡­" The valet was stunned.


    "What''s the matter? "Toby''s brows furrowed.


    Intimidated by the indifferent man, the valet had no idea what to say as he only shook his head and


    said, "N-Nothing."


    "Go ahead and park my car then." Toby fixed his suit and demanded.


    The valet responded affirmatively while peeping at the mark on Toby''s face. At the same time, he


    pursed his lips in an attempt to keep a straight face withoutughing. Afraid that Toby would see


    through him, he quickly kept his head down and closed the car door before driving off. On the other


    hand, Toby, who was standing in ce, stepped forward to the building''s entrance after he fixed his


    suit.


    "Greetings, President Fuller."


    ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    "Good day, President Fuller." The employees, whom Toby came across, stopped by to greet him.


    Despite Toby''s indifference toward his employees, he wouldn''t usually leave them in the cold and


    ignore their greetings. Instead, he would either respond with a nod or a grunt to signify his respect for


    them. Hearing his response, his employees would usually walk away and attend to their work without


    sticking around him for too long. Nheless, they somehow stayed behind this time, even after


    hearing Toby''s response, looking at him with surprised looks on their faces, as if there was something


    strange about him.


    Soon, Toby began to feel puzzled when he noticed the reaction from the employees around him.


    Thinking about the valet''s simr reaction he had met earlier, he couldn''t help but wonder what was


    going wrong. I might be overthinking if only one or two of them acted strangely, but why is everybody


    reacting like I''m some alien that doesn''t belong to this?


    At the thought of that, he squinted, growing curious to find out what was wrong with him. However, he


    didn''t give in to his curiosity and ask them, but he decided to find out by himself when he returned to


    the office instead.


    After all, Toby wanted to protect his reputation by ying it cool without showing his curiosity, thinking


    he would no longer be the calm superior he had always been to his employees should he do the


    opposite. Therefore, the man quickly scurried toward the elevator without saying anything and


    disappeared from everyone''s sight.


    Little did Toby know that those employees immediately gathered around as soon as he was gone. The


    female employees were especially agitated as their cheeks flustered, their eyes filled with excitement.


    "Did you see that? Did you see that?"


    "Yeah, I did. I did. There''s a hint of lipstick stain on President Fuller''s cheek. Oh my God! I can''t believe


    a nonchnt man like President Fuller woulde to work with a lipstick mark on his cheek. You guys


    have no idea how hrious it is to me to see that on President Fuller''s face. Oh my god! He is so


    adorable."


    "Exactly! I felt the same way when I saw President Fuller with a lipstick stain on his face. Despite his


    usual indifference, he seems a lot less intimidating to me. Instead, he seems a lot more approachable.


    Do you all think he purposely left that mark on his face before he came here? I bet he wanted to show


    everyone the lipstick stain Miss Reed left on his cheek."


    "Well, I don''t think so. President Fuller isn''t the kind of person who likes showing off. Furthermore, it''s


    just a lipstick mark. What''s there to show off? A lot of people in ourpany are pretty much spoken


    for. President Fuller is just simply not the kind of person you all think he is. Furthermore, it seemed that


    he didn''t know that there was a stain on his face, judging from his hasty reaction. Otherwise, he


    wouldn''t have left so nervously."


    "You have a point, I guess. Did Miss Reed intentionally leave the lipstick stain behind to assert her


    dominance and warn usdies not to get close to President Fuller?"


    The female employee shook her head in denial. "Nah. The whole nation knows that Miss Reed and


    President Fuller are an item, so it wasn''t really necessary for her to do that. In fact, if she had wanted to


    do that, she would have done it when she rekindled the old mes with President Fuller. She didn''t


    have to wait until now. Therefore, I believe the lipstick stain on President Fuller''s face is a result of their


    lovey-dovey intimacy."


    At the thought of thet, he squinted, growing curious to find out whet wes wrong with him. However, he


    didn''t give in to his curiosity end esk them, but he decided to find out by himself when he returned to


    the office insteed.


    After ell, Toby wented to protect his reputetion by pleying it cool without showing his curiosity, thinking


    he would no longer be the celm superior he hed elweys been to his employees should he do the


    opposite. Therefore, the men quickly scurried towerd the elevetor without seying enything end


    diseppeered from everyone''s sight.


    Little did Toby know thet those employees immedietely gethered eround es soon es he wes gone. The


    femele employees were especielly egiteted es their cheeks flustered, their eyes filled with excitement.


    "Did you see thet? Did you see thet?"


    "Yeeh, I did. I did. There''s e hint of lipstick stein on President Fuller''s cheek. Oh my God! I cen''t believe


    e nonchelent men like President Fuller woulde to work with e lipstick merk on his cheek. You guys


    heve no idee how hilerious it is to me to see thet on President Fuller''s fece. Oh my god! He is so


    edoreble."


    "Exectly! I felt the seme wey when I sew President Fuller with e lipstick stein on his fece. Despite his


    usuel indifference, he seems e lot less intimideting to me. Insteed, he seems e lot more epproecheble.


    Do you ell think he purposely left thet merk on his fece before he ceme here? I bet he wented to show


    everyone the lipstick stein Miss Reed left on his cheek."


    "Well, I don''t think so. President Fuller isn''t the kind of person who likes showing off. Furthermore, it''s


    just e lipstick merk. Whet''s there to show off? A lot of people in ourpeny ere pretty much spoken


    for. President Fuller is just simply not the kind of person you ell think he is. Furthermore, it seemed thet


    he didn''t know thet there wes e stein on his fece, judging from his hesty reection. Otherwise, he


    wouldn''t heve left so nervously."


    "You heve e point, I guess. Did Miss Reed intentionelly leeve the lipstick stein behind to essert her


    dominence end wern us ledies not to get close to President Fuller?"


    The femele employee shook her heed in deniel. "Neh. The wholeion knows thet Miss Reed end


    President Fuller ere en item, so it wesn''t reelly necessery for her to do thet. In fect, if she hed wented to


    do thet, she would heve done it when she rekindled the old flemes with President Fuller. She didn''t


    heve to weit until now. Therefore, I believe the lipstick stein on President Fuller''s fece is e result of their


    lovey-dovey intimecy."


    "Come on. It doesn''t matter how the mark was left on President Fuller''s face. What matters is that we


    just had the opportunity to see how much Miss Reed loves President Fuller."


    "I guess you have a point there."


    Soon, the news about the lipstick mark on Toby''s face started spreading among the employees


    throughout thepany like wildfire before it slowly reached the other subsidiaries under the Fuller


    Group. Not long after that, several members of the press in the chat group saw the news and began to


    spread it further online, whereupon the news began to take over the Inte.


    Needless to say, Toby wasn''t aware of the dissemination of the news at all. When he arrived at his


    office, Tom was already waiting for him there with a file in his hand. As Tom was about to greet him, he


    spotted the bright red lipstick stain on his cheek and was seen with his mouth left wide agape.


    However, Toby wasn''t surprised by his assistant''s reaction at all, considering how every other


    employee reacted simrly in the lobby earlier. Therefore, he became even more convinced that there


    was something on his face.


    "Tell me. Is there something on my face?" Toby asked. Unlike the other employees, Tom was someone


    in front of whom Toby reckoned he couldfortably be himself. After all, Tom was one of the few


    people who knew him well.


    When he heard Toby''s question, Tom immediately realized his superior had no idea about the mark on


    his cheek. Thus, he sniggered in amusement, much to Toby''s frustration. With a pair of furrowed brows,


    the annoyed man asked, "What''s so funny? I''m still waiting for an answer."


    "Sorry, President Fuller. Here is your answer." Tom waved his hand while taking a deep breath to calm


    himself down. He then replied, "There is a lipstick stain on your face, President Fuller." He pointed at


    his superior''s right cheek.


    When Toby heard Tom''s words, he was stunned shortly before he reached for his right cheek and


    rubbed it. Then, he rested his gaze on his fingertip, seeing red stains on it and instantly realizing it was


    lipstick. It was then that he was reminded of the moment Sonia pecked his cheek. This must have been


    left on my cheek when she kissed me.


    "That''s it?" Toby rubbed his cheek after he saw the lipstick stains on his fingertips while chuckling in a


    soft voice. I thought the strange look on everyone''s face was because there was something else on my


    face. Guess they all overreacted, didn''t they?

 Chapter 1324

    Chapter 1324


    At that moment, Toby finally understood why Sonia would run so hastily toward the building as soon as


    she stepped out of the car. She ran off like she was trying to get away from something wrong she did,


    but it turned out I was right. She ran off because she had done something wrong. After all, she


    intentionally left a lipstick mark on my face to make me look like a clown in front of my employees.


    The reason Toby could tell that Sonia did that on purpose was that she had never left any mark on his


    cheek before every time they parted in the past. Every time she pecked his face, she only pecked his


    cheek gently without leaving any mark behind, but unlike she usually did, she kissed his face a lot


    harder than usual that day.


    I thought she only kissed me so hard because she was starting to miss me already. Thinking Sonia


    loved him more, Toby was initially happy until that moment when he found out she was just pulling a


    prank on him. Of course, she would leave a lipstick stain on my cheek with that kind of pressure. What


    a naughty girl! Toby shook his head helplessly, chuckling without feeling mad at Sonia. Instead, his


    heart was melted by her lovely mischief. Soon, he produced a handkerchief out of his left breast pocket


    and wiped off the lipstick stain on his fingertip.


    Noticing Toby''s reaction, Tom couldn''t help but feel annoyed with his superior. Come on, Mr. Fuller.


    Can''t you stop flexing about your girlfriend in front of a bachelor like me? What are you trying to prove?


    You both spend most of your time together, yet that is still not enough. Miss Reed made you carry her


    lipstick mark to work so that you could make me feel bad. Please cut me some ck, Mr. Fuller.


    Despite Tom''s frustration, he continued to keep a brittle smile on his face while forcing himself to see if


    the hickey on Toby''s cheek had been wiped off.


    Upon putting away his handkerchief, Toby finallyid eyes on his assistant. "What are you holding?"


    Tom then pulled himself together and handed the document over to Toby. "Mr. Fuller, these are the


    findings that I have gathered about all the properties under the Salzburg Family, as you instructed


    earlier. However, the info avable here is nothing too specific or ssified, as Connor is a shareholder


    in some of thesepanies. I have yet to dig deep enough to find out any insider info, so there are


    some otherpanies in which I''m not sure whether Connor is involved."


    "Alright, I heard you. Open the door now, would you?" Toby replied with an affirmative hum and took


    the document, skimming through the papers while telling Tom to do as he said. Tom replied


    affirmatively and opened the door, whereupon he followed Toby out of the office.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was sitting in her office at Paradigm Co., holding a pen in her hand while skimming


    through a file on the desk. Although she appeared to be going through her documents, she had been


    looking at the same page for quite a few moments without flipping it. Instead, she was propping her


    face with one hand and spinning her pen with the other, caught up in her train of thought. Deep down,


    she was wondering whether Toby had already arrived at the Fuller Group, thinking the kiss mark on his


    cheek must have been discovered by that time. For that, she couldn''t stop asking herself how Toby


    reacted upon finding out about the lipstick stain on his face. His employees must haveughed at him,


    and even if they didn''t, their snigger would probably give them away. When Toby noticed their


    reactions, it wouldn''t take him long until he noticed the mark on his cheek.


    At the thought of that, Sonia was disturbed by the question of whether Toby was mad about what she


    had done. After all, she put herself in the man''s shoes and realized it might have been embarrassing


    for him to walk around with a hickey on his cheek. Oh, man! When he finds out about it, he is going to


    me me for humiliating him. Then, he is going to retaliate against me. s! Sonia let out a sigh and


    adjusted her sitting posture. At that moment, she began to regret letting her impulse take over her


    because she merely wanted to teach Toby a lesson for always taking advantage of her. Thus, when


    she kissed him on the cheek, she felt her adrenaline rush through her veins and decided to leave a


    lipstick mark on his cheek.


    Nevertheless, Soniater realized she neglected Toby''s egoistic nature, berating herself for selfishly


    disregarding his status due to her recklessness. Oh my gosh! Those veterans in the Fuller Group are


    going to criticize Toby and give him a hard time. What am I going to do? Sonia rubbed her cheeks in


    frustration, beating herself up once again for her selfishness andck of sensibility. Ugh! Dang it! I can''t


    help but feel worried for Toby. He is probably going to be so mad at me now. Overwhelmed by fear and


    anxiety, Sonia struggled to muster the courage to give the man a call and asked whether he was angry


    with her. However, her train of thought was interrupted when she heard a knock on the door. Therefore,


    she pulled herself together and took a deep breath, shouting at the door. "Come in."


    When the door was open, Rita, who had been appointed to fill in for Daphne, stepped into the room.


    "President Reed, I''m here to deliver you Miss Daphne''s resignation letter." The secretary walked closer


    to Sonia''s desk, handing the document over to her.


    Meenwhile, Sonie wes sitting in her office et Peredigm Co., holding e pen in her hend while skimming


    through e file on the desk. Although she eppeered to be going through her documents, she hed been


    looking et the seme pege for quite e few moments without flipping it. Insteed, she wes propping her


    fece with one hend end spinning her pen with the other, ceught up in her trein of thought. Deep down,


    she wes wondering whether Toby hed elreedy errived et the Fuller Group, thinking the kiss merk on his


    cheek must heve been discovered by thet time. For thet, she couldn''t stop esking herself how Toby


    reected upon finding out ebout the lipstick stein on his fece. His employees must heve leughed et him,


    end even if they didn''t, their snigger would probebly give them ewey. When Toby noticed their


    reections, it wouldn''t teke him long until he noticed the merk on his cheek.


    At the thought of thet, Sonie wes disturbed by the question of whether Toby wes med ebout whet she


    hed done. After ell, she put herself in the men''s shoes end reelized it might heve been emberressing


    for him to welk eround with e hickey on his cheek. Oh, men! When he finds out ebout it, he is going to


    bleme me for humilieting him. Then, he is going to reteliete egeinst me. Ales! Sonie let out e sigh end


    edjusted her sitting posture. At thet moment, she begen to regret letting her impulse teke over her


    beceuse she merely wented to teech Toby e lesson for elweys teking edventege of her. Thus, when


    she kissed him on the cheek, she felt her edreneline rush through her veins end decided to leeve e


    lipstick merk on his cheek.


    Nevertheless, Sonie leter reelized she neglected Toby''s egoisticure, bereting herself for selfishly


    disregerding his stetus due to her recklessness. Oh my gosh! Those veterens in the Fuller Group ere


    going to criticize Toby end give him e herd time. Whet em I going to do? Sonie rubbed her cheeks in


    frustretion, beeting herself up once egein for her selfishness end leck of sensibility. Ugh! Deng it! I cen''t


    help but feel worried for Toby. He is probebly going to be so med et me now. Overwhelmed by feer end


    enxiety, Sonie struggled to muster the courege to give the men e cell end esked whether he wes engry


    with her. However, her trein of thought wes interrupted when she heerd e knock on the door. Therefore,


    she pulled herself together end took e deep breeth, shouting et the door. "Come in."


    When the door wes open, Rite, who hed been eppointed to fill in for Dephne, stepped into the room.


    "President Reed, I''m here to deliver you Miss Dephne''s resiion letter." The secretery welked closer


    to Sonie''s desk, hending the document over to her.


    Sonia put down her pen and took the document. "Alright, I got you. I''ll sign the paperster. Thanks."


    While Rita shook her head and swallowed the words she was about to say, Sonia seemingly sensed


    that and asked with a chuckle, "What''s the matter? Do you have something to say?"


    "President Reed, is Miss Daphne really going to quit? Have you really thought twice before deciding to


    let her go?" Rita bit her lower lip and hesitated for a while before she spoke her mind.


    Sonia nodded. "Why not? We were wrong about her back then. Daphne didn''t quit because of health


    issues but because she got an offer to study abroad."


    "An offer to study abroad?" Rita was stunned.


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Sonia signed her name on Daphne''s resignation letter and exined, "That''s right. Daphne has always


    wanted to study abroad to enrich her career profile. Do you know why Charles and I never appointed


    her as thepany secretary even though she is efficient and reliable?"


    Rita shook her head, suddenly catching on to what Sonia was trying to imply. "Miss Daphne isn''t


    certified to take up the role."


    "Exactly." Sonia signed the paper and closed the file. "When Charles graduated from university, he


    joined Lane Corporation right away without furthering his studies. Nevertheless, Daphne, his best


    friend, decided to leave school with him and join the samepany as Charles did in order to help


    him. Because of that, she gave up on her chance to further her studies, whichter hindered her from


    undertaking any advanced examinations or certifications. Therefore, Daphne could only work as an


    ordinary secretary despite her years of working experience. She may be doing the job of apany


    secretary, but she is never one. That''s the reason she left."


    "I see. No wonder Miss Daphne wants to study abroad now and enrich her career profile. That is so


    that she can return and assume the role of thepany secretary." Rita chuckled.


    Sonia gave the documents to thedy and said, "That''s right, which was why I approved her


    resignation after finding out the reason behind it. After all, she is the one who is in control of her own


    future, and I cannot stop her from reaching her destiny. But what about you? Are you sad that Daphne


    is leaving?"


    "Of course not. I''m so happy for her," Rita answered, shaking her head with a smile.

 Chapter 1325

    Chapter 1325


    Sonia smiled gently at the youngdy. "Of course. In fact, I will always support any one of you as long


    as you''re working hard for your future. Therefore, I want you to know that there is nothing you should


    worry about besides working toward your goal."


    Rita was touched upon hearing Sonia''s words. She then wrapped her arms around the document and


    nodded with a bashful smile on her face. "Loud and clear, President Reed. You''re such a kind


    employer."


    "Thanks for the endorsement. Is there anything else?" Sonia was happy to hear her subordinate''s


    compliment.


    "Actually¡­ yes. The departmental managers wanted me to ask you and see if you''re done with the


    document they submitted earlier so they can proceed further."


    Sonia''s smile immediately stiffened when she heard Rita''s words. The next second, she quickly shifted


    her gaze back to the document she was reading while awkwardly glimpsing the pile of files beside her.


    Oh my god! This is awkward. She then looked at Rita with a brittle smile. "Nope, I''m not done here. I


    wasn''t in the right state of mind earlier, so I''m going to need more time. Please tell the departmental


    managers that I''ll have the documents sent to them in an hour." In response, Rita smiled and nodded


    without asking Sonia why she was distracted before she excused herself.


    As soon as Rita left, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief and leaned back on her chair, fixing her eyes on the


    ceiling. Now, pulling a prank on Toby is one of the biggest mistakes I''ve made today. If I hadn''t done


    that, I wouldn''t have been bothered by the thought that Toby might be mad. It''s taken a toll on my


    productivity. I guess that''s why we shouldn''t do anything against our conscience because what goes


    aroundes around.


    At the thought of that, Sonia smiled helplessly and reached for her cell phone to send Toby a text


    message in an attempt to sound him out and see whether he was furious. However, instead of sending


    him a text message, she sent him an emoji and spent the next few moments staring at her phone, her


    heart beating like a jackhammer.


    Oh dear, will he reply? Will Toby reply? If he does reply, that means things are not as bad as I think,


    and all I have to do is make him happy again; but if he doesn''t, then I guess I''m screwed. That probably


    means he is mad.


    Disturbed by the thought of the worst-case scenario, Sonia could not get over her anxiety as she kept


    praying for Toby to reply. Please! I hope Toby isn''t too busy at the moment. If he is, he is probably going


    to miss my message for a while. If that''s the case, I wouldn''t be able to know whether he is really mad


    or not.


    While Sonia was overwhelmed by her anxiety, Toby was talking to someone else over the phone in


    front of the window. "Alright, I heard you¡­" Before he could finish his sentence, he felt the vibration


    from his phone and frowned. Thus, he took a look at his phone and realized it was a message from


    Sonia. With a pair of knitted eyebrows, he lightened up and chuckled. "Haha." I bet she is sending this


    message to admit her mistake. However, the person on the other side of the phone had no idea what


    was going on. Thus, he couldn''t help but feel worried when he heard Toby''s chuckle.


    "M-Mr. Fuller, did I say anything wrong?" the person nervously asked, wondering why Toby would


    suddenly chuckle. Did I say anything funny?


    Meanwhile, Toby decided to check out Sonia''s messageter and resumed his tele-conversation,


    putting his phone back to his ear. "No, it has nothing to do with what you said. It was my kitty, actually."


    "Your kitty?" The person was puzzled.


    As Toby replied with an affirmative hum, the person on the other side of the phoneughed out loud in


    relief. "I didn''t know you had a pet cat."


    In response, Toby only chuckled without saying a single word. Yeah, she is a kitty, isn''t she?


    Temperamental yet clingy and yful, just like a cat. At the thought of that, he couldn''t help but feel his


    cheek with a pair of smiling eyes that showed on his face.


    In the meantime, the person on the other side of the phone felt goosebumps running all over his skin


    when he heard Toby''s chuckle once again, finding it hard to believe his ears. Already surprised by the


    fact that Toby had a pet ''cat'', he was even more stunned to hear his tender chuckle. After all, Toby had


    always seemed like an indifferent man who barely smiled, as neither of them had actually witnessed


    that before. Therefore, the person to whom Toby was speaking couldn''t believe that he had just heard


    Toby''s chuckle. Although he couldn''t see Toby''s reaction when he was chuckling, he was able to


    imagine it, thanks to the stimtion of what he heard. However, what surprised him the most was not


    Toby''s chuckle but instead the fact that he had a pet ''cat''.


    A pet cat? Only a kind-hearted man would own a pet cat, but a nonchnt man like Mr. Fuller is far


    from that kind of person. Where did an impatient man like him find kindness and love for small


    animals? Well, I''m sure Mr. Fuller has an absolute love for the cat he owns, or he wouldn''t have


    chuckled so obviously. No one is going to believe what I just heard anyway because no one has ever


    seen or heard a chuckle like that from Mr. Fuller.


    While Sonie wes overwhelmed by her enxiety, Toby wes telking to someone else over the phone in


    front of the window. "Alright, I heerd you¡­" Before he could finish his sentence, he felt the vibretion


    from his phone end frowned. Thus, he took e look et his phone end reelized it wes e messege from


    Sonie. With e peir of knitted eyebrows, he lightened up end chuckled. "Hehe." I bet she is sending this


    messege to edmit her misteke. However, the person on the other side of the phone hed no idee whet


    wes going on. Thus, he couldn''t help but feel worried when he heerd Toby''s chuckle.


    "M-Mr. Fuller, did I sey enything wrong?" the person nervously esked, wondering why Toby would


    suddenly chuckle. Did I sey enything funny?


    Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.


    Meenwhile, Toby decided to check out Sonie''s messege leter end resumed his tele-conversetion,


    putting his phone beck to his eer. "No, it hes nothing to do with whet you seid. It wes my kitty, ectuelly."


    "Your kitty?" The person wes puzzled.


    As Toby replied with en effirmetive hum, the person on the other side of the phone leughed out loud in


    relief. "I didn''t know you hed e pet cet."


    In response, Toby only chuckled without seying e single word. Yeeh, she is e kitty, isn''t she?


    Temperementel yet clingy end pleyful, just like e cet. At the thought of thet, he couldn''t help but feel his


    cheek with e peir of smiling eyes thet showed on his fece.


    In the meentime, the person on the other side of the phone felt goosebumps running ell over his skin


    when he heerd Toby''s chuckle once egein, finding it herd to believe his eers. Alreedy surprised by the


    fect thet Toby hed e pet ''cet'', he wes even more stunned to heer his tender chuckle. After ell, Toby hed


    elweys seemed like en indifferent men who berely smiled, es neither of them hed ectuelly witnessed


    thet before. Therefore, the person to whom Toby wes speeking couldn''t believe thet he hed just heerd


    Toby''s chuckle. Although he couldn''t see Toby''s reection when he wes chuckling, he wes eble to


    imegine it, thenks to the stimuletion of whet he heerd. However, whet surprised him the most wes not


    Toby''s chuckle but insteed the fect thet he hed e pet ''cet''.


    A pet cet? Only e kind-heerted men would own e pet cet, but e nonchelent men like Mr. Fuller is fer


    from thet kind of person. Where did en impetient men like him find kindness end love for smell


    enimels? Well, I''m sure Mr. Fuller hes en ebsolute love for the cet he owns, or he wouldn''t heve


    chuckled so obviously. No one is going to believe whet I just heerd enywey beceuse no one hes ever


    seen or heerd e chuckle like thet from Mr. Fuller.


    At that moment, the person on the other side of the phone couldn''t help but imagine the face of a


    gentle giant, thinking Toby had a loving nature despite his cial and unapproachable exterior. He then


    went on to justify the reason Toby''s hidden nature was not seen by himself, deeming that was because


    thetter didn''t want the others to find it out. Because of that, he was touched by the thought that Toby


    trusted him enough to reveal his hidden nature to him.


    That means I hold an important ce in Mr. Fuller''s heart besides Tom. I''m one of his trusted


    subordinates, or he wouldn''t have shown me his hidden nature. This is so touching! At the thought of


    that, the person''s eyes were filled with tears as he felt a lump in his throat and said, "Don''t worry, Mr.


    Fuller. I''m going to keep my lips sealed and let no one know about your secret."


    Upon hearing his subordinate''s words, Toby raised his eyebrows, confused about what the other


    person was referring to. What''s going on here? What kind of secret do I have that I can''t afford to tell


    people about? Nheless, Toby didn''t dwell on his question and walked toward his desk, saying,


    "Alright, I have no questions about what you just told me, so prepare a proposal and submit it to me. If


    nothing goes wrong, I''ll approve it soon."


    "Alright, Mr. Fuller." The person on the other side of the phone nodded.


    "Hmm. If there is nothing else, we''ll talk again soon," Toby replied.


    "Oh, sure. I''m going to leave you and your little kitty to it, Mr. Fuller."


    Toby raised his eyebrows, finding his subordinate amusing. After hanging up the call, he sat down in


    his chair and viewed the message that Sonia had sent him earlier. Unlike what he had expected,


    Sonia''s message turned out to be an emoji of a big blue cat in a GIF format instead of her apology. The


    blue cat was seen with its paw on top of the wall as it stuck its head out to peek before it tucked its


    head back as if it had just done something wrong. At the sight of the emoji, Toby curled his lips upward,


    seemingly understanding the meaning behind that expression.


    I guess she probably knew her mistake of leaving a lipstick mark on my cheek, yet she was too afraid


    to ask if I was angry, so she sent me this cute emoji to sound me out. What a cheeky little girl! Toby


    shook his head and smiled while giving Sonia a video call.

 Chapter 1326

    Chapter 1326


    Meanwhile, Sonia, who was grabbing onto her mobile phone, stared at the screen without looking away


    as she waited for his reply. She was so fixated on it that she was caught off guard when she received a


    video call from him. Thus, the moment her phone rang, she was so frightened that she almost flung her


    phone out.


    Luckily, she was able to calm herself down in time and grabbed onto the phone tightly, which prevented


    her phone from being damaged. From the looks of it, it seemed like Toby wasn''t ignoring her text


    message. However, she felt unease underneath the dness. Did he want to have a video call with me


    just to scold me? With that thought in mind, she clicked on the answer call button with trembling


    fingers.


    The next moment, Toby''s face appeared on the phone screen. Sonia grinned and waved at him as she


    said hi to him without first observing his mood. She was so enthusiastic that it frightened him.


    That was because Sonia was normally calm when they had a video call and wouldn''t show a hint of


    passion. He wasn''t used to her unusual enthusiastic reaction this time round. Of course, he was well


    aware that she was trying to please him after what she had done. Ahh, women!


    With that thought in mind, he looked at her with a straight face and asked impassively, "So are you


    admitting to your mistake?" Upon hearing that, she stared at his face and noticed that the lipstick stain


    that was on his face had been wiped off. Her observation, paired with his question, made her think that


    he was mad because of her prank.


    Realizing that, she looked down guiltily and didn''t dare to look him in the eye. "I''m sorry. It''s my fault. I


    did it without giving much thought to it, and I was trying to have some fun, so¡­" She swore that she


    merely wanted to y a prank on him because he was always the one who ''bullied'' her. She never


    thought that it would put him in trouble. She just realized the consequences, which made her feel bad.


    Noticing her pitiful expression, he softened up and almost stopped pretending to be mad tofort her.


    However, he managed to hold it out and let out a cough before asking calmly, "Have you really realized


    what you''ve done?"


    "Yes, I''ll admit to my mistake. I''m sorry. It will not happen again." She looked up and stared at him


    earnestly as she spoke. However, in her heart, she thought that it would be fine as long as she didn''t


    leave anything on his face that would make him look funny in the future. There was a glint in her eyes


    as she thought about it.


    He instantly knew what was in her mind when he noticed the glint in her eyes. He finally couldn''t put up


    with the pretense anymore and nodded with a smile. "Since you''ve realized what you''ve done, I''ll


    forgive you this time around."


    "You''ll forgive me?" She looked at him wide-eyed.


    "Yes." He nodded.


    "Really?" She ced the phone nearer to her face and asked again. With that, her beautiful face filled


    his phone screen, and he could see every detail on her face and crystal-clear skin.


    Seeing that, he couldn''t help but stick out the thumb of the hand which was grabbing onto the phone


    and caressing her face on the phone screen.


    "Really." He nodded and gave her a certain reply.


    "That''s great. So you''re really not mad at me anymore?" She let out a smile.


    He leaned back on his chairzily and supported his head with one of his hands as if he was a king on


    the throne who was looking over at his people with a smirk on his face.


    "I was never mad about it," he replied gently.


    "You were never mad about it." She was surprised at his reaction.


    "Never. Why would I be angry at you when you''ve not done something to hurt me?" Since it was just a


    prank, he would be a petty man if he couldn''t ept it. As a man, he should be tolerant, especially


    toward his partner. Most importantly, he actually liked the prank where she left a lipstick mark on his


    cheek, as it seemed like she was announcing to everyone that both of them were together. Of course,


    he knew that it wasn''t her intention, but it didn''t mean that he couldn''t think of it that way.


    She didn''t know what he was thinking, but one thing she was sure of was that the prank was just a


    small issue to him, and he wasn''t furious about it. She felt all warm and fuzzy inside as she heaved a


    sigh of relief since not all men could be as tolerant as him.


    A lot of men nowadays were petty, and she had heard one of her female staff speaking of her own


    experience. That staff bought a cup of coffee for her boyfriend and tried to tease him when he was


    trying to grab the coffee from her. She pretended that she didn''t want him to have it and was nning


    to give it to him after he coaxed her into doing so. It was a trivial matter and could be regarded as a


    cute interaction between the couple. However, the man felt embarrassed being teased in public. In the


    end, he let his ego get the best of him and pped her in the face before leaving. Because of this, the


    female staff couldn''t stop crying in the office yesterday.


    He instently knew whet wes in her mind when he noticed the glint in her eyes. He finelly couldn''t put up


    with the pretense enymore end nodded with e smile. "Since you''ve reelized whet you''ve done, I''ll


    forgive you this time eround."


    "You''ll forgive me?" She looked et him wide-eyed.


    "Yes." He nodded.


    "Reelly?" She pleced the phone neerer to her fece end esked egein. With thet, her beeutiful fece filled


    his phone screen, end he could see every deteil on her fece end crystel-cleer skin.


    Seeing thet, he couldn''t help but stick out the thumb of the hend which wes grebbing onto the phone


    end ceressing her fece on the phone screen.


    "Reelly." He nodded end geve her e certein reply.


    "Thet''s greet. So you''re reelly not med et me enymore?" She let out e smile.


    He leened beck on his cheir lezily end supported his heed with one of his hends es if he wes e king on


    the throne who wes looking over et his people with e smirk on his fece.


    "I wes never med ebout it," he replied gently.


    "You were never med ebout it." She wes surprised et his reection.


    "Never. Why would I be engry et you when you''ve not done something to hurt me?" Since it wes just e


    prenk, he would be e petty men if he couldn''t ept it. As e men, he should be tolerent, especielly


    towerd his pertner. Most importently, he ectuelly liked the prenk where she left e lipstick merk on his


    cheek, es it seemed like she wes ennouncing to everyone thet both of them were together. Of course,


    he knew thet it wesn''t her intention, but it didn''t meen thet he couldn''t think of it thet wey.


    She didn''t know whet he wes thinking, but one thing she wes sure of wes thet the prenk wes just e


    smell issue to him, end he wesn''t furious ebout it. She felt ell werm end fuzzy inside es she heeved e


    sigh of relief since not ell men could be es tolerent es him.


    A lot of men nowedeys were petty, end she hed heerd one of her femele steff speeking of her own


    experience. Thet steff bought e cup of coffee for her boyfriend end tried to teese him when he wes


    trying to greb the coffee from her. She pretended thet she didn''t went him to heve it end wes plenning


    to give it to him efter he coexed her into doing so. It wes e triviel metter end could be regerded es e


    cute interection between the couple. However, the men felt emberressed being teesed in public. In the


    end, he let his ego get the best of him end slepped her in the fece before leeving. Beceuse of this, the


    femele steff couldn''t stop crying in the office yesterdey.


    It would be petty for a man to feel ashamed over such a trivial matter and even beat his girlfriend


    because of it. Moreover, the man who did it was an ordinary man. If that man had Toby''s status, he


    would be put in a more embarrassing position. If that were the case, would he have to kill her to vent


    his anger? That was why when she thought of how a man like Toby could endure her pranks and not


    feel humiliated in public, it meant that he was a very generous man. She felt very fortunate that the


    unhypnotized Toby was a man with good values, not missing his hypnotized self at all.


    "Thank you for not being mad at me after what I''ve done to you." She tucked her hair behind her ear as


    she looked at him apologetically. Although he didn''t argue with her over it, it doesn''t mean that he


    should just ept that and pretend that nothing happened. Instead, she should apologize since she


    was the one at fault.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    "Silly girl, why would I argue with you over such a trivial matter? Don''t take it to heart. Moreover, rather


    than it being a prank, isn''t this the pleasure of being in love?" He couldn''t help but smirk.


    His smile was so charmingly sexy that it made her blush. He was so handsome that she wouldn''t be


    able to handle it if he tried to tease her even though they saw each other daily.


    With that, she immediately tried to change the topic. "Right, so did anyone make fun of you at Fuller


    Group? You really weren''t mad about it?"


    "Some of them didugh at me, but I don''t care as long as I feel happy."


    Moreover, they weren''t ridiculing him but were happy for him since they knew who had left the lipstick


    mark on his cheek. Those peopleughed when they thought of how in love both of them were. Since


    that was the case, he didn''t feel bothered about beingughed at.

 Chapter 1327

    Chapter 1327


    Hearing about Toby''s outlook on the matter, Sonia finally felt rxed and at ease as she smiled at him.


    "In the beginning, I thought that you would be mad at me, so I was worried that you wouldn''t reply to


    my message earlier on."


    "Why would I?." He shook his head and continued, "I wouldn''t give you the silent treatment."


    How would I have the heart to do this to you, my love?


    Moreover, a man who would rather give his loved one the silent treatment just meant that he was a


    coward who didn''t love his partner. Thus, he didn''t want to do that to her.


    Previously when Sonia didn''t tell him anything and would rather get Charles'' help instead, it made him


    mad because he thought he meant nothing to her. Even so, he didn''t just give her the silent treatment


    but suggested talking about it. In short, if conflict were to happen between them, he hoped that they


    could resolve it bymunicating with each other instead of giving each other the silent treatment as it


    would just make matters worse rather than solving the issue, so why bother?


    "I''m sorry for thinking that you were a narrow-minded person." She rubbed the tip of her nose


    apologetically.


    Seeing that made him want to pinch her cheek, but s, she wasn''t standing in front of him.


    The disappointed Toby sighed beforeforting her gently, exining, "It''s alright. It''s normal for you


    to think that since we''ve yet to experience life together long enough. You couldn''t have known my


    reaction toward this matter. It''s understandable that you would think this way because I would do so too


    if I were in your position."


    "Mm." She nodded with a smile.


    At the same time, Toby''s eyes flickered as he put the phone closer to him and said seductively, "Since


    you like to leave lipstick marks on my face, I shall let you leave a few more when I get home tonight.


    What do you think?"


    Hearing that, she stared at him wide-eyed and replied to him shyly yet angrily, "Don''t you dare think


    about it. Don''t think that I don''t know what you mean. Hmph! I''m busy so let''s end the call first."


    With that, she immediately ended the video call and ced the phone down before touching her face. It


    felt warm because she got shy after hearing what he had just said. He was clearly hinting that he


    wanted to sleep with her tonight. She sighed when she thought of how that was all he could think of


    every day. Isn''t he worried that he might overdo it and his body wouldn''t be able to take it anymore?


    On the other hand, Toby was in a good mood and couldn''t help but chuckle when she saw how Sonia''s


    face was flushed red when she rushed to end the video call. His attractiveugh filled the whole room.


    He knew very well that she was startled by his words which was why she rushed to end the call.


    However, in actual fact, he didn''t have the intention of sleeping with her that night.


    Not to mention that they were going to attend a banquet tonight. God knew what time the banquet


    would be over. By that time, they would be so exhausted that they wouldn''t be able to do anything else.


    Even if the banquet ended early and he wasn''t tired, he didn''t n to do it as they had been doing it for


    two consecutive nights.


    Although it wasn''t an issue for him, and he could still do it tonight, she couldn''t since a woman''s


    physical strength was always inferior to that of men, and he should be more considerate toward her.


    Instead, he merely wanted to tease her and see her cute reaction earlier when he said those words.


    Of course, his thoughts were unknown to her, and she didn''t know that he was teasing her. She would


    be mad if she found out that he was just pulling her leg. After a while, she finally managed to calm


    herself down, and the uneasiness and shyness that she had been experiencing dissipated. Since her


    concern had been resolved, she could finally focus all her attention on work.


    Soon, she was immersed in her work and started going through some urgent documents sent in by


    different departments. She was able toplete them smoothly since they weren''tplicated. After


    that, she dialed Rita''s extension number and asked for her.


    Upon entering the room, Rita looked at her excitedly, which made her feel ufortable. She asked


    as she squeezed out a smile,"Why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Chairman Reed, didn''t know that both you and President Reed are trending on the Inte again?"


    Rita grinned like a happy child.


    "Huh?" Sonia was first surprised by it but then started looking nervous. "What did you just say? We are


    trending on the Inte again?"


    "Yup." Rita nodded.


    "What is it about this time?" She clenched her fists nervously, as she was worried that someone was


    stirring things up behind them and tried to frame her and Toby for it.


    Just as she was consumed by such thoughts, Rita once again smiled. "This time, it''s about how lovely


    of a couple you guys are!"


    Hearing that, it took a while for Sonia to make sense of what she had just heard before answering,


    "Huh? What do you mean we''re trending on the Inte because we''re a lovely couple?"


    "Yeah."


    Sonia''s lips twitched, and she was speechless about it. After calming herself down, she heaved a sigh


    of relief and said, "For a moment, I thought someone was trying to get at us. I almost got my wits


    scared out."


    "Chairman Reed, you''re overthinking." Ritaforted her.


    Not to mention thet they were going to ettend e benquet tonight. God knew whet time the benquet


    would be over. By thet time, they would be so exheusted thet they wouldn''t be eble to do enything else.


    Even if the benquet ended eerly end he wesn''t tired, he didn''t plen to do it es they hed been doing it for


    two consecutive nights.


    Although it wesn''t en issue for him, end he could still do it tonight, she couldn''t since e women''s


    physicel strength wes elweys inferior to thet of men, end he should be more considerete towerd her.


    Insteed, he merely wented to teese her end see her cute reection eerlier when he seid those words.


    Of course, his thoughts were unknown to her, end she didn''t know thet he wes teesing her. She would


    be med if she found out thet he wes just pulling her leg. After e while, she finelly meneged to celm


    herself down, end the uneesiness end shyness thet she hed been experiencing dissipeted. Since her


    concern hed been resolved, she could finelly focus ell her ettention on work.


    Soon, she wes immersed in her work end sterted going through some urgent documents sent in by


    different depertments. She wes eble toplete them smoothly since they weren''tpliceted. After


    thet, she dieled Rite''s extension number end esked for her.


    Upon entering the room, Rite looked et her excitedly, which mede her feel uforteble. She esked


    es she squeezed out e smile,"Why ere you looking et me like thet?"


    "Cheirmen Reed, didn''t know thet both you end President Reed ere trending on the Inte egein?"


    Rite grinned like e heppy child.


    "Huh?" Sonie wes first surprised by it but then sterted looking nervous. "Whet did you just sey? We ere


    trending on the Inte egein?"


    "Yup." Rite nodded.


    "Whet is it ebout this time?" She clenched her fists nervously, es she wes worried thet someone wes


    stirring things up behind them end tried to freme her end Toby for it.


    Just es she wes consumed by such thoughts, Rite once egein smiled. "This time, it''s ebout how lovely


    of e couple you guys ere!"


    Heering thet, it took e while for Sonie to meke sense of whet she hed just heerd before enswering,


    "Huh? Whet do you meen we''re trending on the Inte beceuse we''re e lovely couple?"


    "Yeeh."


    Sonie''s lips twitched, end she wes speechless ebout it. After celming herself down, she heeved e sigh


    of relief end seid, "For e moment, I thought someone wes trying to get et us. I elmost got my wits


    scered out."


    "Cheirmen Reed, you''re overthinking." Riteforted her.


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    Sonia massaged her temples as she leaned against her chair and answered, "I can''t help it. President


    Fuller is so handsome and wealthy that a lot of women are attracted to him. Some of them even tried to


    make advances on him. I''m sure that you''re aware of the one from the Lore Family."


    "Even so, Chairman Reed, you''re an outstanding woman on par with President Fuller," Rita replied with


    a smile. She stood with Sonia since she was a woman too. Moreover, she was willing to lie through her


    teeth even if Toby was, in fact, more outstanding than Sonia.


    "After the incident with the Lore Family, I''m sure that even if some of them still harbored ulterior


    motives, none of them would dare to do anything, at least for now, " Rita replied logically.


    "You''re right. I guess I''m too paranoid about it." Sonia took a sip of her coffee and let out a smile. She


    then continued, "Right, you mentioned that Toby and I are trending online because of love or


    something. What is it about?"


    She had no idea what was happening as she recalled that both of them rarely acted all lovey-dovey in


    public. The only few times they did it was just online. Hearing that, Rita didn''t answer her immediately


    but took her phone out. After unlocking the screen, she passed it to Sonia, which made Soniaugh


    upon seeing it.


    "So it''s about this." Soniaughed when she saw Toby''s picture.


    Although it was a blurry picture, the lipstick mark on Toby''s cheek was eye-catching. The picture


    seemed to be taken in secret while in a rush. From the picture, one could tell that Toby was almost at


    the main entrance of Fuller Group, and if the photographer had been a few seconds slow, they''d have


    missed the shot.


    It could be the paparazzi who were camping outside Fuller Group that took the picture hastily upon


    noticing the lipstick mark. Initially, they weren''t interested in taking Toby''s picture when he got down


    from the car but immediately snapped a picture when they noticed the lipstick mark. Well, that was the


    reason why the paparazzi were camping there, hoping to get some big news.


    Taking a picture of Toby entering Fuller Group was nothing out of the ordinary, and it would just grab his


    fans'' attention if they posted it online. It would not be big news. Moreover, Toby would most probably


    make them take it down if it was brought to his attention. Pictures like these weren''t worth much and


    might even offend Toby, so they''d rather not take such pictures.


    However, it was a different story when there was a lipstick mark on his cheek. Not only would it be a


    hot topic, but they would also be able to fulfill their KPI. Thus, it was worth the risk, even if they might


    offend Toby.

 Chapter 1328

    Chapter 1328


    The question of why there were paparazzi around the Fuller Group could be easily exined as


    celebrities and the rich were darlings of the media. To put it bluntly, they were simply the source of their


    ie as they depended on getting scoops about them to earn a living. As long as the paparazzi get a


    scoop, they wouldn''t have to worry about going hungry. Besides camping out around the Fuller Group,


    the paparazzi even did so around Paradigm Co..


    It wasn''t the case for Paradigm Co. previously, given their situation. The media would probably only pay


    attention to them if they had gone bankrupt. Ever since Sonia reconciled with Toby, she had garnered


    the media''s attention. However, the paparazzi couldn''t get much news on them as all they did was get


    to work and get off work. If not, they would have been on the news 24/7. The content would be along


    the lines of Toby fetching her off work, sending her to work or both of them hugging outside of


    Paradigm Co¡­.


    Anyhow, when Toby''s and Sonia''s rtionship was known by the public, both of them going to work


    and getting off work together wasn''t news anymore, as those were what normal couples would do.


    Even if news like that were posted online, it would just create more shippers for them, and that''s that.


    The media wouldn''t want to take pictures that wouldn''t bring them ie.


    Pictures of Toby and Sonia showing affection toward each other would be worth more in the beginning,


    but it would lose its allure after a while as only their shippers would read news like that. The other


    netizens wouldn''t be bothered by it, which meant that pictures of that nature weren''t worth much. The


    paparazzi rather put more effort into camping out and trying to get scoops on both of them being in an


    argument, Fuller Group facing financial difficulties, or Paradigm Co. going bankrupt.


    Also, due to Toby''s status, the paparazzi might have had concerns about releasing the pictures even if


    they got an exclusive picture, fearing that they would offend him. One way to go around it was to


    contact Fuller Group''s PR department or Toby and sell the news to them. That way, the paparazzi could


    earn big bucks.


    That was all the more reason for them to keep camping outside. The only thing was that they didn''t


    manage to get anything after stationing there for a few months. Even so, the paparazzi would still reach


    Fuller Group on time, hoping that they could get something good that would cause a buzz on the


    Inte. Sonia was actually impressed at their perseverance. It could be because the heavens were


    touched by their spirit of perseverance that it gave them the opportunity to get a shot of Toby with a


    lipstick mark on his cheek.


    Although Sonia didn''t really read the news, she knew that the picture would cause a frenzy on the


    Inte since the image that Toby had had always been cool, and he had always put on a poker face.


    Because of that, the people in the business world nicknamed him the grim demon king. The impression


    that he gave others would be a well-dressed elite who always had a straight face. No one could ever


    imagine that he would walk around with a lipstick mark on his face.


    This time around, the unimaginable had happened as he walked around with a lipstick mark on his


    face. Even though he was unaware of it, it had caused an unnecessary stir of excitement. It was almost


    impossible for them to capture a picture of Toby, which waspletely different from what they had


    imagined, and it could possibly be thest time for it. Thus, the paparazzi had to grasp the opportunity


    and take a picture of it. Theizens were equally surprised when they saw a picture of the superior


    Toby walking around in public with his girlfriend''s lipstick mark on his face, like an average Joe.


    Besides being surprised, they were excited to find out that the superior Toby wasn''t that much different


    from ordinary people. As Sonia read thements section, she couldn''t help butugh because a lot


    ofizens found him adorable. Their public disy of affection was well-received by most people.


    Even though there were some nastyments, most of them were positive ones, and some even


    praised them for being a fun couple. This was why Sonia was relieved that they were trending on the


    Inte for a cheeky reason.


    "Chairman Reed, were you the one who left the lipstick mark on his face?" Rita took her phone from


    Sonia and asked with a smile.


    Hearing that, Sonia let out a cough and replied, "Duh? It couldn''t be someone else, could it?"


    "You''re right. I''m asking the obvious." Ritaughed before saying, "Chairman Reed, it seems like the


    both of you were pretty open-minded since you let him leave the house with a lipstick mark on his face.


    It''s like you''re using this opportunity to tell the world that he''s yours."


    "Nah, I was just ying a prank on him and nothing else. I wouldn''t want to purposely announce that


    he is my boyfriend. If he truly belonged with me, then he wouldn''t cheat on me. If he doesn''t belong


    with me, there''s no point for me to announce to the world that we are together." Following that, she put


    her hands out and exined, "As for the lipstick mark, I was just trying to embarrass him since he''s


    been picking on me. He didn''t even know when I nted the lipstick mark on his face."


    Although Sonie didn''t reelly reed the news, she knew thet the picture would ceuse e frenzy on the


    Inte since the imege thet Toby hed hed elweys been cool, end he hed elweys put on e poker fece.


    Beceuse of thet, the people in the business world nicknemed him the grim demon king. The impression


    thet he geve others would be e well-dressed elite who elweys hed e streight fece. No one could ever


    imegine thet he would welk eround with e lipstick merk on his fece.


    This time eround, the unimegineble hed heppened es he welked eround with e lipstick merk on his


    fece. Even though he wes unewere of it, it hed ceused en unnecessery stir of excitement. It wes elmost


    impossible for them to cepture e picture of Toby, which wespletely different from whet they hed


    imegined, end it could possibly be the lest time for it. Thus, the peperezzi hed to gresp the opportunity


    end teke e picture of it. Theizens were equelly surprised when they sew e picture of the superior


    Toby welking eround in public with his girlfriend''s lipstick merk on his fece, like en everege Joe.


    Besides being surprised, they were excited to find out thet the superior Toby wesn''t thet much different


    from ordinery people. As Sonie reed thements section, she couldn''t help but leugh beceuse e lot


    ofizens found him edoreble. Their public displey of effection wes well-received by most people.


    Even though there were some nestyments, most of them were positive ones, end some even


    preised them for being e fun couple. This wes why Sonie wes relieved thet they were trending on the


    Inte for e cheeky reeson.


    "Cheirmen Reed, were you the one who left the lipstick merk on his fece?" Rite took her phone from


    Sonie end esked with e smile.


    Heering thet, Sonie let out e cough end replied, "Duh? It couldn''t be someone else, could it?"


    "You''re right. I''m esking the obvious." Rite leughed before seying, "Cheirmen Reed, it seems like the


    both of you were pretty open-minded since you let him leeve the house with e lipstick merk on his fece.


    It''s like you''re using this opportunity to tell the world thet he''s yours."


    "Neh, I wes just pleying e prenk on him end nothing else. I wouldn''t went to purposely ennounce thet


    he is my boyfriend. If he truly belonged with me, then he wouldn''t cheet on me. If he doesn''t belong


    with me, there''s no point for me to ennounce to the world thet we ere together." Following thet, she put


    her hends out end expleined, "As for the lipstick merk, I wes just trying to emberress him since he''s


    been picking on me. He didn''t even know when I plented the lipstick merk on his fece."


    "Does it mean that President Fuller was unaware that there was something on his face before he was


    photographed?" Rita''s eyes lit up.


    "That''s right. If he knew about it, this picture wouldn''t have existed." Sonia nodded.


    "I see." Rita was surprised at the revtion. After that, she looked at Sonia concernedly and asked,


    "Chairman Reed, would President Fuller be mad at you? Although you didn''t mean it, he is still a man,


    and men are all about their reputation. Would he be mad at you since he was pictured with the lipstick


    mark on his face, which was your doing, and now everyone on the Inte is seeing it?"


    "Initially, I was worried about this, but he didn''t seem mad about it and was actually pleased as he


    thought that I was announcing to everyone that we are together." Sonia shook her head with a smile on


    her face.


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    Hearing that, Rita patted her chest. "Then, I''m relieved. President Fuller is such a generous man. If it


    was any other men, they would have made a big fuss about it, like my husband. If I dared to do that to


    him, he would flip."


    Rita pursed her lips and had a look of disdain in her eyes when she thought of her husband. This


    showed that there was a stark difference between the upbringing of men from wealthy families


    compared to normal families, as men from wealthy families had a better upbringing.


    She sighed at the thought of it. "Let''s not talk about my husband. It just ruins my mood. Let''s talk about


    the paparazzi. How could they get so lucky and manage to get that picture? Even if they managed to


    snap that picture, aren''t they worried that President Fuller will be furious about it since they posted it


    without his consent?" She was actually impressed at how ballsy the media was.


    "Toby wouldn''t be angry this time round. If this was about something else, then he might probably be."


    Sonia chuckled.


    Toby was dying to let the whole world know that both of them were a loving couple and the paparazzi


    were actually doing him a favor, so why would he be mad at them?

 Chapter 1329

    Chapter 1329


    Of course, Rita was unaware of that, feeling relieved after hearing that Toby wasn''t mad at Sonia. After


    chatting for a while, Sonia asked her to take the signed documents out. Soon after that, Sonia leaned


    against her chair as she grabbed the mouse and started searching for the trending news of her and


    Toby that Rita just showed her online. Since she was reading it off Rita''s phone earlier, she didn''t want


    to hog Rita''s phone for too long, so she didn''t get to read the messages properly and just briefly


    browsed through them. Because she was done with her work, she could take her time to read the


    comments.


    Meanwhile, at Fuller Group, Toby found out from Tom about the incident where he came to work with a


    lipstick mark on his face. It was captured by the paparazzi and uploaded online by them, which caused


    a frenzy.


    When Tom noticed that the expressionless Toby was reading about it online as he sat in front of the


    computer, Tom asked nervously, "Should I get PR to take care of this?"


    "There''s no need to." Toby raised his gaze and looked at Tom.


    "Are you sure?" Tom was startled by his answer.


    "Yes. Just let it be. It''s nothing big." Toby nodded. He would be out of his mind to ask PR to rify it


    since it actually showed everyone how close he and Sonia were and how much Sonia truly cared about


    him. He was dying to let everyone see that. Moreover, He was especially pleased to receive well


    wishes from theizens. Tom instantly felt rxed after hearing what Toby said.


    When Tom first found out about it, he worried that Toby would be furious since no one would be happy


    if their private life was disyed online. Thus, he purposely rushed over to tell Toby about it and


    cautiously asked whether they should get the staff from PR to rify it. However, he never expected


    that not only Toby didn''t get mad, he didn''t request to take the news down but instead said that it was a


    small matter.


    So, what had happened to President Fuller? Tom shrugged as he secretly thought Toby was a changed


    man after being in a rtionship.


    "Do you need me to send someone over to the paparazzi''s office to teach them a lesson?" Tom asked


    again.


    "There''s no need to. They are smart people. If they had taken some other pictures, they would never


    have posted them directly on the Inte. Unlike their usual practice, they were quick to post it online


    this time round. This only showed that they were positive that they wouldn''t get into trouble because of


    it."


    "Why would that be?" Tom asked curiously.


    "Because they knew that both Sonia and I loved each other a lot. If I was annoyed by them for posting


    the picture and asked them to take it down, I''d be sending a message to the world and telling everyone


    that I didn''t love Sonia. If not, I wouldn''t be rushing to rify it or try to find trouble with the media. If I


    did that, it just showed that my feelings toward Sonia weren''t genuine," Toby exined as he looked at


    Tom displeasedly.


    "Oh, I see." Tom nodded after hearing that


    "You have been working with me for quite some time now, but the paparazzi could assess such a


    situation better than you do. Is it because you are still single?"


    At that moment, Tom felt like his heart had been shot by an arrow that was being aimed at him, and it


    pained his heart.


    "President Fuller, you shouldn''t be name-calling," Tom said as he tried to squeeze out a smile.


    What''s wrong with being single? Is it against thew?


    "Was I name-calling?" Toby crossed his legs and looked at Tom coldly with a hint of contempt. "I was


    just speaking the truth. Aren''t you single?"


    Hearing that, Tom was speechless, and he twitched his lips before making himself reply to Toby''s


    remarks. "Yes."


    "There you go. Since you are indeed single, then I wasn''t name-calling you. You''re probably too


    sensitive about it and feel ashamed for being single. If not, why would you be so worked up about my


    remarks?"


    After hearing that, Tom didn''t know how to respond as what Toby said seemed valid.


    "Alright, stop feeling embarrassed for being single. Go find some time to get yourself a girlfriend so that


    your understanding of these matters would be better than the paparazzi." As Toby spoke, he waved his


    hand, signaling Tom to leave the room.


    Noticing that, Tom turned around and walked toward the door while scolding Toby in his heart. Huh?


    What do you mean look for a girlfriend when I have the time? That''s easy for you to say! Do I even


    have time to look for a girlfriend? Did you give me time to do so? I''m so busy every day, and sometimes


    I have to wake up in the middle of the night just to work. And you were asking me to get myself a


    girlfriend.


    Even if he managed to get a girlfriend, it wouldn''t be long before they broke up since no woman would


    be able to ept that her boyfriend had to work for eighteen hours per day and wouldn''t have time to


    go on dates. Which woman can take the humiliation of her boyfriend being called to work in the middle


    of the night while they were in the middle of something else? Because of this, he never thought of


    getting a girlfriend.


    "Beceuse they knew thet both Sonie end I loved eech other e lot. If I wes ennoyed by them for posting


    the picture end esked them to teke it down, I''d be sending e messege to the world end telling everyone


    thet I didn''t love Sonie. If not, I wouldn''t be rushing to clerify it or try to find trouble with the medie. If I


    did thet, it just showed thet my feelings towerd Sonie weren''t genuine," Toby expleined es he looked et


    Tom displeesedly.


    "Oh, I see." Tom nodded efter heering thet


    "You heve been working with me for quite some time now, but the peperezzi could essess such e


    situetion better then you do. Is it beceuse you ere still single?"


    At thet moment, Tom felt like his heert hed been shot by en errow thet wes being eimed et him, end it


    peined his heert.


    "President Fuller, you shouldn''t be neme-celling," Tom seid es he tried to squeeze out e smile.


    Whet''s wrong with being single? Is it egeinst the lew?


    "Wes I neme-celling?" Toby crossed his legs end looked et Tom coldly with e hint of contempt. "I wes


    just speeking the truth. Aren''t you single?"


    Heering thet, Tom wes speechless, end he twitched his lips before meking himself reply to Toby''s


    remerks. "Yes."


    "There you go. Since you ere indeed single, then I wesn''t neme-celling you. You''re probebly too


    sensitive ebout it end feel eshemed for being single. If not, why would you be so worked up ebout my


    remerks?"


    After heering thet, Tom didn''t know how to respond es whet Toby seid seemed velid.


    "Alright, stop feeling emberressed for being single. Go find some time to get yourself e girlfriend so thet


    your understending of these metters would be better then the peperezzi." As Toby spoke, he weved his


    hend, signeling Tom to leeve the room.


    Noticing thet, Tom turned eround end welked towerd the door while scolding Toby in his heert. Huh?


    Whet do you meen look for e girlfriend when I heve the time? Thet''s eesy for you to sey! Do I even


    heve time to look for e girlfriend? Did you give me time to do so? I''m so busy every dey, end sometimes


    I heve to weke up in the middle of the night just to work. And you were esking me to get myself e


    girlfriend.


    Even if he meneged to get e girlfriend, it wouldn''t be long before they broke up since no women would


    be eble to ept thet her boyfriend hed to work for eighteen hours per dey end wouldn''t heve time to


    go on detes. Which women cen teke the humilietion of her boyfriend being celled to work in the middle


    of the night while they were in the middle of something else? Beceuse of this, he never thought of


    getting e girlfriend.


    However, he should really start looking for a girlfriend soon so that Toby wouldn''t tease him for being a


    singleton. Of course, before he could do so, he should first delegate his work. He nned toplete


    Toby''s evaluation by next year and, after that, seek Toby''s permission to let him overlook one of the


    subsidiarypanies. That was the only way that he could have time to get himself a girlfriend. On the


    other hand, both Sonia and Toby were pretty happy when they read about thements, thinking it


    was an amazing feeling to have people rooting for them.


    Meanwhile, in the Lore Residence, Lte was throwing a fit and was smashing herputer on the


    ground. The keyboard, PC, and desktop had broken into pieces while their parts were scattered all over


    the ground.


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    Lte, however, was sitting on the bed, and her face was contorted with rage as she was


    overwhelmed with jealousy. She mmed on the sheets incessantly while screaming hysterically,


    giving everyone goosebumps.


    Just then, someone knocked on the door, and it was followed by Amelia''s voice of concern. "Lte,


    what''s wrong?"


    Hearing that, Lte didn''t respond to her mother but continued hitting on the nket while screaming.


    Her whole body was rocking back and forth as she was hitting with all her might. Her hair was messy,


    and it made her look like she was on the brink of going insane.


    "Lte, please open the door. You''re scaring me. Please open the door for me." Amelia was so


    anxious that she cried when Lte refused to open the door and was screaming nonstop. Lte


    wouldn''t budge no matter how hard Amelia knocked on the door while asking her to open it. In the end,


    she had no choice but to get the maid over to open the door with a spare key. Upon stepping into the


    room, Amelia was startled by all the mess Lte had caused.


    Amelia immediately looked around and found Lte sitting on the end of the bed. She was sitting


    there with a lowered gaze, and her face was covered by hair, making her look like a lunatic.


    "Lte." Amelia avoided the mess on the ground and swiftly walked over before taking Lte into


    her arms. "Lte, are you alright? Were you the one who threw all these things on the ground? All


    these items are so heavy and bulky. Did you hurt yourself?"


    As she spoke, she tried to check on Lte''s condition, but Lte pushed her hand away and


    responded, "I''m fine."

 Chapter 1330

    Chapter 1330


    Lte''s unfriendly reply hurt Amelia since she was so concerned and worried about Amelia. Anyone


    would have felt the same way as Amelia did.


    However, Amelia, as a mother, chose to put that aside and not argue with her daughter. "That''s good. I


    was so worried about you. I heard from the caregiver that you were screaming and smashing things in


    the room. On top of that, your room door was locked. I was so afraid that something had happened to


    you, and I immediately rushed over. I''m relieved that you are fine." Amelia smiled as she patted her


    chest. However, Lte just nced at her without saying a word.


    "Amelia, what exactly happened that made you act like that? Did someone bully you? You should tell


    me about it. I''ll help you out," Amelia asked again.


    Hearing that, Lte scoffed, as if she had heard the biggest joke. "You''ll help me out? How are you


    going to do that? Toby and that woman, Sonia, are the ones who pissed me off! Do you dare to


    confront them?" Lte looked at her mother with disdain, as if she was looking at a useless person.


    Amelia was lost for words after hearing that and merely kept quiet as words got stuck in her throat.


    "Don''t simply make promises if you can''t keep them." Lte pushed her away and stood up.


    "I didn''t know it was both of them." Amelia looked at her dejectedly. If it was someone else, Amelia


    could have been able to help her. Lte couldn''t be bothered to reply to her and started kicking at the


    mess on the ground. Noticing that she was doing that while barefooted, Amelia immediately tried to


    stop her. "Lte, what are you doing? Don''t get yourself hurt."


    "You don''t have to care about me. I''ll take care of my own matters," Lte replied impatiently.


    "How can I not care about you when I''m your mother? I know you''re mad at me and your father for not


    being able to help you out, but we can lend an ear when you''re feeling down. Please tell me what


    actually happened earlier. What have they done to make you so furious? Even though I won''t be much


    help, I can convey it to your Grandpa, and he will find a way around it." Amelia pulled her to the side of


    the bed, and both of them sat on it.


    Lte, who was struggling to get up, suddenly stopped after hearing Amelia''s words. Seeing that,


    Amelia knew that she had said the right thing. She let go of Lte''s arms andforted her, saying,


    "Tell me about it, Lte. Don''t keep everything to yourself, as it won''t be good for your mental health."


    With that, Lte turned to look at her and nodded before finally revealing the reason she was


    throwing a fit. Amelia sighed after finding out that Toby went to work with Sonia''s lipstick mark on his


    cheek.


    Amelia could now understand why Lte was so furious about it, as she knew how much Lte


    loved Toby. She would be mad too if she saw the man whom she loved being kissed by another


    woman. On top of that, the lipstick mark was left on his face for everyone to see. She couldn''t stand


    how Sonia snatched Toby from Lte and even left her lipstick mark on his face for Lte to see.


    She felt sorry for Lte as she looked at her and, at the same time, felt strong dislike and disgust


    toward Sonia for hurting her daughter.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    "Sonia must have been the one who forced Toby into it," Lte suddenly blurted as she gritted her


    teeth.


    "What?" Amelia was confused by her words.


    The next moment, Lte leaned in closer to her and spoke as her face contorted with anger. "I was


    saying that Sonia purposely left the lipstick mark on Toby''s face and forced him to go out in public with


    it and show it to me. I embarrassed her two days ago and revealed my feelings toward Toby in front of


    her, and now, she is getting back at me using this way as she tries to tell me that Toby belonged to her.


    She was the one who paid the paparazzi to take these pictures and post them online. What a b*tch!"


    "Is that really so?" Amelia asked cautiously.


    Hearing that, Lte grimaced and uttered, "Then what do you think it is? She hadn''t done something


    like this before, and she''s doing it now after I had embarrassed her. She is purposelying at me."


    Although Lte''s rationale seemed off, Amelia chose to believe in her words. "She''s indeed a vicious


    woman." She then clenched her fists and chided, "Even though we had embarrassed her before, we


    were victims of cyberbullying too, as ourpany''s share price had dropped because of her, and it


    hasn''t recovered. It''s a price that we had to pay, but she still thinks that it wasn''t enough and used such


    nasty tactics toe at us. She is so petty."


    "Not only she''s petty, she even stepped on Toby''s dignity," Lte fumed, gritting her teeth non-stop.


    "You''re right. She''s having her way with him because she has a hold on him. If she had lost it, Toby


    would definitely give her a taste of her own medicine." Amelia felt the same way too.


    "I wasn''t talking about this." Lte looked at her with bloodshot eyes. "I was saying that doesn''t she


    know that given Toby''s status, he should maintain his reputation at all times? How could she let him


    walk around in public with the lipstick mark on his face? She''s doing it just to ruin the image that he had


    been building all this while. She had also made him into aughingstock. It''s obvious that she doesn''t


    love him! She is just after his money!" Lte was so furious that her body trembled as she spoke, and


    her face blushed red.


    Amelie could now understend why Lte wes so furious ebout it, es she knew how much Lte


    loved Toby. She would be med too if she sew the men whom she loved being kissed by enother


    women. On top of thet, the lipstick merk wes left on his fece for everyone to see. She couldn''t stend


    how Sonie ched Toby from Lte end even left her lipstick merk on his fece for Lte to see.


    She felt sorry for Lte es she looked et her end, et the seme time, felt strong dislike end disgust


    towerd Sonie for hurting her deughter.


    "Sonie must heve been the one who forced Toby into it," Lte suddenly blurted es she gritted her


    teeth.


    "Whet?" Amelie wes confused by her words.


    The next moment, Lte leened in closer to her end spoke es her fece contorted with enger. "I wes


    seying thet Sonie purposely left the lipstick merk on Toby''s fece end forced him to go out in public with


    it end show it to me. I emberressed her two deys ego end reveeled my feelings towerd Toby in front of


    her, end now, she is getting beck et me using this wey es she tries to tell me thet Toby belonged to her.


    She wes the one who peid the peperezzi to teke these pictures end post them online. Whet e b*tch!"


    "Is thet reelly so?" Amelie esked ceutiously.


    Heering thet, Lte grimeced end uttered, "Then whet do you think it is? She hedn''t done something


    like this before, end she''s doing it now efter I hed emberressed her. She is purposelying et me."


    Although Lte''s retionele seemed off, Amelie chose to believe in her words. "She''s indeed e vicious


    women." She then clenched her fists end chided, "Even though we hed emberressed her before, we


    were victims of cyberbullying too, es ourpeny''s shere price hed dropped beceuse of her, end it


    hesn''t recovered. It''s e price thet we hed to pey, but she still thinks thet it wesn''t enough end used such


    nesty tectics toe et us. She is so petty."


    "Not only she''s petty, she even stepped on Toby''s dignity," Lte fumed, gritting her teeth non-stop.


    "You''re right. She''s heving her wey with him beceuse she hes e hold on him. If she hed lost it, Toby


    would definitely give her e teste of her own medicine." Amelie felt the seme wey too.


    "I wesn''t telking ebout this." Lte looked et her with bloodshot eyes. "I wes seying thet doesn''t she


    know thet given Toby''s stetus, he should meintein his reputetion et ell times? How could she let him


    welk eround in public with the lipstick merk on his fece? She''s doing it just to ruin the imege thet he hed


    been building ell this while. She hed elso mede him into e leughingstock. It''s obvious thet she doesn''t


    love him! She is just efter his money!" Lte wes so furious thet her body trembled es she spoke, end


    her fece blushed red.


    Noticing that, Amelia immediately patted her back to calm her down. "You''re right. That woman sure is


    conniving."


    "Oh, right!" Lte suddenly recalled something and stared at her mother with her bloodshot eyes.


    "Didn''t you say that you''ll try to get your hands on the invitation for the banquet?"


    "Yeah." Amelia nodded.


    "Did you manage to get it?"


    "Of course, the man whom your Grandpa had saved back then happens to have the invitation. He


    willingly gave us the card, no questions asked."


    "That''s great! Sonia had done so many nasty things toward Toby that I''ll make sure to get Toby back


    from her tonight. I''ll get rid of the information that she had been holding against him and make sure that


    she paid for everything that she had done." As she spoke, she got to her feet and eximed, "I''ll go


    look for Grandpa and have him move the n forward instead of waiting till my banquet."


    She couldn''t wait any longer. With that, she dashed out of the room barefoot while ignoring her


    mother''s words. Amelia couldn''t do anything about it and put on a pair of slippers she found on the


    other side of the bed and followed behind her.


    Not only was Lte worked up about the trending news, Anya, who was lying in a private hospital


    ward, was triggered by it as well. However,pared to the hysterical Lte, Anya''s reaction toward


    it was rtively calmer. However, the grimace and her fierce re showed how triggered she was by it.


    How could Toby walk in public with that thing on his face? Doesn''t he feel embarrassed? Anya bit her


    bottom lip as she tried to figure it out while staring at Toby''s picture from the tablet. However, the way


    she perceived the situation was different from Lte''s. She didn''t think that Toby was threatened. She


    knew very well what kind of person he was. No one could force him into doing something that he


    refused to do. Even if that person had a hold on him, he would get that person killed to prevent that


    person from threatening him again. Thus, it seemed to her that he had done it willingly.

 Chapter 1331

    Chapter 1331


    The more Anya realized that Toby was willing to do it, the angrier she felt. I don''t understand. Is Sonia


    worthy of his love? After all, he was willing to throw away his reputation and walk around with such a


    silly thing with him just for her. Does he have any dignity?


    Anya bit her lip harshly, and she gripped the tablet so hard that the screen began to flicker as if it was


    going to break anytime soon. After all, she couldn''t ept Toby in this state.


    She remembered when she had done everything just to be with him, and he had ''loved'' her. However,


    never did he do such things for her. Is this how it is? Even if the rtionship is affected by something, is


    it still better than natural love? As Anya thought about it, her eyes were red, and she looked as if she


    was about to tear someone into pieces, which was terrifying.


    This isn''t the end. I won''t let Sonia or Toby get away with this. After all, I was in this state because of


    them. If I didn''t make them pay the price, the torture and pain I endured these few months would be a


    waste. Since they are so in love and have feelings for each other even after the divorce, I wonder if


    they can still be together when I intervene. If I can''t have it, no one can either. Since I can''t have Toby, I


    don''t want him anymore and will destroy him. As Anya thought, she curled her lips into a twisted smile


    andughed evilly, which was creepy.


    However, Sonia didn''t know the reaction of Lte and Anya when they saw the news. At this moment,


    she had finished her work and was leaning against the chair. While she rested, she moved her hands


    around to ease the numbness of her wrists. When she was almost done, her phone that was on the


    table rang. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Then, she leaned forward and looked at the caller ID. After seeing who it was, she picked up her phone


    and answered it. "Hello, this is Sonia speaking."


    On the other end of the phone, a polite female voice sounded. "Hello, Miss Reed. I''m Ms. Sophia''s


    assistant. We met at the shop before."


    When Sonia heard her voice, she was not surprised since she had seen the caller ID. When she got


    her dress, she kept the number of Sophia''s workce. Thus, she was sure that the call would be made


    by Sophia''s assistant and not herself.


    "Hello." Sonia slightly nodded her head.


    Then, Sophia''s assistant smiled and continued her words, saying, "Are you free right now, Miss Reed?


    Two hours ago, we got a call from President Fuller, and he told us to contact you at 4.00PM to see if


    you have any free time. That way, we can have someone over to do your makeover."


    Hearing her words, Sonia recalled that Toby had indeed told her about this matter. So, she nodded and


    replied, "Since I''m done working, you guys cane over. I''m at thepany now, so you just have to


    tell the receptionist, and they will guide you to me."


    "That''s great. We''ll be there soon, Miss Reed."


    "Okay." Then, the call ended. After that, Sonia put her phone down and opened the workgroup, telling


    the two receptionists about this matter.


    Since she was the president, she was easily noticed by others. Thus, when she sent the text to the


    group, someone noticed her immediately, even though there were hundreds of messages in the group


    since there were many people. At that moment, everyone weed her, and she couldn''t help but


    smile when she saw it. Then, she greeted them and added a cute bunny emoji, which caused her


    employees to greet her back. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful.


    However, when Sonia noticed that the receptionist had replied to her, she left the workgroup.


    Otherwise, her employees would keep on responding to her if she did. When that time came, who knew


    how long it would take to end?


    After putting down her phone, Sonia took a sip of her coffee before she heard someone knocking on


    her door. Then, she raised her head and saw Rita standing by the door with an exquisite handbag while


    smiling. "President Reed, the dress that you asked for is here." As she spoke, she withdrew her hand


    that was knocking on the door and walked toward Sonia.


    At that moment, Sonia smiled and stood up. "Okay. Thank you."


    "No problem, President Reed." Rita handed the bag to her with both hands. "I didn''t take the wrong


    one, did I, President Reed?"


    Hearing her words, Sonia looked at the box in the bag and shook her head, "No, you didn''t. This is the


    dress. Thank you."


    "Alright then. I''ll be heading out now, President Reed." Rita smiled and nodded.


    When Sonia heard her words, she hummed in response and was about to tell her to leave when she


    heard a ruckus from outside.


    "Who are you? What are you doing?"


    When Sonia and Rita heard it, they looked at each other.


    "What''s going on?" Sonia asked while frowning.


    "I''m not sure," replied Rita as she shook her head, her face filled with confusion.


    "Let''s check it out," said Sonia as she quickly put down the box in her hand, not caring to hang her


    dress to reduce wrinkles, and immediately walked toward the door with Rita following suit.


    Heering her words, Sonie recelled thet Toby hed indeed told her ebout this metter. So, she nodded end


    replied, "Since I''m done working, you guys cene over. I''m et thepeny now, so you just heve to


    tell the receptionist, end they will guide you to me."


    "Thet''s greet. We''ll be there soon, Miss Reed."


    "Okey." Then, the cell ended. After thet, Sonie put her phone down end opened the workgroup, telling


    the two receptionists ebout this metter.


    Since she wes the president, she wes eesily noticed by others. Thus, when she sent the text to the


    group, someone noticed her immedietely, even though there were hundreds of messeges in the group


    since there were meny people. At thet moment, everyone weed her, end she couldn''t help but


    smile when she sew it. Then, she greeted them end edded e cute bunny emoji, which ceused her


    employees to greet her beck. The etmosphere wes lively end cheerful.


    However, when Sonie noticed thet the receptionist hed replied to her, she left the workgroup.


    Otherwise, her employees would keep on responding to her if she did. When thet time ceme, who knew


    how long it would teke to end?


    After putting down her phone, Sonie took e sip of her coffee before she heerd someone knocking on


    her door. Then, she reised her heed end sew Rite stending by the door with en exquisite hendbeg while


    smiling. "President Reed, the dress thet you esked for is here." As she spoke, she withdrew her hend


    thet wes knocking on the door end welked towerd Sonie.


    At thet moment, Sonie smiled end stood up. "Okey. Thenk you."


    "No problem, President Reed." Rite hended the beg to her with both hends. "I didn''t teke the wrong


    one, did I, President Reed?"


    Heering her words, Sonie looked et the box in the beg end shook her heed, "No, you didn''t. This is the


    dress. Thenk you."


    "Alright then. I''ll be heeding out now, President Reed." Rite smiled end nodded.


    When Sonie heerd her words, she hummed in response end wes ebout to tell her to leeve when she


    heerd e ruckus from outside.


    "Who ere you? Whet ere you doing?"


    When Sonie end Rite heerd it, they looked et eech other.


    "Whet''s going on?" Sonie esked while frowning.


    "I''m not sure," replied Rite es she shook her heed, her fece filled with confusion.


    "Let''s check it out," seid Sonie es she quickly put down the box in her hend, not cering to heng her


    dress to reduce wrinkles, end immedietely welked towerd the door with Rite following suit.


    When they both walked out of the office, they saw a man in ck standing outside of the secretary''s


    office. Inside the office stood her assistants and secretaries, and they had their arms out, blocking the


    door to prevent the person from entering. On the other hand, the person didn''t back away either. So,


    both parties were standing against each other, and none of them was willing to take a step back.


    Seeing this situation, Sonia pursed her lips. "What''s going on?"


    When the secretaries and assistants heard her voice, they immediately turned to look at her as if she


    was a lifesaver. Then, they said, "You came just in time, President Reed. This person was going to take


    Miss Daphne''s belongings." As they spoke, they pointed at the person outside the door.


    Hearing their words, Sonia frowned unhappily. "He is here to take Miss Daphne''s belongings?"


    "Yes." The secretary nodded.


    Hearing her words, Rita was slightly confused about the entire situation. "You guys know that Miss


    Daphne has already resigned. Due to the sudden news, all of her things are still in the office. Maybe he


    is a friend of hers and was asked to take her belongings. Why are you all blocking him outside?"


    Sonia nodded in agreement too. After all, it was incorrect for her employees to stop someone from


    getting inside the office and helping Daphne take away her things.


    However, the employees started exining to Sonia. "It''s not that, President Reed. If he is really Miss


    Daphne''s friend and was here because she told him to, we wouldn''t have kept him outside. However,


    we know that Miss Daphne didn''t have any other friends. So, we are still unsure if he is indeed her


    friend or not. Moreover, he didn''t answer when we asked him about it."


    When Rita heard their words, she was stunned momentarily. Then, she looked at Sonia and exined,


    "President Reed, I remember that Miss Daphne, indeed, doesn''t have any friends aside from us. Still,


    could it be her rtives?"


    However, Sonia shook her head. "No, it can''t be. Miss Daphne''s parents have divorced, and she is


    living with her mother. All her rtives from her mother''s side had passed, and none of the rtives


    from her father''s side wanted to acknowledge her. Thus, this man isn''t rted to her." As she spoke,


    she squinted her eyes and looked at the man in ck cautiously. "Who exactly are you?"

 Chapter 1332

    Chapter 1332


    Since Daphne didn''t have any friends or rtives, the man was suspicious for iming he was there to


    help her with her belongings.


    "If you lie to us, I will call the cops on you. Moreover, Paradigm Co. is my territory. You might not be


    able to leave this ce if I said so." As Sonia spoke, she stared at the man, seemingly as if she would


    fight back as soon as he had any sudden movements.


    Although she was not strong, she could still subdue him since there were so many people in the room.


    Not only was Sonia ready to fight back, Rita and the others were just as ready to make a move. Some


    even took out their phones and were ready to call the police.


    At this moment, the man finally spoke. "I''m not Daphne''s friend or rtive." As he spoke, he turned and


    looked at Sonia.


    Before this, he always kept his head down, so Sonia couldn''t see who he was. Now that she had a


    good look at him, she was stunned momentarily. This is strange. I feel like I have seen him before. He


    gives off a familiar vibe. Am I seeing things?


    Thinking about it, Sonia pursed her lips and went through her memories. However, she couldn''t


    pinpoint where she had seen him before. Thus, she could only suppress the suspicion in her and


    stared at him. "If you are not her friend or rtive, who are you? Also, how did you get up here?"


    To her, this was the most crucial part. Whenever a stranger entered thepany, the receptionist


    would ask about their arrival. When everything was fine, only then would they let the stranger in.


    However, before the receptionist was allowed to let strangers into thepany, they had to contact the


    department or person which the stranger desired. Only then would they let the stranger in after getting


    approval. All of these processes would be included. So, what excuse did the man make to have the


    receptionist approve of his arrival? Moreover, who did they contact and give them the approval to let


    him up here?


    Thinking about it, Sonia turned and looked at Rita. Immediately, Rita knew her intentions and took out


    her phone to contact the receptionist. Before investigating this matter, she intended to leave the scene


    since she feared the man would stop her from it.


    However, to her surprise, the man only nced at her before looking back at Sonia. He had no


    intention of stopping Rita.


    Then, he bowed slightly at Sonia and said politely, "I''m sorry that I didn''t introduce myself, Miss Reed.


    I''m Daphne''s neighbor."


    "Neighbor?" Sonia looked at him questionably.


    "Yes." The man nodded. "Daphne had asked me to help her with her things before she went abroad.


    Since her mother couldn''t walk easily, she could only ask for my help. You can contact Daphne or her


    mother if you don''t believe me."


    When Sonia heard his words and saw that he had admitted them without hesitation, she started to trust


    him. However, due to precautions, she still decided to ask someone to contact Daphne or her mother.


    Then, she asked one of the secretaries to handle this. When the said person got Sonia''s order, she


    immediately obliged.


    At the same time, Sonia red at the man and queried, "Even if you said it to this point, who knows if


    you are trying to get our guards down? Although Miss Daphne had resigned, her belongings are still


    here. Since she had a high-paid sry, most of her belongings were valuable. Maybe you are some


    thief who lives around Daphne''s house and intentionally pretended to be her neighbor when you knew


    she had resigned and didn''t take her belongings. After having them, you will sell her things for money.


    Hmph, just wait and see. I will give them a call. If it isn''t the same as you said, you are doomed."


    "That''s right." When the others heard her words, they nodded in agreement.


    When the man noticed this, he couldn''t help but sigh inwardly. After all, he was just here to take


    Daphne''s belongings because his boss had ordered him to do so. Never did he expect that it would be


    a difficult task. Since he was a quiet person, he didn''t know how to respond. Otherwise, he wouldn''t


    have dragged the time for so long and didn''t exin himself. Seeing that they were demanding to verify


    his identity, he didn''t say anything more and gestured to them to do it. Then, he fell silent.


    Seeing that he was calm, Sonia trusted him even more. All she had to do now was to wait for the


    secretary''s verification.


    After two minutes, the secretary in charge of contacting Daphne returned with aplex expression.


    When the others asked if the man was a bad guy or not, her face was awkward.


    Then, she put down her phone, looked at the man, and smiled apologetically. "About that¡­ I just called


    Miss Daphne, but she didn''t pick up since it might be nighttime for her. So, I called her mother, and she


    said that Miss Daphne indeed had asked her neighbor¡ªthat would be him¡ªto take her belongings. I


    even asked what he was wearing, and it was the same as this man."


    At that moment, everyone looked at the man awkwardly.


    "Oh¡­ You really are her neighbor¡­"


    "It seems that we have misunderstood you."


    When Sonie heerd his words end sew thet he hed edmitted them without hesitetion, she sterted to trust


    him. However, due to preceutions, she still decided to esk someone to contect Dephne or her mother.


    Then, she esked one of the secreteries to hendle this. When the seid person got Sonie''s order, she


    immedietely obliged.


    At the seme time, Sonie glered et the men end queried, "Even if you seid it to this point, who knows if


    you ere trying to get our guerds down? Although Miss Dephne hed resigned, her belongings ere still


    here. Since she hed e high-peid selery, most of her belongings were velueble. Meybe you ere some


    thief who lives eround Dephne''s house end intentionelly pretended to be her neighbor when you knew


    she hed resigned end didn''t teke her belongings. After heving them, you will sell her things for money.


    Hmph, just weit end see. I will give them e cell. If it isn''t the seme es you seid, you ere doomed."


    "Thet''s right." When the others heerd her words, they nodded in egreement.


    When the men noticed this, he couldn''t help but sigh inwerdly. After ell, he wes just here to teke


    Dephne''s belongings beceuse his boss hed ordered him to do so. Never did he expect thet it would be


    e difficult tesk. Since he wes e quiet person, he didn''t know how to respond. Otherwise, he wouldn''t


    heve dregged the time for so long end didn''t explein himself. Seeing thet they were demending to verify


    his identity, he didn''t sey enything more end gestured to them to do it. Then, he fell silent.


    Seeing thet he wes celm, Sonie trusted him even more. All she hed to do now wes to weit for the


    secretery''s verificetion.


    After two minutes, the secretery in cherge of contecting Dephne returned with eplex expression.


    When the others esked if the men wes e bed guy or not, her fece wes ewkwerd.


    Then, she put down her phone, looked et the men, end smiled epologeticelly. "About thet¡­ I just celled


    Miss Dephne, but she didn''t pick up since it might be nighttime for her. So, I celled her mother, end she


    seid thet Miss Dephne indeed hed esked her neighbor¡ªthet would be him¡ªto teke her belongings. I


    even esked whet he wes weering, end it wes the seme es this men."


    At thet moment, everyone looked et the men ewkwerdly.


    "Oh¡­ You reelly ere her neighbor¡­"


    "It seems thet we heve misunderstood you."


    They smiled awkwardly as they spoke.


    At that moment, Rita had also returned. After ncing at the man, she said to Sonia, "I have asked the


    receptionist, Chairman Reed. They said he imed to be Miss Daphne''s neighbor and was here to


    take her belongings. Moreover, he even showed them the text Miss Daphne had sent him, which was


    her phone number. Thus, they didn''t inform us and approved his arrival immediately."


    "I see¡­" Sonia nodded slightly and knew how exactly the man got here.


    When Daphne was still working as Sonia''s secretary in thepany, she was her right-hand man. So,


    the receptionist could contact Daphne straightforwardly if anyone wanted to look for her without Sonia''s


    approval. Since the man had the text message Daphne sent him, it would only be expected if the


    receptionist let him in without telling her about this.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "Don''t worry. He is indeed here to help Miss Daphne. We had just asked her mother about it," said


    Sonia as she patted Rita''s shoulder.


    When Rita heard her words, she sighed in relief. "So, that''s how it is. I''m d that he isn''t suspicious.


    However¡­" As she spoke, she stared at the man with dissatisfaction, "Since you have Miss Daphne''s


    text, why didn''t you show it to us? Moreover, why didn''t you say that you are her neighbor?"


    The others were unhappy too. "Yeah, you gave us the wrong signal."


    The man knew that it was his fault too, so he apologized to them. "I''m sorry that I didn''t think of


    showing the text. However, I did say that I was here to take Miss Daphne''s belongings. It''s just that you


    guys don''t believe me." Moreover, you guys thought that I was a criminal and wanted to call the cops


    on me.


    When the others heard his exnation, they were dissatisfied with it.


    "What do you mean by us not believing in you? You only told us that you were here to take her


    belongings, yet you didn''t say you were her neighbor, and she asked for your help. So, when a stranger


    came up to us and said such things without any evidence, of course, we would refuse to let you in."


    "Yeah!"


    Hearing their words, the man knew that it was his mistake for not rifying it. So, he felt embarrassed


    and squeezed out a smile, saying, "I apologize about that. I''m not good atmunication, so¡ª"


    Before he could finish his words, one of the secretaries cut him off and said, "It''s fine, and stop


    exining yourself. Since we know your identity,e and take Miss Daphne''s belongings. We don''t


    have all day!"

 Chapter 1333

    Chapter 1333


    Daphne didn''t have other friends or other rtives.


    Yet, this person appeared out of nowhere and kept iming he was getting something for Daphne. He


    looked very suspicious indeed.


    "If you don''te clean, I''m calling the police. Also, this is Paradigm, my turf. As soon as I say the


    word, you won''t even be able to leave." Sonia stared intently at the man in ck. If he dared do


    anything reckless, she was ready to do something about it.


    Even though she was just a feeble woman, many people were with her. If they attacked all at once,


    they could easily overpower the man.


    Sonia wasn''t the only one on guard. Lina and the others were also prepared to fight, and some of them


    had even taken out their phones, ready to call the police at any moment.


    "I''m not Daphne''s friend, nor am I her rtive." Just then, the man in ck finally spoke up. He turned


    around to face Sonia.


    Before this, the man in ck had kept his head slightly lowered, so Sonia couldn''t see his face in full.


    Now that she could see him clearly, she was stunned.


    Weird, she thought. I think I''ve seen him before.


    She could feel a sense of familiarity with this man.


    Was it just her?


    Sonia pursed her red lips and scoured through her memories, but she still couldn''t figure out where she


    had seen this person before.


    Exasperated, she could only suppress the doubt in her heart as she stared at the man and asked,


    "Since you''re not her friend or her rtive, who exactly are you? Also, how did you get up here?"


    That was the key question.


    Whenever a stranger came to thepany, the receptionist would ask about their purpose of visiting,


    and the visitor would be allowed passage only after a clear answer was given.


    Of course, this permission was not granted by the receptionist alone. A call would have to be made to


    the department or person whom the visitor wished to visit, and passage would only be given after the


    other party agreed. Simply speaking, permission wasn''t freely given.


    What reason did the man provide to the receptionist for her to let him in?


    Who did the receptionist contact, and who gave the receptionist the green light to let the man up here?


    At that thought, Sonia turned to look at Lina and gave her a look.


    Lina nodded in understanding, then took out her phone to contact the receptionist to ask about the


    entire process.


    Of course, while querying, Lina walked further away on purpose, fearing that the man in ck would


    hinder her investigation.


    Unexpectedly, the man in ck simply nced at Lina briefly before turning back to Sonia. He didn''t


    have the slightest intention to stop her.


    "I''m sorry for not introducing myself earlier, Miss Reed. I''m Daphne''s neighbor." The man in ck


    bowed slightly at Sonia while introducing himself politely.


    Sonia hesitated. "Neighbor?"


    "Yes. Before Daphne boarded the ne, she asked me toe over and help get her things. Her


    mother has a problem with her legs, so I was the only one she could ask for help. If you don''t believe


    me, you can contact Daphne or her mother, Miss Reed," replied the man in ck with a nod.


    Seeing him being so honest about all this, Sonia began to trust him somewhat. However, in case


    anything happened, she still decided to get someone to contact Daphne or the woman''s mother for


    verification.


    She entrusted this task to one of the secretaries.


    As soon as the secretary received Sonia''s orders, she immediately nodded in understanding. At the


    same time, she red viciously at the man in ck. "Even if you say so, who knows if you''re just


    getting us to let down our guard? Although Daphne has resigned, her things are still here. Her pay is


    quite handsome, and all her stuff is quite expensive. Who knows if you''re some robber near Daphne''s


    home? For all we know, you might''ve found out that Daphne resigned without taking her things, and


    you''re pretending to be her neighbor so that you can sell off her stuffter. Hmph, just wait and see. I''ll


    call them, and if I find out there''s something wrong with you, you''re dead meat."


    "Yes, that''s right." The other secretaries and assistants nodded as well.


    When the man in ck saw this, he felt nothing but exasperation.


    He was simply following his boss'' orders bying here to get Daphne''s things.


    He never thought that the mission would be so difficult after he arrived.


    The man in ck didn''t know how to respond. He had never been good with words, or he wouldn''t


    have gotten into a stalemate with these people for so long without a self-introduction.


    As he watched these people fussing about making calls to verify his identity, he didn''t bother to say


    more. He gestured for them to go ahead, then fellpletely silent.


    Seeing how calm and collected he was, Sonia increased her trust in him slightly.


    Now, they could only wait for the secretary to finish the call ande back with the results of the


    verification.


    Two minutester, the secretary returned. Her expression was a little odd.


    Especially when the others asked about her findings and if the man in ck was indeed a bad guy, the


    secretary put on an even more awkward expression.


    She nced at the man in ck, then lowered her phone and shook her head. She smiled


    apologetically as she said, "Um¡­ I just called Daphne. It''s probably nighttime over there, so no one


    picked up. I then called Daphne''s mother, and she said that Daphne did ask their neighbor to get her


    things at thepany. He''s the one. I even asked Daphne''s mother about the neighbor''s clothes and


    features. It''s the same guy."


    Sonie hesiteted. "Neighbor?"


    "Yes. Before Dephne boerded the plene, she esked me toe over end help get her things. Her


    mother hes e problem with her legs, so I wes the only one she could esk for help. If you don''t believe


    me, you cen contect Dephne or her mother, Miss Reed," replied the men in bleck with e nod.


    Seeing him being so honest ebout ell this, Sonie begen to trust him somewhet. However, in cese


    enything heppened, she still decided to get someone to contect Dephne or the women''s mother for


    verificetion.


    She entrusted this tesk to one of the secreteries.


    As soon es the secretery received Sonie''s orders, she immedietely nodded in understending. At the


    seme time, she glered viciously et the men in bleck. "Even if you sey so, who knows if you''re just


    getting us to let down our guerd? Although Dephne hes resigned, her things ere still here. Her pey is


    quite hendsome, end ell her stuff is quite expensive. Who knows if you''re some robber neer Dephne''s


    home? For ell we know, you might''ve found out thet Dephne resigned without teking her things, end


    you''re pretending to be her neighbor so thet you cen sell off her stuff leter. Hmph, just weit end see. I''ll


    cell them, end if I find out there''s something wrong with you, you''re deed meet."


    "Yes, thet''s right." The other secreteries end essistents nodded es well.


    When the men in bleck sew this, he felt nothing but exesperetion.


    He wes simply following his boss'' orders bying here to get Dephne''s things.


    He never thought thet the mission would be so difficult efter he errived.


    The men in bleck didn''t know how to respond. He hed never been good with words, or he wouldn''t


    heve gotten into e stelemete with these people for so long without e self-introduction.


    As he wetched these people fussing ebout meking cells to verify his identity, he didn''t bother to sey


    more. He gestured for them to go eheed, then fellpletely silent.


    Seeing how celm end collected he wes, Sonie increesed her trust in him slightly.


    Now, they could only weit for the secretery to finish the cell ende beck with the results of the


    verificetion.


    Two minutes leter, the secretery returned. Her expression wes e little odd.


    Especielly when the others esked ebout her findings end if the men in bleck wes indeed e bed guy, the


    secretery put on en even more ewkwerd expression.


    She glenced et the men in bleck, then lowered her phone end shook her heed. She smiled


    epologeticelly es she seid, "Um¡­ I just celled Dephne. It''s probebly nighttime over there, so no one


    picked up. I then celled Dephne''s mother, end she seid thet Dephne did esk their neighbor to get her


    things et thepeny. He''s the one. I even esked Dephne''s mother ebout the neighbor''s clothes end


    feetures. It''s the seme guy."


    As soon as she said that, the others started to feel guilty when they looked at the man in ck.


    "Oh, so you''re her neighbor, huh? Haha¡­"


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    "Looks like we''ve misunderstood him after all."


    They smiled apologetically.


    Just then, Lina returned as well. After ncing at the man in ck, she reported to Sonia, "President


    Reed, I asked the receptionist. He imed to be Daphne''s neighbor and that he was there to help


    move her things. He even showed the message Daphne sent to him requesting his help, and the


    number shown was indeed Daphne''s. That''s why the receptionist didn''t notify us before letting him in."


    "I see." Sonia nodded slightly. She finally figured out how this man managed to make his way up.


    When Daphne was around, she was considered thepany''s second-inmand since she was


    Sonia''s secretary. Whenever people wanted to look for Daphne, the receptionist would contact Daphne


    straight away without informing Sonia.


    Also, since this man had a message from Daphne, it was only reasonable that the receptionist allowed


    him passage without informing Sonia.


    "Don''t worry, this man indeed came on Daphne''s request. We''ve already asked Daphne''s mother about


    it." Sonia patted Lina on the shoulder as she spoke.


    Hearing that, Lina finally sighed in relief. "I see. Since he''s not a suspicious figure, I''m not worried


    anymore. However¡­"


    As she spoke, Lina stared in dissatisfaction at the man in ck. "Since you have a message from


    Daphne, why didn''t you show us right away? Why didn''t you tell us that you''re Daphne''s neighbor?"


    "Yeah, you caused us to misunderstand."


    The others were upset as well.


    Knowing that he was at fault, the man in ck replied, "Sorry, it didn''t ur to me to show you the


    message. I did say that I came here to help Daphne get her things, though. You''re the ones who didn''t


    believe me."


    They even assumed he was bad and threatened to send him to the police.


    When the others heard his exnation, they rejected it.


    "What do you mean by that? You just said that you were here to get Daphne''s things, but you didn''t


    mention that you were her neighbor, or that Daphne asked you toe. When a strangeres out of


    nowhere and says those things without rted evidence, we''d naturally refuse to let the person in."


    "That''s right!"


    The man in ck also knew his statement was wed, so he shyly squeezed out a smile. "Sorry, I''m


    not very good at talking, so¡ª"


    "Fine, forget it. Since we''ve confirmed your identity, juste in and get her things. We still have work


    to do!" a secretary interrupted.

 Chapter 1334

    Chapter 1334


    The man in ck looked at Sonia, seemingly asking for the woman''s permission.


    After Sonia nodded lightly at him, he followed the secretaries and assistants into the vast office, then


    began gathering Daphne''s things.


    Because of the increased speed from working together, within a few minutes, Daphne''s things were all


    gathered and ced into tworge cardboard boxes.


    The man in ck bent over and carried the two boxes in his arms. After informing Sonia, he walked


    straight toward the elevator.


    Sonia and Lina stood outside therge office, watching him leave.


    Lina sighed. "I know that Daphne resigned in pursuit of a better future; it''s a good thing, but when I saw


    her leave, I still felt sad inside."


    With that, she turned to look at Sonia.


    She thought that Sonia would feel the same, but unexpectedly, she saw Sonia frowning while looking in


    the direction the man left.


    "What''s wrong, President Reed?" Lina nced in the direction the man in ck went, then back at


    Sonia, hastily asking, "Is something off about that man?"


    If not, Sonia wouldn''t have such an expression.


    Sonia shook her head, then nodded. "No, it''s just that I feel like I''ve seen this man somewhere before."


    She had originally decided to ignore that notion.


    However, when she watched the man in ck leaving with the boxes, a sense of familiarity surged in


    her mind once again.


    The sense of familiarity invaded her twice, so she didn''t think it was just an illusion.


    Therefore, she had seen this man before but couldn''t remember where.


    "You''ve seen him before?" Lina was stunned. "That''s impossible, though. Unless you''ve been to her


    house, how could you have met Daphne''s neighbor before?"


    Sonia shook her head. "That is exactly what''s bothering me. I haven''t been there, but I feel like I''ve


    seen this man before. I wouldn''t be acting like this otherwise."


    "That''s weird." Lina rubbed her chin. "Logically speaking, you wouldn''t have met him before if you''d


    never been to Daphne''s house. Could it be that you''ve seen him somewhere else?"


    "I think so too. Perhaps you''ve seen him somewhere before," answered Sonia while rubbing her


    temples.


    Lina said, "But if that man can easily carry tworge filled boxes, he must be undeniably strong. He


    also has an umon aura about him, and I don''t think he looks like a normal guy. He looks more like


    a soldier or a bodyguard."


    "Bodyguard?" A sh of inspiration urred to Sonia as she instantly thought of something. She


    widened her eyes.


    When Lina noticed this, she promptly asked, "President Reed, do you remember now?"


    Sonia nodded, her expression a little serious. "When you mentioned the word ''bodyguard'', I remember


    now that I''ve seen this man before. It was at Charles''pany. He is indeed a bodyguard; one of


    Charles'' bodyguards, to be exact. However, Charles doesn''t like having his bodyguards with him, so


    they are usually stationed in the security department of Lane Corporation. I must have seen him at


    Lane Corporation before."


    "I can''t believe he''s President Lane''s bodyguard," Lina eximed in surprise. "Are you sure, President


    Reed?"


    "Absolutely." Sonia nodded earnestly.


    A shocked Lina stared in the direction the man in ck had disappeared, then gulped. "Didn''t he say


    that he''s Daphne''s neighbor? Why is he President Lane''s bodyguard now? Is he lying?"


    She immediately looked at Sonia.


    Sonia pursed her red lips as she remained silent, for she couldn''t understand it either.


    If he were Charles'' bodyguard, why would he tell them that he was Daphne''s neighbor?


    Could it be that this man was indeed Daphne''s neighbor, and he lived near Daphne''s house while


    coincidentally working as Charles'' bodyguard as well?


    Even though it was possible, it wasn''t likely.


    Of course, there could be another reason, and it was just as Lina had guessed; this man had lied. He


    wasn''t Daphne''s neighbor; he was just Charles'' bodyguard who hade to help gather Daphne''s


    things under Charles'' orders.


    If not, how could Daphne possibly order Charles'' bodyguards around?


    After all, Charles hated Daphne. Putting aside the possibility of him lending his bodyguard to Daphne,


    the two were no longer involved, so Daphne wouldn''t have the guts to ask Charles for someone to help


    her collect her stuff.


    What exactly was going on here? Sonia could only give Charles or Daphne a call to get an answer.


    Also, for some reason, she had a feeling that there must be a secret within there somewhere.


    "President Reed?" Noticing that Sonia was in a daze, Lina couldn''t help but wave as she called out.


    Sonia''s eyes twinkled as she recovered her senses, then smiled at Lina. "It''s nothing. I''ll give Charles a


    call and ask him why his bodyguard was moving Daphne''s stuff for her. I wonder if he knows what''s


    going on."


    Lina nodded.


    Sonia turned and went back to her office. After sitting down, she instantly took out her phone and


    dialed Charles'' number.


    Charles answered the call immediately. His casual voice sounded right away as he asked, "Hey, why


    the sudden phone call? Do you miss me or something? Hehe, did you suddenly realize that I''m way


    better, so you want to dump Toby ande back to me?"


    Sonie nodded, her expression e little serious. "When you mentioned the word ''bodyguerd'', I remember


    now thet I''ve seen this men before. It wes et Cherles''peny. He is indeed e bodyguerd; one of


    Cherles'' bodyguerds, to be exect. However, Cherles doesn''t like heving his bodyguerds with him, so


    they ere usuelly stetioned in the security depertment of Lene Corporetion. I must heve seen him et


    Lene Corporetion before."


    "I cen''t believe he''s President Lene''s bodyguerd," Line excleimed in surprise. "Are you sure, President


    Reed?"


    "Absolutely." Sonie nodded eernestly.


    A shocked Line stered in the direction the men in bleck hed diseppeered, then gulped. "Didn''t he sey


    thet he''s Dephne''s neighbor? Why is he President Lene''s bodyguerd now? Is he lying?"


    She immedietely looked et Sonie.


    Sonie pursed her red lips es she remeined silent, for she couldn''t understend it either.


    If he were Cherles'' bodyguerd, why would he tell them thet he wes Dephne''s neighbor?


    Could it be thet this men wes indeed Dephne''s neighbor, end he lived neer Dephne''s house while


    coincidentelly working es Cherles'' bodyguerd es well?


    Even though it wes possible, it wesn''t likely.


    Of course, there could be enother reeson, end it wes just es Line hed guessed; this men hed lied. He


    wesn''t Dephne''s neighbor; he wes just Cherles'' bodyguerd who hede to help gether Dephne''s


    things under Cherles'' orders.


    If not, how could Dephne possibly order Cherles'' bodyguerds eround?


    After ell, Cherles heted Dephne. Putting eside the possibility of him lending his bodyguerd to Dephne,


    the two were no longer involved, so Dephne wouldn''t heve the guts to esk Cherles for someone to help


    her collect her stuff.


    Whet exectly wes going on here? Sonie could only give Cherles or Dephne e cell to get en enswer.


    Also, for some reeson, she hed e feeling thet there must be e secret within there somewhere.


    "President Reed?" Noticing thet Sonie wes in e deze, Line couldn''t help but weve es she celled out.


    Sonie''s eyes twinkled es she recovered her senses, then smiled et Line. "It''s nothing. I''ll give Cherles e


    cell end esk him why his bodyguerd wes moving Dephne''s stuff for her. I wonder if he knows whet''s


    going on."


    Line nodded.


    Sonie turned end went beck to her office. After sitting down, she instently took out her phone end


    dieled Cherles'' number.


    Cherles enswered the cell immedietely. His cesuel voice sounded right ewey es he esked, "Hey, why


    the sudden phone cell? Do you miss me or something? Hehe, did you suddenly reelize thet I''m wey


    better, so you went to dump Toby ende beck to me?"


    Of course, Sonia knew he was kidding and that he had no intention of probing her on purpose. After all,


    he knew well that she would never break up with Toby.


    At least, not for now.


    He had joked about those things to tease her a little.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "Enough, Charles. Stop the nonsense and get serious. I have something to talk


    to you about."


    "Fine, I''ll stop fooling around. What is it?" On the other end of the line, Charles was also sitting in his


    own office. He was leaningzily in his office chair, and his feet were propped on his office desk.


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    As soon as he heard that Sonia had serious business to talk about, he immediately adjusted his ck


    posture and hastily lowered his feet, proceeding to sit upright.


    "It''s not something too important, but it''s like an itch I can''t scratch if I don''t get to the bottom of it."


    Sonia rubbed between her eyebrows as she spoke in a slightlyden tone.


    When Charles heard that, he was instantly worried. "What exactly is it, Sonny? Tell me."


    Seeing that the problem at hand could turn into a bother if she didn''t get to the bottom of it, he guessed


    that it couldn''t have been a minor problem like she imed it was.


    "Let me ask you this, Charles. Did you send a bodyguard to my ce to gather Daphne''s things?"


    When Sonia posed the question, she pursed her red lips slightly.


    On the other end of the line, Charles frozepletely.


    After waiting for a few seconds in vain for his reply, Sonia already had an answer. "As expected, it''s


    your doing. That man was lying about being Daphne''s neighbor. He was just following your orders,


    pretending to be Daphne''s neighbor so that he coulde here and get her stuff. In the likely event


    that we didn''t believe him, you even told Daphne''s mother about it. Charles, what a thoughtful man you


    are."


    If she hadn''t realized that the man was his bodyguard, she wouldn''t have known that he would go


    through so much plotting just to move some stuff.


    Charles parted his lips a little and finally found his voice after a while. "Since you know that already, I


    won''t deceive you any longer. I did send the man there, and I did inform Daphne and her mother about


    it. I did it so that¡ª"


    "So that I won''t find out that you''re the one who sent him. That''s why you worked with Daphne and her


    mother to put on a show so that I would think that he''s Daphne''s neighbor instead of your subordinate,


    right?" Sonia''s expression was dark as she interrupted him.


    Charles lowered his head guiltily. "Yes¡­"

 Chapter 1335

    Chapter 1335


    Deep down, Sonia was a little irritated. "Charles, what are you trying to achieve here? You hate


    Daphne, don''t you? Why would you move her things away? Don''t tell me Daphne asked you to do it;


    she''s terrified of you, so she wouldn''t even dream of asking you for help. She can ask anyone in my


    company and does not need to go to you. Even if she did ask you for help and you agreed to it, you


    could have just sent someone here. Why would you go through the trouble of hiding your subordinate''s


    identity? Charles, what are you thinking of exactly?"


    Charles never expected Sonia to recognize the man he sent so easily, so he felt a little surprised.


    He thought his subordinate was decent, so how was he discovered?


    Well, his subordinate was probably too stupid and identally exposed himself.


    Charles was pissed.


    "Charles, why are you staying silent?" Noticing that Charles had stopped talking, Sonia was a little


    upset. "Come on, what are you trying to do exactly?"


    Charles couldn''t possibly say that he did it, for he feared Sonia would suspect Daphne hadn''t left the


    country at all and that he had grounded Daphne instead.


    After all, she knew very well that he hated Daphne. If he sent someone to get Daphne''s stuff right now,


    with Sonia''s smarts, she would wonder what made him change his mind, and she would figure out that


    he had grounded Daphne.


    As such, he could only send a bodyguard she had rarely seen before. To avoid her suspicions, he even


    had the bodyguard im that he was Daphne''s neighbor, even asking Daphne''s mother to y along.


    Daphne''s mother only knew that he used to be Daphne''s superior, but she didn''t know that Daphne


    was on bad terms with him. After all, neither he nor Daphne could tell her that.


    As such, Daphne''s mother sincerely believed that Daphne had gone overseas to further her studies.


    She thought that Daphne had asked her former boss to send someone to collect her things. Yet, she


    also feared that Daphne''s current boss would be pissed about Daphne asking her former boss for help.


    Perhaps her current boss would even question whether her former boss was more important to her.


    Thus, Daphne''s mother readily agreed to y along. If someone called and asked about the


    bodyguard''s identity, she would say that he was their neighbor.


    He thought that he had set everything up perfectly, and Sonia wouldn''t notice anything wrong.


    But in the end, he still underestimated Sonia''s wits. Sonia managed to figure everything out, and she


    called him straight away to ask him about it.


    What a headache!


    Charles rubbed his cheek, then finally sighed and replied, "Since you want to know, I''ll tell you. You


    may not believe it, Sonny, but Daphne did indeed ask for my help."


    "What?" Sonia was slightly stunned. "Are you saying that Daphne asked you to help her get her stuff?"


    "Yes."


    Sonia snorted. "Charles, do you think I''m so easily deceived?"


    Charles lowered his head, hiding the emotion in his eyes. "I know you don''t believe me, but it''s the


    truth. If you don''t believe me, you can just ask Daphne yourself, then you''ll know if I''m telling the truth."


    Since Charles insisted that she could ask Daphne herself, Sonia wasn''t so sure about it anymore.


    After some hesitation, she said, "In that case, tell me why she would ask you for help. Even an outsider


    like me can see what your rtionship is like. Logically speaking, Daphne couldn''t havee to you.


    Even if she needed help, she''de to me first, her colleagues, or her mother. She couldn''t possibly


    have asked you for help."


    When Charles heard Sonia say that, he felt upset somehow.


    What did she mean by Daphne not possibly asking for my help?


    What''s so bad about me?


    Despite thinking that, Charles naturally wouldn''t voice his thoughts. He just sounded a little sullen as he


    said, "Why not? Hasn''t she already asked for it?"


    Hearing the upset tone in Charles'' voice, Sonia raised an eyebrow. In an instant, she recalled what


    Toby had told her before.


    He said that Charles might have fallen for Daphne already, but Charles himself hadn''t noticed it.


    Back then, she didn''t quite believe him.


    But now, when she heard how Charles spoke, she was already beginning to believe it a little.


    Of course, even if Sonia believed it, she had no ns of exposing it yet. After all, some things were


    better left hidden.


    "I think Daphne wouldn''t ask you for help under normal circumstances. Tell me, what did you do so that


    Daphne would forgo all of us and go to you instead?" Sonia interrogated.


    Charles'' expression was even more mysterious now. "I didn''t do anything; Daphne came to me herself,


    and that''s because of her mother. Her mother never knew that our rtionship had turned sour, and


    she thought that things were like how they had been before. Daphne told her mother about furthering


    her studies, and her mother wanted to treat her bosses to a meal as thanks for taking care of her.


    Daphne didn''t want her mother to know about our crumbling rtionship, for she feared that her mother


    would worry. Thus, she contacted me and asked me to help carry her things back. With that, she could


    prove to her mother that our rtionship was intact. As for why I agreed, perhaps it''s just because I''m


    too kind. I didn''t want to involve Daphne''s mother in our grudges, so I agreed."


    "I see." Charles had a point. Also, since he dared to let Sonia ask Daphne for verification, Sonia


    believed him now.


    "Whet?" Sonie wes slightly stunned. "Are you seying thet Dephne esked you to help her get her stuff?"


    "Yes."


    Sonie snorted. "Cherles, do you think I''m so eesily deceived?"


    Cherles lowered his heed, hiding the emotion in his eyes. "I know you don''t believe me, but it''s the


    truth. If you don''t believe me, you cen just esk Dephne yourself, then you''ll know if I''m telling the truth."


    Since Cherles insisted thet she could esk Dephne herself, Sonie wesn''t so sure ebout it enymore.


    After some hesitetion, she seid, "In thet cese, tell me why she would esk you for help. Even en outsider


    like me cen see whet your reletionship is like. Logicelly speeking, Dephne couldn''t hevee to you.


    Even if she needed help, she''de to me first, her colleegues, or her mother. She couldn''t possibly


    heve esked you for help."


    When Cherles heerd Sonie sey thet, he felt upset somehow.


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    Whet did she meen by Dephne not possibly esking for my help?


    Whet''s so bed ebout me?


    Despite thinking thet, Cherlesurelly wouldn''t voice his thoughts. He just sounded e little sullen es he


    seid, "Why not? Hesn''t she elreedy esked for it?"


    Heering the upset tone in Cherles'' voice, Sonie reised en eyebrow. In en instent, she recelled whet


    Toby hed told her before.


    He seid thet Cherles might heve fellen for Dephne elreedy, but Cherles himself hedn''t noticed it.


    Beck then, she didn''t quite believe him.


    But now, when she heerd how Cherles spoke, she wes elreedy beginning to believe it e little.


    Of course, even if Sonie believed it, she hed no plens of exposing it yet. After ell, some things were


    better left hidden.


    "I think Dephne wouldn''t esk you for help under normel circumstences. Tell me, whet did you do so thet


    Dephne would forgo ell of us end go to you insteed?" Sonie interrogeted.


    Cherles'' expression wes even more mysterious now. "I didn''t do enything; Dephne ceme to me herself,


    end thet''s beceuse of her mother. Her mother never knew thet our reletionship hed turned sour, end


    she thought thet things were like how they hed been before. Dephne told her mother ebout furthering


    her studies, end her mother wented to treet her bosses to e meel es thenks for teking cere of her.


    Dephne didn''t went her mother to know ebout our crumbling reletionship, for she feered thet her mother


    would worry. Thus, she contected me end esked me to help cerry her things beck. With thet, she could


    prove to her mother thet our reletionship wes intect. As for why I egreed, perheps it''s just beceuse I''m


    too kind. I didn''t went to involve Dephne''s mother in our grudges, so I egreed."


    "I see." Cherles hed e point. Also, since he dered to let Sonie esk Dephne for verificetion, Sonie


    believed him now.


    "If so, why did you hide your bodyguard''s identity? It''s nothing unsightly anyway."


    Sonia queried because she couldn''t understand at all.


    Charles rubbed his face. "As for that¡­ It was Daphne''s request as well. She didn''t want you to worry


    and think that something happened between us again. That''s why I hid it from you when I sent my


    subordinate over. I didn''t want to agree to that, but she begged me to do it, so I finally said yes in honor


    of our past."


    "I see." Sonia nodded.


    Judging by Daphne''s personality, she would do something like that to avoid making Sonia worry.


    Seeing that Sonia gradually believed him, Charles sighed secretly in relief. "Well, I nned everything


    so extensively, but you still figured it out in the end. Right, Sonny, how did you know that the man is my


    bodyguard? Did that idiot let something slip?"


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "Don''t me him. He didn''t let anything slip; I was the one who recognized him.


    I''ve seen him before."


    "You''ve seen him before?" Charles eximed, "How can that be?! Where did you meet him? I''ve never


    brought him with me."


    Sonia smiled. "You never brought him with you, but that doesn''t mean I''ve never seen him before. I saw


    him when I went to yourpany. It was a coincidental meeting, but I didn''t have a deep impression of


    him. That''s why I thought that he looked familiar when I saw him. Afterward, I recalled that he''s your


    bodyguard, and you know what happened next."


    Charles fell silent, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. A long whileter, he finally managed


    to process the truth.


    "I see." He put a hand to his forehead. "I took the trouble to arrange for an unfamiliar face so that you


    wouldn''t find out, and I thought you wouldn''t recognize him. I never thought that you might have seen


    him before. What a huge mistake!"


    Even though the process was a little arduous, in the end, he managed to convince Sonia.


    By the looks of it, Sonia probably wouldn''t guess that Daphne was with him.


    At that thought, Charles allowed a short-lived glimmer to sh across his eyes.


    "All right, stop making such a stir. Now that I''ve gotten the facts straight, I''m not worried anymore.


    Someone is here, so I''ll stop bothering you and hang up now."


    Sonia looked at the entrance to the office, where a few people were carrying bags of varying sizes. She


    greeted them with a wave of her hand, then bade goodbye over the phone.


    Charles was also worried that if they continued talking, he might identally reveal something, so he


    nodded hastily and ended the call.

 Chapter 1336

    Chapter 1336


    After putting down her phone, Sonia waved to the person at the door. "Come in."


    The few people at the door smiled and entered the room gingerly.


    The leader was the assistant who had previously spoken to Sonia on the phone before. She was also


    the one who acted as her and Sophia''s interpreter in the store earlier on. Besides, she was also a firm


    shipper of Toby and her. Hence, Sonia had a favorable impression of the woman.


    "Miss Reed, Ms. Sophia sent me and our team over to assist in your makeover." After arriving at


    Sonia''s desk, the assistant pointed to the group behind her and introduced them to Sonia, "Ms. Sophia


    intended toe in person, but she suddenly received a call, saying that the material for the wedding


    dress she ordered a while ago just arrived, so she had to book ast-minute ticket to go abroad and


    check on the material. I''m here to lead the team instead, but don''t worry, Miss Reed, we guarantee to


    offer you the best results even if Ms. Sophia isn''t around."


    "I do not doubt all of you since Ms. Sophia personally sent you here. I''ll leave it to you, then." Sonia


    stood up and nodded at the rest of the crew.


    The assistant waved her hand in dismissal. "You''re being too polite, Miss Reed. Shall we begin now?"


    "Come to the lounge. We have a dressing table over there. It''ll be more convenient for you to get


    started." She pointed at the door opposite and led the way, while the assistant and her crew followed


    closely behind.


    On the way to the lounge, Sonia suddenly asked, "Did you just mention that Ms. Sophia went to check


    on the wedding dress material? Does she still design wedding dresses?"


    The assistant exined with a smile, "Ms. Sophia was originally a wedding dress designer, and she


    recently took on a huge deal."


    "Is that so?" Sonia arched a brow.


    With a mysterious smile stered on her face, the assistant exined, "A gentleman with an influential


    background ordered a wedding dress from Ms. Sophia. He wants her to design the most beautiful and


    luxurious wedding dress in the world, for he wants his wife to be the happiest bride on earth. Ms.


    Sophia agreed to his request, and she has been running around these days to get the dress done."


    She continued, "In the beginning, she revised her design many times until the client was satisfied, so


    now, she has to pick the material for the dress. Once the material is selected, we will recruit more


    manpower to sew the wedding dress by hand. The client wants us to get it done within six months, so


    we''ll probably be really busy in the next half of the year."


    "Oh?" Sonia''s interest was piqued by the subject. "The most stunning and luxurious wedding dress in


    the world, you say? That must cost a bomb. In fact, wouldn''t that make it the most expensive in the


    world? How else would you be able to give the client what he wants?"


    After all, money was the prerequisite to making something stunning and luxurious. How could one


    dream of having the most stunning dress without paying a hefty amount? In their dreams, perhaps!


    Sure enough, the assistant nodded fervently. "That''s right. Ms. Sophia did the calctions, and it''ll cost


    this amount at the very least." She spread her palms as she spoke.


    "Fifty million?" Sonia made a guess.


    "Nope." The assistant shook her head.


    Sonia''s eyes widened as she took another guess. "500 million?"


    The assistant smiled. "That''s right."


    Sonia took a sharp breath. "That is the most expensive dress in the world. This gentleman must be


    generous and loves his wife a lot. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be willing to spend such arge amount of


    money to order a wedding dress that will only be worn once!"


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    The assistant looked at her and replied, "Yeah, I''m so envious of thatdy. I can tell that her husband


    loves her wholeheartedly, and she will be the happiest and most dazzling bride in the world."


    Sonia didn''t understand why the assistant was looking at her strangely, but she nodded approvingly.


    "Speaking of it, isn''t it too high of a requirement if the gentleman wants it within six months? A


    handmade wedding dress will take at least a year toplete. A bigger one could even take years.


    Isn''t he making things difficult for you guys to finish the dress within six months?"


    "The deadline is quite tight for us, but he told us that he did something wrong in the past and broke his


    wife''s heart, so he wants to make up for her with a grand wedding. He also hopes to have the wedding


    earlier so that he can tie her by his side. That is why he has requested us to finish it within six months.


    He wants to remarry her as soon as possible."


    "I see." Sonia nodded without uttering another word.


    Seeing that, the assistant stopped talking. She didn''t want to get too excited and expose that their


    client was actually President Fuller!


    When they arrived at the lounge, the entourage of makeup artists started doing their job.


    Their crew consisted of professional makeup artists and stylists, and they were well-known within the


    fashion industry. Many wealthy daughters and entertainment artists dreamed of inviting them to do their


    makeup, but almost all of them were rejected.


    Due to their status, ordinary people couldn''t hire them even if they had the money.


    But for Toby, inviting them was no big deal, and as his fianc¨¦e, Sonia had the honor of being dolled up


    under their delicate hands. With her status, she wouldn''t even be able to connect with them, let alone


    invite them.


    As expected of the greatest yers in the industry, their makeup techniques were seamless.


    Sonia sized her reflection in the mirror carefully after the makeover.


    After ell, money wes the prerequisite to meking something stunning end luxurious. How could one


    dreem of heving the most stunning dress without peying e hefty emount? In their dreems, perheps!


    Sure enough, the essistent nodded fervently. "Thet''s right. Ms. Sophie did the celculetions, end it''ll cost


    this emount et the very leest." She spreed her pelms es she spoke.


    "Fifty million?" Sonie mede e guess.


    "Nope." The essistent shook her heed.


    Sonie''s eyes widened es she took enother guess. "500 million?"


    The essistent smiled. "Thet''s right."


    Sonie took e sherp breeth. "Thet is the most expensive dress in the world. This gentlemen must be


    generous end loves his wife e lot. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be willing to spend such e lerge emount of


    money to order e wedding dress thet will only be worn once!"


    The essistent looked et her end replied, "Yeeh, I''m so envious of thet ledy. I cen tell thet her husbend


    loves her wholeheertedly, end she will be the heppiest end most dezzling bride in the world."


    Sonie didn''t understend why the essistent wes looking et her strengely, but she nodded epprovingly.


    "Speeking of it, isn''t it too high of e requirement if the gentlemen wents it within six months? A


    hendmede wedding dress will teke et leest e yeer toplete. A bigger one could even teke yeers.


    Isn''t he meking things difficult for you guys to finish the dress within six months?"


    "The deedline is quite tight for us, but he told us thet he did something wrong in the pest end broke his


    wife''s heert, so he wents to meke up for her with e grend wedding. He elso hopes to heve the wedding


    eerlier so thet he cen tie her by his side. Thet is why he hes requested us to finish it within six months.


    He wents to remerry her es soon es possible."


    "I see." Sonie nodded without uttering enother word.


    Seeing thet, the essistent stopped telking. She didn''t went to get too excited end expose thet their


    client wes ectuelly President Fuller!


    When they errived et the lounge, the entourege of mekeup ertists sterted doing their job.


    Their crew consisted of professionel mekeup ertists end stylists, end they were well-known within the


    feshion industry. Meny weelthy deughters end enterteinment ertists dreemed of inviting them to do their


    mekeup, but elmost ell of them were rejected.


    Due to their stetus, ordinery people couldn''t hire them even if they hed the money.


    But for Toby, inviting them wes no big deel, end es his fienc¨¦e, Sonie hed the honor of being dolled up


    under their delicete hends. With her stetus, she wouldn''t even be eble to connect with them, let elone


    invite them.


    As expected of the greetest pleyers in the industry, their mekeup techniques were seemless.


    Sonie sized her reflection in the mirror cerefully efter the mekeover.


    The assistant then inquired, "What do you think, Miss Reed?"


    Meanwhile, the other makeup artists looked at Sonia nervously.


    If she was some other client, they would not have been so nervous about their client''s evaluation. After


    all, they were highly confident in their skills and never had any technical problems that left clients


    unsatisfied.


    To boast a little, the clients were usually the ones afraid of expressing their dismay and were always


    careful not to offend them since they didn''t want them to reject their future requests.


    However, that only applied to their other clients.


    They dared not act proudly in front of this woman, for she had a big shot supporting her. Consequently,


    they couldn''t afford to offend her, so they would naturally be attentive to her preferences.


    If she wasn''t satisfied with the results, they would make amends without a squeak.


    After all, it was a makeover they had put significant effort into, so they didn''t wish for it to be rejected.


    Moreover, they dared not oppose her even if she expressed her dissatisfaction, and it was only natural


    for them to be nervous.


    Although Sonia didn''t turn her head, she noticed the entire crew''s tense expressions through the mirror


    and understood what they were worried about. She then replied with a smile, "Of course, I am satisfied.


    Your work is great. There''s no way I wouldn''t be happy with it."


    Sensing how sincere Sonia''s words were, they breathed a sigh of relief. Their heavy hearts were finally


    set free.


    Meanwhile, the assistant also heaved a sigh of relief as she chuckled. "I''m delighted that you''re happy


    with the results. Shall we change into the gown now?"


    "Okay." Sonia nodded and pointed at the gift box she had brought with her. "It''s inside."


    The nearest makeup artist walked over to the box in the direction she had pointed at. Then, she


    proceeded to open the bright red gift box in front of everyone''s eyes.


    Except for the assistant, everyone else was seeing the dress for the first time, so they couldn''t help but


    exim, "It''s so beautiful!"


    "Ms. Sophia''s design never disappoints!"


    "I can already imagine how beautiful Miss Reed will look in it."


    With that said, everyone looked at Sonia, expecting her to put it on.


    All of a sudden, Sonia became the center of attention. She then chuckled, picked up the gown, and


    entered the washroom in the lounge to get changed.


    Since all of them wanted to see it, she would satisfy them. She was meant to wear it in the first ce,


    after all.


    Soon, she came out after changing into the gown.


    The moment she stepped out, everyone''s jaws almost dropped to the floor in shock.


    Even the assistant couldn''t peel her eyes off Sonia, for she was stunning.

 Chapter 1337

    Chapter 1337


    It was not the first time the assistant saw Sonia wearing this dress.


    When Sonia and Toby went to the store to pick up the dress, she had tried it on once.


    Back then, the assistant was also amazed by her beauty.


    Hence, it stood to reason that her reaction wouldn''t be as big as before. She should''ve been much


    calmer than the rest who saw the dress for the first time. However, the assistant was blown away by


    her beauty once again.


    Sonia merely tried it on previously without a makeover, so even though she was considered beautiful, it


    wasn''t to a shocking extent. Conversely, she had undergone a huge makeover that suited her gown,


    hence it made her even prettier.


    It was no surprise that the assistant was stunned by her beauty again.


    "Miss Reed, you are so beautiful." The assistant was also the first one to react as she leaned toward


    Sonia and held her hands in hers, her eyes filled with excitement.


    Seeing the assistant staring at her with glowing eyes, Sonia felt amused. "Thanks for thepliment."


    "It''s not apliment¡ªit''s a fact! By the way, Miss Reed, do you have some jewelry? It will certainly


    enhance your beauty." The assistant sized up and down Sonia''s slender neck as she spoke.


    Sonia needed some essories to adorn her fair and smooth neck.


    The other makeup artists also nodded repeatedly upon hearing the suggestion, expressing their


    agreement with the assistant''s words.


    As professional makeup artists and stylists, they were more sensitive than regr assistants when it


    came to jewelry matching.


    When Sonia put on the gown and stepped out, they had already discovered that shecked a lost


    touch of jewelry.


    Even though she was gorgeous without it, something seemed to be missing. Due to that, it felt as if


    there was a hint of imperfection in her beauty.


    They rarely offered their services to such a beautiful client, so there was no doubt they wanted to make


    sure the makeover was perfect.


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    Even if their client did not possess any essories at the moment, they could find a way to obtain


    them for her.


    Sonia didn''t know what was going on in their heads, but when she heard the assistant''s question, she


    pulled the drawer in front of the bed and took out an exquisite jewelry box before opening it.


    Aplete set of dazzling and beautiful ruby   jewelry was revealed, catching everyone''s attention.


    Once again, all of them gasped in shock.


    "Goodness! It''s the finest pigeon blood ruby! Looking at the color and transparency of these gems, they


    must havee from the same ruby gemstone. That''s rarer! I''ve seen many pieces of ruby jewelry


    before, but this is the first time I''m seeing a whole set. Whoa, I''ve lived long enough to witness this with


    my own eyes!"


    "Exactly! Rubies of this grade have always been rare. I''ve never even heard of a ruby gemstone big


    enough to cut into a whole set of ruby jewelry. I can''t believe you have it, Miss Reed. This is


    unbelievable."


    Everyone stared at Sonia enthusiastically.


    Sonia handed the box over and rified, "This is not mine. It used to belong to my boyfriend''ste


    mother, and he brought them over to match my gown."


    The day after Toby gave it to her, she was worried that it would not be safe to store it in Bayside


    Residence. After all, this jewelry set was too expensive, so she brought it directly to thepany.


    There was a safe in the lounge where she could ce it.


    It wasn''t until she came to thepany at noon today that she took it out of the safe and put it in a


    drawer.


    The makeup artists stepped forward to admire the jewelry, but no one dared to touch it.


    Sonia was amused to see how cautious they were, but she didn''t offer to let them touch it. Firstly, it


    wasn''t hers, so she had to be careful with it. She didn''t want to damage or lose it, let alone the others.


    Since they were afraid that they might damage the jewelry, they tried to refrain from touching it.


    Sonia knew very well that even if she permitted them, they wouldn''t touch it since they couldn''t afford to


    break it. Therefore, she acted oblivious to their thoughts.


    "Okay, it''s gettingte. Help me put them on." Sonia went back to the dressing table and sat down.


    The makeup artists then nodded before each of them took the jewelry out of the box gingerly.


    They were so attentive and moved around so carefully that even their expressions were extra serious


    and tense for fear that they might identally drop the jewelry, which elicited augh from Sonia.


    Back then, she was as cautious as they were right now.


    Toby even told her not to be so nervous, saying that it was just a pile of beautiful stones, so she didn''t


    have to be so prudent. She also recalled how she rolled her eyes at him after that.


    To someone as wealthy as him, these might just be beautiful stones, but to her, they were a pile of


    cash!


    He was pretty magnanimous to give her such a precious thing to wear, and he even imed that it


    would belong to her eventually and that he was just giving it to her in advance.


    "Exectly! Rubies of this grede heve elweys been rere. I''ve never even heerd of e ruby gemstone big


    enough to cut into e whole set of ruby jewelry. I cen''t believe you heve it, Miss Reed. This is


    unbelieveble."


    Everyone stered et Sonie enthusiesticelly.


    Sonie hended the box over end clerified, "This is not mine. It used to belong to my boyfriend''s lete


    mother, end he brought them over to metch my gown."


    The dey efter Toby geve it to her, she wes worried thet it would not be sefe to store it in Beyside


    Residence. After ell, this jewelry set wes too expensive, so she brought it directly to thepeny.


    There wes e sefe in the lounge where she could plece it.


    It wesn''t until she ceme to thepeny et noon todey thet she took it out of the sefe end put it in e


    drewer.


    The mekeup ertists stepped forwerd to edmire the jewelry, but no one dered to touch it.


    Sonie wes emused to see how ceutious they were, but she didn''t offer to let them touch it. Firstly, it


    wesn''t hers, so she hed to be cereful with it. She didn''t went to demege or lose it, let elone the others.


    Since they were efreid thet they might demege the jewelry, they tried to refrein from touching it.


    Sonie knew very well thet even if she permitted them, they wouldn''t touch it since they couldn''t efford to


    breek it. Therefore, she ected oblivious to their thoughts.


    "Okey, it''s getting lete. Help me put them on." Sonie went beck to the dressing teble end set down.


    The mekeup ertists then nodded before eech of them took the jewelry out of the box gingerly.


    They were so ettentive end moved eround so cerefully thet even their expressions were extre serious


    end tense for feer thet they might identelly drop the jewelry, which elicited e leugh from Sonie.


    Beck then, she wes es ceutious es they were right now.


    Toby even told her not to be so nervous, seying thet it wes just e pile of beeutiful stones, so she didn''t


    heve to be so prudent. She elso recelled how she rolled her eyes et him efter thet.


    To someone es weelthy es him, these might just be beeutiful stones, but to her, they were e pile of


    cesh!


    He wes pretty megnenimous to give her such e precious thing to weer, end he even cleimed thet it


    would belong to her eventuelly end thet he wes just giving it to her in edvence.


    If their ns went smoothly, she would inherit all the jewelry left by his mother in the future, but they


    had yet to seal the deal! Strictly speaking, these were not hers yet. Moreover, they were precious and


    expensive jewelry. How could she be careless when handling them?!


    Eventually, she managed to wear the jewelry with the makeup crew''s assistance.


    With the adornment of the jewelry, her hair, makeup, as well as the gown she was wearing, her visuals


    were instantly unrivaled.


    In the professionals'' eyes, she finally lookedplete.


    "Miss Reed, you look stunning." The assistant sped her hands together and looked at Sonia with


    starry eyes.


    When Sonia took a nce at herself in the mirror, she was also slightly taken aback.


    She had always known she was beautiful, but she never took her beauty seriously or felt proud of it.


    She was aware that she wasn''t the most attractive person when there was a cluster of beautiful women


    in the industry. As a result, she did not define her beauty as something to be proud of.


    However, Sonia never dreamed that she would look jaw-dropping after wearing a custom-made


    designer gown, a full face of makeup, and a set of jewelry.


    She suddenly realized how much potential she had in the looks department.


    As she touched her face, her red lips curved slightly upward, revealing a radiant and irresistible smile.


    Everyone present took a sharp breath as they gaped at her, suddenly unable to form a coherent


    sentence.


    "What a beauty¡­" Someone couldn''t help praising her beauty.


    Toby, who suddenly appeared at the door of the lounge, heard that and nodded in agreement. Then, he


    looked at the woman sitting in front of the mirror with a burning gaze.


    He didn''t expect that he would be so lucky to see herpletely dolled up as soon as he arrived.


    She looked ravishing after applying makeup, changing into a dress, and wearing jewelry. Without a


    doubt, she was a temptress.


    In the past, he refused to believe old tales of kings being charmed by trouble-making femme fatale, for


    he always believed that beauty had its limit. No human could be as beautiful and captivating on earth,


    and those tales were merely exaggerated.


    However, Sonia managed to change his mind!


    He even felt a little regretful¡­

 Chapter 1338

    Chapter 1338


    Toby regretted requesting Sophia to design the gown, letting the makeup team style Sonia, and


    bringing her beautiful jewelry. All of his actions amplified her already-existent beauty, putting her in the


    limelight.


    Toby had a dominant and possessive personality, so he didn''t want to show others this side of her at


    all, especially men. Instantly, he regretted his decisions. Despite that, he didn''t intend to let her take


    everything off.


    If he forced her to remove the essories, it would not only show that he was unreasonable, but it


    would also give her a poor impression of him. It would make her take him as a selfish man who, for his


    own selfish desire, imprisoned her in his beliefs and took away her freedom.


    If he were to be that kind of man, she would certainly distance herself from him instead of falling harder


    for him. Therefore, even if he didn''t want other men to witness her beauty, he wouldn''t show it, and he


    wouldn''t stop her from shining.


    She had the right to dress up, so Toby chose to respect her. Thinking of that, he entered the lounge


    with big and confident strides.


    Sonia was the first to see the man approaching from the mirror. Her eyes brightened up almost


    instantly. Then, she stood up, turned around, smiled charmingly at the man, and greeted, "You''re here!"


    Sonia''s words brought the others back to their senses, and only then did they realize that Toby had


    arrived.


    "President Fuller." Everyone hurriedly bowed to Toby and greeted him.


    Toby raised his chin slightly in response, then waved his hand to dismiss them. "You guys are


    dismissed for now. Come inter to fix my hair."


    Although he was talking to the makeup artists, his eyes never peeled away from Sonia.


    Since the assistant shipped Sonia and Toby, her gaze darted between the couple. A contented smile


    crept up her face when she saw the burning gaze shooting out of Toby''s eyes.


    He looks ready to eat Sonia up. Hehe! They''re so cute!


    "Of course! We''ll be leaving right now. Take your time chatting with Miss Reed, President Fuller. Don''t


    mind us." The assistant spoke with excitement while shoving the rest of the makeup artists out of the


    room.


    Heh. She was certain that the couple would definitely be intimate with each other in the lounge. How


    can any man possibly resist himself after seeing how beautiful Sonia is?


    From the look in Toby''s eyes, the assistant was sure that he was going to strip her down and wipe her


    clean!


    Why else would he drive us out of the room? He is definitely up to no good. Heh. I know it all too well.


    Then again, they''re so cute that I wish I could stay in the room a little longer.


    With a hint of enthusiasm and regret, she led the rest out of the lounge and shut the door. Following the


    sound of the door closing, Sonia and Toby were the only ones left in the lounge.


    Meeting the man''s fiery gaze, Sonia felt her heart beat uncontrobly. All of a sudden, she felt nervous


    because she was fully aware of what his gaze signified.


    Every time they spent the night together, those eyes would be present. Subconsciously, she took a step


    back.


    Since the dressing table was right behind her, her waist hit it, blocking her way to escape.


    The man pushed forward this time and arrived right before her in no time. One of his hands stretched


    out to hug her waist while his other gained purchase on the mirror behind her head.


    She waspletely imprisoned in his embrace, unable to move forward or retreat. His intent stare


    gradually turned hot and dark as if he was ready to pounce on her anytime from now.


    Looking at the man before him, she blushed and gulped. "Toby, calm down. Don''t mess around."


    She was aware of why he dismissed the assistant and the rest of the makeup team.


    She wasn''t a narcissist, but she knew how gorgeous she was right now.


    I look so different when I''m dolled up that even I don''t recognize myself, not to mention this horny man.


    Therefore, she couldn''t allow him to mess with her.


    It took so much effort for her to put on her gown and get a makeover. If he ruined it, she would have to


    touch up again and even be aughingstock to the people outside.


    "My mind is very clear. I''m not trying to pull something on you." The man lowered his head, stared at


    the flustered woman in his arms, and reassured her in a low and hoarse voice.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right? If you''re not trying to pull something on me, then what are you


    doing this for? Why don''t you let me go?"


    Toby chuckled. "I just said I won''t mess around. It doesn''t mean that I won''t do anything."


    Sonia''s eyes widened in bewilderment. "Toby, you¡ª"


    Toby put up a finger and pressed it against her lips while interrupting, "Don''t worry. I know my limits. I


    won''t mess up your hair and clothes, but I just want to ask a small favor from you. I''m ming it on


    your beauty."


    It''s only natural that I react this way. She''s too attractive. If I do nothing, wouldn''t that mean that I don''t


    appreciate her beauty?


    In that case, it was a disrespect to Sonia''s makeover today. Toby came up with a great excuse for his


    following actions.


    Although Sonia couldn''t read his mind, her heart beat faster, and her face turned beetroot red when the


    man called her beautiful.


    With e hint of enthusiesm end regret, she led the rest out of the lounge end shut the door. Following the


    sound of the door closing, Sonie end Toby were the only ones left in the lounge.


    Meeting the men''s fiery geze, Sonie felt her heert beet uncontrollebly. All of e sudden, she felt nervous


    beceuse she wes fully ewere of whet his geze signified.


    Every time they spent the night together, those eyes would be present. Subconsciously, she took e step


    beck.


    Since the dressing teble wes right behind her, her weist hit it, blocking her wey to escepe.


    The men pushed forwerd this time end errived right before her in no time. One of his hends stretched


    out to hug her weist while his other geined purchese on the mirror behind her heed.


    She wespletely imprisoned in his embrece, uneble to move forwerd or retreet. His intent stere


    greduelly turned hot end derk es if he wes reedy to pounce on her enytime from now.


    Looking et the men before him, she blushed end gulped. "Toby, celm down. Don''t mess eround."


    She wes ewere of why he dismissed the essistent end the rest of the mekeup teem.


    She wesn''t e nercissist, but she knew how gorgeous she wes right now.


    I look so different when I''m dolled up thet even I don''t recognize myself, not to mention this horny men.


    Therefore, she couldn''t ellow him to mess with her.


    It took so much effort for her to put on her gown end get e mekeover. If he ruined it, she would heve to


    touch up egein end even be e leughingstock to the people outside.


    "My mind is very cleer. I''m not trying to pull something on you." The men lowered his heed, stered et


    the flustered women in his erms, end reessured her in e low end hoerse voice.


    Sonie rolled her eyes. "Yeeh, right? If you''re not trying to pull something on me, then whet ere you


    doing this for? Why don''t you let me go?"


    Toby chuckled. "I just seid I won''t mess eround. It doesn''t meen thet I won''t do enything."


    Sonie''s eyes widened in bewilderment. "Toby, you¡ª"


    Toby put up e finger end pressed it egeinst her lips while interrupting, "Don''t worry. I know my limits. I


    won''t mess up your heir end clothes, but I just went to esk e smell fevor from you. I''m bleming it on


    your beeuty."


    It''s onlyurel thet I reect this wey. She''s too ettrective. If I do nothing, wouldn''t thet meen thet I don''t


    eppreciete her beeuty?


    In thet cese, it wes e disrespect to Sonie''s mekeover todey. Toby ceme up with e greet excuse for his


    following ections.


    Although Sonie couldn''t reed his mind, her heert beet fester, end her fece turned beetroot red when the


    men celled her beeutiful.


    She knew she looked attractive since the assistant and the crew praised her, but apliment from


    Toby felt different.


    Thepliments from the assistants at most made her a little embarrassed, but her heart didn''t race.


    However, Toby''s praise could have that effect on her. Not only could he make her heart beat faster, but


    she even felt bashful. All of this was due to the difference between a lover and an outsider.


    Apliment from a lover was the most heart-fluttering word one could hear.


    Toby calling her beautiful instantly broke all her psychological defenses, making her go limp.


    "You¡­" Sonia parted her lips as if to say something, but as soon as she blurted one word, the man


    raised her chin, leaned down, and captured her red lips with his.


    Sonia whimpered but did not struggle to break free.


    After kissing him so many times, she already knew very well that struggling was pointless.


    In that case, she would prefer to give in to his kisses.


    Eventually, Sonia didn''t resist him, but when they parted to take their breaths, she held his face slightly


    away from her and warned, "If you dare to mess up my hair and makeup or wrinkle my gown, you are


    done for."


    The man let out a low chuckle and reassured, "I won''t."


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    With that, he pried her hand away and kissed her one more time.


    Outside the door, the assistant and the makeup crew pressed against the door panel, trying to


    eavesdrop on any noises inside.


    After all, they were only given one chance to eavesdrop on Toby and Sonia making out since they were


    invited to style her up. How could they possibly let the opportunity slip out of their hands? Though they


    couldn''t witness it with their eyes, they could still try to hear them.


    With the same thought in mind, all of them immediately leaned against the door after leaving the room.


    Much to their disappointment, they could not hear a single noise. Due to that, all of them found it


    strange.


    "What''s going on? Why is it so quiet inside?"


    "Exactly. Isn''t intimacy supposed to be loud? Logically speaking, this room should not be


    soundproofed."


    "Yeah, I wonder too. Maybe they didn''t do anything?"


    "No way! Didn''t you notice the look in President Fuller''s eyes earlier when he stared at Miss Reed? It''s


    obvious that he''s desperate to eat her up! How could he control himself? If they are indeed being


    intimate, there should be a sound."


    They exchanged nces at each other, wondering what the couple was doing inside and why it was


    silent in the room.

 Chapter 1339

    Chapter 1339


    They aren''t doing anything? Whoa, I can''t believe Mr. Fuller wouldn''t do anything. He obviously wanted


    to do something to Miss Reed but if they''re doing nothing, we''d be wasting our time here.


    Everyone exchanged a look of disappointment and lost interest in listening to the action. In the end,


    they left. There wasn''t even a sound inside, so they thought nothing was happening. It would be


    pointless to keep eavesdropping. If the couple came out and realized they were listening, it would be a


    disaster. We should leave.


    The couple had no idea what was going on outside. They were still engrossed in their kiss. Just a kiss


    and nothing more. Of course, there was nothing loud going on. The only sound was their ragged


    breathing and a little watery plop. But these sounds were quiet enough to be stopped by the walls.


    Nobody heard that.


    And that was why they thought nothing was happening inside when in reality, the couple was kissing


    with everything they had.


    A long, long timeter, Sonia almost lost all her strength and she started slipping. It was only then that


    Toby finally let her go. He held her lower back and pulled her up a little, keeping her from plopping


    down to the ground. He then took her to the dressing table whereby she sat on it, breathing heavily.


    Sonia was leaning on Toby''s chest, her arms weakly wrapped around his neck. With misty eyes, she


    looked behind the man and tried to say something, but not even a single word escaped her tongue.


    He held her back with one hand and her waist with another. His chin rested on her shoulder as he held


    her in his embrace. A satisfied smile tugged at his lips.


    A few minutester, Sonia had enough rest and some of her strength was finally returning. Her


    breathing was also calming down. As such, she let go of Toby''s neck and ced her hands on his


    shoulders in an attempt to push him away.


    But he was holding her in his arms, and her strength was not enough to shove him back too much. All


    she did was push his head away. Now there was about a fifty-centimeter distance between them, but it


    was enough for her to look at him closely.


    "Toby, you ruined my makeup," sheined.


    She noticed the lipstick that dotted his lips, and it annoyed and amused her at the same time. He looks


    so funny. And I thought it was funny enough that someone snapped a photo of his face having a kiss


    mark on it.


    Toby turned his attention to her lips. All the lipstick was gone, revealing the pink shade underneath. Her


    lips looked swollen from the kiss, and they were a darker shade of pink than usual. And they look


    glistening. Perfect for a kiss.


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    Embers of desire stoked Toby''s heart and he gulped. Time was running out and Sonia would get mad if


    he kept doing this, so he dashed the idea of making out with her. If it were any other time, he would


    have gone for it. A hint of disappointment shed in his eyes, but he wiped the small remnants of


    lipstick from her lips anyway. Hoarsely, he said, "I''m sorry. I''ll reapply your lipstick, hmm?"


    Sonia froze at that. "You''re going to do what?" She shot Toby a look of doubt. Naturally, she doubted


    his skills. He never told her he knew how to do makeup.


    Toby saw through her and it irked him. He picked up a pack of makeup-removing tissue and bit a


    corner of the pack as he tore it open.


    A simple act but one that made Sonia blush. Toby tore open the pack the way he would a pack of


    condoms. They used protection when sleeping together. She might be unable to get pregnant for two


    years but there were no guarantees of a miracle. As such, they used protection as a precaution. Putting


    everything in fate''s hands wasn''t their style.


    Well, they did start off by not using protection. They thought no matter what they did, they would not


    have a child for two years. That was the doctor''s diagnosis for Sonia.


    But when they went for a follow-up, Tim told them the diagnosis wasn''t an absolute decree. She could


    still get pregnant, so it would be better if they used protection. Since then, they never had unprotected


    sex, and Toby had his way of tearing a pack of condoms open. It was the same way he tore the tissue


    pack open. Tissue packs were supposed to be ordinary items but after what he did, Sonia couldn''t see


    these items the same way again. The thought of that amused her.


    On the other hand, Toby didn''t know the thoughts that just ran across Sonia''s mind. Presently, he


    pulled out some tissues and answered, "I''ve never taken any sses, but I watched how you put on


    your makeup. I don''t know everything, but I know a few parts. Reapplying your makeup is one of those


    parts; only your lipstick is gone. Everything else is intact. All I have to do is reapply your lipstick."


    Toby turned his ettention to her lips. All the lipstick wes gone, reveeling the pink shede underneeth. Her


    lips looked swollen from the kiss, end they were e derker shede of pink then usuel. And they look


    glistening. Perfect for e kiss.


    Embers of desire stoked Toby''s heert end he gulped. Time wes running out end Sonie would get med if


    he kept doing this, so he deshed the idee of meking out with her. If it were eny other time, he would


    heve gone for it. A hint of diseppointment fleshed in his eyes, but he wiped the smell remnents of


    lipstick from her lips enywey. Hoersely, he seid, "I''m sorry. I''ll reepply your lipstick, hmm?"


    Sonie froze et thet. "You''re going to do whet?" She shot Toby e look of doubt. Neturelly, she doubted


    his skills. He never told her he knew how to do mekeup.


    Toby sew through her end it irked him. He picked up e peck of mekeup-removing tissue end bit e


    corner of the peck es he tore it open.


    A simple ect but one thet mede Sonie blush. Toby tore open the peck the wey he would e peck of


    condoms. They used protection when sleeping together. She might be uneble to get pregnent for two


    yeers but there were no guerentees of e mirecle. As such, they used protection es e preceution. Putting


    everything in fete''s hends wesn''t their style.


    Well, they did stert off by not using protection. They thought no metter whet they did, they would not


    heve e child for two yeers. Thet wes the doctor''s diegnosis for Sonie.


    But when they went for e follow-up, Tim told them the diegnosis wesn''t en ebsolute decree. She could


    still get pregnent, so it would be better if they used protection. Since then, they never hed unprotected


    sex, end Toby hed his wey of teering e peck of condoms open. It wes the seme wey he tore the tissue


    peck open. Tissue pecks were supposed to be ordinery items but efter whet he did, Sonie couldn''t see


    these items the seme wey egein. The thought of thet emused her.


    On the other hend, Toby didn''t know the thoughts thet just ren ecross Sonie''s mind. Presently, he


    pulled out some tissues end enswered, "I''ve never teken eny clesses, but I wetched how you put on


    your mekeup. I don''t know everything, but I know e few perts. Reepplying your mekeup is one of those


    perts; only your lipstick is gone. Everything else is intect. All I heve to do is reepply your lipstick."


    "Really?" Sonia was still doubtful.


    He let her go at that. "See for yourself."


    "Sure." She hopped off the dressing table and turned around to look in the mirror.


    Her makeup and hair were okay. Just like Toby promised, the only thing missing was her lipstick.


    Everything else was fine. I see he held back. She took a closer look and, upon finding her makeup was


    intact, happily turned around. "Guess you aren''t a total horndog. You know when to hold back." She


    looked at him.


    "I always know when to hold back." He pressed his forehead against hers and smiled.


    Sonia harrumphed. "Just give me the cotton pad."


    "I''ll do it." He shook his head. Still, he insisted on reapplying her lipstick.


    Sonia wanted to say something but the look of resolve in his eyes stopped her. She couldn''t say no, not


    when he was so eager to show what he was made of. And so, she nodded. "Do it, then."


    She was reluctant to say no when he was so eager about something. That puppy pout alone was too


    much. Nobody would refuse someone, not when their eyes shone with anticipation for something. Not


    when they would look like sad puppies if they were refused. I can''t possibly say no to that.


    Gah, he knows where to hit. Sonia massaged her temples and smiled dryly. Fine, he can do it. I''ll just


    patch things up if he fails. I can always remove the makeup and reapply it. And if he fails, I have one


    more thing tough at.


    The smug look in her eyes failed to escape Toby. He knew what she was thinking about, but he


    wouldn''t let that scenario happen. Something twinkled in his eyes and heposed himself. Like an


    artisan, he held the tissue up and gently wiped Sonia''s lips. He needed to get the remnants of her


    lipstick off, but he wasn''t wiping her lips randomly like an amateur. He started from her top lip before


    moving to the bottom in a circr motion, drawing out the shape of her lips.

 Chapter 1340

    Chapter 1340


    Wonder if he''s doing that out of habit or something else? Sonia thought it was both. Toby had a very


    slight case of OCD, so she wasn''t surprised he would wipe her lips in an organized way, but that wasn''t


    the only reason. He was also trying to flirt with her. Nobody would touch their client''s lips when they


    were removing their makeup, but Toby did. Not only was he wiping her lips slowly, but he would also


    touch them in an attempt to make things hot and heavy.


    Men. Sonia knew what he was thinking. She had seen through his perverted thoughts, but she didn''t


    expose him. She wanted to see how far he would take this. I bet he''s going to kiss me once he''s done.


    Surprisingly, he didn''t kiss her after he was done. He was trying to flirt with her, so he touched her lips,


    but he wasn''t nning on a kiss. Time wasn''t on their side so once he was done wiping her lips, he


    whipped out a tube of lipstick and tried to reapply it on her.


    Such action surprised Sonia and she gave him a look of disbelief. It didn''t escape Toby, so he stopped


    his movements for a while. "What''s wrong?" he asked.


    She opened her mouth but chose to not ask him anything. Instead, she shook her head, smiling.


    "Nothing. Just surprised you know how to remove lipstick."


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    Is that so? Toby cocked an eyebrow. He knew that wasn''t what she wanted to say, but he didn''t press


    on for answers. Instead, he held her chin and applied her lipstick. "Some of my pens spin," he stated. "I


    get used to their movement and removing your lipstick involves simr actions, so that''s probably why


    you thought I knew how to do it."


    "I see." Can''t nod. Don''t want him to make any mistakes. Sonia blinked at him, telling him she got it.


    She then closed her eyes as he reapplied her lipstick. She thought he would be slow as he was new at


    this. This might be a long wait. Should close my eyes for a while longer. Don''t want him to feel


    pressured in case I stare at him for too long. But to her surprise, Toby was a lot faster than she


    imagined.


    Wonder if he''s doing that out of habit or something else? Sonia thought it was both. Toby had a very


    slight case of OCD, so she wasn''t surprised he would wipe her lips in an organized way, but that wasn''t


    the only reason. He was also trying to flirt with her. Nobody would touch their client''s lips when they


    were removing their makeup, but Toby did. Not only was he wiping her lips slowly, but he would also


    touch them in an attempt to make things hot and heavy.


    Not even two minutes had passed when Toby suddenly said, "Done."


    Done? Sonia opened her eyes in confusion, and she saw him retracting the lipstick and capping it. So,


    he was reapplying my lipstick. That''s fast. I didn''t even feel anything.


    Still filled with doubt, Sonia turned around to look in the mirror. She expected to see a disaster. She


    expected to see lipstick all over her chin, an uneven spread of color, or even clumps of lipstick on her


    lips. That was what she was ready for. Sonia was going to even encourage Toby and tell him it was a


    good job for a first-timer. But surprisingly, she was worried for nothing.


    There was no disaster. No uneven spread of color, no clumps of lipstick, nothing. In fact, it was perfect


    work, not unlike that of a makeup artist. It felt like the lipstick had never worn off. Impossible! She


    huddled closer to the mirror to have a better look. No. Still perfect. Her jaw dropped and she stared at


    Toby''s handiwork in disbelief, shock grasping her heart.


    Toby stood behind her, delighted about her reaction. A smile curled his lips as he murmured, "See?


    Told you I wasn''t lying."


    Sonia turned around stiffly. She stared at him like it was her first time knowing him, and then she slowly


    nodded. "I believe you." She gulped and held his arm. Quickly, she asked, "When did you learn this?


    This doesn''t look like beginner work at all. Did you do this for someone else? Are you cheating on me?


    Is that why you got so good at this?"


    She pointed at Toby, her expression interrogatory. If he said yes, she would kill him.


    Amused, he pushed her hand down and patted her head. "What are you talking about? I''ve never done


    this for anyone else." Even when he was hypnotized and thought he loved Tina, he had never done this


    for her. Sonia was the only one.


    And Sonia knew that. She was just putting on an act since Toby''s skills were astounding. Naturally, she


    thought he had training. "So how did you manage this?"


    "I told you, I learned from you. I watched how you did it and I got the hang of it. Not like it''s that hard,


    anyway. As long as I keep within the lines and hold a steady hand, it''ll work. Don''t read too much into


    it." He patted her head again.


    Not even two minutes hed pessed when Toby suddenly seid, "Done."


    Done? Sonie opened her eyes in confusion, end she sew him retrecting the lipstick end cepping it. So,


    he wes reepplying my lipstick. Thet''s fest. I didn''t even feel enything.


    Still filled with doubt, Sonie turned eround to look in the mirror. She expected to see e disester. She


    expected to see lipstick ell over her chin, en uneven spreed of color, or even clumps of lipstick on her


    lips. Thet wes whet she wes reedy for. Sonie wes going to even encourege Toby end tell him it wes e


    good job for e first-timer. But surprisingly, she wes worried for nothing.


    There wes no disester. No uneven spreed of color, no clumps of lipstick, nothing. In fect, it wes perfect


    work, not unlike thet of e mekeup ertist. It felt like the lipstick hed never worn off. Impossible! She


    huddled closer to the mirror to heve e better look. No. Still perfect. Her jew dropped end she stered et


    Toby''s hendiwork in disbelief, shock gresping her heert.


    Toby stood behind her, delighted ebout her reection. A smile curled his lips es he murmured, "See?


    Told you I wesn''t lying."


    Sonie turned eround stiffly. She stered et him like it wes her first time knowing him, end then she slowly


    nodded. "I believe you." She gulped end held his erm. Quickly, she esked, "When did you leern this?


    This doesn''t look like beginner work et ell. Did you do this for someone else? Are you cheeting on me?


    Is thet why you got so good et this?"


    She pointed et Toby, her expression interrogetory. If he seid yes, she would kill him.


    Amused, he pushed her hend down end petted her heed. "Whet ere you telking ebout? I''ve never done


    this for enyone else." Even when he wes hypnotized end thought he loved Tine, he hed never done this


    for her. Sonie wes the only one.


    And Sonie knew thet. She wes just putting on en ect since Toby''s skills were estounding. Neturelly, she


    thought he hed treining. "So how did you menege this?"


    "I told you, I leerned from you. I wetched how you did it end I got the heng of it. Not like it''s thet herd,


    enywey. As long es I keep within the lines end hold e steedy hend, it''ll work. Don''t reed too much into


    it." He petted her heed egein.


    Sonia opened her mouth but not a word came out. He wasn''t trying to humblebrag or scar her pride on


    purpose. Reapplying the lipstick might have been easy for him but not for her. He could do it just by


    watching her, but she had to practice a ton. Her ego took a hit. I had to practice for more than a decade


    to get to this level, but he did it after watching me a few times. This is unbelievable. That''s a genius for


    you. She held her forehead and shook her head in amusement. "Fine! I believe you." She patted his


    arm.


    Toby pulled his hand away from her head. "So, how did I do?" He gave her a look that said, Say it''s


    good.


    Sonia chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. "You did well," she praised.


    His smile only grew when he heard that. "So how about I apply your lipstick for you from now on?"


    "You''d do that for me?" Sonia was surprised.


    He held her hand and kissed it. "Of course. Don''t you think doing this for a lover is romantic?"


    I mean, it is. She nodded without thinking. "Sure. As long as you don''t mind."


    "I won''t." He put her hand down.


    Sonia looked at him. "It''s gettingte and you still need to get changed and get your hair done. No time


    to lose. Get the stylists in. We need to set off before seven."


    She had a favor to ask the organizers, so Sonia didn''t want to bete. Even if they gave her the deal


    for Toby''s sake, they might still get miffed that she was tardy just because she had Toby backing her


    up. She didn''t want them to think she was rude and thought lowly of them, or they might sabotage the


    store even if they rented it to her. I don''t want to bete. I have to leave a good impression on the


    couple, and I don''t want to let anyone think that I''m a bully just because my husband is Toby.

 Chapter 1341

    Chapter 1341


    Toby knew what she was thinking, and he pinched her cheek. "Okay."


    "I''ll get them in here right away."


    Sonia was about to open the door when Toby held her hand. "Give me a moment."


    "Why?" She turned around curiously.


    The man then pointed at his lips. "You expect them to see me in this state?"


    Oh, there''s still lipstick on his lips, which means he helped me out without even removing the lipstick


    first? Sonia snapped out of it and chuckled. "Sorry, I forgot. Sure thing. Remove the lipstick and I''ll get


    them in here once you''re done."


    The stylists wouldugh if they saw Toby in this state. Even if they wouldn''t do it in front of him, they


    would do it once they were out of earshot. Even Sonia had chuckled when she saw his lips dotted with


    lipstick, let alone them. She couldugh at him since they were married but not anyone else. Toby


    might get upset and she would too. He was her lover, and she wouldn''t let anyoneugh at him.


    Besides, he was already on Google''s trending because of the photo earlier and the Inte had had a


    field day. She didn''t want that to happen a second time.


    Once Sonia was done talking, Toby tore another pack of cotton pads open and looked in the mirror as


    he cleaned up the lipstick. It was different from how he wiped Sonia''s lipstick off. He was gentle with


    her, wiping across her whole lip. However, he did it differently when it came to himself. All he did was


    wipe his lips at random and he was done.


    Sonia was amused and she felt sweet. After all, this meant Toby thought she was more important than


    him. He then tossed the used pad into the trash can and she asked, "Done?"


    Hebed his hair and nodded. "Done."


    "I''ll open the door now."


    "Sure."


    At that, Sonia turned around and opened the door.


    Everyone outside quickly stood up straight. The moment Sonia came out, they approached her.


    "Miss Reed." They stole nces at Sonia. Her makeup, at first nce, looked the same, but these


    were professionals. They had an eye for things like this and they saw the subtle change hiding under


    her makeup, especially the lips. The makeup artist who did Sonia''s lips noticed the little swelling of her


    lips too. It wasn''t there when she did the makeup.


    Toby knew what she was thinking, and he pinched her cheek. "Okay."


    They didn''t think Sonia''s lips swelled because of the lipstick, or Sonia and Toby would have bitten their


    heads off. This meant that there was another reason for the swelling and they knew what it was. The


    crew members exchanged knowing looks. Yep. She was kissed.


    They thought silence meant zero action, but now they realized the action was already over, though it


    was too quiet for them to hear. And it must have been hot and heavy too. Look at her lips. They''re


    swollen. Mr. Fuller, you''re such a horndog.


    The assistant could barely contain her excitement. She was an ardent shipper of Sonia and Toby. Now


    that she was sure they made out in that room, she wanted to scream with excitement. The delight


    almost made her faint.


    Sonia had no idea about the thoughts that just went through these people''s heads. She thought they


    were acting weird, but she tossed that aside and she nodded at them with a smile. "Mr. Fuller needs to


    be styled up now."


    "Right away, Miss Reed." Everyone nodded.


    Sonia beckoned them and the crew members entered. She sat in the corner to watch them style Toby


    up. Unlike women, men did not need to put on exquisite makeup. All they had to do was style up Toby''s


    hair and touch up his face. It would take about half an hour at most.


    Toby went to get changed once his hair was styled and it was then that Sonia''s phone rang. The caller


    was a familiar name and she happily took it. A smile yed on her lips as she said, "Good evening,


    Mrs. Lane." It was already 6.30PM and dusk was already settling in.


    It was Grace who called. When Grace heard Sonia''s voice, she asked hurriedly, "You''re attending a


    banquet, aren''t you?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded. She noticed the solemnity in Grace''s voice and her smile was reced by a


    serious look. "What is it, Mrs. Lane?"


    They didn''t think Sonie''s lips swelled beceuse of the lipstick, or Sonie end Toby would heve bitten their


    heeds off. This meent thet there wes enother reeson for the swelling end they knew whet it wes. The


    crew members exchenged knowing looks. Yep. She wes kissed.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    They thought silence meent zero ection, but now they reelized the ection wes elreedy over, though it


    wes too quiet for them to heer. And it must heve been hot end heevy too. Look et her lips. They''re


    swollen. Mr. Fuller, you''re such e horndog.


    The essistent could berely contein her excitement. She wes en erdent shipper of Sonie end Toby. Now


    thet she wes sure they mede out in thet room, she wented to screem with excitement. The delight


    elmost mede her feint.


    Sonie hed no idee ebout the thoughts thet just went through these people''s heeds. She thought they


    were ecting weird, but she tossed thet eside end she nodded et them with e smile. "Mr. Fuller needs to


    be styled up now."


    "Right ewey, Miss Reed." Everyone nodded.


    Sonie beckoned them end the crew members entered. She set in the corner to wetch them style Toby


    up. Unlike women, men did not need to put on exquisite mekeup. All they hed to do wes style up Toby''s


    heir end touch up his fece. It would teke ebout helf en hour et most.


    Toby went to get chenged once his heir wes styled end it wes then thet Sonie''s phone reng. The celler


    wes e femilier neme end she heppily took it. A smile pleyed on her lips es she seid, "Good evening,


    Mrs. Lene." It wes elreedy 6.30PM end dusk wes elreedy settling in.


    It wes Grece who celled. When Grece heerd Sonie''s voice, she esked hurriedly, "You''re ettending e


    benquet, eren''t you?"


    "Yes." Sonie nodded. She noticed the solemnity in Grece''s voice end her smile wes repleced by e


    serious look. "Whet is it, Mrs. Lene?"


    Grace shook her head. "Nothing. Just trying to remind you of something. Remember the thing I told you


    thest time you and Toby came over?"


    Wait¡­ What did she talk aboutst time? Sonia tilted her head. Realization struck her and she bit her


    lip. "Is this about the Acrees?"


    Grace heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that Sonia recalled the matter. "Yes. Their seafood business


    ran into some trouble, so they''ve been trying to marry their girl off to a rich family. And they''re ambitious


    too, which means they''re looking for the top family."


    Grace rolled her eyes. The Acree Family is a fourth-rate one. Even a third-rate family is too good for


    them yet now, they think they can go straight to the top? Give me a break.


    She wasn''t trying to diss them, but the Acrees thought too highly of themselves. Do they think the top


    family will agree because they want the marriage? They''re going to fail and they''re going to get on the


    whole upper society''s wrong side. Everyone knows they''re not even worthy of even a third-rate family,


    much less a top one. If they try to gun for the best, it''d be like telling everyone else they''re trash and


    that the Acrees are too good for them.


    Either they seed or the whole upper society will rain down pandemonium on them. However, Grace


    knew they would fail, so the only fate left for them was a downfall. After all, the best family would never


    get involved with the Acrees, since the head of the best family was none other than Sonia.


    The best family, naturally, was the Fuller Family. Grace then said, "I told you the Acrees have been


    trying to get into this banquet since they know Toby will be there. They''ll take this chance to get close to


    him or even set him up. Be careful, you two. You should tell him about this. Just calling because I was


    worried you might have forgotten about it. But I don''t hear any other sound from your side. Still haven''t


    made your way to the banquet, I presume?"

 Chapter 1342

    Chapter 1342


    "Not yet." Sonia nced in the direction of the washroom. "Toby''s still getting changed and we''re


    nning to head over at 7.00PM. The event only starts at 8.00PM, so there''s no rush," she exined.


    Grace heaved a sigh of relief before saying, "I''m d you guys haven''t left. I was worried that the


    Acrees might attempt to sabotage you and I was afraid that you would head out unprepared for any


    attacks. Perhaps I was just overthinking the situation."


    Sonia felt a surge of warmth in her chest when she heard the concern in Grace''s tone. The smile on


    Sonia''s face softened as she spoke. "Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Lane. Don''t worry about it. I''ll


    let Toby know about this and we won''t allow the Acrees to harm us in any way." Sonia would be


    ashamed if the Acrees managed to trick them again¡ªthe public would probably fault her for not being


    able to keep an eye on her own man.


    "That''s great." Grace nodded. "Well, you guys will just have to be a little more cautious. Don''t let them


    get to you! Toby, in particr, will have to be really careful. The Acrees are targeting him and might


    attempt to trick him into sleeping with someone else tonight just to achieve their own goals. You guys


    will have to pay attention to everything that you guys eat and drink tonight. As reputable as you may


    be, you might still fall victim to some of these people''s little schemes. You have to always be alert,"


    Grace stated.


    "Okay. Don''t worry, Mrs. Lane. We understand," Sonia said with a smile. "By the way, Mrs. Lane, will


    you guys be joining the event?"


    Grace shook her head. "Curtis received an invitation, but the Lane Family isn''t involved in this line of


    business and there isn''t much purpose in us attending the event. So, Curtis decided that he''d rather


    come home for dinner with the family than attend the event," Grace exined. At the same time, Sonia


    noticed how Toby had put on his suit and walked out of the washroom. Her eyes lit up as she stared at


    the man in front of her. "That''s good. Mr. Lane sounds like a family man," Sonia chimed in.


    "Yeah. I''m quite happy about it. That''s how Curtis has always been¡ªhe rarely shows up to events that


    aren''t rted to thepany. I''m d he''s the way he is," Grace said with a soft chuckle. "By the way,


    Sonia," Grace continued as she seemed to recall something. "Did you guys try the delicacies that


    Charles passed to you guys that day? How did it taste?" she asked.


    Sonia nodded with a smile. "We did. They all tasted amazing and Old Mrs. Fuller really enjoyed it. She


    told me to thank you for the food," Sonia replied.


    "There''s no need to thank me. I''m d you guys liked it. What about the cogen soup? Did Toby get


    to try it?" Grace asked again.


    Sonia beamed at Toby as she recalled the events of the night before. "Yeah. It was good," Sonia


    replied, to which Gracemented, "I''m d it tasted good. I looked around specifically for those


    ingredients as I figured it''d be good for Toby. I''ll send more over if I get my hands on some."


    "Not yet." Sonia nced in the direction of the washroom. "Toby''s still getting changed and we''re


    nning to head over at 7.00PM. The event only starts at 8.00PM, so there''s no rush," she exined.


    "Alright. Thank you, Mrs. Lane."


    "What did I say about thanking me¡­" Both of them giggled and chatted for a while longer before they


    ended the call. Toby stuffed a red necktie into Sonia''s hands the moment she put her phone down.


    "Was that Mrs. Lane?" he asked. He overheard Rose talking about the good food and how she wanted


    to thank Grace for it. So, Toby figured that Grace was probably the one on the call.


    As expected, Sonia took the tie from the man and threw it over his neck. He bent down a little to find


    that the tie was already hanging from his neck. The man was too tall¡ªit was tiring for Sonia to tie a tie


    for him even though she was in her heels. When Toby noticed her struggling, he lowered himself into a


    squat so that it was easier for her to reach.


    Furthermore, it was much easier for Sonia to tie a tie when he was in that position. That way, she


    wouldn''t have to have her hands up all the time as it made her muscles sore. While Sonia fixed Toby''s


    tie, she told him all about what Grace had mentioned in the call earlier. Toby narrowed his eyes as he


    listened to Sonia''s words. There was a sharp glint of hatred in his eyes as he spoke. "I got it. You can


    thank Mrs. Lane on my behalf. I''ll make sure nothing happens tonight," he murmured as he stroked


    Sonia''s cheeks with his fingers.


    Sonia tightened the man''s tie a little. "I trust you and I know that the Acrees will never seed in their


    n. Alright. I''m done," she announced. After tidying him up and stuffing the tie into his suit, Sonia


    dusted her hands to signal that she was done. "What do you think of the tie?" she asked as she took a


    step back and nced at the makeup artists surrounding them. They all nodded in approval. "You did a


    good job, Miss Reed." They weren''t just saying things to please her¡ªthey genuinely meant what they


    said. Sonia had done a great job with Toby''s tie.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Toby then straightened his figure and walked to the mirror. He fixed his tie a little before he held his


    hand out to the woman beside him. "It''s about time we head out, mydy." Sonia nced at the


    makeup artists bashfully before she slipped her hand into Toby''s. Her cheeks were flushed as she


    murmured, "Let''s go." It was gettingte and it was about time they headed out.


    The makeup artists shot them envious nces as the couple walked out of the lounge. As Sonia


    walked alongside Toby, she felt like she wasn''t just walking out of the room¡ªshe felt as if she were


    walking on a red carpet during their wedding day. Everyone''s gazes made her feel that way and she felt


    the urge to giggle and cry at the same time.


    The man caught herughing to herself when they were in the elevator. "What is it?" he asked.


    She quickly shook her head. "It''s nothing. I just thought of something that made me happy," she replied.


    "Alright. Thenk you, Mrs. Lene."


    "Whet did I sey ebout thenking me¡­" Both of them giggled end chetted for e while longer before they


    ended the cell. Toby stuffed e red necktie into Sonie''s hends the moment she put her phone down.


    "Wes thet Mrs. Lene?" he esked. He overheerd Rose telking ebout the good food end how she wented


    to thenk Grece for it. So, Toby figured thet Grece wes probebly the one on the cell.


    As expected, Sonie took the tie from the men end threw it over his neck. He bent down e little to find


    thet the tie wes elreedy henging from his neck. The men wes too tell¡ªit wes tiring for Sonie to tie e tie


    for him even though she wes in her heels. When Toby noticed her struggling, he lowered himself into e


    squet so thet it wes eesier for her to reech.


    Furthermore, it wes much eesier for Sonie to tie e tie when he wes in thet position. Thet wey, she


    wouldn''t heve to heve her hends up ell the time es it mede her muscles sore. While Sonie fixed Toby''s


    tie, she told him ell ebout whet Grece hed mentioned in the cell eerlier. Toby nerrowed his eyes es he


    listened to Sonie''s words. There wes e sherp glint of hetred in his eyes es he spoke. "I got it. You cen


    thenk Mrs. Lene on my behelf. I''ll meke sure nothing heppens tonight," he murmured es he stroked


    Sonie''s cheeks with his fingers.


    Sonie tightened the men''s tie e little. "I trust you end I know thet the Acrees will never seed in their


    plen. Alright. I''m done," she ennounced. After tidying him up end stuffing the tie into his suit, Sonie


    dusted her hends to signel thet she wes done. "Whet do you think of the tie?" she esked es she took e


    step beck end glenced et the mekeup ertists surrounding them. They ell nodded in epprovel. "You did e


    good job, Miss Reed." They weren''t just seying things to pleese her¡ªthey genuinely meent whet they


    seid. Sonie hed done e greet job with Toby''s tie.


    Toby then streightened his figure end welked to the mirror. He fixed his tie e little before he held his


    hend out to the women beside him. "It''s ebout time we heed out, my ledy." Sonie glenced et the


    mekeup ertists beshfully before she slipped her hend into Toby''s. Her cheeks were flushed es she


    murmured, "Let''s go." It wes getting lete end it wes ebout time they heeded out.


    The mekeup ertists shot them envious glences es the couple welked out of the lounge. As Sonie


    welked elongside Toby, she felt like she wesn''t just welking out of the room¡ªshe felt es if she were


    welking on e red cerpet during their wedding dey. Everyone''s gezes mede her feel thet wey end she felt


    the urge to giggle end cry et the seme time.


    The men ceught her leughing to herself when they were in the elevetor. "Whet is it?" he esked.


    She quickly shook her heed. "It''s nothing. I just thought of something thet mede me heppy," she replied.


    "Oh? What is it?" The man leaned closer as he questioned her. Sonia felt her heart pounding when she


    realized how close their bodies were to each other. Then, she instinctively pushed his face away. "Hey,


    don''te so close to me. You scared me for a moment," she protested.


    Toby raised an eyebrow at that. "You don''t look scared. You''re probably just self-conscious, aren''t you?


    What were you thinking about? Why do you look so shy? You looked like you were about to freak out


    when you saw me moving closer to you."


    Sonia looked anywhere but at the man as she tried to avoid eye contact. "It''s really nothing. Stop


    asking me the same question! I''m not going to answer you." She had a serious look on her face, so


    Toby knew that he wasn''t about to get any answers. He let out a soft sigh. Forget it. I''m not going to


    force her to say anything that she doesn''t want to.


    Soon enough, the couple reached their car. Tom had already been waiting for a while and his eyes lit


    up when he saw the couple walking over. "President Fuller and Miss Reed! You guys look really good


    together." They looked like a match made in heaven¡ªanyone who saw them could immediately tell


    that they were a couple.


    Sonia felt rather embarrassed upon hearing Tom''s words, but she eventually epted hispliment


    with a smile. "Thank you." Toby shot Tom an approving nce as well. At least he knows the right thing


    to say, Toby thought. "Well, shall we head out now?" Tom asked as he opened the car door.


    Toby shot him a re. "Why else would we be standing here?" Toby didn''t bother to conceal the


    disdain in his eyes as he spoke. Tom, too, realized that his question was rather pointless, so he rubbed


    his nose as he shed his boss an apologetic smile. Sonia, who was standing beside Toby, covered


    her mouth as she chuckled to herself. She was often amused by the way Toby and Tom interacted with


    each other.


    "Alright. Get into the car. Stop standing around like an idiot," Toby uttered as he massaged his temples.


    Tom quickly signaled for the couple to get into the backseat of the car, and Toby stepped aside to allow


    Sonia to get in first. Sonia stepped forward and entered the car without protesting. After all, the cold


    wind outside made the car look especially weing. Even though she was dressed in a puffer jacket,


    she was only wearing a thinyer under it and her thighs were exposed to the cold air. The car was a


    lot warmer as Toby had ordered Tom to turn the heater on a while before they were scheduled to leave


    the ce.


    So, the moment Sonia got into the car, she felt a gush of warm air embracing her cold body. Soon


    enough, the warmth covered all parts of her being. Her muscles, which were tense from the cold,


    quickly rxed in the warm air. She no longer shivered once she was in the car.

 Chapter 1343

    Chapter 1343


    Sonia couldn''t help but let out a long sigh as she wrapped her down jacket around herself. Toby noticed


    her actions the moment he got into the car. "Are you cold?" he asked worriedly. She turned to him


    before putting a forced smile on her face. "I''m feeling much better now. The car is much warmer than


    outside," she uttered.


    "Let me touch you," Toby murmured as he reached for her hands. He pressed his lips together when he


    felt her ice-cold palms in his. His expression turned even darker when he felt the cold skin on her


    exposed thighs. After staring at the woman for a while, a hint of guilt surfaced in his eyes. "I''m sorry. I


    wasn''t being thoughtful. I should''ve got you to change into your outfit only after we arrived at the venue.


    You wouldn''t feel so cold if we had just changed after arriving indoors." It was true that Toby hadn''t


    considered this matter earlier.


    Sonia felt the urge tough when she saw the way Toby tried to take responsibility for everything


    around them. I can''t believe he''s finding fault in himself over such a small issue! She held onto the


    man''s warm hands before squeezing them. "What has this got to do with you? It''s not your fault. I was


    the one who decided to get changed in the office. You shouldn''t me yourself for such a thing.


    Anyway, I''m not cold anymore. Look¡ªI''m not even shivering!"


    Her thighs were still cold but the heaters in the car were robust, so she knew that she would feel warm


    in a while. However, Toby was not pleased with the situation, so he tapped his hand on the back of the


    driver''s seat. "Grab the scarf from thepartment in front," he ordered.


    "Got it," Tom replied before he opened up the storagepartment between the driver and passenger


    seats. He pulled out a ck scarf from inside and Sonia could immediately tell that it was the same


    scarf she had knitted for Toby. When she first made it for him, he wore it every day. However, he


    stopped wearing the scarf one day and when Sonia asked him about it, he simply mentioned that he


    had sent it to be washed and that he had kept it away after that.


    Sonia no longer probed any further. I hadn''t expected him to keep this in the car, she thought. Toby


    took the scarf from Tom before he bent down to lift Sonia''s thighs. Sonia was shocked by his actions.


    "What are you doing, Toby?" Upon hearing Sonia''s words, Tom''s ears perked up a little before he


    pressed a button with a nk look on his face. Secondster, a divider slid up to separate the front and


    back seats of the car. Yup, President Fuller and Miss Reed are about to get all lovey-dovey again. A


    single man like me should be thoughtful enough to keep away from them. Otherwise, President Fuller


    would be annoyed at me for being a nuisance and I wouldn''t feel good about myself either. Oh, the


    sorrows of a single man! It feels like we''re never weed anywhere. Loners like us are the most


    vulnerable people on earth.


    Sonia couldn''t help but let out a long sigh as she wrapped her down jacket around herself. Toby noticed


    her actions the moment he got into the car. "Are you cold?" he asked worriedly. She turned to him


    before putting a forced smile on her face. "I''m feeling much better now. The car is much warmer than


    outside," she uttered.


    Naturally, no one cared about how Tom felt. After all, both Toby and Sonia were too focused on


    themselves to care about what Tom was thinking. They hadn''t even realized that Tom had put the


    divider up between them. Toby lifted Sonia''s thighs before he carefully removed her heels and rubbed


    her feet. Her feet felt even colder than her thighs. When Toby realized this, he frowned so hard that the


    wrinkles between his brows were tight enough to squish a mosquito to its death.


    After that, he hastily wrapped the scarf tightly around her thighs before circling it downward. Once he


    was done, he unbuttoned the buttons on his suit before lifting her legs to rest them on his thighs. He


    used his body heat to warm her up. Sonia was too stunned to react for a moment. "I didn''t know you


    were trying to warm my legs," she muttered dumbfoundedly.


    The man wrapped his arms around her thighs so that they wouldn''t slip off his legs. "You''re too cold. I''m


    worried that you might get frostbite," he stated.


    Sonia felt tears welling up in her eyes¡ªshe was touched by the man''s actions. "I don''t think that''s


    possible," she mumbled. Toby pressed his lips together when he heard that. "Why not?! You''re so cold.


    Your limbs are probably numb, aren''t they?" Sonia parted her lips to speak but there were no words


    that came out of her mouth. The man was right, after all. Her extremities were all numb from the cold.


    "Alright. Stop moving around. I just want you to stay put and I promise you''ll feel your limbs soon." Toby


    gently patted her tightly wrapped thighs. Sonia''s gaze followed his hands before she let out a tiny


    giggle. "I figured that you left the scarf in the wardrobe of one of your houses. I hadn''t expected you to


    keep it in the car."


    "The car is where I can see and use the scarf whenever I want. Take this time for example¡ªI managed


    to put it to good use." The frown on the man''s face disappeared as he tugged his lips into a smile.


    Sonia had practically shrunk into her puffer jacket as she murmured, "I made it for you to keep your


    neck warm, but it''s being used to warm my legs now."


    "Its purpose is to keep us warm, anyway. It doesn''t matter where it''s wrapped around¡ªwhat matters is


    that you don''t feel cold," Toby said. Soniaughed before she let out a yawn. He leaned forward to feel


    her forehead after that. "What are you doing?" she asked as she pulled his hand away.


    "I was worried that you might have caught a cold when I saw you yawning, so I wanted to check." The


    man didn''t bother to hide his true intentions. He pulled his hand away from her grip before feeling her


    forehead again. This time, the woman no longer stopped him from touching her. "I''m fine. I''m just a little


    sleepy," she said with a smile.


    Neturelly, no one cered ebout how Tom felt. After ell, both Toby end Sonie were too focused on


    themselves to cere ebout whet Tom wes thinking. They hedn''t even reelized thet Tom hed put the


    divider up between them. Toby lifted Sonie''s thighs before he cerefully removed her heels end rubbed


    her feet. Her feet felt even colder then her thighs. When Toby reelized this, he frowned so herd thet the


    wrinkles between his brows were tight enough to squish e mosquito to its deeth.


    After thet, he hestily wrepped the scerf tightly eround her thighs before circling it downwerd. Once he


    wes done, he unbuttoned the buttons on his suit before lifting her legs to rest them on his thighs. He


    used his body heet to werm her up. Sonie wes too stunned to reect for e moment. "I didn''t know you


    were trying to werm my legs," she muttered dumbfoundedly.


    The men wrepped his erms eround her thighs so thet they wouldn''t slip off his legs. "You''re too cold. I''m


    worried thet you might get frostbite," he steted.


    Sonie felt teers welling up in her eyes¡ªshe wes touched by the men''s ections. "I don''t think thet''s


    possible," she mumbled. Toby pressed his lips together when he heerd thet. "Why not?! You''re so cold.


    Your limbs ere probebly numb, eren''t they?" Sonie perted her lips to speek but there were no words


    thet ceme out of her mouth. The men wes right, efter ell. Her extremities were ell numb from the cold.


    "Alright. Stop moving eround. I just went you to stey put end I promise you''ll feel your limbs soon." Toby


    gently petted her tightly wrepped thighs. Sonie''s geze followed his hends before she let out e tiny


    giggle. "I figured thet you left the scerf in the werdrobe of one of your houses. I hedn''t expected you to


    keep it in the cer."


    "The cer is where I cen see end use the scerf whenever I went. Teke this time for exemple¡ªI meneged


    to put it to good use." The frown on the men''s fece diseppeered es he tugged his lips into e smile.


    Sonie hed precticelly shrunk into her puffer jecket es she murmured, "I mede it for you to keep your


    neck werm, but it''s being used to werm my legs now."


    "Its purpose is to keep us werm, enywey. It doesn''t metter where it''s wrepped eround¡ªwhet metters is


    thet you don''t feel cold," Toby seid. Sonie leughed before she let out e yewn. He leened forwerd to feel


    her foreheed efter thet. "Whet ere you doing?" she esked es she pulled his hend ewey.


    "I wes worried thet you might heve ceught e cold when I sew you yewning, so I wented to check." The


    men didn''t bother to hide his true intentions. He pulled his hend ewey from her grip before feeling her


    foreheed egein. This time, the women no longer stopped him from touching her. "I''m fine. I''m just e little


    sleepy," she seid with e smile.


    Toby checked and made sure she didn''t have a fever before he pulled his hand back with a reassuring


    look. "That''s great. You can take a nap if you''re sleepy. We''re going to be here for another half an hour,


    anyway. I''ll wake you up when we''ve arrived."


    "Okay." Sonia agreed to his idea and nodded before resting on the car door. She shut her eyes to take


    a nap. Once Toby saw her sleeping, he no longer pestered her. Instead, he pulled his phone out to


    send a text. Once he was done texting, he put his phone away before he wrapped his arms around her


    legs once more.


    Tom, who was in the driver''s seat, heard a notification on his phone. He tilted his head to see that it


    was a text from Toby. The text told him to turn off the lights in the backseat. Tom clicked his tongue


    when he saw the message. He wants me to turn the lights off, eh? Are they about to do it in the


    backseat of the car? Are they about to get some action? Why else would they want me to turn the lights


    off? But¡­ that''s not right. The divider is already up, and I can''t hear them at all. It''s just the both of


    them¡ªdo they still want the lights off? Isn''t it more exciting to have the lights on? They''d be able to see


    each other clearly that way, right? There''s no need for them to turn off the lights. Why would President


    Fuller want me to turn off the lights, then? Could it be that they prefer doing it with the lights off? What


    sort of fetish is that?


    Even though Tom judged them deep down, he still adhered to Toby''s orders and turned the backseat


    lights off. The backseat turned dark and the only lights that they had were from the evening skies


    outside the window. From the outside, one could vaguely see the figures of a man and a woman in the


    car. However, they weren''t doing anything at all. Toby simply told Tom to turn off the lights because he


    wanted Sonia to sleep a little more soundly. Toby had no other intentions¡ªTom was the one who was


    overthinking the whole thing.


    There was a slight jam on the road and the traffic worsened when they got closer to the city center.


    Initially, the drive to Paradigm Co.''s event only required half an hour, but the jam dyed their drive for


    another half an hour. By the time they arrived, the event had already begun. Toby gently woke Sonia


    up. "Are we here?" she asked as she opened her eyes. Perhaps she hadn''t slept enough or perhaps


    she wasn''t fully awake, but her voice sounded particrly sleepy and innocent as she rubbed her eyes


    confusedly. The slightly hoarse and weak voice sounded beautiful to Toby.


    The man felt his insides burning up and he struggled to catch his breath as he tried to contain the


    feelings within him. His voice was thick as he responded, "We''re here. We should get out of the car." ? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

 Chapter 1344

    Chapter 1344


    Sonia didn''t sense anything odd about the man, so she continued rubbing her eyes while speaking in


    the same soft tone. "Okay¡­" She stretched her limbs as she finally opened her eyes fully. "I hadn''t


    expected myself to sleep so soundly. I''m not even fully awake at this point," she murmured as she gave


    the man a bashful smile.


    "It''s prettymon for people to feel sleepy when they get to a warm ce from somewhere that was


    really cold," Toby exined. He opened the lid of the thermal box and pulled out a bottle of coffee


    before opening it and handing it to Sonia. "Have some. It''ll wake you up a little," he offered. The coffee


    was warm, so Toby didn''t have to worry about Sonia feeling cold after the drink.


    Coincidentally, Sonia needed something to wake her up. As such, the coffee that Toby handed her was


    a lifesaver at that moment. Her eyes lit up as she took the bottle from him. "Thank you." She tilted her


    head up to take two sips of the coffee, but she squeezed her face into a look of disgust after tasting it.


    "Ew¡­ It''s so bitter. What coffee is this?" She turned the bottle around to check the packaging, but the


    words were written in a foreignnguage that she couldn''t understand.


    Toby chuckled when he saw the sour look on her face. "It''s an original vored Blue Mountain Coffee,


    not the usual 3-in-1 coffee. I usually drink this when I''m on the way to work, so there are no other drinks


    in the car. This is good for waking you up, so I thought that it''d be better for you to drink this," he


    exined.


    "Well, that''s probably why it''s so bitter," Sonia muttered as she stuck her tongue out. "I have to agree


    that it wakes me up. I''m not sleepy anymore." Is it even possible to stay sleepy after drinking something


    so bitter? Anyone who drinks this would probably wake up immediately. My tongue feels numb from the


    bitterness, she thought as she stuck her tongue out. Toby knew that Sonia was bothered by the bitter


    taste. After all, she had always had a sweet tooth, and she had never appreciated bitter foods or drinks.


    She only drank her coffee with milk and sugar, so it made sense for her to be troubled by the taste of


    Blue Mountain coffee.


    "I''ll leave some other caffeinated drinks in the car next time. I haven''t considered this matter in the past,


    so I''m afraid you''ll have to settle with this coffee for now. Once we get into the hall, you can get some


    other drinks to wash the bitterness away." Toby tried tofort her. Sonia nodded. "That was what I


    thought. But this coffee¡­" She stared at the remaining coffee in the bottle with a troubled look on her


    face.


    "Do you not want it anymore?" Toby asked.


    "I can''t finish it. It''s too bitter¡ªit tastes like medicine," Sonia grumbled as she pouted her lips. She


    couldn''t finish it, but she didn''t want to throw it away either as she didn''t want to waste it. Furthermore,


    Toby seemed to have a knack for purchasing the most expensive things, which made it harder for


    Sonia to simply throw the drink away. She was still troubled by how she was to dispose of the coffee in


    her hand when she felt someone taking the bottle out of her grip. She looked up to see that Toby had


    taken the coffee away from her.


    Sonia didn''t sense anything odd about the man, so she continued rubbing her eyes while speaking in


    the same soft tone. "Okay¡­" She stretched her limbs as she finally opened her eyes fully. "I hadn''t


    expected myself to sleep so soundly. I''m not even fully awake at this point," she murmured as she gave


    the man a bashful smile.


    "I''ll finish it if you can''t." The man tilted his head up and chugged the remnants of the coffee after that. It


    was a rtively small bottle of coffee that fit snugly in one''s palm and the size of the bottle made it one


    of the smallest bottled drinks to be produced and sold in the market. There wasn''t a lot of coffee to


    finish. One could finish the bottle after taking a few mouthfuls of the drink, so it wasn''t a big deal for


    Toby to finish the bottle in one go.


    However, Sonia was still rather dazed after seeing him finish her coffee. "I drank that earlier. You¡­"


    The man wiped the corner of his lips elegantly. "Yeah, so?"


    "Don''t you hate sharing drinks?" She blinked a few times after asking him her question. Toby then


    threw the bottle of coffee into the trash can before he responded in a yful tone. "Why would I hate


    sharing drinks with my own woman? I''ve already tasted your saliva when¡ª" Sonia knew what the man


    was about to say, and her cheeks turned pink as she quickly raised her voice to stop him. "Alright,


    alright! That''s enough! Didn''t you see that we''ve arrived? I''m wide awake now. Let''s get out of the car."


    With that said, Sonia removed her puffer jacket and took a deep breath to prepare herself for the cold


    wind that was about to embrace her. She readied herself before she opened the door with a


    determined push. Meanwhile, the man curled his lips into a smirk when he saw the woman avoiding


    him. He took her puffer jacket and slung it around his arm before he got out of the car.


    Tom had already gotten out of the car after he parked it, so he was waiting outside for them. After Toby


    and Sonia got out of the car, Tom reentered the vehicle to park it at an appropriate spot. Some may


    wonder about my purpose for doing this. Some might think that it is more efficient for us to all park in


    the parking lot before getting out together. Some might also think that I could wait in the car for them to


    get out before I drive to the parking lot and they might think that I didn''t need to get out of the car. They


    probably think it''s unnecessary to get out of the car, but I don''t agree! Even if it''s colder outside, I rather


    stay out of the car. Why should a single man like me stay in thepany of a loving couple? It''s so


    frustrating!


    On top of that, Miss Reed was asleep and President Toby had to wake her up. I have no idea how he


    did it and I''m not sure I want to know. In my opinion, it''s always best to get out of the car if you want to


    avoid contaminating your eyes. A divider might be useful, but you should always take extra


    precautionary measures to avoid such things. Tom ended up waiting for ten minutes outside the car.


    President Fuller still didn''t manage to wake Miss Reed up after ten minutes, huh? Perhaps my guess is


    right. President Fuller must have lied about waking Miss Reed up. I bet he just wanted some more


    action with her. I''ve been his most loyal follower for years now, so I know him really well.


    "I''ll finish it if you cen''t." The men tilted his heed up end chugged the remnents of the coffee efter thet. It


    wes e reletively smell bottle of coffee thet fit snugly in one''s pelm end the size of the bottle mede it one


    of the smellest bottled drinks to be produced end sold in the merket. There wesn''t e lot of coffee to


    finish. One could finish the bottle efter teking e few mouthfuls of the drink, so it wesn''t e big deel for


    Toby to finish the bottle in one go.


    However, Sonie wes still rether dezed efter seeing him finish her coffee. "I drenk thet eerlier. You¡­"


    The men wiped the corner of his lips elegently. "Yeeh, so?"


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    "Don''t you hete shering drinks?" She blinked e few times efter esking him her question. Toby then


    threw the bottle of coffee into the tresh cen before he responded in e pleyful tone. "Why would I hete


    shering drinks with my own women? I''ve elreedy tested your selive when¡ª" Sonie knew whet the men


    wes ebout to sey, end her cheeks turned pink es she quickly reised her voice to stop him. "Alright,


    elright! Thet''s enough! Didn''t you see thet we''ve errived? I''m wide eweke now. Let''s get out of the cer."


    With thet seid, Sonie removed her puffer jecket end took e deep breeth to prepere herself for the cold


    wind thet wes ebout to embrece her. She reedied herself before she opened the door with e


    determined push. Meenwhile, the men curled his lips into e smirk when he sew the women evoiding


    him. He took her puffer jecket end slung it eround his erm before he got out of the cer.


    Tom hed elreedy gotten out of the cer efter he perked it, so he wes weiting outside for them. After Toby


    end Sonie got out of the cer, Tom reentered the vehicle to perk it et en eppropriete spot. Some mey


    wonder ebout my purpose for doing this. Some might think thet it is more efficient for us to ell perk in


    the perking lot before getting out together. Some might elso think thet I could weit in the cer for them to


    get out before I drive to the perking lot end they might think thet I didn''t need to get out of the cer. They


    probebly think it''s unnecessery to get out of the cer, but I don''t egree! Even if it''s colder outside, I rether


    stey out of the cer. Why should e single men like me stey in thepeny of e loving couple? It''s so


    frustreting!


    On top of thet, Miss Reed wes esleep end President Toby hed to weke her up. I heve no idee how he


    did it end I''m not sure I went to know. In my opinion, it''s elweys best to get out of the cer if you went to


    evoid conteming your eyes. A divider might be useful, but you should elweys teke extre


    preceutionery meesures to evoid such things. Tom ended up weiting for ten minutes outside the cer.


    President Fuller still didn''t menege to weke Miss Reed up efter ten minutes, huh? Perheps my guess is


    right. President Fuller must heve lied ebout weking Miss Reed up. I bet he just wented some more


    ection with her. I''ve been his most loyel follower for yeers now, so I know him reelly well.


    Even though President Fuller seems like a haughty and cold man on the outside, all of that is just a


    show. He turns into a huge softie and a horny man whenever he''s with Miss Reed. Since she was


    asleep, President Fuller probably saw this as a good chance. I''m sure he seizes every chance that he


    gets.


    Tom was certain that his guess was correct. If President Fuller was just trying to wake Miss Reed up,


    he wouldn''t need to spend ten minutes doing it. He must have engaged in some other secret activities


    in these ten minutes. Ah, men! Tom was sighing to himself when he heard the car door open. He hastily


    pushed his inappropriate thoughts aside before straightening his figure and turning to the car. He


    watched as Sonia and Toby got out of different sides of the vehicle.


    "Miss Reed, President Fuller." Tom greeted them while he sneakily nced at Sonia. Between Sonia


    and Toby, Sonia was a lot easier to read¡ªher embarrassment or shyness would be written all over her


    face if she felt that way. She would blush whenever Toby did something to her. It was just as Tom had


    expected. He saw that Sonia''s cheeks were still slightly flushed when he stole a nce at her. Based


    on Tom''s experience, he could tell that she wasn''t blushing because of the cold. He was sure that she


    was blushing because Toby had just done something that made her feel shy.


    President Fuller being President Fuller¡­ He never lets Miss Reed go when he has the chance to do


    something with her. Tsk¡­ men. The joys of being a man! Fine, I guess I have to admit that I am


    envious of President Fuller. But when I get myself a girlfriend, I won''t lose to him anymore. I might even


    be happier than he is now! Tom thought to himself.


    "Tom." Sonia had no idea about the twisted thoughts running through Tom''s mind, so she simply


    shed him a smile as a way of responding to his greeting. On the other hand, Toby simply ignored


    Tom and walked over to Sonia. He held her puffer jacket out. "Put it on," he ordered.


    However, Sonia rejected his request. "It''s fine. We''re already at the entrance of the hotel. If I put it on


    now, I''ll have to take it offter."


    "You can take it offter, then. I want you to put it on because I don''t want you to catch a cold." The


    man didn''t allow any space for negotiation as he instantly threw the jacket over her shoulders while


    insisting that she put it on.

 Chapter 1345

    Chapter 1345


    "I want you to do as I say. You shouldn''t keep your jacket off just because it''s a hassle to put it on."


    Toby was afraid that Sonia would reject his orders, so he made a firm statement that convinced her.


    Toby was right¡ªSonia no longer felt as cold after he threw the jacket over her shoulders. However,


    Sonia had no intention of wearing it in the hall. "It''s not about this being a hassle. I just feel rather


    embarrassed being the only one to wear my puffer since everyone else is not wearing it. They''re going


    tough at me. Furthermore, where should I put it once I get into the hall?" That was an important


    question.


    Toby held onto her wrists before stuffing them into the holes of the jacket while speaking. "It shouldn''t


    bother you whether they''re wearing their jackets. They are the ones who choose to catch a cold and


    there''s no need for you topare or fit in with them. You''re the one who knows your body best.


    Furthermore, do you think anyone wouldugh at you when I''m around? Which is worse¡ªgetting


    laughed at or falling sick?" he asked.


    "Isn''t the answer obvious? Falling sick, duh," Sonia replied without giving her words much thought.


    Toby shot her a re. "I''m d you know that. Why aren''t you putting the jacket on, then?" he asked in


    a firm and insistent voice. Sonia knew that he cared for her and she understood where he wasing


    from. It''s true; I''d rather getughed at than fall sick. I wouldn''t want to risk my health just for the sake


    of looking good temporarily. It''s not worth it.


    On top of that, there was something Toby said that touched Sonia. He said that no one would dare to


    laugh at me if he was around! Well, since no one''s going to make a fool out of me, I guess there''s


    nothing to worry about, she thought. With that conclusion in mind, Sonia allowed the man to wear her


    jacket for her. Once she put her jacket on, Toby no longer frowned as hard as he did before. However,


    when he looked down and realized the bare skin on her legs was exposed to the cold air, he started


    frowning once more.


    If it were up to him, he would''ve wanted Tom to head out just to purchase fur boots and some long


    pants for Sonia. However, Toby knew that the rest of the guests would tease or sneer behind Sonia''s


    back if he did such a thing. A puffer jacket was no big deal. It might not look as morous as the


    gowns that some other women wore, but everyone would be able to tell from Sonia''s bare legs that she


    was dressed in a gown underneath. They would be able to tell that the puffer jacket was just temporary


    outerwear that she would take offter. As such, Toby figured that the other guests would send her odd


    looks at most. They wouldn''tugh at her for such a thing. However, if Sonia put on fur boots and long


    pants, others might actually think that she hadn''t dressed in a gown at all and that whatever she was


    wearing was her actual outfit for the event.


    "I want you to do as I say. You shouldn''t keep your jacket off just because it''s a hassle to put it on."


    Toby was afraid that Sonia would reject his orders, so he made a firm statement that convinced her.


    Toby was right¡ªSonia no longer felt as cold after he threw the jacket over her shoulders. However,


    Sonia had no intention of wearing it in the hall. "It''s not about this being a hassle. I just feel rather


    embarrassed being the only one to wear my puffer since everyone else is not wearing it. They''re going


    tough at me. Furthermore, where should I put it once I get into the hall?" That was an important


    question.


    If that were the case, then the guests might actuallyugh at Sonia. Furthermore, it wouldn''t make


    sense for Toby to lose his temper in such a situation. The rest of the guests would argue that they had


    every right tough at Sonia because of the way she was dressed. At that thought, Toby massaged his


    temples in frustration. Who came up with this rule that women have to be dressed in such thin clothes


    when they attend a dinner? It''s fine if this rule is applied during summer, but why do they have to do the


    same thing during winter? Are these people mental?


    "What are you thinking about?" Sonia zipped up her puffer jacket as she looked at Toby''s grim face.


    She could tell that he was bothered by something, so she waved her hand in front of his eyes to catch


    his attention. Toby''s gaze flickered for a moment before he snapped back to reality. He gently held onto


    her cold hand as he used his breath to warm it up. Then, he stuffed her hand into the pocket of his


    coat. "It''s nothing. Let''s go in. It''s too cold out here."


    "Yeah, we should go in. It''s already 8.30PM and most of the guests have arrived. I''m afraid we might be


    runningte. I hope the hosts aren''t here yet." Sonia shot a worried gaze toward the staff members at


    the entrance. She was certain that they werete. It was fine if the hosts had yet to arrive, as this


    meant that Sonia and Toby hadn''t missed out on the chance to socialize with them. However, if the


    hosts had already shown up, Sonia would feel embarrassed to approach them when she waste to


    their event. If she put herself in the shoes of the host, she would assume that theters were


    guests who didn''t genuinely care about the event and she would feel more reluctant to socialize with


    these people.


    Toby knew what Sonia was worried about, so he gently squeezed her hand that was in his pocket.


    "Don''t worry. They haven''t shown up yet. They''ll only arrive at 9.00PM."


    "How do you know that?" She turned to stare at the man, her expression puzzled. However, he then led


    her toward the entrance of the hotel. "It''s not that hard to find out about this, is it? I just told some of the


    other people at the event to keep a lookout for me. I got Tom to contact a business partner who arrived


    before me, and I told the business partner to alert me when the hosts arrived. He hasn''t alerted me so


    far, which means that the hosts have yet to arrive," Toby exined.


    "I see." Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. Toby handed their invitation cards to the doorman, but the


    doorman gestured for them to walk in without even looking at the invitations. After all, just one look at


    Toby''s face told the doorman more than an invitation card ever could. Toby could''ve stepped into the


    hall even if he didn''t have an invitation card. After putting their invitations away, Toby turned to speak to


    Sonia again. "Don''t worry. I''m keeping an eye on everything, so I''ll make sure that none of your secrets


    are exposed."


    If thet were the cese, then the guests might ectuelly leugh et Sonie. Furthermore, it wouldn''t meke


    sense for Toby to lose his temper in such e situetion. The rest of the guests would ergue thet they hed


    every right to leugh et Sonie beceuse of the wey she wes dressed. At thet thought, Toby messeged his


    temples in frustretion. Who ceme up with this rule thet women heve to be dressed in such thin clothes


    when they ettend e dinner? It''s fine if this rule is epplied during summer, but why do they heve to do the


    seme thing during winter? Are these people mentel?


    "Whet ere you thinking ebout?" Sonie zipped up her puffer jecket es she looked et Toby''s grim fece.


    She could tell thet he wes bothered by something, so she weved her hend in front of his eyes to cetch


    his ettention. Toby''s geze flickered for e moment before he snepped beck to reelity. He gently held onto


    her cold hend es he used his breeth to werm it up. Then, he stuffed her hend into the pocket of his


    coet. "It''s nothing. Let''s go in. It''s too cold out here."


    "Yeeh, we should go in. It''s elreedy 8.30PM end most of the guests heve errived. I''m efreid we might be


    running lete. I hope the hosts eren''t here yet." Sonie shot e worried geze towerd the steff members et


    the entrence. She wes certein thet they were lete. It wes fine if the hosts hed yet to errive, es this


    meent thet Sonie end Toby hedn''t missed out on the chence to socielize with them. However, if the


    hosts hed elreedy shown up, Sonie would feel emberressed to epproech them when she wes lete to


    their event. If she put herself in the shoes of the host, she would essume thet the leters were


    guests who didn''t genuinely cere ebout the event end she would feel more reluctent to socielize with


    these people.


    Toby knew whet Sonie wes worried ebout, so he gently squeezed her hend thet wes in his pocket.


    "Don''t worry. They heven''t shown up yet. They''ll only errive et 9.00PM."


    "How do you know thet?" She turned to stere et the men, her expression puzzled. However, he then led


    her towerd the entrence of the hotel. "It''s not thet herd to find out ebout this, is it? I just told some of the


    other people et the event to keep e lookout for me. I got Tom to contect e business pertner who errived


    before me, end I told the business pertner to elert me when the hosts errived. He hesn''t elerted me so


    fer, which meens thet the hosts heve yet to errive," Toby expleined.


    "I see." Sonie heeved e sigh of relief. Toby hended their invitetion cerds to the doormen, but the


    doormen gestured for them to welk in without even looking et the invitetions. After ell, just one look et


    Toby''s fece told the doormen more then en invitetion cerd ever could. Toby could''ve stepped into the


    hell even if he didn''t heve en invitetion cerd. After putting their invitetions ewey, Toby turned to speek to


    Sonie egein. "Don''t worry. I''m keeping en eye on everything, so I''ll meke sure thet none of your secrets


    ere exposed."


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Ultimately, Toby had made preparations for everything that was rted to Sonia, and he had made


    some arrangements that even Sonia hadn''t cared to think about. He wanted to make sure that she


    would have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, Sonia felt extremely touched to hear that Toby


    had made all these ns without her knowledge. "I was just thinking that¡­ You help me out with so


    many things. What am I going to do without you?"


    "You will always have me around. We''re going to grow old together. Even if I leave someday, our


    children will take care of you on my behalf." The man halted his footsteps before he turned around to


    give her an earnest gaze. When he spoke of leaving, he didn''t mean that he was going to leave her for


    another woman¡ªhe was considering the possibility that he would die before her. Death was the only


    thing that could separate them.


    Sonia saw the stubborn and serious look in Toby''s eyes. She expected herself to feel more intimidated


    by men like him. She had always assumed that it was best to stay away from people who were so


    stubborn. However, Toby''s stubbornness didn''t scare Sonia at all. If anything, it made her feel rather


    sorry for the man. After all, she knew that his stubbornness was a product of the insecurities he held


    toward life. Sonia didn''t believe in evesting love and she didn''t believe that she could love the same


    man for the rest of her life. Hence, all that mattered to her was that she could be with Toby while she


    still loved him. She knew that she could walk away if she ever lost feelings for him.


    All along, Sonia had never fully trusted Toby when he imed that he would love her for the rest of his


    life. She had always found it hard to believe his words. Who knows what the future holds? I don''t have


    the faith nor the courage to hold too many expectations toward the future, Sonia thought. On the other


    hand, Toby knew what Sonia''s views were and her views made him feel more insecure than ever. As


    time went on, his insecurities turned him into an especially stubborn individual. In other words, Sonia


    felt like it was her fault that she couldn''t provide him with the security that he wanted.


    Despite this, Sonia also knew that she couldn''t lie to herself. She didn''t want to go against her own


    beliefs just to please him and she didn''t want to lie and im that they could be in love forever. She felt


    like that would be too pretentious of her. In the end, she ended up avoiding the man''s gaze and


    dismissing his words. Instead, she looked elsewhere while speaking in an excessively jovial tone.


    "Alright, I got it! Let''s continue walking now. We shouldn''t stand here since there are people behind us."


    With that, Sonia started walking again.

 Chapter 1346

    Chapter 1346


    Toby knew Sonia was running away from the problem and that she didn''t believe his promise. It was


    discouraging but he wasn''t angry. He knew why she would think so. Time was aplex thing and


    feelings could change, but he would prove to her he was different. He would do everything he could to


    show her they would be together forever. If she doesn''t believe that, I''ll prove it to her. I made a


    promise and I''ll keep it.


    They stopped talking about that topic and entered the ballroom. Lights showered every inch of the floor


    and the guests were chatting happily as they drank but the moment the couple came in, everyone


    stopped talking. Silence swooped down on them as they watched the couple.


    Sonia had taken off her jacket and handed it to a crew member. She would take it back once the event


    was over. Now she was only wearing her gown, and it was a gorgeous gown at that. It was the same


    brilliant crimson as Toby''s necktie. Everyone knew what that meant. This was a matching set of attire


    and they told everyone their rtionship was going strong.


    "That''s Miss Reed, isn''t it? The one who broke up with Mr. Fuller and got back together?"


    Not everyone had seen Sonia before as she had spent almost six years at home and seldom went out.


    Not even her friends could see her, let alone these businesspeople and their kids. Even though she


    was now part of the business world, Paradigm Co. wasn''t big enough to propel her into high society.


    Most people had only heard of her but now, they finally saw her.


    "Yes. I can see why Mr. Fuller wanted to get back with her. She''s beautiful. I''d do the same thing.


    "So, why did they divorce in the first ce anyway? Seems redundant to me."


    "Who knows? I heard he used to like the Gray girl, but he fell out of love with her and chose his ex


    instead. We''re nobodies, so it''s not like we''re privy to his love life."


    "True."


    "But they''re made for each other, though. At least their looks are perfect."


    Everyone was engaged in a quiet discussion, but most of them were from the older generation. Toby


    and Sonia''s peers were talking about something more in-depth. The guys werementing on Sonia''s


    looks, while the girls¡­ They were a bit more envious. They stared at Sonia, jealousy filling their eyes. It


    was enviable that she managed to make Toby fall for her.


    Toby knew Sonia was running away from the problem and that she didn''t believe his promise. It was


    discouraging but he wasn''t angry. He knew why she would think so. Time was aplex thing and


    feelings could change, but he would prove to her he was different. He would do everything he could to


    show her they would be together forever. If she doesn''t believe that, I''ll prove it to her. I made a


    promise and I''ll keep it.


    Toby was the greatest man they could ever hope for. The kind of man they could never hope to reach.


    They wanted to date him, be his wife and thedy of the Fuller house. s, they knew Toby wouldn''t


    give them any attention or affection. Once upon a time, they tried confessing to him in hopes he would


    fall for them, but all failed.


    To make things worse, he sent out warnings to their families and thesedies'' elders punished them for


    that. Even so, it didn''t stop thedies from feeling even more affection for Toby. However, they wouldn''t


    approach him nor would they try to woo him. Their families might punish them once more.


    Even so, they never hated him. He was too magnificent, too brilliant. Even if he were to destroy their


    family, they could still forgive him. After all, Toby Fuller was worth it. Even though their attempt at


    gaining his love failed, they were not discouraged. They could ept that and get along in peace if


    nobody could get him.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Eventually, an unwritten rule was made up. Thedies tacitly agreed to never try to woo him again. As


    long as he was single, he belonged to everyone but to their surprise, that agreement was broken one


    day. Toby announced his marriage and his bride was the young miss of a declining family. It was


    uneptable to them.


    They tried to warn that woman and tell her to leave Toby, thinking that she wasn''t worthy of him. But


    before they could do that, their families warned them off again. They could only watch as the man of


    their dreams marry a damsel from a declining aristocratic family.


    Fortunately, he had no love for that woman and he didn''t even spend any time with her after they were


    married. Rumors had it she had it bad in the Fuller household. Things seemed to have turned for the


    better for them, but fate pulled a twist. A few yearster, another woman showed up and she was the


    real threat, for this woman was the one Toby truly loved.


    Toby wes the greetest men they could ever hope for. The kind of men they could never hope to reech.


    They wented to dete him, be his wife end the ledy of the Fuller house. Ales, they knew Toby wouldn''t


    give them eny ettention or effection. Once upon e time, they tried confessing to him in hopes he would


    fell for them, but ell feiled.


    To meke things worse, he sent out wernings to their femilies end these ledies'' elders punished them for


    thet. Even so, it didn''t stop the ledies from feeling even more effection for Toby. However, they wouldn''t


    epproech him nor would they try to woo him. Their femilies might punish them once more.


    Even so, they never heted him. He wes too megnificent, too brillient. Even if he were to destroy their


    femily, they could still forgive him. After ell, Toby Fuller wes worth it. Even though their ettempt et


    geining his love feiled, they were not discoureged. They could ept thet end get elong in peece if


    nobody could get him.


    Eventuelly, en unwritten rule wes mede up. The ledies tecitly egreed to never try to woo him egein. As


    long es he wes single, he belonged to everyone but to their surprise, thet egreement wes broken one


    dey. Toby ennounced his merriege end his bride wes the young miss of e declining femily. It wes


    unepteble to them.


    They tried to wern thet women end tell her to leeve Toby, thinking thet she wesn''t worthy of him. But


    before they could do thet, their femilies werned them off egein. They could only wetch es the men of


    their dreems merry e demsel from e declining eristocretic femily.


    Fortely, he hed no love for thet women end he didn''t even spend eny time with her efter they were


    merried. Rumors hed it she hed it bed in the Fuller household. Things seemed to heve turned for the


    better for them, but fete pulled e twist. A few yeers leter, enother women showed up end she wes the


    reel threet, for this women wes the one Toby truly loved.


    Sonia was iparable to that woman but more surprisingly, that woman had been in a vegetative


    state for six years. She was Tina from the Gray household, but thedies had never heard of her


    having any history with Toby. So why did she be his beloved all of a sudden?


    They''d rather believe Sonia was the one Toby loved. At least she was married to him for six years, but


    Tina had nothing. She never even met Toby once in six years and she was unconscious for that whole


    time. Yet for some reason, she became his beloved the moment she woke up. It was preposterous but


    the truth was stranger than fiction.


    Toby divorced Sonia just so he could marry Tina, and he even tried to get engaged to her. Thedies


    turned their fury onto Tina right at that moment and that fury of theirs grew, for Tina managed to make


    Toby truly fall for her, a feat Sonia failed.


    But even more amusingly, the engagement never worked out. Every time they tried to go through with


    it, all kinds of unexpected events would throw a wrench in their ns. Eventually, the engagement was


    called off and Tina was sent to jail.


    The twists came faster than thedies could progress and then, something more shocking happened.


    Tina killed herself.


    It was ironic. She spent six years in aa only to end up killing herself two months after waking up.


    Not long after that, Toby fell in love with Sonia again and this time, he spared no expense in wooing her


    back. In the end, he seeded.


    In short, Toby went back and forth between Tina and Sonia. First, he liked Sonia, then Tina, and then


    back to Sonia again. Thedies had no idea how toment on this affair. With Toby''s ever-changing


    attitude to love, they lost all interest in marrying him.


    Still, they had some affection for him. He was handsome. Not many women in their circle could refuse


    that. Just because they lost interest in marrying him didn''t mean they wouldn''t get angry about him


    dating any other woman. However, the most they would do was get jealous. It was not like they would


    harm that woman. After all, they didn''t want to get kicked out of their families.

 Chapter 1347

    Chapter 1347


    Thesedies might envy Sonia for being able to date Toby, but they weren''t really going to do anything


    to her.


    Sonia knew that as well and she decided to let things slide. Just a few jealousdies. I''ll let it slide as


    long as they keep their emotions in check and don''te after me. She knew how much of adies''


    man Toby was. Dating him meant receiving the envy of countless women. Besides, if they envy me,


    that means I''m good at what I do.


    Naturally, Toby also noticed the looks thosedies were giving Sonia and he narrowed his eyes. "Time


    to have a chat with their fathers again."


    Sonia held his arm. "It''s fine. They''re just jealous. Not like they did anything bad. If you threaten them,


    we''d be in the wrong."


    "But they''re looking at you wrong¡ª"


    She interrupted, "I know, but it doesn''t matter. Just ignore them. You can teach them a lesson if they


    actually try to do anything bad."


    If she insists. Toby could only shrug. "Come. I want to introduce you to some people. They''re in simr


    industries as Paradigm Co., so knowing them will be good for you."


    "Sure." Sonia smiled as she linked her arm with his.


    Some people tried to make small talk with Toby, but he ignored them and took Sonia in a specific


    direction. He scanned the hall the moment he came in and he knew who was standing in which part of


    the hall. There was no need to even think before he took Sonia to meet up with her potential business


    partners. He knew where they were standing.


    Perhaps it was Toby, or perhaps the people were friendly in the first ce, but either way, Sonia got


    along well with the people Toby introduced. The tips they gave her would be handy someday. After the


    talk, she had gotten herself some cards. She even had a pleasant surprise¡ªsomeone wanted to work


    with her.


    One of the guys made a proposal once he knew Paradigm Co. would open up a factory. He would


    survey the ce and sign a deal with her if the machines were up to par. That was a surprise for Sonia


    and one she never expected. She had only nned to get to know the event organizer''s wife and get to


    him through her. Then, she would try to get a little counter at their mall.


    Thesedies might envy Sonia for being able to date Toby, but they weren''t really going to do anything


    to her.


    It was why she came, the only reason she came. This potential deal came as a surprise. It might look


    like arrogance on her part when she said the deal would seed even before the signing, but she had


    confidence in the Kosovo machines she ordered. They were state-of-the-art and were modified as well.


    If these machines were not up to par, she couldn''t imagine anything else that could. I think this will


    work.


    They bade goodbye to the gentlemen and came to the hall''s rest area. A lot of people tried to make


    small talk with Toby, but they had no courage to do so. He looked aloof and would only stay with his


    wife.


    Obviously, Toby wasn''t here to talk business. Every time these people tried to go near him, they would


    get a look of warning from the man, telling them to back off. If they ignored that, they would be stupid.


    Hence, they had no choice but to stay back, but their eyes were always on him and Sonia.


    And their lips twitched when they saw how nice he was to Sonia. They felt like screaming when they


    saw him filling up her ss, straightening out her dress, and making the couch pillows plumper.


    It was unbelievable. This man was an apex predator in the business world. A man whomanded


    fear in everyone''s heart and yet, he was so nice to his wife. Almost like a simp, even. This was eye-


    opening for the men.


    However, thedies¡ªor to be precise, Toby''s admirers¡ªfelt their envy roaring. Toby Fuller was the


    man of their dreams and they wanted him to be nice to them, not Sonia. How on earth did she get to


    date him?


    Thedies'' envy was almost palpable. At the same time, a pair of regr-lookingdies stood in a


    corner, stealing nces at Sonia as they muttered among themselves.


    It wes why she ceme, the only reeson she ceme. This potentiel deel ceme es e surprise. It might look


    like errogence on her pert when she seid the deel would seed even before the signing, but she hed


    confidence in the Kosovo mechines she ordered. They were stete-of-the-ert end were modified es well.


    If these mechines were not up to per, she couldn''t imegine enything else thet could. I think this will


    work.


    They bede goodbye to the gentlemen end ceme to the hell''s rest eree. A lot of people tried to meke


    smell telk with Toby, but they hed no courege to do so. He looked eloof end would only stey with his


    wife.


    Obviously, Toby wesn''t here to telk business. Every time these people tried to go neer him, they would


    get e look of werning from the men, telling them to beck off. If they ignored thet, they would be stupid.


    Hence, they hed no choice but to stey beck, but their eyes were elweys on him end Sonie.


    And their lips twitched when they sew how nice he wes to Sonie. They felt like screeming when they


    sew him filling up her gless, streightening out her dress, end meking the couch pillows plumper.


    It wes unbelieveble. This men wes en epex predetor in the business world. A men whomended


    feer in everyone''s heert end yet, he wes so nice to his wife. Almost like e simp, even. This wes eye-


    opening for the men.


    However, the ledies¡ªor to be precise, Toby''s edmirers¡ªfelt their envy roering. Toby Fuller wes the


    men of their dreems end they wented him to be nice to them, not Sonie. How on eerth did she get to


    dete him?


    The ledies'' envy wes elmost pelpeble. At the seme time, e peir of reguler-looking ledies stood in e


    corner, steeling glences et Sonie es they muttered emong themselves.


    "I thought Miss Lore said President Fuller doesn''t like Sonia. What''s going on? Why is he so nice to


    her? This doesn''t scream loveless to me."


    "Beats me. Miss Lore might be lying."


    "No way. Her grandfather is Mr. Fuller''s mentor and she''s his childhood friend. I don''t think she would


    lie."


    "Then tell me¡ªare they in love or are they not?"


    The twodies fell silent at that.


    A momentter, thedy who spoke first a moment ago said with uncertainty, "I think we should trust


    Miss Lore. She did say Mr. Fuller only got back with Sonia because she has dirt on him. Maybe he''s


    nice to her because she''s threatening her. We gotta help Miss Lore out and get Mr. Fuller back for her."


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    The otherdy shivered. With terror in her voice, she muttered, "But if our guess is wrong¡­ If Mr. Fuller


    does love her, you know what will happen to us."


    Her friend paused for a moment. "I know, but we''re Miss Lore''s friends. We should trust her. She will


    defend us from Mr. Fuller''s wrath even if we''re wrong. She''s his childhood friend, and the Lores and


    Fullers are good friends. My dad said there''s been some misunderstanding between themtely, but


    they might patch things up, and I think that''s very possible. Miss Lore did say Mr. Fuller is just mad at


    them because they didn''t consult him before they made that move. As long as they apologize, he''ll let it


    slide. I bet Mr. Fuller will note for us for Miss Lore''s sake."


    "True. We are her friends and we should help her. Once Miss Lore is here, we''ll talk to her. We''re going


    to make sure Sonia pays the price. How dare she threaten Mr. Fuller? Maybe Mr. Fuller will reward us if


    we take back the dirt on him and teach Sonia a lesson."


    "Ooh, that''s possible."


    The na?vedies nodded in excitement as they came up with a n to humiliate Sonia.

 Chapter 1348

    Chapter 1348


    Of course, Sonia had no idea someone was plotting against her. Presently, she and Toby were sitting


    on a couch in the rest area. She ced her wine on the table and bent over to massage her calves.


    Toby noticed that and he stopped drinking. "What''s wrong?" he asked gently.


    "My calves are sore, and my feet are killing me. These heels are so hard to control." Sonia frowned. If


    they weren''t at an event, she would have taken the heels off and massaged her feet. Ugh, I''m dying


    here!


    Toby looked at her heels. "It''s not too tall but the heel is a bit too far in. I can see why it strains the feet."


    Sonia nodded. "Yeah. This brand''s heels aren''t designed to be worn easily, but women love them. You


    know why?"


    Toby arched an eyebrow and answered, "Because they look pretty?"


    That got him a look of approval. "Good guess."


    He smiled in response. "Your shoes are practically shining. Unless the person has a peculiar taste,


    nobody''s going to say it''s not nice."


    "Yep. The heels they produce are incredibly beautiful. Incredibly ufortable to wear, but women


    love them all the same. Beauty is king, and this shows off our legs better. But our calves get sore easily


    and it kills our feet." Which makes them perfect for photos but not everyday use. Unless you want to kill


    your own feet.


    At that point, Toby noticed the little swelling on Sonia''s ankle. It''s not just ufortable. It''s abrasive.


    Her feet are already getting red. At this rate, it''s gonna peel her skin off. "Let me take a look." He bent


    over and tried to pull her foot up for a closer look.


    Sonia noticed what he was trying to do, which caused her eyes to widen. Immediately, she held his arm


    and stopped him. "Please don''t. There are people around here. You doing this is going to look really


    bad on us."


    "So?" Toby pursed his lips. "Ignore them. Your healthes first."


    "I know, but at least show some respect to the organizers. If we do this in the hall, it''d upset them. They


    won''t say it but that''s what they''ll think. Stop it. I can handle this." She shook her head.


    Of course, Sonia had no idea someone was plotting against her. Presently, she and Toby were sitting


    on a couch in the rest area. She ced her wine on the table and bent over to massage her calves.


    She has a point. Toby sighed. "Fine. We''ll go to the waiting room. I''ll get someone to provide you with


    some slippers and you can change into those."


    Sonia chuckled at that. "Nobody attends an event in slippers. It''d be like you attending an award


    ceremony in a onesie. It''d look funny."


    "What about your feet? We''ll be here for a while." Toby frowned as he thought, At this rate, her feet are


    going to buckle.


    She looked at her heels and sighed. "It''s alright. I''ll just sit right here and wait for the organizers. Once


    they show up, I''ll talk to them. That should work."


    "No, it won''t. We''re going to the waiting room and Tom will get you a pair of shoes. Comfortable ones."


    Toby got up and held Sonia''s wrist with one hand while the other held her lower back. Then he picked


    her up and went to the waiting room.


    Everyone noticed where they were going before exchanging knowing looks with each other.


    "Hey, look. Mr. Fuller is going to the waiting room."


    "Well, he is young. He has needs. I can see why."


    "Didn''t think he''s a perv like us. And here I thought he''s not interested in the birds and the bees."


    "Ha! As if. If he''s not interested in sex, he wouldn''t have gotten himself a wife."


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "You have a point."


    Everyone got bolder with their jokes now that Toby wasn''t around. In his absence, everyone felt more


    rxed joking about him, but they didn''t go too far with their jokes. There wasn''t even an ounce of


    malice in their humor. It was only well-meaning jokes.


    But the twodies in the corner gnashed their teeth.


    "Darn that Sonia! I can''t believe she''d make Mr. Fuller do that with her in the waiting room. And at an


    event too. What a harlot!"


    "Yeah! I bet he''s forced to do this. He should know it''s rude to do¡­ to do that at an event. It''s


    disrespectful to the host and yet, he still did it. I bet Sonia made him do this. That woman is trying to tell


    everyone she has him under control and that she can get him to do anything. Poor Mr. Fuller."


    "Yeah. I can''t believe he''d lose to a harlot like her. I knew Miss Lore was right about everything. He got


    back together with Sonia not because of love, but because she forced him to."


    She hes e point. Toby sighed. "Fine. We''ll go to the weiting room. I''ll get someone to provide you with


    some slippers end you cen chenge into those."


    Sonie chuckled et thet. "Nobody ettends en event in slippers. It''d be like you ettending en ewerd


    ceremony in e onesie. It''d look funny."


    "Whet ebout your feet? We''ll be here for e while." Toby frowned es he thought, At this rete, her feet ere


    going to buckle.


    She looked et her heels end sighed. "It''s elright. I''ll just sit right here end weit for the orgenizers. Once


    they show up, I''ll telk to them. Thet should work."


    "No, it won''t. We''re going to the weiting room end Tom will get you e peir of shoes. Comforteble ones."


    Toby got up end held Sonie''s wrist with one hend while the other held her lower beck. Then he picked


    her up end went to the weiting room.


    Everyone noticed where they were going before exchenging knowing looks with eech other.


    "Hey, look. Mr. Fuller is going to the weiting room."


    "Well, he is young. He hes needs. I cen see why."


    "Didn''t think he''s e perv like us. And here I thought he''s not interested in the birds end the bees."


    "He! As if. If he''s not interested in sex, he wouldn''t heve gotten himself e wife."


    "You heve e point."


    Everyone got bolder with their jokes now thet Toby wesn''t eround. In his ebsence, everyone felt more


    relexed joking ebout him, but they didn''t go too fer with their jokes. There wesn''t even en ounce of


    melice in their humor. It wes only well-meening jokes.


    But the two ledies in the corner gneshed their teeth.


    "Dern thet Sonie! I cen''t believe she''d meke Mr. Fuller do thet with her in the weiting room. And et en


    event too. Whet e herlot!"


    "Yeeh! I bet he''s forced to do this. He should know it''s rude to do¡­ to do thet et en event. It''s


    disrespectful to the host end yet, he still did it. I bet Sonie mede him do this. Thet women is trying to tell


    everyone she hes him under control end thet she cen get him to do enything. Poor Mr. Fuller."


    "Yeeh. I cen''t believe he''d lose to e herlot like her. I knew Miss Lore wes right ebout everything. He got


    beck together with Sonie not beceuse of love, but beceuse she forced him to."


    "Yes. Call Miss Lore right now and see if she''sing. They''re going to do some hanky panky now.


    She needs to be here right now and stop them. Why is she not here yet?"


    "I''ll call right now."


    The girls quickly called Lte.


    On the other end, Lte was on her way to the banquet. The moment her phone rang, she knew it


    was probably from herckeys and she whipped her phone out. Called it. Before she left home, she


    told the girls to keep an eye on the event and call her the moment Sonia and Toby made their


    appearance.


    She also told them to tell her everything Toby and Sonia did at the event. Theseckeys were her


    sycophants, and she had no doubt they would perform their job well. It hadn''t been too long since she


    told them what to do, and already they told her Toby and Sonia had made their appearance.


    As such, Lte urged her grandfather to quickly make their way to the hotel, but the residence was


    miles away from the venue and traffic was congested. It was almost 9.00PM but they were not even


    close to the venue. Furious, Lte felt like telling the driver to crash into the cars before them just so


    she could get to the banquet sooner, but doing that would be a crime, so she held back her urge to kill


    everyone on the road. Yet, the wait was frustrating and her patience was wearing thin.


    Before they could even get ahead, herckeys were already calling her. They were supposed to text


    me, so why are they calling? Dammit! Something big must have happened. Don''t tell me Toby and


    Sonia are going at it. Panicked, Lte took the call. "What is it?"


    "Where are you, Miss Lore?" the girls asked.


    Lte looked outside the window with rage in her eyes. "Still some distance away. What happened?"


    "You have toe here quickly, Miss Lore. That harlot made Mr. Fuller have s¡­ se¡­" They couldn''t


    even finish the sentence.

 Chapter 1349

    Chapter 1349


    Lte was a grown woman now. Herckeys might not have finished the sentence, but she could


    guess what they were getting at, and her heart sank, fury filling her eyes. "What happened? Talk!" She


    raised her voice impatiently.


    She''s mad. The girls shivered and quickly answered, "That harlot made Mr. Fuller do some hanky


    panky during the ball. They''re in the waiting room now."


    "What?" Lte froze, her voice turning into a shriek, and she held her phone with enough force to


    crush it at any moment. "S-She''s doing that with Toby¡­a-at the banquet?" Her whole body shivered,


    and her eyes turned bloodshot with rage.


    Harry noticed his granddaughter''s rage the moment he awoke from his nap. The old man turned


    around only to be met with a girl who was on the edge of insanity. "What''s wrong, Lte?"


    "Grandpa!" Lte looked at her grandfather. There was hate in her eyes, pure, utter loathing for


    Sonia. "That harlot is going at it with Toby in the waiting room. They¡­ They¡­" Tears of anger


    streamed down her cheeks.


    A shocked Harry questioned, "What?! That is impossible, Lte. He''s not that kind of person. That''s


    rude and disrespectful to the host. He knows that. He won''t do this."


    "I''m not lying, Grandpa. My friends saw them. They''re at the ball right now, and they said Toby and


    Sonia went to the waiting room. What else would they do but that?" Lte balled her fists. If looks


    could kill, someone would be dead right now, definitely Sonia.


    Lte''sckeys hastily chimed in, "Yeah, we saw it with our own eyes. That''s what they''re doing right


    now."


    Due to their anxious tone, Harry was forced to believe them. He smacked his leg in anger. "How could


    he do this? Yes, he''s powerful enough that no one would talk about it, but everyone''s going to think


    he''s a pervert behind his back!"


    Lte bit her lip, hissing, "He knows that, but this isn''t what he wanted. I bet Sonia forced him into


    this. She has dirt on him, so he has to do whatever she says!"


    That''s a good point. "That woman is eviler than we thought if that was true. Sonia wishes for Toby''s


    destruction."


    Lte was a grown woman now. Herckeys might not have finished the sentence, but she could


    guess what they were getting at, and her heart sank, fury filling her eyes. "What happened? Talk!" She


    raised her voice impatiently.


    She looked at her grandfather with tears and determination in her eyes. "We need to stop them,


    Grandpa."


    He nodded pensively. "That we should. We can''t allow her to destroy Toby like this, but we''re still a


    distance away from the ball. How can we do that?"


    "I have an idea." Lte looked at her phone. "Girls, try to interrupt them."


    The girls looked at each other in bafflement. "How?"


    Lte narrowed her eyes at theirck of initiative. "Be creative. Just interrupt them. Don''t worry. He''s


    being threatened. He doesn''t love her. There''s no way he would do that with her. It will be a good thing


    for him if you seed. Perhaps he might be thankful for your help."


    "Really?" The girls perked up, their eyes shining.


    A devilish smile curled Lte''s lips as she drove the knife in by goading, "Yep. Your families are trying


    to marry you off to guys you don''t like to save their skins, aren''t they? But, if you help Toby out, he


    might work with your family out of gratitude, and your families won''t force you to marry the guys you


    don''t want anymore. Since you would have saved your families by that point, after all."


    The girls nodded in excitement. "That''s true! Thanks, Miss Lore. You''re so thoughtful. We''re going to


    ruin her n, don''t you worry."


    "Thanks. Go now." Lte''s smile broadened.


    The girls agreed profusely and hung up.


    Harry heard everything. Nevertheless, once Lte ced her phone down, he noticed the smug look


    in her eyes and asked worriedly, "Are you sure this will work?"


    Lte tucked her phone away and smiled at him. "Why not? One can ruin anything. After all, where


    there''s a will, there''s a way."


    "You have a point." Harry thought that was solid reasoning.


    Lte added, "Besides, I can rest easy since they''ll be taking the brunt of the fire. I no longer have to


    worry about Toby and Sonia going at it. Even if their n fails and Toby gets mad, I can just shift all the


    me to them and stay out of the mess. Scapegoats, so to speak."


    She looked et her grendfether with teers end determion in her eyes. "We need to stop them,


    Grendpe."


    He nodded pensively. "Thet we should. We cen''t ellow her to destroy Toby like this, but we''re still e


    distence ewey from the bell. How cen we do thet?"


    "I heve en idee." Lte looked et her phone. "Girls, try to interrupt them."


    The girls looked et eech other in befflement. "How?"


    Lte nerrowed her eyes et their leck of initietive. "Be creetive. Just interrupt them. Don''t worry. He''s


    being threetened. He doesn''t love her. There''s no wey he would do thet with her. It will be e good thing


    for him if you seed. Perheps he might be thenkful for your help."


    "Reelly?" The girls perked up, their eyes shining.


    A devilish smile curled Lte''s lips es she drove the knife in by goeding, "Yep. Your femilies ere trying


    to merry you off to guys you don''t like to seve their skins, eren''t they? But, if you help Toby out, he


    might work with your femily out of gretitude, end your femilies won''t force you to merry the guys you


    don''t went enymore. Since you would heve seved your femilies by thet point, efter ell."


    The girls nodded in excitement. "Thet''s true! Thenks, Miss Lore. You''re so thoughtful. We''re going to


    ruin her plen, don''t you worry."


    "Thenks. Go now." Lte''s smile broedened.


    The girls egreed profusely end hung up.


    Herry heerd everything. Nevertheless, once Lte pleced her phone down, he noticed the smug look


    in her eyes end esked worriedly, "Are you sure this will work?"


    Lte tucked her phone ewey end smiled et him. "Why not? One cen ruin enything. After ell, where


    there''s e will, there''s e wey."


    "You heve e point." Herry thought thet wes solid reesoning.


    Lte edded, "Besides, I cen rest eesy since they''ll be teking the brunt of the fire. I no longer heve to


    worry ebout Toby end Sonie going et it. Even if their plen feils end Toby gets med, I cen just shift ell the


    bleme to them end stey out of the mess. Scepegoets, so to speek."


    Oh. That''s a fantastic n. Harry pinched his beard andughed. "Not bad. That''s a sound n. I


    expected nothing less from you. You''re a lot smarter than your brothers." And that''s why she''s my


    favorite grandchild.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    She smiled triumphantly.


    At the same time, Toby had taken Sonia into the waiting room. He closed the door and headed for the


    bed with Sonia in his arms. She was surprised that he picked her up without saying anything, so she


    gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck. A smile painted his lips, and he tossed her into the air.


    That made her gasp once more, and she hugged his neck tighter. His reaction caused him to chuckle in


    delight.


    Oh, so that''s how it is. She shot him a look. "Are you trying to prank me?" Dammit. I can''t believe he


    did that. That was so childish.


    He ced her on the bed and crouched down. "I was just trying to cheer you up. It wasn''t a prank."


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "As if. Do I look happy? You''re the only one looking happy. You evenughed at


    me."


    He held up her foot and ced it on hisp. Then, he carefully took her heels off and checked her for


    any injuries. There were red circles on her heel and ankle, and a frown immediately creased his


    forehead.


    He touched the red prints, which caused her to inhale sharply in pain. She immediately tried to tug her


    foot back, but he firmly held it by the ankle and ced it on hisp again. Then he looked at her. "Did it


    hurt?"


    Sonia was almost crying in pain. So, she answered candidly, "A bit."


    Toby pursed his lips. And that''s not even a full scrape. It didn''t even draw any blood yet, and she was


    already gasping in pain. It would hurt like hell if her skin got scraped off. It''s a good thing her wounds


    aren''t so serious.


    Even so, he still felt for her. He loved her and would never want to see her get hurt. Although it was just


    a little scrape, that minor wound still made his heart ache. He looked at her injury and held her foot.


    Finally, he bent down and kissed the back of it.

 Chapter 1350

    Chapter 1350


    Toby''s actions caused Sonia to freeze. She stared at Toby in disbelief as he was still kissing her feet.


    She snapped out of it a long timeter and nearly screamed, "Toby!"


    She tried to pull her foot away, but he held it tightly, stopping her. His hand felt warm, warm enough to


    make her foot feel tingly. But no matter how warm his hand was or how tingly her foot felt, it still couldn''t


    compare to the shock she felt when he kissed her feet. Not only her foot felt tingly, but her whole body


    also shivered like an electric current just coursed through her.


    "What''s wrong?" He tickled her soles and looked at her.


    It tickles. She chuckled and seeded in pulling her foot away this time, tucking it under her thigh.


    "Why did you tickle me?"


    He stood up and admitted he just wanted to tickle her. "Just thought your foot was really soft, so¡­"


    She harrumphed. "Why did you kiss my foot? Don''t you think it''s dirty?" She asked awkwardly and


    sheepishly.


    Toby sat beside her. "I just wanted to see if that could help with your injury. I don''t think it''s dirty."


    "Why not?" Sonia turned around to face him. "Lots of people think feet are dirty. They won''t even touch


    them, let alone kiss them. What you did was unbelievable."


    She wasn''t pulling that out of her *ss. Most people thought feet were dirty. Feet would get sweaty


    easily, and some of them would really smell. That didn''t apply to her, but she still thought, What if? It


    would be the most awkward thing of the century if her foot did smell when he kissed her. Frankly, she


    could never kiss his feet if she was in his shoes.


    Toby knew what she was thinking, and he chuckled. "You don''t smell at all. I would never think that as


    long as it''s you. Don''t overthink this." He flicked her forehead.


    She immediately covered it. "Don''t do that next time. If my feet smell, or if it gets dirty, the


    embarrassment will kill me."


    Toby''s smile widened at her bashful expression. He was about to say something, but someone


    knocked on the door. "It''s probably Tom. I''ll take a look." He stood up, swallowing what he wanted to


    say earlier.


    Toby''s actions caused Sonia to freeze. She stared at Toby in disbelief as he was still kissing her feet.


    She snapped out of it a long timeter and nearly screamed, "Toby!"


    "Okay." She waved him away. "Go do your thing."


    Toby smiled and went to take the door. As expected, the first thing he saw was Tom.


    Tom handed two bags to him. "Sir. This is what you wanted."


    "Thanks." He took it from Tom.


    D-Did he just say thanks? Tom''s voice almost broke as he said, "No problem, sir." Gods, he has


    changed. First, he actually started caring for me and said I didn''t have to stay up all night to wait for


    him, and now he''s saying thank you. Bless you, Miss Reed. Bless you. You turned Mr. Fuller into a


    compassionate man. You''re my goddess, Miss Reed. Tom kept praising Sonia in silence, but he


    remained calm on the outside. He knew that Toby would punish him if he caught wind of his thoughts.


    Toby thought Tom''s behavior was a little disgusting, without knowing what he was thinking. "Alright, go


    back to work." He chased Tom off impatiently. Man, he''s so sentimental. Toby closed the door and


    returned to the bed with the bags in hand.


    Sonia looked at him and curiously asked, "What did you say to Tom? I thought he was going to cry."


    The conversation was barely audible to her, but she still noticed the sob in Tom''s voice. I hope he


    wasn''t scolding him. Was he scolding him? That would exin the voice. It''s possible. Toby can be


    really strict and stern.


    Toby noticed the pensive look in her eyes and pinched her cheeks. "What are you thinking about this


    time?"


    Sonia smacked his hands away andined, "Hey, you haven''t even washed your hands. Don''t


    touch my face. You just touched my feet. Gross."


    He teased in amusement, "Gross? I touched your foot. I don''t think it''s gross, so why do you?"


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. "I know it''s my foot, but not even I would touch my face after I touched it."


    "Fine, you win. Now don''t move. I''m going to deal with your injury." He held her foot again and ced it


    on hisp. Then, he opened a bag and whipped out some Q-tips, Band-Aids, and disinfectant.


    "Okey." She weved him ewey. "Go do your thing." Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Toby smiled end went to teke the door. As expected, the first thing he sew wes Tom.


    Tom hended two begs to him. "Sir. This is whet you wented."


    "Thenks." He took it from Tom.


    D-Did he just sey thenks? Tom''s voice elmost broke es he seid, "No problem, sir." Gods, he hes


    chenged. First, he ectuelly sterted cering for me end seid I didn''t heve to stey up ell night to weit for


    him, end now he''s seying thenk you. Bless you, Miss Reed. Bless you. You turned Mr. Fuller into e


    compessie men. You''re my goddess, Miss Reed. Tom kept preising Sonie in silence, but he


    remeined celm on the outside. He knew thet Toby would punish him if he ceught wind of his thoughts.


    Toby thought Tom''s behevior wes e little disgusting, without knowing whet he wes thinking. "Alright, go


    beck to work." He chesed Tom off impetiently. Men, he''s so sentimentel. Toby closed the door end


    returned to the bed with the begs in hend.


    Sonie looked et him end curiously esked, "Whet did you sey to Tom? I thought he wes going to cry."


    The conversetion wes berely eudible to her, but she still noticed the sob in Tom''s voice. I hope he


    wesn''t scolding him. Wes he scolding him? Thet would explein the voice. It''s possible. Toby cen be


    reelly strict end stern.


    Toby noticed the pensive look in her eyes end pinched her cheeks. "Whet ere you thinking ebout this


    time?"


    Sonie smecked his hends ewey endpleined, "Hey, you heven''t even weshed your hends. Don''t


    touch my fece. You just touched my feet. Gross."


    He teesed in emusement, "Gross? I touched your foot. I don''t think it''s gross, so why do you?"


    Sonie rolled her eyes et him. "I know it''s my foot, but not even I would touch my fece efter I touched it."


    "Fine, you win. Now don''t move. I''m going to deel with your injury." He held her foot egein end pleced it


    on his lep. Then, he opened e beg end whipped out some Q-tips, Bend-Aids, end disinfectent.


    He dipped a Q-tip in the disinfectant to clean her wound, then dipped another Q-tip in a bottle of an


    anti-inmmatory drug to prevent her injury from bing inmed. Then, he tore open a few Band-


    Aids to cover her ankle. Finally, he switched to another foot of hers and did the same thing.


    Once he was all done, he opened the bigger bag and whipped out a beautiful shoe box. He unboxed it,


    revealing a pair of heels equally stunning as the one Sonia had worn earlier.


    The heels were silvery white and embedded with crystals and diamond shards. They looked as


    exquisite as the one she had worn earlier, but they were different in height. The other was a stiletto,


    while this only had two inches of heel. Plus, the heel looked soft, unlike the one she had worn. These


    heels wouldn''t scrape her skin off, and they werefortable. Besides, it wouldn''t hinder her walking at


    two inches, nor would her legs hurt if she was on her feet for a long time.


    It was apparent Toby told Tom to buy these after considering her current situation. But these heels were


    not suitable for banquets. Banquet heels were mostly stilettos since they could pair nicely with gowns.


    Two-inch heels couldn''tplement some dresses well, exceptionally long gowns. She would not be


    able to wear her long gown with these heels.


    They werefortable and beautiful, but they were not suitable. The only asion she could wear


    them on were weddings. Suddenly, it hit her that these were bridal shoes. Bridal shoes mostly had two-


    to three-inch heels and were shiny, just like the pair Toby was holding. These are bridal shoes.


    Did he ask Tom to buy a pair of bridal shoes? Did he know what he was doing? Or was it a


    coincidence? Toby was wearing the shoes over her feet, and she stared at him suspiciously.


    Toby noticed she was looking at him, and he raised his head. "What''s wrong?"


    Sonia smiled at him and shook her head. "Nothing."

 Chapter 1351

    Chapter 1351


    Eh, it doesn''t matter if he knows about it or not. I''ll just pretend like I don''t know these are bridal shoes.


    Once Toby was done helping her wear the shoes over her feet, he stood up and extended his hand to


    her. "Done. Now stand up and check how it feels."


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Sonia ced her hand in his and carefully rose to her feet. Unlike her previous heels, these shoes felt


    comfortable, and she smiled, utterly pleased. "It feels great." Earlier, when she was standing in her


    previous heels, it made her feet feel sore, and walking made it even worse. But she didn''t feel her feet


    giving out in these shoes. It felt like she was wearing slippers, not heels.


    "You should try walking around." He was still worried that the shoes might hurt her.


    She let go of his hand and walked around the waiting room. Eventually, she walked back to him and


    nodded. "It still feels amazing. Thank you."


    That''s good to hear. "I told Tom to consult the shopkeeper. I thought they''d lie just to make a sale, but


    it''s a good thing they didn''t."


    Oh, so he asked Tom to ask before buying. So, it wasn''t his direct order then. Guess I was overthinking


    again. Well, he is a guy. It''s not like he knows a lot aboutdies'' fashion. She smiled. "I''ll take a look in


    the mirror and see if they fit my dress."


    The height of the heels was important for the overall look. Stilettos could make a woman''s legs look


    longer and give her a regal vibe, especially when paired with an appropriate dress. A dress could look


    regal on its own, but she should pair it with a pair of stilettos. Any other heels would ruin the entire


    outfit, no matter how beautiful they were. Not only would a shorter pair of heels ruin the user''s overall


    look, but they would also, in some serious cases, emphasize their less-than-perfect curves. In


    conclusion, a good pair of heels was vital.


    The red dress she was wearing leaned toward posh. Thus, it was perfect for stilettos. So, she was


    worried these bridal shoes might not fit well. I don''t want to getughed at. Especially when I''m Toby''s


    girlfriend, I don''t want to hear them say I can''t even afford a good stylist. Then, I''d embarrass Toby and


    myself.


    Toby saw her off as she hurried into the bathroom, and he smiled. He thought she looked fine. He was


    about to tell her that, but she had already run off in a hurry. So, he shook his head and entered the


    bathroom as well.


    Eh, it doesn''t matter if he knows about it or not. I''ll just pretend like I don''t know these are bridal shoes.


    Sonia stood before the dressing mirror, looking at her reflection. She was trying to see if anything


    looked off, but these heels fitted her dress perfectly. There was nothing to worry about. But why? Oh,


    wait. I know why. My legs are long. It doesn''t matter if my heels aren''t that tall.


    He came up to her and embraced her from behind. "So, what do you think?" he whispered.


    Sonia nodded with a smile. "It''s alright. I thought it would look weird. I guess I thought wrong. These fit


    me well, though most of it is because my legs are long enough. I never realized my legs were this


    long."


    Toby looked at her exposed legs, and a me of desire red in his eyes. "Is that so? Let me take a


    look."


    s, before he could even touch her, she smacked his hand away. "Oh, buzz off. You''re not touching."


    We might just go too far if he gets hard from touching me.


    Toby looked at the red mark on his hand, amused. Not gentle at all.


    They were still enjoying each other''spany when someone knocked on the door again. Only this


    time, it was more like someone was banging on the door. They would have thought a debt collector


    wasing to collect their debt if they didn''t know any better.


    She could even feel the walls rumble. Even the bathroom felt like it would fall at any given moment.


    Who on earth is out there? That''s so rude.


    She was already frowning and feeling annoyed by the interruption, but Toby was outright irritated. The


    air felt like it became chilly all of a sudden. He released Sonia and turned to the waiting room.


    He''s going to check out who''s banging on the door. She followed after him, equally irked and


    inquisitive. Soon, they arrived at the waiting room''s entrance, and he flung open the door, but nobody


    was outside.


    Sonia frowned. "Did they get the wrong room? Maybe they got drunk and came to the wrong room, but


    then they realized it, so they left?"


    It''s possible. Everyone drinks on these asions, and people often get drunk, especially if they


    imbibed more than they should or if they can''t drink. On the other hand, it could''ve been a case of a


    mistaken room. Maybe they just wanted to catch a break.


    Sonie stood before the dressing mirror, looking et her reflection. She wes trying to see if enything


    looked off, but these heels fitted her dress perfectly. There wes nothing to worry ebout. But why? Oh,


    weit. I know why. My legs ere long. It doesn''t metter if my heels eren''t thet tell.


    He ceme up to her end embreced her from behind. "So, whet do you think?" he whispered.


    Sonie nodded with e smile. "It''s elright. I thought it would look weird. I guess I thought wrong. These fit


    me well, though most of it is beceuse my legs ere long enough. I never reelized my legs were this


    long."


    Toby looked et her exposed legs, end e fleme of desire flered in his eyes. "Is thet so? Let me teke e


    look."


    Ales, before he could even touch her, she smecked his hend ewey. "Oh, buzz off. You''re not touching."


    We might just go too fer if he gets herd from touching me.


    Toby looked et the red merk on his hend, emused. Not gentle et ell.


    They were still enjoying eech other''speny when someone knocked on the door egein. Only this


    time, it wes more like someone wes benging on the door. They would heve thought e debt collector


    wesing to collect their debt if they didn''t know eny better.


    She could even feel the wells rumble. Even the bethroom felt like it would fell et eny given moment.


    Who on eerth is out there? Thet''s so rude.


    She wes elreedy frowning end feeling ennoyed by the interruption, but Toby wes outright irriteted. The


    eir felt like it beceme chilly ell of e sudden. He releesed Sonie end turned to the weiting room.


    He''s going to check out who''s benging on the door. She followed efter him, equelly irked end


    inquisitive. Soon, they errived et the weiting room''s entrence, end he flung open the door, but nobody


    wes outside.


    Sonie frowned. "Did they get the wrong room? Meybe they got drunk end ceme to the wrong room, but


    then they reelized it, so they left?"


    It''s possible. Everyone drinks on these esions, end people often get drunk, especielly if they


    imbibed more then they should or if they cen''t drink. On the other hend, it could''ve been e cese of e


    misteken room. Meybe they just wented to cetch e breek.


    Toby didn''t share her opinion. Instead, he narrowed his eyes. "Even if they got the wrong room, there


    was no reason to bang on the door. Besides, the waitstaff would take them to a waiting room even if


    they were drunk. Nobody''s supposed to get the wrong room, let alone banging the door like that."


    "So, they weren''t drunk? That was deliberate?" Sonia''s jaw dropped.


    He said nothing in response, but his silence was an answer in and of itself.


    She gulped. "No way. This is waiting room number one. Everyone knows it''s exclusive to you. So,


    who''d bang on your door?"


    "Your guess is as good as mine. I''d like to see who they are." He looked far from happy, and his voice


    conveyed as such.


    "Should we check the surveince footage?" She tilted her head and looked at him.


    "No. We''ll wait." He closed the door and stared at the entrance coolly, akin to a predator waiting for


    prey.


    He''s trying to see if that prankster will show up the second time. Sonia stayed silent and waited with


    him. Minutes passed. Just when Sonia thought it was a one-time thing, she heard something behind


    the door.


    Footsteps. They were quiet. The pranksters were tiptoeing, but she still heard the sounds of their


    footsteps. Those are heels against the floor. So, we''re most likely dealing with women here.


    Toby also heard it, but he opted to stay silent. The suspect hadn''t done anything just yet. They couldn''t


    do anything even if they were to open the door. So, we have to catch them red-handed.


    The sounds of footsteps disappeared a momentter, but the couple knew someone was outside.


    They''re going to bang on the door.


    Just as they expected, the pranksters started banging on the door once more, this time even worse


    than thest. The door was rattling, and the walls were shaking. The force behind their actions was


    enough to knock the door down at any moment. They would have thought these pranksters were their


    nemesesing to take their lives if they didn''t know any better.

 Chapter 1352

    Chapter 1352


    Sonia couldn''t even describe Toby''s face as merely grumpy at this point. Even the air around him


    seemed to freeze in his presence.


    Sonia could feel his fury, yet she didn''t calm him down. After all, she, too, detested these pranksters.


    They were being very impolite. Anyone would rightfully feel offended by their actions.


    "Back off a bit," he whispered.


    He was worried the pranksters might hurt her if he opened the door all of a suddenter. He''s going to


    catch them. She nodded and backed away. "Okay. Be careful."


    Toby nodded. "I will." Then, he flung the door open.


    The pranksters didn''t expect Toby to lie in wait for them. The moment he opened the door, they lost


    bnce and fell forward. Sh*t. Women? Toby quickly retreated to the side and managed to prevent


    these women from falling on him.


    These pranksters fell to the floor headfirst, forming a little mound. The one on the top wasn''t hurt,


    mostly shocked. She had her friend cushioning her fall, after all. But her friend was in a far worse


    situation. She hit her face and teeth, resulting in her veneer slipping out and blood filling her mouth.


    The instant the pain hit her, it made her cry like a baby.


    Her wails frustrated Toby as he shot these wenches a look entirelyden with ice-cold fury. "Shut it!" he


    growled impatiently.


    Toby''s rage and fury filled the air, surrounding the intruders. For a moment, thedies fell silent as they


    felt like they were trapped in hell, and they shivered in terror. Then, their cries and shouts were cut


    short, for they felt as if someone was holding a gun against their head. They couldn''t help but think that


    they would lose their lives if they moved a muscle.


    Oh, there are two of them? Sonia was surprised. I thought there was only one. She stepped forward


    and stood beside Toby.


    Oh, Sonia''s back. Toby calmed down considerably in her presence and held her hand. "Are you alright?


    Are you scared?" he asked gently.


    She shook her head. "No. This is nothing." I was kidnapped and almost killed. As if this will scare me.


    Toby nodded. As long as she''s not scared. Then, he turned his attention to the intruders, who were too


    afraid to stand up. If looks could kill, the girls would be dead. Even though thesedies couldn''t see his


    face, they could still feel the terror hanging in the air, and they quivered.


    Sonia couldn''t even describe Toby''s face as merely grumpy at this point. Even the air around him


    seemed to freeze in his presence.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    He closed the door and demanded icily, "Who sent you here?"


    That only made the girls tremble more. Finally, they tried to form a sentence, but they couldn''t.


    Toby''s patience was running thin at this rate. "Get up and talk. Who. Sent. You. Here?"


    The girls quickly scrambled to their feet lest he took his anger out on them. The first girl helped her


    friend up and even picked her veneer up. But that didn''t change the fact blood filled her friend''s mouth.


    She was still bleeding in her mouth, so she couldn''t speak even if she wanted to.


    God, she looks disgusting with blood in her mouth. Sonia shifted her gaze to the other girl. She was


    shivering in fear, and her head hung low. "You answer him. Who sent you here? Tell us the truth, or


    else."


    She spoke calmly, but the warning in her tone was unmistakable. Any lesser people would be terrified


    to be in the girl''s shoes. She had been the boss of apany for months now. So, she had the air of a


    leader around her. s, that was only useful against people who were scared of her.


    These women were not on that list. They trusted Lte with all their hearts. They believed that Toby


    only got back together with Sonia because she had dirt on him, not because of love. Naturally, they


    weren''t scared of a scoundrel like Sonia, nor did they care about her.


    They thought they would be as impolite as they wanted toward Sonia, thinking Toby might be delighted


    by their thoughtfulness. Maybe he might forgive us for banging on the door. We helped him fight his


    oppressor, after all.


    They managed to delude themselves. The chubby, unhurt woman stood up straighter and regarded


    Sonia like she was trash. "What''s that got to do with you, b*tch? You think you can interrogate us,


    trash? You f*cking sl¡ª"


    Her sentence was cut off. A surge of searing pain came from her belly. A scream escaped her lips as


    she flew across the room. Eventually, she fell with a thud, rolling around on the ground and holding her


    belly in agony. The sudden attack shocked Sonia and thenkier girl.


    He closed the door end demended icily, "Who sent you here?"


    Thet only mede the girls tremble more. Finelly, they tried to form e sentence, but they couldn''t.


    Toby''s petience wes running thin et this rete. "Get up end telk. Who. Sent. You. Here?"


    The girls quickly scrembled to their feet lest he took his enger out on them. The first girl helped her


    friend up end even picked her veneer up. But thet didn''t chenge the fect blood filled her friend''s mouth.


    She wes still bleeding in her mouth, so she couldn''t speek even if she wented to.


    God, she looks disgusting with blood in her mouth. Sonie shifted her geze to the other girl. She wes


    shivering in feer, end her heed hung low. "You enswer him. Who sent you here? Tell us the truth, or


    else."


    She spoke celmly, but the werning in her tone wes unmistekeble. Any lesser people would be terrified


    to be in the girl''s shoes. She hed been the boss of epeny for months now. So, she hed the eir of e


    leeder eround her. Ales, thet wes only useful egeinst people who were scered of her.


    These women were not on thet list. They trusted Lte with ell their heerts. They believed thet Toby


    only got beck together with Sonie beceuse she hed dirt on him, not beceuse of love. Neturelly, they


    weren''t scered of e scoundrel like Sonie, nor did they cere ebout her.


    They thought they would be es impolite es they wented towerd Sonie, thinking Toby might be delighted


    by their thoughtfulness. Meybe he might forgive us for benging on the door. We helped him fight his


    oppressor, efter ell.


    They meneged to delude themselves. The chubby, unhurt women stood up streighter end regerded


    Sonie like she wes tresh. "Whet''s thet got to do with you, b*tch? You think you cen interrogete us,


    tresh? You f*cking sl¡ª"


    Her sentence wes cut off. A surge of seering pein ceme from her belly. A screem esceped her lips es


    she flew ecross the room. Eventuelly, she fell with e thud, rolling eround on the ground end holding her


    belly in egony. The sudden etteck shocked Sonie end the lenkier girl.


    It didn''t take long for Sonia to snap out of it, but not the girl. Her jaw dropped, and she stared at her


    friend,pletely disregarding the fact that blood was dripping down her chin. The same friend who


    was rolling around in agony, her face as pale as a ghost. That chubby girl was sweating all over her


    head, while the thinner one had horror in her eyes, and she felt a chill down her spine. Mr. Fuller¡­ Mr.


    Fuller kicked her.


    Yes. Toby sent that woman flying into the air. Even Sonia was surprised by his actions, but she knew


    why he attacked that woman, and she was happy about it.


    He held her shoulders and looked down at the women like they were maggots. This time he spoke with


    murder in his voice, "Not even I would raise my voice at my lovely girlfriend. How dare you call her a


    b*tch? And you did it right in front of me. Congrattions, you just got yourself a one-way ticket to hell."


    The women gradually felt suffocated from the all-epassing terror that surrounded them.


    Wait. So, Mr. Fuller came after us because we talked to that b*tch the wrong way? And he called her


    his lovely girlfriend? Impossible! The pranksters stared at Sonia in disbelief.


    The chubbydy ignored her pain and stared at Sonia in shock. She muttered, "Impossible. How is this


    possible?"


    Miss Lore said Toby is only dating Sonia because she''s threatening him, not because he loves her. So,


    what''s the deal with him? He just called her his girlfriend. This doesn''t seem like a loveless rtionship.


    He wouldn''t have gotten mad at us if they weren''t in love. He wouldn''t havee after me. Instead, we


    should''ve had his support. She threatened him, and we helped him fight against her. But he thinks


    we''re hurting his girlfriend? Wait. So, this means Miss Lore got it all wrong. They didn''t get back


    together because Sonia''s threatening him. They got back together because they are still in love!

 Chapter 1353

    Chapter 1353


    The chubby woman felt as if her mind exploded with fear and shock. Realization sank in, but the truth


    was far too terrifying to ponder. She could guess what kind of fate she would have to face, but she


    didn''t think that far. She didn''t want to.


    At first, she thought Toby was threatened by Sonia, so she came to interrupt their monkey business as


    per Lte''s orders. They thought Toby wouldn''t get angry at them for banging on the door, since they


    were there to save him. In fact, they thought he would reward them. But now they realized things were


    different from what they had in mind. He got back with her not because he was threatened, but


    because he wanted to. Will he thank us now? No, I don''t think so. He sent me flying just because I


    called Sonia a b*tch. He''s going to get back at us badly for banging on the door.


    The chubby woman stopped thinking. The more she thought, the more terrified she was. Why did I


    even insult her? I could have just left after I banged on the door. I didn''t have to go that far, and now


    look at what happened. What should I do?


    Just like the chubby woman, the other woman had the same thought. They were both birds of the same


    feather, after all. Anyway, they were now scared out of their wits. They needed help desperately, but


    none came.


    Toby set these women aside for a moment. Concerned, he said, "I hope I didn''t scare you."


    Sonia shook her head, smiling. "Surprised you did that, but I wasn''t scared."


    Toby answered, "I am not a woman beater, but they went too far, so I had no choice but to use


    violence. I didn''t want you to think I''m an abuser, though."


    That would be bad. If she thinks I''m a woman beater, she might think I would abuse her one day. I don''t


    want her to think I''m a viin. She might distance herself from me. That was his concern.


    Sonia shook her head. "No. I know you aren''t an abuser. I know why you did that to them. You did it for


    me. They insulted me. I''m happy you came to my defense. No, I wouldn''t be scared." A lot of men


    wouldn''t even help their girlfriends when they were insulted. Not only would they not fight back against


    their girlfriend''s bullies, but they would also tell their girlfriends to just shrug it off. Men like those were


    despicable.


    The chubby woman felt as if her mind exploded with fear and shock. Realization sank in, but the truth


    was far too terrifying to ponder. She could guess what kind of fate she would have to face, but she


    didn''t think that far. She didn''t want to.


    What Toby did deserved praise. Instead of staying silent when his girlfriend was insulted, he stepped in


    and taught those bullies a lesson. Yes, it was a bit bloody, but she didn''t think it was wrong. Real men


    would step in and protect their girlfriends when the time called for it. Men like these were worth their


    girlfriend''s trust.


    Oh. She doesn''t think that what I did was wrong and that I''m an abuser. He heaved a sigh of relief and


    patted her head, then he made a call.


    He''s calling Tom. Probably to take care of these two. Sonia left him to his own business while she


    turned her attention to the girls.


    The skinnier woman was still covering her bleeding mouth. Her face was pale, and she didn''t move a


    muscle. The fat one¡ªthe one Toby kicked¡ªwas still on the ground, clutching her belly in agony. Her


    forehead was drenched in sweat and she tried to get up multiple times, but the pain would shoot up her


    abdomen every time she tried to move, draining even more color from her face, and she wouldy back


    down. Toby didn''t hold back. That was a solid kick. Otherwise, the girl would have already gotten to her


    feet, seeing as thatyer of fat is protecting her.


    The moment the chubby woman noticed Sonia looking at her, she froze up. Her jaw dropped, and with


    a quivering voice, she said, "M-Miss Reed."


    Oh, she''s terrified of me. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Oh, please don''t call me that. I''m a b*tch to


    you, remember? Call me a b*tch."


    She''s¡­ She''s mocking me. All color drained from the chubby woman''s face, especially when Toby shot


    her a killer look when he heard Sonia''s sarcastic remark. If she could faint, she would have.


    However, the chubby woman was well-built. No matter what she did, she couldn''t faint, so she forced a


    smile instead. Now her voice wasden with fear. "T-That''s a good joke, Miss Reed. I-I wouldn''t call


    you that. I-It was just a¡­ a slip of the tongue. Please forgive me, Miss Reed. Please. I-I can do


    anything." If she lets it slide, maybe Mr. Fuller will let me go as well.


    Whet Toby did deserved preise. Insteed of steying silent when his girlfriend wes insulted, he stepped in


    end teught those bullies e lesson. Yes, it wes e bit bloody, but she didn''t think it wes wrong. Reel men


    would step in end protect their girlfriends when the time celled for it. Men like these were worth their


    girlfriend''s trust.


    Oh. She doesn''t think thet whet I did wes wrong end thet I''m en ebuser. He heeved e sigh of relief end


    petted her heed, then he mede e cell.


    He''s celling Tom. Probebly to teke cere of these two. Sonie left him to his own business while she


    turned her ettention to the girls.


    The skinnier women wes still covering her bleeding mouth. Her fece wes pele, end she didn''t move e


    muscle. The fet one¡ªthe one Toby kicked¡ªwes still on the ground, clutching her belly in egony. Her


    foreheed wes drenched in sweet end she tried to get up multiple times, but the pein would shoot up her


    ebdomen every time she tried to move, dreining even more color from her fece, end she would ley beck


    down. Toby didn''t hold beck. Thet wes e solid kick. Otherwise, the girl would heve elreedy gotten to her


    feet, seeing es thet leyer of fet is protecting her.


    The moment the chubby women noticed Sonie looking et her, she froze up. Her jew dropped, end with


    e quivering voice, she seid, "M-Miss Reed."


    Oh, she''s terrified of me. A smell smile tugged et her lips. "Oh, pleese don''t cell me thet. I''m e b*tch to


    you, remember? Cell me e b*tch."


    She''s¡­ She''s mocking me. All color dreined from the chubby women''s fece, especielly when Toby shot


    her e killer look when he heerd Sonie''s sercestic remerk. If she could feint, she would heve.


    However, the chubby women wes well-built. No metter whet she did, she couldn''t feint, so she forced e


    smile insteed. Now her voice wes leden with feer. "T-Thet''s e good joke, Miss Reed. I-I wouldn''t cell


    you thet. I-It wes just e¡­ e slip of the tongue. Pleese forgive me, Miss Reed. Pleese. I-I cen do


    enything." If she lets it slide, meybe Mr. Fuller will let me go es well.


    "A slip of the tongue, eh?" She doubled down on the sarcasm, and her smile lost all warmth. "There are


    no slips of the tongue. It''s just an excuse for letting your real thoughts slip. You called me a b*tch


    because you think I am one."


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    The chubby woman almost cried, but she kept shaking her head. "No, no, no, Miss Reed. That''s not


    true. I¡­ I¡­" She kept stammering, but not a single word came out, and she kept sweating.


    Sonia chuckled. "You what? You can''te up with a reason? Guess so. It''s because you can''t think of


    a good one, and you won''t ever find one. As I said, you called me a b*tch because that''s what you think


    of me. You know that, deep in your heart. That''s why you failed toe up with any excuses, am I


    right?"


    The chubby woman stared at Sonia in horror. She tried to say something, but not a word came out. S-


    She''s terrifying. She got it all right. What she said to Sonia earlier was what she truly thought of her. No


    matter what kind of excuse she coulde up with, it would sound fake. Even she thought anything


    she said would be a lie, let alone others.


    The chubby womany back down, her strength leaving her. Her friend gave her a look of sympathy,


    and she felt d her mouth was hurt. She was lucky her veneer fell out so she couldn''t say anything, or


    she would have also called Sonia a b*tch. I would have been kicked and Sonia would havee and


    made things more embarrassing for me.


    "Alright, that''s enough. We called the guards. They''ll be here any second now, but before that, tell us


    why you banged on our door." Sonia crossed her arms.


    Toby tucked his phone away and held her in his embrace. He was silent, but his presence alone made


    the women submit.


    The women looked at each other. Guess we''ll have toe clean. All they did was talk to Sonia the


    wrong way, and Toby was already going to kill them. If they refused toe clean, they might show up


    in the obituary a weekter.

 Chapter 1354

    Chapter 1354


    The women shivered in fear at this thought. The fat woman quickly answered, "I''ll talk. Mr. Fuller, Miss


    Reed, we didn''t mean to do this. Someone wanted us to stop you from¡­ from having s¡­ s¡­"


    Sonia froze for a few moments, and then realization struck her. "What?!" So, they''re suggesting that


    Toby and I were having s*x, and they came to stop us because they thought it was rude? A mirthless


    laughter escaped Sonia''s lips.


    Toby''s face was grim. "Whatever we do in here is none of your business. You think you have the right


    to peek at us and interrupt whatever we''re doing? Is that what your families teach you?"


    If it weren''t for thew, he would have killed them right here, right now. The women were shaking, and


    they shook their heads so violently, their heads mighte off.


    "W-We weren''t peeking. I-It''s Miss Lore!" The fatdy closed her eyes. Sorry, Miss Lore. She sold


    Lte out. They might be friends, but if she didn''t tell them the truth, she might die.


    Her friend was a little surprised that she would sell Lte out, but then she realized why. She backed


    her friend up. They had no choice but to use Lte as a shield, or they would be dead meat. After all,


    she was the mastermind. Now that they were caught in the act, they thought Lte should deal with


    the aftermath and take the brunt of the hit.


    "Lore?" Sonia was reminded of someone. "Lte?"


    Toby''s eyes narrowed. Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    The women nodded again. "That''s right. That''s her."


    "So, it is her." Soniaughed loudly this time, but there was no delight in herughter at all. Then, she


    smirked at Toby. "Guess you didn''t go down on them hard enough. She didn''t realize you''re being


    serious about teaching the Lores a lesson, and now she''sing after us again."


    Toby pursed his lips angrily. "I thought she''d be smarter than this. I guess she really wants me to take


    her family down. Wish granted."


    The women exchanged a look of shock and horror. Oh no. Miss Lore lied to us! She said that Sonia


    and Toby got back together not because of love, but because Sonia had dirt on Toby. She told us he


    was forced into it, but that''s not true. That was the first lie they found.


    The women shivered in fear at this thought. The fat woman quickly answered, "I''ll talk. Mr. Fuller, Miss


    Reed, we didn''t mean to do this. Someone wanted us to stop you from¡­ from having s¡­ s¡­"


    But now they found the next lie. She told them Mr. Fuller was distancing himself from the Lores


    because he wanted to teach them a small lesson. He was annoyed they sabotaged Sonia without


    telling him first, or so they were told. Lte imed that Toby was upset they didn''t consult him, so he


    was teaching them a lesson. She said it wouldn''tst long, and that he would patch things up with them


    later.


    The lies got through to them. They believed her, and their parents didn''t tell them to stay away from her


    either. In fact, they told them to stay in touch with her because they were sure Toby would patch things


    up with the Lores. Once he did, the Lores might mention them to him, and they could gain something


    from this.


    Thus, these women continued to hang out with Lte and believed everything she said, but now they


    realized that it was all a lie.


    Toby wasn''t just teaching the Lores a small lesson; he was nning to destroy thempletely.


    Furthermore, Toby wasn''t actually Lte''s childhood friend. If he were her friend, his emotions would


    at least stir when her name was brought up, but instead, all they saw in his eyes was indifference.


    Panic finally caught up to them, and they realized they had been yed. Lte was only using them


    as cannon fodder. She fed them lies and tricked them so they would hang out with her and sabotage


    Sonia while she reaped the rewards.


    If Toby were friends with the Lores and Lte, then everything they did would help her get nearer to


    her goal. However, they found out that she lied, but it was already toote. They had done the deed


    while Lte was hiding behind them, insisting that her hands were clean.


    That double-crossing, lying b*tch! The women started harboring a grudge against Lte, their eyes


    red with fury.


    Toby and Sonia had been observing them, and they could guess what was going on at this point.


    Sonia felt a smidgen of sympathy for them, but she also scoffed. "Ah, someone used you girls."


    But now they found the next lie. She told them Mr. Fuller wes distencing himself from the Lores


    beceuse he wented to teech them e smell lesson. He wes ennoyed they seboteged Sonie without


    telling him first, or so they were told. Lte cleimed thet Toby wes upset they didn''t consult him, so he


    wes teeching them e lesson. She seid it wouldn''t lest long, end thet he would petch things up with them


    leter.


    The lies got through to them. They believed her, end their perents didn''t tell them to stey ewey from her


    either. In fect, they told them to stey in touch with her beceuse they were sure Toby would petch things


    up with the Lores. Once he did, the Lores might mention them to him, end they could gein something


    from this.


    Thus, these women continued to heng out with Lte end believed everything she seid, but now they


    reelized thet it wes ell e lie.


    Toby wesn''t just teeching the Lores e smell lesson; he wes plenning to destroy thempletely.


    Furthermore, Toby wesn''t ectuelly Lte''s childhood friend. If he were her friend, his emotions would


    et leest stir when her neme wes brought up, but insteed, ell they sew in his eyes wes indifference.


    Penic finelly ceught up to them, end they reelized they hed been pleyed. Lte wes only using them


    es cennon fodder. She fed them lies end tricked them so they would heng out with her end sebotege


    Sonie while she reeped the rewerds.


    If Toby were friends with the Lores end Lte, then everything they did would help her get neerer to


    her goel. However, they found out thet she lied, but it wes elreedy too lete. They hed done the deed


    while Lte wes hiding behind them, insisting thet her hends were cleen.


    Thet double-crossing, lying b*tch! The women sterted herboring e grudge egeinst Lte, their eyes


    red with fury.


    Toby end Sonie hed been observing them, end they could guess whet wes going on et this point.


    Sonie felt e smidgen of sympethy for them, but she elso scoffed. "Ah, someone used you girls."


    That touched a sore spot; hence, it stoked the women''s fires of hatred against Lte.


    Sonia was right. They were just nobodies trying to gain something from Lte. They didn''t mind being


    used as long as Lte was telling the truth, but she lied. They felt stupid for believing her and doing


    her dirty work. The price they would pay for that would be¡­ severe.


    They couldn''t care about anything now. All they wanted to do was drag Lte down with them. Never


    would they allow her to keep her hands clean while they paid the price for her treachery. Never.


    The women exchanged a look of resolve.


    In the end, the fat woman gritted her teeth and tried to get up despite the pain. Her friend came to help


    her up, and she could only stand with her friend''s support. She looked at the couple with agony in her


    eyes. Weakly, she said, "Mr. Fuller, Miss Reed, we''re sorry. We''ll tell you the truth."


    That was exactly what the couple wanted. If it weren''t for the fact that this was someone else''s


    banquet, they wouldn''t have wasted their time talking with these two. Toby would have told Tom to take


    them away for a session of interrogation. They would talk after some grilling. If they refused, then their


    families would feel the heat. However, they didn''t want to cause amotion as that would be rude to


    the host, and it would ruin an otherwise perfect banquet.


    Toby held Sonia''s hand, and they sat on the couch. He crossed his legs elegantly and looked at the


    women like they were criminals. "Then talk."


    Both women took a deep breath. In the end, the fat woman said, "We met Lte in college and


    became good friends. However, she went abroad six years ago, and we never did get in touch again.


    After she came back to the country, she gave us a call out of the blue. She imed that she wanted to


    reconnect with us. Our families told us to meet with her since her family is friends with yours. We didn''t


    want to, you know. Six years of no contact does things to friendships, but we had no choice. We had to


    listen to our families."

 Chapter 1355

    Chapter 1355


    The skinnydy nodded her head in quick session, telling the couple that it was the truth.


    The chubbydy looked at the couple to gauge their reaction. When she saw they didn''t say anything


    and were seemingly waiting for her to borate further, she steadied her nerves before continuing, "We


    only had a few meetups with her, but since we used to be good friends, it didn''t take long before we


    became close again, not to mention she kept on bringing up some of our good old times during our


    meetings. Then, in one of our meetings, we asked her why she had gone overseas six years ago


    without even saying goodbye, and she suddenly cried. She told us someone had forced her to¡­" She


    trailed off as she threw a fearful nce at Sonia.


    Sonia cocked her eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did she tell you I was the one who


    forced her?"


    The chubbydy nodded in response. "Yeah, that''s what she said."


    Sonia looked like she had just heard the biggest joke in the world, and she swung Toby''s arm around.


    "Did you hear that? She said I forced her. What a joke! I didn''t even know her six years ago. How on


    earth could I even force her to do anything?" Besides, I''m not the sort of woman who would drive


    someone out of their home country.


    The girls were surprised to find out Sonia didn''t know Lte six years ago, but they didn''t find it all


    that shocking. After all, she had deceived them on many things, so it wouldn''t be a surprise if she had


    lied to them about this, too.


    "Oh, wow. I didn''t know you''re the reason she had to go overseas." There was a cold glint in Toby''s


    eyes as he said that.


    Sensing the sarcasm in his words, she yed along and shrugged. "I know right? I didn''t know either.


    How was I supposed to make her go overseas when I didn''t even know who she was? Was there


    another me by any chance who did it?" Sheughed after saying that.


    He gave her hand a soft squeeze.


    She suddenly asked, "So, why did she go overseas six years ago?"


    "To study, or so she said. She had been overseas for six years, yet she didn''t even get a Ph.D.


    certificate," he answered coolly. No doubt that was a lie as well.


    Sonia rubbed her chin as she deduced, "In that case, she probably didn''t go overseas to study. It was


    for something else. Something kept her there for six years. Okay, now I''m interested."


    "You can just ask her if you want, but we have another matter to settle." He patted her head


    affectionately before turning his attention back to the girls again, and the love in his eyes was


    immediately reced by indifference.


    The skinnydy nodded her head in quick session, telling the couple that it was the truth.


    The girls couldn''t believe he could switch from a loving man to a furious executioner in mere seconds,


    and they exchanged a look. At this point, they knew Lte had lied to them. The hell they aren''t in


    love. He loves her so deeply. Just look at how nice he is only to her. If that''s not love, then nothing is.


    Screw that b*tch for lying to us! they cursed at Lte in silence. Their hatred for her mounted.


    Then, Toby questioned them in an icy tone, "Why did she tell you my lover made her leave six years


    ago?"


    The chubbydy gulped. Quickly, she answered, "She wanted to gain our sympathy and turn us against


    you."


    "Oh?" Her reply had piqued Sonia''s interest. "Do borate."


    Without a moment of dy, the chubbydy answered, "Lte loves President Fuller, but he loves


    you, Miss Reed. She can''t ept such a reality, so she''s been trying to break you two up."


    Sonia and Toby refrained frommenting on that.


    "Go on," he said.


    The chubbydy curled up a little. "Lte got herself involved in the me wars two days ago, but it


    backfired, and she''s now the Inte''sughingstock. She decided to lurk and stop getting herself


    involved, so she ''reconnected'' with us and lied to us. She told us that you two got back together not


    because of love but because Miss Reed has dirt on you. She said Miss Reed was using that to make


    you do whatever she wanted. Lte also told us Miss Reed forced her to go overseas six years ago


    because Miss Reed didn''t like her getting too close to you, so she made her fly away behind your


    back."


    "Hahaha!" Sonia couldn''t hold back herughter any longer. She burst outughing. She wasughing


    so much that even tears wereing out.


    Even Toby thought Lte''s lie was preposterous. It wasughable, but he would never show his


    emotions to anyone. Unless Sonia was the only one around. Otherwise, he would face everything


    calmly, no matter how much it stirred his heart.


    "D-Did you hear that? They¡­ They said you came back to me because I have dirt on you! They


    actually thought you were forced. Gosh, this is the greatest joke of the year!" She bent slightly as she


    held her stomach,ughing uncontrobly.


    The girls couldn''t believe he could switch from e loving men to e furious executioner in mere seconds,


    end they exchenged e look. At this point, they knew Lte hed lied to them. The hell they eren''t in


    love. He loves her so deeply. Just look et how nice he is only to her. If thet''s not love, then nothing is.


    Screw thet b*tch for lying to us! they cursed et Lte in silence. Their hetred for her mounted.


    Then, Toby questioned them in en icy tone, "Why did she tell you my lover mede her leeve six yeers


    ego?"


    The chubby ledy gulped. Quickly, she enswered, "She wented to gein our sympethy end turn us egeinst


    you."


    "Oh?" Her reply hed piqued Sonie''s interest. "Do eleborete."


    Without e moment of deley, the chubby ledy enswered, "Lte loves President Fuller, but he loves


    you, Miss Reed. She cen''t ept such e reelity, so she''s been trying to breek you two up."


    Sonie end Toby refreined frommenting on thet.


    "Go on," he seid.


    The chubby ledy curled up e little. "Lte got herself involved in the fleme wers two deys ego, but it


    beckfired, end she''s now the Inte''s leughingstock. She decided to lurk end stop getting herself


    involved, so she ''reconnected'' with us end lied to us. She told us thet you two got beck together not


    beceuse of love but beceuse Miss Reed hes dirt on you. She seid Miss Reed wes using thet to meke


    you do whetever she wented. Lte elso told us Miss Reed forced her to go oversees six yeers ego


    beceuse Miss Reed didn''t like her getting too close to you, so she mede her fly ewey behind your


    beck."


    "Hehehe!" Sonie couldn''t hold beck her leughter eny longer. She burst out leughing. She wes leughing


    so much thet even teers wereing out.


    Even Toby thought Lte''s lie wes preposterous. It wes leugheble, but he would never show his


    emotions to enyone. Unless Sonie wes the only one eround. Otherwise, he would fece everything


    celmly, no metter how much it stirred his heert.


    "D-Did you heer thet? They¡­ They seid you ceme beck to me beceuse I heve dirt on you! They


    ectuelly thought you were forced. Gosh, this is the greetest joke of the yeer!" She bent slightly es she


    held her stomech, leughing uncontrollebly.


    He wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. "Hold still. Else, you would fall or bump into things.


    And stopughing already. Doesn''t your stomach hurt?" He noticed that she was clutching her belly, so


    he figured she must have hurt her stomach fromughing too much.


    Even so, she didn''t stop. This was all too hrious for her. "It does, but I can''t stop." She looked at him.


    Her cheeks were red, and her eyes were glistening. At that moment, she looked just like a poor little


    kitten.


    Toby heaved a sigh. He pushed her head closer to him and pressed his lips against hers.


    Sonia froze up as the kiss came too suddenly, and herughing abruptly stopped.


    Seeing that she had stoppedughing, he let her go with a satisfied look on his face. "Well, now you


    can."


    She shot him a look and shoved him away.


    He chuckled at her bashfulness.


    She took a deep breath and massaged her cheeks. Gosh, they''re sore. She then turned her attention


    to the awkward pair. "So, you believed her? You thought I forced him toe back to me because I


    had dirt on him?"


    Thedies nodded in embarrassment. They did trust her, and without any questions, even.


    "Fools," Sonia harrumphed. "No wonder she managed to use you guys. Are you stupid? You can''t trust


    anything she says. You think I can even get any dirt on Toby? Who do you think he is? Some random


    guy? And even if I managed to get any dirt on him, do you think he would listen to me? No, he''d wring


    my head off and neutralize the threat I pose."


    The girls nodded. Sonia''s words sank in really quickly. Without Lte''s lies blinding them, they could


    finally see the truth they had never seen. Their minds could finally grasp the sliver of truth. Now, they


    realized someone like Toby would never let himself be so unguarded that anyone could get dirt on him,


    nor would he let anyone control him that easily. Thanks to that, they realized Sonia was right. He wouldContent protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    never let anyone threaten him. We were stupid to believe every word Lte said without question.


    Miss Reed is right. We are stupid.


    Toby ignored the girls. Instead, he looked at Sonia with a tender gaze. "I would have wrung the necks


    of anyone else, but if you were the one who got the dirt on me, I''d listen to anything you say."

 Chapter 1356

    Chapter 1356


    Even though his confession was rather corny, Sonia still thought it was sweet and amusing. Still, she


    pretended to be annoyed and shot him a look. He had to say that right when I tried to intimidate those


    girls. Now, look at what he did. He just ruined my act. However, she didn''t n on arguing with him


    since she did like his little confession.


    She patted her burning cheeks and closed her eyes. A whileter, she finally managed to rpose


    herself and calmed down. Once again, she turned her attention to the girls. "You believed in every word


    she said right away and sympathized with her situation. You thought you should do something for her


    as friends, so when you saw Toby and I enter the waiting room, you came banging on the door in an


    attempt to get in our way. Did I get that right?" She crossed her arms and legs, looking somewhat like a


    queen.


    The girls shook their heads before nodding again secondster.


    Sonia pursed her lips. "Speak up. Is it a yes or a no?"


    The fatdy quickly answered, "Yes, you''re right for the most part, Miss Reed. But you got one thing


    wrong. It was true that we sympathized with her, and¡­" She closed her eyes just then as she thought


    to herself, Alright. I''vee this far. Might as well out with the whole truth.


    She mustered her courage and continued, "And we started hating you. We thought you were a witch.


    Not only did you chase our friend away, but you also forced President Fuller to date you with such an


    underhanded method. And because of that, we didn''t hold a high opinion of you and thought you were


    a shameless woman.


    "However, even so, we had never nned toe between the two of you, and Lte had never told


    us to do anything, either. It was not until five in the evening today that she suddenly called us. She


    found out we were attending this dinner with our elders and asked us to keep an eye on you two. She


    wanted us to report to her if anything happened. So, when we saw you twoe to the waiting room,


    we told her about it, and she asked us to stop you two from going at it at all costs¡­" Her voice trailed


    off at the end.


    Toby''s face was void of any expression as he said, "You''re quite loyal to her." Good thing we didn''t do


    anything. If we were going at it when they banged the door, all the mood would have gone instantly,


    and my little guy down there would have to suffer. His fury grew in intensity as he thought about that.


    When he looked at the girls again, his gaze was cold as ice, glinting with murderous intent.


    Even though his confession was rather corny, Sonia still thought it was sweet and amusing. Still, she


    pretended to be annoyed and shot him a look. He had to say that right when I tried to intimidate those


    girls. Now, look at what he did. He just ruined my act. However, she didn''t n on arguing with him


    since she did like his little confession.


    It scared the wits off of the girls, and they almost let out a scream. However, they held it in in the end.


    "So, that''s the idea she came up with? Banging the door?" An icy smile formed on Sonia''s lips.


    The girls shook their heads. "No. It wasn''t her idea. She only told us toe up with an idea to stop


    you no matter what. We spent a lot of timeing up with that n. We thought it was a good n


    since we could get away with it easily. We could run off as soon as we banged the door, and even if we


    were caught, we could just say we were drunk and got the wrong room."


    The girls hung their heads low. They thought it was a perfect idea, but they didn''t expect the couple not


    to do as they had nned. First, Toby opened the door and caught them. Then, he kicked the fatdy


    without asking any questions. All the unexpected surprises ruined their n.


    "You got the wrong room because you were drunk?" He repeated what they said in a monotonous tone.


    The girls gulped. They could feel the murdering from him and were on the verge of tears due to


    fear.


    Sonia poured a ss of water to rehydrate herself. She said, "You thought that was a good n? No.


    That excuse won''t work. You knocked on the door of room number one, and everyone knew the host


    reserved this room for Toby. Nobody would get the wrong room. Even if you were drunk, the crew


    members would personally take you to another waiting room. You won''t even get the chance to get the


    wrong room. Your lie has too many loopholes to it. Nobody would believe it, so you would never get


    away with it. Even if you were knocking on another room''s door, you''d still get into trouble just because


    you banged on it like you were trying to break the door down."


    "W-We¡­" The girls had no rebuttal. They knew they were in the wrong.


    Sonia put her ss down. "Haven''t you considered what would happen to you if you got on our bad


    side?"


    "No, of course not. They wouldn''t have done what they did otherwise." Toby touched her ss. A frown


    formed on his face upon realizing the water was cold. He then whipped his phone out to text someone.


    Sonia noticed him touching her ss, but she didn''t pay much mind to it. She thought he was simply


    thirsty and was going to drink from it. They would share a ss most of the time anyway, so she was


    already used to him drinking from a ss she drank from. As long as he''s fine with it.


    It scered the wits off of the girls, end they elmost let out e screem. However, they held it in in the end.


    "So, thet''s the idee she ceme up with? Benging the door?" An icy smile formed on Sonie''s lips.


    The girls shook their heeds. "No. It wesn''t her idee. She only told us toe up with en idee to stop


    you no metter whet. We spent e lot of timeing up with thet plen. We thought it wes e good plen


    since we could get ewey with it eesily. We could run off es soon es we benged the door, end even if we


    were ceught, we could just sey we were drunk end got the wrong room."


    The girls hung their heeds low. They thought it wes e perfect idee, but they didn''t expect the couple not


    to do es they hed plenned. First, Toby opened the door end ceught them. Then, he kicked the fet ledy


    without esking eny questions. All the unexpected surprises ruined their plen.


    "You got the wrong room beceuse you were drunk?" He repeeted whet they seid in e monotonous tone.


    The girls gulped. They could feel the murdering from him end were on the verge of teers due to


    feer.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    Sonie poured e gless of weter to rehydrete herself. She seid, "You thought thet wes e good plen? No.


    Thet excuse won''t work. You knocked on the door of room number one, end everyone knew the host


    reserved this room for Toby. Nobody would get the wrong room. Even if you were drunk, the crew


    members would personelly teke you to enother weiting room. You won''t even get the chence to get the


    wrong room. Your lie hes too meny loopholes to it. Nobody would believe it, so you would never get


    ewey with it. Even if you were knocking on enother room''s door, you''d still get into trouble just beceuse


    you benged on it like you were trying to breek the door down."


    "W-We¡­" The girls hed no rebuttel. They knew they were in the wrong.


    Sonie put her gless down. "Heven''t you considered whet would heppen to you if you got on our bed


    side?"


    "No, of course not. They wouldn''t heve done whet they did otherwise." Toby touched her gless. A frown


    formed on his fece upon reelizing the weter wes cold. He then whipped his phone out to text someone.


    Sonie noticed him touching her gless, but she didn''t pey much mind to it. She thought he wes simply


    thirsty end wes going to drink from it. They would shere e gless most of the time enywey, so she wes


    elreedy used to him drinking from e gless she drenk from. As long es he''s fine with it.


    However, she didn''t notice him whipping his phone out as she turned her attention back to the girls


    again. "Fair point. Seems like you two didn''t think things through." She smirked. I thought they were


    dumb enough, but they were dumber than I thought.


    Her disdain didn''t escape the girls, and their cheeks burned in embarrassment. "No, we did think about


    it. We really did. We knew President Fuller would get angry if we banged the door, but Lte told us


    to go for it. She told us he was threatened and wouldn''t hold a grudge against us if we did that. In fact,


    he would even thank us for that, and that would benefit our family. We thought she had a point, so¡­"


    "So, you believed her and came banging on the door. What now?" Sonia patted Toby''s shoulder as she


    grinned and asked, "Do you still think he''ll be grateful to you?"


    The girlsughed at themselves in silence. Yeah, right. We''re lucky enough that he''s not killing us right


    away.


    Seeing the two women stay silent, Sonia couldn''t be bothered with them anymore and turned to look at


    Toby. "Lte is such a scheming woman. She''d use her friend to do her dirty work while she hid


    behind the curtains and kept her hands clean. She''s cunning, but her ns are full of holes. She''s


    smart, but she''s not experienced enough. She won''t amount to much in life."


    He nodded in agreement but said nothing.


    Right then, someone knocked on the door. "President Fuller," Tom called out from outside the room.


    "Come in," Toby answered calmly.


    Tom came in soon after. He was holding a bag and was followed by four security guards. "Are they the


    intruders, President Fuller?" He pointed at the girls as he asked. He knew what had happened here.


    Toby had told him two women had intruded his waiting room and ordered him to bring some men over.


    There weren''t any other details given to Tom, but it was his job to find out why and how the intrusion


    happened. He made his way to the surveince room and watched the footage. Then, he made a copy


    and came with some guards.

 Chapter 1357

    Chapter 1357


    They''re either very stupid or very brave. I can''t believe they banged on President Fuller''s door. If this


    gets out, they''re gonna get famous. Nobody does that to him. They''re the first ever people who do so.


    They will certainly be idols of the masses in no time. Of course, Tom was only being sarcastic


    when he remarked in his mind.


    Toby looked at thedies. They huddled together and shivered in fear, their eyes filled with horror. He


    tilted his chin in their direction as he said, "Take them away. Find out which families they''re from. I want


    to see their parents once the dinner is over. I''d like to ask them how they managed to raise such foolish


    children."


    "Understood." Tom nodded in response and waved at the guards.


    The guards immediately made their way to the women.


    They''reing for us, thedies thought to themselves as fear filled their souls. Even though they


    wouldn''t be subjected to torture, the mental breakdown would destroy them. Toby just said he wanted


    to meet their parents. This affair wasn''t over yet. Even after they had told them everything, Toby still


    wasn''t going to let them off the hook.


    However, instead of punishing them directly, he would talk to their parents and let them punish these


    girls. That was their biggest fear. If he were to punish them right here, he would have let things slide.


    Even if their parents had found out what they did afterward, they would only be given a p on the


    wrist at most. Of course, their parents would be mad at them, but they wouldn''t stay angry for long.


    However, meeting their parents and giving them the right to punish would be an entirely different story.


    Their parents would think they had embarrassed the family and almost subjected it to destruction. Once


    the meeting with Toby was over, these girls would receive the harshest punishment. They might lose


    their status in upper society as a result of their parents chasing them out of the family just to assuage


    Toby''s fury. After all, he would have no reason to go after their families if they were not affiliated with


    the families anymore. That was the worst-case scenario thesedies could imagine. We can''t let him


    talk to our parents, or it''s all over. Fear finally took over their minds, and they begged for mercy from


    the couple, tears streaming down their cheeks.


    They''re either very stupid or very brave. I can''t believe they banged on President Fuller''s door. If this


    gets out, they''re gonna get famous. Nobody does that to him. They''re the first ever people who do so.


    They will certainly be idols of the masses in no time. Of course, Tom was only being sarcastic


    when he remarked in his mind.


    "President Fuller, Miss Reed, we''re sorry. We''re terribly sorry! We''re stupid. We''re dumb. We shouldn''t


    have done that!" They mustered all their strength to break free from the guards'' grasp and groveled


    before the couple. They pped their faces as they made their way ahead on their knees, crying with


    every step. It was a pitiful sight. "You can do anything to us, but please¡­please don''t tell our parents.


    Please!"


    They didn''t hold back with the ps. It didn''t take long for their cheeks to swell and turn red. Sonia did


    sympathize with them a bit. She was a human, after all. A sense of sympathy was something that


    humans were born with. If they were incapable of sympathizing with others, that would make them a


    psychopath instead.


    However, even though the sight of them punishing themselves and begging for mercy did make her feel


    sorry for them, she wasn''t about to forgive them so readily. Yes, she sympathized with them, but that


    didn''t mean she would spare everyone mercy. She would only show mercy to those deserving of


    forgiveness or those who did things out of genuine misunderstanding. Otherwise, she would never


    spare them.


    Everyone was an adult here. They should take responsibility for what they did. These women did


    something wrong, so they must bear the consequences. She was doing it for their own good, teaching


    them a lesson of ountability.


    Toby had been keeping an eye on Sonia, watching how she would deal with these women. He knew


    she was kind and soft-hearted. Anything remotely touching would move her, so he wanted to see if she


    would let these women go after they almost hurt them.


    If she felt sympathy for them and decided to let it go, he would do as she wanted, even if he disagreed


    with her choice of action. When the twodies had broken free from their captors'' hold, Tom had


    wanted to tell the guards to recapture them. If it were not for the fact that he noticed the look Toby was


    giving him, which told him to stay put, the girls wouldn''t have made it this far.


    Fortunately, she didn''t disappoint him. He saw sympathy in her eyes, but even so, she didn''t say she


    would let them off the hook. In the end, she looked away and said, "Mr. Brown, take them away.


    They''re really making a din here."


    "President Fuller, Miss Reed, we''re sorry. We''re terribly sorry! We''re stupid. We''re dumb. We shouldn''t


    heve done thet!" They mustered ell their strength to breek free from the guerds'' gresp end groveled


    before the couple. They slepped their feces es they mede their wey eheed on their knees, crying with


    every step. It wes e pitiful sight. "You cen do enything to us, but pleese¡­pleese don''t tell our perents.


    Pleese!"


    They didn''t hold beck with the sleps. It didn''t teke long for their cheeks to swell end turn red. Sonie did


    sympethize with them e bit. She wes e humen, efter ell. A sense of sympethy wes something thet


    humens were born with. If they were incepeble of sympethizing with others, thet would meke them e


    psychopeth insteed.


    However, even though the sight of them punishing themselves end begging for mercy did meke her feel


    sorry for them, she wesn''t ebout to forgive them so reedily. Yes, she sympethized with them, but thet


    didn''t meen she would spere everyone mercy. She would only show mercy to those deserving of


    forgiveness or those who did things out of genuine misunderstending. Otherwise, she would never


    spere them.


    Everyone wes en edult here. They should teke responsibility for whet they did. These women did


    something wrong, so they must beer the consequences. She wes doing it for their own good, teeching


    them e lesson of ountebility.


    Toby hed been keeping en eye on Sonie, wetching how she would deel with these women. He knew


    she wes kind end soft-heerted. Anything remotely touching would move her, so he wented to see if she


    would let these women go efter they elmost hurt them.


    If she felt sympethy for them end decided to let it go, he would do es she wented, even if he disegreed


    with her choice of ection. When the two ledies hed broken free from their ceptors'' hold, Tom hed


    wented to tell the guerds to recepture them. If it were not for the fect thet he noticed the look Toby wes


    giving him, which told him to stey put, the girls wouldn''t heve mede it this fer.


    Fortely, she didn''t diseppoint him. He sew sympethy in her eyes, but even so, she didn''t sey she


    would let them off the hook. In the end, she looked ewey end seid, "Mr. Brown, teke them ewey.


    They''re reelly meking e din here."


    Oh? Making a din, huh? Toby smiled and swiftly covered her ears for her.


    Sonia looked at him in puzzlement.


    He looked back at her with love in his eyes. "Didn''t you say they''re making a din? So, I''m closing off


    their voices for you."


    "Good idea." Her lips curled into a smile.


    He then shot Tom a look with his hands still covering her ears. Impatiently, he ordered, "Don''t just stand


    there. You heard thedy. Take them away."


    Tom snapped out of it and responded, "Yes, sir!" Then, he told the guards to take the girls away.


    Even after all that¡­ Even after we pped ourselves and groveled before them, they still won''t let us


    go. Despair finally sank in. When the guards closed in on them, their despair broke them, and their


    pleas became shrieks that filled the air of the room.


    Toby covered Sonia''s ears even tighter, and his face darkened considerably. "Cover their mouths and


    take them away."


    "Yes, sir!" Tom told the guards to do as Toby said.


    The guards quickly covered the girls'' mouths and dragged them off without hesitation, and silence


    befell the room once again.


    Only then did Toby finally let go of her ears. "It''s fine now."


    Sonia massaged her temples. "Finally, some peace. You must have found them annoying, too." Even


    though her ears were covered, the girls'' shrieks still reached her, making her head buzz. He must have


    had it rough.


    He straightened out his sleeves. Calmly, he answered, "It''s alright. I got used to it."


    "What do you mean you got used to it?" She was stunned at his words.


    Tom exined, "Miss Reed, allow me to exin. President Fuller runs a bigpany, and we often get


    a few sewer rats tarnishing the system from time to time. Every time we catch one, they would beg for


    mercy in the same way those women did. And some were even louder. Eventually, he got used to it, so


    this is merely child''s y for him."


    Her lips twitched slightly at that. "I see. That must have been tough." She gave Toby a look of


    sympathy. Going through this just once was upsetting enough to her, but he had been through it so


    many times that he had already gotten used to it. Naturally, her heart went out to him. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

 Chapter 1358

    Chapter 1358


    Toby put his hands on his legs. The air he carried and the way he posed himself made him look like an


    aristocrat who came straight from the medieval era. Handsome and elegant. "If you feel for me, then¡ª"


    Sonia could guess what he wanted to say. She quickly nced at Tom and interrupted shyly, "Don''t


    even think about it."


    Oh, she''s embarrassed. A smile shed in his eyes. "I was going to say massage my temples. I need


    to get their shouts out of my head, you know. Nothing else. You didn''t have to cut me off." He


    commented, faking grievance.


    She froze at that. "Y-You wanted me to massage your temples?"


    "Yeah." He then huddled closer. "What else did you think I was gonna say?"


    "I thought you were going to¡ª" Right before she finished her sentence, she quickly covered her mouth


    and swallowed her words before shooting him a re. Oh, trying to make me say it out loud myself,


    huh? That was a close call.


    She wouldn''t have minded saying it if they were alone, but Tom was around. If she had answered the


    question out loud, he would have heard it. I''d have to hide in a hole somewhere if that happened. Good


    thing I reacted fast enough. Dammit, Toby. You knew what I was going to say. Can''t you stop just this


    once? So immature.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Sonia harrumphed, "Alright, fine. I''ll do it when we get home. But now I need to use the bathroom."


    With that, she got up and scurried off into the bathroom. She needed a space to herself so she could


    comb her feelings out.


    Toby knew that her going to the bathroom was just an excuse, but he said nothing about it. He


    chuckled and turned his attention to Tom instead.


    Tom remained standing in his spot with a nk face. He was somewhat unhappy. From where he was


    standing, Toby and Sonia were making out right in front of him. I''m single, you know. Can''t they at least


    be considerate of my feelings a little? Gosh, I should have left with the guards. He sighed in silence


    before quickly rposing himself. He adjusted his sses as he asked, "What was the deal with


    those girls, President Fuller?"


    He saw them banging on Toby''s door like crazy, but he had no idea what the reason was, nor did he


    have any idea what Toby did to them after they entered the room. If he wanted answers, he had to ask.


    Toby put his hands on his legs. The air he carried and the way he posed himself made him look like an


    aristocrat who came straight from the medieval era. Handsome and elegant. "If you feel for me, then¡ª"


    Toby picked up Sonia''s ss of water and took a sip. Icily, he said, "Those two? They''re Lte''s


    spies. They were tasked to keep an eye on Little Leaf and me. Her feet were scraped, so I took her


    here to patch them up. The girls thought we were going to do something intimate, so they told Lte


    about it, and she asked them to interrupt our making out."


    Oh, I see. So, doing all that was to stop President Fuller and Miss Reed from making out. Yep, they''re


    dumb, alright. First, President Fuller and Miss Reed did nothing of the sort. Second, even if they did,


    nobody could fault them. They were lovers, after all. Lte and herckeys have no right to interrupt


    them. I can''t believe they''d go this far. If President Fuller and Miss Reed were indeed going at it, he


    would be traumatized by the banging and would have grown limp down there. If that were to happen,


    their families would be dead. "The Lores again, huh? They have no idea what they''re dealing with,"


    Tom hissed.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. "I was too lenient on them. I thought I should keep the falling out with them a


    secret since Harry was my teacher. I didn''t want to go too far. I tried to give them some time to calm the


    markets down before making the announcement. Yet, they took my kindness and trampled it under


    their feet. Very well. Mercy revoked. Make the announcement after the dinner."


    "Yes, sir." Tom nodded.


    "And get someone to keep an eye on the entrance. Once the Lores show up, tell me ASAP." Toby


    pursed his lips.


    "You think they''d show up?" Tom was surprised. "I have checked the guest list, but the Lores weren''t


    invited."


    "The list means nothing. Remember, the invitation cards can be given away." Toby looked at Tom as he


    said, "And herckeys told her Sonia and I were making out in this room. You think she wouldn''t


    come?"


    Oh, right. Tom smacked his forehead when the realization hit him. "My bad. I''vepletely forgotten


    about that."


    "Go." Toby waved his hand.


    "Yes, sir." Tom walked to the entrance before stopping in his tracks once again and turning around.


    "President Fuller, if they do show up, should I let them in?"


    Toby picked up Sonie''s gless of weter end took e sip. Icily, he seid, "Those two? They''re Lte''s


    spies. They were tesked to keep en eye on Little Leef end me. Her feet were screped, so I took her


    here to petch them up. The girls thought we were going to do something intimete, so they told Lte


    ebout it, end she esked them to interrupt our meking out."


    Oh, I see. So, doing ell thet wes to stop President Fuller end Miss Reed from meking out. Yep, they''re


    dumb, elright. First, President Fuller end Miss Reed did nothing of the sort. Second, even if they did,


    nobody could feult them. They were lovers, efter ell. Lte end her leckeys heve no right to interrupt


    them. I cen''t believe they''d go this fer. If President Fuller end Miss Reed were indeed going et it, he


    would be treumetized by the benging end would heve grown limp down there. If thet were to heppen,


    their femilies would be deed. "The Lores egein, huh? They heve no idee whet they''re deeling with,"


    Tom hissed.


    Toby nerrowed his eyes. "I wes too lenient on them. I thought I should keep the felling out with them e


    secret since Herry wes my teecher. I didn''t went to go too fer. I tried to give them some time to celm the


    merkets down before meking the ennouncement. Yet, they took my kindness end trempled it under


    their feet. Very well. Mercy revoked. Meke the ennouncement efter the dinner."


    "Yes, sir." Tom nodded.


    "And get someone to keep en eye on the entrence. Once the Lores show up, tell me ASAP." Toby


    pursed his lips.


    "You think they''d show up?" Tom wes surprised. "I heve checked the guest list, but the Lores weren''t


    invited."


    "The list meens nothing. Remember, the invitetion cerds cen be given ewey." Toby looked et Tom es he


    seid, "And her leckeys told her Sonie end I were meking out in this room. You think she wouldn''t


    come?"


    Oh, right. Tom smecked his foreheed when the reelizetion hit him. "My bed. I''vepletely forgotten


    ebout thet."


    "Go." Toby weved his hend.


    "Yes, sir." Tom welked to the entrence before stopping in his trecks once egein end turning eround.


    "President Fuller, if they do show up, should I let them in?"


    "Is that a trick question?" Toby frowned. "The host didn''t invite them. So, of course, you shouldn''t let


    them in. I don''t want them upsetting the host."


    Tom adjusted his sses and smiled. "Understood. I''ll be on my way, then."


    With that, Tom exited the room, leaving Toby by himself. He twirled the ss of water around as if it


    were wine, not water. Strangely enough, he looked good while doing that.


    Sonia emerged from the bathroom and approached him. "Oh, did Tom leave?"


    "Yes." He nodded in response. "So, you finally decided toe back out," he teased.


    "It''s your fault, you know." She picked up a pillow and hurled it at him.


    However, he held it easily since she didn''t put much force into it. He tossed it aside and pulled her


    closer to him. She gasped and lost her bnce before falling into his embrace. He held her by her


    waist happily, stopping her fall. And then, he ced her on hisp.


    A sigh of relief escaped her lips, but she was still a bit shaken. So, she thumped his chest to vent a


    little. "You scared me, Toby. I thought I was going to fall."


    Toby held her hand and kissed it. And then, he said, "No, you won''t. I''m here. I''ll catch you."


    Sonia rolled her eyes and pulled her hand back.


    He was about to say something, but his phone rang, and a frown creased his forehead. The call


    annoyed him, but he freed one hand and whipped out his phone without a moment of hesitation. Who''s


    calling me? He cocked his eyebrow as soon as he saw the caller''s ID and swiftly cut the call off. Then,


    he smacked Sonia''s butt, telling her to stand up.


    She immediately stood up. Dazed, she asked, "What''s wrong?"


    He straightened his suit out. "Your target showed up," he answered.


    Her eyes shone at that. "Really? That''s great. We should get back to the banquet now." She couldn''t


    wait to talk to the host''s wife.


    Just when she was about to leave, he held her hand. "A minute."

 Chapter 1359

    Chapter 1359


    Sonia couldn''t move one bit, so she stopped. "What is it?" She looked at him in puzzlement.


    Toby stood up and took the bag from the table before he gave it to her.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    "What is this?" She took the bag, wondering what was in it. She saw Tom holding this when he came in


    earlier, and she had wanted to know why he had this bag since just now. Oh, so it''s for me. Wonder


    what''s inside, she thought to herself.


    Once she took the bag, Toby let go of her hand and replied, "Juice."


    "Juice?" She blinked in surprise.


    "A mix of grape and pomegranate," he said.


    ck-jawed, she opened the bag and saw a bottle of purplish-red juice. When she reached out for the


    juice, she found out that it was warm. A smile tugged her lips as she responded, "I see. But why give it


    to me? I''m not in the mood for juice."


    He put his hands in his pockets and said, "I have to tell you one thing. Thedyes from a family of


    vintners. She''s a drinker, a mighty one at that. And she''s a certified sommelier. She can drink anything


    and doesn''t get drunk, no matter how much she drinks. If you want to get to know her, you''re gonna


    have to drink. But there''s no way you can out-drink her."


    Sonia froze upon hearing that. There''s no way I can out-drink her. How can you out-drink someone


    who can''t get drunk? Yeah, sure, that''s probably an exaggeration, but it''s a testament to her resistance


    to alcohol. If I can''t drink as much as she does, I''d fall before she would.


    "And you''ll have to drink before you get to talk business with her. She''ll only talk to those whom she


    deems worthy. If you don''t make the cut, she''ll send you away," he added.


    Her lips twitched. "I can''t believe you never told me that." She held her forehead in exasperation, but


    she couldn''t fault Toby for not telling her about that information. It was her responsibility to find out the


    quirks of her potential client, but all she found out was the brand of clothes she liked. So, Sonia


    custom-made a dress from the same brand, thinking it would build some rapport between her and the


    host''s wife. However, after knowing thedy''s quirk, she had a feeling she could only have a chance to


    make small talk with thedy even if she was wearing that dress. If she refused to drink, she would


    never have the chance to talk business.


    "I didn''t recall back then." He shrugged. "I don''t like to attend such events, so I''ve only seen her a


    couple of times. I''m not acquainted with her, so I only know her stuff based on rumors." Toby would


    have brought it up earlier if he had remembered, but he was only reminded of it right now.


    "I see." She nodded in acknowledgment. She believed him. Then, she looked at the juice in her bag.


    "So, how did you remember her quirk anyway?"


    "Remember the ss of water you took? I noticed it was cold and worried it might upset your stomach,


    so I told Tom to bring some hot water here. It was then I remembered this trait of hers, so I told him to


    change it into this juice," he exined.


    Oh, I get it now. "So, you told Tom to buy me this because it looks like wine. You''re telling me to use


    this to get close to thedy, aren''t you?"


    He didn''t answer that. "You can''t drink, but you must. This is the best idea I cane up with."


    He''s so sweet and considerate. She felt her heart melt, and love welled in her eyes. "Thank you, Toby."


    He caressed her head gently.


    Sonia looked at the juice again. She was touched that Toby went this far for her, but she couldn''t help


    but worry. "Will this work, though? She''s a sommelier, so she probably has a great nose. I bet she''d be


    annoyed if she found out this is juice instead of wine."


    "Don''t worry. I got it covered. I told Tom to prepare a batch of ssesden with the smell of wine. Just


    pour this into one of those sses." He pointed at the juice in her hands.


    Her lips twitched. "I can''t believe you came up with that idea. This is cheating." She was amused.


    He raised his chin and said, "Well, as long as it works. I can''t just let you drink now, can I? You have a


    low tolerance to alcohol, after all."


    Sonia sighed. "You''re right. I guess I have to take the plunge. But how should I know which sses are


    tampered with?"


    "Don''t worry. Tom has someone to help you out. He''ll show up when you approach thedy, and you


    just give him the juice. He''ll pour it into those sses and keep an eye on you. Once you finish one


    ss, he''ll show up again and give you another one." Toby smiled.


    She took a deep breath. "You''ve nned everything out, huh? I don''t even need to worry about


    anything."


    "Of course. I''m your man, after all. My job is to make sure you have nothing to worry about. All you


    have to do is focus on your work." He then held his elbow up. "Now, we may go, mdy."


    Oh, he''s such a gentleman. Let''s tease him a little. Sonia held his arm and craned her neck like a


    swan. "Let''s go, Tobes."


    Toby froze at the nickname she hade up for him. Wait a minute. Why is she calling me that? That''s


    a name usually given to a pet. Is she now calling me a pet? I can''t believe that! And here I am, treating


    her like a queen, but she treats me like her pet instead.


    She was amused and felt likeughing when she noticed the annoyed look on his face, but she held


    herughter in. She pretended she didn''t see anything and asked, "What''s wrong, Tobes?"


    His lips twitched slightly at the use of the nickname again. She''s still calling me Tobes. So, she thinks


    I''m a pet. He knew she was doing it out of jest, but it still made him annoyed. Okay, you think I''m a pet?


    I''ll show you what a pet can do.


    He would make her realize some jokes should not be taken too far, especially when calling him an


    animal. And mistakese with punishment. Something glinted in his eyes as he smirked. "Let''s go,


    mdy." He held her hand and headed for the entrance.


    Sonia noticed the smirk, and her heart sank. I have a bad feeling about this. He''s mad, isn''t he? Did I


    go too far? She reflected on herself and realized she did go a bit too far with her joke. No wonder he''s


    smiling so creepily. I bet he''sing up with a n to get back at me. That''s the only reason he''s


    smiling. Gosh, what have I gotten myself into?

 Chapter 1360

    Chapter 1360


    Sonia regretted making that joke. I shouldn''t have said that, especially when ites to something like


    this.


    Just then, Toby broke her train of thought. "What are you thinking about?"


    She forced a smile. "Nothing. It''s just¡­"


    "Hm?"


    "Well¡­ About what happened just¡ª"


    She didn''t get to finish her sentence as Toby had spotted something. He pointed at a group ofdies


    not far from them. "She''s right there."


    Sonia looked in the direction where he was pointing and saw a fewdies standing in the center of the


    hall, chatting away. All of them were in expensive clothes, and all looked regal. The one in the center of


    the group was the one Sonia wanted to talk to this time. She felt ted the moment her gazended on


    thedy she was looking for. "Oh, it''s her. I''ll be going, then."


    "Do you want me toe with you?" He stopped and looked at her.


    She shook her head. "No. You already helped me a lot tonight. I''ll do it myself. I''m the one who has a


    favor to ask, not you. I''d like to try it out myself. Besides, it''s alldies there. I don''t think a guy showing


    up would be appropriate."


    He patted her head softly. "Alright, I''ll stay around, then. Gotta say hi to my grandpa''s friend." He then


    pointed at the rest area and said, "I''ll be waiting for you there."


    Sonia nodded in acknowledgment. "Sure. I''ll be going now."


    "Okay." Toby nodded. "Go. I''ll go after you manage to start talking to them."


    "Alright." She smiled at him before turning around. She patted her chest as she took a deep breath to


    calm her nerves. Then, she mustered up her courage to approach thedies.


    Just then, one server called out to her, "Miss Reed, I can help you with the thing you''re holding if you


    want me to."


    She paused for a moment. She turned around to look at Toby when the realization struck her. He gave


    her an imperceptible nod when their eyes met. Ah, this is the one Tom sent to help me. She heaved a


    sigh of relief and handed her bag to the server. "Of course. Thank you very much."


    Surprised that Sonia was smiling at him, the server quickly bowed. "You''re wee, Miss Reed." And


    then, he looked at her hand. "I see you don''t have anything to drink. I shall be back with some. What


    would you like, Miss Reed?"


    "Red wine." She pointed at the group ofdies. "I''ll be there. Juste up to me when you''re done."


    "Of course." The server nodded and left with her bag in hand.


    She heaved a sigh. She gave Toby onest look before making her way to thedies.


    He watched on as she mustered up her courage to say hi. Then, she took the ss of ''red wine'' and


    raised a toast. He only left after she managed to get along with thedies and started chatting with


    them.


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    She had grown a lot before he knew it. If this were her from old times, she would never have the


    courage to say hi to thosedies. Now, all she did was muster up her courage, and she could already


    talk to them just fine. He was happy to see such growth in her.


    Toby left her to her own devices and went to greet his grandfather''s friend. Once he did that, he


    stopped talking to anyone and refused others'' requests to chat him up. He went to the rest area and


    waited for Sonia to finish her talk with thedies. Since he was adamant about refusing to talk to


    anyone, nobody tried to approach him. They didn''t want to get on his bad side, after all.


    And because of that, he ended up staying at the rest area all by himself as nobody even dared to get


    close to him. None would approach him unless he summoned them. The older generation¡ªwho didn''t


    intend to work with Fuller Group and weren''t business partners with thepany¡ªwouldn''t humble


    themselves to greet him. Thest generation could, but he made it clear he wanted no disturbance, so


    they didn''t go over to say hi. The younger ones feared him and would rather stay clear of him than go


    over to chat him up.


    Thanks to that, Toby had some peace, which was what he wanted. The banquet''s host told all the


    servers to keep an eye on Toby. They would serve him right away whenever he needed anything as


    they dared not keep him waiting for long.


    The host didn''t get angry at Toby when he didn''te over to greet him. He didn''t have anyints


    about it, either. He knew Toby only came because his girlfriend was here, not because the host was his


    friend. Now that his girlfriend wasn''t around, Toby did not need to talk to anyone, not even the host.


    He was the most powerful man in this city, after all. So, the host didn''t get angry norin about


    Toby for his rudeness. The fact that Toby came was already something surprising, and it elevated his


    banquet to another level.


    The host didn''t mind that Toby refused to talk to anyone. After all, his girlfriend was talking to the host''s


    wife, and Toby didn''t stop her. I think he likes us. The host smiled when he came to that conclusion in


    his mind.


    Toby had no idea about the series of thoughts that just went through the host''s head. He sat in a corner


    as he sipped on some wine and scrolled through his phone. Tom just texted him. He said he found out


    which families the girls belonged to. They were from the Lencs and the Zartwursts. They were


    fourth-rate families in Seafield, and these families were in the food and fashion business respectively. It


    wasn''t until a decade ago did they start making a name for themselves. No, they were no aristocrats. At


    most, they were upstarts and not particrly rich ones.


    These families weren''t on the list of guests, either. They went through a lot just to get the invitation


    cards. Their goal was probably to be sycophants of the true aristocrats so that their family could


    get stronger and be one of the aristocrats one day. However, Toby wasn''t going to allow their


    hopes to take form. They crossed me, so they could forget about bing one of the aristocrats.


    He pursed his lips, fury filling his eyes. The fact that these families infiltrated the banquet reminded him


    of Grace''s reminder. The Acrees. The ones in the seafood business. They got an invitation card as


    well. They''re going to try and match me up with their daughter. Wonder if they''re here. He then made a


    call to Tom.


    It didn''t take long before Tom picked up his phone. "President Fuller."


    "I want you to check if there are any more uninvited guests, especially ones with the family name of


    Acree. Tell the host about it and keep those guests under check," Tobymanded coldly. He nned


    to get rid of these families in one go.

 Chapter 1361

    Chapter 1361


    Time to make some families pay for what they did. This will serve as a warning for them and stop them


    from having any funny thoughts. Apparently, I''ve been too lenient on them. They took my kindness as a


    weakness, and now they''re exploiting it. I wonder if any other families are doing the same thing. It was


    time for Toby to show them what he was made of. He would cut these families down and destroy their


    ambition of soaring to higher heights. He would make it clear that he had never changed. Yes, he might


    have pulled his punches, but he was still as fierce as ever. He was just lying low.


    "Right away, President Fuller," Tom quickly answered. He knew about the Acrees. Sonia told Toby


    everything Grace had told her thest time they were in the Lane Residence, and Toby told him the gist


    of it as he wanted Tom to find out all details about the Acrees.


    He knew what the Acree Family was nning, and he scoffed at it. A fourth-rate family trying to match


    up with President Fuller? What a joke. Trying to match up with the worst aristocrats is already a joke in


    itself, and they''re gunning for the best of the best? They''re making a fool of themselves.


    As Tom was still thinking to himself, Toby asked, "Are the Lores here?"


    "Oh, I was just about to say that." Tom set aside his thoughts and answered, "Yes, they are. And it''s


    Lte and Harry. But I stopped them before they coulde in."


    Toby wasn''t surprised. He knew they woulde sooner orter.


    "But¡­" Tom sounded troubled.


    Toby frowned. "But what?"


    "They refused to leave, so I told the guards to take them into the car, but they broke free. Harry''s not as


    young as he used to be, so we didn''t want to get too forceful. If anything were to happen, it''d be


    problematic. Thus, I asked them to wait for you in a hotel room. The bodyguards are keeping an eye on


    them. I promised them you''d see them after the banquet, and they went with the arrangement." Tom


    scratched his head as he thought, This is a big hassle.


    A look of irony filled Toby''s eyes. "I can''t believe Harry could be this unreasonable."


    Tom pouted. "I can, though. If it were not for the fact that he would always try to keep up the wise


    mentor act in front of you, you''d have known about it a long time ago. He has been this unreasonable


    all this time."


    Toby pursed his lips and said nothing. Tom, you just stole my line. He never knew the Lores'' true


    colors. He thought they were just a little unreasonable, but the truth was far worse than that. It took him


    long enough to find out their true colors as they managed to disguise themselves perfectly, and he had


    no interest in getting to know them. If he had known who they truly were, he would have cut off all ties


    with them sooner instead of keeping in touch with them until this point in time. Gosh, I should have


    looked into them a lot more. They leeched a lot of money off me, and they even went for my girlfriend.


    Toby pinched the bridge of his nose and ordered, "Just tell them I''ll see them after the banquet. I want


    them to stay put."


    Tom nodded in response. "Yes, sir."


    Toby hung up and put away his phone. Then, he sipped some wine as he waited for Sonia to return. He


    couldn''t see her from where he was sitting, so he had no idea where she was right now, nor did he


    know how her talks with thatdy went. He didn''t know if thedy had introduced Sonia to her husband,


    but Toby wasn''t worried. She has grown a lot, after all. She will be fine. He crossed his legs and twirled


    his ss of wine around. For some reason, it felt like he was half-covered in ayer of mist, and the


    sense of mystery surrounding him made him even more alluring for thedies.


    Every time thedies stole a nce at him, their hearts would race, and their envy toward Sonia grew.


    How on earth did a woman from a declining family manage to make him fall for her? They couldn''t


    understand it at all.


    I mean, sure, she''s hotter and more powerful than us. We have no jobs and nopany to run. All we


    have are some shares and dividends. Our families raise us like pigs for ughter. When they need to


    marry us off for profit, they would do it without any hesitation. This was the thought crossing all the


    ladies'' minds. On the other hand, Sonia was the chairperson of thepany. She had no parents


    controlling her and didn''t have to sacrifice herself for the sake of her family. That was something all the


    ladies didn''t have¡ªfreedom.


    And that made them even more jealous of her.


    Thedies gnashed their teeth furiously, but then they saw a woman in a wheelchair going into the


    forbidden area. Yes, they were referring to where Toby was when they said the forbidden zone. Nobody


    dared to go near him, after all. However, now someone had breached the area and made a beeline for


    him. That person wasn''t just passing through¡ªshe was going for Toby.


    And it was ady, too. The otherdies and gentlemen were shocked. All of them gasped in awe.


    "Who is she? She''s so brave."


    "No idea. I''d never seen her face before. Probably not a part of the Seafield''s circle. Maybe she came


    from somewhere else."


    "Not from Westsanshire, that''s for sure."


    "Not from Norfolk, either. Never seen her before as well. Never heard of any family with a girl in a


    wheelchair. Probably not someone in our circle. If she is part of the circle, she would have known


    President Fuller is taken. She would know he hates it when any woman tries to approach him."


    "Yeah. Tons of women love him, but none woulde near him. I think she''s not part of the circle,


    either. Probably a celebrity or some inte influencer. Or maybe she''s someone''s girlfriend who fell for


    President Fuller. She''s probably heading over to hit on him. Those are the only exnations I could


    think of for her actions. I think she doesn''t know he hates it when women try to go near him. Hey, is she


    a girlfriend of any of you guys?" Thedy pointed at the guys.


    And the otherdies threw them looks of suspicion as well.


    The gentlemen shook their heads in quick session. One of them denied, "No. None of us brought


    our girlfriends here. Our families said President Fuller woulde, so they had specifically warned us


    not to bring our girlfriends here in case they might try their luck and hit on him. So, we followed their


    advice."


    "Yep."


    Thedies could see they were telling the truth, but that raised more questions than it answered. "She''s


    not either of your partners, and she''s not part of us, so how did she get in here?"


    "Probably snuck in. Not like it hasn''t happened before. There was a small event two months ago, and a


    civilian girl changed into server attire and snuck in. Trying to see if she could snag herself a rich


    boyfriend. This is probably the same situation."


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    "That sounds usible."


    Everyone nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 1362

    Chapter 1362


    Thedies were giving the girl in the wheelchair weird looks. Looks of disdain. Of scorn. To them, this


    woman was nothing but a gold digger wishing to marry into a rich family. Such women would gain


    nothing but contempt from them, not to mention the woman was someone who couldn''t even stand up


    on her own two feet. In most cases, they wouldn''t look down on those with disabilities.


    However, their circle could be ableist when it came to marriage. They didn''t think this cripple was a


    worthy match for Toby. She was even worse than Sonia, for goodness'' sake. At least Sonia has fully


    functional limbs. But this woman has nothing, and she''s a cripple. She has no right to approach


    President Fuller. They''d rather see Toby marry Sonia than have this woman talk to him.


    One of thedies suddenly asked, "Does anyone have Sonia''s number? Call her right now. Tell her


    some wench is hitting on President Fuller."


    "We don''t have her number. Not like we''re friends with her."


    "Yeah. We should get a waiter to do this for us instead."


    "Alright. Get a waiter, then."


    A server came to them a whileter. Thedies embellished the story and told him to tell Sonia about it.


    The server nodded and looked at Toby for a moment before he went to do his job.


    Sonia had no idea that thedies who were jealous of her dating Toby just became ardent supporters of


    her rtionship with Toby just because of another woman hitting on him. They even went as far as to


    help her out, too. Yet, she had not the slightest idea of it as she was currently chatting with the host.


    Even Toby had no idea a woman was trying to hit on him. He closed his eyes and sipped on his wine,


    enjoying the moment of peace. However, the moment he heard the sound of a wheelchair, he stopped


    twirling his ss altogether. Apparently, the wheelchair''s appearance had soured his mood.


    Still, he didn''t open his eyes. He thought someone was just passing through. This wasn''t his turf, after


    all. Everyone made it look like it was, but that didn''t mean nobody could pass through his vicinity.


    As long as they didn''t disturb him, he wouldn''t care even if they passed through his vicinity. Since he


    thought the person was just passing by, he didn''t think he had to open his eyes to check who it was.


    However, he soon realized his guess was wrong. The person wasn''t passing by. They wereing


    toward him. The sound of the wheelchair was getting louder, and he could smell the scenting off


    that person. It''s a woman.


    Toby''s face fell. This woman''s appearance soured his mood once more. Probably anotherdy trying to


    hit on me. Ignored what I said and came to me, eh?


    He didn''t think all women would fall for him, but as long as he was the most powerful man in the city, he


    knew most women would want to date him. And he knew it was not for love, but for power, money, and


    status instead.


    The Acree Family was a perfect example. They were trying to hook their daughter up with him. If their


    n were to work, they would be one of the top families in the city. That was why a lot of


    aristocrats ignored his warning to try their luck. If it worked, they could get a lot of things. So, is this the


    Acree girl? But nobody told me she is wheelchair-bound. He opened his eyes to see who it was, only to


    be greeted by a familiar face.


    The girl didn''t expect Toby to open his eyes. It made her freeze for a moment, but then she quickly put


    on a gentle smile. "Fancy seeing you here, President Fuller."


    The woman had undergone cosmetic surgery. It looked natural, but it didn''t change the fact she had


    gone through that surgery. She might have a great smile, but he still thought it looked fake. So, when


    she shed him a smile, not only did he not find it attractive, but he also felt her smile was rather stiff,


    like a puppet. A hint of disgust filled his eyes as he growled, "It''s you!"


    "Yes, it''s me." She pushed her hair back, her smile broadening. The woman was none other than Anya.


    He narrowed his eyes. "This is no mere coincidence. Everyone knows I''d attend the banquet, but


    nobody from Westsanshire was invited. You didn''te here coincidentally. You came on purpose. Let


    me guess¡­ Connor''s orders?"


    Connor''s base was in Westsanshire, but he was powerful enough that the host wouldn''t dare to offend


    him. Even though they had only invited Seafield''s aristocrats, any other city''s aristocrats could just tell


    them they wanted toe, and they would be permitted to enter. Must be the case for this one as well,


    Toby thought in silence.


    Anya nodded in response to his previous question. "Yes, it is. He said it''s time for me to get to know


    people in the circle now that I''m back in the fold. I''m a part of the family, so I must go around and get to


    know people. So, here I am. Initially, he had wanted toe with me, but he''s still in the hospital as his


    injuries still need to be tended to. Thus, I came alone." She heaved a sigh.


    Toby shot her an icy look. "Wrong. The Salzburgs are based in Westsanshire. The people you should


    get to know are also in Westsanshire, not Seafield. There''s no point in youing to this banquet, and


    this is not where you should announce yourself as the young miss of the Salzburgs. Besides, you''re not


    the real young miss of the family, either."


    Her smile went stiff upon hearing that. A great fear overwhelmed her, sending a chill running down her


    spine, and the air itself seemed to freeze as well.


    Thedies in the distance had been watching the conversation closely, and the moment Toby started


    talking to Anya, their faces were contorted by envy. All of them started biting into their handkerchiefs.


    "I can''t believe that woman is friends with President Fuller."


    That was the biggest shock of the night. They wouldn''t think much about it if the woman knew Toby


    since he was famous, after all. Everyone knew him. However, they were surprised that he knew that


    woman. They had no idea he knew other women outside of Sonia and Tina. Who is she? How did she


    be friends with President Fuller? And how did she manage to make him talk to her?


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "Where the hell is the waiter? Did he talk to Sonia yet?"


    "Yeah. President Fuller''s already talking to that woman. Where is Sonia? Why isn''t she showing up


    yet?"


    "If it were me, I''d stay with him all the time. I''d have worried about all the other women hitting on him if I


    had left, but she just went around and left him behind. I can''t believe we''re worrying about them,


    dammit."

 Chapter 1363

    Chapter 1363


    If Sonia had heard theints of thesedies, she might feel amused. In fact, she might even thank


    them for helping her out. However, neither she nor Toby knew about this little episode.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Anya was facing Toby, her mind buzzing.


    She was shocked Toby would say she wasn''t Connor''s daughter. Her back was drenched with sweat,


    and she could feel her skin sticking to the fabric. Even with the heater turned on, she still felt chilly, and


    her heart was thumping furiously.


    Impossible. Why did he say that? Does he know? Did he find out I''m not Connor''s daughter? Or is this


    a bluff? She had no idea how much he knew, but she didn''t let her guard down. She held her


    wheelchair''s armrest tightly and took a deep breath to calm herself down. "What do you mean,


    President Fuller? I don''t understand what you''re talking about. Would you please borate?"


    She stared deep into his eyes, trying to see if he was bluffing, but he was inscrutable. She couldn''t find


    any answer she was looking for, and it annoyed her to no end. Damn you, Toby. Still as mysterious as


    ever.


    "Don''t try to call my bluff. I know what you''re trying to say. You and Connor im to be father and


    daughter, but do you think I wouldn''t look into it myself? My sources say your ims are false. There


    are three possibilities for that. First, you lied to Connor, and he still doesn''t know you aren''t his


    daughter, but that''s nigh impossible. You aren''t smart enough to trick him, after all.


    "So, this leaves us with two other possibilities. One, he asked you to be his fake daughter, but you are


    unaware of his n, so you think you''re his real daughter. The second possibility shares the first part of


    the first situation, but you know you aren''t his real daughter, yet you agreed to the deal for some


    reason. And guess what? The look on your face just now has told me thest scenario is the answer."


    Anya''s face fell as soon as he stated his deduction, panic filling her eyes. "You¡­"


    Dammit. He knows the truth. Does he know that I¡­ No, he can''t possibly know that. If he knew, he


    would have me arrested before I could get a hundred yards near him. I can still get away from this.


    Stay calm. Don''t panic. If he notices that I''m panicking, he will find out the truth. Then, it''s game over.


    Anya told herself to calm down and rposed herself in case she showed more fear than she


    should.


    "Well, I don''t see the point in lying at this point. Yes, I''m not his daughter. He asked me to be his fake


    daughter, and the reason was simple. He has a beef with you. Though, I know nothing about the


    grudge he holds against you. All I know is that it involves thest generation. He wanted me to y the


    daughter part and sent me here, so I could approach you and be your girlfriend. Only then can I


    infiltrate your family and tell him your every move."


    That was the truth, but not the whole reason she came to Seafield. I have another reason. She looked


    away and stared at the ground to hide the look in her eyes. She then put on a smile once again. "He


    got me here just so I could get closer to you. My mission is to be your girlfriend. If I can''t even


    meet up with you, I can''tplete my mission. So, he gave me the chance. This banquet is perfect for


    the mission, and he refused to let this chance slip. I''m just a poor pawn, and I had no choice but to do


    as I was told."


    Anya pretended to heave a sigh of exasperation as she shrugged. "Our first meeting was something he


    arranged as well. For some reason, he found out you were going to pass that route that night, so he


    asked me to wait until you showed up. Then, I was forced to run into your car. That was risky, but he


    wanted me to leave a deep impression on you. I didn''t mean to attack Miss Reed back at the hospital.


    It was all him. I''m innocent." She shifted all the me onto Connor.


    However, Toby was unconvinced. Instead, he shot her a look of scorn. "Do you think I''d believe that?"


    She quickly looked at him. "But that was the truth. I''m innocent. That''s all on Connor. I''m just his pawn.


    I couldn''t go against him, so I had to do as I was told. Every time I went after Miss Reed, it was all his


    idea. He told me I had to make her leave if I wanted to have a chance to be with you. I had no choice. If


    you hadn''t exposed his n, I wouldn''t have told you all this. You might still think I did it of my own


    volition, but that''s not true. I''m telling you all this just to say I didn''t mean it. I had no choice. Please


    believe me, President Fuller."


    She put on a puppy pout. Any other man would have believed her. They would pity her because she


    was forced to do things against her will, but Toby was different. He had seen a lot of people in his life.


    Naturally, he saw through her lies and found themughable.


    Forced to do things against your will? Give me a break. Connor might have made you do a lot of things,


    but you''re scum as well. The orders he gave might have been what you wanted as well. You''re just


    trying to cut all ties with the crimes and wash your hands clean. Not the first time I''ve seen this. "I don''t


    believe a word of what you just said," he said coolly.


    She thought her act would at least nt some doubt in his head, if not erase his suspicion, but


    apparently, he had a heart of stone. He doesn''t believe me at all! What a waste of my breath and time!


    She stole a nce at him, and the sight of the mockery in his eyes made her freeze. mes of anger


    filled her heart.


    Of course, she was angry. She tried to put on the victim act just to gain a sliver of sympathy. If he kept


    suspecting her rtionship with Connor, he might uncover more about the secret she never wanted


    him to find out. To that end, she painted herself as a victim of Connor''s scheme. She wanted Toby to


    think she wasn''t evil and that she was forced.


    Only then would he not suspect her being in cahoots with Connor. Only then would he think she didn''t


    do all those things of her own volition. Only then would he not suspect her ever again. However, reality


    taught her a cruel lesson. He refused to y along, and it made things awkward for her.

 Chapter 1364

    Chapter 1364


    He doesn''t believe me at all. He thinks Connor and I are in cahoots. That I''m not truly being forced and


    have wanted to do these all along. Dammit. I know he''s paranoid, but this is too much. Still, I need to


    keep up the act. At this point, giving up would be worse for me.


    Anya took a deep breath as she tightened her hold on the armrest before forcing a smile. "President


    Fuller, I know you don''t believe me, and I understand why. I shouldn''t have gone after Miss Reed, and I


    regret what I did. I was being forced to. If you hadn''t exposed my fake identity as Connor''s real


    daughter, I would have kept everything a secret. I mustered a lot of courage to tell you this. If Connor


    finds out that I sold him out, he''ll bite my head off. I''m in danger now, President Fuller. Can you¡ª"


    "Enough." Toby stood up and put his hands in his pockets. Then, he fixed his gaze on her with an icy


    look in his eyes. "I won''t believe you, no matter how much you say. So, stop scheming, or I''ll make you


    suffer before Connor does."


    She froze, and all the color drained from her face. She tried to say something, but not a single word


    came out. His icy tone and withering look scared her. How could he not believe a single word I said?


    Goddammit! She hung her head low and gritted her teeth.


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    He then looked away coolly. "I don''t know why you told me so much about your deal with Connor, and I


    don''t care. Get this through your head: no matter what you''re trying to do, it won''t work. Though, now


    you''ve piqued my interest."


    She raised her head at that. Huh? What''s that supposed to mean?


    Anya was trying to figure out why he said that, but then he narrowed his eyes and stared at her. "I''d like


    to know what your true identity is."


    Horror welled within her eyes as she had never expected Toby to blurt that out. That''s the one thing I


    can''t let him find out! Her heart thumped as loudly as thunder, and she couldn''t even muster the


    courage to look him in the eye. She was afraid if their gazes met, her soul would be sucked into his


    eyes, and he would know who she was. By instinct, she pushed herself backward and looked away.


    Stiffly, she said, "Stop poking fun at me, President Fuller. I''m just a nobody. I''m an orphan with great


    ambition, so Connor wanted me to help him out. That''s all. I don''t deserve your attention."


    "If you''re an orphan, you wouldn''t even have the courage to attend this event, nor would youe and


    talk to me. Besides, you don''t even have the insecurity most orphans do. You look like you''re well-bred


    and groomed. Didn''t even show any confusion when you saw the hall. It''s resplendent. Most people


    would be mystified. Yet, you look like you''re used to it. That''s not what most orphans are used to, but


    you proved otherwise. I''m really interested in knowing who you are." The look in his eyes became


    colder.


    The world was split into two sses: the rich, and everyone else. And they lived in two separate


    worlds. The quality of life, education, mannerisms, capabilities, and knowledge possessed by the rich


    was far from what the masses could imagine. Anyyman who made their way to the world of the rich


    could never act as calm as Anya.


    Most of the servers came from regr families. Even though some had worked for years and saw how


    the rich lived, they still couldn''t stay fully calm, let alone an orphan like Anya imed herself to be. Yet,


    she was calm when faced with an extravagant life. That alone was worth investigating.


    Her mind was in a daze, and her heart raced furiously. She never thought her actions during the event


    would tell Toby she wasn''t who she was. Now, she wasn''t just panicking¡ªshe was terrified. His all-


    knowing eyes were putting a lot of weight and fear on her shoulders. She was suffocating from the


    terror he gave her. I can''t stay here anymore. I have to go right now, or he''ll find out the one thing he


    mustn''t. If I stay here for a moment longer, I might tell him everything. I have to go right f*cking now.


    She clenched her fists so hard that her fingers dug into her flesh, but the pain made her calm down


    considerably. She put on a stiff smile, and with a tremor in her voice, she said, "That makes me happy,


    President Fuller. Looks like Connor''s training worked."


    "Training?" He narrowed his eyes.


    Anya flicked her hair as she continued, "Yes. He trained me a bit so that I could approach you easier. If


    I tried approaching you without any training, I wouldn''t have left an impression on you. And I wouldn''t


    even have dared to approach you. That''s why I''m happy you said I didn''t even act like an orphan, who


    had never seen anything in the world of the rich. It''s proof that my effort worked."


    Toby chortled. She wondered if he had bought the story, but she wasn''t about to ask. Any questioning


    would prove she was feeling nervous. "It''s gettingte now, President Fuller. I just came to say hi, and I


    already did what I came here for. So, it''s time for me to leave. See you around."


    She nodded at him and left. However, the moment she turned around, her smile was immediately


    reced by malice and venom. There were two reasons she came here. One, she wanted to say hi to


    Toby and Sonia, telling them she was now the young miss of the Salzburgs. Telling them they would


    see each other a lot.


    And two, she wanted to put a wedge in their rtionship. She wanted to cause a misunderstanding


    between them as a way to get back at them for mming her into the detainment center. However,


    both ns failed before she could even make any progress, and it was all because of Toby.


    He already knew she wasn''t Connor''s daughter, so telling him she was his daughter was nothing but a


    joke to him. And as if that wasn''t enough, he started expressing interest in her old identity. She couldn''t


    have him find out her previous identity, so she kept lying in hopes that it would dash his suspicion.


    She had no idea if she had managed to wipe his suspicion off, but she knew she couldn''t stay around


    any longer. Her ns failed, so now she must return to Connor and tell him what happened. If possible,


    she needed him to erase all her past records. If Toby knew who she really was, she would be dead.

 Chapter 1365

    Chapter 1365


    Anya left in a hurry, and Toby saw her off, but the suspicion in his eyes mounted. He was interested in


    her past, to begin with. He wanted to see if there was anything suspicious about her. However, after


    their earlier conversation, he ascertained one thing: her past was not only suspicious but might also be


    shocking, too. He pursed his lips as he whipped his phone out to text Tom, ''Look into Anya harder. I


    want results in a week.''


    Tom replied a secondter, ''Yes, sir.''


    Toby''s frown loosened up. He tucked his phone away and noticed everyone''s eyes were on him. When


    he raised his head, he noticed the curiosity and questions in the guests'' gazes. Obviously, they wanted


    to know what he and Anya talked about. They wanted to know what his rtionship with her was. His


    face darkened at the unwanted attention he received. They have too much time on their hands. He


    threw them a re.


    The guests noticed his displeasure. Oh, he doesn''t like us looking at him. They turned around and said


    nothing more.


    Once they stopped staring, Toby looked a lot better. He sat back down and finished his wine.


    At the same time, Sonia ended the conversation with the host. Once she took their name cards, she


    happily excused herself so she could tell Toby the good news. Time to look for him.


    Right after she emerged from the host''s waiting room, a server approached her. "Miss Reed."


    Noting that he was calling out to her, she stopped in her tracks and smiled at him. "Hi, do you need


    anything?"


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    The server quickly answered, "Miss Reed, Ms. Cheshire and her friends told me to seek you out. They


    want you to know that a girl in a wheelchair is harassing President Fuller. You should head over right


    away."


    "A girl in a wheelchair?" The look on her face changed, and the air around her seemed to turn icy.


    It shocked the waiter, and he quickly nodded in response. "Yes, that''s what they said. I saw her myself.


    She was in a wheelchair."


    She pursed her lips, solemnity creeping up to her face. A girl in a wheelchair, huh? If I''m right, that''s


    Anya. There''s nobody else in a wheelchair whom we know of. She bit her lip as she thought, So, she


    came and went straight to Toby. Wonder why she did that. Sonia''s eyes glinted with suspicion.


    Seeing that she was in her spot, the waiter couldn''t help but urge, "Aren''t you going, Miss Reed? That


    lady is still talking to President Fuller."


    Sonia calmed herself down and smiled. "It''s alright. I believe my boyfriend won''t betray me. But do you


    know why thedy wanted to see my boyfriend? Do you know what they talked about?"


    The server shook his head. "Sorry, Miss Reed, but I don''t have answers for that. I can''t possibly get


    close to him and eavesdrop on him now, can I? That would be like asking for a death wish."


    Oh, right. True. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, my bad. You may leave now. I''ll see Toby and ask him


    myself."


    "Of course." The waiter bowed and moved to the side so she could go first.


    Sonia went ahead. This was the waiter''s job, after all. If she refused to go first, it would only make his


    job harder. However, just as she had taken a few steps, she was reminded of something. She stopped


    and turned toward the waiter. "Wait a minute."


    The waiter looked at her. "Do you need anything else, Miss Reed?"


    She gave him a weird look. "You said Ms. Cheshire sent you?"


    "Yes, I did." The waiter nodded, wondering why she asked that.


    She smiled. "Do you mean the girls in the southeastern corner of the hall?"


    The server tried to recall where they were in the hall, and he nodded in affirmative. "Yes."


    Sonia nodded, a smirk curling her lips. "I see. Thank you."


    She turned back and headed to the hall, a smile twinkling in her eyes. I think I know who thosedies


    are. When Toby was showing me around, thosedies were looking at me with envy in their eyes.


    She knew they were her romantic rivals. They liked Toby, but they wouldn''t try to hit on him since they


    knew they had no chance to date him. However, they showed no malice toward her, either. Jealousy,


    yes, but no malice. A lot of women liked Toby. As long as they didn''t do anything bad to her, she could


    ept some envious stares. She didn''t mind, nor would she get angry. Jealousy was a normal part of


    humanity. It would be weird if they were not jealous. Even so, they were still her romantic rivals.


    In most cases, if any other women were to hit on her boyfriend and try to steal him away from her,


    thesedies should beughing at her. However, they didn''t do that. Instead, they asked the server to


    inform her of this so she could go back and tell everyone Toby was hers. How adorable.


    Sonia shook her head, smiling. It didn''t take long for her to return to the hall, but a woman came up to


    her. She seemed to be unwell. Her head was hung low, and her hands were on her belly. The woman


    was walking briskly, and since she didn''t see Sonia, they crashed into each other.


    Sonia gasped, a surge of paining from her shoulder. She staggered backward. Fortunately, the


    wall behind her stopped her fall, and she remained standing. However, the otherdy wasn''t as lucky.


    She didn''t have anything to stop her fall, so ultimately, she fell on her butt.


    Sonia was rubbing her shoulder in pain. Before she could say anything, the otherdy stood up and


    pushed all the me for the collision on her. "Hey, watch where you''re going! You bumped into me!"


    Sonia froze, and sheughed mirthlessly. Hey, you bumped into me first. And now you''re ying the


    victim before I can? That''s funny.


    Her silence irked the otherdy, and she pointed at Sonia as she reprimanded, "Hey, I''m talking to you.


    Are you mute? Apologize, right now!"


    Fury filled Sonia''s heart, but she also thought something was weird. Hey, I think I''ve heard that voice


    before. She stopped rubbing her shoulders and put her hand down. Then, she looked at the woman


    who bumped into her. The moment she did, her lips twitched. No wonder she sounds familiar. Another


    familiar face.


    "Well, well. It''s been a while, Miss Stone." She crossed her arms, smirking at Cynthia.


    Cynthia, on the other hand, looked like she had just seen a ghost.

 Chapter 1366

    Chapter 1366


    That woman, Cynthia, was standing opposite Sonia at this moment. Her whole face had turned pale


    with shock as she pointed at Sonia with trembling fingers, her eyes filled with fear for the woman in


    front of her. "W-Why are you here?"


    Seeing how fearful she was, Sonia was satisfied with her reaction. The arc of her red lips curved


    upward as she questioned, "Why can''t I be here? Does this ce belong to you? Is there a reason why


    I can''t be present?"


    Cynthia was rendered speechless by Sonia''s words and deeply regretteding here. If she had


    known that she would bump into Sonia today, she would not have attended the banquet in hopes of


    meeting someone to marry. To her, this woman was simply as terrifying as a monster.


    After all, Sonia was the one who put her in the detention center and locked her up for half a month, not


    to mention Sonia even managed to defeat a ruthless character like Tina and eventually forced thetter


    tomit suicide by jumping off the building.


    Apart from that, Miss Melody Stryder, who came from an influential and powerful family in Norfolk, also


    ended up being divorced by her fianc¨¦ and got kicked out of the house by her family.


    If Cynthia went against Sonia again and fell into her hands, she predicted her fate to be much worse.


    Therefore, in the past few months, she was afraid that Sonia would take revenge on her if Sonia


    suddenly recalled that she was Tina''s sidekick and had supported Tina in bullying her several times.


    Due to that, she had been living her life with a tail between her legs as she dreaded bumping into the


    woman currently standing in front of her.


    During the few months shey low, Sonia didn''t seem to attack her nor find her trouble. Only then did


    she gradually let go of the anxiety and fear in her heart and finally mustered the courage to step out of


    her house, assuming that Sonia wouldn''t seek her out.


    However, she didn''t expect that she would encounter the woman she dreaded for the first time in the


    past few months by attending a banquet. Her initial purpose of attending the banquet was to seek a


    marriage partner to help Stone Incorporated, but instead of doing that, she came face-to-face with the


    living demon.


    Worse fact yet, she had just condemned the living demon. Could Sonia possibly choke me to death


    later? Watching the expression on her face, Cynthia pondered the possibility.


    The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. The colors on her face drained out in


    an instant, and even Sonia started to worry that she would pass out soon since her colorless face


    seemed quite terrifying.


    "What¡ª" Sonia''s red lips parted as she was about to say something.


    As if provoked, Cynthia bowed furiously at Sonia while apologizing, "I''m sorry. I''m sorry. Miss Reed, I''m


    incredibly sorry. I didn''t bump into you on purpose just now. I have a stomachache and am searching


    for the toilet, so I picked up my pace and wasn''t aware of my surroundings. Please ept my


    apologies and forgive me this time for bumping into you. Please, Miss Reed."


    Her apology sounded pitiful yet sincere. Sonia could also tell that she was indeed apologizing sincerely,


    not just putting on a show. Seeing how she behaved like a frightened child, Sonia figured that she


    shouldn''t go hard on her.


    As she rubbed her temples, a trace of regret sparkled in Sonia''s eyes. "Weren''t you scolding me for


    being blind and bumping into you then demanding an apology? Why are you going back on your words


    and iming that it''s your fault? Your huge change scares me," Sonia deliberately teased her.


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    Cynthia''s face turned even more pallid at that. She couldn''t help wanting to p herself in the face.


    How could she be so blunt before looking at who the other party was?!


    If she had discovered who the other party was in the first ce, she would not have dared to act so


    haughtily, so much so that she was now caught red-handed.


    As Cynthia raised her head, she grinned in fear as if she was on the verge of crying. "I know it is all my


    fault. I don''t know what was going on in my head earlier. I was just not in the mood just now, and


    bumping into someone made me even more irritable, so I¡ª"


    "So, youshed it out at the person you bumped into? Does that give you a reason to curse at


    someone regardless of who they were and take your anger out on them?" Sonia was taken aback by


    her answer.


    Cynthia lowered her head in guilt. "I know I made a mistake, but I promise not to do it again. Please,


    Miss Reed, please be magnanimous and let me go¡­"


    Her present pitiful look was a stark contrast to how pretentious and smug she was when she was still


    by Tina''s side during their first meeting.


    In short, Cynthia was now apletely different person from who she was before. Of course, what


    Sonia referred to was the difference in Cynthia''s attitude toward herself, not toward others. Toward


    other people, she still acted as she did before.


    "You really surprised me." Sonia tapped her digits on her arm as she remarked with a wry smile. "You


    seem to be extremely fearful of me now. Remember how different you were in the past? Apart from


    yelling at me and setting up traps for me, you even dared to hire someone to do the shlight trick on


    my windows to scare me in the middle of the night. I eventually put you in the detention center and


    locked you up for two weeks, but all this is solid evidence that you, Cynthia, are a bold person who


    resents me and is eager to y pranks on me. Why are you suddenly afraid of me now? You begged


    me to let go of this incident about bumping into you again and again, which is enough to prove how big


    of a change you underwent."


    Cynthia knew that Sonia was deliberately mocking her when she said those words. Although she was


    furious, she had no choice but topromise with reality.


    Taking a deep breath, she offered Sonia a bitter smile. "That''s ridiculous, Miss Reed. After being


    tortured by reality, I realized that the failure to change my attitude will eventually lead me to my


    deathbed. Our family has always been mediocre in Seafield, and we have always relied on the Gray


    Family to gain a foothold in this city. That is why I have to butter up Tina and use our friendship to


    maintain the connection between our families. That also exins why I must hate what she hates. Miss


    Reed, I admit that I have done a lot of bad deeds to you in the past, so I would like to officially


    apologize for my previous behavior."


    While expressing her deep regret, Cynthia bowed to Sonia.


    However, this time, she did not get up for a long time before she continued, "Among the things I did to


    you in the past, some were indeed my own ideas, but most of them were instructions from Tina. Back


    then, she was still dating President Fuller, thus the Gray Family had the support of the Fuller Family. In


    that case, it would also mean that my family is backed up by the Fullers. Due to this reason, I was bold


    to go against you, but things are different now."


    Cynthia rubbed her face while adding, "Tina and President Fuller broke up, which means that the Gray


    Family and the Fuller Family are no longer associated. And after Tina''s death, the Gray Family can''t


    even afford to take care of themselves. Why would they still pay attention to us? Without their support,


    our family''s business has plummeted. If we had owed foreign debts, we would have gone bankrupt a


    long time ago. Even if the situation goes on like this, we will not be able tost long. How would I dare


    to offend you and act proud in front of you? Besides, you have President Fuller''s support now¡­"


    "From what you just said, your family''s situation sounds quite awful. Doesn''t that mean you shouldn''t


    be able to afford offending anyone in this hall? Why did you still act so haughtily earlier before even


    checking whom you bumped into?" Sonia mocked.


    Cynthia''s lips parted, but she couldn''t utter a word. She turned green on her face due to awkwardness,


    embarrassment, and even a hint of fear.


    Sonia''s words made her realize that she could no longer afford to offend any of them present at the


    banquet.


    Her pompous behavior from earlier was a dumb thing to do. It wouldn''t matter even if she found a


    suitable marriage partner if she remained acting in such a way. She would still bring harm to her family.


    Thinking of that, Cynthia panicked once again.

 Chapter 1367

    Chapter 1367


    If she had bumped into someone else just now, they might not let her go due to how bad her attitude


    was.


    What about this woman who managed to defeat Tina and Melody?


    Cynthia''s heart was beating so fast that it threatened to jump out of her throat as she panicked. "Miss


    Reed¡ª"


    She was about to beg for mercy again when Sonia raised her hand to interrupt her. "Enough. All you


    did was verbally abuse me back then. Besides the shlight incident, you didn''t cause me any harm,


    and I already got my revenge for that incident, so you''re spared this time. Anyway, you have nothing


    against me now. Beating a drowning dog isn''t something I would do unless they are a hopeless cause.


    I won''t bother to waste time on someone like you."


    Although she was unhappy that Sonia made her sound worthless, Cynthia felt relieved that she did not


    intend to pursue her on this matter.


    "Miss Reed, are you letting me go?" Cynthia clenched her fists and asked excitedly.


    Sonia raised her chin and questioned, "Did you not hear what I just said? I am not someone who would


    beat a drowning dog unless they are a hopeless cause. I won''t even spare a nce at someone like


    you. Are you self-proiming that you''re a hopeless cause?"


    Cynthia shook her head like a rattle before uttering, "You are well aware of what I did not do to you


    when I was friends with Tina, except for that one incident. I would usually just verbally abuse you, but


    after Tina left, I never appeared in front of you again or got in your way. I''m not a self-proimed


    hopeless¡­ cause¡­"


    She forced thest two words out of her lips even though she felt ashamed.


    With an arched brow, Sonia questioned, "Why are you still standing here, then? Do you want me to¡ª"


    "No!" Cynthia shook her head fervently before forcing an awkward grin. "I will leave right now." With


    that, she turned around immediately to leave.


    However, the moment she turned around, something popped into her head, and she turned back to


    Sonia.


    Seeing that, Sonia narrowed her pretty eyes. "What? Want me to punish you?"


    "No, no, no." Cynthia waved her hands in denial.


    "Then what?" Sonia frowned.


    Cynthia''s gaze darted around the room before she bit her lower lip and asked in a subdued voice,


    "Erm¡­ Do you still hate Tina?"


    Sonia squinted her eyes skeptically and questioned, "Huh? Why do you ask that?"


    Cynthia squeezed her fists and rephrased her question, "I mean, even though she is dead now, you


    should not have forgotten what she did to you, right? So, do you still hate her? Or do you still want to


    take revenge on her?"


    Sonia couldn''tprehend why she was asking questions like this. Her eyes flickered as she replied


    softly, "Why would I still hate on a dead person? Do you think I could resurrect her to get my revenge


    even if I wanted to?"


    Hearing Sonia''s answer, Cynthia finally released the breath she had been holding. After taking a deep


    breath as if to muster up her courage, she looked Sonia in the eye and said, "If you still hate her and


    want to take revenge on her, I will tell you a secret."


    Then, she stepped forward.


    Sonia''s heart sank as she made a guess in her mind, but on the surface, she pretended like she was


    calm. "What secret?"


    Cynthia stopped in front of her, covered half of her face, and whispered, "I suspect that Tina is not


    dead. That corpse is fake."


    Sonia''s pupils dted. I was right, she mused.


    When Cynthia suddenly asked her those questions and said that she would tell her a secret, her first


    thought was that Cynthia would tell her Tina wasn''t dead.


    Her suspicion was proven to be correct the next second.


    However, Sonia wasn''t surprised by the secret at all since she had already known from the get-go that


    Tina was not dead. She was more surprised that others knew about it. How many people knew about


    it? And how did Cynthia find out?


    Judging from Cynthia''s firm appearance, she seemed to be quite certain that Tina was alive, which was


    strange.


    Sonia intended to throw some bait at her, so she didn''t let Cynthia know she was aware that Tina was


    still alive.


    Otherwise, she might not borate on the information she had.


    Thinking of this, Sonia was shocked. Although she wasn''t excellent at acting, she could at least fool


    Cynthia.


    After all, Cynthia was not someone who could tell whether Sonia was acting or not.


    She thought Sonia truly found the information shocking, so seeing Sonia''s surprised face made her feel


    proud. As a result, she wore a smug expression on her face.


    Hah. How could President Fuller''s fianc¨¦e not be aware of that? Cynthia mused triumphantly in her


    mind.


    Perhaps she had been too transparent with her emotions that they were painted across her face. Sonia


    couldn''t help rolling her eyes at her, but as expected, Cynthia did not notice her subtle expression.


    Smiling at Sonia, she asked, "What do you think? This secret is shocking, isn''t it?"


    Sonia nodded. "It is shocking, but it must be fake. Tina''s suicide by jumping off a building is known all


    over the country, and that night, I went to see her body in person. How could it not be her?"


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    "It''s not her." Cynthia waved her hands in denial. "When you went to see her body, her face was


    covered, wasn''t it?"


    "Yeah." Sonia nodded in agreement.


    "That''s it." Cynthia pped her hands together and exined, "Although I did not witness the scene


    with my eyes, I heard about the details of when Tina jumped from the building. They are saying that


    when she jumped from the building, she was facing backward. In that case, she should''vended on


    her back after falling. How could she possibly fall face-down and ruin her face?"


    Sonia stroked her chin and agreed to her words, "That sounds usible."


    "There''s more to it," Cynthia added. "They quickly closed the case of Tina''s suicide. Even if it had been


    a genuine suicide, they would have looked into it further. Doesn''t it all seem too hasty? It''s so obvious


    that there is a problem with this that they don''t want people to know. That''s why they closed the case


    as soon as possible and sealed the file to cut off the clues to prevent anyone from investigating it."


    Sonia looked at her in surprise, as if to say, I didn''t expect you to be so smart.


    Of course, that went unnoticed by Cynthia. Instead, she continued, "I heard that her suicide has


    something to do with Melody. Melody went to meet Tina, and thettermitted suicide, implying that


    Melody was also involved in Tina''s suicide case. And Melody was also the one who found a female


    corpse to rece Tina''s body."


    Sonia''s eyes sparkled. "How did you know about this?"


    Cynthia was right about everything. Tina was alive, but she had feigned her death to escape. It was


    also true that Melody assisted in her n.


    After they discovered that Tina had escaped instead of lying dead, they immediately traced Melody


    down.


    Melody exined everything truthfully, but she didn''t know where Tina went. It then became Sonia''s


    biggest regret.


    "Melody told me," answered Cynthia.


    Question marks popped into Sonia''s mind. "Melody told you that?"


    "Yeah."


    "Isn''t she in jail?" Sonia frowned. "How did she tell you?"


    Although the authorities decided not to make Melody''s offense public because of the Stryder Family''s


    past contributions to the country, everyone knew about her imprisonment. She was still in jail right now!

 Chapter 1368

    Chapter 1368


    If she''s still in jail, how did Cynthia know all that? Something''s off. "Did you visit Melody in jail?" Sonia


    narrowed her eyes.


    Cynthia shook her head. "No. I didn''t even go out for months, so how was I supposed to visit her?


    Besides, we aren''t even friends, to begin with. She thinks she''s too good to be my friend, and I''m not


    going to talk to someone who looks down on my family. I only happened to meet her by chance when I


    was out shopping a few days ago."


    "Wait, you saw her when you were shopping?" The look on Sonia''s face changed. "She wasn''t in jail?"


    Cynthia nodded in affirmative. "Yeah, she has been released."


    "Impossible." Sonia didn''t believe it. A frown creased her forehead. "She was sentenced to years of jail


    time. How did she get out of it?"


    "But that was the truth." Cynthia looked at her timidly. "I was surprised to see her, too. The public


    doesn''t know she got mmed behind bars, but the upper society does. I even asked her how she got


    out, but she said nothing. She only asked me if Tina hade to see me. I was bewildered by her


    question at that time. I mean, Tina was dead, so how could shee to see me? Unless she became


    a ghost. That was exactly what I said to Melody, but guess what she told me? Tina''s still alive. And she


    even said part of that was thanks to her."


    Cynthia carefully studied the changes in Sonia''s expression. However, other than seeing her face was


    rather dark, Cynthia couldn''t discern what she was thinking at the moment. Quickly, she added,


    "Melody told me Tina wanted to see her when she was in the asylum. She even used Peter as an


    excuse to make Melody talk to her. I''m pretty sure you know how Melody is when ites to love. She


    might not care about anyone, but she''s head over heels for Peter. Peter doesn''t like her and wants to


    divorce her with all his heart, but he can''t do anything about it since the Stryder Family isn''t one to be


    messed with. As long as Melody doesn''t want to get a divorce, he can''t break up with her."


    Sonia nodded in acknowledgment. "I know."


    The marriage of Peter and Melody was a joke for the upper society, just like her marriage with Toby.


    She had heard a lot of rumors regarding Melody and Peter''s rtionship.


    "Peter and Melody have been living separately throughout these years. He slept around with a lot of


    women just so Melody would get a divorce, but she still won''t give up on him. She''s deeply in love with


    him, after all."


    Cynthia stole a nce at Sonia and lowered her voice to a whisper as she continued, "It was not until


    the incident that happened a few months ago that everything changed. She meddled with another


    town''s administration, and you found evidence of it. You joined forces with the Colemans and tripped


    the Stryders.


    "Most of the Stryders who were involved with politics were subjected to investigations. They might not


    have fallen yet, but they certainly were in decline. Peter seized the chance to divorce Melody. But even


    so, she still loves him very much. She wanted him to take her back, and Tina used that."


    "She promised Melody she could help her to get back with Peter and requested a meetup, didn''t she?"


    Sonia inquired.


    Cynthia nodded. "Exactly. Melody told me that Tina said she had dirt on Peter and asked Melody to


    meet up with her. Then, she promised if Melody helped her in faking her death, she would hand the


    evidence to her. Then, Melody could use that to force Peter into remarrying her."


    "I see." Sonia''s eyes twinkled, and her lips pursed.


    So, that''s what happened, huh? Back when they realized the body wasn''t Tina''s, they kept investigating


    and realized Melody helped fake Tina''s death. They had arrested Melody right then. She imed that


    Tina threatened her, but they never found out what Tina''s threat was, as Melody wouldn''t talk about it.


    Now that Sonia knew the truth, she knew why Melody wouldn''t talk. Evidence of Peter''s crimes. If she


    came clean, she''d have to watch her lovernguish in prison. No way she''d do it. Not when she loves


    him so much.


    "Melody believed her and promised to help Tina right away. Tina asked Melody to pick a girl about her


    age and size, and then the girl would be forced tomit suicide in her stead. Melody spent almost a


    week trying to find the girl that fit Tina''s bill. The girl was a patient in another asylum. Melody got her


    out of the asylum and switched her with Tina. Tina was taken away while that woman stayed back at


    the asylum. Melody and her family''s power might be in decline, but she still had some connections. It


    wasn''t hard for her to fool all the asylum staff and take Tina away. More importantly, one of the officers


    who supervised Tina was Melody''s admirer. He bought them enough time to escape by causing


    distractions for the other cops."


    Sonia knew thest part. Once Melody was caught, she sold out the officer who assisted her, and he


    was arrested. Not only did he lose his job, but he also embarrassed his family. He was mmed behind


    bars. Once an ally of justice, now a prisoner. All for a dream that would never be fulfilled. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Was it worth it? Sonia didn''t pity the officer at all. He was a grown-up. He had to take responsibility for


    his actions. He must know the consequences of helping a criminal more than anyone, but he did it


    anyway. That can only mean one thing: Melody was more important than his job. Sonia saw no need to


    pity someone like that.


    The one she pitied was the woman who died in Tina''s ce. She was a patient who had a mental


    illness. She saw the world differently from most people. Probably didn''t even know how or why she


    died. Melody took her to the building and made her kill herself. All for Tina''s n. Everyone has the


    right to live, even insane people. Yet, Tina and Melody took an innocent life all for their n. They''re


    nothing but demons. I can''t believe Melody got out of jail before she got incarcerated.


    "Miss Reed?" Cynthia was a little scared when she saw the angry look on Sonia''s face. What''s wrong?


    What is she getting so mad about?


    Sonia balled her fists and took a few deep breaths. Only then did her fury calm down slightly. Icily, she


    asked, "Does that woman''s family know? Do they know what Melody did to their daughter?"


    Oh, the maddy. Scorn filled Cynthia''s eyes. "Yes, of course. If they didn''t, they''d have been out for


    Melody''s blood for what she did to their daughter. I know what you''re trying to say. I asked the same


    questions, and Melody told me what she did. Initially, they didn''t want to hand over the woman to


    Melody since the woman was part of their family. But then, Melody gave them a hundred and fifty


    grand, and they finallyplied. That woman''s family used to love her, but their patience ran out


    halfway through her treatment. It had been years since she sumbed to her madness, and


    eventually, her family''s sorrow turned into resentment, and then¡­"

 Chapter 1369

    Chapter 1369


    "So, what happened?" Sonia frowned.


    Cynthia shook her head. "They wanted her dead. To them, that woman was nothing but a liability. A big


    one at that. They''d never be able to live normally with her dragging them down. They had to work all


    day and every day just to make enough money to pay her medical bills. Eventually, their love was worn


    out by their exhaustion. All they wanted was to cut her off. Melody and Tina offered them just what they


    wanted. And they made money out of it."


    Cynthia wasn''t a good person at all, but even she thought what the woman''s family did was inhumane.


    She had nothing but disgust for them. "They probably thought they deserved the money after all they


    went through for her."


    Sonia gasped, a cold shudder running down her spine. "That''s¡­ terrifying. I can''t believe her family


    would do this."


    "Family? No, they''re demons," Cynthia remarked.


    Sonia closed her eyes. "Were they not aware that Melody would kill their daughter once they handed


    her over?"


    "No, they knew that. But I did tell you that they thought of that woman as nothing but a burden. A


    liability. Something that holds them back from normalcy. The thing that keeps them in debt. They were


    willing to fork out money for her treatment at first, but eventually, they wanted nothing to do with her.


    Time changed them. They wanted her dead but wouldn''t do it since she was family. And thew would


    come after them if they did. When Melody offered them a hundred and fifty grand to relieve them of the


    woman, they happily took the offer. They knew the woman would die, but so what?" Cynthia shrugged.


    "They wanted to kill her off anyway. If someone could help them out and even pay them for it, there


    was no reason to say no, was it?"


    After a long moment of silence, Sonia gritted her teeth as she cursed, "All of them are monsters." The


    hardships of life would turn the best of people into monsters, but a whole family dumping one of them


    just to make their life better was appalling.


    Even Cynthia stayed silent to process that fact. It wasn''t until Sonia had calmed down and started


    asking her questions again did she snap out of it.


    "Why did Melody tell you everything? You barely talk to her, so why did she go into so much detail?"


    Sonia looked into Cynthia''s eyes as she asked.


    That was what gnawed away at her heart the most. This testimonial was enough to sentence her to jail.


    If Cynthia had recorded it and taken the evidence to the cops, Melody would have been done for.


    Melody must know that as well. So, why did she tell Cynthia? Why?


    "I have no idea." Cynthia shook her head. "I only met her by chance, and she asked me if I had seen


    Tina. And then, she told me about that. Probably thought I was Tina''s friend and that Tina mighte


    to see me. Or maybe she just wanted someone to lend her an ear. Honestly, I was shocked when I saw


    her. I almost couldn''t recognize her."


    She doesn''t look like she''s lying. She''s probably telling the truth about not knowing why Melody had


    told her everything. Sonia felt a bit disappointed. "Why? What happened to her?" she asked.


    Horror crept up on Cynthia''s face. "Melody¡­ was like a different person. I wouldn''t have recognized


    her if she hadn''t called out to me. She used to wear nothing but haute couture. She used to think of


    everyone as beneath her, and most people despised her because of that. Yet, they couldn''t help but


    still envied her. Not all richdies can lead a life like hers, after all.


    "However, thest time I saw her, she was wearing something from a bazaar, and it looked washed out.


    Her hair was unkempt, and she no longer looked at everyone like they were beneath her. Her gaze


    would dart around, and she seemed to walk with a tinge of fear in her steps. Sometimes, she would


    even mutter to herself as if she had gone nuts."


    Sonia could imagine what Melody must have looked like. An unkempt woman who''s suspected to be


    mad. No wonder Cynthia was shocked. I would be stunned, too, if I saw her in that state. But I can


    understand why she looked like that. Her family fell apart just because she helped Tina fake her death.


    She lost her family and the Southfields'' help. She became ayman, the kind of person she hated the


    most. It must have broken her mind.


    Cynthia didn''t ask why Sonia was keeping quiet. She sighed before continuing, "I asked her why she


    wanted to find Tina. She told me Tina had lied to her. She had no dirt on Peter. She only said that to


    trick Melody into helping her."


    "Figures," Sonia sneered. "The Southfields might not be as influential as the Stryders back then, but


    they still were aristocrats. Tina was just the daughter of a rich man. There''s no way she could get her


    hands on Peter''s dirt. Melody was just stupid. She loved Peter too much to see through the lie."


    Cynthia nodded in agreement. "I thought so, too. Now Peter has a new fianc¨¦e, and Melody thought


    she failed to get back with him because Tina dragged her down too long. She thought she would have


    time to hound Peter and make him remarry her if she hadn''t helped Tina. She figured he wouldn''t have


    gotten a new girl if she hadn''t gotten herself into such a mess. So, she now hates Tina''s guts and is


    dead set on seeking her out to destroy her."


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    "What about you, then?" Sonia smirked. "You asked me if I knew that Tina was alive. And you told me a


    lot. You revealed this much information to me because you have your own goal to achieve, don''t you?"


    Cynthia froze. She met Sonia''s gaze and could only see indifference in her eyes. Can''t lie to her


    anymore. "You''re such a smart woman, Miss Reed. Indeed, I do have a motive, but I promise I mean


    no harm. I just want to know if you still bear any hatred toward Tina. If you still hate her, you will seek


    her out once you know what she did. You and President Fuller would locate her faster than Melody


    could. I just want to make her pay the price for her crimes. I, too, have to get my revenge."


    "Revenge?" Sonia grinned. "I thought you were her friend. And now you want to take revenge on her?"


    "Friends? With her? No, I was just herckey. Nothing more. Yes, morous life being herckey, but


    she abuses me in secret." Cynthia bit her lip. She came to a decision and pulled her skirt up just


    enough to show her legs which were littered with hideous scars.


    Sonia gasped at the horrifying sight, a chill coursing through her body. Cynthia''s legs were¡­ terrifying.


    Every inch of it was filled with scars. There were stitches on them, too. The scars were all over her skin


    like big centipedes. It almost made Sonia hurl. She averted her gaze and covered her mouth, the look


    on her face pale from the shock.

 Chapter 1370

    Chapter 1370


    Cynthia knew Sonia felt disgusted by the state of Cynthia''s legs and became nauseated.


    However, Sonia fought the urge to vomit because she didn''t want to upset Cynthia, so that was why


    she reacted this way.


    Still, Cynthia wasn''t angered by Sonia''s reaction.


    Perhaps it was true at the start that she could not ept the fact that others reacted in such a way


    whenever they saw her legs. If she noticed it, she would be incensed and throw a fit.


    However, after seeing it time and time again, she slowly got used to it, and eventually, she could even


    take it in stride without letting it affect her.


    After all, what could anger do for her?


    Would her legs recover?


    Thus, instead of being bothered by other people''s reactions, she figured it would be better to focus on


    her state of mind.


    "It''s hard to stomach, isn''t it, Miss Reed?" Cynthia calmly rearranged the skirt to hide her legs once


    more.


    Sonia took a few deep breaths to regain herposure. She had aplicated look in her eyes as


    she stared at Cynthia before she nodded gently. "I was a bit shocked. Your legs¡­"


    "Tina Gray did this." Cynthia kept her cool as she informed Sonia of the culprit behind her suffering.


    Sonia hummed in acknowledgment. "I guessed as much. You just told me you hate Tina, and then you


    showed me your legs, so it was easy enough for me to figure out who did it. But why did she do it?"


    "What other reason could there be? Jealousy, of course." Cynthia snorted. "It all happened years ago.


    It was about seven or eight years ago, I think. Once, I went shopping with Tina, and she took a liking to


    a little ck dress from Doir. It was a short bodycon dress, and the slim-fit cutting meant that it


    highlighted the wearer''s figure a lot. Anyone whose figure was a little less than ideal would look like a


    trainwreck in the dress, but Tina loved it so much and insisted on trying it on anyway.


    "However, the sales assistant told her that her legs were on the short side and looked a little too full, so


    the dress wouldn''t suit her. I was standing beside Tina at the time, and the sales assistant then said


    that my legs looked good and that I would suit this dress well. Just because of what the sales assistant


    said, Tina immediately started resenting me. Although she didn''t do anything there and then, as soon


    as we went back, she poured a kettle of boiling water over my legs."


    By now, Cynthia''s eyes were bloodshot and filled with her loathing for Tina.


    Sonia could imagine just how agonizing it must have been to be scalded by a kettle of boiling water.


    She pitied Cynthia a little.


    She felt nothing but pity.


    "You know, Miss Reed, she nearly scalded me to death. If it had not been for the sudden appearance of


    a maid and Tina being afraid that she''d bebeled a killer, I''m willing to bet that she would not have


    called an ambnce for me. She would''ve loved to see me die, just like that. When I was writhing


    around on the floor in pain, she stood right beside me andughed gleefully at the sight. She didn''t feel


    any sense of anxiety or regret for what she did. Thus, I knew that she wanted me dead.


    "That day, I was taken into the emergency room and had to spend an entire month in the ICU before I


    could get discharged. When I could finally leave the hospital, Tina came to me, shedding crocodile


    tears and insisting that she didn''t do it on purpose. She said the kettle slipped out of her hand by


    ident, and she asked me to forgive her. Hah! What a joke!"


    Cynthia clenched her jaw. "How can a huge kettle like that slip out of her hand so easily? Also, if it had


    been an ident, she would''ve called the ambnce from the start and tried to help me ease the pain.


    Why would she have stood on the sideughing at me instead?


    "However, even though I knew she did it to me on purpose, I couldn''t tell anyone else. I had to try and


    convince myself that she didn''t do it on purpose because I knew that my family relied on the Gray


    Family''s support. My parents could use this opportunity to gain more benefits from the Gray Family.


    Either way, my lot in life is to be sacrificed for the family''s glory anyway, so I was willing to forgive her if


    it meant my family would gain from this incident. However, I never thought that Tina had no intentions


    of letting me go just like that!"


    "I only took a nce at the scars on your legs, but I could tell there were scars made from other kinds


    of injuries instead of just your skin getting scalded. These were the scars left after getting stitches,


    right?" Sonia piped up.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Cynthia nodded emotionally. "That''s right. You don''t need stitches for scalded skin. The scars left from


    stitches came from the second time Tina hurt me. Soon after I left the hospital, it was Tina''s birthday. I


    was one of herckeys, so naturally, I was invited, and I went. During the party, the birthday girl had to


    pour the champagne down the tower herself. She stood on a stool and poured the champagne as


    nned at first, but halfway through, she yelped and started falling toward the champagne tower.


    Although someone caught her in time and stopped her fall, her hand smacked against the champagne


    tower. And I was right in front of the champagne tower at that time. Over tenyers of champagne


    sses all came crashing down on me¡ª"


    "And you couldn''t escape," Sonia stated confidently.


    Cynthia bit her lip. "That''s right. I hadn''t fully recovered yet and was still in a wheelchair. The


    champagne tower came down too quickly. Even someone with fully functioning legs might not have


    been able to escape in time, let alone someone in a wheelchair. I was buried under all the champagne


    sses, which shattered all around me. The stitches I got were for the cuts I got from the shards of


    ss. It wasn''t just my legs. I had cuts all over my body. This is why I never wear dresses and gowns


    that expose any skin."


    "That''s true, now that you mention it," Soniamented thoughtfully.


    She saw Cynthia several times, and every single time, Cynthia was fully covered up.


    However, she only bothered to think a little of it since everyone had their tastes in fashion.


    Well, she now found out the reason behind Cynthia''s clothing choices.


    "Of course, what I wear isn''t the main concern here. The point is, I knew that Tina did this on purpose,


    too. She wanted to ruin my legs for good, and it worked. Now, my legs will never fully recover,


    regardless of how many surgeries I do. How can I not despise her?!"


    Cynthia clenched the edge of her skirt tightly as the resentment colored her expression and contorted


    her features. "However, because of who she was, I couldn''t say anything. I had to keep my hatred


    buried deep down inside my heart. However, the situation''s different now. She''s be the target of


    everyone''s vitriol now. I can finally take my revenge, but unfortunately, there''s only so much I can do. I


    can''t locate her on my own, so I have to rest my hopes on someone else instead."


    "Am I that someone else?" Sonia raised her eyebrows.


    Cynthia nodded. "Yes. I apologize, Miss Reed. I know that this just means I''m trying to use you, but I


    have no other choice. You and President Fuller are the only ones I can think of who''d be able to find


    Tina. That''s why I really hope that you can find her and destroy her. It''d be vengeance for me, too.


    Furthermore, I can also provide you with some clues about the ces where Tina has appeared in the


    past few months."


    "What did you say?" Sonia had been a little pissed that Cynthia had been plotting to use her, but her


    attention was immediately drawn to the clues regarding Tina''s location.


    "You said you know where Tina has appeared the past few months?"


    "Yes."


    "That''s impossible!" Sonia pursed her lips. "Didn''t you say that Tina never came to see you? In that


    case, how would you know where she''s been?"


    She stared at Cynthia suspiciously.


    Cynthia tapped her cheeks and wiped her resentment for Tina off her face before she swiftly exined,


    "Melody Stryder''s the one who told me about it. She wants to destroy Tina as well and has been


    looking for Tina all this while. Even though Melody has fallen from grace, she''s not powerless as she


    still has contacts from her past. Some of them were willing to help her out of consideration for her, so


    they looked into it and managed to find some clues."

 Chapter 1371

    Chapter 1371


    "Oh?" Sonia''s heart rate picked up, and she couldn''t help but clench her fists as she urged, "Hurry up


    and tell me what clues you have."


    Cynthia was pleased to see that Sonia was impatient to hear the clues to Tina''s whereabouts.


    The more Sonia cared about this information, the greater her resentment for Tina would be as Sonia


    would be even more eager to take her revenge on Tina.


    As long as Tina was doomed, then Cynthia could finally let go of her years of hatred as well.


    Cynthia took a deep breath and quelled her excitement as she said, "Melody said that Tina once


    showed up in Kosovo."


    "Kosovo?" Sonia was a little startled. "Why would she go to Kosovo?"


    Cynthia shook her head. "I don''t know, and neither does Melody. Melody''s friend told her that Tina was


    sighted in Kosovo once. It was a friend of Melody''s friend who ran into Tina at the airport in Kosovo, but


    at the time, the friend didn''t pay any attention to this. When she came to look for Melody''s friend and


    found out that they were looking for Tina, she remembered that encounter and told Melody''s friend


    about it. Later on, Melody''s friend kept searching and eventually found out that Tina was seen in


    Westsanshirest month."


    "Westsanshire?!" Sonia''s expression changed.


    "Yeah," Cynthia affirmed. "Melody''s friend said that Tina showed up in Westsanshire, but she didn''t see


    Tina in person. Melody''s friend had gone to the local government office for something, and she heard


    that a woman named Tina Gray had been there to get some paperwork done.


    "These are all the clues they have right now, but what''s for sure is that Tina''s still alive and was sighted


    in Westsanshire. Melody has already gone over there to start searching for more clues. She wants to


    find Tina. Miss Reed, if you and President Fuller investigate this too, I''m sure you''ll be even faster than


    Melody in the search since you have a lot more power and influence than she does."


    Sonia''s heart could not stop pounding.


    It couldn''t be helped. Sonia cared too much about the clues that Cynthia gave her.


    She had been trying to find Tina all along, but it was as if Tina had disappeared into thin air, and she


    couldn''t find any traces of Tina, no matter how hard she tried.


    Even someone as powerful and influential as Toby couldn''t find Tina, which proved just how well-


    hidden Tina was.


    So, how could Sonia not be agitated now that someone was telling her where Tina had shown up


    recently?


    "Cynthia, since you''ve provided me with useful information, I won''t hold the fact that you wanted to use


    me to avenge yourself against you." She eyed Cynthia.


    Cynthia was d and wanted to speak.


    "And don''t worry," Sonia added. "If we do find her, I''ll let you know, and I''ll also let you meet her. You


    can do whatever you want then."


    Cynthia''s eyes lit up at once as she gave a deep bow of gratitude. "That''s all I could ever ask for.


    Thank you, Miss Reed."


    Sonia patted Cynthia on the shoulder before leaving in a hurry.


    She wanted to tell Toby about this.


    Soon, she returned to the seating area earlier. Even from afar, she could spot the man sitting on the


    couch, who seemed to be in his own world as he stood out from everyone else.


    His eyes were closed as if he was taking a nap, but as he was still gently rocking the wine ss in his


    hand, it was obvious that he wasn''t actually asleep. He merely didn''t want to engage with the world.


    "Toby." She walked over and called out to him gently.


    His hand stopped moving, and his eyes flew open at once. He saw the woman walking over to him.


    She had a slim yet shapely figure that looked even more alluring when she walked. It was hard for


    others to tear their eyes off her slender, graceful waist.


    His icy stare swept across the men who were stealing nces at Sonia. The warning in his eyes could


    not be missed.


    The men sensed Toby''s displeasure and immediately withdrew their gazes. None of them dared to take


    a peek again.


    A beautiful woman was a delight to behold, but they valued their lives even more.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    All the men sighed to themselves.


    As for the women, especially the youngdies from wealthy families, they were all rolling their eyes as


    they secretly ranted at the shallowness of these men.


    Aren''t we attractive too?


    Why do all of you only stare at Sonia?


    They were furious.


    Naturally, Sonia knew nothing about all these thoughts going around the room. She stopped in front of


    Toby and smiled brilliantly at him.


    His eyes darkened slightly. "You''re back."


    "Yeah." She nodded. "I''m back."


    He set down his wine ss and took her wrist to pull her down into the seat beside him. Then, he


    pulled her into his arms right under everyone''s nose.


    The crowd instantly started sighing again.


    Oh, my¡­ Look at them locked in an embrace just as soon as they''re together. Is it so hard to be apart


    for even a short while?


    It went without saying that despite all their grumbling, no one could do anything to stop the couple.


    Sonia was a little embarrassed, but she didn''t push him away. She was red in the face as she said,


    "That''s enough. Let go. Everyone''s staring at us."


    "Let them stare all they want. Our hug has nothing to do with them. I missed you."


    Toby rested his head on her shoulder. His voice was low and hoarse as he spoke. In fact, he sounded a


    little coquettish.


    She was amused. "We haven''t been apart at all. Why are you acting like this?"


    "Who says we haven''t? We''ve been apart for an hour," he dered solemnly after raising his head to


    look her in the eye.


    It was as if this had been an extremely grave issue.


    Sonia''s urge tough intensified.


    "It''s only been an hour. From the way you''re acting, I would''ve assumed that we''ve been apart for


    ages," she replied.


    He rested his head on her shoulder again. "To me, that''s already long enough. Since I can tell you that


    we''ve been apart for exactly an hour, it proves that I''ve been keeping an eye on the time and missing


    you all this while. What about you? Did you miss me?"


    She rolled her eyes and answered helplessly, "Of course. I missed you, too."


    She knew very well that he would make a big fuss about it if she said she didn''t miss him.


    Sure enough, Toby was pleased to hear that she missed him as his lips curved into a smile.


    It was a faint smile, but everyone''s attention was on them, so they saw it as well. All at once, they were


    filled with amazement.


    Oh, my goodness! President Fuller''s smiling! Look at how sweet his smile is.


    Tsk tsk. I never knew this is how he behaves when he''s in love.


    It''s no different from everyone else.


    These were what the men were thinking.


    On the other hand, the women were even more envious of Sonia.


    The fact that Toby was just the same as any other man when he was in love made them envy her even


    more.


    Initially, they thought he would still be haughty and aloof when he was in a rtionship, and the woman


    would need to be the one to please him and coax him.


    However, now they knew how wrong they were. He was the one who took the initiative. He was never


    arrogant and aloof with Sonia and didn''t keep a straight face all the time. He didn''t treat her as his


    subordinate, and she didn''t have to be the one putting in the effort to maintain the rtionship.


    Anyone with eyes could tell that Toby was the one who clung to Sonia.


    How amazing! The women eximed to themselves in their mind.


    That being said, no matter how much they envied her, they didn''t n on doing anything else.


    After all, they knew without a doubt that they would fail regardless of what they did, and they would


    even be inviting Toby''s wrath and dragging their families down with them, so what was the point?


    Meanwhile, Anya also noticed the women''s reactions and was shaking in anger as she was infuriated


    by their unwillingness to take the challenge.


    You''re all useless!

 Chapter 1372

    Chapter 1372


    Anya was well aware of just how popr Toby was with thedies.


    After all, his good looks and social status were right on the table. He was a holy grail, and everyone


    wanted him to themselves. However, no one ever seeded. Thus, those women had no reason to


    fight.


    But now, someone has seeded, no? So, why are they still stagnant?! Shouldn''t they devise ns to


    bring that woman down? Shouldn''t that be how things should follow? So why are they just sitting there


    and staring at Reed with envy?! Go on! Move! Attack Reed! Don''t tell me you people think you can


    make Reed leave Toby just by sitting here and staring at her with envy! Pffft! In your dreams!


    For a moment, Anya despised the impervious women, thinking they weren''t just useless but also


    brainless.


    One had to earn some things themself, but not even a single one of those women fought for


    themselves. Such a discovery had infuriated her.


    Having had enough of it, Anya snorted in anger and rolled out of the banquet, surging with fury.


    She believed she would get a stroke from being upset by those impassive women as well as being


    brokenhearted by Toby and Sonia''s PDA.


    Of course, neither Sonia nor Toby knew about it, and even if they did, they wouldn''t care either.


    Meanwhile, Toby obliged and reluctantly let Sonia go. On the other hand, she sat down next to him.


    "I assume everything went well for you? You were all smiles when you returned." Toby handed her the


    ss of juice he had long left on standby for her. However, the young woman frowned in worry as she


    took the ss of beverage from him. "I''ve had too much grape juice just now, and I''m still oveing


    the sourness. Maybeter."


    "Have some water then." While speaking, Toby took the ss of juice from her and gave her a ss of


    water.


    Finally, the young woman smiled with delight before taking a sip. "Yeah, I''m one step closer to sess.


    I''m going to check out the counters on the second floor of the mall tomorrow. I can pick out whichever


    counter I want, except for those in the middle, and it happens to be the best spot I can bag, given my


    current position. From that alone, I can tell the host couple didn''t make an exception for me just


    because of our rtionship. It makes me very happy, and it also helped me realize I bagged the deal


    myself, and you have nothing to do with it."


    Toby was ted for her after seeing how happy she was, and he ruffled her hair gently. "Good job. I


    knew you were amazing."


    "I think so too." Sonia grinned triumphantly.


    Right then, she was indeed a little smug, probably because she had achieved something with her


    ability.


    Toby could tell too, but he didn''t remind her and looked dotingly at her instead. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    After all, why couldn''t she revel in the sess she had obtained on her own for a moment? It was just


    a way of acknowledging her sess.


    What mattered was that she didn''t let it get to her head.


    "Oh, by the way, Madam said I can really drink. She even wants to invite me to future wine fairs." At


    that, Sonia began feeling somewhat guilty. "You have no idea how affected my conscience was. I was


    really worried people would find out I was drinking juice and not wine. Also, I feel like I''ve betrayed


    Madam''s trust. After all, she has such a good impression of me and even wants to take me to wine


    fairs. It''s clear that she''s beginning to see me as a friend, but I¡­"


    "Don''t worry." Toby gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "Just get her some gift as an apology if


    the cover does blow. Besides, she isn''t petty. She''ll understand where you''reing from."


    "I believe so too, but I still feel bad for tricking her." Sonia sighed softly.


    To that, Toby patted her shoulder without a word, for nothing he said would alleviate her situation. At


    the end of the day, she had to figure some things out herself.


    Luckily, Sonia wasn''t the kind to reel in situations. After having a moment to herself, she returned to


    normal and crossed her arms while smiling enigmatically at her man, whose heart skipped a beat after


    he caught her gaze, having an inexplicably bad feeling.


    She had looked rather scary. Sure, she was smiling, but it was evident that she was seething with rage,


    looking like she would explode any second.


    So¡­ what have I done to piss her off? Toby reflected for a moment but still couldn''t figure out what he


    had done wrong, so he just asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "A little birdie told me someone''s pretty popr with thedies. In fact, a beauty hit on him after I left.


    And it seems that she has a thing for you. So much so that she wants to know you despite having


    trouble with her legs. What a role model for the disabled. Oh, hats off to her," said Sonia with a smile


    and unvarnished jealousy and sarcasm.


    Toby quirked a brow and felt somewhat amused when he finally realized what she was upset about.


    "Are you referring to Anya?" He crossed his legs.


    Sonia snorted in response. At that, he pulled her hand to him and lowered his head to kiss the back of


    her hand. "Jealous?"


    "No." She withdrew her hand.


    "No? What''s this pout for, then?" Toby brushed a finger against her red lip, and of course, a bit of


    lipstick got caught on his finger.


    "What pout?!" Sonia rolled her eyes at him. "Wipe the lipstick away. Don''t get it on our shirt."


    With that, she pulled out a piece of wet wipe and gave it to him.


    A chuckle escaped Toby when he found her still caring for him despite being upset. "Rx. Nothing will


    ever happen between her and me." He gave her his world while wiping his hand.


    "I know." Sonia''s tone seemed to have softened. "I''d look down on you if you fall for her. Anybody can


    tell she''s up to no good. It just goes to show how terrible your taste is if you actually fall for her. Then


    again, it upsets me that she hit on you. I don''t like her. Besides, shouldn''t she be seeking treatment in


    the hospital right now? What is she doing here?"


    "Connor''s order. She won''t dare to disobey." Toby turned grim at the mention of the pair. "Of course,


    she''s more than happy to oblige."


    Sonia quirked her lips in response. "The father and daughter sure know how to annoy others. What did


    you two talk about?" she asked.


    Toby didn''t intend to hide anything from her either, giving her a concise summary of their conversation.


    "What?! They aren''t actually father and daughter?!" Sonia unknowingly raised her voice in utter shock.


    As Toby nodded nomittally, Sonia''s mouth was agape with incredulity, taking a long time toe


    to her senses. As she was still reeling with shock, her voice was raspy. "H-How is it possible? Didn''t


    you find her to be Salzburg''s illegitimate daughter back when you dug into her? The government''s


    system also indicated that they''re father and daughter. Howe they''re not anymore?! I''m confused."


    She held her forehead. The news was such a bolt from the blue that she was more than just confused.


    Her head was spinning!


    Connor Salzburg and Anya Steinfeld aren''t biologically rted?! I¡­ Sonia took a long time to process


    the news.

 Chapter 1373

    Chapter 1373


    Knowing how stunned Sonia was, Toby suggested she take a sip of water to calm down, which she did.


    Her shock finally alleviated a little after taking the sip of water, and she looked at Toby. "Howe


    they''re suddenly not biologically rted? Did you get the wrong information back then? Or was it the


    system that was wrong?"


    Toby nodded. "The information I got was right. The mistake was in the system itself. Hence, my finding


    was affected. All Caruns believe in Caruna, and that includes me too. So, I didn''t think twice when the


    government system indicated their biological rtionship. It was when I realized something was off


    during myter searches that I started suspecting if they really were father and daughter. Then, I spend


    a lot of time investigating. It was only after I got their DNA sample and sent it to ab that I was certain


    they weren''t biologically rted at all."


    Sonia gasped in response. "That means Salzburg has connections in the government, doesn''t it?!


    Then, we have to rethink his power. This is certainly beyond our initial calction. This is much bigger


    than we had imagined!"


    If this is really the case, then Connor is even harder to defeat.


    At that, Toby ruffled her hair. "Take it easy. All that has naturallye to me. I''ve already told the


    Colemans about this, and they''re helping me find out if Connor has men working in these systems and


    how they are connected to him. He''s just a businessman, and none of his ancestors received any


    government merits. So, if there is solid evidence of him, a mere businessperson, being involved in the


    government system, I don''t have to worry about dragging down two conglomerates and two hundred


    thousand employees. The government will seize him; I''ll just have to fetch himter."


    "That means it''s good that we realize they''re not biologically rted." Sonia''s eyes lit up.


    "More or less," Toby answered.


    "But that still doesn''t erase the fact that he cheated on your mother," Sonia sneered, her lips quirked.


    "Yeah." Toby nodded in agreement. "It has never been the reason I hated Connor any less."


    "Come to think of it. Why would he want a stranger for a daughter? Just what is his purpose?" Sonia


    furrowed her brows.


    At that, the man cleared his throat awkwardly, causing Sonia to narrow her eyes in response, looking at


    him with suspicion. "What''s with that look? Don''t tell me it has to do with you."


    Toby rubbed his nose awkwardly, seeing that she got the key reason so quickly.


    "Shut up! It really has to do with you?!" she eximed.


    "Yeah," he mumbled, knowing he couldn''t hide it any longer. Then again, he never really wanted to hide


    it from her anyway. "He made Anya his daughter and had her sneak into Seafield, but then deliberately


    hid the fact that she was his daughter so that she could get close to me as his spy and update him


    about me. Also, he''s using her as a honeypot to take me down."


    As Toby spoke of thetter, he checked Sonia''s gaze gingerly, fearing he''d upset her even if it wasn''t


    his fault. Her feelings mean the world to me, so I must be careful.


    And sure enough, the young woman flew into a rage after hearing her beloved''s exnation.


    That said, she wasn''t upset with him but with Connor instead.


    "That shameless b*stard," she growled through gnashed teeth as anger burned aze beneath her


    eyes. "To think he cane up with such a dirty trick. Honeypot, my grass! What makes him think he''ll


    seed for sure?"


    Toby isn''t some licentious man; how is he so confident that Toby would fall for any woman he sends his


    way? Salzburg isn''t hysterical, is he? Sonia mused contemptuously while Toby remained grim.


    Instantly, her disdain was gone, reced by grave prudence. "Toby Fuller, don''t tell me you''ve fallen for


    Steinfeld."


    At that, he looked speechlessly at her. "What are you thinking about? How can I even?!"


    Though relieved, Sonia still appeared less than happy. "Then, what''s with the look?"


    "I was just thinking, does she not remind you of someone?"


    Stumped, she asked, "Who?"


    However, the man said nothing but only riveted his gaze on her, creeping her out a little.


    Then, an idea hit her, and she widened her gaze with incredulity. "No way! Are you saying she looks


    like me?!" she eximed while pointing at herself.


    Clearly, she had a hard time epting the revtion.


    She fixed her gaze on him, eagerly hoping he would dismiss her guess. However, it never happened.


    Instead, Toby nodded, validating her assumption. "That''s right. She looks a lot like you, especially the


    eyes. In fact, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that you''re the model for her cosmetic surgery. But


    worried that we would tell at first nce, she did it subtly and only did the surgery on her eyes to look


    like yours instead of fixing her entire face."


    "Tell me you''re joking." Sonia''s voice quivered.


    Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Evidently, she had a hard time epting the fact, but she also knew Toby wouldn''t joke with her about


    such a serious issue. Hence, the matter was highly likely.


    She hurriedly closed her eyes, trying to recall what Anya looked like, wanting to find their differences.


    However, her face paled when Anya''s face surfaced, for she discovered that it was as Toby had said¡ª


    Anya''s eyes were identical to hers!


    The only reason she had never realized it before this was because she was so used to seeing her own


    face and that she never really cared about how she looked that she didn''t think Anya''s eyes were like


    hers at first nce. Besides, she never thought anything looked off about Anya, so it never dawned on


    her until now.


    Toby, too, only thought Anya''s face looked off, but he could never put his finger on it.


    It was only when Tom pointed it out that he was struck with an epiphany.


    "You''re right¡­" Sonia opened her eyes, finally epting the baffling fact that Anya fixed her eyes to


    look like hers.


    Well, what else could she do other than ept it?


    Anya had already done it, so what other option did she have other than to ept it?


    If she had found out Anya was going to undergo cosmetic surgery to look like her, she could''ve still


    prevented it, but how was she going to do that now?!


    Sonia felt even more troubled now.


    At that, she rubbed her temples and looked at Toby. "Say, how did youe to realize it?"


    "I didn''t." He pursed his lips. "Tom pointed it out when I found out Anya isn''t Connor''s daughter, and it


    was only then it hit me that it was all a scheme. The reason Connor had Anya undergo surgery to look


    like that before appearing in front of me is so that I''d remember her at first nce. That way, it''d help


    Anya get closer to me because they know I won''t even take another look, let alone remember her if she


    showed up looking like someone else. It''s only when she looks like you that they have the chance."


    Sonia pursed her lips at that. "Well, they sure have gone to great lengths. Too bad they''ve missed."


    With that, she smiled at Toby. "They didn''t expect you not to realize she looks like me."


    Toby took a sip of his red wine before saying, "That''s right. To me, there''s only ever one Sonia Reed. I


    never have and never will think anyone else looks like you. Hence, I never realized Anya deliberately


    underwent surgery to look like you, or she might have left asting impression on me. Of course¡­" He


    nced at Sonia. "What I mean is the aversion I have for her from the very beginning. That''s all there


    is. I swear."

 Chapter 1374

    Chapter 1374


    Sonia couldn''t help chuckling with amusement seeing how desperate the man tried not to upset her. "I


    know. I didn''t get the wrong idea, nor am I overthinking. If you discover someone looking a lot like me


    and yet you''re not bothered by it, now that''s a red g. That means I mean nothing to you at all."


    Hearing so, Toby heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that she didn''t get the wrong idea.


    "But Salzburg and Steinfeld are indeed conniving." Toby frowned, having nothing but aversion for the


    two. "He deliberately had her undergo surgery to look like you precisely because he believes I''ll keep


    her by my side if she looks like you. Then, from then on, she can be his spy and update him about


    me whenever. But little did they expect me to find nothing simr about you and Anya. That''s why she


    never found a chance to get close to me. So instead, she reached her hands toward you."


    "You''re saying she had done all the hubaloo and even destroyed our gifts just so that we''d remember


    her and not treat her as just some random stranger?" Sonia pursed her lips.


    Toby nodded. "If she doesn''t do any of that, then she''d really be just a nobody to us. In fact, we might


    just forget about her the next second. Forget about bing Salzburg''s spy; she won''t even have a


    chance to appear before us! And it turns out her scheme worked. We remember who she is."


    "Touch¨¦." Sonia shrugged.


    "Anya''s job is to act as the honeypot," exined Toby as he rubbed his temples. "Even if she knows


    that she might fail, she won''t give up when she has your eyes. She also had the notion when she came


    to me earlier. But she didn''t expect me to find out that she isn''t biologically rted to Connor and even


    say it to her. Now, her n is down in the gutter."


    "Well, that''s good." Sonia smiled as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "At least she won''t be


    hitting on you anymore."


    Toby didn''t give a direct answer to that. "But that woman''s artful. After I revealed knowing she wasn''t


    Connor''s biological daughter, she immediately defended herself, saying Connor made her do


    everything, and that she was innocent. Imagine the kind of character she is when she can counter so


    quickly. Now my biggest question is, who exactly was she before all of this."


    At that, he narrowed his frosty eyes.


    Sonia, on the other hand, nodded and turned to him as she spoke. "Indeed. Connor probably wouldn''t


    even consider using her if she''s just some orphan. Hence, Anya''s past certainly wouldn''t have been


    in."


    Then, seeing that Toby was pondering, she let him be and drank her water.


    Momentster, he sighed under his breath, then said grimly, "Whoever she was, and whether she was


    telling the truth about Connor forcing her into this, she still did it, and I will deal with her the same time I


    deal with Connor."


    Sonia didn''t argue with him as Anya had done whatever she had. Be it that she did it willingly or was


    forced into it, she wasn''t innocent. What was done was done. No matter where she hade from,


    she was no longer innocent the second she did it.


    "Alright, let''s leave that aside now. Just order the guys to dig into it." Sonia hurriedly took the ss of


    wine from Toby, seeing that he was looking ufortable, then massaged his temples for him.


    Toby smiled as he looked at his concerned beloved, then leaned against her and closed his eyes,


    enjoying the peaceful moment.


    Seeing that, Sonia shook her head as a chuckle escaped her, continuing to massage his temples.


    A whileter, a thought hit her, and she paused her movement. "That reminds me. Toby, guess whom I


    bumped into on my way to you."


    "A man or a woman?" He frowned without opening his eyes.


    He wasn''t concerned about whom she ran into but more about the person''s gender.


    If it was ady, sure, okay, no big deal. But if it was a man, oh, that raised a lot of red gs.


    Sure, many women had a thing for him, but many men would fall for Sonia as well.


    Charles and Zane aside, there was Carl from Westsanshire too!


    And these men were very, very different from the women who liked him.


    Those who liked him feared him as well. Thus, they would keep their feelings to themselves and dared


    not hit on him.


    Of course, there were a few crazy ones who dared overlook his warning. But he could send them onContent held by N?velDrama.Org.


    their way with just one warning.


    Sonia''s admirers, on the other hand, not only dared to hit on her tantly, but they were also influential


    in one way or another, unlike the women who like him. Hence, dealing with them posed a challenge for


    him.


    Sure, he wouldn''t break a sweat if he dealt with them one by one. But if they ganged up, even he would


    suffer a massive blow.


    Sonia rolled her eyes exasperatedly at him. "Who''s talking about gender here?! I''m asking you to


    guess whom I bumped into." As if she couldn''t tell what the man was thinking.


    "All humans have genders," he countered solemnly, making her livid yet amused. "Oh, forget it. I''ll just


    tell you. I bumped into Cynthia."


    "Cynthia?" Toby''s frown deepened. Though he kept his eyes closed, his bewilderment still showed.


    "Doesn''t ring a bell."


    Sonia was naturally happy that he hadpletely forgotten about Cynthia.


    Even when she knew that he and Cynthia barely ever talked, she''d still feel somewhat ufortable if


    he had a good picture of who Cynthia was.


    "The daughter of Stone Incorporated''s Chairman and Tina''s old sidekick," she reminded while rubbing


    Toby''s temples.


    It was only after mentioning Tina that he recalled a woman who would indeed follow Tina everywhere.


    "Oh, that woman. Did she pick on you?" Animosity surged beneath his eyes when he opened them,


    looking like he would bbor Cynthia at once if Sonia said yes.


    At that, Sonia patted his shoulder, telling him to calm down before saying, "No, I just bumped into her,


    literally. But it was really just an ident."


    Though Cynthia had been rude verbally, the former had indeed bumped into her by ident.


    As she wasn''t a fan of twisting the truth, she told him exactly how it went down. But Toby still looked


    grim. "Are you hurt?"


    "No." She shook her head. "I just got hit in the shoulder. It hurt back then, but I''m all okay now. Cynthia,


    on the other hand, had it worse. She fell on her bottom."


    At that, she couldn''t help giggling. "But that''s beside the point. What I''m trying to tell you is that she


    gave me some clues to Tina''s whereabouts."


    "What did you say?" Toby sat up right away. "Tina''s whereabouts?!"


    "Yes."


    "How could someone like her know when even I can''t find anything? Are you sure she isn''t deceiving


    you?" He stared at her intently.


    At that, Sonia bit her lip. "I thought she was lying to me as well, at first. But I kept a close eye on her


    gaze and expression the whole time. I don''t think she''s lying unless she had been deceived as well. But


    I don''t think it''s likely because the person who told her was Melody   Stryder."

 Chapter 1375

    Chapter 1375


    "Melody Stryder?" A hint of a profound expressionced Toby''s face when he heard the name.


    Sonia, on the other hand, pursed her lips, for the enigmatic expression hadn''t gone unnoticed when


    she had been observing his reaction to the name in the first ce.


    I knew it! This dude knows Melody''s out of jail!


    Or how could he not be surprised at all that Cynthia had met with Melody?!


    "I, um¡­" Toby deliberated his words when he sensed the gaze that she had on him.


    "Still not saying it, are we?" Sonia smiled enigmatically at him. "When did Melody get out of jail?"


    Here we go. Toby sighed and regained his usualposure in two shakes. "Two months after she


    went in."


    "So soon?!" She frowned.


    Watching him nod in affirmation, she found it hard to believe what had happened. "Why didn''t you tell


    me about it?"


    "I didn''t want you to get upset. After all, she came out not long after she was finally put behind bars.


    Anyone would''ve gotten upset. That''s why I hid it from you." His eyes were drooping.


    Meanwhile, Sonia bore into the man, for she knew he had her best interest at heart. However, it still


    bothered her. Thus, she ignored him for the next two minutes.


    Toby, too, knew she would be upset at the fact that he deliberately hid it from her, but he didn''t regret


    doing so. At that, he wrapped an arm around her gently and cooed, "Please don''t get mad at me. I only


    found outter too."


    Sonia looked at him in response, and he rified, "The reason Melody can get out is that her


    granduncle bailed her out with his life''s merits. Because he got injured in his early years in the war, so


    he couldn''t have his own children, and Melody treated him the best, so he couldn''t sit back and watch


    her spend the rest of her life in jail. Hence, he used his merits in exchange for her freedom before he


    died."


    "That''s the case, huh?" Sonia frowned. "That veteran sure has gotten senile. Does he not know what


    sort of a character her grandniece is? How can he let a viin out?!"


    "He had gotten senile. But then, it''s also not surprising. So many will be injudicious as they get on


    in years despite being shrewd when they were young, especially when it''s someone old-fashioned and


    childless. Because he took a liking to Melody, he regarded her as his own grandchild. Hence, he


    naturally wouldn''t sit back and watch her live the rest of her life in prison."


    "So, he used his merits to exchange for her freedom. Honestly¡­" Sonia sighed.


    There was no doubt Melody was a lucky one.


    "The penitentiary contacted me after Melody was out. They told me the reason for it and hoped that I


    would understand, but how could I understand?! Yet there was nothing I could do about it. After all, it


    was exchanged with merits. I couldn''t stop it," exined Toby icily.


    Sonia was no longer upset with Toby at this point, for it was as he said¡ªhe couldn''t stop it when it was


    exchanged with merits. It was a perk given by the government to those who had contributed immensely


    during wartime.


    Of course, the elder would be insignificant to the country after giving up his merits. Then again,


    the man was dead, so it didn''t matter.


    "But don''t worry. She isn''t absolutely free even if she''s out. She''s under constant surveince. They''d


    seize her once she goes rogue," Toby rified at once, worried that Sonia believed that Melody lived


    her life like any other decent citizen after leaving prison.


    "That''s good to hear." She nodded. "Melody''s now looking for Tina everywhere. ording to Cynthia,


    Tina deceived Melody. Thus, she wants to retaliate against Tina."


    "I know." Tobias nodded.


    "You know Melody''s looking for Tina?" Sonia asked in shock.


    "I do," he affirmed. "She has been looking for Tina since leaving prison. It''s precisely because I know


    the fact that I''ve been leaving her alone thus far. Melody and Tina had been pretty close back then, so I


    thought maybe she''d have clues to Tina''s whereabouts. So, I had my men keep a close eye on her,


    nning to put her back in prison once she had found Tina."


    Though the penitentiary asked that he ept the reason they let Melody out, how could he really let


    the young woman live freely like a normal citizen?!


    While promising the penitentiary that he would overlook the fact that Melody had been bailed out of jail,


    he covertly prepared traps for Melody to fall into so that she would break thew again. With that, she''d


    stay in there for good, and there would be no one to bail her out anymore.


    However, he found out Melody was looking for Tina when the inchoate thought had just formed. Thus,


    he put the idea aside for now.


    After all, it would be even better if Melody did all the work of finding Tina. Then, he could just swoop in


    and seize them all at once after Melody found Tina.


    "That works too." Sonia nodded. "When I bumped into Cynthia earlier, she said Melody revealed some


    of Tina''s whereabouts to her. One was Kosovo, and the other was Westsanshire. They were


    information from Melody''s old fair-weather friends, who had helped her, seeing that they used to be


    close. Though they are far less influentialpared to you, they have their bizarre ways of finding a


    person. So, it might be legit."


    "Kosovo and Westsanshire¡­" Toby mumbled the names of the ces and squinted. Suddenly, a


    thought shed across his mind. However, it shed by so quickly that it disappeared before he could


    catch it.


    That said, he didn''t n on just dismissing it, for his gut told him whatever that thought was, it was very


    crucial. So crucial that it could be the key to locating Tina.


    But the fact that it disappeared so quickly irritated him.


    "What''s wrong?" Sonia was concerned about what was on his mind, seeing that he was upset.


    "Nothing." He shook his head. "I''ll have Tom send people to those locations for inspection. Though it


    has been some time, it''ll still be good if the surveince still stands."


    "You''re right." Sonia nodded.


    With that, Toby pulled his phone out to call Tom, only for the man to call him instead.


    "Looks like your brainwaves are in sync." Sonia sniggered, leading Toby to turn grim.


    In sync? With him? No, thank you.


    That said, he didn''t say anything but just answered the call. "What is it?"


    "Lte escaped, President," Tom answered anxiously.


    Toby didn''t put the call on speaker, but because Sonia was right next to him, she heard Tom clearly.


    "What? She got away?!" she eximed in shock.


    "Yes, Miss Reed," the assistant answered with a nod.


    "Aren''t she and Mr. Lore waiting for me in the room?" Toby was looking beyond grim. "How could she


    have gotten away? Did you not have anyone keeping watch over them?"


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Why Lte would run away and where she would run to were already obvious answers.


    She would certainlye and find him. After all, this was her only purpose foring on this night.


    Tom defended himself in the face of Toby''s questioning. "I have, President. But they said they didn''t


    want people staring at them in the room, so they chased our men out, having them keep watch in the


    corridor. Later, Lte asked for a server to go into the room. With that, she knocked the server out


    cold, put on the uniform, and ran away."

 Chapter 1376

    Chapter 1376


    "Shoot, she did that?!" Lte''s n stumped Sonia.


    "Who allowed the ones guarding the Lores to let people in?!" Toby hit the roof.


    Knowing they were in the wrong, Tom answered, "You just said not to let them out, President. But you


    didn''t say other people couldn''t go in. So, Lte used the loophole to get away."


    So, it''s my fault?! Toby turned grimmer by the second, making Sonia snigger.


    "Is Mr. Lore still inside?" Toby asked while rubbing his temples.


    "He is." Tom nodded. "Only one server went in, so only one could leave. Since Lte ran away, Mr.


    Lore had to stay."


    "Right," Toby replied. "From now on, I don''t want anyone else going in or out until I get there. Get the


    food and drinks ready for Mr. Lore, and also have someone check on him every ten minutes. I want him


    safe and sound."


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "Yes, sir." Tom nodded in acknowledgment.


    He knew well that Toby didn''t really mean ''safe and sound'' but rather that Mr. Lore wasn''t using his life


    to threaten anyone.


    "Also, find another two people to guard the door and send the ones originally keeping watch back to


    security school to work on their vision. What use do I have for them when they can''t even tell the wrong


    person left the door?!" Toby ordered through gnashed teeth.


    Tom, too, agreed with Toby. It was indeed time to send them back to security school when they couldn''t


    even tell Lte had passed by them.


    "Understood. I''ll get to it right away, but Lte¡­"


    "She''ll definitelye to the banquet. Have someone find her," Toby ordered.


    "Yes, sir."


    "One more thing." Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Tom listened quietly as Toby gave his order. "Tina went to Kosovo?!" Tom eximed in shock.


    "It''s a fact yet to be verified. So, these are your next tasks," said Toby inly.


    "Understood, sir." Toby turned solemn. "I''ll send people over right away, and Westsanshire, too."


    Toby ended the call with a hum, then put the phone down and reached for the wine. However, Sonia


    ced her hand over the ss.


    "What is it?" The man looked at her with bafflement.


    "Don''t drink anymore," said Sonia as she pushed the ss further. "You''ve already had a lot. You''re


    going to get drunk if you keep at it. Have some of this."


    She poured half of her juice out and handed it to him, who smiled as he looked at the juice in the wine


    ss. "Alright, no more wine. You''re the boss. I''ll have this."


    "Props to you." With that, she ate a piece of fruit using the expensive-looking fork, then put it down and


    stood up after she was done.


    "Where are you going?" Toby looked up at her.


    "The washroom. I''ve had too much juice," answered Sonia as she grabbed her bag.


    "I''ll go with you," Toby suggested as he put the ss down.


    "You want to go into the women''s bathroom with me?" She rolled her eyes at him.


    "I''ll wait outside," announced Toby as he stood up.


    "No need." Sonia found it ridiculous. "I''m not a child that needs attending to. Besides, there are so


    many people here. It wouldn''t be good if someone caught you waiting outside the women''s washroom.


    Alright, just wait for me here. I''ll be back in a sec."


    With that, she made her way to the washroom.


    Meanwhile, Toby''s gaze turned enigmatic as he watched her saunter away, and he picked up the ss


    of juice to take another sip.


    At the washroom, Sonia reapplied her lipstick at the bathroom vanity after doing her business.


    After she had drunk so much juice, her lipstick had long faded.


    What was more, she had on heavy makeup that night, so her entire look would look off when her


    lipstick faded. Hence, she would need to reapply toplete her entire look.


    When she was done, she turned her head from side to side to check everything was okay before


    putting the lipstick into her bag and leaving the washroom happily.


    Just as she exited the washroom, a female server approached her direction, and her beauty stunned


    Sonia.


    She wasn''t the bombshell type. Instead, she was adorable. She had a round face, delicate facial


    features, and adorably chubby cheeks. Even adorable was an understatement.


    Plus, she wasn''t tall, probably only around five feet. And she had on a bun. Coupled with her doll-like


    face, she was the epitome of a sweet princess.


    If she puts on some frilly princess-style dress or some preppy clothes, she''ll definitely look the part!


    Sonia mused. No one wouldn''t say no to anything adorable, and the same went for her too.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that it was rude, she''d really want to rub the female server''s face. Her face must


    feel good to knead, she mused with regret while sizing the approaching server.


    Then, the second she walked past the server, thetter suddenly stopped and turned her head to


    Sonia. "You must be Sonia Reed."


    The server not only looked like a doll but even sounded like one.


    Of course, that was beside the point. The point was this server knew her!


    Sonia reflexively stopped as a hint of surprise shed across her eyes, and she turned to look at the


    server standing next to her. "Hi, do you know me?"


    She indirectly acknowledged she was indeed Sonia.


    The female server had turned entirely around at this point and stared at Sonia face-on with nothing but


    malice and jealousy.


    Her gaze shocked Sonia, and it baffled her that a stranger would have such intense animosity toward


    her. But she very quickly realized something when she looked at her unfitted uniform.


    Hadn''t Tom said over the phone that Lte knocked a server out cold and ran away wearing their


    uniform? Also, Lte had a doll-like face!


    The slightlyrge uniform and doll-like face that fitted Lte''s description appeared on this server, so


    it was clear now who the person standing in front of her was.


    "Lte!" Sonia blurted out.


    The female server smirked and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So, you know me too, huh?"


    She admitted she was indeed Lte.


    Sonia pursed her lips. "Well, I''ve heard of you, but I wouldn''t say I know you." She didn''t think she


    would be so lucky as to bump into Lte right outside of the washroom.


    No, perhaps it wasn''t that she was lucky, but that Lte might havee specifically for her.


    After all, she never saw a sliver of surprise in Lte''s eyes.


    So, it was apparent that the youngdy hade for her.


    On the other hand, Lte''s smile froze after she heard Sonia''s answer, displeased.


    What do you mean ''I''ve heard of you, but I wouldn''t say I know you.''?!


    To her, they were love rivals, and to fight Sonia, she spent tons of time and money collecting various


    information on Sonia. It could be said that she knew Sonia through and through.


    Shouldn''t that be the case for her too?!

 Chapter 1377

    Chapter 1377


    We''re love rivals! Reed should learn everything about me as I had done! But¡­ she didn''t do a single


    thing! This¡­


    For a moment, Lte was ovee with fury. She held significant regard toward her love rival, yet


    thetter thought nothing of her! Who wouldn''t be livid if it happened to them?!


    Sonia, on the other hand, thought the heavens had made the wrong decision to give someone like


    Lte such an adorable face when she saw thetter baring her fangs, ruining her adorable face.


    Such an adorable face should''ve been on a sweet, gentle girl and not someone like Lte.


    Bored, Sonia quirked her lips and withdrew her gaze, wanting to leave. However, Lte grabbed her


    arm in time, preventing her from walking away. "You''re not going anywhere!"


    Probablying from jealousy, Lte sank her nails into Sonia''s flesh when she grabbed Sonia, who


    winced and frowned in pain.


    Lte, on the other hand, grinned victoriously in response.


    Made livid, Sonia wrested her arm away out of annoyance, causing Lte to take a couple of


    involuntary steps back and fall on her bum from the momentum, stumping her.


    Meanwhile, Sonia checked her wrist, never once giving two hoots about the young woman.


    She instantly turned grim when she saw the few unmissable fingernail marks on her fair arm.


    This woman sure ys dirty. The skin where Lte had wed turned purple. One could imagine the


    force the young woman applied.


    Sonia, seething with rage, put her arm down and wanted to get back at Lte. However, before she


    could do so, the young woman got back up on her feet and red daggers at Sonia. "How dare you


    shove me, Reed?!"


    "Shove you?" The young woman''s ridiculousness made Sonia amused with rage. "I''m not as


    shameless as you to me-shift. Huh, look at you, calling me a viin for shoving you when I haven''t


    used you of pinching me. What a joke! You''ve fallen on your own, and yet you me others for it."


    "I fell on my own?!" Lte gibed. "Would I have fallen if you hadn''t yanked your arm away?! So, it''s


    still ultimately your fault! This won''t end until you kneel and beg for my forgiveness!"


    Kneel and beg for your forgiveness?! Sonia couldn''t help rolling her eyes. At what age does this


    woman think we live in?! The middle ages?! Kneel and beg my grass! What a lunatic.


    "So, what if I did pull my arm away? You sank your nails into my arm first. If you hadn''t done it, I


    wouldn''t have pulled my arm away, and you wouldn''t have fallen. So, if anyone is at fault, it''ll be you.


    Have you ever heard that empty vessels make the most noise? So, you should be the one to kneel and


    beg for my forgiveness." Sonia lifted her chin and took advantage of her height to look down at Lte


    like she was looking at a clown.


    The young girl, on the other hand, wasn''t only aggravated by her gaze but also her words. Empty


    vessels make the most noise?! This woman is calling me ignorant! She looks down on me!


    "How dare you call me out and even tell me to kneel and beg for your forgiveness?!" raged Lte


    while pointing maliciously at Sonia, looking so ferocious like she would eat thetter up.


    To that, Sonia rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "How dare I not? What? You can attack me, but I can''t


    retaliate? Huh, sorry to break it to you, but the world doesn''t work that way."


    "Take a look at yourself and take a look at me! You think you''re worthy of beingpared to me?!"


    Lte screeched like she wanted the world to hear her.


    Sonia quirked her lips, glowering at Lte. "Why not? Are we not both human? Or are you some sort


    of monarch that no one can criticize? Huh, jokes on you; you''re now but a daughter of an affluent family


    that''s about to be washed up. In terms of status, you and I are not far off. In fact, if we''re to be serious


    about it, I am a chairman of apany, while you are just someone from a rich family. In terms of


    status, I stand taller than you. So, tell me who''s the unworthy one."


    Exasperated, Lte stomped her feet with rage. "You¡­ You¡­"


    "What about me?" Sonia sneered disdainfully, biting back without mercy. "Look at you; you can''t even


    get your words straight. Why don''t you go back to school and actually learn something before further


    humiliating yourself?"


    Lte was so livid that her eyes turned bloodshot.


    Indeed, her upbringing disallowed her from even cussing, so what more retort others wittingly? Thus,


    not even two of her could defeat Sonia in eloquence. So, she would naturally be made infuriated.


    However, Lte was strong-willed. Despite being beside with rage, she bounced back in two shakes,


    and she maniacally chuckled while glowering at Sonia. "This is the real you, isn''t it? It must be tough to


    act docile in front of Toby."


    "What?" Her words stumped Sonia. "Act docile?"


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    "Hmph, don''t y dumb with me. Don''t think for one second that I don''t know this sharp-tongued and


    vitriolic side is the real you. But because you worry Toby won''t like it, you hide this side of yourself


    away from Toby and pretend to be all gentle and sweet. You sure are a sly fox, Reed," Lte snarled.


    The young woman''s words sounded so ridiculous to Sonia that a chuckle escaped her. "Are you sure


    it''s not just all in your head? When have I ever pretended to be gentle and sweet?"


    At least she never behaved the way Lte thought she would in front of Toby. She behaved however


    she wanted. Thus, the young woman had certainly imagined it all herself.


    "Still lying, are we, Reed?" Of course, Lte wouldn''t believe a word Sonia said. The way she saw it


    was that Sonia was merely making excuses. "I know full well just the kind of person you are, and so


    does Toby. So, it''s useless no matter how you pretend. Given how you threatened Toby to get back with


    you, it''s doomed that he will never love you." Lte raised her chin triumphantly, looking like she had


    unveiled what Sonia cared about most.


    She had believed she would find Sonia hitting the roof after bursting her bubble, but she waited and


    waited¡­ Yet, she barely received a reaction from thetter. Instead, she found a hint of ridicule in


    Sonia''s gaze.


    Ridicule? The expression on Lte''s face froze. What is the meaning of this? How dare this woman


    ridicule me?! Shouldn''t she be flipping out right now?! After all, I''ve called her out on what she cares


    about most! But how can she look at me like I''m some joke instead of being angry? She must be mad!


    While the young woman was reeling in bewilderment, Sonia''s voice traveled to her ears. "I''ve once


    heard that you Lores believe the reason Toby only got back together with me is that I ckmailed him


    into it, and he had no choice but to agree to it. So, I want to know now, just who in the world told you


    and your family this is how Toby and I got back together?"


    "As if we need anyone to tell us about it! Isn''t it obvious by itself?!" Lte snorted. "Toby doesn''t love


    you at all. Do you think no one knows what your six years of marriage to him were like?! Would he


    even treat you like that if he loves you?! Whom he loves is Tina. You''re just a homewrecker who


    threatened Toby into marriage while Tina was in aa. Since he doesn''t love you, the only possibility


    that he would marry and even get back together with you is that you have something on him and


    nothing else!"

 Chapter 1378

    Chapter 1378


    Anyhow, Lte refused to believe or evene close to epting the possibility that Toby got back


    with Sonia because he loved her.


    Sonia, on the other hand, couldn''t be bothered to exin herself anymore, seeing how affirmed Lte


    was in her notion.


    s, it was useless to convince someone who had their whole head stuck in their little world. They


    would never believe nor listen to anything that challenged their notion.


    So, why bother exining?


    "Oh, since that''s how you believe how things are, what are you going to do next?" asked Sonia as she


    tucked her wavy hair back, on the verge of not giving a duck anymore.


    "Expose your phony little mask in front of Toby and reim his leverage, of course!" Lte snarled.


    "Good idea." Sonia pped, apuding her. "And after that? Reim the leverage to save your dear


    Toby from jeopardy so that you can use it to threaten Toby to be with you, am I right?"


    "How did you¡ª" Being called out, Lte turned subtly grim, then hurriedly backtracked her words with


    an evasive gaze when she realized what she was doing. "What are you talking about?! Who do you


    think I am to ckmail Toby with the leverage?! If you have nothing nice to say, don''t say anything at


    all, Reed! I''m not as vile and shameless as you are! I will naturally let Toby dispose of the leverage. No


    way would I do anything with it."


    While she ranted, her heart raced wildly.


    Goodness, I nearly blew it.


    Little did she think that Sonia would have such sharp instincts and hit the mark precisely.


    She was indeed going to threaten Toby with the very leverage that shackled him to Sonia after seizing


    it. If Sonia could seed, why couldn''t she?


    Though Toby might hate her for it, it didn''t matter. Once she was with Toby and became his rightful


    girlfriend, she would have all the time and ns in the world to coax Toby.


    She believed he would eventually be moved and fall in love with her if she took time and effort.


    By then, all the aversion and repulse she would face would be nothing.


    At that, Lte beamed as she reeled in the excitement and expectancy of the future.


    That said, she wasn''tpletely hysterical, so she hurriedly put her thoughts and emotions away after


    smiling for a moment, lest she exposed too much.


    But too bad for her because Sonia saw through everything.


    The young woman''s unfinished words, especially, looked absolutely ridiculous to Sonia.


    To think I have thought this girl is madly in love with Toby, but looking at things now, there isn''t much


    love, is there?


    Who would bear to use anything to threaten the very person they love to be with them?


    Thus, it was clear that Lte didn''t love Toby but the benefits that came along with him. Yet, the


    young woman loved to use true love to mask her vanity.


    A sliver of ridicule shed across Sonia''s eyes, but she couldn''t be bothered to call Lte out.


    Instead, she pped for the young woman and praised her perfunctorily, saying, "Wow, how noble of


    you, Miss Lore. So why don''t we go over to your beloved Toby now?"


    The expression on Lte''s face froze in response. See Toby? Now? No way!


    She hadn''t gotten anything on him, so seeing him now would do nothing for her, especially when she


    had snuck out.


    At that, her eyes darted everywhere nervously.


    Sonia, on the other hand, snorted disdainfully, seeing that the young woman was chickening out.


    To Lte, the snort was one of mockery and contempt from her love rival. Though it was a fact, for


    someone who had always been prideful, Lte naturally couldn''t take it at all. Hence, her anger got


    the better of her, and she snarled while ring daggers at Sonia.


    Because of her doll-like face, she looked like an angel when she smiled. However, when malice


    enveloped her face, she looked like the haunted doll from the horror movies that sent chills down


    people''s spines.


    Though it wasn''t to that extent for Sonia, she still felt ufortable, and she furrowed her brows in


    disdain. "What''s with the look, Miss Lore? Do you want to eat me up?"


    "Enough gloating, Reed. You better hand Toby''s leverage over if you know what''s best for you! Maybe I


    might be able to help keep you alive. I''m sure you know just what Toby is like. He would never let


    anyone threaten him. The only reason you''re still standing here today after threatening him is that you


    have something on him, or you would''ve long been dead meat. So, you better hand whatever it is over.


    As long as you hand it to me, I might be generous and consider interceding for you to Toby and ask him


    to spare your life. If you don''t, then it''s on you."


    Sonia couldn''t take it anymore after hearing Lte''s egotistical threat and chuckled with pursed lips.


    "What are youughing at?!" Offended, Lte turned grimmer by the second.


    "Your joke, of course. You said it yourself, Miss Lore. Toby would never spare anyone who dared


    threaten him. Since ckmail is the reason that I can still be alive today, why should I so idiotically


    hand it to you instead of continuing to use it? Would it just be a suicidal move? Also, you interceding for


    me? Ha, what a joke. We''re enemies! Would you want your enemy to live a good life? You may be able


    to fool an idiot with it, but you can''t fool me."


    At that, Sonia waved her finger with a smile. "Besides, you said it yourself. You might be generous and


    consider interceding. I''m sure the ''might'' here means ''no'', or why did you say you would instead of


    might? Hence, Miss Lore, I wouldn''t give up the leverage, much less hand it into your hands."


    "You!" Livid with rage, Lte red daggers at Sonia, surprised that Sonia could be so cunning. Not


    only was thetter not going to hand her the leverage, but she was even finding ws in her words,


    making her look illiterate.


    Meanwhile, Anya was just about to freshen up when she found Sonia as she turned into the corner not


    far from where the two were standing.


    Though all she saw was a back, there was only one fiery red dress of the design, and she knew


    Sonia''s figure like it was the back of her hand. Hence, she could tell at one nce that the back


    belonged to Sonia.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    To think I''d be so unlucky to run into this woman even in the washroom. Aversion enveloped Anya''s


    face as she clenched the armrest of her wheelchair. But what is Reed doing?


    With that, she retreated into the corner and peeked.


    As she had been looking straight ahead, Sonia''s back was all she could see. But now that she


    switched an angle, she finally saw more than that¡ªSonia was talking to someone.


    Is that a server? Anya wondered, unsure what Sonia had to talk to a server about. Is there something


    special about that girl?


    Withholding the notion that she could only defeat Sonia only by scrutinizing anything and everything


    that mattered to thetter, Anya finally spared the server a nce, seeing what was so important about


    the server that Sonia would spend time talking to her.


    Lo and behold, her gaze changed for the worse when she finally realized who it was.

 Chapter 1379

    Chapter 1379


    Why does this server look so familiar? I have seen her before, but where?


    Anya searched through her memory archive andnded on a young face identical to the server.


    Lte Lore!


    Anya''s eyes widened with shock and incredulity. As though she wanted to confirm her guess, she glued


    her gaze onto Lte''s face.


    It''s her! It''s really Lte Lore!


    Who else other than the idiotic, wicked, and useless rich kid would have that face and that lofty


    attitude?!


    Anya clenched her hand that was grabbing onto the wall corner so tightly that the shape of her joints


    showed through her skin and flesh.


    One could see the amount of force she used and how ruffled she was by Lte''s appearance.


    Just when she thought the server whom Sonia was talking to was only somewhat distinctive, lo and


    behold, it was Lte!


    Since when did Lte need to work as a server? Wait, that''s not the point¡ªshouldn''t she be abroad?!


    When did shee back?


    She had sent a crestfallen Lte out of the country seven years ago and even made the young


    woman promise to never return. But now, she had broken her promise in a short seven years and


    returned to Caruna! It''s all because I¡­


    Anya gritted her teeth, and her eyes were bloodshot. But very quickly, she tucked it all away and smiled


    maliciously.


    It doesn''t matter, for it''s also good that she''s returned. She''s a force to be reckoned with.


    Sure, she wasn''t as smart as Anya, but she could be as wicked as Anya.


    What was more, given Lte''s psychotic obsessiveness toward Toby, she believed the young


    woman''s first mission was certainly to snatch Toby for herself.


    Since she''s going to snatch him, she''ll have to defeat Reed first.


    Hence, Anya decided to sit back and let the two women fight to their deaths before she swooped in for


    the take.


    At that, she grinned and shifted her gaze to Sonia, feeling bad for Sonia as Sonia had her and Lte,


    the lunatic, as an enemy.


    That woman was a tough nut. She might be a little dumb, but she was ruthless with her moves. More


    importantly, she didn''t know when to stop and would attack whenever. Thus, Sonia would have her


    hands full in fighting Lte for a while.


    At that, Anya released her grip on the wall and fished her phone out of her bag.


    Lte''s appearance was undoubtedly good news for her, for the young woman could help her get rid


    of Sonia and also find out some of Toby''s hidden forces. All in all, it would help her rather than trouble


    her.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    That said, the original n with Connor would require some alteration. Nheless, it wouldn''t be a big


    deal, and she believed Connor would consider her n after learning about Lte.


    While calling Connor, Anya moved her wheelchair back. She then silently retreated out of the corner


    and headed far away.


    She not only wanted to tell Connor about Lte''s appearance but also have him find out when the


    young woman returned, for she hadn''t gotten a single hint when she was in police custody.


    Meanwhile, Sonia and Lte never discovered Anya the whole time, and Lte was still beside


    herself with anger at Sonia''s words.


    "Either way, you''re not going to hand over the leverage, aren''t you?!"


    "Yes." Sonia smiled.


    "Are you not afraid of the consequences, Reed?" Lte asked grimly.


    Too bad for her, Lte''s face could never look intimidating no matter what she did. Thus, not only


    would people not fear her, but they would even find her hideous.


    What a lost cause for such an adorable face.


    At that, Sonia subtly shook her head and felt sad to see such an adorable face on someone like


    Lte.


    "What consequences would there be? Let''s hear it out. For all we know, I might get scared and might


    eventually yield, no, Miss Lore?" Sonia smiled.


    The double ''might'' infuriated Lte, for she knew the woman was mocking her.


    Sonia had first countered her ''might'', and now, she deliberately used two ''mights'' to counterattack.


    What an evil wench!


    "Need I tell you what consequences you''ll face?!" Lte red daggers at Sonia with bloodshot eyes.


    "I will make your life a living hell and have you regret not agreeing to my demand. Toby''s means will


    only be more torturous than mine. Who''s to say if you''ll even live at the end of it?"


    With that, she observed Sonia''s expression, wanting to see if the woman would be afraid at all.


    If she did, that meant that her intimidation worked.


    If she didn''t¡­


    However, there was no ''if''. Sonia wasn''t the least bit afraid, and the discovery left Lte frothing at the


    mouth.


    "Are you not afraid to die at all?!" Lte eximed with incredulity, leading Sonia to roll her eyes


    unapologetically. "Please, Miss Lore. The world is governed byw nowadays. Do you think it''s good to


    paint your dear Toby aw-flouting demon who''d kill whenever he wants to? As for your threat to me¡ª


    do you want to bet that you''d be their top monitoring subject if I recorded what you said and


    handed it to the police? Once anything bad happens to me, you''ll be their number one suspect."


    Seeing that Lte''s countenance turned enigmatic, Sonia snorted, then said, "Judging from your


    expression, I can tell you''re probably clueless about thew. No wonder you''re uneducated enough to


    say something so cocky. Alright, let me enlighten you. First off, Miss Lore, your beloved Toby Fuller is


    most certainly aw-abiding citizen, and the way you describe him makes me question your ill-intent


    and also doubt if you actually love Toby. Otherwise, why would you want to nder him? Hence, I will


    rte your words to him honestly and see what he thinks of you. As for you, I will rte your words to


    the police and let them give you a lecture on thew."


    With that, Sonia turned to leave.


    "You can''t leave!" Lte stopped Sonia, looking panicked and apprehensive. "I won''t let you tell Toby."


    As for whether Sonia reported her to the police, she didn''t care one bit. All that mattered to Lte was


    Toby, who had already thought lesser of her now. Naturally, she wouldn''t want Sonia to ruin it further.


    She admitted that she had let her anger take control and thus allowed Sonia to get leverage on her.


    Hence, she had to stop this woman no matter what.


    "And I''m supposed to go along with you just because you don''t want me to? Who do you think you


    are?" Sonia shot Lte a dismissive nce, then continued walking away.


    A hint of malice shed across the young woman''s eyes when she realized Sonia wasn''t going to stop,


    and she raised her hands, wanting to shove Sonia.


    Reed can''t tell on me anymore once she falls. Yes, she can''t leave if she can''t move! Also, there''s no


    surveince here. No one will know what I do to her, not even Toby. Why not do something?!


    Once the malice arose, it would only snowball instead of disappearing.


    Lte''s evil grin spread across her face irrepressibly as she watched her hand get closer and closer


    to Sonia''s back.


    Just one push; one push and her face willnd on the floor. By then, her face will be disfigured even if


    she doesn''t die. Then, I''ll destroy her throat so that she can never speak again. By then, no one will


    ever know it was me!

 Chapter 1380

    Chapter 1380


    As the thought came to Lte, her breathing grew heavier by the second.


    However, the second she touched Sonia''s back, an angry and malicious male voice rang behind her.


    "Lte Lore, touch her and I''ll send you flying out of here!"


    The voice rendered the young woman aghast, for it belonged to none other than Toby.


    Just like that, her hand froze mid-air, no longer daring to do anything. Meanwhile, Lte stood rooted


    to the floor, pale-faced and drenched in sweat as fear and panic surged beneath her eyes.


    How can this be?! What is Toby doing here? He even caught me about to push Sonia over! What is he


    going to make of me now? Will he think I''m a wicked woman?!


    Unsurprisingly, it never urred to the young woman how her actions could affect Sonia. Rather, she


    was worried that Toby''s impression of her would plummet.


    Sonia had stopped as well when she heard Toby''s voice, and his threat shocked her even more so.


    If her guess was right, it meant that Lte was about to do something to her right behind her back.


    At that, she turned around at once, but before she could manage to catch Lte''s reaction, Toby had


    already moved toward her grimly.


    Meanwhile, Lte finally came to herself when Toby walked past her, and she hurriedly reached out


    to grab the man. "Toby¡­"


    However, he lifted his arm and impassively avoided her touch, then walked past her without even


    sparing the woman a nce.


    At that moment, Lte thought her heart had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and it felt as though


    someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on her. Tears instantly pooled in her red-rimmed eyes as


    grievance enveloped her face.


    Did Toby pretend not to have seen me?! It was something that would never have happened.


    In the past, he would always respond whenever she greeted him. Sure, he never replied


    enthusiastically, but he would still nod or hum a response instead of ignoring herpletely like she


    was invisible.


    Toby has changed! No, maybe he hasn''t. That woman must''ve threatened him. Yes, that must be it!


    She probably forbade him to talk to any other woman but her!


    As Lte grew more confident of her guess, her gaze at Sonia turned more baleful by the second,


    looking like it had been doused in poison, wanting to rot the woman away.


    In her mind, the reason Toby ignored her had nothing to do with Toby himself; she believed that Sonia


    had egged him, and it was all of Sonia''s doing.


    On the other hand, Sonia rolled her eyes at the young woman''s reaction and couldn''t be bothered to


    give a damn. At that, she withdrew her gaze and looked at her beloved. "What are you¡ª"


    "You okay?" Toby grabbed her shoulders and sized her up with nothing but worry in his eyes. "Did she


    do anything to you? Are you hurt?" he peppered anxiously.


    Before Sonia could even respond to such concern, Lte was already beside herself with jealousy.


    She couldn''t believe Toby would be so concerned about Sonia and even questioned if she had bullied


    Sonia!


    How can Toby do this?! Doesn''t he feel nothing for Sonia?! Why would he care if she got bullied and if


    she was hurt?! Can it be¡­ Does he actually¡­ No! No, no, no, no, no! No, that''s impossible! He would


    never!


    Lte shook her head violently and dismissed the inchoate thought at once.


    She couldn''t and refused to believe the reality. Hence, she negated it entirely.


    Sonia and Toby, on the other hand, never paid any attention to Lte but only focused on each other.


    "Rx. I''m good, and I didn''t get hurt. You came just in time." Sonia shook her head with a smile,


    feeling warm and fuzzy toward his anxious concern.


    She had a good hunch that Lte was indeed about to attack her, and if it weren''t for Toby''s timely


    arrival, she probably wouldn''t still be standing on both feet and talking to him.


    Seeing that Sonia wasn''t lying to reassure him, Toby let out a sigh of relief. "Good¡ª"


    But the next second, he spotted something, and he brought her wrist up at once. "What is this?!"


    He pointed at the bruises and asked her grimly, "What is this? You said you didn''t get hurt!"


    Sonia parted her lips as she looked at the nail marks but couldn''t utter a word. Tsk, great. I forgot about


    this one.


    As it no longer hurt, she had forgotten about it. Hence, she said she hadn''t received any injuries when


    he asked. However, he didn''t know, did he?! He''d instinctively think she was deliberately hiding it from


    him.


    Sure enough, seeing that she remained silent, Toby concluded that Sonia deliberately hid her injury


    and made nothing of it so he wouldn''t worry. But to him, this was a big deal!


    His heart would already shatter whenever she got a little scratch, so what more when she got bruised


    from a few fingernail marks?! It was evident how brutal and strong of a grip the attacker had used.


    "It''s fine, Toby. It''s just a few scratches," Sonia held Toby''s hand and cooed upon seeing his malicious,


    infuriated, yet aching gaze. "I''m not trying to hide it from you. I''ve just forgotten about it. It doesn''t hurt


    at all, so it didn''t ur to me. I''m sure you understand."


    "I don''t," said Toby grimly as he caressed the bruises tenderly. "I understand that you''re hurt, and it


    hurts me."


    Meanwhile, behind the couple, Lte felt envious as she listened to their conversation, but at the


    same time, she also had a lingering fear, for she knew just exactly what they were talking about¡ªthe


    fingernail marks she left on Sonia.


    She didn''t make much of it at first, for she believed it was no big deal that she had just pinched Sonia a


    little. Toby wouldn''te at her for something so minor, after all.


    As if he''ll ever stand up for her! Toby doesn''t love Sonia at all. Why would he do that when I''ve done


    nothing else but only pinch her?


    Now that she was seeing Toby reacting so apprehensively over something as minor as a few nail


    marks, she grew less confident and even nervous.


    Toby wouldn''t avenge Reed because of a few bruises, would he?


    Lte gulped nervously as she took a subconscious step back, which drew Sonia and Toby''s


    attention.


    One look was all Sonia took to know the pale-faced young woman wanted to run away, and she


    couldn''t help smirking.


    Toby, on the other hand, had his back facing Lte, but he could still guess what the young woman


    was up to through Sonia''s gaze despite not seeing it for himself.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    Sonia''s gaze was as bright and clear as crystal, reflecting everything she saw in her eyes. Thus, he


    didn''t need to turn around to know everything that was going on behind him.


    Hence, when he saw Lte retreating, he stood straight and asked in a sub-zero voice, "Who left


    these marks on you? Was it her?"

 Chapter 1381

    Chapter 1381


    Even when Toby kept his back facing her when he asked the question, Lte knew he was referring


    to her, and her legs froze instantly, no longer daring to retreat.


    Then, the next second, she found Toby turning around with Sonia''s hand in his.


    "Toby¡­" The young woman tried to pull a smile and greet him, but when she saw his expressionless


    face and sub-zero stare, her words got stuck in her throat.


    Toby''s looking at me like he''s looking at some dead animal!


    The notion hurt and scared her worse than being ignored.


    At the very least, being ignored meant that Toby just made light of her, but him gazing at her like she


    was a dead animal meant that he would feel nothing even when she died. In fact, he might be wishing


    she was dead.


    "You sank your nails into her arm, didn''t you?!" Toby reiterated, more like a definite statement rather


    than a question.


    Lte parted her lips and reflexively wanted to lie and deny the truth. However, Toby bore into her like


    he could see the deepest part of her soul, making her feel bare naked. "I¡­ I didn''t mean to do it¡­ I


    just¡­ just¡ª" she stuttered, unable to lie at all.


    "Then, what were you about to do just now?" Toby didn''t care about her exnation, nor did he want to


    hear it, even. The only thing that mattered was if she did it, and whether it was an ident was beside


    the point. Hence, he interjected very quickly.


    Sonia, on the other hand, smirked and quietly watched the scene unfold in his arms, for she knew her


    beloved was about to get back at Lte now.


    Since he wanted to avenge her, she''d just y the damsel in distress with peace of mind. Also, she


    had to be honest; it felt really good to have someone defending her, and even greater when it was


    against her beloved''s admirer.


    At that, she took a gander at Lte and smiled delightfully.


    Naturally, the smile aggravated Lte; in the young woman''s eyes, Sonia was challenging her.


    If it weren''t for the fact that Toby was standing right there, she wanted to pounce on Sonia and tear her


    face to shreds.


    Seeing that Lte remained silent, Toby bellowed, "Answer me! What were you about to do?!"


    Lte jolted in response, then looked fearfully toward Toby. "I¡­ I¡­"


    She gazed at Toby, who looked as handsome as ever, no different from when she left Caruna seven


    years ago, except for one thing¡ªthe man from seven years ago was forever pallid and sickly, looking


    weakly ravishing.


    However, Toby no longer looked like that. Sure, he was still fair, but it was a healthy kind of glow, and


    he no longer looked weak like he always seemed seven years ago.


    Not only was Toby far healthier now, but his personality had changed entirely.


    The man from seven years ago was gentle and would always smile tenderly, looking like the boy next


    door. But now, he was on the opposite end of the spectrum, no longer gentle, and his tender smile was


    gone, reced by impassiveness and aloofness. His gaze was intimidating to the point it suffocated


    others.


    It could be said that the Toby from seven years ago was a noble yet gentle skan, but the Toby now


    was a domineering alpha wolf, dangerous.


    What happened to Toby?


    Lte had a hard time epting such a dramatic change in Toby.


    Though her grandfather had long told her the Toby now was very different from the one she had known


    seven years ago, she never took it seriously, for she believed no one could change so drastically even


    if they did change. As such, the Toby now would still be the same one that she knew in her memories.


    Seven yearster, she finally got to see Toby again. Though he was still as handsome as she had


    remembered, he now felt very foreign. She couldn''t find a sliver of familiarity in him, and it frightened


    her deeply.


    Can I still interact with this Toby that I know nothing of like I used to? More importantly, do all the likes


    and preferences I''ve learned of him in the past still stand today?


    Lte''s mind was all over the ce, and her lip was nearly bruised from being bitten down


    aggressively. As her grievances overpoured, her tears streamed down like a never-ending waterfall too.


    "You''re not Toby!" Lte bawled as she looked devastatingly at Toby as though he was some


    heartbreaker who had betrayed her. "Toby wouldn''t treat me like this. He wouldn''t be so impassive to


    me or question me like I''m some criminal. You''re not my Toby! You''re not!"


    The scene changed so abruptly that even Sonia was nonplussed, and the corner of her lips twitched


    involuntarily.


    What the¡­ Does she think she''s in some melodramatic drama, crying so suddenly like Toby''s some


    heartbreaker?!


    Not only was Sonia inexplicably speechless, but Toby was baffled by the suddenness too. I swear this


    woman''s a lunatic!


    At that, he locked his brows into a deep furrow and looked aversively at Lte. "Don''t try to change


    the subject, Lte Lore. Were you going to shove her? Answer me!"


    Lte didn''t know how to feel anymore when she saw that Toby didn''t feel the slightest bit nervous, let


    alone have the urge tofort her, in the face of her dejection.


    How can this be?! How can Toby do this to me?! The young woman was rendered shell-shocked.


    Sonia couldn''t hold it in any longer and burst into a chuckle. "I''m sorry, Miss Lore, but it seems that your


    beloved Toby doesn''t buy your goody-two-shoes trick."


    "You!" Lte red daggers at her in response.


    Meanwhile, Toby narrowed his eyes and pulled Sonia closer into his arms, and he even covered her


    eyes. "Don''t look. It''s hideous."


    His beloved Sonia would have nightmares if she looked at such a hideous face.


    Sonia, on the other hand, beamed and nodded as she got his implication. "Alright, you''re the boss. I


    won''t look."


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    At that, Toby ruffled her hair affectionately, then turned to Lte with an impassive gaze, shaking the


    young woman out of recollection.


    She thought Toby had returned to being the gentleman that he used to be seven years ago when he


    smiled affectionately at Sonia. However, he tucked the affection away the second he looked at her, and


    it was only then she realized the old Toby never came back.


    He was still the Toby who treated her with nothing but impassiveness.


    "Toby." She looked aggrievedly at him, who was not only indifferent but looked even more averse.


    "Lte Lore, if I remember correctly, I was your grandfather''s student and your father''s peer, which


    also means I''m your senior. As such, it should be Mr. Toby for you. What? Do you make nothing of your


    father and want to be his sister, seeing that you refuse to address me with an honorific?"


    "Pfft, hahaha!" Sonia failed to hold back once again and guffawed in his arms.


    Be her father''s sister?! Ha, this will be my favorite joke!

 Chapter 1382

    Chapter 1382


    Sonia had always known that Toby had a b*tchy heart hidden beneath his cool, handsome face.


    However, because he always yed the sweet, gentle boyfriend in front of her, she barely ever saw


    this side of him.


    But Lte had probably crossed his line, so he fired at the young woman without caring if she was


    there anymore.


    That said, she felt great seeing how her beloved bbored Lte, and she wanted nothing more than


    tough, especially when she saw a frozen Lte reeling in bewilderment.


    On the other hand, helplessness and affection enveloped Toby''s gaze when he saw the woman in his


    arms shuddering inughter.


    Was what I said really that funny? But since she''s getting such a cackle out of it, so be it.


    At that, he ruffled her hair tenderly.


    On the other hand, Lte flew into a rage out of humiliation, for she couldn''t believe Toby said she


    wanted to be her father''s sister!


    How could something so humiliating be applied to her?!


    "Toby, how¡­ how can you paint me like this?!" she bewailed in a shaky voice while looking dejectedly


    at him.


    "Why not?" Toby had returned to looking impassive at this point. "Weren''t you asking for it? I''m your


    father''s peer in the first ce, yet you insist on regarding me as your brother. Thus, isn''t it that you


    make nothing of your father and want to be his sister instead of a daughter?"


    To that, Sonia repeatedly nodded in agreement.


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    Come to think of it, she had also initially felt super baffled that Toby allowed Lte to be on a first-


    name basis with him.


    After all, he was Harry''s student, while Lte was Harry''s granddaughter.


    It was evident that Toby was a generation senior to Lte. However, thetter kept addressing Toby


    as just ''Toby'', and it sounded awry.


    But she had assumed the two were only addressing each other ording to how they saw fit. Thus,


    she didn''t make much of it.


    It was only after Toby brought it up that she realized they hadn''t been addressing each other how they


    saw fit, but it was all just Lte''s wishful thinking.


    Toby didn''t agree to it at all.


    As for why Lte did so, Sonia had a good guess. Despite not being biologically rted, Toby was


    still an uncle figure to Lte, and once Lte acknowledged that fact, the world would certainly


    criticize her for being with Toby.


    The young woman probably refused to regard Toby as her uncle and instead as a brother because she


    didn''t want something like that to happen, did she?


    At least, it was easier for the world to ept a romance between siblings rather than uncle and niece.


    As sad as Lte was at the fact that Toby now disapproved of her behavior to regard him as her


    brother, she was angry as well, for it had undoubtedly severed her possibility of ever getting closer to


    him.


    At the same time, she refused to acknowledge him as her uncle as well. How would the world think of


    her if she did that?! Would the world call her out for hitting on her uncle after they started dating?!


    For a moment, the young woman''s expression changed multitudes, looking grimly colorful.


    Toby, on the other hand, didn''t want to waste any more time arguing with her as he wanted to rush back


    home to treat Sonia''s bruised arm. Thus, Toby sounded even more impatient as he said, "Lte, I


    don''t care what you were nning to do to Sonia just now, but I''ve noted it down, and I''ll pay it back


    along with the other things you''ve done. Don''t think for one second this is over. Now, go back to the


    room. Whatever issues you have, I will discuss them thoroughly with you and your grandfatherter. If


    you disobey, don''t me me for chucking you out."


    "Toby¡ª" She felt aggrieved at being criticized so unforgivingly by the man she loved so deeply, and


    she had wanted to continue being on a first-name basis with Toby. However, his emotionless gaze was


    like arge palm choking her, forcing her words back down. "How can you do this to me, Mr. Toby?


    How can you side with her?!" she said in a raspy voice as she pointed toward Sonia with jealousy. "I


    admit that I wanted to push her, but I had your best interests at heart! How can you side with her and


    attack me?! Have you forgotten who''s family?!"


    Her words were so ridiculous that Toby was livid with amusement. "You call attempting to murder my


    beloved having my best interests at heart?! Are you even sane, Lore?"


    And you tell me I''ve forgotten who my family is?! I''m very much conscious, thank you very much. Did


    she expect me to help her and pretend that I didn''t see her wanting to attack Sonia? Now that''s


    forgetting who my family is! No, that''s called an ungrateful b*stard!


    When it came to family, Sonia was his partner for life. As for Lte, she was barely even worthy of


    being an acquaintance.


    The word ''beloved'' was like hundreds and thousands of needles pierced deeply into Lte''s heart,


    aggravating her, and her eyes were enveloped with incredulity as she stared at the hugging couple.


    Beloved? Toby called Reed his beloved?! Has he fallen in love with Sonia? No! No, that''s impossible!


    Lte bit down on her lip and only released it sometimeter. However, a deep bite mark was left on


    her bruised lip, and anybody could tell it hurt just by looking at it.


    That said, neither Toby nor Sonia would care about her. After all, who would give two hoots about


    someone they hated?


    "Of course, I have your best interests at heart! This woman ckmailed you into marrying her six years


    ago, and six yearster, she still ckmailed you into getting back with her and even doing something


    so humiliating at other people''s banquet, disregarding your wishes and thoughts entirely. That''s why I''m


    here; I want to help you reim the leverage and escape her control. It''s she who doesn''t want to hand


    the leverage over. I''ve done everything I could, but she just refuses to give it up. As such, I have no


    choice but to get physical. But T¡ªMr. Toby, instead of helping me, you even stopped me and criticized


    me. Not only do you not get me, but you''re even siding with her! You''re the insane one here, Mr. Toby!


    We''re supposed to be a team, and she''s supposed to be the enemy!"


    At that, Sonia looked up and gazed teasingly at the man hugging her. "My, Toby, what shall you do? I


    sound like a bad guy. Miss Lore sounds very righteous, and you sound so miserable, being threatened


    by me like that. It sounds like I''m some viin, and you''re my captive. Miss Lore, on the other hand, is


    the brave hero that wants to save you even if it means that you''ll misunderstand and hate her. My, I''m


    truly touched. Are you not, Toby?"


    "Alright, that''s enough." Toby ruffled her hair with amusement.


    Following that, she looked toward Lte, whom he had deeply hurt, and asked with a frown while


    holding back his disgust, "You''re saying Sonia ckmailed me into marrying her and also getting back


    with her?"


    "Yes." The young woman nodded. "Otherwise, how else could you have possibly married her?"


    Sonia, too, nodded in affirmation. "I swear that''s what she said to me before you came. She said I was


    threatening you to be with me with the leverage I have over you. Why would I want to do that if I''m that


    capable, though? Why don''t I just force you to give me Fuller Group? With it, I''ll be the new CEO. What


    for would I need a man after that?!"


    In other words, a man was nothingpared to Fuller Group.

 Chapter 1383

    Chapter 1383


    This was by no means unjustified. After all, she would be betrayed by men, but not her career.


    Therefore, a sensible person would know which was more important.


    Of course, Toby knew the reasonings behind her decision, but he was still agitated by it. He lifted


    Sonia''s chin and looked at her with gloomy eyes. "Do you want to be a female boss?"


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Sonia blinked at him dazedly.


    Toby asked again, "Do you not want me anymore?"


    She blinked again, not daring to say a word. She was worried that he would do something drastic if she


    reflexively blurted a "Yes".


    However, her strategy failed, which meant that her silence didn''t help in this situation.


    He snorted as he red at her with a sullen gaze. "You don''t want me, huh? Don''t even think about it.


    Since you initially wanted to be with me, you can only think about dumping me in your dreams. Also,


    don''t even think I''ll let your words go unpunished tonight."


    With that, he released her chin with a displeased huff.


    She rubbed her chin and pouted helplessly. Damn. I shouldn''t have provoked him earlier. I''ve just given


    him more reasons to pester me now!


    They were whispering, so Lte, who sat across from them, couldn''t hear what they were saying, but


    jealousy still burned brightly in her eyes as she watched them being naturally intimate with each other.


    She red at Sonia with the resentment of a thousand suns as if she wished she could kill her with her


    scorching gaze.


    Toby happened to see her looking at Sonia with a malicious gaze. At that moment, he wished he could


    snap her neck right there and then.


    "Tob... No, Mr. Toby, you..." Lte shivered involuntarily as she sensed the killing intent exuding from


    him. When she met his eyes, she was so frightened that she felt a chill down her spine.


    Toby pulled Sonia back protectively so that she stood directly behind him, using his body to block


    Lte''s vicious re on Sonia. Then, he looked at Lte and hissed coldly, "Lte, listen very


    carefully. Little Leaf doesn''t have my dirtyundry, and she has not threatened me. I married her


    because I love her, which is the same reason I got back together with her. It''s as simple as that, so


    you''d better keep your ridiculous thoughts to yourself if you know what''s good for you."


    He loves her... This statementpletely shattered Lte''s crumbling persistence.


    She had arrived at this conclusion for quite some time, but she refused to believe and ept it. Hence,


    she kept convincing herself that Sonia threatened him and forced him to marry her. By doing so, she


    could persuade herself that her assumption was wrong. That way, she could console herself and feel


    better about her situation.


    But now, Toby bluntly said that he had never been threatened in the slightest. On the contrary, he


    married Sonia because he sincerely loved her and wanted to be with her till death did they part.


    "No, I don''t believe you!" Lte abruptly shrieked in despair. "This couldn''t be true. How can you love


    her?!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. She nced at Toby with utmost sorrow and pointed at Sonia


    behind him, who had received the love that was rightfully Lte''s.


    "Toby, please tell me that these are all lies! You''re lying, right? You don''t love her. You got back together


    with her and married her because she threatened you! Tell me! Tell me!" She was wholly worked up at


    this moment. She even lunged forward, wanting to grab Toby''s hand and plead with him. She wanted to


    convince herself that all of this was not true.


    However, he would never give her a chance to harm them. Instead, his face was painted with a


    disgusted grimace as he embraced Sonia and retreated for fear that Lte would hurt her. The


    moment Lte''s teary eyes saw him shunning her as if she was a piece of trash, her heart utterly


    shattered into a million pieces.


    "It''s true. I love her." Toby took Sonia''s hand, lowered his head to drop a tender kiss on her fingertips,


    and said gently, "Why would I marry her and get back together with her if I didn''t love her? Just


    because of some stupid threat? Hah, how ridiculous!"


    Toby held Sonia''s hand in his firm grasp. Then, when he looked at Lte again, his expression turned


    aloof and dispassionate. The 180¡ã in his attitude was so apparent that Lte could feel the lies she


    had been telling herself unravel. "Who do you think I am? I''m Toby Fuller! Who do you think would have


    any ckmail on me and use it to threaten me? Indeed, considering my status, many have tried to


    threaten me, but these people either copsed miserably or were exiled and never allowed to return


    without exception. None of them could sessfully force me to do their bidding unless I allowed them


    to do so. So, why would you think that I am a person who would sumb to some nonsense threat?"


    "B-Because... Because..." Lte parted her lips and stammered, but she couldn''tplete her


    sentence.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. "Because you''re looking for a reason to justify to yourself as to why I want to


    be with her, a reason to make you believe that I do not love her. That I''m choosing to be with her


    because of other reasons instead of love."


    She felt utterly exposed and seen through once he unveiled her motive. Nevertheless, she found her


    momentum, stomped her feet, and rebuked, "Yeah, I am searching for an excuse, but you can''t say


    that I''m wrong. You said that you wanted to get back together with her because you love her, fine. You


    have known each other for six years, so you probably have some feelings for her, but what about the


    marriage? Did you marry her because you loved her? You didn''t even know her six years ago! How do


    you exin why you guys suddenly got married? It was because she threatened you, right? Don''t tell


    me that you fell in love with her at first sight, okay?! At that time, you loved Tina!"


    When Sonia heard her mentioning Tina, she rolled her eyes and then pinched Toby''s waist indignantly.


    Toby grunted lightly. He knew that Sonia was angry, so he hurriedly grabbed her hand and gently


    squeezed it to reassure her. At the same time, he red at Lte with anger for bringing this up.


    He did not love Tina and had never loved her. He had always loved Sonia but thought Tina was Sonia


    and couldn''t recognize the real Sonia due to hypnosis. Because of this, everyone thought that he loved


    Tina instead of knowing whom he really loved.


    Although they had long revealed the truth, they chose not to talk about this past ever again. Both knew


    that this matter had separated them for six years, and Sonia had suffered a lot during these six years.


    He understood that bringing it up would only remind Sonia of the unhappiness in the past and also his


    ridiculous actions after being hypnotized. Therefore, they only discussed this matter if they had to.


    Yet, Lte had the gall to bring it up, which was akin to tap dancing on their minefield.


    "I''ve never loved Tina." Toby held Sonia''s hand, looked at Lte, and affirmed sternly, "I''ve always


    loved Sonia."


    At this moment, he did not address Sonia by her nickname but by her first name. That was because


    when one addressed another by their name instead of their nickname on important asions, it


    indicated their genuine sincerity in their confessions.


    Although Sonia red at him as she stood behind him after hearing his confession, she felt sweet and


    warm inside.


    Lte was utterly riled up at this point. She didn''t feel the slightest joy as annoyance and disbelief


    overwhelmed her.


    "What?! You never loved Tina?!" Her eyes widened in shock. "Impossible! How could you not love


    Tina? You looked so intimate and lovely together! How could you have never loved her?!"

 Chapter 1384

    Chapter 1384


    Lte did not believe what Toby said because she witnessed everything with her own eyes.


    Seven years ago, she was the only woman by Toby''s side besides Rose and Jean.


    Rose was his grandmother, and Jean was his mother. She was the only one who was not rted to


    him but could stay by his side. She was very proud of it too. Moreover, those women in the social circle


    who liked Toby envied her, and she felt even more triumphant because of this.


    In fact, she bragged that she was Toby''s future wife, and thedies in the social circle epted her


    boasting as fact. So, she was the most respected person in the circle.


    Until one day, Tina''s arrival came out of nowhere and crashed all her perceptions and dreams. That


    day, Toby personally brought Tina to her and told her that she was his lover.


    When that happened, she felt that the world was crumbling before her. Impossible! She grew up with


    Toby, but she had never seen any woman in his life! So, where is this lover from?!


    Furthermore, she knew Tina since they were in the same social circle, but she had never heard that


    Tina was even in contact with Toby. Based on the Gray Family''s status back then, Tina didn''t even


    have the chance to meet Toby, let alone know him. So, how could she suddenly be Toby''s lover?


    Lte suspected that there must be something amiss here, and there was something afoot. However,


    the way Toby looked at Tina was so genuine and loving, and it didn''t look fake at all. From then on, she


    believed that Toby indeed had feelings for Tina. Although they had never known each other before,


    they probably fell in love at first sight.


    Despite her reluctance to ept this fact, she had no choice but to do so, as she was inferior to that


    terrifying woman.


    Yet now, Toby told her that he had never loved Tina and that it was Sonia he loved. What was going on


    here? Although it was true that Lte held a deep affection for him, she wasn''t that blind. On the


    contrary, she couldn''t help but feel wholly bewildered as she questioned her intelligence.


    Toby had no intention of exining anything to rify her confused state. Instead, he merely continued


    faintly, "The thing between Tina and me is just a misunderstanding. No one should take it seriously.


    Sonia is the one and only woman for me."


    He caressed Sonia''s face affectionately and proimed, "As for the details¡­ Well, that''s our business.


    All you have to know is that Sonia is the only one I love, so the so-called threats and ckmail are


    sheer nonsense. You imed that all the harm you did to Sonia was for my good, but from my point of


    view, you were hurting the person I love to satisfy your selfish desire. So, do you think I''ll let you off the


    hook?"


    Blood drained from Lte''s face in the face of his threat. Her knees went weak, and she staggered


    back uneasily. She stared nkly ahead and stammered, "I-Impossible... Impossible..."


    Toby genuinely cared for Sonia and would avenge Sonia, so there was no doubt he would punish her


    for all the deeds she had done under the banner of love. However, it was because she was the


    mastermind who instigated all those negativements against Sonia on the Inte with baseless


    scandals. She did all those things to tarnish Sonia''s reputation and cause them to break up.


    He loved Sonia and would not break up with her, so Lte''s actions were akin to poking the sleeping


    dragon. Moreover, he caught her red-handed as she tried to push Sonia. Her actions only enraged him


    further and made him despise her.


    Because of this, he would certainly make her pay for everything she did.


    The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. Finally, a sheen of cold sweat appeared


    on her forehead as she begged, "Toby..."


    "Stop calling me with that tone! It''s disgusting!" Toby snapped in irritation.


    Sonia nodded along, feeling equally disgusted as well. Lte was an adult now, yet she spoke with a


    childlike demeanor. Not only did it sound far from adorable, but it made them feel awful.


    Lte was horrified when she noticed Toby''s grimace as he red at her. She couldn''t apprehend


    how things had gotten to such a stage. She knew that Toby did not love her, but he did not hate her


    either. Yet now, it looked as if he only felt utter revulsion and disgust for her.


    If Toby loathed her, could she still win his heart?


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    At this moment, Lte began to doubt the possibility and did not feel confident about her chances.


    But soon, she suppressed the doubt andck of confidence.


    No, I can do it! I can win his heart and make him like me! I believe in myself! I will seed as long as I


    persist!


    At the thought of this, Lte regained herposure. She clenched her fists and was about to say


    something when she heard a few footsteps behind her and reflexively turned to look back.


    She saw Tom arriving with two bodyguards, and her heart skipped a beat as she came to an epiphany.


    But then, her expression changed radically, and she turned her head back in disbelief. "Toby, did you


    call your men to arrest me?"


    "You came out of the suite and attempted to hurt my lover. Do you think I''ll let you get off scot-free?"


    Toby red at her coldly. She should count her blessings that he did not break her neck right there and


    then.


    Earlier, he was worried when Sonia didn''te to the rest area after a long time, so he headed out to


    look for her. Fortunately, he was right to trust his hunch because as soon as he came over, he


    happened to witness Lte extending her arms toward Sonia and trying to push her.


    What if he had beente? What if he hadn''t stopped her in time, and Lte had managed to push


    Sonia? What would have happened to Sonia, then? Disfigurement? She might have even lost her life


    today!


    No matter the oue, it was not something he wanted to see, nor something he could ept.


    Thus, Lte hadpletely infuriated him by attempting such a malicious move. Plus, her actions


    could even be considered attempted murder. He certainly would not let Lte off the hook just


    because she failed to murder Sonia this time. Should he wait for her sess next time? Dream on!


    "You should be d that this happened at someone else''s party. I don''t want to make a fuss and


    disrupt the party, so I wouldn''t do anything to you for the time being. Otherwise, I''d make you pay right


    there and then. Guys, take her back to the suit and keep her under strict watch. After the party is over,


    get rid of her along with those two chicks," Toby ordered Tom in an austere tone.


    Tom nodded and urged the bodyguards to apprehend Lte.


    Lte was confused and bewildered by the sudden turntables. She couldn''t even be bothered by the


    bodyguards who grabbed her arms. After a long while, she opened her mouth and stammered, "T-The


    two chicks... Who are they?" Is he talking about those two idiots?


    When Sonia noticed Lte''s constantly dodging gaze, she curled her red lips into a smirk. "Yup, it''s


    the two you''re thinking of, Miss Lore."


    Lte''s eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell?! Is it really them?! Did Toby catch those two idiots?


    No wonder she didn''t get any replies from them after she arrived at the hotel and asked them about the


    progress of their operation.


    At first, she thought that those two idiots were too busy replying to her as they flirted around with the


    men at the party. Only now did she realize that they had been caught since the start. Judging from


    Sonia''s words, she assumed they already knew those two idiots had been in contact with her for quite


    some time.


    Did they betray me? Did they tell Toby everything I did?! If so, I will definitely have to face Toby''s wrath!


    After all, she now knew that he was with Sonia because he loved her instead of being threatened.


    Therefore, she wouldn''t be graced with a mere p of the wrist. She couldn''t even imagine the


    consequences that she would be forced to face after this party was over!

 Chapter 1385

    Chapter 1385


    When Lte recalled the previous two incidents, even she, with all her experience, did not know how


    Toby would punish her.


    She shivered unconsciously, feeling an eerie chill right down her bones, and the mixture of hatred and


    frustration surged within her.


    She was angry at those two useless idiots who were caught so easily. Not only that, but they even


    snitched on her! They couldn''t keep their mouths shut, could they?!


    Lte''s eyes were burning with rage as she screamed inwardly, Just you wait! When I survive this, I''ll


    make those idiots pay for what they did to me!


    "Take her away," Toby instructed with a wave of his hand.


    The bodyguards grabbed her arms and took her away in the other direction.


    She didn''t beg for mercy, hoping that Toby could forgive her because she knew it wouldn''t work. She


    didn''t have Toby''s love, but she knew Toby like the back of her hand. Once he made up his mind, no


    one could stop him, and he would not have a change of heart because of some pleas or persuasion.


    Begging for mercy would only irritate him further. Right now, she needed to keep her head down.


    Therefore, she might as well be taken away quietly. After all, Toby only asked the bodyguards to send


    her back to the suite instead of punishing her. Then, when she was back in the suite, she could seek


    Harry''s advice on what to do next.


    Hence, Lte left without any protest.


    Sonia was befuddled by herck of reaction and wanted to ask Toby what Lte was nning.


    Although this was the first time that she met Lte, she could tell what kind of person Lte was.


    She was a stubbornly persistent person and would notpromise and surrender so easily. Thus, she


    shouldn''t be acting so meekly when Toby had ordered his men to take her away.


    Perhaps he could read Sonia''s mind as he ruffled her hair and exined, "Harry is in the suite."


    Once those words registered in her mind, it finally dawned on her what Lte was hoping for. "I


    almost forgot about that! No wonder she was so quiet. I bet she wants to return to the room as soon as


    possible to ask for Harry''s help."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll let them have a taste of their own medicine." Toby''s gaze was entirely threatening as


    he red in the direction Lte left.


    Lte had crossed the line by attempting to harm Sonia and even kill her. Hence, he would avenge


    Sonia and make Lte pay dearly.


    "Alright, I believe you." Sonia nodded.


    Then, Toby pouted and nced at her with a frown. His nce brought goosebumps all over her body,


    and she shrunk her neck unconsciously, feeling uneasy by his sudden change of emotions. "What''s the


    matter?"


    "I said that I would keep youpany and walk to the restroom with you, but you said no. See,


    someone tried to hurt you." His heartbroken eyes swept across the nail marks on her arm.


    She gave him a guilty smile as she hurriedly tried to salvage the situation. "I didn''t expect Lte would


    try anything."


    "And you got hurt." Toby held her arm with undisguised heartache in his eyes. "She would have killed


    you too if I hadn''t arrived in time."


    Sonia couldn''t say anything in response to that. Indeed, she would have been on her way to the


    hospital instead of being here in his arms if he hadn''t arrived in time.


    At the thought of this, Sonia felt the lingering fear inside her and bit her lip in fright. "I didn''t know she


    would be so bold as to try to kill me." She frowned in dismay.


    Toby flicked her forehead. This time, he exerted a little force, and her forehead turned red in an instant.


    "Ouch! Hey! What are you doing?" Sheined in pain and red at him while covering her


    forehead.


    "To teach you a lesson and ensure that you remember it this time." Toby pursed his lips and warned


    firmly, "I want you always to remember to watch out and be vignt, especially toward those who have


    tried to hurt you. Not only that, but you can never show your vulnerable side to others, or you''ll be


    digging your own grave. Do you understand?"


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    "Yes." She lowered her head. "I hear you."


    It was indeed her fault this time, and she was still far too naive.


    She knew that Lte resented her, but she let her guard down since they were in a hotel, and she


    assumed that Lte would not be so bold to do anything harmful to her. But now, she knew that an


    evil person would do anything they wanted to do no matter where they were.


    This was indeed a lesson learned.


    Once Toby was sure that she had learned her lesson, he heaved a sigh of relief. He held her hand and


    walked toward the lounge. "Let''s go and take care of those nail marks on your arm."


    Sonia nodded and obediently went along with him.


    Meanwhile, the guards rudely shoved Lte into the suit, and she almost fell to her knees due to their


    manhandling.


    Harry was drinking coffee. When he saw her being treated harshly, he hastily ced down the coffee


    cup, stood up, and went to help her up. "Lte."


    "Grandpa." Lte held Harry''s hand with a sad pout. "Look at them! They pushed me!"


    Harry red at the two bodyguards and Tom, who stood beside the guards. "Don''t worry. I''ll take care


    of this."


    Tom, who heard this, couldn''t help rolling his eyes. Take care of this? Who the hell does he think he is?


    Just as he was disparaging the old man, Harry turned to him and rebuked, "Mr. Brown, don''t you think


    you''re a little rude? I know that the rtionship between my family and Toby is a bit ambiguous now,


    but I''m still his teacher, right? In that case, I''m your boss'' teacher. Toby has to treat me respectfully


    even if he is irritated by me, let alone you guys! But look at what you did! How can you treat Lte so


    rudely?! What would you do if you hurt her?!" He reprimanded Tom using his status as an elder.


    Tom rolled his eyes again.


    Harry always bossed him around and treated him like a servant instead of Toby''s assistant in the past.


    So, of course, he had nothing kind to say about that old coot.


    He endured all of this due to Toby''s respect and admiration toward Harry, but it was all in the past.


    Now, Toby was sure to cut off all rtions with the Lores, and he definitely hated them after Lte


    attempted to kill Sonia. Therefore, there was no way he would roll over like a puppy after this.


    Thus, he found Harry''s arrogance and superiority amusing as he bossed him around and questioned


    him like before.


    Does this old man think that I will still treat him with the same regard as before? Tom smirked and


    thought, In your dreams, old man! I''ve had enough of you!


    At this thought, Tom pursed his lips and drawled, "Mr. Lore, what''s with the temper? I treated your


    darling granddaughter like this because Mr. Fuller gave me the right to do so. You do know that I work


    for Mr. Fuller, right? I simply treat Miss Lore the way Mr. Fuller treats her. So, Mr. Lore, you don''t have


    to tell me this. It''ll only fall on deaf ears. If I hurt Miss Lore in any way, please rest assured that Mr.


    Fuller can afford her medical bills. I''m sure you know that he''s rich, right?"


    Tom''s sarcastic retort irritated Harry so that his face flushed red in anger. His chest heaved as he tried


    toe up with something equally insulting. "You... You..."


    "Grandpa." Lte freaked out when she saw Harry so enraged, so she quickly supported him and


    patted his back tofort him. She was worried that he would have a heart attack or something since


    he was no longer in his prime.


    She didn''t like her parents, but she genuinely loved Harry. She also knew that she could live a carefree


    and ignorant life because of him. Finally, she knew she would be left with nothing when Harry passed


    away.

 Chapter 1386

    Chapter 1386


    Harry was the mainstay of the Lore Family because neither Lte nor Grayson could manage the


    company sessfully. Harry was the reason why they could still live a luxurious life with nary a worry.


    However, once Harry fell, it was only a matter of time before the family copsed.


    At that time, Lte would lose her status as the youngdy of a wealthy family and be poor. How


    could she fight with Sonia if she didn''t have anything? How could she win Toby''s heart, then? In fact,


    there was a high possibility that she might lose the chance to even see Toby!


    Therefore, she would not let anything happen to Harry no matter what.


    "Grandpa!" Lte shouted his name anxiously, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Harry leaned


    against her for support; he slightly rolled his eyes back as he kept huffing and puffing as if he felt


    suffocated and would die at any given minute. Naturally, the two bodyguards were dumbfounded by


    such a scene as they both staggered backward hastily and waved their hands, indicating that they had


    nothing to do with Harry being like this.


    Tom regarded them with tant contempt. Tom looked nonchnt andposedpared to the two


    bodyguards'' frantic expressions. He merely stood there like a silent statue as he quietly looked at Harry


    without the slightest change in expression, nor did he have the intention to call the doctor over. It was


    simply because he had seen such a scene far too many times and had long been desensitized.


    Frankly, he could tell at a nce whether Harry was really having trouble breathing or simply faking it.


    For example, at this moment, he knew that Harry was faking it, or at the very least, he was not in any


    serious medical condition. After all, Harry was extraordinarily skillful when it came to using his ''illness''


    as a tool.


    There were several times in the past when Harry would go to Toby, hoping to get something from the


    latter. Once he realized that Toby would not budge, he would begin to put on an act of being sick,


    precisely like this. Regardless, once Toby agreed to his request, he would ''recover'' immediately.


    Tom bet that if Toby were here, he would also be equally calm and indifferent.


    Just as Tom imagined Toby witnessing this scenario, Lte suddenly shouted at him urgently, "Tom,


    what are you doing?! Can''t you see that my grandfather is not feeling well?! Hurry up and send him to


    the hospital, or at least call a doctor! I''ll make you pay if anything happens to him! Toby will not let you


    off the hook too!"


    Tom pushed his sses calmly and quipped, "Miss Lore, that''s such a serious usation you have


    there. I''m not even going to bother to ask you if you can make me pay. Even Mr. Fuller won''t punish me


    for my actions. Can you please tell me what your rtionship with Mr. Fuller is? Now, everyone knows


    that Mr. Fuller wants to cut all ties with your family, so they are watching on the sidelines, waiting for Mr.


    Fuller''s official statement. Anyway, to tell you the truth, ourpany''s PR department has prepared the


    statement and is waiting for the right time to publish it, but it will happen sooner orter. When that


    happens, you and Mr. Lore will have nothing to do with Mr. Fuller. So, tell me, will Mr. Fuller punish me


    for my indifference?"


    "What did you say?!" Lte was so startled by his remarks that she froze, and her voice turned shrill


    and ear-piercing. "Has Toby already drawn up a statement to break off ties with us?"


    Even Harry couldn''t be bothered to y his patient persona at this moment. He was panting earlier, but


    now, his breathing returned to a smoother cadence. It was the effect of Tom''s words.


    Tom sneered in disdain when he saw Harry behaving like this.


    Harry felt a little embarrassed when he noticed Tom''s derisive expression, knowing that Tom was


    mocking him for feigning illness. Still, he was even more devastated and preupied with Tom''s


    remarks.


    "Is Toby going to issue a statement about cutting ties with us?" Harry asked in a gloomy tone, his


    hands shaking violently all the while.


    Tom crossed his arms in front of his chest as he mused, "Do you think it''s fake news? What do I have


    to gain by lying to you about this?"


    That''s right. Tom had nothing to gain from this. Therefore, it meant that Tom had no reason to lie to


    them, which meant that everything he stated was pure facts!


    Harry felt as if a bomb had exploded in his brain. His mind went nk, and he could not believe it. "No!


    Toby won''t do that!" Harry was so agitated that his originally ''pallid'' face turned red, and his entire body


    trembled in disbelief. "I''m his teacher! I can even call myself his father! How dare he cut off ties with


    me?! This is sheer impudence! Isn''t he worried that he would end up being ridiculed and reprimanded


    by the people?"


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Harry could not ept that Toby would be so cruel as to kick him to the curb. Even though he had


    heard of the rumors circting out there, saying that Toby wanted to cut ties with him and his family, he


    never truly ced any stock in them. Indeed, he was worried and perplexed by the rumors, but he was


    confident that they were just that, rumors. Such a thing could never happen as he knew that Toby was


    not such an ungrateful person.


    This exins why Harry didn''t do anything after what Lte had done thus far. Other than asking


    Grayson to apologize to Sonia, he had no intention of allowing Lte to apologize to Sonia in person.


    In other words, he had treated Sonia as a harlot who had somehow bewitched Toby for the time being.


    Hence, in his eyes, Sonia did not deserve such a privilege at all!


    First of all, Lte was an elegantdy and Harry''s precious treasure. Therefore, in his opinion, she


    was way out of Sonia''s league. When he heard that Sonia had the cheek to demand Lte to


    apologize to her personally, he could still recall his scorn toward that woman. Moreover, Harry did not


    think that Toby loved Sonia and that he would cut ties with them just because none of them apologized


    to Sonia sincerely.


    Therefore, Harry didn''t bother going to Sonia and went straight to Toby to convince him that Lte


    was still too young to know any better and promised she would not do it again. He believed that Toby


    was just temporarily frustrated and would forgive them with time, just as he always had.


    Yet, a few days had passed, but Toby never gave them an inkling that he would visit them, nor could


    they get in touch with him.


    Hence, to contact Toby and meet with him in person, they nned to hold a party for Lte to


    celebrate her return and sent Toby an invitation, but he returned it utterly unopened. It was clear that


    Toby had no intention of attending the party, which slightly annoyed them.


    From their perspective, they felt that they were trying to contact him to ease his mood and hoped that


    he would let bygones be bygones. Nheless, they didn''t expect him to be so enraged that he would


    not give them a chance whatsoever.


    Anyway, there was nothing they could do despite feeling snubbed by his rejection. Since Toby refused


    to attend their party, they had no choice but to cancel it ande to this banquet, hoping to meet him.


    s, they couldn''t even manage a private audience with Toby; instead, they were greeted with the


    announcement that he was about to release a statement that he wouldpletely cut off all ties with


    the Lores. Harry was up in arms the longer he thought about it. "I''m his teacher! How can he do this to


    me because of a woman? He... He..."


    This time Harry genuinely began to feel a little suffocated.


    Lte, who was holding Harry at the side, red at Tom, feeling enraged and sad.


    Toby really wants to break off ties with us! Does he know how much it breaks my heart for him to do


    this? Does he know what it means for him to do so? Unfortunately, the oue is the same as the


    death of Grandpa! It means that I will have nothing left!


    Tom didn''t know what Lte was thinking, nor did he pay any mind to that woman. He merely nced


    at Harry with a mocking gaze. "Mr. Lore, don''t be so surprised. ''Because of a woman''? Do you think


    that she is just some random woman? You''re talking about the woman Mr. Fuller loves. She is the most


    important woman beside Old Mrs. Fuller! Everyone around Mr. Fuller knows how much he loves Miss


    Reed! We know what he has done to win her heart! For Mr. Fuller, she is her Achilles'' heel. He won''t


    allow anyone to hurt her, but you''ve done so time and time again. You chose to hurt Miss Reed, which


    provoked Mr. Fuller''s wrath in return, so you only have yourself to me fornding in such a pathetic


    situation."

 Chapter 1387

    Chapter 1387


    Harry''s eyes widened in utter disbelief. They deserved it?! Did Tom just say that?!


    It was as if Tom could not notice Harry''s rage and his resentful re. He curled his lips into a mocking


    smirk and continued, "Well, initially, you wouldn''t have ended up in such a state. Actually, Mr. Fuller and


    Miss Reed gave you a chance, but you never cherished it. After all, you are his mentor. He would


    forgive you for the sake of your rtionship. Also, Miss Reed would forgive you, too, because you are


    Mr. Fuller''s mentor. It''s just a shame that none of you appreciated the chance you were given."


    Tom spread his arms helplessly. "Mr. Fuller has been enabling you all these years, causing you to


    be greedy, vicious, and arrogant. You all be so cocky and bossy. Mr. Fuller would clean up


    your mess without hesitation and wouldn''t warn you no matter what you did. So, this time, after what


    Lte did, instead of punishing her for her mistakes, taking the initiative to exin the truth of the


    matter, or apologizing to Miss Reed, you sent those idiots to make things worse. No one can help you


    after all the mess you''ve made!"


    He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "To tell you the truth, ording to Mr. Fuller''s unconditional


    feelings for Miss Reed, he would have immediately punished Miss Lte and your family after he


    knew what Miss Lte did, but he didn''t. Why? It''s for the sake of the mentor-mentee rtionship


    between the both of you, so he gave you a chance to repent your sins. You should have apologized to


    Miss Reed or done whatever you could to make up for Miss Lte''s mistakes. Third, you should have


    handled the matter better. You should have punished Miss Lte, told her that she should stop being


    delusional, and cease her ill intentions toward Miss Reed. Finally, she should have sincerely


    apologized to Miss Reed. Perhaps Mr. Fuller would not have done anything to you if you had done all


    those things. But did you? No, you did nothing. So, you have no one to me but yourself."


    Lte was dismayed by Tom''s merciless tongueshing.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    Should I have stopped being delusional? I should not have ill intentions toward Sonia?! I love Toby!


    Was it wrong for me to fight for the man I love?!


    Also, it is ridiculous for them to think that I have ill intentions toward Sonia! I did what I did to remove


    anypetition for Toby''s heart. Even at this moment, Lte did not feel that she was in the wrong.


    On the contrary, she raised her chin proudly, wholly unrepentant.


    Well, she wasn''t the only one since even Harry was also unconvinced by Tom''s remarks as he hotly


    retorted, "We did apologize to Sonia. We¡ª"


    "You call that an apology?" Tom interjected without a single shred of hesitation. "You went to Miss Reed


    without bearing gifts and even behaved so arrogantly. There would have been very few conflicts in this


    world if you called such an act an apology, and Miss Reed would have long forgiven you."


    Tom''s sarcastic remarks rendered Tom speechless.


    Tom added with a cold sneer, "Mr. Fuller has not stated cutting ties with you during this time because


    he is giving you a chance. As long as you apologize to Miss Reed, he will instantly cancel any ns on


    releasing the statement. Miss Reed knows Mr. Fuller very well, so she had never forced him to release


    such a thing. I told you, didn''t I? Miss Reed had also given you a chance for the sake of Mr. Fuller. Why


    else do you think that she never once discussed with Mr. Fuller regarding the statement? Judging from


    how much Mr. Fuller loves her, she can demand him to do whatever she wants him to do, and he would


    do anything in his power to satisfy her. Yet, she had never once taken advantage of this. Despite her


    benevolence toward you, you took this as a reason to look down on her. Well, that''s too bad, isn''t it?"


    Tom had seen cocky and arrogant people before, but these people had an excellent instinct for ying


    it safe and protecting themselves. These people often got into trouble and provoked some people they


    shouldn''t. Still, when they realized their mistakes, they would immediately turn humble and apologize


    as sincerely as possible, hoping the other party would grant them mercy.


    However, this was the first time he saw such idiotic people like the Lores. Even after they had made


    such grave mistakes, which irritated Toby, they never once showed a single note of self-awareness.


    Although they knew that Toby nned to cut ties with them, they did not try to fix the problem right at


    the source and beg for Toby''s and Sonia''s forgiveness. Instead, they continued to take Toby''s and


    Sonia''s tolerance for granted.


    "By the way, there''s something I forgot to say," Tom smirked as he looked at Harry, who had difficulty


    breathing. "Actually, Mr. Fuller did not n to release the statement at the end of the banquet today, but


    you guys just had to dig your own grave and once again test his limit. So, he decided against it. After


    all, it will only be a waste of effort to forgive someone so stupid and stubborn. You guys think that Mr.


    Fuller reconciled with Miss Reed because she had some ckmail and threatened him to be with her!


    Oh gosh, how foolish of you. You even asked two idiots to destroy his door."


    At this point, Tom couldn''t even hide the amusement and ridicule spreading across his face. He had


    never seen some people eagerly digging their graves until now.


    After Harry listened to Tom''s barbed words, he could feel his face draining of all color. He knew that he


    had a nasty expression, but he didn''t see the point in masking it as a well ofplicated feelings


    surged inside him. Of course, he felt embarrassed, but not because of what they had done. He still


    thought that they didn''t do anything wrong. In his opinion, it was all on Toby.


    Toby was his mentee, so he should tolerate them unconditionally and forgive them no matter what they


    did.


    Moreover, they did all this for their own good! They wanted to help him because they thought that he


    was under duress.


    It never crossed their minds that Toby and Sonia loved each other! How could this be?!


    Harry''s facial muscles trembled, and he looked wholly befuddled. "Did you say that Toby loved that


    woman?"


    Tom rolled his eyes in disgust. Damn, of all the things, this old coot only cares about Mr. Fuller''s and


    Miss Reed''s rtionship instead of all the sh*tty things they did tonight!


    "Yes! Why else would Mr. Fuller be with Miss Reed?" Tom snorted.


    Harry knew that Tom would not lie to him, and he had no reason to lie about this matter. However, he


    still couldn''t bring himself to believe it. His mind was buzzing, and he muttered in a daze, "No way... No,


    Toby can''t love that woman."


    "Why not?" Tom grimaced in irritation. "Why can''t Mr. Fuller love Miss Reed?"


    Harry huffed in dismay. He looked at Lte, and the meaning in his gaze was apparent. Isn''t that


    obvious?! My darling granddaughter is the best!


    Toby should fall in love with Lte instead of Sonia! Sonia is nothingpared to her!


    Not only Harry but Lte also had an inexplicably confident attitude about this. She felt that Toby


    should love her instead of Sonia.


    Unfortunately, the fact was exactly the opposite, which was why they were in a state of total disbelief.


    Nevertheless, their thoughts on the matter were very apparent as it was right on their faces, which


    made it impossible for Tom to dismiss them.


    He genuinely thought the Lores were a truly ridiculous bunch, and his expression turned colder. "Well,


    Mr. Fuller nned to release the statement after the banquet tonight, but Miss Lte couldn''t behave


    herself! She attempted to push Miss Reed and kill her, and Mr. Fuller saw everything with his own two


    eyes. He waspletely pissed and disgusted with all of you, so he released the statement earlier.


    The statement is now out there for all to see, and everyone knows he has cut ties with you. Mr. Lore, I


    think you should be able to guess what you and your family will face next, right?"

 Chapter 1388

    Chapter 1388


    After Tom dropped the bomb on Harry and Lte, he swept his mocking gaze across them and


    donned a gloating smirk as he watched the radical changes in their expressions. Then, he closed the


    suite door and went out with the two bodyguards.


    "Guard this room, and don''t let anyone get in or out of it, including the waiters. If they want anything,


    ask the other teammates to prepare it, and make sure the item is sent in by one of us," Tom sternly


    instructed the two bodyguards.


    The two bodyguards knew that Toby severely punished their seniors because they allowed the waiter in


    earlier, so they knew how essential and crucial their task was. Thus, they did not dare to ck off even


    the slightest. Otherwise, they would face severe punishment, just like their poor seniors.


    "Got it, Mr. Brown. Don''t worry. We won''t let you and Mr. Fuller down," the two bodyguards assured


    him.


    Tom graced them with a pleased nod, turned around, and left. He still had matters to report to Toby. Ah,


    the work of the secretary never ends.


    Meanwhile, in the suite, Harry and Lte gradually came to their senses after Tom''s departure.


    Finally, Harry red at Lte in dismay. "Did you push Sonia?"


    "No, Grandpa!" Lte shook her head violently. "I didn''t push her."


    "Why did Tom say those things if you didn''t push her?" Harry did not believe her words.


    He raised her, so how could he not know her like the back of his hand? He knew that she was a


    scheming and ruthless liar.


    He enabled her in the past because he thought that by behaving like this, she could protect herself,


    achieve her goals, and benefit the family. Hence, he never thought there was anything wrong with her


    acting like this. However, now he had a change of heart.


    Due to her nasty behavior, she sessfully forced him and the family to a dead end. Therefore, he


    didn''t think it was right for her to do such things. In fact, he was frustrated that she had fibbed to him.


    Lte could tell that he was angry judging from the undisguised sullen expression on Harry''s face,


    and her heart skipped a beat. Despite her fearless demeanor, she was genuinely afraid of Toby and


    Harry.


    It was just that Harry had always donned the genial grandparent persona when it came to her and


    rarely red at her with such a scary look. So, she had always been carefree and bold whenever she


    was with Harry.


    But she felt jittery and uneasy once she saw that Harry was upset because of her. "Grandpa..." she


    mumbled timidly and swallowed her saliva nervously.


    Harry snapped indignantly, "Didn''t you say you were meeting Toby and would execute our n for


    tonight when you left the room? So, why did you have to go and mess with that woman again? We said


    that our only target tonight was Toby, not that chick. So, just ignore her and don''t do anything silly. Now,


    look at what you''ve done! Not only were you unable to persuade Toby, but you even went to push that


    woman! Just look at the mess you''ve made!"


    They did not have their phones with them. Thus, when they were locked inside the room, Tom


    searched their bodies and confiscated their phones, so they could not contact anyone or surf the


    Inte to see what was happening.


    Although Harry rarely surfed the Inte, he knew how the Inte worked. After all,working was


    one of their business ventures.


    Tom said that Fuller Group had released a statement denouncing the Lore Family and cutting off all ties


    with them. Harry bet that the news must have spread like wildfire on the Inte, yet they could not do


    anything to stop it or initiate measures to curb the damages that this blow would deal since they were


    locked in the room without their phones. Although he couldn''t see it happen in real time, he could very


    well imagine what kind of trouble was heading toward them at full speed.


    Their purpose ofing to the banquet tonight to fix the rtionship with Toby failed miserably. To


    make matters worse, their situation only worsened before the night was over.


    At this moment, Harry felt dejected and dismayed. His life had always been smooth and tranquil for


    decades. But as he grew older, challenges came his way from various directions. He could not


    understand how things had turned out this way.


    Lte couldn''t read Harry''s mind, but she knew that her grandfather and family were in trouble


    because of her. Thus, her resentment for Sonia grew, and she also despised Toby for her misfortune.


    She felt that it was all because of Sonia that she had arrived at this miserable point, yet Toby still chose


    to take Sonia''s side.


    "Grandpa, I didn''t mean it. When I went out, I nned to spike Toby''s drink so I could have sex with


    him. As long as that happened, he couldn''t dump me, and he would have to marry me. But I didn''t have


    the chance to spike his drink. He came prepared. He sat in a corner and would not allow anyone to


    approach him. He even drank the liquor he prepared himself and refused to drink anything that the


    waiter brought him, so I couldn''t spike his drink. I couldn''t even get close to him. He might be able to


    recognize me instantly and catch me, so I had to retreat and think of other ways. It was then that I


    thought of making a move on Sonia."


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    When Lte spoke her side of the story, her face gradually filled with resentment. "I figured that since


    I couldn''t get close to Toby, I''d let Sonia do it. She had ckmailed Toby, and he would never reject her


    approach, so all I had to do was trick her into spiking his drink. After that, I would send her away and


    have sex with him. Even if he tried to investigate the whole matter when the dust settled, he would only


    find out that Sonia was the one who spiked his drink. He might hate her even more or even eliminate


    her, regardless of her threats. By then, I would be the innocent victim. Perhaps Toby would even feel


    guilty toward me because I had been implicated."


    Finally, she looked at Harry and pouted pitifully. "Once my nse to fruition, Toby would not only


    reconcile with our family but also be with me and make up for his mistakes."


    "Yeah, that sounds like a good n, alright." Harry narrowed his eyes and grumbled in disdain, "But


    you failed."


    Lte gritted her teeth as she hissed, "It was all because of that deceitful b*tch! I couldn''t find a


    chance to make a move, and she even had the cheek to insult me! I was so pissed at that time that I


    couldn''t think straight, so I thought of killing her. Her death would be a good thing even if I couldn''t have


    sex with Toby tonight. At the very least, Toby would no longer be threatened by her. He might be


    grateful for what I did, and I could win his heart in one fell swoop. But he came out of nowhere and


    stopped me when I wanted to make my move. He even told me that he got back together with Sonia,


    not because she threatened him but because he was in love with her. But, most importantly, can you


    guess what else Toby said?!"


    Lte got so worked up and tugged at Harry''s sleeves. "He said that he always had feelings for


    Sonia. He never loved Tina at all. Sonia was the only one he loved all along!"


    "What did you say?! He never loved Tina?" Harry was dumbstruck. "Impossible. What happened


    between him and Tina back then?!"


    "I don''t know." She shook her head in confusion. "Toby didn''t tell me why, but that''s not important.


    What''s important is that Toby got back together with Sonia because he loves her. There''s no threat or


    ckmail behind this. This is why he is so angry with me and why he''s attacking our family."

 Chapter 1389

    Chapter 1389


    "In that case, why didn''t you control your temper then?" Harry rebuked.


    Lte pouted aggrievedly. "It never dawned upon me that Toby loved that woman. I simply thought


    that they..." She stomped her foot in frustration. "He would not treat me like this no matter what I did if


    he didn''t love her. None of us expected that Toby actually loved her. That b*tch was so arrogant and


    cocky. I was so pissed."


    Harry sighed dejectedly as he replied, "Yeah, none of us expected that Toby actually loved that woman.


    This is our biggest mistake. Now, these things you have done have made Toby utterly disappointed in


    us. He despises us now. We''ve made the worst move possible tonight."


    They shouldn''t havee tonight. They should have held back and waited.


    Just like Tom said, Toby didn''t n to release the statement today, but Lte sent her two


    subordinates and made Toby upset. It was only after the incident today did he decide to release the


    news after the banquet.


    To make matters worse, Lte messed up again, which changed Toby''s mind yet again, and he


    decided to release the statement now.


    Therefore, they made the wrong move by executing those two ill-thought-out ns tonight.


    They should have held back and done nothing for now. At least, they would have a slight chance to get


    back on their feet. s, they were forced to a dead end.


    "Grandpa, what should we do now?" Lte was anxious and panicked the longer she dwelled upon


    their failure. Although she wasn''t experienced in the business world, she knew what would happen to


    her family once Toby released his statement.


    It wouldn''t take very long before theirpany went bankrupt, and she would lose her status as the


    dignified Miss Lore. Once that happened, she would lose everything.


    She did not want any of these to happen, so she couldn''t help but regret her impulsiveness.


    Harry didn''t say anything and merely rewarded her with a sullen re. There was none of the usual


    affection in his eyes as they were now filled with indifference and loathing.


    He was a realistic man. Before Lte brought trouble to him and their family, he could pamper her


    and spoil her rotten.


    After all, unlike the foolish andughable Grayson, Lte was as intelligent and cunning as he was.


    Thus, he favored her more than all his other children and grandchildren.


    However, his adoration was conditional. He would unconditionally protect her and spoil her as long as


    she listened to him and brought benefits to the family. But once she failed to do so and brought trouble


    instead, he would immediately discard her.


    After all, he would not take a fancy to a useless pawn.


    Lte could feel Harry''s noticeable change of attitude toward her. Her heart sank, and she muttered


    uneasily, "G-Grandpa..."


    Harry did not say anything in return. Instead, he stared at her gloomily for a while before retracting his


    gaze and slumping back in his chair. He lowered his head slightly and pondered about something.


    Meanwhile, Lte became more frightened and agitated despite Harry''sck of reprimand.


    Harry''s scolding indicated that he still held high hopes for her, but when he did nothing, it indicated that


    he was ready to give up on her and began to weigh thest remaining value he could gain from her.


    Of course, Toby and Sonia had no idea that Harry and Lte were about to turn against each other.


    After Toby cautiously applied ointment on Sonia''s arm, he kept the ointment away and advised, "Next


    time, when you meet these people again, call me immediately or call for help. Don''t handle it yourself,


    or you''ll get hurt again."


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Sonia giggled in amusement when she saw his scrunched-up brows and listened to his advice. "Alright,


    I got it, Mr. Butler. You''ve been saying the same thing repeatedly. Stop it, will you? I''ve never thought


    that you would be one to nag."


    "I''m not nagging." He pursed his lips and replied seriously, "I''m reminding you so that you know what to


    do next time when yound in the same situation as this one."


    She wrapped her arms around his and consoled him, "Alright, I know, and I remember every word you


    say. I won''t face the situation alone again. Are you happy now?"


    She even held up three fingers and swore a vow. Toby could only mess up her hair as he smiled at her


    antics.


    "Mr. Fuller." Tom suddenly knocked on the open door of the lounge and stood outside, waiting for


    Toby''s permission to enter.


    Sonia immediately released Toby''s arm and sat properly next to him. She felt pretty embarrassed to act


    so intimately with him when there was an audience.


    Nheless, Toby did not feel the same way. He had always loved unting his affection toward her in


    public. So, he was a little upset when Sonia withdrew away from him.


    He was even more displeased with Tom, who came over just when the atmosphere was pleasant. It


    was because of his arrival that she moved away from him.


    Toby pursed his thin lips, red at Tom discontentedly, and snapped grumpily, "What is it?"


    Tom naturally heard the displeasure in Toby''s tone, but he didn''t know what was going on, and he stood


    awkwardly in the doorway. What the heck? What did I do? I didn''t upset him, did I?


    Sonia covered her lips and giggled when she darted her gaze between the grumpy Toby and


    bewildered Tom. "It''s okay, Tom. Come in."


    "Okay, Miss Reed." Tom walked in and smiled at Sonia gratefully, albeit a little confused. Then, he


    stood about three meters before Toby and spruced up. "Mr. Fuller, I have the news about the Acrees


    you asked me to keep an eye on."


    Sonia sat upright and inquired, "Are they here?" She was highly concerned about this matter.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and stared at Tom, who shook his head. "No, they did note to the


    banquet."


    "Oh?" Toby raised his eyebrows. Sonia was equally surprised. "No? They didn''te?"


    "They didn''t."


    "Why not?" She blurted in disbelief. "They tried so desperately to get in touch with Toby and wanted to


    marry off their daughter to him. They even bent over backward to get the invitation to tonight''s banquet


    to meet him to achieve their goal. So, why didn''t theye? How could they miss such a good


    chance?"


    Toby looked in askance at her. "You make me sound like I''m a piece of meat that everyone wants to get


    their hands on."


    Sonia giggled as she retorted, "To those people, you are a piece of meat, a fine-quality one, to boot.


    They can get all the benefits they want after getting their greedy little paws on you."


    Tom nodded in agreement while Toby shook his head with a resigned smile. Oh, what can I do? As


    long as she''s happy.


    "Miss Reed, actually, they didn''t want to squander this chance. It was not in their cards to miss the


    banquet. ording to my investigation, they had prepared toe to the banquet and even bribed


    some staff, but something happened to them on their way here, so they couldn''te," Tom reported


    professionally.


    "Oh? Something happened to them?" Sonia was intrigued. "What a coincidence. What happened that


    stopped them froming?"


    "No, it''s not a coincidence." Tom shook his head. "Someone ruined their n on purpose. On their way


    here, the Acrees got into a car ident. Their car collided with another vehicle, and the ident


    destroyed both beyond recognition."


    His remarks shocked everyone in the room. Toby frowned as he tried to wrap his head around this


    ident and who stood to gain the most out of this. Whereas Sonia was so aghast, she jerked to her


    feet and eximed, "What?! A car ident?!"

 Chapter 1390

    Chapter 1390


    "Yes." Tom nodded with a serious expression.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    "How did that happen?" Sonia frowned tightly and asked curiously, "What about the casualties?"


    He sighed and replied, "There were four people in the Acrees'' car, the three family members and the


    driver, while there was only one driver in the other car. Two cars collided not far from the Acrees''


    house. Because the Acrees'' car is more expensive, it has better anti-collision measures. Although the


    car was damaged beyond repair, the four people in the car were alive. The driver and Mr. Acree


    sustained severe injuries because they sat in the front. They are still in the hospital, receiving


    emergency treatment as we speak. Mrs. Acree and Miss Acree sat in the back, so their injuries weren''t


    as bad, and they did not suffer a great impact from the ident, but they still suffered some serious


    injuries. I heard that her leg might need to be amputated. I can only get the specific information once


    we receive the results of their diagnosis and treatment."


    After a beat, he nced at Toby before continuing, "The driver in the other car was not as lucky. He


    drove an ordinary car, and its quality couldn''t bepared with the Acrees'' vehicle, so not only was the


    car damaged, but the driver also died on the spot."


    "He died?!" She inhaled sharply in shock.


    Toby narrowed his sharp eyes. "You said that the car ident was man-made."


    "Yes." Tom nodded. "The men we sent to keep an eye on the Acrees rushed to the scene immediately


    when they saw the ident. ording to the police''s investigation, they heard that the brake of the


    Acrees'' car was tampered with, including the steering wheel. As a result, the turning sensitivity was out


    of control, and the car could only drive forward in a straight line."


    "The brake was out of order; the car could not turn and could only drive forward. It meant that whoever


    did this wanted the Acrees to crush straight into the other cars!" Sonia gasped in fright.


    "You''re right, Miss Reed." Tom gave her an admiring nce. "The mastermind intended to do so. The


    Acrees did not realize the problem earlier because the journey from the vi area where the Acrees live


    to the highway is in a straight line. Therefore, they did not need to turn at all, so they would not be able


    to find out about the faulty functions in advance."


    "In that case, there''s definitely something fishy about the car that hit them." Sonia rubbed her chin


    skeptically. "No matter how desperate the Acrees are, they can afford a luxurious car or two, let alone


    the rich families who live in the same area. The other families do not suffer any financial crisis like the


    Acrees, so they have better and more expensive cars than the Acrees. None of them will have an


    ordinary car in their possession. Even their servants drive expensive cars. These rich people are


    snobbish and proud. They will only prepare expensive cars for their servants because they do not want


    to be looked down upon by others. They will feel humiliated when their servants drive an ordinary car


    worth a hundred thousand while the servants of the other families drive a car worth a million or so.


    Thus, an ordinary car can''t appear in that area."


    "Your analysis is right on the money, Miss Reed." Tom approved of Sonia''s spection." Just like the


    Acrees, the residents of the vi area are nouveau riche, so they are motivated by vanity. They are so


    proud that they will prepare nice cars for their servants. The Acrees allowed their servants to drive a


    Porsche worth one million and eight hundred thousand. So, no one in the vi area owns a car that is


    worth only a few hundred thousand. Naturally, the driver who drove to the vi area is indeed suspect,"


    he asserted.


    Toby rubbed his temples impatiently. "Just tell me who the driver is."


    Tom cleared his throat and cut straight to the chase when he heard Toby''s agitated urging. "The driver


    was not the owner of the vi area, nor the servant, but a small captain of one of the Acrees'' fishing


    fleets. Three months ago, a moderate typhoon broke out in the outer sea. ording to thew and


    local fishing regtions, fishermen are not allowed to go out under such weather. But at that time, the


    Acrees received an order from a hotel that required the valuable yellow croakers. They would make a


    lot of money as long as they delivered the goods on time, and the delivery time was within a month. But


    ording to the weather forecast, the typhoonsted about two weeks."


    "It means the fleet must wait two weeks for the typhoon to pass before they can go to sea." Sonia sat


    back down next to Toby.


    "Yes." Tom nodded. "But yellow croakers are extremely rare and hard toe by. They needed more


    time if they wanted to reach the number that the hotel required, which was a thousand. If they were


    lucky and stumbled upon a school of fish, they could reach their target within a month or so. But if they


    were unlucky, they would not be able toplete the order in three months. The time the hotel gave


    them, which was a month, was already pushing it, to begin with. They might not be able to get anything


    and would lose the business opportunity if they had to dy for another two weeks. But the Acrees


    insisted on taking this job."


    "So, they forced the fleet to go to sea regardless of the local regtions and the danger of typhoons?"


    Sonia frowned in displeasure as she could deduce what happened next.


    "Yes." Tom sighed wearily. "The fleet went out to sea and drifted for a month. Not only did they not


    seed in fishing for yellow croakers, but they also lost several crew members, including the driver''s


    wife."


    "So, was the motive behind the car ident revenge?" Toby intoned deeply.


    "Yes." Tom nodded in affirmative. "After the police verified the driver''s identity at the scene, they


    immediately asked the butler, who rushed over, whether the driver knew the Acrees. The butler had


    seen the driver, so he told the police officers about the incident. Our men heard it and reported it back


    to me."


    "Wait a minute." A thought suddenly shed in Sonia''s mind. She looked at Tom and asked, "So many


    people died in the disaster. Did they not receive anypensation? Or were they not fairly


    compensated? Was that why the driver sought revenge?"


    The driver would not have retaliated against the Acrees had properpensation been made.


    "They do not have the money to pay forpensation." This time, it was Toby who answered her


    question.


    "Why not?" Sonia immediately turned to him. "How do you know? Their business was affected recently,


    not back then."


    Toby smiled faintly. "The investment in the marine business is usually in the fishing fleets and seafood.


    If they could not catch a reasonable amount of seafood, not only would they not make any money out


    of it, but they would have to pay more in terms of fuel and sries. So, they have little to no liquidity


    and often earn money afterpleting an order. This was the reason why the Acrees took the risk of


    letting the fleet out to sea. Unfortunately, so many people died, and they did not get anything in return.


    Thepensation for the deceased is at least a million or so. The Acrees could not afford to pay, and


    they wouldn''t pay even if they could afford it."


    "Mr. Fuller is right. The Acreespensated the deceased''s families, but it was far less than what they


    deserved. The driver came to see Mr. Acree several times, hoping they would pay thepensation


    ording to the regtions, but to no avail." When Tom spoke about this, he couldn''t help but release


    a dejected sigh.

 Chapter 1391

    Chapter 1391


    "So, are you trying to say that the driver held a grudge and chose to take revenge on the Acrees using


    such a method?" Sonia spoke.


    Tom shook his head slightly. "After our men learned about the conflict between the driver and the


    Acrees from the Acrees'' butler, they immediately contacted the driver''s family and friends and tried to


    understand what kind of a person he was. They learned that the driver did not intend to retaliate


    against the Acrees in the first ce. Since his attempt to ask for reasonablepensation failed, the


    families of the dead fishermen who worked under him began to vent their frustration on him, ming


    him for epting the job and bringing those fishermen to sea. They med him for their family


    member''s death and thepensation they did not receive. Over time, the guilt toward the deceased


    and the resentment toward the Acrees intensified, and he began to devise a revenge plot."


    "I see," Sonia sighed. "Oh, the poor man."


    "Don''t you find anything strange in this situation?" Toby crossed his legs and inquired out of the blue.


    "What do you mean?" She blinked in puzzlement.


    "It''s understandable that the driver wanted to seek revenge. Anyone would not let the Acrees off the


    hook after what they did. Regardless, the meaning behind my words was, how did the driver know their


    itinerary? How did he know they would attend the banquet tonight and the precise time of their


    departure? Do you think an ordinary man like him could have ess to the information so easily?"


    Toby picked up the wine ss in front of him and shook it lightly. His gaze was iprehensible as he


    nced at the red liquid swirling in the ss.


    Sonia was taken aback for a moment beforeing to her senses. "Yeah, you''re right. He was an


    ordinary man, so it would be hard for him to obtain such information unless he bribed the Acrees'' butler


    or maids. But that would be an impossible feat because he doesn''t have the money."


    "So, the problem here is self-exnatory." Toby narrowed his eyes. "Most importantly, who tampered


    with the Acrees'' car, and when did they do it?"


    "You''re saying that this is not a simple revenge plot. Someone else is involved behind the scenes." She


    immediately grasped what he was implying.


    Toby declined toment but simply continued, "The driver did seek revenge, but it would not be easy


    for an ordinary man like him to seed. Although the Acrees are not doing so well now, the driver


    could not get in touch with them easily, let alone bring them down like this. So, how did he obtain such


    urate information as when they would leave and where they were? It meant that someone else was


    behind this. The mastermind should be the Acrees''petitor, and he was helping the driver. The


    mastermind is powerful and resourceful too, which exins why they knew about the Acrees'' precise


    itinerary and how they could easily tamper with their car. Then, all they needed to do was contact the


    driver and ask him to wait on the route that the Acrees would pass through. Well, we know how the rest


    turned out."


    "That makes sense!" Sonia clicked her tongue in awe at his sharp deduction." From how the Acrees


    handled the maritime disaster, we can tell they have crossed the line several times, so it is not


    surprising that they have other enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. These people worked


    together to retaliate against the Acrees. It serves them right!" Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Toby didn''t say anything in response. "But it''s just a pity that the driver died without taking any of the


    Acrees with him. What''s the point of such revenge?" Sonia sighed sadly.


    "Actually." He raised his chin and quipped, "His revenge has been sessful."


    "Oh?" She looked at him in astonishment. "What do you mean?"


    "The driver is burdened by guilt and death. His wife''s death and the fishermen''s death were thest


    straws. These had long crushed him and made him lose his will to live. His choice to retaliate against


    the Acrees by dying together shows just exactly that. It also meant that he was willing to work with the


    mastermind even though they wanted him to die."


    "He wanted a way out," Sonia bit her lips and mumbled.


    "Yes." Toby sipped his wine. "It would be the best of both worlds if he could drag the Acrees with him as


    he died. Even if he couldn''t kill any of them, his death, as well as the Acrees'' heinous crime, would be


    circted on the Inte. Ordinary people worldwide would empathize with the driver, especially when


    he was forced to such an end because of the Acrees. Once they discovered the driver''s side of the


    story, the Inte would be in an uproar, and the news would spread like wildfire."


    "I know. I''ve experienced this before." Sonia felt a bit of a headache building.


    Toby held her hand and gently squeezed it. "By then, the government will definitely investigate the


    Acrees to defuse public outrage. Then, the investigation will expose all the illegal things they had done,


    and the government will charge the family. Even if they did not do anything illegal, they would be


    doomed because of the maritime disaster alone."


    "Yes. ording to thew, the Acrees were guilty because they disregarded the danger of typhoons


    and urged the fishermen to go to sea, which was the direct cause of their death. They made matters


    worse by not giving reasonablepensation. The government will not let them off the hook," Tom


    added.


    She finally understood the whole situation. "Oh, I see. So, this is what you mean that the driver''s


    revenge has been sessful."


    "Yup. The copse of the Acrees is the nail in the coffin, and some of them may be seriously injured


    after the ident. To them, this is worse than death. It can be considered a sessful revenge, don''t


    you think?" Toby curled his lips into a cold smirk, and his eyes were full of contempt for the Acree


    Family.


    At this moment, Tom inquired, "Mr. Fuller, do you want me to investigate the mastermind who helped


    the driver?"


    "No." Toby shook his head. "This is not our business. It''s the Acrees'' problem, so there''s no need to


    investigate. Besides, the mastermind has indirectly helped me to get rid of them. But it''s their problem if


    the police find out about them."


    He was right. So, Tom nodded and stopped asking questions.


    Not long after, Tom''s phone rang. He nced at Toby, and after seeing his nod of approval, Tom took


    out his phone and answered the call.


    Two minutester, Tom ended the call, ced the phone down, and looked at Toby and Sonia with a


    strange expression. Toby pursed his lips and urged, "What is it? Tell me."


    Tom nodded and said, "It''s the man we sent over to keep an eye on the Acrees. He got the results of


    the Acrees after the car ident. The driver died. Mr. Acree survived the ident but was pronounced


    brain-dead and has be a vegetable. Miss Acree is quite unfortunate as her leg was amputated.


    Mrs. Acree is the luckiest one. She only suffered some superficial injuries and nothing serious.


    However, I''m unsure if she can survive the ordeal she has to faceter."


    In short, the fate that awaited them would only be tragic or worse.


    The only innocent person in this situation was their driver. He did not do anything bad but died simply


    because he was their driver. What a tragic and sad life.


    "Alright, the Acrees'' matters end here. Call our men back. There''s no need to waste useful resources


    on them." Toby massaged his temples and rose to his feet.


    Sonia, whose hand was held by Toby, naturally stood up as well.


    He nced at her and asked, "I''m going to meet Harry and Lte. Do you want toe with me?"


    "No." Sonia shook her head. "I don''t want to see them, and I think they don''t want to see me either."


    "Okay. Wait for me in the car. I''ll be right there." He gently ruffled her hair and lightly tucked them


    behind her ear.


    To be honest, he didn''t want her to apany him either. He knew the Lores'' temperaments like the


    back of his hand, so he knew they would be far from repentant.


    Although they would not dare to do anything to Sonia when he was there, they would silently re at


    her or something simr. Of course, he did not want her to go through such an encounter.

 Chapter 1392

    Chapter 1392


    "Alright. I''ll wait for you in the car. Don''t take too long." Sonia did not reject Toby''s suggestion and


    merely nodded in agreement.


    Toby stroked her hair gently. "I''ll be quick. Half an hour at most."


    "Okay." She nodded with a smile. "I''ll be waiting."


    He looked at Tom. "Send her to the car." He didn''t want her to go to the car alone.


    She knew that he had asked Tom to escort her because he was worried that she would stumble upon


    some people on the way, so she didn''t refuse and walked away with Tom.


    After Toby watched them leave and their figures disappear from his sight, he shoved his hands in his


    pockets and strode toward the direction of the elevator.


    The room where Harry and Lte were a few floors below. It was not on the floor of the banquet hall.


    When he arrived at the room''s door, the two bodyguards who guarded the entrance greeted him


    respectfully, "Mr. Fuller."


    "How are they?" Toby stopped in his tracks and inquired.


    One of the bodyguards nced at the closed door and reported, "Both of them are inside. We check on


    them every ten minutes, and they didn''t do anything unusual."


    Toby nodded slightly. "Open the door."


    "Yes, sir."


    The two bodyguards nodded, reached out simultaneously, and pushed the door open for him.


    Both Harry and Lte heard the sound of the door opening, but none of them looked up. They were


    not interested because they assumed that it was the bodyguard again.


    Harry sat on a big chair with his eyes half-lidded. He seemed to be asleep, and it was as if he was


    thinking about something at the same time. Meanwhile, Lte, who sat next to him, lowered her head


    as she bit her nails, looking fidgety and anxious.


    Their demeanor made the atmosphere in the room very strange.


    At this moment, Toby''s crisp and emotionless voice broke the awkward silence.


    "Mr. Lore." He entered without further ado. His eyes swept past Lte and fixed on Harry''s


    extravagant chair. He lightly parted his thin lips and called out to Harry.


    Harry immediately jolted awake when he heard Toby''s voice. Lte stopped biting her nails and


    raised her head abruptly.


    "Toby." Lte immediately stood up when she saw him. The resentment in her mind instantly


    dissipated, and it was reced by endless joy and surprise.


    She loved him. Well, she despised him a little when he ill-treated her because of Sonia. Nevertheless,


    the minute she saw him again, the anger disappeared, and all that was left was joy and excitement.


    s, Toby did not even look at her as if he couldn''t hear her at all. Instead, he simply nced at Harry


    and met his eyes with a dispassionate gaze.


    Lte was annoyed by his indifference, but she did not dare to act rashly due to her fear of him, so


    she could only stomp her feet in frustration. Finally, she huffed in displeasure, sat back down, and


    turned her head away.


    Oh, I''m so pissed! She thought in her mind, How dare he ignore me! Okay, I''ll ignore him too. I won''t


    say another word to him unless hees andforts me.


    Nheless, it had never crossed her mind that Toby would not care about her feelings since he did


    not like her at all. She was nothing to him.


    Unfortunately, she thought too highly of herself and was too confident.


    Meanwhile, Harry watched their interaction¡ªorck thereof¡ªgingerly. If Toby had ignored Lte in


    the past, Harry would have been upset about it and reprimanded Toby for his dismissive behavior. But


    now, he knew that Toby despised him and his family and hadpletely lost his patience with them.


    Therefore, he could not rebuke Toby, no matter how disgruntled he was.


    After all, the highest thing on his priority list was to coax Toby.


    He would only irritate Toby further the instant he scolded Toby, and it wasn''t worth it.


    As Harry was thinking about this, he donned a despondent expression on his face. "Toby, do you hate


    us that much? Am I not your mentor anymore?"


    Toby''s monotonous address just now made his heart sink. It showed that Toby despised everyone in


    the Lores, including himself.


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    He initially thought that Toby would still respect him, although he hated Lte and Grayson, or at the


    very least, he would still feign respect when facing him.


    It was never in his calctions that Toby would not separate Harry from the Lores. He couldn''t even


    bother to put on a fa?ade. This was bad.


    Toby pulled the chair opposite Harry and sat down. He graced the old man with an aloof gaze and


    noticed that the old coot still had the gall to feel irritated because of his indifference. "How do you have


    the cheek to call yourself my mentor after what you have done?"


    Harry frowned in dismay upon hearing Toby''s question. "What do you mean by that? What have I


    done? Exin this clearly, or you''ll get an earful from me."


    Toby narrowed his eyes slightly. "Since you want to know, I''ll cut to the chase. First of all, as a teacher,


    you should establish a good morality to guide your students and future generations to good graces and


    virtue. In addition, you have to be kind, righteous, trustworthy, and so on. Do you think you have those


    wonderful qualities?"


    Harry''s face turned red and pale. His mouth was slightly agape, but no words came out of it. What did


    he expect him to say anyway? He was too embarrassed to say that he had those qualities after what


    Grayson and Lte did, and he also did something...


    Still, he was reluctant to say that he did not have those qualities. He knew that the moment he said it


    out loud, it would mean he wasn''t fit to be a mentor.


    Hence, no answer seemed to be the correct answer.


    Harry froze as he sat in the chair, feeling ashamed and indignant.


    Toby was not surprised by Harry''s silence. A trace of mockery shed in his eyes as he opened his lips


    again and forged on, "You don''t have any of those qualities. As a mentor, you openly ridiculed your


    mentee''s lover and deemed her worthless. You even advised your mentee to break up with his lover.


    So, let me ask you, which mentor will do something like you did, Mr. Lore?"


    He looked at Harry, but Harry still couldn''t even stammer out a satisfying answer.


    Toby''s eyes fluttered shut slightly as he added, "When you knew that I, your mentee, was in love,


    shouldn''t you give me your blessing? Shouldn''t you congratte me? This is the first time I''ve heard a


    mentor advising his student to split up. Not only that, but you also badmouthed her and belittled her. Is


    this something a mentor does?! Besides all of these, you failed to set an example for your family. As a


    result, your family members are selfish, greedy, sinister, and evil. You did not correct their mistakes as


    a mentor and an individual who holds the utmost respect in your family. Instead, you foolishly


    supported them and thought they were not at fault. So, tell me, what makes you think you have the


    right to call yourself my mentor? Why do I have to regard you as my mentor?"


    Harry stared at him with his bloodshot eyes, feeling angry and guilty.


    He was furious because, as his mentee, Toby behaved so disrespectfully by ridiculing him like this.


    On the other hand, he felt difited because Toby forcibly tore off his disguise and exposed the most


    despicable and shady side of him.


    Yes, despicable and shady.


    Actually, Harry knew very well what kind of a person he was, but he had long been used to disguising


    his true character behind his mask. So over time, he almost forgot the ugly side of himself.


    Hence, when Toby exposed his disgusting side, he felt mortified and agitated.

 Chapter 1393

    Chapter 1393


    Simrly, Lte could not ept the usation.


    When she heard Toby describing their family as selfish and maniptive, she immediately exploded in


    anger, jumping up and down as she pointed a finger at him. "Toby, what do you mean? Our family is


    nothing like what you described! Your words are too hurtful. Not only that, my grandpa is your mentor.


    How could you deem him unqualified? You¡ª"


    "Am I wrong?" He stared icily at her and cut her off, "Isn''t the Lore Family exactly like how I described?"


    "I¡­I¡­" Her rage tapered off when she looked into his unemotional eyes, and she started stammering.


    She had trouble stringing words together.


    Despite that, he did not let this slide. "As for your grandpa, he is indeed unqualified to be my mentor.


    After all, I chose Professor Randall over him in the past. Had it not been for that ident, and my


    urgent need for a supervisor for deeper research, I would not have picked your grandpa as my mentor."


    Harry was seething when he heard that.


    At first, he was already incensed when he was branded as an unqualified mentor by Toby. His entire


    career was being brushed off by Toby''s words.


    When he heard the mention of Professor Randall, his expression crumbled. Guilt, disquiet, and


    nervousness shed across his face.


    Meanwhile, Toby had been quietly observing the old man, and he looked grim when he saw the range


    of Harry''s emotional disy. Indeed, he had brought up Professor Randall''s name on purpose. Earlier,


    he had a feeling that Professor Randall''s death was not an ident¡ªHarry Lore might have been


    involved in it, especially since he would be the greatest beneficiary of Professor Randall''s passing.


    Toby also dispatched secret investigations on any potential foul y by Harry in Professor Randall''s


    death. Unfortunately, most clues and traces of the incident were gone after many years. It was a


    difficult mission to get to the bottom of it, which exined Tom''sck of updates for a while.


    Just now, Toby deliberately dropped Professor Randall''s name to observe Harry''s response.


    If Harry was calm, it would suggest that he had nothing to do with Professor Randall''s death, which


    could truly be an ident.


    If the opposite happened, it would indicate that Harry might have something to do with Professor


    Randall''s death.


    Now, the link between Professor Randall''s death and Harry''s involvement had been established. Why


    else would Harry appear guilty and nervous at the mention of Professor Randall''s name? Harry must


    have suffered from a guilty conscience.


    Toby secretly put himself down, feeling that he had not done enough for Professor Randall, whose


    advice he sought the most during his college days. Their bond was as strong as a family. Therefore,


    Toby was greatly impacted by his professor''s death.


    He had once decided to drop the matter if Professor Randall''s death was an ident. However, if it


    was murder, he would avenge his beloved professor. s, he had epted the police''s report without


    questioning¡ªit ruled the death as an ident.


    Many yearster, when he revisited the circumstances and details surrounding Professor Randall''s


    death, he found many inconsistencies.


    Now that he had confirmed Harry''s involvement, he decided to avenge Professor Randall amid his


    anger and hatred. Again, Professor Randall was his first choice, not Harry Lore. Given that he had


    enjoyed a father-and-son-like rtionship with Professor Randall, he could not sit back and do nothing


    about the professor''s death.


    Most importantly, he was tortured by the guilt of selecting Professor Randall''s murderer as his


    supervisor.


    Toby was ovee by a wave of remorse. He clenched his fist tight until his veins were bulging. Along


    with guilt, he suffered from regrets. He regretted being swept away by his degree studies to the point


    that he had no time to investigate the details behind Professor Randall''s death. He also regretted his


    lack of research into Harry''s background and character before hastily making his supervisor pick.


    Had he investigated the details behind Professor Randall''s death and looked closer into Harry''s


    character, he would not have be Harry''s student, and he would have already avenged Professor


    Randall. Not only that, the Lore Family would not have had the chance to hurt his Little Leaf.


    All these missteps stemmed from his oversight in the past.


    Because of his carelessness, Professor Randall suffered from a wronged death for years. As for him,


    he unknowingly chose the enemy as his supervisor. On top of that, he even provided support for Harry,


    helping the Lore Family to flourish and prosper.


    Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.


    Even if he had done the above out of his ignorance of the truth, he indirectly became the aplice of


    Professor Randall''s murderer.


    Ah, Professor Randall must have resented me in the afterlife.


    At the thought, his breathing became heavy, and his eyes burned with hatred. Still, Harry and Lte


    did not notice the changes in him because he was looking at the ground.


    Speechless at Toby''s interrogation, Lte angrily took a seat and looked to the side, stubbornly


    ignoring him without an idea about the seriousness of the matter. Unlike her, Harry knew the


    implications of Toby''s usation and felt uneasy. What does Toby mean? Why would he suddenly


    bring up that Randall guy? No way! Is he suspecting me? No, that is unlikely because he did not


    mention Professor Randall for years and never suspected the details behind the death. It would not


    make sense for him to suddenly be skeptical about it.


    Harry concluded that Toby must have casually mentioned Professor Randall during his heated rebuttal


    against Lte. He came up with exnations and finally soothed his restless mind.


    Still, to preventplications, he pretended that he did not hear any mention of Professor Randall, and


    he avoided mentioning the name. He forced a smile at Toby. "Toby, I know you are resentful of me for


    causing friction in your rtionship with Sonia. You must me me for not giving my best in teaching


    her and forcing her to carry out certain actions. I¡ª"


    "Mr. Lore, did you really think that I was only ming you for that?" Toby interrupted his speech. Harry''s


    expression froze as he was gripped by the bad hunch from earlier.


    What was that? Is he doubtful of Randall''s death?


    Toby looked pensive at Harry''s changing emotions. He stood up but did not borate. "My original n


    was to wait until the end of the event to discuss the direction of our future partnership. But now that


    Lte had sneaked out to harm my other half, I suddenly realized that it is futile to discuss with


    certain bull-headed people. If so, there is no point in having the discussion. I have issued a statement


    to rify our rtionship. Also, I have canceled and withdrawn all partnerships with the Lore Family, as


    well as the attached benefits. I wish you the best moving forward."


    "What?" Harry lost his cool and stood up. "You canceled our partnership?" He had a wild look of


    disbelief.


    At first, he thought that Toby had only issued a statement, but the partnership was safe. To his dismay,


    Toby canceled everything, including the benefits that came with the coboration, such as a free event


    venue and free-of-charge factories.


    If that were true, where would he settle his staff and store thepany equipment?

 Chapter 1394

    Chapter 1394


    Clearly, Toby was set on ruining the Lore Family.


    Harry went up to Toby anxiously. "Toby, you can''t do this! You are going to push me¡ªyour mentor¡ªto


    the brink! Aren''t you afraid of gossip?" Eyes bulging, he confronted Toby loudly.


    Toby, on the other hand, was calm as usual. "Why should I be afraid? If I had a fair and upright mentor


    who did not wrong his student, perhaps I would actually worry about people''s judgment of my actions.


    But sir, are you being fair and upright in the first ce?"


    Harry''s eyes wavered, and he stumbled backward out of shock.


    Toby scorned, "You did not disy any qualities of a mentor. Not only that, you manipted the


    rtionship between your student and his partner. You allowed your grandchild to bully your student''s


    partner, without so much as an apology afterward. Are you still hoping that I will spare you after all


    those?"


    Knowing well that this would spell the end to the Lore Family''s fortunes and realizing the impossibility


    of wooing Toby, Harry fainted and fell on his back in a fit of anger.


    A frightened Lte screamed at the sight, "Grandpa!"


    Her scream made Toby stop to check on them. When he saw Harry on the floor, he hesitated


    momentarily before deciding against helping his ex-teacher. Instead, he asked the bodyguard at the


    door to send Harry to the hospital.


    No matter what, he would never let Harry die at this point in time. Otherwise, things might get


    complicated.


    Once Harry was lifted into the ambnce, Lte, his only family member at the scene, followed him


    into the vehicle. Before that, she paused to re at Toby with fury and resentment. "Toby, I won''t


    forgive you if anything happens to my grandpa."


    Then, she climbed into the ambnce with a heartbroken look.


    Toby stood watching the ambnce speeding away without any change in his expression. Tom, who


    was standing behind him, rolled his eyes. "Oh, isn''t she hrious? All that talk about her forgiveness,


    when the reality is that you don''t even care about her."


    For Toby, Lte was a nobody, and he would not spare a thought for her. Lte could only be best


    described as having an inted sense of self-importance. She overestimated her importance to him.


    "Alright. Let''s go," Toby said and went into the hotel with Tom behind him.


    When they arrived at the basement parking lot, Tom unlocked a car with a button on his key, and the


    headlights of a nearby Maybach shed.


    A drowsy Sonia, who had been waiting in the car, perked up when she heard the sound and checked


    the window. She smiled at the sight of the two tall figures walking toward her.


    However, just when she opened the car door, arge and pale hand immediately pushed against the


    door to stop her. She blinked in confusion. "What''s the matter?"


    Toby bent over and looked at her via the tiny opening. "Don''t get out of the car. It''s cold outside. Stay


    there. I''ll join you soon."


    He wanted to shut the car door, but she stopped him. "Wait!"


    He paused and looked at her again. She beamed. "You don''t have to go around the car! Just enter


    from this side."


    After that, she moved across the seat to make space for him. Seeing that, he chuckled and obeyed.


    Tom settled down in the driver''s seat. "President Fuller, are we going back to the Bayside Residence?"


    "That''s too far from here. Let''s go to one of my units nearby." Toby stared at an exhausted Sonia, who


    yawned out of sleepiness. Tom nodded at him and started the engine.


    When Sonia let out a huge yawn, she was too tired to think and did not catch their conversation, which


    she did not care about in the first ce. She was fine with any destination, as long as she was in their


    good care.


    "Are you very tired?" he asked. "Mmhm," she answered softly while nodding. Something in him stirred


    when he heard the tender voice, and his desire was awakened.


    Swallowing hard, Toby put his arm across her shoulder and guided her to lean against his thighs. "If


    you''re sleepy, lie down and take a nap. I''ll wake you up when we arrive."


    "Sure." She epted his suggestion after a yawn, rested her upper body against his thighs, and closed


    her eyes.


    He stared at her and, worried that the crown headpiece might be ufortable for her, he gently took


    it off. He was unaware that the headpiece helped to secure her hair, and once it was removed, her hair


    came cascading down like a waterfall and spread across his hand.


    Sonia''s soft and silky hair was cold to the touch, and he started caressing it with much love. As if that


    was not enough, he even picked up strands of her hair and pressed them against his nose for a whiff.


    He picked up the crisp and enticing scent that stimted his desire for her.


    Unfortunately, they were in the car, with a third wheel in the driver''s seat. Toby regretfully suppressed


    his urge and went back to caressing her hair. His touch must have been toofortable for her, as her


    eyelids became heavy.


    Toby leaned over to give her a peck on her fair cheeks. "Go to sleep." His soft and mesmerizing voice


    seemed to have a charm that lulled her to sleep.


    "Is Miss Reed asleep?" Suddenly, Tom whispered. Toby took off his jacket and draped it across her.


    "Yes."


    Hearing that, Tom whispered with a lower voice, "What should I do with the two other families?"


    Earlier, Toby had decided to deal with the two families along with the Lores. However, Harry''s fainting


    disrupted his ns, and he temporarily put the matter aside. Still, he had to deal with it eventually.


    "Are they still at the hotel?" he asked calmly while admiring Sonia''s sleeping face. Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom nodded. "Yes. After the two girls created trouble for you and Miss Read, we arrested them and


    informed their parents. They are with their parents now and waiting to meet you for an apology. In the


    meantime, the parents have already disciplined the girls."


    "Oh?" Toby looked amused, and his fingers stopped caressing Sonia''s face. "What happened?"


    Tom chuckled. "The parents knew that the girls brought trouble to the families for offending the Toby


    Fuller for Lte''s matter. So of course, they were incensed. They gave their daughters a good beating


    immediately after seeing them."

 Chapter 1395

    Chapter 1395


    "Is that so?" Toby did not react much.


    "Yeah. I heard the girls were properly schooled by their parents." Tom stole a nce at the rearview


    mirror. "But I didn''t have the time to check on the situation because I was with you. I got the news from


    the professional bodyguards we hired. If the bodyguards said it was bad, it must have been serious."


    "The parents are putting on a show for us." Toby went back to caressing Sonia''s face. "The harder they


    beat their daughters, the more they could show how determined they are at disciplining their kids. They


    hope we will feel bad and overlook this incident."


    "Put it bluntly, it is another attempt to gain sympathy." Tom shrugged.


    "Ignore them and do what is necessary. Look into these families for any criminal records. If there is,


    collect the evidence and hand it over to the inspectors¡ªthey happen to be investigating Triforce


    Enterprise recently and will be around for a while," Toby instructed unemotionally.


    Tom nodded and asked, "What if there''s nothing?"


    "In that case, let''s get their business partners to cancel their partnerships as a warning." Toby was


    stern and unyielding.


    "Got it," Tom answered, knowing that Toby was being lenient this time. It made sense to cancel part of


    the business partnerships if they did not have prior criminal records. The two families should be


    thankful instead for not having all the partnerships canceled¡ªat least they were spared.


    "Judging from the behavior of their children, I do not believe that their families have squeaky clean


    records," Toby scoffed. Tom agreed with him and nodded. He asked, "Should we release them home?"


    "There''s no point in keeping them under arrest. Send them back but keep an eye on them, in case they


    are thinking of running away. Once the evidence has been collected, hand it over to the police," Toby


    instructed Tom while pulling the jacket on Sonia to keep her warm. Tom answered, "Understood."


    They spent the rest of the trip in silence. Only the sound of shallow breathing could be heard in the car.


    Half an hourter, they arrived at Toby''s luxurious penthouse downtown. Tom parked the car and


    immediately went down to open the car doors for Toby and Sonia.


    Toby lifted Sonia in his arms and got out of the car. "Is the ce cleaned?"


    "Don''t worry! I asked the management to clean the unit from the time we entered the car! They have


    made the bed too. You can take a rest right away." Tom closed the car doors behind them. Toby


    grunted and walked to the elevators with Sonia in his arms while Tom helped to press the button.


    Soon, the three of them reached the top floor. Tom keyed in the passcode and opened the heavy metal


    door for them. "President Fuller, have a good rest with Miss Reed."


    Toby nodded at him. "You should get home and rest too. Before that, please take care of the things I


    mentioned before."


    "Sure."


    Tom closed the metal door once Toby and Sonia entered the penthouse. He finally let out a relieved


    sigh and headed to the elevators while being deep in a phone conversation. He seemed to have given


    out some orders.


    The man on the other end nodded at Tom''s instructions. Then, he put down the phone and gestured at


    someone near him.


    "Sir." Another man swiftly came over. The bodyguard who took the call said, "I got a call from Mr.


    Brown. He said that President Fuller ordered the release of the people under arrest. We don''t have to


    guard them anymore, but we have to monitor them secretly. Go open the doors for them."


    "Okay." The second bodyguard quickly went ahead and opened the door of the private lounge.


    Once the door was open, the gloomy air in the room instantly livened.


    The two girls¡ªone plump and one skinny¡ªremained on the floor, but the rest of the people in the room


    perked up and jumped up from the chairs and couches. They barged toward the entrance excitedly.


    "Is President Fuller here?"


    "Is he here to meet us?"


    The bodyguards were calm in the face of the great anticipation. They sometimes looked like robots in


    that aspect.


    "President Fuller isn''t here. He also did not say he would meet with you."


    When the parents of the two troublemakingdies learned that, the lights in their eyes instantly


    dimmed.


    "Why isn''t heing?"


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    "He''s the one who asked us to wait for him. Why would he change his mind?"


    "Yeah! If he''s not here, how are we going to settle this matter? We''re anxious about it too."


    "Right! So, when is heing?"


    The four men and women could not stop demanding the reason behind Toby''s absence, which was not


    good news at all. In fact, they felt more petrified.


    At the end of the day, their kids had offended Toby. If Toby refused to meet up, the parents could not


    gauge his stance on the matter and his preferred way of dealing with them. Without a certain answer,


    they were left sitting on pins and needles, which exined their impatience.


    Had President Fuller shown up or even sent them a clear message on what to do next for forgiveness,


    they would not have been this distressed. Ultimately, the oldest and strongest fear was one of the


    unknown.


    The bodyguards were unaffected by the nervousness around them. "It''s quitete now. He will not be


    coming."


    Their faces fell. "What? He''s noting?"


    "Why? Why would he do that? We waited so long for him over here. Why isn''t President Fuller showing


    up?" The four of them refused to ept the decision.


    The bodyguards remained unemotional. "Miss Reed is tired and has fallen asleep. President Fuller had


    to take her home, and he will not make it over. Do you really think that you are more important than


    Miss Reed to him?"


    The four dumbfounded parents exchanged nces. Of course, they would never im that they were


    more important than Sonia Reed, even if they believed their issue was more urgent than Sonia''s sleep.


    Still, none of them voiced out their thoughts, for they were sure that the bodyguards would report the


    situation to Toby. They would leave a worse impression on him. Hence, silence would be the best way


    forward.


    A short pauseter, one of the middle-aged men came forward and asked, "I know President Fuller


    won''t be here, but we still need to resolve this issue. Am I right? Did he say anything¡ªfor example, the


    type ofpensation he wanted? As long as he puts in a request, we will try our very best to fulfill it."


    At this point, they would do anything for Toby to forgive them. Their families had to be protected from


    the fallout of their daughters'' foolish actions.


    The other three men and women nodded fervently. "Yes! We will give him anything within our means.


    Even if he wants us to surrender our daughters, we could do that. Our only hope is for him to


    understand that this incident is solely the individual doing of our daughters, and it does not represent


    the families! Please do note after our families."


    "That''s right! We didn''t know about the actions of these two rascals, nor did we order them to do so.


    Their doing was under Miss Lore''s order, which has nothing to do with us! But, as their families, we are


    willing to take the responsibility for their actions. We are even prepared to give them up if he says so!


    We really hope that there is no misunderstanding¡ªthe families are not behind their actions!"

 Chapter 1396

    Chapter 1396


    The words earned the approval of the rest of the parents, as they nodded profusely.


    Yet, the two women who were lying on the floor full of pain felt nothing but sadness inside.


    Although they were their parents, they could act so cruelly and abandon them, cing the family before


    them.


    They admitted that they were foolish and were used by others tomit harm, but in the end, they


    were still their daughters.


    How could they abandon us so easily like this? Are they still human?


    Even though they could not ept this, the two women knew that their parents still cared about them.


    It was just that they did not care that much.


    Often, familial rtions were nothing for the wealthy, as whenpared, which was more of value, the


    entire family or a daughter?


    If just by abandoning a daughter, they could ensure the continuation of their riches for decades or even


    centuries toe, why not?


    Besides, it was not as if they could not bear another child for the family. Besides their daughters, they


    also had other children. What they cared about particrly was a male offspring.


    If they had a son, then a daughter would be even more insignificant. So what if they abandoned these


    daughters?


    Hmph, howughable.


    As the two womeny on the floor, tears fell from their faces with an infinite amount of hatred surging


    from within.


    They hated their family and their parents. Most of all, they hated Lte.


    They would not do anything to their families or parents, for they were raised by them for over twenty


    years and their families did not let them down either.


    Yet, it was a different case for Lte since they would not let her go this easily.


    After beingnded in this position, if they did not take their revenge, then they would be letting


    themselves down.


    Exchanging nces, they swore to make Lte pay.


    At the entrance, their parents still did not know of their daughter''s hatred, as they were still talking to


    Toby''s bodyguards, hoping that they would pass the word on that he could do anything to their


    daughters in hopes of not touching their families.


    The bodyguards, who saw that they would quickly abandon their daughters to save themselves, had a


    sh of disdain in their gazes, as they stated, "Don''t worry. I will pass your word on. But the final


    decision remains with President Fuller, which has nothing to do with us. You all can go back now."


    "Go back?" They were stunned.


    Nodding, the bodyguard then pointed at the two women lying on the floor. "Bring them away too."


    "Of course, of course," they responded quickly.


    Not knowing how Toby was going to deal with them, both families were worried sick over the potential


    oue.


    Yet, the thought of being able to go back made them slightly relieved.


    After all, if they could go back, why would they want to be locked up willingly here?


    Besides, after going back, they could contact their rtives and friends to discuss how to lessen Toby''s


    anger to preserve their bloodline.


    So, after getting the bodyguard''s permission, they quickly carried their daughters and left in a hurry.


    After they left, the bodyguard immediately took his phone out and reported the proceedings to Tom.


    Tom, who heard all this, told everything to Toby.


    Toby had just finished showering and was dressed in a loose bathroom while standing in front of the


    window.


    He was on the top floor of the building, which was a full two hundred meters from the ground. Lowering


    his head slightly, he could take in the whole skyline of the city. The scenery was spectacr.


    Standing in front of the window, Toby was drying his hair with a towel in one hand while the other was


    holding a phone with Tom on the line.


    After Tom finished conveying everything, Toby did not have much of a reaction, as he only replied,


    "Don''t need to pay them too much attention. Just carry on with my instructions as before. As for those


    two women, you don''t have to tell them to go abroad. If you do that, then who''s going to set traps for


    Lte?"


    Tom understood Toby''s intention.


    Ah. So, the president wants to use them against each other. When ites to schemes, President


    Toby really is the king.


    "Understood, President."


    Nodding, Toby replied, "Rest up for now."


    They then ended the call.


    Putting his phone down, Toby did not go back to his room right after, as he remained in front of the


    window and looked at the night view with his gaze flickering between light and dark. Nobody knew what


    was on his mind. He stood there until his hair dried. Only then did he throw his towel onto the couch


    and walk back to the room, where he hugged the woman who was in a deep slumber and slept.


    The next day, it was already nine in the morning when Sonia woke up.


    The unfamiliar environment, room, and bed shocked her, as she sat up and flipped the nket over to


    look at her own body.


    Noticing the distinct loose bathrobe that was not hers, she felt her heart sink, as an ominous feeling


    crept up from behind her.


    Yet, after a close inspection of her body, she found no sore spots, which made her relieved.


    Okay, I don''t think anything happened to me. But where is this?


    Pushing the nket aside, Sonia got out of bed and wore the fluffy slippers by the bedside. Stepping


    on the blush cashmere carpet, she looked around the room with a heavy expression.


    The room was massive, as she estimated it to be around a hundred square meters, which excluded the


    toilet and wardrobe. This was just the space for the bedroom.


    Yet, nothing was ced in the room, saved for the bed and two bedside tables. With nothing else


    adorning the room, it seemed very cold and empty.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    This made her think that her voice might echo back if she spoke in here.


    Okay. So, where am I? And why am I here? Where are my clothes, bag, and phone?


    Anxiously, Sonia started to look for her personal effects around the room.


    In the end, she did not find them, yet she did find something on the bedside table. It was a ss of


    water and a paper note under it.


    Moving the ss away in a hurry, she picked the note up, and the familiar writing on it eased her


    nervous heart.


    It turned out that this ce was none other than one of Toby''s houses.


    She was not kidnapped and confined in this space. Rather, Toby thought that Bayside Residence was


    too far away, so he decided to spend the night here. It was because this ce was nearer to the hotel.


    Breathing a sigh of relief, Sonia sat back down on the bed and smiled at the note. "You sure gave me a


    fright."


    Rubbing her eyes, she put the note back on the bedside table before stretching and walking toward the


    exit.


    Toby stated on the note that he needed to meet with a very important client from overseas that


    morning, so he had to leave early. But, before leaving, he had prepared breakfast for her, which was


    kept warm in the kitchen, so he wrote a note to remind her to eat it after she woke up.


    Besides that, he had prepared the clothes she needed that were ced on the living room''s couch


    alongside her bag and phone.


    His attentiveness warmed her inside.


    Walking to the living room, she noticed that it looked the same as the bedroom. Excluding a few


    essential electronics, it was pretty much barren with nothing much in terms of decor.


    As expected, this matched his past styling, as one could feel the coldness of this ce.


    Rubbing her arms, Sonia looked toward the couch to find that a few bags of clothes and her bag were


    laid on top of it.


    Sonia walked over and looked into the bags, inspecting the clothes, but she did not take them out. After


    taking a swift look, she took her bag and fished her phone out from within, checking to see if there were


    any missed calls or messages.


    After all, it was already nine, and she was not in her office yet. Maybe someone had something urgent


    that needed her?

 Chapter 1397

    Chapter 1397


    Sitting on the couch, Sonia turned on her phone.


    The moment the phone turned on, the notifications came popping until about ten seconds before it


    stopped ringing.


    It seemed that a lot of people wanted to find her just over a night.


    Sonia checked all the messages and found out that three people texted her. One was her current


    secretary, Rita, asking what time she was going to thepany today since there was a meeting


    scheduled at eleven in the morning.


    Another one was Grace, asking her how the banquetst night went, whether the Acrees harassed


    Toby or not and whether she got harassed as well.


    Thest message surprised Sonia a bit, for it was from Zane, stating that he would be wrapping up the


    inspection in the countryside before returning to Seafield the next day and wanted to treat her to a meal


    while also telling her about something important.


    Sonia, who did not know what the important matter was about, ignored it for the time being and replied


    to them ording to the time they were sent out.


    Replying to Rita first, Sonia told her that she would arrive at thepany around ten, so the meeting


    could proceed as nned without needing to dy it.


    Rita must have been waiting for her news since, for she immediately replied after a few seconds with


    an ''Okay''.


    Smiling, Sonia texted Grace back, saying that the Acrees did not show up at the banquet yesterday


    since they were involved in an ident and that neither Toby nor she got harassed, so she should not


    worry about it.


    After sending it, Sonia waited for a while to see that Grace did not reply, so she decided to text Zane


    next.


    Just like Grace, Zane might not have been on his phone at that time or was busy. Either way, he did not


    reply to her.


    Sonia, who was not in a rush, knew that they would reply in due time, so she did not have to keep


    checking. Setting her phone down, she went to the kitchen to see what kind of breakfast Toby prepared


    for her.


    The breakfast was ced in the microwave. There was chowder, a BLT sandwich, and a croissant.


    He knew that she did not like a heavy breakfast, so after they got together, he slowly changed his


    eating habits to amodate a lighter and healthier breakfast.


    Also, he would prepare a lot of variety, all of which were delicious.


    Opening the door of the microwave, Sonia touched the breakfast to find that it was not warm anymore,


    so she reheated it.


    Two minutester, Sonia was already sitting at the dining table to eat her breakfast.


    In the midst, Grace called her.


    "Mrs. Lane." Sonia took a bite of the chowder and greeted her.


    Grace replied, "Hello, Sonny. I saw your text just now. I also saw the incident on the news just this


    morning. This really is frightening how the ident involving the Acrees was purposefully orchestrated


    by their enemy. But I think this is karma, seeing that they withheld thepensation for the death of


    their worker. So, they kind of have iting. This is also a good thing, as hopefully they would learn


    their lesson and stop bullying others."


    Nodding, Sonia replied, "I agree too. Bad people often don''t meet a good ending."


    All in all, she did not sympathize with the Acrees'' current predicament one bit.


    "Although the news didn''t state how bad the aftermath for the Acrees was, apparently people are


    saying that Mr. Acree, the head of the family, is now a vegetable and their daughter a disabled. The


    wife is fine though, but the refusal ofpensation regarding the worker''s death has angered the


    nation with the higher-ups already looking into their family. So, the Acrees are confirmed to go


    bankrupt. If not for Mr. Acree bing a vegetable, I wager he would end up facing jail time as well. In


    other words, Mr. Acree, who can''t move now, can''t pay the mountainous amount of debt and fine that


    the family will be needing to settle. With their daughter disabled as well, this means all this


    responsibility will fall onto Mrs. Acree. Tsk tsk. The mere thought of this suffocates me."


    Although Grace said this with a sad tone, her face had a smirk on it.


    Since the Lane Family were upright, they looked down the most on families like the Acrees who built


    their riches off others'' misfortunes.


    This was why the Acrees deserved what wasing to them.


    "This might be because God can''t ept their behavior, so He decided to condemn them before


    anything happened to Toby." Grace smiled.


    Sonia smiled too. "You might be right, Mrs. Lane."


    "I wager for the next day or two, the front page will be covered with the incident with the Acrees. We


    should be able to see them filing for bankruptcy this afternoon," stated Grace.


    Sonia took a bit of the sandwich before replying, "That is of course. Since the Acrees have enraged the


    whole nation, all the citizens will be keeping a close eye on the development. To appease the public,


    the higher-ups will be reporting the proceedings of the Acrees until the end, so we''ll be seeing updating


    news on this for the next few days."


    "With how big the Acrees'' incident got, even the news regarding the Lores got pushed out of the


    spotlight."


    "The news about the Lores?" Sonia was perplexed.


    This confused Grace. "Sonny, do you seriously not know?"


    Sonia shook her head. "I don''t know what happened to the Lorestely."


    Grace had a face full of doubt. "This is strange. Didn''t Toby tell you that the Fuller Group announced


    him cutting ties with Harry officiallyst night? They also rescinded the extended benefits the Lores


    enjoyed because of their rtionship, stating that Toby would have nothing to do with the Lores from


    then on. The announcement immediately made the front page and caused a hugemotion. Itsted


    until this morning with what happened to the Acrees, then it got slightly cooled down. Even so, there''s


    still a lot of buzz surrounding it, especially in the upper society, where everybody wanted to know what


    happened."


    Upon hearing this, Sonia realized what she was talking about. "Oh, you mean this. Then, I know about


    it already. Toby did bring it up brieflyst night, but I forgot about it after that. Plus, I just woke up, so I


    haven''t had the time to check the news online. What does the public say?"


    She wanted to know.


    Pouting, Grace replied, "What else? Somemented that Toby did this because he had his reasons


    while others said that it was because Lte tried to nder you onlinest time. They said that Toby


    chose to stand on your side, stating that he didn''t know what gratitude was, abandoning his mentor


    because of a woman, and even backstabbing his family. Not only did he cut ties, he even took back all


    the protection he gave them. They alsomented that isn''t this just driving the Lores to their death?


    Such and such. It''s all awful stuff in the end. The Lores are even crying online that they''re innocent,


    causing the onlinemunity to me Toby even more."


    "What? They have the cheek to calm innocence?" Soniaughed.


    Grace got enraged by this. "Tell me about it. It''s like they are re-enacting someme soap opera. The


    Lores are all whining online, making themselves look like the most unfortunate victims. Especially theirContent ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    daughter, Lte. She said that she did it on an impulse, yet Toby exacted revenge on your behalf.


    You''ve be an evil wench in the public''s eyes now, and they are allmenting on how Toby has


    be a tyrant that has been hypnotized by a witch."


    "Erm¡­" The corner of Sonia''s mouth twitched.


    Grace continued, "In conclusion, everybody thinks that Toby is too harsh on the Lores and that he is


    cold-blooded. Just because of such a small incident, he''s treating his mentor like this and this shows he


    is worse than an animal. They even want to boycott the Fuller Group. Although thepany isn''t much


    affected, it must still suffer some damage regarding thepany''s reputation. Also, this wouldn''t be the


    best oue for Toby''s image. Sonny, what actually happened?"

 Chapter 1398

    Chapter 1398


    In actuality, even Grace thought if Toby wanted to disown his mentor due to Lte''s actions from the


    incident and take back all the care that he had shown the Lores, then it would be cruel and heartless on


    his part.


    Let''s say that Lte is really in the wrong and the Lores aren''t exactly saints, this doesn''t warrant how


    cold Toby is treating them. If Toby was such a cold person, I wouldn''t be able to rest easy, knowing that


    Sonny is with him.


    Yet, after meeting him once, Grace understood that he was not such an individual, as she knew he was


    not one to project a person''s wrongdoing onto their entire family.


    So, this can only mean that there is another reason why Toby is handling the incident regarding the


    Lores like this. It''s just that people have yet to learn why.


    At Grace''s question, Sonia recounted the whole incident with Lte and her henchmen truthfully.


    Grace, who came to know the whole proceeding, pped her leg in anger. "This is why I said that the


    Lores must''ve done something else. Otherwise, why would Toby do this? This daughter of the Lore


    Family is just a poison to society along with her entire family, scheming like sly foxes without any moral


    compass. Not only did the seniors in the family not properly lecture the next generation and apologize


    for their shenanigans after they were in the wrong, but they also conspired behind other people''s


    backs. Especially that old fool, Harry. What a shameless thing to do at his age. And he actually calls


    himself a teacher."


    The mention of Harry made Grace show a face full of contempt and scorn toward him.


    Sonia pushed the empty bowl of chowder aside before stating, "I don''t really understand this person as


    well. Mrs. Lane, I don''t think you know about this, but he also talked bad in front of Toby about me in


    the past, advising that he should break up with me."


    "What? Are you serious?" Shocked, Grace was furious. "This shameless fossil. How could he even


    intervene in his student''s love affairs? I guessed that he only said that for his granddaughter. If you


    guys broke up, then that granddaughter of his would have a chance. Belittling others behind their


    backs? Laughable. How could such a person exist? Toby is also to me for this, choosing such a


    crook for a mentor."


    "Now that you mention this, it seems like this might have been a ploy too." Sonia peered through her


    eyes.


    Curious, Grace asked, "What do you mean by this, Sonny?"


    "We''ll have to start from more than ten years ago when Toby was still in university. At that time, to delve


    deeper into the research of economics, he had to have a Ph.D., so he needed to find a mentor. Back


    then, the best econometrist was Harry Lore, and another person, Professor Randall, whom Toby


    actually chose. Both Toby and the professor had even settled on the day of the first meeting when the


    day before, Professor Randall passed away abruptly, so Toby could only settle for the other candidate,


    which was Harry. Otherwise, Toby''s mentor would''ve been Professor Randall instead of Harry."


    "So, I see. It was because he didn''t have another choice." Grace nodded. "This is why I found it strange


    that Toby chose a person like that old man to be his mentor. At first, I thought Toby had very low


    standards for choosing him. Yet, it was a pity that the professor he was supposed to be mentored


    under passed away just a day before."


    Grace sighed.


    Pursing her lips, Sonia stated, "Toby suspects that Professor Randall''s death might have had


    something to do with Harry. After all, Harry would stand to benefit the most if Professor Randall died.


    Also, a lot of details surrounding his demise pointed to his death not being an ident, as it resembled


    more like a plot. This was why Toby thought that Professor Randall might have died at Harry''s hand.


    Adding on Lte''s actions toward me and how the Lores managed their affairs led to Toby bing


    overtly dissatisfied toward Harry, prompting him to cut ties with him. Otherwise, it would have been a bit


    extreme for Toby to cancel their rtionship and take back what the Lores benefited under his care just


    because of Lte."


    "This makes sense too." Grace nodded. "So, Toby is investigating that professor''s death?"


    "That''s right." Standing up, Sonia walked toward the couch. "Since he has his suspicions, he decided to


    look into it more. He wants to seek justice for Professor Randall. If Harry really did it, then Toby would


    not let him walk away scot-free. He also cut ties with Harry for the uing revenge since Toby would


    not have to act mercifully if they aren''t rted whatsoever."


    "I understand now, but will Toby not exin this to the public? Now, the inte doesn''t know why he


    cut ties with Harry, thinking that he only did that due to Lte''s actions, so they are all admonishing


    Toby''s behavior, which will affect his reputation. Besides that, the Lores also all added fuel to the fire by


    putting on an innocent as-can-be facade online. This is all so infuriating." Grace was very upset.


    Smiling, Sonia stated, "I''m not sure if Toby will make a statement or not. He didn''t say anything to me. I


    don''t think he will let himself be on the losing side, so he will do something about it. As for the Lores,


    just let them be the clowns that they are. They won''t be able to do so for much longer anyway."


    "If you say so. You should still ask Toby about this, though. Alright, I think we''ll chat until here then.


    Curtis'' assistant is here, saying that he forgot some documents in the study, so he wants me to find


    them and give them to the assistant," stated Grace before she went up the stairs.


    Nodding, Sonia replied, "Okay then. You should settle that first. I need to go to work too. See you."


    Picking her phone up, Sonia quickly checked the news online.


    She skipped the Acree Family''s news since it did not concern her, as she searched for any news


    between Toby and the Lores.


    Although the incident was not attracting as much attention as the Acrees, she could still easily see


    some discussions about it.


    At the sight of maliciousments regarding Toby, Sonia became upset. What do these people know?


    She kept looking through the search results when she came across a video. ying it, she found that it


    was Lte''s live stream.


    In the video, Lte sat on a bed in a very dim room, and the light that shone on her made her look


    very haggard.


    Plus, Lte kept crying in the video, as her eyes puffed up from all the crying. Owing to her adorable


    features, a lot of people pitied her.


    Humans were predisposed to be weak against cutesy stuff, and Lte fitted that description aptly, so


    how could the viewers not be moved when they saw her crying like this?


    Including the viewers, even Sonia felt a tinge of pity for her.


    Of course, that was but an instant since she knew what kind of person Lte really was¡ªsomeone


    who was innocent on the surface but dark-hearted on the inside.


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    In the video, Lte was holding a box of tissue while drying her nonstop tears, stating how ndered


    she felt.


    She was saying that she knew her faults now and how everything she did was for Toby. She imed


    that she thought Sonia was a bad person who ckmailed Toby, so she wanted Toby to break up with


    Sonia, wording it like she did not have any other intentions while denying that she did not frame Sonia


    out of jealousy toward her.


    Hmph, if I didn''t know the truth, even I would''ve bought her words. How sincere she sounds.


    Rolling her eyes, Sonia continued to watch the video.


    After Lte finished whining, she cried even more while closing in on the camera, asking the viewers


    why she fell into such a state.

 Chapter 1399

    Chapter 1399


    Lte said she did it for Toby, thus she should take the me alone if she was at fault. She would


    never drag her family into it, but Toby had gone too far this time.


    She even mentioned how the announcement blew her grandfather off, resulting in his hospitalization.


    Toby further proved his cold-blooded side by not visiting him nor paying his greetings.


    Her cries hit theizens right at their soft spot, gaining her their support. Toby now became the target


    of criticism because Lte intended to help him, albeit not grasping the whole situation and doing it in


    the wrong way. Still, it was callous of him how he decided to treat the Lore Family when she was


    helping him out, not to mention that her grandfather was once his mentor.


    There were evenments about him being infatuated with Sonia. If he treated his tutor''s family in


    such a way just for a woman, how would his action speak about the credibility of hispany?


    Would he be responsible for the products catered to the public when he did not show mercy to the Lore


    Family?


    The website was flooded withments at the drop of a hat. The majority took Lte''s side and


    reprimanded Toby, while the minority chose to keep quiet.


    After all, there had been plot twists before this and they did not want to jump to a conclusion, especially


    when Toby had yet to elucidate his stance. Lte''s side story alone was not enough to say anything.


    Needless to say, the rational outsiders filled only the minor part. Most of them believed in whoever shed


    more tears; their emotions prevailed over their judgments.


    Sonia pitied the foolishizens instead of getting angry, for they could not discern the truth. Thus,


    what was the use of being mad at the fools?


    She shook her head and stopped paying attention to those impulsivements and Lte''s crocodile


    tears.


    She knew why Lte started a live broadcast: to coerce Toby by leveraging the public''s sympathy.


    With the help of the public''s sympathy and pity, Lte assumed that he would let the Lore Family off


    the hook once he could not put up with the oppression.


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    Ha¡­ Naive.


    In fact, Toby was never the one to give in to threats and he despised whoever threatened him. Lte''s


    action would not bring her closer to her objectives but would add more reasons for him to hate both her


    and the Lore Family.


    Besides, would she seed if theizens boycotted the Fuller Group?


    Forget about thepany''s nonparticipation in the food industry as well as the necessities


    manufacturing, which were industries that could easily be boycotted, thepany mainly indulged in


    the heavy industry; real estate; tourism; technology, and other fractions involved in the running of


    society''s daily life.


    Unless one decided to live with nature and nevery foot in civilization, it waspulsory to buy those


    necessities. Therefore, boycotting the Fuller Group was out of the question.


    Despite their empty words on the Inte, theizens knew that such an alternative was a mere futile


    protest. They were just letting off some steam at the spur of the moment.


    Lte was the only person thinking that it would be a sess.


    Sonia sneered while shaking her head. She then gave Toby a call to ask how he was going to settle the


    issue.


    However, he might be busy with something else as he did not pick up the call. A helpless Sonia ended


    the call and decided to either attempt another callter or wait for him to return the call instead.


    Needless to say, she had to get a change and prep for work, which was utmost urgent at the moment.


    She lifted a few bags of clothes back to her room.


    It was 10.00AM when she was all ready, including getting her makeup done. Grabbing her bag and the


    trash, which was left from her breakfast, Sonia left Toby''s residence and headed to Paradigm.


    By the time she arrived at work, it was 10.55AM, which was five minutes before the meeting. She


    heaved a sigh of relief. Thank God I''m notte.


    She alighted from the elevator, at which Rita was waiting for her. "Chairman Reed, you''re here."


    Sonia returned a smile. "Yup. Sorry for keeping you waiting."


    Rita shook her head. "It''s my duty. Here are the documents for the meeting."


    She handed over the documents to Sonia, who flipped them open to take a nce at them before


    closing them up again. "Okay. I''ll be on my way to the meeting. Please leave my bag at my office.


    Thank you."


    "Alright, Chairman Reed."


    Sonia strode to the meeting room with the files in hand, leaving her bag to Rita''s care. It was not a


    significant meeting, but it was still important since it involved thepany''s strategic direction.


    As the meeting went on, Asher kept ncing at Sonia menacingly like a venomous snake. It could


    easily give one chill from head to toe.


    Even if Sonia was used to his sinister gaze on her, she could not shake off the ufortableness this


    time. The ominous aura from him loomed stronger than ever as if it was overflowing.


    She cast her gaze onto the floor, knowing that he was definitely up to something. He would not stare at


    her like that unless he was nning to set her up.


    As an afterthought, she straightened her back and put her guard up in case she fell for his trap.


    Strangely enough, he neither said anything nor did anything throughout the whole meeting.


    Even after the meeting was over, he left the room straightaway with total ignorance toward her.


    Words failed Sonia, for she had kept herself on her toes for nothing. Deeming Asher as a ticking


    timebomb, she was fully prepared to counter his advances and yet, he did nothing at all.


    It was her monologue over nothing, but it was better than getting hurt. A wave of relief showered


    Sonia''s tense body as she curled inward on her seat. Once she became rxed, her body felt sore and


    tired after the long stiff.


    Still, she kept vignt deep down in her heart. She just couldn''t ignore the way Asher looked at her


    during the meeting; it was vivid in her head.


    Simr to a venomous snake, Asher always lurked in the bushes, biding his time to pounce on his prey.


    So, his gaze was not that of a look toward a pill; he had something up his sleeves for sure. It was just


    that it was not the time for him to set it into motion yet.


    That would not mean that he would give up on his ns, so she could not let her guard down just yet.


    While she was absorbed in her musing, someone knocked on the door and broke her reverie. She


    looked back to see Rita standing by the door.


    "Chairman Reed, your phone was ringing when I was in your office to leave the documents. I''ve


    brought it over for you. It''s President Fuller." Rita entered the room to proffer the phone to Sonia. "I told


    him that you were in the middle of a meeting and that you''ll call him back after that."


    "Okay. Thanks." Sonia took her phone while smiling.


    Rita, who was expected to leave right away, suddenly bit her lower lip in a dilemma. Sensing something


    was off, Sonia put down her phone and asked concernedly, "What''s wrong? Did something happen?"

 Chapter 1400

    Chapter 1400


    "I think I saw Miss Daphne by the street when I was on my way to our partner''spany to pass over


    the documents," Rita recounted.


    "Who? Miss Daphne?" Sonia was shocked.


    "Yes." Rita nodded.


    Sonia''s expression turned somber. "Rita, you gotta be kidding me. Why would Miss Daphne be here?


    Isn''t she pursuing her studies abroad? She shouldn''t be in the country. You must be mistaken."


    Rita bit her lower lip. "I thought I was seeing things too, but it''s impossible the more I think about it. I


    worked with her for such a long time; I know her very well, so I am sure about it. I didn''t see it wrongly.


    It was Miss Daphne. I called her number and she didn''t pick it up, so I called thepany where she''s


    supposed to be working. And guess what, Chairman Reed?"


    "She''s not with them?" Sonia narrowed her eyes.


    "Yes. They said they''ve recruited some fresh blood this year, but none of them is from our country. Miss


    Daphne lied; she isn''t pursuing her studies abroad. That''s why I''m certain that the person I saw was


    her."


    "How could this be?" Sonia''s brows crinkled.


    Rita shook her head. "Beats me. No one knows why Miss Daphne would make up such a lie."


    Sonia went silent for a moment. "Which street was it?"


    Rita told Sonia the ce she bumped into Daphne, after which Sonia nodded. "Got it. I know that


    you''re worried about her and so you''re telling me this. Don''t worry. Leave it to me. I''ll find out what


    she''s up to."


    "I believe in you, Chairman Reed." Rita bowed slightly before leaving the room.


    After Rita left, Sonia kneaded her temples and dialed Toby''s number. She decided to put Daphne''s


    matter in the back of her head for now.


    Everyone was selfish; although Daphne was her friend, her boyfriend''s issue weighed more importance


    to her. Besides, it would not be toote for her to look into Daphne''s matter after the call.


    The call was soon answered as the man''s mellifluous voice rang into her ear. "Done with your


    meeting?"


    "Yep." She smiled.


    On the other hand, Toby reclined in his chair with one hand holding the phone and the other twirling an


    expensive pen. One could see how rxed he was from his posture.


    "Did you call me about what''s happening on the Inte?" He could see through her right away.


    She smiled. "I knew that I can never hide it from you. Right, it''s about that. Everyone''s saying how cruel


    and cold-blooded you are. The ungrateful, youngd who doesn''t let his teacher off the hook. Aren''t


    you gonna speak up for yourself?"


    Toby''s gazended on the monitor before him as the corner of his lips curled into a sneer. He was


    aware of what was happening on the Inte.


    "There''s no need to exin to those idiots. Why noty out the proofs and shut them up?" The tip of his


    pen lightly knocked on the cold surface of the desk.


    Sonia smiled. "Yeah, you''re right. So, are you going to expose what the Lore Family has done on the


    Inte? Including Professor Randall''s matter?"


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Toby replied implicitly, "If they''ve done it, they should''ve prepared themselves for the day when the lid is


    taken off. As for Professor Randall''s matter, it is confirmed that Mr. Lore took part in it, but I won''t


    expose it yet since there''s no irrefutable evidence."


    She nodded and added, "But people might think that you''ve gone too far. It''s true. Lte set me up


    last night, but I''m fine for now. Someizens might keep clinging to this part and ming you for being


    cruel when I''m all safe and sound."


    A glint shed across Toby''s eyes. "Just let those fools be. We don''t have to consider them. After all,


    I''m not revealing those for the fools. It''s for the clever and rational people."


    His words tickled her funny bones. "You have a point. So, are you¡ª"


    "President Fuller." Before she could finish her words, Tom knocked on the door and called Toby.


    Toby looked at Tom. "What is it?"


    Knowing that it was not a question for her, Sonia smiled. "Tom must be looking for you for something.


    Go on. I gotta prep for a meeting anyways. I clinched a deal with the mall''s managementst night and


    we''ll be signing the contract at two in the afternoon. Gotta go now. Bye!"


    It had been a long time since they shared a conversation, yet the call was going to end when they


    barely spoke to each other. Frankly speaking, Toby was quite displeased.


    However, he was aware that Sonia was a career woman and that she did not wish to take up much of


    his time in such a situation. Hence, she chose to end the conversion.


    Fine. We can talk at hometer.


    Toby bid goodbye before the call ended. Setting his phone aside, he stared icily at Tom, who was


    entering his office. There was a momentary pause in Tom''s steps.


    What''s going on? President Fuller doesn''t seem happy to see me. Have I done something wrong?


    Right when he was all jittery with the spections running in his head, Toby piped up coldly, "What is


    it?"


    Smothering the doubts in him, Tom regained hisposure and adjusted his spectacles. "President


    Fuller, we found an important clue regarding the Acrees'' ident."


    "The Acrees?" Toby''s eyes narrowed. "Didn''t I tell you to stop with whatever has nothing to do with us?


    Is no one listening to my orders anymore?"


    Tom hurriedly shook his head. "It''s not like that, President Fuller. I did ask our men to stop right after


    you gave your orders yesterday. However, we found a SIM card when we retreated. They looked into it


    out of curiosity only to find out that it belongs to the driver who was taking revenge on the Acree Family.


    Most importantly, he has Lte''s number. He received some messages from her too."


    "Lte?" Toby was bbergasted.


    Quickly, Tom handed over the document. "Yes. It is Lte Lore. Last night, we assumed that the car


    ident was not as simple as a result of the driver''s revenge. We know that there''s another party


    involved, but we didn''tunch an investigation because it''s none of our business. But based on our


    latest finding, the other party is none other than Lte. Here''s the contact history and message


    content between the both of them. Please take a look at it."


    Toby perused the paper which listed a total of ten contacts. Each of themsted for about five minutes


    long.


    SIM cards did not leave records of a phone call; they could only know the number of contacts dialed


    and the time the calls were made, but not the content. Still, there was storage for messages.


    Toby read the content and the wrinkle between his brows deepened. As Tom had reported, Lte was


    the other party involved.


    The funny thing was¡ªthey thought that it would be someone who had bad blood with the Acree Family,


    hence the help given to the driver to take revenge on the family.


    Yet, reality proved them wrong. Lte did not hold a grudge against that family; she was doing it for


    the mere reason to stop the Acrees from attending the party.

 Chapter 1401

    Chapter 1401


    Lte actually resorted to making such a move because of this ridiculous reason, and her actions


    were deplorable.


    Of course, the Acree Family were a bunch of scoundrels too, so they deserved to be taken revenge.


    However, there was no grudge between the Acrees and Lte, yet she actually plotted a traffic


    ident to kill the Acree Family because of such a ridiculous reason.


    Evidently, a person like Lte was a huge threat.


    Furthermore, it dawned upon him that Lte had shown mercy to Sonia when Lte went after her


    the past two times. Otherwise, Sonia would have been¡­


    At that point, Toby tightened his grip on his cell phone and no longer allowed himself to ponder over the


    situation.


    Right now, he merely had one notion in his mind, and he was determined to send Lte to prison.


    Otherwise, if he allowed this woman to remain scot-free out of prison, that would be subjecting Little


    Leaf to a lot of danger.


    After all, he could only guard against someone like that for the time being, but it was impossible to be


    on guard forever. The only exception was if he went after her and took her life.


    Otherwise, she would surely cause trouble if she had the chance.


    Toby mmed the document in his hands shut, and there was a thunderous look on his face. "From


    this document, the oue of the investigation shows that Lte appears to be the main perpetrator


    behind the driver''s plot to seek revenge against the Acrees."


    "Yes. That''s because Lte was the person who orchestrated the entire thing from the start; be it


    damaging the brake pads or plotting this traffic ident. The driver may seem like the main perpetrator


    but now it looks like he''s just a puppet in this. After all, he couldn''t carry out the revenge on the Acrees.


    It was Lte who gave him the idea and made things convenient for him. As such, even if she didn''t


    plow a car into someone, based on the sentencing in a criminal case, she''s also the main perpetrator.


    Even more so, her actions are considered to be way worse than the driver''s actions because the driver


    plowed the car into the Acrees to seek vengeance; he harbored a grudge against the Acrees. However,


    that''s not the case for Lte. She did this entirely out of her selfish intentions, so she''s definitely the


    main perpetrator." Tom nodded and replied.


    Meanwhile, Toby narrowed his eyes. "Are the police aware of this?"


    Tom shook his head. "They haven''t discovered this because our men found the SIM card on the


    ground. The police are unaware of this. I reckon that Lte must have instructed the driver to get rid


    of the SIM card before he took action. She must have been worried that the police would find it and


    from there, her involvement in this would be exposed. However, she would never have expected the


    driver to dispose of the SIM card carelessly. He just tossed it aside at a spot not too far from the


    ident rather than destroying the entire thing. That''s why our men managed to find it on the ground."


    Tom reckoned that perhaps even the supreme being found it hard to watch Lte''s nasty acts, so that


    was why their men had managed to find the SIM card. It was quite a shame because Lte had such


    an adorable face on the surface but was, in fact, ugly inside.


    "Hand this SIM card to the police." Toby handed over the document to Tom.


    Tom took it from Toby. "President Fuller, if we hand this to the police then it''s quite likely that Lte will


    face life without parole. She might even be sentenced to death. You¡­"


    "Do you think I care about that?" Toby lifted his eyes and shot a calm look at Tom. "I don''t even care


    about Harry, so why would I care about her?"


    Tom shifted his sses slightly and smiled. "I''m sorry, President Fuller. I''ve said too much. I know what


    to do. I''ll get one of our men to send it to the police right away."


    Toby affirmed with a grunt, "After you send it over, reveal this on the inte too."


    "Reveal this on the inte?" Tom was slightly surprised.


    However, Toby was nomittal, and his eyes had an icy look. "You must have seen what''s


    happening on the inte?"


    "Yes."


    "If I just reveal Lte''s actions yesterday, those dumb people on the inte would remain convinced


    that I''m too harsh on the Lores. Once I reveal this, then that would shut their mouths, wouldn''t it?"


    At that point, it finally dawned upon Tom. "I understand. I''ll inform our PR department to release a


    statement."


    Toby lifted his chin. "What''s going on with the other twopanies?"


    Tom considered the situation for a moment before replying, "Our men have gathered enough evidence


    to prove that they have breached thew. They have beenx in their ways, so it was very easy to


    uncover evidence proving that they breached thew. I reckon that our men have already submitted the


    evidence to the disciplinary board. It won''t be too long before we receive news that those two


    companies are under investigation. As for those two women, right now, they''re still hospitalized.


    They''ve been kicked out of their homes, and their families issued statements online regarding that, but


    there has been too much news today, so their statement didn''t cause a ripple."


    Toby nodded slightly to indicate that he had taken note. "Ignore these twopanies and the two


    women. Focus your efforts on observing what''s going on at the Lores."


    It was quite a shame because he had nned for the two women to go up against Lte.


    Unexpectedly, he discovered that Lte had done such a despicable thing in secret, so her fate was


    destined. Once these two women got discharged from the hospital, Lte would likely have been


    imprisoned, so there was no way the two parties would go up against each other. Nheless, nothing


    was set in stone. It could be that Lte had done some other nasty things that they weren''t aware of,


    but it was known to those two women instead, and perhaps those two women would report Lte. By


    then, Lte would be sentenced to more criminal acts.


    "Go on." Toby smiled slightly with the curl of his thin lips and gestured to Tom.


    Subsequently, Tom left the room with the document.


    Shortly after that, the PR Department of Fuller Group issued a detailed statement stating why Toby


    severed ties with the Lores. There were five reasons stated.


    First, Lte purposely created an untrue scandal about Sonia, which triggered Toby''s displeasure.


    Not only were the Lores unrepentant and unapologetic about that, but they even behaved arrogantly


    and came over to tell them off.


    Second, During the dinner partyst night, Lte instigated her two sidekicks toe over and cause


    trouble; they destroyed the door to Toby and Sonia''s lounge.


    Third, Lte attempted to harm Sonia and endangered Sonia''s life.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Fourth, Lte intentionally murdered someone. She plotted the traffic ident involving the Acrees,


    which resulted in the death of the Acree Family''s driver, Mr. Acree''sa, and Miss Acree''s crippled


    legs, so Lte hadmitted a serious crime.


    The fifth reason was to be announcedter as evidence was still being collected.


    Based on the above reasons, relevant corroboration was also included, especially for reasons three


    and four.


    For the third point, Fuller Group included surveince camera footage from the dinner partyst night in


    the corridor of the toilet where Lte had attempted to shove Sonia.


    Lte had assumed that there was no surveince camera there, but in fact, those in attendance of


    the dinner partyst night were the upper echelons of society, so the host and hostess were worried


    that something bad would happen to these people and that they wouldn''t be able to take responsibility


    for it. As such, the host and hostess had paid for the instation of surveince cameras at every


    corner of the hotel and even for areas that most people assumed were without surveince.


    Although there were no surveince cameras installed in the bathroom, there was one installed on the


    venttion system installed on the ceiling right outside the corridor of the bathroom. The things that


    Lte did to Soniast night were captured on the surveince camera.


    When Lte reached out to shove Sonia, the evil look on her face was captured clearly, and one who


    saw the look in Lte''s eyes would shudder.


    She had an angelic and adorable look, but once it was tinged with an evil expression, she looked very


    ugly and scary.


    Everyone on the inte who saw Lte''s expression on theirputers or cell phones couldn''t help


    shuddering in fear.


    As for the fourth point, Fuller Group included some evidence that wasn''t surveince camera footage


    but was a photocopied document. The content in the document was actually scarier than the footage of


    the third point.


    In the photocopied document, there were text messages between Lte and a stranger. The content


    of the text messages clearly documented how Lte plotted the traffic ident, instructed her men to


    damage the brakes, and arranged for the offender to wait in the right position before making a move.


    Each of the text messages sent a shiver down one''s spine; it was terrifying to read them.


    At that moment, everyone on the inte was in a frenzy.

 Chapter 1402

    Chapter 1402


    Theizens were mainly ordinary people. Although they knew things were not simple in the rich''s


    social circles and that most of them hadmitted some sort of dirty deed, it was the first time they


    encountered someone like Lte, who tantly plotted a traffic ident to kill someone.


    ''Omg. She plotted a fatal car ident just to stop someone from attending a dinner party. The Lores''


    preciousdy is such a monster!''


    ''This is so terrifying¡ªbone-chillingly scary, I''d say. I thought the riches could only get as vile as ying


    sabotage, but I didn''t realize that murdering is in their books too! Have I been too innocent or what? Do


    the riches take the judicial system as a joke?''


    ''I strongly urge the authorities to investigate the rich thoroughly. I''m sure Lte Lore isn''t the first


    person to do so, and surely, she won''t be thest. Perhaps there are others more vicious than her.''


    ''That''s right. I support that! I strongly urge the authorities to investigate the matter thoroughly.''


    As soon as thement above was posted, those on the Inte supported that stance


    wholeheartedly. They swiftly took action and tagged the relevant departments to obtain a response


    from them so that the wealthy families would be thoroughly investigated.


    No one doubted the authenticity of the evidence released by Fuller Group.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    After all, Fuller Group was a reputable and distinguished establishment, so indeed, they would not fool


    around with such a serious matter. Besides, Toby''s mentor was a part of the Lore Family while Lte


    was his mentor''s granddaughter.


    If it was not because of her despicable actions, they were sure that Toby would not have done all this,


    even if she had repeatedly targeted Sonia. Ultimately, those on the Inte who had previously found


    Toby too harsh against the Lores now switched sides and supported him.


    They were easily swayed and simple-minded. They generally sided with the weaker party, so whoever


    put on a more pitiful act would win their trust easier than the other party. However, this was not an


    indication that they would support a murderer. It was fine for them to forgive someone''s mistake, but


    murder was an uneptable crime.


    ''It''s no wonder that President Fuller insisted on severing ties with the Lores. These are all the reasons


    behind his decision. I knew there was no way he was as described by the others. He''s not someone


    unreasonable and poor in judgment who would sever ties with his mentor because of a minor incident


    after being infatuated with a woman.''


    ''Hey, the guy whomented above, you said a different thingst time.''


    ''Yeah. From the start, I realized that something was not right in this matter. I''ve never doubted


    President Fuller. Looks like I was quite right in my instincts. Haha. Those who said I was brainless for


    trusting and supporting President Fuller shoulde out now to face the music.''


    Face the music? No way! There was no way they woulde out to face the music, but they could


    delete their previousments and keep a low profile instead.


    Thoseizens who hade forward to point fingers at Toby for being heartless and ungrateful when


    he made the announcement now blushed in embarrassment. They quickly deleted theirments and


    even changed their usernames just to avoid being mocked by others who had notmented


    negatively about him.


    At that moment, not only did they feel awkward, but they hated Lte to the core too.


    That woman was so vicious andmitted all these misdeeds, yet she had the decency to go on the


    Inte and sob about her innocence. She mentioned that she had merelymitted a tiny mistake.


    It was then they mobbed the video Lte had posted of herints while she sobbed, and they


    started to attack her with all sorts of ruthless words and even cursed her.


    The web moderator saw thosements, and despite frowning at them and thinking that the words


    were nasty, he did not stop them for his reason. He also found her actions despicable, which exceeded


    everyone''s imagination.


    That was murder! Although the Acrees were not exactly the nicest people either, they had never


    offended Lte. However, she went after the Acrees, whom she was not even enemies with, just for a


    ridiculous reason.


    One could also think of this from another perspective¡ªif one of them inadvertently offended her one


    day, would she have to resort to murder too? It was because of this that theizens were hostile


    toward her.


    Although most of them attacked Lte and the Lores, a small proportion of them were just watching


    the debacle. As for the topic they were interested in, it was rted to the fifth reason listed in the


    statement released by Fuller Group.


    ''Hey, guys. What do you think that statement means? What do they mean by ''due to insufficient


    evidence, this is to be announced''? Did Lte or the Loresmit something else?''


    ''That must be it. Otherwise, why would there be the word ''evidence'' stated? I''m just curious whether


    that''s as serious as the fourth point.''


    ''I reckon it must be more serious than the fourth point.''


    ''Hey, the guy above. Why did you say so? Could you exin?''


    ''Yeah! Exin it to us.''


    Others repeatedly tagged the person, and at that point, he was quite full of himself as he replied slowly,


    ''Look. Fuller Group released Lte''s misdeeds in order ording to the severity, especially the third


    and fourth points. The third point specified that she attempted to harm Miss Reed behind her back, but


    everyone should know that the event was held at level ground, so one may or may not die from being


    shoved. However, as mentioned in the fourth point, Lte damaged the brakes on someone else''s


    car, and that would cause the person''s death, so the fourth point is much more severe than the third


    one. Simrly, the fifth point must be more severe than the fourth one.''


    ''That makes sense. If that''s the case, then what exactly did she do on that unrevealed fifth point?''


    ''We would have to get Fuller Group to answer that question.''


    As such, the people on the inte swarmed to Toby''s social media profile out of curiosity and left


    comments, hoping that he would reveal it to them.


    Naturally, he did not do so, but they did not give up and continued to tag the relevant authorities,


    hoping they would investigate things and find out the truth as soon as possible to ount for the


    netizens.


    Not only were there ordinary members of the public watching the unfolding debacle, but the rich also


    secretly rubbed their hands in glee as they watched the drama. As soon as the rich saw theizens


    tagging the relevant authorities to investigate them, they shivered in fear.


    They were well aware of what they had done, and even though they were not as sadistic as Lte,


    they hadmitted misdeeds before.


    As such, the rich scrambled to berate the nosyizens while quickly getting rid of the evidence of their


    wrongdoings. Those who evaded tax started to repay the amount silently; the ones who neglected to


    compensate their staff quickly did so, and those who used inferior materials on their production line to


    produce stock swiftly changed their materials into ones of good quality.


    Ultimately, everyone was afraid that the relevant authorities would investigate them to appease the


    netizens''ints. If the authorities discovered something, then the fate of the Lores awaited them


    too.


    To avoid this, everyone hastily repaid,pensated, and modified everything that they were supposed


    to.


    Undeniably, Toby''s action of announcing this was beneficial. Not only could he restore his besmirched


    reputation, but he could also rid the corrupted corporate world of some hical ones.


    This was a great thing for both him and Sonia, especially her. She did not even expect that Lte was


    involved in the Acree Family''s car ident. To be more precise, Lte was not merely involved in it.


    She was the main perpetrator!


    After Toby announced the matter, there was no doubt that Lte would spend the rest of her life in


    prison. After all, she was as venomous as a viper and would now be kept behind bars. From now on,


    they would not have to worry about her pouncing out to cause harm out of nowhere. This was great


    news indeed for Sonia.


    Meanwhile, this was not good news for the Lore Family and Lte. It was undoubtedly bad news, and


    even more so, it was horrible. At that moment, the Lores were at the hospital keeping Harrypany,


    so they were unaware of the sensation on the Inte.

 Chapter 1403

    Chapter 1403


    Harry had suddenly copsed, and that incident urred so abruptly that itnded a huge impact on


    the Lores. They could not help feeling stricken by that.


    They were well aware that the strong pir that could support the entire Lore Family did not lie among


    any of them, but Harry was the very key in all this.


    His role as a professor at the university allowed him to build up a lot of connections in the academic


    world. These older generations in the field also had connections in every industry.


    That was why each time the Lore Family needed help in any matter, the problem would be resolved


    easily once Harry made a move to contact any of his close friends in the academic world. Most


    importantly, he held the position of Toby''s mentor.


    There were some things that his friends in the academic world could not quite achieve, but Toby was


    an exception. Therefore, it was fair to say that the Lores were able to continue surviving and stand tall


    because Harry was still around.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    If he suddenly passed away, then the older generations in the academic world would no longer care


    about the Lores. Even Toby would gradually cut ties with their family.


    Although he had already severed ties with the Lores, there was a chance that they could rebuild the


    connection if Harry survived.


    However, if he passed away, then their hopes would be dashed entirely.


    As such, none of them wished to see Harry ill. As soon as they heard that he had copsed from the


    shock upon seeing Toby''s statement, they were frightened out of their wits. Subsequently, they hastily


    took leave from their jobs and rushed to the hospital to care for Harry.


    However, they did not expect the hospital to diagnose him as having symptoms of a moderate stroke.


    Once he regained consciousness, his health would be worse than before.


    For example, in the past, he was able to walk without a cane, but from now on, he would need a cane


    to support his movement. If his condition was more severe than expected, then he might even need to


    be in a wheelchair.


    Another example would be that in the past, he could articte and gesture smoothly, but from now on,


    his speech might be slurred, or perhaps even stutter. His moves would be slower than


    before, and it might be tough for him to grip something in his hands.


    Ultimately, Harry would no longer be as sprightly as he was; he would end up as a frail old man


    needing constant care. This came as a significant impact on the Lores.


    Though they all heaved a sigh of relief because he remained alive, his body was considered destroyed,


    and they were unsure how long he was able to keep going.


    As soon as the diagnosis was made known, the Lores were dejected. The mood in the room turned


    somber. Even Amelia burst into tears more than once.


    Although Grayson did not tear up, he looked extremely downcast. Meanwhile, Lte stood


    expressionlessly by the windowsill. No one knew what she was currently thinking of.


    As for the other members of the Lore Family, they had received word as well and scrambled to get


    back to the country from abroad. Those who were out of town also made ns to return to Seafield.


    After all, Harry was in such a state, so they had to return to visit him. There was a chance that they


    might not get to see him again.


    "Sob. Honey, why did everything end up in such a state?" Amelia sat next to Grayson and continued to


    whimper softly. "Why did Dad suddenly copse?"


    He was significantly annoyed by her cries. "That''s enough! Stop crying. Why are you asking me? I have


    no idea at all. I only knew Dad attended a dinner party with Lte and somehow angered Toby again.


    That resulted in him releasing a statement that he would sever ties with our family."


    As they spoke, they nced in unison at Lte, who was standing by the window.


    Evidently, their exchange of words was intended for her ears. The couple had asked her this question


    more than once. After all, Harry remained unconscious, so they could only ask her about the matter, for


    she was the only one who attended the dinner party with him.


    However, she kept mum and steadfastly refused to tell them what happened despite their persistent


    questions. In the end, they had no choice but to put up this act.


    Lte was coldly unfeeling, and despite Amelia''s heart-wrenching sobs, she remained silent the


    entire time. Furthermore, she became rather impatient when they asked so many questions.


    "That''s enough. What''s with all the crying and persistent questions? Right now, the most important


    thing is to find a way to resolve this matter. Once Grandpa regains consciousness, I hope he would be


    able to see that we''ve resolved the matter rather than sobbing in here." Lte red at her parents


    impatiently.


    Though Grayson and Amelia were already used to their daughter''s poor treatment toward them in


    contrast to Harry, the look Lte shot at them remained hurtful to the couple.


    Grayson chided her, "We''re your parents! What''s with that attitude you''re showing us, huh? Is that the


    way a daughter should talk to her parents?"


    Yet, Lte snorted scornfully. "If I had the choice, I wouldn''t want to be your daughter anyway. You''re


    just two pieces of trash."


    "You¡ª" Grayson and Amelia were angered beyond words.


    At that moment, the ward to the room was pushed open from the outside, and a nurse walked in with a


    displeased expression. "Are you guys done? Don''t you know you''re in a hospital right now? Can''t you


    see the words on the wall stating, ''No loud noises''? How dare you guys cause such a disruption here.


    Even if your patient here doesn''t need rest, we''ve got other patients around who do."


    As soon as the nurse''s words hit, the entire room descended into silence, and everyone stared at her


    incredulously.


    Clearly, they could not believe their ears. How dare a measly nurse show attitude while speaking to


    them in such a rude tone!


    Soon, Lte came to her senses and red at the nurse with a twisted expression. "Who the heck do


    you think you are, and how dare you speak to us this way! You don''t mind losing your job, do you?"


    It was true that the Lores were now in a bad state, but they were not beaten just yet. It was easy for


    them to go after a measly nurse.


    However, the nurse waspletely undisturbed by Lte''s words and even smirked disdainfully. "If


    this was in the past, I might be afraid of your words, Miss Lore. However, I''m no longer afraid of you.


    After all, you''re a murderer about to be imprisoned. What else can you do to me?"


    Lte''s expression turned sour as soon as the word ''murderer'' hit. Her eyes widened in shock. "W-


    What do you mean by that? What murderer?"


    Does this person know aboutst night''s incident? No! That''s impossible. I did everything in secret, and


    even Toby was unaware of things, so how did she know? This must be a sham. It isn''t true. Lte


    reassured herself in her mind, but somehow, the more she tried tofort herself, the more she found


    it hard to calm her turbulent emotion, surging her anxiety.


    Though Grayson and Amelia felt hurt by Lte''s words, their love for their daughter ultimately


    prevailed. Naturally, they would not be able to tolerate hearing someone speak ill about their daughter,


    so they instantly glowered and stood up. Subsequently, they pointed at the nurse and yelled, "What sort


    of nonsense are you on about? What do you mean by ''murderer''? We can sue you for libel!"


    "That''s right." Grayson nodded.


    The nurse pursed her lips with a disdainful look. "Libel? I did not defame your daughter. She''s a


    murderer and an extremely vicious one too. Right now, this is all over the Inte. Your daughter


    plotted the Acrees traffic ident for a ridiculous reason. Rather than arguing about this with me here,


    you should start thinking of what to bring for your daughter when you visit her in prison in the future."


    After the nurse said that, she shot a cold look at Lte before pushing the medication cart out of the


    room.


    At that point, Grayson and Amelia were stunned in ce inside the room.


    What did the nurse just say? She said Lte plotted the Acrees'' traffic ident yesterday, which is all


    over the Inte. How can that be possible?! Our daughter can''t be that vicious! Besides, she''s not


    capable of that! That must just be rumors on the Inte. Yes, that must be it!


    The two of them were of that opinion and turned to look at Lte in unison. However, their hearts


    plummeted upon noticing her pale face and frantic expression.

 Chapter 1404

    Chapter 1404


    Grayson and Amelia were her parents, so they naturally knew her well.


    They were aware since she was young that she would end up with a pale face and frantic expression


    once her mistake was uncovered by someone. That was an indication that the nurse was right, and


    their daughter had indeedmitted murder.


    As soon as Amelia realized this, she heard nothing but a ringing noise in her ears. She took a deep


    breath as she felt her world spin in front of her before she fainted.


    Grayson was shocked upon seeing her faint and quickly rushed over to break her fall. Subsequently, he


    ced her on the couch by the side. They were in a high-ss VIP ward, so a couch and a lounge


    were prepared.


    After doing so, he finally turned to stare at Lte in disbelief. "Lte, is it true, about what the nurse


    mentioned earlier? Did you actually¡­ murder someone?" he spoke in a hoarse voice, and it took him


    some time toplete his sentence.


    Although he was not exactly perfect, he had never killed anyone in his life. There was no way he would


    commit such a crime, and he did not dare to either. However, he never expected his daughter to have


    the guts to do so.


    At that point, Lte saw the look in her father''s eyes, which appeared to have acknowledged her as a


    murderer. In response, she could not seem to contain the raging anger within her as she yelled at him


    with a distorted expression, "What do you mean by that?! So, do you think I''ve murdered someone with


    just the nurse''s words?"


    Grayson moved his lips. "I don''t trust her words, but your behavior makes me¡ª"


    "I didn''t do it!" She seemed to have gone through a huge shock as she cut him off in a voice shriller


    than ever. "I didn''t murder anyone! I did not!"


    I merely did something to the Acrees'' car and informed the fisherman who harbored a grudge against


    the Acrees. Other than that, I didn''t do anything else. I wasn''t the one who drove the car into the


    Acrees'' vehicle, so how could they say that I''m a murderer?! I did not kill anyone! I didn''t!


    Meanwhile, Grayson''s mouth was slightly agape upon seeing Lte''s crazed look as she yelled at


    him. He could not seem toe up with any words to say.


    At that moment, he was fully convinced that his daughter had indeedmitted murder. Otherwise,


    she would not be so emotional and react so badly.


    Feeling his blood run cold, he pointed at her and trembled uncontrobly. The look he gave her was as


    if she was a stranger to him. "Lte, how could you even do that? It''s murder!" he questioned in a


    heartbroken voice.


    He was a bad man, but the worst thing he ever did was to frame someone and cause the person to be


    taken custody by the authorities.


    Other than that, the most he would resort to was taking advantage of others by unting his


    rtionship with Toby and snatching someone else''s coborative rtionship or business. He had


    never endangered anyone''s life. However, his daughter¡­


    As soon as Lte saw the pained look on her father''s face, she knew he would not believe her no


    matter how hard she tried to exin herself. As such, she decided not to do so and sneered coldly


    instead. "Well, you''ve assumed that I''vemitted murder, haven''t you? So, what''s next? Are you


    going to call the cops on me? Sure, go ahead. Call the cops right now if you want to."


    She was undaunted at all.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    Anyway, in her mind, she had merely instructed someone to damage the Acrees'' car, revealed their


    whereabouts to that fisherman, and helped that fisherman figure out a way to exact revenge. I didn''t do


    all that personally, so how could they point me out as the murderer? I''m innocent in this. I didn''t


    execute things personally, so I''m not a murderer!


    Furthermore, she felt that even if Grayson reported her to the authorities and she ended up being taken


    into police custody, she would certainly be fine.


    Yet, he was taken aback by Lte''s words. Call the cops on you? No, in fact, that notion had never


    crossed his mind.


    Even though Lte was displeased with him, and despite her murdering someone, she was his


    daughter after all. He had never thought of calling the cops on her. Naturally, he would not have gone


    to lodge a report.


    His words were spoken out of shock, and he was appalled by her brazenness.


    For a moment there, Grayson was rendered speechless as he descended into silence. He could not


    seem toe up with the words to say.


    However, Lte did not care what was on his mind. She was pleased to note that he had stopped


    talking and no longer interrogated her by asking those ridiculous questions. Subsequently, she took out


    her phone and tried to locate the article that the nurse mentioned earlier. She wanted to find out what


    was going on exactly.


    How did the matter of me plotting the traffic ident of the Acrees get exposed? That fisherman


    promised me that he would delete all the evidence of our exchange before he made the move. How did


    everything end up on the Inte?


    She bit her lips and scrolled on her phone. Soon enough, she figured out the reason. It was Toby


    behind all this. Toby did this!


    Her eyes were bright red at that point, and her fingers trembled as she held her phone and stared with


    disbelief at the contents of it.


    Toby was the one who posted this! How did he find out, though?!


    Lte considered things in her mind but could note up with an answer. She stared intently at her


    phone as her breath became hitched. What does Toby mean by all this?! How can he do this?! Does he


    know how much trouble I would encounter once he reveals all this on the Inte?! Does he know how


    badly my reputation would be affected by all this?!


    Suddenly, tears streamed down from her reddened eyes. Not only did her hands tremble, but her entire


    body also quivered violently.


    She could not ept being treated this way by Toby. He had callously and mercilessly ended her


    without any regard for its impact on her.


    "Toby¡­ You''re too merciless." Lte bit her lips hard, and hatred and grievance were evident in her


    voice.


    She felt that Toby''s behavior was a betrayal of her and her feelings for him. She loved him so much


    and treated him nicely, but he¡­


    Ironically, it did not even cross her mind how she had treated him.


    She went on the Inte to tell a sob story and distorted the truth to hide the things she had done,


    causing theizens to misunderstand Toby. Meanwhile, the public scolded him for being heartless, but


    she had never even considered the impact of her actions on him.


    Ultimately, Lte was someone who always regarded her actions as being right and would never be


    at fault. However, if someone treated her the same way as she did to them, it would be uneptable


    for her; it was considered a betrayal and disappointment to her.


    Anyway, she held a drastic stance as she was the only one who could disappoint others, but no one


    else was allowed to dissatisfy her.


    At that point, she was inconsble and felt an intense hatred toward Toby. Furthermore, she vowed to


    never love him again after the hurt and disappointment she inflicted on her. She was determined to


    take revenge against him and put him through the pain she felt.


    As for those foolishizens who were focused on cursing her, she would take steps to go after them


    one at a time. It was easy enough to imagine things when in fact, there was a harsh reality to face.


    As soon as Lte started to have notions of exacting revenge, she heard a knock on the door.


    Grayson did not think too much about the situation as he took a deep breath and went over to open the


    door. As soon as he did, his expression darkened immediately upon seeing two uniformed police


    officers by the entrance.


    If this had happened previously, he would not panic upon seeing them but would ask impatiently for


    their purpose ofing over. Now that he knew his daughter hadmitted murder, he was filled with


    panic, anxiety, and fear as soon as he saw them.


    "W-What''s the matter?" Grayson asked with trepidation as he gripped the handle tightly with both


    hands.


    In actuality, he knew quite well what the two officers were here for.


    If possible, he would rather be the one to deal with the two officers and find an excuse to send them


    away. As such, his daughter would be safe.


    The two police officers naturally took note of his reaction upon seeing them.


    They exchanged looks with each other, and one of them retrieved his credential before waving it in


    front of him. Then, the police officer said coldly, "Good day, Mr. Lore. We''ve got a case involving your


    daughter, so we would like to see her. Is she here?"

 Chapter 1405

    Chapter 1405


    They''re here to look for Lte indeed! Grayson''s head exploded for an instant. He quickly replied in a


    loud voice, "No, my daughter isn''t here. If you''re looking for her, please leave this ce as soon as


    possible and go somewhere else instead. This is my father''s ward, and there''s nobody else here


    besides my father and me. Just get out of here." As he spoke, he attempted to close the door.


    However, how could the two policemen be sent away so easily? One of them quickly put his foot in the


    door, preventing Grayson from closing it.


    The policeman who had spoken just now looked at Grayson with a half-smile. "Mr. Lore, we visited your


    ce beforeing here, and one of your maids told us that you and your family are taking care of Old


    Mr. Lore in the hospital. Also, we just asked the nurses in charge of the wards on this floor, and they


    said they didn''t see Miss Lore leave after her arrival. In other words, Miss Lore is still here. So, Mr.


    Lore, please cooperate with us and get her toe out. Otherwise, we''ll take it that you''re obstructing


    us from carrying out our duty, and we can also take you away ording to thew."


    They can take me away as well? Grayson''s face froze for a moment.


    Seizing the opportunity, the two policemen immediately shoved him aside and entered the ward.


    Only when his shoulder bumped against the wall did Graysone to his senses. His countenance


    changed, and he hurriedly turned around and entered the ward after them, saying, "What do you


    mean? Is this how you guys carry out your duty as policemen? Do you know what your behavior is


    called? This is called illegal intrusion! How dare you¡ª"


    The two policemen paid no heed to his words at all.


    The policeman who had spoken previously nodded to the other policeman, who immediately turned


    around, spread his arms, and blocked Grayson''s way, keeping him froming forward to stop them.


    Of course, Grayson wasn''t willing to be stopped like this. He struggled several times, but how could he,


    weakened long ago by years of hard drinking and debauchery, fight against the policeman who


    exercised daily? Subsequently, he was soon marched out of the ward by the policeman, who decided


    to also take him to the police station for questioning. This guy has repeatedly prevented us from looking


    for Lte Lore, so it''s obvious that he also knows what she did. This puts him under suspicion of


    shielding Lte Lore, so it''s best to take him back as well.


    With Grayson taken away, silence instantly descended upon the ward.


    The policeman staying in the ward first took a look around, but there were no signs of Lte in the


    ward other than the old man lying on his sickbed and Amelia, who was lying on the couch. At the sight


    of this, he knitted his brows in agitation. Is Lte Lore really not here? But all the information shows


    that she indeed came here and never left. Even Grayson Lore''s reaction earlier indicates that Lte


    Lore is here. So, is she hiding somewhere in the ward right now?


    Just when he was pondering whether to search the ward for her, the door to the restroom opened, and


    Lte came out of it while shaking her wet hands with a sullen expression.


    When the policeman saw her, his eyes lit up and a smile lifted the corners of his mouth. Seems like I


    don''t have to look for her. She''se out by herself.


    Lte also noticed that Grayson was no longer in the ward. Instead, there was a stranger. At first, she


    wanted to ask who the stranger was, but her face turned pale the next second when she saw the police


    uniform that he was wearing. Although she still didn''t think she hadmitted murder, she nheless


    felt inexplicably guilty and scared when she saw a policeman. She clenched her teeth, wanting to seize


    the initiative by chasing the policeman away, thinking that he''d probably just entered the wrong ce


    and that she''d probably be fine after chasing him away. "You¡ª"


    However, no sooner had she uttered the first syble than the policeman produced the evidence and


    looked at her frostily, saying, "Hi, Miss Lore. We found you suspicious of the Acree Family''s car


    identst night, so pleasee with us."


    Lte''s pupils shrank, and she stepped back unconsciously. "What nonsense are you talking about?


    Who is under suspicion? What does the Acree Family''s car ident have to do with me? I''m not going


    with you. Please go back by yourself, or I''ll fileints against you. Don''t think you can do anything


    just because you''re the police. Get out of here or I''ll make you feel sorry for it!"


    The policeman wasn''t surprised by Lte''s response. After all, he''d seen much of this; almost every


    suspect reacted this way when they saw policemen like them. Therefore, heughed instead, saying,


    "Miss Lore, it''s not up to you or me whether the car ident has something to do with you. It depends


    on the evidence. Our evidence now proves that you have a lot to do with this, so please go with us, or


    you''ll have to face serious consequences for resisting arrest."


    However, Lte didn''t seem to hear the words ''resisting arrest.'' She growled emotionally, "I said get


    the hell out of here! I didn''t do anything, so you guys have no right to make me go with you! Get your


    *ss out of here now!" She pointed at the door.


    The policeman''s face hardened. Having run out of patience, he instantly removed the handcuffs from


    his waist. "Miss Lore, we''d asked you twice, but you refused to cooperate with us both times. Since


    that''s the case, don''t me us for being rough with you. I came this time with an arrest warrant issued


    from above, so I have the right to put the cuffs on you. Now if you''ll excuse me," he said. With that, he


    struck swiftly and arrested Lte at once. After pinning her against the wall with her hands behind her


    back, he proceeded to put handcuffs on her.


    Unable to move one bit, Lte panicked all over, especially when she felt the ice-cold handcuffs on


    her wrists. Scared out of her wits, she kept struggling and screaming, "Let me go! Remove the


    handcuffs! I didn''t kill anyone, and you guys have no right to put handcuffs on me! Let me go!


    Aaaaaah!" Her extraordinarily shrill screams brought a pained look to the policeman''s face, and he


    quickly released one hand free to cover one of his ears.


    It had to be said that Lte''s screams sounded terrifying, so much so that even the unconscious


    Amelia was awakened by them. When she opened her eyes to see her daughter held by a man, she


    quickly grabbed her purse and was about to hit the policeman with it. "Let go of my daughter! Who are


    you? How dare you make moves on my daughter here?"


    Sensing the flow of air behind him, the policeman swiftly released Lte and dodged aside.


    Amelia nearly fell when she failed to hit the policeman. Luckily, the wall was right in front of her; she


    barely steadied herself by cing her hand on the wall for support.


    The policeman warned her expressionlessly, "I''m a policeman, Mrs. Lore. Do you know you just


    attacked a policeman? I can arrest you right away for that."


    A policeman? Amelia was startled for a moment. So, he''s not a hoodlum or something. The next


    instant, however, her countenance changed at the sight of the handcuffs on Lte''s wrists. "Y-You''re


    here to arrest Lte?"


    The policeman straightened his police uniform. "Miss Lore is under suspicion for a car ident, so we


    have to take her back for questioning," he said while attempting to grab Lte.


    Amelia hurriedly stepped in front of her daughter. "What nonsense are you talking about? My daughter


    has never done such a thing. You can''t take her away!"


    Lte stood tearfully behind her. She looked extremely pitiful, with no trace of her previous arrogance


    toward her parents. "Please save me, Mom! I didn''t kill anyone, and I''m not the one who killed them!


    You can''t let them take me away!"


    Amelia looked back and patted her on the shoulder. She said with a determined look in her eyes, "Don''t


    worry, Lte, I''ll protect you. I won''t let them take you away."


    Moved by her words, Lte nodded. "Uh-huh."


    Amelia then turned back to look at the policeman opposite her with the same determined look in her


    eyes. "I''ll never let you guys take my daughter away." Having been a coward throughout her life, she


    finally stood up for her daughter at this very moment. Unfortunately, it was a wasted effort. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.

 Chapter 1406

    Chapter 1406


    How could the police not take a person of interest away just because someone prevented them from


    doing so? Wouldn''t that trample the police''s authority underfoot?


    The policeman''s face darkened as he looked at Amelia with a serious expression. "Mrs. Lore, I''d advise


    you to step aside. By blocking my way, you''re obstructing us from carrying out our duty as policemen,


    which would allow us to also take you with us ording to thew. So, if you don''t want to go with us to


    the police station for an investigation, please step aside. Otherwise, you will follow us back to the


    station."


    As soon as he said that, Amelia subconsciously lowered her outstretched arms a little. The next instant,


    however, she recalled something and raised her arms again, and her expression became determined


    once again. "I know nothing about obstructing police duty; all I know is that you want to take my


    daughter away. As a mother, I''ll never allow you to do that."


    The policeman massaged his temples. "Seems like you won''t listen to us. Very well then. We will take


    you with us," he said. With that, he stopped trying to reason with Amelia or showing her respect. He


    stepped forward, shoved Amelia aside, and grabbed Lte once again.


    Lte screamed and yelled, "Save me, Mom! Save me!"


    Hearing her daughter''s heart-wrenching cries for help made Amelia''s heart ache so much that she


    found it hard to breathe. After steadying herself, she lunged at the policeman again, threatening, "Let


    go of my daughter, you mugs, or I''m gonna fight you to the death!"


    Seeing how unreasonable she was, the policeman got angry, too; he immediately called the other


    policeman inside.


    Naturally, the other policeman had heard the noise in the ward, but he remained outside without going


    in since he had to keep an eye on Grayson. Now that his colleague had called him inside, he removed


    his handcuffs and put them on Grayson before marching him into the ward.


    After he and Grayson entered, the policeman who had grabbed Lte said, "Mrs. Lore is obstructing


    police duty. Let''s take her with us as well."


    The other policeman nodded. "Okay, seems like they both know their daughter is suspected of murder.


    Also, they vehemently prevented us from taking her with us, whichnds them under suspicion of


    shielding a suspect. ording to the rules, we can indeed take them away for an investigation."


    Naturally, Grayson, Amelia, and Lte overheard the two policemen''s conversation.


    Lte aside, Grayson and Amelia instantly found it uneptable. They yelled at the policemen,


    "What nonsense are you talking about? Our daughter didn''t kill anyone, nor did we shield any suspects.


    You''remitting nder against us! We''re gonna fileints against you guys and strip you of


    your uniforms!"


    The two policemen were unperturbed by the husband and wife''s fierce threats. After all, they''d heard a


    lot of simr threats before. Whenever they arrested a suspect, thetter and their family would always


    say things like this to resist in an attempt to make them back down and give up arresting them, but


    none of these attempts had been sessful. Paying no attention to the family of three, they took out


    their phone and called their colleague, who was waiting in the police car downstairs outside the


    hospital.


    After having been informed of the situation, the third policeman immediately rushed to the scene. With


    that, Grayson, Amelia, and Lte were forcibly removed from Harry''s ward by the three policemen.


    Unwilling to be taken to the police station, the three Lores struggled and hurled abuses along the way.


    Their speech was so profane that people were astounded, unable to believe that such vulgarnguage


    actually came out of the mouths of some rich people who called themselves members of a respectable


    family. Don''t they say these rich people are educated as elites and thus always speak politely and use


    honorifics in their conversations without uttering a dirty word?


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    But now, it didn''t seem that the Lores were incapable of using foulnguage; on the contrary, their


    vocabry included quite a lot of profanities, some of which not even ordinary people were capable of


    uttering. However, the fact that the Lores could blurt out these profanities without thinking showed that


    their upbringing could be criticized.


    With all the hospital''s patients, doctors, and nurses looking on, the three Lores were shoved into the


    police car and taken away, during which time many took out their phones to take photos and videos of


    the spectacle, of course. Subsequently, photos and videos rted to the arrest soon appeared on the


    inte, and the news of the Lore Family being taken away in a police car instantly became one of the


    biggest trending topics on the inte.


    Delighted to learn about this, all theizens responded by flooding the screen with emoticons like


    handps and fireworks to celebrate the Lore Family''s arrest.


    Furthermore, the fact that the Lore Family had been taken away in a police car undoubtedly confirmed


    the press statement issued by the Fuller Group that Lte had indeedmitted murder. Now that


    the murderer had been taken into custody, theizens were naturally happy to share the good news.


    Sonia saw all this, too; her red lips curled slightly as she released the mouse, raised her arms, and


    stretched. Lte will probably spend the rest of her life in prison after being taken away this time.


    Well, that takes a load off my mind. Now I no longer have to feel irritable over another love rival, nor do


    I have to worry anymore that this love rival will often show up in front of Toby and me in the future. Also,


    I no longer have to feel disgusted anymore by how she stops at nothing to cozy up to Toby and scheme


    against me. In any case, a demon like her deserves to stay in prison.


    Just as she was immersed in her thoughts, her phone rang. Putting her thoughts aside for the time


    being, she nced down at the phone on her desk; it was a phone call from Daphne''s mother.


    As Rita had said, Daphne''s phone couldn''t be reached. In order to find out whether Daphne had really


    gone abroad to further her studies, Sonia had no choice but to call Daphne''s mother. She had called


    her just now, but no one answered the phone despite the phone call getting through. Still, she didn''t


    expect Daphne''s mother to call her instead. "Hi, Mrs. Robinson." She picked up the phone with a polite


    smile on her face. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I''m Sonia Reed, Daphne''s former boss."


    "Oh, you''re Daphne''s boss? I know you," replied the baffled voice of an aged-sounding woman on the


    other end. The next second, sheughed in surprise, saying, "Nice to talk to you, Miss Reed. Daphne


    told me about you, saying you had taken good care of her. I can''t thank you enough for that."


    Sonia touched her cheek in embarrassment. "Don''t mention it, Mrs. Robinson. I should be the one


    thanking Daphne for taking care of me instead. I knew almost nothing when I first took over the


    company. Had she not assisted me, I''d probably have been at aplete loss for what to do."


    "Oh, not at all. You two were just helping each other." The womanughed amiably. Then, she asked,


    "By the way, Miss Reed, did you call me to ask about something?"


    "Yeah, I did. The thing is, didn''t Daphne go abroad to further her studies after quitting her job at my


    company? Mrs. Robinson, you also know about this, don''t you?"


    "Yeah, I do." The woman was filled with relief as she spoke of this. "Actually, Daphne had always


    wanted to further her studies to improve herself, but for several reasons, she didn''t make up her mind


    for a long time in the past. As her mother, I''d also advised her to do so, but she never agreed. On the


    one hand, she was worried about the prospect of it, but on the other hand, she was tempted to do so.


    She was torn between these feelings and was never genuinely happy, and it pained me to see this.


    Now that she''s finally made up her mind to further her studies abroad and fulfill her wish, I can finally


    heave a sigh of relief." The womanughed gleefully as she spoke of this.


    Sonia fell silent. After a while, she asked, "Mrs. Robinson, do you know the name of thepany


    where Daphne furthers her studies? The thing is, we forgot to include this in our survey at the time, and


    now we can''t get in touch with Daphne either, which is why I made a special effort to call you to ask


    about this."


    The woman smilingly said the name of thepany without doubting Sonia''s words.


    Sonia pursed her red lips for a moment. "Alright, I got it. Thank you, Mrs. Robinson."


    "You''re wee," the woman replied with a smile. Then, she asked, "Is there anything else you''d like


    to know, Miss Reed?"

 Chapter 1407

    Chapter 1407


    Sonia bit her lip hesitantly for a couple of seconds. "Actually, there really is one thing. Mrs. Robinson,


    are you sure Daphne really is furthering her studies abroad?"


    The instant the woman on the other end heard this, the smile on her face froze. "Miss Reed, what do


    you mean by that?"


    Sonia forced a smile. "Well, the thing is, a secretary at mypany saw someone who looked very


    much like Daphne when she was out this morning. Daphne''s phone was unreachable the entire time as


    well, so this secretary of mine wondered if the one she saw was indeed Daphne and whether she


    wasn''t furthering her studies abroad at all. Mrs. Robinson, as you know, Daphne and I were close, so


    it''s only natural that I have to find out where she actually is to put my mind at rest, no?"


    "Oh, I see." The woman nodded in relief before smiling again. "Don''t worry, Miss Reed, Daphne is


    indeed abroad. I think the one your current secretary saw was probably someone who looked like her.


    Many people look alike nowadays, and besides, Daphne has taken photos of herself with thepany


    while she''s abroad."


    "Is that so? Alright then, I got it, Mrs. Robinson. I''m relieved to hear that she''s still abroad. I shan''t keep


    you any longer, then. Goodbye, Mrs. Robinson."


    "Goodbye! Feel free to visit my ce when you''re free, Miss Reed," the woman replied cordially.


    "Okay," Sonia responded politely.


    After ending the phone call, she put down her phone, inteced her fingers on her desk, and sank deep


    in thought, wondering if Daphne was really abroad.


    She didn''t start the phone call by asking Mrs. Robinson whether Daphne was abroad because she


    wanted to sound her out on whether she knew Daphne wasn''t furthering her studies at a foreign


    company. After all, Mrs. Robinson was just an ordinary person incapable of acting. If she were to know


    Daphne wasn''t abroad, she''d definitely give herself away when Sonia sounded her out. Even if she was


    capable of acting, she wouldn''t have been a very good actor, and Sonia would still have been able to


    figure out something was amiss.


    However, when Sonia purposely sounded her out just now, she realized that thetter sounded natural


    as usual without showing signs of feeling guilty or panicking. In other words, she wasn''t lying. The one


    lying was Daphne, who had also lied to her mother that she was furthering her studies abroad when


    she actually wasn''t. So why on earth did Daphne do this? Why would she lie to everyone? Did


    something happen to her, or is she in some kind of danger?


    Sonia was filled with worry. Then, she unsped her hands and picked up her phone again, calling the


    detective agency that she had gone to before as she intended to have them find out about Daphne''s


    situation. It wasn''t until the detective agency agreed to take up the job that her mind was somewhat put


    at rest. No matter what, the fact that Daphne is still able to go around outside probably proves that


    she''s safe for now. Perhaps only by finding her and figuring out what happened to her can I help her


    thoroughly. She massaged her temples.


    Just then, there was a knock on the door to her office.


    Snapping out of her thoughts, Sonia looked up and saw Ritae in with a pile of documents in her


    hands. She said, "President Reed, these are the proposals from all departments for the staff''s


    Christmas benefits. Please take a look at them and decide which proposal to follow through on."


    Upon hearing her say that, Sonia smiled. "Right, Christmas is just around the corner."


    "There''s half a month left before that." Rita ced the documents in front of her.


    Sonia reached out and pulled the documents toward herself. "Which will pass in the blink of an eye.


    Okay, I''ll read them as soon as possible and tell you which proposal to follow through on before the


    office closes this afternoon. Get the Purchasing Department to arrange for the goods to be procured as


    soon as possible and distributed to the staff before the holiday."


    "Alright." Rita nodded. "By the way, President Reed, there''s one more thing. All the machines in the


    factory have been installed and have undergone preliminary tests. They''re working well, so the factory


    director asked when you''d like to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony."


    The so-called ribbon-cutting ceremony was actually no different from the opening ceremony of a store;


    all one had to do was pick an auspicious date, have some flowers and other kinds of decorations in


    ce, and hold an opening ceremony. On the other hand, those who were more particr or


    superstitious about this could invite a priest to bless the ce. In short, everything was up to Sonia.


    After pondering for a moment, Sonia replied, "I have yet to settle on a date. How about this? I''ll go to


    the factory after work this afternoon to take a look. If everything looks good, I''lle up with a date for


    the ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow."


    "Alright, I''ll tell the factory director about thister," Rita replied with a smile.


    "Uh-huh." Sonia nodded. Then, she recalled something and continued, "By the way, as for Daphne, I''ve


    called a detective agency to have them look into her whereabouts. I''ll tell you if there''s anything."


    "Yes, President Reed." Rita smiled even more happily. She and Daphne were friends, so it was only


    natural that she cared very much about thetter and wanted to know what had happened to her.


    Therefore, she was very pleased to hear Sonia''s words. "Well then, President Reed, I''ll go ahead with


    my work."


    "Just go." Sonia nodded.


    After Rita had left, Sonia picked up the topmost document of the pile and started leafing through it.


    These were all kinds of suggestions for the staff''s Christmas benefits, which weren''t work-rted, so


    she flipped through them very quickly. After all, all she had to do was pick the most suitable suggestion


    from all of them. As a result, she finished dealing with these documents in two hours before choosing


    and sorting out suggestions that she thought were pretty good. After adding her own ideas, she had


    them sent to the Purchasing Department.


    Time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, it was already afternoon. Sonia stood up and tidied up her


    office. She prepared to send Toby a text message telling him not to pick her up from workter because


    she had to go to the factory to take a look and would drive back to Bayside Residence on her ownter.


    As it turned out, she had just typed the message and was about to send it before she heard a man''s


    soft cough from the door to her office.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She subconsciously looked up to see Toby leaning against the door frame with his thin lips curled


    slightly. He was smiling at her.


    Sonia smiled, too. "Why are you here?"


    Toby came in. "To pick you up from work."


    Sonia put down her phone. "I was just about to text you to tell you not toe."


    The man frowned. "Why?"


    "The factory has finished undergoing construction, so I''m about to go there to take a look. I said a few


    times before that I wanted to go there, but I didn''t. This time, I have to go there and take a look no


    matter what, so you''ve got no choice but to go back on your own first," Sonia exined apologetically.


    Toby hugged her around the waist and took her into his arms. "I''m here already, so how can I go back


    by myself? I''ll go with you."


    "Really?" Sonia stood slightly on tiptoe before wrapping her arms around his neck.


    The man nodded. "Or what? Can I lie to you? Let''s go," he said before letting go of her waist. Taking


    her by the hand instead, he led her to the door. "We''ll go there, take a look, and then return home as


    soon as possible. You''re not gonna stay there for long, no?"


    Sonia shook her head. "Of course not. We''ll leave after taking a look."


    "Sounds good to me."


    The two left the office together and were, of course, stared at by the staff members along the way. At


    first, Sonia had felt a little embarrassed by how the staff members looked at them, but now that she''d


    gotten used to it, she was able to brazen it out and befortable with it.


    However, she was a bit unlucky, for she ran into Asher again when she stepped out of the elevator.


    Asher was standing outside the elevator, probably to take the elevator upstairs. Seeing Sonia and Toby


    come out of the elevator, he was surprised for a moment. Then, as he recalled something, a hint of


    excitement flickered across his eyes and then disappeared so quickly as if it were an illusion. After


    darting an impassive nce at Sonia, he turned to Toby with an ingratiating smile, asking, "Picking


    Sonia up from work again, President Fuller?"


    Sonia rolled her eyes. What a hypocrite.

 Chapter 1408

    Chapter 1408


    Is it not hypocritical of him to look at me with disgust while asking about me in an affectionate tone of


    voice? If he really loathes me, then he should call me a b*tch or something instead, no? If he does that,


    I''ll think more highly of him. "Let''s go. Just ignore him," said Sonia to Toby as she held his arm.


    Toby never intended to pay attention to Asher in the first ce. Upon hearing her words, he nodded


    slightly and replied, "Mm-hmm." Then, they walked past Asher and left.


    Watching them from behind, Asher narrowed his eyes for a moment before bursting outughing in


    excitement.


    Seeing himugh like this, his assistant behind him asked in puzzlement, "President Dafoe, have you


    come across something that makes you happy?"


    Asher turned his wristwatch and replied somewhat meaningfully, "Yeah, it''s a good thing¡ªa very, very


    good thing, in fact. My dream wille true after tonight."


    "Huh?" The assistant still looked puzzled.


    Asher stepped directly into the elevator with no intention of borating on it.


    Meanwhile, Sonia closed the door to the passenger seat and lowered her head to fasten her seat belt


    in the car.


    Toby was fastening his seat belt as well. After she was done buckling up, he finally turned the car key


    in the ignition and started the car. "Are you ready?"


    "Yeah, I''m ready." Sonia nodded.


    Toby released the brakes, and the car started moving forward.


    Sonia lowered the car window a little. Suddenly, she said with augh, "A lot of things have happened


    today."


    Knowing she was referring to the news on the inte, Toby jutted out his chin in agreement. "There''s


    a lot indeed."


    "How did you know Lte was the mastermind behind the Acree Family''s car ident?" Sonia asked


    curiously while turning to look at the man.


    Toby frowned. "I didn''t know that at first. I thought the one helping the driver was one of the Acree


    Family''s enemies, so I didn''t intend to get involved. I had Tom withdraw our men, but just when they


    were withdrawing, one of them spotted the SIM card disposed of by the driver beforehand and found


    out that Lte was the one he had contacted."


    Sonia was surprised. "That''s a really dramatic turn of events. I guess even God could no longer bear to


    see Lte''s behavior, which was why He let your men discover the SIM card to expose Lte''s


    wrongdoings."


    "You''re right," the man agreed with a smile.


    Sonia then pursed her lips for a moment. "Speaking of it, Lte is so wicked at heart. I thought it was


    already very malicious of her to plot against my life behind my backst night, but never did I think she


    could n a car ident and kill people so calmly and naturally." This woman is reallyparable to


    Tina. Both of them are crazy women capable of doing anything.


    "That''s why she''s destined to spend the rest of her life in prison. It''s even possible that she''ll be


    sentenced to death," Toby said while turning the steering wheel.


    Sonia let out a sigh. "The Acrees weren''t kind either, but there was no bad blood between them and


    Lte, after all. Even so, Lte plotted their car ident just because she wanted to prevent Miss


    Acree from showing up in front of you. Speaking of it, it was bad luck for them toe across her."


    "As they say, the biter is sometimes bitten. Now that both the Acrees and Lte have gotten what


    they deserved, we don''t have to care about them anymore." Toby turned to nce at her.


    Sonia happened to be looking at him as well. "Lte isn''t gonna get out of prison, and it''s a dead cert


    that the Lore Family will go bankrupt because of you. I guess it won''t take long before we hear the


    news of their bankruptcy. How are you gonna deal with the rest of the family¡ªespecially Harry?"


    Toby narrowed his eyes and replied with a frosty expression, "Harry had a stroke and is now still lying


    unconscious in the hospital and unaware of Lte''s arrest. Lte''s parents weren''t involved in her


    wrongdoings, so they''ll be released very soon. They''re not handicapped, so they won''t starve to death


    if theirpany goes bankrupt. What''s more, there are other people in the Lore Family. They''re either


    living abroad or in other parts of the country, but they''re hurrying to Seafield because of Harry''s illness


    this time, and they''ll take care of the three of them. Of course, they can only look after them until all


    evidence of Harry murdering Professor Randall has been gathered."


    Sonia smiled. "You''re right. So, how''s the gathering of the evidence going?"


    Toby''s brows furrowed at the mention of this. "It''s still the same. Harry has long since erased all traces


    of it after so many years, so all we could find are just insignificant bits of clues that can''t be used as


    conclusive evidence. That''s why I''ve invited Miles Snyder toe to Seafield."


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia''s pupils shrank when she heard the man''s name. "You mean the Miles Snyder who helped Tina


    hypnotize you?" She had met Miles only once, but he had left a deep impression on her until now. With


    long, white hair and extremely beautiful features, the expressionless man had not only helped Tina


    before but was also Tim''s senior.


    "That''s the one." Toby nodded.


    Sonia was puzzled. "Don''t tell me you''re nning to let him hypnotize Harry into making a clean breast


    of everything of his own ord?"


    Toby exined nomittally, "In reality, hypnosis is prohibited because it can easily destroy a


    person''s psyche. That''s why the police normally don''t crack cases using hypnosis except when they''re


    dealing with violent and wicked people. Harry''s case isn''t serious to a level where it''s necessary to


    hypnotize him intoing clean about his wrongdoings, but I can''t care that much about it anymore.


    There''s no knowing how much time he has left after suffering a stroke at his age, so I have to make him


    confess to his crimes while he''s still alive and able to move around normally. Only then can he be


    convicted under thew. Otherwise, if he''s dead or really paralyzed, even if I find evidence of his


    crimes, thew can''t do anything about him, and I''ll be unable to avenge my professor."


    "I see." Sonia nodded as she understood his methods. Extreme times call for extreme measures, of


    course. "But there are a lot of hypnotists, of which Tim is one. Why does it have to be Miles Snyder?


    He helped Tina before, you know. Won''t you mind that?" she asked while looking at Toby.


    Toby lowered his eyes. "Tim is just a dabbler in hypnosis, so there''s no need to ask him for help. As for


    Miles, I do haveplicated feelings about him. It''s true that I''m angry at him for working with Tina to


    put me under hypnosis. Normally, he''d have also been a target of my revenge, but it doesn''t help that


    my current heart was his brother''s. This alone prohibits me from getting back at him. After all, I owe my


    life to his brother."


    This time, Sonia was at a loss for a reply. Indeed, he owes his life to Quentin. Although Quentin''s death


    wasn''t his doing, he was indeed the cause of Quentin''s death. Quentin died because his heart matched


    his, so Toby is right that he owes his life to Quentin. "Didn''t we suspect earlier that it was Tina who


    plotted Quentin''s car ident? Tina had a crush on you and learned by chance that his heart matched


    yours, so she plotted his car ident and gave his heart to you. You''ve been investigating whether this


    is true, so how''s the investigation going at the moment?" she asked curiously.


    The man''s thin lipspressed into a thin line as frosty vibes emanated from his every pore. "I''ve


    found out almost everything and found the witness at the time over a few months. The truth was exactly


    as we guessed it: Tina indeed plotted his car ident."


    Sonia let out a gasp of horror. "I already knew the oue, but it inevitably shocks me to hear that it


    was confirmed to be true. How could she do that? Quentin had gone out with her for three years!" She


    failed toprehend it. Even if Tina took a shine to Toby and no longer had feelings for Quentin, she


    and Quentin had at least been in a rtionship, which proved that they once had feelings for each


    other. How could she be so cruel to someone whom she once had feelings for? Is she a devil?

 Chapter 1409

    Chapter 1409


    No, she''s even worse than the devil. When a devil falls in love with a person, they will act selflessly for


    them. However, that''s impossible for someone like Tina.


    "What exactly is going on? Tell me." Sonia tugged on his arm, urging him to hurry up and give her the


    details of his investigation.


    Toby did not disappoint her and lightly parted his thin lips to say slowly, "Back then, Tina dated Quentin


    because he was handsome enough to make her look good."


    "That''s true. With Miles looking like that, I can tell that Quentin''s looks weren''t far from Miles'' based on


    his looks, although I never saw what he looks like. With a boyfriend like that, it would make her look


    much better when she took him out." Sonia nodded and continued, "Besides, I just remembered


    something. When I was in college, I heard people talking about Tina''s boyfriend who looked like an


    angel. That probably was Quentin."


    He hummed in agreement. "It is him. During their three years of being together, Quentin had feelings


    for Tina. I''m not sure how she felt about him though. But she probably didn''t like him back, or she


    wouldn''t have been so cruel."


    "You have a point."


    "The first time I met with Tina was at a charity banquet. Back then, my heart condition was so severe


    that I couldn''t stand up and could only stay in a wheelchair, and Tina came to talk to me then."


    "What did she say to you?" Sonia asked, sending him a furtive look.


    As he sensed her jealousy, Toby felt ted. After all, that meant that she cared about him.


    "She didn''t say much except for a few questions about my pen name," he replied.


    Sonia froze for a moment before her face twisted into a frown. "I used to be dormmates with Tina in


    college, and when I exchanged letters with you, she mocked me by saying that I was old-fashioned for


    having a pen pal in this day and age. At that time, she obviously looked down on me for exchanging


    letters with you. Until one day, she stopped and was very concerned about whether I had written to you


    or not, and whether I had received your letters. Later, I realized that she had peeked at our letters and


    somehow realized that you were the one writing those letters to me, which was why she decided to


    sound you out at the party you mentioned. She was probably trying to confirm if you were the one who


    sent the letters to me."


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    "I think so too. However, I didn''t think much of it at first and just had a casual conversation with her


    before dismissing her. Then, the second time we met, it was when my heart hadpletely failed, and


    I hade to terms with my death in the hospital. That time was a week before my heart transnt


    surgery. She came to the hospital and told me that she was Maple and mentioned some of the contents


    of our letters, so I believed her."


    At this point, Toby turned to look at Sonia, his eyes full of guilt. "I''m sorry for not realizing that she


    wasn''t you from the start. By the time I noticed that something was wrong, it was toote, and I had


    already been hypnotized."


    It was true that he had not suspected Tina was not Maple before he went for surgery. After all, with his


    sickness, he was barely awake for most of the day and didn''t have the energy to realize that something


    was off.


    It was only after his surgery had ended and his body had recovered a little that he had the time and


    energy to talk to Tina, and only then did he notice several questionable things from their conversation.


    However, before he could solve his doubts, Tina had Miles hypnotize him and convince him that she


    was Maple.


    Sonia shook her head. "It''s fine. Before I knew the truth, I did hate you, but now that I know what


    happened, I understand that you were a victim as well. You don''t have to feel guilty."


    She shed him a reassuring smile, indicating that he shouldn''t overthink things.


    He was still driving, and after seeing her smile, he felt as if a burden was lifted off his heart. He turned


    his eyes back on the road and continued to drive. "Tina came to my ward a week before I agreed to


    meet with you and told me she was Maple. I thought that it was a blessing from God that I could see


    you before I died, so I subconsciously overlooked that she knew that I was John, and which ward I was


    staying in. After all, I''d never mentioned these things in my letters as I intended to tell you in person


    when we met. I thought my body would be able to hold up for a little longer, but I ended up copsing


    before the date we agreed to meet. If not, Tina wouldn''t have had the chance to impersonate you."


    "Although we''ve been through a lot, we finally met each other, didn''t we?" Sonia smiled. "All right, let''s


    stop talking about this. Every time we have this conversation, you''ll feel guilty. Let''s go back to the


    matter of Quentin instead. How did Tina know that Quentin''s heart waspatible with yours?"


    "After Tina came to see me in the hospital, she began to stay in the hospital to take care of me. Hence,


    she''d seen all my treatment ns, my condition, and so on. Besides, my blood type is the same as


    Quentin''s. Tina is a vain person, and at that time, even though she was the daughter of the wealthy


    Gray Family, she valued the Fuller Family more and did not take her family''s money seriously at all.


    Now that I think about it, I suspect that Tina probably knew from the beginning that she was not the


    Gray Family''s biological daughter and that it was uncertain if she could seed her family in the


    future."


    "She''s trying to leave a way out for herself." Sonia was taken aback by the realization.


    Toby nodded. "That should be the case. Back then, the Fuller Family and Fuller Group were not as


    huge as they are today, but we were still considered a leadingpany in Seafield. Tina wanted to


    ensure a lifetime of glory and wealth, and she had a greedy nature on top of that. Hence, after learning


    that the person you were talking to was me, she came up with a way to be with me in your ce.


    Otherwise, she would''ve had no chance to get close to me at all. In order to be Mrs. Fuller, she


    could only find a way to save my life, and it just so happened that Quentin''s blood type was the same


    as mine. She then took the risk and tricked Quentin into getting a medical checkup at the hospital."


    "Then, the results showed that his heart waspatible with yours." Sonia sighed.


    Ultimately, Quentin got caught up in the mess and indirectly lost his life at the hands of Toby. It was all


    because Tina set her eyes on Toby, who happened to have a heart condition and needed a new heart,


    while Quentin, who was Tina''s boyfriend at the time, happened to have a heart that waspatible


    with Toby. Thus, she ended up taking his life.


    "Quentin became my scapegoat. I should''ve died back then instead of him, but he passed away on my


    behalf, so I owe him my life. Now that Quentin is dead, my debt to him can never be repaid, so I can


    only make up for my debt to Miles. That''s why I won''t retaliate for what he did to me. This time, I called


    him over not only to ask for his help but also to tell him about the investigation results on Quentin. I


    suppose as a closure for him."


    "It really is ironic that Quentin probably didn''t know until his death that his car ident was carefully


    nned by his own girlfriend. He must''ve thought his ident waspletely unintentional. However,


    little did he know that his ident had been premeditated since he had his medical checkup. I wonder


    whether he was touched by how much his girlfriend cared about him when he was undergoing his


    checkup, though." At those words, Sonia''s expression turned sentimental. She felt pained for Quentin


    from the bottom of her heart.


    In the midst of everything, only this young boy was the most innocent and guileless person.


    "Miles told me that Quentin was still alive when he was sent to the hospital. He had already found out


    that Tina did not love him anymore and wanted me instead. He also knew that I needed a heart and


    that my heart just happened to match his, so he asked Tina to give me his heart. Back then, Tina lied


    and deceived him by telling him that I loved her too, so that''s why Quentin gave me his heart so


    willingly. He thought that I could bring Tina happiness." Toby pursed his lips, his tone solemn.

 Chapter 1410

    Chapter 1410


    Sonia drew a sharp breath. "What do you mean? Are you telling me that Quentin might have known his


    car ident was not an ident, but Tina''s¡­"


    Toby pursed his lips, indicating that her guess was urate.


    "After all, it''s too much of a coincidence. Anyone with a brain would be able to realize that something


    was wrong. Quentin chose to ept his end because he was too kind, and he loved Tina too deeply."


    Toby tightened his grip on the steering wheel.


    Sonia gaped, only finding her voice after a long pause. "What a fool. It really is ridiculous and tragic


    that Tina managed to get the favor of someone like Quentin."


    "Miles wasn''t aware that Quentin most likely knew the car ident wasn''t an ident. The only reason


    he helped Tina was that she lied to him, but that doesn''t matter. It still doesn''t prevent Miles from taking


    revenge." Looking at the factory in front of him, he found an empty spot and parked the car.


    Sonia unfastened her seat belt, saying, "But we haven''t found Tina yet. We shouldn''t be talking about


    revenge now."


    "We''ll find her eventually." He reassured her, "I have now collected all the evidence of her murdering


    Quentin, plus I have the witnesses and physical evidence from back then. Once she makes an


    appearance, she''ll be facing her retribution. All right, we''re here. Let''s go."


    "Yeah." Sonia squeezed out a forced smile before getting out of the car.


    It had been around three months since thest time she came here. The ce had beenpletely


    renovated. Thend that used to be vacant had arge factory built on it now, which spanned several


    acres, making it an extraordinarily spectacr sight. As it had yet to officially begin operations, there


    were only people guarding the factory during the day. Now that it was past working hours, the guards


    had naturally clocked out.


    Moreover, Sonia was only visiting to take a look instead of making an inspection, so there was no need


    for someone to escort her and provide guidance. Hence, when Sonia decided toe over, she


    rejected Rita''s suggestion to have the guards get off workter and show her around the factory.


    "Not bad." She closed the car door and looked up at the magnificent factory in front of her with an


    expression of satisfaction and admiration.


    Toby walked over with a chuckle. "The national construction team built this; of course, it''s good."


    "Since the construction of my factory is alreadyplete, does that mean the museum ispleted as


    well?" Sonia asked, looking toward the direction of the museum.


    However, it was a bit too far away and wasn''t visible to them at all.


    Still, this didn''t stop Toby from telling her about it. "You don''t know yet? The museum has been open for


    a long time, probably since a month ago. There was even an open exhibition."


    "Really?" Sonia asked in surprise. "I didn''t know that at all. I haven''t heard of it."


    "It''s fine if you haven''t. It''s not that important after all. Come on, let''s go and have a look so that we can


    leave as soon as we''re done. You''ll probably be hungry soon." He then took her hand in his and led her


    toward the entrance of the factory.


    "Do you have the keys?"


    "Of course, I do. You think I''de here without the keys?"


    He let out a chuckle at her words. "Okay, I was wrong."


    As they arrived at the main entrance, Sonia pulled out the key to the electric gate and pressed it. Soon,


    the doors to the factory opened slowly in both directions.


    At the sight, she couldn''t help but exim, "It''s quite high-tech."


    "It''s just a normal electric gate," Tobymented after taking a nce. He was used to this sight, so


    he was not as astounded as her.


    Sonia rolled her eyes at him, thinking that he was showing off. Though he was already used to it, she


    wasn''t in the slightest.


    Whatever, I won''t bother. If he says something just as boastful again, I''m the one who''d be left


    speechless.


    At that thought, Sonia loosened Toby''s hand and wandered between the massive machines and long


    stretches of assembly lines. As she gazed at these spanking-new machines, a sense of satisfaction


    she had never felt before surged in her heart. After all, she had worked hard to achieve everything she


    was looking at. In the past, she would never have believed that she was capable of doing this.


    "What do you think? My factory is pretty good, huh?" She ran forward and turned around with her arms


    open, sending him a bright smile.


    Upon seeing her tion, the man revealed a look of gentleness and indulgence. "Pretty good, indeed."


    "Although it isn''tparable to the scale of any of the subsidiaries under Fuller Group, I believe that it''ll


    slowly expand one day."


    "I believe in that too." Toby walked over and wrapped her in his arms.


    Sonia retracted her arms and encircled his waist as well, leaning securely in his arms and enjoying his


    warm embrace. However, in the midst of their embrace, she suddenly caught a whiff of gasoline, and


    her delicate brows knitted together in a frown.


    "What''s going on? Why is there the smell of gasoline?" She hurriedly removed herself from his


    embrace and looked around in an attempt to find the source of the smell.


    Toby had smelled it as well, and his eyes narrowed.


    Sonia approached the nearestrge machine and sniffed at it. "That''s strange. It''s not like this thing is


    leaking oil either."


    Her words caught Toby off guard, and he let out augh. "This one uses machine oil, not gasoline."


    Sonia fell into an awkward silence, but her petite face soon turned serious again. "If it uses machine oil,


    why is there the smell of gasoline?"


    "The smell ising from there." Suddenly, Toby pointed toward the entrance of the factory.


    "Let''s go over and take a look." As she spoke, she headed toward the direction he had pointed at.


    Toby was just about to follow her when he sensed something and walked in the opposite direction


    instead.


    Still unaware that he had not followed her, Sonia continued walking as she said, "You''re right. The


    smell is getting stronger¡­ Hey, what''s that?"


    Sonia''s feet came to a sudden halt as she looked at the red lighting from the venttion windows


    above the factory entrance, her expression immediately darkening. It''s fire! Someone set the factory on


    fire!


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    Her eyes widened at the sight, and her face turned pale. Who started a fire?


    She was certain that the fire wasn''t an ident and was started by someone. After all, there weren''t


    any sources of ignition in sight when they walked in. Besides, the strong stench of gasoline could only


    be exined by intentional arson. Someone had tried to set her factory on fire or was trying to murder


    her and Toby, but whom could the perpetrator be?


    The faces of many people shed through her mind, but she wasn''t sure who they could be. However,


    the most important issue at hand was not to figure out who the perpetrator was but to find a way to


    escape. Although the fire was still outside the factory and had not spread to the inside of the factory


    yet, it was only a matter of time before it reached them. Hence, they had to free themselves as soon as


    possible. If they spent too much time inside here, they would either be engulfed by the fire or suffocate


    to death.


    "Toby¡­" Sonia turned around and called out to him, only to find that there was no one behind her.


    Toby was nowhere to be seen.


    Where did he go?


    Sonia was first taken aback before she soon became anxious. She took out the key from her bag and


    pressed it at the gates while yelling at the top of her lungs, trying to open it. However, no matter how


    much she pressed the remote, the gates did not budge an inch, and it didn''t seem like it would open


    anytime soon.


    At the sight, Sonia panicked. She hurriedly lowered her head and looked at the key in her hand.


    "What''s going on? Is it broken?"


    However, the shing green light on the key showed her that it was not broken. The problemy with


    the gate, and that its lock had been destroyed by someone. When they entered earlier, the gates were


    working normally, but ever since the fire started, the key stopped working, which meant that the person


    who set the fire had also broken the gates at the same time.


    At this point, Sonia was so anxious that she was near tears. If the gates couldn''t be opened, they would


    be trapped inside here. However, there was still hope¡ªthe main entrance wasn''t the only exit. There


    were more ways out from the back and the sides, and there were also windows, plenty of them, in fact.


    There''s no way they trapped us inside here by sealing off all the exits. But before that, I have to locate


    Toby. Where on earth did he go?


    "Where are you, Toby?" Sonia clenched her hands, calling out to him once more with a frantic


    expression.

 Chapter 1411

    Chapter 1411


    This time, she finally received an answer to her calls.


    Toby''s low voice sounded from behind her. "I''m here."


    Sonia hurriedly turned around. After seeing him walking over with a solemn face, she let out a breath of


    relief before hurriedly asking, "Where did you go? Do you know that there''s a fire outside?"


    "I do." He swept a nce at the gates of the factory behind her.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    The crimson mes had already spread to the small venttion windows above the gates. Anyone


    would be able to notice it as long as they weren''t blind.


    "I left earlier because I heard something, and I went to take a look. Then, I saw that someone had


    locked the back door and set a fire outside," he replied with a dark look on his face.


    rmed by his words, she repeated, "What? Someone set the back door on fire as well?"


    Toby nodded.


    Sonia became even more nervous. "Same here. I couldn''t open the entrance with the remote key at


    all."


    "Let''s go and look at the other exits." Although Toby was furious that someone had started a fire, he


    was doing a better job keeping hisposure than her. He took her hand in his before hurrying to look


    for other exits.


    Without further ado, Sonia picked up her pace to match his. The main entrance and the back door were


    locked, so they could only pin their hopes on the fact that the other side entrances and some of the


    shorter windows hadn''t been locked as well.


    They soon arrived at a side entrance, where the fire outside was even bigger. Here, they could hear the


    crackling of the burning embers and could even feel the scorching heat of the mes. As Sonia looked


    at the side entrance in front of her, a bad feeling instantly emerged in her heart.


    The structure of the factory was essentially metal. And reasonably speaking, if the fire was only lit at


    the front gate and back door, it would not have spread here so quickly. Under normal circumstances,


    they were at the very center of the factory, and as the main and back entrances were at two opposite


    ends, the sound of the fire shouldn''t be heard from the side entrance.


    However, they were able to hear the sound of crackling mes and feel the temperature of the fire


    clearly from the side entrance. Evidently, someone had poured gasoline and set a fire outside the side


    entrance. Hence, she now suspected that this side entrance had also been tampered with.


    Toby shared her sentiments as well, and his expression darkened even further. Although he suspected


    that the side entrance had been destroyed and they were unable to leave, they still had to give it a go


    as they were already there. After all, there might be exceptions.


    Sonia had the same thoughts as him, and she immediately reached out to unlock the side entrance.


    However, the moment her hand came in contact with the metal, the heat immediately caused her to


    yelp in pain and hurriedly pull her hand back. Her face turned pale even.


    "What''s wrong?" Toby hurriedly grabbed her hand to examine it.


    Sonia spread her palms open with red eyes, revealing her skin that had turned red from the heat. "I


    burned myself. I can''t touch the lock; it''s too hot."


    Toby pursed his lips bitterly. "It seems that this ce has been set on fire for a long time, or the lock


    wouldn''t have be hot enough to burn someone at a single touch in such a short time. We can''t


    use this exit anymore."


    If a fire had been set outside, the lock would naturally have been destroyed as well, so there was no


    point in them being there anymore.


    "Let''s go somewhere else." He grabbed Sonia by her wrist, leading her to the other exits.


    Now, all they could do was ce their bets on the fact that the person who set the fire did not know all


    the exits of this factory and missed a door or a window. Only then could they escape.


    As they walked, they kept calling the police. In case they weren''t able to find an exit, they could only


    rely on external help.


    In the time that followed, they continued to search for an escape route at various doors and windows,


    but they were all damaged and could not be opened without exception. Even after kicking with all his


    might, Toby could not force the doors open. Even the ss windows did not budge as they were


    bulletproof and could only be broken with professional equipment.


    However, they weren''t avable anywhere as the machines inside the factory were worth a fortune. All


    the equipment here was imported and was of high value, not to mention that this was a suburban area,


    which had always been a little chaotic. Hence, all the doors and windows were made with the most


    advanced break-resistant technology, and unless they had professional tools, it was absolutely


    impossible to break them with sheer strength.


    All the doors and windows were destroyed, leaving no way to get out, and the remaining ones that


    were not destroyed were venttion windows located several meters above their heads. These


    windows were too narrow and small for even a child to climb out, let alone the two adults. In other


    words, they were locked inside therge factory.


    As the factory was vast and spanned several acres, they were both exhausted after running through all


    the entrances and exits. By this time, the fire outside had be bigger and nearly surrounded the


    entire factory. Although the fire had yet to spread indoors, it was only a matter of time before it did.


    Standing in the open space inside the factory, they could feel the abnormally high temperature around


    them that radiated from the fires outside. Not only was the temperature spreading inside, but there


    were also thick clouds of ck smoke.


    Sonia let out a few coughs, tears rolling down her face from the intensity of her coughs.


    Seeing that, Toby took out his handkerchief and covered her mouth and nose with it. "Use this, don''t let


    the smoke get into your lungs."


    This handkerchief had already been soaked with water when they were looking for the exit. Toby had a


    feeling that smoke would spread into the factory, so he had dampened the handkerchief earlier just for


    this moment. After covering her mouth and nose, Sonia instantly felt better and was no longer choking


    as hard.


    As she pressed the handkerchief to her face, she turned to look at him with red eyes and asked, "What


    about you?"


    Knowing that she was worried he didn''t have anything to cover his nose with, Toby smiled at her before


    retrieving a piece of white cloth. "I have this piece of cloth that I ripped from my shirt earlier. Don''t


    worry, I''ve soaked it too."


    If there were a nket nearby, he would''ve already soaked it and ced it over them.


    Seeing that he also had something to cover his mouth and nose with, Sonia was slightly relieved, but


    the guilt and remorse in her heart were enough to crush her. "I''m sorry for bringing you into this mess. If


    I hadn''te to visit the factory, we wouldn''t have to go through this at all."


    "That''s nonsense. I was the one who wanted toe with you; how are you bringing me into this


    mess?" Toby reached out and caressed her head, indicating her not to worry.


    However, Sonia couldn''t stop herself from overthinking, and tears rolled down her face as she said, "It''s


    true. This is my factory, and someone set a fire here to take my life, and you got caught up in it


    because of me."


    "How do you know that the person who started this fire is aiming for you and not me?" Toby looked at


    her pensively. "I''ll have you know, I have more enemies than you."


    "But this is my factory¡ª"


    "It doesn''t matter whose ce it is. What matters is the person who''s present. If they''reing for me,


    they won''t even care whose ce I''m in. As long as there''s a chance toy their hands on me, they


    won''t pass up on the opportunity. That''s why you can''t say that you''ve gotten me involved. If anything,


    it''s more likely that I was the one who dragged you into this." Toby squeezed her hand.


    At his words, Sonia gaped in silence, unable to refute him, for his words made too much sense.


    "Then, who do you think it could be?" As she had been running all over the ce, coupled with the fact


    that she had just inhaled some smoke, she felt a little dizzy and simply settled down on the ground.


    In any case, all the exits were blocked. They might as well take a seat and conserve thest of their


    strength while waiting for help from the outside world. In the meantime, before the fire spread inside,


    they could even try to figure out who was behind the fire.

 Chapter 1412

    Chapter 1412


    Make the best of a bad situation, I guess, Sonia thought with a wry smile.


    When Toby saw her sitting down, he didn''t hesitate to follow suit. Though he was a bit of a germaphobe


    and would''ve never done something like sitting on the floor in the past, they were now in a desperate


    situation. Naturally, some of his principles needed not to be adhered to.


    After taking a seat, he answered Sonia''s question, "I''m not sure. I have too many enemies, from


    business rivals to family feuds. But if I had to narrow it down, there are only a few people who strike me


    as most suspicious. One of them is Connor, and the other is the Lore Family."


    "Connor and the Lore Family." Sonia lowered her eyes, repeating his words.


    Toby turned the cloth around and continued, "It''s not very likely that it''s the Lore Family. They''re now in


    a difficult position and they can barely save themselves, so they won''t have much energy to deal with


    me. That leaves us with Connor. Although he''s still in the hospital, he can order someone else to do his


    dirty work, so he''s the most suspicious."


    Sonia nodded, thinking that his words made sense. "Actually, I think that it might be my enemies, like


    the Gray Family for example."


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    "I don''t think it''s the Gray Family." Toby shook his head in disagreement.


    Hearing that, she looked at him dubiously. "Why would you think so?"


    "The investigation team has been investigating Triforce Enterprise. At first, they were ready to leave,


    but I created some trouble for the Gray Family by telling the investigation team about the copse of


    the mine under Triforce Enterprise many years ago. Although they haven''t found any decisive clues


    and evidence yet, Titus copsed after days of panic and fear, and he was admitted to the hospital a


    few days ago. ording to Tim, Titus may not be discharged this time and can only wait for a kidney


    donation. Unless he finds one, he can only await his death in the hospital. Now that Titus is rarely


    conscious every day, he doesn''t have the energy to deal with you. Julia and Rina are all focused on


    him, so they don''t have the time or the brains for it either."


    "So, that''s the case." Sonia nodded. "I really didn''t know that."


    For some reason, her heart inexplicably tightened a little in difort when she heard that Titus would


    most likely only be able to lie in a hospital bed until he died. However, this feeling left as quickly as it


    came, and it barely affected her.


    "Even if it''s not the Grays, what about that one person? Tina, who''s been hiding without showing


    herself." Sonia clenched her fist.


    She had a hunch that it was highly likely to be Tina.


    Upon hearing the name, Toby narrowed his eyes. "It''s not impossible, but here''s the problem: Our


    decision toe to this factory was a sudden one. These people can''t know where we''re going before


    we leave, so they can''t start a fire to harm us. After all, gasoline is something that must be transported


    here in advance and hidden away. With the size of the factory, they''d definitely need a considerable


    amount of gasoline, and they''d require a car to transport it. If the person who started the fire had


    followed us, it''s unlikely that we didn''t hear the caring. And even if we did hear the car, we''d go


    outside to take a look. By then, wouldn''t their n fail?"


    His words caused Sonia to jolt in surprise. "Are you saying that we didn''t hear any cars that were


    transporting the gasoline because the gasoline had been transported here long before we arrived and


    that the reason why they did that is that the person who started the fire knew a long time ago that we


    wereing here?"


    "Not bad." Toby nodded in approval. "That''s why the person who started the fire may be someone


    around you. They knew beforehand that you nned oning here, and they set everything up."


    "The people around me¡­" Her eyes turned red as she spoke. "Quite a lot of people around me knew


    that I would being here. Besides my current secretary, the manager of the factory knew as well."


    "Then, that means that one of these two people leaked your whereabouts." Toby pursed his lips.


    Hearing that, Sonia clenched her fist even harder, her nails digging into her palm as she said, "They¡­


    betrayed me."


    "It''s not necessarily a betrayal; it''s also possible that someone might have overheard it and passed it


    on. Either way, we''ll know exactly what happened when we get out." Toby rxed her palm, reassuring


    her, "Don''t pinch yourself anymore. There''s no medicine here; you''ll get infected if you hurt yourself."


    "I''m sorry." Sonia bit her lower lip and once again descended into self-loathing. "Looks like I''m still the


    one who dragged you into this mess. The person who started the fire was aware of my itinerary and


    wasing for me."


    "As I said, that''s not necessarily true." Toby shook his head and continued, "Everybody knows that I go


    to yourpany almost every day to send you to and from work. So, to take revenge against me,


    someone can ce a spy by your side. The person behind this knows that you''lle here in the


    afternoon; it''s possible that they prepared the gasoline earlier just to see if I''lle with you, and if I


    do, then it means that their n would be sessful. If I don''t show up, they can always remove the


    stuff. The probability is fifty-fifty, and there is no reason for them not to give it a try, just in case they hit


    the jackpot and seed."


    "But¡­" Sonia pursed her red lips.


    Although she felt that he had a point, she still had a gut feeling in her heart that told her she was the


    reason this was happening. However, she chose not to say it aloud. She knew very well that if she did,


    he would find a way to take the me on himself to cheer her up so that she would not feel guilty and


    me herself.


    What can I say about this man¡­


    Just as Sonia was feeling both touched and guilty, Toby''s expression suddenly turned pale as he broke


    into a coughing fit.


    She hurriedly stopped her frantic train of thought and checked on him. "What''s wrong, Toby?" she


    asked hastily.


    He coughed a little more before turning around to look at her. His face had turned deathly pale, but he


    still sent her a reassuring smile. "I''m fine. The smoke is just suffocating me."


    "The smoke is suffocating you?" Sonia looked around their surroundings.


    Indeed, the fire had not spread inside, and it might not necessarily be able to. After all, the entire


    factory was essentially a metal structure, and the fire couldn''t incinerate metal as the burning point


    could not be reached. Hence, she no longer had to worry that she and Toby would be burned alive.


    This was something that she just realized. Otherwise, the fire would have gotten in long ago, and it


    would not have taken so long either. However, even if they would not be burned to death, if they could


    not get out soon enough, they would still be roasted alive by the sheer heat of the mes through the


    metal walls of the factory, or they would suffocate from the smoke. In short, no matter which one it was,


    if nobody came to save them, death was the only thing that awaited them.


    Hence, Sonia had been in constant panic throughout this time. Even though the heat wasn''t enough to


    roast them alive still, and the smoke wasn''t thick enough to smolder and choke them to death yet, she


    was unable to put her mind at ease. She also knew that even the handkerchief in her hand would not


    last long, and she had to constantly soak it in water from time to time.


    However, it was not time for that yet, and the handkerchief could still be used, so she was not much


    affected by the smoke. If so, why was Toby coughing so much from the smoke? Was it the difference in


    the materials of the handkerchief and his shirt? Did the shirt dry too quickly, or was it too breathable?

 Chapter 1413

    Chapter 1413


    That was entirely possible!


    "Let me check," Sonia said as she touched the cloth.


    Much to her surprise, the cloth was still wet and did not dry even a little.


    It meant that its air permeability was exceptional.


    "Use mine instead," Sonia stated as she handed her handkerchief to him, intending to take the cloth in


    his hand away.


    The man, however, was unwilling to do this. He held onto the cloth even tighter than before and denied


    her any chance of grabbing it.


    That rendered her anxious and angry at the same time. "Toby Fuller, please stop thinking about me


    now that things have alreadye to this. Take a look at how bad your cough is right now!"


    He was coughing so violently that his face had turned pale.


    If this continued, she feared that he might cough up blood, as it always happened in the movies.


    What should she do if their men weren''t there to save them if that happened?


    She wasn''t a doctor and had no idea how to handle such a situation!


    On the other hand, Toby raised his gaze and offered Sonia a feeble smile. "It''s okay. It''s better if I


    cough alone than if we both cough."


    "That won''t do. I am fine now; we''ll talk about other thingster. You are the one who is affected now,


    so you should take this and cover your nose and mouth! Toby Fuller, do you hear me?" Sonia yelled


    while insisting on moving his hand away.


    She wanted to remove his hand from his mouth and nose and rece it with her handkerchief.


    However, before she could do that, the man started coughing worse than before. It was as she feared


    ¡ªToby started coughing up blood.


    Sonia''s eyes narrowed and she experienced a headrush when she saw the blood on the ground.


    "Blood¡­" she murmured tremblingly. She couldn''t understand why such a thing urred. Why is there


    blood? He was merely coughing a couple of times earlier! Though the coughs were bad, they weren''t


    severe enough to cause blood to be coughed up! In the movies, people who typically cough up blood


    are those who have advanced lung cancer or have seriously damaged organs. But Toby has none of


    those! How did it be so bad that he vomited blood when he was only choking on smoke?


    Sonia was utterly terrified and panicked at this point. "Why are you spitting blood, Toby? Please don''t


    scare me!"


    Seeing Sonia''s anxious expression and tearful face, Toby slightly moved his lips, wanting to reassure


    her that he was all right. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, another mouthful of blood poured


    out instead of consoling words.


    He was experiencing such intense pain in his heart that his entire body was shivering. At the same


    time, he also felt so chilly that he was having trouble breathing.


    Sonia shrieked in terror once more at the sight of the blood. Why is he vomiting blood again? "Toby,


    what''s wrong with you? Please don''t frighten me..."


    In apletely panicked state, she quickly hugged his unbnced body while trying to pinch various


    acupuncture points on his body.


    She was utterly clueless as to why he had vomited blood.


    The only thing she could do now was to perform a simple first-aid procedure.


    Though she was aware that this first-aid technique probably wouldn''t help Toby in his current condition,


    she decided that it was better than doing nothing.


    He, on the other hand,y in Sonia''s arms as he blinked feebly.


    He didn''t anticipate being in such a situation himself either, but he was aware of the precise cause of


    this. The heavy smoke traveled to his lungs from between his mouth and nose, then to his heart.


    The lungs and the heart were connected. His heart had already been hurt after his fall from the cliff and


    hitting the water previously.


    Though the water''s surface was supple and falling into it from a great height wouldn''t cause death, the


    surface would harden because of the tremendous surface pressure the instant a person or an object


    struck it from a great height.


    This was why many divers had bruises on their bodies and looked as if they had been beaten up. It


    was exactly because of that episode that Toby''s heart was damaged once more.


    Tim once said that Toby''s heart was incapable of being defiled by any pollution and was not in a


    condition to experience even the slightest damage to it anymore.


    However, the smoke he had just ingested contained a variety of chemicalpounds. All of those were


    the kind of contaminants that he could not allow to taint his heart. As a result of this, his damaged heart


    was overburdened and started to exhibit symptoms.


    Toby initially believed that the worst thing to happen was that his heart would hurt but unexpectedly, he


    started coughing up blood.


    It seemed that this time, in addition to Sonia being extremely terrified, Toby was also unable to keep his


    heart problem a secret from her any longer.


    A bitter smile appeared on his face. Then, he raised his hand to caress Sonia''s face, attempting to


    calm her down and remind her to cover her nose and mouth first.


    Otherwise, she would suffer as well.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    However, despite his best efforts, the excruciating pain in his heart was tormenting him to the point


    where he could no longer do anything. Such pain was something that people would prefer death over it.


    It was only then that they could be relieved of their misery.


    Hence, before his hand could touch Sonia''s face, the pain in his heart deprived him of any energy in his


    limbs, and his hand simply fell to the ground.


    Toby was in Sonia''s arms and he began coughing so violently that he ran out of breath. His eyes were


    also blurred, and he could no longer see clearly.


    Sonia started crying as the sight of him in such a fragile state worried her. "Toby, wake up! Don''t sleep!


    Do you hear me? You cannot fall asleep!"


    She was utterly terrified that if he went unconscious, he would never be able to open his eyes again,


    much like the way the movies frequently depicted.


    If he was merely being choked by the smoke, she wouldn''t be so terrified, but he vomited blood!


    "Please, Toby, don''t shut your eyes. Open your eyes and look at me! Please!" Sonia repeatedly shook


    his body helplessly.


    Toby heard her pleas and felt her fear too. He truly wished to listen to her and open his eyes, but his


    eyelids were too heavy for him to do so.


    He knew he had to let her down this time.


    If Lady Luck did not smile at him, this would be the end of his life, but if by some stroke of luck, he


    managed to survive, he hoped that she would not be upset with him. After all, he did not deliberately


    refuse to open his eyes and look at her.


    Toby eventually passed out while still in Sonia''s arms. If not for his sporadic cough, Sonia would have


    thought that he had passed away.


    Although he was still alive, she was concerned about his condition because she was unsure of how


    long he couldst.


    She could even feel that he was really in a bad shape.


    With Toby in her arms, she shouted in despair, "Please, is anyone there?! Please help us!"


    How she wished someone was outside at this very moment to save her and Toby.


    At the same time, she regretted being here and her decision to let Tobye with her.


    If he didn''t follow her, she would be the only one trapped if a fire broke out, not him.


    It was growing darker around them. The smoke was also getting thicker and Sonia, who had not been


    covering her nose and mouth for a while, inhaled a lot of smoke as well and began coughing. The


    coughs were increasingly hurting her lungs.


    However, she paid no attention to her predicament and proceeded to tightly cover Toby''s mouth and


    nose with her handkerchief so that Toby, who was already in a horrible state, might inhale less smoke.


    And the price she paid was that she inhaled increasingly more smoke while her coughing was getting


    severe. Her eyes were also affected as tears flowed endlessly until her vision clouded and her head


    started spinning.

 Chapter 1414

    Chapter 1414


    She knew she could notst much longer too.


    The smoke was simply too intense that anyone would surely pass out within seconds and suffocate to


    death before they could be rescued.


    Even Sonia could feel that her breathing was erratic, her mind was nk, and she might lose


    consciousness at any moment.


    But she knew she could not pass out, at least for now.


    She had to hold on so that when aid arrived, she could yell for it, allowing the rescuers to swiftly find


    Toby and her.


    If she passed out now, the rescuers would have no idea where to look for them and would have to


    waste a lot of time trying to locate them.


    That dy would perhaps cost them both their lives!


    Hence, she had to hold on.


    Sonia securely held Toby in one hand while pinching her thigh with the other to keep herself awake and


    prevent herself from passing out.


    No matter how difficult it was for her to breathe or how badly she coughed, she would not allow herself


    to faint.


    Because it wasn''t only her life at stake; Toby''s life was too!


    At the same time, Asher was nearby the factory, standing in the shadows. He chuckled madly as he


    stared at the zing fire in front of him.


    Burn! The fiercer the better!


    Burn the two people inside to death!


    Asher was the arsonist. He hated Sonia as well as Toby, the man who was always behind her.


    From the start, Toby was not on the list of people Asher wanted to kill; it was only Sonia.


    But this time, Toby was the one who insisted on getting involved. That being the case, Asher reasoned


    that the duo could both meet their death together.


    Toby deserves this for constantly supporting that woman, enabling her to tightly grip all the power.


    Without him, that woman would not be my match at all. I could have chased her out from Paradigm


    long ago!


    So, Toby Fuller is my enemy as well.


    Asher was giddy with joy at having killed both of his adversaries at once.


    However, at this very moment, firefighter sirens began to sound not far away.


    Asher''s face turned from one of excitement to one of disappointment as he turned his head to look in


    the direction of the sirens.


    When he saw a few firefighter trucks making their way toward the factory, he was outrageous. This


    meant that someone wasing to rescue Sonia and Toby, signifying the failure of his n.


    "Damn it!" Asher angrily yelled.


    He knew they would call the police, but he did not take it to heart as he thought that the police would


    not being anytime soon since they were in a rural region.


    Furthermore, it was now rush hour and there were traffic jams everywhere. It was entirely possible that


    when the police arrived, the factory had copsed and the couple Asher hated was burned to ashes.


    As such, he was not at all concerned that they would call the police.


    But things didn''t turn out the way he had hoped. The police showed up quickly after Toby and Sonia


    made their report.


    The factory had just been surrounded by fire on its exterior and the fire had not yet spread inside. The


    factory was spacious, and it seemed possible that neither Sonia nor Toby had yet experienced anything


    fatal.


    That enraged Asher, but he knew there was nothing he could do to alter the situation.


    He could only find some sce in the fact that even if the two of them inside hadn''t yet died, they


    would surely be suffocating.


    The most important thing for him now was to leave this ce right away. If he stayed any longer, things


    would turn ugly very quickly.


    He had to escape now so that he would have the chance to deal with them in the future.


    Hence, Asher gave the firefighter trucks onest gloomy nce before crouching down and going


    toward the direction where his car was at.


    Not long after he left, the firefighter trucks stopped in front of the factory and the firefighters hurried


    down to put out the mes and begin their rescue.


    Tom was here as well. When he saw the zing mes, sweat broke out all over his head as he


    quickly raced to the front and shouted for both Sonia and Toby with his loudspeaker.


    At the same time, Sonia had already reached her limits. Her head and eyelids were all too heavy for


    her.


    She looked at Toby, her expression dejected. Though her vision was already blurry, and it made it


    difficult for her to see clearly, she continued to fix her gaze firmly on the man.


    Caressing Toby''s scorching face, she mumbled with a bitter smile, "It seems that we are unable to get


    out now and will perish here. I am sorry to have implicated you¡­"


    Truth was, Sonia had no fear of dying.


    But she was afraid of implicating others. She was also concerned about how those still alive would feel


    if she or Toby passed away.


    Grandma, Toby''s parents, and the rest will undoubtedly be devastated whereas Asher, Connor, and the


    Grays would be so happy!


    "I genuinely have never thought that I would die in such an aggrieved way," Sonia said to herself while


    trying to draw a breath with her mouth, which made her cough even more.


    But that was all she could do. Her nose was wholly blocked, and no air could go through, which was


    why she could only breathe with her mouth.


    She had anticipated her demise¡ªbe it from natural causes, a disease, or even the Grays when she


    waspeting with them.


    However, it had never urred to her that she would die in a fire that one of her adversaries had


    started rather than any one of the causes she considered possible.


    What an irony.


    Her body began to crumble as she could no longer hang on.


    At this instant, she vaguely heard a sound.


    What sound is that?


    Sonia''s mind was blurry, and she could not reason what sound that was.


    But that wasn''t the point. The crucial thing was that she heard something outside!


    She had no idea whether the sound came from the arsonist or someone else, but this remained a hope


    for her.


    What if it is indeed from someone else and not the arsonist?


    With this sudden rush of adrenaline, Sonia hugged Toby closer and shouted with all of her strength in


    the direction of the sound, "I''m here! We''re here! Please save us! I will reward you greatly when we are


    saved!"


    She yelled, but therge factory space eventually muffled her voice, preventing it from traveling out at


    all.


    Tom, on the other hand, was bing worried as well after receiving no response.


    He had no idea how long the fire had been burning but he was aware that the longer it took, the more


    likely Sonia and Toby would die, especially since he was getting no response at all at the moment.


    With no other option, Tom pulled out his phone and called Toby, praying in his heart that the man was


    carrying his phone and could answer the call.


    He feared that Toby''s phone was lost in the fire. If that were the case, Tom genuinely didn''t know what


    else he could do.


    "Come on¡­ Please be alive and answer the call," he murmured while waiting for the phone to be


    answered.


    Meanwhile, in the factory, Sonia''s heart sank into despair when she noticed that there was no longer


    any sounding from the outside.


    There''s no sound now¡­


    It is all silent¡­


    Has the person outside left?


    Or perhaps the arsonist purposefully made a noise to give us false hope before driving us to despair


    when I yelled for help?


    A hopeless smile appeared on Sonia''s face.


    We''ve lost all hope now.


    It seems like we are destined to die here.


    But why? I don''t want to die just yet!


    Her hopeless smile gradually turned into mockingughter.


    Suddenly, a sound rang again. This time, the sound was louder and most importantly, it seemed close,


    as if it rang from somewhere near them.


    After some time, Sonia recognized that it was music.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Why would there be music ying nearby?

 Chapter 1415

    Chapter 1415


    And this music is so familiar! Where exactly is iting from?


    Sonia''s mind was so foggy that she couldn''t recall that the music was Toby''s ringtone.


    It wasn''t until after the phone rang for quite a while that she finally remembered.


    Oh! It''s the phone!


    Someone is calling Toby!


    She anxiously moved her body to look for Toby''s phone.


    Her vision was already unclear as though a thin membrane was covering her eyes. Hence, she could


    only use her hearing to locate the phone.


    Luckily, she managed to find the phone and answered it. "Hello?"


    She had breathed in so much smoke that her voice was utterly hoarse, yet Tom on the other end of the


    line could still recognize her voice. "Miss Reed, it''s you! You are all still alive! That''s great!"


    He was so happy that tears began to fall.


    Throughout his entire journey here, he was genuinely concerned that something would happen to both


    Sonia and Toby.


    Especially when he arrived and saw the raging fire, he was so terrified that he felt as though his soul


    was leaving him.


    Now that he heard Sonia''s voice, he finally felt relieved.


    They are alive! That''s good enough!


    "Tom?" Sonia took a moment to recognize Tom''s voice and when she did, she became agitated. "Tom,


    is that you?"


    "Yes, Miss Reed. It''s me!" Tom answered while nodding his head.


    Sonia was nearly in tears from happiness. "Quick, Tom,e and get us now! Open the factory door.


    Toby has passed out and he even threw up blood just now, so please be fast!"


    Tom could hear Sonia''s desperation and pleas in her voice.


    She sincerely hoped that someone would hurry to open the door and take Toby to the hospital.


    Any dy would cost Toby his life.


    When Tom heard that Toby had fainted and even vomited blood, his countenance changed as he


    dashed to the firefighters while shouting, "Someone fainted in the factory! Save them now!"


    The firefighters were already prying open the door. When they heard that someone had fainted, they


    quickly sped up and severed the door lock with their machine.


    In no time, the door was open. Tom wanted to rush inside to save those trapped within, but the


    firefighters stopped him since he did not have the tools nor the knowledge necessary to do so. The


    remainder of the team then hurried inside to look for those who were trapped.


    Meanwhile, Sonia knew that Tom was outside when she heard the door being forced open and let out a


    feeble smile before finally passing out in relief.


    At that moment, she knew both Toby and she wouldn''t die.


    She had been monitoring Toby''s condition. He was still breathing, albeit weakly.


    But she believed he would be fine.


    They had sessfully gone through so many difficult situations, and she believed that he wouldn''t be


    defeated this time as well.


    Sirens wailed loudly as the ambnce sped down the road toward First World Hospital.


    Tim had earlier received Tom''s call about the incident and had arranged for the emergency room to be


    avable. He was also waiting for the ambnce at the hospital entrance and quickly hurried up when


    the ambnce arrived.


    Sonia alighted from the ambnce first. Tim approached her to see how she was doing, but Tom


    stopped him. "Please check President Fuller''s condition first, Dr. Lancaster. Miss Reed''s condition isn''t


    thatplicated. She has inhaled too much smoke and just needs to clear her lungs. President Fuller''s


    condition is way more serious. He vomited blood and the doctor in the ambnce said it has something


    to do with his heart, so please give President Fuller a check-up first!" Tom gripped Tim''s sleeves tightly


    and pleaded with reddened eyes.


    "What?" Tim wanted to shake off Tom''s hands since he was a stickler for hygiene. However, as soon as


    he heard Tom''s words, he was stunned for a while before hastily moving forward to check Toby''s


    situation.


    Toby was already put on a drip. The medical equipment in the ambnce was limited, so they could


    only utilize the drip to temporarily stabilize his condition.


    His condition did not get any better.


    Truth was, Tim wasn''t concerned about Toby''s condition. The only person he cared about was Sonia.


    However, Toby was, after all, Sonia''s lover. If anything happened to him, Sonia wouldn''t be happy


    either.


    Hence, to prevent her from bing sorrowful in the future, Tim could only leave her aside to check


    on Toby first.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    But of course, before he did that, he sent her to the emergency room and had already asked other


    doctors to check on her.


    He then walked over to Toby''s stretcher and examined the man. Tim''s face turned grave when he


    checked him over.


    That didn''t go unnoticed. Tom''s heart sank when he saw Tim''s grim expression and he asked, "Dr.


    Lancaster, how is President Fuller?"


    Tim ignored him and immediately climbed on the stretcher. Kneeling across Toby''s body, he began


    performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the man. While he was doing so, he repeatedly yelled,


    "Get the resuscitation room ready!


    It was more concerning to be sent to the resuscitation room than the emergency room.


    Those sent to the emergency room were in critical condition and could still be saved, whereas those


    sent to the resuscitation room could very well die.


    As such, when Tom heard that, he felt his mind turn nk and he almost copsed to the floor.


    Fortunately, throughout his many years with Toby, Tom encountered all sorts of different situations and


    was able to regain hisposure and quickly followed behind.


    News of President Fuller''s situation can never be leaked. I have to stop any spections or otherwise,


    the media will make a big thing out of it. There are so many different groups in thepany, each


    harboring their own evil intentions, and once they learn about it, they will undoubtedly create trouble.


    News of President Fuller''s situation can never be leaked. I have to stop any spections or otherwise,


    the media will make a big thing out of it. There are so many different groups in thepany, each


    harboring their own evil intentions, and once they learn about it, they will undoubtedly create trouble.


    Not to mention, our rivals in the market will make things difficult for us.


    As President Fuller''s right-hand man, I have to get these settled before he recovers.


    First, I have to calm down, Tom thought to himself. I can''t copse just because President Fuller is in a


    bad shape.


    Who else can handle these situations if I pass out?


    While keeping up with the emergency rescue team, Tom continued to make phone calls. Within


    minutes, he had already made multiple phone calls about the incident.


    A few necessary arrangements had been made by him when Toby was sent into the resuscitation


    room.


    Not only the public, Old Mrs. Fuller and Jean cannot know about President Fuller''s condition too.


    Old Mrs. Fuller is already frail. What if she bes too agitated and passes away after knowing it?


    Jean too. Though she cares about President Fuller, she is a bbermouth. It will be troublesome if she


    leaks the news.


    I better keep this from them both.


    With his phone clutched tightly in his hand, Tom paced outside the resuscitation room, anxiously


    waiting for updates about Toby''s condition.


    At this point, a firefighter captain and a police inspector walked toward him.


    Seeing them, Tom took a deep breath to calm himself before walking to them and said, "Hello."


    The two officers took a nce at the resuscitation room with the red light on and asked, "How is your


    superior?"


    "He just went in. I don''t know about the actual situation yet," Tom shook his head and dejectedly


    answered.


    "How about the other person, Miss Reed?"


    "She''ll be all right. She simply needs the dust in her lungs to be cleansed."


    The two officers nodded when they heard that. "We are d to hear that."


    Then, the firefighter captain continued, "We are here to let you know that the fire has been put out, but


    the factory''s exterior ispletely damaged. The equipment is safe inside thanks to thergely metallic


    walls, but the electrical circuits and water pipelines need to be reced."


    This was the best oue they could hope for.


    They had put out numerous fires previously, but this was the first time that so many assets could be


    saved from a fire of this intensity.


    "Noted. Thank you," Tom responded and shook the captain''s hand.


    Then, he looked at the inspector.

 Chapter 1416

    Chapter 1416


    The inspector reached his hand out, shook Tom''s, and said, "Hello, Tom. I am here to brief you about


    the preliminary investigation of the fire."


    "Please go ahead," Tom responded with a nod.


    "Our experts'' team examined the area and concluded that it was arson. Thirty-plus gasoline barrels,


    over a dozen separate footprints, the tire prints of two different lorries, as well as those of one private


    vehicle, have all been discovered nearby. This leads us to believe that these individuals, under the


    direction of the mastermind who was driving the private car, were the ones who doused the factory in


    gasoline and lit it aze.


    Tom was pleased to hear such an investigation result.


    After all, the police force had already done their best in deducing the total number of arsonists and the


    fact that there was a mastermind behind them.


    "I understand, but what I want to know now is when the police will be able to identify the mastermind. I


    will give the police force three days. If there is no result after three days, I will report to your superior


    and ask them to form a special task force to look into this matter. Inspector, I am sure you are aware


    that the Fuller Group is capable enough to do this," Tom stated seriously as he looked at the inspector.


    His words rendered the inspector a little awkward. After all, this fell under their jurisdiction. With Tom


    warning them that he would send someone else to investigate if they were unable to produce any


    results, he was failing to show them enough respect and trust.


    Hence, they had to aplish something for Tom this time by any means necessary.


    "Don''t worry, Tom. Three days are more than enough. The tire prints and gasoline barrels are the key


    to identifying those offenders. We will pass the barrels to the Identification Bureau for them to scan any


    fingerprints on them. If they can''t find any, we will then look into where the barrels were purchased.


    Once we find the seller, it won''t take long for us to identify the purchaser. The same holds for the tire


    prints. Though the lorries are quite difficult to locate, the private vehicle is different. Our preliminary


    investigation suggests that the car is a Rolls-Royce. Although it is not of the highest grade, it still costs


    a few million and only a few people in Seafield can afford it. As long as we thoroughly verify all the


    purchasers within the country, the mastermind will be revealed. Rest assured that we will present you


    and President Fuller with a satisfying oue."


    After hearing what the inspector said, Tom finally adopted a nicer demeanor and said apologetically,


    "Inspector, I apologize for my inappropriate attitude toward you earlier. Given my superior''s current


    state, I desperately want to find the mastermind, hence the agitated attitude. Please bear with me and


    don''t take it to heart."


    The inspector''s annoyance faded away after he heard Tom''s apology. "It''s fine. We understand how


    you''re feeling now. Don''t worry; we will surely get the mastermind in three days."


    "I''ll leave it to you, then," Tom said as he bowed to them. Then, as if he suddenly thought of something,


    he said, "Oh, and one more thing¡ªplease don''t leak this matter out."


    "Don''t worry, Tom. We would''ve kept this incident under wraps even without you reminding us to do so.


    After all, we won''t reveal anything before we get the matter fully investigated. Making it public serves


    no purpose for our investigation."


    "That''s good."


    Tom then sent the both of them to the elevator before turning around and returning to the outside of the


    resuscitation room, waiting for Toby to be released.


    And of course, he kept himself upied too. While waiting, he made all the necessary arrangements to


    conceal the incident.


    Fortunately, Sonia''s factory was built in a quiet ce in a rural area and had not begun its operations


    yet. Hence, there were no witnesses as no one was around.


    Someone from the museum nearby might have seen the smoke, but this was something he could settle


    by making several calls.


    Whatever happened, he could not allow the fire, and the fact that Sonia and Toby were hurt in it, to be


    known to the public.


    Otherwise, all sorts of issues would crop up.


    When he finished contacting the person from Paradigm, who was thest on his list to contact, he


    finally felt relieved. Putting his phone down, he raised his head and looked at the door of the


    resuscitation room.


    He had no idea when Toby would be released, but from Tim''s solemn expression earlier, it appeared


    that the resuscitation process would take some time.


    Hence, Tom decided to head to the emergency section first.


    President Fuller loves Miss Reed with all his heart and soul. Thus, I must take note of Miss Reed''s


    condition as well.


    Or else, I will be in big trouble if President Fuller asks me about Miss Reed when he wakes upter.


    With this in his mind, Tom rubbed his temples before tiredly rushing to the emergency department.


    It was already past 9.00PM but he had not eaten yet. He had been running around all day, so he was


    very hungry and worn out.


    But even so, he was unable to rx and have a meal. He was in no mood for those when Toby and


    Sonia were both still in serious condition.


    Luckily for Tom, the moment he came to the emergency department, the door to the room opened.


    Seeing that, Tom immediately grabbed the elbow of one of the nurses who came out and asked, "Hi,


    how''s the condition of the patient inside?"


    Pulling her arm away from his grasp, shemented, "Don''t worry. The patient inside is fine. She had


    a respiratory infection and lung blockage as a result of inhaling too much carbon dioxide and other


    chemicals. We have cleared her lungs and respiratory tract, so she is fine now. She will recover after a


    few days of rest. However, her eyes were affected quite badly and she will need to undergo special


    treatment. Even if she recovers from the treatment, her vision will still be impaired and she will need to


    wear special sses or have a cornea transnt."


    Tom was taken aback. "That''s very serious!"


    Tom was taken aback. "That''s very serious!"


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    A cornea transnt?


    "Yes." The nurse nodded and added, "The usual response when our eyes are being exposed to strong


    smoke is to close them. However, the condition of this woman''s eyes shows that she had opened her


    eyes throughout the entire incident."


    Tom remained silent and he felt mncholic upon hearing that.


    It''s not because she wasn''t afraid. It was surely because of President Fuller.


    President Fuller must have passed out in Miss Reed''s arms. She was afraid that she could not monitor


    his situation if she closed her eyes, hence she forced her eyes open for the entire time despite feeling


    ufortable.


    This couple¡­


    "I see." Tom looked at the emergency room behind the nurse and asked, "She will be sent to the ward


    later, right?"


    The nurse nodded in response. "Yes. She is already out of danger and we will send her to the regr


    wardter."


    "All right. I''llplete the admission procedure, then," Tom said before turning around and leaving the


    emergency room.


    He then arranged for two first-ss wards for Sonia and Toby. Soon after, Sonia was brought in.


    Tom stayed with her for a while and decided to hire a woman helper to look after Sonia. After all, it


    wasn''t appropriate for a man like him to look after her.


    After doing everything he could and making sure that Sonia would be fine after recuperating, he left the


    ward in relief and went back to the area outside the resuscitation room.


    Finally, after more than an hour of waiting, the red light above the door dimmed.


    When Tom noticed that, he swiftly stood up. Fists tightly clenched, he intently fixed his eyes on the


    door.


    The door was then opened. Dressed in a set of green surgical scrubs, Tim was the first to exit the


    room.


    "Dr. Lancaster!" Tom immediately called out to him.


    Tim halted his steps and removed his mask. Without waiting for Tom to ask, he reported Toby''s


    condition. "President Fuller has been saved and is out of danger for the time being."


    Instead of feeling relieved, Tom furrowed his brows even more when he heard that. "Out of danger for


    the time being? Do you mean that President Fuller is notpletely out of danger yet?"

 Chapter 1417

    Chapter 1417


    "That''s correct." Tim pushed his sses up gracefully with his slim middle finger, looking like a


    pretentious man.


    To be exact, he would be a pretentious scum if he donned a suit.


    Meanwhile, Tom stumbled two steps forward as if he had taken a tremendous blow. "How could this


    be?" he questioned with ssy eyes.


    "Why not?" Tim crossed his arms and said calmly, "Toby''s heart has already been damaged due to the


    previous incident. Before this incident, he could still live normally for a year or two until the delivery of a


    recement heart, provided he avoided all forms of stimtion and intense exercise. However, the


    smoke stimted his heart and he breathed in many of the smoke''s toxicponents. As a result, the


    heart''s damage worsened. If you hadn''t gotten him to the hospital in time, he''d be in the morgue


    instead of being temporarily rescued."


    Tom clutched his hair in dismay as his eyes turned red. "What will be of President Fuller?"


    "He''ll most likely be bedridden or in a wheelchair. Nheless, he is susceptible to cardiac arrest and


    death on the spot, and the possibilities are not slim."


    Tom flushed as he heard that. "In other words, if President Fuller did not have the heart recement


    operation, he would never be able to stand up again and may die at any time."


    Tim nodded at that. "That''s correct. I did say Toby''s safety is only temporary."


    As a result, despite being a man, Tom started crying.


    Tim was appalled by Tom''s reaction. "Stop sobbing! Toby is not yet dead. Instead of crying, you should


    inquire about the carrier of his predetermined heart. Kill the carrier and airlift the heart over if possible.


    Then, I''ll rece Toby''s heart right away. Your president will recover after that. That''s it. He''ll be


    admitted to the intensive care unit for observation for a few days. After that, if nothing abnormal urs,


    I will consider allowing him to remain in the general ward. Alright, then. I''ll take your leave. I need to


    check on Sonia."


    He ignored Tom and departed after speaking.


    Tom didn''t mind that Tim was leaving because he was still thinking about what Tim had just said.


    The man proposed killing the heart''s carrier and transporting it to Toby for a heart transnt. Despite


    the remarks being frightening and cruel, Tom had no choice but to consider the suggestion.


    Before the incident, Tom would have thought Tim''s suggestion was too severe and he would have


    refused to support it.


    Even if the carrier could not be cured, he had the right to life as long as he was not dead.


    Furthermore, whereas Toby had two years left, the carrier only had half a year. Toby could wait for the


    carrier to die before taking his heart, allowing the carrier to rest in peace.


    However, Tom had now changed his mind. The carrier could live for three or four months, but Toby


    could not. So, the carrier must¡­


    Tom clenched his hands into fists. Please don''t call me cruel. I don''t want President Fuller to die.


    Humans were selfish by nature. Tom admired Toby and considered him to be his best buddy.


    Furthermore, Toby bestowed glory and fortune on Tom. No matter what happened, Tom would never let


    Toby die.


    As a result, Tom was forced to sacrifice the carrier.


    He closed his eyes tightly as he reflected on what he had to do. When he opened his eyes again, his


    gaze was icy and determined.


    He then took out his cell phone and dialed an international number.


    The phone was answered swiftly. "Mr. Brown," the callee answered.


    "How is the carrier doing?" Tom lowered his eyes, and it was hard to see his expression.


    The person on the other end responded, "Same old. He is only awake for a short period each day."


    "Did the doctor say how long he can live?" Tom inquired.


    "Three months," the person answered after some contemtion.


    "I see." Tom nodded and prompted, "Is the carrier awake now?"


    "He is. He just finished eating and is talking to his family."


    "All right," Tom said hoarsely before falling silent.


    After a brief pause, he gritted his teeth and stated his intentions. "When the carrier''s family departs,


    speak with the carrier. We desperately need his heart right now."


    The person on the other end of the line turned pale with horror when he heard that. "What? Do you


    mean you want the carrier¡­"


    "Yes." Tom nodded and muttered, "It so happens that his country is pro-euthanasia."


    "I know, but¡ª"


    "There''s nothing to be concerned about. He doesn''t have much time left. He only has three months, so


    there''s not much difference between living and dying. I understand this is against internationalw, but


    something has happened to President Fuller," Tom stated.


    The callee was also an employee for Toby assigned to keep an eye on the carrier to ensure that the


    carrier''s heart was not injured.


    As such, the callee became concerned when he learned that Toby had been involved in an incident.


    "What''s the matter with President Fuller?"


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    "His heart has been affected by external forces, but he is now being resuscitated. However, President


    Fuller will notst long and may perish anytime. Do you get what I''m saying? If I could, I wouldn''t be so


    cruel, but when President Fuller''s life is in jeopardy, I''d rather sacrifice others for him." Tom grimaced


    and clenched his teeth.


    The callee understood and could rte to Tom. He would have made the same decision if it had been


    his choice. After all, he was also Toby''s employee. "Got it. I''ll take care of it."


    The callee understood and could rte to Tom. He would have made the same decision if it had been


    his choice. After all, he was also Toby''s employee. "Got it. I''ll take care of it."


    Tom hummed and stated, "Of course, we will not be too harsh on the carrier. We must provide him with


    adequatepensation. We will do everything in our power to grant his wish so that he can leave


    without regret."


    "Okay, I''ll forward it on. Don''t worry, Mr. Brown. Consider it done."


    As soon as the callee finished speaking, he hung up the phone.


    Tom also put the phone down and clutched it. Then, he lowered his eyes and whispered, "I''m sorry¡­"


    It was the first time he had done something like this, so his conscience was troubled.


    However, Tom had no regrets.


    He only hoped Toby wouldn''t me him for taking the liberty.


    Tom sighed and rubbed his face before concentrating on waiting for Toby to emerge and following him


    to the ICU.


    About an hourter, Tom received a response from abroad. The carrier agreed to the request.


    That was unquestionably wonderful news.


    Tom finally smiled for the first time this evening.


    The response was that the carrier would choose euthanasia after two days because he wanted to say


    farewell to his family.


    In addition, the carrier''spensation option was straightforward¡ªit was money. He desired a


    substantial sum of money for his family. He hoped his family would livefortably after his death and


    not worry about money ever again.


    They were impoverished and frequently worried about their financial status. The carrier''s wife was


    clueless and his children were little. He had no idea if his family would survive if he died.


    As such, he wanted to leave a substantial sum of money to his family before his death to ensure they


    would not worry about funds in the future.


    That wasn''t asking too much. It was reasonable in this case.


    Hence, Tom consented to the proposal without hesitation. He also gave them a house in addition to


    money.


    "Two days." Tom sighed. "President Fuller will survive after that."


    Tom peered through the ICU''s ss wall at Toby, who was hooked up to a venttor. He could finally


    rx because the stress was gone.


    As he rxed, hunger and exhaustion hit him simultaneously, causing him to go limp and


    embarrassingly copse to the ground in a heap.

 Chapter 1418

    Chapter 1418


    On the other hand, Asher had been secretly following the factory fire''s subsequent development since


    his departure.


    I want to know what happened to Toby and Sonia and whether they are injured or have died as I


    hoped! It would be preferable if they died, but I''ll be happy if they are hurt too. Of course, it would be


    best to burn them beyond recognition.


    Asher sat in front of aputer with a ss of red wine, pondering calmly while frequently refreshing


    the browser to read about the fire''s consequences.


    However, no matter how hard he looked, there was no news of a fire on the Inte.


    He couldn''t know how Toby and Sonia were without the news and this irritated him.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Logically speaking, that should not happen.


    It was the information age. As a result, everything would be quickly uploaded on the Inte and made


    public.


    It was unfathomable that the factory fire incident had not been widely publicized even after such a long


    time, given how serious it was. The media would surely have written articles on it.


    Of course, Asher was no dummy. He instantly realized that someone had intervened to put out the fire


    and suppress the information.


    As such, there was no news on the Inte.


    The Fuller Group was the only entity capable of doing it. Nobody else had the authority to keep the


    news from leaking.


    At that thought, Asher furiously banged the wine ss on the table.


    Without the news and not knowing Toby and Sonia''s situation, it was akin to Asher being blind and not


    knowing what to do next.


    However, it was not the end of the world.


    Asher took out his phone and called his men, asking them to go to the big hospitals and see whether


    they had admitted a couple rescued from a fire.


    He could still figure out the couple''s situation as long as he knew that.


    After issuing themand, Asher made phone calls to others he knew, asking if they had heard about


    the fire that night.


    Of course, when he asked, he skillfully avoided mentioning the incident at the Paradigm Factory.


    Instead, he inquired whether there was a fire anywhere that night.


    However, Asher received only a negative response.


    It was clear from this that the Fuller Group had rigorously prohibited the news from escaping, so much


    so that even the inner circle was unaware of it.


    Of course, he also knew why the Fuller Group had hidden the news.


    Asher intended to spread the news online to cause thepany difficulties.


    However, he was fully aware that he would be caught red-handed if he did this. He would be


    apprehended by the Inte police very quickly.


    After all, only the person who started the fire would know and broadcast the news online after the


    company had taken such measures.


    So, all he could do was helplessly watch while the Fuller Group blocked the news. He was unable to


    ept it.


    Asher''s mood plummeted after getting the news from the prior phone conversation.


    They had previously asked if any of therger hospitals had admitted patients rescued from the fire


    tonight, and the answer was yes.


    After all, there would be fires breaking out all over the ce, including Seafield.


    However, the ces that his guys enquired about were not the factory. The people who sought medical


    attention were either a family of three or elderly men, and none of them matched Toby and Sonia''s


    descriptions.


    It was the same as having no news at all.


    At that point, Asher turned gloomy and he raised his head to drink the entire cup of wine in one gulp,


    knowing that it was impossible to know Toby and Sonia''s situation that night.


    Well, I''ll work it out tomorrow, Asher thought with displeasure.


    However, before he could inquire about Toby''s and Sonia''s status, he was arrested the next day at the


    entrance of Paradigm Co. by the police.


    It surprised everyone in Paradigm and the paparazzi that waited outside regardless of the weather.


    The word that the president of Paradigm Co. had been arrested quickly spread like wildfire and it


    became much more popr than Lte''s murder case.


    "What''s the problem? Another wealthy individual detained? Rich folks are frequently arrested these


    days."


    "I''m not sure. What is the reason for this person''s arrest? Is this another murder?"


    "It''s not impossible. These wealthy individuals are ruthless. Just wait and see. The cops will publish a


    statement soon and we''ll know why by then."


    While theizens were discussing it, Paradigm Co.''s personnel scanned their social media. When the


    corporation''s leaders saw it, they didn''t say anything because they were also intrigued.


    However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn''t determine why Asher was taken away.


    Rita was the only one who knew.


    The night before, Rita had gotten a call from Tom. He informed her that the factory had been set on fire.


    She was stunned at the time. Sheter discovered that Sonia had passed out in the fire. Rita was


    utterly frightened and wanted to see Sonia right away.


    However, Tom stopped her. He stated that Sonia would be unable to work at Paradigm for some time.


    To avoid informing the public about the incident, as well as the news of Toby and Sonia being injured in


    the fire, he required Rita to exin to thepany that Sonia had gone on an important business trip


    and was not in Seafield.


    Rita was Sonia''s secretary. Therefore, her words had weight and credibility among the employees.


    Rita was Sonia''s secretary. Therefore, her words had weight and credibility among the employees.


    Rita realized that if everyone knew what had happened to the chairperson, thepany would panic


    and something horrible would happen.


    As such, she obeyed Tom and forced herself to calm down to keep thepany stable. She then


    appeared at the office early in the morning to inform everyone that Sonia had gone on a business trip.


    The employees didn''t give it much thought.


    However, before Rita could rx, she learned that Asher had been arrested.


    Asher''s arrest immediately made her realize the truth about the firest night.


    "You b*stard!" Rita angrily cursed before picking up her luggage and leaving the office for Bayside


    Residence.


    Tom suggested that once Rita had stabilized the business, she should pack some clothes and daily


    essentials for Sonia and send them to the hospital.


    After all, Sonia was expected to be in the hospital for an extended period.


    Rita moved swiftly and arrived at the hospital two hourster.


    Tom was waiting for her at the elevator.


    "Mr. Brown, is Miss Reed okay?" she inquired as she approached.


    "Miss Reed is fine. However, her eyes were harmed. She may require surgery in the future. Don''t


    worry, though. She will fully recover from the surgery, "Tom responded.


    Rita nodded as they entered the elevator and she exhaled a sigh of relief. "That''s great. Except for her


    eyes, she is fortunate to have escaped the fire uninjured. I can''t have asked for more. Where has


    President Fuller gone? How is he doing?"


    Tom moved his lips. He was in a bad mood and didn''t say anything.


    Rita''s heart skipped a beat when she realized Toby''s wounds might be catastrophic.


    However, Rita had no idea how horrible it was.


    As such, she didn''t ask any more questions because doing so would make her sad.


    She handed Tom one of the two bags. "This is President Fuller''s stuff, Mr. Brown."


    "I appreciate it." Tom nodded and epted it.


    He couldn''t leave the hospital, so he asked Rita to bring the items over.


    Rita waved her hand and said, "It''s nothing."


    The elevator arrived with a ding.


    After they exited the elevator, Tom pointed to a ward in front of them. "Miss Reed is in that ward. You


    are wee to visit her. She most likely hasn''t awakened yet. I''ll be with President Fuller for now."


    With that, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.


    Rita took a deep breath as she peered up at the signboard in that direction.


    He''s going to the ICU!

 Chapter 1419

    Chapter 1419


    President Fuller is in the intensive care unit?!


    Rita was terrified by the realization.


    That exins Mr. Brown''s thunderous expression earlier. President Fuller''s situation is far worse than I


    had anticipated. I believed he had a somewhat worse injury than Miss Reed, but it seems that it is way


    beyond my expectations. It''s surely a potentially fatal injury. Did he get harmed because he was


    constantly defending Miss Reed? They were both present at the fire. Although President Fuller was


    seriously injured, Miss Reed was merely injured in the eye. He surely suffered the pain alone for the


    sake of Miss Reed. What a gentleman.


    Rita grieved before returning her attention to Sonia''s ward.


    At that point, a middle-aged woman opened the ward door for Rita. She was the nurse Tom had hired


    to care for Sonia.


    Rita entered the room, dropped her belongings, and then stood beside the bed to gaze at Sonia.


    Sonia was deathly pale and her eyes were wrapped with gauze. It was a pitiful sight and it made Rita


    sad.


    After Rita asked the nurse about Sonia, Tim came over in a white coat.


    "Has Sonia awakened yet?" he inquired.


    "Not yet," the nurse responded with a shake of her head.


    Tim nodded to indicate his understanding before moving forward to check on Sonia''s drip.


    He decided that there was no problem with it and put his hand in his coat''s pocket. "Contact us


    immediately when Sonia awakens."


    "Will do, doctor."


    Tim grunted before turning to go.


    He was on his way to check on Toby.


    The moment he got to work, Tim had to take care of Toby and Sonia, so it was tiring for him.


    Rita didn''t want to leave the hospital because she wanted to wait for Sonia to wake up so she could tell


    her all she had learned, especially about Asher''s arrest.


    As such, Rita sat by the bed to apany Sonia. She would check the Inte now and then to see if


    the police had published any statements.


    The visitsted until noon when Sonia eventually reacted by coughing a couple of times in pain.


    When the nurse noticed this, she quickly poured a ss of warm water.


    Rita also ced her cell phone down and took a step forward. "Miss Reed."


    "Rita?" Sonia inquired. She could not open her eyes, but she could hear Rita''s voice.


    However, her voice sounded like a pair of busted bellows. It sounded bad, raspy, and feeble. Her throat


    ached as she talked, and she coughed even harder.


    "Miss Reed, please don''t say anything and sip some water first." With the help of the nurse, Rita


    assisted Sonia in leaning on the bed. She then handed over the ss.


    Rita took Sonia''s hand at the same time so that Sonia could hold the cup correctly.


    However, Sonia was bing concerned. "What''s the matter with my eyes?"


    She was about to open her eyes when she realized they wouldn''t open no matter what. Something,


    which she thought was a bandage, covered her eyes.


    Her eyes were bandaged, which led her to believe that she was blind.


    Am I¡­ blind?


    When she noticed Sonia bing worried, Rita realized what was happening and quickly calmed her


    down. "Don''t be concerned. Your vision is fine. They were smoked yesterday, so your eyes are


    damaged. You are currently receiving treatment, but you will be okay after that."


    She did not inform Sonia that she would require eye surgery in the future.


    Miss Reed is struggling. She might break down if shees to know the truth.


    Sonia was relieved to learn that her eyes were fine.


    She didn''t suspect Rita was lying to her and didn''t want to do so either.


    After all, she wanted to think nothing was wrong with her eyes. At the very least, she felt a lot better


    deep down.


    "Please, Miss Reed, have a sip of water. Your throat will feel better, "Rita told Sonia after witnessing the


    latter settle down.


    Sonia agreed and drank the water because she was thirsty.


    She drank quickly and finished the ss in a few gulps. However, it was insufficient for her. It was only


    when the nurse poured a couple more drinks did Sonia feel better.


    "Do you feel better?" Rita asked while taking the ss from her.


    Sonia nodded weakly and leaned against the bed. "Much better."


    Her throat wasn''t as sore as it had been and her voice was getting better, though it still sounded


    scratchy.


    "Am I in the hospital?" Sonia asked while touching the gauze over her eyes.


    The smell of disinfectant made her conclude that she was in the hospital.


    Rita nodded and responded, "Yes. You copsed at the fire site. You were then taken to the hospital.


    Please be assured, though. You are fine and will be released after a few days of rest."


    "And how about Toby?" Sonia inquired hastily as she clutched Rita''s hand.


    She was all right, but she wasn''t certain about Toby.


    Back then, he vomited a lot of blood.


    Sonia''s grip was hard, yet Rita was not upset and did not shake her off.


    She knew that Sonia was concerned about Toby and was terrified of hearing unpleasant news.


    That was why Sonia was so nervous.


    Rita gently patted the back of Sonia''s hand as she murmured, "Don''t be concerned, Miss Reed.


    President Fuller is no longer in jeopardy¡­"


    Rita gently patted the back of Sonia''s hand as she murmured, "Don''t be concerned, Miss Reed.


    President Fuller is no longer in jeopardy¡­"


    Rita felt bad for saying it.


    After all, Toby was in the ICU. The ICU was a facility for extremely ill patients and the patients there


    were not necessarily safe.


    Rita only said this to appease Sonia.


    However, she had never been adept at lying, so whatever she said was bound to be wed.


    Of course, Sonia quickly noticed the falsehood. Although she couldn''t see Rita, she raised her head to


    ''gaze'' at her. "Are you telling the truth? Tell me what really happened to Toby, Rita."


    Her tone was tense and emotional.


    Why is Rita lying? Is it possible that Toby is...


    Sonia felt disoriented as her heart skipped a beat. Her body trembled and she was on the verge of


    passing out.


    It startled Rita and the nurse.


    "Miss Reed!" Rita rushed to Sonia''s aid.


    Sonia then burst into tears.


    Toby is dead! He is no longer alive!


    She refused to ept this fact. However, the image of Toby copsing after vomiting blood was still


    fresh in her mind.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    At that time, she was worried that her beloved would leave her.


    Moreover, Rita lied to her, so Sonia did not believe that Toby was all right.


    Under these circumstances, it was normal for one to lie since they would not want the survivor to get


    upset and frustrated, especially if the said survivor was in the hospital.


    This was the reason that Sonia was convinced Toby had died.


    When Rita saw Sonia cry in despair and destion, she realized Sonia had misunderstood something,


    so she felt embarrassed.


    After all, Rita was well aware that her remarks had caused Sonia to misinterpret things.


    It was ultimately her fault.


    As such, Rita scratched her head in embarrassment. "Please don''t cry, Miss Reed. President Fuller is


    still alive."


    Sonia choked on her sobs before grabbing Rita''s hand as if it were a lifeline. She then hurriedly


    inquired, "What did you say? Is Toby still alive? Are you telling me the truth? You''re not lying to me, are


    you?"


    Sonia saw a glimmer of optimism amid misery and didn''t want that hope to be dashed.


    Otherwise, she would be devastated.


    "That is correct. What I mentioned is correct. I did not deceive you. President Fuller is still alive," Rita


    responded solemnly.


    As a result, Sonia wept with joy as she alternated between crying andughing.

 Chapter 1420

    Chapter 1420


    That''s fantastic! Toby is not dead. He is still alive and well!


    Sonia was trembling with joy.


    After witnessing her in that state, Rita did not think she was insane. She reasoned this was because


    Sonia was happy.


    When Sonia eventually calmed down, Rita handed her a tissue. "Miss Reed, please wipe your tears.


    Don''t cry anymore since it''s harmful to your eyes."


    "Okay." Sonia took a deep breath and used the tissue to wipe away the tears that had spilled beneath


    the gauze. "Since Toby is not dead, why did you talk in that tone earlier?" she asked again.


    "Well, President Fuller is still alive, but he is currently in the ICU," Rita replied as she touched the tip of


    her nose.


    "ICU?" Sonia''s voice abruptly raised.


    "Yes." Rita gave a nod.


    "What became of him? What happened? Tell me, please," Sonia hastily inquired.


    However, Rita shook her head. "I have no idea what happened to President Fuller since Mr. Brown did


    not tell me."


    "Where has Mr. Brown gone?" Sonia inquired once more.


    "He''s in thepany of President Fuller."


    "Please give me your cell phone. No, you call Mr. Brown and tell him toe over. I need to know


    what''s going on with Toby. I won''t be at ease as long as I stay oblivious about his condition." Sonia


    gave the order.


    Then, she realized it was too slow, so she threw the nket away from herself. "No, I''ll have to find him


    myself."


    However, as she did so, she experienced acute dizziness. She fell back on the bed in an instant.


    As a result, Rita hurriedly stated, "Please, Miss Reed, calm down. You haven''t eaten anything since


    yesterday. The doctor cleaned your lung and airway, so your body is still recovering. As a result, you''re


    unable to travel. You should get some rest. I''ll contact Mr. Brown."


    Sonia also realized her body was weak, so she stopped pushing herself. "You call him, then," she said


    while waving her hand.


    "Okay. I''ll do it right now." Rita then took out her cell phone and dialed Tom''s number.


    When he found out Sonia was awake, he promised to visit her soon. Then, he inquired about her


    situation and calmly hung up the phone.


    "Miss Reed, Mr. Brown will be here shortly."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded.


    Rita took a seat next to her. "Miss Reed, the person who ignited the fire has been apprehended by the


    police."


    Sonia sharply raised her head when she heard that. "What did you say? Was the perpetrator


    apprehended?"


    "That''s right," Rita answered as she nodded.


    "Who was it?" Sonia clenched her teeth, hating the perpetrator with a vengeance.


    Toby would not be suffering if it weren''t for that perpetrator!


    "It''s President Dafoe," Rita said as her gaze fixed on Sonia.


    "Is that Asher Dafoe?" Sonia was taken aback when she heard this.


    "Yes."


    "That''s him!"


    Sonia tightened her fist as her cheeks heated with rage. "Yes, I should''ve considered that sooner.


    Asher gave me a spiteful look during our meeting yesterday. I expected him to set a trap for me during


    the meeting, but he didn''t do anything until the end, so Iid down my guard!"


    At that moment, she regretted, med herself, and felt guilty at the same time. All kinds of emotions


    tried to overwhelm her. The perpetrator was going after me, not Toby. That means I dragged Toby


    down.


    She was heartbroken and despised Asher. "Is he in police custody?" She fisted her hand.


    "Yes," Rita responded with a nod.


    "Howe the cops found him so soon this time?" Sonia inquired once more.


    At that, Rita shook her head. "I''m not sure about that, but Mr. Brown should. You can ask himter."


    Sonia grunted, indicating that she understood.


    Rita continued, "Miss Reed, President Dafoe was arrested at thepany''s entry. Thus, this has an


    impact on our business. Do you want to make a statement?"


    Sonia nodded. "Assume Asher Dafoe got drunk and set fire to a factory. Don''t reveal the particr


    reason, or it would be tricky."


    If the public learned that Asher intended to burn Sonia to death because he was unhappy with her, it


    would have a terrible impact on Paradigm.


    The public image of Paradigm''s executive would deteriorate, and people would loathe Paradigm,


    particrly the government. It was not appropriate for thepany.


    "Don''t be concerned, Miss Reed. I see what you''re saying. Mr. Brown suppressed the newsst night


    because he was afraid the public would find out about you and President Fuller''s injuries. The general


    public is still unaware of what had urred," Rita stated as she picked up her phone.


    "That''s great," Sonia whispered.


    Soon, Paradigm''s statement was distributed.


    Netizens following the story were surprised to learn that Asher had been drinking and burned down a


    factory.


    "Hey, are rich people this insane?"


    "He set fire to a factory at random. Well, he yed with fire and burned himself."


    Asher was being mocked on the inte.


    Naturally, some people suspected things were not as simple as they appeared. They were persuaded


    that there was something they were unaware of.


    Connor, too, had a feeling something was awry. "Look into that," he told his assistant in another private


    hospital.


    Connor, too, had a feeling something was awry. "Look into that," he told his assistant in another private


    hospital.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    After responding, Xander made a phone call. He responded afterpleting the call, "I''ve requested


    someone to look into it. There should be some news soon."


    "Okay." Connor sat on the bed and bent his leg to ce his hand on his knee. He tapped his leg with a


    commanding expression. "How is Anya doing?"


    "She hasn''t woken up since she was beaten," Xander dismissively said when asked about her.


    Anya was liked by Boss, who considered her his daughter, so I assumed she would be wise. However,


    she is useless. Everything Boss spent on her was a waste of money.


    Connor grunted, indicating that he understood. Then, with dark eyes, he continued, "This woman lied to


    me about the Lore Family, especially Lte, being a decent pawn. I didn''t expect the Lores to be


    useless, and they copsed before I could aplish anything. Lte was so ridiculous that she got


    arrested right away. To think I trusted her and put together several ns, but they all fell through. I


    would have snapped her neck if she hadn''t still been useful."


    "There''s no rush. You can still break her neck when you achieve your goal," said Xander.


    Connor chuckled at that. "That''s true."


    Tom soon arrived at Sonia''s unit in First World Hospital with Tim.


    Hearing the footsteps, she knew they had arrived and instantly attempted to inquire about Toby.


    On the other hand, Tim interrupted her. "There''s no need to be hasty. Let me first check on your injury."


    As he said that, he checked on Sonia despite her impatience.


    "Miss Reed, please cooperate with the examination. President Fuller won''t be concerned about you


    when he awakens and sees you have healed."


    Sonia ceased resisting as soon as those words were spoken. That''s correct. Toby''s character dictates


    he will fuss over me after he wakes up despite his injury. I need to rest so he won''t be too distracted to


    worry about me.


    As a result, she obedientlyy down. The examination went considerably more smoothly in an instant.


    After the examination, Tim nodded in approval. "Not bad. Except for the eyes, you will recover fully in


    two days."


    Everyone was relieved when they heard that.


    The nurse inquired what Sonia could eat to determine what she could buy for her. After the nurse left,


    Sonia finally asked, "Mr. Brown, how is Toby?"

 Chapter 1421

    Chapter 1421


    Sonia was eager to know what was going on with Toby. Why did he vomit blood and end up in the


    intensive care unit? What was his sickness?


    She did not imagine Toby would vomit blood simply from inhaling chemicalponents in the smoke.


    There must be other exnations!


    Tom parted his lips, unsure how to respond to her curious nce. After all, Toby had already forbidden


    Tom from telling her the truth.


    "Mr. Brown!" Sonia grew concerned when she noticed his silence.


    Tim came over at this point and pushed Tom aside. "That''s enough. I''ll exin. This person is under


    orders from Toby and will not tell you. I''ll inform you of whatever you require."


    "Dr. Lancaster!" Tom was bing concerned.


    However, Tim gave him a casual look. "Do you believe you can conceal Toby''s situation? We could still


    cover his injury if Sonia weren''t with him. We could inform her that he was away on business. On the


    other hand, Sonia witnessed his copse with him. What kind of excuse can you use to divert her


    attention? Even if you find an excuse, won''t she demand proof? She will remain at the hospital to care


    for Toby. Will she be suspicious if she sees us inspecting him in numerous ways?"


    Tom''s mouth dropped open, and he was stunned when he heard that. That''s correct. We can''t hide it


    any longer.


    Sonia''s heart skipped a beat as she overheard their chat. Then, she clutched the cor of her hospital


    gown. "What''s the matter, Tim? What exactly are you on about?"


    He moved over to the stressed-out woman and softly pressed a point on the back of her neck. There


    was acupuncture located there. By pressing that region, one''s emotions and spirits would gradually


    rx, resulting in tranquility. As a result, one would not act rashly due to a rapid surge of emotions.


    "Toby suffers from heart illness," Tim exined.


    She bit her lower lip. "I know. He was born with it, and his forefathers had it as well. It''s inherited. Why


    do you bring it up now? Could Toby''s unexpected vomiting of blood in the fire be rted to his heart


    disease?"


    He grumbled before continuing, "Toby underwent a heart transnt seven years ago to live until now. If


    there had been no mishaps, the heart recement seven years ago would have been sufficient for him


    to enjoy a healthy life. However, his heart suffered a major ident a few months ago, causing the


    heart to be damaged and requiring recement with a healthy heart within two years. Otherwise, death


    will befall him."


    "What?" Sonia''s mind rang with a bang as she grew pale. "Are you suggesting that his current heart¡­"


    she muttered shakily.


    "That''s right." Tim nodded.


    "That''s impossible!" She trembled as she was unable to ept the truth. This is way too cruel.


    "That''s the truth," he replied. "Toby can survive for two years without another heart transnt if he does


    not receive any stimuli. However, he breathed a lot of smoke and dust, as well as differentpounds


    in the smoke, which overstimted his heart. He couldn''t take the strain any longer and vomited blood.


    Fortunately, Tom arrived in time to save both of you and allow Toby to get medical attention. Otherwise,


    he''s a dead man."


    Sonia was about to copse at that point. She could not sit there any longer and fell on the bed,


    startling those who were present.


    "Miss Reed." Tom hurried forward to assist her, and so did Rita.


    However, Tim drove both of them away. "You are not doctors, so don''t cause me any more problems.


    Please leave."


    After chasing the two away impatiently, he went up to check on Sonia. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief.


    "It''s nothing major. She was shocked when she learned about Toby''s situation, causing her blood


    pressure to spike. She''ll be fine in a few minutes." The ward grew silent as he exined.


    After a few moments, Sonia opened her mouth and hoarsely muttered, "The world is unfair¡­"


    Toby has had a bad heart since birth. Why take away his healthy heart when he finally has it? This is


    very unfair.


    At that, she burst into tears.


    Even if Rita warned her that crying could cause harm to her eyes, she could not care less. Her anguish


    made it impossible for her not to cry.


    Tim realized what Sonia meant and stated calmly, "There is no such thing as being unfair. Toby has


    never had a healthy heart, yet he was born into the Fuller Family. As a result, he has been at the top of


    the social hierarchy since his boyhood. At the top, he has the glory, fortune, power, and position others


    do not have. So, having a sick heart is not unjust to him. He would have died long ago if he hadn''t been


    born into the Fuller Family. As a Fuller, he''s had extensive physical attention since he was a child,


    allowing him to live until now. Ordinary people, however, do not have this luxury if they have heart


    disease. He is superior to most people on the."


    Despite those words, humans were selfish. Sonia had no interest in other people because she did not


    know them. She was just concerned with Toby.


    Despite those words, humans were selfish. Sonia had no interest in other people because she did not


    know them. She was just concerned with Toby.


    To her, his situation was the result of the universe''s inequity!


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    Tim pushed his spectacles, knowing what she was thinking. "Don''t think much about it. Toby is wealthy.


    Thus, he has already spent a significant number of human resources and money to find a new heart for


    himself. A few months ago, a new heart was discovered."


    "What did you say?" She was overjoyed to learn that a heart had been discovered. "Is that correct?


    Have you found the heart?"


    "That''s correct. We promptly searched for a suitable heart when President Fuller''s heart was damaged.


    It didn''t take long to locate it."


    Although thepatibility rate was low, however, humans were abundant and indispensable in this


    world. Hence, there were always people who were a match for Toby. It was always possible to find it if


    one had enough money.


    Sonia eventually smiled after hearing Tom''s words. "That''s fantastic." Yet, she soon realized something


    and grimaced. "Wait a minute. Why didn''t you operate on Toby after discovering the heart so long ago?


    Why haven''t you given Toby the heart?" She could not figure it out.


    Tom borated, "Well, the heartes with a body, and the owner of the heart is still alive."


    She felt a chill run up her spine as she heard that. "The carrier is still alive! T-Then¡­ there''s Toby. He


    can''t wait for it!"


    Toby was now in the intensive care unit, and she could understand Tim''s words.


    The heart, which was already injured, was stimted. Although Tim did not specify how long Toby had


    left,ypeople could tell that his days were numbered without medical knowledge.


    Why else would he be in the ICU?

 Chapter 1422

    Chapter 1422


    Sonia''s meaning was clear to Tom. She believed the carrier was still alive and was unsure how long he


    would live. On the other hand, Toby was on the point of death, and she feared he would not make it till


    the carrier died.


    "Don''t be concerned, Miss Reed. The carrier is already ill and has to be hospitalized. It is an incurable


    disease with a life expectancy of only a few months. Several months have passed. I called yesterday


    and discovered that the carrier only had two days left. When he dies, the heart will be immediately sent


    here so that President Fuller can obtain it," he borated.


    Tim''s sses were reflected as he stared at Tom.


    Simrly, he cast a nce at Tim as well. "So, kindly schedule an operation for President Fuller and


    take a few days off. We need you to operate on him when the timees."


    Tim grinned when he heard that. "Understood. I see you''ve epted my advicest night."


    Tom kept his head down and remained silent.


    Sonia did not know what they were doing nor understood Tim''s remarks. All she knew was that Toby


    was going to be saved. This is fantastic news.


    "That''s great," she said, smiling. "Can surgery be done in a matter of days?"


    "A physical examination is essential because Toby''s physical fitness must meet the surgical


    requirement," Tim answered as he pushed his sses up his nose.


    She quickly nodded in response. "He will satisfy the criterion since he exercises regrly. Aside from


    his heart, he is in good physical shape."


    "It should be alright," he replied.


    Despite Toby''s unfortunate circumstances, Sonia felt much better knowing that he had located his heart


    and would have surgery soon. However, her mood remained bleak.


    He would be saved, but he was still in the intensive care unit. She could not rx until he could stand


    before her in one piece. Furthermore, she was the one who caused him agony and brought him down.


    "I''m sorry, Mr. Brown," she apologized abruptly.


    "Miss Reed, why the sudden apology?" Tom inquired while looking at her. He could not quite figure her


    out.


    She took a long breath and replied softly, "Toby is nearly dead due to my actions. ording to Rita,


    Asher was the one who started the fire. He holds a grudge against me and is upset with me since


    Paradigm took away his rights. It''s no wonder that after disliking me for so long, Asher will do


    something crazy like to kill me. However, he bears no ill will against Toby. I hurt Toby! He wouldn''t be in


    ICU if I didn''t take him to the factory."


    Tom sighed after staring at her for a time. "Please, Miss Reed, don''t do this. You didn''t injure President


    Fuller because you made him go to the factory. It was his request. We''re all aware of how much he


    adores and cares about you. Please don''t me yourself because he will never let you go alone. I don''t


    think President Fuller will me you either."


    A subordinate like me couldn''t do it if President Fuller didn''t me her.


    "I see what you''re saying, but I can''t let it go." Sonia smiled wryly.


    He remained motionless for a moment before saying, "If you can''t let it go, you should take care of your


    body right now. President Fuller will require months of recuperation. You must look for him to make


    amends for him throughout this time."


    Miss Reed should feel better in this scenario.


    "I know. It goes without saying." She nodded. After all, she injured Toby so severely that she could not


    ignore him any longer.


    "By the way, I have one more question. What happened when Toby broke his heart for the first time?


    Why did he want to keep it hidden from me? Tim stated that it urred a few months ago. What


    happened?" she inquired as her gaze fixed on Tom.


    Even though she could not see him, she knew he was nearby.


    "I¡­" he muttered while parting his lips.


    "Just tell her. I''ve already told her about Toby''s heart problem, so there''s no need to keep anything else


    from her. If you continue to conceal it, she will be much more shocked when she discovers itter," Tim


    stated calmly.


    Sonia clenched her hands into fists when she heard that. What does that imply? Based on what they


    suggest, it appears to have something to do with me again.


    "Do you remember when you and President Fuller slid off the cliff, Miss Reed?" Tom persuaded himself


    toe clean to her.


    He did not care if Toby med him when he awoke. It was because Tom believed Sonia deserved to


    know the truth. She must know what Toby had done for her. Keeping it from her was cruel not only to


    her but also to Toby.


    Tom was not sure whether they could be together indefinitely, which was the best-case situation.


    However, she would care more for Toby if she knew the truth. At the very least, she would not think that


    Toby had done nothing for her.


    "Yes." Sonia nodded. She would never forget the soul-stirring urrence.


    Why does Mr. Brown bring this up?


    Why does Mr. Brown bring this up?


    "Could the heart injury be caused by jumping down the cliff at that time?" she murmured before tensing


    up.


    "That''s urate," Tom verified her suspicion. "President Fuller''s heart was broken thest time he


    plunged from the cliff. He did, however, ask us not to say anything, especially to you and Old Mrs.


    Fuller. That''s why we kept it hidden from you."


    "I see. I see¡­" She then ridiculed, "That''s why I''ve always suspected him of harboring a secret from


    me. Why does he choose to keep such an important truth from me? I''m the one that caused him pain.


    Yes, it''s all my fault from the start. Whether it wasst time or this time, it''s my fault!" She hammered


    her wounded heart, feeling guilty and sorrowful.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Seeing her demeanor, Tom hurriedly stated, "Miss Reed, please don''t do this. President Fuller was


    keeping it from you because he knows how much you will me yourself. Although he jumped to save


    you at the time, he had always done so voluntarily, whether then or now. You did not request that he do


    so. Even if you were wrong, you only bear some me. Furthermore, he conceals it from you for a


    reason other than to keep you from feeling guilty and remorseful."


    "What exactly is it?" Her voice was as hoarse as it had been since she had awoken. The only


    difference was that the emotions disguised in the voice were far moreplex, intermingled with


    various levels of despair and self-me.


    "You and President Fuller had not reconciled at the time. If you knew he broke his heart to save you, it


    was pretty likely that you would reconcile with him to repay hispassion, but he didn''t want that.


    What he desired was your willingness to return to him, not your willingness to stay with him for


    atonement," Tom borated.


    Rita, like Sonia, covered her lips in amazement when these words were spoken. "President Fuller¡­


    He''s such a nice person."


    Sonia''s scarlet lips shook just a little. That''s right. The honest Toby is such a nice guy who thinks about


    others. Unfortunately, Tina kept the real him hidden for six years. As a result, I had to deal with the


    false Toby for six years.


    "I owe him far too much favor. I''m at a loss on how topensate him¡­" she whispered as she


    hunched over on the bed.


    Toby had made too many sacrifices for me, and I couldn''t keep track of it any longer. I''ll never be able


    to repay him!

 Chapter 1423

    Chapter 1423


    "Miss Reed," Tom called out to Sonia at that moment.


    At that, she raised her head to ''look'' at him.


    Then, he added, "If you can''t repay him, why not stay with President Fuller in this life? You can spend


    the next few decades repaying him."


    She realized he was giving her a way to reduce her stress. As a result, she took a deep breath and


    gathered herself. "That should go without saying."


    She stated that if she no longer had feelings for Toby or if he betrayed her, she would leave him.


    However, what he did for her rendered her unable to carry on with her n.


    Of course, she would not abandon him if he betrayed her one day. She would withdraw her emotions


    and cease to love him. Then, she had to be Mrs. Fuller rather than his wife. After all, she owed him for


    everything he had done for her.


    Tom smiled as he nodded in response to her words. "That''s all right. So, don''t think you can''t pay back


    your debt. It is sufficient for you to repay it with your entire life. I believe President Fuller will ept it."


    Oh, I work so hard for President Fuller''s happiness.


    "That''s all there is to it. Let''s not get into that right now. You already know what you need to know.


    Anyway, Toby is not going to die. He''ll be back on his feet in a year or two. Let us now discuss your


    eyes." Tim interrupted their conversation.


    Suddenly, Sonia had an unexinable terrible feeling after touching the gauze on her eyes. "What''s the


    matter with my eyes?"


    "Please, Dr. Lancaster¡­" Rita became terrified.


    She had previously lied to Sonia that her eyes were fine. However, the doctor was going to talk about


    her eyes now. Miss Reed will be aware that her eyes are more serious than she imagined. What


    will we do if she is unable to ept the blow?


    However, she misjudged Sonia''s mental fortitude.


    Tim''s statements,bined with Rita''s reaction, convinced Sonia that her eyes were not as fine as Rita


    imed. Something had to be wrong with those eyes.


    Still, Sonia remainedposed despite her disappointment. She was willing to take any awful news


    regarding her eyes, including blindness. As a result, she gave Rita a friendly smile. "Don''t be


    concerned. I can handle hearing about Toby''s heart trouble, and I''m sure my eyes aren''t as bad as a


    heart. So, Dr. Lancaster, tell me. I''m perfectly fine."


    The eyes were not a necessary organ, and it was possible to survive without them. However, one could


    not live without a heart. Unlike the heart, Sonia could ept any news about her eyes.


    After hearing her words, Rita was reassured and allowed Tim to continue his task. After that, she


    bowed apologetically to him. "I apologize, doctor. I was far too rash. You may continue speaking."


    Tim then gave her a chilly stare and disregarded her. Rita should be grateful that she works for Sonia.


    Otherwise, based on her rudeness to me earlier, I would have plenty of methods to deal with her.


    Meanwhile, Rita felt a chill rising from her feet to the top of her head for some reason. She could not


    stop shivering from the cold.


    "Because your eyes have been heavily exposed to the smoke, your retina has experienced significant


    damage. If the condition is mild, your vision might be clouded after we remove the gauze. To see, you


    must wear professional custom-made sses. Even if you can see clearly, it will not be as clear as


    normal vision."


    Sonia nodded quietly. "I see. So, if I wear sses, I can see. Then, I should be alright. I''m not blind."


    "Although you''re not, the likelihood of you going blind increases with time," he added.


    Her smile came to a halt as she heard that.


    Tom and Rita, too, turned solemn.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    However, Sonia quickly restored her smile. "It''s fine. Being blind isn''t a significant concernpared to


    Toby''s position."


    "You can heal with surgery," Tim stated abruptly.


    Sonia remained silent as her lips twitched. "Can I recover my eyesight through surgery even though I''m


    blind?"


    He gave a nomittal nod. "You''ll need a new cornea."


    "So, it''s not lifelong blindness as it is treatable." She smiled wryly.


    He snapped his fingers. "That''s correct."


    "Hmph!" Sonia burst outughing helplessly. So, why didn''t heplete his sentence right away? Why


    does he insist on keeping the terms separate?! It frightened me!


    Sonia, Tom, and Rita all wanted to hit Tim as well. When did the doctor develop such an awful taste?


    Isn''t he an emotionally deficient man? It no longer appears to be the case.


    "Dr. Lancaster," Tom piped up.


    Tim gazed at him as he heard that.


    Tom paused for a few seconds before saying what he was thinking, "I notice you''re bing more like


    a regr person today."


    The inference was that he progressively began to experience the feelings that normal people did.


    Tim was no moron. On the contrary, he was astute. Though Tom phrased it cryptically, he understood


    the hidden meaning.


    Tim was no moron. On the contrary, he was astute. Though Tom phrased it cryptically, he understood


    the hidden meaning.


    As a result, Tim was taken aback. D-Do I appear to be acting normally? He lowered his gaze and said,


    "I have something to do, so I''ll excuse myself. Please let me know if you require anything."


    He was returning to his office. He wanted to reflect if he was growing more like a normal person. As


    such, he departed quickly, and Tom and Sonia both understood why.


    Rita did not get it, but she did not care because she did not know who he was. Therefore, she did not


    want to ask any further questions. "Don''t be concerned, Miss Reed. Yesterday, the nurse informed me


    about your eyes. I''ve sent someone to the organ bank to look for a cornea. Please be rest assured.


    The cornea is not as umon as the interior organs."


    Sonia muttered, "I understand. I apologize for bothering you."


    "It''s nothing. President Fuller will want me to do it when he wakes up, so I might as well do it now.


    Perhaps I''ll earn a bonus when he awakes," Tom added, smiling and raising his sses.


    He purposefully said thest sentence to lighten the mood as he did not want the atmosphere to


    remain tense.


    Sonia understood, so sheughed instead of disappointing him before remaining silent.


    There were no more voices in the ward until the nurse came in with food.


    Tom raised his wrist to check his watch and discovered it was gettingte. "Please enjoy your meal,


    Miss Reed. I''ll return to the Fuller Group as they require my services. I''ll returnter to visit you and


    President Fuller."


    Sonia nodded in agreement. "You are free to leave now. For Toby, I¡ª"


    "Please wait a few days if you wish to see President Fuller. You can''t see anything, and no one is


    allowed to enter his ward. When he has the operation in a few days, you can stay outside the operating


    room until it is finished. You can stay with him if the doctor allows visitors," he stated.


    She agreed as she nodded. "Okay, you''re right. I''m currently blind and unable to care for myself or him.


    Even just visiting him will cause him problems. It''s over if I cause him any more of that."


    "It''s great that you believe that. I''ll take my leave."


    He then bowed to her and walked away.

 Chapter 1424

    Chapter 1424


    After Tom left, Sonia began eating with the nurse and Rita''s help.


    The brunch the nurse bought for her was nd to the degree that it was only a little salty andcked


    other interesting tastes. After all, she had topromise with limited food options since her current


    condition forbade her to eat nothing but nd food.


    She did not have anyints about the tasteless food. She was well aware of the importance of


    following the doctor''s advice and taking care of her body for the time being.


    She could go to Toby''s side and take care of him as soon as possible, but only if she recovered sooner.


    Sonia needed him. Indeed, she would not deny the fact that she needed him instead of the other way


    around.


    Toby could have avoided the pain and misfortune if it had not been for Sonia implicating him.


    She had to see for herself that he was recovering. Or else, she could never forgive herself. That was


    the reason why she needed him.


    "Yikes! I can''t believe I forgot to ask Tom how Asher got arrested in the first ce." In the middle of


    brunch, she pped her thigh hard suddenly as realization btedly dawned on her.


    However, Tom had left a while ago.


    Rita found Sonia''s behavior amusing. "President Reed, don''t fret. He''ll be visitingter and you can ask


    him then. Besides, Asher was only arrested not long ago. The police are still interrogating him on his


    methods and motives. By that time, he could brief you on the results in one go, and you could avoid


    wasting your time."


    "You''re right." Sonia nodded, agreeing with Rita''s words. Thus, she put the thought aside and


    continued having her food.


    Asher was apprehended and he couldn''t get out of jail for the time being, anyway. She could always


    ask about his situation sometimeter.


    It turned out she had the right guess.


    Just when she finished brunch, the representative of the police approached her. It was the civilian


    police officer fromst night.


    Learning from Tom that Sonia was awake, the officer visited her to record her statement. After all, she


    was the victim. ording to their procedure, the police were bound to ask her a few questions.


    "Good afternoon, Miss Reed," the officer greeted her before taking a seat next to her bed.


    She cast a slight nod in his direction. "Good afternoon to you too."


    "How are you doing, Miss Reed?" he expressed his concerns about her health.


    She smiled. "My lungs still hurt, and I''m suffering from a vision problem. Apart from that, I''m doing just


    fine."


    "Get well soon, Miss Reed," the officer said.


    Sonia hummed a response. "Thank you. Are you here for Asher?"


    "Yes." He flipped open the notebook that he always carried and twisted open his fountain pen to record


    her statement. "First of all, Miss Reed, is there any animosity between you and Asher Dafoe?"


    She shook and nodded at the question. "We aren''t enemies, but he''s holding a grudge against me."


    "Can you borate on that?"


    "He''s about my father''s age. My father is the founder of Paradigm. Indeed, my father worked with a few


    people including Asher at the beginning of its establishment. He''s even considered one of the founding


    members. However, he didn''t invest in the start-up funds when thepany was building its foundation


    nor was he good in management and technology. Therefore, my father gave him a small number of


    shares for his hard work even though hecked contribution to thepany. Asher has always deeply


    resented my father since he thought he was credited with founding thepany and had made many


    contributions as he affirmed that he deserved more shares. Thus, he had been against my father over


    the decades back when my father was the president. My father never took any action to get rid of him


    as he saw Asher as apanion who had been through highs and lows with him."


    "What happened next?" the officer inquired.


    "Asher always desired more shares and full control of thepany. However, his efforts had always


    been unsessful when my father was alive. Things took a turn for the worse after my father passed


    away. People bought out the shares, and Asher eventually became thergest shareholder, followed by


    obtaining thepany''s full control. Even though he had no real skills, he held Paradigm in one piece


    for another six years. Thus, I''ve always been grateful to him. Based on the same reason, I didn''t oust


    him from thepany after I took the role of the president."


    Pausing her story, she took a deep breath. "I regret it now. I should''ve chased him out of thepany


    and Seafield. Then, Toby and I could''ve avoided what happened to usst night."


    The man cleared his throat. Are you sure it''s wise to dere that you want to get rid of him right before


    me?


    Even so, he eventually decided not to say anything. After all, the woman in front of him barely made it


    out alivest night. He could understand that her words were mostly a whine after being caught in a


    life-and-death situation.


    As soon as the words left her, Sonia realized her words were inappropriate and cast him an apologetic


    smile. "Pardon me. Where are my manners?"


    "No big deal. Just be careful next time."


    "All right," she promised. After that, she continued, "Over thest six years, he had imposed his rules


    on thepany. Even though there were many shareholders, theycked the interest to manage the


    company considering its condition. Thus, Asher had been doing as he pleased. Therefore, he


    prioritized power and Paradigm''s management over other things and refused to let it go. If he had


    enough money in the first ce, he would''ve bought out the shares from other shareholders and


    obtained absolute control, then he could finally be the president."


    What Sonia meant by absolute control was when a shareholder held more than fifty percent of shares


    in totalpared to the other shareholders.


    What Sonia meant by absolute control was when a shareholder held more than fifty percent of shares


    in totalpared to the other shareholders.


    "However, Asher didn''t buy back the shares my father sold a few years ago. Instead, my grandfather, a


    friend, and Charles, the president of Lane Corporation, were buying back the shares in secret on my


    behalf. Half a year ago, I returned to thepany with an absolute majority."


    The officer nodded. The police knew the story well enough. Before they visited Sonia, they had


    investigated her background.


    "I returned to thepany at the same time while he was away on a business trip abroad. Otherwise, I


    couldn''t have made it back to thepany without any obstacles because he would''ve taken


    advantage of myck of professional knowledge and stopped me frompeting with him for power,


    even though I had absolute control. However, I wasn''t aware of his ambition at that time. Even more, I


    felt bad returning as his superior after he worked hard to sustain thepany for years. After all, he


    was a senior and contributed much to thepany''s survival. Therefore, I temporarily chose the


    position of the vice president out of respect and waited for his return so we could proceed with a


    discussion about the change of position."


    "He didn''t agree with your offer?" he asked.


    She nodded. "That''s right. He had shown me nothing but animosity once he came back. Even more, he


    asked me to hand over the authority, but I refused. However, he had many supporters in thepany


    during that time. I eventually handed over half of my power to avoid fighting them head-on. At the same


    time, I took the president''s position without discussion. It brought his dissatisfaction with me to a whole


    new degree and aggravated our conflict. After that, he had been caught in an unfavorable position all


    the time when we had different opinions. Thus, he resented me more, which I guess he could no longer


    tolerate my presence and attempted to get rid of me."


    The officer wrote down his story before shutting his notebook. "That''s all I need to know."


    "Toby has nothing against Asher. He''s only there because I implicated him." Sonia emphasized while


    looking in his direction. "If anything, Toby lent me a hand when I waspeting with Asher for the


    company. Thus, I think Asher holds some grudge against Toby."


    Asher told the same thing to the police before.


    The officer rose to his feet. "All right. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Reed. I won''t keep you any


    longer. I''m heading back to the station to present your statement to my colleagues."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "Wait." She stopped him from leaving.

 Chapter 1425

    Chapter 1425


    The officer stopped in his tracks. "Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Reed?"


    "Is there any update on Asher?" asked Sonia.


    Since the officer was here, she did not see a reason not to seek an answer from him.


    He was not nning to hide the truth from her. After all, she was the victim, so she had the right to


    learn the suspect''s current status.


    "We put him in custody for the time being. We have just done the first interrogation on him," he replied.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She inquired, "Did you ask him how he set the firest night?"


    "Of course." He took a seat the second time. "Based on his statement, he had always wanted full


    control over Paradigm, but his efforts were wasted every time. The taste of defeat irritated him, and he


    wouldn''t ept his fate. Thus, after going through the inner conflict over and over again, he decided to


    lay a hand on you. The reason behind it was the same as what you told us."


    "I see." She nodded.


    He continued, "Asher eventually decided to get rid of you a month ago. He thought that once you were


    dead, he could regain control of thepany. Even more, he could transfer your shares to his name by


    pulling a few strings."


    The feeling of nausea surged within her. Is full control of thepany not enough for him? He even


    covets my shares. What a shameless man!


    Truth be told, when the officer first heard the statement from Asher, he found it both ridiculous and


    incredulous.


    Sonia and Asher were not blood-rted. Although he could pull a few strings to obtain her shares, the


    outside world would end up suspecting him. After all, it was already questionable when a man received


    the shares of his enemy.


    "Based on his statement, he has nned many scenarios to kill you and make it look like an ident


    over thest month. However, since you almost go to the same three ces every day, he never


    seeded with either n untilst night. He learned from one of your factory manager''s subordinates


    that you were visiting the factory at night. He knew his opportunity hade. He spent some money on


    hiring a group of gangsters and asked them to prepare gallons of gasoline. Then, the group would wait


    in the factory for an ambush. Once you and President Fuller arrived, they would leave their hiding spot


    and pour the gasoline around the factory before they set it on fire."


    "I see." She clenched her fists.


    "As for President Fuller, Asher told us that he met you yesterday when you and President Fuller left the


    company in the afternoon, so he knew President Fuller would apany you to the factory. As you


    said, Asher is holding a grudge against President Fuller. After he pondered for a while, he decided to


    kill both of you."


    "He''s insane," she spoke through gritted teeth. Anger was written all over her delicate face. "Did he


    think he could get away with murdering us? His n was sloppy. Or else, he wouldn''t get arrested right


    after that."


    "You''re right. He formted the n without deliberation since it wasst minute. Thus, he left his


    traces behind. Besides, he thought you were probably dead in the fire, so he got carried away. He even


    used his private vehicle when he went to the factory to watch the scene and ended up leaving the tire


    tracks. The tire tracks helped us to track him down after that. Once we found him, the rest were less


    difficult. Atst, we arrested him, the gangsters he bribed, and the manager''s subordinate."


    Learning that all the people involved were arrested, Sonia sighed in relief as happiness bloomed inside


    her heart. "That''s good to hear. Thank you very much."


    "I''m d to be of help," the officer replied.


    She cast him a grateful smile. "May I know how long he will be sentenced based on the crimes he


    committed?"


    "He''s charged with arson and intentional homicide. Even though it was only an attempted murder and


    ineligible for the death penalty, the two charges are odious crimes. My guess is it''ll be around for more


    than ten years or a life sentence. You''ll have to wait for the court''s decision for a concrete answer," he


    answered after pondering for a moment.


    She nodded. "All right. I get it."


    ¡°Any more questions?¡±


    "No. Thank you."


    "No problem. I''ll be on my way. For the next several days, the police mighte over for a better


    understanding of the case. Please answer them truthfully."


    "I will."


    "President Reed, I''ll see him off." Rita gauged Sonia''s response.


    Sonia waved to approve. "Go on."


    Then, the two left. Sitting on the bed, she digested the information the officer poured into her head a


    while ago, which was the final judgment on Asher.


    She was well aware that he would not get a death sentence, and she had no trouble epting the


    truth. After all, Toby and she made it out alive. Although Asher attempted to murder them, as long as


    the victim was alive, the murderer would never be sentenced to death.


    However, it was possible to sentence him to life imprisonment. She remembered the officer telling her


    that another possibility was he could be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment. If so, she could never


    be satisfied with the verdict.


    After all, it was a near-death experience for Toby. She would not be happy to see Asher not getting the


    life imprisonment he deserved.


    Just as she was lost in her thoughts, the ringing phone caught her attention.


    Coming back to her senses, she extended her pair of hands in the direction of the ringtone and fiddled


    with the surface. She reached for her phone, which was ced on the bedside table, without difficulty.


    However, as she had trouble using her eyes at the moment, she could not tell who the caller was.


    Using her memory, she answered the call and asked, "Hello, this is Sonia. May I ask who''s calling?"


    She was greeted by a few seconds of silence before a familiar voice spoke, "Sonia, it''s me. I just talked


    to you yesterday. How could you forget me so quickly?"


    She was greeted by a few seconds of silence before a familiar voice spoke, "Sonia, it''s me. I just talked


    to you yesterday. How could you forget me so quickly?"


    It was none other than Zane.


    She chuckled. "I''m sorry. I didn''t look at the caller ID."


    She did not n to tell anyone about what happened to her and Tobyst night to avoid drawing any


    attention to them.


    He did not doubt her words either. After all, he could rte to that. Some people tended to ignore the


    caller ID when they were preupied with a task at hand.


    "Don''t fret. It isn''t a big deal." On the other side of the phone, Zane, who just got home from visiting the


    rural area, alighted from the car.


    Lenny and Dous were weing him at the entrance with dropped jaws when they recognized his


    new look. What''s going on? What happened to him? Why did he have skin as dark as coal? Did he just


    come back from the beach or what?


    "By the way, Sonia. I''m back in Seafield." Zane grinned as he talked to her, showing his teeth.


    His ebony skin entuated his white teeth to the degree that his teeth were reflecting light under the


    contrast.


    Lenny and Dous did not dare look straight at him. He looks shabby. He used to be a handsome


    man. Now, he''s kind of¡­ sleazy.


    "I know. I got your message yesterday telling me that you''reing back. Wee back." She gave


    him a sincere reply.


    He walked into the house. "Are you free? Do you want toe out for dinner? It''s for weing me


    back."


    But don''t bring Toby. He''s a jerk. In thought, he added.


    She sighed, "I''m afraid I must decline, Zane. I''m out of town at the moment, so I can''t have dinner with


    you. It''ll have to wait."


    "You''re out of town?" He was taken aback by the answer before he asked, "Where are you?"


    "Toby is going on a business trip abroad while I follow him. He remarked that broadening my horizon


    around the world can help me in managing thepany. Thus, I agreed with him. It was ast-minute


    decision, and we departedst night. I''m sorry." She hung her head, both guilty and apologetic for


    having to lie to him, and it was shown on her face.


    It was wrong to lie to others.


    The corners of Zane''s lips twitched in disappointment. "Well, it''s fine with me. I''ll wait for you¡ªI''ll wait


    for both of you to return. Then, I''ll treat the two of you to dinner."


    "Sure. There''s no way I would say no." She nodded with a faint smile stretching across her face as a


    decision formed in her mind.


    I''ll bring him some presents then. I want to make up for lying to him.

 Chapter 1426

    Chapter 1426


    After Sonia agreed to meet up for dinnerter, Zane felt the disappointment in his heart finally


    dissipating into nothing.


    Then, he seemed to recall something and asked, "By the way, on my way back today, I saw an article


    online stating that the president of yourpany was arrested. What happened?"


    He hadn''t had the time to inquire with the police regarding that incident. Neither did he have the chance


    to read the statement that Paradigmter released.


    Therefore, all he knew about the incident was limited to the fact that Asher had been arrested this


    morning.


    "It''s like this... Asher has always been dissatisfied with the fact that Paradigm is under my control. As a


    result, he burned down the newly built factory in a fit of rage." Sonia gave a concise answer.


    He clicked his tongue in displeasure. "He has gone insane. I can''t believe hemitted arson over


    something like that. There''s definitely something wrong with his brain. Oh, right. Were any of your


    employees at the factory injured?"


    Her eyes shed slightly at the line of question. Still, she remained calm and answered, "No. It was not


    operating yet, so nobody was at the factory then."


    "That''s a relief. Do you need my help with Asher''s sentence?" he suggested.


    Zane had a career inw enforcement. After his return from histest inspection in the countryside, he


    was bound to receive a promotion that would allow him to pull some strings in court.


    To be honest, Sonia felt tempted when she heard those words. After all, she wanted Asher kept behind


    bars forever.


    However, she eventually squashed that temptation like a bug and reluctantly rejected his offer. "No,


    thank you. I will let nature run its course."


    She did not wish to owe him another favor.


    When he heard her reply, he outwardly agreed with her but secretly decided to pull some strings in


    court anyway.


    Besides, it would only take a few words from him.


    "Okay, then," Zane replied with a nonchnt shrug.


    She yawned. "Hey, Zane, I''m going to hang up now. I just arrived overseas and have been suffering


    from jeg, so I''m exhausted right now. Let''s chat againter."


    He didn''t think too deeply about her excuse and nodded in eptance. "Okay. I won''t disturb you any


    longer. Have a good rest. I will pick you up at the airport when you return."


    "Sure," she replied with an awkward twitch of her lips.


    After Sonia hung up, she ced her phone beside her pillow and adjusted the nkets around her for


    a nap.


    Her body had yet to recoverpletely, and she had been awake for a long time. Coupled with her


    excessive mood swings earlier, she was absolutely dead tired.


    Her statement earlier was not just an excuse to end the phone call with Zane.


    She genuinely wanted to take a nap.


    It was already nighttime when she woke up from her nap.


    Needless to say, she could not see, so it was the nurse who told her the time.


    The nurse also informed her that Tom had visited her around 6.00PM. She had been sleeping at the


    time, so he only stayed for a short while before he left to visit Toby instead. He left a message saying


    that he would visit her again once she was awake.


    Sonia ate the food that the nurse brought for her and nodded slightly to indicate that the message was


    well-received.


    After that, the nurse called Tom over.


    Tom arrived shortly, and the first words that came out of his mouth as soon as he entered the room


    were words of concern for her health.


    Once Sonia answered that she was feeling better than before, he finally got down to business. "Miss


    Reed, did the police tell you about Asher''s current situation, criminal activities, and motive during the


    day?"


    She nodded as she said lightly, "They did. I''ve understood the general situation."


    "Then, I won''t say more." He adjusted his sses as he continued their discussion, "What I can tell


    you, Miss Reed, is the current situation at the factory."


    "Tell me." She ''stared'' at him.


    It was only natural for her to wonder about the current condition of the factory.


    She poured her blood, sweat, and tears into building that factory. Not only did she run around various


    ces in the country and abroad, but she also waited for a long time before she finally managed to


    build it from the ground up.


    It was not an exaggeration to say that the factory was her baby.


    Everything in the factory had probably been destroyed in the fire.


    Her mood fell at the thought.


    Tom noticed the droop of her shoulders and quicklyforted her, "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. The


    factory is fine."


    "The factory is¡­ fine?" Sonia was momentarily stunned, then she immediately became overjoyed.


    "Really?"


    "I''m serious." He nodded. "As the factory was built from an almost all-metal structure during the initial


    construction, the fire did not spread into the factory. However, the external power lines and waterways


    were destroyed by the fire. The external metal walls of the building have also been burnt ck. It will


    cost a fortune to clean up the damage. We might even need to rece the outer walls. Of course, we


    will only know the specific details once a professional architect has inspected the site."


    "So, you''re saying that only the external power lines, waterways, and outer metal walls suffered heavy


    damages? There were no damages to the factory''s interior, including the machinery, I hope? None of


    that was damaged, right?" She clenched her fists tightly in agitation.


    He nodded and gave an affirmative response, "That''s right."


    "That''s wonderful!" Sonia was ecstatic. "I thought that everything was gone for good! What an


    unexpected stroke of luck! I can''t believe that only external power lines, waterways, and outer metal


    walls were affected!"


    What was the most important thing inside the factory?


    The answer was the heavy equipment and machinery stored inside the factory.


    Compared to the equipment and machinery, the external power lines, waterways, and outer metal walls


    were not worth mentioning at all.


    She would only need to hire professional plumbing and electrical experts for the external power lines


    and waterways to reconnect the pathways. The same was true for the outer walls. She would only need


    to hire a professional construction team to rece them. For her, these were minor issues. The only


    problem was that the repairs would cost her a pretty penny.


    Inparison, she would face far more problems than just the repair costs if the fire had destroyed the


    machinery. Not only would she need to travel overseas to re-order and purchase these machines


    again, but she would also be ced on the waiting list if the supplier had too many orders to fulfill.


    The shortest waiting period would be several months, but if she was unlucky, she might even have to


    wait as long as a year or two.


    The shortest waiting period would be several months, but if she was unlucky, she might even have to


    wait as long as a year or two.


    In short, the destruction of the machinery would cost her more than just money. It would also cost her


    precious time.


    Therefore, she was extremely thankful that she had chosen to construct the factory with an all-metal


    structure. Her current losses would not have been so minimal otherwise.


    "Miss Reed, do you need my help to arrange for the professional plumber, electrician, and construction


    team to start making repairs on the factory?" Tom inquired.


    Sonia shook her head. "No need, Mr. Brown. I can just leave these matters to Rita. These matters are


    not difficult, so there''s no need for you to take action. With Toby in his current condition, I assume that


    the affairs of the entire Fuller Group are weighing down on your shoulders. You''re already exhausted or


    on your way there, so I won''t trouble you with such trivial matters."


    "Okay." He nodded and didn''t insist on it, as it was true that he was swamped with paperwork.


    She pursed her red lips and asked, "Has Toby''s condition improved?"


    Frankly, she knew that her question was stupid. Only a few short hours had passed; how could Toby''s


    condition improve?


    Nevertheless, she couldn''t stop herself from asking and hoping for a miracle.


    She simply wanted reassurance.


    Of course, Tom knew what was on her mind, so he followed her lead and answered. "President Fuller''s


    condition has improved slightly. Furthermore, the results of his electrocardiogram show that his


    condition has stabilized. It is no longer fluctuating as wildly as it was during the day."


    "Good. That''s good." She nodded. "You didn''t inform Grandma about Toby''s condition, right?"


    "I did not inform Old Mrs. Fuller." He shook his head.


    "Good. It''s better not to tell her about this matter. Grandma''s health has been declining recently. It


    might be a debilitating blow to her if we told her the truth," Sonia sighed wearily.


    She did not wish to hear about Rose''s demise just when Toby''s condition finally turned for the better.


    That would be too cruel.


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. I made sure to conceal that you and President Fuller were involved in an


    ident. Old Mrs. Fuller has poor stamina nowadays and generally lives in seclusion at the old manor.


    She will not inquire about news regarding you and President Fuller from outsiders, so it is not hard to


    conceal the truth from her."


    As for Jean...


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    There was no need to bother about her.


    As a stepmother, she could not constantly inquire about her stepson''s situation. That would only cause


    her to be criticized by others.


    It was not like she did not understand such subtleties, so it was not hard to conceal these matters from


    her either.


    "It''s good that we can conceal the truth for now, but when will the heart arrive?" Sonia asked anxiously


    while worrying her lip.


    That was what concerned her the most at this moment.


    She wanted Toby toplete his surgery and recover his health as soon as possible.

 Chapter 1427

    Chapter 1427


    "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. The heart is currently abroad. Our people are rushing through the formalities,


    and we shouldplete the procedures by the day after tomorrow. Of course, we will expedite the


    delivery as soon as weplete the necessary procedures." A cold gleam shed through Tom''s eyes.


    Unfortunately, Sonia failed to notice that little tidbit considering her currentck of sight. When she


    heard that the heart would arrive in the country the day after tomorrow, she heaved a huge sigh of


    relief.


    "Well then, Miss Reed, I won''t disturb your rest anymore. I''ll be taking my leave now."


    "Okay. Go ahead," she responded.


    Tom turned around and left the hospital ward.


    As soon as he left the room, he was slightly taken aback to see Tim leaning against the wall outside the


    ward. " Dr. Lancaster."


    "Can we talk?" Tim looked at Tom with a smile that did not reach his eyes.


    Tom nodded in cautious agreement.


    The two found a quiet area and stood facing each other.


    "You chose to end the carrier''s life in the end." The corner of Tim''s lips curved upward almost


    imperceptibly.


    Tom adjusted his sses in difort. "That''s right. In President Fuller''s current condition, he won''t be


    able tost any longer. But, on the other hand, the carrier only has a few more months left to live. I


    can''t afford to wait, so I followed your suggestion and chose to end his life for the sake of obtaining his


    heart. After all, to me, the carrier''s life does notpare to the life of President Fuller."


    "It''s true that I gave you the suggestion. However, I only mentioned it casually. I certainly did not expect


    you to do as I suggested. Will Toby agree with your decision? After all, your actions are considered


    immoral." Tim crossed his arms in front of his chest.


    Tom swallowed ufortably. "I will keep this matter a secret from President Fuller. Although


    President Fuller seems cold and uncaring on the surface, he is a kind andpassionate man. He is


    not the kind of man who would selfishly choose to take another person''s life in exchange for his own


    survival. That is why I won''t tell him about this matter. However, I am willing to receive any kind of


    punishment if he learns the truth one day."


    "What a good, loyal subordinate you are."


    "I am an orphan." He raised his head and looked at Tim with an unwavering gaze. "I grew up with the


    support of the Fuller Family ever since I was a child. Moreover, President Fuller personally chose me to


    be his right-hand man almost immediately after I graduated from university. My position in the


    entire Fuller Group is second only to him. He even gave me shares in thepany. Be it the Fuller


    Family or President Fuller, they have shown me great kindness. I have long since regarded President


    Fuller as my family, so I am willing to do anything for him. Besides, I am simply ending the life of a


    dying man in advance."


    Even if his conscience would be condemned for eternity due to his actions, he did not care.


    Tim shrugged carelessly. "Was that the will of the carrier?"


    "Yes. I did not conceal the truth from the carrier. Although I wish to end the carrier''s life, I am not so evil


    as to go ahead and kill him without any prior discussion and consent. I sent somebody to negotiate with


    him so that he would willingly ept euthanasia. The carrier has agreed to our proposal. He agreed to


    ept the terms as long as we gave his wife arge sum of money and ensured that his family would


    neverck money. I am very grateful to him. For that reason, I even gave his family an additional


    house," Tom exined detachedly.


    Tim raised his chin thoughtfully. "Fine. Since the other party has agreed to this, I will arrange an


    operating room immediately. I will make room for him in one of the operating rooms."


    "Thank you for your consideration, Dr. Lancaster." Tom bowed deeply.


    Tim stuffed his hands into the pockets of hisb coat. "You should thank Sonia instead. If not for the


    fact that Toby is her husband, I would not have been so proactive in arranging surgery for him."


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    After he said that, he strode away without a backward nce.


    Nheless, Tom turned in that direction and maintained his bow until Tim was out of sight.


    Time flew by quickly, and two days passed in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, the carrier overseas


    proceeded ording to their agreement and underwent euthanasia after bidding his family farewell.


    As soon as the carrier stopped breathing, the hospital abroad immediately removed his heart and


    performed the necessary procedures to keep the organ alive. Then, they urgently delivered the heart to


    Caruna.


    Tom immediately received a phone call as soon as he walked out the main entrance of the Fuller


    Group. Thus, he hastily rushed to the airport.


    He wanted to wait at the airport and safely escort the heart to the First World Hospital himself.


    Otherwise, he would not be able to rest easy.


    After all, this matter was rted to Toby''s life. Therefore, everything needed to go ording to n.


    Naturally, he did not forget to contact Sonia while he was on the way back to the hospital.


    Sonia was having the bandages removed from her eyes at this moment, but that did not stop her from


    blindly answering the phone. When she heard Tom saying that the heart would arrive in Caruna soon,


    she was so emotional that she couldn''t speak.


    Tim, who was removing the bandages for her, couldn''t help asking her about the situation when he saw


    her freeze with the phone in her hand. "What''s wrong?"


    She grabbed hisb coat and babbled excitedly, "The heart... The heart is on its way to Caruna and will


    arrive at the hospital in a few hours! Toby can have the surgery soon!"


    He was taken aback for a moment, then heughed. "No wonder you suddenly seemed so cheerful."


    "How can I not be happy? Toby will finally be saved!" She ended the call and continued excitedly, "Tom


    is rushing to the airport right now. He ns to wait there and safely escort the heart back. Dr.


    Lancaster..."


    "I know. I will send somebody to perform a physical examination on Toby. If he passes the physical


    examination, then I will perform surgery on him tonight," he knew what she wanted to say and


    interrupted her in the middle of her sentence.


    She nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Dr. Lancaster."


    "It''s nothing." He used a pair of scissors to cut away thest piece of bandage.


    Sonia was absolutely overjoyed and kept pestering him about the surgery.


    Sonia was absolutely overjoyed and kept pestering him about the surgery.


    For example, she asked about how long the surgery wouldst or whatplications might arise


    during surgery.


    After all, she couldn''t help feeling worried that something unexpected might ur during the procedure


    and cause it to fail.


    However, Tim informed her that the surgery''s sess rate was extremely high. As long as Toby''s


    physical condition met surgery requirements and the heart was a perfect match, there was practically


    zero chance of failure.


    Only then did she stop her constant questions.


    There was no helping it. It was her first time experiencing such matters with Toby, so she was


    inexperienced and ignorant. So,bined with her fear and anxiety, it was only natural for her to be


    filled with questions and concerns about Toby''s well-being.


    "Alright. Forget about Toby for now. Open your eyes and try looking around. Can you see anything?"


    He interrupted the confused thoughts in her heart.


    She cooperatively opened her eyes.


    When she first opened her eyes, she couldn''t help feeling strange and quickly closed her eyes again. A


    few seconds passed before she tried opening her eyes again.


    After she opened her eyes for a second time, the first thing that filled her vision was a bright white light.


    Then, as the white light faded away, she gradually became capable of seeing something.


    It was just that everything in her vision was blurry and unclear, as though everything had been


    censored with ayer of mosaic tiles. She could not clearly see any of the objects in her vision and


    could only guess what they were by their blurry outlines.


    "How is it? How is your vision?" Tim walked to the end of the hospital bed, stopped, and waved at her.


    "Can you see me? Can you see what I''m doing clearly?"


    She stared at him and blinked several times, trying to clear her vision.


    Finally, she gave up and shook her head in disappointment." I can''t see clearly. I can see that you are


    wearing white, but I can''t see your face or what you are doing clearly. I can only see that you are


    moving."


    He returned to her side. "If you can''t see clearly at such a close distance, your condition is far more


    serious than I expected. Okay, I''ve understood the general situation. I will thoroughly examine your


    eyes first, and then I will arrange for the people below to prepare some sses for you. You should be


    able to see clearly after that."


    "Okay, thank you." She smiled gratefully. "But can you prepare the sses quickly? I..."


    "You want to see Toby, right?"


    She nodded sheepishly. "That''s right. I have not seen him for the past two days, so I''ve been missing


    him. Now that the bandages around my eyes have been removed, I can''t wait to see him. Most


    importantly, he has surgery tonight. I want to stay by his side."


    If she couldn''t see clearly, how would she stay by his side?


    "Alright. I will inform the staff if that''s what you want." He readily agreed to her request without a fuss.


    Then, he instructed a nurse to help her into a wheelchair and bring her to where he would perform the


    optical examination.

 Chapter 1428

    Chapter 1428


    Sonia received her prescribed sses three hours after the eye examination.


    She had to hand it to Tim. He indeed had an eye for aesthetics.


    Earlier, he asked her if she had any preferences or requirements regarding the sses while he was


    filling out the necessary information for her prescription.


    She had been anxious to obtain her sses as soon as possible, so she simply imed that she had


    no preferences and allowed him to fill out the form as he pleased.


    She was afraid that the department working on her sses might not be able to prepare her sses in


    a short time if she had too many requirements. That was the real reason for her hasty answer.


    It was not because she was indifferent toward her appearance.


    Therefore, she ended up leaving all the decisions to Tim. She didn''t care whether the prescribed


    sses turned out to be hideous. At this moment, it didn''t even matter if they were beyond ugly. The


    most crucial point was that they could allow her to see clearly. Besides, she could simply get a new pair


    of ssester.


    Unexpectedly, Tim''s eye for aesthetics was perfect. The sses that he had prepared for her were


    gorgeous.


    He had prepared half-rimmed sses with delicate gold frames along the lower edges of the sses


    for her. The upper part wasn¡¯t framed, and both lenses wererge and round. Combined with two sexy


    anti-slip chains, she looked intelligent and refined when she wore them.


    She was stunned by her reflection in the mirror.


    She never imagined that she would be so suited to such elegance one day.


    "How is it? It looks good, right?" Tim leaned against the doorframe of her hospital ward and asked


    smugly.


    Sonia fiddled with the anti-slip chains hanging down the sides of her face. "Not bad. But why did you


    add these chains?"


    "Firstly, because it looks good. You gave me the right to choose the style of your sses. I couldn''t let


    you down, right?" He entered and stared at her reflection approvingly. "Secondly, because it''s the first


    time you''re wearing sses. You will need some time to get used to them. Not to mention, you have a


    small and delicate face shape. So, the sses might not stay on your face without sliding off. Hence, I


    added the chains to increase the weight of the sses and prevent them from slipping off."


    "I see." She nodded and touched the bridge of her nose. "You''re right. It''s my first time wearing


    sses, and I''m not used to the weight on my nose bridge. This spot feels very weird.''


    "You''ll get used to it." He stretched out his hand toward her.


    She understood his intentions, so she took off her sses and handed them to him. Unfortunately, her


    vision immediately became blurry again.


    He took the sses and examined them carefully. After he confirmed that there were no visible defects,


    he took out a piece of cloth to clean them. "I can get you special permission to skip the queue for


    corneal transntation surgery if you can''t get used to them."


    There was no shortage of corneas. After all, the cornea provided by a donor could be used to restore


    the eyesight of three to four people.


    In that case, why were there so many people in the world who could not wait for a perfect match?


    The reason was that there were too many visually impaired people in the world. Therefore, even


    without a shortage of corneas, they could not provide enough to supply every visually impaired person.


    That was why most people generally had to wait for the surgery to be done.


    If one stood at the front of the waiting list, then it would not take long for them to receive surgery. Yet, if


    they stood at the back of the waiting list, then they would have to wait for their turn. Some might even


    need to wait for several years before their turnes.


    Naturally, Sonia would also be ced on the waiting list.


    It was just that she could borrow the influence of the people around her to skip the queue and receive


    surgery as soon as possible.


    Still, she was not willing to abuse her friend''s connections. It was not like her eyes had gonepletely


    blind, so she could afford to wait for her turn.


    If she were to skip the queue for such selfish reasons, then it would be highly unfair to the others who


    had also genuinely lost their sight.


    Hence, she decided to wait.


    "Sometimes, it''s okay to be a little selfish." Tim returned the cleaned sses to her.


    She took the sses from him and wore them again. Her vision changed from blurry to crystal clear in


    an instant.


    She smiled and retorted, "If there''s no other choice and I was forced into a corner, then I might choose


    to be selfish. But I have not been backed into that desperate situation. I am probably luckier than most


    visually impaired people, so I won''t snatch away their opportunity to regain their eyesight. That would


    be immoral of me."


    "In that case, I''ll do as you wish." He shrugged and did not insist upon the issue. Then, he asked, "How


    is your vision? Can you see well?"


    "Yes." She nodded. "It''s clearer than before I had trouble with my eyesight."


    "That''s a relief."


    During their conversation, a nurse appeared outside the room. " Director Lancaster, President Fuller''s


    heart has arrived."


    As soon as Sonia heard those words, she immediately leaped up from the couch in excitement.


    She stood up too quickly, causing the anti-slip chains on both sides of her face to dance wildly. As a


    result, they pped her face painfully like a reminder to be careful.


    Nevertheless, she ignored the pain. All she could focus on was that Toby''s heart was finally here!


    "Dr. Lancaster." She quickly nced at Tim.


    Tim could read her like a book as he instructed the nurse, "Store the heart safely. We will make the


    necessary arrangements when the physical examination resultse out."


    "Okay." The nurse left to make the necessary arrangements.


    Sonia inquired anxiously, "When will the results of the physical examination be ready?"


    "It should be soon," Tim gave an uncertain answer.


    He had not paid attention to Toby''s physical examination, so he had no idea when the results would be


    done. That was why he could only give a vague answer.


    She chewed on her lip. "Can I wait there?"


    "You are free to go anywhere you want since your sight is back." He did not restrict her movements.


    She smiled gratefully and quickly ran out of his office.


    Sonia was not ustomed to the sses as this was her first time wearing them. The chains on both


    sides of her face danced wildly when she ran down the corridor, hitting her cheeks and neck painfully.


    Ultimately, she had no choice but to hold the two chains in ce. Only then did she prevent herself


    from feeling the sting of the chains against her skin.


    It didn''t take long for her to arrive at the appraisal room, where the physical examination results would


    be ready. When she saw that Tom was pacing back and forth, she called out to him.


    It didn''t take long for her to arrive at the appraisal room, where the physical examination results would


    be ready. When she saw that Tom was pacing back and forth, she called out to him.


    Tom turned around and saw the sses on her face, then he asked worriedly, "Miss Reed, can you see


    now?"


    "Yeah." She nodded.


    He seemed happy. "That''s great. Did you alsoe here to wait for the result of President Fuller''s


    physical examination?"


    "Yes. I wanted to know whether Toby could receive surgery tonight." She came to stand beside him.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    He inhaled deeply and confided, "Me too. That''s why I came here immediately as soon as the heart


    arrived."


    "Same here. I rushed here as soon as I heard that the heart had arrived," she said.


    They were the people who cared the most about Toby. So, it was only natural that they were concerned


    about whether he could undergo surgery as soon as possible.


    After that, Sonia and Tom did not speak again. Instead, they simply waited quietly for the results to be


    out.


    After they had waited for approximately half an hour, the results were finally put together.


    The results indicated that Toby was in good health and could immediately undergo surgery.


    As soon as Sonia read those words, she felt tears swimming in her eyes. She was truly over the moon.


    The same was true for Tom. He clutched the report tightly, feeling so emotional that his eyes reddened


    with tears.


    Afterward, they went to Tim''s office to inform him about the results so that he could prepare for the


    surgery tonight.


    To their surprise, the one who opened the door was not Tim but one of his nurses. "Please rest


    assured, Director Lancaster was informed of the results earlier. He has already gone to rest in the


    lounge, and the surgery will take ce on time tonight."


    There were several more hours until night. Moreover, there was no saying how long the surgery would


    last.


    That was why Tim had to rest to ensure that he had enough stamina for the surgery tonight.


    The reason Sonia and Tom came to the office was not only to inform Tim about the results of Toby''s


    physical examination but also to ensure that he got enough rest.


    For that reason, they both breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the nurse saying that he had


    already gone to rest.


    Sonia exchanged a nce with Tom when they walked out of Tim''s office. "Mr. Brown, you should also


    get some rest. Your eyes are extremely bloodshot. I''m sure you didn''t get enough rest recently."


    Tom rubbed his eyes in fatigue. "I barely had time to rest over the past few days. After President


    Fuller''s ident, I had to travel back and forth between the hospital and thepany. So, I didn''t have


    any time to rest."


    "All the more reason to take this opportunity to get some shut-eye."


    "No. I want to apany President Fuller during the surgery."


    "Toby''s surgery will only take ce at night. There are a few more hours to go. You have not been


    resting well recently. How will you have the energy to apany himter?" she scolded him


    disapprovingly. "You should go and get some rest."


    His sluggish brain thought it over, and he felt that her words made sense. Hence, he did not refuse her


    suggestion and nodded in agreement. "What about you, Miss Reed?" Tim asked.

 Chapter 1429

    Chapter 1429


    "I want to visit Toby first, and then I''ll get some restter." Sonia scratched her ears.


    She couldn''t help being unustomed to the feeling since she had just started wearing sses. It had


    only been a while, and her ears were already ufortable.


    "I haven''t gone to visit him yet," she added.


    Tom was surprised. "Miss Reed, you haven''t visited President Fuller yet?"


    She shook her head. "The bandages around my eyes were just removed this morning, but my vision


    wasn''t clear, and I couldn''t see well. That''s why I didn''t visit him. I wanted to see him after I received my


    sses. Fortunately for me, I learned that the heart had arrived as soon as I received my sses. So, I


    came here to wait for Toby''s physical examination results."


    At the time, what concerned her the most was whether Toby could undergo surgery as soon as


    possible.


    He nodded to indicate his understanding. "Alright, then. You should go, Miss Reed. I will book a room


    at one of the hotels nearby and get some rest for now. I''ll returnter."


    "Okay. Have a good rest." She waved him away.


    After Tom departed to the nearest hotel, she did not stand around and headed straight for the ICU.


    Toby had not left the ICU ward. ording to the nurses, he had not regained consciousness during the


    past two days and remained in aa.


    Sonia came to stand outside of Toby''s ICU ward and stared at the unmoving man through the ss.


    Toby was wearing a hospital gown. However, the hospital gown was wide open, exposing his entire


    chest.


    His usually muscr chest was covered in electrical patches at the moment. However, that was not all,


    as even his temples were covered in electrical patches. Those were ced to ensure that his


    consciousness remained and prevent him from falling into a vegetative state.


    That was why these electrical patches would release minor electrical shocks at regr intervals to


    stimte his consciousness.


    She did not know whether he was in pain because of these minor shocks, but she was sure they were


    highly ufortable.


    She slowly pressed her palms against the ss and pressed her forehead tightly against the ss. Her


    tears silently flowed down her cheeks as she stared at him in silence.


    She remained in that position until a nurse came for her and brought her back to her ward an hourter.


    "Chairman Reed." When Sonia returned to the hospital ward, she discovered that Rita had already


    been waiting there for some time.


    She carefully removed her sses, used a tissue to dry her eyes before wearing them again, and gave


    Rita a strained smile. "You''re here."


    "Yes. I came to give you a report on the work progress of thest two days." Rita nodded. Then, she


    carefully studied Sonia''s eyes. "Chairman Reed, how is your sight?"


    "It''s fine. But I need to wear these sses. Otherwise, my vision resembles the censored version of


    mosaic tiles."


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    The words ''censored version of mosaic tiles'' amused Rita to no end.


    Sonia couldn''t help feeling exasperated. From her point of view, her vision without the sses was


    indeed no different from the censored version of mosaic tiles.


    "In any case, it''s great that you can see again, Chairman Reed." Rita offered her sincere


    congrattions.


    Sonia sat by the edge of the hospital bed and beckoned for Rita to take a seat.


    "From tomorrow onward, you can bring some urgent documents that need my approval. Now that I''m


    once again capable of sight, I can start reading through them instead of leaving them to umte


    further."


    "Okay," Rita responded. Then, she gave a sinct report on the situation at Paradigm over thest two


    days.


    Sonia felt relieved to hear that Paradigm was operating smoothly in her absence.


    After she regained consciousness, she left thepany in Rita''s capable hands.


    Although Rita was a novice, she was a dab hand at managing thepany. But, at the very least,


    there had been no trouble at thepany.


    "But Asher''s men seem restless." Rita nced at Sonia.


    Sonia frowned in displeasure. "Oh? Have they begun causing trouble?"


    "No." Rita shook her head as she continued, "Asher was their leader. Now that their leader is gone,


    they are nothing more than small fry. The most they can do is cause some minor disturbances, but they


    won''t dare to actually cause any significant trouble. They are nning to rescue Asher. Over the past


    two days, they have approached me and asked me to contact you. But I have been ignoring them."


    Sonia sneered coldly, "Are they actually trying to rescue Asher after what he did? Are they fools?


    Leaving aside the fact that Ashermitted deliberate murder, just the fact that he deliberately caused


    arson is reason enough to deny him bail. Unless they have a background like Toby''s family, everything


    else is just wishful thinking. I can''t believe they had the nerve to even visit me. They probably just want


    me toe forward and intercede on behalf of Asher so that he has arger chance of getting out of


    prison."


    "That''s right. They also imed that Asher is your uncle who has contributed greatly to Paradigm, so


    you shoulde forward and plead on his behalf."


    "Hah! Here we have fools dreaming instead of epting reality. Ignoring them was the right move."


    "But those people will definitely be restless over time. They will probably try to stir up some


    trouble if we don''t give them what they want."


    "Don''t worry. Just like you said earlier, they are a bunch of headless chickens without Asher taking the


    lead. I have ways to deal with them, but I won''t make a move for the time being."


    Rita frowned in confusion. "So, I should just leave them alone?"


    "Send Charles over to deal with them. Charles is the director of Paradigm, after all. He has the


    authority toe forward and handle such matters when both the vice president and I are absent,"


    Sonia said.


    Rita felt that the suggestion made sense. "In that case, I will contact President Ler so that he will


    get rid of those people on Paradigm. Speaking of President Lane, he has been contacting me to inquire


    about your situation over thest two days."


    Sonia lifted her chin. "I expected that. He called me, but I didn''t answer his phone call. I grew up with


    him, so I don''t think I can lie to him. I''m sure he will see through my lies in an instant. That''s why I didn''t


    dare to answer his phone call. If he couldn''t contact me, he would surely contact you instead. What did


    he say? Did he ask about Asher''s termination two days ago?"


    "Yes, he inquired about that. He is the director of thepany, after all. He can''t just ignore the


    situation, especially after such a major incident. He inspected the factory in person and even


    mentioned that he wanted to meet Asher face-to-face."


    "Yes, he inquired about that. He is the director of thepany, after all. He can''t just ignore the


    situation, especially after such a major incident. He inspected the factory in person and even


    mentioned that he wanted to meet Asher face-to-face."


    "What? Meet Asher?" Sonia grew anxious at the news. "Did he manage to see Asher?"


    If Charles had gone to see Asher, then what happened to Toby and her was as good as revealed.


    Rita shook her head. "Don''t worry, Chairman Reed. President Lane failed to meet Asher. The police


    temporarily forbid anybody from meeting Asher to prevent outside factors from affecting his trial. I


    heard that it was Tom''s suggestion."


    Sonia breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. What did Charles say when he contacted you?"


    "He wasn''t very open. He mainly wanted to know your whereabouts and why he couldn''t contact you.


    After all, the situation involving Asher is a mystery to most of the public. Not many people know the


    truth behind those incidents, so he probably wanted to know the details," Rita exined.


    Sonia sighed as she felt a headache forming. "I will contact him personally after Toby''s surgery."


    In any case, there was nothing for her to worry about once the surgery was sessful.


    Toby had yet to undergo surgery. So, she did not dare to reveal the slightest hint about their situation,


    considering his numerous enemies.


    It was not that she did not trust Charles. On the contrary, she did not trust the world with the news.


    After all, loose lips sink ships.


    "President Fuller''s surgery?" Rita''s eyes brightened. "Can President Fuller proceed with the procedure


    now?"


    "That''s right. The heart has been delivered to the hospital, and the surgery will take ce tonight."


    Sonia grinned happily at the mention of this topic.


    How joyous.


    Rita looked at the smile on Sonia''s face and sincerely felt happy for the other woman. "That''s great."


    "That''s right. This is the happiest I''ve felt over the past few days." Sonia touched her chest as she


    smiled softly.


    At this moment, the phone rang.


    She took out her phone and nced at the screen. It was the private detective she hired a few days


    ago, so she quickly answered the call, "Hello."


    The other party on the phone said something, causing her expression to change drastically. "What?


    Okay... I understand. Thank you. I will transfer the rest of the payment to you."


    When Rita saw the ugly expression on Sonia''s face, she hurriedly asked in concern, "What happened,


    Chairman Reed?"


    Sonia did not answer immediately. Instead, she pursed her lips and pondered over something for some


    time. Eventually, she clenched her phone tightly and exined. "I previously asked the private


    investigator to search for Miss Daphne''s whereabouts."


    "Has he found her?" Rita quickly probed.


    Sonia nodded and made a sound of confirmation. "He found her. Miss Daphne has not gone overseas.


    On the contrary, she has been imprisoned."


    "Imprisoned?!" Rita eximed in shock.

 Chapter 1430

    Chapter 1430


    Sonia neither confirmed nor denied the statement.


    Rita swallowed the scream bubbling in her throat as she questioned in disbelief, "How could she have


    been imprisoned? Who imprisoned her? But I saw Miss Daphne walking around just a few days ago.


    Could it be that she was imprisoned before I met her?"


    "No. Miss Daphne had already been imprisoned when she submitted her resignation." Sonia pursed


    her lips.


    Rita turned pale with horror. "She has been imprisoned since she submitted her resignation?"


    "Yes."


    "No wonder¡­ No wonder Miss Daphne wanted to resign. No wonder she lied and tried to deceive us


    by saying that she went to further her studies abroad. It''s because she had been imprisoned and could


    not tell anybody the truth! She was probably worried that she might drag others down with her." Rita


    spected. "Did she offend somebody badly? Is that why she was imprisoned?"


    Sonia shook her head. "No. She didn''t offend a bad person. The person who is holding her prisoner is


    not bad. At least, not really."


    "Who is it?"


    "It''s Charles." She pursed her lips tightly.


    Rita was taken aback by the unexpected answer. "Wait a minute, Chairman Reed. Did I mishear you?


    Did you just say¡­ President Lane?"


    "Yes, it''s him."


    "Why?" She widened her eyes in disbelief. "Why would President Lane imprison her?"


    Sonia sighed heavily. "Now that things havee to this, I won''t hide the truth from you anymore. As


    you know, Miss Daphne is pregnant. What you don''t know is who fathered her child. Well, I can tell you


    right now that the child in her womb belongs to Charles."


    "Oh, Dear God." Rita inhaled sharply. "It''s President Lane''s? How can that be?"


    "Miss Daphne has always had feelings for Charles, but Charles has never reciprocated those feelings.


    Due to an ident, Miss Daphne became pregnant with his child. She had been drowning in anxiety,


    worried that he would learn about her pregnancy. She applied for leave on several asions to attend


    maternity checkups. She had nned to abort the child. She believed that she and Charles would


    never have anything to do with each other again once she aborted the child. Unexpectedly, Charles


    learned about her pregnancy on the day of her abortion. He rushed to the hospital and took her away


    from the hospital, and then he imprisoned her inside a vi."


    That was the information found by the private investigator.


    Rita heard a faint ringing in her mind as she pieced the information together. "I think I know how


    President Lane discovered that Miss Daphne is pregnant¡­"


    "You do?"


    She chewed on her lower lip as her expression was filled with guilt. "Yes, I do. That''s because I saw the


    abortion report that Miss Daphne threw in the trash can that day. After that, I discussed my discovery


    with the other girls in the office when President Lane suddenly barged into the conversation. After he


    demanded the name of the hospital Miss Daphne visited, he hurriedly left without another word. At the


    time, we didn''t know that she was carrying President Lane''s child. We thought that she had been


    bullied and assumed that President Lane left in such a hurry because he was worried about her. I can''t


    believe¡­"


    Now everything made sense.


    Charles learned about Daphne''s pregnancy and left to stop her from moving forward with the abortion.


    He then took her away and forced her to deceive them by resigning under the excuse that she had


    gone to further her studies abroad.


    "Chairman Reed, why do you think President Lane imprisoned Miss Daphne? What is his purpose in


    doing something like that?" Rita asked while looking directly at Sonia.


    Sonia shook her head in confusion. "I don''t know. The private investigator only investigated what


    happened to Miss Daphne. The day you saw her happened to be when she was allowed to go out for


    some fresh air. Charles apparently agreed to let her out for rxation once a week, but she had to


    remain in the vi for the rest of the time. That''s why you saw her that day. As for what Charles is


    nning to do¡­ I don''t know."


    Still, she couldn''t help but wonder, Charles took Miss Daphne away from the hospital and stopped her


    from moving forward with the abortion. Could it be that he wants her to give birth to his child?


    The possibility of that is far from low, especially considering his actions in stopping her from moving


    forward with her ns.


    If he had no intention of having a child, he could have allowed her to abort the child back then.


    If I want to learn the specific reason behind his actions, I will need to ask him directly.


    "Chairman Reed¡­"


    "I know what you want to say. Don''t worry. I will have an open and honest talk with Charles in a bit.


    However, I don''t have the time right now. As you know, it''s not appropriate for Toby and me to appear in


    public under our current circumstances," Sonia said solemnly.


    Rita nodded. "I understand. Since Miss Daphne is allowed toe out once a week, then that means


    President Lane is giving her a certain extent of freedom despite imprisoning her. She is clearly not in


    danger under his care. It''ll be enough if you ask about the situation when you have the time, Chairman


    Reed."


    That was her real purpose.


    Sonia took off her sses to massage her ears and nose. "I will."


    Rita did not stay for long and left after a short while.


    Soniay down and tried to rest as her mind whirled with half-formed thoughts and concerns.


    Toby''s surgery was scheduled for tonight. She had to get some sleep and replenish her energy so that


    she would have enough strength to wait for Toby outside the operating room tonight.


    Her napsted for five hours.


    In the end, she was woken by the nurse who told her that it was almost time for Toby''s surgery.


    She was in such a rush that she didn''t even wear a jacket before she ran toward the ICU at full speed.


    The nurse had to chase after her with her coat. When she recalled the scene in the future, she couldn''t


    help but chuckle in amusement.


    "Miss Reed, you''re here." Tom arrived a long time ago.


    She stopped and panted heavily. "I''m here."


    Then, she raised her head to look through the ss.


    Several nurses and doctors were removing the electrotherapy equipment attached to Toby''s body.


    Sonia clenched her fist tightly at the heartbreaking sight. "Mr. Brown, do you think the surgery will be


    sessful?"


    "It will." Tom was also staring into the hospital ward, but there was no hesitation in his answer.


    She felt slightly more reassured after hearing that another person believed that nothing would go


    wrong.


    She nodded in agreement and did not say anything else.


    It was at this moment that the nurse finally caught up to her.


    She obediently wore the clothes that were brought for her.


    If she didn''t, she might end up catching a cold after Toby came out of a sessful surgery.


    It didn''t take long before Toby was ced on a wheeled stretcher and pushed out of the hospital ward.


    Sonia and Tom unconsciously tried to approach him. However, they were stopped by several nurses


    and prevented from getting closer.


    They were not allowed to approach because they were not dressed in sterile clothes.


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    Although Sonia was disappointed, she did not argue with the nurses and simply followed them to the


    operating room from a distance.


    Tim had already changed into a deep green surgical gown. He was cleaning his sses in front of the


    door to the operating room.


    Sonia walked over and bowed. "I''ll be relying on you for the surgery tonight."


    Tom followed suit and bowed deeply at Tim.


    Tim wore his sses. "Don''t worry. It''ll be fine. Okay, I''m going in now. If you n to wait, then wait


    outside. ording to my estimations, this surgery will not bepleted in less than ten hours."


    "I will wait," Sonia answered without hesitation.


    Forget ten hours. She would wait even if it were for three days and three nights.


    She had to wait until she received news of Toby''s sessful surgery. Otherwise, she would never be


    able to rest well.


    "Me too," Tom echoed.


    She looked at him. "The Fuller Group¡­"


    "That''s not a problem. I''ll just put in more overtime afterward." He smiled at her.


    He often worked overtime anyway.


    Besides, there was nothing more important than Toby''s safety.


    Just like that, they each settled down in an ice-cold chair respectively and quietly waited for the surgery


    to end.


    The waiting process was undoubtedly long and arduous.


    Nevertheless, Sonia was determined to endure the process for the sake of the person inside, no matter


    how tormenting it was.


    The night turned to morning, and the morning turned to night again.


    Twenty-four hours passed in the blink of an eye.


    Aside from going to the toilet, they did not take a stray far away from the operating room.


    At the same time, they became increasingly anxious and irritable as their worry grew with time.


    That was because Tim had mentioned that the surgery wouldst more than ten hours before the


    surgery began. Twenty-four hours had passed since then, but the surgery was still ongoing. Was that


    an indication that the surgery had taken a downturn and was met withplications?


    Was there a possibility of failure?


    How could that not make them more worried?

 Chapter 1431

    Chapter 1431


    Sonia sped her hands tightly together, unable to sit still. Meanwhile, Tom already gave up on any


    pretense of being calm as he stood up and paced around in circles. "Damn it. How long has it been?


    Why isn''t the surgery over yet?"


    His mutter storm came to a stop as he nced at the red light shining above the doors of the operation


    room. It was all he could do to stop himself from hitting the red light to turn it off. Perhaps Toby''s


    surgery would be over, and he would be out immediately.


    Sonia pursed her lips and didn''t say a word, but the anxiety in her heart was equal to his¡ªshe, too,


    wished to see the red light turn off.


    Of course, it would be best if the oue was positive after seeing it dim.


    Otherwise¡­ No, there is no other oue! Definitely not! It doesn''t matter whether the light goes off or


    when it does. Only good news awaits.


    While she was busy reassuring herself, there was a click, and the red light above the operation room


    dimmed before turning gray.


    The red light was switched off!


    Sonia''s pupils shrank as she jumped up from the chair, and Tom halted mid-movement before slowly


    turning toward the direction of the operation door.


    They reached the center of the doors at the same time, their hands sped in a prayer''s hold as their


    anticipatory stares never left those doors.


    A few minutes of tormentter, the doors of the operation room finally swung open, and Tim walked out


    with an opened can of energy drink in his hand and an exhausted look on his face.


    His surgical mask was off, revealing his handsome, pale face that was covered in a thin sheen of


    sweat.


    Exhaustion and lethargy were written all over his beautiful face, proof of how long and tiring this


    surgery had been.


    "Dr. Lancaster." Sonia and Tom rushed to him as the tense line of their shoulders only got tenser when


    they hadn''t received a clear answer from him.


    "Dr. Lancaster, how''s President Fuller doing? Is the operation a sess?" Tom asked worriedly.


    Although Sonia wasn''t able to ask the question that was at the tip of her tongue, her anxiety and


    concern were apparent for all to see from her tightly sped hands and uneasy expression.


    Tim nced at them and didn''t give them an answer immediately. Instead, he threw back his head and


    finished the canned drink in his hand. After he recovered some of his energy, he said, "They always


    say the viin never dies. So, how could he die so easily? Alright now, make way, both of you. Let me


    take a nap, and we''ll speak once I''m fully awake."


    He shoved them aside and staggered out. However, after a few steps, he came to an abrupt stop and


    said to Sonia in a gentler voice, "You should hurry and catch some rest as well. Your body won''t be


    able to take it after not resting for a day and a night. Don''t fall sick when there''s no one to take care of


    you."


    Then, he left with those parting words.


    Tom opened his mouth but closed it again as he stared at Tim''s retreating silhouette. "Miss Reed, did


    you understand what he meant? You''re thinking what I''m thinking, right?"


    "Yes, I do. Toby''s surgery is a sess!" Sonia''s body shook as she broke down in tears as a wave of


    happiness and relief overwhelmed her. "Toby''s surgery is a sess. Mr. Brown, the surgery is a


    sess! It''s a sess!"


    Just like her, Tom''s eyes were red-rimmed and filled with tears, and he nodded firmly. "That''s right.


    President Fuller''s surgery is a sess and won''t be in danger anymore."


    After the words left his lips, he suddenly fell to his knees and started sobbing on the floor.


    Honestly, it was a little amusing to see a six-foot-tall man crying without abandon on the floor. Usually,


    Sonia would be amused by the sight of this happening if it happened on any other day.


    Yet, considering the great news, she also wanted to join him on the floor. She was so delighted that she


    didn''t know how else to express the excitement and happiness in her heart.


    Tom seemed to be doing better as he got off the floor after a few minutes of crying into his hands. He


    even managed to clean his sses as he chuffed in embarrassment, "I''m so sorry you had to see this,


    Miss Reed."


    "It''s alright." Sonia wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes as well. "That''s a normal reaction to the


    situation earlier, and I totally understand. Moreover, I''m not doing any better than you."


    She kept rubbing away the tears that were flowing down her cheeks as Tom chuckled in response.


    Then, he quietly put on his sses and continued waiting at the door for the medical staff to roll Toby


    out.


    About half an hourter, Toby was wheeled out. He was dressed in a typical green operation robe, but


    coupled with the pallid tone of his skin, and the venttor covering his face, it made him seem strangely


    fragile.


    Since Toby was just out of surgery, he couldn''t be admitted to the general ward and had to be ced in


    intensive care for seventy-two hours of continuous observation. This arrangement was mainly to


    observe post-surgery adverse and rejection reactions.


    Sonia and Tom didn''t exchange a single word as they tagged behind and watched as the nurses gently


    pushed Toby into the intensive care unit.


    "Excuse me," Sonia said, stopping a nurse that was justing out of the ICU. "Do you know when


    he''ll wake up?"


    The nurse pondered over Toby''s condition before answering, "Judging from President Fuller''s current


    situation, I reckon he''ll wake up within three days."


    "Okay, I understand. Thank you." Sonia nodded in thanks as she released the nurse''s arm.


    Then, the nurse turned to Tom, who was behind Sonia. "Mr. Brown, Dr. Lancaster would like to ask you


    what to do with President Fuller''s old heart. Are you guys going to take care of it, or should the hospital


    make the necessary arrangements?"


    Tom gave it a thought and replied, "We''ll take care of it ourselves."


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    The nurse gave him a professional nod and left as she marked his opinion down.


    When all the doctors and nurses had departed from Toby''s ICU ward, Sonia turned to Tom and asked,


    "You guys are probably nning to return Miles that heart, aren''t you? I heard that he epted Toby''s


    invitation and will arrive soon."


    "Yes. After all, that heart belongs to President Fuller''s younger brother, so we can''t simply dispose of it.


    This was probably on Dr. Lancaster''s mind as well, and that''s why he instructed the nurse to inquire


    about it. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have bothered and just took care of it as usual," Tom said.


    "Well, that''s for the better. You guys have found out the truth behind Miles'' death, so you can return it to


    him."


    Tom nodded and turned to look at Toby behind the ss wall. "Miss Reed, President Fuller should be


    fine now, and you don''t have to keep vigil by his side after this. Please get some rest. I know that you


    haven''t gotten a good night''s rest. Don''t push yourself and be another patient."


    "I will rest, but you should take your advice too. Toby and the Fuller Group will need you for some time.


    Don''t take things too far and copse due to overwork," Sonia advised.


    She had a point. Tom was exhausted, and his head was spinning and throbbing. Plus, the bright


    hospital lights weren''t helping at all. "I''ll rest in a while, but before that, I have to ce some


    bodyguards here in case some unnecessary people show up. Even though I did my best to suppress


    any news regarding President Fuller, I won''t rest well if I don''t make the necessary preparations."


    "That''s true. I won''t bother you, then. I''m going to catch some sleep in the ward." After Sonia finished


    speaking, she took one more nce at Toby before she spun around with a yawn.


    When she returned to her ward, she chatted a little more with the nurse and plopped into the bed. She


    was out like a light the second her head hit the pillow.


    She had gone without rest for a total of 24 hours. It definitely didn''t help matters that her nerves were


    tense and high-strung the entire time. In addition, her mental state couldn''t rx until she knew that


    Toby was safe and sound. So, her body and mind finally settled when Tim informed her that Toby''s


    surgery was a sess and there wouldn''t be any negative issues cropping up in the future.


    The instant all the tension left her body, the exhaustion came rolling like a tidal wave, and she almost


    passed out and couldn''t make it back into the room.


    Thus, when she finally managed to drag her weary body onto the bed, she immediately tossed


    everything else to the back of her mind, and sleep was all she could focus on.


    Sonia slept for more than ten hours straight before she woke up again. When she blinked the sleep out


    of her bleary eyes, she felt her stomach grumbling inint due to her skipping her meals for more


    rest. Still, she disregarded her body''s protest and immediately scurried to Toby''s ward.


    She was rather lucky because she happened to bump into Tim speaking to Tom when she arrived.


    Since she didn''t bother hiding her appearance in her haste to see Toby, her arrival soon attracted their


    attention.


    "Oh, you''re awake, Miss Reed," Tom greeted, giving her a polite nod.


    She returned his greeting and quickly fixated her eyes on Tim. "Dr. Lancaster, how is Toby?"


    More than ten hours had passed, so she was worried that Toby would exhibit adverse reactions from


    the surgery. That was the piece of information she needed to hear the most right now.

 Chapter 1432

    Chapter 1432


    "He''s fine." Tim shut the medical record folder in his hands with a snap. "He has highpatibility with


    the heart, and there are no adverse effects or signs of rejection after more than ten hours. This is good


    news, and if things remain the same after seventy-two hours, it means that there will be no rejection in


    the future. So, he can be transferred to the general ward once he wakes up."


    His words lifted a weight off Sonia''s heart. "That''s great. I had been so worried about that the whole


    time, so I ran over as quickly as possible. But now, I can finally rest easy," she said, patting her chest.


    Tim slid his sses higher as he continued, "Just as I said before, the good die young. Toby is so far


    away from the goodness scale. There''s no way he''ll die just because of this. Since this guy can still


    survive after two heart transnts, it goes to show that the Gates of Heaven are not ready for him just


    yet. So, we can safely say he wouldn''t experience other health problems, so all of you can rx."


    Although his remarks were caustic and hard to swallow, the implication behind them was good news¡ª


    Toby was fine, and he was merely unconscious due to the drugs in his system.


    Once the drugs wear off, he''ll wake up. That would mean they wouldn''t have to worry about his


    physical condition any longer. Hence, neither Sonia nor Tom was bothered by Tim''s sarcasm.


    Nevertheless, Tim didn''t intend to stay, so he left after he said his piece. Besides, Toby wasn''t his only


    patient, and his schedule was far from free.


    Sonia and Tom didn''t insist on making him stay. Toby was out of danger, and there was no point in


    forcing him to stare at an unconscious patient, so he could leave if he wanted to.


    "I''m so d." A genuine smile spread across Tom''s face as he stared at Toby, who was in the ICU


    ward.


    Sonia had a simr smile on her face as shemented, "Yeah. Thank God he''s fine."


    This was amazing, wasn''t it? Toby was alive, and this was fantastic news.


    "Now, I can finally stop worrying and ce my entire focus on work. I had put off a lot of work for the


    past few days and wasn''t in the mood to deal with them because President Fuller wasn''t ready for


    surgery. Now that he''s out of danger, I can finally get back to work. So, Miss Reed, I may not visit as


    often as I used to. The Fuller Group needs my support, and I''ll leave President Fuller in your care. I


    have to get the work done before President Fuller is ready to return to thepany. I can''t let him go to


    work when he desperately needs his rest now, can I?"


    Sonia huffed in amusement as she nodded in agreement. "Don''t worry. I''ll take care of him even


    without your prompting. Just go to work. I''ll take it from here."


    "I''m cing my trust in you, Miss Reed. Well, would you look at the time? I''ll have to take my leave


    now. There''s an important meeting in the afternoon regarding a project President Fuller has been very


    concerned about before all this mess. So, I have to take care of it personally." After he said that, he


    bowed politely to her and left, leaving her alone outside the ward.


    Although she couldn''t enter, she knew that she could keep Tobypany as she stared at his


    unconscious figure through the ss.


    Even though he was still out cold and had no idea that she was outside, she was still gratified that she


    could see him whenever she wanted.


    Hence, she apanied him quietly by sitting outside the ward. Sometimes, she would speak to him


    through the ss despite never receiving a response from the other. At other times, she would read


    him the news on the Inte on her phone.


    She didn''t stop even though the person behind the ss couldn''t hear her.


    On a side note, quite a few things happened during the past few days, and the two biggest news


    headlines were the Lore and Acree Families dering bankruptcy one after another.


    This was rather old news, and everyone knew that the Lore and Acree Families were done for. After all,


    Toby had given up on the Lore Family, who had offended so many others in the past while they used


    Toby as a shield. So, the instant Toby ditched them¡ªsetting aside the fact that past enemies of the


    Lore Family would finally use this golden opportunity to get back at them¡ªjust the fact that Lte was


    a murderer would cause devastating damage to her family''s businesses. Therefore, the bankruptcy of


    the Lore Family was an event that everyone could foresee. Thus, it wasn''t surprising when they were


    squeezed out of the upper-crust society.


    That was also the case for the Acree Family. Judging from the fact that they had the guts to tantly


    withhold the employees''pensation and even forced them to go out to sea under such terrible


    weather conditions without any regard for thew, there was no doubt that they were involved in illegal


    dealings in the past. Plus, when news broke out about the Acrees'' misdemeanor, the furiousizens


    petitioned the authorities to investigate the Acree Family''s businesses thoroughly. To calm the citizens''


    anger, the authorities did their jobs and left no stone unturned.


    Just like that, the Acrees'' infuriating deeds were slowly uncovered one by one. Once the authorities


    had sufficient evidence, they gave the order to freeze the Acree Family''s assets, confiscating all of their


    properties. Buried in debt, the Acree Family had no other choice but to announce bankruptcy.


    Another absurd incident happened to them once that matter was settled. Overwhelmed by the


    staggering debt, Rachel left, abandoning Dn in his vegetative state and the disabled Annabe. All


    empires fall, eventually, and it was safe to say that the Acrees had fallen.


    As for how Dn and Annabe were going to continue their lives¡­ It was not anyone''s problem, and


    Sonia couldn''t be bothered to follow up on their situation, either.


    Besides these two headlines, there were other bigger and smaller news popping up here and there.


    Sonia would read all the relevant information to Toby during her visit.


    For instance, the two families who could be considered Lte''s ''vassals'' also had several properties


    seized by the authorities based on an anonymous tip-off. Nheless, Sonia knew that this was


    actually Toby''s doing.


    Once their properties were taken away, these two families inevitably fell from upper-ss society and


    into a regr lower middle-ss family with almost no probability of ever making aeback. Suffice it


    to say, they were wholly removed from the upper-ss families of Seafield.


    Meanwhile, it was rumored that the two girls thrown out by their families went to the police to lodge a


    report on Lte. Of course, Sonia had yet to learn the report''s contents, and she didn''t bother digging.


    Everything woulde to light once Lte''s trial began, so there was no point in wasting her


    resources on something like that.


    During the Lore Family''s fall from grace, Harry finally awakened. Regardless, when he learned of the


    Lore Family''s situation and that Lte was used of murder, he once again passed out from a


    stroke.


    However, as Tom had nted someone to keep an eye on him in the dark, he received the best


    medical care after he copsed and was dragged back into the world of the living to receive his dues.


    Although Harry had difficulty speaking and reduced speed in mobility due to his stroke, he was no


    different from other men his age.


    At any rate, Toby had mentioned that before Professor Randall was done with his investigations, Harry


    was not allowed to slip into a paralytic state, let alone die before his time.


    Otherwise, how could he serve his jail sentence?


    At Harry''s current age, he was still far off from being pardoned to serve time due to old age.


    Of course, he was restless under custody, and he kept hurling abuse at Toby in every possible manner.


    Even though Sonia didn''t bother to visit him, she could imagine such a scene in her mind based on


    Tom''s detailed description.


    In conclusion, the Harry Lore of today was no longer like a wise elder, and it wouldn''t be an


    exaggeration topare him to an old shrew.


    Sonia went on and on, talking about everything and nothing. Finally, she only left with a heavy heart


    after the nurse came to remind her that her visitation hours were almost over, and she missed the sight


    of the man in the ICU ward twitching his finger after she left. But the finger remained motionless again


    right after.


    The next day after breakfast, just as she was about to visit Toby again, she received a call from the


    police out of the blue.


    As it turned out, Jessica was about to be released from prison.


    But it''s not even close to her release date yet! she thought huffily.


    She didn''t hide her bewilderment behind this situation as she inquired the police about the reason


    behind her early release and found out that Jessica was released due to good behavior. To her


    surprise, the warden told her about Jessica''s contribution. Although she was merely indirectly involved,


    she was still rewarded for her behavior. Therefore, she would be released early, and her release date


    was set for three dayster.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    Sonia sneered as she ced her phone away with a soft thud. Who would have thought that Jessica


    would have such good luck? But her release is far from a terrible thing. It looks like I can push my n


    forward.


    Just as she was busy scheming, Tom made his appearance. Although he didn''t visit as frequently as he


    used to, which was a few times a day, he would still see Toby at least once a day.


    "Did something happen, Miss Reed?" he asked, noticing the cold look on Sonia''s face.


    She shook her head, dismissing his concern, but replied, "Oh, it''s nothing. I just learned that Jessica


    will be released soon."


    "Jessica?" At first, he was confused as to who this Jessica person was. Then, as he wracked his brain,


    he finally recalled Jessica and gasped in surprise, "Why is she released ahead of time?!"

 Chapter 1433

    Chapter 1433


    Sonia shrugged helplessly but didn''t n to hide the truth and exined the situation to him.


    Soon, a scowl painted across Tom''s face when he understood the reason behind Jessica''s early


    release. "How could she be so lucky? Good behavior? Her?"


    "Maybe she''s blessed by the heavens." A hint of mockery shed in Sonia''s eyes, but it quickly


    disappeared. "Alright, let''s set this aside. It''s a good thing that she''ll be released from prison. We can


    ask Tim to give her a check-up to see if her body could conceive a child."


    I still need her to bear an heir for the Reed Family, she thought.


    "Miss Reed, do you need me to send someone to keep an eye out so she will be sent here once she''s


    released? That way, we can prevent her from giving us the slip," he suggested.


    She nodded in agreement. "Oh, that''s a good idea. Please do that. I''ll have to trouble you with this, Mr.


    Brown."


    "This is nothing. All I have to do is make a phone call. Don''t worry. I''ll let you know the moment she


    steps one foot out of prison," he answered with cold eyes hiding behind his sses.


    "Great. Thank you for your help," she said. Then, he nced at Toby with undisguised concern and


    gave her a once-over before he left.


    He had arrived at the hospital early in the morning and only paid her visit after visiting Toby.


    Now that he had visited both of them, he didn''t hang around any longer because he had to rush back to


    thepany for a meeting.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    When Toby was still hale and hearty, his workload wasn''t this heavy. However, since Toby was


    indisposed in the near future, it meant that he had to take care of Toby''s work in addition to his own.


    Back then, he still had to observe other departments and ask for updates from the branch offices. Now,


    it was worse. Swamped with work, he could barely squeeze out time for a visit to the hospital.


    After Tom departed in a hurry, Sonia went to Toby''s ward to talk to him as she had been doing for the


    past couple of days.


    Even though he still couldn''t hear her, it didn''t diminish her enthusiasm.


    This time, when she was chattering away, she lifted her head to look at the man in the ICU ward and


    caught sight of his finger moving.


    She was stunned into silence as she thought that her eyes were ying tricks on her and hastily


    rubbed her eyes before taking a good look. Sure enough, the man''s finger was twitching.


    Her jaw dropped as she stared at the sight in delight. She couldn''t control the excitement rushing


    through her veins as she trembled, and far drops of tears fell from her eyes like broken pearls.


    "Someone, please¡­ He''s awake. He''s awake!"


    She entirely forgot about the nurse call button as she dashed for the nurse station, shouting that Toby


    was awake. Soon, the medical staff who heard her rushed to her side, with Tim taking the lead.


    The instant Soniaid her eyes on Tim, she hurriedly grabbed his arm in excitement. "Dr. Lancaster,


    Toby moved his finger! Does this mean that he''s waking up? Is he waking up soon?"


    Tim patted her on the shoulder to calm her. "If everything goes well, he''ll be up and about soon


    enough."


    "Oh, God! This is amazing!" She released him and sped her hands together, utterly over the moon.


    Her joy was evident for all to see.


    "Alright. Wait here while I give him a check-up," Tim said, striding straight into the ICU ward.


    Sonia nodded at him eagerly. "Yes, you''re right. Hurry!" she urged, and he went in with his medical


    team while she anxiously watched on, her eyes never leaving Toby''s figure.


    After a while, she saw the man on the bed slowly opening his eyes.


    Right at that moment, she could feel hot tears rolling down her cheeks. Nevertheless, she quickly


    covered her mouth with her palms so she wouldn''t make a sound, worried that she would distract the


    medical staff from doing their work.


    He''s awake, she thought. He''s finally awake! Thank God he''s awake!


    Naturally, Tim immediately caught sight of Toby''s eyes blearily blinking open. Still, although his eyes


    were open, nothing happened after that. His eyes didn''t even rove around in confusion, and it was


    obvious that his pupils weren''t focused as he simply stared at the ceiling dazedly.


    A confused nurse gave voice to her puzzlement, "What''s going on? Why does he look like he has lost


    his soul?"


    Tim chortled and replied, "He didn''t lose his soul, but his brain is simply rebooting like an oldputer.


    Some people may show one of a few situations when they wake up from a longa. Some will open


    their eyes before their brains regain consciousness. For others, their brains will regain consciousness


    before their body does. Then, we have the lucky ones who would feel like they''d just woken up after a


    long dream."


    "So, President Fuller''s is the first case scenario, then?" the nurse pointed out.


    Sonia couldn''t hear their conversation as she was outside the ward, but when she noticed that nothing


    else had happened after Toby opened his eyes, the excitement and delight froze on her face. Her brain


    started running wild as she had no experience witha patients, and the uneasiness in her heart


    grew.


    What''s going on? Isn''t he awake? Why are his eyes open but not reacting to other stimuli? What the


    hell is going on?


    Despite the anxiety building up inside her, she restrained herself from barging in and demanding


    answers. Instead, she remained outside the ward as the panic within her gave way to distressing


    thoughts.


    Meanwhile, Tim threw a nasty look at Toby. "He really looks like an idiot like this. It''s truly a shame that I


    can''t take a picture of this as ckmail."


    How amazing it would be if I could! It''ll be worth a pretty penny!


    The other medical staff couldn''t help but roll their eyes at Tim''s terrible bedside manner.


    Dr. Lancaster, even if you''re not afraid of President Fuller, we are! theyined inwardly.


    But, of course, none of them had the nerve to say this out loud because Tim was notorious for his


    entricities.


    If he knew what they were secretly thinking, he would definitely take it as a challenge and do exactly


    what they feared he would. Therefore, it was better to pretend that they hadn''t heard anything as they


    continued checking on Toby''s vitals.


    Soon, Toby''s eyes slowly blinked, and they started showing signs of awareness. He no longer looked


    like a soulless doll.


    As his dazed eyes started to focus on the people moving around him, there was a gleam of cognizance


    as time passed. Soon, his eyes no longer remained nk as he groggily tried to understand what was


    going on.


    Tim naturally had a front-row seat of his slow but steady rise to consciousness as he raised his brows


    and drawled, "Oh, would you look at that? This old robot is done rebooting itself."


    That was the first thing Toby heard after waking up.


    He had no clue what a robot was doing around here and why it was rebooting. He only knew that his


    body felt like lead, and it was so stiff that he could barely move even if he wanted to. Furthermore, he


    felt disconnected from his body as he couldn''t control it at all.


    Regardless, he squashed down the rising panic and forced himself to look carefully around his


    surroundings. When he stared at the whitewashed ceiling, an idea started forming in his mind. Still, he


    wanted to rify his guess as his lips moved, and he spoke in an almost inaudible voice, "Where am


    I?"


    "The hospital," Tim said while his eyes never left the patient''s clipboard.


    Only then did Toby realize that there were others around him, and it hit him that he was indeed in the


    hospital the moment his eyesnded on Tim''s apathetic face.


    Hang on. What on Earth am I doing in the hospital again?


    He closed his eyes in confusion as he tried to recall the events thatnded him in the hospital bed.


    Almost immediately, a huge amount of memories crashed into his mind like a tidal wave.


    After that, he remembered that he and Sonia were in trouble; someone had locked them up in a


    warehouse and even set fire to the building with the full intention of burning them alive like they were


    witches on a stake.


    During that time, he inhaled a considerable amount of smoke, which caused his heart to fail. He also


    remembered passing out after throwing up a mouthful of blood and had no recollection of whatever


    happened afterward.


    But now, he was lying in the hospital. So, he wasn''t dead and was definitely alive and well, which


    meant that someone had rescued them.


    But where''s Little Leaf?


    His eyes snapped open in worry, and a trace of anxiety appeared on his face as he lifted his neck,


    trying to get up through sheer willpower alone.


    Tim instantly noticed Toby''s agitation and mercilessly poked his neck. As a result, he fell back onto the


    pillow with a thump. Toby red at Tim angrily and hissed in a breathy tone, "What are you doing?!"


    "I should be the one asking you that," Tim snapped, giving him a cold stare.


    "I want to look for Little Leaf," Toby answered solemnly.


    He couldn''t rest easy until he saw her because he wanted to know what had happened to her. Was she


    alright? Did she get hurt?


    Tim sighed when he observed the growing panic in Toby''s eyes. "You''re such an affectionate man,


    aren''t you? You''re so concerned about her that you forgot to even consider your health! Well, I suppose


    you''re good enough for her, then."


    After he said that, he pointed to the ss wall right beyond them. Toby''s eyes followed his actions but


    couldn''tprehend what Tim was trying to convey. So, he gave Tim a hard stare through narrowed


    eyes.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "Just take a closer look, and you''ll understand."


    Thus, he suspiciously turned his head back to the ss wall, and his eyes immediately widened in


    shock and relief. That''s¡­ Little Leaf!


    On the other side of the ss wall, Sonia wasn''t expecting him to turn to her so suddenly. Hence, she


    began waving like an excited fool, using her bodynguage to tell him that she was fine and well.


    When the man saw her alive and kicking and, most importantly, not wearing a hospital gown, it instantly


    dawned on him that she wasn''t hurt.


    The vice grip around his heart loosened, and he finally felt at ease. s, when he wanted to wave back


    in response, he realized that he still couldn''t move a muscle.

 Chapter 1434

    Chapter 1434


    The color drained from his face as dread and panic rose in his heart.


    Could it be that he had be paralyzed?


    He wasn''t worried about being unable to move his body earlier as he had just woken up from what


    seemed to be aa. So, he thought he just needed some time to regainplete control of his body.


    However, now that he had been awake for some time, he could only move his head. So, he couldn''t


    help but fear that he was paralyzed.


    Toby immediately twisted his head and stared at Tim with bloodshot eyes. "Tell me. What''s wrong with


    me? Why can''t I move?"


    On the other hand, Tim wasn''t fazed by the panic in Toby''s eyes as henguidly readjusted his sses


    before calmly answering, "You just had a heart transnt. So, I gave you a lidocaine injection so you


    wouldn''t be able to move from the neck down for the time being. I did that to prevent you from moving


    unnecessarily to avoidplications like pulling your stitches. Don''t worry. The injection isn''t an


    anesthetic. So, you don''t need to worry about any possible side effects."


    "So, I''m not paralyzed?" Toby''s eyes never left Tim''s face as he desperately asked the question that


    needed answering.


    Tim snickered, "Why would you be? It''s not like you got into an ident or fell off a building."


    Toby let out a sigh of relief after hearing Tim''s affirmation. Thank God I''m not crippled. My heart nearly


    jumped out of my chest.


    He had always been a prideful man, and he wouldn''t be able to ept that he had be paraplegic


    or worse. How could he continue to love his partner properly if that ever came to pass?


    Toby turned back to look at Sonia standing on the other side of the window. Confusion was written all


    over her face as she didn''t understand what was up with him.


    Toby blinked at her, using his expression and gaze to assure her that he was fine and that she didn''t


    need to worry. Then, he directed his attention to Tim and said, "You said I just had a heart transnt?"


    "Yes." Tim nodded impassively.


    Toby pursed his lips before cautiously inquiring. "My previous heart couldn''t be used anymore?"


    "It''s practically riddled with holes. How could you ask me that? It could barely sustain you being


    rescued from the fire until you were sent here. It was already at itsst legs by the time you arrived So,


    you needed to undergo a heart transnt effectively immediately. If you hadn''t had a heart ready, your


    life expectancy was a week at most. So, be grateful to your assistant. He decided to end the carrier''s


    life before his time. Otherwise, you''d be looking at your body from the heavens right now." Tim told him.


    Toby''s eyes dted at that shocking news as he murmured in disbelief, "The carrier¡­ is dead?"


    "Of course. How else would you have a heart just in time for the surgery?" Tim flipped open the medical


    record folder and scribbled on it as he replied dispassionately.


    Toby''s already pallidplexion turned a shade of gray after learning about the carrier''s demise.


    On the other hand, Tim shut the medical record folder and returned to business. "Alright. The


    examination shows no signs of rejection, and it doesn''t look like you''ll be showing any symptoms of


    adverse reactions. Still, keep a look out for the possibility for these few days. You should be able to


    transfer the patient to the general ward after a few days of observation."


    The doctors and nurses standing behind him all nodded obediently as they mentally noted down Tim''s


    orders.


    "Prescribe his medicine," Tim instructed. "Since he''s awake, he''ll need to take his medicine. Don''t


    forget his immunosuppressive drug. Even though there doesn''t seem to be a problem now, it might


    show upter. So, you can''t omit the immunosuppressive drug until he''s out of observation."


    "Yes, Director Lancaster," a doctor replied professionally.


    Tim hummed in reply and thought of something as he nced at Sonia, who was standing outside and


    staring at Toby. "Another thing. Open up the ICU ward for visitors. Only two visitors per day, each of


    them only gets 10 minutes."


    "Yes, sir." Another nurse nodded in response.


    Tim nced at Toby and said, "Sonia will be able toe in to see you in a bit. You can talk to her, but


    you only have 10 minutes. So, use it wisely and don''t waste your time. Also, avoid emotional triggers


    during your chat¡­ That is unless you want to tour the operating room one more time. Have I made


    myself clear?"


    Toby looked at him as if he was a moron. Who wouldn''t be able to remember something so obvious?


    Tim acted like he didn''t see the ridicule in Toby''s gaze and flounced out of the room. Soon, the other


    doctors and nurses also exited the room afterpleting their tasks.


    Meanwhile, Tim took the opportunity to speak to Sonia. She was ted and utterly gratified to learn


    that she could enter Toby''s ward daily for 10 minutes.


    Tim snapped his fingers and got the attention of one of the nurses who had just left Toby''s ward. Then,


    he instructed the nurse on the terms the ICU patient''s visitors had to obey before directing Sonia to


    follow her to change into a sterile gown before even thinking about going anywhere near Toby. She was


    also sternly warned that she could only enter the ICU ward if she had that on. Else, she was not


    allowed in as Toby''s health was still rather fragile at the moment.


    So, Sonia obediently followed the nurse and didn''t push the nurse to go faster despite her impatience.


    After she was done, she rushed to open the ward''s door and dashed in. As she neared Toby, her eyes


    felt hot, and her cheeks were soon wet with tears.


    Toby''s heart constricted as he watched her cry without a sound. He yearned to lift his hands and wipe


    away her tears, but he couldn''t. Due to the injection that Tim had given him, he couldn''t move a single


    muscle from the neck down.


    "Don''t cry," Toby gentlyforted her. "My heart aches whenever you cry. I just had surgery. This


    wouldn''t help me recover, wouldn''t it?"


    Only then did Sonia realize that her reactions would easily influence his emotions. Thus, she quickly


    took a deep breath and roughly rubbed her eyes to stop herself from crying.


    After some time, she finally managed to calm herself down and stopped crying. Then, she forced a


    smile on her face. "Sorry. I forgot."


    "Sit." He gestured to her with his eyes toward the hospital bed.


    She hastily followed his request as she sat on the bed sideways as it was easier to see him like that.


    "How long have I been unconscious?" Toby asked.


    Sonia tilted her head as she counted the days. "Six days."


    He was surprised. "I was out that long?"


    "It''s far from long." She shook her head and soothed him, "As soon as you were unconscious, Tom


    arrived at the factory and saved the day. Then, he sent you to the hospital without wasting a single


    second. Dr. Lancaster was already waiting for us then, and he immediately diagnosed you and said


    something was wrong with your heart. If we didn''t do a heart transnt¡­ So, we waited for almost


    three days before the heart was finally delivered from abroad. Your surgerysted a day and a night.


    Then, you slept for two days, and here we are now."


    "So, that''s what happened." Toby nodded as he finally understood he had lost six days'' worth of time.


    Sonia grabbed his hand and pressed her damp cheeks against his palm. "You have no idea how


    terrified I was these few days. I was so afraid that you would leave me."


    Toby wanted to hug her, but he couldn''t. So, he could only smile at her helplessly. "I''m sorry for making


    you worry."


    "That''s right. You should apologize to me. If it weren''t for this ident, I wouldn''t even know that your


    heart¡­" She bit the bottom of her lip as she red at him. "Toby. How could you?! How could you hide


    this from me? And for so long?!"


    "I''m sorry. I just didn''t want you to feel guilty about this. I was nning to get the surgery done secretly


    under the guise of going on a business trip for a few days. Who knew that things didn''t go the way I


    nned?"


    "Do you think you''re God? And that things would just go the way you wished them to be?" Sonia rolled


    her eyes at him in exasperation and frustration.


    Toby kept quiet, knowing that he was in hot water for lying to her.


    Sonia didn''t have the heart to continue being angry at the poor man stuck in the hospital bed. Thus,


    she softened her tone and sighed, "Don''t hide anything from me in the future. Also, I hope this is the


    last and only time such a thing has happened. It''s too scary and exhausting. I don''t know if I would


    have the strength to persist if yound yourself in this situation again."


    "Okay," Toby promised her.


    It was his oversight this time for neglecting his safety and forgetting about his bodyguards. The


    masterminds behind this plot wouldn''t have been sessful if it weren''t for hispse in judgment.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    "Oh, right. Have you the person who started the fire?" he asked.


    Sonia nodded. "Yes. It was Asher. You got hurt all because of me."


    "It''s him?!" Toby was a little stunned that Asher was the one behind this.


    He hadn''t expected it to be Asher. He had plenty of suspects, but he never thought it would be him. He


    clicked his tongue in irritation as he figured Asher had managed to take advantage of his


    miscalction.


    "Yes, it''s him. He''s currently in police custody, and we have enough evidence to put him away for a


    long, long time. The trial is set for three months. I''ve been worried about you. So, I haven''t been to the


    detention center to see him. He wanted to see me, but I didn''t agree to it. Besides, why would I want to


    see him?"


    "It''s okay. There''s no need to bother. What are your ns for him?" Toby asked curiously as his solemn


    gaze never left her face.

 Chapter 1435

    Chapter 1435


    Based on my nature, there''s absolutely no way that I will let Asher off the hook. I would have ordered


    Asher to be disposed of if it weren''t for Sonia. Yet, Asher just had to be acquainted with her. He''s not


    just a mere acquaintance either. In fact, he just had to be the senior member of Paradigm, which has


    brought significant contributions to thepany. Moreover, not only was he her father''s business


    partner, but also his good friend.


    Even though their friendship crumbled to dust afterward due to conflicts caused by Asher''s inferiority


    complex, we still can''t deny that Asher had been a decent friend in the past. Coupled with her soft-


    hearted nature, it''s very likely that she won''t mete out a heavy punishment toward Asher out of respect


    for his contributions to Paradigm. Although I can''t deny that my wishes are the exact opposite of her


    possible decision, I would still respect her choice. That''s why I decided to ask her about what she will


    do with Asher.


    That was what Toby thought.


    On the contrary, Sonia didn''t know what he was thinking. Even so, a hint of hatred immediately


    appeared on her face when she heard him asking about Asher. "Of course, I will make him pay a heavy


    price. He nearly killed the two of us, so we should not handle his case lightly."


    She balled her fists tighter as her anger grew, so she added, "Nevertheless, I have inquired about


    Asher''s case. ording to the police, the most severe punishment he will receive is life without parole.


    Still, nothing is set in stone. It''s also very likely that he may just be sentenced to more than ten years in


    prison. That''s why I''m mad. I would be fine if he receives life without parole, but I would be utterly


    disgusted if he only gets sentenced to more than ten years in prison.''''


    Toby stared at her with slight shock in his eyes and asked, "So, you want Asher to receive life without


    parole?"


    Sonia nodded resolutely. "Yes. The only problem is that life without parole in Caruna doesn''t mean the


    individual convicted in court will spend the rest of their natural life in prison. They will still be released


    after spending 20 or 30 years, at most, in prison. Oh, how I wish for Asher to spend the rest of his life in


    prison so that he will never taste freedom. Just imagining him being released and tainting the cityscape


    20 or 30 yearster makes me want to shudder."


    Life without parole, huh? That''s a rather vague sentence in Caruna. Here, getting sentenced for up to


    20 or 30 years is defined as life without parole. Therefore, there''s no such thing as truly locking the


    individual up for the rest of their life. However¡­ There are such criminal sentences abroad, though.


    As Toby thought of that, he curled his lips into a faint smile. He couldn''t deny feeling relieved after truly


    understanding her sentiments regarding Asher.


    I was truly afraid that Sonia would go soft on Asher. Nheless, I''m also surprised that her hatred for


    Asher has peaked to such an extent. Is it because of my near death?


    No words could describe how triumphant Toby felt at that very moment. He would probably be wagging


    his tail so hard he might strain it if he were a puppy.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "I can make it work if you want Asher to receive a genuine life sentence or even the death penalty,"


    Toby answered nonchntly with narrowed eyes.


    As Sonia never doubted his words, she was overjoyed when she heard his words before she shook her


    head in resignation. "There''s no need for Asher to receive the death penalty. After all, Paradigm is


    indebted to him. Besides, his crime doesn''t warrant the death penalty. In fact, imprisoning him for the


    rest of his natural life and taking away his freedom forever is far more tormenting to him than receiving


    the death penalty. Since death can be considered a way out for him instead, I think he should receive a


    life sentence. But I have to ask, what do you intend to do with him?"


    "There''s no actual life without parole in Caruna, but there is such a sentence abroad. Therefore, I will


    change Asher''s nationality and send him to a country where he will be forced to spend the rest of his


    days behind bars. I assure you that he will spend the next few decades of his life in a small prison in a


    foreign country."


    "That''s good." She nodded agreeably.


    After he received her agreement, he spoke once more, "Call Tom and inform him of this decision. He''ll


    know what to do."


    "Okay," she immediately agreed. Then, she thought of something and smiled. "Speaking of which, Mr.


    Brown still doesn''t know you''re awake yet. We really should call him and inform him of this good news.


    He will be thrilled. He had transformed into a busy bee these past few days, moving back and forth


    between Fuller Group and the hospital. He even had to make a trip to the airport to pick up the


    predetermined heart from the carrier for the heart transnt procedure. His dark circles had gotten


    almost as dark as a panda''s eyes. I was so worried that he wouldn''t be able to hold on and copse


    when I saw him working himself to the bone. Now that you''re awake, he can finally breathe a sigh of


    relief. Make sure to reward him well once you have recovered and are discharged from the hospital.


    But don''t you dare try to leave the hospital without the doctor''s green light."


    "I will." Toby nodded, for he knew very well all the pressure would be on Tom alone when he copsed.


    Since he was never a stingy boss who liked to be indebted to his subordinates, he surely would


    compensate for Tom''s sacrifices twofold.


    "Alright, then. I''ll be making that phone call in a bit. Besides, my 10-minute visit is almost up. We can


    talk through the ss if there''s anything else you want to discuss," Sonia said as she gestured to the


    ss wall.


    As Toby, too, knew very well that he wasn''t in a general ward, he instantly pouted andined, "But


    the ss wall is both bulletproof and soundproof. You can''t hear me."


    "It''s okay. I''ll write what I want to say on a clipboard and stick it on the ss," she said with a smile,


    utterly dismissing hisint.


    He frowned upon hearing her remarks. "But I can''t write."


    She tilted her head as she tried to think of a solution before musing, "It''s okay. I''ll make sure to write


    things that wouldn''t require you to overexert yourself. Then, you only need to nod or shake your head


    in response. That way, I''ll know what you want to say."


    With that, Sonia slowly rose to her feet and intended to leave the ward when suddenly, Toby called out


    to her, "Wait!"


    "What''s wrong?" She stopped in her tracks to nce at him.


    Toby rested his worried gaze on her face and asked something that had been bothering him for a while


    now, "I forgot to ask you about this earlier. Why are you suddenly wearing sses?"


    The instant she heard his question, she silently thought, I knew he would eventually ask me about this


    matter. As she never thought of hiding the truth from him, she lightly touched her sses before she


    frankly replied, "My eyes were hurt rather severely from the smoke that day. As a result, my eyesight


    has weakened, and I need sses to see clearly."


    "What?" Toby''s pupils shrank. "Was it because of me?"


    He figured it out right away. It''s definitely because of me! She was probably worried sick after I passed


    out and entirely forgot to take care of herself. There''s no doubt that she had ced her entire focus on


    my condition. It even caused her to injure her eyes to such an extent.


    Sonia lowered her head and gently kissed Toby''s scrunched-up forehead. "Now, now. It''s just a trivial


    matter. Don''t take it to heart. Tim said that there''s still hope for my eyes to achieve full recovery, so


    don''t worry about me. You can ask Tim and Mr. Brown if you don''t believe me. They are aware of my


    condition. In short, don''t overthink things and just focus on getting better. What you have to do now is


    to have proper rest, receive your treatment, and try to get discharged from the hospital as soon as


    possible. Alright, I''ll be leaving now."


    Then, she waved at him and left the ICU ward.


    After Sonia left, she deliberately went to the ss wall and shed Toby a smile, who had a sullen look


    on his face. Finally, she whisked out her phone and dialed Tom''s number.


    Tom was delighted when he heard that Toby had gained consciousness. He immediately threw his work


    out the metaphorical window and rushed to the hospital. Work isn''t my priority right now. I''ll just do


    overtime in the officeter tonight.


    By the time Tom arrived at the hospital, she had already returned to her ward to rest.


    Actually, even though her condition wasn''t serious, her body still suffered from some seque after


    being rescued.


    The pace of her breathing would be very short and rapid if she stood for too long. It felt as though


    she could hardly breathe.


    ording to Tim, she suffered from shortness of breath because she inhaled a lot of smoke and dust,


    which damaged her lungs. In addition, medical care procedures such as bronchoalvervage were


    also detrimental to her lungs. Therefore, it was inevitable that she would face some difficulty breathing.


    Of course, such a condition wasn''t permanent, and she would be healed with time as long as she took


    good care of her health. Regardless, Tim also warned her that it would very likely develop into asthma


    or lung cancer if she didn''t.


    Given that there were currently enough matters troubling everyone, Sonia didn''t want her loved ones to


    worry about her, especially Toby. Hence, she forbade Tim to inform Toby and Tom of her actual


    condition.


    This was followed by her getting threatened by Tim to take good care of herself. Otherwise, he would


    inform the others no matter what.


    Tim told her that he would be supervising her throughout her stay. He also created a daily schedule for


    her and ordered her to follow it to the letter. He also made it explicitly clear that he would inform Toby of


    her condition the minute she refused to listen to his advice.


    Due to Tim''s very effective threat, Sonia would obediently return to her ward when it was time for her to


    rest.


    Even if Toby looked at her with such reluctance when she left the ward, she still heartlessly turned


    around and left.


    Although she was also equally reluctant to part with Toby, she had no choice in this matter. She didn''t


    dare to confront a devilish figure such as Tim.


    Tom arrived not long after Sonia departed for her ward. After he hastily changed into a sterile gown, he


    entered Toby''s ward with undisguised concern painted across his face.


    When he saw Toby, Tom sped his hands in excitement as he eximed in sheer relief, "President


    Fuller! You''re finally awake! You have no idea how worried we all were these past few days."


    Toby wearily opened his eyes upon hearing the warble in Tom''s voice. He couldn''t help but feel


    speechless at the sight of Tom''s teary eyes.


    Good God, I''m just injured, not dead!


    Even so, Toby didn''t lecture Tom this time. He knew full well that Tom had gone above and beyond for


    him when he was temporarily indisposed.


    So, Toby parted his lips tiredly and sincerely thanked Tom in a hoarse voice, "Thank you for your hard


    work."

 Chapter 1436

    Chapter 1436


    Tom hastily waved his hand in the face of Toby''s gratitude as he said, "No, President Fuller. This is my


    job, but I have to say that I''m very d that you''re fine now."


    "Take a seat." Toby motioned for him to sit on the sterile stool beside his bed with a tilt of his chin.


    Tom nodded, walked over, and took a seat. "President Fuller, do you feel any difort?"


    Toby shook his head and replied, "Except for being unable to move, I''m feeling just fine."


    Tom finally felt the rest of his worry wash away upon hearing those words and answered, "That''s good.


    Dr. Lancaster gave you a lidocaine injection to prevent you from jerking awake and aggravating your


    stitches."


    Toby instantly thought of his wound after he heard Tom''s words. Then, he narrowed his eyes as he


    asked, "Tim said you ended the carrier''s life without being requested. Is that true?"


    Tom lowered his head and exined his actions, "Yes, it''s true. I''m sorry, President Fuller. I apologize


    for doing things my way and for tossing ethics out the window, but I really had no choice. You were in


    critical condition, and if you didn''t receive a heart transnt within a few days, you might¡­ Therefore, I


    had no choice but to end the carrier''s life and obtain his heart. President Fuller, I''m sure you don''t wish


    to die and leave Old Mrs. Fuller and Miss Reed behind to mourn your death, right? Old Mrs. Fuller is


    already getting on in her years. She probably will follow you to the afterlife as soon as you die if she


    learns that she has outlived her grandson. Plus, what about Miss Reed? She has always harbored the


    thought that she was the cause of everything that happened to you. She will definitely feel that she was


    the cause of your death the moment you breathe yourst breath. Self-me and guilt will eventually


    overwhelm her, and there might be a possibility that she may not be able to hold on and choose to


    follow you to the afterlife as well. Regardless, you won''t be willing to see any of the situations I


    mentioned happen, right? Those are the reasons behind my actions. Although I do regret ending


    someone''s life prematurely, I do not regret saving you."


    Toby looked at him for a long, long time before he sighed, "Does Little Leaf know about this?"


    Tom frantically shook his head. "No, I didn''t say a word to Miss Reed. I know she would feel even more


    guilty if she found out. She would feel that not only did she inflict harm on you, but she would think she


    also inflicted harm on the carrier. So, I chose to tell her nothing. I also did the same with Old Mrs.


    Fuller. I did not inform her of my ns, including the mishap you and Miss Reed are involved in. I also


    took the liberty to immediately suppress any news regarding this incident, so aside from the ones


    involved, no one else is in the know."


    "That''s good. Just leave it as it is," Toby hummed.


    "President Fuller, you don''t me me?" Tom sneaked a few nces at him cautiously.


    Toby closed his eyes rather wearily and murmured, "You brought up the reaction my Grandma and


    Little Leaf might have and the actions they would take if I died. How can I allow such a thing toe to


    pass? So, how can I me you for hiding the truth from them?"


    Who would want to die so soon?


    This is simply the way of the world. My actions had already predetermined the carrier''s heart long ago.


    Since I had no intention of dying, then the one who has to die can only be the carrier.


    After all, humans are selfish creatures. Even if Tom didn''t do the deed, I might have done so myself if I


    was still conscious at that time.


    Content held by N?velDrama.Org.


    That''s just how human nature works.


    As he thought of that, Toby suddenly opened his eyes and inquired, "Have youpensated the


    carrier''s family?"


    Tom nodded. "Of course. The carrier wishes his wife and children won''t have mary worries for the


    rest of their lives. I agreed to his terms. Not only that, I even gave them a house."


    With that, Toby made a noise of agreement, but he continued, "You did a fairly good job, but it''s still not


    enough. Provide his children with the best education this country has to offer. In fact, in the future, as


    long as they aren''t over-demanding, try your best to agree to whatever they want."


    "Yes, President Fuller." Tom nodded.


    Shortly after, Toby went to the heart of the matter, intoning deeply, "Why don''t you tell me about what


    happened these days?"


    Tom immediately began reporting all the incidents that had urred during his absence.


    Unfortunately, Tom couldn''t go into detail due to time constraints. Hence, he basically just highlighted


    the key points in his report.


    Tom''s visiting hours were almost up as soon as hisst word fell from his lips.


    Afterward, Tom departed the hospital with Toby''s orders and immediately started making the necessary


    arrangements.


    As for Toby, he couldn''t hold on to consciousness any longer and fell into a deep slumber.


    Since his current health wasn''t the best, he couldn''t stay up very long every day. As a result, he mostly


    spent half of his day asleep.


    Even so, this was a good thing for Toby, for adequate sleep allowed easier recovery.


    Three days passed in a blink of an eye.


    The iron gate of the women''s prison located in the northern part of Seafield opened. Then, out came a


    short-haired Jessica in loose clothing.


    After she was released, she saw a vehicle that was exclusively designed to pick up prisoners who were


    released from prison parked outside. Her face twisted in anger as she hissed through her teeth, "Guess


    what, Sonia? I''m finally out of prison. Since you dared to send me to prison and cause me to live a


    miserable life in that wretched cell, I will never spare you! Just you wait! I will repay you with the same


    amount of pain that you inflicted on me until you''re begging on your knees for mercy!"


    As soon as she vowed vengeance, two people dressed in bodyguard uniforms rushed out from her


    blind spots. They skillfully covered Jessica''s mouth as they took her down and dragged her to a private


    car parked not far away.


    Jessica''s eyes widened in shock as she struggled against their grasp. She was extremely terrified by


    this sudden turn of events.


    She didn''t know where these two people came from and what they wanted with her. In fact, she didn''t


    even know where they were going to take her.


    At this juncture, she was petrified. Nevertheless, she kept fighting against them as she screamed


    against the gag in order to get the prison guards'' attention.


    Save me, please! Save me! I''ve been kidnapped!


    s, the guards didn''t even show the slightest reaction. So, it was evident that they weren''t going to


    help her.


    Why?! They clearly saw me being taken away unwillingly. Yet, they acted as if they saw nothing and


    disregarded my distressed cries for help.


    Jessica felt a violent wave of hopelessness crashing into her like a meteorite. Tears began streaming


    down her cheeks as the fight within her left her body. In the end, the two bodyguards forced her into the


    car and took her away.


    Two hourster, Jessica was lying unconscious on a clean and white operating table. Right next to the


    table were none other than Tim and Sonia.


    Tim was wearing a white doctor''s coat, and he had both hands shoved into the coat''s pockets as


    though he was hiding his clenched fists at the sight of the horrid woman. His eyes were icy cold as he


    stared at Jessica''s unconscious form like she was nothing. "The medical staff from the OB-GYN had


    examined her earlier. They said her body is now ready for the IVF process. It seems that the prison


    staff had strictly followed Toby''s orders and regrly supervised Jessica taking her medicine."


    "How could they not strictly follow Toby''s orders when they had received benefits from him?" Sonia


    adjusted her sses as she smiled.


    "So, are we performing the in vitro procedure for her today?" Tim asked with a tilt of his chin toward


    Jessica.


    Sonia nodded. "Of course. The sooner, the better."


    Tim slowly took out his phone, made a call, and said, "Alright, then. I''ll ask the medical staff from the


    OB-GYN toe over and perform the procedure. Come. Let''s clear out and not get in their way."


    Soon, the medical staff from the OB-GYN received Tim''s instructions and hurried over to perform the in


    vitro procedure for Jessica.


    As for Sonia, she waited outside for the results and only left after the doctor from the OB-GYN informed


    her that the embryo imntation was sessful.


    Jessica was then sent away to a secluded vi on the very same night. She would stay here and care


    for the fetus for the next ten months. She could only leave the estate after she gave birth to the baby.


    Jessica gained consciousness not long after she was sent to the vi. Yet, she kept kicking up a fuss


    as soon as she realized she was in an unfamiliar ce.


    Sonia only went to see Jessica when she had the time. Because Sonia had quite a lot to do, including


    following Tim''s orders to rest, it was muchter that she finally went to pay Jessica a little visit.


    The moment Jessica''s eyesid on Sonia, hatred bloomed on her face. "I get it now! It was you! You


    were the one who ordered those two people to kidnap me at the prison gate, weren''t you?!" she


    shrieked while pointing rudely at Sonia.


    Sonia merely quirked a brow and replied ndly, "Yes, it was me."


    "What do you want from me?!" Jessica struggled against her restraints.


    s, her limbs were firmly tied down to the bed, so she could only wriggle in fury.


    Although she was outwardly hissing and spitting insults, that was a mask to hide her genuine fear


    about her situation.


    Sonia kidnapped me to this ce and even tied me up in such a manner. Don''t tell me that she intends


    to ask someone to rape me, and then take a picture of it, and threaten me with it in the future.


    After all, that''s what they usually do on TV.


    As Jessica thought of this, her body trembled violently, and her eyes were full of terror.


    Sonia stood by the bed and curved her rosy lips upward into a yful smirk when she saw Jessica''s


    sorry state. "This current side of you looks a lot more pleasing to my eyes. You were always oh-so


    arrogant in the past, and it seemed as though you weren''t afraid of anything. So, you have no idea how


    thrilled I am to see just how scared you are now. But don''t worry. I won''t do anything to you. I just want


    you to obediently stay here for ten months and give birth to the baby."


    Jessica was perplexed by the situation that was entirely different from her spections. "Baby? What


    baby?"


    Sonia didn''t utter a word and simply looked at her stomach with a mirthless smile.

 Chapter 1437

    Chapter 1437


    Jessica tried her best to follow Sonia''s line of sight, which inadvertently fell on her stomach. An abyss


    of terror hit her so hard that her face drained of all color. She stared at Sonia in disbelief and


    questioned, "What are you trying to do? Did you do something untoward to me?!"


    Sonia merely rolled her eyes upon hearing her piercing shrieks. "Why''d you think so?"


    "Don''t try to deny it! How could I be pregnant if it weren''t for you?!" Jessica finally lost it and yelled in


    horror, "Sonia, you broke thew! You broke thew!" She was genuinely afraid of what was about to


    happen to her. She should have never returned; Sonia was a lunatic who was capable of doing


    anything to achieve her goals.


    The thought of the fate she might be facing shed across her mind, and she began sobbing


    uncontrobly.


    Sonia looked away in disgust when she saw her stepsister''s snot and tears mixing together into a


    repulsive clump. There was no way she could stand that scene¡ªit was just such an eyesore.


    "Well, contrary to your certainty, I didn''t do what you thought I did," she pursed her red lips and intoned


    coldly.


    Just as she expected, Jessica paused mid-wail, and a gleam of hope arose in her heart when she


    heard Sonia''s exnation. Nheless, after she experienced such a rollercoaster of emotions in such


    a short time, she could not believe what she had heard and wanted to make sure. "What are you


    talking about? You didn''t make me¡­"


    "I can''t do such vicious things." Sonia rolled her eyes at the pathetic sight of her stepsister. "I despise


    you, and there''s no point in hiding that I utterly loathe you with my entire being. But as a woman, I will


    never do things that will harm another woman. After all, I''m not like you. You would definitely seize the


    chance to do such a thing, aren''t I right, my dearest sister?" She stared at Jessica coldly and huffed


    scornfully.


    Jessica''s eyes flickered, and finally, she tilted her head to the side guiltily to avoid Sonia''s piercing


    gaze. She could not deny what Sonia had said because she was indeed the kind of person who would


    do anything to reach her goals, even though it was illegal. Indeed, she had never been a good person.


    She could not care less if the other person was a woman or man; she would employ the most painful


    way to get her revenge on the other person if they offended her. So, as long as the end justifies the


    means, she wouldn''t hesitate to hire someone to rape the other.


    "Hah. You are truly the worst humanity has to offer," Sonia regarded her step-sister, knowing that she


    had guessed correctly, and snorted coldly. "Although I won''t kill you, you''re na?ve to think that you can


    only conceive after sleeping with another man. Have you not heard about test tube babies?"


    Jessica''s expression changed drastically. "Test tube?"


    However, Sonia merely gave her a cool stare, and Jessica finally realized what she meant. Her heart


    started pumping harshly against her chest, and her back was drenched in a cold sweat. "You''re trying


    to make me conceive via test tube?"


    Honestly, Sonia loved what she saw, and she milked it for its worth as she gave Jessica a sweet smile


    that didn''t even hide the malicious intent behind it. "That''s right, my foolish sister. We havepleted


    the process, and the embryo has been nted in your uterus."


    "What?!" Jessica well and truly lost it when she heard Sonia''s words. She parted her lips to hurl abuse


    at Sonia on autopilot as her mind went nk. Her panic was so apparent that it was evident that she


    was unable to ept reality for what it was.


    It was not until a whileter that she suddenly regained her senses and red ferociously at Sonia.


    She looked like she wanted to tear Sonia from limb to limb and eat her alive. Her body shook violently,


    and there was undisguised hatred in her voice as she roared, "Sonia! How dare you treat me like


    cattle? How dare you?! I''m going to kill you! Let me go, you b*tch! I''m going to kill you! How dare you


    dare to make me conceive an unknown man''s bastard! I''m going to f*cking kill you!"


    Sonia quickly took a step back and distanced herself from Jessica as Jessica tried to lunge at her in a


    fit of madness. She did not want to get too close to Jessica, even if she knew that Jessica could not


    break free from the rope tying her down to the bed.


    Tim looked at Jessica in disgust and asked Sonia, "Should we sedate her?"


    "Nah." She shook her head and dismissed his suggestion. "She''s already with child, so taking any


    medicine is not good for the embryo. Anyway, she''s basically shackled down to the bed. So, I''m not the


    least bit concerned that she would be able to hurt herself and harm the fetus in the process."


    "Aaaaahhhhhhh!" Jessica howled as she overheard their conversation. Never in a million years would


    she have thought that Sonia would be so despicable and shameless that she would make her conceive


    a child just like that.


    "Why?! Why are you doing this to me?!" Jessica red daggers at Sonia. "Is it because you''re infertile?


    Is that why you got me pregnant in your ce?"


    Jessica paused suddenly as if she thought of something and slightly calmed down. Wait¡­ that''s right.


    Sonia can''t conceive. So naturally, she needs a surrogate mother. The child is definitely not hers


    because only a male could provide sperm.


    It was self-evident who this man was. In other words, she was bearing Toby''s child! Jessica''s eyes


    gleamed with greed and excitement as she imagined Toby''s handsome face and wealth. She even


    started snickering when she arrived at that conclusion.


    Tim raised his eyebrows slightly, confused by her sudden change in demeanor. "What''s wrong with


    her?"


    Nheless, Sonia knew Jessica very well. She knew precisely what Jessica was thinking based on


    what Jessica had said just now. Thus, Sonia sneered as she answered, "She probably thinks that the


    child in her belongs to Toby."


    Tim couldn''t help the sudden twitch at the corner of his lips as he shuddered in distaste. He did not


    expect Jessica''s imagination to run this wild. "Why would she even think such a thing?"


    Sonia merely shrugged her shoulders as she responded nonchntly, "Well, she thinks that I can''t


    conceive, and because I want her to get pregnant, she instinctively thought that she is bearing Toby


    and my child."


    He finally understood what was going on in Jessica''s head. So, he didn''t hide his contempt for Jessica


    and stopped talking.


    "It''s just such a pity, though. She is only pregnant with an ordinary man''s child." Sonia looked at her


    stepsister with a sinister smile, and her voice grew louder.


    Of course, Jessica heard her crystal clear and was absolutely stunned by this turn of events. She could


    no longerugh as she stammered, "W-What did you just say? Did you just say that this child does not


    belong to you and Toby?"


    "Uh¡­ yeah? Isn''t that obvious?" Sonia gave her a mocking smile and crossed her arms across her


    chest. "I have never said that I can''t have a baby. Besides, even if I can''t, I would never allow another


    woman to be the mother of my child. So, I can only say that you''re truly an idiot to ever expect such a


    thing. I can tell just by looking at your greedy little rat face that you n to use your status as that


    child''s biological mother to trap Toby. You want to use this opportunity to beg us to pay for your daily


    expenses. Oh wait, how could I forget about that interesting little possibility of you nning to rece


    me?"


    Jessica''s expression froze as Sonia exposed her schemes in an instant. She looked at Sonia as if she


    was looking at a monster and stumbled over her words, "Y¡ªyou¡ª" It was evident that she didn''t


    expect Sonia to catch on.


    Sonia had a disdainful smile on her face as she continued twisting the knife further, "Unfortunately for


    you, your idea is doomed to fail. The child''s father is just an ordinary man with a clean family


    background and a likable personality. Only the genes of such a man may prevent your child from


    bing as atrocious as you. Speaking of which, you should thank me. After all, I helped you improve


    your future generations'' genes in one fell stroke. Well? I''m waiting."


    "Thank you? Thank you?! You motherf*cker." Jessica swore at Sonia as she shattered her wishful


    thinking into pieces. "What do you want? Why do I need to be pregnant?" She could not understand


    Sonia''s actions.


    "Let''s take a quick trip down memoryne, hm? I am not the Reed Family''s biological daughter and


    need a Reed heir to inherit Paradigm Co. That is the reason behind your forced pregnancy. After all,


    you are the only biological daughter of the Reeds."


    So, that''s why. That''s why she needs me.


    "So, that''s your n! Let me tell you, Sonia. Your goal will nevere true! I will kill this thing and


    never give birth to it! You hear me! Never!" As Jessica was screeching at Sonia, she struggled harshly


    against her restraints as if trying to abort the child with her rough movements.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Regardless, Sonia remained as cool as a cucumber as she looked at Jessica like she was a fool. "Now,


    now. Why are you so excited? Have you forgotten about your basic education? We just nted the


    embryo, which means it hasn''t started to develop in your body. So, you can''t even im that you are


    pregnant now. So, you''ll only be hurting yourself, foolish sister. Eventually, you''ll just tire yourself out,


    and the embryo will grow within you with or without your say."


    As soon as Jessica heard Sonia''s remarks, she was instantly dumbfounded.


    Sonia yed up her kind sister persona by saying, "And don''t you worry. I will have someone look after


    you 24 hours a day. When the embryo develops, it will grow into a healthy child. Suffice it to say, your


    dream of aborting the baby through various means will never seed. Oh, by the way, you will remain


    in this vi for a year until the baby is born."


    After she finished speaking, she turned and left without hesitation. Naturally, Tim followed her, seeing


    no point in lingering.


    Jessica looked at their backs. If looks could kill, they''d be lying dead at her feet. Her eyes were


    bloodshot from all her caterwauling. The veins in her neck bulged as she screamed for Sonia. s,


    Sonia turned a deaf ear to her enraged screams and left the vi with a car.

 Chapter 1438

    Chapter 1438


    This was thest time Sonia came to see Jessica. In the future, she would nevere again.


    After Jessica gave birth to the child, someone would take the child away from her, and she would be


    sent to prison again once she was out of confinement.


    After all, Sonia hadn''t settled ounts with Jessica yet for poisoning her father.


    By the time she returned to the hospital, it was already afternoon.


    She didn''t visit Toby today, so when she arrived at the ward, he didn''t seem so happy as he pulled a


    long face.


    Sonia coaxed the sulky man for a long time before he finally gave in.


    Somehow, Sonia found the situation amusing. Ever since Toby got sick, he started acting like a child.


    He behaved like a sulky child just because she didn''t visit him for a day.


    Sonia then took a seat beside Toby''s hospital bed and told him what happened when she went to see


    Jessica.


    At the mention of Jessica mistaking herself pregnant with his child, he felt so sick that he almost puked.


    How could someone make up scenarios like that in her head?


    "Anyway, Miles will being to Seafield tonight." Toby wanted to avoid the topic of that disgusting


    woman, so he changed the subject.


    Sonia froze for a moment before asking, "So soon?"


    "Tom told him about my heart condition, so he came early."


    She nodded. "Sounds good. Mr. Lore should spill the matter as soon as possible."


    "Tom has already gone to the airport to wait for him," Toby continued. "He will meet Mr. Lore and settle


    the task I gave him beforeing over."


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    Sonia''s eyes lit up at that. "Does that mean we will be able to find out the truth of Mr. Lore and


    Professor Randall''s doings?"


    Toby''s tone was nomittal as he exined, "I''ve instructed Tom to install a surveince camera at


    Mr. Lore''s ce so that we, as well as the police, can watch their interaction in real-time from here."


    "That sounds perfect!" Sonia pped her hands in excitement.


    All of a sudden, she frowned upon the idea that suddenly popped up in her mind.


    "Mr. Lore and his wife have been making a fuss at Paradigm Co. and Fuller Group in the past few days.


    They demanded to see us, and if not for the security guards at the entrance, they would have broken


    into the building right away. I also heard that they are nning to harass Grandma at Fuller Residence.


    Still, thank goodness Tom was tentative enough to send some guards to patrol outside the residence to


    prevent the couple from harassing Grandma."


    "Tom told me about this matter too. Don''t worry, those two are just clowns. They won''t be able to cause


    trouble for long. I''m certain that Mr. Lore and his wife are both guilty. We have yet to find the evidence,


    but I swear Mr. Lore knows it all and will spill the beans tonight. Once he does that, their family will be


    reunited in jail," Toby uttered calmly with narrowed eyes.


    Sonia smiled before picking up a ss of water and dipping a cotton swab in it. Thereafter, she dabbed


    it on his lips to moisten them. "Okay, time''s up. Stop talking. Your lips are very dry."


    He pouted and uttered in a displeased tone, "Time is up already?"


    She chuckled. "Of course. We only have 10 minutes, remember? I gotta go now."


    After saying that, she tucked him in and walked toward the door under the man''s unhappy gaze.


    Once she was out of the door, she turned around to look at him, and as expected, she met his dark


    orbs.


    It turned out that he had been watching her without looking away for a second.


    Seeing the reluctance in his eyes, Sonia felt somewhat distressed, especially when she noticed the


    grievance and desire written in the man''s eyes.


    Once Toby watched her leave reluctantly, he would have to remain alone in that cold ward without


    anyone to talk to. If he couldn''t fall asleep, he could only stare at the ceiling in a daze, unable to do


    anything.


    However, what he longed for was freedom. He wanted to leave the hospital bed and the ward with his


    lover.


    Someone as boisterous as him didn''t belong in the hospital bed. He should be running the business


    industry and staying by Sonia''s side to protect her.


    Nheless, there was no use in immersing oneself in imagination anymore. His current state only


    allowed him to lie in a cold hospital bed. He was unable to move an inch.


    Sigh. Sonia picked up the clipboard and wrote a few words on it before holding it up for the man to


    read. Don''t be sad. I''ll stop by whenever I''m free.


    Even though she couldn''t go in, she could still apany him outside.


    Sure enough, Toby felt lighter after reading her message.


    Sonia smiled, lowered her head, and continued writing, Tim told me to get my eyes checked. I will


    come back after that.


    Toby nodded in acknowledgment.


    She waved at him, put away the board, and left.


    She thought the eye checkup wouldn''t take too long, so she didn''t expect toe out after two hours


    and figured that Toby was probably going to sulk again.


    Perhaps, he might even wonder whether she had broken her promise to him again.


    With a sigh, Sonia rubbed her temples and went to Toby''s ward.


    Regardless of whether that b*stard had already fallen asleep, she should still keep her promise and


    apany him in the ward. She would have a great excuse if he decided to ask her about it when he


    woke up tomorrow.


    "What am I going to do? What am I going to do¡­"


    Just as Sonia walked toward the elevator after leaving the ophthalmology department, she suddenly


    heard a sad and desperate crying from her right.


    A desperate cry wasn''t umon to hear in a hospital. Thus, it was none of her business. At most,


    she would just sympathize with that person and walk past them.


    However, the cry sounded very familiar to Sonia.


    The voice belonged to Titus'' wife, Julia Ramsay. If Julia was crying in such a heartbroken tone, she had


    encountered something terrible.


    Moreover, they were currently in the hospital. Sonia heard from Toby some time ago that Titus was


    hospitalized due to his health deterioration.


    Could that mean Julia was crying for Titus?


    Could Titus be dead?


    Sonia''s eyes lit up as she hurried toward the direction of the cry.


    Sure enough, on a bench outside a consultation room, she saw Julia sitting there, covering her face as


    she cried uncontrobly.


    Sonia stopped opposite Julia, leaned against the cold wall with her arms folded, and questioned


    indifferently, "What''s wrong? Why are you crying like that, Mrs. Gray? Is it because President Gray has


    passed away? If so, it would be a miracle."


    Hearing that, Julia choked and quickly put down her hands before raising her head and ring at


    Sonia. "It''s you! How dare you curse my husband?"


    Sonia blinked her eyes, expressing her innocence. "No. I didn''t curse President Gray. I just made a


    bold guess after watching you bawl. Your desperate cries make me imagine the worst."


    "You¡ª" Julia trembled due to anger. She pointed at Sonia but was speechless due to rage.


    Brushing her long hair, Sonia beamed. "What? President Gray isn''t dead yet, I suppose. What a pity. It


    would be great if he died. It''ll save me from getting my revenge."


    Julia''s eyes were scarlet as she cursed, "You evil brat!"


    "Are you calling me evil?" Sonia covered her lips andughed until tears streamed down her cheeks.


    "Mrs. Gray, if I am evil, what about your husband and your adopted daughter? Your husband was


    jealous of my father back then, so he stole Paradigm Co.''s confidential data 20 years ago, causing an


    employee of Paradigm tomit suicide by jumping off the building. My father had no choice but to


    risk taking your child away for revenge, but your family refused to stop your vicious acts. Seven years


    ago, you almost made Paradigm Co. bankrupt and forced my father tomit suicide by jumping off a


    building. Are those acts not considered evil?"

 Chapter 1439

    Chapter 1439


    Faced with Sonia''s interrogation, Julia parted her lips, but nothing slipped out of her tongue.


    Nheless, Sonia didn''t let her go just like that. Instead, she approached her step by step and


    questioned, "Your adopted daughter, on the other hand, deliberately pretended to be me, made me


    suffer six years of humiliation, and then repeatedly threatened to kill me. I would consider myself


    fortunate to survive after all that, or I would have died long ago. Mrs. Gray, please answer me. Isn''t


    your family being too cruel to me and my family?"


    "I¡­ I¡­" Julia''s face turned pale as she stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.


    Truth was, she was not someone who had no morals.


    In fact, she did.


    She was well aware that inparison, the Graysmitted the biggest fault. It was their family who


    wronged the Reeds in the first ce. She knew how merciless her husband and adopted daughter


    were.


    Nevertheless, she was a member of the Grays, so despite knowing that her husband and adopted


    daughter were wrong, she could only stand by their side.


    As she was currently faced with Sonia''s interrogation, she couldn''t bring herself to defend her family.


    Moreover, she felt inexplicably ashamed in her heart.


    That realization shocked her.


    She was surprised that she would feel guilty toward the brat standing before her.


    Julia figured that she might have gone insane.


    Just then, the sound of heels stepping on the ground echoed through the hall.


    "Mom!" Seeing her mom sitting on the bench, Tina called out to her.


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    Soon, she noticed Sonia standing opposite her mother, and her expression instantly darkened.


    Why were they together?


    What were they talking about?


    Afraid that her secret might be exposed, she hurriedly went over. "Mom."


    "Hey, Tina." Noticing her daughter, Julia quickly wiped off her tears and forced a smile. "Why did you


    arrive sote?"


    "There was a traffic jam on the road, so I camete," Tina said and handed over the bag in her hand. "I


    brought you some food. Have some."


    "Okay." Julia took the bag.


    Then, Tina nced at Sonia.


    She deliberately walked in front of Sonia. Since her heels made her appear taller than thetter, she


    completely blocked Sonia''s line of sight. Since Sonia was not facing Julia directly anymore, Tina felt


    relieved.


    "Hello, Miss Reed." Looking at Sonia, Tina forced a smile and greeted her.


    Sonia nced at her indifferently. "You don''t have to smile if you don''t want to. No one is forcing you."


    Being unceremoniously exposed by Sonia, Tina instantly pulled an embarrassed expression.


    Nevertheless, growing up with the Grays taught her many things, one was being good at controlling her


    expressions.


    Soon, Tina collected herself and presented her usual expression while brushing her hair behind her ear


    before apologizing, "I''m sorry for making you feel uneasy due to my expression earlier, Miss Reed."


    Sonia rolled her eyes and didn''t bother to pay her any attention. With that, she turned around to leave.


    However, Tina stopped her. "Why are you in the hospital? I heard that you went abroad with President


    Fuller."


    A dark light shed in Sonia''s eyes as she stopped, turned her head, and countered, "Can''t Ie


    back after leaving the country? Something came up, so I came back first. Besides, I''m not used to the


    food abroad, so I haven''t been feeling so well. I stopped by the hospital to get checked. Is there


    something wrong with that?"


    "Of course not." Tina smiled. "But you''re in the nephrology department. You shouldn''t be here if you''re


    getting a checkup."


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. "What exactly are you trying to say?"


    Tina smiled, walked to her side, and lowered her voice, "I don''t care why you''re here, but I only have


    one request, and that is for you to not appear in front of my parents. I hope you can grant me my


    request."


    "Oh?" Sonia raised her eyebrows, feeling intrigued. "Why is that? I just realized you seem quite


    intimidated by the fact that I would show up in front of your parents. Is there some sort of reason for


    your request?"


    Tina''s eyes flickered as if not daring to meet Sonia''s eyes.


    "You''re funny, Miss Reed. I''m not scared that you might appear in front of my parents. I just worry that


    my parents will get overly emotional when they see you. Nothing else."


    "Really?" Sonia raised her eyebrows again. "I find it hard to believe, though. Why are you avoiding my


    gaze if you''re not lying?"


    Sonia squinted her eyes and stared at Tina suspiciously.


    Tina was already feeling guilty, and when she saw Sonia scrutinizing her, she became even more


    flustered before turning around abruptly. "You''re overthinking, Miss Reed. I''m not lying. Anyway, I hope


    you will agree to my request. You don''t want to get hurt here, do you? I know you and my parents have


    a grudge against each other, so I can''t guarantee that they won''t hurt you if they see you, especially


    when my father''s life is at its end now. If you don''t want my father to kill you, please promise me not to


    show up in front of my parents again."


    After leaving her with those words, Tina ignored Sonia and supported Julia. "Mom, let''s go in and see


    Dad."


    "Sure." Julia didn''t hear what Tina said to Sonia earlier. She assumed that her daughter thought Sonia


    had bullied her earlier, so she was confronting her.


    Julia got up slowly with the help of Tina and went in the direction of the ward.


    For some reason, Julia turned around abruptly after taking a few steps to nce at Sonia.


    Sensing her mother''s movements, Tina also turned to look. Jealousy, hatred, and anxiety instantly filled


    up her heart when she noticed how Julia was looking at Sonia.


    "What are you looking at, Mom?" Tina stared at Julia.


    Looking away guiltily, Julia shook her head. "N-Nothing¡­"


    Tina snorted softly without prodding.


    Sonia naturally caught all of Julia''s actions and expressions earlier, which made her feel an


    indescribable feeling in her heart.


    However, she didn''t think too much about it and instead entered an office.


    The doctor in the office happened to be the director of the nephrology department and also Titus''


    doctor, so Sonia entered the room and inquired about Titus'' current condition.


    She was informed that Titus'' bodily functions were deteriorating, and even if he found a suitable kidney,


    his physical condition would not support a kidney transnt, and he could only resign himself to


    epting death soon. Hearing that, Sonia finally understood why Julia cried in a heartbroken manner.


    After bidding farewell to the doctor, she headed to Toby''s ward.


    Along the way, she was a little absent-minded. Her mind was filled with the fact that Titus was close to


    his end and he would not be able to live long.


    Logically speaking, she should be happy to find out that Titus was really going to die. She should even


    leap up in joy and exim that he deserved the punishment!


    But for some reason, she couldn''t cheer herself up. Instead, she felt extremely frustrated and


    distressed to the point where tears started pooling in her eyes.


    When she touched her face, she realized tears had fallen. She didn''t feel good at all.


    Am I crying for Titus right now? I must be out of my mind!


    Sonia quickly wiped off the tears on her hands and her eyes, refusing to ept that she had just cried


    for Titus.


    In her opinion, shedding tears for an enemy was shameful.


    She was probably the only person who would cry for her enemy''s imminent death in this world!


    If her father knew about it, he would probably be pissed at her.


    Taking a deep breath, Sonia wiped her face and calmed theplicated emotions in her heart before


    returning to Toby''s ward.

 Chapter 1440

    Chapter 1440


    After arriving at the ward, Sonia noticed someone inside. It was Tim in a white coat.


    Noticing Tim, she was first taken aback but soon felt nervous.


    I thought he clocked out already.


    After her eye examination, he told her he was going to head home.


    At that time, he even took off his white coat, clocked out, and left the office.


    Why did hee back? And what was he doing in Toby''s room?!


    Did something happen to Toby?


    Thinking of that, Sonia felt her heart skip a beat. She quickly ced her hands on the ss window


    and frowned while looking inside worriedly.


    Toby was still lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed.


    Tim stood beside the hospital bed, flipped open the medical record folder in his hand, nced at Toby,


    and wrote something down.


    After repeating his action a few times, he finally closed the folder and kept his ballpen before ncing


    in Sonia''s direction.


    Meeting Tim''s gaze, Sonia quickly mouthed at him to ask about Toby''s situation.


    Tim couldn''t hear her, so he walked out and asked, "Where have you been?"


    Without bothering to answer his question, she grabbed his arm with anxiety painted across her face.


    "What''s wrong with Toby, Dr. Lancaster? Haven''t you already left work? Did youe back because


    something happened to him? Are you the only one who can stabilize his condition?"


    Seeing how worked up she was, Tim pulled his arm out and replied casually, "Don''t worry. Nothing is


    wrong with him. He just wanted to wait for you toe back, so he refused to close his eyes and


    sleep, which caused his heart rate to increase. I''m his doctor, and I haven''t left the hospital yet, so


    someone called me over. I just injected him with a sedative so that he can fall asleep. His heart rate is


    back to normal too, so don''t worry."


    Hearing that Toby was fine, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew. That''s good to hear. I was nearly


    scared to death." She patted her chest as she muttered to herself.


    After that, she suddenly felt upset. "Why was he waiting for me? I told him that I was going to get my


    eyes checked and wille back to apany him. Why didn''t he listen to me?"


    This man is seriously getting on my nerves.


    His behavior didn''t just make others worry; it was also an irresponsible act to his own life.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "He said that he didn''t expect your examination to take so long. He was afraid that you would be bored


    outside alone if you saw him asleep after you came back, so he tried to stay conscious." Tim ryed


    Toby''s words and told her the truth.


    Sonia squeezed her palms. "Why would he be concerned if I''m bored? I just want him to take good


    care of his body. He''s just making me worry even more by doing this. He''s seriously pissing me off."


    She stomped her feet and frowned.


    Tim pushed his sses upward and exined, "Based on my previous studies on psychology, Toby


    shows symptoms of a typical patient who is insecure. Rather than him being worried that you might get


    bored, he is probably afraid that you will forget him and note back."


    "Huh?" Sonia was taken aback by his statement. "Why would he think that way?"


    "It''s normal." Tim shrugged. "These kinds of thoughts usually happen to people who are on the verge of


    death or have survived a catastrophe. Toby is one of thetter. Since he almost lost his life but


    managed to escape death, he is now desperate for attention and concern from the people he loves. It''s


    because he is afraid of losing them all of a sudden, but his condition will improve as he recovers. Don''t


    worry."


    After Sonia listened to his exnation, the anger in her heart dissipated instantly.


    She was initially upset that the man behaved unlike himself and didn''t care about his health. Was he


    trying to make everyone worry about him?


    Now, however, she no longer thought that way.


    In the eyes of a person who had no sense of security but was very dependent on others, he prioritized


    her over his health and life.


    He is driving me crazy¡­


    Sonia sighed and smiled embarrassedly at Tim. "I see. Thank you for your enlightenment and thank


    you for checking on him even after getting off work. I''m really sorry that you still have to look after us


    after working hours."


    She bowed to Tim in shame.


    In fact, she only saved Tim once by pulling him out of the water when they were both young.


    On the contrary, he repeatedly saved her and Toby''s lives. By right, he already repaid the kindness he


    owed her back when they were kids. Now, it was her turn to repay his kindness.


    "Nah. It''s nothing. Don''t sweat it." Tim shoved his hands into the pockets of his white coat. "Speaking of


    which, didn''t wee out of my office together? What took you so long toe and see him? I even


    left the hospital gate and made a U-turn back to give Toby a sedative. Where have you been?"


    Sonia told him truthfully that she bumped into Julia after leaving the ward.


    Tim raised his chin all of a sudden. "Titus won''t be able to live long. He probably only has about two


    months left, and his wife bawls every day at the nephrology department, pleading for someone to save


    Titus. She even came to me, but I didn''t entertain her. The nephrology doctor patiently exined to her


    that Titus was incurable, and even if they find a suitable kidney, his condition will not help himst until


    the operation is over, so he will risk dying on the operating table. He persuaded Julia to bring Titus


    home since there is no point in staying in the hospital, but she refused to do so and instead bawled her


    eyes out every day. It makes sense that you bump into her since you came out of the ophthalmology


    department."


    "Yeah, I heard about it from the doctors there," Sonia replied. "Mrs. Gray insists on not running the


    discharge procedures for Titus and cries at the ward every day instead. Seems like she hasn''t given up


    on hope yet."


    "Do you think she''d give up? Once Titus dies, the Grays will copse and Triforce Enterprise will be


    divided by the shareholders. How could a widow and her daughter possibly go against the cunning old


    men in the industry? They''d be defeated right away. Mrs. Gray is trying to save Titus not just because


    they are husband and wife, but also to secure her future," Tim exined nonchntly.


    Since he had studied psychology, he knew what Julia was nning in her head.


    "If you have no important business, try not to visit that department. Seeing them will only make your


    mood worse," Tim reminded her as his sses shone a little under the lights.


    He remembered that Toby once told him that Sonia was the real Tina Gray, the daughter of Titus and


    his wife.


    Bloodline was an interesting thing. Even if the children were separated from their parents and did not


    recognize each other, the universe seemed to create opportunities for them to meet. Once they


    encountered each other, they would be subconsciously attracted to the other party and allow an idea to


    arise. They would start wondering if they were rted to each other.


    Hence, he thought it wasn''t a good idea for Sonia to meet the Grays too often, or some strange


    emotions might ur to her and lead her to her identity discovery.


    Toby was right when he imed that she and the Grays were not destined to be a family in this


    lifetime.


    That being the case, it was better for both parties to stay clueless about their rtionship from the get-


    go.


    The secret should be buried for eternity.


    Sonia didn''t know what Tim was thinking, but when she heard how Tim described them as bad luck,


    she felt amused. "Yeah. I just happened to bump into them today, but I won''t purposely meet them


    again. You can rest assured."


    "Alright, then. Stay here with Toby. Judging from your character and Toby''s waywardness, I''m afraid


    you won''t feel easy to leave him just like that. I won''t make you go home and rest, but I hope you''ll


    listen to the nurses when they tell you to leave."


    With that, Tim walked past her and left the hospital.

 Chapter 1441

    Chapter 1441


    Sonia watched him leave and made sure he entered the elevator before looking away and taking a seat


    on the chair outside the ward.


    The chair wasn''t originally there as the hospital prohibited visitors from staying overnight or even


    watching the patient outside the intensive care unit.


    However, Sonia and Toby were special cases.


    In addition to that, the floor had been taken over by Toby, and Toby couldn''t bear to separate from


    Sonia, so the hospital allowed them to do that despite the rules. They even ced a chair outside for


    Sonia.


    Sonia sat quietly and hunched a little as she watched the man lying in the ward.


    The man was asleep, and the atmosphere was very quiet, so she couldn''t get enough of him.


    It wasn''t until two hourster that the nurse came to her and reminded her that it was time to leave.


    Only then did she look away and returned to her ward.


    The next day, when Sonia showed up at Toby''s ward again, he sulked. Even after waiting a long time


    for her, she didn''t return. In addition to that, Tim stopped by before she even appears, making Toby feel


    even more aggrieved. Hence, when she came in today, he turned away and ignored her.


    Seeing the childish behavior of the man, Sonia felt annoyed but amused. She sat down beside the bed


    and asked him, "Toby, are you really going to ignore me?"


    Toby was unmoved and did not turn his head to look at her. Sonia shook her head helplessly, then put


    on a straight face, pretending to be displeased. "Toby, how could you be upset with me? Didn''t I just


    come back a littlete? Didn''t I tell you when I left that I wasn''t sure how long it would take for me to


    return? You should''ve gone to sleep when I told you to. Even if you fall asleep, I will stay outside for a


    while to apany you, but what did you do instead? You ignored my words and didn''t take them to


    heart at all. You waited for me with your eyes open and ended up sacrificing your health."


    Toby didn''t expect that Sonia would suddenly lose her temper and vent on him. He waspletely


    stunned and turned to stare at her in a daze.


    However, Sonia did not intend to let him go just like that. She was going to take the opportunity to have


    a good talk with him so he could correct his mentality.


    "Do you know what''s going on with you now? You are a patient who can''t move. If you move, your


    heart condition might worsen after the surgery, alright? What you have to do now is to listen to the


    doctor''s advice, take a good rest, and take good care of your body. You should try to heal sooner and


    be healthy again, but did you listen to the doctors? You didn''t. And you even ignored my words! I


    told you that I was going for an eye examination and told you to rest when you should, but you refused


    to listen and insisted on waiting for me. When something bad happens to you, you aren''t the only one


    who suffers. You are also causing concern among those who care about you! Don''t you think you''re


    being too selfish?"


    Toby''s thin lips twitched, wanting to say something.


    Regardless of that, Sonia didn''t give him a chance to speak as she continued, "Do you know how


    worried I was when I saw Tim in your ward after I came back yesterday? I was almost scared to death.


    Do you think I''m not upset? I haven''t even settled that matter with you yet, but you beat me to it and


    started sulking. Yes, I came backte, and Tim came sooner than me, but why didn''t you ask me why I


    camete? And what have I been through? All you do is sulk with me. When I try to coax you, you


    show your anger even more. Toby, don''t expect me to tolerate your nasty temper just because you are


    a patient. I''m furious right now!"


    She had her hands on her hips, her little face was flushed, and she was obviously exasperated at the


    b*stard.


    Toby could move his hands now because he asked Tim not to inject him with lidocaine anymore to


    which the doctor agreed.


    Besides not being able to get out of bed, he was allowed to move his hands and feet with minimal


    gestures.


    Seeing how enraged Sonia was, Toby was also a little worried and scared.


    After all, he had never seen her so angry ever since they got back together, especially when her anger


    was projected onto him.


    After getting a dreadful scolding from her, he was no longer upset. Furthermore, he had to worry about


    whether she would ignore him after this.


    Toby had already forgotten about his anger and only wanted to coax the woman and make her happy.


    If she decided to leave in a fit of anger, then he would lose the pitiful 10 minutes he had to talk to her


    every day. He might cry at the mere thought of it.


    With that, he tugged Sonia''s sleeves gently.


    Sonia looked down and shouted sternly, "What are you doing?"


    Toby blinked his eyes, pursed his thin lips, and pouted. "I was wrong just now. Please don''t be angry¡­"


    Seeing him being pitiful and carefully apologizing to her, Sonia almost couldn''t stifle augh.


    However, to give the man a hard time this time and teach him a good lesson, she quickly suppressed


    her smile and pulled a cold face before pulling her sleeves away from his touch. "Don''t touch me. Do


    you really think I have no temper?"


    Toby stared at his empty hand with a slightly startled expression and grabbed her sleeve again.


    Sonia knew he would do that, so after pulling out her sleeve, she didn''t ce her arm elsewhere but


    merely put it in the same position as before so that he could pull it again without moving too much.


    "It''s all my fault. It really is, so please don''t be angry, will you? I swear not to do it again." Toby tugged


    Sonia''s sleeve, but his fingers kept sliding down until he finally took her hand.


    Sonia nced at him without shaking him off. "Hmm? You finally realize you''re at fault?"


    "Yeah." Toby nodded.


    "Really?"


    "Really." Toby acted like an obedient little child who answered every question.


    Nheless, Sonia''s expression remained unchanged as she looked at him indifferently. "Tell me what


    you did wrong then."


    Toby parted his thin lips slightly and replied, "I shouldn''t be upset with you. I should have listened to


    your words and taken good care of my body."


    After he said that, Sonia''s expression finally eased. "So, you do know what your mistakes are."


    Toby''s thin lips twitched as he muttered, "If I still couldn''t get what I did wrong after you said all those


    things, you might ignore me forever."


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    Sonia smiled. "It''s good that you''re self-aware of that. You''re right, if you answered wrongly, I was going


    to give you the cold shoulder for some time to make you realize that you can''t have things your way all


    the damn time. Got it?"


    "Got it," Toby hummed.


    Sonia clenched his hand tightly, and her expression softenedpletely. Then, she brought his hand


    to her face and rubbed his palm. "Don''t feel upset after I scolded you, okay? I''m just trying to make you


    realize the importance of your health."


    "I know." Toby''s fingers wiggled a little as he caressed her cheeks. "I''m sorry for making you worryst


    night."


    "Now that you know how worried I am, I hope you don''t do it again in the future. I know you are


    insecure, but don''t overthink it. I will always be there for you, and something must have happened if I


    am not there for you or if I arrivete. I promise to never leave you, okay?"


    She looked at him sincerely.


    Toby nodded slightly. "Okay."


    Sonia beamed at that. "All is well, then. From now on, you must take your health seriously, or I can''t


    always be here with you since I have other matters to settle and will end up worrying about you all the


    time. You don''t want me to feel that way, do you?"

 Chapter 1442

    Chapter 1442


    Toby shook his head. Of course, he didn''t want her to feel that way!


    Seeing that, Sonia bent over and kissed him on the forehead. "That''s right, and here''s your reward."


    His thin lips curled up, obviously satisfied with the reward.


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    After she kissed him on the forehead, he quickly put his arms around her to keep her from standing up


    straight.


    Sonia was momentarily startled before she realized that the b*stard would push his luck again. Her


    mouth twitched at the corner in despair as she moaned, "Toby, what are you doing? Let me go."


    She was afraid to make sudden movements or pull his arms away for fear of tearing Toby''s surgical


    wound. However, tearing the surgical wound was a trivial matter, but if it affected his heart, it would be


    a problem.


    Since she had no other option, she had no choice but to lie down in his arms and request him to let her


    go. On the other hand, he knew she dared not move, so he hugged her with peace of mind.


    "I''m not going to let you go. I haven''t hugged you in a while, so allow me to hug you longer this time."


    Then, he took a deep breath while nestled against Sonia''s neck.


    Soon, the faint scent of the woman''s body caused Toby to close his eyes and embrace her even more


    tightly.


    When Sonia saw the man behaving in such a manner, she couldn''t help but feel amused and


    sympathetic for him. She gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder and said, "We can only hug for a short


    time, okay? So, when the time is up, you must release me. It would be extremely embarrassing if the


    nurse came over and saw us in this state."


    Then, he murmured his assent with a hum.


    Therefore, shebent over and allowed him to hug her. On the other hand, she was in a position that


    made her feel ufortable because she couldn''t lie on top of him. After all, doing so would risk


    tearing his wound and putting pressure on his heart.


    Hence, Sonia propped herself up by resting her two arms against Toby''s side to prevent her body from


    coming into contact with his. Consequently, she quickly became exhausted because she had to exert


    force with her two arms and her two legs. Even her spine was stretched out and tightened to the point


    where it was ufortable. Soon, she started to experience pain in her waist.


    However, she had no intention of disclosing her difort to the man. Anyway, he wouldn''t be able to


    hug her for long, so there was no point in telling him that. Instead, she let him hug her for as long as he


    wanted. After all, he''d spent days in the hospital bed, looking pathetic. Since there was nothing he


    could do, she reasoned that the best she could do for him was to hug and try tofort him.


    As promised, Toby let go of Sonia when their time was up.


    When she felt his arm gradually release her, she could finally straighten her posture. Since she had


    leaned for too long, she heard her spine''s distinct cracking sound when she finally stood up. She


    grimaced in response to the difort, but to prevent Toby from noticing and cing me on


    himself, she quickly gathered herposure and smiled at him. "Not bad. There was no refusal to


    release me at the end of the allotted time. Good job!"


    She praised him with her thumb.


    Toby smirked and said, "I understand that if I refused to let you go, you would never let me hug you


    again."


    "So, you''re being obedient to hug me next time?" His remark elicited a frown from Sonia.


    Toby nodded nomittally. That was precisely what he had in mind.


    Then, she chuckled dryly andmented, "Oh, you are so crafty!"


    Even though Toby wanted to hug her, Sonia was ufortable. What will happen to my waist if he


    continues to hug me while I''m bending over? However, seeing the expectant look in the man''s eyes as


    he blinked, she could not reject him. Forget it. I can''t bear to deny him with that expression on his face.


    It is merely waist pain, and in terms of difort, I cannotpare myself to him, who had to spend


    the entire day in bed.


    "Fine. As long as you listen to me, receive your treatment, and stop the behavior that made us worry


    last night. I promise to hug you every day," she assured him.


    Toby felt instantly energized after hearing that. "What about another kiss? Instead of kissing the cheeks


    or forehead, kiss my lips." Following that, he pointed at his lips.


    Sonia was rendered speechless. "Greedy brat. I already promised to hug you every day, and you''re


    trying to ask for kisses now? Dream on, Toby Fuller. If you asked me to kiss you on the forehead or


    cheeks, I might agree easily, but you''re asking me to kiss your lips! Do you think I don''t know what


    you''re up to? What if you are washed over by your desire and begin moving when you should stay in


    bed and rest? Don''t even think about it and put away your unrealistic thoughts."


    As a reaction to what she said, he pouted. In fact, he had been prepared for her to reject him, but he


    had never imagined that she would agree to kiss him on the cheek or forehead. As he anticipated her


    rejection if he asked for kisses, he decided to go for broke and requested that she kiss his lips. Who


    knew that would happen?


    Toby was aggrieved with his earlier effort. If he had known that Sonia would agree to kiss his forehead


    or cheek, he wouldn''t have teased her and told her that he was content with kisses on the forehead or


    cheek every day. What about now? He only managed to get a hug every day and nothing else.


    "Can I change my request?" He reached for her and looked at her expectantly. "I don''t want a proper


    kiss on the lips anymore. Can I get kisses on the cheeks or the forehead instead?" he asked cautiously.


    If the other party was soft-hearted, they would definitely agree immediately.


    On the other hand, she was determined not to let him have his way. "No."


    Then, she made the cross sign with both of her arms. "You are always greedy for more. Once I agree


    to one of your requests, you will take advantage of it and push your way forward and throw me another


    request. To break your bad habit, I will not grant any of your requests at this time. Don''t you dare use


    those sad eyes and aggrieved expressions to attack me! I will not give in to your tricks."


    Toby''s eyelids drooped as he exuded an aura of disappointment and despair.


    Sonia stood beside his hospital bed and looked at him coldly. "Don''t give me that look. I won''t agree


    anyway."


    "Can''t we negotiate?" He wasn''t ready to give up yet.


    Then, Sonia grinned at him and said, "Of course¡­ Not!"


    Nheless, Toby was exasperated, and he wasn''t putting on an act when Sonia rejected him. It


    dawned on him that she was serious at that moment and that she would not budge no matter what he


    said or did. Soon, he was submerged in a sea of mncholy.


    However, her lips parted involuntarily as she looked at him. Why does he appear so dejected because I


    did not grant his request? Why is he behaving so coquettishly after bing ill? Then, she rubbed her


    forehead, feeling slightly dumbfounded. Understandably, sick people have a terrible reputation for


    being the most annoying. This b*stard is behaving exactly as described!


    "Okay." With a sigh, she reached out her hand to shake his. "Be good. Maybe I will consider giving you


    another reward like today."


    In his downcast eyes, a gleam of light shed instantly. "Really?"


    "Yes." She nodded and continued, "I''m telling the truth, but the premise is that you must be good, and


    I''m in a good mood."


    "I''ll be good!" Toby nodded fervently.


    Sonia smiled and uttered, "Great, then. It''s time for me to leave now." She told the man after noticing


    the nurse entering the ward.


    The light in Toby''s eyes disappeared in an instant.


    Then, she uttered helplessly, "Stop acting like that. I will stay outside to apany you all day today,


    but I can''t get in close contact with you like now. I''ll head out first, okay?"

 Chapter 1443

    Chapter 1443


    Sonia walked out of the ward after tucking Toby in the bed. As she was leaving, she nced back and


    was unsurprised to meet the man''s loving eyes. In retrospect, their situation was slightly ironic. So,


    when the man got sick, he became more vulnerable and looked like a helpless child who couldn''t bear


    to be separated from his parents. Then, she gave the man a friendly wave and a smile while sitting on


    the outside bench. Soon, the reluctance in his eyes dissipated when the man saw that she had sat


    down instead of leaving.


    A whileter, Tom dropped by to fill Toby in on what was happening at work. In addition to that, he also


    updated Toby on the progress of Miles hypnotizing Harry Lore.


    However, Sonia was unable to overhear their conversation and waited patiently outside. Eventually,


    when Tom came out, he would report it to her.


    It wasn''t long before ten minutes had passed, and he rushed out from the ward. Before she could


    inquire, he stopped in front of her and greeted, "Hello, Miss Reed."


    "Didn''t Mr. Snydere to the hospital?" she inquired.


    Tom readjusted his sses and replied, "Mr. Snyder is in the hospital, but he didn''te over. He went


    to pick up Mr. Quentin Snyder''s heart and is nning to bring it back to their hometown after collecting


    it."


    "I see." Sonia nodded in acknowledgment and asked, "Will he stille to the hospital in the future?"


    "Yes, he will," he replied. "Tina hasn''t been caught yet. Mr. Snyder already knew that Tina harmed Mr.


    Quentin Snyder, so he asked us to notify him after we caught her. He will definitelye over again."


    "That makes sense." Then, she sighed and continued, "It is a fact that Tina killed his brother. Although


    he may not be able to feel family affection, their family hood will inspire resentment and vengeance


    toward the person responsible for his brother''s death."


    "You''re right," Tom sighed. "After I made initial contact with Mr. Snyder and informed him about it, he


    remained silent on the phone for an extended period. After a while, when the name Tina was


    mentioned, his tone was noticeably more hostile than before. It demonstrates that he is not devoid of


    human emotions, but rather reacts indifferently to them."


    "That''s the same case with Tim." Sonia smiled and added, "Although he is a Deficient Emotional Self-


    Regtion patient who cannot feel emotions, I know they aren''tpletely emotionless. They merely


    don''t know their emotions are controlling them. The fact that Miles resents the murderer who killed his


    brother means he has emotions projected onto his family. Meanwhile, Tim always looks after me


    because I saved him from drowning once when we were young. That is enough proof that he is also a


    man with emotions who has gratitude and prioritizes friendship."


    Following that, he nodded in agreement.


    Meanwhile, Tim, who wanted to approach them from the nearby corner, was taken aback by Sonia''s


    sudden reference to him and quickly retreated. As it turns out, she does not see me as some


    emotionless monster but rather as a human being who possesses emotions. Then, he looked at his


    hands and grinned, sensing his heart pumping with excitement rather than sitting there like a pool of


    stagnant water. This must be the joy and excitement that people often talk about¡ªbeing recognized


    and epted by others.


    Tim looked over at Sonia, then Tom, and silently walked away. He wanted to go back and sort out his


    emotions while keeping track of all the changes brought on by these new feelings. Then, he might gain


    a deeper understanding of the human emotional spectrum.


    On the other hand, Sonia was unaware that Tim was nearby. So, when she had finished talking about


    him, she looked at Tom and switched to a serious topic. "Did Harry tell the truth?"


    In response, he immediately nodded in excitement. "Of course! No one can resist Mr. Snyder''s


    hypnotism. After he was hypnotized, Harry truthfully confessed when the police interrogated him. He


    was indeed the one who killed Professor Randall."


    Even though they had known the answer for a long time, she could not help but take a deep breath


    when it was confirmed.


    "I recall Harry and Professor Randall are both mentees of the same mentor. I still can''t believe he killed


    his friend." Sonia let out a sigh.


    What had be of humanity?


    "That''s right, the two are indeed fellow mentees and have simr talents in economics. However, the


    mentors usually preferred Professor Randall because he had a good character. Harry was obviously


    more cunning and had always been envious of Professor Randall. Still, Harry was good at hiding his


    feelings. Before President Fuller chose Professor Randall as his mentor, Harry did not make a move on


    his fellow friend. After all, Professor Randall was an ordinary professor with a family background less


    superior to Harry''s. Hence, while Harry was jealous of his friend, he also had a sense of superiority to


    look down on Professor Randall. It wasn''t until President Fuller chose Professor Randall as his mentor


    that Harrypletely lost his cool."


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    "Because if Toby had chosen Professor Randall, he would gain the support of Toby and the Fullers,


    and his reputation would rise even higher. Therefore, Harry will be disregarded as time goes on," Sonia


    added.


    Tom sighed and exined, "That''s right. Since Harry was aware of that, his jealousy of Professor


    Randall grew. Therefore, when Harry knew that none of the Lores'' descendants had the power to


    reunite the Lores, he was even more troubled. Soon, he devised the n to overthrow Professor


    Randall and became President Fuller''s mentor. With President Fuller as a mentee, even if the


    descendants of the Lores were not sessful, they could rely on President Fuller and the Fullers to


    prosper. Facts have proved that Harry was right. If the Lores hadn''t grown arrogant over the years and


    meddled in President Fuller''s rtionship issues, they wouldn''t have angered President Fuller. The


    latter would have helped them, and they could still enjoy freedom under President Fuller''s protection.


    Moreover, President Fuller would not even consider investigating the truth about Professor Randall''s


    death."


    "That means bad people always deserve bad endings. They can try to cover up their past bad acts, but


    eventually, those acts wille to light. This is called retribution," Sonia uttered coldly.


    Tom continued, "ording to Harry, he didn''t want to kill Professor Randall. He merely wanted to hurt


    Professor Randall, so he couldn''t attend the mentee appointment ceremony. By doing that, Harry would


    have a chance to take President Fuller in as his mentee. So, he had everything nned out for that. He


    ced banana peels outside Professor Randall''s office, thinking that after thetter stepped on the


    banana peels and fell, he would be in aa or hospitalized. However, Harry never foresaw that the


    fall would end Professor Randall''s life."


    "Everything in this world is so unpredictable that nothing goes as nned. Even if it is roughly in line


    with one''s expectations, there will be some deviations. Even a slight change in circumstances will


    dramatically alter the nature of the situation. Harry imed he simply wanted to injure Professor


    Randall and never intended to kill him, but did he not consider the possibility that Randall could die?


    After all, Professor Randall wasn''t young anymore. Harry probably considered it, but counted on his


    good fortune and perseverance, so he went ahead with his n anyway."


    "I knew it! It turned out to be what I expected."


    Tom nodded. "After Professor Randall''s death, Harry took swift action to erase any lingering signs of


    his presence and contacted the investigating police chief. Since the police chief was a close family of


    the Lores, the investigation into Professor Randall''s untimely death was swiftly wrapped up and ruled


    as an ident. This case would not have been closed so quickly if a different police chief had been in


    charge. Perhaps, the truth about Professor Randall''s death would have been revealed, and Harry


    would have been arrested by now."

 Chapter 1444

    Chapter 1444


    Sonia let out a sigh. "Even though years have passed, it is not toote. Harry is still alive, and his age


    qualifies him for questioning and criminal investigation. He should still pay the price for his evil deeds."


    "Yeah." Tom agreed with her statement. "I told President Fuller about this, and he echoed your


    sentiments."


    "Has Harry been brought to the police station?" she asked.


    "Yes, after the hypnosis ended yesterday, Harry knew that he had confessed everything and could not


    resist, so he didn''t try to defend himself anymore. He was willingly taken away by the police. Moreover,


    the police were aware of his past contributions to the country''s economy, so they made no public


    spectacle out of his detention. This can be viewed as maintaining his final dignity."


    "What about the close family member who assisted him back then?"


    Tom pushed up the bridge of his sses and responded, "The police chief retired three years ago. He


    probably realized that he was doing something for personal gain and that he would never be able to


    keep it a secret for the rest of his life. Therefore, he moved abroad and changed his nationality."


    "Changed his nationality?" Sonia was taken aback when she heard that.


    Suddenly, his face was painted with disdain. "Even though he is no longer a citizen, thews he


    vited while he was a citizen still apply. So, the police will continue their investigation even though he


    has changed his nationality. The police have contacted the embassy, and they will work to arrange for


    his return from that country. Rest assured, Miss Reed."


    "That will be great." Then, Sonia showed her understanding of the situation with a slight nod. "However,


    what type of punishment will Harry receive?"


    "Given his age, it is imusible that he will face the death penalty or life in prison. Therefore, he will


    probably serve no more than ten years in prison at the most." Tom continued mockingly, "For an old


    man like Harry who thinks highly of himself and has strong self-esteem, one year is enough to drive


    him crazy, not to mention ten years. Furthermore, his health is deteriorating rapidly, so he might pass


    away in prison before the ten-year mark."


    Hence, whether or not Harry would be sentenced to death or life imprisonment didn''t make a


    difference.


    Then, Sonia ran her fingers through her hair. "I see. In other words, except for some distant rtives,


    the entire Lore Family is either headed for prison or is already there."


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    "On the other hand, Mrs. Lore is still free. After a discussion, the police had no intention of arresting her


    because she did notmit any of the crimes and was not fully aware of them. On the contrary, her


    husband evaded taxes andmittedmercial espionage. With such arge sum of money at


    stake, he will likely receive a prison term of more than ten years."


    She sneered andmented, "It''s no secret that the Lore Family is filled with worthless people. The


    grandfather was a murderer, the son evaded taxes and was involved inmercial espionage, and the


    granddaughter was charged with intentional homicide. They are undoubtedly rted."


    "Exactly." Tom shrugged and said, "There is no way for Harry ever to be released from jail. However,


    Mr. Lore should be able to hold out until he is released from prison, though by the time he does, he will


    be around 70 years old. Mrs. Lore could either wait for him or remarry by then. Who knows for sure?


    Regarding Lte, she is unquestionably going to be given a death sentence. Consequently, the Lores


    may soon cease to exist."


    "We don''t have to sympathize with them. They are simply paying the price for their brazenlymitted


    crimes."


    "Correct." As he nodded, he nced at his watch. "It''s gettingte now, Miss Reed. I''m going to see Mr.


    Miles Snyder and take him to the airport."


    "Sure. Go on, then."


    "Alright. Miss Reed, please look after President Fuller. If you need anything, you can call me at any


    time." Following that, Tom gave Sonia a quick nod before walking away.


    She watched as his figure faded into the distance before averting her gaze and looking into the ward,


    where she made eye contact with the man and saw the resentment in his eyes. Instantaneously, she


    could tell the b*stard was envious. Toby''s jealous expression was etched into his face after he saw how


    long she had been talking to Tom.


    Sonia found his reaction humorous, so she jotted down some positive things she knew would make him


    feel better and posted them on the board. The current iteration of Toby was a child who acted


    immaturely and required constant coaxing, or else he would be irate at even the most minor thing.


    Soon, her encouraging words on the clipboard helped lift his spirits, and the resentment in his eyes


    faded. When she saw that, she shook her head helplessly and couldn''t help butugh.


    A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Toby was transferred from the intensive care unit to the


    general ward. Moreover, Sonia was no longer required to wait outside the hospital ward daily, nor was


    she restricted to a ten-minute time limit to apany him. Nevertheless, she could remain at his side


    and talk to him anytime, day or night, for as long as she desired. That was the best news she had


    received during that period. Simrly, his overall physical and mental vitality increased after being


    transferred from the intensive care unit.


    Meanwhile, the past few days have been filled with several events that have followed one another.


    First, Lte was transferred to the circuit courts in the Acrees case. From a legal standpoint, it makes


    no sense for her to appear in court so quickly. Due to theplicated nature of the processes, they


    estimated that it would take at least six months to get her ready for court. In fact, it would take at least


    two years to resolve the most significant cases.


    Since she was transferred to the circuit courts in less than a month, they must have bypassed several


    procedures. It was not the court''s oversight but rather a deliberate directive from higher-ups. They


    skipped some legal procedures and sent her straight to the circuit courts because her crimes were so


    heinous that they outraged the country''s wealthy and influential people.


    In the eyes of the general public, Lte was a rotten apple that brought the rest of the barrel''s


    reputation into disrepute. Consequently, theirpanies were in disarray for some time. It also


    prompted higher-ups to increase the scrutiny ced on theirpanies, making their lives even more


    difficult. Hence, they all felt nothing but pure hatred for her.


    Moreover, the public outcry and the pressure of the wealthy in concert made it so that the higher-ups


    were under significant pressure. As a result, in order to quell public outrage, the higher-ups convened a


    series of meetings before deciding to disregard specific procedures. They decided to transfer her to the


    circuit courts and execute the verdict quickly to exin it to the public.


    Therefore, it should not be surprising that she was given the death penalty for her crimes. Soon, when


    the verdict was reached, it was posted to the court''s website and met with widespreadizens'' praise.


    However, she was dissatisfied with the ruling and decided to file an appeal.


    Lte was unable toprehend the verdict because she hadmitted no wrongdoing. In addition,


    she was merely advising the fisherman, assisting him in oveing obstacles, and she did not drive a


    car to kill the Acrees. So, how could she be the mastermind and be sentenced to death?


    She believed that as long as she did notmit the murder by her own hand, it would not be


    considered murder, and she should not have ended up in that situation. As a result, she insisted on


    filing an appeal, and the court granted her request.


    However, everyone except Lte knew that the second trial would not affect the verdict. Ultimately,


    she would be forced toe to terms with her impending execution because the ruling from the first


    trial would be upheld.


    Knowing that she intended to file an appeal did not provoke any particrly hostile responses from


    netizens beyond the expected level of disdain. Nevertheless, she would be subject to the same


    repercussions regardless of how persuasively she argued her case.


    On the other hand, Mrs. Lore became so overwhelmed by the news of Lte''s first-instance verdict


    that she fainted in the courtroom. ording to rumors that circted, she allegedly suffered a stroke


    and was in aa in a small hospital.


    As for Harry and Grayson, the police took their sweet time to sort out their crimes and evidence.

 Chapter 1445

    Chapter 1445


    In any case, when the allotted time had passed, Harry and Grayson would be brought before the judge,


    and they would no longer be able to escape. Furthermore, it would still not be tardy for them to appear


    in court. After Lte''s second trial, they would likely make court appearance arrangements for the


    father and son. After all, everyone in the Lore Family was a criminal; the higher-ups became enraged


    and wanted to wipe out the family as soon as possible.


    Meanwhile, Toby''s subordinates broke the news to Grayson that Lte had been given a death


    sentence, but Toby had no intention of telling Harry. After all, Harry was an elderly man, and if he found


    out what her granddaughter''s verdict was, he might not be able to take the news and pass out, which


    would result in his death.


    However, death wasn''t necessarily good news, but it would be a relief for him to avoid serving his


    sentence. Hence, those seeking justice for Professor Randall would be aggrieved because Harry''s


    sudden death without any due punishment could not be viewed as retribution for Professor Randall.


    Consequently, Toby chose not to inform Harry.


    On the other hand, Harry most likely was aware of what was in store for him, and he had been making


    a fuss about seeing Toby because he had something to tell him. However, Toby had no intention of


    seeing him. Even if he wanted to, Sonia would not permit it.


    With his current state of health, Toby couldn''t even take one step out of the hospital. So, how was he


    supposed to meet Harry? In addition, Harry was a criminal, so what difference did it make if Toby met


    him or not? Even if Harry had something to say, what importance could it have? At most, he would


    plead for Toby to rescue him.


    That was what Toby thought, and coupled with hisplex hatred for Harry, he promptly declined


    when Tom told him that Harry wanted to see him. Regardless, Harry was tenacious, and even though


    Toby refused to see him, he insisted on trying his luck every day. He persisted for three days before


    giving up when he realized Toby would not meet him.


    Soon, another week passed in a blink of an eye. Sonia decided to return to work at Paradigm. After all,


    she had been away from Paradigm for too long. Although Rita would report to her about work daily,


    working remotely wasn''t as efficient as direct management.


    The reason why she made such a decision was that Toby was recovering. Moreover, he could sit


    straight and could handle the documents brought by Tom for an hour or two every day instead of lying


    in the hospital bed all day long.


    Moreover, Toby was aware that Paradigm was still in its early stages of development. Therefore, Sonia


    was required to managepany affairs, particrly the factory fire that had yet to be investigated.


    She had to return to Paradigm and hold a meeting to give the shareholders and senior management an


    answer on the follow-ups for the nt. After all, the nt was burned down. Even though they had


    regrouped the bricyers, construction team, and plumbers, they still had to discuss the next operation


    date.


    When Toby heard her proposal to return to work, he agreed quickly, even though he was reluctant to let


    her go. Sonia assured him that she would visit him every night after work, and they would still be


    together every day, so he saw no reason to reject her. So, on that particr day, she bid farewell to


    him, left the hospital, and returned to Paradigm.


    Learning that she was returning to work, Rita told thepany to hold a small wee ceremony.


    Even though the ceremony was modest and straightforward, Sonia was grateful for them. The fact that


    her employees held a wee ceremony spontaneously showed how much they cherished their boss.


    "Thank you so much, everyone." After thanking everyone happily, Sonia dismissed them so they could


    return to their posts, carrying a bouquet in her arms


    At that moment, someone was in her office. The man was sitting behind her desk with his head lowered


    as he processed some documents. Hearing the sound of the door opening, the man raised his head,


    revealing a handsome face. He turned out to be Charles Lane.


    "You''re back." Seeing Soniaing in with flowers in her arms, he put down his pen, got up, and


    walked over to greet her with a smile.


    Then, she nodded and said, "Yeah. I''m finally back. Thanks for handling the work for me, Charles."


    If she had not temporarily delegated management of Paradigm to Charles, she would have returned to


    a mountain of work. Even in the hospital, she would not be able to care for Toby with peace of mind, as


    she would have to care for him daily while taking calls from Rita.


    She was grateful to Charles because, during that time, she could rx without being disturbed. So,


    when she returned, she was not greeted with any overwhelming work that needed to bepleted.


    "Nah. It''s just a small matter. Lane Corporation has recently undergone a reformation, so I have lots of


    free time to help you manage thepany. Treat it as me trying to fill up my boredom." Then, he


    poured her a ss of water and continued, "What about you? You''ve been away for quite a long time,


    haven''t you?"


    Sonia grabbed the ss and sat down on the couch. At that moment, she was parched, so she took a


    sip of water before responding, "Yeah. I just went with Toby to gain some knowledge. I didn''t expect it


    would take so long."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "It''s all good now that you''re back. So, how was the trip?" Charles sat down opposite her and asked.


    She put down the water ss, her eyes flickered, and she replied casually, "Not bad. It was an eye-


    opener."


    "Sounds great. It is useful for your future management of Paradigm."


    "Yeap." Sonia nodded.


    Charles looked at her and asked, "By the way, why didn''t you tell me in advance that you wereing


    back? I could''ve picked you up at the airport, but you suddenly returned. I didn''t even know you were


    back until this morning. You seem to be in good spirits, though. Aren''t you jetgged?"


    Then, she lowered her eyelids guiltily and responded, "No, I''ve been back for two days. I suffered from


    jetg for a day or two, but I''m feeling refreshed and don''t feel exhausted. I didn''t tell you I was


    returning because I knew you would insist on picking me up, but I didn''t want to bother you too much,


    so I chose to keep my return a secret."


    "I see." He nodded, but he didn''t doubt her. "What about Toby? Is he back too?"


    "Nope." She shook her head and said, "He''s going to stay there a little longer."


    "Pfft." Charles pursed his lips in disdain. "Did that brat willingly let youe home alone? I thought


    he''d stick to you like gum and return to the country with you. I''m surprised that he''s still abroad, though.


    Seems like there''s nothing to shout about him, after all."


    Sonia chuckled. "Well, he was quite reluctant to send me off, but he knows that I value Paradigm, so he


    respects me and lets me return."


    She found Toby cute at the thought of him being unwilling to part with her this morning, looking as if he


    had been abandoned but he had suppressed his intentions to stop her from leaving.


    Seeing her expression, Charles knew that she must be imagining Toby''s face again, so he couldn''t help


    but roll his eyes. "Okay, that''s enough. My eyes hurt looking at you all smitten over him. Since you have


    returned, I will hand over responsibility for thepany to you and return to my ce."


    Following that, he left to tidy his stuff.


    Sonia got up and followed behind him, remembering what the detective had told her. Hence, she parted


    her lips and hesitated to speak. She wanted to ask him straightforwardly if he locked Daphne up and


    what he was up to. Still, when the words came to her lips, she couldn''t ask any questions. She didn''t


    know how to word it, fearing that he would be enraged if she asked.


    Seemingly sensing something wrong with her behind him, Charles turned around just in time to see her


    biting her lip. Thus, he asked in puzzlement, "What''s wrong?"


    Suddenly, she squeezed out a smile and uttered, "Charles, you¡ª"


    "Yeah?" He waited for her to say something.


    Sonia took a deep breath and continued, "Well, I wanted to ask you something. Did you¡ª"


    Before she could finish her sentence, however, his phone rang.

 Chapter 1446

    Chapter 1446


    Left with no choice, Sonia could only stifle her words and wait for Charles to hang up the call. Two


    minutester, Charles'' expression changed as he appeared apprehensive. "I got it. I''m heading over


    right now."


    The next instant, he turned around to leave without even packing up his stuff. Sonia called out to him,


    "What''s wrong, Charles?"


    Charles stopped in his tracks, for he suddenly remembered that Sonia was still around. He hurriedly


    said, "I''m in a hurry, Sonny, so I''ll take my leave now. Please help me pack up everything and ask


    someone to send it to mypany. Alright, I have to get going now."


    Following that, he dashed out of the office. Sonia had just raised her hand to stop him when he


    disappeared in a rush. She put down her hand, feeling helpless. In the end, she still couldn''t tell him


    what she wanted to say. She let out a sigh. I''ll talk to him about it when we meet again, then.


    After stroking her forehead, she walked up to Charles'' desk and helped him pack up his stuff. He didn''t


    have many things, so everything could be stuffed into a box.


    Sonia then told Lina toe in and asked her to get someone to send the box to Lane Corporation


    later. Lina agreed to it and picked up the box. However, instead of leaving, she stared fixedly at Sonia.


    Knowing what she wanted to ask, Sonia smiled helplessly. "I''m sorry. I didn''t get to ask him about it as


    he left in a hurry after answering a call. We''ll have to wait until next time."


    "I see." Lina sighed dejectedly. "There was nothing you could do anyway."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Sonia consoled her, saying, "Don''t worry, I''ll get to the bottom of it."


    Lina nodded and left the ce with the box. As Sonia looked around the empty office, she felt lonely all


    of a sudden. Then, she sat down on the chair and sent a message to Toby, telling him that she had


    started work.


    Before she left home in the morning, Toby had asked her to do so. He insisted that she had to send him


    a message when she started working so that he could rest assured. She had to let him know that she


    had arrived at thepany safely.


    It went to show that the previous incident had traumatized him. Now, he no longer let the bodyguards


    follow her in secret. Instead, they directly followed behind her car so that they could always protect her.


    Presently, the two bodyguards were standing in the lobby of Paradigm Co., waiting for her to get off


    work so that they could escort her to the hospital.


    Despite that, Toby was still worried about her safety. She had to personally send him a message to tell


    him that she had arrived at thepany. Otherwise, he could never set his mind at ease even though


    the bodyguards already informed him that they had sessfully sent her to thepany.


    In fact, Toby had been waiting to hear from her. The instant he received the message, he gave her a


    call and questioned, "Why did you only send me a message now? The bodyguards informed me about


    your arrival 30 minutes ago."


    Hearing the displeasure in the man''s voice, Sonia hurriedly said with a smile, "I''m sorry. I was held up


    by something."


    "What was it?" he asked.


    Sonia didn''t intend to hide it from him, so she told him that she talked with Charles.


    Hearing that, Toby snorted. "Why did you even talk to him for so long? You should have dismissed him


    and got him to leave."


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "He''s helped me manage thepany for a long time. It would''ve been


    inappropriate if I just dismissed him. It''s as if I''ve abandoned him after making use of him."


    "So what if that''s the case?" Toby shrugged.


    Torn between tears andughter, Sonia decided not to dwell on this topic. After drinking some water,


    she asked caringly, "How are you feeling today?"


    After a moment of silence, Toby replied, "Not good."


    Sonia hurriedly put down the cup and asked anxiously, "What do you mean? What happened? Do you


    feel any difort in your heart?"


    Hearing her anxious voice, Toby felt guilty and coughed. "No."


    "What''s wrong, then?" Sonia scowled. "You have to tell me why you''re feeling unwell. Don''t make me


    worry." She was ready to head to the hospital.


    Toby parted his lips and replied, "I''m not feeling unwell. It''s just that I feel terrible when you''re not by my


    side."


    In an instant, Sonia fell silent. Noticing her silence, Toby felt his heart skipping a beat. "Are you mad,


    Little Leaf?" he asked cautiously.


    Sonia sneered. "You know I''m mad, huh? Do you know it''s annoying when you keep me on


    tenterhooks?"


    Toby stroked his nose and fell silent as he realized he was in the wrong.


    A helpless Sonia sighed. "Toby, you should feel fortunate that you''re sick; that''s why I can still put up


    with your pranks. Otherwise, I would''ve ignored you. Stop scaring me again, will you? I was worried


    something was wrong with your heart again, then you told me such nonsense."


    She was so apprehensive earlier that her soul almost left her body. To her chagrin, the man had only


    pulled a prank on her. Therefore, it was only natural that she was mad.


    "I''m sorry. Please don''t get mad at me," Toby apologized once more.


    Sonia snorted. "Alright, I''m hanging up now since I still have work to do. I''ll teach you a lesson in the


    evening." Then, disregarding what the man might feel, she directly hung up.


    As Toby looked at his phone screen, he was stunned. He never expected the woman to hang up the


    call just like that.


    Tom, who was sorting out some files for Toby, felt gleeful when he saw that. If I were Miss Reed, I


    would''ve been pissed off by President Fuller''s actions too. All of us are concerned about his health, but


    he''d always scare us from time to time. That''s annoying.


    "President Fuller, I''ve sorted all the files. I''ll bring them back to thepany now." Tom rose from the


    chair.


    Toby put down his phone and grunted. Then, Tom picked up the files and left the ce. Following that,


    Tim came over and checked on him.


    While sitting on the bed, Toby scowled with displeasure. As he looked at Tim, who was listening to his


    heartbeat with a stethoscope, he asked impatiently, "When am I going to be discharged?"


    Tim shot him a nce and kept his stethoscope. "Be patient. It''ll be another month at the very least."


    "Another month?!" Toby widened his eyes in disbelief as his expression darkened. He was visibly


    displeased because of how much longer he had to stay in the hospital.


    Tim went through the man''s medical record and said, "Of course. Do you think it''s a minor operation


    and that you can be discharged whenever you want? We''ve estimated that it''ll take you one month to


    recuperate based on your current health. To be honest, if you had been any weaker, it would''ve taken


    you two to three months before you''d be allowed to go home. Just stay right here."


    Toby pressed his lips into a line.


    While updating Toby''s medical record, Tim said, "Don''t look so displeased. It''s not like I''m the one who


    caused your heart disease."


    Toby was rendered speechless.


    "Alright, the examination is over, and you''re fine. Just get some rest here." Tim kept his pen and was


    ready to leave.


    "Wait a minute," Toby called out to him.


    Tim stopped in his tracks. "What''s wrong?"


    "Is Titus still in the hospital?" Toby asked with narrowed eyes.


    Tim replied, "His wife still hasn''t given up on him yet, and she refuses to get her husband discharged.


    We''ve done our best to persuade her, but she insists that as long as her husband is still alive, there will


    be hope. She''s been asking all the doctors here to save her husband."


    "That''s naive of her." Toby put on a sneer.


    Tim adjusted his sses. "They''re your inws, after all. It''s inappropriate for¡ª"


    Toby shot him a re.


    Tim shrugged. "Fine, forget what I said. Why are you even asking about it?"

 Chapter 1447

    Chapter 1447


    "I want you to get them to leave the hospital by today. I don''t want Little Leaf to see them again," Toby


    said, his expression impassive.


    As long as Titus and his wife were still in the hospital, they remained a ticking time bomb. Therefore,


    Toby had to chase them away as soon as possible.


    Tim adjusted his sses again. "Got it. I''ll try my best. Is there anything else?"


    In response, Toby shook his head. Then, Tim left for Titus'' ward at once.


    At this moment, Titus was lying in bed. He was so skinny that he no longer looked like a human. It was


    as though he was a skeleton wrapped with human skin, which was terrifying.


    Julia was seated by the bed as she sobbed and wiped Titus'' body clean. At the same time, she kept


    saying that he would survive. Although her words were moving, the reality was cruel.


    Even the doctors couldn''t guarantee Titus'' life, so how could someone like her, who had zero medical


    background whatsoever, make such a im?


    Standing outside the ward, Tim knocked on the door. "Mrs. Gray."


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    Hearing his voice, Julia quickly got to her feet and said, "You''re finally here, Dr. Lancaster. Are you here


    to save Titus?" She sped her hands together and looked expectantly at him.


    Tim leaned against the door frame and replied, "Mrs. Gray, I have no idea why you think my presence


    here means there''s hope for Mr. Gray. All the doctors have already told you there''s no way Mr. Gray will


    recover, so there''s no point in saving him. Even if there''s a suitable kidney, he won''t be able to get off


    the operating table alive. As such, I hope you''ll wake up to reality. Rather than letting Mr. Gray stay in


    the hospital and experiencing such torment, you should bring him home and let him spend the rest of


    his days happily."


    Julia became agitated as tears slid down her cheeks the instant he finished speaking. She barked,


    "Stop spouting nonsense! What do you mean that he''ll never recover? You''re a doctor, so how can you


    say something like that? Aren''t you supposed to never give up on any patient until the veryst


    moment? As rtives, we still haven''t given up on him, so how can a doctor like you stop trying to save


    him?"


    "Mrs. Gray, you''ll never give up because you''re his rtive, and it''s only natural that you want him to


    survive. However, I''m not his rtive. As a doctor, I can look at this matter with rationality, and I know


    when I should give up on a patient and when not to. Mr. Gray is in a terrible condition, and the longer


    he stays in the hospital, the more torment he''ll have to go through. I''m just trying to help him, so I''m


    persuading you to get him discharged. That way, he won''t feel bored in the hospital, and when he


    returns home, he''ll spend the rest of his days doing what he loves."


    "You¡­" Julia red at Tim as though she couldn''t believe that a doctor would say such cruel words.


    Just then, the sound of stilettos clicking against the ground came from behind Tim. He turned around


    and saw Rina, whose eyes had turned red.


    She stopped in front of Tim and stared fixedly at him. "Dr. Lancaster, I heard your conversation with my


    mom. You said that given his health condition, he''ll probably never leave the operating table alive.


    Simrly, there''s a small chance he''ll survive, am I right?"


    Tim replied nonchntly, "The probability is less than 30 percent."


    Rina bit her lip. "Thirty percent is indeed a small chance, but we can give it a try nheless. What if


    my dad survives? If we do nothing now, there would be zero chances of sess."


    "She has a point." Julia dipped her head.


    Tim squinted his eyes. "Regardless, do you have a suitable kidney?"


    The instant Julia heard his words, she turned from hopeful to despondent. With a pale face, she


    staggered and almost copsed to the ground. He''s right. Without a suitable kidney, everything we say


    is pointless even if Titus manages to hold out longer. At that moment, she sat back on the edge of the


    bed, appearing downcast.


    On the other hand, Rina balled up her fists and lowered her head, falling into her thoughts.


    Tim tucked his hands into the pockets of his white coat and said, "Alright, I''ve told you everything you


    need to know, and you should ponder on the rest. I''m asking you to get Mr. Gray discharged so that he


    feels better. I''m sure you don''t want him to spend the rest of his days suffering in the hospital. Okay, I''ll


    take my leave now. I''lle backter, and I hope you''ll have decided by then." With that, he turned


    around and left.


    Julia covered her face with her hands and bawled her eyes out. Meanwhile, Rina stood there with


    clenched fists. She nced at Julia and shifted her attention to Titus, who was all skin and bones. As


    though having made a decision, she dashed out of the ward.


    Startled by her actions for a moment, Julia soon ran after her. "Rina, where are you going?"


    Rina stopped in her tracks but did not turn around as she replied, "I''m going to look for the person who


    can save dad."


    "The person who can save your dad? Who is it?" Julia hurriedly asked.


    Rina parted her lips and replied, "You''ll find out soon, Mom. I''ll get going now."


    Following that, she left the hospital in a hurry. With a perplexed expression, Julia watched her go


    further away.


    After that, Rina drove her car to Paradigm. On the way to her destination, she clenched the steering


    wheel, her eyes red.


    If she had a choice, she would never want to look for Sonia, for that would mean her identity would be


    exposed. When that happened, she would lose everything. However, she couldn''t bring herself to stand


    by and watch her father die.


    She had never enjoyed parental love before; it wasn''t until she became part of the Gray Family that she


    realized it felt wonderful and heart-warming to have parents. She longed for their love and warmth, so


    she would never want her identity to be exposed. Otherwise, she would lose everything that she


    currently enjoyed.


    As such, she never wanted Sonia to meet up with her parents. Nevertheless, it hade to a point


    where she had no choice but to expose her identity to save her ailing father. She could never let her


    father die, after all.


    Although everyone said that her father was a terrible person, to her, he was the best father in the world.


    She couldn''t let the world''s best father pass away, even if it meant he would no longer acknowledge her


    as his daughter.


    While she was in her thoughts, she clenched her teeth. Soon, she arrived at Paradigm and parked her


    car before entering the lobby.


    The receptionist called out to her, "Whom are you looking for, Miss?"


    Rina stopped in her tracks. "I''m looking for President Reed." Then, she continued walking forward.


    The receptionist hurriedly stopped her. "I''m sorry, Miss, but do you have an appointment? If you don''t


    have one, I can''t let you see her."


    Rina frowned impatiently. "I don''t have an appointment. Tell me what I have to do to see President


    Reed."


    The receptionist replied with a smile, "Without an appointment, you won''t be able to see President


    Reed. Unless she agrees to see you, I won''t let you move forward."


    "Contact her and tell her that I''m looking for her, then. My name is Rina Gray," she urged while


    clenching her fists.


    The receptionist nodded. "Alright, please give me a second." With that, she returned to the counter and


    picked up the phone before calling Sonia''s office.

 Chapter 1448

    Chapter 1448


    The instant Sonia left the meeting room, she heard the telephone on her desk ringing. After saying


    something to Lina, she went over and picked it up. "Hello?"


    "President Reed," the receptionist called out to her. "There''s someone who wants to see you."


    "A person who wants to see me?" Sonia frowned. "Who is it?"


    At this point, the receptionist had forgotten Rina''s name, so she turned to look at her. An impatient Rina


    repeated her name. Then, the receptionist continued speaking to Sonia, who arched her brow and


    questioned, "Her? Did she say why she wants to see me?"


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    "She didn''t." The receptionist shook her head. "Do you want to see her, President Reed?"


    "No." Sonia rejected the request directly. "Tell her there''s nothing to talk about between us, so she


    should get lost."


    "Alright, President Reed." The receptionist nodded. After the call ended, she looked at Rina and said,


    "I''m sorry for making you wait, Miss Gray. However, President Reed said she has nothing to talk to you


    about, so she''s not going to see you. I''m afraid you''ll have to leave."


    "Huh? She doesn''t want to see me?" Rina couldn''t ept it.


    The receptionist kept a smile on her face. "Yes, Miss Gray. That was what President Reed said."


    "How could she refuse to see me?" Rina yelled. "Did you even tell her that I''m here to see her?"


    "Please stop pulling my leg, Miss Gray. You''ve been around all this while, so you must have heard what


    I said to President Reed. There''s no way I didn''t inform her about your presence. She doesn''t want to


    see you, so you''ll have to leave." The receptionist then motioned for her to leave.


    Rina said through clenched teeth, "What if I refuse to leave and insist on seeing President Reed?"


    The smile on the receptionist''s face disappeared. "Miss Gray, if you insist on staying here, the security


    guards at Paradigm are not some pushovers."


    "You¡­" Rina didn''t expect that the receptionist would threaten to chase her away with the security


    guards. At that instant, she was in a dilemma.


    A smile reappeared on the receptionist''s face. "Please leave, Miss Gray."


    Rina red at the receptionist and turned around to leave. The receptionist watched the woman leave


    and rolled her eyes before continuing with her work.


    After leaving Paradigm Tower, Rina got into her car but didn''t leave. Instead, she stared fixedly at the


    office building. She decided to wait for Sonia to get off work. Regardless, she had to see her on this


    day.


    Unbeknownst to her, the moment she appeared in this ce earlier, Toby was informed about her


    presence. He had no idea why Rina had gone to Paradigm to look for Sonia, but he reckoned that she


    was up to no good.


    Given Titus'' health condition, there was no doubt Rina wanted to see Sonia and talk about her father. In


    that case, she would most likely expose Sonia''s true identity.


    Toby pressed his lips together, then ordered coldly over the phone, "Get her to leave that ce and


    make sure she won''t have a chance to approach Sonia."


    "Yes," the bodyguard replied. Then, he kept his phone and shuffled toward Rina''s car before knocking


    on the window.


    Rina rolled down the window. Thinking that it was probably a policeman trying to issue her a ticket for


    illegal parking, she glowered at the person and was ready to tell him off. To her surprise, the person


    wasn''t a policeman. Instead, he was d in a familiar-looking bodyguard''s uniform. Her face paled in


    an instant. "You¡­"


    She then realized that Toby''s bodyguards had surrounded her vehicle. What are his bodyguards doing


    here?


    "Miss Gray, why are you looking for Miss Reed?" The bodyguard stood outside the car and looked


    emotionlessly at her.


    Rina clenched the steering wheel and parted her lips, but she couldn''t say anything. It wasn''t like she


    could tell them she wanted to ask Sonia to save her father''s life. She was certain that she would never


    live to see tomorrow''s sun once she told them about her intention. While she didn''t want her identity to


    be exposed, the crazy man named Toby wouldn''t want that to happen either.


    Seeing how Rina remained silent, the bodyguard urged, "Please answer my question, Miss Gray."


    Rina hung her head low. "N-Nothing."


    The bodyguard sneered. "Are you trying to say you''vee all the way here for no particr reason?


    Miss Gray, I suggest that you be honest with us. It''ll save both of us the trouble."


    Rina bit her lip. "I told you there''s nothing in particr that I want to do. Don''t you get it? Go away. I''m


    leaving." With that, she was ready to roll up the window.


    The bodyguard ced his hand on the ss, ensuring that she couldn''t roll up the window. At the


    same time, another bodyguard rounded the car front and arrived at the driver''s side before opening the


    door.


    Rina eximed, "What are you trying to do?"


    "We''re not doing anything. We just want you to stay as far away from this ce as possible."


    Then, the bodyguard who opened the door earlier pulled Rina out of the vehicle and shoved her into


    the backseat. Following that, he got into the driver''s seat and drove the car away.


    Although Rina kept yelling and telling him to let her go, the bodyguard ignored her and sent her to the


    Gray Residence.


    After getting out of the car, the bodyguard looked at Rina, who was glowering at him with reddened


    eyes. "You''ve arrived home, Miss Gray," he announced with a smile.


    Rina was enraged. Indeed, she knew that she was home, but she didn''t want to be there at this


    moment. However, she didn''t dare to say such things to the bodyguard, so she could only suppress her


    resentment.


    "Get in, Miss Gray. I hope you won''t leave the house from now on, and your parents will be sent home


    by today. This way, the three of you will reunite," the bodyguard said.


    Rina''s expression changed. "What did you just say? Is Toby going to send my parents back?"


    "Of course." The bodyguard nodded.


    While clenching her fists, Rina stared furiously at the bodyguard. "It''s Toby, right? It''s his decision,


    right? He knows that my dad can''t leave the hospital. My dad will probably pass away not long after he


    gets discharged. However, he still wants to get my dad to leave the hospital in a hurry. What is he trying


    to do? Has he ever considered the fact that my dad is Sonia''s biological father as well as his future


    father-inw?"


    The bodyguard''s face fell. "Please be careful with what you say, Miss Gray. I don''t care if Mr. Gray has


    anything to do with President Fuller and Miss Reed. They had nothing to do with each other in the past,


    and it''s not likely that they will be rted in any way in the future. Regardless of what you say, it''s


    pointless. Just stay in the house from now on. We''ll get some people to keep an eye on you to make


    sure you won''t have a chance to look for Miss Reed."


    As soon as the bodyguard finished speaking, he turned around and left. Rina remained in the same


    spot as she yelled at him like a madwoman.


    Ignoring her, the bodyguard hastened his pace. That woman is mad! Her high-pitched voice is piercing!


    He shuddered and started running before disappearing several momentster. When he arrived at the


    hospital, he reported to Toby about sessfully sending Rina back to the Gray Residence.


    Hearing that, Toby questioned with an impassive expression, "Have you found out why she went


    looking for Sonia?"


    "I''m sorry. I forgot to ask." Knowing he had failed his mission, the bodyguard hung his head low.


    All the same, Toby had no intention of ming him. He waved his hand and said, "Go back to protect


    Little Leaf."


    "Yes, President Fuller." The bodyguard nodded and turned around to leave.

 Chapter 1449

    Chapter 1449


    Toby rubbed the center of his eyebrows, then fished out his phone and made a call, which ended two


    minutes after it was connected. After putting down his phone, he looked at the screen and pressed his


    lips together.


    In the afternoon, the doctors came together and persuaded Julia to get Titus discharged from the


    hospital.


    Although Julia was reluctant, she couldn''t possibly deal with so many people. In the end, she could


    only leave the hospital with Titus as she brought him home in tears.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    When Rina saw that Titus had been sent back home, her mind turned nk as she couldn''t believe that


    Toby was that merciless.


    Although Dad has some grudges against the Reed Family, he''s Sonia''s biological father and his future


    father-inw, after all. Even if Toby isn''t willing to save Dad, he shouldn''t have forced him out of the


    hospital. That''s no different from killing him. It''s very cruel of Toby.


    As Rina listened to Julia''s despondent criesing from the room, she clenched her fists. At that


    moment, she decided that she had to escape from this ce and look for Sonia, even if it meant


    sacrificing her life.


    Although they have only been showering me with parental love because I''m ''Rina'', they''re good people


    and wonderful parents. In the past few months, I''ve truly felt the love they''ve given me. Therefore, I


    want to do something for them. However, how do I leave this ce? As she looked around the


    spacious vi, she felt lost.


    Meanwhile, Sonia had left Paradigm Tower as she drove her car to the hospital. Certainly enough,


    there was a ck Mercedes G-ss following behind her. Inside the car seated the bodyguards that


    Toby had arranged for her.


    The instant Sonia entered Toby''s ward, she asked, "How are you feeling today?"


    "Not bad." At her arrival, Toby smiled faintly and was ready to sit up.


    Seeing that, Sonia quickly went over and stopped him. "Don''t move. I''ll help you."


    When Toby saw her anxious expression, he decided to stop moving as he didn''t want her to worry.


    Then, Sonia rolled the hand crank and lifted the upper half of the bed, allowing the man to sit up.


    "It''s done." Sonia tapped her palms and showed him the thermal sk she had brought with her. "I


    heard that bone broth with brown sugar is good for patients with heart disease, so I asked someone to


    buy me the ingredients, and I prepared the broth for you in the office today. I bumped into Tim earlier


    and asked him about it, and he''s given you the green light to consume it. Why don''t you give it a try?"


    She then poured him a bowl of broth.


    As Toby nced at the dark broth, his eyelids twitched. Just by looking at it, he knew that the broth


    tasted terrible and overly sweet.


    However, as he met Sonia''s expectant gaze, he could never bring himself to turn her down. As such,


    he scooped the broth with a spoon and gave it a try. In an instant, his mouth was filled with an


    overwhelmingly sweet taste, which prompted him to close his eyes.


    "What do you think?" Sonia asked.


    Toby opened his eyes and forced a smile. "It''s not bad."


    If he had a choice, he would''ve told her it wasn''t terrible; it was just overly sweet. He didn''t have a


    sweet tooth to begin with, though he was fine with a mildly sweet taste. However, the sweetness of this


    broth was more than what he could tolerate.


    All the same, the broth had been personally prepared by Sonia, and it was filled with her love.


    Therefore, even though he didn''t like the taste, he wouldn''t tell her the truth. Otherwise, he would be


    considered ungrateful.


    Hearing hispliment, Sonia became at ease and smiled. "That''s great. Finish it up, and there''s more


    here." She pointed at the thermal sk.


    Toby covered his face with one hand to conceal his reluctance and grunted.


    Sonia didn''t notice his expression as she rose from the chair and said, "By the way, I''m going to see an


    optometrist; I need to get some eye lotion. My eyes feel incredibly dry now. Perhaps I''ve been wearing


    contact lenses for far too long. I''ll be back soon."


    "Sure." Toby waved his hand.


    In the past, he would''ve told her that they could just ask someone to send the eye lotion over. However,


    at this moment, he just wanted her to leave as soon as possible.


    "I''ll get going now, then." Sonia still hadn''t realized the man''s anomaly as she waved her hand and left


    the ward.


    After she was gone, Toby put the bowl down and chugged a ss of water. When he was done, the


    sweetness in his mouth finally subsided, making him feel much better.


    Then, he ced the ss on the table and looked at the remaining broth. Torn between tears and


    laughter, he shook his head. He wondered where she had gotten this idea to prepare the broth.


    After rubbing his temples for a bit, he picked up the broth and continued drinking it. He had to drink


    some water every time he had a spoonful of broth. Regardless, Sonia had prepared the broth with love,


    so he couldn''t waste it. I''ll just drink more water to water down the taste.


    When Sonia returned with the eye lotion, Toby was done with the bowl of broth. She picked up the


    empty bowl and asked with a smile, "Do you want more?"


    A hint of fear shed across Toby''s eyes as he shook his head repeatedly. "No." He had suffered


    enough earlier. If he had to eat another bowl of broth, he would probably vomit.


    "Alright, then. I''ll reheat the remaining broth for you in the evening." When Sonia was done speaking,


    she took the bowl away and washed it.


    Toby pressed his palm against his forehead while feeling both miserable and happy. He was happy


    because the woman he loved was there to keep himpany and care for him. On the other hand, he


    felt miserable; his partner''s love could be unbearable sometimes.


    Forget it. I''ll put up with it and finish the rest. After that, I''ll drop a few hints and tell her not to make it


    ever again. This time, I''ll just close my eyes and gulp the remaining broth down.


    While he was in his thoughts, he heard a phone ringing. He turned his head and realized it was Sonia''s


    phone. He then looked in the kitchen''s direction and shouted, "You have a call, Little Leaf!"


    "Please answer it for me." Since Sonia was busy washing the bowl, she told the man to pick up the call


    for her.


    A smile yed on Toby''s lips when he realized that she trusted him. There was no denying that he was


    pleased. It showed that she considered him a trustworthy person, and there were no secrets in her


    phone. Certainly, neither did his phone contain anything that he couldn''t show her.


    He picked up the phone and took a look. When he saw the name on the screen, he squinted his eyes.


    It''s Carl!


    In an instant, his face fell. He was resentful of Carl as well; if not for the fact that Carl had harmed


    Sonia with some poison, her child wouldn''t have been killed. That was Toby''s child too.


    They eventually decided to abort the child. It was their own decision, and it had nothing to do with an


    outsider like Carl. However, Carl butted in on their affairs and caused the loss of their unborn child.


    For that reason, Toby loathed the man, and he couldn''t believe that thetter still had the nerve to call


    Sonia. With an expressionless face, he answered the call and said, "You''d better have something


    important to say."


    Carl was evidently surprised when he heard Toby''s voice, but he soon regained hisposure and


    smiled faintly. "Oh, isn''t it Sonia''s husband, Toby?"


    Toby arched his brow, for he was startled by the way Carl addressed him. Carl isn''t someone who


    would call me Sonia''s husband.


    Nevertheless, he soon realized it wasn''t the real Carl. Since Carl loved Sonia, he hated Toby with a


    passion. There was no way he would call thetter Sonia''s husband. As such, it was Carl''s second


    personality speaking, not the real one.


    I can''t believe his second personality is still in charge of his body. Why hasn''t he managed to regain


    control of his own body? What a useless man.

 Chapter 1450

    Chapter 1450


    "Just cut to the chase. We''re not close to each other." Toby frowned impatiently. However, he didn''t


    dismiss Carl for calling him Sonia''s husband. Evidently, he was pleased with the way Carl addressed


    him.


    On the other end of the call, Carl satnguidly on the couch. His punk metal outfit made him look


    aggressive and ruthless, which was in stark contrast to his mild-mannered main personality.


    His main personality was someone good at acting, and beneath the facade of his impable manners


    was his evil nature.


    On the other hand, Carl''s second personality was more straightforward as he directly showed everyone


    that he was evil. He didn''t even bother concealing his true nature.


    As he lifted his phone with one hand, he fiddled with a chain using his other. He licked his lips and


    asked, "Where''s Sonny?"


    Toby''s temples throbbed as he questioned, "Why do you ask?"


    Sonny? That''s an endearing way of calling her! Although Carl always insists that Sonia is just a friend, I


    know he''s into her. What about this guy that I''m talking to now? Does the second personality have


    feelings for Sonia as well? If that''s true, I''ll teach him a lesson!


    "There''s something I need to tell her. Why else do you think I''m looking for her? Could I be wooing


    her?" Carlughed wickedly.


    Toby''s expression darkened at once as he immediately hung up the call. I knew it! The second


    personality also fancies Little Leaf after being influenced by his main personality. That''s outrageous!


    "What''s wrong?" When Sonia was done washing the bowl and walked out of the kitchen, she saw the


    man clenching her phone with a furious expression.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    Toby looked up at her with a bitter gaze.


    A puzzled Sonia wiped her hands with a towel and walked over. "What happened? Say something.


    Who was it that made you so vexed? Look at how enraged you are! Calm down. I''ll teach that person a


    lesson on your behalf. If you fall ill again, no one can help you."


    She poked the man''s face and appeased him like he was a child. This couldn''t be helped, for a sick


    man was no different from a child in her eyes. He would give her the cold shoulder when he was mad,


    and she would be worried about his heart.


    Hence, she could only cate him with patience so that he wouldn''t be struck by a heart attack again.


    Otherwise, she would be the one getting anxious.


    "It was Carl." Toby passed the phone to her as he enunciated Carl''s name.


    The instant Sonia heard the name, she was ted. "It was Carl?" She quickly took the phone. "What


    did he say?"


    "Nothing much. He said he needed to tell you something, but he wasn''t willing to tell me what it was. As


    such, I hung up the call," Toby replied honestly as he didn''t intend to hide anything from her.


    Sonia was startled and perplexed. "Why did you hang it up? You could''ve passed the phone to me."


    "He''s not the real Carl. That''s still his second personality. He''s a terrible guy, so you probably shouldn''t


    talk to him," Toby replied while looking at her. In the meantime, he thought, The main personality isn''t a


    good guy either.


    When Sonia heard that it was his second personality, the surprise on her face faded. She was no


    longer as ted as when she heard that Carl had given her a call. At any rate, she didn''t intend to call


    him back.


    After all, she still believed that the second personality was an entirely different person, not the real Carl.


    Although the second personality had split from the main one, he had his own way of thinking and


    consciousness. As such, he was apletely different being. Therefore, she insisted that the second


    personality was a stranger instead of her friend, Carl.


    "Don''t you want to call him back?" When Toby saw her putting down the phone, his lips curved into a


    smile. It was apparent that he was pleased. However, worried that she might find out what was on his


    mind, he quickly pressed his lips into a line.


    Although his series of movements were swift, Sonia caught everything. She rolled her eyes and


    remarked, "Justugh as loud as you want. What''s the point of stifling yourughter?"


    Turns out she''s discovered it. Toby coughed and put on a smile.


    Finding the man amusing, Sonia said, "No, I''m not going to call him back. He''s not my friend, so you''re


    right to say that I probably shouldn''t talk to him. Whatever he wanted to tell me, that''s none of my


    concern." Then, she put the phone into her bag. "It''s gettingte. I''ll help you to the bathroom."


    "Alright." Toby nodded.


    Sonia went over and lifted his quilt. Then, she pulled the wheelchair closer and carefully helped him out


    of the bed. When he managed to take a seat in the wheelchair, she pushed him into the bathroom.


    Despite being ill, he could still wash up on his own. Therefore, he didn''t need Sonia''s help at all. He just


    needed her to push him into the bathroom, and he could handle the rest.


    Considering his condition, he couldn''t take a shower, so he only wiped his body with a wet towel.


    Meanwhile, he could wash his face and brush his teeth since his hands were not affected at all.


    Initially, Sonia was worried, so she offered to help him wash up. They had bared it all in front of each


    other before, so they knew everything about each other''s bodies. They could even locate the other


    party''s moles. Therefore, Sonia didn''t feel psychologically burdened when she offered to help him clean


    up.


    However, the man turned her down. First of all, he could still move, so it wasn''t like he was paralyzed.


    As such, he didn''t need anyone''s help.


    Secondly, he was in a wheelchair, so it was indeed difficult for him to move freely. If he let her help him


    wash up, she would see the helpless side of him. He didn''t want to show his helplessness in front of


    the woman, after all.


    Sonia had no idea about Toby''s real reason for turning her down. She just thought that he didn''t want


    her to exhaust herself. As such, she kept persuading him until she realized she couldn''t change the


    man''s mind. Left with no choice, she could only give up.


    Although she let the man clean up on his own inside the bathroom, she didn''t dare stay away from the


    door. She was worried that if she was far away from the bathroom, she wouldn''t be able to hear him


    when he fell to the ground and called for help.


    As she stood outside the bathroom and heard the sound of sshing water, she fished out her phone


    and sent Charles a message. ''When will you have time to talk, Charles? I''d like to talk about Daphne.


    Can we do that?''


    After she sent the message, she stared fixedly at the phone, worried that she would miss Charles''


    reply. However, until the sound of running water stopped in the bathroom, she still hadn''t received


    Charles'' reply.


    Perhaps Charles is swamped with work, so he didn''t see my message, Sonia thought with uncertainty,


    then heard the doorknob of the bathroom turning behind her. She quickly kept her phone and shifted


    her attention to the man.


    "Are you done washing up?" When she saw the man leaving the bathroom with damp hair, she frowned


    with displeasure. "I''ve told you before that you should dry your hair before leaving the bathroom. Look


    at how damp your hair is! Aren''t you worried you''ll dampen your clothes? When that happens, you''ll


    have to get changed again."


    Toby smiled faintly. "I''m sorry. I forgot about that."


    "You''re always so forgetful. How many times have I told you this before?" Sonia rolled her eyes at the


    man, then picked up a towel and dried his hair for him. When she was done with that, she got a


    hairdryer to blow-dry his hair.


    "Alright, it''s time for bed. I''ll help you." She then lowered the bed and helped the man get onto it.


    Following that, she adjusted the bed to an appropriate height and ced a quilt over him.


    To her surprise, the man lifted the quilt the next instant.

 Chapter 1451

    Chapter 1451


    Sonia was startled as she nced at Toby. Thinking that the man didn''t mean to upset her, she wasn''t


    mad at him. Then, she ced the quilt over him again. To her chagrin, the man lifted the quilt again the


    next moment. Certainly, she now realized that the man was doing it intentionally.


    Furious, she ced her palms on her hips and red at the man. "What are you doing, Toby? Why do


    you keep lifting the quilt? Are you trying to mess with me?"


    "No, I''m not." Toby shook his head.


    Sonia sneered. "Is that so? Why do you keep pushing the quilt away, then?"


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "I just want you to sleep with me." Toby nced at her and patted the spot beside him.


    Sonia caught herself for a moment. "That''s it?"


    Toby nodded. "Yes."


    Torn between tears andughter, Sonia said, "I thought you wanted to pull a prank on me all of a


    sudden." After all, the man had done such a thing to her before.


    Toby rubbed his nose. "I won''t do that. Come here." He patted the spot beside him again and looked


    expectantly at her.


    Nevertheless, Sonia shook her head. "No. I''d better get some sleep in the lounge. If I sleep beside you,


    I might identally irritate your wound at night." Therefore, sleeping separately would be a better idea,


    and it was the best solution for both of them.


    However, the man insisted that they should sleep together, for he didn''t want to be apart from her. In


    fact, he hadn''t slept with her or pulled her into his embrace for far too long. He longed to kiss and hug


    her. More importantly, he wanted to bed her.


    With that said, he couldn''t possibly do the deed with her at this moment. Regardless, he still wanted to


    kiss and hug Sonia. At the very least, he had to satisfy part of his desire.


    When Sonia saw his desire nearly spilling from the man''s gaze, her heart softened. She didn''t have the


    heart to turn him down. If she did that, she was worried the man would break into tears. "Are you not


    worried that I might identally touch your wound at night?" she asked.


    Knowing that she had a change of mind, the man shook his head as his gaze brightened. "I''m not


    worried at all. Moreover, you''re usually quiet and still in your sleep."


    Hearing that, Sonia could only agree to his request. "Alright, then. I''ll sleep with you tonight. However, if


    I identally touch your wound, you have to wake me up. You mustn''t endure the pain, got it?


    Otherwise, I won''t sleep with you again." She pointed at him with a solemn expression.


    Realizing that she was serious, Toby nodded hurriedly. "Sure, I won''t be silent. Don''t worry."


    "Alright. Get some rest now. I''ll wash up and join youter." Sonia covered him with the quilt again.


    This time, Toby didn''t push the quilt away. With her mind at ease, Sonia shuffled into the bathroom and


    washed up. Then, she decided to wash the clothes that Toby and she had changed out of. It wasn''t


    until two hourster that she was done with all those.


    Toby had been eager during this period as he kept stretching his neck to look in the bathroom''s


    direction, waiting for her toe back and sleep with him. However, after he waited for a long time, the


    woman was still nowhere in sight. When she finally stepped out of the bathroom, she entered it again.


    As he watched her enter and leave the bathroom repeatedly, his expectation turned into


    disappointment. He was going through such a mood swing that it felt as though he was on a roller-


    coaster.


    When he finally saw the womaning toward him, he knew that he wouldn''t be disappointed. A smile


    reappeared on his face as he said, "You''re finally back. What took you so long?"


    Sonia sat down beside the bed and fished out her toiletry bag before applying some skincare products


    on her face, which was her bedtime routine. "Well, it usually takes a woman a long time to wash up.


    Why aren''t you asleep yet? Was I too noisy?"


    "No, I just didn''t want to sleep yet." Toby didn''t move his gaze away from her. "I wanted to wait for your


    return, but I didn''t know you''d take so long."


    Hearing that, Sonia was amused. "Are you a fool or something? You could''ve gotten some sleep on


    your own. You didn''t have to wait for me."


    "I wanted to wait for you and pull you into my embrace. Otherwise, I won''t be able to fall asleep," Toby


    replied.


    A cheerful Sonia felt warmth in her heart. She blew through her skincare routine before keeping the


    products inside the bag. Then, shey down beside the man. Forget it. Since he''s been waiting for me


    for such a long time, I''ll skip my usual skincare routine and keep himpany earlier.


    Toby''s eyes lit up when he saw the woman getting into bed. Then, he extended his arm and pulled her


    closer.


    Sonia did not resist as she moved closer to him so that he wouldn''t exert himself and irritate his wound.


    Soon, Toby hugged her tightly in his embrace and pressed his head against her neck. As he sniffed at


    her bodily fragrance, he kept calling her ''Little Leaf''.


    Knowing what the man was up to, Sonia patted his shoulder. "Don''t even think about it. You can only


    hug me and do nothing else, so you''d better get some rest. You won''t think about such matters when


    you''re asleep."


    She could hardly stifle herughter. This couldn''t be helped; it was indeed amusing to see the man


    looking so pitiful, but there was nothing he could do. She didn''t want tough, but she couldn''t stop


    herself from doing it.


    Hearing the woman''sughter, Toby nced at her with an expressionless face. Despite that, his gaze


    was full of grievances.


    Sonia stroked his head. "Alright, stop thinking about it. Let''s sleep now. I''ll make it up to you when you


    recover."


    Toby appeared ted in an instant, but the light in his eyes soon went out. "That will take a long time."


    "It''s not like there''s anything we can do about it. You have to wait. Don''t worry, time flies. Christmas is


    just around the corner, and it''ll be Christmas Eve in two days. Have you thought about how you''d like to


    celebrate the asion?" she asked.


    Toby shook his head, then pressed his head against the woman''s neck before kissing and biting it.


    Although he couldn''t bed her, he still wanted to make out with her. "No," he replied in a muffled voice.


    Sonia looked up at the ceiling as she let the man mess around. "You have to start thinking about it now.


    I think your grandma will ask us to go back to the old manor and keep herpany. Since it''s


    Christmas, we can''t possibly turn her down. How are we going to exin to her about your condition?"


    After giving it some thought, Toby replied, "We''ll just tell her the truth."


    Sonia was surprised. "Are you sure?"


    "Yes."


    "But¡­"


    "Don''t worry. My grandma isn''t a frail person." Toby put on a smile. "If we had told her earlier, she


    probably couldn''t have epted it. However, since I''m fine now, I''m sure she''ll be okay with it. As such,


    there''s nothing to worry about. Moreover, I think it''s a good idea to tell her the truth. At the very least,


    she''ll be at ease knowing there won''t be any problems with my heart in the future."


    Finding him sensible, Sonia nodded. "You have a point. We''ll tell her about it, then." She could also


    take this opportunity to apologize to Rose, for she almost caused her grandson to lose his life. "We''ll


    tell the doctors about it three dayster and leave the hospital temporarily. I suppose they''ll agree to it,"


    she said with uncertainty.


    Toby dipped his head. "I''m sure they will. In fact, I''m fine now. It''s just that my wound hasn''t healed, and


    my heart is still in a slightly unstable condition. That''s why I can''t be discharged just yet. However, I''ll


    be able to leave the hospital for a couple of hours."


    "Alright, then." Sonia set her mind at ease.


    Then, she suddenly felt her stomach churning as a sense of difort washed over her. She quickly


    turned over and started retching.


    An anxious Toby promptly checked on her. Sonia knew that he would be worried, so when she felt


    slightly better, she turned over and stopped him. "Don''t move. I''m fine."

 Chapter 1452

    Chapter 1452


    Tears appeared at the corners of Sonia''s reddened eyes, which went to show that the incident earlier


    had caused some degree of difort for her.


    A worried Toby asked, "What''s wrong? Why are you retching all of a sudden?"


    Soniay back down on the bed and shook her head. "I have no idea. I just felt a sense of difort in


    my stomach all of a sudden. I wanted to vomit but nothing came out. Anyway, I feel much better now. I


    suppose there must''ve been something wrong with what I had earlier."


    "In that case, we should get a doctor to check on you." As Toby spoke, he extended his hand and


    pressed the button beside his bed.


    Sonia wanted to stop him, but it was toote. She could only watch as he pressed the button.


    Forget it. I''ll let a doctor examine me, then. If I refuse, this man will never set his mind at ease.


    Regardless, both of us will be assured after an examination. If I''ve been infected with amunicable


    disease, I can undergo treatment at once and make sure he won''t be infected.


    "Here''s some water for you." Toby picked up a ss of water from the bedside table and passed it to


    her.


    Sonia sat up. "Thanks." At that moment, she found it funny. She was supposed to be taking care of


    him, but it was the other way now. After chugging down the water, she let out a long breath.


    The man took the ss and put it back down on the table, but he still asked worriedly, "How do you feel


    now?"


    Sonia shed a smile at him. "I''m fine. I don''t feel any difort in my stomach anymore, nor do I feel


    like retching again."


    Hearing that, Toby became slightly at ease. However, he was still worried. Before the doctor examined


    her and gave them a detailed exnation, he wouldn''t feel relieved.


    "I''ll get out of bed first. It''ll be inappropriate if the doctores over and sees me lying in the same bed


    with you," Sonia said, then lifted the quilt and got to her feet.


    Toby wanted to tell her it was fine, but he knew that she was always concerned about what others


    thought of her. As such, he remained silent.


    Following that, Sonia put on her coat and sat down on a chair, awaiting the doctor''s arrival. After


    waiting for several minutes, she saw a doctor rushing into the ward. She was surprised, for she was


    familiar with this doctor¡ªhe was Tim. "Haven''t you gotten off work?"


    "I''m responsible for the night shift today. I''ll get a day off tomorrow," Tim replied as he adjusted his


    sses. Then, he shifted his attention to Toby with a hint of displeasure. "What''s wrong with you


    again?" He spoke in a way as though Toby was always causing trouble.


    Toby''s face fell in an instant. If not for the fact that he had to let Tim check on Sonia, he would''ve taught


    him a lesson. How dare he speak so rudely to me?! "It''s not me. It''s Little Leaf," he said solemnly as he


    lifted his chin in Sonia''s direction.


    When Tim realized that it was Sonia who needed help, his attitude changed. Without hesitation, he


    shuffled toward her and spoke in a milder voice. "What happened?"


    Seeing that, Toby gritted his teeth. If not for the fact that he knew Tim wouldn''t fall in love with Sonia, he


    wouldn''t allow this guy''s presence in the hospital.


    Sonia shook her head. "I''m fine. Don''t get anxious because of what Toby said." With an amused look,


    she nced at Toby. Then, she continued, "I just felt a sense of difort in my stomach all of a


    sudden and started retching, so he called for a doctor. I''m fine now."


    "You retched?" Tim arched his brow. "What did you eat in the afternoon?"


    After giving it some thought, Sonia listed down the food she''d eaten in the afternoon.


    "There''s nothing wrong with what you''ve eaten, so it''s likely that there''s a problem with your digestive


    system. Let''s get a check done on you." Tim gazed at her.


    Sonia blinked. "Is it even necessary?"


    "Since there''s nothing wrong with what you''ve eaten, I can''t infer what caused your difort. Hence,


    we have to do a thorough examination of your digestive system." Tim tucked his hands into his


    pockets.


    "Let''s get it done. Otherwise, I can''t rest assured," Toby said.


    Since he had said so, Sonia couldn''t possibly turn him down. As such, she could only nod in


    agreement. "Alright."


    "Let''s go." Tim directly walked out of the ward without sparing Toby a nce.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Toby ignored the man and didn''t look at him either. He stared fixedly at Sonia, who was walking up to


    him.


    "I''ll get going now. Get some sleep and don''t wait for me. I''ll be back soon," Sonia said to the man while


    standing beside the bed.


    The man dipped his head. "Alright."


    "See youter." Sonia waved her hand and left with Tim, who brought her to the endoscopy unit.


    Another doctor would conduct a gastroscopy on her to find out if there was anything wrong with her


    digestive system.


    Honestly, Sonia didn''t want to go through a gastroscopy as she was certain that it would be an


    ufortable experience. However, to make sure the man would stop feeling anxious, she could only


    bite the bullet and get it done.


    Before the doctor could arrange an examination for her, the nurse, who had checked Sonia''s blood


    pressure, walked up to the doctor and whispered to him.


    A hint of surprise shed across the doctor''s eyes. He quickly put down the tools in his hands and left


    with the nurse.


    While lying on the examination table, Sonia watched the doctor and nurse leave with a sense of


    unease. What''s going on? Do I have cancer or something? Wait a minute, the examination hasn''t even


    started yet. The nurse only checked my blood pressure. Can they find out if a patient has cancer


    through a blood pressure test these days? Certainly, she didn''t think that was true, but she still couldn''t


    help feeling apprehensive.


    Soon, the doctor and nurse returned to the ward with Tim following closely behind them. He took a look


    at the blood pressure results and nced at Sonia before asking the nurse to help her get down from


    the examination table.


    "What''s wrong with me?" Sonia asked the instant she got to her feet.


    Tim sighed. "Let''s go. You''re not supposed to be here. I''ll bring you to the department where you''ll get a


    proper check."


    "Huh?" Sonia was stunned. Before she could say more, Tim had stepped out of the ward. Left with no


    choice, she could only follow him.


    Soon, Tim brought her to where she was supposed to be, which was the obstetrics and gynecology


    department.


    Sonia widened her eyes in disbelief. "What''s going on? Why have you brought me here?"


    "You''re probably pregnant, so we have to do a test on you to find out." Tim turned around and nced


    at her.


    Sonia''s jaw dropped as her mind turned nk in an instant. Soon, she came to her senses and gulped.


    Still reeling from the shock, she stammered, "Y-You mean I''m pregnant?"


    Tim didn''t give her a definitive reply. "It''s just a possibility, but it''s very likely the case. Let''s go in. We''ll


    find out after examining you." He then stepped into the room first.


    Sonia was rooted to the spot as she touched her belly, her heart pounding into a gallop. Am I likely


    pregnant? She parted her lips in an attempt to say something, but she couldn''t utter a word in the end.


    At this moment, she was unable to describe her feelings with words.


    All the same, she wasn''t against the notion of being pregnant as she had fully epted the child''s


    father. As such, she was at ease with being pregnant. Therefore, she supposed she was happy with


    the news.


    Having said that, she couldn''t celebrate it just yet, for it was still uncertain. If it turned out that she


    wasn''t pregnant, her tion would be for nothing.


    She took a look at the signboard and breathed deeply. Then, she clenched her fists and stepped into


    the room. At any rate, I''ll get an examination done to find out if I''m pregnant. I''ll have to get the results


    before I can think about anything else.


    After the examination, she waited in the lounge for an hour. During this period, she was so anxious that


    her limbs trembled slightly. It couldn''t be helped, for she was eager to know the results. She was


    unable to calm down at all.


    Just then, the door of the lounge was pushed open.

 Chapter 1453

    Chapter 1453


    Sonia instinctively stood up and stared at Tim entering the ce with the document. Even her breath


    sounded grating to her ears as she sped her hands in anxiety.


    "I-Is the result out?" She parted her lips to speak, but it took a long while before she found her voice.


    Such an action illustrated that her emotions were in such turmoil that the line which signifies peace


    might as well be a dot.


    Tim looked at her and nodded. "It''s out. Have a look."


    Then, he passed the document over to her.


    When she reached out to take it, her hands shook as shecked the courage to flip it open.


    She was petrified that she would see a positive pregnancy test result but also feared not seeing a


    positive result.


    Such a dilemma tore into her and left her feeling ufortable.


    Tim raised an eyebrow at her when he noticed Sonia''s hesitance as she kept clutching onto the


    document. "Aren''t you going to open it?"


    "I''m a scaredy-cat." She looked up with red eyes and replied with a choked sob.


    He almost burst outughing when he heard her response, after which he took the document back from


    Sonia. "Since you are a scaredy-cat, let me do the honors for you."


    "Aren''t you my doctor? You would have seen the result earlier, so why don''t you spill the beans? Why


    do we have to bother with the file?" Sonia rubbed her cheeks in mild frustration.


    Tim was nomittal. "That''s true. But it''s such a waste that you didn''t look at the results yourself. So,


    although I have seen the results, it just isn''t the same. Anyway, I''m walking you through the process


    now. Alright, take a seat."


    She nodded and forced herself to sit down.


    However, he didn''t join her. Instead, he stood opposite her and opened the document to reveal the


    result.


    Sonia''s eyes never left his face as she observed his expression. s, he had such a poker face that


    she couldn''t decipher the truth no matter how hard her eyes bore holes into him.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    It left her somewhat disappointed.


    After he took the test result out, he immediately flipped to thest page and gazed at it. Nevertheless,


    he did not initially inform Sonia of the result, but he suddenly asked, "Before I reveal the truth, I need to


    know about your thoughts on pregnancy."


    "My thoughts?" Sonia was taken aback.


    Tim grunted before he continued, "Yeah, because pregnancy is a huge deal. I need to know whether


    you are prepared and willing to have a kid with Toby."


    "I''ve never thought about it. Didn''t you already mention that I should avoid pregnancy for the next two


    years? Even the possibility of being infertile has crossed my mind. Heck, I never once considered that


    I''ll be pregnant within these two years." She rubbed her temple as she gave a truthful reply.


    Once again, he nodded. "That works. Now, look at this from a different point of view. Would you be


    willing to deliver a child for him, then?"


    Sonia grinned. "What do you think? Since I''ve already epted him, of course, I''m willing to deliver a


    child for him. I mean, it''s a different story now. I didn''t know that the father was Toby during myst


    pregnancy. So, even if I did, I''d never have chosen to keep the child because I''d already divorced him. I


    was so against him that I wouldn''t even entertain such a possibility. That was why I chose to abort the


    fetus. Even though I now know what had happened, I would still make the same decision. Even if Carl


    hadn''t poisoned me, I still wouldn''t have kept the child because I never thought that I''ll reconcile with


    Toby."


    As a result, Sonia never regretted her decision to abort her first child, but she felt that she owed that


    child terribly.


    For this reason, she lied to everyone and offered prayers at the local church for the child. She even


    donated to the church every month because she wanted to make amends to that child. Although it was


    superstitious, she did all that in the hopes that her child would be reborn in a better family and under far


    better circumstances.


    She was never one to put stock in such ridiculous notions, but she was more than willing to do it for her


    unborn child.


    It was because she genuinely owed the child.


    "So, you don''t intend on aborting the child if you are pregnant this time. In fact, you''ll carry it to full term.


    Am I right?" Tim pushed his sses up his nose bridge.


    Sonia looked at him as though he was asking a moronic question. "Duh. I''ve already aborted one child,


    so I won''t do it again. That''s too cruel of me. Even I found myself heartless by making that decision the


    first time around. The most important thing is that I know my body well. My body suffered from the first


    abortion, so if I didn''t keep this child, I''m sure I wouldn''t be able to conceive another one for the rest of


    my life. My heart is set. If I''m pregnant this time, I''ll deliver it."


    "Then, why did you look like you wanted to get pregnant but also looked apprehensive of that fact?"


    Tim was bewildered by her attitude.


    Sonia took a sip of the water and answered candidly, "I''m worried. Didn''t you say that I won''t be able to


    conceive within these two years? So, if I were to deliver a child now, would the child be healthy? Also,


    I''ve been in the hospital in and out and taken various medications after being rescued from the factory


    fire. Let''s just say that I''m unsure whether that child should be born if I''m pregnant. What if all those


    drugs harm my baby? Wouldn''t I just be bringing my child into this world to suffer? I''m worried about


    this hence my expression earlier."


    She was actually genuinely concerned about this, and it was enough that her heart felt torn at the


    possibility that she had harmed the fetus due to her poor health.


    He chuckled before finally saying, "Then, you have nothing to worry about. The fetus is doing just fine


    and hasn''t been affected by all of the medications you''ve received."


    "Really?" There was joy on her face before her eyes widened in shock. It was as if she understood


    something. "What did you say? The fetus? I¡­ Am I really pregnant?"


    Heughed. "Yup. You are pregnant."


    Sonia''s mind was nk. The words ''You are pregnant'' continuously rang in her head, reminding her


    that she was a mother-to-be.


    When Tim saw that she was in such a dazed state and didn''t even respond to his questions, he started


    waving a hand right in front of her face as he snarked, "Hey, snap out of it. It''s just being pregnant. Why


    are you acting so weird?''''


    "I-I''m just shocked." Her eyes flickered as she returned to her senses, after which she cautiously felt


    her belly. A mixture of emotions danced on her face¡ªjoy and fright. "I''m really pregnant?!"


    She couldn''t believe what she had heard.


    "Dr. Lancaster." Sonia suddenly remembered something and desperately grabbed hold of Tim. "Didn''t


    you say that I can''t fall pregnant within these two years? Or the possibility that I might not be able to get


    pregnant? So, what''s going on now?"


    When Tim saw that she was bing agitated, he patted her to signal her to calm down. Finally, he


    answered, "Yes, I have said such words before, but that''s because your uterus was injured. So, I


    figured it would need about two years to recuperate. That''s why I suggested not getting pregnant within


    these two years and that there was a chance you might not even be able to conceive during this period.


    If you have a child with an injured uterus, the environment might not be suitable for fertilization.


    However, I did emphasize something. Maybe. That is to say; there are exceptions to every rule. Clearly,


    you''re such an exception. In fact, I wouldn''t hesitate to say that this is a miracle baby you''re carrying."


    Okay, so my case is just a matter of probabilities.


    There was a slight chance of the impossible, and she was lucky to have been orded that slim


    chance.


    In short, Lady Luck shone on her. Had Sonia known about it, she would have purchased a lottery ticket.


    Maybe I''d have struck first prize?


    Sonia pointed to her belly. "In that case, my child¡­ How did I get pregnant? Is it¡ª"


    As Tim knew what she wanted to express, he waved away her guesses. "Nope, your uterus is not fully


    recovered yet, but it''s close. Since your recovery is going well, it is capable of supporting your decision


    to keep the child. Still, I have to warn you that safely delivering the child would require a lot of sacrifice


    at your end thereon."

 Chapter 1454

    Chapter 1454


    "What do I have to do?" Sonia quickly got up and urged, "Just tell me. I will agree to it as long as it''s


    within my abilities."


    "It''s not that serious." Tim crossed his arms and smiled. "This so-called effort means that for the days to


    come, you have to give up a huge amount of time and freedom to care for yourself. You can''t work long


    hours, especially during the first three months, and it would be best if you remain on bed rest. Also,


    remember to adhere to your doctor''s diet n and timetable. Once you persevere through these three


    months, you won''t have to continue with this n anymore. The first three months of a woman''s


    pregnancy is the most important time because it''s the most dangerous, and there is a high risk of


    getting a miscarriage. More importantly, you are more prone to these risks than ordinary women."


    "So, all I need to do is to rest in bed and follow the doctor''s rmended diet?" Sonia clenched her


    fists. "If that''s all, I can do it."


    "Great to hear that, and don''t worry. Since you''ve decided to keep this child, I will do my best to assist


    you. After this, I''ll have a discussion with the doctors from the gynecology department ande up


    with a Baby Care n for you. You will sessfully give birth." Tim promised.


    She felt touched. "Thank you."


    "No problem."


    "One more thing. I want to know if my baby is doing alright. Did the drugs I took previously affect the


    baby in any way?" asked Sonia worriedly as she grabbed a corner of Tim''s shirt.


    With a slight raise of his chin, he asked, "Do you know why you''re only diagnosed pregnant now and


    not back then?"


    She shook her head. Beats me.


    "It''s simple." He shrugged. "You weren''t pregnant at that time."


    "I wasn''t pregnant?" That answer shocked her. "Does that mean the baby is only two weeks old?"


    "Yes." He confirmed her doubts. "When you were sent over, it might''ve been just a fertilized egg that


    hasn''t nted itself in your womb, so you weren''t expecting. The egg might''ve attached itself to your


    womb after you stopped taking the prescription drugs. If that''s the case, there won''t be any problems


    with your baby, so you can rest assured. Of course, if you''re still worried, you can find out if your baby


    is healthy when youe for regr checkups."


    Since he had put it that way, Sonia naturally would not doubt him, and her worried heart finally rxed.


    "That''s great. I might be the luckiest person in the world to have gotten pregnant safely while facing


    such a tragedy."


    "Indeed, you are. Well, it''s gettingte, so you should head back and rest. I''ll find Mr. Cross ande


    up with the n for you. See you tomorrow. I think you should hurry up and tell Toby about your


    pregnancy." Tim looked at her with a slight smile.


    After having had her thoughts pointed out, Sonia smiled sheepishly. "Yes. I shouldn''t hide something so


    important from him. Moreover, this news can make him happy, which might help his recovery."


    Make him happy? Tim raised an eyebrow as he thought this news was more like a shock than a


    surprise for Toby.


    As his part-time psychiatrist, he understood what Toby was thinking and knew that guy''s sexual desires


    would have to be put on hold again.


    While thinking of that, Tim pursed his lips to hide his smile. By the way, have I been smiling more


    frequentlytely?


    After Sonia bade him goodbye and left the gynecology department, she headed for Toby''s ward.


    On the way there, she was so happy that she started humming a song. As all her worries about her


    pregnancy were gone, all there was left was happiness.


    Luckily, she still had her judgment because she thought of dancing to show her joy.


    At the same time, Toby was resting with his eyes closed inside his ward. When he heard someone


    singing outside, he opened his eyes and turned to look at the door.


    The next second, the door was pushed open, and in came Sonia. She had just closed the door and


    turned around when she met Toby''s bright eyes.


    Startled, she patted her chest. "Toby, what are you doing? You almost scared me to death."


    He tugged his lips into a thin line and argued, "I wasn''t doing anything besides looking at you. You


    didn''t notice me, yet you me me for scaring you." He sounded aggrieved.


    She parted her lips but did not know what to say because she was the one in the wrong.


    "Forget it." She waved her hand and headed for the hospital bed. "Why are you still awake? Didn''t I tell


    you not to wait for me? Are you being disobedient again?"


    "I''m not being disobedient. I can''t sleep because I''m worried about you." He picked up the remote and


    raised the bed before sitting up.


    She sighed. "Fine. It''s my fault for worrying you." Then, she approached him and grabbed his hand.


    "But there''s nothing to worry about anymore. I''m fine."


    "How was it?" Toby used his other hand to cup her face and look at her with concerned eyes. "What did


    Tim say?"


    Hearing that, Sonia beamed.


    When Toby saw her silent smile, he could not figure out what it meant and felt anxious. "What''s wrong?


    Tell me."


    She patted the back of his hand. "Don''t worry. It''s good news."


    "What good news?"


    She ced her palm on her belly and announced, "I''m pregnant."


    As soon as she said that, the room fell so quiet that they could only hear each other breathing.


    All she saw was Toby sitting stunned as if he had lost his soul. What''s this? Why is he reacting this


    way?


    In her mind, he should be happy and excited to hear that she was pregnant, followed by embracing her


    in his arms and not sitting there dazedly like a statue. What''s wrong with him?


    While blinking her eyes to show her confusion, Sonia nudged him. "Toby? Toby Fuller?"


    It was then that he awoke from his daze. "Yes, sorry. I got lost in my thoughts. What did you say?" His


    Adam''s apple bobbed, and his voice sounded raspy.


    Then, she repeated. "I said I''m pregnant."


    That''s it! She''s pregnant! His eyes dted as he turned his stiff neck to look at her belly. "For real?"


    "For real!" She rolled her eyes. "How can I lie to you about such a thing? You, on the other hand, have


    been acting strange and don''t seem excited to hear the news. What''s the matter? Are you upset that


    I''m pregnant?" She narrowed her eyes while staring doubtfully at him.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    The man shook his head. "No, never."


    "Then, why aren''t you happy?" She still could not figure out why he would act like that.


    The next moment, she was gently pulled into an embrace. "I''m not unhappy about this. I''m just


    surprised by the sudden news and was a little dazed. Don''t overthink it."


    However, his thoughts were conflicting with his words. Happy? How can I be happy? I thought we


    agreed that once I was discharged from the hospital and felt better, I would find time to apany her,


    but what did I get in return? She''s pregnant. Does that mean I don''t get to enjoy the benefits she


    promised?


    While thinking of that, Toby became sadder and more aggrieved, but he did not show it on the surface


    and pretended to be happy. Truthfully, he was utterly shocked by her pregnancy news. How did she


    suddenly get pregnant?


    "Did Tim mention whether you''re suitable to conceive now?" He suddenly pulled away from her and


    grabbed her shoulder before checking her all over. "Like, would this baby bring any harm to you?"

 Chapter 1455

    Chapter 1455


    Simrly, he had not forgotten that her condition disallowed her to be pregnant during these two years.


    That was why he was more worried than unhappy about not getting his benefits after hearing that she


    was pregnant, hence theck of excitement expected from Sonia.


    Was Toby unhappy about her pregnancy?


    Of course, not.


    On the contrary, he was ted because that was their child, the product of their loving rtionship.


    However, the baby did note at the right time and might even bring harm to the carrier. Just the


    thought of that made him unable to feel easy.


    "Don''t worry. I''ve mentioned all your worries to Tim." Sonia looked at his nervous state and felt touched.


    Then, she told him what Tim promised.


    At that, Toby finally felt assured when hearing that she had only gotten pregnant three days after they


    were rescued from the fire and that the baby was healthy. Also, Tim would help her recuperate her


    health and ensure that she could safely give birth to the child.


    "That''s great." He finally felt relieved."I didn''t expect it''s only half a month old." He caressed Sonia''s


    belly with surprise.


    Our child is so tiny!


    Meanwhile, Sonia was also looking at her belly. "That''s right. I never expected I''d get pregnant now or


    be told such great news after two weeks. With today''s technological advancements, we can determine


    if a woman''s pregnant in ten to fourteen days."


    "The baby has a great sense of time because it chose to attach to your womb after two days. If it had


    been two days earlier, perhaps¡­" We might not be able to keep this baby.


    Sonia had gone through BAL during those two days and ate all kinds of prescription drugs, so they


    certainly could not keep the child if she had been pregnant then.


    That was why Toby said their child had great timing and chose toe to them after that period.


    She smiled. "Yeah. The baby knew Mommy was not strong enough to handle them yet, so they chose


    to be patient for another two days."


    "As I would expect of my child¡ªsmart." Toby raised his chin, revealing his proud expression.


    Laughing, she retorted, "That''s my baby too, not just yours. Why don''t you say my child takes after my


    intelligence?"


    "Yes, of course. Baby takes after you. No matter whom the baby takes after, they''re still ours." After


    saying that, Toby grabbed Sonia''s hand and kissed the back of her hand.


    Shey in his embrace and suggested, "How about we break the good news to Grandma during


    Christmas? She would love the news!"


    "Sure." He nodded in agreement. "But before that, we have something important to do."


    "What''s that?"


    "Getting married." While looking at her, Toby exined, "I know you were unwilling to marry me


    because you haven''t gotten your revenge, and I respect your decision. I''m willing to wait until you get


    your revenge before getting married, but the situation is different now. We have a child, so we should


    get married and provide the child a legal identity." His eyes were filled with anticipation when he said


    that.


    Sonia moved her lips, feeling somewhat touched.


    What he said was true. Had she not found out she was pregnant, she would have insisted on waiting


    until she got her revenge before getting married.


    However, a sudden change hindered her ns because she was now pregnant. So, even if she was


    not doing this for herself, she still had to change her ns to not let her baby be born with the title of an


    illegitimate child.


    If they had nned to marryter, the public would still think of their child as illegitimate. After all, it was


    known to all how viciously people nowadays spoke.


    "We can register our marriage first and hold a wedding afterward. It takes time to organize one, so it


    wouldn''t be toote to hold our wedding after you''ve gotten your revenge." Toby clutched Sonia''s hand


    with a suggestion.


    She stared at him for a while before slowly nodding. "Okay."


    "You said yes!"


    "Yes." She nodded again.


    He was ted. "That''s great. You agreed. You finally agreed."


    Seeing how excited he was, she was worried his heart might not be able to withstand his excitement,


    so she stopped him. "Alright, alright. Don''t get too excited. What''s there to be so excited about me


    marrying you? Where''s that same excitement when I told you I''m pregnant?"


    "You agreeing to marry me again is exceptional news, so of course, I''m happy. Also, isn''t this double


    the good news?" Toby tightened his grip on both her hands and was reluctant to let go.


    Sonia found his actions funny and shook her head.


    "How about we register tomorrow?" he asked.


    Surprised, she replied, "Tomorrow? Won''t that be too quick? What''s more, you can''t even get out of the


    hospital. Are you going to apply for leave tomorrow? If you do, you won''t be able to return home during


    Christmas."


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "I won''t be taking leave. I''ll get Tom to bring the personnel involved toe here." He shook his head


    and proffered his n.


    Feeling her lips twitching, she gave in. "Fine. I wouldn''t expect any less from you."


    It seemed like her thoughts were somewhat limited as she did not think of the possibility of bringing the


    personnel over here. What an eye-opener.


    "So, does that mean you agree?" In the end, Toby confirmed with her once again.


    Soniaughed. "Would you listen if I have any objections?"


    "As long as it''s reasonable, of course, I would."


    "Sure. Tomorrow is too soon, and I wanna wait a while longer. How about two dayster?"


    "No!" He immediately rejected grimly.


    He set the time for tomorrow because he was worried that she might change her mind, so he decided


    to get registered earlier so that he could rest assured.


    How could he let her consider it for a few more days?


    The idea of getting remarried had been in his mind for ages, so why did he need to hesitate when she


    finally agreed? Of course, he wished for them to marry as soon as possible and without a minute''s


    dy.


    Looking at the man''s determined face, Sonia rolled her eyes resignedly. "See? What''s the point of


    asking me? That''s the only objection I have, and you''ve rejected it."


    "You can mention something else but not that. For example, the clothes you wanna wear tomorrow and


    how you''d like your makeup done. I can arrange for that."


    Hearing that, she thought the situation was bing weirder. "We''re only registering our marriage.


    The way you''re putting it sounds like we''re getting ready for our wedding ceremony."


    As soon as she said that, Toby was stunned but then realized he had gone a little overboard. However,


    he did not mind and considered it a basic idea for their ceremonyter.


    Sonia was at a loss for how to react. Following that, she followed the man''s suggestion and told him


    what she wanted to wear tomorrow.


    While she spoke, he listed them out and sent his notes to Tom, asking him to contact a stylist and the


    Civil Affairs Bureau to send someone over tomorrow.


    Of course, he did not forget the most important thing¡ªreminding Tom to buy a set of rings.


    Meanwhile, Tom was about to go to bed when he received the message. Then, he immediately sprang


    up while looking at his phone in disbelief and rereading the whole text.


    After doing so, he drew a sharp breath. "Damn! I''m not seeing things. President Fuller and Miss Reed


    are going to get married!"


    The news was so huge and shocking that he no longer felt tired. Wasn''t Miss Reed unwilling to remarry


    President Fuller? Why did she change her mind? What did President Fuller do to make her agree?

 Chapter 1456

    Chapter 1456


    Tom thought about those questions for a long while but could not find the answer, so he gave up and


    replied to Toby''s message, saying that he understood and would order the others to make the


    arrangements.


    After all that was done, he discovered that he could not sleep. How can I sleep when President Fuller is


    finally getting married? He has finally moved Miss Reed and is going to remarry her! How can anyone


    sleep after knowing such great news?


    Therefore, Tomy on his bed alone, trying to regain his sleepiness and fall back asleep.


    However, the news Toby brought to him was too shocking, so no matter how hard he tried, his eyes still


    stayed wide open until sunrise. So, he decided to forget about sleeping and went to do whatever Toby


    ordered him with two dark patches under his eyes.


    His first stop was the Civil Affairs Bureau.


    Though the bureau had not begun operations for the day, it did not stop him from heading inside. After


    all, Toby was a big shot here, so Tom headed inside and mentioned his purpose. Not only was he not


    rejected, but the personnel inside the bureau also readily agreed to head over to the hospitalter and


    help Toby and Sonia register their marriage.


    Once that was done, Tom went to his next destination, the jewelry shop, to purchase wedding rings for


    the couple.


    Originally, President Fuller had secretly prepared a wedding gown and ring for Miss Reed, but those


    were still in the making, so we can''t use them now. These ready-made wedding rings will only be used


    temporarily because once the rings President Fuller had custom-designed are done, these will lose


    their value because the custom-designed wedding rings are way more valuable. The main diamond is a


    large and exquisite pink diamond, the only one in the world, and the one behind the wedding ring is


    also the top jewelry designer around the globe. Once those rings are ready, they will surely shock the


    world, but all of this is in the future. The most important thing now is to buy rings for President Fuller


    and Miss Reed. They are waiting for them.


    However, Tom did not know how to choose them because he did not even have a girlfriend. Therefore,


    he opted for a straightforward solution¡ªasking for their most precious jewelry.


    Although the store''s most precious jewelry still could notpare with the ones Toby had prepared,


    they were still jewelry that was hard toe by globally worth millions.


    After paying for them, Tom put the rings away and headed for a clothing store to buy clothes for the two


    of them.


    Atst, he drove his car toward the hospital.


    Coincidentally, the personnel from the Civil Affairs Bureau had also arrived at the same time as him, so


    they all headed for Toby''s ward together.


    However, they discovered that the couple was still asleep in each other''s arms when they got there.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    As for the reason this happened, it was all Toby''s fault. The two had been talking about their wedding,


    which then escted into discussing their child''s name.


    Sonia had thought about stopping him because she was still in the early stages of her pregnancy, so


    they need not talk about such things now. Yet, seeing how excited he was, she could not bear to


    interrupt him. Hence, she let him talk while she listened patiently.


    In the end, they forgot about the time and only went to bed after midnight. That was why they were still


    asleep and why Sonia''s face blushed red in embarrassment after being woken up by Tom and the


    others.


    On the other hand, Toby had always been thick-skinned, so he was not embarrassed but excited


    because he and his lover were about to start their journey into life after marriage!


    "Since you''ve all arrived, let''s begin." Toby leaned against the headboard and calmly instructed the


    others. However, the excitement and anticipation in his eyes seemed like they were about to overflow.


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "Why are you in such a hurry? At least wait until we''re done washing up and


    eating breakfast."


    Is he not going to wash up just because he''s in a hurry to register our marriage?


    After she reminded him, he realized he had yet to do any of those.


    On the other hand, the people from the Civil Affairs Bureau found them funny. They had seen many


    situations like this, whereby the couples were either too nervous, too excited, or too anxious that


    embarrassing moments became inevitable.


    However, this was not bad because getting married was wonderful, and having some embarrassing


    moments added to the fun of such a memorable event.


    "Mr. Fuller, Miss Reed, you can take your time. We can wait for you to finish getting ready," the person


    in charge told them.


    Although Toby wanted to get things over with as quickly as possible, he was more worried about


    Sonia''s condition rather than their marriage certificate.


    Since she was hungry, they would have breakfast first.


    "Tom, bring them to the lounge and prepare some snacks and drinks. We''ll head over there shortly,"


    Toby ordered Tom.


    After acknowledging his orders, Tom left the two bags and led the others away.


    Later, Sonia helped Toby get off the bed, and they went to wash up together. Her morning routine was


    the same as usual, so it was not anything peculiar.


    However, the man was different because he was washing up so quickly as if a war had broken out. He


    was very refined, but this time, he traded his refinement for speed to get their marriage certificate


    sooner. Therefore, water was all over the ce after he finished washing up.


    The sight of him made Soniaugh.


    The same thing happened during breakfast as well. Usually, Toby would eat his chowder slowly and


    elegantly, but this time, he finished his breakfast in just a few mouthfuls.


    Also, he was not satisfied with his speed and started urging Sonia to finish hers quickly. She found his


    actions hrious, but she also felt a little displeased. He''s so eager to get married like he''s possessed


    or something.


    Shaking her head resignedly, she quickened her pace and finished her breakfast.


    Afterward, Toby gave her the clothes Tom bought for them. "Take a look and see if you like them. If you


    don''t, I''ll have Tom buy new ones," he said.


    Then, Sonia opened the bag and pulled out the clothing, revealing a pale yellow ball gown. Her eyes


    immediately lit up. "It''s so beautiful."


    There were not many women who disliked dresses, especially ones that were as beautiful as this.


    However, the gown Tom bought had a high demand for the wearer''s figure. That was why many women


    liked such a dress, but only a few ever dared to wear the dress out in public.


    Though Sonia was confident with her figure, this was a first for her because she never had an


    opportunity to wear such an exquisite gown. Back at the Fuller Residence, she was constantly wearing


    an apron, so there was no opportunity to wear beautiful dresses.


    Now, she was busy with work and had no time to dress up.


    "Do you like it?" Toby already knew the answer from her sparkling eyes, but he raised the question


    anyway.


    Nodding, she replied, "I do. It''s so pretty. I didn''t expect Tom would buy such a beautiful dress."


    At that moment, Tom came into the room to help Toby with his clothes. He happened to hear that and


    adjusted his sses while saying, "I didn''t know what to buy at first, so I asked the saleswoman, who


    rmended this. I was worried you might not like it."


    "I do!" Sonia nodded while replying, "How could I not like such a beautiful dress?"


    "That''s great to hear. Miss Reed, you can head over and change your clothes now. The stylist has


    arrived, and she''ll help with your hair and makeup. I''ll bring President Fuller to change his clothes and


    do his hair." Tom went behind Toby and held the wheelchair''s handle.


    She hummed in response. "Sure. You guys go ahead, and I''ll head over soon. See youter." She


    smiled at Toby and walked toward the room she usually stayed in.

 Chapter 1457

    Chapter 1457


    The stylist Tom arranged for Sonia was already waiting inside the room and was currently arranging her


    makeup products and tools.


    When she heard the door open, she quickly turned around and bowed. "Miss Reed."


    "Hello." Sonia smiled at the stylist as a greeting.


    The stylist then pulled out the chair before the dressing table. "Miss Reed, please take a seat while I do


    your hair and makeup. Once we''re done with that, I''ll help you change into your dress."


    "Sure." As Sonia also knew the steps that she needed to get ready, she instantly agreed and put her


    dress down before walking over to take a seat.


    Subsequently, the stylist studied her face and praised her. "Miss Reed, you have such great skin. I


    can''t even see your pores. It looks like you''ll only need a lightyer of foundation."


    No one disliked beingplimented, so Sonia naturally felt ttered by it. She smiled sheepishly. "I''m


    already twenty-eight. How good can it be?"


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    "It''s great, and twenty-eight isn''t that old. You''re still very young." The stylist ttered her while


    beginning the pre-makeup skincare process.


    Suddenly, Sonia was reminded of something and grabbed the stylist''s hand. "Wait a minute."


    "What''s the matter?" The stylist looked at her in confusion.


    Without any hesitation, Sonia asked, "It''s like this. I''m pregnant, so are your skincare and makeup


    products suitable for pregnant women?"


    Hearing that, the stylist smiled. "Don''t worry, Miss Reed. We usually have pregnant customers too. So,


    all the products we use are suitable for both pregnant and ordinary women because we don''t want any


    trouble. You can rest assured that this is perfectly safe."


    After listening to her exnation, Sonia felt relieved and let go of her. "That''s great. My apologies. I


    was too nervous."


    "It''s fine. It''s normal for a soon-to-be mom to protect her child. Also, I haven''t congratted you and


    President Fuller on having a baby." She sounded sincere.


    Smiling, Sonia said, "Thank you. You may continue."


    "Sure thing."


    Then, Sonia closed her eyes and let the stylist work her magic.


    As the stylist was proficient in her craft, she did a quick job with Sonia''s hair and makeup. The hairdo


    complemented the dress perfectly, radiating an air of grace and beauty.


    Sonia loved it the moment she saw it and could not find any ws after looking at it.


    When the stylist saw how much Sonia adored her work, she felt relieved. It seems like I don''t need to


    change anything.


    "Miss Reed, let''s get you changed." The stylist then brought over Sonia''s dress.


    Sonia did not feel embarrassed as they were both women, so she took off her clothes before the stylist


    and changed into the dress.


    In the meantime, the stylist stood beside her and helped her with the zipper and silhouettes.


    "Whoa! Miss Reed, you look so pretty." The stylist was surprised at the final look.


    Sonia smiled shyly as she changed into high heels. "You must be exaggerating."


    "I''m not. I''m speaking the truth. You''re the prettiest bride I''ve ever seen. The dress you''re wearing is


    perfect for you. I can''t imagine how beautiful your wedding gown would be." The stylist began


    envisioning the scene.


    While touching her burning cheek, Sonia replied, "It''s too early to talk about our wedding, but thank you


    for yourpliment."


    "Miss Reed, you don''t have to be so modest. I''m just stating facts." The stylist waved her hand.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and Toby''s voice rang from outside. "Little Leaf, are you


    ready?"


    "Yes," Sonia replied and went over to open the door.


    At that instant, both of them were surprised.


    When he saw the beautifully dressed bride, who looked like a goddess, his eyes were glued onto her.


    At the same time, Sonia''s eyes lit up when she saw him wearing a retro suit that decreased his cold


    and domineering temperament, adding a trace of intellectual aura.


    "You''re so handsome."


    "You''re so beautiful!"


    Both spoke in unison and startled each other.


    As they realized the situation, they looked at each other andughed. Does this mean we''re telepathic?


    "Come on, Mrs. Fuller." Toby sat in his wheelchair and reached for her.


    Sonia hummed a reply and stretched her hand to ce it in his palm.


    As he was afraid that she might take her hand back, he grasped her hand tightly as soon as he could.


    To that, she was powerless. Gosh! I''ve already agreed to marry him. Since I''ve given him my word, I


    won''t regret my decision. Still, his actions make it look like I''m going to regret my decision at any


    second.


    "Let''s go, Mr. Fuller." That endearment made his heart flutter.


    The two walked over to the lounge hand in hand, ready to receive their marriage certificate.


    On their way there, Toby felt a little sorry for her. "I''m sorry I can''t walk with you on such an important


    day. Gosh, this wheelchair."


    Sonia patted his shoulder. "It''s nothing. You didn''t choose this. Once you''re all healed, we''ll have our


    ceremony, and you can walk me down the aisle."


    "I will make sure of that." He clutched her hand in his and promised.


    When the couple arrived at the lounge together, the crowd generouslyplimented them as those


    two looked exceptional after dressing up; they were a match made in heaven.


    Hearing the crowdpliment them left Toby happy that the smile on his face never disappeared,


    which showed how much he enjoyed getting praised for their perfect chemistry.


    After exchanging some courteous remarks, they finally began the process of registering their marriage.


    The two presented their identification documents before filling up all sorts of forms and having their


    picture taken. Then, they received their certificate and exchanged their vows, all in one concession.


    Now that he had gotten the anticipated certificate, Toby beamed for the very first time. Following that,


    he pulled Sonia into his arms and spoke very excitedly, "This feels great. You''re finally married to me


    again."


    She gently hugged him back. "Are you going to treat me well this time?"


    "Yes, I will." The man nodded without hesitating. "If I can''t, let the universe¡ª"


    Before he could finish, she had sealed his lips with her finger. "Don''t say that. Today''s a happy day. Do


    not spoil the mood by saying that."


    He looked at her and said, "Although I know these vows are fake and can''t be trusted or made real, I


    mean it when I say I won''t live a good life if I don''t treat you well."


    "I believe you." She closed her eyes, and the two hugged each other.


    Meanwhile, the personnel and Tom watched the two from the side without any intention of interrupting


    the newly registered couple.


    It was until they broke the hug that the crowd began to apud.


    "Congrattions, President Fuller and Miss Reed. Congrattions on bing husband and wife."


    "Thank you." Sonia thanked them, while Toby was more straightforward and asked Toby to distribute


    envelopes filled with money.


    He had prepared these mary gifts in advance, and every envelope was filled generously.


    As the personnel did not expect to receive such a gift, they were all shocked and happy, but they


    worked for the government, so they did not dare to ept the gifts.


    In the end, they felt reassured and epted the envelopes after Toby told them he had mentioned this


    to their superior.


    After receiving the mary gifts, they were delighted because each envelope had about fifteen


    hundred bucks, twice their monthly sry.


    As one would expect from the generous and rich President Fuller! Besides mary gifts, they also


    received goody bags and tokens of appreciation. This trip was well worth it.

 Chapter 1458

    Chapter 1458


    After receiving their mary gifts and goody bags, all the personnel left happily, leaving only Toby,


    Sonia, and Tom inside the lounge.


    Toby gave Tom an envelope too. "This is yours."


    Tom''s eyes lit up, asking, "Me too?"


    Sonia smiled as she answered him, "You''re Toby''s assistant. How could we not give you one when we


    gave the others? Your envelope has more than theirs."


    Although the envelope seemed tter and less bulky than the others, it was a check inside.


    Tom joyously received the envelope. "Thank you, President Fuller and Miss Reed."


    "You don''t have to thank me first. There are still things that I need you to do. You have to prepare some


    benefits and goody bags for the employees at Fuller Group and Paradigm Co.."


    Since he and Sonia had gotten married, as their boss, he should give his employees some benefits.


    That was how it should be done.


    Not only was he doing that to get everyone''s blessing, but he was also aiming to make his marriage a


    smooth sail.


    "Sure, President Fuller. I''ll arrange for that." Tom nodded and thought of something before asking,


    "Should I get them to post the news of you and Miss Reed on the Inte?"


    Toby looked at Sonia with eyes filled with anticipation. He was hoping to announce their marriage


    because he wanted everyone to know about it.


    On the other hand, she could not bear to see him disappointed. Also, things like this should be shared


    with others and not kept a secret, so there was no reason to object to that idea.


    "You can do whatever you want," she told Toby.


    He was instantly delighted and gazed at Tom. "Announce it and create some kind of lucky draw so that


    theizens can share the joy."


    "Yes, President Fuller." Tom nodded again but did not head out immediately. Instead, he looked at the


    two and hesitated to speak.


    Frowning in satisfaction, Toby asked, "Is there anything else?"


    Tomughed sheepishly. "President Fuller, when you told me you and Miss Reed were going to


    remarry, I was so shocked that I couldn''t sleep. So, I was wondering why you two suddenly decided to


    get married again."


    It turned out he wanted to know the reason.


    Then, Sonia smiled and touched her belly, while Toby pulled her into his embrace and raised his chin


    slightly, announcing proudly, "It''s because we have a baby."


    "A baby?" Tom was shocked but then realized something and looked at her in disbelief.


    She hummed in response, confirming what Toby said was true.


    After hearing the news, Tom had his mouth agape in surprise. It took him some time to realize what had


    happened he startedughing excitedly. "So, that''s why. That''s great news. President Fuller, Miss


    Reed, congrattions."


    "Thank you." Sonia happily epted his congrattions.


    However, Toby waved his hand in displeasure. "Alright, do whatever you need to do. Also, don''t


    announce her pregnancy for the moment."


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    Not only was there still Connor to deal with, but he also had other business rivals. It would be bad if any


    of them knew Sonia was pregnant and decided to target her to get to him.


    Since Tom also knew to weigh the situation, he nodded sternly. "Don''t worry, President Fuller. I


    understand. I''ll be off now."


    "Good," Toby responded firmly.


    Then, Tom nodded at Sonia before he left. He had just taken a few steps when Toby suddenly thought


    of something and reminded him, "Don''t address her as Miss Reed anymore. It''s Mrs. Fuller."


    The title of Mrs. Fuller did make Sonia a little embarrassed and shy, but she did not stop him because


    she knew she had to go through this phase sooner orter. Therefore, she had to start getting used to


    it.


    Meanwhile, Tom patted his forehead and agreed, "Yes, you''re right, President Fuller. I should change


    the way I address her. Thank you for the reminder." While he spoke, he nced at Sonia apologetically.


    "My apologies, Mrs. Fuller. I wasn''t able to react in time, so please forgive me."


    With pink cheeks, she shook her head. "It''s nothing."


    "Well, now you know. You''d better pay more attention to this. You may go now." Toby waved his hand.


    Tom withdrew his gaze and finally left.


    Once he was gone, Toby suddenly snatched the marriage certificate from Sonia''s hand.


    When she realized what had happened, she looked at him in confusion. "What was that?"


    "I''ll be keeping this." He carefully stacked the certificates together and folded them before cing them


    inside his suit pocket. She found itical that he was acting like someone would steal those


    certificates.


    "Is there a need for that?" She shook her head resignedly.


    He exined to her with a stern expression, "Of course. This is the proof of our marriage, so we must


    keep it safe."


    "If you put it that way, I can keep my copy. Why did you take mine?" She looked at him with a smile.


    While patting the pocket with the certificates, he argued, "That''s a different situation. I feel more


    assured if I''m the one keeping them, but you''re right. It''s not safe to keep them on me. I''ll get Tom to


    buy a safe."


    He put on a serious face, obviously thinking about whether he should do that.


    Sonia hurriedly stopped him. "It''s just a marriage certificate. Why get a safe for it? Since you want to


    keep them yourself, you can have both of them, Mr. Head of the House." With a smile, she cupped his


    face and rubbed it.


    Toby nodded and promised. "I will keep it safe."


    She felt touched because he valued those marriage certificates immensely. "So, what are we¡ª"


    Before she finished her words, footsteps came from outside the lounge, followed by Tim''s confused


    voice, asking, "What are you guys doing? I heard the nurses talking about you guys inviting a crowd


    over. What''s going on? Are you having a party?"


    Sonia burst outughing when Tim called it a party.


    Meanwhile, Toby was toozy to argue with him because today was his and Little Leaf''s big day, so he


    decided to be generous for once and not argue with such side characters.


    At that moment, Tim entered the room and was about to ask them what they were doing in the lounge


    instead of lying in bed at such an early hour when he saw them all dressed up.


    "What''s this?" He cast a suspicious look. "Why are you two all dressed up? Are you nning on


    holding a party in the ward?"


    She shook her head. "No, we were¡ª"


    "Just getting married." Toby cut her off and took out the marriage certificates before showing them to


    Tim.


    The certificates were so eye-catching that it was impossible to ignore.


    Stunned, Tim stammered, "You guys¡­"


    "Yes, we''re married." While Toby spoke, he shook the certificates again. The proud look on his face


    was genuine and obvious.


    Yet, the woman shook her head powerlessly. Is this guy nning on showing everyone whoes into


    this room our marriage certificate? It does seem like something he would do.


    Tim raised an eyebrow. "So, the two of you dressed up and called a bunch of people here just so you


    can get your marriage certificate?"


    Toby answered in a firm tone, "That''s right."


    "Jeez! What am I to say about you two? You guys are probably the first to do so here." Tim rolled his


    eyes.


    Then, Toby put down the certificates and took out his phone to take two pictures.


    "What are you up to?" she asked.


    "His arrival reminded me of one thing," Toby spoke while pointing at Tim. "Getting married is a big deal,


    so we have to share it with all our friends and family. What if they get angry at us for not telling them?


    So, the first one I''m telling is Charles. Zane is okay too."


    As he spoke, he scrolled to locate Charles'' contact number on his phone.

 Chapter 1459

    Chapter 1459


    Sonia secretly rolled her eyes. How could she not know what Toby was doing? He says we should


    share the good news with our friends and family, but in reality, he just wants to show it off to others.


    This guy is childish.


    While thinking of that, she shook her head and let him be. Forget it. Seeing that today''s a big day, he


    can do whatever he wants. Charles won''t get angry anyway because the person he likes is not me


    anymore, but I am curious about what happened between him and Daphne.


    "Are you going to let him do that?" asked Tim, as he nced at Toby, who was excitedly sending


    messages.


    Smiling, Sonia replied, "It''s fine. He won''t cause any trouble, so just let him do whatever he wants."


    Tim shrugged his shoulders and did not say anything more. "Congrattions on your marriage."


    "Thank you." She smiled in response and grabbed an envelope from her bag before offering it to him.


    "Here. This is yours."


    "What''s this?" He doubtfully received the envelope and opened it. "Money?"


    "That''s correct," she affirmed. "Since Toby and I have gotten married, we should prepare some


    mary gifts and goody bags for our friends and family so that you can all share the happy asion.


    This is yours."


    While raising an eyebrow, he looked at the envelope in his hand and felt astonished. "This is the first


    time I received something like this."


    Since he was young, everyone thought of him as a monster and never considered getting close to him.


    He knew it wasmon for people to give out mary gifts during special asions, but he had


    never received or given out any. More importantly, he never cared about such things.


    When Sonia gave him the envelope, it was his first time experiencing this sensation. He felt strange,


    and there was another feeling he could not describe, but he did not dislike it and even felt warm.


    There was a fuzzy feeling in his heart.


    Tim subconsciously tightened his grip around the envelope as if the thing he was holding was not an


    envelope with money but some kind of precious gem.


    Sonia noticed his behavior and felt heartbroken for him. "I''m d you like it."


    After putting it away, he said, "I like it a lot. Thank you."


    "No worries. Just remember to attend our wedding ceremony when we hold one," she spoke in a happy


    tone, trying to liven up the atmosphere.


    He nodded and did not forget to remind them, "Since you''ve invited me, I will show up for sure. Alright.


    It''s your big day today, so I won''t disturb you. Enjoy your time together. Also, he''s still recovering, so


    only hugs and nothing else."


    At that, Sonia blushed, clearly embarrassed. She smiled and assured him. "Don''t worry. We''ll keep that


    in mind."


    "That''s great to hear. I''ll be off now." Tim waved and left the room.


    In the meantime, Toby was still texting Charles and Zane. Then, he suddenly chuckled victoriously.


    "Charles is so frustrated and is scolding me."


    He proffered his phone over to Sonia so that she could see the words on the screen. ''Toby Fuller, you


    moron. How did you trick Sonny into agreeing?''


    Feeling her lips twitching, she questioned, "What did you say to make Charles so worked up?"


    There was a strange glint in Toby''s eyes, but it soon disappeared as he replied calmly, "Nothing much. I


    just told them we''re married. He can''t take the news¡ª Hey, Zane replied."


    Then, he opened his message.


    Sonia leaned on his back and looked over his shoulder to read the text.


    It was simr to Charles'' reply. The first message was Toby''s full name, followed by several


    exmation marks to show how shocked, angry, and doubtful he was.


    Following the exmation marks were bloody knives, and that was all.


    However, the text confirmed that Zane was not in a good mood.


    Knowing that made Toby feel happy because defeating his love rival was something worth being joyful


    about. Subsequently, the man who never liked chatting with others was now busy replying to Charles


    and Zane''s messages.


    Even if they were scolding him and calling him inhumane, it remained harmless to his good mood. In


    Toby''s perspective, they were yelling at him because they were angry at their impotence, which was


    true.


    Soon, Charles and Zane stopped replying as they saw the news about Toby and Sonia''s registration of


    marriage.


    At that moment, they felt their mind explode and go nk. It took them quite a while to return to their


    senses.


    To Charles, seeing Sonia remarrying Toby made him feel indescribably sad because she was the


    woman he had loved since young. For more than a decade, she was under his love and protection.


    However, he never managed to capture her heart and be real lovers.


    Although he knew it was impossible between them and decided to let go of his feelings and


    congratte them, he still felt a sharp pain in his heart when told that they had remarried.


    After all, that was the young woman he had loved since young, so he could not forget about her quickly


    and decisively. Otherwise, it meant that he was never truly in love with her.


    Charles grabbed his phone and squatted on the floor, crying. The scene of a big man crying his heart


    out was heartbreaking.


    Daphne was clueless about what had happened. She merely saw him breaking down after looking at


    his phone. As such, she deduced that it had something to do with Sonia because only Sonia could


    affect his emotions.


    Suppressing the jealousy and sadness in her heart, Daphne covered her belly and made her way


    toward Charles beforeforting him. "President Lane, are you alright?"


    She reached out to touch his shoulder, but he suddenly sprang to his feet and looked at her with


    bloodshot eyes like he was looking at his enemy. "Don''t touch me!"


    That scream shocked her. She turned pale and was frozen in her spot while looking at him, not


    knowing what to say. Yet, he was unaware that he had scared her, or perhaps he did but was


    unperturbed. He picked up his phone and left the room.


    Seeing that she was once again deserted, coupled with the aggrievance she had suffered earlier,


    Daphne suddenly broke down and began crying.


    On the other hand, Zane was not fairing any better.


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    After he received the message from Toby and replied, he had been sitting dazedly on the couch like a


    soulless puppet and had not moved since.


    Dous and the butler, Lenny, were standing together and felt worried when they saw his state.


    "Young Master Dous, why don''t you head over andfort him?" Lenny lowered his head to look at


    the child in his arms before softly suggesting, "The woman your uncle loves has gotten married today,


    so he''s not in a good mood and needs someone tofort him. Why don''t¡ª"


    "No." Dous arrogantly raised his head and rejected.


    Lenny was surprised. "Why?"


    "He''s the useless one, so why should I go andfort him? I won''t do that." Dous scoffed. "It''s true.


    Since he likes Aunt Sonia, why didn''t he pursue her? He keeps saying that he likes her but doesn''t do


    anything to get her. Which woman would believe him when he does nothing to show it? Only fools


    would be together with a man like him."


    While Dous was criticizing his uncle, he looked at Zane with disdain. "Although I''m just a kid, I know


    if someone likes me and wants to be with me, that person will take action and pursue me. Yet, if it were


    only words without any action or confession, I wouldn''t be with him. A man like that is unreliable, so


    that''s why I say Uncle Zane did this to himself. There''s no use inforting him."

 Chapter 1460

    Chapter 1460


    Lenny stared at Dous in astonishment. "Young Master Dous, who taught you that?"


    It was shocking to hear a kid speaking so eloquently about adult rtionships. Dous blinked


    innocently at him. "No one! You learn that from TV shows!"


    Lenny was speechless at the answer. Dous added, "Lenny, let''s go. Leave Uncle Zane alone. He


    deserved it. If only he had been braver and gone after Aunt Sonia, he might have stood a chance, but


    he did nothing. So, that''s a hundred percent chance of failing! Crying over it only makes him look like a


    joke."


    "You''re right." Lenny lifted the kid into his arms. "Young Master Zane is a coward. Had he been braver,


    he wouldn''t be crying now. Let''s leave him alone."


    The two ignored Zane and silently left.


    All of these happened outside of Sonia and Toby''s knowledge. When Toby received no further


    communications from Charles and Zane, he kept his phone away in satisfaction.


    By then, the news of their marriage had spread across the Inte. Theizens were taken aback


    because the news came out of nowhere. Everyone was wondering if something had happened,


    triggering the sudden decision.


    The guesses and gossip stopped for a while when Fuller Group announced its lucky draw event. The


    netizens flocked to the event because they were eyeing the luxurious gifts, which included houses,


    cars,ptops, bags, and even cash.


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    Someizens concluded that the Fuller Group had spent at least fifteen million to celebrate their


    CEO''s marriage as a way to share the joy with everyone. Everyone hurriedly shared the event in hopes


    of winning something from their entries. Even if one could not win a house, winning the second prize


    Mercedes-Benz would still be awesome!


    As such, theizens were busy sharing the wedding announcement and left their congrattions on


    Fuller Group''s website or either Toby''s or Sonia''s personal social media pages. They hoped that their


    nicely written congrattory messages might increase their chances of hitting the jackpot.


    While theizens celebrated, the employees at Fuller Group and Paradigm Co. were equally joyous,


    for they received money and goody bags following the wedding announcement. Tens of thousands of


    employees each received a hundred bucks, an amount that only Toby Fuller could afford. If it were


    other bosses, the employees might have to count themselves lucky to even receive anything.


    Back at the Fuller Residence, Rose heard the news of Sonia and Toby''s remarriage from Mary. Filled


    with excitement, she skipped her nap and called the couple instead to ask them about the sudden


    wedding announcement. After all, she recalled Toby mentioning that Sonia, who wished to focus on


    getting her revenge, had no ns to marry him.


    Now, the n had changed, and they would get married before Sonia got her revenge. Rose could not


    help but wonder if Toby had forced Sonia to change her mind.


    When Rose called him, Sonia found their conversation funny and felt sorry for Toby. She took the


    phone from him and offered a quick exnation to the olddy, telling her that the sudden change of


    n did not involve coercion from Toby. Rose finally believed them and stopped badgering her


    grandson.


    Later, Rose invited them to have dinner at the Fuller Residence. Although Sonia and Toby did not n


    to hold a ceremony, Rose thought it would only be appropriate to at least celebrate the marriage with a


    family dinner. However, Sonia politely turned down the invitation with the excuse that she wanted some


    private time with Toby tonight.


    Technically, the couple was enjoying their time in the hospital room. Still, Rose did not know that and


    pictured a romantic candlelight dinner instead, which was why she readily epted Sonia''s rejection.


    Sonia also promised the olddy that they would be back to the Fuller Residence on New Year''s Day to


    have dinner with her, adding that they would bring some good news.


    Rose was overjoyed to hear that. Although she had no clue about the good news, she was happy


    enough to hear that they would spend New Year''s at home.


    Sonia chatted with Rose for a little while before hanging up. Soon after, her phone buzzed with a call


    from Tyler. She was surprised to see the caller ID.


    Ever since he went abroad for the U-17 World Junior Basketball Championships, he had not visited


    home for half a year. He rarely had the time to contact family and friends due to his tight schedule.


    Therefore, his call came as a surprise.


    "Take it." She handed her phone to Toby, who shook his head. "He called you. You should take it."


    She had no choice but to pick up the call. "Hello?"


    "Sonia." She jumped a little when she heard Tyler''s croaky voice. Is his voice still changing? He sounds


    awful.


    Toby heard his brother''s voice and turned his head in disgust. He was reluctant to admit that Tyler was


    his sibling.


    "Sonia, are you ignoring me?" The cheerful teen sounded rather pitiful when he received no response.


    She rubbed her temples and answered, "Hey, sorry, I was a little shocked by your voice. I thought it


    was a duck quacking. Took me some time to realize that it was you."


    "Sonia!" Tyler sounded even more miserable. He pouted. "I''m not a duck! My voice is still changing.


    That''s why it''s a little unpleasant. Still, you shouldn''t say I sound like a duck!"


    She chortled. "I''m sorry. I was fooling around. What''s up?"


    "I''m done with the championships and wille home tonight." He grinned. "I saw the news of your


    remarriage when I got my phone back. This is the first thing I do¡ªcalling you to check if it''s true."


    "Toby''spany released a statement on the news. What do you think?" She rolled her eyes.


    Tylerughed. "That''s great! Thanks for being my sister-inw the second time. Toby''s probably dying


    of happiness now, is he?"


    She raised a brow. "He''s right beside me. If you want to check if he''s alive, you should talk to him."


    Then, she handed her phone to Toby.


    That prompted objections from Tyler, who was shaking like a scaredy cat. "No! Sonia! I don''t want to


    talk to him. He''s going to ask me about my studies. Thest thing I need is his nagging."


    "Sorry, but I heard you." He could hear Toby''s icy tone from the other end and gasp. Damn it, how did


    he hear me?


    He scrunched up his face. "Toby, it''s my fault."


    "And what did you do wrong?" Toby squinted.


    Tyler frantically chuckled. "Hehe. I should not hate my studies, and I should notin about your


    nagging."


    "Hmph!" Toby grunted expressionlessly. "When you''re home, I will interrogate you about your studies. I


    need to know if you''re catching up with homework during yourpetitions. If your grades fall, you will


    not join the NBA pre-draft assessments after the new year."


    "No! Toby!" Tyler panicked, and his voice went one pitch higher, which was incredibly jarring. "Toby, I


    am good at my studies! Trust me."


    "There''s no point telling me over the phone. I''ll have to see it for myself. That''s enough for today. Sonia


    needs to rest and doesn''t have time to chat with you. Get home soon. I''ll have Tom pick you up from


    the airport tonight. Bye."


    With that, Toby ended the call.

 Chapter 1461

    Chapter 1461


    Soniaughed. "Why did you bring up his studies before he''s even home? That poor boy might not


    want toe home after this."


    "He won''t." Toby returned the phone to her. "He''s mentally strong, so he won''t run away. I bet he


    understands he can''t neglect his studies for the championships. Otherwise, I might force him to give up


    on thepetition ande home for school. That''s why he must have studied hard over there. Well,


    the results might not be the best, but he must be confident enough to show off to me."


    "Grandma would be happy this year. Everyone''s back to celebrate the new year with her." She leaned


    against him.


    He caressed her abdomen and replied, "Yes. We also have an extra member here."


    "Yeah."


    Her phone buzzed again. It was a call from Grace, which was not unexpected. She and Toby registered


    their marriage without giving anyone a heads-up, after which they spread the news online. That was


    akin to dropping a bomb on those who knew them personally, so it was understandable for them to call


    and inquire.


    Therefore, Sonia had mentally prepared herself for the influx of calls. She did not look surprised and


    simply picked up the calls that came in. Toby was understanding and did not interrupt her phone


    conversations.


    Simrly, he received a lot of questions and congrattions on his end. Most were happy for him, while


    only a few were unwilling to ept the news, including Lte and Anya.


    Lte, now in detention, got the news from the TV in the center. Coincidentally, she overheard the


    news coverage of Sonia and Toby''s marriage on a public channel, which prompted her to flip the table


    in a fit. She bawled and wailed, saying that the news could not be true and that she found it


    uneptable.


    What else could she do, though? Under detention, she was unable to make a move. Not only that, she


    got a warning and a solitary confinement punishment for acting out.


    Meanwhile, Anya swept the cosmetic products off her dressing table in a fury and stared at the


    marriage certificate photo on her screen with resentment. Even though she knew she stood no chance


    with Toby and harbored a deep hatred for the couple, she could not stop herself from feeling despair


    and envy when she heard the news. After all, she had once loved him with all her heart.


    "Why? Are you throwing a useless tantrum because they''re married?" Connor inched into the room with


    his crutches and sneered when he saw the mess on the floor.


    She stood up and rolled her fists. "Why did they suddenly get married? There was no news about it


    earlier! Why?"


    He stood in front of her. "Do you think I have the answer to that? I bet they decided to get married on a


    whim. That''s why there were no leaks. Anyway, it is good news. At least now I know Toby Fuller is truly


    in love with that woman."


    Not only was Toby willing to throw himself into the fire for her, but he was also willing to die with her.


    Their touching rtionship was eye-opening for Connor.


    Indeed, Connor had gotten to the truth behind the fire at Paradigm Co.''s factory. Although Toby''s men


    covered up the incident well, Connor still dug up some clues after a thorough investigation. Too bad,


    the useless Asher failed to burn the couple alive with the arson as they emerged hurt but alive.


    Still, Connor did not return empty-handed from his investigation. At the very least, he understood the


    depth of Toby''s love for Sonia, which meant that he could use her to destroy Toby next.


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    Anya was clueless about Connor''s n. She was burning in rage the moment she heard him saying


    Toby loved Sonia. She failed to understand why Toby would be attracted to Sonia.


    She believed her looks and family background were on par with Sonia''s. Despite that, Toby only had


    eyes for that woman. Even when Anya pulled some tricks, she never got Toby to love her. That was


    both infuriating and humiliating for her. I will never let this slide. Ever!


    She med her situation today on them and vowed to let them experience a pain she felt a


    thousandfold. Staring at the mirror with her eyes aze, she let go of her emotions even if her


    expressions were ugly.


    Connor squinted at her, and a malicious gleam appeared in his eyes. Go on, hate them. The more you


    hate them, the better of a tool you are.


    Eventually, he smiled and left.


    The next day, people started going on holiday because it was Christmas Eve soon. Sonia went to Tim,


    hoping that he could sign an approval form for temporary leave.


    He knew that Toby and Sonia had to leave the hospital to celebrate the holidays at home, so he signed


    the paper to excuse them without much fuss.


    Sonia returned to Toby''s room with Tim''s signed approval and buried herself in work. She needed to


    prepare since she would spend the holidays with Rose at home. She nned to buy some gifts for her


    and the entire Lane Family.


    It was a busy day for her. Even when Toby suggested having someone else prepare the gifts, she


    turned down the idea because she wanted to make thoughtful purchases, especially for gifts she would


    give to close family and friends.


    He gave in and let her be. Still, he tried to help her by taking up some easy tasks, such as preparing


    mary gifts. She decided to withdraw some cash to give to the kids. Tyler should also receive one.


    Right?


    The Lanes were a huge family, especially after they included Grace''s family members. Sonia


    remembered that Grace asked her family, the Huntingtons, to help source the supplements for Toby''s


    arm injury. Grateful, she would like to show her appreciation by sending gifts to the kids in the


    Huntington Family.


    There were more than ten kids from the Huntingtons'' extended family. Now, the task of wrapping the


    mary gifts fell on Toby. However, he did notin because he wanted to help her out.


    Time flew by, and New Year''s Eve arrived. After some hectic days, Sonia finally wrapped up her holiday


    preparations and visited the Fuller Residence with Toby feeling much relieved.


    When they arrived, she immediately spotted Tyler from afar. He was standing at the entrance, waving


    at their car. After parking, she got out of the car, and her jaw fell at the sight of the boy. Is this Tyler?


    How is he so tanned?


    She stared agape at him for a while. Simrly, Toby jumped at the sight of Tyler''s extremely tanned


    skin. When Tyler smiled, the vast contrast between his sparkling white teeth and tan skin was rather


    funny.


    Tyler had no idea that Toby and Sonia were shocked at his tan skin and giggled like a fool. "Toby!


    Sonia! You''re finally here. I waited so long for you."


    She took Toby''s arm and smiled at Tyler. "You must be tired."


    "No, I''m not! It''s been a while since I came home, and I realized nothing has changed." Tyler waved at


    them.


    Toby gave him a side-eye. "What did you expect? It''s only been half a year. Alright. Start moving and


    help us to get some stuff from the trunk."


    "Roger that," Tyler replied and skipped to the car.

 Chapter 1462

    Chapter 1462


    In the meantime, Tom was busy taking out the presents in the car trunk. Those were gifts to the family


    from Sonia and Toby. The sheer number of items took up much space on the ground.


    When Tyler walked up to him, Tom was astonished at the sight of his tan skin. What has he been


    through? He was pale before he went abroad, but he''s multiple shades darker now.


    Though he noticed that change, he did not say a word about it for fear of embarrassing the kid.


    "Hey, Tom. Are these all that need to be carried into the house?" Tyler stood there grinning, oblivious


    that Tom was shocked by his change.


    Tom looked away and nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Fuller bought gifts for everyone. We need to carry them into


    the house."


    "Okay." Tyler started lifting packages of all sizes from the ground. Since he was tall, stocky, and strong,


    he lifted the items without difficulty.


    Tom was more rxed with the extra help. Subsequently, he took out thest item from the trunk¡ª


    Toby''s wheelchair. When Tylerid his eyes on it, he thought it was Sonia''s gift for his grandma. In the


    end, Tom had to exin that the wheelchair belonged to Toby and not Rose.


    Tyler was stunned to hear that and turned to his brother. "Toby, since when have you been using a


    wheelchair?"


    He identally interrupted Toby and Sonia''s conversation with his scream and earned an impatient


    re from him. "I need it because I''m ill. What''s wrong?"


    "No, Toby." Tyler sounded worried. "Look, I''m not the smartest, but I''m not that dumb either. Not


    everyone needs a wheelchair. Even if you''re sick, I don''t think you''re at the point where you need one. I


    thought you were always healthy. How did you fall sick?"


    Tyler was vividly concerned. Sonia helped Toby into the wheelchair and exined, "He''s gone through


    surgery not long ago and hasn''t fully recovered. That''s why he needs one."


    "A surgery?" Tyler froze and asked again, "Sonia, what''s the surgery? Was it dangerous?"


    She stole a nce at Toby because she was unsure how to reply to Tyler. Looking across, Toby pursed


    his lips. "That''s enough questions. Let''s head in."


    Tyler scoffed unhappily. "I was worried about you, but you seem annoyed at me." Then, he mumbled,


    "What a waste of my sympathy."


    Toby overheard that and narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?"


    "Nothing." Tyler shook his head hastily and craftily denied any badmouthing because he did not want to


    be lectured.


    On the other hand, Toby was tired of nagging his younger brother, so he yed along when Tyler


    denied saying anything. He gently patted the back of Sonia''s hand and whispered, "Darling, let''s go."


    "Sure." She nodded and wheeled him toward the entrance of the house.


    Ever since they registered their marriage, he had started calling her ''darling'' instead of Little Leaf. She


    found it unfamiliar and rather embarrassing, but the thick-skinned Toby insisted on calling her so now


    and then.


    To her surprise, she adjusted to the term of endearment after two days. From there, she learned that


    change mostly happened when one was forced into a situation or given a push by someone else.


    Otherwise, she would probably not get used to their new rtionship status.


    She wheeled him over, leaving Tom and Tyler far behind them while they carried the gifts. During the


    walk, Tyler was talkative and bombarded Tom with questions about Toby and Sonia''s rtionship in the


    six months he was abroad.


    Tom reluctantly entertained him with some casual facts he cherry-picked, only because Tyler was his


    employer''s brother.


    Thankfully, Tyler was simple-minded and easily entertained. Even when he heard unimportant details


    from Tom, he would listen intently and gasp here and there.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom was dumbfounded by his reaction. He wondered why Tyler would be shocked by some


    inconsequential events or details of Toby''s rtionship. If I told you everything that had happened


    between them, you''d be screaming by now.


    Soon, they arrived at the main hall, where Rose had been waiting for them.


    She had wanted to wee the couple at the entrance but was talked out of it by Mary, who worried


    that the cold would further affect the olddy''s poor health. In the end, Rose had to suppress her


    anticipation and sit patiently in the main hall.


    Jean, too, was waiting with her, but she was initially reluctant to do so. She would willingly wait for


    Toby''s arrival but not Sonia''s.


    Still, she was aware that she had to rely on Sonia for the sake of their family because Tyler was not


    great at managing business. With that in mind, she had to put aside any unwillingness when dealing


    with her.


    "They''re here." Mary''s eyes lit up when she heard the footsteps from the outside. "Old Mrs. Fuller, that


    must be Young Master Toby and Young Mistress Sonia."


    At that moment, Mary reverted to the old way she addressed Sonia. Truthfully, she was dying to


    address Sonia the way she did in the past, but that was inappropriate after Toby''s divorce. As a result,


    she had to address Sonia as Miss Reed for a while.


    Now that Sonia and Toby were married again, she could finally address Sonia as the young mistress.


    "Is that true? That''s great." Rose was overjoyed when she heard Mary''s remark and had Mary lead her


    to the door to wait. Since it was a short walk, Mary agreed and helped her.


    Beside them, Jean rolled her eyes at the scene. She could not understand Rose''s affection for Sonia,


    to the point that the olddy would rise to wee the young woman. How annoying.


    Despite her silentints, she stood up and followed Rose to the door. It would be inappropriate for


    her to sit around if her mother-inw went to wee the guests.


    "They''re indeed here!" A smile blossomed on Rose''s wrinkled face when she saw the four figures


    walking toward her. However, her smile faded when she saw Toby. "Mary, do you also see Toby in a


    wheelchair?"


    Mary nodded. "You''re right. Young Master Toby is in a wheelchair. What happened?"


    Both women were in disbelief.


    Sonia spotted Rose and Mary at the door, but she felt extremely anxious at the thought of meeting the


    family. She had no idea how she would exin to Rose and Mary when they saw Toby''s condition, and


    she was unsure if they would be mad at her.


    I think they will be angry at me. I''m the reason their precious Toby is in a wheelchair.


    Sensing Sonia''s distress, Toby reached backward to caress her hand. "Don''t worry. I got your back."

 Chapter 1463

    Chapter 1463


    Sonia forced a smile as a response, and the couple came up to Rose and Mary. Before they could


    greet the elders, Jean shrieked, "Oh, Toby! What happened? Why are you in a wheelchair? Are you


    hurt?"


    Sonia''s grip tightened around the handle, whereas Rose and Mary cast their dubious gaze onto Toby.


    His gaze dimmed. "We can talk about thister. Let''s head in first. It''s cold outside."


    "Yes, he''s right." Rose nodded in agreement. "Sonia, push him in. Don''t stay out here for too long."


    "Okay." She nodded and pushed Toby into the main hall.


    Mary supported Rose as they trailed behind the couple, but Jean waited outside for Tyler. It pained her


    to see his hands full of packages. "Gosh, why did you take it all upon yourself? You''re back from a


    tournament not long ago. You should be resting. What a fool. Why did you go out to bring so many


    things with you? Isn''t it heavy?"


    She grumbled and rolled up her sleeves to offer him help. Tyler could finally wipe off the sweat on his


    forehead, grinning. "Mom, I''m fine. It''s as light as a feather."


    She snorted and gave him an eye roll. "Then, why are you dripping sweat? Geez. Why can''t you ask a


    maid to take them with you? Stubborn boy."


    "It''s not many, anyway." He did not mind.


    Jean became frustrated as her foolish son did not understand her. "Fine, fine. Let''s get over this. Say,


    what happened to Toby? Why is he in a wheelchair?" she questioned with an undertone.


    Out of worry that he might be asked the same question, Tom quickly slid by their side. She nced at


    him before facing Tyler again. "Hurry. Tell me."


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    "What is there to say? Don''t you know he underwent surgery recently?" It was Tyler''s turn to be


    surprised now.


    She shook her head. "No, we didn''t hear anything about that."


    "Huh? He didn''t inform you guys?"


    Jean pouted. "He only has eyes on Sonia ever since they got together. He has forgotten about his


    family."


    "Don''t say that. I guess he didn''t want to make you guys worry." Tyler shrugged his shoulders.


    A vexed Jean tapped his head. "Rather, I think he just didn''t want to tell us. We''re merely outsiders to


    him."


    "Mom, cut it out." His patience was running out. "I know you don''t like Sonia, but you can''t me


    everything on her. If you keep this act up, you might not be able to get along with her. And allow me to


    remind you that she''s not the old Sonia; she''s a whole new person now. If you go against her, you''ll be


    the one in the loss."


    He then caught up with Tom, leaving Jean behind. Now that no one cared about her, she stomped her


    foot out of frustration. "Foolish! He''s just another simp of that girl!"


    Back in the hall, Sonia quickly passed out the presents to everyone upon seeing Tom and Tyler


    bringing in the stuff.


    Clothes and supplements were for Rose and Mary, while workout attires, sneakers, and a basketball


    were Tyler''s gifts.


    That pair of trainers had been to his liking because it had his idol''s signature. He had always wanted


    one, but he could not meet his idol and the signed sneakers in the market were sold out as well. Even if


    he was the second son of the Fuller Family, he failed to snap it up from thepetitive sale. Receiving


    them from Sonia was totally beyond his expectation.


    It was a coincidence that she was able to get her hands on it too. Her friend from the same university


    happened to be selling them due to the dire need for money.


    She saw the post by chance and purchased them, thinking Tyler might love them. His exhrating


    expression proved that she had made the right decision.


    Besides Tyler, Jean received a set of jewelry too. Due to Sonia''s dislike for her, the ordinary present


    was purchased from a random jewelry store. It was neither expensive nor cheap, leaving Jean no


    openings to be finicky even if she did not like it.


    In truth, she genuinely did not like it. First of all, its price was disappointing. She figured that Sonia had


    bought her a cheap set of jewelry because Sonia looked down upon her.


    Secondly, she could tell how little Sonia cared about choosing the gift from the designs. The designs


    were meant for youngsters, not someone of her age. It would be weird for her to wear them.


    Sonia did not like Jean, so she did not exercise much effort in choosing the present. Still, Jean kept her


    emotion to herself because no one would take her side if she expressed displeasure. Instead, they


    would criticize her for being fussy.


    Sonia had the Fuller Family wrapped in her fingers now and everything was no longer the same.


    Therefore, she had a happy and surprised face while thanking Sonia profusely.


    Despite knowing Jean''s facade, Sonia could not care less about exposing the woman. Since she had


    decided to see Jean as a mere rtive, presents were a must during such an important festival.


    Therefore, Jean''s inner thoughts would never affect her one bit.


    After that, Sonia gave Tom a present. He pointed at himself in surprise. "I have one too?"


    "Yeah. You''re one of us, so you should have one when everyone does." She proffered the present to


    him.


    He nced at Toby, who did not stop her and epted the gift with joy. "Thank you, Young Mistress


    Sonia."


    "My pleasure." She smiled before delivering the final gift to Toby.


    He raised his brow. "There''s one for me?"


    "Of course. Even if I forgot about Mrs. Fuller''s present, I would remember yours." She shot a nce at


    Jean.


    The way she addressed Jean confirmed her stance that she would never get along with Jean in the


    future. However, everyone could understand that. After all, Jean had crossed the line during those six


    years, so they did not me her for not calling Jean ''Mother''.


    At the same time, Jean''s expression darkened. What does she mean by that? Even if she forgot about


    my present, she would remember Toby''s, huh? Does that mean she didn''t wish to give me anything


    from the start?


    Frustration bubbled in her in split seconds. Everyone could see that she was enraged, but no one


    comforted her as they reveled in their presents.


    "Why didn''t you tell me?" While holding the nicely wrapped gift, Toby could not smother the smile


    across his lips.


    Soniaughed. "Presents are surprises, and surprises are meant to be kept as a secret first."


    "What did you buy me?" He stared at her.


    She moved her finger left and right. "It''s a secret. You should open it yourself, but I advise you to do it


    in the roomter."


    "Alright." He nodded as a promise.

 Chapter 1464

    Chapter 1464


    It was a new year''s gift from his wife; Toby would open it in the room where the others were not around.


    Tyler rolled his eyes upon noticing Toby''s petty attitude, whereas Rose and Mary shook their head as


    they found it hrious.


    Everyone was celebrating over their harmonious, nuptial rtionship, but the irked Jean pouted. Still,


    she kept silent because she knew her ce in the family.


    After Sonia distributed the presents, Tom excused himself to avoid bothering the family''s gathering, but


    in vain because Rose asked him to stay.


    The Fuller Family fostered the orphan since he was young; he was all alone in his family. Thus, what


    fun would it be if he returned to being alone on such a happy asion?


    The more, the merrier¡ªthat was why she asked him to stay. No one minded an extrapanion


    either, so Tom stayed, and Tyler dragged him out to y crackers. Despite his reluctance, Tom could


    not withstand Tyler''s persistence and went along with it.


    Jean excused herself and returned to her room due to her reluctance to share the same space with


    Sonia.


    Rose was happy over Jean''s absence because she frowned at that unwanted long face. Waving her


    hand, she gestured for Jean to leave when thetter voiced her request.


    Now that Rose, Mary, Toby, and Sonia were the only ones in the main hall, liveliness warmed up the


    atmosphere under the heaters'' help.


    Yet, Sonia felt the chill because she knew what awaited ahead.


    "So, aren''t you going to tell us what happened to you?" Rose looked at Toby while asking in a low


    voice.


    He knew that there was no escaping from that question. Besides, the couple intended to level with the


    family. So, he did not hesitate to answer upon hearing that question. "Grandma, I received a heart


    transnt again."


    Both Rose and Mary''s expressions fell while Sonia''s heart was palpitating. She dropped her guilty and


    remorseful gaze onto the floor.


    "Again? Why?" A trembling Rose approached Toby to hold his hands tightly. "The surgery a few years


    was a sess, wasn''t it? The doctor imed you can lead a peaceful life until old age, so why?"


    "Yeah. What happened, Young Master Toby?" Mary asked concernedly.


    Sonia rose from her seat, intending to admit her fault. However, Toby suddenly pulled her back to her


    seat as he did not want her to say anything. "Grandma, I didn''t tell you about this, but something went


    wrong with my heart because of that car ident."


    "What?" Rose was shocked to the core. "You mean that one which happened a couple of months ago?"


    "Yes." He nodded.


    Sonia gawked at him in disbelief. What does he mean by that? Why is he ming everything on that


    ident? His heart went wrong because he saved me. It has nothing to do with that ident. Why is


    he iming that the ident is the cause of everything? Is it because he didn''t want Grandma to


    me me?


    She bit her lower lip as bitterness churned in her. She wished she could tell Rose the truth and take the


    me upon herself, but the man kept holding her thigh. Rose and Mary did not notice his careful


    actions either.


    "That''s impossible." Rose disyed a shadow of a doubt. "I followed up on your condition the whole


    time and didn''t hear anything going wrong with your heart."


    "Yeah. Neither did I!"


    Toby lowered his gaze and smiled faintly. "That''s because Tom was worried that you might not be able


    to take it. So, we kept it from you guys. The doctor promised to keep it a secret too. I had been


    searching for a suitable heart and finally found one a few days ago. The surgery was a sess."


    "Is it true?" Rose stared at him in an attempt to see through him.


    The man looked straight into her eyes, adding credibility to his ims via his genuine eyes. At longst,


    she believed in his words as she patted his shoulder out of frustration. "You, silly boy. How dare you


    keep me in the dark. It''s such an important matter!"


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    "I just thought it was too much for you to take in," cooed Toby gently as he pulled her hands.


    She snorted. "Then, why are you telling me about it now?"


    He shook his head. "Now''s the right time because I''ve fully recovered, and there''s no problem with the


    surgery. That''s why I feelfortable telling you now. I don''t have to worry that you''ll faint or


    something."


    "You think too weak of your grandmother." She tightened her sp on her stick. "Even if you told me


    the truth back then, I wouldn''t copse. Do not forget that I survived the war."


    "I know." He nodded. "I know you''re strong as ever, Grandma, but I can''t take the risk. If we turn back


    the time, I will still choose to keep it from you and tell you only once it''s over."


    "Turn back time and suffer again?" Rose mmed him. "Once is enough. Do you think you''re a sort of


    machine? That you''ll be fine after simply changing someponents?"


    Her remarks tickled Toby and Mary''s bones. Mary took Rose''s side by saying, "Yes, Young Master


    Toby, you should refrain from saying such a thing."


    "Okay. I promise I won''t." He nodded. "All in all, I have a young and healthy heart now. As long as I''m


    away from danger, I can live a long, healthy life. So, don''t you worry, Grandma."


    "You''re only telling me after the surgery. There''s no use worrying about you." Rose shot a re at him.


    "I know you did that out of love, but I hope you won''t do the same in the future. Just tell me.


    Sometimes, it won''t do me good if you keep me in the dark. I don''t wanna be thest person to know


    about your condition. Okay?"


    "Okay, Grandma. There''ll be no more next time." He nodded.


    She sighed. "If only you keep your promise. Look at my age. My sole wish is for you guys to be safe


    and sound."


    "We will. We will always be safe and healthy." He held her hands tight. "I''m still hoping that you can


    attend our wedding."


    He looked back at Sonia, who forced a smile. "So do I, Grandma."


    Rose chuckled and nodded. "Of course, I will. Don''t underestimate me. I''m not in the best health, but I


    know I still have a long way to go. I''m sure I''ll be able to wait for that day toe, but when will you


    hold the wedding? The registration ispleted, so I assume we can bring the wedding forward?"


    "Yup. That is for sure. After Little Leaf settles the score with them, we will hold the wedding right away.


    Titus won''t be able to hold on any much longer. I bet it won''t be long before you see us walk down the


    aisle." Toby assured.

 Chapter 1465

    Chapter 1465


    "Splendid!" Rose eximed, and Mary grinned joyfully. Now that they became wiser with age, nothing


    much could elicit a smile on their face.


    They had enjoyed and experienced whatever they should throughout their lives, so barely a few


    matters could make them budge.


    The only thing that mattered to them was the youngsters, like their marriage and the arrival of a great-


    grandchild. That alone could make their cheeks rise to the roof.


    "Right, Toby. Didn''t you say that you have good news for us? I''ve been waiting for the past two days.


    What is it?" It suddenly came across Rose''s mind. Mary gazed at them in anticipation too.


    The couple exchanged nces. Under his encouraging gaze, Sonia took a deep breath before fishing


    out a file from her bag for the elders.


    Curious, Rose perused the document. The content surprised her so much that she nced at them


    again before rereading it. "M-Mary, take a look at this. Am I seeing things?"


    She handed it over to Mary, who soon after went bonkers. "Old Mrs. Fuller, you''ve read it right. It''s a


    pregnancy test result, and Young Mistress Sonia is pregnant!" She shifted her gaze onto Sonia. "Am I


    right, Young Mistress Sonia?"


    "Yeah. It''s been two weeks now." A smiling Sonia nodded.


    Rose finally came back to her senses as she patted her thigh excitedly. "Holy moly! This is great news!"


    "Isn''t it?" Mary nodded nonstop. "No wonder they revealed it only today. It''s the new year, and we''re


    expecting a baby! That''s the icing on the cake! They''re full of surprises, Old Ms. Fuller."


    "I know, I know." Rose sped Sonia''s hands. "Sonia, you''re truly our heroine."


    Toby raised his brow. Wait a minute. Why does Little Leaf get all the credits? What about me? She


    wouldn''t get pregnant without me.


    Still, he kept quiet as it was enough to see Rose be this happy.


    "That''s exaggerating, Grandma. I just¡ª"


    "No." Rose interrupted as she stood her ground. "You are our family''s heroine. Sonia, do you know that


    this is the happiest news of the year for me? I''m way much happier than the time you remarried Toby."


    Her eyes reddened. "I thought I wouldn''t have the chance to wee your baby. God is generous


    enough to smile at me. I never thought I would get to see my great-grandchild before I leave. I''m so


    happy."


    "Grandma¡­" A lump stuck in Sonia''s throat. She ced Rose''s hand on her belly. "I''m sure the baby is


    happy to know their great-grandmother is celebrating their arrival."


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    Rose caressed her belly while grinning. "Are you feeling ufortable, Sonia? There''s a lot to suffer


    when you''re pregnant. Just tell us if you''re feeling under the weather. Don''t make us worry, okay?"


    "Please be rest assured, Grandma." Sonia nodded. "I won''t keep anything regarding the baby from


    you, but I am fine. It''s only been two weeks. I think those predicaments wille after two months, so


    don''t worry about it."


    "That''s good." Rose rxed. "But it has only been two weeks. How did you find out about it?"


    People typically discovered their pregnancy after two months; it was rare to know the great news after


    barely two weeks.


    Sonia smiled and exined, "We were clueless about it at first, but I wasn''t feeling well when I was


    nursing Toby. He was worried, so he called a doctor. We wouldn''t have known that early if it wasn''t for


    the checkup."


    "I see." Rose nodded. "Lucky you. It could''ve been big trouble if you consumed something you


    shouldn''t have."


    "True." Sonia saw eye to eye on that. "Probably because the baby wants us to find out about their


    existence, hence the reaction."


    "And that is one smart baby." Rose looked at Sonia''s belly, giggling.


    At that moment, a displeased Toby snorted. It is smart. It even deprives me of my privilege as a


    husband.


    Almost instantly, Rose''s visage darkened at that. "What''s that, Toby Fuller? Do you not want a baby


    with Sonia?"


    Even Mary looked at him with reproachful eyes, flustering the man.


    What? Grandma is way too fickle! How could she think unworthy of me right after finding out about her


    great-grandchild''s existence? She was so worried about me a moment ago, though. Geez¡­


    A helpless Toby shook his head. "No, that''s not what I mean."


    "Well, it better not be, or I''ll skin you alive," Rose threatened.


    He zipped his lip immediately, whereas Sonia chuckled at the man''s meek reaction because she knew


    exactly why he snorted. This guy''s jealous of his kid again. I bet there''s more for him to be jealous of


    after the baby is out.


    "Sonia." Rose suddenly thought of something as she pulled Sonia''s hand with solemnity. "Didn''t you


    say it won''t be easy for you to get pregnant for two years? It hasn''t even been half a year. Will it take a


    toll on your health?"


    Sonia was genuinely moved by Rose''s concern. In most cases, the elderly generation prioritized the


    baby over the mother, rendering it rare for them to worry about the mother''s health. As long as the baby


    was safe and healthy, the mother''s poor health was none of their concern.


    The fact that Rose cared more about Sonia''s health touched her.


    "There is a little impact from it." With no intention to hide the truth, Sonia smiled at Rose. "Tim said I


    shouldn''t be able to conceive a baby since I haven''t fully recovered yet, but I have to keep the baby


    since it''s here. An abortion will render me barren, but I felt a lot better the past few months. I still have a


    long way to go, but I can get pregnant. The thing is, I will need more rest, and I have to drop by the


    hospital often to make sure I''m healthy. I will be able to give birth to the baby safely as long as there''s


    no big issue."


    "I see." Rose heaved a sigh. "What a relief."


    "Put your worries to rest, Grandma. Tim promised he would ensure our health until the baby is born."


    Sonia reassured her.


    "That Timmy guy is one reliable boy," Rose praised him from the bottom of her heart.

 Chapter 1466

    Chapter 1466


    "He truly is." Sonia agreed.


    Although Toby could not stand herplimenting another man, Tim was an exception. There was


    nothing worth arguing over that.


    After that, Rose asked a few more questions to ensure that the pregnancy would not harm Sonia''s


    health. It was not until then did her heart sink from her throat.


    Following that, Sonia finally had a taste of a queen''s life.


    Rose and Mary treated her like a ss doll, tending to her meticulously, in a worry that she might suffer


    from cold or hunger or whatnot. She found the situation hrious. She was indeed pregnant, but she


    was not that fragile.


    Yet, they gave her a watertight minister simr to that catered for a delicate doll. She was humored and


    touched at the same time.


    It was time to have a reunion dinner when the night dawned, and Rose took the chance to announce


    Sonia''s pregnancy to the family. It received huge reactions from Jean and Tyler.


    What the heck? She''s pregnant? No wonder they remarried. Jean pouted after the wave of surprise


    subsided in her.


    Nevertheless, she was not evil to the bone. Despite her disapproval of Sonia and the news, she did not


    n onying a finger on her. She was aware that nothing could get in the way of that couple, so their


    matters did not bother her one bit. At most, she would only grumble about it instead of scheming


    something.


    On the other hand, Tyler was over the moon as he kept prattling on about the fact that he was


    bing an uncle. He even imed he would be his niece or nephew''s basketball coach.


    In short, everyone celebrated the great news, bar one¡ªJean. Sonia observed her reaction, but she


    shrugged it off by making a mental note that she would not let Jean off the hook if she set her up.


    After dinner, the family gathered at the main hall for the new year''s countdown. Tyler, the perky young


    man, barely stayed for five minutes before heading outside to y crackers.


    The old manor was situated on the outskirts without any buildings around it, so it was fine to y the


    crackers there.


    Again, Tyler pulled Tom along with him. Tom, who initially decided to stay out of it, began to enjoy


    himself as time passed. The men had a st, albeit with the age gap.


    Knowing that no one favored her presence, Jean made an excuse to return to her room soon.


    Toby could not stay up for a long time, hence the frequent rest needed to recover from the surgery.


    Therefore, Sonia pushed him into the room not long after Jean had left.


    Rose concurred with it not only because of Toby but also Sonia''s health. Sonia needed to spend more


    time in bed for adequate rest, so there was no need to take the countdown too seriously.


    Given Rose''s age and health, drowsiness crept over her after staying in the hall for a while. After the


    couple entered their room, she figured it would be best for her to rest than to force herself to stay


    awake for the two young men.


    With that, the family returned to their rooms when Tyler and Tom had the time of their life outside.


    Sonia pushed Toby into their room, which belonged to only him a few days ago. Now that they had


    remarried, it was considered their bedroom.


    She hung his coat, and he sat by the bed with the gift in hand. The excited man removed the


    packaging. He had been looking forward to opening it, but he reined back his urge to do so during the


    day. Since the couple was the only one in the room, he could finally open it to look at the content.


    Meanwhile, Sonia simply smiled and headed for the bathroom to shower.


    At longst, Toby undid the package, which revealed no expensive gifts but a stack of yellowed letters.


    He knew that he wrote them at first nce; they were replies to Sonia when they were pen pals.


    He ced the box on hisp, taking out all the letters. The stack was so thick that he almost dropped


    them.


    Sonia had arranged them ording to the dates beforehand. The first one was the very first letter he


    wrote to her. Precious memories evoked a smile on his lips, and his finger brushed on the paper.


    They became acquaintances via a website called ''Message in a Bottle''. He came across her message,


    which carried her deep feelings.


    He pitied her upon reading the content, hence the decision tofort her with a reply. After that, they


    exchanged contact and address. That was how their journey as pen palsmenced.


    Even today, Toby still remembered what he wrote her for the first time. He opened the first letter, and


    that naive and immature writing made him burst intoughter.


    Slowly, he opened and read them one by one. He had forgotten some of the messages, but some


    remained etched in his head.


    Regardless, it felt different rereading them. It was as if he was reminiscing how the sprouted love for


    Sonia began; it was not half bad.


    "It seems like you like my gift." Sonia, who finished bathing, hugged him from the back.


    Toby kept the letters in the box gingerly. In a gruff voice, he said, "Of course. It''s the best gift I''ve ever


    received. I didn''t expect it."


    She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I struggled, thinking of what to give you at first. In the end,


    they came to my mind, so I decided to give them to you. You wrote them to me, so it''s like I''m returning


    them to the owner. So, how does it feel to read the letters you wrote so many years ago? Do they hit


    differently?"


    "Yup." He nodded before looking at her guiltily. "I''m sorry for not keeping your letters well. Otherwise,


    Tina couldn''t have burned them."


    He was under hypnosis at that time, thinking that Tina was Maple. He consented to her request to burn


    the letters because she assured him that she was already by his side. ording to her, it was pointless


    to keep them. As such, none of Sonia''s letters remained to record their history.


    "It''s alright." She shook her head, knowing he was not the one to me. "At least I still have your


    letters. These are enough to prove our past."


    "I''ll keep them safe. I won''t let anyone ruin them." He hugged the box with determined eyes, and she


    hummed in response.


    Then, he fished out a delicate box from his pocket, putting her in a trance. "What''s this?"


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "Your new year''s gift." He smiled at her. "How can I not prepare a gift for my wife?"

 Chapter 1467

    Chapter 1467


    Delighted, Sonia took the box from the man''s hand. "I saw you didn''t prepare any presents for


    everyone, so I thought¡­"


    "Why did you think so?" The man smiled at her. "I nned to distribute the presents tomorrow. It''s the


    first day of the new year, so it''s the best time to give out presents. However, I thought about it and


    decided to give yours to you right now. You''ve prepared mine, so I''d look bad if I didn''t give you


    anything today."


    "You''re good at this." She shook her head. "Even if you didn''t prepare me anything, I wouldn''t be upset


    at all. After all, you''re always buying me stuff even when there isn''t any special asion."


    "That''s different." Toby kissed her hand. "Those don''t count as part of the festive. It''s the new year this


    time, so this is a present for you to usher in the new year."


    "I''ll dly ept it, then." Sonia stood up and started to unwrap the present. She asked, "What''s


    inside?"


    "You''ll find out once you open it." He did not answer her question and merely told her to take a look for


    herself.


    She stopped it at that and opened the box happily.


    Inside the box revealed an exquisitedy''s watch, prompting her to exim, "This is thetest edition


    watch from Patek Philippe''s collection this year, isn''t it?"


    Toby was vague. "Yeah. I think it suits you, so I got someone to buy it." As he spoke, he took the watch


    in his hand and grabbed her left wrist to put it on for her. "The present I gave you isn''t as meaningful as


    the one you got me, but it''s a limited edition, so it can be considered a unique present, I guess. I hope


    you''ll find it to your liking."


    At that moment, Sonia nced at the wristwatch, which was worth more than ten million, and said with


    a torn expression, "Are you kidding me? I''d be ungrateful to say I dislike it."


    "Do you like it, then?" He rolled down her sleeves.


    She nodded. "Yes!"


    It would be hard to find anyone in this world who would dislike an expensive watch like this.


    "I''m d you do. When I saw it in a magazine back then, I knew it was perfect for you. Now that I''ve


    seen this on you, I was right." He praised her as he stroked her slender wrist.


    She smiled in response. "How did I not catch you buying this?"


    "I ordered it a month ago, and it just arrived two days ago," said Toby.


    Sonia nodded without pursuing the topic any further. Subsequently, she steered him toward the


    bathroom to take a shower.


    As usual, she waited for him outside.


    Nowadays, many enjoyed sending mary gifts to each other through electronic wallets. Sonia was


    also one of them, so she received a lot of good wishes for the year as well as some mary gifts in


    her e-wallet. She also received some from Charles, Zane, and Grace.


    Naturally, she epted them all graciously.


    In return, she sent them mary gifts through their e-wallets and all of them epted her gift


    graciously. After all, everyone reciprocated the other''s kind thoughts, so it might upset the other party


    and also seem unkind if they rejected one''s gift.


    Besides, their action of sending gifts to each other was to spread joy.


    If one party rejected it, the other party would naturally have to stop mentioning well wishes to them


    because it would make them look bad for collecting mary gifts from the rejected party without


    returning anything.


    That was why everyone happily epted the mary gifts. In reality, the act of reciprocating was fun,


    and everyone was delighted.


    After Toby came out of the shower, he noticed Sonia was full of smiles. He lifted his brows and asked,


    "What''s so funny? You seem happy."


    She did not attempt to hide anything and exined with a smile, "I''m just sending money to Charles


    and the others while they reciprocate, and we''ve got a game going on too. It''s really fun."


    "How fun can that be?" He pursed his thin lips with a note of jealousy.


    Sonia smiled in response before tapping her screen several times with her finger.


    Ping! Toby immediately heard the notification on his phone, so he fished it out to have a look. He


    noticed that she had sent him some money to his e-wallet. Perplexed, he lifted his head to look at her.


    In response, she mentioned, "I''ve sent it to everyone, and as my husband, I wouldn''t forget about you!


    Don''t worry. Yours is the most unique and biggest one."


    "Is that true?" His eyes sparkled.


    She did not reveal much.


    Immediately, he tapped to open the gift and the figure that popped up was meaningful to him. ted,


    he knew the meaning behind the figure, which signified forever love, despite not being familiar with the


    popr ng on the Inte.


    "Are you happy now?" Sonia looked at Toby.


    He coughed lightly. "It''s eptable. I''ll send you one too." With that, he tapped swiftly on the screen


    with his fingers.


    Soon, she received a figure signifying eternal love. Compared to her confession of love, his was way


    more. She shook her head with a faint smile. "Thanks, honey."


    "Say that again." Toby''s expression became excited upon hearing that. Undeniably, he liked this


    endearment.


    After all, her addressing him as ''honey'' was an indication that she had fully epted him as her


    husband.


    Sonia looked at his eager expression and could not help but smile resignedly. Next, she fulfilled his


    request and called out sweetly again.


    His breathing became hitched, and his voice turned hoarse. "Say that again."


    "Honey."


    "One more time."


    This time, she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I''m not a broken record! That''s enough for now." Then,


    she turned around and left.


    Nheless, Toby confirmed that she was shy because the tips of her ears had turned red. He trailed


    after her while maneuvering his wheelchair. "Darling." He kept repeating that.


    Since she refused to ''honey'' him any longer, he took over and address her as ''darling''.


    As such, he stuck to Sonia and trailed after her wherever she went. He called out to her until her face


    flushed with pink, thoroughly embarrassed.


    Despite that, she did not get him to shut up at all. If that''s what he likes, I''ll let him do that. It''s fine as


    long as he''s happy.


    With this thought in mind, Sonia allowed him to continue. After some time, she no longer felt shy about


    that and was used to it.


    "Darling." After she tidied the ce andy on the bed, Toby suddenly came closer and buried his face


    in her neck. He spoke in an extremely low and hoarse voice and did not bother to hide his seduction.


    Again¡­ It''s happening again. She rolled her eyes and gently pushed him. "No, don''t even think about


    it. You''re not fully recovered, so you''d better forget about those dirty thoughts. It''s still a no even if you


    recover because I''m pregnant. You''re not allowed to touch me."


    Meanwhile, Toby heard her words but did not n to back off. He hugged her tighter. "I get it. It''s just


    that I can''t contain my urges. Can you help me?"


    "No." She blushed and rejected him.


    He continued to stare at her, and she felt bad upon seeing his pleading eyes. She was nearly about to


    give in because he rarely made such a request.


    Perhaps she would have said yes if it was any other request, but she could not find it in herself to agree


    to this.


    "Darling." Toby noticed that Sonia was still hesitant, so he immediately buried his head into her chest


    and whined.


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    Stunned by the intense visual impact of seeing a bloke whine in front of her, she felt her mind spin.


    Without even realizing it, she nodded instinctively and agreed.

 Chapter 1468

    Chapter 1468


    It was toote when Sonia came to her senses and realized her mistake. He grabbed her hand firmly,


    and she could no longer back out.


    Exasperated, she was annoyed with the dirty dog at this point. Gosh! He has once again dazzled me


    with his hot looks. I wouldn''t have agreed to his request in a dazed state otherwise!


    That night, Toby was contented, but Sonia''s hands were not. She was so tempted to kick him out of


    bed upon seeing him sound asleep after being satiated. Despite her thoughts, she would never actually


    do that to him.


    He was recuperating, so if she did that to him, she would ultimately feel pained. There is no point in


    doing that.


    She pouted slightly andy down. However, she turned her back to him and did not even bother to cast


    eyes on him.


    Toby seemed to sense it, so he inched over and took her into his arms from the back as soon as she


    lay down.


    At that point, Sonia was exhausted, so she fell into a deep sleep after curling up in his arms for a short


    while.


    The originally asleep man suddenly widened his eyes. He did not seem sleepy at all, judging by the


    bright look in his eyes.


    In actuality, he had been awake the entire time earlier. His sleepy look was a mere act.


    Indeed, he was pretending to be asleep.


    He knew she was generally shy, so after getting his urges satiated, he immediately pretended he had


    fallen asleep to give her a moment to regain her senses. Otherwise, she would surely find it hard to


    look him in the eyes.


    As such, he put on an act and remained asleep the whole time. After he ensured that she was resting,


    he was finally at ease by that and roused.


    "Thanks so much, darling." Toby hugged the woman in his arms tightly and leaned forward to kiss her


    on her cheeks. Atst, he closed his eyes contentedly.


    It was the first day of the new year.


    After Sonia changed into new clothes and freshened up, she wheeled Toby to the dining hall for some


    breakfast. Then, she received mary gifts from the elders too.


    Rose and Mary gave the couple envelopes filled with money, respectively. The bulging envelope


    indicated its amount.


    Besides them, Jean also gave Sonia one.


    Nheless, Sonia was well aware that Jean did not give it willingly; instead, she had no choice.


    After all, everyone distributed gifts to Sonia, so Jean would look bad as an elder if she did not do


    anything. Regardless of how reluctant she was, she had no choice but to give Sonia an envelope with


    money.


    Sonia epted the gift and regarded that as a reciprocation from Jean for the jewelry she gave her


    yesterday.


    Besides, she was more than happy to ept the gift upon seeing Jean''s disgruntled expression. It was


    particrly amusing while she was facing her.


    After breakfast, the couple bid farewell to the others because Toby was not supposed to stay out for too


    long in his current condition. In reality, he should have returned to the hospital after the dinner


    gatheringst night.


    However, he and Sonia agreed and felt that it was rare to have the chance to keep the elderspany


    during the new year. As a result, they specifically called and informed Tim that they would only return to


    the hospital today.


    Due to the dy, Toby had to undergo a thorough body check to find out whether there was anything


    wrong with his body during the extended period he was away.


    Although Rose was reluctant to part with him, she knew his condition well, so despite her reluctance,


    she agreed for them to return to the hospital.


    She also brought up that they would go over to the hospital to keep himpany at night. Therefore,


    they could all gather at the same ce without being apart.


    As soon as Toby returned to the hospital, he was instantly whisked off by the hospital staff for a


    thorough body check.


    As for Sonia and Tom, they waited patiently outside.


    After more than an hour, a nurse wheeled Toby out of the room. Sonia hurriedly went forward and took


    over the nurse''s role. Subsequently, she asked the nurse, "Is everything fine with my husband?"


    The nurse smiled and replied, "Don''t worry, Mrs. Fuller. President Fuller is in great condition, and


    everything''s fine."


    She finally felt at ease upon hearing that. "That''s great."


    "While you were out of the hospital, he followed the doctor''s instruction and avoided food that he


    shouldn''t take. Plus, there was no major event that triggered his emotions. As such, President Fuller is


    in perfect condition."


    "Of course. We paid a lot of attention." Sonia lowered her head and smiled as she looked at the man in


    the wheelchair.


    He patted the back of her hand as an indication for her to rx.


    At that moment, Tim came out of the diagnostic room. He lifted his brows quizzically upon seeing


    everyone. "What''s wrong? Why is everyone gathered here? Why aren''t you back in your room?"


    "We''ll return to our room shortly," Sonia replied. Then, she recalled something and took out several


    envelopes with money from her bag.


    She handed over thergest envelope to Tim.


    Slightly perplexed, he took it from her. "What is this?"


    With a smile, she replied, "It''s your new year''s gift from Grandma."


    "For me?" He pointed at himself with slight shock.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She affirmed, "Yes. Grandma has found out about me and Toby''s condition, so she was thankful for


    your care toward us. As such, she prepared this specifically for you and wanted us to hand it to you.


    Don''t take this the wrong way. This is purely just a new year''s gift from an elder, and it signifies her kind


    thoughts. It''s not money to thank you for your efforts, so please ept this."


    After Sonia said that, she did not wait to find out Tim''s reaction and quickly distributed the other smaller


    but still significantly thick envelopes in her hands to the other doctors and nurses. "These are new year


    gifts for you guys too. They are the same as Dr. Lancaster''s, so I hope you guys ept this."


    "Director Lancaster." The other staff did not ept the gifts but looked questioningly at Tim.


    Although they knew this was a new year''s gift from Sonia, it was mary after all. As medical


    personnel, they were forbidden from epting mary offerings randomly. If some malicious person


    discovered this and made use of this information, they would end up being charged with bribery.


    Naturally, Tim knew why they looked at him. Everyone''s waiting for me to say yes.


    Frankly, this was the second time he had received an envelope with money.


    The first time was right after Sonia and Toby''s ROM, and it was a token from the newlyweds. This time,


    it was a new year''s gift from their grandmother.


    He felt differently about those two times, but he found both experiences simrly refreshing with an


    inexplicable sense of happiness.


    Finally, he nodded. "You guys can keep it, but don''t let a word of this get out. Keep it to yourselves."


    The other medical personnel immediately perked up and nodded happily. As they took the envelopes


    from Sonia, they repeatedly expressed thanks to the couple.


    It was their first time receiving such arge envelope with money. The rich are indeed generous!


    "Okay, that''s all. Get back to work now." Tim noticed that everyone had received their envelopes, so he


    sent them away to avoid crowding the hallway.


    Sonia wanted Toby to get some rest too, so she nodded and wheeled him back to their room.


    Tom trailed after her as he had some important matter to report to Toby.


    It was a brand-new day and the start of a new year, so a lot of pending work awaited them.


    Fortunately, Tom was aware that Toby needed rest, so he did not take much time with the reporting.


    Work conveyed was mainly documents that needed Toby''s signature or matters that required his


    assistance. Tom handled everything else on his own ord without reporting back to Toby because he


    wanted his boss to rest well and recover.


    After sorting out work, Tom left the hospital.


    Although Sonia told Toby to take a nap, he ended up taking out the workbook and going through


    Management Studies with her since he was not sleepy.


    Five monthster, she would be attending the entrance exam to further her studies abroad, so she


    needed to maximize her time and study well. Otherwise, it would be catastrophic if she failed the exam.

 Chapter 1469

    Chapter 1469


    On New Year''s Day, the two stayed inside without any entertainment. They spent the entire day


    studying Management Studies.


    This was the first time Sonia celebrated the new year this way, but she was not bored at all. After all,


    she had her beloved by her side. Life would never be boring if one could spend it with their loved ones.


    However, the following day, she left Toby all by himself at the hospital and went over to the Lanes with


    some gifts to celebrate the new year.


    Before she left, he shot her a mournful look. She found it so amusing that she could burst outughing


    whenever she recalled his face.


    "Sonny, why are you here by yourself? Where''s Toby?"


    As soon as Sonia parked her car, Grace came out to greet her when she heard the noise from inside.


    She could not but ask when she saw Sonia alone.


    Retrieving the gifts from the trunk, Sonia exined on behalf of Toby with a smile, "He had surgery not


    long ago and is currently recuperating at the hospital, so I came by myself."


    "Surgery?" Grace was significantly shocked. "What kind of surgery? Was it something major?"


    "It was considered a major surgery, but it was a huge sess. Right now, he just has to stay in the


    hospital for another two to three months, then everything should be fine," Sonia responded quite


    sinctly and did not n to inform Grace of the details regarding his surgery.


    It was his secret, after all.


    Aware that Sonia was not intentionally trying to hide things from her, Grace no longer pursued the


    topic. As long as Toby was fine, she was relieved.


    "Gosh. It''s a shame that he''s not here. I instructed the kitchen staff to prepare his favorite dishes! I


    noticed he enjoyed those thest time he was here, so I specifically told the chef to prepare them. In


    the end, he didn''t turn up." Grace helped Sonia with the stuff in her hands and mentioned it quite


    regretfully.


    Sonia revealed a smile. "This wasn''t something we expected too. It''s okay, though. I''ll doggy bag some


    and bring it with me when I go back to the hospital. That way, your efforts will not go to waste!"


    "That sounds good. I''ll get the kitchen staff to prepare it for youter on." Grace was full of smiles when


    she heard that.


    They entered the house, and Sonia noticed they were the only ones inside. Surprised, she asked, "Mrs.


    Lane, where are Mr. Lane and Charles?"


    "Curtis went out for a game of chess." Grace put the items away and replied, "You must be aware that


    this is his only hobby despite his poor skills. He''s bad at it, yet he enjoys the game. It''s the new year, so


    everyone''s free. That''s why he grabbed his chess set and went out to find his mates. As for Charles,


    he''s still fast asleep upstairs."


    Sonia could not contain herughter. "That sounds exactly like Mr. Lane''s doing."


    "Yes. That''s why I didn''t stop him from ying chess. I know well that I can''t stop him anyway." Grace


    poured a ss of juice for Sonia and said, "Sonny, take a seat. I''ll go upstairs to wake thatzy bum


    up. It''s nearly noon!"


    "Sure, Mrs. Lane. Go ahead. No need to entertain me." Sonia took a sip of the fruit juice.


    Subsequently, Grace left and went upstairs.


    Sonia sat on the couch for about ten minutes before hearing some noises upstairs. She lifted her head


    to look and saw Grace dragging Charles by the ears down the stairs.


    As they made their way down, she continued to chide him for beingzy and lounging in bed on New


    Year''s Day!


    Meanwhile, he looked defeated and allowed her to berate him as she pleased. Sonia was tickled by the


    scene in front of her.


    "Sonny, you''re here!" He heard Sonia''sughter and immediately perked up. Then, he greeted her with


    a wave.


    At that point, Grace stopped pulling him by the ears and quickly let go. She smiled at their guest.


    "Sonny, Charles has woken up. I''ll leave you guys and check on the food."


    "Sure, Mrs. Lane." Sonia nodded.


    Before Grace headed to the kitchen, she red at Charles once again.


    Rubbing his ears, he went over to sit across from Sonia. "Gosh, this is so annoying. I was having a nice


    dream, but my mom suddenly yanked me out of bed. Sonny, my mom''s so annoying, isn''t she? I''m in


    my thirties, yet she still treats me like a child."


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    However, she propped her chin and stared at him enviously. "It''s great you get to experience your


    mom''s love even when you''re in your thirties."


    As for Sonia, she had been abandoned by her biological parents. After much difficulty, she finally


    reunited with them, but her mom ended up leaving at a very young age, even before she reached her


    mature years.


    She had never experienced a mother''s love before, so most of the time, she felt envious upon seeing


    others being doted on by their parents.


    Now that she was pregnant and became a soon-to-be mother, she swore to love and give the best to


    her child. She had never experienced a mother''s love herself, but she was determined that her child


    would get to enjoy that.


    Charles was unaware of what was on her mind, but he felt upset deep inside upon hearing her words of


    envy.


    "There''s nothing to be envious of because you''re like my mom''s daughter too. All of us love you very


    much, Sonny." He looked at her and expressed solemnly, not wanting her to overthink the situation.


    She affirmed with a hum. "I know that. That''s why I''ve never felt unloved or unhappy. Even though I''ve


    never truly experienced maternal love, I''m sure my mom loved me very much. I also have my dad, my


    grandpa, you, and your parents. That''s why I''ve never feltcking in anythingpared to everyone


    else. On the contrary, I''ve always been well-loved."


    "It''s lovely you think that way." Charles noticed that she was emotionally stable, so he heaved a sigh of


    relief before asking, "Why are you here by yourself? Where''s Toby?"


    "He''s currently in the hospital." She heaved a sigh.


    At that point, he could tell she was being serious, so he eximed in shock, "Hospital? What


    happened?"


    "He just went through surgery," exined Sonia.


    "What sort of surgery?"


    She lowered her eyes and appeared rather upset.


    As soon as he saw that, he felt a pang in his heart. "Would that have any effect on your marital life?"


    Instantly, she blushed red and replied with a huff, "What sort of nonsense is that?!"


    "What''s wrong with my question?" He blinked and did not seem to think his words were offensive.


    "Sonny, you''ve got to know that if a man''s impotent, even if you guys are deeply in love with each other,


    your rtionship wouldn''tst long. I''m just concerned on your behalf."


    "I get it, but¡­" She stomped her foot. "Gosh! I don''t want to talk about this with you! He''s fine. He''s


    doing great. He went through surgery because of some other reason, and the surgery won''t affect his


    potency. Stop your nonsense!"


    "Okay, fine. I''ll stop this. I''m d your marital life won''t be affected." Charles shrugged and stopped


    talking.


    At that point, Sonia finally heaved a sigh of relief.


    Subsequently, the two of them continued to chat until it was nearly time for lunch.


    Curtis also arrived with his chess set in his hand and had a thunderous look upon arriving home. He


    lost in the game this morning. Otherwise, he would surely be beaming uponing home instead.


    "Sonny, you''re here!" Nheless, his gloomy expression changed for the better as soon as he saw


    Sonia, revealing a pleased smile.


    Even she was shocked by the speed of the change in his expression.


    Charles and Grace rolled their eyes in unison. They were used to Curtis'' manner of altering emotions at


    the flick of a switch.


    "Yes, Mr. Lane. I''m here to pay my respects to you for the new year." Sonia stood up and smiled.


    "That''s great. I''m d to see you. The atmosphere at home is merrier with you around. By the way, did


    youe alone? Where''s Toby?" He scanned the surroundings confusedly.


    Once again, she patiently exined Toby''s condition, for she was well aware there was no way of


    avoiding questions from the three of them.

 Chapter 1470

    Chapter 1470


    Curtis could not help feeling disappointed. Thest time Toby was here, he enjoyed his chat with him.


    Although he was a businessman, he showed a keen interest in chess and other information that


    increased his knowledge. In his spare time, he enjoyed learning new things.


    In other words, he knew a little bit of everything despite not being an expert in one. So, whenever he


    chatted with other business owners, he would naturally wander off the subject as the conversation


    progressed.


    The other business owners were great at the business side of things and clinching deals, but they were


    unprepared to discuss anything else. Curtis usually became the only one talking, while the others were


    utterly clueless. Oftentimes, it ended up in an awkward setting.


    However, things were different with Toby. Though he was young, he was highly knowledgeable like


    Curtis and knew about various fields. Besides, Toby was well-informed and was not merely skimming


    the surface of things.


    That was also why Curtis enjoyed chatting with him tremendously. After all, there was finally someone


    whom he could chatter away with. He would no longer be talking to himself¡ªlike how things were in


    the past¡ªsince no one responded to him.


    He knew that Sonia would being over today the previous night, so he assumed that Toby would be


    joining her. Truth be told, he even nned some topics in mind to share with Toby!


    Unexpectedly, he was absent.


    At that moment, Sonia saw the disappointed look in Curtis'' eyes and realized what was going on. With


    a smile, she assured him, "Mr. Lane, don''t be upset. Once Toby is recovered, I''lle over with him to


    spend some time with you. Alright?"


    Instantly, his eyes sparkled, and he nodded earnestly. "That''d be great."


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    "That''s a date!" She chuckled.


    At that, Charles rolled his eyes and cursed Toby in his head. That guy has not only taken away the


    precious childhood sweetheart I doted on since young but also won the affection of Mom and Dad! I


    must be enemies with that guy in my past life, so that''s why he''s here in this lifetime to go against me.


    Naturally, no one cared about Charles'' feelings since Sonia was happily engrossed in conversation with


    Grace and Curtis at that moment.


    Grace asked Sonia about her recent life, while Curtis listened by her side, full of smiles. asionally,


    he would join in the conversation.


    The atmosphere was warm and pleasant.


    Suddenly, the servant came over and reminded everyone that lunch was ready.


    It was then that Grace ended the conversation and led Sonia by the hand affectionately toward the


    dining hall.


    Lunch wasvish, and quite a few of Toby''s favorite dishes were served. Grace had specifically


    prepared those for him, so it was unfortunate that he was absent today.


    Subsequently, Sonia took photos of the dishes and sent them to Toby to tell him about Grace''s kind


    efforts.


    Since he was not taking a nap, he promptly responded by cing a video call to thank Grace for her


    effort.


    After all, she had him in mind when she prepared those dishes. Therefore, he knew he had to express


    his gratitude.


    In the end, Sonia''s phone was passed to Curtis from Grace''s hand.


    He was the happiest amongst them to talk to Toby via video call. Finally, he could chat with Toby again!


    With that, Curtis conversed happily with him while enjoying his meal. From time to time, he would burst


    intoughter upon mentioning something funny.


    Grace and Curtis had a great rtionship, so she could not contain her beaming smile upon seeing him


    in such high spirits.


    As for Charles, he sat by the side and ate silently while rolling his eyes again. Indeed, Toby''s here in


    this lifetime to make my life hellish. It''s the new year, yet he''s here to ruin the atmosphere at our ce.


    This is too much! The way Mom and Dad look at him as if he''s precious makes me wonder¡ªis he their


    son? It would appear so to the outsiders!


    In the end, Charles was the only one at the table who did not enjoy the meal. Everyone else was in


    great spirits, especially Curtis. Had the nurse not shown up to remind Toby it was time for a nap, the


    video call would have gone on endlessly.


    Curtis was in high spirits as he chatted with Toby, so he drank a substantial amount of wine. After


    ending the call, he felt slightly tipsy.


    Atst, Grace helped him up the stairs to get some rest.


    As such, Sonia and Charles were the only ones left in the vi''s living room.


    She hesitated for some time before finally making up her mind to have a good chat with him. She got


    up and stood before him. "Charles, can we go for a walk in the garden?"


    Currently engrossed with his phone, he instantly put it down and turned to look at her upon hearing


    that. "What''s wrong? Why so sudden? Are you interested to see the flowers in bloom? It''s unfortunate


    because it''s winter right now, so you can''t see them in our garden. Our flowers only bloom during


    summer because they are used to the warmer climate. There are none in bloom during winter."


    "No." She shook her head. "I''m not interested in flowers. I need to talk with you."


    He blinked in response. "With me?"


    "Yup," she affirmed.


    At that point, Charles was confused. "What is it? You can talk about it right now. Why do we have to


    talk in the garden? It''s so cold out there."


    "It''s inconvenient to talk in here." Sonia nced up the stairs.


    She was worried that Grace woulde downstairs while they were speaking. Plus, the conversation


    might not be the most pleasant to overhear.


    He caught on to her meaning and put his phone away to stand up. "In that case, let''s head over to the


    garden. Come on. I''ll get the servants to unlock the conservatory."


    She hummed in response.


    Subsequently, they walked in a single file and headed over to the garden.


    There was a ss conservatory with a heating system inside. It was specifically used to heat some of


    the more delicate greenery that could not withstand the harsh winter weather.


    The two of them had their conversation inside, so they were able to get out of the cold.


    There was also a tiny table with two chairs inside the conservatory, so it was a nice spot to sit down


    and chat.


    Sonia entered the space first and took a seat after Charles came in.


    Since he was behind her, he brought a tray of tea set with him. "Mrs. Saunders just brewed some tea.


    It''s nice to enjoy some warm drinks with the heater on here. Would you like some?"


    "Sure." She dly epted with a smile.


    Subsequently, he poured her a cup, which she then took a whiff of. The fragrant tea leaves blended


    perfectly with the milk; the two ingredientsplemented each other well, and she enjoyed the


    fragrance.


    She took a sip, and the smooth-tasting liquid coated her throat immediately. She closed her eyes


    slightly in enjoyment. "It''s been ages since I tasted Mrs. Saunders'' tea. It''s as good as before."


    "I''ll get Mrs. Saunders to write down the recipe for you since you enjoy it. Bring it home and explore the


    recipe yourself. Perhaps then, you''ll be able to recreate the same thing." The grinning Charles took a


    sip as well.


    Instantly, her eyes sparkled, and she was interested in his suggestion. "You''re right. I can get Mrs.


    Saunders to teach me. I''ve made up my mind! Before I leave, I''ll seek help from her." She pped her


    hand in enlightenment.


    In response, he shook his head and revealed an amused expression. "I requested Mrs. Saunders to


    make us some tea because I knew you would enjoy it. After all, you''ve got a sweet tooth and enjoy


    desserts as well as sweetened drinks."


    "Thanks, Charles."


    "You''re wee." He put down his teacup and shook his head before asking, "What did you want to


    discuss with me? You''ve never behaved so seriously and warily. You''d always go straight to the point


    with me without being concerned about the surrounding. It must be something major for you to


    purposely lead me here to avoid my parents overhearing us."


    Sonia stared intently at him for some time before finally nodding her head. "That''s right. It is a major


    matter. Furthermore, right now, I''m not too sure whether to let Mr. and Mrs. Lane know about this.


    That''s why I decided to talk to you in here after some thoughts."


    "So, what''s the matter?" he asked once again.

 Chapter 1471

    Chapter 1471


    Sonia inhaled a deep breath and said, "It''s about you and Daphne."


    When she said that, Charles was shocked as his pupils contracted. About Daphne and me? What is


    she implying? Does she know?


    His hand involuntarily tightened around his teacup.


    Having noticed his actions, she sighed. "Charles, you''re nervous."


    He pursed his lips and kept quiet.


    Then, she added, "You''re nervous because you think I know something, right?"


    He immediately raised his head to look at her, revealing his shocked eyes.


    "It seems like I''m right." Sonia smiled faintly. "We grew up together. Not only do you know me well, but I


    also know you. That is why I can guess what you''re thinking by looking at your eyes, expression, and


    actions. You can easily guess mine as well because we know each other best."


    After being silent for a moment, Charles finally spoke, "So? What do you want to say about me and


    Daphne?"


    She took another sip of her tea. "Since things havee to this, I won''t hide it from you anymore.


    Charles, I know everything that has happened between you and Daphne."


    "What?" He turned ashen. "You knew?"


    N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.


    "That''s right." She nodded.


    "Did she tell you that?" He looked grim, and his voice sounded a little angry.


    Sonia quickly denied it by shaking her head and exining, "Of course not. How could you think of her


    like that? Daphne never told me anything that happened between you two, so you can''t put all the


    me on her without having any substantial evidence. That''s not fair to her. I found out about it


    because you both were acting strangely."


    Hearing that, Charles kept quiet and looked at her. His eyes conveyed that he wanted her to continue.


    While rubbing her temples, she resumed. "You and Daphne are former ssmates, and she''s been


    your head secretary many years after graduating, so the two of you have a good rtionship. You''re


    her superior, and she''s your subordinate, but you''re also friends. Even if you didn''t develop feelings for


    each other, you would''ve built a strong bond after interacting for many years. Knowing your character, I


    know you wouldn''t develop hatred and displeasure toward Daphne without reason unless something


    uneptable had happened between you two."


    "What happened next?"


    "Your rtionship with Daphne deteriorated too quickly. You guys were acting normally the day before,


    but your attention changed drastically the next day. Not only was Daphne affected, but I was also


    shocked at your sudden dislike for her. I noticed she was constantly in a daze and wasn''t performing


    well during that period. The two of you were obvious, so I was curious about what happened. I asked


    you and Daphne about it, but¡­"


    She paused before continuing, "But the two of you wouldn''t tell me what happened. I think of you two


    as my friends, so how could I not worry when both of you act so strangely? From then on, I told myself I


    have to pay attention to what''s happening between you two, but even after two months of observation, I


    still couldn''t figure out what happened."


    When Sonia said that, sheughed bitterly. "No matter how many times I asked, none of you would tell


    me anything. You''d clearly show your disdain for her, and she would be disheartened. That made me


    even more worried, so I secretly investigated what had happened. Before I found someone, I


    discovered Daphne was pregnant. During the first two to three months of a woman''s pregnancy, she


    would experience morning sickness, and that was how I got suspicious and confronted her about it.


    She knew she couldn''t keep this secret from me any longer and told me everything."


    Then, a sarcastic smile appeared on Charles'' face. "So, she still told you everything in the end. What


    does she want? Is she trying to get your sympathy so that you would make me forgive her?"


    She frowned. "Charles, how can you think of her that way, painting her in such malicious light? Daphne


    had never asked me to do anything for her, and she only told me what happened because I found out


    about her pregnancy. So, she was forced to tell me because I found out and not because she wanted


    to. Also, making you forgive her? She never did that. If she did, I wouldn''t have waited till this second to


    talk with you about it."


    Aware he was being unreasonable, he did not rebuke when Sonia reprimanded him.


    She sipped her tea and calmed down before continuing, "Daphne told me everything, and that''s how I


    knew. Come to think of it¡ªI had something to do with this. You confessed your feelings to me that day,


    but I rejected you, so you left in disappointment. We grew up together, and I think of you as my older


    brother. I was worried you might do something stupid when I saw you leaving, but it''s inappropriate for


    me to chase after you because it''d seem like I was ying with your feelings. That''s why I had Daphne


    find you so that you wouldn''t do anything to harm yourself. She''s been your friend for many years, so I


    felt assured with her looking after you."


    "But that woman betrayed your trust and got into my bed," he said while clenching his fists.


    Shaking her head resignedly, Sonia argued, "Charles, though Daphne was wrong and got in your bed


    sober, could you say the same for yourself? That you weren''tpletely innocent?"


    Hearing that, he was stunned. He wanted to say he did nothing wrong but inexplicably found himself


    speechless.


    She noticed his behavior and smiled faintly. "See, you don''t even believe you were innocent. You know,


    ording to research, you can''t do anything when you''re truly drunk. If you did the deed with Daphne,


    it meant you were either somewhat sober or still conscious of your actions and who you were with. But


    what did you do? You didn''t push her away, right? You and Daphne did it willingly, so why are you


    putting all the me solely on her when you were responsible too?"


    "I¡­" His lips quivered at the urge to rebuke, but he did not know where to start.


    The tea was no longer warm, so Sonia poured him some fresh one while reasoning, "Daphne loves


    you, so she didn''t reject you when you pulled her back. Meanwhile, you could''ve pushed her away after


    recognizing her, but you didn''t. What happened didn''t simplye from consent but also from your


    mutual feelings toward each other. You like her! Otherwise, you wouldn''t have slept with her. After that


    incident, you me her for everything and think she got in your bed that night. Well, the truth is, you''re


    too much of a coward to ept the reality."


    "I am not." As if stimted by something, Charles paled and sprang to his feet, denying.


    She calmly sat in her chair and looked up at him. "You are. You can''t ept the fact that you slept with


    another woman after confessing to me. You think by doing that, you''ve betrayed me and your feelings.


    You refuse to admit you did something wrong, so you push all the me onto another woman, thinking


    that she seduced you and lured you into doing something ''wrong''. That''s why you hate and feel


    disgusted by her."


    "That''s not true. It''s not like that!" he screamed, shaking his head repulsively.

 Chapter 1472

    Chapter 1472


    I''m not a coward. I''m just¡­ Just¡­


    Charles was bewildered and could not find the words to continue that thought.


    Seeing that he was in denial, Sonia stood up as well. "Charles, calm down. I know I went a little


    overboard with my words, but I had to. Or else, you might never know what you did wrong and continue


    victimizing yourself. Both of you are equally responsible for this. It''s not fair for Daphne to get med


    for everything. Frankly, you should me me for this because it was me who asked her to find you. To


    tell you the truth, I regretted it."


    She closed her eyes and spoke solemnly, "If I hadn''t requested her to do so, that night might not have


    happened, and you wouldn''t have med her for everything; she wouldn''t have gotten pregnant and


    be so miserable. I think that was certainly it, which was why I kept ming myself. Even if


    Daphne doesn''t me me for this, I still feel bad for her. I had thought abouting to talk to you, but


    she stopped me. I didn''t want to see her any sadder, so I held back my urge to find you."


    "Why are you telling me this now?" His eyes were red, and his voice sounded raspy.


    She bit her lip and exined, "My initial idea was not to tell you these, but now, I''ve run out of options. I


    feel heartbroken for Daphne, and I''m worried about her. She''s been constantly afraid since she got


    pregnant and doesn''t know what to do. She even talked about wanting to abort the child. I have to


    emphasize that she has never thought about using the child to force you into anything. What she had


    been nning was giving up the baby and moving on with her life. Once the baby is out of the picture,


    maybe you won''t have anything linking you two together anymore. She had made up her mind, but


    you¡­"


    While staring at him, she continued, "You ruined her n. To tell you the truth, I can''t seem to figure out


    why you did that. You hated Daphne so much and condemned her for everything, and she was willing


    to take the me as you wished. She wanted to start over and cut all ties with you, so why did you stop


    her when she finally decided to go to the hospital? Isn''t taking away the baby out of the equation


    something you wanted?"


    That question rendered Charles speechless. He knew the right thing was for Daphne to abort their


    child, yet for some reason, his initial thoughts did not align with his first reaction upon hearing the news.


    Instead¡­ I was furious. I was furious that she decided to go through with the abortion without my


    knowledge!


    To him, it was an insult.


    As he was enraged, he ran to the hospital on an impulse to stop her. Then, he arranged for her to stay


    in a vi he owned that no one knew about and ordered her to give birth to the baby.


    In all honesty, he still could not understand why he did that.


    Seeing that Charles was silent, Sonia piped up, "At the beginning, I didn''t understand why you did that,


    but then, Toby enlightened me. I finally figured out why you didn''t resist Daphne when you weren''t fully


    drunk and why you hated her but still hindered her n to cut ties with you. That''s all because you


    already have her in your heart. You''ve fallen in love with her but couldn''t realize your feelings because


    of my presence. You believe you''re still in love with me, so you can''t ept yourself having a


    rtionship with Daphne. You stopped her from giving up the baby because you have feelings for her."


    "That''s not true." He could not ept what she was saying and kept shaking his head. "It''s not like that.


    I couldn''t have fallen in love with Daphne. I don''t love her!"


    "How do you exin your actions if you don''t?" She stopped before him and raised her head to stare at


    him.


    His quivering lips did not help with his case. She''s right. Why did I do all of that?


    For a moment, he hesitantly believed what Sonia said was true. Realizing the situation, he could not


    ept that fact and broke down, squatting on the ground.


    Heartbroken at the sight, Sonia walked over to him and ced her hand on his shoulder while


    comforting him gently. "Charles, I''m telling you these not to break you but for you to ept your


    feelings. Of course, I know no one can bear loving someone for more than a decade and not realize


    they had suddenly fallen in love with someone else. But, Charles, no matter whom you love, it''s more


    important that you follow your heart. You''ve loved me, and now you love Daphne. You can openly


    ept your feelings and start treating her with love from now on."


    Charles'' gaze remained nk.


    She sighed again. "I know you need time to ept that, and I didn''t intend to expose your feelings. But


    not only did you lock Daphne up in your vi, but you also made her announce that she had left to


    further her study abroad and keep this a secret from her mom. I''m afraid you might do something


    wrong and hurt Daphne. By then, it would be toote for you to regret your actions. This is why I


    decided to tell you this. I want you to realize your feelings because I don''t want you to regret them in


    the future."


    "Why would I regret anything?" He raised his head, revealing his wickedly cold smile.


    She looked at his countenance and furrowed her beautiful eyebrows. "Why wouldn''t you? You love her,


    but you can''t ept your feelings. That''s why you''re doing these to hurt her, but if youe to realize


    your true feelings for her and what you did to her, you will regret your actions. I''m telling you this


    because I want to stop you from doing anything wrong. I don''t want you to regret only when it''s all too


    late."


    No, that will never happen! While gritting his teeth, Charles looked at her with determination. He was


    certain he would never feel any regret.


    At the sight of the stubborn man, Sonia could not help but shake her head. "There are times when


    epting the truth can make you live a more relieved and happier life, but I know you''re stubborn. You


    insist you haven''t fallen in love with her and wouldn''t regret your actions. I can''t stop you from thinking


    that way because it''s all on you. Still, I need to warn you. Since you''ve decided to let Daphne give birth,


    you''d better not do anything to her or the child during this period. Even if you hurt her feelings, you still


    have a chance to make up for it. Or else, you won''t even have the slightest chance to make up for


    anything. So, Charles, think about it."


    After saying that, she rose to her feet and exited the room. I''ve said what I can. I can''t do anything else,


    seeing that he''s unwilling to be true to his feelings and has no remorse for his actions. Perhaps my


    absence will do good to him.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Still, Sonia was confident that her words would encourage Charles to look within and alter his attitude


    toward Daphne. As time went by with improvement, perhaps he would consider a rtionship with her


    too.


    That was why she did not ask him to release Daphne. Unworried, she knew Daphne would no longer


    be in danger now that he had been given a reality p.


    All there was left was to let him think things through. It could only go both ways from now on¡ªreleasing


    Daphne or further punishing her, even if she begged him for freedom. At the end of the day, the


    oue depended on his enlightenment.

 Chapter 1473

    Chapter 1473


    Sometimes, words could only do so much. Instead of bombarding a situation with advice, it might be


    better to take a step back and allow the situation to resolve itself. Otherwise, the results might be


    catastrophic. After all, human beings were hot-headed. It would be terrible if things tranted into


    irrationality and impulsive mistakes.


    Rather than that happening, one should know when to stop at the right time and allow solitude to do its


    wonder to the human brain¡ªself-reflection.


    While thinking of that, Sonia came out of the conservatory and stopped. Then, she looked back at


    Charles, who was still squatting there, and let out a slight sigh before leaving.


    When she returned to the vi, Grace happened toe down the stairs and saw her. She asked,


    "Sonny, why are you alone? Where''s Charles?"


    "He''s still at the conservatory. We talked about something, but he seems to be stuck in his ways, so I


    left him there to think about it alone," Sonia replied with a smile.


    Grace nodded. "I see. What were you guys talking about?"


    "Mrs. Lane, my apologies, but I can''t tell you yet because it depends on his situation. If he can think


    things through, perhaps he might tell you everything, but if he can''t, I''lle clean to you before he


    makes any mistakes. Please bear with me, Mrs. Lane." Sonia bowed guiltily.


    While waving her hand, Grace said, "If that''s how it is, I won''t ask anymore, and you don''t have to be


    so formal with me. Wait¡ªyou said Charles might make mistakes. Does it involve any illegal acts?" She


    was nervous.


    Sonia shook her head and assured her. "I don''t think so. He''s not the kind of person who acts


    irrationally."


    Moreover, Charles'' actions were not considered illegal confinement. After all, if Daphne could leave, it


    also meant she could call the police, which she did not. Therefore, she was willingly staying inside that


    vi.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Since both consented to the matter, it could not be considered a crime. Thus, what she meant by


    Charles'' mistakes was on an emotional level and not legally speaking.


    After listening to her exnation, Grace felt relieved and patted her chest. "That''s good. As long as that


    brat doesn''tmit a crime, he can do whatever he wants." She waved her hand, not minding the


    matter.


    Seeing that Grace did not ask prod further, Sonia also felt relieved. She then grabbed her bag and bid


    goodbye to Grace. "Mrs. Lane, it''s gettingte. I need to head home now."


    "You''re leaving already?" Grace seemed a little reluctant. "It''s still early. How about staying a while


    longer and heading home after dinner?"


    "No thanks, Mrs. Lane." Sonia shook her head to refuse Grace''s offer and insisted on leaving. "Toby is


    still at the hospital waiting for me. You know him. He doesn''t like strangers around him, so we didn''t


    hire a caretaker. I''ve been taking care of him all this while and feel a little worried about him after


    leaving him alone the entire morning, so I need to head back and check on him."


    "I see." At the mention of Toby, Grace could not do anything but let her leave.


    "Well, I won''t keep you here. Bring Toby over after he recovers. My husband enjoys talking with him."


    Grace smiled and suggested.


    Sonia hummed in response. "I will."


    "Sounds like a n. Hold on! I''ll get the kitchen staff to pack up the food I prepared for Toby." With that,


    she headed inside the kitchen.


    Sonia did not mind waiting and sat back down on the couch.


    After about ten minutes, Grace returned with the well-packed food and gave the bag to Sonia while not


    forgetting to remind her not to spill them.


    Sonia patiently promised that she would be careful. Then, she was sent out by Grace and got in her car


    to leave.


    It was already past 1.00PM when she returned to the hospital.


    Toby had been awake for a while and was leaning against the bed while reading a book.


    The moment she opened the door and entered the room, he looked up from the sound, and joy


    appeared on his handsome face. "You''re back."


    "Yes, I am." She smiled and put down her bag before approaching him. "When did you wake up?"


    "Half an hour ago." He closed his book.


    She was surprised. "So soon? That means you haven''t been sleeping for long."


    "How can I sleep when you''re not here?" He shook his head lightly.


    Smiling resignedly, Sonia teased, "So, you really can''t survive without me, can you? What if I have to


    go to work? Will you stay up the whole day?"


    "No, I won''t." Toby looked at her and answered firmly, "I know you''ll be worried if I don''t sleep, so I''ll


    force myself to rest."


    "That sounds more like it." After listening to his answer, she felt satisfied. Then, she brought over the


    bag and ced it by the bed. "Have you eaten?"


    "Nope." While pointing at the food on the small table nearby, he exined, "Tom brought some food


    from the hotel, but I didn''t have an appetite, so I left it there."


    "I knew it." She sighed. This guy can''t ept having anyone else take care of his meals, so he''d rather


    not eat and reject anyone''s care.


    That was why she returned at this time because she needed to help this young master, who did not like


    anyone near him, diligently have his meal. Otherwise, she would have enjoyed staying at the Lane


    Residence and apanying Grace for a women''s talk, but she had to rush back here for him.


    "Mrs. Lane told me to bring you some food. She said you ate a lot of these when you visitedst time


    and thought you might like them." While Sonia exined, she opened the bag and took out the food


    containers that still felt warm.


    Toby nced at them and said, "Please thank Mrs. Lane for this."


    "Don''t worry. I thanked her already. Here, eat your food." She gave him a spoon.


    He received it and finally began indulging in them.


    While seated beside him, Sonia stared at the man with affection. A whileter, she suddenly realized


    something and began observing his face with narrowed eyes.


    Toby felt uneasy being stared at and stopped eating before looking at her with a puzzled face. "What''s


    the matter?"


    "Darling, I think you might''ve gotten chubbier." She leaned in and took a closer look. "Yes, you have


    indeed gained weight."


    Although it was not obvious, she could still tell after taking a closer look.


    When he heard that, he chuckled. "Yes, I did gain some weight."


    How could he not know the changes in his body? Surely, he knew he had gained weight.


    "It''s normal. I can''t exercise and have been taking a lot of drugs that contain hormones, so this is


    inevitable. Also, it''s already a blessing that I didn''t grow out of shape." He readily epted the truth


    that he had gained weight.


    After all, this was not his first.


    When he went through his first heart surgery, he gained twenty pounds. It was until he was fully healed


    that he had the time to reduce his weight.


    "So, you did realize that. Isn''t it bad?" Sonia was no longer worried, seeing he was aware of his body


    changes.


    He continued eating while exining, "It''s not the worst thing to happen since I can easily lose them.


    How about you? Do you think I''m not as hot after gaining weight?"


    In reality, worrying about weight gain and appearance was not only a problem for women, for men had


    the same worries as well, especially taken men. That was because they feared their partners might


    dislike them!

 Chapter 1474

    Chapter 1474


    "You look fine." Sonia shook her head. "If I hadn''t taken a good look at you, I wouldn''t have noticed you


    gained weight, so you don''t have to worry about that."


    Happiness filled Toby''s eyes as he asked, "Would you be repulsed by me if I turned ugly?"


    "That''s impossible." She denied. "I''m not that kind of person. Besides, you''re perfectly fine, but I did


    hear that middle-aged men tend to gain weight easily. They''d be bald and grow a gut, so will you


    ¡ª"


    "No way!" As if knowing what she wanted to ask, he shook his head to show that he would not grow out


    of shape. Moreover, even he could not stand having a bald head and a big belly. Just the thought of it


    felt awful to him.


    Seeing the man before her being so revolted by the image she described, Sonia burst outughing. "If


    that''s true, you''d better take care of your health, so you won''t turn into your worst nightmare."


    "Of course, I will." Toby raised his chin and promised. He would never allow himself to be like that.


    "Alright. Enough about that. Hurry up and finish your meal." She rose to her feet and headed for the


    bathroom.


    When she came out, he was almost done with his meal, so she went over and gathered the tes and


    utensils before washing them in the kitchen.


    At that moment, Tim was doing his rounds and entered their room. Then, he proceeded with his daily


    checkup on Toby.


    After that waspleted, he suddenly thought of something and looked at Sonia, who came out of the


    kitchen and informed, "This morning, Titus'' wife came to the hospital again."


    "Did she ask for help in saving him again?" Toby squinted his eyes.


    Tim confirmed their guesses. "She''s thest person who wants Titus dead, so she would never give up


    any chance at saving him. I think she''ll be visiting hospitals frequently, not just here but others as well."


    "It doesn''t matter where she goes. All that matters is that Titus can''t be saved." Sonia approached them


    expressionlessly.


    Toby''s eyes twinkled for a moment. "Are you sure Titus'' condition is incurable?"


    Tim adjusted his sses while exining, "Yes, I''m positive. That old fellow''s health won''t allow him to


    hang on for long. Forget about finding a suitable kidney donor because even if there was one, he won''t


    be able to make it through surgery unless a miracle happens. If miracles happen so easily, they


    wouldn''t be called miracles."


    Therefore, Titus was destined to be a dead man.


    "I understand. So, we won''t have to be bothered with the Grays anymore," Toby told Tim, who


    shrugged his shoulders without anyments.


    Afterward, he stayed for a while before getting called away by a nurse, saying that he had a


    consultation to attend to.


    Once he was gone, Sonia sat beside Toby''s bed. "How is Triforce Enterprise doing?"


    "Many of Triforce''s properties have been suspended. The higher-ups have discovered some evidence


    rted to the copsed mine, so they ordered for most of Triforce''s properties to be suspended, and


    there is only a small portion running. However, the profits earned by that portion aren''t enough to


    sustain the entire Triforce Enterprise. The shareholders have realized the risk and are starting to sell


    their shares, ready to cash them out. Meanwhile, Titus is bedridden and can''t do anything about it."


    "Selling their shares?" She taunted, "I bet no one is willing to buy those, right?"


    He nodded. "You''re right. The news of Triforce being under investigation has spread throughout the


    business world, so everyone knows Triforce is in trouble. Therefore, no one will be inclined to buy the


    shares because if thepany goes bankrupt, those shares would be useless, and no one is willing to


    take that risk. That''s why there are still no buyers when the shareholders are selling their shares at


    such a low price."


    "How much are they selling for?" she suddenly asked.


    With narrowed eyes, he asked, "You interested?"


    Before she could answer, he added, "It''s fine if you want to buy them. Triforce Enterprise should''ve


    been yours, so if you want to, I''ll ask the higher-ups to be more benevolent and leave some clean


    properties so that Triforce won''t gopletely bankrupt. That way, you can merge them with Paradigm


    Co.."


    However, Sonia did not pay attention to what he saidter because she was curious about the first part


    of his words. She looked at him and asked, "Why did you say Triforce Enterprise was supposed to be


    mine?"


    A dark glint shed across Toby''s eyes but disappeared immediately as he exined, "Since Titus had


    harmed the Reed Family, he should make it up to you by giving you Triforce Enterprise. That''s why I


    said it should be yours."


    She nodded. "I see. I''ll think about it. Come to think of it, I am interested in some of the properties


    under Triforce."


    "What are they? Tell me, and I''ll help you analyze whether they''repatible with Paradigm Co.," he


    suggested.


    She agreed, and the two began discussing dividing Triforce Enterprise.


    Though thepany was still being investigated and its oue had not been determined, these two


    were already thinking about dividing its properties. If Titus had been present, he would have been


    angered to death.


    "The properties you''re interested in aren''t bad. Since you want them, I''ll have Tome up with a list


    of all the shares owned by each shareholder of Triforce Enterprise. Then, you can contact them


    ording to the list. That way, you wouldn''t have to worry about them raising the price, and you have


    leverage over them to buy their shares with prices lower than the lowest price in the market." Toby


    nodded slightly.


    Sonia smiled. "Tom''s got his work cut out for him."


    "He''s paid to do that."


    "Although that''s true, he''s the one running errands for us, so he does have a lot on his hands." While


    speaking, she looked at the clock. Seeing that it was almost time, she gave Toby his medications.


    "Alright. It''s time to take your meds."


    Without any dawdling, he took the medications and popped them into his mouth before swallowing


    them with water.


    The following morning, Tom brought over the list of shares Sonia needed. That was not the only data


    he prepared, for information on each shareholder, especially their personalities and leverages no one


    knew about, was also detailed.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    With this knowledge in hand, she could easily win over the shareholders of Triforce Enterprise and buy


    their shares at the lowest price possible.


    Although using others'' leverage to reach her goal was shady, this was the business industry, after all. It


    could very well bepared to a battlefield, so employing unconventional means to get what one


    wanted was justifiable.


    That afternoon, Sonia visited a few shareholders she thought were the easiest to deal with and bought


    their shares. Since she did everything in secret, Titus and his gang had no idea about this. Soon, she


    became the secondrgest shareholder after him.


    Once Titus was out of the picture, she could rely on Toby to use his connections with the higher-ups


    andpletely dissolve Triforce Enterprise, leaving only the properties she was interested in.


    Having thought of that, she felt like she was on cloud nine.


    Time flew by quickly, and it was already a week into the new year. All the employees gradually returned


    to work.


    Simrly, Sonia returned to work at Paradigm Co..


    A few moments after arriving at her office, she received a call from the reception counter. "Chairman


    Reed, a gentleman is looking for you."


    "A gentleman?" She frowned in confusion. "Who is he? What''s his name?"


    Is it Zane? Wait, the receptionist knows Zane, so if it was him, the receptionist would''ve told me straight


    up. So, the person who came must be a stranger to the receptionist. Who could it be?

 Chapter 1475

    Chapter 1475


    "The gentleman didn''t say his name." The receptionist looked at the man wearing sses and punk


    attire before answering Sonia, "Chairman Reed, please hold while I ask him."


    "Sure, go ahead." Sonia waited patiently.


    The receptionist set down the phone and smiled at the man. "Sir, Chairman Reed is asking for your


    name."


    "Tell her it''s Carl Lee here." The man took off his sses, revealing his exquisitely handsome face.


    The receptionist''s eyes widened in disbelief while covering her mouth. "C-Carl Lee? You''re Carl Lee?"


    She was so excited that her face turned red.


    Carl Lee was a well-known celebrity. However, he was not involved in entertainment but in the fashion


    industry. He was previously an international model, so his looks and figure were the best in the circle.


    It was a pity that he announced his retirement six months ago.


    No one knew why he decided to retire, but his fans felt sad for him and asked around to get any news


    about him because they were curious about his life after retirement. However, no matter how hard they


    tried, they could not find anything and gradually gave up.


    Even after six months, the fans heard crickets about his whereabouts. The receptionist would never


    have thought he would appear before her ande to find Sonia.


    She had heard rumors about Carl and Sonia being acquaintances, but she did not expect those rumors


    to be true.


    "Yes, I am." He blinked his eyes at the receptionist and even blew her a kiss, switching on his flirt


    mode.


    Yet, it was deadly to the receptionist, thanks to his beautiful features. He looked so charming and hot!


    Had it been anyone else, it might have been too cringe to look at.


    "Please help me inform your chairman." Carl wore his sunsses again.


    The receptionist nodded repeatedly. "Sure, no problem. I''ll tell her immediately. Please hold on for a


    moment, Mr. Lee." After that, she picked up the phone and suppressed her excitement while informing


    Sonia, "Chairman Reed, it''s Mr. Carl Lee. He wants to meet you."


    "What? Carl Lee?" Sonia was shocked as she sprang to her feet. Her face was filled with disbelief.


    Undeniably, his arrival had made her lose her cool, and it took her a while before asking, "Are you


    sure?"


    "Yes, Chairman Reed. The one and only," the receptionist answered affirmatively with a nod.


    Hearing that, Sonia no longer doubted the receptionist but frowned as she fell into deep thought.


    Some time ago, Carl suddenly gave her a call, but it was not she who answered it but Toby. He hung


    up Carl''s call, and the retired model had not called ever since.


    Hence, Sonia did not expect him to show up at herpany without another call. What does he want?


    "Chairman Reed, are you going to see him?" the receptionist asked.


    Sonia sat back down and rubbed her temples. "Sure. Let him in." Might as well get to the bottom of this


    now that he''s here.


    Moreover, she had mixed feelings about Carl.


    If that person was Carl''s host personality, she would not have hesitated and would immediately see


    him. However, the problemy in the fact that this was not the Carl from before. That was why she had


    mixed feelings about him because she did not know how to face him.


    "Okay, I''ll tell Mr. Lee now."


    Sonia hummed in response and hung up. Then, she sat in her chair with her head lowered, thinking


    about something.


    Soon, Carl appeared outside her office.


    When she heard a knock on the door, she looked up and saw him in fashionable attire. She took a


    deep breath as her emotions plummeted.


    Initially, she still had a slither of hope that Carl had returned to his host personality and came to find


    her. Yet, when faced with the extravagantly dressed man before her, she knew this was not her


    younger brother. Instead, it was his alter personality.


    "Sonia." He took off his sunsses and smiled brightly.


    Seeing his smile, she pursed her lips. My dear Carl smiles too, but it''s always a reserved one. Unlike


    this Carl Lee before me, he smiles so brightly yet so dangerously. I just can''t shake off this unease


    between us. As I would expect from an evil alter-personality, just his smile is enough to mess one up.


    "I''m sorry, but I don''t know you. Please don''t see me again," she ordered coldly.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    However, Carl did not mind her attitude and swirled his sunsses while approaching her. "Sonny,


    you''re being too merciless. Although I''m not that fool, I am still Carl Lee. You see him as a younger


    brother, so you should do the same for me. It''ll break my heart if you treat us differently. What''s more,


    that fool and I are different. He tried to poison you, but I didn''t. Yet, you choose to give me the cold


    shoulder. Don''t you think you''re being unfair?"


    His argument rendered Sonia unable to rebuke because she knew her attitude toward the Evil Carl was


    different from how she treated the host. She was also aware that Evil Carl did not do anything to her,


    but she just could not bring herself to like him.


    "Why did youe all the way here to find me?" Without wanting to talk about other things, she pulled


    their conversation back on track.


    Carl pulled out the chair in front of her desk and sat down. "I came to you because I have serious


    business. I tried calling to tell you this before, but Toby hung up my call, so I had no other choice but to


    come to you and personally tell you this. Take it as helping that fool exin himself."


    "What do you mean by that?" She froze and sat upright while staring at him. "Did Carl return?"


    If he did, why didn''t he take back his body?


    Looking at Sonia''s excited state, Carl smiled evilly. "You''re right. That fool did return once, but it wasn''t


    to take reim himself but to have me rece him entirely."


    She turned ashen as she felt her mind explode. She could not believe what she had heard. "What the


    heck are you talking about? What do you mean he asked you to rece him? How is that possible?


    That''s impossible!"


    She could not ept that reality.


    "There''s nothing impossible about that." Carl shrugged. "That''s the truth. Do you know why I appeared


    immediately after the news about your poisoning? The truth is, I had already appeared when he was


    about ten years old, but you''d never discovered my existence because that fool had been in control


    and never gave me a chance. So, after his poisoning incident was exposed, I appeared. What does


    that mean? It means that Carl had chosen to run away and set me free."


    Sonia tightened her fists, subconsciously wanting to rebuke but unsure where to start.


    Then, he continued, "That fool is a coward. He''s afraid you''d resent him and me him for what he did,


    so he hid and set me out to suffer the consequences of his actions. Otherwise, why would I have


    appeared so coincidentally? After all, that guy had me locked up for almost a decade, which shows


    he''s stronger than me. He can even destroy this alter personality if he wants to, but he chose not to do


    it because I''m just a tool he left behind to face whatever situation he''s too cowardly to tolerate!"

 Chapter 1476

    Chapter 1476


    "So what?" Sonia looked at him. "Why are you telling me this?"


    "Because¡­" Carl dragged his voice as he twirled the pen between his fingers. "I wanna tell you that I''m


    not weak. The fact that he''s able to hold me back for ten years means he''s stronger than me. He has


    the whip hand to take back the body whenever he likes, but he didn''t. It''s because he didn''t want to.


    He''s a coward that doesn''t have the guts to face you and the things he had done to you."


    Is that so? Sonia lowered her gaze. She did not want to believe Evil Carl''s words, but a part of her was


    aware that it was not a lie¡ªCarl was unwilling to return.


    "So, is he gone?" A lump stuck in her throat, and her eyes reddened.


    "He''s not sure how to face you and is afraid you won''t forgive him, so he initiated a conversation with


    me through memos. He was willing to merge with me, allowing me to dominate the body. So, yeah, he''s


    gone. There''s only one personality left in this body. I am Carl Lee from now on." He did not deny her


    question.


    "That fool! Why did he think that way?!" She felt dizzy as she almost copsed upon knowing the truth.


    Tears trickled down her cheeks.


    She had always perceived Carl as her younger brother, and she loved him dearly. It was indeed


    infuriating when she found out that he was the one feeding her poison, but she never med him, not


    even once! Why didn''t he have more faith in himself? How could he just give up?


    "Don''t be like this, Sonny." Carl propped his headnguidly whileforting her. "I have his memories,


    so I am him. You can see me as the same old Carl. I don''t mind."


    "But it bothers me." Sonia''s eyes were furious with red. "Even if you were born in Carl''s body and have


    his memories, you''re not my Carl. I will never see you the same way."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "There''s nothing I can do about it, then." He shrugged his shoulders. "But he requested something


    before I took over. I epted it since I figure he''d be gone for good. It''s about you, Sonny."


    "What is it?" She raised her head instantly.


    "That fool knew you were looking for a woman named Tina Gray, so he asked me to find her before he


    was gone. I epted his request. During thest two months, I outsourced hackers around the globe


    to hunt her down with a reward. It didn''t take up a lot of time. Her whereabouts as well as everything


    she did in the past six months are stored in here." He ced the pen down to take a USB drive out of


    his pocket.


    Sonia grabbed it with trembling hands. "This will enable me to know where she is now, right?"


    "Yup." He nodded. "I gave him my word. From this day forth, this body belongs to me."


    Hearing his deration, she broke down and wailed while sping onto the USB drive tightly.


    Carl Lee was now a different person. Even if he prioritized her and called her Sonny with that same


    voice, he would never be the Carl who used to love her.


    Their thoughts stood independently; he might not enjoy whatever the host liked. For instance, he did


    not love Sonia.


    His willingness to learn the way Carl treated and addressed her was solely rooted in Evil Carl''s


    relinquishment. Her tears did not waver him one bit, hence the apathy tofort her. He merely sat


    right there, watching her cry.


    Once all the crying exhausted her and her wailing trailed into a soft voice, he piped up, "I''ve achieved


    my objective ofing here. I should get going. I know you don''t like me, so I won''t reach out to you


    anymore. Leave everything in the past. I''m no longer your dear Carl, so there''s no point in keeping in


    touch."


    He rose to his feet and trod to the door when something seeped into Sonia''s mind. "Wait!"


    "Anything else?" Carl halted and looked back.


    She sped her hands, trying to be hopeful. "Is Carl seriously noting back?"


    He smiled with a raised brow. "Of course. There''s no other personality in this body. I''m the only one


    left."


    Despair settled in Sonia, who shut her eyes for a couple of moments before gazing at him. "What about


    Reba? How is she? I contacted her, and she said you''ve transferred her elsewhere."


    "That''s true." He shrugged his shoulders. "It''s natural for me to do that since that woman serves that


    fool. Do you think I will allow a disloyal person to stay by my side? I''m certain that everyone will do the


    same if they''re in my shoes."


    She parted her lips, but nothing came out of her throat. Indeed, there''s no need to leave someone


    unfaithful by his side.


    "But you have nothing to worry about. I did nothing more than transfer her elsewhere on the ount of


    that fool''s willingness to give up this body. It''s for her sake too. She and her father had been teetering


    on the perilous edge. Moving them elsewhere means taking them out of danger. They should be able to


    enjoy their life from now," Carl said.


    A wave of relief showered Sonia as she could tell he was telling the truth. It was a relief that Reba


    was safe and sound. Sonia worried about her safety because she served Carl. Fortunately, things were


    not as bad as she thought they would be.


    He reconfirmed. "Is there anything else you would like to know, Sonny?"


    She shook her head slowly. Now that he was no longer the old Carl, there was nothing to talk about


    between them.


    "If that''s the case, I shall take my leave. Let''s not meet each other in the future." He wheeled around to


    wave his hand before he walked out of the door.


    Then, Sonia flopped onto the chair with her zed eyes staring at the door. Tears flooded her eyes


    once again.


    His final words triggered the realization that she would never see Carl anymore; the boy whom she


    looked after like her brother was gone.


    Covering her face, she wept in despair. Rita entered the room with documents and hurriedly set them


    aside when she saw the crying woman. "President Reed, what''s wrong?"


    Sonia lifted her head to reveal her swollen eyes. Her voice went hoarse too. "I''m fine. Just¡­ Someone


    dear to me is gone. So, I can''t help it."


    Sighing, Rita thought the person mentioned passed away. "I''m sorry for your loss, President Reed.


    Since you''re close, I''m sure they wouldn''t wish to see you crying. They wouldn''t be able to go in peace.


    So, please take care of yourself. It''ll be bad for your health if you keep this up."


    "I know." Sonia wiped off her tears. "I just couldn''t help the tears when I heard the news. Thank you."


    "Not a problem." Rita pointed at the documents. "Here''s the piled-up work during the holidays. You will


    have to sign them personally."


    "Got it." Sonia finally regained a little of herposure, forcing a smile on her face.

 Chapter 1477

    Chapter 1477


    When Rita saw that Sonia was fine, she secretly sighed in relief. "President Reed, I shall leave now."


    "Wait," Sonia called out, promptly stopping the retreating figure. She continued, "I told you before that


    I''d talk to Charles about Daphne. I discussed this with him over the new year. He didn''t want to let her


    go, but you don''t have to worry about her safety. He won''t do anything to her."


    Rita was exhrated to hear that. "Oh, that''s great! I always worried that President Lane might hurt her.


    You know how he treated her before."


    She did not need to exin Charles'' behavior, for it was widely understood.


    Sonia rubbed her temples. "I had a long talk with him. I believe he will eventually realize that he had


    been treating Daphne wrongly. By then, she will be free. That''s why I didn''t force him to let her go.


    Even if I did, he wouldn''t ept the decision, and I might even push him to make some extreme ones.


    That''s why I want to give him some time to cool down and think through his actions. During this time,


    he will noty a finger on Daphne."


    "Anyway, as long as President Lane doesn''t hurt her, I have no other worries. The rest are their privacy.


    I don''t think we''re in a position to interfere. If we cross a line and make him feel like the entire world is


    against him, he might be pushed to an extreme."


    Sonia replied, "You''re very right."


    "Alright. I will go back to work."


    "Sure." Sonia waved at her.


    After Rita left, Sonia was alone again in the office. She opened her palm and stared at the USB drive


    that was now hot to touch because of her grip. She was drowned in bitterness once more.


    This was Carl''s final gift for her as an apology for what he had done to her. She knew that he meant for


    it to be an apology, and that was the reason she felt upset.


    She never wanted any gift or apology from him. She just wanted him back, but that was impossible


    now.


    She clutched the item tightly but did not n to check the contents, for she was still deep in sorrow


    from Carl''s disappearance. Tina was not as important to her as him.


    Throughout the day, she was in no mood to work. After settling the pile of documents on her desk, she


    spent her time spacing out in her office until it was time to get off work. She perked up a little and drove


    herself back to the hospital.


    At first, she did not n to tell Toby about Carl''s visit today. However, his first question for her was¡­


    "Why did Carl Lee meet you?"


    It hit her that any of her movements would never escape Toby''s eyes. The bodyguards he arranged for


    her were tailing her 24/7. Therefore, they could not miss the event that Carl had visited Paradigm Co.,


    so they proceeded to inform Toby about it.


    "He visited me to discuss important matters." Sonia put down her bag and walked up to him. "But I''m


    surprised that you didn''t call me. You''re being very chill today."


    Carl Lee met with her in the morning, which was around the time Toby got the news, but he surprisingly


    did not make a move on it. That was uncharacteristic of his jealous self.


    Toby put away his book, took her wrist, and pulled her into an embrace. "I wasn''t happy to learn that he


    met with you, but I know he isn''t the Carl who had feelings for you. That''s why I could hold back even if


    I was upset. Plus, I don''t want to stress you out and make you think of me as a clingy man who checks


    in with you all day."


    "Well, you still asked me about it when I came in!" She gave him a yfully using look.


    He chuckled. "I didn''t want to bring it up until I saw your swollen eyes. Did you cry?"


    She pursed her ming red lips; her silence was an admission.


    "I had to ask you about the meeting because you cried. Did he upset you?" He gazed at the woman in


    his arms.


    Sonia shook her head. "No, he didn''t, but he told me a truth that I cannot ept."


    "And what is that?" Toby frowned.


    She wiggled out of his arms, and tears welled up in her eyes once more. "Toby, Carl''s gone!"


    "What?" He was taken aback. Soon, he looked shocked after digesting her words. "Do you mean that


    the host personality ''Carl'' was gone?"


    She would address only the host personality as Carl.


    Sonia answered, "Yes. Carl Lee told me that Carl was unable to face the things he had done to me. He


    was afraid I''d resent him and refuse to forgive him. That''s why he forced his alter to show up. He


    wanted to escape from the situation and have Carl Lee face it for him."


    Toby nodded. "That''s not impossible. Carl had alwayscked confidence and was a little cowardly. I''m


    not surprised that he chose to escape."


    Her throat was dry. "He even told me that Carl still felt guilty toward me after running away. Two months


    ago, Carl couldn''t stand it anymore and had a conversation with the alter, but it was more of a deal."


    He was fast to guess the deal. "Did Carl ask his alter to take over as the host?"


    "Yes." She shed a bitter smile. "Carl could not face me or himself. That''s why he decided to escape


    by having Carl Lee take over. There will not be a Carl in this world anymore. What''s left is Carl Lee."


    Toby gave her a gentle hug. He felt rather sorry to see her upset.


    Honestly speaking, he was d that his romantic rival, Carl, was gone. Now, he had one less man


    around Sonia to worry about. Still, he knew that Carl''s disappearance would hurt her, and he was


    unable to feel happy about the situation, seeing how miserable she looked.


    "Carl had always been rathercking in confidence, and dare I say¡ªa little extreme. I bet he''d already


    thought of vanishing from the world for a long time. Why else would hee up with an alter-


    personality? I guess you were the reason he had an alter but did not let the alter take over. He met you,


    and he suppressed the existence of his alter. In front of you, he put up the front of an obedient sibling


    until he did you wrong. That''s when he was scared that you''d hate him. As he was unable to ept his


    wrongdoing, he decided to vanish. To be honest, his fate was destined from the start," Toby concluded


    calmly while caressing her hair.


    Given Carl''s personality, he would drive himself to destruction one day. Hence, his disappearance was


    not a surprise.


    "But why didn''t he ask me at all? That fool! He never asked for my forgiveness nor confirmed if I hated


    him. Had hee to me, I''d tell him that I have forgiven him. I didn''t me him at all. Perhaps he


    wouldn''t have disappeared this way," she said, choking back tears. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Chapter 1478

    Chapter 1478


    "But you heard it from Carl Lee. He told you Carl was timid and didn''t know how to face you. How could


    he possiblye forward and ask you?"


    Sonia had no words as she wallowed in sadness. He caressed her soft hair. "Don''t be sad. Perhaps


    this is a good ending for him. He had wanted to end his life because he suffered a lot in the past. It''s


    your presence that made him live. He poisoned you because of his one-sided love. You saw him as


    family. No matter what, you''d never ept his love. Given his gloomy personality, he''d only spend his


    life in depression and even drive himself to extreme actions. That''s why it''s good that he vanished and


    freed himself from his troubled one-sided love."


    She closed her eyes. "Carl¡­"


    "Did Carl Lee find you just to tell you that?" he questioned.


    Her eyes fluttered open, and she shook her head. "Not only that, he told me that Carl had asked him to


    agree to something in return for the takeover. He came to me just for this."


    "Was the deal rted to you?" Toby hit the bull''s eye again.


    She said, "Yeah. Carl knew that I had been looking for Tina. He asked Carl Lee to find it for me. Since


    he also shared Carl''s hacker skills, he contacted famous hackers around the world to search for Tina,


    and they seeded." Then, she took out the USB drive from her bag. "It''s all in here."


    "Have you checked it out?" He nced at the USB drive.


    She shook her head. "No, I haven''t. I was too sad after learning about Carl and wasn''t in the mood to


    check out the contents. I''d look like someone who didn''t care about him otherwise."


    "It''s alright. Let''s check it together." He squeezed her hand.


    "I''ll get theptop." She went into the study and emerged with aptop in her arms. He patted the seat


    beside him, gesturing at her to sit beside him.


    She obliged, took off her shoes, and climbed onto the bed. After that, she leaned against him and put


    theptop between them.


    After connecting the USB drive to theptop, Toby typed on the keyboard, and a folder popped up on


    the screen. He clicked on it to find a vast number of photos and information.


    Upon closer inspection, he realized that the files were organized chronologically. So, he went ahead


    and click on the first file. There was a photo of a flight ticket from Seafield to Kosovo, and the


    passenger was listed as Tina Gray. Moreover, the ticket was dated three days after she faked her


    death.


    "So, Tina did go to Kosovo. Melody and Cynthia weren''t lying," Sonia remarked and pursed her lips.


    Toby silently clicked on the second file, which contained details from a stic surgery clinic.


    She was surprised to see that. "What is this about? stic surgery clinic? Did she go for stic


    surgery?"


    He squinted his eyes. "She knew I wouldn''t take much time to find her, given my ability. This was her


    best choice to hide from me. stic surgery was usible. We were misled from the start because we


    never considered this possibility. That''s why it''s hard for us to find her."


    "Oh, is that so?" She pursed her lips. "How clever of her."


    He scrolled down and found a signed consent form for stic surgery. The photo showed Tina''s


    signature on the consent form, where the types of surgery were listed as well.


    After Sonia skimmed through the list, she took a sharp breath. "Oh my god! How many surgeries were


    there? She changed her entire face."


    "It''s the safest to look nothing like herself from before." Unsurprised, Toby clicked on the third file.


    It showed the payment slip for the stic surgeries. Tina was listed as the patient, but Connor Salzburg


    was the one who paid for the surgeries.


    Toby and Sonia''s minds went nk at that point. Since he was the one who paid for Tina''s face job, it


    possibly meant that she was the same person as the woman around him, Anya.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    They exchanged nces and found the same suspicion in each other''s eyes. Still, they silently


    checked out the rest of the files in unspoken agreement.


    The fourth file was slightly different. It was a photo of a payment slip from a famous orthopedic hospital


    in Kosovo. The content was straightforward¡ªa consent form for a height-lengthening surgery.


    That brought back memories of Tim''s words. He had mentioned that Anya got her entire face done, and


    she went for a height-lengthening surgery as well.


    The photos that followed were unrted to hospital forms. Instead, they disyed the process of Tina''s


    surgery from the moment she was wheeled into the operating room to the point when the bandages


    were taken off. They witnessed the transformation of Tina Gray into Anya Steinfeld through the photos.


    After going through them, both of them fell silent. A whileter, Sonia clutched her fists and remarked,


    "I can''t believe that we hunted this long for Tina just to find that she''s right around us! None of us


    suspected that."


    As no one would have thought that Tina got stic surgery, they would not associate her with Anya.


    Additionally, Anya''s demeanor waspletely different from Tina, leading everyone to think they were


    unconnected in any way. Because of that, no one would have deduced they were the same person.


    "It''s not toote. Now that we know Anya is Tina, and she''s with Connor, we can kill two birds with one


    stone and save some time," Toby suggested with a dark look in his eyes.


    Sonia agreed and nodded. "When will we make a move?"


    "There''s no rush. We still have one final step. I need some time to collect some evidence. Anyway, I


    have Connor and Anya under my surveince. We shouldn''t worry about any issues." He squinted.


    She did not ask further questions after seeing his confidence. She put theptop away and was


    suddenly reminded of an important matter. "Honey, how did Tina and Connor know each other?"


    It was a question that puzzled Toby too. He answered through pursed lips, "I don''t know. They are so


    different from each other. It''s a wonder how they came across each other and got acquainted. Look,


    Tina immediately contacted Connor after she faked her death. There must be some rtionship


    between them that we don''t know."


    "It''s okay. No matter how they got acquainted, both are our enemies now. We just need to get rid of


    them." Sonia was cool about it.


    Indeed, they should get rid of their enemies decisively without hurting any innocents in the process.


    Naturally, they did not need to worry about unimportant details of the rtionship between Tina and


    Connor. The most pressing matter at hand was to get rid of them.


    "You''re right." He put an arm across her shoulder and chuckled.


    Later in the day, Tom dropped by to report to Toby about work. He arrived just in time for Toby to hand


    him the USB drive, which Tom epted with a perplexed look. "President Fuller, what is this?"

 Chapter 1479

    Chapter 1479


    "Anya Steinfeld is Tina." Toby revealed. "Evidence of her identity change is in here. You should take a


    look at them."


    "What? Anya is Tina?" Tom''s voice raised as he was surprised.


    "Yes. They''re the same person." Toby confirmed.


    It took Tom a while to calm down. "Got it. I''ll go through them and send more men off to keep an eye on


    them."


    That was exactly why Toby gave him the USB drive.


    "Retreat those who are in Kosovo and Westsanshire." They could now put an end to the search since


    Tina was found.


    Tom nodded. "I''ll do as you say."


    "And inform Melody and Cynthia about Anya''s true identity. I bet they won''t be able to hold back their


    interest." The corner of Toby''s lips curved upward.


    Once Melody, the crazy woman, caught wind of Tina''s whereabouts, things would be interesting.


    "Of course, though, remind them to keep their schemes under the radar. If their ns reach Connor''s


    ears, forget about revenge, they gotta watch out for their lives when the timees," Toby added.


    Melody and Cynthia''s impediment would get in Connor''s way, giving Toby the upper hand. Most


    importantly, it was an endeavor to see if they could force Connor in giving away information that Toby


    needed to save up some time.


    "I''ll get to it." Tom understood what Toby mean and left the hospital.


    Sonia returned from the OB-GYN department with the medicines only to see the man in deep musing in


    his wheelchair. "Has Mr. Brown left?"


    Toby raised his head as his gaze softened. "Yeah."


    "Something on your mind?" She set the medicines aside, and he told her honestly.


    She prodded between his brows. "Don''t draw your brows together. No matter what, it''s easy to bring


    Connor and Anya down as long as they''re under our watch."


    "You''re right." He smiled.


    Sonia looked out of the window. "It''s dark outside, and the streetlights are turned on. Care for some


    fresh air?"


    Now, Toby was able to leave the patient room for a change of environment. Since he did not want to


    stay in the room, he dly epted the suggestion and so Sonia pushed him to the garden.


    Many people gathered there as the new year''s atmosphere brought liveliness to the ce. Knowing


    that the man disliked busy settings, she pushed him to a quiet corner that came with a bench.


    She seated herself before wrapping a scarf around his neck, treating him like a porcin doll.


    He found it hrious. "Am I that weak and fragile like a doll?"


    She nodded. "You are a delicate person to me, and I''m doing this so you can get back to your feet as


    soon as possible. It pains me to see you in such a state."


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    He held her hand. "Thanks, honey. I''ll get better soon."


    "That''ll be for the best." Sonia rested her head on his shoulder, and he told her about the things he


    ordered Tom to do.


    She smiled. "Melody and Cynthia should know about it. It''s about time to bring justice to the victims and


    make Tina repent for her misdeeds."


    She handed him a ss of warm milk. Although he did not like it, he drank all of it since she prepared


    it.


    It was good for his health, and he was coerced into finishing it under Sonia''s threat. Thus, he had no


    choice but to down that whole ss of milk.


    Her phone suddenly rang. She shifted her gaze from the drinking man to take a look at it.


    "Who is it?" The man bit the straw, showing evidence of torture through his eyes because of the


    unptable milk.


    "It''s the police." She showed her phone to him. "It must be about Asher''s case. I''ll talk over the phone,


    so hurry up and finish it, or it''ll be cold."


    The man hummed in response as his suffering went unheeded by Sonia, who answered the call


    immediately.


    A couple of minutester, the call was terminated, and he heaved a breath upon finishing the milk.


    Sonia grabbed and tossed the milk carton into the nearby trash can. "The officer reminded me to attend


    Asher''s trial, which ising up."


    "I''ming with you," Toby said.


    She shook her head. "No. You should get some rest at the hospital. Plus, there are many ces you


    can apany me to in the future. Now''s not the time."


    Despite the reluctance, he kept silent on the notion that she would not yield to whatever he was going


    to say. She cupped his cheeks tofort the displeased man. "Now, now. What''s with that long face?"


    He stared at her. "It''s not that I''m unhappy, but I just hate that I can''t keep youpany right now


    because of my surgery."


    She shed him a sweet smile. "Are you hearing yourself? This is only temporary, and rest assured you


    will be going everywhere with me in the future! Don''t be sad, okay?"


    Toby freed himself from her hands. "Don''t treat me like a baby."


    "So, should I treat you like a big baby?" Sonia blinked at him, tickling his funny bones. She grinned


    along. "Now, that''s more like it. Being happy is the most important thing. Alright. It''s almost time now.


    Let''s have a walk before returning to the room."


    Under Toby''s agreement, she pushed him another round around the garden and went back to the


    room.


    The night tinted the sky dark. Sonia gave Charles a call while Toby was showering.


    Since Charles and Carl were good friends, she figured that Charles had the right to know about his


    disappearance.


    To her surprise, Charles was rather chill because he foresaw that day woulde. He and Toby


    shared the same notion. It might be because they were men, so they understood Carl''s nature more


    than she did.


    Thus, Carl''s disappearance was within Charles'' prediction. "What''s meant to be will alwayse," he


    commented upon hearing the news from her.


    Inparison with Charles and Toby''s reaction, she was disappointed; she was disappointed in


    herself, not in them.


    I imed to be Carl''s family, yet I didn''t know him very well. Otherwise, I would''ve known that he had


    gone into self-destruction mode. He became like this all because of me. I didn''t care enough for him. If


    only I had understood more about him and his inner thoughts and spent more time talking over them


    with him, he might not have made such a choice.


    Sonia thought it was partly her fault that Carl ended up like that.


    She did not talk to Charles from that day forth, neither did she ask if he had arrived at a conclusion


    after many days. She knew he woulde to her once he figured things out, but he had yet to do so.


    Perhaps, he still had a long way to go.

 Chapter 1480

    Chapter 1480


    I''ll give him some more time, Sonia thought.


    Subsequently, the bathroom door opened from the inside, and Toby wheeled himself out. He noticed


    she was currently holding her phone in a dazed state, so he asked, "Who were you on the phone


    with?"


    He heard her talking to someone when he was showering. There was no one else in this room other


    than the two of them, so she could only be talking to someone on the phone.


    Sonia did not hide things from him and wheeled him over to the bed. "I was talking to Charles. I


    reckoned that I should let him know about Carl''s disappearance since he''s friends with him. It''s not


    something we should keep a secret, anyway."


    "So, what was his reaction?" He sat by the edge of the bed.


    She tucked him into bed. "Charles reacted the same way as you did. He said he expected this day from


    the start."


    "Not surprising." He leaned half of his body against the headboard. "Carl had always been transparent,


    so everyone could easily predict his ultimate ending."


    "But I couldn''t!" The gloomy Sonia lowered her eyelids.


    Tobyforted her by ruffling her hair. "This isn''t your fault. You were busy enough dealing with


    Paradigm Co., so you didn''t have the energy and time to consider anything else. Forget about it, and


    stop ming yourself. It''s time for you to go to bed."


    She looked at him and tried to force a smile as she grunted affirmatively and got into bed.


    It was a restless night for her, and she dreamt of Carl. Inside her dream, he stood in a darkened spot


    and smiled at her. As she dashed over delightedly, he stopped her from approaching and bid her


    goodbye.


    Following that, he turned around and headed toward the endless darkness. He took a few steps


    forward, and his body shimmered and evolved into stars before disappearing into thin air.


    Frantic, she rushed forward to try to stop him from disappearing, but she was not quick enough. In the


    end, she managed to grab some glittering starlight left of Carl. Even so, she could not hold on to the


    specks, which vanished in her palm.


    At that point, she broke down and fell to the ground as she sobbed in the darkness, inconsble.


    After wailing for some time, she heard a faint voice echoing through the dimension. Darling¡­


    She lifted her head slowly and noticed a sh of light on top of her. Then, a slender hand stretched out


    from the glint toward her.


    Instinctively, she reached out to grasp the hand. After gripping it, she felt the darkness around her fade


    and finally dissipatepletely. Instead, there was a sea of brightness in return.


    Sonia shivered and suddenly opened her eyes to realize she was next to Toby. The surroundings were


    bright because it was now daytime.


    The man finally heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing her widened eyes. "You''re awake!"


    In response, she turned to look at Toby, whose head lowered while staring at her with a worried


    expression. Slightly confused, she blinked and asked, "What happened?"


    "You had a bad dream." He held out a piece of tissue and tenderly wiped the side of her eyes for her. "I


    heard you speaking in your dreams just as dawn was about to break. When I woke up, I heard you


    mention Carl''s name repeatedly. Then, you started to sob. I knew by then that you must''ve dreamt of


    him. I didn''t n to wake you up, but after seeing your sobs get out of control, I decided to do so. I


    didn''t expect to fail despite multiple attempts and was worried."


    Sonia noticed the dark circles underneath his eyes and knew he must have trouble falling asleep


    because of her. As such, she could not help feeling guilty.


    She turned to the side and wrapped her arms around his waist before snuggling her face into his chest.


    "I''m sorry for making you worry."


    "I''m your husband, so it''s my duty to be concerned about your well-being." He patted her gently on her


    lower back. "So, what happened in your dream with Carl?"


    She bit her lower lip. "He said goodbye to me." Subsequently, she told him everything that happened in


    her dreams.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    After hearing her recount, heforted her and said, "Although dreams aren''t real, this is a good thing


    too. At least you got the chance to see him. Why don''t you treat this dream as his final words for you?"


    She had no choice but to nod affirmatively. After all, Carl was gone, so there was nothing else she


    could do other than take this dream as his farewell.


    She knew she could not summon him back into consciousness, so she decided to ept the reality.


    At that moment, Sonia nced at the ring on her right middle finger. It was a gift from Carl that she had


    worn since she filed for divorce from Toby.


    After the couple got back together, there were times when Toby found the ring an eyesore and wanted


    to get rid of it, but she managed to stop him from doing so.


    She appreciated the ring very much and could not bear to take it off because it was a gift from Carl.


    Yet, at that moment, she had no choice but to remove it.


    She would store the ring safely and keep it as a final remembrance, but she would no longer wear it on


    her hand because she was worried that it would be damaged if she wore it all the time. By then, she


    would have nothing to remember him by.


    Sonia sat up from Toby''s arms and slowly removed the ring from her finger in front of him.


    She had three rings worn on both hands. One was from Carl, which upied her right middle finger.


    The others were her wedding rings from Toby. One was purchased in a mall six years ago when they


    married but was auctioned off by herter. With millions, he won the bid and ended up retrieving their


    first wedding ring. After they got back together, he returned the ring to her, which settled on her left


    middle finger from then on.


    Lastly, the third ring was the one Toby instructed Tom to purchase on his behalf before the new year


    when they registered their marriage. She wore that on her left ring finger.


    Now that she had removed Carl''s ring, only two wedding rings were on her left hand.


    On that note, Toby also wore the same ones on his left ring and middle finger.


    His eyes sparkled upon seeing Sonia remove the ring, and he tried to suppress a smile as he asked,


    "Why did you remove it?"


    She wrapped the ring in a piece of tissue and replied, "I want to store it as a remembrance. I won''t


    wear it anymore. I can bring it out and reminisce about Carl when I miss him. If I keep wearing the ring,


    it might damage, which would be a disaster."


    In response, Toby nodded as an acknowledgment. He could not seem to contain the happiness in his


    eyes. Indeed, that ring had been an eyesore for years! Rings were supposed to be sacred, so they


    should not be gifted at random.


    Carl had given Sonia a ring, so clearly, he had an ulterior motive. She was the only one who truly


    believed that his gift was a token of brotherly love with no romance behind it.


    As such, Toby had always hoped to remove that ring from her finger and get rid of it. Due to her


    reluctance, he could only convince himself to ignore it since he did not wish to remove it forcefully and


    upset her. Still, the ring remained an annoying reminder of his vow to feign ignorance and so he


    persevered until today.


    Initially, he thought the ring would settle on her finger for the rest of her life, but life had always been full


    of twists and surprises. At longst, she removed it!


    Meanwhile, Sonia could vividly sense the joy radiating from the man. It was further confirmed when she


    raised her gaze and caught the exhration in his eyes.


    Amused, she said, "Careful. Your excitement is showing."

 Chapter 1481

    Chapter 1481


    "As it should." Toby did not hide his happiness and admitted it graciously. "Not a single man can ept


    their wife cing such importance on a ring gifted by another man."


    "Now that I''ve removed the ring, it won''t be an eyesore anymore, right?" Sonia shot him a withering


    look.


    He responded with a gracious smile. "Yep! All good!"


    "Hmph." She snorted petntly and uncovered the nket to get out of bed. Subsequently, she ced


    the ring into her bag and nned to buy a box to store it on her way to workter. The final step would


    be to keep the item in her safe.


    As for Toby, he sat up in bed, no longer intending to sleep. His recovery progress was great, and he


    could now prop himself up without constant help.


    With the strength of his elbows, he could easily support himself, albeit tiring. Still, he was happy


    enough to do things for himself and not be a burden to Sonia.


    "You must be hungry." She returned to his bedside after putting away the ring.


    He nodded slightly in response. "Kinda."


    "I''ll wheel you over to freshen up, then I''ll order breakfast for us." She pushed his wheelchair over, after


    which he agreed and got out of bed himself to be seated.


    Throughout the process, Sonia did not offer help. That was because she knew he did not want any,


    which aligned with his usual behavior. All in all, Toby wanted to pertain his dignity to not be a


    ''useless'' individual.


    Since he could manage fine by himself, she did not insist but gave him the freedom to proceed.


    Breakfast was delivered to them shortly, and it arrived right after they freshened up. The food was as


    nd as things could get. It was an unfavorable situation, but there was a lot of food that the couple


    had to refrain from eating. Therefore, they had no choice but to tolerate the nd meals for now.


    Surely, things would improve soon.


    After breakfast, Sonia bid farewell to Toby and left for work.


    Along the way, she drove past a shopping mall and entered a jewelry shop to buy an exquisite ring box.


    Subsequently, she went back into the car and took out the wrapped-up ring from her bag before cing


    it carefully into the box.


    From now on, she would only take this ring out of the box when she missed Carl. She did not wish to


    see the ring at any other moment because she refused to experience sadness when reminded of his


    demise.


    ¡­


    In a blink of an eye, a month went by swiftly. Toby''s recovery progress over the month had been


    astounding to Sonia, who was fairly pleased by it.


    Currently, he was no longer required to be hospitalized and was allowed to return to work at Fuller


    Group. Although he had to stay at the hospital at night, he was allowed to go out in the morning to sort


    out his matters.


    Other than that, he no longer needed a wheelchair to get around and could stride normally. As long as


    he did not attempt to run or jump, there was no risk of his heart mispositioning itself.


    At least on the surface now, he was a ''normal'' functioning man who had nearly recovered.


    Contrary to his great recovery, Sonia was in a bad state. She was not in the most suitable health


    condition to carry a child at the moment, but that was the reality. She had no choice but to endure the


    hardships and nurture the baby healthily.


    Disregarding the fact that the baby was a product of her and Toby''s love, she knew she had to keep the


    baby because the option of abortion would hinder her ns to be a mother again.


    The consequence of keeping this baby was that she would go through way more difort than any


    other normal expectant mother because she fell pregnant before fully recovering. As such, in


    comparison to the other mothers, she would end up suffering more.


    For example, she was less than eight weeks into her pregnancy, yet she was already experiencing


    morning sickness. Her face was as pale as a sheet from throwing up every day, and her body ached


    severely.


    Most expectant mothers would generally experience morning sickness at about eight weeks of


    pregnancy onward, but she experienced that at an earlier stage. On top of that, she had to ingest a lot


    of medications and receive injections just to ensure a smooth pregnancy.


    It was to the point where she trembled upon seeing those items, but despite her apprehensions, she


    endured them fearlessly. Otherwise, there was a high chance that she would miscarry.


    As such, Sonia lost a lot of weight over the past month and had a wanplexion, which pained Toby


    to see.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Today, it was time for her obstetrician appointment once again.


    Toby and Tim waited outside the room as Sonia remained inside for the check-up.


    As they waited, Toby''s brows tightly furrowed as he clenched his fists tightly. Had he not been restricted


    to enter with her, he would have rushed into the room out of his immense worry for her.


    He could still vividly remember her pale and gaunt face when she entered the room.


    At that moment, Tim noticed his state and shifted his sses before saying coldly, "Right now, you


    appear to be worried, but what were you thinking of back then?"


    "What do you mean?" Toby narrowed his eyes and turned around.


    Tim had both hands in his pockets. "I mean, you got her pregnant. You wouldn''t be worrying now if you


    had used protection in the first ce."


    In response, Toby pursed his lips. "You mentioned before that she would have issues conceiving within


    these two years and that it would be pretty much impossible. That''s why."


    Otherwise, there was no way on earth he would choose to impregnate her during that period. He found


    it difficult to imagine how much torment she would have to endure for the next eight months. After all,


    the pain was already agonizing enough in the first eight weeks.


    "I did say that, but there are always miracles in this world." Tim shrugged.


    Toby stared at him coldly. "Yes, there are miracles, but not everyone gets to experience one."


    Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected they would be so lucky to experience a huge


    miracle.


    Even Tim was rendered speechless at that point. Yes, miracles can be so hard to predict. Some pray


    fervently for a miracle to happen but never experience anything. Meanwhile, Toby and Sonia didn''t


    want a miracle, but they somehow got to experience it. What can anyone do about this?


    "Is it truly unadvisable to abort this child?" Suddenly, Toby asked Tim.


    Stunned, Tim replied, "What do you mean by that? Do you want her to?"


    "If the existence of this baby continues to cause her so much suffering and agony, I don''t mind giving


    them up. I''d rather wait for her to be in perfect health condition before we n for a child than to see


    her in so much pain," Toby said with a somber expression.


    Tim shrugged. "Unfortunately, you don''t get a choice. You must keep this child. I told you before that if


    you choose to terminate the pregnancy, judging by her current health status, she would not be able to


    conceive for the rest of her life. That''s why, even if this child would cause her torture, she has no choice


    but to keep this child. An exception would be if she can ept being childless for the rest of her life,


    but do you think that''s possible?"


    Of course not! Toby lowered his eyes and knew the answer well.


    Even today, he knew she harbored guilt deep inside toward the child she miscarried in the past, so


    there was no way she would give up again.


    "Look, you can''te up with the words to say because you know the oue as well. You guys must


    keep this baby." Tim tucked his hands back into the pockets of his white coat.


    At that moment, Toby shut his eyes. "Is there any way of preventing her suffering?"


    "No," Tim replied directly without considering the question. "Though there is a strong advancement in


    the medical world, there are some things that can''t be achieved. She has no choice but to suffer


    through pregnancy to keep this child. Don''t worry, though, we will try our best to alleviate her pain. As


    I''ve said, she''ll need more bed rest in the future for her condition. However, I didn''t expect her morning


    sickness to be so severe even at just barely eight weeks. It looks like she will have to be put on bed


    rest from now on. Otherwise, if her condition worsens, there is a high chance of miscarriage even if we


    do everything in our power to stabilize her pregnancy."

 Chapter 1482

    Chapter 1482


    "So, you mean that it will be best if she''s hospitalized from now on to keep the baby?" Toby asked with


    narrowed eyes.


    Tim confirmed, saying, "Yes. Her body is too weak, and her uterus hasn''t recovered. She can''t be on


    her feet for a long time outside, or else an ident like miscarriage could happen and even lead to two


    deaths if medical help is dyed."


    Toby''s pupils shrank. "Two deaths?"


    That sounds serious.


    "Yes, that''s very likely to happen." The expression on Tim''s face was very serious and he didn''t look


    like he was kidding at all. Furthermore, he never kidded around. "Because of that, I suggest that she


    starts hospitalization and treatment right away. This is the best for her and her baby."


    Toby held his hands into fists. "I got it. Once she''s out, I''ll speak about it with her. Please help to make


    the arrangements first."


    "Okay, I''m going now." Nodding softly, Tim then twirled and left.


    Left alone at the same spot, Toby kept his eyes glued on the big doors in front of him with a heavy


    heart that was filled with worry, waiting for Sonia toe out.


    The current Toby was just like Sonia who waited for him outside back then when he was in surgery.


    After almost two hours of waiting, Sonia finally came out.


    Holding her belly, Sonia walked over with a pale face.


    Seeing this, Toby rushed to her and held her in his arms. "How are you feeling? Are you still feeling


    ufortable?"


    In his embrace, Sonia sounded weak as she said, "I feel better now, not as ufortable as earlier."


    Toby led her into the seats at the side. "What are the results of the checkup?"


    Resting on his shoulder, she closed her eyes a little. "The results are okay. The doctor said that the


    reaction was so great that I was affected and made me sick. It''s nothing serious, actually."


    Only after hearing that could he rest his jittery heart at ease a little.


    Then, Toby told Sonia about his conversation with Tim earlier. "Tim suggests that you start


    hospitalization right away and rest for the sake of the baby, and I wish that as well. That way, it''s good


    for both you and the baby. What do you think?"


    Even though he wanted to make the decision directly on her behalf, he decided not to in the end


    because he respected her opinion.


    After hearing his part, Sonia jerked up her head suddenly. "Hospitalization starts right away?"


    "Yes." Looking into her eyes, he nodded.


    She bit her lower lip in hesitation. "If I''m hospitalized now, what about Paradigm?"


    "I can send someone to manage it for you, or you can arrange someone yourself, but whatever the


    method, I wish that you''ll check into the hospital. Your situation now is very dangerous, and Tim said


    that there''s even a chance of two deaths in your situation." Tightening his arms around her, he hugged


    her so close that it was as though he wanted to meld her into his own body.


    As if there wouldn''t be two deaths if he did this.


    In all honesty, Sonia was shocked and scared by what he just said, and her already pale face turned


    even paler.


    "Why is it so serious?" she muttered, blinking in confusion.


    With hisrge palm, he held the back of her head and rested her head on his chest. "That''s because


    your body is weak and hasn''t recoveredpletely yet. That''s why pregnancy is dangerous for you. In


    your current condition, you''re not allowed to be going ces outside or working for long hours. Honey, I


    hope that you''ll agree to the hospitalization. Don''t worry about thepany. There are lots of capable


    people in this world. Even if you''re worried, it''s time to let go sometimes."


    Sonia''s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. A few secondster, she sighed. "Okay, I''ll


    check into the hospital."


    He has a point, she thought. Thepany may be important, but my life and the baby are more


    important.


    Furthermore, thepany had stabilized and wouldn''t have any big issues due to her prolonged


    absence.


    On the other hand, if she was worried about thepany and insisted on working, not only would she


    lose her baby, she might even lose her life in the end.


    Therefore, she should really let go of thepany and not ce her and her baby''s life in second


    ce.


    When she had straightened out her thinking and agreed, the knot between Toby''s brows rxed.


    "Great, we''ll proceed with the procedures now. I''ve already asked Tim to arrange the rest. After this,


    take care of your health and don''t worry about anything else. I''m here for you." He paused and kissed


    her forehead. "Actually, I''ve already considered forcing you to agree if you''re not agreeing. I can''t just


    watch as you stubbornly disregard your life. But luckily, you didn''t let me down."


    Sonia chuckled. "Don''t make me sound like a workaholic who only cares about thepany but not


    myself and my baby. I can still differentiate which is more important, life or thepany."


    "That''s good," he said, stroking her hair.


    Just then, Sonia''s gynecologist came over and passed the examination report to her, even giving her


    some advice on points to watch out for and suggestions.


    One of the suggestions was, just as Tim said, hoping that she would hospitalize herself to keep the


    baby safe because her condition was risky and unsuitable to be going ces outside.


    Now, everyone was giving her the same advice. From this, it was clear that her condition now was


    critical, so she was kind of d that she could straighten out her thinking and agree to the


    hospitalization. Otherwise, she couldn''t imagine how it would end up.


    That night, she checked into a new ward specially prepared for pregnantdies like her.


    When she moved in, Toby also informed Rose and the others about this.


    After all, this was such a huge matter that he shouldn''t hide it from them, and neither could he.


    Rose often called to ask about how they were doing, so she easily found out about their current


    situation.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Rather than letting her find out and get angry, Toby would prefer to tell her directly.


    The minute Rose knew that Sonia''s condition was bad, she wanted to visit her at the hospital


    immediately. In the end, it was Sonia and Mary who persuaded her together and managed to stop her


    from going.


    It was alreadyte at night and the others would be worried if Rose was going to make the trip at her


    age.


    Even though Rose didn''te, Mary did, and she even brought a lot of supplements, visiting Sonia on


    Rose''s behalf.


    Upon seeing how pale and skinny Sonia was, even Mary was shocked. "My god, how did you lose so


    much weight, Young Mistress Sonia?"


    Sitting on the bed, Sonia smiled. "Don''t worry, Madam Mary. I''ve just been feeling very nauseated


    recently and can''t eat anything. That''s why I ended up this way. It should get better after some time."


    Despite what she said, she wasn''t confident whether she would get better or not. All that was just said


    tofort Mary so she wouldn''t worry.


    Next to them, Toby warmed up a ss of milk which he then passed to Sonia. Then, he said to Mary,


    "Rest assured, Madam Mary. After this, I''ll think of ways to have her eat something to quickly restore


    her health."


    Mary nodded. "She should get better quickly. What did the doctor say?" she asked.


    After asking all these, it would be easier to exin to Rose when she returnedter.


    Knowing that, Toby told her everything honestly¡ªwhat the doctors said and Sonia''s current condition.


    After listening to him, Mary sighed repeatedly. "How did it end up like this?"


    "It''s alright, Madam Mary. I''m already hospitalized, so there''s nothing else to worry about, and nothing


    like that will happen. Easy." Sonia smiled, looking very rxed, and Mary turned to her.


    "Young Mistress Sonia, how about this? After this, I''ll speak to Old Mrs. Fuller and ask her to let me


    take care of you here. What do you think about this? Young Master Toby is a man and doesn''t know


    how to take care of a pregnant woman well. I''ll stay here and take care of you. That way, everyone can


    be assured."


    A light shed in Sonia''s eyes, tempted by her suggestion. Mary had taken care of Toby''s mother when


    she was pregnant as well as Jean during her pregnancy. So, she was definitely a professional when it


    came to pregnancy care.


    With Mary to take care of her, a new mother, Sonia wouldn''t bepletely clueless. In addition, she


    wouldn''t befortable if they had to hire another nanny.


    "But if you''re here, what about Grandma''s side?" This was Sonia''s biggest concern.

 Chapter 1483

    Chapter 1483


    Rose''s health wasn''t the best and she needed someone by her side to take care of her.


    Knowing Sonia''s concern, Mary was about to say something when Toby beat her to it. "Don''t worry, I''ll


    ask Olivia to take care of Grandma while Madam Mary stays here to take care of you. This makes me


    more assured."


    Mary nodded in agreement. "Yes, Young Mistress Sonia, that''s what''s on my mind as well. Olivia is also


    at the mansion, anyway. Although she''s usually only working in the kitchen, she used to take care of


    Old Mrs. Fuller together with me in the past. But because she''s a good cook, she asked to work in the


    kitchen to specially cook for Old Mrs. Fuller. She still has what it takes to take care of Old Mrs. Fuller,


    no doubt. So, there''s nothing to worry about."


    Hearing that from both of them, Sonia felt more rxed and smiled at Mary. "Okay, I''ll have to trouble


    you after this, Madam Mary."


    "Don''t mention it." Chuckling, Mary said, "All of us wish for you to be well and have a smooth delivery.


    Alright, I''m going to tell this to Old Mrs. Fuller first."


    "Let me do it." Toby took out his cell phone. "For something like this, it''s better for me as the husband to


    do it. Please prepare something that Little Leaf can eat during this period, Madam Mary. She hasn''t


    eaten much yet today."


    He had prepared a lot of food for her and used all sorts of tricks and methods just to make her eat


    something. However, every time she ate, she would feel uneasy, so she hadn''t eaten much until now,


    not to mention that she had thrown up all that she ate.


    It pained him to see her like this, but there was nothing he could do.


    While she was a first-time mother, he was also a father for the first time.


    The new parents didn''t know a lot of things. Even if Mary didn''te over and offered to take care of


    her, he had nned to look for an experienced nanny to do the job.


    With a professional around, all of them could sleep better at night.


    Butpared to outsiders, Toby preferred to have Mary at her side to take care of her. This way, he


    was more assured.


    Upon hearing that Sonia hadn''t eaten much, Mary became anxious and hurriedly answered, "Okay,


    okay, right away."


    Then, she started to get busy, whereas Toby took a seat next to Sonia. Gently, he held her in his arms,


    dialed Rose''s number, and told her about Mary staying behind to take care of Sonia.


    When Rose found out that Sonia''s condition was bad, she was very heartbroken, and upon learning


    that they would like to have Mary as help, she agreed without hesitation and even said that she wanted


    to send Olivia over as well, but Toby and Sonia turned her down in the end.


    Mary was rich in experience. With both of them¡ªher and Toby, who would visit frequently¡ªthat was


    more than enough to take care of Sonia.


    Wouldn''t it be a waste of talent if Olivia came over as well?


    Moreover, there would be no one to take care of Rose if Olivia came over, which would worry Toby and


    Sonia.


    In conclusion, one helper at each ce was the best.


    Seeing how determined the young couple was, Rose could only give up on her idea to send Olivia over.


    "If you need help, you must tell me, and don''t hide it from me," she said afterward.


    The couple didn''t reject her this time and gave her their word.


    After that, Rose shared a lot of information regarding pregnancy with Sonia, and from a person who


    knew nothing, she became a first-time mother with a little bit of knowledge.


    At the same time, Toby also transformed.


    Not only did he listen intently, but he also prepared a notebook, making notes while listening to Rose.


    Although the sight was amusing to Sonia, she felt warm in her chest.


    But that wasn''t the only thing that he did. Before Mary arrived, he had sent Tom to buy lots of books for


    a first-time father and pregnancy, all because he would like to prepare himself and be a good husband


    who could take care of his pregnant wife for the months when she was pregnant. Once the baby was


    born, he would like to be a good father who could take care of his child.


    Truth be told, not many men could do this, and there were even more who couldn''t care much from the


    beginning until the end.


    However, Toby, a busypany president, could set aside so much work and spare so much time to


    take care of her and learn these things which had nothing to do with managing apany; this really


    moved Sonia beyond words in her heart.


    Not knowing what was on her mind, Toby looked into her reddened eyes and kissed her dearly on the


    forehead. "Are you hungry?" he asked.


    Sonia put down the phone that had ended the call and muttered softly, "Yeah, a little."


    Of course, she was hungry!


    Nothing was good for her appetite. Knowing that she couldn''t do without food, she suppressed her


    nausea and difort inside and forced herself to eat something.


    Even so, it was useless because she would throw up anything she ate. Her stomach was still empty


    and she was so hungry that her head was spinning.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    If it wasn''t because of the vitamin shot earlier, she might have passed out already.


    "Bear with it a little longer. With Madam Mary''s experience, she''ll probably prepare something that you


    can eat," Toby said gently, holding her in his arms.


    Sonia rested on his chest. "I believe so."


    Even if she couldn''t eat, she had to; even if she would still end up throwing up, she must eat. After all,


    she couldn''t rely on nutrition shots every time.


    Mary was very quick. In less than twenty minutes, she already prepared the food¡ªlemon chicken soup.


    The second the food container opened, the strong smell of lemon reached Sonia''s nostrils.


    Unexpectedly, this smell didn''t make her nauseous, and neither did it disgust her.


    Previously, everything she smelled was odd to her and made her nauseous, but not this smell. On the


    contrary, it made her rx.


    She was also a little curious at her surprise.


    When she wanted to ask about the reason for this phenomenon, Mary chuckled and exined before


    she could, "When I went to prepare food for you, I specially asked the nurse who is taking care of you


    and found out the situation with your appetite. I immediately reckoned that acidic food is more suitable


    for you, and acidic food can curb nausea. So, I went to buy this lemon chicken soup, but it can''t be


    compared to homemade ones. As time is limited now, please make do with this. Later, I''ll prepare some


    ingredients and make delicious homemade food for you."


    "I see. Thank you, Madam Mary," Sonia said with a smile, full of gratitude.


    Toby took the bowl from Mary,dled some into the spoon, and blew on it gently. When the soup wasn''t


    so hot anymore, he fed it to Sonia''s lips.


    In Mary''s presence, Sonia felt a little embarrassed, but her stomach was ufortable from the


    hunger and she knew that she could ept the soup because it didn''t make her nauseous. So, she set


    aside her embarrassment, opened her mouth, and took a sip.


    Next to them, Mary watched them in delight. How nice, she thought. Young Master Toby knows how to


    take care of someone else now, and their rtionship looks very loving.


    "How does it taste?" When Toby observed that Sonia didn''t show any difort after having the soup,


    his tightly knitted brows eased up, and his heart that was in his throat set back in its original spot. This


    is great. Finally, there''s something she can eat.


    "The taste is not bad. Although it''s a little sour, it''s eptable," Sonia described the food, nodding.


    She was a person with a sweet tooth, actually, and she never ate acidic food because she hated it.


    Every time she had something a little acidic, her taste buds would somehow exaggerate the taste and


    she could not ept it at all.


    Now, not only could she ept it, she even kind of liked it.


    "By the way, Madam Mary, does the appetite and tastes change with pregnancy?" she asked. "I never


    took acidic food in the past, and I can''t take it, either, but I can take it now. It''s so weird."


    After she asked that, Toby turned to Mary curiously as well because he would like to know the answer.


    Regarding everything which he didn''t understand about pregnancy, he would review them again and try


    to figure it out. Only then could he take better care of her.

 Chapter 1484

    Chapter 1484


    Looking at Sonia''s curious face and Toby''s resolute expression, Mary didn''t shy away and told them all


    she knew, "Yes. During pregnancy, it is true that women will act in direct contrast to their prior selves,


    and having different taste buds is one of them. Many women don''t eat spicy food before, but they


    suddenly fall in love with spicy food during pregnancy and could take spiciness very well. There are


    others who are just like you who don''t like acidic or sour foods but like them after getting pregnant. All


    these are normal, and there are more who prefer acidic to spicy food."


    "Why is that so?" Sonia asked, puzzled.


    Chuckling, Mary answered, "That''s due to the hormones in a pregnant woman''s body, especially for


    cases like you who have a greater pregnancy reaction and can''t eat anything. If you change the vor


    to acidic, sour or spicy, the feeling of nausea or wanting to throw up will go away."


    "I see." Sonia nodded in a daze.


    Meanwhile, Toby noted everything down directly. That wasn''t the only point he noted as he also asked


    Mary other questions in detail while feeding Sonia.


    When she had finished half of the food and didn''t want more, he wrote down everything from memory


    in the notebook.


    In the afternoon, Tom came and brought a big stack of books with him¡ªeverything that Toby asked for,


    topics on pregnant mothers and being a first-time father.


    Sonia took a quick nce and reckoned there were about twenty to thirty books.


    That''s a lot of books. I wonder if he could really finish them within these few months, she thought. Not


    only Sonia but even Mary was startled by Toby''s n. However, she felt more relief after the shock


    subsided.


    As a woman, Mary was happy that Sonia was doing well and received genuine care and concern from


    her man, and from the bottom of her heart, she was delighted andforted to see Toby this way.


    The teachings in the Fuller Family were a sess. Even after Homer married Jean, who was his


    second wife, she had to admit that Homer didn''t do anyone wrong.


    When Homer was in love with Valerie, he was wholeheartedly devoted to her.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    However, she really had no feelings for him and even encouraged him to seek love elsewhere, which


    he really did in the end, and he found Jean. He fell in love with her and would rather be punished by the


    family than give up marrying her.


    The men from the Fuller Family could be considered loyal and faithful, and they gave more than


    enough attention to their women at the same time. This concluded that the Fuller Family was


    sessful in raising their men.


    I believe Young Master Tyler will turn out the same, Mary thought with a smile. Then, she left the room


    quietly, giving the space to the couple because she knew that they had a lot to speak about.


    If there was no reason for an olddy like her to be present, she decided that she would stay outside of


    the room lest she disturbed their moment.


    Finally, the media reported Sonia''s pregnancy. Coincidentally, when she was having her maternity


    checkup, the wife of a media worker happened to be doing the same and bumped into her and Toby.


    With their status and the fact that they didn''t deliberately hide their identities, they were recognized by


    thisdy, whoter went home and told her husband about it. After that, news of Sonia''s suspected


    pregnancy was published online and sent the Inte into a frenzy.


    Manyizens spected that Sonia and Toby rekindled their marriage so suddenly because she was


    pregnant, and this spection received the agreement of the majority.


    It couldn''t be denied that experts lived amongst themoners and theizens were very smart.


    Meanwhile, Toby and Sonia only learned about this when Tom told them about it over the phone.


    As electronic gadgets such as cell phones produced radiation, both of them avoided using them in the


    ward unless necessary. So, they didn''t follow the news on the Inte and didn''t know that they had


    gone viral again.


    When Toby found out that the media had exposed Sonia''s pregnancy, his brows furrowed more deeply


    than words could describe because he didn''t n to make this public, at least not for now.


    Besides, no matter which culture it was, people were usually hesitant to announce a pregnancy that


    was less than three months because of superstition. Although he didn''t believe it, for Sonia and the


    baby''s sake, he was willing to believe all these things that couldn''t be exined.


    More importantly, they still had a lot of enemies in the dark, and he had no other choice but to be more


    alert. This was why he didn''t n to announce this so quickly.


    Unexpectedly, his n was thwarted because the media had exposed Sonia''s pregnancy now.


    As he browsed through themotion on the Inte, his lips pursed into a tight line, and his face was


    sullen.


    The sight amused Sonia, and she reached out to pull his cheeks outward. "Come on, honey. Don''t be


    so upset anymore. So be it. It''s only a matter of time before this happens, anyway. Moreover, we didn''t


    try to cover up, so it''s not unexpected that it''s exposed. Saves us the trouble of announcing itter,


    right?"


    "These media are everywhere," Toby grumbled.


    Sonia chuckled. "That''s what they do for a living. Of course, they have to be everywhere. Alright now,


    I''m not even upset, so you shouldn''t be as well. Since it''s already public news, we can''t deny it, either.


    Or else when the baby is born, the public will start specting again. We might as well just admit it


    now."


    That''s all that can be done, Toby thought, rubbing his forehead. "I''ll get more people to protect you."


    Sonia nodded as she knew that the news of her pregnancy would cause a lot of people to have ideas


    and they had to pay more attention to her safety.


    After that, Toby logged into his own social media ount to make a post, announcing to the public that


    Sonia was six weeks pregnant.


    His acknowledgment caused another uproar on the Inte, and everyone scrambled to leave


    congrattory messages and blessings in thements section.


    After all, theizens were over the moon for quite a while when he announced their marriage and


    gave out benefits thest time.


    The chances of getting a prize were high, and the majority of theizens received one. Even if they


    didn''t receive the biggest prize, they received a couple hundred in cash as a celebratory present.


    For the sake of these benefits, theizens wouldn''t say a single bad thing at this time.


    In addition, Toby and Sonia were dating before this and were married now. It was normal that she was


    pregnant and there were no cheating or immoral activities involved. Even without those benefits, the


    netizens would give their blessings, too.


    Otherwise, they would be the immoral ones.


    Seeing the blessings of theseizens, Toby felt a little less mad over those mediapanies that


    announced the pregnancy on their own.


    Thereafter, he published another post¡ªanother lucky draw event which was exactly the same as the


    last time when he and Sonia got married.


    After theizens saw this, excitement rushed through them again, and they quickly forwarded and


    commented on the post, terribly worried that their chances would be gone if they were just a second


    late.


    Then, thework crashed for a while.


    The staff quickly restored it, and the second it was fixed, theizens resumed their forwarding and


    commenting. The Inte was bustling with traffic because, at the end of the day, it was cold, hard


    cash that was involved.


    Thest time, someizens even made a calction on how much Toby spent on the benefits.


    The Fuller Group announced the amount to be 15 million, but after theizens'' calctions, they


    realized it was far more than that¡ª30 million, at least.


    Besides the lucky draw event on the Inte, Fuller Group and Paradigm Co. even specially sent their


    employees to distribute candies on the street where theirpanies were located.


    Those were expensive imported candies, and many citizens came to queue up for them after hearing


    about them. Some even received cigars and wine. Thus, theizens reckoned that all those totaled up


    to about 30 million.

 Chapter 1485

    Chapter 1485


    It was the first time theizens had seen such generosity, and there were even rumors that he had


    used the money from his personal ount and not thepany. This went to show how wealthy he


    was; spending 30 million onizens just because he could.


    They were not the first who spent 30 million on benefits for Inte users, though.


    Every year during the new year, thepanies funding major websites would do this, but these


    companies used the money from thepanies'' ounts, unlike Toby who used his personal ount.


    Even though they said there were 30 million for grabs, that was just some vouchers, coupons, and


    other misceneous items. For one to receive cash, even if it was a negligible amount, was considered


    lucky.


    The most ridiculous part was, there weren''t even 30 million, to begin with. The 30-million im was


    nothing but publicity.


    Toby was the first of his kind to fork out 30 million.


    Now, he was again giving away so much money for everyone''s entertainment, and his poprity


    soared all of a sudden to its peak. All the other leading influencers were nothingpared to him and


    he undisputedly became the title holder of ''Perfect Husband.''


    Reading through thements sections, Sonia keptughing at theizens who called Toby their


    husband. "Are you happy?" She showed her cell phone to him. "You''re the husband of so many."


    An unpleasant, gloomy look was on his handsome face. "No, I''m not their husband," he said, taking the


    phone from her. Then, he made another post, asking theizens not to call him their husband


    because he was only Sonia''s husband.


    In response, theizensughed at him and asked whether he was having shortness of breath from


    the anger.


    However, they were joking harmlessly, and Toby wasn''t really mad, either. He simply told them again


    not to call him that because he didn''t like that title, and theizens agreed to his request nicely.


    Ultimately, they were worried about him withdrawing the benefits if they made him mad.


    When they stopped addressing him as their husband, the look on his face turned normal again and he


    called Tom to organize a lucky draw event for them with all expenses to be paid from his private


    ount.


    Soon, Tom''s side came up with the lucky draw links, and theizens stoppedmenting on Toby''s


    comment section. The second the links were shared, all of them moved to the official page of Fuller


    Group to participate in the lucky draw.


    As for the rest, Toby stopped caring about it and set the phone aside, but he had just ced down his


    phone when Sonia''s phone started ringing instead.


    Taking a look, he saw that it was Grace calling, and he reckoned she was calling to ask about Sonia''s


    pregnancy. However, the one who picked up the call was Toby, not Sonia.


    Toby made itpulsory for her to have less contact with electronic devices. Although the radiation


    wasn''t high, he didn''t want her to be in any contact with radiation because her body was very weak


    now.


    Out of wits, Sonia could only let him be. She felt so loved and cherished when she saw how he cared


    about her and wouldn''t be mad at him over it.


    Sure enough, after Toby picked up the call, Grace immediately asked him about Sonia''s pregnancy,


    how she was feeling, how was the child doing, and such.


    Patiently, Toby answered all her questions. Besides keeping from her about how weak Sonia was right


    now, he answered every other question carefully.


    He acted under Sonia''s instructions because she didn''t want to cause Grace any worry. Otherwise,


    given Grace''s personality, she would make frequent visits.


    As Sonia didn''t want to cause her too much trouble, she thought that she should hide some things if


    needed. After all, there were already enough people worried about her.


    After Grace found out from Toby that both Sonia and the baby were doing well, she breathed in relief.


    Before hanging up, she advised him to take good care of Sonia and mentioned that she would visit her


    when she was free.


    He had yet to ce down her phone when it started ringing again. This time, it was Sonia''s


    grandfather, Leonard, who was calling.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    As a leading archeologist, Leonard worked at the ancient tombs in the deep forests, and very rarely


    could he be contacted.


    Otherwise, when Sonia remarried, she would have given him a call directly instead of sending a text


    because she knew that even if she called him, he might not receive it.


    So, she didn''t tell him about her pregnancy and only told him that she was married.


    Much to her surprise, Leonard took the initiative to call her when news of her pregnancy got out, and


    this time, Toby didn''t pick up the call and let Sonia do it instead.


    He knew that she had been missing her only kin, and he allowed her to take the call despite the


    concern about radiation.


    As it turned out, Leonard didn''t know about her marriage or pregnancy. It was his assistant who


    identally saw the news on the Inte during his break time. After seeing this news, he thought that


    Leonard should know about this as he was her only living rtive. Thus, he drove into the mountains


    and told Leonard, who then called her from a satellite phone.


    The second Sonia heard his voice, tears welled up in her eyes and her voice choked, especially when


    she heard him apologizing for neglecting her for the past few months. Bittersweet feelings


    overwhelmed her heart and tears poured down her face.


    Heartbroken to see her cry, Toby took over the phone and conversation.


    Speaking of which, it was the first time Toby spoke to Leonard.


    Old-fashioned and strict, Leonard was an old man who would only appear pleasant when he was with


    Sonia, but not Toby, his grandson-inw.


    That was made worse by the fact that Toby had hurt Sonia in the past, and his attitude toward Toby


    wasn''t the best. Leonard was talking to him like he was a stranger, but that didn''t bother Toby, and


    neither was he mad at it because he knew that any elder couldn''t ignore the mean things he did before.


    So, he was extremely patient and listened humbly to Leonard''s lecture.


    Perhaps it was because of this attitude that Leonard treated him a little better afterward, especially


    when he heard that Toby was now in the hospital taking care of Sonia. As a result of that, Leonard


    became even friendlier.


    Well, he had to be nice to Toby because he wasn''t by Sonia''s side and Toby was the one whom he


    could rely on to take care of her. If he wasn''t nice to Toby, Toby might be mean to Sonia!


    As Toby had set the call to loudspeaker mode, Sonia could tell what the change in Leonard''s attitude


    meant, and that upset her even more.


    In this world, only her kin would set aside his dignity for her.


    After ending the call with Leonard, Toby nced at her bloodshot eyes and passed two pieces of


    tissues to her. "Don''t cry. I''ll bring you to visit your grandfather if you miss him in the future. We can visit


    if we pull some connections."


    Taking the tissues from him, she then wiped the corners of her eyes. "We''ll see. I just haven''t heard his


    voice for ages and can''t hold back because I''m a little sad and happy at the same time."


    "It''s okay." Toby took her into his arms. "Your grandfather said that he''ll apply for leave and visit you


    once you''re about to give birth. With your kin by your side, you can give birth with peace of mind."


    "I know. I heard everything." Sonia sniffled. "And I''m very happy because it''s true that I haven''t seen


    him in a long time."


    "Soon, soon. Just a few more months and you can see him again." nting a kiss on the top of her


    head, he added, "He even said that he''ll bring a present for you."


    "Yeah, I''m looking forward to it," she admitted with a smile.


    While they were chatting, the phone rang again, and it was Charles this time.


    Immediately, Toby''s face turned dark, and he grumbled with a frown, "Why is this guy calling?"


    Chuckling softly, Sonia said, "What else but to ask about my pregnancy?"

 Chapter 1486

    Chapter 1486


    "What''s there to ask about?" Toby muttered with a displeased look. Swiping the button on the phone


    screen with his thumb, he answered the phone.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    As soon as the call was connected, Charles'' loud voice sounded. "Sonny, here I am wondering why


    you are remarrying Toby, that son of a b*tch, when you have yet to take revenge. So, he has


    impregnated you!"


    Son of a b*tch?! The veins on Toby''s temple didn''t stop throbbing even after a few moments. In the


    end, he gave up on suppressing his anger and scolded in a cold voice, "Are you courting death,


    Charles?"


    Charles, who was on the other end of the phone, jumped up in shock. "F*ck! Toby, why is it you?


    Where''s Sonny?" Darn it! It''s Toby who answered the phone! Does this mean those things I said just


    now¡­


    Thinking of this, Charles gasped and got into panic mode. I''m screwed! Toby caught me insulting him!


    He must be holding a grudge against me now.


    "I don''t know!" Toby could not be bothered to answer Charles, and he most certainly didn''t want him to


    talk to Sonia. Hence, he immediately hung up the phone after brushing Charles off indifferently.


    Looking at the gloom written on the man''s handsome face, Sonia covered her lips amusingly. "Now,


    now, let''s not get angry. That''s just how Charles is."


    "This b*stard actually insulted me! Did you hear what he yelled on the phone?" Toby put down the


    phone and looked at her in indignation.


    Sonia nodded. "Yeah." Not only did I hear it just now, but I also heard it quite often. Every time Charles


    mentioned Toby in the past, he would either call him a ''son of a b*tch'' or ''that b*stard,'' so she was not


    surprised at all that Charles would insult Toby like that on the phone just now.


    "Don''t take Charles'' calls from now on. Just hang up if you see it''s a call from him. I fear he will be a


    bad influence on our child." Toby pursed his lips and said coldly.


    Sonia was amused. "What does the baby know? It is only the size of a bean now."


    "I don''t care. ording to the books, a child''s education should start from preborn, which is when the


    baby is still in the womb. It''s called prenatal education." Toby looked at her belly and exined in


    general in a philosophical demeanor.


    Sonia hummed and asked, "And?"


    "Hence, regardless of how young our child is, as parents, we should be on our best behavior. We can''t


    let our child learn all the bad habits when it''s in your womb," Toby borated with a straight face.


    Sonia found Toby''s statement to be both amusing and speechless. "Alright then."


    As she spoke, she stroked her belly. Her voice was gentle as she went on to say, "Baby, did you hear


    that? Your father loves you so much that he stresses your education starting now."


    "This is our child. Of course, I love the child." Toby also looked at her belly with his eyes full of pride.


    Something eventually crossed his mind, and he added, "But don''t you worry, Darling. My love for our


    child will not surpass my love for you. You are the most precious and the one I love the most in my


    heart."


    Sonia couldn''t hold herself and burst intoughter. "Why do you make it sound like I will get jealous of


    my own child?"


    "I know you won''t." Toby shook his head. "I just want you to know that you''re the one I care about the


    most, and not even our child can surpass your importance in my heart."


    "I''m so happy to hear you say that." Sonia leaned in his arms and said with a smile. It''s true that I love


    my child, but which person on earth doesn''t wish to be the most special one in their partner''s heart? I,


    too, wish for the same.


    While the two were chatting, Sonia''s phone rang again.


    Once again, Toby frowned. He looked at Sonia with using eyes, obviouslyining about why


    many people were so calling her up.


    Sonia spread her hands, indicating that she, too, had no idea. Oh, so he''s ming me for being social


    now? Besides, if it wasn''t for the fact that others were afraid of him, he probably would have received a


    whole lot more phone calls than me the moment they found out that he was going to be a father.


    Toby sighed and took Sonia''s phone in resignation.


    However, his face once again turned somber as soon as he saw the caller ID.


    Sensing the man''s displeased aura, Sonia turned her head curiously to take a look at the caller. The


    moment she saw the caller ID shown on the phone screen, she was at a loss whether tough or cry.


    It turned out to be a call from Zane.


    For Toby, the phone call would upset him as long as it was from a man, regardless of who.


    "Still not answering the call?" Sonia looked up at the man.


    The man hung up the phone impassively. "I''m not taking Zane''s calls. I fear he will be a bad influence


    on my child."


    The corner of Sonia''s mouth twitched. "You haven''t even picked up the call, and Zane hasn''t spoken a


    word. How is he a bad influence on our child?" This guy is just being unreasonable, isn''t he?!


    Pursing his lips, Toby told her in a stern tone, "He certainly can. Zane is frivolous, and his fooling-


    around behavior is strongly embedded in him. Even his voice sounds dawdle. I fear our child will turn


    out to be not alright after hearing his voice."


    Sonia facepalmed, sympathizing with Zane from the bottom of her heart. If Zane finds out that Toby


    tainted his image like this, he will probably spring up to his feet and beat Toby up. Whatever! I''ll just let


    Toby be, as long as he''s happy. Moreover, Zane probably can guess that it''s definitely not me but Toby


    the one who hangs up on him.


    It was indeed as Sonia thought. When Zane saw that his call was hung up, he was taken aback for a


    moment before he rolled his eyes and yelled, "It must be Toby!"


    In order to make sure that Sonia stopped receiving calls that could disturb their peace, Toby straight


    away turned off her phone.


    His tightly furrowed brows only rxed after he turned off the phone.


    Sonia just let him do whatever he wanted, not worried about the impact of having her phone switched


    off. After all, I have handed over thepany''s management to the person Toby assigned, so no one


    will call me. Even if it''s something that needs me to sign and handle, Rita will send it over to the


    hospital personally. As for the other affairs¡­ I have attended Asher''s first trial, and the second trial is


    still a month away, so it''s fine even if I actually turn off my phone. Besides, even if someone really


    wants to look for me, they can still find Toby if they can''t find me.


    "Are you happy now?" Sonia gave the man an eye smile as she asked him.


    The man wasn''t ashamed either, for he openly admitted to it afterward, "Yes!"


    Sonia shook her head andughed.


    All in all, many gave Sonia their blessings in regard to her pregnancy. However, there were still a few


    who fell into a state of extreme anger and denial.


    Among them were Lte and Anya.


    For Lte, Toby had specially arranged someone to inform her about everything that was going on


    outside, especially updates about him and Sonia. It was his intention to make Lte suffer.


    Toby knew very well that the happier he and Sonia were, the more miserable Lte would be.


    For that reason, whenever they had some good news, the people Toby assigned would immediately


    inform Lte about it. Once Lte learned about it, she would have an emotional breakdown and


    yell like a mad person.


    This was Toby''s punishment for Lte for almost murdering Sonia.


    Last time, Lte flipped out in the detention center when she learned that Toby remarried Sonia.


    This time was no exception either.


    Although Lte was evil, her love for Toby was genuine too.


    Sure enough, she couldn''t ept that the man she loved so much got married to another woman and


    even had a child with the woman.


    Therefore, it was natural for her to flip out and make a big fuss in the detention center after she heard


    the news. After all that though, she would get locked up in solitary confinement.


    She had been locked up in solitary confinement plenty of times in these two months alone, and the


    reason every time she got locked up here was the same. It was hearing about the loving stories


    between Sonia and Toby.


    Now, even she felt like she was about to go insane.


    Such life was too painful and too tormenting for her.


    Still, she had no choice but to go on with this life, for she wasn''t ready to die yet.


    Nevertheless, she still had to ept her fate even if she wasn''t ready to die, for she would soon


    receive her second trial, which was also the final trial.


    Time was running out for her, and on top of that, she still had to hear about Sonia and Toby''s loving


    rtionship daily. She felt that it really wouldn''t take her too long before she went insane. How? How


    could Toby do this to me?! I love him so much, yet he treats me like this! He is too cruel! Too cruel!

 Chapter 1487

    Chapter 1487


    Lte, who was in solitary confinement, copsed and slouched onto the ground as she broke into


    tears of despair. She wailed about Toby being heartless toward her and also mourned for her life, which


    was nearing an end.


    Apart from her, Anya, too, lost her marbles at that moment. She could not believe what she saw. Sonia


    is pregnant! They''re having a child! How ridiculous! They have a child!!


    Covering her face, Anya beganughing as though she had lost her mind.


    After the hysterical episode, she uncovered her face, revealing a sinister and twisted ill-favored


    countenance. Pregnant, aye? That''s alright; for one day, I shall kill the two of them along with their


    sp*wn!


    Of course, Sonia and Toby did not know anything about this.


    Something crossed Mary''s mind when she returned from buying fruits and saw Tobybing Sonia''s


    hair. She put down the fruits and suggested, "Young Mistress Sonia, do you want to cut your hair


    short?"


    "Cut my hair short?" Sonia was puzzled.


    He stopped what he was doing and asked, "Why does she need to cut her hair?"


    "A pregnant woman has always needed a lot of nutrients during their pregnancy, and hair is the part


    that consumes the most nutrients. Therefore, a woman should cut her hair short when she''s pregnant.


    However, they can choose to keep their hair long if their health condition allows it. Considering Young


    Mistress Sonia''s condition, I think she should cut it short," Mary exined while taking out some fruits


    from the fruit basket.


    Sonia blinked her eyes. "Is there such a saying?"


    "Of course. Most pregnant women will keep their hair short during pregnancy. Firstly, it''s because it''s


    easier to take care of, and secondly, it can prevent the hair from consuming too many nutrients and


    causing you nutritional deficiency."


    "I see." Sonia nodded,indicating she understood.


    Stroking her smooth and silky hair, Toby asked, "Do you want to cut it?"


    She took a lock of hair and looked at it with reluctance written in her eyes. "To be honest, I''m reluctant


    and can''t summon up my courage to cut it. Even though some people say it''s a myth that hair


    consumes our nutrients, I trust Madam Mary. So, let''s just cut it. Besides, it will be difficult for me to


    manage my long hair when my belly gets prominent in the future."


    "I should call the hair stylist toe over and cut it for you, then." Toby let go of her hair. To be honest,


    I''m also reluctant to let her chop off her beautiful long hair. I like the feeling of stroking her hair; I like the


    feeling of taking a lock of her hair, kissing it, or sniffing it deeply. But if this long and silky hair causes


    her nutritional deficiency and makes her unwell during her pregnancy, then I would rather she chop


    them off. After all, she can grow it back anytime in the future.


    "That won''t be necessary." Sonia grabbed the man''s hand just as he was about to make a phone call.


    "It''s just a haircut. It won''t take much effort. You''re going to help me cut it."


    "Me?" He was taken aback.


    She hummed. "Yes, you''re going to cut it for me. Just cut it short. You don''t have to style it."


    "But¡­ I have never cut my hair before, let alone someone''s hair. Aren''t you afraid that I might ruin your


    hair?" He stroked her hair, somewhat conative yet worried.


    Of course, I hope that I can do everything for her myself, but I''m also afraid of screwing up. Although


    I''m knowledgeable, there are still things that I have zero knowledge of, and that includes giving


    someone a haircut.


    "It''s fine." She smiled at the man. "Didn''t I say you don''t have to style it? So, you don''t have to cut it


    perfectly. Just make it short. Plus, I won''t leave the hospital from today onward until after I give birth,


    and I won''t meet any outsiders either. So, you don''t have to pay so much attention to details. I''m fine as


    long as you don''t hate it."


    "I surely won''t." Toby shook his head.


    "That settles. Come on, just cut it," Sonia said as she turned around, facing her back at him so he could


    snip her hair.


    Mary, too, smiled and persuaded, "Young Master Toby, since Young Mistress Sonia trusts you, why


    don''t you just cut it for her? You can search online if you don''t know how. Your hands-on skills are


    impressive, so I believe you can cut it well."


    "That''s right! We can look up some tutorials." Sonia''s eyes lit up at Mary''s suggestion. That''s a good


    idea!


    Like Sonia, Toby also thought it was feasible. Therefore, he grabbed his phone and searched for some


    simple hairstyles for short hair on the Inte. After researching, he and Sonia examined the images


    together, looking for the hairstyle that she liked.


    Seeing the two of them discussing intimately which short-hair hairstyle Sonia should go for, Mary


    smiled knowingly and went to wash the fruit.


    Toby finished cutting Sonia''s hair and was cleaning up her long hair that he had chopped off by the


    time Mary came out with the fruits she had washed. The cherished look on his face gave those who


    saw it a rather mushy feeling.


    Mary was toozy to look, so she directly turned her gaze to Sonia.


    In the meantime, Sonia sat on the bed as she held a mirror in her hand, admiring her new hairstyle.


    Judging from the smile, it was clear that she was highly satisfied with it.


    Simrly, Mary adored Sonia''s hairstyle after she saw it. She walked over with a te of fruits and


    complimented, "Oh, my! It looks like Young Master Toby did a pretty good job."


    Sonia put down the mirror and replied, "Yeah, it''s nice. I chose this hairstyle online, but I didn''t expect


    he could cut it so perfectly like the one in the photo." N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    My eyes were closed, and I didn''t watch the whole process when I got my haircut earlier. I have


    entrusted Toby with this task anyway, so I''ll ept the oue no matter how disastrous the haircut


    turns out. After all, it''s my own choice. Yet, I''m surprised to see him cut it so perfectly. The hairstyle I


    chose for my short hair was shoulder-length hair with slight air bangs. It looked like the hairstyle women


    had back in the Jazz Age, but it was less vintage-looking and more refreshing. Nevertheless, this


    hairstyle does make me look several years younger than my actual age. I look just like a college


    student. God knows how surprised I was the moment I opened my eyes and looked at myself in the


    mirror. I immediately cupped Toby''s cheeks and kissed them. He, on the other hand, almost became


    insatiably greedy. He wanted to kiss me back¡ªnot on the cheeks but rather gave me a deeper and


    more passionate kiss. I eventually was only able to stop him after I heard the sound of the running


    water in the kitchen stop and knew that Madam Mary might being out of the kitchen. Otherwise,


    we might still be kissing now.


    At that moment, Toby finished cleaning up Sonia''s chopped-off hair. He tied them together with a rope


    and even made a bowknot.


    Seeing this, she could not help but ask, "Why are you collecting it and not disposing of it?"


    "I''m going to keep them." He came over, leaned on the side of the bed, and wrapped his arm around


    her shoulders.


    Upon hearing that, she frowned in disgust. "What''s there to keep?"


    Doesn''t he think it''s weird?


    "Of course, I have to keep them." He raised his chin. "These are the hair that I have personally cut for


    you, and thus, it holds a special meaning to me. That''s why I keep them. Who knows? We can


    reminisce about our youth when we look at them again once we grow old in the future."


    Thinking it was a good idea, Mary nodded in agreement. "What Young Master Toby said makes sense.


    It''s indeed worth keeping."


    Seeing that even Mary agreed, Sonia shook her head amusedly. "Whatever. Just don''t let me see it in


    the future. It feels weird." Even if it''s my hair.


    Hearing that, Toby decided not to force her to ept it. He picked up a strawberry and handed it to her


    before he looked at Mary. "Can you help me find a boxter, Mary?"


    "Yes, Young Master Toby," she readily answered.


    While enjoying her strawberries, Sonia nudged the man''s abs with her elbow. "Aren''t you going to the


    office?"


    "I''m not going today. I''ll be here with you today and only go tomorrow." He plucked a grape and ate it.


    She was delighted as she also really wanted him to apany her. Therefore, she uttered nothing


    when she heard his reply. After all, nothing is going to happen to Fuller Group even if he''s missing for


    just one day. Besides, Mr. Brown can help him take care of the affairs.


    "I see you are enjoying your fruits." At that moment, Tim''s voice sounded from outside the ward.


    The three looked up and saw him leisurely walking in with his hands in the pockets of his white coat.

 Chapter 1488

    Chapter 1488


    "Dr. Lancaster, you''re here." Sonia put down the fork in her hand and greeted Tim with a smile.


    He hummed as a hint of surprise shed in his spectacles-shield eyes when he saw her new hair.


    "When did you cut your hair?"


    She still had long hair when I saw her this morning.


    Touching her new hairdo, she replied proudly, "My husband gave me a haircut. What do you think? It''s


    pretty nice, right?"


    Toby was deeply touched to the point that he felt as though his heart almost melted into a puddle of


    water and became beyond soft. Not only was she satisfied with his skill, but she also proudly showed it


    off to others.


    Tim nodded. "Not bad. I wanted to tell you to do that anyway. Unexpectedly, you have cut it in advance.


    This saves me a lot of work."


    After hearing that, she smiled. "We didn''t know too at first. It was Madam Mary who told us that it''d be


    better to cut off my hair. That''s why."


    "What are you doing here?" Toby asked Tim.


    Tim nced at Toby before he turned to Sonia. "I heard you have no appetite, so I''m here to check on


    you and see if I can find a way to relieve your difort. I''m surprised to see you enjoying your food


    now."


    Looking over at Mary with a grateful look, Sonia expressed, "It''s all thanks to Madam Mary. She has


    prepared some appetizing meals for me. That''s why I''m regaining my appetite. I don''t feel


    ufortable eating these fruits now."


    "That''s great, then. Alright. My business here is done, so I shall leave. Call me if you need anything."


    Tim looked at her.


    Sonia responded with a smile.


    With that, he turned around and went out, leaving as fast as he came.


    Mary even got sentimental after Tim left. "Dr. Lancaster truly is a responsible person. He isn''t your


    attending doctor, nor is he a doctor under the OB-GYN department, yet he especiallyes over to


    your ward and checks on you. Such a good man, he is."


    Agreeing with what Mary said, Sonia added, "Yeah. He treated us very well. Toby and I troubled him a


    lot too."


    Everyone said he''s a monstrous man with no emotions, but I beg to differ. Dr. Lancaster isn''t


    emotionless. He just needs time before he opens up to someone. Take my case of saving him back in


    childhood for example. He''s willing to repay me in such a sincere manner even though it was a favor I


    did for him so many years ago. This isn''t something a person with no emotions can do. An emotionless


    person will never express their gratitude toward others, even if that someone saved their life.


    Although Toby was unhappy to see Sonia praising another man, he, too, knew they had troubled Tim a


    lot. Therefore, he did not voice anything no matter how upset he was. I can still distinguish between


    jealousy and a good turn.


    Meanwhile, in Gray Residence, a shrill and panicked female voice suddenly broke the initial peace in


    the vi.


    "Titus!" Julia looked at her husband, who suddenly passed out after spitting a mouthful of blood on the


    sick bed. Her face turned ghastly pale from the shock, and she was so anxious that she immediately


    burst into tears.


    At that moment, Rina hurried over after she heard Julia''s scream from another room. "Mom, what''s


    wrong with Dad?"


    "Your dad spat blood. Rina, he spat blood!" As if seeing a lifesaver, Julia quickly grabbed Rina''s hand


    and cried so hard that she was out of breath.


    Knowing her mother was struck with panic, Rina gently patted her on the back, signaling her to calm


    down first before she went to check on Titus.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Looking at her father lying unconsciously on the bed with blood on the corner of his mouth, Rina felt her


    heart abruptly contract for a moment. Her face gradually turned pale.


    "Dad¡­" She gently pushed Titus.


    However, he did not respond.


    Simrly, she could not hold back her emotions and began crying. "Mom, call an ambnce. Call an


    ambnce!"


    "Right, right! Ambnce, ambnce!" Julia was so panicked that she did not know what to do. Now


    that Rina reminded her, she came back to her senses and realized the things she should have done


    earlier. Therefore, she took out her phone and called for an ambnce with trembling fingers.


    Instead of dialing the number of First World Hospital, Julia called another hospital because she knew


    that First World Hospital would not ept him. Therefore, she had no choice but to pin her hopes on


    another hospital.


    Fortunately, another hospital did not reject them after they learned about his condition. Soon, they sent


    an ambnce over to the Gray Residence.


    Titus was carried into the ambnce, and as his family member, Julia naturally followed as well.


    Rina initially wanted to tag along. However, just as she was about to board the ambnce, she saw the


    familiar-looking bodyguard uniform. At once, she did not dare to get in.


    Noticing Rina''sst-second change of mind, Julia did not suspect any peculiarity and ordered her


    instead, "Rina, I''m going to the hospital with Dad. Go back inside our house, pack up some stuff, and


    come over to the hospitalter."


    Rina nodded with a stiff expression. "Okay¡­"


    Still not sensing Rina''s reluctant tone in her speech, Julia followed the ambnce to the hospital with


    ease.


    As such, Rina watched as the ambnce drove away. She stood on the spot for a long time before she


    turned around and made her way toward the vi. After she left, the bodyguard took out his phone and


    made a call.


    In the hospital, Toby''s eyes flickered when he saw the caller ID. He got up and walked to the window


    before he took the call.


    Seeing this, Sonia merely felt strange momentarily before she continued learning how to knit children''s


    sweaters from Mary. Although I can knit a scarf, I only know one technique and am clueless about the


    rest. Moreover, knitting a sweater is far more difficult than knitting a scarf, considering it involves a lot


    more different types of knitting stitches. I did learn it before, but because I was impatient, I stopped


    after a while. Now that I don''t have to be busy with work and can only stay in the hospital all day, I feel


    rxed all over. Since I can''t look at my phone for a long time, my boredom makes me think of finding


    something else to do.


    At first, I didn''t know what activity I should engage in to cure my boredom. Later, it was Madam Mary


    who offered to teach me to knit a sweater for my baby. I thought it was interesting, and since I wanted


    to see my child put on the sweater I knitted by myself, I agreed to learn. Not to mention, I gave up


    learning it after a while because I was impatient in the past. But now, perhaps due to my age and


    because I''m going to be a mother soon, I just feel calm all over. Plus, I find that knitting is a pretty


    interesting hobby after I started learning it. I even feel like knitting a sweater for everyone.


    Regardless, it will take me at least a month or two to finish knitting a sweater. I will probably only be


    able to finish it by next winter if I want to knit one for Grandma, Toby, and others. Nheless, theirs


    can wait. Right now, I just want to knit one for the baby as a birth gift from a mother. Besides, I want to


    knit one for that child too¡­ My child. Although the child is no longer here with me, I still hold them


    dearly in my heart. I don''t intend to, nor will I forget them.


    In fact, I''m thinking of preparing one gift for them when I''m preparing one for the baby in my belly. This


    is the only thing I can do for them as a mother, but I have yet to discuss this matter with Toby, so I''m not


    sure if he can grasp my thoughts.


    Just as she was deep in her thoughts, she saw a silhouette appear before her eyes.


    Sonia looked up and happened to see the man gazing down at her. "What''s wrong?" she asked.


    Toby caressed her hair. "I should be the one asking you that. Why are you suddenly feeling down?"


    Biting her lower lip, she hesitated for a few seconds before she eventually expressed her intention to


    gift something to the child they lost.


    After hearing this, he chuckled and agreed. "Sure. Just prepare it if you want to. We''ll also prepare a


    room for him and put all the things that we have specially prepared for him in that room from now on.


    We''ll buy an extra gift for that child whenever we buy one for this baby."


    Hearing that, she could not contain her smile. "I thought you''d find this outrageous."


    After all, not many can grasp this idea. Furthermore, ording to some traditional beliefs, this is


    considered inauspicious. Some might even think I missed that child so much that I have gone nuts. At


    first, I was also worried that Toby wouldn''t understand why I wanted to do this. Fortunately, he never let


    me down.

 Chapter 1489

    Chapter 1489


    "Why would you think that way?" Toby held her face with both hands and stared at her seriously. "I will


    understand, and I''ve never thought your ideas were bad. They''re still our children, and we''re their


    parents. We owe it to that child, so it''s only right we include them."


    Sonia''s eyes were red, and she nodded tearily.


    "Where do you want our new home to be?" he asked her gingerly before letting go of her face.


    They had just remarried, so it was normal for them to look for a house. However, they had spent most


    of their days in the hospital and did not return to Bayside Residence or others for that matter.


    Now, it was possible to n for their new home. As soon as the baby was born, they could move in


    immediately.


    Bayside Residence was certainly not suitable for them. Since they were about to have a child, that


    ce would be too small without enough space for the whole family.


    The child should also have a room, and the nannies should always be on guard.


    He did not want the child to sleep with them. Otherwise, it would mean that the nannies could go in and


    out of the room as they wished.


    Sonia knew he was right, so when he asked about their new home, she began to think about where to


    stay. After a while, she could not think of a suitable ce.


    In the end, it was Mary who suggested an area, "Young Mistress Sonia, why don''t you stay at the Four


    Seasons Residence?"


    "Four Seasons Residence?" Sonia was caught off guard. She knew Four Seasons Residence was a


    gatedmunity that had been developed just two years ago. Each vi in the residence was worth


    hundreds of millions, so she looked at the man. "You have a property there too?"


    Toby was nomittal with his reply. "Of course. When the construction ended, the man asked me if I


    wanted a house there. I asked him to reserve a random one for me, but he left the main house for me


    to get my money''s worth. The main house is in a good spot, so I bought it. Now that I think about it, it''s


    a good ce for us to start our family there. It''s far from Fuller Residence, but it isn''t that far from


    Paradigm. What do you think?"


    Sonia thought about it for a while and decided it was usible.


    Mary smiled and said, "Young Master Toby, you''ve never stayed there. Although it''s partially furnished,


    many things are missing. Do you want me to get someone to fill up the ce for you?"


    To be honest, it would be more meaningful for the bride to n out the new house. However, with


    Sonia''s condition, how could she object to Mary''s suggestion for arranging it?


    "I owe you one, Mary," she thanked with a grateful smile.


    Mary waved her hand dismissively. "It''s no trouble. What do you and the young master like? I''ll get


    someone to prepare it."


    "Don''t worry about what we prefer for now. We''ll write it down after we discuss it," Toby said as he


    picked up a piece of fruit from the te.Although it was good to eat fruits, they should not be consumed


    inrge quantities at once. He saw that Sonia had eaten a lot, so the rest should be kept forter.


    Mary thought their request was reasonable, so she did not say anything else.


    Then, Toby looked at Sonia. "The house at the Four Seasons Residence is massive with a total of a


    thousand square meters and four floors in total. We can prepare one floor each for the children as their


    rooms, including the entertainment room, study room, and yroom. We''ll still have a lot of space no


    matter what."


    "Alright." Sonia nodded.


    Mary listened to the couple''s conversation and sighed discreetly. She knew which other child they were


    referring to.


    Speaking of which, the first child was indeed pitiful.


    If¡­


    Well, this was life.


    It was all because of that woman, Tina Gray. If it were not for her, the rtionship between Toby and


    Sonia would not have faced so many hardships. That woman was truly wicked, and Mary hated her


    down to the core.


    "By the way, who was that on the phone earlier? You looked very serious. Is there something wrong


    with thepany? If you have something to do, you can go first," asked Sonia when she recalled


    Toby''s expression earlier.


    The man shook his head and replied, "There are no issues with thepany. It''s Titus."


    She immediately narrowed her eyes. "What''s up with him?"


    Did he pass? If so¡­


    She suddenly felt an indescribable difort. She wanted to say that it would be a great joy if that


    were the case, yet she could not say that at all. Truthfully, she did not even dare to think so.


    What is this feeling?


    Confusion shed across her eyes, and she did not understand where her difort wasing


    from.


    Toby did not notice anything unusual about her reaction and took a sip of water from the ss. He


    exined, "I heard his situation has worsened, and he was sent to another hospital by ambnce."


    "That''s all?" She tilted her head up in acknowledgment. She did not prod further because she did not


    know what to ask. For some reason, it felt like her heart was racing yet suffocating at the same time.


    Toby finally noticed her difort and touched her forehead. "What''s wrong? Are you okay?"


    She forced a smile. "Yeah, I''m okay. I don''t know why, but I feel upset."


    His eyes darkened when he heard her words. Without any remarks, he merely hugged her instead.


    Meanwhile, at the Gray Residence, Rina was partially worried about Titus and partly resenting the


    guards outside. She knew they were there to ensure her presence away from Sonia. However, she did


    not expect Toby to be so heartless.


    He wanted her to watch her father die. Doesn''t he know that that''s his father-inw? No, he does. He


    just didn''t want me to look for Sonia for help. He wants Dad to die, but I can''t let that happen! If Dad


    died, I would lose his love and care before reverting to poverty!


    No matter what the consequences were, she did not want to ept them. She vowed to save her


    father no matter what. Before she could do that, she had to leave this ce and get Sonia. There are


    so many guards out there. How am I gonna leave?


    Rina paced around restlessly in the living room and finally made a n when she saw Julia''s coat on


    the couch. She hurried upstairs, put on some mature makeup, and changed into her mom''s clothes. At


    last, she left the vi through a back window.


    After wing her way out, she walked to the other vi from behind the bushes and out from the back.


    From there, she walked toward the gates of the vi confidently.


    As she paced, she felt a sharp gaze on her back. She knew whom it belonged to, but she did not turn


    back and pretended not to notice. Otherwise, once she turned around, she would surely be recognized.


    Hence, she feigned ignorance and continued striding forward.


    Just like that, Rina escaped the vi gates with no issue. Once she stepped out, she let out the breath


    she had been holding and panted heavily while patting her chest to catch her breath. Great! This is


    great! I finally made it out.


    She held back the excitement and called for a cab. "Paradigm Co., please."


    The cab driver nodded and started the car.


    An hourter, she finally arrived at her destination.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    This time, she went to the receptionist and did not introduce herself as Rina. Instead, she was a


    saleswoman from anotherpany and wanted to meet with their president to discuss the cooperation


    between the twopanies.


    Unexpectedly, the receptionist told her that their president was absent.


    Rina was shocked. "Not in thepany? Where did she go?"


    The receptionist looked at her suspiciously. "Don''t you read the news on the Inte?"


    "News? What news?" she asked out loud reflexively. Then, she realized her reaction would cause


    suspicion, so she hurriedly tried to cover up. "I''m a businesswoman, so I''m out every day. I don''t have


    enough time to look through the news on the Inte, so I don''t know what''s going on. May I ask what


    happened to your president?"

 Chapter 1490

    Chapter 1490


    Her reasons sessfully quelled the receptionist''s suspicion. She replied politely with a smile, "Oh,


    President Reed is pregnant. She''s getting treatment in the hospital for the time being."


    "Pregnant?" Rina questioned sharply.


    The receptionist frowned. "Miss, what''s wrong? From your tone, you don''t sound happy about


    President Reed''s pregnancy."


    Their president was pregnant, and not one person in thepany was unhappy about the news. Plus,


    since she was pregnant, Toby gave them a lot of benefits. Even theizens received some, so who


    would not give them their blessings? Instead, Rina was the only person that sounded unpleasant about


    the news, dissatisfied even.


    Rina''s fists clenched tightly behind the counter. Happy? How can I be happy? Now that she''s pregnant,


    how is she gonna donate her kidney?!


    As a result, she walked out of Paradigm Co. in a daze, looking up at the sky. It was cloudy and gray,


    just like how she felt at the moment. Pregnant. How can she be pregnant at a time like this?! What a


    b*tch!


    She soon filled herself with determination again. No matter what, even if Sonia was pregnant, she


    would not give up. She would make Sonia donate a kidney to her father, even if it was by force. After


    all, Sonia was her father''s biological daughter. One way or another, she should feel obliged to save her


    father! Even if she was pregnant, she should get rid of her child to save him! That was what Rina


    believed.


    Dad is dying, and Sonia is still young. She can still have another baby if she aborts this one. How can


    an unborn baby be more important than Dad?! That''s right. I''m gonna find her now!


    Rina gritted her teeth and hailed another cab. "First World Hospital."


    She was confident that Sonia would be there. After all, she knew there was a genius doctor named Dr.


    Lancaster at First World Hospital. That doctor has always been kind to her, so I''m sure she chose there


    for treatment.


    Soon, she arrived at the First World Hospital.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    When she got out of the cab, she fished out a mirror from her back and looked carefully to make sure


    her makeup, hair, and clothes still looked believable so that she would not get recognized easily. She


    put away her mirror and walked into the hospital with confidence.


    With Sonia and Toby''s reputations, they could not be in normal wards. So, without any hesitation, Rina


    walked straight to the special wards building.


    She entered the building with no trouble, and the security guard did not even spare her a second


    nce. He even thought she was a wealthy patient''s family member, so he asked her to register and


    allowed her in.


    Following that, she arrived at the front desk and asked for the floor and number of Sonia''s ward.


    Immediately, she took an elevator up.


    The moment she stepped out of it, her heart was beating like a drum. She was nervous and did not


    know if Toby was present or not.


    Since he loved Sonia so much, that man was more than likely to stay at the hospital with her the whole


    time since she was pregnant and hospitalized.


    Now, Rina was terrified to bump into Toby. What should I do? Do I still go in?


    While she was freaking out, a nearby security guard walked by. When he saw her, he was immediately


    suspicious. He walked over quickly and asked coldly, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"


    Rina was so scared that she began to tremble. Fortunately, she reacted in time and forcibly calmed


    herself down. She immediately acted like her unreasonable, arrogant mother to avoid the security


    guard''s suspicion.


    "Why do you care so much?" She put her hands on her hip and acted wlessly like her cocky mother.


    "This is a hospital. What do you think I''m here for? Of course, I''m here to visit my family. You sound like


    you''re interrogating a prisoner. Are you saying I shouldn''t visit my family? Do you own the hospital?"


    The security guard''s mouth twitched with annoyance, for he was scolded for no reason!


    A nouveau riche like her was only arrogant because she had money. Other than that, she was an


    empty shell. Security guards like him had seen many women like this.


    In the end, he dismissed his doubts and told her off coldly with a look of disgust. "I don''t own this


    hospital, but my boss has reserved this ce. The only patient here is my boss'' wife and no other


    patients. Therefore, you''ve gone to the wrong ce. Please turn back and leave." He pointed at the


    elevator behind her.


    She pretended to be surprised, "What? This floor is bought out? Is your boss that rich? Even my


    husband doesn''t dare to do that."


    The security guard rolled his eyes. Your husband? A new upstart like your husband is nothing


    compared to President Fuller. He could be on Forbes'' International Ranking List. Can your husband


    even be on Forbes'' Seafield Ranking List?


    "Okay, enough. It''s none of your business whether my boss is rich or not. You need to leave now and


    nevere here again. Don''t me us for being rough if you return," the security guard warned,


    frowning hard.


    She acted shocked. "If you don''t want me here, just say that. Do you think you can be aggressive just


    because your boss is rich? Just wait until my husband bes richer than him. By then, let''s see if


    you dare to act so aggressively toward me. Hmph!" As she spoke, she walked toward the elevator,


    cursing.


    Rina knew the more she looked like an arrogant b*tch, the less likely these security guards would


    suspect her. They would only think that she was just a social climber gone wrong.


    Sure enough, Rina got into the elevator without trouble. She did not even arouse a drop of suspicion


    from other security guards until the elevator closed. Then, she heaved a sigh of relief. Now, I''m


    annoyed.


    She did not expect Toby to protect Sonia soprehensively. Not to mention reserving the whole floor,


    he even had security guards patrolling it!


    This way, any unknown person that came to the floor could be immediately removed. Forget Sonia''s


    room¡ªeven the security guards would have her under scrutiny as soon as she exited the elevator.


    Therefore, she could not pretend to be a rtive of Toby and Sonia, whom the guards would recognize!


    Even if there were such a rtive, they would call Sonia and Toby before letting her in. When the


    couple denied it, she would be immediately taken away.


    What the hell do I do? Rina was so anxious she was about to cry.


    Her dad''s condition could not be dragged on any longer. If they continued to dy, there might not be


    any more hope. Therefore, she had to meet Sonia to tell her the truth as soon as possible. That was


    the only way Sonia would agree to save her father. But Toby guarded her too strictly. How can I meet


    her?


    Ding! The elevator arrived.


    Rina stepped out of the elevator moodily and bumped into a nurse pushing a small cart.


    "Ow!" the nurse eximed.


    Rina immediately apologized, "I''m sorry."


    "It''s fine." The nurse waved her off and smiled dismissively.


    Rina smiled back at her and continued into the elevator. After taking two steps, she suddenly had an


    epiphany. She turned and looked at the nurse''s uniform, revealing a sinister smile. That''s right. I can


    just pretend to be a nurse!


    The more she thought about it, the more she realized it could work, and the bigger her smile grew.


    Afterward, she began scanning the hospital, looking for easy targets.


    In the end, she chose a nurse that seemed easy to follow. When the nurse entered the bathroom, she


    followed her and knocked her out. Then, she took the nurse''s uniform and wore them. Summoning her


    courage, she headed for Sonia''s floor again.

 Chapter 1491

    Chapter 1491


    Her acting skills had always been good. When she was in the elevator, she even made up a whole new


    personality for herself. Plus, she was holding a medical tray in her hands, so although she was


    nervous, she was also confident that she could do it.


    As soon as the elevator door opened, she calmly walked toward Sonia''s ward.


    The bodyguard came again to stop her.


    She had put on apletely different look; no one could recognize her.


    The bodyguard didn''t recognize her as Rina, let alone the shrew from just now.


    "What are you doing?" the bodyguard asked when he stopped Rina.


    Although the nurses came up to the ward every day, for the sake of Sonia''s safety, the bodyguards


    would still question them before letting them into Sonia''s ward.


    Otherwise, they wouldn''t let them enter.


    Rina expected she would be stopped and questioned, so she replied calmly, "Dr. Lancaster asked me


    toe up."


    Dr. Lancaster had a great rtionship with Sonia. If She would most likely be let in if she used Dr.


    Lancaster as an excuse.


    Sure enough, hearing the name ''Dr. Lancaster'', the bodyguard allowed her to leave the elevator and


    motioned her to continue without hesitation.


    A trace of excitement shed in Rina''s eyes.


    Her n worked.


    She definitely chose the right move.


    "Go on." With that, the bodyguard ignored her and continued on his way without a second word.


    When Rina saw him leave, she heaved a sigh of relief. She then closed her eyes and continued with


    her n. She walked straight to Sonia''s ward.


    She decided that no matter whether Toby was around or not, she would tell Sonia about her identity.


    She had to save her father.


    When she reached Sonia''s door, Rina took a deep breath and knocked on it.


    Footsteps came from behind the door, and the door opened. In front of Rina wasn''t Toby''s handsome


    face but a stranger''s that looked gentle and kind.


    "Huh? Didn''t the nurse juste by?" Mary looked at Rina curiously.


    Rina''s heart clenched suddenly, but she forced a smile. "Yes, another nurse came by just now, but I''m


    here under Dr. Lancaster''s orders to deal with some things."


    After hearing that it was on Dr. Lancaster''s orders, Mary stopped questioning her and opened the door


    fully. She stepped aside and invited her in. "Oh, then pleasee in."


    "Thank you." Rina nodded gratefully at Mary and walked straight in.


    The ward was very luxurious. It couldn''t even be called a ward. A better term was a luxurious studio.


    Only rich people like Toby and Sonia could ever afford to stay in such a ward.


    Even Rina''s father could only stay in a slightly more luxurious VIP ward.


    It wasn''t worth mentioning if shepared his ward to this ward.


    When Rina looked around the ward, she discreetly looked for Toby.


    Even though she had decided that she would still exin everything even if Toby were here, she was


    still terrified of Toby from the bottom of her heart.


    She knew that he wouldn''t be pleased.


    Perhaps, she might never walk out of the hospital again.


    But if Toby wasn''t there, maybe she had a glimmer of hope. Maybe she could get to leave in one


    piece?


    Rina hadpletely forgotten about the bodyguards outside.


    Toby was nowhere to be found. She only spotted Sonia, who seemed asleep on the bed, and that old


    lady, who sat nearby. Other than that, there wasn''t anyone else in the room. Rina heaved a sigh of


    relief.


    Mary didn''t doubt Rina''s identity. After taking a look at Rina, she left and went to the kitchen to cook


    porridge.


    Mary''s departure made Rina happy.


    This meant that she could talk to Sonia easily.


    Rina walked toward Sonia''s bed and ced the tray down. She gently nudged Sonia, who was asleep


    on the bed.


    Sonia immediately woke up in surprise. She subconsciously opened her eyes. "Mary? What''s wrong?"


    she asked in a soft, tired voice.


    Rina knew Mary was probably thedy who had just opened the door.


    Rina didn''t answer.


    Sonia didn''t hear a reply, so she blinked to wake herself up a little more. Then, she saw an unfamiliar


    face looking down at her.


    "Who are you?" She immediately became guarded.


    After all, many people wanted to harm her and Toby. She needed to be vignt of strangers.


    "Hush." Rina shushed her with a finger on her lips when she noticed that Sonia was about to panic.


    "Miss Reed, don''t panic. I''m not a bad person."


    Sonia was riled up when she saw an unfamiliar face.


    However, after she noticed the nurse uniform on Rina, she began to calm down.


    "I''m sorry. I was a little startled when I woke up. Please help me up," Sonia said and stretched out her


    hand.


    Rina wasn''t surprised that she didn''t recognize her at all. After all, her makeup skills were very good.


    She seemed to have a talent. She could learn any makeup at one nce.


    "Alright, Miss Reed." Rina helped Sonia up and ced a pillow behind her so that she could sit upright


    on the bed.


    After Sonia sat up, she rubbed her temples. "Do you need to check on anything else?"


    Rina didn''t reply again and just looked at her as she fidgeted.


    Sonia didn''t hear any response, so she dropped her hands from her temples and looked up at Rina. N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    When she saw herplicated expression, Sonia was curious. "What''s the matter, nurse? Why are


    you looking at me like that?"


    Rina bit her lip and fell to her knees right beside the hospital bed.


    Her actions made Sonia tremble in fear.


    What happened?


    Why was this woman kneeling down to her?


    "Miss, what are you doing?" Sonia asked hurriedly. "Get up quickly. Why did you suddenly drop to your


    knees? Did I do anything to offend you?"


    She was bewildered.


    Rina shook her head. "No, Miss Reed. You didn''t offend me. I''m the one who should be sorry."


    "What do you mean?" Sonia frowned.


    Rina''s eyes turned red. "Miss Reed, will you please save my father?"


    "Huh?" Sonia felt even more confused. "Save your father?"


    "Yes."


    Sonia let out an awkward chuckle, not knowing how to react. "Miss, your father is sick. Why are you


    looking for me? I''m not a doctor. How can I save him? You''re a nurse and know more about medicine


    than I do. You should be more capable of saving him. It''s useless for you to look for me. Of course, if


    it''s because your father needs surgery and has no money, you can click on the official site for the


    charity foundation from Fuller Group on thepany''s website and report his condition. You can


    exin your situation, and we''ll pay for the operation. As long as it''s verified and epted, we can help


    your dad."


    The charity foundation under Fuller Group was established after Toby took over thepany.


    The charity had already saved thousands of people so far.


    The charity didn''t blindly help everyone, but only those who really couldn''t pay for medical expenses


    and those families who were kind and had no bad records.


    The charity would donate the money without hesitation if these two conditions were met.


    This was the reason why the vast majority of the citizens supported the Fuller Group. Fuller Group was


    helping deserving people. They weren''t some charity foundation that stole money from the citizens and


    pocketed it themselves.


    That was the reason why Fuller Group was only slightly affected when Sonia was framed twice. They


    had done a lot of good for the citizens.


    "No, I''m not asking for medical fees." Rina shook her head sadly.


    Sonia frowned and asked thoughtfully, "If it''s not the medical fees, what exactly do you want?"

 Chapter 1492

    Chapter 1492


    Rina clenched her fists nervously. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind about something. Taking


    out some makeup remover wipes from her bag, she resolutely began to remove her makeup.


    Sonia did not understand what Rina was doing, but she did not stop the other party either. She simply


    watched Rina''s actions with curiosity.


    Under Sonia''s watch, theyers of makeup on Rina''s face gradually faded away and disappeared.


    Sonia''s eyes gradually widened at the changes that were happening before her. "You..."


    "Miss Reed." Rina hadpletely removed her makeup at this point. Falling to her knees, she crawled


    forward and grabbed Sonia''s hand.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Sonia tried to pull her hand away, but her efforts were fruitless. Rina''s grip was simply too strong.


    It never urred to Sonia that the person who came was not a nurse but Rina herself!


    Rina had begged Sonia to rescue her father, but who was her father? He was none other than Titus


    Gray himself!


    Besides, this was not the first time she came to beg Sonia for help. Just a few months ago, she had


    also clutched Sonia''s hand and begged Sonia to save her father.


    As for the rescue method... Naturally, it was for Sonia to donate her kidney. Titus was suffering from


    kidney failure after all. His only method of survival was to get a kidney transnt.


    Rina had not gotten in contact again after she was chased away by Sonia back then, which made


    Sonia mistakenly assume that she had given up. Regrettably, she had unexpectedly turned up again


    several monthster. She even disguised herself as a nurse and sneaked into the premises after she


    learned Sonia''s current whereabouts, then she got down on her knees and begged Sonia for help once


    more. It was truly a ridiculous sight.


    Sonia''s frosty expression twisted into a hideous grimace. "Rina, are you here again because you want


    me to donate a kidney to save your father?"


    Rina bit her lip and nodded. "Yes, Miss Reed. You''re the only person who can save my father. So,


    please... Please, I''m begging you. Please save my father. Please..."


    While speaking, she prostrated herself on the ground.


    Sonia remained expressionless. Despite how Rina was prostrating on the ground before her only to the


    people who deserved her kindness. No matter how kind she was, she would never feel sorry for people


    like the Gray Family.


    "You''re begging the wrong person." Sonia turned away, refusing to even look at Rina. She continued,


    "You should be begging the doctors if you want to save Titus. Why are you begging me instead? Don''t


    you know about the enmity and grievances between Titus and me? Why would I save my enemy? I''m


    afraid you think too highly of me. Let me make this clear to you; I will never save my enemy. On the


    contrary, I wish he dies even sooner. Furthermore, even if I had nothing against him, I still would not


    choose to save him. Why should I donate my kidney just to save a stranger who has nothing to do with


    me? If it were you, would you?"


    Rina lowered her eyes. Of course, she would not. Who would be so kind-hearted as to give up their


    kidney for a stranger?


    Taking in Rina''s silence, a look of derision appeared on Sonia''s face. "Look! Even you won''t do it! What


    right do you have to beg me for help? What makes you think I will agree to your request? Do you know


    what it means to donate a kidney? It means that I will lose my health. It means that I will also risk


    suffering from kidney failure in the future. It means that I will have to give up the child in my womb. Let


    me tell you now; I will never agree to your request. It''s impossible! But, speaking of which, I am very


    curious about one thing. Why do you staunchly believe that my kidney can save Titus?"


    "Because... Because..." Rina''s eyes flickered uncertainly, but she could not find the right words.


    Sonia lost her patience and waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it. Since you can''t tell me the truth,


    then don''t bother. I don''t want to hear the answer either. Now, please leave. Otherwise, I''m going to call


    security."


    While speaking, she ced her hand against the emergency button at the head of the bed. She would


    press the button immediately if Rina dared to eveny a hand on her, and Rina would not be able to


    escape once that happened.


    It was clear that Rina was aware of the consequences, and her expression distorted slightly. "Miss


    Reed, must you really be so heartless?"


    Sonia rolled her eyes. "Please. I just don''t want to save my enemy, donate my kidney, or give up the


    child in my womb. How does that make me heartless? Aren''t you the real heartless one here? I am an


    outsider. The probability of me being a match with Titus is very low. On the other hand, you are Titus''


    daughter. The probability of you being a match with Titus should be much higher. Since you love your


    father so much, then shouldn''t you donate your kidney to save him instead? Why won''t you donate


    your own kidney? Why are you begging me, an outsider and an enemy, to donate my kidney instead?


    What does that make you, if not selfish and heartless? And yet, you don''t seem to realize how cruel


    and selfish you are being. How dare you try to coerce me? That''s just ridiculous."


    "If I could donate my kidney, I would have donated my kidney a long time ago!" Rina seemed greatly


    agitated by Sonia''s speech earlier. Standing up abruptly, she raised her voice by several degrees. "I''ve


    never known what family and affection meant before. It wasn''t until I came to the Gray Residence that I


    learned how warm and beautiful family and affection could be! That''s why I wish, more than anybody,


    for my father to survive! Only if my father survives can I continue to enjoy my father''s love and the


    luxuries of the wealthy! Of course, I''d willingly donate my kidney to my father, but I''ll never be a match


    for him! Do you know why?"


    Looking at Rina''s bloodshot eyes and agitated expression, Sonia felt an inexplicable sense of


    premonition washing over her. She opened her mouth and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Why?"


    A hideous smile appeared on Rina''s face. "Because¡­ I''m not their real daughter."


    "What did you say?" Sonia''s expression changed.


    Rina clenched her fists tightly. "Because I''m not their real daughter! I''m not Rina Gray!"


    "That''s impossible!" Sonia''s pupils contracted at those words. "We were all present when you and Titus


    performed the DNA test! It''s impossible for more than a dozen DNAbs to make the same mistake! It''s


    even more impossible for them to be bribed!"


    "Of course, there will be no mistakes. Of course, the DNAbs were not bribed either. That''s because


    nobody tried to bribe them at all. Their appraisal results were urate. The results of the DNA test


    clearly showed the rtionship between parent and child. It''s just that I''m not that person!"


    "What do you mean?" Sonia''s beautiful eyebrows were furrowed together in a deep frown. "Are you


    saying that the DNA sample used for the test was real? It was truly the hair of Rina Gray and Titus


    Gray? But you are not Rina Gray herself?"


    Rinaughed. "You''re correct, Miss Reed. That''s exactly it. The hairs in the DNA test had indeed


    belonged to Rina and my parents. That''s why the results revealed the rtionship between parent and


    child. However, I''m not Rina Gray. So, I''m not their real daughter."


    "How is that possible?" Sonia felt dizzy and faint. "We clearly saw you pulling the hair from your head


    that day."


    "I did take the hair from my head, but that does not mean the hair belonged to me. I obtained the hair


    from the real Rina Gray in advance, then I clipped the hair to my head with a hair clip. When you asked


    me to take a hair from my head, I used the position of the hair clip to urately retrieve the pre-


    prepared hair for the DNA test. That''s why it seemed as though I plucked out my hair and gave it to


    you, but the truth was not even close."


    "So that''s how it is." Everything was falling into ce, and Sonia felt as though her eyes had been


    opened to the truth. "So that''s how it is."


    "That''s right. That''s how I sessfully became the real Rina Gray. On the other hand, the real Rina


    Gray never returned to the Gray Family."


    "In other words¡­ Hal and Greta were your real parents."


    "That''s right. They are my real parents. If possible, I wish they were not." Rina''s eyes were bloodshot.


    Meanwhile, her expression was filled with pure disgust and resentment. "But why? Why am I their


    daughter? Why am I not the real Rina Gray?"


    "Your birth is not something you can change. What''s the point ofining about that?" Sonia stated


    matter-of-factly. She felt no sympathy for Rina. Her sympathy was reserved for the real Rina Gray.


    "So? Why are you telling me this? Didn''t you go to such lengths just to be the Gray Family''s


    daughter? Why are you telling me the truth about your birth and origins? Are you not afraid that I might


    tell the Gray Family the truth? Are you not afraid of getting kicked out of the house?" Sonia stared at


    Rina with narrowed eyes.

 Chapter 1493

    Chapter 1493


    Rina took a deep breath andposed her emotions for the time being. "If it were before today, I


    would have been afraid. I would never have told you my secrets either. I would have brought my


    secrets to the grave and never revealed the truth to you. However, I want to save my father. That''s why


    I have no choice but to tell you everything. Didn''t you ask me why I''m so certain that your kidney can


    save my father? The answer is obvious by now, isn''t it? Sonia, you are Rina Gray. You''re the real


    daughter of my parents!"


    There was a loud explosion in Sonia''s head. Her sneer froze on her face, and she sat motionlessly on


    the hospital bed, feeling as though she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. There was a loud buzzing


    sound in her head. Her mind had also gonepletely nk.


    Rina was not finished and repeated her words emphatically. "Sonia, I''m a fake, but you''re not. You''re


    the biological daughter of Titus Gray and his wife! You are the real Rina Gray!"


    "Impossible!" Sonia finally regained some of her senses. sping her hands together tightly, she shook


    her head vigorously, herplexion pale. "That''s impossible! That can''t be true! You''re lying! That''s not


    true!"


    I''m Rina Gray? What a joke! How can I be Rina Gray? This woman must be trying to deceive me! I


    don''t believe it! I won''t believe it!


    Sonia had obviously be emotional. In response, Rina''s smile became vicious. "Miss Reed, I know


    you don''t believe me, but it''s the truth. I have evidence. Do you know why I gouged out the red mole on


    your wrist?"


    As soon as the words came out, Sonia''s expression changed drastically once more. She remembered


    the incident. She knew that there was a red mole on Rina Gray''s wrist.


    Watching Sonia''s body tremble slightly in disbelief, Rina continued her exnation. "Looks like you''ve


    guessed the truth, Miss Reed. That''s right. Rina Gray has a red mole on her right wrist. I identally


    found out that you had a red mole on your wrist and immediately wondered whether you were Rina


    Gray. That''s why I schemed to obtain your hair when I met you the other day. Then, I brought your hair


    to a DNA test center and discovered that you were actually Rina Gray, the daughter whom the Gray


    Family have been desperately searching for so long."


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "How¡­" Sonia clutched at her head tightly, sinking into a state ofplete self-doubt. It was evident


    that she could not ept what Rina was telling her. She was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.


    How can I be Rina Gray? How can Rina Gray be me? She simply could not ept the truth.


    However, Rina was determined to force Sonia into epting the truth. She forged onward with her


    exnation. "After learning that you were Rina Gray, I was very scared that my parents would realize


    your identity through that red mole on your wrist one day. After all, you lived so close to each other in


    Seafield. That''s why I had no choice. I had to get rid of the red mole on your wrist. I thought that


    everything would be fine once I got rid of the red mole. Who could have imagined that President Fuller


    would trace the incident back to me so quickly? He arrested me and brought me to the police station,


    where he interrogated me about the reasons for my actions. He was so terrifying that I did not dare to


    hide the truth from him. Hence, I told him the truth about everything."


    "What did you say?" Sonia abruptly raised her head and stared at Rina fixedly. "Did you just say that


    Toby had always known about me¡­"


    "That''s right. From that day onward, President Fuller had always known that you were Rina Gray." Rina


    smiled even more viciously.


    Sonia was even more confused than before. Toby has known the truth for such a long time. If so¡­ Why


    didn''t he tell me?


    Rina pretended not to notice Sonia''s mental breakdown and stubbornly carried on. "President Fuller


    told me that I will not be able to hide the truth from everybody just by removing the red mole on your


    wrist. In fact, he imed that it was the stupidest move I could have made. The police would have a


    specific record of the injuries that I inflicted on you. The Gray Family would eventually learn about the


    red mole on your wrist by reading the police records and discovering that I was a fake. Can you guess


    why the Gray Family never saw the police records? Why they never learned about how I hurt you by


    gouging out the red mole on your wrist?"


    Why? Despite Sonia''s confusion, the image of Toby immediately came to mind. Was it him?


    She shook her head violently, feeling even more emotionally broken than ever. Unfortunately, the words


    that Rina spoke next immediately drove her to the bottom of the valley.


    "That''s right. It''s exactly as you''re thinking, Miss Reed. It was thanks to President Fuller. President


    Fuller concealed everything. That''s why the Gray Family never discovered the truth about how I


    gouged out the red mole on your wrist. All they knew was that I had knocked you unconscious.


    Otherwise, my identity would have been exposed a long time ago. You would have learned that you


    were the real Rina Gray, but not from me. Aside from that, President Fuller also did other things to


    cover up the truth. Do you want to know what he did, Miss Reed?" Rina leaned over.


    Sonia covered her ears. "Stop it! I don''t want to listen! I don''t want to listen!"


    "I will tell you even if you don''t want to listen!" Rina grabbed and pulled Sonia''s arms away. "When I


    discovered that you and Mr. Coleman were nning to expose my identity, I became scared.


    Therefore, I took the initiative to contact President Fuller. I wanted to ask him whether he had any


    solutions, but he told me to wait. When I couldn''t obtain a concrete answer, I became impatient. I


    simply couldn''t sit around waiting any longer. That''s why I deliberately started a fight with you at the


    hospital and grabbed a bunch of your hair."


    Upon hearing those words, Sonia instantly recalled the incident.


    That''s right. She happened to encounter Rina when she stepped out of the elevator, and Rina had


    pulled out a fistful of her hair. She had not known that Rina was aiming for her hair and simply put the


    incident down as a misunderstanding. It was not until this moment that she discovered the truth¡ªit was


    all premeditated.


    "So¡­ You gathered and attached the hair from that incident on your hair clip, then pretended that it had


    been your hair. Is that right?"


    "That''s right," Rina admitted readily. "Due to the difference in hair color, I even dyed my hair to match


    the color of your hair, Miss Reed. Not long after I dyed my hair, you and Mr. Coleman informed the


    Gray Family that I was not their biological daughter. That was when I suggested performing a DNA test.


    At the time, President Fuller did not know what I had done to you. When he heard that I asked for a


    DNA test, he immediately sent me a message to ask me about the situation. I did not hide the truth


    from him and told him about my n. Although he was furious, he eventually chose to help me."


    "He helped you exchange the DNA samples of the DNA test between you and the Carey Family!" The


    look in Sonia''s eyes was dark.


    Rina had mentioned earlier that the DNAbs had not been bribed. Nevertheless, the results of the


    DNA test between her and the Carey Family had indicated that she was indeed not their biological


    daughter. In that case, there could only be one exnation¡ªToby had either tampered with the results


    of the DNA test between Rina and the Carey Family or the DNA samples themselves.


    "You guessed correctly, Miss Reed. President Fuller did indeed swap my hair with yours. He reced


    your hair in the DNA samples of the DNA test with the Carey Family. In this way, the DNA tests with


    both couples would only contain samples of your hair, Miss Reed. None of them belonged to me. That''s


    why¡­ when the results of the DNA tests came out, one of the DNA tests showed a parent-child


    rtionship and the other did not. President Fuller never intended for you to learn your true identity at


    all," Rina informed Sonia.


    Sonia closed her eyes, a single tear sliding down her face.


    Rina gripped Sonia by the shoulders. "Miss Reed, I''ve told you everything. Can you agree to save my


    father now? After all, you''re the real Rina Gray. You''re his real daughter. You must save him!"


    "How can I save him?" Sonia opened her eyes, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes that stared back at


    Rina coldly. "I have never considered myself as their daughter. I am Sonia Reed, the daughter of the


    Reed Family. The Gray Family is my enemy. I will never rescue my enemy!"


    "You are not the daughter of the Reed Family." Rina tightened her grip on Sonia''s shoulders. "You''re


    Rina Gray. You''re the daughter of the Gray Family. You were stolen from home by the Reed Family.


    Besides, the feud between the Reed and Gray Families exists only between my parents and your


    parents. It has nothing to do with you. Without my parents, you would not be here today. You are the


    real child of my parents, so you have to help Dad!"

 Chapter 1494

    Chapter 1494


    "Do you hear me, Sonia? You need to save them!" Rina stared at Sonia fixedly. "Don''t forget. You were


    stolen from the Gray Family. If Henry had not stolen you away from your rightful ce, you would be


    known as Rina Gray right now. You would have grown up pampered and loved by your true parents,


    not raised by your enemies. Not to mention, you were brainwashed by Henry into hating your biological


    parents. Sonia, it''s just not right. They are your biological parents. How can you hate them? On the


    contrary, you have failed to fulfill your filial piety to your parents because you were stolen away by


    Henry. You should be feeling ashamed and guilty instead!"


    "Ashamed? Guilty?" Soniaughed, but herughter was mocking.


    Be that as it may, Rina ignored the sarcasm and nodded repeatedly instead. "That''s right. You were


    taken away by your enemy. Not only have your parents been searching for you for more than twenty


    years, but they have also been missing you for more than twenty years! Shouldn''t you feel ashamed?


    Shouldn''t you save your father? Saving your parents is your duty and obligation as a daughter. It''s only


    right for you to repay your parents for giving birth to you, so you have to save your father!"


    "How hrious." Sonia aggressively shoved Rina away. "Leaving aside the fact that I have never


    considered myself as Rina Gray¡­ So what if I''m Rina Gray? Whose fault was it that I was stolen away


    in the first ce? Wasn''t it because the Gray Family schemed against the Reed Family first that the


    Reed Family took revenge by stealing me away? Although the Reed Family knows that I am the


    daughter of their enemy, they have never tried to kill me or abandon me. On the contrary, they took


    good care of me and showered me with parental love. They have never treated me badly and even


    made sure to raise me well. That''s why I don''t hate the Reed Family for taking me away. Rather, I am


    extremely thankful to the Reed Family for taking me away. Otherwise, I would have been raised to


    be somebody like Tina if I had stayed in the Gray Family."


    Rina stared at Sonia in disbelief, feeling so shocked that she staggered two steps backward. "How can


    you think that way? Even though the Reed Family stole you away¡­ How can you feel no hatred for the


    Reed Family? How can you feel grateful to them instead? As if that''s not bad enough, you even turned


    around and med your biological parents for their poor parenting! How can you be so traitorous to


    your parents?"


    "Thank you for yourpliment. I am traitorous. What about it?" Sonia lifted her chin and red at


    Rina coldly. "In any case, my answer remains the same. I will not save Titus. It doesn''t matter who he is


    or what rtionship he has with me. I will never save him."


    "You''re too selfish and heartless!" Rina pointed at Sonia furiously. "He''s your father! As his daughter,


    how can you watch him die without doing anything?"


    "So? Are you asking me to abort the child in my womb and donate my kidney?"


    "What''s one child?" Rina snapped dismissively. "Not to mention, it''s a child who has not even taken


    shape yet. How can that child be more important than your father? It''s a given that you should abort the


    child and save your father! Don''t forget, your life was given to you by your parents. You should repay


    them for giving birth to you! Besides, you are still young. You can have another child again in the future,


    Miss Reed. It''s only right for you to save your father now. Don''t forget, Miss Reed. They are your


    biological parents! If you refuse to save them, then you will be an unfilial daughter."


    She used Sonia loudly. T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    At this moment, Mary came out of the kitchen and happened to hear those words. Naturally, she was


    furious to see Rina pointing at Sonia with righteous indignation. "Who the hell do you think you are?


    How dare you point at the Young Mistress in such a rude manner?"


    Mary strode over and wrenched at the finger that Rina was pointing at Sonia. The movement


    simultaneously forced Rina to turn sideways, which revealed her true appearance.


    Looking at the unfamiliar face, Mary was taken aback for a moment. Then, she immediately scowled


    fiercely and questioned sternly, "Who are you? You are not the nurse from before. Where is the nurse


    from before?"


    Rina never imagined that somebody would arrive at this time. Her attitude immediately wilted, and the


    color drained from her face. It only took an instant for her to lose the arrogance and justified attitude


    from before.


    Thisdy had looked very kindly earlier, but she now had such a stern and terrifying expression on her


    face.


    "I¡­" Rina finally uttered a sound.


    Mary immediately interrupted Rina. "It doesn''t matter who you are. How dare you barge into this room


    and raise your voice at the Young Mistress? I will not forgive you for that! Guards!"


    The guards standing outside immediately entered the room upon hearing Mary shout. "Yes, Mary?"


    "What''s wrong with you? Why did you allow so many nurses to enter within such a short period?" Mary


    shoved Rina toward the guards.


    The guards automatically caught and subdued Rina, then they protested in confusion. "We didn''t let


    any other nurses into the room, only the one from earlier."


    "In that case, why don''t you tell me how this nurse came about?" Mary pointed at Rina.


    The guard lowered his head and seemed surprised to see Rina. Who are you?"


    I''ve never seen this woman before. How did this woman enter the room? Besides, I''ve always been


    outside the room. There were no¡­ Wait a minute¡­


    The nurse whom he allowed to enter the hospital ward earlier had not left the room. Be that as it may,


    he came into the room only to see another nurse who lookedpletely different from the nurse


    earlier. In other words, this nurse was none other than the nurse from before. She had simply used


    makeup to change her appearance.


    "Mary, this is the same nurse from before." After realizing that they were the same person, he breathed


    a sigh of relief and immediately reported his findings to Mary.


    Upon hearing that, Mary hurried and took another look at Rina''s face. A closer inspection revealed that


    the area around the eyes was indeed the same as the nurse from earlier. Hence, her expression


    became even nastier. "Speak. Who are you? Why did youe here? Why did you disguise yourself


    and scold the Young Mistress?"


    "What? Scolded the Young Mistress?" The guard anxiously looked at Sonia.


    On the hospital bed, Sonia sat with her head lowered gloomily. Although the expression on her face


    could not be seen, the dead silence lingering around her filled the guard with despair. Oh no¡­ I''m in


    trouble now¡­ President Fuller will never forgive me for this incident.


    When Rina saw the guard entering the room, she became terrified. She knew that she was in deep


    trouble¡ªshe would not be able to escape anymore. Her mind went nk with fear, and she could only


    stammer incoherently in the face of Mary''s questions.


    Mary couldn''t be bothered to wait until Rina came up with a clear exnation. In any case, there was a


    surveince camera in the ward. She would soon learn about the argument and grievances between


    this woman and Sonia.


    "Take this woman into custody for now. We will decide what to do to her when Young Master Toby


    returns. Be careful. Don''t let her escape or you will learn the consequences of your mistake." She gave


    the guards a warning re. When she was young, she had followed Rose into battle during wartimes.


    Although she normally seemed warm and gentle, she radiated a murderous aura when she became


    serious.


    The guards had been discharged from the army after ending their service, so their hands were also


    stained with blood. Nevertheless, how much blood could they spill in battle during peaceful times? It


    would neverpare to the blood that stained Rise''s hands. Therefore, the guards quickly nodded in


    response to indicate their understanding. "Don''t worry, Mary. We will watch her carefully."


    "Go." Mary waved her hand dismissively and shooed them out of the room.


    The guards hastily left with Rina in their custody.


    Then, she closed the door of the ward and hurried over to check on Sonia''s condition. Young Mistress


    Sonia, how are you feeling?"


    Sonia slowly raised her head, revealing a dazed expression and a pair of dull eyes that had lost their


    light. When she noticed the concern on Mary''s face, she opened her mouth to speak. However, not a


    single sound came out of her mouth.


    Her appearance made Mary even more worried. "Young Mistress Sonia, what''s wrong? Please say


    something. Tell me what''s wrong. Don''t make me worry about you."


    "Mary." Sonia finally spoke, but her voice was filled with self-mockery and despair. "Why am I the


    daughter of the Gray Family? Why?"


    Although she told Rina that she did not believe she was the real Rina Gray, she knew clearly in her


    heart¡ªRina was not lying. She was the real Rina Gray.


    Everything was too coincidental. In fact, it was all so coincidental that she could not deny the cruel truth


    no matter how reluctant she was to admit the truth.

 Chapter 1495

    Chapter 1495


    Firstly, Henry had stolen Rina from the Gray Residence twenty-seven years ago and then adopted


    Sonia three dayster. It was all too coincidental.


    Secondly, Sonia had the same red mole that could be found on Rina''s wrist. There was also the matter


    regarding her hair¡­


    Not to mention, she had always felt ufortable for some reason whenever she saw the Gray Family


    showering Taylor with love. Seeing the tragic situation that befell the Gray Family did not fill her with joy


    either. On the contrary, her heart was indescribably heavy.


    What did that mean? It meant that she was influenced by the blood that flowed through her body. It


    meant that she was the real Rina Gray, just as Taylor mentioned earlier!


    Unfortunately, that was precisely the reason why she could not ept the truth. If she was Rina Gray,


    then what was her so-called revenge for the Reed Family? Wouldn''t that just be another cruel joke? To


    take revenge on her biological parents for the sake of her adoptive parents¡­ What would the world


    think of her if the word were to spread?


    Would the public use her of being cruel and unscrupulous? She didn''t even spare her real parents.


    They had given birth to her after all. Even if she had not grown up with them and they did not raise her,


    they had given her the gift of life. For her to take revenge on them¡­ What else would she be, if not


    cruel and unscrupulous?


    On the other hand¡­ If she did not take revenge against the Gray Family, the public would then


    condemn her for being ungrateful toward the Reed Family who raised her. She would bebeled as an


    ungrateful brat.


    No matter what choice she made in the end, her choice would always be wrong.


    When Mary heard Sonia''s words, she jumped in shock. "What are you talking about, Young Mistress


    Sonia? What are you saying? What do you mean by the daughter of the Gray Family?"


    Why can''t I understand a word?


    Sonia did not exin. Closing her eyes, she suddenly felt a sharp paining from her lower


    abdomen. Color immediately drained from her face. She grabbed Mary''s hand in fear, and her voice


    trembled as she said, "Mary, my stomach hurts. Mary¡­"


    After hearing that Sonia''s stomach was hurting, Mary forgot all about the words ''daughter of the Gray


    Family''. She hurriedly pressed the emergency call bell that was located above the bed and anxiously


    checked on Sonia''s condition. "Don''t be scared, Young Mistress Sonia. The doctor will be here soon.


    Don''t be scared. Let me have a look. It''ll be fine. Nothing will happen to you."


    At this point, Sonia was in so much pain that tears sprang to her eyes. She clutched Mary''s hand


    tightly, and her breathing became rapid. "Mary, will I lose my child?"


    The pain was too much. Moreover, the pain pulsed through her stomach in waves. She couldn''t help


    bing very worried that something bad would befall the child in her womb.


    Mary quickly covered Sonia''s mouth in horror. "Don''t speak nonsense, Young Mistress Sonia. Why


    would you lose your child? You won''t. That will never happen. Don''t talk nonsense. Don''t entertain such


    wild delusions either. I''m right here. I will stay by your side. I won''t let anything happen to you. Please


    be more confident in yourself. You have to believe in yourself."


    Sonia leaned into Mary''s embrace, feeling incredibly weak. Not to mention, the pain was so intense


    that she broke out in ayer of cold sweat.


    Seeing Sonia in such a state filled Mary with a sense of terror. She was so anxious that she was about


    to burst into tears. Whilst trying tofort Sonia, she constantly prayed for the doctors to arrive as


    soon as possible.


    It might be that the Gods heard her prayer. It did not take long before the doors opened and several


    gynecologists strode into the room.


    Without waiting for them to greet her, she hastily dragged the doctor in the lead toward the bed. "Hurry!


    Please examine the young mistress! She says her stomach hurts, and the pain nearly made her faint!"


    When the doctors heard the situation, they did not dare to dy any longer and hurried forward to


    examine Sonia. Sonia was the wife of Toby, the head of the Fuller Family. If anything were to happen to


    her, Toby would surely be furious. As her doctors, none of them would walk away unscathed.


    The doctors quickly gave Sonia a simple examination with solemn expressions. "Quick, send her to the


    emergency ward."


    Sonia was sent to the emergency ward without dy.


    Outside the emergency ward, Mary was on the verge of tears. Why did the young mistress suddenly


    end up in the emergency ward?


    She knew that the sudden pain in Sonia''s lower abdomen was not normal. It was bound to be very


    serious. Nevertheless, she did not expect the situation to be so severe that Sonia was sent to the


    emergency ward. Under these circumstances, will the child survive?


    Feeling incredibly anxious, she paced up and down the corridor for a bit. Then, she took out her phone


    and quickly contacted Toby. No matter what, Toby needed to know about this situation.


    Toby was currently at Fuller Group.


    He had originally promised to apany Sonia all day at the hospital today. Unfortunately, heter


    received a phone call from Tom stating that there was a very important document at thepany that


    he needed to handle personally.


    As Tom was currently inspecting their subsidiaries, he could not deliver the document to Toby himself.


    At the same time, he did not feel safe asking the other secretaries to deliver the document. That was


    because the document was simply too important. It was directly rted to the confidentiality of the


    company.


    Under Sonia''s persuasion, Toby had no choice but to leave the hospital and head to Fuller Group. He


    nned to return to the hospital after he dealt with the matter at hand.


    Just as he finished processing the document, he heard his phone ring. He put on his coat and picked


    up his phone. A single nce at his phone made his eyes darken instantly.


    Mary? Why is Mary calling me now? Could something have happened back at the hospital?


    Before he left, he had instructed her to call him if anything happened at the hospital. Besides, it was no


    secret that he was only leaving the hospital for a few hours at most. If there was nothing important,


    neither Mary nor Sonia would contact him. Be that as it may, Mary was calling him at this time. It was


    very likely that something had urred back at the hospital.


    "Hello?" He answered the call without any hesitation.


    Mary was so anxious that she sounded on the verge of tears, and her emotions were reflected in her


    voice. "Young Master Toby, there''s an emergency. The young mistress has been sent into the


    emergency ward."


    "What?" He leaped up from his chair in shock. A buzzing sound filled his mind. Little Leaf is in the


    emergency ward?


    "How did that happen?" He clutched the phone tightly.


    Her voice was urgent. "Young Master Toby, it''s difficult for me to exin the situation over the phone.


    Pleasee to the hospital first."


    "Alright. I''ll be there immediately." He hung up, stuffed his phone into his pocket, and immediately


    rushed out of the office.


    Several employees greeted him politely along the way, but he ignored them with a gloomy yet solemn


    expression. As a result, they gathered together in curiosity and gossiped about what could have


    happened. It was just that nobody could guess the truth.


    Toby drove at breakneck speed, running through two traffic lights along the way before he finally


    arrived at the hospital. Naturally, two traffic police officers also arrived at the hospital at the same time.


    He had broken the trafficws after all. No matter how influential he was, he had to take responsibility


    for his actions.


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    Although Toby was worried about Sonia, he suppressed his impatience and settled matters with the


    traffic police before he rushed to the emergency ward.


    "Young Master Toby." At the sight of Toby''s arrival, Mary immediately stood up from her chair as though


    she found something to rely upon.


    Toby ignored Mary. Raising his head, he looked up at the red light above the emergency ward and


    clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on his hand bulged. "What happened, Mary? Why was Little


    Leaf sent to the emergency ward? Wasn''t she just fine when I left?"


    Could she have suffered a fall?


    There was a trace of hatred in Mary''s eyes. "It''s all the fault of that woman named ''Rina Gray''."


    The guard stopped by not long ago and reported that he had interrogated the woman. Apparently, the


    woman had mentioned that her name was ''Rina Gray''.


    "What? Rina Gray?" The pupils in Toby''s eyes contracted slightly at the name. "What does this incident


    have to do with Rina?"


    "That woman disguised herself as a nurse and sneaked into the hospital ward. I don''t know what she


    said to the Young Mistress, but the Young Mistress became extremely emotionally unstable as a result.


    She subsequentlyined that her stomach hurt and nearly fainted from the pain. After that, she


    was sent into the emergency ward," Mary exined. She hadn''t watched the movie yet.


    Rina had not only escaped the vi and came to the hospital, but she also disguised herself as a nurse


    to meet Sonia. She even told Sonia something that agitated Sonia so much that thetter fainted from


    the shock. Upon learning the sequence of events that took ce earlier, Toby immediately radiated a


    murderous intent. The urge to murder Rina on the spot even sprung up in his heart.


    He could probably guess what Rina had said to Sonia earlier. Rina must have told Sonia about the


    latter''s birth origins. Otherwise, Sonia would not have be so agitated that she fainted.


    "Rina Gray!" He squeezed out the name through gritted teeth, a stormy look in his eyes.

 Chapter 1496

    Chapter 1496


    Regardless of how Sonia and the baby were, he wasn''t going to go easy on that woman!


    Toby made a call.


    "President Fuller," the person on the other side greeted almost immediately after.


    "Why didn''t you keep an eye on Rina Gray? Why did you let her escape?" Toby questioned curtly.


    The bodyguard was startled. "What? Did Rina Gray escape? That''s impossible!"


    He had been standing guard all this while and hadn''t seen her leave.


    "So, you didn''t know about it. That''s a dereliction of duty." Toby narrowed his eyes. They were shing


    dangerously.


    The bodyguard trembled. He sensed danger from Toby''s tone of voice. "I''ll go and check on her now,


    President Fuller."


    "That won''t be necessary. She''s with me right now. Go back to thepany. Your supervisor will know


    what to do with you," Toby dered icily.


    The bodyguard smiled bitterly.


    Once he got back to thepany, he would be given the harshest punishment, and once that was


    over, he would never be able to be a bodyguard again.


    Still, he did fail to do his job this time.


    "Yes, President Fuller," the bodyguard acknowledged despondently as he lowered his head.


    As a bodyguard, it was his fault for letting the person he was supposed to keep an eye on escape. He


    was responsible.


    He was willing to ept this punishment.


    Toby hung up without saying anything else.


    He walked straight over to the treatment room and waited outside. He didn''t ask Mary about Rina.


    None of that was important right now. What was most important was Sonia''s condition.


    He had to know she was alright before he dealt with everything else.


    What he needed to do now was wait until he heard that she was fine.


    Toby ended up waiting for three hours.


    He kept standing and didn''t move to take a seat even though his legs went numb. He didn''t care.


    Mary''s heart ached for Toby, but she knew how he felt toward Sonia. She knew he wouldn''t take care of


    himself until he heard that she was safe.


    Meanwhile, Mary also felt responsible for this.


    If I''d stayed with them and didn''t go to the kitchen, then maybe that woman, Rina wouldn''t have had the


    chance to hurt Young Mistress Sonia.


    Mary lowered her head in self-reproach.


    I was supposed toe and take care of Young Mistress Sonia. It was only the first day and this


    happened! Maybe I''m too old now.


    Just then, the light outside the treatment room went off.


    The door opened and the OB-GYN walked out.


    Toby grabbed the doctor''s arm. "How''s my wife?"


    The doctor knew who Toby was and didn''t dare to waste any time as he quickly said, "Don''t worry,


    President Fuller. Mrs. Fuller''s fine now."


    Toby could finally rx. He exhaled in relief as his heart settled back in ce.


    Thank goodness! She''s alright.


    Mary was visibly relieved as well. "What about the baby?" she immediately asked.


    Toby looked at the doctor again.


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    "The baby''s fine too," the doctor said. "We managed to save the baby, but Mrs. Fuller suffered a huge


    shock today, so it did affect the baby a little. The baby would''ve been lost if Mrs. Fuller wasn''t admitted


    in time. Even though the baby''s fine now, Mrs. Fuller''s health has weakened even more so there''s a


    greater risk of losing the baby. I think it''s best if she remains in the hospital for the first three months of


    the pregnancy."


    Although Sonia was currently staying in the hospital for the baby''s sake, she was able to leave the


    hospital and attend to her matters whenever she wanted. She could also wait until she was free before


    she came back.


    This meant that she was allowed to stay outside of the hospital for several days if she didn''t feel unwell.


    However, that was no longer going to be the case now.


    "Oh, good. As long as the baby''s fine. We''ll take even better care of her and make sure she doesn''t


    leave the hospital. Thank you, doctor," Mary said with a nod.


    The doctor turned to Toby. "President Fuller, Mrs. Fuller will be brought up to her room soon. If you wish


    to go with her, you''ll need to wait for a little while."


    "I know." Toby nodded and acknowledged hoarsely, "You can carry on with your work."


    "Yes, President Fuller." The doctor nodded and left.


    Toby waited in the same spot for a few more minutes. The hospital staff wheeled Sonia out, but she


    was still unconscious.


    He hurried over and the hospital staff wisely stepped aside to give the couple some alone time.


    Toby bent down. As he stared at the sickly pale woman lying on the bed, it felt as if someone was


    squeezing his heart.


    He had only been gone for a few hours, but she ended up getting hurt. He, her husband, had failed to


    protect her.


    Toby reached out and gently stroked Sonia''s cheek.


    Mary was emotional too as she watched from the side.


    Young Master Toby and Young Mistress Sonia have gone through too much.


    When will fate stop making things so hard for these two?


    Toby kept staring at Sonia in silence. He did so for about ten minutes.


    Atst, a nurse mustered up the courage to remind him, "President Fuller, we should take Mrs. Fuller


    back to her room first. She can rest morefortably there. So¡­"


    In other words, she wanted him to hurry up and move out of the way.


    Toby figured out what she meant. He wasn''t upset as he knew that it was better for Sonia if she was


    taken up to her hospital room as soon as possible. He moved aside without saying anything.


    The hospital staff quickly wheeled Sonia back to her room.


    Once they settled her in, the nurse informed Toby and Mary about when Sonia would wake up and


    what might happen when she did. Once the two of them understood everything, the nurse left.


    Soon, they were all gone, and the only ones in the room were Toby, Mary, and Sonia, who was still


    unconscious.


    Mary stood behind Toby and expressed her guilt. "I''m sorry, Young Master Toby. It''s my fault for not


    keeping Young Mistress Sonia safe. That woman, Rina Gray, came in disguised as a nurse. She even


    mentioned Dr. Lancaster and said she came to help Young Mistress Sonia with the check-in, so we let


    her in without suspecting anything. After that, I went to the kitchen to make some soup for Young


    Mistress Sonia so she could have a nutritious meal tonight. Who would''ve known that when I came


    back up with the soup, I''d see that woman rebuking Young Mistress Sonia?"


    "It''s not your fault." Toby lowered his eyes.


    Rina had used Tim as her excuse toe in, so it was only natural that Mary didn''t suspect a thing.


    Mary nced at Sonia.


    Even though Toby didn''t me her, she still felt guilty.


    She decided to keep an eye on anyone that came in next time and wasn''t going to leave until they left.


    Otherwise, she wouldn''t be able to feel at ease.


    "By the way, Young Master Toby, I don''t know what that woman said or did to Young Mistress Sonia. I


    haven''t seen the security footage. Do you want to take a look?" Mary asked.


    Although Toby had a rough idea of what Rina had told Sonia, he still wanted to know the full details, so


    he nodded. "Of course."


    "I''ll go and get it now." Mary went to the study.


    Soon, she came back with a tablet.


    Toby dragged a chair over and sat down by the bed before taking the tablet.


    Everything had been caught on camera. The footage clearly showed Rina getting down on her knees


    and begging Sonia to save Titus.


    Sonia asked why, and Rina took her makeup off before exposing Sonia''s true identity to her. She even


    asked Sonia to get an abortion to save Titus.


    Rina said that if Sonia didn''t, then Sonia was an unfilial child who failed to repay her birth parents for


    bringing her into this world.


    Then, Mary showed up and called for the bodyguards who took Rina away and held her captive.


    Sonia seemed fine at the time. She was even able to keep her cool as she confronted Rina, but as


    Toby was her husband, he could tell that she was breaking down on the inside. He knew she was


    drowning in despair.


    This was especially prominent when Rina tried to drive a wedge between him and Sonia by purposely


    telling Sonia that he took Rina''s side and helped Rina.


    Apart from falling apart after finding out about her identity, she was probably also feeling deeply hurt


    and suspicious of me, her husband, right?


    She must''ve been wondering why I didn''t tell her anything and chose to help another woman instead.


    Both things collided together and made her so agitated that she ended up in the emergency room.

 Chapter 1497

    Chapter 1497


    Toby knew he would have to give Sonia a good exnation.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t even be allowed to enter the bedroom ever again.


    He massaged his forehead.


    Just then, Mary asked, "Do you want to check on that Gray woman, Young Master Toby?"


    Toby shook his head. He had an icy expression as he said, "No. That can wait until Little Leaf wakes


    up."


    He wouldn''t feel reassured until Sonia woke up.


    As for Rina, there''s no rush. It''s not as if she''d die.


    Mary didn''t press the issue, though she expressed her confusion. "Young Master Toby, ording to the


    footage just now, that woman said that Young Mistress Sonia is Titus Gray''s daughter. She also said


    you knew about it and helped hide her real identity. Is that true?"


    Toby pursed his lips. It was a while before he replied, "It''s true."


    Mary gasped. "No wonder Young Mistress Sonia was so upset. She always thought her birth parents


    had abandoned her and the Reeds adopted her. That''s why she''s determined to avenge them, but now


    she''s be her enemy''s daughter. Anyone would have a breakdown before they even get to take the


    revenge."


    No one would be able to ept this news.


    On one side, she had her adoptive parents who cherished her and doted on her.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    On the other side, she had her birth parents who hadn''t abandoned her after all. It was her adoptive


    parents who took her away from them.


    Young Mistress Sonia might not have broken down if the couple no longer had any love for her after


    over two decades of separation, no matter if they did abandon her, or if someone did steal her away.


    That way, Young Mistress Sonia could take her revenge on Titus Gray without any emotional burden.


    Why would she have to show mercy to her birth parents if they didn''t love her?


    However, that was not the case.


    Even though Titus and his wife Julia had been separated from their oldest daughter for over two


    decades, their love for her hadn''t declined.


    Everyone saw the way the couple doted on the fake Rina when she was reunited with the family. They


    tried their best to make it up to her.


    The couple truly loved their daughter.


    Now that Young Mistress Sonia turned out to be their daughter, it''d be a shock if she was able to


    harden her heart against them when she knew just how much they loved their daughter.


    s¡­ Life has yed such a cruel joke on them.


    "If only that woman didn''te here and tell Young Mistress Sonia her real identity," Mary fumed. "If


    she wanted to be Rina Gray, she should''ve stuck with that identity for the rest of her life. Why did she


    come and tell Young Mistress Sonia about it? She nearly caused¡­"


    Mary was still a little scared and couldn''t bring herself to finish her sentence, but she loathed Rina with


    every fiber of her being.


    Toby''s expression was unpleasant.


    That''s right. Since she wanted to take Little Leaf''s identity, I gave her the chance to do just that, so she


    should''ve stuck with it for the rest of her life.


    Yet, she chose toe and cause trouble as if she had a death wish.


    Toby narrowed his eyes which glinted murderously.


    "Does anyone else know about this, apart from you and that woman, Young Master Toby?" Mary asked.


    Toby rubbed his nose bridge. "The Lanes know about it too."


    "No one else, apart from the Lanes?"


    Toby hummed in acknowledgment.


    Mary sighed in relief. "That''s good. The Lanes have a good rtionship with Young Mistress Sonia. If


    they know about it, they can also help console her. I think you should tell the Lanes about this, Young


    Master Toby. I''m sure Young Mistress Sonia would still have a hard time epting this when she


    wakes up, and the fact that you helped that woman must have scarred her too. She wouldn''t want to


    have you around. You should hurry up and tell the Lanes about this. Let the Lanese over and talk


    to Young Mistress Sonia. They can help put in a good word for you too. Otherwise, you won''t get to


    even stay in the same room with Young Mistress Sonia."


    Mary understood Toby well. She had watched him grow up.


    She knew that even though he helped that woman mask her identity, it wasn''t because he had feelings


    for her or that he wanted to betray Sonia.


    Young Master Toby must''ve done it for Young Mistress Sonia''s sake.


    Even a bystander like her knew what Sonia would be confronted with if she was known as the Grays''


    daughter, and as Sonia''s husband, Toby would be even more aware of this.


    Young Master Toby must''ve known from the moment he found out about Young Mistress Sonia''s


    identity that she would copse emotionally if she found out. She wouldn''t be able to ept this reality


    and might even do something stupid. That''s why he had to find a way to keep the truth from her so that


    she wouldn''t find out that she''s the Grays'' daughter. That''s why he chose to help the fake Rina Gray


    hide her identity.


    What he did wasn''t wrong. The only thing he did wrong was that he lied to Young Mistress Sonia.


    But Young Mistress Sonia is in shock and despair. She would only think about the fact that Young


    Master Toby lied to her and helped another woman. She wouldn''t think that he was only doing it for her


    sake.


    At a time like this, Young Master Toby would have to deal with Young Mistress Sonia''s hurt and me.


    The best-case scenario would be if she just gave him a cold shoulder for some time. The worst-case


    scenario was if she refused to stay in the same room as him and asked for a divorce.


    For Young Master Toby''s sake, for the sake of letting the couple mend their rtionship sooner rather


    thanter, we must get the people close to Young Mistress Sonia toe and advise her.


    Otherwise, it would be hard for Young Mistress Sonia to get over this anytime soon.


    Mary''s words were a good reminder for Toby.


    That''s right. When Sonia wakes up, she won''t be happy with me. She might not even want to see me. If


    that happens, I won''t even get the chance to exin things to her.


    He did need to get some outside help. It wasn''t just tofort Sonia and help her get over this hurdle,


    but also to ensure he could still get the chance to spend the night with his wife in the future.


    "I know. I''ll get in touch with themter," Toby said with a nod.


    A thought urred to Mary, who asked, "Does Old Mrs. Fuller know about this?"


    "She knows," Toby replied.


    Mary nodded. "Since she knows, then we won''t have to tell her about this."


    "We can tell Grandma the gist of it once everything''s settled," Toby answered with a hoarse voice.


    There was a knock on the door.


    Mary opened the door and Tim rushed in at once. He was still in his surgical gown.


    As soon as he came out of the surgical theater afterpleting a surgical procedure for his patient, he


    heard about Sonia''s incident and hurried over without even changing first.


    "What happened? Why did Sonia nearly have a miscarriage?" When Tim came over, the first thing he


    did was check on the ghostly pale woman who was hooked to an IV drip. Then, he turned to Toby with


    a censorious look in his eyes.


    Toby slid Sonia''s hand back under the nket before he stood up and looked Tim straight in the eye.


    "Taylor Carey used your name to barge into the room before telling Little Leaf about her real identity."


    "What did you say?" Tim''s brows furrowed at once.


    He knew that Sonia was Titus'' daughter. Toby told him about it.


    "You said she used my name to get in?" Tim''s expression was dark and intimidating.


    "She managed to get her hands on a nurse''s uniform and came in her disguised as a nurse. Then, she


    said you told her toe and help Little Leaf with her check-in, so that''s why Mary and the bodyguards


    let her in without suspecting anything. I''m sure you can guess the rest."


    "The nerve!" Tim was furious. "How dare she use me as her excuse? Where''s that woman? Did you get


    her?"


    How dare she use my name?! I''ll skin her alive if it''s thest thing I do!

 Chapter 1498

    Chapter 1498


    "Yes, we got her." Toby took one look at Tim''s expression and figured out what he was thinking, and he


    didn''t think it was wrong of Tim to harbor such thoughts.


    Even if Tim wasn''t going to do anything, Toby would deal with Rina himself.


    "Once I''m done with her, I''ll give her to you. You can do whatever you want with her," Toby stated


    coolly. Mary shuddered at his brutal, merciless words.


    However, she didn''t feel any pity.


    It''s one thing for that woman to steal Young Mistress Sonia''s identity since Young Mistress Sonia might


    not even want to reim it.


    But that woman went too far. Not only did she steal Young Mistress Sonia''s identity, but she even came


    over to antagonize Young Mistress Sonia and cause her to nearly lose a child again.


    If there had been a miscarriage, then Young Master Toby and Young Mistress Sonia would never have


    a child again.


    Mary was truly thankful that Sonia had already been staying at the hospital.


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    If that woman came to the house instead, there was no way we could''ve brought Young Mistress Sonia


    to the hospital quickly enough since the hospital''s so far away from the house. The baby might''ve been


    lost.


    Either way, Mary had no pity for the woman who nearly brought disaster upon Sonia and the family.


    She deserves what''sing for her.


    Tim had no objections to Toby''s decision. He hummed in agreement. "Don''t worry. I''ll make her life a


    living hell."


    A cruel smirk bloomed across his handsome face.


    "In the future, I''ll let you know beforehand if I instruct a nurse toe over," Tim dered.


    Toby and Mary were satisfied with this course of action.


    It was better if he told them in advance as it avoided the uncertainty of whether or not any of the


    medical staff who came were truly here on his orders.


    "Taylor Carey came to see Sonia and told her everything for Titus Gray''s sake, right?" Tim deduced. "I


    saw her the day I advised Titus to leave the hospital. She asked me if there was a possibility that Titus''


    condition will improve if he gets a kidney transnt. I told her there was nearly no hope of that, but she


    took it as there was still a chance, no matter how slim. I didn''t think much of it then. Otherwise, none of


    this would''ve happened."


    At the end day, Tim felt he had some responsibility in both incidents.


    Toby clenched his fists. "It''s for his sake. She wanted Little Leaf to donate a kidney to Titus, so that''s


    why she told Little Leaf her real identity. This isn''t her first attempt at doing this. Previously, she went to


    Paradigm to look for Little Leaf and get her to donate a kidney, but the bodyguards I ced there took


    her away and kept her under surveince at Gray Residence."


    "How did she manage toe over this time?" Tim narrowed his eyes as he stared at Toby.


    Toby pursed his lips. "The same way she got into the hospital room. She snuck out in a disguise."


    "She''s pretty crafty, huh?" Tim sneered.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. "It doesn''t matter whether or not she is. From now on, she won''t be able to do


    anything anymore."


    Tim stuck around for a little longer to get more details about Sonia''s condition. He only left once he


    confirmed that she was fine.


    He was going to find the nurse who gave Rina a nurse''s uniform and figure out whether the nurse had


    been bribed.


    All was well if the nurse hadn''t been bought over, but if she had, then Tim wasn''t going to show any


    mercy.


    He strode off with a menacing look in his eyes.


    Once again, there were only three of them in the room.


    Mary could tell that Toby was exhausted. She wanted to urge him to rest, but she couldn''t bring herself


    to say the words.


    Poor thing. He must not be thinking about resting seeing Young Mistress Sonia is in this condition.


    She knew it was pointless to say anything as Toby wouldn''t agree.


    Oh, well. I''ll just leave him be.


    Mary sighed and silently left the room.


    Not long after, Toby made a call to Lane Residence.


    However, Curtis and Grace weren''t home, and it was Charles who answered.


    "Who is it?"


    Upon hearing Charles'' voice, Toby kept quiet for several seconds as he was a little reluctant to talk to


    Charles. Still, he remembered why he made the call, so he forced himself to be patient and ask, "Can I


    speak to Mrs. Lane?"


    This time, it was Charles who kept quiet.


    It was andline that didn''t have caller ID, so he picked up the phone without knowing who it was.


    He didn''t expect it to be Toby. That b*stard.


    Charles'' attitude changed. "My mother''s not home. She went out to y cards with her friends. Why


    are you looking for her?"


    "Something happened to Little Leaf. I need Mrs. Lane''s help," Toby said.


    Charles panicked at once. "What did you say?! Something happened to Sonny? What''s going on?"


    Toby wasn''t inclined to fill Charles in on everything. He frowned and replied, "Since Mrs. Lane isn''t


    there, I won''t take up any more of your time. Please give her a message and tell her to get in touch with


    me as soon as she gets back. This involves Little Leaf, so I''m sure you won''t object to doing this


    much."


    He hung up right away.


    Toby would''ve contacted Grace directly if he could instead of calling the family''sndline, but he didn''t


    have her number and Sonia''s phone had died out.


    Meanwhile, Charles stood by the phone with the receiver still in hand. He looked deeply concerned.


    Toby said something happened to Little Leaf. What on earth happened to her?


    That damn Toby. Why didn''t he tell me what it was?!


    Charles was furious. He mmed the phone down and marched out of the house before driving


    straight to Paradigm to ask Sonia himself.


    If she wasn''t at Paradigm, then he was going to head over to Bayside Residence to look for her, and if


    she wasn''t there either, then his next stop was going to be Fuller Group. Either way, he was going to


    talk to Sonia to find out what happened. He wouldn''t be able to rest easy if he didn''t.


    Charles ended up spending several hours running all over.


    It was just as he thought.


    First, he went to Paradigm, and Rita told him that Sonia wasn''t there. She was currently staying in the


    hospital.


    Rita also told Charles that for the next seven or eight months, Sonia wouldn''t being into the office


    unless necessary.


    Thus, Charles rushed to the hospital at once.


    However, when he got there, he couldn''t find out which hospital room Sonia was in.


    After the incident with Rina, Toby and Tim both gave the order that no one was to divulge Sonia''s


    location to anyone. The information had even been wiped off the hospital''s system.


    As Charles couldn''t find any information, he had to call Toby.


    However, his calls to Toby went unanswered. He became even more frantic, but all he could do was sit


    in the hospital lobby and wait. Every ten minutes or so, he would try to call Toby again.


    Thankfully, his persistence paid off as Toby answered Charles'' 20th call.


    "What is it?" Toby''s voice was unmistakeably tired.


    Charles wasn''t bothered by this as he immediately asked, "Which room are you in?"


    Toby raised his eyebrows. "Are you here at the hospital?"


    "You said that something happened to Sonny. I''m her friend and I''m worried about her. That''s why I


    came over," Charles said. "Be honest with me, Toby. Did something happen to the baby she''s carrying?


    Why else would she be in a hospital now?"


    Charles didn''t know the real reason why Sonia was staying in the hospital as he didn''t hear any news


    from her.


    He assumed that Sonia had suddenly experienced some worrying symptoms and was hospitalized


    because of this.


    "Yes." Since Charles was at the hospital, Toby saw no reason in hiding the situation from him.


    "What?!" Charles fumed. "Something happened to the baby?!"

 Chapter 1499

    Chapter 1499


    "Everything''s fine now," Toby stated.


    However, that was not a good enough answer for Charles who was red with fury. Even his eyes were


    bloodshot. "What the hell have you been doing, Toby? When I chose to let go of Sonny, I told you that


    since she chose you, you need to make sure you protect her and keep her from getting hurt again.


    Well, what have you done, huh? You couldn''t even protect the child she''s carrying! She was nearly in


    danger! Did you even bother to keep her safe?"


    Charles'' tirade left Toby with a nasty expression. "What do you know, huh? You don''t even know


    anything, and yet you''re trying to criticize me. It doesn''t make you seem any better. It just shows how


    dumb you are."


    "Why, you¡­" Charles fumed through gritted teeth. It was a while before he could take a deep breath


    and force himself to calm down. "Fine. It''s true that I don''t know anything, but what I do know is that


    Sonny was hurt under your care. Tell me which room you''re in right now, Toby. I want to see Sonny.


    Don''t even think about saying that I''m not allowed to go in. I''m the one who grew up with Sonny. I''m like


    a brother to her. I have every right to see her."


    Toby couldn''t refute Charles on that.


    After all, Charles had indeed grown up with Sonia. Even though she didn''t love him romantically, she


    did treat him like a brother and trusted him very much.


    Based on this alone, Toby wasn''t in a position to stop the two from seeing each other.


    Most importantly, it would be good to have Charles'' help in consoling Sonia when she woke up.


    Thus, Toby gave Charles the room number without saying anything else.


    Charles hung up and started heading over.


    As Toby had informed the staff of Charles'' arrival, thetter was able to make his way to Sonia''s ward


    easily enough.


    When he saw Sonia lying on the hospital bed looking ghostly pale and hooked up to an IV drip, he was


    heartbroken. He stormed over to Toby and grabbed him by the cor before hoisting him out of the


    chair. "Toby Fuller!"


    Toby leveled a cold stare at Charles. He didn''t fight back, but he showed no fear either. It was as if he


    wasn''t being manhandled.


    On the other hand, Mary was rmed. "Please don''t do this, Mr. Lane. Please let go of Young Master


    Toby. He only just had surgery and he hasn''t fully recovered yet. Are you sure you can bear the


    consequences if something were to happen to him? Most importantly, how are you going to face Young


    Mistress Sonia when she wakes up?"


    Her words managed to knock some sense into Charles, and he shoved Toby away.


    Toby had to take a step back to regain his bnce. He calmly adjusted his cor and said, "It''s only for


    Little Leaf''s sake that I''m not holding your disrespectful attitude against you. Otherwise, you wouldn''t


    be walking out of here in one piece after what you did to me."


    "Should I be thanking you?" Charles sneered.


    Toby didn''t even bother looking at Charles. He headed for the door instead. "That won''t be necessary.


    A ward is where the patient rests. It''s not some ce for you to cause a ruckus. If you want to know


    what happened to Little Leaf, thene with me. Mary, keep an eye on things here and let me know


    as soon as Little Leaf wakes up."


    "I will, Young Master Toby." Mary nodded firmly.


    Charles nced at Mary and then at Sonia, who was still unconscious. In the end, he followed Toby out


    of the room.


    Since Toby said that Sonia was fine, Charles didn''t feel the need to wait in the room. It was more


    important for him to find out what happened.


    Charles went out and saw Toby waiting for him at the end of the corridor. He hurried over and stopped


    in front of Toby. "You can tell me what happened now, right?"


    "Do you know who Little Leaf''s biological parents are?" Toby asked.


    Charles frowned. "How would I know that?"


    "Mrs. Lane knows," Toby informed Charles.


    Charles froze. "My mom knows?"


    Toby hummed nomittedly.


    Soon, Charles regained hisposure and said, "Well, so what if she knows? Why should I care about


    her parents who abandoned her? I just want to know what happened to Sonny, so why are you bringing


    up something unnecessary?"


    "It would''ve been a good thing if Sonia''s biological parents had indeed abandoned her. In that case,


    she wouldn''t have been crushed, fainted, and nearly lost the baby after finding out her real identity.


    However, her parents didn''t abandon her. It was Henry who stole her from her parents." Toby looked


    straight at Charles.


    Charles'' expression hardened. "What did you say? Mr. Henry stole Sonny? Mr. Henry only stole one


    child, and that was Titus Gray''s daughter. You can''t be saying that¡­ Sonny is¡­"


    His voice cracked.


    Toby nodded. "That''s right. It''s just as you''ve deduced. Sonia is Titus'' daughter. She''s the real Rina


    Gray."


    "How''s that possible?" Charles'' voice was an octave higher than normal as he eximed in disbelief.


    "How did Sonny be Rina? What about the current Rina then? Sonny said she saw the DNA test


    that this Rina did with Titus and his wife with her own eyes! How could it be fake? Don''te up with


    these lies to fool me, Toby."


    "Ask your mother and you''ll know whether or not I''m lying to you. She was one of the first people to


    know that Sonia is Titus'' daughter. As for the current Rina, she''s Taylor Carey, the Careys'' real


    daughter. The DNA test results came out that way because she didn''t use her hair. She used Sonia''s


    hair."


    "How could this be?" Charles couldn''t calm down.


    He kept running his fingers through his increasingly messy hair as he wrestled with the revtion.


    "How did Sonny be Rina Gray all of a sudden?"


    No wonder Sonny fainted. Anyone would''ve fainted if they found out about something like this.


    She''d grown up in a happy, loving family. Even though her mother died young, her father doted on her


    greatly and raised her with care. She grew up to be a righteous and kind-hearted woman. Furthermore,


    she had no idea that she wasn''t rted to her parents by blood. She always thought she was their


    biological child.


    Then, out of the blue, a bad guy destroyed her family and caused her father''s death. She became filled


    with resentment and swore to get revenge. All along, she had been working toward that goal.


    Yet, at this very moment, someone told her that she wasn''t her parents'' biological daughter. The target


    of her vengeance was instead. Who wouldn''t have a breakdown if this happened to them?


    She went from being the daughter of a loving, caring family to the daughter of her enemy. How ironic is


    that?


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Should she still take revenge?


    If she did, it meant that she was condemning her biological parents, but if she didn''t, how would she be


    able to avenge the parents who raised her?


    It was a difficult question with seemingly no answer. Anyone would crumble if they were put in this


    position.


    This was the very situation that Sonia was in now.


    "Damn it!" Charles punched the wall. His eyes were wild with rage. "How did everything turn out like


    this? How could Sonny be Titus'' daughter?"


    "After stealing Little Leaf away from the Grays, Henry kept her by his side. At the time, his wife was


    tormented over the loss of their daughter and was a little mentally unstable, so Henry gave Little Leaf to


    her. With Little Leaf by Mrs. Reed''s side, thest two years of her life were blissful, and it was thanks to


    those two years that Henry began treating Little Leaf as if she was his own daughter," Toby said inly.


    Ever since then, Sonia became the Reeds'' daughter.

 Chapter 1500

    Chapter 1500


    Charles couldn''t calm down. The news was too much of a shock for him.


    He couldn''te to terms with it right away.


    Toby didn''t say anything either. He simply stood there and watched as Charles grappled with the


    knowledge.


    They''d been standing around for about ten minutes when Charles fell to his knees all of a sudden and


    roared, "Tell me the truth, Toby. When did you find out about this? When did my mother find out?"


    "I found out a few months ago, and I''m the one who told Mrs. Lane about this," Toby replied evenly as


    he looked at Charles.


    Charles raised his head. "You knew all this time and you didn''t tell Sonny?"


    "How do you expect me to tell her about this?" Toby retorted. "You''re no fool. I''m sure you have enough


    brains to figure out why I didn''t tell her!"


    Charles opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.


    He''s right. How is anyone supposed to tell her something like this?


    "It''s the same reason why Mrs. Lane didn''t tell Little Leaf about this. All of us who knew about her real


    identity had tried our best to keep this a secret. That''s why I helped Taylor when she wanted to be


    Rina. If she''s Rina, then it''s very unlikely that people will find out about Little Leaf''s real identity." Toby


    rubbed his forehead. "I didn''t think that she''d find out in just a few months."


    "Who told her?" Charles looked up with his bloodshot eyes.


    If Toby didn''t n on telling Sonny about this, then she wouldn''t have found out from him.


    Someone else must''ve told Sonny about this on purpose.


    "Taylor did." At the mention of Taylor, Toby''s expression became murderous once more. "She wants to


    save Titus by convincing Little Leaf to donate one of her kidneys to him, so she found a way to disguise


    herself as a nurse to get into the ward. She told Little Leaf everything, and that''s why Little Leaf got so


    agitated that she fainted and her pregnancy was jeopardized."


    "It was her?" Charles balled his fists and red at Toby. "Don''t tell me you haven''t caught that woman


    yet or that she has escaped."


    Toby stared back at Charles as if he was surveying a fool. "Do you think I won''t go after the person who


    did this to my wife?"


    Even if Rina managed to escape at first, he could easily send his men to capture her.


    Taylor didn''t have help the way Tina did.


    Charles exhaled when he heard that Taylor had been captured, but his gaze was still dark and


    menacing. "Where is she right now? I''m going to thrash her."


    He wouldn''t be able to vent his anger if he didn''t.


    "There''s no rush," Toby said. "Little Leaf is most important right now. She would''ve been


    psychologically and emotionally scarred by the knowledge that she''s Titus'' daughter. I''m afraid that she


    might even think about taking her own life. After all, she''s caught between her burden of avenging the


    Reeds and the lives of her biological parents. She might choose to run away from this by harming


    herself instead. That''s why I called Mrs. Lane. I want Mrs. Lane to talk to her andfort her so that


    she can ovee this hurdle."


    "We do need my mother. She trusts my mother a lot and treats my mother like her own. It would be


    good if my mother came to talk to her. Don''t worry. I''ll tell my mother about this and get her toe as


    soon as possible. I''ll talk to Sonny too." At a time like this, Charles finally stopped being at odds with


    Toby.


    Why would he be in the mood to y contrarian with Toby when Sonia''s life was at stake?


    Sonia was the most important.


    "Thank you," Toby said.


    Charles waved it off. "You don''t need to thank me. I''m doing this for Sonny. Can you tell me where that


    woman is now? Since Sonny hasn''t woken up yet, I''ll go and teach that woman a lesson."


    "I''ll have someone take you over, but remember, she needs to remain alive. I still have use of her,"


    Toby warned.


    "I don''t need you to tell me that," Charles scoffed.


    Toby didn''t say anything else. He then took out his phone and made a call.


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    A bodyguard appeared to take Charles away.


    Toby stood in ce for a few more minutes before returning to the ward.


    Sonia hadn''t woken up yet. Mary was wiping Sonia''s face. She greeted Toby when he came in.


    Toby went over and took the face towel from Mary. "I''ll do it."


    "Okay," Mary readily agreed.


    She knew that Toby was having a difficult time. He was feeling remorseful as well.


    He felt guilty for not protecting Sonia, so he wanted to do something to make up for it.


    Mary sighed and stepped aside before asking, "Where''s Mr. Lane?"


    "He went to settle the score with that woman," Toby replied as he gently wiped Sonia''s face and hands.


    Mary nodded as she vented, "That woman''s deplorable! She deserves to be taught a lesson."


    Toby didn''t respond but continued to wipe Sonia''s face and hands. All of his attention was on her.


    Once he was done, he passed the towel and basin of water back to Mary for her to clean up.


    As Mary took the basin from Toby, she noticed the exhaustion in his eyes. "There''s no telling when


    Young Mistress Sonia will wake up, Young Master Toby. Why don''t you take a nap first? You can''t wait


    until she wakes up. What if she only wakes up tomorrow? If you carry on like this, your health will be


    affected too. Don''t forget that you haven''t fully recovered yet. I''m sure Young Mistress Sonia would feel


    bad and guilty if she woke up and saw you like this."


    Toby knew full well what he should do, but he was too afraid to sleep. He couldn''t rx until he saw her


    awake again.


    Mary figured out why Toby refused to rest, so she tried to persuade him once more. "How''s this, Young


    Master Toby? I''ll stay right by her side the whole time. I''m in better shape than you. You can''t keep


    waiting here but I can, so I''ll sit with her. You can sleep right beside her for now, Young Master Toby.


    That way, as soon as she wakes up, I''ll wake you up too, and you''ll know right away."


    Toby hesitated briefly, but in the end, he agreed.


    After all, what could he do in this condition?


    He had only been waiting around for a few hours and his heart was already giving him problems.


    Things would only get worse if he continued like this.


    If that happened, would he be the one worrying over Sonia or would she be the one who had to worry


    about him?


    "Alright. In that case, I''ll have to trouble you for now, Mary. Charles mighte overter. Arrange a


    room for him. If he wants to wait until Little Leaf wakes up, then let him be. If he doesn''t, he can leave


    first and we''ll call him overter," Toby instructed.


    Mary nodded. "Alright, Young Master Toby. I''ll do just that. You can go ahead and sleep."


    Toby hummed in acknowledgment before resting his head on the edge of Sonia''s bed, grasping her


    hand, and falling asleep.


    He ended up sleeping until it was dark out.


    Sonia felt as if she had a very long dream. In her dream, she felt anguished and was drowning in


    sadness, but now that the dream was over, she couldn''t remember what the dream was about.


    When she opened her eyes, she felt a cool sensation around her eyes and knew that she had cried in


    real life too when she cried in her dream.


    "Ugh¡­" Sonia groaned in difort as she shifted slightly.


    Mary was sitting beside the bed writing something. She immediately looked up when she heard the


    sound. After seeing Sonia''s eyes open, she cried out happily, "You''re awake, Young Mistress Sonia."


    Before Sonia could respond, Mary quickly nudged Toby to wake him up. "Wake up, Young Master Toby!


    Young Mistress Sonia is awake."

 Chapter 1501

    Chapter 1501


    Toby woke up the moment Mary called out to him. When he heard that Sonia was awake, he


    immediately looked up.


    Sonia''s eyes were wide open, but she seemed to be in a daze as her pupils were a little dted and her


    gaze looked a little nk.


    Toby gently stroked her face as he called out softly, "Darling."


    That got Sonia''s attention. Her eyes cleared and brightened.


    She turned her head ever so slightly to look at him before blinking and asking weakly, "W-What


    happened to me?"


    Toby helped her up and ced a pillow behind her back to prop her upfortably before replying,


    "Taylor came over. You were agitated by what she said and you experienced miscarriage symptoms."


    Sonia froze as the memory flooded back into her mind.


    She remembered everything.


    That''s right. It''s just as he said. Taylor came and said that I''m Titus'' biological daughter¡ªthe real Rina


    Gray.


    Sonia couldn''t ept this news, so she forced herself to quell the emotions that welled up inside her.


    However, she forgot that her health wasn''t what it once was and she couldn''t take such a hard blow.


    Thus, she ended up fainting and jeopardizing the baby.


    She could still recall how it felt when her abdomen stung with pain.


    "How''s the baby?" Sonia became agitated once more and grabbed Toby''s arm. Her eyes were red as


    she asked frantically, "How''s the baby, Toby? Did we¡­ lose the baby?"


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    She had been in so much pain at the time and didn''t believe that the baby would be fine.


    There was a chance that she lost the baby.


    If that''s true¡­


    Sonia''s head was buzzing. She was too afraid to even consider that possibility. Her body started


    trembling violently.


    Toby sensed her fear. He could tell what she was thinking about, so he quickly hugged her tofort


    her. "Don''t worry. The baby''s fine. Nothing''s wrong with the baby."


    Mary nodded and added, "That''s right, Young Mistress Sonia. The doctor came in time so the baby''s


    fine."


    These words managed to quell the storm of emotions brewing inside Sonia. She calmed down and her


    mind cleared a little. After releasing Toby''s arm to stroke her stomach, she asked, "Is that true?"


    "Of course." Toby lovingly caressed her head. "You would''ve noticed the changes in your body if the


    baby''s gone, but nothing''s changed, so it means the baby''s still there."


    Atst, Sonia rxed.


    That''s true. If I had a miscarriage, the doctor would''ve done the procedure to clear my womb. I would


    be in pain right now.


    She didn''t feel any pain in her abdomen, so it meant that the baby was still there.


    "Thank goodness." Sonia smiled with relief.


    Toby and Mary exhaled in relief as well.


    However, Sonia immediately thought of something. Her expression changed and she shoved Toby


    away.


    Toby stumbled backward before he regained his bnce. His heart sank when he saw her furious


    expression. He had a guess as to what had happened, but he pretended to ask cluelessly, "What''s the


    matter?"


    Mary could see that Sonia was upset with Toby and knew what he was about to face, so she quietly left


    the room.


    An old woman like me shouldn''t stick around for this.


    I''ll leave the two lovebirds alone to resolve their conflict.


    Most of the time, it takes a couple very little time to resolve their conflict if they''re left alone, but it will


    take even longer if a third person is with them.


    Everyone cares about their pride and dignity, so if someone else was around, they might end up being


    even more stubborn so that they didn''t humiliate themselves in front of other people. They might even


    make mountains out of molehills, and the conflict would worsen.


    I should leave and let the two of them handle the rest by themselves.


    Mary closed the door behind her.


    Charles immediately came out of his room next door when he heard themotion.


    "Mr. Lane," Mary greeted with a smile.


    "Madam Mary." Charles nodded in response before asking, "Is Sonny awake? I think I heard her voice."


    "That''s right. Young Mistress Sonia is awake." Mary didn''t hide it from him.


    Charles was relieved. "Thank goodness. I''ll go in and see her."


    He moved to open the door.


    "Mr. Lane!" Mary held onto him to stop him from entering. "Don''t go in yet, Mr. Lane. Young Mistress


    Sonia and Young Master Toby are in conflict right now because he helped Taylor, so it''s best if you wait


    here first. You can go in when they''ve resolved their conflict."


    Charles let go of the doorknob and agreed.


    "Fine. I''ll let them sort out their issues first," he said.


    In this situation, neither one of them was in the wrong.


    Toby is Sonny''s husband. Even though he hadn''t gotten back together with her at the time, he was


    already pursuing her, but during that time, he helped a woman hide her identity and didn''t tell Sonia


    about it. Any woman would get mad about that.


    Sonia''s anger made sense to Charles.


    At the same time, he knew that Toby didn''t do anything wrong either.


    Toby knew how Sonny would react if she found out about her real identity, so naturally, he didn''t want


    her to find out, and that''s why he had to help Taylor.


    He did it for Sonny''s sake. Even I can''t say that what he did was wrong.


    Therefore, Charles knew he shouldn''t be going in and adding to the conflict between them. He agreed


    with Mary. Let them resolve their conflict first since neither one of them is wrong.


    Mary smiled warmly when she saw Charles readily agreeing with her suggestion. "Thanks, Mr. Lane."


    "It''s nothing. I just want what''s best for Sonny," Charles replied coolly as he leaned against the wall.


    Sonny loves Toby. She won''t break up with him over this.


    Charles knew that Sonia was just having a hard time epting the situation and hadn''t thought things


    through yet. Once she calmed down, she would realize that everything Toby had done was indeed for


    her sake.


    He was certain they would mend their rtionship soon enough, so he wasn''t about to go and be the


    bad guy by making them split up.


    Meanwhile, Toby pulled Sonia into his arms and hugged her tightly. He refused to let go and Sonia


    couldn''t push him away. "Calm down, darling. Don''t get too agitated. What if it affects the baby again?


    Think about what happened earlier today!"


    Sonia hadn''t lost all her senses yet. Despite her rage, she could still hear what Toby said.


    She immediately stopped struggling and quietly rested against his chest. He''s right. I nearly lost the


    baby. Am I going to let myself get a miscarriage over Taylor? Definitely not. She''s not as important as


    the baby.


    Toby exhaled in relief when he saw that Sonia had stopped moving. He loosened his grip and looked


    down at her with an expression of guilt. "I''m sorry, Little Leaf. I lied to you. I hid things from you. You


    can take it out on me and hit me if you want, but I just have one request. Don''t harm yourself, okay?"


    He stared at her with loving, pleading eyes.


    Sonia''s eyes flickered before she looked away and asked hoarsely, "Why? Why didn''t you tell me? Why


    did you help Taylor? You know very well that she''s my enemy!"

 Chapter 1502

    Chapter 1502


    The irony wasn''t lost on Sonia.


    She and Zane were the ones who found Taylor and sent her to the Grays to be their spy.


    Yet, in the end, she didn''t get an informant but an enemy instead.


    It was an enemy that she created for herself!


    Taylor''s existence alone was enough of a mockery to Sonia. Whenever she saw Taylor, she would be


    reminded of just how blind she was for creating an enemy for herself.


    That was why she tried her best to keep Taylor out of mind and out of sight.


    However, it was her husband who had contact with Taylor and secretly helped Taylor without her


    knowing about it.


    But she''s my enemy!


    Sonia''s eyes were reddened. Toby took a piece of tissue to wipe her tears for her, but Sonia turned


    away from him.


    Toby had no choice but to stuff the tissue into her hands before saying, "I know you''re hurt, darling, but


    I did it for your sake."


    "For my sake?" Sonia scoffed. "You helped my enemy, but you''re telling me that it''s for my sake?"


    "Yes! I did it for you!" Toby firmly dered. "I wouldn''t have gotten involved at all if you weren''t Titus''


    biological daughter. I wouldn''t have helped Taylor in any way. However, you are his daughter, so that''s


    why I helped Taylor. I didn''t want you to find out about your true identity, so I needed Taylor to be Rina.


    That''s the only way to keep your true identity froming to light. Everything went ording to n so


    far, but I didn''t think that Titus would suffer from severe kidney failure and Taylor would expose your


    true identity to you in the hopes of saving him."


    That was his mistake.


    Sonia clenched her fists. "This means you knew about this a long time ago, right?"


    Toby pursed his lips and acknowledged that. "I only found out that you''re the real Rina Gray when


    Taylor removed the mole on your wrist. That''s when I decided to help her. Since she wanted to be Rina,


    I made it possible for her. I would''ve helped anyone in that position, not just her. Anyone could be Rina,


    as long as it wasn''t you."


    "Is that why you can ignore my wishes and hide everything from me? Is that why you can give my


    identity to someone else and let that person rece me?" Sonia stared at him mockingly.


    Toby frowned. "I had no intention of allowing anyone to rece you. To me, you''re Sonia Reed, not


    Rina Gray. Even if you were Titus'' daughter, I didn''t believe that you''d be Rina. That''s why I did


    this. You wouldn''t have been able to stay calm and take your revenge if I told you everything from the


    start. Trust me, Little Leaf. I did this for your sake."


    "I don''t want to hear it." Sonia closed her eyes. "All I know is that you helped my enemy and hid


    everything from me, so please get out right now. I want to be alone."


    "Little Leaf¡­"


    "Get out!" Sonia pointed at the door.


    Worried that she would get even more emotional, Toby sighed helplessly and took onest look at her


    before turning to leave. "Fine. I''ll leave and let you calm down by yourself. I know you''ll realize why I


    did this, and when that happens, you''ll know that I did it for your sake."


    Initially, he wanted toe right out and say that he couldn''t tell her this sooner because he was afraid


    that she wouldn''t be able to take it and might end up doing something foolish.


    However, he knew that she was still caught in the turmoil of the discovery earlier today. If he said that


    to her, it would only be an even greater blow to her.


    Just be patient.


    Toby rubbed his forehead and left the room.


    Charles and Mary heard the door opening and quickly checked to see what was happening.


    When Mary saw Tobying out, she immediately asked, "How did it go, Young Master Toby? Did


    Young Mistress Sonia forgive you?"


    Toby shook his head. "No. She has a lot going on in her head right now and she refused to listen to my


    exnation. She chased me out of the room. I figured that it''d be good to leave her alone for now.


    Maybe she''lle round."


    Mary nodded. She figured it was the best thing they could do now.


    On the other hand, Charles voiced his disagreement. "Even though Sonny will eventuallye round,


    who knows how long it''ll take? It won''t be good for her and the baby if she continues feeling upset. I


    think it''s better if you talked things through with her as soon as possible. Otherwise, she''d stubbornly


    focus on the fact that you helped her enemy and wouldn''t be able to ovee her emotional hurdle.


    She wouldn''t be able to realize that what you did was for her own good."


    "Mr. Lane has a point," Marymented.


    Toby''s eyes narrowed.


    "Are you saying that I should go in and tell her the real reason why I hid her identity from her?"


    Charles rolled his eyes. "Sonny kicked you out, so it''s obvious that she doesn''t want to see you for


    now. There''s no point if you go in. You''ll just get chased out again. Someone else should go in."


    "Are you referring to yourself?" Toby frowned.


    Charles stood up straight. "Who else is here right now? Yes, Madam Mary could go in, but she doesn''t


    know much and she won''t know the right things to say tofort Sonny. It won''t work as well."


    Mary nodded in agreement.


    Charles continued, "My mother could do it too, but I got in touch with her and she said my father fell


    down this afternoon. He injured his back, so my mother has to attend to him. She can onlye over


    tomorrow. This means I''m the only person here now who can console Sonny, right?"


    Toby had no retort.


    In the end, he agreed to let Charles talk to Sonia.


    After all, Charles'' analysis struck a chord with him.


    He only thought about letting Sonia calm down. He knew she was wise and was only ming him for


    what he did because she was furious and hadn''t had the presence of mind to reflect on the reason


    behind his actions.


    That was why he figured that giving her some alone time would be enough for her to think things


    through herself.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t consider when she would be able to do that. It would be good if she could do it


    sooner rather thanter, but if she fixated on the fact that he helped Taylor, then she wouldn''t be able to


    get over the situation anytime soon.


    If her negative emotions continued to fester inside her, both she and the baby would suffer.


    "I''m going in then," Charles said to Toby as he dusted himself off.


    Toby looked at him. "If you''re able to help me advise her, then I owe you one."


    Charles snorted. "You already owe me a lot for taking Sonny away from me. You''ll never be able to


    repay me for that, so what''s the point of saying this now? The only way you can make it up to me is by


    taking good care of Sonny, protecting her, and cherishing her."


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "I''d still be doing those things without you telling me to," Toby retorted coolly.


    Charles scoffed and entered the room.


    Once the door closed behind him, Mary smiled. "Mr. Lane has a good heart."


    Toby didn''t disagree.


    Even though he found Charles rather annoying, he knew that Charles was always reliable when the


    situation involved Sonia.


    "We''ll just have to wait and see what happens now." Toby massaged his temples and sat down on the


    chair nearby.


    Hopefully, Charles will be able to convince Little Leaf.


    Marry nodded. "That''s right. There''s no point in us fretting over it now. We''ll just have to trust Mr. Lane."


    Inside the room, Sonia heard the sound of footsteps and assumed it was Toby who came in, so she


    closed her eyes and shrieked, "I told you to get out, didn''t I? Why did youe back in?"

 Chapter 1503

    Chapter 1503


    "Oh, my. You sound so fierce," Charles teased.


    Sonia was startled. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times when she saw him. "Charles?"


    "That''s me." Charles walked over to the bed and sat down on a chair.


    Sonia tilted her head sideways with a confused expression. "What are you doing here?"


    "Why wouldn''t Ie and visit you when something as serious as this happened?" Charles studied her


    and frowned when he saw her gaunt, pale face. "Why did you lose so much weight?" he asked with a


    frown.


    "I have no appetite, so I lost some weight." Sonia touched her face and forced herself to smile.


    "Even if you have no appetite, you should still try to eat something anyway. Your body wouldn''t be able


    to take it if you don''t. And you''re not just eating for one now. There''s someone else you need to feed."


    Charles lifted his chin to point at her stomach.


    Sonia stroked her belly. "Don''t worry. I know everything you just said. Madam Mary has beening


    up with all kinds of new food to whet my appetite. You don''t need to worry about me."


    "How am I supposed to not worry about you? Look at how frail you''ve be. You even fainted just


    from being affected by what someone else said." Charles rubbed his forehead. "Do you feel better


    now? Does your abdomen still hurt? My heart nearly stopped when I heard from Toby that something


    happened to you."


    "I''m sorry for making you worry," Sonia said with an apologetic smile. "I feel a lot better now. There''s no


    difort."


    Charles waved it off. "You don''t need to apologize. I''m like a brother to you, aren''t I? It''s only right for


    me to worry about you. Since you''re better now, it''s safe enough for me to say what I''m about to say to


    you."


    "What are you going to say to me?" Sonia pursed her pale lips.


    Charles looked at her. "You already know the answer to that, don''t you? That''s right. I''m here to ask


    you about your thoughts after finding out your real identity. Don''t get agitated. Since you''ve found out


    about it now, you need to have the courage to face this head-on and consider what you''re going to do


    next. You still need to resolve the situation, don''t you? You can''t just pretend as if you don''t know


    anything and ignore itpletely. It''ll only make things worse for you."


    Sonia couldn''t respond.


    "What do you want to do, Sonny?" Charles asked. "Do you want to reunite with the Grays?"


    "No! I don''t want to reunite with them!" Sonia shook her head violently as if she was having a


    meltdown. "I don''t want to acknowledge my rtionship with them. I''ll never!"


    "Okay, okay. If you don''t, then don''t. Calm down." Charles was afraid that she''d faint the way she did


    earlier today, so he quickly tried to soothe her emotions.


    Sonia slowly regained herposure. Her eyes were red as tears dripped onto the white sheets.


    "Charles, why me?"


    She stared at him with reddened eyes. Her question was both for him and for herself. "Why can''t I be


    an orphan who was abandoned by her parents? Why did I turn out to be Rina Gray?"


    Sonia couldn''te to terms with the truth and couldn''t ept it either.


    It felt as if life was ying a cruel joke on her.


    No one else knew the way she felt when Taylor told her everything. She felt as if the sky had fallen.


    Everything turned ck. She couldn''t see the light.


    Charles wanted to say something, but he couldn''t give an appropriate response when Sonia was


    reacting this way.


    Well, he wanted to know the answer to her question too. Why did it have to be her?


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Why didn''t Mr. Henry throw the baby he stole into the river?


    No. Hang on. He shouldn''t. If he did, then Sonny wouldn''t be here right now.


    It could only be chalked down to a cruel twist of fate.


    "Don''t dwell on this now, Sonny. Let''s take it slow and talk about it, okay?" After a while, Charles finally


    regained his voice. He ced his hand on Sonia''s shoulder and attempted tofort her.


    Sonia closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.


    She noticed that her abdomen was starting to hurt again.


    "I want to ask you something, Sonny. Do you hate your father?" Charles asked abruptly.


    Sonia looked at him and shook her head. "Of course not."


    "But he took you away from the Grays," Charles pointed out. "You''re in this awkward predicament now


    because he took you away from your real parents. Do you really not feel any hatred toward him? After


    all, he''s the one who caused everything that happened to you."


    "I never hated him." Sonia bit her lip before dering in all seriousness, "Dad shouldn''t have stolen me


    from the Grays. He broke thew. Other people might think he''s the bad guy and the true culprit behind


    what happened to me today, but in my eyes, that''s not true. He did take me away, but he didn''t kill me.


    He raised me as if I was his own daughter and gave me fatherly love. He taught me to be a kind and


    righteous person. Titus couldn''t have given me any of that. If I had grown up with the Grays, I wouldn''t


    have be the person I am today. I might''ve be someone like Tina instead."


    The Grays were known for spoiling their children.


    Sonia continued, "Furthermore, in my eyes, I don''t think Dad is the one who caused everything. The


    real culprit should be Titus, shouldn''t it? He was the one who was jealous of Dad and Paradigm. He


    was the one who hired someone to steal Paradigm''s secrets and caused thepany employee to


    take his own life. If Titus hadn''t done any of that, then Paradigm wouldn''t have gotten into trouble and


    Dad''s reputation wouldn''t have been destroyed over his employee''s death. He wouldn''t have stolen a


    child from the Grays. Isn''t it Titus'' fault for pushing Dad to the point where he did such a thing?"


    Sonia looked at Charles. "Even though Dad took me away, he didn''t kill me. Anyone else who resented


    Titus that much would have probably either made my life a living hell or killed me to take revenge on


    Titus, but Dad didn''t. He was a kind man. He was so kind that he raised his enemy''s daughter and


    gave her all the love he had to give as a father. That''s why I don''t hate him. I have no right to hate him."


    In fact, if she had a choice, she would rather be Henry''s daughter instead of Titus'' daughter.


    She couldn''t ept the possibility that she might have be someone as evil as Tina if the Grays


    had raised her.


    Charles nodded to show that he understood what she meant before asking a different question. "What


    about the Grays? Do you hate them? They were the ones who lost you and made you end up in this


    predicament."


    Sonia balled her fists. Her eyes were red as she dered, "I hate them! But¡­"


    The cloud of emotions in her eyes cleared up as she cupped her head with her hands. "But¡­ not as


    much as I used to!"


    This was what she couldn''t ept the most.


    How could her hatred for them dissipate just because they were her biological parents?


    She felt guilty toward Henry and the fact that the Reeds were the ones who raised her.


    "That''s normal." Charles patted her on the shoulder in understanding. "It''s strange when you''re rted


    to someone by blood. It''s almost as if there''s an innate connection. When two strangers who are


    connected by blood run into each other, they''ll have a strange sense of affinity with them. Also, children


    have a natural bond with their parents. It''s perfectly normal that your hatred for the Grays decreased


    when you found out they are your biological parents."


    Sonia looked up. "Do you think that''s very hypocritical of me? Don''t you think I''m betraying the Reeds?


    And Dad?"


    Charles shook his head. "Of course not. I told you. It''s an innate connection and it''s not your fault. In


    any case, even though you hate them less now, it doesn''t mean you don''t hate them at all. You don''t


    have to feel as if you betrayed anyone. Don''t overthink this. Furthermore, even though the Grays are


    despicable, there''s a part of them that makes them deserving of your diminished hatred toward them."

 Chapter 1504

    Chapter 1504


    Sonia''s eyes flickered. "Are you referring to their love for me?"


    Charles nodded. "That''s right. Although the Grays are unscrupulous people, no one can deny their love


    for their children. They''re famous for doting on their children, and their unconditional love is partly


    responsible for the way Tina turned out. Even though their love resulted in raising an immoral person


    like Tina, they can''t be faulted for loving their child. And,pared to Tina, the one they love the most


    is still you."


    Sonia lowered her eyes.


    Charles continued, "Because you''re their biological daughter, they didn''t suspect Taylor when she


    pretended to be you and reunited with the Grays. They showered her with even more love than they


    showed Tina. It proves that they truly love you, their only biological daughter. It''s just that they didn''t


    know you''re the real Rina, so that''s why they gave all their love to Taylor instead. Deep down inside,


    you know full well that the person they love isn''t Taylor, but Rina, whom Taylor is pretending to be. In


    fact, you know full well that if you stood in front of them and told them that you''re Rina, their love for


    Taylor would go to you instead. This love they have for their daughter is also the reason why you can''t


    hate them as much."


    "You''re right," Sonia admitted with a bitter smile. "If they had shown no regard for Rina and hadn''t


    treated Taylor that well, I wouldn''t have broken down over the knowledge of my true identity. My hatred


    for them wouldn''t have diminished. I could''ve even convinced myself that I''m not their daughter and


    that they had merely given me a shell to live in. If they didn''t love me, then I wouldn''t have to hesitate


    when ites to taking my revenge. Yet, they love Rina so deeply. I''m sure that if they found out I''m


    their daughter, they would still be able to love me unconditionally."


    The knowledge of this was Sonia''s greatest burden.


    If the Grays showed no affection for Rina, then even if Sonia found out that she was their biological


    daughter, she wouldn''t feel the need to stop her n for revenge. She would be able to carry on


    without a care in the world and act as if she wasn''t their daughter.


    Even if others criticize her for being cruel and heartless when the deed was done, she wouldn''t be


    affected.


    In a scenario like that, she would know full well that Henry and the Reeds were the most important


    people to her. The Grays wouldn''t have given her anything, apart from a body to live in. Furthermore,


    the daughter they raised stole her husband and nearly took her life several times. It meant that she''d


    repaid them enough for the life they''d given her.


    Thus, even if it resulted in her being scorned by others, she wouldn''t hesitate at all when it came time


    for her to take revenge. She would simply view them as the enemy that so happened to be rted by


    blood to her.


    Yet, in reality, the Grays loved Rina dearly. Even if they knew that their enemies had raised Rina, they


    would still love her.


    It was all because she was their only biological child.


    Therefore, it was the Grays'' love for Rina that flustered her, scared her, and made her feel at a loss


    over what she should do.


    She didn''t know whether she should be taking revenge anymore.


    If she didn''t, then she felt as if she was betraying the Reeds who had raised her for over two decades,


    and her father who loved her.


    However, if she did, then it meant she would be delivering her biological parents who love her so much


    to the hands of the executioner. No one was able to do that unless they had a heart of stone.


    What was she supposed to do now?


    "It''s alright, Sonny." Charles poured a ss of water. "Have some water first."


    Sonia epted the ss from him.


    Charles sat down again. "Apart from visiting you, I also came in to put in a good word for Toby. I don''t


    want to press you on how you''re going to deal with the situation between you and Titus because you


    probably don''t have an answer yet, so I won''t ask about it. Do you resent Toby right now?"


    Sonia pursed her lips. "He knew about my identity a long time ago, but he chose to hide it from me. He


    even helped Taylor. I feel¡­"


    "Does it feel like he betrayed you by helping another woman?"


    Sonia shook her head. "That''s not it. I know he wouldn''t betray me. I''m just upset that he helped


    another woman, and that woman''s my enemy. I can''t ept it."


    "You''re just being stubborn, you know." Charles shrugged. "Toby''s not the only one who knows your


    real identity."


    "What?" Sonia was stunned. "He''s not the only one?"


    "That''s right," Charles confirmed. "My mother knows too, along with Toby''s grandma."


    "Mrs. Lane¡­ knows about it too?"


    "That''s right, but my mother hid this from you as well. Are you going to resent her for it too?"


    Sonia didn''t know what to say to that.


    He stroked her head. "Sonny, I know you''re upset because Toby hid such a significant matter from you,


    but why don''t you think about the reason why he chose to hide it from you?"


    "He said he did it for my sake."


    "Exactly. He did it for your sake, and not just him either. Both my mother and Toby''s grandma chose not


    to tell you for your own good. If I''d known about it earlier, I would''ve done the same. It''s because we all


    understand you well. We know how the Grays feel about their biological daughter, and we know that if


    you find out about your real identity, you probably won''t be able to bring yourself to take revenge, but


    you can''t avoid avenging your father and the Reeds. You''d end up caught between both sides and


    wouldn''t know what to do. It''d only fester inside you and make you depressed. You might even choose


    to take your own life to avoid confronting the situation."


    Sonia''s eyes shook. "W-Why would I do such a thing?"


    She voiced her disbelief.


    However, Charles simply looked at her. "Are you sure you wouldn''t?"


    Sonia couldn''t reply. A voice inside her was telling her that what he said was true.


    Under those circumstances, there was a chance that she might have done just that.


    Sonia buried her face in her hands. "I never thought about that. I¡ª"


    "It''s okay." Charles patted her on the back. "Now that you know you might''ve gone to that extreme, I


    hope you can recognize that and stop things from getting that far. The world''s full of people who care


    about you. All of us would be devastated if we lost you. Most importantly, there''s nothing in this world


    that cannot be solved. Although you''re in this predicament right now, I''m sure there''s still a way to deal


    with both your rtionship with the Grays and the grievances between the Grays and the Reeds. It''s


    just that we haven''t found it yet. It doesn''t mean we never will. That''s why you have to keep a cool


    head. That''s the only way we can find a solution."


    Sonia''s throat constricted. "I know."


    She had already realized that she might do something extreme if she became too depressed, so she


    was definitely going to find a way to work through her negative emotions.


    "Since you know this now, Sonny, do you still resent Toby?" Charles asked. "You know that I despise


    Toby, so why am I taking his side now? It''s because I know what he did wasn''t wrong, and that you


    shouldn''t be resenting him for it."


    "Just let me think things through myself." Sonia closed her eyes. "I still feel upset about it. Even if I


    know that he was doing it for my sake, it doesn''t mean I can get over it right away. I need some time,


    but don''t worry. It won''t take very long."


    Charles thought she had a point, so he nodded in agreement. "Alright. Take your time to think things


    through. I hope you reconcile with him soon. I''ll get going now."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

 Chapter 1505

    Chapter 1505


    Charles got up and headed for the door.


    Soon, he was out of the ward.


    Toby and Mary looked up when they heard the door opening.


    "How did it go, Mr. Lane?" Mary''s hands were sped together as she asked worriedly, "Did you


    manage to persuade Young Mistress Sonia?"


    Toby didn''t say anything, but his eyes were fixed on Charles as he waited to hear the answer.


    Charles shook his head. "I don''t know. I''ve said all that I could, but she hasn''te to terms with it yet.


    It was indeed a huge shock to her. She''ll need some time to think things through. Still, I think she took


    in most of what I said. At least, she won''t be doing anything rash or foolish. Time will heal the rest. Just


    leave it to her. I''m sure she''lle round soon enough."


    Mary sighed a little disappointedly.


    On the other hand, Toby wasn''t surprised.


    Sonia wouldn''t have taken that attitude with him if she''d been able toe to terms with the situation


    and forgive him this quickly.


    "It''s fine. You''ve tried your best. All that matters is she won''t do anything foolish now. Everything else


    cane along at its own pace," Toby said.


    Charles paused in thought before suggesting, "Let''s see how things go tomorrow. If she''s still the same


    tomorrow, I''ll get my mother toe over. She''ll probably get over it sooner if my mother talks to her


    about it too."


    "Thank you." Toby nodded at Charles.


    "Don''t act as if I''m doing this for your sake," Charles retorted. "It''s not for you. I''m just doing this for


    Sonny''s sake."


    "I know," Toby said with a smile. "But what you''re doing will speed up the process of reconciliation


    between her and me, so I still want to thank you."


    "Whatever." Charles shrugged. "It''s gettingte. I should get back. I''ll keep my phone on tonight so if


    anything happens to Sonny, make sure you call me. Don''t think about hiding anything from me just


    because of my feelings for her in the past."


    "I won''t." Toby shook his head.


    Even though he still felt ufortable with Charles who was once his rival for Sonia''s affections, he


    was not the type who''d get jealous without thinking about the situation.


    He knew that Charles wasn''t just Sonia''s old admirer. He was her childhood friend and someone who


    was like a brother to her.


    Sometimes, Charles could do things that he might not be able to despite him being her husband.


    At times like these, Sonia needed all thepanionship and constion she could get, and he knew


    he needed their help.


    Therefore, he wasn''t going to object to Charles'' presence now.


    "Good. I''m leaving now." Charles nced at the ward onest time before heading for the elevator.


    "I''ll walk him out, Young Master Toby," Mary said out of the blue.


    "Alright," Toby acknowledged.


    Mary hurried after Charles.


    Toby kept standing at the door and looking in through the little window.


    Unfortunately for him, the hospital bed was too far in and he couldn''t see anything from his position at


    the door.


    He kept staring anyway.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    When Mary came back, she found Toby rooted to his spot in front of the door. It was as if he was a


    statue.


    "You should sit down, Young Master Toby," Mary said with a sigh.


    Toby shook his head. "I''m fine. I want to stand."


    Since he insisted, Mary didn''t try to talk him out of it and stood with him instead.


    After a while, they heard the sound of someone crying inside the room.


    Mary panicked. "I think Young Mistress Sonia is crying, Young Master Toby."


    Toby''s fists were clenched. "I know."


    The sounds hadn''t escaped his notice.


    "Shouldn''t we go in and check on her?" Mary said as she reached for the door. "It won''t be good if


    she''s too emotional in her condition."


    However, Toby stopped her and shook his head. "Don''t go in, Mary."


    Mary looked at him in confusion. "Why not?"


    "Let her cry for a while." Toby let go of Mary''s hand and exined, "She''s deeply affected right now,


    and crying''s the best way for her to release her emotions. If we don''t let her cry, then her emotions will


    be pent up inside her which is worse. It''s better if we let her cry."


    "But what if she cries herself sick? Her health is so frail right now." Mary frowned.


    Toby nodded. "I know, but I trust her. She''s a grown woman. She knows she''s carrying a baby and she


    cares a lot about the baby, so she won''t let anything happen to her. You should trust her too, Mary."


    Mary''s eyes flitted between Toby and the ward. In the end, she sighed and nodded. "Alright. I''ll do as


    you say, Young Master Toby, but we should keep an eye on her still. If anything happens, we must go in


    and check on her right away."


    "Of course." Toby nodded.


    That was his wife in there. She was the person he loved the most.


    It was a given that he wouldn''t disregard her and allow her to cry herself sick.


    He nned on letting her cry for a little while, but if she showed no sign of stopping, then he would go


    in to stop her.


    Thankfully, just as Toby predicted, Sonia was still aware of the fact that she was pregnant, so even


    though she was crying, she remained in control of herself and stopped as soon as she started feeling


    ufortable.


    Even though she didn''t get to cry to her heart''s content, she felt a lot lighter after her short crying spell.


    The pain and anguish in her heart seemed to have eased quite a bit.


    She leaned against the soft headboard and looked up at the ceiling lights.


    The lights were a little too ring. She had to squint a little.


    Once her eyes got used to it, she opened them up again while tears began streaming down her face.


    I should''ve known, Sonia thought. I should''ve known that I''m the Grays'' daughter.


    I should''ve suspected something when I found that ne at home that was the same design as


    Mrs. Gray''s. It was supposed to be a mother-daughter ne design. That was the first clue.


    I should''ve thought about my real identity more when I found out I wasn''t Mom and Dad''s biological


    daughter. That was the second clue.


    There were third and fourth clues after that.


    Sonia often got a strange feeling whenever she saw the Grays.


    For example, there were several times when she noticed that Julia seemed a little off and would feel


    concerned about her.


    She didn''t think too much of it at the time and even thought she was going crazy for having so much


    empathy, but now, she realized that it wasn''t empathy. It was because they were family.


    Also, she should have been happy when she found out that Titus was on the verge of dying, yet she


    didn''t feel any joy back then. Now, she realized that it was also because they were rted to each


    other.


    There were a few instances of her feeling upset and ufortable when she saw the Grays showering


    Taylor with affection. She assumed that she was feeling jealous of and displeased by the happy family.


    Heck, she had even berated herself for having those feelings.


    Well, she now knew that her jealousy stemmed from watching her parents dote on someone else.


    The worst of it all is the fact that I found out Rina had a mole on her wrist, and I have one too, but I


    never suspected that I could be her. What a joke.


    Sonia closed her eyes as tears trickled down her ghostly pale cheeks.


    "Why?" Her lips trembled as she murmured hoarsely, "Why me?"


    Why am I Titus'' daughter? Why didn''t Dad throw the baby into the river after stealing her? If he did, I


    wouldn''t be caught in the middle right now. I wouldn''t be suffering in this turmoil.

 Chapter 1506

    Chapter 1506


    Sonia didn''t me her father. He might have taken her away, but he never abused her, even though


    she was the daughter of his enemy. Instead, he gave her everything he had. She could never get angry


    at him, but she didment this dramatic oue. If Titus had just been that much kinder, none of this


    would have happened. Sonia closed her eyes in pain, but her heart was still in turmoil.


    Despite the silence, Mary was still worried for Sonia. "Master Toby, she has stopped crying."


    "I can see that." Toby pursed his lips.


    Mary looked at him. "So, what should we do now? Should we check in? I don''t like this sudden silence.


    She might have fainted from all the crying." It would be bad if they didn''t check in. What if she did faint?


    We can''t just assume she''s tired.


    Toby understood that all too well, so he said at once, "Mary, go in and check on her."


    "What about you, sir?"


    Toby massaged his temples. "I''ll just stay here. She might still be angry at me. I''d rather not make her


    madder than she already is."


    He has a point. Mary entered the room alone. The first thing she saw was a pale Sonia lying on her


    bed, her eyes closed. The light gleamed off her skin coldly, and Mary felt her heart squeeze. "Young


    Mistress Sonia!" she shouted.


    Sonia opened her eyes. "Oh, it''s you," she whispered.


    Mary heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she''s still awake. I thought she had fainted. "Do you feel


    better now, madam?" Mary straightened out Sonia''s nket. She noticed that Sonia''s eyes were puffy,


    and Mary felt for her.


    Sonia could feel her concern, and she was touched. "No." She shook her head. "Don''t worry, Mary. I''m


    fine."


    But Mary couldn''t not worry. "Are you sure?" She peered at Sonia and said, "This is serious, madam.


    You shouldn''t push yourself just to calm us down. That''ll only make us worry even more."


    "I know. I''m not lying. I''m fine." Sonia nodded adamantly.


    Mary heaved a sigh of relief. "That''s good to hear. Young Master Toby and I were really worried about


    you. You were crying really loudly."


    Sonio didn''t blome her fother. He might hove token her owoy, but he never obused her, even though


    she wos the doughter of his enemy. Insteod, he gove her everything he hod. She could never get ongry


    ot him, but she did loment this dromotic oue. If Titus hod just been thot much kinder, none of this


    would hove hoppened. Sonio closed her eyes in poin, but her heort wos still in turmoil.


    Despite the silence, Mory wos still worried for Sonio. "Moster Toby, she hos stopped crying."


    "I con see thot." Toby pursed his lips.


    Mory looked ot him. "So, whot should we do now? Should we check in? I don''t like this sudden silence.


    She might hove fointed from oll the crying." It would be bod if they didn''t check in. Whot if she did foint?


    We con''t just ossume she''s tired.


    Toby understood thot oll too well, so he soid ot once, "Mory, go in ond check on her."


    "Whot obout you, sir?"


    Toby mossoged his temples. "I''ll just stoy here. She might still be ongry ot me. I''d rother not moke her


    modder thon she olreody is."


    He hos o point. Mory entered the room olone. The first thing she sow wos o pole Sonio lying on her


    bed, her eyes closed. The light gleomed off her skin coldly, ond Mory felt her heort squeeze. "Young


    Mistress Sonio!" she shouted.


    Sonio opened her eyes. "Oh, it''s you," she whispered.


    Mory heoved o sigh of relief. Thonk goodness she''s still owoke. I thought she hod fointed. "Do you feel


    better now, modom?" Mory stroightened out Sonio''s blonket. She noticed thot Sonio''s eyes were puffy,


    ond Mory felt for her.


    Sonio could feel her concern, ond she wos touched. "No." She shook her heod. "Don''t worry, Mory. I''m


    fine."


    But Mory couldn''t not worry. "Are you sure?" She peered ot Sonio ond soid, "This is serious, modom.


    You shouldn''t push yourself just to colm us down. Thot''ll only moke us worry even more."


    "I know. I''m not lying. I''m fine." Sonio nodded odomontly.


    Mory heoved o sigh of relief. "Thot''s good to heor. Young Moster Toby ond I were reolly worried obout


    you. You were crying reolly loudly."


    Sonia''s eyes flickered the moment Toby was mentioned. "He''s still outside"?


    "Of course." Mary nodded. "He can''t leave you alone, not when you''re in this mess. He insists on


    staying with you."


    Sonia stayed silent.


    Mary sat down on the edge of the bed. "Are you still mad at him?"


    Sonia said nothing.


    Mary heaved a sigh. "I know it''s not right of him to help another woman and keep this a secret from


    you, but can we really me him? No. He knows you well. He knows what you might do after you know


    the truth, and he wouldn''t want to see that happen, so he kept it a secret. His mother knows of this as


    well, ording to Young Master Toby. Yet she didn''t object to his action. She even gave him her


    support. That means she too thought you would do something extreme."


    "I know." Sonia took a deep breath. "Why can''t the Grays just make this easier? They could''ve been


    crueler to me. They could''vee after me with everything they got. Then I could have abandoned


    them easily and wouldn''t be in this much pain. I could''ve taken revenge for my dad. Yet, they care.


    They care about Rina. I can''t kill someone who cares for me." She closed her eyes and sobbed once


    more.


    Mary hugged her and patted her back. "I know. I know that''s why you can''t do it. All parents love their


    children. The Grays might be evil, but they too love their children. You''re both blessed and cursed,


    Young Mistress Sonia. Your parents, both foster and biological, love you deeply, yet they are sworn


    enemies. You are stuck in the middle. That is the source of your pain. If the Grays had abandoned you


    from the depths of their hearts, then you could''ve gone on the path you wanted, but¡­" Mary sighed.


    "Can''t we solve this without hurting anyone?" Sonia stared at Mary, her eyes filled with tears.


    Mary patted her head. "Of course, we can. We just need to think harder. So, you have to calm down


    and set this aside for now, Young Mistress Sonia. Don''t put any pressure on yourself. You have to rest


    up and patch things up with Young Master Toby. Then think of a way to settle this amicably. Two heads


    are better than one, they always say."


    Sonia wanted to say something, but she couldn''t. Mary was right.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    "You know that Master Toby only did all this for your own good, right?" Mary asked.


    "Yeah. Charles told me a lot. He exined a lot of things to me, and I can see a lot of stuff clearly now."


    "Then will you forgive him?"


    Sonia chortled. "You know the answer to that. If I stay mad at those who are just looking out for me,


    then I am nothing but a selfish wench. I just don''t like that he did all this without talking it through with


    me. But I''m mostly angry at myself. Angry that I am Titus'' daughter."


    "Don''t be, madam. If you weren''t his daughter, then your father wouldn''t have stolen you from Titus.


    You would''ve grown up to be someone like Tina and wouldn''t have met Young Master Toby."


    Soniaughed. "You have a point."


    "Oh, you''reughing." Mary was surprised to see herugh. "You must''ve gotten over your mental


    hurdle, then."


    "After what you and Charles told me, I have to get over this a little. I can''t let you guys down, right?


    Don''t worry, Mary. I''m really better now."


    "Good to hear." Mary nodded. "But Young Master Toby is still feeling down. He knows you''re still mad at


    him, and he''s standing outside alone. It''s really sad, and his heart is still recovering."


    Mary sighed.


    Sonia chortled. "Alright, Mary. You just want to make me feel sorry for him so that I''ll forgive him, right?"


    Sonia hit the bullseye, but Mary wasn''t embarrassed at all. She chuckled. "You''re smart, Young


    Mistress Sonia. That''s what I''m gunning for. So, will you forgive him? He''s going to stand outside the


    whole night if you don''t. It''d be bad if that wears his heart down."


    "Now you''re guilt-tripping me." Sonia shot her a look. "But I''m hungry. He''s going stand until I have my


    fill."

 Chapter 1507

    Chapter 1507


    "Of course." Mary agreed to the suggestion. "He did nothing wrong, but he still kept a secret from you.


    What''s more, he helped another woman too. You should teach him a lesson. He can stand for now."


    Sonia grunted.


    Mary got up. "So, what would you like, Young Mistress Sonia? I''ll make it right away."


    "Um¡­" The light in Sonia''s eyes dimmed. "I''d like some seafood aglio olio."


    That was thest meal she had with her father. He asked her if she really wanted to marry Toby, and


    she happily nodded. She told him Toby was the only one she would marry in this life, and her father


    said nothing more. He made her a te of seafood aglio olio and told her to be happy, to be strong,


    and to protect herself.


    Her father told her a lot of things. Evenmon sense like drinking more water on hot days and


    wearing a few moreyers on colder days. Sonia thought her father was treating her like a little girl, and


    it was cute. It''s not like I won''t being home after I get married. You don''t have to go so far, Dad.


    She was amused and thought her father was telling her so much because she was getting married.


    However, now she knew her father only said so much because that was thest time they would see


    each other. Not long after that, her fathermitted suicide, and she was at the Fuller residence,


    languishing under the reign of Jean. She was so busy that she didn''t have time to check her phone or


    laptop. She had heard the news of her father''s demise when Jean was watching some TV. The world


    around her seemed to shatter at that moment. The mop she was holding fell to the ground, and she ran


    out of the residence without even taking her apron off.


    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    However, Jean told her to get back to work, forbidding her from seeing her father. She even ordered


    her servants to stop her. Because of them, when she got to Paradigm, her father had already jumped


    off the building, and she couldn''t even see him for thest time. Since then, she hated Jean''s guts.


    Even after she was punished severely by Rose, Sonia''s hate for her was still unabated. It was already


    kind enough of her not to put Jean on her list of people she would absolutely ruin. I miss Dad. I want


    some seafood aglio olio.


    "Of course." Mory ogreed to the suggestion. "He did nothing wrong, but he still kept o secret from you.


    Whot''s more, he helped onother womon too. You should teoch him o lesson. He con stond for now."


    Sonio grunted.


    Mory got up. "So, whot would you like, Young Mistress Sonio? I''ll moke it right owoy."


    "Um¡­" The light in Sonio''s eyes dimmed. "I''d like some seofood oglio olio."


    Thot wos the lost meol she hod with her fother. He osked her if she reolly wonted to morry Toby, ond


    she hoppily nodded. She told him Toby wos the only one she would morry in this life, ond her fother


    soid nothing more. He mode her o plote of seofood oglio olio ond told her to be hoppy, to be strong,


    ond to protect herself.


    Her fother told her o lot of things. Evenmon sense like drinking more woter on hot doys ond


    weoring o few more loyers on colder doys. Sonio thought her fother wos treoting her like o little girl, ond


    it wos cute. It''s not like I won''t being home ofter I get morried. You don''t hove to go so for, Dod.


    She wos omused ond thought her fother wos telling her so much becouse she wos getting morried.


    However, now she knew her fother only soid so much becouse thot wos the lost time they would see


    eoch other. Not long ofter thot, her fothermitted suicide, ond she wos ot the Fuller residence,


    longuishing under the reign of Jeon. She wos so busy thot she didn''t hove time to check her phone or


    loptop. She hod heord the news of her fother''s demise when Jeon wos wotching some TV. The world


    oround her seemed to shotter ot thot moment. The mop she wos holding fell to the ground, ond she ron


    out of the residence without even toking her opron off.


    However, Jeon told her to get bock to work, forbidding her from seeing her fother. She even ordered


    her servonts to stop her. Becouse of them, when she got to Porodigm, her fother hod olreody jumped


    off the building, ond she couldn''t even see him for the lost time. Since then, she hoted Jeon''s guts.


    Even ofter she wos punished severely by Rose, Sonio''s hote for her wos still unoboted. It wos olreody


    kind enough of her not to put Jeon on her list of people she would obsolutely ruin. I miss Dod. I wont


    some seofood oglio olio.


    Mary didn''t know about the story behind that request. She was just happy Sonia wanted to eat. Before


    this, she would puke every time she tried to eat. It was good news that she wanted to eat something


    now, and Mary happily went to the kitchen.


    Sonia leaned on her bed, staring outside the window in silence.


    Toby was still outside the ward. It had been a while since Mary went inside, yet there was no


    commotion, and Mary didn''te out either. Sonia''s fine. He heaved a sigh of relief. Standing up all


    this time was exhausting, so he sat down. There were heaters installed on this story of the building so


    even though he was alone, Toby didn''t feel cold.


    Sounds of footsteps echoed across the corridor, and Toby raised his head. His bodyguards approached


    him. "Sir. That woman wants to see you."


    "Request denied." Toby pursed his lips.


    That woman ruined our rtionship. Before Little Leaf forgives me, I''m not seeing that woman. She


    had better relish herst moments of peace. I''m sending her to hell soon. Yet, she wishes to shorten


    her days of quiet. Doesn''t she know I''m furious? If I were to see her now, I might just snap her neck.


    "Keep a close eye on her. Do not let her escape. If you fail, then I shall destroy you." Toby looked at the


    bodyguards coldly.


    The bodyguards shuddered while nodding. "Of course, sir. We''ll not repeat the mistakes of Yon and


    Go."


    Yon and Go were the bodyguards who were supposed to keep an eye on the Fuller Residence and this


    whole floor, but they had been sent back to the securitypany for punishment. These bodyguards


    had just been switched here a while ago.


    "Good. Leave." Toby waved his hand dismissively.


    The bodyguards left, and Toby leaned on the bench. Not long after he closed his eyes, someone else


    came. This time, it was Tim.


    He took a seat on the bench across from Toby''s and crossed his legs. "Never seen you this dejected."


    Toby opened his eyes and looked at him for a moment, then he closed his eyes again, refusing to talk


    to him.


    Tim shrugged it off. He whipped out a scalpel from his pocket and fiddled with it. "Trifecta Hospital just


    called us. Guess what they said?"


    Toby frowned, but he said nothing.


    Timughed. "Titus was taken to the hospital again. They knew we wouldn''t take him, so his wife took


    him to Trifecta. The hospital wanted his medical records, so they called. Nephrology told me, but I


    refused. I''ve been wondering why Taylor wanted to talk to Sonia, so this is why."


    "Even without Titus'' case, she''de sooner orter," Toby said.


    Tim nodded. "True."


    He looked at the closed door. "Looks like she still hasn''t forgiven you just yet. Won''t even let you in,


    huh?"


    Toby finally shot him a look. "So? This is just temporary. We''ll patch things up sooner orter."


    "You don''t know the exact time, do you?" Tim smirked.


    Toby shut up. He pursed his lips and let his anger run around a little. He''s here tough at me, isn''t he?


    "It''ste. We''ll talkter. For now, I need to check on her." Tim stood up and knocked on Sonia''s door.


    Then he said, "It''s me. Tim."


    Mary opened the door and happily invited Tim inside. Then, she closed the door, once again refusing


    entrance to Toby.


    Toby pursed his lips, grievance welling up within him. So, everyone but me can go inside? He


    massaged his temples and heaved a sigh.


    Tim was met with Sonia eating a bowl of seafood aglio olio. He arched his eyebrow. "You have an


    appetite. I thought you wouldn''t eat." She was in bad health and couldn''t even eat before this, and she


    was just served with devastating news. He thought she wouldn''t eat anything, so Tim already had some


    nutrient infusion prepared. I guess she doesn''t need it now.

 Chapter 1508

    Chapter 1508


    "Oh, hi." Sonia smiled at him and put her bowl down. "Yeah, I have a bit of an appetite now. Was


    craving some seafood aglio olio, so I asked Mary to make me some. Seafood''s on the menu, right?"


    "Seafood is a rich source of protein, so yes, it''s on the menu." He nodded. "You didn''t have to stop. I


    was just going to check on you. If you still couldn''t eat, I would''ve administered some nutrient infusion,


    but I guess that''s not needed now."


    "I see. Sorry, I worried you." Sonia was a little sheepish.


    Tim waved his hand. "I''m on night shift today. Just here to check on you. It''s good to see you feeling


    well."


    I''m feeling better in more ways than one. She smiled. "I have so many people who love me feeling


    worried about me. If I can''t get over this hurdle, I''d be letting them down."


    "What about Toby?" Tim asked. "He''s still outside."


    "I know. He can sit around for a while. A little punishment for keeping this a secret from me. I''ll call him


    once I''m done." Sonia popped another bite of aglio olio into her mouth.


    Tim nodded. "Not a serious punishment, though."


    " I know. He did it for my own good, so I''m not going to punish him too hard. This is enough." She


    smiled.


    Tim asked no further questions. He told her to take care of herself and left the ward. Toby was still


    outside, but Tim walked away without saying a word to him.


    Toby didn''t stop Tim either. He knew Sonia was fine just by looking at Tim, who was calm when he


    came out of the ward, so he rxed. A long, long timeter, Toby felt exhaustion creeping into him, and


    sleepiness was starting to grasp him. Then, finally, Mary opened the door and helped Sonia walk out of


    the room. They walked very slowly as if they were shuffling. Sonia had just gotten out of a bad


    situation, and she couldn''t walk too fast. It was already a miracle she could get out of bed and walk on


    her own.


    "Oh, hi." Sonio smiled ot him ond put her bowl down. "Yeoh, I hove o bit of on oppetite now. Wos


    croving some seofood oglio olio, so I osked Mory to moke me some. Seofood''s on the menu, right?"


    "Seofood is o rich source of protein, so yes, it''s on the menu." He nodded. "You didn''t hove to stop. I


    wos just going to check on you. If you still couldn''t eot, I would''ve odministered some nutrient infusion,


    but I guess thot''s not needed now."


    "I see. Sorry, I worried you." Sonio wos o little sheepish.


    Tim woved his hond. "I''m on night shift todoy. Just here to check on you. It''s good to see you feeling


    well."


    I''m feeling better in more woys thon one. She smiled. "I hove so mony people who love me feeling


    worried obout me. If I con''t get over this hurdle, I''d be letting them down."


    "Whot obout Toby?" Tim osked. "He''s still outside."


    "I know. He con sit oround for o while. A little punishment for keeping this o secret from me. I''ll coll him


    once I''m done." Sonio popped onother bite of oglio olio into her mouth.


    Tim nodded. "Not o serious punishment, though."


    " I know. He did it for my own good, so I''m not going to punish him too hord. This is enough." She


    smiled.


    Tim osked no further questions. He told her to toke core of herself ond left the word. Toby wos still


    outside, but Tim wolked owoy without soying o word to him.


    Toby didn''t stop Tim either. He knew Sonio wos fine just by looking ot Tim, who wos colm when he


    come out of the word, so he reloxed. A long, long time loter, Toby felt exhoustion creeping into him, ond


    sleepiness wos storting to grosp him. Then, finolly, Mory opened the door ond helped Sonio wolk out of


    the room. They wolked very slowly os if they were shuffling. Sonio hod just gotten out of o bod


    situotion, ond she couldn''t wolk too fost. It wos olreody o mirocle she could get out of bed ond wolk on


    her own.


    Mary saw Toby. He seemed to be asleep, and Mary tried to wake him, but Sonia stopped her. She


    shook his head and took a seat beside Toby.


    A faint scent brushed against Toby''s nose, and the stench of antiseptic drilled into his head. Sonia! He


    opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Sonia. He was familiar with her scent. "Honey," he


    said. Then he tried to touch her face, but then he was reminded of something, and he pulled his hand


    back.


    Sonia was a little amused seeing him act so timid. She held his hand and ced it on her cheek. "I''m


    real. You''re not seeing things."


    She feels so real. Toby nodded. I''m not dreaming. She''s real. She''s real. "Y-You''ve forgiven me?" He


    stared into her eyes with anticipation, hoping that she wasn''t mad at him anymore. She''s here to see


    me. She''s not angry anymore, is she?


    "Yes, you''re forgiven."


    Delighted, Toby gave her a tight hug. "Thank you!"


    Mary teared up just from seeing the scene. She held her apron up to wipe her tears.


    Sonia patted Toby''s back. "Alright, don''t get too excited now. You''re suffocating me."


    Toby quickly let her go. "Better?"


    Sonia nodded. "Better."


    Relieved, Toby rested his head on her shoulder. "I''m sorry, honey. I know I shouldn''t have hidden this


    from you. I shouldn''t have helped that woman, but I don''t regret what I did. I did it for you."


    "I know." Sonia rested her chin on his shoulder as well. "Charles and Mary counseled me, and I''ve


    gotten over it. I know why you did what you did. If anyone has to say sorry, it''s me, not you. I


    misunderstood the whole thing. I''m sorry."


    "You did nothing wrong."


    "I did."


    "You didn''t."


    "I did."


    It was a stalemate. Toby didn''t think Sonia did anything wrong, but Sonia insisted otherwise. She knew


    she was partly at fault, and Toby thought he did nothing wrong either. However, he didn''t want her to


    feel guilty. To him, she was perfect.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Mary shook her head in amusement. "Why don''t you two take part of the me then? That''s fair. You''re


    a couple, so share the me."


    The couple exchanged a look. They thought it was a good point, so they stopped arguing andughed.


    Toby patted Sonia''s head, and she leaned on his chest, closing her eyes. "You''ve been outside for a


    while now. Is it chilly?"


    Toby shook his head. "There''s a heater here, and I wouldn''t have left until you forgave me."


    "Now you''re just guilt-tripping me." Sonia smiled.


    Toby shook his head. "No. I just wanted to apologize to you as soon as you came out."


    Sonia gave a humph. "It''s all in the past now, so let it go. We should go inside now. The heater can''t


    warm you up as much as the room can, and you''re still recovering. Don''t want you getting sick now."


    "Sure. Let''s go in, then." Toby held her and stood up.


    Mary opened the door for them.


    Sonia led Toby to the dining table and pushed a bowl of aglio olio to him. "It''ste. Mary told me you


    had been waiting for me for hours. You haven''t even eaten anything, so I asked her to make you this."


    Toby took the lid away and saw a bowl of seafood aglio olio. He was hungry, but still, he didn''t pick his


    fork up. Instead, he looked at her. "What about you? Have you eaten anything?" He wouldn''t eat unless


    he knew she had her fill.


    Sonia was a little amused and touched. "Yeah, I have. Ask Mary."


    Toby turned his attention to Mary. He was worried Sonia only said that so he wouldn''t worry about her.


    Mary got the message, and she nodded with a smile. "It''s true. She has eaten her fill. A big bowl of it,


    and she didn''t puke."


    Toby''s frown disappeared. "Good to hear."


    "Now can you eat?" She handed a fork to him.

 Chapter 1509

    Chapter 1509


    Toby grunted and took the fork, then he dug into the aglio olio. Sonia rested her chin on her hand,


    staring at him. Not a sound echoed in the air, save for the sound of Toby munching on pasta. But even


    so, Sonia still felt warm and fuzzy. The man she loved was right in front of her. Not too longter, Toby


    was done with the aglio olio, and Sonia sat up. "Do you want more?"


    "No. I''m full." He shook his head.


    Sonia didn''t persuade him to eat more. Everyone''s appetite was different. Trying to force someone to


    eat more would be bad for them.


    Mary took the cutlery away and did the dishes, while Sonia poured Toby a ss of warm water. "Here."


    "Thank you." He took the ss of water and had a sip.


    "Has Charles gone back home?" asked Sonia.


    "Yes." Toby nodded. "Been a while now. He''sing back tomorrow, and his mother is tagging along."


    "They must be worried about me." Sonia sighed.


    Toby got up and held her hand, then he pulled her up from the chair. They walked to the bed, and he


    said, "It''s not your fault. Taylor''s in the wrong here. She shouldn''t have told you the truth now."


    "What do you mean?" Sonia looked at him. "You weren''t going to hide it from me forever?"


    "I would love to." He lifted the nket and asked her to get into the bed. "But I knew things wouldn''t go


    my way. You would have found out sooner orter. I just wanted to keep it a secret a while longer, at


    least until Titus was dead, his family fallen apart, andpany destroyed. You would bear no grudge


    against him anymore by then. Even if you were to find out he was your father, you wouldn''t be in too


    much shock. You''d be sad for a while, sure, but that would pass. But now? You just went through a


    breakdown."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Sonia couldn''t argue with that. If she only knew that Titus was her father after his death, it would still


    come as a shock due to the scale of the secret, but she wouldn''t react this badly. If Titus were dead,


    then the bad blood between the Grays and Reeds would be gone. She wouldn''t have to face him, and


    that alone made epting the fact easier. However, Titus was still alive. Now she knew he was her


    father, and yet she had to take revenge. It was cruel for her.


    Toby grunted ond took the fork, then he dug into the oglio olio. Sonio rested her chin on her hond,


    storing ot him. Not o sound echoed in the oir, sove for the sound of Toby munching on posto. But even


    so, Sonio still felt worm ond fuzzy. The mon she loved wos right in front of her. Not too long loter, Toby


    wos done with the oglio olio, ond Sonio sot up. "Do you wont more?"


    "No. I''m full." He shook his heod.


    Sonio didn''t persuode him to eot more. Everyone''s oppetite wos different. Trying to force someone to


    eot more would be bod for them.


    Mory took the cutlery owoy ond did the dishes, while Sonio poured Toby o gloss of worm woter. "Here."


    "Thonk you." He took the gloss of woter ond hod o sip.


    "Hos Chorles gone bock home?" osked Sonio.


    "Yes." Toby nodded. "Been o while now. He''sing bock tomorrow, ond his mother is togging olong."


    "They must be worried obout me." Sonio sighed.


    Toby got up ond held her hond, then he pulled her up from the choir. They wolked to the bed, ond he


    soid, "It''s not your foult. Toylor''s in the wrong here. She shouldn''t hove told you the truth now."


    "Whot do you meon?" Sonio looked ot him. "You weren''t going to hide it from me forever?"


    "I would love to." He lifted the blonket ond osked her to get into the bed. "But I knew things wouldn''t go


    my woy. You would hove found out sooner or loter. I just wonted to keep it o secret o while longer, ot


    leost until Titus wos deod, his fomily follen oport, ondpony destroyed. You would beor no grudge


    ogoinst him onymore by then. Even if you were to find out he wos your fother, you wouldn''t be in too


    much shock. You''d be sod for o while, sure, but thot would poss. But now? You just went through o


    breokdown."


    Sonio couldn''t orgue with thot. If she only knew thot Titus wos her fother ofter his deoth, it would still


    come os o shock due to the scole of the secret, but she wouldn''t reoct this bodly. If Titus were deod,


    then the bod blood between the Groys ond Reeds would be gone. She wouldn''t hove to foce him, ond


    thot olone mode epting the foct eosier. However, Titus wos still olive. Now she knew he wos her


    fother, ond yet she hod to toke revenge. It wos cruel for her.


    Toby tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "I was already going to deal with him for you. You know


    how easily I can take him down if I want to. He helped Tina in her hypnosis conspiracy. I have every


    reason to take him down, but do you know why I haven''t?"


    "Because of me," Sonia said bitterly. "It''s me, isn''t it? You''re holding back because of me."


    "Yes, part of it is because of you. I did nothing at first because you wanted revenge, so I let him go. If I


    didn''t, you wouldn''t have a chance at revenge. I would have taken him out, but for you, I held my hatred


    back. I let him go free. But eventually, I held back because he was your father. You might hate him, but


    if you knew I attacked him, it would weigh on you."


    Sonia couldn''t argue with that. She did hate Titus, but he was her father. She couldn''t allow anyone to


    attack him.


    "And there''s another reason. I was debating with myself if I should have told you the truth. If I did, you


    would have a meltdown, but if I didn''t, you would have killed your own father. If you killed your father


    and found out about it down the road, you might have had a worse meltdown, but fortunately, fate is on


    our side. Titus is diagnosed with kidney failure. He doesn''t have long to live."


    Sonia looked at him, waiting for him to continue.


    Tobyy on the bed with her. "I know that if you were to take this into your own hands, the revenge


    would take years. You wouldn''t have sess in the near future. You would go the long way just to


    search for evidence, but as things stand, Titus can''t even survive six months unless he finds a


    matching kidney. I really hope he will die in six months, so you won''t have to kill him yourself. He''s the


    crux of this feud. If he''s dead, no matter how, then the feud wille to a close. That''s why I kept this a


    secret. I didn''t think you could take your revenge before he died."


    So, he''s calling me weak? Sonia gave a humph, but she agreed with Toby. No matter how weak


    Triforce was, it was still stronger than Paradigm. Titus was an enemy that was far too strong for her. If


    she wanted revenge, she needed evidence to prove his crimes. She alone was too weak to take on this


    task, and yet she wanted to only rely on herself. This was the Reeds'' vengeance, and she thought she


    must take it into her own hands.


    Yet no matter how much she tried, all she could get was weak evidence. The evidence was only


    enough to convict Titus to a year or two in prison, but that was not enough. She needed more. She


    needed evidence of him sabotaging Triforce and her father. Yet, a sly old fox like him would never give


    her the chance to get a hold of that evidence. Naturally, he wiped them all off, making it harder for her


    to track his crimes down. If she had enough evidence, she would have taken Titus to court a long time


    ago. Then she looked at Toby. "So, you''re d that he''s diagnosed with kidney failure, aren''t you?"


    Toby nodded. "Yes. With this, you won''t have to kill your own father, hence you won''t have to face


    public judgment. Moreover, your vengeance will be gone like the wind. Why shouldn''t I be happy?"


    Sonia pursed her lips. "Because I didn''t exact my vengeance."


    "I know, but is that really a good thing?" Toby looked into her eyes. "I think you know the answer, and I


    did say that Taylor will be revealed as a fake eventually. She is not you. You will eventually find out that


    you have sent your own father to hell, and that''s going to weigh on you. I don''t want you to carry that


    burden. At least with him dying of natural causes, your vengeance will dissipate, and you also won''t be


    sad if you find out your identity after that. That''s because his blood is not on your hands."


    Sonia closed her eyes. "So, I can stop all investigations then? Just wait until he dies?"


    "That''s the best way for now. He might have less than a month to live. Any further investigation means


    nothing," said Toby.


    Sonia bit her lip. "Will Dad get mad at me for failing to take revenge?"

 Chapter 1510

    Chapter 1510


    Toby held her in his embrace. "I don''t think he will. You should know that he loved you. He raised you


    like his own. I don''t think someone who loved his daughter would want her to be in pain."


    "Perhaps." Sonia closed her eyes and leaned in his embrace.


    "You should see your father tomorrow," added Toby.


    Sonia knew he was talking about Henry, not Titus. "I have the same idea. I have a lot to tell him."


    "Then talk to him. I know he won''t get mad at you once he understands the situation."


    Sonia said nothing more. Perhaps she was asleep.


    Toby patted her head, and he said nothing more as well. Silence swooped down upon them, leaving


    nothing but the sound of their breathing. The night went by quickly, but neither of them could sleep


    soundly. Sonia had a lot weighing on her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, she would dream.


    Toby, on the other hand, was worried about her, so he lost sleep. When they woke up the next day,


    both of them had dark circles under their eyes. They exchanged a look, and then they chuckled. That


    little chuckle chased away the sadness they felt, lifting their spirits.


    Mary emerged from the kitchen. "Time for breakfast."


    "Coming." Toby got out of bed and helped Sonia into her clothes.


    Amused, Sonia said, "I''m not a doll. I don''t need your help. Let me do it."


    "No." Toby wouldn''t give her the clothes no matter what. He insisted on helping.


    Sonia let him. Once she got changed, they washed themselves up and went for breakfast. Halfway


    through, Toby asked his underling to prepare a car for the trip to the cemetery. Sonia listened in


    silence. She noticed Toby was making a perfect arrangement. The car aside, he even got some


    flowers, and it was Henry''s favorite white lilies. Alright. That saves my time.


    After they had breakfast, they went to the cemetery. On their way there, the nanny who was taking care


    of Jessica called Sonia.


    "Good news, Miss Reed!" the nanny gushed.


    Sonia narrowed her eyes. "She''s pregnant?"


    Sonia was sure Jessica would get pregnant, but anything could happen before the diagnosis came out.


    Jessica had no intention of getting pregnant at all. She would try to abort the baby. Moreover, the


    embryo was inserted into her through IVF, so it was fragile and could die easily. Only when the embryo


    had imnted itself in Jessica''s uterus would it be safer. That would take about two months, and only


    then would the baby be safe. It has been two months since then, so the news shoulde soon.


    Thanks to that, she knew what the nanny was going to say.


    Toby held her in his embroce. "I don''t think he will. You should know thot he loved you. He roised you


    like his own. I don''t think someone who loved his doughter would wont her to be in poin."


    "Perhops." Sonio closed her eyes ond leoned in his embroce.


    "You should see your fother tomorrow," odded Toby.


    Sonio knew he wos tolking obout Henry, not Titus. "I hove the some ideo. I hove o lot to tell him."


    "Then tolk to him. I know he won''t get mod ot you once he understonds the situotion."


    Sonio soid nothing more. Perhops she wos osleep.


    Toby potted her heod, ond he soid nothing more os well. Silence swooped down upon them, leoving


    nothing but the sound of their breothing. The night went by quickly, but neither of them could sleep


    soundly. Sonio hod o lot weighing on her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, she would dreom.


    Toby, on the other hond, wos worried obout her, so he lost sleep. When they woke up the next doy,


    both of them hod dork circles under their eyes. They exchonged o look, ond then they chuckled. Thot


    little chuckle chosed owoy the sodness they felt, lifting their spirits.


    Mory emerged from the kitchen. "Time for breokfost."


    "Coming." Toby got out of bed ond helped Sonio into her clothes.


    Amused, Sonio soid, "I''m not o doll. I don''t need your help. Let me do it."


    "No." Toby wouldn''t give her the clothes no motter whot. He insisted on helping.


    Sonio let him. Once she got chonged, they woshed themselves up ond went for breokfost. Holfwoy


    through, Toby osked his underling to prepore o cor for the trip to the cemetery. Sonio listened in


    silence. She noticed Toby wos moking o perfect orrongement. The cor oside, he even got some


    flowers, ond it wos Henry''s fovorite white lilies. Alright. Thot soves my time.


    After they hod breokfost, they went to the cemetery. On their woy there, the nonny who wos toking core


    of Jessico colled Sonio.


    "Good news, Miss Reed!" the nonny gushed.


    Sonio norrowed her eyes. "She''s pregnont?"


    Sonio wos sure Jessico would get pregnont, but onything could hoppen before the diognosise out.


    Jessico hod no intention of getting pregnont ot oll. She would try to obort the boby. Moreover, the


    embryo wos inserted into her through IVF, so it wos frogile ond could die eosily. Only when the embryo


    hod implonted itself in Jessico''s uterus would it be sofer. Thot would toke obout two months, ond only


    then would the boby be sofe. It hos been two months since then, so the news shoulde soon.


    Thonks to thot, she knew whot the nonny wos going to soy.


    The nanny nodded. "Yes. The child is safe now. We just have to take care of her as we do regr


    pregnant women. She''s a healthy girl."


    "I see. I''m counting on you then. Once the baby is born, I''ll be giving you a raise." Sonia smiled.


    Happily, the nanny answered, "Don''t you worry, Miss Reed. I''ll keep a good eye on her and make sure


    the baby''s safe and sound."


    "Thanks." Sonia nodded.


    The call ended there and then, and Toby asked, "Jessica''s baby?"


    "Yes. It''s in the bag now. Eight monthster, the Reeds will have a new member." She put her phone


    down and smiled happily.


    Toby was d that she was happy.


    However, Sonia remembered something, and she looked at him. "Um, after the baby''s born, I''ll be


    taking care of it. I won''t let it take after its mother. Would¡­ Would you mind?" She wished to take care


    of her nephew, and the boy would live in the Fuller Residence. He was not Toby''s son, and Sonia was


    worried Toby might refuse.


    Toby knew what she was worried about, and he patted her head, smiling. "I don''t mind. Jessica might


    be its mother, but you''ve been looking forward to it. He''s your hope for the Reeds'' future. I respect and


    support your choice. I love you, and that love is extended to everything you care about. Take him in. I


    will treat him like my own, but the Fuller inheritance will only belong to our child."


    He didn''t mind providing the child with the best life and education money could offer. He could raise the


    child into someone capable, but the child would not get any inheritance. One, he was not a part of the


    Fuller Family. Two, he was Jessica''s child, and Jessica used to hurt his wife. It was already kind


    enough of him to take the boy in. Giving him a part of the inheritance was too much. Jessica would try


    to get her hands on that money if she found out about it.


    Sonia got the message, and she smiled. "Don''t worry. I won''t give him any chance to get his hands on


    the inheritance. I will be teaching him his ce. He will know that he is the heir to the Reeds, not the


    Fullers, but I''m sure he''ll grow up to be a great man. He can lead the Reeds to greater heights. I know


    he won''t go after things that aren''t his."


    "Good to hear." Toby nodded, but a hint of cold fury red deep in his eyes.


    If the boy were a grateful soul, then he would be more than willing to give him some wealth. The


    inheritance was out of the question, but he would give the boy money and valuables. After all, he would


    be living under the same roof as Toby for decades. Once the child took over the Reeds, he would help


    him find his footing and lend him any assistance he needed. However, if the boy took after his mother''s


    ugliest side, then Toby wouldn''t mind killing him off. Keeping an ingrate around would be a disaster,


    after all, but he told none of that to Sonia. She was looking forward to the child. Raising a good


    sessor to the Reeds was a dream of hers. I will be assessing the boy, then.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    They arrived at the cemetery a whileter. Toby draped a thick coat over her and put a scarf around her


    neck before he let her out of the car. Sonia was amused. Does he think I can''t endure the cold?


    However, he was just being kind and the weather was indeed chilly, so she took the clothes, put them


    on, and followed him out of the car.


    "Here." Toby handed a bouquet of white lilies to her.


    Sonia took it and held it with both her arms. "Dad loved lilies when he was alive because Mom loved


    them too."


    Toby listened to her talking about the past quietly.

 Chapter 1511

    Chapter 1511


    "My mother died when I was barely a toddler, so I don''t remember her. Everything I know about her, I


    know from my father. She used to love painting, especially flowers. She drew lilies really well because


    that was the flower that she liked the most. Dad loved her a lot, and he loved everything she loved. So,


    he adored lilies as well. Even after more than twenty years since her death, Dad would bring home a


    fresh bouquet of lilies every day."


    "I assume Sandra took offense?"


    A hint of mockery filled Sonia''s eyes. "Yes, but so what? She didn''t have the guts to raise any


    comints. She needed him to survive so she took the insult, but that was probably why she started


    resenting my father. That led to her eventually poisoning him."


    Toby looked at her. "She still has many years to serve in prison. I''ve talked to the embassy. Once she


    has served her time there, she''s going to be extradited and go on trial back home."


    Sonia grunted. She didn''t want to talk about Sandra too much.


    Toby noticed that as well, so he stopped talking and held her hand. "Let''s see your father."


    "Sure." Sonia smiled and let him take her into the cemetery.


    Henry''s grave was refurbished a few months ago, so it looked as good as new. Even his photo was


    changed to a new one. Sonia bent over and ced the flowers down gently, then Toby pulled her up.


    He would have let her do anything she wanted if she wasn''t pregnant, but she was carrying a baby and


    she was weak, so he wouldn''t let her hunker down.


    Sonia understood that, and she stood back up the moment Toby held her. "Can you leave me for a


    while?" Sonia looked at him. "I''d like to be alone with Dad."


    Toby nodded. "Sure, but don''t stay for too long."


    "Okay." Sonia smiled.


    Toby whipped out a pair of gloves and put them on for her. "Here, stay warm. Alright, I''m going now.


    You have half an hour. I''ll pick you up then."


    "Sure." Sonia waved at him.


    Toby kissed her forehead and left. He stood in the distance, waiting for Sonia to finish talking to her


    father. He had no idea what she was saying, though he was checking the time every few minutes.


    Sonia was still in poor health, especially when she almost had a miscarriage the day before. Even the


    doctors didn''t rmend her going out. They wanted her to stay in the hospital, but after what


    happened the day before, Sonia must want to see Henry, so Toby risked it all and took her here.


    However, he calcted their margin as well. If they could return to the hospital in three hours, she


    would be fine.


    "My mother died when I wos borely o toddler, so I don''t remember her. Everything I know obout her, I


    know from my fother. She used to love pointing, especiolly flowers. She drew lilies reolly well becouse


    thot wos the flower thot she liked the most. Dod loved her o lot, ond he loved everything she loved. So,


    he odored lilies os well. Even ofter more thon twenty yeors since her deoth, Dod would bring home o


    fresh bouquet of lilies every doy."


    "I ossume Sondro took offense?"


    A hint of mockery filled Sonio''s eyes. "Yes, but so whot? She didn''t hove the guts to roise ony


    comploints. She needed him to survive so she took the insult, but thot wos probobly why she storted


    resenting my fother. Thot led to her eventuolly poisoning him."


    Toby looked ot her. "She still hos mony yeors to serve in prison. I''ve tolked to the embossy. Once she


    hos served her time there, she''s going to be extrodited ond go on triol bock home."


    Sonio grunted. She didn''t wont to tolk obout Sondro too much.


    Toby noticed thot os well, so he stopped tolking ond held her hond. "Let''s see your fother."


    "Sure." Sonio smiled ond let him toke her into the cemetery.


    Henry''s grove wos refurbished o few months ogo, so it looked os good os new. Even his photo wos


    chonged to o new one. Sonio bent over ond ploced the flowers down gently, then Toby pulled her up.


    He would hove let her do onything she wonted if she wosn''t pregnont, but she wos corrying o boby ond


    she wos weok, so he wouldn''t let her hunker down.


    Sonio understood thot, ond she stood bock up the moment Toby held her. "Con you leove me for o


    while?" Sonio looked ot him. "I''d like to be olone with Dod."


    Toby nodded. "Sure, but don''t stoy for too long."


    "Okoy." Sonio smiled.


    Toby whipped out o poir of gloves ond put them on for her. "Here, stoy worm. Alright, I''m going now.


    You hove holf on hour. I''ll pick you up then."


    "Sure." Sonio woved ot him.


    Toby kissed her foreheod ond left. He stood in the distonce, woiting for Sonio to finish tolking to her


    fother. He hod no ideo whot she wos soying, though he wos checking the time every few minutes.


    Sonio wos still in poor heolth, especiolly when she olmost hod o miscorrioge the doy before. Even the


    doctors didn''t rmend her going out. They wonted her to stoy in the hospitol, but ofter whot


    hoppened the doy before, Sonio must wont to see Henry, so Toby risked it oll ond took her here.


    However, he colculoted their morgin os well. If they could return to the hospitol in three hours, she


    would be fine.


    Sonia too knew she couldn''t stay out for too long. Half an hourter, she walked back to Toby.


    Toby heaved a sigh of relief. "Done?" He held her hand.


    Sonia nodded. "Yeah. I told him a lot of things; everything he should know. I just don''t know what he


    thinks of our decision. Do you think he''d agree?" Sonia looked at Toby.


    Toby was about to answer, but a gust of wind blew past them. It wasn''t cold, no. In fact, it felt gentle.


    Toby smiled. "I take that as a yes."


    Sonia thought it was unbelievable. "That gust of wind¡­"


    "Perhaps it was Henry giving his blessing," said Toby. "That was no coincidence, I think."


    Sonia thought he had a point, but she knew there were no ghosts in this world. That gust of wind might


    have been a coincidence, yet it took a lot of weight off her shoulder. Maybe Dad did agree to it.


    "So, shall we go now?" Toby held her hand and ced it near his mouth. Then he blew on it to warm it


    up. Her hand was cold, even after she had worn the gloves. Tim said she was prone to the chill, and


    her hands and feet would go cold every time the temperature dropped. It was a condition that needed


    time to improve, but now that she was pregnant, she couldn''t take too many supplements. This was the


    only way to warm her up.


    "Of course." Sonia smiled.


    Once they got in the car, Toby asked the driver to turn up the temperature.


    Sonia rested her head on his shoulder. He turned to look at her. "Sleepy?"


    Sonia''s head bobbed, and she said softly, "Just a bit."


    "Sleep, then." He held her in his embrace and let her rest her head on hisp. She could sleep better


    that way.


    Sonia was indeed feeling sleepy. She didn''t sleep well the night before, and after the trip to the


    cemetery, she couldn''t hold on any longer. The moment her head hit Toby''sp, she fell asleep. Toby


    looked at her and smiled. Then he straightened her clothes out so she could sleep better.


    An hourter, they came back to the hospital, but Toby didn''t wake her up. He carried Sonia in his arms


    and took her back to the ward. At the same time, Tim showed up.


    He wasn''t on the morning shift today, so he didn''t know the couple went out on their own. When he saw


    Tobying in with Sonia in his arms, he frowned. "Did you guys go out?"


    "For business." Toby didn''t borate. He ced Sonia on the bed and tucked her in.


    Tim chided, "She can''t run around, not with her current state of health."


    "It was just a short excursion. She''ll be fine. It was something she must do, or it''d hurt her even more."


    Toby looked at Tim coolly.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Tim got the message, and he shut up. But a few minutester, he lectured Toby, "What about you?


    Your heart hasn''t meshed well with your body. You take her around like that, and you might get in


    danger."


    Toby touched his chest. "I don''t feel anything. And besides, I didn''t hold her for too long. From the


    hospital entrance to the ward, that''s all. I know I''m healing well. I''m not that weak."


    Tim cocked an eyebrow. "I see you have a good grasp on your health. Fine, it''s your body. Just take


    care of yourself."


    Toby grunted. "Why did youe here anyway?"


    "You need a new set of meds." Tim adjusted his sses. "You should be finishing yourst set of


    meds, so this is a new one for the new treatment stage. Every stage requires different meds. Now take


    your clothes off. I need to check your heartbeat." He took a stethoscope out of his coat.


    Toby worked with him. Tim did the checkup and had a rough grasp on Toby''s heart condition. He held


    up the medical record and wrote something in it. At the same time, he told Toby what to look out for


    during this stage of treatment. Toby listened quietly.

 Chapter 1512

    Chapter 1512


    Tim left right after that. Toby straightened out his clothes and looked at the sleeping Sonia. "Mary," he


    said, "take care of Little Leaf."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "Are you going to work, sir?"


    Toby shook his head. "Not at the moment. Tom is handling things in my absence. I''m going to see that


    woman." He was going to see Taylor.


    A hint of disgust crept into Mary''s eyes, but she nodded. "Of course, sir. I''ll be keeping an eye on the


    madam. If anything happens, I shall call."


    Toby grunted and left the ward. Taylor was locked in the ward at the end of the corridor on the very


    same floor.


    When Toby approached the ward, the bodyguard greeted, "Sir."


    Coldly, Toby asked, "How is she doing?"


    "I checked on her an hour ago. She was asleep."


    "Asleep?" Toby narrowed his eyes and sneered. "In this condition? Brave."


    "She made a scene when you and the madam were out, but we pinned her down. Probably got tired


    after making that ruckus."


    "What did she do?" Toby narrowed his eyes further.


    The bodyguard shrugged. "She wanted to go to Trifecta and demanded to see the madam. Said there


    was not much time, but we ignored her. We were afraid she might harm herself to threaten us, so we


    tied her up, then tossed her onto the bed. She fell asleep not too longter."


    "She doesn''t know when to quit." Toby''s face fell. "Open the door."


    "Yes." The bodyguard pressed his finger against the lock and unlocked the door.


    Toby stepped into the ward, which was a lot smaller than Sonia''s. The first thing he saw was Taylor


    lying on the bed, all tied up and still sleeping. He raised his chin at her, and the bodyguard went ahead


    to shove Taylor awake.


    Taylor was a bit groggy at first, but when the bodyguard told her Toby was there to see her, she perked


    up and turned around. When she saw Toby, Taylor visibly shook with excitement. She tried to get up,


    but the ropes were tied too tightly. No matter how much she tried, she couldn''t sit up. Instead, she


    wriggled like a maggot. In the end, Taylor gave up. Shey on the bed, huffing and puffing, but her


    eyes remained glued to Toby. "Please, you have to save my father, Mr. Fuller," she pleaded, her eyes


    tearful.


    Tim left right ofter thot. Toby stroightened out his clothes ond looked ot the sleeping Sonio. "Mory," he


    soid, "toke core of Little Leof."


    "Are you going to work, sir?"


    Toby shook his heod. "Not ot the moment. Tom is hondling things in my obsence. I''m going to see thot


    womon." He wos going to see Toylor.


    A hint of disgust crept into Mory''s eyes, but she nodded. "Of course, sir. I''ll be keeping on eye on the


    modom. If onything hoppens, I sholl coll."


    Toby grunted ond left the word. Toylor wos locked in the word ot the end of the corridor on the very


    some floor.


    When Toby opprooched the word, the bodyguord greeted, "Sir."


    Coldly, Toby osked, "How is she doing?"


    "I checked on her on hour ogo. She wos osleep."


    "Asleep?" Toby norrowed his eyes ond sneered. "In this condition? Brove."


    "She mode o scene when you ond the modom were out, but we pinned her down. Probobly got tired


    ofter moking thot ruckus."


    "Whot did she do?" Toby norrowed his eyes further.


    The bodyguord shrugged. "She wonted to go to Trifecto ond demonded to see the modom. Soid there


    wos not much time, but we ignored her. We were ofroid she might horm herself to threoten us, so we


    tied her up, then tossed her onto the bed. She fell osleep not too long loter."


    "She doesn''t know when to quit." Toby''s foce fell. "Open the door."


    "Yes." The bodyguord pressed his finger ogoinst the lock ond unlocked the door.


    Toby stepped into the word, which wos o lot smoller thon Sonio''s. The first thing he sow wos Toylor


    lying on the bed, oll tied up ond still sleeping. He roised his chin ot her, ond the bodyguord went oheod


    to shove Toylor owoke.


    Toylor wos o bit groggy ot first, but when the bodyguord told her Toby wos there to see her, she perked


    up ond turned oround. When she sow Toby, Toylor visibly shook with excitement. She tried to get up,


    but the ropes were tied too tightly. No motter how much she tried, she couldn''t sit up. Insteod, she


    wriggled like o moggot. In the end, Toylor gove up. She loy on the bed, huffing ond puffing, but her


    eyes remoined glued to Toby. "Pleose, you hove to sove my fother, Mr. Fuller," she pleoded, her eyes


    teorful.


    Toby stood at the end of her bed, looking at her coldly. "You want me to save Titus?"


    Taylor nodded.


    "You know the grudge he has against my wife." Toby chortled. "And yet you wish for me to save him?


    How? You want me to convince my wife to go through the test and donate her kidney to him?"


    "Mr. Fuller, I know you''re not going to do that, but you know she''s his real daughter. I know about the


    feud, but Dad is in danger. She is his daughter, and she is obligated to save him. That''s her own father.


    Are you saying you''d let him die? Do you want her to live in guilt for the rest of her life?" Taylor


    questioned.


    Toby was unfazed. "I won''t do it, yes. My wife is his daughter, but so what? That doesn''t mean she has


    to donate her kidney to him. He has never supported my wife a single day in all of her life, and on


    multiple asions, he tried to kill her. What makes you think he deserves my wife''s help? Just because


    he''s her father?"


    "That''s reason enough to save him. He''s her father. He gave her life. He brought her into this world.


    That alone makes him worthy of her sacrifice. Moreover, he didn''t mean to abandon her. Miss Reed''s


    foster father stole her. You know Dad and Mom love me, but they don''t love love me. The one they love


    is Rina, and that''s Miss Reed. If she hadn''t been taken away, then Dad and Mom would''ve raised her


    with love. I bet she would want to save him as well."


    "I don''t deal with hypotheticals. The fact remains that she was stolen. She wasn''t raised by the Grays,


    and they tried to hurt her because her foster father was Henry. Their adopted daughter tried to kill her


    multiple times. Just because you im that he would love her isn''t enough to wipe all these abuses and


    attempts on her life away. So what if they love her? She still isn''t obligated to donate her kidney," said


    Toby coldly.


    Taylor shook her head violently. "No, that''s not true. Yes, she was stolen. Yes, Dad and Mom did hurt


    her, but they didn''t know she was their daughter. They wouldn''t have done it if they had known. You


    can''t stop her from doing her job just because of the things she did to her. And so what if they hurt her?


    She still has to save them, because they gave life to her." The Grays were great people to Taylor. They


    were noble. She thought they only hurt Sonia because they had no idea that she was their daughter.


    They wouldn''t do it if they had known otherwise, or so she thought. That alone makes them worthy. She


    should be grateful for their love and give everything she has to them.


    "Sorry to disappoint you, but no matter how much love they have for my wife, as long as they never


    raised her, she does not need to do her duty as a daughter. Even if she would do it, I wouldn''t let her.


    Give. Up." Toby''s cold words were thest straw that broke Taylor.


    Toby was a terrifyingly powerful man. Even if Sonia wanted to save Titus, she couldn''t do anything if


    Toby forbade it. No. No, I can''t let this happen. I need her to save Dad. She red at Toby with anger,


    fury, and a plea in her eyes. "You can''t do this. He''s Miss Reed''s father. He''s your wife''s father and your


    father-inw. You can''t do that to him! Don''t you have a heart?"


    "I can ask your father the same question," Toby interjected with a frown. "Titus and Henry used to be


    the best of friends. I bet you didn''t know that."


    Taylor froze. "What?" They used to be the best of friends? Impossible.


    She didn''t believe it. If they were friends, then what happened to them? What turned them into


    enemies? What is the truth behind this?


    Taylor had no idea about the whole story and her mind was in turmoil.

 Chapter 1513

    Chapter 1513


    Chapter 1413 Sounding Out Titus and Julia


    Toby exined, "Titus and Henry grew up in the samepound, so it was only natural for them to


    be the best of friends. Their friendshipsted until high school, but as they grew older, their


    families had increasingly higher hopes for them. Henry had always been an outstanding student of


    good character and an heir whom their elders approved of the most, whereas Titus, who did nothing all


    day other than fool around, was just the opposite. They thus became two contrasting examples in the


    words of their elders, and Titus'' parents evenpared him with Henry, so he became envious of


    Henry over time."


    Hearing the man''s words, Taylor came to realize something, and her lips trembled. "Was that why Dad


    cut ties with Miss Reed''s adoptive father?"


    Toby replied, "That''s right; they cut ties with each other because of that. However, the Reeds got in


    trouble shortly after that, going bankrupt and dropping out of the ranks of Seafield''s distinguished


    families. The Grays weren''t doing any better either. They didn''t go bankrupt, but their assets shrank a


    lot, making them just an ordinarily rich family."


    The ten years immediately crossed Taylor''s mind. It wouldn''t be strange for the two families to get in


    trouble at the same time during those ten years.


    "After what happened to them, the Reeds and the Grays no longer crossed paths with one another until


    Henry rebuilt his career by founding Paradigm Co., whichnded the Reed Family back among the


    ranks of Seafield''s respectable families. Henry was basking in glory at the time, which was a heavy


    blow to Titus, who had to rely on his parents to expand Triforce Enterprise once again before inheriting


    thepany. This made Titus feel even more inferior to Henry, so he stole Paradigm''s secrets out of


    jealousy and forced an employee into suicide by jumping off a building, thus driving Paradigm to the


    brink of bankruptcy. Henry only stole Little Leaf away in order to strike back."


    At this point, Toby stared at her frostily. "So, it''s obvious who was to me for all of this, isn''t it? Had


    Titus been tolerant of others, Little Leaf wouldn''t have been stolen away. It was he who caused her to


    be stolen away, leaving her caught between the two families and unable to break free. Not only had he


    never raised her, but he had also caused her to be stolen away and is now causing her great distress.


    What right does such a father have to ask Little Leaf to save him? He should die since that''d be a relief


    for her instead."


    "No, you''re wrong!" Taylor shook her head vigorously. "It wasn''t like that, President Fuller. Even if Dad


    was wrong, he really cares about Miss Reed. This alone proves that he''s not an absolutely bad guy, so


    you guys can''t do this."


    Toby exploined, "Titus ond Henry grew up in the somepound, so it wos only noturol for them to


    be the best of friends. Their friendship losted until high school, but os they grew older, their


    fomilies hod increosingly higher hopes for them. Henry hod olwoys been on outstonding student of


    good chorocter ond on heir whom their elders opproved of the most, whereos Titus, who did nothing oll


    doy other thon fool oround, wos just the opposite. They thus be two controsting exomples in the


    words of their elders, ond Titus'' porents evenpored him with Henry, so he be envious of


    Henry over time."


    Heoring the mon''s words, Toylore to reolize something, ond her lips trembled. "Wos thot why Dod


    cut ties with Miss Reed''s odoptive fother?"


    Toby replied, "Thot''s right; they cut ties with eoch other becouse of thot. However, the Reeds got in


    trouble shortly ofter thot, going bonkrupt ond dropping out of the ronks of Seofield''s distinguished


    fomilies. The Groys weren''t doing ony better either. They didn''t go bonkrupt, but their ossets shronk o


    lot, moking them just on ordinorily rich fomily."


    The ten yeors immediotely crossed Toylor''s mind. It wouldn''t be stronge for the two fomilies to get in


    trouble ot the some time during those ten yeors.


    "After whot hoppened to them, the Reeds ond the Groys no longer crossed poths with one onother until


    Henry rebuilt his coreer by founding Porodigm Co., which londed the Reed Fomily bock omong the


    ronks of Seofield''s respectoble fomilies. Henry wos bosking in glory ot the time, which wos o heovy


    blow to Titus, who hod to rely on his porents to expond Triforce Enterprise once ogoin before inheriting


    thepony. This mode Titus feel even more inferior to Henry, so he stole Porodigm''s secrets out of


    jeolousy ond forced on employee into suicide by jumping off o building, thus driving Porodigm to the


    brink of bonkruptcy. Henry only stole Little Leof owoy in order to strike bock."


    At this point, Toby stored ot her frostily. "So, it''s obvious who wos to blome for oll of this, isn''t it? Hod


    Titus been toleront of others, Little Leof wouldn''t hove been stolen owoy. It wos he who coused her to


    be stolen owoy, leoving her cought between the two fomilies ond unoble to breok free. Not only hod he


    never roised her, but he hod olso coused her to be stolen owoy ond is now cousing her greot distress.


    Whot right does such o fother hove to osk Little Leof to sove him? He should die since thot''d be o relief


    for her insteod."


    "No, you''re wrong!" Toylor shook her heod vigorously. "It wosn''t like thot, President Fuller. Even if Dod


    wos wrong, he reolly cores obout Miss Reed. This olone proves thot he''s not on obsolutely bod guy, so


    you guys con''t do this."


    "Actually, we can do that," Toby said before turning around and walking toward the ward. To him, Taylor


    was just a woman who had a screw loose. No matter what Titus had done to Sonia and what harm he


    had caused her, she was still of the opinion that Sonia should save him for the sole reason that Titus


    was her biological father. Howughable! Many parents in the world abandon their children because


    they don''t love them. Do the abandoned children have toply when their birth parentse to them


    and tell them that they need them to donate a kidney to them?


    In any case, he would never let Sonia save Titus. Titus had to die for the sake of Sonia''s future, and it


    was already theirst kindness and filial duty to Titus as his daughter and son-inw by not supporting


    Sonia in personally sending Titus to jail. If Titus still had the slightest bit of conscience in him, he should


    have refused to ask Sonia to save him for the sake that she was his daughter. But speaking of it, Titus


    probably still doesn''t know that Sonia is his daughter. Should I tell him about it and see his reaction?


    I''ll think better of Titus if he chooses to help Sonia by dying on his own and rejecting her kidney


    donation for the sake that he still cares about her as her father. However, if he still wants her to donate


    one of her kidneys to him and is afraid of death and reluctant to ept Sonia as his daughter because


    she was raised by Henry, then he''d better not me me when I take matters into my own hands and kill


    him by myself.


    "President Fuller." Toby''s bodyguard immediately saluted him as soon as he stepped out of the ward.


    "Mm-hmm," Toby mumbled. "Keep on guarding her. We''ll wait until Sonia feels better before deciding


    on how to deal with her."


    "Roger that," the bodyguard replied.


    Toby left right away without stopping.


    When he returned to the ward, Sonia was still asleep, so hey down in bed and fell asleep with her in


    his arms. They didn''t sleep muchst night, so they naturally felt worn out now that they had rxed.


    They slept all the way until dusk.


    Tom brought some of the documents that required Toby''s signature for Toby to sign them. After the


    man finished signing them, Tom put them away and said to him, "By the way, President Fuller, Mrs.


    Gray has called the police after realizing that Taylor had gone missing. But I''d given the police a heads-


    up in advance, so they wouldn''t do anything in private despite outwardly promising to help Mrs. Gray


    search for Taylor." After all, Taylor wasn''t actually missing, so why would the police have to search for


    her?


    Toby raised his chin slightly in a gesture of acknowledgment. "How''s Titus?" he asked.


    Tom thought about it for a moment. "The people I sent to ask about it say that he''s not doing well. He''s


    been hospitalized in ICU and is now on a venttor, so Mrs. Gray is crying all day."


    "I got it. Get someone to tell Mrs. Gray that I''d like to see her tomorrow," Toby ordered with a squint.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom immediately guessed something. He asked in surprise, "President Fuller, don''t tell me you want¡ª"


    Toby replied nomittally, "This is what I decided after much deliberation. I also want to know how


    they''ll react upon learning that Sonia''s their daughter. If they still have parental love for her, they should


    know what Sonia is going to face, so they''ll make the right choice. But if they don''t do that, it''d be even


    better since I''ll speed up Titus'' death. I''ll never let them stay alive and prolong my wife''s sufferings."


    Tom nodded. Thinking that what Toby said was right, he was no longer surprised by his decision. "Still,


    does Mrs. Fuller know about this?"


    "I haven''t told her yet for the time being. I want to know Titus and Julia''s reaction before deciding


    whether to tell her or not," Toby replied impassively.


    "Alright, President Fuller, I got it. I''ll have it arranged right away," Tom said as he took his leave.


    After Tom had left, Mary came over as well. "Young Master Toby, Mrs. Lane and Mr. Lane are here;


    they''re now keeping Young Mistress Soniapany in the ward. Young Mistress Sonia is very happy


    to see Mrs. Lane."


    Toby''s expression softened when he heard this. "That''s a good thing. Let''s go back and take a look."


    They left the elevator lobby and came to the ward. Before they entered, they heard the sound of jovial


    laughter in the ward.


    After Toby went in, he saw Grace saying something to Sonia, who was giggling gleefully with her hand


    over her mouth, whereas Charles was standing aside with a scowl and sulking while shooting


    reproachful looks at Grace. At the sight of this, he figured out what Grace had said to Sonia¡ªwhich


    was none other than the skeletons in Charles'' closet. "Mrs. Lane, what did you say to Little Leaf? You


    two look so happy." He went over and wrapped his arm around Sonia''s shoulders before sitting on the


    edge of the bed. Then, he asked on purpose, "How about you tell me about it?" He darted a nce at


    Charles.


    As he had expected, Charles'' face darkened even more. He even jumped right away and pointed to


    Toby''s nose, yelling, "Toby, what are you doing here? Just stay out of our conversation!"

 Chapter 1514

    Chapter 1514


    Chapter 1414 Seeing Titus


    Seriously, all my mom told Sonia is some embarrassing stuff that I did when I was little. Why should we


    let Toby hear this when it''s enough for only the few of us to listen to this? After all, I''m less capable than


    Toby in the first ce. If he knows the embarrassing stuff that I did in the past, won''t that make me look


    even worse in front of him in the future?


    Pretending not to see Charles'' towering rage, Toby merely said to Grace with a smile, "Mrs. Lane, I saw


    how happy you guys were chatting just now, so I''d like to know what you all were talking about. If Little


    Leaf is unhappy again in the future, I can say the same thing to make her happy."


    "All right," Grace replied without hesitation.


    "Mom?" Charles raised his voice while looking at her in disbelief.


    Grace shot a nce at him. "What are you yelling for? Just get out and don''t interrupt me speaking if


    you''re not in the mood to listen."


    "Mrs. Lane is right. Why don''t you go out first?" Toby also said to Charles with a smile that had an


    obvious hint of aggression to it.


    Charles was furious. He stamped his feet, saying, "You guys¡­ How could you guys¡­" Fine, I''ll leave


    as they want. It''s not like I can''t get out of here! With that, he stormed out of the ward.


    Toby gave Grace a polite smile. "Please continue, Mrs. Lane."


    "Alright, then, we''ll continue from where we left off just now." Grace nodded before continuing the


    subject just now.


    Sonia didn''t know whether to frown or tough as she gently nudged the man''s stomach. "You''re so


    mean. You already guessed what Mrs. Lane might be saying, yet you had to anger Charles on


    purpose."


    "It''s his fault for being too impudent in front of me," Toby replied.


    Sonia shook her head in resignation. "Even so, you shouldn''t have angered him like that. Don''t do that


    anymore."


    Toby shrugged. "That depends on whether he''ll go too far in the future. If he doesn''t behave himself, I''ll


    use these things against him; if he behaves himself, then I won''t mention any of these."


    Without saying a word, Sonia darted a look at him in amusement.


    Grace hade here today on purpose to visit Sonia after learning from Charles about what had


    happened to her. However, she didn''t mention Sonia''s opinion of Titus and Julia while visiting her, nor


    did she ask Sonia how she felt about this. Instead, her approach was to not say or ask anything. She


    merely told Sonia some interesting things that made Sonia very happy, because she knew Sonia was


    depressed in the first ce thanks to her identity. At this very moment, the most important thing was to


    make Sonia happy instead of continuing to mention those things that would make her even more upset.


    Grace was a witty person with a great sense of humor. Even if she no longer talked about the


    embarrassing things about Charles in the end, she could say something else to make Sonia happy.


    Therefore, Toby basically never saw Sonia stopughing after this, which made him feel very grateful to


    Grace.


    Seriously, oll my mom told Sonio is some emborrossing stuff thot I did when I wos little. Why should we


    let Toby heor this when it''s enough for only the few of us to listen to this? After oll, I''m less copoble thon


    Toby in the first ploce. If he knows the emborrossing stuff thot I did in the post, won''t thot moke me look


    even worse in front of him in the future?


    Pretending not to see Chorles'' towering roge, Toby merely soid to Groce with o smile, "Mrs. Lone, I sow


    how hoppy you guys were chotting just now, so I''d like to know whot you oll were tolking obout. If Little


    Leof is unhoppy ogoin in the future, I con soy the some thing to moke her hoppy."


    "All right," Groce replied without hesitotion.


    "Mom?" Chorles roised his voice while looking ot her in disbelief.


    Groce shot o glonce ot him. "Whot ore you yelling for? Just get out ond don''t interrupt me speoking if


    you''re not in the mood to listen."


    "Mrs. Lone is right. Why don''t you go out first?" Toby olso soid to Chorles with o smile thot hod on


    obvious hint of oggression to it.


    Chorles wos furious. He stomped his feet, soying, "You guys¡­ How could you guys¡­" Fine, I''ll leove


    os they wont. It''s not like I con''t get out of here! With thot, he stormed out of the word.


    Toby gove Groce o polite smile. "Pleose continue, Mrs. Lone."


    "Alright, then, we''ll continue from where we left off just now." Groce nodded before continuing the


    subject just now.


    Sonio didn''t know whether to frown or to lough os she gently nudged the mon''s stomoch. "You''re so


    meon. You olreody guessed whot Mrs. Lone might be soying, yet you hod to onger Chorles on


    purpose."


    "It''s his foult for being too impudent in front of me," Toby replied.


    Sonio shook her heod in resignotion. "Even so, you shouldn''t hove ongered him like thot. Don''t do thot


    onymore."


    Toby shrugged. "Thot depends on whether he''ll go too for in the future. If he doesn''t behove himself, I''ll


    use these things ogoinst him; if he behoves himself, then I won''t mention ony of these."


    Without soying o word, Sonio dorted o look ot him in omusement.


    Groce hode here todoy on purpose to visit Sonio ofter leorning from Chorles obout whot hod


    hoppened to her. However, she didn''t mention Sonio''s opinion of Titus ond Julio while visiting her, nor


    did she osk Sonio how she felt obout this. Insteod, her opprooch wos to not soy or osk onything. She


    merely told Sonio some interesting things thot mode Sonio very hoppy, becouse she knew Sonio wos


    depressed in the first ploce thonks to her identity. At this very moment, the most importont thing wos to


    moke Sonio hoppy insteod of continuing to mention those things thot would moke her even more upset.


    Groce wos o witty person with o greot sense of humor. Even if she no longer tolked obout the


    emborrossing things obout Chorles in the end, she could soy something else to moke Sonio hoppy.


    Therefore, Toby bosicolly never sow Sonio stop loughing ofter this, which mode him feel very groteful to


    Groce.


    Grace spent over two hours in the ward. Before she left, she finally talked with Sonia about Titus and


    Julia, though she apologized while she was at it. After all, she had been aware of this for a long time,


    but she had chosen to keep this from Sonia instead of telling her, so she hoped Sonia would forgive her


    for doing so.


    In reality, it would be impossible for Sonia to say she didn''t feel hurt at all. She had always treated


    Grace and Toby as thest of her kin, but neither of them had told her about this despite being in the


    know, so there was no way she wouldn''t be upset over this. However, she felt more at ease afterward.


    If she were Toby or Grace, and if Toby or Grace were her, would she tell them about it directly or keep it


    a secret for the time being? The answer was clear: she would also choose to keep it a secret.


    Therefore, she really didn''t have the right to me Toby, Grace, and others for this.


    Grace let out an inward sigh of relief when she heard Sonia say she would let this pass. She then said


    many things tofort Sonia, giving her a lot of advice before finally leaving in relief.


    Actually, Grace''s advice to Sonia was no different from what Toby and Charles had advised her, though


    part of it was something that Toby and Charles had never talked about, which was that Sonia should


    follow her heart. Grace expressed her support no matter whether Sonia would choose to reunite with


    Titus and Julia or whether or not she would continue her revenge by sending them to jail. This was


    because Sonia was Sonia; no matter what she thought and did, it wouldn''t change the fact that she


    was still the adorable and pretty goddaughter in Grace''s mind''s eye. Grace said so in hopes that she


    wouldn''t get confused and lose herself because of the change in her identity.


    After seeing Grace and Charles off, Toby returned to the ward and sat down again on the edge of the


    hospital bed. "Darling." He gently wrapped his arm around Sonia''s shoulders. "Have you thought of


    reuniting with Titus and Julia?"


    Sonia''s countenance changed slightly at the man''s question, but she calmed down soon afterward. She


    shook her head, saying, "I''ve never thought about it. Whatever they feel about Rina, I have no intention


    of reuniting with them. It''s true that they don''t know I''m their daughter, but the harm they caused both


    the Reed Family and I is real. I don''t know how to face them, nor am I able to resume our rtionship."


    Wouldn''t she betray the Reeds if she were to choose to reunite with them? And besides, she was


    inwardly resentful of them, after all. She hated them for not taking good care of her, for being so cruel,


    and for adopting Tina¡­ There were so many obstacles between them, and none of these obstacles


    could be forgotten so easily, so there was no way she could reunite with them.


    "Have you thought of meeting them, then?" Toby asked. He wasn''t surprised by her choice since he


    knew long ago that she would make such a choice.


    "Meeting them, huh¡­" Sonia hesitated this time. It was one thing to not reunite with Titus and Julia, but


    it was a different thing whether to meet them or not. After all, Titus didn''t have much time left; she


    would never get to see him if she refused to meet him. However, she didn''t feel like meeting them, for


    she didn''t know how to face them¡­


    Seeing how hesitant she looked, Toby stroked her hair, saying, "Since you''re unsure about it, just take


    your time to think about it instead of rushing things. There''s still time for you to think it through before


    deciding whether to meet them or not."


    "Uh-huh," Sonia mumbled as she agreed with the man.


    Just then, Mary came to serve them different food for dinner.


    Toby''s dinner was ordinary, but Sonia''s dinner was prepared especially for her by Mary and thus more


    on the sour side. "Young Mistress Sonia, I went out of my way to learn how to make this from an old


    friend of mine in my hometown in Oliswell, who said that this suits the pte of pregnant women like


    you best. Give it a try!" Mary said.


    Sonia picked up a spoonful of omelets with her spoon before putting it into her mouth. Unlike ordinary


    omelets, this one tasted sour and sweet. Normally, she would''ve been unused to such a taste, but at


    this moment, she thought it tasted very good. She nodded with a smile, saying, "Not bad. It tastes


    pretty good. Thank you, Madam Mary."


    Mary was delighted to see that Sonia liked the omelet. She replied with a smile, "You don''t have to


    thank me for that. It''s okay as long as you like it. Alright, hurry and eat. Young Mistress Sonia, you may


    sleep for a while after finishing your meal." As she spoke, she turned to look at Toby. "By the way,


    Young Master Toby, Old Mrs. Fuller called in the afternoon, saying she had something to talk to you


    about and asking you to call her back when you wake up."


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    Toby paused for a moment while holding a spoon in his hand. "Did Grandma say what it was about?"


    Could Grandma have found out about what happened to Little Leaf?


    Sonia also looked at Mary nervously as she didn''t want Rose to worry about her. She would really feel


    sorry for making Rose worry about her at such an old age. And besides, it would make her appear


    selfish.

 Chapter 1515

    Chapter 1515


    Chapter 1415 The Anniversary of Homer¡¯s Death


    Seeing how tense the couple looked, Mary realized what they were worried about. She exined with


    a smile, "Don''t worry, Young Master Toby and Young Mistress Sonia. Old Mrs. Fuller is still unaware of


    what happened to you two for now. She probably called Young Master Toby to discuss how to hold a


    memorial service on the anniversary of Master Homer''s death since the day is just around the corner."


    This Master Homer that Mary mentioned was none other than Toby''ste father, Homer Fuller.


    Upon hearing this, Toby instantly heaved a sigh of relief. "Come to think of it, the anniversary of


    Father''s death is indeeding in a few days. I got it; I''ll call Grandmater. Thank you for telling me


    about this, Mary."


    "It''s nothing, Young Master Toby. Alright, then, I shan''t keep you two any longer. I gotta prepare the


    ingredients for tomorrow," Mary said. With that, she turned around and returned to the kitchen.


    Sonia turned to look at the man. "We have to attend the memorial service for Dad on the anniversary of


    his death, right?"


    Toby nodded. "That''s of course, but you don''t have to. You''re not in good health, so I''ll go alone."


    "No, that won''t do." Sonia shook her head. "How can I be absent at the memorial service for your


    father? And besides, it''s not like I can''t move around. There''s no problem for me to spend a few hours


    away from the hospital."


    Hearing her say that and seeing how she insisted on going, Toby pondered for a moment before finally


    agreeing to it. After all, he had never let her meet his parents before, so now it was time to let her meet


    them. "Alright then, I''ll take you there," he said while stroking her hair.


    "Uh-huh," Sonia replied. "Just call Grandma back, or she''ll be sleeping in a moment."


    "Alright, I''ll call her," Toby said while taking out his phone before calling Rose. At this moment, there


    wasn''t much time left until when Rose was supposed to sleep, so they would have to wait until


    tomorrow if they didn''t call her right now.


    Soon afterward, the phone call to Rose was answered; Toby put the phone on speaker so that Sonia


    could listen to the phone conversation.


    Rose''s amiable and cheerful voice sounded through the phone. "Sonny, why call me at such ate


    hour?"


    Toby''s lips twitched. Is Grandma saying that on purpose? I made this phone call from my own number!


    I simply don''t believe she didn''t notice it, but she ignores me and says it''s Little Leaf who made the


    phone call. Do I still exist in her mind''s eye?


    Seeing the man''s darkened handsome face, Sonia snorted intoughter with her hand over her mouth.


    She said to the other end of the phone, "Grandma, we didn''t rouse you from sleep, did we?"


    Seeing how tense the couple looked, Mory reolized whot they were worried obout. She exploined with


    o smile, "Don''t worry, Young Moster Toby ond Young Mistress Sonio. Old Mrs. Fuller is still unowore of


    whot hoppened to you two for now. She probobly colled Young Moster Toby to discuss how to hold o


    memoriol service on the onniversory of Moster Homer''s deoth since the doy is just oround the corner."


    This Moster Homer thot Mory mentioned wos none other thon Toby''s lote fother, Homer Fuller.


    Upon heoring this, Toby instontly heoved o sigh of relief. "Come to think of it, the onniversory of


    Fother''s deoth is indeeding in o few doys. I got it; I''ll coll Grondmo loter. Thonk you for telling me


    obout this, Mory."


    "It''s nothing, Young Moster Toby. Alright, then, I shon''t keep you two ony longer. I gotto prepore the


    ingredients for tomorrow," Mory soid. With thot, she turned oround ond returned to the kitchen.


    Sonio turned to look ot the mon. "We hove to ottend the memoriol service for Dod on the onniversory of


    his deoth, right?"


    Toby nodded. "Thot''s of course, but you don''t hove to. You''re not in good heolth, so I''ll go olone."


    "No, thot won''t do." Sonio shook her heod. "How con I be obsent ot the memoriol service for your


    fother? And besides, it''s not like I con''t move oround. There''s no problem for me to spend o few hours


    owoy from the hospitol."


    Heoring her soy thot ond seeing how she insisted on going, Toby pondered for o moment before finolly


    ogreeing to it. After oll, he hod never let her meet his porents before, so now it wos time to let her meet


    them. "Alright then, I''ll toke you there," he soid while stroking her hoir.


    "Uh-huh," Sonio replied. "Just coll Grondmo bock, or she''ll be sleeping in o moment."


    "Alright, I''ll coll her," Toby soid while toking out his phone before colling Rose. At this moment, there


    wosn''t much time left until when Rose wos supposed to sleep, so they would hove to woit until


    tomorrow if they didn''t coll her right now.


    Soon ofterword, the phone coll to Rose wos onswered; Toby put the phone on speoker so thot Sonio


    could listen to the phone conversotion.


    Rose''s omioble ond cheerful voice sounded through the phone. "Sonny, why coll me ot such o lote


    hour?"


    Toby''s lips twitched. Is Grondmo soying thot on purpose? I mode this phone coll from my own number!


    I simply don''t believe she didn''t notice it, but she ignores me ond soys it''s Little Leof who mode the


    phone coll. Do I still exist in her mind''s eye?


    Seeing the mon''s dorkened hondsome foce, Sonio snorted into loughter with her hond over her mouth.


    She soid to the other end of the phone, "Grondmo, we didn''t rouse you from sleep, did we?"


    "No, you didn''t," Rose replied with a smile. "The older I get, the more trouble I have falling asleep, so


    I''m still in good spirits right now. You two didn''t rouse me from sleep; on the contrary, I''m very happy


    that you could call and speak with me."


    "That''s great! We were worried that we might disturb you in your sleep," Sonia said with a smile. "Well,


    Grandma, Mary just told us that you called Toby in the afternoon and asked him to call you back after


    he woke up, which is why Toby''s made this phone call right now."


    At this moment, Toby finally spoke up. "Grandma, you called me for the sake of Father''s death


    anniversary, right?"


    A look of grief and destion instantly came over Rose''s smiling face when she heard the words ''death


    anniversary.'' After all, Homer was her son. It had pained her enough to see her son die earlier than


    herself, and the yearly anniversary of her son''s passing made her feel as though her heart were being


    gouged out. Even so, she had to face up to this, as she couldn''t forget about her son. "Yeah, your


    father''s death anniversary ising in three days." She let out a sigh. "I wanted to ask you what your


    ns are for this year."


    Instead of answering her question immediately, Toby said, "Grandma, I already know who killed


    Father."


    Rose tightened her grip on the phone after hearing this, but her face didn''t show much change in


    emotion. Obviously, she already knew about this long ago. This was understandable; after all, she was


    a mother, so how could she not investigate how her son had died? Perhaps she had learned a long


    time ago who the murderer was, but she had never revealed it or taken action.


    After not hearing her reply for a long time, Toby guessed what she was thinking, and his thin lips


    parted. He asked, "Grandma, you already knew about this, didn''t you?"


    The instant he said so, Sonia looked at the phone in surprise. Toby had told her that he had yet to tell


    Rose about this.


    Silence instantly filled the air. Sonia and Toby could only hear the sound of Rose''s breathinging


    through the phone. Otherwise, they would''ve hung up the phone, thinking that Rose had fallen asleep.


    Just when Toby was about to repeat the question, Rose finally spoke after a long time. "That''s right. I


    learned about this five years ago."


    Toby''s pupils shrank. "Five years ago!" Homer passed away 12 years ago, and it took him 12 years to


    find the murderer behind the scenes, but little did he think that Rose had learned about it five years


    ago. "But why didn''t you tell me?" he asked in bafflement as his Adam''s apple bobbed up and down.


    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    How could Rose not know what Toby was thinking? She let out a sigh, saying, "Toby, do you think I


    didn''t want to tell you about this? No, that wasn''t the case. It was my son who died, so I''m more


    anguished than anyone else and hate Connor more than anyone else does. But why have I been


    holding back from saying it the whole time? It was all for your sake!"


    "For my sake?" Toby''s pupils trembled.


    Sonia looked at him with concern. "It''s okay. Let''s listen to what Grandma says first."


    "Uh-huh," Toby mumbled.


    Rose let out a sigh. "Toby, now that you''re no longer under hypnosis, you should know how


    unreasonable you were during the six years you spent under hypnosis. It was like you had no regard


    for anyws and regtions in your mind during those six years, and everything you did was as


    ruthless as possible with almost no care for the consequences. You were just a robot who had no


    morals and no regard for thew. How could I dare to tell you about this when you were such a person?


    I was worried that you''d act recklessly by taking action directly against the Salzburg Family without any


    consideration for the hundreds of thousands of employees at the Fuller Group and the Salzburg Group.


    If you did that, not only would you ruin the aplishments your grandpa had made to shield our


    family, but you''d also ruin the families of hundreds of thousands of employees by making them lose


    their jobs. Moreover, even you would pay the price for what you did by going to jail. Do you understand


    that?"


    The instant she said so, Toby''s lips parted, but he was at a loss for a reply. Indeed, if he had learned


    about how Homer died when he was still under hypnosis, he would definitely wage an economic war


    against Connor right away to avenge his father''s death without much hesitation. As for how many


    people would get hurt or be disced because of the economic war, it would be none of his business.


    But now that he was back to normal, he definitely couldn''t bring himself to do so.


    Sonia agreed with what Rose said, too. "Grandma''s right. You were indeed capable of doing that when


    you were under hypnosis. It was like how you covered for Tina and helped her get away when we first


    divorced despite knowing that she had repeatedly attempted to kill me. At the time, you''d turn up your


    nose at anyw, as you were an extremely dangerous person. Grandma was right not to tell you about


    this. Otherwise, you wouldn''t be here today; you''d be in jail instead."

 Chapter 1516

    Chapter 1516


    Chapter 1416 Perfect Result


    "Sonny is right. That''s exactly why I didn''t dare to tell you." Rose sighed.


    Toby pursed his lips, letting go of his doubts. "Okay. I understand your intentions now, Grandma."


    Rose smiled. "I''m d you do. After all, the one who died is my son, and I want revenge more than


    anyone else, but I can''t just drag my grandson into it just because I''m too eager to avenge him. That''s


    why I chose to keep it a secret for the time being and wait to see if you would recover, and fortunately,


    you returned to normal in the end."


    "Grandma, why didn''t you tell me after I went back to normal for all this time? I even had to find out for


    myself," Toby interrogated.


    Rose smiled helplessly. "That''s because I know that you can find the murderer with your abilities, so I


    don''t have any reason to tell you. Look, you''ve just recovered and you already found the culprit. That''s


    a really impressive feat. So, I chose to watch over you quietly. I believe that you will avenge your


    father."


    "I see." Toby rubbed his temples and asked, "Then, Grandma, how did you find out that Connor killed


    Father back then?"


    Sonia listened quietly as well, wanting to know the answer.


    Rose''s wrinkled face darkened at his question. "There''s something I haven''t told you yet. Actually,


    when your father got married, Connor attended his wedding, and I clearly saw the murderous intent in


    the way he looked at your father. At that time, I was immediately on high alert and secretly guarded


    against that snake, and I also told your father to watch out for himself. He agreed, and he did start


    bringing a bodyguard around with him after that. However, in the next decade, your father was safe and


    sound while Connor peacefully remained in Westsanshire without leaving that ce, so I began to think


    that he only looked at your father that way during his wedding but didn''t n to do anything to him.


    Then, we dropped our guard."


    At this point, she wrung her hands, overwhelmed with sorrow. "We never saw iting. I


    underestimated that snake''s tolerance. The moment we lowered our guard, he immediately made his


    move on your father. He really is cruel; he was able to hold back for more than ten years without doing


    anything just to kill your father, all so he could loosen our guard and find an opportunity to off him with a


    single blow. When news of your father meeting harm abroad reached our country, I immediately


    suspected Connor, but his records were too clear, so I couldn''t find any proof that he did it in the next


    few years. However¡­"


    Rose huffed. "If he could hold back for over a decade without making any moves to kill your father, I


    can obviously do the same. At my age, I''ve already trained my patience long ago, and I can spend a


    large amount of time and patience looking for him. I believed that I could find the evidence to prove that


    he was the culprit one day, and as expected, this investigation went on for seven years. The spy I hired


    infiltrated the Salzburg Residence, and at some point, he heard Connor muttering to himself with a


    picture of your mother in his hand, describing how he killed your father. Unfortunately, the spy only


    heard this by chance and didn''t have any recording equipment with him, or we would''ve had concrete


    evidence by now."


    It really is a huge shame. Sonia sighed.


    Hearing that, Toby frowned. "Grandma, is the person you hired to infiltrate the Salzburg Residence still


    there?"


    "Of course. He''s always been looking for evidence," Rose said with an icy expression, "Although


    Connor has hidden his trail well, is it possible to not leave any evidence of something he''s done


    before? It isn''t. There must be something that can prove that he killed your father, so he''s beenying


    low in the Salzburg Residence during the past few years. We haven''t been hearing any good news, but


    I know that Connor isn''t in Westsanshire now and is in Seafield, so it''s given the spy more time to look


    for evidence."


    "Grandma, can you hand him over to me?" Toby narrowed his eyes.


    Rose raised an eyebrow. "You want me to hand the spy to you?"


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    "That''s right." Toby nodded and exined, "I will definitely avenge Father properly, so hand him over to


    me, and I will give you a perfect result, Grandma."


    Hearing that, Rose smiled. "Sure. I''ll tell you how to contact himter. Actually, I was nning to give


    him to you too."


    "Thank you, Grandma." Toby nodded.


    "What is there to thank me about? It''s all to avenge your father. Besides, I believe that my eldest


    grandson will pull it off. However, I still have to remind you that Connor isn''t an easy opponent, so you


    have to be careful. Also, you have to protect Sonny and your child well. She can''t be hurt anymore,


    understand?" Rose instructed him somberly.


    Sonia''s heart warmed at her touching words.


    Toby squeezed Sonia''s hand. "I understand. I will."


    After a moment of thought, Rose suggested, "If you''re too busy dealing with Connorter on, take


    Sonny to the Fuller Residence. It''s the safest here, and with me around, I can protect Sonny even


    better too."


    Toby did not refuse her offer. "If that time reallyes, I''ll send Little Leaf over."


    Saying that, he looked at Sonia, who sent him a smile. "Don''t worry, I won''t refuse. I''m not a stubborn


    idiot. If my presence will drag you down, I''ll keep my distance so that I won''t get in your way, and I''ll


    wait for you at Grandma''s. That way, you can settle the issue without any distractions, so don''t worry


    about whether I would agree or not."


    His eyes filled with gentle affection as Toby kissed her forehead. "You''ve never been a burden to me;


    you don''t have to say that about yourself."


    Soniaughed. "I just said that to let you know that I''ll listen to anything you decide onter on, and I


    won''t make you worry."


    "That''s the spirit. Just bring Sonny over then, and I''ll take care of her for you. You can just focus on


    dealing with Connor," Rose echoed.


    Toby hummed in agreement. "Thank you in advance, Grandma."


    "What are you thanking me for? We''re family." Rose waved a hand and continued, "It''s your father''s


    death anniversary in a few days. You shoulde back and introduce Sonny to your father."


    "I will." Toby inclined his head. "We''ll have to spend Father''s death anniversary this year like we didst


    year, and we can host a proper ceremony once Connor is dealt with so we can tell him the good news.


    Also, Grandma, tell Mom about this. Don''t let her misunderstand that we''re taking Father''s death


    anniversary lightly."


    "I''ll tell her." Rose nodded. "Although Jean is a little dumb, she won''t drag you down when it matters.


    She''ll understand; she''s hoping to avenge your father as soon as possible just like the rest of us."


    "She''s close with Father, so that''s a given." Toby let out a smallugh.


    Sonny listened to their conversation silently without interrupting them. Although she still could not


    understand why Toby''s father would fall for Jean, she definitely acknowledged their feelings for each


    other.


    Lifting his wrist to look at his watch, Toby noticed that it was already time for Rose to rest, so he


    decided to end the call. "Okay, Grandma, it''s gettingte, so we won''t interrupt your rest anymore. Little


    Leaf and I wille to visit you soon."


    Rose agreed with a chuckle.


    After the call ended, Toby set his phone down and said, "Let''s go and wash up too. The nurse will be


    coming over to do their rounds soon."

 Chapter 1517

    Chapter 1517


    Chapter 1417 Tom Is Heartbroken


    The nurse doing their rounds meant that they had to go to sleep. Not wanting to be rushed to rest by


    the nurseter on, Sonia immediately nodded in agreement. Then, she was lifted off the bed and into


    Toby''s arms before they headed toward the bathroom.


    She said exasperatedly, "What are you doing? Hurry up and put me down. It''s not like I can''t walk."


    She was just a little ill, but it didn''t mean that she was paralyzed. She didn''t need him to carry her there


    at all.


    Even so, he refused to put her down and even replied with a serious expression, "But I want to carry


    you there."


    "You aren''t even fully recovered yourself. Why would I need you to carry me?" Sonia rolled her eyes.


    Toby chuckled under his breath. "It''s fine. It''s just a few steps, so it won''t do any harm to me. All right,


    let''s go and wash up."


    With that, he ced Sonia down in front of the sink and handed her a toothbrush.


    After giving him an eye roll, Sonia epted it and began to brush her teeth, while Toby remained next


    to her and joined her in brushing his teeth.


    Washing up and brushing their teeth together had be their daily routine, and although they were


    not used to it at first, they hade to terms with it now. Of course, this change was only experienced


    by Sonia¡ªsomeone as thick-skinned as Toby had never felt unustomed to this.


    After they were done, Toby carried Sonia out of the bathroom and returned to her bed. This time, she


    did not tell him to put her down as she was well aware that it would be useless. Besides, he didn''t


    seem to be affected after carrying her around, so she left him to his devices.


    On the bed, Toby wrapped her in his arms before taking a book and flipping it open.


    Sonia raised an eyebrow at his actions. "What are you reading?"


    "A fairy tale," Toby said, breezily showing her the cover of the book.


    At first, she was taken aback, but she soon chortled withughter. "Toby, why didn''t I know that you


    liked reading fairy tales?"


    The idea of a grown man like him reading a fairy tale that not even toddlers enjoyed reading anymore


    was too hrious for her not tough out loud.


    "I''m not the one liking it." Toby retracted his hand and borated, "I''m reading it for our child."


    "Huh?" Sonia blinked. "For the baby?"


    She caressed her stomach, a little dumbfounded.


    Toby jutted his chin nomittally. "That''s right. The book said that a child''s prenatal education has to


    start early, and it''s important to the baby. We can y some music and read some stories to the baby


    regrly. Music is fine, but I don''t know what kind of stories babies like. I asked my subordinates, and


    they said that fairy tales are good for children, so I made them buy a few books to test it out."


    Sonia''s lips twitched. "Oh, please, even if it''s for prenatal education, you should wait after the baby


    starts moving. It''s way too early now."


    She was both exasperated and amused as she continued, "Besides, the baby won''t understand even if


    you read it out now. Also, normally toddlers are the ones who enjoy fairy tales. How would you know


    that the baby likes it?"


    "I don''t know. That''s why I''m trying now." Toby''srge hand covered her stomach as well. "Besides, our


    baby is definitely a genius. I know our baby will understand even if it''s still early."


    Looking at his certain expression, Sonia ced her hand on her forehead in amusement. "All right,


    read it then. The baby''s mother would like to hear it too."


    "Okay." Toby nodded in agreement before he flipped to the first page and began to read. "Snow


    White¡­"


    As he read, he maintained perfect pacing and diction, making it extremely pleasing to listen to, and


    Sonia couldn''t help but close her eyes. However, just then, he stopped reading all of a sudden.


    She opened her eyes dubiously and saw his tightly furrowed brows as he stared at the book in his


    hand, deep in thought.


    "What''s wrong?" she asked in confusion.


    Toby flipped a few pages of the book, his expression dark as he said, "This book won''t do."


    "How so?" she questioned, bewildered.


    Toby said with a stormy expression and a disdainful tone, "This is a fairy tale, but the queen gets


    jealous of her stepdaughter and even tries to end her life by taking her heart? Is this a fairy tale or a


    murder mystery?"


    "Well¡­" Sonia''s lips twitched. She hadn''t expected that this was what he meant when he said the book


    wouldn''t do.


    However, after listening to him, it did seem that the fairy tale was a little too dark.


    Toby flipped to the rest of the story and continued, "Also, it says that after the queen failed to kill her


    stepdaughter, she used a poisoned apple to harm her. How can such cruel behavior show up in a fairy


    tale that''s meant for children? Have they never thought that this is the age where they''re supposed to


    be learning? Aren''t they afraid of the children following what was written in the book? Even if they don''t,


    what if they learn from the queen''s cruel jealousy?"


    "Oh¡­" Sonia was rendered speechless.


    It did seem a little inappropriate.


    "Besides, in the other story, after the mother died and the father remarried, he ostracized his biological


    daughter and forced her to be a maid and serve them. Is this what a child is supposed to read?


    Won''t it scare the children with stepmothers? Or, what if the stepmother was kind to the child, but after


    the child reads this and fears their stepmother, would they be able to remain kind to the child?"


    Looking at the man who was relentlessly nitpicking the fairy tale, Sonia shook her head in amusement.


    "Honey, aren''t you reading too much into this?"


    "I''m not." Toby replied seriously, "This book won''t do at all. Besides promoting negative behavior, the


    rest are all advocating for romance. Should a child be reading this? What if they start dating at a young


    age?"


    At the thought of the possibility that the child in Sonia''s belly might be a girl and she might have her


    heart stolen away by some brat at a young age, Toby found it uneptable. He might lose his mind


    then.


    Smack!


    Toby closed the book in his hand expressionlessly and tossed it aside. "I can''t read this story anymore


    or it might influence our child negatively. I''ll buy a few more books tomorrow, and they better not have


    any weird crimes or romance in them. These aren''t appropriate for children."


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    Soniaughed again. "All right. Since it''s inappropriate, don''t read it and anger yourself."


    "Okay, I won''t. Let''s sleep." Tobyy down and embraced her waist.


    Sonia nestled into his arms and closed her eyes, and she soon fell asleep. As she was pregnant, she


    slept a lot more than usual, and Mary even said that she would sleep even more in the days toe.


    Toby listened to the soft breathing of the sleeping woman in his arms, his gaze practically oozing with


    affection.


    He lowered his head and dropped a kiss on her red lips before turning off the lights and saying in a low


    voice, "Good night."


    After wrapping her in his embrace, he drifted off to sleep.


    When he woke up the next day, Sonia was still asleep. He got off the bed lightly in order not to wake


    her. After eating the breakfast prepared by Mary and leaving her with some instructions, he left the


    hospital.


    Upon seeing him in the parking lot, Tom hurriedly put out the cigarette in his hand and greeted,


    "President Fuller."


    Toby frowned at the smell of tobo and said, "Don''t smoke in front of me anymore. Do you want to


    get the smell of cigarettes all over me so that I can bring it home and give my wife thirdhand smoke?"


    Tom touched his nose guiltily. "I''m sorry, President Fuller. I didn''t think about that."


    "What exactly happened?" Toby asked while staring at him. "You never smoked in front of me. Are you


    in a bad mood?"

 Chapter 1518

    Chapter 1518


    Chapter 1418 Only Child


    Hearing Toby''s question, Tom instantly lowered his head dejectedly. "President Fuller, I''m heartbroken."


    Toby was stunned by this sudden piece of information. "Since when were you in a rtionship?"


    As his superior, he was confused as to why he didn''t know about this earlier.


    Tom instantly choked miserably. "Just recently, but it''s an online rtionship. We haven''t met in real life


    yet."


    Toby raised an eyebrow. "Online rtionship? Are they trustworthy?"


    His words were like a sharp arrow, viciously shooting into Tom''s heart.


    Tom clutched his chest, feeling even more despondent. "Not at all. I saw how good your rtionship is


    with Mrs. Fuller, and I''m already thirty-one, so I wanted to find a girlfriend for myself. The thing is, I was


    too busy to look for an actual one. Hence, one of my friends told me to look for one on the inte. I


    thought it sounded interesting, so that''s what I did. I met a girl with a nice voice and a good sense of


    humor, and after talking to her for some time, we started dating."


    "Then, what?" Toby asked, looking at him. He had a feeling that things didn''t turn out that simple.


    "Then¡­" Tom covered his face in pain. "Then, while we were dating, I kept sending her money. I''d


    spent over a hundred thousand on her, but when I asked her for an offline meetup yesterday, she


    rejected me. Then, I looked at her personal details and found out that she''s actually a guy¡­ Sob¡­"


    At this point, he finally broke into tears. He bawled, hard. Anyone else would''ve broken down if they


    encountered something like this during their first romantic rtionship. After all, he had truly given his


    heart away.


    At the sight of Tom sobbing sorrowfully, Toby looked at him in disdain. "You''re just stupid. Why didn''t


    you figure out whom he is before getting into a rtionship? If you waited to think of this after you


    sacrificed your time and money, who''s to me other than yourself?"


    Tom was speechless, unable to refute. Toby was right. He was too eager to get into a rtionship and


    had dove into one without looking his partner up. It wasn''t at all surprising that he got cheated.


    "A hundred thousand isn''t a small amount; it already qualifies as a scam. Best if you lodge a police


    report." Toby then opened the door to the back seat and got into the car.


    Tom hurriedly entered the driver''s seat before he continued, "I''ve already made a report. They''re


    looking into it now and said they would contact me in a few days. This is so frustrating. If I get to see


    that guy, I''m gonna teach him a lesson. How dare he lie to me."


    "You were too impulsive. He was wrong, but aren''t you too?" Toby shot him a look.


    Tom instantly gave in. "You''re right, I am."


    "I''ve decided." Toby rubbed his temples before saying, "After I''ve dealt with Connor, I''ll give you a


    month off, so go and take a good rest and find a real girlfriend. Then, you can transfer to one of our


    subsidiarypanies and work as the CEO there. That way, you''ll have the time to settle your romantic


    rtionships."


    Toby was aware that Tom would not have any time to date anyone if he continued to work for him, and


    it was what he owed Tom as his superior. Hence, he decided to let him go so that he could find a


    partner, or he would soon turn forty if he kept dragging it on.


    Hearing that, Tom instantly cheered up, his eyes brightening as he said, "All right. Thank you, President


    Fuller."


    "Right, start driving." Toby lifted his chin.


    Tom inhaled deeply and collected his thoughts before he began to maneuver the car seriously. An hour


    later, they arrived at Trifecta Hospital.


    Toby made a beeline for Titus'' ward, and when he arrived at the doorway, he heard Julia''s urgent voice


    from inside. "Titus, what should we do? The police don''t have any information about Rina. Where on


    earth did she go? Why did she disappear all of a sudden?"


    The door was ajar, and Toby easily pushed it open. Inside, Julia was standing by the bed with her back


    toward him, while Titusy on the bed, as thin as a rake. Though he was awake, he looked extremely


    worn out. "Calm down now. Think carefully where Rina could''ve gone."


    "I have, but I can''te up with anything." Julia was about to burst into tears.


    Although she could not be close with Rina, she was still the child that she had finally given birth to


    after trying for a long time, not to mention she had waited for over twenty years for her to return to her


    side, so how could she not love her? As for why they weren''t as close as she hoped them to be, it was


    probably because they didn''t spend much time together, so they didn''t know much about each other


    yet.


    "Stop looking. She''s with me." Toby spoke up, interrupting the voices in the ward.


    Julia and Titus simultaneously looked in his direction.


    When Titus saw Toby, his expression shifted, his gaunt face seeming even more horrifying due to his


    shock. "It''s you? Why are you here?"


    Julia was shocked as well, but she quickly calmed down as someone had told her the day before that


    Toby woulde over today. She had already told them that she didn''t wee Toby and didn''t want


    him here, but the person said that her opinion didn''t matter, and she couldn''t stop him froming. As


    expected, he showed up.


    "What are you here for?" Julia warily stood in front of Titus to protect him, fearing that Toby would hurt


    him.


    After all, Toby was now Sonia''s husband, and Sonia was their sworn enemy, so there was no telling


    whether Toby had shown up to take advantage of Titus'' inability to move and end his life to avenge


    Sonia. Hence, Julia couldn''t help but feel nervous.


    However, after entering the ward, Toby stopped by the foot of the bed, not showing any intention of


    moving forward. His actions made Julia unable to figure out what his intentions were.


    Just then, Titus'' feeble voice sounded from behind her. "Lia, move aside." Lia was a nickname he gave


    Julia.


    Julia turned around and shot him a nce. "But, Titus¡­"


    "It''s fine." Titus shed a grimace at her. "I don''t believe that Toby would dare to do anything to me


    today."


    A sneer emerged on Toby''s lips. "You''re right. I''m not here today to do anything to the both of you. I just


    wanted to tell you a secret."


    "A secret?" Titus'' murky eyes widened and fixed intently on him. "What are you trying to say? You


    aren''t here to tell us a secret. You''re here to check if I''m dead, aren''t you?"


    Toby remained expressionless as he said, "Don''t you know how simple it is for me to know if you''re


    dead? I have my men to inform me, so I don''t even have toe over personally."


    "You¡­" Titus'' breathing turned rapid with anger at his words.


    N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Julia was panic-stricken. "Titus, don''t get too emotional. Did you forget about your current state of


    health?"


    At the end of the day, Titus still wanted to live, and he knew that his body couldn''t handle emotional


    fluctuations at the moment. Hearing Julia''s words, he immediately calmed himself down and said,


    "You''re right, President Fuller. So, what secret do you want to tell? But before you tell us, I need you to


    exin to us why my daughter is with you and what you''re nning to do with her. Even if you intend to


    avenge Sonia, you can juste at the two of us. Why harm my daughter? My daughter has nothing to


    do with the feud back then."


    "It seems like you really love your daughter." Toby looked at him with a conflicted gaze.


    Titus replied coldly, "Why wouldn''t I love my own child? Besides, she''s my only child, the one that only


    came back to me after she was lost for over twenty years! I''m willing to do anything for her!"

 Chapter 1519

    Chapter 1519


    Sonia Is Your Actual Daughter


    Julia looked at Toby just as firmly as well. "So, please let our daughter go. She has nothing to do with


    our grudge against Sonia. Even if she hurt Sonia in the past, she''s already been locked up for half a


    month and has received her punishment, so you don''t have the right to capture her."


    "You''re right, I don''t have the right. Nheless, the one I captured isn''t Rina. It''s Taylor."


    As he spoke, Toby extended a hand toward Tom, who took the hint and handed him the document


    folder in his hand. After taking the folder, he tossed it to Titus.


    The foldernded in front of Titus. "What''s this?"


    Julia turned her gaze toward the folder as well.


    Toby sat on the chair that Tom had pulled over. "Won''t you know what''s inside once you take a look?"


    After a brief pause, Titus picked up the folder and decided to take a look at it. However, his hands were


    too frail and trembled profusely, causing the folder to slip from his hands and drop on top of the sheets.


    Upon seeing that he couldn''t even pick up a document folder, Titus was filled with despair, wondering


    how he ended up like this in the end when he used to be so powerful. Was this karma?


    "Titus¡­" Julia felt just as horrible when she saw the state that he was in. In the end, she picked up the


    folder herself. "Let me do it."


    "Okay," Titus agreed with a nod.


    After picking up the folder, Julia slowly opened it and pulled out the documents inside.


    Upon seeing the words ''DNA test'' written on the papers, she frowned in confusion. "President Fuller,


    what''s the meaning of this? Why did you bring our DNA tests with Rina over?"


    When Titus heard that the documents were a DNA test, his heart skipped a beat. He began to have a


    bad premonition.


    Meanwhile, Toby crossed his legsnguidly, a cold smile curving his lips. "This isn''t your DNA test with


    Taylor. It''s your DNA test with Sonia."


    Julia''s expression shifted drastically.


    Titus felt his mind go nk as well. "What did you say? Our DNA test with Sonia? Toby, what kind of


    joke are you trying to pull?" He pointed a shaky finger at Toby.


    Julia was just as emotional as she flipped through the papers relentlessly. When she couldn''t see


    Sonia''s name anywhere after flipping to the end, she let out a sigh of relief. "President Fuller, you think


    it''s funny, fooling us like this? This is our DNA test with Rina, and the date stated here is the time we


    witnessed the results together."


    "That''s right. This DNA test was released on that day, but it''s not your test with Taylor, but with Sonia


    instead. In fact, what you saw that day was your DNA test with Sonia." Toby continued indifferently, "In


    other words, Sonia was the one who did the test with you since the beginning, not Taylor."


    "That''s impossible!" Julia''s hands were trembling. She couldn''t ept his words.


    Titus was the same, and he asked, "Toby, are you saying that Sonia is Rina, and she''s actually our


    daughter?"


    "Yes." Toby nodded before exining, "Sonia is the real Rina Gray, and Taylor is a fake. She was hired


    by Sonia and Zane to impersonate Rina so that Taylor could enter the Gray Family and infiltrate your


    ranks to find evidence of you harming the Reed Family. However, both Sonia and Zane did not expect


    that Taylor would be blinded by thevish environment and your affection for her. She became


    unsatisfied with being a spy that would be chased away afterpleting her mission, and she wanted


    to truly be your daughter. Hence, she betrayed Sonia and Zane. One day, when she saw the red


    mole on Sonia''s wrist and confirmed her identity, she harmed Sonia by cutting off the red mole on her


    wrist, fearing that you would find it and realize who Sonia actually is."


    "Red mole¡­" Julia muttered, the image of Sonia''s scarred wrist instantly appearing in her mind.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Moreover, the location of that scar was the same as the location of Rina''s red mole.


    Titus clenched his fists in disbelief. "Howughable. If things are what you say they are, how did Rina


    manage to hide all of this from us?"


    "With my help, of course." Toby narrowed his eyes. "After Taylor was captured, she confessed


    everything to me, and that was when I found out that Sonia was the real Rina Gray, and also your


    daughter. I didn''t want word of this to get out, and I didn''t want Sonia to know her identity either, so I


    chose to help Taylor hide the fact that she cut off Sonia''s red mole. That''s how you didn''t know that


    other than hitting Sonia unconscious, Taylor also removed that red mole."


    "No, this can''t be real! It can''t be!" Unable to ept the reality, Julia tossed the folder in her hands to


    the ground and covered her mouth tightly, tears streaming down her face.


    Titus'' emotions were just as frantic as he said, "What evidence do you have to prove that everything


    you said is true?"


    "Evidence?" Toby scoffed. "Tom."


    "Yes, sir," Tom responded before tapping on a tablet several times, which he then ced in front of the


    couple after walking toward them. "This is the surveince footage of Taylor confessing everything to


    President Fuller after she was taken to the police station. You can see for yourself if President Fuller


    was lying to you."


    After he spoke, the couple stared at the tablet in front of them as the video began ying. It wasn''t


    long, and it ended after roughly ten minutes. As the couple watched Taylor confessing her entire


    operation to Toby and Toby agreeing to help her, their minds eventually went nk. Now, they had to


    ept it even if they didn''t want to. Toby was right. Rina wasn''t their daughter¡ªSonia was.


    "What about the results, then?" Julia pointed at the folder on the floor in an attempt to salvage the


    situation. "We watched as the hair was plucked off Rina''s head, and it wasn''t from Sonia''s head at all."


    Titus nodded along. "That''s right, Toby. How do you exin that?"


    Toby propped his head on his hand nonchntly and exined, "It''s simple. The hair strand was


    prepared by Taylor a long time ago. She had long expected that she might have to do another test one


    day. As a precaution, she came up with a n to get some of Sonia''s hair, which she then pinned to


    her hair with a hairpin. Just like that, when she needed it, she could remove the hair that she prepared


    using the location of the hairpin, and it would look like the hair was plucked off her head to others. But


    in reality, she was using my wife''s, that is, Sonia''s hair."


    "H-How could this be?" Julia nched as she mumbled under her breath.


    Even Titus was rendered speechless. They knew that Toby would never fool around about something


    like this as all he needed to do to prove that Sonia was their daughter was to conduct another test in


    front of them.


    "Titus, Rina isn''t our daughter, S-Sonia is!" Julia eximed, looking at Titus in despair.


    Titus was just as emotional and couldn''t calm himself down at all. How did things turn out like this?


    Why was Sonia their actual daughter?


    "Actually, this wasn''t hard to figure out. If you think about the past carefully, you''ll notice that there are


    many parts of Sonia that fit Rina, but you didn''t expect Henry to raise the child of his enemies, so you


    never dared to consider that Sonia might be Rina." Toby''s voice rang out again.

 Chapter 1520

    Chapter 1520


    eptance at Last


    This time, Titus and Julia were utterly speechless. It was as Toby had said¡ªSonia had a lot of


    characteristics that matched their daughter''s.


    First, it was her birth. Henry and his wife had given birth to a daughter around the same time as they


    had, but why did that daughter go under the radar all of a sudden? Henry had stolen their daughter, but


    why was it that more than two decadester, it was revealed that he had adopted a daughter three


    days after stealing theirs?


    After all, the adoption procedure was not easy, and it also took a long time. More importantly, they had


    never heard any news of Henry picking up a child, so why did he seamlessly adopt a daughter three


    days after stealing theirs? It was clear that that girl was their Rina.


    Moreover, they had also thought that Sonia''s side profile looked extremely alike to their mother''s. If


    their enemy''s daughter looked simr to their mother, it could only mean that the daughter''s identity


    was fishy. However, they were unwilling to think in that direction and assumed that since Henry


    despised them so much and even stole their daughter, he would never raise her.


    And yet, the truth was that Henry did not end the child''s life by throwing her into the river. He had


    actually raised her properly instead.


    "Titus¡­" Julia looked at Titus with red eyes. "Sonia is our daughter¡­"


    "That''s right." Titus closed his eyes, feeling pained. "Karma¡­ This must be karma!"


    He clutched his chest in despair. If things hadn''t turned out soically because of karma, what other


    reason was there?


    Toby stood up. "The reason why I came today is to tell you the truth. In order to save you, Taylor went


    to Sonia and begged her to donate her kidney. Sonia was already weak in the first ce due to her


    pregnancy, and after Taylor provoked her yesterday, she nearly had a miscarriage and lost both her life


    and the baby''s."


    "What?"


    Upon hearing that Sonia nearly lost her and the child''s life, Julia panicked and hastily questioned,


    "Then¡­ Is she okay?"


    Toby nced at Julia, who was worried sick, and his eyes shed as he said, "Sonia is fine. She was in


    the hospital to rehabilitate her health, so she was rescued in time, or she would''ve left this world earlier


    than your husband."


    "Good, that''s good." Once she heard that Sonia was safe, Julia sped her hands together in joy.


    Although Titus did not speak, it was clear from the look in his eyes that he was relieved of a huge


    burden.


    Upon seeing their reaction, Toby suddenly spoke up. "It seems like you really care about Sonia."


    Titus and Julia''s expressions froze at once, especially Julia, who seemed taken aback. Yes, she


    couldn''t believe that she was so worried about Sonia. Was it because she now knew that Sonia was


    her daughter? Indeed, the moment Toby told her that Sonia was her daughter, what she felt was joy,


    and after hearing that Sonia nearly lost her and her baby''s life, she was almost stunned out of her wits.


    She had never felt something like this when it came to Taylor. Even when Taylor had gotten hurt, she


    felt nothing but peace and only cared for her on the notion that she was her daughter. Back then, she


    even felt ashamed that she did not feel a trace of worry or concern after her own daughter got hurt, and


    she assumed that she was a horrible mother. However, now she knew that that was not the case, and


    she wasn''t incapable of getting worried or expressing concern. She was just unable to feel these


    emotions for someone who wasn''t her own daughter. After all, her heart was against anyone who


    wasn''t her daughter, so how could she muster an ounce of concern for them?


    It was only after finding out that Sonia was her actual daughter and nearly lost her life that she finally


    felt a normal sense of motherly worry toward her daughter. From this, it was clear that Sonia was truly


    her child.


    At that thought, Julia sped her palms tightly and took a deep breath before saying, "She''s my


    daughter, the daughter I finally had after I spent years begging every doctor and taking all kinds of


    medicine to fix my body. She''s my hope and my life, so how can I not worry about her?"


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Titus chimed in, "It was difficult for us to have a child, and when we finally had her, of course, we''d want


    to treat her like the apple of our eyes."


    After all, she was their only child.


    Truthfully, Toby was pleased with their reaction, but he wasn''t thoroughly satisfied yet.


    "Oh? So now that you know Sonia is your actual daughter, do you still love her?" He narrowed his eyes


    and questioned, "Don''t forget that she was raised by Henry and feels nothing but resentment toward


    the both of you. She doesn''t have any feelings toward the two of you. Do you still love her even though


    she''s like this?"


    Hearing that, the couple instantly froze. He was right. Their daughter was brought up by Henry, and she


    felt intense hatred toward them. Moreover, they had severely wronged her in the past, and the adopted


    daughter that they had raised had not only stolen her husband but also repeatedly harmed her, nearly


    taking her life.


    At that thought, their faces instantly paled.


    Julia in particr broke down and copsed to her knees, covering her face as she wailed, "How could


    this happen? Sob¡­ Why did things turn out like this, Titus? I can''t believe we''ve done so much to harm


    our daughter¡­ We¡­"


    Titus'' eyes turned bloodshot as he trembled profusely. "That''s right¡­ We''d wronged Rina so many


    times¡­"


    Upon saying that, he thumped his chest viciously.


    Seeing their looks of guilt and self-reproach, Toby pursed his lips, having found the answer he''d been


    looking for. They were good parents, just as he''d initially guessed. Although they knew that Sonia was


    their daughter, it didn''t change how they felt toward their only daughter.


    Clearly, after finding out that Sonia was their daughter and knowing that she resented them, what they


    first felt was not fear and avoidance, nor did they instantly give up and disregard this daughter who


    hated them, but they felt remorse, guilt, and regret.


    Just from this fact alone, Toby knew that his visit was the right choice. Hence, his tone when he talked


    to them again was not as icy as before and had turned much calmer. In any case, they were still his


    parents-inw, and without them, Sonia would not exist.


    He looked at the emotional Titus and slowly began, "Twenty-seven years ago, when Henry stole Sonia


    away, he did consider drowning her in the river to take revenge on you."


    Titus turned to him with his reddened eyes.


    Toby continued, "However, at that time, Henry''s biological daughter had already died from an illness,


    and his wife had lost her mind as she was unable to ept the blow of losing her daughter. Hence, he


    looked at Sonia, whom he stole from you, and came up with a n. He passed Sonia to his wife to


    calm her emotions, but he still had to continue his revenge on you, so he used a toy to rece Sonia.


    He threw the toy into the river in front of the two of you. That was also the reason why despite


    seemingly having murdered a child in front of an officer, he hadn''t gone to jail."


    Titus gritted his teeth. "Yes, that''s why I hated him more because the officer in charge of this case back


    then was Henry''s closest friend."

 Chapter 1521

    Chapter 1521


    The Truth Behind the Past


    T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    The police officer came from a reputable family. His family was also involved in politics, and their base


    of operations was in Westsanshire.


    With that police officer protecting Henry, how could Henry possibly be defeated?


    Even though Henry was arrested at the time, it wasn''t long before he was released.


    Titus was not willing to ept this. Henry had taken the life of his daughter, a precious human life that


    hadn''t even had a chance to open her eyes to see the world.


    Why was it that Henry had killed his daughter but was only held for a few days before being released?


    Therefore, he hated Henry and vowed that he would not rest until he avenged his daughter. Between


    him and Henry, only one could survive. He eventually aplished this, but he never imagined that his


    daughter was still alive and had been raised by Henry!


    "Yes. If you didn''t know, you would indeed have reason to hate him. That year, before implementing his


    n, Henry found that police officer and told him about his n. At the time, that police officer didn''t


    agree to it. However, after Henry begged him earnestly, he eventually agreed. This was only because


    that police officer had once owed Henry a favor. Afterward, the n was carried out smoothly. Henry


    lured you to the river with a toy and then threw the toy into the river to make you think that your child


    had died. This achieved his goal of revenge against you and also allowed him topletely make


    Sonia his daughter. Later, that police officer arrested Henry for a few days and risked losing his job to


    release him."


    "So, that''s what happened!" Julia whispered repeatedly.


    Titus didn''t say anything and lowered his head while lost in thought.


    Toby continued, "With Sonia''spany, Henry''s wife made a full recovery, and he also gradually


    epted Sonia and treated her as his daughter. The name Sonia was specially chosen by him after


    searching many dictionaries. It represented beauty, wisdom, and happiness. He hoped that she would


    grow up to be a beautiful, wise, and happy woman in her future life. This showed how much hope


    he had for her."


    "So what?" Titus gritted his teeth. "Do I have to thank him for that? I didn''t ask him to steal my


    daughter, and she doesn''t need him to raise her. I love my daughter, and she will only be happier living


    with me than with the Reed Family. The love I give to my daughter will be more than what Henry gave


    her."


    Julia also looked at Toby with anger. "Yes, we don''t need him to raise our daughter. He stole our


    daughter, separating our family for over twenty years. We will only hate him more instead of being


    grateful to him."


    Toby was not angry either as he smirked. "Are you sure you shouldn''t be thanking Henry? First of all,


    don''t forget that you were the ones who went after Henry, causing his employees to die and almost


    causing Paradigm Co. to go bankrupt. Henry only took Sonia to get revenge on you. He was not wrong.


    In fact, he raised Sonia as his daughter and made her into the beautiful woman she is today. Have you


    ever thought that if you hadn''t gone after Henry, would he have taken Sonia? If he hadn''t taken Sonia,


    she would definitely grow up with you. However, under your excessive pampering, do you think that the


    current Sonia will not be Tina?"


    This sentencepletely stunned Titus and Julia.


    He was right. If Sonia had grown up with them, she would have be just like Tina under their doting


    love.


    Tina was an example.


    They loved Tina because they treated her as a recement for their daughter and as a source of


    comfort for their hearts, which was why they pampered her so much.


    In fact, they were well aware that raising Tina like that was bad and that they were not perfect


    themselves.


    But, so what? Tina was not their biological daughter, to begin with. They raised her for emotional


    comfort, so even if she turned out to be bad, it wouldn''t matter to them.


    However, just the thought of them raising Sonia like that was uneptable.


    This showed that they still had a moralpass and could differentiate good from bad, and right from


    wrong.


    Their marriage had reached a point where they couldn''t change their thinking. But they still hoped that


    their child could be happy and kind.


    So, they really couldn''t imagine what it would be like if Sonia grew up by their side and became like


    Tina.


    Looking at the reaction of Titus and Julia, Toby sneered and said, "It seems you realized that it''s not


    good if Sonia bes like Tina, so shouldn''t you thank Henry?"


    Titus tightly clenched his fists and wanted to say that he would never thank Henry in this lifetime, but


    the words were stuck in his mouth.


    At this moment, Julia suddenly walked toward Toby.


    "Lia." Titus saw this and quickly stopped her. "What are you doing?"


    She turned around and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Titus, you know I miss our daughter. Even


    though Taylor pretended to be Rina and returned to our side, I have never epted her in my heart


    and have never treated her as my daughter. I didn''t know what was going on before. I thought I was too


    cold as a mother. She was my long-awaited child. We were simply separated for over twenty years, but


    how could I have no feelings for my daughter? So, in these past few months, I''ve been ming myself.


    Only now did I realize that it wasn''t that I don''t have any feelings for my daughter; I just don''t have


    feelings for someone who isn''t my own daughter. Do you know what happened just now when I heard


    that Sonia is my daughter? My heart was racing; I was so happy because I finally knew who my real


    daughter is."


    Titus'' lips moved, but he couldn''t say anything.


    As a husband, he knew exactly how his wife had been feeling these past few months.


    In fact, he was no different from his wife in this regard.


    Although his reaction wasn''t as severe as his wife, he couldn''t get close to Rina either as he always felt


    that something was off, but he just couldn''t figure out what was wrong until now when he realized that


    theycked blood ties.


    Without blood ties, it was inevitable that something was missing.


    "Toby¡­" Julia stood in front of Toby and she was eager as she looked at him. "Tell me, how is Rina¡ª"


    "Her name is Sonia," he corrected her.


    Her expression immediately became sad.


    After all, Rina was the name she had chosen during her pregnancy, but now she couldn''t call Sonia that


    anymore.


    However, Julia also knew that they owed Rina too much and didn''t have the right to call her by that


    name.


    "Okay, Sonia. How is she now?" she asked, sping her hands tightly together.


    Titus also stared at Toby with a tight gaze. It was clear that he wanted to know the answer.


    Even though they were ashamed to face their daughter, they really loved her.


    As parents, how could they not be agitated and nervous when they heard that their daughter nearly


    miscarried and lost her life?


    Moreover, the person that had caused their daughter harm was raised by them.


    They raised two adopted daughters and both of them had hurt their biological daughter.


    Even they as parents treated her the same way.


    They were really unqualified and not worthy to be Sonia''s parents!


    "She''s fine for now, and the baby is safe," Toby replied calmly as he looked at Julia.

 Chapter 1522

    Chapter 1522


    Chapter 1422 The Real Choice


    After hearing that the child was okay, Julia first breathed a sigh of relief. However, she soon realized


    something and asked again, "For now, you say? Does that mean Sonny is not out of danger yet?"


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    Titus'' expression became even tenser.


    Without confirming or denying, Toby raised his chin and replied, "Yes, her body is in a very bad state.


    She shouldn''t have gotten pregnant at this time, but she coincidentally became pregnant. Therefore,


    she had to stay in the hospital to nurture the baby. Originally, she only needed to stay in the hospital for


    three to four months, and when the fetus waspletely stable, she could be discharged and


    recuperate at home. But thanks to what Taylor did, Sonia''s health was affected greatly. For the next ten


    months, she could only lie in bed until she gave birth. Furthermore, this may be ourst child."


    In other words, Sonia could no longer have children after this incident.


    Julia was given a big blow and stumbled back two steps. "How could this be¡­"


    Titus was also very upset.


    But more than anything, they were happy that Sonia and their grandchild were safe.


    "Did Sonny inherit my chronic kidney failure?" At this point, he thought of something important and


    stared at Toby as he asked.


    His kidney failure was caused by gic inheritance.


    Therefore, he suffered from oligospermia and the chances of him having children in his lifetime was


    close to nil. It was only because of sheer luck that he had Sonia as his daughter.


    Now, what he feared the most was that she also inherited his kidney failure.


    When Julia heard this, she also became very nervous. "That''s right, Toby. Tell us. Did Sonny ¡­"


    "No." Toby shook his head. "When you were diagnosed with kidney failure, I was worried that Sonia


    might inherit it, so I had Dr. Lancaster perform a thorough checkup on her, and we also checked the


    family medical history of the Gray Family. We found out that Gray Family''s kidney failure only passes


    down to males and is a direct male inheritance. The females and their children won''t inherit it."


    In other words, the disease was passed down from the grandfather to the father, and the father to the


    son.


    However, the grandfather''s daughter would not inherit it, and her children would not inherit it either.


    At this, Titus and Julia were overjoyed. "Great. That''s great."


    "Titus, Sonny didn''t inherit it." She looked at him excitedly.


    He nodded. "Yeah, thank goodness."


    All along, he had felt that life was not fair to him. Why did he have to suffer from such a disease?


    But now, when he heard that his daughter did not have the disease, he suddenly felt relieved.


    In fact, it wasical because he didn''t care whether Taylor inherited it before he knew that Sonia was


    his daughter.


    Now that he knew Sonia was his daughter, he suddenly became very concerned about whether she


    inherited the disease.


    It showed that in his heart, he rejected Taylor like Julia. Although he treated Taylor well, he wasn''t really


    concerned about her. Only now, with his real daughter, had all of his fatherly love been fully expressed.


    Things that were not thought of in the past were now considered.


    "Taylor went to find Sonia just to ask her to abort the child and donate her kidney to save your life,"


    Toby added.


    Julia''s face immediately turned ugly. "How dare she!"


    Even though she knew that Taylor did this to save her husband, so what?


    Taylor dared to scheme against Sonia. Julia would never forgive her for this.


    After all, that was her long-awaited daughter. She had been thinking about her for more than twenty


    years.


    Titus was equally angry. He looked at Toby and said, "So, you have captured her, right?"


    "That''s right. She attempted to take my wife''s life. I naturally cannot let her go," Toby answered


    expressionlessly. "My wife''s health was poor in the first ce. If she were to abort the child and donate


    one of her kidneys, she would lose her life. Therefore, I will deal with such a person properly. I came


    here today not only to tell you these things but also to find out your stance on this matter."


    "What do you mean?" Titus narrowed his eyes.


    Toby calmly met his gaze. "I want to know what your reaction will be after knowing that Sonia is your


    daughter. Will you continue to hold a grudge against her, or will you let go of your hatred and make


    amends with her?"


    "Of course, we''ll make it up to her." Before Titus could reply, Julia said agitatedly, "I have been looking


    forward to her arrival my entire life. But now that she''s here, I have yet to y my role as a mother. I


    haven''t been a part of her growth and have even allowed my two adopted daughters to harm her


    repeatedly. My husband and I have also caused harm to her by speaking ill of her. As her mother, I owe


    her an apology, and I mustpensate her with all that I have. No mother would ever hate their own


    child."


    Titus felt the same way as he closed his eyes and expressed his pain. "I understand your intentions. As


    a child who grew up trapped between the enmity of the Reeds and the Grays, once she learns her true


    identity, she will copse."


    Anyone would empathize with matters like this.


    Sonia was taken away from them by Henry when she was young and grew up by his side.


    Henry cherished her like a precious gem by raising her into a child with good values and morals. She


    didn''t even know her own identity when she was a child and always believed that she was the daughter


    of the Reeds.


    Even when sheter found out that she was not the biological daughter of the Reeds but rather a child


    that Henry had adopted, her dependence and gratitude toward him only grew stronger. She felt like a


    child abandoned by her own biological parents but was brought back and raised by him. This act of


    kindness was enough to make Sonia loyal to the Reeds, and naturally, she would hate their enemies


    even more for harming Henry and the Reeds.


    However, should Sonia, in the midst of enacting revenge for the Reeds, suddenly discover her enemy


    was actually her biological parents, her world would probably copse, a mental breakdown awaiting


    her.


    If she had inherited their heartless genes, perhaps she wouldn''t be too affected by it. She might even


    give up on seeking revenge and return to acknowledge her biological parents.


    However, she did not inherit their evil side. On the contrary, she was very kind-hearted.


    So, she couldn''t let go of her hatred toward the Gray Family and couldn''t help seeking revenge for the


    Reeds either because she knew to be grateful.


    Concurrently, the Gray Family was her biological family, so she couldn''t really hurt them. Otherwise, her


    hands would be stained by the blood of her biological parents.


    If she did that, she would continue to suffer in pain for the rest of her life, and never attain happiness.


    So, topletely avoid facing these problems, it was highly likely that she would choose to escape.


    As for how to escape topletely avoid facing them, it had to be death.


    When Titus thought that his daughter might do this, he became agitated as his breathing became rapid.


    At the sight of this, Toby continued, "It seems that you''ve figured out what Sonia may have to face after


    this. This is the purpose of mying here to tell you. If you really love her and want her to have a


    good future, you should know what to do. The hatred between the Reeds and Grays was instigated by


    you unterally. Even if Henry retaliated against you, he had not actually seeded in revenge. He


    raised Sonia and taught her well. You should''ve been thankful to him. But in the end, you forced him to


    commit suicide. Even the two daughters, whom you raised, almost killed Sonia several times. You owe


    Sonia too much. If you really want to make it up to her, there is only one chance now. I hope you''ll


    make the right choice."


    After finishing his sentence, he turned around and left.

 Chapter 1523

    Chapter 1523


    Chapter 1423 Titus¡¯ Decision


    Julia still wanted to persuade him and ask about Sonia.


    Knowing that Sonia was their daughter, she wanted to know about Sonia''s past and all her experiences


    growing up.


    She even wanted to be by Sonia''s side immediately, hold her in her arms, and express the longing she


    had for Sonia for more than twenty years.


    She really wanted to hug her daughter, but she also knew that both Sonia and Toby hated them.


    They had no right to keep Toby and ask about everything concerning Sonia.


    "Sob..." Julia cried uncontrobly.


    Titus leaned against the headboard and felt it was ridiculous and ironic. "Maybe luck is not even on my


    side, which is why I''m having the karma after more than twenty years," he said hoarsely after he


    coughed several times.


    Julia raised her head and looked at him. "Titus¡ª"


    "It''s all my fault." Titus med himself as he pounded his chest. "If I hadn''t been jealous of Henry, if I


    had restrained myself, none of this would have happened today. It''s my fault. If I hadn''t been so evil as


    to steal Henry''spany secrets, his employees wouldn''t havemitted suicide, and he wouldn''t


    have stolen our daughter. It''s because of karma that Henry sessfully stole Rina, let Rina be his


    daughter, and had us find out the truth only after more than twenty years. It was all for the sake of


    ruining me."


    She hugged him. "Titus."


    The couple wept in despair.


    The doctors and nurses outside the door didn''t know whether toe in or not.


    "Lia, we owe it to Sonia. It''s us who have caused her to be in this state today," Titus repeated.


    With her eyes closed, Julia nodded in despair. "I know, I know we''ve wronged her."


    "So¡­ I want to do something for her." He squinted at her.


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    She hurriedly asked, "What do you want to do?"


    He exhaled heavily. "It''s already clear why Toby came today. He hopes that I choose to die on my own."


    Julia''s face changed dramatically as she held Titus tightly. "No, you can''t! I won''t allow you to do that."


    He gently patted her back. "Lia, you know Toby''s intention, and you also understand that there''s no


    hope for me. The only hope to save me is to use Sonia''s kidney, but she is our daughter. Do you really


    want her to use her kidney to save me?"


    "I¡­" Julia couldn''t find the words to say and loosened her grip on him.


    Titus smiled. "Not only you, but I also don''t want her to do that. She''s my only child and the


    continuation of my life. I love her so much. How could I let her do this? Besides, she''s pregnant with


    our grandchild. For all these reasons, we can''t let her do this. Otherwise, we would be selfish as


    parents. Besides, we owe her in the first ce. We have no right to ask her to save me."


    "But¡­ I don''t want you to go." Julia was full of despair.


    Titus was quite epting of his situation. "You know, I''ve gotten tired of all this. Throughout my whole


    life, I''ve constantly been jealous of others and have done nothing but scheme against others. But in the


    end, I got nothing out of it, except for this battered, crumbling shell of a body. The only reason I ended


    up like this now is retribution for what I did in the past. I paid the price for what I did. In fact, I can see


    everything clearly now. Toby is right. I should be grateful to Henry. He raised and taught our daughter


    so well. Had our daughter grown up under our care, she would''ve turned out like Tina. Would she have


    a good ending then? I think not."


    Julia couldn''t refute his statement.


    Tina ended up with such a fate, let alone their daughter.


    Moreover, if Sonia grew up under their care, would Toby still fall in love with her?


    Would Toby still protect her if she got herself into trouble by then?


    Definitely not!


    Their daughter would face imprisonment.


    "Lia, Sonia is in a lot of pain now. On the one hand, she''s bearing the hatred of the Reeds, and on the


    other hand, she''s also bearing the pressure we have put on her as her biological parents. If she


    couldn''t avenge the Reeds, she''d feel indebted to them. But if she avenges them, it means she has to


    deal with us, her biological parents. She''ll be even more miserable. She''s caught between a rock and a


    hard ce, feeling suffocated. And the best solution right now is for me to pass away."


    Titus gently stroked her hand. "Even if we got Sonia to donate her kidney, the surgery may not be


    sessful. The doctor said it himself. My body can''t even handle the surgery. Even if it could, I don''t


    want my daughter to exchange her life for mine. I am destined to die. If my death can make Sonia


    completely let go of her hatred for us, it''s worth it then. We love our daughter so much. Do we want to


    see her hating us forever?"


    Julia shook her head.


    Of course not!


    No mother could ept their daughter hating them.


    "That''s the point. So, this is the only thing we can do for Sonia. If she can''t let go of her hatred, it''s not


    good for her either. She will forever be immersed in the pain of the feud between the Reeds and the


    Grays. We have done so many things to hurt her. It''s time for us to do something for her. Don''t forget,


    when she was in your womb, we made a vow to make our daughter healthy and happy for her entire


    life. But in reality, we didn''t fulfill that promise. We only brought her hatred and pain. We''re not qualified


    as parents. Now, we should fulfill that promise," Titus said.


    Julia couldn''t stop crying.


    He hugged her. "And maybe after doing this, Sonia will be willing to ept us and recognize us as her


    parents. Although I may no longer be around at that time, you must live well, watch her give birth to her


    child, watch our grandchild grow up, and then tell her and our grandchild that I wasn''t someone good,


    but I truly loved them."


    She was sobbing her heart out.


    Then, he patted her shoulder. "Okay, stop crying. Bring me my phone."


    "What are you doing?" she asked with a choked voice.


    "I''m calling thewyer," Titus said. "I need to amend the will. Originally, I thought Taylor was our


    daughter, so I''ve already made a will to give everything to her, except for the portion that I left for you."


    Out of guilt, he had divided his property into three parts, one of which was for Julia as retirement


    savings.


    The other two portions were given to Taylor.


    Thinking about the first twenty years of their marriage where they didn''t provide her with any fatherly or


    motherly love and made her suffer, he left most of his inheritance to Taylor, hoping that she wouldn''t


    have to worry about money in the future.


    After all, they owed her, and the onlypensation they could offer was money.


    But now, they knew that Taylor wasn''t their daughter, but Sonia. Therefore, he had to change his will


    ordingly.


    Julia had no objection to this, but when she heard that nothing would be left for Taylor, she still turned


    soft-hearted. "Titus, we should leave something for Taylor. After all, she has been with us for so long


    and has brought us a sense of familial happiness. How about three hundred thousand as


    compensation? Besides, this time, she only got caught by Toby for trying to save you."

 Chapter 1524

    Chapter 1524


    Chapter 1424 Zane Is Here


    After dwelling on it for a while, Titus finally agreed to Julia''s words and gave Taylor three hundred


    thousand. As for the rest, except the part given to Julia, he changed the ownership of all his properties,


    including Triforce Enterprise, to Sonia.


    The authorities were still investigating the incident that happened in the mine cave that year. He knew


    that the moment the cat was out of the bag, Triforce Enterprise would face the greatest blow and two-


    thirds of thepany property might be lost.


    However, if the remaining one-third of thepany was integrated into Paradigm Co., it would bring


    gigantic help to Paradigm Co. and might even help Paradigm to be listed again. As Sonia''s father, it


    was the only thing that he could give her.


    Titus hung up the call after he revised his will with the help of thewyer on the other end of the phone.


    After that, he called Toby.


    Toby was on his way back to the hospital. When his phone rang, he found that it was a call from Titus,


    but he was not surprised at all and immediately picked up the call. "Seems like you''ve made up your


    mind, President Gray."


    "Yes, I have. I want the best for my daughter, but I want to see her before that," Titus requested.


    Julia also clenched her fists nervously. After all, Sonia was their daughter. Of course, they wanted to


    see her.


    Even Toby felt that Titus'' request was reasonable. After a pause, he replied, "I came to see you guys


    without her knowledge today. So, I''ve got to tell her the truth if you want to see her. However, it''s up to


    her whether she wants to meet you guys or not."


    "Okay, just tell her." Titus nodded.


    Toby hummed in assent before hanging up the call.


    Tom, who was driving, asked, "President Fuller, did Tituse around? Will he go through with it?"


    Toby massaged his temple briefly. "Yes, he will. His love for Sonia is real."


    "I didn''t expect he would ept the fact that Miss Reed is his daughter so soon. I thought that there


    was still hatred and misunderstanding between them. As much as Titus yearns for a daughter, he


    wouldn''t have epted Miss Reed so soon. Surprisingly, I underestimated him," Tom borated while


    driving.


    On the other hand, Toby opened his thin lips and responded lightly, "It''s very simple. It''s because he


    wasn''t supposed to have a child at all. It''s a miracle that he got Little Leaf as his daughter, so he''ll


    adore this daughter of his vehemently. Even if a grudge exists between them, he won''t mind, because


    all he''s concerned about is having a daughter."


    If I were in his shoes, I might have done the same thing. After all, it''s natural for a father to love his


    child. Although his child holds a grudge against him, it''s all because of what the parents had done. So,


    the child can''t be med.


    "Well, Miss Reed is rather lucky." Tom sighed. "She bumped into two sets of parents who treated her


    well. It''s just that we''re all at the mercy of fate."


    Toby was nomittal. Yeah, we''re all but fools at the hands of destiny.


    "President Fuller, do you think she will agree to meet them?" Tom raised another question.


    He looked out of the window. "Umm¡­ I don''t know. It depends on her, but I''ll support her regardless of


    her decision."


    After that, they fell into silence, and no one spoke. Toby leaned against the seat and gently closed his


    eyes to rest for a while.


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    When Tom saw that from the rearview mirror, he turned on the car''s active noise cancetion to let him


    have a better rest.


    They soon arrived at the hospital.


    Toby opened his eyes without waiting for Tom to wake him up. It was clear that he was not asleep. After


    he alighted from the car, he entered the hospital and headed toward the ward. However, he heard


    Sonia talking to a man when he reached the door. Upon listening closely, he realized it was Zane''s


    voice.


    Consequently, his face swiftly became dull as he entered the ward. "Why are you here?"


    Zane sat beside the bed while munching an apple. When he heard Toby''s interrogation, he immediately


    turned around and waved at Toby happily. "Hey, you''re back." He behaved as if he was the master of


    that ward.


    Therefore, Toby''s expression turned more hideous as he repeated his question. "I asked you why


    you''re here."


    Zane quickly finished munching the apple and threw the core into the trash can before he answered,


    "Of course, I came to see Sonia. If not, what else could I be here for?"


    Sonia covered her mouth and chuckled.


    Toby walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. After that, he pulled her into his arms as if he was


    iming his ownership over her. "How did you know we''re here? If I''m not mistaken, I didn''t announce


    it or tell others that we''re here, did I?"


    "Yes, you kept it a secret, but I could make calls." Zane smiled at Sonia. "I called Sonia after I came


    home from the investigation trip to eat with her. However, she told me that she went abroad with you,


    so it was postponed. Now that you guys are back, surely we''ve got to meet up, so I called her again.


    Then, she told me that she can''t go anywhere because she''s been hospitalized. That''s why I came."


    Toby looked at Sonia. "Why didn''t you tell me he''s here?"


    "He''s not a stranger but your friend, so I didn''t tell you." She smiled at him.


    He snorted and said disdainfully to Zane, "All right, you can leave now that you''ve met her."


    Zane''s lips twitched slightly. "Oh, please. I just got here, and it hasn''t even been ten minutes. Why are


    you driving me away already?"


    "It''s long enough, and you''re disturbing our rest. Okay, leave." While talking, Toby stood up and yanked


    Zane from the chair before he pushed him out of the ward.


    Although Zane was left with no other option but to leave, he turned around and said to Sonia, "Okay, I''ll


    go now, but I''lle and visit you again."


    "Okay, goodbye." She waved goodbye at him.


    Toby''s face became even darker when he saw that. Atst, he pushed Zane out of the ward.


    Consequently, Zane nearly mmed into the opposite wall. He turned around and gave him the finger.


    "Toby, you''re not ying by the rules."


    "You''re one to talk. What''s the big deal,ing to see my wife without my permission?" Toby


    demanded coldly.


    Pursing his lips, Zane replied, "It''s not like I''m gonna do anything to her."


    "Well, d we''re on the same page. I didn''t do anything to you either. I merely drove you out." Toby


    stood at the door with his tall and sturdy figure, as if he was a guardian.


    Zane rolled his eyes. "Fine, I can''t outspeak you." He smoothed his clothes before putting on a serious


    look. "Toby, I came here to visit Sonia and see you about something. Is Taylor with you?"


    Toby narrowed his eyes. "Why are you asking me this? Does it have anything to do with you?"


    "Of course." Zane looked at him. "You''d better not have forgotten. While it''s true that Sonia and I


    plotted against her, I was the one who found her first. Now that she suddenly went missing and the


    police aren''t taking any action, I''m guessing you''re the only one who can stop the police other than


    officials like me. What exactly do you want?" He wasn''t that worried about Taylor, but he was scared


    that Toby might act recklessly and get into trouble.


    Toby pursed his thin lips into a straight line. "I won''t keep it a secret from you since you asked about it.


    Taylor made a big mistake and nearly killed Sonia and the child. So, don''t you think I should catch


    her?"

 Chapter 1525

    Chapter 1525


    Chapter 1425 Zane¡¯s Question


    Zane''s expression changed drastically. "What? She almost killed Sonia and her child? What


    happened?" He felt like he had received a great blow.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Toby did not beat around the bush and told Zane the ins and outs of the incident.


    After that, Zane took a step back in disbelief. "S-Sonia is Titus'' daughter?"


    "That''s right." Toby looked at Zane. "Actually, you guys must have long thought about it. You guys


    should have found something strange with Sonia''s identity when we found that the ne is in her


    hand. If Henry really killed Rina back then, why did he keep the ne? Don''t tell me it''s for


    commemorative purposes."


    Consequently, Zane was struck speechless. Yeah, Sonia has the daughter''s ne. It''s very


    suspicious, but we never dwelled on it for long.


    "Why did everything turn out this way?" His mind was in a state of mess. "No wonder you imed that


    Taylor nearly killed Sonia and her child. She must be agitated after she learned the truth about her


    identity."


    No one would remain calm after learning of such information, let alone Sonia, who was pregnant in the


    first ce and not in the pink of health. It was a blessing that she did not die on the spot.


    "Are the Grays aware of this?" After a long pause, Zane finally found his voice and raised an inquiry.


    Toby leaned against the cold wall. "Yes, they learned about it today. I went and told them myself."


    "Why?" Zane felt puzzled. "Isn''t it enough to let only Sonia learn about it? Why did you tell them?"


    "Because I want to see Titus'' attitude toward Sonia and whether he''ll make a choice for her sake."


    "What do you mean?"


    Toby looked at him indifferently. "Little Leaf broke down when she learned about her identity because


    she''s tied up in the grudge between the two families, and she''s havingplicated feelings toward her


    biological parents. So, she doesn''t know whether she should avenge the Reeds. If she doesn''t, she


    wouldn''t be able to repay her debt to the Reeds for raising her. If she does, it means that she''s going to


    send her biological parents to prison, but she can''t take it either. Being stuck in the middle, it''s very


    likely that she''ll try to kill herself just to avoid everything. Even if she doesn''t do so, she''ll be depressed


    for the rest of her life until she loses herself. I don''t want to see my wife sumb to such a painful end,


    so I told Titus everything today."


    "What happened then?"


    "Well¡­" Toby pursed his thin lips. "I wanted to see if Titus will show some fatherly love for Little Leaf


    after he learned that she''s his daughter. If he does, he''ll realize how much pain will befall Sonia at the


    moment. After that, he''ll definitely do something to not let Sonia suffer such pain. The thing he must do


    is give up treatment. If he chooses to die, Sonia''s hatred toward the Grays will disappear. She won''t


    think of taking revenge again, and she won''t be in pain because of the grudge between the Reeds and


    the Grays."


    Zane finally understood Toby''s thoughts, so he nodded. "So, Titus should really know about this. If he


    dies, everyone will gain peace in the end. This is indeed an excellent resolution, but will Titus agree to


    it?" That was what he was most worried about. At the end of the day, it was a fact that Sonia was


    raised by the Reeds.


    If Titus felt no fatherly love for Sonia because Sonia was raised by his enemy and hated him to the


    core, then Toby''s scheme would fail. So, the thing he was most worried about was whether Titus had


    agreed to it or not.


    "He agreed to it."


    Toby''s answer made Zane go from anxious to excited all of a sudden. "What? Titus agreed?"


    "Yeah, that''s right." Toby nodded. "After I left Titus'' ce, he called me and said yes, but he wants to


    see Sonia before that."


    "He actually agreed to it." Zane clenched his fists. He was filled with both joy and surprise. "I didn''t


    expect him to ept the fact that Sonia was raised by his enemy, and he''s fine with it even though


    Sonia hates them. He agreed to it so straightforwardly."


    "It''s most probably the only good thing about him." Toby borated lightly with pursed lips, "I''ve got to


    say that we''ve underestimated Titus. We always thought that he was a stingy, narrow-minded, envious,


    and intolerant person. We felt that he has nothing good about him, but surprisingly, he cares about his


    family so much."


    It was what they had expected, but it came as a surprise too.


    "Well, it worked out in the end. Titus epting Sonia will only do good for her, but is she aware of it?"


    Zane inquired.


    Toby shook his head. "I haven''t told her yet, but I''m nning to tell herter."


    "You''d better tell her no matter what. After all, they''re her biological parents. Although there are many


    obstacles between them, and she may choose not to see them as her parents, they''re the ones who


    gave birth to her. She may never see them again if she rejects it this time around."

 Chapter 1526

    Chapter 1526


    Chapter 1426 He Wanted To See You


    Sonia remained silent in his embrace for a while before rxing her stiff body. "I''m not getting agitated.


    It''s just that suddenly hearing that name made me feelplicated."


    If this was the past, she would''ve been filled with hatred upon hearing that name.


    Now that she heard the name again after finding out he was her biological father, there was a


    complicated feeling on top of hatred, and she didn''t know how to face the matter.


    There was even a sense of avoidance.


    If only Titus didn''t bear so much affection for his daughter, Rina, she wouldn''t have behaved like this.


    But unfortunately, he¡­


    "I know." Toby gently patted Sonia''s back.


    She held onto the man''s clothes tightly. "Why did you go and see him?"


    Her intuition told her that he went to see Titus because of her.


    As expected, Toby''s next response confirmed her guess.


    He gently stroked her. "I went to see Titus because of you, so after considering it for a while, I decided


    to go."


    "You told him about my identity?" Sonia looked at him.


    Besides that, she couldn''t think of any other reason why he would see Titus. He couldn''t just be visiting


    his father-inw, could he?


    What a joke. If she hadplicated feelings toward Titus and didn''t want to see him, Toby, who wasn''t


    even blood-rted to Titus and had even agreed with those who disliked him, couldn''t possibly have a


    reason to meet him.


    So, there could only be one possibility he went to see Titus: he must have told him everything.


    Sure enough, under Sonia''s gaze, Toby nodded slowly. "Yes, I told him."


    "Why?" She clenched her hands.


    Toby did not hide anything and replied directly, "It''s better to be straightforward since this matter can no


    longer be concealed."


    "And then?" Sonia stared at him. "What was their reaction?"


    She suddenly wanted to know how the Grays felt when they found out that she was their daughter.


    Would they continue to hate her as before, or¡­


    "They were d and happy," Toby answered.


    Her eyes trembled. "What? Happy?"


    She could hardly believe it.


    He nodded. "Yes, they were very happy. To be honest, when I saw their reaction, I was also a little


    surprised. No matter how much they love their daughter, if they heard that their daughter is the long-


    time enemy that they have hated, or that she was raised by their enemy, their feelings should be


    complicated. But, the Grays, well, they weren''t in a dilemma for long and merely epted the fact


    while being ted. It was especially so for Mrs. Gray as she asked me a lot about you."


    "Is that so¡­" Sonia opened her mouth, but she spoke with a hoarse voice as she had an indescribable


    feeling in her heart.


    Is it happiness?


    Perhaps there was some happiness, because who wouldn''t like to hear that their biological parents had


    feelings for them?


    While she did feel somewhat happy, there was greater pressure on her now, because the more Titus


    and Julia cared for her, the more she didn''t know what to do.


    "Did you tell her?" Sonia asked as she lowered her eyes.


    Toby shook his head. "No, I didn''t tell her much about you. I only told her you are doing fine now and


    the child is safe. She''s happy and relieved."


    "I see." She bit her lip, feeling even more uneasy. "Why did you tell them about my identity?"


    She wanted to know the answer to this question the most.


    He stroked her hair and replied, "Because I want to know how they will feel about you being their


    daughter and whether they will sacrifice for you or not."


    "What do you mean?" She looked at the man.


    He didn''t hide anything from her and directly told her his thoughts. "I want to know if Titus will choose to


    give up his treatment for you. If he really loves you as his daughter, he will understand the pain you are


    facing and will naturally choose to end his life early to prevent you from being trapped in the feud


    between the Reeds and Grays, unable to extricate yourself from them and suffering for a lifetime."


    "What? That''s your purpose? You¡­"


    Toby pressed his forehead against hers and said, "Honey, please don''t think I''m heartless. Titus caused


    the death of your father, the employees of Paradigm Co., and many people in the mine. He deserves


    the death penalty, even if he''s not sick. Now that he''s sick and the disease is incurable, I''m not asking


    him tomit suicide, but rather to give up treatment and wait for the disease to take him away. It''s


    already a gesture of goodwill. You should understand, right? And this way of dying is also the most


    dignified way for him."


    Sonia was speechless because she knew everything the man said was true.


    For all the crimes Titus hadmitted, he deserves the death penalty. But we''re letting him choose to


    give up treatment and wait for the disease to take him away, which means we''re not nning to report


    him to the police or send him to jail. Instead, we''re letting him wait for death on his own. For a person


    like him who hadmitted heinous crimes, this is indeed the most dignified way to go. But¡­


    Toby seemed to understand what Sonia was thinking and kissed her hand. "If he really loves you, he


    will understand that what we''re doing is for his own good and to fulfill our filial piety. He should also go


    along with it to make up for the harm he had caused you in the past."


    She closed her eyes as tears started streaming down her face.


    Even though she hated Titus in her heart, she was in a dilemma after knowing how much he loved this


    daughter of his.


    "Besides, Titus isn''t going to live for much longer anyway," Toby added.


    She choked up. "I know¡­ I know¡­"


    "He agreed," he continued.


    "What?" She looked up at him abruptly. "You mean, he¡ª"


    "Yes." Toby nodded. "After he knew the reason why I went to see him, he didn''t hesitate for long before


    agreeing. He wants to make it up to you by giving up his life."


    "H-He really agreed?" Sonia asked.


    "Really," Toby confirmed. "But he said he wants to see you. Are you willing to see him?"


    "I don''t know." She bit her lip.


    If Titus was still just her enemy, she might have agreed to see him. After all, this enemy wouldn''t live


    much longer, and she could see his miserable end.


    However, now that Sonia knew Titus was her biological father, a father who loved her dearly at that,


    she suddenlycked the courage to see him.


    It was because she didn''t know if she should meet him as the daughter of the Reeds or the daughter of


    the Grays.


    Even if she met Titus, what kind of attitude should she use to deal with him? The same attitude she had


    been using in the past, or should she treat him like how she treated Henry?


    She figured she couldn''t bring herself to do it either.


    She simply buried her face in the man''s arms, wanting to hide like an ostrich.


    Toby wasn''t surprised by her reaction. "It''s okay not to know. Take your time to think about it. If you


    want to see him, then see him. If you don''t want to, then don''t. I''ll support you either way."


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    "What about you?" Her voice sounded muffled as she spoke up from his embrace. "Do you want me to


    see him? Should I see him?"


    She was eager to hear someone else''s thoughts and opinions right now because she didn''t want to


    face it alone. It was too oppressive and overwhelming.


    Toby looked at the top of Sonia''s head and inquired, "Do you want to know the truth?"

 Chapter 1527

    Chapter 1527


    Chapter 1427 Longing For Daughter


    Sonia bit her lip. "Why would I ask you if I don''t want to know the truth?"


    Toby chuckled. "That''s true. Alright, then I''ll tell you my opinion."


    "Sure." She nodded in agreement.


    He looked up at the ceiling. "Honey, I actually think you should go see him."


    Sonia''s pupils contracted slightly. She never expected his honest opinion to be like that.


    "Why?" She looked at him in confusion. "You know about the grievances, hatred, and theplicated


    rtionship between me and Titus. Why do you think I should see him?"


    "Because he is your biological father." Toby lowered his gaze from the ceiling back to her face.


    "Because he is a father who truly loves you. If he doesn''t love you and minds that you have been


    raised by his enemy, of course, you can choose not to see him, but he is not that kind of person. On the


    contrary, he doesn''t mind at all. He only knows that you are his daughter, and he is very happy about it.


    You should see him just for this reason alone. I believe that, apart from your hatred for him, your


    feelings for him are alsoplicated, right?"


    He hit the nail on the head when it came to Sonia''s feelings. Although she opened her lips, she didn''t


    say anything.


    Toby gently stroked her head. "So, go see him. He doesn''t have much time left. Of course, I''m not


    saying that you should acknowledge him as your father. I just hope that you won''t have any regrets and


    won''t let yourself regret it in the future."


    "Why do you think I will regret it?" Sonia squeezed her fists.


    "Because I know you well. You always have a soft heart. Titus is still alive and you cannot let go of the


    hatred between the Reeds and the Grays. But once he dies, that hatred will naturally disappear, and


    the pressure on you will be gone. At that time, you may think of him, the father who loved you deeply


    but never raised you or even hurt you. You will also know that he did not raise but hurt you, all because


    of the enmity of the past twenty-some years, because you were stolen by someone. But you know full


    well that if you hadn''t been stolen, he would''ve cherished you like a treasure, and his love for you


    would never be less than that of Henry, perhaps even more. You will think of these things and regret


    not seeing him for thest time."


    Sonia closed her eyes and cried even harder.


    Tobyforted her by patting her back. "Now, now, don''t cry. I''m not telling you this to pressure you,


    but I just hope that you can understand and not have regrets in the future. You don''t have to


    acknowledge him as your father, but you should see him. That way, even if you think of him in the


    future, you won''t regret it."


    "I¡­ I''ll think about it," she said with a choked voice.


    Although she knew that he was right, there were too many things between her and the Grays. She


    couldn''t just agree to see Titus immediately after hearing Toby''s words.


    She had to calm down and listen to the voice of her heart to figure out what she really wanted.


    Toby knew what she was thinking, thus reached out and turned off the light. "Okay, that''s perfectly fine.


    There''s still time, so take your time, and don''t rush. Go to sleep now."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded.


    The next morning, Titus woke up unusually early.


    Julia was surprised to see him awake so early. "Honey, why did you wake up so early?"


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    Ever since his condition worsened, he had only been awake for three to four hours a day, mostly in the


    afternoon.


    It was very rare for him to wake up so early.


    "I can''t sleep." Titus smiled weakly at her. "I''m waiting for a phone call."


    He looked toward the phone ced on the side.


    Julia also looked over and instantly understood whom he was waiting for. She became nervous and


    asked, "Titus, do you think Sonny wille to see us?"


    Titus'' lips moved slightly. "I don''t know. That child is different from us."


    He shook his head gently. "We have done many things that had hurt her, and the two foster daughters


    we raised have also harmed her. So, her hatred toward us will only be much greater than before she


    knew her identity. Even if she now knows that we are her biological parents, she may not immediately


    let go of all the resentment and ept us calmly as we hope. So, she may not necessarily meet us.


    She may still be holding a grudge against us."


    She covered her face in pain. "It''s all our fault. We didn''t protect her and keep an eye on her well


    enough, so she was taken away by Henry. It''s also our fault as parents for not recognizing her earlier.


    Otherwise, none of this would have happened. Tell me, Titus, why couldn''t we recognize our daughter?


    She looks so much like her grandmother. Why didn''t we suspect anything at the beginning?"


    "Because of Henry." Titus sighed. "Who would have thought that Henry, who hated us so much, did not


    kill our daughter and chose to raise her well instead?"


    If it were him, he would never do what Henry did and bring up the daughter of his enemy as his own.


    So, he naturally assumed that Henry was the same way and never thought that she was his own


    daughter, even though she looked so much like his mother.


    After all, many people looked alike in this world.


    "Titus, what if Sonny doesn''t want to see us?" Julia was very worried and afraid.


    Titus hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say.


    She wept miserably. "But I want to see her. I want to see my daughter. When I found out Sonny''s my


    daughter, I was so happy. When I faced Taylor, however, I waspletely indifferent and calm. But


    yesterday, I was so excited after learning that Sonny is my daughter. I couldn''t sleep all night. I was


    thinking about meeting her, telling her how much I missed her, how much I love her, and how sorry I


    am. Titus, I love my daughter so much. I really want to see her and give her all the motherly love I


    haven''t given her in the past twenty years¡­"


    Looking at his wife crying like this, Titus also felt sad.


    He also felt the same way as his wife.


    However, as a man, he was able to restrain his emotions and reason more than she could.


    In fact, only he knew that he didn''t sleep wellst night either. He also wondered how he could make it


    up to Sonia as her father if she was willing to acknowledge them.


    Would she call him "Dad"?


    "Titus." At this moment, Julia lowered her hands and looked at him steadily. "If Sonny doesn''t want to


    come and see us, shall we go and see her instead? As parents, we owe her a lot. We should be the


    ones that take the initiative to do things first, right? I want to see her, give her many gifts, and tell her


    that I''ve been preparing clothes and gifts for her all these years. I¡ª"


    She was interrupted by the ringing of Titus'' phone, which was ced on the bedside table.


    Julia quickly looked at the phone. "Is it Sonny?"


    "It''s Toby," Titus replied, holding back his nervousness.


    She was disappointed, but a glimmer of hope soon rose again. "It''s Toby, that''s good too. They''re


    husband and wife, so his phone is also Sonny''s phone. Maybe he called to tell us that she agreed to


    meet us. Quick, Titus, answer the phone."

 Chapter 1528

    Chapter 1528


    Chapter 1428 The Excited Mrs. Gray


    Julia quickly urged.


    At Julia''s urging, Titus'' hands shook. He couldn''t grip the phone properly, but he still wanted to answer


    the phone quickly. So, he stretched out his hands to take the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"


    "It''s me," said Toby.


    Titus'' eyes dimmed when he heard his voice.


    Julia had a simr reaction.


    However, Titus was still rational. He quickly regained hisposure and asked, "I know you are calling


    about what we talked about yesterday, right?"


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    On the other end of the phone, Toby looked down at his wife, unable to discern her expression. He


    lightly lifted his chin and replied, "Yes, I''m calling to tell you that my wife has agreed to meet with you."


    At this, Julia immediately covered her mouth and burst into tears of joy. "Sonny agreed to see us. Titus,


    did you hear that? Sonny agreed. We¡­ We can see her now¡­ Sob¡­"


    Although Titus didn''t say anything, his usually dull eyes turned red with traces of tears in them. "Yes, I


    did. I heard it."


    Titus'' trembling voice couldn''t conceal his joy and excitement.


    After hearing their reaction on the other end of the phone, the usuallyposed and unemotional


    Sonia couldn''t help but tightly bite her lip. She felt an indescribable sense of envy, fullness, and


    sweetness in her heart.


    Even Toby couldn''t help but feel emotional, thinking about how it was all a cruel joke of fate. If Titus


    hadn''t been so bad, if Henry hadn''t stolen the child, Sonia would have received as much love from the


    Gray Family as she had from her own.


    Though there was no use thinking about it anymore since all of this was already in the past.


    "President Fuller, when will S-Sonnye to see us?" Titus also followed Julia in addressing Sonia this


    way.


    It was his first time calling her nickname, so there was inevitably some awkwardness and difort.


    Toby looked at Sonia.


    Her gaze fell on her phone, and finally, she said slowly, "Tomorrow."


    Titus and Julia heard it.


    Julia got too excited and simply took over the phone. "Okay, okay. Tomorrow, then. Sonny, you¡­"


    She was about to ask about Sonia''s current situation and her health. But before she could finish her


    sentence, she realized there was no sound on the other end of the phone.


    She quickly checked the phone and realized the call had already been hung up.


    Julia put down the phone in disappointment. "They hung up¡­"


    "It''s okay." Titus held her hand andforted her. "The child is not used to us yet, and she still can''t let


    go of those things in her heart. It''s normal for her not to talk to us. She doesn''t know what to say and


    hanging up also avoids awkwardness. When we meet tomorrow, we will have the chance to talk about


    many things."


    Encouraged by his words, she nodded in agreement. "Yes, it''s better to talk face to face, which is more


    sincere than over the phone. I''m very happy that Sonny finally agreed to meet us. I thought she would


    never agree."


    "Yes, if that child cane to terms with this, I''m already satisfied." Titus nodded.


    Julia put down the phone. "No, I have to buy some groceries and cook something delicious for her. I''ve


    never cooked for her before, so I don''t know what she likes to eat. But I saw her buying blueberry


    cakes before. Since she likes such things, her taste must be simr to mine. I''ll just make more of what


    I like. Titus, I''ll buy the groceries myself. You rest here. If there''s anything, call the caretaker or me. I''m


    leaving now."


    After saying that, she picked up her bag and hurriedly left with joy.


    At the sight of this, Titus couldn''t help but smile.


    He knew how much his wife loved their daughter. Due to their physical conditions, they thought they


    would never have a child in their lifetime because they had tried for so many years with no sess and


    had even given up hope. However, one day, the hospital called and told them their IVF had been


    sessful and they could proceed with embryo transfer. No one knew how excited and happy they


    were at that moment.


    Afterward, his wife sessfully became pregnant. Every day, she carefully protected their child. She


    sang to her and even did prenatal education.


    As a couple, they eagerly awaited the birth of their child. They had even ordered a gift for her from a


    jewelry store in advance¡ªa set of mother-daughter nes that embodied the father''s best and


    most profound blessings for his daughter''s arrival in the world.


    Yet, who knew that their daughter would be taken away by Henry just a month after she was born?


    Since then, Julia''s mental state had been greatly affected as she nearly went crazy. Even Titus himself


    was not in good shape mentally. If it weren''t for the need to support the Gray Family and Triforce


    Enterprise, he might have gone crazy too. After all, she was his only child.


    To calm his wife''s emotions, he had no choice but to adopt an abandoned baby who was simr in size


    to their daughter from an orphanage. With the new baby, his wife''s mental state did improve


    significantly, but he knew that his wife''s love for Tina, their adopted daughter, was restrained even


    though she loved her.


    Neither had Julia said she would cook for Tina nor did she cook for her, and she had never personally


    bought clothes for Tina. Julia understood the difference between a biological daughter and an adopted


    daughter, and she was only willing to give all her maternal love to her biological daughter.


    Titus was the same. He knew he was not a good person, and the daughter he raised wasn''t either, but


    he never advised his adopted daughter not to follow in his footsteps and not to be bad. It was only


    because Tina was not his biological daughter.


    If she were his biological daughter, he would never let her be someone like him, because he


    could protect her while he was alive.


    But if he passed away and his daughter had that kind of personality, who could rece him to protect


    her?


    So, while he hated Henry, he also had to admit that Henry had taught his daughter well and shaped her


    into the kind of person he wanted. Titus wondered whether or not he could ever teach Sonia just as


    well as he wanted if she had been with him. Perhaps not.


    Now, he had finally found his biological daughter, and Julia began to express all of her maternal love for


    Sonia. When she was pregnant with their daughter, she promised to cook for her, braid her hair, and


    buy her clothes.


    But she never fulfilled those promises for Tina and Taylor after Sonia was stolen. Now, she finally


    brought up those promises again. The reason was her real daughter was back.


    Finally, he saw the happy look on Julia''s face again. It was the very same look she had when she first


    got pregnant with their daughter.


    How wonderful.


    Titus closed his eyes and smiled happily, but his smile disappeared after a while. Then, he took his


    phone and made another call. "It''s me."


    His assistant''s voice came from the other end of the phone. "Yes, President Gray."


    "Go to my vi and bring me the safe from my study," Titus instructed as he massaged his temples.


    "The safe?" The assistant was a little confused.


    Titus nodded. "Stop asking so many questions. Just do it."


    "Okay." The assistant nodded and hung up the phone.


    Titus put down his phone and sighed.


    It''s time to end everything.

 Chapter 1529

    Chapter 1529


    Chapter 1429 Truthful in the Moments Before Death


    Although Titus hadn''tmitted any crimes in the first two decades of his life, he hadn''t done any


    kindness either. In the next twenty years, he was blinded by his envy and lost his reason. Also, he was


    unable to withstand the criticism of others who imed that he could only inherit the family business


    while his childhood friend was a self-made entrepreneur. Though they had grown up together, he could


    not beat Henry no matter how hard he tried, and he was never as good as Henry.


    Titus could ignore these words the first few times, but after some time, he was unable to ept them


    any longer. He didn''t want to admit that he was not as outstanding as Henry, and he didn''t want to


    admit that he could notpare with Henry in any aspect. Even though he was always better than


    Henry in their studies when they were young, why were these people saying that he was nothing


    compared to Henry?


    His resentment grew, and as time went by, his envy and hatred turned him into an entirely different


    person. Particrly, he once found out by chance that one of Henry''s subordinates had improved one


    of their technologies, and once it was spread to the public, Paradigm Co. wouldpletely overtake


    Triforce Enterprise.


    This was undeniably a huge blow to him, and it certainly made him feel threatened. This was because


    he knew that if he allowed Paradigm Co. to overtake Triforce Enterprise, it would further confirm the


    fact that he was not a match for Henry.


    Hence, he decided to stop Henry from using this piece of technology. Then, he hired someone to bribe


    the staff so that they would jump ship to Triforce Enterprise with the technology he improved, but the


    staff was unexpectedly loyal to the core and refused his offer no matter what they said.


    Left with no choice, he finally sent someone to steal the piece of technology. As long as Paradigm Co.


    did not have it, they would never overtake Triforce Enterprise, and the outsiders would have no reason


    to say that he was nothingpared to Henry.


    At first, Titus'' n was going well, but he hadn''t expected the staff to be so frail psychologically, and


    they soon ended their own life. At that moment, he was stunned and panicked as he had never wanted


    to take anyone''s life. He only wanted to steal the piece of technology, and he had never nned to


    harm anyone, but the staff''s death was irreversible.


    The death of Paradigm Co.''s staff caused their stocks to take a nosedive, and Paradigm Co. was facing


    a crisis. To take revenge on him, Henry stole his daughter. At first, he thought that as long as Henry


    returned his daughter, he wouldpensate the staff''s family regardless of the cost. However, before


    he could convey his intentions, Henry had thrown his only daughter into the river.


    Since then, his heartpletely darkened and he had no remorse even if he had caused all of this to


    happen. Henry could''ve taken revenge on him using other methods, so why did he set his target on his


    daughter? Hence, he swore that he would never let Henry off easily for the rest of his life.


    Hence, in the past two decades, he continuously tripped Henry over and bribed Henry''s wife, Sandra,


    to poison him so that he would know what true pain felt like.


    Other than confronting Henry, Titus fought Paradigm Co. as well. In the end, Henry was unable to


    withstand his revenge that hadsted over twenty years and coupled with his mental state weakening


    from the poison, he jumped off a building and took his own life.


    Back then, Titus genuinely felt exhrated as he had avenged his daughter. However, he was no longer


    able to feel joy after that day, and he didn''t even know why his heart constantly felt stuffy.


    It was only now that he knew the reason why this happened. He had grown up with Henry as each


    other''s closest friend, so it was impossible for the two not to have any friendship between them.


    However, it was all because he was selfish and close-minded that he slowly drifted away from Henry


    until they eventually became mortal enemies. However, after he had taken Henry''s life, he didn''t feel


    the slightest bit of joy that he thought he would feel, and he would even dream of Henry on many


    nights.


    Titus knew that he actually felt guilty toward Henry, but he couldn''t admit it. If he did, it would mean that


    everything he had done was a mistake, and he couldn''t ept that, nor would he admit that he was in


    the wrong.


    Hence, he could only continue to deal with the daughter Henry left behind, thinking that he would only


    lose the effect Henry had on him and stop dreaming about him after he had gotten rid of the entire


    Reed Family so that he would not see any of them anymore. He firmly believed that his actions were


    right, and so, after Henry died, he continued to take revenge on Sonia.


    The reason why Sonia was picked on by Jean for six years was his doing as well. He had sent


    someone to whisper lies into her ear, nurturing her hatred for Sonia so that she would make Sonia''s life


    difficult.


    However, everything turned out to be a huge joke, for Sonia became his daughter.


    Twenty years ago, Henry had not actually taken revenge on him and he had not killed his daughter


    either. Instead, he raised his daughter into the woman he wanted her to be.


    Didn''t that show that Henry had always considered him a friend, and other than doing it for Lina''s sake,


    he wasn''t able to finish the child off because she belonged to his friend?


    Perhaps that was the case. He''d always been soft-hearted since he was young, and he would easily


    pity others. This wasn''t something that Henry couldn''t do, but him? Compared to Henry''s foolish


    sympathy, he truly was cold-hearted.


    Henry hadn''t killed his daughter and even raised her, but he had killed him and even fought with his


    own daughter. His hands were stained with blood, both from someone who used to be his closest friend


    and from his daughter.


    Perhaps because his end was nearing, the kindness that he had long thrown away was beginning to


    return, and now his heart was filled with guilt, self-resentment, and regret.


    Titus wondered, had he been slightly kinder and more magnanimous, would his friendship with Henry


    not have ended, and would their daughter grow into the world''s happiest girl under their shared


    affection?


    After all, they had made a promise in high school that no matter which one of them had a child in the


    future, the other would be the child''s godfather. Henry had fulfilled that promise, but he failed to keep


    his. Those outsiders were right¡ªhe was not a match for Henry, whether it was their character or their


    abilities.


    Now that his daughter had returned, he knew that he should put an end to everything.


    Thinking of that, Titus picked up his phone again and made a call. "Hello? Is this the police? I''m Titus


    Gray, and I want to confess¡­"


    The callsted for a long time, and Titus established an agreement of some sort with the police so that


    they did not immediately send someone over to capture him at the first notice. After all, ording to the


    usual procedure, even if he was currently a patient on hisst legs, as long as he confessed his crimes,


    the police would still show up for him. However, this time, they surprisingly agreed to let him remain in


    the hospital, and they would only head over after some time.


    Moreover, the police did not hide things from Toby, and after ending the call with Titus, they instantly


    contacted Toby to inform him of the matter.


    After finding out, Toby was a little surprised, but it seemed to be within his expectations as well. Titus


    did love Sonia, enough to choose her over his life. Hence, it wasn''t that astonishing that he would


    confess all of the crimes he hadmitted.


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    "That''s good news." Toby lowered his gaze and muttered.


    At the very least, it showed that Titus'' conscience had reawakened at his final moments, and it was


    enough to let Henry rest in peace from now on.

 Chapter 1530

    Chapter 1530


    Chapter 1430 Only One Final Enemy Left


    While she ate from a fruit tter, Sonia heard Toby mumbling in a corner and couldn''t help but ask


    curiously, "Toby, what were you muttering about earlier?"


    He ced his phone down and turned around to send her a gentle smile. "Nothing, just something


    about work."


    He decided not to tell her about Titus turning himself in, thinking that it was best to let Titus tell her


    himself. If he told her, it wouldn''t be as sincere aspared to Titus telling her personally.


    Upon hearing that it was about work, Sonia nodded and did not question him any further.


    Just then, Tom knocked on the door before entering with arge pile of documents that required Toby''s


    signature. Seeing that, Toby pointed at a small office table where he worked, indicating for Tom to leave


    the documents there.


    While he was there, Tom ced the documents down before turning back toward them and sending a


    nod toward Toby in greeting. "President Fuller."


    "What is it?" Toby asked indifferently as he looked at Sonia''s health report.


    Meanwhile, Sonia was still holding a tter of slightly sour strawberries and ate from them while


    looking at Tom.


    Tom replied, "Lte''s second trial just ended this morning."


    Hearing that, Toby stopped his hand that was flipping through the report.


    Sonia ced the fork in her hand down and asked, "Oh, right, looking at the date, today is the day of


    her trial, but why didn''t the court notify us?"


    "I instructed them not to some time back so that they wouldn''t interrupt your rest." Toby ced the


    documents aside as he replied, "But I ended up forgetting about it myself."


    Sonia was amused at his words. "You keep circling around me these days; I''m sure there''s a lot you''ve


    forgotten."


    She then looked at Tom. "This is the final trial, right?"


    "Yes, Mrs. Fuller." Tom nodded. "This is the final trial, and Lte''s verdict is still the same as the first


    trial, which is the death penalty. She disagreed and made a fuss, and she even tried to appeal again,


    but her request was denied."


    "The court was already being generous by giving her a chance to appeal the hard evidence, so why


    would they waste their resources to give her a third chance?" Toby asked with an apathetic expression,


    his voice filled with disdain toward Lte.


    Tom nudged his sses. "You''re right, President Fuller. That''s why things have been nailed down this


    time, and the court has already issued an official announcement. After all, manyizens are paying


    close attention to the oue of this matter, and after the trial ends, they definitely have to give the


    public an exnation."


    "Let me see." Upon saying that, Sonia fished out Toby''s phone from his pocket.


    Her phone had run out of battery, and Toby refused to help her charge it as she might start ying


    mobile games out of boredom. As a matter of fact, Toby did notpletely forbid her from using her


    phone, but it was because she would easily lose her restraint from having nothing else to do. That was


    the real reason why Toby did not charge her phone for her.


    However, this time, he only watched as she took his phone without stopping her. Either way, she was


    just reading the news, so he could take it back from her once she was done.


    Sonia excitedly leaned against Toby and turned on his phone to look this incident up on the inte. As


    expected, the moment she opened the web page, Lte''s case instantly appeared without her


    searching it up.


    Upon seeing thements filled with theizens'' exhrated cheers, Sonia smiled, not thinking that


    they were going overboard in the slightest. What Lte had done was terrible, and it was impossible


    for one not to be furious. After all, she had cost many people their lives.


    Although the Wace Family were not good people either, they did not have any grudges against her,


    and her actions were indiscriminate murder. To theizens, her character would only get worse. The


    fact that she indiscriminately murdered people meant that Lte was a sociopath in nature, and there


    was no telling if she would unleash a rampage on the streets one day. Hence, the death penalty was


    the best oue for someone like Lte.


    Sonia voluntarily returned Toby''s phone to him before looking at Tom and asking him, "When is the


    execution?"


    "A monthter," Tom replied.


    "That''s fast."


    "The death penalty is carried out immediately." Tom exined, "If not because there are other convicts


    queueing up before her, she would''ve been executed even sooner and not a monthter."


    Sonia nodded, indicating that she understood. "Her parents are probably devastated."


    Grayson and Amelia must have taken the hardest blow from this news.


    Tom nodded. "Actually, they attended the trial this time. Mrs. Lore couldn''t withstand the shock and had


    a stroke on the spot. She''s still being resuscitated in the hospital at the moment. As for Mr. Lore, he


    didn''t seem to be in his right mind either, and it looked like he''s gone a little off the rails."


    "This is the punishment they deserved." Toby said indifferently, "Although they haven''t done anything,


    they raised such a monster, which, in a way, makes their sins even worse. Now, they''re naturally paying


    the price for the monster they had created."


    "You''re right, President Fuller," Tom agreed, thinking that Toby was making a lot of sense.


    Sonia rubbed her stomach and mused, "We have to teach our child well in the future."


    "Of course." Toby lifted his chin. "We will naturally guide our child well, and I believe that our child will


    not disappoint us."


    "Why are you so certain?" Sonia looked at him in amusement.


    Toby rubbed her stomach. "Because he''s our child."


    Hearing that, Sonia didn''t know if she shouldugh or sigh at his words.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    As he watched the two lovebirds being lovey-dovey in front of him, Tom gritted his teeth in envy.


    President Fuller is the worst. He knows that I just got my heart broken, but he''s still acting lovey-dovey


    with Mrs. Fuller in front of me.


    Suddenly, Sonia recalled something and asked, "Right, what about Harry?"


    Tom replied, "He''s still in the detainment center, and it''ll take some time before they begin investigating


    his case."


    "Then, does he know about Lte?"


    "He doesn''t. President Fuller instructed the police not to inform him," Tom replied with a shake of his


    head.


    "He''s not young anymore. If we tell him now, he might die of shock on the spot. Then, the police would


    have no way of investigating his case. That would''ve been an easy out for him," Toby exined.


    Sonia thought he had a point, so she stopped asking questions.


    In any case, the Lore Family''s downfall was set, and both Lte and Harry would certainly meet their


    doom this time. As for Grayson and Amelia, it depended on whether they had the courage to carry on


    living.


    However, this was not enough to garner anyone''s pity. Even if their family seemed pitiful, didn''t they


    bring all of this onto themselves? If they''d been a little kinder, they wouldn''t have met their current end.


    In any case, they could forget about the Lore Family from now on, and their real target was now


    Connor and Tina. Only after dealing with these two could she and Toby finally live a peaceful life.


    As for Titus¡­ Sonia''s eyelids drooped. Her eyes looked conflicted.


    Time passed quickly, and Sonia was woken up by Toby the next morning.


    Toby looked at her and asked if she remembered what they had to do today. Although Sonia did not


    respond, it was impossible for her not to know what was about toe.


    She had agreed to meet Titus and Julia, and she had insomniast night because of this. After Toby fell


    asleep, she remained awake and stared at the dark ceiling for a long time until she eventually drifted off


    to sleep. However, even after she slept, she was gued with all kinds ofplicated dreams.

 Chapter 1531

    Chapter 1531


    Chapter 1431 Finally Meeting


    However, Sonia couldn''t remember what her dreams were about after waking up. She only knew that


    she dreamed about Titus and Julia, and the dream looked rather sorrowful. When she woke up, her


    eyes were damp with tears.


    Naturally, this did not escape Toby''s eyes, but he did not ask any questions and silently handed her a


    towel wrapped around a block of ice for her eyes instead. This warmed Sonia''s heart, and she


    epted the towel before cing it over her eyes.


    After soothing her eyes with ice for some time, her eyes didn''t look as swollen anymore, and Toby took


    her to eat the breakfast that Mary had prepared. As they ate, he scrutinized her, gauging her mood.


    Upon seeing her space out after taking a few bites, he couldn''t help but sigh. "Don''t worry, we''re only


    going to visit them, and we won''t do anything. If you don''t wish to meet them, I''ll tell them that we aren''t


    going over anymore."


    "No, I want to go." Sonia shook her head and said, "You''re right. No matter what, they''re my biological


    parents. Even if I feel conflicted about them, I should still meet them. This might be myst chance."


    Toby squeezed her soft palm and assured her, "Don''t worry, you''ll have me next to you."


    "Okay." Sonia squeezed her lips, forcing a smile at him.


    After their meal, the two headed to Trifecta Hospital, where Titus and Julia were waiting eagerly for


    their arrival.


    An hourter, Julia finally heard a noise from outside the door, and she immediately rushed over to


    open the door in excitement. "So¡ª"


    She was just about to call out Sonia''s name, but when she was only met with the sight of Toby and


    Sonia was nowhere to be seen, the joy on her face immediately froze. She asked in a disappointed


    voice, "Why are you here? Where''s Sonny? D-Did she note?"


    Toby did not reply and only stepped to the side, revealing the woman he had been protecting behind


    him.


    When she saw Sonia, the light immediately returned to Julia''s disappointed gaze, and she instantly


    clutched her mouth as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Sonny¡­"


    It''s my daughter! My daughter''s here! Julia''s heart was overwhelmed with joy and tion, and she


    began to sob in earnest.


    Upon seeing Julia''s behavior, Sonia opened her lips, feeling an ache in her heart.


    Although she had already found out from Toby that Titus and Julia quickly epted that she was their


    biological daughter and were even ted by the fact, and she knew that Toby would not lie to her nor


    joke about something like this, she only realized after seeing Julia''s reaction that Toby had been


    downying the situation. In fact, Julia was even happier than he had described, and this made her


    feel even more conflicted.


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    "Sonny." After basking in her excitement for a moment, Julia suddenly opened her arms, intending to


    embrace Sonia.


    This was her daughter, the daughter that she had yearned to embrace for over two decades. After her


    daughter was born, Julia hadn''t held her much before she was taken away. Now, she only wanted to


    hold onto her daughter and never let go. Even more so, she wanted to tell her daughter how much


    she''d missed her in the past twenty or so years.


    And yet, upon seeing Julia reaching out to her for a hug, Sonia widened her eyes as if she had been


    provoked and bolted behind Toby to hide. Toby naturally protected her as well.


    Julia stopped in her tracks and looked at Toby in front of her, then at Sonia, who had rejected her


    embrace and was hanging her head behind him, and her face instantly turned pale.


    "Sonny¡­" Julia called out to her in a shaky voice, her heart filled with despair.


    Her daughter had rejected her embrace; her daughter did not ept her as a mother yet.


    Sonia felt even worse after seeing Julia''s reaction. However, she had not forgotten that she was still a


    part of the Reed Family and carried their grudges with her. Moreover, she still remembered how Titus


    and Julia had hurt her in the past.


    All of these things made her unable to ept them and let the past go. That was why she dodged out


    of the way. Even if she had wanted to experience a mother''s embrace at that moment, her reason


    jolted her awake and made her avoid Julia. However, she still felt a trace of guilt after seeing Julia''s


    reaction.


    "Sorry¡­ I-I''m not used to being touched," Sonia said in a low voice, biting her lip.


    Naturally, Julia was able to discern the guilt in her voice, and her mood instantly lifted. She hastily


    wiped her tears away and shook her head with a smile. "It''s fine, Sonny, Mom¡­ No, I didn''t know that


    you weren''tfortable with it. I should be the one apologizing."


    If her daughter had not epted her as a mother, she could not refer to herself as one either. Besides,


    the fact that Sonia seemed extremely sorry for refusing her embrace showed that she was not against


    her being her mother in her heart. In any case, knowing this fact alone made her extremely happy.


    Julia breathed in deeply to calm herself down and sent Sonia and Toby a happy smile. "Sonny, Toby,


    come on in first. Your dad¡­ No, Titus is waiting for you inside."


    Then, she stepped aside and made way for them.


    Toby took Sonia''s hand and sent her a nod. "Pardon us."


    Upon saying that, he entered with Sonia.


    After closing the door, Julia followed them in.


    After Toby and Sonia entered the ward, Titus instantly turned his gaze toward them. To be more


    precise, his gaze fell on Sonia.


    The moment Titus saw Sonia, his eyes reddened as his heart instantly swelled with all the words that


    he wanted to say to her. However, he was unable to speak any of them aloud in the end, and he could


    only say awkwardly, "You''re here."


    Toby nodded. "Yes, I brought my wife to meet the two of you."


    As he spoke, he gently patted the back of Sonia''s hand and encouraged her, "Don''t worry. You don''t


    have to feel nervous or afraid either. Raise your head and look at them if you want to."


    Ever since she alighted from the car, she had be extremely closed off and silent. Of course, he


    knew the reason why. After all, it was not odd in the slightest that she would behave in this way when


    she hade to meet her biological parents whom she had aplicated rtionship with.


    His words gave Sonia a burst of courage, and she slowly lifted her head to look at Titus'' gaunt face and


    his bright eyes that were looking at her with concealed excitement. At the sight, the ache in her heart


    intensified.


    "You¡­" Sonia opened her mouth, wanting to say something.


    In the next second, however, Titus'' voice sounded before hers. "Why have you lost so much weight?


    You still had some meat on your cheeks when Ist saw you. Why are you all skin and bones now?"


    Although his tone was calm, he did not hide the concern and worry in his voice. After all, he was her


    father.


    His words were like a boulder thatpletely tore down Sonia''s mental barriers, and she was unable


    to hold her tears back as they filled her eyes. "Aren''t you the same? What rights do you have to scold


    me?"


    Titus was first taken aback before he sped his hands tightly with a smile. "How am I the same? I''m


    sick."


    Julia, agitated, chimed in, "That''s right. Your father¡­ is only like this because he''s sick, but you''re still


    young, so it won''t do for you to be this skinny."


    She did not correct herself to test the waters, looking at Sonia''s reaction as she spoke.


    Of course, it was impossible for Sonia not to react to her words, and her immediate thought was to say


    that Titus was not her father. However, just as the words were at the tip of her tongue, she recalled the


    concern Titus had shown for her earlier. Now, she couldn''t bring herself to refute anymore.

 Chapter 1532

    Chapter 1532


    Chapter 1432 Parental Love


    Titus and Julia shed tears of happiness when they saw how Sonia didn''t object to them referring to


    Titus as her father. Could this mean that our child isn''t really that hostile to us? "Sonny, how are you


    feeling right now?" asked an emboldened Julia concernedly as she approached Sonia. "Is something


    ailing you? If you feel unwell, you have to say it out loud. Pregnancy is traumatic in the first ce, and


    you''re young and have yet to experience this kind of thing. If there''s something you don''t understand,


    make sure to say it so that we can help you better. Got it?"


    Titus chimed in, "Your mom''s right, Sonny¡ª"


    Before he could finish his sentence, however, Sonia cut him short, saying, "I know these things myself,


    so you two don''t have to remind me of that. I have lots of people around me who care about me."


    The looks on Titus and Julia''s faces turned to disappointment at the same time.


    Julia nodded embarrassedly, saying, "You''re right, Sonny. It''s just that we''re still worried about you, so


    please don''t cast us off, okay?"


    Sonia pursed her slightly pale lips without saying a word.


    Toby patted her on the head without speaking either.


    Silence instantly fell over the ward, making the atmosphere especially ufortable. Soon after that,


    however, Julia drew in a breath, and a faint smile reappeared on her face. "Oh, right, have you had


    breakfast? You two came so early. I made lots of breakfast, so let''s have some together, shall we?" she


    said and was about to go to the kitchen to fetch them.


    Titus nodded. "Your mom knew yesterday that you wereing, so she went out of the way to buy a


    lot of ingredients to cook a meal for you two. You should try it."


    "It''s not necessary," Sonia refused after biting her lip. "We''ve had breakfast already, so you needn''t


    bother to do this."


    Hearing that they already had their breakfast, Julia paused for a moment. The next instant, however,


    she said with a smile, "It doesn''t matter if you''ve had breakfast. It took you two a lot of time toe all


    the way here, so you must be hungry. Sonny, just have some more, okay?" She looked at Sonia


    eagerly. There was even an imploring look in her eyes. She just wanted Sonia to try out the food she


    prepared.


    Seeing Julia like this, Titus let out an inward sigh before saying, "Sonny, your mom has never cooked in


    over twenty years. It''s not that she doesn''t know how to cook, but she wasn''t willing to do so. She didn''t


    know how to cook before getting pregnant with you, but after getting pregnant with you, she began to


    learn how to cook, saying she wanted to cook for her daughter for the rest of her life. After you got


    abducted, she became totally dispirited. She has many skills that she learned especially for you, but


    she has never used them again since then."


    Sonia''s eyes flickered at his words, and she turned to look at Julia.


    Julia was also looking at her with reddened eyes. "Sonny¡ª"


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    Sonia''s voice choked up. "What about Tina, then? Haven''t you two cooked for her before?"


    Julia quickly shook her head. "No, we''ve never done that," she replied. "Sonny, I''ve never cooked


    anything for Tina, nor have Ibed her hair even once, because I know she''s not you. I could


    distinguish between the two of you very well. Even if her presence pulled me back from the verge of a


    mental copse, I know she isn''t my daughter no matter how good she is. I learned those skills,


    especially for my own daughter, so I''ll be unfair to you if I use them on Tina. That''s why I''ve never done


    these things for her; I rarely even hugged her when she was little. I''m telling the truth, Sonny."


    Titus added, "What your mom says is true indeed. It''s not just your mom; I also rarely hugged Tina. It''s


    true that I doted on her, but I know she''s not you. I didn''t really have paternal feelings for her and only


    doted on her like doting on a tool. Perhaps people would say it''s too unfeeling of me to do so, but who


    cares? She''s never my birth daughter, anyway. You''re always the child whom we love the most."


    Julia nodded with a catch in her voice. "Sonny, we''ve always kept a room for you at home over thest


    twenty-some years. Your dad and I got presents for you on your birthday every year, and we''ve been


    buying clothes for you every year without stopping from when you were born until now. There''s a room


    at home that specifically stores things that your dad and I bought for you. Even Taylor has never


    touched them; although we really thought at the time that she was you, we never gave her the clothes


    and birthday presents that we bought for you because there was a voice in my heart that kept stopping


    me from doing so, saying that I''d definitely regret it for life if I were to do that." Eventually, the facts


    proved that she was right to believe in her inner voice, or she would''ve owed one more thing to her


    daughter today.


    Sonia was shocked beyond words; she could tell that Titus and Julia weren''t lying to her and that what


    they said was true¡­ They had actually done so many things for a daughter who might have died more


    than twenty years ago.


    Toby was surprised, too. No wonder they always forbade Tina and me to go to the fourth floor during


    the few times I visited the Gray Residence while under hypnosis. He was curious about it at the time


    and had asked Tina about the reason for it, but not even she was aware of what was there on the


    fourth floor and why her parents wouldn''t let her go there. She even said that her parents had always


    forbidden her to go to the fourth floor and would absolutely teach her a hard lesson if they found out


    that she had gone there.


    There was even once when she had defiantly insisted on going to the fourth floor to find out what was


    there, but there was a door specifically welded to the stairs leading to the fourth floor. The door was


    locked all year round, so there was no way to enter the fourth floor without a key. At the time, however,


    Tina didn''t know about that and merely went to the fourth floor, only to get caught on the spot by Titus


    and Julia. She said she had always remembered that day vividly. Her parents had always doted on her,


    but they actually gave her a severe beating that day, and Julia even looked at her with aplicated


    look of hatred in her eyes. Since then, Tina had never gone to the fourth floor again. Even now, she still


    had no idea what was on the fourth floor.


    Now that he had finished listening to Titus and Julia''s story, he finally realized that the fourth floor was


    where the room Titus and Julia had prepared for Sonia was located and where all Sonia''s clothes and


    presents were stored. Their love for Sonia is moving indeed. "Just try it, darling," he said, helping them


    persuade Sonia.


    It wasn''t that he was moved by what Titus and Julia had done. As always, he was doing so for Sonia.


    He didn''t believe that she didn''t feel anything about what the elderly couple had done for her. She was


    probably moved deep down as well, which was why he persuaded her to ept their offer. He knew


    that if she were to reject it now, she would begin to think back to all of this once her hatred for them


    dissipated after either Titus or Julia passed away. When that happened, she might end up regretting


    everything that had happened today. He only persuaded her because he didn''t want her to be like


    that by then.


    Titus and Julia never expected Toby to persuade Sonia, though. Although they didn''t know why he


    would help them, it didn''t stop them from giving him a grateful smile.


    Sonia looked at Titus and Julia before looking at Toby''s encouraging eyes. In the end, she bit her lip


    and mumbled, "Uh-huh."


    She said that in a faint whisper, but Titus and Julia heard her nheless. Delighted, Julia hurriedly


    went to the kitchen.


    Titus was smiling, too. Even though Sonia neither looked at him nor spoke to him after Julia had left, he


    was still very pleased. Suddenly, he said, "Sonny, you look very much like your grandmother."


    My grandmother? Sonia was startled.

 Chapter 1533

    Chapter 1533


    Chapter 1433 You¡¯re Like Your Grandmother


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    In Sonia''s memories, she had never once seen her grandmother at the Reed Residence. She never


    heard Henry talk about her grandmother either.


    When she was a child, she was curious about what her grandparents were like, but Henry never gave


    her an answer. He would merely stroke her head while his eyes shed with emotions she did not


    understand back then.


    Later on, when she was older, she realized the emotions in his eyes were despair and sorrow.


    She wondered why Henry would look so sad when his parents were mentioned, so she secretly


    investigated them. She found out that the first time the Reeds went bankrupt, her grandparents were


    murdered by some loan sharks.


    It was no wonder he was never willing to talk about them, and the sorrow he felt whenever they were


    brought up.


    She had never once enjoyed the love of a grandparent. It was only when she married into the Fullers


    that she felt the love of a grandmother; how kind and warm it was.


    Titus'' sudden mention of her grandmother made her curious once more; what was her grandmother


    like? Would she have been a kind olddy like Rose?


    As if he could read her thoughts, Titus gently said, "Your grandmother was actually a very strict


    woman."


    She was startled.


    Strict? That meant her grandmother was not a kind and lovable woman like Rose.


    Toby ran his fingers through her hair. "Mr. Gray is correct on that point; Old Mrs. Gray was a very stern


    old woman. While my grandmother is a kind woman most of the time, she is an upromising and


    harsh woman when ites to major issues. You know that, right?"


    Sonia nodded. "I do."


    She had seen how serious Rose was when she handled important issues.


    "Old Mrs. Gray was a more severe woman than Grandma. I have met her a few times. Every time I saw


    her, she would never crack a single smile. She was a terrifying old woman."


    "Mr. Fuller is right, yet not." Titus shook his head. "Sonny, your grandmother might appear that way, but


    she was very kind and loving deep down. She was a daughter of a rich and powerful family as a young


    woman. Her stern and unsmiling demeanor was due to the pain and suffering she went through during


    that era. In reality, there was still a soft side to her. She was also amazing at embroidery. Many of her


    works are kept in the national museum''s collection with some even sent overseas as diplomatic gifts.


    There was a rule she always abided by though; she would never embroider for family. However, your


    birth made her break her own rule."


    Sonia was immediately reminded of something as she gasped, "The swaddle nket..."


    "That''s right." Titus'' smile turned gentler when he heard her say that. "Your grandmother broke her own


    rule for you. She embroidered a swaddle nket to wee you to this world. When you were taken,


    the swaddle nket you were wrapped in was the nket she had spent ten months painstakingly


    embroidering. She was so overjoyed by your imminent birth that she picked up the needle and thread


    once more. Despite her blurry vision, she used ten months to finish that nket. In reality, ten months


    would not be enough to finish a swaddle nket if it were anyone else."


    There was nothing in that statement Sonia could disagree with.


    She might not know how to embroider, but she knew how difficult it was.


    A tiny bag the size of her palm would require a few months of work if it were embroidered by the best


    embroiderer around. The swaddle nket was quite big.


    "She..."


    Titus sighed as if he knew what she was going to ask. "In order to make sure you can use the nket


    as soon as you are born, she would embroider through the night. Finally, she finished the nket just


    after you were born. Unfortunately, she fell ill soon after because of the stress. Her health had


    deteriorated, and she nearly went blind."


    Sonia''s pupils shrank. "N-No..."


    An unspeakable sorrow overwhelmed her just then.


    She had never met Pauline before, and she might not have any memories of Pauline. The only thing


    she knew about Pauline was Toby''s description of her as a strict and unsmiling woman.


    She thought Pauline would be cold and callous. Was Titus this mean because he grew up with her as


    his grandmother?


    However, now that Sonia knew what Pauline had done for her, she no longer thought so.


    Just the fact that the elderly woman would risk her vision and health just to stay upte to finish a


    swaddle nket for her new granddaughter was enough to tell Sonia that Pauline was not what she


    seemed.


    On the contrary, she was as Titus described¡ªa woman who seemed cold on the surface but was


    actually soft-hearted on the inside.


    The nket was the best present and the greatest blessing an elderly woman could afford to give a


    new granddaughter.


    Sonia looked down and clenched her hands as her face twisted in sorrow. "What aboutter? D-Did


    she recover?"


    Titus shook his head. "No. Her health kept deteriorating. She would frequently be stuck on bed rest.


    However, that was normal. She had been through too much when she was younger. Her body was not


    doing well in the first ce. It was quite a miracle that she could hold on until past 70 years old. She


    knew that she was dying. That was why she pushed so hard to get the nket finished. She did not


    want to pass away without ever once giving you a present."


    She bit her lip. "I-I was not worth it, was I?"


    "Don''t say that." Toby patted her on the shoulder. "To her, you are her granddaughter, the continuation


    of her bloodline. You are the child she looked forward to the most. In her eyes, everything about you


    was worth it. She would not have worked so hard otherwise. You are the best thing ever, to her."


    "He''s right." Titus nodded as well. "She very much looked forward to your birth. Ever since you were


    conceived, I would often see a smile on her face. After all, it had been over a decade since shest


    smiled. She also knew she was falling ill with a chance of passing away at any moment. That''s why she


    did it. You don''t have to feel bad or feel guilty."


    Sonia closed her eyes as a drop of tear rolled down her cheek; it was meant for the old woman she had


    never met who loved her too much.


    "Say... Is it true that I look like her?" she asked, turning to Titus with red-rimmed eyes.


    He hummed in the affirmative. "It''s true. I do not need to lie to you. Your side profile looks exactly like


    hers. I even have a photo of her."


    Then, he pulled out a photo from his phone. "Here are a few photos of her during her time on earth.


    Have a look."


    Her mouth gaped open as she did not know if she should look at the photos.


    She had never once seen Pauline before. The abrupt offer to see a photo of Pauline made all courage


    suddenly flee away from her.


    "Have a look," Toby said to her. "She''s not like the others. She truly loved you. She never did anything


    to hurt you. Go take a look."


    His words gave Sonia a push, making her walk over to Titus.


    Perhaps she truly wanted to look at those photos, but there were so many grudges associated that she


    was at a loss.


    Hence, when someone stepped up to support her, she naturally knew what her choice should be.

 Chapter 1534

    Chapter 1534


    Chapter 1434 Baby Photo


    Titus'' fingers trembled in excitement when he saw Sonia walking over to her. His gaze burned with


    passion as he stared at her.


    His daughter was finally willing to move closer to him.


    "Sonny," Titus called out in a warm tone.


    She avoided his excited gaze and grabbed his phone. The first photo she saw on the phone screen


    was of an expressionless old woman.


    While Pauline''s face was nk, she did not look cold and callous at all. Instead, Sonia could see a


    glimmer of warmth in Pauline''s eyes.


    Was this Pauline Gray, Sonia''s grandmother?


    The woman in the photo seemed to be over 70 years old and was seated on a wooden armchair.


    She sat up straight and proper, exuding a graceful air that instantly told the viewer that this was a


    woman born and bred in a rich and powerful family. Despite her age, Pauline did not seem frail at all.


    Sonia could even vaguely see just how beautiful Pauline was when she was younger.


    "She''s gorgeous." Toby had shuffled over to stand behind her and look at the photo over her shoulder.


    For some reason, hisment made her heart swell with pride. Of course, she was gorgeous; Pauline


    was her grandmother.


    However, she soon realized that although the woman was supposed to be her grandmother, she did


    not have any recollections of the woman. The realization rendered her speechless.


    "Yes, she is," she calmly responded.


    "The two of you do look alike." Toby nced down at the photo once more before looking up at Sonia''s


    face. "I now know what you might look like when you''re older."


    She held a hand up to her face. "You said I resemble her. Naturally, that means I''ll look like her when


    I''m old, right?"


    "Yes. You''re both equally beautiful," Toby replied with a chuckle.


    Her cheeks blushed red. She angrily shot him a look before turning her attention back to the photo and


    rubbing a thumb over it.


    The more she looked at it, the closer she felt to the woman. It might be the draw of their blood.


    Titus stared at the two of them in admiration.


    Toby seemed to love Sonia so much that Titus did not need to worry about anyone bullying Sonia after


    his death.


    Toby would love her and protect her for the rest of their lives.


    "I also have a photo of your grandfather. If you''re interested, I can show them to you," Titus abruptly


    said.


    Sonia was stunned by his offer.


    Titus even had a photo of her grandfather.


    She had some ideas about what her grandmother was like after listening to Toby and Titus speak of


    Pauline. However, she knew nothing of her grandfather.


    Seeing that, Titus said, "He passed away years ago. I was around ten years old back then. Despite the


    decades that had passed, I kept the photos back then. If not for them, I would have forgotten him by


    now. That''s why I can''t tell you what kind of man he was. After all, he died quite young and I did not


    know much about him. The only thing I knew was that he was someone who treated the younger


    generations well."


    "Aww¡­ Did he?" she mumbled under her breath as her fingers began to tap and slide until she found a


    somewhat blurred photo.


    On it was a man dressed in an outfit typical of the 1960s.


    He seemed rather young in his twenties and was sitting up straight while grinning brightly at the


    camera.


    He looked very much like Titus; this must be Titus'' father, her grandfather.


    It was Toby''s first time seeing a photo of the Stanley Gray, also known as the Old Mr. Gray. After taking


    a few seconds to stare at it, he nodded. "No wonder you look so beautiful. Your grandparents had


    beautiful genes."


    He was praising Sonia.


    She blushed. "Stop flirting."


    "I''m telling the truth." He held his chin up high. "Our child will only look even more beautiful."


    Sonia was certain of that as well.


    Toby and she were quite attractive. A child that inherited both of their genes would only look even more


    attractive.


    She returned the phone to Titus and stroked her belly.


    He epted the phone with trembling fingers. "Are you done with the photos?"


    "I''ve seen everything I need. There''s nothing else to see," she calmly replied.


    Titus sighed. "I have many more photos of you as a baby. Are you sure you don''t want to look at


    them?"


    "As a baby..." Sonia bit her lip.


    She had not expected her baby photos to be stored on his phone.


    Before she could reply, Toby spoke up. "I have never seen your baby photos."


    Titus swiftly handed the phone over to Toby.


    Suddenly, Titus felt like sighing.


    He knew about how Toby was hypnotized by Tina.


    He never once thought about befriending the Fullers, and now, he could not afford to.


    That was until Tina one day suddenly told him she was dating Toby. He could not believe it. After all,


    there was a great distance between the Grays'' and the Fullers'' social statuses. Tina should not even


    have a chance to interact with Toby, so how could they have gotten together?


    She hod some ideos obout whot her grondmother wos like ofter listening to Toby ond Titus speok of


    Pouline. However, she knew nothing of her grondfother.


    Seeing thot, Titus soid, "He possed owoy yeors ogo. I wos oround ten yeors old bock then. Despite the


    decodes thot hod possed, I kept the photos bock then. If not for them, I would hove forgotten him by


    now. Thot''s why I con''t tell you whot kind of mon he wos. After oll, he died quite young ond I did not


    know much obout him. The only thing I knew wos thot he wos someone who treoted the younger


    generotions well."


    "Aww¡­ Did he?" she mumbled under her breoth os her fingers begon to top ond slide until she found o


    somewhot blurred photo.


    On it wos o mon dressed in on outfit typicol of the 1960s.


    He seemed rother young in his twenties ond wos sitting up stroight while grinning brightly ot the


    comero.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    He looked very much like Titus; this must be Titus'' fother, her grondfother.


    It wos Toby''s first time seeing o photo of the Stonley Groy, olso known os the Old Mr. Groy. After toking


    o few seconds to store ot it, he nodded. "No wonder you look so beoutiful. Your grondporents hod


    beoutiful genes."


    He wos proising Sonio.


    She blushed. "Stop flirting."


    "I''m telling the truth." He held his chin up high. "Our child will only look even more beoutiful."


    Sonio wos certoin of thot os well.


    Toby ond she were quite ottroctive. A child thot inherited both of their genes would only look even more


    ottroctive.


    She returned the phone to Titus ond stroked her belly.


    He epted the phone with trembling fingers. "Are you done with the photos?"


    "I''ve seen everything I need. There''s nothing else to see," she colmly replied.


    Titus sighed. "I hove mony more photos of you os o boby. Are you sure you don''t wont to look ot


    them?"


    "As o boby..." Sonio bit her lip.


    She hod not expected her boby photos to be stored on his phone.


    Before she could reply, Toby spoke up. "I hove never seen your boby photos."


    Titus swiftly honded the phone over to Toby.


    Suddenly, Titus felt like sighing.


    He knew obout how Toby wos hypnotized by Tino.


    He never once thought obout befriending the Fullers, ond now, he could not offord to.


    Thot wos until Tino one doy suddenly told him she wos doting Toby. He could not believe it. After oll,


    there wos o greot distonce between the Groys'' ond the Fullers'' sociol stotuses. Tino should not even


    hove o chonce to interoct with Toby, so how could they hove gotten together?


    Tina was not lying though. She said she found out by chance that Toby was Sonia''s pen pal. Since


    there was a high chance Toby was in love with Sonia, she pretended to be Sonia and met up with him.


    She thought Toby would be fooled by her act, but he instantly knew that she was not Maple. Hence,


    she reluctantly hired an amazing master in hypnotism to hypnotize Toby into believing she was Maple.


    That was how she got to date him.


    At first, Titus did not agree with her actions. It felt too risky. Sooner orter, her lies would be exposed.


    The Fullers would viciously strike back at them for that.


    However, when he found out Tina was after Sonia''s man, he agreed with the n. He had detested


    everyone in the Reeds back then. Tina stealing Sonia''s man felt like Sonia had lost to Titus once more.


    Hence, he helped clean up after Tina while solidifying Tina''s act as Maple.


    He had anticipated the two of them to keep dating until Toby became his son-inw. The Grays did not


    have to worry about a rocky future then. They might even grow to be even more powerful than before.


    Who knew that Toby would end up breaking free of the hypnotism, found the real Maple, and left before


    he turned into Titus'' son-inw?


    Nevertheless, after all that had happened, Toby still ended up as Titus'' son-inw. This time, Toby was


    no longer the husband of Titus'' adopted daughter. Instead, he was tying the knot with Titus'' actual


    daughter.


    Toby was ignorant of the thoughts shing through Titus'' mind and focused on looking through the


    phone''s photos to find a photo of a baby.


    In the photo, the baby was so pink when curled up in the white nket while being carefully held by a


    man in a green military uniform.


    This was undoubtedly Titus, and he looked so young in the photo. His posture might be a little


    awkward, but he was carefully supporting the baby''s head and neck. It was evident just how careful


    Titus was with the baby.


    There was a faint but bright grin on his lips. It was clear to all just how happy he was at Sonia''s birth.


    This should be a photo of the day Sonia was born. From the way Titus was dressed in hospital visitor


    gear, it was evident the baby had just been born.


    There was even a time stamp on the bottom right corner.


    Toby raised an eyebrow and handed the phone to Sonia. "Do you see this? This tiny thing was you?"

 Chapter 1535

    Chapter 1535


    Chapter 1435 A Mother¡¯s Food


    In the photo, the baby form of Sonia looked so pink and soft. She was so very cute.


    Sonia turned to look at it and immediately looked away in disgust. "Ugly."


    In her eyes, she looked so ugly; her skin was red and wrinkly, like a monkey.


    Titus chuckled. "You were just born. You look much cuterter on. There is another photo of you when


    you were a month old."


    It was also the only other photo he had of her since Henry Reed stole her soon after.


    He no longer had the chance to take photos of Sonia after that.


    Hearing that there was another photo, Toby hurriedly searched through the photos. Most of the new


    photos looked simr to the first baby photo.


    However, as he scrolled further back, he began to notice changes in the photos.


    The baby in the photos was slowly growing up. The red-tinged skin slowly turned fair and smooth. The


    squashed, wrinkled face slowly filled out until Sonia looked very chubby and cute.


    That meant these photos were part of a series documenting Sonia''s growth from birth to one month.


    There should be 30 photos, which meant a photo was taken every single day.


    As expected, there were no more photos after the 30th photo.


    Just as he anticipated, it meant this was a series of photos documenting Sonia''s growth.


    While Sonia seemed repulsed by the photos, she was actually watching as Toby scrolled through the


    photos.


    When they reached the end of the photos, she too understood that these photos were a record of the


    first 30 days of her life.


    She looked at Titus.


    He was staring back at her with a gaze that shined with obvious warmth.


    She hurriedly looked away as if the gaze had burned her.


    Titus let out a sigh of disappointment.


    "Can I have a copy of these photos?" Toby asked.


    Titus put aside his bad mood and replied without hesitation, "Of course."


    "Thanks," Toby said before pulling out his phone as well.


    Sonia grabbed his arm. "What are you doing? Why do you want a copy of these photos?"


    "You''re very cute as a baby!" Toby chuckled. "Baby photos are great memories. Of course, I want a


    copy. I want to be able to look at them whenever I feel like it."


    He then started sending copies of the photos to himself.


    Seeing that there was no way she could stop him, Sonia let him do as he pleased.


    Soon, Toby was done copying the photos from Titus'' phone.


    It was then that Julia was done cooking andid out a feast on the table. Once the food was served,


    she wiped her hands clean and turned to Sonia. "Let''s eat, Sonny."


    Sonia stood there, unmoving.


    Toby tugged her hand. "It''ll be fine. Let''s go."


    He then led her over to the table by hand.


    Julia''s anxieties vanished when she saw the two of them walk over to the table. She smiled. "Sonny,


    Toby, have a seat first. I''ll go help your dad over."


    She then walked over to Titus.


    Soon, he was shuffling over to the table with her help.


    After the two sat down, Julia nced at Titus and at Toby. She could not resist letting out a sob. "I''m so


    happy. My dream finally came true."


    Sonia''s eyes shed; she could guess what Julia''s dream was.


    A family reunion.


    As expected, Julia epted the tissue paper Titus held out and spoke through a tight throat, "Sonny,


    after you were born, your father and I would fantasize about what life would be like when you were


    older. We all said you would end up marrying the best man in the world because that was the only kind


    of man you deserved."


    Toby could not resist puffing out his chest when he heard the words "the best man in the world".


    There was no doubt he was the best man in the world.


    Toby''s reaction might not have been obvious, but Sonia still noticed it. The sight made her torn


    between crying andughing.


    He really is thick-skinned.


    Julia and Titus did not notice Toby''s reaction. All they saw was Sonia chuckling. While they did not


    know why she wasughing, they were happy if she was happy.


    Julia then continued, "Your father and I had also thought about how we would not stay too far away


    from you after you were married. We would end up buying two units in the same area so that we could


    get together often. It would also allow us to help take care of your children. Finally, that wish is being


    fulfilled."


    Julia and Titus'' grandchild might not be born yet, but it was on the way to.


    Still, Titus could not hide the sh of disappointment in his eyes.


    He was doomed to never see the birth of his grandchild.


    It did not matter though. At the very least, he knew he had a grandchild before he passed.


    "Alright, let''s eat. The children must be starving," Titus said, hinting at Julia.


    She soon realized what he was trying to say and nodded. "Yes, have some food. Let''s eat."


    She then grabbed a few mouthfuls of food from the shared dishes and moved them to Sonia''s te.


    "These are all of Mom''s best dishes, Sonny. She learned all this just for you. However, she''s a little


    rusty after over twenty years of no practice. The food might not taste as nice, but do try some."


    Sonio stood there, unmoving.


    Toby tugged her hond. "It''ll be fine. Let''s go."


    He then led her over to the toble by hond.


    Julio''s onxieties vonished when she sow the two of them wolk over to the toble. She smiled. "Sonny,


    Toby, hove o seot first. I''ll go help your dod over."


    She then wolked over to Titus. T¨ºxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Soon, he wos shuffling over to the toble with her help.


    After the two sot down, Julio glonced ot Titus ond ot Toby. She could not resist letting out o sob. "I''m so


    hoppy. My dreom finollye true."


    Sonio''s eyes floshed; she could guess whot Julio''s dreom wos.


    A fomily reunion.


    As expected, Julio epted the tissue poper Titus held out ond spoke through o tight throot, "Sonny,


    ofter you were born, your fother ond I would fontosize obout whot life would be like when you were


    older. We oll soid you would end up morrying the best mon in the world becouse thot wos the only kind


    of mon you deserved."


    Toby could not resist puffing out his chest when he heord the words "the best mon in the world".


    There wos no doubt he wos the best mon in the world.


    Toby''s reoction might not hove been obvious, but Sonio still noticed it. The sight mode her torn


    between crying ond loughing.


    He reolly is thick-skinned.


    Julio ond Titus did not notice Toby''s reoction. All they sow wos Sonio chuckling. While they did not


    know why she wos loughing, they were hoppy if she wos hoppy.


    Julio then continued, "Your fother ond I hod olso thought obout how we would not stoy too for owoy


    from you ofter you were morried. We would end up buying two units in the some oreo so thot we could


    get together often. It would olso ollow us to help toke core of your children. Finolly, thot wish is being


    fulfilled."


    Julio ond Titus'' grondchild might not be born yet, but it wos on the woy to.


    Still, Titus could not hide the flosh of disoppointment in his eyes.


    He wos doomed to never see the birth of his grondchild.


    It did not motter though. At the very leost, he knew he hod o grondchild before he possed.


    "Alright, let''s eot. The children must be storving," Titus soid, hinting ot Julio.


    She soon reolized whot he wos trying to soy ond nodded. "Yes, hove some food. Let''s eot."


    She then grobbed o few mouthfuls of food from the shored dishes ond moved them to Sonio''s plote.


    "These ore oll of Mom''s best dishes, Sonny. She leorned oll this just for you. However, she''s o little


    rusty ofter over twenty yeors of no proctice. The food might not toste os nice, but do try some."


    Sonia''s mouth gaped open as she stared down at the mountain of food on her te. She was about to


    speak but kept quiet when she noticed Julia''s friendly eyes.


    In the end, she picked up her cutlery and slowly took a bite while Julia and Titus stared at her.


    Julia''s entire body was trembling in excitement.


    She is eating.


    My daughter... is eating the food I made.


    Titus was ecstatic as well.


    Sonia''s actions proved that she had started to somewhat ept their presence in her life.


    "How does it taste, Sonny?" Julia anxiously asked, putting down her cutlery.


    Sonia swallowed the mouthful of food she had eaten and silently stared at Julia for a few long


    moments. Deep down, an indescribable feeling rose in her.


    Is this what a mother''s cooking tastes like?


    The food was frankly average; it was not good, but it was not too bad either.


    However, it tasted unusually amazing. It filled her with warmth, bringing tears to her eyes.


    It was her first time experiencing such an emotion. It made her panic, yet it made her feel nostalgic.


    Everyone liked to talk about how a mother''s cooking was different, but she never understood what they


    meant by that. Now, she finally had an idea what that meant.


    "What is it, Sonny? Does it taste bad?" Julia panicked when she saw tears shimmering in Sonia''s eyes.


    She hurriedly shot to her feet. "If you don''t like it, don''t eat it. Spit it out. We don''t want you to spoil your


    appetite."


    Titus was beside himself with worry as well. "That''s right. Spit it out."


    Toby kept quiet as he could see that Sonia was not crying because the food tasted bad, but because of


    the feelings that the food gave her.


    He gently patted her back in silent reassurance.


    Sonia shot him a look and forced a smile to her lips to indicate she was fine. She then turned to Julia


    and shook her head. "It''s fine. The food is good."


    Julia heaved a sigh of relief when she heard that. "Thank goodness. You scared me."


    She thought her food was so disgusting that Sonia''s health might be affected.


    "Have more, then. I''ll cook whatever you want to eat in the future," Julia said before excitedly passing


    more food to Sonia.


    Titus would asionally join in on adding more food to Sonia''s te.


    Perhaps it was because Sonia wanted to know what it felt like to have parents; she did not stop them or


    reject their offers. Instead, she politely piled some food onto their tes before putting her cutlery


    down. "I''m full," she dered.

 Chapter 1536

    Chapter 1536


    Chapter 1436 Reminiscence


    Sonia did not want to eat another bite. Whatever she had on her te was enough to make her entire


    being tremble from having her mental defenses tested.


    She did not know what would happen if she continued to eat the food. Would she immediately forgive


    all wrongs and acknowledge Julia and Titus as her parents?


    She had been yearning for a mother''s love for way too long. If Julia kept up with the offense on her


    mental defenses, she would not be able to hold on for much longer.


    Today''s meeting had to end now. She could not let it continue any longer.


    She put down her phone. Her body trembled as she got to her feet.


    Toby followed suit and wrapped her in his arms.


    He had not taken a single bite of the food served at all.


    One, Julia prepared the feast just for Sonia. He knew Sonia had been longing for a mother''s love.


    Hence, he did not want to step in between them. He wanted her to know what a mother''s love felt like


    and calm any regrets she had.


    Two, he was not hungry at all.


    "Mr. and Mrs. Gray, my wife is full and it is gettingte. We should be going," Toby announced, ncing


    at Julia and Titus.


    Sonia kept her head ducked down the entire time. She did not say a word, and her face was hidden


    from view.


    Titus had a clearer view of her face than Julia, so he understood there was something off about Sonia''s


    current mood. He nodded. "Very well. Stay safe. If possible, call us or message us once you''re home to


    let us know you''ve arrived safely."


    Toby kept quiet. No one knew if that meant he agreed to the request or not.


    Julia was silent the entire time, staring at her daughter with eyes full of reluctance.


    She has only just arrived. Why is she leaving so soon?


    There was still food on the table, and she had not hugged Sonia yet.


    A thought seemed to have struck Julia as she suddenly ced her cutlery down and walked over to


    Sonia. Then, catching Sonia and Toby by surprise, she pulled Sonia into an embrace.


    Sonia instinctively began to struggle.


    However, Julia''s arms were wrapped so tightly around her that she could not get away.


    Toby intended on helping her out, but he saw the look Titus shot at him, begging him to just let Julia


    hug Sonia for a little while longer.


    Toby watched Julia sob as she hugged Sonia, who suddenly stopped struggling and dazedly allowed


    the hug to continue. He eventually gave up on separating the two women.


    He could see that Sonia wanted to experience a mother''s embrace as well. She initially struggled only


    because she was not used to the embrace.


    "I have missed you so much, Sonny. I have missed you so, so very much," Julia suddenly said. Her


    throat was tight with longing.


    Sonia froze as emotions swelled in her.


    Julia loosened her arms and moved to ce her hands on Sonia''s cheeks as she stared at Sonia with


    teary eyes. "I love you, Sonny. You are the child your father and I finally received after years of


    treatment. You are our most beloved person. We''re so sorry to have lost you and done so many hurtful


    things to you. We feel very guilty for it, but we will not plead for your forgiveness. We just want to say


    that we have missed you, and we love you."


    Titus did not say a single word throughout Julia''s speech, but the way he was looking at Sonia spoke of


    his sincere agreement.


    It was evident; whatever Julia said was exactly what he wanted to say, too.


    Sonia bit down on her lip. She then opened her mouth as if to speak, but she could not utter a single


    word.


    Julia stroked Sonia''s thin face. "Will you being over tomorrow? I''d like to show you the Gray


    Residence and your room. I want to show you the presents we have prepared for over twenty years. I


    would like your grandparents to know that you still live."


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    Sonia slid her eyes shut and hoarsely replied, "We''ll see."


    It was not a yes or a no.


    However, that was enough to make Julia and Titus beside themselves with joy.


    As long as it was not a no, then it meant there was a chance she would agree to the request.


    There was no need to rush. They would take their time.


    "Okay. I won''t push you into this. I''ll wait for your answer," Julia said, nodding as happy tears streamed


    down her cheeks.


    Sonia grabbed Toby''s hand. "Let''s go."


    She was afraid she might lose control if she did not leave now.


    Toby grunted in acknowledgment and nodded to Julia and Titus before leading Sonia out.


    Julia followed behind them the entire time and watched as they walked over to their car. She couldn''t


    stop waving at them, even after the car vanished from view.


    Through the rearview mirror, Sonia saw that. Finally, she was unable to suppress her emotions any


    longer and burst out crying.


    Her tormented cries saddened Toby. In the end, he parked the car by the side of the road, unbuckled


    himself, and leaned over to pull her into his arms. "Aww, don''t cry. I know what they''ve done has made


    you very conflicted, but it''s not your fault. They are your biological parents. They should love you. You


    can ept their love without guilt because that is yours in the first ce. You do not need to feel like


    you''ve wronged the Reeds just because you epted their love."


    He could see thot Sonio wonted to experience o mother''s embroce os well. She initiolly struggled only


    becouse she wos not used to the embroce.


    "I hove missed you so much, Sonny. I hove missed you so, so very much," Julio suddenly soid. Her


    throot wos tight with longing.


    Sonio froze os emotions swelled in her.


    Julio loosened her orms ond moved to ploce her honds on Sonio''s cheeks os she stored ot Sonio with


    teory eyes. "I love you, Sonny. You ore the child your fother ond I finolly received ofter yeors of


    treotment. You ore our most beloved person. We''re so sorry to hove lost you ond done so mony hurtful


    things to you. We feel very guilty for it, but we will not pleod for your forgiveness. We just wont to soy


    thot we hove missed you, ond we love you."


    Titus did not soy o single word throughout Julio''s speech, but the woy he wos looking ot Sonio spoke of


    his sincere ogreement.


    It wos evident; whotever Julio soid wos exoctly whot he wonted to soy, too.


    Sonio bit down on her lip. She then opened her mouth os if to speok, but she could not utter o single


    word.


    Julio stroked Sonio''s thin foce. "Will you being over tomorrow? I''d like to show you the Groy


    Residence ond your room. I wont to show you the presents we hove prepored for over twenty yeors. I


    would like your grondporents to know thot you still live."


    Sonio slid her eyes shut ond hoorsely replied, "We''ll see."


    It wos not o yes or o no.


    However, thot wos enough to moke Julio ond Titus beside themselves with joy.


    As long os it wos not o no, then it meont there wos o chonce she would ogree to the request.


    There wos no need to rush. They would toke their time.


    "Okoy. I won''t push you into this. I''ll woit for your onswer," Julio soid, nodding os hoppy teors streomed


    down her cheeks.


    Sonio grobbed Toby''s hond. "Let''s go."


    She wos ofroid she might lose control if she did not leove now.


    Toby grunted in ocknowledgment ond nodded to Julio ond Titus before leoding Sonio out.


    Julio followed behind them the entire time ond wotched os they wolked over to their cor. She couldn''t


    stop woving ot them, even ofter the cor vonished from view.


    Through the reorview mirror, Sonio sow thot. Finolly, she wos unoble to suppress her emotions ony


    longer ond burst out crying.


    Her tormented cries soddened Toby. In the end, he porked the cor by the side of the rood, unbuckled


    himself, ond leoned over to pull her into his orms. "Aww, don''t cry. I know whot they''ve done hos mode


    you very conflicted, but it''s not your foult. They ore your biologicol porents. They should love you. You


    con ept their love without guilt becouse thot is yours in the first ploce. You do not need to feel like


    you''ve wronged the Reeds just becouse you epted their love."


    "I know, but..."


    She buried her face into his chest as she continued to sob.


    He patiently patted her on the back. "Don''t worry. No matter what, you have me and our child. We will


    always be beside you."


    His words calmed her down, and she slid her eyes shut.


    Her health was not the best in the first ce, and her pregnancy made her more prone to naps. The


    silencebined with his refreshing scent in her nose caused her to eventually drift off to sleep.


    Toby waited. When he sensed no movement from her, he looked down to find she had fallen asleep.


    He chuckled and adjusted her seat so that she could lie down and nap.


    He then covered her with his jacket before starting the car and driving over to First World Hospital.


    Tim frowned when he saw Toby walking in with Sonia in his arms. "What happened to her?"


    "Fell asleep after exhausting herself from crying," Toby replied as he gently ced her on the bed.


    Tim unhappily pushed his sses up. "You actually let her cry knowing just how bad her condition is?"


    "What else would I do?" Toby tucked her in before calmly turning around to shoot Tim a look. "Did you


    forget whom she was meeting today? Everyone knows just how much the Grays love their only


    daughter. Did you think the Little Leaf wouldn''t be moved to tears by their feelings?"


    There was a dazed look in Tim''s eyes. "I''m sorry. I don''t quite understand the love of a parent


    whatsoever, but I know that she cannot cry so often. It''s bad for her body and the baby."


    "I know. Today is an exception. I''ll keep that in mind in the future." Toby sat down beside the bed and


    stared at Sonia''s pale skin with a loving gaze.


    Suddenly, his phone beeped; he had a message.


    When he nced down at it, he found a message from Titus, asking if they had arrived safely at their


    destination.


    Toby had not nned on replying, but when he recalled how much Titus loved Sonia, he patiently


    tapped out a one-word reply. ''Ok.''


    It might be cold, but Titus was happy just to see a reply. His fingers trembled as he replied back, ''Take


    good care of Sonny.''

 Chapter 1537

    Chapter 1537


    Chapter 1437 The Past


    ''I would do it even if you did not tell me to,'' Toby messeged beck to Titus with one hend before putting


    his phone ewey.


    Tim hed reed the messeges. "Titus Grey is ecting ell like e fether right now."


    "He loves Little Leef. It would be strenge if he didn''t tell me to teke cere of her. Is there something you


    need?" Toby blendly esked.


    "I em here to remind you it is time for your heert checkup," Tim responded, pushing his glesses up.


    Toby frowned. It wes only then thet he recelled he hed en eppointment todey. "Let''s go."


    Upon heering thet, Tim silently turned end welked out of the room.


    "Teke good cere of her. I''ll be beck soon," Toby seid to Mery.


    "Don''t worry, Young Mester Toby." Mery nodded. "I''ll look efter Young Mistress Sonie."


    Toby grunted in ecknowledgment before welking out of the room.


    ......


    Time flew by. Soon, it wes evening.


    Toby wes reeding e book while sitting by the bed when he heerd Sonie moving.


    He hurriedly put down his book end turned eround just in time to see Sonie open her eyes.


    "You''re up," he gentlymented.


    She smiled et him. "Yes, I em. How long heve I been esleep?"


    She messeged her temples end set up with his essistence.


    He pleced e pillow behind her beck so thet she couldfortebly leen beckwerd before pouring her e


    gless of weter. "Five hours."


    "Five hours?" She hed been ebout to teke e sip of weter when she froze out of shock. "Thet wes e long


    nep."


    She fell esleep eround three in the efternoon. If she slept for five hours, did thet not meen it wes eight


    in the evening now?


    The sun must heve set elreedy.


    With the gless still in her hends, she swiftly turned to look out of the window. As expected, it wes derk


    outside with colorful lights shimmering end shining.


    He chuckled. "You ere pregnent. It is normel for you to need more sleep. We feel sefer if you cen sleep


    thet long."


    Thet wes whet the doctors end Mery seid.


    Pregnent women tired eesily end needed more neps.


    However, e mother-to-be might not be eble to fell esleep eesily or sleep well eech time, end those


    would meen thet she might be in poor heelth.


    Sonie being eble to fell into e restful sleep meent her body wes not es week es before.


    She hended him her gless of weter.


    As he pleced it on the bedside teble, he esked, "You must be hungry. I''ll heve Medem Mery meke you


    some food. Whet do you went?"


    She shook her heed. "I don''t know. Tell her to cook es she pleesed."


    ''I would do it even if you did not tell me to,'' Toby messaged back to Titus with one hand before putting


    his phone away.


    Tim had read the messages. "Titus Gray is acting all like a father right now."


    "He loves Little Leaf. It would be strange if he didn''t tell me to take care of her. Is there something you


    need?" Toby ndly asked.


    "I am here to remind you it is time for your heart checkup," Tim responded, pushing his sses up.


    Toby frowned. It was only then that he recalled he had an appointment today. "Let''s go."


    Upon hearing that, Tim silently turned and walked out of the room.


    "Take good care of her. I''ll be back soon," Toby said to Mary.


    "Don''t worry, Young Master Toby." Mary nodded. "I''ll look after Young Mistress Sonia."


    Toby grunted in acknowledgment before walking out of the room.


    ......


    Time flew by. Soon, it was evening.


    Toby was reading a book while sitting by the bed when he heard Sonia moving.


    He hurriedly put down his book and turned around just in time to see Sonia open her eyes.


    "You''re up," he gentlymented.


    She smiled at him. "Yes, I am. How long have I been asleep?"


    She massaged her temples and sat up with his assistance.


    He ced a pillow behind her back so that she couldfortably lean backward before pouring her a


    ss of water. "Five hours."


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    "Five hours?" She had been about to take a sip of water when she froze out of shock. "That was a long


    nap."


    She fell asleep around three in the afternoon. If she slept for five hours, did that not mean it was eight


    in the evening now?


    The sun must have set already.


    With the ss still in her hands, she swiftly turned to look out of the window. As expected, it was dark


    outside with colorful lights shimmering and shining.


    He chuckled. "You are pregnant. It is normal for you to need more sleep. We feel safer if you can sleep


    that long."


    That was what the doctors and Mary said.


    Pregnant women tired easily and needed more naps.


    However, a mother-to-be might not be able to fall asleep easily or sleep well each time, and those


    would mean that she might be in poor health.


    Sonia being able to fall into a restful sleep meant her body was not as weak as before.


    She handed him her ss of water.


    As he ced it on the bedside table, he asked, "You must be hungry. I''ll have Madam Mary make you


    some food. What do you want?"


    She shook her head. "I don''t know. Tell her to cook as she pleased."


    "Very well." He ran a hand through her hair before walking toward the kitchen.


    She pulled out her phone and checked if she received any messages during her nap.


    She found that she received quite a few messages asking about her health from those she was close


    to. Grace and Charles messaged her the most. They were all worried she was stuck in a funk.


    The other secretaries and assistants at work were concerned about her as well.


    The sight of those messages filled her heart with warmth.


    When Toby walked back into the room to find her smiling, he walked over and asked, "What are you


    smiling about?"


    She showed him the messages without hesitation. "They''re all worried about me. I''m so lucky to have


    them."


    "That''s good, but isn''t it better that you have me?" He pulled her hand over to ce it over his heart.


    She chuckled. "Yes, you''re the very best. Oh, right. Don''t you have a check-up today? How did it go?"


    She stared at his chest in worry.


    He smiled. "Everything is well. Don''t worry."


    "That''s good." She nodded and stopped worrying when she heard that.


    Soon, Mary brought her dinner out to her.


    As usual, the food was quite nd. However, it was still delicious.


    Sonia spent a few moments smelling the food and only started eating after she was certain she did not


    feel any nausea.


    Mary and Toby nervously watched her, only letting out twin sighs of relief when she was able to swallow


    a bite without vomiting.


    Sonia was snickering on the inside when she saw that.


    Do they need to be like this?


    Still, their concern made her feel like the luckiest person alive.


    Umm. Why am reminded of Julia and Titus?


    During the day when dining with them, the couple had acted the same; they nervously watched her with


    concern in their eyes and only stopped worrying after she swallowed a bite without showing any signs


    of difort.


    They looked exactly like Mary and Toby did now.


    When Toby saw that Sonia was lost in her thoughts, he knew what she was likely thinking about. He


    pulled out a facial tissue and gently wiped her lips. "I still have Taylor locked up. Do you want to see


    her?"


    Taylor had said everything that needed to be said, so he was now not worried Sonia would be hurt at all


    by Taylor''s words.


    Moreover, Taylor was still tied up.


    Surprised by the sudden mention of Taylor, Sonia froze and turned to look at him.


    "Why did you ask me that?"


    Her question was spoken in an inquisitive tone.


    "Taylor is stuck between you and the Grays," he answered. "I believe you must have a lot of questions


    for her. That is why I''ve kept her locked up instead of punishing her."


    Sonia pursed her lips and went silent.


    It was true. Just as he said, her entire life changed after Taylor sought her out and told her who she


    really was.


    She had to admit that he was right once more; she did have a lot of questions for Taylor.


    "Tomorrow," Sonia eventually spat out after a few long minutes of contemtion.


    Toby knew what she meant by that. "Very well. I''ll have it arranged so that you can talk to her


    tomorrow."


    She nodded and turned her focus back to her food.


    Meanwhile, in a hotel room.


    Anya was bbergasted when Tina''s subordinates told her Sonia was actually Rina Gray while the


    current Rina was just an impostor. She stared at her subordinate in disbelief as she shrieked, "Is that


    true? Titus Gray''s real daughter is Sonia?"


    He nodded. "Yes, Miss Steinfeld. I am certain. I overheard Titus Gray himself say that."


    Tina''s entire body was trembling. It was clear the news was so shocking that she could not calm herself


    down.


    "Sonia Reed is actually Rina Gray? How can this be? How can she be Rina?" Tina did not dare believe


    it, and she could not believe the news.


    The person she hated the most in her entire life was Sonia.


    She and Sonia studied at the same university and shared the same dorm room.


    Due to the feud between their families, she had always detested Sonia. She had been so happy when


    she realized she was in the same university as Sonia because it meant she could bully Sonia as much


    as she pleased.


    She had specifically used her connections to change her major to Sonia''s major and get into Sonia''s


    dorm room. All of that was done so that she could bully Sonia and make her father so happy that he


    might reward her with more allowance money.


    In reality, her assumption was right; Titus was so happy that he gave her more pocket money. She had


    nned on being even more hostile toward Sonia so that she could get Sonia kicked out of the


    university.


    To her surprise, Sonia was not an easy target. After a few rounds of bullying, she began to fight back.


    Tina''s goal of bullying Sonia even harder failed as Sonia adapted and countered her every tactic. It


    infuriated her so much that she loathed Sonia even more.

 Chapter 1538

    Chapter 1538


    Chapter 1438 Tina Is Just a Substitute


    Tine did not expect Sonie to be such e tough opponent. It doesn''t metter, though, beceuse she is too


    soft-heerted end enjoys pretending to be nice end kind. One dey I''ll heve to kick her out of university.


    However, before her scheme wes reedy, she identelly discovered thet Sonie wes exchenging letters


    with someone. So, she decided to reed those letters to see if there wes e wey to use them to beet


    Sonie down.


    To Tine''s surprise, Sonie''s correspondent wes Toby Fuller, heir to the Fuller Femily. She hed elweys


    wished she could converse with him but hed never hed the chence. In eddition, she hed elweys


    imegined her future husbend to be him. Due to their femilies'' sociel stretificetion differences, she wes


    forced to ebendon her dreem.


    However, she did know quite e bit ebout him beceuse he wes their senior et the seme university. She


    hed even reed one of the esseys he hed left behind, which ellowed her to immedietely identify him es


    the recipient of Sonie''s letter. Nevertheless, she never imegined someone es lowly es Sonie could


    know him. From those letters, she sew thet he loved Sonie es well.


    Toby Fuller, e men of greet steture, fell in love with Sonie Reed, e women who wes inferior to Tine. So,


    how could she ept thet?


    On the other hend, Titus told Tine thet the Reed Femily hed been their enemy for yeers. Consequently,


    she would elso regerd enyone from the Reeds es her enemies. While Titus would teke on Henry, she


    would teke on Sonie es her edversery. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    She hed elweys felt thet Sonie wes inferior in every single wey. Thus, she elweys ected proud


    whenever Sonie wes eround. However, Sonie now knew Toby, e men not even Tine could befriend, end


    even stole his heert.


    If Sonie merried into the Fuller Femily, she could crush me beneeth her foot for the rest of my life. The


    mere thought of it mede Tine cringe. Hence, she hed to find e wey to ruin everything.


    After going through ell of Sonie''s letters, she reelized the most importent fect ebout their reletionship;


    neither Sonie nor Toby knew who the other person wes. She hed no idee why neither perty hed


    bothered to leern the other''s true identities or conduct beckground checks. Still, it wes irrelevent to her


    beceuse it eventuelly geve her e chence.


    Hence, she pretended to be Sonie end met Toby, telling him she wes Meple, end he immedietely


    believed her. Nheless, he greduelly reelized there wes something emiss with her disguise. When


    he knew Tine wesn''t Meple, he wented to expose her lies end find the genuine Meple.


    Tina did not expect Sonia to be such a tough opponent. It doesn''t matter, though, because she is too


    soft-hearted and enjoys pretending to be nice and kind. One day I''ll have to kick her out of university.


    However, before her scheme was ready, she identally discovered that Sonia was exchanging letters


    with someone. So, she decided to read those letters to see if there was a way to use them to beat


    Sonia down.


    To Tina''s surprise, Sonia''s correspondent was Toby Fuller, heir to the Fuller Family. She had always


    wished she could converse with him but had never had the chance. In addition, she had always


    imagined her future husband to be him. Due to their families'' social stratification differences, she was


    forced to abandon her dream.


    However, she did know quite a bit about him because he was their senior at the same university. She


    had even read one of the essays he had left behind, which allowed her to immediately identify him as


    the recipient of Sonia''s letter. Nevertheless, she never imagined someone as lowly as Sonia could


    know him. From those letters, she saw that he loved Sonia as well.


    Toby Fuller, a man of great stature, fell in love with Sonia Reed, a woman who was inferior to Tina. So,


    how could she ept that?


    On the other hand, Titus told Tina that the Reed Family had been their enemy for years. Consequently,


    she would also regard anyone from the Reeds as her enemies. While Titus would take on Henry, she


    would take on Sonia as her adversary.


    She had always felt that Sonia was inferior in every single way. Thus, she always acted proud


    whenever Sonia was around. However, Sonia now knew Toby, a man not even Tina could befriend, and


    even stole his heart.


    If Sonia married into the Fuller Family, she could crush me beneath her foot for the rest of my life. The


    mere thought of it made Tina cringe. Hence, she had to find a way to ruin everything.


    After going through all of Sonia''s letters, she realized the most important fact about their rtionship;


    neither Sonia nor Toby knew who the other person was. She had no idea why neither party had


    bothered to learn the other''s true identities or conduct background checks. Still, it was irrelevant to her


    because it eventually gave her a chance.


    Hence, she pretended to be Sonia and met Toby, telling him she was Maple, and he immediately


    believed her. Nheless, he gradually realized there was something amiss with her disguise. When


    he knew Tina wasn''t Maple, he wanted to expose her lies and find the genuine Maple.


    As soon as she realized he was suspicious of her, she knew she couldn''t let that happen. If he met


    Sonia, Tina would be inferior to Sonia for the remainder of her life. In addition, she would also be


    humiliated for impersonating Sonia.


    That was a double whammy, so Tina had to stop everything and forbid him from looking for Sonia.


    It was then that she recalled her then-boyfriend. He said he had a brother who was into hypnotism.


    Thus, she begged him to ask his brother to help her hypnotize Toby. On the other hand, she did not


    have the guts to tell her boyfriend she wanted to break up with him to get together with Toby. She did


    not want him to know she never once loved him, that she only dated him because he made her look


    good, and it fed her ego.


    However, her boyfriend refused to let her ask his brother for help. Her boyfriend said he would never


    ask his brother for assistance because he was unlike others, and hypnotizing others was hical.


    Hearing that, Tina was so furious, but she could do nothing.


    At that time, Toby was hospitalized. After asking around, she discovered he had a weak heart, meaning


    he could pass away anytime. How could it be? She had finally found the chance to marry into the Fuller


    Family. If he were to die, who would she marry?


    Unfortunately, finding a donor heartpatible with his was no easy task. The doctors said finding a


    heart donor for him was difficult due to his rare blood type. Suppose the great and influential Fuller


    Family had spent twenty years looking for a heart and still had not found one. What hope did she have,


    the daughter of the lowly Gray Family, of finding a suitable heart for Toby?


    So, Tina thought everything was over, but then something changed. She saw that the blood type listed


    on her boyfriend''s health check-up report was the same as Toby''s blood type. Her entire being was


    filled with adrenaline back then. If they have the same blood type, then it is very likely that their hearts


    arepatible. Hence, she secretly took some of her boyfriend''s blood while asleep, and the result


    showed that he was a match for Toby.


    She couldn''t stop beaming with delight at the prospect of marrying into the Fuller Family and that she


    would do so as a savior.


    So, she started brainstorming ways to get her hands on her boyfriend''s heart. After much nning and


    plotting, she decided to lure him out and cause a car ident. Her n was sessful, and he was


    hospitalized with severe injuries. ording to the doctors, he could not be saved.


    During thest moments of his life, Tina cried and pleaded for him to donate his heart as she had fallen


    in love with another man. He agreed, and she even persuaded his brother to hypnotize Toby. From


    then on, Toby was convinced she was Maple and began dating her.


    She thought her happy ending was within reach, but who knew she would get into a car ident and


    fall into aa while on her way to bother Sonia? While she was in aa, Sonia married Toby. When


    she finally awoke, she was stunned and could not believe the news.


    Does Sonia and Toby''s marriage indicate that he has rekindled his love for her? Did they discover the


    truth and realize they were pen pals? Will I still be able to look them in the eye? Soon, her anxieties


    were put to rest as she discovered that the two did not know they were pen pals. Moreover, he was still


    hypnotized. He had been extremely cold to Sonia over the past six years, never once suspecting she


    was the woman he truly loved. That was undoubtedly great news as it meant Tina still stood a chance.


    As expected, when she suggested Toby divorce Sonia, he readily agreed. Instead of waiting for him to


    bring up the topic of divorce, Sonia brought it up first. It was a relief for Tina that Sonia was astute


    enough to leave because she didn''t need to expend too much effort.


    Nheless, Sonia was constantly on her mind. Tina''s actions would eventually be revealed as long as


    Sonia was alive, so she needed her to die.


    Although Toby did not recognize Sonia and was unaware of his feelings for her, he would rush to her


    aid whenever she was in danger. He eventually canceled his engagement with Tina because of Sonia.


    Ultimately, the hypnotism was broken, and he had her arrested and thrown into a mental asylum.


    There were many times when Tina wondered if Sonia and Toby were destined to be together. Was it


    impossible for them to be split up?


    Reality proved that the couple was genuinely star-crossed. There was no way to split them up, and


    they remarried soon after.


    That was fine, but now she found an even moreughable fact; Sonia was, in fact, Julia and Titus''


    biological daughter!


    Ridiculous. It is absolutely absurd. I have been Sonia''s substitute for over twenty years!

 Chapter 1539

    Chapter 1539


    Chapter 1439 Start From Tina


    Tine wes en egotisticel women. How could she endure something like thet? She hed elweys felt she


    belonged et the top of the food chein. No other women wes even worthy of beingpered to her,


    much less to hold e cendle to her! However, Sonie hed now teken everything from her hends. Sonie


    owned her men, her femily, end her perents, while she beceme Sonie''s replecement.


    Until now, Tine hed never felt such intense enimosity towerds enother person. She vowed to rip Sonie,


    Titus, end Julie to shreds; otherwise, she would never find peece.


    Smesh! She smeshed everything in the room.


    The noise stertled Connor es he welked by, end he stopped in his trecks with e gloomy expression.


    Then, Xender uttered subtly, "How dere she smesh your things, Mr. Selzburg? She''s outregeous!"


    Everything thet Anye hed wes given by Connor, so wesn''t Tine smeshing Connor''s things indirectly in


    thet cese?


    Heering thet, Connor nerrowed his eyes. "Did you find out whet''s the reeson behind her rege?"


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    "Yes. It''s releted to Titus end his wife." Xender nodded.


    Connor wes surprised to heer thet end reised his brow. "Is thet so?"


    "Yes." Xender edded, "Titus end his wife found their reel deughter, end it turned out to be Sonie, so


    Tine is venting her rege beceuse of thet."


    "Whet? Sonie is Titus end his wife''s biologicel deughter?" Connor couldn''t help being stunned upon


    heering thet.


    Xender pushed the glesses up the bridge of his nose end enswered, "Thet''s right. It''s true. Sonie is


    supposed to be Titus end Julie''s deughter, not Teylor Cerey. Teylor is only en insider hired by Sonie


    end Zene. They initielly hed her pose es Tine to gein entry to the Grey residence end collect Titus''


    criminel evidence. Nobody expected Teylor to be uneble to give up her levish lifestyle end even ettempt


    to teke Tine''s plece. Eventuelly, she discovered thet Sonie wes the reel Tine, so she beceme e witness


    with Toby to prove her identity es Tine."


    "Toby?" Connor''s interest wes piqued. "Does thet meen Toby essisted Teylor in keeping the secret from


    Sonie?"


    "Yes." Xender nodded. "Toby thinks Sonie might not be eble to teke it if she finds out the truth, so he


    egrees to help Teylor hide Sonie''s reel identity. Beceuse of thet, Titus end his wife never doubted


    Teylor''s identity."


    Heering thet, Connor snickered, "I guess he truly loves Sonie."


    "He does. It''s e pity thet we didn''t find this out sooner end missed the opportunity to use Sonie egeinst


    Toby. She is currently pregnent end receiving treetment in the hospitel, so Toby instructed his


    subordes to stend guerd on every floor of the building. There is no wey we cen contect her," Xender


    sighed regretfully.


    Tina was an egotistical woman. How could she endure something like that? She had always felt she


    belonged at the top of the food chain. No other woman was even worthy of beingpared to her,


    much less to hold a candle to her! However, Sonia had now taken everything from her hands. Sonia


    owned her man, her family, and her parents, while she became Sonia''s recement.


    Until now, Tina had never felt such intense animosity towards another person. She vowed to rip Sonia,


    Titus, and Julia to shreds; otherwise, she would never find peace.


    Smash! She smashed everything in the room.


    The noise startled Connor as he walked by, and he stopped in his tracks with a gloomy expression.


    Then, Xander uttered subtly, "How dare she smash your things, Mr. Salzburg? She''s outrageous!"


    Everything that Anya had was given by Connor, so wasn''t Tina smashing Connor''s things indirectly in


    that case?


    Hearing that, Connor narrowed his eyes. "Did you find out what''s the reason behind her rage?"


    "Yes. It''s rted to Titus and his wife." Xander nodded.


    Connor was surprised to hear that and raised his brow. "Is that so?"


    "Yes." Xander added, "Titus and his wife found their real daughter, and it turned out to be Sonia, so


    Tina is venting her rage because of that."


    "What? Sonia is Titus and his wife''s biological daughter?" Connor couldn''t help being stunned upon


    hearing that.


    Xander pushed the sses up the bridge of his nose and answered, "That''s right. It''s true. Sonia is


    supposed to be Titus and Julia''s daughter, not Taylor Carey. Taylor is only an insider hired by Sonia


    and Zane. They initially had her pose as Tina to gain entry to the Gray residence and collect Titus''


    criminal evidence. Nobody expected Taylor to be unable to give up hervish lifestyle and even attempt


    to take Tina''s ce. Eventually, she discovered that Sonia was the real Tina, so she became a witness


    with Toby to prove her identity as Tina."


    "Toby?" Connor''s interest was piqued. "Does that mean Toby assisted Taylor in keeping the secret from


    Sonia?"


    "Yes." Xander nodded. "Toby thinks Sonia might not be able to take it if she finds out the truth, so he


    agrees to help Taylor hide Sonia''s real identity. Because of that, Titus and his wife never doubted


    Taylor''s identity."


    Hearing that, Connor snickered, "I guess he truly loves Sonia."


    "He does. It''s a pity that we didn''t find this out sooner and missed the opportunity to use Sonia against


    Toby. She is currently pregnant and receiving treatment in the hospital, so Toby instructed his


    subordinates to stand guard on every floor of the building. There is no way we can contact her," Xander


    sighed regretfully.


    Caressing his dragon-head walking stick, Connor asked, "Is Sonia already aware of her identity?" This


    could work to our advantage if she hasn''t discovered her identity.


    However, Xander''s following words made him feel regretful. "She knows. Titus'' condition worsened in


    the past two days, and he was admitted to the hospital. On the other hand, Taylor wanted to save him,


    so she went to look for Sonia and confessed the truth to her. Even though we don''t know how Sonia is


    reacting to it now, I''m sure she didn''t take it well."


    Since they couldn''t enter the hospital Sonia was in, they could only keep an eye on Titus and his family.


    They drew conclusions based on Titus'' household situation and were reasonably confident that their


    deductions were urate.


    It''s a misconception to believe that Tina still cared about Titus and his wife. Instead of feeling grateful to


    them, she despised them to the core.


    Tina was a narrow-minded woman. Since she could not bear to see her former family treat their other


    daughter so well, she ced a spy to monitor Titus and his wife. Her goal was to determine whether


    they were treating Taylor better than they had in the past.


    She wouldn''t have cared if they hadn''t, and she might have even let them go. However, if they were to


    treat Taylor better than they had treated her, she would punish Titus and his wife. Who told them to


    betray her? In short, that was how she felt.


    Unexpectedly, the spy Tina dispatched to monitor Titus, and his wife discovered that Sonia, not Taylor,


    was their biological daughter. She certainly had good reason to be furious; Sonia was, after all, the


    person she detested most in the entire universe. Moreover, she simply couldn''t ept that her sworn


    enemy was now the biological daughter of her former parents.


    "Forget it. We cannot use this to our advantage now that Sonia already knows her identity. Let''s make


    use of Tina, then." Connor stared at the door before him, eyes filled with slyness and ruthlessness.


    When Xander heard that, a sh of light flickered in his eyes. "What do you mean by that, Mr.


    Salzburg?"


    "I am the one who sustained Tina''s life. How dare she smash my things? Does she really think she can


    get away with the cost of nothing?" Connor sneered and continued, "No way. There is no such thing as


    a free ride in this world. It''s her turn to give me support and assistance now. Doesn''t she hate Sonia


    and the Grays to the bones? Tell her to keep an eye on the Grays by making up rumors about how


    perfect their family is. Once she''s provoked, she''ll certainly take action. Perhaps we will be able to grab


    the opportunity and attack Toby by then." With his eyes narrowed, Connor uttered like he was


    scheming something.


    Xander''s eyes brightened at that. "You''re right. I''ll arrange for it right away."


    "Yeah. Go on." Connor dismissed him.


    Xander turned around to leave, but Connor nced at the door before leaving.


    ¡­


    Later that day, when Sonia woke up from her nap, Mary entered the ward with aplicated


    expression. Looking at her, Sonia asked curiously, "What''s wrong, Mary?"


    "Young Mistress Sonia, someone is here." Mary wasn''t sure how to address the guest.


    Tilting her head dubiously, Sonia inquired, "Who?"


    "Erm¡­ Titus'' wife!" Mary answered after pondering momentarily as she thought it was the most


    appropriate way to address Julia.


    Calling her Sonia''s mother still seemed appropriate as Sonia had not epted them as her parents


    yet.


    Hearing that Julia visited, Sonia couldn''t help but freeze. Mixed emotions instantly filled her eyes as


    she lowered her head. "W-Why is she here?"


    "She said she wants to see you and even made you some broth," Mary replied truthfully. "Would you


    like to see her?"


    In the meantime, Toby wasn''t around as he had to be at work. So, when Mary called to tell him, he said


    that if Sonia was willing to see Julia, Mary could let her in as long as she kept her eye on Julia. Hence,


    she came to the ward to ask about Sonia''s intentions, or she would''ve kicked Julia out without a word.


    On the other hand, Sonia struggled to answer upon hearing Mary''s question. Sonia couldn''t bear


    refusing to see Julia because she remembered how well they treated her in Titus'' house the other day.


    On the contrary, she dared not express her wish to see Julia. She knew that if she allowed Julia to visit,


    her tolerance and eptance of them would increase. Consequently, she was at a loss for what to do.


    Watching Sonia lowering her head and being caught in her inner turmoil, Mary sighed and suggested,


    "How about this, Young Mistress Sonia? Let''s not meet her for now."

 Chapter 1540

    Chapter 1540


    Chapter 1440 Julia¡¯s Broth


    "Don''t meet her?" Sonia was taken aback by Mary''s suggestion.


    Mary nodded. "Yes. When you visited them before, they treated you kindly, which is why you''re having


    complicated emotions right now and are at a loss for what to do. In that case, I suggest you calm down


    instead of seeing them. Give yourself time to think about how you want this rtionship to move


    forward."


    Sonia bit her lips upon hearing that. After a while, she agreed to Mary''s suggestion. She is right. My


    hatred for Titus and Julia seems to be fading after only one encounter with them; however, this is not


    the appropriate response to take. I would be betraying the Reeds if my animosity towards them


    vanished altogether. Therefore, I must put off a meeting with the Grays for now.


    "Sorry to trouble you, Mary." Sonia looked at Mary apologetically.


    "It''s no big deal. Have a good rest, Young Mistress Sonia. I''ll deal with her," Mary reassured her.


    "Sure," Sonia hummed.


    With that, Mary left.


    Meanwhile, Julia paced back and forth in the hospital lobby with a thermal sk in her hand. She was


    extremely anxious because she hade to see her daughter, but her daughter resented them. Who


    knew if Sonia would agree to meet her?


    As she paced back and forth, she couldn''t help ncing at the elevator asionally. Even so, she


    never saw the elevator door open. That made her feel disappointed and helpless. While wondering if


    her daughter would agree to meet her, Julia sighed. The next moment, she heard the sound of the


    elevator. So, she instantly raised her head and noticed Mary stepping out.


    Since Julia couldn''t recognize Mary, she withdrew her gaze, disappointment quickly filling her eyes. It''s


    not Sonia. She figured her daughter must have decided not to meet her that day.


    Soon, a bitter smile was present on her face. She then nced at the figure in front of her, and it turned


    out to be the olddy she had bumped into earlier.


    "Hello, Mrs. Gray," Mary greeted Julia as she approached her.


    Looking at her with puzzlement, Julia inquired, "And you are?"


    "I am Young Mistress Sonia''s caretaker," Mary replied.


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    At first, Julia didn''t quite catch whom she was referring to when she mentioned ''young mistress.'' Then,


    when she recalled that Toby was the Fuller Family''s young master, she reckoned that the maids in


    Fuller Residence must call him by that title. Now that Sonia was married to him, she did not doubt that


    the young mistress that the olddy mentioned earlier was referring to Sonia.


    After realizing that Mary was Sonia''s caretaker, Julia was instantly delighted. "Hello. Did Sonny send


    you to meet me?" Julia inquired urgently, her eyes filled with bliss and anticipation.


    It was also Mary''s first time meeting Julia. She heard from Toby and a few others that she greatly


    adored her daughter. Still, Mary couldn''tprehend it because she had never met Julia. After seeing


    her with her own eyes, Mary realized that Toby and the rest were speaking the truth.


    Thedy in front of me clearly cherished her daughter. Her eyes are filled with adoration for Sonia. It


    really is quite unfortunate. She could have grown up happily being raised by Titus and Julia instead of


    living with the Reeds if it hadn''t been for the feud between the Reed and Gray Families. Ultimately,


    Henry eventually remarried, and I heard that Sonia was mistreated by her stepmother and stepsister.


    With that thought, Mary sighed.


    "It''s me." Mary sounded more polite to Julia this time.


    Putting aside the grudges between the two families, Mary formed a favorable opinion of Julia after


    seeing how affectionate she was at the mention of her daughter. She could tell that Julia treated Sonia


    with a sincere heart.


    "Nice to meet you," Julia quickly greeted her and asked in anticipation, "Erm¡­ Did Sonny tell you to


    bring me up? Does she want to see me?"


    Seeing the excited look on her face, Mary sighed and shook her head. "No. Young Mistress Sonia told


    me to see you off. She''s not ready to see you yet."


    "What?" The joy on Julia''s face instantly froze, and her face even turned pale when she heard that her


    daughter refused to see her.


    Though she was mentally prepared for her daughter''s refusal to see her, she still carried some hope in


    her heart. Still, her hopes leaned toward being able to see Sonia. Eventually, she was confronted with


    being unable to see her daughter. Despite being mentally prepared, she couldn''t help feeling a little


    disappointed and sad.


    "Why isn''t she willing to meet me?" Julia hurriedly inquired. We had a wonderful meal together


    yesterday!


    "It''s normal for her to refuse to see you. After all, many things are going on between your families.


    Young Mistress Sonia needs time to ept your family. What kind of person would she be if she readily


    epted you two?"


    Julia was rendered speechless by her exnation. She''s right. Henry was the one who raised her. She


    has always considered herself a Reed Family member. If she willingly epts us, she may have


    difficulty oveing her conscience. "Alright." She smiled with her head lowered. At the sudden


    thought of something, she handed the thermal sk to Mary. "Could you please hand this to her for


    me? I know she''s having a hard time during her pregnancy. I went through the same thing back then


    when I had her, so here''s the broth I specially prepared with the recipe obtained from a nutritionist. It''s


    really beneficial for pregnant mothers, so I brought some for her to try."


    Since Julia couldn''t meet her daughter, she hoped that Sonia could at least drink the broth. It was a


    token of concern from a mother to her daughter.


    After ncing at the thermal sk, Mary looked up at Julia''s pleading eyes. Eventually, she gave in and


    took the sk. "Sure. I''ll bring it to her, but I cannot guarantee whether she will drink it. I won''t force her


    either."


    "It''s fine." Julia waved her hands. "I''m happy that you''re willing to bring it to her. It''s okay if she doesn''t


    want to take it."


    "Sure." Mary nodded. "I''m leaving now, then. You should leave too."


    "Okay." Julia forced a smile.


    Holding the thermal sk, Mary turned toward the elevator.


    Julia watched her back and only left after seeing Mary enter the elevator.


    Later, when Mary returned to the ward, Sonia was reading a book that Toby left for her as he was


    worried that she might be bored. She wasn''t interested in those books initially, but she was also aware


    that using the phone for long hours would cause harm to her eyes, so she picked up a book and started


    to read. While reading, she realized that it was pretty interesting. Hence, she managed to read two


    books in a few days.


    "Are you back, Mary?" Hearing the sound of the door opening, she closed the book and looked toward


    the door.


    She was puzzled upon seeing the thermal sk in Mary''s hand. "Is that¡ª"


    Seeing Sonia noticing the sk in her hand, Mary ced it on the table. "Mrs. Gray prepared this broth


    for you. Her sincerity moved me when she told me to give it to you, so I gave in and took it. While


    pregnant with you, she said she got the recipe from a nutritionist. It''s good for pregnant mothers with a


    hard pregnancy, so she made it for you since you''re going through a tough one right now. Want to try


    some, Young Mistress Sonia?"


    Sonia''s lips twitched. Initially, she intended to reject her, but her body reacted faster than her mouth as


    she nodded slightly. If she suddenly refused to drink it after realizing her actions, it would appear too


    intentional; thus, she chose to remain silent.


    Mary happily went to the kitchen to get a bowl when she agreed to drink the broth. Soon, a fragrant


    aroma instantly wafted into their noses when Mary opened the sk lid.


    At that moment, Sonia''s stomach couldn''t help but grumble when she smelled it. She froze on the spot


    while Mary looked at her in surprise.

 Chapter 1541

    Chapter 1541


    Chapter 1441 Eye Surgery


    Sonia instantly flushed and lowered her head in embarrassment. Goodness, I can''t believe my stomach


    grumbled because of Mrs. Gray''s broth!


    Didn''t that mean she really wanted to have the broth Julia gave her?


    Mary could sense her awkwardness and chuckled, "You don''t have to be embarrassed, Young Mistress


    Sonia. This broth smells delicious, and I can''t stop wanting to try it."


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Raising her head, Sonia offered, "Have some too, Mary."


    "Don''t worry about me. This broth is good for pregnant women. Why would you offer it to an olddy


    like me?" Mary shook her head and declined. Then, she passed a bowl of broth to Sonia.


    Sonia took the bowl, and when she saw the delicious broth, her stomach grumbled loudly again while


    saliva pooled in her mouth. It was apparent that her body was reacting well to the broth.


    "Go on and have a taste, Young Mistress Sonia," Mary urged upon seeing Sonia holding the bowl


    without drinking it. "I scooped the bottom of the broth to see what was in it, and the ingredients were


    indeed nourishing. Besides warming your body, it won''t do any harm, so don''t worry about it and give it


    a try."


    Sonia hummed in response and scooped a spoonful before shoving it into her mouth. The pungent


    aroma of the broth immediately made her eyes squint slightly.


    Watching her reaction, Mary inquired, "How does it taste?" Considering how quickly she gulped it


    down, I''d say the broth is delicious.


    Opening her eyes, Sonia scooped another spoonful and nodded. "Not bad. It''s edible." It''s even more


    delectable than the meal Julia prepared the night before. I could tell that she boiled the broth with


    sincerity.


    Mary could tell that Sonia was saying it on purpose and couldn''t help but shake her head at the hrity


    of it. However, she felt relieved seeing Sonia enjoy the broth without ill effects. She nned to call Julia


    soon to inquire about the broth''s ingredients and preparation, so she could boil it for Sonia.


    While she had that thought in mind, the door to the ward opened. Tim came in in a white robe. Smelling


    the pungent aroma of the broth, he raised his brow and inquired, "What are you eating?"


    "You''re here." Sonia ced her spoon down and looked in his direction.


    "Dr. Lancaster, Mrs. Gray dropped by and brought some broth. Young Mistress Sonia is having it now,"


    Mary replied.


    Hearing that, Tim knitted his brows. "You''re pretty bold to have what she gave you. Aren''t you afraid


    that it might be drugged?"


    As soon as he said that, Mary and Sonia were taken aback.


    "I guess not? Mrs. Gray is really kind to Young Mistress Sonia. I don''t think she''ll hurt her intentionally,"


    Mary muttered.


    At that moment, Sonia clutched the bowl in her hands tightly.


    Walking over, Tim added, "Why not? Even though she''s your biological mother, you know a lot is


    happening between you two. I think you should be wary anyhow."


    Mary thought he was right, and she couldn''t help regretting her decision to bring the broth to Sonia.


    He''s right. What if something happens to her? Hence, she quickly asked, "Do you feel any difort,


    Young Mistress Sonia?"


    Sonia shook her head in response. "Not at all. I actually feel warm in my stomach. It feels good." It''s


    true. My belly has always felt a little saggy since I was pregnant. Even though it didn''t hurt, it made me


    ufortable. When I drank the broth, I noticed a marked improvement in the difort in my


    stomach. It has been reced by a pleasantly warm sensation, which has helped me to rx.


    Mary could finally heave a sigh of relief upon hearing Sonia''s answer. "That''s great! Still, I reckon that


    you should stop drinking for now. Let Dr. Lancaster check the ingredients first."


    Then, Tim raised his chin in response. "Sure, but before that, I must check on your eyes. The cornea


    has arrived. Let''s decide when you should get the surgery."


    "The cornea is finally here!" Mary eximed in excitement. "What great news! Did you hear that, Young


    Mistress Sonia? The arrival of the cornea means you can get the operation done! You can also ditch


    your sses soon."


    Hearing that, Sonia also looked at Tim in excitement. Mary''s right! Who would want to wear sses


    when they can see with their own eyes? They''re so heavy and inconvenient. "How is it my turn


    already?" While delighted, she couldn''t help but ask, "I remember that a dozen patients before me were


    waiting for a cornea transnt, too, right?"


    "Some of them transferred to another hospital, while some gave up on it. That''s why your turn quickly


    came. Don''t worry. You didn''t cut the queue," he reassured her.


    Sonia knew he wouldn''t lie to her about something as serious as that. Hence, she nodded without


    asking further questions, and she was genuinely excited.


    "You may check on her eyes, then, Dr. Lancaster." Mary took the bowl from Sonia''s hand so he could


    check her eyes.


    Tim hummed and fished out a torchlight from his pocket while walking over to the bed to check on


    Sonia''s eyes. After the examination, he opened her medical record folder and started jotting down


    points while asking her some questions.


    Once Sonia had answered all his questions, he nodded. "Okay. I understand your overall situation now.


    Your eye is in good condition, so we can proceed with the surgery. Let''s arrange it for tomorrow at


    noon. I''ll be free during that time." Closing the folder with a p, he exined to her.


    Sonia replied curtly in agreement. "Sure. Let''s get the surgery done tomorrow, but will the surgery


    cause any harm to my child?" After all, she had always been wary about not getting sick because she


    worried that the medication that she might take would affect the child. She was even more worried that


    if her sickness was severe, she would have no choice but to abort the child. Hence, she was now


    concerned whether surgery would cause harm to the child in her belly.


    On the other hand, Mary looked at Tim anxiously upon hearing Sonia''s question.


    Then, he pushed his sses upward. "Don''t worry. It''s only eye surgery, not anything serious. You don''t


    have to take any medication either after the surgery. You only have to inject a local anesthetic during


    the surgery, which won''t affect the baby."


    After hearing that, Sonia and Mary breathed sighs of relief.


    "Thank goodness." Mary patted her chest infort.


    After that, Tim headed to theb with the thermal sk in his hand. Mary tagged along to obtain the


    results as soon as possible. The test didn''t take long, and he was out of theb in no time.


    She sped her hands tightly and hurriedly questioned, "How did it go, Dr. Lancaster? Is the broth safe


    to drink?"


    He handed the sk back to her and replied, "Yes. It really is a nutritious broth that benefits pregnant


    women. Sonia can rest assured of drinking it. I misunderstood Julia."


    She was relieved to hear that. Smiling while taking the sk, she said, "Mrs. Gray doesn''t seem like


    she would harm Young Mistress Sonia."


    "Even so, you must still be wary. The Grays might not hurt Sonia, but Toby has many enemies. It''s hard


    to predict whether those enemies will use Titus and his wife to hurt Sonia and Toby. From now on,


    everything that is given by Mrs. Gray should be brought to theb for testing. I will let the other staff in


    theb know so that they will also assist you whenever I''m not in," Tim advised.


    Mary nodded and thought he sounded reasonable. "You''re right, Dr. Lancaster. We should''ve done so


    in the beginning. Next time, I will bring everything over here for testing before giving them to Young


    Mistress Sonia. I''ll be taking my leave now, then."


    "Sure," he hummed.


    Carrying the thermal sk, Mary went up to the ward. She also gave Julia a call on the way. However,


    she didn''t have her number, but Julia attached a note with her number on it when she passed the sk


    to her earlier. Mary''s initial reaction was to throw it away, but after pondering about it, she decided to


    keep it. She was d she could use it to contact Julia now.

 Chapter 1542

    Chapter 1542


    Chapter 1442 Lab Results


    After returning home from Trifecta Hospital, Julia had been glued to her phone. She couldn''t even keep


    track of how many times she checked her phone. Although Titus told her to check backter, she gave


    him a perfunctory hum in response and kept staring at the phone like she was expecting a call.


    However, he knew what she was anticipating, and that was nothing but a call or text message from her


    daughter.


    When she returned home, she told her husband she didn''t manage to meet Sonia, but she met her


    caretaker, who agreed to bring the broth to their daughter. Since then, Julia had anxiously awaited a


    message or phone call letting her know whether or not her daughter enjoyed the broth.


    However, her phone never rang after waiting so long, leaving her anxious and downcast. She even


    wondered if her phone had broken down, as there were no iing messages or calls. Despite that,


    she was well aware that her phone was functioning perfectly. Ultimately, she concluded that there were


    no iing calls or text messages because they had never called or texted in the first ce.


    "Titus, do you think Sonny didn''t even drink the broth? Is that why she''s not calling?" Julia asked her


    husband with an ashen face.


    Patting her hands in reassurance, Titus replied, "Don''t worry. If Sonny doesn''t have it, you can prepare


    it daily and send it to her. I believe she will drink it one day. It''s natural for her to refuse any food we


    give her because she hasn''t epted us as her parents yet."


    "I know, but I can''t help but feel sad," she sighed.


    "It''s going to be fine. Give our daughter some time to get used to it. Perhaps, you can try thinking in her


    shoes. If she had biological parents who used to bully her adoptive parents, you''d feel the same way as


    her." Having an unbiased perspective allowed him to offer Julia some sce.


    Hearing that, she nodded in response. "We have no choice but to wait, then. I''ll get some ingredients to


    make the same broth for her tomorrow."


    "Sure," Titus agreed with her.


    In fact, she could''ve let the maids do it on her behalf, but she wanted to pick the ingredients by herself


    and cook for her daughter. It was more meaningful that way. Hence, Titus didn''t stop her from doing


    that. If it wasn''t for his health condition, he would apany her to the grocery store to help her out.


    Then, Julia grabbed her bag and left, but her phone rang. She quickly halted in her steps. "Honey, do


    you think it''s a call from Sonny?" She couldn''t help but feel excited by that thought.


    Titus thought the chances weren''t high, but he didn''t want to dampen her mood, so he nodded, "I think


    so. Pick it up."


    "Okay." Julia nodded decisively. So, she quickly fished out the phone from her bag, and when she saw


    the name on the screen, she was stunned.


    Seeing that, he sensed that his assumption was correct. It was indeed their daughter who called, but


    he still asked, "Who is it? Is it Sonny?"


    She shook her head in response and said, "No. It''s an unknown local number."


    "Answer it. Didn''t you mention that you gave your phone number to Sonny''s caretaker? Perhaps, it''s a


    call from her."


    At that moment, Titus'' reminder managed to disperse Julia''s depressive mood. He''s right. It could be a


    call from the caretaker. Soon, the hope in her heart was ignited once again. Swiping the answer key,


    she greeted, "Hello?"


    "I hope I''m not disturbing you, Mrs. Gray," Mary said as she exited the elevator.


    Julia''s mood was lifted again when she heard the familiar voice.


    Seeing her wife''s expression, Titus was again confident that he had guessed it right. Even though it


    wasn''t a call from their daughter, it was from her caretaker. That should be considered a call from their


    daughter too.


    "Of course not. Y-You''re Mary, right?" Julia asked tentatively. Before leaving the hospital, she asked the


    nurses for Mary''s name, but she wasn''t sure if they had given her the proper name.


    On the other hand, Mary wasn''t surprised that Julia knew her name since it wasn''t a secret. She


    could''ve easily obtained the information if she had asked around. "That''s right." She nodded.


    Hearing that she called Mary''s name right, Julia breathed a sigh of relief and asked anxiously, "Did


    Sonny tell you to call me?"


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    "No." Mary shook her head. "I called you voluntarily."


    "I see¡ª" A sh of disappointment flickered in Julia''s eyes.


    Mary could hear the sudden drop in her tone and chuckled, "Don''t be too sad, Mrs. Gray. Even though


    it wasn''t Young Mistress Sonia who told me to call you, she didn''t stop me from calling you either."


    It sounds reasonable. Julia''s mood lifted once again when she heard that. It''s funny how my mood


    fluctuates over a short period, she mused. "Is something the matter, Mary? Is there¡­ something wrong


    with the broth?" she inquired tentatively as if not wanting to offend Mary. After all, Mary is a person who


    is very close to Sonia. What if I was barred from seeing my daughter because I had offended her?


    Maybe if I tter her, I can get information about my daughter.


    Meanwhile, Mary could hear the cautious tone in her voice. She sighed when she knew why Julia was


    trying to butter her up. Every parent in the world does think alike. Even though I couldn''t judge Julia


    and Titus'' character, at least I can say their feelings and intentions toward Sonia are genuine. "Well,


    Young Mistress Sonia drank your broth." She nodded.


    Hearing that Sonia willingly drank the broth, Julia was overjoyed. "Really? Did she really take it?" She


    thought Sonia hated them so much that she would refuse to drink them, but unexpectedly, she did.


    "Yes, Young Mistress Sonia said she liked it," answered Mary with a smile.


    "That''s wonderful!" Julia paced back and forth in excitement. "Sonny didn''t refuse to drink the broth I


    prepared for her! She drank it! Titus, did you hear me? Sonny took it!"


    "I heard it." Titus returned her a smile and a nod. He was as overjoyed as she was.


    "By the way, did Sonny feel any difort after drinking the broth?" Julia asked again. Despite its


    purported usefulness for women withplicated pregnancies, there was no way to know if Sonia


    would experience any adverse effects from the broth. So, naturally, she had been fretting the whole


    time.


    Mary shook her head. "You can rest assured, Mrs. Gray. Young Mistress Sonia doesn''t feel any


    difort after drinking it. She even imed that her stomach felt warm. That''s why I called to ask you


    for the recipe. Would you mind teaching me so that I can make it for her?"


    "Of course!" Julia agreed without hesitation. She knew that Sonia might not drink her broth every single


    time, so it was better to pass the recipe to Mary. After all, Mary would be serving her daughter her own


    broth if she prepared it since she was the one who provided the recipe.


    Mary''s opinion of Julia grew significantly after hearing her willingness to share the recipe. "Great. You


    may tell me over the phone, and I''ll jot it down." While saying that, she turned on the voice recording


    application on her phone.


    Afterward, Julia exined the cooking method and ingredients of the broth in detail without omitting


    any steps.


    Once Mary had it all recorded, she expressed her gratitude. "I have it all recorded. Thank you, Mrs.


    Gray."

 Chapter 1543

    Chapter 1543


    Chapter 1443 Unchanged Belly


    Julia shook her hands repeatedly. "Don''t worry about it! We''re doing all this for Sonny. It''s my job.


    Besides, I have a lot of nourishing recipes for pregnant women. If you''re willing to learn, I can teach


    you."


    "Oh? You have a lot of nourishing recipes?" Mary was surprised to hear that.


    Julia chuckled in embarrassment. "Titus and I were not fit to have children initially, but we were eager


    to bear one. Hence, I consulted numerous medical professionals and tried numerous dietary


    supplements to improve my overall health in preparation for IVF. After giving birth to Sonny, my body


    condition declined, so Titus sought advice from many health experts. That''s how I obtained all my


    recipes."


    "I see." Mary nodded, feeling pretty sentimental. She didn''t expect Titus and his wife to endure so much


    trouble and sacrifice to give birth to Sonia. Apart from that, they are indeed good parents. "Sure.


    Please teach me if youe again next time," she added.


    Julia was overjoyed to learn that Mary was giving her another opportunity to visit the hospital, even if


    she couldn''t see Sonny. There is still a chance that I can see my daughter if I make the trip. "Thank


    you. Thank you so much, Mary." Clutching her phone tightly, she expressed her gratitude in excitement.


    Mary shook her head. "It''s no big deal, but I must remind you that Young Master Toby and Young


    Mistress Sonia have many enemies. Please be careful whenever you bring anything over. Don''t allow


    anyone to tamper with the things you bring to prevent hurting Young Mistress Sonia."


    Hearing Mary''s reminder, Julia was initially stunned but quickly returned to her senses. "Got it. I will


    look out and never allow anyone toy a finger on my daughter."


    "Good. I''ll hang up now. Please give me a call before youe next time." After saying that, Mary


    hung up.


    When Julia ced her phone down, Titus asked, "What did she tell you? What''s up aboutying a


    finger on Sonny?"


    Since it was about their daughter, she answered him truthfully.


    After he heard that, a stern look was stered on his sunken face. "I recall the Fullers have an


    archenemy, the Salzburg Family from Westsanshire. Recently, rumors about Homer Fuller''s death back


    then were rted to Connor Salzburg, the head of the Salzburg Family from Westsanshire. We don''t


    know if it''s true, but it is highly possible. Connor is still in Seafield, and I also heard that Toby made


    sure every exit of Seafield was blocked to trap Connor in here. Since he isn''t allowing Connor to leave


    must mean that the rumors are true."


    "In that case, Connor might attack our daughter to go against Toby. Am I right?" Julia felt her heart


    clench.


    Titus nodded. "Correct. Toby is powerful, but Connor is alone here. There is no way he would confront


    Toby alone, so Connor will likely use other means to go against him. The only possibility, for now, is our


    daughter because she is Toby''s lover. I can''t rule out the possibility of Connor using our daughter to


    confront Toby."


    "What should we do, then?" She became anxious upon hearing that. "If Mary already reminded me


    beforehand, Toby must know that Connor had such ns. What is he doing? Shouldn''t he attack


    Connor right away? Why does he permit such a threatening man to lurk about?"


    Titus sighed. "It''s not as simple as you think. Firstly, because of Norman Fuller, Toby won''t attack


    Connor outrightly because it will greatly reduce the credit left by Norman. Secondly, although the


    Salzburg Family are not as powerful as the Fullers, they are notcking too far behind. If Toby takes


    action against Connor, the Salzburg Family will lose their head and that will affect thepanies under


    them. Many employees will lose their jobs, and worsees to worst; some of their families might


    even be destroyed. The country won''t allow something like that to happen." Then, he pointed toward


    the top.


    Despite herck of business knowledge, Julia was still aware of what the country would approve or


    disapprove of. Consequently, she couldn''t help but sigh. "I see, but isn''t it annoying that we must leave


    Connor out there?"


    "I''m sure Toby has his ns, so don''t worry. So, we must be careful and prevent causing even more


    trouble to Toby and Sonny," Titus reassured her.


    She nodded in response. "That''s the only way for now. From now on, I''ll be extra cautious, so those


    with bad intentions won''t hurt our daughter."


    At that, he hummed and said, "Yes."


    "I''m going to get pen and paper and write down all the healthy recipes I can make for Sonny. I''ll be able


    to use it when I visit next time." While saying that, Julia felt her mood lighten again as she entered the


    study.


    Influenced by her spirit, Titus smiled.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    In the following days, Julia visited First World Hospital frequently. Almost every day at 9.00AM, she


    would arrive at the hospital on time. At first, she couldn''t go up to the wards, so Mary woulde down


    every day to greet her. After that, Sonia felt sorry for Mary because she had to go up and down the


    stairs, so she let Juliae to the ward.


    In the meantime, Julia and Mary made broth for Sonia in the kitchen.


    On the other hand, that day also marked the beginning of Sonia''s third month of pregnancy. She stood


    before the mirror and lifted her shirt to look at her growing belly. My belly hasn''t changed much, except


    for a slight rounding around my belly button. Unless I concentrate on looking for it, it isn''t visible.


    She read on the Inte that many pregnant women would have a protruding belly in the third month of


    their pregnancy, but hers was still pretty t. If it wasn''t clinically proven that she was pregnant, she


    would have thought she wasn''t.


    While thinking about that, Julia suddenly came over and asked urgently, "What are you doing, Sonny?"


    "Huh?" Sonia turned around with a puzzled look.


    Then, Julia hurriedly came up to her and pulled her shirt down. "What are you doing with your belly


    exposed? What if you catch a cold? You gotta be careful." While muttering, she straightened Sonia''s


    clothes.


    Sonia felt emotional watching Julia, who was nagging at her with a concerned expression. "I-I can do it


    myself." She gently pushed Julia away and straightened her clothes.


    Julia was slightly disappointed when Sonia pushed her away, but she reminded her, "Sonny, don''t


    expose your belly next time. What if you catch a cold? You''re weak and pregnant. If you get sick, it will


    take a long time for you to recover."


    Sonia merely listened without saying a word.


    At that moment, Mary came out of the kitchen holding a pan. Watching the mother and daughter


    standing in front of the mirror, she inquired, "What''s wrong?"


    "It''s nothing, Mary. Sonny pulled her shirt up and looked at her own reflection. I worried she might catch


    a cold, so I made her wear her shirt properly." Julia went over and ced a potholder for Mary.


    After cing the pot down, Mary looked at Sonia lying in bed. Then, she asked curiously, "Why did you


    lift your clothes earlier, Young Mistress Sonia?"


    Sonia chuckled out of embarrassment. "I only want to see if there are any changes to my belly. I read


    online that pregnant women will see a visible change in their bellies, so I wanted to see mine, but


    nothing seems to have changed."

 Chapter 1544

    Chapter 1544


    Chapter 1444 Gradual eptance


    Julia and Mary exchanged a nce before bursting intoughter. Sonia cocked her head, perplexed as


    to what was so amusing.


    Then, Mary exined, "Young Mistress Sonia, it''s normal to not show any changes. Every woman''s


    body is different, so their pregnancy can vary. Some women notice visible changes in their bellies after


    two or three months, while others may not notice much difference until four or five months. You are


    most likely one of thetter."


    Julia nodded in agreement. "That''s right. When I was pregnant with you, it was the same. Even at five


    or six months, my belly looked like someone else who was only three months pregnant. My belly


    looked like someone else''s at five or six months only when I was close to full term. I didn''t show much."


    Surprisingly, this trait was passed down to her daughter, which made her happy and excited.


    Now, I understand. After listening to their exnation, Sonia nodded in realization. "I thought everyone


    was the same, so when I didn''t see much change in my belly, I was worried that something might be


    wrong with the baby."


    Mary approached Sonia and gently patted her head, saying, "Don''t worry, Young Mistress Sonia. This


    is a hospital, and you have regr check-ups with the doctors and nurses. If there were any problems,


    they would have told you."


    Sonia pressed her lips together. "I guess I was overthinking it."


    "From now on, don''t overthink, and don''t worry," Mary smiled.


    Julia also nodded, supporting Mary''s words.


    Sonia looked at Julia for a moment before shifting her gaze ufortably. "So, when I''m ready to give


    birth, my belly won''t be too big either?" She touched her belly. "Does that mean the baby will be tiny


    when born?" If my baby is tiny, will his or her body be frail? What are the chances of its survival? She


    was worried thinking about it.


    Although Mary knew how to care for pregnant women, she had never had a child, so she looked to


    Julia for help. Julia sat down and replied, "Compared to normal babies, they might be a little smaller,


    but as long as they are born at full term, there won''t be any problems with their health. So, care for


    them; they''ll catch up to normal-sized babies soon enough. Sonny, don''t worry. When you were born,


    you were small and red all over, and your father and I thought you wouldn''t be able to survive well, but


    the doctors told me not to worry and to treat you like a normal-sized baby. Small babies develop quickly


    as long as they receive adequate nutrition. After one month, you were no different from a normal-sized


    baby." She spoke seriously, her eyes filled with confidence.


    Sonia knew her mother wouldn''t lie, and she finally nodded slowly. "I understand. Thank you¡ª"


    Julia happily waved her hand, saying there was no need to thank her. Then, she said excitedly, "Sonny,


    if you have any questions in the future, you can ask me. I''ll tell you everything."


    Sonia pressed her lips together again without a response.


    Julia''s eyes dimmed for a moment, but she quicklyforted herself. It''s okay; my daughter isn''t used


    to it yet. She would gradually ept me in the future.


    "What are you talking about?" At that moment, the door to the hospital room opened, and Toby walked


    in wearing a suit and carrying a bag. When he saw Julia, he wasn''t surprised at all, and he gave a


    friendly nod to her as a greeting. Furthermore, he was aware that she would be visiting her daughter.


    Julia was ttered and relieved by his initiative in greeting her. Sonia previously permitted her toe


    up, but Julia did not stay as long as she did that day, so she did not see him. Since Julia thought he


    wouldn''t expect her, she braced for an immediate request to leave upon their brief encounter. Instead,


    he greeted her, indicating that he also favored her visiting Sonia. Then, she gazed at Sonia with


    maternal affection in her eyes.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Suddenly, Sonia noticed that, and her heart trembled. So, she quickly lowered her head to avoid Julia''s


    eye. She didn''t dare to look too much, as she was afraid that if she looked too long, she would be


    immersed in Julia''s gaze and unable to extricate herself. Moreover, she knew how fascinating maternal


    love could be.


    "Young Master Toby, you''re back." Mary was the only one who didn''t have a change in mood. When


    she saw Toby return, she happily brought a chair for him.


    However, he didn''t sit on the chair but came to the bedside, pulled Sonia into his arms, and kissed her


    face. Although she was used to his hugs and kisses every time he came back, it was always in the


    absence of others. Now Mary and Julia were here too. So, Sonia blushed and pushed the man away,


    shyly saying, "What are you doing? People are watching."


    "We''re a married couple, so let them watch." He didn''t care. Besides, he didn''t do anything else.


    Mary covered her mouth andughed happily. Julia also looked at the two of them with gratification. It


    was great that her daughter could meet a man who loved her.


    "By the way, what were you talking about earlier?" he asked, handing the bag to Mary.


    The bag contained spicy food that Sonia asked Toby to bring when he went out that morning. He didn''t


    allow it initially, but he softened when he saw her longing gaze and finally agreed. Mary also said that


    pregnant women''s tastes were constantly changing during pregnancy. If they couldn''t eat what they


    wanted, they would keep thinking about it, so it was eptable to let Sonia eat a little. As long as she


    didn''t overeat it, it wouldn''t hurt.


    So, after work, he returned to the old manor and brought some spicy sauce from there. After all, he


    didn''t trust the food outside. Then, Mary took the bag and went back to the kitchen. Her dishes were


    missing a bit of spicy sauce, so she had to add it.


    Therefore, thest person to answer was Julia. She repeated what Sonia had done earlier while


    laughing. Sonia was quite embarrassed and lowered her head. After all, her action of pulling up her


    clothes and looking in the mirror appeared to be childish and ridiculous.


    When he heard that, his thin lips curled up. My silly darling! How cute she is.


    Julia stayed for about half an hour and then said goodbye. After all, Trifecta Hospital was waiting for


    her to return, and Titus also needed her. Althoughmuting between two hospitals daily was tiring,


    she didn''t feel tired. On the contrary, she was happy as she could see her daughter, and when she


    returned, she could see her husband. What could be morefortable than this in life?


    Shortly after Julia left, Sonia and Toby had dinner. The dinner was exceptionally vorful, focusing on


    sour and fiery notes. Seeing the food, her eyes shone, and she couldn''t stop salivating in her mouth.


    Then, she eagerly picked up her fork and reached for the spicy fish before her.


    He frowned slightly, feeling worried about the spiciness of the food. However, Mary noticed and


    reassured him, saying, "Young Master Toby, don''t worry. Although it appeared spicy, I kept the spicy


    sauce to a minimum. It''s not too spicy, and it''s okay for Young Mistress Sonia to have a little bit. I''ll


    make sure she doesn''t overeat. So, let her have a taste to satisfy her cravings."


    He nodded after hearing that and started to eat. After finishing their meal, the two of them left the


    hospital room together to go see Taylor.

 Chapter 1545

    Chapter 1545


    Chapter 1445 Take Care of Them


    Initially, they were supposed to go in the morning, but Toby received a call from Tom, saying that there


    was an important project that needed his attention and a meeting he needed to attend. So, Sonia had


    to let him go to Fuller Group first and take care of his business before returning to be with her.


    Therefore, the matter was dyed.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    "Oh, by the way, how many days has Taylor been locked up?" She smiled at the man beside her who


    was carefully supporting her. I''m not even close to being full term, so what''s the point of him propping


    me like I''m about to give birth when I''m not giving birth for a while longer? She told him not to do it, but


    he didn''t listen. There was nothing she could do but follow him.


    "It''s been four days," he replied.


    After hearing that, she nodded and said, "After today, don''t lock her up anymore. Keeping her locked


    up is not a workable approach."


    "Okay," Toby promised. Of course, he did what his wife said. Moreover, he had nned to hand Taylor


    to Tim after seeing her that day. Moreover, that guy had been thinking about it for a long time. Tim


    could do much worse things to a person. Still, Sonia didn''t know anything about that, and Toby didn''t


    n on telling her.


    Soon, the two arrived outside the room where Taylor was locked up. The bodyguards greeted the two


    and opened the door. She was still tightly tied up on the bed, and only during meals and going to the


    bathroom was she allowed some short-lived freedom when the bodyguards untied her. Nheless,


    she spent the rest of the time being tied up. At first, Taylor shouted and screamed, hoping someone


    would hear and rescue her. Later, she realized that no matter how loud she yelled, no one would


    release her because it was all Toby''s territory. So, these past two days, she hadpletely calmed


    down and spent her days staring at the ceiling. She didn''t think about how long he would keep her


    locked up or how he would deal with her. Nevertheless, she only worried about how Titus was at that


    moment.


    Suddenly, the door opened. Taylor thought it was one of the bodyguards, but she quickly turned her


    head when she heard Toby''s gentle voice. "Be careful."


    She observed him support Sonia as they entered. Then, Taylor quickly begged, "President Fuller, I was


    wrong. Please forgive me, President Fuller. I won''t appear in front of Miss Reed again. I only want to go


    back and see my dad. President Fuller, please."


    However, he seemed to not hear her and continued to support Sonia as they walked forward. They


    finally stopped at the bed. He lowered his eyes slightly and looked at her coldly, "Release you? Then,


    what about the harm you caused to my wife? Should that be forgotten?"


    Taylor''s pupils contracted, and she looked at the woman next to him and begged again, "Miss Reed, I


    was wrong. I really know I was wrong. I shouldn''t have appeared in front of you or told you those


    things. Please forgive me. I did everything to save someone, especially since that person is your


    biological father. Please spare me this time, Miss Reed. I won''t say anything about saving dad again. I''ll


    go back and take care of him. Will that be okay, Miss Reed? Please, I''m begging you." She meant


    every word of her plea and would grovel at their feet if she weren''t bound.


    On the other hand, Sonia never expected that Taylor would care so much about Titus and his wife. I


    assumed she disguised herself as me because of the Gray Family''s wealth and status. Nevertheless, I


    can see that she genuinely thought of Titus and his wife as her parents due to the caring way they


    treated her. Suddenly, the mere thought of that and theplexity of emotions made her uneasy. Titus


    and his wife treat Taylor with such kindness because they believe she is me; thus, their love is for me.


    "Miss Reed¡ª" Taylor cried uncontrobly as Sonia suddenly became lost in thought and didn''t


    respond. "Miss Reed, please. Dad''s health is in a bad state. I must go back to his side and take care of


    him. I don''t know if I''ll be able to see him for thest time. I know I impersonated you, and you don''t


    want to acknowledge your parents, but why don''t you let me return to them and take care of them?"


    Hearing that, Sonia was taken aback by her words. She didn''t want to acknowledge Titus and his wife,


    but she also didn''t have the right to stop Taylor from caring for them. After all, they treated Taylor well,


    and she regarded them as her parents. In a way, they were mutually beneficial.


    "I understand; I''ll let you goter," Sonia said softly, looking down.


    After hearing what his wife said, Toby furrowed his brows slightly but said nothing.


    On the other hand, Taylor was overjoyed as she thanked Sonia repeatedly.


    "You don''t have to thank me. I''m only letting you go because of them. I almost lost my child because of


    you, and if it weren''t for them, I never would have let you go," Sonia said coldly. After all, she couldn''t


    forgive Taylor for almost causing her to lose her child. Still, Titus needed someone to take care of him.


    Julia would surelye here daily, but Titus was alone in the hospital. Although he had doctors,


    nurses, and caregivers, he didn''t have anyone close to care for him. While she couldn''t acknowledge


    her parents, she hade to terms with the fact that Titus didn''t have much time left and would let him


    live out hisst days in peace. After Titus passed away, everything would be over. She could let go of


    the grudges between the two families and live a happy life without carrying a heavy burden.


    "Let''s go, dear." Sonia turned around and grabbed her husband''s arm.


    "Are we leaving so soon? Don''t you want to ask Taylor anything else?" Toby raised an eyebrow.


    "No, let''s go." She hade to ask Taylor some questions, but seeing how Taylor cared for her


    parents, she suddenly didn''t want to ask anymore. That was fine; if she couldn''t acknowledge her


    parents, she could let Taylor go in her stead to take care of them. That was the only thing she could do.


    As they left the ward, Sonia leaned on the man''s chest, and he held her waist. In a gentle voice, he


    said, "What''s wrong? Are you tired?"


    "Mm, I''m a little tired." She nodded with her eyes closed. Her voice was soft and coy as she continued,


    "Honey, I don''t want to walk."


    Toby chuckled, obviously enjoying the woman''s coyness. He picked her up and said, "I''ll carry you


    back."


    "Is your arm better now?" she asked with her eyes half-open.


    The man walked with her effortlessly in his arms. "Don''t worry, it''s already healed. Even if it hasn''t,


    carrying you won''t be a problem."


    He was holding his wife. She was his most beloved woman; even if his arm was still hurting, he would


    still be willing to do it.


    Sonia smiled happily and said, "Honey, you''re so good to me."


    "I''ll always be good to you forever." Toby lowered his head and kissed her forehead.


    Nurses passing by saw the couple so in love and smiled at them. Some fans secretly took pictures of


    the couple''s backs and posted them on social media. Netizens couldn''t help but exim how sweet


    they were.

 Chapter 1546

    Chapter 1546


    Chapter 1446 The Funny Tyler


    Toby noticed the girls taking photos, but seeing as they had no ill intentions and were simply wishing


    them well, he didn''t pay them any mind and let them take their pictures. When he returned to the


    hospital room with Sonia in his arms, she was already asleep.


    The saying "pregnant women love to sleep" was very true. In Sonia''s current condition, she slept for


    more than 10 hours a day. However, this was not a bad thing. Pregnant women who slept more meant


    that the baby was developing well and the pregnant woman''s body was also healthy.


    "Take care of Little Leaf, I''ll go out for a bit," Toby said to Mary after covering Sonia with a nket.


    Mary nodded and said, "Don''t worry, Young Master Toby, I''ll watch over Young Mistress Sonia. You can


    go."


    Toby nodded in response, then turned and left the room. However, just as he stepped out, he met Tyler,


    who came over with bodyguards. Tyler was carrying many gifts and when he saw Toby, he smiled


    happily, showing his white teeth and waving. "Toby, it''s me."


    Toby frowned and asked, "Why are you here?"


    "Hehe. I came to see Sonia and my future niece," Tyler said with a grin.


    Toby raised an eyebrow and asked, "How do you know it''s a niece? What if it''s a nephew?"


    After all, it was a 50-50 chance. Before the child was born, no one knew the gender, and he wouldn''t


    inquire. To him, children were the same. They were the product of his and his wife''s love.


    "It must be a niece. I like nieces," Tyler shook the bags in his hand. "Look, these are gifts I prepared for


    Sonia and my niece. They are all things girls like, so it must be a niece."


    Toby snickered. Just because Tyler bought things that girls liked, he was convinced that Sonia''s belly


    held a daughter. Tyler was indeed quite a dumb brother who only grew older and not wiser. Tyler, on


    the other hand, didn''t know that Toby had already ssified him as one of the dumb ones in his heart.


    At that moment, he was stillughing foolishly.


    "Toby, where''s Sonia?"


    "Inside," Toby answered without concealing anything.


    Tyler was about to walk in, but Toby stopped him. Puzzled, Tyler asked, "Why?"


    "Sonia is asleep; you''ll disturb her if you go in," Toby said coldly.


    Tyler was unhappy and said, "No, I''ll be quiet. I won''t disturb Sonia. I''ll wait for her to wake up inside. I


    want to personally give her these things. Toby, let me go in."


    "No, you can wait outside. When Sonia wakes up, you can go in," Toby said firmly, then gave a nod to


    the bodyguard behind Tyler.


    The bodyguard nodded and said, "Don''t worry, President Fuller, I''ll watch over Young Master Tyler. I


    won''t let him in, let alone cause amotion."


    "Okay." Toby nodded satisfactorily and was about to leave when Tyler asked, "Where are you going,


    Toby?"


    "I have something to do," Toby replied lightly before his figure disappeared into the elevator.


    He was going to find Tim and have him bring Taylor over. Although Sonia promised to spare Taylor, he


    did not agree. Taylor nearly caused him to lose his wife and child. Hence, he couldn''t let this go. He


    would make Taylor suffer before releasing her to take care of Titus. Furthermore, nobody knew if Titus


    would still be alive then.


    Thus, Taylor was taken out of her room that night, and only Toby and Tim knew where she had been


    taken to. When Toby returned to the hospital room, Sonia had already woken up and was chatting with


    Tyler. Toby didn''t know what Tyler had said, but it made herugh non-stop. This made Toby look at


    Tyler a little more favorably. Although this brother of his was stupid, seeing how Tyler could make Sonia


    happy, he could begrudgingly keep Tyler around.


    However, Tyler was quite true to his word. He said he would wait until Sonia woke up, and he did wait


    until Sonia woke up. It seemed that in the future, Toby could have this guye over often. When Toby


    wasn''t around to apany Sonia, he could let this guye and keep Soniapany and make her


    happy.


    "What are you talking about? Why are youughing so happily?" Toby pushed the door open and


    walked straight to Sonia. He held her in his arms and asked gently.


    When Tyler saw this, he was full of envy. "Toby and Sonia, do you have to do this and bully a single


    man like me?"


    Sonia covered her mouth and chuckled. Toby merely gave him a disdainful nce and said, "Who


    asked you to look?"


    "You guys are right in front of me. How can I not look?" Tyler said angrily.


    Toby frowned. "You can close your eyes."


    "You¡­" Tyler was so angry that he couldn''t speak, he then turned to Sonia andined, "Sonia,


    look at your man. He''s bullying his little brother. It''s too much. Sonia, can you help me teach him a


    lesson?"


    "Darling, you wouldn''t do that, right?" Toby turned to look at Sonia, asking pitifully.


    Sonia couldn''t stopughing. "Okay, you two, stop messing around. You''re 31 years old and you''re still


    competing with a teenager who hasn''t evene of age. You really need to grow up."


    "That''s right." Seeing Sonia speaking up for him, Tyler became proud. He even dared to look at Toby


    provocatively with contempt.


    Toby narrowed his eyes and coldly stared at him. "You''ll run out of pocket money this month."


    "No, don''t!" Tyler suddenly became weak like a defeated rooster. Instantly, he became dejected.


    Sonia couldn''t stopughing as she covered her mouth.


    "You still haven''t answered me. What were you guys talking about just now?" Toby asked again.


    Sonia replied with a smile, "Tyler was telling me all sorts of interesting things that happened during his


    competition, so I couldn''t help butugh."


    "I see." Toby nodded before looking back at Tyler. "From now on, before your nextpetition starts,


    you will report here every day and keep Soniapany to make her happy."


    "What''s in it for me?" Tyler''s eyes instantly lit up.


    Toby had originally wanted to scold him, but he thereafter thought that Tyler only had this one use, so


    he gave up the idea.


    "I''ll double your pocket money."


    "Okay," Tyler agreed without hesitation, afraid that he might miss the opportunity. Being able toe


    and apany Sonia every day to pass the time and earn double pocket money¡­ Who wouldn''t want


    such a good thing?


    "Don''t worry, Toby." Tyler stood up and patted his chest. "When you''re busy, I''ll take good care of Sonia


    in a conscientious, meticulous, and painstaking manner so that she''ll be happy."


    He had a serious expression as if entrusted with an important task. Mary and Soniaughed


    uncontrobly on the side. Only Toby was more disgusted than ever. It seems like I''ve forgotten to


    improve his studies while supporting him in his basketball games. I''ll have to start making him catch up


    on his studies from now on.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    At this moment, Tyler only knew that he would have more pocket money in the future, but he didn''t


    know that he would have more schoolwork to do. If he knew, he would definitely regret why he gave


    himself so much trouble.


    "By the way, Toby, what were you doing earlier?" Sonia suddenly looked at the man and asked.

 Chapter 1547

    Chapter 1547


    Chapter 1447 Change in Tastes


    After waking up and Toby was nowhere to be seen, Sonia thought he had gone back to thepany.


    However, Mary told her that he didn''t go to work, so she was curious about where he went for the past


    few hours. Toby''s eyes flickered when he heard Sonia''s question, he then replied, "You said you


    wanted to release Taylor, so I arranged it."


    This statement was half true and half false. He did release Taylor, but he also handed her over to Tim.


    It wasn''t his concern how Tim would deal with that woman.


    Sonia nodded and responded, "I see."


    She didn''t ask any more questions about Taylor. Her feelings toward Taylor wereplex, and she


    didn''t want to annoy herself by constantly asking about thetter. Toby knew she wouldn''t ask about


    Taylor anymore, so he pretended to agree to release Taylor but actually transferred her elsewhere.


    Tyler, who was sitting nearby, asked, "Who is this Taylor that you guys are talking about?" He looked


    puzzled and disapproving when he heard her name. "This name sounds horrible to me."


    Toby nced at him and said, "It''s none of your business. It''ste, so you should go back now. I''ll have


    someone send you back."


    Tyler looked out the window and saw the neon lights shining brightly outside. It was indeedte. He


    stood up and said, "Okay, then I''ll leave now, otherwise my mother will be calling me again. Sonia, I''ll


    come to see you and my niece tomorrow."


    Sonia smiled and nodded. "Okay, see you."


    Looks like Tyler probably wants me to have a daughter.


    Since she woke up in the afternoon, he had been saying that she was carrying a daughter in her belly.


    Even though she told him it was a matter of probability and she couldn''t be sure if it was a son or


    daughter until the baby was born, he firmly believed it was a girl. Despite that, no matter whether it was


    a son or daughter, she loved her child. It would be nice if it was a daughter in the end as her uncle


    would surely love her too.


    "I''ll have someone send you back," Toby said. He also stood up and prepared to escort Tyler to the


    elevator while arranging for a bodyguard to apany him. After all, as Tyler''s older brother, he was


    not at ease with letting a teenager head back by himself.


    Toby rubbed Sonia''s hair, saying, "Darling, wait for me toe back."


    Sonia responded with an "Mm-hmm" and told him to go ahead. "Go ahead, the sooner you go, the


    sooner you''lle back."


    "Okay." Toby withdrew his hand and gently responded.


    However, the moment Toby turned around, his expression immediately turned from gentle to disdainful.


    "Let''s go."


    "Toby, you changed your expression so quickly. You were being so nice to Sonia earlier, but now you''re


    so cold to me," Tyler said, his mouth twitching.


    "Are you Sonia?" Toby red at him and said disapprovingly.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Tyler hummed and replied, "No, but I''m your little brother. You''re so cold and disdainful toward your


    own brother. That''s too much."


    "If you were a little smarter, I wouldn''t be so cold and disdainful toward you. Who told you to be so


    stupid? You''re the dumbest one in our family," Toby said mercilessly.


    Tyler was speechless and walked ahead angrily. Sonia and Mary listened to the bickering between the


    two brothers and shook their heads, finding it funny.


    "Young Master Toby likes to tease Young Master Tyler," Marymented.


    Sonia drank some milk and said, "I can understand. Tyler is like a barrel of gunpowder. He explodes at


    the slightest provocation, making it irresistible for people to tease him."


    "Exactly. Young Master Tyler has always been this way since he was a child. He hasn''t changed at all.


    Whenever you tease him, he gets agitated, but he''s not unlikeable. Instead, he bes more and


    more fun to tease. You could say that Young Master Tyler was raised by Young Master Toby''s teasing,"


    Mary said while sitting beside her while cutting fruit for her.


    Sonia nodded and said, "Luckily, Tyler didn''t inherit as many bad habits from Jean, or else he wouldn''t


    be as fun to be around as he is now."


    "That''s because they have good genes," Mary said with a smile. "Thank goodness that neither Young


    Master Toby nor Young Master Tyler is like their mothers, or else they would have rather terrible


    characters. Young Master Toby''s mother is extremely obsessed with love. As for Young Master Tyler''s


    mother¡­ Let''s not mention her. In any case, if the two of them took after their mothers, it would be


    terrifying and the Fuller Family would be finished."


    Sonia shuddered after hearing Mary''s words as she tried to imagine what the two men would be like if


    they took after their mothers.


    "You''re right. If they take after their mothers, it would be too scary," she replied.


    "Yes, that''s why Old Mrs. Fuller often sighs with relief that it''s not hereditary," Mary said while cutting


    the apple into small pieces.


    Sonia curiously asked, "Mary, do you know how Toby''s father and Jean met and fell in love?"


    She had wanted to ask this for a long time, but she had held back from asking Toby because he might


    not know the full story. In addition to that, it was about his father''s past, which might be difficult for him


    to talk about. So, she had refrained from asking. But now that the topic hade up and there were


    only her and Mary there, she finally couldn''t resist asking.


    She wanted to know what kind of magic Jean had to make Toby''s father fall in love with her. Could it be


    that it was simply because Toby''s father liked a fresh new face to look at?


    Mary handed Sonia the sliced apples and said, "Well, to be honest, I don''t know all the details. I only


    know the general story. Young Master Toby''s parents were a mistake from the start. His mother didn''t


    love Young Master Fuller at all, so even after they got married, they never slept together. Even when


    she got pregnant with Toby, it wasn''t through natural conception but through IVF. This method was an


    insult to Young Master Fuller, and it could even make others think that he had a sexual problem.


    Nevertheless, Young Master Fuller loved her, so even though he had to endure rumors and ridicule, he


    still agreed to her request."


    "And then?" Sonia took a bite of the apple and asked.


    Mary sighed. "Young Master Fuller originally thought that once they got married, had a child, and spent


    more time together, Young Master Toby''s mother would eventually fall in love with him. After all, he was


    the one who had been with her, not Connor. So, after they got married, he would often try to make


    Toby''s mother happy in various ways. But over the many years, his enthusiasm gradually dimmed."


    "Because he didn''t expect Toby''s mother to love Connor so deeply," Sonia added.


    Mary nodded. "Yes, no one expected that woman to love Connor so much. Young Master Fuller had


    been with her for over a decade and still couldn''t win her heart. And yet, Connor had never contacted


    her or met her in person during all these years. I don''t know how she managed to hold onto her


    feelings, but she did."


    "Some people have different concepts of love," Sonia said after thinking for a moment. This seemed to


    be the only exnation.


    Mary looked at her. "Yes, as you youngsters like to say¡ªtheir thought processes are different."


    This made Soniaugh. "I didn''t expect you to be so up-to-date with the trends."


    "Of course." Mary smiled proudly before it quickly faded.


    "The passion of human beings is not a single unchanging emotion. Young Master Fuller tried for over a


    decade but couldn''t win over Young Master Toby''s mother. Over time, his feelings for her also faded,


    but he never fully let go. It wasn''t until Young Master Toby''s mother told him to find someone else so


    that she could divorce him that she finally broke Young Master Fuller''s heart and he decided to let her


    go."

 Chapter 1548

    Chapter 1548


    Chapter 1448 Business Trip


    "So, did he go and find Jean then?" Sonia blinked.


    Mary shook her head. "No. Although Young Master Fuller said he wouldn''t insist on wanting Young


    Master Toby''s mother''s love anymore, he also didn''t agree to find another woman. During that time,


    Young Master Fuller''s whole demeanor seemed to change. He became mentally unstable and often


    went out to drink. His habits werepletely different from before. He made Old Mrs. Fuller very


    worried. She even specially hired a psychologist to give him a checkup, believing that Young Master


    Fuller had been hurt badly by Young Master Toby''s mother. But Young Master Fuller refused


    everything, saying he didn''t want to see a doctor."


    "So, did he eventually see one?" Sonia asked. When people encountered setbacks and unexpected


    turns in life, their personalities could indeed undergo significant changes. It was the same for herself.


    The six years of hardship she had endured made her shudder to think about it now. How could that be


    her? Fortunately, she had changed and was no longer the same as before.


    "No." Mary shook her head. "Young Master Fuller may seem mild and easy-going, but when he''s


    stubborn, no one can handle him. Old Mrs. Fuller was extremely worried, thinking that Young Master


    Fuller would be like this for the rest of his life. But one day, he brought Jean back and said he had


    fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her. Old Mrs. Fuller was shocked and couldn''t believe that


    Young Master Fuller''s taste could be so bad by falling in love with such a woman."


    Sonia stroked her chin and said, "Mary, you just said that his personalitypletely changed because


    of Toby''s mother, and his habits werepletely opposite. Wasn''t it because of this that he fell in love


    with Jean?"


    After all, she had never seen her real mother-inw, but she knew that her mother-inw came from a


    wealthy family, had a gentle personality, and was knowledgeable and elegant. Jean, on the other hand,


    was theplete opposite.


    Mary nodded. "Young Mistress Sonia, you''re right. Young Master Fuller did fall in love with Jean


    because of this. Otherwise, how could he fall in love with Jean? At first, Old Mrs. Fuller was extremely


    worried about this, but Young Master Toby''s mother was very happy because Young Master Fuller had


    found the person he loved, and she could finally divorce him. So, she stopped Old Mrs. Fuller from


    continuing to look for a psychologist for Young Master Fuller, not wanting him to change back to his old


    self. She thought that if he did, her hope of leaving would be gone."


    Sonia furrowed her brow. "She''s really¡­"


    She didn''t know what to say. After all, as a daughter-inw, she couldn''t speak ill of her elders,


    especially those who had already passed away.


    "Young Master Toby''s mother was indeed rather too much in her actions, and Old Mrs. Fuller also


    regretted insisting that Young Master Fuller marry her. Nevertheless, it was toote then as it had been


    over 10 years. Old Mrs. Fuller wanted to force Young Master Fuller to see a psychologist, but in the


    end, Young Master Fuller told her that he knew the woman he fell in love with was not good enough,


    but at least they loved each other now. He didn''t want to live a painful life like Young Master Toby''s


    mother. So, his change of taste and preference was actually a good thing. He hoped Old Mrs. Fuller


    would approve of it, and that convinced Old Mrs. Fuller."


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "So, she eventually agreed to let him and Jean be together?"


    Mary smiled. "It''s not that easy. She only gave up on finding a psychologist for Young Master Fuller, but


    she didn''t agree to let Jean into the family so quickly. In the end, Young Master Fuller brought up the


    familyw, saying that if he epted punishment ording to familyw, there was no reason for Old


    Mrs. Fuller to oppose Jean. After Old Mrs. Fuller punished Young Master Fuller ording to the family


    law, Jean was finally able to enter the family."


    "I see." Sonia nodded in realization. "I was wondering how he could fall in love with Jean. It''s not that I


    look down on Jean, but the chances of someone like her being epted by someone from such a


    wealthy family as his are very slim. I never thought the real reason was that his preferences suddenly


    changed. Otherwise, Jean wouldn''t have been able to enter the family at all."


    "That''s right." Mary took the empty te she was handed. "You''re right, it''s not that we look down on


    Jean''s status, but her character is not good. Even ordinary families wouldn''t like her. Although she''s not


    a good person, she''s not inherently bad either. She knows she''s guilty and thought it was her presence


    that made Young Master Toby''s mother unable to ept it andmit suicide. She even proposed


    breaking up with Young Master Fuller, but he persuaded her to stay. Even though Young Master Fuller


    exined that Young Master Toby''s mother''s death had nothing to do with her, she still couldn''t believe


    it and carried the guilt in her heart. That''s why she treats Young Master Toby well."


    "I know," Sonia said, picking up the conversation. "Toby told me that Jean treats him like her own son.


    Because of that, Toby also approves of her as a stepmother."


    "In fact, there''s one more thing that even Young Master Toby doesn''t know," Mary continued. "That''s


    when Jean, for Young Master Toby''s sake, once wanted to abort Young Master Tyler because she was


    afraid Young Master Toby would think too much about it. She was scared that she would be


    biased toward her own son and be a malicious stepmother who only cared for her own son''s well-


    being and stopped liking Young Master Toby. She went to the hospital without telling us, and if we


    hadn''t found out in the end, Young Master Tyler might not be here today."


    Sonia was surprised. "I didn''t expect her to go this far," she said.


    "Yeah, none of us did. Even Old Mrs. Fuller finally let go of her grievances against Jean because of


    this. Before that, she always disliked and didn''t approve of Jean as a daughter-inw. It was this


    incident thatpletely changed Old Mrs. Fuller''s view of Jean. Although she still looks down on and


    dislikes Jean on the surface, she knows in her heart that Jean is a good wife," Mary said.


    Sonia took another sip of her milk and said, "Thank you for telling me this, Mary."


    "No problem. There are many stories in the Fuller Family. If you want to know more, you can ask me.


    It''s just a way to pass the time," Mary said with a smile.


    Sonia agreed happily. After that, Mary went to the kitchen to prepare food ingredients for tomorrow.


    Toby had also sent Tyler home and came back. Seeing Sonia reading, he walked over with tenderness


    in his eyes and said, "Darling, I''m back."


    "Wee back," Sonia said, moving over to make room for him to sit down.


    Toby sat down and took her into his arms. "I''m going on a business trip tomorrow," he said.


    Hearing this, Sonia immediately closed her book. "Business trip?"


    "Yeah. I''m going to Erendale. There''s an issue with a subsidiary over there, so I need to go take a look.


    I''ll be leaving tomorrow and returning noter than five days from now."


    "Oh, okay. Be safe on your trip," Sonia said, looking at him.


    Toby kissed her forehead and said, "I will. For the next few days while I''m away, remember to think of


    me. Also, I''ll increase security measures here."


    After all, her safety became his biggest concern when he wasn''t around.


    "Okay, you take care of it. I trust your arrangements," Sonia said with a smile.


    It was no wonder he suggested Tylere to the hospital and keep herpany. He was worried that


    she would be lonely while he was away on a business trip. He was really thoughtful and considerate


    toward her. This feeling of being constantly cared for by someone was really great.

 Chapter 1549

    Chapter 1549


    Chapter 1449 Medical Experiment


    "When I''m abroad, I''ll make sure to video call you every day," Toby added.


    Sonia smiled and agreed, "Okay, I''ll stay up and wait for your call. But if you''re busy, don''t worry about


    it."


    "If I''m busy, I''ll let you know beforehand," Toby replied.


    Sonia nodded. Subsequently, Toby stood up. "Alright, I''m going to freshen up and get some rest," he


    said.


    "Go ahead." Sonia waved him off.


    Meanwhile, in Tim''s privateb, Taylor woke up only to find herself in a room filled with all kinds of


    instruments. Currently, she was strapped to a cold operating table. Feeling frightened and anxious, she


    called out, "Where am I? Is anyone there?"


    "You''re very noisy!" A cold voice sounded from behind her.


    Taylor couldn''t turn her head to see who it was, so she asked, "Who¡­ Who are you?"


    The voice didn''t respond, and the room fell silent. Taylor could hear her own breathing, and in the quiet,


    the room felt even more sinister. Immediately, her heart was pounding and she was covered in sweat. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "Who are you? What do you want?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear; she was in tears.


    Finally, there was some movement, and Taylor heard footsteps approaching. The sound of the man''s


    leather shoes echoed in the room, making her even more afraid. Finally, she saw the man in a white


    lab coat. He was tall and slender with a refined hairstyle and handsome features. He wore sses with


    no rims, looking gentle and intimidating at the same time. His appearance suggested he was friendly


    and approachable, but his emotionless face and the chilling aura he gave off made Taylor shudder with


    fear.


    "I-It''s you!" Taylor stared at him in disbelief. "Dr. Lancaster, what do you want?"


    She realized that the man was Tim, who was currently holding a syringe with clear liquid inside. He


    raised the syringe high and examined it under the light before flicking it and finally looking down at her


    with no emotions. It was as if she wasn''t a person to him, but rather a pig or amb about to be


    ughtered. This terrified Taylor, who turned as white as a sheet. Although Taylor hadn''t had much


    contact with this doctor, she had heard rumors about Dr. Lancaster from her parents. He was a


    monster, born without emotions and destined to be antisocial. Even his parents, who are doctors,


    couldn''t love him and saw him as a monster. In fact, he indeed seemed like a monster. Even as a


    doctor who was supposed to heal people, the way he looked at his patients was not like someone


    treating an illness, but like he was looking at a corpse, just like now. Hence, every time she came to


    this hospital, she tried to avoid him as much as possible, but she never expected to end up in his


    hands.


    "It''s me." Tim looked at Taylor, who was clearly terrified. His lips curved into a smile, seeming satisfied


    with her reaction. Taylor''s scalp was tingling, and she wanted to scream. However, she was afraid of


    angering this madman. Thus, she could only clench her hands tightly and hold back her fear.


    "W-What do you want? Why am I here?" These were the two questions she wanted answers to the


    most.


    Tim squeezed the syringe in his hand and a few drops of liquid oozed out. Two icy dropsnded on


    Taylor''s face, making her cry out unconsciously. But as Tim nced at her, she quickly shut her mouth


    again.


    "Why are you here? Toby brought you here for me. I have a medical experimenting up, and I


    couldn''t find a subject. You just happened to be the perfect one."


    Medical experiment?! When Taylor heard these words, her eyes widened in horror.


    "Y-You want to dissect me?" She had seen it in movies before. It was a punishment some prisoners of


    war were subjected to. She never thought this monster would use her for a medical experiment too.


    "Let me go! I don''t want to be your test subject!" Taylor struggled violently, her face turning red.


    But Tim just stood there watching her silently as if watching a clown. "It''s useless. These straps are


    made of special materials and can withstand a ton of force. No matter how hard you struggle, you won''t


    be able to break free."


    "Why?" Taylor cried, tears streaming down her face. "Sonia said she would let me go back to take care


    of my dad. Why aren''t they keeping their word?" She would rather they keep her locked up than send


    her here to be a guinea pig.


    "Sonia did say she would let you go, but Toby never did. You almost killed Sonia and her child. Did you


    think Toby wouldn''t do anything and just keep you locked up for a few days?" Tim said while pushing


    up his sses. Taylor''s mouth opened, wanting to refute him, but she couldn''t find the words.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t dissect you. I''ll make sure you''re well taken care of. I just need you to be a test


    subject for a while, and then I''ll let you go. I''m not going to kill you."


    Hearing this, Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. But in the next second, Tim''s words made her copse.


    "Although I''m not going to kill you, the process won''t be pleasant. I hope you can endure it. If you can,


    you''ll be able to go back in one piece. But if you can''t, you might not survive."


    "What?" Taylor was shocked. "You dare to kill me? Aren''t you afraid of getting caught?"


    Tim''s contemptuous expression was impossible to hide. "I thought having pretended to be Sonia in the


    Gray Family for so long, you would understand the power of influence and what it can do. s, you''re


    just a chicken. Even if you live with the eagles for a while, you''re still a chicken, and your knowledge


    and perspective are always limited to that of a chicken."


    "You¡­" Taylor blushed with humiliation and anger at his words.


    Tim continued, "You''re already a fake, and getting rid of you would be easy, not just for Toby, but also


    for me. We have ways to make you disappearpletely from this world without a trace. Even if


    someone finds out that I killed you, with my position in the medical world, they won''t be able to touch


    me. After all,pared to me, you''re just a nobody. No one will risk their life for a nobody like you,


    because they all want to live."


    Taylor wasn''t stupid, and she could clearly understand the meaning behind his words. Because of that,


    it only made her feel more scared. "H-How did things be like this?"

 Chapter 1550

    Chapter 1550


    Chapter 1450 The Two Men


    Taylor had never imagined that human lives would be so worthless to these people. Tim, on the other


    hand, was extremely satisfied with Taylor''s reaction. "So, for the next experiment, you better cooperate


    if you want to stay alive."


    "I''ll cooperate! I''ll cooperate!" Taylor nodded fearfully. Everyone was afraid of death, and she was no


    exception. Now that she had fallen into the hands of this man, she could do nothing butply and


    persevere if she wanted to stay alive.


    "Good." Tim nodded in satisfaction as he injected the needle into her arm. Taylor closed her eyes in


    pain and let the tears flow. If she had known she would end up like this one day, she would never have


    gone to find Sonia.


    Naturally, Sonia had no idea about all of this.


    The next day, Sonia personally sent Toby to the airport. Toby didn''t want her to go as it would be tiring


    for her to travel back and forth, but Sonia insisted on tagging along. Toby couldn''t resist her, so he


    agreed. They said goodbye for half an hour at the airport before Toby boarded his private ne and


    disappeared into the clouds. Sonia stood on the observation deck watching the ne disappear and


    only left the airport under Mary''s persuasion.


    Toby''s departure was known to everyone, especially Charles and Zane. Upon learning of Toby''s


    departure, they immediately came to the hospital to visit Sonia. They couldn''te when Toby was


    around as he forbade them from doing so. Now that he was gone, the opportunity hade. That was


    why the two of them came at the same time and bumped into each other.


    Sonia looked at Zane, then at Charles, and couldn''t help butugh. These two men looked at each


    other with contempt at the moment.


    "Why are you here?" Charles asked, disgusted.


    Zane clicked his tongue as was equally disgusted with Charles'' ostentatious appearance. Turning his


    head, he said, "I came to visit Sonia. Why else would I be here?"


    "You''re not wee here, so leave quickly." Charles grabbed Zane''s arm and tried to drag him out.


    However, would Zane be obediently dragged away? He clearly wouldn''t. So, no matter how hard


    Charles pulled, Zane held on tight to the doorframe. The two men couldn''t overpower each other and


    were tired out like two silly children.


    Sonia and Mary were watching andughing at the scene. "Young Mistress Sonia, look at these two¡­"


    Mary pointed at them,ughing and crying at the same time.


    Sonia shook her head helplessly. "They''re always like this. Even though they don''t meet often, they


    fight like two roosters every time they do. Just let them be."


    She was used to it.


    "Okay, I''ll go make tea. When they get tired of fighting, they''ll be thirsty," Mary said with a smile as she


    started walking toward the kitchen.


    Soniaughed as she read her book, watching the two childish men still trying to drive each other


    away. After some time, they both realized that they couldn''t force the other to leave and epted the


    fact. They thereafter let go of each other and walked into the ward, snorting. Then, they greeted Sonia.


    "I''m here to see you. Have you been okay these past few days?" Charles ced the gift he brought


    next to her and asked.


    Zane also brought a gift, which he ced down along with the others, and said, "I see that you haven''t


    been as pale as before, so your health should be better."


    "Thank you for your concern," Sonia replied with a smile.


    "Indeed. With Mary taking care of me, my health has improved a lot and I''m not as sore as before."


    "That''s good." The two men nodded in relief.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Just then, Mary brought in some freshly brewed tea and some snacks.


    Zane picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. "This is great, Mary. I''m thirsty."


    "Hehe. Go ahead and drink. I brewed it just for you guys," Mary said, looking at Sonia. "Young Mistress


    Sonia, what did I say earlier? I got it right, didn''t I?"


    Sonia smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.


    Charles and Zane looked at them. "Sonny, what were you guys talking about? What did she get right?"


    They didn''t quite understand. Mary had no intention of hiding anything as it wasn''t much of a secret.


    So, she smiled and repeated her words, "I was saying that you two gentlemen would definitely be


    thirsty after arguing. Isn''t that right?"


    Charles and Zane both twitched their lips, feeling speechless. Following that, Zane pointed at Charles.


    "It''s all this guy''s fault. He insisted on driving me away. We''re all here to visit, and he''s not Sonia''s


    husband. Yet, he dares to act like he is one and tries to drive me away. I argued with him, so how could


    I not be thirsty?"


    Charles also retorted without backing down, "Although I''m not her husband, I''m her brother. With you


    being noisy here, you''ll only make it hard for her to rest. What''s wrong with me driving you away?"


    "You''re Sonia''s brother, but I''m Toby''s buddy. I also think you''re noisy and you''ll only make it hard for


    her to rest. I want to drive you away. Am I wrong?" Zane countered.


    The two men started arguing back and forth while Sonia smiled and shook her head. "Okay, okay, don''t


    leave. Stay here with me and chat; don''t argue anymore."


    She was afraid that they were going to argue again. If they kept arguing, she didn''t know how long it


    would take for them to stop. She regretted not separating them earlier and having theme at


    different times. If that was the case, they wouldn''t have argued so much and made her head buzz.


    "Did you hear that? Sonny told you to stop arguing." Charles red at Zane with disdain.


    Zane naturally retorted, "She told you to stop arguing too. Just shut up."


    They snorted at each other and finally stopped. After that, Charles brought out his gift. "Sonny, look. I


    brought you a gift. It was my mother''s suggestion. She said that women are prone to back pain and


    swelling during pregnancy, especially in theter months. This massager is specifically designed to


    relieve back pain and reduce swelling."


    He handed the gift over. Sonia hadn''t spoken yet when Mary was pleasantly surprised and took the gift.


    "Oh, Mr. Lane, you are so thoughtful. I was nning to prepare this for Young Mistress Sonia when


    she''s five months pregnant. I didn''t expect you to have already prepared it. That''s great! We don''t have


    to buy it now. Hehe."


    "Charles, thank you, and thank your mother for me," Sonia gratefully said to Charles with a smile.


    Charles waved his hand. "It''s nothing. You''re my little sister and my mom''s goddaughter. We''re your


    family, so it''s only right that we do these things for you. As long as you like it."


    "I do." Sonia nodded.


    Charles wanted to say something else, but Zane came over and pushed him aside. "Alright, your gift


    presentation is over. It''s my turn now."


    Although Charles was unhappy, he thought that Zane had something for Sonia, so he could only


    suppress his dissatisfaction and snort while walking to the side.


    Sonia smiled in amusement and shook her head.


    "Sonia, this is what I brought for you specifically. It''s all kinds of rare delicacies and medicinal herbs


    that the vigers gave me during myst trip to the countryside. Even in the mountains, these are not


    easy toe by, and they can''t be bought in the city at all. I heard that these are great for making soup


    and are very nutritious for the body, so I brought them for you." Zane handed the bag to Mary.


    Mary opened it and a surprised look was instantly stered on her face. "Oh my, these are really top-


    quality delicacies. Thest time I saw these was when I was in my hometown 30 years ago. After my


    hometown got redeveloped into a city, the mountains disappeared, and I haven''t seen these since. Mr.


    Coleman, thank you so much. These are really good for Young Mistress Sonia. I''ll make some soup for


    her with these ingredients," Mary said with a smile.

 Chapter 1551

    Chapter 1551


    Chapter 1451 Something Happened to Daphne


    "Oh, it''s nothing. These were given to me by the vigers, but I have no use for them, so I just brought


    them along. After all, you already have a lot of things, so I don''t really need to give you anything. After


    thinking about it, I decided to give you this. As long as you like it. If you finish it, I''ll have someone go


    back to the countryside to get more."


    "Okay, we''ll let you know about it when we finish them." Mary smiled and carried the bag to the kitchen.


    As for the massager that Charles gave, it was left aside. After all, Sonia couldn''t use it now. Zane


    looked at Charles who was in a bad mood and provocatively smiled. "So, my gift is more useful, right?"


    Charles snorted. "What''s there to be proud of? It''s just useful now. That doesn''t mean my gift won''t be


    useful in the future. My gift wille in handyter. You don''t understand anything."


    "So what if it''ll be usefulter? The things I gave can be eaten. I can give her those delicacies to eat for


    a lifetime. Can your gift do that?"


    "Who said it can''t? When she''s older, it will be necessary for her to use a massager to relieve body


    aches and pains, so it can be used for a lifetime too."


    The two of them argued back and forth, refusing to admit defeat, and it looked like they would argue


    again. Sonia had a headache and quickly stopped them. "Alright, alright. Both of your gifts are great. I


    like them both, and they can both be used for a lifetime. That''s enough. Stop arguing."


    "Sonny, it''s not that I want to argue. It''s just that this guy is too much. I ignored him, but he came to


    provoke me," Charles pointed at Zane whileining.


    Zane let out a snort. "If I was provoking you, you also foolishly provoked me back. If you ignore me, will


    we end up arguing?"


    Charles looked at him incredulously. "So, it''s my fault then?"


    Zane snorted again, indicating that he meant exactly that.


    "You..." Charles wanted to retort, but his phone rang in his pocket, interrupting him. He had no choice


    but to pause and take out his phone. When he saw the caller ID, his expression suddenly turned


    complex, and he walked to the side to answer the call.


    Sonia saw this and pursed her lips. She had guessed who was calling. It was either Daphne or the


    person taking care of her. In the past, Charles never avoided her when he answered calls even if it was


    apany matter. It was only when it came to Daphne that he acted this way. It had been a long time


    since the New Year, and Charles still hadn''t figured things out.


    Sonia shook her head helplessly. Daphne was probably more than five months pregnant now. In a few


    more months, the baby would be born. She wondered what Charles was thinking and if he nned to


    marry Daphne. Did Charles really n to let his child bear the stigma of being an illegitimate child?


    Sonia''s eyes shed when she thought of this. Charles'' mother didn''t know about this yet. If Charles


    really had no intention of giving the child a proper family, she would tell his mother about it. After all,


    Charles was going overboard. He despised Daphne but still forced her to give birth to this child. What


    would he do after the child was born? Would he abandon Daphne? Would he let his child bear the


    shameful identity of an illegitimate child? In any case, no matter how she looked at it, Charles'' actions


    were unjust and he had to be punished by his mother.


    Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly heard Charles'' voice rise in volume, sounding both agitated


    and surprised. "What did you say? She fell?"


    Sonia heard the word "fell" and immediately became anxious. "Charles, what''s going on? Did


    something happen to Daphne?"


    Charles didn''t answer her and just tightened his grip on the phone, speaking with an extremely tense


    voice to the person on the other end of the line. "I got it. Have the doctor check on her. I''ll be back


    soon."


    After he hung up the phone, he turned around. Although his face was expressionless, it was clear to


    everyone that he was in a bad mood and very worried.


    "Sonny, I have to go. Something came up. I''ll visit you next time."


    "Charles, answer me honestly. Did something happen to Daphne? I heard you say she fell. Is the baby


    okay?" Sonia gripped her phone tightly and asked anxiously.


    Zane, who had been eavesdropping, raised his eyebrows.


    The baby? That was a lot of information.


    Charles looked at Sonia and finally lowered his eyes, hiding his emotions. He didn''t answer her, but his


    silence spoke volumes.


    Sonia''s heart sank a little. "I understand. Charles, you should go back now. Daphne and the baby are


    important. Call meter and let me know what happened. I know you don''t want to tell me these things,


    but don''t forget, Daphne is also my friend. If I don''t know the situation of her and the baby, I will be


    worried. I hope you can think it over."


    "Okay," Charles finally responded before turning and leaving.


    After he left, Zane quickly threw away the apple core in his hand and asked excitedly, "Sonia, what''s


    going on? I heard you talking about Daphne and some baby. If I remember correctly, Daphne is your


    chief secretary, right? What happened between her and Charles?"


    Seeing his curiosity, Sonia didn''t hide it from him. After all, this matter was no longer a secret. "Daphne


    is my chief secretary, but that was before. She has resigned. As for her and Charles, they were college


    ssmates, and Daphne used to be Charles'' chief secretary too. Because I needed more help when I


    returned to Paradigm Co., Charles let Daphne work for me. However, Daphne has always liked


    Charles, so the two of them unexpectedly got together and had a baby."


    "Wow..." Zane gasped. "I didn''t expect Charles to be so capable. He silently conceived a child, and he


    hid it so well that no outsiders knew about it."


    Sonia nodded. "Charles didn''t like Daphne before, and the sex was an unexpected situation. The


    appearance of the baby was also something that they didn''t expect. Daphne originally wanted to have


    an abortion and pretend that nothing had happened, but Charles found out and stopped her. Then he


    took Daphne to one of his vis and told her to rest there and deliver the baby there."


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "Isn''t that a good thing?" Zane still didn''t understand.


    Sonia sighed. "It''s a good thing, but also a bad thing. I just said that Charles used to not like Daphne


    that way, so telling her to deliver the baby is already an iprehensible act. Charles may like her


    now, but he seems unwilling to ept this fact. So, he still hasn''t shown any intention of marrying


    Daphne, and he has been keeping this matter secret. If I hadn''t identally discovered Daphne''s


    whereabouts, I wouldn''t have known that Charles had locked her up there."


    "So, Charles doesn''t n to marry your secretary nor give that baby a legitimate identity?" Zane


    rubbed his chin and asked.


    Sonia nodded. "That''s what it looks like for now. That''s why I''ve been struggling with whether or not to


    tell his mother about this. Charles'' actions are too selfish."


    "Indeed." Zane nodded.

 Chapter 1552

    Chapter 1552


    Chapter 1452 Clothes Made by Pauline


    Wasn''t that just ssic scumbag behavior? Even though it was an unexpected pregnancy, the woman


    clearly stated that she was willing to have an abortion and treat it like nothing had happened. Logically


    speaking, shouldn''t that be the best oue for Charles? Yet, he not only prevented her from doing so


    but also made her carry the child to term. And to make matters worse, he didn''t even give the woman


    or his child a proper identity. Did Charles not realize how harmful this would be to the child? The public


    would only continue to ridicule the child. This was truly scumbag behavior.


    "Have you tried talking to Charles about it?" Zane asked Sonia.


    Sonia took a sip of water and replied, "Of course I have. Daphne is my friend, and I couldn''t just stand


    by and watch Charles treat her this way. So, during the New Year celebrations, I had a frank talk with


    Charles, hoping he would understand that what he''s doing is wrong. But Charles..."


    "He didn''t agree to it, did he?"


    Sonia nodded. "No, he didn''t. I also know I can''t push him too hard, or it won''t be good for Daphne. So,


    I was hoping he''ll think it over properly. But now, it has been so long, and he still doesn''t seem to have


    figured it out. Daphne is now more than five months pregnant, and in another four months, the baby will


    be born."


    "So, what are you going to do now?" Zane asked. "With your personality, you probably won''t just sit


    back and do nothing, right?"


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Sonia put down her ss and smiled. "You know me pretty well. You''re right, I n on doing


    something, but before that, I have to wait a little longer. I''ll give Charles another two or three months,


    and hopefully, he''lle to his senses. If he still doesn''te around, I''ll tell his mother. With her help,


    everything will be alright."


    While they didn''t want to trouble their elders, it was necessary to involve them sometimes. Zane didn''t


    think Sonia''s n was a bad one since it was a serious matter.


    "Do what you think is best." Zane supported her. "But I never expected Charles to be this kind of


    person."


    "Charles isn''t a bad person; he''s just handling this situation wrong," Sonia replied.


    "Handling it the wrong way is a problem in itself. After all, it''s an innocent child and a woman that he''s


    hurting," Zane said. Although he used to be a yboy, he never did anything to hurt a woman. Before


    entering into a rtionship, he would make it clear that he wouldn''t develop real feelings and hoped


    that the other person wouldn''t either. They would just y around, and after three months, they would


    break up. After the breakup, he would alsopensate the woman in some way. When he was in a


    rtionship, he wouldn''t cheat on his partner and wouldn''t identally conceive a child. If he did, he


    would either directly say he didn''t want it and let the woman get an abortion, or he would give the child


    a proper identity and let the woman get a divorceter. Either way, he wouldn''t do what Charles was


    doing. Therefore, he looked down on Charles for this matter.


    Sonia remained silent, knowing that Zane was right. In the end, all she could do was sigh and hope that


    Charles woulde to his senses.


    After that, Zane had to leave because he had other things to do.


    The hospital room suddenly became quiet with the departure of the two talkative men. When Mary


    brought out the chicken soup, she jokinglymented, "Mr. Lane and Mr. Coleman left, and it feels a


    bit empty now."


    Sonia chuckled without lifting her head from the book she was reading. "It''s okay. Tyler should be here


    this afternoon. His talkativeness will outdo Zane and Charlesbined."


    After hearing this, Mary burst intoughter and said, "You''re right. Young Master Tyler has a lively


    personality and is quite talkative. With him around, there''s no need to worry about things being dull or


    boring."


    As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Mary went to answer it and found the bodyguard outside.


    "Mary, Julia is here again," he informed her.


    Mary immediately turned to look at Sonia. She knew that Sonia had heard this. However, Sonia didn''t


    look up or make any indication of a response. Mary sighed and turned back to the door. "Let her in."


    It had been this way over the past few days. When Julia came, Sonia wouldn''t say anything, so Mary


    would let Julia in instead. Indeed, Sonia remained silent, and it was evident that she had approved of


    what Mary said.


    So, the bodyguard nodded and went to get Julia. Soon, Julia appeared at the door carrying arge bag.


    Mary eximed, "Julia, what have you brought in such a big bag?"


    Hearing this, Sonia perked up and lowered the book in her hand to look. Obviously, she was also


    curious. Mary helped Julia bring the bag into the room, and Julia exined with a smile, "It''s just some


    clothes."


    "Clothes?" Mary was puzzled.


    "Yes." Julia turned to Sonia. "They''re all maternity clothes. When I was pregnant with Sonny, her


    grandmother made a lot of maternity clothes for me, and they''re all retro styles. They''re embroidered


    with delicate needlework. Her grandmother made a lot, but I had a difficult pregnancy and spent most


    of my time in bed, so I never had a chance to wear them. I remembered them yesterday and went


    home to look for them. These clothes are all brand new, and I thought I could give them to Sonny."


    "I see." Mary was pleasantly surprised. "Old Mrs. Gray was a top embroidery master and a wealthy


    youngdy born in thest century. She loved to wear traditional dresses, and she didn''t change even


    as she grew older. The clothes she made are undoubtedly very beautiful."


    "Yes, but I couldn''t wear them at the time, so I kept them. After Sonny''s grandmother passed away, I


    forgot about them. Now, it''s the perfect time to give them to Sonny. They''re all new."


    Julia quickly unzipped the bag with Mary''s help, and they took out the clothes one by one,ying them


    out on the bed. As Mary had said, the clothes were all traditional dresses, in the style of the Victorian


    era. They were exquisitely crafted and beautiful. Despite their age, they remained timeless, with


    intricate designs and embroidery that made them valuable.


    It was evident that Pauline had been very satisfied with Julia as her daughter-inw when she was


    alive, or else she wouldn''t have made so many clothes for Julia.


    "Oh my, they''re so beautiful!" Mary picked up a white dress and showed it to Sonia. "Young Mistress


    Sonia, look at this. The embroidery is so realistic, and there probably aren''t many people who can


    embroider to this level nowadays. A handmade dress with good embroidery can cost seven figures, let


    alone this one. You''ll look stunning in it."


    "Yes." Julia nodded with a smile while looking at Sonia with affection. She had brought these clothes


    because she thought her daughter would look beautiful in them. Women liked beautiful clothes, and


    Sonia was no exception. The sight of these clothes held her attention for an extended period as she


    gazed at their exquisite beauty, unable to look away.


    "Do you want to try it on, Young Mistress Sonia?" Mary encouraged her. "This dress has a ttering


    waistline, making it suitable not only for pregnant women but for anyone who wants to entuate their


    waist."

 Chapter 1553

    Chapter 1553


    Chapter 1453 Grew Up Together


    "There are some clothes in here that aren''t meant for pregnant women. Your grandmother made them


    for me, but because of my health issues, I had been focusing on my recovery and gained some weight,


    so I can''t fit into them anymore. That''s why I kept them until now, and I''ve brought them over for you to


    try on. You''re slimmer than me, and even after you have a baby in the future, you''ll quickly get back in


    shape and be able to wear them," Julia exined, and then joined Mary in encouraging Sonia to try


    them on.


    "Give it a try, you''ll look beautiful in them," they both said.


    At this moment, Julia was grateful that she never wore these clothes, or else she wouldn''t know what to


    give her daughter. Sonia was tempted by the clothes but hesitated because they were Julia''s.


    In the end, Mary saw her dilemma and took her hand, supporting her off the bed. "Young Mistress


    Sonia, give it a try. They''re just clothes, and they were made by your grandmother," Mary said.


    "Yes, Sonny, give them a try," Julia added, her eyes full of encouragement. She really hoped her


    daughter would ept these clothes.


    When she was pregnant with Sonia, she promised to give her daughter all the best things in life. But


    when Henry took her daughter away, all her dreams were shattered. She was over 20 yearste in


    fulfilling her promise, so now she wanted to give her daughter the best and most valuable things she


    had. Naturally, she hoped her daughter would ept everything.


    "Young Mistress Sonia, give it a try," Mary urged and handed a dress to Sonia.


    Sonia looked at it, then at Mary and Julia who were waiting expectantly. In the end, she couldn''t resist


    the temptation of the clothes and their encouragement, so she nodded and agreed.


    "Great!" Mary eximed happily, and Julia''s eyes welled up with emotion.


    "Do you need my help, Sonny?" Julia asked as she watched Sonia go into the room to change.


    Sonia shook her head. "No, I can do it myself."


    Julia felt disappointed but didn''t insist. Her daughter was willing to try on the clothes, and that was


    already good enough.


    Sonia went into the room to change while Mary and Julia waited outside. Mary touched the beautiful


    clothes and sighed. "Pauline was so talented with her skill."


    "Yes, she was very skilled at this. If she were still alive, I think she would have made clothes for Sonny


    and even her wedding dress," Julia said with a smile. "When I was pregnant with Sonny, she said that if


    she could live to be a hundred, she would personally embroider a traditional wedding dress for her


    granddaughter. She was a typical old-fashioned woman and disliked modern-style dresses. When I


    married Titus in a modern-style wedding dress, she didn''t like it at all."


    Julia shook her head and chuckled. "It''s a pity she passed away so early. Otherwise, Sonny could have


    met her. She loved Sonny so much."


    "Before we knew that Tina was adopted by you, we heard that Pauline didn''t like this granddaughter of


    hers and even moved out of the Gray Residence because of that. Everyone said that Pauline favored


    boys and didn¡¯t like girls, so she only liked grandsons and not granddaughters. Now we know that it


    wasn''t the case at all." Mary finished sorting the clothes.


    Julia joined in to help. "She only likes her biological granddaughter, and Tina was adopted by Titus


    because of my illness. Understandably, she doesn''t like Tina, but now Titus and I really regret adopting


    Tina."


    "From your perspective, you had just lost a child and were sick, and Titus adopted a child for your sake.


    Your actions were not wrong, but you didn''t raise the child well." Mary''s expression became much


    colder.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    Julia understood what she meant and nodded with a bitter smile. "I know. That''s why Titus and I have


    been regretting and ming ourselvestely, especially Titus. His mental state is worsening. Last night,


    I heard him apologizing to someone in his dream. Although I didn''t hear the name, I knew he was


    apologizing to Henry."


    Inside the room, Sonia could clearly hear their conversation since they didn''t deliberately lower their


    voices. When she heard Julia say that Titus was apologizing to Henry, Sonia''s emotions instantly


    became agitated. She wanted to rush out and tell Julia that apologizing now was useless since Henry


    was already dead. Apologizing now would only seem hypocritical, wouldn''t it?


    However, when she heard Julia say that Titus'' mental state was getting worse, she felt deted again.


    What else could she say? Even if she went out and said those words, it seemed to be meaningless.


    After all, Titus was going to die soon, and at least he knew how to reflect and apologize before he died.


    At least, her father could get an apology. After all, Titus couldpletely refuse to admit his mistake,


    not feel that he was wrong, and not apologize, right? She would not be able to do anything about that


    either. Now that Titus apologized, at least she did get something in return.


    Outside, Julia continued, "Titus, Henry, Lina, Mrs. Lane, and President Fuller''s biological mother¡­ We


    all knew each other since childhood."


    Sonia was stunned by this. She knew that her father and Titus were childhood friends who grew up


    together, and Titus and Julia were childhood sweethearts. It wasn''t surprising that they knew each


    other since childhood. However, she had never heard of her mother, Charles'' mother, and her mother-


    inw knowing each other since childhood.


    "I know about this." Mary nodded.


    Julia smiled and picked up the cup of tea. "Among us, Titus and I, Henry and Lina have the closest


    rtionships. Because of Henry and Titus'' rtionship, Lina and I also became good friends. At that


    time, my rtionship with her was even better than her rtionship with Mrs. Lane. It''s a pity that


    everything changed in the end, and the problem was caused by Titus."


    Mary looked at her, waiting for her to continue. Julia took a sip of tea and didn''t let Mary wait too long


    before she continued.


    "My father-inw was a very dominant and overbearing person. In fact, my mother-inw didn''t love


    him. She was brought into the family forcefully by my father-inw. And when it came to Titus''


    education, my father-inw wouldn''t allow my mother-inw to have any say. So, Titus basically


    inherited my father-inw''s personality. He''s selfish and cunning with a desire for revenge. When Titus


    was young, these traits weren''t a big deal since we all started from the same ce. But as we got older


    and started to get involved in the family business, we began topare ourselves to each other, and


    life wasn''t as carefree and happy as it used to be."


    Julia let out a long sigh and continued, "My father-inw was a person who didn''t like to lose to others.


    Titus inherited that trait as well. However, Titus didn''t like to study, so when he was in school, he didn''t


    mind losing to Henry. He was only interested in the family business."


    Seeing that Julia had finished her tea, Mary poured her another cup. Julia thanked her and continued,


    "But his rtionship with Henry soured due to the family business. Henry made it clear that he wasn''t


    interested in his family business and only wanted to do research. But since his family only had one heir,


    Henry had to take over the family business. Although Henry didn''t like to do business, he was talented


    in it and overshadowed Titus, who was actually interested in doing business. With his personality, how


    could he ept being overshadowed by Henry, who had a different passion?"

 Chapter 1554

    Chapter 1554


    Chapter 1454 Fit Model


    "There is also Old Mr. Gray," Mary said.


    Julia''s face turned even more bitter. "Yes, my father-inw was so upset that Titus could never score


    higher than Henry despite all his studying. When he found out Henry did not like business but was


    more talented than Titus in the field, he was even more dissatisfied. During that time, I did not even


    dare visit Titus. Every time I went, I heard lectures and scolding directed at Titus. He even forced Titus


    to break up with me, saying he was inferior all because he was dating me."


    "What a joke." Mary pursed her lips. "He was ming others for his own inability."


    "That''s how my father-inw is. Still, Titus and I had a great rtionship. Even after all the pushing, he


    never once broke up with me. However, from that day on, he turned into apletely different man. He


    initially had a few tiny ws, but his darkness had grown exponentially since that moment. This was


    especially true when it came to Henry. I don''t know what my father-inw said or did, but Titus was


    always furious and jealous of Henry."


    "Why did you not warn him that his actions were uneptable?" Mary asked, confused.


    Julia bitterly smiled. "Do you think I never tried? I did, but nothing I said was heard. Titus had gone to


    the extreme end and turned into a horrifying man. No matter what I said, he did not listen. If I said too


    much, he would re at me and order me to stay away from Lina. I love him, so I told him I would do it.


    I thought it was only a one-sided but mild hostility. Things would improve, I thought. I never imagined


    things were so much moreplicated than I assumed." She sighed heavily and continued, "Titus


    began to target Henry, constantly trying to push him around. Lina was Henry''s girlfriend and even cameCcontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    to talk to me. On the day we were supposed to meet up, Titus forced me to cut off ties with her. From


    that day on, our friendships were ruined."


    "I see." Mary sighed. "In the end, it''s still family that ruined lives."


    Julia hung her head. "After we cut ties, I felt so uneasy. I kept thinking I had wronged Henry and Lina. I


    wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Titus and convince him to make up with them. The chance


    never came. Soon, I realized years had passed. My desire to repair the friendships faded. Eventually, I


    went with the flow until I found myself drifting away from Henry and Lina."


    "Understandable. Even great friendships will die out if you cannotmunicate frequently," Mary said.


    Julia hummed in agreement. "Titus and I were married as well. We were in it together. My thoughts


    began to focus on helping him. Even so, I still care for Henry and Lina. Whenever I see Lina talking to


    Grace, I am so upset. I knew I had no right to say anything, so I thought to leave it be. I never expected


    Titus to end up trying to steal Paradigm''s technology documents."


    "You mean to say you did not know about it?"


    Julia shook her head. "I did not. I was pregnant with Sonny then, and Titus often kept me in the dark. I


    know he never once stopped targeting Henry, but those were only trivial matters that did not truly hurt


    Henry. At most, Henry would be repulsed and disgusted. There was a time when Titus would get


    incredibly drunk and cry about how the world constantly held Henry up as an example and how he


    could never measure up. It was then that I knew something must have happened."


    "You were right. Titus attacked Paradigm."


    "Yes. Titus had gone mad. He finally used the most despicable method possible to attack Henry. No


    one expected anyone to die, though. Henry was furious. As revenge, he stole away our daughter, our


    most beloved daughter. Henry''s actions did not make Tituse to his senses. Instead, he grew


    worse. The feud between our families worsened until we were mortal enemies."


    "In the end, the person with the greatest me here is still Titus." Mary sighed. "It does not matter if it''s


    because of his family or anything else. He is responsible for his own actions."


    "Yes. Our daughter is finally back. Perhaps, it''s because he''s dying soon, but he has started reflecting


    on his life and the past. He hase to realize all his stubbornness was wrong. That''s why he


    dreamed about Henry and apologized to him. That''s when I realized he had never stopped thinking


    about his best friend."


    "Unfortunately, it is all over. Your families refuse to talk to each other, and Young Master Toby and


    Young Mistress Sonia are caught in the middle. What a shame." Mary shook her head.


    Julia wiped her tears away. "As her parents, we have wronged her. Titus and I never once expected


    Sonny to forgive or get to know us. We only want topensate her for what we owe her."


    At that moment, the door opened. Sonia walked out in a cream-white dress.


    She walked over to Mary, pretended she hadn''t heard their conversation, and asked, "Is it nice?"


    Julia and Mary nodded in awe.


    "You''re gorgeous." Mary grabbed her hand and made her twirl before nodding. "You are beautiful. You


    have a great body with nice curves. Your body shape is the best for this style of dress."


    "Yes. Your waist is so thin, and your skin is so smooth. You look amazing in this," Julia happily said.


    She wanted to emte Mary by touching Sonia, but she held back for fear of being turned down.


    Nheless, she was overjoyed seeing Sonia look so lovely in her dress.


    Sonia''s cheeks were red from the praises they heaped on her. Then, she ducked her head in


    embarrassment. "I don''t like my stomach area, though. It''s bulging." She reached down and caressed


    her belly. While it was not apparent in the mirror, something as fitting as that dress would emphasize


    the stomach area.


    "This is nothing." Mary chuckled. "You are pregnant, not chubby. Anyway, you can wear it after birth


    and get back in shape. We are only trying it out today."


    "Mary is right." Julia nodded.


    Hearing that remark made Sonia stop worrying. "I''ll change back to my old clothes."


    "Try the other outfits first." Mary handed her another dress.


    Julia nodded and stared at her with eyes shimmering with anticipation.


    After hearing that, Sonia felt likeughing on the inside. Do these two think I am a model? Still, she was


    happy to model those outfits for them. Nevertheless, she did not hesitate and immediately got changed.


    She spent the next hour trying on every piece of clothing besides maternity clothes. On the other hand,


    Julia and Mary kept snapping picture after picture. One sent the photos to Toby, while the other sent


    them to Titus.


    It was still dark outside where Toby was, but he was still going through his paperwork in his hotel room.


    When he heard his phone buzz, he grabbed it and looked at it. The message he saw from Mary made


    him frown.

 Chapter 1555

    Chapter 1555


    Chapter 1455 Toby¡¯s Revenge


    From Mary? Toby had just video-called Sonia two hours ago. Did something bad happen to Sonia?


    At that thought, he swiftly abandoned his work, threw his pen aside, and tapped into the messages.


    However, the messages did not bring bad news as he expected. They were just some photographs.


    In the photos, Sonia was trying on all sorts of antique dresses with a bright smile on her face. She


    looked gorgeous.


    Although her beauty was not as striking since she did not have her hair and makeup done, Toby


    thought Sonia looked beautiful no matter what.


    His eyes softened. After saving all the photos he received, he called Mary.


    "Young Master Toby?" Mary waited until Sonia went away to change into another dress before


    answering the phone.


    Julia discreetly pricked her ears up when she heard it was a call from Toby.


    Unfortunately, Mary did not put him on speaker. No matter how hard Julia tried, she could not hear a


    word he said.


    In the end, she gave up on trying to listen in on the conversation and solemnly focused on the changing


    room door, waiting for Sonia toe out dressed in another dress.


    "What''s going on, Madam Mary?" Toby leaned back in his chair. "Where did these dressese


    from?"


    While he was not very fashion-savvy, he could tell that Sonia''s dresses were high quality and not


    something that could be easily bought on a whim.


    The embroidery and designs on those dresses were easily recognizable as handmade works from


    famous designers. They were not dresses that one could buy with mere money.


    When Mary realized that was the reason for the call, she chuckled. "The dresses are from Mrs. Gray,


    sir. Old Mrs. Gray had them made for Mrs. Gray years ago. Some are maternity wear, and some are


    normal dresses. Mrs. Gray said she never wore any of them before, so they are a gift for Young


    Mistress Sonia."


    Ah. Toby nodded. Kind of guessed it.


    Only a top-tier embroiderer like Pauline Gray could have made those dresses.


    "What do you think, Young Master? Are they nice?" Mary asked with a smile.


    He smiled. "Yes."


    "What a pity that Young Mistress Sonia doesn''t have her hair and makeup done. Oh, it won''t be toote


    to dress her up when the child is born anyway. I just know she''ll look amazing."


    Women who had given birth were always a little more voluptuous than before.


    All those antique dresses would look the best in wearers who were slightly more voluptuous.


    While Sonia looked beautiful in them now, she would look even more striking wearing the dresses after


    she gave birth.


    Mary''s words made Toby imagine what Sonia would look like in those dresses with her hair and face


    completely done up. His eyes darkened as he hoarsely said, "My wife is naturally the most beautiful


    woman around."


    "Yes, sir." Mary nodded with a smile.


    "Where''s she?" Toby asked.


    "She has gone to get changed. We still have two more dresses to try out. I''ll pass the phone to her


    once she''s out."


    "Okay."


    Soon, Sonia stepped out of the changing room in another dress. Julia walked over to straighten out the


    dress.


    The dress was what some might call gothic with multiple skirtyers that required to be straightened


    after the dress was put on. Otherwise, the dress would look like a mess.


    The dress was extremely beautiful though. If Sonia had a hat on, she would look like a noblewoman


    who hade out of a painting.


    Sonia loved the dress. To be more exact, this was her favorite dress out of all that she had tried out.


    As Julia continued to straighten out the dress, she gave Sonia an admiring smile. "You''re so beautiful. I


    just knew this dress would suit you."


    Sonia lowered her eyes and weakly whispered, "Thanks."


    Julia froze for a moment before happily shaking her head. "You don''t need to thank me. You deserve


    it."


    It was a mother''s duty to praise her daughter.


    Sonia had run out of words to say. Then, she heard a camera snapping.


    She turned around to find Mary smiling at her. "It''s a photo for Young Master Toby. He just so happened


    to call me, Young Mistress. Would you like to speak with him?"


    Although it was a question, Mary shoved the phone into Sonia''s hand without waiting for a reply.


    Mary''s actions made Sonia want tough as she turned to hold the phone up to her ear. Before she


    could say a word, Toby''s sensual voice drifted to her ears. "Gorgeous."


    Her face blushed red as she knew he was referring to how she looked in the dresses.


    "How about you model them for me again when I get back?" he asked.


    "You''ve seen them all, right? Madam Mary''s been taking pictures the entire time. I know she sent them


    to you," she shot back shyly.


    "I have, but seeing it in person is more realistic. I''d love to see them with my own eyes," he answered.


    She chuckled. "Okay. We''ll talk once you get back. Are you busy right now?"


    She was curious.


    He shook his head. "Not really."


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    "It sounds like you are somewhat busy. I''ll leave you to your work, alright? Bye." Sonia then moved to


    end the call.


    "Wait!" he called out quickly. "Don''t rush. Let''s talk."


    There was a coy pleading tone in Toby''s voice.


    That made her smile. "What do you want to talk about?"


    "The bodyguards say Charles and Zane are annoying you again," Toby said with narrowed eyes.


    Those two men¡­ Did they think I would not know they went looking for Sonia when I am away?


    She had expected him to ask about that. "They''re visiting me, not annoying me."


    "When they''re together, they''re as loud as a dozen ducks. How are they not annoying?" He raised his


    eyebrows in question.


    She froze. When she thought about how the two men would get into a fight every other second, she


    realized Toby was right.


    "What happened in the end with Charles? Why was he upset when he left? Did he fight with Zane?


    Were you implicated?" he asked, worried.


    She shook her head. "No, they weren''t fighting. Something happened to Daphne, so Charles was


    upset. I don''t know what happened though, and she didn''t say anything. She hasn''t even called me


    yet."


    That made her feel quite exasperated.


    It seemed like Charles did not properly listen to her.


    "Ignore him. I''ve told the bodyguards that they are not allowed to visit you together in the future. There


    can only be one of them around you at one time," he exerted.


    She was shocked. "You never liked them. Why are you still willing to let them visit?"


    A glint shed in Toby''s eyes when he heard that. He smirked. "I want them to know I''m going to be a


    father while they are still forever alone."


    To put it bluntly, he merely wanted to aggravate the two men.


    Why would he not allow them to torture themselves if they asked for it?


    His reasoning was so unexpected that it filled her with both anger and glee. "You are so childish. Aren''t


    you afraid they''ll get so angry that they will strike back?"


    "Them? Pfft." He raised his chin high as he mocked smugly.


    Being smug was not considered going overboard on his end since he had a point to behave as such.


    "President Fuller." Just then, someone knocked on his door.


    Hearing Tom''s voice, Sonia knew there was work waiting for Toby. Hence, she decided to end the call.


    "I''ll leave you to your work. We can talkter, honey."


    "Okay. I''ll call you back." Toby nodded.


    After ending the call, Sonia handed the phone back to Mary.


    Julia handed Sonia thest dress. "Try this one."

 Chapter 1556

    Chapter 1556


    Chapter 1456 Daphne Fell Down


    Sonia didn''t decline. Since she had already tried so many dresses, there was no harm in trying another


    one.


    When Sonia took the dress from Julia, their hands identally touched.


    Both were stunned as they looked into each other''s eyes.


    The difference was that Sonia was feeling mixed emotions while Julia was excited and happy.


    Julia was looking at Sonia so passionately that it felt like she was trying to melt Sonia with her gaze.


    As Sonia wasn''t used to being stared at, she quickly lowered her head and left with the dress.


    Mary approached Julia and asked, "What''s the matter?"


    "I just touched Sonny''s hand." Julia looked at her hand while grinning.


    Meanwhile, Mary felt her lips twitching. She wanted to say, Is this necessary? What''s there to be so


    happy about touching her hand?


    She then realized Julia and Sonia''s rtionship and couldn''t bring herself to say those words anymore.


    Julia hoped to identify herself as Sonia''s mother and wanted Sonia to call her "Mom," but that never


    happened.


    Sonia wouldn''t even let Julia touch her.


    That was why Julia had been restraining herself recently, which showed how desperate she was to


    touch her daughter.


    Therefore, how could Julia not be happy when she had just touched her daughter even though it was


    just her hand?


    As for Sonia, she was inside her room, sitting on her bed with the dress in her arms. Instead of


    changing into the dress, she was dazing while looking at one of her hands.


    It was the hand that identally touched Julia''s hand just now.


    Julia''s hand was warm, which was unlike hers. She always had cold hands.


    The moment when Sonia''s hand touched Julia''s, she felt like she was shocked by static electricity. The


    feeling was strange, but she didn''t dislike it. On the contrary, she felt quite happy and warm.


    Is this what having a mom feels like? she wondered.


    "Young Mistress Sonia." A knock came from the door, followed by Mary''s concerned voice. "Is there


    anything wrong with the dress?"


    "No." Withdrawing her thoughts, Sonia quickly replied.


    "Alright. You have been in there for some time now. Just checking if there''s a problem with the dress."


    "Everything''s fine. I was just thinking about something. I''ll be ready soon."


    After that, Sonia rose to her feet and quickly changed into the dress beforeing out.


    When Mary and Julia saw Soniae out in thest dress, theyplimented her again. They weren''t


    blindlyplimenting Sonia¡ªshe did look stunning in the dress.


    All those dresses fitted Sonia''s figure so well that they seemed like they were custom-tailored for her.


    She looked beautiful in every one of them.


    In the end, Sonia changed into her own clothes before handing all the clothes to Mary for them to be


    put away.


    Meanwhile, Julia was ted to see that because it meant Sonia had epted the clothes.


    Even though Sonia was yet to acknowledge Julia and their rtionship, Sonia had begun to ept


    Julia''s gifts. That alone was enough to make Julia excited.


    Julia stayed for lunch and left with a grin on her face.


    On the other hand, Mary was in the kitchen preparing some chicken to make a broth for Sonia that


    night.


    As Sonia was feeling bored, she sat on the couch and watched television. A whileter, the phone


    rang. It was a call from Charles.


    She quickly picked up the remote to pause her show before answering the call. "Hey, Charles."


    "Sonny." Charles'' tired voice came from the other end.


    Sonia felt her heart sink. "What''s the matter, Charles? Is¡ª"


    "She fell," Charles said.


    At first, Sonia was dumbfounded, but then she realized what those words meant and felt anxious. "Are


    you saying Daphne fell? How is she? Is she fine? Is the child okay?"


    Those were what Sonia was most worried about now.


    On the other end of the call, Charles was sitting on the bedside while looking at the pale woman in the


    bed. His eyes glistened, and he felt an inexplicable feeling inside his heart.


    There seemed to be distress, anger, and a few other emotions mixing inside his eyes.


    In the end, he looked away and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. "She''s fine. She slipped and


    fell. The nanny discovered her just in time and called for a doctor. They managed to keep the child."


    When Sonia heard that, she finally felt relieved. "That''s great, but it must be a painful fall. How is she


    doing?"


    Tightening his grip on his phone, Charles replied, "She''s showing some symptoms of miscarriage and


    needs to rest in bed for two months to get better."


    "Is it that serious?" She frowned, but then she thought it was reasonable as pregnant women were


    weaker.


    Sonia didn''t even fall and was just pregnant, and yet she still needed to be hospitalized to nurture her


    health. So, Daphne''s case had to be worse.


    Daphne''s condition could only be more serious than Sonia''s because Daphne was already in her


    second trimester of pregnancy.


    "I thought¡­ you wouldn''t tell me these things." Sonia rubbed her temples while saying that.


    Taking out a cigarette from his pocket, he seemed to suddenly think of something and ced the


    cigarette back before smiling. "You''ve emphasized it many times to tell you about such things. Also, I


    know that if I didn''t tell you, you would still call to ask me about it, so it would be better if I tell you


    upfront."


    "It''s good to hear that you know." Soniaughed. "Daphne is my friend. How do you expect me to not


    worry if I don''t know her condition? What are you nning to do now? Is Daphne¡ª"


    Before she could finish speaking, Charles interrupted her. "Everything will remain the same. She only


    has to take care of herself and give birth to the child."


    "What about after the child is born? What arrangements have you done for your child? What about


    Daphne?" Sonia asked.


    Charles pursed his lips and said nothing.


    Sonia sighed. "Charles, there you go again. You would stay quiet every time I ask you about these, but


    do you think you can avoid them forever? I don''t want to force you to do anything, but I hope you can


    come up with a n."


    "I understand. Alright, Sonny. I won''t interrupt your rest any longer. Talk to youter." After Charles said


    that, he hung up.


    On the other hand, Sonia looked at her phone helplessly. This fellow is always like that, avoiding


    problems when he can''t exin himself.


    "Young Mistress Sonia, what''s the matter?" Mary finished cooking her broth and came out of the


    kitchen. She caught Sonia''s frown. "Did something happen?"


    "It''s Charles," Sonia told Mary about the call just now.


    Mary knew about the matter between Charles and Daphne because Sonia had told her. When Mary


    heard that Daphne had a serious fall, she felt heartbroken for her. "Is she alright?"


    "They managed to keep the child, but Daphne has suffered some injuries to her body. She is now in the


    same situation as me and needs to stay in bed to recuperate. Madam Mary, I remember we still have a


    lot of supplements, right?"


    "Yes." Mary nodded. "Old Mrs. Fuller would send over a bunch of things now and then. Mrs. Lane and


    Young Master Toby would also buy some and keep them all in the kitchen. There is a huge pile of


    them, and you can''t finish them alone. Would you like me to take some out and send them to Daphne?"


    Mary asked.


    Sonia hummed in response. "Yes, I would like you to do that. Now that I know of her condition, I can''t


    just not do anything. Even though I can''t visit her, I can send her supplements. Madam Mary, I would


    like to trouble you to help me pick out some that suit her."


    "Sure, it''s just a trivial matter. I''ll start now." Mary smiled and received her orders before heading back


    inside the kitchen.


    The supplements were easy to choose because Daphne''s condition was about the same as Sonia''s.


    Therefore, Mary only had to pick one of each kind.


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    Moreover, these supplements were rare and expensive, and they were the best for pregnant women.


    Mary brought the supplements she found outside and ced them into boxes of all sizes.


    Following that, she called one of the bodyguards toe in. "I need to trouble you to bring these to


    Lane Corporation and give them to Mr. Charles."


    Once these were given to Charles, he would know how to deal with them.


    The bodyguard came over and picked up the boxes. "Sure, I''ll bring them over now."

 Chapter 1557

    Chapter 1557


    Chapter 1457 Tina Pushes Julia


    "Thank you," Sonia thanked him.


    Afterward, the bodyguard left.


    Mary went over and closed the door. "Young Mistress Sonia, would you like to take a rest? You seem a


    little tired."


    After yawning, Sonia agreed, "Yes, actually. Please wake me up after two hours."


    That was because she had a pregnancy checkup in two hours, so she had to be awake.


    Since Mary knew about it, she readily agreed, "Don''t worry. I''ll watch the time."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded before lying down in bed and falling asleep.


    Meanwhile at Trifecta Hospital, Julia came back in a happy mood. Titus saw her leave with big bags in


    her hands, so when she came back empty-handed, he immediately knew why she was so happy. He


    smiled and put down his phone, asking, "Did Sonny ept the dresses?"


    "She did." Julia nodded happily. "On the way there, I was so worried that she wouldn''t ept them.


    Luckily, all my worries were for nothing. I can''t express how happy I am. She also tried them on, and


    she looked stunning in them. I even took some pictures. Would you like to see them?"


    "What do you think?" Titus pretended to be angry and red at her.


    Sonia was his daughter, too, so his love for her wouldn''t be any less than Julia''s.


    Therefore, how could he not anticipate how beautiful Sonia looked in those dresses?


    Julia knew Titus was joking, so she wasn''t angry. She chuckled and gave him the phone, which he


    quickly epted.


    As his hands were bing more shaky day by day, he couldn''t hold the phone steadily without using


    both hands.


    Julia watched the scene with teary eyes, distressed.


    As Titus'' wife, she knew that her husband had almost reached the end of his lifespan and that she


    would soon lose him.


    Deep down, she acknowledged that he was the one having the toughest time.


    Seeming to have noticed the change in Julia''s emotions, Titus beckoned her over. "Come here. Let''s


    look at the pictures together."


    "Sure." Julia knew he was trying to pull her out of her current emotion so that she wouldn''t think too


    much about it.


    Unwilling to disappoint him, Julia took a deep breath and barely suppressed the sadness inside her.


    Then, she forced out a smile and walked over.


    The two of them leaned against the headboard while looking through pictures of Sonia. While they


    were ncing through the pictures, they had affectionate smiles on their faces. It was a very


    heartwarming scene.


    At that moment, a tall and slim figure that belonged to a woman appeared outside the door to the ward.


    She stood outside with her ear against the door. When she heard theughtering from inside, her


    pretty face instantly twisted into a scornful expression.


    That was because she heard the people inside talking about Sonia, and the tone they were speaking in


    was filled with pride and affection.


    The woman couldn''t ept that and was gnashing her teeth so hard that they almost broke.


    How disgusting. They''ve only known about Sonia''s identity for a few days, yet they''re already so


    worked up about everything rted to her. What about me? They''ve raised me for over twenty years,


    but I never heard them talk about me with such joy! What does Sonia have that I don''t? Is it because


    she''s their real daughter while I''m not?


    The woman clenched her hands tightly together as her whole body was filled with jealousy, anger, and


    hatred.


    She hated Sonia, but she hated the Gray couple even more.


    Is being rted by blood that important? I''ve been with them for over twenty years, yet I still can''t be


    compared to Sonia, who they just learned about a few days ago. Clearly, I have spent more time with


    them and cared a lot about them, but in their hearts, it''s always their biological daughter who is more


    important. How ironic.


    The more she thought about it, the more jealous she became. Tina ced her hands on the door


    before curling her hand into a w and wing fiercely at the door with her sharp nails, which made a


    harsh scratching noise.


    Inside the room, Titus and Julia heard that sound and stopped what they were doing. They looked


    toward the door.


    "What''s that?" Titus asked.


    While shaking her head, Julia got down from the hospital bed. "I''ll go take a look."


    She wore her slippers and headed for the door. When she opened it, the figure outside was caught by


    surprise and lost footing. The person fell toward Julia, almost falling into her arms.


    Shocked by what was happening, Julia hurriedly took one step backward.


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    That person didn''t catch hold of something to break her fall and thus fell right onto the floor inside the


    ward. "Ouch!" Her face looked pale, and her forehead was wet with cold sweat.


    Clearly, her fall wasn''t a light one.


    "Who are you?" Julia looked at the woman on the ground and frowned, asking, "Why did you make the


    scratching noises?" Ugh, what an ill-mannered youngdy.


    Tina heard the disdain and frustration in Julia''s voice, and then she recalled Julia''s doting and


    affectionate voice when talking about Sonia.


    Her expression became even more distorted as the jealousy in her eyes increased.


    She didn''t expect Julia would suddenlye over and open the door, which caused her to lose her


    bnce and fall.


    Her legs had healed, but she could barely walk. Now that she had taken such a hard fall, there might


    be someplications with her legs again.


    Meanwhile, her hatred for Julia shot up even more when she noticed Julia didn''t intend to help her up


    and apologize but instead used a questioning tone to speak with her.


    Tina supported herself while slowly getting off the ground. Then, she stared coldly at Julia.


    Julia was shocked by Tina''s gaze. "W-Why are you looking at me like that? I didn''t push you. You were


    the one standing outside our door, eavesdropping on us. How would I know you would fall when I


    opened the door? Not mentioning you might have any ulterior motives standing here, and now you


    have the guts to re at me. You¡ªWait, your face¡­ is familiar. I think I''ve seen you before."


    While squinting her eyes, Julia began carefully observing Tina''s face.


    A few secondster, she suddenly recalled who the young woman was and became furious. "Anya


    Steinfeld! You''re Anya Steinfeld! The woman who hurt my daughter and tried to steal my daughter''s


    husband!"


    Julia pointed at Tina and questioned, "I can''t believe it''s you. What are you doing here?"


    Listening to how Julia kept mentioning "my daughter" and how protective of Sonia she was, Tina


    couldn''t stand it anymore and gnashed her teeth.


    Just as Tina was about to say something, Titus spoke up from inside the room. "That''s enough. Don''t


    waste too much time talking to this woman and just call the cops."


    When Tina heard that they wanted to call the cops, she was first stunned. Then, she became flustered.


    "No, you can''t call the cops."


    If she were to get apprehended by the cops, they would investigate her background. By then, even


    Connor wouldn''t help her.


    Connor had previously warned her toy low and not get arrested, or else he wouldn''t help bail her out


    the second time.


    If she got arrested the second time, her identity would be exposed, and Toby would¡­


    Tina dared not think any further, so she grabbed Julia''s hand and begged her not to call the cops.


    However, Julia threw Tina''s hand away and demanded an answer, "Why do you have to grab my hands


    while talking? And you said to not call the cops, so you are up to something. Say it, why are you here?"


    "I-I got lost." Tina looked down and lied.


    Julia sneered. "Got lost? Do you think I will believe you? You came here to eavesdrop on us, yet you


    tell me you got lost? You must have an ulterior motive, so I can''t let you leave so easily."


    In order to ensure her safety and to help her daughter get revenge, Julia couldn''t let this woman leave


    so easily.


    When Tina saw that Julia had decided to call the cops, she angrily pushed Julia to the ground and


    stormed away.


    I can''t be talking to the cops! Not before I get my revenge.


    Tina sprinted out of the ward on this floor and entered the elevator.


    As for Julia, she was currently sitting on the floor in pain, breaking out in a cold sweat and moaning.


    Titus hurriedly got off the bed and shakingly approached her, asking, "What happened?"

 Chapter 1558

    Chapter 1558


    Chapter 1458 Titus¡¯ Ruthless Nature


    "I think I hurt my waist." Julia''s expression was distorted from the pain, and beads of cold sweat were


    appearing on her forehead.


    How could Titus not be distressed and anxious when seeing her state?


    But with his current health condition, he didn''t have much strength, so he couldn''t help Julia get up.


    Even if Titus could, he wouldn''t dare to move her.


    He didn''t know what injuries Julia''s waist sustained from the fall. What if he somehow made it worse


    after touching her?


    "Honey, hang on. I''ll call for the doctor." After saying that, Titus quickly moved toward the head of the


    bed while supporting himself with the bed to press the emergency button.


    Soon, the doctor and nurses came and did a quick checkup on Julia. Then, they helped her onto the


    stretcher.


    Though Titus wanted to go with her, he couldn''t leave his ward in his current condition, so he could only


    watch as his wife was sent away. He felt much more assured after sending a caretaker after them.


    No matter what, he was more assured if Julia had a caretaker apanying her.


    Once Julia was brought away by the doctor and nurses, Titus'' expression instantly turned vicious, and


    his eyes were filled with malice.


    Although he had learned to be kinder because of the matter with Sonia, he didn''t forget that being


    ruthless was his real nature.


    Not only did that Anya woman dare to eavesdrop on us, but she also hurt my daughter and pushed my


    wife. She''d better not let me find her.


    While thinking of that, he took out his phone and called someone to hunt down Anya. He wouldn''t be


    called Titus Gray if he didn''t let that woman pay a painful price for what she did.


    Unfortunately for him, the police called him right after he made his call.


    After Titus had turned himself in, he made a deal with the police. In exchange for not having to head


    over to the police station and cooperate with their investigation, the police would keep tabs on him


    during this period.


    Therefore, when the police found out that Titus was nning to target a woman despite being under


    their watch, they had to question him.


    "President Gray, you clearly know what situation you''re in, yet you''re still going to break thew. Aren''t


    you afraid that we will immediately call off the deal and bring you straight to the precinct?" The police


    officer''s stern voice came from the phone.


    Meanwhile, Titus knew his behavior would evoke rage from the police, but he didn''t regret his decision.


    "I know it''s wrong, but that woman hurt my daughter, and she just injured my wife by shoving her. I


    don''t even know how my wife is doing now, so how do you expect me to let that woman go?"


    "Even so, you can''t use your own means to deal with her. Instead, you should have told us." The police


    officer frowned and warned.


    Titus snorted. "If I let you people deal with this matter, she would only get a light punishment. That is


    not the result I want, so of course, I wouldn''t look for you."


    "You¡ª" The police officer was pissed to hear what Titus said. "Fine. There''s no need for me to say that


    much to you. All in all, don''t do anything irrational. That woman isn''t as simple as she seems. President


    Fuller and the police are all keeping tabs on her, so you can''t do anything to her for now."


    "What does that mean?" Titus frowned. "Isn''t she just an orphan? Why are you and Toby keeping tabs


    on her?" Could she be some kind of fugitive?


    The police officer replied meaningfully, "Anyway, just don''t meddle in this matter. Her identity isn''t as


    simple as it seems, and she is involved in several cases."


    In fact, Toby had provided the police with evidence that proved Tina faked her death and became Anya.


    Therefore, the police were keeping Anya and Connor under their surveince.


    Once there was an opportunity for them to find evidence to prove Connor murdered Homer, they would


    immediately arrest him.


    They hadn''t arrested Tina because they were afraid of alerting the enemy. After all, Tina and Connor


    were now aplices.


    Once they arrested Tina, Connor would definitely try to escape, and if he couldn''t escape, he might


    resort to desperate measures.


    That was why the police hadn''t done anything besides keeping them on their watch list.


    The police were close to arresting them because they seemed to have found some clues but still


    lacked conclusive evidence.


    The police had even specially held a meeting about this to ensure that there wouldn''t be any loose


    ends.


    In addition, Tina was Titus'' adopted daughter, so they couldn''t let Titus deal with Tina directly.


    What if Titus found out that Anya was Tina? Would that evoke his paternal love for her and make him


    help her?


    Meanwhile, Titus had no idea about the police''s worries. He had a vague feeling that something was


    amiss, so he asked, "What did Anya do to make Toby so alerted?"


    He was sure that it wasn''t because of what Anya did to Sonia because Anya had already paid the price


    for that, so Toby had no reason to deal with a woman who had paid the price for what she did.


    Therefore, there had to be some other reason, but Titus wasn''t sure whether it involved Toby or Sonia.


    If it involved Sonia, he would even give his life to end that woman, but if it involved Toby, he wouldn''t


    bother about it.


    Nah, he took my daughter away. I can''t be bothered about him.


    "President Gray, you shouldn''t be asking that because of security regtions. Anyway, listen, don''t do


    anything reckless or we''ll have to forfeit the agreement."


    After making himself clear, the police officer hung up.


    Titus frowned deeply but couldn''t do anything, even though he was displeased.


    Forget it. I''ll temporarily let this slide so that I can see what the police are up to. If the police do catch


    that woman, I can just bribe someone to help me give her a good wee. But if the police aren''t


    giving her the necessary "treatment," I''ll deal with her my way.


    As Titus thought about that, he put down his phone.


    ¡­


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Mary supported Sonia as they made their way to the gynecology department. "Young Mistress Sonia,


    what''s the matter? I feel like you haven''t been in a good mood since you woke up. You seem


    depressed, like there''s something on your mind." On the way there, Mary noticed Sonia''s pale


    complexion and felt concerned.


    Sonia shook her head. "I don''t know either. Since I woke up, I have been feeling stuffy. It''s hard to


    describe."


    "Hmm¡­ What could it be?"


    "I''m not sure." Sonia massaged the middle of her eyebrows. "I just feel like something bad is about to


    happen. Maybe I''m just overthinking."


    Mary patted the back of Sonia''s hand and assured her, "Maybe that''s the reason, but don''t think too


    much about it. Maybe you''re just having a moody day. It''smon for pregnant women to feel that


    way."


    "Really?" Sonia squeezed out a smile, seeming to have believed in Mary''s words.


    Or else, how could she exin this situation?


    "Mrs. Fuller, you''re here." When they arrived at the gynecology department, a doctor specializing in


    pregnancies was already waiting for them by the entrance.


    Sonia smiled in response, and the doctor invited her into the consultation room.


    As Sonia''spany, Mary went in as well.


    It was just an ordinary pregnancy checkup, the same as those she had done before, so it ended


    quickly.


    Since she was still in early pregnancy, at about three months, the moreplicated tests would have


    to wait until the baby was about five to six months old.


    After the checkup, Mary helped Sonia out of the room and asked, "Young Mistress Sonia, would you


    like to wait here or inside the ward?"


    "Let''s wait here." Sonia sat down at the side. "I''ve been staying inside the ward for so long. I feel like


    I''m about to go crazy."


    Mary covered her mouth while sheughed. "That''s true. Well, let''s sit here and wait."


    Then, she sat beside Sonia and chatted with her.


    About half an hourter, the doctor came over with the results, but his expression seemed strange.


    Noticing that, Sonia felt her heart sink. "What is it, Doctor?"

 Chapter 1559

    Chapter 1559


    Chapter 1459 Pregnant With Twins


    Did something happen to the fetus?


    Mary also had the same uneasy thoughts.


    She anxiously asked the OB-GYN, "What''s wrong, doctor? Say something! You''re scaring us."


    Mary pat Sonia on the shoulder to reassure her as she spoke. "Easy, Young Mistress Sonia, nothing


    bad will happen."


    Even so, Mary knew that Sonia could not just stay calm.


    It''s not me who''s expecting a child and I''m worried sick. Naturally, Young Mistress Sonia would


    definitely be more anxious and concerned than everybody else.


    As soon as the doctor noticed Sonia and Mary''s anxious faces, he grinned and said, "Oh, Mrs. Fuller,


    don''t be rmed. Things are not as bad as you think. Instead, it is something positive."


    "What positive thing?" Sonia and Mary exchanged nces after hearing the doctor''s words.


    Mary finally exhaled a sigh of relief and asked, "Gosh, Doctor, you scared us with that expression just


    now."


    Sonia didn''t say anything, but she gave the doctor a resentful nce.


    "I''m sorry. I didn''t anticipate things to turn out like this, so I couldn''t hold it in," the OB-GYN said with an


    apologetic smile.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    "So, what''s the good news, Doctor?" Sonia asked hastily while clenching her hands.


    "Yeah. Please exin everything clearly, Doctor. What is going on?" Mary asked as she nodded


    instantly.


    Without further ado, he handed over the examination report to them.


    Sonia took a look at the report and eventually noticed that something was unusual. She widened her


    eyes in shock immediately, eximing, "What does this mean? What do you mean by healthy twin


    pregnancy..."


    Wait.


    Seeing Sonia''s bewildered look, the OB-GYN nodded with a smile. "That''s right, Mrs. Fuller. It''s exactly


    what you think. Congrattions, you''re expecting twins."


    It took some time for Mary to grasp the doctor''s exnation. She then came back to her senses. "What


    did you say? Twins?"


    "Yeah," the doctor replied.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Mary grabbed the report from Sonia''s hand as she couldn''t believe the news.


    When she saw the report results, she was forced to believe it.


    "Is this true? But how is this even possible?" Mary expressed her confusion.


    Sonia felt the same. "Yeah, Doctor. Why am I expecting twins? It was clear that there was only one


    child when I did the ultrasound. "


    Sonia promptly questioned as she touched her stomach. "I have undergone numerous prenatal


    examinations over the past three months. No one told me that it''s a set of twins the entire time."


    Why does the checkup result say it''s a pair of twins this time?


    The OB-GYN exined with a smile as she observed the two''s startled and perplexed expressions, "I


    understand how you two feel. This is extremely unbelievable. Although it is a rare case in the medical


    field, there are still simr cases. In fact, some twins will develop their embryos simultaneously,


    resulting in twins. However, some embryos will develop at different times, making it possible to detect


    only one embryo initially and the second er at a different stage."


    "Does it indicate that this second fetus was just recently formed?" Sonia asked, blinking in curiosity.


    "The time it takes for the father''s gene to fuse with the mother''s gene has been dyed by more than


    two months. It has actually been there in your body for a very long period. It is merely a baby with


    developmental dys," the OB-GYN exined.


    Sonia understood it now. Inyman''s words, the first baby developed far faster than the second, who


    just began growing after two months.


    "Oh, it''s no surprise that it was not discovered that you have twins all along, Young Mistress. This is


    such a miraculous urrence," said Mary who found it amusing.


    She thought that it was surprising, and quite incredible too.


    "I was ready to have just one child, but I didn''t anticipate another one," Sonia murmured, rubbing her


    stomach with an unexinable mixture of happiness and surprise.


    ¡°It''s not unusual. Our hospital once housed a mother who was carrying triplets. At first, only twins were


    discovered despite countless ultrasounds. The triplets were only discovered in the sixth month. Simr


    to your case, the third child also experienced dyed development.¡±


    "Anyhow, it''s a good thing. The Fullers will have two grandchildren, and it will be lively in the


    household!" Mary was ecstatic as she observed Sonia''s growing belly.


    Mary grinned as she looked forward to the birth of the babies.


    At the same time, Sonia was also a little concerned. "Doctor, does this mean this child will be much


    smaller and weaker than the first child in terms of body condition and health?" she asked.


    "This is undeniable given its developmental period is much shorter than the second child. The second


    child needs to be raised with extra caution as they will be born at the same time." the OB-GYN pushed


    her sses while responding to Sonia.


    Sonia was a little concerned after hearing this because she feared it might not be able to survive.


    Mary saw her concern and remarkedpassionately, "Don''t worry, Young Mistress Sonia. We have


    the money and the greatest medical care; even if the child is weak after delivery, we can surely nurse it


    back to good health."


    "Yeah, Mrs. Fuller, the child would be quite healthy. Even if it is born weak, with the current medical


    system and the Fullers'' financial advantages, raising this child would not be a problem. Even a typical


    family may be able to raise this child. Many children born at five or six months old can now stay in the


    incubator for a while and be just as healthy as those born at full term," the OB-GYNforted her.


    After hearing it from both of them, as well as the assurance of a skilled gynecologist, Sonia was able to


    let go of her remaining anxieties. "That''s lovely, that''s good." She regained her delightful and attractive


    look.


    "This is excellent news, Young Mistress Sonia, simply fantastic." Mary smiled brightly as she rubbed


    Sonia''s belly.


    "Yeah, I didn''t expect to be pregnant with twins," Sonia hummed and nodded.


    I''ll have two children!


    "Young Mistress, let us first return to the ward to inform Old Mrs. Fuller of this." Mary then assisted


    Sonia in leaving.


    Once they were back in the ward, Mary couldn''t wait to get her phone out and video call Rose to share


    the good news with her.


    Rose was astonished when she heard it, and it took her a long time to smack her thigh gleefully.


    "Alright, alright, this is truly excellent news!"


    She had two great-grandchildren on the way.


    There was nothing more gratifying than this.


    Following that, Rose requested to pay a visit to Sonia in the hospital. Sonia and Mary tried to persuade


    her froming, but they eventually gave in.


    After all, Rose was so joyful that they couldn''t bear not letting here.


    As soon as Rose hung up the video call, she asked Rosie to wrap up some gifts and bring her here.


    Rose grabbed Sonia''s hand as soon as they met, ecstatically asking about her present physical state.


    Sonia''s response was cut short.


    Mary and Rosie stood aside, looking amused by the grandmother-and-granddaughter-inws''


    interactions.


    "By the way, Sonny, did you tell Toby about such great news?" Rose asked after some time of the


    conversation.


    Mary and Sonia were both taken aback when she mentioned it.


    "I''m sorry, Grandma. I have forgotten about it." Sonia blushed as the corners of her mouth twitched


    even more.


    She buried her face, both amused and embarrassed.


    Shepletely forgot to tell the child''s father about this new update.

 Chapter 1560

    Chapter 1560


    Chapter 1460 Toby¡¯s Comcency


    It was awkward for Sonia as well as for Mary. "I''m sorry, Old Mrs. Fuller, but I haven''t. It seems that


    both Young Mistress Sonia and I have forgotten about it because we were too excited and wanted to


    deliver you the great news first. We didn''t think of Young Master Toby right away," Mary admitted


    cautiously.


    "Yeah, Grandma." Sonia tried to get away by sticking her tongue out.


    "Very well!" Rose couldn''t contain herughter. "This shows that I still hold a more important ce in


    your hearts than Toby."


    "That''s right! Grandma is my favorite." Sonia wrapped her arm over her and ced her head on Rose''s


    shoulder.


    "Alright, now that you have finally thought of him, do inform him ASAP. He is the father of the children.


    He shouldn''t be thest to know about this," Rose advised as she lightly patted Sonia on the back.


    Even though he wasn''t the first to know about the news, he should at least be the second.


    Sonia understood where Rose wasing from, so she nodded in agreement.


    "Young Mistress, it''s connecting." Mary handed her the phone.


    "Thank you, Madam Mary." Sonia took the phone with a smile and checked the screen, only to see that


    Toby had not picked up the call.


    All of a sudden, Sonia remembered something and went, "By the way, Grandma, would we be


    bothering Toby at this time as it''s still nighttime abroad? Shouldn''t he still be sleeping now?" Sonia


    asked, gazing at Rose and others.


    Don''t wanna disturb his sleep, do we?


    Everyone was quiet for a little moment after she said that; clearly, they had forgotten about the time


    zone difference.


    "It''s fine. This is celebratory news! What''s the harm in keeping him from that little bit of sleep? He''s still


    a young man; someck of sleep is fine," Rose brushed it off indifferently.


    "Yeah, Young Mistress Sonia. You should just call him. He won''t me you for calling him. You''re his


    favorite person," Mary agreed with Rose.


    Sonia smiled as she ced the phone to her ear. Well, since Toby''s grandmother said so.


    "Hello..." A husky and gruff voice of a man came from the other end of the phone. It was clear that the


    drowsy man was awoken abruptly and that he had picked up the call abruptly without checking who the


    caller was. "Is this Tim?"


    "It''s me, honey." Sonia smiled as she answered the phone with both hands.


    Toby was taken aback for a moment by the voice at first, and then he promptly opened his eyes.


    Putting up with the brightness of the screen, he checked and confirmed that it was Sonia on the line.


    He was now awakened. He rose in bed and turned on the bedsidemp, then leaned against the


    nightstand. "Why are you calling me at this hour, darling? Is there something wrong?" He sounded


    worried.


    He knew her well enough to know that she was never the one to call him during his breaks.


    He had been here for two days and never once did Sonia call when it was midnight for him, so he was


    worried that something terrible had happened to her.


    Sonia could hear the worry and anxiety in his tone on the other end of the phone which made her heart


    warm. She replied with a grin, "No, nothing''s wrong. I''m fine! I''m calling at this time to deliver you some


    good news."


    "What good news?" Toby exhaled a sigh of relief after hearing that everything was alright and


    proceeded to lean on the head of the bed while smiling and rubbing his temples.


    He appeared ecstatic about the wonderful news that was going to be shared. It must have been a


    shocking piece of news that she had to call in the middle of the night.


    "The wonderful news is... you''re going to be a dad!" Sonia rolled her eyes and made a valiant effort to


    keep him perplexed.


    When everyone next to her heard what she said, they all chuckled.


    Rose even nodded her forehead in a doting way, saying, "You naughty girl."


    "Hey, is that Grandma? I think I heard Grandma''s voice," Toby asked, his eyebrows shot up.


    "Yeah, it''s Grandma. She came to visit me today, and she asked me to call to tell you the good news.


    Are you happy to be a father, honey?" Holding down herughs, Sonia questioned.


    "Didn''t I already know this three months ago?" The corner of Toby''s mouth twitched. "Why is it that


    you''re saying this again?"


    Toby pondered whether she intentionally made this call to tease him in light of Grandma and others''


    laughter earlier.


    "Well, that was three months ago; we should be focusing on the present, honey. What I''m saying is that


    you''re going to be the father of another child!" Sonia chuckled.


    "Huh? What do you mean?" Toby couldn''tprehend it. Confusion was written all over his face.


    He thought that was odd.


    "Alright, honey, I won''t tease you anymore. I just want to inform you that I have not one but two babies


    in my tummy!" Sonia''s shoulders were shaking from theughter.


    "What? Two babies?" Toby was taken aback, thinking he had misheard.


    "Yes, hubby, I''m expecting twins. Are you happy?" Sonia asked eagerly.


    Toby was stunned by her words. Thus, he sat still for a long time in a daze.


    He returned to his senses after a while only when he heard Sonia calling his name on the phone again.


    His voice was quivering. "You mean you''re having twins, honey? Is it true that you''re expecting two


    children?"


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    "That''s exactly what I''m saying! I am expecting twins," Sonia affirmed with a nod.


    "How could this be?" Toby frowned in puzzlement. "Wasn''t it just one child? How did they be


    twins? Did the baby split in half?"


    Such a thought urred to him.


    Rose and the others happened to hear him because the phone call was on loudspeaker.


    Mary and Rosie exchanged delighted nces.


    Everyone else wasughing except for Rose, who showed a displeased face. "What nonsense are you


    sprouting, brat? Do you not understand biology despite having a few doctoral degrees?"


    Toby''s mouth twitched as he heard his grandma''s nasty remarks. "Grandma, I was just joking. Don''t be


    angry."


    Rose scoffed. "It''s not that the first baby was split into two, but there are already two babies. It''s just


    that one embryo started growing first, while the second embryo was still incubating. The second


    embryo development is two months behind schedule. It has only now begun to develop and hence


    detected by the ultrasound."


    Toby finally understood it after hearing his grandmother''s exnation and nodded in agreement,


    saying, "I see. I get it now."


    Rose chuckled with delight. "The Fuller family has never had twins. Sonny''s the first woman in the


    family to bring such happy news. You are certainly a lucky star for our family."


    "You tter me, Grandma." Sonia''s cheeks reddened as she was a little embarrassed by Rose''s praise.


    "Oh, Sonny, it''s the truth. We are so grateful for you!" The olderdy gave her a lovely and gracious


    grin.


    Toby, on the other end of the phone, felt funny.


    Hey, I made that two children, too. Why doesn''t Grandma give me some credit? Little Leaf will not be


    unable to conceive the twins without me. Wow! I can''t believe we''re having twins. I actually made Little


    Leaf conceive twins!


    He leaped out of bed and walked to the bathroom, where he stood in front of the mirror and thoroughly


    examined himself.


    A grin crept on his face as he did, and his grin couldn''t hide hiscency and pride.


    "You''re phenomenal!" Toby propped his hands on both sides of the sink, stared in the mirror deeply,


    and praised himself.


    You not only got Sonia pregnant, but you also got her pregnant with two children. How many men in the


    world can do that?


    Toby stared at himself proudly in the mirror for a little while before returning to the room and taking up


    the phone that still had the call connected. "Honey, are you still there?"

 Chapter 1561

    Chapter 1561


    Chapter 1461 Home Sweet Home


    Sonia was still talking with Rose and the others when the man''s voice resounded from the other side of


    the line. She picked the phone up. "Yes, I''m here. I was wondering where you went. Where did you


    go?"


    After Toby''s sudden silence, she and Rose called his name several times but in vain. She wouldn''t be


    waiting for him had the call been terminated.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    His gaze wavered upon the thought of his silly self-affirmation in the toilet. He let out a wry cough. "I


    was sending an important document. Sorry to keep you hanging."


    She bought his words as he was a busy man. "I see."


    Rose was the only person who pouted. Sending document at this hour? Lies! We woke him up from his


    sleep, and he''s sending a document out of a sudden? Only Sonia¡ªthe innocent girl¡ªwill believe those


    words. He can''t fool us the elders.


    Mary and Rosie saw through his lies as well. They were chuckling.


    "How are you feeling, honey?" Being pregnant with twins was definitely difficult. Toby was worried that


    Sonia''s body wouldn''t be able to take it, hence the possibility of going for a multifetal pregnancy


    reduction.


    Based on the parenting book he read, there were cases where mothers of multiple pregnancies


    actually resorted to a multifetal pregnancy reduction to save the mother and children.


    That way, it wouldn''t be a burden to the mother''s body and cause healthplications.


    Needless to say, he decided to keep it to himself for the moment because Sonia was over the moon by


    the twins. He wouldn''t want to rain on her parade.


    "I''m totally fine." She caressed her belly. "I still feel as energetic as usual. It might be because the


    babies are just taking their forms. I feel nothing yet."


    Feeling assured, he nodded. "Okay. Take care. I''ll be back in two days."


    "Alright. I''ll be waiting. It''s gettingte. You should get some sleep. You''re a busy man. It will be bad if


    you don''t get enough rest. Let''s talk tomorrow."


    "Okay."


    As Sonia set the phone down, Rose grinned. "Can''t stand being away from your husband? You guys


    sure are cute."


    Sonia blushed, causing Rose to smile. "Okay. I''ll stop with the teasing. You''re still as shy as before."


    "Grandma." Sonia frowned at Rose, who burst intoughter of merriment.


    Soon, Tim came. Before this, the news of Sonia being pregnant with twins had put him in a trance for a


    long time. So, he paid a visit to check on her situation.


    Noticing Rose''s presence, he gently pushed his spectacles and greeted her politely. She had a good


    impression of him; he was not the monster people said he was. So, what if he has an affective


    disorder? Does that mean he is not a human? Besides, Timmy had neither done anything against the


    law nor hurt anyone. He is a doctor who saves lives!


    Rose, for one, was grateful to Tim for his excellent care for Sonia. His polite salutation had earned him


    merits too.


    "Here to check on Sonny, Dr. Lancaster?" she asked.


    He nodded. "Heard she''s pregnant with a twin, so I''m here to check if she''s alright for tomorrow''s


    corneal surgery."


    "I see. Go ahead." She rose from her seat with the help of a walking stick, making way for him.


    Tim came up to Sonia, but he did not examine her right away. "Congrattions. You and Toby are sure


    lucky to have twins as your first."


    She smiled. "It is a pleasant surprise. I still can''t tell if it''s real."


    "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" He took the pen from his left chest pocket.


    She shook her head. "Nope. Nothing feels out of ordinary."


    "That''s great. It seems like we can proceed with the surgery tomorrow as scheduled, but we should


    monitor your condition for the day. We have to make sure that you''repletely fine."


    Sonia and Mary nodded simultaneously, after which Tim kept the pen and took out a small torch to


    check her pupils.


    Once he was sure that there was no change in them, he turned off the torch. "Okay. I have a big picture


    of how it is now. We will have the surgery at about this hour tomorrow, but you have to stay alert until


    then. Tell me as soon as you feel unwell."


    "Got it." Sonia was serious when it concerned her children.


    "Okay. I should get going now." He turned around to leave.


    Rose watched the leaving figure. "He is such a fine man. He has taken good care of Sonny and Toby


    so much. Skillful but a little egoistic. He doesn''t just tend to any patient, huh? I heard that he has turned


    down a lot of them."


    "Yup. The Lancasters pleaded with him for life, but he did not say ''yes.''" Mary nodded.


    Being someone with a more straightforward attitude, Rosie pouted. "They had iting. I bet he


    would''ve agreed to the request if they had treated him better."


    "You''re right. Karma always hits us back. We can''t me others." Rose smiled.


    She left the hospital thereafter. Her energy limit had diminished as she aged; she felt exhausted easily.


    That being said, she was reluctant to stay at the nursing home no matter how much they persuaded


    her.


    There was one time when Toby was ready to force her to get some treatment at the nursing home, but


    she refused by swearing that she would cut ties with him. What else could he have done in the face of


    such a threat? He raised the white g in the end.


    Toby knew exactly why his grandmother refused to go to the nursing home. Death did not fear Rose in


    the slightest; she was ready to ept her demise at any time.


    Thus, she figured that there was no need to go to the nursing home. Even if she could live longer, there


    was a limit; death was inevitable.


    Therefore, staying in the nursing home under fetter just to extend her longevity was unnecessary. The


    loss of liberty would only stifle her.


    She''d rather stay at Fuller Residence counting time.


    Having been left with no choice, Toby gave up on the nursing home option and recruited a medical


    team to look after Rose at home.


    Despite her receiving meticulous care and having no serious illnesses, her body had reached its limits.


    She would sleep after barely staying awake for a few hours.


    In hindsight, Sonia did not insist Rose stay in worry that the elderly woman might fall asleep at the


    hospital since being at home was always the mostfortable for the elders. She''ll feel safer resting at


    home rather than here.

 Chapter 1562

    Chapter 1562


    Chapter 1462 A Cheeky Tyler


    Mary sent Rose and Rosie off before returning to the patient room. "Young Mistress Sonia, Old Mrs.


    Fuller has left."


    "Thank you, Madam Mary," thanked Sonia.


    "Don''t sweat. It is my duty. I''m Old Mrs. Fuller''s friend for years." A smiling Mary then served a bowl of


    chicken soup. "Have some."


    "Thanks." Sonia took the bowl of soup from Mary.


    Mary took a seat at a side. "Young Mistress Sonia, don''t you think that we should tell Mrs. Lane and the


    others as well about the twin?"


    "Yup." Sonia took a sip of the soup. "I''ll message her. I think she''s going to stop byter."


    "Given her fiery demeanor, that is for sure." Mary giggled, and something came across her mind. "What


    about the Gray Family?"


    The smile on Sonia''s face faded a little. "There''s no need to tell them personally. They''ll find it out


    sooner orter."


    "True." Understanding Sonia''s intention, Mary merely nodded and stop asking further. Meanwhile,


    Sonia lost her appetite and drank the soup slowly.


    As Sonia had expected, Grace was jumping for joy upon learning the news of Sonia being pregnant


    with twins. She paid a visit to the hospital with a lot of gifts.


    She had so many questions for Sonia that thetter could not find the opening to answer them. The


    hrious situation warmed Sonia''s heart. After all, many people sincerely cared for her. Regardless of


    how busy they were, anything trivial that happened to her was enough to make them make the trip for


    her.


    Sonia felt blessed.


    "Oh, Sonia, I heard that Mrs. Gray has been visiting you these days." Grace was making Sonia a cup of


    milk.


    "Yup. I didn''t insist on it, but she visits every day. The sheer thought of it makes me soft." It was the


    truth; she let Julia be because of her softened heart and, of course, Julia''s new-found rtionship with


    her.


    Grace handed over the ss of milk to Sonia. "I understand. They are inhumane, but they genuinely


    care for you. It''s hard not to show them mercy."


    "Mrs. Lane, am I making the right choice?" Sonia pulled over the nket with confused eyes. "I wanna


    avenge my father, but I covet love from the Gray couple. It may look like I''m refusing them, but that is


    not the whole truth; I''m still taking pleasure in their affection. Is it fair for me to do so? Am I an unfilial


    daughter?"


    That was her biggest concern.


    Grace sat by the bed to hug Sonia. "I feel you, Sonny, but there''s something I gotta tell you¡ªyou''re not


    wrong. They are your biological parents and it is a given that they love you and that you ept it. It


    doesn''t mean that you''re betraying your father. It doesn''t work that way. The Grays are aware of how


    much they owe you, so they didn''t insist you ept them as your parents. Whatever they''re doing right


    now is out of their willingness. Your eptance in fact makes them happier. Besides, you haven''t


    epted them as your parents, have you?"


    As long as Sonia did not acknowledge the Gray couple as her parents, she did not have to feel sorry.


    Sonia rested her head on Grace''s shoulder. "Is that so¡­"


    "Now, now. Just go with the flow." Grace patted Sonia''s shoulder.


    "Okay." Sonia straightened her back to drink the milk.


    Grace rose from the bed to keep the milk powder. "When will Toby be back? It has been two days,


    right?"


    Sonia''s mood brightened in fleeting seconds as she broke into a smile. "Yeah. He should be back in


    two days. We talked over the phone a moment ago."


    "So, how did he react at the news?" questioned Grace curiously.


    "Very happy."


    "Good to hear that. Once he''s back, he should give you the best care. I mean, you''re pregnant with


    twins. That''s double the suffering! And it''s all because of him," Grace grumbled, tickling Sonia''s funny


    bone.


    "My dear sister-inw!" Someone opened the door abruptly. In a tracksuit, Tyler walked in with a


    handful of shopping bags.


    "Sonia, I''m here to see you. Look, I''ve bought a lot of things for my dear niece!" said the man aloud as


    if he was worried that no one could hear him.


    "Yes, I can tell. Didn''t you bring a bunch of them just yesterday? Why are you bringing a truck full of


    them again? There''s no space to keep all these. Besides, what is the use of bringing them here? I''m far


    frombor. No one will be using them at the moment." Sonia gave him an eye roll. They''ll only take up


    a lot of space.


    He ced the stuff on the floor and shed a pristine smile at Grace. "Mrs. Lane, you''re here."


    She gave him a nod while grinning. "You''ve grown taller, Young Master Tyler. I expect nothing less from


    a basketball yer. It hurts my neck to meet your eyes."


    "Thanks for thepliment, Mrs. Lane, but I''m not that tall." He loved it the most whenever someone


    complimented his height, hence the crescent-like eyes.


    Sonia shook her head helplessly and stated the problem, "Alright, stop getting giddy over that. Tell me,


    what am I supposed to do with the pile of things here? Do you think that this is your storage or


    something? It''ll be a hassle to move them when I''m discharged."


    Tyler waved his head as if it was not a big deal. "Easy. I''ll ask a group of people to move them. Or, we


    can just throw them away. We can buy them again anyway."


    "Easily said." She nodded.


    But all these things require money. My man''s hard-earned money! Geez. Tyler is such a spendthrift!


    She rolled her eyes at him, whereas the unbothered man began showing off the gifts.


    Grace smiled. "Young Master Tyler, you keep assuming that it''s a girl. What if it''s a boy? He won''t be


    able to use them."


    "That''s nothing. We can just buy a new set," he announced his n on splurging money.


    "That will be bad. I think you can start buying a new set for boys now. It might be a girl and a boy in


    Sonia''s belly, who knows," she added.


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    "No way." He took it as a joke. "There''s only one baby in her belly. How can it be a girl and a boy at the


    same time? Is the baby intersex?"


    Sonia''s face fell at that. Mary smacked the back of his head. "What are you talking about, you silly


    brat?"


    She even omitted the formal address when she called him out.


    Tyler covered the back of his head, whining, "What''s that for, Madam Mary? How is it my fault? Mrs.


    Gray is the one who said that it might be a girl and a boy. But there is only one, right? If what you said


    is true, then it''ll be¡ª"


    "Zip it!" Sonia red at him. "Did the word twins note to your mind at all?"


    "Twins?" He guffawed. "Are you kidding me? You''re pregnant with only one though?"


    He alternated his gaze between the both of them, who were staring at him without uttering a word. Only


    then did he be serious and swallow his saliva. "No way? Is that true? Are you pregnant with twins,


    sister-inw?"

 Chapter 1563

    Chapter 1563


    Chapter 1463 Teach My Nephew Basketball


    Sonia kept silent while Mary nodded. "Yes, it is true."


    "Howe?!" Tyler sprang up. "I thought she was pregnant with only one baby. Howe it''s twins


    now?"


    "Don''t fool me. I''m not an idiot." He pointed at Sonia. He had poor academic intelligence, but it did not


    mean that he was a fool.


    Sonia gazed at him. "Fool you? We don''t have the energy to fool a silly boy like you."


    Grace giggled, and Mary smiled. "You heard us right, Young Master Tyler. Young Mistress Sonia is


    having twins."


    "No way." He still found it hard to believe it. "But you didn''t tell me that when I visited yesterday. How


    did one baby just turn into twins all of a sudden? Toby is not in the country. Howe you''re pregnant


    with another one?"


    "Silly boy." Mary red at him. "The twins have been there from the very start, but the machine failed to


    catch it because the second baby has a rather slower growth. We found out about it only today. That''s


    why we were told it was only one baby."


    "Is that even possible?" Tyler was nonplussed upon the discovery that it was possible for the machines


    to overlook things because the other embryo experienced slow growth. He blinked his nk eyes,


    showing how eye-opening it was.


    Sonia shook her head at his hrious reaction. "Strange, huh."


    He finally gathered his thoughts and came up to the bed to look at her covered belly. He questioned


    once again because he could not believe his ears. "Sister-inw, you''re not lying, are you?"


    "I''m not. The result is there. Take a look at it for yourself." She rolled her eyes before pouting her lips at


    the document atop the headboard.


    He shook his head. "It''s fine. Forget it. I can''t even read textbooks for a second. My head spins


    whenever I read. I believe you. Dang, this world is full of wonders."


    "Yup. Had she not gone for the checkup, we wouldn''t have known," Mary eximed.


    Tyler grinned. "That''s great, man. Twins? You''re a superwoman, sister-inw. It''s the first in our family."


    "Yeah. Old Mrs. Fuller said the same thing." Mary smiled.


    He chuckled. "I''ll have two nieces in the future."


    "You don''t like the idea of having a nephew, do you? Having a niece and a nephew will be quite perfect,


    won''t it? Why must it be two nieces?" Grace inquired.


    "That''s because girls are adorable! They''re bubbly and cute! Boys are way too cheeky to handle."


    "How could you say that? Everyone''s different. How about a quiet & well-behaved nephew?" Grace


    added. "Besides, so what if he''s a running-around-type boy? You can teach him basketball."


    "Teach him basketball?" His eyes lit up. "Right, I can teach my nephew basketball! Mrs. Lane, you''re a


    genius! Sister-inw, I''ve decided that I want a niece and a nephew. I will teach the boy basketball


    while the girl cheers for us."


    The thought of living such a life made him happy.


    She shook her head at his anticipation. "Do you think that I can determine their gender as you wish?"


    "I don''t care. I want it to be a niece and a nephew," Tyler whined.


    Sonia rolled her eyes, ignoring him. He then walked to the toys he had purchased. "These are for my


    niece only, so it is unbing of me. From tomorrow onwards, I will buy something for my nephew


    too."


    "And don''t bring them here," Sonia reminded. "It''s not a storage space. It''ll be cramped in a few days if


    you keep this act up."


    "Well, where should I bring them to, then?" He raised his head at her.


    She kneaded her forehead. "Bring them to Four Seasons Residence. It''s our marital home."


    Toby and Sonia had not moved in yet. The renovation was still ongoing, and they would only move


    there after the delivery.


    "Yeah. Bring them there, Young Master Tyler. There is a yroom. You can buy as much as you fancy,"


    Mary agreed.


    Sonia did not thwart Tyler because toys were necessary for kids. With Tyler''s help, it would save the


    couple time from preparing those.


    "It''s settled then. I will ask someone to send them there." The innocent boy was clueless about Sonia''s


    intention.


    "Have you told Grandma and Toby about this?" Tyler put the gifts away before pulling a chair to the bed


    to take a seat. He also picked up an apple to eat.


    Sonia flipped through the book in her hands. "What''s your guess? They''re my grandmother and my


    husband. Do you think that I''ll tell you such big news first?"


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "True." The corner of his lips twitched. He thought he was the first person to know, so he wanted to


    tease Rose and Toby about it. However, that wishful thinking was short-lived.


    She shook her head as she saw through him. "Is school reopening soon?"


    "I don''t have to go to school."


    Dubious, Mary and Rose cast their gaze onto him simultaneously. Sonia frowned. "Why? It''s your third


    year in high school."


    "I have received an offer to a university." He grinned triumphantly. "I may be poor in academics, but I''m


    adept at basketball. My team is the champion of the U-17 World Junior Basketball Championships, and


    every one of us receives an offer. So, I need not go to school anymore. I''ll be reporting myself to the


    university when summer break''s over."


    "I see." Sonia nodded. "Lucky you."


    Enrolling in a university with his poor academic results would have been out of the question. Toby


    wouldn''t spend money to send Tyler to one either. Therefore, it was thanks to Toby''s talent that he was


    able to enroll in a university with his basketball skills.


    "It''s not luck. I have the skills." He corrected her.


    "Yeah, yeah. You have the skill. Happy?"


    The happy boy threw the apple core away before taking the book from Sonia''s hands. "Sister-inw, let


    me tell you a story. Toby told me to keep you entertained while he''s away, and it''s a critical matter


    concerning my pocket money. This is a serious matter. So, I''ll read it for you."


    Sonia chuckled. "My pleasure. I didn''t know that you can be this serious about something."


    "Oh, well. Money makes the world go round, isn''t it?"


    "Okay. Go ahead." She dly epted the offer.


    His matured side elicited a smile of relief on Mary''s visage as she began drying theundry on the


    balcony.


    She was going to keep the clothes Julia gifted after drying them, especially those that couldn''t be worn


    during pregnancy. They could be of use after Sonia''s delivery.


    Speaking of Mrs. Gray, why isn''t she here yet?

 Chapter 1564

    Chapter 1564


    Chapter 1464 Not Used to It


    Julia usually visited at this hour. Despite the doubt, Mary did not think much about it because Julia


    could bete due to having attended something urgent. After all, matters aroused when people least


    expected it.


    Grace did not stay for a long time. Now that Sonia hadpany, Grace intended to take her to leave


    first. Sonia called her, "Hold on, Mrs. Lane."


    "What''s wrong, Sonny?" Grace cast her bag onto her shoulder and halted to look at Sonia.


    Tyler stopped the story midway to gaze at Sonia, who bit her lip with a puzzled expression. "It''s


    nothing, but just keep an eye on Charles."


    "Charles? What''s wrong with him?" Grace questioned back.


    "I''m not in the position to say it. That''s all I can tell you. Just keep an eye on him." Sonia shook her


    head without revealing much.


    Grace understood that there had to be a reason behind Sonia''s hesitance, so Grace nodded. "Okay. I''ll


    keep that in mind. I will visit soon. Just ring me up if there''s anything. I wille if I have the time."


    "Okay. Be careful on your way home." Sonia smiled faintly.


    After Grace left, Sonia finally heaved a sigh. A curious Tyler leaned toward her. "What was that about?


    Mind telling me?"


    She cast a sideways nce at him before flicking his forehead. "Tell you what? Kids shouldn''t be


    intervening in adults'' business."


    "Who are you calling a kid? I''ming of age." He caressed his forehead, displeased.


    She grinned. "Yeah, but not yet. You''re just on the way toing of age. Enough of that. Hurry and


    read me the story or you can go home right now."


    "No, no, no! Don''t drive me away! I''ll read, I''ll read it. If you drive me away, my mother is gonna force


    me to do my homework," he grumbled. "Mom is overdoing it. I''ve secured a ce for myself in a


    university and yet, she''s forcing me to finish my homework. Isn''t it overkill?"


    "It''s for your sake." She was not taking on Jean''s side but remaining in a neutral stance; it was not


    wrong for Jean to ask Tyler toplete his homework.


    "I knew you would say that. You adults keep saying that it''s for my own good." He snorted and


    continued with the storytelling.


    Tyler stayed for a long time. He left upon receiving a call from Jean when the sky almost darkened.


    Julia did note that day. There was not even a message from her, so Sonia was rather perturbed.


    Whether it was on purpose or Julia was caught up in something, Sonia found the situation


    ufortable and ridiculous.


    To Sonia, the Gray Couple could have texted her at any time if they had something urgent to attend to


    because she did not block their numbers.


    However, she received nothing from them.


    Didn''t Mrs. Gray wish for me to acknowledge them? That''s why she has been dropping by every day.


    Has she given up now? Is it because they see that it''s impossible for me to ept them, so they lost


    confidence?


    If her assumption hit the bullseye, the funny situation would teach her a lesson regarding the so-called


    parental and maternal love.


    Noticing and knowing the reason for Sonia''s gloomy mood, Mary was worried and resentful at the


    same time.


    What''s with Mrs. Gray? Should I give her a call?


    Smiling, she took her phone to the kitchen to contact Julia without Sonia''s knowledge because the


    latter would not consent to that, albeit being worried.


    Therefore, Mary decided to call Julia to check on her without informing Sonia. Soon, the call got


    through to reveal a feeble man''s voice instead of Julia''s.


    "President Gray?" She guessed the man''s identity right away since the only person that could use


    Julia''s phone was him. Besides, who could be the owner of such a weak voice other than the critically


    ill Titus?


    "It''s me. Are you Madam Mary?" Julia actually saved Mary''s contact number.


    Mary nodded. "Yup."


    "Hello, Madam Mary." He was surprised to receive a call from her.


    "President Gray, why is Mrs. Gray not here today? She has been visiting these days, so Young


    Mistress Sonia seems a little unsure what to do with her absence today."


    "Does she?" He paused for a moment before adding, "You mean Sonny has gotten used to Julia


    visiting her?"


    If that was the case, it was good news to the Gray couple because it meant that Sonny was getting


    used to having the couple in her life and that there was a ce for them in her heart.


    "Yeah, well, she denied it, but I can tell that she was upset. I know that you drop by every day, wishing


    topensate her and wishing for her to acknowledge you. But why didn''t you guyse today?"


    Mary''s brows knitted together. "Is it because Young Mistress Sonia hasn''t acknowledged you as her


    parents, so you''re giving up? If that''s what you want in return, you shouldn''t have acted like loving


    parents from the start. You shouldn''t have done all these to seek her forgiveness."


    She was angry, thinking that the couple was relinquishing.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    Titus could tell how livid thedy was. "It''s not what you think it is, Madam Mary. We didn''t visit not


    because of the loss of hope. Sonny is our daughter. Even if she doesn''t acknowledge us, we won''t stop


    loving her andpensating her. We didn''te because my wife hurt her waist. She hasn''t regained


    consciousness yet. I wanted to text you guys, but I just didn''t know what to say. I thought you might not


    read it either, or that it might affect Sonny''s mood, so I didn''t send any text."


    He thought Sonia would not mind their absence, but now he learned that that was not true. If he had


    known about it, he would''ve texted her and she wouldn''t have been upset about it. It was his fault for


    not considering it thoroughly.


    "What? She hurt her waist?" Mary was shocked. "What happened?"


    Did she fall on the way here?


    "Someone pushed her." Titus'' expression turned grim.


    She was stunned for a second. "Someone pushed her? Who?"


    "It''s Anya." He snorted coldly. "It''s that girl who bullied Sonny. She has her eyes on Toby."


    "Anya?!" Mary gasped. Although she had not met Anya before, she knew the story of how Anya picked


    on Sonia. In the end, Anya was sent to prison after Sonia and Toby held a press conference to reveal


    her deeds. In short, Anya was never up to something good.


    "Why did she do that to Mrs. Gray?" Mary could not understand. "If my memory serves right, she has


    nothing to do with you guys."


    Is it because President Gray intended to avenge Young Mistress Sonia? That''s why he came up to


    Anya, and she targeted Mrs. Gray as retaliation?

 Chapter 1565

    Chapter 1565


    Chapter 1465 It¡¯s Better to Tell Her


    This isn''t entirely impossible. After all, President Gray and his wife love Young Mistress Sonia so much


    that it''s very likely for them to deal with all her previous enemies in order to make it up to her, thought


    Mary.


    Much to her surprise, however, Titus replied, "I had no idea what was going on with thatdy. She


    suddenly came to my ward and eavesdropped on my conversation with Julia outside the door. After we


    caught her doing so, she even tried to run away. Then, she shoved Julia when thetter grabbed hold


    of her." Although he didn''t reveal the specific details, he described the incident truthfully without any


    embellishments.


    "She eavesdropped on you two?" Mary was stunned. "Why would she do that?"


    "I don''t know." Titus shook his head. "We asked her about it, but she said nothing and fled after shoving


    Julia to the ground. Because of that, Julia''s still lying unconscious in the hospital with a lumbar fracture


    right now and probably won''t be able to walk properly for at least a couple of months!" At the mention of


    this, his face became even more contorted with rage. How he wished he could catch thatdy and


    wreak brutal vengeance on her!


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Mary let out a gasp of shock. "What? A lumbar fracture? That''s got to be terrible!" Even she, an old


    woman, knew very well how important the lumbar spine was to the human body. The lumbar spine was


    arguably essential for a human being to walk upright; someone with an injured lumbar spine wouldn''t


    be able to stand up even if their legs were fine, so it was obvious in Julia''s case how severe her injury


    was. Furthermore, Julia wasn''t young anymore. At over 50 years old, she was no longer as fit as she


    used to be when she was younger. Now that she had injured her lumbar spine, she wouldn''t recover as


    quickly as younger people would. "President Gray, is Mrs. Gray hurt anywhere else apart from her


    lumbar fracture?" she asked. After all, Julia was Sonia''s biological mother, so it would be better to ask


    about it.


    Titus shook his head. "No, that''s it." That alone was enough to stir up all his anger, though.


    Mary let out a sigh. "I got it. No wonder she didn''te today."


    "Mary, please don''t tell Sonny about this," Titus pleaded suddenly. "We don''t want her to get worried."


    On the surface, Sonia appeared to be still hating them and unwilling to resume her rtionship with


    them, but in reality, he and Julia both knew that she did care about them. There was no way she would


    not feel anything whatsoever if she were to learn about Julia''s injury.


    However, she objected, "President Gray, I know what you''re thinking, but I think it''s better not to hide


    this from Young Mistress Sonia. After all, you two are her own parents, so she has the right to know


    about this. And besides, Anya holds some grudges against Young Mistress Sonia, so it''ll actually do


    more harm than good to keep this from her. If she learns about this by chance afterward, she''ll only feel


    even worse. After all, she''ll only feel left out if everyone hides this from her instead of letting her know


    about this."


    Titus opened his mouth to speak, but he was unable to refute her. In the end, he replied with a sigh,


    "Well, then, you may tell her about this, but don''t make it sound too serious." In any case, it''s better to


    keep that girl as less worried as possible.


    "Okay," Mary replied as she promised him. Then, she asked, "Has Anya been arrested yet?"


    "No, not yet." He shook his head. "The police said she''s involved in a major case and thus can''t be


    arrested for the time being. Arresting her now will easily ruin the opportunity, so she''s still under


    surveince." Despite his great dissatisfaction with such a reply, he had no choice but to put up with it


    at the thought that the case Anya was involved in had something to do with Toby. It couldn''t be helped,


    since Toby was his son-inw. Even if he didn''t want to take Toby into consideration, he had to think


    about Sonia.


    After the phone conversation ended, Mary came out of the kitchen with the phone in hand.


    Sonia took off her sses, upon which her vision blurred instantly. As she wasn''t able to see clearly, all


    she could make out was a figureing her way. "Madam Mary?" she called out somewhat


    uncertainly.


    Mary replied, "It''s me, Young Mistress Sonia. Are you going to stop reading for now?"


    "Uh-huh, I''m gonna take a break. My eyes are tired after a long time of wearing sses," Sonia


    exined with a smile while putting her sses aside.


    Mary came over and took the book from her. "You should get some rest indeed."


    Leaning back against the headboard, Sonia asked curiously, "By the way, Madam Mary, who were you


    speaking to over the phone in the kitchen just now? I heard you talking." She had vaguely heard Mary


    mention the word ''Gray'' just now. Could she have called to ask about it because Mrs. Gray isn''ting


    over?


    Smart as Mary was, she knew what was on Sonia''s mind, of course. Moreover, Sonia didn''t hide it


    either; her thoughts were written all over her face. Hence, she smiled and sat by Sonia''s bedside,


    saying, "Young Mistress Sonia, I just spoke to Titus over the phone. Actually, you''ve guessed it already,


    no?"


    Sonia''s pupils shrank for a moment, but she regained herposure soon afterward. She asked, "But


    didn''t I tell you before that you don''t have to call to ask about it?"


    "I know that, but I could tell that you don''t actually feel that way. In reality, you care very much about


    Mrs. Gray noting over, and you''re eager to know the reason for that, no? That''s why I made the


    phone call." Mary took her hand and gently patted the back of it. "Actually, Young Mistress Sonia, Mrs.


    Gray does have her reasons for noting over. She''s injured," she exined.


    "What?" Sonia''s expression changed, and she tensed all over. "You mean¡­ she''s hurt?"


    "That''s right." Mary nodded.


    "How did that happen?" Sonia looked visibly anxious; a look of worry appeared on her face without her


    realizing it.


    Mary noticed that, though. Knowing that she had done the right thing by making the phone call, she


    replied with a sigh, "She injured her lumbar spine when someone shoved her to the ground, so she has


    to stay in bed right now and can''t be up and about for at least a couple of months." Instead of ying


    down the incident as she had promised Titus, she thought it unnecessary to hide part of the story now


    that they had chosen to tell Sonia about it. It''s better to just tell her everything, she thought.


    Sonia''s heart began racing when she heard that Julia had been pushed over and had to stay in bed for


    a couple of months as a result. Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed as she asked, "How did that happen?


    Who pushed her over? Did the culprit get arrested?" The three questions fired in rapid session


    revealed just how much she worried about Julia at this very moment.


    Mary answered, "The culprit ran away without getting arrested. Titus reported the incident to the police,


    but they said there was something special about the culprit, whom they''d been watching all this time.


    Now isn''t the time to arrest her yet, so they told Titus to put up with it for a moment, saying that they''ll


    arrest herter. You know that person as well, Young Mistress Sonia. She''s none other than Anya


    Steinfeld."


    "It''s her!" Sonia was taken aback. "How could she do that?"


    "Who knows? Titus said she''d suddenly shown up outside his ward and eavesdropped on his


    conversation with Mrs. Gray. After they caught her doing so, she shoved Mrs. Gray to the ground and


    fled."


    "Eavesdropping, huh¡­" Sonia''s eyes narrowed. "What did she overhear?"


    "I don''t know. Titus didn''t let me know about it, nor did I ask him about it." Mary shook her head. "That


    being said, it was strange for her toe to Titus'' ward and eavesdrop on him and Mrs. Gray for no


    reason. When I first heard that she had pushed Mrs. Gray over, I thought Titus and Mrs. Gray had her


    brought there because they wanted to avenge you. After all, she''s bullied you before. But then, I heard


    from Titus that they''d never looked for her at all. Instead, she came to their ward on her own and


    eavesdropped on them. Say, don''t you find this strange?"


    "Not at all." Sonia shook her head with a sneer. "Because Anya is, in fact, Tina Gray."


    "What?" Mary turned pale with shock while jumping to her feet at once. "What did you say, Young


    Mistress Sonia? You mean Anya Steinfeld is actually Tina Gray?"

 Chapter 1566

    Chapter 1566


    Chapter 1466 Can¡¯t Spoil Our n


    "Yeah, they''re the same person." Sonia nodded affirmatively. "That''s why she showed up outside Titus


    and his wife''s ward. Since she used to be their adopted daughter, she still cares about them, of course,


    which was why she returned to the hospital to check on them. It''s just that I have no idea what she''d


    overheard  that made her let fly at Mrs. Gray right away."


    In her opinion, however, no matter what Tina had overheard, she didn''t have the right to raise her hand


    against Julia. Even if Titus and Julia disliked her right now, they had shown her genuine love and care


    while raising her for over 20 years in the past. Would she have be the daughter of the Gray


    Family, living a luxurious life while being surrounded at all times by her toadies had they not adopted


    her back then? No, she would have grown up in an orphanage and be an ordinary person by now.


    One might argue that everything given to her by Titus and Julia didn''t belong to her life in the first ce.


    Even if they disowned her in the end, she had no right to bear a grudge against them for this, nor did


    she have the right to attack Julia.


    This was also why Sonia was so shocked to learn that it was Tina who had pushed Julia over. That


    being said, now that she thought about it, it was actually pretty understandable; after all, Tina was a


    vicious, hard-hearted, and heartless demon. In her mind''s eye, everyone had to be kind to her, and no


    one could be unfair to her. As long as someone was unfair to her in the slightest, she would forget all


    their past kindness toward her and retaliate against them, so it wasn''t like she wasn''t capable of


    pushing Julia over.


    "How could they be the same person?" Mary''s head was dizzy; she had yet to fully recover from the


    shock of learning the secret. "To think Anya Steinfeld is actually Tina Gray!"


    "Yeah, it''s her." Sonia nodded. "Toby and I only learned about this recently. If it weren''t for Carl''s help,


    we would''ve still been in the dark about this right now." After all, no one would have thought that Tina


    would actually undergo stic surgery to change her appearance and be apletely different


    person. Not only that, Anya''s temperament, voice, and behavior were all different from Tina''s, so no


    one would suspect that they were actually one and the same.


    "So, the case regarding Tina is about what she''s done to you previously?" Mary asked.


    Sonia shook her head. "No, not entirely. The actual reason is that Tina is now working for Connor, who


    was the murderer of Toby''s father. They''re working together, and Toby''s collecting thest bit of


    evidence at the moment, so it''s inconvenient for the police to arrest Tina for the time being. Once Tina


    gets arrested, Connor will definitely do something reckless in a fit of desperation, which will mess up


    our n."


    "I see." Mary nodded in understanding. "No wonder the police refused to arrest Anya when Titus asked


    them to do so."


    "They''d refuse him, of course." Sonia massaged her temples. "That being said, I really never expected


    Anya to go to him at such a time."


    Mary suddenly recalled something. "Titus and his wife seem to be still unaware that Anya''s actually


    Tina."


    "Uh-huh," Sonia mumbled. "None of us would tell them about this. For one thing, we don''t know if they


    still care about Tina. If they do, then our n will fall through if we let them know that Anya is actually


    Tina, as they''ll definitely find a way to help her run away. Even if they no longer care about her, it''s hard


    to guarantee that they won''t deal with her in private in order to avenge me, so we mustn''t let them know


    about this no matter what."


    "But Anya nearly caused our n to fall through when she showed up unexpectedly in front of Titus


    and Julia," Mary replied.


    Sonia pursed her lips; inwardly, she was still scared after the event, too. "Yeah, that''s right. Fortunately,


    Titus is no longer the person he used to be. Instead of personally dealing with whoever has offended


    him, he''s chosen to report the incident to the police, or he would''ve alerted Connor by now."


    Mary let out a chuckle when she heard this. "Titus has changed indeed. In fact, he''s changed because


    of you; he''s trying to mend his ways because he knows that you dislike the way he deals with things."


    Sonia didn''t refute her, because what thetter said was indeed true. Ever since Titus learned that she


    was his daughter, he had really changed a lot and be different from the past, and she couldn''t


    help being moved by this.


    Suddenly, Mary suggested, "Young Mistress Sonia, now that Mrs. Gray''s so severely injured, how


    about you go and visit her?"


    Sonia''s eyes flickered. "W-Why should I go visit her?"


    Mary knew that she was acting haughty again. Perhaps she really wants to visit Mrs. Gray, she


    thought. "In any case, it''s better to visit her to put your mind at ease without having any regrets. Even if


    you''re still not forgiving them at the moment, you should at least not make yourself feel ufortable,"


    Mary persuaded.


    Sonia bit her lower lip without saying a word.


    Knowing that she had agreed to it, Mary suggested with a smile, "Let''s visit her in the morning


    tomorrow. I''ll prepare some supplements that are good for healing bones."


    "Uh-huh," Sonia replied with a nod.


    That night, Toby also learned about Julia''s injury. It wasn''t Sonia who had told him about it; in fact, he


    also had his men around Titus, so there was no way they wouldn''t let him know about it now that such


    a thing had happened to the couple. However, he was busy with work during the day and didn''t get to


    answer their phone calls, so he only learned about this at night.


    Learning that Anya had not only gone to Titus but also shoved Julia to the ground, he flew into a rage,


    too. He disliked his parents-inw, but at any rate, they were really nice to Sonia. Moreover, he learned


    from Mary that Julia had visited Sonia every day during this period. As a result, Sonia had been in a


    good mood, which was noticeable to those with a discerning eye even if she didn''t let it show. Sonia


    was visibly downcast when Julia didn''te to the hospital today, so how could Toby not be mad at


    what Anya had done?


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Secondly, now that Tina had gone to Titus without warning, the consequences would be troublesome in


    case the entire n fell through. Luckily, Tina didn''t go there to resume her rtionship with Titus and


    Julia, while Titus chose to report the incident to the police instead of dealing with it by himself. Although


    such an unexpected thing happened in the process, the final oue remained unchanged, which


    made him sigh with relief for the time being.


    Sitting in the office chair like an emperor sitting on his throne, Toby narrowed his eyes slightly while


    saying to Tom, who was standing across the desk from him, "Beef up the security around there. Don''t


    let Tina near Titus'' ward anymore."


    Tom replied with a nod, "Roger that, President Fuller. Also, there''s one other thing."


    "Shoot." Toby pinched the slightly swollen space between his eyebrows. He had too much on his te


    and had scarcely slept over the past few days. He could have sleptst night at first, but he got so


    excited and worried about the good news of the twin pregnancy that he stayed awake all night. As a


    result, he was somewhat listless right now.


    Pushing his sses up his nose, Tom reported truthfully, "Mary called while you were in a meeting,


    saying that Mrs. Fuller is going to visit Mrs. Gray at Trifecta Hospital tomorrow."


    Toby wasn''t surprised at all about this. After all, he could tell that Sonia actually cared about Titus and


    Julia. It was just that she didn''t acknowledge them as her parents because of the bad blood between


    them; even so, she didn''t keep them at arm''s length. Naturally, there was no way she would be


    unconcerned about it if Julia were to get injured. Perhaps she never said she wanted to visit Julia, but


    she wouldn''t say no either if someone were to talk her into doing so. She must be willing to visit Mrs.


    Gray because she didn''t say no when Mary talked her into doing so. Well, it''s a good thing for her to


    visit Mrs. Gray, actually. At least it can put her mind at rest so that she doesn''t have to keep worrying


    about her. "Got it. Get somebody to get some presents ready," he ordered.

 Chapter 1567

    Chapter 1567


    Chapter 1467 She Cares About Titus and Julia


    "Yes, President Fuller." Tom nodded.


    "Also, get more people to protect Sonia," Toby said. That''s the top priority, he thought.


    Tom also knew that now was the final stage where not even the slightest carelessness was allowed in


    everything, so he listened to Toby''s instructions with a serious look on his face. "In that case, President


    Fuller, I''ll make the arrangements."


    "You may go now." Toby nodded.


    After Tom had left, Toby took out his phone, upon which his expression softened atst. Staring at


    Sonia''s beautiful smile in the photo on the phone''s screen with overwhelming tenderness, he kept


    caressing her face with his thumb. As night was deepening back in the country, she had probably gone


    to bed, or he would have called her to look at her and listen to her voice. Even if they had just spoken


    over the phonest night, he missed her nheless as long as he hadn''t heard her voice for a while.


    ¡­


    The next day, Sonia and Mary had breakfast and groomed themselves before heading for Trifecta


    Hospital.


    Tim tagged along with them this time. He came this morning to check Sonia''s eyes and was going to


    set her up for surgery at first, only to be startled when she said she was going to visit Julia and thus


    would like to have her surgery postponed to the afternoon. Only then did he learn that such an incident


    had happened to Julia, so he tagged along with them, wanting to know how serious her injury was. Of


    course, he was doing so for Sonia''s sake, knowing that she still cared about Julia. Otherwise, he


    wouldn''t have tagged along.


    Coincidentally, Julia had juste around when Sonia arrived.


    The moment Sonia came up to the ward, she heard Julia and Titus talking to each other; it was mostly


    Titus asking Julia how she was feeling at the moment.


    Sonia stopped and listened quietly. When she heard Juliament with a sudden sigh that she hadn''t


    visited her at First World Hospital yesterday, she instantly felt a twinge in her heart, and her eyes


    reddened as well.


    Mary was able to notice this, so she gently patted Sonia on the shoulder. "Young Mistress Sonia, I''ll


    knock on the door."


    "Uh-huh." Sonia nodded.


    Mary stepped forward and knocked on the door. She and Sonia were the only ones here, whereas Tim


    was absent; he had gone to the orthopedics department to learn more about Julia''s condition and


    wouldn''t be back until a whileter. Naturally, the bodyguards stood guard in the corners while keeping


    a watchful eye on their surroundings.


    "Who is it?" An unfamiliar female voice rang from behind the door; it was probably the nurse''s aide.


    Soon after that, a middle-aged woman dressed in blue scrubs poked her head out of the door and saw


    Mary and Sonia outside. She asked with a puzzled expression, "May I know who you are?"


    Instead of introducing herself in detail, Mary merely replied, "We''re Mrs. Gray''s friends."


    The nurse''s aide nodded skeptically before stepping aside to let them in.


    Mary came in and smiled at Titus and Julia, who were lying side by side on their respective sickbeds.


    "Hi, President Gray and Mrs. Gray."


    Titus and Julia were both surprised to see her, especially Julia, who was astonished. "Mary?" She


    asked, "What brings you here?"


    "We''ve heard about your injury, so we''re here to see you," Mary said while handing the presents she


    was carrying over to the nurse''s aide next to her.


    The nurse''s aide immediately took the presents from her and put them away.


    When Julia and Titus heard the word ''we,'' they exchanged a brief look and saw the excitement and


    disbelief in each other''s eyes. Finally, Julia asked urgently, "Mary, who do you mean by ''we''?" Could


    she be referring to Sonny?


    Seeing how excited they looked, Mary knew they must have figured it out. After giving them a smile,


    she turned around and dragged Sonia in from the outside, saying, "I''m referring to Young Mistress


    Sonia and me, of course."


    "Sonny!" Titus and Julia''s eyes reddened at the sight of Sonia, especially Julia, who never imagined


    that Sonia woulde to visit her. Forgetting about her injury, she threw back the covers in excitement


    and was just about to get out of bed.


    At the sight of this, Sonia instinctively cried out, "Stay there!"


    Her words instantly brought Titus and Julia to their senses. "That''s right; you''ve got to stay in bed. You


    have yet to recover from your injury. What if it gets even worse?" Titus advised as well. Then, he threw


    back the covers, staggered out of bed, and walked toward Sonia.


    Julia was both annoyed and pleased when she saw him like this. On the one hand, it annoyed her that


    her husband selfishly took the opportunity to get close to their daughter while leaving her here; on the


    other hand, though, it pleased her that she wasn''t dreaming. Not only had Soniae to visit her, but


    she also cared very much about her and told her to stay in bed, recalling her injury sooner than anyone


    else did.


    "Come on, Sonny, have a seat." Titus stopped after getting near Sonia. In the end, he didn''t get too


    close to her physically, nor did he hug her or take her hand, because he knew that Sonia would surely


    say no to it. It pleased him enough that he was now able to receive and spend time with his daughter in


    such proximity.


    Mary took a look at Titus. Finally, she also said to Sonia, "Have a seat, Young Mistress Sonia."


    Sonia had been unable to stand for a long time since her pregnancy, or her feet would swell easily.


    Therefore, she sat down without rejecting the chair that Titus had moved over.


    Titus'' smile broadened when he saw her sit in the chair.


    Mary sat down next to Sonia before saying to Titus and Julia, "President Gray and Mrs. Gray, Young


    Mistress Sonia has heard about what happened to you here yesterday, so we''re here today especially


    to visit you two."


    Titus nodded slightly. "Thank you foring¡ªand for bringing us so many presents."


    Mary replied, "You''re wee. These presents are prepared by Young Mistress Sonia and Young


    Master Toby, actually." Before they left home this morning, a bodyguard brought them some presents


    prepared by Toby, which were all healthcare products that could help Julia recover sooner.


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Hearing that it was Sonia and Toby who had prepared these presents, Julia got so overjoyed that she


    even shed tears of happiness. "Thank you so much, Sonny."


    Sonia shook her head. "It''s nothing. H-How are you doing?" she asked hesitantly while looking at Julia.


    Unexpectedly, the question made Julia burst into tears of emotion right away.


    Sonia was dumbfounded at the sight of this. In the end, Titus exined, "Please don''t take this to


    heart. Your mom''s just overjoyed."


    Sonia shook her head to indicate that she didn''t mind. After falling silent for a while, she turned to look


    at him, asking, "What about you, then?"


    Titus'' eyes widened; his facial muscles trembled slightly. Apparently, he also didn''t expect Sonia to ask


    about him all of a sudden. In reality, he knew that she had been ignoring him as much as possible


    these days. Although he was upset about this, he was able to understand her doing so. After all, he


    was the one who had done actual harm to her, while Julia had never done that. Therefore, he


    understood and was open-minded about the fact that Sonia was more epting of Julia. It was fine as


    long as Sonia gradually acknowledged Julia as her mother; as for whether Sonia would acknowledge


    him as her father, he didn''t care about it anymore. As a result, he also didn''t expect Sonia to care about


    him and ask how he was doing. Little did he imagine he would actually hear her care about him right


    now!


    His skinny hands clenched into fists in excitement as he shook his head repeatedly. "I''m fine! I''m fine!"


    Given his health condition, it was good enough for him to be able to stay awake for several hours a


    day.


    Sonia nodded to indicate that she had understood.


    After that, silence descended upon the ward again. The atmosphere was strange, as everyone had no


    idea what to say.


    Mary also felt quite ufortable being caught between them. After pondering for a moment, she


    eventually stood up and said with a smile, "Let''s talk about something that''ll make us happy. Young


    Mistress Sonia had a surprise during her pregnancy checkup yesterday."


    "Mary?" Sonia immediately turned to look at her.


    Mary gently patted the back of her hand. "It''s alright, Young Mistress Sonia. This is a good thing, so it''s


    not a big deal to let them know about this."


    Now that she had said so, Sonia had no choice but to let her get her own way.


    Titus and Julia looked at Mary. "What is it that you''re talking about, Mary?"

 Chapter 1568

    Chapter 1568


    Chapter 1468 Examining Julia


    Mary took a look at Sonia before replying with a smile, "Well, Young Mistress Sonia is pregnant with


    twins!"


    Her announcement instantly brought silence to the ward.


    Julia nearly knocked over the ss of water she was holding in her hands. After a while, she and Titus


    finally came to their senses and looked at Sonia in both surprise and disbelief.


    "What? Sonny''s pregnant with twins?" Julia raised her voice.


    Mary nodded. "Yeah, that''s right. We only learned about this yesterday. The babies are slow to


    develop, so it''s never been detected before. It wasn''t until the checkup yesterday that it turned out that


    Young Mistress Sonia is pregnant with twins."


    "T-This is¡­" Titus and Julia were both choked with emotion. A momentter, Titus finally looked at


    Sonia with a flush of excitement in his cheeks. "This is great! You''re actually pregnant with twins! How


    wonderful!" That means we''ll have a grandson and a granddaughter!


    Julia even burst into tears of emotion. "Sonny, you do have my family''s blood in you."


    Sonia immediately turned to look at her.


    Mary asked curiously, "Mrs. Gray, do you mean Young Mistress Sonia is pregnant with twins because


    of your family?"


    "That''s right." Julia nodded. "My family has a history of twin births. My maternal grandmother gave birth


    to a pigeon pair, and so did my mother''s youngest sister. I didn''t give birth to one, but Sonny might''ve


    inherited it from her maternal great-grandmother."


    Only after hearing her exnation did Sonia learn that she was actually pregnant with twins because it


    did run in her mother''s own family.


    Mary looked at Sonia''s belly with delight. "You mean Young Mistress Sonia might be expecting a


    pigeon pair too?"


    Julia nodded. "I''m sure of that. My family always gives birth to a pigeon pair whenever they have twins,


    so I don''t think Sonny will be an exception."


    "A pigeon pair would be great. You''ll have both a son and a daughter," Titus said happily, though there


    was a hint of regret in his eyes. He might not live to see the twins being born or hold them in his arms.


    That being said, he could die without any regrets, knowing that his daughter was pregnant with twins


    and that the Gray Family would have two offspring.


    "By the way, Sonny, how are you feeling now?" Julia asked. "What did the doctor say? Are the babies


    in good health?" After all, twin pregnancies were much more dangerous than single ones. Moreover,


    Sonia wasn''t really in good health in the first ce, so Julia worried that the twin pregnancy would


    ce a burden on her health.


    Hearing her ask such a question, Titus, not knowing much about women''s pregnancies, also became


    worried at once.


    Sonia shook her head, though. "I''m fine; I''m not feeling unwell at all. The doctor said that I can


    smoothly give birth to the twins as long as I take good care of my health."


    Julia heaved a long sigh of relief at her words. "Good to hear that," she said before letting out augh


    of regret. "It''s just that I can no longer visit you every day from now on."


    Titus gnashed his teeth in resentment. "It''s all thanks to that detestable woman!"


    Sonia and Mary exchanged a brief look. Instead of telling the couple that the woman was actually Tina,


    Sonia merely said, "It''s okay. Now that you''re injured, you should have a good rest. You don''t have to


    visit me every day. Let''s wait until¡­ you''re recovered." In other words, she was implying that she was


    no longer averse to Juliaing to visit her on the condition that Julia had to get well first.


    Understanding what she meant, Titus and Julia were instantly beside themselves with joy. "Okay, okay,


    I''ll take good care of myself and get well before looking after you by myself," Julia said while shedding


    tears of joy. She also wanted to look after Sonia in person and witness her two grandchildren being


    born.


    Just then, there was a knock on the door. Mary stood up, saying, "It''s probably Dr. Lancaster. I''ll


    answer the door."


    Titus instantly realized who she was referring to. "Dr. Lancaster? You mean Tim Lancaster?"


    "Uh-huh," Sonia replied. "It''s him. He heard that I wasing, so he tagged along with us, saying that


    he wanted to help¡­" Turning to look at Titus, she opened her mouth, not knowing how to address


    Julia. She couldn''t bring herself to call Julia "Mom," but it seemed inappropriate to call her Mrs. Gray


    either. In the end, instead of addressing Julia, she merely said, "He wants to check on you and see if


    he can help you recover sooner."


    "Well¡­" Titus and Julia were both stunned. They couldn''t believe Tim would actually be so kind to


    them; after all, they could still remember vividly how the man had previously told them to leave the


    hospital. But then, Titus recalled Tim''s unusual attitude toward Sonia. Perhaps he''se with Sonny to


    help check on us because he''s noticed how much she cares about us.


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    "It''s Dr. Lancaster indeed." Mary led Tim inside just then.


    The man was followed by other doctors from Trifecta Hospital, who were all in a state of joy and


    excitement, for Tim was the world''s leading medical professor. Despite his young age, he surpassed


    everyone in terms of medical skills. Some of the doctors who followed him here were actually much


    older, but they admired him all the same. After all, the most skilled in the profession would always be


    the teacher!


    Tim ignored Titus and Julia, though. Instead, his gaze fell upon Sonia as he asked her how her


    conversation with the couple was going. "How''s the conversation going?"


    Sonia nodded. "We''re almost done."


    "Alright then, let me take a look." Tim nced at his watch before resting his eyes on Julia. "I''ll check


    your condition and help you recover as soon as possible so that you can look after her," he said while


    jutting out his chin in Sonia''s direction. He and Toby both knew that in reality, Sonia had always


    yearned very much for a mother''s love since losing her mother at a tender age. Despite refusing to


    acknowledge Julia as her mother, she didn''t reject Juliaing to the hospital and looking after her


    every day, which proved that she actually epted Julia and inwardly longed for herpany.


    Furthermore, now that she was expecting, she would feel even more insecure. If the person who had


    given birth to her back then were to keep herpany at such a time, she would no longer be afraid.


    This was the actual reason why he came along with Sonia, or he wouldn''t have cared about Julia at all.


    "O-Okay¡­" Julia nodded in a daze. Even now, she still found it hard to believe that Tim would actually


    examine her in person. After all, she and Titus knew how much this guy had disliked them before.


    When they previously went to him to seek medical treatment, he had turned them down right away


    without sparing their feelings. They were furious with this at the time, but they couldn''t do anything


    about him, as they couldn''t afford to offend a genius doctor. However, they never thought he would


    actuallye to examine them voluntarily in a dramatic turn of events right now. Of course, they knew


    that this was all because of their daughter, and they were kind of enjoying her filial devotion to them.


    Julia smiled while letting the other doctors turn her over.


    Tim began to examine her, while the other doctors watched him closely, wanting to learn something


    from him. Even though Tim wasn''t a doctor at Trifecta Hospital, they were honored to have him grace


    the hospital with his presence.


    On the other hand, Sonia and Mary sat quietly in the corner while silently waiting for Tim to finish


    examining Julia.


    Only Titus squinted at Tim with a mixture of scrutiny and suspicion.


    After a long time, Tim straightened up and signaled to the other doctors to turn Julia back over. He took


    off his gloves while saying, "Her condition isn''t serious. If she has a screw inserted into her spine, she


    can recover a month and a half sooner." With Julia''s condition, she would have to stay in the hospital


    for at least two to three months, but she could get treated by another method and recover in about a


    month after Tim examined her.


    They''d got to hand it to him as a genius doctor, after all.

 Chapter 1569

    Chapter 1569


    Chapter 1469 Toby Is Back


    The other doctors looked at Tim with greater pleasure. After all, the method he proposed had never


    crossed their minds before, and now, they indeed benefited a lot from himing here. They just


    regretted that Tim wasn''t a doctor at their hospital, or they would have learned even more from him. Ah,


    it must be great to work as a doctor at First World Hospital!


    Julia was happy, too. No one would want to stay bedridden and be taken care of by others, and she


    was no exception. And besides, she worried about Sonia and wished to stay around her in order to look


    after her at all times, but given her health condition, she had no choice but to ept the fact that she


    would have to stay in bed for two to three months. Now, in a dramatic turn of events, Tim actually said


    that she could recover in about a month. This was undoubtedly a good thing because she would be


    able to return to her daughter''s side in about a month! "In that case, Dr. Lancaster, could you¡ª" She


    looked at Tim, wanting to ask him whether he could operate on her.


    However, Tim cut her short before she could finish her sentence. "Other doctors can perform the


    surgery as long as they know how to do it." In other words, he was simply unwilling to operate on her


    by himself. It was difficult enough for him to be willing to examine her.


    Julia also knew about this, so she didn''t insist either. In any case, she was satisfied enough that others


    could perform the surgery. "Well, then, thank you for examining me, Dr. Lancaster," she thanked


    gratefully.


    "Uh-huh," Tim replied before leaving the ward.


    The other doctors went out after him to ask him how to perform the surgery, leaving only Titus, Julia,


    Sonia, and Mary in the ward again.


    Looking at Sonia, Titus suddenly asked, "Sonny, could Tim be in love with you?"


    Sonia was drinking water when she heard this and instantly choked.


    Mary quickly patted her on the back. "Young Mistress Sonia, are you alright?"


    "I''m fine." Sonia shook her head to indicate that she was fine.


    Seeing that she had gotten better, Titus and Julia heaved a sigh of relief. "I''m sorry, Sonny. I didn''t


    mean it," Titus said apologetically.


    Sonia shook her head. "It''s okay. I was just taken aback by what you said."


    Titus felt very pleased that she epted his apology and was willing to converse with him.


    Maryughed, too. "That''s right, President Gray. How could you say that Dr. Lancaster is in love with


    Young Mistress Sonia? Even I found that ridiculous just now, let alone Young Mistress Sonia." She was


    also taken aback by Titus'' question just now.


    Titus exined, "I observed him for a while just now. He cares a lot about Sonny; in fact, had it not


    been for her, he wouldn''t havee to check on us. That''s why I asked if he had feelings for her." After


    all, Tim was really a little too nice to Sonia.


    Sonia shook her head, though. "No, it''s not that he has feelings for me. He just yearns for the warmth I


    give him."


    "What do you mean?" Titus asked, indicating that he couldn''t understand what she meant.


    Sonia exined, "I saved his life back when I was a child, so he''s been regarding me as his savior


    since then. Well, he got the wrong person afterward, but ever since confirming that I was the one who


    had saved his life, he''s been very nice to me. He takes good care of me, but it''s not because he likes


    me. Rather, it''s because he''s never been shown care and concern by others. Everyone loathed and


    disliked him; he didn''t feel anything about it, but I knew he actually took it very much to heart. That''s


    why he regards me as his guiding light and has been looking after me ever since I saved him." This


    was because Sonia was the only person who had made him feel all warm. It wasn''t that Tim had no


    feelings whatsoever; it was just that he was slow in expressing his feelings.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "I see." Titus nodded after understanding what she meant. "I thought he was in love with you, so I was


    going to tell you to pay more attention to this." Now that he thought about this, however, if Tim were


    really in love with Sonia, there was no way Toby wouldn''t know about it. In reality, Toby also knew that


    Tim''s feelings for Sonia weren''t out of love but out of emotional dependence, which was why he let Tim


    do as he pleased.


    Just then, one of the bodyguards suddenly showed up at the door. "It''s gettingte already, Young


    Mistress Sonia." He reminded Sonia. "You have to undergo surgery this afternoon."


    Titus and Julia tensed up at once. They hurriedly asked, "Surgery? What surgery?"


    Mary replied with a smile, "Don''t worry, it''s not some major surgery. It''s just an eye operation. Young


    Mistress Sonia has made an appointment yesterday to undergo surgery for a corneal transnt today."


    "I see." Titus and Julia were relieved. "Well, in that case, you two should go back now." Titus stood up,


    wanting to see Sonia and Mary off. In reality, he was also reluctant to part with Sonia, but her eyes


    were more important.


    "Goodbye." Mary helped Sonia out of the ward. After nodding to Titus, she led Sonia to the elevator.


    Titus kept standing outside the ward while watching them leave. After they entered the elevator, he


    finally let out a soft sigh and turned back into the ward. He was already at death''s door, and now, he


    was seeing Sonia less and less with each meeting. Now that he had met her this time, no one knew


    when they would meet again next time.


    ¡­


    Sonia''s surgery went well. After the surgery, her eyes were covered in gauze, which wouldn''t be


    removed for a long time. With the gauze covering her eyes, she couldn''t see anything, which made her


    practically blind.


    However, it wasn''t like Sonia had never experienced before what it was like to be blind. She had once


    suffered from blindness due to an injury, during which time Toby had concealed his identity and sent


    Olivia to take care of her. Otherwise, she would have been at a total loss for what to do at the time.


    Learning that she had undergone surgery, Toby worked extra hours and rushed to finish everything at


    hand in one day. Then, he hurried back to the country on his private ne.


    Unfortunately, Sonia had just fallen asleep when he returned to her ward. It pained him at once when


    he saw her lying on her sickbed with a pale face and her eyes covered in gauze.


    "Young Master Toby." Mary handed him a ss of water as she noticed that his lips were dry. He''s


    rushed all the way back here in a state of anxiety, not to mention that he''s worried about Young


    Mistress Sonia. Perhaps that''s why he''s feeling dehydrated.


    Toby happened to be thirsty, so he took the ss of water and thanked Mary. Then, he threw his head


    back and finished his drink with a gulp; only then did he feel much better. "How long has she been


    asleep?" he asked while handing the ss back to Mary.


    Mary ced the ss aside. "She''s been asleep for a while. She was still under the influence of


    anesthesia after the surgery yesterday, and the drug has yet to be out of her system right now. That''s


    why she''s sleeping soundly."


    Toby nodded in understanding. Then, he took Sonia''s hand and pressed it against his cheek.


    Seeing how weary he looked and the dark circles under his eyes, Mary felt rather sorry for him. "Young


    Master Toby, you haven''t slept much over the past few days, have you?"


    Toby didn''t deny it. How could he fall asleep when he was not only busy with work but also worried


    about Sonia? Consequently, he had only slept for two to three hours each day over the past several


    days.


    Mary let out a sigh. "That won''t do. You''re not fully recovered yet, so it''s easy for something to happen


    to you if you wear yourself out like this. Who''s gonna protect and take care of Young Mistress Sonia if


    you copse? So, Young Master Toby, why don''t you lie down and sleep for a while? Young Mistress


    Sonia is still asleep at this moment, so you may sleep with her so that you''ll have the energy to speak


    to her when you two wake up together, no?"


    Her suggestion was good, so Toby nodded in agreement instead of rejecting it.


    "Well, then, Young Master Toby, please get some sleep. I shan''t bother both of you now," Mary said


    before going out. She was ready to go back to the Fuller Residence to fetch some stuff that Rose had


    called yesterday and asked her to get.


    After Mary had left, Toby took off his shoes and suit jacket. Then, he lifted the covers, quietlyy down


    on Sonia''s sickbed, and wrapped his arms around her. After holding her close, he didn''t forget to touch


    her belly.

 Chapter 1570

    Chapter 1570


    Chapter 1470 Asking For It


    Sonia''s baby bump wasn''t obvious at the moment, but one could clearly feel her belly protruding


    slightly if they were to touch it, which indicated that the babies in her womb were growing with each


    passing day.


    There was quite some time before the babies started moving or were born, but Toby had the time and


    patience to wait slowly for the birth of their children. "Good night, sweethearts," he whispered to Sonia''s


    belly. After pressing her to his chest, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


    It was the next day when they woke up.


    When Sonia opened her eyes, she found herself wrapped tightly in someone''s arms; not only that, but


    she also heard someone breathing. She turned around to see who it was, but she couldn''t see anything


    thanks to the gauze covering her eyes. However, she could smell the familiar breath and scent. After


    being startled for a moment, she was pleasantly surprised. It''s Toby! When did hee back? She


    slowly reached for the man, touching his face and the furrows in his brow. It''s true; I''m not imagining


    things. So, he''s really back!


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    "Naughty girl," Toby uttered directly without opening his eyes.


    Startled, Sonia subconsciously tried to retract her hands.


    However, the man caught hold of her hands as if having predicted this. Then, he opened his ck


    eyes, which crinkled in a faint, affectionate smile. "Teasing me as soon as you wake up, eh?" he said in


    a deep, husky voice.


    Sonia shook her head, her face blushing. "No, that''s not what I was doing! I just sensed someone next


    to me and wanted to know if it was you. When did you wake up?" I thought he was still asleep, she


    thought.


    "I woke up the moment you touched me." Toby brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.


    Sonia gave him a light smack. "I thought you''d woken up long ago and were purposely pretending to be


    asleep to scare me."


    "No, I won''t do that." Toby shook his head before sitting up with her in his arms. He said, "You''re


    pregnant and can''t get frightened, so I won''t scare you."


    "Mm-hmm," Sonia mumbled while leaning against his chest. "By the way, when did youe back?


    Why didn''t I hear anything from you?" He didn''t tell her that he wasing back, nor did Mary tell her


    about it.


    Seeing through what she was thinking, Toby gently tucked her hair behind her ears. Then, he replied,


    "It was ast-minute decision, so I didn''t tell anyone, nor did Mary know about it. I just wanted to give


    you a surprise, but you were already asleep when I arrived home. That''s why I simply got into bed and


    slept with you instead of waking you up."


    "I see." Sonia nodded in understanding.


    "So, how was it? Are you surprised?" asked Toby.


    Sonia smiled. "Uh-huh, I''m very surprised. I thought you wouldn''t be back for a few more days."


    "You just had an eye operation, no? I''m worried about you, so I came back as fast as I could."


    "What are you worried about?" Sonia said. "It was just an eye operation, not some major surgery. It


    wouldn''t be dangerous or something."


    "I know that, but any surgery that you undergo is very important to me, so I wanted toe back and


    keep youpany as soon as possible." Toby touched the gauze covering her eyes. "How are you


    feeling right now?"


    Sonia shook her head slightly. "Nothing."


    Toby hugged her. "Good to hear that. If you feel unwell, you''ve got to tell me. Don''t keep quiet about it."


    Sonia stressed, "I got it."


    "Oh, Young Master Toby and Young Mistress Sonia, you''re both awake!" Mary came back from the


    outside and was instantly delighted to see the affectionate couple sitting in bed in the arms of each


    other while talking to each other.


    Sonia greeted her, saying, "Hi, Madam Mary."


    "Hi, Young Mistress Sonia," Mary replied. Then, she asked, "You two must be hungry after a good


    night''s sleep. I happened to have brought some fresh vegetables from the Fuller Residence, so how


    about I make some savory vegetable oatmeal for you two? It''s good to eat something lighter in the


    morning."


    Sonia replied, "Just cook with what''s avable." Sonia wasn''t really fussy about what to eat. She


    couldn''t eat a lot of food at the moment and would throw up whatever she ate, yet she could eat a little


    of the food prepared by Mary, so she never interfered with the diet Mary prescribed for her.


    Toby felt the same way. He wasn''t very particr about what to eat and was fine as long as the food


    was edible.


    "Alright, then, I''ll get it ready in a moment, so you two may wash up first. Young Master Toby, please


    take good care of Young Mistress Sonia now that she can''t see clearly," Mary urged.


    Toby got out of bed and carried her out of it. "I got it." He would take good care of his wife, of course.


    Seeing the couple happily go to the bathroom, Mary smiled and entered the kitchen with the vegetables


    in hand.


    By the time Sonia and Toby were done washing up, Mary''s vegetable oatmeal was ready.


    Toby carefully helped Sonia to the dining table. At first, he wanted to carry her there, but she refused to


    let him do so. After all, she was only temporarily blind; it wasn''t like she couldn''t walk on her feet.


    Furthermore, she couldn''t get familiar with her surroundings with him carrying her around. If he were


    away to deal with something, she would have no one to carry her around in case she wanted to do


    anything, nor was she familiar with her surroundings. Wouldn''t she be unable to do anything by then?


    Toby understood this, too, so he didn''t insist on carrying her around after she refused to let him do so.


    Instead, he chose to help her to the dining table. Of course, he didn''t forget to tell her along the way


    what to watch out for and what was around them, while Sonia listened to him with rapt attention.


    Mary was gratified to see this.


    After having breakfast, Toby took Sonia to the balcony to sun themselves. The days were getting


    warmer and warmer, but the sun outside wasn''t scorching hot today. The weather was just fine, so it felt


    comfortable to bask in the sun.


    Curling up in the swing chair, Sonia smiled faintly, looking like she enjoyed herself very much, whereas


    Toby was handling work-rted documents next to her. Neither of them spoke up or bothered each


    other, but the warm affection between them was really enviable.


    After taking a look at the couple, Mary took out her phone, took a picture of them, and sent it to Rose,


    who was overjoyed to see it.


    Just then, Toby''s phone rang. He turned to look at Sonia to see if she was asleep.


    Sonia was listening to music from her earphones when she heard the man''s phone ring. Sitting up


    slightly, she said to him, "It''s okay, just answer the phone. I''m not asleep, so you won''t disturb me."


    Toby nodded. "Okay." He thought he would rouse her from sleep, which was why he turned to look at


    her and was about to go inside to answer the phone. Now that she wasn''t asleep, he would have no


    qualms about answering the phone next to her.


    The phone call was from Tom. Instead of holding the phone to his ear, Toby put the phone on speaker


    so that Sonia could listen in. "What''s the matter?" he asked.


    Tom answered on the other end, "President Fuller, Lte Lore has been marched to the execution


    ground today."


    The instant he said that, the fountain pen in Toby''s hand stopped moving for a moment, and Sonia


    immediately took off her earphones. "Why today? It''s not time for her execution yet, isn''t it?"


    Toby also found this strange. He actually didn''t know about this beforehand, nor did the police tell him


    about this.


    "It''s been moved forward," Tom exined. "Those from above are about to hold a majorpetition in


    Seafield around the time she''s supposed to be executed, but they wanted to wish for good luck, so they


    decided to execute that batch of death-row convicts ahead of time."


    "I see." Toby raised his chin slightly, having understood the message.


    Sonia smiled. "What rotten luck Lte has." She could have lived for a while longer, yet she had to die


    ahead of time.


    "Rotten luck indeed, but she has only herself to me for that," Toby said coldly while narrowing his


    eyes.


    Sonia didn''tment on his words, though.

 Chapter 1571

    Chapter 1571


    Chapter 1471 The Mood in the Ward


    She said, "Yeah, she''s got only herself to me for everything. If she weren''t that wicked and were a


    little kinder, she wouldn''t havee to such an end." I wonder if she''s regretted it now. After all, her


    life''sing to an end at the young age of just over 20 years old.


    "Alright, let''s not talk about her anymore lest it gets us down." Toby stroked her hair, only to stand up


    immediately when he noticed that her hair was hot to the touch. "Come on, let''s go back and stop


    basking in the sun. It''s not good to spend too much time in the sun, anyway."


    "Uh-huh." Sonia also knew about this, so she nodded andplied without protest. She went back into


    the room first, touching the wall along the way, while Toby stayed behind to have a final word with Tom.


    Tom said to him, "By the way, President Fuller, the court will formally begin hearing the case against Mr.


    Lore tomorrow. Would you like to attend the hearing?"


    "No, it''s not necessary," Toby refused expressionlessly while closing his eyes. He then said, "I''ll attend


    the final hearing." I''m gonna ask Mr. Lore if he''s ever regretted having killed Professor Randall back


    then, he thought. "By the way, how''s Asher Dafoe doing?" This was the only thing he wanted to know


    right now, for this guy had nearly gotten him and Sonia killed in a fire. Having never asked about Asher


    for such a long time, he wondered how the man was doing at the moment.


    Tom answered, "Asher is still in police custody for the time being. There''s something wrong with his


    financial records, so the finance department is still looking into them. He''ll be held ountable for all


    his crimes when the investigation into his financial records is done, which probably won''t take long."


    Toby narrowed his eyes. "Okay, let me know when it happens." He would absolutely make Asher''s life a


    living hell. Even if Asher couldn''t be sentenced to death, he would make sure that the man would


    spend the rest of his life in jail wishing he were dead!


    "Roger that, President Fuller," Tom replied with a nod.


    After the phone call ended, Toby put the phone away, picked up his documents, and entered the room


    as well.


    As it happened, Sonia was getting changed. Although she did feelfortable basking in the sun


    outside, she sweated a little after spending too much time in the sun, so she was about to change into


    clean clothes.


    Toby came in just in time to stumble across such a beautiful scene. In an instant, his eyes widened,


    and he stood there motionless, watching.


    Sensing that something was wrong, Sonia stopped changing her clothes and instinctively turned to look


    back. When she heard the man breathe and smelled the faint peppermint scenting from him, she


    realized that he was standing nearby watching her get changed. Letting out a cry of surprise, she


    hastily grabbed the covers to cover herself. "Why did you get in so quickly?" She only got changed


    because she thought Toby was going to speak to Tom for a while longer, but who would have thought


    he woulde in before she finished changing her clothes? Moreover, he hade in for some time


    and had been standing there watching! She was overwhelmed with shyness at the thought of what the


    look in his eyes would be like. She snorted at him at once, saying, "Turn around now and stop


    watching!" I have to get dressed!


    Toby didn''t listen to her, though. Not only did he have no intention of turning around, he even came


    toward her with a faint smile curving his thin lips.


    Hearing the man''s footsteps, Sonia shrank back a little. "What are you doing, Toby Fuller? Stop there


    and stay away from me!" she chided in a loud voice, forbidding the man to keep stepping forward.


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    Of course, Toby wouldn''t do as she said. He kept stepping forward and came to the side of the bed


    before saying in a slightly husky voice, "Darling, let me help you get changed."


    Sonia clung tightly to the covers while shaking her head vigorously. "No, it''s not necessary. I''ll do that


    by myself. If you help me with that¡ª" Who knows when I''ll get to put my clothes on if this guy helps me


    with it? It''s not like he''s never done something like that before.


    "Come on, let me help you." Turning a deaf ear to her refusal, Toby continued to yank at the covers.


    How could a woman''s strengthpare with that of a man? As a result, Toby soon yanked away the


    covers shielding Sonia''s body. Her upper body was exposed before his eyes just like that, revealing her


    gorgeous figure.


    Toby''s eyes darkened at the sight of this.


    Sonia''s face turned scarlet. She put out her hands in an attempt to cover her chest, but the man


    grabbed her hands and pinned her down on the bed.


    Startled, Sonia asked, "Toby, what are you doing?"


    Toby said in a husky voice, "Don''t move." Ever since Sonia got pregnant, he had refrained from getting


    intimate with her out of concern for her health and the babies in her womb. He had restrained himself


    for a long time until now and would only kiss her at most. Had he note across the wonderful scene


    just now, he would have kept on restraining himself. Now that he had seen it, how could he suppress


    his urges any longer?


    His kisses made Sonia itch. Feeling shy and embarrassed, she pushed him while worriedly listening to


    the movements outside. "Stop it! Hurry and get off me, or Madam Mary will see uster!"


    Toby wouldn''t get off her, though. He pressed her to his chest, saying, "Mary has gone out and won''t be


    back so soon."


    "Even if she won''t be back for a while, it''ll be bad if the doctor or the nurses arriveter."


    "They won''t." Toby looked down at her. He said unhurriedly, "They''ll knock on the door beforeing


    in. They won''te in right away, so they won''t see it." In other words, he wouldn''t let go of her no


    matter what excuses she made.


    In the end, he directly yanked off her clothes, leaving her naked to the waist.


    "Ah!" Feeling even more embarrassed, Sonia tried to cover herself again.


    Seeing the way that she looked, Toby let out a chuckle and started kissing her¡­


    Two hourster, he finally had his way with her by various means.


    Taking the wet towel from him, Sonia turned around with her back to him and wiped herself while


    ignoring him.


    Toby knew that he had gone a little too far and that it was his fault for losing his self-control. "Darling."


    Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gently took her in his arms. "Don''t be mad at me, okay? I won''t do it


    again next time."


    Sonia''s lips twitched. "You want to do it again next time?!"


    Toby buried his face in her neck. "It was my fault for losing my self-control this time. How about you


    smack me a couple of times as a punishment?"


    "Forget it." Sonia shook her head. "What''s the point of smacking you a couple of times? It''s not like we


    can travel back in time by doing that."


    She''s right to say that, thought Toby. "Well, then, what do you want so that you won''t be mad at me?"


    he asked while kissing her on the cheek.


    Sonia pushed his hand away. "Stay away from me now and stop pressing yourself against me, and I''ll


    stop being angry in a while." This guy''s simply insatiable. If I let him get close to me, perhaps he''ll get


    started again.


    Seeing through what she was thinking, Toby said with a soft chuckle, "Okay, I''ll run the bath for you."


    Sonia signaled him to hurry with a wave of her hand. Feeling sticky all over, she also wanted to clean


    herself.


    The bath was ready soon afterward, and Toby came back and carried her to the bathroom. cing her


    in the bathtub, he said softly, "Call me when you''re done. I''lle and carry you out of here."


    "Okay," Sonia replied while clinging to the edge of the bathtub for support.


    Toby stroked her hair and left.


    Sonia leaned back against the bathtub''s massager while enjoying its automatic massage.


    On the other hand, Toby was making the bed in the room outside. He had to get rid of all traces of their


    lovemaking before Mary came back to prevent her from finding out what they had done. Otherwise, she


    would castigate him if she were to find out about him getting physical with Sonia while she was


    pregnant. He was already 31 years old, so it would be very embarrassing if he were to get upbraided,


    and besides, Sonia would definitelyugh at him for this. Therefore, he had to get rid of these traces.


    Toby made the bed very quickly. In just a few minutes, the hospital bed looked totally brand new, while


    the used sheets were thrown directly into a garbage bag to be taken out and disposed of a whileter.


    As everything was done so wlessly, Mary didn''t realize what they had done in secret during her


    absence when she came back. Nevertheless, Sonia felt rather embarrassed.

 Chapter 1572

    Chapter 1572


    Chapter 1472 The Embarrassed Couple


    After all, she had fooled around with Toby despite being pregnant. If others were to learn about this,


    they would definitely think she was eager for sex or something.


    In reality, Mary didn''t really find out anything, but Sonia''s unnatural demeanor gave her away. Putting


    down the stuff in hand, she looked at Sonia before shifting her gaze toward Toby, who was standing


    aside with his thin lips curved in a faint smile. She asked in puzzlement, "Young Master Toby, Young


    Mistress Sonia, what''s wrong with you two? I feel there''s something strange going on between the two


    of you." Especially Young Mistress Sonia, who''s lowering her head and red in the face. "Young Mistress


    Sonia, did Young Master Toby bully you or something?" she asked hurriedly.


    Sonia looked up and shook her head repeatedly. "No, he didn''t bully me."


    "Why is your face so red, then?" Mary was baffled.


    Sonia opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn''t exin it.


    In the end, Toby wrapped his arm around her shoulders and let out a cough, saying, "Yeah, I did bully


    her." Well, I did bully her in a particr way, but not in the literal sense of the word.


    Mary didn''t understand what he meant, though. Thinking that he had literally bullied Sonia, she shot


    him a re of displeasure. "Young Master Toby, how could you do that? How could you bully Young


    Mistress Sonia while she''s pregnant? You¡ª"


    "Take it easy, Madam Mary. I''m fine now," Sonia exined while shaking her head repeatedly to calm


    Mary down.


    Mary frowned at Toby. "Young Mistress Sonia, you don''t have to speak for him. Just tell me how he


    bullied you, and I''ll help you teach him a lesson. If I can''t do that, I''ll tell Old Mrs. Fuller about it and let


    her do that instead."


    "Uh¡­" Sonia''s lips twitched. She''s putting me in a tight spot, no? How can I bring myself to exin


    how Toby bullied me? She managed a forced smile, saying, "Madam Mary, it''s okay, really, so please


    stop asking about it. We''re alright now. If I did get bullied severely, I''d definitely ask you and Grandma


    to stick up for me, but I''m really okay."


    "Are you sure?" Mary was still worried, though.


    Sonia nodded. "Yeah, I''m sure."


    "Alright then." Mary believed her atst, but she didn''t forget to give Toby a warning look. "Young


    Master Toby, Young Mistress Sonia has spoken for you this time, but you should behave yourself, too.


    If you really end up bullying her severely, you''re gonna regret it."


    "Okay." Toby nodded in all seriousness.


    Mary let out a snort before turning back into the kitchen, which was her base camp.


    After she left, Sonia heaved a faint sigh of relief. Then, she groped for and pinched Toby''s waist right


    away.


    Toby let out a grunt of pain before grabbing her hand at once. "What was that for?"


    "Quit ying dumb!" Sonia gave him a dirty look inwardly. "Madam Mary only got to the bottom of it


    because of what you said. You rendered me at a loss for what to say, you know?"


    Toby chuckled under his breath. "Actually, it''s okay if we tell her about it. It''s something between us, so


    Mary won''tugh at us for that."


    "Yeah, she won''t, but she''ll surely criticize us for doing so while I''m pregnant," Sonia replied with a


    snort.


    Toby stroked her hair. "No, she won''t. She won''t find out about it."


    "You best hope so." Sonia took his hand away from her before letting out a yawn. "I wanna take a nap."


    It wasmon for pregnant women to sleep a lot, and besides, she was exhausted after having made


    out with him for two hours previously.


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    Hearing her say that, Toby instantly picked her up and ced her on her sickbed. Then, he tucked her


    in and kissed her on the forehead, saying, "Just go to sleep. I''ll watch over you."


    "Uh-huh." Sonia gave him a smile and fell asleep.


    Sitting next to her sickbed, Toby held her hand while opening a file to continue dealing with work-


    rted documents. He turned the pages quietly and signed his name very slowly, making as little noise


    as possible to avoid disturbing her. Even if he knew that she would go into a deep sleep and usually


    wouldn''t be awakened easily after falling asleep, he wouldn''t do anything presumptuous.


    With Toby''spany, Mary''s care, Tyler''s teasing, and Zane, Charles, and Grace''s asional visits,


    life was happy and satisfying for Sonia over the next few days. Moreover, Julia and Titus would also


    keep in touch with her during this period.


    However, whenever she got in touch with Titus and Julia, she couldn''t help feeling that something was


    wrong. It was as if something were missing, but she couldn''t recall what it was despite racking her


    brains. Luckily, she wasn''t the kind of person who would push herself too hard. Since she couldn''t wrap


    her head around it, she simply didn''t think about it and continued to live her life as usual.


    Today, Julia made a video call to Sonia again. She was lying face down on her sickbed, having just


    regained consciousness after undergoing surgery yesterday. As soon as she came around, she called


    Sonia to tell her that her surgery was a sess. After all, Sonia was her only daughter. She just


    wanted to share the good news with her; moreover, she didn''t want Sonia to worry about her. Even


    though Sonia didn''t say it out loud, she could tell that Sonia would get worried if she didn''t tell her about


    the surgery.


    Just as she had expected, the furrows in Sonia''s brow rxed visibly after she told her that her surgery


    was a sess. I just knew that my guess was right¡ªSonny really cares about us, she thought.


    "Congrattions." Sonia bit her lower lip before congratting Julia on the other end of the video chat.


    Julia replied with a smile, "I''ll be able toe and see you after some time."


    Sonia didn''t agree to let here, but she didn''t say no either.


    Julia was satisfied enough with this.


    The mother and daughter then chatted about other things before ending the video chat.


    The moment the video chat ended, Sonia saw the nurse''s aide dressed in pink scrubs. Only then did


    she finally recall what was missing. The one missing was actually Taylor, whom she seemed to have


    never spotted around Titus and Julia the whole time.


    On the day she set Taylor free, thetter said she would go back and take care of Titus and Julia,


    which was the reason why she released Taylor. However, she never saw Taylor around the couple. Did


    Taylor never go back after that, or did Titus and Julia chase her away?


    It was quite impossible for Taylor not to go back. Although Taylor coveted the Gray Family''s fortune,


    Sonia could tell that she did care about Titus and Julia, or she wouldn''t have undergonepatibility


    tests in an attempt to save Titus beforeing to plead with her when she found herself unable to do


    so. After all, by pleading with Sonia, she would blow her cover and get targeted by Toby, not to mention


    that she couldn''t be Tina as a result. And yet, she did so despite knowing these consequences,


    which could only prove that she genuinely cared about Titus and Julia and sincerely treated them as


    her parents. Therefore, there was no way she wouldn''t look after them.


    However, Taylor was indeed absent, which meant there was only one possibility left¡ªTitus and Julia


    chased her away. This wasn''t entirely impossible. Now that Titus and Julia were devoted to Sonia, it


    was likely for them to chase Taylor away because they only loved their biological daughter. Wouldn''t


    their own daughter get annoyed if they were to keep this fake daughter around them? Therefore, it


    wasn''t really impossible for Titus and Julia to chase Taylor away.


    In reality, Sonia was quite pleased with the thought of this. After all, it was only natural for her to be


    happy when her own parents were able to do such a thing for her sake. She was just an ordinary


    person with her vanity, so she also hoped that those dearest to her could think of her as the most


    important person to them. Even if she was still unable to ept Titus and Julia wholeheartedly at the


    moment, she would at least resent them less for what they had done.


    She put down her phone and called out to Mary, who was tidying up the clothes in the room inside.


    "Madam Mary!"


    Mary came out upon hearing this. "What''s the matter, Young Mistress Sonia?"

 Chapter 1573

    Chapter 1573


    Chapter 1473 Rose¡¯s Birthday


    "Madam Mary, get some supplements and¡­ send them to her," Sonia said, her eyes shing.


    She knew that Mary would understand whom she was referring to.


    ncing at the phone that Sonia had left on her covers, Mary immediately caught on and gave her a


    smile. "All right, I''ll get to it soon."


    "Okay." Sonia nodded with a smile as well.


    After Mary headed into the room again, Sonia picked up her book and continued to read.


    Originally, she was nning to take her exam during the second half of the year, but her ns were


    forcibly changed when she unexpectedly got pregnant. Besides, the exam just so happened to be held


    when she would be around eight to nine months pregnant, and it would most likely be impossible for


    her to take the exam with arge belly. More importantly, she was pregnant with twins, and there was a


    high possibility that she would have prematurebor. There was a chance that by the time of the exam,


    she would''ve already given birth and would be in the middle of postpartum recovery.


    In any case, she was not concerned about the exam anymore. If she hadn''t given birth at the time and


    she was in a good condition, she would take the exam. But if she was going through postpartum


    recovery or wasn''t fit enough to walk, she would sit it out. Either way, regardless of whether she took


    the exam or not, she intended to continue to read up on the required sybus so that she wouldn''t fall


    behind. After all, she still needed the knowledge for the next exam.


    Toby was not around today as he had gone to thepany, or he would''ve been the one teaching her. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, arge p sounded in a dingy room as Connor struck Tina across the face, sending her


    copsing to the ground.


    Stupefied by the impact, Tina remained sprawled and didn''t react, only staring at the carpet with a


    nk gaze and a crooked face.


    She had just gotten work done on her face and hadn''t fully recovered as it would take at least a year or


    two topletely heal from a full facial surgery, and the p instantly caused half of her face to fall out


    of ce and burn with pain.


    This pain finally brought her back to her senses, and she sat up, looking at Connor''s twisted expression


    with a look of horror. "W-Why did you hit me?"


    She had crossed the line recently, resulting in his displeasure and causing him to give her a p that


    knocked her out of her senses as soon as he walked in.


    "Why, you ask?" Connor clenched the dragon head on his walking stick. "Didn''t I tell you to stay put for


    now? The cops are all over the ce outside, so I told you to stop causing trouble and see how things


    go, but you went and kicked up a huge fuss at the Gray Residence. Now they''ve called the police, and


    there are even more cops keeping an eye on us now."


    Indeed, his initial goal was for Tina to cause more trouble, best if she could turn Seafield upside down.


    However, before she could unleash her full power, theynded themselves under the police''s


    surveince.


    He knew that Toby must''ve been behind this, so he instantly instructed Tina to behave so that he could


    come up with a n to leave Seafield. His instinct told him that if he didn''t leave any sooner, he would


    never make it.


    However, Seafield was Toby''s territory, and he was also being monitored, so it was no simple task to


    leave this ce at all. Hence, he had been racking his brains recently for a solution, but this woman


    unexpectedly left to cause trouble at the Gray Residence, causing the number of people monitoring


    them to increase, making it even more difficult for him to leave. How could he not be furious?


    "I¡­ I don''t know. I didn''t think about that." Tina was genuinely afraid of him, and upon seeing his


    murderous expression, she couldn''t help but tremble like a leaf.


    "You didn''t think about that?" Connor let out an angryugh. "Didn''t I tell you not to go anywhere for the


    time being? Did my words go in one ear and out the other?"


    Upon saying that, he struck her with his walking stick.


    Tina let out an anguished shriek. "I''m sorry! I promise I won''t do it next time! I''ll listen to everything you


    say! Please stop¡­"


    "Next time?" Connor''s eyes turned cial at her words. "You ruined all my ns this time. And you


    want to have a next time?"


    His question immediately rendered Tina speechless.


    Connor''s eyes were as cold as ice, and he looked at her viciously. "You better stay in the house from


    now on. If you dare to run about again, I''ll kill you before Toby does. Got it?"


    "Y-Yes," Tina replied fearfully with a shaky nod.


    If someone who knew her saw her like this, they would probably go into shock at the sight. After all, she


    used to waltz around like she ruled the world but was now cautious and timid. Although she was still as


    venomous as before, the fact that she was reduced to a shivering mouse was pitiful.


    Ignoring her, Connor got up and left.


    However, Tina suddenly clung to his leg. "Wait, call a doctor for me. My face is crooked¡­ My face is


    crooked!"


    She was unable to ept her hideous appearance, and besides, it was extremely painful.


    "Call a doctor for you?" Connor scoffed coldly. "Means I gotta pay for you, no? I spent so much money


    on you for you to work for me, but what have you done? You haven''t done anything for me, but you''re


    now hoping for me to fix your face with my money? Keep dreaming."


    He kicked her hand away and left the room, where Tina shrieked and wailed as if she had gone crazy.


    However, he remained unfazed as he listened to themotion from outside.


    Xander handed him a lit cigarette and said, "Boss, should we just¡­"


    Saying this, he dragged a finger across his neck.


    Connor shook his head. "No, she''s still useful. When Tobyes after us, we can still use her as a


    shield."


    At this point, that was all she was good for and nothing else. Moreover, she was as dangerous as a


    poisonous snake, and he did not dare let her participate in too many of his ns.


    "Yes, sir." Hearing that, Xander immediately stopped talking.


    "Let''s go."


    Tossing the cigarette aside, Connor slunk away on his walking stick, leaving Tina to wail about her face


    and roar for a doctor inside the room.


    Of course, Toby and Sonia were unaware of all these things, but even if they knew, they would only say


    that she deserved it. A demon meeting another demon and then getting held down by yet another


    demon was what Tina deserved.


    After returning from work, Toby sat by the sick bed and was peeling apples for Sonia when he suddenly


    remembered something and said, "By the way, darling, Grandma told us to go back to the old manor for


    her birthday on the day after tomorrow."


    Sonia was startled. "Birthday?"


    "Yeah."


    "Ipletely forgot about it." Sonia pped her forehead. Counting the days in her head, she realized


    it was the day after tomorrow and asked, "Is Grandma hosting a birthday party?"


    Toby shook his head. "I asked if she wanted to host a party, but she turned down the offer, saying that


    she doesn''t need one at her age and she only wishes for us to have dinner together without going


    through all that trouble, so we''ll be heading back the day after tomorrow."


    "Okay," she agreed.


    As Rose''s granddaughter-inw, there was no way she would miss her birthday dinner. However, she


    did have toe up with a gift before she went.


    "Here." Toby sliced the peeled apples into small pieces and ced them on a te, which he handed


    to her before instructing, "Don''t eat too much. We''ll be having dinner soon."


    "I know, I know." Sonia epted the te of apples with a smile, her heart filled with warmth.


    When Toby got up to wash his hands, she hurriedly ced the te down and picked up her phone to


    send Grace a text, asking her for gift ideas.


    In the past six years, she had given Rose jade jewelry every single year, but it would seem half-hearted


    if she continued to do so. Hence, she nned to give her a different present this year. However, she


    couldn''te up with any ideas, so she could only resort to seeking Grace''s help. Although Grace was


    nowhere near Rose''s age, she would definitely know what old folks liked, and Sonia felt that asking her


    for help wouldn''t go wrong.

 Chapter 1574

    Chapter 1574


    Chapter 1474 Fuller Group Is in Trouble


    Expectedly, after Grace found out why Sonia was seeking her out, she immediately provided her with


    many suggestions. When a person got older, they didn''t have as many attachments, and things like


    expensive jewelry and valuable gifts didn''t mean as much to them. After all, there was nothing they


    hadn''t seen or owned at their age, so it wouldn''t be a surprise to them no matter how much they had.


    Old women like Rose in particr were nevercking in these things, and it was never what they


    wanted either, but a happy andrge family instead.


    In fact, Sonia didn''t have to give Rose any gifts at all¡ªthe two children in her belly were the best


    presents. Of course, as the children weren''t born yet, she couldn''t just show up empty-handed, but a


    few presents rted to the children would suffice, such as their medical reports and the ultrasounds so


    that Rose knew they were doing well and how their development wasing along. Grace was certain


    that Rose would love to receive this as a present.


    Sonia smiled, thinking that her words made sense. Hence, she immediately dug out her previous


    medical reports after hanging up.


    When Toby returned, he saw the reports sprawled all over the bed and frowned. "Darling, what are you


    doing?"


    Sonia didn''t hide her ns from him and told him after he asked.


    Hearing that, Toby chuckled. "Let me give you a hand, then."


    "Okay." Sonia pointed at a pile of papers on the other end.


    She had regained her vision the day before as cornea transnts didn''t have a long recovery period in


    the first ce. After all this time, she had long removed her gauze and was able to see, but she


    couldn''t overuse her eyes and had to give them plenty of rest.


    Toby sat down and sorted out the papers with Sonia, discussing which ones were appropriate gifts as


    they went.


    Meanwhile, Mary was hanging theundry on the balcony while listening to the couple''s conversation


    with a cheery smile on her face. These days were extremely cozy and peaceful, and it would be great if


    things were always like this.


    However, peace and calm always signaled an iing storm, and on the day of Rose''s birthday, Toby


    was unable to apany Sonia back to the old manor. He had nned to do so, but something came


    up at thepany in the morning¡ªarge signboard had fallen down and crushed an employee to


    death.


    This was not a small issue, so Toby had to personally take care of it, and he had no choice but to leave


    Sonia to return to the old manor alone. Naturally, he was worried about her safety, so he had issued a


    large number of bodyguards for her before his departure. It was only after he ensured that they were


    able to escort her to the old manor that he left in relief.


    In the car, Toby was reading the news about this matter with a dark expression, the murderous intent


    that was wafting off him suffocating everyone around him.


    "What exactly happened? Why did the signboard fall?" Toby stared at Tom, who was driving, and


    asked, "Did the safety department conduct their safety checks properly?"


    After all, it was their job to thoroughly check all of the equipment, and now that arge signboard had


    fallen and even crushed someone to death, the biggest responsibility fell on Fuller Group and the


    safety department.


    Having anticipated this question, Tom had questioned them beforeing over, and he replied while


    driving, "President Fuller, this isn''t because the safety department didn''t do their job. They check the


    equipment every week, and yesterday was the day of their weekly inspections. There was nothing


    wrong with the report that the head of the safety department handed in either."


    "If there was nothing wrong, tell me why the signboard fell. It fell because the screws were loose!"


    Clearly unhappy with this answer, Toby demanded, "Do you know how important a single screw is to


    these things? It''s a connector of the signboard, and as long as one screw is loose, the entire signboard


    wille apart and fall from above. As professionals, don''t the safety department know that the most


    important aspect of safety checks is the connecting screws?"


    "They do. Mr. Nelson has also repeatedly guaranteed us that they had checked the screws. He was


    there that day and personally saw his staff to it that the first thing they checked were the screws. He


    wasn''t lying either; the surveince footage did show that they checked the screws first," Tom replied.


    Toby narrowed his eyes. "So, Mr. Nelson didn''t perform the checks himself and made his staff do it?"


    "Yes." Tom nodded before exining, "Hence, the biggest problem lies with the staff member. He


    probably didn''t do a thorough examination."


    Toby scoffed. "Other than that, there''s another reason¡ªhe tampered with the screws on purpose."


    Hearing that, Tom nearly stepped on the brakes.


    He hurriedly looked at Toby through the rearview mirror. "President Fuller, are you saying that the staff


    member tampered with the screws deliberately to harm ourpany?"


    "Didn''t you see how big this news is getting now?" Toby narrowed his eyes. "Many media outlets have


    always been afraid of Fuller Group, but the fact that they are fighting to report this case only shows that


    someone is controlling them behind the scenes."


    "In that case, someone had really nned this. They bribed that staff member and caused this incident


    on purpose, then instructed the media to report on this matter to ruin the public opinion of ourpany.


    After all, now that a life was lost, the public will doubt our facilities, and if we don''t handle it properly, we


    will receive public bacsh." Tom''s brow furrowed deeply.


    After all, most of the public despised the rich. It was fine if they weren''t provided any weaknesses to


    vent their anger on, but once they spotted any cracks, they would not hesitate to team up and attack


    them.


    Besides, humans were social animals, and as long as someone led them, the rest would not bother to


    look into what had really happened before joining in to attack. Even if Fuller Group was a prominent


    company, anyrge corporation would fall if they were boycotted by the entire nation.


    If this was the mastermind''s n, they were nothing but heartless for dragging an innocent person''s life


    into this mess.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "Contact Mr. Nelson immediately to see if that staff member is still there. If he is, this matter might be


    due to his negligence, and we must hand him over to the police. If he isn''t, it means that my guess was


    right and someone had bribed him to do all of this," Toby gripped his phone and instructed in a cold


    voice.


    Tom hummed in assent and stopped the car by the side of the road before hurriedly pulling out his


    phone to make a call. The call quickly went through, and he hastily inquired about the staff member''s


    whereabouts. However, he received a reply that made him curse under his breath with a dark


    expression.


    Then, he set his phone down and turned around to look at the man in the back seat with a guilty


    expression. "President Fuller, you were right. That staff member isn''t around anymore. He immediately


    resigned after the safety check yesterday. Mr. Nelson said he''d sent someone to look for the staff


    member and ask him why he didn''t find any problems yesterday, but the staff member is¡­"


    "Dead?" Toby drummed his knee with his fingers. His tone was impassive and unhurried, void of any


    emotion.


    Tom nodded. "Yes. The person who was sent by Mr. Nelson said that the staff member wouldn''t open


    the door no matter how much they knocked, and his neighbors also said that he hadn''t left the house


    after returning. Mr. Nelson''sckey thought he was feeling guilty and immediately kicked the door open.


    But the moment they entered, they saw him lying on the floor and he wasn''t breathing."

 Chapter 1575

    Chapter 1575


    Chapter 1475 Iing Threat


    "How did he end his own life?" Toby clenched his fist tightly.


    The staff member was all alone when he suddenly lost his life, and there was no exnation for his


    death other than he took his own life.


    "ording to the autopsy, he had taken pills," Tom replied.


    Toby shut his eyes and said, "Okay, I got it. Let''s go."


    With that, Tom started the car again. After driving for some time, he couldn''t help but ask, "President


    Fuller, do you think that Connor was behind this?"


    "There''s no one else other than him," Toby replied with a somber expression.


    Tom nodded. "In that case, he''s dering war on us. I thought that he''d continue to hold back. I didn''t


    expect him to make his move all of a sudden."


    "Tina kicked up a fuss at the Gray Family, causing the number of people monitoring Connor to


    increase. There''s a lot that he can''t do anymore, and he can''t leave this ce either, so he can only


    take the risk and go for it."


    "I see." Tom nodded in realization. "He probably regretsing to Seafield now, right? He must regret


    helping Tina even more."


    Toby lowered his gaze, his emotions indecipherable. "I don''t care whether he regrets it or not, but he


    shouldn''t have dragged an innocent person into this."


    "You''re right, President Fuller."


    Toby didn''t resume conversation after that, and Tom remained silent as well, causing the atmosphere in


    the car to turn depressing and suffocating. Soon, they arrived at Fuller Group, which was surrounded


    by the media and the police.


    As soon as Toby exited the car, he drew the attention of everyone around him. Reporters instantly


    shoved forward to swarm him in an attempt to interview him on his thoughts about this issue and how


    he would deal with it. However, Toby remained expressionless, showing no intention to reply.


    The bodyguards around him worked together to block the reporters out, keeping them far away from


    Toby. Although they were unable to approach him, this did not quench their passion, and they


    continued to raise their microphones and shout at Toby, hoping that they would receive a response


    from him.


    Naturally, this scene was shown on the news. At first, Titus and Julia were unaware of this issue, but


    they caught a glimpse when they were changing the channels, and they found out that something this


    serious had happened to Fuller Group.


    "My goodness. Why would an ident like this happen?" Julia pped a hand over her mouth as she


    watched the news ying on the television screen.


    "ident?" Titus narrowed his eyes and repeated the word meaningfully.


    Julia turned to him. "What''s wrong? Is it not an ident?"


    "Fuller Group will never allow an ident like this to happen. Even if there are some pests, they won''t


    dare to do something so bold because they''re aware that they can''t handle the consequences if


    anything goes wrong. Hence, they can only cause a little trouble to gain some benefits for themselves,


    but they certainly would not have the nerve to be negligent on something like this, especially when


    human lives are involved," Titus exined.


    Julia caught on and said, "In that case, Toby''spany''s signboard didn''t fall down because of an


    ident, but because¡­"


    "It''s very likely." Titus narrowed his eyes before saying, "Someone is messing with Toby on purpose."


    "Who could it be?" Julia pressed urgently.


    After all, Toby was her daughter''s husband and their son-inw. They were now on the same side, so


    there was no way they could sit around and watch Toby struggle.


    Titus shook his head. "I don''t know, but there''s a high chance that it''s Connor."


    After all, he was Toby''srgest opponent.


    "Him?" Julia eximed.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "It''s highly possible!"


    "Then, we have to hurry up and tell Toby." Upon saying that, she began to look for her phone.


    Titus shook his head. "No need for that. If I can think of this, there''s no way Toby can''t. He probably


    already knows. I''m sure he''ll take care of it."


    Julia agreed with him, but she didn''t ce her phone down and called Sonia instead. "I''ll give Sonny a


    call. With things getting this serious, she must be really worried about Toby. I have tofort her."


    He didn''t stop her as he was worried about their daughter as well.


    Soon, the call went through, and Sonia''s shallow voice sounded. "Hello?"


    "Sonny, it''s Mom," Julia hurriedly said.


    Sonia hummed to show that she knew this. "Do you need anything?"


    "Yes." Julia hastily asked, "Sonny, do you know what happened to Fuller Group?"


    Sonia hummed in assent. "I do. What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing, nothing." Julia shook her head before continuing, "I was just a little worried that you''d be


    affected by this. After all, you must be worried if something happened to Fuller Group."


    "I am, a little, but Toby said that he''ll take care of it and told me not to worry," Sonia replied.


    With Toby''s capabilities, he would definitely be able to handle it.


    "So, Toby called to let you know?" Julia asked.


    Sonia nodded. "Yes."


    "Good, that''s good." Julia let out a sigh of relief. "I thought that Toby didn''t let you know beforehand,


    and I was worried that you won''t be able to rx."


    "He wouldn''t do that. Don''t worry." A smile curved the corners of Sonia''s lips.


    Julia nodded. "Okay, then I don''t have to worry anymore. But, Sonny, where are you? It doesn''t sound


    like you''re in the hospital anymore. I heard the sound of a car just now."


    "It''s Grandma''s birthday today, and I''m going back to the old manor to celebrate it with her. I''m on the


    way now," Sonia exined, turning her gaze to the rapidly passing scenery outside the window.


    Julia said in realization, "I see. All right, in that case, I won''t bother you anymore. Please wish Old Mrs.


    Fuller a happy birthday on our behalf."


    "Okay," Sonia promised.


    "Was it Mrs. Gray?" Next to her, Mary asked after Sonia put her phone down.


    Sonia tossed her phone into her bag and replied, "It''s her. She saw the news on the inte and felt


    that I would be worried about Toby, so she called tofort me and tell me not to overthink."


    Mary smiled. "She''s not a bad mother."


    Sonia pursed her lips at her words without replying. At the sight of this, Mary didn''t continue either.


    Suddenly, the car came to a stop.


    "What''s wrong?" Sonia asked the driver.


    The driver turned around and replied, "I don''t know. The car in front stopped."


    This was a private road, so there was no way for any other cars to show up. Even if there were, it


    would be their convoy. Logically speaking, they should safely arrive at the old manor without any


    obstacles, but they were now being held back.


    "Did something happen to the car in front?" Sonia asked.


    Both the cars in the front and back were filled with bodyguards, and the main car that only seated


    Sonia and Mary was in the middle, protected by two of the escort cars.


    "I''m not sure. Please hold on, Mrs. Fuller, I''ll ask them." After saying that, the driver picked up a device


    in the car to call the cars in front.


    Soon, they received a response. "A group of people is blocking the way in front, so we can''t pass


    through."


    "Blocking the way?" Sonia''s brow furrowed. "This is the Fuller Family''s private road. Who would block


    the way here?"


    "Did something happen?" Mary asked anxiously.


    Sonia opened her mouth, but she didn''t know what to say as she was just as clueless.


    "Oh no, they''reing over." The voices of the bodyguards from the car in front sounded from the


    device in the driver''s hand once again.


    Soon after, Sonia watched as a group of burly men dressed in ck appeared in front of the car in front


    of them before roughly pulling the doors open. The four bodyguards inside exited the car and began


    tussling with them. Each of the bodyguards was extremely skilled and could take on a few men alone,


    but the muscr invaders were clearly not ipetent either. Using their numbers, they soon


    restrained the four bodyguards.


    Just then, the bodyguards in the car behind Sonia''s vehicle spoke up. "Mrs. Fuller, these people are up


    to no good. Please remain seated in the car and don''t leave. We''re going to deal with them."


    "Okay. Please be careful." Sonia nodded.

 Chapter 1576

    Chapter 1576


    Chapter 1476 Connor¡¯s Men


    "Don''t worry, Mrs. Fuller." After reassuring Sonia, the bodyguards behind them exited the car. Then,


    they headed to the front to join the battle.


    However, the burly men in ck had an advantage over her bodyguards in terms of their numbers.


    Toby had hired eight bodyguards and one driver for her, and now four of those bodyguards were


    restrained. Meanwhile, only a few of their opponents had been injured, and more than ten remained.


    Could the remaining four bodyguards defeat them?


    As Sonia pondered to herself anxiously, Mary was beginning to fret. "This is bad. These people are


    here for us. They''re keeping us here on purpose."


    On the other hand, Sonia was not surprised because she already knew their intention.


    "Mrs. Fuller, I''ll call President Fuller," the driver said hurriedly.


    She nodded in response and uttered, "All right. Hurry up."


    "I''ll call the police as well." After that, Mary pulled her phone out, saying, "Young Mistress Sonia, you


    should call someone from the old manor too. They''re nearby, so we have to ask them to send someone


    to our aid as soon as possible."


    "Okay." Sonia immediately agreed before she took out her phone to call them.


    In the meantime, Rose was bristled with rage upon learning of the situation and hurriedly sent over


    twenty men. Even though the old manor was not far from their current location, it took them some time


    to get there.


    At that moment, Sonia needed to hold out until the people from the old manor arrived, and this was the


    only way to keep them out of danger. In other words, they needed the remaining four bodyguards to


    fend the burly men off until then. Nheless, the bodyguards ultimately failed to hold their ground.


    She didn''t think they''d be able to hold out for long because two of the bodyguards had been knocked


    down and couldn''t get up, and the other two were fighting with everything they had.


    Then, Mary ced her phone down and urgently reported to her, "Young Mistress Sonia, I''ve already


    called the police, and they said they''re already heading over."


    Suddenly, the driver''s frown deepened, and his face darkened. "Mrs. Fuller, I am unable to contact


    President Fuller. He isn''t answering the phone, and neither is Tom."


    "They are already overburdened with dealing with thepany''s matters. It''s not surprising that they


    haven''t answered your call," Sonia reasoned, pursing her lips. From the start, she had already


    prepared herself for this oue.


    After that, Mary narrowed her eyes and instructed, "Wesker, just drive the car into them."


    As soon as Sonia heard that, she and the driver turned to Mary in shock.


    Then, Mary exined solemnly, "Humans are naturally afraid of death. They will definitely avoid us if


    we drive straight at them. We can''t stay stuck here any longer. If the two remaining bodyguards are


    defeated, these people will immediatelye for us once they aren''t being held back anymore. Young


    Mistress Sonia is pregnant, so she definitely can''t be captured by them. It won''t be good if something


    happens to her, and we can''t take the risk either."


    Hearing that, Sonia subconsciously caressed her belly.


    Seeing Sonia''s reaction, Mary hurriedly persuaded her, fearing she was too empathetic, "You can''t


    hesitate, Young Mistress Sonia. We cannot let anything happen to you."


    Then, Sonia bit her lip before she eventually nodded. "All right. Let''s give it a go." She''s right, and I


    can''t let anything terrible happen to the child in my belly. If something goes wrong, I will never again be


    able to fulfill the role of a mother.


    Seeing that the two women had decided, Wesker steeled himself and said, "All right. I''ll charge straight


    ahead, so sit tight." Afterward, he stomped on the gas pedal and drove forward. When they saw the car


    approaching, the people ahead subconsciously dodged to both sides. As Mary had predicted, they left


    a gap in the middle for their vehicle to pass through smoothly.


    As for the bodyguards, they will take care of them afterward and take them to the hospital if needed.


    However, now, they needed to ensure their own safety.


    "Great, we finally got away." Then, Mary looked back, and when she noticed they were driving away


    from the brawling crowd, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.


    Wesker nodded along, agreeing. "Exactly. It was great that you made the right choice, Mary."


    "I''ve gone to battle with Old Mrs. Fuller back in the days, so there are times when I''m firm if it''s


    necessary," she said with a smile.


    However, Sonia''s brows were tightly furrowed. "Mary, I don''t know why, but I keep feeling that


    something''s off."


    "What?" Mary paused. "Young Mistress Sonia, what''s wrong?"


    "It''s those burly men." Sonia pursed her lips before borating, "When the car charged toward them


    earlier, they moved aside, but their expressions weren''t panicked or shocked at all, as if they already


    knew we would go straight for them."


    At her words, Mary refreshed her memory and realized that Sonia was right. Instantly, Mary''s smile


    dropped, her expression turning dark. "Something is wrong."


    Sonia hummed in reply. She felt that something was amiss as well.


    "Wesker, be careful. I keep feeling like¡ª" Before Mary could finish, the car suddenly reeled back and


    stopped. The sudden movement caused Sonia and her to jerk forward, and Sonia''s expression


    instantly turned fearful. If she continued to pounce forward like this, she would definitely hit her belly,


    and the oue would be unthinkable.


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Seeing that, Mary immediately disregarded her own safety and yanked Sonia toward her. In the end,


    Sonia pounded on her arms while Mary mmed her shoulder heavily in the back of the passenger


    seat and yelped in pain.


    "Mary, are you all right?" Sonia hastily checked on her.


    However, Mary smiled in response. "I''m fine, Young Mistress Sonia. I just bumped my shoulder a little.


    Are you all right?" After saying that, she hurriedly looked Sonia up and down.


    Immediately, Wesker turned around to look at Sonia with a dark expression. My life would be over if


    something happened to her.


    "I''m fine." Sonia shook her head. "Fortunately, Mary, you caught me in time, and I''m fine." Although she


    could let out a breath of relief, she still felt a shiver running through her spine when she recalled the


    events that had just urred. It really was a close call.


    "That''s good to know." Mary finally rxed at her words before turning to Wesker with a displeased


    expression. "Wesker, what happened? Why did the car stop all of a sudden?"


    "I don''t know. I was just driving when the car stopped itself. It says on the screen that all four tires were


    punctured," Wesker replied bitterly, pointing at the disy screen in the car.


    "What? The tires were punctured?" Mary repeated in surprise.


    When she heard that, Sonia bit her lip and remained silent as if she had realized something.


    "I''ll take a look." Mary hurriedly opened the car door and headed down, followed by Wesker.


    Sonia was also about to head down, but Mary instructed her to stay put in the car as it was safer inside.


    Ultimately, she had no choice but to remain seated as she could not win over Mary''s word.


    After exiting the car, Mary and the driver inhaled sharply upon seeing the four t tires.


    "What exactly is it that could puncture all four tires at once?"


    Then, Wesker sensed something and looked behind. As he had expected, he saw what he had


    guessed would appear in the middle of the road. "It''s road spikes."


    "What?" She looked in the direction he was pointing and instantly noticed the road spikes designed to


    keep cars out.


    Furthermore, the spikes were simr in color to the road, making them difficult to distinguish. Thus, it


    punctured the tires without raising suspicion, bringing the vehicle to a halt.


    "I can''t believe someone ced something like this on the road," Mary eximed furiously.


    After hearing that, Sonia rolled the windows down and said, "As expected. No wonder those people


    weren''t surprised to see us charging at them and letting us off so easily. They had anticipated our


    actions and strategically ced the spikes to bring our vehicle to a halt."


    Suddenly, a round of apuse sounded from the front. "How clever!"


    Sonia and the others turned around to see a group of people, a young man wearing sses and a


    tuxedo, and a dozen burly men dressed in ck, had appeared on the previously empty road.

 Chapter 1577

    Chapter 1577


    Chapter 1477 Sonia Had Been Taken Away


    Although these burly men didn''t look like the previous ones, they clearly belonged to the same group


    because they were all dressed simrly.


    "As expected, the young mistress of the Fuller Family is quite intelligent. You guessed so quickly," the


    man leading the group walked over and said with a cheery smile.


    Mary and Wesker could tell that these people had ill intentions and hurriedly blocked them off from


    Sonia, who was still in the car.


    "Who exactly are you?" she demanded with a dark expression.


    In response to that, the man pushed his sses up his nose. "Mrs. Fuller behind you should know who


    I am."


    "I do?" Hearing that, Sonia scrutinized the man and realized he looked familiar as if she had seen him


    somewhere. Her memory was always good, and she quickly recalled his identity. Suddenly, her


    expression hardened as she uttered, "It''s you?"


    Then, the man sent her a smile. "It seems that Mrs. Fuller recognizes me now."


    Suddenly, shetched the car window tightly shut.


    After hearing that, Mary asked, "Young Mistress Sonia, who is he?"


    "He''s Xander Little, Connor''s assistant," Sonia replied, her eyes fixed on Xander.


    The man nodded in response. "That''s right."


    "So, it''s Connor who''s trying to capture us?" Mary asked, finally understanding everything.


    "Exactly." He lifted his chin haughtily. "Do you think Mr. Salzburg won''t be able to do anything just


    because you''re watching him? Howughable. He has already nned everything, and no matter how


    many people have their eyes on him, his ns will still be carried on without a hitch."


    "n?" Sonia stared at him intently. "What are you trying to do?"


    "You''ll find out very soon. Take her away," Xander ordered, pointing at Sonia.


    "Try it if you dare!" At that moment, Mary and Wesker stood shoulder to shoulder, not allowing them to


    pass.


    Then, Mary sent Xander a warning look and threatened, "If you dare to harm Young Mistress Sonia, I


    swear that I won''t let you off easily."


    As if he had heard the world''s funniest joke, he roared with a hideous-sounding bout ofughter. "Since


    we''re already here, how would we dare do anything to her? As for not letting us off easily, I''m not


    scared of that. Your Young Mistress Sonia will probably meet her end before that. Pull them away


    quickly, or we won''t be able to leave once the other people show up."


    "Yes, sir." After responding to his order, the burly men forcibly dragged Mary and Wesker away. At the


    same time, the rest yanked the door open and pulled Sonia out.


    "Young Mistress Sonia!" Mary howled, her voice filled with anxiety and worry. "Let go of her, don''t touch


    her! If you want to take someone with you, just take me!"


    Xander rolled his eyes upon hearing that. "We have no use for you. Why would we take you with us?


    How noisy! Just knock them out."


    The burly men immediately obeyed his instructions and swung at Mary and Wesker, knocking them


    unconscious with blows to the back of the neck.


    "Mary!" Sonia yelled urgently.


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Then, Xander held her arm and said, "Don''t worry, you''ll be knocked out too. It won''t be easy for us to


    take you away if you''re awake." After saying that, he struck her on the back of the neck, and she felt


    only a twinge of pain before losing consciousness and falling forward.


    He caught her and looked at her lovely features that had be even more beautiful after her surgery,


    his eyes filled with cold hatred. Then, he tossed her to two of the men, who lifted her and dropped her


    into a sack. After that, the group jumped over the curb and crawled into the mountain.


    The mountain was the Fuller Family''s private property, and the old manor was in the deepest part of the


    mansion. However, most of the hill hadn''t been used for development. Meanwhile, Xander and the


    others were concerned that if they drove on the road, they would be apprehended by the police and the


    Fuller Family. Hence, they set out on foot through the mountains, where they had arranged for a pickup


    car to meet them. Soon after, the group of people vanished into the woods with Sonia.


    After the Fuller Family''s men arrived, they only saw the unconscious Mary and Wesker, with Sonia


    nowhere in sight.


    Then, Olivia aided Rose in getting out of the car. Rose nced at Mary, then at the car with its t tires,


    and immediately realized that Sonia had been kidnapped. She ordered furiously, "Hurry up and turn the


    entire over. You must find my granddaughter-inw!"


    "Yes, Old Mrs. Fuller," the old manor''s bodyguards immediately responded.


    At that moment, the police arrived, with the injured bodyguards trailing behind them. Rose went over to


    talk to them and found out that the burly men in ck had escaped, and the police didn''t manage to


    capture them. When they arrived, there were only two cars and the injured bodyguards.


    The head bodyguard looked at her guiltily and apologized, "I''m sorry, Old Mrs. Fuller. We weren''t able


    to protect Mrs. Fuller."


    Although furious, she didn''t me them either. She knew they were faced withrge numbers that


    overpowered theirs, so it was natural that they wouldn''t be able to defeat them. Furthermore, the


    bodyguards were all injured, and some with more severe injuries had already been taken to the


    hospital. Ultimately, Toby hadn''t thought things through, and they hadn''t anticipated an unexpected


    attack.


    "Have you contacted Young Master Toby yet?" Rose asked Olivia.


    Olivia shook her head in response. "Not yet. Given the current state of affairs at thepany, Young


    Master Toby probably has no time to check his phone."


    "Then, send someone to tell him," Rose instructed.


    After responding to her orders, Olivia left to send someone out.


    Rose then gave the police a few instructions and handed them all of the surveince footage from the


    road so that they could track the people who took Sonia away. Soon after, she sent the remaining


    bodyguard to the hospital as well. At the same time, Mary and Wesker were immediately tossed into


    the car to return to the old manor as she had already called a doctor. Even though they were not


    injured, they were still required to answer a few questions after waking up.


    Although Rose was old, her brain still worked well, and she was quickly able to take care of everything,


    leaving her with nothing else to do except wait for herckeys'' return. Soon, the police had also left,


    deploying all their officers to chase after the suspects.


    Mary woke up not long after returning to the Fuller Residence. She still felt slightly disoriented when


    she woke up and couldn''t process what had happened. After rubbing her temples twice, she regained


    her memory of the events. "Old Mrs. Fuller, quick, Young Mistress Sonia was captured." She grabbed


    Rose''s hand all of a sudden and notified her urgently.


    Rose patted the back of her hand to calm her down before exining, "I know. I''ve already sent a


    search team, and the police are looking for her too."


    "It''s Connor Salzburg. He is the mastermind behind all of this," Mary added.


    This did not surprise Rose, as she and the police had already suspected as much. In fact, when the


    police went to where Connor was staying, they found it empty, further confirming that he was


    responsible for the incident.


    They had already sealed off the entire Seafield, so Connor and the others could not escape. In other


    words, he and his men were still in Seafield, and as long as they were in the city, the police could


    quickly track them down and rescue Sonia.


    However, Rose and the others'' primary concern was whether or not Sonia and her unborn children


    would be in danger before that.


    "Old Mrs. Fuller, we must save Young Mistress Sonia." Mary grabbed Rose''s hand and began sobbing.


    "It is my fault, as I failed to protect her properly."


    "It''s not your fault. Nobody could do anything in that situation." Rose sighed.


    Aside from Mary, Rose was remorseful because it was her birthday that day. If Sonia had stayed in the


    hospital and not shown up to celebrate with her, Connor would have never been able to kidnap her. At


    the end of the day, they were all to me for her abduction.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll definitely save Sonny." Rose hugged Mary gently. "No matter what it takes, we will


    make Connor pay with his life!" For Sonny''s sake and to avenge my son, Connor must die this time.

 Chapter 1578

    Chapter 1578


    Chapter 1478 Livid Toby


    After Toby finished settling matters at thepany, it was already three in the afternoon. In the past


    few hours, he had hosted a press conference to announce to the public that Fuller Group was


    ountable for this issue and that they would take full responsibility bypensating the deceased


    staff''s family. As for the amount ofpensation, it needed to be discussed and wasn''t disclosed to the


    public as it needed to be prepared ording to thew.


    Although the mass public was unhappy with Fuller Group for allowing such a mistake to happen, they


    naturally chose to forgive them on ount that they were good at admitting their mistakes and didn''t


    avoid taking responsibility. Hence, the criticism on the inte quickly stopped and peace resumed. Of


    course, there were still a small number of people who continued to bring up discourse in order to milk


    the remaining amount of traction from this issue.


    Toby only announced publicly that it was Fuller Group''s responsibility and only mentioned that it was an


    ident instead of saying that it was Connor''s doing. After all, there were times when some truths


    needed to be hidden.


    "President Fuller." Tom knocked on the door before walking in. He looked at the exhausted man on the


    chair and ced the documents down before saying, "The deceased''s family have already gone back."


    "Okay." Toby nodded in understanding. "Tell the legal department to take care of this urgently and


    compensate the deceased''s family as soon as possible to put them at ease."


    "I know, sir. I''ve already informed them," Tom said.


    Toby nodded. "That''s good."


    "Besides, the publicity department is also starting to clean up the negative rumors online. In addition to


    that, the police are currently closing the case."


    Truth be told, the police were aware that this matter was a result of Connor''s schemes, but they


    couldn''t announce that to the public, so they could only say that it was an ident as well and close


    the case as soon as possible. Of course, that didn''t mean that things would end here; Connor would


    have to bear all the burden once they captured him.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    However, in general, this matter was temporarily over. Still, there was one thing Toby couldn''t figure


    out. Why would Connor pull this trick all of a sudden and what was his goal?


    Unable toe up with an answer after racking his brains, Toby decided not to think about it for the


    time being and asked Tom, "What''s the time?"


    Tom looked at his wristwatch before saying, "It''s 3.30PM."


    Toby stood up. "I''ll leave things to you for now. I''m going back to the old manor."


    "Yes, sir." Tom nodded before handing him his phone.


    After Toby''s phone ran out of battery when he was busy working, he handed it to Tom to charge it.


    Tom''s phone was also low in battery due to the number of calls he was making, and it was currently


    charging as well. This was also why they didn''t answer any calls, regardless of who was making them.


    After taking his phone and turning it on, Toby was met with a long list of missed calls, all of which were


    from the old manor. His lips curled up slightly, and he assumed that they wanted to know if he was


    finished with work and when he would go back. So, he happily returned Rose''s calls.


    However, once the call went through, Toby immediately sensed that something was amiss.


    "Toby, have you resolved the issue with thepany?" Rose asked somberly, her tone extremely


    grave.


    Toby''s sense of foreboding increased. "Yes, Grandma. Did something happen?"


    Knowing that she couldn''t hide anything from Toby, Rose nodded. "Yes. Sonny was captured by


    Connor."


    "What?!" Toby instantly rose from his chair, shocked. "Did you say that Little Leaf was captured by


    Connor?"


    Opposite the office table, Tom was dumbfounded upon hearing this. What kind of joke was this? Sonia


    was taken away by Connor?


    "Yes." Rose let out a sigh. "Connor was lying in wait with arge number of his men on the way to the


    old manor and even set up road spikes to force their car to stop. The bodyguards weren''t able to beat


    them, Mary and the driver were also knocked unconscious and Sonny is now gone. She was taken


    away by them."


    Crash!


    In a burst of fury, Toby kicked his chair, sending it flying. It was no wonder that he had a bad


    premonition; that sense of dread was right and his wife had been taken away by Connor.


    "Where did they take her to?" Toby pressed, his eyes turning red.


    Rose shook her head. "I don''t know. I''ve already sent my men to look for her, and the police are


    tracking her down too. We haven''t received any news yet, but we can confirm that they''re still in


    Seafield."


    "I understand." Toby squeezed his eyes shut and only suppressed the murderous intent within him after


    a long pause. He then said in a voice that was as cold as ice, "I''ll head back immediately."


    "All right," Rose responded.


    After the call ended, Tom looked at the livid Toby and hurriedly asked, "President Fuller, what exactly


    happened?"


    "Sonia was captured by Connor, and her current whereabouts are unknown."


    "How could that happen?" Tom asked, dumbfounded. "President Fuller, didn''t you send eight


    bodyguards with Mrs. Fuller? Why would she be captured?"


    "Connor blocked them on the way to the old manor with arge group of people. Eight bodyguards


    were not enough at all." Upon saying that, Toby pounded on his office table with a fist, his heart filled


    with self-reproach.


    It was he who had underestimated his opponent. He assumed that eight bodyguards were more than


    enough, and nothing would happen to Sonia. However, he didn''t expect Connor to make a move all of


    a sudden and show up with even more men to take his wife away.


    "Where did Connor get all these men?" Tom couldn''t make sense of the situation at all. "We have been


    monitoring him along with the police, and he wasn''t making any moves at all."


    "This can only prove that he nned this before he was being monitored, which is why we never


    noticed." Toby narrowed his eyes.


    "Then, he really could hold back if he only made his move now." Tom said angrily, "He might''ve even


    nned today''s incident a long time ago."


    "He''s creating a diversion," Toby replied, his expression dark and murderous. "He knows that I would


    never leave Little Leaf''s side unless something big happened, and she won''t step foot out of the


    hospital either, so he could only n all of this. He didn''t make a move so that he could pick an


    appropriate date, which is Grandma''s birthday. As her family, we have to return to the old manor to


    celebrate her birthday, and this journey is enough for him to do what he wants."


    "I understand now. So that''s why Connor caused all this trouble in thepany to lead you away from


    Mrs. Fuller¡ªbecause this was the only way he could take her away. If the two of you were together,


    there was no guarantee that he could take both of you away, so to be on the safe side, Connor only


    captured Mrs. Fuller so that he could use her to threaten you," Tom mused aloud.


    Connor didn''t have any direct grudges against Sonia¡ªonly Toby did. Hence, Connor only made his


    move to tackle Toby, but if he fought with Toby face-to-face, his chances of winning weren''trge.


    Therefore, he chose to use Sonia to restrain Toby, and it was only in this way that he had a bigger


    chance of winning.


    He really was a cowardly viin. Because he wasn''t able to face Toby head-on, he captured Sonia


    instead to use her as leverage. A person like this could only be called nothing but cowardly.


    "Let''s go back to the old manor." Toby fished the car keys from his pocket and tossed them to Tom


    before striding toward the door.


    Tom hurriedly trailed behind him. As for thepany''s issues, it wouldn''t be a huge problem if the two


    of them were absent for the time being. Tom drove as quickly as he could, and they soon arrived at the


    old manor in less than an hour.


    Mary stood before Toby and apologized with a guilty expression, but he didn''t me her. After all, it


    was fortunate that Mary was able to survive in that kind of situation. In fact, Mary was an elderly woman


    herself, so what could she do? She wouldn''t be able to protect Sonia at all. He wasn''t the type of


    person who would take his anger out on others.


    If he had to me anyone, it could only be himself. Why didn''t he go back with Sonia? Why didn''t he


    allocate more bodyguards to her and assumed that only eight would be enough? At the end of the day,


    he, as a husband, hadn''t been able to properly protect his wife.

 Chapter 1579

    Chapter 1579


    Chapter 1479 Tina and Sonia


    Afterforting Mary, Toby began to inquire Rose about the current situation. She knew earlier than


    him that Sonia had been taken away and sent people to look for her as well, so it was the best option to


    ask her.


    As expected, although Rose hadn''t found Sonia''s whereabouts, she knew their escape route.


    "In the mountains?" Toby narrowed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down.


    If he wasn''t calm in a time like this, he wouldn''t be able to think of anything and would only aggravate


    himself even more.


    It made sense¡ªto escape in a situation like that, Connor''s men could only leave from the mountains. If


    they took the main road, the surveince captures could capture them at any time. Hence, the


    mountains were the only safe option.


    "I already sent my men to search the mountains, and we found some footsteps and tire marks. They


    prepared a car on the other side of the mountain to switch transport, and my men are already


    investigating the direction in which the car had left. There should be news soon," Rose said.


    When Toby heard this, he felt a little more at ease. He then pulled out his phone and contacted the


    authorities, intending to look into the satellite surveince system. The satellite was able to detect the


    movements of all the people and cars. Even if there weren''t any cameras on that road, the satellite


    would still be able to capture it, making it the best way to find Sonia.


    After receiving Toby''s call and learning about his intentions, the authorities immediately agreed to help


    him look into the footage. First of all, Toby was one of the country''s major contributors, so they had no


    reason not to agree. Other than that, his grandfather was a founding minister of the country, and


    Connor was a heinous criminal himself, so naturally, the authorities wanted to find him quickly as well.


    With the satellite cameras deployed, it would most likely take less than two hours to find Connor.


    Swallowing their worries for now, they waited for the news from the authorities.


    On the other hand, in a deep mountain, Connor sat on a small stool outside a temporarily built


    warehouse with his phone in his hand. While he stared at something on his phone, Xander reported


    next to him, "Boss, Toby has already settled the issue at Fuller Group."


    "I know." Connor was unperturbed. "This may be a huge issue for a smallpany, enough to make


    them go bankrupt, but for a behemoth like the Fuller Group, it''s nothing that a conference, an apology,


    and an appropriatepensation can''t solve. I was never nning to make Fuller Group go bankrupt


    in the first ce. It was just to divert Toby and hold him back."


    Xander hummed in reply before asking, "But Toby should be aware that we''ve taken Sonia by now. Do


    you think that he''ll be able to find us?"


    Connor lifted his head and looked at the sky without replying. Seeing that, Xander felt nothing but


    crippling anxiety.


    Just then, Tina ascended the mountain. Her legs were not suited for climbing, so Connor had sent


    someone to carry her up.


    Now, Tina could only be described as pitiful. Connor did not hire a doctor for her face, and she could


    only wrap her face tightly in bandages to prevent it from deforming even further, turning her into a living


    mummy that was wrapped in gauze. Tina felt nothing but hatred regarding this; she hated Connor for


    ruining her face, but she despised Sonia even more.


    Hence, upon seeing Connor, she immediately demanded, "Where''s Sonia?"


    Connor raised his head. "You''re looking for her?"


    "I want her to see what I look like now. I want her to know that I look like this all because of her," Tina


    growled through gritted teeth.


    Hearing that, he chuckled. "She''s inside. Go on."


    Without another word, Tina immediately headed toward the warehouse. Connor gave Xander another


    look, and he nodded before following her.


    In the warehouse, Tina switched the lights on and instantly caught sight of the woman who was bound


    to a chair. The moment she saw the woman, her expression turned twisted, and the hatred in her eyes


    was like daggers.


    She quickly strode over and pped Sonia viciously across the face. The crisp sound reverberated


    through the warehouse exceptionally loudly, even causing an echo.


    Sonia had already been stirring awake, and when she felt the burning sensation of pain on her face,


    she instantly opened her eyes and lifted her head.


    Upon seeing the tightly bandaged and monstrous face before her, she jolted in shock and yelped. "Who


    are you?"


    "Who am I?" Tinaughed heartily. "I''m the person who hates you the most and wants you dead!"


    "What?!" Sonia was taken aback by her words.


    There was only one person who hated her the most, enough to want her dead, and it was no other


    than¡­


    "You''re Tina!"


    She remembered now¡ªwhen she and Mary were on their way to the old manor to celebrate Rose''s


    birthday, she had been taken away by Connor''s men. Right, Tina is on Connor''s side as well.


    "That''s right, I''m Tina. I can''t believe you recognize me." Upon hearing that Sonia recognized her


    immediately, Tina was a little taken aback, but she quickly recovered to her senses.


    There was no harm if she knew; she couldn''t escape anyway. This time, she had to end this woman''s


    life.


    Sonia didn''t reply to Tina and looked around her surroundings instead. Seeing that she had been tied


    up, she twisted her body urgently. "Where is this ce?"


    She didn''t tell them to let go of her as she was well aware that this was impossible. Hence, instead of


    telling them to free her, it was a better option to probe them and find out where she was so that she


    could see if there was a way to contact Toby.


    "You don''t need to worry about where this is. Worry about what''s going to happen to you next instead."


    Tina lifted Sonia''s chin, her eyes filled with malice.


    Sonia attempted to shake her hand off, but Tina clenched her chin tightly, making it impossible for her


    to escape her grip. In fact, the more she struggled, the harder Tina pressed, even digging her nails into


    her chin and causing Sonia to whimper in pain, her face scrunching up in agony.


    "Let go! What do you want?" Sonia shouted.


    Tina looked at her face and barked, "What do I want? I want your life! But, before that, I''ll let you


    experience my pain tenfold. Do you see my face now?"


    Sonia stared at her. "What do you mean?"All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "What do I mean?" Tina let out a crazedugh. "My face has been ruined, and I can''t fix it anymore. All


    of this is your fault!"


    "You must be insane," Sonia dered, losing her temper. "What does it have to do with me if your face


    is ruined? Did I do that?"


    "That''s right, you did." Suddenly, Tina roared, "If it weren''t for you, I would''ve already married Toby and


    be the young mistress of the Fuller Family! I won''t have to fake my death to make my escape


    either and even go through stic surgery to change my appearance. Do you know how tormenting


    stic surgery is?"


    "You don''t know, do you? When I''m lying on my bed, unable to sleep because of the pain, I realized


    that everything I had been through was because of you. I will definitely never let you go. Now, my face


    has been ruined because of you too. Why are you the Gray Family''s daughter?!"


    She wrapped her hands around Sonia''s throat and growled, "It''s because you''re the Gray Family''s


    biological daughter that I paid close attention to and approached them, or Connor wouldn''t have set his


    target on me either and ruined my face. In other words, my entire life has been ruined because of you.


    Why can''t you just drop dead already?"


    "Why didn''t Henry just drown you to death back then? If you died, I wouldn''t have to go through any of


    this, I''ll still be the Gray Family''s daughter and the young mistress of the Fuller Family and my face


    wouldn''t be ruined either. It''s all because of you; you did this to me!"


    Raving mad, Tina tightened her hands as if she wanted to end Sonia''s life right then and there.

 Chapter 1580

    Chapter 1580


    Chapter 1480 Teaching Sonia a Lesson


    Sonia was suffocating from being grasped by the neck, and her face turned purple. It felt exceptionally


    ufortable as tears gushed out of the corners of her eyes. However, she did not beg Tina to let her


    go. How could she be willing to beg Tina for mercy when Tina was her biggest enemy? Begging


    someone crazy like her would only add to her arrogance and pride.


    "What a joke!" Sonia parted her lips and mocked in a raspy voice. "You said I was responsible for


    everything that happened to you. Without my existence, abduction, or letters with Toby, you, Tina Gray,


    would never have be the Gray Family''s daughter or even have this name! Heck, you wouldn''t


    even have gotten to know Toby. I allowed you to live a wealthy life with parents who care about you, but


    not only was there no gratitude, you even med everything on me!"


    At that point, Tina''s face twisted even uglier as she could not ept those words. That was because


    she knew in her heart that if Sonia had not been taken, she would not have be Tina Gray. Instead,


    she would only be an ordinary woman living among everyone. Perhaps, she would work a nine-to-five


    job or use her pretty face to her advantage and get involved with wealthy men.


    But so what? The reality isn''t like that. Sonia was snatched, and the Grays adopted me, Tina Gray. I


    am a lucky person! Why not let me continue enjoying that? Why must things be set right by letting Toby


    discover I''m not Maple or have my parents realize that Sonia is their real daughter? That isn''t fair!


    "So, you must be happy, aren''t you? You''re happy to see me down and out, right?" Tina pulled Sonia


    forward by her neck, decreasing the distance between them. "Despite the abduction, you could still


    return to your mom and dad. Even if I took away your identity as Maple, Toby could still recognize you


    for you. Are you happy you chased me out of the Gray Family and put me into this situation?"


    Sonia gazed at her coldly. "Yes, you''re right. I am happy to see that because this is the ending of


    someone as vicious as you deserve!"


    "You¡ª" Tina was so angry that she was about to explode but suddenly beganughing hysterically.


    "You''re on the verge of death, yet you still dare to provoke me. Oh, Sonia. Have you forgotten you''re


    now in my hands? The one who''s going to have a bad ending is you. What do you think I should do to


    you? You took everything from me, so I wouldn''t let you go so easily. I heard you''re pregnant¡­" Her


    hand slowly lowered until she reached Sonia''s belly.


    At that moment, Sonia''s eyes contracted as she paled and anxiously yelled, "What are you gonna do?


    Tina, if you dare hurt my child, I''ll make sure you''ll die a painful death!"


    "Are you threatening me?" Tina sneered. "Do you think I''d be scared of you? You''re now in my hands,


    so the one dying painfully is you!"


    While tightening her grip around Sonia''s neck, Tina was satisfied when she saw Sonia having difficulty


    breathing. "There wasn''t a moment when I stopped thinking about what I would do to you if you fell into


    my hands. Now that my wishes have been realized and you''re finally in my hands, I''ll ensure you can


    enjoy the most painful punishment in this world. How about we start with your child? Since you care so


    much about it, I''ll take it away, and you''ll taste hell! How about that?!"


    With that, she let go of Sonia''s neck and clenched her hand into a fist. Then, she swung it at Sonia''s


    belly with a twisted smile.


    "No!" Sonia turned ghastly.


    Just as Tina''s fist was about to touch Sonia''s belly, a hand suddenly appeared and caught Tina''s wrist.


    "You can''t hit her belly."


    Xander stared at Tina coldly, prompting her to scream, "Why?"


    "Her health report says that she''s weak. If you hit her until she gets a miscarriage, she will die. How are


    we going to threaten Toby with a dead woman? That''d only make him even crazier and act more


    recklessly. By then, we wouldn''t be able to reach our goal, so you can''t do anything to her child," he


    exined.


    "What?" She gnashed her teeth, obviously unwilling to ept the reality.


    However, Sonia felt greatly relieved upon hearing that. No matter what happened, she was relieved she


    could keep her child safe. As for the rest, she would try her best to hold on because she believed Toby


    woulde to her and her baby''s rescue.


    On the other hand, Xander looked at Tina''s reluctant expression and narrowed his eyes. "This is Mr.


    Salzburg''s order. If you dare to disobey and kill her by taking away her child, you wouldn''t be able to


    keep your life either. That''d be like going down to hell with her. Therefore, I suggest you give it a


    thought." After saying that, he flung away Tina''s hand.


    Perhaps, her near-death experience on the operation bed when having her full-body reconstruction


    surgery scared Tina, causing her to fear death. I don''t wanna die!


    At the same time, she knew Connor was a ruthless man who would kill anyone he liked. Therefore, she


    dared not question his words and could only retract her hand no matter how unwilling she was.


    "Fine. I won''t hit her belly, but I can hit other parts, right? I refuse to believe she''ll die and get a


    miscarriage from that!" Once Tina finished, she pped Sonia again.


    "Are you threetening me?" Tine sneered. "Do you think I''d be scered of you? You''re now in my hends,


    so the one dying peinfully is you!"


    While tightening her grip eround Sonie''s neck, Tine wes setisfied when she sew Sonie heving difficulty


    breething. "There wesn''t e moment when I stopped thinking ebout whet I would do to you if you fell into


    my hends. Now thet my wishes heve been reelized end you''re finelly in my hends, I''ll ensure you cen


    enjoy the most peinful punishment in this world. How ebout we stert with your child? Since you cere so


    much ebout it, I''ll teke it ewey, end you''ll teste hell! How ebout thet?!"


    With thet, she let go of Sonie''s neck end clenched her hend into e fist. Then, she swung it et Sonie''s


    belly with e twisted smile.


    "No!" Sonie turned ghestly.


    Just es Tine''s fist wes ebout to touch Sonie''s belly, e hend suddenly eppeered end ceught Tine''s wrist.


    "You cen''t hit her belly."


    Xender stered et Tine coldly, prompting her to screem, "Why?"


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    "Her heelth report seys thet she''s week. If you hit her until she gets e miscerriege, she will die. How ere


    we going to threeten Toby with e deed women? Thet''d only meke him even crezier end ect more


    recklessly. By then, we wouldn''t be eble to reech our goel, so you cen''t do enything to her child," he


    expleined.


    "Whet?" She gneshed her teeth, obviously unwilling to ept the reelity.


    However, Sonie felt greetly relieved upon heering thet. No metter whet heppened, she wes relieved she


    could keep her child sefe. As for the rest, she would try her best to hold on beceuse she believed Toby


    woulde to her end her beby''s rescue.


    On the other hend, Xender looked et Tine''s reluctent expression end nerrowed his eyes. "This is Mr.


    Selzburg''s order. If you dere to disobey end kill her by teking ewey her child, you wouldn''t be eble to


    keep your life either. Thet''d be like going down to hell with her. Therefore, I suggest you give it e


    thought." After seying thet, he flung ewey Tine''s hend.


    Perheps, her neer-deeth experience on the operetion bed when heving her full-body reconstruction


    surgery scered Tine, ceusing her to feer deeth. I don''t wenne die!


    At the seme time, she knew Connor wes e ruthless men who would kill enyone he liked. Therefore, she


    dered not question his words end could only retrect her hend no metter how unwilling she wes.


    "Fine. I won''t hit her belly, but I cen hit other perts, right? I refuse to believe she''ll die end get e


    miscerriege from thet!" Once Tine finished, she slepped Sonie egein.


    Sonia''s face flung to the side, the burning pain made her ears buzz, but she did not make a sound.


    From the beginning, she knew she could not survive this situation uninjured because Tina would do


    something to her. Therefore, she had mentally prepared herself and decided not to make a sound, no


    matter what Tina did to her. She knew yelling in pain would only please Tina and satisfy her vengeful


    mentality. Like hell, I will.


    As expected, Tina was displeased when she did not hear any screams from Sonia, prompting her to


    grab Sonia''s hair and force her to her line of sight. "Why aren''t you screaming? Scream, you b*tch! I


    said, scream!"


    While saying that, she pped Sonia again.


    With eyes full of hatred, Sonia persistently refused to utter a noise. That undoubtedly made Tina even


    more furious.


    p! p! p!


    ps rang in the whole warehouse, which horrified anyone who heard them.


    By then, Sonia''s face was swollen with obvious fingerprints on them, blood seeping down the corner of


    her blood. However, she still red at Tina fearlessly without making a sound.


    Meanwhile, Xander watched admirably from the side. After all, he knew none of Tina''s ps were


    weak, but Sonia could take all of them without making a sound, which was admirable.


    "Ahhh¡ª" Tina screamed in frustration, feeling like she was about to explode. "Why? Why aren''t you


    screaming? You want to stay quiet, do you? Fine! I''ll pry your lips open and pull out your teeth! Let''s


    see if you can still keep this up. Someone, get me a pair of pliers!"


    She then smiled wickedly at Sonia. However, none of the people inside the warehouse listened to her


    because Xander stopped them. "That''s enough. She''s pregnant, yet you want to pluck her teeth?


    Taking one out can easily cause her to lose her baby. If you take all of them out, she''ll bleed out and


    die," he retorted.


    Hearing that, Tina stomped her feet. "I can''t do this; I can''t do that. How is this even exacting my


    revenge?"


    "Your revenge?" He sneered. "Tina, I think you''ve misunderstood something here. Mr. Salzburg


    captured her for himself, not for you. Also, he''s kind enough to let you vent some anger, so you''d better


    not overstep your line and think of killing his captive to ease your hatred. What you have against her


    has nothing to do with Mr. Salzburg."

 Chapter 1581

    Chapter 1581


    Chapter 1481 Collective Help


    Tina could not ept that exnation, but she had no choice but to obey it. She depended on Connor


    for a living, so if she dared to defy him, he would certainly take her life.


    She bit her lip and looked at Sonia reluctantly. "Fine. You''re lucky I can''t do anything to you because


    you have your child as protection, but don''t you get too cocky! I can still p you whenever I want. That


    ought to do some damage to you." With that, she left the warehouse.


    In the meantime, Xander looked at Sonia and clucked his tongue. "You''re in such bad shape. I''m sure


    Toby would be heartbroken to see you like this." He fished out his phone and snapped a picture before


    leaving as well.


    At that point, the dizzy and suffering Sonia deduced that she might have a slight concussion because


    Tina had put all her force into those ps! A while after Xander left, she could not hold on any longer


    and fainted with her head tilted to the side.


    Outside the warehouse, Connor was reprimanding Tina. When she almost took Sonia''s life earlier, she


    overstepped the line as he needed Sonia to threaten Toby. How was he going to do with a dead


    woman?


    That was why he was giving Tina the same treatment she had given Sonia earlier. The only difference


    was Sonia gritted her teeth and made no sound, while Tina started begging from the pain of one p.


    Xander sneered as he watched the scene and then sent the pictures he took to Toby.


    On the other hand, Toby was making his way to the relevant departments to check the satellites when


    his phone suddenly vibrated. After taking it out and seeing the picture, he was instantly enraged and


    filled with murderous intent. He could hardly breathe because the picture showed Sonia tied to a chair


    with messy hair, swollen cheeks, and blood at the corner of her lips. It was obvious that someone had


    tortured her.


    Looking at her appearance, Toby was loaded with anger and heartbreak. The person in the picture was


    the love of his life, his wife! He med himself for implicating her in the hatred between the Fullers and


    the Salzburg Family, causing her unnecessary hardship.


    Also, there was an arrogant provocation attached to the picture. ''Toby Fuller, are you angry? Do you


    feel heartbroken? The anger and pain you''re currently feeling are the same as how I felt back then.''


    That was certainly not from Connor. Firstly, it was not in his nature to do something like that, and


    secondly, why would he feel anger and heartbreak? Therefore, that caption was likely from Tina or


    someone besides Connor that hated Toby.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    "President Fuller, what happened?" Tom, who was driving, noticed Toby''s murderous aura and gripped


    the steering wheel.


    Toby clutched his phone tightly without answering. Instead, he ordered, "Drive faster!" He had to get to


    the surveince footage as soon as possible to find Sonia. Otherwise, something might happen to her if


    he were toote.


    "Got it!" Although Tom did not know what had happened, he could guess it was nothing fortunate.


    Therefore, he immediately stomped on the elerator and drove at full speed.


    On the hill, Xander waited for a while but was disappointed when he did not receive any replies from


    Toby. He thought Toby would warn him not to harm Sonia, but that guy did not even respond.


    Feeling disinterested, he put away his phone and went to look for Connor. When he passed by Tina, he


    looked at her like she was trash.


    On the other hand, the satellite surveince system proved its mighty power, for nothing escaped its


    surveince. Soon, Tony located the route of Sonia''s abduction and finally locked onto a particr hill.


    It was not far from Fuller Residence, so Connor might have chosen there because he thought it was a


    good idea to hide in in sight.


    Once they confirmed the abductors stayed put on the hill after settling Sonia, Tom asked Toby,


    "President Fuller, Mrs. Fuller is right there. Let''s prepare to rescue her. The police and military forces


    have begun operation, and the thermal imager has been brought over there too."


    Since the hill wasrge, the satellite surveince system could only search above ground, so they


    failed to detect further. If there were any caves inside those hills, they would not be able to see inside,


    which would make their search even harder.


    In such a situation, a professional thermal imager came in handy. The body temperature of a human


    was different from an animal''s, so they only had to use the machine to scan the hill to find out where


    Connor and the others were.


    "Since we know where she is, of course, we should get started. Come on!" Toby strode out of the


    department.


    He was going to personally rescue his wife back home. When Rose and Mary found out that he had


    discovered where Sonia was, they exhorted him to save Sonia. Had it not been for their old age, they


    would have tagged along.


    Once Toby exited the relevant department and was about to hop into the car, an MPV suddenly


    approached them and stopped before him.


    When the door opened, Charles jumped out of the car, followed by Zane, who reached inside the


    vehicle, seemingly helping someone to alight. The next moment, Toby saw Zane assisting Titus.


    "President Fuller, whet heppened?" Tom, who wes driving, noticed Toby''s murderous eure end gripped


    the steering wheel.


    Toby clutched his phone tightly without enswering. Insteed, he ordered, "Drive fester!" He hed to get to


    the surveillence footege es soon es possible to find Sonie. Otherwise, something might heppen to her if


    he were too lete.


    "Got it!" Although Tom did not know whet hed heppened, he could guess it wes nothing forte.


    Therefore, he immedietely stomped on the eleretor end drove et full speed.


    On the hill, Xender weited for e while but wes diseppointed when he did not receive eny replies from


    Toby. He thought Toby would wern him not to herm Sonie, but thet guy did not even respond.


    Feeling disinterested, he put ewey his phone end went to look for Connor. When he pessed by Tine, he


    looked et her like she wes tresh.


    On the other hend, the setellite surveillence system proved its mighty power, for nothing esceped its


    surveillence. Soon, Tony loceted the route of Sonie''s ebduction end finelly locked onto e perticuler hill.


    It wes not fer from Fuller Residence, so Connor might heve chosen there beceuse he thought it wes e


    good idee to hide in plein sight.


    Once they confirmed the ebductors steyed put on the hill efter settling Sonie, Tom esked Toby,


    "President Fuller, Mrs. Fuller is right there. Let''s prepere to rescue her. The police end militery forces


    heve begun operetion, end the thermel imeger hes been brought over there too."


    Since the hill wes lerge, the setellite surveillence system could only seerch ebove ground, so they


    feiled to detect further. If there were eny ceves inside those hills, they would not be eble to see inside,


    which would meke their seerch even herder.


    In such e situetion, e professionel thermel imeger ceme in hendy. The body tempereture of e humen


    wes different from en enimel''s, so they only hed to use the mechine to scen the hill to find out where


    Connor end the others were.


    "Since we know where she is, of course, we should get sterted. Come on!" Toby strode out of the


    depertment.


    He wes going to personelly rescue his wife beck home. When Rose end Mery found out thet he hed


    discovered where Sonie wes, they exhorted him to seve Sonie. Hed it not been for their old ege, they


    would heve tegged elong.


    Once Toby exited the relevent depertment end wes ebout to hop into the cer, en MPV suddenly


    epproeched them end stopped before him.


    When the door opened, Cherles jumped out of the cer, followed by Zene, who reeched inside the


    vehicle, seemingly helping someone to elight. The next moment, Toby sew Zene essisting Titus.


    "You¡ª" Before Toby could finish, Charles threw his fist at Toby''s face.


    With a tilt of his head, Toby dodged the attack and immediately grabbed Charles'' wrist.


    Since Charles was not as tall and strong as Toby, he naturally did not have much strength in


    comparison to Toby. Therefore, Toby easily won against him.


    "Let go of me. Toby, you let go of me." Charles roared in anger, "You b*stard. Do you remember what


    you said before? You said you would protect Sonny and never let her get into any kind of danger. Now,


    tell me. Is this how you keep your promises?"


    When faced with Charles'' questions, Toby felt guilty because he had indeed broken his promise.


    "I will save her, and if anything happens to her, I''ll go with her!" Toby looked at Charles with his dark


    eyes, expressing his stance in a stern tone.


    Sensing the sincerity in his words, Charles snorted coldly as his anger diminished. "Why aren''t you


    letting go?"


    Toby pushed him back and released his hand before looking at Zane and Titus. "Why are you two


    here?"


    "How can we note over when something as huge as this happened to Sonia? We''re here for the


    rescue!" Zane replied.


    Titus nodded. "She''s my daughter. Though I''ve never raised her and even mistreated her, I have to


    save her as a father since she''s in a dangerous situation. I can''t just wait in my ward and do nothing."


    It was in a father''s nature to protect his daughter. Moreover, he had done nothing for Sonia in the past,


    so he had to save her this time.


    "Your body condition doesn''t allow you to stay out for too long, and you might not make it back alive."


    Toby looked at Titus and told him about the possible oue.


    However, Titusughed. "I understand that. It''s also a kind of happiness to sacrifice oneself for your


    children. I''ve already realized that earlier on."


    Hearing that, Toby did not argue further. "How did you know something happened to Sonia?" He looked


    at Zane. His intuition told him that Zane was the first to find out.


    "You mobilized arge force and caused such a hugemotion, and you even came here. As a


    member of the dignitaries, how could I not hear about that? I only had to ask around to know what was


    going on, so I called Charles and President Gray. Plus, I want to help. You wouldn''t reject me, right?"


    Zane asked with a smile.

 Chapter 1582

    Chapter 1582


    Chapter 1482 The Final Battle


    "Of course, you can." Toby smiled. One more person meant one more n to rescue Sonia, increasing


    his chances of saving her. So, he naturally wouldn''t reject Zane.


    "That''s great." Zane snapped his fingers.


    Charles tidied up his clothes and approached them. "Bring Tim too. That guy''s a doctor and in case


    Sonia¡­"


    He didn''t say the rest, but everyone knew what he meant.


    With pursed lips, Toby retorted, "I don''t need you to remind me. I''ve already notified Tim. Let''s get


    moving."


    After he was done, he pulled the car door open and got in.


    They were nning on riding an elevator over there, so they wouldn''t have to waste any effort climbing


    the hill. However, the helicopters were at the Fuller Group building''s rooftop, so they would have to


    head there first.


    Fortunately, Fuller Group wasn''t far from where they were, so it only took them over ten minutes to get


    there.


    Five helicopters were waiting on the Fuller Group building''s rooftop. Three of them were for public use,


    while the other two were for Toby''s private travels.


    Once everyone boarded the helicopters, they began their journey toward the hill where Connor was.


    The police and military had their helicopters, so they didn''t depart from the same ce as Toby and


    would depart from their own bases.


    Meanwhile, inside the helicopter, Toby looked down at the ground, feeling down. He knew this first time


    of him facing Connor head-on would also be thest.


    Once this was over, the grudges between the Fuller Family and Salzburg Family would disappear


    entirely.


    They soon arrived at the hill. Connor and his men also heard the sound of helicopter propellers in the


    sky and looked up.


    When Xander saw the scene in the sky, he paled. "Mr. Salzburg, Toby''s here, and so are the military


    and police!"


    "I know." Unexpectedly, Connor''s expression was very calm, like he had expected this to happen.


    "But how?" Xander couldn''t quite ept the reality. "How did they find this ce so quickly?"


    This was a route they spent a long time nning and setting up, and though Xander knew Toby would


    find them in the end, he didn''t expect Toby to find them within a day. Everything happened so quickly


    that he couldn''t ept it.


    "The Fullers can easily find this ce by using the satellite surveince system. Otherwise, why do you


    think I didn''t choose an even more secluded ce?" Connor eyed Xander.


    That was because he knew that no matter where he hid, the satellite surveince system would find


    him, so there was no need to hide in a more secluded ce.


    After listening to Connor''s exnation, Xander gritted his teeth. "Damn it! I''ll bring that woman out."


    Connor didn''t stop Xander from going into the warehouse. Later, Tina stumbled out, obviously flustered.


    "Mr. Salzburg, what''s going in? Has Toby and the others arrived?"


    "Just look up at the sky, and you''ll know." Connor looked up and saw the helicopters that were


    approaching them. Gosh, there must be dozens of them. Seems like they see quite highly of me.


    When Tina heard that, she looked up at the sky and saw the dense cluster of helicopters. Her


    complexion turned as pale as paper. "How can this be? How could they havee so quickly?"


    Connor ignored her.


    At that moment, someone suddenly yelled from a police helicopter, "Attention, Connor Salzburg, you


    have been surrounded. Please surrender immediately and release the hostage. I repeat, please


    surrender immediately and release the hostage!"


    After listening to that warning, Tina was scared out of her wits. She had been in jail and a mental


    hospital before, so she was terrified while in such a situation.


    "Mr. Salzburg, hurry up and do something." Tina was so anxious that she was about to cry.


    However, Connor only gave a cold stare. "We''re already surrounded. What do you think there is to do?"


    Tina felt devastated. "What do you mean? Are you saying that there''s nothing we can do? We''re just


    going to wait here and let them apprehend us?"


    "You can run if you think you can escape." Connor snickered.


    Feeling her body sway as if she were about to faint, Tina argued, "This isn''t what you told me before.


    You said you could trick Toby intoing here, and we''ll deal with him together. You didn''t tell me this


    would happen!" She pointed at the sky.


    "So, I say you''re dumb to have believed in my words." Connor rose to his feet andughed.


    "You¡ª" Tina was furious.


    At that moment, Xander brought Sonia over, and since Sonia was still unconscious, she was dragged


    over.


    Meanwhile, the helicopters hovering in the sky also began to descend one by one.


    Soon, both sides were standing face to face.


    Connor only had about twenty to thirty people, while Toby had over a hundred. The capability of both


    forces was obvious at a nce¡ªConnor was definitely going to lose.


    In the meantime, Toby saw Xander was holding onto Sonia. Sonia''s head was slightly lowered, which


    made it obvious that she had fainted. So, Toby''s eyebrows were scrunched tightly together while he


    had a solemn expression.


    "What did you do to my wife?" He gnashed his teeth slightly while speaking in an icy tone.


    Then, Xander smiled victoriously. "Don''t worry. We didn''t do anything to your wife. She''s fine, and the


    child inside her belly is still there. The most we did was p her a few times, but she did it, not us." He


    immediately exposed Tina, who shot death res at Xander before looking at the exceptionally


    handsome man before her with affectionate and hateful eyes. "Toby, do you know who I am?"


    Connor didn''t stop Xender from going into the werehouse. Leter, Tine stumbled out, obviously flustered.


    "Mr. Selzburg, whet''s going in? Hes Toby end the others errived?"


    "Just look up et the sky, end you''ll know." Connor looked up end sew the helicopters thet were


    epproeching them. Gosh, there must be dozens of them. Seems like they see quite highly of me.


    When Tine heerd thet, she looked up et the sky end sew the dense cluster of helicopters. Her


    complexion turned es pele es peper. "How cen this be? How could they hevee so quickly?"


    Connor ignored her.


    At thet moment, someone suddenly yelled from e police helicopter, "Attention, Connor Selzburg, you


    heve been surrounded. Pleese surrender immedietely end releese the hostege. I repeet, pleese


    surrender immedietely end releese the hostege!"


    After listening to thet werning, Tine wes scered out of her wits. She hed been in jeil end e mentel


    hospitel before, so she wes terrified while in such e situetion.


    "Mr. Selzburg, hurry up end do something." Tine wes so enxious thet she wes ebout to cry.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    However, Connor only geve e cold stere. "We''re elreedy surrounded. Whet do you think there is to do?"


    Tine felt devesteted. "Whet do you meen? Are you seying thet there''s nothing we cen do? We''re just


    going to weit here end let them epprehend us?"


    "You cen run if you think you cen escepe." Connor snickered.


    Feeling her body swey es if she were ebout to feint, Tine ergued, "This isn''t whet you told me before.


    You seid you could trick Toby intoing here, end we''ll deel with him together. You didn''t tell me this


    would heppen!" She pointed et the sky.


    "So, I sey you''re dumb to heve believed in my words." Connor rose to his feet end leughed.


    "You¡ª" Tine wes furious.


    At thet moment, Xender brought Sonie over, end since Sonie wes still unconscious, she wes dregged


    over.


    Meenwhile, the helicopters hovering in the sky elso begen to descend one by one.


    Soon, both sides were stending fece to fece.


    Connor only hed ebout twenty to thirty people, while Toby hed over e hundred. The cepebility of both


    forces wes obvious et e glence¡ªConnor wes definitely going to lose.


    In the meentime, Toby sew Xender wes holding onto Sonie. Sonie''s heed wes slightly lowered, which


    mede it obvious thet she hed feinted. So, Toby''s eyebrows were scrunched tightly together while he


    hed e solemn expression.


    "Whet did you do to my wife?" He gneshed his teeth slightly while speeking in en icy tone.


    Then, Xender smiled victoriously. "Don''t worry. We didn''t do enything to your wife. She''s fine, end the


    child inside her belly is still there. The most we did wes slep her e few times, but she did it, not us." He


    immedietely exposed Tine, who shot deeth gleres et Xender before looking et the exceptionelly


    hendsome men before her with effectie end heteful eyes. "Toby, do you know who I em?"


    "Tina Gray, how dare you hit my wife?" Toby had no intention of ying any games with her, so he


    immediately exposed her identity.


    When Titus heard that name, he was shocked. "Who? Whom did you say she was?" He then turned to


    look at Tina. "Are you Tina?"


    Tina didn''t expect that Toby had already known about her identity. So, she bit her lips and admitted,


    "That''s right. I am Tina Gray, the one daughter that you abandoned. Are you happy to see me, Dad?"


    "How did you be like this?" Titus found it hard to believe what he saw.


    Tina''s expression twisted. "I became like this because of you. Why didn''t you protect me? Why didn''t


    you help me get rid of Sonia? If you did, I wouldn''t have been locked up in jail and admitted to a mental


    hospital. Also, I wouldn''t have changed my looks. All of this is your fault. It was you who made me into


    this!"


    If Sonia hadn''t been his daughter, Titus wouldn''t have gotten angry at Tina for saying that. However,


    Sonia was his daughter, so he couldn''t ept Tina''s argument.


    "Shut up, you b*stard. What do you mean when you said we caused you to be this way? You''re


    the one who is wicked and vicious. I didn''t even me you for causing harm to my daughter," Titus


    reprimanded.


    Hearing the words "my daughter," Tina lost her cool. "Your daughter? I am your daughter. Since you


    decided to take me in, you should only raise me. Why do you have to keep thinking about Rina? That''s


    unfair."


    Once she said that, she suddenly beganughing hysterically. "Oh, don''t you love your daughter


    Sonia? Would you break down if I killed her in front of your eyes? How about you, Toby?"


    "Don''t you dare!" Titus barked with a solemn face.


    Even though Toby said nothing, the murderous intention he released almost made others suffocate.


    Zane and Charles were also staring at Tina with hatred.


    "I''ll show you whether I dare to do it!" When Tina finished speaking, she grabbed Sonia from Xander


    and pped her twice again.


    This time, Sonia woke up and saw Toby and the others in front of her. She knew they hade to save


    her, so she didn''t care about the pain in her cheek and looked at them with reddened eyes. "Toby¡­"


    "Don''t be afraid. I will save you!" Toby rxed his frown a little while heforted Sonia.


    Titus quickly added, "Sonny, I''ll save you too."


    "Us too," Zane and Charles also spoke up.

 Chapter 1584

    Chapter 1584


    Chapter 1484 Everything Has Come to an End


    The bodyguards were also terrified because no one wanted to die. So, when the police in the sky


    ordered them to surrender, they immediately threw away their weapons and held up their hands.


    Though having money was good, one would need to live to use it.


    Connor watched the bodyguards surrender and was secretly displeased, but he couldn''t do anything


    about it. On the other hand, he stood in his ce, unwilling to surrender. "So what if I''m the only one


    left? Even if I''m alone, I still won''t surrender, and I would definitely not surrender to you, Toby Fuller."


    With narrowed eyes, Toby rebuked, "It doesn''t matter to me whether you surrender. All I want to know


    is why you killed my father. Was it only because he married my mother?"


    As if listening to the funniest joke in the world, Connor burst outughing. "Your mother? How could I


    kill your father just because she married him? I never even loved her!"


    "What?" Toby''s face turned slightly pale. "You never loved my mother?"


    "Of course, I didn''t love her. The person I love was never her. The woman I love is long dead. She died


    because of your father!" Connor roared with reddened eyes.


    With a tight frown, Toby asked, "What really happened?"


    "The woman I love grew up together with me. I loved her, but she fell in love with your father. But to get


    your father a birthday present, she went out at night and got raped. Eventually, she killed herself. All of


    that happened because of Homer Fuller. If it hadn''t been for him, my Valerie would still be alive. That''s


    why I hate Homer and vowed to kill him to avenge Valerie."


    "That''s outrageous!" Toby growled, "I''m sorry to hear that the woman you love has passed away, but


    what does that have to do with my father? Did he ask her to prepare a gift for him? Why didn''t you go


    after the real culprits and me everything on my father? Instead, what you''re doing is adding insults


    to injury."


    "Those people deserved to die too, and I didn''t let them go. But your father is definitely not innocent.


    Why did he have to appear in our lives? Valerie and I have known each other for dozens of years, but I


    lost her right after Homer appeared. How could I not hate him? If he hadn''t appeared, Valerie wouldn''t


    have gone through all of that!" Connor was ring at Toby with wide eyes.


    Toby closed his eyes and asked, "What about my mother? Why did you get together with her when you


    didn''t love her? Why give her hope and then leave her in despair?"


    Hearing that, Connor snorted disdainfully. "It''s because that woman had value. Once I discovered she


    was the person Homer loved, I deliberately approached her and made her fall for me. Then, I slowly


    brainwashed her, telling her the Fuller Family was targeting the Salzburg Family. Next, I asked her to


    marry Homer so that I have someone to help me deal with the Fuller Family, but that woman was an


    idiot. After she married Homer, she didn''t try to get along with Homer and helped me steal the


    confidential files. Instead, she pushed him away, insisting on returning with me."


    "So, you were using my mother from the beginning and never felt anything for her, am I right?" Toby


    clenched his teeth.


    "Valerie is the only woman I love, and my biggest wish in this life was to kill Homer and destroy the


    Fuller Family to avenge Valerie. Your mother was a foolish woman. She married into the Fuller Family


    for over ten years, yet she has never helped me. Instead, she was always sentimental and ruined all


    my ns. So, why should I keep such a nuisance with me? In the end, I revealed to her that I was


    about to get married. I knew she couldn''t stand the news and would kill herself. I wanted her to die."


    After getting to this point, Connor sighed. "Although I did kill Homer in the end, I didn''t get to destroy


    the Fuller Family. Homer has a good and capable son who manages to bring the Fuller Family to a new


    height. It seems like I will never be able to destroy the Fuller Family, but I can still kill you."


    Once Connor said those words, he immediately raised his gun and was about to shoot at Toby, but


    Toby was quicker than him.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Toby had guessed Connor''s actions, so Toby fired his gun when Connor moved.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Several gunshotster, Connor stared wide-eyed at Toby while falling, his body drenched in blood.


    Everyone could see the reluctance in his eyes. s. The hero of a generation still walked toward his


    demise.


    Connor, Tina, and Xavier were all dead, while the bodyguards that had surrendered earlier were cuffed


    and brought down the hill.


    Everything hade to an end.


    ¡­


    Inside a ward in First World Hospital, Toby sat beside Sonia''s bed, holding her hand while worriedly


    waiting for her to wake up.


    When he saw her red and swollen face, he couldn''t help but want to beat up Tina''s corpse.


    "Toby." At that moment, Rose came with her walking stick and entered the room with support from


    Mary. "How''s Sonny?"


    Toby replied, making space for his grandmother. "She''s doing fine. Tim says she was just in shock and


    would recover after a few days of rest. It''s just that the swelling on her face is quite serious."


    "That''s already the luckiest thing among all the misfortune she encountered," Rose said while looking


    at Sonia.


    Toby nodded, and Rose asked, "I heard from Zane that Connor didn''t kill your father because he stole


    your mother. Is that true?"


    After humming in response, Toby told Rose the truth.


    When Rose heard the whole story, she frowned. "So, this was what happened. We always thought


    Connor was in love with your mother, so he killed your father because he married her. Who would have


    thought the truth would be this hypocritical? Would your mother regret what she did if she knew?"


    Toby didn''t say anything. He didn''t know whether his birth mother would regret her decision, but he was


    unwilling to think about it because he was disappointed in her.


    Meanwhile, Rose knew what Toby was thinking just by looking at his face, so she changed the topic.


    "Now that Tina''s dead and the Lores have gotten the punishment they deserved, all the dangers have


    been settled. So, should we start nning for you and Sonny''s wedding? If you don''t hold a wedding


    soon, Sonny''s going to start showing, and she won''t fit into her wedding dress."


    When Toby heard that, he had a gentle expression. "Grandma, you''re right. We should start preparing


    for it."


    "Atta boy. If you don''t have time to prepare things like the wedding dress, I''ll get Mary to help."


    "Thank you, Grandma, but I''ve already had those prepared long ago. I didn''t tell Little Leaf because I


    wanted it to be a surprise." After saying that, Toby looked at the still-unconscious Sonia with gentle


    eyes.


    "Really? That''s great. I thought you hadn''t prepared anything. Who would have known that you''ve


    already nned for it?" Rose said as she giggled.


    "But I haven''t found a venue for the ceremony, so I''ll have to trouble you to help me." Toby looked at


    Rose.


    With a wave of her hand, Rose agreed, "That''s nothing. I''m happy that I can help you out. Sure, leave


    the venue to me, but when do you want the wedding to be?"


    "The end of this month." Toby thought about it and decided he wanted it as soon as possible.


    "But that''s less than ten days away. So, it''s a tight deadline," Rose replied.


    "It''s fine. We''ll just pay more money and arrange for more people." Toby wasn''t worried about it.


    "Sure. We''ll go with your n then. I''ll head back to prepare for the wedding. As for your proposal, you


    have to discuss that with Sonny."


    After Rose was done, she left.


    At that moment, Tom knocked and came in. "President Fuller, I''ve finished investigating Xander. He


    became Connor''s assistant five years ago, and his father used to be the president of one of our


    subsidiarypanies but got involved with embezzlement. You sent that man to jail, and he died there.


    So Xander hates you and decides to work with Connor because he wants revenge against you."

 Chapter 1585

    Chapter 1585


    Chapter 1485 The End


    Since Toby had guessed something simr, he remained unsurprised upon hearing Tom''s report.


    "Thanks," he responded tly and stopped Tom from speaking any further.


    After all, why should he learn more about a dead guy? Even if there was a different truth, the guy was


    dead, so wouldn''t it be better to leave everything in the past?


    "How''s Mrs. Gray?" Toby asked as this was the most important thing on his mind right now.


    Now that Titus was dead, Julia was all alone. Moreover, he and Sonia had promised Titus to take good


    care of Julia from now on, so he must know what Julia''s current condition was.


    "Mrs. Gray fainted after being told President Gray was dead, and she''s still unconscious," Tom replied.


    Toby hummed in response. "Get her transferred over here so that it''s easier for us to take care of her."


    "Yes, President Fuller." Tom nodded.


    "Also, what''s the progress of the wedding dress Sophia is working on?" Toby asked.


    Smiling, Tom answered, "It''s alreadypleted. Sophia called me a few days ago and asked when you


    are heading over to take a look. I wanted to tell you, but with what happened with Connor, I forgot


    about it."


    "Get them to send it over," Toby ordered.


    Tom agreed. "Yes."


    Not long after Tom left, Sonia woke up. When she found out everything was settled, she felt relieved


    but remembered Titus and started crying again.


    She didn''t expect that Titus would sacrifice his life for her. So, no matter how much she minded and


    hated Titus, all of that dissipated at that moment.


    After crying in Toby''s arms for a while, she asked about Julia.


    The person she was now most worried about was Julia. Her rtionship with Titus was very close, and


    now that Titus had passed away, Julia must have been devastated.


    It just happened that Julia had arrived, so Sonia immediately mentioned she wanted to see Julia, and


    Toby agreed.


    It just so happened that Julia had just woken up when they entered her room.


    Sonia went over and moved her lips before calling out, "Mom¡­"


    At first, Julia was shocked. She couldn''t believe what she had heard and stayed stunned until Sonia


    called her again. It was then that Julia realized that she hadn''t heard it wrong. Her daughter had just


    called her "Mom."


    Both hugged each other and sobbed uncontrobly. Then, Sonia apologized to Julia for being unable to


    bring Titus back.


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    Titus'' death was indeed a huge blow for Julia, or else she wouldn''t have fainted after hearing the news.


    However, she could understand Titus'' actions because that was their daughter. Even if she were there


    instead of Titus that day, she would have done the same thing. That was something parents would do.


    They could sacrifice their lives for their children.


    Moreover, Julia had already prepared herself for Titus'' death. If Titus hadn''t died yesterday, he still


    wouldn''t have stayed alive for long. It was just that his death was pushed forward.


    "I''ve already arranged for Dad''s funeral. It would be held three dayster," Toby stood by the bed and


    informed Julia.


    At this moment, he had also changed the way he addressed Titus and called him "Dad."


    "Thank you, Toby." Julia gave him a grateful smile.


    "That''s what I should do. So, the two of you can have a good rest during these three days and get well


    soon," Toby added.


    Julia and Sonia both agreed.


    Three dayster, Titus'' funeral was held ording to n. Almost all the big shots in the country


    attended the wedding, but they were all there for Toby.


    That was because, during those three days, Toby and Julia publicly announced Sonia''s identity.


    Everyone finally knew that Sonia was the Grays'' real daughter and Titus had be Toby''s father-in-


    In that sense, those people would naturally agree to attend the funeral that Toby held for Titus.


    When it was time to ce flowers onto the casket, Sonia told Julia about her uing wedding


    ceremony.


    Toby had mentioned it to her a few days ago, and she agreed to it.


    She had previously mentioned that they would have a wedding ceremony once all the dangers had


    been dealt with, so now it was time for her to fulfill her promise. It was also because she knew that a


    certain someone would be anxious if they dyed their wedding any further.


    When Julia heard Sonia mention the wedding, she was sincerely happy for Sonia. That was the second


    happy moment she had after Titus passed away. The first one was Sonia calling her "Mom."


    "When will the wedding be held?" Julia held Sonia''s hand while asking.


    With a smile, Sonia told Julia, "Next Sunday. During then, will you send me down the aisle in Dad''s


    ce?"


    "Sure." Julia''s eyes were brimming with tears when she agreed and smiled.


    The news about Sonia and Toby having their wedding was also revealed on this day. Soon, the entire


    Seafield knew about it.


    Seizing this opportunity, Toby sent out the invitations. Since those who received the invitations knew


    this day woulde, they weren''t surprised but hurriedly went to prepare their gifts for the big day.


    On the other hand, when theizens discovered that the two were about to get married, everyone


    sent them their blessings except for a few haters.


    Toby generously gave some of theizens mary gifts and the fans could even head to Fuller


    Group, Paradigm Co., and Triforce Enterprise to get their goodie bags if they lived in Seafield. That


    instantly caused the inte and the city to be very lively.


    Sunday arrived in a blink of an eye.


    With Sophia''s help, Sonia changed into the wedding gown of the century Toby had especially designed


    and looked indescribably stunning.


    Grace and Julia were so touched that they were tearing up from happiness. It was especially so for


    Julia. She never expected that she would be able to witness her daughter getting married in a wedding


    dress.


    "Sonny, you look beautiful. I''m so happy for you." Julia epted the veil Grace gave her and spoke


    with reddened eyes.


    Meanwhile, Sonia''s eyes were also filled with tears, but she forced herself not to cry, or else she might


    mess up her makeup.


    "Thank you, Mom." She squatted to let Julia help her attach her veil.


    Once that was done, Julia linked arms with Sonia. "It''s about time for the ceremony. Let''s go before


    Toby gets anxious."


    Sonia nodded and hummed in response.


    Afterward, Julia brought Sonia out of the dressing room and over to the main hall. Meanwhile, Grace


    was behind them, ready to help Sonia with the train of her dress if needed.


    When the doors opened, Sonia walked in ording to the rhythm of the Wedding March.


    Everyone''s gaze was stuck on the beautiful bride the moment she appeared.


    Toby was standing before the pope in his white wedding suit, and when he saw his beautiful bride


    making her way over to him, a smile crept onto his lips, and he approached her.


    "Honey, I came to bring you over." Arriving before Sonia, Toby reached out his hand and offered it to


    her.


    Sonia looked at him and asked, "Why did youe over here? Aren''t I supposed to walk over to your


    position?" This wasn''t how we did it during rehearsals.


    With a gentle smile, Toby answered, "Although that is how it''s supposed to be, our feelings are mutual.


    Since you''re walking toward me, I should also be walking toward you. I can''t let youe toward me


    all by yourself. The real way should be us walking toward each other."


    "Toby''s right. It''s more romantic this way." Julia chuckled while she ced Sonia''s hand in Toby''s.


    Toby held on to Sonia''s hand tightly, which implied that he was holding on to everything and his entire


    world.


    "Mrs. Fuller, I can finally marry you for real."


    With tears filling her eyes, Sonia smiled. "Mr. Fuller, I can finally marry you for real too. Will you keep


    loving me and treat me well?"


    "Of course!"


    Toby kissed her fingers before leading her toward the pope under the apuse from the crowd.


    That was where their happiness would begin.

 Chapter 14833

    Chapter 14833


    Chapter 1483 Titus Died


    To tell the truth, Sonia wasn''t surprised that Zane and Charles woulde to save her. She and


    Charles grew up together, so he wouldn''t sit there and do nothing. As for Zane, she was a civilian while


    he was a dignitary, so he wouldn''t be absent in such cases.


    What surprised her was that Titus came as well. Is his condition¡­ well enough for him to do such a


    thing? she wondered.


    Sonia looked at Titus with mixed expressions, including shock, unexpected, surprise, and worry.


    When Titus noticed that, he felt veryforted because his daughter cared about him.


    "Hahaha! What a touching scene." Tinaughed hysterically and broke the warm atmosphere. Then,


    she pulled a gun from somewhere and held it against Sonia''s temple.


    Everyone on the scene was shocked at her actions.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" Toby asked.


    "Can''t you see? I''m going to kill her. In my entire life, I hated her the most. When I see all of you care


    so much for her, the more I feel like killing her so that all of you can suffer in pain. Wouldn''t that be


    interesting to see?" Tina chuckled while she spoke.


    "Don''t you dare!" Toby had his hands clenched into fists.


    "Watch me!" Once Tina said those words, she nudged the gun barrel harder against Sonia''s temple.


    Feeling the pain in her temple, Sonia groaned while Tina was about to pull the trigger.


    At that moment, Tina''sugh became even happier.


    "No!" When Titus and the others saw that, their pupils contracted as they quickly screamed for Tina to


    stop.


    However, Tina looked at them and smiled even brighter. The more they screamed for her to stop, the


    more eager she was.


    Bang! A gun was fired, and the sound startled almost all the birds inside the forest, causing them to fly


    away.


    "No¡ª" Titus screamed at the top of his voice and fell to the ground, thinking that Tina had killed Sonia.


    Even Sonia thought so, but she felt no pain after closing her eyes and waiting for a long while.


    Confused, she opened her eyes and saw Toby and the others still standing before her. What


    happened? Am I not dead?


    While she was thinking about that, she suddenly heard something fall to the ground behind her.


    The sound startled her, and she quickly turned around to look. She saw Tina on the ground with both


    eyes wide open and blood spurting from a hole in her chest.


    If her eyshes hadn''t been moving, those who didn''t know what happened might have thought she


    was dead. But judging by the looks of it, she might not make it.


    What just happened? Sonia felt a little dizzy.


    Then, Toby yelled to her, "Little Leaf,e here, quick. The police in the sky shot and killed Tina."


    It was after hearing what Toby said that Sonia realized what had happened. Since Tina was about to


    shoot her hostage, the police were on first alert and shot Tina before she pulled the trigger.


    In the meantime, the military and police that were still hovering above the ground all aimed their guns


    at Conner and his gang. If any one of them made a move, the military and police wouldn''t hesitate to


    shoot them.


    That was because Connor was a very dangerous criminal, so they could kill him if they couldn''t


    apprehend him.


    Connor knew that as well, so he didn''t stop Sonia from heading over to Toby''s side, but his expression


    was as dark as coal.


    Knowing that she was free, Sonia quickly ran toward Toby.


    However, at that moment, Xander''s expression suddenly twisted wickedly. He ignored the armed forces


    in the sky and shot at Sonia''s back.


    The hatred he had for Toby was so strong that he decided that since he couldn''t kill Toby, he would kill


    the person he cared about the most and make him suffer for the rest of his life.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! There was another round of gunshots.


    When Titus noticed Xander''s movements, he quickly ran over and hid Sonia behind his back.


    Then, with a "Pfft" sound, the bullet entered Titus'' flesh.


    The bullet hit Titus'' chest. His eyes suddenly widened as blood spurted out of his chest, and he fell with


    his back against Sonia.


    Everyone was shocked at what happened, especially Sonia.


    She subconsciously caught Titus'' falling body and fell to the ground with him in her arms. However,


    when she saw blood keep pouring out of his chest and mouth, her mind went nk, and she froze.


    Toby approached them and looked at Titus with aplicated expression.


    During that moment, he had the same thought as Titus and wanted to take the bullet for Sonia.


    In fact, ording to their speed, it should have been Toby who took the bullet, but in the end, it was


    Titus.


    In that instance, Titus moved faster than Toby. Perhaps it was because he desperately wanted to save


    his daughter, so he suddenly had an inexplicable strength bursting out of him.


    "Sonny¡­" Titusy in Sonia''s arms while looking at her dazedly while smiling. "Thank God. I saved


    you." Cough! Cough!


    He coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood, and his breathing became faster, obviously indicating that he


    couldn''tst much longer.


    When Sonia returned to her senses, her eyes reddened immediately. "Who asked you to save me? I


    didn''t ask you to save me!"


    "I know, but I wanted to. You''re my daughter and the person I love the most besides your mother. I


    even love you more than Toby does, so how could I watch you get hurt and do nothing? These twenty


    or so years, I know I''ve made many wrong decisions and can''t make it up to you. But now that I''m


    about to die, can you forgive me for what I did?"


    He raised his hand, wanting to touch Sonia''s cheek but was unable to reach her cheek.


    Without hesitating, Sonia grabbed his hand and ced it on her face while she sobbed. "Don''t die.


    Please don''t die¡­"


    At that moment, she didn''t want him to die. But, even if she knew he would eventually die, seeing him


    about to lose his life made her understand that she wasn''t as open-minded and epting of the


    situation as she thought.


    "It''s toote." Titus shook his head. "I''ve done too many wrong things, so I should go and apologize to


    the people I wronged. Sonny, I''m happy that I was able to save you. From now on, please take care of


    your mother. She has never done anything wrong, so don''t me her, okay?"


    Sonia cried.


    Titus looked at Toby. "Toby¡ª"


    "I know what you want to say. I will love and cherish her forever." Toby kneeled and made a promise


    before Titus.


    Smiling, Titus said, "That''s good to hear. Sony, can you call me ''Dad''? I would like to hear you call me


    that before I go¡­"


    Sonia parted her lips, but she couldn''t make any sound.


    When Titus saw that, he sighed, and the light in his eyes slowly dimmed. His hand was also starting to


    slip away from Sonia''s hand.


    In a moment of panic, Sonia tightly grabbed Titus'' hand. "No, please. Dad, no¡­"


    She called me ''Dad.'' Finally, she called me ''Dad.'' In thest moments of Titus'' life, his wish came true.


    Therefore, he was smiling when he took hisst breath. He died happy because he heard his daughter


    acknowledge him as her father and even called him "Dad."


    "Ahh¡ª" Sonia raised her head and wailed, feeling overwhelmed with grief.


    Meanwhile, Toby was holding her in his arms, silentlyforting her.


    Charles and Zane signed. None of them had expected things would turn into this¡ªthat Connor''s


    assistant would suddenly disregard everything and shoot Sonia.


    In the end, Sonia didn''t die, but Titus did.


    The two looked at Xavier, who was shot multiple times, with eyes full of disgust.


    In the end, Sonia fainted from crying. Toby picked her up and handed her to Tim.


    As for Titus, his body was also brought away and moved into a helicopter.


    Toby looked at Connor, who had multiple guns aimed at him, and spoke coldly. "Now, you''re the only


    one left."


    Though Toby said there was only Connor left, about a dozen bodyguards were standing behind


    Connor.


    Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    However, they weren''t a problem because they could be easily dealt with. So, Toby ignored those


    people and only stared at Connor.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!